Computers are Fun
They have such a fun way of
playing with your mind. For in-
stance, there is a computer here
at the magazine with which I
write these monthly comments.
It is on temporary leave of ab-
sence because the spindle bear-
ing in its dual disk drive is
permanently dead. No huhu - we have lotsa these
around here. Unfortunately they communicate. On
thinkum number two, I am stopped because thinkum
is not feeling good. Thinkum number three is cur
hitting for thinkum number four, which is in the
Thinkum number three is also the one which contro
sette duplicating machine, so it gets immediate
After a session with Three, I continue on to Two,
I am now typing. Two has a pair of disk drives,
in for repair. It also has a keyboard which has
developed a tendency to ignore certain letters un
time the key is hit. If Two dies before One come
about two weeks, it's back to the typewriter for
entry, and comments will start getting really sho
of you who have started using your computer for t
can understand that using a typewriter - even the
Selectric kind, is cruel and unusual punishment.
But that's not what I'd
and it would be nice to pass
Talk and Level One magazines,
talk about the competition (i
could affect their ability to
are in a "catch up" position,
effectively dead and I suppos
magazines were to be cassette
up much like CLOAD, except on
events in the computer field
business software. Both maga
level - headed people who wer
of ripping people off intenti
ledge) came out with their fi
cation being far more serious
there is anything that should
that putting out a cassette m
the market is not all that la
subscribing to any of them, a
want to really be assured, wa
second issue is the hardest o
has to be done - from beginni
like to talk
on the next
It is not
n any field)
compete - e
These two,
e this amoun
- based TRS
e was to spe
and the othe
zines were h
e definitely
onally. Nei
rst issue, t
than it ini
be evident
agazine is a
rge. As for
sk for a sam
it for the s
ne of all (i
ng to end -
about t
subject ,
good man
in a ma
speciall
however
ts to a
-80 supp
cial ize
r was to
eaded up
not in
ther one
he probl
tially a
from all
major e
being c
pie issu
econd is
t's the
in a mon
thinkums
the way to
number three
rently pinch
hospital .
Is the cas-
at tent ion.
upon which
one being
just now
til the third
s back in
all text
rt. Those
ext editing
correcting
his month,
that of Tape
ners to
nner which
y when they
, are now both
eulogy. Both
ort mags, set
in current
specialize in
by serious,
the business
(to my know-
em of dupli-
ppeared. If
this, it is
nterprise, and
autious in
e . If yo u
sue. That
first one that
th) .
Announcements :
John Craig, Editor of Creative Computing magazine, holds a
swap meet every year to provide an opportunity for all to come
and buy or sell all the stuff they can carry or dump, as the
case may be. This year it will be held on the San Mateo County
Fairgrounds, San Mateo California (south of San Fransisco) on
Saturday, September 15th. Y'all corae, especially all you sub-
scribers out there in Australia. It costs $1.00 to park your
dinosaur, but admission is otherwise free to buyers (standard
California swap meet protocol). Great chance to meet people
who are as crazy as you are. Sellers contact John Craig at
(805 ) -735-1023 for booth price/availability. Buyers/gawkers
just come. Sunshine has been scheduled.
Brian Mumford of Mumford Mumford Micro Systems (Box 435-A
Summerland, CA 93067 - 805-969-4557) has come up with a neat
system for keeping track of all those disks in your collection
sorted by disk, program title, space available and so forth.
Those of you who are handling a fair amount of data on disks
have probably noticed that it is a nontrivial task to keep
track of all those files out there. This system is neat. I've
seen the results with mine own eyes and it gets my approval.
Another thing I have seen with mine own eyes is Computer
Cassettes magazine (Box 466, El Dorado CA 95623), edited by
Robert Purser. It's not actually on a cassette, it's a more
conventional "hardcopy" magazine which consists of reviews
of cassette software currently available for the PET, Apple,
TRS-80, and presumably the others as they come along. This
has been needed for some time. The amount of software that's
currently being offered out there is far too much for anyone
to make an intelligent purchasing decision, and there's no
way to "try out" software - it's a blind purchase marketing
system. What Computer Cassettes is about is a pre-screening of
the chaff, allowing a software vendor without a previous rep-
utation to work up to an established name. Check out our com-
petitions (We're reviewed in there, too - but then, we've
already suckered you in).
By the by, some subscribers have asked if all the ads in
CLOAD have been proven (shades of Col. Winthrop and World
Power Systems) . All the ads we have run in the past relate to
real stuff, and we're being very careful to keep it that way.
As a statement of confession, if World Power Systems had placed
an ad with us, we probably would have run it. (We have since
changed our acceptance policy).
"The Best of CLOAD", volume 1 (our first six months of
trying) has been duplicated and will be shipped to those who
have ordered an advance copy as soon as this issue is in the
mail. It turned out pretty well, if I may say so. I had al-
most forgotten what the initial programs were like until it
was time to write commentary on them. They are now available
at the exhorbitant price of $10.00 ($1 5 . 00' overseas) , cash,
check, money order, Master Charge, Visa, Gold, what have you.
The CTR-80 tape recorder has a rather disconcerting habit.
If the tape is stopped, it puts a "pop" on the tape. If the
tape is stopped In the middle of a program, that's where the
"pop" goes. Recommendations play to the end of each proqram
before stopping. The computer will do this automatically if
the motor control jack (the tiny one) is plugged in. A better
thing is to modify you cassette recorder to hear the audio as
you load the programs. We at CLOAD (meaning me) will be making
a cassecte recorder modification plan available - it's in the
"special projects 4 ' queue, position 5. Those of you who do not
wish to open up your computer and sling solder might want to
get a cassette controller box such as Dick Fuller 8 s RF-III.
we
t h
n j.
IK
utguc
.ay
yo a
.h we have a few interesting ones - "Fuel" is a
urrent topic, and this program was written to try to
the "odd - even" game of license plate roulette that
In Southern California. As such, 1 suppose
ay that this is a regional game, but it shows
O X* Ci U o z£ o
<ut her
C O U 1 d
gaining popularity throughout the United
i. O I.
iS pi
ice b
arigl
degr
is a program which eaK.es two points on the
anet (this one - that is^ Earth) and gives
etween them and the local angle of departur
a of departure is the direction to the "far
aes measured clockwise from true North. Th
?rnt to aim your ICBM with. It's also qood
yo u
£'j r
an
a
designing s:
.ternsaKer cnat is writtes
'che terms '"ones compl ernes
>e certain actions. Tee ;
s i s no t ' '....".," '
-■■-> :. Ml U
precis
i I
CO
i o e s i g i
about
calculi
s allow a
places o.
'oOabii i t:
'• l L
I 3
now, nowever, I must finish this off. The rest or en
delivered a deadline for this article which expires i
-L^ly thirty seconds,, and they are currently gathering
uments of justice =
Next month
Ralph McElroy
Publ ishe r
ra rs P^ r ssp tr%
TREK-80, by Bruce Berry, was written for the Radio Shack TRS-80 Computer and will run on any TRS-80
with at least 1 6K of memory and Level II Basic. This is not just another Star Trek game. It has been in develop-
ment for over 1 year! Action takes place on a real-time basis. Your mission? Starfleet Command is under
heavy attack and you must rescue the supply fleet. You have 2 or more Starbases where you can resupply
once, each. There are 45 - 60+ Klingons you must destroy in a given amount of time without losing more
than 5 Tugs. Features: 64 Sector quadrants, 64 quadrant universe. Klingons can move, resupply, fire torpedoes
or disruptors. Tugs can fire phasers, Enterprise can fire phasers or torpedoes and can lock both and course for
fire and move (evasive action). Torpedoes intercept can 'be locked on or off. Sensors can be short range (qua-
drant) or long range (eight surrounding quadrants). Probes can scan enemy ships for position, energy and
torpedoes. Galactic scan shows all known quads with number of stars, Klingons and bases. Ship's energy can
be channelled to phasers, warp drive, impulse engines and shields, in increments of 10% and any combination.
Damage Control reports, Self-destruct, Warp and Impulse Movement. Programming notes give instruction for
changing allotted stardates for accomplishing mission; units of energy from reactor/date available for chan->
nelling; initial and resupply levels for shield, phaser, impulse and warp drive energy; initial and resupply of
number of torpedoes; number of Klingons (Min. &/or Max.);numberof bases;alIotted max. phaser power/shot;;
Rich in detail. Move and fire any direction. Impulse as well as warp quadrant to quadrant. Time and energy
are functions of speed and distance. Damage is logically determined by shield strength. Lots of action all -
graphically displayed including torpedo track and much much more. THIS IS THE TOUGHEST TREK GAME
TO BEAT YET!
TREK-80 on cassette S 15.00
Illinois Residences add 5% Tax
Call for software. We will pay cash or royalties for quality original software which will run on TRS-80, PET
or OSI. Write for details: The Computer Connection
10 - D Hickorv Point Court
Decatur, IL 62526
(217)877-1500
C L A D M A G A Z I N E
Box 1267
Goleta, CA 93017
(805) 964-2761
r/iosrerCharge/ViSA
weicome
Subscriptions $36.00 in North America
$33,00 Overseas Surface
$48,00 Overseas Airmail
Best of CL0AD, Volume One
$10.00 ($15,00 Overseas)
CA residents add 6% tax
Single Issues $3,50 each prepaid + CA tx
T-shirts - Clyde CL0AD in black on front
S, M, L XL - Blue or Yellow
$7.00 each prepaid + CA tx
Level I programs are written for l \\(
Level II programs are written for 16K
Subscription starts with current issue
c;1978CLOAD MAGAZINE
