Commodore_MicroComputer_Issue_37_1985_Sep_Oct

Page 1

Buyer's Guide:

'

VOICE SYNTHESIS AND RECOGNITION PRODUCTS

I

October 1985 52.50 U.S.

III

microcomputers

%*e£


If you own an Apple Ik, you'd have to add three more Apple Ik's, an Extra Keypad, 30 Block Graphic Sets, Color Sprites, two more voices, four instruments, a Cartridge Port, a Joystick Port, and a Commodore 64...


fXU'JM«'VJ¥«Vi'rV

to match the versatility, expandability

and higher intelligence of the new Commodore 128 (and it costs less too).

The new Commodore 128'" per

sonal computer is breakthrough technology at a breakthrough price. It outshines the Apple® lie in performance capability, per

formance quality and price. It is expandable to 512K ram. The lie

doesn't expand. Commodore 128 has a numeric keypad built into its keyboard that makes crunching

numbers a lor easier. And graphic and sound capabilities that far exceed those of the Apple lie. But the most important news is that

Commodore 128jumpsyouintoa new worid of business, productivity, education and word processing programs while still running over 3,000 programs designed for the Commodore 64.'" That's what we

call a higher intelligence.

COMMODORE 128s: PERSONAL COMPUTER •Apple B o legate oO nodemenv of AppW Compuier. Inc

A Higher Intelligence

etOmmoOore 1985


V

It's Absolutely Shocking!!!

After all these years, CMS Software Systems is still the only company providing professional quality accounting software for the complete line of Commodore business computers.

Whether you own an 8032, 8096, SuperPET, B-128, C-64, or the new C-128, we have a professionally written, fully integrated Accounting System designed especially for you.

Introduced in 1979, the CMS Accounting System was the first

Accounting System available for Commodore computers. Not satisfied with just being first, we have continued to update, expand, and improve until today, the CMS Accounting System is widely recognized as one of the finest Accounting Systems available for any computer.

Now Available for the Commodore C-128

General Ledger Accounts Receivable Billing

CMS

Accounts Payable i Job Costing

Payroll

$179.95

Complete Price

For more information see your

Commodore dealer or call Cathy York al 214/289-0677.

CMS Software Systems, Inc. • 2204 Camp David > Mesquite, TX75149

sS~^^

Circle Reader Service No.7


INTENTS

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1985

III microcomputers LETTERS

4

NEWS

8

SOFTWARE REVIEWS

Injured Engine reviewed by Mark Cotone

14

Forecast! reviewed by Cheryl Peferson Three Irom the Learning Company reviewed by

16

Dream House reviewed by Kelley Essoe

22

George Beekman

18

Fast Loaders reviewed by Tom Benford

26

SwiftCalC reviewed by led Ealamone Loadstar reviewed by Slepfien Leven S.A.T. Preparation ProgramsteviewedbyDanieiHorowift

30 32 34

Vizastarreviewedby Tom Benford

36

Build a Book About YOU reviewed by Joyce Wxley

40

BASIC-64 reviewed by Shfomo Ginsbuig

42

WordPro64reviewedbyBizobethDeal

48

TfiO reviewed by Dan Rustin

50

54

with a review of Welcome Aboard

UPDATE AMIGA

70

A first look at Commodore's revolutionary new 68000never seen or heard from a micro before, windowing,

icons-and speed, by jim&oceiy 74

amateur radio, by Mei Granick

THE ELECTRONIC COTTAGE CONTROVERSY

Simple Window by Bruce Jaeger

60

Modemf300 File Translator by BobNadier

62

Getting SuperMon to Print byitoger Macomber

64

BOOK REVIEWS Getting the Most Out of CompuServe reviewed by Howard Millman

Your Commodore 64 can talk-and listen-using relatively inexpensive speech devices, by Louis waiioce

The Commodore 64 has helped advance the art ol 56

PROGRAMMER'S TIPS

Commodore 64 Family Helper feviewedbyTedSalamone

66

BECOME RADIO-ACTIVE WITH YOUR COMMODORE 64

COMPUTER WIZARD Commodore 128 Sound by Louis F. Sander

AND VOICE RECOGNITION

based computer, with graphics and sound like you've

BEHIND THE PROGRAMS

The Man Behind the Muppetst^PomHoiowift

FEATURES

BUYER'S GUIDE TO VOICE SYNTHESIS

78

Should computer woik at home be banned? The AFl-

CIO thinks so. Here, an electronic journalist offers his opinion on the controversy, by Tom Benfora ERGONOMIC ACCESSORIES FOR :OMFOR!ABLE COMPUTING

92 94

Can I Play with the Computer, Too?reviewedbyJackEmberiy 96

82

Paying attention to the ergonomics (the relationship

between man and his environment) of your equip ment set-up will make your computing more enjOyable.by torn Benford

COMMODORE 64 USERS ONLY Fabulous Figure Maker by NoncyondTomSimmonds SID Plays Bach by tobertAlonso

98 106

USER GROUPS

116

HOW TO ENTER PROGRAMS IN COMMODORE

TECHNICAL TIPS Random Thoughts by Mark Zimmermann

110

The Computer Scientist by Isaac Maiiiz

113

MICROCOMPUTERS

121

ADVERTISERS' INDEX

128 COMMODORi; MiatOCOMIMTliitS

3


STAFF

.ETTERS

Publisher Robert M. Kennoy

Assistani to the Publisher Virginia 0. Dike Editor

Diane LeBold

Assistant Editor Carol Minton Technical Editor

Jim Gracoly Assistant Technical Editor RobSkolski Contributing Editor

Louir. F. Sander Art Director

Robert C.Andersen Assistani Art Director

PROMAL

Nancy Wolker

and develop programs rapidly.

To the Editor: Thank you

When purchased directly from Sys for

your

informative

tems

Management

Associates.

I'KO-

MAL by Walt l.ounsbery in the May/

MAI, is sold with a 15-day moneyhack satisfaction guarantee. Finally,

June

and generally accurate review of I*ROMicrocomputers.

PROMA1. is not copy protected, and a

However. 1 would like to point out a

utility is provided for making backup

few trrors in the article that mlgbl

diskettes.

Commodore

'ihe Sieve of liratosihenes program

mance

fusion. Your readers will gel a compi

graphics and database management,

lation error if they try to compile the

which will be available as inexpensive

program as given in Listing ! of the

options to owners of the standard

article,

package.

error.

due

10

a

typo

Specifically,

the

libraries

for

We are also porting

dore machines, as well as "brand X"

son familiar with PASCAL might also

computers (blue and fruit-type). This

get ihe erroneous impression that the

insures that a user's investment in pro

semicolons in the listing are required. They are not: semicolons are PRO-

grams written for the Commodore (•> i

MAl.'s comment character, which the author apparently used just for spac

dard PROMAL programs will compile

Finally, it is important to note thai

Thanks

again

for

were not discussed that readers might

find significant.

rim,

there

is the

"smart editor," which, after a compi

lation error, will automatically place

the cursor on the offending lint of the program for correction. Since the edi tor

is

co-resident

in

memory

and

therefore instantly available, it is ex ceptionally easy to correct mistakes

4 SUI'TI-MiU-R/ocrOIMiR

MIO ATI ANTIC *ND MW ENGUND

Bob D'Ambrosio Target Media

114 E. Main Street Bogota, NJ 07603

201/488-7900 MIDWEST

Pamela S. Fedor Randy Fedor

your excellent

700 River Road Fair Hoven, NJ 07701

Bruce D. Carbrey

201/745-5784

Director, Software Development Systems Management Associates North Carolina

used.

like to delineate a couple of items that

305/753-4124

article.

size was

room in a four-page review to cover all the features of PROMAL, 1 would

In Florida call:

ami run on all supported machines.

gram will not produce the same test results given in Table .1 of the article,

Although Walt Lounsbery correctly

9320 NW 2nd Street Coral Springs, FL 33065 800/635-6635

is protected for the future, since stan

the author's version of the Sieve pro

pointed out that there isn't enough

Warren Longer Associates

I'RO-

WORD IT™, not BYTE ITER. A per

ing (lie could have used blank lines).

SOUTHEAST/WEST

Warren Longer, Spencer 0. Smith

MAL to additional target computers such as the new generation Commo

different array

John O'Brien Circuloiion Assistani Kathy Reigel Advertising Representatives

high-resolution

fourth line of the program should read

because a

Cheryl Griffith Circulation Manager

the release of our new high perfor

in the article is a potential area of con

apparently

Advertising Assistani

PROMAL users can look forward to

anise confusion 10 readers.

graphical

Advertising Coordinator Sharon Steinhofer

Your Personal Net Worth Totlie Editor: 1 was completely shocked when 1

read Tom Benford's review of Ybur Persona! Net

Worth,

in

which

lie

stated that it was the "best personal

finance package I've seen to date." Mr. Benford should have been more concerned about what the softwareshould do, rather than the easel-type case,

silver

dollar rebate,

and

the

money-manager booklet.

I know (hat there can he a differContmued next pogt

Commodore Microcomputers. Volume 6, Numt>er 5.

Issue 37. Sepiember/October 1985. ISBN 0-B8731047-8. Commodore Microcomputers (ISSN 0744-8724) is published bi-monltily by Contemporary Markelinn. Inc.. 1200 Wilson Drive. West Ctiaslor. PA 193B0U.S.A U.S subscriBer rale is S15.00 per year. Canadian subscriber fate is $20.00 per year Overseas subscriber rale is S25 00 per year. Questions concerning subsetintions should be directed lo Contemporary Marketing Sub scription Department. Boi 651. Ho'mes. PA 19043.

phone |800) 345-BH3. In Pennsylvania (BOO) 662-2444

Copyright ■ ■ 1985 by Contemporary Marketing, Inc. AH ngtiis resorvect Contemporary Marketing also publishes ConwncrJO'i: Potter/Play. Application to mail at Second Class postage rates is pending at West Chester, Pennsylvania 19360 anO addi

tional mailing

of I ices.

POSTMASTER

sen a

address

Manges lo Contemporary Marketing. Bo* 651, Holmes.

PA 19043. VIC 30', Commodore 64"" ant) Super PET- are trade marks ol Commodore Electronics Lid. PET" is a

registered

trademark

ot

Commodore

Business

Machines. Inc. CBM * is a registered trademark ol Cornmod ore Electronics Lid. ABC Membership applied lor.


A WORD PROCESSING PROGRAM I AN INFORMA TIONMANA GEMENT PROGRAM! A TELECOMMUNICATIONSPROGRAMl ALL THREE PROGRAMS, ON ONE DISKETTE!, FOR ONLY $49.95*1 "Quite simply the best! The highest mtingpossible... the package should be part ofevery

(computer) library."—analog computing

"Russ Wetmore has done an EXCELLENTjob! The program isflexible, powerful and very easy to use. $49.95 buys a heck of a lot ofprogram."—review by akthuk leyfvbsrcek "Performance:* * + •(Excellent)Value:• • • -k(Excellent) This three-in-one package is a bargain... one of the finest values on the market." FAMILY COMPUTING

iT WORD PROCESSOR. IOMEFIND INFORMATION MANAGER. HOMETERM telecommunications Together they are HomePak: the three most important and most useful home computer applications in one integrated system — on one diskette! The reviewers are unanimous: ;iny one of

ihe.se programs alone is well worth the price, So you're getting three times Ihc computing power, with this exceptionally easy to use package: • all commands in simple English; no complex

HomeText

computer jargon, no obscure instructions

A com™ „..._.

•nil key commands are immediately available on ihe screen menu: additional commands can lie

1'iilk'fi up fur ihe more experienced user •to help you, system status is displayed right on (he screen

And it's easy to use the three programs together. For example, in the "Merge" mode, you can take data stored in HOMEFIND and print letters and labels

using HOMETEXT. Or. use HOMETKXT 10 write reports based on information you've culled up

via HOMETERM.

BATTERIES 30 Mural Street Richmond Hill, Ontario L«B IBS CANADA 1416)881-9941

76/ex: 06-21-8290

^

INCLUDED T 7B7S Sky Park North, Suite P

Irving, California

The Energized Software Company!" WRITETOUSFORFULlCOtOURCA'I«LOCUEofDUrproclUClstorCOMMODOB6. ATARI,APRtE.andlBMSYSTEMS POt!TECHNICAt.SUPP0l>rOI>t>RO0UCnNFOBUATtOHPLEASEPHONE<'tl6!BB1-9BtG

.MAHIINC i:0»MUOOH!


SOFTWARE

LETTERS

TTCIu MICRO 'Who?" EASY TO AFFORD "Team-Mares mtegrared design has resulted

in a high performance program that Com modore users will discover to be one ol the ben ovailoble. RUN. July 1985 "The beaury Is that at any rime you can go

mfotmation

loss/

10 another without

FAMILY

are harder to use.

ticle. If he thought his accountant was

viewer if I did not mention these lit

pulling bis hair out before, his ac countant will go bald when he sees

all value of the product.

box accountant," as he Mated In bis ar

EASY TO USE,

from one program

ence of opinion, but having firsthand knowledge of this program's Inade quate primed records makes me be lieve that Mr. Benford really is a "shoe

COMPUTING.

the records from Net Worth. The se vere Limitations In reference and check number areas make ibis pro

gram almost completely worthless for concise record reference.

I should be surprised thai Touche

In addition to being a worthwhile program, several nice "extras" are

included with the disks. I would be remiss in

my obligations as a re

tle extras that contribute to the over I'm sorry the product did not prove adequate for your needs. I'm sure that the majority of users, how

ever, will be as delighted with it as I was.

November 1964.

Ross would allow their name to be

The Print Shop

"The File Monagerallowsmdividuolized file

used in connection

1b the Editor: In the May/June issue,

with

this pro

formats...A wide variety ranges from the

gram. I am sure that no executive of

ability to create printed lists,,.to a selective

'louche Ross would allow his personal accounting records to he documented

report featuie that lets you accesso certain

group of records." RUN. April 1985. "Worth the money, if only (or rhe spread sheet. " InfoWorld. Dec. 17. 1984.

in the extremely poor manner al lowed by Net Worth.

trix printer.

Larry W. Zeigler

Broderbund has told me that the

Seven Hiils. Ohio

program will not work with a 1526/

Author Tom Benfbrd replies: a commercial software product

gram comes in states thai it is for the

"As a marnoge of convenience and value.

the

program

succeeds

fearures,"

Commodore

Microcomputer.

May-June 1985.

such as Your Personal Net Worth is

Team-Mare.Write File,

Home Office, Plus Graph Your Personal Accountant "Colorful graphics, sprightly music, and a variety of obstacles help keep rhe game lively."

COMPUTE'S

MPS-802 printer. The box the pro

handsomely...Tri

Micros spreadsheet possesses impressive

Gazette

December

1964. "Rug Rider is definitely a challenge. It gives the hard core game playei as much action

and thrills as he or she could possibly want." POWER PLAY. April 1965.

Rug Rider. Enrerrainei 1, Corom

Snowdrifts & Sunny Skies, Ghosr Town

151s;,

1525/MPS-801, and MPS-803

dot matrix printers only.

designed to appeal to the broadest

fobn I'. Ilamshaiv

possible number of users. This pro gram is specifically targeted at the "average" borne user—not a busi

Fidlerton, California Cathy Carlston. vice president at

ness user. My reviews reflect a prod

Broderbund,

uct's usefulness and worth from the

lowing printers are supported by The Print Shop: I-pson RX-80/MX-80

"average" user's point of view. From

explains that the fol

the sound ofyour letter and the inad

and 100/FX-80 and IOO/JX-80, Star

equacies you mention, I'm led to be lieve your needs are not average. I

Micronics lOXand lyX, Legend S80, Panasonic KX-P1090/1091, /Hue

stand by my original recommenda

Chip, Mannesmann Tally Spirit 80.

tion of the product for the average

C-Itoh 8510 (Proivriter), NEC8023A, Okidata 92/93, and Comniodore

user.

Secondly,

I never stated I was a

"shoe box accountant." I am not an

AND THERE ARE TWO

there is a

software review of The Print Shop by Broderbund. The article states that the software will work with any dot ma

VIC 1525 ami MPS-801.

The list is

updaleil periodically as new printers

accountant nor did I state or imply

are introduced. A label is displayed

that I was. 1 did state, however, that I

prominently on the outside of the

Every purchase made between now and

keep my receipts in a shoe box; the

January 15. 1986. will include a valuoble

package

program lets me print out a record

changes made to the program.

REASONS TO BUY NOW

coupon booh 'with sovings on computer magozine

subscriptions,

diskettes,

com

puter boohs, accessories and software. in addition, every one who mails in his warranty registration will

receive mem

bership in the PLUS EXCHANGE, o user group of Tn Micro software, for three months

Now rhat you know us berrer, nexr time you shop for software, instead

of

saying

"WHO?",

you'll

say

■HELLO!"

of the

data

contained on

to

reflect

all

these

receipts. I also never said my accountant

was pulling his hair out. fie is quite delighted, in fact, that my financial

Commodore Microcomputers wel comes letters from readers. Do you

record

have an unusual application for your

keeping

is

now

rather than haphazard,

organized,

as in

the

I

Commodore computer? Do you wish to comment on an article? Would you

past.

slated

that

Your

Personal

Net

Worth was one of the best personal finance programs I've seen to date. I

like to make a suggestion on how we can better serve our readers?

Please

send them to:

TRIUMICRO

did not say it was the best program,

a/though I can think ofseveral simi

1200 Wilson Drive

14072 Stratton Way, Santa Ana, CA 92705

tar programs of equal price that do

West Chester, I'A 19.180

(714) 832-6707

not provide as many features and

ATTNj Letters

4 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

technical

Commodore Microcomputers

Q


the ultimate ffiafegy game!

L**^

o

&

^ :

Ml

orite real team against an

ffi- ■■

lenger? Take on the '27 Yanks, with Ruth & Gehrig, the '75 Big Red Machine, the '84 World Champion Tigers, or any c

powerhouse team!

'■ CLEVELAND ■

Manage any team, past or present, in the MicroLeagu. Not a "pretend," joystick game! MicroLeague is a computer

simulation game using real players and Iheir performance— with stats endorsed by the Players Association. You manage a real team, with all Ihe strategies ol big league

TTZZfrflTW.

managers! Pick your lineups, choose your spots lor sieafs,

k'fl.v like being in

pinch-hitters, relief pitchers, bunts, and much morel

out!"

• For 2 players, or if no one's around, play against the "Baseball Buddha," the computer's built-in manager. And to complete your MicroLeague Game. . . gel each sea

ifa, Delia! Irp'r

son's NL and AL roster/player disk—all 26 teams (S19.9S).

Update rosters & state, trade & draft players—aven create

: 1984 MicmlDagiHi Spurts Atsoclatim 23 East Cleveland Are., Newark, M19711

your own team—wtth MIcroLeagues GMiOmter disk f$39.9f

Available for Apple II series, Commodore 64, Atari 800 & XL, IBM PC/PCjr. Your retail store can gel MLB from these distributors:

CDC- (312) 775-DISK • APEX: 800-343-7535 • TRIANGLE: 800-245-6711 Computer Software Service: 800-422-4912 • SDS: 800-828-7250

FflP (fiPBCt VISA, MC, COD 0Pd6PS

pan onn.PI flVRfll nnfQn91QCfl.OQOn

C0MMTRON: 800-622-1333 • FIRST SOFTWARE 800-343-1290 W*U-0wru»l»U-»I W«KJ«» 33SU liicl[fgi>s jn0insigniasi]ujiiLltilOJi?lthci:Kr.iii' si :.ii.i.''iiv mI Major litfrjue BasuU.jii [in? American I i-.i :■ ■ 3rd inv rtsoeciive Major league Clu&s. and fnay "W be reproduce wiihoui trieir wrj

me Vi'i.

I ■■ _ n.>

expos'


NEWS

Business Management Simulation .Dine Chip Software (6740 Eton Avenue, Canoga Park, CA 91303) has released American Dream, a robotics manufacturing business simulation for the Commodore 64.

You are CEO of the company with seven department heads reporting to you. General economic as well as industry-specific trends

fluctuate independently of your business decisions. These factors include the gross national product, inflation, interest rates, competitors' prices, industry demand, labor rates, raw material prices, and lead times,

Your two objectives are to increase market shares and profitability. Your performance is measured at the end of each session by

calculating peak monthly profit, revenue, and shareholder's equity. Price was unavailable at press time,

Automatic Boot-Loader Cartridge for the 64 I hose who work with computer bulletin boards, security systems, or other constant-use applications for the Commodore 64

will be interested in Input Systems' (15600 Palmetto Lake Drive. Miami. FL 33157) ABL-64, a program that will re-boot and run an essential program after a power failure, even if the computer is left unattended.

When ABL-64 is installed In the expansion port and there is a power failure, ABL-64 is re-activated the instant power is restored. There is a timer aboard which counts up to 15 seconds. During that time, if an operator is present, he or she may invoke manual control over the program through the keyboard. With no operator present, after 15 seconds ABL-64 boots and runs a pre-selected program from the disk. It can also pick up where it left off before the power failure.

The package includes cartridge, instruction manual, and listings of two utility programs. The suggested list price is $39.95

Temperature Lab

Temp?

1 emperature Lab, the first offering in a new science laboratory software series for the Commodore 64, has been introduced by Hayden Software (600 Suffolk Street, Lowell, MA 01854], Designed to transform a home or classroom into an inexpensive science research center, Temperature Lab enables students to conduct scientific temperature experiments.

Temperature Lab features a unique temperature sensor, or "electronic thermometer," that plugs into an Interface module connected to the computer's game port. Using this sensor, students can record temperatures and see them displayed on-screen. An alcohol-bulb thermometer is also included with the program to compare directly

measured temperatures with readings taken by the electronic sensor interface. The software itself enables the users to choose between Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature readings, to compare temperature

scales on the same screen, to vary the time length for each experiment, and to -

display data in either graph or table form. In

-' addition, testing data may be stored on disk either for printing or for later use.

A comprehensive Experimenter's Guide Is provided which contains step- by-step detailed Instructions for performing several different temperature experiments. Each experiment is de

signed to tie in with the scientific concepts outlined in the guide. Temperature Lab has a suggested retail price of S99.95

fl SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER


PAUL MCCARTNEY'S m

rilX MM |tBO

i

■»

!*- -

s

the critics said.. | A

PI

«■■■■■"*«_

■■■■■■■■■■mi ;6amc

wwa inmw

SSSSS Mastertronic once again have brought you a world beating program for your Commmodore 64/128.

943 Action Filled Screens at an incredible price of $9.99. The package includes full colour posters and a large fold out map of the playing area. This amazing 'program of the year* features music from

RPaul McCartney's Band on the Run album. ■-

r. _il

_■ i ■•

t. .

For further details on this Great New

Circle Reader Service No. 40

Prosram and all other chart-busters from fXfMl RQ1! RR77

Mastertronic call the HOTLINE on...

1UUIJ W»IU UU I I

Mastertronic International Inc., Coiporate Headquarters, 7311B Grove Road, Frederick Maryland 21701.


NEWS

Commodore Announces UnixÂŽ-Compatible

Business System \Jommodore recently announced plans to market the Commodore 900, a multi-user, multi-tasking, Unix-compatible business system that can support up

to eight work stations, The system uses the Coherent* operating system, which is fully compatible with AT & T's Unix System V, version 8.2

Two Configurations The Commodore 900 is available in two configura tions: as a personal work station with a 1024- by 800-pixel bit-mapped display, and as a multi-user business system supporting up to eight stand-alone terminals.

According to a company spokesperson, the system's 10S4 x 800 high-resolution configuration allows you to create graphics previously found only on systems

costing up to five times as much. In this configura tion, the 900 can be mouBe-drlven and uses a sophisti

cated window manager for both text and graphics windows. Its "bit-bit" chip allows fast screen opera tions, so windowing is quick and easy. This configura tion also allows the use of many different text fonts and proportional spacing for quick, accurate docu ment processing.

The system's multi-user business configuration

comes packaged with an integrated terminal, which acts as the first user terminal. Additional terminals are stand-alone, industry-standard, RS232 character-

mode terminals.

Hardware and Software Features The heart of the Commodore 900 is a Z8001 chip running at 10 MHz. Standard features are 512K of RAM (expandable to two

, megabytes); a 20-megabyte built-in hard disk drive; a LS-megabyte built-in 5-1/4" floppy disk drive; two RS232 ports (more ports can be added with an expansion card); an IEEE-488 port; a Centronics parallel printer port; and four expansion slots. A "C" com piler, business BASIC compiler and more than 50 utilities are also included with the system. The optional high-resolution mono

chrome monitor Is available with either a 14- or 20-inch screen. Other hardware options include a hard disk drive with 40- or 6?-megabyte storage capacity, streaming cartridge tape for hard disk back up, an additional floppy disk drive, memory expansion up to two megabytes and a multi-user card with eight additional RS233 ports. Software options for the system include a COBOL language environment, a Pascal compiler, a virtual device interface for han

dling graphics devices such as plotters and intelligent graphics terminals, and a plotting package for generating graphs.

Coherent Operating System

The Commodore 900's Coherent operating system is compatible with Unix System V, but is more compact. As a result, according to Commodore's engineers, it offers several advantages over the standard Unix operating Bystem. For instance, because Coherent occupies less memory, more memory is available for programs. Programs also load and run faster and use less disk space. The

Coherent system also allows a larger number of users than would be possible on an equivalent system running standard Unix.

—Diane LeBold

10 SKPTEMBKR/OCTOBER


Circle Reader Service No- 30 "Commodore 64 it a

Trad#mjrk of Commodore Electronic*. LTD. rti TMl product li manu'icturtd by r^ivjrone lr>dvitri for uiq on the Commodore 64 computer and li not midf. ipomorto'. juiha-ncd or approved


Screen Dump

Utilities

NEWS

8n'napshot, a universal screen-dumping utility program for

the Commodore 64. is Joined by two new versions written espe

cially for Commodore printers. While the original Snapshot works with Epson- and Gemini-type printers, the Snapshot-Cl works with the Commodore 1525 and MPS-801 printers, and the Snapshot-CÂŁv!OT)is with the Commodore 1526 and MPS-803, All three versions operate identically and are controlled by only four keypresses. After loading, one keypress produces a quarter-page and another keypress produces a full-page print

out of the entire screen (dot-for-dot. Including sprites). The dumps may be made at any time, regardless of display mode or screen memory location. A third keypress produces a reversed

picture and a fourth aborts the dump before completion. With three different wedge locations, a clear memory-seeking

system, and restore-button activation, Snapshot will produce printouts during a run without disturbing the program in

memory. All but the most sophisticated and highly protected programs are compatible. Of course, the screen may also be dumped Indirect "READY" mode. Snapshot-CZis particularly exciting because the printers it

works with do not have a true graphics mode. The dump is fast and has a minimum of printhead shaking,

All three versions are available on disk for S24.95 each from Computer Revelations at 76 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Rldgewood, NJ 07450. Be sure to specify printer.

Education Software Using a Light Pen LicroEd (P.O. Box 444005, Eden Prairie, MN 55344) has introduced a light pen series for the Commodore 64 consisting of 80 programs that teach youngsters beginning word-attack skills that are normally taught In kindergarten through third grade. Enti tled Point &Read, the series is also popular with educators in special education. Using a light pen as a response device simplifies instructional procedures, an important consideration for individuals with learning disabilities. The series can be purchased in four packages having a combined total of 14 disks. The suggested retail prices for these packages

are S74.95 for package one (three disks), S74.95 for package two (three disks), S99.95 for package three (four disks), and S99.95 for package four (four disks).

Accounting Package

En, . inancial Partner, a total bookkeeping system for small business and personal use, has been introduced by Practical Programs

(P.O. Box 93104, Milwaukee. WI53S03). Designed for the Commodore 64, the system eliminates the need for tedious, manual recordkeeping.

For professionals and entrepreneurs writing under 150 checks a month, Financial Partner provides an easy but powerful sys tem for keeping track of Income and expenses, In the home, Financial Partner assists the user in organizing and managing house hold finances. A file of commonly used business and individual accounts can be stored and maintained. Features of financial Partner include automatic maintenance of the checkbook balance and easy reconciliation with bank state ments. With the record retrieval feature, Financial Partnered search for Information such as payee names, dates, account num bers, transaction numbers, and check numbers.

The program prints checks and also addresses labels and envelopes. It prepares and prints a list of financial transactions, ledger accounts, income statements, and balance sheets.

The program retails for S74.95. 12 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

More News mi page '-'•


I

A WTNDOWTO OUR GALAXY £!■

11:15.1'

Learn About the Stars

Ori

Won

Prepare to embark on a tour,

of the planets, stars,- and ' constellations with your ■*

st nscN

Commodore 64! , .

THE CHART

T

MODE

Whether you're sirrjply a . frequent stargazer or atrue

astronomy buff, SKY-TRAVEL can be your vital link to our-.' wonderful universe..

.

;

[T1

Easily the most accurate and '

-iStt its

complete-astronomy program on the market today!

10

Learn important planetary

Uiiiude: t

^ jc

facts. Print out astronomical

rJ U

I.0N6TUDE

charts or exact replicas of the

sky. You'll even have the .

THE MAP MODE

power to view any astronomi cal happening—10,000 years into the past or future.; SKYTRAVEL: A Window To Our Galaxy, Educational Software from Commodore...

if only Galileo could see us now!

iil.

v; THE SUNSET

WITH SKYTRAVEL

COMMODORE^

THE OFFICIAL COMPUTER COMPANY for the Young Astronauts Program


SOFTWARE REVIEWS

REVIEWED KY MAHKCOTONE

Injured Engine Computer:

Commodore 64

Publisher:

I magic

Injured Engine will not turn you

2400 Bayshorc Frontage Rd. Mountain View, CA

into a gold-

Disk

monkey over

Retail Price: S3 i-99

xVs sure as the lick thai becomes the

night. What it will

tap that becomes the clank, its inevi

do is educate you

table that, sooner or later, each one of us will have our turn on the high

[magic would like to suggest a far presenting Injured

Engine: a lull-color computer sim

»>-.

t:.

-

w.it li

maintain and

cluster of components which lie smol

dering beneath the car's gaping hood. Label it this: learning the hard way.

uf

on how to

way's shoulder, Btaring blankly at the

easier lesson by

wrenched grease

94043 Medium:

prolong the life of your car's engine.

ulation of a functional tour-cylinder engine.

The program's main screen displays a precise cross-sect ion of an operating maintain a healthy engine. It's now

fixed

elapsed time becomes the score.

while an Instrument panel responds

time to put your newly acquired knowledge lo the lest with a full-scale

accordingly,

simulation.

program works well. The complexi

engine. anil

Pistons pump,

fans

.spin

in

bells churn.

realistic

monitoring

fashion,

revolutions

per minute, oil pressure, running tem

Choosing between a used engine

As an educational tool, this entire ties of a ear engine are presented on a

simple level, allowing the general user

(easy),

behind

immediately

80,000 miles (hard), the object is to

sacrificing realism.

recognize these gauges, and need only

throttle up, cruise along, and cor rectly tTOUbleshOOl engine-related

Bach moving part is brightened with

briefly

will

familiarize

themselves

with

miles

The

per gallon. Anyone who has ever been

40,000 miles

1,000

maladies.

christened

wheel

either

major

perature, battery charge, and miles the

with

five

(medium),

or

When you

to comprehend the concepts without The visuals arc detailed and crisp.

terms and layout before delving Into

problems as they arise.

this tutorial trilogy. The first pan of the program is the

think you've come across a potential

The specifications,

intense hues to facilitate inspection.

disorder, you then switch into a Re

thing from engine operation to the

covering every

foundation. It features an encyclope

pair Shop mode to first examine the

price of parts and their longevity, arc

dic outline where yon can view the

car anil

a.s accurate as one could expect.

different engine systems and learn the

parts.

function of each part, either individu

A

ally or interactively within the engine.

For Simplicity's sake, the designers

then

purchase replacement

The text which solidifies this whole-

cost-per-mile meter on

strument

panel

will

the in

compute

package is

both clear

and

concise,

your

thoroughly explaining each system in

efficiency. It' you correctly identify

detail, without getting tangled in autO-

have divided the engine into five sepa

the engine ailment, and don't

mis

mative jargon. To be sure, Injured

rate systems: the lubrication system,

appropriate

the four-stroke cycle, the electrical/ig-

low

and

cash,

your

lingine will not turn you into a gold-

will

prove

your

wrenched grease monkey overnight.

nicion system, die cooling system, and

competence.

nor will it replace such reliable op

the fuel and carburetor system. You

tions as Chllton's manuals or the local

can request an overview of each area

This entire exercise is taken one step further in the Trouble shooter

ai any time, which includes a sum

Challenge, the third leg of this pro

educate you on how to maintain and

mary of overall execution, a detailed

gram. Here, the would-be mechanic is

prolong the life of your car's engine.

explanation of each pan's function,

docked on his ability to spot and sub

and. more importantly, a discussion of

stitute

The

labor upwards of S35 an hour, this

the

time

expenditure

worn

or broken

pans.

service station ace. What it will do is

And with the price of mechanics'

computer generates an engine with

program is not only educational and

Here you can learn those diagnostic

two broken parts, and continues gen

entertaining,

skills thai will later be called upon to

erating faulty parts until the player has

well.

symptoms

of engine

14 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBmi

difficulty.

but

cost-effective

as E


A QUICK DATA™ DRIVE IS 20 TIMES FASTER THAN AUDIO CASSETTES, LOADS FASTER THAN A COMMODORE DISK DRIVE, AND COSTS $84.95.

MONEY-SAVING PACKAGES THE MICROWAFER OFFICE: $139.95 Includes: 170K Quick Data Drive ($84.95); Unbelievable'!1 Believe it. The Quick Data Microwafer™ Drive is a new drive technology thai

loads a 24K program in 20 seconds vs. 8 minutes for

a cassette drive or 1 minute for a Commodore Disk Drive.

Unbeatable price. One 170K drive: $84.95. Two drive 340K system: $154.95. Factory direct, with a full 30-day guarantee. If you're not delighted with yourQuick Data Drives, return them within 30 days for a full refund. No questions asked. Software included. All Quick Data Drives come

with the QOS'" operating system, system utilities

and easy-to-use instructions. Plus a blank Micro-

wafer. You can be up and running in about five minutes. Lois of software. Dozens of leading programs are available on Microwafers. Or, you can use Entrepo QOS to copy your existing Basic Programs to

Microwafers from either cassette or diskette.

Mix-and-match. You can daisy-chain (he Quick Data Drive with your existing cassette recorder by plugging it into the cassette port, or, use two QDD's

linked together for dual drive capability, No problem. I:

fhIiE

.lE I III

nil i

If y<ni urn nor completely aalisfifi! wLtb yDUl Quirk Datl

Driver Syitam, reiurn it t<i Bntropo, lac. wiihin :i(> days fnj- h. full refund. Vnur Byalsi IE .ilflo iuvrn:tl by a 90 <Jnv trorranly [tRainsI f.iilim^ or delects iri in.nmf.uJure.

is a Irarirnurk of Com i' ■!

Internal! mm I, Ini:.

Word Manager word processor ($34.95]; Plan

Manager spread sheet ($34.95): the Speed File file manager ($69.95}. A $189.85 value for $139.95. THE MICROWAFER TEACHER:

$129.95

Includes: 170K Quick Data Drive ($84.!)5); General Math; Spelling; plus Typing Tutor. A $159.HO value for $129.95. THE MICROWAFER ENTERTAINER:

$119.95

Includes: 170K Quick Data Drive ($84.95); plus, three of the must popular game programs for

Commodore computers. A $174.00 value for

$119.95.

THE PHANTOM QOS PACKAGE:

$99.95

Includes: 170K Quick Data Drive ($84.95);

Phantom QOS KOM Cartridge thai quickly loads

and locates the operating system In ROM outside

the computer's main memory ($29.95). A $114.90

value for $99.95. ORDERING DIRECT FROM ENTREPO.

Commodore" 64'" owners. Call us at the toll free number below. Give us your VISA or MasterCard Credit Card number, loll us which package you want.

It will be On its way to you the following day. Simple

as that. Allow $3.00 for shipping and postage. Really fast delivery? Add $10 for overnight package nxpress. TOLL FREE ORDERING: 1 (800) 231-0251

o. Int: C4innnndon*M"

© 19B5 Entrn|io, hii:.

Circle Reader Service No. 16

IN CALIFORNIA 1 (800) 048-4114

entrepo


SOFTWARE REVIEWS

REVIEWED BY CHERYL PETERSON

Forecast!

FORECAST

Computer:

Commodore 64

Publisher:

CDS Software

MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES

One Fawcett Place

Greenwich, CT 06836 Medium:

SCATTERED SHOWERS-

Disk

Retail Price: 349.95

LITTLE CHANGE

TEMPERATURES

J\re iliose clouds threatening or will they blow over harmlessly? I low much longer is it going to rain? Will it

LIGHT AND VARIABLE

WINDS

snow tomorrow?

forecast! provides answers lo these

hAty

kinds of questions. The program helps you understand the principles used to predict the weather and teaches the methods meteorologists apply to de fine weather patterns and

pressure

systems. Should you become a true

weather

aficionado,

Forecast!

will

track the weather on a daily basis and yield a printout of the month's perti

Fahrenheit and vice versa, millibars to

You may want to go back to the main

inches of mercury and vice versa, and

menu and use the weather traveler to

miles

check typical temperatures for Janu

per

hour

(or

kilometers

per

in tracking severe weather systems

mulas for doing these calculations are

ary in your area of the country, or do something else besides continue with

like hurricanes, Forecast! includes a

included in the documentation.

the forecast. Where's the escape?

nent weather data. If you're interested

hour) to knots and vice versa. The for

have lo enter latitude and longitude as

Once you get past that, though, each screen asks for some data rele vant to Us calculations. Usually that

The program has a marvelously in

numbers. A.s in other sections, you use

data can be entered by inputting a

structive manual thai teaches every

the cursor keys lo position a pointer.

number or by raising or lowering a

thing from barometric pressure lo the importance of wet-bulb thermometer

In this case, you move the little hurri

pointer. A thermometer i.s used to en

cane graphic to the correct point on

ter temperature, for instance. Using

readings. With a glossary and bibliog

the map. After plotting several loca

the up and down cursors, you posi

raphy, it can be used to search out any

tions, the computer can analyze the

tion the column of "mercury" to the

we at her-related

hurricane's track and predict its future

mapping system that extrapolates a

The hurricane tracking program is

storm's future path by analyzing loca

especially

tion ploitings and travel velocity.

nice

because

you

don't

like. The documentation reads just

motion.

correct level. Unless of course, the temperature is 79 degrees Fahrenheit.

like a high school textbook, complete

Unfortunately, the program has few instructions regarding bow to actually

would skip from 7H to HO no matter

use it. Outside of the initial load com

how carefully 1 pressed the cursor

mand, the program manual expects

keys. I finally ended up just entering

data for each day. The program re

you to benefit from the software's

the numeric value.

quests the time, amounts and types of

completely menu-driven structure.

with

italicized

information

you'd

firsi-use definitions,

and cibles and illustrations galore.

Bitter temperature and precipitation

precipitation,

minimum

and

maxi

While the graphics are very attrac

Hut when you do make your menu

and

hit

RETURN,

you

For some reason, my Forecast! copy

are

tive, they .slow the program down so much that 1 wonder how long young

mum temperatures, cloud conditions,

choice

and special notes such as thunder and

greeted with the prompt "Hit any key

sters will persist through one- to two-

lightning, or hail and freezing rain.

to continue." This may be intended as

minute repeated access waits. Fortu

This data is then reviewed and printed

a safety feature, but, because it ap

nately, only the forecaster module has

out in standard weather report form.

pears repeatedly {after almost every

this fascination tor pictures.

Another option will give you tem perature

and

precipitation

averages

and extremes for major cities in the United Slates.

The

tables

used

for

input),

it

means entering one extra

keystroke for each valid one.

Also, when you choose an option from the main menu, the program you

Because of the many modules in cluded with this program and the ex cellent graphics and documentation, I

can't help but recommend Forecast!.

compiling the reports include data tor the last ten years. You can compare this information for any two large cit

want to use is loaded. But what hap

Yes, it's a little complicated, Hut then,

pens when you realize that you don't

so is the weather.

With the proper

know whether the barometer is rising

adult supervision,

youngsters could

ies in the twelve geographic areas.

or falling, which direction the wind is

also use this program to gain an un

coming from, or whether your tem

derstanding of what's going on in the

peratures are Fahrenheit or Celsius?

evening weather report.

A weather calculator is included to

allow you lo easily change Celsius to

\t SBPTHMBERJOCTOBER

Q


PIANO ROLLS PLAYED ON A MIDI INSTRUMENT

ARE YOU KIDDING?!!!

NOW YOU CAN TURN YOUR HOME COMPUTER INTO AN ENTERTAINMENT CENTER AND MUSIC EDUCATION MACHINE.

QRS has taken ihe experience of 85 years in the music business and made a transition into the high tech future. The appearance of the MIDI on home organs and synthesizers opens up a whole new future (or music. The QRS player piano rolls from 1900 to present day were performed by grea! artists from Scott Joplin, Fatts Waller, and George Gershwin to Liberace, Peter Nero, and other contem porary artists. Most ol this library of over 10,000 songs has been converted to digital signals and placed on floppy disks that are available for popular microcomputers. The microcomputer will now extend musical entertainment for home, school, and commercial use. In addi tion, QRS has developed inexpensive MIDI interlaces and cables that link computer and keyboard.

THE COMMODORE VERSION IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR ONLY $49.95. THE PACKAGE INCLUDES A MIDI INTERFACE AND A SIX SONG SAMPLE DISK WITH CLASSICAL, CONTEMPORARY, SHOW MUSIC, and even RHAPSODY IN BLUE played by the author GEORGE GERSHWIN that you can enjoy with your MIDI equipped instrument." For more information about other supported computers and MIDI cables call or write:

QfS

(201) 838-5606

1026 Niagra Street Buffalo, New York 14213

DISTRIBUTING. INC. 1342B Route 23 Butler, New Jersey 07405

Dealer & Distributor Inquiries Invited "Fof foem fmrloimanco an sight voice polyphonic mslrumunl is required.

CommodDio 13 n mgislurefl Itaaemark ol CommoOore Business Machlnss Inc.

Circle Reader Service No. 20


SOFTWARE REVIEWS

UliVHLWIiD BV GLORGli HIL1-KMAN

Gertrude's Secrets,

Gertrude's Puzzles and Rocky's Boots i i m 111 h 11 c,:

Commodore 64

Publisher:

The Learning Company 545 Middlefidd Road

Menlo Park, CA 94025 Medium:

Disk

Retail Price: 129-95, 129-95, K34.93 XJvrtriuk- 's Secrets, Gertrude "s Puz

zles, and Rooky's /Soots work magic like- few Other educational programs.

These three classics, now available for Commodore 64 owners, will make you and your children very glad you bought your computer. All three programs create a simple

world where the player moves a box around screen-sized rooms using ei

ther the joystick or (he [-J-K-M keys. The borders Of every room contain one or more magic doors thai lead 10

other rooms, changing the screen the moment

the

player's

box

passes

through. Rooms contain objects that can

be

picked

up,

moved,

and

dropped with the joystick button or

the space bar. The whole effect is intuitive and

colors. The object of each game is to

There are no nerve-

discover Gertrude's secrei rules by

wracking time limits

them in boxes. If a piece sticks, it be

or invading aliens

longs in the box: doesn't.

if it falls out, it

When all of the pieces are

placed where they belong, the player

in these games. More

is rewarded with a brief flashing dis play and a graphic prize. After earning

importantly, there

six prizes in a row, the little learner is

are no losers.

crowned "Secret Master." The simplest puzzle room is fur nished with a single large box. The

easy lor kids of all ages to understand.

The first few sereen/rooms of each

picking up game pieces and putting

up

rapid-tire

drills

programs

and

exercises,

encourage

explor

object is to come up with a rule for

each shape to go in a box. All red

program are designed to teach new

these

players the tools of the trade. They

atory learning. While most so-called

shapes? All triangles? Next to this sin

tan he bypassed by experienced play

educational programs take control of

gle-loop room is a double-loop room

ers who want to go straight to the

the student, these programs put the

with

game rooms.

learner in charge.

box has a secret rule, and the overlap

The programs are forgiving. There are no nerve-wracking time limits or

tured, creative play offers all kinds of

ping area is affected by both rules. For

educational

example, if only blue pieces go in one

invading aliens in these games. More

flash cards can't- possihly deliver.

This kind of struc

benefits

thai

electronic

two

interlocking boxes.

Each

of the boxes and only squares go in a

the other box, then blue squares go in

game allows children to keep trying

package of puzzle-solving games for

the intersection of the two boxes.

until they succeed.

children aged four to ten. (That's what

Your child may not know it, hut this is

the package says, anyway. But

I've

rudimentary mathematical set theory

importantly, there are no losers. Every

They're 1'un. Children love explor

Consider

Gertrude s

Secrets,

ing the imaginary worlds created by

seen both 3 year-olds and

33 year-

disguised as a game. The perception,

these

categorization, and reasoning skills re

programs contain just the right mix of

olds have a great time with this one!) The player takes Gertrude the Goose

exploratory learning, animated play,

to one of several puzzle rooms and

and

drops her

in both reading and math. In Gertrude's train rooms,

friendly

rewards

programs.

to

All

three

capture most

any

child's imagination and attention. They're creative. Instead of serving

18 SBPTBMBPJl/OCTODER

there.

Gertrude immedi

inforced by this game are important

the

ately flies off and returns with a string

boxes are connected by lines in train-

of puzzle pieces of various shapes and

Conttnued on />h.k<' -"


New 128 news If you've ordered the new Commodore 128™ or you're thinking about it, Sams has news for you! A new book: The first and only official guide to Commodore's exciting new business computer. Now you can read all about the

Commodore 128 and its three differ

ent operating modes—64™ 128, and CP/M® You'll learn how to

Best of all, you'll learn how the 128 can work for you at the office or at home. So whether you've already ordered the 128 or are get ting ready to, you'll find Sams Offi cial Guide a wise investment.

Get the book that's making headlines. Get Sams Official Com modore 128 book. Visit your local Sams dealer. Or call our toll-free number and ask for Operator 205. The Official Bookfor the Com modore 128 Personal Computer,

No. 22456, $12.95.

800-428-SAMS

In Indiana, call 317-298-5566

use spreadsheets, and word proc

essing, choose peripherals, create graphics and animation, run CP/M programs, and more.

Howard W. Sams& Co., Inc.

4300 West 62nd Street Indianapolis, in 46268

Circle Reader Service No. 37


SOFTWARE REVIEWS the importance of these simple tools

like sequence. In one train room, the

connectors are single lines, and pieces must be put in boxes so each consecu tive pair of pieces i.s different in one way (color or shape). Another train

has double-line connectors, requiring thai consecutive objects differ in two

ways, and a third has a mixture of both kinds of connectors. There's no

one right answer to any of these puz zles; the child is rewarded for any cor rect sequence.

Ciertrude has another pair of puzzle rooms

furnished

with

is in the many ways they can be put

Programs like these,

together, and that's what the rest of

Rocky's Boots Is all about.

which teach logic,

The "Rocky's Boots" level is where

reasoning, problemsolving, and creative

the actual game begins, The player chooses from games with names like "Diamonds or Green" and "'Non-Cir cles."

Each of these games assigns

design are very

point values to all of the available

special.

shape. The player's goal is to design a

game pieces according to color and

circuit to "kick" (activate) only those objects with positive point values, us

two-dimen

sional arrays (grids), one with three

too, even if they don't understand

ing logic gates and Rocky's boot, an

rows

everything they see. The program has

electric-powered

a main menu offering six choices:

player builds a machine, he or she

and three

columns,

and

the

other with four-by-four dimensions.

kicker.

Once

the

Each row and each column represents

1. How to Move

turns on the juice and watches the

a rule, so each box has two rules. That

2. Building Machines

results. If the machine doesn't work

means that each puzzle piece has ex actly one correct home. The object of

3. Logic Gates

as designed, experimentation, debug

4. Rocky's Hoots

the game is to bring everything home.

5. Flip Flops

ging, and rebuilding are in order. Level

five

introduces

three

new

6. Rocky's Challenge

electronic components—FLIP FLOP,

squares can get old, so she has another

Choice one teaches basic movement

CLOCK, and DELAY—which are nec

room lull of alternate shapes. When a

skills used throughout the program,

essary to build the 32 more complex machines in

and picks another shape, a whole new

and shows the keystroke combina tions that can be used to turn the

set

sound off/on and bring help to the

Challenge" also has options for de

Gertrude knows that triangles and

player wanders into the shape room of

pieces

(animals,

spaceships,

the

IS

rooms

of the

"Rocky's Challenge" level. "Rocky's

replaces

screen. The second option shows you

signing

the geometric shapes. And if she can't find the shapes she's looking for, she

how the machines in this tiny world

games in progress. And for those who

run on orange-colored electricity. The

don't want to play structured games

can go to the shape-editing room and

player, who appears on-screen as an

at all, there's always the option of in

build a

orange box, can turn anything on by

venting and building

touching its input socket. This section also introduces

lor fun.

hats,

nonsense

characters)

custom set using a simple

shape editor that works like many of

the popular sprite editors for the 64. If your children are eight or older.

the

simple rules for building machines in

custom

games

and

saving

machines just

On-screen instructions are always available in all three of these pro

grams, but the manuals are still worth

they can still learn something from

Rocky's world: Arrows (outputs) from

Ciertrude with Gertrude's Puzzles, a more advanced program designed for

one object can be connected only to .sockets (inputs) of other ohjects; elec

ity, with complete instructions, learn

children between ages 8 and 13. The

tricity can flow only one way; sensors

ing

only real difference beiween these two programs is in the complexity of the puzzles. For example, while the

turn on and produce electricity when

jectives, and suggested additional learning activities. The Rocky's Hoots

they're touched by the objects they're designed to sense; and so on. Instead

a look. They're all of the highest qual lists

outlining

educational

ob

manual also includes solutions to the

easiest of the loop puzzles in Puzzles.

rial allows and encourages the user to

Two Loops is the only pu/zle the two

learn by doing. And at the end of the

puzzles in "Rocky's Challenge," a map of the 15 rooms on that level, and a glossary defining real-world electronic parts and those unique to

programs have in common. In addi

teaching tour, there's a practice room

this game.

tion to :t three-loop puzzle, Puzzles also has a pair of box puzzles similar

for experimenting with the ideas just

two-loop puzzle was the most diffi

of just listing or displaying each new

cult loop puzzle in Secrets,

eonccpl, this carefully-devised tuto

it's the

to the arrays in Secrets.

Rocky's Boots looks a lot like the Gertrude games, and it builds on the

logical and perceptual foundation laid by those programs. Hut Rocky's /loots is a much more sophisticated learning game that teaches nothing less than

introduced.

The third menu path uses the same techniques to introduce logic games—

the

important

All three programs have simple, but

effective, graphics. SID fans won't be

components

at

the

impressed with the sound, but kids

playing the game aren't likely to com plain. F.vcry one of these programs is

heart of every computer. The NOT

built on rock-solid educational princi

GATE turns ON to OFF or OFF to ON. The AND GATE and the OR GATE

ples

each have two input sockets and one

that

go

beyond

drill-and-practice

the

primitive

that's BO

common

in today's software.

Programs that

the fundamentals of digital computer

output. For the AND GATE to produce

logic from the ground up. The target

electricity, it must receive electricity

teach logic, reasoning, problem solv ing, and creative design are special.

from both input sockets; the OR GATE

These

audience is the nine-and-up crowd, but younger children can 20

SIUTEMBBIVOCTOBER

enjoy

it.

only requires one charged input, liut

special.

three

programs

are

very

E


TAKE

^

mission

wrrnL

You deserve the best. You've earned it. Now reward yourself with a session of Night Mission PINBALL, the most realistic and challenging arcade simulation ever conceived! ■ Stunning graphics and dazzling s—

—s

f -lH " <?<■■■ ! '''i1'' 1

7; ajf * °, —=M

I

sound effects put Night Mission PINBALL in a class by itself. Game features: multl-

ball and multi-player capabilities, ten different professionally designed levels of play, and an editor that lets you create your own custom modes. ■ So take a break with

Night Mission PINBALL from SubLOGIC. Winner of Electronic Games magazine's

1983 Arcade Award for Best Computer Audio/Visual Effects.

J

'.!■■'■■

See your dealer...

or write or call for moro Information

©UlfeLOGlC

Order Line: 800 / 637-4983 Circle Reader Service No. 27

Corporation

713 Edgebrook Drive

Champaign IL 61820 (217) 359-8482 Telex: 206995


SOFTWARE REVIEWS

REVIBWHD m KELLEY ESSOE

Dream House Computer:

Commodore 64

Publisher:

CBS Software One Fawcett Place Greenwich, CT 06836

Medium:

Disk

Retail Price: $3995

Until the day when that Qnfll shin

gle is hammered into plate on my house on a hill, 1 am always looking for some new and exciting tool to help me build my castles in (he sky.

This is not easy. After all, there arc only so many kinds of graph paper, so many colors of pens, so many maga zines, and so many hours in a day. It lias been years since 1 found a new way to indulge my passion. But 1 have been patient And patience has its re

wards: namely, Dream House from CBS Software.

Dream H0US8 provides you with four different houses, each with its own floor plan, exterior view, and in

terior rooms. Hit your joystick button and

you will

be presented

with a

choice of three different ways to be

gin. The first. "Pick a House," lets you

leaf through the blueprint floor plans of all the houses, The second and third options, "Interior Design" and

"Exterior Design." take you directly to the inside or the outside of the house.

When you use the program lor the first lime, you will want to go with

the first option to familiarize yourself With the layout, style and size of the different houses. Bach has its own

Dream House is not exactly a game,

ERASE. Next to these are four rather cryptic-looking icons. The one that looks like either the center of a hullseyc or a sugar donut, depending. 1 suppose, on your hunger status, is the ANIMATE ALL symbol. Yes, this

though it does re

program allows you to bring certain

quire ajoystick, but it isjust as entertain

objects to life with both movement and .sound effects. When you ANI MATE ALL, everything in your picture that can move, will move. The next

ing and challenging

icon,

as any traditional

depth,

which

painting

of

looks

like

an abstract

questionable

esoteric

is the SELECTIVE animation

symbol. With this you can selectively

game out there.

choose which objects will or will not

be animated, The last two symbols are easier to

tion. go with the San Francisco Victo

relate to. The MOVING VAN takes you

unique attraction: the San Francisco

rian. Now you've got a choice of be

to any number of storage areas where

Victorian is a two-story, six-room classic, with the requisite bay win

ginning

you can find just about anything you

interior of the house. Place the cursor

need to furnish, decorate, and embel

dows and fancy woodwork; the Colo

on LANDSCAPE THIS ONE, hit the

lish both your interior and exterior,

nial farmhouse has the big airy rooms

fire button, and siart outside.

and salt-box charm of New England; the lop-floor Manhattan penthouse

with

the

exterior

or

the

frees,

Here you are, on a quaint San Fran

cisco hillside street, overlooking the

plants

furniture

and

and

fences,

paintings,

knick-knack.s.

dishes,

pots, refrigerators and light fixtures,

reeks with the modern elegance of

famous Golden Gate Bridge. Nestled

and even people and

the

comfortably

picked up by the truckloisd and trans

New

woodsy

York

jet

Hideaway

complete with

setter;

and

Cottage

waterwheel,

the

comes

ginger

bread roof, and a secret attic. Picking one

is no easy

task.

Use

equally

between

charming

two

Queen

other

Annes,

through all the storage areas and still

can't find what you're looking for, the

in shades of

last icon, the HAMMER, will take you

Golden

to the workshop, where you can build

everything

is

except

washed

bridge, which is, of course, golden.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

ported back. And, if you've searched

however,

WARD ONE or BACK ONE, and cycle

22

be

rian abode. At this point,

gray,

decide upon the house you want to work with. For the sake of illustra-

can

stands your very own dream Victo

your joystick button to choose FOR

through the four blueprints until you

pets

for

the

Gate

The bottom menu portion of the screen has four rectangular boxes la

beled

COLOR,

MOVI-:,

COPY

and

it yourself. Let's get down to business. All thai gray is rather lifeless and depressing.

Continued on page i->


Simulator n

., ourself in the pilot's seat of a Piper 181 Cherokee Archer for an awe-inspiring flight over realistic scene

''''from New York to Los Angeles. High speed color-filled 3D graphics will give you a beautiful panoramic vie1 as you practice takeoffs, landings, and aerobatics. Complete documentation will get you airborne quickly , even If you've never flown before. When you think you're ready, you can play the World War I Ace aerial battle,' game. Flight Simulator II features Include ■ anlmated'color 3D graphics ■ day, dusk, and night flying modes

■ over 80 airports in tour scenery areas: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, with additional scenery i areas available ■ user-variable weather, from clear blue skies to grey cloudy conditions ■ complete flight Instrumentation ■ VOR, ILS, ADF, and DME radio equipped ■ navigation facilities and course plotting ■ World War I Ace aerial battle game m complete Information manual and flight handbook.

See your dealer...

otwrilBor call lor moreinlormalion. ForifirectordersencloseS49.95 plusS2.00

for shipping and specify UPS or firsl class mail delivery. Amencan Express. Diner's Club. MasterCard, and Visa accepted.

Order Line: 800 / 637-4983

Circle Reader Service No. 2a

Corporation 713 Edgebrook Drive Champaign IL61820

(217) 359-8«2Telex: 206995


POWER PLAN Ik

tkurn 600

10

ID

l__

.so

TO

, 90

Cat

fTO

10

(total

.1ft .30

L» 00

-*0 1 |-*0 1 100 .10 1 .40

SimiEi

,H

JO

.40

Cli

Sir.dl 1

00

t

JB

ID

40

1 .00 1

Vtaf,

>D

-«0 1

1

1

.10 L4O

1

.40

10 20

.CO

.M

MLninMim

JO

M

61

,1B1_

Powerful

spread

XPER - expert system

XPER is the

sheet plus builtin graphics - display your important data visually as well as numerically. You'll learn fast with the

expert

new

breed

of

intelligent software

for the C-64 & C128. While ordinary data base systems

are good at repro ducing facts, XPER

90+ HELP screens.

Advanced

first

system ■ a

users

can use the short

can help you make

cut commands. For complex spreadsheets,

decisions. Using its simple entry editor, you

you can use POWER PLAN'S impressive

build the information into a knowledge base.

i

10

1

features: cell formatting, text formatting, cell

XPER's very efficient searching techniques

protection, windowing, malh functions, row

then guide you through even the most complex decision making criteria. Full

and column sort, more. Then quickly display your results in graphics format in a variety of 2D and 3D chads. Includes system diskette and user's handbook.

CADPAK

$49.95

R®vis©d

DATAMAT - data management

V

CADPAK is a superb design and drawing tool. You can draw directly on the

screen

optional POINTS,

lightpen. LINES,

BOXes, CIRCLES,

and ellipses;

using our AccuPoint cursor positioning. Using the powerful OBJECT EDITOR you can define new fonts, furniture, circuitry, etc. Hardcopy to most printers. $39.95 $49.95

CHARTPAK ftJIO SflLES

Hem Nunter

Lntillon Hand. PL

base

Easy-to-use,

Rrori Qty.

yet

versatile and power

ful features. Clear

Call

menus

guide you

from function to function. Free-form design of data base with up to 50 fields and 2000 records per diskette (space dependent). Simple data base design. Convenient and quick

data

entry.

capabilities.

Full

data

editing

Complete reporting: sort on

multiple fields and select records for printing

in your specific format.

$39.95

TAS - technical analysis Make professional quality charts from your data in minutes. Quickly

Technical analysis charting package to

help the serious investor. Enter your data at keyboard or

enter, edit, save and recall your data. Then interactively PHO-ECTEQ VEW

data

RUN Magazine

DcicnpIkOD

fill

with solids or patterns; free-hand DRAW; ZOOM-in for intricate design of small section. Mesuring and scaling aids. Exact positioning

McPen lightpen, optional

"Best

manager under $50"

from

keyboard or using

DOMESTIC

reporting and data editing. Currently used by doctors, scientists and research professionals. $59.95

build pie, bar, line or

capture it through i^T~l~f~l

m

scatter graph. You

can specify scaling, labeling and positioning and watch CHARTPAK instantly draw the chart in any of 8 different formats. Change the format immediately and draw another chart. Incudes statistical routines for average, deviation, least squares and forecasting. Hardcopy to most printers. $39.95 CHARTPLOT-64 for 1520 plotter

$39.95

l-t

fio1

ii-'

DJN/RSor Warner

Services. Track high, low, close, volume, bid and

ask. Place up to 300 periods of information

for 10 different stocks on each data diskette. Build a variety of charts on the split screen combining information from 7 types of

moving averages, 3 types of oscillators, trading bands, least squares, 5 different

volume indicators, relative charts, more.

;ircle Reader Sotvice No. 1

Hardcopy to most printers.

much $84.95


The most advanced C development

:) Language!^;::;

package available

: ; :Cbmpiler: ■;/

for the C-64 or C128 with very com plete source editor; full K&R compiler (w/o bit fields); linker (binds up to 7 separate mod

NFiili C Compiler -

r;.rorC-MBi:c-i28;::

Not just a compiler, but a complete development sys tem. Rivals Turbo

Super-Pascal

Development;

Package ■"■!■

■; Coinpl«tePascal' ■

, .Compilerand.Tools'..

Pascal®

in both

machine

code.

speed and features. Produces fast 6510

■■■■for C-64 J.C-128-"

II

Includes advanced source file editor;

ules); and set of disk utilities. Very complete editor handles search/replace, 80 column display with horizontal scrolling and 41K

full Jensen & Wirth compiler with system

source

specialized requirements. Overlays, 11-digit

files.

The

I/O

library

supports

programming extensions, DOS (3 times faster);

new high speed

builtin assembler for

standard functions like printf and fprintf. Free runtime package included. For C-64/C-128

arithmetic,

debugging

routines,

much

with

package. Includes system complete user's handbook.

1541/1571

drive.

Includes

diskette and user's handbook.

BAS1C-64 full compiler

system

$79.95

The most advanced BASIC compiler

VIDEO BASIC development

available for the C64. Our bestselling

compact

or

graphics

runtime

diskette and $59.95

The most advanced

graphics develop ment package avail C-64.

Adds dozens of powerful commands to standard BASIC

fast 6510 machine code

Free

able for the

software product. Compiles to super1OIHRHI

tools,

more.

very

so that you can use the hidden

speed-

code. You can even

graphics and sound

mix the two in one program. Compiles the complete BASIC language. Flexible memory management and overlay options make it perfect for all program development needs. BASIC 64 increases the speed of your

capabilities. Commands for hires, multicolor,

programs from 3 to 20 times. Free runtime package. Includes system diskette and user's handbook. $39.95

FORTH

Our FORTH lang uage is based on the Forth 79 standard, but also

Language *L0>iUH

IDJl

*Q

JUT'*

1B=O MCEI

/HOT

L

t

D

includes

r:i3-

CCLUHV,

LIUCI

awnr inur a(

1-

-HT

much of

the 83 level to give you 3 times vocabu lary of fig-Forth. Includes full-screen

editor,

deeply

involved

in

the

FORTH

language. Our enhanced vocabulary supports both hires and lores graphics and the sound synthesizer. Includes system diskette with sample programs and user's

handbook.

by professional programmers forcommerical software development. Free runtime package. Includes system diskette and user's handbook. $39.95

Other software also available!

Call now for free catalog and the name of your nearest dealer. Phone: 616/241-5510.

Abacus Software P.O.Box 7211

Grand Rapids, Ml 49510 616/241-5510

complete

Forth-style assembler, set of programming tools and numerous sample programs to get

you

sprite and turtle graphics, simple and complex music and sound, hardcopy to most printers, memory management, more. Used

$39.95

For fast service call 616/241-5510. For postage and handling, include S4.00 per order. Foreign orders include $8.00 per item. Money orders and

checks in U.S. dollars only. Mastercard, Visa and Amex accepted.

Dealer Inquiries Welcome More than 1200 dealers nationwide ider Service No. 2


SOFTWARE REVIEWS

liY TOM IMiNFOUl)

The Fast-

Do fast-loaderprod

Loader

ucts really work? I

Gran Prix

held a race among

Disk directories may be listed at any time without erasing the program in memory by typing a "S." There-

are also commands to read the error channel. Fast Load performed well during

fourfast-loader

testing and loaded every piece of soft

X he 1541 disk drive is a reliable

products, and here

Kiel

fest-loader products claim to

are the results.

workhorse, but a slow one at that.

load

programs faster and offer other cn-

ware. It is available from Epyx at 1043 Court,

94089,

and

Sunnyvale, has

California

a suggested

retail

price of 139.95.

lancement features 10 make life with the 1541 easier. But do these products really work? 1 held a race between

our leading East-loader products, and the accompanying chart shows how fast each product loaded nine com mercial software products.

however, it cannot be reinstated with out turning the computer off and on again.

The cartridge is easy to use and comes

with

good

documentation.

Most commercial software products

can be loaded by pressing the "CE" (Commodore logo) and 1UJN7STO11 si multaneously.

loaded by

BASIC

typing

"/Filename"

In addition to

several

disk

the

gram not only allows the use of two 1541 disk drives, but features a tesi to

check the disk drive for proper oper

and

ating speed. You can edit information

on a diskette directly by track and sec-

The Fast-Loader Gran Prix

utilities.

Final Standings

Press the English-pound key '.md ac cess the utility menu, which includes the directory, return io BASIC, copy (file or disk), disable Fast Load, edit

For Test

Access

most

1541

Normal

Load

Mach5

Kwik-

Flash

Load

(Car

Car

Load

(Hard

Time

tridge)

tridge)

(Disk)

ware)

menu which includes a directory, re

Easy Script

1:02

:58

:59

file. I found the lock-file function to

Music Construction Set

2:47

2:43

2:43

be especially

Sword ofFargoal

1:02

.16

In the event you decide to delete a

Flight Simulator

2:50

1:03

"locked" file, you would need to first

77k- Heist

1:27

Zaxxon

interesting, because it

protects files from accidental deletiun.

use the unlock utility.

Fast Loud also provides a power

ful monitor for editing and dehugging language

programs,

h

is

called by typing "!" and exited by typing "%."

Fast Load may he disabled from the keyboard by typing a "D" and hit

ting RETURN. Once ii 26 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

is disabled.

Skyles

Epyx Fast

Selecting "file utility" brings a sub

turn to main menu, copy file, delete file, lock file, unlock file, and rename

Data-

Program Used

diskette, and file utility.

assembly

Datamost is

only one that is disk-based. The pro

loading most pro

grams significantly faster. Fast Load provides

Ofthefourproducis reviewed here,

Kwik-Load.' from

art-

saved with "(left arrow) Filename."

Fast Load

also

programs

Kwik-Load!

:30

2:43

1:40

.16

:20

1:04

2:53

1:08

:26

:29

:26

33

2:29

2:29

2:29

2:29

1:05

VIP Terminal

2:43

2:43

2:43

Wont

1:09

Beach Head

2:27

:43

:45

Wont

Kwik-Write

=32

:32

:32

Load

:45

Load

:30

;29


SOFTWARE REVIEWS tur, and it formats, validates and cop ies disks as well.

There is no way to disengage Kuilhload! once it is enabled other than turning the computer off and on again. The program "bombed'" occa

In

addition

to the cartridge,

the

Mach 5 package includes a disk with

two enhancement programs, "Basic + -iK" and "Mach Disk Organizer."

lation of the

1541

Flash! assembly

will void the warranties of both the

64 and the 15i 1 if they arc still in ef

Both programs require the Mach 5

fect. The kernal HUM of the computer and the operating ROM of the drive

cartridge.

will have to he removed, as well as

"Basic

+ 4K" frees an additional

one of the drive's 6522 chips to insert

no way to recover from these crashes.

4.096 bytes of memory for use in the

(The documentation booklet suggests typing SYS 52480 to revive it, bin this

the Flash! assembly boards. If you've

BASIC workspace and is completely

never inserted or removed chips be fore, you may want to seek the help of

sionally during testing, and there was

did not work.) During testing,

Kwitt-l.oad! Tailed

compatible with all standard Commo dore BASIC 2.0 commands. It relo cates the BASIC ROM routines to other

a competent friend or technician.

Some early 64's have the kernal

to loud two programs, Beach Head

memory areas, so there is i3K avail

and VII' Terminal. The package notes

ROM soldered in place instead of in a

able for BASIC instead of the usual

socket. In such a case. I recommend

thai problems may be encountered

39K. The extra 4K is especially useful

when trying to loud software with

letting a trained technician do the

for storing variables.

ROM removal and socket installation,

heavy copy protection. Evidently this is the case with lhe.se two programs.

"Mach Disk Organizer" catalogues

your program disks and their files.

The documentation is comprehen

the information is then stored on a

fairly easy 10 use, but isn't as direct or

data disk. The program keeps track of

quick as the other two cartridge-based

the file name, disk location, size of

products. It is available from Datamost at 20660 Nordhoff .Street.

and sector.

California 91311.

file, file type, and iis location by track

and

has ;i suggested retail price of S 19.95.

Of the four products tested here. Mach 5 was the easiest to use thanks to

1

wish.

Once (he disks have been catalogued,

sive and well written. Kwik-Load! is

Chatsworth,

or Skyles will do it for S2H.50 if you

the built-in

command summary

screen. It loaded all lest software, and

..

comes with good documentation. It is available "

Access

84 105, and has a price of5.-Vi.9S.

AM UHDI1 IC*Hn»B0O ■4114

from

Software,

at

925 E. 900 South, Salt Lake City, Utah

!

TW •• *K ll'l-'kl

suggested

1.

retail

Location of kernal ROM

The chips in both the computer and drive are surrounded by resistors and

/

other components in close proximity (the boards are "densely populated,"

in tech |argon), lie gentle when doing the work and use a flat-bladed instru 1

ment (nail file, paring knife) to gently

Mach 5 Access

Mach

5

pry the chip up from the socket. If at Software

brings

Enhancement

us

the

Package,

all possible, work both ends of the

a

chip, a little at a time, until it is out. If

combination fast-loader cartridge and

you are reasonably confident of your

disk-based enhancement program.

ability to do delicate work and foilow

The Mach .5 cartridge provides a command-reference screen by press

ing the left-arrow and M keys. Disk di rectories may be listed by typing "5."

directions, you can probably handle the Installation without any problems.

Skyles 1541 Flash

If you have any trepidations about do

The 154 1 Flash! is a hardware add

command summary will disturb any

on assembly for the Commodore 64 and 1541 disk drive. The components

program currently in memory.

are pre-wired, the documentation is

and neither the disk directory nor the

In addition to several combinations

excellent,

and

the

unit

may

be

ing it yourself, refer it to a service person.

And finally, the 1541 Flash! is not a cure for "sick" or "tired" 15il's! To reap the maximum benefits from the

of load commands, Macb 5 also al

switched in or out at will. A Phillips

installation,

lows

.screwdriver,

healthy disk drive

the

opening

and

closing

of

tape,

and

a

flat-blade

you must start with a

printer channels, screen dumping to

screwdriver or nail file are the only

printer, and a command for disabling

tools required. The installation should

Figure 1 shows the location of the 64 kernal ROM between the user and

the disk drive rattle when an error is

take about half an hour to complete,

cassette ports (some 64's have this

encountered. Mach 5 can be disabled and reinstated entirely from the

but may take longer if you've never

ROM

done this sort of thing before.

warning above). This kernal ROM gets removed, the Flash I kernal ROM as-

keyboard,

A few words of caution: The instal

soldered

into

the

board—see

COMMODOKI-. MJCHOCOMI'I TBRS

27


SOFTWARE REVIEWS SCmbly insetted, and the original 64 ROM inserted into that assembly. Flgllte IA shows the original kernal

ROM in place on the Skyles assembly.

use tilt .serial cable to connect the

load of VIP "terminal and Zctxxon, as

drive and the computer in conjunc

well as appreciable speed gains on

tion with the 1541 Flash! cable.

some other loads. It worked reliably

Once the boards and chips have

llggy-back feflhton. The slip-on con

been Inserted and tested, it's time to

nector assembly is routed through the

close the computer and drive. Then

user port opening.

for the fun pan—using it! of

many

"everyday"

com

mands. For example LOAD'"*".8,1 is

replaced STOP]

with

and

the

In addition to being the most im

pressive speed enhancement for the 1541 disk drive, it is also the most dif

The 1541 Flash! allows a shorthand form

during extensive testing.

ficult to install and the most expen sive: The 154 I Rash! has a retail price of 599,95, A model for dual drives is

[SHIFT]/[RUN/

RETURN.

Other

useful

commands include switching to fast

or slow drive speeds through soft ware control, soft reset of the drive,

and warm start for the64. A useful set of DOS commands arc also activated

Figure 1 A.

when

65526/RFTURN.

Kernal ROM relocated after installation of 1541 Flash!

tialization,

you

type SYS

These include ini

directory,

change

drive

number, copy, scratch, new, validate, and other commands. Most of the

DOS commands are Invoked with one

Figure 2 shows the CableCard as sembly inserted into the user port.

or two keystrokes.

Figure 4.

6522 chip with leg of

phi 19 bent out

also available front Skyles. If your 64's kernal ROM is soldered in, you can

The exposed edge connectors act as an extension of the user port contacts,

plan

on

paying

another

S28.50

to

have Skyles install a ROM socket. If

so von can still use vour modem.

you elect to contract a technician to

do the installation, it will probably

cost between S15 to $30 for labor. I'nder the worst circumstances, this

could set you back about SI55 for the hardware and installation. Doing

it Figure 3.

yourself

keeps

the

cost

down

toS99.95.

Flash! ROM assembly in place of original ROM

Figure 2.

CableCard inserted in user port

Figure

3

shows

Flash!

Ten editing commands include cur

sor control, pausable listings, and es cape quotes,

operating

gramming

Several advanced pro

commands

for

speed

ROM assembly in place of the original

setting, linked loaders, and a run-time

I54l's ROM chip. The original 1541 ROM gets inserted into the socket in

debugger are also present. If you'd like, you can apply the

this assembly. The slip-connector is

brakes either

routed through the back of the drive's

hardware

case.

method involves

Figure -i .shows the 6522 with the

through

control. a

software

The few

or

softwarekeystrokes,

while the hardware method involves

Figure 5.

Completed installation

On the plus side, all the compo

"leg" of pin 19 bent straight out. Note

flipping a switch on the cable connec

nents are top quality, the documenta

the mini-clips in place in pins 1H and

tor. In this way, the assembly can be engaged or disengaged instantly.

tion is thorough, and the excellent

19. The ground wire will be attached

lo tin- chassis ground screw in the rear

The features mentioned above are

left corner of the main circuit board.

Figure 5 shows the completed in stallation »n the drive, waiting to be tested before reassembly. Selector switches are located on both the driveconnector and at the user port con nector. Note thai you will still have to

28 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

nice 10 have, but they really wouldn't

performance of

I S-i 1

Flash!

makes

the cost justifiable for "heavy" appli cations, 1!" you want the Rolls Royceof

justify the cost of the 1541 Flash!.

the fast-loader (Iran Prix, the 1541

The real strength of the unit is its speed—it really turns the 1541 into a

Flash! is it.

The

1541

Flash! is available from

"hot rod" disk drive.

Skyles Electric Works,

The overall performance of the unit is excellent. It even speeded up the

fornia 94041.

231E South

Whisman Road. Mountain View. Cali

Q


COMMODORE^ THE OFFICIAL COMPUTER COMPANY OF THE

America has always been greatest when we dared to ho great. We inn reach for greatness

again. We can iblbw onr dreams to distant stars, living and working in space fur peaceful,

economic, and scientific gain."

President Ronald Reagan February 24, 1984

Hradlns Professor

roooan 3oo

Become a part of the excitement of the Young Astronaut Program through such quality Commodore products as the Commodore 64,

Modem/300, SkyTravel, Just Imagine, Reading Professor and Typing Professor.


SOFTWARE REVIEWS SwiftCalc

SwiftCalc can interface

Computer]

Commodore 64

Publisher:

Timeworks

with Timeivorks' other

444 Lake Cook Road

Deerfield, IL 60015 Medium:

REVIEWED HV TED SALAMONK

these

ware thai performs one function well and two or three not so well, Timeproducts

th;u

can

Writer all interface with

each other Here we'll take a look at SwiftCalc. From a spreadsheet introduction and a glossary of terms, to .start-up and operating procedures. Swift-

Cole's spiral-bound 150-page manual covers il all. Each feature is explained and illustrated in detail in the tutorial

section. Working examples and sam ple spreadsheets are provided later on.

To help ea.se an electronic work sheet into your life, Timewurks has nice

medley

of built-in

the

copy

function.

a blank row or column and Commo

dore -i allows you to format (decimal, scientific notation, or graphic display)

SwiftCalc

a cell or a block.

As this issue was in production. Timeworks announced the release of a stand-alone Siclmvays program for use with SwiftCalc. Sideways

enables the user lo print an entire spreadsheet vertically on one sheet of paper. Users can print as wide a

spreadsheet as they like and can choose from a variety of type sizes.

Versions tor the Commodore 64 andCommodore 128 will retail for

S29.95-

The

function

keys

change

the

screen colors, move the display one

screen at a time up, down, left or right, and access the disk's load and save functions. Why there's even a warm boot (reset to BASIC) so you can continue computing without hav ing to flick the power off and on again.

These key combinations are clearly illustrated on the handy, heavily lami nated

pull-out

reference strips

that

come with SwiftCalc. Just tape them

way to the next data entry location. Editing capabilities are also of pri

mary

with a few keystrokes. Besides stan

SwiftCalc lets you insert or delete in

dard

dividual characters as well as entire

functions (addi

2

Likewise. CTRL -t allows you to insert

mathematical functions, all accessible mathematical

of

accessed

2 activates the search function and Commodore

Sideways to

also

ager I ami J. Electronic Cbvckbtmk,

a

be

the numeric keys. For instance, CTRL

Timeworks Adds

work together. SwiftCalc, Data Man

provided

l)() percent

can

through combinations of the Commo

News Flash

works has produced a series of fine

Word

capabilities

dore or CTRL keys (in tandem) with

.Instead of creating Integrated soft

and

gem allows you to abort procedures

Believe it or not.

productivity software,

Retail Price: 849.95

stand-fllone

in gold—escape or undo. This little in process.

or stand alone.

l>isk

view, and a feature worth its weight

importance

columns.

a

worksheet.

Information

much

more

than

the bclwccn-pro-

gram data transfers. A significant deficiency is the fact

tion, multiplication, subtraction, divi

rows

in

that you can copy only one cell at a

sion, and exponentiation), SwiftCalc

groups of cells (blocks) can be deleted

time, not a whole range. If you can

quickly determines the minimum or

or moved to other spots at will. Cell

move a range, you should be able to

maximum values in a range, the aver

copy a range. When duplicating rows

age value or sum of a range, the Dum

widths can be set individually, even though text and figures (labels and

ber of values (hcadcount) in a range,

numbers in spreadsheet jargon) spill

copy feature is sorely missed.

and the absolute or integer value of a

over to the next space automatically.

single cell.

or

in

to the 64 and you're in business. You won't need to read the manual for

An automatic recalculate

Perec n t a ge - to-dec i ma 1

c on versio ns

and financial analyses such as present

changes

figures

views the

results

in

a

function

formula

almost

and

simultane

and columns of labels, this multi-cell In

the

version

1

reviewed,

the

search function didn't compensate for

uppercase/lowercase.

You

had

to

know exactly what was and wasn't

and future values of a dollar or an

ously. This "what-If" capability is the

annuity

capitalized,

most powerful and most valuable of

would miss the mark. I lowever. Time-

arc

included

too.

livery

one of these features is thoroughly explained. Cursor movement is as important in a spreadsheet as it is in a word proces sor.

Knowing that.

Tinicworks lias

provided multiple means to manipu late the meandering marker: cursor

key control, a GOTO function, and an automatic cursor-advance option.

The cursor-advance option is great when selling up row after row or column after column of entries. |ust press tin RETURN key to enter the In

formation, and the cursor is on iis 30 sr.l'TliMHIiU/OCToill'H

otherwise

the

function

fering any spreadsheet has to offer.

works says they are correcting this, so

You can disable and

by the time you read this review, the

re-enable this

function as you please. Speaking of choice, you can inde

new version should be available. Also, when entering location coor

pendently change text, background,

dinates, you can't move the cursor

or status colors any time. This flexibil ity eliminates eyestrain. Other niceties

over them. They must be typed in Separately. IT it weren't for the integral

include a search and a scarch-and-

sum function (which can be used as a

replace function

subset of larger formulas), this situa

for hunting down

phrases, words and figures. Through the disk commands, you

tion would be extremely annoying. Despite

these

minor

objections,

initialize blanks as well as save or load

SwiftCalc is an excellent product at

spreadsheets. Other options include a

an outstanding price. Its value is there

free memory check, disk directory re

for all to see—and capitalize on.

Q


'4

PILER

Kfts

• Translates Basic into Machine Language Full 32 Bit Arithmetic

• Overlay Programming

Completely Romable

• Include Files During Compilation

CORPORATION Valley West Plaza

4185 South 300 West, Suite 12

Ogden, Utah 84403

(801) 392-0109

We'd Love to Answer Your Questions!! VISA

1-800-626-6732

Mails rCard


SOFTWARE REVIEWS Loadstar

and the Payload programs. Side two

Computer:

Commodore 64

Publisher:

Loadstar

contains the feature programs and all

Loadstar is more than

the other goodies. An important feature of Loadstar is

just a collection ofpro

P.O. Box 30007

Shreveport, LA 71130 Medium:

REVIEWED HY STEPHEN S, LUVBN

Disk

the documentation that accompanies

gramsfrom Commo

each program. Of course you'd ex

dore Microcomputers or

Retail Price: Sy.95

pect

the Payload and

grams

to

have

feature pro

documentation,

but

Commodore Power/

even the programs from Commodore

A've been a subscriber io Commo

Play. Loadstar

Power/Play have enough documenia-

dore Microcomputers and Commo

is a disk mag

dore Power/Play ever .since I got my

first VIC 20 almost three years ago.

Needless to say, I read both magazines cover to covet. In fact, these maga

zines and the programs published in them have been instrumental in help

ing me leam to write my own pro grams for both the VIC and the Com modore

64.

I

have

learned many

Microcomputers

published

programs,

and

Commodore

ion on the Loadstar disk to get you

started.

And most programs,

when

azine with

you're finished running them, bring

all thefea

menu or one of the sub-menus.

you back to either the main Loadstar

turesfound J

Starting Out

in any

After

inserting

the

disk

in

your

drive, type LOAD""",8 (that's how

printed magazine!

the disk got its name) and press RE TURN. At the READY prompt, type

tricks and techniques from studying the

and

RUN and press RETURN. After some

have

built an extremely large and useful

and all the instructions must be ob

Introductory screens, you arrive at the

program library in the process.

tained from the printed issue, so 1 was

main menu. Simply select the letter

expecting

from

corresponding to your choice of menu item, and that item will be

So why was 1 so surprised with

loaded into your Commodore 64. For

Of course, I'm a bit (no pun in tended) lazy when it conies to typing in programs myself. Most useful pro

something

similar

Loadstar.

grams are somewhat long, and I don't

Loadstar? Why did 1 spend two full

example, to select the Commodore

exactly enjoy doing the typing. It's

evenings exploring, playing with, and

Power/Play programs from Loadstar 11, press the "!)" key.

just the means to get the programs

reading Loadstar hefore 1 even looked

into my computer. Then, after cor

at the Commodore Power/Play pro

recting ;ill my typing errors, I'm ready

grams? Because Loadstar is more than

to check out the program.

just a collection of programs from a

screen, with a hand pointing to the first in a list of program names. At the

magazine. Loadstar it.self is a maga

top left of the screen, another hand

Loadstar to the Rescue

zine, a disk magazine, with all the fea

points to the word ABOUT. At the top

tures found in any printed magazine.

right, the word RUN appears. Move

When I saw that Loadstar would begin providing the Commodore Mi crocomputers

and

Commodore

In addition to the Commodore Mi crocomputers

and

Commodore

A

new

menu

appears

on

your

the hand from ABOUT to RUN and back again with the joystick or left/

Power/Play programs on its monthly

Power/Play programs included on il,

right

disk, I grabbed my credit card, dialed

Loadstar contains its own programs,

hand to another program name with

cursor key.

Move

the

central

the toll free number, and signed right

called Payload programs, as well as

the joystick or up/down cursor key.

up. Then I sat back and enjoyed read

several

Loadstar

When you've made your selection,

ing the

also

editorials,

press the fire button or space bar. (All

next

Power/Play,

issue of Commodore knowing that in a few

days I'd receive a disk containing all

was

Loadstar

I

disk

ever was

includes

columns, sions,

programs.

features,

question-and-answer

hardware

and

software

ses re

these

control

instructions

are

dis

played at the bottom of the screen,

views, a help column, tutorials, and

so

The

even some (just a few!) ads. Let's take

anything.)

more—much

a look at a typical issue, number 11, which includes the programs from

program listed will load and run., If

Commodore Power/Play, May 1985-

the upper hand is on ABOUT, a text

the wonderful programs.

Itoy,

feature

surprised!

more—than I had expected.

Before I go on, I should mention that 1 subscribe to the disk service of one of the other popular Commo

you

don't

have

to

remember

If the upper hand is on HUN, the

file will load that will tell you about

Star Gazing

the program. You can scroll through the text file with your joystick or cur

That disk,

Loadstar 11 contains programs on

which is also published monthly, eon-

both sides of the disk, which is typical

tains all the programs from the corres

of all Loadstar issues. This disk fills

sor keys. Then, you can choose to ei ther load the program or return to the

dore-oriented magazines.

1268 out of a possible 1^2H blocks,

menu, based on the position of an

grams, plus a few advertisements, can

for a total of over 314K bytes of pro

other selection hand at the top of the

be accessed From a menu. Only those

grams and text. Side one contains the

se reen.

programs are included on the disk,

Commodore

ponding

32 sm'Tii

issue.

The

magazine

pro

Power/Play

programs

The Payload programs work

the


SOFTWARE REVIEWS same way. If you select :t menu item that is actually on the other side of the disk, you will be told to turn the disk

are experiencing problems. Questions

like the colors chosen for the Loadstar

submitted by readers are answered by the editors. This section also contains

eyes.

over in tin.-drive.

hardware and software reviews by subscribers

The Flip Side Included

main menu. They're too hard on the

who

have

used

the

products.

on side iwo is

a

Pixel

A Best Buy While the cost of Loadstar is not

Perhaps the most unique feature of

page—a graphics screen which can be

Loadstar

disk

cost of some of those other magazine

thought of as the magazine's cover.

maker." A feedback disk is for you to

Following

disk services. Rut those other services

submit

pale, almost even disappear, in com

this

nre

the

"paperless

is

the

"feedback

cheap, it is just about the same as the

your comments, articles, re

pages." which start off with a short

views, questions, and programs for

editorial. Background music is avail

parison to Loadstar. While the other

the editors to read, answer, or con

able while you "read"

sider for publication (yes. you get paid

services Include only the programs

Loadstar, or

from the issue of the magazine they

you can switch off the music at the

if your article or program is

touch of a key. Included in the "paper

lished).

less pages"' arc a couple of ads for

back disk, which contains the Starwri-

itself,

Loadstar and the Commodore publi cations, followed by the tutorials (Is

ler word processor for your use in

subscription

creating your electronic Letters to the

sue 11 contains "Do's and Don't's,"

Editor. A postage-paid sticker is pro

computers and Commodore Power/

and

Alan

vided for your disk mailer. The editors

"PEEK,

I'm not one to spend hard-earned

promise to return your disk as soon as

POKH, and SYS"). A column correct

money frivolously, whether it's mine

they

ing errors from previous issues is in

or someone else's, but I highly recom

doesn't

cluded here.

it in.

one disk service, make it Loadstar. If

called "Influx," which is basically uscr-wriiten. "Influx" includes a help

The Bad News

sure Loadstar is one of them. You'll

section, written by subscribers who

comment about the product; I don't

two

Installments

Gardner's and Jim

of

Weiler's

pub

Loadstar prepares the feed

copy

the

COSt

information,

so

it

you anything to send

Also on side two is the section

Learn lo use your keyboard quickly and

properly. TYPING TUTOR starts with the 'home keys' and automatically evaluates your typing performance, Introducing you to new keys In many gradual steps as your skills develop, WORD INVADERS puts real excitement into your touch typing practice while reinforcing proper typing techniques. "This is the best typing tutor we have seen yet; **#* + "

INFO-64 "Best typing tutor I've seen — Better than Mastertype" Microcomputer Courseware Evaluation "WORD INVADERS Is fantastic" Editors of Consumer Guide NEW! Commodore Plus/4 or 16

Commodore 64

VIC 20 (unexpanded)

Tape 521.95 Disk $24.95

Tape S21.95 Disk S24.95

Tape S21.95

IFR (FLIGHT SIMULATOR) gram provides a very challenging, realistic simulation ol flying under Instrument Flight

Rules (IFR) in a single engine light plane. Realistic instrumentation and aircraft per Plenty of thrills for pilots and

non-pilots alike.

"It is tremendous fun." Compute's Gazette "It's a great program, and as a pilot I found it to be very

realistic. My brother, a current commercial pilot and a

former Air Force flight instructor with over 3,500 hours in military and civilian aircraft was also quite impressed." Private Pilot NEW! Commodore Plus/4 or 16 Commodore 64 VIC 20 (unexpanded]

SOFTH//1RE P.O. Box 6277

gives

a

whole

lot

and

nicely to

complements my

Commodore Micro

Play,

mend Loadstar, If you can afford only

soon wonder why you bothered with the others!

Q

COACHING

...JUST GOT EASIER!

BASKETBALL STATS-NOW $35.00

Keeps 11 standard slats ■ yoj add 4 of your own. Handles 18

players. 30 games per season. Full corrections routine Built in.

□re MASTER DISK may tie used by all Ihe teams in your school.

FOOTBALL SC0UT-N0W $49.50

Scout the opposition and record 250 olfensive plays per learn. Reporis snow their tendencies so you can create an effective

defense. This is "The Unfair Advantage1"

VOLLEYBALL STATS-NOW $35.00

Handles all standard statistics. May be used for men or women ■ up to 5 games per match. Prmis a worksheet lo record info during

Put yourself in the pilot's seat! This pro

fcrmance.

Loadstar

more. It's truly a magazine in and of

you can afford more than one, make

Every review must have a negative

TYPING TUTOR + WORD INVADERS

serve,

Tape oi Disk S29.95

Tape or Disk S29.95 Cartridge S39.95

^5^ Shipping and Handling S1.00 por

"^™ °'a"r CA rosldenis ucld 6% la*. San Rafael, CA 84903

Circle Reader Service No. 3

the game

GYMNASTICS-NOW $35.00

Does all the paperwork for you Can be used for MALE / FEMALE competition at Ihe high school, college, or club level Handles from two team meets to 32 team tournaments.

FOR COMMODORE 64. 32K PET. APPLE -DISKS ONLY -

FAMILY

Please Afld %2 00 Per Order For Poslagc and Handling

SEND FOR OUR FLYER OF OTHER USEFUL SOFTWARE WRITTEM BY TEACHERS FOR TEACHERS

MIDWEST SOFTWARE Box 214 Farmington, Ml 48024 Phone (313) 477-0897 VISA/MASTERCARD

(415)499-0850

c;OMM( )!«»(]■ MICROCOMITTIHIS

33


SOFTWARE REVIEWS

This takes questions from the pro

Oh November 2 and December 7, college-bound high school stu dents trill file nervously into <£Ui&t SCbool rooms and audito riums to take the crucial test on which their future hinges—the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Studies sboiv that those students who have been coached will do significantly better than those

who haven't. And your Commodore 64, used with an SA'i prep and ion program, is an excellent coach.

grams and prints them out with :i sep

arate answer sheet. The Kivll program oilers in-depih.

Individualized learning for the serious SAT student If you follow their sug gestions and use the program ;ls di rected, you're practically guaranteed of chalking up extra points when DDay rolls around.

COMPUTER PREPARATION

for the SAT probably be interested in the moneyback guarantee that comes with

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1250 Sixth Avenue, Sent Diego, CA 92101,

(800} 543-1918 or (619) 699-6335, $79.95.

SAT packages for the Commodore 64,

Kraft's.SVI7" program. Krell will refund your purchase price il you done raise your score by at least ho points after using iheir program lor six hours. Krell's format is slightly different from other SAT computer .study pro grams. Their program offers mainly practice questions and answers and optional simulated timed tests, which arc scored. The questions are random ized and the wording is varied lo avoid repetition. The feedback regard ing right and wrong answers is

and no matter which one you choose,

excellent.

you're almost sure to improve yuLir

KreU's College Board SAT

One unique feature of the Krell prograiti is an automatic learning strategy The computer will evaluate your re sponses and present you with .i series

Exam Preparation Series

of individualized questions

M.f you're like most kids, you need more than :i supply of number iwo

pencils to prepare you for the Scholas tic Aptitude Ifest (SAT).The more infurmntinn you have before the lest, ihc better your scare will he. And that's where ihe computer COITUS in. SAT preparation is a perfect applica

tion of the computer. It acts as your private tutor—quizzing, explaining, and telling yciu where you went wron^ il can even keep track of your scores, so you can more effectively monitor your progress. Here are five

score.

KrsU Softu'tin:

1320 Stony Hntok

Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790, (5/6)

245-7355, $300, If you bucks 34

Tor

don't a

miml

little

spending big

insurance.

SEPTEMBEK/OCTOBER

you'll

in areas

where Improvement is most needed. The data can then be saved to disk, so you can concentrate your study in problem areas. Another Interesting option is the worksheet generator.

COMPUTER PRBBARATION for the SAT is a computer-assisted stucty program which relies hcuvily 00 toiiv

puUT-administered drills, with imme

diate feedback. Four full-length tests are included in the -!70-p:ige test, rather than on disk. The primary

function o!' the computer, as far us testing goes, is to act us :i score sheet for the pre-tesi. li's a hii cumbersome to feed the answers into the computer, but the immediate feedback is helpful. The advantage, of course, is thai you don't have to spend time [coking up the correct answer in ilie hack of the hook.

The program scores your lest :md then creates an Individualized study plan by indicating your weak areas

and telling you what you need to con centrate mi, 'lo increase your perfor mance in English, you can use the


SOFTWARE REVIEWS 1000 on-disk vocabulary flush cards. These are easy to use and extremely

helpful. COMPUTER PREPARATION for the SAT offers abaslc approach to SAT studying. While it doesn't try to be

entertaining, it definitely gives you practice and strategies that will help you keep your cool when taking the real thing.

clude randomizing so

Improve yourperfor mance—and reduce

mode also offers the Opportunity to

anxiety—with these

return

computerized SAT

preparation

Lovejoy's unique features make ii an extremely easy to use SAT study aid. It's a complete, well planned pro gram containing everything you al ways wanted to know about the SAT.

but were afraid to ask.

along with a Test of Standard Written English and 500 extra practice ques

The

tice questions contain detailed expla nations for every answer. The ques

computer

to

you

take

can

notes

use the

and

solve

equations.

Lovejoy's also has a unique liming feature consisting of a built-in timer which allows 30 minutes for each sec tion. The pressure mounts as the min utes tick by—just like the real thing.

.■"pc-el^V13 UBIK! TH£

proach to SAT

system, and both the exam and prac

there's even an on-disk scratch pad

iBrC"JS

Mastering the SAT is a complete ap

tions. There is an automatic scoring

and calculator so

If^

—i

CBS Software, One Fawcett Place, Greenwich, CT 06836, (203) 6222500, S150.

contains two verbal and math exams,

the guidebook, and

got

Mastering the SAT

Lovejoy's Preparation for tbe sat

to touch

j\ IK!! I'SaQ iou

(212)245-6400, $69.95.

need

you

A

h

Simon and Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York. NY 10020,

The computer does it all. You never

questions

for the SAT.

choosing schools.

adequate time to answer each one.

any

counteract the drudgery of studying

versities. The College Guide is a handy little extra for comparing and

tions are easy to read and there is

to

wrong the first time around. You now have a second chance to come up With the right answer I 'nfortunately. The Perfect Score can'i guarantee a perfect score. It can, however, offer a bit of fun to

Commodore 64.

the SAT

no two

cords as you go along. The testing

packagesfor the

Lovejoy's Preparation for

that

tests are ever the same, and a scorecard-printing option for keeping re

package

study via computer, has

four

single-sided

disks containing one pre-tesi and one

(SPACE BUR TO C0MTIHU6)

post-test. Both the protest and the

The Perfect Score

post-test include two verbal sections,

Mindscape,

3444

Nortbbrook,

n. 60062, 012) -isn-

two math sections, and one Test of

Dundee Road.

7667, S69.95.

Standard Written English. A booklet

of SAT strategies and two simulated

Along with all the SAT study basics, Mindsiape's Perfect Scon- contains a

exams are also included.

The computer questions are easily

bonus feature not found in other pro

readable

grams. Instead of the usual dry, seri

from the "help" sections by assorted color hands, which also serve to break the monotony of the test. There are

ous responses, Perfect Score's feed

back consists of witty little phrases that will make you chuckle. Some times they're a little on the corny side, but they do help you slay awake!

and

clearly

differentiated

full explanations of right and wrong answers, and the program pinpoints

areas needing Improvement, To push

The only disadvantage to Lovejoy's

'The Perfect Score has two modes of

Preparation for the SAT is the fact

operation: testing and learning. The

that

learning mode offers immediate feed

plementary math and building exercises.

back after each question, including full explanations of right and wrong

feature of Mastering the sat. These

choices. The lesi mode is more like

can be saved on disk and displayed on

it

storage.

uses separate

disks

for data

If you have only one disk

drive, you'll have of disk-switching.

to

do

a

hit

your score even higher, there are sup

English skill-

Scoreeards are another Interesting

The manual is necessary only if you're interested in test-taking strat

the real thing, as it goes through a set

the screen or printed out so you can

of questions and scores them at the

keep a record of your progress.

egy or study tips, in addition to the

end. Both the full-length SAT exam

manual, the Lorejt/y package also in

and the Test of Standard Written En glish are timed so you get a realistic

cludes

the

which

contains

Lovejoy

College

useful

Guide

information

about more than 350 colleges and iini-

effect—sweaty palms and all! Other

Perfect

Score

features

in

All in all, the CBS program

is a

good, solid SAT study aid with no gimmicks. If you're a "just give the facts" person, you'll find all the facts you n<:cL\ in Mastering the SAT. (OUMODuiii- MICROCOMP1 nils

Q 35


SOFTWARE REVIEWS

IIEVIEWED UY ii>M ih-:nk)R1>

Vizastar Computer:

Commodore 64

Publisher:

Solid State Software 1125 E-HUlsdale Blvd.

Medium:

Cartridgc/Disk(s)

Foster City, CA 94404

Retail Price: $119.97

Vizastar is

grams:

three

spreadsheet,

Integrated

pro

data

and

base

graphics. Since :ill three pro

grams reside in memory simultane ously, switching from one to another is

immediate,

Data

may

be

freely

transferred between the spreadsheet,

data base or graphics modes without having to re-key it—it "shares" the dam. The Interactivity of the three modes, coupled with ihis data-sharing ability, makes Viztistar very flexible.

Vizastar packs bo much muscle into the 64 that it is hard to believe

you're running it on a S4K machine. A program with these capabilities usu ally requires a minimum of 12HK lo run. And Vizastar not only runs on

the 64, but it runs f;ist. (It is written

cility permits you to predefine a se quence of commands that may be exe

The interactivity of

cuted at any time with a .single keystroke. This is another powerful

the three modes,

feature that expands the possible uses

coupled with its

of VizaStar,

data-sharing ability,

the worksheet. Up to 15 indexed files

The data base is also invoked from

are possible, and each file may hold

makes VizaStar very

records up to K.OQO characters long.

Kadi record can have up to 64 fields,

flexible.

and each field can be up to 120 char acters. Disk access time lor any ran

totally in machine language.) Kelvin Lacy authored this program, as

well

as

the

excellent

documen

tation thai accompanies it.

Users of

senling menus and sub-menus of op tions. If you follow the tutorial guide

dom record averages a last three sec

and

presently supported by the program.

work

the

examples provided,

onds on the

1541, the only drive

Creating file layouts is easy, and you

OmniWrtter/OntniSpell will immedi

you'll he a VizciStar expert in a cou

ately recognize his name, since he au

ple of hours.

may have reversed headings with bor

thored that word processor/spell ing

An especially impressive feature of the program is its windowing capabil

ders if you wish. Up to nine different

checker as well.

VizaSUir is compa

screens per file may be configured. In

ity. Windowing allows you to call up

addition. ViztiStar supports direct file

portions of data from different sec tions of the worksheet to the current

processing from within the program are possible.

with a IS-day full-refund guarantee

screen for comparison or reference. Up to nine windows may be "open"

A guarantee of this nature is all but

at a time.

tion can easily be transformed into

tible most

with other

QmniWrttvr, popular

as

word

well

:is

process

ing programs for Che 64. Solid State Software backs VizaSliir

unheard (if in the software industry. This

guarantee

shows

Solid

State's

confidence in YiziiSlur. and it lets you

purchase it with confidence, as well. VizaSlur conies on cartridge and

disk. The cartridge must he in the 64 at all times to use the program, which

All dam entry originates

gridded

"worksheet."

The

and single- or combined -field searches Spreadsheet or

database

informa

from a

line or bar graphs, and windowing is

grid

Supported

is

composed Of 64 columns and 1,000

in graph

mode.

An ex

tended graphics package is Included

rows. Sixty-four times one thousand

which provides two impressive and

equals

Sophisticated

64,000

eel Is—incredible

capacity.

The spreadsheet supports all of the

"pie

charts"

four-way

graph

and

modes—color

three-dimensional

scrolling

"skyscraper"

is loaded from disk. A hackup pro

usual mathematical operators, in addi

graphs. I was most impressed with the

gram disk is included in the package,

tion to date processing and calcula

graphs.

and an excellent tutorial guide and a

tions. The date features make Vizti-

superb user reference guide are also Supplied with the program. It nil

Star very

Playing the devil's advocate, I scru

planning.

tinized, tested and experimented with

comes packaged in ;t vinyl "archive"

scheduling and invoicing. The power ful calculation functions facilitate

no major weaknesses. It seems to be :i

case that provides protective storage.

complex projections and forecasts, as

VizaShtr is very easy to use for a program of such power and capabil ity. It aids the first-lime user by pre-

36

5EPTEMBHUOCTOBER

effective

for

well as simplifying many bookkeep ing calculations.

An automatic keyboard '"HXHC" fa

VizaStar extensively, bui could find 64 application

program beyond re

proach. When it comes to business ap plication all-star!

programs,

VizaStctr is

an B


We did something about high-priced software! WE CALL

Why pay

850

S100, 875 or even lor productivity

products for your Atari or Com*

modore 64! Try our KWIK-WARE! line

a( just S 19.95 each. All KWIK-WARE! products deliver high quality at an amazingly low price. All KWIK-WARE! products for the Commodore feature our own KWIK-LOAD! for faster loading programs.

KWIK-LOAD!" — winner of Softsels award for the hottest selling new uiUlty of iw 1 am /a-

i.<>\/)' in;iii\ and copies Hies over 300% faster

than normal Commodore DOS, ii Includes A'1I7A'

COPy.'. .1 menu-driven group of utilities which lets you perform DOS commands, check drive speed, edit sectors on disk, and alphabetize disk directories siyji

KWIK-WRITE!' - ., fu||.fcaturcd word lor [■our computer thai offers

the

power "i dedicated systems ai .111 affordable price! K\\ IK-WRITE! allows you tosei tabs; miTjic Bles;

tin and p:L>ti-; restore deleted ii-M; [ustlfv. center

and Indent text and more! KWIK-WRITE! mppuris the mciM popular primers and offers ;i printer driver menu for ease nf use! Sl'J.'M

- - ,1 spelling checking

KwiK-CKECKI

— a checking account

rcconclHailon mid maintenance program

add rour own conunonlj' used words. k\vikSPELL! is torapatllile with k\\ IK-WRITE! and other popular word processors, siy.ys

expenses, flag taX'deductibTu ii^ms. prim viiLir

;< 30.iioo t

word dlulonar) with the ablllij 10

Rjr Atari .mil Commotton1 61

KWIK-CALC!

/■it Commodore 61

processor

KWIK-SPELL!

program tor \mir home computer [£ai features

irunu

- .1 full-fcaiured el«:-

sprcadsheei

jiriijtr.nn

liit

your home

computer, KVHK-GALQ i-. simple enough fur home use, yci nowerlul enough lor professional or business use Witli KWIK-CALO yini can

design .i budget, forecusi for fuiurc expenses and play "what-B" all on one spreadsheet. Sl'J.'Ji /'it CommodiTc (w

KWIK-F1LE!

— a menu driven, full-

For Atari and < anunadore (• 1

feaiured database foe j'oiir comptuer, KWIK-

KWIK PAD! — 11 dok jecretan ii.r .<mr home computer, This handy utility features n

fields, «>a records, cross refurwici; data, prim mailing labels and much morel Si'.".1)1;

\\\\;\ offers the ability 10 specif)' up id SO

lor

>'nil- home computer. K\Y7K-CIIECA".' win niiilniain multfple chcdclnu accaimts. Itemize

check n-jiisitT in different formats und more! Fur Atari .1111/ ( innniodorc (>-i

KWIK-UTILITY!" - n,K ,,1 the mosi

powerful disk ulillt) prontams available for the

I unimoiiort- KVFIK-ITILITY! will allow j-oulo

add K\\ IK!.< IAD! in lour era n disks. Int'cstlgme dos protected dhk. trace files, generate disk

i-rrnrs and miirt-' S!').<;i Fit CtinmitKllllf (<i

KWIK PAINT!

- ■, handy mlllt) 1,1

p

i';mv:iN. Allows you ta ^r:ii> ;uul move or copy Images mi Liu- screen, >hrink or cntflfRC imuges,

For Auri .nut t 'otnnitJtJoK <> 1

it fid use microMjopi,' modi1 tear fine du.MI ivork. Has l<> jiiiiLihlf colors pki^ Infinite Tills. Fur um' with :i j(ij>iuk or KoalaPad". S19 ')=<

KWIK-MAIL!" — ;l complete malKne liM

ior Commtxlorc 61

tions package featuring simple command menus, automatic answer, buili in phoni' book, selec table baud r.uv and more! S19 ■;■;

design your label formats, iirthi' flies and inteKnm* K\\ IK \\ RITE! doeuments for customized

^Vlk Mill'

Fit A/.ir.< .mil Cuiiiniiii/nn- (>t

Tor Auri ;irtt/ ( oniHKXltiK (< I

calculator mndc. tncrno pod, appointment book,

calendar, address booh and more! siy.'JS Fur At.iri.wt/ Commodore f>i

KWIK-PHONE!

— .1 telecommunica

ENTERTAINMENT

SOFTWARE

out

l>[.i> inU in ict 1:1 in men 1

s.i. whether you w.im i

cnicnoinmcni vofiuijtv is i[i->]i!inj<i fur' hallmsina

prognmi with label generailtu) capabilities, with KWIK-A1AIL1 you can specif] \our own licld&,

form letters and more 81<J ')i

KWIK-TYPE!" -

ihc K-"111-' fur Aour

KWIK-MERGE! "

ihtir 1 it]<K lor :dl k-^tls [rtmi beginning ornpute

isi iDcxpen prugRunmciA Numaiinwlist pi>jnil. mmpuitr 1^ usi-d we've gol iln hook [hat's rlgh

for additional informalion coniacl Datamost OulsideCA (80D) 692-16^9

Inside CA (816) 709-1202

kaik mr

_ ;i personallwd repiirt :md fnrm Bwieniiiir.

KWIK-PRINT!

COMPUTER BOOKS - urlncn i» ctpcrti i

k MhWc,i-

Coming soon. . . KWIK-FORM!

l^l.i^ .1 ipintMil ..htss. jdurnum- In a Mtji.iHiL.J ^^rU

nr jiiiirpu-i mil. l.ir.n\.i\ lucalliins — Duortlosj li.i

»l'l II" kUlk hl\lr kl Ht ' KM Ik IliHM'

kftlki hill

jrhJ *,uih

[Ttrit sll[N|l

,i ij-plng tutor far >nur humi* enmpurcr.

- ;i K^pliu di'slgn pnckuiw ili;n tunu jirnr nmipuier and printer Intu ;i .i liandj mlfltj thai .ill.^v- um lu raJli imnlpubtc ilira fnim

ihki KW IK-pniftnun lu anuilicr

and more. . . Distributor and Dealer Inquiries Invited

DATAMOST

19821 Nordhoff Si., Northridge, CA 91324 (818) 709-1202 Circle Reader Service No. 38


$59.95

D-Compiler

The first D-Compiler to give you back your source code alter your program has been compiled with 'Blitz. 'BUll it ■ tridamirk ol Skylit ElKfnc Workft

1541 Super ROM

also Save with Replace is

• Fast Save Load Verify

Improved

• Fast Scratch and Validate

• Two times faster, Eight times faster

10 Second Format with Verify

when used with Turbo 64 which is included

• Wo more Drive Head rattling

1541 Super ROM is 100% Compatible

during Format or Error Reading

Survival Guide

$39.95

Computer Talk Finally a complete how to

This

book

is

a

must

Drive. Complete list 01 all Drive

access

Commands. Includes trouble

shooting, wedge technical with

lilehandling,

Dos

commands

and

information

complete

Dow

Jones,

—Simple Instructions

your

favorite

The

hrst day

your own programs

—Full si*e relBrence charts

and much mote

—How lo design your own

—Includes a routine lo protest

are discussed as well as how to

menus and more...

your own programs

survive in the computer world.

illustrations.

language monitor —Advanced prelection lor

— Introduction to color, sound

Bulletin

Board. Up and down loading

along

detailed

—How to use a machins

— Easy step-by-slep eiamples —Tricks you can do your

Source, Playnet, CompuServe and

EXPLORING YOUR COMMODORE

OF THE COMMODORE

get started with your modem and C-64 as well as how to

questions about the 1541 Disk

Book of Facts

UNLOCK THE MYSTERIES

book on telecomputing for the '64. Chapters include: How to

(or

The Advanced

The Original Book of Facts

To The 1541 Dlak Drive

anyone who might have any

• Easily installed in Minutes

—NO MATTER what your

experience. Ihe Original Book of Facts is (or everyone!

99

99

D-CODER

N-CODER

the machine

$19.95

language manipulator

Translates any machine language program into easyto-read English descnptions with complete e*plana-

99

$599

Super Loader Super Loader is a Kartndge that plugs into

your

expansion

port,

that

allows

the

computer, on power up start ihe disk drive

lions ol each command1

The periecl companion

Makes complete notations ol an impcriant memory

program lo D-CODER!

locaiions accessed by the program' (SID. VIC. MOS KERNAL, etc)

Allows you to easily make changes in ma

and load the first preselected program on the disk

Gives you three ways of accessing programs 1) Will road and ill! programs liom DISK

chine language programs... right on the disk'

2) Will road and list programs from MEMORYI

• Rewrite ability allows code to be altered

3) Oiract liter input (from magazines, etc )

and then rewritten directly to the disk*

Can he used to easily break apart machine language programs (or study and examination!

• Features sector-by-sector scrolling

assembly language display ol machine language programs!

Printer option (or complete hard copy listings!

• Change colors • Loao wedge • Works wilh more drive ■ Takes up no memory

• Reset Ewilch included

• Notation ol ASCII lent eqmbslents lor easy spotting ol embedded text strings' • Handy reference display ol all assembly

You no longer

language commands and their ML

need to be an

S1995

numerical equivelents'

EGGHEAD to

• Byte splitter lor easy splitting ol decimal addresses into low byte-high bylB mat1

read Machine Language

This Disk has over 100 routines, some of them are routines for protection, smooth scrooling, modem

routines,

and

sound

and

Only

^29 95

routines. They can easily be incorporated into all of your programs. It is also fully documented.

color

Circle Reader Service No. 19

$19.95


Slik Load

$29.95

Slik Load is a Kartridge for the C-64.

Slik Load is the most reliable, effective and thought out Kartridge of it's kind.

The options include:

• 5 limit faater load • Ellminatai drive muin whan arrort

• Stitui hey will giva you information or devlCD number, bytaa fr*4 and itatut of tho

ara ancountarad.

t!nv>

• Old and un-nsw

• Silk Load ■■ alto fully compatible with the

Will reitore a hmic program

1541 Super Rom

Sync ntnd*rCr<-c> 'or Sync bits on my

OMS-Errora 20. 21, 22. 23, 27 & 29

Chtngi

Flfild Dull Erran

Ortt*

lAt.r, '

.

r|.

jsMmtler'Oii-

■3»mbfer For yauj 15*r

Ttx [>>■..■■

Oocigr Thil read* cento

undftr ojrori

Sync Uikir

,. ,

a sync mam on *ny

track out id 41

Aijo used Far protection

DMvi

No.-Chinges

drive

Oilh I riH»r "

-"ing Inch WCEOf

Han ind «nd iddraises

3-Sav» Numbera will save numbers whem a computer answered 4-Hardcopy of Numbera w*fj print dltI list of numbers where a computer answered

tn

numUars to conimufl where it

lefl

oil

fl-Contlnue will C"Ck uD baling whnfe i| was <nlorrupted

ri.uk uirr^:

.

Fonul Formal t disk in flAi

10

mj.

,. , rj'ltetTGa

Huh Wtdgt-Easier to uso DOS weOqe ID Chtck-Check iD's on any irack

sectors

on

a

diskette

This is the only utility of its kind. It even has a 3 min. copy on it.

which will allow you to dump ihe contents o! 8K and !6K cartridges onto disk! But what's really great is that you can also RUN the cartridges pro grams without plugging in the cartridge! the

KRACKER gets YOU INSIDE the cartridge' Put

all your favorites on disk and get ria ot the clut

ter This package pmvides your with the software

disk included (Some cartridges require use ot ex

$44.95

ternal RAM not included)

Directory Sorter

TOP SECRET STUFF II All C128 Compatible

Have yoj ever tried to Imd a disk or library and didn'1

know where lo start looking' Well we

have the answer here lor you. This

program will pw your disk library on disk or give you a hard copy. You can have up to 900 Filo names, you can

adO save Purge tile ana cross reference anyway you want This program is completely user friendly

$19.95

Split Screens (Horizontally) Smooth Scrolling

Save Ram From Under Rons No Drive Rattle On Errors Triple Drive Head Speed Autobool Maker Koala Screen DUmp

For Commodore-64

Unnew

3 Minute Copy

Shopping Coupons

30 Categories -- 2300 Records Self Deleting ol Eipired Coupons

$19.95

This Coupon Clippers program will store up to 2300ditlerent coupons and up to 99 ot Ihe samo Kind ol coupons. You riauo up to twelve options on the main menu Options: 1 -Add Coupons only; 2 - Pnng Out. 3-List ot all Coupons; 4-

Eipired coupons only; 5-Free Coupons Only. 6-Category Only; 7-Changeto

Eipired coupons only: 5- Free Coupons only, 6 - Category Only; 7-Change Any Part ot a Record. S - To Make Up Shopping List. 9 - To Delete Used Coupons; P - Print Shopping List T - To Terminate Program: L ■ To Lisl Delated Coupons. C - Change Viewing Time.

D.MS.

If you have TSS#1, You'll Like This One! All on one disk

or twofrsk 6"*0i Th'i one has all Ino Imaluiws ana you can cuiloftiit •! tatily yourjatl

'-RUN MEGASOFT.fjBS a READ 5YS0P MESSAGES J-CHEATE MEGA FILES 9-WHITE OPENING MESSAGE 3 ADO TOSYSOPS CORNER 10READLOG t.NEWSVSOP'S

C

5-REAO MESSAGES

6.SCRATCH MESSAGE 7-CVCLE MESSAGES

S59.95

11 -CYCLS LOG

12REAO DOWNLOAD FILE 13-SCOATCH DOWNLOAD FILE 14-ADD TO OTKEH S'STEMS

15-CREATE OTHER SYSTEMS

BBS

Leveled Access Private Message Base

Up to 300 Passwords Enclose CasiKers Criflch Money Order or P+f'son Chock Allow 10 flay? lor fleliVBry J In ! (JJyJ )(,( □ none order? Canifla ofo>f? mu&i oe m u s Dollars VISA - MASTER CARD -C O D t? 00 S & H on 5uD mil lion*

s

$19 95

Bulletin Board

Optional Use ot Printer

Saves -- Stores - Checks

Mini D.O.S. Wedge Data Statement Maker

Fast Disk Eraser

Coupon-Clipper

Protect Scheme For Your Disks

Write Protect Disk Unwnte Protect Disk Fast Diskmalcher

Display GCR

and easy lo use

Programs Tor C-6*

Fail

and hardware needed to get started. Program on

529.95

program in your

undsr

NOW you can own Ihis unique and powerful tool

2 Rovie* Numbera will review numbers thai worn answered by a computer.

load

ccuJe

KARTRIDGE KRACKER

l-Auto DJbI will automatically dial a sal o) numDors you choose

mil

Reads

Seconds («ttn vtnry1}

Viaw-BAM-Visual display ■ ' -Mufrea and

Kumbera

onora

Byl« Tor byte

u*ed

S-LOAD

cneckaum

srro'9 ind Et9lor« inch

Unicntch-Restore a scratched die

WAR GAMES AUTODIALER

Rtid/Wfiit

l'*cK aul In 41

Formal Singl* Tricks

Expert Mode Open Chalk Board for Highest Level Access

MegaSoft

Limited

P O Box 1080, Battle Gfound. Washington 98604 Phone (206) 687-5116 • BBS 687-5205 •-... »«,„

Circle Reader Service No. 19

. to co™p«,«,


SOFTWARE REVIEWS

REVIEWED BV JOYCE WORLJBY

Build a Book About You Computer:

Commodore 64

Publisher:

Scarborough Systems

t5 South Broadway Tarrytown, NY 10591 Medium:

Disk

Retail Price: 839.95

B,u:7c! a /took About

You is a com

bination software program and bind ing kit that lets children ages 2 to 12 publish

personalized

storybooks.

Everything needed is Included, along with step-by-Mep instructions. The main menu directs the user to enter the child's name, age, gender, birtbdate, and address, along with the names of three friends, the name and specie of the child's pet, and the name Of the person who gave the book to the child. 'The program Improvises if

Story, the child must find the Nose Monster who stole the scents of Miss

some of the information isn't avail able.

aren't

Tor example,

available,

if three

they

friends

automatically

become Teddy Bear. Superman and Robbie Robot. And pctk-ss children automatically

receive a

companion

able little dog named Sparky. The data entered can be saved to disk to be re called later for use in other slories. The program then offers a selection of slories to

be

viewed

Build a Book About

Strawberry, the Gingerbread Man. Lit

tle Skunk, and Evergreen. The Holi

You produces per

day Dragon, written by Ray ISroekel

sonalized storybooks

that make your child the star.

disk, although the kit includes book-

making supplies for only two. (Bind ings for the others can be purchased separately.) The slories arc presented one page ai a time, exactly as they'll be primed. 1-ach has been personal

child then lines up the pages with the book jacket, exposes the sticky strip down the center of the binding, and

presses the pages against it. After stripping the backing from the adhe

now the protagonist, accompanied by

masterpiece.

The kit contains everything needed

The

finished

products

are

quite

lovely. Each volume measures 11-1/2

to produce two books: The Mystery

by 9 inches, and contains 32 color

of Scented Mountain and The Holiday Dragon. Eadb set includes hardcover

fully illustrated pages. More binding kits can be purchased, cither for the

bindings, cm] sheets, title page, and il lustrated paper.

The production tasks are simple

with

binding

materials

are

where everyone talks in rhymes. The thread thai comes with the kit. The

sive- end pages, the child affixes them to the front and back covers. Voila!—a

his or her friends and pets.

The two stories on disk thai don't come

Riddle Planet takes a trip to a planet

supplied previously. The youngster is

ized by integrating the information

tures a goody-gobbling dragon.

equally exciting. Adventures on the

on-screen.

There arc four tales included on the

and illustrated by Diana NorO, fea

original pair (to make additional cop ies

for

friends,

or

to

replace

any

spoiled supplies), or for the other two

flowery

inhabitants

pose

riddles

which must be answered correctly so the protagonists can reach home in lime

for

Greatest

the

child's

Circus

Story

birthday,

'lite

Ever Told

is

about two runaway circus lions who must be coaxed back to their home. Scarborough plans to introduce addi-

lional adventure and fantasy stories to the Build A Book library. lluild

a

Hook

About

You

is

a

charming gift for a youngster. Though only the younger users will need pa

rental assistance, this program is still an excellent all-family project. It's great fun to see the story on screen, personalized with the names ol friends and family. It makes the child

enough for youngsters under supervi

tales on the disk (SI2.9S each or

sion or for grammar school children

S19.y>fonwo).

a star in his or her own book. Binding

The Mystery of Scented Mountain, a detective adventure written and illus

the printed

working alone. The two end sheets

and storybook pages arc all

perfo

rated. The child sews these to a plastic binding strip using the needle and 40

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

trated by Carol Howie lildridge, fea tures scratch-and-snifi slickers. In this

pages

into a

hardcover

volume is equally satisfying. The fin ished products will make proud addi tions to any child's library! Q


NEW OrcorT"T>odor« 128 Call For Price

Qz. commodore

LETTER 1101

VIC 1541 DISC DRIVE

QUALITY PRINTER

CCAEXCUJSIVE faster outi Commo«t« On*

s: commodore

I commodore

64

1702 MONITOR

Z commodore

MONITORS BMC Color.. 149"

NEW PRODUCTS

Pan 1300 RGB &

PRINTERS

Gemini SG10

Gemini SG15 Gemini SG10C w/Built-in Commodore Interface

Comp 209™

359" Call

Gemini SR 10/15 newi Gemini SR 1CV15 newi Gemini EBIOmewi

Call Call Call

Silver Reed 400 249" Panasonic 1091 Call HUSH 80CD Smaller, Quieter 89"=> Bartte

Sharp Amber

MODEMS

Mighty Mo 64" Comm 1660 79" Total Telecommunications. .Call

801 MCS

SOCQ95

Color Printer .. '^OS***0

SHARP 13" Color Composite Monitor 13M31U

* 14495

C-16 Computer C+4 Computer

79" 189"

801 Printer 803 Printer

149" 174"

19.M

hoi Wdm

it.M

G.I Joe

19.M 19.99 1!.t9 UK

..,,

PlISlop Pi lilop li

9 10 5 Typing Mona .

289"

.

.

■'"■■I

.

K 99

Iju:- Tilt Hi

71 »

Hurt fouoi Tibw-Ciri

H.9I

Neuirii Zont-D/T

it.n

ken

Simenustei-O/T B sMD/T Misiei Composer-D

mm

20.93

Cummodon

Proorjm fid s;; .■' . Asstm«ef-D Eisy Finance I. II. Ill, rV.-D Easy Cilc-D Easy Scnol-D 1 i., Spell □ ..

Genual Ltdwr-D Accu fiec-D. Accis pjy-0 Mij.c Dtsk-D

JI.9S (3

I9« _

Logo-D

The Manager-0

17,95 •

m'is *

49 H * ,

37.9S

_

t! S5 m 37.9S _

MK •

Zonl, II o> IJ1-0

nn

Suictni-D

m is «

S

peaj)

:■■--■ mk

OeMhw-0 Sky Tiawel

_

UK w a.K m (7.00

70 OflDffl: Cfltt TDtt FREE-WE'RE PROUD OF OUR PRICES-SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

1-800-221-2780 or 516-349-1020

i

or Writs Computer Centeis

ol Nmnica

Check. Money G'dtt. MC 01 VISA j"(puj:h: i;;.l':-jl criatge lor MailtiCard md Wisj.XjIL I:i ikipping ind handling intoiimllDnrNYS rttidtntt Ud

81 Terminal Dr

Cjii to itctnl prlct rn!..;! ;-r ...j nn rfbile inlormiTlon Pint ihipplng intf rundling- No relurai ullhoiii titurn Ikiihoiluilgn humCti.

Plifnvimr. NT 11801

j;p:iu6i[ ulei tii/Pficci ina atnliblliti ait lugttcl lo lUngE n.inou! nolltertil IkIopi h»h ireickjndlu aim manutKiunrt nmnn/ Deitin Wtltomt

Circle Reader Service No. 11

COMMDDOHI; MICKOCOMIH"TI-KS

41


SOFTWARE REVIEWS

BASIC-64 Computer:

Commodore 64

Publisher:

Abacus Software

Medium:

P.O. Box 7211

REVIEWED 1iY MII.UMOG1NSHI H(i

By using this BASIC compiler, the pro

Grand Rapids, MI

gramming is not easy. High-level lan guages, including BASIC, attempt to make programming as easy as possi

division)

applied

to

floating-point

numbers. Such programs are for prob lems in science, engineering, and eco

BASICprograms

Using machine language for pro

pealed mathematical operations (addi

tion, subtraction, multiplication, and

grammer can write

49510 Retail Prkei 539.95

Commodore Microcomputers, May/ June 1985). This problem involves re

nomics. The rim lime of these pro

and BASIC-64 will

grams increases

translate them into

increase depends on the number of

more efficient code.

exponentially

with

the problem size. In other words, the unknowns. Figure 1 .shows two curves thai rep

resent the run-time as a function of the problem si/e. The firsi curve (up

ble. BASIC, for example, is relatively easy lo learn and apply, and even ihe

per} is obtained by running a BASIC

novice can use ii. Machine language,

program. The savings in

on the other hand, requires a more ad

which is often the time you just sit

run

time,

vanced understanding of the com

and stare at the screen hoping to get

puter lo master the fairly complex set

results, becomes more and more sig

of rules. Yet, many people continue to

nificant

study machine language so Cbey can

larger.

belter use

HASIC-64 from Abacus is for the learning

who

and

wishes

coding

lo

avoid

machine

lan

guage but wants the speed and effi ciency. By using this BASIC compiler,

the

in BASIC. Ii provides a good Introduc

formed very well. As an example

tion to those programmers who in

consider a program for solving a sys

tend to go on to use larger machines

tem of linear equations (see "On Ma trix Algebra and Computer Arrays,"

and other high-level languages. I en

joyed using it.

grams and BASIC-64 will translate them into more efficient code. This HASIC-64 tives for

provides

several

compilation:

ime (seconds) vs. number of linear equations

alterna

pseudo-code,

machine language, or a combination Of both. As a result, several programs

Can be merged and compiled,

and

even programs like extended BASIC and Simons' HASH', can be compiled.

The main advantage of BASIC-64 i,s the enhanced speed. In most cases, it is noi possible to accelerate execution

it.s much as with direct machine lan guage coding, but the speeds are still quite impressive.

The package is easy to use, and the manual is well written. It should take only a few minutes to create a code from scratch, assuming that the BASIC

source already exists. The codes may require a fairly large amount of disk space, but this is a reasonable price to pay for what we get in return. HASIC-

64

is

which

most

suitable

require

for

extensive

programs run

time.

Also, it is great for instances in which response time is of the essence.

I tested BASIC-64 by compiling sev eral programs, and the package per42

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

becomes

the performance of programs written

the programmer c;in write BASK; pro

code is saved and used for execution.

problem

In summary, BASIC-64 enhances

ibe capabilities of their

computer.

programmer

as

M'MItl-K OF HQUATIONS

Q


Sensational Prices! . . . On Our Most Popular Items! Introducing

LOWEST PRICES!

THE

We can offer you some of Ihe lowest prices in the country on iho most

DISKETTE

Are you paying 100 much for diskettes'

popular printers, monnors ana interfaces Our normal prices arB already

i™, buuo makesure you genns Besl deal you can. «e will also meel mo$i

comDBtiiive pricos in in.s publication when placed on an aouar basis

Try our

(fiememoer-we dont charga ta use ol your creditcarfl. impose mcessi™ shioping leas, or use any other hidden eitras to Boost Iho prico you Day Due id Iho rapid chonoo in prices n [tie compulei mdualry wo can only

first quality, prime, 5V«" diskettes (no rejects, no seconds! at these lantasic sale pnces ana save,

EPSON BMC

meol prices al tho limo you plnce your order, we cannot a0|usl prices on uoms ordered or shipped on an earlier dale | Another plus (or charno card cuslomors—your cnornocorfl Is billet* at Mmsof shipmsnl only loi the Itoms shipped—no oarly billing, nn long wail (or the merchandise you nlrandu

save, SAVE! Disks are packaged in boxes 0! 50; each box contains 5 shrink-wrapped 10-packs thai

include diskettes in sleeves, labels, ana wriie-

paid lor

prated labs.

'

AXIOM

CARDCO

'

• THE BEST PRICES > THE BEST SERVICE . WHY SHOP ANYWHERE ELSE?

Each diskette is certified to be 100% error free and

comes with a lifetime warranty (il you have a problem, we'll replace the diskette). Atl diskettes include huO reinforcement rings and wrileprotect notch.

COMPUTERFACTS'

Alf diskettes are double density and work in either single or double density drives

SS, DD Diskettes. Bo< of 50

32391

Technical Service Data for Your Computer anrJ Peripherals

S49.50-199C EMU

OS. DD Diskettes. Bos of 50

32403

from SAMS

Sams introduces COMPUTERFACTS™

s64.50-*129 ea!

pao«Bofmiwr™iioiiiiat..«.iu™

jnner wo,kings ol majof brand micros, monnors. pnnurs and disk drives Includes scnemoiic Hir ing diagrams. (Hits lists, oisasssmily tnKmtfiWl, lioubiasncaling ttchiticjuas. ana «r»r roMii dalo

3347J Commodore 64 ComButor

M41H CwimMora t58S PriniBr

JJSSI OnmWoro Plus'4 Comnute, 1WI1 Co,»m<Kjgn 1M1 Oi»k Dn«i

33S]S CgmmoOOW 1701 Momior

13513 VIC-SO COmDulor

All

33ia, Commodo™ C16 Compute,

in/sl,.,!,.

H" PaCKClS

S17 U C. ow~ I-. "P(.»3 ii.ll.ll

The Most Complete Disk Drive You Can Buy Includes Word Processor, Spread Sheel, and Data Base Manager

INDUS GT

GRAPHICS PRINTER INTERFACE

only $229

Tde PPI (Parallel Printer IntarfacB) Irom DSI is a high-

performance graphics printer interface (of your Commo

dore W or VIC-20, offered al an untw Nova bio price1 The PPI lulfy omulalos a Commodoro prinler so that all solnuero wrilton

STfltn-oMMe-an &sk dnvn for C-04 and VIC-2U features LEO sedof indicator, nloctronic wnto-prclecl. buNi-m wedge, ana opwahng speeds up fo 40Q% taster Package includes cables and power suppfy. carrying case thai doubles OS a 0>sk storage filo AND software slarie/r package raaiuring woirj pioceaoi.

(or Commodore computers and printers can bo run with the PPI

and most any parallel printer.

specific printer Works with Slar, Epson. BMC. and many more. Comes complete with all necessary cables for quicfc installation and includes

spreadsheet, and database manager piogiam'

FULL YEAR PARTS AND LABOR WAflRAKTY"

33443

v

Indus GT Disk Drive

easy-to-(olio™ user's manual

ONLY $229

Special Buy — Limited Quantity!

33565

CARTRIDGE EXPANDER Plus S22.95 FAST LOAD OFFER! Slop «

g ojf yojr cornfujiBr and cirt'idgoa by ondleai

irKlgc.Drrrw'on" portion if mjctrlragd hi ED bvu»d RHfl Ifia torn.

PMl*r ina«pffn]pi-, ol irp powt* twiuh CvE'iOfft ■ '■:/'. .rn ...'■ -j1 -.any tccesi— no wma rumbling btrind Irw ecxnpuio'

34220 2-Slot Catindgo E»ponder

S19.95

Ths CBtriOge tipander 11 Q fjroif compinion lo* IhA Ep^ F35I Load canr»oaa—youcankecpitpormBPonllyinMiUMplushaveflsloTlieglor

USE SINGLE SHEETS

"EVERYTHING BOOK1

IN YOUR TRACTOR FEED

'or your VJC-20 or Commodore 6* and our cata log. ' The £veryihing Book lo> irie Commc<J(jre

C-64 ant) VIC 20 Home Compuien

our en Hiding slAtdards with r&nFofCM soams

Duco*e( ine sailing; and G&sy shopping a-an flWa from TeneH Comfjuier Enprcss1

2.95

31627 Dud Covtr anct Citilog

We gladly accept mat! orders!

Questions? Call 219/259-7051

Cow

nanliVAUc iransluscenl B gauge ^nyi *ev.n lo

Fast Load ONLY S22.95

South Bend, IN d66E0

to* 12 9S

^ eil'd shippng o' handling charQPi)

^29.95

P.O. Boi 6578

PRINTER WITH

INTRODUCTORY SPECIAL

Get \o know us by ordering irtis greal dual cover

V with purchase ol cartridge expander!

From Your Friends Al

•44.95

Parallel Printer Inlerfacs

DUST COVER and

01 her carlnogesi

34216 Fasl Load Cartridge (Sug Bmaii >3i95j

Print true Commodore graphics and

alpha-numoncs as well as any special character sels ottered by your

SHIPPING CHARGES ORDER AMOUNT CHARGE

Ad J1A

less lhan S20.00 S20.00-S39.99 S40.00-S74.99 S75.OO-S149.99

S150.00-S299 99 S300 S up

Circle Reader Service No. 32

PAPER TRACTOR Paper Traclor carries ordinary

t paper

Ihrough your Iractor -food pnnTcf1

Sim pry

place

invoices,

you'

letterhead,

forms, oven legal

checks,

sue

sneets

into the durable flexible ptasiic earner and

feed

into your

adjusiable

iractor-drive

printer Works wiih any printer, carries any paper

^J

22 084

$11.95

NO EXTRfl FEE FOR CHAflGES NO HIDDEN EXTRAS

ORDER TOLL FREE

1-800-348-2778


Commodore 64 Accessories

Summer Sixxlcr Sale Sale Positively Ends 9-15-85

Reg.Sale

Prices will go back to regular sale prices

Price

List

C128 Commodore Computer

00

Expandable to 512K, runs. C-6d. CPM. and 7.0 Programs. (Add SlOShipping)

WA" Commodore 150-170 CPS Printer Near Letter Quality. Multiple Pin Tractor

299- Call Us '299

Friction Feed.

Summer

Sizzlcr Sale

00

Best Printer Value in U.S.A. (Add S17.50 Shipping)

Commodore-64 IEEE Interface

Allows you to run Pet Peripherals on the C-6d. including the One Megabyte Disk Drive and t 5' i" Printer

Juki Printer/Typewriter Letter Quality

95

l69c

'109'

□0

'249 00

'299 oo

159 00

■109'

'59°

daisy wheel, use os typewriter and or printer

(auto correction) (Add S10 Shipping)

SCM 80 CPS Printer

Tractor Friction 10" Famoub Nome Printer does Graphics w

Interfoce. (Add S10 Shipping)

Catdco G Plus Interface

Converts Commodore 1o Centronics for use with most printers, plus

$149 95 95

does Commodore graphics on graphic printers

Alphacom 40 Column Printer

too

Thermal technology ■ does graphics. (Add S7.50 Shipping)

!24<

$22 "

Alphacom C-64 or Atari Interface $8.95.

190K Slim-Line Disk Drive

^249°°

•169"

One Megabyte Disk Drive (1000K)

!889M

■■ I QQOD

539900

''199°°

S8900

14900

$3rs

s149oo

,„„.

$599S

M299i

lEADt

$3995

Cooler, 20% faster, quieter than 1 541 drive (Add S>0 Shipping)

Double sided drive hooks up to C-64 with IEEE interface, perfect os a second drive. (Add SI 0 Shipping)

13" Premium Quality Color Monitor

Better than 1702 with separated video inputs. (Add $1 d.50 Shipping)

Voice Synthesizer

Allows you to talk through your computer. Optional software lets you play lolking adventure games (Zork, etc.]

80 Column Board - 4 Slot Expander

$I799S

$I6995

Allows you to program In 80 columns, plus gives you a 4 slot switch selectable expander

Auto Dial Modem with Super Smart Software Upload Download. Print. Colalog. This Package hos it all! ! ' Best Modem Value in the U.S.A.! !

Musicalc I Software

4CQ1S

The Best Musicol Software for the C-64, allows you to change all

■29"

$149S

parameters.

Oil Barrons Software

S49l

Better than Monopoly comos with game board, disks and instruction manual. Strike Oil or Live in tho Poor Farm

Add $3.00 lor shipping

fiondlirg and insurance.

19'

plus Softwore Coupon Discounts

Illinois losidpnli

pleose odd 6°. IQ> Add $6 00 (or CANADA. PUERTO RICO HAWAII ALASKA APO-FPO order* Conodian orders must be in U.S. dollar*. WE DO NOT EXPORT TO OTHER COUNTRIES Enclose Cashiers Check

EXCEPT CANAOA

Money Order or Personal Check. Allow \i

days tor delivery 2 la 7 doys (or phone orders 1 day express moil! VISA — MASTER CARO — C O.D. NoC O.D. loCanado

APO-FPO

95

We Love Our Customers 22292 N. Pepper Rd.. Harrington. Illinois 60010

312/382-5244 to order

Circle Reader Service No. 23


FANTASTIC COMPUTER PRINTER SALE!!! 10X COM-STAR HIGH SPEED Tractor Only

Friction

Printer

130-150 CPS

List $499 COM-STAR

iB%" 150-170 CPS Printer $319"

• Lowest Sale Price, Premium Quality. Tractor/Friction Printer In the U.S.A. (Best Value) • High Speed 130-150 Characters Per Second • 40,46,66,80.96, 132 line spacing • Word Processing, Letters * Business Forms • Labels, Graphics, Tables • List Programs

Fantastic Graphics • Print Modem Data • The Most Important Accessory For Your Computer

Premium Quality

SMITH

L80-150CPS 10X COM-STAR Highspeed Printer $199

10" carrlaKi', 2K buffer, prints BVt"xU" standard single sheet or

continuous feed paper, Bi-directional.

impact, dot matrix. 130-150 CPS. 9x9 riot matrix with double .strike capability for is x IS dot matrix (near

letter

quality).

high

resolution

bit

image, underlining, downloadable characters, true lower descenders with super and subscripts, prints standard, block graphics, and .special characters. It gives you print quality

and features found on printers costing twice as much!! [Centronics Parallel Interface i

Premium Quality IfiO-170 CPS

I5|/ZX COM-STAR Business Super High Speed Printer $319.00

Has all the features of the 10X COM-

STAR printer plus i5V' carriage more

components

l-'riction/Tractor- Bidirectional Dot Matrix printer with six pitches Including condensed and enlarged

type for impeccable printing. Drop in cassette ribbon; Centronics interface included, List $298.00, Summer Sn!r $149M (Limited Quantities)

to

powerful

business forms:

handle

electronics

large

ledger

(Better than Kpson

FX I(10 6 Delia 151.

15" Daisy Wheel Printer

This is the world's finest daisy wheel printer. Fantastic letter quality, up to

30CPS bi-directional, will handle 14.4" forms width! Has a 296 character print

buffer, special print enhancements, built In tractor-feed (Centronics

Parallel and RS232C Interface]

day warranty].

■JUKI

Combination $239.00

OOlympia Printer/Typewriter Combination S388.U0

■■.JUKI" Superb letter quality, daisy

Better

combination, Two machines in one just a flick of the switch, \2" extra

Two machines in one. just flick the'

Wheel

p r i n t e r /1 y p e w r 11 e r

large carriage, typewriter keyboard,

automatic margin control and relocate key. drop In cassette ribbon,1 IBII day warranty i Centronics parallel or RS2S3 .serial port built in

than

1UM

Selectlie,

Superb

computer printer combined with the

world's

finest electronic

typewriter

switch for up to 20 CPS printing (300

words per minute) on a ib" carriage

thai handles up Drop in cassette (iff correction, Interlace (itll day

to u i/s" in. paper. ribbon — express lift Centronics parallel warranty).

List 5740.00. Summer Sale $SBB,DO,

• 15 Day Free Trial — 1 Year Immediate Replacement Warranty PARALLEL INTERFACES For VIC-20 and COM-64 — $59.00. Apple — $59.00. Atari Add SN 50 far shipping

handling and iriiuronte

S59.00.

Illinois residents

plKOie odd b\ lo«. Add %11 00 lor CANADA PUERTO RICO HAWAII ALASKA. APO FPO orders Conodion orders must be in U 5. dollars. WE DO MO! EXPORT TO OTHER COUNTRIES. EXCEPT CANADA

Enclose Cashiers Check. Money Ordpr or Personal Check. Allow M

doys delivery Ho 7 days lor phone orders. 1 day express moil1 VISA -- MASTERCARD — COO

tool

List S648.00. Summer Sale S3BB.00

'Specify I. List $349,00. Sale$338,00,

List SMii. Sale $810.00,

Executive Letter Quality $299,00

Super Summer Sale Ends 9-15-85

Printer/Typewriter

List $489.00. Sale $109,00.

and

10" 80 CPS Printer

(Better than iipson FX80

and Gemini i0x).

OOlympia

CORONIV

NoCODIa Canada or APO FPO

We Love Out Customers 22292 N, Pepper Rd., Bomngton, Illinois 60010

312/382-5244 to order

Circle Reader Service No. 23


Commodore 64

One Megabyte si79 Disk Drive M79 Sale

_

_

A

Sale

Store Spreadsheets, Databases, Wordprocessing Data, Etc. • Commodore 64 • PET • 8032 • B128 The one megabyte disk keeps you from hunting through hundreds of disks for your programs: plus running out of room on your drive for Data base Data. Word processing Text. Spreadsheet Data, Business program Dota, etc. With the One Megabyte Disk Drive you can store over SVa times the capacity of the 1541. You con store your own programs and any back-upable commercial programs plus data from your business progroms*. Perfect as a

second Drive! ! ! ! Enter Ifie world of professional computers today. C-64 requires IEEE interface. List S899.00. Sale SI 79.00.

$

LIMITED QUANTITIES!

-Requires 2 drive sollv-are.

19900 Sale $19900 1514" High Speed 150-170 CPS

BUSINESS PRINTER

The 8023 is a highly advanced 1 36-250 column 1 51 / professional tractor friction printer with full Bit image graphics and

downloadable characters lor custom reports and program listings. The paper feed includes a multiple pin tractor for

smooth error free operation. With the ribbon rated at 1 million characters (no mess cartridge) and ihe print head at 100

million characters this printer will last a lifetime. Full formatting with near letter quality makes lining up decimal points, automatic "S" signs and tabbing look fantastic and easy to use. With out a doubt THIS IS THE BEST PRINTER VALUE IN THE U.S.A. ListS899.00 Sale 5199.00

LIMITED QUANTITIES!

SPECIFICATIONS COLUMN CAPACITY

RIBBON LIFE

GRAPHICS

! 36 - 250

! Million Characters

Bit Image

PRINT RATE

LINE SPACING

150-170 Characters per

Programmable

PAPER WIDTH 3" to 15V tractor or

Reverse Characters

PRINTING METHOD Serial Impact Dot Matrix

second (CPS)

single sheet friction

COPIES

PRINT STYLE

3, including original

Near Letter Quality

ERROR HANDLING

IEEE Protocol

Infernal

0.116" high. 0.08" wide

Cartridge (514.95}

Bi-directional

INTERFACE CHARACTER SIZE

RIBBON TYPE

PRINT DIRECTION

Programmable Characters

Self - Diagnostics Microprocessor

Commodore 64 IEEE Interface

This interface plugs into your Commodore 64 Disk Drive part ond allows you to hook up the 1 Megabyte Disk Drive and 8023 Printer as well as other IEEE devices. Seporte power supply insures reliability. Fantastic Interface. List SI 09 95. If bought with printer or disk drive S69.00.

w

Add $17 SO tor shipping

r

handling ond insurance

(no interface needed lor PET, B 128. and 8031 computers)

Illinois residems

pleose odd 6"= lo». Add S3S.00ior CANADA PUERTO RICO HAWAII

ALASKA APO FPO order!. Canadian orders musl be in U.S. dollars WE DO NOT EXPORT TO OTHER COUNTRIES EXCEPT CANADA

Enclose Cosniors Check Money Order or Personal Check. Allow 14 doys for delivery 2 10 7 doyi to' phane orders 1 doy oipross moil'

VISA - MA5TER CARD COD No CO D 10 Conoda. APO FPO

We Love Our Customers 22292 N. Pepper Rd.. Barrington. Illinois 60010

312/382-5244 to order

Circle Reader Service No. 23


COLOR MONITOR SALE!!! (Premium Quality}

(Premium Quality)

Super Summer Sizzler Sale

• Built in Speaker and Audio

Beautiful Color Contrast

High Resolution

• Front Panel Controls

Separated Video

• For Video Recorders

Sharp Clear Text

• For Small Business Computers

Anti-Clare Screen

40 Columns x 24 Lines

• Apple - Commodore -

Supports 80 Columns

Atari - Franklin - etc.

List $32900

Add SI J 5D shipping handling and insurance

Illinois re*idpi's plerjsp odil t>'± lax We do not ship io foreign countries (including

Canada1

Alaska

PuerToRico APO FPO

Enclose Cashiers Check Money Order or Penonnl Ch«k Allow I i fari |or delivery 2 fa 1 Qay\ for phon? orders

1

13" Color Computer Monitor

day eiprrts

Connecting coble S9.95

Re9' Sa'

5(7/77/77^ SaiG S16995

14" COMMODORE 1702 COLOR MONITOR (odd S14.50 shipping]

5upcr Summcv

$

7900

Sizzler Sale

List S299.00

15 Day Free Trial - 90 Day Immediate Replacement Warranty

12" XTRON SUPER HI-RESOLUTION MONITOR Super Summer $ 80 Columns x 24 Lines. Super Hi-Resolution 1000 lines Green or Amber Super Clear Easy to Read" lexi with special anti-glare screen! (Lid. Oiy.,

Sizzler Sale

List S2-J9.00

109 95

HI-RESOLUTION GREEN OR AMBER TEXT DISPLAY MONITOR

~J Columns x 24 Lines. Hi-Resolution, crisp clear easy to

read text with on!i-glore screen' A MUST for word processing. (Ltd. Oiy.

12" MONITOR GREEN OR AMBER TEXT Must be used to get 80 columns with C 1 28 S Alan ST.

r-

Lisi SI59.00

80 Columns x 2d Lines easy to read up front controls Aid Oiy.!

13" RGB & COMPOSITE MONITOR

Suner Surtimur

' ''" "

List S399.00

i

,

* A Anc

fl *f

Super Summer $JLft95

il

Sale

Super Summer

Sizzler Sale

DY

$27900

' Connecting cable $9.95

• LOWEST PRICES' IS DAY FREE TRIAL • 90 DAY FREE REPLACEMENT WARRANTY

• BEST SERVICE IN U S A ■ ONE DAY EXPRESS MAIL • OVER 500 PROGRAMS • FREE CATALOGS Add $10.00 (or shipping, handling ond insuionce. Illinois rendprm please odd 6°. Ion. Add SSO.OO lor CANADA. PUERTO RICO HAWAII ALASKA APO-FPO orders. Canndioti orders muil be in U S dollois WE DO NOT EXPORT TO OTHEB COUNTRIES EXCEPT CANADA.

We Ijovc Our Customers

Enclose Coshiers Check. Money Order ar Personal Chock. Allow IJ

22292 N. Pepper Rd.. Barrington. Illinois 60010

VI5A

312/382-5244 to order

daysfordehvery 2lo7dnyslor phone orders

MASTERCARD

COD

I day express moil1

NoC O.O. loConodo APO-FPO

Circle RBader Service No. 23


SOFTWARE REVIEWS

WordPro 64 Computen p Publisher:

not only checks the spelling, hut lets

Commodore 64

Pro-line Software

MIsslssauga, Ontario

L4Y 4C5 Canada

return to the WordPro 64 file to make

WordPro 64 that 1

the corrections.

treasure most is what

Using Large Files

I call the "hierarchy of

Disk

Retail Price: 150.00

WordPro

you modify vocabulary. You can then

Thefeature of

755 Queensway Easi

Medium:

REVIEWED HV ELIZABETH DEAL

64 is a splendid word

processing program, It has many com

mands anil many options, yet still re

mains manageable because the key stroke combinations are so natural.

The 64 memory can hold about 360 lines of 40 characters each. With tile

trouble": The more

printer set at about 65 columns, the

damage a command

Thai's more than enough for a letter,

capacity is about six to seven pages.

can do, the more work

hut short for a college paper, so you

can see that working linked files on

a floppy is important.

you must do to acti

WordPro 64

makes the work simple.

vate it.

You can write very long text and if the lext exceeds the computer's mem

l;or editing and writing text, you use

ory, you save that section and begin

ihc cursor keys as you normally do. l-'or other functions, you use a combi

Here is

nation of, at most, two keys.

shines.

There is a chart in the manual, us well us a file that you can print your

culled a scratchpad. You can use it for

self, that Lists all the key combina tions. The manual is bugfree, us far as

useful application takes the drudgery out of repetitive typing. You can de

l can tell. It is not quite a tutorial, hut gives enough examples to make learn

fine any key, at anytime, to type any thing you wish, from one line to a

ing easy.

whole paragraph.

Writing and Editing

It does not force you to foresee what

where There

WordPro 64 really is

an

extra-text

urea

many things, hut probably the most

WordPro 64 adapts to your work.

writing

another.

You

can

edit one

section at a lime, or the entire text on

disk.

WordPro 64 provides the tools to manage the files. Basically, standard DOS commands are used. When you wish to scratch (delete) a file, for ex

ample, you'll see the ">" prompt on the screen. You just fill it in to read ">,s():scratchit." No confusion. Every

you will he typing. It is ready when

body knows the wedge. Well, almost. If you don't, you'll learn it from

them

you are. You program WordPro 64 to

WordPro 64,

later, whether they are simple typos or require more elaborate editing. Need to move a paragraph or a sen

do what you need, not the other way

tence? It's simple—highlight ii. then

type file names for loading, saving,

move it. The transfers are quick and

and disk utilities. The cursor is placed

economical.

next to its name in the disk directory.

needs lo he placed in several spois in

name into the command

the text, a copy command comes in

to use.

file-merge capabilities.

handy. You may delete u word, a sen

You can abort commands you en tered by mistake. The exception is the

Your imagination is the limit. Writers

Write your text and correct the er

rors

Immediately,

or

correci

if you have a line of dashes thai

tence, or a whole paragraph. You aren't limited to merely deleting whole lines. All deleting automatically closes the text, so you do not have to

around. Similarly, you do not ever have to

and

(me

keystroke

copies

the you

file plun

Standard Sequential Files WordPro 64 allows you to read, edit, and write sequential files. It can print a document while inserting bits and pieces of information

from an-

oiher file. A mailing list program and a canned letter Illustrate WordPro's Mailing

lists

aren't

the only

use.

LOAD and SAVE commands (they can

may list BASIC programs on disk and

never be interrupted). As a matter of fact, the feature of WordPro 64 Llv.u I

insert comments between lines using

WordPro 64. Machine language disas

do it manually. Large areas of text can be erased, hut If you didn't mean to,

archy of trouble." The more damage a

an "ooops!" buffer can bring them

command can do, the more work you

semblies can be so ediied. In fact, BASIC programs can be ediied us ing WordPro (>-i. The applications are

must do to activate it.

unlimited.

back.

Need to find a phrase? No problem. Define it and ask WordPro Cvi to search for ii. The cursor stops at each instance while scanning the text in

treasure most is what I call the "hier

Insignificant

commands usually are enabled with two keypresses, while important ones may require a carriage return.

The program strikes a good bal

Output The editing and file handling wouk1 be pointless if you couldn't print the text on paper. Once you're sutisfiec

memory, and, if desired, shows you

ance. Nothing is overdone. Hells don't

the phrases located in all the Dies that you defined as being part of the larger

ring, the screen doesn't clear, the pro gram doesn't wxste your time asking

document. This applies to replacing

questions—it jusi unobtrusively pro

tell WordPro 64 how to print it. You must give specifications, page num

text. also.

tects you from your own errors.

bering, headers and footers, spacing

Need

to

write

the

same

word,

phrase, sentence, or lines repeatedly? 4B

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

SjJi'/lPm

64,

co-authored by Jim

Butterfleld, is a spelling program thai

will) what you've written, it's lime to

between the lines, and so on. This is done by using the imbeddct


SOFTWARE REVIEWS printer

commands.

printer to prim

These

tell

the

liny Spaces.

Hence,

uninterrupted from

gets compressed into a small screen

.start to finish, or to pause after each

area thai permits you to see the chart

page. Pause is useful if your printer is

as it will appear on paper.

one of those thai tend to cat its own paper—you'll have :i chance to yank it

us needed. In case of linked files (long

'

>■"■•'!■

my unlMi nun wtt |*ag on

Output can be stopped ami started text), you can fix any printer problems

on separate sheets.

and reprint from the top of the page

Headers and Footers can be placed

VPOtO iMAGfcS ON VOUH tOMMaxmi

IW. Ti I "h1[lir(omni>l.r*LfwnllO

out. It is also useful if you -.ire printing

at the top or bottom of the page. The

COMPUTEREYES

the whole lexi

where the problems started. This has saved my skin more than once.

text can contain anything: page num

bers, copyright notices, or a continua tion symbol.

The selection of output formats is

Hardware Configurations l;p to four disk drives may he used

with WordPro 64. They can he the

overwhelming. You do not need to

standard 1 >i 1 drives or any Commo

know them all, but it's good to know

dore IEEE drive, used with a program

what's available. Just some of them in clude

margin

sizes,

spacing,

page

numbers, page skipping, left and right justification,

centering,

margin

re

lease, pitch, form advance, user-de

such as the RTC's Link or Batteries Ineluded's Bus Card. Other IEEE cards

should give no trouble, but you OUgbl WordPro

64

supports

and superscript.

you load an output module. This module is :i tiny piece of code de

features in WordPro 6 i are the pro spacing,

ami

alternating-

page and double-column output. Pro portional spacing is a favorite of most people, hut double columns art- the most useful to people printing news media.

Many output controls can he given

(617J 444-9040

in memory, nor anything else.

Currently. WordPro 64 lias routines

for 2H printers. .Should you wish to use still another printer, or to redesign the output characteristics, there is a

good deal of documentation describ ing

overall left margin at ten just once,

job for everybody, since it requires

how

to

build

your

individual

printer modules. It's certainly not :i

and then :tll subsequent changes are

knowing machine code. But il can he

relative to that ten. So minus five will

done.

The standard colors are white on

and five to the right. This is a true

grey, with a cyan status line imd yel

lirnesaver. because you no longer have

low highlighting of ranged areas. The

to go through the whole text to edit

color combination is superb. It is easy on the eyes. It is very clear on a black

the settings. You can try the formatting on the

Needham. MA 02192

signed for the particular printer you plan to use. It does not upset the text

in a relative format, a great conve nience. For instance, you can set the

move the texl five columns to line left,

DIGITAL VISION, INC. t4 Oak Street - Suite 2

many

printers. When you're ready to print,

portional

MiiiiiiDiamRL \7i3ion ii11iii

to check with your dealer

fined characters, boldface, subscript,

Probably the most advanced ouipui

I

and white monitor, so there is no con

SNAPSHOT

screen, well hefore the printer goes

fusion. Should you. however, wish to

THE UNIVERSAL SCREEN

into its noisy work, because there is a

change that setup, you can redefine

video output option. It is just for that

the whole thing using a link' program

DUMPING UTILITY

purpose: to see exactly how a printed page will look. The video can be as

called Install.

wide as the paper, up to 132 columns.

sign a device

Normally, the size exceeds the limit of

drive. The whole combination can be

40 columns on the screen, and you

In a similar fashion, you can reas number

for any

disk

saved on the system disk. I'd think

must pan left and right over the lext. This preview is most valuable

twice about

where charts are concerned, because

Pro-LitlC. 1 think everybody should order thai backup just in case.

the

lO-colunin display is difficult to

work with.

writing on the system

disk, hut you can get a backup from

WordPro 64 also has a

variant of this theme: a map mode. It,

PROGRAM HASAN

ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE!

NOW SNAPSHOT Mas added TWO MEW VER SIONS written especially for trie COMMODORE PRINTERS.

SNAPSHOT-C I lor the 1525/801 and the SNAP SHOT C2 for the 1526/802 model. AND THE PRO

GRAMS ARE EASY TO RUM! Only lour keypresses! Dumps can be made anytime ir regard less of dis play mode or screen memory location. And com

bined Will] the original SNAPSHOT tor Epson lypG

The Bottom Line

roo, is video output, bur now you do

WordPro 64 is a full-fledged word

not sec the letters. Instead, a graphicrepresentation of the text is shown.

processing system you're unlikely to outgrow. It is delightfully pleasant to

Words become thin lines separated by

u.se. I highly recommend it.

Q

printers SNAPSHOT a truly one of tne leaders in the Industry.

FOR INFORMATION or TO ORDER eiirter versions on DISK-S24.95 • COMPUTER REVELATIONS ■75E RidgeroodAve 'Ridgewood, fj J 07450 Be sure to specify printer.

COMMODOHK MICRUUlMPrn-RS

o

z

$ o

;j

I/)

a>

■:i ■ )

!:


SOFTWARE REVIEWS

REVIEWED KV DAN RUSTIN

Trio Computer:

Commodore 64

Publisher:

Softsync, Inc.

162 Madison Ave.

New "York, MY 10016 Medium:

Disk

Retail Price: (69.95

O ne

of the latest Integrated soft

ware packages for the 64 a

composite

database

of a

is

Wo,

word processor,

manager,

and

financial

spreadsheet. Trio allows you to exchange Infor mation among its three programs, Aside irom producing form

phrase or a name without the entire line going along for the ride.

letters,

A truly imaginative feature of Trio

the most common use of Integrated

Word is a "Clipboard." This file is like

software such as this is to imbed data

a separate notebook where you can

from a spreadsheet into a written re

keep boilerplate paragraphs, and fre

port. You do this witli a link com

quently-used

mand al the printing Stage, or you can

phrases

or

technical

physically rearrange the database File

terms. You can consign database en

into the word processing file or load it

tries here when you want to

at the end of a document in computer

them with a document. Uach entry is

memory. By setting ranges, you can

use

for

scrolling,

loading,

saving,

merge

coded with a handle, and whenever

move it around like any written data,

changing screen colors, entering an

you want to insert one into your doc

Of course, you can't squeeze a two-

"erase" mode, and calling for help.

ument, regardless of its length, you

However, I found that they could also

simply enter the code. You can have

lie a nuisance. It's too easy to hit P3 when you're reaching for Irl or F5Suddenly, your text disappears be

multi-page drop-ins

foot wide spreadsheet Into an eightInch page, bin you can break it down into manageable chunks that can be manipulated as easily as paragraphs, You must be careful, though, not to

cause you've changed its color, so you have to punch through 16 text colors

overload memory. When you load Trio,

your screen

presents a three-course menu:

Wo

Word, the word processor; Wo Calc,

the spreadsheet program; and

TWO

and

16 background colors to get it F2

mode

is

one

I

with

a

number

so

single paragraphs. TWO'S help screens are another as set. When yon call for help, you get very chic-looking windows etched

of

down with the cursor keys. When the windows are open, Trio looks like the

hadn't ever encountered. You're pre sented

Pile, the database manager.

"erase"

like,

into your text. You scroll them up or

back to the way you had it. The

if you

long as the additions arc confined to

options

most

graphically

advanced

processor

where your cursor is. After you con

can't access these windows unless the

Trio Word is a full featured writing

firm your choice, hit i;2 again before

master disk is in the drive.

program designed for ease of use anil

your unwanted text vanishes. It sounds like a lot jusi to get rid of a few

ular exercise with any program hav

Trio Word instant startup.

On-screen function

available.

However,

word

about erasing text, most in relation to

you

Disk-swapping is going to be a reg

lines, but since there's no retrieve fea

ing the complexity of Trio. After all. it

area and the .status line is below. Your

ture in this program, it pays to be

is three separate anil complete pro

text does scroll upward, as with most

cautious.

grams which can't all reside in the

key directions are above the

Commodore

64

word

work

processors,

To move text around, you must use

64's memory at once. Disk-swapping

have

a combination of CONTROL and "R"

is

word wrap, and you're asked right off

to define your target area. Go to the

Word, but it could be with Trio file,

to define the length of your text—100

spot where you want to drop your

as we'll see later.

or 400 lines. You're advised to enter

text and insert another code. If you

400, though ihe reason is never made fully apparent. When you hit 400,

want to duplicate, respond now to the

screens, there are a number of other

prompt. You will now he at the lop of

extremely

memory

tlie file, and you must wade back to

though

the

program

doesn't

not

Aside

a

major problem with

from

the

useful

well

done

features

in

Trio

help Trio

seven double-spaced pages of output. This is an average allotment for a

the place where you left off. Unfortu

Word. These include a comfortable "insert" mode, painlessly accessed by

nately, you can't define a range of less

the up arrow; the ability to save even

Commodore 64 word processor.

than

part of a file; inclusion of sample text

is

full,

giving

you

about

The function keys are put lo good 5G

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

other

a full screen line of text—in words,

you

can't

drop

in

a

Continued on page t-


ERIPHERAL

lYSTEMS of ilMERICA inc

UNBEATABLE BELIEVE IT! COMMODORE"

^COMPATIBLE

^Zm

PLUS MORE!

PSA

1541

SO-1

MSD

Indus GT

YES

YES

YES

YES

ftKi««J Software

YES

YES

NO

YES

Fcrmat

16 sec.

90 sec.

18 sec.

18 sec.

1541 DOS Compatte R-msalCcpy

Time

Others may talk, but no one can deliver the features, the performance or the compatibility of our remarkable CS-1 Disk Drive. Go ahead. Make us prove it! Bring us your

c

YES

NO

YES

NO

Oaia Eta Deletion S Caredion

YES

NO

NO

NO

Dwce#

YES

NO

NO

YES

Reset Button

YES

NO

NO

NO

Fast Copy Software

YES

NO

NO

YES

SwachaWe

toughest test, your trickiest problem - if it works on the 1541'", it will work on the powerful CS-1. But you be the judge . . .

WE'RE BETTER. BELIEVE IT! The CS-1 is not only compatible, it goes one step further, It comes with its own proprietary operating system called

Save

PRICE-

239.99 229.95 299.95 299.95

•Based on Manufacturers List Prices as of April 1, 1985. Dealers may sell for less lhan suggested list price.

Q-DOS"11, which doesn't have the bugs and quirks that exist in the 1541 DOS. Now, the SAVE function works like it's supposed to. Now, you can reduce read errors with a built-in automatic DATA ERROR CORRECTION capability , , , and much more!

ALL THIS, PLUS AN ADDED BONUS! Buy a CS-1, and you'll receive the two most popular computer utilities . . , absolutely FREE. They include COPY-Q'", the high-speed, single or dual drive copy program that gives you quick and easy back-ups. And Q-LOAD"\ the program that speeds up the loading time on most programs. That's almost S1OO.OQ worth of powerful software FREE with your new CS-1 Disk Drive!

SO GO AHEAD. PUT US TO THE TEST. Visit your local computer store today and test drive the new CS-1. You'll like what you see ...

and Seeing is Believing,

Peripheral Systems of America Products You Can Believe In!

For The Name Of Your Nearest Dealer,

Call 214-956-7866 Today!

DEALERS INQUIRIES WELCOME Circle Reader Service No. 34

2526 Manana Road, Suite 209

Dallas. Texas 75220


SOFTWARE REVIEWS on the program disk to give you some

at the top of the keyboard to access

thing id practice onj a pleasant audible "dong" to Indicate thai a function has been accomplished; ability to restart

the column headings. Priming a spreadsheet is relatively

the program or load the othets on the

disk without turning off the com puter; ;ind a fast and accurate Bearchand-replace function.

Another nice touch is lhat you can

contact certain disk functions from inside each Of the programs. How ever, formatting a disk and renaming or scratching a lilt* require the elabo

Trio is an integrated package that allows you to exchange

ture which is essential to any serious

up box which lets you design a seelion's width and length. (These same-

parameters apply to rearranging the

information among

any of its three

spreadsheet

into

a

word

processor

File).

Trio File To use Trio File, you must first set

programs.

up your template—number tit

lields

and identification, and characters per

rate basic DOS commands.

A disadvantage of die program is the absence of a view-to-screen fea

simple. You're presented with a set

field. You have to do the mathematics yourself to insure that you don't ex

Trio Calc

ceed the 230-charaCtfir limit (the pro

The spreadsheet is the most refined

gram doesn't keep count for you).

word processing program. There is not even a side-scrolling 40-charactcr

of the three programs. Though it has

Creating a record is also relatively

representation of what your finished

sonic limitations, it is powerful and

document will look like. What you

easy

Blmple. Type the record into a prede fined matrix which delimits the

sec on-screen hears no rcscnihlancc to

never had their hands on a financial

what you gel.

ledger can set up "what if scenarios

length of each field. When you're fin ished and confirm th;it the record is

lo use.

liven those who have-

within an hour. The spreadsheet alone-

accurate, each record goes

a line, ihc next line may not print

may

ately into memory. It lakes a lew sec

flash at the left margin. Apparently,

program.

It also seems ihat if a sentence ends

the program recognizes one space be

he

worth

the

price

of

this

immedi

onds to commit each record, so after

Hut it, loo, has its limitations. It can

you've written a few, you may feel

tween the two sentences, If you leave two spaces between them, which is

handle only 60 rows by <i() columns

like you're spending more lime star

(fewer columns if you widen each to

ing ai a red LCD than actually work

ihc proper procedure, your finished

more than

ing on your files.

manuscript will have ;i one-space In-

can he anywhere from 2 to 36 charac

deni at the left margin ai each of these

ters wide.

occurrences.

The re.siili

is a

jagged

Though

22 characters).

Columns

Because this is such a drive-inien-

sive program, professional

number-jug

you must keep your

data disk in the drive ■» all times,

margin. And, since you cannot view

glers may find these restrictions loo

Therefore,

the finished document

narrow, for other uses

screens, which are on the master disk,

before you

Trio Calc is

if you

need

the

help

print it, there is no way to avoid this

functional and fast. You can edit for

the amount of disk swapping is going

defect.

mulas easily by cherry-picking them

to be substantial.

Softsync, the publisher, says it is not

into ihc command box with a press of

Record size is limited in THo l:ih:

ceived no complaints about It, though ihc program has been on the market

them Into the entire layout with an

us in Triii Calc. You can have no more than l~ lields per record, anil each

easy-to-master

or

field is limited lo 2l) characters. Also.

for a while. They are working on an

set them down in whatever cells you

you can't have a record with more

updated version which will have a

choose.

than 230 characters.

aware of this problem

high-resolution,

and has re

K()-cokimn

viewing

the equal-sign key.

Then you copy

copying

routine

Setting up the formulas requires a

Documentation of all

three pro

mode. No date has been set for the re

lillle practice, because they must ad

grams is nicely presented in a

lease of (his version. At ihc moment,

here to specific rules of syntax. Hut

page

there is no spelling checker available

once you get the hang of it, it's quite

for Tritt Wurtl.

easy.

clearly defines each program with ;i minimum of verbiage. The help win

Another deficiency of the word processor is a rather complicated

flexible, as you can expand and add

formation on the intricacies of file

print-formatting procedure. Not only

columns any time, though it's not ad

integration.

do you have to set up your own com

visable- to do this after your formulas

mand

have been set in place. Formulas don't

get three. The tradeoff: Each of the

each lime you use the program, you

travel with your columns it' you en

programs stops short, to some degree,

have to include ASCII codes for such

large the spreadsheet—you have to re

of what you might expect of a full-

features as holdface, superscripts and subscripts if you want these and your

assign them manually. A nice feature of Trio Calc is the

categories.

printer can handle them. You can save

'■fold over" column labels at any part

standable and probably unavoidable.

and reuse these commands. There is

of the layout so you can tell what see-

no preset code for paragraph indents

lion of the ledger you're working in,

To some users, the shortfall may be in significant, and for them THo is un

so you must sei tlicsc manually too.

You simply hold down the arrow keys

questionably a good value.

line for margins and spacing

52 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

The design of your spreadsheet is

comb-bound

manual

I3v

which

dows in the program offer more in

For the price of one program you

function program in each of its three

This

tradeoff

is

under

E9


WHAT

IS

THIS

GIRL IS

GIRL

THE

DOING?

TH AX PAS GG3 ER2 LL PAS IK 88 29

15

CM

2A

52 FEEDING

45

Od

12

55

PAS FF IV PA3 QL12 IH NO PAS BE1 04

40

19

02

33

12

AA

04

28

BREAD

TO

RR1 EH EH PA1 QQ1 PAS TT2 IW2 14

07

07

PAS EY 20

04

00

A

PAS 04

21

04

13

31

DUCK

002 AA KK2 PAS 33

04

41

You ean now have your computer speak to you.., with the inevitable

"Kilobaud Monitor.™ This remarkable breakthrough in enginwrinjr is now lit-ihk offered In Uio general public by Compute!, nnd is m:idc pouible nt a fraction of the colt you'd OXPOCt I" pay amrwhlrs lite. You will also learn

how computoni npcnk, what ipwcfi synthesis is, ind tin- linsici behind

phonflmies. 11'* n Rrcat educational tool for the individual and for the institution alike!

The Kilobaud Monster is n revolutionary Item for the hobbyist, because now you can have many new rrerwrces <ivailnl>li> fur experimentation. No longer is ihia fiehl of srienc.: limited to the lab, and no longer is its cost

limited to governmental roaaaroh projects. Vim ran make your computer apeak with little effort, a lot easier than you think! The quality of speech pronunciation is excellent. Anything InuglnahlB may be spoken, from scientific Ihro slang words—we Induds detailed instrucliona showing you exiictly him- to do this, You can now him* all the. satisfaction nf iloinK this vourulf, at a fraction of the cotl. and h&Vtng aomothinn really useful to shou- (or your efforts! „

KILOBa

Devunt

YOUR COMPUTER WILL TELL YOU! DON'T THEY ALL NOW "SPEAK" . . . Able to work with any computer!

Complete instructions

included!

User-programmable vocabulary of virtually unlimited size!

ONLY

9

• Program it to say anything you want!

'regular price'

• Guaranteed to hold your interest and delight for hours!

Introductory package Includes everything you need lo get startedl

* SAVE—Compute! members only $ 7.95. The Kilobaud Monster is the basis of a series <•( projects tltnl cun make

your computer talk, and is necessary for later projects. The Kilobaud

Monster will set you up with everything you need to know in order to

attach it to your computer and enable it to speak words. All additional information is included with this beginner's nackaee. The built-in editor

ill the Wordniiikei- enables ;im to easily "fine tune" every word yon create

tip make it sound exactly as you wish. Or you mn act up a "word bank"

With the Uenaga Talker that includes all the phrases and alutements that you'll ever need! The Artificial Intelligence accessory' will permit

your computer to produce totally random sentence's, following all the rules of correct grammar within a |ire-defined vucabulary-sct, all day long!

If you're new to the computer field, or if you're nn old-time "hacker,"

YES, I'm interested in making my computer talk. Please send me the following items:

; □ INTRODUCTORY PACKAGE

$ 9.95

D WORDMAKER

$ 19.95

! I I MESSAGE TALKER

$ 14.95

JARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

S24.95

you'll want to subscribe to our publication "Computel," which covers

: DCOMPLETE COLLECTION SET

puters, Electronics, and Telecommunications, tliis publication Hives you

iDOne year subscription to Computel,

everything that YOU want to leel Encompasslnj! the suhjecti of Com

a "new meaning" of the free enterprise system and the monopoly" of

existing organizations. You'll need tn become part of this international hobbyist phenomenon really soon. SAVE $2,00 on EACH ITEM you buy if you subscriln- t" Compute] now! And this is IN ADDITION to the

$59.50

plus four Kilobaud Monster $65.50 e items... ems... $ PLEOSE ADD S! 00 SHIPPING t HANDLING TO YOLJP, OJtDEfl

CREDIT

total packoM price for the Complete KII.OBAm MONSTER Collection— you'll SAVE OVER SIS. Dealer and educational institution inquiries : CARD invited. Circle our Reader Service Number for additional Information, Vou may order these product! from us by leading; a chpek. money ord« NAME postage or cash to I'.S. negotiable funds only. In th,. uddr™ indicated beloiv. Or you may charge your order to your Visa or Master Card. Pirate include S2.00 shipping and handling on all orders. California residrnts

please add sales ta*. Allow three weeks for delivery. Add ?.'i 00 for next-day shipment by U.P.S.; J1B.00 for next-day delivery by US.PS We guarantee your satisfaction for 00 days with our products, and offer a money-back guurantee if not fully satisfied during that period.

COMPUTEL PUBLISHING SDCIETV

S35" VBNNUVS SLVO

SUITE Ifll I VAN NUYS C* 9«O1-!69e

DATE

ADDRESS. CITY

STATE_

.ZIP.

Your Computer. SEND ALL PAYMENT IN U S FUNDS DHAWN ON US. BANKS •

S0RHY. HOCOD'S

Make checks payable to: COMPUTEL PUBLISHING SOCIETY Posi Office Drawer 7765 / VAN NUYS, CA

Circle Reader Service No, 9

91109-7765


BEHIND THE PROGRAMS The Man Behind the Muppets: Christopher Cerf f there's :l Muppet on your monitor,

you can thank Christopher Cert". He's .he man responsible for combining Muppet manic with computer soft ware. When computers first came

out, Chris was unhappy with "usertricndly ' software that only experi enced programmers could use. He de cided

ihat

a

bil

of

Muppet

mania

could do a lot to lighten up the soft ware

scene.

According

to

Chris,

"Truly friendly software should have familiar characters and lots of humor. It Should he fun and easy to use."

Chris met the Muppets in

1970

while he was working with the Chil dren's Television Workshop (the folks

who put Sesame Street on the map).

When computers entered the home market, Chris saw Muppets as the per fect way to combine education and entertainment.

"Our

goal,"

says

ChrlS, "was to help kids and their par ents learn basic computer skills with out the fear of making mistakes."

Chris combined his genius with the talents of Jim Henson, creator of the

Combining his genius with the talents ofJim

Henson, creator of the Muppets, and software designers likeJoyce Hakansson, David Thornburg, and George Brackett, Chris Cerf turned Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzoand the rest of the Muppet mob into software stars. universal age appeal." explains Chris. "They have a sense of humor, and

they don't talk down to kids." Muppet fans can make up all sorts of silly stories using Kerniit's Elec

tronic Storymaher, published by Si mon and Schuster, When the stories are finished, authors can make any

Muppets. and software designers like

Muppet the siur anil watch the stories

Joyce Hakansson, David Thornburg.

comelo life. The Great Gonzo

and George iirackeu. Together they turned

Kcrmit, Miss

Piggy,

GonZO,

and the rest of the Muppet mob Into

software stars. "The Muppets have

(also

Simon

thrill

of

an

in

Wordrhler

and Schuster) has the arcade

game

obstacle

course. Players build miraculous ma-

chines with the help of nouns and

verbs, and then use them to help GonZO rescue his poultry pal, Camilla the Chicken, from the dutches of the Swedish Chef. The newest

software,

addition

to

Muppet

WelCOtHO Aboard (Ilroder-

hund), lakes users on a computer liter acy cruise with Scooter manning the electronic mail room, Fozzie Hear on

database management, and Captain Kcrmit in command of programming. The

program

also

uses

computer-

aided design to glamorize Miss 1'iggy and

provides

computer

recreation

with grumpy Sam the Eagle in charge of the game mom. At 12, Chris Cerf is still very much a kid. Being a lover of toys and games,

Chris has a knack for knowing what kids like. He sees youngsters using computers like adults use pencils, and

he's made a personal project out of promoting computer literacy for all ages. To further his goal, Chris lec tures to school groups, university stu

dents, and many oilier organizations, Many of his listeners have "computer-

54

SEPTEMBEtUOCTOBER


SOFMARE REVIEWS

REVIEWED BY PAM HoitowiTZ

Welcome Aboard Computer: Commodore 64

Publisher: liroderbund 17 Paul Drive

.San Rafael, CA 94903 Medium:

Di.sk

\/f

lTAuppet madness takes to the high

seas

in

Broderbund's

We/come

Aboard. The Great Gonzo, Fozzie Rear, Miss Piggy, and the rest of the Muppet gang make up the crew of die

S.S. Microship. They're at your ser vice as you embark on your cruise to computer literacy.

Welcome Aboard uses two disks to explain five major applications of the computer. The program takes a light, phobia," and Chris overcomes these

fears by showing them that comput ing can be fun.

humorous look ai word processing and electronic mail, database manage ment, programming, and computer-

aided design. There's even an arcade

Chris is an idea man who seems to have a knack for finding humor in every situation. While attending Har

game to show the computer's enter tainment function.

The Welcome Aboard menu allows

ball gown which looks like a basket ball or doing her hair in bangsneat rows of firecrackers across her forehead. For fun and games, try the ship's game room. If you're lucky, Sam the

vard University, he was vice-president

you

of the Hainan/ lampoon, a maga zine thai pokes fun at anything and everything. He also created and coedited the A'o/ the New York Titties

cruise ship. The bridge, for example,

game. However, you'll have to learn

is manned by Captain Kcrmit, He'll be

to ignore his grumbling when he tells

magazine in 1978.

to

visit

different

parts of die

happy to teach you how to navigate the ship using a language called Slowgo. Your goal is to keep the S.S.

The entire Cerf family has a history of talent and creativity, his father,

Microship from sinking as you learn

Bennet

"What did the banana say to the hippopotamus?" For the answer to this and oilier equally stupid riddles,

Cerf,

founder

of

Random

House Publishing Company, was also a

writer,

comedian,

and

television

the basics of computer programming.

celebrity. His mother, Phyllis Cerf Wagner, is a writer and an editor. With a background like that, it's no

consult Fo7Jzie Bear and his dumb joke

wonder that Chris created the win

even add your own jokes.

ning combination

data base. You'll get a humorous look at how a data base works, and you can

Of MuppetG and

message

micros.

how electronic mail works and help send your own message to the Mup-

He'll

demonstrate-

pets. This is your chance some

simple

word

lei you play an arcade

you to "get out and stop wasting your

time on frivolous games."

After your guided tour of the ship's facilities, there's lots of opportunity to practice what you've learned in the open-ended

parts

Aboard.

program

The

of

Welcome also

comes

with a "travel brochure" highlighting the crazy crew of the S.S. Microship and describing the ship's many deluxe

features. There's even a glossary con taining computer lingo from A to Z.

Scooter is in charge of the ship's center.

Eagle will

to

learn

processing

techniques.

To do a glamor makeover on Miss Piggy, head for the beauty .salon where Monsieur Gonzo is in charge.

He'll show you how computer-aided design tries lo give Miss Piggy some style. (Well, even a computer cant perform miracles...) Miss Piggy may never make the best-dressed list, but you can haw fun outfitting her in a

The

glossary

like the

contains

information

Muppct's breakthrough

computer

technology:

in

Welcome

Aboard is the first program to replace on-screen "windows" with portholes! Welcome Aboard is Muppet magic

at its best. Its lighthearted treatment

of computer applications can

mrn

even a grandma into a computer liter ate. It won't make her a master at every

function,

but

at

least

she'll

understand what a computer can do. The excellent graphics, ease of use, and

whimsical

presentation

make

Welcome Aboard nothing less than a five-star cruise. R COMMOWHti: MICROCOMPUTERS

55


COMPUTER WIZARD

BY LOUISE SANDHK

Simply Speaking:

ume was turned down. Read the next

Commodore 128 Sound

again.) Now let's see how VOL and

The SOUND command in the 128's 7.0 BASIC makes creation ofsound

audio

paragraph, execute a VOL H, and try SOUND work. VOL couldn't be simpler. To set the volume,

just execute VOI. n,

where n is a number from 0 to 15Spaces between VOI, and n are ig

nored. If n=0, all sounds will be si

effects easy.

lenced. Higher values produce higher levels of output.

SOUND always takes three argu

Af yon own :i Commodore 128, this

of the sounds produced. Taken to

article will introduce you to the ele mentary aspects of BASIC 7.0 sound, and will build your confidence in

gether, these six little words are an

working in thai medium. If you iinn 'i

own a 12H, it will help you see what

easy-to-use, yet sophisticated, sound

ments, of the form SOUND voice, frequency, duration

programming system. They let you do

Commodore 64-like sound effects without the PEEK'S and POKE'S.

The 12H can make up to three sounds at once, each produced by a circuit, or

with

voice, numbered one, two or three.

sound, let's he sure your computer/

Each voice's waveform can be cus

picture on 12H sound, and we'll reach

monitor setup can produce them suc

tomized independently, but all three

it by describing major capabilities and

cessfully.

are initialized

by providing simple examples, it" your

Tone program is used to set up your

voice argument indicates which of the

interest is in .simple SQQgS and sound effects, read on, and you will learn.

speaker

volume

three voices you've selected for this

control. Hun it, get a comfortable tone

SOUND. Since all three have identical

On liie other hand, if you're a Stra-

level, then press the STOP key to kill

capabilities,

divarian sitar synihesist,

third

the tone. Now if your sound experi

which one you use for a particular

stream theremin theorist, our mutter-

ments fail, you'll know it's not a hard

purpose.

ings might be beneath you. (liven so.

ware problem.

Before

you're missing, Our objective is to present the big

or

a

Amadeus. you may find our examples

start

The and

working

accompanying

its

associated

Test

The

As an interesting sidelight for new and

amusing!)

we

prospective

128

owners.

Test

to sound alike. The

it doesn't

frequency

much

matter

argument,

which

can range from 0 to 655.^5. deter mines the pitch of the sound pro

Tone uses some non-sound BASIC 7.0

duced. Roughly speaking, a frequency

want to make a point. While we pro

keywords: The TRAP in line 130 di

parameter of X produces a tone of

vide tlie overview, your user's manual

rects

X/10 cycles per second.

contains all the details. If you really

STOP is pressed, and the SLEEP in line

want your Master of Arts in sound,

160 stops further execution until the

from 0 to 32767. determines the num ber of (iffies for which the sound will

Assuming you're still with us. we

execution

line

duration argument,

ranging

SLEEP were absent, the rest of the

be played. (In Commodore terminol

sound

program would execute as soon as the

ogy, a jiffy is l/60th of a second.) A

SOUND was started.

sound with a duration of one will be

VOL and SOUND

duration of 32767 will go on for nine

software. Point made. Now it's time

If the

The

SOUND

sound-related

course.

when

you should study the manual and ibis in

its

171)

article. Together, they'll give you a foundation

lias run

to

played for 1/6U second; one with a

for business.

Overview of Commodore

If you've ever tried to make u sim

BASIC ~.() has six special keywords to facilitate working with sound. They

SOUND also lias five optional argu ments, which control the nature of

ter this in direct mode:

the lone produced. By selecting them

appropriately, you can create rising,

VOI.

SOUND 1,22222,33 How's that for simplicity?

SOUND

didn't bear anything, maybe your vol

are:

minutes!

difficult that can be. On your I2H. en

ple beep on the 64. you know how

128 Sound

(If

you

falling or oscillating tones, or tones with unusual waveforms. Discussion

PLAY TEMPO

ENVELOPE

Computer Wizard regularly presents elementary topics of inter

FILTER

est to Commodore cotnputerists. It emphasizes the needs of

VOI. is like a stereo's gain control— it sets the audio volume. SOUND pro

duces tones and other simple sound effects, with an absolute minimum of

programming.

PLAY

and

TEMPO

make song playing easy, while ENVE LOPS and FILTER change the nature 56

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

beginners, but is of use to advanced cotnputerists as well. The column is written to be easily understood by all, and to be of lasting value to its readers. Ifyou have comments or sugges tionsfor Computer Wizard, please write to Louis F. Sander, in care of this magazine.


COMPUTER WIZARD of these

aigumentfl

is beyond

our

scope at present; you can read about

them in your user's manual.

If you run the accompanying Sound 1 program, you'll hear a range of sounds from low frequencies to high. Notice that frequencies under 2000 or so make buzzes rather than

tones.

Also observe that in BASIC ~.0. pro gram-mode LIST commands don't ter

notes can be played for any duration,

The PLAY statement lets you code songs in strings, where the char

from sixteenth notes through dotted wholes.

The sound of the notes is also con trollable, again by including the ap propriate characters in playstring. You

acters correspond to

can PLAY any of the three voices, and

musical notes.

once. You can control the audio vol

any number of them can be playing at ume, and you can choose each voice's sound from a library of ten different

minate the program. Feel free to ex periment with Sound 1, changing the

tones that sometimes remain af

VOL and SOUND parameters however

waveforms. The ten are pre-defined

ter sound sequences are finished.

to sound like musical Instruments, but

you see fit.

The Sound 2 program illustrates three voices playing at once. Once again, the SLEEP intervals are mea sured in seconds and SOUND inter

vals in sixtieths; it's not loo difficult to get them working together. Delete the

SLEEP and notice how line 160 is exe cuted before its time.

Sound 3 shows a different way of coordinating voices. If you compare

its sound with that of Sound 2, you'll

you can re-define them if you wish.

PLAY and TEMPO

Your song's timing can be changed

To try your hand at 12K songmak-

tng, enter this in direct mode: PI.AY "CCDCFE"

by the TEMPO command, by the use

of rests (sixteenths through whole), and by a special character thai stops

Pretty easy, isn't it? (If you didn't hear anything, increase the volume.) The PLAY statement lets you code songs as

further execution until all voices are silent. As with everything else hut

strings, where the characters corres

tempo, these final two are controlled by characters within the playstring.

pond to musical notes. When you I'l.AY the siring, the coded notes are

All in all, PLAY gives tremendous flexibility in songmaking. and it's

find it has fewer clicks or thumps as

converted to sounds. An A in the string plays a musical A. a II plays a

very easy to use. If you'll run the ac

the extra voices cut in. Notice how-

musical It, and so on up through (i.

voice one is turned on once for the

The

duration, and how voices two and three are activated at frequency zero

fast the notes are played. Fntcr TEMPO 40, then PLAY ■CCDCFF".

see and hear a cross section of this flexibility. You can experiment with

until their sounds are wanted. I dis

Next, try the same PLAY statement af

covered this technique while playing with my 128, and I'm sure that you can discover similar tricks. Along those lines, you'll see other

things in these programs that

you

won't find in the manual. Namely: • When a SOUND statement is exe

cuted, the required activity liegins, and the program immedi

ately

attempts

to

execute

TI-MP

how

ter entering TEMPO $. Fora little vari ety, enter PLAY AS.

AS = "liAGFFDC",

then

By now you should have a begin ner's feel for PLAY. It's a lot like the PRINT statement, except it plays things through the speaker rather than putting them on the screen. Its formal is very simple:

the

next statement, without waiting

statement governs

PLKXplaystring

where playstriug can consist of char

for the sound to finish. The sound goes on for its appointed

acters contained in quotes,

duration, regardless of oilier pro

previously defined. Only notes A through (i, plus certain other charac

gram activity.

• Before executing a SOUND state ment, the computer checks the status of the voice in question. If it is actively making a sound, fur

ther execution is delayed until that sound is finished. Only then does the next SOt 'ND begin. • SOUND with a duration of zero

is a special case, it silences the in dicated voice immediately, re gardless of its previous status. Line 170 of Test Tone is an exam

ple of this phenomenon. The technique is also valuable for si lencing the low-level residual

or of a

string variable whose contents were

ters, are legal in playstring; the details appear in your user's manual.

PLAY has

tremendous

flexibility,

which you control hy placing other

characters in playstring. Here is what you can do: You can PLAY notes from

companying Play

1

program, you'll

PLAY by altering our program or by entering statements in direct mode.

Spaces are disregarded in the playstrings, but many people insert them

between notes or other commands. If yon do all the examples in your user's manual, you'll be a PLAY expert in no time.

ENVELOPE and FILTER These statements allow you to alter the character of the sound each voice

produces when

PLAYcd. They

are

rather complex in their syntax, and al though they're very powerful, few

beginners have need to work with them. Essentially, FNVFLOPF, is used to alter the waveform library, and FIL-

TER is used to pass or reject various bands of frequencies. ENVELOPE and FILTER are covered quite ihoroughly in the user's manual, and we refer you there if you're interested in dabbling in waveforms.

seven octaves, numbered zero to six.

(You change octaves by including the

letter "O,' plus the appropriate octave number.)

Within

each

octave,

the

scale starts at C, so the notes progress CDEFGAD from low to high. Any note

can he made sharp or flat, by preced ing it with a '■#" or "*," respectively. By using different prefixes, individual

Conclusion Well, dear readers, that's our over

view of sound. If you've done our lit tle examples, you have a pretty good

handle on using PLAY and SOUND. When you read further in the manual, the sound sections should be more meaningful

than

you

found

them

COMMODORE MICROCOMPUTERS

57


COMPUTER WIZARD over from there, playing the melody

be fort.

We hope you enjoy your new knowledge, and |usi 10 make sure thai

Try il!

Master ofArts in sound

you do, we'll glveyoua link-song, h's

:i Country and V&festern Classic from

For the musical thrill of a lifetime,

do a VOL 15,aTEMPO40, then PLAY

on the 128, study the

l.onis R "Cowboy Lou" Sander, and the best thing about it is that you don't have to curt the notes! As amazing as it sounds, if yon put its tide in a PLAY statement, the

from start to end. Don't helieve it?

Ifyou really want your

128 takes

"SHE FED HER RACE AT A FFHDHAt;

user manual and this

BUT SHE MOVED HIS HEART OF HEARTS". (We said it's a country clas

article.

sic!) If you think about it a while. you'll discover why it works. Q

iMM^^^^H

Test Tone 10

REM

20

:

100

**

TEST

TONE

-

LOUIS

F.

SANDER

Playl PRINT"[CLEAR,D0WN3] A

TEST

TONE

IS

PLAYING

AT

MEDIUM

VOLUME." 110

PRINT"[DOWN]YOU ADJUST

120

YOUR

HAVE

STOP

THE

TONE."

130

TRAP

170

:

140

VOL

:

REM

150

SOUND

1,5000,1800

160

SLEEP

30

170

SOUND

1,0,0

180

:

REM

STOP

SET

REM :

THE

TURNED

STOP

MEDIUM

:

KEY

TO

VOLUME

REM

START

TONE

TONE

TONE

REM

20

:

**

HAS

OFF."

SOUND

1

100

PRINT"[CLEAR]"

:

LIST

110

VOL

:

REM

120

:

130

SOUND

15

140

:

150

PRINT

160

IF

:

F=125

F. :

SANDER PRINT

INITIALIZE

1,F,60 "F=";F

F<65536

:

130

Sound 2

10

REM

**

SOUND

LOUIS

20 : 100 PRINT"[CLEAR]"

:

LIST

SANDER

F,

;

PRINT

110

VOL

120

SOUND

1,8000,60

PRINT

"1

130

SOUND

1,8000,60

SOUND

2,16000,

140

60 : PRINT "2 VOICES" SOUND 1,8000,60 : SOUND

8

2,16000,

SLEEP 1 PRINT"DONE!" REM

20 : 100 VOL

M

**

SOUND

PRINT

:

PLAY

130

SLEEP :

3

LOUIS

F.

SANDER

8

:

PRINT"[CLEAR]"

SOUND SOUND

1,8000,180 : 2,0,60 : REM

130

SOUND

3,0,120

140

SOUND

2,16000,120

150

SOUND

3,32000,60

160

SLEEP

1

170

PRINT"DONE!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

:

REM :

:

:

LIST

HEM SOUND VI SILENCE V2 SILENCE REM

REM

V3

SOUND

SOUND

V2

REM

15

"C

G

:

:

SANDER

**

SELECTED

INITIALIZE

STEP

E

G

3

VO

:

VOL

VO

RANGE

OF

C"

NEXT

--"

GOSUB 380 : FOR OC=0 TO 6 PLAY

REM INITIALIZE : PRINT "OCTAVE="

"O"+STR${OC)+"C

D

E

F

G

B"

180

SLEEP

190

:

1

:

NEXT

PRINT"[DOWN1HEAR TEMPOS

SOME

SELECTED

— "

210

GOSUB

380

TE=5

:

REM

220

PRINT

"TEMPO="TE

:

TEMPO

:

GOSUB

:

IF

:

330

:

TE<255

INITIALIZE TE

TE=2*TE

THEN

220

230 240

: PRINT"[DOWN]HEAR

ALL

250 260

ENVELOPES -" GOSUB 380 : REM INITIALIZE FOR EN=0 TO 9 : PLAY "T"+STR$(EN) :

PRINT

"ENVELOPE="

:

GOSUB

330

270

:

280

REM

290

GOSUB 380 : PLAY "VI

300

SOUND

:

FANFARE,

SOUND

:

SOUND

3,0,0

:

: REM

SUBROUTINE

330

PLAY

"04 :

C

E

G

1

REM SHORT

SLEEP RETURN

360 370

: REM

380

FOR V=l

:

INITIALIZE TO

3

:

V3

QUIT

WG

M"

2,0,0

TO PLAY

05 C

PLAY

350

AND

END

REM

340

PRE-SET

EN

SILENCE

: VOL 15 WC V2 WE

1,0,0

THE

NEXT

310 320

.C"

110 120

SOME

PRINT"[DOWN]HEAR THE

A

200

:

TO

F.

«

"VOLUME="

1

TONES

:

Sound 3 10

380

:

140

VOICE-

60 : SOUND 3,32000,60 : PRINT "3 VOICES" 150 160

FOR V0=3

F=F*2

THEN 2

GOSUB

**

LOUIS

LEVELS

110

160 170

1

PRINT"[CLEAR]HEAR

OC

LOUIS

PLAY

120

150

OFF

TEST

**

VOLUME

Sound 1 10

:

100

TO

DELAY REM

REM

20

KEY

PRINT"[DOWN,RVS]THE BEEN

SEC

SPEAKER."

PRINT"[DOWN]PRESS

8

30

10

THE

ALL

04

A

G

TUNE

E

390

RETURN

05

DELAY

VOICES

PLAY

"V'1+STR${V)+"O4 T7 U9 X0 Q" : NEXT : TEMPO 16 : SLEEP 1

V3

C

TUNE

sno


Factory Reconditioned with Factory Warranty!

GREAT GIFT IDEA

Carries easily as a suitcase! Plugs Into 115V outlet!

FOR STUDENTS!

Sorry, we're not permitted to PRINT the famous brand-name. BUT, we CAN "tell all'9 if you call us TOLL FREE: 1-800-328-0609! THE COMPUTER Snap-on computer keyboard! 64K RAM, 20K ROM. Full-

size typewriter keyboard. Upper and lower case

letters, numerals, symbols, reverse characters. 2

cursor control keys. 4 funclion keys, programmaCle to 8 Music synthesizer with 3 independent

voices, eacti with 9 ociave range. Input/output ports accommodate ... user, serial, ROM cartridge, joy sticks, external monitor, phone modem.

Built-in disk drivel Intelligent high speed unit with

5W (loppy disk recorder. 170K formatled data stor age: 35 tracks. 16K RDM. Jses single sided, single density disk. Serial interface. Second serial port to chain second drive or printer.

Built-in color monitor I Displays 40 columns x 25 lines

of text on 5" screen. High resolution, 320 x 200 pix els. 16 background, character colors. Buill-ln HOM cartridge portl Inserl ROM program car

tridge. Multitude of subjects available in stores across Hie nation!

Mfr. List Price

$

Liquidation

Priced At Only

'995.00

388

THE PRINTER

THE SOFTWARE

Print mBlhrjd: Bi-directional impact doi matrix.

"Euy Script" One of the most powerful word pro cessors al any price' Cut re-lyping. create docu

Character malrix: 6 x 7 dot matrix.

Chiricteri: Upper and lower case letters, numerals and symbols. All PET graphic characters Graphics: 7 vertical dots — maximum 480 columns. Dot addressable. Character codes: CBM ASCII code. Print speed: SO characters per second Maximum columns: 80 columns, Character spacing: 10 characters per inch. Una feed spacing: 6 lines per inch in character mode

or 8 lines per inch seleciable 9 lines per inch in graphics mode.

Line feed speed: 5 lines per second in character mode.

7.5 lines per second in graphics mode.

Liquidation Price

$'|Q BIUpr. W |ir

hom H'607-63622-01 S/H

S6-00 PC.

Your ctoc* ii vrtlcomal

C.O.M.B. CO. Authorized Liquidator

recipes, collection organizer, inveslment tracking, checkbook balancing School uses: researcn arti

cle index, gradebook.

BUY INDIVIDUAL UNITS OR GET THIS ULTRA-FAMOUS

SYSTEM AT ONE LOW

*118

Liquidation Priced At

Item H-607 63B31 00 Ship, handling i7 00

64 MODEM

Mfr. List: *124.95 Liquidation Price

S/M ^^

Ifsm H 607 6364600 S/H. 84 00

con|menial u S

ar« »uU|eci lo ipccial cundiimni

Pldaic call or wnto (a inquirsr I [HI Ml

No.

How Many

(turn

Price

Ship/ Hnndl

PACKAGE PRICE!

TOTAL Personal Computer System available at FAR BELOW dealer cost!

Mfr. Sug. Retail .. $1,268.98 TOTAL PACKAGE PRICE

488

liam H 607.64011-02 Shipping, handling: S24.00

C.O.M.B. CO."

HemH-fil

,4605 2Sth Awn. N /Minneapolis. MN 65441-3397

Sand Ihs ilemt mdicimd at isit. |Vmn»on rendnnii ulot tan PIqbid allow 3-4 week* delrvary. Snrry. no C.O.D.)

1 J My chock or mangy ordannencloiad |No .i i .h

img artiurw pqid by chock, thank* id TeloCha^k.)

Chftrga. n MaitfliChrd- P VISA I I Am. En Acci. Ho

m procei-

I I Dmefi Club , L.p

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLV

Name

^

Address

dry StStB

^^_

14005 2BTH AVENUE NORTH

MINNEAPOLIS. MINNESOTA 6Gil41-3397

$24

llffm H.GO7-64O1 1-03 Ship, handling: S3.00

Mfr. List: '200.00

24 Imiiiii ■ ilny. 7 d»l ■ Wsak.

Ho lIh-iys whtn you n«v by chocfcl

The Manager" A sophisticated database manager

lor business or home use. Business uses: accounts payable/receivable, inventory, appointments, task manager. Home uses: mailing lisls, home inventory,

Dimensions: 13"W x 8"D . 3VH wt.: S'i IDs Power120V AC. SO Hi.

Pnc* tutted lo change j*i!*r GO dav* Sale* uuimii

Toll-Frce: 1-800-328-0609

tion that simplifies use ... even lor someone who has never used a computer or word processor before!

Multiple copies: Original plus maximum of Iwo copies

SEND ME THE ITEMS I HAVE LISTED BELOW Crodit i rr.i ,,,,,,,?,.,-, cmn order \,t phone.

ed. Instruction manual nas extensive training sec

Liquidation Price

Compatible with above Computer System (Not included in package price.)

Mfr. List: $59.90 pr.

letters, see and change a document before it is print

Mfr. List: *73.98

Paper leed: Friction feed, Paper wiitlh: 4.5" to 8.5" width.

Htm H.607-63631-00 Ship, handling: S20.00

JOYSTICKS (Set of 2)

ments from standard paragraphs, do personalized

Sfgn I ■ - ■■

.

m


PROGRAMMERS' TIPS Simple

thing at all over the original screen. We can overprint just u little section

on a screen, and sometimes even the operation of a separate program in

Windowing

(as in the demonstration program), or

side the window!

we can erase the entire screen and

One of the most obvious and desir

for the

print whatever information we want.

able uses of a window is to allow the

(NOTE: The machine language rou

program user to call up a help screen

tine also re-links the screen pointers,

or menu list, all the while not losing

so anything you print on the screen

the game/text/information that is on

original

screen. The

won't become "broken up."' as can sometime happen when yon print

W often see tin: terms "windows"

the

following

cles and advertisements, bin .strangely

guage routine that lakes care of the

enough, we seldom see the terms de

windowing, the program clears the

ting up our window is finished, we can recall the entire original screen,

program makes this possible.

over a screen full of characters.)

Alter poking in the machine lan

and "Windowing" in computer arti

finally, when our purpose in put

fined. Windowing is the practice of

screen and displays a demonstration

.setting part of the computer's display

screen. I chose an excerpt from Abra

including the original colors, with a

Bdeen aside for things like menu in

ham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

SYS49216.

formation, liclj'iul hints, ami tlic like,

Then, a SYS 49152 saves the con

Besides iliis simple windowing, the

and tlx/n being able (o restore ihe

tents of the screen into another sec

machine language routines at ■I'JI'Si

original screen with the temporary window removed. Powerful window

tion of the 64's memory (starting at

(save the screen) and ■J9216 (recall

SC100). The screen's color memory is

the

ing software can allow combinations

also saved (beginning at SC500).

store

of graphics aix! text, scrolling of lexi

With the contents of the original

inside the window, multiple windows

screen saved, we can then print any

siuipli Windowing

THE

Before ryplni thta fToiram, rend "How to Enter Program!." 100

REM

110

REM

120

REM

140

REM

160 170

REM'BARB

180

370

***********************

SIMPLE

FOR

COMMODORE

64'BRBC

53280,0 TO

190

REH'BARX

230

jv]Lr,j

uimn'nnmttiM.1.1 BYBD

240

REM

PRINT

250

REM

************************'BVBF

260 270

REM'BARC PRINT CHRS(147);:REM CLEAR

260 290

SCREEN'DSTJ PRINT CHR$(5);:REM WHITE'DKGI PRINT CHR$(14);:REM LOWERCASE'DPPK

300

PRINT"[SHFT

ML

TEXT

IS

310

PRINT'BACX

320

PRINT CHRSU53) ; : REM

330

GREEN'DREF PRINT-[SHFT

350

SCREEN'BVBG

A

SAMPLE

FJOURSCORE

A

Ml

PRINT"LIBERTY

SEPTBMBER/OCTOfflR

WAR

IN

A

N]

GREAT"'BAVP

TESTING

WHETHER

SO CONCEIVED

SO"'BAIH LONG

ENDURE.

CAN

(SPACE2,SHFT W]E

ARE' ''BAAJ

PRINT-MET

ON

A

BATTLEFIELD

GREAT

THAT WAR."'BAFK

PRINT"[EHFT

A

W]E

COME

HAVE

PORTION

PRINT"THAT

AND

BROUGHT NEW AND

PRINT"F0R THEIR

FIELD

TO

0F"'BAJL

AS A

FINAL

THOSE

470

PRINT"ALTOGETHER

PROPER

PRINT"WE SHOULD DO THIS..."'BABL PRINT'BACH PRINT CHR$(1S0);:REM

510

RED'DPHE PRINT"([SHFT F]R0M [SHFT A]. [SHFT LINCOLN'S [SHFT'G.SHFT SHFT

T2,SHFT

SHFT

U.SHFT

Y,SHFT R,SHFT

R,SHFT

LIGHT

S,SHFT GJ

[SHFT

E,SHFT

E,

B, A,

S2]

)""BAFU

ON

DEDICATED TO

AND

490 500

SEVEN

CONCEIVED

FITTING

THAT"'BAXP

480

520 NATION

GAVE

PRINT"THAT THAT NATION MIGHT LIVE.[SPACE2,SHFT I]T IS"'BAE0

SHFT D2,SHFT FORTH

WHO HERE

LIVES"'BAUN

460

OUR"'BAYK

IN"'BALK 360

450

LIGHT

CONTI-"'BAEL

PRINT"NENT

ENGAGED

RESTING-PLACE"'BAQL

T]HIS

PRINT"FATMERS

MEN ARE

PRINT-DEDICATED,

OF

440

TEXT SCREEN."'BASF

THIS

ARE

DEDICATE

220

340

ALL

PRINT-EQUAL.[SPACE2,SHFT

400

430

AGO

THAT

PRINT-CIVIL

{192):NEXT'HVFF

GOSUB 810 iREM ROUTINE'CTPD

SAMPLE

to

Q

THAT NATION,"'BAWR PRINT"0R ANY NATION

410

210

YEARS

used

displays.

390

420

IN

be

high-resolution)

PR0-'"BAQM

0W WE

:REM CURSOR CONTROL1KNCS BLS="[SPACE37]"'BDEK FOR X=l TO 39:LINE$=LINE$+CHR$ POKE

also

(not

and other text or forms for instant

PRINT"P0SITI0N

AND

23

:CC$=CC$+CHR$(17):NEXT

200

380

•**********************'BXJD

PRINT CHR$(147):PQKE :POKE 53281,0'EVVI CCS-CHR${19) :FOR X=»l

graphics

CREATED"'BAGN

WINDOWING'BPPB

THE

screen) can

PRINT CCS;CHR$(18);CHR$(5);'DNSF

530

PRINT"[SHFT

540

WINDOW.";'BBBK PRINT CHRS(19)'CEBF

P]RESS

ANY

KEY

FOR


PROGRAMMERS' TIPS 550 560 570

POKE 198,0:WAIT 198,1jGET A$'DOJI SYS 49152:REM MEMORIZE SCREEN'CUWL REM'BARG

740 750 760

REM'BARF

580

REM

**********************'BWRL

770

590

REM

PRINT

780

REM STORE

60 0

REM

*****************«***■'BWRE

610

REM'BARB

800

620 630

PRTNT LEFT5(CC$,8);'CIAE PRINT CHR$(158);:REM YELLOW'DNVI

810

640

PRINT TAB(6);CHRS(18);CHRS(176);

820

WINDOW

OVER

TEXT'BTQO

790

660

670

***********************'BXJL

REM SYS REM SYS

SAVE/SWAP

49152 49216

FOR J=49152 :POKE

TO

ROUTINE'BVSO

TO SAVE'BOAN TO RECALL'BQIO 49293:READ A

J,A:NEXT:RETURN'HTML

PRINT TAB{6);CHR$(18);CHR$(221); " [SHFT P]RESS ANY KEY TO[SPACE2]

830

";CHR$(221)'FUAR

840

PRINT TAB(6);CHRS(18);CHR$(221); " ELIMINATE WINDOW[SPACE2]";

DATA 198,189,0,218,157,0,199,202,

850

DATA 196,189,0,219,157,0,200,202, 2 24,255,20 8,2 39,96,3 2,128,192,

860

DATA 0,189,0,193,157,0,4,189,0,

870

DATA 0,6,189,0,197,157,0,216,189,

880

DATA 157,0,218,202,208,217,162, 231,189,0,196,157,0,7,189,0,

890

DATA 157,0,219,202,224,255,208,

CHR${221)'FUVS PRINT TAB(6);CHR$(18);CHR$(221);

" 680

REM

DATA 32,128,192,162,0,189,0,4,157, 0,193,189,0,5,157,0,194"BCHO DATA 189,0,6,157,0,195,189,0,216,

LEFT${LINE$,19);CHR${174)'GFIO

650

REM'BARG

AND GO BACK

TO[SPACE4]";

CHR$(221)'FUMS PRINT TAB(6);CHRS(18);CHRS(221); " THE TEXT SCREEN.[SPACE2]"; CHR$(221)'FUKU

690

PRINT TAB(6);CHR$(18);CHR${173); LEFTS(LINES,19);CHR$(18 9)'GFLT

700 710 720

PRINT CC$;BL$;CHRS(19)'CMLE POKE 198,0:WAIT 198,1:GET AS'DOJG SYS 49216:REM RECALL SCREEN'CSXI

730 GOTO

520'BDGF

157,0,197,189,0,217,157,0'BDAP

20 8,217,162,231,189,0,7,157,0'BHRR

162'BLIT

194,157,0,5,189,0,195,157'BBXS

0,198,157,0,217,189,0,199"BDJT

200'BHXV

239,96,162,0,181,217,9,128,149,

900

217'BKKX

DATA 232,224,25,208,245,96'BVCH END

niouu

available

For

trie

computer experimenter!

o

COMPUTER

PASCAL For the Commodore 64 kyan pascal is the most complete package available for learn ing and using the Pascal language. kyan pascal is easy to use, lightning fast, and loaded with fea tures, It'salull Pascal implementation. Itcompilesand runs many times faster than other Pascal compilers.

CniSirJOISSEUFl'S

NOW BE IN CONTROL WITH YOUR COMPUTER - THE ONLV PUBLICATION OF ITS KIND WRITTEN FOR THE USER DISCOVER THE SECRETS AND LEARN THE VERSATILITY OF MODERN COMPUTER COMMAND CONTROL CONCEPTS EXPERIMENT WITH COMPUTER AND TELEPHONE SYSTEMS. INTERFACE THEM. LEARN HOW THEY WORK. WHAT THEY 00... AND HOW TO GET THEM TO WORK FOR YOU! 0 COMPLETE TELEPHONE ENGINEERING COURSE IS INCLUDED IN MONTHLY CHAPTERS. BRING

ING YOU THROUGH STEP. CROSSBAR. ESS.

BUBBLE. AND ATOMIC

SWITCHING SYSTEMS' EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE IN BIOLOGICAL COMPUT ING SYSTEMS. TOO1 COMPUTERS AND TELEPHONES ARE THE FUTURE. THIS PUBLICATION IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR EVERYONE INTERESTED. UNPUBLISHED MATERIAL

ic one you've all been watting jfor°

AVAILABLE

Lu.un flow ro n-[idn tele-

d"tf tutcp'iona jya/aros, fow tfity wort, in monthly irisNs.riTf'nrs wtth H'e

kyan pascal features: • Optimized Machine Code Compiler; • Built-in Full Screen Text Editor; • Siting-Handling, Chaining, Include File, and Other Powerful Extensions; • Random Access Files and Full Graphics Support;

• BuiIMn Assembler (Allows Full Hardware Control); • 13-Digit Arithmetic Precision; and, •Tutorial Manual with Sample Programs. kyan pascal requires 64K of memory and a single disk drive. No additional hardware is necessary. And, it comes with kyan's MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.,. If not completely satisfied, return It within 15 days for a full refund. kyan pascal for the C64

S69.95

[Add S4 50/copy tot handling. $12 oo ouisido North America: Cakiorma resiaents add S4 55/copy 'or saios lai)

Send Check/Money Order to:

kyan software, Dept. W

Call: (415)775-2923 |™"L,^ 1850 Union St., Ste. 183

MC/Visa Accepted

—HjH San Francisco, CA 94123

Circle Reader Service No. 45

PUBLISHED MONTHLY

ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION $14.00 (SAMPLE COPT $2.0D| SUBSCRIPTION I 2 PROGRAMS S20.00

COMPUTEL-the complete SOURCE for everyone. You can now do the things you've only heard about, right in the privacy of your own home. Indispensable reference tophreaks and hackers. Learn how to get

all kinds of computer programs FREE. Get the inside story of big busmesssystems-their quirks and flaws

—and remain up to date with vital occurrences within the computer industry. Computel is a publication de

signed lor everyone who has an intense curiosity of computer systems, containing a wealth of hard totind

information, codes, and numbers. Published monthly.

Somputel Publishing Society 6354VANNUYSBL.,#161-A/VANNUYS,CA91401

COMMODDIU. MK.IKK.OMI't TliRS

61


PROGRAMMERS' TIPS

liV Witt VUH.IiR

Using the

Commodore chose not to include this File Translator program on the disk

Translator program. From thai point

Modem/300

supplied wilh the modem, hut instead

on, I had a good Idea of what the File Translator was supposed to do. It read

File Translator

printed its listing in the Modem/300 user's manual. That's where my trou

each program line in the sequential file and ''pressed" RETURN, which

bles began. Typing the File Translator program presents no obvious problems.

A lie first thing i planned to do with

10 listed righi along with the File

It is

then entered it as a program line. I got rid of line 10 and ran File

only 1! lines long, anil it has no tedi

Translator again. This time giving it

ous data statements.

the name my 2IK program had saved

Like any other

my new Modem/300 was save about

program listing, it does have its com

under. "XM1TTED." It was a pleasure

three days of typing. I bad to translate

plicated lines. Hut if you are careful,

10

a

and if you do some proofreading be

Bach program line was printed slowly

another machine's BASIC, so that it

fore you save the program to disk or

across the top of the screen. As soon

would run on the Commodore 64. I bad a choice: I could either sit down

tape, you should have no difficulties.

as it was complete, the word READY

at the 6-('s keyboard and lype in sev

Translator program. 1 had deliberately

eral

downloaded

long

(21K)

program,

hundred lines

written

of very

in

compli

Now ii

was time lo try the File a

one-line

BASIC

gram and saved it as a sequential file

could

the

file being translated.

flashed on the screen on the line above it. while simultaneously, the

line GOTO

pro

cated code, translating as I went, or 1

watch

10600 flashed on

the

screen below die program line. Then

from

named ZILCH. Before 1 did the same

the screen cleared and the next pro

the other machine, via telephone lines

thing for my 21K monster I tried the

gram line slowly began to he written

and modems, and avoid the original

File Translator on the short test file

across the top of the screen. The File

typing completely.

first. I'm no fool.

Translator program was reading each

download the program

It shouldn't take

you too long lo figure out ilie option I

In response 10 the program's re

program line out of the sequential file

chose. The download lo die 6-i went

quest for the file name, 1 typed ZI1.C11

and automatically entering it Into the

smoothly, and the program was saved

and pressed RETURN. Things began

6'i's memory as a program line.

10 disk in under 20 minutes.

to happen! The

There

was a

complication,

how

following appeared

This went on for a while, until a garbled program line appeared on the

on the screen ...

ever. Reading the excellent instruction

PRLVi-THIS IS A TEST"

screen. It was followed by the mes

manual that came wilh the Modem/

THIS IS A TEST

sage SYNTAX ERROR, READY, and

300,

GOTO 1061)0

the blinking cursor, and the whole

BEADY

procedure ground 10 a halt. I found

I

learned

that

programs

downloaded via the modem and the Miggyierm software supplied with it.

followed by the blinking cursor. The

the garbled line in the original pro

are saved to disk as sequential files.

fellow who wrote the little one-line

gram's printed listing. Then

Such files cannot be loaded and run as

the needed corrections on the 6'i's

BASIC programs. They must first he

ZILCH program had forgotten to put a line number in front of the program's

monitor

converted to program files.

single line. The 64 had captured the

typed

data faithfully. But. when 1 checked

Translator went righi back lo doing ils

of everything. They not only supply

the directory.

tiling. There were three or four syn

an excellent disk full of communica

listed as a sequential file.

Not to worry! Commodore thought

tions

software with their new

mo

I

found

ZILCH

still

screen,

GOTO

pressed

10600.

1 made

RETURN,

and

the

File

tax errors discovered, and similarly

Undaunted, I loaded and ran the

corrected and entered, and the pro

dem, but they also provide a listing of

File Translator program again. Again. 1

gram similarly

a very short BASIC program that con

gave it ZILCH when asked for the file

program reached a fatal point. After

restarted, before the

verts

name. However, this time when the

the better part of an hour had passed,

saved as sequential files into BASIC

two lines appeared, I addet! line num

my program's line numbers caught up

program files that can be loaded and

ber

run normally.

RETURN. On a bunch, 1 typed LIST

programs

downloaded

and

Unfortunately, the good people at

10

10

ZILCH

and

and pressed UliTURN. 'There was line

REM

FILE

60200

REM

TRANSLATES

A

60250

60300

60500

PROGRAM

SEQ

FILE

INTO

62

File

Translator.

FOR

L=l

:IF

CS=CHR?{13)THEN

:"+NS

60800

GET#1,C$:C$=CHR$(ASC(C$+CHR$(0)) AND 127) :IF ASC(CS)O13 THEN 152,1:PRINT"[CLEAR,DOWN2]";

127)

60700 60 750

3HFTEMhi;r/ix;tohek

in

Still I was way ahead of where I was

IF

PRINT"[CLEAR!":PKINT PRINT INPUT"FILENAME";N$ :0PEN 1,8,8,"0

POKE

used

60601

FILE

60500

60600

those

{C$+CHR$(0))AND

TRANSLATOR

A

with

'Thai's all she wrote!

:S=6:GET#1,CS:CS=CHR$(ASC

File Translator 60100

pressed

61000

TO

60900

50:NEXT:PRINT

CS;

60800

GETS1,CS:CS=CHRS(ASC(CS+CHRS{0))

AND 60900

C5=CHRยง(10)THEN

127):IF

ST=0

THEN

60700

IF ST=0 THEN 61000 CLOSE 1:PRINT"FINISHED":END FOR 1=631 TO 633:POKE I,13:NEXT :P0KE 198,3:PRINT"[HOME,D0WN4] GOTO60600[HOME]"; : END tHll


an hour before. I had lines 15 through 10600 of "XM1TTED"

in

memory.

The last line in the program is num bered 13060, so [ had the hulk of it translated. All thai remained was to comb the remains of Pile Translator out of the listing and save what I had

GOT A COMPUTER? GOT A

to disk by typing SAVE"CLRNGHS",8

and pressing RETURN. (CLRNGHS is the proper working name for the pro gram.)Thai took only a few minuies. I

checked the disk directory, and sure enough, there it was, CLRNGHS listed as a program.

It took a while, but I had learned enough about the File Translator pro

gram to straighten it out to make it more useful, and then proper use.

I

to put

loaded and listed

it

lo File

Translator again. Then I proceeded to change all the line numbers so they

began at 60100 rather than at 10100."i made sure to change all the line num bers within the program lines as well.

Thai would keep Hie 'Translator from gelling sucked into my long program

files. The only other change 1 made was to get rid of the CLEAR/HOMI: in

GET A DEGREE. Now, for the first time, you can take real courses,

the print statement in the line now

from live instructors, right in

numbered 60300- [added line 60250 ?"CLEAR/HOME":?:? because when I ran File Translator the first lew times, the program's initial request lor the name ol' the file I wanted to translate appeared .so high on my monitor

your home or office, right on

screen that I had to bend down to read it.

All that done. I did a save-with-re

place

for File

Translaior

and pro

are included in the course prices.

Degrees available through the Electronic University

your own personal computer.

include: Associate Degrees in

You can use an Electronic

Business and General Studies,

Library for research, tune-in

Baccalaureate Degrees in

to interactive seminars, and take advantage of a full

MBA Degrees, and specialized

counseling center.

The Electronic University is a national educational sys

Business and the Arts, several

Certificate Programs. There is also a variety of non-credit courses offered over the sys

ceeded to run it again. This time it

tem that connects your per

successfully converted all of "X.MIT-

sonal computer to recognized

TED's" program lines (with a little help from me with the ones having

colleges and universities located throughout the coun

syntax errors). After the last line was

yourself in education once

try. You can study nearly any

again? Have some fun, become

converted,

the word FINISHED

ap

peared on the screen along with the

word READY and the blinking cursor. I listed the program and found all the lines properly converted. I got rid of the 11 lines of File Translator, still lurking in memory, by typing each of its

line

RETl/RX.

numbers

and

pressing

Then I did a save-wilh-re-

place for CLRNGHS, and a long eve ning's work came to an end.

Perhaps, if you have had the stam ina to read this far, you will appreciate

that the simplicity

File Translator program is itself,

although

thai

may

not he immediately apparent in the manual.

Q

tem, as well as Tutoring

Programs for children. Isn't it time to involve

subject at your own pace, and

part of the spirit of a national

on your own schedule.

university system, and better

Finally, technology is eli minating those barriers (time,

yet, open up a world of new

opportunities for yourself and

location, and high cost) that

your entire family. Call us

have prevented you from

today:

completing your college edu cation, entering a Master's

Degree Program, or just taking that course you've always wanted to take.

No computer knowledge is required to use the system

and all communication costs

800-22LEARN or

800-44LEARN in California.

The Electronic University 505 Btach Street, San Francisco. CA 94133 J15/92K-280O

Circle Reader Service No. 31

- Ml! !ÂŤ>( OMPUTERS

63


PROGRAMMERS' TIPS Getting

liY ROGER S. MACGMBER

S120A close it. To use the program,

code .sequence in decimal

follow these sleps:

printer, return to BASIC by typing an

1. Load and run SuperMOtt,

SuperMon to

2. Enter the first line of the program

Print

3. Similarly, input the remaining lines

by typing in

A 1110 LDA #S(>4 [RETURN]

your

X, then use the short program in List ing 2. Change the "26" In line LO to accommodate the number of bytes in your program.

One

additional

piece

of

advice.

Since PRNTSUP is a machine code

after each prompt.

reading a Dumber of introduc

on

4. Once the program has been en

file,

it

should only be loaded and

tory articles in magazines ami man

tered, save it on disk wilh the com

saved by Sii/ierMon. Attempts to load

uals dealing with machine language,

mand

or save it in BASIC, even with the H, 1 command, will either misplace the

you've decided to put fear and trepi dation aside and jump right into as sembly

language

S1T)RNTSUI>",()8,11EO,12OA

5. To use the new program, move the G 11R) [RETURN]

You've already procured a copy of Su-

perMon, a very useful assembly lan guage monitor for use on Commo

file

in

memory,

or

save

ten

The cursor will turn black and your primer (if you remembered to

machine

language

capabilities,

turn it on) will receive all the out

sembly

put

case that disk crash ever occurs.

to the point where you can write as

screen.

sembly level sequences, decode them into hexadecimal machine language,

thing: OPEN 4,4,2: CMD4 in BASIC.

11F0

A9

04

LDA

A2

04

LDX

11F4

A0

FF

11F6

20

BA

UF9

A9

00

G 1207 Now, everything is hack to normal.

11FB

20

BD

11FE

20

CO

From now on, whenever yon run

1201

A2

But as soon as you run SuperMon, file

SuperMon, also load the printing pro

1203

20

four is closed. The question remains:

gram with

1206

00

How can you open a print file once

SUP",08. Then write your program,

inside StiperMorii The short program

starling at

in Listing 1 is just what the docior ordered.

the command

some

L'TRXT-

location

the cmi of PRNTSUP, (decimal 4864).

beyond

say

81300

1207

20

120A

00

120B

3A

beginning at S11FO, just above the end of SuperMon. The program con

seven above,

sists of two parts. Lines S 1 I Hl-S 1206

open the prim file, while lines S 1207-

substituting your pro

jusl

Q

LDY JSR

iFFBA

LDA

#*00

FF

JSR

SFFBD

FF

JSR

tFFCO

FF

LDX C9

FF

JSR

*FFC9

BRK CC

FF

JSR

*FFCC

BRK END

15

gram's location in step six. If you'd 2a like lo print your program's machine

4»4:CMU I = 48G4

PRINT

4 'i'O

4664+26

PLt;K(I) ; :NliXT

PhlNTH:CLuSL

END

C-64 & C-128* OWNERS:

Stup playing "Hirie-and-Seek11 wiih your Disk software! Let yom Commodore 64'" "memory" do all Ihe work lor you wild MftSTEHDISK» Easy Manual and Program Menu-Screens moke everyone a "pro" in 1 dayl Here's a small "PEEK11 al SOME of ine FULLY-INTEGRATED POWER of PRODUCTIVITY al your lingeries

• aSORTED Masicr Catalog of ALL your Ois*s (eventho5Giin-li5lBrjlu"pro\eclea"1 Directories

Names, id's. File info, elc )

• Sonrcti - List nny Filn/Disk/ID in seconds, Buloniatlcnlly. m nny o! SEVEN WAYS

• Transfer ML-Prorjrams or Files from Disk 10 Disk {CATEGORIZE your sollware) • Slop disaster bfilnre it sinkes: change du(ilieale ID'S fast, without total re-copy. •

Restore accidentally-SCfalched files in a Hash, wilh VERIFICATION thai they're OK

• Works with 1 or 2 Single Dok Drives (1541. MSD. etc ) with or nilhoul Printer {Commodore or ASCII)

• Handy-Reference Card for HEX/ASCII/BINARV-TO-DECIMAL VALUE TRANSLATION - FORMULAS, included FREE • All tins ■ MUCH MORE, tor |US1 S34fl5

(USA ). 545.95 (Canada)

NEW!! ■ MASTERDUAL", "Son of MASTEBDISK"' same power, but with Dual Drive Speod1 Same Catalog Features as MA5TERDISK* Same DJSk repair functions, too

For all C-64 SC-128" systems with Dual Disk Drives {4040. MSD. etc ) Ulthzes all Duafc Driufi functions for ma-nnum spc^d and ease ol use FREE Hflndy Reference Caid lor HEX/ASCII/Binjry to Decimal Transl ation S39 95 Experience FULLY-INTEGRATED POWER lor |U5I S29 S5 (U S.A (Canada)

•MASTERDISK1 and MASTERDUAL' are also compatible wilh tha NEW C-128 (in C-64 Mode)!

We ship within 24 hours!

INTEGRATED-SOFTWARE SYSTEMS

Send Money Order or Chock to:

IN CANADA: Crickol Distribution Co..

P O Bf)» 1B01 Amos IA 5001O VISA/M.C/C.O.D.. Call (515) 233-2992

P.O. Box 953. Cobourtj, Ontario, Canada K9A 4W<! VISA/M.C./C O D.. Call (416) 372-3692

IA Residents add 4°.i Sales Tax.

Ontario Residents add 7% Sales Tax

9 am - 9 pin (Central Time) Mon -Fri. Add 53 Shipping/plus S2 Foreign, C.O.D

9 am - 6 pm (Eastern Time) Mon.-Fn. Add S3 shipping/plus $2 lot C.O.D.

Whether you have lens or hundreds ol disks, now YOU con be Ihe MASTER ot your TOTAL Software Librnry! 64

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

Circle Reader Service No. 17

in

Listing 2

Whenever you're ready to list your b OPEN efforts, just repeat steps five through It) fOW

We'll put the program in memory

programs,

Listing I

7. To return to screen display, use

logical

language

status

I' 1 1E0 I20A

sembly code and its hex or decimal the

the SuperMon

the

primer, use the command

you want to prim hard copy of the as tried

on

11F2

fiiu one thing is missing. What If

You've

See

appearing

list? 6. To list the new program on your

edit, save and go your progrv.ms.

equivalent?

normally

you

can prepare hard copies ol al! jour as

learning how to use it. You've gotten

dore systems, and you've been busy

extra

blocks of garbage. Now, in addition to ;ill your other

cursor to a new line and type

programming.


1 ■f-fi*-!

...

;

5ft,.^a^*^^

w

-

1 BWwi

rf.

-;>

Ilk,

—'»aj/

:

'■-■■

Unique in the Universe. Loadstar is like no other disk-based magazine on the market. Loadstar is a two-sided diskette jam packed with ready-to-run unprotected programs for your Commodore-64.

Loadstar is published monthly. One month features the C-64

programs from Commodore Microcomputers and the next month

features the C-64 programs from Power Play. What's more, every

issue of Loadstar contains feature articles and programs which are not contained in either magazine.

Loadstar will make your favorite magazines even better. Having

the program listings already on disk is a real finger saver. Loadstar is not just programs on a disk, it is an information network that invites you to take part in the action. Try an issue. If it doesn't meet your expectations, no matter what they are, return the disk and we'll give you your money back! to order by mail send to;

LOADSTAR P.O. BOX 30007 Shreveport. LA

~l S 9.95 (or the current LOADSTAR disk companion to Power Play

D % 9,95 for the current LOADSTAR disk companion to Commodore Microcomputers

J 139.95 for the next 6 issues of LOADSTAR [ 1 S69.95 for the next 12 issues of IOADSTAR

71130-0007

VIM'MC numbtr

FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPMENT CALL,TOLL-FREE:

1(800)831-2694 8-5 central time

The disk Compan

mtcrccom

Circle Reader Service No. 36

modore


"T-


Voice Synthesis and Recognition on the 64 Your 64 can talk—and listen—using relatively inexpensive speech devices.

T

BY LOUIS R. WALLACE

he power of speech. Some sden-

tists say it's what separates, us from other animals, Bui we also have the power

to

listen,

to

hear,

and

to

understand the speech of others, Until recently, we humans were the

onlv ones on earth with that combination of talents. But that has now changed. Something else is talking, And it's listening, too. Yes, 1 am talking about your Com

modore 6-i computer. There are now

several different

voice-synthesis

devices available for you to choose from,

each

properties.

two

with

And

its

there

voice-recognition

own are

unique

at

devices

least

you

machine-made?

What's

the docu-

than (or worse than) others. But if

mentation like? How much does it

you

cost?

vocabulary and you don't have time to figure out what phonemes will

Before we begin looking at some

of the main speech synthesizer systerns for the 6-i, we should explain the differences among

the

tech-

niques used. There are three major types of speech synthesis: phonetic, text-to-speech,

and

digitized.

Pho

have a need for an

unlimited

make each word sound right, then text-to-speech is for you. It's very

easy to use, and in most cases, it produces speech of sufficient quality. Digitized most

speech

is

understandable

the

easiest,

method

of

netic is the most versatile, because it is based upon the 64 basic sounds

speech synthesis around. And that's

the careful use of phonemes, you

someone's

can make the computer say anything

memory somewhere. When it is spo

that make up all English words. By with almost any inflection you wish.

The

phonetic

method

produces

because it's not really synthesized at

all. It's an electronic recording of voice, stored away

in

ken by the machine, it sounds just like the original. It does have some

can buy. With the proper program-

much clearer speech than the text-

problems, however. For one thing,

ing, speaking machine.

the hardest to use. You must learn

most cases,

power to generate. And speech rec-

and each synthesizer has a different way of representing phonemes in a

program.

the)' eat up your memory fast. Also there is no way to change the inflec-

ognition was unheard of (outside of

Hirers include a dictionary with the

movies). But the same electronic advances that have made computers

most common words already in pho

tion of the voice. As a result, it will always say the same word the same

rapidly increase in power while get-

enabled speech

Text-to-speech is just that, you type in the word and the computer

technology to make its own quan-

says it. For example, if I type, SAY

ming, your 64 can be made a listen-

How can such a thing be possible?

Just a few years ago speech synthesis required a great deal of computer

ting

cheaper

have

to-spcech method, hut it is by far the phonemes to use them properly,

Luckily,

most

manufac-

netic form.

turn jumps in quality and to drop in

"1 am the Commodore 64," the syn

cost.

thesizer will say, "I am the Commodore 64." But the quality of sound

If you are thinking of adding a speech

device

to

your

64,

you

should determine what your needs are and what systems are available.

For instance, what software (if any) is available

for

the

device?

Is

the

device easy to program? (Especially important if the software availability-

is poor.) How understandable is the

voice?

Is

the sound

natural

or

varies from system to system. Textto-speech devices have a built-in set

Of rules that determines the correct

phonemes to use. That means you don't have to break the words down

into phonemes. This is great, except that to get really good clear words

requires a very good internal set of rules. And some systems are better

it's not an unlimited vocabulary. In it

is a few

hundred

words, and while you can add more,

way.

But if you need crystal clear

speech and the vocabulary you need

is available in digitized form, this is the way to go.

Personal Speech System Votrax, in Troy, Michigan, produces the Personal Speech System for the

64. it is a separate box with its own power supply and speaker system,

and is connected to the computer through

the

RS-232C port.

Votrax

speech synthesizers are treated

any external peripheral and can be programmed from BASIC; much the

same as a printer. You must open a

channel to the device and send the COMMODORE MICROCOMPUTERS


data to be spoken. Tor example, the

gramming. You also have some con

statement

trol over the inflection by inserting

commands into the phrase you wish

10OPENl,2,0,CHRS(6): PRINT* 1 ,"i lello there":CLOSEl

would tell the 64 to say "Hello there." As you can see, the Personal Speech System has text-to-speech capabilities, glish spelling of the word you want

are three

puter's RAM. There are two versions of Com

VOice does take away from the com

voice available.

it as best it e;in to sound. That can be

ing

differ

come

from

its

version

has

an

external

trol, and sells for S I.W.95.

One of the newer voice synthesiz

ers for the 6i is the Voice Messenger from Currah Technology. The Voice

digitized.

arc used in, And how do you differen tiate between "though" and "rough?" Votrax's Personal Speech System,

to

speaker system with a volume con

and

ently depending on the context they

sound

second

text-to-speech,

of pronunciation. Foe instance, words

the

speaker. This retails for S99-95- The

phonetic,

quite difficult for English words, which often don't abide by any rules

One has a cable to

plug into your monitor or TV, allow

speech synthesis:

and the voice synthesizer will convert

"read" are pronounced

Comvoice to say. However, the Com-

major types of

which means you simply enter the En

like

There

Messenger sounds a little less robotic than the Votrax-siylc systems, but its

lext-lo-

text-to-speech is not quite as good as

spcech capability of the systems we

Comvoice. It is a cartridge device like

nevertheless,

has

the

best

the Comvoice, but does not take any

looked at in this article. It was almost There is no software supplied with

always clearer, sharper and more un

BASK; RAM away from the computer.

duces three cartridges that use it. One

The cartridge adds live new BASIC commands: SAY, IN IT, BYE, KON and

very good, but arc very difficult to get

is

KOFF.

used to because they bear no resem

ABC's. My four year-old loved it, and

blance to the sounds they represent.

was trying to answer the lady in the

derstandable when using direct-text

the Magic Voice, but Commodore pro

input. Its phonetic capabilities arc also

an

educational

package

called

SAY

allows

both

direct

text-to-

spcccli and phonemes to be used in

And at S.VJS, it was the most expen

computer. The other two are arcade

creating speech. IN1T is the initializa

sive system we looked at. But, to be fair, it also has several

games:

tion command that activates the car

These two use the Magic Voice, but

tridge.

other features besides voice synthesis.

have robotic voices instead of the digi

KON is an interesting command. It in

For one thing, it has a 3.5K buffer,

tized female voice.

Wizard of Wor and Coif.

The documentation includes infor

which means you can send quite a bit of data to it and it will continue to

mation for both BASIC and machine

work after the computer quits trans

language programmers, so there will

mitting

probably

information

and

is

doing

be

quite

a

few

software

BYE disables

the cartridge.

tercepts the keystrokes from the key board and will speak the key you have pressed. This has advantages for both handicapped and young children, and requires only the command KON to start

it.

KON

also

allows

you

to

something else. And because it is a

packages appearing soon. In addition

separate device like a printer, it takes

to the SAY command, the Magic Voice

no RAM from the computer. It also

adds the commands RATK (for speed

has a built-in clock, which many com

of speech). ROY (to determine if the

a deeper voice. And KOBE simply de

puters do not already have, and a rea

computer has finished talking), and VOC (for adding additional vocabu

started by KON.

sonably good music synthesizer, you can add simple

music to

so

your

laries, none of which have been re

switch between two different voices. One is high pitched, while the other is activates

the

keyboard

Intercept

The manual is small, but contains several demonstration programs you

speech. However, since you are using

leased yet). The Magic Voice retails for

a Commodore 64. the music from the

S50.

can type in. And it also has informa

Other Voice Synthesizers

grammer. Currah is reportedly work ing on a program that will allow the

Personal

Speech

System

very primitive to you. know

the

64

already

will

seem

And we all has

a

clock

tion for the machine language pro

Commodore 64 users also have a

Voice Messenger to speak Infocom ad

built in,

couple of other voice synthesis sys

Magic Voice

from Genesis Computer Corporation.

and the keyboard intercept, a blind

Comvoice is a cartridge that plugs into

person could play Zork with no out

the expansion slot, and gives you the

side assistance. The Currah Voice Mes

the expansion port and gives you an

new BASIC

auxiliary cartridge port that is even

senger retails for S50. There are other voice synthesizers

easier to use than the standard port.

can use it with the phonetic codes or as a direct tcxt-to-spcech synthesizer.

The voice is not synthesized; instead it

It

Magic Voice, produced by Commo

dore, is a voice module that plugs into

tems available. One is the Comvoice

command

SPliAK.

You

venture games like Zork.

With that

on the market, but these are good ex

system,

amples of what types you will find.

which means it gives a good quality speech, although it is of the robotic

There are also some software voice

style. Comvoice is very good at speaking

cheaper,

free. You access the words by using

numbers, and will correctly say any

thesizers that were produced by com

the command SAY, and the computer

number between - 999.9y9.999 and

panies that are now out of business,

+ 999.999,999 without special pro

and can often get a good price on

is a digitized female voice that speaks 235 built-in words and phrases. These

words require no memory, leaving the user with all of the BASIC work space

speaks the word. 68

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBKK

is

a

Votrax

chip-based

synthesizers, and while they may be most

of them

are

not

as

good. You can also still find voice syn


them. But don't expect to find new software or get any repair service if

bility. And you can use the speech

they fail to operate, because these arc

words, 1 could write a program using

without

Just afew years

not likely to be available.

Now, let's take a look al a couple of

really different voice products. These are the voice recognition systems— the Voice Command Module (VCM) from Eng Manufacturing, Inc. and the VoiceMaster from Covox. Inc.

synthesis required

ent technical problem from voice syn

thesis. Here the machine must listen compare it to a stored pre-recorded sample, and then decide if it matches.

And to be useful, it must have a num

In

TFIND,

speech recognition was unheard of

(outside of movies).

ready in its vocabulary. Hoth the VCM

balloon over trees and power poles to land safely on the landing pads. It has very nice, smooth-scrolling graphics,

and is fun to play. It is also a good

is a small

control by voice.

demonstration

of real-time

graphic

The VCM performed very well in

with a six-foot wire. You also get a

our tests. It was able to correctly iden

disk and manual.

tify words more often than the Voice-

On the disk arc a number of pro

Master, which is not surprising when

grams, including (he Speech Operat ing System (SOS) for creating your

you consider it is designed solely for speech recognition. If your interest is

own

strictly

lexicons

(user-creaied

speech

files). These can be any words you wish, but for best results each word in the lexicon should sound different,

voice

recognition, you

will

find the Voice Command Module a good buy at S49.9S. VoiceMaster from Covox is really a

and be spoken very distinctly. By cre

very

ating a number of these disk-based

voice digitizer than a synthesizer, it

interesting device.

More

of a

files, you can extend your vocabulary

combines several features into one. It

beyond the maximum 61 words in

plugs into the joystick port, and has a

memory.

headset microphone that you speak

To allow you to use these voice files in your program, the disk has a pro gram called "Chirpee." This is a ma chine language program which lets the VCM listen to the- outside world, and then compare what it heard lo the words in memory. So you could write

a program that accepts your spoken commands and proceeds accordingly! To do this requires some degree of programming skill, but if you are comfortable, with a few simple peeks and

pokes

you

should

have

no

problem.

A number ol" Interesting programs are supplied with the VCM. One is a

voice-controlled card file or mini data base. It allows you to search, load and

RF.COG, MAX

BLANK,

and

MIN.

TPUT,

By

using

TRAIN, you can create voice-pattern files for up to 64 different words. These can be stored to disk with TPUT, recalled later with TFIND, and compared to a word inputted with BECOG, While the VoiceMaster often did not

ognition device. It plugs into the 6-i's R.S-232 port with a supplied cable. It

that has a clip-on lapel microphone

voice-recognition

recognize words as well as the VCM,

64 different words for later recall, but

calculator-shaped device

a

alone or with the speech system. This adds even more commands, all dedi TRAIN,

and VoiceMaster arc able to More up to

is for the computer to recognize [hern. The VCM is a dedicated voice-rec

addition,

cated to voice recognition. They are

generate. And

ber of words that it can understand al

the more words you use, the harder it

other

program is included that will work

computer power to

anil capture a sample of your voice,

In

makes it stand out from the others.

a great deal of

Voice recognition Is a totally differ

hardware.

the voice capability, and give you a copy that will work without the Voice-Master hardware. That feature

ago speech

Voice Recognition

the

into.

It

can

store

these

words

or

phrases in your own voice for later playback. The software included with

the device provides 11 commands for recording and playing back the voices or sounds you have made. They are

LEARN, SPEAK, PUT, FIND, FFIND (a fast file loader command), SCREEN, CLEAR, SPEED, PAUSE, VOLUME, and RATE. By using the LEARN command, you

can make the 64 say anything you

it still gave satisfactory results. And,

because of its speech recording/play back capabilities, it has considerable potential as a program-development tool.

There are other programs on the

VoiceMaster disk that demonstrate speech recording, playback and rec ognition. One of these is really unique. It is called the Voice Harp. Part one of the program is called â– 'Mum-Along." Here if you hum. sing or whistle into the microphone, you

will hear the computer trying to re produce those sounds as music. In ef

fect, the 64 is accompanying you while you sing. Part two is the "Com poser." It allows you to hum, sing, whistle or whatever you do to make musical sounds into the microphone, and translates ihcm into written musi

cal notes. You can enter a song this way, save it to disk, recall it and mod

ify it with an editor, replay it (as mu sic), and save it again. And part three is the "Score Printer." which will print the score created by pan two on a dot matrix printer. While these pro grams are not terribly sophisticated, I

believe they represent an application that will soon be commonplace. 1 found them very impressive.

Included

with

the

VoiceMaster

hardware is perhaps the most com

wish. For instance, if you typed I.EARN 1 anil said, "Hello," the com

plete documentation of all the voice

puter will say, "Hello" in your voice

manual, while: it was not an expen sively produced document, did con

every time you type SPEAK 1. You can have a maximum of 64 words or

edit with the spoken word. Another

phrases available at any one time. You can also save files of words to disk

program is a graphic voice-com rolled

that can be loaded into programs, giv

game. Here you must guide a hoi air

ing you almost unlimited speech capa

products

I looked

at.

The

50-pagC

tain a lot of information. And Covox is good at sending updates lo regis tered users. With all things consid ered, 1 think the VoiceMaster is a good

buyat 889.95.

COMMODORE MICKOCOMPt TBRS

Q *9


The Amiga Personal computer Is an advanced graphics machine capable of producing very high resolution screens in two separata graphic modes. Normal resolution provides a 320 x 400 (Interlaced) or 320 x 200 (non-interlaced) pixel

screen with a color palette of 32 colors selected from a possible 1096. High resolution provldesa 640 x 100 or 640 x 200 pixel screen with a palette of 16 colors out of the possible 4096. The following screens show the scope of graphic pos

sibilities on the Amiga.

70

SEP'I'I-MBER/OC'I'DUEK


Ami* Pre ommodore's new Amiga computer is a 256K RAM personal computer based on the 68000 microprocessor, it has 192K of ROM and a built-in 3.5-inch disk drive. A complete Amiga system consists of the main computer unit with drive, the key board, an RGB analog monitor and a mouse. The monitor in this picture is the Commodore 1080.

commodore: microcomputers

71


7

6

I6 1

D

Preview

â– RUH

' H

.III

The keyboard includes a four-cursor pad, a

numeric keypad, ten function keys, a CAPS LOCK

Palette

key with LED, an ESC key and special Amiga logo keys on either side of the space bar. The key board has lift-out legs on the top to tilt the keyboard economically.

Pattern

Estituttd Population Grovth ky Incwe Brackets

ficifit

Htmsi

11 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER


This Is the front of the main computer unit with the memory expansion slot cover removed. To expand

the Amiga to 512K you insert a 256K expansion board onto this edge connector and replace the cover. To

the right of the expansion port is the 3.5-Inch disk drive. This is a double-sided double-density disk

drive with a formatted disk capacity of 880K. The small led square below and to the right of the drive slot is the drive busy indicator and the LED square on the left middle is the power indicator.

This the right side of the main computer unit show ing the two mouse/joystick connectors and the

system expansion bus. This expansion bus provides

access to virtually every signal line In the Amiga and

allows third party developers to create peripherals using as much (or as little) of the Amiga operating system as required. This is the bus through which

the external 8Mb of external ram will be connected.

This the rear of the main computer unit showing

the ports and connectorsforaccessing a wide vari ety of peripherals, starting from the left, they are: Keyboard connector Centronics parallel printer port

External disk drive port RS-232 modem port

Right- and Left-channel RCA stereo output jacks RGB monitor connector (RGB monitor! Composite video output port (composite monitor) RF modulated video output port (television) Below these ports and to the right is the main power port

COMMODOHU MtCROCOMl'UTliRS

73


BECOME RADIO-ACTIVE WITH YOUR 04 i*mGRANiac,KS2G The Commodore 64 helps advance

the art of amateur radio.

.

\

^ \

/

^^

!

/ /

!

/

i

I i

/■

-


According to the American Radio Relay League, there are about 438,000 ham radio operators in the United States, and at least 40%

of them are using microcomputers in their ham shacks. The Commodore 64 is one of the most popular ham companions, helping operators translate RTTY and Morse code and keep logs.


I

.f ever a marriage was made in

heaven,

it's the joining of personal

computers and

amateur radio.

An

infatuation dating buck to the original Commodore PET 2001 has blossomed into ;t love affair that's made comput

ers one of the topics of conversation

heard most often on the nation's ham bands. And the power, versatility, and low cost of the Commodore 6-t have made it one of the computers found most often in the nation's ham shacks. For radio amateurs, computers are more than just a means of taking the

tedium out of record keeping and the complexity out of math. They're a tool for advancement of the radio art, and a way to increase the enjoyment

of a fascinating hobby. A sampling of

Contesting is a special amateur ra

short-wave radio signal to its intended

tile most popular ham radio uses of

dio activity requiring still further re

destination. Doing it is easy with the

the Commodore 64 shows how.

finement

help

of

computerized

logging.

of software

like

xs many different stations in as many

provides compass headings and dis tances to locations around the globe,

Communications Commission regula

different locations as possible within a limited period of time. Logging for

Logging time when

Federal

This

Data's

Propagation

There was a

Chart.

Mam

Contest operation involves contacting

software

and. using readily available informa

tions required ham operators to main

such

in

tion on the .sunspot activity which

tain detailed logs of their radio trans

volves not only the recording of con

governs radio propagation, calculates

missions.

tact

the frequencies most likely to reach

Those

requirements

are

competitions, information,

hut

therefore, also

assuring

long gone, but most hams continue to

thai no station is contacted more than

those locations at any particular time

keep records of their on-air activities

once. Programs like Ham Data's Con

of day.

cither for the pleasure of recalling

test Log guard against such duplicate contacts (a process known as "dupe

takes advantage of the Commodore

particularly enjoyable contacts, or to

64's graphics capabilities to present similar propagation data in the form

cheeking") while keeping

how man;1 different locations have

of a world map. and includes a real

date and time of a contact, frequency

been logged to automatically calculate

time clock and time /one conversion

band on which it's made, mode of op

a running contest score, and provide a

eration (Morse code, voice, radio-tele-

printed summary at the end of the

display to hoot! Antenna orientation is crucially im

lype, etc.), callsign, location and sig nal strength of the station contacted,

competition.

portant in amateur radio space com

of the

contact

has been

received.

munications. The first Orbiting Satel

Calculation, Destination,

lite Carrying Amateur Radio (OSCAK)

Propagation

a "QS1. card' providing written con

firmation

of

The DX Edge

qualify for some of ihe many amateur radio awards. Typically, hams log the

the name of its operator, and whether

track

Xantec Inc.'s

was launched in

1'Xil and nearly a

The days of scratch paper covered

score of others have followed from

edge to edge with scribbled electronic

both the United States and the Soviet

database

equations are but a memory in today's

Union.

software can he used to computerize

bands once limited to local contacts

such records, it's far easier with spe

computerized ham shacks. Xot since the pocket calculator replaced the

cialized programs typified by the Ham

slide rule has there been a device as

munications, thanks lo these orbiting

useful

relay stations. To use them, however,

Although

Data

conventional

Company's

Super Log

series.

Contact information is entered in a screen format tliai's similar to a page

as

the

Commodore

64

for

speeding the computations Involved in so much of ham radio.

VHP

and

are now open to

it's

necessary

to

U1IF

frequency

trans-global com

determine

when

they're in range and which way to

from a log book kept by hand. Data

Software like the Formulas series

point your antenna to reach them.

on hundreds of contacts can be stored

by RAK Electronics makes short work

Thanks to tracking programs like the

on disk or tape cassette for later re

of the mathematics of Ohm's Law, co

ones available from the AMSAT Soft

trieval on screen or as a printout, ei

axial cable losses, and series and para

ware Exchange of the nonprofit ama

ther in tabular form or as a QSL ready

llel circuits.

Antennas

teur Satellite Corporation, that once

lor mailing. Contact information also

program is typical of software which

tedious and time-consuming process

can be retrieved through a search for

performs

is now quick and easy.

any desired date, call sign, location.

arithmetic for determining the dimen

or name.

sions

The

programs

also

keep

track of QSI, cards received, and prog ress toward operating achievements

of

HAK's flam

the

the

.sometimes

many

types

complex

Morse and RTTY

of ham

Radio amateurs are as diverse as

antennas.

Pointing a transmitting antenna in

their

hobby,

but they

all

have

one

such as confirmed contacts with par

the

the proper

thing in common. Whether engineer

ticular states or foreign countries.

time of day is the key to getting a

or homemaker. schoolboy or univer-

76

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

proper

direction

at


sity professor, every ham has ;it least some proficiency in Morse code. FCC

The Kantronics Interface II and CP-

tics typical of that band at that time of

1 Computer Patch terminal unit from

regulations require the ability to send

Advanced

Applications

and receive CW. as hams call it. at five

day. Stations you "call," by sending Morse as you would on the air, will

(AEA) are typical of the sophistication

words

and

answer or fail to answer based on

to be found in the CW/RTTY equip

licenses.

ment available for the 64. With appro

what

per

minute

Technician

clans

for

Novice

amateur

Electronic

the signal from your location

would DC like as compared to the

thirteen words per minute for General and Advanced classes, and twenty words per minute for the Amateur l-x-

.sion and

Morse, baudot (RTTY), and ASCII sig

alistic that Dr. DX is rumored to have

tra ticket.

nals, along with a newer radioteletype

successfully "impersonated" an oper

system known as AM TOR which auto

ating station ai a major amateur radio

show the letters of the alphabet as

matically checks for garbling of text

convention!

dots and dashes, learning Morse really

due lo interference or fading of the ra

involves

dio

Although primed charts of the code-

with

associating

the "dit"

the

characters

and "dab." sounds

priate software, they permit iransmisreception

signals.

of conventional

Microlog offers

similar

other signals on the band at the same time. The effect is described as so re

One of the newest developments in the bam shack is computer control of

features in the combination of hard

on-the-air operations. Some of the lat

which those dots and dashes repre

ware and software found in its AXR-1

est ham equipment provides for con

sent. Code practice and instruction

interface cartridge. Tor a still newer

trol of such functions as frequency

software like the Micxolog Corpora

type

and

tion's Morse Coach cartridge speeds

known as packet radio, ABA offers its

port, and lilectronic Equipment Bank

the process by using the Commodore

PKT-1

offers a computer control

64's audio capabilities.

equips the 61 for a combination of er

designed

ror checking, higher speed transmis

(lotnrnodore (> j. Such an arrangement

the 64 among hams is for the actual

sion, multiplexing of several signals

could potentially allow remote con

transmission and reception of Morse

on die same radio frequency, and elec

trol via telephone through an auto-an

code

tronic mailbox capabilities.

swer modem, or even fully automatic

Probably the most popular use for

and

radioteletype

(RTTY).

In

much the way that telephone modems and terminal programs allow the use of computers for communication via

what hams call the "landline," special interface devices and software can

link computers to ham radio transmit ting and receiving equipment. Such arrangements have opened a new world of ultra-high-speed CW opera tion, as computers both generate the

Morse to be sent, and interpret the code being received, Likewise, as the clatter of mechanical teleprinters has given way to the glow of the com-

ptner display, thousands of hams have discovered the joys of radioteletype.

of radiotelctypc

Packet

operation

Controller,

Applications, Inc.

[Âť.(>. HoxC-2160 l.ynwood, \VA 9H03o

American Kadio Kela 11s, Main Street

k~

Newington

AMSAT Software Exchange Box ÂŁ?

Washington, D.C. 200-ii The DX

P.O. Box 834

^

Madison Square Station New York, NY 1015

Electronic Equipment B 16 Milt Street Vienna, VA 22180

lo

selection

via an

RS-232

interface

male such gear

to the

station operation under control of the

Simulation and Control Perhaps the most fascinating appli cation Of computerized Morse is ABA'S Doctor DX simulator-trainer. In much

the way popular flight .simulation pro

grams turn your 64 into an airplane

computer.

Finding What You Need The one difficulty you're likely to encounter

in

computerizing

your

bamming, is obtaining the hardware

makes your compuier behave like a

and software you need. Most of the programs and devices I've described

ham transceiver that's on (he air in the

won't be found amid the games, joy

control panel, the Dr. DX cartridge

thick of an International c\v contest.

sticks, word processors and printers

As you "tune" each band at a .speci fied hour, you'll bear "stations" oper

ever, both manufacturers and mail or

ating

from the parts of the world

which would actually he heard as a result of the propagation characteri.s-

Ham/Computer Resource Guide Advanced Electron

which

mode

m DalaComp HvhrookLane

in the typical compuier store. How

der

retailers of ham-oriented com

puter items advertise extensively in amateur radio

publications.

There's

also a considerable amount of public domain software available at little or no cost through local amateur radio

clubs, and the American Radio Relay League maintains a library of publicdomain program listings. A cataloguc of what's available from the Leaguecan

be

obtained

by

sending

a

stamped, self-addressed envelope to the ARRL's "TX" program exchange department. From logging contacts to designing

antennas, tracking satellites to send ing and receiving Morse code and radioteletypc, ham shack uses for the

Commodore 64 are as diverse as ama teur radio itself. So it's easy to see

why the question for bams who own a 64 isn't, "What can I do with it?" but, "What should 1 do first?" Q Met Granick is a radio mid electron-

ics hobbyist who holds an Extra Class Amateur radio license.

COMMODORE MICROCOMPUTERS

77


The Electronic Cottage Controversy of others; as long as they're using a

Computer Work at Home May Be Illegal

terminal

77m? AFL-CIO wants to protect cottagersfrom labor

for

work

at

Working ai home is not at all a new

abuse. But electronic cottagers think their consti

idea;

tutional rights are threatened. Journalist—and

years.

electronic cottager—Tom Benford offers his opinion

reality

folks

have been doing

The

computer,

it

for

however,

has

made working at home an accessible

to

some

workforce.

on the controversy.

I

or computer

home, they're cottagers.

members

of ihe

In his best-selling book

The Third Ware, author Alvin Toffler prophetically

BY TOM 1SENFOUD

describes

the

next

electronic cottages, and thousands more will join them over the ncxl

for writing magazine articles, doesn't

"wave" of work trends and accepted norms for the business world-

matter.

spawned

defines an electronic cottage is thai

electronic collage.

year, An electronic cottage is a home

some form of income-generatinn computer work be done in the home.

not work for a great number of jobs

Ihousands of folks live and work In

and workplace thai is wired to the

world through a computer keyboard

The

main

criterion

thai

Those who work in such environ

by

the emergence of the

By nature, electronic cottaging will

ments are called cottagers, and this

where physical presence at the work place is necessary. However, certain

and screen is attached to a dumb ter

work/li lest vie is known as the "elec

jobs requiring little or no interaction

minal linked 10 a mainframe through

tronic

among people are ideally suited to

a modem, or a Commodore 64 used

may be self-employed or employees

and screen.

Whether the keyboard

78 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

cottage

industry."

Cottagers

this cottage industry.


Should Computer Work at Home Be Banned? the largest labor organization in the

home

United States, has resolved to seek a

by Blue Cross/Blue Shield, in such an

attracted

ban by the federal government on all

media, and efforts were undertaken

arrangement,

computer work

to amend the ordinance; the success or failure of these efforts is unknown

For instance, cottage workers can

be employed to process claim forms these

workers

make

[heir own hours and arc paid a fixed

clone at home.

It's

amount for each form they process.

important to understand the implica tions of such a ban. If it were made

The data is entered from a terminal in

law, you would be breaking thai law

their home, scni through a modem id

by doing anything for profit with a

a mainframe at

computer in your home. This means,

the

company,

and

was

cited.

some

This

attention

incident from

the

as of this writing.

The AEC vs. the AFL-CIO With the increasing popularity of

their wages arc tallied from ilic num

for example, lliat if you sent a pro

ber of completed transmissions

gram or software review to a maga

cottage-industry work, small local "cottage" groups have sprung up. On

zine, and they bought it from you,

a

you'd become a criminal.

Association

re

ceived by the mainframe. Occupations such as this, involving

information entry, handling, manipu

nationwide

scale,

however,

of Electronic

the

Cottager;,

lation or transmission, do particularly

This example is not taking things to the extreme, hi fact, eottaging may

well in cottage environments, Profes

even he illegal in your locality already,

sions

Pot instance, about a year ago, two

researching, brokering and others fall

assistance,

writers working out of their apart

into this category us well, and cottag

assistance in setting up a computer-

ment in a Chicago suburb were served

ers

with

based home business, and other ser

in

like

consulting,

these

fields

are

writing,

often

self-

employed entrepreneurs.

Recently,

however,

the

a

ceasc-and-desist

order.

A

municipal ordinance prohibiting any AFL-CIO,

kind of income-generating

work :ii

(AEC) was founded to provide a cen tral organization for the cottage indus try at

large.

It

provides

business

marketing

consultaiion,

vices to members.

The AEC was formed in January. , by Paul and Sarah Edwards, COCOMMODORE MICROCOMPUTERS

79


Dennis Ch:imnt Assot. Director Dcpt. for Profes sional Employees A FUCK)

,-AFtao

\ome-work in the past did lead to widespread, well documented cases of abuse. . . low wages, long hours, poor health conditions.. . authors of several books on

home-

cotiaging may promolc: child labor,

Cbatnot: The APL-C1O Convention

based computer business Opportuni ties, As of lhis writing, [he

long hours, no benefits, and the like.

passed a resolution about two years

These points arc valid anil no one

ago calling for a ban

organization

would argue

The pro

home-work. Since it is a convention

posed ban, however, is a blanket con

resolution, that is the official stand of

demnation

ihcAFL-ClO. llciiforei: Hut what aboui the rights of people lo work on computers ai

members,

already

with

has

over

100

Commodore users

comprising about

H>%

of the total

their merit.

of

all

home

computer

membership,

work, wilh no provision or suggestion

The ABC's most significant contri bution to the cottage industry thus far involves writing an "Electronic Cot

for regulating it.

tage Bill of Rights" In opposition to

the AFI.-CIO ban effons. This "bill"

The AFL/CIO Side of the Issue Dr. Dennis Chamot, the Associate

on computer

hi ime? Chamot: There's a long history of home-work ant! problems with home

work in this country, which led to

Director of the Department for Pro

such a

forms of Industrial home-work were

means of earning a living. The AEC

fessional Employees at the AFL-C1O Professional Employee offices in

banned by

also functions effectively as an infor

Washington, D,C, detailed what the

decades ago. The most recent wrinkle

mation source on any legislative and

proposed ban encompasses and who

is the lifting of the ban for home knit

regulatory

it affects. My phone interview with

ting; the others still remain in effect.

reaffirms the right of an individual to choose cot tag ing ;is a legitimate

activities

threatening

the

rights of cottagers.

Dr. Chamot went like this:

level

of abuse that

the

federal

several

government

1 think it's important for people 10 understand

why

the

original

bans

the

BeitfOTd: What is the official stand

AFL-C1O is predominantly concerned With ihe labor abuses thai electronic

of the AFLcCIO regarding computer

were put into effect, .since that will go

work done at home?

a long way toward explaining why

According

SO

10

Paul

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBEK

Hdwards,


Paul and Sarah Edwards. Authors nf Working/row Home: Everything t'nti tietd to Know About i.tvttig

ami Working Under the Same Roof.

Were you work and whom you work for is your own business-

—and it should stay that way."

—Electronic Cottager

many of us [personally]—not just the AFL-CIO—arc opposed to the lifting

virtually impossible. Therefore, in the

becomes very widespread,

industries

definition of a "self-employed" or an

of the other bans and why we- have our concerns about the development of computer home-work. Home-work

were prevalent, a total ban was put

"independently self-employed" indi

into place. Those ban.s have remained

vidual becomes a little fuzzy,

in the past

where the

worst

abuses

for decades until the advent of the

well doc u men ted cases of abuse. The

Reagan administration in seeking to overturn them. The overturning of

abuses we're talking about here are

the knitting ban was not a smooth

low wages, piece-work systems, long hours, poor health conditions, the use

process—there

did lead to widespread,

of child labor, and so forth. Benjbrd: Wasn't there an alterna

was

opposition

to

that There IS no attempt being made right now to eliminate the other bans.

thai the

BenforcL For the purposes of clar ity as to what "self-em ployed" means, let'.s use me as an example.

Chatnot: We can't—you see, that's

the problem. The people from the cot tage Industry association and the like immediately |ump to the case of those

that

I think there is a fairly widespread recognition of the feet that homeworkers can be and have been abused.

people who are least abused and who have the most ability to take care of

Cbamoti The Initial approach was

lifitford: I understand this ban on

we're worried about. There's a very

tive to banning home-work would prevent such abuses?

themselves. Those are not the people

not to ban the work,kbut lo regulate it.

computer

I fere were people trying to make a liv

exception to persons who are self-

yourself and, say, a clerical worker.

ing and they were being exploited— they needed some protection. After a

employed, is that correct? Cbamoti If someone is truly inde

That is, a worker who is given work

long

and

pendent or self-employed, they take

ity whatever to negotiate over pay

many problems, enforcing standards

care of themselves. You start to come

rates, who is not given any benefits,

for home-workers was

into an area, though, when the work

period

of

tria!-and-error

found to be

home-work

makes

no

hig difference between somebody like

by a major company, who has no abil

Continued mi fitine I JO

COMMODORE MICROCOMPUTERS

B1


Comfortable Computing BY TOM BENFORD

r-go-nom-ics— The study of the relationship

between man and his

working environment,

Have you ever hud a long session ;u your computer and fell achy or stiff at the end of it? Perhaps the reason for your discomfort is that your equipment isn't economically arranged. Regardless of whether you use your Commo dore for gaming, word processing, programming or other applications, payIng some attention to the ergonomics of your equipment set-up will make your computing more enjoyable—and more comfortable! Virtually everything in your computing environment affects the ergonom

with special reference to

ics lo some degree. Lighting, keyboard height, seating, disk and accessory

anatomical, physiological

storage are some of the considerations thin come under ihe heading of ergo

and psychological

products, and we'll cover several of them here. Hut there are many Uiings

factors: human engineering.

nomics. Several manufacturers have come out with economically designed

you can do yourself to make your computing more comfortable. In fact, you'll find that having a good basic work area to begin with will help you derive the maximum hencfit from any accessories you do add.

—Punk & Wag/tails

International Dictionary

Your Work Area Your computer work area doesn't have to take up much room. Mosi any

place will do as long as it has sufficient lighting, enough electrical outlets for your equipment, and is in a low-traffic area. If you plan to use your modem for

telecomputing,

then

proximity

to

a

phone

jack

is

also

important,

although extension cords may solve this problem.

Your Work Surface Once you've picked a spot to set up shop, you'll have to choose a work

surface for your equipment and accessories. The work surface can be any thing from a sturdy card table to a desk to a custom-built wall unit or a commercially available computer work station, The three main requirements for a work surface are that it is large enough to comfortably hold your equipment, sturdy enough so it won't collapse from the weight, and at a comfortable height for typing on the computer keyboard. Most typing tables arc between 25 and 2S inches—a range that is comfortable for most. To find the height that's right for you, try keeping your elbows at your

side while assuming a typing posture with your arms and hands. Your fore arms should be slightly elevated, with your wrists about two inches higher than the crook of your elbow. Whatever thlfl height is, subtract three inches

from it and that's where your work surface should be (the Commodore 64 is 82

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER


Virtually everything

in your environment affects the ergonomics to some degree, including lighting, keyboard height, seating, and disk

I and accessory storage.

about three inches thick at the keytops). The work surface should be deep enough to hold your monitor or TV set

with the Commodore 64 in front of it. Allow six inches or more between the computer and monitor/TV tor accessing the ports. A work surface depth of 30 inches works well for the 64 and a 1702 monitor; other monitors or TV's may require more or less depth.

Sufficient width is another factor to consider. I recommend a minimum width of 30 inches to hold a (ri and disk drive or datassettc with enough

"breathing" room between the units. A iH-inch width will afford you plenty of room to keep the computer, disk drive, disk storage file, notepad and pen, joystick, and other small items with room to spare. 1 use a 48-inch

work surface, and 1 like the extra elbow room it provides me (I have a sepa rate printer stand). To accommodate your printer on [he same surface, plan on making it *>â– $ or even 60 inches, depending on the printer. COMMODORE MICROCOMPUTERS

83


Storage Space lirgonomics come into play when you arc storing your disks, cartridges

and other Items. Depending on what you've chosen for the work surface, you may already have drawers or shelves. If not, there arc still plenty of options for your storage needs.

The latest item in ergonomic seating is

the "kneeler" or "back" chair, which

distributes the body's weight evenly over the center of gravity.

Shelving brackets and composition board shelves are an Inexpensive way to clear up some of the clutter and yet keep everything within arm's reach, You can create- shelves easily with metal "standards" which are screwed into the studs of the wall. Metal shelf brackets snap into the holes in the stan dards, and the shelf rests on these brackets. Since the standards have holes placed at half-inch intervals, you can adjust the height of your shelves—very economically sound! The standards, shelf brackets and shelves are available

in the hardware or lumber departments of most large chain or department stores.

You tan also install fixed shelves if you're interested in doing a little

carpentry. Most home repair/modification hooks have plans for building sim ple, strong wall shelving inexpensively, and many luniber/building-maierials dealers have free brochures on shelving for the do-it-yourselfer. "Organizers"

also provide storage. They can he virtually anything from a sturdy card board box for holding your small accessories to a specially designed unit for

storing disks. Stackahlc plastic bins available in the housewares sections of department stores make dandy containers for holding cables, joysticks, car

tridges and the like. Clear plastic shoe storage boxes also come in handy for organizing your gear, as do shallow plastic trays, also available in housewares.

Hookends are another item you might want 10 include for holding your

user manuals and other documentation neatly, just about any heavy, free standing objects can be used for bookends, even a couple of large rocks— don't be afraid to be creative or innovative,

Psychological factors are also part of your work station's ergonomics. The whole idea is to create a place where you will feel comfortable. To this end, include any items that make you feel at home, such as favorite pictures, knick-knacks and the like. This is supposed to be your place, so make it homey.

I'm one of those people who constantly jots down cryptic notes and

reminders lo myself. Some inexpensive corkboard on the facing wall holds

these shards of paper in what almost approaches an organized manner, if you're an incorrigible note-poster,

then (he corkboard will allow you to

indulge yourself without poking holes in the wall.

Seating Arrangements You'll he sitting down for 99% of the lime you spend at your computer,

so a comfortable seat is an important consideration. Choosing a comfortable chair is largely a matter of personal taste, as long as it provides good back support. Typing or secretarial chairs are good choices and are often adjusta ble for back support and height. The height adjustment helps you compen

sate for a less -than -idea! -height work surface. These chairs frequently have casters that allow you to roll about, another ergonomic point to consider if your work surface is on the long side.

Comfortable cushioning and a design that fosters good posture will also make for comfortable computing. The kitchen chairs were meant to be used while eating, not for long stretches at the 64. Their intended purpose

becomes achingly clear after a couple of hours of computing while perched on one. Comfort and support are the rules of the day when choosing the right seat for your work area.

The latest item in the ergonomic seating department is the "kneeler" or "back" chair available from several manufacturers. These odd-looking chairs

distribute the body's weight evenly over the center of gravity and are extremely comfortable. The angle of the seat disiributes support between the lumbar region of the hack and the knees. The thigh bones support the

bulk of the load. The result is an ergonomic support that promotes good posture.

Several discount chain stores are selling inexpensive versions of this basicdesign, bul they may not have sufficient padding on the "kneeler" portion. 64 SEPTEMBIR/QCTOBER


which makes them not so good for long stints. Good chairs 1 am familiar

with in this genre include the Back Chair from British Design (U.S.A.) Cor poration. Constructed of oak wood veneer, it is available in either fawn or

brown and has comfortable padding. It assembles in about five minutes and has a suggested retail price of $49.95,

Starshine of Santa Barbara also offers a knecler chair in a choice of two

models. The standard model is made of oak veneer with comfortable pad ding for the seat and knee surfaces, priced at S2995. A deluxe three-posi tion adjustable kneeler chair on wheels is also available for S49.95. which allows you to select the best angle and height for your particular needs.

Cable Jungle Cables are the veins and arteries of (he computers. Bui if you have a Com

modore 64, 1541 disk drive, monitor or TV and a printer connected together, then you have four power cables, the monitor/RI: cable, the disk

drive cable, the printer cable and possibly even a printer interface cable-

more than that if you have dual drives, a modem, joystick or oilier goodies. In addition to being unsightly, all these cables cause a very non-crgonomic clutter

While you can't eliminate them, you can eliminate some of the clutter. If possible, try to route your power cables down the back of your work sta tion, perferably in a neat bundle. You can purchase "cable ties" from elec tronics supply houses, or you can make your own from garbage-bag ties.

Incandescent light is easier on the eyes

than fluorescent light, especially since

fluorescent light also causes some people to

experience a "strobing'

effect on the video display.

Another good idea is to label each cable where it plugs into the electrical ouilet to identify which device it is for. Masking tape is good for making cable labels.

If your work station is flush with the wall, you might want to drill a hole through it near the wall to route your power cables through. Just make sure that there are no rough or sharp edges on the hole to fray or pierce the insu lation on tlie cables, causing a shock/fire hazard.

You can also relieve cable duller by using a muliiple-outlet power box. Better multi-outlet boxes have built-in surge suppressors to clean up the power coming from the wall outlet, and often feature a master power switch, which lets you turn the power on or off to all your equipment at the same time. Built-in surge suppressors proteci the equipment from a sud

den jolt of power when it is first turned on. Some multi-outlet boxes can be screw-mounted to the work station or wall.

Discwasher offers three such multi-outlet surge suppressors in its SpikeMaster line, all offering protection from sudden voltage surges while provid ing interference filtering. Two of the models are designed for tabletop use, and since they both offer four inputs and a master on/off switch, they're ideal for ergonomic power-handling chores.

Shedding Some Light Lighting is another ergonomic consideration, since too much can be as

bad as too little. Insufficient light will cause eye strain and discomfort, but an overabundance of light will cause screen glare, which also coniributes to eye strain and discomfort. Most folks feel comfortable with sufficient lamp light to read by, but not enough to disrupt the readability of the video display.

Incandescent (light bulb) light is easier on the eyes than fluorescent light, especially since fluorescent light also causes some people to experience a "strobing" effect on the video display. Diffused light is preferable to direct light, because it is less harsh on the eyes. A small table lamp with a transluscent shade is often all you'll need to shed some light on your work station without overdoing it.

While we're on the subject of lighting and eye strain, it's also a good ergonomic practice to give your eyes a break. This is merely a short period

away from the monitor or TV lo give your eyes a change of pace. Since your eyes remain in a fixed focus when you work on your computer, they need a

rest and a chance to focus on some distant objects now and then. This goes a long way to combat eye strain. Many offices give their terminal operators, word processors and other CRT users an "eye break" every hour or two. Eye breaks for employees are required by law in many stales as well, which gives you an idea of bow important they are. COMMODORE MICROCOMPUTERS

85


Leroy's Cheatsheets There are several siml! items you may want to include in your computer

work area that will enhance both your productivity and comfort. Among

these are Leroy's Cheatsheets. These arc handy keyboard overlays that give you all the pertinent Information and commands to run your favorite word

processor, terminal program or other applications software. Cheatsheets are available for BasyScrlpt, VIP Tbrmtnat, Tba Swart 6-i Terminal. BASIC pro

gramming commands, and Other popular programs and applications, and are

available from Cheatsheet Products at S3.9^ each.

Monitor and Printer Stands

Ill The Falcon Fire Extinguisher is a compact

unit containing Halon

1211, a residue-free extinguished that's safe for use on high-

tech equipment.

Because monitors and printers arc bulky and hard to place conveniently on a desk, you may want to invest in specially made stands that get them up off your work surface and Into a more comfortable position for use. Suncoro is one company that makes stands for hoth monitors and primers. Their monitor stand is a nice unit that holds most video monitors or TV sets with up to 14-inch screens. The stand allows you to swivel the monitor or TV

360 degrees and tilt it up to 12.5 degrees. It's great for reducing glare and

getting the best viewing angle—prevents stiff shoulders and neck from cran

ing to see the video display. It's available for (26.95.

The Suneom printer stands are available in live sizes to fit most popular

printers. They are sturdily constructed of plastic-covered metal and have rubber-tipped "feet." They're economically designed to tilt the printer slightly toward the user at a comfortable angle, and their wide-open con

struction won't inhibit the printer's ventilation. They also help to lessen both vibration and noise while the printer is in operation. Suneom's printer stands are available in the following sizes and prices: 12" X 12" X2", S17.95 12"x 12"X-i". S19.95 15"X 12"X2". 521.95 18" X 14" X 2", S24.95 21"X17"X4". 829.95 A multi-purpose stand that can serve as a work Station, printer stand or

desk, among other tilings, is available from Abstract Enterprise for S40.00

plus S2.5O handling. The sturdy unit assembles easily and looks good. Abstract also offers a computer table with hutch for Sl60 that lias enough room to hold all your equipment comfortably. An Illustrated catalog with price sheet is available directly from the company showing their entire line of ergonomic accessories.

Another ergonomic computer work station and its matching printer stand

arc available from The Furniture Byte. Both units are well made, assemble with only a screwdriver and are available in either natural oak or walnut woodgrain finishes. The work station features a desk shelf that swings up to

close the unit when it's not in use, an adjustable upper shelf for holding the disk drive or other accessories, and plenty of room, at proper viewing

height, for the monitor on top. The matching printer stand has a shelf under neath for holding the paper supply. Casters provide mobility for the printer stand and complement the ergonomic design of the unit. The work station and printer stand are available directly from The Furniture Dyte.

The DeskTopper (149.95 from Madison Computer) is a beautiful solid oak stand that holds your monitor at an elevated height for easy viewing. A shell provides ample room for holding two disk drives or a single drive and other

accessories. The lower compartment houses the 64 itself, when it's not in use. The unit provides an ergonomic means of organizing your components while hiding unsightly cables. Madison also carries other useful computer â–

accessories and has a free catalog.

Info-64 Ergboard if you've ever gotten a case sion, then you'll welcome this sloped platform that provides bronze acrylic, it has slots cut

of wrist fatigue from a long computing ses nifty device from lnfo-64. It is essentially a support for your wrists. Made from smoked into it to accept the front "feet" of the com

puter and prevent if from moving around the work surface.

Three handy "I-rgcards" are supplied with the unit, The cards provide Bi

SKITEMBHlrtW HIK1H


Where to Get It The products mentioned in this article or more information on these products may be obtained directly from the companies at these addresses: r

Cheatsheet Products

P,O. Box H299 I'lusburjili. PA 1521H

Leroy's Cheatsheets Suncom, Incorporated

260 Hoibrook Drive Wheeling, II 60090

Monitor station, printer stands [nfo-64

command and control references for Gemini mx printers, ;i bask; program

ming reminder and syntax checker, and a code summary for Wordpro 3

Pllts/64, The Brgboard is available from lnfo-64 for $19.95 including the postage and handling.

P.O. Box 376 Coffee mugs, banks, pencils, gift wrap paper, etc.

Diversified Manufacturing offers the Computer Hardcover for the VIC or

64. This Ughwelgh! plastic lid combines crgonomic styling with functional protection for your keyboard when you're not using it. It's molded of beige plastic to match the Commodore 64, slips on and off the keyboard in an instant, and sells for S9.95.

Rolltop Disk Files The Rolltop Disk File is available from Microcomputer Accessories, Inc. in two versions. The standard version sells for 836,00, while a locking version

is also available for 146.00. Either version of the Rolltop will hold 100 disks between 11 dividers and provide you with high-capacity, space-efficient stor age for your floppies. The company also carries other ergonomic accessories

such as anti-glare screens, monitor swivel stands, and dust covers, all illus trated in their free catalog.

Plastic check and stationary carriers provide an ergonomic means of prim ing checks or letters on your tractor-feed printer. The vinyl carriers have in the edges, and slits in the carriers hold either

checks or letterhead sheets firmly in place for printing. They're available for S11.95 including postage and handling from CHE

P.O. Box 2240

Wlchill, KS 67201 Computer hardcover Microcomputer Accessories, Inc. S721 Buckingham Parkway P.O. Box 3725

Culver City, CA 902.11 Knlltop titsk files, other accessories Discwasher

l-ii>7 Nonh Providence Road P.O. Box 6021

Columbia, MO 65205 SpltteMaster Surge Suppressors British Design (U.S.A.) Corp.

4601 Oakpori Sireei Oakland. CA 9-4601 Kneeler-type "back " chairs H16B Stale Strctl Santa Barbara, CA 9S101

Regular Mid adjustable "back" chairs

Abstract Enterprise, Inc. 7210Jordan Avenue, Suite B24 Canoga Park, CA 91.103 Multi-purpose roltabout stand, computer hutch, other accessories The CIIF Company

Fire Extinguishers, Coffee Mugs Falcon Safely Products offers the Falcon Fire I;.xiinguisher, a compact onepound unit containing Hfllon

Diversified Mfg., Inc.

Starshlne of Santa Barbara

Stationary Carriers

1211, a residue-free exiinguishent that's safe

for use on high-tech equipment. The extinguisher has a suggested retail price

of S39-95, and an optional wall-mount bracket is also available. Falcon aiso carries an extensive line of computer-care products, all illustrated in their free catalog.

Computer coffee mugs, note paper, jigsaw puzzles, pencils, banks—even

computer gift wrap paper are all available from Computer Personals. These items are great for tending an "ergonomic ambiance" to your computer nook, and they're all functional as well as cute. Some of the inscriptions include "Software Scribble" and "Computer Comments" for the note paper,

"Data Bank" for the coin bank, and "Input Device" and "User Friendly" for the drink mugs. The mugs reiail for $5 each plus shipping and handling. A free catalog is available from the company showing the entire product line and prices.

Iowa Cliy, IA 52240

lirgboard and Zrgcards Computer Personals Southampton. PA 18966

Computer Hardcover

true tor-sprocket holes

Rome 2. Box 198-E

Qj

P. O. Box 185 Obcrlln. OH 4-1074 Vinyl check and letterhead carriers for line printers The Furniture Byte P.O. Box 1757 9JiKlilh Place l.ongvitw, WA 9H632 Computer work station and printer cart

Madison Computer 1825 Monroe Madison, Vt'l 53711 Ilvshtopper component stand, other products

Falcon Safety Products, Inc.

1065 Bristol Road Mountainside. NJ 07092 Fire extinguisher, other products

COMMODORE MICROCOMPUTERS

87


nomical

Build This

lomic Workstation

for $1O PLANS & TEXT BY TOM BENFORD Some folks don't mine! putting in some extra work to save some bucks. If you're budget-CODSClOus and can

handle a screwdriver, drill and saw. you can make this computer work sia-

tion in several hours tor about 810. It's easy, economical and crgonomlc!

The

work station

pictured

here

used these materials at these prices:

1—3'X 4'sheet 3/4" particle board

— 85.99

2—8' lengths blemished

2X4®.97

-SI.94

28— 1 -112 " woodscrews

@ ,06 each

- 51.68

4—2-1/2" woodscrews

®.09 each

— S .36 S9.97

With tax, il came out to less than S11, so even if you purchase a quart of paint and :i cheap brush, we're still talking under S15.

I purchased the sheet of 3/4" parti

cle board and the 2Xi's from EUckels, although similar prices will be found at most home/lumber centers. 1 pur

posely

chose

blemished

2 X 4's

because of their low price (8.97 for an 8' length). You can get really nice 8' lengths of 2 X -i for about S2.25 each without any blemishes if appearance is important to you. 1 bad the woodscrews in my work

shop,

but a quick

check

with

the

neighborhood hardware store yielded [he prices I've listed here.

As far as tools go, you'll need a screwdriver,

power

drill

with

bit,

countersink bii. saw. pencil, yardstick

posely wasn't used so the screw loca

"model" work station hasn't had this

or ruler, and a square. You can yet by

tions would show up better. You may

treatment (yet). A coat of paint or

with a hand saw and a hand drill, but

notice that our prototype model uses

stain will

the power tools make the going con

two screws on each side to secure the

slight imperfections and add the fin

siderably faster and easier. A power

top shelf; three would be better. In the

ishing touch.

screwdriver is also an asset.

accompanying plans. 1 suggest using

using, you may want to countersink

Depending on the screws you're

three screws to secure each joint. Also note that 1 recommend sand

the screw holes so the screw heads fit

ing all rough edges with medium grit

Hush with [he surface. In the accom

sandpaper

panying

produced by sawing, even though our

photos,

a countersink

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

pur

to

remove

any splinters

do wonders to cover up

Construction Measure the particle board halfway down and score a line with your pen

cil, so it will yield two 2' X 3' halves.


SIDE UIEM DF ASSEMBLED

point will make life easier. Place the

WORKSTATION FROMT

2x4-^-*F1-'|

-

■'

i

2'x3' particle board work surface

BACK

3'

long

r ii-. ',!)[

.K

'*~>-top shelf

—6"

(■

between the two side panels, resting

Wide

particle s i de

it on the 2x4 worksurface supports.

The work surface should be flush with both the 2x4 ends and the side panel itself. Drill these holes in the

left and right sides of the work sur face and mount it to the 2 x 4's with

hoard

-2x4

woodscrews.

Mount the three-foot 2x4 erossbrace next. Place it between the

use 3 1-1/2" wood screws at each Joint for extra strength.

two side panels on top of the base 3

feet

>

COWUTER

2 f

i.

DESK

Cut

TOP

X

froN 3'x4'

3/4"

4

side

Also

I 6"

for

side

2'

T

1 12 11

TOP

SHELF

length

of

cross-bract

2x4

scraps

■3L

can

be

cut

2x4 and

2

lengths

of

of

be

left and right sides. Once again, make

top

/

3'

_

B" 1

2x4 to

braces.

wide

2x4

_fbrace

Crossbrace also Makes a good footrest while providing extra for

two 2-1/2" woodscrews in each side supports. This crossbrace gives the

work

station

extra

stability

and

strength, while providing a conve nient footrest at the same time. Now it's time to mount the top

shelf The lop shelf should sit flush

^-2' 2x4s-

strength

sure everything is sitting flush. Use

to secure the crossbrace to the base surfacr

L

of

desk.

extra

j

/

used

support 2 X i's. Drill two holes in the

OF

UGRKSTATIOH

i

lengths

2x4 will botto**

support

•Jill!

J

Board

for

optional

Thick

Particle

: G*

3'

FROHT ASSEMBLED

WORKSTATION

4

the

workstation.

with the fronts of the 2 X 4 mounting cleats and overhang the rear of the cleats by six inches, as docs the work surface (refer to side-view diagram).

and cut the sheet in half. Set oiu- half

overhang the side panels by six inches

Drill three boles in each side an fix the

aside. This will be [he work surface of

to ihe rear of the unit. Measure six

the workstation.

top shelf to the mounting cleats with

inches and make pencil lines on each

Measure and cut ihe remaining twofoot section into two 6" X 3' panels

woodscrews. That's it!

of the four two-foot sections of 2 x i.

and one 1'x.V panel. The six-inch

Line up the 2 X 4's and panels accord

over, you can make additional braces

ing to your pencil marks, drill three

panels will be the sides of the work station, while the one-foot piece will

or supports if you desire. An addi

holes for each joint, and install the

tional support may be important if

he the top shelf.

heads for a flush fit.

Cut one of the 2x4's into four equal

two-foot lengths.

These

will

woodscrews,

countersinking

their

support

the

make up the floor and worksurface

sure that the 2 X -i's are flush with the

devices,

it

platforms.

bottoms of the side panels, drill three

slightly in the center when stressed. A

holes and screw them together.

2x4 support brace in the center of

one half into one three-loot section

six-inch

overhang.

particle board is strong enough to

Make

Cut the other 2 X 4 in half. Then cut

same

you intend to keep both a monitor and a printer on the top shelf. While the

Next are the bottom 2x4's with the

From the scrap piece of 2 X 4 left

The next operation Involves attach

weight

of these

two

has a tendency to bow

the lop shelf extending down to the

and two six-inch sections. The three-

ing the six-inch 2X4 sections to the

work surface will help prevent this

foot piece will provide a crossbrace for the bottom of Ihe unit, while the

tops of the side panels. Make sure

bowing. In

these art- positioned flush with the

I've indicated ihe placement of this

six-inch sections will act as mounting

tops and sides of the side panels, drill

optional support by dotted lines.

cleats for the top shelf. Save the remaining piece of 2X-i for addi tional (optional) support bracing. That takes care of all the cutting involved.

three

holes

and

affix

with

woodscrews (front-view diagram).

At this point, you should have two

Sanding any rough edges and paint

ing or staining will finish the job and make the work station

look like a

Xext, determine what height you

inch particle board panel with a two-

commercial unit costing S100 more. Not bad for ten bucks, huh?

would like the work surface to be by

using the method I've detailed in the

foot 2x4 base support, a two-foot 2x4 worksurface support, and a six-

Pen and software facilitated the crea

main article. On our prototype here, 1

inch

decided that a 27" worksurface height

26-1/4" (allowing 3/4" for the thick

should also have your 2' X .V work surface (desk top), I'x.V top shell', three-foot 2x4 erosshrace, and some

grams. Special thanks are also in order to l.iz Benford for assisting in the car

ness of the particle hoard) and made a

scrap 2x4. Take inventory now, and

pencil line on both of the six-inch-

make sure this is what you have. If

Jr. who immediately confiscated the work station for his own use, and our

wide panicle board panels. Notice from the side-view diagram

not, you've done something wrong,

dog Freelance, who claimed the 2X4

so backtrack to find where you erred.

scraps as his properly and absconded

would be about right, so I measured

that the work surface and top shelf

side panels, each consisting of a six-

the front-view diagram,

2x4

top

shelf support.

You

Having someone assist you at this

or

On a closing note, a Fiexidraw Light tion of the three construction dia

pentry department, to Tom Benford,

with them.

Q

commodore; MICROCOMPUTERS

89


WHY THE COMMODORE 64 ISN'T A CLASS BY ITSELF.

ppj f


At Commodore, we think it's easier for school children to learn about a computer by using it rather than by waiting to use it. So, we sell the Commodore 64™ at about half the cost of

comparable computers.

With the money you save on the Commodore 64, you can afford

the things you'll really need: more Commodore 64's.

In fact you can create a powerful but economical "Local Network" with 8 computers sharing one disc drive. The Commodore 64 features: 64K memory. 66 key typgwriterstyjekeyboard, J^ojgjihighj^s^utigjigraphics, 9 octave music

synthesizer and 3-dimensional sprites.

And the same commitment we make to hardware, we're making

to software. We have highly rated Logo and PILOT programs. Much of the well recognized MECC™ courseware and the Edufun™

Series from Milliken will soon be available. There are hundreds of other programs, including a wealth of public domain software for the Commodore 64. Our newest additions are 30 early learning programs

from Midwest Software.

So you see, the all purpose Commodore 64 really is in a class

by itself.

For further information on the Commodore 64 and our 250 Educational Resource Centers, contact your nearest Commodore

Education Dealer.

c commodore

COMPUTERS

Commodore Business Machines Inc, PO Bo* 500Mr ConWofiockerv PA 19-128 Cariada—3370 Pharmacy Avenue. Agincouil, Ont Can M1W2K4 Edulunand MECC are Trademarks of Mil liken Pu blishmg Com pany end Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium r


BOOK REVIEWS

REVIEWED BY TED SALAMONE

The Commodore

The

MiniScribe

64 Family

word processor

Helper:

alone is

Super Softwarefor

worth more

Home Management

than the

Computer: Authors:

Commodore 64 Richard V. Daley ;ind SallyJ. Daley

Publisher:

Scott, Foresman & Co,

purchase

price of the entire

1900 EaÂŤ Lake Avenue Glcnvicw, IL 60025 Medium:

package.

Book and disk

Retail Price: SI9.95 â–

JL he Commodore 64 Family Helper

(What day of the week was March 31. 1955? Thursday, in case you're the

Transactions or monthly summaries

with live home applications: Memo

least bit interested.) Another extra is

can be sent to a printer, categories can

Calendar.

Checkbook

the ability lo calculate the number of

be summed individually, or the cur

MiniScribe,

Data Manager,

days between two dates. These niini-

rent balance can be calculated.

is a 178-page paperback and a disk

those

less

serious

Manager,

and for

moments,

Before yon rush out to replace Pa-

most part, though

other

financial

fumbles.

This program works fine for the

marvels work as far back as 1582. Memo Calendar works fine for the

Backgammon.

funds and

editing obsolete

most part, though it is a tad slow when you insert or delete a check en

perCHp, BasyScript or The Manager,

multiple

appoint

try. This "'turtle stroll" doesn't come

you should know thai Family Helper's

ments) is somewhat involved. (It's eas

as a surprise, if you read the book.

entries

(cancelled

routines are entry-level at best. This

ier to just print the calendar in ques

Like the other programs, this one also

doesn't mean they are worthless or

tion

has a menu option that returns you to

poorly done. It simply means they

entries.)

don't have the power and capabilities

Of DlOGt single-purpose programs.

and

cross

out

the

unwanted

BASIC. This is an unexpected refine

A printer isn't absolutely necessary

ment which makes it easy for you to

because the daily review option elimi

load another application without hav

l-'irst, you must copy each program

nates any output needs. A printer is

ing to perform yet another system-

onto a working disk. Preferably only

nice, however, because the calendar

wide cold stan.

one routine per disk, since the data

format and content are aesthetically

files reside on the same floppy as the

pleasing.

programs themselves. The copy pro

A

Now we come to the tour deforce, the one program on the disk that's

sectional summary

recaps

the

worth more than the offering's list

cess doesn't take long. Program exe cution is rather good too, considering

highlights of the Memo Calendar, as it

price: the MiniScribe word processor.

does for every other application. This

ihe routines are written entirely in

is an important feature, because it re

Another name for it could be "Son of EasyScrtpt 64," the word processor

Ustable BASIC. Mr. Daley evidently

inforces the material just introduced

marketed by Commodore.

knows how to make a program ac

and provides a handy reference for

does MiniScribe work like UasyScripl,

complish a good deal without a lot of

later.

it looks like it too.

The Checkbook Manager is an un

code.

Not only

You can set border, background and

assuming program that handles up lo

character colors, toggle justification

22 categories, each composed of a

on or off, alter spacing parameters, or

maximum of 20 characters. However,

set text, page or margin sizes. As in

dump it to a printer. Permanent holi

only \4 of the 20 characters per cate

HusyScript, the status line displays the

days (Easter and Christmas) are In

gory are displayed on-screen.

cursor's whereabouts by column and

In the first routine, Memo Calendar, you

customize

schedule,

your

review

it

appointment

on-screen,

or

cluded, You add the important birth days,

anniversaries

and

medical

appointments.

Memo Calendar can quickly com pute any day of the week of any year.

92 SBPTEMBBR/OCTOBER

This

program

runs

similarly

to

row. Output to a printer is less compli

Memo Calendar. You can enter a new

cated since there are fewer options

month's checks and/or deposits, alter

availahle (continuous paper and multi

a previous month's entries,

ple copies just about wrap it up).

form edits to weed

out

or per

misapplied

In a similar vein, there is no tab fea-


YOU'RE DOING MORE THAN EVER

turc. Automatic centering, line inser

tion/deletion ;miJ block erasure/moves

can be performed quickly and effort lessly. There's a handy scarch-aiul-re

SO SHOULD YOUR SOFTWARE

place option, an all-caps mode, and ;

built-in disk-access mode for direc tory listings, blank disk formatting, and unwanted file eradication. You can also force page breaks, Im

bed commands, comments

place non-printing

within

the body of the

text, or sei the vertical "start prim"

position.

Most of these commands

can be daisy-chained on a single line, provided each command is separated

from the others by a colon. (There arc 21 editing com ma mis in all.) MlnlScribe is very easy to learn and the manual's a real breeze to use. The Data Manager, is really a file manager, not a true database manager, Your options include creating and ed

iting data bases, performing primitive

sorts (alphabetic or numeric sequenc ing),

and

priming

rudimentary

re

ports. You can also produce labels,

though that's something that can be done with MiniScribe as well. For the sake of a clear printout from the Data Manager, the Daleys recom mend a maximum (iota!) horizontal

field length of no more than ho char acters. Another restriction concerns

the number of allowable files, though the limitation is a more generous 130, Up to 20 different repori formats can be saved to disk for later recall.

Last but not least, we come to the entertainment

section—video

back

gammon. The computer is not an un

merciful

foe.

Sometimes

it

even

makes mistakes, giving the less-thanadept

player

chance.

(like

Though

me)

mostly

a

fighting

a yame of

strategy and cunning (once the dice

arc rolled), the pixel portrait of (he hoard is surprisingly dear and well defined.

Overall, the programs arc certainly worth the minimal investment. Again. 1

must say that

MiniScribe alone

is

worth more than the purchase price of the entire package. The book also goes beyond being simply a manual. It provides several

dozen software critiques in educa tion, entertainment, utilities, and re-

curd keeping. Most of the reviews are good, making this one mighty useful dual-purpose publication. Q

Integrated Performance and Versatility The really exciring thing about integrated software is thor you con raiior it to fir your needs. Use rhe word processing ro produce error-free copy. Organize file information, then use identifying keys to produce letters and reporrs wirhout retyping. Or you can keep research notes and selecrively recoil them to include in q term paper. Rental properties? Stock portfolio? Budgeting? The spreadsheet helps you to monitor your money and investments. To include a visual presenta

tion with your report, simply use the graphics capa bilities.

Because the programs reside in memory together, you work wirhout breaking your pace. No fussing with load ing various disks. No rime lost in creating daro transfer files. So you are free ro creare new ways ro use you sofrwore.

Entertainment that Excites the Senses Ride the winds on your magic carpet, explore galaxies, leorn about wearher patterns. For think ers graphic adventures provide hours of inrrigue as you seek to rid a haunted rown of its ghostly

visitors Or explore new rerntories in your quest to rescue the princess from the evil wizard.

As You Grow, We Grow

$5.00 Update or C-128 Upgrade $20.00 Exchange for Complete System 5oon, you'll be able ro create "macros" to record lengthy keystroke sequences and play them back wirh

a single commond Search for information across multiple disks. Program rhe sofrwore for specific applications. And more. Our upgrade/exchange policy allows you to expond your system without sacrificing data disks.

The More You Do, The More We Help You Do It Because so many people are doing more things with Tri Micro sofrwore, you'll never hove to worry abourodvice

or support. Just ask one of the more than 70.000 peo ple who use it. "Thank you again for your phone call. It is refreshing ro deal wirh a company that shows concern for the consumer." LJ. Hannert, CA. "Tri Micro hos created a new set of standards for software integration that orher manufacturers will surely wonr to march." RUN, July 1965.

QUIETLY, A STANDARD 15 BORN. For rhe C-64", C-12B1". Plus 4'" and Ararf

TRI u MICRO

14072 5trorton Way, Santa Ana, CA 92705 (714) 832-6707 Circle Reader Service No. 35

COMMODORE MICROCOMPI TERS

93


COOL STACK

BOOK REVIEWS

REVIEWED BY HOWARD M1LI.MAN

DESIGNED FOR USE WITH

COMMODORE 1541 DISKDRIVES

How to Get the Most Out of

lead you through the menus, you are always a participant, not merely an

CompuServe

From there, you learn how to log on

COOt STACK is a aovlco Ihot allowa you lo alack

While too many variables prevent de

tailed advice on using a .specific mi cro/modem system (Commodore or

Bantam Books

Publisher:

your 1541's without lear of ovortiealitif). Highly effi-

any others), directions are neverthe

666 Fifth Avenue

cianl design eNeclivoly copla iwo drives using one (an. This syslem allows boiler utilization oi I fie

less clear and concise, l-acb chapter is

New York, NY 10103

limned apace availaole on most comouier desks

recapped and the important details re-

Retail Price:Sli.95

(Filler included}

emphasized. Many of CompuServe's

COOL STICK 15 built to last and priced at only tS9.M

Prolecl your inyeslmen! from damaging heal1 Use

if you're a novice, this how-to hand book is your guide through the re markable world of CompuServe tele

COOL STACK

Visa, Masloicard, CMech. or Money Order Georgia fualdenls add 3% sales lax Shipping and handling within US add SO 00

The

authors'

lends to even

honesty

ex-

illustrating the flaws

Tesl dala available on request

Commodore 1541 is a trademark ol Commodore

shortcuts and express routes.

summarizing

Business Machines

Through a series of on-line guided

Call oi wnie today AC 4W-97S*12J

Circle Reader Service No. 14

'ARBO

1ECH

$ $

lottery 6J« has wen designed to use the computing power of trie Commodore-64'* to Help vou play the various lottery games- pick 3, PICK i, LOTTO, SUPER LOTTO. 6/49, LUCKY lottery, etc. It can be used witti any lottery game in which you pick the numbers

We have already won tnousands of

dollars with it. It can work For you too!

AVAILABLE ON DISKETTE ONLY To order, send S24.95 for each plus Si.CO postage and handling per oroer ta (Illinois residents add 6% sales tax)

Q Q Superior Micro Systems, Inc.

VMOpo Box 7U» wheeling, n 60090 v Dealer inquiries welcome!

Cirlce Reader Service No. 29

94 SBPTBMBBR/OCTOBBR

$ $ 5 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ S ft

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Like any good reference, contains

a detailed

ihe

appendix

instructions,

com

mands, and hard-won hints. The in dex recaps major and

facets of CompuServe, Including bul

and Is an excellent time saver.

minor topics

letin boards, special Interest groups,

For game players, there are detailed

electronic mail, games, and more. Fol

summaries of three dozen games. Once again, it's easier (and certainly

(heir

footsteps during

first forays into

% LOTTERY 64© |

tem. book

tour*, the authors Introduce numerous

lowing

PO. BOI tU-SNELLVILLE. CEOBSI1 31078- 1W9IHIH

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ S $

detailed.

and pitfalls in the CompuServe sys

applicable freigm cnarges.

$

services,

from the simple to the complex, are

communications. For those of you already f:imili:ir with CompuServe, here's a ready reference detailing

Canadian orders in US doUais only Shipping and handling lo Canada 52 00 plus

$ $ 5 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

The book begins by explaining how to become a member of CompuServe.

via a direct line, Tymnet or Telenet.

Charles Bowenand David Peyton

Authors: PfiTENT PENDING

onlooker.

your

CompuServe mini

mizes your meanderuigs, while saving you time

and

money.

These tours

less expensive) to read about them be fore you're on-line. You might he able to learn the mate

rial covered in (his book by yourself,

introduce you to many of the ser vices of CompuServe while encourag

but

ing you 10 become comfortable with

every minute you're on-line. Not only

CompuServe's numerous menus and

will the on-line savings pay for the

commands.

book several times over, but you'll be enjoying the fascinating features of

CompuServe

is

introduced buffet

remember:

you're

paying

for

style: a bite at a time. Although ency

CompuServe sooner.

clopedic

How to Get the Most Out of ComfuiScrvf delivers What it promises, Q

in

content,

the

book

is

siill easy lo read. As the authors deftly

Introducing Our New

Telecommunications Column Telecommunications networks are rising stars in computing. Already more than 3,000 public and private networks serve over one million subscribers.

The next issue of Commodore Microcomputers premieres our newest fea ture: a regular column dedicated to helping you keep pace with the latest in telecommunications and videotex! services. Our readers' feedback tells us that on-line services are at times confusing, even intimidating. If you have some questions on telecommunications, send

them to us at:

Commodore Publications 1200 Wilson Drive

West Chester, PA 19380 ATTN: Howard Miliman We'll answer as many as we can in our new column.


We don't care which computer you own, We'll help you get the most out of it.

- --.

CompuServe puts a worl

.

information.

CompuServe is (he easy to me videotex

<'■>■■■

'ami >ntertainmcnt at your fingertips.

sopliislicalixi financial data, Plus, n

service designed for the personal

communications network for electronic

computer user and managed l)y the com munications professionals who provide

mail, a bulletin txiard fur selling, swap ping, and personal notices and a multi channel CB simulator. You get games on CompuServe, loo.

business information services to over one

fourth of the Fortune 500 companies. Subscribers gel a wealth of useful,

Classic puzzlers, educational, sports and

profitable, or just plain interesting infor mation like national news wires, electronic

adventure games and fantastic space games featuring MegaWirs, the "ultimate

banking and shop at home services, and

computer conflict." Circle Reader Service No. 8

Trie videotex service for you, no matter

which computer you own. To buy a Starter Kit, see your nearest computer dealer. To receive our informative brochure or to

order direct, call or write:

CompuServe Consumer Information Service. P.O. 86* 20212... ■ 5000 Arlington CwiirB Blvd.. Columbus. OH 43220 .

800-848-8199 motm


BOOK REVIEWS

REVIEWED BY JACK EMBERLY

Can I Play

now watch TV What do you see?" As the child responds, the chosen

A package thatfo

with the Computer,

cuses on both the de

characters appear boldly before him.

velopment ofschool

present themselves one-dimensionally

But of course the images don't just as in print. They're orchestrated with

"readiness" skills

Too? Computer: Author:

Commodore 64 Bernard Palkoff

Publisher:

Banbury Hooks

sound and movement. In this game,

the

and the beginning

sound

of old

type

each key. In chapter two, the moving

use of the computer

hands of the clock really tick. Flip the disk lor chapters three and four, and a

353 West Lancaster

six-sided

Wayne, PA 19087 Medium:

"pinging"

writers accompanies the pressing of

star

separates

magically,

only to be reassembled as the child

Book and disk

uses the cursor keys.

Retail Price: 819.95

For its entertainment lure. Can I I'lay with the Computer, Too? could easily compete with the average video

8HW8B

JVccc-ntly, a new book/disk program forged a bond between my four yearold Student liarl and the Commodore

64. As the letters Of the alphabet ap peared on the monitor screen, Earl

heard the unmistakable notes of the

game.

Instruetionally,

it

provides

much more than a game. When Earl heard the ABC tune, he was actually

learning the alphabet through a valu able auditory association. Let's look at

the other instructional benefits chap ter by chapter.

ABC tune. Earl's first question was,

Chapter

"Is that the ABC's 1 hear?" His second

one,

"Playing

with

the

Keyboard," takes the child through

was, "Can I play, too?"

exercises and games to learn the al

The answer to both questions was

phabet and the keyboard at the same

an enthusiastic yes. The ABC tune was pan of ;i package called Can 1 Play

Since this is essentially an introduc

trilb the Computer, TboP, written spe

tion to first grade, in a sense, Can I

time. Bad's favorite game in this chap ter was the Alphabet (lame, but he

cifically for children between three

Play

also enjoyed the Name Game. In the

and six by Bernard Falkoff lor Ban-

"readiness" training for school. Hut

Name (lame, he was required to type

bury Books in conjunction with So

when

accompanying

any letter or wore! that appeared on

phisticated Software.

disk, it also becomes an introduction

the top half of the divided monitor

to the computer keyboard and to the

screen. Next, he had to repeat what he

around for a few years now, but a

commands of shift, cursor and func

had just typed onto the bottom half of

package lhat focuses on both the de

tion

the screen. To do this correctly, he

velopment of school "readiness" .skills and the beginning use of the com

schooler's

Book/disk

packages

have

been

puter is long overdue. Karl and I both

with

you

keys.

the

Computer

load

the

This first

program course

in

Too?

is

a

is

pre

computer

had to memorize images of the letters and carry them across space. No easy

literacy.

Both the double-sided disk and the ^3-pagc book

puter, Tbo? gets high marks for both

chapters:

entertainment and Instructional con

board," "Clocks and Time." "Learn

tent. And a.s a reading teacher, 1 am

ing about Stars," and "Numbers and

of the letters varied

especially intrigued by the innovative

Pictures." Bach chapter contains from

board to the screen. Sometimes Earl

manner in which print and computer

one to six subsections that approach

saw "M's" or "As" that were small

technology combine. So effective is

the

different

and sharp-edged. Other limes, he saw

this partnership that one pan would

games. liach game is presentee! to the

the same letters with large and jagged

not be impressive without the other.

child through nursery style rhymes

forms. As an educator. 1 especially ap proved of this. Noting these differ

As a book, Computer,

Can I Piety with the

Too? is a

set

of games

about the ABC's, time, and numbers.

same

contain

"Playing

topics

read by the adult.

four

with

through

distinct

task for a four year-old, but excellent

agree thai Can I Play with the Com

the

Key

For example, in

preparation to visual perception skills

that later translate into spelling skills. The shapes, sizes, and thicknesses

from the key

chapter one's "1'ress a Key," the fol

ences can develop the visual discrimi

lowing appears on the screen;

nation

skills

that

later

become

so

A parent or teacher reads one side of

"Press a key

important in reading. Specifically, it

the page while the child follows along

and you will see

develops the perception of form con

on his or her side. In addition, a "par

loads of fun

stancy. Form constancy is the realiza

ents' guide" is provided with every

for you and me.

tion that letiers may have small differ

chapter, to help the adult participant

Touch numbers here

ences in shape but still maintain their

make the best

or letters there

identity.

use of the material.

96 SEPTEMUKR/OCTOllliK


BOOK REVIEWS

The importance of visual percep tion

skills

led

American

educator,

Marrianne Frostig (1968) to develop a program of shape-matching activities 10 prepare youngsters for letter Identification. In time, however, the

utes to hours,

for I;.arl,

this didn't

really matter. He was happy just to

identify (he numbers on the face of the pretty clock, and was absolutely

delighted by the "tick-tOCking" sound thai correlated to the movement of

ami subsections. Expect to wait a lull â– lO seconds as this program moves from chapter lo chapter. Apart from thai, it's difficult not to

he in favor of Can I Play with the Computer, Too?. It is certainly re

program fell into disregard because it assumed Identification of non-alpha

both the mantel and digii-.il docks. By

betic shapes had to precede discrimi

grade two l-arl should he ready for

view,

this.

work together. As a teacher who uses

nation of differences in the actual let ters. Luckily, Can I Play with the

Computer,

Too? successfully makes

the leap straight into letter discrimination. Chapter two, "Clocks and Time," lakes an innovative approach to the

telling of time. As a logical prerequi site lo talking about clocks, section one of this chapter uses pictures to demonstrate the passage of day and night, The screen shows a house sil ling on the Earth's horizon. The sun is

Second-grade

teachers

should

freshing, from an educator's point of to see books and

computers

consider this program for this seel ion

computers for instruction at all ele

alone.

mentary grade levels, I often lament Ihe way mosi computer-assisted in

My favorite pan of the time chapter \v;is the first Section. As the sun and

moon moved across [be sky. Earl and I talked about words such as "above," "beside," "behind." "left," and "right." Mis understanding of these

struction (C.A.I.) haB separated itself from good print instruction. Useful C.A.I, should send ihe student hack to

the text for reinforcement. Can I Play with the Coin/inter. 'Too? does not ig

concepts will be especially beneficial

nore the power of print, (Conversely, it

for spatially confusing letters such as "b" and "d" and "m" and "w ".

adds another dimension lor extra im

The first section of chapter three, "Constellations in the Sky." is purely

pact, in doing so. Can I Play with the Computer, Too? is more lhan innova

tive: it is truly Instructional.

in the cast. A caption at the bottom of

for fun. The child finds pictures in n

the screen announces thai it is break

night sky through a connect-thc-dois

dren

fast time. When the child presses ihe spiice liar, the sun moves to a position ibovc the house, the sky brightens,

game.

quickly, hut not before finding an out

grade one better than a storybook. Read "Goldilocks ami the Three

Karl

tired

of

this

activity

Nothing prepares

pre-school

chil

for the academic demands of

line of a horse and a snake. Earl firs!

Bears."

lunch

thought, however, llial [be snake was

your three or four year-old begins lo

lime. Further pressing the space bar

the Easter Bunny. Don't ask me bow;

arrange

results in similar changes: the moon

it looked like:: snake 10 me.

and to think about cause and effect re

iiid

the

Caption

announces

ind stars appear and the program anlounces bed time,

In (his way, the

In the second section of chapter

for example, events

lationships.

in

and

suddenly

proper sequence

Letters of ihe alphabet

three, "The Star Puzzle," a large siar

take on their first meaning. Talk ex

child experiences a graphic represen

appears briefly on the screen and then

tation before being introduced to the noreabstract notion of docks.

falls apart. The child must then reas

pands into a command of complex sentences essential to reading compre

semble the original six-pointed star

hension.

way lor adding and subtracting.

Computer, Too? recognizes that most

while mastering the cursor keys. Chapter four. "Numbers and Pic

ire-schoolers will have difficulty un

tures." helps the child understand the

child's pre-school learning, products

derstanding the connection between

numbers from one to nine. By press

such as Can I Play with the Com

docks and the notion of "lunch time"

ing a number key. the child calls to the

ir "dinner time." Nevertheless, sec-

screen a variety of objects, Prom here

puter, Too? are breaking new ground. Finally, here is intelligently designed

Ion two of ihis chapter presents a arge image of a mantel clock whose

it is possible lo count and compare the

The author of Can I Play with the

lands move to the sounds of "tickoek." Beneath this clock, a digital

number of objects.

If all

this praise

is beginning it's

lo

paves

the

By using the computer to enhance a

software that doesn't replace reading, but adds to iis appeal through the computer.

In closing, I should mention that if

rending also gives a lime. Although

well deserved. My only criticism of

your local bookstore does not carry

few children at

(.'an I Play with the Coin/niter, Ton?

this hook/disk package, you can ask

is the time it takes to load chapters

them to order it from lianbury,

this age can truly

redundant,

bears

nevertheless

comprehend the relationship of min

sound

(.Counting

( OMMODORG MK.Htx.OMl'l ll-.lis

Q 97


64 USERS ONLY

111 NANCT AM) TOM BIMMONDS

Fabulous Figure Maker

sketch it on paper first, assigning x. y

for the Commodore 64

Create a high-

and /. coordinates and a number to

resolution picture of

list, i.e., the two corner numbers you

a plane or solidfig ure, line drawing, or graph.

each corner. Now develop an edge

want the program to draw each of the lines between. The program will prompt you for the number of corners in the figure and then for each of their coordinates in the form x,y,z (for ex

ample 19,-60,(1). Corrections may he made as long as the RETURN key has not been pressed. After all the corners

have been entered, the number of

Xahulous Figure Maker is a learning tool with use-fill output, it will allow

edges or lines is entered, followed by

you to create ;i high-resolution picture of any plane or solid figure, line draw ing, or graph ih:ii can be drawn with

which each straight

the

letters, numbers, or figures for teach

corner

numbers

between

line is to be

drawn. After the figure data hits been en

less than 150 points and edges. For

example, you GUI generate large block

two

tered, the second menu is displayed,

Built-in Octahedron

'fen choices are presented,

ranging

ing :i pre-schooler, or perhaps com

from P'lot to Q'ult. When you first try

plex three-dimensional solid figures or graphs for the high school or col lege student.

quire if text is to be entered or edited.

the program, request the demo figure (2), and P'lot it. The program will in

gram, because once the coordinates of

It' ii is. enter Up to 35 characters with no commas or colons. The text will be primed along the bottom row of

[he corners and edges of the figure

the figure.

The program is much more than the normal high-resolution drawing pro

Now you should see a figure that

have been entered, they may be ma

nipulated mathematically1 to present ;i

looks like two pyramids bottom to

variety of views, it is this ability tocx-

bottom. To return to the menu from

presa your figure as an array of mathe

viewing the figure, press the space

matical equations thai will allow the computer,

through

your

menu

bar. If you have a printer and wain a

Built-in Demo Bar Graph

bard copy, press the P' key. Try K'otat-

choices, to project the figure onto the

ing it about each axis 20 or 30 de

screen as a 3D figure with ilie proper

grees. The figure will be recalculated

It may then be rotated

1900-2030), and Ml. data (lines lOIIO-

and will then bring you back to the

aboul any of the three axes, changed

4530) subroutines should be cheeked

menu, where you may P'lot it or S'i/.e

in size and moved to anywhere on

carefully, since the special initializing

it along any of the axes or change the

the- screen. The program will even al

and draw commands move the high-

size

low you to generate two offset views

resolution bit screen to the middle of

global command. Again, you will be

of the figure 10 give a stereoscopic effect.

BASIC memory, where it will not in

back to the menu. The Move choice

terfere with your program or your

will move the figure anywhere on the

program with it. Should one of these

screen.

perspective.

As

an

added

feature,

you

may

of

the

entire

figure

will]

the

change your effective viewing posi

portions of the program be improp

tion to move into any figure you have

erly entered, ii could crash the whole

minus

created

program.

units along the x and y axes, respec

and

watch

the

perspective

Remember, the screen is plus and 160 and plus and minus

100

view change. Tcxi may :tlso be added

When the program is running, the

tively, from the middle of the screen.

lo the figure or graph. After you enter

first menu will ask for a figure in the

You should keep the figure on the

a figure, you may save it to disk or

form of (I) a plane or solid object/

screen so that the border clipper does

tape to he loaded back in at some later

graph, (2.3) a figure or graph demon*

not introduce any distortion.

lime, or you can send it to a printer

Mration. or (4) a saved figure. The

Excellent three-dimensional graphs

lor a hard copy 10 use as a teaching

solid figures will take a little time to

may be created with the program. Bn-

aid or lor inclusion in a school paper

calculate but will draw quickly, With

ter the coordinates (x.y.z) of the ori

or home report. The figures provide

the program's ability to accept

gin, and one set at the limits of each

samples of printer output.

ISO

corners and ISO edges, very complex

axis, then enter the data points or bar

figures may be entered—1'or example.

graph corners.

visahle to save portions of it as you en

a house, stick

.M) graph, or

tion, number each point and/or cor

ter it. You should definitely save it be fore you run it. The plot (lines

airplane. To enter your own complex figure.

ner. Now develop an edge list by giv

Since the program is long, it is ad-

98 BEPTI&IUKR/OCTOBER

figure.

ing

the

corner

As in figure genera

or

points

between


64 USERS ONLY which each lint is to be drawn. II only

the point is to be plotted, then enter the edge by having the point termi nate nn itself. For example, corner (20) to corner (20) will produce :i dot

at the coordinates of corner f201. After the corners :md edges have been entered. P'lot the graph. When it

is first displayed, yon will see only the

x and y projection of the three-dimen sional graph, and it may he the wrong

size and position. The power of the program will now let you S'ize change

and M'ove the graph to fil your needs. But tt is still not 3D. so R'otate it y,45

and x,8-10 degrees to achieve the ef fect desired. Now that you have mastered these commands,

try

the

View

modular in layout. The use of these

Through menu

features allows ease of operation and

choices, project the

miliar with the program, you may think of other features or modifica tions you want. It is then easy lo add to the menu and use the subroutines in a different way. Since the program is long, it is possible to make use of

flexibility After you have become fa

figure onto the screen as a 3Dfig ure, rotate it, change

this modularity to enter the program

its size, or move it

in easy steps and 'â– run as you go."

anywhere on the

tered to start:

Six essential modules should be en 1. The skeleton, lines 50-590. This is the pan of the program

screen.

that sets up the initial condi tions and menus.

2. The user input and demonstra

stereo

tion

subroutines,

lines

600-

scopic command. The demonstration figure is a good place to start. De pending on the size of your screen, on

930. These enter the corners,

the prompt

demonstration programs give

for

offset

you

edges and text for objects or

graphs by using prompts. The

should

move the object over far enough so that when its twin is created on the left,

the centers of the

figures are

you a built-in figure, an octahe

dron, and a 3D graph that can

Bar Graph Tilted 8

test

about four inches apart. Try an angle

Of three to four degrees. When the

3. The matrix initialization sub

two figures are drawn, try staring at your finger about half way

routine, lines 1300-1320. This

to the

routine creates the four-hy-four

screen. You should he able to see three

matrices required to manipu late the x,y and z coordinates. â– i. The draw subroutine, lines

figures: the middle one will seem to stand out |unt like the old stereoscopic pictures in the holder. Some very in teresting figures may be drawn with

this mode. It is only limited by your

1500-1540 Bar Graph Rotated 45 Degrees

anil

4000-4530.

This puts the computer into the high-resolution graphic mode,

patience in entering the coordinates and waiting for the figure to be

four matrices using the horizontal (x),

drawn. The remaining five commands are

vertical (y|. and in-and-out (z| coordi nates of the corners/points and edges

for convenience and

of the figure,

housekeeping.

your program or any new

features you may have added.

allowing

object or graph

you

the

6-i's

screen

to

have 64000 pixels. It may be done in BASIC or a machine

language subroutine, or with a graphics

drawing

program,

Option (i) of the first menu will load

want projected on the screen. The ex

Commodore's

previously

amples demonstrate how the figure is

mons' HASIC works well and leads to a simpler program. Listing 1. gives the small modi

saved

figures.

T'ape

or

disk figure-save will output to disk or

projected onto the two-dimensional

tape

TV or monitor screen. The DIM state

the

figure

that

was

entered.

cartridge

57-

(Original figure will cancel all the ro-

ments have been set for a maximum

fications thai are needed to the

tations,

of 150 corners and ISO edges; how

subroutines. We have included a machine language draw rou tine entered as data statements;

were

moves or size changes that returns

ever, this may he increased somewhat.

you to menu one for your choice of figures. Q'ult ends the program. This

enured.

The high-resolution HK bit ami color

is a flexible program thai will allow

cated in the middle of the 64's BASIC

you to generate useful and unusual

program area from 23500 to 53400.

figures or graphs (hat may be drawn

Since the program uses only

on the screen or sent lo a printer that

bytes of memory, there should be no

is

Interference with the high-resolution

able

to

N'ew

print

a

figure

high-resolution

screen.

Program Details The program creates and solves a number

of

simultaneous

algebraic

equations by manipulation of four-by-

maps with MI. draw program are lo

11000

ii is a modified version of the graphics routine by Frank Covitz published in Commodore: The

zine.

Microcomputer

June/luly

1983.

Maga

BASIC

routines may also be used, but

hit map. Once the projected corners

the)

and edges have been calculated, it is

simple figures.

are very slow, even on

easy to generate a rotated, moved or

5. The

sized version and then to plot it to the

lines

screen again.

.x's and y's based on the cho

The program is menu-driven and

projection

subroutine,

1600-1690.

The screen

sen, or default position of your <.OM.\U>l)()Rl- MK I1O( UMI'l II lls

99


64 USERS ONLY eye arc calculated. This sub

other

routine is subsequently used by

will prompt for offset (move)

routines.

The

routine

to the right along the \ axis and

the plot routine.

angle. Then Instead of going to

6. The plot, print and text subrou

the menu, it goes directly to

tine, lines 1900-2260. These routines form, from the results

the plot subroutine and draws first a right and then a left fig

9. The size-changing subroutine,

of the input initialization and

projection subroutines, the x's

lines 3200-32^0.

and y's that arc used by the ML

for the axes and amount of size

The

drawing subroutine to plot in

change

global

line 1000. This routine may be

high-resolution

Object

to

the

or

It prompts

allows

a

ure for stereoscopic viewing. '"locate

eye"

subroutine,

graphics

the

change. Numbers greater than

used to give the sense of what

screen

and

one increase the size of the

happens when the perspective

figure. 10. The move

printer. It also requests and en

ters any text that is to be dis

changes

subroutine,

3400-3530.

played as a part of the figure.

This

a

figure

as

yon

along the z axis. If the figure's

routine

prompts for which axes

With these six parts, the program

on

move toward it or away from it

lines you

x, y and z coordinates put it in

nay he run, and it will plot any object

want to move along and how

front of the screen, then as you

that is entered with the x, y and z co

far. The center of the screen is

move toward the screen, the

ordinates and edge list. To get the full

considered the origin, i.e., x, y

figure will increase in size and

features of the program, the other

and

Left,

then run off the screen. Since

Subroutines may be added.

down, and into the screen are

the screen is finite in size, the

negative, while right, up and

program limits the corners to

is the

out of the screen are positive.

within the screen's boundaries:

utility that is required to rotate,

After this routine, you return

this causes great distortions to

size and move the figures.

to

appear in the figure. It would

7. The

matrices

multiplication,

lines 2700-2710. This

H. The rotating subroutine, lines 2900-2990,

The

routine-

z

the

equal

menu

to

for

be nice to have a better clipper,

but for the time being we will

prompts for the axis you want

tines, you may create any number of

have to do with what is called

to rotate around and the num

different views of the original figures

the

ber of degrees, then it uses the

or graphs. In addition, you also have

you move all the way through

multiplication

the following:

the screen into '"minus z." it

subroutine

to

11. The

Stereoscopic

'"poor man's clipper."

lines 3600-3650. This routine

over

the next command.

consists of calls to most of the

figure.

LINES AND

THE

FOLLOWING

LINES

4000-4530.

SUBSTITUTE

THE

XP^F*PTCI):YP=~F*PT(2)*.75

1350

HIRES

J.970

irW^iaRVaK>"lpTHEN

"CTRL

LOADING

:REM 110

TEXT

20,1.90,

1380

FUPI = 1TQNE: II-E1CI) : JJ=E2U) :

LINE

XCII),YCII),XCJJ),YCJJ)f1:NEXT1

2010

1FA4=1'P"THEN

2020

NPM:PRINTrlCLEAP

COPY

TYPE

FIRST

OF

FIGURE:[DOWN]"

MENU'CKAG

BLUE]

FIGURE

OR

GRAPH[D0WN]

PRINT"[SPACE5,RVS,WHITE]3[RVOFF,

"'BAME L.

BLUE]

DEMO

OF

A GRAPH[D0WN]

"'BAME 140

PRINT"[SPACE5,RVS,WHITE]4[RV0FF,

L.

BLUE]

INPUT

FIG/GRAPH

FROM

FILE[DOWN]'"BAFI

170

INPUT"[D0WN2,SPACE13]CH0ICE

[WHITE,RVS]1-4[RV0FF,L.

:DR=BA+9:MV=BA+15:CR=BA+632'OTLU POKE 53280,14:P0KE 53281,0 :DIM C(150,3),SH(4),MB(4,4),MC(4,

180 190

4)'DWWM

280

60

DIM

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

DRAW

130

50

MA(4,4),P(44),PT{4),X{150),

ML

120

Before I yplng this program, read "How lo Enter Programs."

POKE 55,0:POKE 56,92 jREM LOWER MEMORY TO 256*92'DFWI BA=8*16"3:IN=BA;RS=BA+3:CL=BA+6

RESOLUTION

1350'CFJQ

"'BADD PRINT"[SPACES,RVS,WHITE]2[RVOFF, L. BLUE] DEMO OF A FIGURE[DOWN]

EiCRN": i X-l: RETURN

Fabulous Figure Maker

HIGH

PRINT" [SPACES,RVS,WHITE]l[RV0i?F,

L.

1,0:IX=0

fV'+V*i 1, t»S«W"0lB*»1PN"

IX=1

PRINT"[CLEAR,D0WN3,SPACE3] ENTER

LINES

1640

at

PRINT"[CLEAR,DOWN6,WHITE,SPACE3I PGM":G0SUB

100

FALLOWING

shoulder

:UX=1'DHTP

30,40,70,1350-1370,2100-22&0

LINES

your

Y(150) ,E1(150) ,E2(150) 70

If

will be as if you were looking

subroutine,

returning you to the menu for

OMIT

100

next

Now thai you have these subrou

Listing 1. Modifications for Simons' BASIC

40

your

choice.

generate the new x, y and Z's,

30

zero.

(

BLUE])";

F'BCWI IF F<1 OR F>4 THEN 100'FHY.H ON F GOSUB 600,800,800,1200'CRMI GOSUB 1300:EZ=10000 :REM INITIALIZE MATRICES

AND

SET

the


64 USERS ONLY EYE

290

DIST.'DUCR

710

PRINT"[CLEAR,D0WN2,SPACE5] CHOOSE

30 0

ONE

OPTION:'"BATL

PRINT"[DOWN,SPACES,WHITE,RVS]P

[L. BLUE,HVOFF]LOT FIGURE GRAPH""BABF

OR

310

PRINT"[SPACE6,WHITE,RVS]V[L.

320

RVOFF]IEW STEREOSCOPIC FIGURE"'BAGH PRINT"[SPACE6,WHITE,RVS]R[L. RVOFF]OTATE

330

BLUE,

340

PRINT"[SPACES,WHITE,RVS]M[L.

350

RVOFF]OVE FIGURE"1BARG PRINT"[SPACE6,WHITE,RVS]L[L. RVOFF]OCATE EYE"'BAWH

BLUE,

360

PRINT"[SPACE6,WHITE,RVSJTfL.

BLUE,

DISK

800

BLUE,

825 830

FIGURE

840

870

RVOPF]RIGINAL

FIGURE'"BABK

PRINT"[SPACE6,WHITE,RVS]Q[L. BLUE, RVOFF]UIT"'BADJ INPUT"[DOWN,SPACE5]CHOICE";DS :D=ASC(D$)-75:IF D<1 OR D>11 THEN 290'JUIO ON D GOSUB 1000,3400,1380,1300, 190 0,3660,2900,3 200,140 0,1380, 3600'CFFO

460

IF

470 600

GOTO 290'BDKG PRINT"[CLEAR,DOWN3,SPACttl3] CORNER LIST"'BAVG

D=3

THEN

X00'FHCI

INPUT"fDOWN,SPACE2,RVS,WHITE] NUMBER[RVOFP,L.

BLUE]

OF

630

CORNER

64 0 650 6 60

890

DATA

13,11'BRMX

OF

21"BJNW

900 910

IF FO3 THEN 930'EFUG I=1:V$="3D BAR GRAPH"'CFDJ

920

READ

930

:GOTO 920'JNKN READ NC:FOR 1=1

PRINT"[RVOFF,DOWN2,SPACE14] EDGE LIST"'BAJK INPUT"[DOWN,SPACE 2,RVS,WHITE]

1210

OF

TO NE

E1(I),E2(I):NEXT

I:SR=0

EYE

DISTANCE NEW

TO EYE

DISTANCE"DTAF INPUT"[DOWN] [WHITE,RVS]D[RVOFF, BLUE]ISK

[RVOFF,L.

1220

OR

[WHITE,RVS]T

BLUEIAPE'^TS'BDAC

IF TSO"D"AND T$<> "TnTHEN DT=1:INPUT"[DOWN] NAME L.

OF

FIGURE

[WHITE,RVS]

FILE[RVOFF,

BLUE]";OF$'CIVG

IP T$="D"THEN DT=8*EFJC OPEN 1,DT,0,OPS:INPUTS 1,NC,NE,EZ, VS'CYBF

TO NE:~PRINT" [RVOFF,SPACE3]

1250

FOR

ENTER

CORNERS

OF

[RVS,WHITE]CORNER*,CORNERS BLUE]"'BAAT

NUMBER

WANT

TO

INCLUDE

TO

NC:INPUT#1,C(N,1),C(N,

1=1

N'FEKJ

1260

FOR

1300

:'NEXT I:CLOSE 1: SR=0 : RETURN'ICDL FOR 1=1 TO 4:FOR J=l TO 4

I

TEXT?"'BAEK

N=i

2),C(N,3):NEXT

[RVS]";I;"[RVOFF]";

PRINT"[CLEAR,D0WN2,SPACE5] YOU

CORNERS'LLTV

1=1

INPUT"[DOWN]

L.

EDGEE";

1 EJMR INPUT"[RVS]";E1(I),E2{I):NEXT

DO

3

1200'HIUC

:PRINT"[RVOFF]":RESTORE'EQEP 700

TO

I

1230 1240

[RVOFF,L.

690

NC:FOR J=l

EDGE

PRINT"[DOWN]

EDGE

IN

1 = 1+1

J:NEXT

ORGIN";EZ:RETURN:REM

[RVS]";I;"[RVOFF]";

BLUE]

TO

C(I,J):NEXT

READ

THEN

:RESTORE:RETURN'JCDS

BLUE]

1000 NUMBER

HO-999

READ NE:FOR :READ

1200

FOR 1 = 1

H:IF

:READ

CORNER

NE'BDBM

680

13,14,11,16,14,15,15,16,16,

14,17,17,18,18,19,19,20,20,21,

'EJLN INPUT"[RVS]";C(I,1),C(I,2),C(I,3) :NEXT I'CXXJ

:

DATA-65,-105,40,-32,-114,72,- 103,

DATA 24,1,2,2,4,2,3,5,6,6,7,7,5,8, 9,9,10,10,8,10,5,8,7,11,12,12,13,

NC:PRINT"[RVOFF,SPACE3]

NUMBER[RVOFF,L. 670

DATA-100,0,-82,-100,53,-92, • 47, 95, -8 5,-88,42,-74,-140,42,76,

880

940

[RVS,WHITE]X,V,Z[RVOFF,L.

TO

BAR

DATA 21,-100,100,0,-100,-100,0,10,

;REM

COORDINATES

"'BADN FOR 1=1

3D

-50,0,-103,0,0,-103,50,0 :REM CORNERS'CLUW

CORNERS";

PRINT"[DOWN,SPACE2] :

FOR

-140'BKKT

NC'BDAI ENTER

EDGES

0,-28,-87,-70,-28,14,-70,0,68'BJPS

PRINT"[SPACE6,WHITE,RVS]N[L. BLUE, RVOFF]EW TYPE OF FIGURE"'BASM

620

&

-28'BJDR

380

610

REM CRNRS

850 DATA-70,-94,-28,0,-110,4 2,42,-100, 860

OR

VS="OCTAHEDRON"18CDN

-130,108,70,-70,-170,-70,6,

BLUE,

D=9

10,

10'BLYO

PRINT"[SPACE6,WHITE,RVS]O[L.

450

FOR

GRAPH'BYXM

SAVE"1BAZM

440

REM CRNRS & EDGES OCTAHEDRON'BYOJ

820 DATA 12,1,2,2,3,3,4,4,1,5,1,5,2,5, 3,5,4,6,1,6,2,6,3,6,4,-999'BFVO

370

390

FIGURE TITLE UP TO 35

-40,68,-10,-4 0,0,60,-10,0,-60,

BLUE,

FIGURE"'BAPF

OR

INPUT"

810 DATA 6,32,10,40,-68,10,40,-32,

CHANGE1" BASF

RVOFFJAPE

[RVS] N[ RVOFF} O";C$: IF C$O"Y"THEN

RETURN'GGTM

CHAR.";V$:RETURN'CEYM

BLUE,

PRINT"[SPACE6,WHITE,RVS]S[L. RVOFF] IZE

720

INPUT"[SPACE10,RVS]Y[RVOFF]£S OR

TO NE:INPUT|1,E1(I),E2(I)

;MA{I,J)=0:REM INITALIZE MATRICES MA & MB'ITWM

TRANS

COMMODORE micikk OMPUTERS

101


64 USERS ONLY 1310 HB(I,J)=0:IF

I=J THEN MA(I,J)=l

:MB(I,J)=1'GDKH

1360 1370

DATA"ML":READ

ML$:IF

ML$O"ML"THEN

1350

:REM READ ML PGM'HWNL IF PEEK(32768)=76 THEN

:RETURN'GKSH

CK=0:FOR :POKE

1=32768

TO

:SYS :SYS

RESTORE

33618:READ ML

I,ML:CK=CK+ML:NEXT

I'JHWQ

1375

IF CKO8800-3

1380 1400

RESTORE:RETURN'CBIF INPUT"[DOWN] [WHITE,RVS]D[RVOFF,

L.

BLUEjISK

[RVOFF,L.

THEN STOP'FHIM OR

[WHITE,RVS]T

IF T$OnD"AND T$O"T"THEN

1420

14001HIWE DT=1:INPUT"[DOWN]

NAME 1430

L. IF

OF

1990 2000

2010

2020

FIGURE

SCREEN

DUMP

FOR

2110 2120

FOR

2130

Z%(Q)=Z%(Q) + (PEEK(S+320M + I*8+K))

SCRN

START

OF

1=39

TO

0

STEP-1

:FOR J=0 TO 24:FOR K=0 TO 7

*2"Y:P$=PS+CHR$((Z%(Q)AND

PRINT#4,CHR$(8)P$:P$="":Y=Y+1

2160 2170

NEXT

2180

Z%(L)=Z%(L)/128;NEXT

:EU=EU+P(K)*MA(K,J):NEXT K

2190

CLOSE

:PT{J}=EU:NEXT J'NOIR

2200

POKE

2210

LN=LEN(VS):IF

TO NC:PRINT!1,C(N,1};CR$;

E2(I):NEXT

I:CLOSE

1:RETURN'HCIN

1600

P(4)=1:REM PROJECT P(l

1610

XP,YP'CDDH FOR J=l TO

4:EU=0:FOR

W=1/PT(4):FOR K=l

TO

:PT(K)=PT(K)*W:NEXT

:IF PT(3)=EZ

:GOTO

3)

INTO

K=l

TO

:NEXT

:IF

3

THEN Y=0:GOTO

FOR

L=0

AND

127J+128)'IAJM

TO

PP=0

THEN

1,PEEK(1)AND

PERSP

2220

Y

SCREEN

2230

FOR

1=1

TO

1650

IF XP<-159

1660

IF

XP>159

THEN

THEN XP=-159'GKWK XP=159'EKJK

1670

IF

YP<-99

THEN

YP=-99'GIJM

1680 1690

IF YP>99 THEN YP=99'EICL XP=XP+160:YP=YP+10 0:RETURN'FQGP

1900

PRINT"[DOWN,SPACE2]

1910

DO YOU WANT TO CREATE OR EDIT TEXT?"'BAGM INPUT"[EPACE14,RVS]Y[RVOFF]

TITLE

TO

NC:REM

2250

UP

TO

PERSP

2700

IX=0

THEN

1980:REM

DO

POKE

CR,1:SYS

MJ'ii \im:u.i>< I'oiil-R

IN:IX=0:'DHNM

BLANK

THEN AS=AS-64

FOR

OTHERS'CWMH CM=AS*8+BC:FOR J=0

ALL

TO

7

:POKE

BS+(I-1)*8+J,PEEK(CM+J)

:NEXT

JiNEXT

I'PFOR

POKE 1,PEEK(1)OR 4 :POKE 56334,PEEK{56334}OR FOR

1=1

1:VV=0

K=l

TO

4:FOR

J=l

TO

4:EU=0

TO 4'KPMK K

2710

NEXT

J:NEXT

I:FOR

!FOR

J=l

4:MA(I,J)=MC(I,J)

2900

:NEXT J:NEXT I:RETURN'MGBQ PRINT"[DOWN] ROTATE ABOUT[DOWN, LEFT5,RVS,WHITE]X[RVOFF,L. BLUE]

:MC(I,J)=EU'FFSQ TO

1=1

TO

4

OR

[RVS,WHITE]YJRVOFF,L.

BLUE]

OR

[RVS,WHITE]Z[RVOFFrL.

BLUE]

AND

PLOTING'ERAO

AND AS=>64

THEN

EU=EU+MA(I,K)*MB(K,J):NEXT

PROJ

:P(3)-C(N,3):GOSUB 1600:X{N)=XP :Y(N)=YP:NEXT N'HDOW

AS>31

2705 35

P(1)=C(N,1):P(2)=C(N,2)

AND

:BS="N":RETURN1JEVO

ONTO X,Y'EVUN

IF

THEN

2250'JTOJ

AS=32:REM

:FOR

LETTERS";V$:VV=1'CHJO N=l

2240

2260

ES OR [RVS]N[RVOFF]O";B$ :IF B$O"Y"THEN 1930'FKDO

FOR

LN>35

LN:AS=ASC(MID$(VS,I,

AS<64

IF AS<96 :GOTO

DISTORTION'GVOT

1930

254

251:BC=53248

LN=3 5'GPWE

2250'LFNM

INPUT"FIGURE

2160'JJUQ

56334,PEEK(56334)AND

:POKE

XP=F*PT(1):YP=F*PT(2)*.75

1920

L

4:RETURNPCCFF

1)):IF

VS

199:P$=P$+CHRSt(Z%(L)

:PRINT#4,CHR$(8)PS:PS=""

PROJECTION'EDLM

X

2170'KYLM

I:PP=1'CFKD

:BS=32280'IQRJ

K

1640'NTLT

FIXES

K

J'ERWF

Y=7

:IF

4

THEN F=10000

F=EZ/(EZ-PT(3)):REM

:REM

BIT

$6000'EHSG

2150

C(N,2)jCR$;C(N,3):NEXT N'FMLN FOR 1 = 1 TO NE:PRINTt(l,El (I) ;CR$;

102

BIT

Z%(QJ=Z%(Q)/128:NEXT

1460

1960

GET A$:IF A$=""THEN 2000'EJYX IF AS=nP"THEN GOSUB 2100'EGIX PRINT"[CLEAR]":IX=1:SYS RS:RETURN :REM CLEAR SCREEN ON RESTORE'FEYH

127J+128)'PTIR

FOR N=l

1950

I'ICVC

RETURN1EDDO

2140

1,DT,1,OF$:CR$=CHR$(13)

VS'ETON

1940

THEN

;Q=J*8+K'OTJK

1450

1640

IF UX=0

:REM BASIC

:PRINT#1,NC;CR$;NE;CR$;EZ;CR$;

1630

2200

1525 PRINTER'DTLI Y=0:R=0:S=24576:REM

[WHITE,RVS]

FILE[RVOFF,

BLUE]";OF$'CIVI TS="D"THEN DT=8'EFJE

1440 OPEN

1620

MV,X(II),Y(II) DR,X(JJ),Y(JJ):NEXT

2100 OPEN 4,4:DIM Z%(199)

BLUE]APE";T$'BDAE

1410

IF V$O""0R VV=1 THEN GOSUB :VV=0:B$="N":REM TEXT'KVXV

1980 FOR 1=1 TO NE:II=E1(I):JJ=E2(I)

1320 NEXT J:NEXT I:RETURN'DECA 1350

1970

L.

[RVS,WHITE]ANGLE[RVOFF,

BLUE] n;'BBLV


64 USERS ONLY 2905 2910

INPUT

AX$,MD'BGEJ

4305

RA=MD*[PI]/180:C=COS(RA) :S=SIN{RA}:FOR

1=1

TO

DATA

76,144,130,76,177,130,76,

DATA

130,76,137,128,76,236,130,

DATA

226,130,140,60,3,140,62,

91'BCYJ

4

4310

2930

:FOR J=l TO 4:MB(I,J)=0'PLEW IF I=J THEN MB(I,J)=1'EKXJ NEXT J:NEXT Is IF AX$O"X"THEN

4315

2950'GLJM

4320

2940

MB(2,2)=C;MB{3,3)=C:MB(2,3)=S

DATA 141,61,3,141,63,3,32,

4325

DATA 130,140,64,3,140,66,3,

IF AXS<>nY"THEN GOTO 2970'FHIN MB(1,1)=C:MB(3,3)=C:MB(1,3)=-S

4330

DATA

:MB[3,1)=S:GOTO

4335

DATA 254,56,169,199,237,64,3,

4340

DATA 41,248,10,38,254,10,38,

4345

DATA

2920

:MB(3,2)=-S:GOTO :REM 2950

2960

X

:REM

Y

2990

2990

2980

MB(1,1)=C:MB(2,2)=C:MB(1,2)=S :MB(2,1)=-S:REM 2 AXIS'GQVY GOSUB 2700:RETURN'CFEO INPUT"[DOWN] SIZE: S[WHITE]X,

GOTO

2900'PHCP

67,3,32,198,129,169,0,

133'BAVH 72'BBLM

254'BBKI

10,38,254,72,141,80,3,

165'BAIN

DATA 254,141,81,3,104,10,38,

4355

GLOBALfL- BLUE]";SH(1) ,SH(2) , SH(3),SH(4)'BYWL IF SH(1)=0 OR SH(2)=0 OR SH(3)=0

DATA 10,38,254,109,80,3,133,

4360

DATA 165,254,109,81,3,133,254,

OR

SH(4)=0

4365

NO

SIZE=0":GOTO

DATA 60,3,41,248,101,253,133,

4370

DATA 173,61,3,101,254,133,254,

4375

DATA 41,7,101,253,133,253,165,

4380

DATA

105,96,133,254,173,60,3,

96,32,226,130,140,62,3,

BLUE]S[WHITE]Y,[L.

[WHITE]Z[L.

FOR

1*1

TO

BLUE]

THEN

:MB(I,J)=0:IF

IF

I=J

:REM

THEN

SET

5.

BLUE]S

S[WHITE]

PRINT"[SPACE4]

254'BBCJ

253'BBGO

173'BDPK

3200'LEGO

4:FOR

J)=SH{I):REM 3230

141'BAUL

4350

[L.

3220

226'BYYG

AXIS'HVAX

IF AX$O"Z"THEN

3210

3'BAQK

AXIS'HVDV

2970

2990 3200

32'BDNF

J=l

I=J

TO

THEN

4

253'BCAP

104'BDXL

MB{I,

DIGNL=SIZE'MREQ MB(I,J)=SH(I)

MAIN

DIAGONAL

ELEMENT

254'BDFQ

3240

WITH SIZE FACTOR'FBKR IF 1=4 AND J = 4 THEN MB(I, J)=1/SH(I)'HRNJ

4385

41'BBJM DATA 7,170,189,41,131,141,68, 3'BANR

3250

NEXT

4390

DATA

J:NEXT

I:GOSUB

2700

:RETURN'EJPG 3400

141'BBBN

INPUT"[DOWN]

MOVES

4395

: GIVE M[WHITE]X,[L. BLUE]M [WHITE]Y,[L. BLUE]& MfWHITEJZ

[L. FOR

MOVING'CAMN 1=1

TO

3:FOR

:MB(r,J)=0:IF 3420

3610

3620

TO

THEN

4

TO MATRIX'MQMR I:MB(4,4)=1

:FOR J=l

3:MB(4,J)=SH(J)

TO

J:GOSUB

2700:RETURN'KMRP

PRINT"[SPACE9]STEREOSCOPIC VIEW"'BAHH INPUT"[DOWN,SPACE3]ENTER [WHITE] OFFSET, ANGLEfL. BLUEj";SH(1),MD :SH(2)=0:SH(3)=0'DXWP AXS="Y":GOSUB 3410:GOSUB 2910 :UX=0:GOSUB

1900:REM

VIEW'GFHO

4405

DATA

4410

DATA 173,63,3,237,61,3,141, 70'BYHG

4415

DATA 3,56,173,66,3,237,64,3'BWYK DATA 141,71,3,173,67,3,237, 65'BYQH

3640

:GOSUB 1930:REM VIEW-2'LSNU SH(l)=SH{l)/-2:MD=MD/~2 :PRINT"[CLEAR,DOWN2,SPACE11]

:GOSUB

3410:GOSUB

RESTORING

4420 4425

4430 4435

2910:UX=1

4445 4450

2910:RETURN1DKAJ

3,141,72,3,173,62,3,141'BXGL 60,3,173,63,3,141,61,3'BWHH 173,66,3,141,64,3,173,

DATA 3,141,65,3,169,0,141,79'BXSI DATA 3,44,70,3,16,23,173,69'BWSN DATA 3,32,231,129,141,69,3, 173'BAIK DATA 70,3,32,232,129,141,70, 3'BYZP

4460 4465

DATA DATA

4470

DATA 141,71,3,173,72,3,32, 232'BYBM

169,2,141,79,3,44,72,3'BWWK 16,27,173,71,3,32,231,

4475

DATA

129'BAIQ

FIGURE1" HSOU

GOSUB 3410:GOSUB END'BACH

DATA DATA DATA

62,3,237,60,3,141,69,3'BWPJ

67'BYSN 4440

4455

SH(1)=-2*SH(1):MD=-2*MD

3660

DATA 141,67,3,32,198,129,56, 173'BBYF

1ST

3630

3650

4400

MB(I,J)=1

:REM SET MB NEXT J:NEXT :NEXT

3600

I=J

J=l

63,3,32,226,130,140,66,

3'BYAS

BLUE]n;SH(l),SH(2),SH(3)

:REM 3410

DATA

129,141,72,3,24,173,79,

3'BYPR i.oM\ini>nm-Mi(.i«)Ci)Mi'i n:us

103


FREE 15-DAY

TRIAL OFFER

SOFTWARE PAK

64 USERS ONLY 4480

DATA

105,4,141,79,3,174,69,3'BXWM

4485

DATA

236,71,3,173,70,3,168,

237'BARS

4490

DATA

72,3,16,27,173,71,3,141■BXNN

4495

DATA

69,3,173,72,3,141,70,31BWQS

4500 4505 4510

DATA 142,71,3,140,72,3,24, 173'BYBG DATA 79,3,105,8,141,79,3,173'BXBK DATA 69,3,32,231,129,141,73,

4515

DATA

3'BYJH

173,70,3,32,232,129,141,

74'BBHM

4520

DATA

4525

DATA

110,73,3,160,0,140,77,3'BXBM

4530

DATA

140,78,3,240,55,174,79,

4535 4540

DATA 24,173,73,3,109,71,3, 141'BYGO DATA 73,3,173,74,3,109,72,3'BWTJ

A trio of Software PaksM where book

4545

DATA

learning and disk instruction combine to help you set all the power, and fun, out

4550

DATA

3,237,69,3,141,73,3,173'BXUK

of your Commodore.

4555

DATA

74,3,237,70,3,141,74,3'BWPP

4560

DATA

232,32,186,129,238,77,3,

ATRIPLEHEADERFOR YOUR COMMODORE 64

MASTERING THE COMMODORE 64 by AnloniaJ.

■nts &

(!. Carpenter, bridges ilic gap between the beginner's knowledge of isask; and a real understanding of what's Inside the

3'BYTJ

141,74,3,48,20,56,173,

73'BYPP

208'BCWM

4565

DATA

3,238,78,3,177,253,13,

68'BYBR

4570

DATA 3,145,253,173,77,3,205, 69'BAUN

COMMODORE 64 DATA FILE PROGRAMMING

4575

DATA

3 ,173,78,3,237,70,3,144'BXUR

by Glenn Pishcr, Leroy Flnkel SJerald Brown, a guide io programming and maintaining data files, teaches you how to irack billings. Inventories and expense: maintain catalog materials and mailing ItSIB $39.90

4580

DATA

180,96,138,10,170,189,10,

Commodore 6-t $39.90

WINNING STRATEGY GAMES ON THE COMMODORE

64 bj Toby Matthews and Paul Smith includes ]() strategy

games that challenge your Intelligence. Games range from

Grand Prix auto racing to Investing In the stock market lo running your own computer manufacturing company. You can devise your own strategy game or manipulate variables in existing names. $39.90

131'BDKO

4585

DATA 72,189,9,131,72,96,173,

4590

62'BAGT DATA 3,201,64,173,63,3,233,1'BXFO

4595 4600

DATA 176,12,173,66,3,201,200, 173'BCCU DATA 67,3,233,0,144,8,32,177'BXSG

4605

DATA 130,162,14,108,0,3,96,

4610

DATA

56'BYFH 73,255,105,0,96,32,50,

130'BAEI

4615 4620

DATA 165,253,41,7,73,7,240,8'BXWM DATA 230,253,208,17,230,254,208,

Examine the books only in the ilemfs) selected FREE for IS

4625

DATA 24,165,253,105,57,133,253,

days. Either keep the pruduct(s) and return the accompany inn invoice with your payment (including postage S handling and

4630

DATA

System Requirements: Commodore 64, Iv'd disk drive. TV or monitor

13'BEWK

local sales tax] or return within 15 daiswithout

165'BEIP

254,105,1,133,254,96,32,

72'BBKK

further obligation.

4635 DATA 130,165,253,41,7,208,15,

Note: Returns will not be accepted if the seal covering the

4640

DATA 165,253,233,57,133,253,165,

4645

DATA 233,1,133,254,208,8,165,

4650

DATA 208,2,198,254,198,253,96, 32'BCHM DATA 17,130,14,68,3,144,13, 46'BYGR

program disk is broken.

56'BBKP 254'BFNM

For Faster Service call: 1-212-850-6788 Or write: Leslie Blxd Wilt) ftufissimul Saflwut John Hile; & Sons, hit

60S Third ftrenue V 10158

253'BCKQ

4655

4660 [teller IiH|iiirn> hinted Mftl IrjiiniiukiNj1 l-a

104

3,56,48,1,24,110,74,3'BVKH

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

-lTr I11lerq11lkn.1l

DATA

68,3,165,253,233,7,133,

253'BBQN

4665

DATA 176,2,198,254,96,32,240, 129'BCBS


LEROY'S CHEATSHEET"

64 USERS ONLY 4670

DATA

KEYBOARD OVERLAYS

78,68,3,144,13,110,68,3■BXVN

4675 DATA 165,253,105,8,133,253,144, 2'BCHT

4680

DATA 230,254,96,169,127,133,254,

4685

DATA

169'BFWQ

0,133,253,168,145,253,234,

234'BEDV

4690

DATA 160,63,162,32,145,253,136,

FOR COMMODORE 64tm

208'BEDR

4695 DATA 251,198,254,202,208,246,96, 16 9'BFAW

4700

4705

DATA 176,162,0,157,0,92,157, 0'BYJI

overlays

designed

DATA 93,157,0,94,202,208,244,

These

DATA 232,157,255,94,202,208,250,

the

cut-lt-out

keyboard

96'BEOK

4725

DATA

with

popular

software

and

yourself overlays are designed to fit over

surrounding

the

keys

with

commands and

LEROY'S CHEATSHEETS® make life easier for you

91'BBEO

DATA 130,173,0,3,141,82,3,

are plasllc laminated keyboard

use

controls grouped together for easy references.

4715 DATA 76,51,131,32,119,130,32, 4720

lor

hardware for Commodore's VIC-20 & C-64 computers.

162'BCON

4710

(VIC-2O ,ii;.o availabls>

LEROY'S CHEATSHEETS'

173'BYXK

1,3,141,83,3,169,249,

141'BYKP

4730 DATA 0,3,169,130,141,1,3,96'BWHK 4735 DATA 234,32,91,130,173,17,208, 41'BCFQ

4740 DATA 223,141,17,208,173,0,221,

G D D

Easy Stnpl HES Wnlor Paper Clip

D

For The BEginner \

D

Ouic* Brown Fq.

D

Sprites Only

Senpi 64

D

Flight Simulator II

D

SpoedsCript 12-0 1 3.0 DAFETTE)

D

DOOQIe

D

Woidpro 3/PLLfS

D 0

IM1 OlM Shy Traval

D

Qrnmwnter

O

Wmdpio 04

WrllD Honligi

4745 DATA 3,141,0,221,173,24,208,

0

Fteel Sytr*m 2

4750 DATA 7,9,16,141,24,208,234,

D

Cilc Re lull pM

G

CilcHeiulhui.i

O

Eny Cllc

0

Mulliplan

D

PncliCaJC 64

9'BBBM

IPi Sii.i Punit

UANOUAOES A UTILITIES

41'BASR

234'BAKN

4755 DATA 169,32,32,121,130,173,82, 3'BBDS

4760 DATA 141,0,3,173,83,3,141,1'BWAN 4765 DATA 3,96,32,253,174,32,158, 160'BCPP

4775 DATA 0,177,253,13,68,3,145,

COUAL

D

SI MOM"S BASIC

O

Bane

Heirnan 6*

D D

D PRACHCALC

173'BBUT

4770 DATA 32,170,177,96,32,15,128,

D

D D D

Tjip Consulloni iLnw The Uanuoor iCDMj SupmBmei

fj O D

PnniB^ ibv.iiis tfpsm i Printer.ILBU lsnuPSKJ? Prinler.iltwiflji i ft so

Printer, Bhmiox - isn

D

Printer,Oi.aili 9

D

Pilot IC8U:

a

vioi«

I(ieSmarl61 Twmiml

D

VIP Terminal

D

Term 64

253'BANU

4780 DATA 96,72,138,72,152,72,32, 177'BBCQ

4785 DATA 130,104,168,104,170,104,108, 0'BEKW

4790 DATA 3,71,130,13,130,49,130, 46'BAWR

4795 DATA 130,71,130,68,130,49,130,

Q!y.__X $3.95

Shooing & handing $

6% sales tax

1.00

S

[PA resijenrs urity)

Dealer inquiries welcome

2 36'BDDW

S

total

s _

U S FU'iDS

NO

4800 DATA 129,16,130,13,130,16,130,

COD'n

PLEASE

46'BCUJ

4805 DATA 130,239,129,68,130,239,129, 236'BFQP

4810 DATA 129,128,64,32,16,8,4,2'BWSJ 4815 DATA 1,245,245,173,0,221,41,

CHEATSHEET PRODUCTS me

252'BBXP

PO.Boj

4820 DATA 9,2,141,0,221,173,17, 208'BYAL

j

4825 DATA 9,32,141,17,208,173,24,

II 1368 Pillsburgh PA. 15238

Chiron My VIS* or UailBr Card NUMBER

208'BBKQ

76'BYIH

DATA 147,130,0,- 1■BMVO

1551

EIPIRAIION □ ATE

I

4830 DATA 41,7,9,120,141,24,208, 4835

(412) 'hi

END

.

OR SEE YOUR LOCAL DEALER ! Circle Reader Service No. 6

COMMODORE MICROCOMl'UTllRS

105


64 USERS ONLY

HV ROBERT ALONSO

In "SID I'luys Bach," the number

SID Plays Bach A ho Commodore 64's Sound Interace Device (SID) makes ii the mas!

ophistlcated sound-producing com-

inter ever made. The SID chip is so

Tap some of the mu

placed in the attack and decay register

sicalpower hidden

of l\vo milliseconds and a decay cycle

inside your 64

tains its peak volume in a very short

is a nine. This creates an attack cycle of 750 milliseconds.

amount of time and then decreases to

to play Bach in

the sustain level in a comparatively longer

machine code.

and decay to nine. The value placed

irogramming music on the 64 musl

that, when assembled, produce a ma

chine code program that plays part of 1 Bach tune. Since the assembly listngS are self-documented, instead of

and is also :i function of volume over time. A fast decay makes the volume

drop very quickly, while, a slow de cay

makes the

volume drop much

slower. This drop is not all the way to

zero volume, but is instead to what is called a sustain level.

The sustain level is not a function of volume rising or falling over time. It is

a volume level thai is maintained for a period of time. The time period is de

termined by the delay loop used In the program. Release is the final stage

of a sound. It is a function of volume

explain some of the general things that go on in the programs, and some of the musical concepts that must be

that it lakes the volume to fall from

sembly listings.

Volume on the 64 is set to the lotid-

CSt possible level by either poking or

Storing (STA) a value of 15 i" memory location 54296 (SD418). Since mem ory location 54296 is a special loca tion (hat is used by the SID chip, it is called a register. To turn off the vol ume on the 64, you must store a zero in the same register. Any number be tween H and IS is valid to produce

slightly different volumes. Attack and decay are a little more

difficult to understand. They can be

over lime and is the amount of lime the sustain level to zero. The release

portion of the sound occurs when the bit zero is turned off in the voice con trol register. "SID Plays Bach" uses only voice

one and thus only the voice control register for voice one is affected. This register

Is

location

5i276

(Sl)-t(M)

in the 64. Lines 490 and ly^ are used for turning off bit zero of the register.

This bit is often referred to as the gate bit.

Attack, decay, sustain and release

are all set in lines 215 through 235 of â– 'SID Plays Bach." As you can see,

there are only two registers to handle

explained best in mathematical terms.

the four settings. This is because these

Attack is the rate at which a sound reaches a certain volume (volume

chip as if they actually were four.

over lime). A fasl attack means that the sound will reach a pre-dclcrmined

volume level very quickly and a slow

attack means that the sound will take longer. If you were to graph these

two registers are treated by the SID Each

four

bits

of each

register

is

treated as if il were a separate register.

Hits zero to three of register ^ilT, (SD4O5)are used for the decay setting and bits four lo seven for the attack

steeper slope than a slow attack. De

setting. The release setting is stored in bits zero lo three of register 5i2~tf

cay is the opposite of attack. It occurs after die attack portion of the sound.

is stored in bits four to seven.

two,

106

a

fast

attack

sl.MI.MUUt/OCTOHI.H

would

have a

value

in

the

sustain

and release register is 1" (Sll).

explaining what each line does. I'll

understood Eo make sense of the as

The

nine means that attack is set lo zero

heir durations, anyone interested in

ire straightforward assembly listings

of lime.

multiplying the desired attack by 16 and adding the decay. Thus, a value of

ocrs don't make good llst-"*J' >'â– 'i(-'" Ides having to know about notes and

0 demonstrate some of the musical lower hidden Inside your 64. They

period

placed in the register Is obtained by

Kmcrlul thai often many program-

ilso understand the concepts of atack, decay, sustain, and release. You ilraosi have to be both a hacker and in expert musician to take full advanaye of the 6-i 's abilities. "Sll) Plays Bach" and its brother, 'SID Plays Bach (Sad)" were created

The sound at

(ID406) and the sustain volume level

Ibis

means that the sustain volume is set to

one and that the release level is also set lo one. During the sustain part of ihe sound,

the volume will be the

lowest it can possibly be without be ing completely turned off, and the re lease will lake about 24 milliseconds.

Tlie release will thus be quicker than the decay section of the sound. Uotlt assembly listings get note val ues that are stored in a table called

"notes." This table contains the high and low value that must be used to

produce a given note ant! the relative duration of that note. You can use these two assembly listings to pro duce

oilier

changing

"SID

musical

the

I'luys

notes

Bach"

tunes and

and

by

jusl

durations.

"SID

Plays

Bach (Sad)" are essentially the same program with modified notes and a longer delay to Increase the sustain period. You can see how the delay was increased by looking at line -)55 ol'each lisiing.

If you are not musically inclined. you might be able to obtain notes

from a friend and then convert them to the corresponding high and low values that your user's manual indi

cates. You may be able to also get the duration from your friend, or you can

experiment until it sounds right. Just remember lo adjust the value in line 380 to the quantity of values stored in your table at the end of the assembly lisiing. Line 380 currently holds a 96 for die f> i high and low values -and the 32 durations.

The two assembly listings (Listings

1 and 2) were created using the 6-i's built-in BASIC editor and can be as sembled with PAL 6-1. PAL is an as

sembler for the 64 that allows you to


64 USERS ONLY create source code in BASIC lines and

also he transferred to the Commodore

to assemble it by typing RUN. The sys

assembler without

700 in lint

If you prefer having the programs In

you i

100 activates PAL when

ype RUN. The source listing can

100

SYS

105

.

*************************

110 115

.

*

,; ;

* * *

.

*

120 125

and ■un Listings 3 or 4 instead. After

changes,

the

OO;*=SC000

ML SOUND GENERATOR HAPPY SOUNDING BACH ROBERT ALONSO

* * *

(F.ADY prompt appears on ihc

screen, type SYS 491S2 to activate

BASIC loader format, then type in

Listing 1. SID Plays Bach Assembly 700:.OPT

loo m any

either of the two.

380 385 390 395 400 405

CPX

S$60

; "IS

IT

BNE

LOOP

; NO,

THEN

JMP

END

; YES,

410

DELAY

415

LDY

420

1

DELAY

LOOP

Q

96? LOOP

THEN

AGAIN.

GO TO

END.

USED FOR DURATION.

f

=

*

#$0 0

; ZERO THE

.Y

OFFSET

130 135

1

140

425

SET

}

145

PLAY

;

430

150

435

CPX

#$00; AND THE .X OFFSET. ; INCREASE THE .X #$FF i "DOES .X=255?

1

440

BNE

PLAY

445

f

«

EQUATES

155

SIGVOL

160 165 170 175

ATDCY1

=

SD405

SUREL1 VCREG1 FREL01

" = =

SD406 SD404 SD400

180

FREHU

=

SD401

185 190 195

=

$D418

;

INITIALIZATION

1

200

LDA fl$0F

;SET THE

205

STA

;LIKE

SIGVOL

210

i

215

LDA #$09 STA ATDCY1

220

VOLUME

POKE

TO

15.

54296,15.

;SET ATTACK/DECAY TO 9. ;LIKE POKE 54277,9.

225 230

LDA

235

STA SUREL1

#$11

;SUSTAIN/RELEASE TO 17. ;LIKE

POKE

54278,17.

240 245

LDA

250

STA VCREG1

#$11

;SELECT TRIANGLE WAVE. ;LIKE

LDX #300

;ZERO OUT THE

POKE

54276,17.

255 260

2'6 5 270

;

275 280

LOOP

285 290

295 300

MAIN =

LOOP,

LDA NOTES,X STA FREHI1 INX

PLAYS

NOTES.

;GET THE HI VALUE AND ;ST0RE IT IN REGISTER. ;INCREASE OFFSET.

f

LDA NOTES,X

310 315 320 325

STA

335

AND

*

305

330

GETS

OFFSET.

FREL01

INX

;GET ;IT

LO VALUE AND STORE IN

REGISTER.

/INCREASE

OFFSET AGAIN.

J

LDA NOTES,X STA ASAVE INX

460

BNE

SET

JSR DELAY

;AND GO TO THE

LDA #$11 STA VCREG1

;RESET ;DELAY

LDX XSAVE

;GET

THE

OFFSET

VALUE

DELAY.

355

TRIANGLE WAVE. TURNS IT OFF.

370

THE

OFFSET

VALUE.

; NO,

THEN

GO

TO

INCREASE .Y ; "DOES .Y=75? ; NO, THEN GO TO SET.

f

DEC

ASAVE

475

LDA

ASAVE

; YES,DECREASE ; GET DURATION

480

BNE

DELAY

; IF

485

<>0

THEN

LDA

#$10

; SILENCE

STA

VCREG1

; TING

500

RTS

DELAY.

SOUND

BIT

RETURN

0

TO CALLER.

END

LDA

STA

VCREG1

; POKE

520

STA ATDCY1

; POKE

525

STA

SUREL1

; POKE

54278,0

530

; POKE ; POKE

54272,0

535

STA FREL01 STA FREHI1

540

STA

; POKE

545

RTS

550

1

555

;

#$00; ZERO ALL

SIGVOL

TEMPORARY

STORAGE

XSAVE

.BYTE

$00

570

ASAVE

.BYTE

$00

f

'; HI, LO AND

RELATIVE

590

NOTES

=

595

.BYTE

600

.BYTE

$33,$61 ,$02 $22,$4B ,$01

605

.BYTE

$26,$7E ,$01

610

.BYTE .BYTE .BYTE .BYTE .BYTE

$2B,$34 $2D,$C6 $33,$61 $22,$4B $22,$4B

.BYTE

660

•BYTE .BYTE .BYTE .BYTE .BYTE

665

.BYTE

645

650 655

REGISTERS.

54276,0 54277,0

54273,0 54296,0 ; RETURN TO CALLER.

560 565

585

SET

1

515

580

BY

OFF.

510

575

DURATION. VALUE.

1

490 495 505

PLAY.

; YES,

470

630 635 640

350

375

Jt$4B

;SAVE

i

STX

360 365

CPY

615 620 625

345

XSAVE

INY

455

;GET THE DURATION VALUE ;AND STORE IT IN ASAVE. ;INCREASE THE OFFSET.

340

INX

450

465

*

LDX

DURATION

*

,$01

,$01

,$02 ,$02 ,$02 $39,SAC ,$02 $2D,$C6 ,$01 $33,$61 ,$01 $39,$AC ,$01 $40,SBC ,$01 $44,$95 ,$02 $22,$4B ,$02 COMMODORE MICROCOMPUTERS

107


64 USERS ONLY 670

.BYTE

$22,$4B,S02

675 630 685

.BYTE .BYTE .BYTE

S2D,$C6,$02 $33,$61,$01 $2D,$C6,S01

690 695

-BYTE .BYTE

$2B,$34,$01 $26,$7E,$01

700 705

.BYTE .BYTE

$2B,$34,$02 $2D,$C6,$01

710

.BYTE

$2B,$34,$01

715 720 725

.BYTE .BYTE .BYTE

$26,$7E,$01 $22,$4B,$01 $26,$7E,$02

730 735 740

.BYTE .BYTE .BYTE

$2B,$34,$01 $26,$7E,$01 $22,$4B,$01

745

.BYTE

$1F,$FF,$01

750

-BYTE

$22,$4B,$04

320 LDA

NOTES,X

;GET

THE

330

STA

ASAVE

;AND

STORE

335

INX

340

1

XSAVE

;SAVE

DELAY

;AND

THE GO TO

LDA

#$11

;RESET

TRIANGLE

WAVE.

VCREG1

;DELAY

TURNS

OFF.

LDX

XSAVE

;GET

THE

CPX

#$60

;"IS

IT

385

BNE

LOOP

;NO,

THEN

390

JMP

END

;YES,

395

f

400

;

DELAY

LOOP

OFFSET

VALUE.

96? LOOP

THEN

AGAIN.

GO TO

END.

USED

FOR

DURATION.

;ZERO

THE

.Y

405 410

DELAY

415

LDY

=

*

#$00

*

425

SET

*

*

PLAY

120

*

*

430 435

CPX

#$FF

;"DOES

*

440

BNE

PLAY

;NO,

*

445

ROBERT ALONSO

IT

1

*

BACH

DELAY.

STA

115

SOUNDING

THE

365

420

SAD

OFFSET.

360

*************************

GENERATOR

VALUE ASAVE.

f

105 110

SOUND

IN

OFFSET VALUE

STX

JSR

380

700:.OPT OO:*=SC000

ML

IT THE

350

370 375

END

DURATION

;INCREASE

345 355

i Jsting 2. SID Plays B;ich (Sad) Assembly

100 SYS

325

OFFSET

1

LDX

#S00;AND THE

.X

;INCREASE

INX

OFFSET.

THE

.X

.X=255?

THEN

GO

TO

PLAY.

125

*

130

*

135

*************************

450

I NY

CPY

#S"?8

;"DOES

EQUATES

455 460

BNE

SET

;NO,

465 470

; DEC

ASAVE

;YES,DECREASE

DURATION.

475

LDA

ASAVE

;GET

VALUE.

BNE

DELAY

;IF

;SILENCE

140

1-35 150

;YES,

i 3IGVOL ATDCY1

= ■

SD418 SD405

165

SUREL1

SD406

480

170

' /CREG1

175

1 ^RELQl

= = =

SD404 $D400 $D401

490

LDA

#$10

495

STA

VCREG1

500

RTS

155 160

180 185

^REHIl

190

195

IDA #$0F

205

STA

SIGVOL

210

;SET THE VOLUME TO 15. LIKE

SET

POKE

54296,15.

ATTACK/DECAY

.DA

#$09

220

3TA

ATDCY1

LIKE

230

.DA

#$11

SUSTAIN/RELEASE

235

3TA

SUREL1

LIKE

POKE

TO

9.

54277,9.

225 POKE

TO

17.

54278,17.

LDA

#$11

SELECT

250

3TA

VCREG1

LIKE

TRIANGLE

POKE

WAVE.

54276,17.

ZERO

OUT

THE

OFFSET.

260

LDX

265 270

'; MAIN LOOP, GETS AND PLAYS NOTES.

275

280 285 290 295 300

Loop = *

<>0

;TING

LDA

STA ATDCY1

;POKE

54 277,0

525 530

STA

SUREL1

STA

FRELO1

535

STA

FREHI1

540

STA

SIGVOL

;POKE ;POKE ;POKE ;POKE

54278,0 54272,0 54273,0 54296,0

545

RTS

;RETURN

;

STORAGE

TEMPORARY

565

XSAVE ASAVE

.BYTE .BYTE

;

LO AND

$00 $00

575 580

HI,

RELATIVE

590

NOTES

=

.BYTE .BYTE

$33, $61,$02 $22, $4B,$01

*

$26, $7E,$01

615

.BYTE

$27, $DF,$01 $2D, $C6,$01

620

.BYTE

$33, $61,$02

625

.BYTE

$22, $4B,$02

630

.BYTE

$22, $4B,$02

INX

M.I'11.MUCH.! )l '['ODER

LO VALUE AND STORE IN

REGISTER.

;INCREASE

OFFSET AGAIN.

DURATION

585

.BYTE

r

CALLER.

560

.BYTE

OFFSET.

TO

REGISTERS.

550

610

315

SET-

CALLER.

520

605

;IT

BY

OFF.

54276,0

;INCREASE

;GET

TO

0

;POKE

INX

FRELO1

SOUND

#$00;ZERO ALL

600

STA

DELAY.

STA VCREG1

;GET THE HI VALUE AND ;STORE IT IN REGISTER.

LDA NOTES,X

THEN

BIT

;RETURN

LDA NOTES,X STA FREHI1

310

108

DURATION

END

595

305

TO SET.

515

570

#$00

GO

510

555

F

245 255

THEN

505

215

240

.Y

,Y=120?

485

INITIALIZATION

200

INCREASE

-


64 USERS ONLY 635

.BYTE

$35,$39,$02

640

.BYTE

$2D,$C6,$01

645 650 655 660 665

.BYTE

$33,$61,$01

.BYTE • BYTE

295 300 305 310 315 320 325 330 335

S35,S39,S01

.BYTE

S3B,$BE,$01 $44,$95,$02

• BYTE

$22,$4B,$02

670

.BYTE

$22,$4B,$02

675 680 685 690 695

.BYTE

$2D,$C6,$02

.BYTE

$33,$61,$01

• BYTE

$2D,SC6,$01

.BYTE

$27,$DF,$01

.BYTE

$26,$7E,$01 $27,$DF,$02 $2D,$C6,$01

700

.BYTE

705 710 715 720

• BYTE

.BYTE

$22,$4B,$01

725

.BYTE

730

$26,$7E,$02

.BYTE

$27,$DF,$01

340

345 350

735

.BYTE

$26,$7E,$01

.BYTE

$22,$4B,$01

745

.BYTE

750

.BYTE

$1F,$FF,$01 $22,$4B,$04

DATA DATA

2,34,75,2,34,75'BPEB 2,45,198,2,51,97'BQNG

DATA

DATA

1,45,198,1,43,52'BQDC 1,38,126,1,43,52'BQVH

DATA

2,45,198,1,43,52'BQED 1,38,126,1,34,75'BQBI DATA 1,38,126,2,43,52'BQWE DATA 1,38,126,1,34,75'BQBJ DATA 1,31,25 5,1,3 4,75,4'BSSF DATA DATA

EMD

Listing 3. Bach BASIC Loader

100

REM

************************igygy

105

REM

110 115 120 125

REM

*

*'BCBA

*

*'BCBW

REM REM REM

* BASIC LOADER FOR * SAD SOUNDING BACH

100

REM

************************igYBY

105

REM

*

110 115

REM

*

REM

120

*

REM

*

125 145

REM

** * *# ******

150

FOR X= 49152 TC 49362'DLJE READ A: B= B+A1 DFJI POKE X, A : NEXT X'CFLD

155

160 165

*'BCBA

145

: 'ABHE

150

FOR

155

READ

160

POKE

165

IF BO21324

HAPPY

LOADER FOR

SOUNDING

BACH

*'BQBA

*'BTRG *'BCBW

************* t BYBG

:"ABHE

TF BO20685 THEN PRINT

"DATA

ERROR"1FGQN

170 175 180

END1 BACC : 'ABHH DATA

19 5

DATA

190

DATA

195

DATA

200

169, 15,141 ,24,212,169'BVYH 9,141,5,21 2,169,17'BSAM 141, 6,212, 169,17,141'BUSI 4,21 2,162, 0,189,115'BTQN

DATA

205

192, 141,1, 212,232,189'BVSA

DATA

210

DATA

115, 192,141,0,212,232'BVGF 189, 115,192,141,114,192'BXBB 232, 142,113,192,32,64'BVPG

215

DATA

220

DATA

225 230 235

DATA DATA

192, 169,17 ,141,4,212'BUWC 174, 113,192,224,96,208'BWEH

DATA

240

217, 76,92, 192,160,0'BTBD 162, 0,232, 224,255,208'BVPI

DATA

245

251, 200,192,75,208,244'BWVE

DATA

250

206, 114,192,173,114,192'BXUJ

DATA

255

DATA

260

DATA

208, 234,169,16,141,4'BUXF 212, 96,169 ,0,141,4'BSCJ 212, 141,5, 212,141,6'BTGG

265

DATA

270

DATA

275

DATA

280

DATA

285

290

212, 141,0, 212,141,1'BTWL 212, 141,24 ,212,96,0'BTKH 0,51 ,97,2, 34,75'BPFL

1,38 ,126,1 ,43,52'BQVH DATA 1,45 ,198,1 ,51,97'BQLM DATA 2,34 ,75,2, 34,75'BPEI

170

*'BQBA *'BRWG

************************!gVBfi

<= 49152 TO 49362'DLJE A; B= B+A'DFJI X,

bAnU ^

BASIC

END

Listing 4. Sad BASIC Loader

.BYTE -$27,$DF,$01 .BYTE $26,$7E,$01

740

2,57,172,2,45,198'BRLN 1,51,97,1,57,172'BQGA DATA 1,64,188,1,68,149'BRPF DATA

A

:

NEXT

X'CFLD

THEN PRINT

"DATA

tun i*

END' 3ACC

175

: 'ABHH

180 185 190 195

DATA

200

DATA

215

DATA

220

DATA

225 230 235

232,142,113,192,32,64'BVPG 192,169,17,141,4,212'BUWC

DATA

17 4,113,192,2 24,96,208'BWEH

240

DATA

245

DATA

250

DATA

DATA DATA DATA

169,15,141,24,212,169'BVYH 9,141,5,212,169,17'BSAM

141,6,212,169,17,141'BUSI 4,212,162,0,189,115' BTQN

192,141,1,212,232,189'BVSA 205 DATA 115,19 2,141,0,212,232'BVGF 210 DATA 189,115,192,141,114,192'BXBB

DATA DATA

217,76,92,192,160,0'BTBD

16 2,0,2 3 2,224,255,208'BVPI

251,200,192,120,208,244'BXKE

206,114,192,173,114,192'BXUJ

208,234,169,16,141,4'BUXF DATA 212,96,169,0,141,4'BSCJ DATA 212,141,5,212,141,6'BTGG

255 260 265 ~DATA 270

DATA

275

DATA

280

DATA

285

DATA

290 295 300

DATA

305

DATA

310 315

DATA

320

DATA

DATA

DATA

DATA

325

DATA

330

DATA

335

DATA

340

DATA

345

DATA

350

DATA

212,141,0,212,141,1'BTWL 212,141,24,212,96,0'BTKH

0,51,97,2,34,75'BPFL 1,38,126,1,39,223'BRYH 1,45,198,1,51,97'BQLM 2,34,75,2,34,75'BPEI 2,53,57,2,45,198'BQLN 1,51,97,1,53,57'BPGA 1,59,190,1,68,149'BRMF 2,34,75,2,34,75'BPEB 2,45, 198,2, 51, 97'BQ.NG 1,45,198,1,39,223'BRGC 1,38,126,1,39,223'BRYH 2,45,198,1,39,223'BRHD 1,38,126,1,34,75'BQBI 1,38,126,2,39,223'BRAE 1,38,126,1,34,75'BQBJ 1,31,255,1,34,75,4■BSSF

END

COMMODORE MICROCOMPUTERS

109


TECHNICAL TIPS

1(1

Random

MARK ZIMMtiRMANN

ber of atoms, and made the calcula

"Random Crystalli

tions run fairly fast. You can have a larger array, even a three-dimensional

Thoughts:

zation " is a short

Programming,

BASICprogram that

you display the 3-D Structure of that!)

Philosophy, and

simulates the motion

be [list -1

Crystals

of atoms in a two-

Xiiis month we'll look at ;i specific

one if yon like. (Hut let me know how 1 defined the energy of an atom to tor each neighbor it has:

above, below, left, and right. An atom

with no neighbors has energy zero.

dimensional world.

One in the middle of a crystal with

four neighbors has energy —i.

You

may want to take into account neigh

application of randomness to one physical problem—crystallization. The solution to thai prDblem turns out to apply to lots of other Important

bors on [he diagonals in your energy

real-world

perature of one or more gives a pretty

tasks,

and

we'll

function.

The temperature and the number of atoms are entered by the user. A tem

discuss

"fluid" situation, with lots of fluctua

some of those, too.

tions, a temperature of o.l or less is

Crystallization

preity solidly "frozen." 1 usually put

in 50 atoms, so that the ten-by-ten ar

A crystal has a tegular arrangement

ray is half full.

of atoms or molecules, yet it forms from a chaotic melt or solution, where the atoms move around randomly rel ative to each oilier. Perfect crystals

When running i!ie model. I simply

watch the display and Interrupt the program whenever I want to change the temperature, T. The program takes about one second to :i single

form slowly. If you try to grow a crys tal too fast, defects or dislocations de velop.

But annealing—a

"step," so you can do thousands of

process of

steps in a reasonable length of lime.

slow heating and COOlIng—can get rid of some defects without having to mcli the crystal and start over. We can experiment with all of these

You may want to automate the tem perature variation, so that the value of T falls or rises in some regular fash ion. This is especially useful fur over

phenomena on a small computer. The program listing accompanying this ar

night experiments, which you may

ticle is my first effort. 1 hope some of

want to run unattended.

you will extend and improve il! Let

me describe exactly what the program "Random Crystallization" docs, and how to use il. We'll begin With a gen eral broad-brush description, ami then go on to details, "Random Crystallization" is a short

Crystal Simulation Results Some friends and I have tried a number

Figure 1.

of

"Random energy

before

and

after

the mine.

Specifically, atoms obey the "Boltz-

experiments

with

Crystallization"

the

model.

We've found thai lowering the tem

perature T in steps of 0.05 from 1.0

BASIC program that simulates the mo-

mann

the

down in It. I can give a good crystal.

lion of atoms

chance of a transition is proportional

provided the temperature is lowered

in a two-dimensional

Law,"

which

says

that

very

slowly.

A

"perfect"

crystal

world. (In real life, thin films depos

[(1 (.

ited on surfaces act a lot like two-di

general relationship that holds for just

would have all the atoms packed as

mensional systems.) The moms move within a limited area, surrounded by a

about all real-world systems. From one viewpoint, it's the definition of

closely together as possible, and the

solid wall of "frozen" atoms to keep

"temperature" itself.) It means that

make a single big "void" of roughly

them confined. The area where the at

things lend 10 move "downhill." to

circular shape. That way, the energy

oms

ward lower energy, with random fluc

of the atoms is minimized—the sur

cells and only one atom (at most) can

tuations about that general tendency.

face area of the hole is as small as pos

he in a cell,

The fluctuations go away as the tem

sible, and most of the atoms have as

Atoms tend to "stick" to each other. They have a lower energy if they have

perature goes to zero.

many neighbors as possible.

neighbors. This "stickiness" accounts

dom Crystallization" program, I made

move

is

divided

into

discrete

:.!:.„„ ln«l«RHRimnlHTi ('|*lliS jS ;) V(/rV

in the Implementation of the "Ran

vacancies

also grouped together to

If you lower the temperature too

rapidly, or start out at loo low an

for the crystallization. The chance of

some

You

initial temperature (a "supercooled"

an atom moving from one cell to an

may want to choose otherwise. 1 set

state), you'll get a crystal with many

adjacent empty cell depends on the

the size of the atomic array to ten by

imperfections. You can anneal the im

ten. Thai gave room for :i good num

perfections out by wanning the erys-

temperature 110

and

the

SHPTEMDEK/CX KUIIK

difference

in

specific

design

choices.


TECHNICAL TIPS t;i! and then re-coolinj> more slowly. Try ii!

Here's an experiment I tried, i be gan with temperature T = i, and low ered the temperature by 0.05 every so smps, until m step number 1000, I

was ;it T = 0.1. Figure 1 shows the Ini tial state (random. 50 moms) and the state at step looo. The atoms art rep

resented as black circles. uikI the voids

between atoms are blank. As you can sec. the crystal is very Imperfect {lUinninfj;« T = o. i ibr another thou sand steps didn't help much. The im perfections were "frozen in.")

So,

I

raised the temperature

to

T = 0.5 and then lowered it by 0.1 every thousand steps until, at step 7000, it was back to T = o.l and had

been held there for 1000 steps. That gave a

much

betier crystal,

as

the

third part of the figure shows. 'There are still imperfections, but no badly separated voids or isolated clusters of atoms. Remember, there is a wall of atoms surrounding the urea shown—

so the atoms at the edge arc really touching neighbors drawn on the figures.

which

aren't

The "Random Crystallization" pro can

certainly

tioned above; changing the grk! size,

energy function, or temperature con trol. A more Important change would he to increase the computational effi ciency of the program. 1 kept the pro gram logic very simple and, above all, worked to make it correct from a ran dom-number viewpoint.

II' you try,

you can probably increase [he effi

ciency by a factor of two or more by

varying ihe algorithms used in the subroutines.

You may also want to Improve the display part of the program (subrou tine 9000). It's very "plain vanilla" now, simply priming out the zeros and

ones of the atom array to the screen.

A better method would be to use screen pokes to update only the posi

tion of any atom that moves. I avoided that to allow people with different va rieties of computers to run the pro gram without modification,

Theoreticians may want to figure

out how fast one should lower the temperature in order to get nice crys

tallization. I suspect that a good rate is proportional to (number of atoms)/

Extensions and Implications gram

Some possible extensions were men

be

improved.

(Temperature), but I don't know how to prove it, or what the constant of proportionality should be.

What are the implications of the

"Random Crystallization" idea? Well, the fundamental Idea applies to man) areas. Suppose you want to find the shurtcst path to travel among a set ot towns—the famous "Traveling Sales man" problem. This is a terribly hard problem to solve, if you demand the absolute best solution, but recently, in vestigators have found that they can get

excellent

working

solutions by

starting out with a random path at

high "temperature," and then "cool

ing" it down. The "temperature" isn't a physical temperature. It's just pun of a rule for the chance to change from one order of visiting the towns to another, just as our temperature was the chance for an atom to move

from one location to another. Other difficult optimization prob lems may be solved by analogous crystallization methods. Its a very new field of research—perhaps you

can contribute to

understanding it

better!

Programming Philosophy Since I've encouraged you to partic ipate in the process of improving this program, I'd like to elaborate on that process, in general terms.

There are several central themes which underlie advanced work in all Continued <>u base U5

Random Crystallization (OREMRAHXtiCHYSTAUIZATICH

!02O«-FNW10>r-FM(lOHFtt«.YW>WTO20!OHmi(OTUHTILFINBAN

20 R£M 8Y MARK ZirttBMANN 30 REM

20O3IFXYW-I.VM AND««-t.Y>-l ANOXY(X.Y-1)-I ANDIYII T-1). I GOTO

« REMTH15 PROGRAM ILLUSTRATES Tit MOTION OF ATOMS IN AMINIATUPf 50 REM 2-0lr*NSINAL CRYSTAL (,0X10 ARRAY) AT A DO5EN TEMPER*tWE 60 MM

70 HEM TIC CHANCE FOR AN ATOM TOMOVE TO A VACANCY IS

BO HEM 90 REM

P - EXP(-(ENEftGYNEW-ENERGYOLLl)<TEMPEnML>HE>

100 REM TIC ENEMY IS SIMPLY - i - THE NUMBER OF ADJACENT ATOMS 110 REM(*B0VE, BELOW, LEFT. AND RIGHT) 120 REM

1308EM FOR SIMPLICITY, THE ACTION TAXES PLACE INSIDE A BOX OF I■» REM NON-fOVING AIO15

--W0RXBF.GUNI98.10CT0Br.R2l--

190 RD1 NLTBERFRCfi I TOJ

2020 BEM THY AGAIN IF NO ADJACENT HOLE

2060 REM NOW PICK A RANLXJH ADJACENT HOLE 3000B-RND<n IFH.2STHENHN-X-I YM-Y GOTO 1200

2IOOIFP,<5THININ-I'I YN-Y GOTO 2200

2IJ0IFH.75THENKN-X YN-Y-1. GOTO 2W0 2H0XN-X YN-Y-I

2200 IF KYM.IN)- I GOTO 2080 BEM KEEP TRVINO UNTIL FIND A HOLE

23OOHETURN 2999 REM

3000 REM ROUTINE TO CALCULATE ENERGY OF ATOM IN CURRENT LOCATION (E) Ate IN «W LOCATION (EN>

3020 E-XYW-1,1)-X»X' I .YI-KYU.Y-1 )-IY(X,y. 1 >

ISO REM

IMREM

ATCH

JlftfMFUMniON TO GENERATE A RAHHM

220 DIM «t 11.11). REM USE 1 OKI 0 AREA FfW AtCMS 2-» INPUT "TEMPERATURE"^

260 INPUT-NLMefSOFATCfKti T0 9WA 270 REM

280 gosub booo rem initialize array with border aho randcm configuration of atcm5

300 oosub woo rem print configuration to 5creen 100 oosub 5000 reh pick an atom at random which "as an afljactnt hole, return location in i,y am) hole inxn.yn

m0 gosub 3000 rem calculate enehgy of atom ie) and energy if it rWVES TO HOLE (EN>

600 R-tXP(-lEN-EVT) RBI CALCULATE CHANCE FOR ATOM TOMOVE TO HOLE 700 N-N-1 REM ADO ONE TO THE COUNTER THAT KEEPS TRACK OF STEPS 600 IF RKXI )ip G0T0-W0. REM ATO10ID NOT MOVE, LOOP BACK TO TRV AGAIN 900XW,Y)-0 WIXN.YNl-P- GOTO 300 REM ATOMMavTO, LOOP BACK TO DISPLAY MEW CCWI DURATION

1999 REM

2000 REM ROUTINE TO PECK A RANDOM ATOM WITH AN ADJACENT HOLE

J040EN-n(i(N-I.YN]-IY«N.l,YNMY(XN.IN-1)-KY(ININ'l)-1 REM ADD ONf SINCE ATOti WILL HAVEM0VE00UT Of WO SLOT AND INTO NEW ONE

3100 RETURN 7999 R£M

9000 RTM ROUTINE TO INITIALIZE CONFIGURATION Of ATCM5 60M PRINT -INITIALIZING ATCT1S IN BOX' 60JOFORI-I TO A

8060X-FWKI0) Y.FNW lot REM PICK A RANCO1 POINT IN BOX

8080 IF XtiK.Y>-l GOTO B06O REM TRY AGAIN IF 5W-ETHIN0 IS ALHEA0Y THEB£ UIOOXYIX.YM.NEXTI

1)100 REMNOWFIll IN BOUNDARY CELL5 OF BOX. 10 AVOID A1OM5 DRIFTING OUT

0220 FOB 1-0 TO II W0.D-1 JB(ll.K-t:xr(l,0)-l Wl,11)-I NEXT I

U300 RETURN 0999 HEM

9000 REM DISPLAY CONFIGURATION ON SCREEN 9010 PRINT PRINT-N--.N 9040 FOB I-1T0 10 fOR J-l TO 10 9050 PRINT *Yil,J). 9080 NEXT J 9100 PRINT 9120 *XT I

ttOO RETURN

END

COMMODORE MICROCOMPITJ'ERS

1H


For Business, Doctor's and Home Phones

10 Ways Moog's Advanced Model Phone Controller Can Increase the Service You Get From Your Phone, Speed Your Calls and Lower Your Charges. A high-tech advance by Moog, who invented the Electronic Music Synthesizer This small electronic marvel — only 8'' by (>" by 1 Vi"—lets you do things with your telephone you never chDUghl pos sible. Read these HI ways MflOg'S

new phone Controller outdates oldfoshianed telephoning—

1. One Touch "Memory" Dialing.

Get at the much ofa finger JO numbers called most frequently, Real time saver.

2. Time-Saving Callback. Busy sig

nal? Phone Controller calls bock for you every 60 seconds, up EO 1-i times. Keeps you from forgetting to.

3. Digital Time Monitor. .m-.-<- you to minutes you ;irt- talking, long dis

tance or locally. Keeps 5 minute culls

from ^oin^ to a half-hour.

4. Touch Dial Converter. l«s you i.ill liy couch on rotary dial plume.

5. Works with MCI, Sprint, SDS. Discount long-distance services work fas

ter, cheaper without installation extras.

6. Hold BUttOn. Puts callers on hold so you tan talk with others around you.

Mori- secure rhan hand over mouthpiece.

7. Built-in Audio Speaker, gui

without having to hold handset until someone answers. Lets others hear too.

8. Eliminates Phone Use. n > need

to dial from phone. Touch-dial directly from tli;il pad of Phone Controller.

9. Fail-Safe Memory. Back-up bat

tery jiiwer keeps programming intact

and in place for most power outages.

10. Error Eraser. Dial a sm^ie wron* number, nu need to rcdial whole number.

Satisfaction Guaranteed.

All Phone Controllers have I year parts

Bfld labor warranty and .ire III. and FCC approved. Prompt service if needed, If

For single-line service, simply plug in to

any modular jack. For service with multi-lints. Specify Model ML. Cus tomers also get toll-free advice if

you arc not fully satisfied, return unit

in

original

condition

and

packages

within 111 days of receipt, and your money will be refunded.

needed.

Push clear burton, error is erased.

Pleasantville Plan, 62 Eastvicw, Pleasantville, N.Y 10570 Dept. MC-1 Please send (

) Mooji's Phone CotKroller(s) at

Name __

cost per instrument of $99.95 single line, $ 119.95

multi-tine (Model ML.) 1 enclose check {

) Money order (

of$

AMh'X (

) in amounl

Address

.Or charge my

) MASTERCARD (

)V1SA(

)

City

Si a re

Zip

credit card no,

expiring

_.. N.Y, residents add sales tax.

For earlier delivery, call toll-free 1-8OO-334-O854. 7 clays, 24 hours. Circle Reader Service No. 47

O Plnmntvillc I'Ijh 1984,


TECHNICAL TIPS

BY ISAA(. MVI.IT/. I'll.I).

The Computer Scientist

A very strong case

What is Computer

computer is an em

Science?

edge is theoretical, and depends on extensive investigations in advanced

can be made that the

pline. It \v;ls taught at only a few ma

your

background,

But all areas have in common their

intelligent life.

will not be obsolete next year. And

thai is one of the main reasons why so obsolete in a few years.

Software and equipment will be

many people are becoming interested in computer science.

jor universities and was studied mainly by advanced computer spe

guages will be used. Or perhaps even

An Eagle's Eye View of

cialists. Now, however, CS is Studied

tually, software may be created with

Computer Science

ai thousands of .schools nationwide by millions of people every year. This is the first in a series of articles thai will explore the field of computer science especially for you, the Com

different. Different programming lan

out

using a

programming language.

ples of the kind of knowledge CS is

thai are important today will be obso

Concerned with. Now, let's try to get a broad overview of the entire field. To do this, we will list some of the major '"timeless questions" that CS is con

lete or meaningless, and will he replaced with new concepts, new jargon.

sense of what the field is about and 10 acquaint you with .some of its major areas of knowledge. I believe that:

However, some of your knowledge will still be valid and useful. Here are

science

provides a

great deal of valuable informa

tion for anyone who uses com

ence.

Indeed,

relevant

species of intelligent life.

of ihe

for

many

years

into

the

future:

• New programs usually have bugs. With

in computer sci one

large programs,

it some

times lakes years to shake out most of the bugs. With very

best

ways 10 explore CS is by running

complex programs, it is unrea

"experiments" on your Commo

sonable 10 expect that all of the hugs could ever be eliminated.

dore computer. • You don't have to be a technical

• The performance of a computer

genius to learn ahout computer science. Although some parts of

system will usually deteriorate badly when its mass storage tic-

CS are technically difficult, many

vices get close to full.

of the most important parts are amazingly

straightforward

and

intuitive.

Definition of Computer

questions"

and

the

"timeless

knowledge" about computers.

You

probably

know

computers right now.

a

lot

about

For instance,

you probably know about software packages,

programs exhibit weird behavior under sonic circumstances. This kind of knowledge remains and useful,

despite the

rapid

changes in computer technology. And

Computer science deals with

"timeless

• liven the "friendliest" computer

valid

Science

printers,

disk drives,

and

monitors. Depending on your inter ests, you may be familiar with BASIC

this is the kind of knowledge that CS

deals with. CS is the body of knowl edge (and questions) that do not go

out of date, even when new generalions of technology come to market. The goal of CS is to gather together

fundamental and

information

to organize it

like

into an

this,

orderly

body of scientific knowledge.

or oilier programming languages. You are familiar with many computer con

ent ways. Some of the knowledge is a

cepts and buzzwords ("spreadsheet."

distillation

"word processing." "boot," "menu." "bun").

However:

Much

of

your

knowledge about computers will he

1. What is a computer, really:' that: The computer is an emerging

• You don't have to go lo college to involved

cerned with.

a few examples of current computer knowledge which will probably be

puters frequently.

yet

You have already seen a few exam

Many of the concepts and DUSZWOrds

modore user. My aim is to give you a

• Computer

you

'■tiinelessncss"-what you learn today

science (CS) was considered a rather narrow and difficult technical disci

pending on

will find some parts of CS interesting and easy, and others dull and difficult,

erging species of

ly ;i few years ago. computer

mathematics. So CS is a mixture o(

different kinds of information. De

CS gathers its knowledge in differ

with

of practical

computers.

experience

Some of it

is the

result of laboratory experiments with computers. And some of the knowl

A very strong case can he made

This startling thesis is based on a se ries of elementary, non-technical ob servations about computers, ami we

shall explore ihis thesis in a later arti

cle. If the thesis is true, it suggests that understanding the nature of comput ers is much like understanding the na ture of other living things. To under

stand computers, we will need to understand the various "subspecies"

of computers, their "anatomy," their "evolutionary progression." their "so ciology," and so on.

Hven if you do not accept this the;.is, the biological analogy gives us some important clues ahout what we need to know in order to really under

stand what a computer is. 2. What are the simplest possible computers?

Computers are becoming more and more complex and powerful, to a de

gree which sometimes boggles even the experts. Why is this happening,

and where are these developments headed? One way to gei a handle on these issues is to ask, "What are the

Simplest computers like? What are

their fundamental characteristics? What are their advantages and disad vantages,

compared

against

more

complex computers?"

In future articles, we will examine RS

113


TECHNICAL TIPS a couple of "minima) computers." As

All computer systems seem to have

you will sec, they arc- almost Startling

certain features in common. For in

in their simplicity, yet they have the

stance, they all have codes, machine

ming involves performing common

tasks such as displaying text and graphic images on the screen, soriing information, printing reports, record

capabilities of :i true computer, They

language, communications lines and

demonstrate beautifully some of the

Communications protocol, an operat

ing and updating Information on disk,

fundamental

ing system which is built up in layers, capabilities for handling large hlocks

searching for data in memory or on

characteristics

of all

computers. They also help us to understand why there is a need for very

complex computer systems to

of information, error-handling capa bilities, and "human interface" capa bilities. Each of these features are en

evolve. 3. What arc the best ways to pro

tire subjects themselves, which can be

gram a computer?

explored in great depth.

Just as ii is possible for a biologist to

If you have tried any programming yourself, you know it's difficult to

map out the anatomy of a living orga

write a good eompuier program. The

nism, so it should be possible for a

more

computer scientist

complex the

application,

the

more difficult it is to write a good pro

lo map out the

anatomy of various kinds of computer

gram, why is computer programming

systems. When we attempt to do this,

so difficult'' Can

programming be

some tantalizing questions arise: Whai

made easy? What are the best possible

are the most Important '"organs" of a

ways to program a computer? What

computer system'? As computers con

kinds of programming language or programming techniques work best?

tinue to evolve, how will these organs evolve? Will some organs which are

4. What

important in current generations be

for

a

arc

the

computer

best

to

ways

organize

come

unimportant

in

later genera-

lions? Will completely new kinds of

in for mat Um?

Computers typically deal with large

organs come Into existence?

amounts of information, expressed in

7. How fast can a computer sys

electronic codes. Some of the codes

tem "think?"

disk, displaying error messages, and making appropriate responses when an operator does something wrong.

Tens of thousands of brilliant

pro

grammers have worked on developing good

techniques

for

programming

tasks like these. What are the most common lasks that need to be pro grammed? What are the best recipes for programming each task?

More to Come Computer science deals with the "timeless

questions"

knowledge"

about

and

"timeless

computers.

CS

seeks lo gather this fundamental in formation and organize it into an or

derly body of scientific knowledge. This information is a mixture of the

theoretical and the practical, the tech nical ami the intuitive, the abstract and the empirical. Depending on your

background and interests,

you will

ant! some of the information-handling

The speed of a computer depends

find some pans of CS interesting and

techniques are highly complex, and

on two major factors. First, it depends

easy, and Other parts dull or difficult.

are certainly alien to the ways human

on its "raw speed"—how many ele

beings process information,

mentary operations per second it can

What are the best ways for a com puter U) organize information? Are in tricate

codes

necessary?

Are

there

simpler techniques that might be bet ter? What are the advantages and dis advantages of various informaiion-

nanclllng techniques

in

terms of

speed, reliability, cost, flexibility, and

perform. (A Commodore 64 can per form up to one million elementary

operations per second. computers

in

the

The fastest

world

are

about

1,000 times faster than that.) Second,

speed depends on how cleverly the computer is programmed. (Some times, a smart programmer can think

so on?

of shortcuts which allow a huge task

5. How do you design computer

to be completed quickly, even on a

systems that are reliable? Kven expensive, sophisticated Com

"slow" computer.) Are there any up per

limits

to

the

potential

"raw

What all areas have in common is the "timelessness"—what you

learn to

day will not be obsolete next year. Some areas of CS are of enormous commercial value (e.g., programming

methods, database design, system reli

ability, computer "anatomy"). This helps lo explain why so many people are learning about CS. Another reason

is thai unlike mast of what you learn about computers, what you learn in CS does not go out of date rapidly. The field of CS is really just begin

ning to take shape. Not only are a lot

speed1" of a eompuier? Are there any

of

lem crashes and information losses.

limits to what can he accomplished by

swered, but also we are still discover

And

a clever programmer?

puter systems are vulnerable to syslo

my

knowledge,

there

has

never been a major commercial soft ware package thai is completely free of bugs.

What

can

be done

about

8. Are

there

any

tasks

which a

computer cannot perform at all? Are there any tasks that are impos

fundamental

questions

unan

ing what are in fact the most funda

mental

questions

and

areas

of

knowledge. In this article, we have listed some of the major "timeless

ihe.se problems? How do you design a

sible to program? Are there any tasks

questions" of CS. In future articles,

computer system thai is crash-proof?

that would require more computing power than is theoretically possible?

questions.

Is there any hope of eventually having Software packages thai are totally free of bugs? If not, is there a way to de

Are there any tasks that require hu man intelligence, and which cannot

we

will

explore

some

of

these

Isaac MeUitz is a computer consul tant unit system designer who spe

sign computer systems lo function re

possibly be realized on a computer?

liably, even if they contain software

9. What are the most important

cializes in accounting and database applications. He has written books

"recipes" for computer program

on the internals of the Commodore

6. What is the

"anatomy"

computer system? 114

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

of a

mers to know?

A great deal of computer program

64, He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy / Mathematical Logicfrom UCLA.

0


It doesn't take much to make your

programs run up to 20 times faster. If you've been writing programs for

documentation and I'ROMAl. system diskette including sample programs) lor just

your Commodore 64, Apple

□e or Apple lie in BASIC you can take

$4y.y5.Thcre'sa 15-day, no-risk

a giant step forward In speed of execu

moneyback guarantee. And the entire $49.95 may be credited against later purchase of the "Developer's Version!'

tion and in programming productivity

for just S49.95.

You can get program performance thai you only thought possible from machine language programs. While still using a powerful, understandable high-

The "Developer's Version"-all the

components of the "find User" system

plus the "run time" object module gen

eration capability, additional documenta

level language. A language that's similar

tion and an unlimited right to sell or

to Pascat but much easier to learn and use.

distribute PROMAI, applications-is

You can create programs with our

only $99.95.

advanced, full-screen editor-much like you would on a word processor, and

Or-for only SlO.OO plus S2.5O postage and handling you can get the l'M-100 demo system. It includes a 32-page manual and all the

it even locates your compilation errors. And when you com pile your programs,

you have a fast one-

$49.95tobeexact.

pass compiler, a recursive descent compiler that can

compile a 100-line source program in 10 seconds or less.

PROMAL'" also gives you an elegant operating system "Executive" which includes powerful file, program and memory management commands and even I/O redirection. You get all of that with I'ROMAL-improvcd programming productivity, faster compile and run time

capabilities ol the PM-200 except the

ability to print or save

files to disk. It's a very inexpensive way to explore the wonders of'PUOMAL.

Our Guarantee: Try PROMAI. for 15 days. If you are

not completely satisfied, return it lo us undamaged

and we'll refund your money. No questions asked. Dealer Inquiries invited.

For quicker response on credit card orders,

1-800-762-7874

and power that you may never have thought possible.

I'ROMAL-forthe beginning or advanced programmer.

InNC:yiy-787-7703.

Whether you are just beginning to write or are an experienced programmer, you can be more productive with i'ROMAl. (PROgraturner's Micro Application Language). It's easier to

learn than Pascal, C or l-'orth. It provides you with a full range of powerful structured Statements like 1F-ELSE, WHILE, REPEAT, FOR and

CHOOSE. And, because indentation is part of the language's syntax, it helps you write programs neatly ami logically. There are no line numbers to worry about, and since comments don'l take up memory space, you

Systems Management Associates .3700 Computer Drive, Dept.CMl'

can document your programs completely.

Raleigh, North Carolina 27609

COMMODORE 64 BENCHMARK (Sim »ft! ralotlh, ■Ha) Execution Time (*ecs.) object Code Size [bytes] Program Load Time (sea.) Compile Tune [tecs.)

1'ROMAL DASIC

OrderFarm

COMAL

FORTH

Please send me my topy ol PROMAI

I'ASt Al

so

A3n

490

51

55

IIS

255

329

IH1

^ IS

3.2

3.H

6.3

11.2

23.5

fl..1

-

-

3.9

108

PROMAL-a language especially fur small systems.

Unlike languages developed for larger systems and squeezed into small systems environments, PROMAL

was conceived and developed specifically for the small system. With PROMAL there's finally a language created

Myiyttemti(checkone) Q Commodore6-4

:] Appkik

IDI.ilcuitulSS't D?i SjiyiljctLoriOu.ilJnlreil

a I'M-3OC1 llevcloper'-V.iMoniliS 9b plus iS 00 (or shlpninii Jml luiulliiiK lui jiotjI nutoilIM P! SitUfioMjnGuiantmd

P Pll-!OOdeniodl,kti[eil«OOIur[hEiliik™ep[us52 5(lforpoiljK.-.uiL!)ijjidlmclorj local coscol 512 5U lNon-[efuri[libre-J

C .Mycheckisemloacd

D Vlcase c!ijr£c rny purchase lomy

D ViM

Catil NuraiMT

Speed up your programs and step up your programming productivity.

Chy.SIaie.Zip

PROMAL PM-200 "End-User" system (220 pages of

Circle Reader Service No. 46

D Mj^U'icaid

"~Eipi.ji.on Date

for the environment In which you work.

You get all of that speed and productivity-with the

n AiipleiiL

prom At. ftck*geDeitml(clieckoi»] □ I'M-200tterrpnatlinedibortJHf iSpimss mitoMhipnMiKjndiij.i.ninKJij

N.inh Carolina Resident add 4-1/2% ulnlu gn aider* jddSJ5 00dddttiaiul shipping jniUiJIl


USER GROUPS Commodore usei gioups nationwide and aiound the fl/orld provide rnvaluable assistance to Commodore computensts If you are looking foi

people who share youi computing interests, or ll you neet help getting started with your computer, contact the group neai you This list is compiled from gioups who responded to a survey conducted by Pete Uaczoi, Commodores user group coordinator II you would like your group to appear here. 01 li you need mlormation about Commodore's usei group support, contact Pete at Commodore Business MHclunes. 1200 Wilson Dtwe. West Chester PA 19380 CALrFORNrA

ALABAMA

Sun CrtMc^

Paninsula Curnrnodorn

Alialtima CompuLw dull Hairy Jodbb

PCJ Bon 1277—91701

Wj Avenun V Lot 7-B—35208

PssBdma CommodDrs

M3 Old Couniy Rd —M07U Sgr. Francisco

109 K^y U^nil Hd —36330

PETonihoAlB

Suncofuit 64s

BclaLowt

Club

Curtis J Milljjr

Souih Bay CommodorQ £4

Anlniffi Cammoduto

Useis Grnup JoseM Galiego

Pal Snub

Torn Wyaxi

lUlOMiraLomaDi -95603 Bald

i

Conirnoilarn C]ub—South

Group

Willinm J Frcumati

David Dt«ml

PO Hox 3J.-I—35126

Cenli^l Coasl Cammcdon

User Group Gilbert F Vela

V,G\7Vj Uumona Blvci — U170C

1237 Plumena Ct - 93455 SlAla Monicv

BtOOowa

ScolWhid

PO Box 3193—92073 Santa Mana

p,.

Cal Poly CcstLiriodoio Users

IXJH CrlJtipiWll 14144 Bnyou Avo — 9O/C0

PO Bo* 406—904CC CMOS Sanm Rosa

ALASKA

aan^ Rcta Comrnodoro 64

Sdn Femutiiltf Valluy

Cnlgaty Commodore Uuyil Noiir-in BlOCmitekl Way SW—T2W 1K1 AlLCllOTJIUf Ali'.i-.i m Commodcta

COfnpucci Club

Commixlon) Users Ctoup Tom Lyncli

fust Ctly I'seis Group

Jim LJanos P O Uul KKK—99901 Sllku

Sitkn Coimnorloio Usutj Gioup

Dcntiia Lar.harn I'O B«22M ■BSISIJSi AlirZONA

Users Group Gairy Palme:

SlucktDn

Eiocliion Commodoia

Frpann 'i-1 [Jwn

\JivtB Group Rra McCflnn

091 W 9lh #203—93612

29?9 Calariva Di —»2W

Duuu G&nnon V O [Jo* 6M3— 99K2

COLORADO l.-i-:^ Gcaup

Aspen

Dean Sceichen

Rocky Mountain Commodorir

PO Box 57155— 94520

Pa/ Diooka

Costa Muss C Tocli Us^rs vi Omnus Counly

PO Hojt 377-81612 Daiiver

I'O Bon H9V—9203G GupvTUio

HoycB Milchwl)

MOOFJmCl #&07B-B0221

Aiiionj VIC & 64 Users

Grnnd Juncuor.

Western Slope Comin'jJotu

Thomas Monson

DdnvjlJs U^ei5 G[Gu]j

Users Group

!WIW MajlBmo Cu—86224

Koni K Divjs

Palph D'Andiea

IBS From St

I'aulB Mochula Rl

Suiio 106—S4&26

HoUywwxl

CONNECTICUT

HoUywood Curnmod^rg

Colchi.'sccj

1. Boi 34-85601

Compuier Useis Group

Mm tin ^lickwffU I'ttoanix Arizona ComnHJdare

733 N Ru1tfflW«*l Btvd --90038

Club LssUn A

Roberts

PC Ho* 3490b—8M67 Slcijo Vlstn

Thunder Muuuuiiii Cnmrnodoia

Jo Johnson SBS 5au<h K—94550 Las Osob Son Luis Obispo Conitiujducu

Jnl! Tylm

Camp Q\.

I'O IIok 1799—86638

(-■|jiri[njti'i Club MiJ<t' LjE'aylm 3371 s MramnnD:—B5730

iSu^rCd-oMis

Davit Str«K—72032 HUMWlUlllO F ljkw-'LIvlSh' Commodore

H Cmti&fj

Nevada Cily

PO Box B5W—(fiOia

Cfi4 Uaeia Utoup

Gerry Fnodotici 11614 PwII>Dy HmiI-9bUby

Noithern C7 Comrnodoru Club Mike Leveajue 3 Maibie St —06C82

Urvin Gr^kip Hob BlUMl 101 S AilingionD]—72801

Greg Burns 215N Fimon SI—93023 Oxnjutl

165 8 S Bifletow Rd —062-17

Nathan Okum 9 10JD

Pasadena

PCACC Brian KJctz tU5CU[Gnul Av« —91107

116

si:rn:M

LTws Gcoup

htries'. Julian

CIVIC M M.i'.jiiii'IJJi AviP

Commsdcre Eas\ CumpuLHr

Mystic

C64 Users Gcdup QE Mow London A

Estos

57 Fiahiown Ln —O63bb Stamiord Cummodurt

CommodorR Advaniafje P O Box 1&45O—32&23

N'^wnil' Commadoto Usetir

OfWJp Hob Tnyloi 210 DlifaoDi— 19711

Ptwoeda

ComniodoT-t UflHl Group u[

PO BW3B33—32WQ

FLORIDA

Bantatlon

Avon PaiJt

SubUlbtn Ir4 LJFiRis Gcoup

CHIPS Users Group Gerald Klimczak

P O Ddx 3063—33825

33324 Sar.ibd

MATinM^tit Cunn^odore

Sflinb^! Cainmoiloro VIC

Usors Group

Phil UcLanguj

Boh Bronton

1119 Ptriwinhl-t Box 73—339&7

91GE 3SthAve Df — 33&QS

BlfthdM

Ft VV.iLton Ueacti CoOIDOdan

Biandon Users Group

Us->( CJEoup

Paul A DaugherTy

Jim Moore

109 Anglcwood Dr.—33S11

P 0 Box 3—32W9 Tamnrac

Cloarwaier Co^jfTioiloTe dub

Ernwnrd Cornmodor*-

GFiry D Gould

UfiHln Gciiup

IWZLctnuJi &[[(---l

33516

Lfiwll Horn I'O E)ox 25794—3332U 1"iinnul" Edurj<iLliJiL(l] Usr-is

PO Box &4S-32922-054H Kmcjri Murk VJC'64 Hy.-irlSind User GioupLi Iceland

G[ou|i

Joiin ^'"Jij]iji

P 0 Hex 32fi— 3277B ZepriyrbiJ

JUncJail Liphatn

East Pasco Cornmodote

PO Box 912—33M0

Users Group

PJ Bryden GairuviUd Commodate

UwnOioup M [}[uw Hutliy

GEORGIA

P 0 Bon 1471fl—32GO4 AftlUrV tll\M Amatudi

Jay S Huebnei Univcrally ol ftorih Plonda—

po Box ?,12—oeaio

Pensacota Df anna Owens

Nnwaik

Kenneth H Hotleti

Um*[ gf>

WGG Blh Suwji—03^02

120W

MicruieL BuUer PO Bo>l 392—19943

Club

64/20 Hub C-ommodoro'PtT Uecie Club

PO Box 3187—33401

Diamond StaLe UsecS Group

Fdirheld County Commode [u

HarTford Cumily Curnnnhlotn

ARKANSAS

Ovnpva Bowlm

Douq ScliipjU

UNF Commodore Computai

PALS

U,raB Go

TucBon

PO Bm414Z— B35O?

Panama City Bny Commodore Uovra G^uup

Club

22355 RanchoVemur.-gWM

Oilu riackcre

Ave —06&lfi DELAWARE

ColOtndoCnmmudait'CiiJtitmfH

Mij vin ViirnJt?! KodL

Glob*

2419 US 19 Noitfi—33fr63

333 E Ponies Ave —9£rtO7 7925

2150B N,i?.tiVLU<-— yiSU

POBoi 7326-32B&4 Palm Hmb<>;

W>'5i Haven

U ol N«w Haven. 300 Oran^v

AutuuEn

Commodore Club of Mobtle 386H H Ruo Maison— 3£#)8

Do>l 1213—0fr397

M McConeghy

Mobiln

Pinion

PO

U ol New Hflvpn Miciocomputer

PO Doi 11B3—310O6

Wiilmin II Blown

Odando Cnnurkl Fluiiclu ConunodoiB ThurmnJr] Low&on

Dun Keni-Ekins

Computer Club

Socmy

Cymmoilnr'* Us^r Group ol

Uaois Group

EijLtnjnyhum Cunnnudore

Enuiema

Stinrtnrd

322 Hi Lull VICRnJ Hcnt'ianti U^HJft—-Tampa Tom KftoiJEjh

CainpucDnst liquid L Via PO Hun 54M— 3170b Atlania

VIC'ttms

PO Pox'4fi7Db2-J3^6 Bnmjwieh

HSOfiMorninj Vj -33549 MjicUlU. AFH Souili Tdtnpni Commodore h<\ Unnia Group

RanaJdS Clement

736F Second Di —33621 Miami Mm mi Ztttrf Jim LufirriaiL l2911SW49ih Si—33175 Noiih Miami Botch

Carnmoiorn SducaltHi Us^t Grautf— Nanti

RichnTd L Younu

13b StieiwrywJ FofUl Cir — 31520 CotiotfflPaiii Commodoie Fcrrnflt Gregory Young

2HO4 Camp Ci«k Pliwy -303J7 Moirow

CCCWUG P.ivjiI I'.idctt

PO Box 842— 303GO

Otkvcod

Hcilwiit t'jgucioa

NK G*-o(rj[in Commodore

1633OWB 2nd Avb-—33162

Um^cs Group

Cede Til-County Commodore

Ujjci£. Gtoup

Usurs Group

!It-in Czeinel

Don Vandervenler

E^O Bo* 1337—06932

PO Buxll&l-3Zfi7l

Ranndy Siiui^r Bou[o#2. iiux22O- 305R6


USER GROUPS Riverddla

INDIANA

Clayton County C6-1 Uscis Gioup Joyce Jay

lni" ConunodoiB Club

bZ7 WanoJyn Way—30274 Slov-e MminUin

V]C inrJy Club - n ■■ li ,i, ji. . ,

IDAHO Coeur d'Atens

Coeui d ASene CftOpulBt Club

Box H&13. -1812 E Si -46201

Gaty Edwaidi LOG Luncefoid Ln —83814 Umngcvilta GuinguvLlr HS CumpulFl Club Dun Kisutnu"! 9103

Rutland

n.i Camnndotfl

misdii CiLy

The Polyhedn] pob Hcxigcn Ji,

RicNusd M &QG0E 9tli

D Suftrt—83U0

o( Kjm.ir; Cily SrfJvmSui Ccidj

PO Bew30492—64111 ui^v vic/fifl cin

yug (Bnimwich) Potoi O'fincn

Alan Eay*-i

20 CotumiiiJi Avh

Computer Society ol Pe Ail Pan

Urwa Ciuup

Commodots Useis Group

PO Hox 17 MAINE

Ronald Ltoskl 17B7 btu Vuljey Lane—30Ofl3

Bwaiti

Cohunbus

101 Qosbv Lob.

Bit LinilenwGod Lan^—R40fi3 John Chap^m 36 Bjchman El —O1B01

Ccmmodofp PAC PAUiOia Lucido

MICHIGAN

}laiac? Mrinn Leaimsiq Cp.ntp| -

Ann Ailmr

SoutlKD Mmna

H

U o| Mich 10 WolkPE Siiofi

raahoFnUa F^ylf Rock Commotion*

Jo^m- Laison PO Box 3334—83SO3 3BB4 ILLINOIS

Commt«l™«Own«Es 20 Pfltiich Lmo—47906

\lrun&ucr. Ueoia Group Chip Downey

1X3 Nvule #2-6100* Bloom m<non Bk»m;ng»n ■ Normal Commodoie ug Ca:L Buiress

PO BoxiOSB—61703 1068 Canaan Canton Area Commodorrr Usair Groufi

IOWA mtwa

(,V.mnwxluii'Cu]ii|iuE^r Utwm pi Iowa

Milnt Proas*-

PO Ron 611-0409?

Champaign Ujl^na CommodoE Users Group

i Ave—21001

Uses Gloup

MichnHM Broumlmo *f —21206

2C0G Crescent Dr —61B21

S.ilc Ciiy CcimiisadotQ Club WondnUD Ttjnkaoti

Fox VoUpy CommodtJio

PO Box 2M*—OTWt

LT(l#-[h GllAIJJ

MoeI) Groas

21203

Club

Chuc

M

PO Bax

1G^ Baise—69301

MfldLSoei Heights

1712 Al^rii^rjRd—2123-1 FoJlston

tfaitord C*jniy Ccmmodoni UnniB Oroup KlmUoyd

Gtring Plane VdJIey Commodcrc

J Mwfcow 31044 John P—18071

Users Gjoup

Jim Pdihs 1720 Or Si—69341

Jaclt Wnltoy

Compmr^r Pawer Urtfimit&i

-1106 Weal Man

Robert Efowajd 416N27—6BSO3

COMF

Omafia

Rrihn Pnngfe

Gieatcr Omaha C&i Useis Group

7b 14 Pulty Gull

Ken Jnele

2932 LMWood Dr —63123 NEVADA

EnthuMwu Stftvm Ltpagti

Us Yogas Lh?j Vyfl;js Amn Pf!T LTsera Group

KnnxCurnmuUajuCJiib Handy Vex 196 Oliva Si —61401

y—21701

16409 EmaraJd—60426

RR #2, Bm Z29-H-GQ90J

Oioup

JOMphP RuUt

Patncfe Kinioy

23 Covonuy T.n — 2

Llttll I'nlla

PD En* IRf?- 40QCH

SOG Comrr.odorf U-seis Group

'lamkin

Ufl«[n Giuup

240Je|Jni«[iSt—20GW

Pocomui Wtjttoui MoriL^nni'iry Cfi-1 GlaasjQiv Commodcur

Usejjs Orciip

Ruben Cokn]

SJOfiW Cch Avo —Cl-HiZ

Cumrnodoro L^EiriifciUon

Jell Martin 16O0W Deveroux-GlfiH Rockluid

Kathu Jfoynr

2507 PrihHm Rd —G11U7 m» Ara

Scale CumpULtf Uaeia' G:o

M-dlJlULM

Sixw-Pour 'Urn Usois' Group

EluiibeihS Hodman 4317 Sluckion 3t -7000] New Oilcans O'ontEol Bctji lu^tiluii'

K«ni H CuuElnnyll je» Dl —701Z7

aillHiiiD HuJlond P O R SpringlLeld PET Useis Group BilJEdidley

P O litjx RaO& MiiJLliiurn'uy County ComniodoiEi Soc

LOU [£1 AN A

U .T«i Comniodwc frl Club j1Ji"[

Fmitw Avo — 71108 Sulphui

SaDlhvml LA U9i>rs' Gioup M Aim—70603

Rochncter

CG4U.SKR,1!

PO Box4022-^3867 Winchester

Run Schilling 243 E

Monadncx^ Commodori? 64

2n<JS[ -562G3

Users Grouii Psu! Rule III

Ou[(Cfiri&i Cummodon* Club Tom |*oTindrj

Jnnmii K«mp

ioio :; sm—42420

&&3-Vj

RFD # 1 Poute 10—03470

PO nox 164—42141 HrindcrsoE]

2401 WvmwTOd Hi

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Mississippi:

Stauo Knql.irui Uarrre Gifiup

eg 103

Srun Wall DnvidJ TNmiblin

C-64 Usen Group, Inc PO Bm

Lqc Schidm

4011 W ChaEEPfiionBlvd —

Hudttlund Am,i Campu(a Co-op

MowJitiij Gtt^oji CnrniiK

Lincoln wiacd

3116 CDn

Las Vegag

Dtinms Qurlincjton MINNESOTA

HowLjjkp Gehhji

Hill Brouillttt

David W

bi30 F Chartofflonflhrd.—

DAE Couipulti Club P O Box b

Harvey Nick Foite

Eel2«

Sli|>pcdDtsh Inc

□qlmbucg

South SubmbM V20 UseiB Club

Oioup Luc

Richmond

PO Elox 2

833 Piuspoa—(jO12()

n

AlUanen Crnimodore Ceir.pa*.&i

64 Us«

Lincoln

Umton PO Bin 1603 Miku Long

EtovH Gasi

S00 KMiGinyroEi Ave —^9801

Mic

t Group

PtcX VoOm

Cart White

NEBRASKA

COMPUCAT5

U,iH:rnrj[>' AiH Corrnnodoie

94 b Lawnl—SO702

User Grcup

Oon Mid'Mithig-in Cnmrnodort1

Atwidorrn

Hobott ^ SjugLicji

Spoon Rsvcr Cotto^e Rfl #1 61E2G

Western Monians Commodosc

1013 ft JohriTior. Si

Vnuil (Jraham

MARYLAND

fl!tim«e

Doi»n Huk-i

MiSBendai

Jim Griflln

Yaui CcmmMav U&ois Group

PC- Be* 3140—50316

Computoi Cf ub

I'O Bos B93- 64093 MONTANA

Bay Ciiy Uwis GfOsip

Curtis L SEiidet HtuUbrd

Duck Sommsrtiair.p

U ol Mic

VUO [Sr Brown Avfl —17B03

■ 1

i Group <j(

SchooJ of Piiti

Computer Club

!

John J Gunnor

Mi'iyloH Pounds P.Q Uox 6444-20906 Suldend EriiAon Cojumudoio Umis Group WiUlnmH Mrni

M.uk W Haroy 4BB0W, BauhQlvd

39631

Tlmltuid HiyihtH Conn™*loir- U^tic Gump

Jolin flmiy Rflyiheon Co —CRA6—017730 PEBcbon Foxboio Aehh Cummodoip User Grouu Siniu'-t Kniuhl 1M tlfnon Si -O2O3S

BoEo Mead

Acr.NJ FETWIC/CBM Ueeu

HoLUoabuig Ccsmmodw* CnnpuUB Qub Ltn J

Oroup

Justph M. fVHM

MUhla

Depl □! Itall So —U of Mlks —

30 Pivnrview Tur —09^12 Crieuy Hill South JecH'/ Cornmodora

Ustrs Gioap

MISSOURI

Capo Girnrrteau

PO Box 4?C5-03031

HcoiiLand U^ci Fn

4314Oxlofu Dr — 20746 MASSACHUSETTS

NEW JERSEY

12t>S Lunmei #7-64701

I.

I

FTCU. John RiriHldi

OoJduri

MOA!*K CaRimcidO'0 Uswb

dmup

Marshall B TufEior

ISO Stttlrtia Aw -G7720 Morris I'Ihsjjc Morf]!i Aieii Commodoie

P C- Itox EO4—6EfibB

Users Oioup Fo^r1, J Seenng

Jopljn

Joplin Commodore Cumpuie

51 Femci:i(Fd—07950

R D Conn^ly

422 5 FlMlfia Avc—64001

UMMUDOR1 Mil tint (>MI>I FERS

117


USER GROUPS Moni^ Plains

New P[&!i

Manon

Claiks Sumnul

Rock Hill

N Amcncjn Cc-mmodorn

Computer Mntrcpotis

Mnnon Ohio Commodote

Scinnion Cnniinoaoie

Pock 13 ill Commodcrp

Teacher* Users Group

Hue Dvan

Uwim Group

Usi'iy Otoup

User Gtoup

Hobflii J Sooting

PO Bun 3&-171 Mflin St -

Hicfuifft Munru

Srnar zik Gobble

61 fcrrichHttct -07950

126fit

W.i r It A

77& WollmU"! Uti —43302

i'O Bax21t—18411

Mount Holly

Ntf w Yoik

Mama

Deivii

Spartanljurg

HCA Comtinxlorft Uaara Group

Now York Cccnmodoci

NK Ohio Cumrnoduitr

WLllLam Hqwq

Users Group

\)tnt-i Group

KovmJ Daly

432 Hemlock Ln —OaOGQ

Ben TunJwlanu SBORi^erside Di 70—10025

R0H BlAck

i'O Eo<a3&—1901B

Ocean View

PO Bk71B—M0G2

5CS ScaJcybark Cn —29730

Clllinn Hcujlits CHUG

SPARCUG James B Pnstey 33&S Spring S'. —29332

Oiwnsbuig

Cap"-Atoruic Commodore

Haw Yoik City V20/C64

Users Gicup

Users Giaup

Clercotn 64

Users Club

1440 Old Sloan Coach Rd —

103 Wav^rly Plrtce—10011

fi771 ObnrrvaEinn Ci —45150

3021 Ben Vonua Di —lb60l

06230

Nowafk

Ridyiwpad

Mlttcrd

Nhw PTiLlqdelph]4

WtreccnoteLfnid Cofnputef

MoeiisvlUd

CommodocD 64 Uaeio Group

Ixw! Ducks Uaflja Off.up

INFO 64

(J«>rs Ciroup

J«ff Kklun<1

Don Mayer

Pete WuMty

Todd Aodnwi

16 VJ Hidgewaod Ave-07432

220 W Union SI-1-1513

Union City

702pflikAvo NW—446C3

262 Mansfield Rd -19067 Mount HoUySpttngs

Commodore Computer

Eight Squaied

Club ol ToiedD

Andy Skelter

User Gioup

Users Group

Jim Cychlcn

PO Box 76—17065

308 Palisade A*e - 07097 Wall Township

206 Pniik KnU-SUNY—13126 RocTumE

Jomy Shore Conunodttfu

Cwninodom U*«ii Gioup ol

Users Group

Po'hox^U-I.^

|3ob McKintoy 1905 Monmoutri BJvd —0772B

Svuaioga Spnngn

ArljiuiKlack CM Uwiii Group

Wayne

XnniQ

20B Woodlawn Ave —12866

Hambuig Tpke —07470

SflBCUflfl

New Kensington

WectwDod Com module frl B-fijnn^r-, CM) I* 0 Uox 223?—13220

Thomas Manm

Conipuirr Club o[ Rockland J'oitf1! BoUjfi

APO Now Voik

Zweibruecktn Commodose Computei Club

rhLJ-utolphia lin'jnij tlmp PffMiiuil CompuuH Club

200th TAMMC. Boh 114—09052

Michael Lvskuw

Aibdiiy

AJbjici/ CoivhiUw C64

Anthony Sfl nche* 340 E Mosholu Pkwy — 104bB Brooklyn

Bioukiyn Cominodoie Useis

Mi'linvuk VjiII"V Corrimodnio

3R1B Simeon Ava . C 0 Huf 343—12177 NORTJE CAROLINA

MaicoJm Jay Gattopman

ChBlbHtt

F,w.\ Botflukat Lung l&Xid VIC" Solely 20 Spyglass Lane—11733 Oiedl Neck

Greal Necl< Gornmrviorfi Users Group SOGrflCe Av«

ChmlottK CM IJanin Group H S

Hjmkri

3717 Ftnwoifmld ltd —2B21G

Hnvotock Uifrc tiioup

Jim Wui thinyioii 302 IJpLlEnwn HiJ —2E)53^ Tryon

Adam Kcin 11021

Ginni Neck LEV E1,

Tryon Comituxldro G4 Club

Hull in Micliou^ PO BOX 1010—KfJVHK

a Fri*dQuui

NORTH DAKOTA

V I'lcadiily Koid— UQ23

Bitixtfuch

Ham rnund:i port Firmer LflHtJi A[pn Kompulft Teny Lynne Narby at. W LakB Rd — MS40 Commodate Freaks MOW W..M 3111 Railroad Bt—1M7I Mt

Vornon

FoLklita Terminal Club Ted Cot ales He* Z222-C—lCfibl

Mew Hampton C-64 Users Group ol Orange

Ui.cf Gioiip

Gary A Thompnsori

Ucors Group

Grnup

173b E 13th Si Apt #7N—

118

NK 1'cJTihiEid CoEniiioitoEh

TUbtiHia

Ddkou Jdcne^ G Allen 1G067 Ifepo Dt — BBS01 OHIO

[iiook Pufk

Poithind

PGE ConirnoJori' Users Grnup RinhiTH n^irnirk

PO Box 42032--M142 Cincmnnti

C«[i]tu(Klo[+p V.wtn at Dlun Chip

Prin-vilkf

Gn;itT&l Orutfon CG4 Usf?ii Chuui]

rl-' i

1

f|J LiEOUD

Ctmtinil PA User Group Toj Commodore Joseph W Cai!man

Don 102—17767 Wust ChMm

Main Un* Conunodon Usqie Gjou[j EmiJJ VolchuckJr Wf-st Mifflin

South PittEhmgti Comintidoie Gioup tlj(ivng ]H

24DV l't*nriQylvLinjd Ave —15122

Hninnviile ESuiiLll'jiJi" CdOmcnodOfA

AltDUIliJ Muniin & MmtLsicnurfl (~"ri3 ci n' i \i it' r y* IJ^h'Js Cir^LJEi

2H Chuny Fflfrn hd —02B&0 Narranariddtt

U A ii 1 C

Room M Payne

1433 13U1AV0—16RO3

Gayct'W CoiumbLd

lintwvti

OK ComM

PO BOX4&133-7C76&

Jim 0 Rear Dallas 64 Use:s Group, lnc

Sidti G^idm P 0 Pcx fifli82R 13G0.1 Midway Eld —7S36Q Hurst Mid Chlgs Commodorrj Club

Diane Dews

Sivinfj Commodoie Uieis Gioup Bill Mai&hall PO Bow 165034—750ie Longview Lon'jview Uters Group

Dorothy Mfitzloi I1 0 BOK 92*14—7b608 Lutitiook Users Group 3817 &lth Dnve—79^23 BiStont U&ejs Club H G Gore Victoria CroBaifttiL-j Commodoie LJsurs Group

19H Morrij; Aju —028tO SOUTH CAROLINA

Joi Mixjt"

□1 Austin

PO Box 3e6-7fi6fi7

Puwtuoknt

Dirniru N D.inlaA

Hackers Fine Club

Ctrnimodoro Computer Club

M-ntin^mjiri rniniTinHriiA

H1CE

AJUMU

Austin

LubbocK Commodore

YiLinhill Gnunty CurniTKKlom

PENNSYLVANIA

2414 Blue Ridge Dc —37373 TEXAS

1046 Genial Allen Ln — 193B2

RHODE ISLAND

Rouio 2. Ilojt 24b— 3737H

Aaron Kennedy

Corpus Cbnan Cammodoies

1933 HocW&dBe— ^212

^'19 N ITniwoodAvn—077M

Usojs Group

7405 Oxmooi ftd —37931 KoOdy Diiisy

Corpus C?lTL9tl

Miiiviil McClcmy

o( GoIumriLJ Bueipi White PO

Box277'i--2!)17l

UvrUif Buflch djiniEiudocu Update

Jpuy Guy 417 Irma Dr —77901 Waco Computaa

Burl A Hays Pouted Box 214—7E705 UTAH

Ogdsn Wasatcfi Cornmodore

IHr'Lit B'.rer.itri

Usfrs Group

607 Wuntwlrai Dr —10^12

230Tjirpon B-sy —FJbTJ

Mikt Murphy

WoiLdwLde CommoiiQi«

ChfltleHton Compute/ Society

Kdwnia DavldDon

P O Box ^023—d4402

Ted Starts Maple Heights

■ jf■ jri i

CtimlnsW

CPU Cantmction

Bufk" Prank

*&2 AiboE Loiw—15236

VUQOP

213BCfncjiij<jE.l SE -97323

Commodon? Microchips

Bill CftmplHl

1401 N Puckwefl- -73127

Al Ru^rnua

1111 Stflwut Avh - 11714

Bettis Cammodoie Users G-icup

Commodore Club

iJr/ris Group

06332-0347

Pmtburgli

I i"^

Ufrs Group

CGflfVIC 20' * 4 Club

fiiitna McNichol

JooJA Caul

OREGON 64 Southtowns Uscts Gioup

Her.:y White

Oktnhumli City Gieam Uklohoma

Tnllmnn NEW YORK

Siovn Ford 202 S 12th Suwi-74401

TT[ijifp f^wfi'iyr'i

Mctjci Ke r' f'l^1: \.' i rr.iv. 7 ^. ^ ;*?

1762 FanmoLint S\ —16068

Muclioy wr Compu^r Soc.

^jJ

trt 4.jO'S LiJClip

P O 00* 4[ft—37301

A K 64 U<ai£ Gia^p

Usotfj Gioup

Corninodour UstiS Gioup

Many Gair^i

L" 1'

PO Bon 16858 P32-31—19142 G CLpoUetti

Cornmodore Computer Club

C 1

Alton Glubuth

OKLAHOMA

PO Box 3809^—36UrCOSS fca,iU aptinga

Kick .vcLi:

DnyToti Ahf* Comniortoiri

679 Muimy MlU Di —4it3«b

Steven A Guinea

PO Box 96—37330

Oawego Commodoie

PO Bo* 8909—13fi23

Useis Club

KncKvdie

Hudson County Commodofp

Dave Woslpha3en

Bartlelt MprnpJiis Commodare

Fm'j"[ Lake* ComEmxlm<>

Totodo

TENNESSEE

Users Gump

Jack A FurrJr PO Box52&l-M406

VERMONT S Builjnfjton Champlain Valley CommodOiK

Ccunty

Ciaim (Jnerft Group

Ukis Group

B«23BRD #1-10*8

lBa73H^ilnnDr—44137

6 Mayrair St —0WO1

aHPTEMlJER/OCTOBER


USER GROUPS VIRGINIA

UnmrHiy 64 Users Group

Alsmadrlfl

AUen M Grown

CANADA QfilleviUe

Ati-nniHlrtn Uscis Group JolttnyK Fforsdnclraan 1206 Wcslmovn BtvrJ -32307

P.iitiuiiKjy KM-30

Frnncoma CommDiinw

WoiM Wldo Ulors Gioup

KOK 3RD

R Srniih

07229-3791

Uvts Group

Dado n Computer Club

Umv of W«sjnnglo

Ben Blast; PO Bo. 1219—CFPOMS6—

Syntax errors got

PO Bo. 98682-99498

Mark Snwa-ih 5S24 Dover Dt —223 ID

CWDHS Users Croup

WISCONSIN

Ailinglon Victims (20*1) CMton Gladky ■ILOl Arlington n;-. I —22204

taynalu 1 Z3& Joflet son CMvmHwy Sw 1200-22202 Date City

Date City Commtxiaip Users Group

CLUB B4

Jack Whim PO Box 72—53108

Jack B Doyle

PO Bo> 2004-22193-0068 Fairfax

Hanul'jjn

Ron Thortia.r.

-191 KenJworlh l\ve N —

E.HI Cloire Area CBM M

9312 Colony Hcl —22030

ftonkbn

#11—53713

Bruce 1'oweSL 1201 N HigHSt—238S1 Hardy

Hoanokn Coinputn Soaoiy Lany Washbum

Rt 1. Don 40-24101 Hull

Centra) Virginia Uaoia Gtoup

Robert Adler

Ilnln Mooro

Route 3 BoK 461—14683

H3X 3X9

RACE Corratioilt™ Users Group ■1726 hlomomiin Dr —2-1019

276 Lincoln Rd —L6E 1Z4

Toconlo PET UECE3 Group Chill Belilixii 1912A Avenue Rd SulTB 1—

Usofg Group

\<iet the inside

M5M 1A1

'

Victor iflyille

Michael Lagamcrs

Curnp Enlhusmala

—GSP 8Y1

bOb Willinmt SI #260—82007

story on

Cjtnnnodon computers

with a

MEXICO

Mexico City □ r

HVMHC Umn G.uuji

Arlington CominixiDro

industry news

Tnionto

Tun Siiuna

Arlington

the-scenes

R.W Hrfrflbeu

Cfioyennu Assn oi

LuKta

WASHINGTON

ti/>s and behind

U^eis Gioup

CP B84

William Holden

Larry Ef.ickow

programming

Easldalp Cnmrnodcie

ChayeTma

Puariuke

and save

L2R2V9 Sicney Cieeri

3814 Soveiiflii Dl —53106

7126 Eldorado Si —22102

programs to typt

Itin Kerry

O.U.S.S.H

WYOMING

software review:

44 Queetlsion Si Unil 12—

Tun Tiammul John Muollor

plenty, of

Si CiTthnrmes Niagaifi Ciimmodme Useis Group

MACE

Hariri"

pain jvitb

Snowdon P Q B<ra 792—

Milwaukee John Poslnipiri 6332 W Mnnilobn St —6321S

will east- tin

C64 Users Grnup oi Monueal

M<fnomoriiH Area Comm&lGffl

510 12lh Si —64726

magazines

Mcnuea;

Utt-rs Gp

Mik« William?

ofpeia

MS Archibald S; —VIA IMS

PO Dm 1152—M305

Commodore Ushis at Frnjikljn

Commodore's

KwJinay Compuier Cljb

Tom Lang

Grwn Bay

Napolrnn Smith

1 subscription t<

IMH 4T6

John P Slukv Jr Rt* 5B0K179A—54703

HMbmi Afea CornnioUore utnifl Group

burrier blues':

Wayno Chapman

BrUdUOD

PENTAF

langnagt

TRACK &i

U&wa Clroiip

Ricrwifd F LuKlDn

a cure for the

155 Belsyde S*. EaB—JJ1M1Y7

Fjiu CUure

Ccmrn Bay &-1

you doum?Neec

Jerry Rogerseis

Arlington

Rle 63. Bon 357 ltBi«W»WLn-B2S20

sub

Clulj Hena*Toc C64 Alum Boimal

senp tion

Suacei 25—06140

to both

. Commodore

Jane M King i32<K 67th Ave NE—98213

Dumbs CBM Usois Gioup

Rick Heater 603 KucLul-MMl

Ft lows 6-1 PCS

Jim LndlMd OuarlHBiB31-A—98433 Marysvtlte Bunch A" Bytes

Joey Miller 49 IE 121m Plan NE-98272 Oak ilalbor

'.VJiirltH'y IMurKi Cornmodorn Cumpuiri Club

bob Hindi PO Box 1471

»203—9B277

Puyttflup PNB UsdsGrnup

Micro

User Group Support Program

1920 Pino SI -M362

SutUa COMPUTEH Art WiTbeck 5303 SlnMinlB Ave NW—98107

Commndoru Users Grcnip Richard Ball

2565 Doxlm N #203-98109

enclosed

and j news^tti^r arc now avaibh^c. Approved user group status is gNn to any user group meet togom hisic criteria. These user groups rccuire meeting posters and membership cards and arc automatically sent Inpnt/Output each month. I" addition thuy can request it speaker from Commodore to come and discuss land demimstrale) new priHlmls ;il tine of their meetings.

subscription card today.

The newsletter. I Nl't IT/OUT ['LIT, will mcltiaV .inniiunccmenLi. user group programs, calendar of events,

letters, questions, product specifications, programs, and

Jur'K Gciivtn

Send in the

The two major compuiiL-nts—^pproi-ed usrr group status

■untyl It will be a newsletter TOR user groups BY user

CompuKfi Club

Poiier/J'luy,

LVrCrtHips.

91D515BUlSt E—98373 T(i City Curnmorlon-

Commodore

Commodore u treating a pfojlram In support Commodore

Rod Small Richland

computers and

groups supported by Commodore without advertisements. For future issues o( the newsletter Commodore is atCfptinj! announce minis of user (Jroup activities, articles of interest, leitvrs to the ediior, and general questions. Please forward all correspondence with the name of your user group t(i:

CommiidurL1 Business Machines 12(1(1 Wilson Drive

West Chester, PA 1938Q

Attention either New User Croup or InpuUOutput

111 .

And save 20% off

the regular newsstand price! -v

COMMDIXHilI;

MICROCOMPUTERS

HP


ELECTRONIC CONTROVERSY who may have to purchase or rent the equipment from the employer, etc. Thai's a very different situation, ih'nfortl: So the official AFL-CIO stand is a blanket condemnation of all computer home-work with no exceptions?

Cbamnl: That's the way

it

reads

now. Let me say thai die Al-'l.-ClO's

calling for a haii is an expression of concern and an expression of opin

ion, as well as an Indication of the directions in which the AFL-CIO will

< onttnued from page

they're scattered in homes throughout

The consensus was

the country.

Consider that many potential work ers have

that someform of

in

regulation may be

circumstances

a

from working

traditional job setting.

Cottag-

ing allows these people a means of

desirable, but that a

bringing

the

work—and

income—

total ban cannot be

ban would deprive iliem of. 2. Does such a ban undermine the

into their homes—an opportunity this

tolerated.

free enterprise system? Whatever hap pened to the tenet of working hard to get ahead? If a cottager chooses to pm

move, li does not, in fact, institute a ban; only the federal government has

extenuating

which prevent them

Other

cottagers

responded

simi

in some extra hours to make some

the power to do that. We have called

larly. The concensus was that some

additional money or further his or her

for a ban because of our belief that

form of regulation may he desirable in

career, is there harm in that? It's com

historical precedent requires thai kind

some select

mon practice to work overtime, even

of an action. The fact is that the han

abuse,

is not—today—in

however,

effect.

Thai's

an

areas to

Agreement

prevent

was

labor

unanimous,

thai a lota! ban on home

Thomas Martin of Houston, Texas, is an AEC member who uses a Com

midnight

$. Piece-work

Possible Implications

The Cottager's Side

tile

oil"

in

every

cottaging have its own set of rules?

computer work cannot be tolerated.

important distinction.

"burn

Other work environment, so should

systems

may

desirable in some situations.

of a Ban

be

In the

example I cited earlier Involving the

Such a blanket ban might be benefi

mother of young children, an hourly

modore 64 lo manage his electronics repair business. Thanks to the AEC

cial to some, but does not seem to

consider ihe needs of iho.se people

rate would be out of the question, since her work sessions would be sub

and the MiCTOMoonltgbter newsletter

who,

ject

(which contains AEC news). Thomas

"traditional"

was aware of the AFL-CIO's position

handicap,

on COttaglng and the proposed ban.

personal situation. The Institution of

for instance, can't work in a

setting

infirmity

or

to interruptions.

With a

piece

of a

work system, the more she works, the

extenuating

more she gets paid. She determines

because

how much or how little she produces.

off work

■i. Cottaging is a matter of choice. No Individual is forced into cottaging;

work—whether It's an Individual who

opportunities for these peopleopportunities thai have only recently

wants to work for himself at home

begun to emerge.

He summed up his views this way: "I

think

or if an

where

people

individual

want

wants

10

10

work

such

a ban

would close

As another example, take the young

it's a

lil'e/worksiyle

thai

is

chosen.

This ban, if enacted, will remove cot taging as a choice.

5- The

ban

won't

thwart

child

for somebody else ai home as an em

mother who is paid piece-work for

ployee—it's

entering data or processing claims via

labor, If some unscrupulous employer

computer

Where

you

their work

own and

business. whom

you

work lor is your own business—and ii

should slay thai way."

an

or parent is going to employ children,

arrangement allows her to have flexi ble hours and eliminates the worry of

they don't need a computer to do it.

in

her

home.

Such

Itui it would seem that a computer ter

1'cggy I lerrington's byline is a familiar sight to readers of Commo

finding a babysitter or day-care center.

minal

A ban on computer home-work puts

dore-specific

is

far less

dangerous than

a

her out of business, as well. In addi

meat-sliccr, hot stove or hand saw. 6. The sanctity and privacy of the

also an electronic cottager who works

tion, writers, consultants and other

home may be at stake. If the proposed

from her home in Albuquerque, New

professionals

AFL-CIO ban is enacted, you will lose

Mexico. 1'cggy uses her 64 for writing

home would have to rent or otherwise

the right to decide what you do in

her magazine articles as well as for

secure commercial office space to ply

your home with your computer.

writing songs.

their skills.

Said course

magazines,

and

she's

she of the

ban:

1

macroeconomics

took

on

"A college

enlightened me to a point of view that

who

have

offices

at

Food for Thought The

AFL-CIO's proposed ban

In closing. I'd like to remind you

that while only a small percentage of the overall population is immediately on

jeopardized by this proposed ban, it

I had never thought of before: unions

computer work at home raises a num

has the potential to affect the lives and

and affiliations are really formed to

ber of questions in my mind:

livelihoods

of many

people

in

the

future, as computers become increas

keep people out of an industry. They

I. Whose purposes would this ban

do protect those who already belong, but they exclude the others. Based on

really serve? II' home computer work

thai and a gut feeling, 1 have to say

to be conducted in a traditional work

tion of Electronic Cottagers can be

"baloney' to the ban. It's counter-pro

place, where the AFL-CIO already has,

obtained

ductive, in that it doesn't work for the

or could in the future, organize the

6

people in general."

workers. You can't organize people if

120

SL-l'TEMUIiK/OCTOllKR

ingly absorbed into our lifestyle. More information on the Associa

is banned, all such labor would have

'

from:

Canyon

AEC

Crest

Headquarters.

Drive,

Sierra

Madre. CA 91201: (S 18| 3S5-O8OO. Q


HOW TO ENTER PROGRAMS The programs which appear In this

magazine have been run, tested and checked for bugs and errors. After a program is tested, ii is printed on a

letter quality primer with some

formatting changes. This listing is

then photographed directly and printed in the magazine. I'sing this method ensures the most error-free

program listings possible.

Whenever you .see a word inside brackets, such as [DOWN], the word represents a keystroke or series of keystrokes on the keyboard. The

word (DOWN] would be entered Im pressing the cursor-down key.

II

multiple keystrokes are required, the number will directly follow the

word. For example, [D0WN4] would mean to press the cursor-down key

four times. If there are multiple words within one set of brackets, en ter the keystrokes directly after one

another. For example! [DOWN. RICHT2] would mean to press the cursor-down key once and then the cursor-right key twice.

In addition to these graphic sym bols, the keyboard graphics are all represented by a word and a letter.

The word is either SHFT or CMD and represents the SHIFT key or the

TURN. This will list line ^"0 to the screen. Look tor any non-obvious

mistakes like a zero in place of an O or vice-versa. Check for semicolons

and colons reversed and extra or missing parenthesis. All of these things will cause a syntax error.

There is only one time a syntax

error will teli you the 'wrong' line to

look at. If the line the syntax error refers to has a function call (i.e., FN A(.-})), the syntax error may be in the

line thai defines the function, rather

than the line named in the error message. Look for a line near the

beginning of the program (usually)

that has DEF FN A(X) in it with an equation following it. Look for a typo

in the equation pan of this definition. This is another common error message. This can also be caused by a typing error, but it is a little harder

to find. Once again, list ihe line num ber that the error message refers to, There is probably a poke statement on this line. If there is. then the error

is referring to what is trying to be

down the Commodore key and press the B three times.

The chart on this page tells you the keys to press for any word or words inside brackets. Refer to this chart

whenever you aren'l sure what keys to press. The little graphic next to

each keystroke shows you what yon will see on the screen. SYNTAX ERROR

This is by far the most common error encountered while entering a

program. Usually (sorry folks) this means that you have typed some thing incorrectly on the line the syn tax error refers to. ]f you get the

message "FSyntax Error Break In Line 270", type LIST 270 and press RE

for typing mistakes.

OUT OF DATA ERROR

This error message is always re

lated to the data statements in a pro gram. If this error occurs, it means that the program has run out of data items before it was supposed to. It is

usually caused by a problem or typo in the data statements. Check first to

see if you have left out a whole line ol data. Next, check for missing com

from a page of a magazine can be a

strain on the brain, so use a ruler or a piece of paper or anything else to

help you keep track of where you are as you enter the data. OTHER PROBLEMS

It is important to remember that

the 6-4 and the PET/CUM computers

lt)2-i.26() would produce an illegal

times you will find a line in a pro gram that runs over this number of

Most often, the value being poked

mean to hold the SHUT key and press the A four times, then hold

each line that contains the variable

will only accept a line up to SO char

combination (SUIT E| would he en tered by holding down the SHIFT

example, [SHFT A-i,CMD B3J would

II tile variable is not coming from

data statements, then the problem will be a little harder to rind. Check

poked. A number must be in the range of zero to 255 to be poke-able. For example, the statement POKE quantity error because 260 is greater

many times to type the letter. For

missing commas or other typos.

mas between numbers. Heading data

ILLEGAL QUANTITY ERROR

Commodore key. The letter is one oi" the letters on the keyboard. The

key and pressing the K. A number following the letter tells you how

from data statements, then the prob lem is somewhere in the data state ments. Check the data statements for

than 255. is a variable (A,X...). This error is tell

ing you that this variable is out of range. If the variable is being read

acters long. The VIC 20 will accept a

line up to HH characters long. Some

characters. This is not a mistake in

the listing. Sometimes programmers get so carried away crunching pro

grams thai they use abbreviated com mands io get more than 80 (or SH)

CHART OF SPECIAL CHARACTER COMMANDS BfHOMEI'-UNSKIFTED CUV HOME n^CLEABI1 = SHIFTED CLR/HO ME

"[PURPLEI" - CONTROL 5

£1 ;GREENr=CONTSQL6

ifi ■ ID0WN|" = CURSOR DOWN

"tBLUEl"-CONTROL 7

H "(YELLOW!11 - CONTROL a

Q "|UP1" "CURSOR UP

fj 'UiGHTI11 -CURSOR RIGHT II :leftt-cursorleft |jj IRVSf-CONTROLS |8 1|RVQFFri = CONTROL 0 Q ' [BLACKI" = CONTROL 1 [1 [WHtTEI'a CONTROL 2

9

RED|" - CONTROL 3

fj "[CYAN]" "CONTROLS

I]

[ORANGE!

P

U "[P4|"-F4

-COMMODORE 1

BROWNI" -COMMODORE 2

' IL RED] ■ -COMMODORE 3

Qj "|F6!"-F6 H 'IF7]"-F7

3TFBI--F8 H ■i:gray2!11 =commodore 6 |j

L GREENl'-COMMODOFEe

Q jL BLUEI'-COMMODORK?

H ■■GRAY.ll" -COMMODORE B

£r|FOUND|"-ENGLISH POUND

jjjl ISHFT'l = PISYMBOL -UP ARROW

GRAPHIC SYMBOLS WILL BE REPRESENTED AS EITHER THE LETTERS SHFT (SHIFT) AND A KEY {"[SHFT Q.SHFT J.SHFT D.SHFT S]") OR THE

LETTERS CMDR (COMMODORE) AND A KEY ("|CMDR O CMDR CCOMDR Y.CMDR HI"). IF A SYMBOL IS REPEATED. THE NUMBER OF

REPITITIONS WILL BE DIRECTLY AFTER THE KEY AND BEFORE THE COMMA (1I[SPACE3,SHFTS4.CMDRM2|1')

COMMODORE MICROCOMPUTKKS

121


characters on one line. You can enter

he.se lines by abbreviating the com-

How to Use the Magazine Entry Program

nands when you enter the line. The

Abbreviations for BASIC commands

are on pases 133-134 of the VIC 20 user guide and 130-131 of the Comnodore (A user's guide. If you lype a line that is longer than HO (or 88) characters, the com-

uiter will act as if everything is ok, until you press RETURN. Then, a syn

tax error will be displayed â– nil- PROGRAM WON'T RUN!! This is the hardest of problems to resolve-, no error message is dis mayed, hut the program just doesn't

run. This can he caused by many small mistakes typing a program in.

First check that the program was written

for the

computer

you are

using. Check lo see if you have left out any lines of the program. Check each line of the program for typos or missing parts. Finally, press the RUN/STOP key while the program is

'running', Write down the line the program broke at and try to follow the program backwards from this point, looking for problems. IF ALL ELSE FAILS You've come to the end of your rope. You can't get the program to run and you can't find any errors in

The Magazine F.ntry Program on

IMPORTANT

gram that will assist you in entering the programs in this magazine cor

sees a mistake on a line, it does not enter that line into memory, This

page 123 is a machine language pro

rectly. It is for use with the Commo

dore b4 only and was written by Mark Robin using the IEA Editor/As sembler. Once the program is in place, it works Its magic without you having to do anything else. The pro

The word POKING will appear on the top of the screen with a number.

you forgot (or added) a parenthesis somewhere in the line. Check the line in the magazine again and cor

linlsh running ami end. Then type

NEW. If there is a problem with the data .statements, the program will tell you where to look to find the prob

memory re;idy to go. To activate the program, type SYS49152 and press

TURN. You are now ready to enter Typing the Programs

All me program listings in this

magazine that are for the 6-1 have an apostrophe followed by four letters

have a local user group, or you sim

at the end of the line (i.e., 'ACDF).

ply can't get any help, write to u.s. II

Tlie apostrophe and letters slxjiilrf be

you do write lo us, include tile fol

entered along with the rest of the line, This is a checksum that the Mag Enter the line and the letters at the end and then press RETl UN, just as

The computer you are using

you normally would.

Commodore Micrucom/'i tiers

1200 Wilson Drive West Chester, PA 193HO

ATTN: Program Problem 122

azine Entry Program uses.

The issue of the magazine it was in

possible)

SUPTEMDER7O( TOBER

where in the line. Check the line in

know that the program is running. If

everything is ok, the program will

the programs from the magazine.

Send your questions to:

QUOTE: This means that you for

the magazine and correct the quote. PARENTHESIS: This means that

491S2 up to 5O052,and just lets you

sion so that you can learn from your errors and increase you understand

numbers

checksum.

The number will increment from

sure to compare it to your own ver

Anything displayed on the screen A printout of your listing til

NO CHECKSUM: This means that

got (or added) a quote mark some

program is typed in, save it again on tape or disk. Now RUN the program.

displayed, type TEST and press RE

Any error messages and the line

Entry Program uses.

Here they are, along with what they

along (just in case). Once the whole

Type in the Magazine F.niry Pro

gram carefully and -save it as you go

same program.

The name of the program

There are six error messages that

you forgot to enter the apostrophe and the four letters at the end of the line. Move the cursor to the end of the line you just typed and enter the

Getting Started

RETURN. When the READY prompt is

lowing information about the pro gram you are having problems with:

Error Messages and What They Mean

mean and how to tix them.

one is bound to have typed in the

If you live in the country, don't

incorrectly.

there is a typing mistake on it, and better yet, it identities the kind of error for you.

Program

makes it impossible to enter a line

the Magazine

lem. Once the program has run, it is in

ing ot programming.

Magazine Entry

gram will not !et you enter a line if

your typing. What do you do? As al ways, we .suggest thai you try a local user group for help. In a group of even just a do/en members, some

If you do get a working copy, be

If the

If the line is entered correctly, a bell is sounded and the line is en tered into the computer's memory (without the characters at the end). If a mistake was made while enter

ing the line, a noise is sounded and an error message is displayed. Read the terror message, then press any

key to erase the message and correct the line.

rect the parenthesis. KEYWORD: This means that you

have either forgotten a command or spelled one of the BASIC keywords (GOTO, PRINT.) incorrectly. Check

the line in the magazine again and check your spelling. # OF CHARACTERS: This means

that you have either entered extra characters or missed some charac ters. Check the line in the magazine

again. This error message will also occur if you misspell a BASIC com

mand, but create another keyword in doing so. For example, if you mis spell PRINT as PRONT, the 64 sees the

letter P and R, the BASIC keyword ON and then the letter T. Because it

sees the keyword ON, it thinks you've got too many characters, in

stead of a simple misspelling. Check spelling of BASIC commands if you can't find anything else wrong. UNIDENTIFIED: This

means

that you have either made a simple spelling error, you typed the wrong line number, or you typed the checksum Incorrectly. Spelling er rors could he the wrong number of spaces inside quotes, a variable spelled wrong, or a word mispelled Check the line in the magazine again

and correct the mistake.

C


Magazine Entry Program 1 PRINT " [CLEAR]POKING-" 5 P=49152 :REM $COC0 IB READ AS:IF A$=" END "THEN

The Magaiine Entry Piogram is available on disk, along with the other progiams in thtl magazine. forS9.95.To order.contact Loadstar at 1-800-831 2694.

1050 1051 10 52 10 53 1054

t

20

80

30 40 50 60

L=AS.C(MIDS(A$,2 fl) ) H=ASC(MID$(A$,1 ,1) )

70

L=L-48 : IF L>9 THEN L=L-7 H=H-43 :IF H>9 THEN H=H-7 PRINT" [HOME, RIGHT1 2]" P; B=H*16+L: POKE P ,B: T=T+B: P=P+1

80

IF

! GOTO

DATA

- ->

CHECK

PRINT" DONE": END

90

1000 1001

DATA

1002

DATA

4C ,23 ,Cfl ,00 ,00 ,00 ,00 ,00 00 ,00 ,00 ,00 ,00 ,00 ,00 ,0D C0 ,58 ,C1 ,5E ,C1 ,66 ,C1 ,76

1003 1004

DATA

Cl ,83 ,C1 ,8F ,CL ,EA ,EA ,EA

DATA

1005

DATA

1006

DATA

4C ,83 ,C0 ,A2 ,05 ,BD ,1D ,C0 95 ,73 ,CA ,10 ,F8 ,6a ,A0 ,02

1007

DATA

1008

DATA

1009

DATA

1010

DATA

1011

DATA

1012 1013

DATA

1014

DATA

1015 1016 1017 1028

34 ,cx , DO ,E0 ,88 ,10 ,F5 ,A0 05 ,B9 ,A2 ,E3 -99 ,73 ,B0 ,88 IS ,F7 ,A9 ,00 ,8D -18 ,D4 ,4C

DATA

IF ,C1 , E6 ,7A ,D0 ,02 ,E6 ,7B

DATA

1019

DATA

1020

DATA

1021

DATA

1022

DATA

4C ,79 ,00 ,A5 ,9D ,F0 ,F3 7A ,C9 ,FF ,D0 ,ED ,A5 ,7B 01 ,D0 ,E7 ,20 ,5A ,C0 ,AD 02 r20 rA3 ,C0 -90 DC ,A0 AC , EA -Cl ,C9 r30 ,30 ,06 3A ,10 ,02 ,38 ,60 18 ,60

Bl ,7A ,C9 ,20 ,D0

1023

D0

DATA

1024

F7 ,B1 ,7A ,60 ,18

DATA

03 rC8 C8 ,B1

F0 ,35

1025 DATA

C9 ,22 ,F0

C0 ,8D

05

C0 ,AD

1026 1027 1028

DATA

00

8D

06

CD

4C

DATA

6D

07

C0

8D

07

DATA

EE

08

C0

EE

0B

1029 DATA

6D

0A

8D

OA

F5 ,6D 05 06 ,C0 69 BD CD 18 CO 90 03 C0 6 0 18 CO 90 03

EE

0C

CO

60

CD

85

FB

00, A9 FO, 06

B9 12 12, 20

DATA

DATA

DATA

DATA

DATA

END

1060 1061

106 2 136 3 1064

DATA

1065

DATA

lfl6G

DATA

20 ,9B ,C1 ,20 ,CA ,C1 ,20 ,31 C2 ,E6 ,7A , EG ,7B ,20 ,7C ,A5 AO ,00 ,20 ,AF ,C0 ,Ffi ,CD ,24 02 ,F0 ,0fi ,20 ,D7 ,C0 ,4C , 12 C2 ,C9 ,22 , DO ,06 ,20 ,BC ,C0

DATA

1069 1070

DATA

1071

DATA

1072

DATA

1B73 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078

DATA

,A5 »C9

1R79 1080

DATA

,00

08 ,C0

1081

DATA

,00

1082

DATA

C9

1083 1084 1085

DATA

DATA

CO ,8D 09 CO 90 06 AD BE,

DATA

AD

f)D

F5 ,A9 ,00 ,8D ,10 ,C0 ,4C ,1F Cl ,60 ,A0 ,03 ,B9 ,00 ,02 ,D9

C8 7A

DATA

EE

09

DATA

A8

B9

DATA

C0

85

11

FC

A0

DATA

D2

FF

Bl

FB

DATA

FF

C8

DO, F6

103S

DATA

7E

1036

DATA

1037

1038 1039 1040

DATA

1041

DATA

1042

DATA

1043

DATA

1044

DATA

1045

DATA

4F, 46, 20, 43, 48,

1046

DATA

1047

DATA

1048 1049

DATA

43, 54, 45, 52, 53, 00, 55, 4E 49, 44, 45, 4E, 54, 49, 45, 49 45, 44, DO, IE, 4F, 20, 43, 48 45, 43, 4B, 53, 55, 4D, 00, 50

OA

20, D2

C3, 20 FB, A0

DATA

C3, 20, E4 IB, B9, 3F, Cl 20, D2 10, F7, 68, 68, A9, 0 0

DATA

02, 4C, 74, A4, 4B, 49

4C, <1C

FF, 88

8D, 00

54, 45, 53, 54, 41, 44 44, 91 91, OD, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 2a, 20 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 91, OD

51, 55, 4F, 54, 45, HO, 4B, 45 59, 57, 4F, 52, 4 4, 00, 23, 20

41, 52, 41

,A9 ,00 ,91 ,7A ,7A ,9D ,3C ,03 ,D0 ,F5 ,60 ,4C

,B9 ,00 ,02 ,99 ,C8 ,D0 ,F5 ,A0 DATA ,F0 ,E8 ,99 ,0!i DATA ,20 ,D7 ,C1 ,4C DATA ,A9 ,00 .99 ,03 DATA CD ,8D ,3C ,03 ,38 ,10 ,F7 ,A9 DATA BO ,85 ,02 ,20 ,1B ,C3 , Aft ,00 DATA

DATA

1030 1031 1O32 1033 1034

DATA

DATA

105 7

C9 ,27 ,DC ,13 CO ,A2 ,00 ,B1 C8 ,E8 ,E0 ,04 F2 ,C2 ,A3 ,00 40 ,03 ,F0 ,F2 00 ,B9 ,40 ,03 02 ,C8 ,D0 ,F5 56 ,C2 ,A0 ,0B

1068

C0 CO

DATA

1R5S

41 ,52 ,45 ,4E ,54 ,43 ,45 ,53 49 ,53 ,00 ,C8 ,B1 ,7A ,D0 ,FB 34 ,FD ,C0 ,09 ,10 ,03 ,4C ,C7 Cl ,88 ,88 ,88 ,38 ,88 ,B1 ,7A

1067

B9 ,00 ,02 ,D9 , 3C ,C1 ,D0 , OB 88 ,10 ,F5 ,A9 ,01 ,8D ,10 ,C0 4C ,1P ,C1 ,60 ,A0 ,03 ,B9 ,00 02 ,D9 ,38 ,C1 ,D0 ,E0 ,88 ,10

20, 54 FF, F0

IN

DATA DATA

1059

PRINT" MIS TAKE DATA STATEMENTS"

THEN

DATA DATA

1055

1058

10

TO 103233

DATA

DATA

DATA

4C ,12 ,C2 ,20 . E7 ,C0 , 4C ,12

DATA

C2 ,A0 ,00 ,B9 ,00 ,02 ,20 C0 ,C8 ,90 , OA ,18 , 6D ,09 3D ,09 ,CD ,QC ,33 ,C2 ,88 00 ,B9 ,00 ,02 ,9D ,00 ,02 04 ,E8 ,C8 ,D0 ,F4 ,60 ,18 OB ,C0 ,69 ,41 ,8D , 08 ,C0

DATA

AD ,0C

DATA

OC ,CD

DATA

69 ,41

DATA

6D ,37

DATA

AD

OE

CO

CO

33

3D

E9

OE

Cfi

19

4C

96

C2

CO

69

CO

E9

41 8D 19, 90

Of'

AB

0D

C0, 4C

41, 8D, OD

DATA

OB

CO, CD, 3C

DATA

AD

1090

DATA

DATA

1095

DATA

DATA

1396

DATA

1097

DATA

1098

DATA

1099

DATA

CO 8D GD CO

C2 AD C0, A0, 01 " *

03, DO, 20 3D, f)3( DO ** "

A9, 04, 4C, F7, CO, 27, 91, 7A, A2, 00, CO, 91, 7A, C8, E8, F5, A9, 011, 91, 7A, 4C, 7A, C0, AO, 00, F0, 11, o, 28, DO,F

1100

DATA DATA

1102

DATA

1103

DATA

11(14

1105

DATA DATA

110G

DATA

1107

DATA

1108

DATA

C3, 4C,

1109

DATA

1110

DATA

11,

1111

DATA

1112

DATA

6D

0E

OC, CO, CD . C8, AD, OD, C0, CD, 3E, 03, 0E, AD, OE, CO, CD, IF, " 03, "* • •* 1 06, 20, 64, C3, 4C, 7A, cn.i 10, CO, DO, Hi 98, 48, 68, F7, CO, AD, 10, CO, FO, 01,

1101

,AD ,38

OE

69

1093 1094

,F0

CR

DATA

DATA

,A2

3D

DATA

DATA

,C0

OD

1086

1091

,A3

C3 -E9 ,19 ,90 ,06 ,8D 4C ,60 ,C2 ,AD ,OC ,C0 8D ,0C ,C0 , AD ,05 , cc CO 48 ,AD ,06 ,CC ,6D 3D OE ,C0 68 6D , OA

1087 1088 1039

1092

-

AD

C8 .17 DO DO AD

4C

fifj

A4, FD,( A9

C8, BD, fJB EH, 04, DO

20, 64, C3 B9, lid. 0 2 03, EE, 03

CO, C9, 29, D0, 0 3, EE, 04. CO r C8, DO, EA, AD, B3, CO, CD, 0 4 C0, DP, 01, 60, A9, 05, 4C, F7

CO, A9, 20, 3D, 00, D4, BD, 01 D4, A9, 09, 3D, 05, D4, A9, flF 3D, 18, D4, GO, 20, 41, C3, A 9

81, 20, 77, C3, A9, 811, 20, 77

VI,

C3, 20, 41, C3, A 9

20, 77, C3, A9, lfl, 2f), 77

C3, A9,

0(1, 3D, 04, D4, 60, 3D 04, D4, A2, 70, AO, (12., 80, DO FD, CA, DO, FA, 60, END

COMMODORE M1CROCOMPIITBRS

123


DREAM HOUSE Cttittiiiut'tt frrtJii ptlge 22

word

water for the fountain, extra windows

with COLOR. And. if you just don't

COLOR and hit the fire button. Magi-

in all different shapes, and various

like an object no matter where you

Cfllly,

pieces of picket

put it or what color it is. delete it with

so

place

the

cursor

on

the

the cursor transforms

into a

paintbrush and the rest of the menu

fencing, posis and

the HRASE icon.

finials.

area becomes a palette of 16 color?..

Now the menu along the bottom of

Besides record-breaking paint jobs,

Dip the tip of the brush into any one

the screen looks a little different as

of the colors, press the joystick hut-

well.

MOVING

effortless moving about of heavy ob jects, and instantaneous "cloning,"

ton, and your brush fills with an end

VAN symbols are still there, but the

there are a few other tricks you might

less supply of color. Now move your

icons for Color, Erase, Move and Copy

want to try your hand at. You can

brush up to any part of the house, hit

have been replaced by a FLOORPLAN

build an addition to your house by us

the fire button, and a small block area

Icon, EXTERIOR house icon, and 1N-

ing

fills in with your selected color.

TERIOR house icon. Two new icon

shingles, windows, shutters and orna

words, SAVE and LOAD, have also ap peared. If you press either one of

ments from storage. You can replace

press the button, only a part of the se lected area is colored in. This is be

these, you follow the on-screen In

your next door neighbor's house with a big side yard by using COLOR to

cause there are two different "layers"

structions to either save to your own

paint it a solid sky blue, and then

to every part of your house. Basically,

formatted

are

piece together a lush green lawn in its

the lirst layer, the foreground, is the

working on, or load in a previously

place. Create a nighttime scene by

outline and/or detail of the area, and

saved house. Fortunately, the direc

painting the sky a dark blue or black,

the second layer, the background, is

tory

with white stars dotting the heavens.

the area contained by the outline. This

listed before any actual saving or load

Or turn the season to winter Simply

means

ing takes place, which saves you from

by

paint one of the Victorian turnposts

having

white.

Ughl blue and then embellish and out

names you might give your different

line the detail work. Or, create a win dow with bright yellow light coming

ZAP. This is

from inside the house, while the rails

house if you have let your creativity

tain from storage into your picture

and sashbars are black and the sur

get out of control.

then you're all set for the big crowd

You may find that the first time you

that,

for

example,

you

can

The

HAMMER

disk

the

house

of your disk

to

and

is

remember

you

automatically

those

weird

house files. The last icon is labeled what you do

to

your

To change your working color, all you have 10 do is dip your brush into

another color on the palette and fill

universal

coloring

the

building

green

blocks,

grass

snow

Now for something that will really knock your socks off: If you've placed a number of stars and the water foun

leaves, the fountain and fountain wa

ple-.tser. Place your cursor on the ANI MATE ALL symbol and hit the fire

ter, some stars, and a few picket fence

button.

Pick up a tree trunk, branches and

rounding casing is rust.

the

pieces by placing your cursor over the

Ta-da! The stars start sparkling and

'er up. In a matter of minutes, you can

object or part and pressing the joy

twinkling,

try out all 240 possible combinations

stick button. A tone lets you know

bursts into gushing, trickling life. Try

you've picked up each choice you've

thiil with paper and pens!

of the 16 available colors. Try doing that

with colored pens and graph

paper!

When you're satisfied, albeit

tem

porarily, with your house painting,

and

the

water

fountain

12

When you're finished marveling at

items per load, but you can always

the exterior of your house, wipe your

made. The VAN can hold only come back for more.

When you're ready to return to the

feet and head for the interior. Place your cursor on the MOVING VAN to

get to the storage screen menu. Then with your cursor on the INTERIOR

there's still much more you can ilo

outside of your house, place the cur

here on the outside of your house How about landscaping the front yard

sor on the EXTHBIOR icon, hit the

button, and you and all your stuff

with trees and plants, and perhaps a

from storage are back in the front

inside your house. If you have not al

picket fence? Dip your paintbrush into

yard. Objects arc dropped off in the reverse order that they were gathered,

ready used the SAVE icon to preserve

the water glass to the left of the color

palette, hit the fire button, and you're

so as you move up from the menu area

house icon, hit the fire hutlon to go

your exterior design, a message will appear asking you if you want to ilo

back to the previous menu of words

onto the screen, you will notice that

so. If you do, just follow the on

and icons. Now, with your cursor on

the last object that you picked up from storage is clinging to the back of

screen instructions.

the MOVING VAN, bit the fire button

again and you'll be transported to the

your cursor. Move il around for place

first of several storage areas. Your house disappears

firc button, and the next object from

(don't

ment, drop it in place by hitting the

worry, it'll still be there when you gel back), and all sorts of colorful objects, and parts and pieces of objects, fill

storage is now stuck to the end of

the

flowers, and fountains and window

can go back to storage and pick up ad ditional objects, or you can play with

shutters. There are tree trunks and

and perfect the items you've already

screen.

There

are

hushes

anil

branches and limbs with bright red apples. There are stars for the sky and bricks for the house. There is spurting 124 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

your cursor awaiting its destiny.

Once your cursor is "empty," you

got.

Rearrange

the

MOVE

their locations

icon.

Create

with

duplicates

with the COPY icon. Paint them all

The

inside

palnted,

of

the

house

undecorated.

and

is

un-

unfur

nished. The virgin walls beg for color,

the hare wood screams for a good coat of stain, and the untread floors ache for wall-to-wall carpeting. This

is a real enticement for those of us who

have

always

had

to

scrape,

steam, sand and fill before any surface was ready to accept a finishing touch. You ma)- want to paint,

decorate

and furnish each room as you go. or

perhaps, like me. you prefer to tackle


DREAM HOUSE painting every

three other areas labeled "mom and

room first, then refurnishing, and fi nally adding all the finishing touches. Moving from mom to room is easy,

can make your entire dream house

pop." "kids" and "pets." Seleet the

come

Storage area you want lo go to by plac

sound effects. Hit the ANIMATE AI.l.

and you can take your paintbrush, pal

icon and hilling the fire button.

ette, and any furniture or decorating

a job step by step,

ing the cursor over the appropriate

to

life with

movement

and

icon and watch the washing machine

spin, the chicken slowly lurn in the rotisserie, the goldfish swim around

items with you. Simply position your

You pick up and place the Storage objects the same way you did for the

cursor on the black area (which looks

outside of the house. And you are tree

the bird hop and sing in its cage. Still.

like a natural shadow) In any door

to COLOR, COPY, MOVE and ERASE

way, press the letter "D" on your key

there are a Few surprises left. Like

[hem any way you like. Some Items,

board, and you will find yourself in the next room. You will find a similar

what happens when yon place your

such as the grandfather clock, art- bro

cursor over the mouse, [he refrigera

ken down into parts within their stor

tor, and the telephone and then bli the

black area at the foot and head of

age area. This is because the computer

staircases which allow you to "floorhop" in multi-level houses.

allows only two colors for each indi

When you're ready to furnish, take the MOVING VAN to Storage. Once in

certain

side the first storage area, press the MOVING VAN once again and you'll

in its bowl, the candles flicker, and

vidual shape or object. By breaking objects down

into separate

pieces, it is therefore possible [o end up with, say, u clock of six colors

rather than two colors. With this sys

letter "A" on your keyboard. And like what goes on up in the Secret Attic in the cottage. But 1 siill have a thing for graph pa

per. My passion for rulers and tem

plates and automatic pencils is unwav ering. Colored pens still head. And I still dream

turn my of Early

see an icon lisi of all the different stor age areas available for pick up or pe

tem, you can also lake things like the

rusal. There :tre areas for [he living

kitchen, and [hen put the golden roasting chicken into it. You can as semble a candlestick, chandelier, a

and EngHsh Tudors. It's true. Dream

painting for the walls, or even a patchwork quilt, all in multi-colored

ished my old Stand-by dream-weaving habitual hobby. It's just thai, with

room, dining room, kitchen and bed rooms, '['here is another area lor land

scape and another called "weather and entertainment," There are two ar eas of "workshop shapes" for building your own objects, and [here arc even

black-and-white

rotisserie

into

the

splendor.

Once everything is in place, you

Gothic Revivals, Eastlake Victorians. Norman

Manors.

Trench

Colonials,

House has not replaced nor dimin

Drectm House, dreaming comes thai much closer to coming [rue.

Q

TECHNICAL TIPS Continued from pg. Ill

areas of human endeavor. They are "obvious" in some ways—so obvious

that they are generally overlooked.

But, if we examine these key ideas and

vantage of clever engineers and mass

production to solve our problems on standard machines.

We hardly ever

begin programming in machine lan

become conscious of them when they appear, we can apply (him to solve

guage. Instead we take advaniage of

our problems.

compilers to give us a head siari. If possible, we run a "canned" program to do the Job, Bui, at a still higher level, we too often do "re-invent the wheel." We

One of these concepts I'll call pig gybacking. (It has many oilier names,

of course.) Piggybacking means taking advantage of other people's work and of your own earlier labors. It means, "Don't re-invent the wheel!"

Life is too short to spend re-doing the same things over and over again. The most exlraordinary progress has al

ways been made by people who look what was available and built upon it. Sir Isaac Newton, who developed cal culus, the- laws of gravitation, optics. and a large part of the rest of physics. once said, "If I have seen farther than

oilier men, it is because 1 stood on the shoulders of giants." In computing, we take advantage of piggybacking in several ways. We hardly ever build new hardware to

solve a problem. Instead, we take ad

higher-level language interpreters or

look at a complex problem and imme

diately

begin

writing

BASIC

code

without asking whether some stan

dard subroutines we've written earlier could be adapted to help. We ignore

the possibility of putting

together

pieces of other programs to make a solution.

One development that may help is

in the area of extensible languages. These are programming languages

like FORTH or LISP, which make it easy to add new words and integrate those words with the rest of the lan guage.

BASIC

has

subroutines

and

functions, but they fall short of being true language extensions. It's just loo

hard to build up a big BASIC program

out of modularized routines while worrying about variable names con

flicting with each other, parameicr passing, recursion, and so forth.

Though FORTH and LISP are steps in the right direction, programmers still have a long way to go before they

really use the extensibility of those languages effectively. Most programs still begin with the old, standard cen

tral language core, and only then be gin to build. It would be as though every writer were restricted to a firsi-

gradc vocabulary and had to define every word in terms of that before it was used!

What does it all mean for you? Just this: Keep an eye on extensible lan guages, and maybe try learning one

yourself. Make every effort to write your programs in modular form and re-use pieces of old programs when

ever possible. Share your discoveries, and take advantage of other people's work. Above all, think before you program. "Do I really have to write this afresh?" q

< OMM( >1)< IRE MICRO! .< 'MI'l fTERS

125


NEWS

Electronic Typesetting Service

Kr)r Commodore computer users who need quality typesetting and high-resolution graphics prints without investing in expen

sive hardware, Compu-Print is the economical alternative. Compu-Print, accessed through a modem, allows writers, publishers,

advertisers, and office managers to upload the material to be typeset directly to Compu-Print. The Compu-Print service is open 15 hours a day, seven days a week. Typeset copy is mailed the next day to the user or desired location. Yearly subscription fee is S65, and there is no charge for on-line time. Normal processing charge is 75 cents per page (300 or 1200 baud). To date, 24 Compu-Print centers have been established around the country to allow quick turnaround, In most cases, CompuPrint will deliver camera-ready copy as quick as an in-house printing department at much less the cost. For more information or to locate the nearest Compu-Print Center, contact C-Band DBS/Encycloware, 715 Washington Street, Ayden, NC 28513. Call 919-7463589 or call collect 919-746-2773.

Pressing sane

enter

as

r you

the

saying

this

you

ITS the ana

please,

instruction

haue

nust press

Type

RETURN

tuppd

RETURN

j

OHLV GOOD

word

hey as

is micd in,

into

My

Software for Beginning Computer Users

the

"PLEASE

xessise

...

nrnory1 to

ne,

MflNNERS !

trolier Electronic Publishing (95 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016) Gr,

print,

renenber

has released Step One, an entry-level program that teaches the fundamentals

RETURN1

of the Commodore 64, BASIC, and word processing. Other features of the 64 are introduced with activities such as a simulated piano and several computer games. It retails for S39.9S.

DON'T

TESTING

...JUST GOT EASIER!

LEAVE US BEHIND

TESTMASTER-ONLY $35.00 END TEST RE-TYPING FOREVER!

EFFORTLESSLY PRODUCE MULTIPLE CHOICE, TRUE-FALSE, SHORT ANSWER, COMPLETION TESTS BUILD A BANK OF TEST ITEMS TO USE FROM YEAR TO YEAR

UPPER / LOWER CASE AND COMPLETE

Make sure you send in your change of address so

EDITING FACILITIES

home when you do. Just till oul the form and attach your

PRODUCE ALTERNATE FORMS

Commodore Microcomputers will arrive at your new

PRODUCE TESTS FROM 1 TO 999 ITEMS

label. then send il to our subscription office.

OF THE SAME TEST

PRINTS ANSWER KEY AND MATCHING STUDENT RESPONSE SHEET FOR EACH FORM PRINTED FOR COMMODORE 64, 32K PET, APPLE II FAMILY -DISKS ONLYaddress

____

;ipt. ft

FREE TRIAL IN YOUR SCHOOL FOR 30 DAYS

'â– !'

SEND FOR OUR FLYER OF OTHER USEFUL SOFTWARE WRITTEN BY TEACHERS FOR TEACHERS

I'lease Add S2 00 Per Order For Postage and Handling

city

Binw

ATTACH LABEL HERE AND MAIL TO: Commodore Microcomputers

Subscription Department Box E51 Holmes, PA 19043

126

M IM1.MHI

MIDWEST SOFTWARE Box 214 Farmington, Ml 48024 Phone (313) 477-0897 VISA (MASTERCARD

Circle Reader Service No. 22


NEWS

Disk Tree

Âąhe Disk Tree Company (404 Liberty Lane, Westerville, OH 43081) has released

the Disk Tree, a plastic desk accessory that holds up to SO floppy disks. Special tilt-out grooves hold each disk so dust is minimized. There are hand holes to lift and move or rotate the Disk Tree without touching the disks- The Tree is made of 14" x 6" x 4" transparent plastic and retails for S9.95.

Printer Interface Uardco (300 S. Topeka, Wichita, KS 67303! has introduced

G Wiz, a sophisticated interface which connects Commodore computers to virtually any Centronics printer (dot matrix,

daisy wheel, or plotter). The G Wiz performs all the functions of Cardco's + G interface, but with greater speed. It features two

character sets, open-access dip switches, and a more compact case, which eliminates the ribbon connector by directly attach ing to the parallel port. Retail price was unavailable at press time.

Artificial

Intelligence m

J.AB Books (Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17314) has released Artificial Intelligence Projects for the Commodore 64 by Timothy

O'Malley. Using programs designed to take advantage of the 64's unique memory and graphics capabilities, the author introduces

such concepts as heuristics, language processing, pattern recognition, and robotics. Readers see how a computer decides what is the best move in a board game, what happens when the computer is programmed to carry on a conversation, and even how to train

the computer to program itself. Most importantly. Artificial Intelligence Projects for the Commodore 64encourages users to write their own programming adventures. It Is designed to sharpen problem-solving thought processes, increase BASIC programming knowledge, and provide ways to put the Commodore 64 to better use. The book retails for 817.95 hardbound and 812 45 paperback.

Software Protection Disks LXlenco Engineering (3920 Ridge Avenue, Arlington Heights, IL 60004) has introduced the Safeguard 64 disk, a disk that pro

vides highly sophisticated copy protection for the Commodore 64, Safeguard 64 disks prevent unauthorized duplication of your software programs. The program to be protected is first encrypted using the Protect module provided. Each disk has a special

magnetic fingerprint which must be found before the application program can be decrypted and allowed to run. The Safeguard series does not require a hardware add-on because the protection system is installed right on the disk. Backup copies of the pro gram can be made, but they will run only on Safeguard disks. Prices are set by volume of disks desired.

Amateur Radio Contest Operator Winner's Edge Software (2003 Sarazen Place. Reston, VA 22091) has announced The Contester, a fully Integrated software

package for the amateur radio contest operator. The Contesterma.ns.ges all of the "paperwork" functions involved In amateur radio contests. Designed by active contest operators, it logs and keeps track of up to 3000 contacts on up to six bands, alerting the operator to avoid duplicate contacts through a fast., sophisticated search algorithm. At a single keystroke command, The Contester

also sends either preprogrammed messages or ad hoctexts in Morse code from 5 to over 50 words per minute. The computer con nects to any amateur transceiver through a simple solid-state interface. The program retails for S39.95,

COMMODORE MICROCOMPUTERS

127


OC OC CC CC CC CC CC CGCC CC CO

uJu

INTRODUCING

64 SALES

cc

SS SS

SS

gS

MANAGER The System Designed By Safes People For Sales People 64 Sales Manager* contains programs (or the on-line input, update, and inquiry □(. customer, prospect, appointment, and ex

pense information as well as for printing cq

mailin3

labels,

customer/prospect master

mD

lists, scheduled appointment repPrts, ex

cc

■ There is no complicated manual to learn ■ Simple on-line (optionally printable)

SS as ss cc cc V.MVJ qq

vm:d

f™^ CO

Simply load the programs and begin

■ •

Handles all types of c>pcrise categories. Supports IRS record keeping requirements

Report expenses

SS ss ss GO

1.MO ee

Report reimbursed and

Up to 500 customers/prospects per tile.

Extensive customer information.

Report expenses fof selected time period orannualry

available on diskette onlv

cc wu

cc

cm

14

94

CarboTech

13,29

cc

\mO

CompuServe

8

95

CQ

Computel

CC

Computer Centers of America

11

41

ce

ComDUter Revelations

12

94

Data most

38

37

Digital Vision

15

49

Entrepo

16

15

Howard W. Sams & Co., lnc,

37

19

Integrated Software Systems

17

64

Kyan Software

45

61

Loadstar

36

65

Mastertronics

40

9

Megasoft Limited

19

38-39

imO

ss ss ss

BaFTUUflRE COMMODORE 64<

Cheatsheet Products

Micro League Sports Microware Distributors Midwest Software

35 PROGRAMS (DISK) or

Moog

25 PROGRAMS (TAPE)

COMMODORE 16" $14.95

COMMODORE PLUS 4

$15.95

FOR ALL ORDERS add S2.00 ihipping & handling (foreign, sxcopt Canads-$3.00)

lelactad public domain program!

GAMES, UTILITIES. BUSINESS, EDUCATION.

GRAPHICS, & MUSIC (DOCUMENTATION INCLUDED) •end chuck or money order to

P.O. BOX 1382 BELLEVUE, NE. 68005 FOR MORE INFORMATION. WRITE D1HECT OR CIRCLE READEH SERVICE NUMBER COMMODORE 64. 16. and PLUS 4

VB iriilniriiiht of Cinnmodof* Electronic» Lid

SEPTEMBER/CH I'

5

CIM/90-91

ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss

12S

5

Circle Reader Service No. 29

25 PROGRAMS (TAPE)

Batteries Included Cardco

Commodore Software

ss

or

CIV

2

Superior Micro Systems, Inc.

30 PROGRAMS (DISK)

Aprotek

Oilman residen(i add 6% *ale5 tffiO

20 PROGRAMS (TAPE)

33

Commodore Corporate

imO

26 PROGRAMS (DISK)

3 A

59

PO Boi 713 ■ Wtmdins, IL 60090 Dsa'c' lnQuin« Welcome'

ss

Academy Software

1

To oratr, send Iflfl Qi For entri diskette ptu*

mO

24-25

7

13.00 Tor postage and twndJing per order to:

cc

No.

2

Abacus Software

C.M.S. Software Systems

unreimbursed

-

Page

C.O.M.B.

cc

all

expenses

No.

105

cc

expenses.

Service

6

inputting

ay category or

Reader

Advertiser Index

pense reports, and more.

instructions No data base to design or define

ADVERTISERS' INDEX

9.10

' 20 21,22 47

53,104

7 17 33,126 112

'

31

Navaronne

30

11

Pacific Tri-Micro

35

6,93

Peripherals Systems of America

34

51

Protecto Enterprizes

23

44-47

RJ. Brachman

24

112

Smada Enterprizes

25

128

Nanosec

Subloqic Corporation

27,28

21,23

Superior Micro Systems

29

49,128

Systems Management Assoc

46

115

Tele-Learning Systems, Inc.

31

63

Tenex

32

43

Wiley Professional Software

33

104

* No Reader Service No. Given


-' -

m&Mwim»

FOR YOUR 64 61,183 delicious bytes for your Commodore G4

S'MORE Memory,

S'MORE Fun! Now, 61K available memory

S'MORE frees up 61,183 bytes of C-64 RAM memory for un-restricted Basic programming (57% more than Ihe

standard C-64).

S'MORE features far programming power

• Over 60 new and enhanced basic commands & functions • No peeks or pokes (direct access to normally peeked/poked items) • Full error trapping and automatic error helps • Full up/down scrolling through program listings

• Structured programming

A bridge to C-1SB The S'MORE command structure

• Relative files • Print using

is similar to the C-128's new Basic 7.0, providing C-64 users advanced programming techniques.

• Print at...and much,

• Formatted inputs much more.

cardeo, inc.

The Wizarda from the Land of Dz Have done it Again!

jo. 5 5 Circle Reader Service No.

CARDCO, lnc/300 S. Topeka/Wichita, KS 67202


AMAZING

NOW! FULL SIZE, FULL FEATURE, LETTER QUALITY AT ONLY $353 If you have been searching fur a letter quality printer you probably fuund that

the flood of claims and counterclaims were a real roadblock in your search.

Not long ago we were in the same posi

tion. We tried to determine which daisy

wheel printer had all the features anyone

could want, but would also appeal to the cost conscious buyer. Recently .several

manufacturers introduced printers that had features we were seeking. After a

thorough assessmenl we eliminated all but one wliicli precisely met our qualifications.

THE RESULTS ARE !N We found the printer which has all the features anyone could want. We've named it the Aprotek Daisy 1120, a rea! heavy-duty workhorse printing at 20 characters per second, The manufacturer is Olympic Co. Ltd.. a highly respected Japanese firm,

FEATURES GALORE This printer hits it all. To start with, it

fias a front control pane! witli indicators for Pitch Selection which allows for 10. 12, or 15 characters per inch (CPil or

Proportional Spacing. There is a Select

(Online) button (with indicator! and a

Line Peed button. You can also set Topof-Fvirm or Komi Peed with the touch of

the TOP button. Other front panel indicators include Power and Alarm. To load .i sfieel of paper, simply place it in the feed slot and pull the paper hail

lever. The paper feeds automatically to a

1 inch top margin and the carriage aligns to the selected left margin. In this man ner, each page can have identical margins.

You can continue lo use your Commodore while the Daisy 1120 is printi'ifj.

The buiil in 2K buffer allows a page or two of concurrent printing and use of your computer fur the next job. To really

take advantage of your printer's optional

features, the automatic Cut Sheet Feeder eliminates tiresome paper handling. Also

available is the adjustable Tractor Feed

option. Compare our option prices!

Besl of al! the Daisy 112(1 is quiet: only 57 dB-A (compare willi an average

THE BEST PART When pricing a daisy wheel printer with all these features (if you could find one), you would expect to pay $600 or 5700 dollars. The options would add

much more, but our exhaustive research has paid off for you the Commodore user. We can now offer this printer for only S353. Order yours today!

of 62-65 dU-A for others).

NO RISK OFFER

COMPLETE COMPATIBILITY

are not satisfied for ANY reason we will

The Daisy 1120 uses industry standard Diablo* compatible prinlwheels. Scores

of typeface styles arc available at most

computer or stationary stores. You can

pop in a 10. 12, li> pitch or proportional prints*tied and ua: paper as wide as 14". Al 15 CI'l you can print 165 columns—a must (or spreadsheet programs. The Daisy 1120 uses the Diablo Hytype II"' standard rihhon cartridges.

Again universally available.

No! only is the hardware completely compatible, the control codes recognized by the Daisy 1120 ate Diablo 63B« compatible {industry standard). You can take advantage of all the great features

of word processing packages and

automatically use superscripts, subscripts, automatic underlining, bold-face (shadow printing and doubiestrike.

The printer has a set of rear switches

which allow the use of standard ASCII as

Try the Daisy 1120 for 2 weeks. If you

refund the full price—promptly. A full I-year parts and labor warranty is

included. Another indication of quality and reliability.

THE BOTTOM LINE Aprotek Daisy 1120 (Order* 1 120) $353 w/standard Centronics parallel interface and 2 It buffer.

Options Auto Cut Sheet Feeder Tractor Feed <*I112fS77

Interface with cable for all Commodore (except PET) (#1103) S44 Ask about tables and interfaces for other computers.

Shir>|!]it|i is SH-llt'S ciiniintnijl USA. If you lae

a hurry. ID'S Blue or Air Parctl Posl (Second rJay air) a S25. L'.inada. Ittasfca, Mexico and Hawaii art Sill (lirl. Olhei fondjSl is SH( (an). California

residents add u*» lint I'riras arc tosh juices-VISA arid MfC ;nlil 3% In total We ihip promptly on

mmiiy unfers. cajhta'j chctki, unu thiHgx rants

well ii< foreign character printwiit't'ls.

All™ 11 da> ctraririd for rlifrks. Nn C.O.D.'s. I'jv-

15". The Daisy 11211 can also be switched to add automatic line feed if

TO OHOBK ONLY CALL TOLL FREE

Page length can be set to H. 11, 12. or

retired.

mrnl m US doflara unly.

(800) 962-5800 USA

(800) 962-3800 CALIF.

(8-8 PST

Or send payment to address below:

Be sure to include order numbers with

al! items.

Technical Information & Customer Service; (805) 987-2454 »5 ("sn Dealeet Inquiries Invited INS AI'UOTKK. M tiflht* i.:*orra b.Hya [|, -Xtr.ji L'"rp; PET. CUM

Circle Reader Service No. 4

dPIOEK

W71-A Aygnldajhwa Camarillo, CA 93010


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.