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Jk T A R I

B# il ■%COMPUTER
ENTHUSIASTS

ELLINGTON

Wellington Atari Computer Enthusiasts t

Dear Members,

Herewith the May newsletter. - * - ' - " --

NEXT MEETING

"i 11 ,*- held at the TAB building on Lambton Quay at
pm on 6 June (D Day!). We shall at that meeting have the usual range of

Demoes, product evaluations, chit chat etc. Another club tape, no, 15, will be
available to members. We shall also discuss a change of name for our group. As
mentioned in last month's newsletter, the Justice Department will not accept
Atari’s agreement that we can use their name as part of our's because it has
not been provided ’under seal’. Therefore, to facilitate early incorporation,
your Committee has agreed to place before members a recommendation, as
follows: that the Club’s name be changed from "Wellington Atari Computer

Enthusiasts Society" to
"WAGE

-an independent computer users’ group" "

•3) The present name of the Club is included in the rules, and the rules
state that they can not be altered "except by the majority of financial
members present and voting at the AGM or at a Special General Meeting,
provided that in the latter case 14 days notice shall be given to financial
members, with specifications of the proposed alterations". MEMBERS ARE
THEREFORE ADVISED THAT at the 6 JUNE meeting we shall hold a SPECIAL GENERAL
MEETING to vote on the Committee’s recommendation that the club’s name be
changed, to the form set out above.

4)LAST MEETING

Last month’s meeting went well. We demonstrated one printer and discussed
the merits of two other’s (the latter were not demonstrated because Murphy’s
Law dictated that the requisite "interface" did not arrive. The point to
emerge, above all, was that members considering the purchase of a printer
should make sure the proposed printer is compatible with the proposed
word processor package. In particular, they should know whether an interface

i^H eqUired or not ’ and -" if so ’ what interface. The Atari interface, while
good, is expensive and hard to get. There are cheaper ways of "interfacing" a

HoT U i? r - VJ ] th a .P rintsr: Roger Shepherd and Roqan Maxwell both havm a great
deal of information available. In addition, Antic magazine has recently

prepared some articles on printers etc which are available from the shops.

received club ta P - 3 were made available to members: we hope they were well

6)COPYRIGHT

Mention was made at the last meeting that the copyright law was more
restrictive in its application than had previously been thouqht. Your
committee has therefore been reviewing the club’s operations'and is happy to
make the following announcements:

(a)Club Tapes - this programme will be able to continue at its present
levei of activity. We have enough programmes in our library (ten disks with
p iblic domain programmes have just been received from Antic and a further two

-LnlaoSrftf ACE ’ t0 “• « 0 ‘"« ^ ^ addition,

members? obtain programmes from other sources, including more from our

Lib ‘‘’irTn 1 ’ 5 '""'” "; ibrar r ‘ fittachbd is a statement fro. our Pregramme

sr7sh^^?r\^ir?I>i n VEf s F :Se?r ° b; “ !; ?? b s* ph

is 731176. ° d ' 3r ° du ‘ :t ‘v® operation. Dennis' telephone number

(c)Hagazines — Your committee ha= ^nr-ociH +-h = +. „i .
placed in the Wellington City Library’* hoi di ™'* ub . magaz 1 nes shall be
vast increase in the availabiiiiv n/tho d 9j - The advanta ge would be a
out-of-towners wi 1 1 bS olelSid ^ k 1 ?* e ' m f nes for ambers:
magazines via their local library an^thp 3 " -F * eV \ cou |' I d obtain access to these
members, the newslettSr wi 11 dShmS tJS "Interloan" system. To guide

WO receive in the f \1>, SSii*5i ?Klo?t i £ f‘?« y

arrangement, the

$630. Ring him on ph.

ssMit&ars: ss P r¥o , Jsi;!srUiSs l 'i,i? t iC 1 -

7)ANOTHER SATURDAY MEETING^ ’ / *

Secretary^hnowf " ant an ° ther Saiurda7 *“™ meeting? If so, let your
B>ARTIDLES for SALE

Printer. Ri na Ter "o!l°Jh. 729866 r S * lB St B715 an fltari 1027 Letter quality
328473"’ NSli UPt ° n hL a near-new fltari 600 for sale at

Cent i pede^$37.5o" 1 fTtridfl.,, Pacman S37.S0,

Allan’s ph. is 367704. *-b.OO (no instructions for the last one).

Logitec FT O 5001 M prrnteri S cin t be B ^?fined P cheip?y t °Shouf5 S-o^' " h ® reb V

ST Contact ’r ^ *t, 00 - b0 - Sb °“‘ d ‘0-24 be ordered!' tf,l'prlcTtFlt Le***
propaganda end osrt?"our’secrrt'ary^hafb’ "°t ™° re detai1s and alb ° the
Logitec's word-processing/interfacTng r S qi remenis.’ d ° BS " 0t r ™ embEr - the
Yours sincerely,

Des Rowe
(Secretary)

RANDOM THOUGHTS
from CHRIS CAUDWELL

Recently a friend carried out the "HI-RES" modification to my old metal model
41<_ tape player.lt was detailed by a Mr CArl Evans in ANTIC FEB 84. Since then
can now load about SOT. of the tapes which were previously unloadable. This
included about half the programs on club tapes.The modification simply

re K 1 ?K ln H t ^° *T esistors with 17. accurate ones available from Wisemans
for uc each.The hardest part was findinq the resistors in my old 410, they
are not where the photograph in the ANTIC magazine shows them.

A Wellington Apple users group was formed last weekend.If they prosper

they will make useful contacts because they will face the same issues we do
with copyright etc.

a blue
afford

Tired P f looking at your programs displayed in white text on
background : Thinking of buying a green screen moniter but can’t really
it? There is a poor mans answer.

nop c 10 1 J ecr t /i u h w ^ ollowin 9 c °de in direct mode or in your program

BE.-i, I-., 1: SE, 4, 12, 1 .You may need to adjust the brightness etc. of your TV
but you win get green letters on a black background;Just like the screens at
work! The effect is particularly interesting because according to the manual
can-t alter the text colour in Graphics Mode 0.In practise what you

do . ls make th e background green and turn down the brightness so you
can t see it. Tor some reason you are left with green letters.'

Finally can anyone help me find a supply of sticky back paper with
traction feed holes dom the side for my SEIK0SHA printer? Quik Stick sell a
minimum quantity of lo, (‘00 labels which would be 8yrs supply for the club
newsletter mailing.

I have used TINY
September newsletter.

TEXT for this article.The instructions

were in the

Now i t
newsletter.

is \OUR turn.Lets have more members

views and experiences in the

CLUB PROGRAM LIBRARY

Since being appointed Program Librarian I have spent many hours
compiling a list of programs held by club members. It is a long and
continuing task but I have broken the back of it and my initial"efforts
follow at the end of this article. I need everyones help to get the
information in the list accurate amd up to date. If anyone can help by
filling in where I have left a question mark, please either collar me at a
club meeting or ring me at 731176 after hours. I am especially lacking
in neat and tidy descriptions on what each program is about. A
description of up to 50 characters for any of the programs you are
familiar with will be very much appreciated.

A word about the list. Each program has a unique 3
number so if refering to a program, pleasr use the number
name since some programs have the same name.

or 4 d i g i t
as well as the

Another word about the list. You will notice the final column (field
in data base jargon) is headed status. This refers to whether a program
is subject to copyright. A "C" in this column means the program is
subject to copyright and cannot be copied. A question mark means we
are uncertain as to the status and the program will be treated as
copyright until we ascertain otherwise. A "P" indicates the a

is in the public domain and can be
program is usually done by persons
sword, otherwise known as pirates.
theft in law and the club rules do
activities.

program

freely copied. Copying a copyright
wearing an eye patch and carrying a
Copying of copyright software is
not allow this to be part of club

Yet another word. In the column I have noted those programs on
club tapes by entering the number of the tape. These tapes can be
obtained from Rogan Maxwell on club nights as per usual.

Finally the programs in the list are all E^asic programs. I know of a
number of Logo and other programs and these will appear in a future
edition of the list. Remember folks I and relying on you to get the list
accurate and up to date.

WACE LIBRARY MARK 2

Page 1

PROG NAME

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

PROS NO

TAPE NO

STATUS

CHICKEN

GAME

BASIC. CHICKEN CROSSING ROAD. VERY GOOD

101

GOLDMINER

GAME

102

NUMBER BATTLE

GAME

103

BREAKOUT

GAME

104

SHOOTING STAR

GAME

105

SAUCER LAUNCH

GAME

BASIC. SHOOT CLAY PI6E0NS

106

«*•-

TINE TRIAL

GAME

107

ATTACK

GAME

108

LUNAR LANDER

GAME

109

STARBASE 13

GAME

BASIC. SHOOT ENEMY FROM YOUR STAR BASE

110

FOODS

SAME

111

HART IAN EXPLORER GAME

BASIC. FLY OVER AND LAND ON MARTIAN TERRAIN. GOOD

112

SOL I TARE

GAME

BASIC. CARD GAME CALLED PATIENCE IN NZ. GOOD

113

ALIEN INVADERS

GAME

201

OIL MINER

GAME

BASIC. MANY PLAYERS DRILL FOR OIL. GOOD

202

KORD SCRAMBLE

GAME

203

SUPERFONT

UTILITY

204

WORD SEARCH

EDUCAT

BASIC. FIND NORDS IN LETTER MATRIX

205

CONCENTRATION

EDUCAT

BASIC

206

HOUSE CHICAGO

ADVENT

BASIC. THREE PARTS TO PROGRAM.

207

HOUSE CHICAGO

ADVENT

SECOND PART OF PROGRAM

208

HOUSE CHICAGO

ADVENT

THIRD PART OF PROGRAM

210

SABOTAGE

GAME

BASIC

211

MASTER GOLF

GAME

BASIC. PLAY GOLF

301

BLOCKADE

GAME

302

BOING

GAME

BASIC. BARNEY BOUNCING ON A TRAMPOLINE. GOOD

303

• -

STRATA BLASTER

GAME

BASIC

304

SUPER CHASE

GAME

BASIC

305

PIAZZA HOTEL

ADVENT

BASIC

306

—

ENGINEER

GAME

BASIC

307

DOUBLE CANNON

GAME

BASIC

308

CRANING

EDUCAT

BASIC

309

CAVE

GAME

310

LASER BARRAGE

GAME

BASIC

311

SUPER FONT

UTILITY

CHARACTER SET EDITOR

312

SKI

GAME

BASIC. SKI DOWN SLOPE

313

TOCATTA

MUSIC

BASIC. PLAYS ? TOCATTA

401

JUGGLER

SAME

BASIC. JUGGLE BALLS

402

DUEL

GAME

403

PLAY KISS HELPER UTILITY

BASIC. HELPS CONSTRUCT PLAYERS AND MISSILES

404

STELLAR DEFENDER SAME -

BASIC

405

THUNDER BIRD

GAME

BASIC

406

„

WILD STRAHBERIES

SAME

BASIC. SIMILAR TO OXYGEN. FAIR

407

SUB HUNTER

GAME

BASIC. BIT SLOW

408

AIR LOCK

GAME

BASIC. ESCAPE FROM NUCLEAR EMERGENCY

409

DOCTOR WHO

ADVENT

BASIC. DOCTOR WHO MAIN PROGRAM

410

DOCTOR NHO

ADVENT

BASIC. INITIALISES DOCTOR NHO

411

COPY CAT

GAHE/EDU

BASIC. SAME AS SIMON. GOOD

501

POKER

GAME

BASIC. PLAY POKER WITH ATARI.NAS ZXGi.MOD'D BY KNH 502

PUCKNAN

GAME

BASIC. LIKE PACKMAN. FOR PET, MOD’D BY KNH

503

IMHOTEP

EDUCAT

BASIC. FOR APPLE, MGD’D BY KNH

504

CASINO ROYALE

GAME

BASIC. PLAY CASINO GAMES. NEEDS IMPROVING (KNH)

505

HAUNTED

ADVENT

BASIC. FOR ACORN. HQD’D BY KWH

506

BOMBER

GAME

BASIC. SHOOT TARGETS. AVG

507

URANIUM

GAME

BASIC. NEEDS PADDLES

508

—- ¥•

?■ .i^y g w i h -w

WAGE LIBRARY MARK 2 Page 2

PROG NtME

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

PROG NO

TAPE NO

STATUS

ORCHARD

GAME

?BASIC. CATCH APPLES FALLING FROM THE SKY

50?

COL’iR 3 DIH

DEMO

510

TAG

GAME

BASIC. 2 PLAYER TAG GAME

511

HORSE RACE

GAME

BASIC. RACE FOR MANY PLAYERS. GOOD

512

DIRECTORY

UTILITY

BASIC. LIST FORMAT. PROS TO DISPLAY DISK DIRECTORY

SOI

FROG

GAME

WONT LOAD OFF DISK

602

BATS

GAME

WONT LOAD OFF DISK

603

CHICKEN

GAME

WONT LOAD OFF THE DISK

604

BANKSHOT

SAME

BASIC. LIKE BILLIARDS

605

DOGGIES

GAME

BASIC. SWAP DOGS AROUND IN MIN NO OF MOVES

606

SLOT MACHINE

GAME

BASIC. PLAY THE SLOT MACHINE. AVG

607

ROBOT

GAME

BASIC

603

ROBOT

GAME

BASIC. DATA FOR ROBOT

609

BLACK JACK

GAME

BASIC. SAME AS PONTOON

610

FINANCE

UTILITY

BASIC. PERSONAL FINANCE PROGRAM. WONT LOAD !!

701

FINANCE I

UTILITY

BASIC. PART OF FINANCE. WONT LOAD OFF DISK

702

FINANCE INSTRUCT

UTILITY

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FINANCE

703

SEPERATOR

UTILITY?

BASIC

704

SAVER AND MOVER

UTILITY

BASIC. PUTS TAPS ON DISK

705

PLAY MISS HELP

UTILITY

BASIC. PLAYER MISSILE HELPER

706

GRAPHIC 7 HELPER UTILITY

BASIC. GRAPHICS MODE 7 HELPER

707

RANDQHAX

UTILITY

BASIC

•3>

JONESTR

UTILITY

BASIC

70?

JSTRM32

UTILITY?

710

LOADER C

UTILITY

BASIC. OBJECT CODE LOADER CHARACTER VERSION

711

LOADER D

UTILITY?

BASIC. OBJECT CODE LOADER DATA STATEMENT VERSION

712

MERRY CHRISTMAS

CARD

BASIC

801

CHRISTMAS MUSIC

MUSIC

BASIC. PLAYS CHRISTMAS CAROLS.

802

GOBBLER

GAME

BASIC. LIKE PACMAN. BIT SLOW BUT GOOD

803

BALLOONS

GAME

804

GRUBS

GAME

805

TIGER

GAME

BASIC

306

EGGS

GAME

BASIC. CATCH EGGS FALLING OUT OF THE SKY. AVG

<£>

--4

CASTLE HEX

GAME

80S

TINY TEXT

BUSINESS

BASIC. WORD PROCESSOR PROGRAM. GOOD

809

JTERMODEM

MODEM

816

MERRY CHRISTMAS? ?

901

MODEM

962

MEMORY DUMP

UTILITY

BASIC. DUMPS MEMORY TO SCREEN

903

GALLERY

964

LUNAR

GAME

905

DATA MAKE

966

PLUS AND ZERO

GAME

907

SCEEN

90S

MOON

909

HUNCHERS

GAME

916

CIPHER 6

911

TRUCKS

GAME

912

TIME TRIAL

913

INVENTORY

BUSINES?

914

ROMAN CLOCK

DEMO

915

SCRL1 ?

916

CRTL1 ?

0 -

917

TINYTEXT

BUSINESS

BASIC. WORD PROCESSOR PROGRAM

918

GUESS THE ANIMAL EDUCAT

BASIC. COMPUTER GUESSES ANIMAL YOU ARE THINKING OF 1601

WACE LIBRARY MARK 2 Page 3

PROS NAME

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

PROG NB

TAPE NO

STATUS

MINOR AND MAJOR

MUSIC

1BB2

UXB

GAME

1BB3

BOGGLER

1BB4

CATACOMB PHA

ADVENT

10B5

MASTER MAZE

GAME

1BB6

SAFARI LAND ?

EDUCAT

1BB7

MUSIC SCALE

EDUCAT

1008

ASE GUESSER

EDUCAT

1B89

.....

SOLAR SYSTEM

DEMO

1010

LEYET

GAME

1011

TITAN

GAME

1012

TITAN

6 AME

TITAN PART 2

1013

HARVEY NALL

1014

SPACE RESCUE

1B15

SHOKEY

GAME

1101

POKER SQUARE

SAME

1182

ATARI BLASTER

GAME

1103

GAMBLER

GAME

11B4

DEFENSE

GAME

1105

STRATEGY STRIKE

7 -

1186

SI 8 IDRAFT

DRAW

BASIC. DRAW SIMPLE COLOURED SHAPES. AVS

1201

FLIP IT

GAME

1202

WATERFALL

PICTURE

BASIC. DRAWS PICTURE OF WATERFALL WITH SOUND

1203

BULL AND COWS

HOW TO USE IT

1204

OLD MACDONALD

12B6

•

LETTER AND NO

EDUCAT

1287

ONE ON ONE

GAME

1208

JUMPING JACK

GAME

1289

DEFLECTOR

GAME

1210

•

MATH FUN

EDUCAT

1211

TYPING TEACH

EDUCAT

1212

STUNTMAN

1213

•

WORD SCRAMBLE

1214

•

SPEED READING

EDUCAT

1215

SCREAMING DEMON

GAME

BASIC. PINBALL MACHINE

1301

BLOK

GAME

1302

DIGITIZER

UTILITY

1303

CHUTES

GAME

1384

MUSIC KEYBOARD

UTILITY?

1305

•

VIDEO SB

UTILITY

BASIC. PRINTS 8 B COLUMNS TO SCREEN

1386

VIDEO SB

UTILITY

BASIC. DEMO PROGRAM FOR VIDEO SB

1387

VIDEO 8 B

UTILITY

BASIC. PART OF VIDEO SB

13B8

CASSETTE TO DISK

UTILITY

1309

DISK SPEED TEST

UTILITY

1310

FRONTIER

DEMO

1481

HOME BUDGET

UTILITY

1402

SPACEMINES

GAME

1483

WIZARD'S SWORD

GAME

BASIC. PART 1 OF GAME

1404

—

WIZARD’S SWORD

ADVENT

BASIC. PART 2 OF PROGRAM

1405

WIZARD’S SWORD

ADVENT

BASIC. PART 3 OF PROGRAN

I486

FLIP IT

GAME

BASIC. SAME AS OTHELLO OR REVERSI. GOOD

1487

BAUDOT PRINTER

UTILITY

1488

•»

FINANCE

UTILITY

1409

. "

MICROTEXT

UTILITY

1410

TEXT READING

UTILITY

1411

sir' twt*'

WACE LIBRARY MARK 2

Page 4

PROG NAME

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

PROG N0

TAPE NO

STATUS

PiiKEY NOTICE

MUSIC

BASIC. NOTICE FOR POKEY PLAYER

1581

POKY PLAYER

MUSIC

BASIC. PLAYER PROGRAM

1562

POKEY COMPILER

MUSIC

BASIC. COMPILER PQR POKEY PLAYER

1503

POKEY EDITOR

MUSIC

BASIC. POKEY PLAYER EDITOR

1504

FLICKER

DEMO ?

7 -

1505

SPIRAL GRAPHS

DEMO

1506

PLAYER 3

1507

PLAYER 2

7 -

1508

PFINIT ?

7 -

15@9

CHECKING

1510

CAR RACE

GAME

1511

ROAD LOCK

7 -

1512

CASSETTE DISK

1601

TRAPPED

GAME

1602

TRAPPED

SECOND PART OF PROGRAM

1603

TRAPPED

THIRD PART OF PROGRAM

1604

DATABASE SORT

UTILITY

1605

DATABASE SORT

UTILITY

SECOND PART OF PROGRAM

1606

DOODLE

DEMO

1607

GR 9 DISPLAY

DEMO

1603

GR 11 DISPLAY

DEMO

1609

•

ABOUT TINE

1610

MINI GOLF

GAME

7 -

1611

POKER SQUARE

GAME

1612

SHQKEY

GAME

1701

VOLCANO

ADVENT

1702

VOLCANO

ADVENT

SECOND PART OF PROGRAM

1703

GTIA DEHQ

DEMO

1704

GR 9 DEHQ

DEMO

1705

ATLANTIS

1706

STATES

EDUCAT

1801

•

REHSAHES

EDUCAT

1802

•

SLIDE

EDUCAT

1803

FUNCTION

EDUCAT

1804

•

HENDRY PRO

EDUCAT

1805

•

KULT

EDUCAT

’ 1806

FLAGS

EDUCAT

1807

SI NON

EDUCAT

1901

BEGINTYP

EDUCAT

1902

•

NATHPKG

EDUCAT

1903

STATES

EDUCAT

1904

•

AMERICAS

EDUCAT

• 1905

METRICS

EDUCAT

1906

SPELLBEE

EDUCAT

1907

MEMORY PRO

EDUCAT

1908

MATH PRO

EDUCAT

1909

•

NUNBERS 15

EDUCAT

1910

NMBER LI

EDUCAT

1911

•

TOUCH

EDUCAT

2001

PRESCHL

EDUCAT

2002

SCRAMS 14

EDUCAT

2003

WRDNATE 36

EDUCAT

2004

•

DRAGNET 48

EDUCAT

2005

•

MADLIB

EDUCAT

20@6

HANGMAN

EDUCAT

2007

; -

WAGE LIBRARY MARK 2 Page 5

PROS NAME

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

PROG N0

TAPE NO

STATUS

FUNCTION

EDUCAT

2008

MINUTE NTH

EDUCAT

2009

HATH2

EDUCAT

2016

ELLIPSE

EDUCAT

2011 '

•

MATHWARS

EDUCAT

2101

ODDEVEN

EDUCAT

2102

PLURALS

EDUCAT

2103

VERBS

EDUCAT

2104

NOUNS

EDUCAT

2105

QUIZ PRO

EDUCAT

2106

C0PY8UIZ

EDUCAT

2107

HANGQUOT

EDUCAT

2108

GE08UIZ

EDUCAT

2109

•

HOONIND

EDUCAT

2110

HELP SYS

EDUCAT

2111

8 UIZHELF

EDUCAT

2112

LWRCASE GR2

EDUCAT

2113

BAGELS

EDUCAT

2201

TRAP

EDUCAT

2202

GEOGRAPHY

EDUCAT

2203

ROMANS

EDUCAT

2204

MLTBINGO

EDUCAT

2205

SCRAMNDS

EDUCAT

2206

SINENAVE

EDUCAT

2207

HANGMAN

EDUCAT

• 2208

•

BOURREAU

EDUCAT

2209

FANROSE

EDUCAT

2210

NMSTATES

EDUCAT

2211

MATH8UIZ

EDUCAT

2212

STATECAP

EDUCAT

2213

TONER

2301

KNI6HTS-

BASIC. RESCUE THE FAIR MAIDEN FROM THE TONER

2302

CRICKETS

GAME

BASIC? CRICKETS AND CONVEYOR BELTS

2303

MOTTIE

GAME

BASIC? CAN YOU CORNER THE MOTTIE FORCES

2304

WILD NEST

GAME

BASIC? THE NILD AND NOOLY NEST

2305

OLD MAC

GAME

BASIC? EDUCATIONAL HATCH GAME

2306

GTIA PAD

UTILITY

BASIC. GRAPHICS TOOL

2307

•

SHUTTLE

2308

GR 9 Mi! 69

UTILITY

BASIC. GRAPHIC 9 SCREEN DUMP TO EPSON PRINTER

2309

2310

LANDER 7

2401

HELLO

2402

TINY TEXT 2

UTILITY

2403

CITYSCRL

2404

ESGSNTCH

2405

. **■

RAM TEST

UTILITY

2406

HATHHARS

2407

PLURALS

EDUCAT

2408

HELI

2409

SOUNDS

? ife ■

2410

CUBE

2411

PMHELP

2412

QUICK DOS

2501

QUICK DOS

• 2502

8 MENU

2503

WACE LIBRARY MARK 2

Page 6

PROS NAME

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

PROS N9

TAPE NO

STATUS

8 UIK DOS

2504

S MENU

2505 *

8 UIK DOS

2504

CANNIBAL

2507

STARBLSESB

2508

DEPTH CR6 SB

2509

HPLQADER

2510

MPL0ADER2

2511

DECHEX

2512

DECHEX

2513

HEXDEC

2514

HEXDEC

2515

MISSILE

2514

ATRAIN

2517

SUSS

2518

Nxse

2519

RECORD CQUNT= 291

WE WILL HAVE YOU TAGGED or IS IT 1984?

i 0

■■■■;■■ the last Club Committee meeting it was decided that we would

start issuing name tags to all members when they attend club meetings.
What we are going to do is have a plastic pin—on tag tor everyone in the
club. These will be kept in some semi logical order in a box at the door
.so that when members arrive they will take their name tag and wear it
throughout the meeting. Come pumpkin hour and we have to leave, the
tags will be handed back as you go out the door ready tor the next time
you attend a meeting.

There were two reasons why the Committee decided to do this.
Firstly to ensure that everyone gets to know everyone's name. It you
are like most ot us you torget someones name about 3€>0 milliseconds
atter being told. We think this will help members ot the club get to
know each other especially members who turn up tor the tirst time.

The second reason is that we have some suspicions that one or two
people turn up to the meetings and are not members. That is they have
not paid their subscriptions. While we cannot point the tinger at anyone
and don't like making allegations, we have our doubts. What will happen
now is all those club members who have by definition paid their
subscriptions will have a name tag to wear. Anyone who is not a club
member and does not have a tag will be allowed to attend one meeting
and thereafter be expected to join the club.

I am sure that you all agree it is a good idea to introduce name
tags. Just one minor point. The first time we try this there will no
doubt be some things which go wrong like your name is spelt wrong or
we don't know your first name or you have paid up already but we didn't
make you a tag or heaven forbid we have made you a tag and you haven't
paid up. If anything is incorrect then tell whoever'is manning (can
anyone de-sex this word) the door and we will fix it. You shouln't have

any problem talking to the person because they should be wearing their
name tag.

**STOP PRESS**STOP PRESS**STOP PRESS**STOP PRESS**STOP PRESS**

FOR SALE: Kevin Holland (tel 694.838) has two disks for sale at $30 each:
(a) Jump-man (32K)

Cb) Dimension X

MESSAGE FROM JENNY: Disk Drive, Memory Upgrade and 800XL:I'm still waiting for
all of these at the time of writing.

CLUB TAPES: BUGS AND THINGS

Several members have reported problems with the last educational tape (#13).
Here are some answers, with corrections supplied by Lonny Carey:

MEET THE ROMANS

This is a 16K+ program. Sorry we forgot to label it as such.

BAGELS

PROBLEM: During the program the ESC key is used for the option of finishing.
This is a disk option, so for the cassette version delete L.10000 or change it to
10000 END

CANNIBALS AND MISSIONARIES.

PROBLEM: Program crashes at beginning - error message unreadable. This is a
lack-of-mempry fault for 16K. To correct, delete all REMarks - kill lines
10,20,30,40,50,1760,1800,1950 and half the instructions (lines 2040-2058)

MEMORY MATCH

Several people have reported non-loading but we haven’t had time to check this
one out yet. Could be another inadvertent 16K inclusion.

OIL MINER (Club tape #?)

PROBLEM: If there is more than one player and only one joystick, the other
players must use control-arrows and RETURN. To correct:

Change L.90 to 90 JS=STICK(0): IF JS=15 THEN RETURN
Change L.95 to 95 TRIG=STRIG(0): IF TRIG THEN RETURN
This suggests what to do if you have a 600XL with only 2 joystick ports and a 3
or 4 player game written in Basic.

HOWEVER

The club makes up tapes in large numbers, and gets only occasional

feedback. Please tell Des which programs you thought were good, which okay but
could be improved, which you thought disappointing. We need those comments,
positive and negative.

This page written on a L0GITEC printer using an AXIOM AT-846 interface from
COMPUTER PALACE; 600XL with AtariWriter.

BY LOUISE KEHOE IN CALIFORNIA

_ “ WHAT CAN a home com¬
puter do? What use is to to

I me?" Such basic consumer
questions cut through the hyper¬
bole and rhetoric that surround
the home computer industry.

Like the child who shouted
“ the emperor has no clothes ”
in Hans Christian Andersen’s
fairy tale, they reveal a web of
pretence. Surely, everybody
knows what a home computer
docs, don’t they ?

Not accordin': to some of the
leading U.S. makers. Answering
these basic questions is the
biggest challenge facing home
computer \anufacturers.

according to Mr Don Esferidee. •
president of IBM Entry Systems
Division which nroduces the
IBM “ nc.” As TRM prooares to
enter the consumer market with
a U.S.SfiOO to U.S.5700 home
computer called Peanut, the
computer giant is still trying
to work out what its home com¬
puters wilt be used for, he
reveals.

Past exnerirncc- of computer
use offers them little help. “Our
market research tells us that
two-thirds of the (JBMV pcs
sold arc used for some kind of
business application, and two-
thirds are located in the home.”
says Esteridge. IBM knows
what businesses do with com¬
puter, and personal computers,
“but* people don’t Think like
businesses, and they don’t want
to," says Esteridge.

“ I like to describe a personal
computer as a productivity
tool, but when I tell my neigh¬
bours that, I get a blank stars.
They are quite happy with their
typewriter, they have no prob¬
lems balancing their cheque¬
books with paper, pen and
calculator, and they are" quite
comforable with shoe-box files.

*• We can tell them that com¬
puters are fun, that they are
creative, that they are an
Investment in the future.” But
thore answers, Esteridge says,
are not enough if the computer
“fad" is to endure to become
a long-term consumer market.
:hciHome computer users fall
into four categories, according
to Apple Computer. They are
concerned parents who buy
computers to give their child¬
ren a head start in the computer

age. They are people with a
practical — often job-related —
purpose such as writing a book.

Others are ” anti-obsoletists ”
who fear being left behind in
the rush of new technology, or
they are hobbyists who just like
playing with computers.

In the U.S., they will buy a
total of 5m units valued at
US$2bn. This year, according
to Future Computing, a Richard¬
son, Texas, market research
firm, the researchers predict
that by 1988 annual sales will
rise to a staggering 15.8m units

micro

ing the glamour of home com¬
puters.” says Apple Computer
marketing manager Chris
Bowman. Advertisements fea¬
turing movie stars do not
address the real issue of the
value of the computer to the
consumer, he stresses. “We
should be publicising real
applications.

“ It is hype to tell the world
that home computers are ‘user
friendly.’ Saying that ‘every¬
one will soon own a home com¬
puter’ is not true, and may in
fact build up consumer resist-

“ I like to describe a personal computer as a pro¬
ductivity tool, but when I tell my neighbours that,
I get a blank stare ”

worth close to USS6bn. The
figures specifically exclude com¬
puters that serve dual office/
home applications.

To live up to those predic¬
tions, home computer makers
. are beginning to recognise that
they must discard the preten¬
sions and exaggerations that
have surrounded the commer¬
cialisation of the home
. computer. ■

To extend the use of home
i computers beyond previously
i identified consumer groups,
: manufacturers must find more
1 practical applications for their
i machines, they are beginning to
i recognise.

“ The industry has been sell-

ancc. People do not like to be
told what they are going to
do.

“If the public’s perceptions
of home computer applications
do not catch up with reality,
then the home computer
market will falter. The home
computer could become the
crockpot of the late 1980s—a
hype and bust market.”

What will a home computer
do for the average consumer?
Atari president of computer
sales Don Kingsborough offers
the blunt answer: “not very
much.”

“We have got to stop over¬
promising—selling computers

1 ‘ » i tv L

with the promise that they will
change peoples lives.”

Software will eventually pro¬
vide the answers to what a
home computer does, but so far
the software does not live up
to the promises the industry is
making, he believes.

“The industry is scrambling
to keep up with its publicity,”
says Dan Ross, vice-president
of Timex Computer Corporation
which sells Sinclair-designed
home computers in the U.S.
“The central issue is that the
consumer is confused.” lie com¬
pares the home computers
offered today to the first con¬
sumer-priced automobile, the
Ford Model T.

“The Model T sold because
it met a basic need that was
evident to the consumer. Can
we say the same of the home
computer?” he asks. “There is
a lack of clarity in this indus¬
try, we have not clearly
answered a consumer need. We
use high technology jargon and
we continually discount prices.”
The net effect 'is frustration for
the consumer, says Mr Ross.

So far, the industry appears
to have identified the issues, but
not to have come up with satis¬
factory answers. Some lay the
problem of finding real applica¬
tions for the home computer on
the shoulders of software pro¬
ducers. Others believe that if
home computers are cheap
enough the consumer will work
out what to do with them.

“Interest in home computers
is self generating,” says
Myrddin Jones, vice president
of marketing for Commodore
Business Machines, which has
led the decline in home com¬
puter prices to become the lead¬
ing home computer manufac¬
turer in the U.S.

He suggests that the indus¬
try should be concerned with
making home computers easier
to usf, offeryjg greater support
and training to retailers and
consumers, making the
machines interactive with other
- home electronics products such
as video disc players and with
improving the “playability” of
home computers with better
graphics.

• ■«.: * >.< ;
’** *W’ -V '

i’i?--•'#•'*'

THE

ASIAN WALL S'

Personal Computers Inspire

agazines 5 but Shakeout Seen

OP FIVE MICROCOMPUTER
CONSUMER MAGAZINES

<*}

.v?,;

£.

yx%- ■

■ ;■ By Theresa Engstrom

Special to The Asian Wafl Stteet Journal

V-'L' BOSTON — John Hayes, associate pub-
. * Usher of Byte magazine, was mystified when
he got a flurry of reader complaints that the

• November issue — the largest ever with 728
r-Vpages — was late. When Mr. Hayes

Investigated, lie found that the issue hadn’t

• only been a recordbreaker, • but a
backbreaker as well.

“The problem was a basic reluctance on
the part of mailmen to carry it,” says Mr.
Hayes. “Wherever mailmen still carry the
mail on their backs, the magazines were
being delivered three or four at a time over
the course of a week or two.”

These days it isn't uncommon for
mailmen to be slinging computer magazines
thicker than telephone books. There are 9.1
million personal computers in the U.S., and
last year the 14 largest computer magazines

• alone carried $116 million of advertising
aimed at their owners — a 122% increase
from a year earlier.

That much money looking for a home has
inspired a rash of publications. Depending on
how “magazine" and “computer" are
defined, there arc 150 to 400 computer maga¬
zines on the market. About a dozen maga¬
zines cover only International Business Ma¬
chines Corp.'s Personal Computer; there’s
PC. PC World and PC Week, for starters. By
one count, 60 new magazines devoted to
• personal computing appeared last year.

Survival of the Fittest
. The field may be too crowded to sustain
that pace. “1 believe that 30 or 40 books may
fold this year," says James Callan, vice
president at C Systems Ltd., a market re¬
search firm. He’s considered an optimist, he'
adds. Some people in the advertising indus¬
try predict that 80% of the existing computer
magazines will go under.

: Every magazine hopes to survive by carv¬
ing its own niche in the market. But with so
much space to fill between ads and so many
similar publications, that’s not easy.

“There’s a lot of redundancy in the edito¬
rial,” notes Sheila Clarke, who reads 57
computer magazines every month for
Adscope Inc., a Goldendale, Washington, re-
'searchfirm.

Ip the February issue of Byte, there were
articles titled "Benchmarks and Perfor¬
mance Evaluation,” “Don’t Bench Me In”

. and “Benchmark Confessions." Other topics
in the magazines range from the zany (“PC
Passion and Other Romances”) to the in¬
scrutable (“MSPRO: MS-DOS on the S-100
Bus”).

Virtually all the ads are for computers
and related items. Computer-mag; zine read¬
ers might seem like a good audi nee for
other advertisers, but readers have criticized
’ magazines that have tried running non-
" computer ads. They say they read the maga¬
zines as much for the ads as for the editorial
copy. ■ *'

Many of the magazines were begun by
entrepreneurs. Allan and Margot Comstock
Tommervik started their first magazine,
Softalk, for Apple computer users on $40,000

in seed money. Less than four years later,
the Tommerviks value their four : magazine :
empireat about $12 million.

Now big companies are seizing the mar¬
ket, either by buying magazines or starting
new ones. »

McGraw-Hill Inc. bought Byte and Popu¬
lar Computing from a New Hampshire entre¬
preneur, Virginia Londoner, in 1979. Both are
among the most popular and lucrative. An
industry researcher describes Popular
Computing as “plain vanilla," but adds, “It’s
done well. When McGraw-Hill chooses to put
out a magazine, they know how to do it.”

The first magazines to suffer from the
heated competition have been some of those
aimed at a general computing audience.
Magazines targeted at beginning computer
users run into trouble, too, when the user
outgrows them. For those reasons, such well-
known magazines as Micro Discovery and
Desktop Computing were killed in the past
year. Another general magazine.
Microcomputing, is being revamped by its
owner, CW Communications Inc., to appeal
to more-sophisticated readers.

Hayden Publishing Co. has tried to avoid
the entry-level problems by publishing a
more advanced version of its Personal
Computing, designed to appeal to secorid-
■and third-year readers. When subscribers
send in their renewal notices, they automati¬
cally start receivingthe “enhanced” version,
says William Wooven, circulation director.

One fairly safe route seems to be to
devote the magazine to a winning computer
model like the IBM PC. CW Communica¬
tions’ PC World, which began last year,
expects total revenue of about $30 million
this year, up from $13 million last year.

, It’s important to bet on the right model,
though. Advertising sales have been
“clisappointing” for a magazine devoted to
Digital Equipment Corp, personal comput¬
ers, says Patrick Kenealy, editor of Digital
Review. That’s probably because sales of.
Digital’s personal computers have been slug¬
gish. And a would-be publisher of a magazine
for Timex-Sinclair users was caught by sur¬
prise when Timex announced it was quitting
the home computer market just 10 days after
he bought the magazine.

Problems of Success,

These so-called “machine specific” mag¬
azines make up about half the titles among
personal computer magazines, with the trend
toward an even narrower focus. There’s a
magazine called UNIXAVorld, dedicated to
an operating software system. Another mag¬
azine, Wall Street Computer Review, deals
solely„with personal computer applications in
the investment industry'. • ‘

Even great success, however, has its
drawbacks. Some of. tM magazines are
growing so fat that they’re testing the limits
of print technology. . ..

So publishers are trying to trim pages—;.,
while increasing profits. One way is to raised
advertising rates. Compute!, owned by a unit.
of ABC Publishing Cos., raised its rates 72%.
last year.'Ad pages still rose 51%, but reve- '
nue increased about 400%. In January, the ■

• v v.’.rr-‘“ v; c

■A.

Ranked By Estimated 1983

Gross Ad Revenues ' *

Millions

27.5
16.8

11.8

9.7

7.5

creative
competing

Source: Communications Trends Inc.,
Larchmont, N.Y.

magazine raised its rates again.

Some publishers attempt to spin off anoth¬
er magazine to take some of the ad load.
Hayden Publishing Co., owner of Personal
Computing, last fall introduced a sequel.
Personal Software. -

As already-thick magazines increase
their frequency, editors are desperate for
copy. “We’re sweeping the paper off the
floor” to fill the magazine, says an editor
whose publication recently went from month¬
ly to twice a month.

At least one magazine printed a list of
programs that will run on the IBM PCjr —
lifted directly from IBM press releases. And
even in-the best.magazines, the almost sym¬
biotic relationship between computer maga¬
zines and ‘ the industry can lead to
embarrassing boosterism. In the March is¬
sue of Byte, an editorial apologizes that “in
some recent cases, Byte lias been guilty of
insufficient editorial zeal in purging promo-
tional material from certain articles.”

Freelance writers, not traditionally
known for their financial successes, doubly
are finding the computer magazines a boor-
at $750 to $1,000 per article.

Technical knowledge is no longer a pre¬
requisite, either. “Once you know anything
about computers, it’s easy to pop off 20 tips
for $1,000,” says Paul Somerson, an editor at
PC. Mi’. Somerson says he bought his first
^computer to retype a pornographic novel and
fell in love with the machine. He wrote
article and submitted it to PC, and now he
,spends his, days writing about computers
instead of sex. -—

all

Pti

c, i

El]

. a!

T.A.C.

T-A.C. (Tactical Armor Command, Avalon Hill, $30.00) is a World War
II armored simulation. You choose tanks, field guns, and infantry from
any one of four countries (U.S., Great Britain, Germany, and Russia)
You direct their attack upon the enemy forces.

From the menu you choose one or two players, skill level (if playing
the computer), any one of five scenarios, and the points each player
gets for his forces (from 12 to 224).

The game is a stepped-up version of the TANKTICS game (also by
AVALON HILL). This time, the computer not only does all the com¬
putations, but controls the map as well. Each turn consists of several
parts. The first part is tactical sighting. This is when the "active" unit
looks for all units in its line of sight (friendly and enemy). Next is the
strategic sighting. Now the tactical sighting is put on the overall map.
Then comes the movement phase. Players set the speed for their
units. Then comes the indirect fire phase. Armor units may fire in¬
directly at enemy units (both seen and unseen). Infantry and field guns
may load/unload in this phase. Then comes the second part of the
movement phase. When a player presses the button, the unit begins to
move. Players can turn their units by moving the joystick, but it is very
easy to oversteer.

I love the indirect fire mode. With a squadron of tanks, a skilled
player can wipe out most slow tanks, all dismounted field guns, and
infantry halftracks. !n the engagement scenario, a player can lose half
his force in a single turn. But to keep a player from losing interest too
soon, there are four skill levels and four other scenarios. These range
from static defense to stalemate. In some scenarios there are
minefields to worry about, besides the other player.

The graphics are excellent. The scrolling is outstanding. There is
some sound, but this is not the same quality as the graphics. The
game designer must have spent some time collecting all the Informa¬
tion on almost 40 different tanks. The computer determines the effec¬
tiveness of a shot by computing the armor thickness, weapon caliber
time tracked, and speed.

Overall, I think this is very good. But as a Squad Leader fan, I find a
maximum of eight units constricting. And the map is not very large
once a main battle tank gets rolling. This is one of the best wargames
I've seen in a long time.

—Aaron Ness

DIMENSION X

DIMENSION XfSynapse Software $30), aside from being a graphics
spectacular is also very playable and "wears well." It is sort of a cross
between STAR RAIDERS and Synapse's own game, ENCOUNTER

The objective of DIMENSION X is to eliminate enemy saucers
before they eliminate you and/or get control of the "Capital"
(represented as a square on a grid map in the upper right corner of the
screen display).

As the game begins an intialization screen appears which give you
choices as to the level you wish to play.the strength of your shields,
and the number of alien saucers you wish to encounter. When you
make these choices you are immediately projected to the main screen
display — and what a display it 13 ! You are in the cockpit of your own
ship looking over a scrolling 3-D landscape with mountains and tun¬
nels in the background and a biue sky and clouds overhead. Moving
your joy stick forward moves your ship forward ove' the chsckerboa, d
surface of the planet. You may also move back or from side to side by
moving the joy stick. This visually gives you the effect of "zooming” in
and out as well as traveling at great speed.

Enemy saucers appear from time to time and fire at your ship. You
either dodge their shots while firing back or your shields ere destroyed
and the game ends.

The top of the screen has, in addition to (1) the grid map, (2) a scan¬
ner to help you locate enemy saucers, (3) a fuel gauge, (4) a shield
status indicator, as well as (5) a message board which warns you of
various hazards. Despite all of these “aids" and the graphic display,
the screen is not cluttered.

To move from one grid to another it is necessary to pass through
tunnels at the edge of each sector. In the tunnel the display changes.
What you see is laterally shifting planes representing the edges of the
tunnels and a series of gates which you either go over or under. If you
hit the sides of the tunnel or do not avoid the gates you will sustain
damage. At the novice level these gates are not difficult — but at
higher levels with increased speed I got frustrated at times.

One of the squares on the grid map ha.-, an "F" on it. This represents
where you need to go to automatically replenish your fuel supply and
to repair all damages sustained in battle.

If you succeed in destroying all of the saucers you will be given a
rating and classification on a final screen (shades of STARRAIDERS).

I succeeded once in reaching a class 1 status mostly by luck. The
highest level, labeled "Expert", is too fast for me to master as yet.

This is a good game. It has had good staying power and variety
There are a lot of subtleties to DIMENSION X which are discovered on¬
ly by playing it. I do very well on the battle field but not so hot
maneuvering in the tunnels. The graphics alone make this game a wor¬
thy addition to the Atari repertoire.

— Graham Smith

BASIC XL

I don’t impress easily. A product has to be quite good for me to give
it the green light. In the case of BASIC XL ($99 OSS), I am impressed
all over myself. I received my computer programming training on Main¬
frame computers. Most of these have extremely good editors and very
powerful versions of BASIC. Needless to say, I wa3 rather shook when
I bought my ATARI and found many of the high level commands I was
used to were missing. And, while the ATARI editor is the best of all
home computers, it still lacks many features.

The first thing the programmer will notice is the improved editor.
Automatic line numbering, built-in renumber, and block line deleting
make it much easier to modify programs. Another powerful aid to pro¬
gramming is the TRACE function. The trace function is not be par¬
ticularly useful in graphic programming, as it kills all graphic mode 3
and functions only in GR.O. On the other hand, if you are going buggy
trying to find just where the extra characters crept into that siring, this
is the ticket.

There are other nice features to the editor, and some which are
useable through the editor OR in deferred mode in programs. First,
and probably the most desirable is the DIR(ectory) command, if you
are like me you probably don't update your disk labels often enough.
This makes it fun trying to find which disk has what. Also accessible
are most of the standard DOS commands, which saves PLENTY of
time if the program you are developing does any file manipulation,
such as creating data files. All in all, the editor is among the nicer I
have seen. The only more powerful editors are those on larger
machines which COMPILE the basic programs prior to running them.

One thing you will notice about BASIC XL right away is it runs
FAST. Without any modifications to existing programs, any largeish
program will run noticeably quicker. As an example, I booted MASTER-
TYPE(tm) with BASIC XL in the computer. While the program was
thinking it was running at 25 WPM, I counted 34 WPM. Again, this is
with absolutely NO changes to 'he program. On top of this, there is a
nifty command which comes in very handy. "FAST" tells the computer
to do a basic pre-compile on the program. I won't take the time to ex¬
plain its operation here, but it can make a very significant differance in
speed.

One of the things that bothered me the most when I got my ATARI
was the lack of string arrays. Once I got used to building my own str¬
ing arrays, I felt better and found that if I worked at it I could to
anything other Basics could do. BUT, it took a lot of extra programm¬
ing. BASIC XL has all of the string handling fea'"res of the best micro¬
computer basics. Not just string arrays, but MIDS, LEFT$, and RIGHTS.
Also included is the FIND command, which makes string searching
quite a bit easier. This does not force you to use these commands, as
the normal ATARI string handling features are also available.

Not being a mathematician, and avoiding number crunching as
scrupulously as possible, I couldn't see any changes in the math func¬
tions. So I compared the command lists in the ATARI BASIC and
BASIC XL manuals. Sure enough, no changes. (At least none I could
find).

For people like myself who just LOATHE mucking about with the
details of setting up and manipulating PLAYER MISSILE graphics,
there are a whole flock of commands to simplify the process of using
PMo. This should open the use of PMG to many programmers who
have avoided it in the past.

Let's not forget the error codes. ATARI BASIC simply gives you a
number when it encounters an error. BASIC XL not only gives you a
number, but a short explanation of the type of error encountered.
Those of you who don't goof up enough to have memorized all of the
error codes (like I have) will appreciate this feature. It will save you
from looking everything up in the manual.

Those of you who Intend to do any serious programming in BASIC
should strongly cons'der picking up BASIC XL. Not only do the
features make programming easier, but the increased speed in many
cases is enough to make the difference between a clunky game and a
fast, smooth one. Those of you writing application-type software will
find it faster and easier. I have used all of the enhanced Basics that I
have seen for the ATARI. Of them ail, BASIC XL Is the best. In my opi¬
nion, this is a MUST for BASIC programmers.

Now, Is anybody listening at ATARI. I have talked with Bill Wilkin¬
son at OSS. He assures me BASIC XL could be implemented in the
new 1450XLD (if there really is to be such a thing) without making any
mods to the operating system OR the circuit boards. If you plan on
putting out an advanced personal computer, you should use the most
advanced implementation of BASIC available. I seriously believe the
search for a better Basic ends hero.

Klrt Stockweil

BUMPAS REVIEWS

Scroll I ($20. Superware. 2028 Kingstiouse Rd., Silver Spring, MO 20904
301-236-4459) is a machine language program you can use as a
subroutine in a program of your ov.n design. Your programs may now
easily include continuous scrolling in 8 directions. You may also
control the speed ol the scroll, and you can change the ANTIC
character mode. You can do all this without having to understand all
the details ol fine scrolling.

The manual is not a tutorial, but use ol this program can be very
instructive tor someone learning about scrolling. The user is referred
to "De Re Atari'and to the October. 1983 issue ot ANALOG magazine
lor more information on line scrolling. The 5 page manual describes
the simple steps needed to incorporate the routine into a program.

The disk also contains a demo program with a map ol the Western
Pacific Ocean. The scrolling routine is supplied in the form of a string
variable, but it is also supplied in DATA statement format in case you
cannot use a long string variable.

I've always been a bit intimidated by scrolling. This package makes
me want to experiment with it in several programs.

BUMPAS REVIEWS

Eastern House Software (3239 Linda Dr., Winston-Salem, NC 27106)
has done Atari, tnc. a BIG favor. They have removed one of the most
Important reasons one might want to keep an 800 rather than buying
an XL

MONKEY WRENCH It is now available in cartridge form for Atari XL
computers. The price will be $50 as of June 1, 1984 (the announced
date of availability). We’ll be sure to let you know how well it works as
soon as we've seen a copy.

LETTER WIZARD (Datasoft, $50) is the latest word processor for the
Atari. I've been using TEXT WIZARD lor nearly three years now, so I've
oeen eagerly awaiting Datasoft's improved product. And it is improv¬
ed. There is a Main Menu from which the user may proceed to Edit a
document, to Print a document, or to go to a Menu of disk file manage¬
ment functions including: Formatting a disk, renaming, deleting, lock¬
ing and unlocking files. The disk directories are displayed in double¬
column format on the screen, with the space bar used to continue if
more than one page is needed. The disk directories may also be called
up from within the editing mode. There is a status window at the bot¬
tom of the Edit screen showing the file name, amount of RAM
available, and the number of words and disk sectors in the file.

Many program features are applied by use of the three function keys
In combination with other keys. Letter Wizard moves away from the
use of Control Key combinations to permit users to embed control
characters in the text of documents. The format for these embedded
commands requires the Atari Logo key (inverse) to type the letters
“ch”, together with the decimal number of the control code. This
feature allows me to get more use from my IDS printer than is possible
with most word processors. A very powerful feature. The rhanual says I
must precede each control code with (inverse) "ch27” (the decimal
value of the ESC key), but for the IDS at least, this code is not helpful.
Only the control code of the printer feature I’m using Is required. Since
the inverse key must be toggled on and off, the program features re¬
quiring this key usually require two more key-strokes than other word
processors

Letter Wizard adds two new cursor controls: Now the user can jump
to the beginning or end of any line. And flexibility in handling margins
is expanded by permitting “relative" margins. Without resetting the
margins of the printed page, you now may set off the margins of
paragraphs within your text. The temporary margins may be inside or
outside the margins of the document as a whole. A very sensible and
easy way to handle this problem. No more calculating how wide the
paper is. Now you need only decide how many spaces the margins will
move, inside or outside your other margins.

You no longer have to worry about having the cursor at the top of
the file for saving and loading. If you want to save less than all of a
document into a file, separate commands are available to save
everything below the cursor. In the same manner, files may be append¬
ed below the cursor with another command. If you make a mistake
when you delete a block of text, a new command permits you to
restore the deleted block. This is a handy feature!

Now for the bad news. The program does not function with any dou¬
ble density disk drive. I can't help think this is a severe marketing er¬
ror. Double density drives are flooding the market for the Atari. This
program requires users to take a step backwards. And after I've con¬
verted all my text files to double density, too! Less important, Letter
Wizard has abandoned the support for double-column printing. My
guess is the greater printer support achieved in Letter Wizard has
made it necessary to drop this feature.

nRMPP I rr

. In BRUCE LEE (Datasoft. 19808 Nordhoff Pi rn .

| * 30 ). Oatasof. points the CA 9131 '■

! Bruce Lee. you must work your way throunh ,n ^ Mde 9ames ' As

f » r r c ; n rdb o=

being pursued by a large sumowrestler eaiiMi re i , °‘ n9 m,s - You are

Sssssr* - •rrt

manuanmpheVthlTdyTu^ulTwInand'oe 6 !’ 96S qU “ e '' ar ' ed Th *

sortie into the wizard s castle w,n d. ioooS? w,2a,d - "ext
survive through me first 10 rooms so I Ve °" y beeo able

point out yet ° 1 haven 1 been able <° check this

ot^r S op”ons e 2 a p'aye q sTakmn C , 0mpU,er: Oa,aso » has P™** *«o

Player. This las. opt^n?simauelnH S T COmpu,er ' ana P' a Yer vs.

than most arcade-style games One nil' 9 ' Ve thtS game a lon 9 er ,if e
other runs me Green Yam . Th c P " Jns Bruce Lee whll «

— Nickolas Chrones

GUITARADE

=saSsr»«

negligible. ^ d ' S ’ 0rl10 " 31 V6rV h ' 9h and ^SSs
(Q There is another function to change the default mode from sharps

&SS£ 5 L~~SS~

with^ATARHJOO 800XL°i 20 O)d'This'program is compatible

— Aaron Ness

Boulder Dash

(First Star Software, $J 3 )

This is a very good arcade-style game modeled after the pooular
Dig-Oug game. The fact that it s produced by First Star, a company
well known for it s hi-res graphic pages, should give you some idea of
the well-done screens.

d * n ! he 9 ame y° u tnove a constantly digging ant-like creature called
Hockford through the earth, avoiding death by a falling boulder, or by
any of the cave s other occupants. To score points, you must collect
rainbow colored jewels which dot the different caves, while keeping
an eye on the ever falling time limit.

After all the jewels in a cave are collected, you advance to the next
cave, which, of course, is more difficult. In the beginning caves, there
are just boulders and jewels, but beyond these easy' levels are ones
containing deadly fireflies, butterflies, or even the dreaded Amoeba
These seldom visited lower levels are extremely difficult because of
combinations of these characters.

There are options for one or two players, a pause feature and an
allowance for difficulty selection. The documentation is adequate but
could be better. H ' 1

The game has its funny parts too. For instance, if you pause for a
bit. Rockford will begin tapping a foot, patiently waiting fora response
from the player.

This is a popular game around our house. Even my parents enjoy
playing It. and that's pretty rare for them to enioy an arcade style
game. The best attribute of the game is challenge This is one of the
hardest games I've yet seen lor the Atari. II you lo.e a good challenge
this one s for you. * '

— Tim Ebling

For EPSON owners

Do you own an EPSON printer? Do you want to customize it? The
Fingerprint add-on board (Dresselhaus, 837 E. Alosta, Glendora, CA
91740 ($70) turns the 3 buttons (Online, FF, LF) into a powerful way to
program your printer. Change to compressed, emphasized, italic or
even the very tiny “subscript" print handy for disk labels. Does much
more, and very nice to have. Requires you to take your printer apart,
and some dexterity required. Another way to customize your EPSON is
described in the CSRA Newsletter as quoted from the Charlotte PC
Newsletter.

EPSON MX-80 Modlficaton
by Wayne Setzer
(Article modificated.by M.D.)

This article describes modifications to the Epson MX-80 to allow
you to use both the Graftrax-80 character set as well as the Graftrax
Plus set on the same printer, so you can use block graphics as well as
the advanced features of the Plus.

The Epson uses 3 2716 (2K) EPROM's for the character set. By using
2732’s (4k), and a switch to use either the lower or upper 2k, you can
switch to the character set you want. First program the 2732's with the
Graftrax-80 in the lower 2k and the Graftrax-Plus in the upper 2k. Install
the EPROM's in their respective sockets, leaving out pin 21. Tie all the
pin 21’s together with a small gauge wire (a wire wrap tool works fine
—M.D.). Connect pin 21 to the common post of a SPOT switch, and
mount switch on the back of the printer. Connect one side of the SPOT
switch to Vi5 volts and the other side to ground. (A ground can be
found marked on the right circuit board, and 5 Volts can be obtained
from the front part of the cut J1, which must be cut if you use an
EPROM instead of a ROM-M.D.). To use theGraftrax-80, set the switch
to ground, and for Graftrax-Plus to + volts. Be sure to turn printer OFF
before changing the switch setting. (Fingerprint works with the above
modification, somehow sensing the different printer codes —M.D.).

Because a different team assembles the text part and the listings
part of the newsletter, two articles last month did not have the listings
printed due to a lack of communication. They are in this issue—
Device Handlers by Greg Menke and the TldBits article by Dale Lutz
Sorry!

Also, the Global Change program last month had an omission:
change Line 800 to read at the end “THEN 920”.

XBASIC

(by George Schwenk (c) 1983 by SUPERware 2028 Kingshouse RO
Silver Spring MO 20904)

Description: Atari BASIC enhancement
Medium: Disk or cassette

Requirements: disk drive or cassette recorder, Atari BASIC, 16K RAM
(XBASIC uses less than 3K of RAM)

Cost: $29.95

XBASIC adds a library of thirty new functions which will help you
accomplish otherwise time-consuming programming chores with
relative ease. Each of these machine language subroutines is
accessed by the USR command from Atari BASIC.

The disk version of XBASIC contains an initialization file and six
examples of short programs which use several of the functions. A
thirty-page manual concisely describes each of the functions with
examples of how to incorporate them in BASIC programs, but does
not explain much about how it all works. However. SUPERware offers
to provide the source code to those who might wish to modify or
better understand what Mr. Schwenk has done. The cost for the
vD U /c?r' COde 15 S5 ' Furthermore - permission is given to include
StiPFfl commerc,al software, provided credit is given to

v nen.fs, of, —/% W /wiv i» vuioi. oy lyping

X = USR(DLIST). V0U Wl11 961 3 d ' Sk direc,0,y lisl,n 9 without calling

If you have w.shed Atari BASIC had string arrays you might

a, I> m« CI DcrS 3ASlC S fOUr su,n!5 ,unr - ,icns SDIM dimensions string
arrays. PS FH puts a character string into a string array GSTR qe's a

suh'slr „ e n a, r,n9 ,r ? m an array; ,NSTR aaa 'C"es 9 a stnng array^ a

substring. Also included are three similar array functions for integers.

I/O functions are PCHRS. GCHRS. SSAVE and SLOAO Use PCHRS
to put bytes from RAM to a disk or cassette tile: GCHRS gets them
ctxwc hese are 9reat lor sav,n9 or load,n 9 your own character sets
saves lhe screen : SLOAO loads it from disk or cassette
SMOVE. a related 'unction, changes the RAM area to be displayed on
the screen, which is useful for page flipping.

'unctions are CLM (clear memory). FILL (fill memory).
MOVE (move memory from one location to another- used for character
sets or players, etc.). DPEEK (double peek a two-byte sequence) and
OPOKE (a two-byte poke).

Also included are two timing functions. STIMER (set timer) sets a
countdown timer. DELAY waits lor the amount of time you specify
Two sound functions. VDIM and XSOUND, are used to play a
sequence of sounds during vertical blank interrupt, one sound each
1/60tn ot a second.

XBASIC has a special graphics call (SGR) which makes it easy to
set up ANTIC modes 4 and E. with or without a four-line text screen
For example. "GR.0:DUM s USR(SGR.2)”sets up a full-screen four-
color ANTIC mode 4 screen.

Finally. XBASIC provides seven player/missile graphics functions,
which enable, move, set the size and color of. and detect collisions of
players and missiles. PMOVE moves the desired player to any x.y
location and uses shape data from any part of RAM.

There are two ways to use XBASIC. The first is to add it to an
existing program. The procedure is to LIST "D:YOURPROG" (or LIST
C: ). LOAD XBASIC. and then initialize XBASIC by typing GOSUB
32500 in the immediate mode. [XBASIC uses line numbers 1*12 and
32490-32502.| Next. ENTER your proqram back into memory Finally
type X = USR(XSAVE):SAVE "D.YOURPROG " (or CSAVE) This
procedure will save XBASIC along with your BASIC program.

The second method is to use XBASIC when writing a new program.
You must begin by loading and initializing XBASIC before typing in
your program. When editing your XBASIC programs, it is necessary to
begin each editing session by initializing XBASIC. and to use
X =USR(XSAV£) before saving. I learned that the hard way, although I
hack read the directions prior to starting. My problem is I like to save
my programs frequently, and I occasionally forgot to use XSAVE or
else forgot to initialize XBASIC at start-up.

XBASIC uses page 6. I spent several hours trying to convert a
program from a magazine to XBASIC, only to discover it would not
operate correctly because it already had a non-relocatable machine
language routine stored in page 6. Although 40 bytes (1561-1600) are
used only by DLIST and are free for your use unless you use DUST
you must face the reality of this limitation to XBASIC if you already
use other routines designed for page 6. The obiect code for XBASIC is
stored as part of the variable name table.

I find it difficult to recommend XBASIC to beginners, but more
experienced BASIC program developers may find these new functions
facilitate faster programming, as well as faster program execution. Mr.
Schwenk appears to be a conscientious programmer who offers
others a way around re-mventing the wheel. And if you are one of
those hackers who like re-inventing in the hopes of making a better
wheel, perhaps you should take advantage of his gracious offer to
provide the source code.

—Deloy Graham

■JLL

I gi aa k w

If anyone can be
credited with inspir¬
ing the launch of
New Zealand’s first
magazine dedicated
purely to home com¬
puters, it is perhaps
five-year-old
Gregory McCall, of
Bucklands Beach.
Gregory is only 'just
learning to write by hand,
and to understand what he
reads. But already he is
using his family's Commo¬
dore 64 computer.

"It is the future here
today," said his father Eric,
ague 30, who with his
brother-in-law Ashley
I Noble edits Computer
jlnput magazine, which has
i appeared on newstands in
the last few weeks.

"He can recognise let¬
ters, and 1 just showed him
how to use the space bar,"
he recalls of Gregory.

"Next thing I knew, 1
came home and he had
typed a whole programme
into the computer.

“What is it going to be
like in 10 years’ time?”

Light-hearted

It was that question that
spurred Mr McCall and Mr
Noble into the decision to
produce their new monthly
magazine.

Mr Noble's father, Mr j.
T. Noble, of Glenficld, a
semi-retired advertising
representative, was roped
in as advertising manager.

'What we are providing
is light-hearted, non-profes¬
sional journalism written
by the guys next door," said
Mr McCall.

This is not the first com¬
puter magazine in New
Zealand. That honour
would have to go to the
Auckland-based journal of
the New Zealand Computer
Society, Interface, the Sep¬
tember issue of which
offered 68 pages for $1.50.

A year ago it was joined
by Systems Digest, a $2
quarterly issued free to
subscribers to Management
magazine and, like Inter¬
face, aimed primarily at
business readers. I

The first computer hob-1
byists’ magazine. Bits and !
Bytes, also celebrated its j
first anniversary last :
month, it is edited by two
Christchurch journalists,]
[with a strong input from

Auckland hobbyists, and
claims a circulation of 7000
at $1 a copy.

New Zealand Computer
Scene was next to appear,
also from Christchurch, in
the middle of this year. Its
September issue had 56
pages for $1.95, and like
Bits and Bytes, it covers all
uses of microcomputers,
both at home and at work.

They are not experts; tfor
do they work full-time on
the project Mr McCall de¬
signs and sells business sta¬
tionery for the printers
Clark and Matheson, while
Mr Noble is a draughts¬
man.

Finally, the New Zea¬
land Small Computer
Guide 1983 hit the streets
with a print run of 14,000
and a $3.95 price tag in
July, aimed at businesses
thinking of buying a com¬
puter.

Its editor, Auckland pro¬
gramming specialist Clive
Wilson, plans to have a
quarterly called Computer
Reviews on sale at $5.95
within the next few weeks.
Its 120 pages will contain
half-page reviews of almost
every computer available
in this country.

Glossy Paper
But in all this welter of
glossy paper. Eric McCall
could find nothing pitched
at his level — nothing, that
is, which ignored expensive
business applications and
concentrated on what most
home computers are being
used for; games..

In its slim 24 newsprint
pages, Computer Input at¬
tempts to fill this gap with
reviews of commercially
available game cassettes

and the new Colour Genie
computer.

But its main feature, and
the one Mr McCall believes
makes it well worth $1.50,
is that it actually prints
game programmes which
readers can key into their
computers for nothing.

Enthusiast

Prizes are offered for the
best, programmes submit¬
ted for publication by
readers, and if any are
good enough, Mr McCall
plans to pass them on to
software firms instead of
publishing them.

He also offers to find
answers to people’s ques-,
tions, and provides a mail¬
order service for popular
programmes.

And if the initial re¬
sponse is any guide,
Gregory McCall is not the
only youngster who has
been waiting for just such a
magazine. From 5400
copies printed, more than
100 subscriptions have al¬
ready came back.

A 32-page November
issue is due out late next
week. Newsprint is being
abandoned and from now
on, even home game en¬
thusiasts will follow their
passion on glossy paper.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26,1983

TECHNOLOGY

By ANDREW POLLACK

Computerizing Computer Magazines:
New Art Form — or Another Oddity

N EW YORK — The next t hing to be computerized might be the
corapfer magazines.

A few will soon have floppy disks containing computer programs to
accompany the printed articles. In some cases, the entire magazine will be
distributed on floppy diskettes instead of on paper.

The diskette magazines, with names like Microzine and Magazette,
could become a new an form, combining the best erf the two media. Or
they could become oddities, like the little flexible phonograph records
inserted into magazines.

One use for floppy disks inserted into magazines would be to contain
programs that are discussed in the
magazine’s articles. Many comput- ] ~

er magazines contain such pro- As in printed
grams in printed form, but these r

must be painstakingly typed into a
computer. Having a diskette with
the program on it would be much
easier.

Magazines on floppy disks can
also be “interactive,” meaning the
readers can respond to questions
and play with computer programs
instead of just reading about them.

Those trying such magazines also
think the disks could be a form of
advertising, with software compa-

magazineg, certain
features will be
repeated, such as a story
in which children ran
answer questions and
influence the plot.

nies providing samples of their programs.

The Microsoft Corp., a leading software company, will insert a demon-
«ration disk containing its new word-processing program, Microsoft
Word, into the November issue of PC World, a magazine for users of the
IdM personal computer. The disk will allow users to try out features of
the program but not to store or print out what they write, so that they will
have to buy the program if they like what they see.

Such a sample might be needed to get people interested in a new word-
processing program, since many computer owners already have such a
program. "Suddenly you get 100,000-plus bona fide IBM users to Uy out
yemrproduct, David Bunnell, publisher of PC World, said of the disk

Ziff-Davis, which publishes PC magazine, the archrival of PC World,
has just introduced PC Disk magazine, which includes a disk con tainin g
eight to twelve programs and a manukL 8

Programs for Children

Others seek ttxput the entire magazine on a disk. Scholastic Inc. which
publishes educational material, is planning a software magazine called
Microzine, for children, containing educational and eiuwt.mm. nf pr0 _
grams. As in primed magazines, certain features will be repeated each
month, such as a story in which the children can answer questions and
influence the plot

There are several small, little-known diskette magazines in existence,
such as the I.B. Magazette, which stands for “interactive, bi-directional
m ag a zi n e on diskette.” It is for IBM personal computer owners. Users
receive a disk containing programs and tutorials on various subjects.
They can comment on the various programs and articles, ccnv the (terns
they want to keep, and mail back the disk. Another disk publication, the

Fkanklin iSnL ^ ** be “ 8 or 8 ani2ed b y Jose P h M - Segal, founder 5 the

Such magazines face many challenges, however, not the least of which
is the cost. “The total printing cost of a magazine is a couple of dollars,*'
said Kenneth G. Bosomworth, president of International Resource De¬
velopment, a consulting firm in Norwalk, Connecticut. ‘To add a flexible
disk adds another two, three, four bucks in with it.”

As a result, disk magazines will cost as much per issue as many
magazines cost per year. PC Disk sells for $30 an issue, or $20 an issue [or
a six-issue subscription. Advertising is also expensive. Microsoft will
spend several hundred thousand dollars on its floppy insert in PC World.

A full-page ad would cost $8,000.

Delicate Disks in V.S. Mail

Another problem is that each model of computer requires a different
disk, so diskette magazines can be aimed only at users of particular
computers. Even inserting and mailing the delicate disks inside a maga¬
zine can be tricky. “It’s phenomenal what happens to things that go
through the U.S. mail,” said Rowland Hanson, vice president of corpo¬
rate communications for Microsoft.

, New technologies also threaten such diskette magazines Some compa¬
nies think software could be distributed through magazines in the form of
bar codes, sui h as those used at supermarkets. They could be printed on
m a gazin e pap x and entered into a computer by scanning the code with a
hand-held reader. Also coming is the distribution of software over
telephone lines.

Those behind the magazines are convinced they will fill a niche. “It’s
really not much different from what happens in the book world,” Mr.
Segal said. “It’s considered a big coup for a book to be serialized in The
New Yorker.”

ftp

New York Timet Service