We interrupt this marine fc

Microsoft Chart, bminess graphics.

Microsoft Multiplan,

electronicspreadsheet.

MacProject. project management.

Dow Jones Spreadsheet Link, stock analysis and communications.

Blemon,

database management

Dow Jones Market Manager, stock analysis*

MacWrite word processing.

theBase, database management.

MacDrmc. graphic illustration.

Home 1 'Mac Accountant, persona!finance

ITdSolver, equation processor

Habadex. database and communications

The programs above are just a jew examples oj'newsoftwareJinMacintosh. Some are available now. others will he released in tk> coming weeks. * Mailable 4th quarter. 198-f. **Available 1st quarter. 1985. © 1984 Apple Computer inc. Apple the Apple logo MacDrau; MacProject, MacTerminal and MacWrite, are trcuiemarks of Apple Computer Inc. Macintosh is a trademark licensed to Apple Computer Inc. For an authorized Apple dealer nearest you call (800) 538-9696. In Canada call (800) 268-7796 or (800) 268-7637.

r some important programs,

Ihink'/dnk. idea processor.

Dollars and Sense, personal finance.

The Lotus Macintosh Product, integrated business software**

Main Street Filer, database management

MacTerminal data communications.

Helix. relational database.

Every business day, a new software program is being developed for the Macintosh™ Personal Computer.

Software for word processing. Spreadsheets. Business graphics. Project management. Database management. And data communications.

As well as software that enables Macintosh to do things that have never been done on a computer before.

Which means the worlds easiest-to-use business computer is well on its way to becoming the worlds most useful business computer.

Any authorized Apple dealer will gladly demonstrate that fact.

Just ask to see the computer that's software compatible.

With human beings.

PFS:Mle. database management.

Peachtne's Back to Basics, accounting package.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE I

k\\\lH

FEATURES

Introduction 100

The Data General/One by Gregg Williams and Ken Sheldon 102

This battery-powered portable offers remarkable power per pound.

Garcia s Circuit Cellar: The Lisner 1000 by Steve Garcia 110

Steve's low-cost, high-performance speech-recognition system uses the General Instruments SP1000 chip.

A Go Board for the Macintosh by Bruce E Webster 125

The ancient strategy game finds a new setting in MacFORTH.

A Travesty Generator for Micros by Hugh tenner and Joseph O'Rourke. . 129 Nonsense imitation requires clever text processing.

The Pick Operating System, Part 2: System Control

by Rick Cook and }ohn Brandon 132

The concluding article of this series covers programming capabilities and control elements.

AGAT A Soviet Apple II Computer by Leo D. Bores, M.D 134

More than 2 5 years after Sputnik, the Soviets bring out an Apple II.

THEME: NEW CHIPS

Introduction 140

Introduction to Semiconductors by Alan R. Miller 143

A professor discusses what they are and how they work.

The MC68020 32-bit Microprocessor

by Paul F. Groepler and James Kennedy 159

The latest member of Motorola's 68000 family includes on-board cache and virtual memory.

The Xtar Graphics Microprocessor by Terry Coleman and Skip Powers. . . 179 Two Xtar executives tell how this chip set draws filled-in polygons at superhigh speed.

RISC Chips by \ohn Markoff 191

RISC means longer programs but faster execution.

Gallium Arsenide Chips by Phillip Robinson . . . *. 211

A new semiconductor technology offers blazing speed.

The 80286 Microprocessor by Paul Wells 231

Intel's marketing manager for special programs, a former engineer, writes on the head of the iAPX 286 family.

The PF474 by Steve Rosenthal . . 247

This coprocessor is optimized to perform string-search operations on text files.

REVIEWS

Introduction 258

Reviewer's Notebook by Rich Malloy 261

ABOUT THE COVER: A DOUBLE-EXPOSURE TECHNIQUE WAS USED TO INSERT A SIDE VIEW OF THE DATA GENERAL/ONE INTO ITS OWN LIQUID-CRYSTAL DISPLAY.

BYTE is published monthly by McGraw-Hill Inc Founder: lames H McGraw (1860-1948). Executive editorial, circulation, and advertising offices 70 Main St., Peterborough, NH 03458, phone (603) 924-9281. Office hours Mon-Thur 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM, Friday 8:30 AM - 1.00 PM. Eastern Time. Address subscriptions to BYTE Subscriptions. POB 590, Martinsville. N| 08836 Postmaster: send address changes, USPS Form 3579 undeliverable copies, and fulfillment questions to BYTE Subscriptions. POB 596, Martinsville, N[ 08836. Second-class postage paid at Peterborough. NH 03458 and additional mailing offices USPS Publication No 528890 [ISSN 0360-5280|. Postage paid at Winnipeg. Manitoba Registration number 9321 Subscriptions are S21 for one year. $38 for two years, and S5 5 for three years in the USA and its possessions In Canada and Mexico. $2 3 for one year. $42 for two years. S6! for three years S69 for one year air delivery to Europe. 17.100 yen for one year surface delivery to Japan, $37 surface delivery elsewhere. Air delivery to selected areas at additional rates upon request Single copy price is $3,50 in the USA and its possessions, $3.95 in Canada and Mexico. $4 50 in Europe, and $5 elsewhere. Foreign subscriptions and sales should be remitted in United States funds drawn on a U.S. bank Please allow six to eight weeks for delivery of first issue Printed in the United States of America.

B YTE • NOVEMBER 1984

COVER PHOTO BY PAUL AVIS

BYTE

November

VOLUME 9, NUMBER 12, 1984

The HP 150 Computer by Mark Haas 262

The 8088-based touchscreen computer.

The Columbia Multipersonal Computer-VP by Peter V. Cailamaras 276

An IBM PC-compatible, transportable system.

Leading Edge and MultiMate by C I Puotinen 287

TWo word-processor programs for the IBM PC.

polyFORTH and PC/FORTH by Ernie Tello 303

Two FORTH development systems for the IBM PC

Samna Word HI by Rubin Rabinovitz 319

A word processor for the IBM PC.

The Mannesmann Tally Spirit 80 Printer by Mark J. "Welch 335

The Brother HR-15 Letter-Quality Printer by Peter V Cailamaras 341

Review Feedback 348

Readers respond to previous reviews.

KERNEL

Introduction , 359

Computing at Chaos Manor: NCC Reflections by \erry Pournelle 361

Can hobbyists survive in an industry dissolving in hype?

Chaos Manor Mail conducted by \erry Pournelle 381

BYTE West Coast New Developments

by John Markoff, Phil Robinson, and Ezra Shapiro 387

Three West Coast editors report on a dBASE compiler, new printer technology pfs:Plan, and how to make the Macintosh talk.

BYTE Japan: Technology Shock by "William M. Raike 401

Our Tokyo correspondent discovers some surprising U.S. trends,

BYTE U.K.: A Plethora of Portables by Dick Pountain 413

A whole family of Apricots and a pocket computer from Psion are in the news.

Mathematical Recreations: Toggling Functions by Michael W Ecker. . .425

This month's recreation involves an eccentric jailer's strange way of granting amnesty

Circuit Cellar Feedback conducted by Steve Garcia 430

Steve answers project-related queries from readers.

EDITORIAL: THE MYTH OF THE ISO-TECH1E 6

MICROBYTES 9

Letters 14

Fixes and Updates 33

Whats New 39, 520

ASK BYTE .48

Clubs and Newsletters 59

Book Reviews. . . Event Queue. . . . Books Received .. Application Note. Unclassified Ads.

65

83

495

505

573

BYTE's Ongoing Monitor Box, BOMB Results 574

Reader Service 575

Address all editorial correspondence to the Editor, BYTE, FOB 372, Hancock, NH 03449. Unacceptable manuscripts will be returned if accompanied by sufficient first-class postage Not responsible for lost manuscripts or photos Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of BYTE

Copyright © 1984 by McGraw-Hill Inc All rights reserved. Trademark registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office Where necessary, permission Is granted by the copyright owner for libraries and others registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCCl to photocopy any article herein for the flat fee of SI 50 per copy of the article or any part thereof. Correspondence and payment should be sent directly to the CCC. 29 Congress St. Salem. MA 01970. Specify ISSN 0360-5280/83 SI.50. Copying done for other than personal or internal reference use without the permission of McGraw-Hill Inc. is prohibited Requests for special permission or bulk orders should be addressed to the publisher BYTE is available in microform from University Microfilms International. 300 North Zeeb Rd., Dept. PR. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106 or 18 Bedford Row. Dept. PR. London WC1R 4EJ England. Subscription questions or problems should be addressed to: BYTE Subscriber Service. POB 328. Hancock, NH 03449

SECTION ART BY RANDALL ENOS

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE

B

pc. so ZENITH

THE BEST IBM® COMPATIBLE

Circle 283 on inquiry card.

Microlfim

BY ZENITH FOR 90 DAYS

160

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IN AR

IBM II a rafliataraO

ARIZONA 602-791-9030

i ragiaiarao trademark ol International Buainaaa Machinal Corp.

411 West Grant Road Tucson, *

BYTE

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Philip Lemmons

MANAGING EDITOR

Gene Smarte

CONSULTING EDITORS

Steve Ciarcia

IERRY POURNELLE

SENIOR TECHNICAL EDITORS

Richard Malloy, Reviews G. Michael Vose. Features Gregg Williams

TECHNICAL EDITORS

Thomas R. Clune

Glenn Hartwig

Richard Krajewski

Bruce Roberts

Ken Sheldon

Richard S. Shuford

Jane Morrill Tazelaar

Stanley Wszola

Margaret Cook Gurney. Associate

Alan Easton. Drafting

WEST COAST EDITORS

Ezra Shapiro, Bureau Chief, San Francisco

John Markoff, Senior Technical Editor. Palo Alto

Phillip Robinson. Senior Technical Editor. Palo Alto

Donna Osgood, Associate Editor. San Francisco

Brenda McLaughlin. Editorial Assistant. San Francisco

managing editor. user news

George Bond

USER NEWS EDITORS

Anthony f. Lockwood. What's New

Mark Welch, Mkrobytes

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Dennis Allison, at large

Mark Dahmke. video, operating systems

Michael W. Ecker. mathematical recreations

Rik Jadrnicek. CAD. graphics, spreadsheets

Mark Klein, communications

Alan Miller, languages and engineering

Dick Pountain. U.K.

William M. Raike. japan

Perry Saidman, computers and law

Robert Sterne, computers and law

Bruce Webster, software

Richard Willis, at large

COPY EDITORS

Elizabeth R. Cooper. Chief Dennis Barker Anne L. Fischer Nancy Hayes Lynne M, Nadeau Paula Noon an Joan V. Roy Bud Sadler Warren Williamson

ASSISTANTS

Peggy Dunham

Martha Hicks

Beverly Jackson

Faith Kluntz, Copyrights and Permissions

Lisa jo Steiner

ART

Rosslyn A. Frick. Art Director Nancy Rice. Assistant Art Director

PRODUCTION

David R, Anderson. Associate Director

Denise Chartrand

Michael J. Lonsky

Jan Muller

Sherry McCarthy, Chief Typographer

Nan Fornal

Len Lorette

Leila Mattson

Donna Sweeney

PUBLISHER

Gene W. Simpson

ASSOCIATE PUBLTSHERJPRODUCTION DIRECTOR

John E. Hayes

PUBLISHERS ASSISTANT

Doris R. Gamble

ADVERTISING SALES

J. Peter Huestis, Sales Manager Sandra Foster, Aaministrafii* Assistant

ADVERTISING

Deborah Porter. Supervisor

Marion Carlson

Lyda Clark

Rob Hannings

Jeanna Reenstierna

Lisa Wozmak

Wai Chiu Li. Quality Control Manager

Linda J, Sweeney, Advertising/Production Coordinator

Julie Nelson. Advertising/Production Coordinator

CIRCULATION

Gregory Spitzfaden. Director

Andrew Jackson. Subscriptions Manager

Cathy A. R. Drew. Assistant Manager

Susan Boyd

Phil Dechert

Mary Emerson

Louise Menegus

Agnes E. Perry

Jennifer Price

James Bingham. Single-Copy Sales Manager

Linda Turner. Assistant Manager

Carol A ho

Claudette Carswell

Edson Ware

marketing communications

Horace T, Howland Director Vicki Reynolds, Marketing Associate Priscilla Arnold Marfetina Assistant Stephanie Warnesky, Graphic Arts Supervisor Sharon Price, Graphic Arts Designer Doug Webster. Director of Public Relations Wilbur S. Watson, Operations Manager Mich ele P. Verville, Researcn Manager Patricia Akerley, Market Research Analyst Cynthia Damato Sands. Reader Service Coordinator

ACCOUNTING

Daniel Rodrigues. Business Manager/Controller Kenneth A. King. Assistant Controller Mary E. Fluhr. Accounting & D/P Manager Marilyn Haigh Diane Henry Vern Rockwell Linda Short JoAnn Walter Vicki Weston

TRAFFIC

N. Scott Gagnon. Manager Anthony Bennett Brian Higgins

RECEPTIONISTS

L. Ryan McCombs

Denise A. Proctor

personnel

Cheryl A. Hurd, Office Manager Patricia Burke. Personnel Coordinator

Editorial and Business Office: 70 Main Street. Peterborough New Hampshire 03458 (603) 924-9281 West Coast Offices: McGraw-Hill. 425 Battery St. San Francisco. CA 94111. {4! 5] 362-4600. McGraw-Hill. 1000 El well Court. Palo Alto, CA 94303, (4l5| 964-0624.

Officers of McGraw-Hill Publications Company: President: John G, Wrede. Executive Vice Presidents Paul F McPherson. Operations. Walter D. Serwatka. Finance & Services Senior Vice President-Editorial. Ralph R. Schulz. Senior Vice President Publishers Harry L Brown. David I McGrath. lames R, Pierce, Gene W, Simpson, iohn E. Slater Vice President Publishers Charlton H. Calhoun ill. Richard H. Larsen. lohn W. Patten Vice Presidents: Kemp Anderson. Business Systems Development: Shel F Asen. Manufacturing: John A Bunyan, Electronic Information Services: George R Elsinger, Circulation: Michael K Hehir, Controller: Eric B. Herr. Planning and Development: H lohn Sweger. |r. Marketing. Virginia L Williamson, Business Development.

Officers of the Corporation: Harold W McGraw, |r. Chairman: loseph L Dionne. President and Chief Executive Officer: Robert N. Landes. Senior Vice President and Secretary. Ralph I Webb. Treasurer

m

UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories,

IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines Corp.

Cromemco

Circle 101 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 5

EDITORIAL

TtaE Myth of the Iso-TfcCHiE

Time and again we encounter the misconception that BYTE readers, because they have intense interests in personal computers and related technologies, have little interest in anything else. It is almost as if some people think our subscribers' technical interests isolate and disable them—prevent them from doing serious work or earning their livings. This view might be called the myth of the Iso-Tfechie.

We have some new data from the 1984 BYTE Subscriber Profile Study that tells how our subscribers use their microcomputers for business purposes and for personal, nonbusiness purposes. This data is based on a survey of 1200 subscribers. It shows that Iso-Techies are as rare as Sasquatches.

Here is the breakdown of the percentages of subscribers or their com-

panies using microcomputer software for specific business applications:

Word processing 84%

Software development. .... 58% Planning, forecasting,

spreadsheet 54%

Graphics 45%

Accounting 45%

Engineering 44%

Math/science 44%

Telecommunications 38%

Inventory 35%

Payroll 26%

Sales/marketing 24%

Industrial control 22%

T&x management 14%

Investment management. ... 11%

Here are the percentages of BYTE subscribers who perform specific applications when using personal computers for nonbusiness purposes:

Word processing 69%

Programming 60%

Designing/modifying hardware and software

for personal use 50%

Recreation (playing games

written by others) 45%

Record keeping 38%

Personal finance 3 5%

Learning about computers . . 31% Spreadsheets 29%

In fact, most BYTE subscribers use their computers for many different purposes. They enjoy learning about computers but also apply their computers to the many different activities in their busy lives. Rather than limiting their range of activities, personal computers extend the range.

How do BYTE subscribers manage to do all these things with their microcomputers? It's both simple and amazing. They own an average of 15.5 software packages and plan to buy an average of 4.7 more in the next year.

On reflection, the versatility of the BYTE subscriber shouldn't surprise anyone. Computers are general-purpose tools that can be turned to almost any specific application. BYTE subscribers know a great deal about computers and understand their versatility In confronting any new task, the sophisticated personal computer user first asks how a computer can make the task easier and the result better. It would be surprising if sophisticated personal computer users restricted their machines to a single use or only a few uses. Any such view is bound to be a myth.

The myth of the Iso-Techie is as wrong as some people's belief, fueled by misuse of the term in the general press, that hackers are criminals. It may be too late to dispel that misconception in the popular mind, but perhaps there's still time to stop the mythical Iso-Techie from lodging there. —Phil Lemmons, Editor in Chief

BYTE* NOVEMBER 1984

CONDOR

Data

Management

Software

much mm Inventory < systems, edua

With Condor you get the power and He relational database system complete with a Step '' MENU system to guide the new user, help is integrated into the Menu system. A complete REPORT WRITER is also included, that even the newcomers in our field recommend, With Condor, setting up a new database of information, is as simple as typing on a blank sheet of paper. . . typically, it takes a minute, maybe two. You are then ready to enter your data into the database you just created, again just

like typing on a sheet of paper Then, you can SORT, SELECT, COMPUTE, POST, or PRINT your information in almost any way that you desire. Plus, you can easily pass information from Condor to your word processor's mail-merge, or pass spreadsheet information into Condor. It's all very easy, and also very English. Begin with Condor jr. ($195), the advanced file manager. Upgrade later as your business and your data grow, to Condor3 ($650-orless the $195 if you bought Condor jr.), the fully relational data management system. It's the same system that hardware manufacturers like DEC, Sony, Zenith, and Hewlett-Packard have selected to market with their personal computers. There are well over 100,000 satisfied users. To find out how condor data management software can make your business easy to handle, see your personal computer dealer, or call 1-800*221-8479 (In Michigan call 0-31 3- 760-3992 collect) for your nearest dealer. He 7/ prove our point. That Condor is the data management software powerful enough to be useful to business, yet simple enough for business to use.

IBM is the registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp.

*

2051 South State Street Ann Arbor, Ml 48104 313-769-3988 Circle 94 on inquiry card.

Wordstar Wordprocessing andSuperCak 3 Integrated Spreadsheet now included Free with all Seequa computers.

SEEQUA SHOWS YOU HOW TO GET AN IBM PC FOR JUST 91595.

BUY A CHAMELEON BY SEEQUA.

The Chameleon by Seequa does everything an IBM PC does. For about $1000 less than an IBM.

The Chameleon lets you run popular IBM software like Lotus® 1-2-3™ and dBase II.® It has a full 83 key keyboard just like an IBM. A disk drive like the IBM. And a bright 80 x 25 character screen just like an IBM.

But it's not just the Chameleon's similarities to the IBM that should interest you. Its advantages should, too. The Chameleon also has

The Chame leon by

SEEQ UA

an 8 bit microprocessor that lets you run any of the thousands of CP/M-80® programs available. It comes complete with two of the best programs around, Perfect Writer™ and Perfect Calc.™ It's portable. And you can plug it in and start computing the moment you unwrap it. So if you've been interested in an IBM personal computer, now you know where you can get one for $1595. Wherever they sell Chameleons.

COMPUTER

CORPORATION

8305 Telegraph Road Odenton, MD 21113

Chameleon shown with optional second disk drive.

To leam more about Seequa or for the location of the Seequa dealer

nearest you, call (800) 638-6066 or (301) 672-3600.

IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.

8 BYTE* NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 366 on inquiry card.

MICROBYTES

Staff-written highlights of late developments in the microcomputer industry.

IBM Announces Productivity, Business Software

In late September, IBM unveiled two new integrated-software lines: the Personal Decision Series and the Business Management Series. The Personal Decision Series includes Data, a database manager; Reports*, an advanced reports generator; Plans, a spreadsheet; Plans+, which adds features to Plans; Words, a word processor; and Graphs. The Data program is required to use any of the others. Data is $250; the other programs are $150 to $300 each.

The Business Management Series includes General Ledger, Payroll, Inventory Accounting, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Order Entry and Invoicing.

Integrated Software for UNIX

Horizon Software Systems, San Francisco, CA, announced Latitude, an integrated word-processing/spreadsheet program for UNIX. A document may contain both text and spreadsheet tables. When the cursor moves from an area of text to a numeric table, the command line changes to reflect the options available. Versions are now on sale for Altos, AT&T, Onyx, Sun, and DEC systems; Horizon plans to offer a version for XENIX on the IBM PC AT when it becomes available. The multiuser software costs $995 on small machines, including Altos, the AT&T 3B2/300, and the PC AT.

Language Standardization to Continue

In late August, the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) announced that Canada had agreed to pay for the ISO's subcommittee TC97/SC22, formed after a recent ISO reorganization to develop international standards for programming languages. For a few weeks this summer, no ISO member nation had funded the SC22 secretariat, and there was some danger that international language standardization would grind to a halt. The United States will provide funding for the parallel subcommittee TC97/SC21, which works on standards for graphics, databases, and other higher-level areas.

In domestic standards work, the American National Standards Institute technical committee X3J2 has decided to incorporate the Graphical Kernel System (GKS) as the standard way of writing graphics routines in BASIC A conflict still remains to be resolved with the X3H3 committee, which is writing the standard for GKS, over the way BASIC will use the graphics module.

Voice Communications Added to IBM PC

Digital Pathways, Palo Alto, CA, planned to announce SoundWare, a $449 voice communications system for the IBM PC XT, at the November COMDEX show in Las Vegas. Included in the package are a half-size card and software to control the system. Software features include message playback, auto-diai capabilities, remote access, password security, voice-file transmission, Touch-Tone dialing and decoding, and provision for an audit trail.

Mutual Broadcasting Offers Data Broadcasting via Radio

The Mutual Broadcasting System plans to use spare satellite transponder capabilities to offer a data-communication service called Multicomm. Mutual has leased subcarriers from each of its 850 affiliate radio stations to broadcast data or voice information, including electronic mail and software. Each message contains a code indicating which receivers should receive the message. The receivers would cost about $200 each. Mutual says that New York state may use the service to broadcast software to schools. If the service is successful, Mutual says that its parent corporation, Amway, may use its sales force to sell receivers that could be used to download software to home computers.

{continued) NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 9

printers, yet gives you characters just I llA I I KSS See [t f your ne ,? r eS „ authorized

as sharp, just as clear. JL 11C JL JL Vj^J*J TI dealer. Or call toll-free:

MICROBYTES

VisiCorp, Software Arts Settle Suit, Offer New Packages

VisiCorp and Software Arts settled their lawsuits in September. As part of the settlement, VisiCorp stopped selling the VisiCalc spreadsheet program and has changed the name of its Visi On Calc program to Visi On Plan. The two companies started a legal battle this spring, each accusing the other of not providing adequate support for VisiCalc. Software Arts now sells a VisiCalc package with two versions of the program for $150.

Ayear^s worth of reports, plans, schedules,

charts, graphs, files, facts and figures

and it could all be lost in the blinkof an eye*

The most important part of your computer may be the part you've considered least—the floppy disk. After all, there doesn't seem to be much difference between one disk and another. But now Fuji introduces a floppy disk that's worth a second look.

We designed our disk with the understanding that one microscopic imperfection can erase pages of crucial data. That's why every Fuji Film Floppy Disk is rigidly inspected after each production process. And that's why each one is backed with a lifetime warranty.

We've even considered how carefully a disk has to be handled, so we designed user-friendly packaging that makes it easier to get the disk out of the

box. And we provided plenty of labeling space, so you won't have any trouble telling which disk is which

So think twice before buying a floppy disk. And then buy the one you won't have any second thoughts about. Fuji Film Floppy Disks.

FUJI.

Nobody gives you better performance.

Circle 174 on inquiry card.

G 1984 Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc., Magnetic Products Div., 350 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10118

LETTERS

More Letters on the Mac

I've read everything you've printed about the Macintosh, including Jerry Pournelle's criticisms in the July issue. I've been using my Mac for about a month and I think something more needs to be said about the importance of the Macintosh's graphics capabilities.

As Jerry grudgingly admits, it is a fun machine. Fun is important for learning, for thinking, and for creativity. We need fun as much as we need food, love, and sex. And the fun is in the power this machine gives people to create graphics.

Yet what people (reviewers, Apple employees) seem to focus on is the user friendliness of the icons-on-a-desktop metaphor. It is nice. I like it. It is certainly better than what I've got on my old machine. But that is not the point. MacPaint is the point. MacPaint gives people visual power. We know that one hemisphere of the brain is more or less verbal while the other hemisphere is more or less visual. This machine is for the visual brain; it is the greatest tool (other than the much more expensive Xerox Smalltalk machines) for the visual brain since Renaissance Italy gave us perspective drawing and the nineteenth century gave us the camera. But we aren't quite prepared for it.

Sure, we can do interesting, even cute, things with the Mac's typography. Sure, we can crank out bar charts, pie charts, and Sine graphs. We can do maps 50 ways and play with line drawings to our heart's content. We can also think visually and relate visuals to verbals with a facility not readily available before. But only if we realize that that is what this machine is about-thinking with the Macintosh.

There are many stories about great thinkers who work in images. Watson and Crick with the double-helix—why did they actually build a three-dimensional model of the helix while they were working up the basic idea? Or consider the following passages from a letter by Albert Einstein:

The psychical entities which seem to serve as elements in thought are certain signs and more or less clear im-

VAR: variety CMP: component

Figure 1: Directed-graph notation.

Figure 2: Propositional notation.

ages which can be "voluntarily" reproduced and combined. . . .The above mentioned elements are in my case, of visual and some of muscular types. Conventional words or other signs have to be sought for laboriously only in a secondary stage, when the mentioned associative play is sufficiently established and can be reproduced at will. [The Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field, by Jacques Hadamard, New York: Dover Publications, 1954.]

I need not belabor the point. But getting at the visual brain is hard, and we all need help. The graphics capabilities of the Macintosh can provide us with that help.

Thinking is hard. It requires external support. That's why we doodle and make semicoherent jottings. That's why we write. Writing is an external support for thought; it is an instrument of thought. But writing works best for the verbal brain. Learning the mechanics of writing—how to form the letters—is relatively easy. But it's different with images.

Becoming proficient in the mechanics of freehand drawing—e.g., drawing a picture of a horse that looks more like a horse

than a camel or rabbit—is much more difficult, Technical drawing is easier, but it is more difficult than writing. The Macintosh could change that.

This is particularly important as we stand on the threshold of the information age-whatever that is. The intellectual world of information, of computing, is an intensely visual one. From chip design through flowcharts to data structures—lists and trees—we think in images. If it were easier to draw good diagrams, more good diagrams would be drawn. And if more good diagrams were drawn, then more people could grasp what computing is all about.

Consider an area that is of particular interest to me, knowledge representation (a subfield of artificial intelligence). One notation that is used by many researchers is the directed graph (see figure 1). Information structure can be represented in various notations. If you want to prove theorems, you'll choose the propositional notation (see figure 2). If you want to program it into a computer, then you'll have to think in terms of a linked list. But if you want to think about how ideas fit together and teach this to others, then the graph notation is the most useful. Furthermore, if you are dealing with structures only 3 or 4 times more complex than the one I've shown—and you are typically dealing with structures 10 to 100 times more complex-then the propositional form is unreadable. You can't do any useful work with it. But the visual representation is still useful. Even if your graph covers half your desk. you can work with it.

The graph is a notation system in which the visual form can represent the structure of the information in a perspicuous

{continued)

LETTERS POLICY: To be considered for publication, a letter must be typed double-spaced on one side of the paper and must include your name and address. Comments and ideas should be expressed as clearly and concisely as possible. Listings and tables may be printed along with a letter if they are short and legible.

Because BYTE receives hundreds of tetters each month, not all of them can be published. Letters will not be returned to authors. Generally, it takes four months from the time BYTE receives a letter until it is published.

14 BYTE ♦ NOVEMBER 1984

WHO SAYS'YOU CANT TAKE IT WITH YOU'?

When we at Intertec introduced our new HeadStart™ computer we said "it's the fastest, smallest, most powerful business computer in its class"

What more could we say?

How about "it's also portable"

Every HeadStart computer comes with its own easy-carrying handle. You can choose between a full size keyboard or a special compact version that snaps easily on the front of the screen. Either way, you get all the great features that make HeadStart unique. A big twelve inch screen, eight and sixteen bit processors, upgradable to one megabyte and it's networkable up to 255 users.

We named our new business computer "HeadStart" because

that's exactly what itll give you. And because it's also portable, you can take it anywhere.

Well, almost

For more information call us at (803) 798-9100 or write: Intertec, Dept "HeadStart," 2300 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210.

intertec

See us at

C©fl!>il7Fall '84

Las Vegas-Booth #4333

HeadStart Standard Features:

Size: 15.75" wide, 12.75" deep, 11.30" high. Weight: 25 lbs.

Processors: Z80A (8 bit) and 8086 (16 bit). Memory: 128Kto 1MB depending on model. All models are expandable to 1MB.

Disk Storage: 500K to 1MB (unformatted) on a 3W Micro-Disk. RAM disk feature emulates second system drive. Optional 3)^" or 5!4" external drives. Display: 12" (diagonal )P31 phosphor, non-glare screen, 25 lines x 80 or 132 columns. Keyboard: Detachable with 104 total keys. A portable version snaps onto the front screen for easy transportability,

Disk Operating Software: 'CP/M 80 for 8 bit "MS DOS for 16 bit. LAN DOS for multi-user 8 or 16 bit operation.

'Concurrent CP/M 86 optional. Interfaces: One RS 449/RS 232 compatible serial port One Centronics compatible parallel printer port External data bus. Coaxial communications interface. External disk I/O interface. Optional network print spooling interface.

Networking: Up to 255 HeadStarts may be connected via a coaxial, multi-user network into one of 2 optional data storage systems,

Optional Data Storage Systems: Two models are available. A 10MB, 5 JT system is expandable to 20MB. A 50MB, 8"system (25MB fixed, 25MB removable) is expandable to 545MB in 165MB increments.

'CP/M 80 and Concurrent CP/M 86 are registered trademarks of Digital Research. "MS [X)S is a registered trademark of Microsoft.

Circle 220 on inquiry card.

LOOK NO FURTHER!

we'll get you low prices and fast service, or else!

ALPHA OMEGA

COHPUTER PRODUCTS

COMPUTERS

IBM PC 256K, IBM Color Graphics Card, 2 360K Drives, BASIC, Guide to Operations, Amdek 300G 12" Hi Res Green

Monitor $2099

Many other configurations available.

DISKETTES

SCOTCH 3M SSDD $23

MAXELL MD2 DSDD 39

PRINTERS

C. ITOH 8510 P. 120 cps $349

EPSON FX80 160 cps .395

EPSON FX100 160 cps 639

EPSON LQ 1500 1189

OKIDATA Microline 92 160 cps 419

OKIDATA Microline 93 160 cps 699

GEMINI 10X 120 cps 269

GEMINI 15X 120 cps 389

NEC 3550 35 cps L/Q 1715

JUKI 6100 L/Q 18 cps 415

C. ITOH F-10 40 cps 1049

MODEMS

HAYES Smartmodem 1200 $482

HAYES Smartmodem 1200B IBM 409

HAYES Micromodem lie 249

BIZCOMP IBM Int. 1200 345

ANCHOR A. Mark XII 300/1200 .259

MONITORS

TAXAN 12" Amber $125

TAXAN 121 IBM green 159

AMDEK 310A for IBM PC 169

AMDEK 300G 12" Green 135

AMDEK 300A 12" Amber 145

AMDEK Color 1 + 13" 299

PRINCETON HX-12 RGB 495

PRINCETON SR15 Super Hi Res . . . SAVE

APPLE PERIPHERALS & SOFTWARE

VIDEX Videoterm 80C w/softswitch . . .$209

VIDEX Ultraterm 279

MICROSOFT 16K RAMcard 69

MICROSOFT 280 Softcard 245

MICROSOFT Premium Pack 479

MICROSOFT Premium Softcard HE ... .345 HAYES Mach II Joystick 33

PROMETHIUS Vz Height Drives 165

WIZARD IPI Parallel Interface 75

PROMETHIUS Versacard 149

KENSINGTON Systemsaver 68

COOL & TIME (fan, surge, clock) 75

KOALA Pad .79

PFS Filing System 81

PFS Report 81

DBase II 329

Wordstar 249

Home Accountant 49

Multiplan 119

DB Master Version 4 249

DB Utility 1 or 2 95

Bank Street Writer 49

Magic Office System for lie 179

Magic Window II 109

Multiplan Macintosh 159

Microsoft Basic Macintosh 115

Thinktank for Macintosh 79

Filevision for Macintosh 125

Macintosh Carrying Case 69

IBM PERIPHERALS & SOFTWARE

TURBO 10 Int. 10MB Hard Disk $949

TANDON TM100-2 360K 219

TEAC V 2 Height 360K 145

MICROSOFT Mouse 139

QUADRAM Quadboard W/64K-384K ... .319

QUADRAM Quadlink .569

QUADRAM Quadcolor I 209

64K RAM Kit 200 ns 55

AST 6-pack plus W/64K 279

STB w/64K clock, par, serial, game . . . .295

HAYES Mach II Joystick 35

Irma 3270 Emulator 975

Home Accountant + SAVE

Multimate .319

PFS Filing System 85

PFS Report 81

Lotus 1,2,3 319

Lotus Symphony 435

DBase III 409

DBase II 329

Framework 379

Wordstar 249

Wordstar Propack w/Mailmrg, Spellstar .309

Multiplan 119

Flight Simulator New RGB .39

Hundreds of available items. Call for complete pricing information.

Corporate P.O.'s welcome. Please call for quantity prices.

We do not charge for VISA or MASTERCARD

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18612 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, CA 91356

All products are in factory sealed packages. We guarantee all items for 30 days. Within this period, defective merchandise returns must be accompanied by RMA number. All other returns will be subject to a 10% restocking fee. For prepaid orders there will be a 3% shipping charge; 5% for UPS Blue Label; $5.00 minimum; all orders outside U.S. at 15% shipping. There will be an additional $4.00 surcharge on C.O.D. orders. Cash or Cashiers Check is required on COD. orders. Calif, residents add 6.5% sales tax. Prices subject to change without notice. g ee our gd Qn page 35 Cjrc | e | 4 on j nqu j ry car( j

LETTERS

way. Well-drawn graphs allow you to catch important and interesting information structures in a single glance. The proposi-tional notation doesn't allow this. A single glance at a list of propositional forms tells you nothing; you have to read each one line by line and assemble them painstakingly in your mind. The visual notation extends the range of a single mental operation (i.e., what you see in a single glance) far beyond that available with the propositional notation. It thus makes the material easier to work with.

The Mac makes it easy to use visual notations and to invent new ones. But, as I say, only if we know that is what we are looking for. Right now the Mac is being sold with a user-friendly interface and graphics capabilities that make it easy to do standard sorts of things. That's fine But what we really need are new visual categories, images designed to convey abstract concepts, images to think with.

Those who have Macs, no matter what their graphics and artistic skills, can play with images in a way they couldn't before. The result may well be a new "cultural genetic" lottery. Somewhere in that chaotic soup of icons, graphs, images, and patterns there is going to be some important new stuff, stuff that would have been much longer in coming if it had been up to the relatively small number of people with freehand graphics skills. This possibility is what makes the Mac such an exciting machine.

Now, if only the Apple marketing people could grasp this and go with it. Then Apple might be able to live up to its pretentious 1984 TV ad. Then the company might be able to give us an intellectually significant alternative to Big Blue. Bill Benzon Troy, NY

The July BYTE contained several inaccurate comments about the Apple Macintosh. The first, in Phil Lemmons's editorial "Patronizing the Naive User" (page 6), misrepresents the difficulty of ejecting a disk. The method Mr. Lemmons describes to eject a disk is the most difficult of several alternatives available to a Macintosh user. Anyone— including my 4-year-old daughter—who uses the Macintosh for more than a short time quickly discovers that the command E will eject a disk when all files have been closed, and that the command Shift 1 will force an ejection even when a file is open.

1 do not feel patronized by having disk ejection under software control. Rather, I

[continued)

the ^B^ Cpnntjer'; 1

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See the MPI family of products at your local computer store or call toll-free for your nearest dealer 800-821-8848.

Circle 294 on inquiry card.

M

^>r

*%&>

^

1. Model # 5SVA&T - Designed to house one full size or 2 half height 5 V floppy disk drives in the vertical position. As an added feature, the mounting holes are duplicated in reverse so the user can mount the drives door left or door right. The power supply is a custom linear, proven in thousands of installations over the years!

Retail $60.00, ($67.00 for half hgt

version) 1 year warranty

2. Model * 5DVA&T - The 5DV is custom designed for 2 full size 5W floppy disk drives to mount vertically. The mounting holes are dup-I icated in reverse so the drives may be mounted door left or right. The power supply is our custom linear.

Retail $85.00 1 year warranty

3. Model # FD-PC8 - This unique enclosure is designed to match the styling and size of the IBM-PC and can mount on top of, under or along side the PC, It is designed to house Shugart 8 inch half height floppy disk drives, and affords mainframe compatibility using 8 inch floppy diskettes.

Retail $399.00 1 year warranty

4. Model * DH8A&T - The DH8 is designed for one or two standard size 8 inch disk drives such as Shugart 800 series, Qume DT-8, and SIEMENS. The power supply is 206 series commercial grade with a 2 year warranty! Cooling fan standard. There is a space designed in above the disk drive area for mounting circuit boards if needed. Specify double or single sided connectors.

Retail $295.00 2 year warranty

5. Model # FD-PC-jr. - For those needing expansion of their PC-jr, here is a matching enclosure to house your disk drive. We have the controller available also. The case has an injected molded front bezel to duplicate the looks of the jr.

6. Model # FD-PC5 - This unique enclosure is designed to match your IBM-PC perfectly. Injected molded front bezel with ail steel 18 gauge construction for shielding and strength. It boasts a custom linear supply that delivers 5 amps continuous current. The FD-PC5 is pre-drilled to hold any &W half height floppy or hard disk or any 5V4" full size floppy or hard disk. We even have adaptor brackets to mount a Syquest 5meg removable!

Retail $295.00 1 year warranty

18 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

7. Model#5DHHHA&T-The5DHHH(sdesigned to house 1 or 2 half height floppy or hard disk drives in the horizontal side by side mode. A lit on-off switch is mounted in the front where if s convenient, and uses our custom linear power supply. A blank plate is available for one drive installations.

Retail $125.00 (floppy model)

$195.00 (hard disk model) 1 year warranty

8. Model # SH8A&T - Will house one full size 8 inch floppy or one or two half height 8" floppy disk drives. Uses a commercial grade 206 series supply, and carries a full 2 year warranty!

Retail.....$199.00

9 Hard disk & Floppies, we carry only the top brands like Shugart and Qume! Don't be fooled by the cheap immitations. We carry only the best, with the strongest warranty around. For example, all Shugart disk drives carry a 1 year warranty. So call for the latest pricing to upgrade your PC, Zenith, Heath, Radio Shack, Tl or one of the many other computer systems on the market!

10. We also carry data cables for your system. We can custom make them to your specs, or a How us to help you choose whaf s right for you.

Floppy Disk Services, inc. is entering our 6th year of supplying disk drives and custom enclosures to the computer industry. Companies that demand quality such as CBS-TV, IBM and NASA to name a few, purchase our products. Space restrictions do not allow us to show all our products, so call toll free for our FREE catalog of products. Or better yet, let one of our sales staff help you make the right choice — Ask about our REPLACEMENT warranty policy.

Dealer inquiries invited. All products available in OEM quantities. Prices and specs subject to change without notice.

39 Everett Dr., Bidg, D <w~ r t -« Lawrenceville, NJ. 08648 !fflWM (609) 799-4440

TOLL FREE (800) 223-0306

Circle 168 on inquiry card.

LETTERS

feel this is an example of good design that makes it difficult for a user to compromise the integrity of a disk. I see little difference between this and the Safety program that a Kaypro 10 user should use to park the hard-disk head before powering down. In both cases, the software performs a useful function but can be overridden by a knowledgeable user (who should be aware of the possible consequences of his actions). The fact that a 4-year-old child has used my Macintosh for two months without supervision but has never trashed a disk is evidence enough for me of the value of this approach.

lerry Pournelle's problems with disk copying and time to load MacWrite may simply reflect the long lead time between article submissions and BYTE's appearance on the newsstand. In mid-May Apple released revised Macintosh software that included a Disk Copy utility and a new finder with an automatic start-up option. With the Disk Copy utility, a complete disk can be copied in four passes-still not as conveniently as on a two-drive system, but enough of an improvement to make life with the Macintosh bearable. How Jerry manages to take "a couple of minutes to get the Macintosh to run a simple text editor" is beyond me. With Mac-Write as the start-up application, my Mac takes exactly 20 seconds from power-on to a screen ready for writing. Since I don't like the default font and format provided by MacWrite, I generally avoid the automatic start-up and open a Preformatted document. This approach takes a little longer, but in any case 45 seconds should be the outside time limit needed to get going in MacWrite.

I am not trying to say that the Macintosh is without faults, as it clearly is not. Among the worst of these is the perpetuation of a disk-drive controller that lacks direct memory access. The integrated Woz device, so hyped by Steve Jobs in Phil Lemmons's interview with the Macintosh design team (February, page 58), may be reliable and cheap to build, but the drives are maddeningly slow. Double-sided drives and hard disks will help, but the Macintosh will probably never live up to the performance of the potential of the MC68000 because of the I/O bottleneck. And while mice are nice, every so often I would love to have real cursor keys.

Selden S. Deemer Ann Arbor, MI

As Macintosh owners with 10 months of Macintosh use among us, we would like

[continued)

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Productivity-boosting SuperPak™ utilities give you SuperDrive which responds fifty times faster than a disk drive and SuperSpool which lets you input and print at the same time.

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IBM PC and XT trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation Symphony Lotus and 1-2-3 trademarks o! Lotus Development Corporation Framework trademark of AshtonTate Multiplan trademark of Microsoft Dow Jones trademark of Dow Jones & Co., Inc Easy-Link copyright Western Union CompuServe is an H&R Block Company GraphPak and SuperPak trademarks ol AST Research Inc

Circle 449 for Dealer inquiries. Circle 450 for End-User inquiries.

Buy now*

Because now when you choose Microsoft 8 Word, the high performance word processor for the IBM* PC, you get Microsoft Spell, a special version of The WORD Plus™ spelling corrector. A $150 value. Absolutely free at participating dealers.

It watches your p's and qk

Microsoft Spell is a proofreader that catches your typos and misspellings. When you can't remember if its i before e, Spell remembers for you.

And you can customize it to spell your favorite technical words, from aepyomis to cryptococcosis.

Spell is just one of many extras you get in this package.

For example, Microsoft Word includes the most advanced mail merge, for all your multiple correspondence. Plus a free 'Learning Microsoft Word' disk that brings you up to speed immediately

And Word works with the very latest printers—even laser printers—to produce manuscripts of nearly publication quality

20 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Spell free*

The critics loved it

When Softalk IBM reviewed Word, they were delighted to discover that Word was "fun to use!'

PC Magazine called it "a well thought out, finely-executed product" that is "twice as productive" as WordStar 8

And Time, which also featured Microsoft in a recent cover story, was impressed that Word was "loaded with extras."

Word is a natural match for IBM PCs and their compatibles for a very natural reason: |\/||CRQS0FX

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system that tells the whole IBM PC family how to think. So if you want to make your writing letter perfect, call (800) 426-9400. Ask for the name of your nearest Microsoft dealer. In Washington State, Alaska, Hawaii and Canada, call (206) 828-8088.

Microsoft is a registered trademark and MS-DOS and The High Performance Software are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. The WORD Plus is a trademark of Oasis Systems. WordStar is a registered trademark of MicroPro International Corp.

The $150 value of Microsoft Spell is based on the current list price for The WORD Plus.

Circle 38 on inquiry card.

affordable & reliable...

NETWORKING

Networking begins with your fine computer. Where it goes is unlimited when you interface your peripheral devices with a 4, 8 or 18 port BayTech Serial Port Expander. With BayTech's units you can mix-and-match other computers and/or peripheral devices of different configurations without the need to reconfigure. Port configuration of the peripheral device ports may be changed by the user with BayTech's menu-driven software.

Letter-Quality Printer

BayTech's versatile networking multiports, capable of any-port-to-any-port interconnection, have virtually unlimited applications. With their features and low cost, the user can create a local network providing simultaneous communication for 5. 9, or 18 RS-232C devices.

A few companies make a good, expensive Serial Port Expander. One company makes an excellent, affordable line of them - BayTech.

• Model 524F $ 329.

• Model 528F $ 619.

• Model 52I8F $1750.

"Wf design and price BayTech Multiports so everyone can have an affordable and reliable computer network. Jo solve your networking problems, call us.''

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BAY TECHNICAL ASSOCIATES, inc.

HIGHWAY 603. P.O. BOX *87 BAY ST LOUIS MS 39?20 (601| 467-8211

22 B YTE • NOVEMBER 1984

LETTERS

to respond to some of the criticisms of the Macintosh that appeared in your July issue.

First, Phil Lemmons's exaggerated description in his editorial of the "three-stage qualifying examination" that must be passed to eject a disk from the Mac is ludicrous. As anyone who has tried it knows, instructing the Mac to eject the disk is easy using the mouse or the keyboard. Nor can any of us recall feeling like "a humble petitioner before a mysterious and powerful computer." Come on, what kind of purple prose is this? Furthermore, all three of us are long-time computer users who hardly fall into the "naive" category; yet none of us feel the Mac is "condescending." Interacting with other computers, including some large mainframes, seems like a step back into the Stone Age after a session with the Mac.

We also found some of Jerry Pournelle's comments ("Computing at Chaos Manor: The AT&T Computers," page 305) to be inconsistent with our own experience with the Mac. One of us uses Microsoft Multi-plan on a daily basis to create project-cost breakdowns, which is contrary to jerry's implication on page 314 that Multiplan is fatally flawed. He also strongly implies on the same page that Microsoft BASIC for the Mac is so full of bugs, especially in the area of mouse utilization and graphics, that it is virtually unusable. To the contrary, one of us has developed a rather complex BASIC program (15K bytes) that is used to generate architectural perspective drawings. This program uses the mouse as the primary operator control and calls a number of the Mac's ROM-based graphics routines. lerry also makes the claim that the "only application software for the Mac that's actually on the market is Bruce Tonkin's The Creator database." We would like to call his attention to page 413 of the same issue where he will find descriptions of three Mac programs that are on the market.

Jerry implies that the language Mac-FORTH is not available and that it probably won't be available any time soon (page 377). One of us already has the package. He also implies that external disk drives are not available. Two of us already own and use external Apple disk drives. Finally, Jerry states on page 312 that the ". . . Macintosh is a wonderful toy; but it's not very much more." If this is true, then the three of us have been wasting a lot of company time. Collectively, we have used MacWrite and MacPaint to generate numerous letters, technical memos with mathematical equations embedded in the

text, Vugraph masters for electronic equipment layouts, organization charts, design review forms, equipment specifications up to 100 pages in length, Multiplan spreadsheets as large as 144 rows by 41 columns, and 30 pages of proposal artwork. In fact, the ease with which MacPaint can be used to rapidly create finished charts, figures, and Vugraphs represents a major reason for our decision to purchase Macs. Also, the BASIC program we mentioned earlier has been used to generate several architectural perspective drawings.

We do not wish to whitewash the Mac's flaws, the most glaring of which is the large amount of software promised but not yet delivered. However, this problem is not unusual for a genuinely new computer, and in view of the Mac's popularity we do not doubt that this will be remedied by the marketplace in time.

E. B. Knick

D. C. Mestayer

V. C Reynolds

Melbourne Beach, FL

In regard to the July editorial "Patronizing the Naive User," I commend you. It is nice to know that there is someone out there who thinks along the same lines 1 do. I knew there was something that bothered me about Apple's Macintosh (beside its name) and I think you hit the nail on the head.

I do not respect people who condescend to me nor do I respect computers that do the same. I wish the designers of such computers would remember when they were computer naive and the initial excitement of discovering how computers work. Apple touts the Mac as being a "computer for the rest of us"; but the rest of us are not as dumb as the company thinks.

Charles P. Jazdzewski Central Point, OR

Let me remind everyone that 1 like the Macintosh. My critical comments were prefaced with the statement 'Macintosh will be nothing less than wonderful when it has two drives and more memory It is without doubt the friendliest of today's computers.'' I have personally bought a Macintosh. I have ordered a number for the office (we also have IBM and Tandy products and have ordered some HP portables}. I regard the Macintosh's user interface as largely successful. But 1 don't think Macintosh is perfect or that it should be treated as holy

I do wish to confess that my frustration with Macintosh's disk procedures disap-

Circle 39 on inquiry card.

LETTERS

peared when I finally received my second drive and no longer spent half my waking hours swapping disks.

I think Bill Benzon's letter contains more insight into the Macintosh's powerful appeal than any other letter we have received.

Now, if only there were more memory and software!

Phil Lemmons Editor in Chief

I was very amused by Susan Gold's remarks (June Letters, page 33) about the Macintosh not being a practical business tool. She, like so many millions of people, has not taken the time to sit down and use the Macintosh or thoughtfully analyze its potential as a business machine. 1 own a small business and would not purchase anything but a Macintosh. One thing that has been overlooked by all who have evaluated the computer is that when you spend several thousand dollars for a computer system, you will spend three times that amount training your employees to use it (unless you don't mind firing everyone that is not computer-literate). This is not the case with the Macintosh. The Macintosh is the least-expensive computer on the market today, when you count the cost of training your employees to use it. Not only that, I find that productivity has increased because it's so fun and easy to use.

Ronald L. Lawrence Renton, WA

This is an open letter to Ms. Susan Gold:

Ms. Gold, I've read your letter given the editorial heading "Mac Flak," in the June issue of BYTE. If you check volume 6, issue 10 of InfdWorld you'll find that I wrote a similar letter criticizing the Apple Macintosh Computer but much more scathingly. I just hope your own letter doesn't come back to haunt you and make you feel as foolish as I feel.

You see, after sending that letter I began to visit the computer stores and "mess around" a little more with the Mac. The crazy thing began to grow on me. It was shortly thereafter that I purchased one and I find that I've been eating the words in that letter ever since.

Ms. Gold, I've learned to swallow my pride and admit I was wrong. I've learned to adapt to the future and the future is in machines like the Macintosh. It gives the user untold power in computing and the future only looks brighter with all the additional software and hardware that is going to be coming out for the Mac. Remem-

ber, many thought the original Apple II wasn't a serious machine either. With 10,000-pIus pieces of software out for it 1 guess that rumor has been dispelled. And it will go the same way with the Macintosh.

A few other points: my Mac (with external drive, numeric keypad, keyboard, and the Mac itself) takes up less room on my desk than my IBM Selectric III, And I am running it with a surface area of 6 by 8 to 8 by 8 inches for the mouse, and I don't find it clumsy at all.

Now, isn't it about time that you went out and really tried a Macintosh, to see what it can do for you? 'Cause one thing the Mac ain't... it ain't no toy, that's for sure!

Craig A. Pearce Berwyn, IL

In response to the letter by David Nibbelin in the June issue (page 14): Mr. Nibbelin would do better to investigate all consumer finished goods that are made with parts derived from imported steel. And remember, stay out of buildings made with imported steel beams! The bottom line for any properly run company is the quality/cost ratio. Mr. Nibbelin's efforts might be directed at those who do not make the superior product that Sony's drive is, instead of pointing an accusing finger at the way Apple conducts its business to produce a fine product at a price Americans can afford.

Julia L. Muldawer Covington, LA

On Caching

I read with interest the very lucid article on disk caching "Maximizing Hard-Disk Performance" (May, page 307) by Roy Chaney and Brian Johnson, At Microcosm Research we have been involved in this area for some time and have had a product (MicroCache) on the market for the past three years.

We can endorse most of the authors' findings but would like to make a few observations.

With hard disks and caches of several hundred kilobytes, the algorithm used is not overly critical, as explained in the article. However, for smaller caches or floppy-disk systems, the algorithm is much more critical. As a result, we used a combination of the least-recently-used algorithm they preferred, tempered by an algorithm they did not mention—the least-frequently-used. This is further adjusted

{continued}

affordable & reliable...

PORT

CONTENTION

Add more users to your multi-user computer without expensive hardware or software modifications. A BayTech Port Contention unit will maximize utilization of available ports, thereby minimizing idle, valuable system time. With 6-to-3, 8-to-4 and l2-to-6 port models available, Port Contention problems can be solved from micro to mainframe computers.

_ i— T ..~ i—pj i—,—i

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The graphic above illustrates a typical BayTech Model 5218B Port Contention application. By adding a single 52 18B unit, a 6-port multi-user computer gains six additional users, thereby doubling accessibility to the computer.

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NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE 23

LETTERS

with regard to the physical location of the data of the disk. This has enabled us to provide significant performance improvements with caches from 16K bytes upward. Readers may have gotten the impression from the article that the memory-addressing capabilities of 16-bit processors are necessary for effective caching. This is not so. Eight-bit systems can also employ caching. In fact, it is often more desirable

on 8-bit systems because the applications software tends to use overlays extensively to overcome the limitations of a restricted address space. Caches are ideal for handling these frequently used overlays. The 8-bit version of MicroCache copes with memory addressing by accommodating whatever additional bank-switched memory is available for the machine (up to 8 megabytes).

What do you get when you cross 1200 baud, free on-line time, and extra features at a price Hayes cantmatch?

Data Rate?

The MultiModem gives you a choice— either 1200 or 300 bits per second. So you can go on-line with the information utilities. Check out bulletin boards. Dial into corporate mainframes. Swap files with friends.

On-Line Time?

With the Multi-Modem you get CompuServe's DemoPak, a free two-hour demonstration of their service, and up to seven more free hours if you subscribe. You also get a $50 credit towards NewsNet's business newsletter

Features & Price?

Of course, the MultiModem gives you automatic dial, answer, and disconnect. Gives you the Hayes-compatibility you need to support popular communications software programs like Crosstalk, Data Capture, our own MultiCom PC, and dozens of others. Gives you a two-year warranty, tops in the industry.

Circle 296 on inquiry card.

Trademarks-- MultiModem, MultiCom PC: Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. —CompuServe: CompuServe Information Services. an H & R Block company - NewsNet NewsNet, Inc.-- Crosstalk Microstuf, Inc.—Data Capture: Southeastern Software — Smartmodem: Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc

MultiModem.

But Better?

Yes. The Multi-Modem gives you features the Hayes Smartmodem 1200™ can't match. Features like dial-tone and busy-signal detection for more accurate dialing and redialing. Like a battery-backed memory for six phone numbers. All at a retail price of just $549—compared to $699 for the Smartmodem.

What do you get? The new MultiModem, from Multi-Tech Systems. Isn't this the answer you've been looking for?

For the name of your local distributor, write Multi-Tech Systems, Inc., 82 Second Avenue S.E., New Brighton, MN 55112. Or call us at (612)631-3550.

SEE US AT

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Multi

Systems^ The right answer every time.

®

I was surprised that they found an overall degradation in performance with small caches. This has not been our experience. Some caches we have seen (usually thrown together by a RAM-board manufacturer so that it can say it has a cache) have the opposite problem: they are okay for small caches but slow the system down when more than about 100K bytes of RAM is used. A cache-searching system that is very fast for all sizes of cache is essential.

For small caches it is worth including a facility that enables the user to "lock" time-critical files in the cache so that they are not ejected by the caching algorithm.

Printer buffers are effectively very crude caches using a first-in/first-out algorithm with background writing. Adding this facility to the disk cache is easy and can greatly improve the overall throughput of the machine. It is a much more cost-effective way of buffering printout than using addon boxes because the RAM is dynamically shared between the disks and the printer. When the printer is the major source of delay it gets more of the RAM, releasing it for disk caching as soon as the characters are passed on to the printer.

The authors' system was primarily concerned with caching hard disks. If floppy-disk systems are to be catered to, then it is necessary to cope with the situation when disks are changed. If disks are changed without the cache knowing about the change then there will be chaos! The data on the cache from the previous disk will get mixed up with the data on the new disk. MicroCache is the only caching system that we know of that avoids this problem by automatically detecting disk changes on the IBM PC and other popular machines.

Peter Cheesewright London, England

On Service Contracts

in your July publication, Michael W. Fitz-patrick wrote of his costly experience in having his Columbia VP portable computer repaired by Bell & Howell Service Company (Letters, page 31). 1 am responding to his letter in the hope that I can spare Mr. Fitzpatrick and other computer users from similar experiences in the future.

Mr. Fitzpatrick equated repairing a defective motherboard to repairing a car engine. While there is some similarity, in that eventually a defective part may be replaced, the means by which the defec-

[continued)

Introducing the Hercules Graphics Card for the technical user.

OK. We confess. The Hercules Graphics Card in the picture above isn't a special version for the technical user.

In fact, it's exactly the same as the standard Hercules Graphics Card running programs like 1-2-3™ and Symphony™ in more than 100,000 IBM® PCs.

We just wanted to make the point that the Hercules Graphics Card is not only big with business users—it's also the most popular high resolution graphics card for the technical user.

Why? We run more software than anyone else.

The Hercules Graphics Card is supported by more technical software than any other hi-res graphics card.

There a re word processors that can produce publication quality documents with mathematical formulas.

There are programs that enable your PC to emulate a graphics terminal

and run mainframe graphics software.

There are toolkits of graphics utilities that can be linked to popular programming languages.

There are CAD programs that can provide features normally associated with $50,000 systems.

And we supply free software with each card to do hi-res graphics with the PC's BASIC. No one else does.

Hardware that set the high performance standard.

When we introduced the Hercules Graphics Card in August, 1982, it set the standard for high resolution graphics on the PC.

But we didn't stop there. In the past two years, we've continually refined the original design.

Today's Graphics Card gives you two graphics pages, each with a resolution of 720h x 348v, and a parallel printer port-standard.

A 2K static RAM buffer elegantly eliminates scrolling flicker. And our exclusive safety switch helps prevent damage to your monitor.

Convinced? Good. Now, how about a little color?

Should you want IBM compatible color graphics for your system, then the new Hercules Color Card is the smart way to go.

It gives you a parallel printer port and a size small enough to fit in one of the XT's or Portable's short slots.

And both Hercules cards are compatible with the new AT™ and backed by our two year warranty.

Call 800 255-5550 Ext. 408 for the name of the Hercules dealer nearest you and we'll rush you a free info kit. See why the company that made the first graphics card for the IBM PC still makes the best.

Hercules.

We're strong on graphics.

Address: Hercules, 2550 Ninth St., Berkeley, CA 94710 Ph: 415 540-6000 Telex: 754063 Trademarks/Owners: Hercules/Hercules Computer Technology, 1-2-3, Symphony/Lotus Development; IBM, ATVInternational Business Machines

Circle 193 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 25

pOWEP

Powerful in circuit emulation, priced well within your grasp. That's NICE. ™

Nicolet

NICK may be only 3" square and fc» thick, but it hands vol. full speed r al-t.me emulation-over 50 emulation functions, software breakpoints ' all memory addresses and all I/O ports. *F"¥»-\

Just plug NICK directly into the target MP socket and any RS2&2 terminal t.tK^^ troubleshooting, debugging or testing . ^ home,

S<ciH A nd ^ ( ; F K h ? dS y i° U a " thiS ***»»"*, portability and versatility for only r ... \ ™»Hot pnee/perfbrmance ratio on the market, hands down

Call in your order today using

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LETTERS

tive part is identified is in no way similar. A board-repair system in some cases costing in excess of $500,000 does not compare in cost to a timing light and socket wrench, or even the more sophisticated equipment now in many automobile repair shops. Bell & Howell does maintain board-repair equipment but not in every location because of prohibitive cost.

While Bell & Howell Service Company welcomes all users of Columbia Data computers to place contracts on their equipment, many such as Mr. Fitzpatrick choose to take a chance that service will not be needed. The truth is that even a product as well engineered and reliable as the Columbia VP will eventually require service. To cater to the needs of noncontract customers. Bell & Howell is required to stock large spare parts inventories without prior commitment from the user, who may seek an alternative means to obtain service,

In light of this, Bell & Howell has developed contract rates that are competitive, and perhaps the lowest in the microcomputer service industry. I entirely endorse Mr. Fitzpatrick's advice to buy a service contract from a reputable service organization. If Mr. Fitzpatrick had followed his own advice, the $811.06 he paid for his motherboard would have given him three years of full parts and labor contract coverage and $16.06 change.

David C Hallquist

Bell & Howell Service Co.

Chicago, IL

My IBM PC developed trouble in the reverse mode, in my case black on green. It will print reverse only for the first 12 lines and 64 characters of the thirteenth line; 12 x 80 = 960 plus 64 on the thirteenth line gives 1024. That seemed significant so I ran a program to check the video system and guessed the problem might be in the attribute chip number two. I called the 800 number and was told I could take my IBM PC to the repair depot in Tampa and I would get it back in 48 hours. The 800 number is a phone in Atlanta. I was given a repair number and then I packed up the computer and drove 36 miles through heavy traffic to the repair depot.

They had a copy of the repair ticket called in by the operator in Atlanta. However, I was told they would send the computer to Atlanta for repairs and I was given no time limit for its return. Well, at $96 an hour for labor and no guarantee of any

(continued)

26 B YTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 306 on inquiry card.

The MacClassics™ from Videx. Legends in Their Own Time.

Games f our in a Hou> Option* Skill teuel

Games King Hlberl

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Klondike Solitaire •

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MacCheckers- $49

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t Mat Uegai Garnet Keno Catnler

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MacVegas™ $59

Roulette • Poker • Blackjack Keno • Slots ■ Craps

4 Garnet C rib bag t Opllont Storing

MacGammon™ $49

Backgammon * Cribbage

Introducing the MacClassics, a collection of familiar games designed to entertain and challenge. With Macintosh™ or a friend as an opponent, you can enjoy such classic games as solitaire, poker, checkers, backgammon, roulette, etc., and they're all more fast-paced and exciting than ever before, with a little assistance from Macintosh. MacClassics let you enjoy and explore the power of your Macintosh while you relax and have a good time.

The MacClassics are just another example of the kind of high-quality

products you've come to expect from Videx. With a solid reputation for dependable, innovative business software and hardware, Videx is consciously building that same degree of excellence into its entertainment software. Through development of Apple - and Macintosh software, Videx continues to provide the microcomputer industry with an ever-expanding line of exciting, reliable products.

Call today for more information. (503)758-0521.

Innovation Backed by Support

Videx, Inc. •1105 NE Circle Blvd.* Corvallis, OK 97330

Macintosh is a trademark ol Apple Computer. Inc. Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc

Circle 414 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 27

NEW from BORLAND!

TURBO TOOLBOX & TURBO TUTOR

i**iL3>

'TURBO is much better than the Pascal IBM sells-Jerry Pournelle. Byte. July 1984

TURBO PASCAL appears to violate the laws of thermodynamics.

You won't find a comparable price/ performance package anywhere. It is simply put. the best software deal to come along in a long time. If you have the slightest interest in Pascal. . .buy it."

Bruce Webster, Softalk IBM: March 1984

■BRnMffll

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A SAVINGS OF $30!

What a gift for you and your friends! The extraordinary TURBO PASCAL compiler, together with the exciting new TURBO TOOLBOX and new TURBO TUTOR. All 3 manuals with disks for $99-95.

TURBO PASCAL Version 2.0 (reg. $49.95). The now classic program development environment still includes the FREE MICROCALC SPREAD SHEET Commented source code on disk

• Optional 8087 support available for a small additional charge

NEW! TURBO TOOLBOX (reg. $49.95). A set of three fundamental utilities that work in conjunction with TURBO PASCAL. Includes:

• TURBO-ISAM FILES USING B + TREES. Commented source code on disk

• QUIKSORT ON DISK. Commented source code on disk

• GINST (General Installation Program)

Provides those programs written in TURBO PASCAL with a terminal installation module just like TURBO'S!

• NOW INCLUDES FREE SAMPLE DATABASE. . . right on the disk! Just compile it, and it's ready to go to work for you. It's a great example of how to use TURBO TOOLBOX ana, at the same time, it's a working piece of software you can use right away!

NEW! TURBO TUTOR (reg. $29.95). Teaches step by step how to use the TURBO PASCAL development environment—an ideal introduction for basic programmers. Commented source code for all program examples on disk.

30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE These offers good through Feb. 1, 1985

For VISA and MASTERCARD order call toll free: l-(800)-255-8008 l-(800)-742-1133

(Lines open 24 hrs., 7 days a week) Dealer and Distributor inquiries welcome (408) 438-8400

CHOOSE ONE (please add $5.00 for handling and shipping U.S. orders)

All Three-Gift Pack $ 99.95 + 5.00 SPECIAL! TUrbo Toolbox $49-95 + 5.00

All Three & 8087 139.95 + 5.00 SPECIAL! TUrbo TUtor 29.95 + 5.00

TUrbo Pascal 2,0 49.95 + 5.00 TUrbo 8087 89.95 + 5.00

Check Money Order . VISA MasterCard _____

Card #:

My system is: 8 bit 16 bit.

Exp. date:

Shipped UPS

Operating System: CP/M 80 CP/M 86 MS DOS PC DOS .

Computer:

Disk Format:

Please be sure model number & format are correct.

NAME:

ADDRESS:

CITY/STATE/ZIP: TELEPHONE: _

California residents add 6% sales tax. Outside U.S.A. add $15.00 (if outside of U.S.A. payment must be by bank draft payable in the U.S. and in U.S. dollars). Sorry, no C.O.D. or Purchase Orders 615

») BORlflflD

INTERNATIONAL

4113 Scotts Valley Drive Scotts Valley, California 95066 TELEX: 172373

Circle 146 on inquiry card.

New Release 4.1

We've continually improved Microstat since it was introduced in 1978, and the latest release includes many new features you've wanted.

tnteractive and Batch Processing Expanded Data Management

Subsystem with New Data

Transforms Reading data files created by other

programs 3 types of Analysis of Variance Time Series

Crosstabs and Chi-Square Factorials, Permutations, and

Combinations Hypothesis Tests

Data sets that can exceed memory Multiple Regression (including

Stepwise) Scatterplots (including best fit

regression) Correlation Analysis 12 Nonparametric tests 8 Probability Distributions Descriptive Statistics Easy Installation

Microstat's algorithms have been designed to prevent numeric overflow errors and yield unsurpassed accuracy. Microstat's price is $375.00 including the user's manual and is available for the Z80, 8086, 8088 CPU's and CP/M8C CP/M86, MS-DOS, and PC-DOS. To order, call or write.

6413 N. College Ave. • Indianapolis, IN 46220 (317)255-6476

Trademarks: Microstat (Ecosoft), CP/M (Digital Research), MS-DOS (Microsoft), PC-DOS (IBM), Z80 (Zilog), 8086, 8088 (Intel).

MACINTOSH, APPL IBM PC AND IPSA

MODULA-2 COMPILER/ INTERPRETER — $90

PASCAL TO MODULA 2 CONVERTER — $100

MODULA ENHANCER MEMORY CARDS FOR APPLE ll's AND IBM-PC's — $245

MODULA ENHANCER MEMORY CARDS AND MODULA-2 SOFTWARE FOR ONLY $285

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LETTERS

kind as to what they might do to the machine, I decided that solution was not for me. So I packed the equipment back into the car and went home thinking about the fact that I had packed the gear up and driven all that way supposing that with a formal appointment everything would be taken care of.

I keep thinking about the advertisements that say "includes a nationwide network to help give you computer-age service support."

I have not found that to be true. I wrote Boca Raton, 1 called various people, and I visited the local IBM showroom several times over a period of several months. Quite a few people at IBM laughed at me because, as a novice, I could not figure out how to properly use the WHILE and WHEN statements, which are explained on page 4-2 51 of the IBM BASIC manual. However, none of the IBM people who laughed at me were able to figure out how to use it either.

I would like to hear from others who have had similar problems. Please write to me at 1710 Woodbine Dr., Brandon, FL 33511.

Donald W. Patzsch Brandon, FL

In Defense of BASIC

For some time now I have quietly stood by while readers, authors, and a slew of self-proclaimed "experts" have denounced BASIC for being a sloppy unstructured language. These folks then go on to describe how learning BASIC inevitably leads to programming habits so horrible that its practitioners will be impaired for life. To hear them tell it, you'd be better off having a frontal lobotomy. Any day now I expect to read about some hapless soul who went prematurely bald and lost all his teeth because of exposure to BASIC.

Sure, it's possible to write programs in BASIC that go this way and that with no apparent direction—or "structure" as some people like to call it. However, it seems to me that with enough practice it should be possible to write convoluted, hard-to-follow programs in any language. I am unaware of any restrictions imposed by BASIC that would force a programmer to write poorly.

While BASIC may not be perfect, for me it is very close. I mean, what could make more sense than X = SIN(A) or L = LEN(N$)? Do you need more speed?

{continued)

30 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 289 on inquiry card.

Three ways to Speed up your Apple II

& Apple He for

Spe^uemon SpeeDemon

SpeeDemon SpeeDemon

Makes any Apple II, 11+, or

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Makes your Applesoft, Apple Fortran,

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or Visicalc programs run up to 3 l / 2 times

faster.

Costs less than any other speed up card.

Costs only $295.

I have enclosed $ _

Please send me SpeeDemons by return mail at $295 each.

I have an: □ Apple II □ Apple II plus O Apple He This is for: □ Business Use

Or charge my: □ Visa D Mastercard □ American Express D Personal Use

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COMPUTER

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circle 262 on inquiry card. Dealer Inquiries Invited

Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computers, Inc. VisiCalc is a registered trademark of VisiCorp, Inc. DB Master is a registered trademark of Stoneware, Inc.

LETTERS

Okay, buy a compiler, if you want to declare all of a programs variables up front, then go ahead and do it. Nobody's stopping you, but then no one is forcing you, either.

If all those anti-BASIC fanatics are so opposed to something as innocuous as a GOTO, then let's all petition against assembly language with its evil BRANCH, or worse, that sinful JUMP instruction.

BASIC is the most straightforward, intuitively obvious, and easy to grasp of all the high-level languages. It has made computer programming—real programming— accessible to millions of people, and personally I am sick of snobs telling me 1 would be better off learning no programming language than BASIC. Phooey!

Ethan Winer Easf Norwalk, CT

JL

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Computers in Education

As a student of behavioral psychology and a member of the Learning Processes program at the City University of New York, 1 would like to comment about the article "Cautions on Computers in Education" by Stephan L. Chorover (June, page 223).

Mr Chorover makes a number of important observations on the rush to automate the educational process. The question of who needs computers and why is not often asked and understood in learning environments. However, I would like to take issue with him on a few points.

Professor William N. Schoenfeld is as much responsible for developing the programmed approach to instruction as Professor Fred S. Keller. Some psychologists familiar with the early developments of operant conditioning argue that it was Schoenfeld who really provided the intellectual impetus.

The "Keller Plan" is an example of good teaching practices in learning environments all over the world. The intention of "Good-bye, Teacher..." was not to say teachers are useless creatures, but that they could have a more effective impact, i.e., supplying individualized care to students if they were exposed to the technology of teaching. "Good-bye, Teacher..." was an attempt to explain how aversive elements can be eliminated from the learning environment and to show how the technology of teaching can be utilized. Before Skinner, Schoenfeld, and Keller popularized the systematic methodology that stressed learning by doing and contingent reinforcement, students and teachers believed that learning was a matter of good listening.

Efficient teaching does not mean removing the concerned and dedicated teacher from the learning environment. Effective teaching does not mean sterilizing the educational environment with machines. Correct and cautious use of the computer in the educational environment means providing a stimulating and exciting environment for every individual child. The key reason for using the computer is to give every single child an opportunity to learn. Computers in the classroom means purging the classroom from the drudgery of rote learning and providing children with the opportunity to progress at their own rates. To achieve these goals both the effective teacher and the properly developed teaching machine is needed.

Barry Katz Tel Aviv, Israel ■

«— Circle 246 on inquiry card.

DATA GENERAL INTRODU

THE STANDARD BY WHICH EVERY OTHER WILL BE MEASURED.

// tJiiihdi' "' //////////

INTRODUCING THE

DAIA GENERAL/One

PORTABLE.

Now, for the first time, you can be freed from the confinement of your desk. And your deskbound computer.

With the first, full-function business system that lets you do your work anywhere: at the office, at home, or anywhere in between The DATA GENERAL/One portable is a computer with the capability of the leading PC: two built-in diskette drives, the same full-size screen, and full-size characters. It even runs the same programs as the leading PC.

Small enough to fit inside your briefcase.

IBM-PC compatible so it runs thousands of programs.

Full-size screen lets you get the whole picture.

All this in a size small enough to fit inside the average briefcase:

11.7 x 13.7 x 2.8 inches, and less than 11 pounds.

Someday all PCs will be like this.

It's the only portable computer to give you a full-size 80-column by 25-line screen.

Other portables give you as little as 8 lines.

It's compatible with IBM®-PC software. Which means you can run the thousands of programs available to PC users. Software like 1-2-3™ and Symphony™ from Lotus™, Wordstar®, dBase IF, Multiplan®, as well as the most popular packages from the pfs® series, like pfs: file.

The only portable offering up to two built-in diskette drives for serious business applications.

So you can do such things as

word processing, database management, spreadsheet analysis, and business graphics.

The DATA GENERAL/One is the only portable computer that offers up to two built-in diskette drives. Just like the leading PC.

It's the only way to do serious work. No more aggravation swapping diskettes.

And these are state-of-the-art 3.5-inch hardcased microfloppies— with twice the storage capacity at half the size of the 5.25-inch diskettes.

Internal memory is expandable up to 512 KB. Storage capacity is 1440 KB—nearly one-and-a-half-million characters of information.

And if you want more information, the optional built-in modem lets you communicate with other computers.

Finally it's the only portable that can give you the benefits of integrated office automation—by connecting with Data General's CEO® system.

Other options include a portable printer, an 8-hour built-in battery pack, an external 1200-baud modem and an external 5.25-inch diskette drive unit. The new DATA GENERAL/One portable. It not only gives you everything the leading PC gives you. It also gives you something the leading PC doesn't give you. Your freedom.

To find the name of your nearest Data General salesperson or authorized dealer, call 1-800-DATAGEN.

Connects with Data General's CEO office automation system.

i w Data General.

a Generation ahead.

IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. 1-2-3, Lotus and Symphony are trademarks of Lotus Development Corp. © 1983. dBase II is a registered trademark of AshtonTate, pfs is a registered trademark of Software Publishing. Wordstar is a U.S. registered trademark of Micro Pro Int'l. Multiplan is a U.S. registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. CEO is a registered trademark, and DATA GENERAL/One is a trademark of Data General Corp. © 1984 Data General Corporation, Westboro, MA.

FIXES AND UPDATES

Laserdiscs Here Today and With Us Tomorrow

A letter lauding BYTE for the July Video theme arrived the other day from Patrick Binns. Mr, Binns, the consumer-products marketing manager for Video Vision Associates, thought that our coverage was "both timely and knowledgeable," although we neglected to cover those laser videodiscs currently available.

"It is the variety and quality of laserdisc software that will make this new technology an exciting and significant advance in communications," he said in his letter.

Video Vision Associates, located in Huntington Beach, California, has been in the interactive-videodisc market for more

than two years. It produces a number of topical packages for both educators and consumers and markets a peripheral, the VAI II, that interfaces Apple II+/IIe and videodisc programs. The VAI II can be used for developing interactive computer/ video programs. (For more on this subject, see Stan Jarvis's article "Videodiscs and Computers" "in the July BYTE on page 187.) One of Video Vision's laserdisc software packages is called Space Disc. It's a collection of still frames, photographs, and video and movie clips that documents the American space program. It's made up of four modules that cover the Voyagers' trips around Saturn and Jupiter, the six

manned lunar landings, the first four flights of the Space Shuttle, and observations of solar phenomena. Other packages address such subjects as science and art history.

Of the technology behind interactive computer/videodisc programs and where we can expect it to go, Mr. Binns said; "The creative dimensions of this technology have yet to be defined, but laserdisc software will be a critical factor in determining its full potential. Today's initiatives in laserdisc and computer programming are certain to enrich the way we will acquire knowledge and enjoy our leisure in the not-so-distant future."

Videodisc Replication Service

Stan Jarvis's article "Videodiscs and Computers" (July, page 187) inspired Larry Spangler, manager of Spectra Image Inc.'s videodisc operations to write us about a service available from his company. Spectra Image Inc. can provide single copies of standard Laservision-compatible videodiscs, using Optical Disc Corporation's technology. Individual copies of CAV-com-patible single-sided discs cost $300. Turnaround time is said to be 24 hours.

Spectra Image Inc. maintains its corporate headquarters at 540 North Hollywood Way Burbank. CA 91505, (818) 842-1111.

Call for Aid Answered

A Computer

on (Almost) Every Desk

Entering students at Dartmouth College are not required to buy an Apple Macintosh or any other computer, as we erroneously reported in "A Computer on Every Desk," (June, page 162). A computer can be purchased at a discounted price through the college, but any such purchase is optional. Those electing not to buy a computer through the school can get computer experience at public clusters on campus. We thank Laura Dicovitsky, assistant director of Dartmouth's Office of News Services, for alerting us to this inaccuracy.

Niels J. Bjergstr0m from the Danish manufacturer E-C Data A/S has answered James R. Primm's request for help in locating an 8-inch disk controller for the TRS-80 Model 4. (See August Letters, page 23.) E-C Data produces an 8-inch disk controller that's based on the 2793 chip. The controller is compatible with TRS-80 disk operating systems. It's available in kit form and comes with complete installation instructions, schematics, test and diagnostic software, a'nd a sheet outlining the principles of operation. A battery-backed clock/calendar is optional.

The company also offers a range of kits for the TRS-80, including disk drives, RAM banks, and communication interfaces.

An E-C Data company representative is now located at 310 Riverside Dr., Suite 916, New York, NY 10025, (212) 678-0064. By the time this update is published, the company will have an 800 number that it can be reached at. Please call (800) 5 5 5-1212 for the correct number. The home address is E-C Data A/S, POB 116, DK-3460, Birker0d. Denmark. The company's telephone number is 45-2-818191; Telex: 3782 5 ec dk.

Database Describes 50,000 Packages, Offers All for Sale

An electronic database with descriptions of more than 50,000 software packages for every type and size of computer has gone on line. Menu, operating out of Fort Collins, Colorado, lets you identify, evaluate, and purchase software.

Menu is accessed through Dialog, the Knowledge Index, Lexis, or Euronet. Once on line, a customer can search the database and get printouts of third-party evaluations of selected software. A search costs $2 5 for the first 10 programs located; the fee drops to $1 for the next 40 programs, and thereafter it's $0.2 5 per program. (Search fees may vary depending on the network used to access the system.)

Software can be ordered through Menu. The company says that most programs can be purchased for up to 2 5 percent below suggested prices. If Menu cannot locate the desired package, it files the customer's needs into a database. When a suitable program is found, the customer is notified. Currently, there is no charge for this service.

A search fee is credited against the purchase price. Delivery is within 5 to 10 days.

Hard-copy printouts of the database are

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 33

increases the price of your product, yet it makes sure your customers don't buy one program and copy ten.

Several command line slash (/) options are built into Prolok diskettes for customized security, depending on your needs.

Software can be loaded easily onto Prolok diskettes using any system from a PC to commercial mass duplication equipment.

Prolok is an engineering breakthrough of Vault Corporation, which has been successfully

safeguarding software since the inception of security disk technology. Over 2000 businesses and organizations protect their valuable programs with Prolok.

Simply contact Vault Corporation at 2649 Townsgate Road, Suite 500, Westlake Village, CA 91361. Or phone us at 800-445-0193 (U.S.) or 800-821-8638 (California). And find out why software freebies are becoming a thing of the past.

PROTECTION. RKHT OH THE DISK

Copyright © 1984 Vault Corporation. Prolok is a trademark of Vault Corporation

Circle 411 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 37

IF IT ISN'T ONE ae THOSE BR*NP-NEW CITOH75CO OR Y-IO PRINIEKS THAT COSTA MERE PIT1ANCE... P0R6ETIT

A new C. Itoh isn't exactly a stocking stuffer. But as printers go, the new ProWriter™ 7500 dot matrix and StarWnter™ Y-10 daisy wheel go for very little money.

Yet, they're C. Itoh quality through and through. Gifts fit for a king. Tested. Proven. So doggone reliable they'll be around for many a Christmas to come.

Both printers are IBM*' PC compatible. Both are perfect for your basic printing needs.

The 7500 delivers 105 characters per second, 45 lines a minute. It gives you bidirectional printing, graphics, and a 2-Kbyte buffer.

The Y-10, with its 100-character print head, gives you 20 characters per second of crisp, sharp letter quality. It has a low profile design and is engineered for quiet operation.

Like all C. Itoh printers, the 7500 and Y-10 come with a full 12-month warranty, backed by over 400 Authorized Service Centers coast to coast.

C. Itoh and your C Itoh dealer wish you and your PC the best Christmas ever. (And you can print that.)

For more information, just write C. Itoh Digital Products, Inc., 19750 South Vermont Avenue, Suite 220, Torrance, CA 90502.

Or phone toll free 1-800-423-0300. In Massachusetts, call 1-617-769-8770,

GoLTimiK]

DIGITAL PRODUCTS

) 1984 News Group Chicago, Inc.

Circle 451 for Dealer inquiries. Circle 452 for End-User inquiries.

™ ProWnter and StarWnter are Trademarks of C Itoh Digital Products, Inc. • IBM is a Registered Trademark of international Business Machines Corp. © 1984 C. itoh Digital Products, Inc.

FIXES AND UPDATES

Laserdiscs Here Today and With Us Tomorrow

A letter lauding BYTE for the July Video theme arrived the other day from Patrick Binns. Mr. Binns, the consumer-products marketing manager for Video Vision Associates, thought that our coverage was "both timely and knowledgeable," although we neglected to cover those laser videodiscs currently available.

"It is the variety and quality of laserdisc software that will make this new technology an exciting and significant advance in communications," he said in his letter.

Video Vision Associates, located in Huntington Beach, California, has been in the interactive-videodisc market for more

than two years. It produces a number of topical packages for both educators and consumers and markets a peripheral, the VAI II, that interfaces Apple 11+/He and videodisc programs. The VAI II can be used for developing interactive computer/ video programs. (For more on this subject, see Stan Jarvis's article "Videodiscs and Computers" in the July BYTE on page 187.) One of Video Vision's laserdisc software packages is called Space Disc. It's a collection of still frames, photographs, and video and movie clips that documents the American space program. It's made up of four modules that cover the Voyagers' trips around Saturn and Jupiter, the six

manned lunar landings, the first four flights of the Space Shuttle, and observations of solar phenomena. Other packages address such subjects as science and art history.

Of the technology behind interactive computer/videodisc programs and where we can expect it to go, Mr. Binns said; "The creative dimensions of this technology have yet to be defined, but laserdisc software will be a critical factor in determining its full potential. Today's initiatives in laserdisc and computer programming are certain to enrich the way we will acquire knowledge and enjoy our leisure in the not-so-distant future."

Videodisc Replication Service

Stan Jarvis's article "Videodiscs and Computers" (July, page 187) inspired Larry Spangler, manager of Spectra Image Inc.'s videodisc operations to write us about a service available from his company. Spectra Image Inc. can provide single copies of standard Laservision-compatible videodiscs, using Optical Disc Corporation's technology Individual copies of CAV-com-patible single-sided discs cost $300. Turnaround time is said to be 24 hours.

Spectra Image Inc. maintains its corporate headquarters at 540 North Hollywood Way Burbank, CA 91505, (818) 842-1111.

Call for Aid Answered

A Computer

on (Almost) Every Desk

Entering students at Dartmouth College are not required to buy an Apple Macintosh or any other computer, as we erroneously reported in 'A Computer on Every Desk," (June, page 162). A computer can be purchased at a discounted price through the college, but any such purchase is optional. Those electing not to buy a computer through the school can get computer experience at public clusters on campus. We thank Laura Dicovitsky, assistant director of Dartmouth's Office of News Services, for alerting us to this inaccuracy.

Niels J. Bjergstr0m from the Danish manufacturer E-C Data A/S has answered James R. Primm's request for help in locating an 8-inch disk controller for the TRS-80 Model 4. (See August Letters, page 23.) E-C Data produces an 8-inch disk controller that's based on the 2793 chip. The controller is compatible with TRS-80 disk operating systems. It's available in kit form and comes with complete installation instructions, schematics, test and diagnostic software and a sheet outlining the principles of operation. A battery-backed clock/calendar is optional.

The company also offers a range of kits for the TRS-80, including disk drives, RAM banks, and communication interfaces.

An E-C Data company representative is now located at 310 Riverside Dr., Suite 916, New York, NY 10025, (212) 678-0064. By the time this update is published, the company will have an 800 number that it can be reached at. Please call (800) 555-1212 for the correct number. The home address is E-C Data A/S, POB 116, DK-3460, Birker0d, Denmark. The company's telephone number is 45-2-818191; Telex: 3782 5 ec dk.

Database Describes 50,000 Packages, Offers All for Sale

An electronic database with descriptions of more than 50,000 software packages for every type and size of computer has gone on line. Menu, operating out of Fort Collins, Colorado, lets you identify, evaluate, and purchase software.

Menu is accessed through Dialog, the Knowledge Index, Lexis, or Euronet. Once on line, a customer can search the database and get printouts of third-party evaluations of selected software. A search costs $2 5 for the first 10 programs located; the fee drops to $1 for the next 40 programs, and thereafter it's $0.2 5 per program. (Search fees may vary depending on the network used to access the system.)

Software can be ordered through Menu. The company says that most programs can be purchased for up to 2 5 percent below suggested prices. If Menu cannot locate the desired package, it files the customer's needs into a database. When a suitable program is found, the customer is notified. Currently, there is no charge for this service.

A search fee is credited against the purchase price Delivery is within 5 to 10 days.

Hard-copy printouts of the database are

[continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 33

Created by Dayner/Hall, Inc., Winter Park, Florida

Circle 410 on inquiry card.

Inquiry Hotline: 800/633-2252, ext. 354.

urcie >06 on inquiry card.

1KT

THE EHD OF SOFTHRRE FREEBIES.

ip*<d.~.. —J&sL. wkAkL-

r^S.

||V

*"> IPS

81 jM A iff J3L _

Finally there's a foolproof way to protect software against unauthorized duplication. And the technology is all on the disk itself.

The new Prolok™ disk doesn't need add-on hardware. Instead each diskette is marked with a unique, physical "fingerprint." No two are alike. A precise description of the individual print is encoded magnetically. The fingerprint AND the description must match exactly before the software is decrypted and released to the system. No match, no access.

Its genius is its simplicity and familiarity. Prolok looks like an unprotected disk, loads like an unprotected disk, works like an unprotected disk. The user feels immediately at home and in command. It's as easy as A>PROLOK B: filename.

Backups are easily made via normal system utilities. However, to be read they must be accompanied in the system by the original Prolok disk.

Prolok puts the casual copier-and even the deliberate pirate-out of business. It barely

PROLOK. SOFTHRRE

36 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

WHAT'S NEW

IBM Graphics Displays, Adapters Improve Resolution

IBM recently introduced several graphics products for its personal computers. The IBM Personal Computer Professional Graphics Display, which can only be used with IBM's Professional Graphics Controller, is a noninterlaced, high-resolution RGB monitor. It can display 640 by 480 pixels, or 67 pixels per inch, in up to 2 56 colors (from a palette of 4096). The display measures 15J/2 by 17 by 11/2 inches and is priced at $1295.

The Professional Graphics Controller occupies two full IBM PC, PC XT, or PC AT expansion slots. It can emulate the IBM Color Graphics Adapter and has an expanded graphics mode that enables full use of the Professional Graphics Display capabilities. The controller includes 320K bytes of RAM: 300K for display storage and 2 OK for internal variables and lists. The controller has its own on-board 8088 processor and graphics firmware in a 64K-byte ROM.

The controller allows two-or three-dimensional drawing in hardware and has built-in functions to rotate, translate, or scale objects. You have access to 2 56 user-programmable display lists and can select either the built-in character set or define your own. The controller features vector and polygon drawing as well as polygon fill. The two-card Professional Graphics Controller has a list price of $2995.

For less demanding PC owners, IBM also announced the Enhanced Color Display and Enhanced Graphics Adapter. The display provides a resolution of up to 640 by 3 50 pixels in 16 colors (from a 64-color palette) and should be available by January for $849.

The Enhanced Graphics Adapter provides 640 by 200 or 320 by 200 pixel graphics in 16 colors on the IBM PC Color Display, or 640 by 3 50 pixels on the

IBM Monochrome Display. On the Enhanced Color Display the adapter can display the full 640 by 3 50 pixels in up to 4 colors with the standard 64 K bytes of RAM or up to 16 colors when upgraded to 128K bytes with the optional Graphics Memory Expansion Card. An optional Graphics Memory Module Kit expands the card's memory to 2 56K bytes, allowing smooth scrolling and panning and additional pages of graphics data. A RAM-resident character generator can use from 2 56 (with 64K bytes) to 1024 (with 2 56K bytes) user-defined characters in sizes up to 8 by 32 pixels.

IBM warns that some PC owners may require a ROM BIOS replacement in order to use the Enhanced Graphics Adapter, which is priced at $524. The optional Graphics Memory Expansion Card, which upgrades the adapter to an 128K-byte RAM, costs $199; the Graphics Memory Module Kit is $2 59. Circle 600 on inquiry card.

Graphics Software

Also announced by IBM were a number of graphics subroutine libraries for the IBM Personal Computer. All require DOS 2.1 or later, at least 2 56K bytes of RAM, and one of IBM's color graphics adapters. Language bindings are provided to access the routines from programs compiled by FORTRAN 2.0, Professional FORTRAN, Lattice C, and BASIC compilers.

The IBM Personal Computer Graphical Kernel System is a subroutine library of two-dimensional graphics primitives consistent with the proposed ANSI and ISO standards. The Plotting System assists programmers in generating most types of standard charts and graphs. The Graphical File System is an implementation of the proposed ANSI Metafile Standard. The Graphical

Kernel System costs $295; the Plotting System, $22 5; and the Graphical File System, $175.

The Graphics Development Toolkit is designed for software developers writing graphics applications. By licensing the device drivers contained in the Toolkit, developers can sell device-independent software to users who need not buy the Toolkit themselves. The

Graphics Terminal Emulator provides emulation of Tektronix 4010 and Lear Siegler ADM3A protocols. The Toolkit can be purchased for $3 50, and the Graphics Terminal Emulator costs $295.

Contact IBM Corp., Entry Systems Division, POB 1328, Boca Raton, FL 33432, (800) 447-4700. Circle 601 on inquiry card.

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 ■ BYTE 39

WHAT'S NEW

Interface Hardware

Other new items from IBM are a Data Acquisition and Control Adapter and a General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) Adapter.

The IBM Personal Computer Data Acquisition and Control Adapter features two 12-bit analog input channels, four 12-bit analog output channels, a 16-chan-nel digital input port, and a 16-channel digital output port. The adapter also includes two timers: a 32-bit

timer for programmable sampling rates and a 16-bit user timer/counter for use as an event counter, programmable rate generator, or for a programmable delay. The adapter can be attached to an optional Data Acquisition and Control Adapter Distribution Panel, providing easier access to its signals, voltages, and grounds. Also available is a Programming Support package including a subroutine library accessible

from several high-level languages. The adapter costs $1275, the optional Distribution Panel is $245, and the Programming Support software is $160.

The IBM Personal Computer GPIB Adapter is a half-size card that provides an interface for up to 14 devices that use the ANSI/ IEEE-488 standard. It is priced at $395. Optional GPIB Adapter Programming Support, which allows high-

level language access to subroutines to control or monitor up to 48 devices using four adapters, costs $85.

IBM also announced a 2 56K-byte memory expansion on a 5-inch card, priced at $489.

For complete information, contact IBM Corp., Entry Systems Division, POB 1328, Boca Raton, FL 33432, (800) 447-4700. Circle 602 on inquiry card.

Desk Accessories from Software Arts

Spotlight is a memory-resident program that includes a set of six desktop management utilities for the IBM Personal Computer. The programs include a note pad, a phone list, an appointment calendar, a calculator, an index-card file, and a DOS Filer, which allows access to some DOS commands from within another program.

Each of the six utilities can be called at any time from within most PC-DOS programs, and it will appear as a pop-up window. The Appointment Book allows you to keep track of appointments in the near and distant future and to set alarms to alert you as the appointment approaches. The Calculator utility allows you to use the numeric keypad and nearby keys as a memory calculator and to paste results into an application program. The Filer can be used to view a directory, to view the contents of a text file, or to erase, copy, or rename files.

Brief notes entered in the eight-page Note Pad can be copied to a file or left in the note pad for later reference. You can use the Phone Book utility to store up to 500 names, numbers, and related information, in each

of 36 possible phone lists. Each entry is a free-form index card, and text anywhere on the card can be searched for later. The Index Card File

is a more general-purpose version of the Phone Book and permits 36 additional lists of 500 entries each, disk space permitting.

Each program is accessed by typing the Shift and Alternate keys simultaneously with one other key. The utility programs themselves are not copy-protected, but because Spotlight's memory-resident portion is, the master disk must be in a drive to initially install Spotlight.

Spotlight requires an IBM PC, PC XT, or Compaq computer, one disk drive, 128K bytes of RAM (the program occupies at least 72K bytes). and DOS 2.0 or higher; a second drive and more memory will improve its performance. It can be installed on a hard disk. Spotlight is priced at $149.95. For more information, contact Software Arts, 27 Mica Lane, Wellesley MA 02181, (617) 431-6500. Circle 603 on inquiry card.

Apple Announces 512K Macintosh, Software, Upgrade

Apple Computer recently announced a version of its Macintosh personal computer with 512K bytes of RAM. The Macintosh 5I2K costs $3195. The price of the first Macintosh, available with I28K bytes, was dropped from $2495 to $2195, and current owners can buy a 512K upgrade for

$995 from Apple dealers. With the Macintosh 512K, MacWrite can create documents up to 80 pages long and MacPaint and MacDraw can create more complex images.

Those who purchased the 128K Macintosh before September 10, 1984, and who buy the 512K upgrade

before March 31, 1985, will also receive copies of Mac-Draw and MacProject at no additional cost.

For more information, contact Apple Computer Inc., 2052 5 Mariani Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014, (408) 996-1010. Circle 604 on inquiry card.

{continued)

40 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Available for the IBM PC, AT, XT, jr.; and true compatibles

GOT YOUR SIDEKICK YET?

rThe Super Organizer Whenever you're using your __^^^^^

computer... from start to finish of your session Sidekick™ will be there ... ready to serve. And it's as lightning-fast and compact as only Borland knows how to make it.

There's a notepad that has a fullscreen editor that can time and date stamp your notes, and then save them to disk You can even pull information into the notepad directly from the screen of your "underlying" software.

Suppose you're working in Lotus and the phone suddenly rings. Give your Sidekick a call and it pops right up over Lotus with the notepad you need. Or an appointment calendar ... one you can never misplace.

What if you need to do a quick calculation? A keystroke instantly brings up the calculator. And the results of your calculations can even be transferred to your "underlying" software.

Need to make a phone call? Up pops your personal phone directory. Type in the name you want... and Sidekick jumps right to the phone number. Another keystroke, and the phone is automatically dialed for you.**

There's lots more, too. You can move the Sidekick windows anywhere on the screen you like. And you can have as many on screen at a time as you need. There's even an on-line help window for each of Sidekick's features.

We designed it because we needed it If you've

ever been writing a report and needed to do a quick calculation,

0DUClOH<*f

underne^.,v beenimp ottedtt^ s ^

"SIDEKICK IS A $50 SOLUTION TO A $5,000 PROBLEM."

Garry Ray, PC WEEK, July 24, 1984

^^.^cSulator. SideUicfcCaicu

or jot down a note,

then you need Sidekick, too.

* 'Only with Hayes Stnartmodem and compatfotes.

WHETHER YOU'RE RUNNING

LOTUS, WORDSTAR, dBASE OR WHATEVER

JUST A KEYSTROKE AND A SIDEKICK WINDOW OPENS ...

• A CALCULATOR A NOTEPAD

• AN APTOINTMENT CALENDAR

YOU CAN ORDER YOUR COPY OF SIDEKICK™ TODAY!

For VISA and MasterCard orders call Toll Free 1-800-255-8008 in California 1-800-742-11 $3

(lines open 24 hours, 7 days a week) Dealer Distributor Inquiries Welcome 408-438-8400

SIDEKICK™ $49.95

Non-copy protected

Version: $79.95

(Pius $5.00 shipping and handling.)

Check □ VISA □

Card#_

Money Order □ MasterCard □

Please be sure your computer is an IBM PC, AT, XT, jr., or true compatible?

NAME , , —~—_

ADDRESS —

CITY/STATE/ZIP

TELEPHONE

•AN AUTO DIALER

A PHONE DIRECTORY • AN ASCII TABLE

■SBORlAflD

INTERNATIONAL

Expiration Date

s non-copyprotected version onfy.

California residents add 6% sales tax. Outside U.S.A. add $15.00. (If outside of U.S.A. payment must be by bank draft payable in the U.S. and in U.S. dollars.) Sorry, no C.O.D or Purchase Orders. S Gl 5

Borland international 4113 Scotts Valley Drive Scotts Valley, California 95066 TELEX: 172373

Circle 42 on inquiry card.

WHAT'S NEW

MacStation Organizes Macintosh and Peripherals

MicroRain's MacStation reduces the footprint of Apple's Macintosh computer and peripherals by better organizing them. The Macintosh's Imagewriter (or other) printer rests on the top of MacStation, above the Macintosh, with paper feeding from a slot in the stand. Two storage spaces, for storing manuals, a second disk drive, a modem, or disks, are included on each side of the stand. Access to the Macintosh's power, reset, and interrupt switches is provided. MicroRain says the plastic case matches the texture and color of the Macintosh and provides excellent ventilation.

MacStation is priced at $95. For complete information, contact MicroRain Corp., POB 96008, Bellevue, WA 98009, (800) 547-4000, Dept. 403; in Oregon, (503) 684-3000, Dept 403. Circle 605 on inquiry card.

Factfinder: Free-Form Filing on the Macintosh

Factfinder is a free-form filing system for the Apple Macintosh computer. Rather than setting up data fields, you enter data free-form in a fact-sheet window, which can be grouped with other fact sheets into a stack. Factfinder uses pulldown menus, command keys, and task-specific win-

dows, as well as MacWrite-like text-editing features.

Information can be typed directly into a fact sheet, pasted from the clipboard, or loaded from another file. Keywords or phrases are indexed by marking them or by typing them into an "automatic keyword" list for related fact sheets. A fact-

sheet stack can be locked to prevent accidental modification.

The size of each fact sheet is limited only by the computer's memory; each fact-sheet stack must be under 1 megabyte. Factfinder works with the Macintosh and the Lisa 2 with MacWorks; it also supports the Tecmar MacDrive and Davong Mac-Disk hard disks. It should be available this month for a list price of $150, including a free copy of the game Reversi.

Forethought plans to announce several more programs for the Macintosh soon. For more information, contact Forethought Inc., 1973 Landings Dr., Mountain View, CA 94043, (800) 622-9273; in California, (415) 961-4720. Circle 606 on inquiry card.

Tandy 1200 Is PC XT Compatible

Tandy's newest computer, the Tandy 1200 HD Personal Computer, is compatible with IBM's PC XT system. The 1200 HD includes an 8088 processor, 2 56K bytes of RAM (expandable to 640K), a parallel interface port, a 360K-byte floppy-disk drive, a 10-megabyte hard-disk drive, and three additional expansion slots. The list price is $2999; the MS-DOS operating system and Microsoft BASIC are available separately for $89.95 each. The keyboard is identical to the IBM PC's except that the left Shift key and Reverse Slash key have been swapped, and LEDs are included on the Num Lock and Caps Lock keys.

Like Tandy's earlier MS-DOS computer, the Tandy 2000, the Tandy 1200 HD does not include a display adapter or monitor. A monochrome-display adapter card is available for $219; a monochrome monitor is also $219. A color-graphics display adapter, which also supports monochrome graphics, is $299, and a color display is $549.95.

Several Tecmar expansion cards can be purchased, including the $695 Graphics Master, which provides 640-by 400-pixel color graphics in 16 colors. Tecmar's Captain multifunction board, with serial and parallel ports, a 384K-byte memory, and a clock/calender, costs $795. Tandy will also offer third-party software for the 1200 HD, including WordStar, dBASE III, and Software Publishing's PFS series. For further details, contact T&ndy Corp., One Tandy Center, Fort Worth, TX 76102, (817) 390-3021. Circle 607 on inquiry card.

{continued)

42 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

NEW PRODUCT NEWS FROM TELETEK

Systemaster II. Responding to market demand for speed and increased versatility, Teletek is proud to announce the availability of the next generation in 8-bit technology — the new Systemaster II! The Systemaster II will offer two CPU options, either a Z80B running at 6 MHz or a Z80H running at 8 MHz, 128K of parity checked RAM, two RS232 serial ports with on-board drivers (no paddle boards required), two parallel ports, or optional SCSI or IEEE-488 port. The WD floppy disk controller will simultaneously handle 8" and SVa" drives. A Zilog Z-80 DMA controller will provide instant communications over the bus between master and slave. Add to the DMA capability a true dedicated interrupt controller for both onboard and bus functions, j and the result is unprecedented performance Systemaster II will run under CP/M 3.0orTurboDOS 1.3, and fully utilize the bank switching features of these operating systems.

SBC 86/87. As the name indicates, Teletek's new 16-bit slave board has an Intel 8086 CPU with an 8087 math co-processor option. This new board will provide either 128K or 512K of parity checked RAM. Two serial ports are provided with individually programmable baud rates. One Centronics-compatible parallel port is provided. When teamed up with Systemaster II under TurboDOS 1.3, this 5MHz or 8MHz multiuser, multi-processing, combination cannot be beat in speed or feature flexibility!

SmMASTERW

M®2rl50MB

TILETEK

4600 Pell Drive Sacramento, CA 95838 (916)920-4600 Telex #4991834 Answer back — Teletek

Circle 396 on inquiry card.

^» His si" 4 *

In Europe:

Kode Limited

Station Road

Calne, Wiltshire

SN11 OJR England

tel: 0249-813771

telex: 449335

In Canada:

MAE Microsystems

8255 Mountain Sights,Ste.150|

Montreal, Quebec

H4P1W1 Canada

tel: 514-341-1210

s

Teletek Z-150 MB. Teletek is the first to offer a RAM expansion board designed specifically for the Z-150/Z-160 from Zenith. The Teletek Z-150 MB is expandable from 64K to 384K. Bring your Z-150 up to its full potential by adding 320K of parity checked RAM (or your IBM PC, Columbia, Compaq, Corona, Eagle, or Seequa to their full potential). The Teletek Z-150 MB optionally provides a game port for use when your portable goes home or a clock/ calendar with battery backup!

Evaluate the Systemaster II, SBC 86/87 or Teletek Z-150 MB for 30 days under Teletek's Evaluation Program. A

money-back guarantee is provided if not completely satisfied! All Teletek products carry a 3-year warranty.

{Specifications subject to

change without notice.)

Ki-^SI

Yes, >«*

lm interested ^ in information ^

regarding: □ Systemaster II □ SBC 86/87 Q Z-150 MB □ Evaluation Program □ Teletek's S-100 Board Line

■

Name _ Company _ Address

HB

fe£ .

WHAT'S NEW

Gould Colorwriter Plotters

The Gould Colorwriter 6300 Series color plotters have on-board software and interfaces to link them to most computers. Model 6310 is a 7-pen plotter for paper up to 8/2 by 11 inches. The 10-pen Model 6320 handles paper up to 11 by 17 inches. A continuous roll is an option that eliminates the need to change paper manually. Both plotters can use any of several pen types on paper, transparencies, or foils. A self-checking facility, simple touch controls, and electrostatic paper hold-down are also standard features. Writing speed is 16 inches per second, or 20 ips with the pen up. The plotter's addressable resolution is 0.001 inch.

Built-in firmware includes Gould's own graphics language, with Hewlett-Packard graphics language-based protocols. For added flexibility, the plotter's PROM can be replaced to accommodate additional graphics standards. Three character

sets, including a scientific/ Greek alphabet, are stored in ROM. Other features include variable line fonts; cross-hatching, bar, and pie chart capability; arc and circle generation; character rotation and slant; and

zoom and window controls. Either Colorwriter is available with an RS-232C or 1EEE-488 interface and with a 2K-, 8K-, or 16K-byte buffer. An optional digitizing sight, for feedback to the computer, is also available.

Prices for the Colorwriter 6300 series begin at $1995. Contact Marketing Services, Gould Inc., Recording Systems Division, 3631 Perkins Ave., Cleveland, OH 44114, (216) 361-3315. Circle 608 on inquiry card.

Cermetek Modem Reduces Chance of Unauthorized Access

The Cermetek Security Modem prevents unauthorized access to your computer system by offering four levels of security. This Hayes-compatible 300-/ 1200-bps modem can be programmed to require all callers to enter a password. After a correct password is

entered, the modem hangs up and calls the phone number associated with that password. (Up to 2 5 passwords and numbers can be stored.) Alternately, the modem can call back on a second phone line, allow password access without callback, or be configured to

function as a Hayes-compatible modem without password security.

The Cermetek Security Modem creates an audit trail listing all valid and invalid attempts to access the computer. A dial-out password can be required to prevent unauthorized outgoing computer calls. A key is needed to change the modem's security level, passwords, or callback numbers. Standard features include auto-dial and autoanswer. It costs $695. For more details, contact Cermetek Microelectronics Inc., 1308 Borregas Ave., Sunnyvale, CA, 94088-3 565, (408) 752-5055. Circle 609 on inquiry card.

Qic-Stor-Plus Expansion Unit

Qic-Stor-Plus is an expansion unit for the IBM Personal Computer that adds a hard disk, a tape drive for backup, and five additional expansion slots. Available with 20-, 52-, or 85-megabyte hard-disk drives, the Qic-Stor-Plus can be used to expand a single PC or to create a multiuser system using Alloy's PC-Slave/16 expansion cards. Prices for Qic-Stor-Plus start at $5595. For more information, contact Alloy Computer Products Inc., 100 Pennsylvania Ave., Framing-ham, MA 01701, (617) 875-6100. Circle 610 on inquiry card.

[continued on page 520)

44 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 405 on inquiry card. — +

CAN SAVE YOU UP TO $250. AND THAT AINT HAYES!

You can bank on it. Your outlay will be less than if you settle for our major competitor, but not your output! A Password rM modem sends and receives up to 120 characters per second. Provides both 1200 and 300 baud capacity. Offers total interchangeability that lets you transmit information from any make microcomputer to any other make. And your investment is protected by a 2-year warranty. Unlike our major competitor, Password IM delivers operating simplicity, plus the convenience of uncommon portability. Thanks to lighter weight, it goes almost anywhere. And because of the ingenuity of Velcro m strips, it attaches wherever you need it, from the side of a desk to the side of a computer!

!

This means that Password"' doesn't tie you

down, and its price won't hold you up. It features

auto-dial, auto-answer, and even knows when

to disconnect. If you're cost conscious,

but refuse to sacrifice high-speed

capability and performance, hook up

with the right modem—Password ?

The smart decision.

PASSWORD

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ASK BYTE

Conducted by Steve Garcia

TRANSIENTS

Dear Steve,

Thank you for a lucid discussion of the types and consequences of power-line transients (December 1983). When my wife started using our Heath H-89 for professional word processing, the attenuation of these transients suddenly became a major concern; for us, the combination of an isolation transformer and MOVs (metal-oxide varistors) seems to have dramatically decreased the incidence of glitches, especially with respect to disk-writing operations.

Your advice regarding the installation of multiple MOVs is something most people should consider. Some computers seem to be susceptible to spikes to a lesser or greater degree than others; for most people, it isn't worth the few dollars saved to find out that their machine is among the latter.

I have one comment regarding your suggested use of MOVs: the 130-V MOV to be soldered between the neutral and ground wires will suppress only a truly major spike because the normal voltage differential between these points is 1 or 2 V at most, caused by losses across the actual house wiring. Wouldn't it be more effective to employ an MOV with the minimum value obtainable? The RCA SK Series catalog indicates that 14-V MOVs are available; although the energy absorption rating is lower, I would think their use is more appropriate. The other two MOVs should, of course, be 130-V items, and your readers should exercise special care to assure that the low-voltage MOV gets strung across the neutral and ground lines only.

As we are on the subject of spikes, I might add that a disruptive, if not common, source of transient voltage can come from inside your computer. For some time, we experienced occasional odd screen behavior, as evidenced by spurious characters or by text appearing in the wrong part of the screen.

After opening the chassis, I found strands of dirt, much like cobwebs, stretched between the flyback coil's high-voltage lead and a nearby memory-expansion board. The static charge that had accumulated made cleaning quite difficult,

After cleaning, I moved the lead away from the electronics, closer to the monitor's tube. Mirabile dictu, no more screen glitches! Although the charge generated by static buildup contains little energy, the voltage levels are such that they can wreak havoc on computer electronics.

Clyde Newman Agoura, CA

It is true that the normal voltage differential between the common and neutral lines of household wiring is small. 1 was concerned with the possibility of an induced voltage on this line caused by coupling of some sort Also, one must consider Murphy's law when using devices with different voltage ratings. —Steve

CP/M 2.2

Dear Steve

I am the proud owner of a Microstar single-board computer from the Micro V Corporation. Unfortunately, it cannot run higher application programs like MDBS or CalcStar because it uses CP/M version 1.14 and I need 2.2, which I have, but in an installed form for another hardware configuration.

How should I patch the 2.2 source to run on my hardware? Is there any book describing in more detail the alteration process? Or is there anybody selling CP/M 2.2 for a Microstar (twin 8-inch disks, single-density, double-sided)?

Roman Sigmund Vienna, Austria

1 am not aware of anyone selling a version of CP/M 2.2 for the Microstar, but Digital Research has a newsletter that addresses questions of this nature. Write to Digital Research News, POB 579, Pacific Grove, CA 93950.

Installing a version of CP/M 2.2 on your system will involve techniques that are quite complicated. If you are not an experienced assembly-language programmer, attempting this installation might become very frustrating. If you are experienced in 8080 assembly language and want to attempt the installation, a

good place to start is The Programmer's CP/M Handbook by Andy Johnson-Laird (Osborne/McCraw-Hill, 1983),—Steve

Faster Data Processing

Dear Steve,

I have an Apple 11+ and want to process data faster. Will a 3-MHz 6502B work in the Apple 11+ if I cool it with a small fan— or will it only give me problems?

L. B. KlRKENDALL

Hot Springs, AR

Adding a 6502B microprocessor chip to your Apple //+ will not increase your processing speed. The chip has the capability of operating at higher clock speeds but will not do so unless the clock frequency is increased. In addition, the memory chips will have to be changed to take advantage of the faster read/write cycles, and the I/O routines in the monitor ROM will have to be rewritten.

In short, it is not a simple change. Accessory boards are available that will enable your Apple 11+ to run faster. They incorporate all the changes necessary and interface without problems. One such board is The Accelerator II from Titan Technologies, POB 8050, Ann Arbor, MI48107, (313) 973-8422. -Steve

6502 PROCESSOR

Dear Steve,

While Ronnie Kelly's use of the RDY line solves the timing problems he encountered with the Z80-based Ferguson Big Board (Ask BYTE, December 1983, page 556), it is unlikely to solve Mr. Beighe's problem using the 58167 clock chip in the Apple (Ask BYTE, April 1983. page 465). The 6502 requires the RDY line to go low either during phase 1 or during the first 100 ns of phase 2. Since Mr. Beighe's circuit uses the pin 1 I/O SELECT line on the Apple bus to drive the 58167 CS pin, the clock won't be selected until well after the beginning of phase 2 (two 74LSI 38 decoders are chained to decode the pin 1 signals in the Apple II; they are synchronized with the system clock, and the delay through them is at least 15-2 5

{continued)

48 BYTE ' NOVEMBER 1984

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With its own cable that plugs directly into the IBM PC, the HX-12 delivers a rainbow of 16 colors on a non-glare screen. All that includes clean whites without red bleed. In fact, all the colors are clean and crisp thanks to the HX-12's .31 mm dot pitch and 690 x 240 (non-interlaced) resolution.

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At first glance, the SR-12 might appear similar to the HX-12 with a non-glare screen and .31mm dot pitch supporting 690 horizontal resolution. But take a closer look. SR-12's scan frequency is 31.5 KHz, allowing the SR-12 to support 480 vertical resolution in non-interlaced mode. That means a high-quality, flickerless image with text that's up to monochrome standards. What's more, you get all that quality for $799.

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ASK BYTE

ns). The 58167 can take up to 150 ns to send the RDY line low. Add the delay through the 7407 buffer, and it is unlikely that RDY on the Apple bus will get low early enough. The system may hang. Apple lie decoding is different but the situation similar.

Another serious problem can be caused by the fact that the 6502 processor doesn't permit wait states during write cycles. This, combined with the way it executes write cycles (first reading then writing the target address) plus the fact that the output buffers on the transceivers Apple uses to drive the data bus are Tri-stated during phase I (transceivers in "receive" configuration), makes it extremely difficult for the 58167 to reliably latch the data written to it even if Mr Beighe's circuit is modified by Mr. Kelly's addition. If the system doesn't hang, it will stop at the next read cycle and wait until RDY goes high-not very useful if you want to write data to the clock.

The Apple III computer has a socket on board for the 58167, but it was never offered by the company (even though routines for it were written into the SOS operating system) because it couldn't get all the functions to operate reliably. The Apple III has the 58167 D0-D7 pins tied directly to the bus_and drives AO-A4, READ. WRITE, and CS with the B port of a 6522 PIA. While this arrangement allows most clock functions to operate normally, the latch and counter resets aren't completely reliable, and the GO command is inoperative. This is a good example of a half-a-loaf approach to the problem of in-

terfacing the 58167 with a 6502 system.

All the functions of the 58167 can be reliably obtained in a 6502 system if both ports of an interface adapter such as the 6520 or 6522 are used.

Three 74LS374 latch packages and some gates can also be used to get a fully functional interface.

Frank Kuechmann Vancouver, WA

Thank you very much for your letter. You correctly point out some of the problems with this slow chip and a way to solve them. —Steve

Dear Steve,

I've noticed at least one company that offers a plug-in enhancement board for the Apple II that makes use of the faster (3-MHz) 6502B chip.

Why don't more manufacturers of 6502-based machines offer a speed-up option, such as the so-called GT series that Ohio Scientific used to sell?

What would have to be changed (other than the processor, using faster memory chips, and altering the clock speed and possibly the I/O timing routines in the operating system) to treble the crunching speed of 6502-based machines?

How much would these changes cost if performed on one machine? How much difference in cost would there be if the manufacturers incorporated this change on the assembly line?

David T. Morse

Starkville, MS

[continued)

Part of the original circuit with an analog multiplexer added.

50 BYTE* NOVEMBER 1984

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NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 51

ASK BYTE

The complexity of the changes required to install a speed-up option to the 6502 (or other microprocessors) when weighed against the benefits does not make economic sense. For example, such a speed-up could be added to a VIC-20, probably at a cost greater than the computer but it may render many commercial programs unusable because of timing problems, and the speed increase would probably not be appreciated by many users. For games and graphics, the speed of present computers is adequate. Only when significant number crunching or database searching is involved does a speed increase become important

Isn't changing "the processor, using faster memory chips, and altering the clock speed and possibly the I/O timing routines in the operating system" to increase processor speed enough? A computer could be designed with the added speed, but it is more practical to go to a 16- or 32-bit processor—Steve

THERMOMETER CIRCUIT

Dear Steve,

In your article on building a computerized weather station (February 1982, page 38), you described a circuit that converts temperature to frequency in control systems.

How can this circuit be adapted so that multiple temperature inputs could be input to the system and identified and serviced, if necessary? I realize that a D/A circuit would be needed for the servicing.

I have a Big Board computer system with tiny BASIC. I feel that designing the program around this system would be similar to that of the Z8, with possibly more I/O options.

Thank you for any help.

Dace R. Smith Huntsville, TX

Whenever signals from several different sources are to be fed into a single receiving unit, you should search for some kind of multiplexer to do the job. In the case of the digital-thermometer circuit, it is best to do the multiplexing in the analog portion of the circuit, as shown in figure 1. This figure is a redrawing of a portion of the original thermometer circuit from my article with an analog multiplexer (MUX-08) added. The MUX08 (IC5) is an analog multiplexer made by Precision Monolithics Inc., and it is used to select one of eight different thermometer channels. The channel selected is determined

{continued)

52 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 53

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We'd really like you to come by our stores, but if you can't, call us direct. When you need the right product at the right price, remember the service and support our local store experts and national distribution center can give you.

Ask for expert advice and your best price.

For information or the store location nearest you, call

(404) 449-8089

Copyright

Micro Mart 1984.

Technology

Corporate Campus

3159 Campus Drive

Norcross, Georgia 30071

tutorial..

SAMNA III, New Flagship wd. processor.

MICROSOFT Word; w/or without mouse.

LIFETREE VOLKSWRITERDELUXE.

MICROPRO WordStar Professional series with Tutor, CorreetStar, MailMerge <Se Star

Index

SSI WordPerfect !

PE ACHTREE PeachText 5000, Personal Productivity Series..

America's PC Specialist.

Micro Mart is a registered trademark of Micro Mart, Inc.

IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.

Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando, Tyson's Corner, Rockville.

Circle 274 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 57

with an expanding universe of space-saving systems for your PC!

Modular disk drive systems by Maynard Electronics drive technology to the limit to deliver unmatched performance with PC-DOS compatibility including self-booting off the hard disk.

10MB Winchester interna! Hard Disk Drive System!

This dynamic system lets you upgrade your PC or compatible to XT effectiveness, is internally installed, and does not require an additional power supply! The 10MB Hard Disk Drive System is equipped with the Sand-Star™ Hard Disk Controller Card which can accept up to three additional modular functions. Or, configure your system with the Hard Disk Controller Module and the SandStar Floppy Drive Controller Card which runs 5%" and 8" Floppy Drives while still leaving four expansion slots for additional boards! Or, if you prefer, arrange your system with the Hard Disk Controller Module and the SandStar™ Memory Card which lets you add from 64K to 576K of memory using only one card slot!

Maynard's SandStar™ Cards and Modules can put you lightyears ahead...

With technology racing into the future, serious computer users need to set their sights beyond obsolescence. Through the use of versatile SandStar™ Cards and Modules, Maynard has been able to engineer hardware to keep pace with tomorrow's needs. With Maynard's Disk Drive Systems and SandStar™ Cards and Modules, you won't be left behind in the race for space. For more details, call your dealer or distributor today.

NEW! "The Apollo" 30MB Internal Hard Disk Drive. •

This powerhouse comes with 30MB of on-line storage using PC DOS without any special software drivers. Discover new worlds of data efficiency and versatility. Our 30MB system includes the Hard Disk Controller Card or any of the other SandStar™ Cards with Hard Disk Controller Module.

NEW! "The Gemini" Hard and Floppy Drive System.

HB Hi

Now, for the first time, add the Gemini to your one drive system and take full advantage of internal Hard Disk power along with two internal Floppy Drive units. The Gemini comes with a sleek 10MB Half-Height Hard Disk Drive, a Half-Height Floppy Disk Drive (DS/DD), and the SandStar™ Floppy Drive Controller Card with the Hard Dis^c Controller Module. Boost memory capacity dramatically while using no more space than a standard floppy drive! The Gemini can also be configured with either the SandStar™ Hard Disk Controller Card or the SandStar™ Memory Card with the Hard Disk Controller Module. r

MAYNARD ELECTRONICS

450 E. 5emoran Blvd. Casselberry, Florida 32707 305/331-6402

We make modern times better

United Kirn n Distributor

Circle 260 on inquiry card.

CLUBS AND NEWSLETTERS

• PLEASE RELEASE INFORMATION-The International Association of Computer Service Managers (IACSM) is an association to better inform and assist second- and third-party maintenance companies. The group intends to provide a larger voice for companies in the computer industry and influence manufacturers to release service information. With a $120 annual investment for membership, companies receive a monthly newsletter, Tec-Tips, containing government bids in the area and more. For details, contact Susan Muller, IACSM, Suite 9-519, 1101 Post Oak Blvd., Houston, TX 77056.

• SOLELY THE SANYO

San-PiC, a journal devoted exclusively to users of the Sanyo MBC-550/555, aims to provide a consolidated source of information concerning software compatibility, hardware accessories, updates, applications, reviews, and reader contributions. The subscription to the bimonthly publication is $12 for 12 issues. Contact Ambrose Barry, 1967 Defiance Ave, Las Cruces, NM 88001, or call his bulletin-board system at (505) 646-5194.

• APPLE PIE NEWS: $10 Users of the Apple PIE and PIE Writer word-processing programs have formed a club that acts as a clearinghouse for ideas and techniques to enhance the use of the word processors. The newsletter is available for $10 a year and includes tips and modifications. Specify whether you have an Apple II or lie, a 40- or 80-column

board, and your identification numbers, if applicable. Contact Monty Lee or Mike Weasner, Apple PIE Writers, 12841 Hawthorne Blvd., POB 589, Hawthorne, CA 902 50.

• JUGFUL OF NEWS

The Jefferson State Computer Users Group (JUG), formerly the Jackson Amateur Computer Society, meets regularly in southwestern Oregon. Every month the group produces a tabloid, The JUG Newsletter, that prints activities of the several special-interest groups it sponsors. A subscription is included in the $5 membership fee. The Medford FORUM-80, (503) 535-6883, is available 24 hours a day For further details, write to the Jefferson State Computer Users Group, 23 55 Camp Baker Rd., Medford, OR 97501.

• IMAGINE A CLUB FOR THE IM-1-Owners of APF IM-I computers seeking information and programs can subscribe to a newsletter produced by the IM-1 in a Million Club. It contains selected articles, news, reviews, questions and answers, programming hints, and more. Members receive reduced rates on hardware and software. The $20 annual membership fee includes technical assistance and all current-year back issues. Write to IM-1 in a

Million Club, POB 54, Arrowsmith, IL 61722.

• EPSON QX-10 IN AUSTIN

The Austin, Texas, QX-10 Users Group meets on the second Wednesday of each month to provide user and technical assistance for Epson owners. In addition, it distributes public-domain programs and offers member discounts. The monthly newsletter, included in the $2 5 annual membership fee, contains new-product reviews. For details, call Doug Jones at (512) 2 55-4150.

• ATARI IN WEST L.A.

The West Los Angeles Atari Users Group (WLAAUG) meets at 7 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month to hear speakers, witness demonstrations, and discuss items of interest to members. The club maintains a public-domain software library and produces a monthly newsletter that contains graphics, the club's bylaws and constitution, book reviews, relevant articles, and news. For meeting locations and other information, write WLAAUG, POB 84-396, Los Angeles, CA 90073.

• COMM'PUTOY CULT IN SAN DIEGO-The monthly newsletter of the 500-mem-ber San Diego Commodore User Group, formerly the

CLUBS & NEWSLETTERS is a forum for letting BYTE readers know what is happening in the microcomputing community. Emphasis is given to electronic bulletin-board services, club-sponsored classes, community-help projects, field trips, and other activities outside of routine meetings. Of course, we will continue to list new clubs, their addresses and contact persons, and other information of interest. To list events on schedule, we must receive your information at least four months in advance. Send information to BYTE. Clubs & Newsletters, POB 372, Hancock, NH 03449.

San Diego PET User Group, is called Comm'putoy Cult. The group meets at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month. An extensive library is maintained for the 64, VIC-20, and PET. Exchanges of library materials and newsletters are welcome. For details, contact Jane Campbell, POB 86531, San Diego, CA 92138-6531, (619) 277-7214.

• TOO YOUNG FOR DUES

The Sanyo Users Group of Central Ohio formed recently for users of the MS-DOS 550/5 55 and the CP/M 1000/ 1050/1100/1150 series microcomputers. Monthly meetings begin at 9 a.m. on the last Saturday of the month at the Public Library (96 Grant St., Columbus, OH). The costs of producing a monthly newsletter are currently covered by contributions; dues are being established. Interested persons can contact Arnie Skurow, Sanyo Users of Central Ohio, 5760 Crawford Dr., Columbus, OH 43229, (614) 846-3330.

• DATA WORTH ITS

WEIGHT-GOLDA7>\news, a newsletter for users of GOLDATAbase, features articles on software enhancements, user interviews, user group meetings, and updates. For a free copy, contact GOLDATAnews, c/o Goldata Computer Services Inc., 2 Bryn Mawr Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010.

• SANYO CLUB FORMS IN BAY AREA-The Sanyo PC Computer Club (SPCCC) meets at 7 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month at

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 59

64k s100 static ram $ 199°k? t

NEW!

LOW POWER! RAM OR EPROM!

BLANK PC BOARD WITH DOCUMENTATION $55

SUPPORT ICs + CAPS $17.50

FULL SOCKET SET $14.50

FULLY SUPPORTS THE

NEW IEEE 696 S100

STANDARD

(AS PROPOSED)

FOR 56K KIT $185

ASSEMBLED AND TESTED ADD $50

FEATURES:

* Uses new 2K x 8 (TMM 2016 or HM 6116) RAM.

* Fully supports IEEE 696 24 BIT Extended Addressing.

* 64K draws only approximately 500 MA.

* 200 NS RAMs are standard. (TOSHIBA makes TMM 2016s as fast as 100 NS. FOR YOUR HIGH SPEED APPLICATIONS.)

* SUPPORTS PHANTOM (BOTH LOWER 32K AND ENTIRE BOARD).

* 2716 EPROMs may be installed in any ol top 48K.

* Any of the top 8K (E000 H AND ABOVE) may be disabled to provide windows to eliminate any possible conflicts with your system monitor, disk controller, etc.

* Perfect tor smail systems since BOTH RAM and EPROM may co-exist on the same board.

* BOARD may be partially populated as 56K.

256K S-100 SOLID STATE DISK SIMULATOR!

WE CALL THIS BOARD THE "LtGHT-SPEED-100" BECAUSE IT OFFERS AN ASTOUNDING INCREASE IN YOUR COMPUTERS PERFORMANCE WHEN COMPARED TO A MECHANICAL FLOPPY DISK DRIVE,

FEATURES:

* 256K on board, using + 5V 64K DRAMS.

Uses new Intel 8203-1 LSI Memory Controller.

Requires only 4 Dip Switch Selectable I/O Ports. Runs on 8080 or Z80 S100 machines. Up to 8 LS-100 boards can be run together for 2 Meg. of On Line Solid State Disk Storage. Provisions for Battery back-up. Software to mate the LS-100 to your CP- M- 2.2 DOS is supplied. The LS-100 provides an increase in speed of up to 7 to 10 times on Disk Intensive Software. Compare our price! You could pay up io 3 times as much for similar boards.

■■■■■■I lllllll

BLANK PCB

(WITH CP/M* 2.2

PATCHES AND INSTALL

PROGRAM ON DISKETTE)

*69

95

*319

00

#LS-100 (FULL 256K KIT)

THE NEW ZRT-80

CRT TERMINAL BOARD!

A LOW COST Z-B0 BASED SINGLE BOARD THAT ONLY NEEDS AN ASCII KEYBOARD, POWER SUPPLY, AND VIDEO MONITOR TO MAKE A COMPLETE CRT TERMINAL. USE AS A COMPUTER CONSOLE, OR WITH A MODEM FOR USE WITH ANY OF THE PHONE-LINE COMPUTER SERVICES. FEATURES:

* Uses a Z80A and 6845 CRT Controller for powerful video capabilities.

* RS232 at 16 BAUD Rates from 75 to 19,200.

* 24 x 80 standard format (60 Hz).

* Optional formats from 24 x 80 (50 Hz) to 64 lines x 96 characters (60 Hz).

* Higher density formats require up to 3 additional 2K x 8 6116 RAMS.

* Uses N.S. INS 8250 BAUD Rate Gen. and USART combo IC.

* 3 Terminal Emulation Modes which are Dip Switch selectable. These include the LSI-ADM3A, the Heath H-19. and the Beehive.

* Composite or Split Video.

* Any polarity of video or sync.

* Inverse Video Capability.

* Small Size: 6.5 x 9 Inches.

* Upper & lower case with descenders.

* 7x9 Character Matrix.

* Requires Par. ASCII keyboard.

BLANK PCB WITH 2716 CMAR. ROM, 2732 MON, ROM

$5995

SOURCE DISKETTE - ADD $10

SET OF 2 CRYSTALS - ADD $7.50

WITH 8 IN.

SOURCE DISK!

(CP/M COMPATIBLE)

$10095

I LV ZRT-80

(COMPLETE KIT, 2K VIDEO RAM)

Digital Research Computers

P.O. BOX 461565 • GARLAND, TEXAS 75046 • (214) 225-2309

TERMS: Add $3.00 postage. We pay balance. Orders under $15 add 75$ handling. No C.O.D. We accept Visa and MasterCard. Texas Res. add 5% Tax. Foreign orders (except Canada) add 20% P & H. Orders over $50 add 85$ for insurance.

CLUBS & NEWSLETTERS

Fashion Island in San Mateo, California. Members or subscribers to the Sanyo-PC-Hackers Newsletter (International) can keep up on the latest news about the 550 series of MS-DOS computers. A library of public-domain disks is maintained by the club and a bulletin-board service is in the works. In return for contribution of an article or program for publication, you can receive a library disk of your choice. The $15 annual fee includes access to the BBS, group-purchase discounts, and the newsletter. For details, contact the Sanyo PC Computer Club, 12155 Edgecliff, Los Altos, CA 94022.

• GEORGIA GENERAL

The Atlanta Computer Society (ACS) of Georgia welcomes people who share an interest in personal computer applications. ACS meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month and offer programs of general interest. Several special-interest groups (SIGs) conduct separate meetings; many offer services that include public-domain program libraries. ACS currently houses SIGs for 8080-Z80-CP/M, 68xx, Atari, Apple, Timex/Sinclair, Epson, and robotics. A newsletter is produced monthly, and the BBS is available 24 hours a day at (404) 636-6130. For information, contact the Atlanta Computer Society, POB 888771, Atlanta, GA 30356, (404) 43 5-9671.

• SOLE SUPPORT FOR DATAMAC— The Datamac Computer Users Group seeks Datamac owners to interchange public-domain software, programming and repair tips, and sources of parts for the Datamac computer. For details, contact Jack Hall, POB 1179, Angels Camp, CA 95222.

• EASTER SEALS AT WORK

Computer-Disability News is a computer resource newsletter for people with disabilities. Produced quarterly by The National Easter Seal Society's Committee on Personal Computers and Disabilities, it contains information about job opportunities, technology, and publications. It also acts as a clearinghouse for people with disabilities who want to use computers. Subscriptions are free. Write to J. Minton, Computer-Disability News, c/o The National Easter Seal Society, 2023 West Ogden Ave., Chicago, IL 60612.

• FREE FOR ALL LOTUS USERS— All users of Lotus 1-2-3 and other integrated software are welcome to join the Lotus 1,2,3 Federal Users Group. Because the group is almost entirely composed of government employees, the applications are geared toward such needs as networking government users of sophisticated microcomputer software. Monthly general meetings also house three special-interest groups—advanced users, federal applications, and training—that meet separately. For further details, contact Cathy Robertson, D:C:H:C, BXR-1310, Washington, DC 20224, (202) 756-7453.

• BBS IN CONNECTICUT

The Switchboard Net-Works is a 300-bit-per-second bulletin-board service operating 24 hours a day on a Franklin Ace computer. Apple users can likewise benefit from the user-supported utilities downloadable from the board by dialing (203) 669-3456. Users can also use the board as a problem-solving forum. Donations are accepted. Contact Tim Sipples, 70 Glenwood Rd., Clinton, CT 06413, (203) 669-9056. ■

60 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

WE DRESSED OUR

UNIX* SOFTWARE FOR

YOUR IBM PC/XT

Try it Risk FREE — the first AT&T-licensed UNIX

implementation for the IBM PC/XT. Shipping since

August 1983, Venix/86 is the popular choice among

knowledgeable UNIX users and developers. Here's why!

Multi-User Capability. •.

Share the same PC, disk, and printer with up to

three users! Simply plug in a CRT and run.

Multi-Tasking...

Edit a file, print a report, run a spelling check,

format a diskette...all at the same time.

Berkeley Enhancements...

Including vi, termcap, more and the c shell.

Real-Time Extensions

With semaphores, raw and asynchronous I/O,

priority, shared data, I/O page addressing.

Quad-Screen Windowing. ..

Featuring four unique and powerful windows.

MS-DOS Partitioning...

Keep your DOS files and programs!

* UNIX is a trademark of AT&T Technologies, Inc. \fenix/86 implementation by VenturCom, Inc.

Circle 409 on inquiry card.

Lean and Clean...

192K RAM, 3.5 Mbytes on disk. Proven reliability. Applications... Networking, word processors, database managers, spreadsheets, menu interfaces. One Source with Unisource... Unisource is the leading publisher and developer of UNIX software for the IBM PC/XT and compatibles, DEC Professional 350, Rainbow, Micro-11, PDP-11, VAX series, and NCR computers. All our packages are fully documented and supported by our 800 user hotline. Call for a complete information kit or to arrange your 30-day Risk FREE Trial of Venix/86. Unisource Software Corp. Department 4109 71 Bent St., Cambridge, MA 02141. Ifelex 924401/COMPUMART CAM

CALL 617-49M264

UNI

Getting UNIX Software Down to Business

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 61

You can't buy an IBMTPC with

Here are five important measurements to help you make

the best choice:

IBM forces you to choose:

Buy a monochrome card and monitor for high-resolution text. (Essential for word processing and spreadsheets.)

Or buy a color card and color monitor for graphics. (Lotus™ 1-2-3,™ for example, uses lots of graphics, as well as text.)

You can invest in both; you can sacrifice one or the other; you can settle for a non-standard compromise.

Or you can buy Paradise.

Here's how we've measurably eased your job of choosing the best video display (saving you a lot of money in the process).

1 Measure video

'functions.

The Paradise Modular Graphics Card™ gives yon full screen, 16-shade graphics on any display, including IBM's high-resolution monochrome monitor.

IBM's color/graphics card can display 16 colors on a color monitor.

So can the Paradise Modular Graphics Card.

But that's where the similarity ends. When you use color/graphics software with the Paradise Modular Graphics Card and a monochrome monitor, it translates those colors into a true 16-shade gray scale. With full screen display, flicker-free scrolling and clear, crisp character sets (like those of IBM) in all modes.

Naturally, the best video card fits either the IBM PC or XT, and works with any monitor you choose: IBM monochrome (or equivalent), RGB or composite video.

2 # Measure 'software

compatibility.

Many video cards only work with specially modified software. The Paradise Modular Graphics Card runs popular off-the-shelf color graphics software on your choice of monitors. Unmodified.

Most cards that offer graphics on a monochrome monitor force you to

sacrifice off-the-shelf software compatibility.

Paradise doesn't want you to compromise.

Of course the Paradise Modular Graphics Card runs Lotus 1-2-3 graphics on an IBM monochrome monitor.

But it also runs almost all unmodified off-the-shelf color/ graphics software.

Like PFS®:GRAPH, SuperCalc,® 3 Flight Simulator® and Symphony™

No wires. No tricks.

A menu-driven software system— with a user interface much like that of Lotus 1-2-3—lets you take advantage of all the Paradise Modular Graphics Card's features.

Z Measure slot ^'utilization.

Unlike other video cards, the Paradise Modular Graphics Card gives you additional papular functions in a single slot. This may be the only card you'll ever need.

You need to worry about slots for future expansion. Since you must use

out choosing a video card.

a slot for video support, why not pack it with more functions?

The Paradise Modular Graphics Card puts color and monochrome video support plus your choice of the most commonly requested enhancements into one slot.

Enhancements like extra memory, clock calendar, floppy disk controller, parallel, serial or game ports.

Leaving you measurably more room to expand.

4 Measure cost * efficiency.

Unlike other multifunction cards, the Paradise Modular Graphics Card lets you choose the options you need, now or later.

You select the features you want, . when you want them—no more, no less. So you pay only for what you need.

Choose one module from list A, one from list B, or one from each list. The Paradise Modular Graphics Card fits in a single PC or XT slot, even with both modules attached. And without imposing on adjacent slots.

Registered trademarks: IBM-international Business Machines Corporation; PFS-Software Publishing Corporation; Flight Simulator-Microsoft Corporation; Supercalc3-Sorcim Corporation Trademarks: 1-2-3, Lotus, Symphony-Lotus Development Corporation; Paradise, Paradise Modular Graphics Card-Paradise Systems, Inc.

C Measure lvalue.

Value: the ratio of performance to price. No matter how you configure the Paradise Modular Graphics Card, you get more performance for your money, and more performance for your slot.

You'd have to combine several other cards to even approach the Paradise Modular Graphics Card's functionality.

Obviously, that would take up several slots in your PC.

It would also cost you a lot more money.

And if you review measurements one through four in this ad, you'll realize that no other card—or combination of cards—can give you better PC performance.

What about reliability?

Guaranteed by a one year warranty.

See us at COfflDf NT/Fall '84

Booth H-8324

Paradise Modular Graphics Card and Options.

Paradise Modular Graphics Card $$9$

Connectors for:

IBM (or equivalent) monochrome monitor

or • RGB monitor or* Composite video

monitor • Light pen • RF modulator •

Expansion modules

Addressing:

16K video memory starting at B8000H

Software included:

RAM disk-Print buffer

A

Module

Options:

Parallel printer port or • Serial RS232 port or -Game port

B

Module

Options:

256K RAM memory/clock calendar or « 384KRAM memory or -Floppy disk controller/parallel printer port

Go to the IBM dealer nearest you or call us toll-free. Within CA:

800-822-2020 (Dept. 120)

Outside CA:

800-527-7977 (Dept. 120)

150 North Hill Drive, Brisbane, CA 94005 (415)468-6000

PARADISE

You can measure it.

CJfaiiipague Tagte JBeeif Budget

v»Mia

**■;

: ■■: ••■

$795 10 MEGA-BYTE HARD DISK SYSTEM $1095 20 MEGA-BYTE HARD DISK SYSTEM

NOW INCLUDES ASSJST/PAK "SOFTWARE*

• • THE INSIDER SERIES '• •

ISO0 • 10 MEGA-BYTE WINCHESTER . $795 IS16 • MICRO-TAPE BACK [Tp SYSTEM

W/IIard disk controller with power supply

IS20 • 20 MEGA-BYTE WINCHESTER , . $1095 XT01 • MICRO-TAPE W/WHigh Floppy

W/HaYd disk controller

IS40 • 40 MBGA-BYTE WINCHESTER . . $2295 ISPS • POWER SUPPLY . . \ , .. . .

W/Hard disk controller and pwr. supply

ALSO AVAILABLE: SINGLE rARD FLOPPY/HARD DISK CONTROLLER ADD $185.00 TO ABOVE IBICES

ONE YEAR WARRANTY - 30 DAY MONEY BACK GAERANTEE * Command/Assist™ • pos manual oirlMsk -There when you need it!

Cache/Assist

- faster disk access

time aprflncreased throughput Micro Design Interifational Inc.; 6566 University Blvd.; Winter Park, FL 32792

Micro Design International Inc. (MDI) is an 8 year old Company Specializing in internal upgrades tor IBM PC, XT and PC Com pa tables. MDI has extensive experience in magnetic media^m&nagement systems.

FOR ORDERS CAlA COIXECT: (SOS) 677-8333

IBM is a fegistcrc Hard disk drivi

Lrk of International Business Machine Corporation, oscience International Inc. We accept VISA/MC

Circle 271 on inquiry card.

BOOK REVIEWS

MODULA-2 FOR PASCAL

PROGRAMMERS

Richard Gleaves

Springer-Verlag

New York: 1984

151 pages. $16.95

DATA COMPRESSION: TECHNIQUES AND APPLICATIONS, HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE CONSIDERATIONS Gilbert Held John Wiley & Sons New York: 1983 144 pages, $30.95

THE HANDBOOK OF

MICROCOMPUTER

INTERFACING

Steve Leibson

Tab Books

Blue Ridge Summit,

PA: 1983

272 pages, $14,95

THE PROGRAMMER'S

GUIDE TO LDOS/TRSDOS

VERSION 6

Roy Soltoff

Misosys Inc.

Sterling, VA: 1983

208 pages, $20

Modula-2 for Pascal Programmers Reviewed by David D Clark

Modula-2 for Pascal Programmers is an introduction to Niklaus Wirth's newest language and builds upon knowledge and skills already acquired by Pascal programmers. The audience for the book is well defined in the title and in the material presented. It dispenses with attempts to teach proper programming practices that might be helpful for a beginner but distracting to an experienced programmer. By drawing upon this assumed base of previous experience Richard Gleaves is free to concentrate on differences from Pascal and features new to Modula-2. A treatment of this type will let the working programmer "come up to speed" quickly in this new language.

While a student at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), Mr. Gleaves worked on the UCSD Pascal project, writing some of the software. He later joined Soflech Microsystems and continued work on the p-Sys-tem. He now works at Volition Systems (Del Mar, California), a software company that has written a Modula-2 system for microcomputers. Volition's implementation is derived from the Apple Pascal version of the UCSD p-System and is available for several processors and operating systems. Modula-2 for Pascal Programmers is an extrapolation and generalization of the user manual for Volition's version of Modula-2; as such, it is a description based on a working microcomputer installation of the language. Mr. Gleaves writes with the authority of a designer and experienced user of an actual implementation of the language. He writes also with great clarity. The book is divided into three nearly equal parts, the first of which describes the Modula-2 concepts that will be new to a Pascal programmer. The most fundamental of these is the module, the basic compilation unit of Modula-2. Several chapters discuss the various types of modules (local modules, separately compiled modules, and program modules). Another chapter is devoted to the module library, a crucial part of any Modula-2 programming environment. Other chapters cover new facilities for low-level programming, concurrent programming, and procedure variables.

The second main section of the text discusses the differences between Modula-2 and its predecessor, Pascal. These include changes in the interpretation of basic textual units of programs, such as identifiers, symbols, and

{continued)

ILLUSTRATED BY STEVEN SALERNO

NOVEMBER 1984 * BYTE 65

Circle 12 on inquiry card.

"quality PARTS AT DISCOUNT PRICES!"

SUB-MINIATURE D TYPHOON N ECTOR

SOLDER TYPE SUB MINIATURE CONNECTORS USED FOR COMPUTER HOOK UPS. DB-15 PLUG $2.75

DB-15 SOCKET $4.00 DB-15H00D $1.50

DB-25PLUG $2.75

DB 25 SOCKET $3.50 OB-25HOOD $1.25

'PARALLEL" PRINTER CONNECTOR

SOLDER STYLE 36 PIN MALE USED ON "PARALLEL" 75.50 EACH ^ACABLES,

KEY ASSEMBLY

5 KEY

$1.00 EACH

CONTAINS 5 SINGLE-POLE NORMALLY OPEN SWITCHES MEASURES 3V LONG.

6 KEY

$1.25 EACH

CONTAINS 6 SINGLE POLE NORMALLY OPEN SWITCHES. MEASURES 4 V LONG.

O^ CRYSTAL CASE STYLE HC33/U

2 MH7 I COLORBURST * MHZ I 357g _ 545 KC

$3.50 EA I $1.00 EACH

7 CONDUCTOR RIBBON CABLE

GSff!

SPECTRA-STRIP RED MARKER STRIP. 28 GA STRANDED WIRE $5.00 PER ROLL (100 FT.)

FREE! FREE! SEND FOR

MINIATURE TOGGLE SWITCHES

ALL ARE RATED 5 AMPS S.P.D.T, (on-on)

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7SC EACH I

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BOOK REVIEWS

comments; alterations to the syntax of constant, data-type, and variable declarations; and the proper formation of expressions, statements, and procedures. This section of the book also deals with some features of the language that don't really qualify as new concepts. For example, all of the structured control statements of Pascal are present in Modula-2, but in slightly altered form. Often the changes are small, but you have to learn them in order to write correct programs. There are also new structured statements like RETURN and the LOOP/EXIT construct. In addition, this section covers new standard procedures (FLOAT and VAL, for example) and other new parts of the language, including open-array parameters, cardinal numbers, set constants, and relaxed rules for the order of declaration of objects. Another important topic is the group of revised rules for type compatibility in assignment statements and expressions. The subjects covered in this section are basically extensions of Pascal, things you've always wanted but couldn't have. Some of the differences are trivial, others have profound effects, but all are presented clearly and thoroughly.

Part three of the book discusses utility modules, facilities expected to be provided with each implementation of the language on a particular computer. Since the language definition does not provide explicitly for I/O (input/output), file handling, storage management, and other functions, modules containing the required routines are included with each implementation. Some chapters describe the facilities for standard I/O, like reading and writing characters, strings, and text. Mr. Cleaves describes modules to perform storage allocation, subprogram calls, format conversions, and mathematical functions. These are not the same modules Wirth discusses in Programming in Modula-2 (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1982), but they are more applicable to a microcomputer environment. The definition module for each is presented after a discussion of the function of each of the procedures. In many cases the discussions are short for obvious reasons. For example, just about everyone can figure out how to use the cos procedure to take a cosine However, the construction of an interrupt-driven serial-port driver requires, and is given, a more detailed treatment.

Several appendixes follow the main text—a glossary, syntax diagrams, a list of standard identifiers, and a list of reserved words and symbols. The index also appears to be very complete.

One of the best things about Modula-2 for Pascal Programmers is that each important language feature is illustrated with at least one example of correct usage. These examples are often trivial, but it is refreshing to be shown explicitly how the language works rather than having to ferret out the information from obscure references scattered throughout the text. Aside from the profuse examples, Mr. Cleaves provides notes and warnings at many locations, pointing out not-so-obvious features of the operation of the language

If pressed to find something annoying about the book,

66 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 256 on inquiry card.

BOOK REVIEWS

I would mention the listings. I hate to try to read a book in which all characters are equally spaced, but it is just as unpleasant to read listings of computer programs that are spaced proportionally I know this is just a matter of personal taste, but the equal spacing of letters provides textual markers that line up vertically in a listing, making some structural features of the program easier to see. Proportional spacing can destroy that vertical format. Fortunately, care has been taken to preserve such markers in this text. For example, formal parameters for groups of procedures and comments for variable declarations are lined up vertically

Mr. Gleaves makes a presentation that is clear and complete. Lots of concrete examples demonstrate the language facilities. Subtle technicalities and potential hazards are plainly pointed out in numerous notes and warnings. Facilities not an actual part of the language but expected to be available in any Modula-2 environment are also described.

Although I received an early proof of the book to review, all typographical errors had already been eliminated. This may be characteristic of careful work by Springer-Verlag editors. For an experienced Pascal programmer, this single volume can serve as an introduction to the similar but extended facilities of Modula-2.

Data Compression: Techniques and Applications, Hardware and Software Considerations Reviewed by Michael O'Neill

Judging by the several articles that BYTE has published on the subject, data compression is a topic of interest to users of personal computers. Part of this interest is intellectual, but I imagine that the major reason for concern with data-compression methods is practical. This practical interest can be attributed to two of the Laws of Universal Privation: You never have enough memory, and You never have a data channel that's fast enough.

Data Compression addresses the practical aspects of this subject. The goal of this book," the author writes, "is to provide readers with an intimate awareness of practical and easy-to-implement data-compression techniques." Gilbert Held deals solely with the compression of digital data, primarily text or numeric data stored as characters (rather than, for example, as binary numbers). Held concentrates on applications to communications, but most of the techniques can be applied to storage reduction as well. True to his word, Mr. Held focuses on the nuts-and-bolts aspects of data compression.

Chapter 1 introduces basic definitions and areas of application. It also has a section giving you the data and formulas necessary to determine information-transfer rates for various types of commonly used data channels.

In chapter 2, the author presents methods of compression. There are methods that suppress repetitions of char-

{continued)

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BOOK REVIEWS

acters: null suppression, bit mapping, and run-length encoding. Half-byte packing compresses blocks consisting of only one type of character—for example, numeric. And there are techniques that replace frequently occurring characters or groups of characters with short codes: diatomic encoding, pattern substitution, and statistical encoding (Huffman and modified Huffman codes). Mr. Held also describes the method of relative encoding, used when successive data items vary only slightly. In this method, you encode the differences between one item and the next; if these differences are sufficiently small, compression results.

All data-compression methods require that the data to be compressed have the proper characteristics. Chapter 3 deals with this important aspect of the design of compression systems. The author describes a FORTRAN program (a complete listing is included) that will provide the statistical information necessary to choose which form of compression is appropriate for a given type of data file. Even if you choose not to use the author's program, he gives enough information to enable you to design one suitable to your needs.

In the final chapter, Mr. Held deals with problems involved in linking data-compression routines to other software in order to build a working system. He treats such matters as routine placement and timing considerations.

I have two complaints about this book: first, it is not comprehensive; second, the author is repetitious.

As to the first complaint, the author does not mention Karlgren's method (similar to, but more powerful than, half-byte coding), and his treatment of adaptive compression is sketchy. I would like to have seen some material on specialized methods, such as differential compression, as applied to reduction of storage requirements.

As to the second complaint, the expositions frequently are repetitious. This is most obvious in Mr. Held's discussion of Huffman coding; not only does he explain twice how to construct a Huffman code, but figure 2.29 is included in figure 2.30 and could have been eliminated with no loss of clarity. It's appropriate that a book on data compression is slim, and it's ironic that it is redundant. Considering the high price of this book, I feel that the gratuitous repetition ought to have been replaced with new information.

Data Compression is detailed and wide-ranging, although not comprehensive. The book should be of interest to you if you are seriously involved with data communications and have a need to know, in detail, about practical data-compression schemes.

TVie Handbook of Microcomputer Interfacing Reviewed by Petr Beckmann

Though there are several books available on interfacing to microcomputers, they all seem to fall short when

{continued)

68 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 214 on inquiry card.

"The MDC-550 is more computing machine for rhe dollar than any orher personal computer on the marker.'' Byte, August 1984

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BOOK REVIEWS

explaining the practical workings. For example, why is it so difficult to connect two devices using an RS-2 32C connection? Many books written about interfacing tell you about the RS-232C standard interface conceptually but they ignore the problems encountered when using it.

I am happy to report that Steve Leibson's The Handbook of Microcomputer Interfacing does not shortchange the reader. Based on a series of six articles that appeared in BYTE in 1982, this book does indeed answer the preceding question about RS-232C connection, as well as many more about interfacing. It is clear that the author feels at home with this subject. In the introduction to the book he writes, "Welcome to the world of microcomputer interfacing! It is a place full of mysteries much like a computerized Adventure game.... This book is a set of guidelines on how to play the Interfacing game." Throughout the book Mr. Leibson mixes facts, history of technology, and opinion into an easy-to-read introduction to this field.

The first chapter, "Bits, Bytes and Buses," serves as a preface for the hardware novice. It presents clearly and simply the basic concepts of Boolean mathematics, gates, flip-flops, computer number systems, and buses. Chapter 1 also includes a complete explanation of the ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) code. The author covers each ASCII control code in a short paragraph, lifting the veil on a somewhat cryptic subject.

In chapter 2, titled "Component-Level Buses," Mr. Leibson discusses the first port of access to the microprocessor. All data flows into or out of the microprocessor over its component-level bus. The chapter starts by defining the parts of a generic microprocessor bus, which is composed of address, data, and control buses. The author then progresses to specific microprocessor buses; the 6800, 8080, Z80, 8086, Z8000, and 68000 microprocessors are covered in depth. The read and write cycles of each bus are detailed, and special features of each microprocessor bus are described. Throughout this chapter, Mr. Leibson specifically calls attention to aspects he feels are particularly interesting, rather than simply reciting "the way things work."

Backplane buses are described in chapter 3. Several of the better-known buses are covered, including the STD, S-100, Multibus, and IBM Personal Computer bus. I did not find the same level of description in this chapter, which is more like a handbook of the various buses; the interesting and readable prose found in the rest of the book is missing. However, the material is still handled well technically. Some humor did find its way into the chapter; Did you ever hear about the "MOTEL' circuit?

Chapter 4 is the first to cover an actual interface, the parallel type. The author classifies parallel interfaces into zero-, one-, two-, and three-wire handshakes. I have seen several of these types before, but the classifications seemed new to me, and I found it easier to sort things out thinking of parallel interfaces in this manner. Simple latched outputs are an example of a zero-wire handshake

{continued)

70 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 69 on inquiry card.

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UNIX trademark Bell Labs/XENIX trademark Microsoft/IBM*- trademark International Business Machines/COMMUTER trademark Visual Computer Incorporated/AT&T trademark American Telephone and Telegraph/RM/COBOL trademark Ryan-McFarland/TOM trademark The Office Manager/ SOFTBOL trademark Omtool Corp /Micro Focus Level II COBOL trademark Mtcrofocus/INFORMIX trademark Relational Database System s/Real Wo rid trademark RealWorld Corp/20720 trademark Access Technology/XED trademark Computer Concepts Ltd.

72 BYTE- NOVEMBER 1984

VBIML

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NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 73

Circle 389 on inquiry card.

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interface while the IEEE-488 (HPIB) is an example of a three-wire handshake interface. The author details another well-known parallel interface, the Centronics.

The last part of chapter 4 covers integrated circuits (ICs) used to implement parallel interfaces and how these ICs are applied. Many of the illustrations are apparently taken from manufacturer data sheets. I found this to be quite unusual for an interfacing book; the "real world" details are usually left as an exercise for the reader. The approach used in this chapter sets the tone for the rest of the book.

Mr. Leibson tackles serial interfaces in chapter 5. He starts out by showing how Morse code and telegraphy evolved into today's computerized serial interface then he follows with descriptions of simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex connections, and synchronous and asynchronous communications.

When discussing serial-interfacing standards, Mr. Leibson pays special attention to RS-232C He has tried very hard to give the reader a personal perspective on this. the most pervasive of the interfacing standards, and he describes the "basic eight" signals in the RS-232C standard. As in the previous chapter, a substantial part of chapter 5 is devoted to the ICs used to implement a serial interface, including level translators, receiver/transmitters, and baud-rate generators.

Chapter 6 covers analog interfacing, both digital-to-analog (D/A) and analog-to-digital (A/D). This chapter includes a smattering of operational amplifier theory and the only math in the book. Many pages are used to describe resistor ladders and how they are used to convert digital signals to analog voltages. Various A/D conversion techniques are illustrated, but the author unfortunately does not mention any real devices as examples, as he did in the previous two chapters.

A unique concept, interfacing to time, is discussed in chapter 7. The author covers both interval timers and time-of-day clock circuits and provides some actual IC descriptions, which makes the chapter seem less esoteric.

Chapters 8 and 9 are not about specific interfaces but about the interfacing techniques of interrupts and direct memory access (DMA). In the chapter on interrupts, the author discusses the subject generally. He then returns to four of the microprocessors described in chapter 2 to discuss their interrupt capabilities. The chapter on DMA is quite short, and I was left feeling that there is probably a lot more to be said on the subject.

The Handbook of Microcomputer interfacing is an excellent introduction to microcomputer hardware. It is easy to read, yet it contains a wealth of information needed by anyone working closely with microcomputers. The book seems to be targeted at hobbyists, technicians, engineers, and scientists.

If you have been a victim of books that promise a lot and deliver even more, but most of it over your head, this is the one you need for interfacing microcomputers with other devices.

{continued)

74 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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BOOK REVIEWS

The Programmer's Guide to LDOS/TRSDOS Version 6 Reviewed by Terry Kepner

LDOS/TRSDOS version 6 is a very powerful and flexible DOS (disk operating system), but it's also very complex and difficult to learn and use. Programming in machine code with LDOS is even harder; the user manual gives only a few details on how to interface your machine-language programs with the LDOS system, forcing you to waste time experimenting with code and trying to decipher just what LDOS is doing.

Roy Soltoff s The Programmer's Guide to LDOS/TRSDOS eliminates much of that work, providing details on the operations and procedures used by LDOS, both in memory and on disk.

The book is divided into six chapters, with an appendix and a copious index. The first chapter gives you a brief overview of LDOS and the philosophy that went into designing it. Chapter 2 describes the methods used in interfacing the various hardware devices (printer, RS-232C, keyboard, video) with a program and how to write your own device drivers and special filter modules (for example, setting up a character filter so that your printer automatically slashes zeros).

In chapter 3, Soltoff describes disk-drive interfacing protocols for sending and receiving data to and from the disk-drive controller, including the allocation schemes used for hard-disk drives. LDOS supports the Lobo Universal, Western Digital WD-1000, and Xebec S-1410 hard-disk controller, all three of which are described with the attendant service calls used and disk-drive registers. Floppy-disk and hard-disk configurations are explained, as well as the drive control tables used by LDOS to access them. A sample disk-driver routine is included.

In chapter 4, the author moves on to the DOS directory structure for 5 l A~ and 8-inch disks. He covers the Granule Allocation T^ble, the Hash Index Table, directory record structure (for 5 !4- and 8-inch floppy disks and 5-inch hard disks, in single-density, double-density, single-sided, and double-sided configurations), and he provides a breakdown of 32 bytes used for an actual directory record entry.

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TVie Real Value

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NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 77

It's always smart to think before you do.

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BOOK REVIEWS

94 service calls supplied by LDOS. In fact, by using only these SVCs for data manipulation between the system and your program, you can insure that a program written on one computer using LDOS 6 can be used on another computer using the LDOS 6 environment (i.e., create a program on the Lobo Max-80 that can be used on the TRS-80 Model I or Model 4). These calls are listed alphabetically, numerically, and by functional group. Calls requiring more than just a brief note (such as how to switch between different banks of memory if your computer has more than 64 K bytes of RAM) are given more attention and detail at the end of this chapter

The appendix is devoted to topics that don't fit into the other chapters. These topics include boot-up initialization interfacing (so your program can automatically be initialized during boot-up), the disk-loading formats used by the system loader, the protocols for using high-memory modules, interfacing with the interrupt task processor, using the @KITSK SVC to perform background tasks while doing disk input/output or print spooling, details on the DOS system overlays, and using the @PARAM SVC to decode complex parameter commands from the user. Soltoff includes three sample programs using the various SVCs and filtering concepts.

All of this information is explained in simple language, with a minimum of jargon. The only assumption made is that you are a machine-language programmer, or at least have more than just a vague idea of the details of such programming.

Since most programmers are in a hurry and don't want to have to read an entire book to get the answers to one or two questions, Roy Soltoff has included an index that provides a "random access" approach to the information. He has tried to make each section of the book independent of the rest. This tends to make some sections a little repetitive, but that's a small price to pay for the referencing capability it delivers.

This is one reference book every LDOS/TRSDOS version 6 programmer should have. Its cost is preferable to the amount of time you'd have to spend to discover the information yourself. ■

David D. Clark (246 South Fraser St. #2, State College, PA 16801) is a postdoctoral research scholar in the chemistry department of Pennsylvania State University.

Michael O'Neill (2227 Dwight Way #4, Berkeley, CA 94704) has been programming computers for 20 years.

Petr Beckmann (POB 2298, Boulder, CO 80306) is a professor emeritus of electrical engineering at the University of Colorado.

Terry Kepner (POB 481, Peterborough, NH 03458) is a freelance programmer who writes monthly columns for several computing magazines.

78 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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For VIC-20 and COM-64 - $49.00 For Apple computers — $79.00 Atari 850 Interface - $79.00 For ALL IBM Computers - $89.00

Add $14 50 for shipping, handling and insuronco. Illinois rosidonts pi«at«gdd 6% tax. Add S29 00for CANADA. PUERTO RICO HAWAII. ALASKA APO FPO ordart. Canadian ordors must ba in U.S. dollars WE DO NOT EXPORT TO OTHER COUNTRIES.

Enclosa Cashiors Chock. Monay Ordor or Porsonal Chock. Allow 14 days for dolivory. 2 to 7 days for phono ordors. 1 day axpross mail ! VISA-MASTER CARD-We Ship COD to U S Addresses Only

ENTERPRIZES <**ion<M*cu*To**m

■OX 550, BARRINOTON, ILLINOIS 60010 Phono 312/312-5244 to ortfor

COM-STAR PLUS+ Print Example:

SFGHIJKLMNO ABCDEFSHIJKLMN0P0R8TUVWXYZ 1 2

ITUVWXY .7890

80 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

NEW 128K —MEGA BYTE DUAL DISK DRIVE-80 COLUMN

COMPUTER SYSTEM SALE!

HOME • BUSINESS • WORD PROCESSING

LOOK AT ALL YOU GET FOR ONLY $895* <T) Bl 28 COMMODORE 1 28K 80 COLUMN COMPUTER

© 4023 - 100 CPS - 80 COLUMN BIDIRECTIONAL PRINTER <§) 8050 DUAL DISK DRIVE (over 1 million bytes) (?) 12" HI RESOLUTION 80 COLUMN MONITOR

• BOX OF 10 LORAN LIFETIME GUARANTEED DISKS

• 1 100 SHEETS FANFOLD PAPER

• ALL CABLES NEEDED FOR INTERFACING

TOTAL LIST PRICE $3717.95

LIST PRICE $ 995.00 499.00 1795.00 249.00 49.95 19.95 102.05

PLUS YOU CAN ORDER THESE BUSINESS PROGRAMS AT SALE PRICES

Professional 80 Column Word Processor Professional Data Base Accounts Receivable Accounts Payable

LIST

$149.95 $149.95 $149.95 $149.95

SALE

$99.00 $99.00 $99.00 $99.00

Payroll Inventory General Ledger Financial Spread Sheet

LIST $149.95 $149.95 $149.95 $149.95

SALE $99.00 $99.00 $99.00 $99.00

PRINTER REPLACEMENT OPTIONS

(replace the 4023 with the following at these sale prices)

v Olympia Executive Letter Quality Serial Printer V Comstar Hi-Speed 160 CPS 15'/ 2 " Serial Business Printer Telecommunications Deluxe Modem Package

LIST SALE

$699.00 $399.00

$779.00 $499.00

$199.00 $139.00

15 DAY FREE TRIAL. We give you 15 days to try out this SUPER SYSTEM PACKAGE! ! If it doesn't meet your expectations, just send it back to us prepaid and we will refund your purchase price! !

90 DAY IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT WARRANTY. If any of the SUPER SYSTEM PACKAGE equipment or programs fail due to faulty workmanship or material we will replace it IMMEDIATELY at no charge! !

Add $50.00 for shipping and handling!! $100.00 for Alaska and Hawaii orders.

WE DO NOT EXPORT TO OTHER COUNTRIES

Enclose Cashiers Check, Money Order or Personal Check. Allow 14 days for delivery, 2 to 7 days for phone orders, I day express mail! We accept Visa and MasterCard. We ship C.O.D. to continental U.S. addresses only.

ENTERPRIZES iwelovioubcustomed

BOX 550, BARRtNGTON, ILLINOIS 00010 Phono 312/382-5244 to ordtr

Circle 345 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 • B Y T E 81

A NEW WORLD OF SIGNAL PROCESSING

FOR THE IBM PC.

nscover ILS-PCT1. All the most needed program! in one convenient software packat

It's here. True signal processing e IBM PC. If s called ILSPC1, as developed from our mini-puter ILS, the world standard al processing software. PC I enables you to do signal ocessing now on your own IBM or XT. Without writing programs, out a lot of time or effort. When with the 8087 coprocessor, it

performs at minicomputer speed.

ILS-PC1 provides all the essentials: data acquisition support; waveform display and editing; digital filtering; spectral analysis. Applications include noise and vibration, speech, seismology, acoustics, sonar, radar, bio-medicine and many other fields.

Part of ILS-PC1 convenience is a menu-prompt you can use while

learning/ then bypass once you re ready for command control With our customer service phone line, you get answers to software or applications questions.

Bring signal processing to your own IBM PC or XT. Call our toll-free number now for full information or ILS-PC1. The price is $ 1495. The benefit is a new world of convenienc

IfIC

5951 Enema Road • Goleta, CA 93117

In California, (805) 683-3771TWX 910-334-3471

Call toll-free (800) 235-5787

Germany « TCAE GmbH. Tel 8 i 39/6067. 'fete* 84 i 627523 / Sweden * 3K Tre KonsuUw A.B, Tft! 0764/30175. Telex. 854 15559 / Switzerland • Zentr«m« Techntk AG, Tel. 032 233553. Tetex 345 349353 / UK. ♦ Logics. Tel 0J637 9i U. Telex. 851 27200 / Japan • ,Rikei Corp, Tel: 03-345-1411. Telex 781 123772 / Korea • Greenei! System Industry Co., Tai; 725 6281 2, Telex, 787 23231 /

'!:• *:CVEMBER W*U

EVENT QUEUE

November 1984

• CONTINUING ENGINEERING EDUCATION-Continu-

ing Engineering Education, George Washington University, Washington, DC For a schedule, contact George Harrison, Continuing Engineering Education, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, (800) 424-9773; in the District of Columbia, (202) 676-6106. November

• DOCUMENTING CORRECTLY—How to Document a Computer System, various sites throughout the US. A step-by-step tutorial for meeting the documentation objectives of any software-development project. The fee for this one-day seminar is $155. Contact Technical Communications Associates, Suite 210, 12 50 Oakmead Parkway Sunnyvale, CA 94086, (800) 227-3800, ext. 977; in California, (408) 737-2665. November

• STRUCTURED PROGRAMMING TIPS-Seminars

from Ken Orr and Associates, various sites throughout the U.S. Programs include "Data Structured Systems Development Methodology" and "Structured Systems Planning." Contact Ken Orr and Associates Inc., 1725 Gage Blvd., Tbpeka, KS 66604, (800) 2 55-2459; in Kansas, (913) 273-0653. November

• TRENDS ADDRESSED

CAP Gemini DASD Seminars, Saint Regis-Sheraton Hotel, New York City. Three seminars are scheduled this month: "Lamond on IBM," "Rudolph and Whiteside: Fourth Generation Languages," and "Davies:

Security for Computer Networks" Contact CAP Gemini DASD, 9045 North Deer-wood Dr., POB 23767, Milwaukee, WI 53223, (414) 355-3405. November

• BRUSH-UPS FOR ENGINEERS—Continuing Engineering Education Courses, George Washington University, Washington, DC. Among the course titles are "Workshop in Data Communications for Microcomputers" and "Hands-On Programming in Ada." Tuition ranges from $695 to $875. Contact George Harrison, Continuing Engineering Education, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, (800) 424-9773; in the District of Columbia, (202) 676-6106. November-December

• HI-TECH EXPLAINED

Advanced Technology Seminars, various sites throughout the U.S. Among the topics to be explored are local-area networks, voice/ data integration, CAD/CAM, WordStar, and Lotus 1-2-3. Fees range from $195 to $885. Contact Bernie Ilson Inc., 65 West 55th St., New York, NY 10019, (212) 245-7950. November-December

m INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER PROGRAMS-1984 Institute of Industrial Engineers' Continuing Education Programs, various sites throughout the U.S. A complete listing is available from the Institute of Industrial Engineers, 2 5

Technology Park/Atlanta, Norcross, GA 30092, (404) 449-0460. November-December

• INTEL WORKSHOPS

Microcomputer Workshops, various sites throughout the U.S. and Canada. Intel, the semiconductor memory manufacturer, is offering more than 20 workshops on microprocessor applications. A brochure is available. Contact Customer Training, Intel Corp., 27 Industrial Ave., Chelmsford, MA 01824-3688, (617) 256-1374. November-December

• LECTURE SERIES

Montclair State College Colloquium Lecture Series and the Nobel Laureate Lecture Series, Richardson Hall, Room W-117, Upper Montclair, NJ. Tbpics to be addressed include "Industrial Applications of Input/Output Analysis" and "A History of Symmetry Principles in Physics." Admission is free. Contact Professor Gideon Nettler, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Montclair State College, Upper Montclair, NJ 07043, (201) 893-4294. November-December

• MANAGERS COACHED IN TECHNOLOGY-Facility

Management Institute Educational Programs, various sites throughout the U.S. Programs on the agenda include "Impact of Office Automation on Facilities" and "Computer Aids to Facility Management." Con-

IF YOU WANT your organization's public activities listed in BYTE's Event Queue, we need to know about them at least four months in advance. Send information about computer conferences, seminars, workshops, and courses to BYTE, Event Queue, POB 372, Hancock, NH 03449.

tact Jinx Andrews, Facility Management Institute, 3971 Research Park Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48104, (313) 994-0200. November-December

• PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION—Seminars from the Institute for Professional Education, various sites in the U.S. Programs in statistics, management, simulation and modeling, personal computers, and computer science. Contact the Institute for Professional Education, POB 756, Arlington, VA 22216, (703) 527-8700. November-December

• TRAINING IN KNOWL-

EDGEMAN—Training Seminars on KnowledgeMan. various sites throughout the U.S. A series of two-day training seminars on the KnowledgeMan information-management system for 16-bit computers. Contact KnowledgeMan Training Coordinator, Micro Data Base Systems Inc., POB 248, Lafayette, IN 47906, (317) 463-2581. November-December

• CONFERENCES, MEETINGS—Conferences and Meetings of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, various sites throughout the U.S. and the world. A calendar of conferences and meetings complete with contact persons is available. Contact IEEE Computer Society, POB 639, Silver Spring, MD 20901, (301) 589-8142. November-January

• DATA COMMUNICATIONS TAUGHT-Networks

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 • B Y T E 83

Circle 8 on inquiry card.

Peripheral Networking Now

Buy ASCI Intelligent Port Expanders

• Eliminate Manual Switching by Remote Control

• Improve Productivity and Reliability

• Share Printers, Modems or Plotters

• Expand Computers or Terminals

• Use Matrix Switching for Multiple Transmission or Security

• Supports Polling and Queing

INSTANT COMPATIBILITY with new computer devices and MAJOR OEM PRODUCTS:

Altos — Burroughs — Data General — DEC

H.P. — IBM — NCR — Northstar — Victor

and other key manufacturers.

Call 2 1 3-793-8979 to EXPAND YOUR SYSTEMS

TODAY.

'Advanced Systems Concepts Inc.

435 N. Lake Ave., Dept bh Pasadena, CA 9 1 10 1

800-824-7080 Telex: 701 215

SPECIAL FEATURE 1

SPECIAL FEATURE 2

THE BEST FOR LESS $

SPECIAL RETURNABLE POLICY

Each month a selected best value computer system is available with a small premium for testing at the comfort of your office or home for 15 days. If the system is returned in 15 days in the original condition, we will deduct only the premium and shipping cost from the refund.

Free UPS Ground Shipping for orders prepaid.

Best Value Systems - Typical Configurations:

C : High Resolution Monochrome Monitor. 2 Drives, Keyboard, DOS Basic DP=Dot Matrix Printer, C-ltoh. LP Letter Quality Printer, DX-15 M = Multiplan, R1 = 128K Ram. R2=256K Ram. W=Word Processing-LE

R1 R2 W DP LP

'System integration and pretest included.

M Price"

1 X X S1800

2 X X X Call

3 X X XX Call

4 X X X X Call

5 X X X XX Call

6 X XX 2189

7 X XXX Call & X XX X 2585

Please call for other configurations Our customers havefound the calls worthwhile Call for other high quality products AST, Brother. C-ltoh. Corona, Diablo Hayes. Hercules Microsoft. Nee, Oki, Ouadram, Ricoh, STB. Tecmar. Software Publishings, etc

COMPUTER SALES

Fine Products at Affordable Prices.

Order:

(619) 576-9185

Store:

8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.. Suite A-1

San Diego, CA 92111

Technical Support: (619) 576-9187

Hours

Mon. - Fn.

9 am - 6 p.m. Pacific Time

Visa. MasterCard Retail prices slightly higher. Prices reflect cash discount, subject to change without '-.otice Offers subject to availability Add 2% for shipping, handling, and insurance. Add6°oTax for Calif residents Restocking charge for goods returned IBM. Leading Edge. Tava are trademarks

EVENT QUEUE

and Data Communications Short Courses, various sites throughout the U.S. A few of the courses to be held are "Introduction to Datacomm and Networks," "Designing Digital Communication Systems," and "Configuring Distributed Processing Systems." A catalog is available. Contact Integrated Computer Systems, 6305 Arizona Place, POB 4 5405, Los Angeles, CA 90045, (800) 421-8166; in California, (800) 352-8251 or (213) 417-8888. November-February

• INFORMATION-PROCESSING SEMINARS

New York University Seminars in Information Processing, various sites throughout the U.S. "Fundamentals of Data Processing for Administrative Assistants and Secretaries" and "Managing Systems Projects" are two of the seminars offered. For a calendar listing and more information, contact School of Continuing Education, Seminar Center, New York University, 575 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022, (212) 748-5094. November-February

• LEARN PERSONAL COMPUTING—New York University Programs in Personal Computing, New York City. Continuing education credits can be earned as you learn about personal computers, application programs, languages, communications, and microcomputer technology. Fees and session lengths vary. A brochure is available. Contact New York University, School of Continuing Education, Data Processing and Systems Analysis Institute, 327 Shimkin Hall, New York, NY 10003, (212) 598-7771. November-February

• NETWORKS MADE

CLEAR—Computer Seminars, various sites throughout the U.S. For catalog describing a

series of seminars that cover computer databases and such applications as local-area networks and graphics, contact Technology Transfer Institute, 741 Tenth St., Santa Monica, CA 90402, (213) 394-8305. November-February

• MANAGEMENT COURSES OFFERED

Courses from the American

Management Association, various sites throughout the U.S. The American Management Association offers a wide variety of courses in such areas as information systems, office automation, and communications. A catalog outlines each course. Contact American Management Association, 135 West 50th St., New York, NY 10020, (212) 586-8100. November-April

• MOTION CONTROL

SEMINAR—Seminar from the Electronic Motion Control Association, San lose, CA. Contact EMCA, Suite 1200, 230 North Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60601, (312) 372-9800. November 12-13

• PROGRAM WITH

dBASE—dBASE: Programming and Advanced Techniques, Boston, MA. Topics to be addressed include testing, debugging, indexing considerations, and program, applications, and database design. The fee is $545. Contact Center for Advanced Professional Education, Suite 110, 1820 East Garry St., Santa Ana, CA 92705, (714) 261-0240. November 13-14

• INTERFACING IN

INDUSTRY-Synergy '84: Functional Interfacing for Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Conrad Hilton Hotel, Chicago, IL. Speakers and technical sessions. Contact Society of Manufacturing Engineers, One SME Dr.,

84 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 84 on inquiry card.

EVENT QUEUE

POB 930, Dearborn, MI 48121, (313) 271-1500. November 13-15

• X.25, PACKET NETS

X.2 5 and Packet-Switching Networks, Atlanta, GA. This course will cover the internal operations of the packet-switching network and its implementation. International standards and X.2 5 interfaces will be discussed. TUition is $795. Contact Elaine Hadden Nicholas, Department of Continuing Education, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0385, (404) 894-2547. November 14-16

• FALL COMDEX

COMDEX/Fall, Las Vegas, NV. This is one of the largest and most prestigious trade shows in the microcomputer industry. Contact The Interface Group, 300 First Ave., Needham, MA 02194, (800) 325-3330; in Massachusetts, (617) 449-6600. November 14-18

• PROGRAM WITH

dBASE-dBASE: Programming and Advanced Techniques, Hartford, CT See November 13-14 for details. November 15-16

• WESTERN EDUCATORS

MEET-The Eighth Annual Western Educational Computing Conference, Vacation Village, San Diego, CA. Refereed papers on computer science, humanities and the fine arts, CAI, administration, and research support. Contact Dr. Virginia S. Lashley, Glendale College, 1500 North Verdugo Rd., Glendale, CA 91208. November 15-16

• FORTH CONVENTION

The Sixth Annual FORTH Convention and Banquet, Hyatt Palo Alto, Palo Alto, CA. Contact FORTH Interest Group, POB 1105, San Carlos, CA 94070, (415) 962-8653. November 16-17

• FARM COMPUTER CON-FERENCE-The 1984 Purdue On-Farm Computer Use Conference and Trade Show, Purdue University West Lafayette, IN. Workshops will complement exhibits and conference sessions. Contact Continuing Education Business Office, Stewart Center, Room 110, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907. November 18-20

• BRIEFING ON ADVANCED LANGUAGES

Structured Techniques Using Fourth Generation Languages, Palo Alto, CA. This seminar explains how structured techniques and fourth-generation languages can be used. The fee is $795. Contact Software Institute of America Inc., 8 Windsor St., Andover, MA 01810, (617) 470-3880. November 19-21

• CANADIAN CON-

FERENCE-Annual CIPS Computer Conference, International Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Speakers will address a variety of issues. Contact Canadian Information Processing Society, Fifth Floor, 243 College St., Toronto, Ontario M5T 2Y1, Canada, (416) 593-4040. November 19-22

• COMPUTERS IN TORONTO—The Fifteenth Annual Canadian Computer Show and Conference, International Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Contact Industrial Trade Shows, 20 Butterick Rd., Toronto, Ontario M8W 3Z8, Canada, (416) 252-7791.

November 19-22

• SHOW IN GERMANY

Chip Microcomputer Weeks, Essen, West Germany. Microcomputer products, trends, and applications will be demonstrated. Sponsored by Chip, a leading German computer magazine. Contact Network GmbH, An der

{continued)

THE HARD ON€ IS RIGHT TO FIND!

We've Got it at

ALPHA OMEGA

COCIPUTER PRODUCTS

• TURBO 10 is designed for the IBM PC®, to achieve IBM PC/XT® capacity, and full PC/XT compatibility.

• Access seek time 300% faster than IBM PC/XT®.

• Ideal with the use of serious application programs, such as Aston Tate™ dBase III and Framework, Lotus™ 1, 2, 3 and Symphony™, Micropro Wordstar, etc...

•13 month defective exchange policy, covering

both parts and labor. •TURB010 comes complete with all necessary

interfacing and cables, and installation and user

documentation.

• Speed, Convenience, Affordability, and Reliability ...at Alpha Omega Computer Products we put

it all together for you. See our ad on Page 16.

Contact your local dealer, and ask for the TURBO 10.

!S3 345-4422

18612 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, CA 91356

All products are pre-this period, defectiv subject to a 10% restc be an additional $4 s

ed before delivery, and ar stums must accompany ng fee. Please include S61 wqe on COD orders. Cat

Circle 15 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 85

Circle 186 on inquiry card.

WOW!

HARMONY VIDEO & COMPUTERS

2357 CONEY ISLAND AVE., BROOKLYN, NY 11223

TO ORDER CALL TOLL FREE

800-VIDE084 OR 718-627-1000 OR 800-441-1144

MICRO CONTROLLED DIGITAL DATA RECORDER

FEATURES:

Microprocessor controlled

data buffering • Buffers

data in RAM • Data

comes in at any standard

baud rate, plays back at

any baud rate (switchable)

• Tape runs only during

block record/playback •

RS232 input/output 110/

220 v ac or 12 v dc • 1.2

MB per tape side • Uses chrome oxide audio cassettes • Has

hold-off during playback via CTS line • No data hold-off during

record.

APPLICATIONS:

PROCESS CONTROL • POINT OF SALE • TELEPHONE SWITCH LOGGING (SMDR) • INSTRUMENTATION • DIAGNOSTIC SUPPORT • PROGRAM LOADING • DATA LOGGING.

BUFFERED VERSION MODEL PD1-BF $595.00

NON BUFFERED VERSION - MODEL PD-1 $335.00

TO ORDER, DIAL: (201) 356-9200

236 Lackland Drive Middlesex, N J. 08846

EVENT QUEUE

Friedenseiche 10, D-3050 Wunstorf 2, Bundesrepublik Deutschland (West Germany); tel: (0 50 33) 10 56; Telex: 92 4 5 45. In England, Network Events Ltd., Printers Mews, Market Hill, Buckingham MK18 UX, England; tel: (02 80) 81 52 26; Telex: 83111. November 20-22

• PICK PRAISED IN

AUSTRALIA—International Spectrum Pacific, Centre-point, Sydney, Australia. Exhibits by manufacturers of Pick-based systems and technical seminars. In the U.S., contact International Spectrum, Suite 210, 9740 Ap-paloosa Rd., San Diego, CA 92131, (619) 578-3152. In Australia, International Spectrum, POB 77, Gymea, New South Wales 2227; tel: (02) 570-5505. November 21-23

• SHANGHAI EXPOSITION

The China International Microelectronics/Computer Exhibition and Conference, Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China. Integrated circuits, semiconductors, personal computers, minicomputers, peripherals, and software will be exhibited. Contact American Exhibition Services International Inc., POB 66373, O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL 60666, (312) 593-2462, November 21-26

• TRADE SHOW IN

MOSCOW—Systemotronica '84, Sokolniki Exhibition Centre, Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. An international trade exhibition of office systems, electronics, and components. Contact Diisseldorfer Messegesellschaft mbH-NOWEA, POB 32 02 03, D-4000 Dusseldorf 30, Federal Republic of Germany; tel: (0211) 45 60-729; Telex: 8 584 853 mes d. November 22-30

• CANADIAN ATLANTIC

SHOW—Moncton Computer

Exhibition '84, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. Home computers, video games, and office automation equipment will be displayed. Contact Anne LeBlanc, Commerce Building, University of Moncton, Moncton, New Brunswick E1A 3E9, Canada, (506) 858-45 5 5. November 23-2 5

• FORTH USERS MEET FORTH Modification Laboratory Conference, Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, CA. Expert systems and artificial intelligence will be discussed. Registration is $2 50, which includes room, meals, and conference fees. Contact FORTH Interest Group, POB 1105, San Carlos, CA 94070, (415) 962-8653. November 23-2 5

• COMPUTERS IN CHINA

Computer China, Xiamen Special Economic Zone, Peoples Republic of China. Contact Kallman Associates, 5 Maple Court, Ridgewood, NJ 07450, (201) 652-7070. November 2 5-December 1

• PICK PRAISED IN

ENGLAND—International Spectrum Europe, Heathrow Penta Hotel, London, England. Exhibits by manufacturers of Pick-based systems and technical seminars. In the U.S., contact International Spectrum, Suite 210, 9740 Appaloosa Rd., San Diego, CA 92131, (619) 578-3152. In England, International Spectrum, POB 32, Northwood, Middlesex HA6 1HZ; tel: (04946) 71663. November 26-27

• BUILD BUSINESS GRAPHICS—Computer

Graphics for Business, Hyatt on Union Square, San Francisco, CA. This seminar presents guidelines for selecting graphics hardware and software. Contact Technology Transfer Institute, 741 Tenth St., Santa Monica, CA [continued]

86 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 325 on inquiry card.

Until now your PC was

missing an essential piece.

Master Piece

Introducing the only accessory your IBM® PC will ever need. The Master Piece is four accessories in one, offering your PC the protection and convenience it's been missing.

SEE EYE TO EYE WITH YOUR IBM PC.

The Master Piece provides a swivel for your monitor. This swivel lets you adjust the viewing angle of your monitor with just the touch of a finger. puJS YQUR EpmRE

SYSTEM AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.

Stop fumbling with cords and scrambling for outlets to plug in your peripherals. Stop lunging to the other side of the room * just to turn on your printer.

™ The Master Piece functions

as a five outlet power strip to organize all your power needs. Power up with the master switch, then use the individual switches to control your peripherals. Touch the master switch to shut down and the Master Piece makes sure you never accidentally leave your peripherals running overnight.

m m b B b

<ot

POWER LINE PROBLEMS ARE NO PROBLEM.

Surges, spikes and line noise are responsible for 70-90% of PC malfunctions. They can wipe out memory

in your PC, taking hours of hard work with them. That just costs you time. Even worse, they can zap your delicate chips, sending your PC in for repairs. That costs you money.

The Master Piece stops power line problems dead. You end up with an IBM that's more accurate and more reliable.

EVEN YOU ARE A THREAT TO YOUR IBM PC.

During the course of an active day, you build up static electricity—just as much a threat as surges and spikes. Until now, the only solutions to static were unsightly floor mats or pads that fit under your computer. The Master Piece offers an elegant alternative. lust touch its nameplate before you begin work and all static charges are safely grounded.

Master Piece, the most versatile, most convenient, most useful peripheral ever made for the IBM. In fact, you'll come to think of it as the piece your PC was missing. Special introductory price, $139.95 at most computer stores.

^J KENSINGTON

I iM microware

Circle 235 on inquiry card. 251 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010, (212) 475-5200, Telex: 467383 KML NY

Trademarks: Master Piece/Kensington Microware, IBM/International Business Machines.

© !984 Kensington Microware Ltd.

~Pol t

aroid

\

Now last minute presentations

can be made from

your personal computer.

In color. In house. In minutes.

Introducing Polaroid Palette.

Whether your presentation is in 30 minutes or 30 days, the new Polaroid Palette Computer Image Recorder will make it easier. Priced at under $1800* it lets you make Polaroid instant 35mm slides or prints from personal computer-generated data. Right at your desk. So now you can create a presentation in minutes. Without sending out for processing, paying premiums for rush service or risking the security of your confidential information.

Works with the graphic s

packages of die IBM PC or XX

DEC Rainbow, Apple lie and 11+

as well as other pes.

The Polaroid Palette is designed to work with many graphics software packages. In fact, when using such popular programs as Graphwriter, Chart-Master, Sign-Master, DR Draw and DR Graph, Palette can virtually double both the horizontal and vertical resolution of your monitor. Plus, a

Circle 332 on inquiry card.

"backfill" feature reduces raster lines for a smoother, more finished appearance. The result—presentation quality slides. On-the-spot.

Color 35mm slides, even from a black and white CRT Think of it as an artist's palette. Because P&lette "paints" your graphs, charts and text. You Ye choosing from up to 72 colors. If you don't want red, press a few keys—its green. And if you're not the artistic-type, Polaroid has developed a menu of color sets: combinations of colors that have been specially coordinated to complement your presentations. And all of this is yours, even if you have a black and white monitor.

Lets you make last minute

changes or add

up-to-the-minute information.

The Polaroid Palette is the fast, convenient, low-cost way to prepare slides for your presentation. And perhaps

even more important, Palette allows you to keep confidential information confidential. You won't have to send your work out to anyone again.

So why wait until the last minute to find out about Polaroid Palette? Call this toll-free number or return this coupon. Because with Palette you'll make your deadlines, in no time. I 1

For a demonstration, call toll-free, or mail the coupon to Polaroid Corp., E.I. Marketing, Dept. 604, 575 Technology Sq., Cambridge, MA 02139.

CALL 1-800-225-1618

D Send information. □ Have representative call.

B- 11/84

Name Title

Company -

Address

Citv

- Zip-

Telephone 1

PC make and model-

=Polaroid

* Suggested list price. Polaroid* NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 89

Jntversaf lor all standard parallel printers,

amous for Graphics (loRes, HI8es> SuperRes) »Compatible)

Terrific for text (even rotates spreadsheets to print sidewards)

One set of commands for all printers. One command changes character stzea Create your own printing fonts, alphabets and symbols .. .boldface, underline, italics, subscript and superscript, HIRes Zooming.

FREE Utility and Demonstration Software Disk. CLEAR, comprehensive user documentation. PKASO/U . . for all the reasons you need an Interface

Contact us for a list of Authorized Dealers near you.

»

Interactive Structures, Inc. 146 Montgomery Avenue Bala Cynwyd, PA 49004 Telephone: (215) 667-1713

EVENT QUEUE

90402, (213) 394-8305. November 26-28

• MEET 20 PROGRAMS

Production and Allocation Applications for the Personal Computer, Atlanta, GA. More than 20 interactive management-science programs for MS-DOS-based machines will be demonstrated. Contact Elaine Had-den Nicholas, Department of Continuing Education, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0385, (404) 894-2547. November 26-28

• PREDICTING RELIABILITY—The Twenty-Second Annual Reliability Engineering and Management Institute, Ramada Inn, Tucson, AZ. This institute will emphasize system reliability prediction, reliability testing, and life-cycle costing. The fee is $750. Contact Dr. Dimitri Kececioglu, Reliability Engineering and Management Institute, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department, Building 16, Room 200B, University of Arizona, Tucson. AZ 85721, (602) 621-6120.

November 26-30

• ROBOTICS IN WEST

Robots-West, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA. Robot manufacturers and component suppliers will exhibit their wares. Contact Robot Institute of America. POB 1366, Dearborn, MI 48121, (313) 271-0778. November 27-29

• ADMINISTER SOFTWARE

PROJECTS—Managing the

Development and Application of Computer Software, Atlanta, GA. Tbpics include establishing the need for a computer application, identifying computer software requirements, and managing the changes to established production and marketing baselines. The fee is $400. Contact Elaine Hadden

Nicholas, Department of Continuing Education, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0385, (404) 894-2 547. November 28-29

• VERTICAL MARKETS CONFERENCE-Computer

Vertical Markets, Sheraton Harbor Isle Hotel, San Diego, CA. Contact Carol Every, Frost & Sullivan Inc., 106 Fulton St.. New York, NY 10038. (212) 233-1080. November 28-29

• DEVELOP EFFECTIVE DOCUMENTATION-How to

Develop Effective User Documentation, Somerset, NJ. This course covers preparation, planning, documentation design, illustrations, graphics, quality assurance, and other topics. Class size is limited. Tuition is $850. Contact Human Performance Associates Inc., 13 East Main St.. POB 297. Mendham. NJ 07945. (201) 543-4333. November 28-30

• LOCAL NETWORK COURSE-Local Area Networks, Atlanta, GA. This course looks at the alternative technical approaches on which local-area networks are based. The fee is $795. Contact Elaine Hadden Nicholas. Department of Continuing Education. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0385, (404) 894-2547. November 28-30

• SIMULATION CONFERENCE—Winter Simulation Conference Sheraton Dallas Hotel, Dallas, TX. Papers, tutorials, sessions, and panel discussions will complement commercial exhibits. Contact Udo Pooch, Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station. TX 77843. (409) 845-5498. November 28-30

{continued)

90 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 218 on inquiry card.

How to make your PC-XT multiply

If you think that's no big deal, we'd like to introduce you to a multiplication table you've never seen before.

One PC-XT plus two terminals times one Pick System™ equals a three-user business system.

Net result: a savings of about 50% over the cost of three separate PC-XTs (which can't share data like we can, anyway).

To explain in slightly greater detail, the Pick System transforms

Circle 432 on inquiry card.

a single-user PC-XT personal computer into a complete business computer system.

If that's not enough—and for us it isn't—the Pick System also offers a built-in relational data base, a simple command language that uses everyday English words, and runs on hardware from micros to mainframes, from IBM® to Hewlett-Packard, and many more.

Which shows you just three more examples of Pick Power, and how our 20 years of business experience is ready to work for you.

If you'd like to add to your awareness of the Pick System, contact any authorized Pick dealer. Ask him how the Pick System can make your PC-XT multiply, and he'll give you his undivided attention.

The Pick System.

Computer Ease, Not Computerese.

For more information, call us toll-free at 1-800-FOR PICK. In California, call 714-261-7425. Dealer inquiries welcome.

Pick System is a trademark of Pick Systems, © 1984 Pick Systems,

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 91

Circle 24 on inquiry card.

APROTEK 1000™ EPROM PROGRAMMER

Cjjo

only $250.00

A SfMPLE INEXPENSIVE SOLUTION TO PROGRAMMING EPROMS

The APROTEK 1000 can program 5 volt, 2 5XX series through 2564, 27XX series through 27256 and 68XX devices plus any CMOS versions of the above types. Included with each programmer is a personality module of your choice (others are only $10.00 ea. when purchased with APROTEK 1000). Later, you may require future modules at only $15.00 ea., postage paid. Available personality modules: PM2716. PM2732, PM2732A, PM2764, PM2764A, PM27128, PM27256, PM2532, PM2564, PM68764 (includes 68766), (Please specify modules by these numbers).

APROTEK WOO comes complete with a menu driven BASIC driver programmer listing which allows READ, WRITE, COPY, and VERIFY with Checksum. Easily adapted for use with IBM, Apple, Kaypro, and other microcomputers with a RS-232 port. Also included is a menu driven CPM assembly language diiver listing with Z-80 (DART) and 8080 (8251) I/O port examples. Interface is a simple 3-wire RS-232C with a female DB-25 connector. A handshake character is sent by the programmer after programming each byte. The interface is switch selectable at the following 6 baud rates: 300, 1,2k, 2.4k, 4.8k, 9.6k and 19.2k baud. Data format for programming is "absolute code", (i.e., it will program exactly what it is sent starting at EPROM address 0). Other standard downloading formats are easily converted to absolute (object) code.

The APROTEK 1000 is truly universal. It comes standard at 1 17 VAC 50/60 HZ and may be internally jumpered for 220-240 VAC 50.60 AZ. FCC verification (CLASS B) has been obtained for the APROTEK 1000.

A PROTEK 1000 is covered by a 1 year parts and labor warranty.

FINALLY — A Simple, Inexpensive Solution To Erasing EPROMS

APROTEK-200™ EPROM ERASER

Simply insert one or two EPROMS

and switch ON. In about 10 minutes,

you switch OFF and are ready to

reprogram.

APROTEK-200™ only $45.00.

APROTEK-300™ only $60.00. This eraser is identical to APROTEK 200™ but has a built-in timer so that the ultraviolet lamp automatically turns off in 10 minutes, eliminating any risk of overexposure damage to your EPROMS. APROTEK-300™ only $60.00.

APROPOS TECHNOLOGY

1071 A Avenrda Acaso, Camarillo, CA 93010

CALL OUR TOLL FREE ORDER LINES TODAY:

1 {800) 962-5800 USA or 1 (800) 962-3800 CALIFORNIA

TECHNICAL INFORMATION: 1-{805) 482-3604

Add Shipping Per Item: $3.00 Cont. U.S. $6.00 CAN, Mexico, HI, AK, UPS Blue

Now Your

Computer

Can See!

$9oe oo*

MicronEye™

"Bullet"

A total imaging system complete and ready for plug-and-go operation with your personal computer.

The MicronEye'" offers selectable resolution modes of 256 x 128 and 128 x 64 with operating speeds up to 15 FPS. An electronic shutter is easily controlled by software or manual functions, and the included sample programs allow you to continuously scan, freeze frame, frame store, frame compare, print and produce pictures in shades of grey from the moment you begin operation.

Only the MicronEye"' uses the revolutionary IS32 OpticRAAV" image sensor for automatic solid state image digitizing, with capability for grey-tone imaging through multiple scans. And with these features, the MicronEye'" is perfectly suited for graphics input, robotics, text and pattern recognition, security, digitizing, automated process control and many other applications.

The MicronEye™ is available with immediate delivery for these computers: Apple II, IBM PC, Commodore 64 and the TRS-80CC (trademarksof

Apple Computer Inc., International Business Machines, Commodore Corp.. and Tandy Corp. respectively).

Phone for MicronEye T " information on the Macintosh, Tl PC and RS232

(trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. and Texas Instruments respectively.)

*(Add 510,00 for shipping and handling (Federal Express Standard Air}; residents of the following states must add sales tax: AK. AZ, CA, CO. CT, FL, GA, 1A, ID, IL IN, LA, MA, MD, ME, Ml, MM. MC, ME, MJ, MY. OH. PA. SC, TN, TX, LIT, VA, VT, WA, Wl.)

IICRON

ITECHNOLOGY, INC.

VISION SYSTEMS 2805 East Columbia Road Boise, Idaho 83706 (208) 383-4106 TWX 910-970-5973

EVENT QUEUE

• STATISTICS SKILLS TUTORED— Forecasting and

Statistical Applications for the Personal Computer, Atlanta, GA. Areas of concentration include regression techniques, smoothing techniques, multiple sample tests (ANOVA), and contingency tables. The fee is $550. Contact Elaine Hadden Nicholas, Department of Continuing Education, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0385, (404) 894-2547. November 28-30

• KIDS SHOW

Bits & Bytes, Disneyland Convention Center, Anaheim, CA. This conference and exposition attempts to show educators, parents, and children how to use computers in the home and classroom. Contact Information Processing Group. Suite 113-150, 3 50 South Lake Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101. (818) 792-5111. November 30-December 2

December 1984

• dBASE. LOTUS DEMYSTIFIED-dBASE II and Lotus 1-2-3 Seminars, various sites throughout the U.S. Both seminars stress the practical applications of these two popular programs. The fee is $245 each or $450 for both. Contact Software Institute of America Inc., 8 Windsor St., Andover, MA 01810. (617) 470-3880. December

m REFRESHERS FOR

ENGINEERS— Continuing Engineering Education, San Diego, CA, and Washington, DC. Courses include "Frequency Synthesis," "Fiber Optic Communications," and "Foundations of Modern Telecommunications Systems." Fees range from $695 to $920. Contact Continuing Engineering Education, George Washington

University, Washington, DC 20052, (800) 424-9773; in the District of Columbia, (202) 676-8530. December-January

• TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCES-Telecom-

munications Programs, various sites throughout the U.S. "Finding Telecommunications Information" and "Satellite Technology for the Nontechnical Manager" will be offered. Contact Phillips Publishing Inc., Suite 1200N, 7315 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 986-0666. December-January

• INFO PROCESSING SEMINARS-New York University Seminars in Information Processing, various sites throughout the U.S. Seminars to be held include "Fundamentals of Information Processing for Nontechnical Executives," "The Management of Technical Personnel," and "Managing the Data Center." Contact New York University, School of Continuing Education, Seminar Center, 575 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022, (212) 580-5200. December-March

• SIMULATION PROGRAM EXPLAIN ED-Short Course on MAP/1 Simulation Software, West Lafayette, IN. MAP/1 is a simulation-based modeling and analysis program that can be used to design and evaluate discrete manufacturing systems. Contact Pritsker & Associates inc., POB 2413, West Lafayette, IN 47906, (317) 463-5557. December 4-5

• ENGINEERING CONFERENCE-The 1984 Western Design Engineering Show/ASME Western Design Engineering Conference, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA. Exhibitors, conferences, and short courses.

{continued)

92 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 275 on inquiry card.

EPSON a " models!

RX/FX and LQ1500

5^°° 92/93!!

OKIDATA

ibm pc $1449

with 2 drives 2"" ■ ^***&

s 1795

1 drive 64K

256K, 10 mg. hard disk 1-360Kb drive Only

IBM XT

, $ 3695

WORDSTAR pro pack

• Wordstar

• Correct Star 0 <^ O *

• Star Index ^

• Mail Merge

249

COMPUTERS

IBM PC & XT... See special above!!!

COLUMBIA w $3000 retail software'

VP Portable-256K ridiculously

1600-1 2 drives low!!!

1600-4 Hard Disk please call!!

VISUAL COMMUTER New 16 lb. IBM

Compatible 256K, 2 drives SCall

"} ( PRINTERS )

c

MONITORS

J

IBM MONOCHROME 259

COLOR 589

AMOEK 30QG 129

300A 145

310A 165

GORILLA Composite monochrome . Sale!

Green or Amber ., , 85

TAXAN 12" Green 114

12" Amber 117

420 RGB 439

PRINCETON HX-12 467

SR-12 649

MAX-12 184

ZENITH 122-12" G 93

12" A.. 93

..169 .446

124 MONO-IBM.. 133 RGB..

13 5 RGB/COMP 475

( MODEMS )

HAYES 300 199

1200..

""•DOT MATRIX"*"

EPSON RX 80 100 cps 289

RX 80 FT 100 cps 319

RX 100 100 cps. 132 col 522

FX BO 160 cps best price

FX 100 160 cps. 132 col in

LQ 1500 200 cps NEW! magazine

OKIDATA 82A83/84 Save

92P ....All

93P Models

2410 Drastically Reduced!!

GEMINI 10-X 258

15-X 369

C-ITOH PROWRITER 324

"'"DAISY WHEEL""*

PRIMAGE I 55 cps, SER/PARR 1395

w Cut Sheet Feeder 1695

BROTHER DAISY WHEEL

HR-15 ..359

HR-25 598

HR-35 (36 cpsl 969

JUKI 6100 419

DTC 380 Z 949

DIABLO 620 829

36 .1276

630 1689

TTX 1014 SER PAR TRACTOR 360

DYNAX DX-15 359

SILVER REED 550P 560

NEC 3550 1645

QUME 559

120GB IBM INTERNAL ..

MICROMODEM II E

ANCHOR MARK XII

398

c

DRIVES

J

..229 ..259

IBM 360 KB 219

TANDON 100-2 360KB 185

PANASONIC Vi HI-360 KB 149

PINBALL ..

THINKTANK.. FROGGER ....

ULTIMA HI

ZORK .

GATO SUB SIMULATOR .

,129 ... 28 ... 35 .... 35

.... 35

( IBM-BOARDS )

( APPLE-BOARDS )

ORANGE MICRO GRAPPLER 113

BUFFERED 168

MICROMAX GRAPHMAX 99

.. 139 ..189 .... 75

HERCULES GRAPHICS .... HERCULES COLOR New 1 .

AST SIX PAK W 64K

MEGAPLUS

..315 ..199

VIEWMAX 80E W 64K

MICROSOFT 16 RAM CARD . SOFTCARD ..

STB GRAPHIX PLUS..

259

322

EVEREX GRAPHIC EDGE Low!!

H.D. CONTROLLER 299

MAJIC CARD Low!!

QUADRAM QUADBOARD W 64K 269

QUADBOARD I 199

QUADLINK 449

IBM MONOCHROME 249

COLOR GRAPHICS 219

PLANTRONICS COLOR PLUS 358

MA SYSTEMS PC PEACOCK

GRAPHICS 235

TECMAR GRAPHICS MASTER 475

( IBM ACCESSORIES)

64K RAM CHIPS 200ns ..

150ns ..

IBM KEYBOARDS..

..45 ..45

SOFTCARD PREMIUM PAK 475

( ACCESSORIES )

PRINTER RIBBONS ail makes Low!!!

64K RAM chips SALE 45

VERBATIM SS'DD diskettes 21

DS/DD diskettes 28

DYSAN SS/DD diskettes 26

DS/DD diskettes 34

DISK MINDER-PLEXI (75) 29

DISK MINDER W KEY (100) 34

SURGE PROTECTOR Compugard 69

PTI POWER BACK-UP 200 w 329

300 w 549

FINGERPRINTS-EPSON all model's'.. 48

PRINTER DUST COVER all models 10

MONI-BASE Monitor Stands 22

COMPUTER PAPER all makes Low!!!

PRINTER STANDS Plexiglass 29/39

COMPILERS SCall

KEYTRONICS 5151 NEW! 199

5150 189

MICRO-SOFT MOUSE low!!!

MOUSE SYSTEM-MOUSE 139

KOALA PAD 85

KRAFT JOYSTICKS 45

C

ATARI/C-64

d

ACCESSORIES low, low CALL!!

C-64 CARDCO +G 79

ATARI MP1150 94

APE FACE 69

PRINTER INTERFACES all SCall

QUADRAM 384K

QUADBOARD

W/64K RAM

$249

AST $229 SIX PAK PLUS

$249

w64K RAM

FRAMEWORK

^SHTON-TAIE

$399

EVEREX GRAPHICS EDGE

MONO AND COLOR ON A MONO MONITOR.

SHUGART

1 / 2 Hi-Drives $ 149 IBM™ $94 Q

360Kb drvs. £ I 9

Circle 63 on inquiry card.

• ••• •••••#!

A Leader In

Medical and Dental

Systems

• Appointment Scheduling

• Private Patient Billing

• Third Party Claim Form Preparation

• Medical Diagnostic Records

• Word Processing

• Continuous Financial History

WANG

MS-DOS,

^

^cippkz

MICRO COMPUTER DIVISION

55722 SANTA FE TRAIL Yucca Valley, Ca. 92284

(619) 365-9718

STOP DUST.

The leading

cause of

computer

maintenance

problems!

COMPUTER COVER CAN SAVE YOU COMPUTER MAINTENANCE COSTS!

DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED

COMPUTER COVERS

Washable covers to fit the Apple 11/lie, III and IBM. Attractive sable brown suede cloth with beige trim or soft beige with brown trim.

Brown Beige ITEM

D □ $18 Printer 15x12

□ D $22 Printer 16% x 14Va

D □ $26 Printer 24" x 13V!"

ALSO AVAILABLE D $35 IBM CPU/Keyboard monitor cover set. CA RESIDENTS ADD 6% SALES TAX.

Name .

City, State. Zip _

Card*

Exp. Date

□ Check □ Money Order D VISA D MasterCard

Covers by Babette, 42 Caledonia St., I

L__- Sausaltro, CA 94965 1-800-621-0851 ext. 231 -.--J

EVENT QUEUE

Contact Show Manager, Western Design Engineering Show, 999 Summer St., Stamford, CT 06905, (203) 964-8287. December 4-6

• SNA EXPLAINED

Systems Network Architecture. Atlanta, GA. Systems Network Architecture (SNA), IBM's design for an end-to-end communications network, is investigated. Course fee is $795. Contact Elaine Hadden Nicholas, Department of Continuing Education, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0385, (404) 894-2547. December 4-6

• COMPUTER MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE-CMG

XV, San Francisco, CA. Introductory and advanced tutorials, lectures, and product displays. Contact The Computer Measurement Group Inc., POB 26063, Phoenix, AZ 85068, (602) 995-0905. December 4-7

• BUSINESS SOFTWARE

Software Connection, Coliseum, New York City. This computer software exposition focuses on business applications. For more information, contact Conference Management Corp., 17 Washington St., Norwalk, CT 06854, (203) 852-0500. December 5-7

• VIDEO, OPTICAL DISKS GATHERING-The Fourth Annual Videodisc, Optical Disk, and CD-ROM Conference, Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, DC More than 30 sessions will delve into interactive videodiscs, digital optical disks, and CD-ROMs (compact disks). Complementary exhibits. Contact Meckler Communications, 520 Riverside Ave., West-port, CT 06880, (203) 226-6967. December 5-7

• GOLDEN STATE SHOW

California Computer Show, Hyatt Hotel Palo Alto, CA.

Products and technology for OEMs and sophisticated end users will be displayed by more than 65 companies. Contact Norm DeNardi Enterprises, Suite 204, 289 South San Antonio Rd., Los Altos. CA 94022, (415) 941-8440. December 6

• SHOW IN FLORIDA

The Great Southern Business and Computer Shows and Seminars, Leon County Civic Center, Tallahassee, FL. Computer hardware, software, peripherals, accessories, and word- and data-processing equipment will be featured. Contact Great Southern Computer Shows, POB 65 5, Jacksonville, FL 32201, (904) 3 56-1044. December 6-8

• STRATEGIC ISSUES CONSIDERED-The 1984/ 1985 Strategic Issues Conference, Americana Canyon Hotel, Palm Springs, CA. The theme for this conference is "Positioning for Success in the New Computer Market." A keynote address will be delivered by John Sculley, president and chief executive officer of Apple Computer Inc. Contact Corky Holden, Info Corp., 20833 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino, CA 95014-2107, (408) 973-1010.

December 10-13

• FIFTH GENERATION COMPUTERS-Fifth Generation and Super Computers: An International Symposium, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Lectures and panel discussions will be featured. Prototypes of several Japanese machines are expected to be shown for the first time outside Japan. Contact Fifth Generation and Super Computers Symposium 1984, Rotterdam Tourist Office, Stadhuisplein 19, 3012 AR Rotterdam, The Netherlands; tel: (010) 14 14 00; Tfelex: 21228 vvvnl.

December 11-13

{continued)

94 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 35 on inquiry card.

Panasonic Printers.

We help you

get it out of

your system.

/

Panasonic can help you get the maximum performance from your computer system. The computer has the capabilities you need, but to get the most out of the system, a quality professional printer is vital.

And that's a Panasonic printer.

Look to Panasonic for a full line of printers, compatible with most popular computer systems. They feature speedsof upto180cps, correspondence and near-letter quality, graphics capabilities, bi-directional printing with logic-seeking capabilities, proportional printing, carriages accepting paper 4" to 15" wide, cartridge ribbons, and adjustable tractor and friction feeds.

At Panasonic, we're very serious about the performance of our printers. Their reliability and our extensive

service network are a direct result of our commitment to quality. We offer a one-year limited warranty*, a nationwide regional technical support network, and a toll free number. When you use a Panasonic printer, you have an established high tech manufacturer behind you.

It's our business to offer you high quality peripherals-printers, computer displays, plotters, and data entry terminals. Find out how Panasonic can help you get it out of your system. Contact: Computer Products Division, Panasonic Industrial Company, Division of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, One Panasonic Way, Secaucus, N.J. 07094. Call TOLL FREE 800-222-0584, in New Jersey (201) 348-5337.

Panasonic

Industrial Company

M-Year Limited Warranty. (Carry-in or mail-in service.)

Atlanta, GA-(404)925-6830; Chicago, IL-(312)364-7900; Dallas,TX-(2

ress,CA-(714)895-7413.

EVENT QUEUE

• DEC SHOW

DEXPO West 84, The Sixth National DEC-Compatible Industry Exposition, Disneyland Hotel, Anaheim, CA. Products and services that support Digital Equipment Corporation's machines will be displayed, Contact Ex-poconsul International Inc., 55 Princeton-Hightstown Rd., Princeton Junction, NJ 08550, (609) 799-1661. December 11-14

• TECHNOLOGY UP-

DATE-Hi-Tech Update '84, Delta Ottawa Hotel, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. A series of presentations designed to inform senior management, engineers, and consultants. Sponsored by the Carleton University Faculty of Engineering. For further details, contact Conference Coll Inc., II38 Sherman Dr., Ottawa,

Ontario K2C 2M4, Canada, (613) 224-1741. December 12-13

• EDUCATIONAL COMPUTING—The Second Annual International Computers in Education Conference, Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. More than 100 exhibitors and 12 5 speakers will participate in conferences sponsored by the McGill University Faculty of Education. For more information, contact GEMS Conference and Consulting Services, POB 367, Snowdon, Montreal, Quebec H3X 3T6, Canada, (514) 735-1388.

December 12-14

• COMPUTERS AND SOFTWARE-The Fourth Annual Southeast Computer Show and Software Exposi-

ii

MAXIMUM IBM PC/ XT COMPATIBILITY

II' H' MADE IN USA

$595

OEM BASIC SYSTEM

*OEM Basic System *2-Drive PC-2000 System

$595 $1395 $1150

*10 Mega Byte XT200a %stem !™

SBS PC/XT-2000 System includes: •Mother Board with 2 Serial & 1 Parallel Ports »128K Expandable to 640K •Keyboard •TEAC Drivecs) with controller »Color Graphics Card »(XT with Hard Disk and controller) . • —

Basic System Ideal for

IBM PC NETWORK

a sk and

(Minimum Order 10 Units) (Special**), $1595 (List) (Dealer at Quantity 2 Price) (Special**), $2495 (List) (Dealer at Quantity 2 Price)

"Special Prices at Participating Dealerships •10 Mega Byte HARD DISK ami controller *e#*e (Low Quantities) *05fO

tion, Civic Center, Atlanta, GA. Contact CompuShows, POB 3315, Annapolis, MD 2I403, (800) 368-2066; in Annapolis, (301) 263-8044; in Baltimore. (301) 269-7694; in the District of Columbia, (202) 261-1047. December 13-16

• CAD/CAM SEMINAR

Carl Machover on CAD/CAM, Cathedral Hill Hotel, San Francisco, CA. Contact Carol Every, Frost & Sullivan Inc., 106 Fulton St., New York, NY 10038, (212) 233-1080. December 17-19

• BRIEFING ON ADVANCED LANGUAGES

Structured Techniques Using Fourth Generation Languages, Dallas, TX. See November 19-21 for details. December 18-20

• BUSINESS GRAPHICS SEMINAR—Carl Machover on Business Graphics, Cathedral Hill Hotel, San Francisco, CA. Contact Carol Every, Frost & Sullivan Inc., 106 Fulton St., New York, NY 10038, (212) 233-1080. December 20-21

January 1985

• HANDS-ON LEARNING

Hands-On Computer Seminars, Wintergreen, VA. Seminars offered are "Introduction to Personal Computing," "Word Processing/Information Management," and "Spreadsheet-ing/Graphing." Each spans a four-day period and provides 14 hours of hands-on practice. Rates, which include lodging and ski-lift tickets, vary from $570 to $975, depending on accommodations. Contact Dr. M. D. Corcoran, Wintergreen Learning Institute, POB 7, Wintergreen, VA 22958, (800) 32 5-2200; in Virginia, (804) 32 5-1107. January-March

• SYSTEM SCIENCE EXAMINED-The Eighteenth Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences: HICSS-18, Honolulu, HI. A series of conferences devoted to advances in information and system sciences. Major topic areas are hardware, software, decision-support and knowledge-based systems, and medical information processing. Contact Nem B. Lau, HICSS-18 Conference Coordinator, Center for Executive Development, College of Business Administration, University of Hawaii, 2404 Maile Way, C-202, Honolulu, HI 96822, (808) 948-7396.

]anuary 2-4

• GIZMOS GALORE

Consumer Electronics Show, Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV One of the largest shows of consumer electronics products. Contact Consumer Electronics Office, Suite 300, 2001 Eye Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, (202) 457-8700. January 5-8

• MANAGE RESOURCES

WISELY—Managing Computer Resources, Wintergreen, VA. Focuses on networking, system design, performance evaluation, and operational difficulties encountered by managers and executives. Rates include lodging and ski-lift tickets and vary from $570 to $769 depending on accommodations. Contact Dr. M. D. Corcoran, Wintergreen Learning Institute, POB 7. Wintergreen, VA 22958, (800) 32 5-2200; in Virginia, (804) 32 5-1107. January 7-11

• STERLING COMPUTER

SHOW-The Fourth Annual Sauk Valley Computer Club Computer Show, Northland Mall, East Lincolnway, Sterling, IL. Businesses, schools, and users groups from the area will display and dem-

96 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 203 for Dealer Inquiries. Circle 204 for End-User Inquiries.

EVENT QUEUE

onstrate computers and related services. Admission is free. Contact Sauk Valley Computer Club, POB 702, Sterling, IL 61081, lanuary 12-13

• THINKING OF SOFTWARE— The Second Annual International Software Update, Kahala Hilton Hotel, Oahu, HI. Speakers from the U.S., Europe, and Pacific Rim nations will discuss trends, current difficulties, possible solutions to marketing problems, and the future of software. Attendance is limited. Contact Raging Bear Productions Inc., Suite 175, 21 Tamal Vista Dr., Corte Madera, CA 94925. (800) 732-2300; in California, (415) 924-1 194. lanuary 14-18

• SCSI DEVELOPMENTS

Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) Forum, Fort Lauderdale, FL. A seminar and exhibit devoted to SCSI controllers and peripherals. Contact Mr. }. Molina, SCSI Forum Ltd., POB 262 5, Pomona. CA 91768-2625, (213) 410-3952. lanuary 15

• COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY CONFERS

COMMTEX International and The 1985 NAVA, Convention Center, Anaheim, CA. COMMTEX features audiovisual, video, and microcomputer products for business, education, and government. NAVA, the conference and convention of the International Communications Industries Association, is made up of numerous seminars, general sessions, and special-interest group meetings. Contact International Communications Industries Association, 3150 Spring St., Fairfax, VA 22031-2399, (703) 273-7200. lanuary 16-2 1

• OPTICAL ENGINEERING SYMPOSIUM-The 1985 Symposium on Optical and

Electro-Optical Engineering and Instrument Exhibit, Marriott Hotel, Los Angeles, CA This symposium, sponsored by the International Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE), is made up of conferences, exhibits, and tutorial short courses. Contact SPIE, POB 10, Bellingham, WA 98227-0010. January 20-2 5

• UNIX USERS UNITE

The 1985 UniForum: The International Conference of UNIX System Users, Info-mart, Dallas, TX. More than 400 companies are expected to exhibit UNIX-related equipment. A conference program is planned. UniForum, sponsored by the /usr/group, will be held in conjunction with the grand opening of Dallas's International Information Processing Market Center (Infomart). Contact Professional Exposition Management Co., Suite 205, 2400 East Devon Ave., Des Plaines, IL 60018, (800) 323-5155; in Illinois, (312) 299-3131. lanuary 21-25

• NETWORK CONFERENCE, EXPO-The

Seventh Annual Communications Networks Conference and Exposition, Convention Center, Washington, DC Contact Communications Networks 1985, POB 880, Framingham, MA 01701, (800) 22 5-4698; in Massachusetts (617) 879-0700. January 29-31

• PAN AMERICAN CON-FERENCE— The First International Information Management Congress Pan American Conference, Caribe Hilton International Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico Seminars and product exhibits on advanced micrographics and office automation. Contact IMC Pan American Conference, POB 34404, Bethesda, MD 20817, (301) 983-0604.

lanuary 30-31 ■

LMC's 32-Bit Virtual Memory MegaMicro Is The-State-Of-The-Art UNIX Microcomputer

LMC's 32-bit MegaMicro provides mainframe or super-minicomputer performance at prices competitive with today's far less powerful 8- and 16-bit microcomputers. This is made possible by use of the next generation of logic chips-the National Semiconductor 16000-series. LMC MegaMicros incorporate: the NS16032 central processing unit which has true 32-bit internal logic and internal data path configured on the IEEE 796 multibus; demand-paged virtual memory implemented in hardware; and hardware 64-bit double-precision floating-point arithmetic.

The LMC MegaMicro is supplied with HCR's UNITY* which is a full implementation of UNIX** and includes the Berkeley 4.1 enhancements to take advantage of demand-paged virtual memory. Also included are C and FORTRAN. TVpical multiuser systems with 33 megs, of fast (30 ms. average access time) Winchester disk storage, a half meg. of RAM, virtual memory, hardware floating-point arithmetic, UNIX, C, and FORTRAN 77 are available for $20,000 (and even less with quantity or OEM discounts).

* UNITY is a IVademark of Human Computing Resources. *TNIX is a IVademark of Bell Laboratories.

LMC MegaMicros The Logical Alternative™

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A member of The Marrnon Group of companies Circle 248 on inquiry card. NOVEMBER 1984 • B Y T E 97

THE LIGHTS WILL COME BACK ON. YOUR DATA MAY NOT.

When the power goes down, so does your computer—maybe taking your data with it.

If you had last year's sales figures with next year's projections on screen, you're going to be in the dark a long time. Maybe too long.

Unless you backup your data.

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Shown above, the 20 megabyte Hard File with 20 megabyte tape for $2,995.

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Tallgrass took the industry's most reliable medium—magnetic tape—and perfected a format that's become the standard for personal computers.

We used a removable tape cartridge to store data out of

98 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

harm's way. And made two versions. Our 3000 Series HardFiles combine tape's accuracy with the enormous capacities of hard disk, with 12,20,35 or 70 megabytes storage with a removable cartridge tape for backup. Our 4060 tape storage system, for personal computers with hard disks built in, supplies 60 megabytes of backup capacity.

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Hard File'" and Tallgrass* are trademarks of

Tallgrass Technologies Corporation. © 1984 Tallgrass Technologies.

/

/

X

BYTE

Features

The Data General/One

by Gregg Williams and Ken Sheldon 102

Ciarcias Circuit Cellar: The Lis ner 1000

by Steve Garcia 110

A Go Board for the Macintosh

by Bruce F. Webster 125

A Travesty Generator for Micros

by Hugh Kenner and Joseph O'Rourke .... 129

The Pick Operating System, Part 2: System Control

by Rick Cook and ]ohn Brandon 132

AG AT A Soviet Apple II Computer

by Leo D. Bores, M. D 134

A TRAVESTY IS a distorted, stylistically incongruous translation or imitation of a literary or artistic endeavor. Some puns are travesties; so is a Mark Russell musical parody. In the computer business, people sometimes think that documentation is a travesty.

A travesty is an interesting study for a linguist. Until the invention of the computer, however, analyzing the frequency of various letter combinations was tedious at best. But today even microcomputers aid the student of language in examining the frequency of letter patterns in ordinary text. It is even possible to imitate the style of a writer by generating text based on the patterns observed in a particular passage. This month's feature article by Hugh Kenner and Joseph O'Rourke describes a travesty generator written in Pascal. The program uses frequency tables and reveals that the best algorithm is slow but the faster algorithm misses certain patterns. Regardless, the possibilities for the linguist, or the entrepreneur looking for a name for his newest company, are exciting.

The big new product of the fall turns out to be small—Data General's new eight-pound, PC-compatible portable computer called the One Technical editors Gregg Williams and Ken Sheldon report on the custom gate arrays, CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) chips, and efficiently used printed-circuit board space (with surface-mounted ICs) that permit packaging desktop power in a true briefcase portable. A sub-$3000 price tag makes the Data General/One affordable but imperfect LCD technology might hurt the machine's acceptance.

Steve Ciarcia travels to the cutting edge of technology again this month, building what he believes is the first speech-recognition device based on the new General Instruments SP1000 voice-recognition chip. This is a low-cost, high-performance, voice-recognition hardware project.

Contributing editor Bruce Webster recently learned the MacFORTH programming language in order to produce some software for his Macintosh. The result is a game board for the Japanese game of go. Webster's software doesn't play the game; it automates the board manipulations of two human opponents and might prevent that aggravating ploy known as "go-stones pick up."

Dr. Leo Bores's recent medical-research visits to the Soviet Union turned up an interesting surprise—an Apple computer clone. At $17,000, this machine is not likely to flood American shores as did the wave of Apple copies from the Far East. The existence of such a machine could add a new dimension to Soviet-American relations, however, if Jobs and Wozniak decide to sue.

November's concluding feature the second installment in our series on the Pick operating system, examines programming, portability and batch processing. Rick Cook and John Brandon discover that Pick is easier to use than UNIX and provides powerful BASIC program-development tools.

—G. Michael Vose, Senior Technical Editor, Features

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 101

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

THE DATA GENERAL

ONE

A \0-pound battery-powered portable that's fully compatible

with the IBM PC

Editor's Note: The following is a BYTE product description. It is not a review. We provide an advance look at this new product because we feel it is significant. A complete review will follow in a subsequent issue.

IMAGINE A PORTABLE COMPUTER that weighs only 10 pounds but has a full-size display screen, a standard keyboard, and two disk drives. Imagine that it can run for up to eight hours on built-in batteries or use an ordinary wall outlet. Now imagine that it is software-compatible with the IBM Personal Computer (PC) and can have up to 512K bytes of internal RAM (random-access read/write memory). Imagine two serial ports, an optional built-in modem, and an expansion bus that will let you connect the system to a monitor in your office or add on third-party hardware.

Earlier this year, David Winer, president of Living Videotext and publisher of Thinkfank, dreamed of just such a portable computer (see "Portables—1984 and Beyond," by David Winer and Peter Winer, in the January BYTE, page 243). Winer predicted that this ideal portable would take two to three years to arrive, that it would weigh up to 2 5 pounds, and that it would cost up to $5000.

Imagine Winer's surprise when, in June, he received a preproduction unit that included all of the above features and was told that the system would be available this fall for "well under $3000."

The system is the $2895 Data General/One a portable computer that incorporates a number of state-of-the-art innovations in a sleek 10-pound package

The Data General/One features a full-size, flip-up LCD

Gregg Williams is a senior technical editor and Ken Sheldon is a technical editor for BYTE. They can be contacted at POB 372, Hancock, NH 03449.

(liquid-crystal display) screen that displays 2 5 lines of 80 characters, or 2 56 by 640 pixels for software that uses bit-mapped graphics. Although the display is less than an inch thick, its viewing surface is as large as that of a standard IBM monitor and much larger than the displays of other portable computers. (There are, unfortunately, some trade-offs associated with such a large LCD, as we'll explain later.) Although color graphics are not yet available, the video system will display most monochrome and color graphics in shades of gray.

The Data General/One's keyboard (see photo 1c) is a standard, full-size, low-profile QWERTY keyboard with a variety of special and function keys designed to make it compatible with the IBM PC while maintaining compatibility with the Data General line of computers. Thus, IBM's Control, Alternate, and Delete keys are present, as well as Data General's Command and Special keys and even a blank key for future use.

Ten function keys are arrayed across the top of the keyboard, and above them is a ridge for inserting plastic command cards for programs such as word processing. Four cursor-control keys are lined up along the bottom right.

Like other PC clones—and unlike the IBM PC—the Data General/One has large Shift and Return keys in the places where a typist would hope to find them. Finally, a numeric keypad is superimposed over a group of keys on the right-hand side of the keyboard; it's activated by hitting the Num Lock key. (continued)

Photo 1: The Data GeneraliOne with case closed (la) and case open (\b). The keyboard (\c) is a full-size QWERTY unit compatible with IBM's PC and Data Generals line of computers. The portable comes with a VA-inch microfloppy-disk drive on the right-hand side (Id), and there's room for an additional drive.

by Gregg Williams and Ken Sheldon

102 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

PHOTOGRAPHED BY PAUL AVIS

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 103

The Data General/One comes with a 3/2-inch floppy-disk drive on the right-hand side, and there's room for an additional built-in drive (see photo Id). These double-sided drives provide 512 bytes per sector, 8 or 9 sectors per track, and 40 or 80 tracks per side—a maximum of 720K bytes of storage per disk. An external 5^-inch drive, with up to 360K bytes per disk, may also be attached to the unit. With this external drive the Data General/One can run most of the software available for the IBM PC or transfer software that's not copy-protected to 3/2-inch disks. At the time of this writing, 20 major software packages are already available in 3 /2-inch format, including Lotus 1-2-3, WordStar, dBASE 11, VisiCalc, and the PFS series.

An A/C adapter, included in the base price, enables you to use the system with a wall outlet. You can also install an optional battery pack containing 10 nickel-cadmium batteries by removing a cover on top of the machine. The battery pack comes with a recharger that lets you charge the batteries from a wall outlet, even while running the system from another outlet.

On the back of the Data General/One are a bus-expansion connector and two RS-232C serial ports. One of the serial ports also doubles as an RS-422 port, thanks to a program-controllable switch.

Options

Options for the Data General/One include internal memory expansion in 128K-byte chunks (up to 512K bytes maximum), a built-in 300-bps (bits per second) modem, an external 5!4-inch drive, an external 1200-bps modem, the battery pack and charger, a carrying case, and a portable printer. The printer has a 27-pin print head that provides type that's quite readable on thermal paper or smooth sheet paper—this rules out rough-surfaced bond paper. The printer can run from the system's power supply or its own set of nickel-cadmium batteries.

Software

The Data General/One supports MS-DOS, CP/M-86, and various programming languages. According to Data General's software team, a great deal of IBM PC software will run as is, using the external 5^-inch drive. In addition, several software developers have signed agreements with Data General to release their software in 3/2-inch format. Among these developers are AshtonTate, Infocom, Lotus Development Corporation, MicroPro, Microsoft, Peachtree, and Software Arts.

A few pieces of software have been built into the system's ROM (read-only memory). These programs include Notebook, a kind of scratch pad that lets you print output or send it via modem to another computer (but does not let you save it); Terminal, which enables the computer to act as a dumb terminal to the Data General line

of minicomputers; and a system configurator that lets you configure the Data General/One for different monitors, keyboards, printers, and so on. Each of these programs is menu-driven and makes use of the function keys. Data General has also announced DG Tferm, an advanced terminal program, and CEO Connection, which enables the Data General/One to tie into the company's CEO office-automation system.

Inside

The Data General/One is built around the 80C88, a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) version of the 8088 microprocessor used in the IBM PC and most of the PC clones. The 80C88 uses less power than the 8088—an obvious advantage in a portable system— but it is a little slower, operating at 4 MHz as compared to the 8088's 4.77 MHz.

The Data General/One comes with 128K bytes of RAM on the main printed-circuit board, 80K bytes of which is available to the user. (The system uses 48K bytes of RAM to manage screen graphics.) Also located on the main board are 32K bytes of ROM that contain the BIOS (basic input/output system), diagnostics, and built-in software.

Mounted on the main board is a small box in which up to three 128K-byte memory expansion cards may be added, providing a maximum of 512K bytes, with 464K bytes available for user programs.

The I/O (input/output) components are located on a separate card, as are the power-supply components, and the disk-controller hardware is located on top of the disk drive(s). An optional 300-bps modem card may also be installed internally

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS

The Data General/One could not have been built without pushing current technology to the limit—in many cases, designing the machine around parts announced but at the time not available. Three innovations stand out: technology to create an LCD panel the size of a standard monitor display, the inclusion of custom gate arrays that decrease the component count, and the use of CMOS parts to reduce heat and power consumption.

The Data General/One's LCD panel is innovative from both manufacturing and design standpoints. A liquid-crystal display consists of two glass sheets separated by a conductive liquid material. Nippon Data General engineers overcame manufacturing difficulties associated with creating an LCD of this size, the main problems being the size of the glass sheets and the evenness of the distance between the two inner surfaces.

LCDs are often criticized for being "slow—that is, leaving a ghost image that fades slowly enough for the eye

{continued)

104 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Development of the Data General/One

According to Kazuhiro Miyashita, head of the research and development team that designed the Data General/One, a portable computer was the last thing on his mind when he went to the National Computer Conference (NCC) in May of 1982.

"We had just finished designing a laser printer for Nippon Data General, and 1 went to NCC in search of a new project for our team," Miyashita says. 'At the time, we had no intention of doing a portable computer."

At NCC, however, laptop portables such as the Gavilan were stealing the show, and when Miyashita returned to japan, his list of possible projects included a proposal for a portable computer. The laptop project was approved in September of 1983.

At the time, the proposal was only a concept, with none of the hardware specified. By January of 1984, however, an initial design was presented, one that included a large LjCD (liquid-crystal display) screen and emphasis on CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) technology. In other respects, the design differed significantly from the final product. The cover of the proposed portable flipped aside to reveal an LCD, a microcassette, and a small keyboard. It looked, literally like a three-ring notebook—thus the code name for the project, Book-I.

The microcassette was the first major element to change; it was replaced by a floppy-disk drive because, as Bob Miller, senior vice president for Data General, put it, "Nobody's going to buy a portable computer with a microcassette."

Although there were many floppy-disk options to choose from, the design team settled on 3'/2-inch drives (licensed by Sony and made by Epson) for three main reasons: a small size that would allow for two built-in drives, less power drain than other drives, and use of hard-shell disks that can contain increased amounts of data.

The change in storage media dictated a change in software philosophy, away from a concentration on ROM (readonly memory) software and toward mass-market applications. To the Data General software team located in North Carolina—they had struggled to convince vendors to make software for the company's Desktop Generation microcomputer—this meant only one thing: as much IBM PC compatibility as they could get. Ironically then, it was the third-party software team that spelled out the requirements for much of the Data General/One's internal hardware, in order to make the system IBM PC compatible.

In lune of 1983, Edson DeCastro, president of Data General, visited Nippon Data General to discuss the project. DeCastro wanted the portable to be compatible with his company's line of mini- and microcomputers; he pressed the team to incorporate a full 2 5-line by 80-column display in the design. Nippon Data General's contacts with other Japanese manufacturers quickly became invaluable

The largest LCDs available at the time were 480 by 128 pixels, and no vendor was willing to commit to making a larger screen because the technical challenges were too great. Miyashita was able to convince two vendors, however, that to develop a full-size LCD screen would be beneficial for all involved. In September, Hitachi agreed to try and make a 640- by 2 56-pixel LCD that would provide 2 5 rows and 80 columns of 7 by 9 characters (8 by 10 with spacing). Epson followed quickly thereafter. (Interestingly, the division of Epson that makes the LCDs is distinct from its sister company that makes portable computers. The LCD maker apparently prefers to sell its parts to outside companies because it makes more money that way. As one member of Data General's third-party software team put it, ' 'Good old capitalism strikes again")

By October of 1983, the essential elements of the design had been finalized in spite of the fact that major parts, such as the LCD and 80C88 microprocessor, were not available yet. "We had to design to the specifications given to us by the parts designers and synchronize our design with theirs," Miyashita says. In this "design by speculation," Nippon Data General had an advantage over American laptop portable manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard and Apple, which have had trouble getting Japanese manufacturers to commit to volume production of large LCDs.

During this time, the design of the Data General/One's case was taking place in Data General's Westboro, Massachusetts, division, while development of the ROM software and deals with third-party software vendors were taking place in North Carolina. The ROM software was purposely limited so as not to scare off the vendors of application software; those vendors generally found that making versions of their programs for the Data General/ One consisted of simply putting the IBM PC version on a 3/2-inch microfloppy disk.

In January, the "final form factor" of the project was completed—a prototype with essentially the same external appearance as the final product would have. Still, neither the 80C88 nor the commercial gate arrays were yet available; they were included in the second prototype, released in April. The third and final prototype was unveiled in June, and preproduction units began shipping to third-party software developers, like David Winer of Living Videotext.

"We were blown away," Winer says. "When we wrote the article for BYTE I see "Portables—1984 and Beyond" on page 243 of the January issuej, it seemed as if we were being overam-bitious in our projections. Actually, we were conservative."

NOVEMBER 1984 » BYTE 105

to catch. The challenge for the designers of the Data General/One was to create a full-size panel that would be both readable and v, fast." Faster LCDs have to receive electrical pulses more often in order to retain their opacity, a doubly difficult challenge for a proposed panel with more than 2.6 times as many pixels as the largest LCDs being produced then (640 by 2 56 pixels versus 480 by 128 pixels).

The solution was an ingenious one. Since there was no way to pulse 163,840 pixels often enough to produce a dark image, the designers created a single physical panel divided electrically into a number of smaller panels that are driven simultaneously Functions such as smooth scrolling from one screen to another are tricky with this kind of system, and the challenge was finding video-display drivers that could handle the task.

The engineers solved this problem by using CMOS gate arrays, which also significantly contributed to the Data General/One's compactness and portability. TWo 4000-gate gate arrays control the video display and replace about 500 integrated circuits (ICs), which would use lots of space and power: one gate array controls the LCD panel's contents and contrast, based on the contents of video memory; the other mediates the processor's access to video memory and emulates a superset of the functions of the Motorola 6845 video-controller chip (the one used in the IBM PC). The computer "sees" the same character and graphics memory areas as are in the IBM PC

Reducing Power Consumption

As previously stated, extensive use of CMOS parts such as the 80C88 processor and the memory chips radically decreases the power needed to run the Data General/ One. (Because machines using CMOS parts also develop negligible heat, a designer can create compact designs without having to worry about heat-dissipation problems.) CMOS integrated circuits hold information with virtually no current (usually in the range of microamps) and require only milliamps of extra current when that information is being accessed or changed. Also, the 80C88 has half as many data lines as its parent chip, the 80C86. Although this means about a 20 percent decrease in processing power, it also means that the computer has eight fewer data lines to drive.

The designers also reduced power consumption by careful choice of their 64K-byte static CMOS RAM chips. Most memory designs use 64K- by 1-bit designs, thus requiring eight chips to be activated to retrieve a single byte (1 bit from each chip); by using 8K- by 8-bit chips, the designers made it possible for the processor to read or write 1 byte of data by activating only one CMOS chip.

Finally the designers created hardware and software that automatically switch power on and off to subsystems

(such as the floppy disks and communications subsystem) that normally consume large amounts of power.

Making It Smaller

The Data General/One fits in a space of 355 cubic inches—about the size of two three-ring binders. The wise choice of components (31^-inch disk drives, gate arrays, and the thin LCD panel) helps in terms of size as does a state-of-the-art printed-circuit-board technique known as surface mounting. Surface mounting lets manufacturers put specially packaged ICs directly onto the copper traces without having to first drill holes through the board. The lack of holes means that the designers can lay more traces per board and use both sides of the board. For example, the 128K-byte memory card (see photo 2b) packs 18 ICs onto both sides of a board about the size of a playing card and only a quarter-inch thick.

Other Innovations

Because the Data General/One is not designed to be opened by the end user, the machine's engineers included the aforementioned configuration program in ROM. The user's choices are stored in RAM, backed up by a lithium battery that should, according to Data General, last for three years.

Another nice touch is that the Data General/One character set is downloaded from ROM to RAM at C5000 hexadecimal (see table 1). This lets software vendors and other programmers redefine the character set, a feature that often makes software more versatile.

IBM PC COMPATIBILITY

According to Data General, programs that use the documented IBM DOS and BIOS interfaces will run on the external 514-inch drive without modification. Although we did not conduct exhaustive tests, a fair amount of the PC software we had on hand booted up without problems, including WordStar, PeachText, PC-Talk, TUrbo Pascal, and others. Some programs exhibited problems. Flight Simulator ran fine, but there were scattered pieces of graphics along the top and bottom of the screen. Lotus 1-2-3 ran well except that the printer driver did not work; the 3'/2-inch-disk version announced concurrently with the Data General/One does not have this problem. On the hardware end, Data General has announced

{continued)

Photo 2: A top view (2a) of a preproduction Data General! One shows the power-supply board at top left, the disk-drive controllers at the right, and the main board at bottom left. The I/O board is not shown. A case mounted on the motherboard holds \28K-byte RAM cards {2b), which are the size of playing cards. The bottom of the main board is in 2c.

106 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

NOVEMBER 1984 • B Y T E 107

Table I: The Data General/One memory map. The 128K bytes of memory on the motherboard includes 80K bytes of available memory and 48K bytes of dual-ported RAM {marked with asterisks) used to support the LCD panel (This video memory actually totals 52K bytes, not 48K bytes. This is because 4K bytes are shared by the monochrome and color-video memory areas and are mapped to the appropriate address depending on the video mode that is active at the moment)

BEGINNING

LOCATION AMOUNT

(HEXADECIMAL) OF MEMORY

NOTES

F0000

32K bytes

system ROM; includes BIOS, bootstrap code, Notebook and Terminal programs

FFFFF

end of address space

its intention to release an expansion chassis that will enable you to add IBM PC-compatible plug-in boards.

Caveat

The information in this product description is based on two days of meetings with Data General people, a telephone conversation with the design team leader in Japan, access to the Data General/One programmer's manual and more than a week's access to a fully functional, late-preproduction machine with 512K bytes of memory, two 3'/2-inch disk drives, battery pack, internal modem, and external 5!4-inch floppy-disk drive. All photos and measurements in this article were taken from this preproduc-tion machine.

Initial Tests

We ran a few tests on the Data General/One in our offices. The system completes its internal memory test (with 512K bytes) in 10.3 seconds; an IBM PC at BYTE with the same amount of memory takes 43.8 seconds.

Data General claims the batteries will last 8 to 10 hours with the disk being used 20 percent of the time. With the battery fully charged, the Data General/One we tested lasted 6 hours, 51 minutes running a GW BASIC program that wrote to disk once a minute, a process that took 8 seconds, resulting in a 13.3 percent duty cycle. (The nickel-cadmium batteries are said to recharge in 6 to 8 hours; for this test, we left the recharger connected overnight.)

The infamous Gilbreath Sieve of Eratosthenes benchmark took 202 seconds to complete one iteration using Microsoft's GW BASIC; the IBM PC took 191 seconds using its BASICA.

The prototype Data General/One we had (fully configured) weighed 12 pounds, 10 ounces. The AC power adapter weighed 1 pound, 13 ounces. The battery recharger weighed 4 ounces.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Data General/One's most important strength is that it is truly portable and fully functional. We've seen machines that are small light (under 15 pounds), and useful (the Radio Shack Model 100 is the most popular example so far). But this is the first such machine that is as useful as the computer on your office desk, has 512K bytes of memory, an LCD panel the size of a standard display, two large-capacity disk drives, a comfortable keyboard, and a modem.

One of the nicest things about the LCD panel is that its low-persistence pixels make it possible for text to scroll at normal display speed without leaving behind ghost images (a problem with many LCD panels). It is also different in that it uses 2-to-l aspect pixels (rectangular pixels twice as high as they are wide) instead

108 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

of the 1 -to-1 aspect pixels used in other LCD panels. Because the 2-to-l aspect pixel most closely matches that of video displays, the Data General/One display looks like a CRT (cathode-ray tube) display, while others (the announced LCD panel for the Apple He, for example) give a distorted image that is compressed vertically.

The Data General/One brings us again to the inevitable adjustments to yet another keyboard layout. All in all, Data General has done a good job of creating a keyboard that is compatible with both IBM PC and Data General keyboards. The keys, though they give some audible feedback, are not as loud as those of the IBM PC or other portables. For those of us who have finally gotten used to the location of the left Shift key on the IBM PC, Data General's decision to place it in its preferred, pre-PC position means we'll have to readjust again.

One change that we like is the placement of the function keys above the number keys. This enables you to insert directly above the keys plastic templates that tell the function of each key and its function when used with Shift, Control, and Control-Shift. Because Data General computers have 15 function keys, the keyboard layout lets Data General software use the Fl through F10 keys and the five keys to their right as function keys.

Data General is to be commended for choosing a standard disk format for its 3 '/2-inch drives. The Data General/ One uses unmodified Sony 80-track, double-sided disk drives and formats each track as nine 512-byte sectors; this is the proposed standard used by Microsoft for 3/2-inch-disk MS-DOS systems. Hewlett-Packard and Apple, the first major vendors to use 3!/2-inch drives, have both used incompatible, nonstandard disk formats. According to one engineer, Data General places a high value on industry-wide compatibility and hopes that future vendors will adopt this format. (The Data General/ One can read and write disks using one or two sides and 8 or 9 sectors per track. With some limitations, it can also write sectors of 128, 2 56, and 1024 bytes each.)

On the negative side, we must point out that the LCD panel is difficult to read in conditions less than ideal. It looks great if you have diffuse light coming over one shoulder and you're wearing light-colored clothing; otherwise, the image is not strong enough to overcome the image reflected on the glass face of the LCD (even when you adjust the LCD's contrast). Also, because of the physics of driving rows and columns of LCD pixels, you can see faint streaks above and below and dark vertical bars in the LCD image. The LCD image is functional-good enough for an airport but not for sustained use at the office. (Fortunately, Data General claims it will fix this inadequacy with a "system expansion box"; see "Plans.")

Another disappointment is the quality of the ROM-based Notebook and Terminal programs, which are

limited in that they cannot interact with the microfloppy disks. Although you can use the Notebook to write something and print it out (or transmit it to a remote computer using the Terminal program), you cannot recall and save work directly to a disk, which makes us think that we wouldn't use these programs very often. The Data General engineers explained that the two programs "came free" because of ROM space left over after the Configuration program had been written. They also didn't want to anger third-party software developers, who are less enthusiastic about writing software for a given machine if adequate programs are bundled with it (in ROM or on disk).

Finally, we must point out a simple inadequacy of some importance: the machine has no built-in handle. Granted, Data General will offer several carrying cases, but they are too inconvenient for those times when you want to carry the machine to the library downstairs. Maybe someone will invent a harness that has a handle and never needs to be removed from the machine.

Plans

A Data General spokesperson said that a "system expansion box" would be available "60 to 90 days after product announcement" (September 20). Although he could not provide specifications for the unit, he said that it would definitely include the ability to drive a color or a monochrome monitor. With this feature (and perhaps the 5!4-inch disk drive), we can see possibly buying a Data General/One instead of an IBM PC.

On the Data General/One main board, there is an empty socket beside the 80C88 that is the same size as the empty socket beside the 8088 in the IBM PC. Since we now know that that IBM PC socket is meant to house an Intel 8087 arithmetic coprocessor chip, it is plausible to speculate that the empty Data General/One socket will house an 80C87 or some other coprocessor that will enhance the machine's performance. The Data General spokesperson would not comment, but he pointed out that the Data General/One is "not the only product in this line we intend to put out" and that Data General has plans to ensure that its products will provide state-of-the-art performance.

Another interesting possibility springs from the fact that there are four DMA (direct memory access) channels in the Data General/One, two internal and two external. Of the internal DMA channels, one is used for the 3 1 /2-inch drives, and the other is reserved "for future use." An obvious enhancement to this machine would be substitution of a 3^-inch Winchester hard disk (which might hold, say, 10 megabytes) for the second disk drive. A machine of such capacity, at less than half the weight of a suitcase-size AC-powered transportable computer, would be impressive indeed. ■

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE

110 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

CIARCIAS CIRCUIT CELLAR

THE LIS'NER 1000

by Steve Ciarcia

Build a low-cost, high-performance speech-recognition system

The concept of a computer understanding speech is not new. For years we have watched Capt. Kirk and Mr. Spock on the bridge of the Enterprise talking with the ship's computer or have remarked at the diabolical mind of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey. These computers represent the ultimate in automatic speech recognition (ASR). Unfortunately, most of their capabilities are still science fiction.

The ultimate goal of all speech-recognition techniques is to characterize the spoken word into a recognizable pattern. Specifically, ASR is the ability that would let a computer recognize the spoken word. Exactly how the words are spoken, however, determines the hardware cost and analysis techniques employed.

Speech-Recognition Units

The first type of unit is the speaker-dependent recognition system, which creates its recognition vocabulary by "listening" to the voice of a single speaker. It then concerns itself only with recognizing the same word as spoken by that speaker.

First, the user speaks into a microphone all the words the machine is to recognize. The acoustical characteristics of each word are analyzed and stored as templates, which

are digital patterns used by a recognition algorithm to identify words. The procedure of creating templates is referred to as training. Depending upon the available memory and the recognition-algorithm speed, the total vocabulary can be from 4 to 100 words. Generally speaking, the more words in the vocabulary, the longer it takes to recognize a specific word and the more sophisticated the algorithm must be.

The second type of unit is the speaker-independent recognition system. Other than HAL or the Enterprise computer, few functioning speaker-independent systems exist that have more than a 10-word vocabulary. This system requires no template training by a single speaker. Its speech templates are preprogrammed, and the matching algorithm is supposed to be adaptable to the voices of a variety of speakers and accents.

The third type of unit is unconnected speech. Also called discrete-utterance recognition, unconnected speech is simply single words preceded and followed by pauses. This is

[continued)

Steve Ciarcia (pronounced "see-ARE-see-ah") is an electronics engineer and computer consultant with experience in process control digital design, nuclear instrumentation, and product development. He is the author of several books about electronics. You can write to him at POB 582, Glastonbury, CT 06033.

COPYRIGHT © 1984 STEVEN A. CIARCIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 111

Photo 1: The General Instrument SP1000 voice-recognition chip.

Photo 2: A prototype printed-circuit board of the Apple II recognition-only Lis'ner 1000 circuit The two connectors on the top right are for an external speaker (RCA) and the microphone {minlphono). An IBM PC version is in the works.

Photo 3: A prototype printed-circuit board containing Lisner 1000 circuitry, which performs recognition, and speech-synthesis circuitry for the Apple II. It contains both the SP1000 and an SSI-263 speech synthesizer with a text-to-speech algorithm. Together they facilitate a functional hands-off computer with complete speech I/O.

the easiest recognition approach and generally the technique used in most inexpensive systems. Each template is for a single utterance that must be spoken as a discrete word rather than as part of a longer word or phrase.

The final type of unit is connected speech, Also called continuous speech, this is the way we normally talk. Unfortunately much of our understanding is dependent on recognizing the words in context. One major problem for the computer is coarticulation, where words are blended so that there are no distinct word boundaries for direct template matching. The result is costly computing overhead because every template must be aligned with every possible interval of the utterance. While significant advances have been made in this area, connected-speech ASR systems are expensive and generally require some monitoring of context as well.

Today most speech-recognition systems are discrete-utterance speaker-dependent units. They may be in the form of expansion boards for existing computers or stand-alone black boxes. Ultimately, however, their purpose is singular. When the user speaks, the computer analyzes the acoustical signal, compares it to the stored templates, and decides which most closely resembles the spoken word. Once a candidate is chosen, the computer can itself respond to the user's utterance or output a control signal to another device.

Each stage of the analysis and pattern-matching procedure can be carried out by a variety of techniques. The earliest techniques used a simple zero-crossing detector to produce a pattern somewhat related to frequency. It soon became evident that speech, which is a complex combination of frequencies, could not be so easily represented. The next refinement was to break the voice frequencies out through a series of filters and separately record energy levels. While economically attractive, since it used readily available components, the massive quantities of data gathered proved ponderous and slow to compute. Many systems on the market still use this technique.

One significant advance in estimating the amplitude spectrum of speech is linear predictive coding (LPC). Also known as autoregressive analysis, this method predicts the amplitude of a

112 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

speech waveform at any instant by combining the amplitudes at a number of earlier instants. The LPC coefficients that best approximate the speech waveform can be mathematically converted to approximate the amplitude spectrum. In speech applications, the LPC analyzer is basically a lattice of filters that approximate a series of resonant cavities, thus simulating the vocal tract.

A Circuit Cellar System

Up until now, it hasn't seemed worthwhile to present a speech-recognition system that merely imitated others. My article in the March 1982 BYTE ("Use Voiceprints to Analyze Speech," page 50) demonstrated the sepa-rated-filter and energy-level recording technique in the hopes that I could learn enough to quickly present an ASR system based on that principle. While feasible in theory, 1 ultimately scrapped the idea as having too many components, even if they were readily available. Since then, I have been watching for any new components that might improve the situation.

Fortunately, the wait has not been in vain. The new SP1000 voice-recognition chip from General Instrument allows me to demonstrate the construction of a low-cost, high-performance voice-recognition system (see photo 1). To my knowledge, this project is one of the first recognition devices using the SP1000.

The Circuit Cellar speech-recognition system, which I've called the Lis'ner 1000, is both a voice-recognition and voice-synthesizer board using the SP1000. The schematics i present are specifically for the Apple II, but they are applicable to other 6502-based systems such as the Commodore 64. The Apple II version plugs into any of the computer's expansion slots, but slot 4 is preferred. The Commodore 64 version (shown in the opening photo) plugs into the rear expansion connector. The Commodore board is configured for recognition only; the Apple II board, shown in photos 2 and 3, supports the LPC speech output from the SP1000 and has optional provision for an SSI-263 phonetic speech synthesizer with a text-to-speech algorithm.

The Lis'ner 1000 hardware forms merely the front end of a recognition system by performing feature extraction of the incoming audio signal. The

host microcomputer compares these features with those of the templates stored in memory and makes the recognition decisions. Such a separation of system tasks leaves control of system performance to the system designer. You can use the Lis'ner 1000 board in speaker-dependent or speaker-independent systems with connected or unconnected speech. The designer is not locked into a specific recognition algorithm that may not be suitable for a particular application. Instead, the recognition algorithm is contained in software

This project is one of the first recognition devices using the SP1000.

resident in the host microcomputer and can be easily upgraded to take advantage of advances in recognition techniques without requiring hardware redesign. In an effort to more fully support

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NOVEMBER 1984 • B Y T E 113

Figure 2: A CCL loop.

the Lis'ner 1000 and make it immediately usable, I've had developed a package of software routines that allows the board to function as a voice-operated keyboard on the Apple II and Commodore 64. Not to lose touch with true experimenters, however the source code necessary to make the basic system function will be available to those who build the project and want to modify the software (see Experimenter Support on page 123).

Figure 3: A block diagram of the voice-recognition hardware.

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The software I provide makes the Lis'ner 1000 a speaker-dependent, discrete-utterance recognition system. The present software supports 64 words in two groups of 32. You'll need a disk drive for either unit to function with the present software.

Before I get too far ahead, however, let me describe the SPIOOO chip itself and what's necessary to build the Lis'ner 1000.

General Instrument SPIOOO

The SPIOOO, block-diagramed in figure 1, is a 5-volt (V) 28-pin NMOS (negative-channel metal-oxide semiconductor) microprocessor peripheral chip that can be used for both speech recognition and LPC speech synthesis. Using a bidirectional data bus and control lines, the SPIOOO interfaces to most 8-bit processors as a memory-mapped peripheral device.

The unique aspect of the SPIOOO is its ability to do LPC analysis in real time. LPC analysis solves for the coefficients Ai in an equation of the form:

Xk = AiXk-i + A 2 X K _ 2 + ... +A N X K _ N

where X' K is an approximation of X K .

Typical techniques used to solve for the coefficients involve matrix calculations and manipulations. Such techniques, which require vast amounts of memory and extensive calculations, preclude their use on an inexpensive device at this time.

The SPIOOO uses a modified form of the correlation cancellation loop (CCL) shown in figure 2 in a recon-figurable lattice structure. The CCL approach can be used to operate directly on the incoming data stream without extensive buffering of data or exorbitant processing power. The predictor coefficients (Ai) are taken from the integrator output of each stage. The stages can be cascaded for higher-order analysis and multiplexed in low-bandwidth applications.

In simpler terms, by modifying the feedback-control scheme within the filter itself, the ultimate number of computations is reduced. The CCL approach requires 300 bits of working storage versus 3 kilobits for a standard covariance or autocorrelation analysis. It also has the interesting property of being able to run backward with a minimum of reconfiguration. This property allows the SPIOOO to be used as a speech synthesizer as well as an analyzer for recognition.

114 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

The SP1000 can perform useful speech analysis with a relatively inexpensive 8-bit A/D (analog-to-digital) converter. The major reason for this is the use of an on-board automatic-gain-control (AGC) algorithm. The three gain outputs from the SPIOOO are used to control a variable gain amplifier. The SPIOOO tests the 2 most significant bits of each incoming sample and lowers the gain if they are too high. The net effect is to keep the amplitude of the analog signal within the dynamic range of the A/D converter, preventing distortion and stabilizing the signal level entering the lattice filter.

When used as a synthesizer, the filter is presented with LPC coefficients of the speech frame to be synthesized. Typically, these coefficients are computed on a minicomputer and stored as files to be loaded into the microprocessor's memory. Eventually, General Instrument intends to supply an allophone set that will let the user synthesize any word using a text-to-speech algorithm or dictionary table. The functional use of the Lis'ner 1000 in recognition applications is not dependent on this software, which can be added when it is available.

The desire for user-programmable voice-output capability immediately did not go unnoticed, however. I anticipated the interest in a functional recognition/synthesizer board and purposely designed the Lis'ner 1000 to perform as one. While the project described is for an SPlOOOonly device, the Apple II printed-circuit board for this project is also etched to accommodate an SSI-263 phonetic speech-synthesizer chip (see ,l Build a Third-Generation Phonetic Speech Synthesizer," March, page 28). Adding the SSI-263 and the text-to-speech algorithm facilitates true voice I/O (input/output) and supports both phonetic-generated and allophone-generated (LPC) speech.

Building the Lis'ner 1000

Figure 3 is a block diagram of the recognition portion of the Lis'ner 1000, which interfaces to the Apple II and Commodore 64 through an 8-bit bidirectional bus and a few control lines. The SPIOOO occupies four address locations and is written to or read from as any other peripheral device at that address. Data is transferred through the data lines whenever the chip-select line is active. The read/

The source code that is necessary to make the basic system function will be available.

write line determines the direction of the transfer, and the two address lines specify the particular register within the chip. Of the four registers, three are read/write and one is write only

A typical system consists of the SPIOOO and an assortment of analog components. The analog interface consists of filters, amplifiers, switches, and an A/D converter. The purpose of the circuitry is to convert the utterances spoken by the user into a form that the chip can understand. The entire circuit is designed to run on +5 V and, except for the SPIOOO connection to the host computer, is virtually the same for all applications.

The first section (see figure 4) contains the microphone input and high-pass filter. For best performance, you should use a 600-ohm-impedance, condenser-type electret microphone.

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To avoid background noise pickup, I suggest the microphone headset combination shown in the opening photo. This keeps the microphone close to the mouth and limits interference.

The high-pass filter removes all sounds below 2 50 Hz.

The output from the high-pass filter is connected to an automatic-gain-controlled amplifier (see figure 5). The SP1000 provides three output lines that control switches to vary the resistor values within a circuit consisting of two noninverting operational amplifiers connected in series. These signals are GAIN 6, GAIN 12, and GAIN 24, corresponding to 6-, 12-, and 24-decibel (dB) signal levels (this is a voltage gain of 2, 4, and 15.8, if you are interested). See table 1 for the gain produced by combining these pins.

The SP1000 updates these signals at a predetermined interval, depending upon the value of the digital output from the A/D converter. The three lines create eight combinations of signal amplification from 0 dB to 42 dB in 6-dB steps. The purpose of the AGC is to monitor and modify the incoming signal amplitude so that it always stays within the range of the A/D converter.

Switching these resistors in and out in the AGC produces high-frequency transients known as aliases. These unwanted frequencies are removed by a two-pole, 3200-Hz, low-pass, antialiasing filter (see figure 6) before going to the A/D converter.

Once a conditioned signal with all the extraneous noise removed is obtained, it is directed to the sample-and-hold A/D converter to be read by the SP1000 (see figure 7).

The SP1000 provides two signals for controlling the A/D converter and the sample-and-hold circuit: ADCCLK and ADCCE. The ADCCE signal provides an active-low chip select that turns off the sample switch (the switch, which is normally closed, opens when the A/D converter reads the voltage level stored on the capacitor) and enables the A/D converter. I used a National Semiconductor ADC0831 8-bit serial-output converter clocked at 150 kHz provided through ADCCLK as the A/D converter. The serial-output data is read through the ADCDATA line. You can program the SP1000 to read the input data at 5 k to 16k samples per

116 B YTE • NOVEMBER 1984

second. As configured in this project, the sample rate is 6.2 5k samples per second.

A complete schematic showing the recognition part and LPC-synthesis portion of the Apple II Lis'ner 1000 is shown in figure 8. Figure 9 shows the circuit changes necessary to add the SSI-263 specifically for the Apple II. Figure 10 is the Commodore 64 version.

SP1000 Software

Figure 11 is a flowchart of the basic software control of the Lis'ner 1000. The routines described assume that the SP1000 is implemented as a discrete-utterance speaker-dependent unit. The software can be segmented into two major functions: the creation of training templates and actual recognition of utterances relative to the training templates previously created.

Training

The purpose of training is to create a set of patterns, each of which represents a specific utterance. (Note that an utterance may be a single word or a phrase.) When recognition is performed, these patterns are compared to a pattern created from the word to be recognized, The pattern or template from the training utterances that is closest to the word to be recognized is the one the system chooses as the recognized word.

A well-designed training process will create templates that capture the unique features of an utterance in a form simple enough to facilitate the matching process and the efficient use of a system's memory. With this in mind, let's examine the training process implemented here.

The first step is initialization of the hardware and software. The SP1000 is an extremely flexible device that allows the user to specify several parameters that govern its analysis calculations. The parameters include the sample rate (6.2 5 kHz), the analysis-frame duration (20 milliseconds |ms|), and the gain-update period (10 ms). Once these parameters have been specified and the software has enabled the interrupts, the SP1000 will provide the processor with a fresh analysis frame at the end of each frame period.

The software initialization consists of setting the counters for the number of templates and the number of train-

ing passes for each template. The number of templates (utterances) is variable. The system uses two training passes for each template.

After initialization, the program enters the endpoint-detection process. Since this is a discrete-utterance recognizer, it must identify the start and finish of each utterance it "hears." This applies to both training and recognition. The endpoint-detection algorithm is designed around a finite-state machine with four states: silence, rising, plateau, and falling.

The SP1000 continually analyzes the audio input and sends its analysis data to the host processor. Whenever no speech is reaching the microphone the SP1000 will be analyzing the ambient room noise. This represents the silence state. While in this state, the processor is constantly calculating a noise level based on the average energy of the last 16 frames of silence. If an incoming frame has an energy 6 dB or more above the noise level the machine enters the rising state. Similar energy measurements control the state transitions throughout the duration of the utterance until the machine exits back to silence, indicating that the end of the utterance has been reached.

Once the machine enters the rising state, it saves all the analysis frames generated by the SP1000 until the end of the utterance has been found. At that point, the data collected is tested with criteria pertaining to minimum duration and dynamic range to confirm its legitimacy as speech input and pinpoint the endpoints more closely. A normalization process is also performed on the energy coefficients to equalize weighting.

At the end of this process, we have captured a parametric representation of the utterance. The next step is to include that representation in a training template.

It is worth noting that the data collected for an utterance with one second of duration is calculated "as follows: (8 bits/coefficient) x (9 coefficients/frame) x (50 frames/second) x (1 second) - 3600 bits of data (450 bytes). Utterances of 3 seconds in duration would generate 13 50 bytes. If left in this form, a few dozen utterances would take a sizable quantity of memory just for storage.

Fortunately, the system need save only the unique characteristics of an

The purpose of training is to create a set of patterns, each representing a specific utterance.

utterance in order to perform good recognition. The unique sounds that constitute a particular utterance will usually be several frames in duration. Thus, the algorithm tests the utterance data one more time, essentially to perform a type of averaging in which adjacent frames with similar coefficient values are combined to form one new frame that replaces the two old ones. This process reduces the total number of frames in an utterance to 12. Theoretically, these 12 frames are representative of the unique speech sounds that occurred in the utterance. This process also provides a time normalization for all utterances. Since all utterances are reduced to 12 frames, they all have an identical length for comparison purposes.

The resulting 12 frames constitute a template. Since different repetitions of an utterance are never exactly alike, even when spoken by the same person, the software averages two templates created from two repetitions of the utterance in order to form a more general template. This is stored as the training template for that utterance. The final size of the training template is 12 frames of 9 coefficients each (or 108 bytes of data).

RECOGNITION

Recognition is performed with the same front-end software as the training. It uses the finite-state machine and post-processing functions to identify the endpoints of the utterance and performs time normalization to create a 12-frame unknown utterance template. It then tries to find the best match among the training templates previously stored. The two key elements of the matching process are the frame-to-frame distance measure and nonlinear time alignment.

Distance Measure

I have mentioned the closeness of templates, which is used to determine

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE

the best match. But just how do you determine the closeness of two templates? The answer lies in a frame-to-frame distance measure, which is used to build a template-to-template distance The smaller the template-to-template distance, the closer the two templates are to one another.

A Chebyshev distance measure is employed as the frame-to-frame distance measure. The equation ABS VAL (A^Bj) is summed for all i, where i is the distance from frame A to frame B, A; is the Ith element of frame A, and Bj is the Ith element of frame B.

Thus, frame-to-frame distance measurement consists of simply summing the magnitudes of the differences of corresponding elements in the frames being compared.

To find a template-to-template distance, the frame-to-frame distance measure is applied within the context

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118 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

of the nonlinear time alignment of the frames.

Nonlinear TIme Alignment

The need for nonlinear time alignment arises because human beings do not speak the same words exactly the same way each time. Volume and

duration of words obviously vary but a more subtle variation is very significant to a speech recognizer. The individual speech sounds comprising a word vary in duration relative to one another in different repetitions of the same word. This time distortion is nonlinear because simply stretching

or compressing one entire repetition will not time-align the boundaries of the speech sounds with those of another repetition of the same utterance.

Consider a word with two syllables, such as table. T\vo repetitions of this

{continued)

+ 12V

NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE 119

word may have the same total duration, but the first syllable may constitute 50 percent of repetition one and only 30 percent of repetition two. If we created templates for the two repetitions and compared them on a frame-by-frame basis, we would not get the best match because at some point we would be comparing parts of syllable one with parts of syllable two.

On different occasions, the timing of these patterns may vary considerably but they must all be present in the described order if the utterance is to count as a reasonable rendition of the word table. The misalignment can be corrected by stretching the template in some places and compressing it in others, so that a mathematically optimum match is found. This procedure is called dynamic time warping (DTW).

(See "Speech Recognition: An Idea Whose Time Is Coming," January, page 213.)

Rejection threshold

Once we have a best match, we have to determine if it is usable or not. One method is to qualify the match by setting a rejection threshold. This allows the recognizer to request that an input be repeated because it is not confident of a good match. With no rejection, the recognizer is forced to make a choice. The rejection threshold itself is the degree of confidence necessary to consider a match valid. The use of rejection criteria implies a trade-off between two types of error, the incorrect match versus no match at all. Rejection criteria can enhance the performance of the recognizer if they are adjusted to suit specific ap-

plications. The problems caused by the two types of error are application dependent.

As part of the recognition process, a template is made of the word just spoken, and it is compared to the templates made during training. For each comparison, a distance is computed that is used to determine the best fit to the spoken word. In order to reduce the number of false alarms (i.e., extraneous room noises being recognized as words), a method of rejection is used. Three parameters are used during rejection: the lower limit, the upper limit, and the rejection threshold.

The lower limit specifies a distance below which a word is automatically accepted and no more rejection tests are performed. This is useful in reducing recognition times and allows the

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120 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

obvious correct matches to pass through. However, if it is set too high, many false alarms may occur.

The upper limit specifies just the opposite, the distance above which a word is automatically rejected. This too is helpful in speeding reaction times and discards obvious room noises such as clapping. If this

number is set too low, a large incidence of rejecting good words will occur, resulting in a good deal of frustration for the user.

The last parameter is the rejection threshold, which is used to control just how close the spoken word may be to the two next closest reference templates. In short, a small rejection

threshold results in a higher degree of rejection; a large rejection threshold is more forgiving and rejects less. These three parameters are combined to tailor the system to the user's particular needs. If a highly speaker-dependent system is desired, a small lower limit, a small upper limit, and

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a small rejection threshold should be used. The result would be that only the person who trained the system would have good recognition results.

Lis'ner 1000 Software

The Lis'ner software consists of a combination of BASIC and assembly-language routines. The recognition algorithm and template matching are handled in assembly language to speed execution. Training and other infrequently used housekeeping functions are done in BASIC.

The purpose of the software is to function as a parallel voice input for application programs or normal operation of the computer. When first starting the system, for example, you

are prompted to train a preselected vocabulary of DOS (disk operating system) and system commands. Rather than typing CATALOG and a carriage return, you merely have to say "catalog" and "return" (you can still type any part of it if you wish). In effect, the Lis'ner 1000 can be programmed to send a sequence of characters to the keyboard input handler as if they had been typed. This function can be turned on and off at will or used at specific points in application programs.

The process of selecting and training a vocabulary is prompted by a menu. You start by entering your own list of words to be recognized. Up to four groups of 8 words, or 32 words,

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Figure II: The SP1000 recognition-software flowchart.

are entered at one time, as shown in photo 4. A total of 64 words may be entered into the system. Next, you are asked for each spoken word followed by its corresponding command sequence, as shown in photo 5. The command sequence is the group of characters that the recognizer routine will respond with when it hears this particular utterance. The command sequence may contain any combination of letters, numbers, punctuation, and control characters.

The recognition software responds with the preset command sequence when it hears a particular word, regardless of whether it is appropriate. For example, you could make one of the speech commands a phrase such as "DIRECTORY, PLEASE." In response, the command sequence would print CATALOG and a carriage return for an Apple. (If you plan to use the device to simulate the direct function of discrete keyboard keys, it is best to use words such as APPLE, BAKER, CHARLIE, etc., rather than the single-syllable letters A, B, C, etc.).

Once all the words have been entered and a series of questions regarding rejection levels has been answered, you are prompted to train the system by saying each of the words two times. When this is done, the computer knows your voice and saves the templates to disk. The following is a list of editor commands, which can be spoken or typed. Their function is to aid in producing a vocabulary that approaches 100 percent recognition accuracy.

TEST-Enter test mode. This option, shown in photo 6, is useful in testing how well each word was trained. After each word is spoken, the letter "A" (accept) or "R" (reject) is displayed next to the word. If an "R" is displayed, the match between the spoken word and the word as the computer knows it is totally unacceptable. It may be due to the fact that the word that was recognized wasn't even the word spoken, or two words that sound alike may keep being confused. If any word or words consistently get low scores, that word or words should be retrained. To get back to command mode, hit any key.

EDIT— Add, delete, replace, and retrain any of the words.

LOAD— Load prestored templates so that editing and training may be performed.

122 B YTE • NOVEMBER 1984

SAVE— Save the templates being worked on for later use. This is used to save all the work you've done up to now. These templates may then be loaded by one of the Hello programs at some later date for use in your application programs.

QUIT— Leave the editor and return to BASIC. Once all your editing and saving are done, you may enter BASIC with the recognize routine and DOS templates still active.

Software design is of course dynamic. Some aspects of the Lis'ner software I've described here may have been modified by the time you read this.

Experimenter Support

I try to support the individual experimenter as much as I possibly can, and this project is no exception. To aid you in building the Lis'ner 1000 or an SPlOOO-based system, I have coordinated parts and software suppliers.

The Lis'ner software package consists of a combination of source-code and executable-only code files that are much too lengthy to print for distribution or to be published here. The Lis'ner software is supplied as BASIC source code with assembly-language executable code. Since I expect that many of you won't be happy until you've personally experimented with dynamic time warping and converted the routines to run on a different processor, I am making available demonstration source code for an SP1000 recognition algorithm for the Apple II. This code, which is less complicated than the Lis'ner software, was written by General Instrument. Also included are LPC coefficient files that will demonstrate the SPlOOO's synthesis capability.

Although this software is well annotated, it is unsupported and distributed for its educational value only. It contains all the necessary structure should you care to roll your own. (If you do convert these routines, I would be very interested in seeing your handiwork.)

The Experimenter Support package contains the General Instrument SP1000 demonstration software, Lis'ner software, and the Lis'ner 1000 User's Manual It is available on disk for either the Apple II (except He) or Commodore 64 (please specify) directly from me for a $17 shipping-and-

handling charge ($27 for overseas airmail). This offer is valid until March 1, 1985.

Finally, while it isn't a requirement that you include a picture this time when you write to me I'd like to see your finished product so that I can add your picture to the many hun-

dreds I've received on projects.

previous

Conclusion

The toughest part about writing this article was deciding how much to say about recognition techniques. I have

(continued)

Photo 4: \n this training mode, you select and train up to 32 words at a time. Multiple overlays of these template dictionaries result in potential recognition vocabularies of thousands of words. \n practice, 64 concurrent-available words is a reasonable search vocabulary that maintains a high response reaction time.

Photo 5: These standard DOS commands comprise one of the vocabularies that the user is directed to train. Once trained, many keyboard entries can now be verbal.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 123

barely scratched the surface in my explanation.

It is equally difficult for me to list and describe the multitude of potential applications for computerized voice recognition. Besides the obvious aids for the disabled, the Lis'ner 1000 can be used in order-entry systems, voiceprint-security systems, video games, and telephone communications. Also, many people subscribe to the notion that the world needs a voice-operated typewriter. In my opinion, it will be a long time before voice entry becomes commonplace in an office environment, but .there have been inroads.

1 intend to apply the board to telephone communications so that I can call and correspond with my computer. Since the Apple II Lis'ner has both recognition and synthesis, it would seem natural that all conversation over the phone with the Apple should be spoken. "Hello, computer, how are you?" Tine, Steve your house is still here."

While this is a possibility, the quality of the telephone lines suggests that an alternate means of backup communication also be used. Some time ago I wrote an article about DTMF (dual-tone, multiple-frequency) de-

coders ("Build a Touch Tone Decoder for Remote Control," December 1981, page 42). In it, I suggested that one way to communicate with your computer was through an auto-answer device with a DTMF decoder. Once the computer answers, simply send your message by pressing the Touch-Tone keys on the telephone.

Your first thought might be to add a DTMF decoder in parallel with the recognition board, but it is quite unnecessary. DTMF tones and spoken words are all sounds as far as Lis'ner is concerned. It is simply a matter of pressing the telephone buttons while in the template training mode to program the Lis'ner to respond to the DTMF tones. Adding a few select words in addition will make it a truly unique answering system. Using just DTMF tones will allow invited subscribers a certain level of access to your system, but combining speaker-dependent voice recognition with DTMF tone recognition will allow you to reserve certain functions only for yourself.

Circuit Cellar Feedback

Circuit Cellar Feedback is a new feature I'm starting. Every month, I'll answer letters about past projects.

Photo 6: One of the features of the Lis'ner software is the ability to make and test a recognition vocabulary. In the modified editor program shown here, as the words are spoken, the acceptance level is noted so the user can select words with less interference. Words like "computer" and "sequence" have few differentiation problems. "Nine" and "mine" would present difficulties, as would "next" and "text'.'

This month's Circuit Cellar Feedback begins on page 430.

Next Month

I'll show you how to build an AC I/O

controller. ■

Special thanks to Dennis Intravia for his work on the recognition software.

Diagrams and data specific to the SP1000 are reprinted courtesy of General Instrument.

Editor's Note: Steve often refers to previous Circuit Cellar articles. Most of these past articles are available in reprint books from BYTE Books, McGraw-Hill Book Co., POB 400, Hightstown, NJ 082 50.

Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar, Volume I covers articles that appeared in BYTE from September 1977 through November 1978. Volume 11 covers December 1978 through June 1980. Volume 111 covers July 1980 through December 1981. Volume IV covers January 1982 through June 1983.

The following items are available from

The Micromint Inc. 561 Willow Ave. Cedarhurst, NY 11516 (800) 645-3479 for orders (203) 871-6170 for information

1. Apple II Lis'ner 1000 with SP1000 recognition/synthesis components only—includes headset-style microphone and software on disk.

VR01 assembled and tested $189

VR02 complete kit $149

2. Apple II Lis'ner 1000 with SP1000 recognition/synthesis components and SSI-263 phoneme synthesizer chip with text-to-speech algorithm—includes headset-style microphone and software on disk.

VR03 assembled and tested $2 59

VR04 complete kit $219

3. VR01/VR02 phoneme-synthesis upgrade to VR03. Includes SSI-263, miscellaneous components, and text-to-speech algorithm on disk.

VR05 VR01/VR02 upgrade kit $79

4. Commodore 64 Lis'ner 1000 with SP1000 recognition/synthesis components—includes headset-style microphone and software on disk.

VR10 assembled and tested $149

VR11 complete kit $119

5. Apple 11 speech experimenter's kit-includes SP1000, 7.16-MHz ceramic resonator, ADC 0831 A/D chip, Lis'ner manual, and Lis'ner software on disk. VR20 complete kit $60

Please include $4 for shipping and handling in the continental United States, $10 elsewhere. New York residents please include 8 percent sales tax.

To receive a complete list of Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar project kits, circle 100 on the reader-service inquiry card at the back of the magazine.

124 BYTE ■ NOVEMBER 1984

by Bruce F. Webster

A GO BOARD FOR THE MACINTOSH

Explore the capabilities of the Mac and MacFORTH with this computerized game

(Editor's Note: Although Mr. Webster's program is rather straightforward, you will need some previous experience with FORTH to understand this program. His comments and descriptive word names demonstrate how these things make a FORTH program more readable and easier to understand]

I bought a Macintosh about three weeks after Apple announced and released it. Despite the marvelous things it can do, 1 felt frustrated because / couldn't make it do more. T\vo months later, though, I received a copy of MacFORTH (from Creative Solutions Inc.), which gave me substantial access to the Mac's myriad features. After writing several small programs, I decided to try something a little more ambitious: bringing up a go game board on the Mac Go is an Asian game of ancient origin (see the text box The Ancient Game of Go" on page 434). Played with black and white stones on a wooden board, go has simple rules but subtle and complex strategies. Unlike chess, go has not readily yielded to computerization, so this program does not attempt to play against a human opponent. Instead, it provides a board with which two people can play a quick, friendly game.

I wrote this program for several reasons. First, the program does most of the bookkeeping for you: removing captured stones, preventing illegal moves, counting territories, and so on. Second, you can't accidentally jiggle or bump the board and send the stones flying. Third, I wanted to learn how to use MacFORTH. (By reading the code, you can learn about MacFORTH, too.) The board is 13 by 13 inches (often used instead of the usual 19 by 19 inches), which makes for a quicker game.

The program, given in listing I, is organized into 30 screens, a division of code peculiar to FORTH (a screen is 1024 bytes of text, displayed as 16 lines of 64 characters). lhb\e 1 shows a rough breakdown of the program by screens. The program is not as long as it seems—I could have fitted it into fewer than 30

{continued)

Bruce F. Webster (do FTL Games, 7907 Ostrow St., Suite F. San Diego, CA 92111) is« Macintosh owner, FORTH and go enthusiast, and contributing editor of BYTE. He wrote a go-playing program as his project for a class in artificial intelligence and is currently working on another go-playing program that builds on top of the listing in this article.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 125

screens, but this would have been bad programming practice. Instead, I commented heavily on the routines, which expanded the program's size considerably. Also, I suspect that my FORTH coding could be improved in quite a few places; 1 ask for patience (and suggestions) from those more experienced than I.

Inside the Go Program

This go program uses many of the Macintosh's unique features: custom menus and their command-key equivalents, windows, graphics, input using the mouse, and even a custom mouse-cursor shape (while a game is in progress, the cursor becomes a round circle the color of the player whose move it is). By looking at certain parts of the program, you can see how the Macintosh and MacFORTH amplify each other's efforts. (See the text box "How the Program Works" on page 445.)

Creating the board window: Screen 2 (lines 1-5) defines the window for the go board and displays it on the screen. Screen 2 (line 8) creates the "wood-grain'' pattern used to fill the go board itself. This pattern is 8 by 8 pixels and uses 8 bytes; the first byte is the top row of the pattern, and the most significant bit of each byte forms the leftmost pixel of a row.

Screen 16 (lines 6 to 14) contains the routine draw.board . This word creates the board's frame, fills it with the wood-grain pattern, puts the grid on the board, and prints the headings for tallying the stones captured by each side.

Defining custom cursors: Screen 4 (lines 1 to 12) defines the two cursors ( wcurse and bourse ) used to let the players place their stones on the board. Each cursor is 68 bytes or, more logically, 34 (16-bit) words long. The first 16 words form the 16- by 16-pixel shape of the cursor itself, following the top-left convention of the wood-grain pattern (the first word is the top row, with the most significant bit of each word being the leftmost pixel in a row). The next 16 words form the 16 by 16 mask, which defines what portion of the area under the cursor shows through. If a bit is 0, then the area underneath shows through; if a bit is 1, then it is blocked out. The last two words specify the row and column numbers, respective-

Listing I: The MacFORTH go program. FORTH programs are split into \024~byte units called screens, usually presented as 16 lines of 64 characters each. The parenthetical comment on the first line of most word definitions briefly describes the word. The part before the vertical bar provides a picture of the stack before and after the word is executed: for example, the notation "ric—val" should be read, "The word takes r and c from the stack (c is on top-of-stack) and returns val'.'

SCREEN # 0 "Go Blocks"

0 (A simple go program for the Macintosh

06/29/84

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Version: 1.0 Author: Bruce F

Webster FTL Games, Inc. 7907 Ostrow, Suite F San Diego, CA 92111

Last Update: Language:

03:48:04 AM

( 062884 bfw) 28 June 1984

MacFORTH Version 1.0 Level 1.1

Allows two people to play go on a 13x13 board, using the mouse to place stones. Detects and prevents illegal moves. Detects capture and removes stones. Ends game after two consecutive passes. Allows players to remove dead stones. Counts up controlled territory and declares winner. Allows 2 to 9 stone handicaps. Has "undo" feature to take back last move.

Copyright (c) 1984 by Bruce F. Webster. All commercial rights reserved.

SCREEN # 1

0 (load block for

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

SCREEN # 2 "Go Blocks"

0 ( create board window, data structures

1 new.window board

"Go Blocks" 'GO" program

options.menu I

20000 resize.object I

10000 resize, vocab

cr ." Loading GO program..." 2 load

sys.window board send.behind init.cursor event.loop

06/29/84

03:48:10 AM ( 060984 bfw)

put up apple, FORTH options menus ) allocate memory for code, words )

06/29/84 03:48:15 AM

( 062884 bfw) ( define and name window for board )

126 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

" GO Version 1.0 — © 1984 Bruce F. Webster" board w.title

( set title ) 40 40 330 460 board w,bounds ( set bounds of board window )

board add.window ( create actual window )

5 constant go.menu 6 constant hand.menu ( define menu #'s )

create texture hex 04000200 , 00010008 , decimal

( "wood grain'

create pstk 512 allot create tmap 256 allot create map 256 allot

( used for stack for army search )

( used for capture detection )

( set aside data structure for board )

SCREEN # 3 "Go Blocks

0 (variables, bmap, cmap

06/29/84 03:48:22 AM

( 060884 bfw) ( current player's color: 1 = black, 2 = white variable freedoms ( values for a given army

( stack pointer in pstk—incremented by 2 ( color flag: 0 = empty, 1 = black, 2 = white, 3 = edge ( game status flag — controls states variable wtaken (total stones captured

variable bspace (total spaces controlled

( used to detect consecutive passes ( handicap level—1 = none, 2. .9 = # of stones variable ko ( stone played, single stone taken

variable tstones ( last taken, total # taken

( bmap, cmap automatically adjust their size to fit everything create bmap bmap map - allot ( used for backup

create cmap cmap bmap - allot ( used to save game

1 variable bflag

2 variable stones

3 variable stptr

4 variable color

5 variable gflag

6 variable btaken

7 variable wspace

8 variable pflag

9 variable hlevel

10 variable playy

11 variable taken 12 13 14 15

SCREEN # 4 "Go Blocks"

0 ( set up cursors for stones

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

hex create wcurse 03C00C30 , 10082004

40024002 , , 1FF83FFC , 7FFE7FFE

80018001 03C00FF0 FFFFFFFF 00080008 . create bcurse 03C00FF0 , 1FF83FFC

FFFFFFFF , 03C00FF0 , FFFFFFFF , 00080008 , create stars 04040A0A decimal

7FFE7FFE 1FF83FFC 7FFE7FFE

40024002 20041008 , , 7FFE7FFE , 3FFC1FF8

7FFE7FFE 3FFC1FF8 7FFE7FFE

3FFC1FF8

06/29/84

80018001 , 0C3003C0 , , FFFFFFFF , OFF003CO

FFFFFFFF 0FF003C0 FFFFFFFF 0FF003C0

03:48:31 AM ' ( 060884 bfw) ( cursor for white stone )

( shape)

( mask)

( offset)

( cursor for black stone )

( shape)

( mask)

040A0A04 , 07070704

( offset; ( handicap locations on board ; 070A0407 , 0A070707 ,

SCREEN #5 "Go Blocks"

0 (bounds checking routines; draw.stone

06/29/84

03:48:44 AM ( 060884 bfw)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

: legal ( n — n/- 1 or 0 [ checks if n in 1 . . 13 )

dup 0> over 14 < and dup if ( nothing) else swap drop then ; : bounds ( n - low/high | converts row or col into bounds )

18*10 + dup 7 - swap 7 + ; : get.bounds ( r/c — x1/y1/x2/y2 | gets coords for spot

bounds rot bounds rot swap ; : stretch.bounds ( x1/y1/x2/y2 — x1/y1/x2/y2 | expands by 1

1 + swap 1 + swap 2swap 1 - swap 1 - swap 2swap ; : at.point ( coord - loc/flag | converts x/y to c/r

1-18/ legal ;

: draw.stone ( r/c/f — - | draws black stone at location >r get.bounds 2over 2over stretch.bounds frame oval r> 1 = if black else white then pattern oval ;

— >

{continued)

ly, of the "active point" of the cursor. This defines the point considered when the cursor's coordinates are read. Both cursors have offsets of (8, 8), meaning that the center of each cursor is where it is "pointing" at. The FORTH word set.cursor makes one of these cursors active. (In this program, line 13 of screen 10 changes the cursor shape.)

Drawing and erasing stones: Screen 5 gives us draw.stone , a routine that draws the black and white stones once they have been placed on the board. It first draws a circular frame slightly larger than the stone, then draws a white or black (solid) circle for the stone itself.

Screen 11 contains clear.stone, which removes a stone from the board. This word first erases the stone by filling the appropriate rectangular area with the wood-grain pattern (texture ). Then the word redraws the intersecting lines, doing the necessary clipping for correctly drawing the intersections of an edge or corner intersection. (The word vector interprets the top four items on the stack as two points and draws a line between them.)

Controlling the program: Screens 22, 24, and 2 5 contain the four main driving routines of the program. Each contains a loop of the form begin do.events ... until . The FORTH word do.events returns a value that indicates if a special event has occurred. The constant mousedown is the value indicating that the mouse's button has been pressed; two of the driving routines ( play.go and end.game , both on screen 24) use this to tell if a stone is being placed or picked up. In all four cases, this loop continues until the game state flag ( gflag ) changes (usually as a result of some selection on the Go menu), moving the program to another state.

Screens 21, 26, 27, and 28 set up and handle the two menus (Go and Handicap). Screen 21 contains routines to enable and disable the items in the Go menu (note that the Quit selection is never disabled). Screen 26 creates both menus, specifying the entries in each. Screen 27 defines the results of any item selected from Go, while screen 28 does the same for the Handicap menu. Screen 28 also contains in it. prog ram , which contains all the code that is executed once short-

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 127

ly after the board window is activated. This includes graphics initialization ( ginit), clearing the window ( page ), setting the origin to the upper-left corner of the window ( upper.left), defining the pen size ( 2 2 pensize ), and setting the text mode to "overwrite" ( srccopy textmode).

Screen 29 represents the highest level of the program. The routine exit.program does the final cleanup, deletes the Go and Handicap menus (making the FORTH window the active one), and changes the mouse cursor back to the familiar arrow. The routine go.program is the main body of the program itself. Below it is the phrase board on.activate gaprogram , which is directly executed when this block is loaded. This phrase "attaches" go.program to the window board . Whenever board is activated, a -1 ("true") is pushed on the stack and go.program is executed. The same happens if board is deactivated except that a 0 ("false") is placed on the stack instead. This causes go.program to use the "else" branch of the if . . . else . . . then construct to make an orderly exit.

Loading the Program

To use this program, boot up your working MacFORTH disk and doubleclick the FORTH BLOCKS file (to load the editor). Then type in the following command:

include" Go Blocks"

This will create a work file named Go Blocks and enable you to enter FORTH source code with the editor. Your next step is to key in the 30 screens of text shown in listing 1. Do this one screen at a time and proofread your work very carefully. Your biggest problem will probably be accidentally omitting the right parenthesis at the end of most lines; FORTH considers everything between that point and the next right parenthesis to be a comment. You might consider leaving off the comments altogether, putting them in later.

You might get an error loading screen 6 if you have already loaded the MacFORTH editor. If this occurs, you can get the screen to load correctly by adding the following definition:

: 2dup over over ;

{continued on page 434}

SCREEN § 6 "Go Blocks" 06/29/84 03:49:00 AM

0 ( get.addr, put.on.map, get.stone, empty.spot ( 060884 bfw)

: get.addr ( r/c — addr | calculate address into map 1 - 13 * swap 1 - + map + ;

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15

put.on.map ( r/c/f - r/c/f 3 pick 3 pick 3 pick >r get.addr r> swap c! ;

non-destructive placement on map)

( duplicate parms and save f) ( get loc, restore f, and store )

: get.stone ( r/c - stone | gets stone value at r,c legal if swap legal if swap get.addr c@ ( check if legal spot)

)

else drop 3 then else drop 3 then ;

: empty.spot ( r/c - r/c/flag | checks if spot is empty 2dup get.stone 0= If -1 else 0 then ;

06/29/84

( else off of board )

SCREEN # 7 "Go Blocks"

0 (fill.spot, st+, push, pull, get.adj

1 : fill, spot (r/c — - | sets loc to 3 = filled spot

2 get.addr 3 swap c! ;

3 : st+ ( n — | adds n to stptr and stores in stptr

4 stptr @ + stptr ! ;'

5 : push (r/c 1 pushes row, column onto pstk

6 stptr @ pstk + dup rot swap c! 1 + c! 2 st + ;

7 : pop ( r/c/- 1 or 0 | gets row, column from pstk

8 stptr @ pstk + 1 - dup c@ swap 1 - c@ - 2 st +

03:49:14 AM ( 060884 bfw)

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

get.adj ( r/c/i — r/c | gets adjacent row/column CASE ( 0 = down, 1 = up, 2 = right, 3 = left) 0 OF 1 + ENDOF 1 OF 1 -

2 OF swap 1 + swap ENDOF 3 OF swap 1 ENDCASE;

ENDOF swap ENDOF

SCREEN # 8 0 (expand

"Go Blocks"

06/29/84

03:49:28 AM ( 060884 bfw)

1 : expand (r/c |c0unt stones, freedom of army at r,c )

2 0 stptr ! 0 stones ! 0 freedoms ! ( clear all values )

3 map tmap 256 cmove ( backup map for count)

4 2dup fill.spot push begin ( fill spot, push on stack, start)

5 pop 1 stones + ! ( pop stone from stack, increment counter)

6 4 0 do 2dup i get.adj ( check all 4 adjacent locations )

7 2dup get.stone dup ( get color and act appropriately )

8 CASE ( 0 = space — add 1 to freedoms, fill it up )

9 0 OF 1 freedoms + ! drop fill.spot ENDOF

10 12 RANGE.OF (if color matches, add to army, else drop )

11 color @ = if 2dup fill.spot push else 2drop then ENDOF

12 3 OF drop 2drop ( ignore edge) ENDOF

13 ENDCASE

14 loop 2drop stptr @ 0= until ( continue until stack is empty)

15 tmap map 256 cmove ; ( restore map from tmap ) — >

SCREEN # 9 "Go Blocks"

0 (lim, limit.bounds, blackif

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10 11

06/29/84 03:49:49 AM

( 060884 bfw)

lim ( n — n | forces n to 28. . 244

244 28 rot 2dup > if drop swap drop else swap drop 2dup < if else swap then drop then ;

limit.bounds ( x1/y1/x2/y2 — x1/y1/x2/y2 lim swap lim swap 2swap lim swap lim swap 2swap ;

blackif ( — flag | checks if color = black

) (force n > = 28 )

(force n < = 224 )

put limits on

( condition x1 ,y1 to 28. ( condition x2,y2 to 28.

244 ) 244 )

) (listing continued on page 438)

128 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Nonsense imitation can be disconcertingly recognizable

English letter-combination frequencies can be used to generate random text that mimics the frequencies found in a sample. Though nonsensical, these pseudo-texts have a haunting plausibility, preserving as they do many recognizable mannerisms of the texts from which they are derived. For example, the following text was generated by the first sentences of this article:

English letter-combination frequencies from text was generived. For example Though nonsentendes from text was the text was generated to generisms of that mimics the first sentencies from text the texts have a have a sample, they article:

The nature of such texts has been little explored, in part because its been difficult to get samples. Claude Shannon generated' ■ 'approximations to English" by hand in 1948, but the laborious calculation it involved prevented extensive study. This is clearly a task for a computer, but programs have been hampered by the need for impractical amounts of memory.

We offer a Pascal program, Travesty, to fabricate Hugh tenner and pseudo-text quickly from any input text. Students of fo*P* onourke teach style and linguistics will see possibilities. So may pro- Znatisk and computer grammers, since Travesty contains a feature that can ^2^X2' * greatly speed up general pattern-matching proce- university, Baltimore, dures. We add a special-case version that is (continued) md 2I2I8.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 129

BO BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Each of these writers had his own way

matte he surely gave no thought.

even speedier To make clear what IVavesty does, we'll first discuss language statistics and what they imply

Language Statistics

Finish typing a page of English prose, and the key you hit most often will have been the space bar. Either "e" or "t" will rank second. You did not make those decisions, the language did. In fact, the language makes three-quarters of your writing decisions for you. Not only do the letters observe preferred frequencies, they keep preferred company. A familiar example: write "Q" and (unless you are drafting a QANTAS ad or some comments on Iraq) the next character is almost sure to be "u"

If probability coerces the successor to a single letter, what follows a letter pair is even more tightly bound. Write "th" and the probability is very high that what follows will be M e". If it is, then the character after "e" is most likely to be either a space or an "r". Pairs like "th" are called digrams; triplets like "the" are trigrams. They have frequencies, like letters. The most common English digram is "he"; you will find it three times in the sentence you are reading now 15 times in this paragraph. And you will guess correctly that as we move up from single letters to diagrams and trigrams, the probabilities that govern the next character grow ever more rigorous. By the time we've reached, say pentagrams, has the author any choice at all?

\fes, he has; otherwise Henry James could have had no way to be Henry James, or James Joyce to be James Joyce At a fairly low level, the statistics of English would have taken over from both of them, and neither would have been distinguishable from The New York Times.

But that is not what happens. Tftie, even with a James or a Joyce holding the pen, the statistics do not lie dormant. However, they no longer derive from the undifferentiated language, i.e., from a large sample of everything we can find. The significant statistics derive from the personal habits of James, or Joyce, or Jack London, or J. D. Salinger. Each of these writers, amazingly had his own way with trigrams, tetragrams, pentagrams, matters to which he surely gave no thought. [continued on page 449)

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 131

PART 2: SYSTEM CONTROL

THE PICK

OPERATING

SYSTEM

by Rick Cook and John Brandon

Programming capabilities and control elements

Rick Cook (2318 West Hayward. Phoenix, AZ 85021) is a freelance writer specializing in computers and high technology. He has written for Popular Computing and many other computer magazines. John Brandon (2432 West Peoria Ave., Suite 1303, Phoenix. AZ 85029) has worked with the Pick operating system for eight years and is president of interactive Systems, a Phoenix corporation that supplies software, education, and consulting for the Pick operating system.

132 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

(Editor's Note: last month we looked at Pick's structure and information-management facilities. This month, we'll discuss the system's control and programming capabilities and take a brief look at the IBM PC implementation of Pick {see the tat box on page 133).)

Pick BASIC

Like Access, Pick BASIC is an integral part of the Pick operating system. It is a compiled/interpreted version of Dartmouth BASIC which makes it a rather distant cousin of the version of BASIC used on home computers. Unlike most microcomputer versions of the language Pick BASIC contains all the constructs you need to write highly structured code. It is not, however, strongly typed like Pascal and it does not force you to declare variables before using them.

Among the commands available in Pick BASIC are CASE, COMMON, IF . . . THEN . . . ELSE, FOR . . . NEXT, FOR . . . UNTIL, FOR . . . WHILE, LOOP . . . WHILE, and LOOP . . . UNTIL. There are also a number of matrix and array commands and other commands that have no close parallels in microcomputer BASICS (SLEEP, for instance). Writing modular programs is made easier by the use of statement labels (not line numbers) for references in flow-of-control commands.

Pick BASIC supports two types of arrays. One is the conventional dimensioned array (via a DIM statement limited to about 3000 elements). However, in Pick you don't have to specify the size of each element. Elements in a dimensioned array will grow to

absorb the data placed in them. Pick also supports dynamic arrays, which allow any number of elements of any size. Like a Pick item, the dynamic array will grow and shrink as elements are added and removed. An item in a Pick file is processed as an array. Pick BASIC contains a number of commands to specify and operate on elements in an array.

In Pick, subroutines are separate programs that can be compiled individually and linked into other programs as needed. This encourages, but does not force, you to write several small programs that can be linked together rather than one long program.

One of Pick's strong points is that it makes writing applications easy. Many of the chores that are time-consuming in other programming languages, such as writing I/O (input/output) routines and complex data manipulations, are either not necessary with Pick or can be done with utilities that are built into the operating system. In addition, Pick BASIC has a powerful built-in debugger and facilities to automatically generate a program map and a variable cross-reference table upon compilation.

Why BASIC?

At this time, BASIC is the only high-level programming language available for Pick. There are several reasons for this.

One is simply historical. When Pick was evolving, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, BASIC was the most suitable high-level language available. Most of the other high-level languages familiar in the micro-

computer world were either still under development, not yet thought of, or not widely known.

Richard Pick's original plan was to use APL as the Pick high-level language. If he had used APL, the system might be a lot more attractive to theoreticians, but it would be a lot less useful for managers and programmers.

A second reason Pick just has BASIC is that Pick BASIC fixes most of the common problems associated with microcomputer BASICS as serious programming languages. It contains the constructs needed to write structured programs, as well as the kind of I/O support and string-handling facilities lacking in Pascal. Features like the COMMON statement, the use of labels, and the ability to chain subroutines encourage you to write modular code. Because the language is closely linked to the database-management system, primitives are available for searches and sorts. Because Pick BASIC is compiled, it avoids the speed penalty of a purely interpreted BASIC

Pick BASIC is not strongly typed—deliberately Forcing you to declare the type of all variables may prevent certain kinds of errors, but it makes extra work and imposes some frustrating limits unless the language has facilities for crossing type boundaries when useful. However, at run time Pick checks for things like alphabetic characters where numbers were expected.

Furthermore, the Pick operating system contains a number of commands and utilities that can be used to do the equivalent of type checking and, in most cases, do it more thoroughly than strongly typed languages can. For example, Pick BASIC contains string-handling utilities that will not only check to see that numbers rather than letters are entered but can check for the form of the numbers as well. If you want to specify that only numbers in the form NNN-NNN-NNNN are acceptable (as in a telephone number), you can do it easily. If you choose to check data types you can do so readily, but the system doesn't force you to do so.

Many programmers who work in Pick BASIC say that it is more like Pascal than conventional BASIC.

The fact that every Pick system comes with an essentially identical high-level language ensures a high degree of applications portability (There are, however, some relatively minor differences among the versions of Pick BASIC on various systems.) The Pick world doesn't have the kind of differences in dialect that plague even closely defined languages like C.

But perhaps the biggest reason for

limiting Pick to one language is that, by tying the language into the operating system, it can directly know the data structures and other features of the system. By offering a single, tightly integrated, high-level language, Pick can use the system's abilities to full advantage from within the programs. Pick BASIC contains commands that let it operate directly on elements in the kind of three-dimensional dynamic arrays you can build with the Pick file structure.

Incidentally, Pick Systems Inc. is reportedly planning to offer a C compiler as part

{continued on page 474)

IkE IBM PC

Implementation

Recently, Pick Systems Inc. ported Pick to the IBM PC XT. The IBM PC version of Pick is a full implementation. It converts the PC XT, or the PC with the expansion chassis and a minimum of 256K bytes of RAM, into a multiuser system capable of supporting three users. The implementation will also work with some of the IBM PC-compatible computers such as the Compaq Plus, the hard-disk version of the Compaq portable computer.

On the IBM PC Pick requires a 10-megabyte hard disk and 2 56K to 640K bytes of RAM. No hardware modifications are required and the system uses stock IBM PC expansion boards. The second and third users are supported via RS-232C ports and serial terminals.

The first user is supported with the computer's screen and keyboard treated as an intelligent terminal with memory-mapped video. In this mode, the IBM PC version of Pick offers underlining, half intensity, protected fields, and—if the graphics card is installed and a color monitor is used-selectable colors. All these features are supported by commands that are an integral part of the operating system.

The hard disk is required partially because the Pick operating system is big and partially because it needs the read/write speeds of a hard disk to function effectively. On the IBM PC, Pick can operate with as little as 4.5 megabytes of a hard disk, The Pick software occupies 2.5 megabytes of disk space so this minimum configuration leaves 2 megabytes for user data.

Because Pick doesn't have to take up the entire disk, the user can keep other operating systems and their files on the disk as well and switch back and forth between them. However, only one operating system at a time can be used.

Due to the way the Pick virtual memory operates, it wasn't practical to use the ROM BIOS routines on the IBM PC for disk I/O. The expanded PC BIOS on a PC XT takes control on a disk seek and read, keeping control until it is done. This is fine for a single-user machine, but it ties things up seriously in a multiuser environment, lb get around this, Pick Systems wrote its own hard-disk I/O drivers.

Like the other versions of Pick, the IBM PC Pick makes a disk I/O request and goes on to other things while the request is acted on. Once the operation has been performed, the disk controller issues an interrupt that tells the monitor the request has been serviced and the data is now in memory.

Although the performance of IBM PC Pick is limited by the 4.77-MHz clock speed of the 8088 microprocessor and the 8-bit data paths, performance is still acceptable According to the company, testing with some simple benchmarks indicates that in a computation-intensive operation, IBM PC Pick runs about 35 percent as fast as minicomputer implementations.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 133

134 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

by Leo D. Bores, M.D.

AGAT

A SOVIET APPLE II COMPUTER

The Russians first microcomputer is a bad copy of the Apple

THE AVERAGE SOVIET citizen would be startled to hear about personal computers. A computer? In the house? Ne voz moshna— impossible! In Russia, the language does not even have a word for "private," the manufacturing emphasis is definitely not on consumer goods, the thought of having a dishwasher is a flight of fancy, and the thought of having your own computer certainly is Peter Pan time. For Russians, computers conjure up images of huge buildings filled with exotic electronic gear located in the bowels of a major university guarded by platoons of soldiers in the heart of Siberia. Things are changing slowly. Products from the West are beginning to show up in Russia (Pepsi is for sale in kiosks all over Moscow), and Russian products are appearing in the West. Still, it was a surprise when the Soviets introduced the prototype of a

tabletop computer at a Moscow trade fair in July of 1983. Produced by ELORG, (Electronorgteknika) the organization responsible for the purchase, manufacturing, and sale of electronic instruments and computers in the Soviet Union, the machine represents a milestone for the Russians. Systems that ELORG has produced in [continued)

ILLUSTRATED BY ROBERT TfNNEY

Leo D. Sores, M.D. (7350 East Stetson Dr., Suite 203, Scottsdale, AZ 85251), is an eye surgeon, well known internationally for his pioneering work (along with a Soviet eye surgeon) in the development of a radical new surgical procedure for the eradication of nearsightedness [myopia) and astigmatism—called radial keratotomy (RK). He conducted the first joint U.S.-U.S.S.R. seminar in medicine and now conducts seminars in ophthalmology for American surgeons in Moscow. He is president of Sun Bear Software, a small firm specializing in medical software.

NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE 135

AGAT

the past are in the minicomputer category and usually run a clumsy form of the CP/M operating system or a similar BIOS (basic input/output system). Direct copies of early model IBM 1401s and 370s are known to be in use in Russia, many controlled by old-fashioned paper-tape readers and punchers. Except for an occasional Hewlett-Packard and a rare DEC (and perhaps a VAX hidden away in the Ural Mountains), computer systems in Soviet institutions are outdated but serviceable. An Apple-compatible computer, therefore, is a definite first.

I first saw the machine called the AGAT in August of 1983 when I had an "opportunity to use it for a week. After booting it and examining its operation, I dubbed it the yablocka (Russian for apple). The operating system and ROM (read-only memory) seemed to be a direct lift from the Apple computer, with only a few minor differences, and the case is finished in a patriotic red, so the sobriquet was a natural. (See photo 1.)

Hardware

The machine is definitely not in the portable category. It is, rather, a "transportable" computer (that is, you would not get a hernia or a backache, as long as you didn't carry it too far). I suppose that you could call it robust. The monitor that comes with it weighs almost as much as the computer itself. It is a standard 30-centimeter composite color SECAM (systeme electronique pour couleur avec memoire) television set with an RCA connector at the back for a video signal.

The keyboard clips to the front of the computer with two light-duty metal clips. There is no provision for storing the connecting cable. The one-meter cable is permanently affixed to the keyboard and terminates in a 9-pin DIN (Deutsche Industrie Norm) type connector for insertion into the back of the main housing.

The keyboard is full size, and it is mounted so that the upper edge is elevated to tilt the keys about 15 degrees. The layout is that of a standard Russian typewriter, which resembles nothing you've ever seen; the Cyrillic alphabet

Photo 1: The AGAT, the Soviet Union's first microcomputer.

has 33 characters (31 sounded). The Control key is located in the extreme upper left corner. The Return key is only slightly larger than the other keys and is located where it could easily be struck by accident. I never did find the Escape key There is a full numeric keypad to the right, separated from the alpha keyboard by a row of presumably programmable function keys, and there is the usual row of number/miscellaneous keys at the top of the keyboard. Cyrillic, as well as English, characters are embossed into the key caps, one below the other. Auto-repeat and lowercase are implemented. The debounce circuitry is shaky, and occasionally a stray character shows up, especially during rapid data entry The feel of the keys is very similar to that of an IBM Personal Computer (PC), and they are about as noisy The elevation of the keyboard base (about 3.5 centimeters) and the slightly steeper-than-normal board angle would cause rapid fatigue as well as wrist pain after prolonged use.

One standard-height 544-inch disk drive is built into the right side of the machine. There does not appear to be any provision made for adding another drive, at least not internally. There is no port for adding on a drive at the rear, either. The AGAT has ports for a printer, a serial communication port, and a keyboard, but no game port. The machine is convection cooled through the top, bottom, and rear.

I did not try to open the case, but I peeked into the interior through the openings in the back and top. What I saw was not reassuring. I was confronted with a nightmarish wiring maze. The boards were a sickly brown color and looked like the old semi-glass boards of ancient renown. I could not see anything resembling a motherboard (although it's possible that there was one buried down there somewhere) and had to assume that I was looking at a variant of an old "back-plane" system, and a hard-wired one at that.

Software

I had not expected to be examining a Russian computer— especially a Russian "Apple—so 1 had not come prepared with my "hammer and tongs" with which I dissect Apple disks. However, I was able to perform a few tests and make notes of some impressions of the system. In a later visit I was able to examine the DOS (disk operating system) in greater detail.

The boot-up process seemed to be quite a bit slower than it would be on the Apple using DOS 3.3. This sluggishness is not confined to the booting process, as I found out later. The drive is noisier than I expected, both from the motor and the head-positioning mechanism. The greeting program was in Russian and turned out to be a demonstration of the three graphics modes available.

The scrolling rippled, suggesting the use of graphics mode to display text. This was verified after the demo, when I reset the computer. The computer dropped into normal text mode displaying garbled English characters.

(continued on page 486}

136 BYTE • NOVEMBER 19

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BYTE

Introduction to Semiconductors

by Alan R. Milter 143

The MC68020 32-bit Microprocessor

by Paul F. Groepler and lames Kennedy ... 159

The Xtar Graphics Microprocessor

by Terry Coleman and Skip Powers 179

RISC Chips

by John Markoff 191

Gallium Arsenide Chips

by Phillip Robinson 211

The 80286 Microprocessor

by Paul Wells 231

The PF474

by Steve Rosenthal 247

New Chips

SEVERAL YEARS AGO a computer scientist told us, "The biggest problem presented by VLSI (very-large-scale integration) design isn't new fabrication or computer-aided design tools; our biggest problem is simply getting the designer's brain around a VLSI circuit."

Cal Tech computer scientist Carver Mead has compared the density of current-generation VLSI circuits to street maps of major U.S. cities like Los Angeles and New York. He suggests that in the future, chip densities may approach the complexity of a similar map of the entire United States.

Yet many of the obstacles facing designers are being surmounted. Computer-aided design and manufacturing tools permit microprocessor designs that equal the performance of the newest generation of super-minicomputers. And at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference held in San Francisco earlier this yean four manufacturers showed off experimental 1-megabit RAM (random-access read/write memory) designs.

This month's theme articles focus on new chip design, including an introduction to semiconductor technology new microprocessor designs, new design technologies, and specialized semiconductor applications.

BYTE contributing editor Alan Miller opens the new-chip section by providing a general introduction to semiconductor technology. Miller explains how semiconductors function at the most basic level.

We have included articles on both the Intel 80286 and the Motorola MC68020 microprocessors. The 80286 might gain widespread acceptance because it is used in the IBM PC AT. Likewise, the MC68020 also could attract a major following; its predecessor, the MC68000, is used in Apple's Lisa and Macintosh and the emerging software is an indication that Apple could move to the MC68020 to power its future 3 2-bit personal computers.

BYTE editor Phil Robinson looks at gallium arsenide technology to remind us that more processing power and speed will be available in the future based on advances in material sciences. The pluses of gallium arsenide are simple; the chips are fast and they run cool. The first commercial chips are now available.

One way of dealing with the complexity of VLSI circuits is to simplify microprocessor design. This is exactly what faculty and students at Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley have done in experimental RISC (reduced instruction set computer) microprocessors. As BYTE editor John Markoff reports, using CAD (computer-aided design) tools developed on campus, the two research groups have created VLSI microprocessors that outperform commercial 16-bit and 32-bit microprocessors.

Steve Rosenthal writes about a specialized application; the PF474, a semiconductor optimized to perform fast string-search operations on text files.

Finally, Xtar Electronics explains some details of its graphics coprocessors.

— ]ohn Markoff, Senior Technical Editor, and Ezra Shapiro, Wesf Coast Bureau Chief

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 141

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INTRODUCTION TO

SEMICONDUCTORS

by Alan R. Miller

What they are and how they work

ELECTRICITY IS THE MIGRATION of charge carriers. In metals, these carriers are electrons; in ionic melts (such as sodium chloride), they are ions; and in gases (e.g., in a fluorescent lamp), ions and electrons are carriers. The charge carriers in semiconductors can be either electrons or electron holes.

This article covers the fundamental concepts behind conduction in semiconductor devices, including the thermistor, rectifier diode, zener diode, and Schottky diode. In particular, the relationship between the band gap and the Fermi level is explored for each device.

Band Theory

According to quantum mechanics, or-bitalized electrons are restricted to certain values of energy. Some energy levels are allowed and others are not allowed. For a single atom, the allowable energy levels are discrete, while a solid material has broad ranges or bands of allowable energy.

The values of energy that are not allowed fall in an area known as the band gap, which lies between the allowable energy bands. An energy-band diagram (figure 1) shows energy

increasing vertically; that is, an electron that is higher than another has more energy. In the unexcited (ground) state, bands with lower energy are completely filled with electrons. The regions of energy between filled bands are free of electrons and are the forbidden band gaps.

For a material to act as a conductor of electricity, some of its electrons must be excited above the ground state into orbitals that will allow them to roam across the material. For some materials, the top band is only partly filled with electrons; that is, energy states are available within this band. This material is an electrical conductor since very little energy is needed to raise an electron to the next level and make it into a charge carrier. Figure la shows the corresponding energy-band diagram. For other ma-

Alan R. Miller is a professor at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology {Socorro, NM 87801) where he has taught materials science, thermodynamics, electrical engineering, and programming methods since 1967. He holds a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and he has written six books about computer languages and operating systems.

terials, the top band is exactly filled. Electrical conduction is not possible unless an electron is given sufficient energy to promote it across the band gap to the next available (empty) band. These two bands, the top filled band and the next empty band, are respectively known as the valence band and the conduction band. This band picture, diagrammed in figure lb, corresponds to both semiconducting and insulating materials.

What distinguishes semiconductors from insulators? At room temperature, the normal thermal vibration of the atoms can provide sufficient energy to promote an electron across the band gap if the gap is not too large. On the other hand, materials with large band gaps will have few electrons available for conduction. A material with a large band gap is known as an insulator. However, if the band gap is small, the material is known as a semiconductor. Perhaps it should be called a semi-insulator.

The Fermi Level

At any temperature above absolute zero, energy will be available for the promotion of electrons. The higher the temperature, the more conduction

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 145

SEMICONDUCTORS

The variation of conductivity with temperature and light can be useful

electrons can be found at any given energy level. The energy level where the probability of finding a conduction electron is exactly one-half is known as the Fermi level. At absolute zero, all available states below the Fermi level are filled and all states above the Fermi level are empty.

For a conductor, the Fermi level lies in the partially filled band at the top of the electrons. By contrast, the Fermi level for an insulator or semiconductor lies in the band gap midway between the valence band and the conduction band. The Fermi levels for a conductor and for an insulator or semiconductor are marked by E f in figure 1. Notice that the Fermi level lies within a band for a conductor but it lies in the band gap for a semiconductor or insulator.

Electron Holes

When a valence electron becomes a conduction electron in a semiconductor, it leaves a space in the lower-energy bonding orbitals that is available for other electrons. This "electron hole" can carry electrical current just as an electron can; since both have an equivalent charge. (Of course the charges have opposite sign.) Clearly for each valence electron promoted

across the band gap to the conduction band, one electron hole is produced. In this case, there are an equal number of conduction electrons and electron holes, and the material is called an intrinsic semiconductor.

Mobility of Charge Carriers

Electrons and holes respond to electric fields in different ways. Electrons move against the electric field while holes move with the field. (In reality, of course, bonding orbitals do not move at all. The holes only appear to move as electrons are promoted out of one bonding orbital and fall into another, just as the sequentially lit lightbulbs of a movie marquee appear to move across the sign.) Although the two types of carriers move in opposite directions, they also have opposite charge. Consequently, the resulting electrical current is the sum of the two parts.

Movement of electrons and holes is not symmetrical; they do not move at the same speed. The relative velocity of charge carriers is known as the mobility, the velocity relative to the electric field. The units of mobility are m/s (meters/second) divided by V/m (volts/meter), or m 2 /v s. Mobility changes from one material to the next. However, the mobility of the electron is always greater than that of the corresponding hole. The ratio can be as small as three or as large as several hundred. The mobility changes with temperature and with the con-

Figure 1: Energy-band diagram for a conductor (a) and for an insulator or semiconductor (b).

centration of the carriers. If you keep in mind that the only thing that really moves is the electron, the reason why holes "move" more slowly is readily apparent. Holes would move at the same speed as electrons only if each conduction electron moved directly and unfailingly to the next available bonding orbital. Quantum mechanics tells us that the probability of this is always and necessarily less than one.

Temperature, Light and Conductivity

The normal thermal vibration of atoms can provide the energy needed to promote a valence electron to the conduction band. Consequently the electrical conductivity (the reciprocal of resistivity) increases with increasing temperature. For an intrinsic material the relationship is

s = A exp(-E g l2kT)

where s is the conductivity, A is a constant, E g is the band gap, k is Boltzmann's constant, and 7 is the absolute temperature. This expression shows that the logarithm of conductivity varies linearly with reciprocal temperature; that is, a plot of log conductivity versus 1/7 is a straight line.

The variation of conductivity with temperature can be useful. An intrinsic semiconductor designed for measuring or controlling temperature is known as a thermistor (for thermal resistor).

The conductivity of a semiconductor also changes when exposed to light. Photons of wavelength X (Greek letter lambda) have an energy

E m hcl\

where h is Planck's constant and c the speed of light.

When a semiconductor is exposed to light, valence electrons will be promoted to the conduction band if the energy of the photons is equal to the difference in energy between a valence band orbital and a conduction band orbital. This is the principle of photodetectors. The band gaps of common semiconductors (in electron volts) are given in table 1 with the corresponding wavelengths of the band

144 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

SEMICONDUCTORS

gaps. Silicon and germanium have band gaps that correspond to infrared, cadmium sulfide's band gap is in the visible region, and zinc sulfide has a gap in the ultraviolet range. Therefore, silicon and germanium can be used to detect infrared light but not visible light, which has a higher energy. Cadmium sulfide is commonly used for photographic light meters since its band gap corresponds to visible light. Zinc sulfide is used as a

phosphor in fluorescent lamps, video screens, and television tubes.

N- and P-TYpe Materials

Silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge) use four valence electrons for bonding and appear as Group IV elements of the periodic table (figure 2). A semiconductor made from silicon will be a single crystal in which each silicon atom is surrounded by four other silicon atoms.

If a small amount of a Group V element such as arsenic (As) is added to silicon, the arsenic atoms will occupy the regular silicon positions of the crystal structure. Arsenic has five valence electrons: since only four of these electrons are needed for bonding, the fifth will be loosely held. This fifth electron can readily become a charge carrier. The energy needed to promote this electron to the conduction band is only about 4 percent of the band-gap energy of silicon.

As stated earlier, when a valence electron is promoted to the conduction band of an intrinsic semiconductor, an electron hole is produced. However, when a conduction electron is created by doping a Group IV element with a Group V impurity no corresponding hole is created. Thus silicon doped with arsenic has an excess of electron carriers. The doped silicon is therefore known as an N-

{continued)

Figure 2: The periodic chart of the elements. Customarily the A in group designations {e.g., Group III A} is omitted in discussing semiconductors.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 145

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SEMICONDUCTORS

type material. This designation does not mean that the material is negatively charged; that is, there are not more electrons than protons. Rather, it means that the material has more electrons than available slots in valence orbitals.

If a small amount of a Group III element such as gallium (Ga) is added to silicon, the impurity atoms again occupy regular silicon sites. But gallium can only provide three bonding electrons. Since four valence electrons are needed for bonding, the fourth is taken from the surroundings.

Thermal energy has promoted the fourth electron into the conduction band, making it available for bonding. In the process, an electron hole was also created. Together they are known as an electron hole pair (EHP). Since the electron of this pair has been taken by a gallium atom for a bond, the electron hole is left by itself, creating an excess of electron holes. A material with excess electron holes is called a P-type material.

Energy Bands for Extrinsic

Semiconductors

Semiconductors that have an excess of either conduction electrons or holes are known as extrinsic or doped semiconductors. P-type and N-type energy-band diagrams are given in figure 3. The band gap, E g , is the same, suggesting that both are for the same substrate. However, an acceptor band is near the bottom of the band gap of the P-type material. The acceptor band is separated from the valence band by a small acceptor band gap, E a . A similar donor band is near the top of the band gap for the N-type material. The donor band is separated from the conduction band by a small donor band gap, E d .

Notice that the Fermi levels are not in the center of the extrinsic band gaps as for intrinsic semiconductors. The Fermi level is below the midpoint for the P-type material and above the midpoint for the N-type material. Let's look at the N-type more closely.

The relatively free fifth electron originally associated with the Group

[continued)

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SEMICONDUCTORS

V impurity can become a conduction electron by applying a small amount of energy equal to the donor band gap. This amount of energy is considerably less than the energy needed to promote a valence electron across the band gap to the conduction band. Because the donor band gap is relatively small, with a small concentration of donor atoms, the donor electrons are thermally excited to the conduction band at room temperature. But the temperature is not high enough to promote electrons from the valence band to the conduction band. Thus, the conductivity of an extrinsic semiconductor is essentially constant at room temperature, unlike the great change in conductivity with temperature that occurs in an intrinsic semiconductor.

Compound Semiconductors

I have been discussing semiconductors that are primarily one element, such as silicon or germanium. When doped | with a small amount of a Group III or Group V element, the structure is still predominantly that of the Group IV element. However, another class of semiconductors, known as the compound semiconductors, combines two elements in equal proportions.

The chemical element immediately to the left of germanium on the periodic table (figure 2) is gallium, an element with an atomic diameter about the same size as that of germanium, but with one less electron. The element arsenic is immediately to

the right of germanium. It too is about the same size, but has one additional electron. A compound made of equal parts of gallium and arsenic is similar in certain ways to germanium; that is, the total number of electrons will be the same. Furthermore, the bonding is similar to germanium. Each atom of gallium is surrounded by four atoms of arsenic and each atom of arsenic is surrounded by four atoms of gallium. The resulting band gap, however, is larger (table 1).

A material of this type is known as a III-V compound semiconductor. Most of the Group III and Group V elements can combine in this way. Sometimes two Group III elements are combined with a Group V element or vice versa. Gallium aluminum phosphide and gallium arsenide phosphide are examples.

A III-V compound semiconductor made with equal parts of Group III and Group V will be intrinsic. However, extrinsic compound semiconductors are possible. Adding small amounts of zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), or silicon to gallium arsenide produces a P-type material, while adding sulfur (S) or selenium (Se) makes it N-type.

The P-N Junction

Simple semiconductors are a single crystal throughout. If such a material is pure, the semiconductor is intrinsic. However, by adding one type of impurity to one end and another to the other, you can create a P-N junction, a device with two different regions. If

CONDUCTION BAND

77777

VALENCE BAND;

'/VALENCE BAND//

Eg

If

a Group III impurity is added to the left end and a Group V impurity is added to the right end, then the left end will be P-type and the right end will be N-type. The resulting material is diagrammed in figure 4.

Because of the small concentration of impurities in a P-N junction device, the structure is still physically the same throughout its length; that is, despite an excess of holes on the P side and an excess of electrons on the N side, the crystal structure and band gap remain the same throughout the device.

As described above, a P-N device has an excess of holes (the majority carrier) in P-type material on the left side and an excess of electrons on the right. At some point near the center, the concentration of the two carriers is equal and the material is intrinsic. The energy-level diagram for the P-N junction (figure 4) shows the bands distorted so that the Fermi level is constant throughout. Notice that the valence band is close to the Fermi level on the P side while the conduction band is close to the Fermi level on the N side.

Motion of Carriers

The operation of a P-N junction involves two types of carrier movement. The charge carriers move from regions of high concentration to regions of lower concentration. This movement is called a diffusion current. The movement alters the local electric field, which in turn induces

[continued]

Figure 3: Energy-band diagrams for P-type (left) and N-type (right) semiconductors.

Figure 4: A P-N junction device and the corresponding energy-level diagram.

148 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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SEMICONDUCTORS

the charge carriers to move. This charge carrier movement in response to electric field fluctuation is called a drift current. With two types of charge carriers and two types of movement, four separate currents must be considered.

Since in the P-N junction a greater concentration of holes exists in the P-type material than in the N-type material, a diffusion current of holes occurs from the P side to the N side (from left to right in figure 4). Similarly a greater concentration of electrons exists in the N-type material. Here a diffusion current of electrons moves from the N side to the P side (from right to left). This diffusion creates a charge imbalance and an internal electric field. The electric field, in turn, creates a drift current.

The electric field of the P-N junction creates drift currents for both the electrons and holes. In contrast to the

Figure 5: A forward-biased P-N junction device and the corresponding energy-level diagram.

diffusion current, the drift current for electrons begins in the P region (where electrons are minority carriers) and moves to the N region (that is, the electron drift current moves from left to right in figure 4). The drift current for holes begins in the N region and

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moves from right to left. Thus the diffusion currents arise from majority carriers while the drift currents begin with minority carriers.

Since the electron diffusion current begins in the N region and ends in the P region, the electrons must climb the potential energy barrier from the conduction band on the N side to the conduction band on the P side. Hole diffusion is similar. You can visualize this process by imagining that the energy of holes increases downward in the band diagram, opposite to the energy of electrons. The diffusion currents are limited by the potential barrier they must climb at the P-N junction.

In contrast to the diffusion current, the drift currents do not have to climb an energy barrier. An electron in the P region moving to the N region falls in energy as it crosses the P-N junction. The drift current, therefore, is limited by the very low concentration of the minority carriers.

All of the above can be more clearly understood from the perspective of orbital theory In the absence of an external field, there is no directionality to the overall motion of the electrons. Without a vectored migration of electrons, there is no ordered arrangement of the orbitals they leave behind. That is, when no electric field is externally applied, the two diffusion currents and two drift currents cancel each other and the semiconductor is at equilibrium. However, when an external electric field is applied, two situations can occur—forward bias or reverse bias.

ThE Forward-Biased P-N Junction

If you apply an external electric field to a P-N junction so that the positive lead is attached to the P side and the negative lead to the N side, the P-N junction is forward-biased. The energy-level diagram for a forward-biased P-N junction is shown in figure 5.

By comparing figures 4 and 5, several features are apparent. The band gap is the same throughout for both examples. However, in figure 5 the

{continued)

150 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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SEMICONDUCTORS

Fermi level is displaced at the junction by an energy £ = qV where q is the charge on the carrier (in coulombs) and V is the applied voltage. The energy £ is in joules. The Fermi level is higher on the right or N side.

Another feature of the forward-biased P-N junction is a lowering of the potential energy barrier between the conduction band on the P side and the conduction band on the N side. As discussed earlier, this energy barrier impeded the diffusion current since the carriers must climb the barrier to cross the junction. On the other hand, the drift current falls down in energy when crossing the junction. Therefore, a forward bias applied to a P-N junction should increase the diffusion current but should not alter the drift current. Figure 6 shows the relationship between the applied external electric field and the resulting current for a P-N junction. The curve indicates that with a forward bias (positive V) the current rapidly increases with the voltage.

The Reverse-Biased P-N Junction

If the external electric field is reversed, that is, if the positive lead is attached to the N side and the negative lead is attached to the P side the P-N junction is reverse-biased. The energy-level diagram for a reverse-biased junction is shown in figure 7.

A comparison of figures 4, 5, and 7 shows that a reverse bias separates the Fermi levels but in the opposite direction of a forward bias. The Fermi level is higher on the P side than on

Figure 6: The current-voltage relationship for a P-N junction.

Figure 7: A reverse-biased P-N junction device and the corresponding energy-level diagram.

the N side. Futhermore, with reverse bias the potential energy barrier to carrier diffusion is greater than the equilibrium value, whereas a forward bias reduces the barrier.

Diffusion current is negligible with no applied field; therefore, it is also negligible for a reverse bias because the barrier is greater. Drift current is not affected by the external field since carriers are falling down the potential. However, the drift current is not very large anyway since it depends on the concentration of minority carriers. The drift current, also known as the reverse saturation current, is shown as Io in figure 6.

T>iE P-N Rectifying Diode

The current-voltage relationship shown in figure 6 indicates that current flows ■ in a P-N device when the voltage is applied in a forward direction but not when the voltage is reversed. A rectifier is a device that requires that current flow with only one bias direction. Alternating current periodically reverses direction and rectifying this current is sometimes necessary. The rectifying diode can perform this task. The electronic symbol and the corresponding identification of polarity are shown in figure 8. Positive current flows in the direction of the arrow, from the P side to the N side.

High Carrier Concentration

The semiconductors described above have a relatively low concentration of impurities (measured in parts per bil-

lion). The Fermi level for these semiconductors is off center but still within the band gap. As the impurity concentration in a semiconductor increases, the Fermi level moves further and further from the center position (downward for P-type and upward for N-type). If the concentration of impurities is very large, the Fermi level will move out of the band gap and will actually be located within the valence band for P-type and within the conduction band for N-type. A material with a high impurity concentration is known as a degenerate semiconductor. Since the Fermi level is located within a band, rather than in the band gap, the material exhibits the properties of a conductor rather than an insulator. Several semiconductor devices are based on degenerate semiconductors, including the zener diode.

The Zener Diode

Zener diodes are used to regulate voltage. To diagram the operation of a zener diode the curve given in figure 6 must be extended. For a P-N diode, the forward current increases rapidly with the voltage, but the current for a reverse bias is negligible. However, if the reverse voltage is increased sufficiently, a point will be reached where current will flow (figure 9). The voltage where this breakdown occurs is known as the peak inverse voltage (PIV) and is one specification for a rectifying diode. Reverse breakdown can result from one of three effects: punch-through ("frying" the chip),

{continued)

Figure 8: The electronic symbol for the rectifying diode and the polarities of the corresponding material

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SEMICONDUCTORS

Schottky diodes are used in digital circuits because they can be turned on faster.

avalanche (nondestructive ionization), or zener (field effects) breakdown.

A zener diode is made by lightly doping one side of the junction (e.g., the P side) and heavily doping the other side (e.g., the N side). For such a semiconductor, the Fermi level lies in the band gap of the P side but is within the conduction band for the N side. At reverse breakdown, electrons can tunnel (another quantum mechanics concept) from the valence band of the P side to the conduction band of the N side. (Technically, tunneling is a thin-layer effect while zener is a field effect, but it is common to call any classically forbidden energy barrier penetration tunneling.) The idea here is that the applied field is opposed by the field within the chip, resulting in a deformation of the chip's orbital. At some point, the induced field will so deform the orbitals that the potential energy barrier to reverse current flow is less than the ambient thermal energy. The resulting current is constant, independent of further applied voltage. All modern voltage regulators are based on this device.

The electronic symbol and the corresponding identification of polarity for the zener diode is shown in figure 10. The symbol is similar to a rectifying junction except that the cross arms are broken to represent the letter Z. Positive current flows in the direction of the arrow, from the N side to the P side, since the zener diode is reverse-biased.

Metal-Semiconductor Junctions

TWo types of junction can form when a metal is attached to a semiconductor depending on the work functions of the materials. (The work function is the minimum energy needed to remove an electron from a material.)

For some metal-semiconductor combinations a regular ohmic junction is formed. This junction is nonrectifying, and the current is directly proportional to the voltage. For other metal-semiconductor combinations, a rectifying junction known as a Schottky-barrier diode is formed. The current-voltage curve is similar to the one shown in figure 6 for P-N junctions. A Schottky diode is not used for general rectifier applications since the reverse saturation (maximum) current is greater than that for a silicon P-N junction. The advantage of a Schottky diode is that it can be turned on faster than a P-N diode. Therefore Schottky diodes are commonly used in digital circuits. (The S, eg., in the designation 74S04, indicates a Schottky device.) The electronic symbol for a Schottky diode is similar to a zener diode except that the arms are bent more sharply to look like a squared-off letter S.

Every semiconductor device must be attached to at least two metal lead wires so that it can be attached to

Figure 9: The current-voltage relationship for a P-N junction extended to reverse breakdown.

Figure 10: The electronic symbol for the zener diode and the polarities of the corresponding material

other devices. However, these leads must form ohmic rather than rectifying junctions. As discussed earlier, ohmic junctions can be formed between certain combinations of metals and semiconductors depending on the work function. However, there is another way to ensure an ohmic junction.

Increasing the concentration of impurities in a semiconductor moves the Fermi level further from the center of the band gap. At some point, the Fermi level will enter the valence band for a P-type material or the conduction band for an N-type material. The semiconductor is degenerate and the energy-band diagram now looks like that of a metal. Consequently, a junction between a metal and a degenerate semiconductor will always create an ohmic junction. Degenerate semiconductors are indicated with a plus symbol; that is, the symbol N + represents a degenerate N-type material and the symbol P + represents a degenerate P-type material. Making a semiconductor degenerate at the point where the metal lead is attached ensures an ohmic contact.

Conclusion

In this article I have explored the fundamentals of electrical conduction in solids with special emphasis on semiconductors. I've considered some simple semiconductors, such as the thermistor, photodetector, rectifier diode, zener diode, and Schottky diode. You can obtain more information from the works cited below. ■

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Bar-Lev, Adir. Semiconductors and Electronic Devices. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984.

2. Barrett, Craig, William D. Nix, and Alan S. Tetelman. The Principles of Engineering Materials. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1973.

3. Malmstadt H. V., and C G. Enke. Digital Electronics for Scientists. New York: W. A. Benjamin, 1969.

4. Streetman, Ben. Solid State Electronic Devices. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1972.

5. Van Vlack, Lawrence. Elements of Materials Science and Engineering, 4th ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1980.

154 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 157

PCTURBO!56...SpeedWinstheRace.

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NEW CHIPS

THE MC68020

3 2-BIT MICROPROCESSOR

by Paul F. Groepler and James Kennedy

The latest member of Motorola's 68000 family includes onSoard cache and virtual memory

THE MC68020, the newest addition to the Motorola M68000 family of microprocessors, is a full 32-bit processor with separate 32-bit data and address buses, an on-board instruction cache, dynamic bus sizing, and a coprocessor interface. It is object-code compatible with the earlier members of the M68000 family but has new addressing modes in support of high-level languages.

The MC68020 is an HCMOS (highspeed complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) microprocessor with some 200,000 individual transistors on a 375- by 3 50-millimeter die, operating at a 16.67-MHz clock frequency (60-nanosecond clock period) and dissipating less than 1.5 watts of power. It can process instructions at a sustained rate of 2 to 3 million instructions per second (MIPS) and at burst rates exceeding 8 MIPS.

MC68020 Parts

Figure 1 is a block diagram of the MC68020 with the various internal sections labeled. We'll briefly describe their functions. The sequencer and control unit are

the chip managers. They control internal buses, registers, and the execution unit.

The execution unit contains the program counter (PC), the address, and the data. The PC section calculates instruction addresses and manages pointers. The address section calculates operand addresses and stores the registers available to the user. The data section performs all data operations, such as immediate data value moves. It also contains the barrel shifter, which performs one-cycle shifts of any amount on data.

The bus controller manages cache and external memory accesses. It also provides control for the various parts of the 68020 microprocessor and interprets the nanorom information. This information is combined with decoding the instruction pipe to gener-

Paul F. Groepler is a systems applications designer in the High-end Applications Engineering Department at Motorola, \ames Kennedy is a software engineer in the MPU Design Department at Motorola. You can reach them at Motorola Inc., POB 6000, Austin, TX 78762.

ate control for the micromachine.

The instruction prefetch and decode unit fetches and decodes an instruction for execution by the execution unit. The prefetch is a three-word-deep on-chip instruction store. It eliminates the need for the processor to sequentially fetch an instruction from external memory, decode and execute it, and fetch another.

Instead, because of the sequential nature of instruction accesses, the prefetch can anticipate the next access and make it before it is needed. Thus, external memory fetches are anticipated and overlapped with current processor execution.

The instruction addresses for the prefetch are calculated independently of data addresses, allowing for parallel accesses of instruction and data addresses. This simultaneous access will occur if the data access is from external memory and the instruction access is from the instruction cache. When this happens, a simultaneous instruction and data access occurs.

The 2 56-byte instruction cache increases performance by reducing the

{continued}

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 159

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THE MC68020

number of instruction fetches, or bus cycles, from main memory. This lets system performance increase because the processor's bus use is decreased, freeing the bus for other system bus masters. Only instructions are stored in the cache. Data accesses must still be read from main memory.

Hardware and software may control the cache. Hardware contr ol is in the form of the cache disable (CDIS pin), which can disable the cache. The GDIS pin has priority and overrides any software setting.

Software control is in the form of two control registers: the cache control register (CACR) and the cache address register (CAAR). The CACR and CAAR are organized as shown in figures 2 and 3. Bits 4 to 31 are unused and always read as zeros. The CACR lets the systems programmer enable or freeze the cache, clear an entry, or clear the entire cache. The CAAR is a 32-bit register that provides an address for cache control functions. This

register is used only for the clear entry (CE) function in conjunction with the CACR.

Dynamic Bus Sizing

A nice feature of the MC68020 for the designer as well as the programmer is the dynamic bus. Now a designer need not worry about excessive hardware "glue" to interface to 16- or 8-bit peripherals and a programmer need not worry about word or long-word aligned data in data space. The MC68020 allows transfers of 8-, 16-, and 32-bit data between 8-, 16-, and 32-bit ports. The only requirement for data alignment is that it occur on a byte boundary. Instructions and any associated extension words must still fall on word address boundaries, but word/long-word alignment is no longer required for program space operands.

The processor lets misaligned transfers occur by determining the data

{continued)

SEQUENCER

CONTROL UNIT

<*>

c

ADDRESS BUS

C=j=)

<2-

EXECUTION UNIT

INSTRUCTION PREFETCH AND DECODE

C

BUS CONTROLLER

INSTRUCTION CACHE

c=>

BUS CONTROL

Cffc>*

Figure 1: MC68020 block diagram.

Figure 2: The cache control register.

Figure 3: The cache address register.

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10 meg shown. NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 161

THE MC68020

port size during each bus cycle. By handshaking lines between the processor and external memory or peripherals, the MC68020 can transfer this mismatched or mis-sized data. Figure 4 illustrates the workings of the internal hardware that makes this possible and the alignment of operand bytes for an 8-, 16-, and 32-bit bus interfacing with the MC68020.

Misaligned operand transfers can lead to an increased number of bus cycles because the processor might not be able to successfully transfer

the misaligned data across the port within one bus cycle. A normal transfer occurring from an aligned 32-bit operand address across a 3 2-bit bus to a 32-bit peripheral would take only one transfer cycle.

In a mis-sized transfer, as well as a normal transfer, the peripheral uses the DSACKO and DSACK1 pins to signal to the processor that it has a bus width of 8, 16, or 32 bits. The processor outputs the operand transfer size using the SIZO and SIZ1 pins.

Notice that with an 8-bit peripheral,

MC68020 OPI 0P2

INTERNAL SOURCE/ DESTINATION

MULTIPLEXOR

EXTERNAL DATA BUS

32-BIT PORT

16-BIT PORT

Figure 4: The MC68020 interface to various port sizes.

D31 J D16 WORD MEMORY MSB LSB

MC68020

MEMORY CONTROL

SIZ1 0

1

0

S1Z0

0

1 1

A2 0 0

Al 0 1

A0 1 0 0

DSACK1 DSACKO

Figure 5: Example of a misaligned long-word transfer to a word-wide bus.

only data bits D31 to D24 need to be connected to the peripheral. Four bus cycles are necessary to complete this transfer with only 1 byte being moved across the bus per cycle.

The MC68020 relaxes word and long-word alignment restrictions for data. It is now possible to execute an operand transfer across a memory boundary that only needs to be byte aligned. Even and odd word restrictions are gone. Some performance degradation can occur, due to extra bus cycles needed to transfer misaligned long-word or word data across boundaries.

Figure 5 shows a misaligned long-word transfer across a word-wide bus. In the example, a byte box with "xxx" denotes that the location in memory is not overwritten and remains unchanged. As you can see from this example, it is important for the system designer to control the enabling/disabling of the appropriate data buffers to avoid overwriting or misreading nonpertinerit data during a misaligned cycle.

For clarity's sake, figure 5 also shows line A2 in offset of the transferred data into word memory. The first cycle runs with A2/A1/A0 being 001, showing an offset of 1 byte in memory. SIZ1/SIZ0 is 00, indicating that the processor has a long word left to transfer. The second cycle shows A2/ A1/A0 with a 2-byte displacement, and SIZ1/SIZ0 showing the processor with 3 bytes left to transfer. The third cycle has no offset on the address pins and the SIZE pins indicating 1 byte left to transfer. There is a two-bus-cycle degradation here, but it is transparent to the programmer, letting him ignore the restrictions of data alignment.

Coprocessor Interface

Though the MC68020 is powerful it might not have all the special commands or capabilities that a designer requires. For this reason, the designers of the MC68020 incorporated a general coprocessor interface and instructions. The coprocessor interface provides a means by which Motorola

{continued}

162 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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NOVEMBER 1984 * BYTE 163

THE MC68020

and other coprocessors (floating point, fast Fourier transform, or graphics processors) can extend the MC68020.

The coprocessor interface is designed to support synchronous operation between the MC68020 and up to eight coprocessors. With this interface downward compatibility is possible because a coprocessor can be coupled with a main processor other than the MC68020 (e.g., 68008, 68000, 68010, 68012). All the main processor must do is provide instruc-

tion sequences that emulate the protocol of the coprocessor interface.

The coprocessor operates based on an F-line operation code, essentially the first word of a coprocessor instruction. It is so named because the hexadecimal F in the upper nybble of the instruction word causes the processor to flag the instruction during decode. The F-line indicates to the main processor that it must call the coprocessor for proper execution of the instruction. See figure 6 for the format of the F-line word.

Figure 6: FAine format.

ADDRESS DECODE

7"T7*>

MC68020

COPROCESSOR

I/O

MEMORY

D

A0-A31

c

D

J)

BUS EXTENSION

Figure 7: Coprocessor system configuration.

C

BUS ACTIVITY < PREFETCH

>c

>^

EXT INSTRUCT!

ON ^>

BUS CONTROLLER

INSTRUCTION EXECUTION TIME

CLOCK COUNT

PREFETCH INSTRUCTION AFTER SUB

PERFORM MOVE

PERFORM WRITE FOR MOVE

PERFORM SUB

NEXT INSTRUCTION

NEXT INSTRUCTION

MOVE (An), (An)

NEXT INSTRUCTI

^D

Figure 8: Overlap example.

The coprocessor identifier (Cp-ld) field identifies which coprocessor is to be selected. The Type field identifies which type of coprocessor operation is to be performed (branch, general, save, etc.).

Communication between the main processor and coprocessors is synchronous, but the main processor might not need to wait for the coprocessor to complete an instruction before it begins execution of its next instruction.

Hardware connection is a simple extension of the MC68000 bus interface and is shown in figure 7. The coprocessor is connected as a peripheral to the main processor and is selected based on combinations of function codes (FC2-FC0 are 111) and address bits (A19-A16 are 0010) as well as bits A15-13, described in figure 6.

Overlap

Overlap occurs when the sequencer and bus controller are operating on different instructions simultaneously. For example, in figure 8 a MOVE (An), (An) instruction and a SUB Dn,Dn instruction can operate concurrently for some of the total execution time. The overlap takes place during the external bus activity associated with the MOVE. Since for a certain clock time the bus controller is busy performing the write to external memory associated with the MOVE, the sequencer can continue with the next instruction, subtract (SUB). The SUB instruction does not require any external bus activity, so the sequencer alone can operate on it. This overlap time is shown from clocks 4 through 6.

Also note that part of the instruction following the SUB might have some of its execution time overlapped under the MOVE instruction. This occurs if calculations, such as effective address calculations, are needed to perform the instruction. An example of this would be if another MOVE instruction followed the SUB instruction.

Because the bus controller was performing an external bus cycle associated with the MOVE during the time the SUB was taking place internally,

[continued)

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THE MC68020

the execution time is attributed to the MOVE instruction alone. If the pipe had been depleted and the SUB instruction had not been inside the described overlap would not have taken place.

This example illustrates an important point about this concurrent machine. With a sequential microprocessor (no prefetch and no concurrency of operation), instruction timing is easy to calculate. It is virtually impossible with a concurrent microprocessor such as the MC68020. Each in-

dividual instruction is dependent on the instruction previous to it and is subject to the rules built into the prefetch mechanism. The best timings that can be given are in terms of best, average, and worst-case boundaries. Performance ratios and benchmarks become requisite in measuring performance.

Programming

As shown in the programming model (figure 9), the MC68020 has eight 32-bit multifunction data registers,

Figure 9: MC68020 programming model

seven 32-bit general addressing registers, three 3 2-bit stack pointers (user, master, and interrupt), a 32-bit program counter, a 16-bit status register, a 3 2-bit vector base register, two 3-bit alternate function code registers, a 3 2-bit cache address register, and a 32-bit cache control register. The MC68020 is object-code compatible with the M68000 family but has several new addressing mode capabilities (table 1) and several new and enhanced instructions (table 2).

A principle in the MC68020 design is support for high-level language and system software implementation. This support is provided by the inclusion of special instructions that allow array bounds checking with a single instruction, safe manipulation of system queues, support for linked lists, expansion of system trap capabilities, and module support.

The MC68020 has three new 32-bit registers: the master stack pointer (MSP), cache control register (CACR), and cache address register (CAAR) (figure 8). The interrupt stack pointer is virtually the same as the M68000 family's supervisor stack pointer and therefore is not really a new register. The terminology has been changed to reflect a multiprocessing environment. The MSP was created to facilitate multiprocessing by letting each process have a small master stack area where process-specific exception data is stored, while maintaining a common large interrupt stack area among all the processes. The CACR clears the entire cache, clears a single cache entry, freezes the' cache, and enables the cache. Each of these functions is controlled by simply setting a bit in the CACR. The CAAR is used with the cache clear entry function to clear a single entry in the cache.

T^ble 1 shows the MC68020 addressing modes. Of particular interest are the memory indirect and program counter memory indirect addressing modes.

There are two forms of memory indirect addressing and program counter memory indirect addressing: indirect pre-indexed and indirect post-

{cont'mued)

166 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Watson and Natural MicroSystems are trademarks of Natural MicroSystems Corporation. Lotus 1-2-3 is a trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. Wordstar is a trademark of MicroPro International Corporation. © Natural MicroSystems Corporation, 1984

Circle 301 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 167

THE MC68020

indexed. Program counter memory indirect is similar to memory indirect addressing; however, where the address register is normally added into the calculation, the current program counter is used. The result is position-independent code where the memory pointer is accessed relative to the current program counter. In indirect pre-

indexed and indirect post-indexed addressing modes, the base displacement (bd) and outer displacement (od) can be null (zero), word (16-bit), or long-word (32-bit) sizes.

Indirect pre-indexed addressing adds the index register into the address calculation before the memory indirection is performed. Indirect pre-

Table 1: MC68020 addressing modes. Addressing Modes

Syntax

Register direct Data register direct Address register direct

Dn

An

Register indirect Address register indirect Address register indirect with postincrement Address register indirect with predecrement Address register indirect with displacement

(An) (An) + -(An) (d 16 ,An)

Immediate

$<data>

Notes:

Dn - Data Register, DO-DZ

An = Address Register, A0-A7.

d8-di6 = ^ two's-complement or sign-extended displacement; added as part of the effective address calculation; size is 8 or 16 bits (d-|6 and dg are 16- and 8-bit displacements); when omitted, assemblers use a value of zero.

Xn = Address or data register used as an index register; form is Xn.SIZE*SCALE, where SIZE is ,W or 1 (indicates index register size) and SCALE is 1, 2, 4, or 8 (index register is multiplied by SCALE); use of SIZE and/or SCALE is optional.

bd = A two's-complement base displacement; when present, size can be 16 or 32 bits.

od = Outer displacement, added as part of effective address calculation after any memory indirection; use is optional with a size of 16 or 32 bits.

PC ■ Program Counter

<data> ■ Immediate value of 8, 16, or 32 bits.

( ) = Effective address.

[ ] = Use as indirect address to long-word address.

indexed can be used to access operands through an array of pointers or through a pointer located in a record item or an array of records. The address register or program counter, index register, and base displacement are added together and used as the address of the memory pointer. The 32-bit memory pointer is fetched and the outer displacement is added to form the effective address.

Indirect post-indexed addressing performs the memory indirection and then adds the index register to calculate the effective address. Indirect post-indexed can be used to access an element of an array that is pointer addressed. The base displacement and address register or program counter are added to form the memory pointer address. The 32-bit quantity at the memory pointer address is fetched and added to the index register and outer displacement to form the operand's effective address.

Scaling and Suppression

An index register can be scaled—the value in the register is read and then logically shifted (zero fill) zero, one, two, or four bit positions to the left before it is used. This has the effect of multiplying the value in the register by 1, 2, 4, or 8. The original value in the register is not affected by this operation. Using scaling, the same index value can be used to point to individual bytes, words, long words, and quad words, without disrupting the value.

Let address register AO be used as an index and contain the value 3. The A0*1 (assuming 0 to be the first element in the array) will point to the fourth element in a byte-wide array, A0*2 will point to the fourth element in a word-wide array, A0*4 will point to the fourth element in a long-word-wide array, and A0*8 will point to the fourth element in a quad-word-wide array. This scaling takes no overhead on the MC68020.

The suppression of the base address register or program counter allows the use of any index register in place of the base register. Since data

[continued]

168 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

rive'

P:

[ MHIIjllHII

' '

Growing up in the computer age iinly has some attractive advantages, st consider the 1985 (utlass ( :^ra.

A micro-computer al it :he size of a deck of cards constantly tunes the engine as you drive, monitoring 20 vital engine functions. Another computer monitors temperature to keep you cool and Comfortable when you order the available air conditioning. Still another checks the optional cruise control, ingeniously sensing whether you're going uphill or down, to automatically keep your speed constant.

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fjm*

THE MC68020

registers can be used as index registers, this gives the MC68020 the ability to have addresses in data registers, Also, with suppression of the program counter the user has access to program space

Bit-Field Instructions

The MC68020 has eight new bit-field manipulation instructions over the previous M68000 instruction set. These instructions can be used to manipulate individual bits in registers or memory. The bit-field instruction

mnemonics are described in table 2.

A bit field is simply an array of bits. It can be small enough to be contained in a register or large enough to require millions of bytes of memory. Some examples of bit-field applications are bit-mapped graphics, communications with packed data, and assembler op-code construction.

In each bit-field instruction, the field selection is specified by a field offset and field width. The field offset denotes the starting bit of the field in bits from the base address, and the

field width determines the number of bits to be included in the field. The base address is the effective address and can be in memory or a data register.

In a data register, the offset starts with the leftmost bit, bit 31, and the width determines the amount of bits to the right of the offset. Register wraparound is allowed; that is, if the combination of offset and width extend the bit field past bit 0 in the register, the field wraps back around

{continued)

170 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

What C did for Programming Mark Williams has done for C Programming

The C Pr< from

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MWC86 gets ydM ning faster and useS than any other compW Then csd, Mark William^ C Source Debugger, help^B faster. That's The C Programmin tern from Mark Williams Compan

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MWC86 is the most highly optimized C compiler available anywhere for the DOS and 8086 environment. The benchmarks prove it! They show MWC86 is unmatched in speed and code density.

MWC86 supports large and small models of compilation, the 8087 math coprocessor and DOS 2.0 pathnames. The compiler features common code elimination, peephole optimization and register variables. It includes the most complete libraries. Unlike its competition, MWC86 supports the full C language including recent extensions such as the Berkeley structure rules, voids, enumerated data types, UNIX* I/O calls and structure assignments.

Quality is why Intel, DEC and Wang chose to distribute MWC86. These industry leaders looked and compared and found Mark Williams to be best.

User Friendly

MWC86 is the easiest to use of all compilers. One command runs all phases from pre-processor to assembler and linker. MWC86 eliminates the need to search for error messages in the back of a manual. All error messages appear on the screen in English.

A recent review of MWC86 in PC Mbrld, June, 1984, summed it up:

*Unix is a Trademark of Bell Laboratories.

"Of all the compilers reviewed, MWC86 would be my first choice for product development. It compiles quickly, prog duces superior error messages, and ygnerates quick, compact object^

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not content to write the best C compiler on the market. To advance the state of the art in software development, Mark Williams wrote csd.

csd C Source Debugger serves as a microscope on the program. Any C expression can be entered and evaluated. With csd a programmer can set tracepoints on variables and expressions with full history capability and can single step a program to find bugs. The debugger does not affect either code size or execution time, csd features online help instructions; the ability to walk through the stack; the debugging of graphics programs without disturb-

SIEVE

Time in Seconds

■ Large Model

■ Small Model Size in Bytes D Urge Model B Small Model

1.29

MWC86 DRI

ing the program under test; and evaluation, source, program and history windows.

csd eases the most difficult part of development — debugging. Because csd debugs in C, not assembler, a programmer no longer has to rely on old-fashioned assembler tools, but can work as if using a C interpreter — in real time.

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The C Programming System from Mark Williams delivers not only the best C compiler for the 8086 but also the only C source level debugger. That's why it does for C programming what C did for programming. The Mark Williams C Programming System gives the programmer the MWC86 C compiler and the csd C Source Debugger for only $495. Order today by calling 1-800-MWC-1700. Major credit cards accepted.

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THE MC68020

The MC68020 is an improvement on the M68000 family.

and continues with bits 31, 30, etc. Tkble 3 shows the Motorola assembler syntax and examples of the bitfield instructions.

Division and Multiplication

The MC68020 has several enhancements to the original M68000 multiply and divide instructions. The most important of these enhancements is the ability to have 32-bit operands for

multiplication with a 64-bit result, and a 64-bit dividend with a 32-bit divisor and quotient for division.

The MC68020 also has special multiply and divide instructions for high-level languages where the result is the same size as the operands. That is, a 32-bit operand times a 32-bit operand yields a 32-bit result. This is equivalent to multiplication in Pascal or C, where an integer times an integer results in an integer of the same size data type. If overflow occurs, it will be reflected in the setting of the condition codes after the operation. For division there is provision for a 32-bit dividend divided by a 32-bit divisor to yield a 32-bit quotient with no re-

172 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

THE MC68020

mainder. Several variations of syntax and operations exist for divide and multiply instructions. For more information, see the Motorola assembler syntax and operation examples shown in table 4.

Binary-Coded Decimal

T\vo MC68020 instructions, PACK and UNPACK, can store BCD (binary-coded decimal) data in packed form (two digits per byte) and then be expanded after calculations. The PACK instruction reduces 2 bytes of numeric data into a single byte, while the UNPACK instruction reverses this operation. In both cases, a user-defined constant is added to the original value to allow conversion from or to ASCII, EBCDIC (extended binary-coded-decimal interchange code), or any other data format.

High-Level Languages and System Software

The MC68020 has extended the bounds-checking capability of the M68000 family with the introduction of two new instructions, CHK2 and CMP2 (check 2 and compare 2). CHK2 and CMP2 perform comparisons on the upper and lower bounds and can be signed or unsigned. The CMP2 instruction sets the condition codes according to the result of the operation. The CHK2 instruction sets the condition codes and causes a system trap if either boundary condition fails.

The MC68020 also offers other new security and system-level instructions. The CAS and CAS2 instructions use the same read-modify-write cycle as the M68000's TAS (test and set). These operations are indivisible and noninterruptible, which ensures data security in single and multiprocessor systems.

The CAS (compare and swap) instruction compares the contents of a data register (the compare register) to the operand at the effective address. If the operand and the contents of the data register are equal, the contents of a second data register (the update register) are used to update the operand at the effective address. If the

[continued]

.TM

The Quick Silver Fox Jumps Over The Big Blue Dog.

We really hate to pick on the big guys but compared to the Silver Fox your basic IBM-PC™ is an overpriced dog.

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Why? Well, for starters, your basic Silver Fox comes with 256k of RAM which acts like a disk drive so that more of your software is accessed at the speed of light rather than the speed of a mechanical drive head.

1.6 Megabytes

You also have more than twice as much software to access because the Silver Fox comes with dual 800k disk drives for a total of 1.6 Megabytes. Yet the Silver Fox can read and write to all popular PC formats.

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10. Color Graphics Basic

11. MailMerge

12. SpellStar

13. 25 Games, graphics and utilities

The best free software bundle in the business, and the Fox will run some programs written for the IBM-PC like dBase II and Multiplan, and program? written for Sanyo's new MBC-550 series.

Reliability

Because the Silver Fox is born on a totally automated production line in Japan it is inherently more reliable than

systems built by hand. The Fox is burned and tested for 14 days in Japan, and further tested after final assembly here in the good old U.S.ofA.

One Year Warranty

The Silver Fox is built better so we can back it with a limited, one-year warranty, four times longer than IBM. We're Scotts-dale Systems and since 1980 we've shipped over $10,000,000 of microcomputer equipment directly to microcomputer users.

Because we deal directly with users, we think we have a better idea of what you want. So the Silver Fox includes graphics with twice IBM's resolution, a printer port, a keyboard with a big return key, and a 12", high-resolution monitor as standard equipment.

Of course, you could spend $4729 at Computerland for an IBM-PC that will perform almost as well as a Silver Fox. But why bother when you can call

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IBM-PC price is based on a phone quote from the Mesa, Az Computerland on July 30, 1984. Price included 256k RAM, dual 360K drives (800K's weren't available), software, and a graphics monitor.

Trademarks: Silver Fox and Hagen-DOS, Scottsdale Systems Ltd. IBM-PC, International Business Machines Corporation. Wordstar, Calcstar, Mailmerge, Spellstar, andlnfostar, Micropro International MS-DOS, Multiplan, Microsoft Corporation. Filebase, EWDP Software, Inc. dBASE II, AshtonTate

Ordering: Telemarketing only. Silver Fox price is for cash. FOB. Scottsdale, price subject to change, product subject to limited supply. Visa, Mastercard add 3%, AZ residents add 6%. Returned merchandise subject to a 20% restocking fee. Personal/company checks take up to 3 weeks to clear. No C.O.D.'s or A.P.O.s.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 173

THE MC68020

compare register and the operand are not equal the operand is unchanged, but the value in the compare register is updated with the operand at the effective address. The CAS2 instruction is basically the same as CAS, but there are two compare registers (upper and lower bound), two update registers, and two operands at two different effective addresses. The CAS and CAS2 instructions are useful for updating system counters and for insertion and deletion from linked lists.

The MC68020 also has expanded system trap capabilities in the form of the TRAPcc instruction, where any condition code is allowed to be the trapping condition. The TRAPcc instruction can be followed by a word or long-word quantity that can be used to convey information to the trap handler, such as a high-level language statement number or other debugging information.

The MC68020 introduces module support to the M68000 family. Modules are high-level subroutines that can have different levels of protection or access. Ttoo new instructions, CALLM and RTM, support this module implementation.

The CALLM instruction initiates the module call by referencing a module descriptor. The module descriptor contains access information, control information, and the entry point for the called module If the module access is valid, the CALLM instruction creates a module stack frame, stores the current module state in that frame, and loads a new module state from the module descriptor.

The RTM instruction removes the module state that was stored on the module stack frame and returns to the calling module. The MC68020 module support is broken into two types: type 0 where there is no access level

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change and type 1 where the access level can be changed. No external hardware is necessary for type 0, but for type 1 CALLM, the MC68020 relies on external hardware (a memory management unit) to verify that calling modules possess the proper access level for the called module.

Virtual Memory

The MC68020 supports virtual memory the ability to make a small amount of main memory look like a large or infinite amount of memory by using secondary storage devices to swap currently executing code segments into the main memory. In a virtual memory system, the processor has access to a limited amount of fast main memory (the physical memory of the system), while the user writes programs that might require millions of bytes of memory (the virtual memory of the system).

If the processor attempts to access a memory location not currently residing in physical memory, a page fault occurs. The processor suspends the current instruction until the required memory is moved into physical memory from slower but larger secondary storage. When the required program segment is in physical memory, the instruction is allowed to complete execution. All this activity is transparent to the user, so physical memory appears to be the same size as virtual memory. Virtual memory size has been increased from a 16-megabyte direct addressing range in the MC68010 to 4 gigabytes in the MC68020.

Conclusion

The MC68020 is a fully compatible member of, and an improvement on, the M68000 family of processors. It is backed by the same powerful software and hardware design-support tools that back other members of the M68000 family. For more information, see the MC68020 32-Bit Microprocessor User's Manual (Prentice-Hall, 1984) and the three-part article by Thomas W. Starnes, "Design Philosophy Behind Motorola's MC68000" (April-June 1983 BYTE). ■

174 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 200 on Inquiry card.

BEHIND EVERY GREAT PROGRAM

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The Spotlight" program is a set of convenient desktop accessories all in one package. No matter which application program you're working in-including VisiCalcf V2-37 WordStarf dBase II? pfs:Filef MultiMatef Microsoft Word: TKISolverf and Symphony™-Spotlight gives you instant access to six essential functions.

Just a keystroke suspends your application program and gives you a window into Spotlight. Another keystroke gets you back to where you were just as fast. It's that easy.

Here's what you get:

Appointment Book-schedule daily and weekly meetings or display monthly calendar. Set a sound alarm to remind you of appointments, even if you're using another program. DOS filer-perform operating system tasks without leaving your program. List, create, delete, copy, and sort files and directories. Even format disks.

Phone Book-find and instantly display any name, address and phone number from 36 available lists. Each list can hold 500 different entries.

Note Pad- jot a note or write and edit messages up to eight pages long.

Index Card File— search up to 36 separate files, each of which contains 500 cards. Cards are alphabetically sorted.

Calculator -calculate any problems and insert the answers into the program you're using.

Spotlight is the great program behind any great program you use.

System requirements: IBM® PC or XT?or COMPAQ® portable computers, one disk drive, 75K memory for RAM resident portion, DOS 2.0 or higher. Printer optional. Can be installed on hard disk. Runs with most IBM PC software packages.

Spotlight

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Circle 374 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 175

Introducing FUevision for Macintosh: The fine art of filing by pictures.

Now you can file things the way you see them.

Because Filevision lets you store any kind of information visually. Within pictures you easily create yourself. Even if you can't type or draw

Filevision. The first software that combines a practical filing system with a simple-to-use, object-oriented drawing system. Which lets you quickly visualize your data. Instead of sorting through tedious line-by-line listings.

In the click of a mouse, you can retrieve the data stored behind each object in your picture. %u can even select the objects in your pictures, based on the

Each object in your picture is . automatically connected to the information about that object.

data in your files.

What's more, Filevision lets you link another picture to an object. And lets you group objects together as a common type. So you can create zoom-like effects, step-by-step hierarchies, or overlays. Whatever your mind can picture.

"Finally A filing system that sees things my way"

Imagine. A filing system for less than $200, that lets you look at information the way you look at the world around you.

Utilizing the simplicity of the Macintosh's eye-opening technology, Filevision allows you to create the most spectacular visualizations of whatever you need to file. Or anything you want to see in more detail.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, a businessperson, or someone who collects things at home; if your data relates to

Create technical illustrations or pictures of science class projects, with ease. Whatever you need to remember about your picture, Filevision lets you store on forms connected to it. And retrieve in the click of a mouse.

176 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Organize office space by department. Diagram a summer home. Even i create a play book for your football team. It's a breeze with Filevision.

something you can see, you can file it visually with Filevision. And retrieve it visually, too.

\bu simply place objects in a picture, or select symbols from Filevision's ready-made symbol menu to represent pieces of the information you wish to file.

Then there's Filevision's flexible way of handling alphanumeric data. Each object in your picture is automatically connected to a data form. Which you custom design, quick as a click.

"For a change, it's simple to modify my files!'

Updating your files is just as easy. Whenever the best-laid plans of mouse and man need a little replanning, remember you're just a click or two away from reper-fecting your files. Create new symbols and objects, and add them to your picture.

Make a data form for any new object, and all objects of that type will have the same form. Automatically.

Modify a symbol and all matching symbols in your picture will be modified. Automatically.

Change an existing form, and all forms of that type will change. Automatically.

"Picture the potential.''

The possibilities are endless.

Filevision can help you quickly make maps, and dawdle over the demographics. Assemble anatomical drawings and look up the names of the ligaments. Separate a plan of Bar Mitzvah guests into those who do and those who don't eat Kosher food and actually see who you seat them next to. Pinpoint places and connect them to faces. Control your inventory by depicting your entire shelf space. And map out geography lessons, sales territories and direct-mail ad targets ad infinitum.

Filevision. The unique filing system for your Macintosh that lets you store and work with information in pictures, as well as numbers and text. software products

Software far the real world.

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Map out sales territories. Sift out subdivisions for direct-mailings. Or search out the states that participated in the French and Indian Wars. Filevision makes your requests pop off the screen. In the click of a mouse.

Plan a political fund-raiser with Filevision, and seat the non-smoking Independents away from the smoking Republicans. Or, click to see which blocks of seats have been reserved at your dinner theater.

Filevision is a trademark of Telos Software Products.

Telos is a trademark of Telos Corporation.

Macintosh is a trademark licensed to Apple Computer Inc.

NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE \T\

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300 baud connect while maintaining 1200 baud RS-232 link

EXPANDABLE OPTIONS

Automatic Receiver Buffer Automatic Transmit Buffer Onboard Personal/Business Directory Buffer, Expandable to 64K

Auto Logon Macros

Auto message transmission to groups of numbers

Records call duration

9BD 9BB

12-character Alphanumeric Display

NEW CHIPS

THE XTAR

GRAPHICS

MICROPROCESSOR

by TtRRY Coleman and Skip Powers

This graphics chip set draws filled-in polygons at superhigh speed

GENERATING COMPLEX IMAGES on a CRT (cathode-ray tube) at real-time rates of 30 or more frames per second requires the ability to draw graphical primitives (points, lines, and polygons) rapidly into a display memory or frame buffer. A standard microprocessor working alone is not nearly fast enough. CRT controller chips can draw about 10 times as fast as microprocessors but still fall far short of the speed required for realtime simulations and smooth animation, lb obtain the necessary throughput for these applications, you must use a dedicated graphics coprocessor.

Drawing Speed Specifications

The key specification for a graphics chip is the drawing rate. Drawing rates are reported in two different ways. The burst pixel-drawing rate is obtained whenever video-refresh memory cycles are not occurring, i.e., during horizontal and vertical retrace and portions of the active display time. This is the rate usually given on manufacturers' spec sheets.

+ — Circle 343 on inquiry card.

A more accurate benchmark of a system's drawing speed, the average pixel-drawing rate, is the total number of pixels (picture elements) that can be drawn in one frame time divided by the frame time. This rate will always be less than the burst rate.

The number of frame updates per second achievable is obtained by dividing the average pixel-drawing rate by the number of pixels in the frame buffer. This provides an excellent, indication of how well the system will perform real-time animation.

THE Xtar GMP

The GMP from Xtar is a special-purpose microprocessor that executes graphics instructions contained in an external program memory. The instruction set is specifically designed for graphics applications

Skip Powers is the chief executive officer of Xtar Electronics. Terry Coleman is Xtar's vice president of engineering and the designer of the GMP chip. They can both be reached at 2262 Landrneier Rd., Elk Grove, IL 60007 .

and includes instructions for drawing points, lines, and filled polygons into a frame buffer. Because the GMP is specifically designed to draw filled polygons into a frame buffer, it can accomplish this task at extremely high speeds. Polygons can be drawn at a rate fast enough to update every pixel in the frame buffer 130 to 300 times per second. The GMP eases the implementation of real-time simulation and animation systems by drawing at speeds that are often hundreds of times faster than can be attained with a CRT controller.

Tables 1 and 2 illustrate the drawing speeds obtained by systems using the GMP. The average pixel-drawing rate increases as the resolution of the frame buffer is increased, while the number of screen updates per second remains relatively constant. This allows essentially the same level of performance to be maintained, regardless of system resolution.

System Configuration

A typical system based on the two-chip GMP is shown in figure 1. Oper-

{continued) NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE 179

Circle 1 on inquiry card.

SHIPPING

WEST OF MISSISSIPPI EAST - 1 / 2 UPS CHARGES

CALL FREE 1-800-841-2748

Hi — I'm Joan,

I want to wish you all Happy Holidays and thank you for making my business a success. Ail of you who havn't tried us and are afraid of mail order, call us and give us a try. I'm sure you'll like our fast and courteous service. Get your order in soon, as Christmas is not far away.

Thank you & God Bless Joan

PRINTERS COMPUTERS

ALTOS 580-20 $3350

ALTOS 580-20 $5350

ALTOS 98640 ........... $CALL

LEADING EDGE PC $CALL

NEC 8201 .$459

SANYO 550-555 . . . $CALL

TELEVIDEO

803 ... . .$1769 1603 $2019

1605 $CALL

ABATI $389

BROTHER HR 15P .$479

DAISYWRITER 48K $819

EPSON $CALL

GEMINI 10X $258

JUKI 6100 $419

OKIDATA (LOW PRICES) .... $CALL QUME 1140+ W/INF. . . $1365

CITOH

8510 $319 1550 $499

F10-40CPS .$899 F1055 . . . .$1179 DIABLO

620 $769 630 API . . .$1669

NEC

3550 . . . .$1495 3510 $1235

7710 . . . .$1645 2030 $659

TERMINALS - MONITORS

ALTOS II $755

QUME 102G $529

WYSE 50 $485

TELEVIDEO 950 $895

AMDEK300G. $129

B.M.C. COLOR $235

PRINSTON HX12 .$462

DISK DRIVES - MODEMS

INDUS APPLE $259

INDUS ATARI $345

PROMODEM 1200 $325

HAYS SMART MODEM $199

SMARTMODEM 1200 . .$469

SMARTMODEM 1200B $415

MICROMODEM II E . . .$235

1st PLACE

COMPUTER SYSTEMS 13422 N. CAVECREEK RD.

PHOENIX, AZ. 85022

OTHER INFORMATION: 602-867 9897

XTAR GRAPHICS

ating in a multiprocessing environment with a general-purpose host microprocessor, the GMP communicates with the general-purpose processor through a shared memory. The shared memory is the program memory or display list for the GMP. The general-purpose processor controls the GMP by downloading graphics instructions into the GMP's memory While the host processor may be any general-purpose microprocessor, the system is simplified if the host has a 16-bit data bus.

As many as 64 K words of program memory can be addressed by the GMP Any combination of 16-bit wide RAM (random-access read/write memory) and ROM (read-only memory) may be used, but if animation is to be done, at least part of the memory must be RAM.

Instructions in the shared-memory display list cause the GMP to draw graphical primitives into the frame buffer. The GMP performs all calculations necessary to draw two-dimensional polygons. A separate circuit controls the Write Enable inputs of the RAMs in the frame buffer, which may be any size from 2 56 by 2 56 by 1 byte to 2048 by 2048 by 32 bytes.

The video shift register (VSR) chips, an option that is ancillary to the GMP, convert the parallel-pixel data from the frame buffer into the serial form required to drive the color-palette RAM or D/A (digital-to-analog) converters. In addition to the Shift-Register function, the VSRs allow the host processor to access the frame buffer for Read-Modify-Write operations on individual pixels. Also, a stippling feature allows the filling of polygons with two-color patterns. This feature increases the number of apparent displayable colors without increasing the depth of the frame buffer—allowing about 1800 effective colors to be displayed simultaneously while requiring only 4 memory bits per pixel.

A color-palette RAM defines the actual color displayed for each pixel value that comes from the VSRs. In a high-performance system the color-palette RAM may be as large as 4096

by 24, which allows 4096 solid colors to be displayed at one time from a palette of over 16 million colors. In low-cost systems the color-palette RAM will not exist and the output of the VSRs will feed the D/A converters directly.

Because the GMP chip set does not generate CRT sync signals or video-refresh addresses, a standard CRT controller chip is used.

Specialized Instruction Set

The GMP's instruction set allows the programmer to easily manipulate graphical primitives. There is no need for the programmer to be concerned with repetitive tasks usually required when programming graphics systems, such as calculating the actual frame-buffer addresses of pixels to be modified, calculating difference parameters defining lines to be drawn, and searching the frame buffer for polygon edges to do polygon fills. The instruction set is divided into three major categories: graphics primitive instructions, register loading instructions, and program control instructions (see table 3).

Clipping Window

Within the GMP, four 12-bit registers define the four sides of a rectangular clipping window, which can be placed anywhere on the screen. All points, lines, and polygons drawn by the GMP are automatically clipped to the current window. The registers are under software control and can be modified at any time using the LOAD instruction. The GMP can draw an image, change the clipping window to a different area of the screen, then draw a new image clipped to the new window.

Automatic Program Memory Refresh

The GMP's program memory may be designed with low-cost dynamic RAMs and the GMP will take care of RAM refresh. During noninstruction-fetch memory cycles, the GMP places the contents of its internal refresh counter on the lower 8 bits of the ad-

{continued)

180 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

The pros at Comp HQ and the pros at Delta are a winning team.

Hon Skinner Coordinator-Flight Operations Analysis Delta Air Lines f Inc.

Team up with these winners: Irma Boards and other networking alternatives □ Amdek half heights, Great Lakes, Iomega Bernoulli Box and Tsindon disk drives □ Hayes modems □ Comrex, Quadram and Zenith monitors D MAI Board, Hercules, Quadcolor and Tteemar Graphics Master monitor adapters □ Quadram, Ifecmar and Paradise boards D Brother, Diablo, Epson, NEC and Okidata printers □ EPD, Kaola, Microsoft, Networx Protectors and Microfezer accessories D Harward Project Manager, IUS, Microsoft, Think Tank and XQ business software D Crosstalk, Hayes and Remote communications □ Easy Filer, Infoscope, InfoStar, Knowledgeman, PFS, Power-base and RBase data bases □ Dayflo, Open Access and Vision integrated packages D BPS, ChartStar, Chartmaster, Graphwriter, PCDraw, Signmaster and Snapshot graphics D Lattice C, Microsoft, Morgan Professional and Vedit programming D Multiplan, SuperCalc 3 and VisiCalc spreadsheets □ ATI training packages □ Multilink, Morton, Peeks & Pokes, Prokey, Set FX+, Sideways, Inside Ttack, Watchdog Utilities D Easy Writer II, Microsoft Wbid, Multimate, PFS, VisiWord, Volkswriter, WordPerfect and WordStar word processing □ and much more.

We offer complete Exporting Services

through Ashford International; Tfelex: 59-5007

We accept Volume Purchase Agreements and Blanket Purchase Orders.

Show this ad to your Purchasing Agent and ask for a Corporate Products Catalog—well keep you informed of whaf s new on the market and what demos are scheduled for your area.

Our Corporate Accounts find us the best professional source for software, peripherals, accessories and supplies.

We maintain a large inventory to serve the business community and corporate accounts always receive special attention.

Comp HQ's Corporate Account Representatives are pros who will understand your questions and solve your problems, quickly and efficiently.

Our commitment to Sales, Service, Support & Speed is total.

COMPUTER

Headquarters

333 Peters Street, S.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30313

404-577-3899

Circle 80 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 181

XTAR GRAPHICS

dress bus and places zeros on the upper 8 bits of the bus. The refresh counter is incremented after each refresh cycle.

Applications

As the increasing capabilities of personal computers bring them into use as low-cost computer-aided design systems, greater demands are being placed on the graphics proficiency of these machines. Complex, real-time images can be generated by a GMP system at a fraction of the cost normally associated with powerful graphics systems. The GMP could be the basis of a moderate-cost peripheral for personal computers that would provide graphics capability currently unavailable to small systems.

Flight simulators, devices that allow pilots to practice maneuvers that would be unsafe in a real aircraft, are

{continued)

- BEFORE YOU BUY CABLE ASSEMBLIES-

Heavy Guage

Underflow

Shield

mi

Underhood

22AWG Twisted Conductors

2mm PVC Cover

GOLD Plated Pine

22AWG Twisted Conductors

Strain Reliever

Aiummef Shield

j

From Alliance Research Corporation

TM

The Family of High Integrity Computer Support Products

CHECK

UNDER THE HOOD!

DATA SPEC tm cable assemblies are the very best. Each cable is fully shielded to exceed FCC EMI/RFI emission requirements. Furthermore, the unique P.D.T. technique is employed beneath the hood shield for maximum integrity under the most adverse conditions. DATASPEC tm was the first to use the RDI process, and cable assemblies constructed with RDI carry a lifetime warranty. DATA SPEC tm has interface cables for all your requirements: Modems, Monitors, Disk Drives, and much more. Insist on DATASPEC tm cables in the bright orange package. Available at better computer dealers everywhere. For more information, call or write:

20120 Plummer Street Chatsworth, CA 91311

(818) 993-1202

182 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

lastmght We exchanged letters with

mqm,then had a party for

Eleven people in nine different States

and Oniyhadto W\sh One Glass.-

That's CompuServe, The Personal Communications Network For Every Computer Owner

And it doesn't matter what kind of computer you own. You'll use CompuServe's Electronic Mail system (we call it Email™) to compose, edit and send letters to friends or business associates. The system delivers any number of messages to other users anywhere in North America.

Circle 73 on inquiry card.

CompuServe's multi-channel CB simulator brings distant friends together and gets new friendships started. You can even use a scrambler if you have a secret you don't want to share. Special interest groups meet regularly to trade information on hardware, software and hobbies from photography to cooking and you can sell, swap and post personal notices on the bulletin board.

There's all this and much more on the CompuServe Information Service. All you need is a computer, a modem,

and CompuServe. CompuServe connects with almost any type or brand of personal computer or terminal and many communicating word processors. 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

5000 Arlington Centre Blvd., Columbus, OH 43220

800-848-8199

In Ohio call 614-457-0802. An H&R Block Company

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 183

Heath enters the board room

Now you can buy the finest PC compatible boards, accessories and software from a single, trusted source. The Heath Company. We guarantee these to be the best of breed for your PC.

Access t -2-3 Smart # Modem. Fast, Single J! stroke log-on to 40 entries, f

^Wm0

%Mmm£m

A Heath Exclusive! DG Game Port Adapter for joysticks and other analog inputs.

AST Six-Pak Pius. Six most popular functions at a great price!

• „., -,.,.«>

DG 64K Magic RAM. Add-on memory at a super price!

IN-STORE SPECIAL FREE BOARD INSTALLATION

Buy any of these great boards at a Heathkit Electronic Center* and it will be installed free of charge at the store when you bring in your computer. See store list at right for locations.

When you buy PC compatible boards, you want them to work with no problems, no delays. Now Heath has taken the guesswork out of who has the best cornputerware at the right price. Heath has done the testing and evaluating for you and we offer nothing but the finest boards and accessories. And we back them all with our own 90 day money-back guarantee. So, forget the guesswork. Buying the best is easier...because the best comes from Heath.

Heath/Zenith

Heath Company

I

See and buy the finest

boards and other

accessories for your

Heath/Zenith

or IBM PC.

Find them at these Heathkit Electronic Centers:

XTAR GRAPHICS

•PHOENIX, AZ

2727 W. Indian School Rd. •TUCSON, AZ

7109 E. Broadway •ANAHEIM, CA

330 E. Ball Rd.

• CAMPBELL, CA 2350 S. Bascom Ave.

•ELCERRITO.CA 6000 Potrero Ave.

• LA MESA, CA 8363 Center Dr.

• LOS ANGELES, CA

2309 S. Flower St. •POMONA, CA

1555 N. Orange Grove Ave. •REDWOOD CITY, CA

2001 Middlefield Rd. •SACRAMENTO, CA

1860 Fulton Ave. •WOODLAND HILLS, CA

22504 Ventura Blvd. •DENVER, CO

5940 W. 38th Ave. •AVON, CT

395 W. Main St., (Rt. 44) •JACKSONVILLE, FL

8262 Arlington Expressway •MIAMI, FL

4705 W. 16th Ave.,

Hialeah •FT. LAUDERDALE, FL

7173 W.Broward Blvd.

Plantation •TAMPA, FL

4019 W. Hillsborough Ave. •ATLANTA, GA

5285 Roswell Rd. •PEARL CITY, HI

98-1254

Kaahumanu St. •CHICAGO.IL

3466 W. Devon Ave.

•downersgrove.il

224 Ogden Ave. •INDIANAPOLIS, IN

2112 E. 62nd St. •KANSAS CITY, KS/MO

5960 Lamar Ave.,

Mission, KS •NEW ORLEANS, LA

1900 Veterans

Memorial Hwy. •LOUISVILLE, KY

12401 Shelbyville Rd. •BALTIMORE, MD

1713 E. Joppa Rd. •ROCKVILLE, MD

5542 Nicholson Lane •PEABODY.MA

242AndoverSt. (Rt. 114) •WELLESLEY.MA

165 Worcester Ave. (Rt. 9) •FARMINGTON

HILLS, Ml

29433 Orchard Lake

Rd (At13 Mile Rd.)

•EAST DETROIT, Ml

18149 E. Eight Mile Rd. •ST. JOSEPH, Ml

Lakeshore Dr.

"Units of Veritechnology Electronics Corporation

For more information write:

Heath Company

Benton Harbor, Ml 49022

Circle 190 on inquiry card.

•MINNEAPOLIS, MN

101 Shady Oak Rd.,

Hopkins •ST. PAUL, MN

1645 White Bear Ave. •ST. LOUIS, MO

3794McKelveyRd.,

Bridgeton

• GREENSBORO, NC 4620C W. Market St.

• OMAHA, NE 9207 Maple St.

• ASBURYPARK.NJ 1013 State Hwy. 35, Ocean

•FAIR LAWN, NJ

35-07 Broadway, (Rt. 4) •BUFFALO, NY

3476 Sheridan Rd.,

Amherst •JERICHO, LI, NY

15 Jericho Turnpike •ROCHESTER, NY

937 Jefferson Rd. •N.WHITE PLAINS, NY

7 Reservoir Rd. •CINCINNATI, OH

10133 Springfield Pike

Wood I awn •CLEVELAND, OH

28100 Chagrin Blvd.

• COLUMBUS, OH 2500 Morse Rd.

•TOLEDO, OH 48 S. Byrne Rd.

• OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 2727 N.W. Expressway

•FRA2ER, PA

630 Lancaster Pike (Rt. 30) •PHILADELPHIA, PA

6318 Roosevelt Blvd. •PITTSBURGH, PA

3482 Wm. Penn Hwy. •WARWICK, Rl

558 Greenwich Ave. •DALLAS, TX

2715 Ross Ave.

• FORT WORTH, TX 6825-A Green Oaks Rd.

•NORTH HOUSTON, TX 5050 FM1960 W, (#126)

• HOUSTON, TX 1704 W. Loop N.

•SAN ANTONIO, TX

7111 Blanco Rd. •SALT LAKE CITY, UT

58 East 7200 South,

Midvale •ALEXANDRIA, VA

6201 Richmond Hwy. •VIRGINIA BEACH, VA

1055 Independence Blvd. •SEATTLE, WA

505 8th Ave. N. •TUKWILA, WA

15439 53rd Ave. S. •VANCOUVER, WA

516 SE Chaklov Dr. (# 1)

• MILWAUKEE, Wl 5215 W. Fond du Lac

T^ble 3: The GMP instruction set.

Graphics Primitive Instructions

PNTDRW (DATA,Y,X)

This instruction causes the GMP to draw a point into the frame buffer at screen coordinate (X,Y), DATA is the actual value (color or shading value) written into the frame buffer.

LDRW(DATA,Y1,X1,y2,X2)

Draws a line between points (X1,Y1) and (X2,V2).

PDRW (/V,DATA,>aX1, . . . YN.XN)

Draws a polygon of N+ 1 vertices, filled with DATA. N must be O to 255, The

vertices must be specified in clockwise order, although any vertex can be first. All

convex polygons are legal while concave polygons are legal, only if it is not

possible for a horizontal line to intersect the edge of the polygon more than two

times,

Register Loading Instructions

LOAD (REG#,DATA)

Loads an internal register with DATA.

Register Number Function

0 pixel address of top clipping border

1 pixel address of bottom clipping border

2 pixel address of left clipping border

3 pixel address of right clipping border

4 MODE register; used to program the GMP for

various sizes of frame buffers

S32B

Selects the 32-bit mode When in this mode all DATA words must be 32 bits.

S16B

Selects the 16-bit mode. When in this mode all DATA words must be 16 bits.

Program Control Instructions

JUMP (ADDRESS)

Causes an unconditional branch to the specified address in the GMP's program

memory.

JSR (Yrel.Xrel.ADDRESS)

A relative draw instruction. Calls a subroutine at ADDRESS and sets the X relative and Y relative registers. All primitives drawn after execution of this instruction but prior to execution of an RTS instruction are drawn at coordinates offset by Xrel and Yrel. Nesting of subroutines is not allowed, so an RTS instruction must be executed before another JSR or JSRC can be executed.

JSRC (DATA,Yrel,Xrel,ADDRESS)

Similar to the JSR instruction, except primitives drawn after execution of this

instruction use the DATA specified in this instruction.

RTS

Return from subroutine. Clears the Xrel and Yrel registers.

COMP

Causes the GMP to stop executing instructions and wait for a new hardware START

command.

CB-101R1

{continued) NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE 185

XTAR GRAPHICS

WE GENERATOR

FRAME BUFFER

OPTIONAL ADDRESS CONVERSION LOGIC

rm

CRT

CONTROLLER

AND

TIMING

GENERATOR

RMW SENSE

CLK H4 RST

r

LLl.

GRAPHICS MICROPROCESSOR (GMP)

SEND BO-812

LD1

RMWO-1

COLOR PALETTE

OATAROY COMP SEND START

BQ-812 AD0-AD15

LD1

I

2nd DATA PIPELINE REGISTER

DITHER

PATTERN

PROM

1st DATA PIPELINE REGISTER

Figure I: typical system block diagram.

Photo 1: This is a frame from a real-time flight-simulation display. A simulator based on the GMP might be affordable by small airports and flight schools. The screen is updated at 30 frames per second to provide a realistic, moving view corresponding to the plane's position in space. The objects in the scene are defined as polygons in a three-dimensional space.

currently too expensive to be used for general aviation training. (See photo 1.) A significant part of the cost of these systems is in the display electronics that generate realistic real-time views for the pilot.

Other applications include solid modeling systems, architectural drafting systems, animation workstations for artists, and graphics systems for video production houses and cable TV stations.

It would seem at first glance that extremely high-speed graphics would be overkill for business graphics users. However, with this power made available at moderate cost, people will find new uses for it. One intriguing possibility is generating animated storyboards for advertising agencies. An artist could render TV commercials directly on a computer, giving his client an opportunity to preview the action in a manner similar to the final product without the time and expense of actually producing the commercial. ■

186 BYTE* NOVEMBER 1984

THG FASTGST STANDBY SYSTEM RGACTS IN I/6QTH OF A 5GCOND.

WmmSmmmm

THAT'S I/60TH OF A SECOND TOO LAT€.

It's also 1/60th of a second slower than an RTE Uninterruptible Power System.

Here's the difference: a standby system waits until it senses a power

failure and then takes over Unfortunately, by the time it does, your computer's memory could have left for the day, taking your work with it.

But the RTE Series 3000 Uninterruptible System is always on line. So when the utility fails, your computer gets 500 watts of continuous power, no waiting. In fact, as far as your computer is concerned, it's like nothing happened.

What's more the RTE Series 3000 gives you constant line conditioning—full-time protection against all the AC noise, surges and dips that can scramble data. Standby systems don't have line conditioning—they

just stand by and let your computer fend for itself.

Of course you could add a line conditioner to the standby unit, and take your chances with blackouts. But for less money, you can have an RTE Uninterruptible Power System, and a lot more peace of mind.

For the name of the local computer dealer carrying the Micro-UPS call Toll Free 800-854-2658. In California (619) 291-4211. RTE DELTEC Corporation.

UfflM.

Formerly Gould Inc., Power Conversion Division

Circle 359 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 187

Everything you expected

from Symphony

and Framework is now

being delivered.

By Enable:

Think about it a moment.

If you were to sit down and design your own integrated PC software system, what would you aim for?

Wouldn't you want to be able to integrate information from all modules in one window right on the screen? And then print it?

Wouldn't you work at it until every module gave you the functionality of the very best stand alone programs?

Wouldn't you design each module to have its own appropriate file structure?

Beyond the brass ring.

Naturally, you'd also want it to run on a standard 256K PC.

It goes without saying that you'd want compatibility with the leading single-purpose programs.

And if you were to dream a bit, you'd go for concurrency because it would be great to do two or three jobs at the same time.

If you'd do all that in designing your own integrated program you'd certainly expect companies like Lotus and Ashton-Tate to do the same.

It didn't happen.

They left it all out. We put it all in.

And because we did put it all in, Enable lets you produce at levels far beyond Symphony or Framework.

Enable can integrate data from all modules in one window and then print or transmit it. For instance, you can create graphs from a spreadsheet or database. Then insert the graphs, the spreadsheet and DBMS data between text in a single word processing document right on the screen.

Functionality? Just as you'd do it, Enables word processing, spreadsheet, database management, graphics and telecommunications are, without exception, equal to the leading stand alone business programs.

Further, Enables files are not forced into clumsy or unsuitable structures. Enable isn't spreadsheet-based or document-based or DBMS based. Each module is designed for a specific application.

Symphony and Framework? Hardly.

More? There's more.

Your eyes blinked at our mention of 256K. Yet that's all you need to operate a spreadsheet with 136K of workspace. Or a word processing document whose size is limited only by available disk space. Or a DBMS file with up to 130,000,000 bytes of data.

We're sure you put a high priority on compatibility. So did we.

With Enable, you can use files from dBase IIT Lotus 1-2-37 VisiCalc T , M WordStar™ EasywriterF and Volkswriter—all automatically, without conversion or rekeying. Then you can produce files in those formats for anyone who hasn't yet switched to Enable.

And you can work on your spreadsheet while you're printing a monthly report and receiving stock quotes over the wire-all at the same time.

How much good news can you handle?

Its time to admit there's one area in which Enable does not rise head and shoulders above Symphony and Framework. Price. We're the same.

$695.

And now for the next step. Borrow a loaner copy from one of our dealers and give it a workout on your own. Or, if you're a company with at least 25 PCs well send you a complimentary copy. No obligation. Once you're thoroughly satisfied with Enable you can trade up your Lotus 1-2-3 for $200, your dBase II for $400.

Or send $12.95 for your copy of a complete Enable demonstration system.

Just dial 1-800-932-0233. In New York dial 1-800-338-4646.

Will Enable live up to your expectations? Well, you designed it didn't you?

Integrated

software shouldn't

be a matter of

choosing which compromises

to live with.

integration without compromise

For the IBM®-PC and selected compatibles.

Trademarks: Enable—The Software Group, IBM —International Business Machines Corp., Volkswriter—Lifetree Software, Inc.,

EasyWriter I-Information Unlimited Software, Inc., WordStar-MicroPro International Corporation,

dBase II, Framework—Ashton-Tate, Symphony, 1-2-3 and Lotus-Lotus Development Corporation, VisiCalc —Visicorp.

Circle 3 75 on inquiry card.

©Copyright 1984, The Software Group Northway Ten Executive Park, Ballston Lake, New York 12019

computers

■ ■ ■ of lew York ■

wholesale

3156763004

Box 150 Brewerton, N.Y. 1B020

Circle 90 on inquiry card.

•.raSilTlf-

;>♦ p k -< :

-PRINTERS-

ANADEX

DP-9501B $1049

DP-9620B 1099

DP-9625B 1199

DP-6500 2399

WP-6000 2159

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS

Tl 850 Par 499

TI855w/T 899

C ITOH

Prowriter 8510APar. .$345

Pro writer 8510ASer. 499

Prowriter II Par. 565

Prowriter II Ser. .699

EPSON

RX-80 299

RX-80FT Call

FX-80 Call

FX-100 Call

GEMINI

10X $295

15X . . . 435

MANNESMAN TALLEY

MT-1601 $529

MT-160L . . 579

MT-180L 859

DIABLO

620RO25CPS $919

630RO40CPS 1769

OKI DATA

ML-82A Call

ML-83A Call

ML-92Par. Call

ML-92 Ser. Call

ML-93Par. Call

Pacemark 2350 Call

Pacemark2410 Call

PANASONIC

KX-P1090 .$319

NEC /V£WNEC2050 979

3510...$1399 3530...$1490 3550. . . .1849 7710. . . .1899 7715....1949 8023 399

QUME

Sprint 11/40 $1299

Sprint 11/55 1499

RITEMAN Inforunner $299

SILVER REED

EXP 500 Par $459

EXP 550 Par.. 529

EXP770Par.. 939

Advertised prices reflect a cash discount on prepaid orders only. Most items are in stock for immediate delivery in factory sealed cartons with full factory warrantees.

-MONITORS-

AMDEK

Colorl $275

Coiorl-f 319

Color II (RGB) 399

Color III (RGB) 349

300 G (12" green) 135

300 A (12" amber) 145

310AOBMPC) . 169

BMC

12AU (12-green) $79

NEC

JB-1201 (12" green) $155

JB-1 205 (12" amber) . . . 1 55

JC-1212 (12" color) 339

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RISC CHIPS

by John Markoff

RISC means longer programs but faster execution

IF YOU PEERmto a microscope at a certain VLSI (*ery large scale integration) microprocessor designed and imbricated recently by faculty and graduate stude.its at the University of California at Berkeley, you will see something quite startling. There, inscribed in tiny detail next to the initials of the* microprocessor designers, \z a Porsche racing car.

The Porsche is intended to symbolize a radical philosophical departure from conventional thinking about microprocessor design. The departure is known as a reduced instruction set computer (RISC), and it provides an alternate solution to one of the fundamental problems facing modern computer designers: how best to support high-level languages.

Until today the general trend in computer architecture design has been to increase the complexity of hardware in an effort to more closely match high-level language constructs. Sophisticated modern computers such as the DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) VAX-11 family of minicomputers and the Intel iAPX 432 microcomputer exemplify this trend. These systems are referred to as CISCs (complex instruction set com-

puters) by the RISC advocates. (In one of their papers, the Berkeley RISC designers contrasted their Porsche RISC symbol with a Cadillac symbol for CISC design.)

CISCs are characterized by rich instruction sets, a variety of address modes, and extensive microcode. The iAPX 432 in particular is representative of the CISC approach in that Intel designed the system to best support one high-level language, Ada, which has been adopted as a standard by the U.S. Department of Defense. The 432 has an instruction set intended to efficiently translate Ada into machine-language programs.

By way of contrast, RISC designs offer exceedingly simple instruction sets, shortened design and fabrication cycles, and the freeing of scarce silicon real estate for other microprocessor tasks.

Therefore, as the semiconductor industry enters the era of VLSI for microprocessor design, CISC and RISC will offer conflicting avenues of approach: VLSI used to construct in-

]ohn Markoff is a senior technical editor at BYTE. You can contact him at McGraw-Hill 1000 Elwell Court, Palo Alto, CA 94303.

creasingly complex microprocessors where hardware is used extensively to do functions previously done by software, versus simplified designs optimized for speed of operation.

RISC designers argue that even in VLSI circuits, transistors available on a limited chip area constitute a scarce resource when they are used to implement an entire processor. They argue that CISC instruction sets constitute an inefficient use of these resources. In fact, detailed analyses that the RISC advocates have made of machine code generated by modern compilers indicate that complex instruction sets are frequently not fully used by compilers; therefore, much of the power supplied in silicon by hardware designers is wasted.

Furthermore because the cost of memory continues to fall rapidly, the relatively compact code afforded by CISCs is an increasingly insignificant factor in total system cost. Occasionally, complex architectural designs even lead to "irrational" implementation of instructions. In a number of cases, special-purpose instructions are not faster than a sequence of simple instructions. David Patterson, an asso-

{continued)

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RISC CHIPS

ciate professor in computer science at the University of California at Berkeley and one of the principal designers of the Berkeley RISC project, has cited a number of examples (see reference 1):

One example was discovered by Peuto and Shustek for the IBM 370; they found that a sequence of load instructions is faster than a load multiple instruction for fewer than 4 registers. This case covers 40% of the load multiple instructions in typical programs. Another comes from the VAX-11/780. The INDEX instruction is used to calculate the address of an array element while at the same time checking to see that the index fits in the array bounds. This is clearly an important function to accurately detect errors in high-level language statements. We found that for the VAX-11/780, by replacing this single "high-level" instruction by several instructions (COMPARE, JUMP LESS UNSIGNED, ADD. MULTIPLY) that we could perform the same function 45% faster! Furthermore, if the compiler took advantage of the case where the lower bound was zero, the simple instruction sequence was 60% faster. Clearly, smaller code does not always imply faster code, nor do "higher-level" instructions imply faster code.

One of the criticisms of RISC is that new instruction sets require radical revisions of existing software bases. RISC advocates respond that a performance increase by a factor of two or possibly three times is worth the time spent modifying existing software.

RISC History

A number of experimental and com* mercial attempts have been made to build RISCs, both as microprocessors and by using discrete logic In this article I will focus on the experience of the Berkeley RISC project, which has built two separate RISC microprocessors and is currently planning a third.

Recent RISC history extends back to the IBM 801 project In 1975 the 801 was originally designed as a minicomputer. It was thought of as a simple alternative to the more complex IBM

360 and 370 mainframe architectures. While no public performance figures are available on the 801, reports indicate that it could execute about 10 mips (million instructions per second). This compares quite favorably to the IBM 370/168 (2.4 mips) and the IBM 3033 (5 mips).

The design of the 801 began after an analysis of trace tapes (measurements of instructions actually executed by a computer) at the IBM Watson Research Center indicated that relatively simple instructions such as LOAD, STORE, ADD, SUB. and BRANCH are used much more frequently than complex instructions (see reference 2).

IBM is still carrying on the 801 research. Several implemeitations have been done in VLSI, arj several reports indicate that IBM night offer a commercial product bsed on the technology.

A group of Stanford faculty and students is also experimenting in RISC design. The microprocessor is known as the MIPS machine (microprocessor without interlocked pipe stages) While the Berkeley RSC group \ nas used off-the-shelf compilers, the , mjps group has focused ,ts atten't/o/i on compiler technology, using software solutions to several traditional hardware problems such as pipeline interlocks (data dependencies that force one stage of a pipeline to wait for results from another stage). See the text box for further information.

In addition to these research projects, a number of companies are reported to be carrying out their own RISC research; several have RISC-designed computers already on the market. In addition to IBM, the companies TRW, Fairchild Semiconductor, Hewlett-Packard, and DEC have research efforts under way, and Pyramid Technology and Ridge Computer already have introduced RISC minicomputers. INMOS has announced a single-chip VLSI computer with on-board memory and a RISC instruction set. In the supercomputer class, Seymour Cray's designs have consistently adhered to the RISC philosophy.

{continued)

■"—i

T92 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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RISC CHIPS

The Berkeley and Stanford RISC groups are now working on several new designs. Students at Berkeley are completing final design work on SOAR (Smalltalk on a RISC). At Stanford, work is just beginning on MIPS-X, a microprocessor that is projected to have 10-mips performance.

Architectural Design

The Berkeley RISC project largely grew out of the design ideas of David Patterson and Carlos Sequin. Patterson's thoughts about RISC developed after he spent a leave of absence at DEC where he gained experience with the difficulties facing VLSI computer designers. He realized that to build a

computer like a VAX in VLSI, he would have to include a writable control store because of the near impossibility of perfecting the microprocessor's microcode.

Patterson recognized that most of the current 16-bit microprocessors had essentially replicated the design complexity of the PDP-11. Instead of following the DEC approach, he decided to put a point on the other end of the complexity curve.

From the first architectural studies in the spring of 1980, Berkeley faculty and graduate students began work on the design of a microprocessor known as RISC I. RISC I, a simple 32-bit NMOS (negative-channel metal-oxide

TkE Software Solution

The Berkeley RISC design isn't the only approach to building reduced instruction set computers. Computer scientists at the Center for Integrated Systems (CIS) at Stanford University have designed MIPS to do in software much of what RISC does in hardware.

Instead of taking up silicon area with a large bank of physical registers, MIPS attempts to keep operands in registers by using sophisticated compiler technology. This strategy leads to a smaller chip and a faster register set than in the Berkeley RISC design. John Hennessy (a Stanford professor who is one of the leaders of the MIPS design team) notes that the Berkeley and Stanford strategies are not mutually exclusive In fact, a number of similarities exist in the two chips. Both RISC and MIPS have what is called a load/store architecture; this means that only load and store operations can access memory. Data can be operated on only when it is in a register.

What sets MIPS apart is the focus on compiler issues. "We attempt to get zero idle time in the pipeline," says Hennessy. "In practice, we get within 5 percent of that goal."

The MIPS compiler technology consists of several parts, including the relatively straightforward issue of code generation and more complex techniques such as instruction scheduling.

branch scheduling, and instruction packing. A pipeline reorganizer that is part of the MIPS software system reorders sequences of MIPS instructions, packs instructions, and handles the effect of branch delays.

At the heart of the MIPS architecture is a dense five-stage pipeline composed of instruction fetch (IF), instruction decode (ID), operand decode (OD), operand store/execute (SX), and operand fetch (OF) components. MIPS allows packing of up to two instructions per 32-bit word; the combination of two operations per word and two cycles per instruction makes possible a peak rate of one operation per machine cycle.

The argument in favor of doing instruction reorganization in software instead of in hardware is that the performance price is paid for only once, at compilation time.

And what's the performance bottom line? Hennessy says that MIPS outperforms an 8-MHz Motorola 68000 by as much as a factor of five or six. What's next? Last May, work began on MIPS-X, a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) microprocessor projected to have 10-mips performance. MIPS-X will have an on-chip instruction cache, some support for multiprocessing, and possibly some sort of interprocessor communications facility

semiconductor) microprocessor, was fabricated and tested by the summer of 1982. Because of a design error, it did not meet performance expectations. However, a second microprocessor, RISC II, exceeded them.

The initial design specification of the RISC project was based on the concept of a simple 32-bit architecture to both test the RISC hypothesis and allow the research group to shorten design time and reduce design errors. Shortened design time is not insignificant. Patterson estimates that it can be cut to as little as two years from the five years currently typical of a major commercial microprocessor.

The RISC architecture includes four important design constraints. The first is execution of one instruction per cycle; instructions are intended to be as simple and fast as microinstructions on computers like the VAX. (The LOAD and STORE instructions are the only operations that violate this single-cycle constraint; they take two cycles, adding an index register and an immediate offset during the first cycle and then performing the memory access during the next cycle, thereby allowing sufficient time for main-memory access.) Also, all instructions are the same size; this generally simplifies implementation. Third, system memory is accessed only with LOAD and STORE instructions; this also simplifies the system design and is well matched for a microprocessor optimized for keeping operands in internal registers. Finally, the RISC design was done with the idea of supporting high-level languages in mind.

The resulting microprocessor is a register-oriented NMOS design that has just 31 operation codes (shown in table I) and supports 32-bit addresses and 8-, 16-, and 32-bit data. This design leaves floating-point calculations and instruction and memory caches to peripheral devices. The finished RISC II is a 41,000-transistor chip that is 25 percent smaller than RISC I, yet has 60 more registers and 39 operation codes. However, both

{continued)

194 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

The new Canon TX-50 desktop computer.

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With such impressive, self-contained flexibility the TX-50 is ideal in areas such as customer operations and counter service. Especially since the TX-50 provides such a huge range of varied functions, yet takes up so little space.

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RISC CHIPS

designs were fabricated at 2 microns (4 microns drawn gate length). RISC II was later resubmitted at smaller geometries of 1.5 microns. This version is reported to run at 330 nanoseconds per instruction with a 12-MHz clock and 1.8 watts power dissipation.

The RISC I microprocessor essentially consists of a large general-purpose register bank, a shifter, an ALU (arithmetic and logic unit), a set of program counter (PC) registers, data I/O (input/output) latches, the

program status word (PSW) register, and the control section. The RISC I register bank has two independent buses (A and B) that are read-only and a bus C that is write-only.

The register bank bus architecture was redesigned in RISC II. The modification permits dual-port read accesses with single-bus signal sensing; however, both buses are required for a write operation. Each cell is about 2.5 times smaller than the three-bus RISC I register cell.

By visually examining a RISC

microprocessor, you can see that, while the control section generally covers 50 to 60 percent of the total chip area in a commercial microprocessor like the Motorola 68000 or the Zilog Z8000, the control section covers only 6 to 10 percent of the RISC I or II chip area. Remarkably the RISC II op-code decoder (equivalent to the microprogram memory in mi-crocodable CPUs) occupies only 0.5 percent of the chip area, has only 7 percent of the transistors, and requires less than 2 percent of the design and layout time needed by CISCs.

The Berkeley RISC uses the area freed by the absence of a large instruction set for a bank of 3 2-bit registers intended to minimize access of system memory. These registers are used in an innovative window-register scheme described below. The RISC philosophy also claims that it makes more sense to use silicon area to implement an instruction cache than the complex control circuitry necessary for a large microprogram ROM. However, the instruction cache was dealt with as a separate device to keep the scale of the first experimental RISC chips small.

RJSCs Instruction Set

While initially it seems plausible that complex instruction sets offer better support for high-level languages, RISC advocates have conducted experiments indicating that simple instructions are the most frequently executed. This statistical evidence in favor of simple instructions, coupled with the facts that sequences of simple instructions often run as fast or faster than corresponding complex instructions and that microcoded control can be slower than hard-wired control, makes it logical to consider supporting high-level languages by translating simple high-level language operations directly into machine instructions and translating more complicated high-level functions into machine-language subroutines.

Additional simplicity is gained by using only two addressing modes, in-

{continued)

196 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Canon's advanced non-impact printing technology heralds yet another achievement—The F-60: a flexible, high-quality thermal transfer printer with Graphic Image capability

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RISC CHIPS

dexed and PC-relative. More complicated addressing modes can be synthesized from these if desired.

Most of the Berkeley RISC Us 39 instructions are simple ALU and shift operations on registers. Instructions, data, addresses, and both RISC I and II registers are 32 bits wide. A fixed width simplifies instruction fetching and sequencing. Additionally, the instruction format is simple, with fields in fixed locations to speed instruction decoding. As a consequence, register access can take place at the same time as op-code decoding.

Pipeline

Both RISC I and II have pipelined architectures. RISC I has a simple two-stage pipeline that overlaps the instruction fetch and execution phases. RISC II introduces a third pipeline stage. In this version the process of writing to a destination register has been delayed until that stage. The advantage of the fixed RISC instruction format is that register operands always appear in the same place in the 3 2-bit word. Therefore, register access can take place simultaneously

with op-code decoding, effectively shortening the pipeline (see figure 1).

While pipelined architectures on commercial machines generally use complex schemes to avoid delays incurred as a result of jump instructions, the RISC goal of simplicity has led to the choice of a "delayed branch" technique. Berkeley RISC redefines jumps so they do not take effect until after the following instructions. This insures that the RISC can always prefetch the next instruction while the current one is being executed.

It is possible for a compiler to further optimize the branch by rearranging instructions so the cycle after the delayed branch can be used more than 90 percent of the time. This avoids having to insert a NOP (no operation) instruction at this point.

Register Windows

Although the Berkeley researchers didn't focus on compiler technology to the same degree that the Stanford MIPS designers have, they developed a hardware design intended to keep operands in registers in order to significantly increase the speed of

SEQUENTIAL

PIPELINED

IF ID

I OF |oE

OS

IF ID OF OE OS

IF ID OF OE OS

Figure I: Sequential versus pipelined execution. Pipelined execution gives a peak performance of one instruction per step. The five steps here refer to the steps of instruction execution: instruction fetch (IF), instruction decode (ID), operand fetch (OF), operand execution (OE), and operand store (OS).

microprocessor operations. A block of CPU registers is the fastest storage option because it is on the same chip with the CPU and because addressing is done with a shorter address than for cache or memory.

The Berkeley solution is to have a number of sets of registers (referred to as windows) to insure that local variables and parameters are always immediately available in registers. This solution avoids the time-consuming process of saving the state of a bank of registers to slower system memory on every procedure call and then restoring the original parameters on every return.

Thus, when a procedure call takes place in both the RISC I and II architectures, the processor is automatically switched to a new set of registers. To further optimize this architecture's performance, an overlapping window arrangement is employed (see figure 2). Because different windows overlap, operands are automatically passed, so it is not necessary for procedures to pass values between registers.

The Berkeley register-window design has already achieved at least limited commercial acceptance. Pyramid Technology's 90x processor uses register-window design architecture.

The window-based register design is vital to a RISC because procedure calls are time-consuming, and RISC designs create more procedure calls than CISCs do. This is because complex instructions are implemented as subroutines in RISC designs, rather than as single op codes as in CISCs.

One potential problem faced by the register-window scheme is nesting of procedures. If the nesting depth is large enough, the RISC architecture handles the overflow condition by creating an additional stack in system memory.

According to the Berkeley designers, the effectiveness of this idea depends on the relative frequency of register overflows and underflows. TWo students did a study on the project indicating that with eight register

{continued)

198 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

What's more incredible about Canon's color ink-jet printer?

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1984 Canon USA, Inc.

resolution on blacks and saves you money, because when black is used up only the black cartridge need be replaced.

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RISC CHIPS

windows, overflow occurs in less than 1 percent of the calls (see reference 3). This study, done early in the RISC project, involved the dynamic measurement of the number of arguments and local scalar variables for a given procedure and similar measurement of locality property of procedure-nesting-depth. The students measured a C compiler, Pascal interpreter, UNIX troff typesetter, and six smaller nonnumeric programs written in C. In practice, not all the physical registers are visible to the machine-language programmer at any given time Instead, one window designated "the current window" is available. Within each window are two types of registers. Some registers belong only to a single window and are referred

to as "locals." Other registers belong to two windows simultaneously and are called "overlap registers." These registers are divided into high and low sets. The high registers contain parameters passed from "above" the current procedure, while the low registers contain parameters that will be passed to procedures "below" the current procedure. Finally RISC I and II have a set of registers called "global" that are always visible regardless of which window is current. A register window in the RISC II design contains 6 overlapping registers, 10 local registers, and 10 global registers.

In the sample RISC register window in figure 3, registers 26 to 31 contain parameters that have been passed

from the calling procedure. The local registers are 16 through 2 5. These are used for local scalar storage. Low registers 10 through 15 are used for parameters passed to the called procedure. By changing only the pointer to the current window, it is possible to immediately pass parameters between procedures. Registers 0 through 9 are always visible regardless of which register window is current.

Overflow and underflow conditions are handled by associated circuitry and with a trap to a software routine that adjusts the procedure stack in memory.

The performance advantage of this design is impressive. Overlapped

{continued)

Figure 2: Three overlapped register windows in RISC

Figure 3: RISC register windows.

200 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 203

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RISC CHIPS

register windows give the Berkeley RISC design a typical call time of 2 microseconds versus the 20 microseconds typical of a call on the VAX-11/780 (see reference 4). Additionally register windows reduce the total accesses to system memory by a factor of two.

It is interesting that one of the criticisms of the Berkeley RISC project has been that RISC performance actually comes from the register-oriented basis of the RISC design rather than the RISC architecture itself. The Berkeley group has responded by agreeing that a significant portion of the speed is due to the overlapped register window. However, the group notes that critics have ignored a key point in the design—that a drop in the control logic area due to the reduced set of instructions (from 50 percent to 6 percent) created space for the expanded number of registers in the first place.

Design Tools

In many ways, the tools created to design the Berkeley RISC microprocessors are as significant as the new design philosophy inherent in RISC. These tools have enabled a small group of faculty and graduate students, using the Mead-Conway VLSI NMOS design rules and with access to corporate silicon foundries over the ARPAnet to construct working microprocessors that rival commercial designs in performance Many of these tools are now available in the public domain, making VLSI design projects more readily accessible than most people realize. The Berkeley RISC project's decision to choose a

simple and regular design has also led to shortened design cycles and chips that function in first silicon.

The principal design tool available to the RISC project was a color graphical layout editor called Caesar, created by Berkeley professor John Ousterhout. Caesar runs on DEC VAX computers under the Berkeley 4.1 version of UNIX and is widely in use in university and corporate research centers. Caesar is not an intelligent system. It does not understand design rules, electrical properties, or connectivity. It functions primarily as a geometry editor that lets the designer create pictures of VLSI circuits and then integrate them into more complex circuits.

A variety of tools (designed by a group that Ousterhout led) were used to check the layout after it was created, including Drc a program that checks for layout errors; SPICE, a low-level circuit-simulation language; and Crystal a high-level timing verifier that analyzes the performance of VLSI circuits.

Future design work at Berkeley will be done with an advanced layout editor called Magic that Ousterhout's group is now designing. This tool will permit intelligent operations such as automatic routing of connections between different devices and "plowing," or altering a portion of a design while maintaining layout rules and connectivity

RISC Performance

The bottom line on RISC architecture is actual performance, and this is difficult to ascertain because the Berkeley RISCs have not yet been integrated into complete microcom-

puter systems. However, preliminary studies and projected benchmarks indicate that RISC designs yield performance benefits as well as cost/performance benefits. While the operating speed of RISC

I was originally expected to be 7.5 MHz, its actual speed was much slower: only 1.5 MHz. The Berkeley RISC designers attributed this to their inexperience as VLSI designers; they concentrated principally on logical correctness rather than circuit speed. Subsequent tests indicated that the design errors would have limited the performance of RISC I to 4 MHz and that problems with the implementation of only a few instructions were limiting actual performance.

A RISC I test board was assembled, including memory, I/O, and memory management. Comparative performance tests measuring the first version of RISC against commercial systems (see table 2) indicate that it can run a series of programs a little faster than a series of microprocessors can.

RISC II results have been much more promising. Because of added experience and the use of more sophisticated design tools, RISC II ran much closer to original predictions. The predicted cycle time execution of a register-to-register instruction had been 480 nanoseconds (8-MHz clock). Actual RISC II performance was 500 nanoseconds per instruction. The RISC II submitted with smaller geometries runs at 330 nanoseconds per instruction (12-MHz clock).

According to Patterson, "Benchmark simulations show that even at 500 nanoseconds, RISC II runs integer C programs faster than an 8-MHz iAPX 286, 10-MHz NS 16032, 12-MHz 68000, or 18-MHz HP 9000." (See reference 5.)

C-compiler benchmarks on both the RISC II (simulated) and the VAX-11/780 have determined that the RISC

II compiles faster (see table 3).

To date, the results of all the RISC experiments have been positive. During the next few years, RISC architecture should have an opportunity to

[continued)

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RISC CHIPS

prove itself in the commercial marketplace

SOAR

Another criticism leveled at RISC architecture is that it is appropriate only for certain high-level languages. RISC I and II and Stanford MIPS have shown that RISC does provide superior performance in C and Pascal. In order to test the applicability of RISC to other language environments, the Berkeley RISC project has begun work on microprocessors tailored for those environments.

SOAR is a 3 5,000-transistor 32-bit NMOS microprocessor designed to execute the Smalltalk-80 language at performance levels comparable to a Xerox Dorado, a powerful, single-user ECL (emitter coupled logic) minicomputer that sells for more than $100,000.

The SOAR design was scheduled for fabrication in September of 1984 and projected performance micro-benchmarks range from 41 percent to 580 percent of the Dorado's performance.

Conclusion

RISC design principles fit well with the "small is beautiful" philosophy of the personal computer industry. In fact, RISC design at Berkeley and Stanford proves that successful VLSI microprocessor design work can be done on a shoestring, without the resources of the semiconductor industry.

According to the Berkeley RISC designers (see reference 6):

The bottom line of the RISC I effort is that students as part of the graduate curriculum designed and evaluated an architecture, learned Mead/Conway design, built new CAD tools, and tested their design. The end product,

a 44,500-transistor integrated circuit, has one minor design error, worked on the first good silicon, and runs programs faster than commercial microprocessors. ■

REFERENCES

1. Patterson, Q, and D. Ditzel. "The Case for the Reduced Instruction Set Computer." Computer Architecture News, October 15, 1980, pages 27 and 28.

2. Bernhard, R. "More Hardware Means Less Software." IEEE Spectrum, December 1981, volume 18, number 12.

3. Halbert D, and P. Kessler. "Windows of Overlapping Registers." CS292R Final Reports, June 9, 1980.

4. Patterson, D "A RISCy Approach to Computer Design." COMPCON Spring, February 1982, page 9.

5. Patterson, D "RISC Watch." Computer Architecture News, March 1984, page 2.

6. Foderaro, J. K., K. S. Van Dyke, and D. Patterson. "Running RISCs." VLSI Design, September/October 1982.

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NEW CHIPS

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ARSENIDE

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by Phillip Robinson

A high-speed IC material gets ready to go

VIRTUALLY ALL microelectronics chips are based on silicon. Ever since silicon trounced germanium in the transistor market, silicon has been the only practical material for devices ranging from SSI (small-scale integration) to VLSI (very-large-scale integration).

However, silicon has a new rival-gallium arsenide (GaAs). GaAs has the physical properties to be a material that's faster and requires less power than silicon. While it has been the preferred material for a few devices, such as microwave transistors and LEDs (light-emitting diodes), it wasn't until the 1980s that GaAs became a practical foundation for ICs (integrated circuits). A recent series of events moved GaAs technology into the commercial sphere.

First, the United States military decided that signal processing and complex design computation required a leap in processing speed that silicon ICs would be hard-pressed to provide. When the engineers looked at GaAs and realized that it not only provided higher speed than silicon but also vastly improved radiation

resistance higher operating temperatures, and lower power dissipation, they knew they had to have it.

The second factor that turned the spotlight on GaAs was the telecommunications market's desire for higher-frequency devices. If GaAs was used for simple discrete devices, why couldn't complete circuits be fabricated upon it? The DBS (direct broadcast satellite) dreams of entrepreneurs played a role here. Using silicon amplifiers, a home owner would need a huge antenna (larger than a house roof, by some estimates) to receive television signals directly from a satellite. GaAs IC amplifiers, on the other hand, hold out the promise of an antenna only a meter or so wide.

Also, the telecommunications firms knew fiber optics would be invading more of their fiefdom. GaAs has been the major LED material for many years and has been the substance of choice for integrated semiconductor lasers. The idea of an integrated

Phillip Robinson is a senior technical editor at BYTE. He can he contacted at 1000 Elwell Court, Palo Alto, CA 94303.

repeater—laser, amplifier, and digital processing circuitry all on the same chip—occurred to quite a few designers. Such a construction would be vital to a fiber-optics network: every link between fibers could use such a repeater.

The final impetus for GaAs came from the world of commercial supercomputers. GaAs offered chips that would be five to seven times faster than the best silicon devices while consuming equal or less power. Supercomputer manufacturers were all keeping an eye on the improvements in GaAs technology. And just when some of those firms made plans to include GaAs in a future system, the other shoe dropped.

That shoe was the Josephson junction. A superconducting device, the Josephson junction switches in picoseconds (ps) and uses a minute amount of power. Unfortunately, Josephson junctions operate only at supercold temperatures (only a few degrees above absolute zero). That made them very difficult to manufacture. IBM was the largest Josephson

{continued)

<* — Circle J 58 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 211

GALLIUM ARSENIDE

investigator and Big Blue had openly predicted that supercomputers would be built with these devices. Then, in late 1983, IBM announced it was canceling its Josephson project. Interest in GaAs exploded.

Physics and Processing of GaAs

Silicon has dominated IC manufacture because it yields good performance devices and is easily refined and processed. An important example of that processing simplicity is the use of silicon dioxide for insulation. Many places on a chip require an insulating layer between or within devices. Silicon dioxide an excellent insulator, grows on hot silicon without requiring intricate chemical processing. GaAs doesn't provide any simple insulating process and must rely on complicated depositions for insulation.

But GaAs lab work in the past decade has made GaAs processing practical, if not as simple as silicon processing. In fact, the same equipment that IC manufacturers use for silicon needs only slight modification to be used for GaAs. And now that GaAs is practical designers don't have to live with silicon's disadvantages.

The first major disadvantage of silicon, in comparison to GaAs, is its speed. Silicon microprocessors accomplish their simplest tasks in microseconds. That corresponds to an operating frequency of as much as 10 or 20 megahertz (MHz). If faster, though less space-efficient, technologies are used to manufacture the transistors on the chip—such as bipolar bit-slice chips—silicon can go as fast as 100 MHz with the simplest actions taking nanoseconds (ns).

This isn't fast enough for all applications. Solutions that require huge

numbers of calculations (the most famous example is weather forecasting) cannot be accomplished with current computers because those computers just aren't fast enough. Also, some real-time computing problems, such as controlling complicated machines, require answers in such a hurry that silicon chips are hard-pressed to do the job. But because of its "energy-band" structure, GaAs is nearly ideal for ICs: electrons in it are very "light" and can move very quickly This is true of many of the compounds known as III-V materials (so called because of the position in the periodic table of the compounds' components). GaAs is the best known of the III-V semiconductors. Others, such as indium phosphide and indium antimonide, also hold great promise as foundations for microelectronic devices.

{continued)

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GALLIUM ARSENIDE

In essence the effective mass of the GaAs electron is only 7 percent of what it is in silicon. That means GaAs can be up to five times faster than the fastest silicon chip. GaAs electron mobility ranges from 1.4 x 10 7 to 5 x 10 7 centimeters per second (cm/s) while silicon electron mobility is approximately 6 x 10 6 cm/s. In the end, silicon devices struggle to run at 200 MHz, while GaAs just gets going at 2 gigahertz (GHz). .

Another major advantage of GaAs is that, when properly manufactured, it is a better insulator than silicon, which helps isolate devices on the chip from each other and reduces parasitic capacitance. (Parasitic capacitance limits how close transistors can be to one another; a large amount of parasitic capacitance slows the chip down.)

Gallium arsenide is also very radiation-hard, and so it is good for military and space applications. It can withstand 10 7 to 10 8 rads; silicon takes only 10 3 to 10 4 rads. GaAs also has a wide working-temperature range (from -200 to +200 degrees Celsius) because of its wider energy band gap. Special processing techniques can be used to make GaAs chips that run as hot as 300 or 400 degrees Celsius.

Standard microprocessors, such as the 8088 used in the IBM Personal Computer, are built out of silicon NMOS (negative-channel metal-oxide

semiconductor) transistors. The fastest silicon chips use ECL (emitter-coupled logic), a bipolar technology that consumes a lot of energy and is more expensive than NMOS. The heat generated by ECL chips becomes a major problem in computer design, requiring extensive cooling apparatuses and packaging innovations. Silicon CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) became popular during the 1980s and offers much lower power dissipation than ECL. CMOS has been traditionally known as a "slow" technology, but when the devices are made very small and run at higher power, they can run faster, Still CMOS uses about 5 times more voltage and 2 5 times more dynamic power than GaAs. Figure 1 compares the delay and power dissipation of several types of semiconductors.

Just as in silicon, there are quite a few ways to make a transistor on a GaAs wafer. The three most common GaAs devices are D-MESFETS (depletion-metal semiconductor field-effect transistors), E-MESFETfe (enhance-ment-MESFETS), and HEMTs (high electron-mobility transistors). GaAs won't grow a regular planar-oxide, so standard MOSFETfe (metal-oxide-semiconductor FETfe) cannot be built on it.

Currently, the most mature technology is the D-MESFET. E-MESFETS and HEMTS are not yet ready for commercial markets. D-MESFETS have a

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Silicon NMOS

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POWER DISSIPATION {MICROWATTS/GATE)

Figure 1: A comparison of the delay and power dissipation of several semiconductor types.

depletion region (depleted of electrons) and are normally on. Positive bias voltage on the gate reduces the size of the depletion region; negative gate voltages extend it. The negative voltage may increase to the point where the channel is pinched off. E-MESFETfe are doped to cut off the depletion region with no bias voltage; thus, they are normally off. That means they use less power than D-MESFETS. Positive bias voltage on the gate increases the size of the channel. D-MESFETfe require two power supplies while E-MESFETk require only one.

If they consume less power than D-MESFETS and need only a single power supply, why aren't E-MESFETS used? For one thing, they draw excessive gate current if gate voltage is above 0.7 volt, so the pinch-off voltage must be controlled very exactly. Also, surface depletion regions that appear between the gate, source, and drain lower the efficiency of the transistor. The gate area can be recessed, but that complicates manufacturing.

HEMTS perform better than E-MESFETfe, particularly at low temperatures. HEMTfe are superlattice hetero-junctions—multiple, extremely thin layers of GaAs and GaAlAs (gallium aluminum arsenide a solid solution of the three elements). The foundation of the device is an undoped GaAs channel with a GaAlAs doped layer between channel and gate. Electron mobility in the channel is higher because there are no dopant ions to scatter current carriers. HEMTfc turn on very quickly because they reach full transconductance with a gate-logic voltage only slightly above the threshold voltage. HEMTfe, however, are more difficult to fabricate than MESFETfe, and the required processes—such as MBE (molecular beam epitaxy)—don't adapt easily to mass production.

TkE Supercomputer Chase

It is no secret that supercomputer makers are depending on GaAs for some of their future speed improvements. Cray Research, the premier

{continued)

214 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 215

GALLIUM ARSENIDE

supercomputer maker, plans to use GaAs for the central processing unit in a future computer. Fujitsu is also planning to use GaAs. Fujitsu, NEC, Hitachi, and Mitsubishi are making GaAs chips for the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry supercomputer project. Fujitsu has announced it will use

GaAs in its own supercomputers, and, because Fujitsu owns a portion of Amdahl, the chips may turn up in Amdahl systems, too.

Fujitsu has developed two HEMT GaAs chips. HEMT structures must be cooled to 77 degrees Kelvin for best results, not as cold as Josephson junctions. At such temperatures, and with

a small (0.4 volt) logic swing, HEMT gate arrays should switch in 30 ps and use only about 150 microwatts. HEMT chips with 1-micron gates and running at room temperature are about 2 5 percent faster than MESFET chips. Fujitsu foresees an HEMT computer running with a 2-ns clock. Today's supercomputers have clocks that run at approximately 10 ns. Still, HEMT chips are in the labs only and are hard to fabricate. The thin layers, made by MBE, are difficult to control and slow to build.

In February of 1983, Fujitsu announced an experimental HEMT 1K-bit SRAM (static random-access read/ write memory), and then in February of 1984 it announced an experimental 4K-bit SRAM. The former is one of the fastest HEMT chips announced, with 0.9-ns access time at -196 degrees Celsius. The latter has been tested at 3-ns access time—twice the speed of comparable silicon chips. Typical 1K-bit silicon ECL SRAM access times are 15, 20, or 24 ns. The newest commercially available 4K-bit ECL SRAMs have about the same access times.

The 4K-bit GaAs SRAM also uses only 700 milliwatts. That is only one-third the power needed by a comparable silicon chip. In some cases the peripheral circuitry on these chips uses 85 percent of the power even though it takes up only 15 percent of the total device count.

The Fujitsu chips have all been described in conferences and journals. They are not available for purchase. The only GaAs chips Fujitsu sells are its GaAs FETS.

Cray indicates it will be using some GaAs in a supercomputer; however, it has published very little on this subject. As is true of many of the supercomputer designs, GaAs chips won't make up all or even a majority of the system. Instead, these expensive jewels will be used where they can give an economically justifiable boost to performance—namely, in the central processor as ALU (arithmetic and logic unit) chips, cache and microcode memories, clock components, and the like

{continued)

216 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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GALLIUM ARSENIDE

Cray is building a GaAs research and development facility and is investing nearly $100 million in the next three years to build the Cray-3 supercomputer (which industry observers expect will use eight GaAs processors). Cray is even making its own GaAs chips to lessen its dependence on Japanese suppliers.

Military Applications

Military applications demand many of the physical advantages of GaAs. The speed is vital for everything from complex weather forecasting to realtime signal processing. The radiation resistance is crucial for satellites and for hardening electronic equipment against the threat of an electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast. The ability of GaAs to run at much higher temperatures than silicon is useful for many of the extreme environments military equipment must perform in.

For those reasons, the United States Department of Defense (DOD) has

long been interested in GaAs and has contracted with firms such as Rockwell to develop GaAs chips. DARPA, the Department of Advanced Research Projects Agency is also pursuing GaAs work for applications such as long-term space missions.

The military wants to use GaAs in satellites. "Just about all surveillance satellites gather tremendous amounts of data," explains Richard Reynolds, the deputy director of the Defense Science Office, ,l but the sensors are so good that there's no way to relay all the data to Earth. We'd like to have on-board selection of what's relevant." A very fast, radiation-resistant, low-power (able to work from solar cells) satellite computer would be just what the DOD doctor ordered. Raytheon is the prime contractor for the prototype of such a computer, expected in 1987. Rockwell and Honeywell are making production lines for GaAs digital circuits and will deliver logic and memory chips. McDonnell and Tfexas Instruments are working on new

Safety Concerns

The tag "arsenide" in GaAs worries quite a few people who know that arsenic is dangerous. It is important to remember that once GaAs chips are packaged, they are no more dangerous than any other chips.

However, processing GaAs wafers-forming the circuits on them—involves toxic gases, solvents, high temperatures and voltages, radio-frequency fields, acids, and just about every dangerous condition found in the field of materials science. But those same conditions are found in the processing of silicon wafers. While the semiconductor industry may be comparatively "clean" when seen from the outside, it can be anything but clean for those who work on the processing line. Companies need to carefully isolate workers from fumes, splashes, and particulates. At this stage, GaAs and silicon work pose the same fundamental dangers. (In fact, silicon processing sometimes involves arsine gases.)

In the first step of making a GaAs

chip—growing, cutting, and polishing the GaAs wafer—solid arsenic, called the charge, is used. This stage of chip preparation is the most dangerous.

The people at Harris Microwave Semiconductor, one of the companies that grows its own crystals, take efforts to keep things as safe as possible Their position, as they explained it to me, is that the need for safety applies mainly to the growing and processing of the crystals. Once the gallium and arsenic are locked into a crystal, processed, and sealed in a hermetic package, they are completely nontoxic. But in the growing process, keeping in mind that arsenic is a carcinogen, the people making the charges must be protected. Proper clothing and a clean processing environment help insulate workers from the materials. In addition, the arsenic is stored in jars in inert gas. Tests of both the area and the workers' blood help monitor toxic elements. According to Harris, no dangerous levels have been detected.

circuit designs. Both Rockwell and Honeywell are working on 64K-bit RAMs that will have access times of 10 to 15 ns.

According to Allen Firstenberg, of Rockwell's Microelectronics Research and Development Center, Rockwell has been active in GaAs for quite a few years. The low-power, radiation-hard GaAs RAM LSI and VLSI chips that Rockwell is developing are exemplified by a lK-bit SRAM that uses only 100 milliwatts to achieve a 6-ns access time. Operating the same chip at higher power can yield access times approaching 1 ns.

Rockwell is also working on optronic GaAs chips: it has used ion implantation to make the FETfe and multilayer epitaxy to make the GaAs-GaAlAs structure for integrating semiconductor lasers onto a chip. Rockwell apparently believes it can get 500 to 1000 gates on a chip within the next two or three years.

At the 1984 International Solid-State Circuits Conference, Rockwell representatives described a 4.5-GHz frequency-divider chip that used GaAs/GaAlAs heteroj unction bipolar transistors (HBTfe) in an ECL circuit configuration. This is a very highspeed configuration that has higher current drive capability, higher trans-conductance, and lower sensitivity to process parameters than simple GaAs FETfe.

Rockwell grows its own 3-inch-dia-meter, low dislocation density GaAs crystals using the LEC (liquid encapsulated Czochralski) technique. Each crystal provides between 75 and 150 wafers, and each wafer can yield 880 2 56-bit SRAMs.

Do It Yourself

According to Al Patz, general manager of Tektronix Gallium Arsenide Integrated Technologies, "Our involvement in gallium arsenide began in 1978, from our people trying to guess what the future needs of our customers would be." Looking for highspeed parts to improve their own instrumentation performance, the Tektronix designers decided to use

{continued)

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GALLIUM ARSENIDE

GaAs. By 1985, GaAs chips will be part of many of the company's instruments. Tektronix, however, has decided to use its knowledge to also build circuits for others because, Patz said, "We recognized we had a technology with applications beyond our product line." Tkktronix's current chips are only

medium-scale integration (around 100 to 500 gates). Patz sees GaAs as "about seven years behind silicon in terms of the level of integration, which means that GaAs LSI devices are still a year or more away from production." Tektronix is working on an LSI process that will use combined enhancement and depletion-mode cir-

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cuits to keep dissipation to 2 50 microwatts per gate Those chips will run at twice the rate of ECL while using only one-tenth to one-fifteenth the power. Tfektronix is making depletion-mode MESFEB with l-micron gates, gate delays of 65 ps, and power dissipation of 15 milliwatts per gate The company's line and processes aren't limited to digital chips; Tektronix also makes GaAs analog chips with transistors that run at 12 GHz.

Other GaAs Producers

Harris Microwave Semiconductor was the first to bring GaAs digital ICs to the commercial market. In February of this year, Harris introduced its first two GaAs chips: a shift register and a binary counter. Harris says both of these chips can operate five times faster than the fastest silicon equivalent and are completely ECL compatible.

Bruce Hoffman, Harris's manager of product marketing, admits that GaAs is "not cheap." In fact, the shift register and the binary counter now cost $393 apiece in quantities of 100. ECL chips, which are gallium arsenide's main competition, cost far less. For instance, an off-the-shelf ECL binary counter costs approximately $6 in the same quantities (100 pieces) as the Harris GaAs HMD-11016-1 binary counter. But it muddles along at a mere 150 MHz, or an even slower 125 MHz when the temperature reaches +85 degrees Celsius. Harris's GaAs binary counter cruises at 2.0 GHz. So, although the Harris binary counter costs more than 60 times as much as an ECL binary counter, it runs more than 13 times faster. While the price is sure to come down for GaAs, the chip is even now worth the price if speed is critical and beyond the capability of ECL.

Similarly, a standard ECL universal shift register costs about $7 and runs at 250 MHz; the Harris GaAs HMD-11141-1 equivalent costs $393 and runs at 1.4 GHz.

Harris says that testing these new high-speed ICs is not as easy as testing simple silicon TTL ICs. It disputes,

{continued)

220 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 221

GALLIUM ARSENIDE

however, that the testing problem is unique. Testing can be done, Harris says, with other digital circuits that are that fast. In fact, testing GaAs digital ICs may mean building GaAs ICs into the test instruments.

Other GaAs products planned at Harris are SSI logic elements such as D flip-flops, divide-by-two prescalers, five-input NAND/AND gates, five-input NOR/OR gates, exclusive NOR/OR gates, differential amplifiers, and variable-modulus dividers. Harris says all of these parts will run at 3 to 4 GHz and will be available by the end of this year. In addition, the firm is working on cell arrays and on GaAs FETk.

Gigabit Logic, a Rockwell spin-off started in 1982, makes only GaAs ICs. The firm offers a series of 12 chips and an evaluation board to simplify the task of designing with the chips.

According to Tony Livingston, marketing vice-president of Gigabit,

"There is a learning curve on parts complexity that builds with time and the maturity of the technology. We could physically make at least 16K-bit SRAMs, but we don't have the yield experience to do it economically" Livingston adds, "We'll be pushing up the level of integration very rapidly, but we are purposefully starting out with things that are easy".

"Everything we're making is 1-micron design rule," according to Richard Eden, Gigabit's vice-president of research and development. Gigabit sees GaAs as "a tool to a system designer for high performance" just as CMOS is used for low power and bipolar for speed. Having GaAs digital chips on the commercial market lets people "use it where it makes the most sense." Furthermore, Gigabit says that all of its parts are ECL compatible and can also be easily interfaced to TTL and CMOS.

Gigabit's 12 products fall into three categories: diode arrays and FET arrays, high-speed counter/prescalers, and logic devices.

The dual-gate and single-gate FETS and diodes are useful in analog work and in testing the characteristics of the fundamental components of GaAs technology. The four high-speed counter/prescalers are useful in clocks and high-frequency systems running up to 3 GHz.

The four logic devices include a quad three-input NOR chip, a dual high-speed comparator, a dual-precision D flip-flop, and a dual fan-out buffer. The NOR gate has a mere 7 5-ps/gate delay in the die form. That is 10 times faster than ECL at the same power. It would run even faster and use less power if it didn't have to drive a 50-ohm line. Most of the power is used in the buffering. The

[continued)

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Maxell's the disk that many drive manu facturers trust to put new equipment through its paces. It's that bug-free. So you can drive a bargain. But in accelerated tests, Maxell was an industry leader in error-free performance and durability. Proving that if you can't stand the heat you don't stand a chance.

maxell

IT'S WORTH IT

Circle 259 on inquiry card.

Maxell Corporation of America, 60 Oxford Drive, Moonaehie, N.J. 07074 201-440-8020

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYT I

GALLIUM ARSENIDE

dual high-speed comparator and the dual-precision D flip-flop run at 3 GHz.

Livingston explains that Gigabit expects GaAs digital chips to be strategically used to gain system performance. For instance, in clock distribution, GaAs might be used as a comparator and a fan-out buffer to eliminate the skew time that forces other system parts to wait for the clock signal to become steady. In such a position, Livingston sees GaAs making a 20 to 2 5 percent improvement in system performance. GaAs memory products will be used for microcode, fast registers, and cache.

Livingston says, "In the next few years we will see complete GaAs computers. Within a year to 18 months the Japanese will have something. By 1988 we will see complete GaAs systems."

Gigabit's chips have up to 80 gates now. But according to Livingston, you'll see "16- and 32-bit microprocessors running a couple of hundred megahertz by 1990 or sooner. Imagine a 68000 microprocessor at 200 MHz on your desk and you get an idea "of the promise this holds."

When asked about the economics of digital GaAs, Livingston points out that Gigabit is using fewer masking steps than are required in most CMOS processes. Initial material for the GaAs chips is more expensive (wafers cost approximately $175, 20 times the cost of a similar silicon wafer), but Gigabit apparently believes that after all costs (testing, packaging, and so on) are considered, the price of those chips can be very competitive when their performance is taken into account. Eden says that wafer costs add only 15 to 30 cents to the price of each chip. He further asserts that on the basis of cost, GaAs will compete head to head with silicon. 'And in the long run," Eden says, "we hope to match high-performance silicon on an absolute-cost basis."

Gigabit's chips cost from $59 for the NOR gate to $399 for the 4-GHz seven-stage ripple counter. Those prices are for 100-piece lots. If you want to buy single chips, you'll shell

out from two to three times that much; however, if you think you can work with the naked dice, you can cut those prices by as much as a third. These prices are between 10 and 100 times those of ECL chips, but the

For More Information

Books

Goodge, Malcolm. Semiconductor Device Technology. Indianapolis, IN: Howard W. Sams & Co., 1983 (first published in London by Macmillan Press). Dilorenzo, James V. and Deen D. Khandelwal. GaAs FET Principles and Technology. Dedham, MA: Artech House Inc., 1982.

Soares, Robert, lacques Graffeuii, and Juan Obregon. Applications of GaAs MESFETs. Dedham, MA: Artech House Inc., 1983.

Journals

GaAs IC Symposium Technical Digest

IEEE Electron Device Letters

IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices

Proceedings of the IEEE

IEEE ]ournal of Solid State Circuits

Conferences

International Solid-State Circuits

Conference

Device Research Conference

High-Speed Digital Technologies

Conference

International Symposium on GaAs and

Related Compounds

III-V Conference

Articles

MacMillan, David, and Tushar

Gheewala. "Learn gallium-arsenide

basics before applying high-speed ICs."

EDN, March 22, 1984.

MacMillan, David, and Tushar

Gheewala. "High-speed GaAs logic

systems require special packaging."

EDN, May 17, 1984.

Haight, Jeff. 'GaAs logic characteristics

result in integration problems." EDN.

lune 28, 1984.

Donlan, Thomas. 'Goodbye, Josephson

Junction and Hello, Gallium Arsenide."

Barron's, January, 1984.

GaAs chip performance is also significantly higher.

According to Livingston, "Gallium arsenide is fundamentally attacking emitter-coupled logic, which cannot make the jump into the gigabit speed range. Only gallium arsenide can do that."

How Big the Market?

Yves Blanchard of Strategic Inc., a market-research firm, thinks GaAs will cost three to five times what ECL costs but will fit in special applications where high speed, low power, or radiation resistance is important. Strategic indicated it also believes that GaAs will remain at 3 percent of the semiconductor market; that is, even though it will grow enormously over the next decade, the entire semiconductor market will grow just as fast. Strategic Inc. estimates that the

1983 market for GaAs was $48 million. It further subdivides the GaAs chips into types and estimates that, of the chips sold in 1983, 75 percent were analog and 14 percent were digital, with optoelectronic representing the rest. By 1992, it sees a market where 47 percent of the GaAs chips will be digital, 28 percent analog, and 2 5 percent optoelectronic.

According to Strategic, chips used in supercomputers and voice-recognition systems will represent $6 million of business in 1985, $56 million in 1987, and $865 million in 1992.

Unfortunately, all of these estimates, including the general estimate that many people working in GaAs will quote—that the market will be $5.6 billion in 1992—are from a study that has become dated. No one is really sure where the market will be.

Companies should be able to sell to DOD and communications firms and thus have a source of cash while moving down the learning curve. "We are still at the top of the learning curve," according to Blanchard. He sees the industry moving from a level of 200 devices per chip in 1980 to 16,000 in

1984 and 600,000 in 1990.

A study by Mackintosh International

{continued)

224 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

NOW YOU CAN HAVE COMPATIBILITY

WITHOUT BUYING YOUR PERSONAL COMPUTER

IN BITS AND PIECES.

THAT'S THE WIZARDRY OF OLIVETTI.

If you've always wanted a personal computer that runs all the most popular business software, like Lotus 1-2-3® 1 , dBase II® 2 , WordStar®3 and more, but want it in a single, easy-to-buy package, you need the wizardry of Olivetti.

"feu 11 find it in the Olivetti Personal Computer. It's a complete system with some remarkable features.

Like a high resolution screen for clarity and superb graphics. Plus expandability to grow with your needs. It has optional storage capacity. You can choose either single or dual floppy disk drives. Even get a 10 megabyte disk drive for really large storage needs. All with a choice of transportable or desktop models. To please the hardcore computer buff, it has the flexibility to accept compatible expansion boards, plus the necessary printer and modem ports. And for computer beginners, you can get the PC Tutor program and a "Getting Started" booklet. So you don't have to be a wizard to use it.

In fact, the Olivetti Personal Computer is so complete, you can even get it bundled with five of the most popular business software programs.

And the Olivetti Personal Computer offers all this for a lower price than a comparable system from IBM® 4 .

How do we do it? Wizardry Sheer electronic wizardry See it all at the Olivetti dealer nearest you. He's a wizard.

''n#

Call 1-800-447-4700 for the dealer nearest you. In Alaska and Hawaii call 1-800-447-0890.

Olivetti

Electronic wizardry at your fingertips.

DOCIITEL

olivetli

CORPORATION

Olivetti Typewriters and Personal Computers are marketed in the USA by Docutel/Olivetti Corporation, Dallas, Texas.

i Lotus Development 2 Asbton~Tate ^MicroPro * IBM Corporation Circle 133 on inquiry card. NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE 225

GALLIUM ARSENIDE

Don't expect to see GaAs chips in your micro for quite a while.

(a technology consulting company in London), directed by Tbny Pyne, indicated that 2 percent was a more realistic figure for the portion of the IC market that GaAs would capture. That means a market one-third smaller than Strategic expects (at least on the basis of the first Strategic report). There are several reasons the GaAs market may not take off. For one thing, it is a high-capital start-up business terribly short of experienced people. One major reason Mackintosh sees a smaller market for GaAs is that it is hard to get a high processing yield using the GaAs material. According to Pyne, the processing problems "are so severe that yields can be a fraction of 1 percent, requiring the processing of many wafers to obtain one good die site." So with high yields and complex new VLSI architectures, silicon technology is presenting a moving target to GaAs makers.

Final Note

Don't expect to see GaAs chips in your microcomputer for quite a while. They will first turn up in advanced telecommunications systems, supercomputers, and on-board aerospace processors.

GaAs won't be the final winner of the high-speed race. Many other materials are waiting out there. Some are just wild shots in the dark. But there is at least one material that has even greater mobility than GaAs and could surpass it for all the same reasons GaAs surpasses silicon. Indium phosphide is another III-V compound semiconductor that is still found only in labs. It is harder to process than GaAs, but it is already the material of choice for some very special applications such as millimeter wave devices. GaAs holds everyone's attention now; but remember, just four years ago, Josephson junctions were the odds-on favorites over GaAs and GaAs was in second place ■

«— Circle 237 on Inquiry card.

:!

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expected results.., Computer Innovations

C86 was the compiler that our staff

programmers used both before and six

months after we conducted the tests."

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NOVEMBER 1984 •BYTE

MICROPROCESSOR COMPONENTS

Part No SN7400U

SN7401N SN7402N SN7403N

5N7404N SM7405M SN7406N SN7407N SN7408N SN7409M SN7410N SM7411M SN7412N SN7413N SN7414N SN7416N SN7417N SN7420N SN7421N SN7422N SN7423N SN7425N SN7426N SN7427N SM7428N SM7430H SN7432N SN7437N SN7438N SN7439N SN7440N SN7441N SN7442N SN7443N SN74^4N SN7445N SN7446N SN7447N SN744SN SN7450N SN74&1N SN7453N SN74S4N SN7459N SN7460N SN747GN

74LS00 74LS01 74LS02 74LS03 74LS04 74LS05 74LS0B 74LS09 74LS10 74LS11 74LS12 74LS13 74LS14 74LS15 74LS20 74LS21 74LS2Z 74LS26 74LS27 74LS28 74LS3Q 74LS32 74LS33 74LS37 74LS38 74LS40 74LS42 74LS47 74LS48 74LS49 74LS51 74LS54 74LS55 74LS73 74LS74 74LS75 74LS76 74LS78 74LS83 74LS85 74LS86 74LS90

74S00

74S02 74S03 74S04 74S05 74S08 74S09 74S10 74S11 74S15 74S20 74S22 74S30 74S32 74S38 74S40 74S51 74S64 74S65 74S74 74S85 74S86 74S112 74S113

CA3010H CA3039H CA3046N

CA3059N CA3060N CA3065E CA30S0E

CD4000 CD4001 CD4002 CD4006 CD4007 CD40Q9 CD4010 CD4011 CD4012 CD4013 CD4014 CD401S CD4016 CD4017 CD4018 CD4019 C04020 CD4021 CO4022 C04023 CD4024 CD4025 CD4026 CD4027 CD4028 CD4029 CD4030 CD4G34 CD4035 k (Mora in

SN7472N

SN7473N SN7474N SN7475N SN7476N SN7479N SN7480N SN7482N SN7483N SN7485N SN7486N SN7489N SN749QN SN7491N SN7492N SN7493N SN7494N SN7495N SN7496N SN7497N SN74100N 3N74104N SN74T05N SN74107N SN74109N SN74116N SN74121N SN74122N SN74123N SM74125M SN74126N SM74132N SN74136N SN74141N SPJ74142N SN74143N SN74144N SN74145N SN74147N SN74148N SN74150N SN74151N SN74152N

16 3.95 24 3.95 24 3.95

S.\i/4'36N 16 .59

SN74157N 16 .49

SN74160N 16 .59

SW74161N 16 .59

SN74162N 16 59

SH74163N 16 .59

SM74164M 14 .69

SN74165N 16 .69

SN74166N 16 .69

SN74167N 16 2.95

SN74170N 16 159

SN74172N 24 4.95

SN74173N 16 85

SN74174N IB .59

SN74175N 16 .59

SN/4176N 14 .79

SN74177N 14 .79

SN74179N 16 1.49

SN 741 SON 14 .69

SN74181N 24 1.95

SN74182N 16 1.05

SN74184N 16 2.29

SN74185N 16 2.29

SN7419QN 16 .69

SN74191N 16 .69

SN74192N 16 .69

SN74193N 16 .69

SN74194N 16 .69

SN74195N 16 .49

SN74196M 14 .75

SM74197N 14 .75

SN74198N 24 1.19

SN74199N 24 1.19

SN74221N 16 1.19

SN74251N 16 .79

SN74276N 20 2.49

SN74279N 16 .79

SN74283N 16 1.39

SN74284N 16 2.95

SN74285N 16 2.95

SN7436SN 16 .55

S\743iiBN 16 .55

SN74367N 16 .55

SM74368N 16 .55

\ 1'<3N 16 1.49

SN74393N 14 1.49

74LS190 16 74LS191 16

74LS192 74LS193 74I.S194 74LS195 74LS197 74LS221 74LS240 74LS241

74;.s?-i;

,- - .i

7-..33H 741 - '■'.' 74.524/ ?■'■[ SP-18 74.S249 74LS251 7 . 74LS257 7'V^t: 7: hi i 74 .s; hi.. ■•■■■ ■■:■:: 74LS279 7-:i528o 71, •, m 74LS293 , ; -,:■->:-: r._ ,:v 74LS353 /: :rh.

/4L.S36 7 74LS368 ■■■--..S-;,-;i

74LS374

7-il s:?/^

,.; ■-.■'&■

741 S343 7i.534<) 73LS3 73 81LS95 81LS97

16

.79

■2UJJ; I . I . I ,U1

74S114 74S133 74S134

74S135 74S136 74S138 74S139 74S140 74S151 74S153 74S157 74S158 74S160 74S174 74S175 74S188* 74S194 74S195 74S196 74S240 74S241 74S242

74S243 74S244 74S251 74S253 74S257 74S258 74S260 74S280 74S287* 74S288* 74S373 74S374 74S387-74S471* 74S472* 74S473" 74S474* 74S475" 74S570* 74S571" 74S572* 74S573" 74S940 74S941

CA3081N CA3082N CA3083N CA3086N 14 CA3089N 16 CA3096N 16

CA3130E CA3140E CA3160H CA3161E

CA3162E CA3189E CA3401W

CD4040 CO4041 CD4042 CD4043 C04044 C04046 CD4047 C04048 CD4049 C04050 C04051 C04052 CD4053 CD4056 CD4059 CD4Q60 CD4066 CD4068 CD4069 CD4Q70 CD4071 CD4072 CD4073 CD4075 CD4076 CD4078 C04081 CD4082 CD4093

CO4098 16

CD4506 16

CD4507 14

CD4508 24

CD4510 16

C04511 16

CD4512 16

G04514 24

CD4515 24

C04516 16

CD4518 16

C04519 16

CD4520 16

C04526 16

C04528 16

C04529 16

CD4543 16

CD4562 14

CD4566 16

CD4583 16

CD4584 14

CD4723 16

CD4724 16

MC14409 16

MC14410 16

111 24

MC'i

12 16

MC14419 16

MC14433 24

MC14538 16

MC14541 14

Digitalker

-MICROPROCESSOR CHIPS-

0765AC 2650

TMS5501 MCS6502 MCS6502A MCS65028

8031

U .h.y.M

INS8039N ',:--n. M, '.',"H7 ',

INS8073N

40 Floppy Disk Controller

40 MPU (2MHz)

40 Synchronous Data Interface (SiRC)

40 MPU w/Clock (1 MHz)

40 MPU with Clock and RAM |2Mlvi. . .

40 MPU w/Clock at 3MHz

40 CPU-8-Wt (Internal Clock) 1 MHz. .

40 CPU—8-tjit (Lxtema- Ciooki 1MB;.

40 Control Oriented CPU w/RAM & I/O. .

40 MPU-

CPU-Sgl.chipS-biSdJBriti Rani

4U Ml, i

40 CPU (64 bytes RAM)

'" CPU w/Basic Micro Interpreter ..

40 CPU ... 4.91

CPU 16-bit 5MHz..

8088 40 CPU 8/16-bit .. ..

8155 40 HMOS RAM I/O Port-Timer

8237 40 High Performance Prog. DMA Cent.. .

8237-5 40 High Pert. Prog. DMA Cent. (5MHz}. .

8748 40 HMOS EPHOM MPU

Z80, ZBOA, Z80B, Z8000 SERIES-

Z80 40 CPU i W :or, i OC 'MHz

Z80-CTC 28 !;;:■■.i4e' Imtr C rcyit

Z80-DART 40 Dual Asynchra nous Rec./Trans

Z80-DMA 40 Direct Memory Access Circuit

Z80-P10 40 Parallel I/O Interface Controller ....

Z80-S10/0 40 S,:-?:;,h ! \i ;ixl.B and RxCB Bonded) .

Z80-S10/1 40 Serial I/O (Lacks 0TR8)

Z80-S10/2 40 S^,; , , , „ .,/fjCB)

Z80-S10/9 40 Serial I/O

Z80A 40 CPU {M K3880N -4K 780C-1) 4MHz . .

Z80A-CTC 28 Cour.lf T -isr Crcuil

Z80A-DAAT 40 Dual Asyhchronous Rec./Trans

Z80A-DMA 40 Direct Memory Access Circuit

Z80A-P10 40 P , , H . ii e Controller

Z80A-S10/0 40 Serial I/O (TxCB and RxCB bonded) .

ZS0A-S1, 1 40 Serial I 0 I di-sDTRB}

Z80A-S10/2 40 Senai i 0 :\mx SYNCB)

Z80A-S10/9 40 Serial I/O

Z80B 40 CPU(MK3880\-6)6MHz

Z80B-CTC 28 Vw.y.i \-.r.m t.vcuil

Z80B-DART 40 DuaiAsvnch Receiver/T'a'isrntte-

Z80B-P10 40 Parallel I/O Interface Controller ..

Z8001 48 CPU Segmented

6500/6800/68000 SERIES —

MC6502A 40 MPU with clock and RAM (2MHz).

MC6520 40 Peripheral Inter. Adapter

MC6800 40 MPU

MC6802CP 40 VP : .-1", : ■':, l- and RAM

MC6809E 40 i I 1MH/) hxlenai if ickmQi

MC6821 40 I" 1 - , -i , ' ,1,., i L l'pt,r.' >■- ' ,

MC6828 24 Priority interrupt Controller . .

MC6830L8 24 1Q24x8-t)it ROM IMC68A30-8) . .

MC6850 24 , , i , mm Adapter

MC6852 24 Syn, h n I't-'-' i -

MC6860 24 •} i",. f '. ''I

MC68000L8 64 MPU 16-Bit (8MHz)

MC68488P 40 , , i " ni Adapter

MC68652P2 40 Mulli. Protocol Comm. Controller

MC68661PB 28 Enhanced Prog Comm. Inf. . .

M CM 68764 24 64K EPROM (450ns)

SY6522 40 Prn.;f,ei t r ntei Adapter

8000 SERIES

19.95 ' 10.95

44 95

I'. -. i

8156

DP8212

40 CPU . 40 "

DP8228

:.F8?38 ! l »S8243 INS8245 IWS8246

^Sti24/ INS8248

•; >•: .-,

DP8251 OP«?K I 'P821, OP8257 DP8259 OP8275 3279

8284

2d Byte RAM 16-Bit I/O

40 RAM with I/O Port and Timer . .. .

24 8-M Input/Output (74S412)

24 Priority Interrupt Control

16 Bi-Oirectional Bus Driver

16 Clock Generator/Driver

16 Bus Driver

28 System Con: /Hus IJnvei i74vl?8'

28 System Controller (74S438)

24 I/O Expander lor 46 Series

18 16-Key Ke t tto r t icuue ,74.'-"

20 Tj^tdMi:hi*!f, J', 1 ',

28 Display Controller (74C911) ..

28 Display Controller (74C912) .. . .

40 Asyn Comm. Element

28 Prog. Comm. I/O (USART)

24 Prog Interval Timer

40 Pioq Peripheral i/O (PPI)

40 Prog. DMA Control

28 Prog. InterruDl Control

40 Prog CRT Controller .

40 Prog. Keyboard/Display Interlace . .

IB Clock Generator/Onvei

20 Bus Controller

20 8-Bit Tri-State Bi-Oirectional Trans ...

20 8-M Bi-Directional Receiver

20 8 bit Bi Directional Receiver

20 8-bit Bi-Directional Receiver

20 Dual i atoned Peripheral Driver

40 8-bit Univ Periptieral Interlace

- DISK CONTROLLERS

40 Single Density

40 Single/Oual Density (Inv.)

40 Single/Double Density (True) . . .

40 Dual Density/Side Select [Inv.) . .

40 Dual Density/Side Select True

- SPECIAL FUNCTION

8 Dual MOS Clock Driver (5MZ) . .

28 Communication Chip

18 Floppy Disk Read Amp System . ..

24 Asyiiui.rf.!CL"j Iram-iii'liter'Receiver. . .

MM58167AN 24 Microprocessor Real Time Clock

MM58174AN 16 Micro. 0 mjaBWe Tm Clock

40 Microcontroller w/64-digit RAM

and Direct LED Drive

40 Microprocessor w/64-digit RAM . . .

& Direct LED Drive w/N Buss Ini.

20 32-segVAC Fluor. Drvr. (20-pinpkg.) .

8 Prog. Oscillator/Dividet (60Hz)

8 Prog. Oscillator/Divider (100Hz) . ...

INS1771-1

F01791 FD1793 r D170'> FD1797

'' ■ i

N£2h ' MC3470P MM-47'.tiiN

COP402M COP402MN

COP470N

MM „ <.U !,

DYNAMIC RA MS Price

1103 18 1024x1 1300ns) .99

4027 16 4096x1 (250ns) 1.49

4116N-2 16 16,384x1 (150ns) 1.39-8/10.95

4116N-3 16 !6.384x1 :200ns] 1.15-8/8.95

4116N-4 16 16.384x1 (250ns) 89-8/6.95

4164N -1 SO 16 G b. 536x 1 i 150ns) 519-8/40.95

4164N-200 16 65.536x1 (200ns) 4.95-8/3895

MM52S1 18 1024x1 (300ns) 35-8/1.95

MM5262 Z2 2048x1 (365ns) 10

MM5270 16 4096x1 (250ns) MK4096 4.95

MM5280 22 409Bxl (200ns) 2107 395

NEW 256K DYNAMIC RAM 41256 16 262.144xU200nsL.31.95

2114L

2114-2

2114L-2

2147

2148

TMS4G45

TMS40L47-45

5101

MM5257

HM6116P-3

HM6116P-4

HM6116LP-4

HM6264P-15

HM6264LP-15

27LS00

7489

74C920

74C921

74C929

74C930

74S189

74S200

74S206

74S289

82S10

82S25

1702 A

2708

2708-5

TMS2516

TMS2532

TMS2564

TMS2716

2716

27C16

2716-1

2716Q-5

2732

2732A-3

2732A-4

27320-4

27580-A

2764-4

2764-3

27C64

MCM68764

27128

74S188

74S287

74S288

74S387

74S471

74S472

74S473

74S474

74S475

74S476

74S478

74S570

74S571

74S572

74S573

82SZ3

82S115

82S123

82S126

82S129

82S130

82S185

82S191

'V ,-i K

iJMa/s'b'fv

[:M(:,'MIJ 0M87S185N DM87S190N DM87S191N

DC10

MC3470P

MU408I7

MC1408L8

ADC0803LCN

ADC0804

DAC0806

ADC0809

ADC0817

DAC10O0

DAC1O08

DAC1020

OAC1022

DAC1222

LM334Z

LM335Z

LM399H

AY-5-1013A

LOW PROFILE (TIN) SOCKETS

1-9 10-99 100-up

16 pin LP 18 pin LP 20 pin LP 22 pin LP 24 [tin LP 28 pin LP 36 pin LP 40 pin LP

SOLDERTAIL (GOLD) STANDARD

1-9 10-99 100-up

40 pin SO

T.i a

AMP

TTTTnT

ST

WW

STATIC RAMS

16 256x1 (650ns) 1.49

22 256x4 (450ns) 8101 1.95

16 1024x1 (350ns) .89

16 1024x1 (450ns) L.P 1.49

18 256x4 (450ns) 8111 2.49

16 256x4 (450ns) MOS 2.49

18 :0?4x4 1450-is, 129-b/y.a^

18 1024x4 (450ns) L.P 1.95 - 8/13.95

16 1024x4 (200ns) 1.39 - B.-"0.y5

18 1024x4 (200ns) LP., 1.69 S'13 4y

18 4096x1 (70ns) 4.49

18 1024x4 (70ns) 4.95

18 1024x4 (450ns) .. .' 3.95

20 1024x4 (45Dns) 1,95

22 256x4 (450ns) CMOS .... 3,95

18 !<:-,>.,■ i4 c .ihe,)4044 , . 4.95

24 2048x8 (150ns) CMOS . 4.95

Z4 2048x8 (200ns) CMOS . 4.75

24 2048x8 (200ns) LP. CMOS 5.49

- 1 r,iCM0S 34.95

28 8192x8 (150ns) LP CMOS 3795

16 256x1 (80ns)L.P. ... . 3.95

16 16x4 (50ns) 3101 . . 225

22 256x4 (250ns) 595

18 256x4 (250ns) CMOS . . 5.95

16 1024x1 !2:;,iJns!CM0SfbLij1j .. 3.95

18 1024x1 (250ns) CMOS f 6518). ... 595

16 16x4 (35ns) 93405 . 2.95

16 256x1 (80ns) 93410 3.95

16 256x1 (60ns) 93411 3,95

16 16x4 (35ns) 3101 ... . 2,95

16 1024x1 iiOns.'O C i934'5) . .. 3,95

IE 16x4 i.&;)ri.,0 C ,?«7 ! S9). ., 2.25

— PROMS/EPROMS

24 2L»i3x8 (lus) 3.95

24 1024x8 (450ns) 3.95

24 1024x8 5=",r. -Mn, . 1- 3.49

24 >U'.6*S :453ns) 2716 4.95

24 11 -,,. J.,'", , i .r. 1 ' ., 5.49

28 0-^2x8 1450ns) . . .10.95

24 2048x8 (450ns) 3 voltage . 7.95

24 2048x8 (450ns) . 3.95

24 2048x8 CMOS 14.95

Z4 2048x8 (350ns) ... . . 5.49

24 2048x8 (550ns) 3.75

24 4095x3 (4 50ns) .... , 4.95

24 4096x8 (300ns) .... .7.95

24 4095x8 (450ns) 21V 6.49

24 4096x8 (560ns) 21V. 5.95

24 1024x8 (450ns) . . 2.95

28 8192x6 (450ns) . . . 6.49

28 8192x8 (300ns) 7.19

zB B1Sex8 CMOS 22-95

24 8192xB I450ns) , 24.95

25 16.384x8 :4Wns; 12!!*t-ROM 21.95 16 32x8 PROMO C ■6330 ', '75 16 256*4 PROW f S (630 M) 1.79 16 3?x8 PROM T.S, (6331-1) . 1.79 16 256x4 PROM O.C. (6300-1) . -1.95 20 256x8 PROMT S '6303-', i% 20 512x8 PROM ' 3 IS349-1) . .. 4.95

20 512x8 PROM O.C. (6348) 4,95

24 512x8 PROM T.S. (DM87S296N) 495

24 M?x3 PPOMO ■:; ir.34; ;.'.).■-

18 1024x4 PROM T.S. . . 6.95

24 1024x8 PROM T.S . 9.95

16 512x4 PROMO C (5305) 2.95

16 '.1, '.J PH.M '■ ■:■ , -i' :".■';

18 in.'.- r l-i,Mu , , 4 '

18 1024x4 PROM T.S (82St37) 4.95

16 32x8 PROMO C (27S18) . . 295

24 -3<d "POM ' S ,.'..-, ., M.9::

16 32x8 PROM T 3 !2'3'9i 3 0=

16 236x4 PROMO C (2/3231 2.95

16 256x4 PROMT 3 ,2/331; 293

16 I'.! I-i H,'! <

(S 2i.i4;ixJ PROM : 3 ,13324381) 995

24 2048x8 (80ns) 14.95

24 1024x8 PROM O.C. (82S180) 9.95

24 Ii 4.3 1SLIM1 -,,' 111) 9.95

18 '1 • ,-,<■! P3,-.' 32' 134) 9.95

18 2048x4 PROMT S.C82S 185) 9.95

24 2048x4 PROM 0 C. (82S190) 14,95

24 i - ■' ' V nil 14.95

— DATA ACQUISITION

f ',, ' ► 1 .ni +5Vto-9V 2.95

18 Floppy Disk Re;i3 AMP Systeir . 4.95

16 7 bit D/A Converter (DAC0807LCN) .. 1.49 15- Lit fi ■■■■:. ,-:v..,:rln,;DAC0808LCN) 2.25

2G8-3il A-nCanverlHr i ± 1-71 SB) 4.95

20 8-■bit A/D Converter (1LSB) . . 3-49

16 S-oi! DM Converter (0.78% Lin ) 1,95

28 L ' ni A/O 1 1. ' , ' '.'; • ■M;i

40 K uitA'-OCo'iveile' .■ifj-C'i Mu,n ) . .9.49

24 '-0-bil 0,'A Conv. Micro Comp (0 05'.-.;. 7.95

20 10-bit D/A Cc-i:v. M:CD Ccrp :(J30 3; 695

16 10 bit OM Conv (0 0514 Lin 1 . .7.95

16 10-bit D/A Conv. (0.20% Lin }. . . . 5.95

18 3 bitO/ACcnv 13 AiSL'i ,1 6.95

Constant Current Source 1.19

femperaiure Transducer. . 1.29

Temp Comp Prec Ref i Soom/C) 5.95

40 30KBaudUart(TR1602| 3.85

SOLDERTAIL STANDARD (TIN)

1JI 10-99 100-up

29

.27

25

20 pin : 24 pin I 28 pin :

WIRE WRAP SOCKETS (GOLD) LEVEL #3

1J) 10-99 100-up

8 pin WW 10 pin WW 14 pin WW 16 pin WW 13 pin WW 20 pin WW 22 pin WW 24 pin WW 28 pin WW

40 p

n WW WW

$10.00 Minimum Order — U.S. Funds Only California Residents Add 614% Sales Tax Shipping — Add 5% plus $1.50 Insurance Send S.A.S.E. for Monthly Sales Flyer!

Spec Sheets — 30c each Send $1.00 Postage for your FREE 1984 JAMECO CATALOG Prices Subject to Change

VZS4®

DT1050 — Applications: Teaching aids, appliances, clocks, automotive, telecommunications, language translations, etc.

The OT1O50 is a standard DIGITALKER kit encoded with 137 separate and useful words, 2 tones, and 5 different silence durations. The words and tones have been assigned discrete addresses, making it possible to output single words or words concatenated into phrases or even sentences. The "voice" output of the DT1050 is a highly intelligible male voice. Female and children's voices can be synthesized. The vocabulary is chosen so that it is applicable to many products and markets.

The DT1O50 consists of a Speech Processor Chip, MM54104 (40-pin> and two (2) Speech ROMs MM52164SSR1 and MM52164SSR2 (24-pin) along with a Master Word list and a recommended schematic diagram on the application sheet.

DT1050 Digitalker™ $34.95 ea.

MM54104 Processor Chip $14.95 ea.

DT1057-Expands the DT1050 vocabulary from 137 to over 260

words. Includes 2 ROMs and specs.

Part No. DT1057 .$24.95 ea.

* Evaluation ■ 11 fx flTlFoT^^f 111H flrfTTTTr

Kits Mun,vims^n^c/ji|ir^ ft 11 ft if

Part No, "Pins Function Price

70451P1 28 CMOS Precision Timer 14.95

7045EvVKit* 28 Stopwatch Chip, XTL 19.95

7106CPL 40 3V2 Digit A/D (LCD Drive}. ... 10.49

FE0203D 3 V; Digit LCD Display for 7106 & 7116 14.95

7106EV/Kit" 40 IC, Circuit Board. Display 46,95

71Q7CPL 40 3Vj Digit A/D (LEO Drive) 10.95

7107EV/Kit* 40 IC, Circuit Board, Display 46.95

7116CPL 40 m Digit A/D LCD Dis. HLD 10.95

7201IUS Low Battery Volt Indicator 2.25

72051PG 24 CMOS LED Stopwatch/Timer 14.95

7205EV/Kit* 24 Stopwatch Chip, XTL 16.95

7206CJPE IS Tone Generator 4.95

7206CEV/Kit* 16 Tone Generator Chip, XTL 7.95

7207A1PD 14 Oscillator Controller 5.95

7207AEV/Kil* 14 Freq. Counter Chip, XTL 8.49

72151PG 24 4 Func. CMOS Stopwatch CKT 16.95

?2l5Ev7Kit* 24 4 Func, Stopwatch Chip, XTL 19.49

7216AUI 28 8 Digit Univ. Counter C A 31.49

7216DIPI 28 8 Digit Freq Counter CC 21.49

7217IJI 28 4 Digit LED Up/Down Counter C.A 10,95

7217A1P1 28 4 Digit LED Up/Down Counter CC 9.95

7224JPL 40 LCD 4ft Digit Up Counter DRI 10.95

7226AEV7K1P 40 5 Function Counter Chip. XTL 99.95

130009 1963 INTERSIL Data Book(i356p.) $9.951

74HC High Speed CMOS

1355 SHOREWAY ROAD, BELMONT, CA 94002 11/84 PHONEORDERS WELCOME — (415) 592-8097 Telex: 176043

74HCO0 74HC02

74HC03 34HC04 74HCU04 74HC08 74HC10 74HC11 74HC14 74HC20 74HC27 74HC30 74HC32 74HC42 74HC51 74HC58 74HC73 74HC74 74HC75 74HC76 74HC85 74HC86 74HC10? 74HC109 74HC112 74HC113 74HC125 74HC132 74HC137 74HCt38

74C00 74C02 74C04 74C08 74C10 74C14 74C20 74C30 74C32 74C42 74C48 74C73 74C74 74C85 74C86 74C89 74C90 74C93

TL071CP TL072CP

TL074CN

1L081CP

TL082CP

TLG84CN

LM301CN

LM302H

LM304H

LM305H

LM307CN

LM308CN

LM309K

LM310CN

LM311CN

LM312H

LM317T '

LM317K

LM318CN

LM319N

LM330K-3

3M32UK-13

LM320K-15

LM320K-24

LM320T-5

LM320T-12

LM320T-15

LM320T-24

LM322N

LM323K

LM324N

LM329DZ

LM331N

LM334Z

LM335Z

LM336Z

LM337MP

LM337T

LM338K

LM339N

LM340K-5

LM340K-12

LM340K-15

LM340K-24

LM340T-5

LM340T-12

LM340T-15

LM340I-24

LM341P-5

LM341P-12

LM341P-15

30003 1982 Nat. Linear Data Book (t952pgs) $11

95^/

228 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Commodore

RS232 ADAPTER FOR VIC-20 AND COMMODORE 64

^g)

The JE232CM allows connection of standard serial RS232 printers, modems, etc. to your VIC-20 and C-64. A 4-pole switch allows the inversion of the 4 control lines. Complete installation and operation instructions included.

• Plugs into User Port • Provides Standard RS232 signal levels • Uses 6 signals (Transmit, Receive, Clear to Send, Request to Send, Data Terminal Ready Data Set Ready).

JE232CM $39.95

ProModem 1200

PROMETHEUS

Intelligent 300/1200 Baud

Telephone Modem with Real Time Clock/Calendar

The ProModem™ is a Bell 212A (300/1200 baud) intelligent stand-alone modem • Full featured expandable modem • Standard features include Auto Answer and Auto Dial, Help Commands, Programmable Intelligent Dialing, Touch Tone™ and Pulse Dialing & More * Hayes command set compatible plus an additional extended command set ■ Shown w/alphanumeric display option.

PM1200 $374.95

KEYBOARDS

VOICE SYNTHESIZER FOR APPLE AND COMMODORE

JE520AP

JE520CM

• Over 250 word vocabulary-affixes allow the formation of more than 500 words • Built-in amplifier, speaker, volume control, and audio jack • Recreates a clear, natural male voice • Plug-in user ready with documentation and sample software • Case size: Vk"l x 3V4"W x 1-3/8"H

APPLICATIONS: • Security Warning • Telecommunication

• Teaching • Handicap Aid

• Instrumentation * Games

The JE520 VOICE SYNTHESIZER will plug right into your computer and allow you to enhance almost any application. Utilizing National Semiconductor's DIGITALKER'* Speech Processor IC (with four custom memory chips), the JE520 compresses natural speech into digital memory, including the original inflections and emphases. The result is an extremely clear, natural vocalization.

Part No. Description Price

JE520CM For Commodore 64 & VIC-20 $114.95

JE520AP For Apple II. II+, and lie $149.95

i - — ..„..„ \§^£

13 1 /b"Lx4%"Wx 3 V'H

New!

16-9/16"Lx6%"Wx1%"H

Nationally Known Manufacturer!

21 VLx9.B"Wx3 , /a ,, H

flew!

14''2"Lx5',2 , 'Wx1 T.'HtTT-T.

£

w\

Mitsumi 54-Key Unencoded All-Purpose Keyboard

■ SPST keyswitches ■ 20 pin ribbon cable connection • Low profile keys ■ Features: cursor controls, control, caps (lock), function, enter and shift keys •Color (keycaps): grey • WL: 1 lb. ■ Pinout included

KB54 .....$14.95

76-Key Serial ASCII Keyboard

■ Simple serial interface ■ SPST mechanical switching ■ Operates in upper and lower case ■ Five user function keys: F1-F5 • Six finger edge card connection ■ Color (keys): tan • Weight: 2 lbs. • Data incl.

KB76 $29.95

106-Key Serial ASCII Keyboard

• 8-bit serial ASCII (12-bit data structure-requires 3 instruction bits and 1 sync bit) • The terminals were designed to be daisy chained around a central host computer and used as individual work stations

• Hall effect switching • Numeric and cursor keypad

• 10 user definable keys • 50" interface cable with 9-pin sub-miniature connector ■ 7 LED function displays • Security lock - N-key rollover * Automatic key repeat function ■ Color (case): white with black panel — (key caps): grey and blue Weight: 6"s lbs. ■ Data included

KB139 $49.95

68-Key Keyboard with Numeric Keypad for Apple II and II+

• Plugs directly into Apple II or II+ motherboard with 16-pin ribbon cable connect. ■ 26 spec. tunc. ■ Color (keys): white/grey • Wt. 2 lbs. ■ Enclosures available

KB-A68 $79.95

JE664 EPROM PROGRAMMER

8K to 64K EPROMS - 24 & 28 Pin Packages

Completely Sell-Contained - Requires No Additional Systems lor Operation

■ Programs and validates EPROMs ■ Checks for property erased EPROMs

■ Emulates PROMs or EPROMs • RS232C Computer Interface for editing and program loading ■ Loads data into RAM by keyboard • Changes data in RAM by keyboard • Loads RAM from an EPROM ■ Compares EPROMs for content differences ■ Copies EPROMs ■ Power Input: 115VAC, 60Hz, less than 10W power consumption • Enclosure: Color-coordinated, light tan panels with molded end pieces in mocha brown ■ Size: 15VL x8 3 i"D x3Vi "H -Weight: 5*t lbs.

The JE664 EPROM Programme! emulates and programs various 8-Bit Word EPROMs from 8K to 64K-Bit memory capacity. Data can be entered into the JE664's internal SK x 8-Bit RAM in Ssm ways: (1) Irom a ROM or EPROM; (?) from an external computer via 8te opfeoai JE66 ■ RS& :2>. BUS; (3) from its panel keyboard. The JE664's RAMs may be accessed for emulation purposes from ttie panel's test socket to an external microprocessor In programming and emuiat.on, me JE664 allows for examination, change and validation of program content. The JE664's RAMs can be p rog ram med qu i c kl y to al r ■!" s (or an y value), allowing!. isedaddressesintheEPROM to be programmed later without necessity of "UV" era.siny l he JL66^ displays DATA and ADDRESS in convenient hexadecimal (alphanumeric) format. A "DISPLAY EPROM DATA" button changes the DATA readout from RAM word to EPROM word and is displayed in both hexadeei mal and bi n ary code. T h e tron t pd m i tM ■ onvaiient operating guide. The JE664

Programmer includes one JM16A Jumper Module (as listed below!.

JE664-A EPBOM Programmer $995.00

Assembled & Tested (Includes JM16A Module)

JE66S - BS23ZC INTERFACE OPTION - The RS232C Interlace Option implements

computer access to the JE664's RAM. This allows the computer to manipulate, store and transfer EPROM data to and from the JE664. A sample program listing is supplied in MBASIC tor CP/M computers. Documentation is provided to adapt the software to other computers with ar, RS232 port. 9600 Baud, 8-bit word, odd parity and 2 stop bits.

FOR A LIMITED TIME A SAMPLE OF SOFTWARE WRITTEN IN BASIC FOR THE TRS-80" MODEL I. LEVEL II COMPUTER WILL ALSO BE PROVIDED

JE664-ARS EPROM Prog. W/JE665 Option $1195.00

Assembled & Tested (Includes JM16A Module)

POWER SUPPLIES

TRANSACTION TECHNOLOGY, INC. 5VDC @ 1 AMP Regulated Power Supply

• Output: +5VDC @ 1.0 amp (also +30VDC regulated) ■ Input: 115VAC, 60 Hz ■ Two-tone (black/beige) self-enclosed case ■ 6 toot, 3-conductor black power cord ■ Size: 6V L x 7" W x 2V H ■ Weight: 3 lbs.

PS51194 $14.95

■%-i^^p^

Power/Mate Corp. REGULATED POWER SUPPLY

■ Input: 105-125/210-250 VAC at 47-63 Hz • Line regulation: * 0,05% • Three mounting surfaces • Overvoltage protection • UL recognized ■ CSA certified Part No. Output Size Weight Price

E MA 5/6 B bV ® 3 A/6V @ 2. 5A 4 & "L x 4"W x gfe "H EMA5/6C 5V@6A/6V@5A 5%"L x 4VW x 2?V'H

$29.95 $39.95

POWER SUPPLY +5VDC @ 7.6 AMP, 12VDC @ 1.5 AMP SWITCHING

- Input: 115VAC, 50-60H? « 3 amu/230VAC, 50Hz @ 1.6 amp. -Fan volt/power supply selecl switches I115/230 VAC) ■ Output: 5VDC ® 7 6 amp, 12VDC® 1.5 amp- 8 foot black power cord ■ Size: 11VL x 13VW x 3 3 i"H ■ Weight: 6 lbs.

PS94VOS $34.95

KEPCO/TDK 4-OUTPUT SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY

• Ideal for disk drive needs of CRT terminals, microcomputers and video games ■ input: 115/230VAC, 50/60Hz ■ Output: +5V @ 5 Amp, +12V @ 1.8 Amp, +12V m 2 Amp, -12V @ 0.5 Amp ■ UL recognized > CSA certified ■ Size: 7%"L x 6-3/16"W x 1VH • Weight: 2 lbs.

MRM 174KF $59.95

POWER PAC INC. REGULATED POWER SUPPLY

- Perfect for computer systems- Output: +5VDC® 11 Amps, -5VDC® 1 Amp, M2VDC @ 2 Amps, -12VDC ® 0.5 Amp and +24VDC @ 3 Amps -Over-voltage protection ■ Size: 12 5 iTL x 6VW x 4VH ■ Weight: 17 lbs. • Spec incl.

PS2922 ... . $69.95

4-CHANNEL SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY

* Microprocessor, mini-computer terminal, medical equipment and process control applications • Input: 90-130VAC, 47-440Hz - Output: +5VDC @ 5A, -5VDC @ 1 A; +12VDC @ 1 A, -12VDC @ 1A ■ Line regulations: -0.2% ■ Ripple: 30mV p-p -Load regulation: ■ ' 1% • Overcurrent protection ■ Adj: 5V main output .■?-10% • Size: 6 3 VL x 1VW x 4-15/16"H ■ Weight: 1Vfe lbs,

FCS-604A $69.95 each

Switching Power Supply for APPLE II, 11+ & //e™

• Can drive four floppy disk drives and up to eight expansion cards ■ Short circuit and overload protection ■ Fits inside Apple computer

• Fully regulated +5V @ 5A, +12V @ 1.5A, -5V @ .5A, -12V @ .5A

• Direct plug-in power cord included • Size: 9%"L x 3VW x 2VH

• Weight: 2 lbs.

KHP4007 $59.95

$10.00 Minimum Order — U.S. Funds Only California Residents Add 6 1 /a % Sales Tax Shipping — Add 5% plus $1.50 Insurance Send S.A.S.E. for Monthly Sales Flyer!

Spec Sheets — 30c each Send $1.00 Postage for your FREE 1984 JAMECO CATALOG Prices Subject to Change

■ K5E3

lameco

ELECTRONICS

1355 SHOREWAY ROAD, BELMONT, CA 94002 11/84PHO/VE ORDERS WELCOME — (415) 592-8097 Telex: 176043

Fiberoptics

J The EDU-LINK Learning Kit

The EDU-LINK fiber optic system is a low-cost, TTL compatible data transmission system designed specifically as an educational tool for students and engineers working in many different industries. Includes: transmitter PCB T a receiver PCB, one meter of plastic optic fiber, and all the necessary electrical hardware • Complete step-by-step instructions, theory of operation, and tutorial information are included.

ELK-1 ONLY S 19.95

APPLE ACCESSORIES

m* APPLE™

Direct Plug-In

Compatible Disk Drive

and Controller Card

The ADD-514 Disk Drive uses Shugart SA390 mechanics- 143K formatted storage ■ 35 tracks ■ Compatible with Apple Controller & ACC-1 Controller • The drive comes complete with connector and cable - just plug into your disk controller card -Size: 6"L x 3VW x 8-9/16"D ■ Weight: AVi lbs,

ADD-514 (Disk Drive) $179.95

ACC-1 (Controller Card) $ 49.95

Also Available...

JE864 (80 Col. + 64K RAM for lie). .....$ 99.95

JE614 (Numeric/Aux. Keypad for He). .... $ 59.95

F051APC (Apple Compat. Ife-Mt Drive) $189.95

gj iADt-sFA/zs Protect Yourself... DATASHIELD Sg^l Surge Protector

k^^^d^(^ ' Eliminates voltage spikes and EMI-RFI noise before it can damage your equipment or cause data loss • 6 month warranty ■ Rower dissipation (100 microseconds): 1,000,000 watts • 6 sockets ■ 6 foot power cord ■ Norma! line voltage indicator light ■ Brown out/black out reset switch - Weight: 2 lbs.

Model 100. $69.95

protect DATASHIELD

Yourself... Back-Up

Power Source

; ■ Provides up to 30 minutes of continuous 120

l » I VAC 60Hz power to your computer system

H H (load dependent) when you have a black out

Nft or voltage sag ■ Output rating: 200 watts ■ Six

~ month warranty ■ Weight: 24 lbs.

PC200 (Model 200). $299.95

For more demanding systems (e.g. with hard disks) • Output rating: 300 watts

XT300 $399.95

IBM MEMORY EXPANSION KIT COMPAQ COMPATIBILITY

SAVE HUNDREDS OF $$$ BY UPGRADING MEMORY BOARDS YOURSELF!

Most of the popular memory boards allow you to add an additional 64K. 128K. 192K, or 256K. The IBM64K Kit will populate these boards in 64K byte increments. The kit is simple to install — just insert the nine 64K RAM chips in the provided sockets and set the two groups of switches. Directions are included.

IBM64K (Nine 200ns 64K RAMs) $43.95

TRS-80 MEMORY EXPANSION KIT

TRS-80to 16K, 32K, or 48K

"Model 1 = From 4K to 16K Requires (1) One Kit Model 3 = From 4K to 48K Requires (3) Three Kits Color = From 4K to 16K Requires (1) One Kit

"Model 1 equipped with Expansion Board up to 48K Two Kits Required — One Kit Required for each 16K of Expansion —

TRS-16K3 *200ns for Color & Model III $8.95

TRS-16K4 *250ns for Model I $6.95

TRS-80 Color 32K or 64K Conversion Kit

Easy to install kits comes compfete with 8 ea. 4164-2 (200ns) 64K dynamic RAMs and conversion documentation. Converts TRS-80 color computers with D, E, ET, F and NC circuit boards to 32K. Also converts TRS-80 color computer II to 64K. Flex DOS or OS-9 required to utilize full 64K RAM on all computers. TRS-64K2 $38.95

UV-EPROM Eraser

I 8 Chips — 51 Minutes

1 Chip — 37 MinuteT]

Erases 2706, 2716, 2732, 2764, 2516, 2532, 2564. Erases up to 8 chips within 51 minutes (1 chip in 37 minutes). Maintains constant exposure distance of one inch. Special conductive foam liner eliminates static buildup. Built-in safety lock to prevent UV exposure. Compact — only 9.00° x 3.70" x 2.60". Complete with holding tray for B chips.

DE-4 UV EPROM Eraser $ 79.95 UVS-11EL Replacement Bulb ..$16.95^

Circle 225 on inquiry card.

You don't need a computer to talk to another computer.

DISPLAY (VP3012D). High performance, 12" diagonal non-glare, green phosphor screen,

RESIDENT MENUS. User-friendly

terminal set-up and

phone directory maintenance

DIRECT CONNECT MODEM.

Built-in, 300 baud, originate/answer/auto answer.

AUTO DIAL Tone or pulse dialing of up to 26 stored phone numbers voice or data base calls.

AUTO-LOG-ON. Enters information automatically after auto dialing.

VIDEO OUTPUT. Selectable 80 or 40 characters x 24 lines on standard monitor.

TV OUTPUT. Displays

40 characters x 24 lines

on Ch. 3/Ch. 4 of standard TV set.

MEMORY BACKUP. Minimum 48-hour storage of directory, logon and other parameters without plug-in power. No batteries required.

FUNCTION KEYS. User programmable or downloadable from host computer.

APTVP4801

The new RCA APT (All Purpose Terminal) expands your data communications capabilities

for a lot less money.

For business, professional and personal data communications, you'll find more user-friendly features and greater communications capabilities in the RCA APT than in other terminals selling for up to three times the price.

The new APT terminals are ideally suited to multi-data base time sharing and dedicated, direct computer-connected applications. They feature menu-controlled operation and a programmable "personality" to match specific communications requirements for your data bases.

A single keypress can dial a stored number, send the log-on sequence on the host computer, and return terminal control to the user. Password protection prevents unauthorized access to designated numbers. APT can also be used as an auto-dialer for voice communications.

OTHER FEATURES RS232C port for direct computer connections at data rates to 9600 baud, or for connecting high speed modems and other accessories. Parallel printer port for hard copy. Numeric keypad, can dial phone numbers not in terminal directory. Built-in speaker with adjustable volume control for audio monitoring of phone line. Smooth scroll display. Automatic screen blanking to reduce possibility of burn. Briefcase size: 17" x 7" x 2". Weight: under 4 lbs.

Quite simply, matching features with price, there is no other professional quality terminal available today that can do as much at such low cost.

APT terminals list for $498, in your choice of full stroke or membrane keyboard versions. Either style is also available with a display monitor for $697 list. The data display monitor alone, VP3012D, $199 list.

For more information—or to order—call 800-722-0094. In Penna., call 717-295-6922. Or write for fully descriptive brochure to RCA Data Communications Products, New Holland Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17604. OEM and dealer pricing available. The new RCA APT. Expansive. Not expensive.

APTVP3801.

Flexible membrane keyboard version designed for travel and hostile environments.

230 BYTE ■ NOVEMBER 1984

RC/1

NEW CHIPS

THE 80286 MICROPROCESSOR

by Paul Wells

A close look at Intel's 32-fe iAPX 286 chip

DURING THE PLANNING phase for a processor to follow the 8086, we at Intel realized that two distinct markets had emerged. One market required the power of the 8086 but was primarily driven by the customers' need for cost-sensitive solutions. To satisfy this market, we defined a processor with a significant performance increase over the 8086 that also included such common peripheral functions as software-controlled wait state and chip select logic, three timers, priority interrupt controller, and two channels of DMA (direct memory access). This processor, the 80186, could replace up to 22 separate VLSI (very large scale integration) and TTL (transistor-transistor logic) packages and sell for less than the cost of the parts it replaced.

80286 Fundamentals

For the second market, driven by performance, address space, and complex system-level requirements such as sophisticated OS (operating system) support and protection, Intel developed the 16-/16-bit 80286 microprocessor.

lb allow designers committed to the 8086 to take advantage of the next-

generation technology the 80286 design uses the 8086/88 instruction set and is capable of executing binary-level 8086 code. Like the 8086, the 80286 operates at TTL levels and supports the use of coprocessors. Among these coprocessors are the 80287, the iAPX 286 version of the 8087, the 802 586 Ethernet coprocessor, and the 802730 text and graphics coprocessor (iAPX 286 refers to the family of chips that includes the 80286 microprocessor; iAPX 186 refers to the 80186 family and so on). The 8086 instruction set has been extended on the 286, and a new design employing a high degree of parallelism and pipelining to improve processor performance has been implemented.

Finally the 80286 was designed to be more "aware" of the complex problems it has to solve. For example multitasking is a software-intensive

Paul Wefts has been employed by Mel Corporation (3065 Bowers Ave., Santa Clara, CA 95051) for the past 11 years. He has spent five years in engineering, two years in sales, and four years in marketing. He is currently the Marketing Manager of Special Programs within the microprocessor operation.

solution to many types of problems but represents significant overhead to a CPU (central processing unit) that has no knowledge of what a task is and no way to support it. The 80286 provides an implementation in hardware of task switching and a protection model that recognizes attempts to violate protection criteria and monitors the transfer of control within the system. Virtual, memory support was also fully integrated within the 80286 to avoid reliance on external devices.

To provide additional flexibility, the 80286 operates in two modes. Following power-up or a system reset, the 80286 is in real address mode, supporting a 1-megabyte real address space. The real mode operates as an 8086 except that it is up to six times faster, based on internal improvements and increased clock frequency When you run the processors at the same clock speed and do not take advantage of any 80286 capabilities, the 80286 achieves 2 50 percent of the 8086's performance. {Editor's Note: For one example of how the 80286 performed in a system environment, see "The IBM PC AT" October 1984 BYTE, page 108.] The pro-

icontinued)

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 231

THE 80286

cessor can continue to execute in the real mode or it can be switched to protected mode by setting a bit in a status register. In protected mode, the 80286 supports a I6-megabyte real address space (24-bit address) and a virtual address space (32-bit address) of up to 1 gigabyte (one billion bytes).

80286 Memory Management Memory management makes programs and data independent of physical memory location.

In the 80286 protected mode, application programs deal exclusively with virtual address and have no access to the actual physical addresses that the processor generates. A program specifies an address in terms of two components: an effective address offset that determines the displacement in bytes of a location within a segment, and a 16-bit segment selector that uniquely references a particular segment. Jointly, these two components constitute a complete

Figure 1: 80286 address translation model

0 7

RESERVED FOR IAPX 386 (MUST BE ZERO)

DPL TYPE ED W ACCESS BYTE

BASE-

23-16

BASE 15 _

15-0

SEGMENT SIZE

+ 6

+ 4

+ 2

Figure 2: Descriptor data type. The meanings of the access byte abbreviations are P^present bit: DPL=privilege level: TYPE^type of descriptor: ED=expand down {stack): W-wn'te protect bit: A=access bit [segment has been read/written).

3 2-bit virtual address pointer data type.

Programs manipulate these 32-bit virtual addresses in exactly the same way as the two-component addresses of real address mode After a program loads the segment selector component of an address into a segment register, each subsequent reference to locations within the selected segment requires only specification of an offset; this improves speed.

The important difference between real address mode and protected mode is the format and information content of segment selectors. The protected mode alters the interpretation of the value in a segment register from a 16-bit real address to a table index (figure 1). In addition, protected mode extends the 16-bit segment registers by 48 bits to hold the addressing protection, access write, access bit, and privilege information.

Selector loading in protected mode parallels the loading of a segment base in real address mode. By retaining the basic addressing procedures of real address mode in protected mode, the 80286 eliminates rewriting application programs to use virtual memory,

80286 Address Translation

The 48-bit segment register cache contains a segment descriptor that defines the properties of the segment being addressed, such as the base address in physical memory, segment size (from 1 byte to 64K bytes), and protection parameters for a single segment of memory (see figure 2). All the descriptors needed to define a program space are collected in a descriptor table.

The 80286 uses this cache descriptor information in a segment register to translate a program's virtual addresses to real addresses. As long as a program remains within the boundaries of a single segment, the processor obtains all address-translation information from the descriptor field in the segment register. This normally takes one processor clock cycle (which is 125 nanoseconds at 8 MHz).

(continued)

232 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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THE 80286

Whenever a program loads a new selector into a segment register, the CPU automatically copies the descriptor from main memory into an onboard cache within the 80286 (figure 3). Once the hardware has copied the segment-addressing information from memory to the cache, the CPU does not refer to a descriptor table again until the program requires access to another segment.

Descriptor Tables

At any one time, a user's address space is defined by three descriptor

tables: a global descriptor table (GDT) for code and data common to all tasks, an interrupt descriptor table (IDT), and a local descriptor table (LDT) that defines the code and data private to each task. There are as many LDTs as tasks in the system.

These tables form the interface between the OS software and the 80286 virtual addressing hardware. The address of each table is automatically maintained by the 80286 through three on-chip registers: GDTR. IDTR, and LDTR. Switching from one user's local address space to another's only

requires changing the LDT register in the CPU.

Protection

The hardware-enforced protection of the 80286 improves the reliability of an entire system (by confining software errors) and keeps the system running even when a user program attempts an invalid or prohibited operation. The 80286's protection mechanism can locate and isolate a large number of program errors during development and prevent the propaga-

{continued)

CPU VIRTUAL ADDRESS POINTER

SELECTOR

SELECTOR

S~>

EXPLICIT CACHE

CPU

MRTUAL ADDRESS POINTER

EXPLICIT CACHE

DESCRIPTOR

DESCRIPTOR TABLE REGISTER

1. THE PROGRAM PLACES A SELECTOR IN THE SEGMENT REGISTER. THE TABLE REGISTER INDICATES THE LOCATION AND LENGTH OF THE DESCRIPTOR TABLE.

CPU VIRTUAL ADDRESS POINTER

EXPLICIT CACHE

DESCRIPTOR <

DESCRIPTOR TABLE REGISTER

DESCRIPTOR TABLE REGISTER

. THE PROCESSOR ADOS THE SELECTOR INDEX TO THE BASE AD0RESS OF THE DESCRIPTOR TABLE TO SELECT A DESCRIPTOR.

CPU VIRTUAL ADDRESS POINTER

DESCRIPTOR TABLE REGISTER

Figure 3: Virtual memory addressing procedure on the 80286.

234 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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THE 80286

tion of errors in other tasks or programs once the system is installed. Protection in the 80286 has three basic aspects: data-type checking, system software isolation, and task isolation.

Data-Type Checking

The foundation of the 80286 protection mechanism is the segment, the smallest region of memory that has unique protection attributes. Modular programming automatically produces separate segments whose contents reflect the natural construction of a program, e.g., code for module A, data for module A, stack for the task, etc. The 80286 was designed to optimally execute code for software composed of independent modules. The attributes of each segment are contained in the memory-resident descriptors I discussed earlier. During address translation, the 80286 protection mechanism compares the segment's attributes against the operation requested. Thus, with no software intervention, it is possible to guard

against executing data or writing into a write-protected area. All checks are made for each instruction the CPU executes and take one-half of a processor clock cycle. Since the checks are performed concurrently with address formation, there is no performance penalty.

The hardware performs several checks while loading a segment register. These checks enforce the protection rules before any memory reference is generated. The hardware verifies that the selected segment is valid (is in memory and is accessible from the privilege level in which the program is executing) and that the type is consistent with the target usage (code, data, stack). For example a code segment or read-only data segment cannot be written.

All these checks are made before the memory cycle starts; any violation prevents that cycle from starting and causes an exception to occur. This prevents the machine state from being partially changed due to an exception detected halfway through an

TASK

ISOLATION PROVIDED BY

SEPARATE

DESCRIPTOR

TABLES

PRIVILEGE LEVEL ISOLATION

Figure 4: The four-ring protection model showing tasking.

236 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

THE 80286

Four privilege levels provide the isolation necessary.

operation and streamlines exception handlers.

Isolating System Software

The 80286 provides a four-level ring-type protection mechanism to isolate application software from various layers of system software (figure 4). Software modules at the operating-system level are protected from modules in the application level. Within the OS, the kernel can be isolated from the more dynamic operating extensions such as device drivers, standard libraries, and other services. This is especially important in an environment that supports multiple, concurrent instruction streams.

The four privilege levels provide the isolation necessary for the system's various layers. Privilege on the 80286 is hierarchical with the levels numbered from 0 to 3, where 0 is the most trusted level and 3 the least. Programs at a given privilege level can access data and code at the same or a numerically higher privilege level.

The 80286 controls access in the opposite direction through a mechanism called a gate. A gate is a 48-bit data type residing in a user's descriptor table that points to (contains the address of) the procedures in a more privileged ring accessible to the calling procedure. The referencing procedure uses a standard CALL instruction with the operand containing the gate's address. The 80286 recognizes that a level transition is in progress and performs the necessary access checks automatically. If the checks are passed, access is allowed to the target procedure (figure 5).

The gate for a more privileged procedure must reside at the calling procedure's privilege level. If the privilege levels do not agree, the processor will fault the operation. It is impossible for a procedure to access a procedure at

{continued)

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NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 237

Circle 52 on inquiry card.

IBM-PC or PC compatible IEEE-488 INTERFACE BOARD

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THE 80286

another level unless it has access to the gate. It is also impossible for a user to manufacture a gate or manipulate its descriptor table. Operations on descriptor table contents are allowed only at level 0.

The multiringed mechanism of the 80286 has simplified the view that application programs have of the operating system. Each request for system resources passes directly to the OS via the gate structure. The application has access to the OS through as many different paths (gates) as the system designer allows. Since no operating system intervention is necessary to pass into a "supervisor" state the 80286 also provides a performance enhancement over the software-based user/supervisor approach.

The most important aspect of the ring model and gate mechanism is that it is transparent to the application programmer. For the user, a CALL instruction acts as if a system service were locally defined.

Four Privilege Levels

Four privilege levels allow the development of more reliable, flexible system software. For example, an operating system is normally composed of two parts: a kernel and system services. The system kernel is responsible for supporting key system-level

mechanisms such as memory allocation, task scheduling, and dispatching. The kernel represents the most static code in the system. The services portion supports more dynamic aspects such as file access scheduling, data communication, and device control. Normally, these two parts are physically placed together in a supervisor space. A major problem arises when the operating system is updated with a new device driver or data communication protocol. Changes compromise overall system integrity.

The 80286 lets an operating system be physically separated with controlled access, monitored by the hardware, between the two parts. The kernel could be placed at level 0, isolated and unaffected by any changes to the system services at level l. The kernel's integrity is maintained and the kernel can be smaller due to the hardware assistance supplied for task and memory management.

Privilege level 2 could contain the custom operating-system extensions. Such customizing can be kept isolated from errors in application programs and cannot affect the basic integrity of the system software. Examples of customized software are the database manager and logical file access services.

Figure 5: 80286 operating system CALL model Because the offsets are taken only from the OS table, applications can only access elements at the prescribed point.

238 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 37 on inquiry card.

THE 80286

Tasks are dynamic and execute one or more programs.

This is just one example of protection mechanism usage. The four protection levels can be used in many different ways or, in the case of some implementations, not at all. The usage (or nonusage) is up to the system designer.

Task Isolation

An important distinction exists between tasks and programs. Programs (instruction in code segments) are static and consist of fixed sets of code and data, each with an associated privilege level. The privilege assigned to a program determines what the program may do when a task executes it. Privilege is assigned to a program when the system is built or when the program is loaded.

On the other hand, tasks are dynamic and execute one or more programs. T&sk privilege changes with time according to the privilege level of the program being executed. Each task has a unique set of attributes that define it, such as address space, register values, stack, and data. A task may execute a program if that program appears in the task's address space.

Multitasking partitions a problem into separate instruction streams that the central processor executes in rapid succession. To an observer, the tasks appear to be operating in parallel. From a physical standpoint, multitasking provides an efficient way to share a scarce resource—the CPU; while one task is waiting for I/O (input/output), another task can be executing. Logically multitasking affords a system designer a natural partitioning of large problems into smaller, more manageable functions or the ability to support multiple users/tasks at one time

An example of an implementation is a workstation on a network supporting an advanced word processor. At

{continued)

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Phone credit card orders to (213) 306-7412 j/httHmm

Circle 238 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 239

THE 80286

least one task would handle data shipped over the local-area network. At the same time, the word processor would be using multiple tasks to perform user I/O, formatting, spelling checks, and disk access.

The 80286 provides a high-performance task-switch operation with complete isolation between tasks. A full task-switch operation takes 21 microseconds at 8 MHz.

Performance and system design advantages arise from the 80286 task switch. First, a task switch performed by hardware is faster. A task switch is a single instruction performed by hardware. Such a scheme is more than five times faster than an explicit task-switch code sequence.

Second, a task switch performed by hardware creates more reliable, flexible systems. The high-speed task switch lets interrupts be handled by separate tasks rather than within the

currently interrupted task. This isolation of interrupt handling code from normal programs prevents undesirable interactions. The interrupt system can be more flexible since adding an interrupt handler is as safe and easy as adding a new task.

Third, every task is protected from all others via the separation of address spaces, unless explicit sharing is planned in advance. If the address spaces of two tasks include no shared data, one task cannot affect the data of another (figure 4).

A data type called a task state segment (TSS) defines tasks in the 80286. The definition of a task includes its address space and execution state. A task is invoked (made active) by intersegment JMP or CALL instructions whose destination address refers to a TSS. Such TSS has a unique selector value that provides an unambiguous identifier for each task. This lets

an operating system manipulate tasks through a single pointer.

A TSS contains 44 bytes that define the contents of all registers and flags, the initial stacks for privilege levels 0 through 2, the LDT selector, and a link to the TSS of the previously executing task. The descriptor used for task state segments must be accessible at all times; therefore, it can appear only in the global descriptor table.

A task switch can occur in one of four ways. The destination selector of a long JMP or CALL instruction can refer to a TSS descriptor. An IRET (return from interrupt) instruction can be executed when the NT (nested task) bit in the flag word is set. The destination selector of a long IMP or CALL instruction can refer to a task gate. Or an interrupt can occur whose vector refers to a task gate in the interrupt descriptor table.

{continued)

EVENT: COMPETITION OF HI-RES COLOR DISPLAY FOR IBM PC

WHO IS THE WIHHER?

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MONITOR NEWS *

PX-IV TAKES THE GOLD!

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The crowd is estatic as Quimax congratulates their Hi-Res champion PX-IV. One observer at the Olympiad Mr. Misty Focus stated, "That PX-IV clearly demonstrated to the competition what a real winner is made of, superior pixel resolution like IVe never seen before." Another observer Mr. Hunch Neckacker states "PX-IV displayed tremendous tilt and swivel action that looks fantastic from any position." Finally, Mr. Tex Writer shouts, "PX-IV showed his switching versatility between color and green text display, he really knows how to turn it off and

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SYSTEMS, INC.

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IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines, Inc. PGS is a trademark of Princeton Graphic systems, Inc. * See our warranty policy for details.

Ask your local dealer for a demo.

240 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 354 on inquiry card.

The no-compromise voice/data remote information station.

Introducing the Freedom™ 212 Remote Information Station.

The only system anywhere today that combines all the advantages of remote ASCII terminal capabilities and the convenience of full telephone communications. With no compromise to either.

The Freedom 212 is ideal for corporate computer or public database access, telecommuting, time-sharing or electronic mail. And for personal services like home banking and stock quotations.

The 212's full size, economically designed 12-inch display and sculptured, low-profile keyboard combine to deliver uncompromised data input and output.

Its integral Bell 212A compatible modem delivers uncompromised data communications. With a complete directory and dialing capability for both voice and data calls, you get uncompromised telephone features, too.

The Freedom 212's modem is built right in. No external cabling or complicated special hook-ups needed. Just plug your phone into the Freedom 212 and the Freedom 212 into any standard modular phone jack.

Another good thing is that you don't have to work at a snail's pace. Because you get 1200 baud. Standard. To minimize your wait for information.

You also get a "HELP" mode for unmatched simplicity of use. That, along with automatic log-on features and key-per-function operation, helps you to help yourself to the information you need.

With the Freedom 212 you get it all. It's the easiest system of its kind to operate. And since it's priced far below personal computers, it's also one of the easiest to buy. All in one package. And all for just $1,295. Call Liberty today at (415) 543-7000. After all, anything else is just a compromise.

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© 1984 Liberty Electronics. Circle 243 on inquiry card.

THE 80286

No new instructions are required for a task-switch operation. The standard 8086/80286 IMP, CALL, IRET, or interrupt operations perform this function. The processor makes the distinction between the standard instruction and a task switch through the type of descriptor referenced. The choice of task-switching technique depends

on the system designer.

I want to consider the steps necessary for an operating system to dispatch a task.

Task Invocation

After the operating system makes the policy decisions as to which task is to run, the task is dispatched with a stan-

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dard IMP instruction whose effective address is a task gate. From this point on, hardware handles the task switch.

The CPU checks the task gate against the protection rules. If the request is valid, access to the TSS is allowed. Once access to the TSS has been granted, the task-switch operation involves six steps in the CPU that were formerly required of the operating system. The processor then applies data access privilege rules and the current task becomes the outgoing task. If the new task is present (in memory), the new task becomes the incoming task.

Then the state of the outgoing task is saved by the processor. The dynamic portion of the outgoing TSS is written with the corresponding CPU register values (e.g., AX, BX. CX, DX, SI, DI, BP, SP, ES, DS, SS, CS. IP, and flag register). The IP (instruction pointer) value points at the instruction following the one that caused the task switch. All errors up to this point are handled in the context of the outgoing task. The errors are restartable and error handling is transparent to the application program. (A restart-able error occurs when an executable line of code cannot be executed at this time. For example, a virtual memory fetch to disk might not have the data available when the line of code requires it.) The task register is then loaded with the incoming task selector, and the incoming task's descriptor is marked "busy." Finally, the incoming task state is loaded and execution resumes. The following registers are loaded: LOT. AX, BX, CX, DX, SI, DI. BP, SP, ES, DS, SS, CS, IP, and flag register. Any errors detected in this step are handled in the context of the incoming task. The operating-system software is not involved with the task-switch mechanism, but is only concerned with identifying which task runs next.

Note that the state of the outgoing task is always saved. If execution of that task is resumed, it will start the instruction that caused the task switch. The value of the registers will be the same as when the task stopped running. ■

* — Circle 406 on inquiry card.

Meet

promal:

The First Fast

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A New Age Dawns for Microcomputer Programming

PROMAL™ is innovative.

PROMAL (PROgrammer's Micro Application Language) was designed to achieve maximum performance from small computers-performance previously impossible except with machine language. And it was developed, specifically to meet the need for a development system for limited memory environments. PROMAL is complete. It's a fast, structured programming language. It's also a true development system, complete with its own command-oriented operating system executive; fast one-pass compiler; and fullscreen cursor-driven editor. In short, PROMAL is the complete set of tools that microcomputer programmers have been waiting for. PROMAL is fast.

with saves to memory and compilation from memory workspace PROMAL is elegant.

PROAAAL overcomes the performance limitations inherent in all small systems. It gives you access to the power of the machi ne. But it doesn't require the complexity of machine language programming. With PROMAL, you can have performance the easy way... since it was developed from the very beginning to work on small systems...elegantly PROMAL may be the answer to your programming needs. Finally there's an answer to the need for a complete environment for simple and rapid program development. Finally, a new age has begun for microcomputer programmers. Finally there's PROMAL.

As the benchmark results in the table show, PROMAL is much faster than any language tested. From 70% to 2000% faster! And it generates the most com pact object code. The PROMAL compiler is so fast that it can com pi le a 100-I i ne source program in 10 seconds or less. And, not only is it fast in compile and run time, it also reduces programming development time.

PROMAL is easy.

It's easier to learn than Pascal or C or FORTH. It makes use of powerful structured statements, like IF-ELSE, WHILE, REPEAT, FOR, and CHOOSE. Indentation of statements is part of the language's syntax, so all programs are neatly and logically written. There are no line numbers to com plicate your programming. And comments don't take up memory space, so you can document programs completely And with the fullscreen editor, you can speed through program development

PROMAL is available for the Commodore 64 now.

PROMAL is scheduled for release on the Apple lie in December, 1984 and on the IBM PC in 1st Quarter, 1985.

PROMAL FEATURES

COMPILED LANGUAGE

Structured procedural language with indentation

Fast, 1-pass compiler

Simplified syntax requirements

No line numbering required

Long variable names

Global, Local, & Arg variables

Byte, Word, Integer & Real types

Dec or Hex number types

Functions w/passed arguments

Procedures w/passed arguments

Built in I/O library

/Vrays, strings, pointers

Control Statements: IF-ELSE, IF, WHILE, FOR, CHOOSE, BREAK, REPEAT, INCLUDE, NEXT, ESCAPE, REFUGE

Com pi ler I/O from/to disk or memory

EXECUTIVE

Command oriented, w/line editing

Memory resident

Allows multiple user programs In memory at once

Function key definitions

Program abort and pause

22 Resident system commands, 8 user-defined resident commands, no limit on disk commands

Prior command recall

I/O Re-direction to disk or printer

Batch jobs

EDITOR

Full-screen, cursor driven

Function key controlled

Line insert, delete, search

String search and replace

Block copy, move, delete & write to/

read from file Auto indent, undent support

LIBRARY

43 Machine-language commands Memory resident Cal I by name with arguments I/O, Edit, String, Cursor control and much more

PROMAL runs on

Commodore 64s with disk drive.

HOW TO ORDER

□ Please send me my copy of PROMAL for the Commodore 64 at $4995 plus $5.00 for shipping and handling at a total cost of $54.95. Satisfaction guaranteed.

□ Please send me a PROMAL demo diskette for the Commodore 64 at $10 for the diskette plus $2.50 for postage and handling for a total cost of $12.50. (Non-refundable.)

□ My check is enclosed. □ Please charge my purchase to my... □ Visa D MasterCard

Card Number

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Signature

Address

Oty, State, Zip ""'" ' North Garolina residents add 4V%% sales tax. For quicker response on credit card orders, call... Toll Free 1-800-762-7874 (in North Carolina 919-787-7703) Our Guarantee

ty your copy of PROMAL for 15 days. If you are not completer/ satisfied, return it to us undamaged and we'll refund your money. No questions asked. Dealer inquiries invited.

OTMfMr

Circle 388 on inquiry card.

SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES

3700 Computer Drive, Dept PB-1 Raleigh, North Carolina 27609

FOR 15 YEARS,

'S

Introducing the Maxwell Modem™ from Racal-Vadic.

It's not your fault you didn't buy one sooner. You couldn't. Unless you happened to be a major corporation. They're the ones who buy the most modems. And the modems they buy most are ours.

Now we've taken everything we know about modems and made one you can buy.

The Maxwell Modem.

It's designed expressly for personal computers. And the people who use them. It's rugged. Reliable. And it even operates over low-quality phone lines that other modems can't handle.

But best of all, it's uncomplicated. So you don't have to know how one works to work one. There's no control panel to control. No switches to switch.

A\W*&

The Maxwell Modem and George are trademarks of Racai-Vadlc. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp. ©1984, Racaf-Vadic. 244 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Instead, every feature makes sense. Auto-dialing. Auto-answer. And complete unattended operation.

Our communications software is just as accommodating. It's called George." And we've made George so simple to use you may never have to open your manual.

The Maxwell Modem comes in two different versions and two different speeds: Internal modems for the IBM PC and compatibles, and desktop models for virtually every personal computer. Both are available with speeds of 300- or 1200-bps.

And every Maxwell Modem has diagnostic features built in. So we can test your modem right over the phone from our Remote Diagnostic Center. We'll even pay for the call.

So where can you get your hands on a Maxwell Modem? To find our dealer nearest you, just do what modems do.

Call 800-4-VADICS.

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NOVEMBER 1984 • B Y T E 245

THINKING FORTH

by Brodie $16

THE FORTH SOURCE

TM

MVP-FORTH

Stable - Transportable - Public Domain - Tools You need two primary features in a software development package , a stable operating system and the ability to move programs easily and quickly to a variety of computers. MVP-FORTH gives you both these features and many extras. This public domain product includes an editor, FORTH assembler, tools, utilities and the vocabulary for the best selling book "Starting FORTH". The Programmer's Kit provides a complete FORTH for a number of computers. Other MVP-FORTH products will simplify the development of your applications. MVP Books - A Series

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glossary with cross references to fig-FORTH, Starting FORTH and FORTH-79 Standard. 2 nd Ed. $25

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□ Volume 5, File Management System with interrupt security by Moreton $25

MVP-FORTH Software - A Transportable FORTH

□ MVP-FORTH Programmer's Kit including disk, documentation, Volumes 1 & 2 of MVP-FORTH Series (AH About FORTH, 2 nd Ed. & Assembly Source Code), and Starting FORTH, Specify D CP/M, □ CP/M 86, D CP/M + , □ APPLE,

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Q MVP-FORTH PADS (Professional Application Development System) for IBM PC, XT or PCjr or Apple II, II + or He. An integrated system for customizing your FORTH programs and applications. The editor includes a bi-directional string search and is a word processor specially designed for fast development. PADS has almost triple the compile speed of most FORTH's and provides fast debugging techniques. Minimum size target systems are easy with or without heads. Virtual overlays can be compiled in object code. PADS is a true professional development system. Specify Computer. $500

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ijliGl APPLE by MM, 83 $100 □ Z80 by LM, 83 # ^ $100

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*••♦

246 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 292 on Inquiry card.

NEW CHIPS

THE PF474

by Steve Rosenthal

A coprocessor for string comparison

FINDING THE CLOSEST match for a string of symbols is important in database searches, speech recognition, artificial intelligence, and computer vision. Yet, even with the fastest 16- and 32-bit processor chips, computing a closest-match function is relatively slow and complex. However, there is no reason why this operation must be left entirely to the central processing unit. Just as a numeric coprocessor can greatly accelerate complex calculations, a string-search chip can make fast work of finding the closest string value.

Proximity Technology Inc. makes the PF474, a VLSI (very-large-scale integration) string comparator and ranker, which is the first chip of this type to become generally available. This chip is available in single quantities for $2 50. Running at up to several thousand string comparisons per second, this chip compiles a ranked list of the 16 best matches for a test string from a selection of possible candidates.

The rankings, as I'll explain at length later, are based strictly on a mathematical function of symbol counts. This means the chip can be used for much more than checking English

text. The PF474 will rank any information that can be expressed in strings of 8-bit characters up to 127 bytes long.

On the negative side, however, the PF474 is only a symbol comparator, not a linguistic processor. Each symbol is treated as entirely unconstrained by the preceding and following symbols, a situation quite unlike the workings of English and all other natural languages. (See the text box "Different Conceptions of Order" on page 248 for more information.) As a result, unless supplemented by complex processing done by the host, in some circumstances the PF474 can produce closeness rankings of words and phrases that are far different than most native speakers would produce.

The PF474 is logically composed of two semi-independent subsections: a proximity (closeness) computer and a ranker (see figure 1). Additional supporting circuits include a DMA (direct,

Steve Rosenthal (POB 9291, Berkeley, CA 94709) is a writer and lexicographer. He writes seven regular columns for computer publications and is working on two computer-related dictionaries to be published by Prentice-Hall

memory access) controller to rapidly load the strings, parameter storage for saving selected characteristics for each symbol, and a number of control and status registers.

The proximity computer finds the closeness of two strings and computes a 32-bit fraction that expresses their closeness. A value of all zeros indicates two entirely different strings, all ones indicate two identical strings. In between, higher values indicate closer matches.

The algorithm used to compute closeness is basically a counting function. (See the text box "PF474 Math Deciphered" on page 2 52 for the actual formulas.) Searching forward, the chip counts the number of matched symbols in the strings, considering in sequence the first symbol of each, then the first two, then the first three, etc. The chip then does the same computation going backward from the end of the strings.

Although conceptually simple, this method accords with many of our intuitive measures of closeness. Transpositions (where two letters are in reversed order) detract less from the proximity value than omissions.

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 247

THE PF474

Single-letter deletions or additions do not completely negate matches in letters that follow. Matches at the beginning and end are more significant than those in the middle.

The basic algorithm is fixed in silicon, but you can customize the operation of the proximity-matching function by choosing the appropriate value for the three parameters (weight, compensation, and bias) that you must supply for each of the 2 56 possible 8-bit symbols.

The weight (a number from 0 to 7) specifies the relative importance of the symbol during the matching process. A match of a symbol with weight 0 does not count toward the proximity value, while a match of a symbol with weight 6 counts three times as much as one with weight 2.

The compensation only enters into the result for symbols that are not matched. This parameter also ranges from 0 to 7. A high compensation value lessens the effect of a symbol that occurs in only one of the two strings. Compensation is a sort of "consolation prize" that the strings get for having those symbols individually even though the symbols don't match between the strings.

The last symbol parameter, the bias, alters the relative importance of finding a match during a forward-comparison or a reverse-comparison scan. If the bias is 0, each direction is equally important. The bias is added to the weight during the reverse comparison, so a positive bias increases the importance of a reverse match, a negative bias decreases it. The bias

Different Conceptions of Order

Determining how similar two strings of symbols are to each other involves philosophical as well as practical questions. A brief diversion into types of ordering seems appropriate here.

Mathematicians and metrologists (measurements specialists} generally group measurements into four different categories: nominal, ordinal, integral, and ratio.

With nominal measurements values can be classified, but you can't specify a mathematical relationship about the relations between classes. For example, you might divide computer programs into those written in BASIC, COBOL, Pascal, and C.

Ordinal measurements have a sequence but no specified magnitude. For example, you might argue that you could rank three popular operating systems for user friendliness, with UNIX being the least user friendly, CP/M being the next to least, and MS-DOS being the most. But we would not have any mathematical way of expressing how different CP/M is from UNIX, or whether that was more or less than the difference between CP/M and MS-DOS.

Integral measures let you make that judgment. In an integral scale, you can

specify both direction (sequence) and distance between items, but you don't necessarily know what the true zero point is on the scale. For example, you can measure the increase in the incidence of cancer due to radiation exposure, but you won't have a good fix on what the baseline value would be with no exposure at all (including natural exposure).

Ratio measurements are the most specific. A ratio measurement lets you specify both amount and proportion. For example, you can say that one computer has 128K bytes of memory, which is twice as much memory as another machine has.

The question is: what kind of measure can you hope to apply to symbol strings? If you're comparing the closeness of characters, are you going to say that vowels are closer to each other than consonants? Are Ks more like Cs than Os? One difference between the way people operate and the way the PF474 does is that people can make those judgments (often unconsciously). The PF474, however, treats all symbols as equally distant, or as integral measurements located in a 2 56-dimensional space with a 1-unit separation between any two members.

for each character can be set to -2, -1, 1, or 2.

In theory, you could use just the proximity section of the chip because it is possible to read out from the chip the proximity value obtained during each comparison. Similarly, you could compute the proximity indexes for pairs of independent strings rather than comparing one constant string to a series of possible matches. However, in most applications you'll want to use the proximity section to compute an index for the closeness of a number of strings to a single reference string and then send the resulting values to the ranker to find out which ones are the closest.

TVie Ranker

After the proximity section has evaluated the closeness of two strings, it passes the value on to the PF474's ranker section. The ranker tests the new value against its current 16 best values and throws the result away if the new value is less than any of the 16.

If the new value does rank more highly, the ranker section adjusts the list by eliminating the bottom value and inserting the new one in the appropriate position. Along with each proximity value, the ranker stores a 32-bit record number showing which proximity comparison produced that value. Note that the PF474 does not store the 16 best strings themselves but saves the pointer values instead.

If you want a list of more than the 16 best matches, you can set the ranker to next-best mode. During next-best mode, the ranker saves the 15 proximity values (and their pointers) that are less than or equal to the proximity value in the highest ranking slot. If you make the highest ranking slot equal to the lowest value from a first normal ranking and do a next-best match, you will extend your rank to the top 31 values.

The proximity computer section and the ranker operate independently, but in a pipelined arrangement. That means that while the ranker is figuring out where a new proximity

{continued)

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THE PF474

value fits it, the proximity section can be busy loading another string and computing a new closeness value.

ThE DMA

With string comparison and ranking working at speeds of thousands of strings per second, the PF474 has a voracious appetite for input data. To speed up the transfer process, the chip includes its own DMA controller to regulate the flow of data from memory to chip.

In DMA mode, the main processor writes the required control words to set up the PF.474, plus a starting address for data transfer. The main processor then halts, relinquishing control of the bus to the PF474.

When the PF474's DMA section receives both bytes of the starting address, it takes control of the bus, stepping through 16-bit addresses and reading data from memory into the chip. The PF474 continues reading data until it finds a 00 byte or reaches the maximum 127 characters.

For systems that don't provide for DMA control, or where the data to be compared doesn't exist in memory but is computed during processing, the PF474 can also accept data in non-DMA mode. With a little bit of external logic, such as on Proximity's PF-PC board for the IBM PC, the PF474 can also accept data from an existing system DMA controller.

DMA loading on the PF474 provides one other capability. Prior to a DMA transfer, the PF474 can be set to use the upper 128 of the 2 56 possible I-byte symbol codes as special editing symbols. According to the settings loaded from the host into the PF474's command registers, the DMA transfer will then drop all of certain specified special symbols or sequential duplicates, or add codes to emphasize transitions from one symbol to another.

Using the Chip

Producing a ranking with the PF474 requires four steps: initial parameter

loading, search initialization, a transfer operation, and a final reading of the results.

The first initialization step sets values that are indeterminate when the PF474 is powered up but must be specified before the chip is used. The main task here is to set initial values for the symbol parameters. For ranker control, the size of the comparison list must be set to 16 or some smaller value (using smaller values slightly speeds processing when 16 closest matches aren't required). The ranker must also be set to start with the normal, rather than the next-best mode, so it will find the 16 highest proximity values.

For each search, the reference string must be loaded into the proximity portion of the PF474, normally into slot A (the two comparison slots are symmetric, but the software and examples that Proximity Technology provides assume this arrangement). To get the ranker section ready, the

[continued)

Figure 1: A block diagram of the Proximity Devices PF474 string-proximity computer chip.

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THE PF474

PF474 Math Deciphered

I've translated the algorithm used to compute the proximity (string closeness value) in the PF474. First I'll present the formula Proximity Technology presents in its manual then my translation.

Wf{a) - W[a)

Wr(a) - W(a) + B(a)

where Wf is the forward weight, W is the weight function, Wr is the reverse weight. B is the bias function, and a is a symbol

For each symbol, assign a weight value saying how important a match of this symbol is. When comparing forward matches, use this weight. When matching the strings going backward, however, use a reverse weight, composed of the sum of the forward weight and a factor called the bias. Because the bias varies from -2 to +1, it can increase or decrease the weight for the reverse scan compared to the forward scan.

Qa) < - min{Wf{a).Wr(a)) for all a in A.

where C is the compensation function, and A is the set of all symbols that a can be.

Assign each symbol a compensation value, to be taken into account as a sort of consolation value if the symbol occurs in one string but not in the other. The compensation value for each symbol can't be larger than the forward weight or reverse weight for that symbol.

MfiSTl = ESo X«ea 2 x Wf(a) x min (CNT(a,suf(S',n)), CNTia.sufiV.n)))

where Mf(S,T) is the forward matching value of strings S and T, CNT is the number of occurrences of a in suf(S',n) or a in suf(T',n): suf is the string obtained by removing the first n elements from S 1 or V. S' and V are the reversed original string and the searched string.

The first item you have to compute is the forward matching value. Conceptually this is the weighted sum of the number of symbols shared by both strings, considering just the first symbol of each string, then the first two, the first three, and so on through the complete length of the strings.

Because of the way the chip works, it can handle parts of the string running from somewhere in the middle to the end better than from the beginning to the middle. So you turn the strings around (making S f and V from S and 7).

Then look at the resulting string if you remove in turn none, one, two, three etc., characters, leaving the rest of the string from there to the end. That the order within the fragment is backward from normal doesn't matter, nor does it matter that you're starting from the full string and working down rather than from a null string and working up. So the result of working with the string fragments counted from the end of the reversed string is the same as working on a portion of the string counting from the beginning.

For each set of string subsets, look at each symbol (a) that belongs to the total symbol set {A) in turn. Count how many times the symbol appears in each string and take the minimum of the two counts, which is the same as checking how many times the symbol is shared by the two substrings.

lake that minimum count for each symbol, multiply it by the forward weight (which is the symbol weight itself), and multiply the result by two. This gives you the weighted value of that particular symbol for that size string fragment. Sum the product for each symbol in turn for the current string fragment size. Then add together the sums for all the fragment sizes, giving us the matching value for the two strings. Note that the symbols at the start of the string (tested as the end of the reversed strings) are checked for match during each possible string fragment. Those that would be at the end of the string in their normal order are checked only once. Therefore, matches at the beginning have an implicitly greater weight, one that grows proportionately with the length of the strings being compared.

Mr{ST) - LZo L*ea 2 x Wr(z) x min {CNT(a,suf{S,n)). CNT{a,suf{T,n)))

where Mr(ST) is the reverse matching value of S and T.

The reverse matching value works much like the forward match. This time, you don't have to turn the strings around to work from the back end. And this time, instead of using the forward weight as you count matches in each string fragment and multiplying by the weight, use the reverse weight (made up of the forward weight combined with the bias).

COMP(XY] - ||X|+I| x Z aEA \C(a) x max {CNT(a,X)~ CNT{a,Y),0)]

where COMP(XY) is the comparison compensation value for strings X and Y, and \X\ is the length of string X.

For symbols that are not matched, you can also compute a comparison compensation value for the comparison of two strings. As shown below, you do this as two partial sums, one finding the comparison compensation of X compared with Y and the other finding the compensation of Y compared to X.

Compute each sum by looking at each symbol that belongs to the symbol set. For each symbol, count how many times it appears in the first string and subtract from that how many times it appears in the second. This gives you the number of times the symbol has appeared but not been matched. If it is a negative number, ignore the counts for now by using a 0 instead of the counts.

Then multiply the resulting count by the symbol compensation value for that symbol. Repeating this procedure for each symbol in the symbol set and summing the results gives you a raw compensation value, which you then have to multiply by the length of the first string plus one (to make up for the fact that all the other values in the overall proximity function have the length factored in).

The result of this process is the comparison compensation value of the two strings. When you compute this function as the second string compared to the first, however, you may get a different value. The length of the strings may differ or there may be a difference between the weighted value of how many symbols are in the first string but not in the second, and how many are in the second but not in the first.

TOTM(X) = EZo Lm Wr(X\i\) +

wftx'm)

where TXJTM(X) is the self-similarity matching function on X. andX\i\ is the ith character in X. The last two elements in the proximity equation are the self-similarity scores of the two strings in the comparison (that is, each string's similarity with itself). You could compute this with the matching function, but since you know that each symbol in a string will also be matched

252 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

THE PF474

by that symbol in a comparison with itself, you can use this simpler formula. You can compute the forward and reverse self-similarity matching values at the same time. Again, reverse the string to compute the forward matching value and look at the values for a series of substrings starting from within the string and running to the end. Take in turn a series of substrings, starting with the first character through the last, then the second through the last, the third through the last, etc. For each substring, look at each symbol position in the substring. For each position, add the reverse symbol weight for the character you find in the string at that position plus the forward weight you find in the reversed string at that position (that's the same as adding the forward weights and the reverse weights for all symbols in the substring). Summing the weights for each substring gives you a total matching weight for the comparison of a string with itself.

M(ST) = Mr(SJ] + Mf[S.T) +

COMP(S,T) + COMPfST)

where M(S,T) is the adjusted matching value for S and T.

From all of the above equations, you're now ready to compute the adjusted matching value for these two strings. Add the reverse matching value of the strings plus the forward matching value, plus the compensation for first string compared to the second string, plus the compensation of second string compared to first. Since this is a sum of positive values, increasing any of these factors increases the resulting adjusted matching value.

d(ST) - M(S,T) TOTM(S) + TOTM(T)

Finally, the proximity value is equal to the adjusted matching value of the first string compared to the second, divided by the sum of the matching value of the first string with itself, plus the matching value of the second string with itself. Put another way the proximity value is the actual adjusted matching value compared to the maximum possible matching value. The result is a single unsigned number ranging from 0 }6 through Ullllll l6 .

[The following is reprinted from the PF474 manual Copyright 1984 by Proximity Technology Inc., 3511 NE 22nd Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308. Used with permission]

An Intuitive Description of the Promixity Function

The following is an intuitive method for manually calculating proximity values that is mathematically simple, yet completely accurate. For the first few examples, all characters have a weight of one, and bias and compensation are set to zero.

The proximity value that appears in the ranker after a comparison of word A with Word B is the result of:

2 x (A compared with B)

PROXIMITY VALUE

(A compared with A) + (B compared with S)

The comparison of word A with word B is calculated as follows: Let word A be TOO and word B be TWO.

Write the words above one another:

Look at the first column:

Comparing the letters in the first word, first

column, and second word, first column:

how many pairs of matching letters are there?

Look at the first 2 columns:

How many matching pairs are there? Look at all 3 columns:

How many matching pairs are there? (there is only one pair of Os)

Now look at the two words with the order of the letters in each word reversed:

First column: First 2 columns: All 3 columns:

Now, add up the matches found:

This is the comparison value for TOO with TWO.

Now, calculate the value for TOO with itself:

First column: First two columns: All three columns:

For the reverse words, the same results will be found: 1+2 + 3 = 6 for a total of:

Comparing TWO with itself also totals 12 Proximity Value = 2x8

T T

T T

O O W O

matches

total - 8

TOO TOO

matches * 1 matches = 2 matches « 3

reverse total = 6 total matches = 12

12 + 12

16 24

.666666666

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 253

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THE PF474

The first thing you notice about pBASE is how fast it searches.

main processor must load all zeros into the ranker's list space. The ranker IRN (internal record number which is the pointer used to keep track of which comparison produced which proximity value) must also be set to an initial value, normally 0. If DMA will be used, the main processor must also load the PF474 with the correct DMA command word.

Now the chip is ready to start searching. Each string to be compared is loaded into slot B in the proximity section either by using the main processor to write data into the PF474 in programmed mode or by direct loading by DMA. In DMA mode, loading a complete string can automatically start the proximity calculation. In programmed mode, the host must send a GO command to the PF474.

When this process has been repeated for all the match candidates in the data set, it's time to read out the results. Using the processor to read the ranker section like a section of memory, the program can find a ranked list of the top proximity values and pointers for those records. Using the pointers, the application program can then find the actual strings themselves.

The PF-PC Card and pBASE

The PF474 manual gives you complete information about how to hook up the chip as a component and program its operation. But to make it easier to explore the workings of the chip without designing a whole circuit board around it, Proximity is also offering potential OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customers complete hardware implementations on IBM PC and Apple II cards ($1295 and $695, respectively). I borrowed one of the PF-PC (IBM PC-style) cards for this article.

The board comes with a manual (complete with schematic), programming information, and a 514-inch disk

containing test programs, a monitor/ debug program, and a simple example database program (pBASE) with data files.

Working with pBASE, the database program, is a good way to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the PF474 approach. Essentially the database loads a set of strings up to 67 characters long from disk to memory and lets you search for any string using the PF474. The two sample data files Proximity supplies on the disk are a list of government officials by name, title, and phone, and a list of cities along with their state and area codes.

The first thing you notice about pBASE is how fast it searches. As you type each letter of the search string, the PF474 searches for the best 16 matches considering the information you've entered thus far. For a search of the 800 or so records in the database, the response is less than the interval between keystrokes. Then, as you provide the next letter, the program updates the list if necessary.

For example, using the government database, if you start with the letter P, you'll get a list headed with PAT SCHROEDER, but when you add an E, the head item on the list becomes PETER RODINO. Further letters may result in additional changes in the list, until the effect of added letters becomes too small to affect the result.

On the other hand, when you've only provided a small part of the reference string, the rankings the chip makes are often quite different from the rankings you and I might make. For example, using the pBASE program on the sample file of government officials with the input string PAT, THOMAS P O'NEILL, JR. and THOMAS E. PETRI were both judged more similar than PETER H. KOSTMAYER. That's because the PF474 spots the A in THOMAS as a match for the A in PAT before it spots the A in KOSTMAYER.

pBASE also lets you alter the weight, bias, and compensation for any or all of the ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Inter-

[continued]

254 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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THE PF474

change) codes. You can try, for example, to give greater weight to consonants than vowels, or vice versa. For matches closer to the ones people would make, you can emphasize the start of each string with a negative bias.

When you've explored pBASE sufficiently to get a feel for the chip, you can move on to DEX, the "Diagnostic Executive." Besides checking the operating of the PF-PC board and PF474, this program allows you to set each register on the chip, load and change memory directly, and operate the chip at the single-byte level.

Applications

Proximity Technology claims that the potential applications for the PF474 are vast, but it has not been out long enough to start showing up in any products you can examine. The earliest customers for Proxim-

ity's string-search chip are reluctant to say anything about their application-military buyers were among the first to spot the potential of the chip. Other commercial users are similarly closemouthed; the companies are waiting until their products using the chip hit the market. However, I was able to learn that one of the larger computer companies has been one of Proximity's best customers for the evaluation units.

Database searching is the most obvious direct use of the PF474. If multiple PF474s were used in parallel, it would be possible to search very large databases for a matching pattern quickly. Proximity points out that the speed and successive-approximation nature of the matching process would let users get immediate feedback on their search strategy, allowing the searchers to refine their strategy as they go.

The PF474 should start appearing soon in dedicated spelling-checking systems or subsystems for word processors. Proximity is already a major OEM software supplier of these routines, with its spelling-checker code used as an OEM product by several major software houses and computer companies.

Speech recognition and robot vision are two other areas targeted for the chip. Using the PF474 to search for template matches would speed processing and allow wider latitude, because the chip could more quickly look through larger sets of possible matches.

As with all chips, however, the most imaginative uses often appear after the chip has been on the market a long time. And often it is the reader of an article like this, rather than the chip's designers, who ultimately shape the destiny of the product. ■

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Gifford's

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The net that works!

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Gifford has the network solution. It's simple, fast, secure, complete, and it works. Multiuser Concurrent DOS is based on Digital Research's Concurrent DOS, the only major microcomputer operating system specifically designed for networking.

Users can share disks and printers transparently, and can also take advantage of true mul^ tiuser features like file and record lockout. And Gifford has added a bundle of features that makes Multiuser Concurrent DOS easy to install and use. It lets you get right to work.

Our net is ARCNET.

Multiuser Concurrent DOS utilizes Datapoint's ARCNET, the most popular network hardware in the industry. It's reliable, economical, and fast — sc^ you can add users without overloading the network.

You can network up to 255 single and multiuser systems. You can connect single or multiuser Gifford or CompuPro 1 * systems as well as IBM PC-XTs? Dual processor Gifford and CompuPro systems can run thousands of 8 or 16 bit CP/M or MP/M applications. PC-XTs can run 16 bit CP/M and MP/M programs as well as most popular MS-DOS applications, such as Lotus 1-2-3:"

Gifford adds to your^ net worth.

Our enhancements of Concurrent DOS make it possible to get more and better work done in less time. Network-wide features include electronic mail, event calendar, inter-terminal communication, user time accounting and usage report generation, telecommunications^ user expandable HELP facility,

reminder messages, message of the day, automatic startup and shutdown procedures, and easily prepared files for initializing terminals, printers, and network nodes.

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by offering fullscreen concurrency; you can run up to four

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physical terminal.

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Multiple users can mean multiple security 1 problems. Gifford's security enhancements include

login account names and encrypted passwords to control access to the system. Users can be further restricted^ to specified ^^^^terminals,

■ areas, programs, or nodes on the Setwork. You're also safe from excessive down time, since the modular network architecture gives you immunity from single point failure.

Gifford nets a big one: Simplicity.

If you've gone through the ordeal of typing as many as seven commands just to get on and off a network,

Gifford has your number. A single, menu-driven network command handles all your network options. Everything you need is right in front of you. The net effect is simplicity — and sanity.

If you'd like to see how Gifford's j Multiuser Concurrent DOS can f solve your networking problems, or r if you'd like to know about Gifford's selection of multiuser systems and software options, call (415) 895-0798. Or write us at the address below. We'll send you a free networking orochure and give you the name of the nearest dealer.

Multiuser Concurrent DOS iS a trademark of Gifford Computer Systems. Concurrent DOS is a trademark of Digital Research, Inc. ARCNET is a trademark of Dai a point Corporation. IBM PC-XT is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation. CompuPro is a registered trademark of CompuPro Corporation. Lotus 1-2-3 is a trademark of Lotus Development Corp. Virtual Terminals is a trademark of Gifford Computer Systems.

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Amherst, NY (716) 833-4758

Circle 180 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 257

BYTE

Reviews

Reviewers Notebook

by Rich Malloy 261

The HP 150 Computer

by Mark Haas 262

The Columbia Multipersonal Computer-VP

by Peter V. Callamaras 276

Leading Edge and MultiMate

by C J Puotinen 287

polyFORTH and PC/FORTH

by Ernie Tfciio 303

Samna Word HI

by Rubin Rabinovitz 319

The Mannesmann Tally Spirit 80 Printer

by Mark I. WelcA . .'. 335

The Brother HR-15 Letter-Quality Printer

by Peter V. Callamaras 341

Review Feedback 348

IN JULY OF LAST YEAR we met with Columbia Data Products and learned about the VR its new IBM PC-compatible transportable computer. At that time we asked to borrow an evaluation unit for review in the magazine And we asked again. And we asked again. Finally, as frequently happens, one of our veteran reviewers—Peter Callamaras—bought one for personal use and agreed to review it. Halfway through the review, Columbia sent us one of our own for a month. This helped enormously with our benchmark tests and photographs. Was the Columbia Portable worth the wait? Pete answers this and many more questions in his review.

Next we have the HP 150. More than a year ago, we published a product preview of a new computer from Hewlett-Packard. This 8088-based desktop machine with a revolutionary touch panel caused a bit of a stir. Now that the dust has settled, the initial bugs have been fixed, and some more useful software has become available it is time to ask what this machine can really do. We engaged one of our top reviewers, Mark Haas, to put this diminutive desktop through its paces. The results are pretty interesting.

Of course all computers—even the two mentioned above—are useless without software. So next we look at two word-processor programs for the IBM PC: Leading Edge and MultiMate. One of them has been billed as the most powerful word-processing package ever for the IBM PC. The other is recommended by many top consultants. C I Puotinen, who has written two books on word processors, gives a detailed look at these word processors and compares them to that reliable standby—WordStar. If you are thinking about serious word processing on the IBM PC, this is a "must read" article.

But wait—that's not all. Another relatively recent arrival on the IBM word-processor scene is Samna. In its fairly short time on the market, Samna has attracted a lot of attention. We recently received Samna Word III, the top-of-the-line version, which has some very advanced features. We gave this package to a veteran wordsmith, Rubin Rabinovitz. Later in this issue Rubin gives Samna Word III a detailed examination.

For those more interested in writing programs than letters, we have a comparison of two FORTH systems for the IBM PC: polyFORTH and PC/FORTH. Ernie Tfello compares these two packages and gives his recommendations.

And whether you are writing programs, letters, or shopping lists—whether you are using an IBM, Apple II, or Kaypro—you need a printer to see what you've written. This month we offer a look at two printers: one an inexpensive dot-matrix machine and the other an inexpensive daisy-wheel model. First, the Mannesmann Tklly Spirit 80 is a low-cost printer that competes directly with the Epson RX-80. Mark Welch, our resident news writer, gives this machine a close look. Finally, the Brother HR-15 is a popular low-cost daisy-wheel printer that has a number of interesting options. In fact, one of the options is a keyboard that turns the printer into a typewriter. For this product review, we again enlist the efforts of Pete Callamaras. Pete examines whether this printer can do what everyone claims it can, and how well.

— Rich Malloy, Product-Revew Editor

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 259

Now you can get personal ^withaDal

O^Y hello to the Datasouth Personal Printer—an office-quality dot matrix printer that makes itself right at home next to your personal computer.

Technically speaking, the Personal Printer is "Epson compatible!'But it's better than the competing Epson because it also does near-letter-qualit y printing.

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REVIEWER'S NOTEBOOK

WITH ALL THE ATTENTION being paid to the IBM Personal Computer (PC) AT another powerful machine may be overlooked: the Compaq DeskPro. This machine offers performance that is just a mite slower than the AT a 10-megabyte hard disk, and even a tape cartridge for safe backup of the hard-disk data. Also, unlike the AT it seems to be very compatible with the PC hardware and software. And at $7200 for a full configuration, it is quite competitive with the AT

In our tests, we found the DeskPro to be just 2 5 percent slower than the AT (The IBM PC is, by comparison, 150 percent slower than the AT.) As for compatibility the DeskPro seems to run rings around the AT. Every IBM PC software package we tested so far works, even Microsoft's Flight Simulator. The IBM PC expansion boards that may not work with the AT apparently do work with the DeskPro The top-of-the-line DeskPro also comes with 640K bytes of memory and serial and parallel ports. But the most important advantage of the DeskPro is its integral tape-cartridge drive for backing up data on the hard disk. The DeskPro is the first major desktop system to feature this important device.

Of course, the AT remains a potent competitor. The AT has a fast 20-megabyte hard-disk drive (as opposed to the DeskPro's 10 megabyte), a 1200K-byte floppy drive, and the ability to address (in XENIX) up to 3 megabytes of memory. But a fully equipped AT with a third-party tape-cartridge unit will cost about $8200. The DeskPro is only about $7200.

Compaq, by the way, was one of the first companies to come out with a reliable, well-cushioned hard disk in a transportable computer. Of course, I refer to the Compaq Plus, which was reviewed here last July.

Another IBM PC-clone manufacturer, Corona Data Systems from Thousand Oaks, California, has come out with a similar transportable: the Corona Portable PC XT. The Corona features the same high-resolution display and the same IBM PC compatibility as its desktop version (see November 1983 BYTE, page 308). This machine, which costs $4340 in a complete configuration (with added color graphics capability), worked very well here for a few weeks, but unfortunately, the computer's display suddenly died two weeks ago. Corona, however, quickly sent us a replacement.

We should note that the failure rate among evaluation computers is relatively high, probably even higher than that among computers bought by the general public. Computers from all manufacturers—including the Big Guys—are subject to failure at one time or another. Part of the problem is that the machine that is sent to us is usually one of the first units off the assembly line, before the early bugs have been worked out. Another factor may be just the luck of the draw: a faulty chip or a damaging voltage surge on the power line. Ideally, we would like to purchase 10 units of each type and perform comprehensive stress testing on each, but this would be prohibitively expensive. The most we can do is mention cautiously if a given machine has failed or not, and what the manufacturer has done to replace the unit. We then hope that the reader will evaluate such information in the proper statistical light. That is, the results of a statistical test of one unit are fairly meaningless by themselves but may be useful in a larger sample. The focus of our reviews is therefore on factors that will not vary from one machine to another, e.g., the speed of the operating system. For statistical tests, we hope that our

Review Feedback section will give information based on large samples, and we hope our readers will relay to us their particular experiences, both positive and negative.

And with that disclaimer, let me mention another IBM PC clone that recently had problems in our testing. The ITT Xtra PC, which I mentioned here last month and which had been working here flawlessly for the past few weeks, suddenly stopped working, lb its credit, ITT quickly sent us a replacement.

As for software, not a week seems to go by without our hearing some more good news about Borland International a software house in Scotts Valley, California. Most of the time we have been hearing rave reviews about its TUrbo Pascal, the $50 Pascal compiler for CP/M and MS-DOS machines that runs loops around the higher-priced compilers. Well, two weeks ago we received Sidekick, a $50 accessory program for the IBM PC that runs under your regular application programs and can be called into action at any time. Sidekick includes several Macintosh-like features, such as a notepad and calculator, but Sidekick's version of these products is really spiffy. The calculator can do calculations in octal, hexadecimal, and binary. And the "notepad" is actually a proficient word processor. However, this product is copy-protected and thus cannot be loaded on a hard disk or on all floppy disks.

What was the good news about Borland last week you ask? Well, they have come out with an unprotected version of Sidekick for a little more money ($80). Companies like Borland could put us reviewers out of business. They give us almost nothing to complain about. I can't wait to see what this week brings.

—Rk/t Malloy, Product-Review Editor

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 261

SYSTEM REVIEW

T/teHP 150 Computer

Easy to use but difficult

by Mark Haas

Hewlett-Packard, a company that is probably best known for its scien-tific and engineering products-programmable calculators, plotters of ex-tO program ceptional quality and minicomputers—is now making its presence known in the lucrative business market with its latest creation, the HP 150. Using a design employing a unique software enhancement to the popular MS-DOS operating system (called PAM which 1 will discuss in detail later) and a touch-sensitive screen, HP hopes to cash in on the feature most business users are demanding—ease of use.

The basic HP 150 is composed of only two units: the system processor/display unit and the keyboard. However, most of the HP 150s sold also include a 9121 disk-drive unit housing two 3!/2-inch Sony microfloppy-disk drives (see photo 1). Other disk-drive systems, including hard-disk systems, are also available. The HP 150, like other HP computers, uses the Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus (HPIB), also known as the IEEE-488 bus, to expand the system. The HPIB is used to connect the 9121 disk-drive unit to the system unit.

The system processor/display unit measures about 12 by 11 by 13 inches. It contains the system processor board, the 9-inch CRT (cathode-ray tube) and associated video circuitry, the touchscreen, and, on the system I tested, an optional thermal printer. The system board contains a 16-/8-bit 8088 microprocessor (16-bit internal data bus, 8-bit external data bus) operating at 8 MHz, 2 56K bytes of dynamic RAM (random-access read/write memory), and 160K bytes of ROM (read-only memory). Up to 384K bytes of RAM can be added through the use of a plug-in memory board, bringing the total RAM to 640K bytes. Also contained on the system board are two RS-232C ports, an HPIB port, and two expansion slots.

Mark Haas is technical director of

Osborne/McG raw-Hill, a Berkeley,

California, publisher of computer

books. He may be contacted at

2600 Tenth St., Berkeley, CA

94710,

ThE Display Screen

Without the disk drives, the HP 150 can be thought of as a terminal. All the character-

istics of the display screen can also be thought of in that sense. The display screen on the HP 150 is actually composed of two independent screens: a 27-line by 80-char-acter text screen and an optional 512 by 390-dot graphics display. These displays can be set up as windows into even larger areas.

The normal virtual-text screen comprises 48 lines, or two physical screens. The screen always displays the current line. The first 24 lines of text may scroll off the top of the display, but they are not lost. The computer reserves the bottom three lines of the physical display for a status line and the softkeys (touchscreen versions of function keys), leaving 24 lines available for text on the screen. The status line provides information on the state of various functions. It displays the time, lets you know when the Caps Lock is on, indicates whether the keypad is numeric or graphic, and gives you other information.

Characters are very well formed and easy to read, even on this smaller-than-average display screen. A variety of attributes are available, including half intensity, underline, inverse, blinking, security (where nothing shows on the screen—used for passwords), and something called background inverse. Several alternate character sets are provided for line drawing (useful in designing forms) and math symbols, as well as foreign-character sets that include umlauts, tildes, and other diacritical marks.

The HP 150's graphics capabilities are impressive. Included in the large ROM are a number of routines for plotting on the graphics screen. In the graphics mode the numeric keypad to the right of the QWERTY keyboard assumes the role of a graphics keypad. It can be used to selectively turn on or off the text and graphics screens. Four keys become graphics cursor-control keys, allowing the graphics cursor easy movement to any point on the screen.

Most of the graphics capabilities, however, are accessed through escape sequences. These can be entered directly from the key-

262 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

board but are most useful when generated from a program. For example the sequence ESC *m 0A100.100E will draw a box from the lower left-hand corner of the screen (0,0) 100 dots wide and 100 dots high and will fill it with the current pattern (which can be changed with another escape sequence). There are other sequences for line (vector) drawing, character-graphic definition, line-pattern definition, drawing modes, and setting of a relocatable origin.

Tfext can also be generated on the graphics screen. Eight different text sizes, from about 1/32 inch to about 7/16 inch, can be produced and rotated 90, 180, and 270 degrees. The text can also be slanted about 30 degrees. Escape sequences are provided to control graphics text.

System Configuration

The HP 150 is a "soft" machine. That is, many of the operating characteristics can be changed through software control. In fact, just about everything the machine does can be controlled from the touchscreen. There are four main configuration screens built into the HP 150, and a fifth MS-DOS configuration program is supplied with the operating system. The system is a bit overwhelming at first, but the manual takes you through the initial configuration one step at a time and makes it seem easy.

The Global Configuration screen (see photo 2) allows you to set such items as the type of keyboard being used (ASCII, Swedish, French, German, etc.), the keyboard click on or off, and where the HP 150 looks for the operating system (seven HPIB addresses and two accessory slots) when booting up. At power-up you can also decide whether the HP 150 will act like a terminal or a computer.

TWo more screens allow you to configure the two serial ports. Here things really get complicated. You can set the usual characteristics such as bps (bits-per-second) rate, word length, parity, and stop bits, but then there is an additional assortment of items

that most people have never dealt with before, shown in photos 3 and 4. If you have never had to decide whether the Terminal Ready line should be high or low, or whether the Receiver Ready or Secondary Carrier Detect control line is detected as -12 V instead of + 12 V, you should leave these in their default state. If you understand these terms, this type of control can be very useful.

I had no trouble using the configuration screens to connect the HP 150 as a terminal to a Radio Shack Model 100. I set the bps rate, etc., as usual, and left all the other settings alone. It worked fine except when I transmitted a file from the HP 150 to the Model 100 using XON/XOFF flow control. The HP 150 expects to see an XON charac-

[continued]

Photo 1: The HP 150 with a 9121 disk-drive unit.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 263

REVIEW: THE HP 150

ter from the external device after every line is transmitted. The Model 100 will send an XON character only after it has sent an XOFF character and has had a chance to catch up. The HP 150 would send the first line of a file to the Model 100 and then wait for an XON character. I had to manually send one from the Model 100 so the next line of text would be sent and so on. Transmission going the other way, from the Model 100 to the HP 150, was no problem.

The last built-in configuration screen, shown in photo 5, sets a variety of terminal options. Most of the options on this screen deal with functions that are important when using the HP 150 as a terminal connected to a larger computer. Hewlett-Packard has designed the HP 150 to be compatible with its line of communications terminals. All of these can communicate with larger systems, in this case an HP 3000. From this screen you can control the cursor type (line or box), the bell (on or off), the definition of the Return key, and more exotic things concerning block-mode transmission, graphics-emulation modes, etc.

In an abstract sense, the configuration screens are easy to use. That is, changing the values of the various functions is easy; knowing what they mean is another thing. The screens often present you with somewhat cryptic abbreviations for the functions, such as InhDcTst(W), Xmitfnctn (A), and RR(CF)Recv. Unfortunately, these functions are not always clearly explained in the manual. But, to be fair, if you need to change these functions you probably already know what they mean. Otherwise, leaving them in their default states will usually suffice.

The touchscreen is also used to configure MS-DOS. The configuration screen is divided into two parts, System Devices (such as printers and plotters) and Disc Drives (see photo 6). Using these utilities, you can specify where your peripherals are physically connected and relate these locations to the logical devices MS-DOS understands. Do you want

Photo 2: The Global Configuration screen allows you to set up the basic functions of the HP 150.

Photo 3: The configuration screens that allow you to configure ports 1 and 2 are identical and each can be configured as either full-duplex hard-wired, shown here, or full-duplex modem.

COM1: on port 1? Okay. Do you want your printer (PTR1:) on port 1 too? No problem. Do you have a plotter on the HPIB? Just say so. Are you adding a hard disk you want to boot from? These can be done in straightforward procedures.

Disk Drives

Without some sort of mass-storage device connected to it, the HP 150 is really no more than a fancy terminal. Adding disk drives allows you to load programs and store data. The disk

Photo 4: The full-duplex modem configuration, which is slightly less complicated than the full-duplex hardwired configuration and has the receive and transmit signals reversed.

drives supplied with the machine 1 tested were contained in the 9121 unit. This device contains two Sony 3!/2-inch microfloppy-disk drives. Each single-sided drive can hold a disk containing up to 2 58K bytes of data, although a significant portion of this space is taken up by system files.

Many other disk-drive combinations are available, including hard-disk and 5 ! /4-inch drives, and most of these connect via the HPIB in daisy-chain form. The drive box is normally placed under the system processor/

264 BYTE* NOVEMBER 1984

REVIEW: THE HP 150

display unit. With this placement, however the keyboard must be located some distance in front of the machine, otherwise it interferes with disk insertion and removal. In all, you need about 24 inches of depth on your desktop to situate the machine properly. More space is recommended because if you don't have enough room you might find the keyboard falling into your lap.

Having used a Macintosh for some time this was not my first experience with 3!/2-inch disks. I like them very much. The rigid cases are more protective than the flexible jackets on 5i4-inch floppy disks—you can even use a ballpoint pen to write directly on them. The automatic shutter keeps misplaced fingers off the media surface and also helps keep dust off the disk. Disk storage is more convenient because the 3/2-inch disks take up less space.

The Keyboard

The keyboard on the HP 150 is divided into seven sections, as shown in photo 7. The character-set group is the main keyboard, including the normal QWERTY keyset. Above that are the terminal-control group (the Reset/ Break and Stop keys), the function-control group (Menu and User/System keys), and eight function keys. The edit group includes keys for inserting and deleting characters and lines, and the display-control group includes the cursor keys. The numeric/graphics group is at the right of the main keyboard; it serves the dual role of numeric pad and graphics-control pad. The keyboard is meant to be tilted up toward the back when in use; a flap along the bottom of the unit swings down to accomplish this. The keys have a nice feel and are arranged in stepped rows. The Shift keys and the Return key are in the customary positions, although I found the Control key a bit too close to the A key. Also, the Control and Caps keys on the HP 150 keyboard are in the opposite position of the same keys on a terminal I use in the office. This led to some adjustment problems, but this is no fault of Hewlett-Packard's. It

Photo 5: The terminal configuration screen controls the basic keyboard and display functions of the HP 150.

Photo 6: Hewlett-Packard has further developed MS-DOS by providing the user with this handy configuration screen. Here the user can relate MS-DOS's logical device names (PRN:, COM2:, etc.) to the actual physical devices and where they are connected to the computer (port 1, HPIB, etc.).

Photo 7: The keyboard of the HP 150 contains 107 keys arranged in seven groups. U connects to the back of the system processor/display unit with an RJ-11 plug.

only points out the unfortunate lack of standards in the computer industry.

Living with PAM

RAM, short for Personal Applications Manager, is Hewlett-Packard's idea of

ease of use. Technically speaking, PAM is an MS-DOS shell installed using the CONFIG.SYS file at boot time. PAM replaces the normal MS-DOS COMMAND.COM console-com-

{continued}

NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE 265

REVIEW: THE HP 150

mand processor and presents the user with the screen shown in photo 8.

Tbgether with the touchscreen, PAM lets novice users deal with the operating system in a more friendly way. No command lines need to be entered. You. merely have to point to your desired application and then to the box in the lower left-hand corner of the screen labeled Start Application (or press the Fl key or the Return key). PAM then starts the application. Alternatively, you could point to the application with the cursor keys, moving the small arrow over the application choice boxes, and then press the Select key and then the Return key to start an application. There's no need to be concerned with default drives and the like because the drive containing the application to be run becomes the default drive automatically.

Applications appear with expanded titles of up to 13 characters, which makes it a little easier to determine what an application does.

Besides running an application, PAM lets you set the time and date, log in new disks, perform a number of file-related operations, and turn your HP 150 into a dumb terminal. A simple help facility is also provided.

You can access file-related commands by touching the File Manager box or by pressing the F5 key. The file manager (see photo 9) allows you to list the files in a directory choose a different directory (including subdirectories), print the contents of a file or directory, delete a file or directory from a disk, view the contents of a file on the screen, and copy and rename files. Throughout these procedures, you are guided by a combination of menus, prompt lines, and screens. Of course regular MS-DOS rules still apply; for example, you cannot delete a subdirectory if it is not empty (i.e., containing no files). As with other PAM functions, you can select files for whatever operation you are about to perform by pointing to the filename on the screen. Alternatively you can use the cursor keys to point to a file and press the Select key to select it.

The dumb terminal is just that. It

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would be useful if you could run an application while simultaneously being connected to another system. But on this system, switching between the two is cumbersome; you have to end the application, return to PAM, select the terminal, press the Shift/Stop key to get back to PAM, and then reselect the application. From the terminal mode you can journey through a labyrinth of menus that will enable you to configure the communications capabilities of the HP 150. You can select bps rates and determine protocols and many other parameters. However, I doubt anyone could do it without the manual sitting beside the machine. In fact, a separate manual is devoted to explaining all this in detail. When the PAM screen appears, it displays "installed" applications. Only installed applications can be accessed or run from PAM. This holds true even for MS-DOS. Installing an application is an interesting process that makes use of a utility program named, appropriately enough, Install. Install reads a special file associated with the

Photo 8: The PAM screen. The highlighted box is the currently selected application. The small arrow over these boxes is controlled by the cursor keys and points to a new application. Touching the leftmost softkey would start the selected application.

Photo 9: The file manager can be accessed from PAM or from most applications. \t relieves the user of having to enter MS-DOS comands to perform file and directory functions.

application you want to be installed and then creates another file that tells PAM your application has been installed. A number of files are moved around, and a number of disks may have to be swapped in and out as well. The installation procedure also ensures that the user is not running a program from the master copy of the disk. You are forced to move a program from one disk drive to another (either A to B or B to A), usually by placing the master copy in drive A and a blank formatted disk in B. You can't install a program on the disk it resides on. Although there is definitely merit to this feature, it can be cumbersome when you are putting in your own application.

Applications sold by Hewlett-Packard come ready to install. If you create your own application, for example a BASIC program, you must install it manually. The documentation clearly explains this process. It involves creating an installation file-using EDLIN, WordStar, or some other

{continued)

266 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

AT A GLANCE

Name

HP 150

Manufacturer

Hewlett-Packard 3000 Hanover St. Palo Alto, CA 94304

Components

Size: System unit, 12 by 11 by 13 inches; disk drives, 12 3 /4 by 3 by 11V4 inches; keyboard, 18 by 8% by V/2 inches

Processor; 8-MHz 8088 Memory: 256K bytes RAM Display: 9-inch diagonal cathode-ray tube, 27 lines by 80 characters, monochrome Keyboard: 107 keys, detached Mass storage: Two Sony 3 1 /2-inch microfloppy disks, single sided, 258K bytes total disk space each drive Expansion capability: Two expansion slots

I/O interfaces: Two RS-232C ports, one Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus (HPIB), i.e., IEEE-488 parallel bus

Operating System

MS-DOS 2,01

Software

1-2-3, Memo-Maker

Optional Hardware

5 1 /4-inch floppy-disk drives and 5- and 15-megabyte hard disks, thermal printer, 384K-byte plug-in RAM board

Documentation

Users manual, terminal users

guide

Price

$3495 with dual microfloppy-disk drives, $3795 with BASIC, $5850 with 5-megabyte hard-disk drive and one microfloppy-disk drive, $6450 with 15-megabyte hard-disk drive and one microfloppy-disk drive

MEMORY SIZE (K BYTES)

0 200 400 600

DISK STORAGE (K BYTES) 800 1000 0 400 800 1200 1600 2000

"— --~T-

n

BUNDLED SOFTWARE PACKAGES PRICE ($1000)

0 24 66 10 0246 8 10

HP-150 ill IBM PC

APPLE HE

The Memory Size graph shows the standard and optional memory available for the computers under comparison. The graph of Disk Storage capacity shows the highest capacity of a single and dual floppy-disk drive for each system. The Bundled Software Packages graph shows the number of software packages included with each system. The Price graph

shows the list price of a system with two high-capacity floppy-disk drives, a monochrome monitor, graphics and color-display capability, a printer port and a serial port; 256K bytes of memory (64K bytes for 8-bit systems), the standard operating system for each system, and the standard BASIC interpreter for each system.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 267

The rear view shows two RS-232C ports and an IEEE-488 bus interface for expanding the system.

DISK ACCESS IN BASIC (SEC) 250

The overhead view of the HP-150 system unit, which includes the display units as an integral component.

BASIC PERFORMANCE (SEC) 250

200

150

100

WRITE

SYSTEM UTILITIES (SEC) 50

READ

SIEVE

CALCULATIONS

SPREADSHEET (SEC) 25

40K FORMAT/DISK COPY 40K FILE COPY

[" ■ HP-150

The graph for Disk Access in BASIC shows how long it takes to write a 64K-byte sequential text file to a blank floppy disk and how long it takes to read this file. (For the program listings see June BYTE, page 327 and October BYTE, page 33.) The BASIC Performance graph shows how long it takes to run one iteration of the Sieve of Eratosthenes prime-number benchmark. In the same graph, the Calculations results show how long it takes to do 10,000 multiplication and division operations using single-precision numbers. In the System Utilities graph, the Format/Disk Copy results could not be

IBM PC

obtained because the MS-DOS utility Disk Copy is not included with MS-DOS for the HP 150. Formatting and copying files are two distinct operations on the HP 150. The File Copy results show how long it takes to transfer a 40K-byte file using the system utilities. The Spreadsheet graph shows how long the computers take to load and recalculate a 25- by 25-cell spreadsheet where each cell equals 1.001 times the cell to its left. The spreadsheet benchmark program is Microsoft Multiplan, but the HP 150's spreadsheet program is VisiCalc. DOS 3.3 was used with the Apple II.

268 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

REVIEW: THE HP 150

program—containing information about the application such as the names of all files needed by the application and their total size, and the title you want to appear on the PAM screen. Once this file is created, which takes about two minutes, you are ready to use the Install utility. The application program and the special installation file must reside on the same disk. If the application needs other files, such as overlays, they can be installed from other disks, but you must allow for this when creating the installation file. Since you cannot install the program back on the same disk, you must either install it onto another disk or first copy all your files onto another disk and write them back onto the first one. Once the application is installed it cannot be copied onto another disk and run from PAM. It must be reinstalled from the master disk. Also, once you have installed an application, you cannot delete it from MS-DOS. You must again use the Install utility Otherwise, PAM will think the application still exists even though all visible files associated with it have been deleted.

Another utility called Set Up PAM, lets you retitle applications and rearrange their placement on the screen. It also lets you auto-start an application when booting the system.

PAM's ease-of-use features do not come cheaply, however. The MS-DOS system files, plus the PAM files, leave you only 178K bytes of a blank formatted disk's 2 58K-byte capacity If you want to have MS-DOS installed as an application under PAM, subtract another 17K bytes.

Despite its benefits, PAM is tremendously frustrating for experienced users. It makes everything take longer because you have to tell it to look at the new disk each time one is inserted. And with only 178K bytes on a disk, you change them often. Fortunately, PAM can be bypassed, leaving you to deal directly with the operating system.

Novice users (who would surely benefit from most of PAM's features) may have problems when PAM hands them over to the application and they

no longer are protected from the operating system.

T>iE Touchscreen

Together with PAM, the HP 150's touchscreen provides you with an alternative form of data entry. Physically the touchscreen is composed of a 9-inch screen surrounded by a 14 by 21 (vertical by horizontal) element array of infrared LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and matching photodiodes, similar in many ways to the touchscreen designed by Steve Ciarcia (see "Let Your Fingers Do the Talking: Add a Noncontact Touch Scanner to Your Video Display" August 1978 BYTE, page 156). The operating system can detect a finger or pointing device interrupting the infrared beams and determine the location of the interruption.

The touchscreen has a resolution of 1 line by 2 characters for a total of 40 points horizontally and 24 points vertically This means that when you are using WordStar you will be able to place the cursor on any line by touching the screen, but only on alternate characters in a line. How does a 14 by 21 array of LEDs distinguish a 24 by 40 array of points on the screen? When your finger touches the HP 150's screen, it may interrupt one or two of the beams on each axis. Essentially this doubles the number of points that would be available if you could detect only single-beam interruptions. However, if you have thin fingers, you may find that placing the cursor on one of the in-between points is difficult to accomplish because the space within which your finger will interrupt two beams may

Together with PAM, the HP 150's touchscreen provides you with an alternative form of data entry.

be very small indeed. This is especially true in the vertical axis where the LEDs are placed farther apart. Using the eraser end of a pencil will interrupt only one beam at a time on each axis and result in half the resolution (i.e., only every other line and every fourth character on a WordStar screen).

I found the touchscreen to be moderately sensitive to the way I lifted my finger from the screen after touching it, especially when it was working at its full resolution (for example when using WordStar). To assure accurate cursor placement, you must withdraw your finger from the screen perpendicularly. In most, but not all cases, touching the screen lets you select an item or point, and removing your finger initiates an action or sets a point. Thus, it is possible to touch the screen and then, without lifting the finger, drag the cursor to the proper location. Tbo much skew when releasing your finger from the screen results in additional cursor movement.

The touchscreen also senses eight softkeys along the bottom of the screen. These correspond to the eight functions keys across the top of the keyboard, and the two may be used

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 269

Meet Our New LogicScope 136.

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Consider the LogicScope 136

■ The LogicScope 136 is the next logical step in test instrumentation for you. It combines many of the features and capabilities of sophisticated logic analyzers and oscilloscopes ... and it fits in your hand. Never before has so much technology been available in so small an instrument, at such a low price.

■ The pocket-sized LogicScope 136 is made possible by a patented breakthrough in display technology. The conventional cathode ray tube has been replaced by a unique array of 400 LED's that permits simultaneous display of two digital waveforms.

■ The 136 can be used for viewing single shot events, or repetitive waveforms. It can be operated in real time mode, or in memory mode which permits acquisition and storage of up to 24 128-bit waveforms. These can be recalled, logically compared (AND, OR, EXCLUSIVE OR) to other stored/input waveforms, or output to an external device via an RS 232 port.

■ Its very low cost, convenience and ease-of-use make the LogicScope the ideal instrument, for designing, troubleshooting or repairing digital systems.

Consider its Engineering & Field Service Applications:

■ On microprocessor-based systems, check the timing relationship of various parameters relative to the system clock and other key events. Its storage capability allows visual and logical comparison of non-repetitive waveforms to known reference signals. Output in the start-up of the digital device can be compared to reference signals to determine the operating state of the device. Questionable waveforms can be stored for analysis.

■ Its light weight and small size make the LogicScope convenient to take on every service call. The 136 provides much more information for trouble shooting a digital system or peripheral than a logic probe or digital multimeter, without having to lug an oscilloscope or logic analyzer along.

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REVIEW: THE HP 150

interchangeably. The softkeys are programmed by the running application, and they take on different meanings for each application. The softkeys can be thought of as a menu. Some keys perform functions; their legends appear in uppercase letters. Others lead to other menus; their legends appear in lowercase letters.

As with most menu systems, the softkeys are helpful at first, but they tend to slow you down as you gain experience. They can also get in the way. When using the touchscreen with WordStar I inadvertently activated one of the softkeys when I wanted to point to a spot on the bottom line of text. Fortunately, none of the softkeys selected in this manner resulted in anything more than another level of menu appearing. It was annoying but not disastrous.

Overall I found cursor positioning via the touchscreen of limited use I also found that using the touchscreen to select items has limitations as well as benefits. For instance, when using VisiCalc adapted for the HP 150. a help menu lets you select from a full screen of items. All you have to do is touch one of about 20 lines on the screen. But touching one line exactly not the line above or below, is almost impossible. When using VisiCalc, merely touching the screen usually sends you off to the wrong help screen. This is a problem with VisiCalc, because the selection and activation should be two steps instead of one, as with other Hewlett-Packard software.

It is nice to be able to select the file you want to edit by pointing at it. When selecting other functions in WordStar, however, I suspect most users will prefer to use keyboard commands. For example, a common WordStar sequence is Control-B Control-Q P, which re-forms a paragraph and returns the cursor to its previous location. This is a fairly fast, simple keyboard sequence. The same procedure using the softkeys or function keys requires selecting the following sequence: format and find (F4), re-form paragraph (F7), main menu (F8), cursor movement (F6),

other keys (Fl), previous cursor (F4), main menu (F8).

Software

Along with the HP 150, I received several optional software packages including the WordStar and VisiCalc programs I've mentioned. I also received a communications package called DSN/Link, a version of Microsoft BASIC, a program called Tfext Charts, and, of course, MS-DOS. Using these packages I was able to run the standard BYTE benchmarks.

The BASIC that Hewlett-Packard offers is Microsoft BASIC-86. It is essentially the same as MBASIC the 8-bit CP/M version. As a result, there are no commands to access the graphics capabilities (i.e., LINE, CIRCLE, PSET, etc.), perform screen operations (LOCATE, CLS, etc.), or communicate through any of the operating system's logical devices (OPEN

The BASIC that Hewlett-Packard offers is Microsoft BASIC-86.

COM1:, etc.): all things I've come to expect with 16-bit BASICS. You can only access the HP ISO's graphics capabilities through escape sequences. The manual tells you how to use these escapes; for example, it tells you how to use the DEF FN command to create your own graphics commands. However, this process is a bit clumsy. (Editor's Note: Hewlett-Packard was in the process of introducing GW BASIC for both the HP 150 and the HP 110 when this review was written. If all has gone as planned, the new BASIC should be available now] BYTE has established a set of benchmarks for testing a variety of system functions. These tests combine

{continued)

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REVIEW: THE HP 150

the abilities of both the hardware and software. The complete results of these benchmarks are shown in the ,l At a Glance" graphs, with additional benchmarks for word processing shown in table 1.

I was unable to run the Format/Disk Copy test in the System Utilities benchmark because the Disk Copy utility is not included with MS-DOS for the HP 150. Formatting and copying files are two distinct operations in the standard HP 150 world.

VisiCalc on the HP 150 has the added feature of being able to let you select cells by pointing to them. Of course if a cell is off screen, you have to use keyboard commands to select it. The softkeys make it easier to learn to use VisiCalc, but as I've stated, once you become familiar with the program's functions, you'll probably want to use keyboard commands, rather than the touchscreen, to evoke them.

I performed two benchmark tests with VisiCalc: I loaded a standard spreadsheet and recalculated it (the results are shown in the Spreadsheet graph). The standard spreadsheet is a 2 5- by 2 5-cell array where each cell is equal to 1.001 times the cell to its left. The first cell in rows 2 through 2 5 is equal to 1.001 times the last cell in the preceding row. Multiplan on the IBM PC is significantly faster than VisiCalc on the HP 150.

The word-processing benchmarks in table 1 were performed using Hewlett-Packard's latest release of WordStar, version 3.3B, which replaced the significantly slower version 3.30. I have already commented on some of WordStar's features as adapted to the HP 150. TWo of the nicer ones are its ability to let you select the file you want to edit by pointing at the filename, and to let you move the cursor on the screen by pointing. As the figures in table 1 show, this new version of WordStar on the HP 150 holds its own against the IBM in all but one of the tests.

With the exception of the scroll benchmark, the times clocked for the HP 150 were fairly close to the times for the IBM. The document-load time

of 11.1 seconds is only 12 percent slower than that of the IBM, the document-save time of 2 5.4 seconds is only 5 percent slower, the search time of 13 seconds is 24 percent slower, and the scroll time of 71.7 seconds is 74 percent slower. The benchmark times are based on loading a document immediately after starting WordStar, saving the document immediately after loading it, searching immediately after loading, and scrolling immediately after loading. Subsequent times for the same operations, however, improved substantially. Loading the document after saving it (not directly after starting WordStar) provided a load time of only 7.5 seconds. Repeated saving of the document resulted in a time of 18 seconds. Jumping back to the beginning of the document after the search test and repeating the search resulted in a time of only 4.6 seconds. But nothing im-

proved the scrolling time. I think the subsequent times more closely represent the times you can expect when working with a document. The benchmarks don't show the superior times the HP 150 provides when you move the cursor to a random point or move it horizontally or vertically within a screen, or when you enter the name of the file to edit. But I still wonder why a processor identical to the one in the IBM PC, running nearly 80 percent faster, runs an application more slowly than the IBM PC does.

As the slow times of the benchmarks show, the 8-MHz processor is busy doing things other than running the application. Pure processing times were good, as shown by the single-precision Calculations and Sieve results. But screen-oriented tasks are particularly slow, probably because of some sort of overhead. At first I

{continued)

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REVIEW: THE HP 150

thought it might be because of the touchscreen, but apparently the touchscreen is interrupt driven and does not affect the timings simply by being on or off. Whatever the cause of these delays, it seems ease of use has its price.

DSN/Link is a communications package designed to allow the HP 150 to communicate with an HP 3000 or another HP 150. It can be used for general-purpose communications, too. I found it to be of limited use in my situation. If I had an HP 3000, I could have used DSN/Link to access it automatically and perform a number of wonderful tasks. DSN/Link can be controlled by command files created with any text processor. The commands allow the program to carry on a dialogue with the host computer to enable automatic log-on sequences and other automatic procedures. But programming DSN/Link is not easy, and the control it gives you is limited.

Tfext Chart is a nice little graphics package that shows off the HP 150's graphics capabilities, but its performance is a little slow, mainly because of constant disk accesses.

[Editor's Note: After this review was written, Hewlett-Packard began bundling lotus Development Corporation's 1-2-3 and Hewlett-Packard's Memo-Maker word processor with the HP 150.]

Documentation

The manuals accompanying the HP 150 do a good job of explaining a fairly complex system. They are well written and provide necessary background information—telling you why things are being done not just how to do them. The directions on setting up your computer and installing the peripherals are excellent.

Some of the software manuals were not as good as the system documentation. The BASIC manual may be a good introduction to BASIC, but it fails as a reference guide. Commands are scattered about and arranged by function rather than alphabetically; this manual is even worse than the original Microsoft manual. There is an index, which is the best way to find anything. The VisiCalc manual is

rather cryptic and could have included more examples. The new WordStar manual is a big improvement over previous editions.

Conclusions

A fellow I spoke with who has been programming HP 150s for some time summed up the system nicely when he said that the HP 150 is a good "application engine" but difficult to program. If all you intend to do is buy an application and run it, this machine will make life easy for you. If you want to use all of the HP 150's features, there's a lot there to play with, but you may find it's not as accessible as you'd like. (Editor's Note: This may change when the new GW BASIC is available].

The HP 150 is an extremely flexible machine that can become part of a much larger system of computers. Direct links with HP 3000s, links to other peripherals through the HPIB

1/ you want to use all of the HP 150's features,

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compatibility on a budget

by Peter V. Callamaras

Peter V. Callamaras (POB 408, Scott AFB, IL 62225) is an officer in the Air Force. The recipient of degrees in computer technology and biological sciences, he recently received his master's degree in systems management. He has been interested in computers since 1966 and used to be the service-department manager of a computer store.

SYSTEM REVIEW

The Columbia Multipersonal Computer-VP

For me, choosing a computer system depends largely on the amount of software available for it. Thus, when I decided to buy a second computer, I wanted one that was either Apple or IBM compatible. Since I already had an Apple it seemed reasonable to add the IBM capability

Because I needed a system I could use both at work and home, I decided to get a transportable machine.

Money was also a large consideration. The cost of an IBM system consisting of what I considered a minimum configuration—12 8K bytes of RAM (random-access read/write memory), two floppy-disk drives, graphics, and both serial- and parallel-output ports—was too high, so I decided to look at IBM PC clones.

I wanted to buy from a manufacturer I felt would be around for a while—that narrowed the field a bit. Additionally, I wanted to find out how much it was going to cost to get suitable software for my new system and what sort of software compatibility I could expect between my Apple and the IBM PC-compatible.

I eventually decided to buy a Columbia Data Products' Multipersonal Computer-VP portable (see photo 1). The VP not only met all my hardware criteria, but it came with all the software I needed to handle almost any task. And at $2495, it was priced well below any other similar system without software.

Hardware

The VP is housed in a metal cabinet with a built-in handle. Since the computer weighs 32 pounds, you are not going to want to move it often. However, I plan to leave it at work most of the time and take it home only on weekends or evenings when I have work to do at home.

The system unit measures 18 by 16 by 8 inches with the cover on, or 18 by 14 by 8 inches with the cover off. It comes with 128K bytes of RAM (expandable to 2 56K

bytes) resident on the motherboard, two floppy-disk drives with 360K bytes of storage capacity each, a detachable IBM PC-compatible keyboard, a 9-inch monochrome monitor, and two I/O (input/output) ports. There are two storage slots in the front of the unit; the power switch, reset button, and a built-in fan are on the back. During transport, the keyboard is stored in the removable front cover of the VP. You have to be careful when arranging the keyboard's cable in the top cover because you run the risk of pinching the cord and possibly breaking some wires when you lock the cover down.

Software

The VP comes with an impressive array of software that lets you do just about anything you need to—word processing, file management, spreadsheets, graphics, communications, and personal financial management. An arcade-type game is also provided with the system. (See the "At a Glance" page for more information.) Additionally you get the CP/M-86 and MS-DOS version 2.0 operating systems, Microsoft BASIC (GW BAS1C/BASICA), and Macro/86 assembler.

ThE Display

The VP's 9-inch monitor (see photo 2) can be ordered with either a green or an amber phosphor (I prefer to use an amber monitor—the fact that I could get one with the VP was a major factor in my decision to buy it.)

As is the case with the IBM PC, there are four display modes: two for text or characters and two for graphics. The text-display modes are 5 by 7 matrix character, either 40 columns by 2 5 lines or 80 columns by 2 5 lines. The monochrome graphics display modes are either 320 by 200 pixels (low resolution) or 640 by 200 pixels (high resolution).

The video-graphics display is supported by a separate 16K-byte RAM storage buf-

276 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

fer that can hold eight pages in the 40 by 2 5 mode and four pages in the 80 by 2 5 mode. The video logic is directed by a separate Motorola 6845 CRT (cathode-ray tube) Controller. I found the display sharp and the graphics pleasing.

Keyboard

The keyboard is an 83-key unit separated into three general areas with auto-repeat on all keys (see photo 3). On the left side are 10 function keys, in the middle is the QWERTY keyboard, and on the right side is a numeric keypad.

The keyboard is essentially the same as that found on the IBM PC, except the Caps Lock and Num Lock keys have LEDs (light-emitting diodes) built into them. The LEDs light up when you have either of these features selected. As on the IBM PC keyboard, the Return, Shift, and T&b keys have the international symbols on them. The function keys and the numeric keypad are also essentially the same as those found on the IBM machine.

The feel of the keyboard takes some getting used to. The IBM PC has "breakaway" keys that offer your finger some initial resistance and then, at a certain point, release and give you a response. The VP, on the other hand, does not have breakaway keys and has a very light touch. Since I switch among computers often, I find the VP's light touch disconcerting. I have to get used to it all over again when I've been using other computers. With the auto-repeat feature on each key I often get a line of characters instead of the single character I wanted.

Overall, the keyboard is solid and performs satisfactorily but it is unfortunate that Columbia didn't improve on the IBM PC keyboard by making its own more like the Selectric.

Mass Storage

The standard VP comes with two half-height, 5^-inch floppy-disk drives. The

double-sided double-density drives each hold 360K bytes of data. I have no problems with the drives and find them much quieter than the IBM PC drives.

The disk-drive doors will not close unless you have inserted either a disk or a cardboard protector first. 1 have heard that on some drives the two heads can hit each other if jarred during transit; thus it is a good idea to save the cardboard protectors to use when you move the computer.

One unhandy aspect to the drives is that, although you can check the drive speed, you can't adjust it yourself. I haven't noticed any speed problems, but I wish the drive-speed adjustment were accessible to the user, since I have found that I have to adjust the drive speed on my Apple periodically.

TVie Motherboard

The motherboard is located on the underside of the metal plate that holds the CRT video-drive circuitry and the two disk drives. There are access holes cut into the plate for

(continued)

Photo 1: The Columbia Multipersonal Computer^?.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 277

REVIEW: THE VP

the single expansion slot and the video connectors. The disk-drive cable slides around the front of the plate. This arrangement protects the motherboard if you happen to remove the top of the computer to work inside. There is also a place in the motherboard to plug in an addi-

tional 128K-byte memory-expansion piggyback board.

THE Processor

The VP comes with a standard 16-/ 8-bit 8088 microprocessor (16-bit internal data bus, 8-bit external data bus) running at 4.77 MHz. You can

Photo 2: The VP's display showing the 80<olumn text mode.

•VVt'i t t V 1 ! 'i vv

III I ITT 1 I

Photo 3: The VP's keyboard. Except for the Shift U>ck and Num lock key LEDs, the keyboard is laid out like the IBM PC's.

also plug an 8087 arithmetic coprocessor into the premounted socket that is wired in parallel with the 8088. Unfortunately you have to completely disassemble the computer to do so.

Memory

The VP's RAM chips are standard 4164s, which are automatically refreshed every 2 microseconds. The chips are soldered onto the motherboard to prevent their being dislodged in transit. If you have trouble with a RAM chip, a service center will have to replace it. When you boot the system, you are offered the option of testing the memory. If you choose to do so, pressing the S key during the test lets you listen to a series of tones that indicate whether the specific location under test is okay If you hear a steady tone during the test, that memory location is bad.

You may want to increase the motherboard memory to its full 2 56K-byte capacity. The process is relatively simple. Disassemble the computer, plug in the piggyback circuit board, change a couple of jumpers, and then button it up.

Interfaces

Both the parallel and serial interfaces use DB-2 5 connectors and are located on the rear of the unit with the power and reset switches. The parallel interface is Centronics compatible. The serial port is a standard asynchronous RS-232C interface with a 110- to 19,200-bps (bits per second) range. The combination of the two built-in interfaces lets you plug in a variety of peripherals without adding any other hardware to the basic system.

The VP also has one IBM PC-compatible expansion slot. With only a single slot available choosing what to put into it can be very difficult. I chose a Quadlink board from Quadram.

You can now get the necessary cable and speaker extension wires from Quadram to put a Quadlink in the VP. However, the Quadlink is primarily intended for use with Columbia desktop units. Because of the difference in the internal arrangement

[continued)

278 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

AT A GLANCE

Name

Columbia Multipersonal Computer-VP

Manufacturer

Columbia Data Products 9150 Rumsey Rd. Columbia, MD 21045 (301) 992-3400

Components

Size: 18 by 16 by 8 inches, 32 pounds with cover, 18 by 14 by 8 inches with cover removed

Processor: 4.77 MHz, 16-/8-bit 8088, socket for 8087 coprocessor Memory: 128K bytes of system memory expandable to 256K bytes Display: 9-inch green or amber cathode-ray tube; 80 columns by 25 rows or 40 columns by 25 rows of 5- by 7-pixel characters; 320- by 200-pixel or 640- by 200-pixel graphics

Keyboard: 83 keys, IBM PC-compatible; 10 function keys and 10-key numeric/cursor-control keypad; auto-repeat on all keys

Mass storage: two internal 5V4-inch floppy-disk drives, double-sided, double-density, 360K bytes, IBM PC-compatible I/O: asynchronous serial interface, RS-232C, 110- to 19,200-bps Centronics-compatible parallel printer port Expansion: one IBM PC-compatible expansion slot, 128K-byte piggyback memory board ($295)

Software

MS-DOS 2.1, GW BASIC, TIM

IV, Perfect Writer, Speller, Calc, Filer, Fast Graphs, Asynchronous Communications, Space Commanders, and an AT.I. tutorials package

Documentation

All software manuals, 117-page MPC-VP Operations Guide, tutorial

Price

$2495

VP plus (with an additional 256K bytes of RAM storage) available for $2695

MEMORY SIZE (K BYTES)

0 200 400 600

DISK STORAGE (K BYTES) 1000 0 400 800 1200 1600 2000

M

m

m

PRICE {$ 1000) 0 2

COLUMBIA VP

IBM PC

APPLE HE

The Memory Size graph shows the standard and optional memory available for the computers under comparison. The Disk Storage graph shows the highest capacity of a single floppy-disk drive for each system. The Bundled Software graph shows the number of packages included with each system. The Price graph shows the list price of a system with two high-capacity floppy-disk drives, a monochrome

monitor, graphics and color-display capability, a printer port and a serial port, 256K bytes of memory (64K bytes for 8-bit systems), the standard operating systems for the computers being compared, and the standard BASIC interpreter for each system. Note that the VP comes with graphics capability as standard but does not support color capabilities.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 279

The rear panel. The parallel and serial ports are at the lower right. The expansion slot protector plate is at the far left.

The top view. The disk drive housing is at the top left. The expansion slot is below and to the left of the disk drive.

DISK 250

200

150

100

50

ACCESS IN BASIC (SEC)

SIEVE

CALCULATIONS

SYSTEM UTILITIES (SEC) 50

READSHEET (SEC)

40K FORMAT/DISK COPY

40K FILE COPY

LOAD

RECALCULATE

COLUMBIA VP Iji&xj&jl IBM PC Y///X APPLE TIE

The Disk Access in BASIC graph shows how long it takes to write a 64K-byte sequential text file to a blank floppy disk and how long it takes to read this file. (For the program listings, see June, page 327 and October, page 33.) The Sieve bar in the BASIC Performance graph shows how long it fakes to run one iteration of the Sieve of Eratosthenes prime-number benchmark. The Calculations bar shows how long it takes to do 10,000 multiplication and division operations

using single-precision numbers, The System Utilities graph shows how long it takes to format and copy a disk (adjusted time for 49K bytes of disk data) and to transfer a 40K-byte file using the system utilities. The Spreadsheet graph shows how long the computers take to load and recalculate a 25* by 25-cell spreadsheet where each cell equals 1.001 times the cell to its left. The spreadsheet program used was Microsoft Multiplan. DOS 3.3 was used for the Apple tests.

280 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

REVIEW: THE VP

I have found very few programs for the IBM PC that the VP cant run.

of the portable, I ran into a problem getting the speaker extensions to reach far enough. Once the Quadlink was installed, the computer worked fine as a Columbia, but I was not able to get it to recognize Apple disks. Apparently this was common with the early software—Quadram has since revised its emulator software to fix the problem.

Compatibility

How compatible is the VP with the IBM PC? Happily, I have found very few programs written for the IBM PC that the VP can't run. If the program does not depend on specific IBM PC ROM (read-only memory) locations, there should be little problem in running the program on the VP

Flight Simulator (FS) from Microsoft is often used to check the level of IBM compatibility. The FS program ran fine on the VP, and the graphics the program generated were crisp and easy to see on the screen. I had no trouble flying the simulator (except that I crashed the plane a lot). The VP seems as close to 100 percent compatible as it could be without using the IBM PC ROMs. Columbia has made available a list of over 500 programs it has tested for compatibility with the VP

I often use MicroPro products (WordStar, InfoStar. CalcStar, etc.), the PFS series from Software Publishing, AshtonTate's dBASE II, and 1-2-3 from Lotus Development. They all run fine on the VP, but 1-2-3 requires a memory upgrade. If you have a specific application you need to use, you might want to try it on a VP at your dealer's first.

Documentation

You get two kinds of documentation with the VP: manuals accompanying

{continued)

Achieve laboratory automation at low cost—connect a DAISI™ (Data Acquisition and Instrument Systems Interface) to your Apple® // or He Computer.

DAISI peripheral devices...

■ Interface with Apple // and Apple lie Computers and their

lookalikes

■ Work with all popular language systems

■ Come with cable, instructional diskette and comprehensive manual

DAISI and Apple work together as a single system to measure, monitor, time, analyze, control and record a wide variety of research and testing functions.

DAISI peripherals plug easily into any Apple expansion slot, ready to be used in chromatography, environmental data collection, evoked response, gas analysis, spectroscopy, signal processing, solar heating, mechanical measurement, structural testing, and many more functional applications.

The AM 3 analog-to-digital converter reads instruments and sensors and has its own external unit for easy cable access.

DISCOVER NEW HORIZONS IN

AND KEEP YOUR COSTS DOWN TO EARTH

Here's a rundown on the

DAISI Peripherals:

AI13 12-Bit Analog

Input Interface..... .......$550

* 16 input channels

■ 20 microseconds conversion time

DI09 Digital Interface

with Timers......................$330

■ timing and interrupt capability

■ direct connection to BCD digits, switches, relays

AO03 8-Bit Analog

Output Interface .......$195-$437

■ up to 8 independent channels

■ range and offset adjustable AI02 8-Bit Analog

Input Interface........... $299

■ 16 input channels

■ 70 microseconds conversion time

Plus the SC14 system for front-end signal conditioning and amplification, the UI16 isolation system for AC or DC power input or output, and more ...

(Designed and manufactured in the USA)

AND NOW . . . AMPRIS™

An easy add-on to Applesoft®

BASIC.

With AMPRIS you can:

■ Read and store analog and

digital inputs

■ Send out analog and digital

outputs

■ Set, read and control the DI09

counters

■ Set, read and control the DI09

shift registers

■ Make full use of the DI09 inter-

rupt capability

Using AMPRIS is as easy as inserting an ampersand (&) command where you would normally insert an Applesoft command. For more information about the complete line of DAISI peripheral devices and the full spectrum of their applications, write or phone:

Interactive Structures, Inc. 146 Montgomery Avenue Bala Cynwycl, PA 19004 Telephone: (215) 667-1713

Circle 219 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 281

REVIEW: THE VP

The fact that the VP can run MS-DOS and CP/M-86 makes it a very versatile system.

the software and manuals that are devoted to the system itself. The software manuals are, for the most part, well done. Essentially, they are the standard commercial manuals that accompany software packages with a Columbia Data Products cover and copyright notice. I didn't have any problem using any of them and I think even a novice user would be able to use them effectively.

The documentation dedicated to the system consists of a short introductory-type manual to get you up and running and a thicker MPC-VP Operations Guide. The tutorial is a short "follow these instructions exactly" manual that teaches you how to back up all the disks that accompany the system and describes the differences between the MS-DOS and CP/M-86 operating systems. Due to serialization requirements, you do not get the CP/M-86 operating system with the rest of the computer system at the time of purchase Tb get your copy of CP/M-86 you have to send a card to Columbia, which will then send you a disk containing the operating system and a small booklet (which was being rewritten at the time I was writing this review) describing the Columbia implementation of CP/M-86.

The MPC-VP Operations Guide contains all the information you need to get the system up and running, plus sections on the company's theory of operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance. There are also indexes detailing specifications, pin-outs, ROM listings, peripherals, keyboard-code generation, and a guide to the software accompanying the system.

For those of you who want more detailed information, there is a technical reference manual under development. It will cost approximately $200.1 looked at selected portions of the draft documentation and

282 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

it is complete but probably unnecessary for most users. Overall, the documentation accompanying the VP is more than adequate for all levels of users.

Technical Support

Technical support for the VP includes standard dealer support, a customer-support division at Columbia, and system-maintenance support provided by Bell & Howell Service Company.

Bell & Howell provides on-site or depot (you bring it in) maintenance for Columbia products for an annual fee. This service is available nationwide. For more information contact Bell & Howell at 6800 McCormick Rd„ Chicago, 1L 60645.

Conclusions

The Columbia Multipersonal Com-puter-VP is one of the best overall bargains on the market today. It is a transportable, albeit heavy computer that you can use wherever there is a wall plug. Included in the purchase price is all the software you will probably ever need. The Perfect Software set of applications is good, if not flashy.

The VP is compatible with most software designed for the IBM PC. I was able to run all of the popular business software I had for the IBM PC on it and had no problems. Although the software that comes with the system should meet the needs of the majority of users, if you have an IBM-format application package you would prefer to use, you should be able to run it on the VP

The fact that the VP can run MS-DOS and CP/M-86 makes it a very versatile system.

Admittedly, parts of the system could be better—the keyboard could be improved upon, another expansion slot could be added, and the unit as a whole could be lighter. But, considering the VP's modest price, these are minor problems.

If you need a second, or even a first, computer system that gives you portability and IBM PC compatibility, the VP is an exceptionally good value. ■

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i[sap b no xnuLm

should look

The WY-50 is one ASCII terminal that makes economic sense without offending your aesthetic sense. At $695, it looks as smart to the people who pay for it as it does to the people who use it. No wonder it's now among the best-selling terminals in the world.

Like all our display products, the WY-50 combines an unusually small footprint with a very generous 14" diagonal display. The non-glare screen tilts, swivels, and displays a full 132-column format. The low-profile keyboard adjusts, too, for perfect fit and feel.

The WY-50 offers full software and hardware compatibility with most computer systems. And at $695, its price/performance is unbeatable/More intelligence inside and out. For more information about our complete line of products, write or call Wyse Technology, 3040 N. First Street, San Jose, CA 95134, (408) 946-3075. Outside of California 800-421-1058. To find out where you can see the WY-50 demonstrated, call the regional office nearest you.

WYSE

See us at

C0IMMH7MI '84

East Hall Booth #378

Regional Offices: Northeast(201) 725-5054; Southeast (305) 862-2221; Midwest (313) 471-1565; Southwest (213) 340-2013; Northwest (408) 559-5911

:le 427 on Inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE

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SOFTWARE REVIEW

Leading Edge and MultiMate

Dedicated

word

processor

might not be for everyone

BY C J PUOTINEN

A few short years ago, which is a long time in the world of computers, there were two approaches to word processing. You could use an office word processor, a single-purpose computer whose keys were clearly labeled ac-prOgramS cording to function, or you could use a microcomputer with a program like WordStar, which meant learning a confusing array of letter-key commands.

The dedicated machines left little to chance. Unlike their microcomputer counterparts, they stored text automatically and used a logical if restrictive approach to move, copy, and delete commands. The microcomputer programs made more demands on new users, but their commands could be more flexible and, in some cases, their execution times faster.

The IBM Personal Computer's success offered software companies an opportunity to design programs for a microcomputer widely used in business offices. Developers could take advantage of special-purpose keys in combination with the Control, Shift, and Alternate keys, practically eliminating the need for letter-key commands.

Now a microcomputer could act like a dedicated word processor. Before you could say Wang Writer, dedication became a buzzword. Are the dedicated word processor programs the answer to a secretary's prayer? Are they fast, efficient, and easy to learn? In this review I will examine MultiMate and Leading Edge Word Processing, two programs riding the dedicated wave.

THE Trailing Edge

When the Leading Edge package appeared in late 1983, full-page, full-color advertisements hailed it as "the most powerful word processing package ever created for the IBM Personal Computer" and a model of sophistication and simplicity. Embracing the latest fads in word processing, Leading Edge splits the screen into two windows, uses layered menus, and emulates a dedi-

C J Puotinen (POB M-52 5,

Hoboken. NJ 07030) is the author

of The Last Word on WordStar

and Using the IBM Personal

Computer: MultiMate.

cated word processor so successfully that a typist need never encounter a DOS (disk operating system) command, even during installation.

Its slick, colorful manual is the most graphically interesting I've seen, and so are its stand-up cue card, 91-page training guide and disk, quick-reference card, and keyboard template,

I spent months looking forward to trying the Leading Edge word processor. Alas, the program offers little more than a pretty face. In a competitive market where speed and efficiency matter, it uses an awkward command structure and confusing procedures. Worst of all, it's slow. Fortunately, its price has been lowered from $295 to $100.

Learning the Program

The Leading Edge tutorial disk provides short, simple memos that you correct as instructed in five embarrassingly worded lessons. I can only wonder at the intended audience.

"Congratulations. Your mild-mannered computer has emerged from the phone booth..." "Wow! My typing's on TV!" "Congratulations. Your typing is a television hit." "Congratulations. You're now a licensed return key operator." "When you want somebody to read what you've written on Leading Edge Word Processing, don't mail them the computer. Here's a much easier way" There's more, but I'll spare you.

Color-coded cardboard dividers separate and label the manual's three main sections: essentials, functions, and etceteras. "Each section," says the introduction, "is an independent unit. The manual is not meant to be read from cover to cover. It is designed so that you can find exactly what you want—when you want it."

Well, that depends. There's no index, so reading the manual from cover to cover is the only way to locate most commands. You could spend a long time searching for the procedure for justifying the right margin (it's

[continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 287

REVIEW: LEADING EDGE & MULTIMATE

MultiMate's manual has been rated superior to most . . .

in the Format Line section), deleting more than a single character (see Cut commands), entering boldface type (Fancy Print), and moving blocks of text (Paste commands). You don't move or copy document files; you "archive" them. You don't copy text from one place to another; you "name paste" or "super name paste" it.

The manual provides no narrative description or overview and its explanations are so curt and cryptic that deciphering commands can be a major task, especially for new users.

Editor at Work

Where most microcomputer programs refer to disk drives, Leading Edge refers to Drawer A and Drawer B. Each drawer can hold up to 32 folders and each folder up to 32 documents.

When you first open a folder, the program creates a standard document. Here's how the manual describes it:

The LE Standard Document is automatically created by Leading Edge Word Processing. There is one standard document per folder. It consists of a format line with a left margin of 0 and a right margin of 80. You may choose to use this format as is or to assist you in establishing new formats for the creation of new documents. Establishing new formats may be useful for creating standard memos, letters, reports, etc.

What the manual doesn't explain is that you can never erase a standard document, that you can edit this file any way you like, and that whatever you store in a standard document (text and/or format lines) will appear automatically in every new file you create within its folder.

The filing system offers certain advantages. Filenames can be a full 30 characters long, including spaces. Folders can be treated as single units

and copied from one disk to another moved, or erased; their contents can be rearranged as well. But clear disk labels are essential, for the DOS directory command reveals nothing about a disk's contents; to review filenames, you have to load the program and consult its folder directories, a procedure that involves menu changes.

Looking at MultiMate

In 1982, after adding IBM PCs to its collection of Wang word processors, Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. hired a software-development company to transform its microcomputers into Wang Writers. The development company, WH. Jones & Associates, agreed on the condition that it retain marketing rights to the program. In December 1982, WordMate made its debut. For trademark reasons and to reflect future enhancements, Word-Mate became MultiMate; the development company, which changed its name to SoftWord Systems, recently became Multimate International.

Though MultiMate cannot do everything the Wang does, it comes as close as can be expected for a program requiring 2 56Kbytes of RAM. As a result, it is easy for novice users to learn, especially those who have Wang experience. In fact, MultiMate owes much of its success to the wide base of office workers already trained on that equipment.

Command Structure

MultiMate comes with a color-coded keyboard chart and matching template. Stick-on labels used in previous releases have been discontinued.

On the color charts, the Control key is orange and the Alternate key is green. Keys are labeled on the charts with both color and function.

For example, the F2 key carries four labels. On the top of the key it says PgComb above the F2 and PgBrk below it. On the front side, it says Repag on an orange stripe and PgLgth on a green one. Initiates can decipher this key at a glance: F2 by itself sets a page break; Shift-F2 combines the page you're on with the next page, assuming you enter the command from

the page's last line; Ctrl-F2 starts automatic repagination to adjust the length of edited pages; and Alt-F2 lets you change a document's lines-per-page setting.

Documentation

MultiMate's manual is easy to use, with instructions at left, explanations at right, and a built-in easel that positions the book for easy reading. An introduction offers basic information and definitions; a chapter called "Getting Started" explains the keyboard, command structure, and start-up procedures; and four training lessons introduce the program. A reference section takes up most of the manual and provides more detailed instructions. These are necessary for those commands described briefly in the training lessons or not at all on the tutorial disk accompanying version 3.22, MultiMate's latest release. A glossary and index complete the manual.

MultiMate's documentation has been well received and rated superior to most, but that has more to do with the sorry state of computer documentation than writing talent. There are irritating inconsistencies in this program and its documentation, and some procedures aren't adequately described.

You enter some commands with the Return key, others with the F10 key, and some with either. The Escape key cancels most but not all commands. For example, to cancel a replacement command, you type the number 3; the program ignores the Escape key

Practically every command that requires user input displays the previously typed entry, and MultiMate continues to display the old name as you type the new one. This creates confusion because in some but not all cases, you must erase surviving characters from the old name before entering the command. If the two entries are so similar that you need to change only a single character, you must remember that search/replace commands ignore displayed characters to the right of the cursor, while nearly every other command includes

[continued)

288 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

AT A GLANCE

Product

Leading Edge Word Processing

Manufacturer

Leading Edge Products 21 Highland Circle Needham, MA 02194 (617) 449-6762

Computer

IBM PC, XT, or compatible; 256K bytes RAM

Price

$100; $150 with mail-merge program

Product

MultiMate Professional Word Processor 3.22

Manufacturer

Multimate International

Corporation 52 Oakland Ave. N East Hartford, CT 06108 (203) 522-2116

Computer

IBM PC, XT, or compatible; 256K bytes RAM

Price

$495, includes spelling checker and tutorial disk

LOAD (SEC) 50

40

30

20

10

42

* Va

SAVE (SEC) 25

20

15

10

SCROLL (SEC) 150

SVRCH (SEC)

60

138

44

31

LEADING EDGE XMM MULTIMATE

WORDSTAR 3.3

The graphs show the results, in seconds, of performing various standard word-processing functions using a 4000-word text file. The Load graph shows the time required to load the file from disk to memory. The Save graph shows the time required to save the file on disk. The Scroll graph illustrates the time required to scroll

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REVIEW: LEADING EDGE & MULTIMATE

them. Several of the help screens suffer from typographical errors, and some, written for previous releases, are no longer accurate.

The documentation is strongest when it describes routine commands, such as those used in short reports and correspondence; it's weakest in descriptions of complicated commands and procedures, and it makes no mention of program inconsistencies. Worse, it doesn't mention bugs, and MultiMate suffers from several. Some are harmless or merely irritating. One can wreck your files.

Repagination

When you add new material or erase old material, pages change length. To correct imbalances and let you reformat material for legal-sized paper or short forms, MultiMate has an automatic repagination command.

It works without a hitch if the file contains heading or footing commands on the first page only or none at all, if the document uses the same format throughout, and if the page length hasn't been shortened.

I set a wide, single-spaced format at the beginning of a file and a narrow, double-spaced format in the middle of the first page. Before using the automatic repagination command, I typed and edited several additional pages, all using the double-spaced format. During automatic repagination, MultiMate inserted spurious format lines on every page, sometimes the wide format line, sometimes the narrow one. Nearly every unauthorized format line divided a sentence or paragraph. Each inserted a hard carriage-return symbol at the end of the text line preceding it, and in some cases these symbols were impossible to erase.

I developed a tedious routine for removing the symbols; if the delete command worked, I saved the page and returned to try another one. But sometimes the program refused to let me back in. "Cannot load this page," said the screen. Once this message appeared instead: "Out of record space—press any key to continue." This happened in a short file on a disk

with 124K bytes available. When I did as instructed, part of the format line at the top of page 1 disappeared and the screen filled with upside-down question marks. The Escape key brought no relief, and the program ignored my reboot command. To resume the edit session, I had to shut the power off and start over.

The repagination command doesn't like headings or footings, either. Each heading occupies at least three lines (one for the "start heading" symbol, one for the heading's text, and one for the "end heading" symbol). The same is true for footings, and either can be up to five lines long. But MultiMate can't tell the difference between a heading/footing command and regular text, so when automatic repagination encounters these commands on any page but page 1, it rearranges them. Your page 3 footing might appear near the top of page 4, or a page break might separate its parts.

Changing the lines-per-page setting generates a different problem. Experimenting with a long file of alphabetical entries, I shortened the page length from 55 lines of text to 40. Automatic repagination sent text from page 1 to the end of the file, material from the middle came to the front, and several paragraphs from what had been the end were scattered through the file.

Because MultiMate saves every page as you leave it, the results of automatic repagination are permanent. If my file doesn't pass the three-part checklist (one format setting only no headings or footings after page 1, and no revised page length), I repaginate by hand. It's a slow procedure, but it doesn't have any bugs.

By the time this article appears, Multimate International might have repaired the repagination command in version 3.3, scheduled for late summer release—but this defect was a problem in version 3.11 and should have been solved in version 3.2.

As disturbing as I found some of MultiMate's tendencies, they inconvenience few of the program's users, most of whom type only routine cor-

(continued)

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NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 291

REVIEW: LEADING EDGE & MULTIMATE

respondence and short reports. It's when you deal with long or complicated files that you run risks.

Inside Document Files

Both MultiMate and Leading Edge make extensive use of the IBM PC's function keys, reconfigure text automatically, and store material continuously Both provide merge print programs, but MultiMate supplies a spelling checker as well.

Leading Edge uses more menus and more layers of menus than Multi-Mate and it ignores the Return key in favor of the Execute key Leading Edge's name for the gray plus (+) key on the IBM's numeric keypad.

To give credit where it's due, Leading Edge outperforms MultiMate in a number of categories. The approach to onscreen formatting is similar, but MultiMate uses more embedded commands and does not display a justified right margin. Because Leading Edge recognizes the difference between alphanumeric characters and format symbols such as hard return or tab indent characters, it preserves the format symbols as you overtype old screen text. MultiMate can't tell the difference, so it's easy to erase format symbols accidentally, a situation made more confusing by the immediate reconfiguration of surviving

screen text. Leading Edge is a refreshing change from MultiMate and a hundred other programs because it sends the cursor straight up and down the screen instead of zigzagging, even when it moves to an empty line.

Both programs store text continuously, a feature I find inconvenient for creative projects or manuscripts requiring extensive revision. If you like a file's previous version better, you can't restore it by canceling your edit session. Since MultiMate saves each page as you leave it, you can cancel a single page if desired. Leading Edge saves to disk 10 seconds after you stop typing, which can be disconcerting, and it interrupts a busy typing session frequently.

MultiMate is the more page-oriented program; it sets pages automatically and treats each page as a separate subfile. To see a new page, you must leave the old one. Leading Edge displays page-break lines and lets you see more than one page at a time. No page-break lines appear until you return to the beginning of a document and enter the repagination command, and the program does not update page breaks as you add or remove text. In general, Leading Edge's pagination is more convenient than MultiMate's because it doesn't have page-length limitations, it can

display individual headings and footings after repagination, and it doesn't make a production out of moving from one page to another. Even considering these advantages, however, Leading Edge is harder to understand, slower, and less convenient than MultiMate.

Printing Attributes

Leading Edge's fancy print category includes underlining, double underlining, boldface type, wide boldface, double wide print, subscripts, superscripts, italics, strike-through, color monitor selections, and color printing.

You can enter the appropriate command before typing text or type first and apply attributes later in a block procedure. Automatic underlining is the only single-keystroke attribute command; the others require seven keystrokes and two menus. Though the underline appears on monochrome monitors, underlined characters display on color monitors in inverse video. The advantage to this escapes me because all other attributes display on either monitor as inverse video. You can request a screen notation defining attributes, but only one message can appear at a time. If you use a variety of attributes, you must visit each word separately and enter two or more commands to determine which words are boldface subscripts, for example, and which are italicized superscripts.

Though automatic attributes sound convenient, the screen can't keep up as you type. When I attempted to enter three lines of italic text, I filled the keyboard buffer, which made the screen beep, and then waited while the characters appeared at the rate of two per second. It takes less time to type the material first, then mark it as a block and apply the desired attributes. WordStar and MultiMate don't handicap the user, and Multi-Mate offers more versatile underline commands.

Mystery Search Command

WordStar and MultiMate display your search string as you type. The string

[continued]

292 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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REVIEW: LEADING EDGE & MULTIMATE

remains on the screen until you cancel or execute the command, giving you plenty of time to verify it and make changes. Leading Edge doesn't subscribe to this user-friendly philosophy.

Whether you press the Execute key or not, the program starts its search as soon as you type the string's first character. As if this weren't confusing enough, it displays only the string's first character until it matches that character, then it displays the next character as well, and so on. Not until the cursor stops at an exact match does the entire string display on the search line. If the program can't find an exact match, it never does display the string; instead, a "Cancel search/ replace" message appears. You can't tell whether you typed the string correctly.

Both programs offer automatic global replacements (see table 1), though Leading Edge's command sequence is by far the more awkward. WordStar and MultiMate provide discretionary (yes/no) global commands; Leading Edge requires you to press a key each time you want to repeat the command.

Unlike Leading Edge, WordStar and MultiMate provide numerous screen prompts and yes/no verification messages at possible replacements. Unless the Leading Edge manual or cue card is beside you, it's hard to remember the commands for special wild cards, ignoring case, and global

replacements. Even a simple search/ replace command requires several steps: position the cursor at the beginning of the file or where you want the search to begin; press the F7 (search) key; type the word or phrase to be replaced; when the cursor stops at the first match, press Shift-F7; type the replacement word or phrase; press the Execute key.

The command repeats automatically. To confirm the offered replacement and go to the next appearance, press the Execute key again, lb go to the next appearance without making the offered replacement, press F7.

If Leading Edge's search/replace commands are confusing and awkward, their speed adds injury to insult. In a 4000-word benchmark file, Leading Edge needed 1 minute and 2 seconds to find a word that WordStar located in 4 seconds. But more stunning (I ran the test twice to confirm this) was its automatic global replacement of a word that appeared 400 times. WordStar completed the task in 21 seconds with its screen display suppressed. I thought MultiMate was slow at 6 minutes 2 5 seconds. Leading Edge took 30 minutes 40 seconds.

Cut and Paste

Leading Edge doesn't use the familiar nomenclature of block commands, such as move, copy, and delete. The cut command erases a block of highlighted text. The paste command inserts previously cut text at the cursor.

A named cut is given a one-letter label as it's erased; a named paste inserts the specified named cut. lb copy a block of text, you must erase it first, then restore it at the original position and insert it at the new location.

The super name paste command moves text from one window to the other.

Boilerplate

Like many new programs, and unlike WordStar, MultiMate and Leading Edge provide special commands for storing and inserting boilerplate text and for entering frequently used keystroke sequences automatically.

The library is MultiMate's boilerplate mechanism, and its key procedures store keystrokes. Leading Edge includes both functions in its glossary command.

Both programs name their entries: MultiMate allows up to three characters and Leading Edge limits the name to a single letter.

The programs are similar in keystroke execution but worlds apart in handling of text—and the automatic insertion of text is what word processing is all about. When called for, Multi-Mate's library entries appear all at once. Leading Edge, which goes out of its way to do things differently, brings the text in one line at a time. I prepared the same 500-word page of text as a MultiMate library entry and a Leading Edge glossary file. It took MultiMate less than 4 seconds to execute the command and insert the text, but Leading Edge needed 1 minute 27 seconds.

Benchmark TtSTS

Using the same 4000-word benchmark file for each program, I tested WordStar 3.3, MultiMate 3.2, and Leading Edge 1.1 with standard BYTE procedures plus a few of my own (see table 2). I ran the tests on an IBM Personal Computer with dual disk drives and 256K bytes of RAM.

In the move-to-end-of-file test, Leading Edge took 5 seconds to go from the first line of the benchmark file to the last, WordStar required 7 seconds,

[continued)

294 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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REVIEW: LEADING EDGE & MULTIMATE

and MultiMate used 6 seconds. Moving from the file's last line to its first took Leading Edge 1.5 seconds, WordStar 1 second, and MultiMate 6 seconds. In this category, the performance differences are negligible

Document saving times are hard to compute for Leading Edge and Multi-Mate because they save text automatically MultiMate saves every page as you leave it, a procedure that takes 5 to 7 seconds. Leading Edge saves text when you stop typing and at frequent intervals throughout a busy edit session. I timed the programs as they closed the benchmark file and returned to the main menu. Leading Edge needed 3 seconds and Multi-Mate 8. WordStar saved the file and returned to the main menu in 22 seconds.

For program loading, WordStar loads from disk in 8 seconds. Multi-Mate and Leading Edge take longer and the loading procedure includes an extra keystroke; both display copyright messages and "Press any key to continue." MultiMate's minimum loading time was 16 seconds, Leading Edge's 20 seconds.

Loading times for the benchmark file varied dramatically. It took WordStar 7 seconds to load the benchmark file, MultiMate 4 seconds (3 to display the document summary screen and 1 to display the file), and Leading Edge

took 42 seconds. Leading Edge makes a backup copy not when you leave a file but when you enter it again, and the procedure makes a real racket. The longer the file, the more the disk drive sounds like a demented mechanical calculator.

Using the down-arrow key to scroll manually through the document is another benchmark test. WordStar was the fastest program, going from first to last lines in 31 seconds. Leading Edge's 44 seconds might be slower, but MultiMate needed 2 minutes 18 seconds to complete the test.

The last BYTE benchmark test is a search command; it begins at the file's first line and looks for the file's last word, which appears only once. WordStar found the word in 4 seconds, MultiMate in 49, and Leading Edge in 1 minute 2 seconds. As mentioned, the global replacement comparison is even more dramatic.

lb show that Leading Edge's pace isn't my imagination, I ran some additional tests. For example, WordStar deletes a line instantaneously; Leading Edge leaves the line onscreen for a full 2 seconds after you enter the appropriate cut command, and it spends another second updating the screen.

No matter where you are in a WordStar file, you can enter the "go to end of file" command, and the cursor

moves directly to the file's last line. Enter this command in a Leading Edge file and the cursor moves to the top of the last page, pauses, and continues to the end. If you're already on the last page, this program scrolls up to the top of the page and pauses before moving down to the end, a procedure that consumes half a minute on long pages.

Merge and Print

MultiMate's built-in merge program might not be the fastest in town, but compared to Leading Edge's, it's a model of simplicity. Someone already familiar with records, fields, delimiters, nonhyphenated field specifiers, and hyphenated field specifiers might be able to follow the Leading Edge procedure, but its documentation seems designed to confuse novice users.

MultiMate's merge program is easy to understand and use, and it doesn't require file conversion. Leading Edge merge files must be converted to ASCII format before printing.

Printing is a straightforward operation once you decipher the Leading Edge print menu. Each line is a menu item, lb change a value, you move the highlighting up or down, press the Execute key, type the correction, and press Execute again. Printing begins when you move highlighting back to the top line (or the second line for merge printing) and press the Execute key.

Dedicated word processors were designed for busy offices, and it's in the printing department, where time is money, that MultiMate leaves both Leading Edge and WordStar behind. WordStar and Leading Edge let you print one file while editing another, but MultiMate uses a printer queue/ spooler that frees the operator from waiting for one file to finish printing before entering the next file's print command.

With MultiMate you can delay the print session to a specific time, enter the commands for printing a dozen files one after another, rearrange files in the queue, and go out to lunch while the printer carries out your com-

{continued)

296 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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REVIEW: LEADING EDGE & MULTIMATE

mands. MultiMate supports sheet feeders in addition to a wide range of printers (40 at last count), making it a more practical and office-oriented program.

Leading Edge supports a number of printers: the Leading Edge Letter Quality Leading Edge Dot Matrix, IBM Matrix, NEC 3550, Prism, PrismPro, and PrismRGB. By the time this review appears, Leading Edge users will be able to call the company to request support programs for specific printers in addition to those listed here

Disk Recovery

As you enter a Leading Edge file, the screen displays available disk space as a percentage figure, and if the disk is nearly full, a warning message tells you to erase unnecessary files. But there is no recovery from a full disk, and you can damage files in other ways as well. In one of my practice files, the program froze as soon as the cursor reached the second page, and I still don't know why Substituting the backup copy for the current version didn't help.

Although the program beeps and flashes warning messages when you approach a full disk while editing, it's possible to fill the disk while entering text with gallery or paste commands and receive the warnings too late. There's no mistaking a too-full-to-save document; the screen fills with small arrows and if you try to reload the file a message says, "Document truncated, please restore it from backup." Using the backup procedure doesn't necessarily rescue the file, so a full disk is a serious matter.

MultiMate's save-every-page procedure protects all but the page you're working on when the disk fills. The exception to this rule is important. MultiMate's external copy command lets you insert text of any length, and the program doesn't check for sufficient room on the disk or in the file (maximum file length: 128,000 bytes). MultiMate inserts the text and reconfigures the file. If you don't have sufficient room for your old text, it disappears. Because Multi-Mate saves text automatically (mak-

ing it impossible to cancel an edit session and return to the file's previous version) and because the program doesn't provide backup copies, this command can be dangerous.

For more information, see the comparison of save/store command options shown in table 3.

TriE Bottom Line

Leading Edge has no shortage of bells and whistles, from its "Gee Whiz" keys that transpose letters and reverse upper- and lowercase letters to its special commands for generating solid lines, international and U.S. decimal tabs, reverse indent, dot leader tabs, right flush tabs, alternate page headings and footings, archive procedures, "hot print," and a dozen more. It looks very very nice. Also, it costs only $100.

But Leading Edge is poorly documented, slow, and inefficient. It doesn't hold a candle to WordStar when it comes to standard word processing, and when you compare the commands that matter, it doesn't threaten MultiMate

A Final Thought

'There's someone for everyone," promises the old saying, and there's a word-processing program for everyone, too. In an office setting, where users have little or no computer experience, programs like MultiMate and Leading Edge might be easy to teach because they are designed for correspondence and short reports, projects that require few commands. Many novice users fear the loss of documents and find the save-as-you-go feature reassuring.

Relatively few office workers use the procedures needed in complex projects, procedures that, in both programs, are hard to decipher, awkward, and sometimes dangerous. Novice users tolerate restrictive command procedures because they have nothing to contrast them with and because constant screen prompts are reassuring.

Slow as they are, the dedicated programs are faster than a typewriter. But they aren't for everyone. ■

298 BYTE ■ NOVEMBER 1984

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I/O Plus from $139.00

QUADRAM

Quadlink 64K ....$479.00

Quadboard II as low as....,.$309.00

Quad 512 Plus...as low as.....,$259.00

Quadcolor I. ...$219.00

Chronograph..

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data systems

PC COMPATIBLE

PC-150 Desktop GALL

PC-160 Portable CALL

Gall for price and configurations

APPLE He STARTER PACK

64K Apple He, Disk Drive & Controller, 80 Column Card, Monitor II & DOS 3.3 CALL

MCB MBC MBC MBC

880 $699.00

880-8 ..$749.00

888 $949.00

886-8 $1099.00

Parallel Interface Board $89.99

64K RAM Chips Kit $49.99

PARADISE

Multi-Display Card $339.00

Modular Graphics Card $319.00

SPI

Open Access $339.00

Home Accounting Plus $88.99

LOTUS

Symphony $499.00

1-2-3 $319.00

PROFESSIONAL SOFTWARE

PC Plus/The Boss $269.00

SYNAPSE File Manager $59.99

SOFTWARE

ELECTRONIC ARTS One on One Music Construction Pintail Construction Cut & Paste Hard Hat Mack

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IBM

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Code Writer VisiCorp

VisiCalc PFS:

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Apple

$29.99 $29.99 $29.99 $39.99 $27.99

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300 Green.. .........: $129.00

300 Amber.,... .$149.00

310 Amber IBM Plug $169.00

Color 300/audio $269.00

Color 500 Composlte/RGB/VCR$389.00

Color 600 Hires(640 x 240) $549.00

Color 700 Hires(720 * 240) $639.00

Color 710 Long Phosphor $679.00

BMC 1201 Plus (12" Green Hi-Res).$98.99

9191 Plus $249.00

GORILLA 12" Green^.#^^^^^^^^^$89.99

12" Amber $89.99

NEC

JB 1206 Green $109.00

JB 1201 Green $139.99

JB 1205 Amber ....$149.99

JB 1215 Color $269.00

JC 1216 RGB $429.00

JC 1460 Color $369.00

PRINCETON GRAPHICS MAX-T2 Amber..

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SR-12 RGB

100 12" 1 Green $125.00

121 IBM Green $149.00

100 12" Amber $135.00

122 IBM Amber $159.00

210 Color RGB.;,. ..,. .$269.00

400 Med-Res RGB $319.00

416 Hi-Res RGB $439.00

420 HMtes RGB (IBM)...;,. $469.00

9" Green $99.99

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1400 Color $249.99

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Pi 1, Pi 2, Pi 3, Pi 4,

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ANCHOR

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Mark XL Serial

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Magic Spells Word Spinner Bumble Games Addition Magician Reader Rabbit *Call on Titles

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Smartmodem 1, Micromodem T. Micromodem 1 Smart Com II.. Chronograph...

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________ NOVATION

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Dial)$99.99 Smart Cat 103. $179.00

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$99.99 AutoCat $219.00

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Apple Cat II $249.00

$199.00 212 Apple Cat $449.00

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$419.00 Smart Cat Plus $339.00

$269 00 ZENITH

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Atari (ROM) $79.99

C-64 $79.99

IBM $99.99

Apple/Franklin $86.99

t% IXa i%l L \J t\ l/.C f\

_- west 800-648-3311

In NV call (702)588-5654

Order Status Number: 588-5654

P.O.Box 6689, Dept/100

Statellne, 1TV 89449

Canada

Ontario/Quebec 800-268-3974 Other Provinces800-268-4559

In Toronto call (4X6) 828-0866

Telex: 06-818960

S606 Dunwln Drive, Unit 3B, Dept.100

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L6L1T1 No risk, no deposit on C.O.D. orders and no waiting period for certified checks or money orders. Add 6% {minimum«$8) shipping and handling on all orders. Larger shipments may require additional charges. NV and PA residents add sales tax. All items suhject to availability and price change. Call today for our catalog.

300 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

east 800-233-8950

In PA cal l (717)387-957 5

Order Status Number: 327-9576

Customer Service Number: 327-1450

477 E. 3rd St Dept.100, Williamsport, PA 17701

■

m-nrf

■

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HOME COMPUTERS

AXIOM

AT-100 Atari Interface Printer! 199.00 AT-550 Atari Bidirectional,...$319.00

GP-100 Parallel Interface $189.00

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BMC

401 Letter Quality.;, ...,..,,.$539.00

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C.ITOH

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A10 {18 cps) Son of Starwriter$569.00

Hot Dot Matrix.... CALL

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P10-55 Printmaster.. $1249.00

COMREX

ComWriterll Letter Quality..$449.00

DIABLO

620 Letter Quality $949.00

630 API Letter Quality $1549.00

DAISYWRITBR

2000 $949.00

EPSON

MANNESMAN TALLY

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Spirit 80 $259.00

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Compact 2 $469.00

Compact RO $499.00

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500 Letter Quality 550 Letter Quality

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Gemini 16X.. Radix 10..., Radix 15,.. Powertype.

85C

101

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1025 Dot Matrix Printer

1027 Letter Quality Printer. 1030 DireclW^^^^Wfodem.

1050 Disk Drive

64 K Memory Module (600)..

Touch Table/Software.

Light Pen/Software.

CX22 Track Ball.

7097 Atari

4018 Pilot (]

405 Pilot (Educ.l,

8036 Atari Writer.

5049 VtslOaJ

,$199.00 4022 Pac Man $16.

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8031 Donkey Kong $32

8034 Pole Position $32,

8040 Donkey Kong Jr. $32.

8043 Ms Pacman $32.

8044 Joust .■■■■ : , :::1 , ,$32.

8045 Fehgo ....$16,

8052 Moon Patrol $32

4003 Assembler .$34

8126 Microsoft Basic I m II....,$64. 488 Communicator II..............$119.

99 ,99 ,99 99 99 99 99 98 99 99 99

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DISK DRIVES FOR ATARI

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HP 71B $419.90

HP 11C $62.99

HP 12C $92.99

HP 15C $92.99

HP 16C $92.99

HP 76D ... $999.99

HPIL Module.. $98.99

HPIL Cassette or Printer $359.99

Card Reader .......$143.99

Extended Function Module..,. J63.99 Time Module $63.99

maxell

5V4" MD-l, 5V4" MD-2 8" PD-1

8 1 ' PD-2

5 3 A" SS/DD ..$21.99

5V4" DS/DD $29.99

BIB 5V4" Disk Head Cleaner $14.99

SEC

PC-8801 Portable Computer...$439.

PC-8221A Thermal Printers..$149.

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P.Q-52ill ^6_8JC BAM..CJalp3_, _$1Q§^99_ PCV8306A 32K RAM Cartridge$329,00

SHARP

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PC-1250A $88.99

CE-125 Printer/Cassette..,■;..:..$128.99 CE-160 Color Printer Cassette! 171.99

CE-161 4K RAM $29.99

CE-156 8K RAM .............$49.99

CE-161 16K RAM. $134,99

CE-500 ROM Library ea $29.99

Dennison

Elephant 5V4 T ' S8/SD..., $15.99

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modore

aNHHMHHHHiHBHaSBRM39.00

CBM 8096 $869.00

CBM 9000 $999.00

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8032 to 9000 Upgrade.. $499.00

2031 LP Disk Drive $299.00

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8250 Disk Drive... $1249.00

4023 Printer $399.00

8023 Printer $589,00

6400 Printer. , ,........$1449.00

Z-RAML... $36900

Silicon Office $499.00

The Manager $199.00

SoftROM $125.00

VisiCalc $159.00

MSB BISK DRIVES

SD1 Disk Drive $349.00

SD2 Disk Drive $599.00

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Word Pro 3 Plus $189,00

Word Pro 4 Plus/5 Plus each.$239.00

Info Pro :'. $179.00

Administrator $399.00

Power $69.99

SX-64 Porta ble « $79 9.00

C B Xa. © 4.. • i . ■»■ ...«. ■ "n .. .' •.. .. 9 199.00

C1541 Disk Drive $249.00

C1530 Datasette $69.99

C1520 Color Printer/Plotter....$129.00

M-801 Dot Matrix Printer $219.00

C1526 Dot Matrix/Serial $299.00

C1702 Color Monito C13U Joystick.. C1312 Paddles..

C1600 VIC Modem,. $69.99

C1650 Auto Modeir. $89.99

Logo 64 :........ :... $49.S

Pilot 64 $39.99

Word Pro 64 Plus $59.99

Calc Result 64 $65.99

Calc Result Easy $39.99

.M.C.S aQLCoTorPrij DPS 1101 Daisy Pr Magic Voice Speech

Desk Organizer Lock..,..,,., ..$49.99

Vidtex Telecommunications $34.95

Superbase 64... $59.99

PERSONAL PERIPHERALS

Super Sketch Graphics Pad $39.99

COMPUTER::MALL ORDER

■

CJ

Canada

Ontario/Quebec 800-268-3974 Other Provinces800-268-4559

In Toronto call (416) 828-0866

Telex: 06-218960

2608 Dunwin Drive, Unit 3B, Dept.100

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L6L1T1 CANADIAN ORDERS: All prices are subject to shipping, tax and currency fluctuations. Call for exact pricing in Canada. INTERNATIONAL ORDERS: All orders placed with U.S. offices for de^^^^^HKle the Co^^^^H^^M^^M^^^H^^^^^^WWycertified^^^^^^ Include 3% (minimum $6) shipping and handling. EDUCATIONAL DISCOUNTS: Additional discounts are available to qualified Educational Institutions. APO & FPO: Add 3% (minimum $5) shipping and handling.

Circle 83 on inquiry card.

west 800-648-3311

In NV call (702)588-5654

Order Status Number: 588-5654

P.O.Box 6689, Dept.100

Stateline, NV 89449

east Esa

800-233-8950 ^^

In PA call (717)327-9675

Order Status Number: 327-9576

Customer Service Number: 327-14S0

477E,3rtLSt., Dept.100, Williamsport,PA 17701

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 301

A PDP-11 SYSTEM FOR ONLY $3995?

BELIEVE IT.

Quantity 1, Introductory Price, DEC Compatible, 6 Month Warranty

i

SYSTEMS

System Model

TA105-1 TA105-2 TA125-1 TA125-2 TA102-1 YES YES OPTION OPTION OPTION

I KMii^^^^^ 1 ^-^ 1 ^^^ 1 ^^^^ 1 ^

11/73 OPTION OPTION YES

1 Meg a a o

\ Floppy q ' z

Winchester OPTION 20MB 20MB Memory 1/4MB 1/4MB 1/4MB Serial Lines 4

Terminals

Price

40MB 1MB

80MB

1MB

$3995 $7400

1 1 6

$9675 $11700 $18,600

OPTIONS

% Meg Block Move Memory (Dual) $ 1100

1 Meg Block Move Memory (Quad) $ 1675

2 Meg Block Move Memory (Dual) $4950 20 Meg Winchester with Controller $2675 40 Meg Winchester with Controller $3275 Operating System General License (RM1V5.1,RSX11M,etc.) $ 650 RLV22-AK RL02 with Controller (22-Bit) $4250 RL02-AK RL02 Add on drive $2200 LA50 Printer (100 CPS) $ 595 WYSE 75 Terminal (VT100 compatible) $ 675

Trimarchi and Associates can completely configure a system for your particular needs. The above are only a few examples.

All systems have a 6-month parts, labor, air shipping, and 2-day turn around service warranty. Service contract beyond 6 months is $100/month.

All systems are 22-bit DEC compatible and will run all DEC software.

Trimarchi and Associates, Inc.

P.O. Box 560

State College, Pa. 16804

814 234-5659

• 10% educational discount available for these systems only.

302 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 404 on inquiry card.

TWO FORTH development

systems

for the

IBM PC

by Ernie TtLLO

SOFTWARE REVIEW

polyFORTH and PC/FORTH

Ernie Tello is a founding partner of

Integral Systems, an independent

software-development and consulting

firm. He can be reached at 3711

Capitola Rd., Santa Cruz, CA

95062.

In this review, I will discuss some of the capabilities made possible by the FORTH language and review two excellent implementations of it for the IBM Personal Computer (PC): polyFORTH II Level 3, from FORTH Inc., and PC/FORTH, from Laboratory Microsystems.

Long the programming language favored by scientists, hardware vendors, and process-control experts, FORTH has also been a favorite in-house development tool for a surprising number of large corporations. FORTH is now coming into the spotlight as a powerful language for commercial programming. A flood of new and innovative products written in FORTH has hit the market. Some of the better-known packages written in FORTH include EasyWriter, the original version from Cap'n Software; Easel, from Time Arts; Answer, from North American Business Systems; SAVVY, from Excalibur Technologies; Mastertype. from Lightning Software; and the integrated software system for the Gavilan computer. The adaptability and flexibility of FORTH lets it fit in the most diverse applications while remaining intrinsically modular.

FORTH is a threaded interpretive language. For a moment, forget the technical side of what this means. Consider a string of pearls or beads that can be threaded in various ways to create larger pieces from the same set of originals, suiting different needs and occasions. A FORTH programmer uses the basic precompiled words of FORTH to thread together other words that will be useful again and again for an application; the programmer then orchestrates them together into still higher-level words that may be used to create programs.

While defining functions and procedures in C and Pascal is in some ways comparable to this, the difference lies in the unrestricted ease and abandon with which it is done in FORTH.

But equally important to the programmer is FORTH's interactive environment, which helps the programmer by supplying, on re-

quest, information to help him program. You enter the word that asks for information about something in the system, and FORTH will immediately display the answer on the monitor. 1 will cite specific examples of this later on.

Another attribute of FORTH is the often startlingly small size of itself and the programs produced under it. FORTH packs an amazing number of powerful words into a very small space. For this reason it has long been favored by vendors of small dedicated hardware packages and by producers of coin-operated video games. FORTH programs fit in places too small for programs in just about any other language. Producing compact, efficient programs has been a keynote of the FORTH philosophy since its invention in 1970 by Charles Moore, who designed it for use in controlling radio telescopes.

Naturally, FORTH has its darker sides. The most frequent complaints are that it is unreadable and that you cannot produce stand-alone executable files, as you can with compiled languages. Another common criticism is that FORTH has no real standard dialect, that there are as many dialects of FORTH as there are FORTH users. And sometimes, too, there are complaints about the postfix notation.

There are three main reasons why FORTH is difficult to read for those new to it; its use of postfix or reverse Polish notation; its stack orientation, with various apparent "sleight of hand" tricks in manipulating the stack; and its total extensibility, which lets a programmer create the language as he goes, extending it toward its applications.

Experienced FORTH programmers readily admit it is harder to become accomplished in this language than in other higher-level languages. But the reward for learning FORTH is greater control over the size and speed of the programs you produce. Because of its friendly interactive environment, it is relatively easy to get started writing pro-

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE 303

REVIEW: polyFORTH & PC/FORTH

grams in FORTH. What is far more difficult is writing powerful and efficient high-level programs. Let's take a brief look at some of the more technical details of FORTH.

THREADED CODE

There are three common kinds of threaded code interpreters: direct threaded, indirect threaded, and token threaded. What they have in common is that programs consist of linked lists of addresses. At the very heart of FORTH is the address interpreter, a short routine (typically 10 bytes or less of machine code) that looks up the addresses of machine-code instructions to be executed.

Usually the FORTH language interpreter uses the instruction pointer (IP) to point to executable machine-code routines. The direct-threaded interpreter, the fastest of the three types, uses the contents of the IP to point directly to the executable code.

Most of the popular FORTH interpreters,, such as FIG (from the FORTH Interest Group), use the indirect-threaded approach. The IP points to a code field address (CFA) in system memory, which in turn points to the executable code routine. Although this extra address fetch costs more time, the routines for the FORTH interpreter are made less machine-dependent by using the indirect-threaded approach.

The token-threaded interpreter uses still another indirect address fetch, but because of the further loss in speed, this type has not found many implementations yet. One important new implementation using token-threading is MacFORTH.

Programming Environment

A good deal of FORTH programming involves handling the parameter stack for all parameter passing; when used properly FORTH naturally recycles its own programming environment without a need for periodic garbage collection, lb do this effectively, a FORTH programmer has a number of interactive tools at his disposal.

Most FORTH systems include the word .S , which nondestructively dis-

plays the current contents of the stack on the screen. For example, if you first enter the numbers 1 through 5 separated by spaces, .S shows

1 2 3 4 5 Ok

It should be noted that the FORTH stack is last in/first out, so 5 is on the top of the stack. With .S or its equivalent, you can use the standard FORTH words for stack manipulation and see the results of your change at each step. Here is a sample session, as it would appear on the monitor, that illustrates the effect of all the main FORTH stack operators. (User input is set in triumvirate type; the computer's response is set in italics. The entries affected by the succeeding manipulation are underlined.)

1 2 3 4 5 ok

.S

1 2 3 4 5 ok

SWAP .S

1 2 3 5 4 ok

DUP .S

1 23 5 4 4 ok

ROT .S

1 2 3 4 4 5 ok

OVER .S

1 2 3 4 4 5 4 ok

3 PICK .S

12344544 ok

DROP .S

1 2 3 4 ± 5 4 ok

DROP SWAP DROP .S

123 4 5 ok

4DROP DROP .8

0 ok

It can be very useful to have a word like .S in the FORTH interactive environment. It is very important in FORTH that routines do not leave anything on the stack. .S can be included for debugging purposes at the end of a new routine to show what, if anything, is left on the stack. Then, when the word is finished executing, it is usually simple to DROP as many things as you do not want to appear on the stack.

The adaptability of FORTH lends itself very well for use as a systems language for the implementation of other languages. At least two implementations of BASIC are written in

FORTH (one is by Charles Moore), as is a Tiny Pascal interpreter. There are also at least two implementations of LISP in FORTH, including a complete implementation at the University of Utrecht in Holland and a partial implementation in the United States.

polyFORTH II LEVEL 3

FORTH Inc., started by Charles Moore to satisfy the demand for FORTH systems, has been in business for a long time. Its current system is available for several microcomputers and minicomputers. polyFORTH is offered in a series of ascending levels with increasing software capability and support for increasing levels. This ranges from Level 2, a minimal system that lacks multiuser capability but has a "turnkey compiler," to Level 6, which includes all the bells and whistles and an on-site introductory course for companies. I've evaluated polyFORTH Level 3, with the powerful interactive graphics options.

polyFORTH Level 3 comes on two double-sided disks, one of which contains all the source screens. The other contains the "shadow block" documentation; each block of source code in the A drive is "shadowed" by the disk in the B drive. Hitting the Q key gives you an immediate help screen for the current screen block in A.

One of the main features of polyFORTH Level 3 is its stand-alone multiuser operating system. Instead of running under MS-DOS, polyFORTH does its own file and disk operations and has a multiprogrammer as an essential part of its interpreter. TWo kinds of tasks are supported: terminal (or foreground) tasks and control (or background) tasks. Every task has a parameter stack, return stack, and user variables. Terminal tasks have everything a control task has plus text I/O (input/output) facilities, serial line support, and their own user dictionary of commands. The minimum size for a terminal task is 2048 bytes, while that for a control task is 2 50 bytes.

In polyFORTH, concurrent tasks are inserted onto a "round robin" loop implemented by the word PAUSE .

{continued)

304 BYTE- NOVEMBER 1984

AT A GLANCE

Name

polyFORTH It Level 3

Type

FORTH programming language interpreter and

multitasking development system

Manufacturer

FORTH Inc.

2309 Pacific Coast Highway Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 (213) 372-8493

Price

$600

Format

Two 5 1 /4-inch double-density double-sided floppy disks

Computer System

IBM PC with two double-sided floppy-disk drives or one double-sided floppy-disk drive and a 10-megabyte hard disk, optional color graphics card, 8087 coprocessor, and second monitor

Documentation

500-page polyFORTH II reference manual, 250-page Intel 8086 supplement, pocket reference guide, electives source code, Starting FORTH by Leo Brodie

Name

PC/FORTH 2.0

Type

FORTH programming language interpreter

Manufacturer Computer System

Laboratory Microsystems Inc. IBM PC with one floppy-disk

4147 Beethoven St. drive, 48K RAM, MS-DOS or

Los Angeles, CA 90066 CP/M-86 (213) 306-7412

Options

PC/FORTH + $250

Intel 8087 package $100

Floating-point software $100 Interactive symbolic

debugger $100

Native code compiler $200

BYTE SIEVE (SEC) 60

48

36

24

55.6

I

-9.9-

LJd

53.0

7.7

LIST PRICE ($) 600

480

360

240

120

$600

$300

$250

-$100

DICTIONARY SEARCH (SEC) 7.5

6.0

4.5

3.0

1.5

POLY FORTH

PC/FORTH 2.0

m PC/FORTH +

"2 PC/FORTH NATIVE CODE COMPILER

A comparison of polyFORTH and three implementations of PC/FORTH. The BYTE Sieve of Eratosthenes prime-number benchmark was translated into FORTH by the author. The source code is reprinted in listing 1. All times

are given in seconds. The list price for the PC/FORTH native code compiler is $200, but it requires PC/FORTH 2.0 to run. The dictionary search is not applicable to the native code compiler.

Circle 460 on inquiry card.

SOFTWARE GALORE

THE ULTIMATE PLACE

FOR YOUR COMPUTER

SOFTWARE & COMPONENTS

■ MODEMS ■■■■■■»■■■■■■■■■■■■■ «

ANCHOR MARK XII 235.00

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KOALA

APPLE/FRANKILIN 84.00

ATARI 72.00

COMMODORE 72.00

IBM 84.00 APPLE FAN

COOL + TIME 69.00

DANA FAN 39,00

■MICROTEK (GARPHICS BOARD) ■■■■■■■■■■

RV611C 59.00

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GX16K BUFFER 139.00

GX32K BUFFER 159.00

AST SIX PACK + 64K 259.00

PARADISE MULTI FUNCTION BOARD 279.00

64K MEMORY UP GRADES (9) DRIPS 45.00

■ TAXAN & AMDEK MONITOR ■■■■■■■■■■■■■

IBM MONO AMBER 122 145.00

IBMMONOGREEN 121 135.00

COLOR 420 465.00

310A<IBM) 159 ' 00

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RANA ELITE I

RANA ELITE II

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CONTROLERCARD

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When the system is ready for use, it is cycling the PAUSE loop searching for a task. The total number of simultaneous tasks is a function of available system memory. The multiuser capability is available in the polyFORTH programming environment and for applications written with it.

polyFORTH Editors

An interesting way of handling the editing problem in a FORTH environment is implemented in the IBM PC polyFORTH. Actually, there are two editors: a customized full-screen editor and a powerful line and string-manipulation editor that can be used while remaining in the FORTH vocabulary

The line and string editor is used in conjunction with the LIST function. By listing a screen, it becomes the current screen for a large number of line and string operators. For example, T followed by a number makes that the current line and sets the cursor at the beginning of it. M takes two parameters, the block (or screen) number and the line number, and moves a copy of the current line under the specified line on the specified block. P places a string that you type on the current line, while U inserts it under the current line shifting the others down. The advantage of this editor is that it is available right in the FORTH vocabulary and doesn't require loading a new vocabulary that takes up dictionary space.

All of the find-and-replace functions are available from this editor. When an error message comes up after you have just loaded a screen or program, simply typing L lists the delinquent screen with the cursor positioned at the objectionable line.

A full-screen editor is loaded when needed^ This editor includes many useful conveniences and details. It makes effective use of the IBM PC function keys and uses the other editing keys as you would expect them to be used.

Documentation

TWo loose-leaf binders accompany polyFORTH Level 3. The first is a

500-page polyFORTH II reference manual, and the second is a supplement about the Intel 8086. In addition, Starting FORTH by Leo Brodie (Englewood Cliffs, NJ; Prentice-Hall, 1982) is included. Between this and the on-line shadow-screen documentation you'd think that here at last is all the documentation anyone could ever hope for. Strangely though, there are some things absent that I would have hoped for. One of them is an alphabetical glossary of all the words in the polyFORTH system. True, there is the interactive LOCATE function, which takes you to the source screen for any word not in the protected kernel. But the glossary has become virtually standard for most FORTH systems. It is the best single tool for getting a working overview of a given FORTH implementation, and it is also an essential reference tool for actual programming.

Database Support System

Available with Level 3 and up, the database support system gives the programmer a set of tools for defining customized databases optimized for efficiency rather than providing a preset format for filing and indexing. The main database defining function is the word FILE , which is used to specify the name of the file, the number of bytes for each record, the maximum number of records, the number of 1024-byte blocks the file will occupy, and the beginning block number. Unfortunately, record lengths are limited to only one block (1024 bytes), an inflexibility that seems unnecessary.

Since the database handler is implemented in the multiuser environment, files can be declared as either shared or unshared. Fields within records accept five permissible data types: 1-byte, numeric, double, multiple-byte, and filler. Routines for controlling the allocation of records in direct-access files enable you to allocate records in such a way that relinquished space can be reallocated as needed. There are provisions for using hashed files, a report generator with variable page formats, and a

306 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

polyFORTH & PC/FORTH

documentor tool for maintaining a fully documented glossary of all FORTH words used in an application.

Interactive Graphics

The graphics option is the newest addition to the IBM PC implementation of polyFORTH; it is extremely impressive as is the included graphics demo. In addition to the usual line-drawing primitives, the new graphics package offers special text fonts in the graphics mode with the ability to set the size and spacing of the characters. There are also line-drawing and "brush" words, resembling software capabilities of the Apple Macintosh, that enable you to choose different widths and textures for line drawing, including circles and other graphics shapes. So far, however, there is no mouse support. Instead, function keys control a graphics cursor and support the placement of graphics and text or leave a trace on the screen that may be used either in the layout of screens or to draw figures.

Another plus for the polyFORTH interactive graphics package is its support of both a monochrome and a graphics monitor at the same time; code is edited and listed on one screen and graphics on the other.

polyFORTH is FORTH taken to its logical conclusion. It is an extremely powerful tool but only in the hands of a knowledgeable user, and that knowledge doesn't come easy. The basic kernel, together with all the functions FORTH Inc. considers most proprietary, occupies only nine screens (9K bytes). When you learn all of the powerful things that are in that small space, you will have a direct acquaintance with what FORTH at its best is all about.

However, polyFORTH is not for everyone. It is the closest version to Charles Moore's implementation of FORTH and the closest to his characterization of it as a programmer amplifier. An expert can really display expertise and, conversely, a weak programmer displays his ineptness. On the other hand, in spite of the DOS (disk operating system) file transfer

[continued)

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REVIEW: polyFORTH & PC/FORTH

The editor always presents a special problem in a FORTH system. On the one hand, you don't want to exit the FORTH interpreter, and on the other hand, you don't want it to use too much dictionary space.

ability, it can be a disadvantage for some applications to use a system that does not run under MS-DOS. However, this could be an advantage if stand-alone multitasking is what you're looking for.

Stand-alone applications implemented in ROM (read-only memory) with a customized dictionary containing only the FORTH words needed to run the application are a specialty of FORTH systems that do not run under a separate operating system. However, it should be noted that the target compiler and source code needed for such applications are available only with polyFORTH Level 4 and up, and the price for this starts at $3200.

For those who are willing to surmount the rather steep learning curve, polyFORTH may be just what your programming needs require.

PC/FORTH

Laboratory Microsystems is one of the most progressive companies producing a fully equipped professional FORTH development system for the IBM PC. What sets this system apart from others is that it runs under MS-DOS with a full set of MS-DOS file and record interface functions. A similar version is available for CP/M-86. Another distinguishing feature of PC/FORTH is that it is the first to conform fully to the latest standard, FORTH-83. (See TORTH-83: Evolution Continues," by C. Kevin McCabe, in the August BYTE, page 137.) A broad set of optional tools includes a high-level debugger, a new native code compiler, a cross compiler, and a database handler.

Laboratory Microsystems offers two FORTH systems for the IBM PC: PC/ FORTH ($100), which is for applications only as large as 63K bytes, and PC/FORTH + ($2 50), which can handle programs up to 1 megabyte. With both systems, a nucleus and elective screen file are provided for developing a customized version that lets you choose the words you want permanently in the dictionary. It is relatively easy to provide various versions of the system both to serve in the development process and for providing a compact run-time environment for the applications.

PC/FORTH Editor

In version 2.0, the full-screen editor has been redone and now takes up

even more space than before, 13K bytes. This editor, while more streamlined than the earlier one, is still a potential trouble spot. The editor always presents a special problem in a FORTH system. On the one hand, you don't want to have to exit the FORTH interpreter to use it, and on the other hand, you don't want it to use up too much dictionary space, (which you will need for compiling your application).

The PC/FORTH editor is configured so that you must enter it by a two-step process. First, the EDIT command brings you to a screen from which a number of commands may be issued; these commands perform editing and various screen-moving and copying functions. You first enter E (for edit) and then the screen number you wish to edit. A certain amount of time is needed, therefore, to move back and forth between the normal FORTH vocabulary and the editor. This situation leads to problems at times because there is no way to immediately flush screens to the disk while within the editor. This, coupled with the fact that there is not a foolproof mechanism to save all current screens, means that considerable care is needed to ensure that screens are not lost. Part of the routine of developing an application is loading and testing code that has just been entered. Often code that is not yet fully debugged causes the system to crash. It is my opinion that the PC/FORTH system is not sufficiently equipped with secure protection for screens when this happens. Occasionally, and unpredictably, screens are just not there as they should be.

PC/FORTH Advanced Graphics Extension

PC/FORTH's graphics package ($100) has words for plotting various graphics figures. The graphics program also has a set of powerful turtle graphics functions, as well as support for all types of state-of-the-art input devices such as light pens, joysticks, the Microsoft Mouse, and the Mouse Systems Mouse. Other features include words for transferring graphics

308 B YTE • NOVEMBER 1984

REVIEW: polyFORTH & PC/FORTH

images to and from a disk or a printer, full window-management support an intersegment memory-dump utility, and several demos with source code for illustrating the use of all these features.

The graphics functions are fast and powerful. The window-management routines let you operate even in graphics mode. The documentation for the graphics extension, however, is a minor weak spot. Some functions are too scantily explained, leaving it up to you to figure out how to use them. This is an unfortunate inconvenience in a package that is otherwise very easy to use.

Native Code Compiler

A new option from Laboratory Microsystems is the handy compiler ($200) by Tom Almy that lets you selectively compile time-consuming words without an assembler. It is intended mainly for low-level FORTH words, such as those used in hardware interface drivers, and for the inner segments of iterative loops that are particularly costly in time. The compiler is designed to work only with PC/FORTH version 2.0, the FORTH-83 model.

The native code compiler works by replacing the colon defining word at the beginning of a selected word with the special defining word COMPILE: and then loading the compiler and the application program. The two main options in the compiler enable you to either generate a development system in which the compiler is permanently present or compile selected words in application programs. There is optional support for both byte and word arrays, which must be defined prior to loading the compiler. Another special defining word, INTR: , is included for compiling new intrinsic functions. At first, only COMPILE: is used. Later, as words can be accessed solely from within words already compiled into native code, they can be changed to begin with INTR: , which invokes direct machine-language calls rather than the time-consuming interpreter.

The native code compiler provides

an additional resource for FORTH programmers who want to optimize their programs for speed but, for various reasons, do not want to recode sections of their programs with an assem-

bler. There are very definite limits within which the compiler must operate, but its use seems promising for routines in many types of applica-

[continued)

Listing 1: Source code for the benchmark programs.

Screen # 16

0 ( Eratosthenes sieve benchmark program )

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

FORTH DEFINITIONS DECIMAL 8190 CONSTANT SIZE 0 VARIABLE FLAGS SIZE ALLOT : DO-PRIME FLAGS SIZE 1 FILL

0 SIZE 0

DO FLAGS I + C<§

10-TIMES

#31

IF

LOOP

1 Primes " ; 0 0 'TIME CR

I DUP + BEGIN WHILE REPEAT

THEN

+ DUPI +

DUP SIZE<

0 OVER FLAGS + C! OVER +

DROP DROP 1 +

10 0 DO DO-PRIME LOOP J CR

Screen

0 ( IMPROVED ERATOSTHENES SIEVE by Don Colburn

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

01/01/80 )

)

0 ( range)

( prime ? ) SIZE < + FLAGS +

9

10 11 12 13 14 15 ok

DO-PRIME.HI ( faster algorithm in high-level FORTH FLAGS SIZE 01 FILL

0 ( prime counter) SIZE

DO I FLAGS + C@

IF 3 I + I + DUP I + IF SIZE FLAGS + OVER I DO O I C! DUP +LOOP

( flick down modulo I flags ) THEN DROP 1+ ( bump prime counter )

THEN LOOP . ." Primes " ;

10-TIMES 0 0 'TIME CR 10 0 DO-PRIME.HI LOOP .7 CR ;

Screen # 41

0 ( SIEVE BENCHMARK W. ARRAYS 01/01/80 )

1

: CARRAY CREATE ALLOT DOES> + ; 8190 CONSTANT SIZE SIZE CARRAY FLAGS : DO-PRIME 0 FLAGS SIZE 1 FILL 0 SIZE 0 DO I FLAGS C@

IF I 2* 3 + DUP I + BEGIN DUP SIZE<

WHILE DUP FLAGS 0 SWAP C! OVER + REPEAT DROP DROP 1 + THEN

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

LOOP

10-TIMES 0 0 ITIME CR 10 0 DO DO-PRIME LOOP T CR

[continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 309

REVIEW: polyFORTH & PC/FORTH

tions. Code produced by it runs extremely fast, as a glance at the benchmarks will show (see table 1). Once the FORTH routine has been compiled, the entire image of the FORTH

system can be saved to disk as an executable COM file. This environment is kept from becoming excessively large by a routine that enables the system to forget the compiler vocab-

ulary after the application has been loaded and compiled without disturbing the resulting high-speed code. This compiler is an important step in

{continued)

Screen # 39

0 ( SIEVE BENCHMARK -MAX SPEED : NO ARRAYS 01/01/80 )

1 8190 CONSTANT SIZE 0 VARIABLE FLAGS SIZE ALLOT 2

3 : DO-PRIME

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 THEN

11 1+ DUPSIZE = UNTIL DROP 12

13 ; 14 15

FLAGS SIZE 1 FILL 0 0

BEGIN DUP FLAGS + C@ IF DUP 2* 3 + 2DUP + BEGIN DUP SIZE<

WHILE DUP FLAGS + 0 SWAP C! OVER + REPEAT DROP DROP SWAP 1 + SWAP

10-TIMES 0 0 !TIME CR 10 0 DO DO-PRIME LOOP T CR

Screen # 40

0 ( SIEVE BENCHMARK MAX SPEED W. ARRAYS 1

: CARRAY CREATE ALLOT DOES> + ; 8190 CONSTANT SIZE SIZE CARRAY FLAGS : DO-PRIME 0 FLAGS SIZE 1 FILL 0 0 BEGIN DUP FLAGS C@

IF DUP 2* 3 BEGIN

01/01/80)

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

ok

+ 2DUP + DUP SIZE<

WHILE DUP FLAGS 0 SWAP C! OVER + REPEAT DROP DROP SWAP 1 + SWAP

1 +

THEN DUP SIZE =

UNTIL DROP

10-TIMES 0 0 ITIME CR 10 0 DO DO-PRIME LOOP T CR

PAGE 11- INTERPRET)

Screen # 79

0 ( BENCHMARKS FROM FORTH DIMENSIONS

1 HEX

2 : LOOPTEST 0 0 ITIME 7FFF 0 DO LOOP J CR ;

3 : -TEST 0 0 ITIME 7FFF 0 DO I DUP - DROP LOOP T CR ;

4 : 'TEST 0 0 ITIME 7FFF 0 DO I DUP * DROP LOOP T CR ;

5 : /TEST 0 0 ITIME 7FFF 1 DO 7FFF I / DROP LOOP T CR ;

6 ( DIVIDE BY ZERO CAUSES INTERRUPT IN NCC )

7 : MOVETEST 0 0 ITIME 7FFF 0 DO 2 @ 2 ! LOOP T CR ;

8 : COMPTEST 0 0 ITIME 7FFF 0 DO I 4000 < IF ELSE THEN LOOP .T

9 : TIMES 0 0 ITIME ' SWAP 0 DO DUP EXECUTE

10 LOOP DROP T CR ;

11 DECIMAL ;S 12

13 (EXAMPLE: TYPE " 10 TIMES /TEST " TO EXECUTE /TEST TEN TIMES) 14 15 ok

310 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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REVIEW: poIyFORTH & PC/FORTH

Both polyFORTH and PC/FORTH are current and complete FORTH implementations.

the right direction for providing the FORTH language with the inherent speed and power that is normally associated with compiled languages. Also available for PC/FORTH is the Nautilus Cross Compiler, which costs $300 and can produce code for Z80s, 68000s, LSI-Ils, and many other chips.

The Benchmarks

1 have run some benchmark tests that can provide a basis for comparison of the various FORTH implementations, poly FORTH 11 Level 3, a stable imple-

mentation of the FORTH Inc. system, is one entry in the tests. PC/FORTH, on the other hand, has changed a number of times. Accordingly, I have run the benchmarks in various implementations of that system: the FORTH-83 version, the current PC/ FORTH+ , and the results when the native code compiler is used.

The benchmarks I chose for execution time were adapted from the standard ones appearing in recent tests and from their variations. There have been attempts to rewrite the Sieve of Eratosthenes algorithm, which appeared in the September 1981 BYTE, for optimization in FORTH. Accordingly, 1 have selected five versions of this algorithm, including one optimized by Don Colburn for the 68000 (see Don Colburn's article in the September 1983 Dr. Dobb's Journal) and other versions, with and without arrays and certain optimization approaches. I've

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also used a set of tests that originally appeared in FORTH Dimensions (see issue IN/1, page 11). Finally I've used a test suggested by Bill Midge for measuring compile time by forcing the FORTH interpreter to search its entire dictionary repeatedly for a whole screen of numbers and then print the elapsed time. The source code for each of these benchmarks is included in listing 1.

In all honesty, 1 have to caution you against assigning too much importance to the benchmarks. FORTH by its very nature lends itself to customizing. The standard way of adding inline assembly-language routines in the middle of higher-level code routines means that the various implementations of FORTH feature different choices of even standard FORTH words that have been implemented in code definitions.

One thing these benchmarks show clearly is how programs that are optimized for one system may run particularly slowly on other implementations for the same microprocessor. FORTH provides many ways for getting the job done. Finding the fastest way to implement routines in a given system is an ongoing process, and there doesn't appear to be any end to the opportunities for creatively improving the efficiency of FORTH programs.

Summary

Although the two implementations of FORTH for the IBM PC evaluated here are extremely different in their overall features, it was not an extraordinarily complicated matter to take benchmarks, some of them written for other processors, and get them running on both systems. In spite of their many differences, both are current and complete implementations of FORTH.

polyFORTH is particularly well suited for stand-alone applications, especially in scientific and research and development categories. The multiuser and database-handling capabilities make it suitable also for dedicated business applications in which program size is an important

[continued]

312 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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REVIEW: polyFORTH & PC/FORTH

issue. Finally, the superb graphics functions open up many other possibilities, including multiuser computer-aided design and computer-aided drafting systems.

PC/FORTH, with its ability to produce programs that run under either MS-DOS or CP/M-86, its advanced turtle graphics, its low price, its support of many interface devices and user-friendly practices, and its speedy native code compiler, can be con-

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Features of FORTH make it especially suited for an adaptable microcomputer system such as the IBM PC, and the products reviewed here are two of the powerful systems available for it. Clearly there are outstanding resources available for FORTH that can suit a variety of programming requirements, whether the IBM PC is the target system or is to be used as a host to develop programs for other target applications. ■

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Included with your purchase of the half-sized APPLE-TURNOVER™ board you get an additional cable to connect it to your regular disk controller card. An APPLE-TURNOVER™ Software program disk (unprotected) which contains four main files: APPORMAT™ for formatting a blank disk, APRELAD™ to copy a file from Apple disks to DOS disks, APWRITE™ to copy a file from DOS disks to pre-formatted Apple disks, and APSIFT™ a text file modification utility.

One To Go ... Please!

What are you waiting for! Say goodbye to the past. Say hellow to APPLE-TURNOVER™. Your high performance alternative to complicated serial links and modem madness! Set yourself free in business and in the home with the fastest and simplest way to copy Apple/IBM information ever developed.

APPLE-TURNOVER™ is your key to unlocking the Tower of Apple Babel! $879.80

XBNO COPT PLUS 8.0 •IMPROVED XBNO DISK

NOW TOUCAN FORM AT, M AD,

AND WRITE OVER 70 DIFFERENT DISKS! Think of the advantages of effortlessly moving foreign disk files to your PC and back again with XENO COPY PLUS 2.0™. Without Modems, Serial links or Hardware your PC oan copy a 16K file In well under a mlnutel It supports most soft-sector double density CP/M-80/86 formats. TRSDOS; p-System" (read only), NECDOS, lurboDOS and other popular International formate. XENO COPY PLUS 2.0™ runs under DOS In the IBM PC, PCXT, and most PC Compatibles with 128KB. Also available is IMPORT™ for the DEC Rainbow. Ask about new formats, features and hosts coming soon $149.80

80MATE

TURN TOUR PC INTO A DISK PRODUCTION MACHINE. If you need to produce different disk formats but shreek at the high cost of other solutions try the XENO DISIt™ Software Development System. Import and Export disk nles plus initialize blank ^fak-A in foreign formats. Fast traok-by-track duplication and extensive table-driven text-translation capabilities are Just two of many features needed by businesses, DP space departments, software developers and publishers, typesetters, schools and other organizations. XENO DISK™ supports more than 80 different 40 track, 80 track and 8 inch floppy formats. $379.50

RUN CP/M-80 AND Z-80 PROGRAMS ON TOUR IBM PC WITH NO ADDITIONAL HARDWARE! 80MATE Software CP/M 2.2 emulator with 80-TERM™ video emulator allows your IBM PC or PC Compatible to run almost any CP/M program. Many MS DOS® programs are simply translations so why duplicate your software library when you can legally transfer them to your PC. All the familiar CP/M commands are Included. 80MAITE™ uses ordinary DOS I disks and devices such as your printer, hard disk, ramcllsfr, etc. Version 2.0 adds Z-80 capability and video and keyboard emulation for Apple CP/M. $149.80

'APPLE-TURNOVER; XBNO COPY PLOT 2.0; XBNO DISK; 80 MATE; 80 TERM; IMPORT; AFFOR MAT; AFR EAD; APWRITE; and AP8IPT are registered trademarks Of VERTEX SYSTEMS, INC.

'IBM; IBMPC; PCXT; are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corp.

'APPLE and APPLEDOS are registered trademarks of Apple Computers, Inc.

•MS DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.

'CP/M; CP/M^60 and 86 are registered trademarks of Digital Research, Inc.

*Vlsloalo is a registered trademark of visloorp.

'Lotus 1-2-3 is a registered trademark of Lotus Development.

'p-System Is a registered trademark of Softeoh Microsystems

• Copyright 1984 VERTEX Systems. Inc. All rights reserved

SEE YOUR DE AT.ER OR CAT.T, FOR INFORMATION

813/938-0857

vertex

arsystems

Circle 413 on inquiry card.

inc.

INNOVATION IN MICROCOMPUTER PRODUCTS

6022 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, GA 90035

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 315

AtLast -form database

that& compatible with both sF

•«

DayFlo offers the best of two worlds.

It does all the tasks you normally do with traditional databases. Those structured, form-oriented, left-brained applications.

More exciting, it also does things you can't do with traditional databases. Like enter unstructured data such as spontaneous ideas. Or memos. Or quotes. Or anything else your creative right brain can dream up.

of the brain

You could even create an electronic encyclopedia with DayFlo. It could cover any subject matter. In Market Research, for instance, it could contain all the customer profiles and industry studies you ever wanted Arranged

COMPARING DAYFLO TO TRADITIONAL DATABASES

WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH DAYFLO

Client Record Tracking Sales Lead Tracking

Personnel Records

• Letters, Memos, Reports

• Form Letters

• Note Taking

• Purchase Order Tracking

• Project Management

• Field Service Tracking

• And much more

AUTOMATIC RECORD CONVERSION AVAILABLE FOR dBASE II AND pfe

and classified your way So you could track and cross-reference data your way.

So you see, DayFlo's possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

Free-form database.

DayFlo is so flexible that it accepts all data, structured or unstructured. And stores it all in a single database for quick retrieval.

How is that possible? For one thing, DayFlo offers free-form record formats so no two records have to look alike And it provides variable field lengths so you can enter as much data as you want in any field, and you can enter new fields without reformatting or reprogramming.

Word-oriented database.

DayFlo has integral word processing. So you're free to manipulate data at will. Free to enter and edit information whenever and wherever you please. You can even cut and paste entire fields. Ail of which means you're able to perform any word processing task within a database.

DayFlo runs on the new IBM PC AX the IBM PC with hard disk, Compaq Plus, or compatibles.

ReportFlo.

Ok, you're impressed But with DayFlo's incredible free-forming capabilities, how in the world do you produce finished documents? Just use our powerful ReportFlo package in conjunction with DayFlo. ReportFlo will not only give you presentation-quality reports and tables, it'll also perform calculations. Nice package.

See for yourself.

You can see DayFlo in action at your nearest DayFlo Dealer. Or, if you prefer, we'll send you a Demo Disk for $10.

You'll see, DayFlo is the most flexible information tool this side of the human brain.

For details, call 1-800-7DAYFLQ In California, call 1-800-CDAYFLQ

€> 1984 DayFlo, Inc. DayFlo'" and ReportFlo 1 " are trademarks of DayFlo, Inc. IBM* is a registered trademark of International Business Machines. Compaq Plus™ is a trademark of Compaq Corporation. dBASE II* is a registered trademark of Ashton-Tate. pfs:* is a registered trademark of Software Publishing Corporation.

The right brain will love ft.

DayFIo, Inc., 2500 Micheison Drive, Building 400, Irvine, CA 92715

Circle 116 on inquiry card.

<S

"55

*&>

%

Specializing in Corporate Accounts

MC-P APPLICATIONS, INC.

The Best Computer Solution

The Best Prices - Best Service - Best Technical Support

f?J%

t\

«,

%

\

w

SOFTWARE

SPREAD SHEETS

Lotus 1-2-3 $299

Symphony 425

Framework 372

Multiplan 135

Open Access 369

TK Solver 265

Supercalc III 195

Visicalc IV 157

Design Manager 475

DATA BASE

dBase II 279

dBase III 372

R:Base 4000 289

Knowledgeman

w/K pen & K graph 295

Powerbase 275

Friday 195

DB Plus 95

Quick Code

& DUtil Pak 185

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Peter Norton Utility 55

Prokey 87

Sideways 45

COMMUNICATION

Microstuf Crosstalk 115

Smartcom II 109

Transporter 205

PROFESSIONAL

Desk Organizer 195

Harvard Project Manager .... 275 Compusoft Legal/Software— Call for info.

Real Estate Analyser II 175

Visi Schedule 125

COMPILERS

Cobol Compiler 485

Fortran Compiler 245

Lattice 'C Compiler 325

Microsoft 'C Compiler 325

Microsoft Pascal Compiler .. 215

Macro Assembler 65

Digital C Basic Compiler 375

Pascal MT and CPM186 255

FINANCIAL

Home Accountant-Apple ...... 49

Personal Investor 135

Accounting Plus

GL, AP, AR, PR, INV Each 399 State of the Art

GL, AP, AR, PR, INV Each 485

Peachtree GL, AR, AP Each 475

Think Tank 125

Data Cell II (Tax Preparer) .. 1125

WORD PROCESSING

Bank Street Writer IBM 55

Edix/Wordix Each 129

Peach Text 5000 245

Pfs: File 84

Pfs: Report 79

Multimate 275

Volkswriter Deluxe 162

Word Perfect 275

Wordstar Pro w/Correctstar 299

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APPLICATIONS INC.

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INTERNATIONAL DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOMED

TERMS: All prices subject to change without notice. Payment by cashiers check/MO/bank transfer. Please allow approximately one week shipping delay for clearance of personal or company checks. California residents add sales tax. For non cash sales please add 3% handling charge.

SHIPPING: Add $4 per item for UPS Surface, $8 for UPS Blue Label. For Monitors add S20 and Printers S25 for shipment within continental U.S.A.

HARDWARE

COMPUTERS

IBM PC 64K/1DD/Ctrl Cd $1545

IBM PC/XT 128K 3495

IBM Portable 2195

Apple lie 1145

Apple Me 80 col & Mon 1295

Macintosh

w/lmagewriter Printer .... 2595

DISK DRIVES

Teac Half Height 165

Tandon 100-2 195

HARD DISKS

Tall Grass 12 Mgb 2245

Pegasus 10 Mgb (Internal) 1195 Iomega 10 Mgb call

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Epson FX100 695

IBM Parallel Printer Cable 29

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NEC 3550 1675

Okidata 92P 409

Qume 1140 plus 1435

MONITORS

Amdek 12" 310A 169

Amdek Color II RGB Hi-Res 399

Princeton RGB Hi-Res 485

IBM Monochrome 235

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Smart Mod. 300 w/Smartcom 199

Smart Mod. 1200 495

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J-Cat 99

Smart Cat 103 169

Smart Cat 103/212 425

HARDWARE & PERIPHERALS

Megaplus 64K 265

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Quadboard II 285

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64K Ram Chips 45

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Everix ._ call

Intel 80/87 Chip 175

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Irma Board 895

Compuguard call

Kraft Joysticks 35

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PC Mouse w/Software 165

NETWORK

Orchid PC Net 345

PC Net w/Blossom 525

COMMUNICATIONS

AST 3780 635

AST 5251 545

Circle 261 on inquiry card.

SOFTWARE REVIEW

Taking on the dedicated

word

processors

by Rubin Rabinovitz

Rubin Rabinovitz {Department of

English. Campus Box 226.

University of Colorado, Boulder. CO

80309) is a professor of English.

He received his Ph.D. at Columbia

University. He has reviewed books

for journals and magazines,

including the New York Times

Book Review and New York

magazine.

Samna Word HI

A few years ago, word-processing programs were designed to run on personal computers with a maximum machine memory of 64K bytes. A lot could be packed into such programs, but they were no match for dedicated word processors. Recently, however, users began buying machines with more memory, and programs requiring 128K bytes of memory—like Microsoft Word and Volkswriter Deluxe—have become popular.

Samna Word III is part of the next wave: programs that have doubled the memory requirement once again. Samna Word II, released in the fall of 1983, needed 2 56K bytes for the DOS 2.0 version of the program. Samna Word III was introduced last April; it also runs on 2 56K bytes, but it's a tight squeeze, and the program will take advantage of extra machine memory up to 320K bytes. Samna Word III comes with five double-sided, double-density disks. T\vo disks, booted sequentially, hold the operating program. The third disk is used to customize the program for a specific printer. The fourth disk contains the training program, and the fifth, the dictionary.

Samna Word III is a large program. But is larger necessarily better? People who have worked with dedicated word processors will find that many of Samna's features are comparable or superior to dedicated processors. But the program does have limitations, as we shall see.

Cursor Control

Many features of Samna Word III resemble those of dedicated word processors; this is especially evident in its keyboard assignments. People familiar with Wang and other popular word processors will recognize the cross-shaped configuration of the main cursor-control keys. At the center of the cross is a Go Tb key, surrounded by the cursor-direction keys. This configuration places the cursor keys in logical positions, and it is easily adapted to the IBM Personal Computer (PC) keyboard, which has arrows

on the cursor-direction keys. Manufacturers like Wang and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) limit the cursor pad to the five keys just described. But on some dedicated word processors (the Phillips Micom, for example), cursor quantity keys (such as Word, Sentence Paragraph) are added to the five central keys. The Samna configuration is something like Micom's, although Samna has added one more cursor quantity key, the File key (see figure 1).

Mylar labels redefining the keys are included with the program. The new key names fit on the keys in such a way that the original key names aren't obscured. This is useful when you want to use the computer for other programs. Samna provides a chart of the keyboard for people who dislike labels; it's possible to learn the program using only the chart.

Samna's key assignments make for very efficient cursor control. With one keystroke the cursor can be advanced by a word, sentence, line, paragraph, or page. By itself the Page key scrolls through the pages of a file; in combination with the Go To key, Page takes you directly to a specified page without scrolling. The File key similarly moves the cursor to the end of a file without scrolling through intermediary pages. Using the Shift key in combination with the cursor-control keys reverses these movements: Shift plus Word moves the cursor to the previous word, Shift plus File moves the cursor to the beginning of a file, and so forth.

Function Keys

Many word-processing programs assign an equal number of tasks to each of the IBM PC's function keys (Fl through F10). Samna's approach is different (see photo 1). While eight of the function keys have only one function, two of them have many functions. The Scroll Lock key is also assigned numerous functions.

I first found this arrangement strange. But, as I eventually understood, there are some

[continued]

NOVEMBER 1984 • B Y T E 319

Figure 1: The IBM Personal Computer's cursor-control keys, as defined by Samna Word III. Mylar labels with Samna's definitions (shown in color) fit op the keys without hiding the original definitions.

ui 1 u 1

Fl Save* tinder F2 If yarn pre** «ny of the fanction key* a*

" re III, tke proemm Mil **k yoe wkick text yoe wish to aenipaUte.

F3 Print Cen- P4 If yon fa

F?]For-

tke f section key *na* HUP: the proyrest will proviae • list of availakle option*.

Two of tke fnnctiea key*. ! Initiate « n— it of Unctions. If yea — P, tke .ill list tke eve i left ie function*

Tki* a infra* of Seen* wore Ill's feaction key ass if savants was proencee asiay tke COMTIOL key ana career errant key*.

Photo 1: The IBM PC function keys as redefined by Samna Word

good reasons for it. The keys with only one function don't have to be memorized since their labels make it clear what tasks they perform. The keys with multiple functions are used to initiate commands that—because they are both mnemonic and redundant—are easy to remember. For example, F9. defined by Samna as the Do key appears at the beginning of a number of repetitive command sequences. Similarly, F5, defined as Select, initiates a number of functions. If you forget a command sequence, pressing the appropriate function key and then Help (the Escape key) displays a list of the functions initiated by that key. In addition, Samna provides labels listing the commands that use the multiple- function keys; these labels can be attached to the margins of the keyboard. This makes it easier to learn the keyboard than when every function key has a few diverse functions.

Just as the Shift key is used to reverse the motion of the cursor, in combination with the function keys it becomes an Undo key For example to remove boldface text, you press Shift and Bold; to restore a deleted item, you press Shift and Delete. Here again the combination of redundant command sequences and labeled keys facilitates learning the program.

Many of the other command sequences are equally logical: Delete plus any of the cursor quantity keys (Word, Sentence, Line, etc.) removes the amount of text specified. The commands for copying and moving use the cursor quantity keys to define the amount of text to be adjusted. This consistency makes it easy to use the program; even when I forgot commands I usually was able to guess.

Other nice touches include two that compensate for weaknesses of the IBM PC keyboard. When you are typing uppercase letters on the IBM, the proximity of Alt and Ctrl to the Shift key often leads to errors. In some programs (WordStar, for example) these errors can take some time to correct. In Samna Word III, striking Alt or Ctrl in combination with an alphabetic key never leads to disasters. Samna also

320 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

AT A GLANCE

makes up for the IBM PC's lack of LED (light-emitting diode) indicators on the locking keys by displaying the messages NUM and CAPS in the status line when those two keys are toggled.

Learning to Use Samna Word III

Samna Word III is a big program and can't be learned as quickly as word processors with fewer functions. But the program is not inherently difficult: a given series of operations in Samna Word III is no harder to learn than an equal portion of Easywriter II.

First-time users should have no special problems learning Samna Word III. People who know another word-processing program may initially be impatient with the program because many command sequences have to be relearned; but once the logical structure of the program emerges, things go more quickly. People familiar with dedicated word processors will make the transition to Samna Word III quickly.

Samna Word III has good help screens, and the help levels are adjustable. If you make a mistake, a help screen with a remedy is automatically displayed. The manual is clear and comprehensive. But I don't like the training disk very much—the exercises are at times confusing.

Most operations can be completed by initiating an operation and then pressing Help. This displays the remaining commands in the sequence. A reference card that comes with the program lists the opening commands of every operation. You can learn almost any function by using the reference card in conjunction with the help screens.

Major Word-Processing Functions

Samna Word III uses very few visible control characters (though these can be displayed when you need them). What you see on the screen is close to what the printed page will look like Samna Word III contains all the word-processing functions I expect in a good program, including automatic

{continued}

Name

Samna Word III

Type

Word-processing package

Manufacturer

Samna Corporation

Suite C-700

2700 Northeast Expressway

Atlanta, GA 30345

(404) 321-5006

(800) 241-2065

Computer System

IBM PC, PC XT, and compatibles with at least 256K memory; also DEC Rainbow and Texas Instruments Professional

LOAD (SEC) 50

SCROLL (SEC) 100

Format

Five 5 1 /4-inch double-sided floppy disks (two for operating system, one each for dictionary, printer, and training program)

Software Required

PC-DOS, MS-DOS, or similar

Documentation

400-page indexed manual, training disk, command and keyboard chart, key labels

Price

$550

Audience

People who do a good deal

of writing

SAVE (SEC) 50 i

21.9

I— W/

SEARCH (SEC) 125

SAMNA WORD IE

WORDSTAR 3.3

VOLKSWRITER DELUXE

A comparison of Samna Word III with WordStar 3.3 and Volkswriter Deluxe.The graphs show the results of performing various standard word-processing functions using a 4000-word text file. The Load graph shows the time required to load the file from disk to memory. The Save graph shows the time

required to save the file on disk. The Scroll graph illustrates the time required to scroll manually from the file's first line to its fast line The Search graph shows the timing results for a search starting at the beginning of the file and looking for its last word.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 321

word wrap, global search and replace, and right-margin justification. But even the common word-processing functions go beyond the usual: many have convenience features that

enable various modes of operation. Underlining, for example, can be done in numerous ways: during or after typing text; with solid, broken, or double underlining; or with the shifted

€11 Ik 1

Willi a eaiof/sfaplttcs adapter mi color uraitop, Sanaa Itod III alia* 90a

dittweftt t§j*s of text;

supepseMpts, as in

.fattwtts

suiscpipts, as in chenical e<mat ions,,. 120 an&riined ssperecripts................foot

<ffi&plii*d stttecripts..................1

While ttfttoliftts, superscripts and stfestripts will not appear tn the csle: !2*f R; asiftf & f f*«Rt colors alloas 9*a to distiftiaisli thm before priatifts

Photo 2: Witft a color graphics adapter and a color monitor, Samna Word III can mark underlined, superscript, and subscript text in different colors.

Col 44 U 3

WorJ III «I lows 9M to work W two wiooows t»J to

itk two kowotrokes. Toe two indows m<| fcovo iffforoot wwfiot, winch m^ j visiole or iovitiUo._

Photo 3: Sameia Word Ill's split-screen capability.

hyphen key, as on a typewriter. Similar options are available for printing in boldface, converting text to capital letters, and centering text. On a color-equipped system, you can specify different colors for different types of text (see photo 2).

Advanced Features

What makes Samna Word III superior to many competitive programs is its unusual number of advanced features. Some of these, like mail-merge or dictionary programs, are often sold as extras; but they're part of Samna Word III. The following are some important advanced features.

Windows: Samna's windows divide the screen horizontally (see photo 3). With two keystrokes you can move from one window to the other. It's easy to display a new file or another portion of the same file in the window, and to copy or move text from one window into the other.

Automatic Update: This is one of Samna's best features. As you revise or enter text, the new material is automatically recorded on the data disk. It takes little time to save a document, since most of it is written on the disk as you type. More important, it's almost impossible to lose material inadvertently. Even with a power failure you never lose more than about three lines, and since they're the last ones you typed, you can usually reconstruct them.

Automatic Merge: Samna's automatic merge works well but is difficult to learn: the instructions are confusing. As with other merge programs, you create a standard (or "boilerplate") letter and a mailing list. Then the two are merged: a copy of the standard letter, addressed to each person on the mailing list, is generated automatically.

Foreign-Language Keyboards: Many programs can generate foreign characters, usually by using special key sequences. In Volkswriter, for example, you press Alt and an alphabetic key. In Samna Word III, you can reprogram the keyboard so that it emulates a foreign keyboard. When you press the

[continued]

322 B YTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Lifetime Guaranteed

For the AXIOM™ dealer nearest you,

call toll free:

In U.S.A.: 1-800-633-6784 In New York State: 1-800-992-9228

In Canada: 1-800-267-7373 In British Columbia: 112-800-267-7373

DIDAK

Didak, 402 Ford Street, Ogdensburg, N.Y. 13669 Tel: (315) 393-0086

119 on inquiry card.

** Registered trademark of Didak Manufacturing Limited

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 323

REVIEW: SAMNA III

key for a particular character in the new configuration, the corresponding character appears on the screen and the same character is printed, so long as you use the proper print wheel.

Samna Word III includes the following keyboard configurations: English (American and British versions), French, Canadian, Spanish, Math/ Greek, German, Italian, Swiss/French,

€»% l U i

tjtc CtmftL km* *■* «»«S <*« t» Arm* Mm tr*jpkic«.

_LL__

Photo 4: A bar chart drawn with Samna Word cursor-arrow keys.

I, using the Control and

Photo 5: Samna s Zoom function lets you see the layout of the material on the screen as it will appear on the printed page.

and one with alternate symbols, including many of the IBM Personal Computer's special characters that don't appear in the other configurations.

Dictionary: Samna uses the Merriam-Webster Dictionary for its spelling checker. When the dictionary does not recognize a word, it flashes alternatives in the status line. You can then substitute one of the suggested alternatives, revise the misspelled word without retyping it, or add the word to the dictionary The spelling checker is slower than some rival programs, such as Spellix. The dictionary disk provides automatic hyphenation at syllable breaks. The disk isn't copyprotected, so you can customize your own dictionary by adding new words to it.

Math Mode: In math mode you can perform five operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and calculation of percentages. TWo memory registers and a total register retain the results of the calculations; you can then transfer these from the registers into the text without retyping. You can add a row of numbers across a line and columns of numbers. But it isn't possible in this mode to work on the text of a document; to do that, you have to exit to normal operating mode.

Recording of K£ystrokes: This is a macro-type operation: a series of keystrokes is recorded and played back later. Both alphanumeric and command keystrokes can be recorded. To play them back, you press the Control key and a number key. It's a feature that's invaluable for repetitious jobs, such as writing letters that have the same heading and signature. You could record the keystrokes for the close of one letter, the commands for a page break, and the heading of the next letter. Samna lets you record 10 different operations using up to 500 keystrokes—an average of 50 keystrokes per operation.

Glossary: Glossaries are lists of phrases or sentences that are often repeated; with a few keystrokes you can insert these passages into the

[continued)

324 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

mm / mmmm mm

Stand Alone or Multi-User

POINT OF SALE SYSTEMS

giiiiii

llllliu II m u

MM£&iz is Hi Ift

5SS85fflff5 -": 552 ZZ

^-L

AS A COMPUTER

• The stand alone system can be upgraded into a multiuser system to meet growing business needs.

• Uses CP/M or MS-DOS (multi-user system only) to run thousands of dedicated software packages available to users.

• Displays transactions on a 9" CRT utilizing large characters for easy customer viewing.

• Utilizes two way data communications allowing quick and accurate price changes, order processing and file updates.

• Can be programmed using familiar languages for easy customization of vertical markets.

• Utilizes a database management system to produce meaningful reports on demand.

• Can be configured with floppies or Winchester drives (storage capacity-640KB to 80MB).

Advanced

Business

Computer

Systems International, Inc.

IBM PC/XT

CAN FUNCTION AS THE SYSTEM'S MASTER

AS A CASH REGISTER

• Its flexibility in function use exceeds industry standards for E.C.R.'s.

• Uses a programmable, buffered keyboard.

IT IS CAPABLE OF:

• error correct, void, return, refund, entire ticket voiding, manual discount by $ or %, mark down, mark up, coupons, food stamps.

• payment by cash, cheques or credit cards.

• charge and payment posting to in-house accounts.

• H.A.LO./LA.LO. protect on open departments and discounts.

• black list and credit authorization.

• electronic funds transfer.

In Canada:

4088 Sandwich Street, Windsor, Ontario N9C 1C4 (519) 255-9199

In USA:

P.O. Box 32524, Detroit, Michigan 48232 (313) 961-3406

Circle 9 on inquiry card.

Visit us at ©COIIIB®* Booth #R 8126 and at the Canadian Computer Show Booth #258 & 259.

Table 2: Comparative speeds of some Samna Word III functions on the IBM PC and compatible computers. Times, in seconds and hundredths of seconds, are the averaged results of three tests: the time it took to scroll to the end of a 1000-word document, to use the Go To function to find the last word in a document, and to find the same word using the Search function. "Repaints" means the screen flickers (is being erased and reconfigured during scrolling), an undesirable characteristic.

(microprocessor clock speed about 40 percent faster than in normal mode)

You can use Samna to draw charts and simple house plans. No graphics card or dot-matrix printer is necessary.

text. You can use combinations of boilerplate text or insert long book titles in the text with relatively little typing. Unlike some other programs, Samna makes it possible to create and use more than one glossary at a time.

Index Compiling: With this feature you can create an index from any document written with Samna Word III. First, you prepare a list of entries you want included in the index. The program then searches through the text looking for these entries, arranges them alphabetically, and lists page references for them. The index compiler works well, but it's very slow.

Table of Contents: By introducing special marks for chapter headings and subheadings, you can have Samna create a table of contents. Subheadings, when properly marked, are indented to the right of chapter headings.

Outline Generation: If you're creating an outline, you can use special marks for each entry; these marks are used to indent the entry (up to six levels of indentation are possible) and to number it. The program automatically renumbers the entries if you make additions or deletions.

Line Graphics: Samna Word III can draw horizontal and vertical lines, useful for organizational charts, bar charts, and even simple house plans (see photo 4). You don't need a graphics card or a dot-matrix printer to take advantage of this feature; all you need is a daisy wheel that can print vertical and horizontal lines.

Samna's other features include a Zoom function (see photo 5) that lets you view a reduced image of an en-

{continued)

326 B YTE • NOVEMBER I984

1

DAIAACQUISITION SOFTWARE THAT SPANS TWO WORLDS

Now one IBM PC can direct high speed acquisition of analog signals, and simultaneously read and control instruments on the IEEE-488 bus. Connect your analog signals to the Keithley DAS Series 500 Measurement and Control System; connect IEEE-488 instruments to our new Plus500 Instrument Control System. The same software environment controls both interfaces at the same time.

■ SoftSOO and new PlusSOO software make measurement and control accessible. SoftSOO and PlusSOO software are enhancements of BASIC, the language of personal computing. As easy to use as BASIC itself, SoftSOO and PlusSOO add

Circle 312 on inquiry card.

powerful data acquisition and control capabilities to a higher level language.

■ You can trust the data.

SoftSOO's foreground/background scheduling carefully times multiple tasks to ensure that successive readings from the same channel maintain precisely the same sampling interval. And there's still time for simultaneous data analysis.

■ The Series 500 is fully modular.

Seventeen modules form an extensive and growing family that supports analog input, analog output, digital I/O, current loop output, pulse counting, and AC/DC relay control. And now the PlusSOO Instrument Control System allows simultaneous access to the IEEE-488 bus as well.

■ Quality manufacturing t quality service.

The Series 500 is built like an instrument. It has the highest accuracy, the lowest noise, and the best thermal stability of any personal computer based data acquisition workstation. That's why it comes with a one-year warranty and a free product support hotline.

■ For more information

Call us toll free at 1-800-552-1115. In Massachusetts, call 617-423-7780. We'd like to tell you more about the Series 500 measurement and control family.

349 Congress Street Boston, Massachusetts 02210

KEITHLEY

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 327

REVIEW: SAMNA III

Samna Word Ill's main problem is a lack of speed.

tire page on the screen (this requires a color graphics card); wild-card characters that can be used for file functions; a typewriter mode that permits you to type directly on the printer; automatic backup; support for 26 printers; the ability to create very wide pages and then to fold them on screen so you can compare various columns on a spreadsheet; and "control tabs" that let you mark and return to a specified place in a file.

Weaknesses

Samna Word Ill's main problem is lack of speed. Reformatting a 4000-word

file takes almost 7 minutes (see table 1). Deleting and inserting material can be time-consuming with long paragraphs; you have to wait for the automatic reformatting to end before you can resume editing.

Like most word processors for the IBM PC Samna Word III is even slower when you run it on a system with a color graphics adapter. As shown in table 2, the program runs between two and three times slower on an IBM PC with a color graphics adapter (or similarly equipped PC-compatibles) than on an IBM PC with monochrome adapter. In addition, the displays of the color systems are continually repainted during scrolling; the repainting produces an annoying flicker that makes the moving text almost illegible. A friend with a Zenith Z-l 50 had this problem until he added an IBM monochrome adapter and suitable

monitor; the speed doubled and the repainting disappeared. The flicker problem is caused by the way IBM designed its color graphics adapter board. The monochrome monitor/ adapter does not flicker during scrolling. Unfortunately if you have to buy a monochrome adapter and monitor to fix the speed problem, it will cost' you at least $500.

These tests were conducted on systems with two floppy-disk drives; many results would be faster with a hard disk. Samna recently announced it was removing the copy protection from all of its word-processing products, which will enable the programs to be run from a RAM (random-access read/write memory) disk or a hard disk and should speed things up quite a bit. According to Charlotte Hixson, Samna's customer-support manager, the speed problem is a result of the

program being written in C rather than in assembly language (this was done to make the program easier to debug). l As soon as the software is stabilized," says Ms. Hixson, "the screen and line-handler blocks will be written in assembly language and will be much faster."

Samna Word III is sensitive to fluctuations in power-line current, even with a surge protector; the resulting crash usually freezes the screen. But this happens infrequently and sounds worse than it really is: since Samna automatically records text as it is written, you seldom lose more than a few lines, and these can be copied from the frozen screen.

After a lot of editing, the page counter sometimes loses track of the proper page number. The spelling checker doesn't recognize words linked by dashes. The automatic-

hyphenation features sometimes miss one or two words that should be hyphenated. File size is not listed in the directory, nor is there any indication of how close you are to filling a disk. However, I've never lost text because of a full disk: you're given a chance to use a new disk or delete material from the one that's full.

User Support

Samna Corporation seems to have a positive attitude toward its customers. The people who answer the toll-free information hotline are friendly and helpful; they've provided assistance at no charge after the 30-day support period had expired. Customers who install their programs incorrectly are given new copies.

When version 1.1 of Samna Word II was released, free updates were provided to purchasers of the original

Samna seems to have a positive attitude toward customers. Users who install programs incorrectly are given new copies.

program, with no requirement that the old program be shipped back to the company. Owners of Samna Word II can buy Samna Word III updates for the difference in price between the programs. Samna said it is planning to release a new program, Samna+, that will include spreadsheet functions. Owners of Samna Word II and Samna Word III will be able to update

[continued)

No-Risk words.

Let the gibberish stop here.

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Because no matter how many times you play it, the TDK Disk won't scramble your thoughts or play games with your

Not once. Not ever.

Our lifetime replacement warranty guarantees that.

And our almost 50 years of experience in developing superior magnetic recording products support that.

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Bringing us to our point.

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When you can play for keeps with an extraordinary disk.

1 OK offers a complete line of the most popular disks m 5 ! /« - and 8-inch formats.

TDK.THE NO-RISK DISK.

Circle 394 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE 329

Circle 30 for Dealer inquiries. Circle 31 for End-User inquiries.

Put labels on your list.

Next time you shop for computer supplies, pick up a pack of Avery's new self-adhesive labels. By putting all your address lists on labels, you get more done in less time. Name badge labels, shipping labels, piggybacks and new clear labels are also available.

The labels are designed especially for micro computers. And they're packaged to fit neatly behind your printer. Look for them wherever you buy computer supplies.

Avery Label

An Avery International Company Business Systems Division

Free Catalo g!

Your 80-page guide to computer supplies and accessories-including complete new product descriptions.

Packed with over 1600 products for microcomputers, minicomputers, and word processors - many available nowhere else.

I Big special section devoted to new supplies and accessories.

■ Comprehensive product descriptions - including more than 475 full-color photos - clearly explain features and benefits.

■ Easy-to-use cross reference guides to magnetic media, ribbons, and more-along with the industry's most complete cable guide.

■ Helpful suggestions and tips, ranging from flexible disk care to proper ribbon selection to useful application ideas.

Phone toll-free 1-800-547-5444

In California, call 1-800-547-5447

r

I l I

Phone toll-free 1-800-547-5444* or send coupon today.

NAME

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Inmac Catalog Dept. 2465 Augustine Drive Santa Clara, CA 95051

Please rush my free copy of the Inmac Catalog. I understand there is no obligation whatsoever

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In California, call 1-800-547-5447 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

I I I

REVIEW: SAMNA III

Samna Word III costs more than some programs, but if it can outperform a dedicated word processor, then the price is justified.

their programs for the price difference.

Conclusion

Samna Word III is one of the most powerful word-processing programs available for IBM PCs. In recent advertisements, Samna Corporation has claimed that a number of dedicated-word-processor operators who tested the program agreed that Samna Word III was superior to the systems they were using. Samna Word III costs $550, which is more than some other programs, but if it can outperform a dedicated word processor, the price is justified—what you pay for the software you'll save on hardware.

Who should buy Samna Word III? Anyone who spends a good deal of time writing. Samna's main strength is its assortment of automated operations and convenience features; many aren't available in other programs or on dedicated word processors. But this isn't a program for casual users: it doesn't make sense to pay for advanced functions if you'll never use them.

Samna Word III is the best of several word-processing programs I've tested, including WordStar, Easywriter II, Volkswriter, Volkswriter Deluxe, and MultiMate. I use Samna at home on my PC and a Micom word processor at work. I like the speed of the Micom, and this makes me fidgety when Samna takes too long to complete an operation, but Samna Word Ill's many special features more than compensate for this problem. Like the people in the advertisement, I've been won over. I'd rather work with Samna Word III than with a dedicated word processor. ■

Circle 210 on inquiry card.

Resolution That Blows You Away

Drains "H~l hic ; i>c -iH\ fir\+~i/~i£zc\ fHr\co r\f m ir / r -/ r \rnnof*t1v , kre for !3 IrMn/n timo

Being #1 has its advantages! Our Model 440 (720 by 400) Ultra High-Res monitor is the Worlds standard for excellence. Its capabilities will out-rank

MODEL 440

12 inch Ultra High-Res RGB Color Monitor Designed as up-grading display for IBM PC 720 x 400 line resolution at non-interlaced mode 4000 character display capability

Switchable to green character display

"EAXAIM

MODEL 425

12 inch Super High-Res RGB

Color Monitor

Fully compatible with IBM

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640 x 262 line resolution

Switchable to green

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those of our competitors for a long time. We won't Stop producing the finest! You can't! Not when you're Number One!

MODEL 420L

12 inch Super High-Res RGB

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Fully compatible with IBM

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640 x 262 line resolution at

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640 x 525 line resolution at

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Unlimited colors available

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MODEL411

12 inch High-Res RGB Color

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Fully compatible with IBM

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510 x 262 line resolution

Switchable to green

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12 inch Super High-Res

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Operated by H, scan. Rate

18,432 Khz

Optional Tilt/Swivel Base

available (Model 110-12)

Green phosphor available

(Model 121)

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See You At

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' 437 for Dealer Inquiries. Circle 438 for End-User inquiries.

© Taxan Corporation

To communicate voice me ordinary modem

and data simultaneously leaves a lot to be desired

Introducing theTel-A-Modem.

Now you and your personal computer can talk on the same phone at the same time.

Let's say, for example, certain data you were transmitting via your personal computer to a remote computer user needed some verbal explanation to go along with it. With the ordinary modem it couldn't be done. Not simultaneously.

You'd have to first call the user to inform them that data was coming. Hang up. Re-dial in order to connect modems. Transmit the data. Hang up. And then call back with your explanation. If you had additional input to transmit and discuss, you'd have to begin the whole process again. Talk about frustration.

Code-A-Phone's solution to this problem is the Tel-A-Modem. An innovative two-line desk telephone integrated with an intelligent modem capable of transmitting voice and data simultaneously.

Of course, the genius of Tel-A-Modem doesn't end with its unique g| communication capabilities and state-of-the-art convenience.

Specially designed for use with RS-232C compatible computers and terminals, it offers a full spectrum of both telephone and modem cost effective features, including: single button selector for voice or data on either line; full-duplex mode; automatic answer/origi-

Sec us at

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November 14-18,1984 MGM GRAND HOTEL, Las Vegas, Nevada

Circle 64 on inquiry card.

nate modes; 300 and 1200 baud data transmission rates; automatic selection of baud rates; switch dialing for tone-dial or pulse-dial systems; memory autodial; and modem status LEDs.

So much for words.

For more information and the name of your nearest Tel-A-Modem dealer, call 1-800-547-4683. That is, just as soon as your computer gets

V ' In Oregon, Alaska and Haumi, call 1-503-655-8940.

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A low-cost

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by Mark J. Welch

HARDWARE REVIEW

The Mannesmann Tally Spirit 80 Printer

Mark I Welch is a BYTE staff

writer. He can be contacted at POB

372. Hancock. NH 03449.

Mannesmann Tally's Spirit 80 printer doesn't represent any breakthrough in technology performance, or price, but it follows the gradual improvement of price and performance that's been occurring over the past few years.

To some extent, the Spirit 80 is a "clone" of the Epson MX-80 or RX-80 in that it uses Epson-type control codes. The Spirit 80 takes up more desk space, but it is more attractive, quieter, slightly faster, and it has a slightly better print quality than the Epson MX-80. A parallel interface is standard; a serial interface is optional.

The Spirit 80s best selling point, however, is its price: though it has a list price of $399, it is advertised by discounters for less than $300. The Epson RX-80 FT-Epson's replacement for the MX-80—is discounted to about $400 (from a list price of $499), making the Mannesmann Tklly a better bargain for similar performance.

Speed

The Spirit 80 compares favorably with the Epson RX-80 in printer benchmarks (see 'The Art of Benchmarking Printers" by Sergio Mello-Grand, in the February BYTE, page 193). The RX-80 is slightly faster in some tests but slower in others. It should be noted, however, that the RX-80 is advertised as a 100-character-per-second (cps) printer, while the Spirit 80 is advertised at 80 cps. (Interestingly, the Star Micronics Gemini-lOX printer, advertised at 80 cps, beats them both in all but one test.)

Print Modes and Speed

The Spirit 80 prints 10 characters per inch (cpi) normally 5 cpi in double-width mode, and 18 cpi in compressed mode, and it supports emphasized (bold), underlined, italicized, superscript, and subscript printing.

The printer's manual doesn't mention some commands supported by the Epson, but the Spirit 80 seems very compatible

with the MX-80. Despite some differences, the printer seems to respond to most Epson commands; WordStar text, for example, was printed accurately and, though the graphics format is slightly different, Lotus 1-2-3 graphs were also printed using Epson control codes.

The Spirit 80 uses squared print hammers, unlike the Epson or the Gemini, which use more rounded "dots." As a result, spaces between the printed pixels are less visible and characters are clearer on the Spirit. Like the Epson MX-80, the Spirit 80 prints each character as a 7 by 9 matrix; uppercase characters use the top 7 by 7, while lowercase descenders drop into the bottom two pixels. The Spirit 80 characters come closer to those of a typewriter, though not close enough to fool anyone.

Graphics are available with a resolution of 50, 67, 100, or 133 dots per inch. However, an image printed using Epson control codes won't look quite the same on the Spirit 80 because the Spirit has a finer horizontal resolution. The same number of horizontal pixels in a Spirit 80 graph are only about three-quarters as wide as on the Epson. A pie chart printed as a circle by the Epson is oval-shaped when printed on the Spirit 80.

Although software could compensate for the difference in horizontal resolution, one major flaw in the Spirit 80 can't be eliminated. Below each graphics line is a small space, probably one pixel high. This results in horizontal white lines through the graph, which detracts from the visual appeal. The Epson doesn't have these spaces.

Like the Epson, Mannesmann Tally's Spirit 80 has just three top panel buttons: on-line, linefeed, and formfeed. To get the test mode, you must hold down the linefeed button while turning the printer on.

Problems

If you don't like loud, obnoxious fault alarms, you won't like the Spirit 80. When

(continued)

« — Circle 420 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE ' 335

AT A GLANCE

Name

Spirit 80

Manufacturer

Mannesmann Tally 8301 South 180th St. Kent, WA 98032 (206) 251-5500

Type

Dot-matrix printer

Size

15 1 /2 inches wide, 13 inches deep, 5 inches high; 11 pounds

Equipment Needed

Computer with parallel interface; cable; serial printer

interface optional

Features

Most control codes are Epson compatible; all common print modes and graphics

Documentation

Operator's manual, 57 pages

List Price

$399

Mannesmann Tally's Spirit 80 printer.

PRINT SPEED(CHARACTERS/SEC)

0 20 40 60 80 100

LIST PRICE ($100)

0 2 4 6

SPIRIT 80 mm EPSON RX-80 Y//A GEMINI - 10X

This is the Mannesmann Tally Spirit 80 printe This is the Epson RX-80. This is the Epson RX

"hi s i s the Star Gemi ni -1 OX

:he Star

The Spirit 80 printer is compared with the Epson lines of 80 >As each (see 'The Art of Bench mark-

RX-80 and the Gemini-1 OX (all in draft mode). The ing Printers" by Sergio Mello-Grand, in the

pitch for all printers is 10 characters per inch. The February BYTE, page 193). The prices shown

print speeds in draft mode were determined by are list prices, including tractor-feed mecha-

timing how long it took the printers to print 50 nism.

336 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

REVIEW: SPIRIT 80

it runs out of paper, it whines until you turn it off or add paper. A few short beeps would be enough. Overall however, if you hate loud printers, you'll be pleased to know that the Spirit 80 is noticeably quieter than the Epson MX-80 in its normal operation.

Another aspect of this printer I don't like is that the tractor feed pushes the paper, rather than pulling it. The paper jammed several times during page feeds when I first put it in. Though it didn't jam again, the sprockets sounded as if they were tearing into the paper during page feeds and might jam again at any time. However, because the paper exits through a slot on the removable plastic cover, it doesn't jam under the cover, which happens occasionally with the Epson.

With some printers, the paper feeding out can feed right back in again—a situation I never notice until the printer is completely jammed with three layers of paper. You'd have to work at it to get the Spirit 80 to do this.

Documentation

The Spirit 80 manual is short, but it contains all the .information a programmer or novice will want. It also includes a complete BASIC program to demonstrate each print mode and command. The appendix is compact and carries a great deal of information.

Conclusions

The Spirit 80 isn't a giant leap forward—but it is a step in the right direction. While it has a few drawbacks, such as the tractor feed that occasionally jams, unwanted white spaces in graphics modes, and an unreasonably loud fault alarm, its advantages far outweigh any problems. It has better print quality than both the Epson RX-80 and the Gemini-lOX. Although it is slower than the Gemini, it seems more reliable.

Until a company announces a step down in price or a step up in performance, you should consider the Man-nesmann T&Ily Spirit 80 an ideal alternative in dot-matrix printers. ■

Complacency or curiosity?

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With our 20-volume, 30,000 article Academic American Encyclopedia, Dow Jones News/Retrieval will pique your children's curiosity about the world and help them develop new skills. The information they need for school is easy to access, always up-to-date, always ready. And kids love to use it!

There are timely news reports

from Washington, our nation and the world. You also get current schedules and rates from the Official Airline Guide™ Comp-U-Store, a convenient shop-at-home service; Cineman Movie Reviews; sports highlights, weather reports and MCI Mail—the new electronic mail service that lets you send letters to anyone, anywhere, even if he or she doesn't own a terminal.

Overall, you'll find a wide variety of high-quality data bases accessible quickly and easily with most personal computers.

To get your children involved, excited and turned on to the fun of learning, turn them on to Dow Jones News/Retrieval.

DOWJONES

Copyright © 1984 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Dow Jones News/Retrieval* is a registered trademark of Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

FOR FULL DETAILS, CALL 800-345 8500, EXT.5

Alaska, Hawaii and foreign, call 1-215-789-7008, Ext 5 Circle 136 on inquiry card. NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 337

HOW THE MANAG BIGGEST BUSINESS PU

"With four billion customers and the world's biggest inventory, it's a wonder I'm out the door on time each Christmas Eve.

"But this year, I'll have time to spare. That's because I've got Clout— the new software program from Microrim® that lets me conveniently get at information from every department in my company.

"How conveniently? By

letting me ask questions of to oversee manufacturing my personal computer in plants all over the world, my own words. Just like And at each facility, they I'm talking to you now" keep track of their work by

^lk using the leading m productivity pack-

_- ages on the market

"IT WRAPS UP FILES FROM

LOTUS 1-2-3: PFS:FILE:

DBASE Ii: OUR

MAINFRAMES AND MORE."

"Besides the shop up here at the Pole, I have

today. Including Microrim's own R:base™ DBMS software.

"In the past, it used to be near impossible to pull

338 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

ER OF THE WORLDS LLS HALL TOGETHER.

information together from different sources, without re-entering every bit of the data. But the new Clout takes data files directly from these programs — plus ASCII, DIE and SYLK files, too. So I can get information from other PCs by sharing floppy disks. Or being part of a LAN. Clout can even read files which have been transmitted from the company main-

frame or another PC.

"Anytime I have a question, all I have to do is ask. Clout will scan up to forty of these files automatically cross-reference five simul- , taneously and there's my answer. I don't have to know exactly how the data is organized. Or even in which file it's stored."

" 'WHICH WAREHOUSES

SHIPPED MORE RED AND GREEN ARGYLE SOCKS THAN PLANNED?' "

"Try typing that into any

there were plenty. But they were even happier to get the bonus."

"BEAT

THE CHRISTMAS

RUSH. GET A

DEMO TODAY"

"Want to see how easy it is to pull your business together? For only $14.95 (plus shipping) Microrim will send you a demo/tutorial of Clout. Just call 1-800-547-4000, Dept. 909. In Oregon, or outside the U.S., call 1-503-684-3000, Dept. 909. Or drop by your nearest software store. "It could be the best pres-

software package you know, ent you'll ever give yourself." Using exactly those words. Likely all you'll get is a blank stare from the screen.

"But with Clout, I get a clean, crisp list. No computer jargon. No need to check it twice. Just straightforward answers.

"I also use Clout on the corporation's financial files. For example, my elves enjoy a well-deserved bonus as much as the next elf. So I entered, 'Which departments were over quota last quarter?' I was happy to find that

CLOUT

FROM MICRORIM

Requires 256K of memory Runs on MS-DOS and PC DOS

operating systems. Hard disk recommended.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 339

»*♦ m f

SjgjpSI

JiUl

■-^.*

WHAT A FLOOD IN OKLAHOMA TAUGHT US ABOUT

RUGGED PERSONAL PRINTERS.

You can't keep a good printer down. After heavy rains and flooding washed through a Tulsa auto parts store, they left behind extensive damage, three feet of grimy water, and a totally submerged Okidata Microline printer.

,l We thought that printer was a real goner," explained Jim and Jeannie Butler, owners of Butler Compu-Systems, 'but we bought two gallons of pure alcohol and took apart everything that would come apart."

They soaked it, scrubbed it, reassembled it, then crossed their fingers and plugged it in. After all that abuse, the Okidata printer did just what you'd expect from an Okidata printer . . . it printed.

In fact, it printed so well and the owner was so pleased that he wouldn't even accept a brand new replacement.

Leagues ahead in performance.

Add another chapter to Okidata's reliability story. Okidata builds the most dependable printers there are, with a warranty claim rate of less than 1/2 of 1%.

Okidata builds the most versatile printers too. The Microline models print data at rates up to three pages a minute. There's an additional print mode for enhanced or emphasized text, and their letter quality rivals any daisywheel with full graphics printing capabilities.

Okidata Microlines are totally compatible with all popular software packages and personal computers. Special interfaces are available for IBM and Apple Macintosh™ at no extra cost. And service is always dose by through Okidata Dealers or Xerox Service Centers across the country.

The Okidata Microlines. For printer performance that's absolutely un-sinkable. Call 1-800-OKIDATA (609-235-2600 in NJ) for the Authorized Okidata Dealer nearest you.

OKIDATA

^k an OKI AMERICA company

Technological Craftsmanship.

Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Computer Inc.

340 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 308 on inquiry card.

The

basic print

mechanism

is simple,

yet solid

by Peter V Callamaras

Peter V. Callamaras (POB 408, Scott AFB, IL 6222 5) is an officer in the Air Force, The recipient of degrees in computer technology and biological sciences, he recently received his master's degree in systems management. He has been interested in computers since 1966 and used to be the service-department manager of a computer store.

HARDWARE REVIEW

The Brother HR-15 Letter-Quality Printer

Choosing a printer is a big decision. Until recently, most of us opted for dot-matrix printers for two reasons: price and graphics capabilities. But most of us really want a letter-quality printer. After all, a word processor lets you produce professional-looking documents in a short amount of time, right? And a dot-matrix printout is, well not that professional looking.

But technology has once again come to the rescue. Brother International Corporation's HR-15 printer is a reasonably priced ($599 suggested list) daisy-wheel printer with a respectable speed (13 characters per second).

Description

The HR-15 is a well-designed, well-packaged, and rugged printer. The basic print mechanism is simple, yet solid. The design of the print hammer and daisy-wheel portion of the printer is based on that of the popular Brother electronic typewriter line. The printer is encased in relatively thick, sturdy plastic.

There are six membrane keys on the front panel of the printer labeled Pitch, Line Feeds, Top of Form, Line Spacing, Select/ Deselect, and Copy. You select options by pressing the corresponding key. The Pitch key gives you a choice of 10, 12, or 15 characters per inch plus proportional spacing. If you need an extended printout, you can get 225 characters on a single line of 8/2-inch-wide paper by using the 15 pitch and the optional Quadro 15 print wheel. Line spacing can be set at single, one and a half, or double spacing. The other print options are self-explanatory.

You can use the Copy key to reprint material stored in the HR-15's 3K-byte buffer (8K-byte buffer optional). The buffer stores approximately a page of text. This page will be reprinted until you stop the copy function with the Select/Deselect key.

I had no trouble using the membrane keys, and they seem relatively impervious

to damage from spilled liquids, etc.

Brother International offers a wide variety of ribbons and daisy wheels for the HR-15. They are standard Brother typewriter supplies, both plentiful and affordable.

The ribbons are encased in plastic plug-in cartridges; they come in single-strike film, multistrike film, and reinkable fabric. When you get to the end of a ribbon a buzzer sounds and an alarm light goes on.

Daisy print wheels are available in most standard fonts, including Prestige, italics, script, optical-character reader (OCR), and others (see figure 1 for examples). There is also a proportional daisy wheel that can be used in conjunction with the proportional-spacing setting on the pitch selector.

The HR-15 has standard typewriter controls such as the paper-bail lift bar, platen roller knob, and paper-release arm. It functions like an electronic typewriter converted for use as a computer printer.

To use the basic printer all you have to do is insert a sheet of paper, roll the paper to the start position, and press the Select/ Deselect key. You can buy the printer with either a parallel or serial connector on the back. If you buy an HR-15 with a serial-port connector, you will have to set the serial parameters via the DIP (dual-inline pin) switch on the back panel of the printer.

Options

You can add three options to the basic HR-15 to enhance its capabilities. The most useful of these options, in my opinion, is the tractor-feed mechanism, which retails for $150. It fits into a set of guides built into the printer. Slide it into the guides, plug the paper-out sensor plug into a socket on the back of the printer, and it's set up (see photo 1). The unit works well with microper-forated fanfold printer paper. Your final product will look like it came from a dedicated typewriter.

Included with the tractor-feed mechanism is a large plastic noise-reduction cover that

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 341

REVIEW: THE HR-I5

replaces the unit's standard noise even when covered the printer is loud, formed installation holes and guides

reduction cover. Although either The cut-sheet feeder option, priced on the back of the printer. With this

cover reduces the noise level some at $2 59.95, is an alternative to the option you can insert a stack of let-

what, I prefer to put the printer in a tractor-feed unit (see photo 2). This terhead stationery into the mecha-

noise-reduction enclosure because feeder is designed to mate with pre {continued)

Figure l: Samples of printout from the Brother HR-15 printer using a variety of print wheels.

Photo 1: The Brother HR-15 printer with the optional tractor-feed mechanism attached. Photo 2: The Brother HR-15 printer

with the optional cut-sheet feeder attached.

342 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

AT A GLANCE

Name

Brother HR-15

Manufacturer

Brother International

Corporation 8 Corporate Place Piscataway, NJ 08854 (201) 981-0300

Type

Letter-quality printer

Size

18 by 6 by 13 inches

Features

3K-byte printer buffer, interchangeable daisy print wheels, cartridge ribbons (80,000- to 210,000-character print capacity), multicolor printing, boldface, subscripts and superscripts, automatic underlining, double strike, and proportional spacing, Centronics parallel or serial interface with single, one and a half, and double spacing, and 10, 12, and 15 pitch on a 13.5-inch carriage width

Cost

$599

Options

Tractor-feed mechanism, $150 Cut-sheet feeder, $259,95 Keyboard, $200

Documentation

45-page user's manual

Audience

Any computer user desiring a medium-speed letter-quality printer with adequate throughput for small business use

mi'

PRINT SPEED (CHARACTERS/SEC) 0 10 20 30 40

LIST PRICE ($100) 0 6 12

24 30

BROTHER HR-15 \ J JUKI $100 Y/Y/\ DIABLO 630

This is the Brother HR-15. This the Brother This is the Juki 6100 This is the Juki 6100 This is the Diablo 630 This is the Diablo 6

The Brother HR-15 printer (using a Prestige 10/12 daisy wheel) is compared with the Juki 6100 (using a Courier 10 daisy wheel) and the Diablo 630 (using a Courier Legal 10 daisy wheel). The pitch for all printers is 10 characters per inch. The print speeds were determined

by timing how long it took the printers to print the Shannon test (573 characters, see figure 1 on page 207 of 'The Art of Benchmarking Printers" by Sergio Mello-Grand, February BYTE, page 193). The prices shown are the list prices, including tractor-feed mechanism.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 343

REVIEW: THE HIM 5

Photo 3: The Brother HR-15's optional keyboard.

nism and it will automatically feed the sheets to the printer. This is handy if you send a lot of form letters or if you do a lot of single-page revisions. When I tested the cut-sheet feeder I had no significant jamming problems.

The last HR-15 option is a $200 plug-in typewriter keyboard. This keyboard changes your HR-15 printer into a fully correctable typewriter (see photo 3). it has 96 standard character keys and some special controls. All the print functions are controlled from the keyboard when the Select switch is on. You can set the keyboard to operate in three different formats, depending on the print wheels you are using. For example, if you are using the international print wheel, you can use the English symbol for pound sterling (£) to denote currency. All the alternate symbols (as many as four on a key) are printed on the appropriate keys.

The keyboard has three different resting angles so you can adjust it to your most comfortable typing position. Overall, the keyboard's feel, layout, and switch locations are excellent. 1 had little difficulty switching between it and an IBM Selectric typewriter, despite the HR-15 keyboard's extra function keys and switches.

Other Features

The HR-15 has a second ribbon holder that can hold a correction rib-

bon when the optional keyboard is installed. (Unfortunately, the keyboard manual does not tell you what type or size of correction ribbon to use.) You can also use a different colored ribbon in the second ribbon holder for two-color printing capability (when using WordStar, for example).

The HR-15 prints at a rate of 13 characters per second (I did some tests that confirmed this measure). I don't think this speed is objectionable, even when printing long documents. However, I recommend that you use either an onboard or outboard printer buffer to free up the computer when you are printing long documents.

1 used WordStar versions 3.1 and 3.3 on my Columbia PC and the printer did not disable any WordStar features that I usually use. I did not, however, run exhaustive tests on the HR-15/ WordStar combination because I did not have access to some of the other popular word-processing programs to use for comparison. I did use the HR-15 and WordStar on an Apple II (as well as on the~Columbia running the IBM version of WordStar) and again I had no problems.

When combined with WordStar, the printer let me easily change print wheels whenever I wanted a different typeface. The Brother daisy wheels come in plastic carriers that are designed to slip in and out of the print mechanism. It takes about four sec-

onds to change daisy wheels. Open the print unit's cover, press the print-wheel release, pull out the original daisy wheel by the built-in finger tab, insert the new wheel and close the cover. One thing about this procedure did bother me: there is a chance you might damage the unit's cover when you open it to access the print mechanism. The cover is supported on either end by two hinges and the distance between them prevents the cover from being as sturdy as I would like it to be because I might change print wheels several times when printing a single document.

The printer and the optional hardware come with instruction manuals. On the whole, the manuals provide good installation directions, but inexperienced users may find them somewhat difficult to understand. My impression is that they were written primarily for installation technicians and experienced users.

Conclusions

The HR-15 currently is very popular in the marketplace: original equipment manufacturers are buying the Brother unit and repackaging it under their own label. The Comrex CR-II and Dynax DX-15 are examples.

The Brother HR-15 is one of the best low-cost daisy-wheel printers you can buy today. It is sturdy and easy to use. It has a set of six controls that you would expect to find only on much more expensive printers.

The HR-15 is a medium-speed printer that should meet the needs of most personal computer and small-business computer users who want to produce letter-quality documents.

The keyboard option for the HR-15 turns the printer into a fully correctable typewriter, but for most people the tractor-feed unit will probably be the most popular option. The cut-sheet feeder is also useful if you use letterhead stationery often.

The Brother HR-15 gives you exceptional value for your dollar. It could very well become the standard for letter-quality printers in the same way the Epson MX series has become the standard for dot-matrix printers. ■

344 BYTE* NOVEMBER 1984

Personal Computer Networks Are Heading For Data Loss Disaster,

INTRODUCING THE SO LU TION. DATA STOREf Ian.

The database management software that prevents costly data loss when several users share the same data.

Hardly anyone knows about it until it happens. And then it's too late. There's a collision. An entire database is destroyed. Vital records and information are lost. And untold dollars and man-hours are required to replace them. An entire business is thrown into chaos.

Why does database destruction occur? Because today's leading database management systems were designed for single users only. So when you have more than one employee accessing the same database, look out.

Happily there is now a simple solution to this serious problem-DATASTORErlan, the first software designed specifically for personal computer networks. DATASTORErlan puts an end to data loss once and for all. And, it offers many other sophisticated database advantages as well:

I SECURITY AND PRIVACY unheard of in single-user database systems. It permits selective access to sensitive information, screening

out all those who should not see it. You can even protect data down to the field and record level with DATASTORErlan.

fi BUSINESS-SIZE CAPACITY for growth. It provides up to 16 megabytes of information per database with no limitation on the number of records, and each record can be up to 16,000 bytes with over 500 fields. In addition, there are 16 key fields, and you can join up to 15 different databases. Obviously, single-user systems pale by comparison.

I EASILY COMPATIBLE. If you are currently using single user database management software there's no need to re-enter files when you upgrade to DATASTORErlan. Compatible with leading database management software including dBase II™ andPFSrfile™

EASIER TO USE than virtually any other database product on the market. A step-by-step menu leads any user easily through the program.

r AVAILABLE for IBM PC and

compatibles, TI Professional and all leading networks including Corvus, 3Com, Nestar, Novell, Davong and PCnet™

If you don't want to gamble with your company's data, call us or write to find out more about DATASTORErlan. Or stop in to Businessland, participating ComputerLands, or other major retailers.

For more information, a full-function demonstration disk, or the dealer nearest you, call toll-free:

1-800-LAN-DBMS

or 1-800-LAN-DATA in California.

Or write:

Software Connections 2041 Mission College Blvd. Santa Clara, California 95054

Name

Address

City

State

Zip

® SOF1W1RE CONNECTIONS

THE FIRST NAME IN NETWORK SOFTWARE.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 345

i-' ../•■

traducing the ' i

smartest tools ever created ,|m for the business mind.

The Smart Software System.

Smart Software, featuring The Smart Spreadsheet with Graphics, The Smart Word Processor and The Smart Data Manager, is the first software system with the unique intelligence and inherent logic to perform the way you think. Which makes applying the power of a computer to business tasks more effortless and effective than ever before.

It's awesomely powerful, yet amazingly simple. And with its greatly advanced and unprecedented capabilities, it sets new standards by which all other integrated business software will be measured.

ACHIEVING FULL INTEGRATION WITHOUT COMPROMISE

Unlike all-in-one integrated packages. Smart Software is structured on the concept of modular integration. Where each dedicated application can achieve its own maximum

potential. So you get the full power and features of dedicated software in an integrated system.

Each application module maintains its own data structure. Yet all are capable of transferring data, passing commands and sharing information automatically.

This unique system of integration also allows for multiple windows; relational files, documents and spreadsheets in memory at once; graphics printed within text; external data interfaces; and open-ended application development.

It's a system of integration without compromise. Integration that is not only better; it's smarter.

SETTLING THE

EASE OF USE VERSUS

POWER DILEMMA

Smart Software puts to rest the ease of use versus power dilemma with an exclusive feature called "confidence levels."

At confidence level one, beginners don't face intimidating options; yet level three provides experts with all the power they want.

This feature enables Smart Software to grow in sophistication as the user's confidence increases or needs expand. Even more importantly, a variety of users in the same company, with different experience, can each work comfortably at their own level of ability with the same applications.

This one, innovative idea could revolutionize the way all business software is designed to work. And only Smart Software has it.

s.

CREATING CUSTOM APPLICATIONS BY SIMPLE MENU SELECTION

Perhaps the most significant aspect of Smart Software is its unique "project processing" capability. It allows the user to set up customized projects, like a monthly sales report system or multi-year business plans, simply by doing them once.

There's no need to learn a complex programming language. The user merely makes simple English command selections. Smart Software then remembers to complete the project in the same way again at the touch of a button. Not by memorizing keystrokes (like a macro), but by automatically learning your custom sequence of commands and freely adjusting to changes and edits.

No other integrated system has a capability that even comes close to Smart Software's project processing.

HELPING PEOPLE TO WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER

Smart Software was created to work for you, relentlessly. Structured to integrate between applications, automatically. And designed to perform multi-faceted business projects, brilliantly.

See your local computer dealer for a demonstration, or call 800-GET SMART to order a Smart demonstration disk.**

'mart Software is

currently available for the

IBM PC, IBM PC/XT, the

new IBM PC/AT and IBM

compatibles.

Circle 211 on inquiry card.

^WTH^

" - x. The Smart Software System

*Lotus 1-2-3, WordStar and dBase II are registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation, MicroPro International Corporation, and Ash ton-Tate, respectively. In Kansas, call (913) 383-1089. **The $10 charge for the disk is refundable with the purchase of any Smart Software.

© 1984 Innovative Software, Inc.

REVIEW FEEDBACK

Analysis of SAM

I am amazed that you should publish an article comparing statistical analysis packages ("Statistical Software for Microcomputers," by lames Carpenter, Dennis Deloria, and David Morganstein, April, page 234) without allowing the software authors to check it before publication. In particular, the details and comments on the SAM package were quite misleading, perhaps reflecting bias against the only non-American system.

For example, one of the unique features of SAM is its cluster-analysis option—yet this form of analysis is nowhere mentioned in the article. Table 10 is printed over two pages in such a way that it gives the impression that SAM does not include multivariate analysis. In fact SAM is one of the very few packages that features both discriminant analysis and factor analysis, etc.

The comments on SAM claim that it was one of the "weaker" packages yet fail to point out that it was the most accurate system when compared with others running on the same hardware. SAM will also read DIF and dBASE II files as well as creating correlation files and frequency table files—again this wasn't mentioned in the article.

The inaccuracies are numerous and the subjective commentary highly partial

R.E. Downes

International Software

Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire

England

No doubt Mr. Downes has forgotten that in fact we sent him a copy of the original draft in September of 1983. Subsequently, Jim Carpenter spoke to Mr. Downes by telephone and received several suggested changes to the tables. Mr. Downes suggests that the details and comments on the SAM package were quite mislead-ing. We would like to examine each of his specific points, since we do not agree with that remark.

First, we should observe that Mr. Downes sent us, as we noted in the article, only an Apple version of the SAM package.

Mr. Downes indicates that SAM was

"the most accurate system when compared with others running on the same hardware." Table 11 does not confirm this. Microstat was the most accurate program run on the Apple with the six independent variables test and TWG ELF was the most accurate run on the Apple with the three independent variables test.

Mr. Downes says that SAM reads both dBASE II and DIF files. Neither the documentation nor the program he sent us indicates this. We would be very pleased to examine newer documentation or program versions that have this capability. Why did Mr. Downes not tell us this discrepancy when we spoke to him on the phone?

We agree fully with Mr. Downes that SAM's cluster-analysis capability is unique and we would have served readers better by commenting on it in the review. To be candid, none of us have ever used this method but know that it is of value to some researchers.

To say that SAM was among the weaker packages does not imply that it is weak. It is far easier for us to write a review of the excellent work of all the developers, Mr. Downes's group included, than it is to prepare and document a complex statistical analysis program. We applaud International Software and the other developers for their truly valuable contributions but remain unchanged in our comments regarding comparisons of the various programs.

David Morganstein Germantown, MD

Editor's Note: It is not BYTE's policy to send copies of reviews to manufacturers before publication. —Rich Malloy

LISP

As I've recently started learning LISP on an Apple II+ , I was very interested in your article comparing muLISP and IQLISP ("LISP for the IBM Personal Computer," by Jordan Bortz and John Diamant, July, page 281). I have a question and a couple of observations.

First the question: I bought muLISP in March 1984. As my dealer didn't keep it

in stock, it was ordered from Microsoft and I received muLISP-80 version 2.15. I see that the version you were using was muLISP version 4.05. Even allowing that you were using a different implementation, the jump from 80-2.15 to 83-4.05 in under six months seems rather large. Question: have I been ripped off?

Bortz and Diamant pointed out that muLISP didn't report an error on unbound atoms and allowed you to take the CAR and CDR of atoms. MuLISP has a feature called auto-quoting: if a muLISP atom is imagined as having two pointers, then, when muLISP encounters a name it doesn't recognize, it creates an atom with the first pointer (the atom's value) pointing to itself and the second pointer (the atom's property list) pointing to NIL. This means that all atoms are bound (to themselves, at least) and that they do have a CAR (the value pointer) and a CDR (the property pointer pointing to NIL). An advantage of auto-quoting is that a sequence like

(SET A B) (SET A C)

will always work in muLISP and involves a lot less typing than the QUOTE-ful alternative, A big disadvantage is that typing errors produce completely valid atoms that you can't get rid of; on a 56K-byte system like mine, this can get pretty annoying. I think your reviewers should have explained auto-quoting rather than simply dismiss it as poor error-checking.

I couldn't persuade your benchmark factorial function to work with my version of muLISP, as your function doesn't include the magic word LAMBDA. As muLISP doesn't require COND or T in a function like this, my version looked like this: (DEFUN FACT (LAMBDA (X) ((LESSP X 2) 1) (TIMES X (FACT (SUB1 X))) )) and this ran about 2 percent-3 percent faster than a similar definition that included COND and T

Finally, your reviewers complained that there was no documentation to cover the compatibility packages that came with their version of muLISP (I didn't get them with mine). As the only reason for including a MacLISP emulation would seem to

{continued)

348 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 302 on inquiry card. —►

RELIABILITY RUNS IN OUR FAMILY.

Face it. A computer terminal is like an employee of your company. You have to be able to count on it to do its job. Not just its first day on the job, but every day for years to come. Because reliability translates to productivity, and productivity relates directly to profits. That's why at ADDS we design reliability into all of our products. And our years of engineering and manufacturing experience translates to a quality record that is unsurpassed in the industry.

You can count on ADDS to have a Viewpoint " for any job that requires a terminal. For example, the ADDS conversational Viewpoint + gives you dynamically allocated function keys, visual highlighting and keyboard adjustable screen contrast — all at an extremely competitive price.

What's more, you can count on the ADDS Viewpoint to get along with everyone in your company. Its plain language menu allows you to select operating characteristics from the keyboard so quickly and easily, time-consuming operator manual references are practically eliminated its first day on the job. And the Viewpoint \ is an ergonomic study in how to comfortably match man with machine. So if you're considering a terminal purchase for your company, consider the ADDS Viewpoint. Give us a call. We'll share even more of our family secrets with you. You'll find how beneficial it can be to have Viewpoint reliability run from our family to yours.

IT ALL ADDS UP.

ADDS

A Subsidiary of NCR Corporation

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About Bulls

Bears

Savings Bonds.

The stock market says that bulls are good and bears are bad. But if you buy U.S. Savings Bonds through the Payroll Savings Plan, you can get the most out of both markets.

Rates are high during bull markets, so the variable interest rate you get on Bonds lets you share in those higher returns.

But if the bear takes over and rates fall, don't panic;

you're protected by a guaranteed minimum of 7.5%. X$D ^f>>

Just hold your Bonds 5 years ""*

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350 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

lake i ^^i . stockV*^ in^merica.

REVIEW FEEDBACK

be to allow LISP novices to work through Winston & Horn's "LISP," presumably the Soft Warehouse felt that any attempt at more than minimal documentation might be a little superfluous. Perhaps they should include the Winston & Horn book as part of the muLISP package—after all, doesn't everyone who gets a LISP package go out and buy it?

Michael M. Mason

Worksop, Nottinghamshire

England

ProDOS

Haven't you folks at BYTE heard of the new Apple II operating system, ProDOS? You must have, since it has been available since early this year and you published a fine article by Rob Moore describing the new system in your February issue.

In recent months you have published a number of reviews of various computers and compared their respective performances versus the IBM PC and the Apple II. Why do you continue to use the old operating system (DOS 3.3) for these various tests rather than the new ProDOS system?

I would hope that in the future a fine, objective magazine like BYTE would strive to provide its readers with the most up-to-date test results so that fair comparisons can be made.

Martin Kalman Friday Harbor WA

We agree. ProDOS is a big improvement Many application programs, however, are not yet available for it Multipian, for one, will not be available for ProDOS until early next year. Despite this, we will upgrade our Apple lie BASIC and system benchmarks shortly —Rich Maihy

Juki 6100 Printer

I was interested in the review by G. Michael Vose of the Juki 6100 printer (August, page 305). I've been using the 6100 with my Zenith 110 and Peachtree's 5000 programs for about three months and I'd like to offer my views on these products.

The Juki user's manual is far better than the Peachtree manual.

The Juki isn't kind to ribbons. If you let the ribbon-loading lever snap into position, it may cut or cause other problems for the ribbon. It must be eased ever so gently into position. The lift/lower actions of the ribbon transport/guide mechanism

{continued)

SuperSoft Languages

When Performance Counts

A programmer's most important software tool is the language compiler or interpreter he uses. He has to depend on it to work and work well.

At SuperSoft, we believe it. That's why we offer three excellent compilers: SuperSoft FORTRAN, SuperSoft C, and SuperSoft BASIC. They answer the programmer's need for rock solid, dependable performance on microcomputers.

SuperSoft FORTRAN

With large code and data.

SuperSoft FORTRAN version 2.0 with large code and data space is now available under MS DOS and PC DOS. It gives you the power to compile extremely large FORTRAN programs on micros. It allows double precision and complex numbers, full IEEE floating point, and a full range of other important features for the serious FORTRAN programmer.

Both 8087 support and a RATFOR preprocessor are optionally available.

FORTRAN (CP/M-80 & 86, MS DOS,

PC DOS): $425 Small model under PC DOS and

MS DOS: $325 8087 support: $50 ■ RATFOR: $100

SuperSoft C

SuperSoft C is a high-powered, full-featured C compiler designed for serious C applications. It is fast -both in compilation and execution, and it is packed with more than 135 library functions (all delivered in source code form). SuperSoft C produces optimized assembly code, and object code can be ROMed.

SuperSoft C (for CP/M-80, CP/M-86, MS DOS, PC DOS): $350

BASIC Con***

SuperSoft BASIC

The SuperSoft BASIC compiler lets you get serious with business and financial programs. It uses BCD math to give you highly accurate results for demanding applications. SuperSoft BASIC is a true native code compiler that is generally compatible with Microsoft's BASIC interpreter. And an additional bonus - no run time license fee is required.

SuperSoft BASIC Compiler (for MS DOS, PC DOS, and CP/M-86): $300

Also available for programmers:

Star-Edit, a full-featured

programmer s text editor: $225.00 Disk-Edit, an invaluable

programmer's disk data editor:

$100.00

To order call: 800-762-6629

In Illinois call 217-359-2112

In conjunction with SuperSoft, Supersoft FOR TRAM was developed by Small Systems Services, (Jrbana, IL, a leader in FORTRAN development.

Japanese Distributor: ASR Corporation International, TBL Building, 7th Floor, 1-19-9 Toranomon, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 105. Japan Tel. 03-05025550. Telex 222-5850 ASRTYO J.

European Distributor: SuperSoft International Ltd., 50 The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England TN2 5TF. Tel. 0892-45433. Telex: 95441 Micro-G.

PC DOS is a trademark of International Business Machines.

MS DOS is a trademark of Microsoft.

CP/M-80 and CP/M-86 are trademarks of Digital Research, Inc.

Circle 386 on inquiry card.

SuperS ft

SuperSoft, Inc., 1713 S. Neil St, P.O. Box 1628, Champaign, IL 61820

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 351

REVIEW FEEDBACK

cause ribbon mispositioning/foiding at the takeup area, causing the ribbon to be caught in the takeup winding spindle at the right, most often under the ribbon cartridge, which breaks or binds the ribbon. Sometimes I can salvage the ribbon by freeing the ribbon, then winding more onto the takeup reel, straightening as I go, but it's annoying and messy. I'd like to be able to stop that vertical movement, for

when I find a better fabric ribbon, but I can find no instructions in the manual for doing so. The metal shield in front of the ribbon is too easily bent, which prevents full vertical travel of the ribbon, which causes underline misses when the shield scrapes the carbon from the film. The vertical movement caused constant misalignment of the only fabric ribbon in a Selec-tric II cartridge I have been able to find—

Touch-Tone in . .. ASCII out.

With a T-300, any Touch-Tone phone in the country can become a remote data-entry terminal. . . or even a control panel!

Imagine the possibilities: Branch-office order entry. Inventory control. Remote control of environmental systems. Data logging. Emergency access to process-control systems/Credit card authorizations. The list of remote access applications is endless!

Teltone's T-300 combines a DTMF-to-ASCII converter with the capabilities of a fully-eq uipped intelligent modem. It features Bell 103 compatibility, auto-answer and originate, tone and pulse repertory dialing, and call progress indications. For ease of use, it's menu-driven and user-programmable. An internal buffer allows the T-300 to handle multiple data transfer speeds.

Touch-Tone is a registered trademark of AT&T

352 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Use it for front-end Hardware security tool

Protect your valuable programs and data by effectively limiting access to the computer before the caller gets through to any software security system you might be using. You can program the T-300 to respond only to a specific string of DTMF signals: unless the correct tones are detected, callers are not connected to your computer.

To get all the details, call us today at: 1-800-227 3800, ext. 1130.

Distributor inquiries are invited. For more information, call us at (206)827-9626, ext. 490.

hor

Teltone Corporation, P.O. Box 657, Kirkla WA 98033. TWX 910 449-2862. In the east, call: Teltone Corporation (904) 262-6910. In Canada contact: Teltone Ltd.. 183 Amber Street. Markham. Ontario L3R 3B4. (416) 475-0837

the IBM Tech III, IBM part #1136391. That ribbon twisted almost immediately each time printing started, so I just had to replace it; $15 wasted. The ribbon guides let the ribbon slip out too easily given the constant vertical movement; what good is easy loading if the ribbon won't stay in place? The clear plastic shield between ribbon and paper accumulates flake too easily, obscuring the point at which the top of the paper must be placed to get full use of the sheets, and there's no apparent way to easily remove that shield for cleaning.

The power supply failed on my first machine three days after I got it. My dealer, ICS, replaced it without question. The metal ribbon shield started interfering with the print wheel this week, so the serviceman will have to replace that, he said. My warranty runs out next week, so I'm starting to get nervous. The external clip that holds the cable plug in place will cut your fingers as you try to remove the plug; a less-hostile clip method would cost no more.

My questions are: Do you know of other fabric ribbons available for the Juki? And what is required to make the Juki print out a chess position graphically using Mychess running under ZDOS?

Jay H. Beckerman Ft Lauderdale, FL

Having read Mr. Vose's excellent review of the Juki 6100 printer, J thought your readers might find these additional observations useful.

Juki has prepared a very user-friendly 164-page owner's manual that is available without charge to qualified Juki owners through their dealers. This overcomes the problems encountered with the supplied 44-page documentation.

In addition to the Courier 10 print wheel provided with the printer, Juki sells two others: Prestige Elite 12 and Roman PS. 1 paid $7.95 each for these at my Juki dealer. The mechanically (but not typographically) compatible Triumph/Adler print wheels from a Triumph/Adler dealer are available in a wide range of type styles including 15 pitch. These cost about three times as much as the Juki wheels and, as a comparative self-test will quickly reveal, differ from the Juki wheels in 8 positions used by infrequent accent marks.

The Juki wheels' lack of a true apostrophe can be extremely disconcerting. The character that Juki has assigned to the hexadecimal 27 position is more of an acute accent. Presumably it is intended

{continued)

Circle 398 on inquiry card.

Dare to Compare. Come in. Sit down. Run both PCs. IBM vsTL Side by side. Compare how they run powerful software. Like l-2-3™from Lotus! Or BPS Business Graphics™ Or MultiMatel

Compare speed Keyboards. Graphics. Service and support. Compare everything a PC can do for you.

And one simple fact will emerge:

IBM Personal Computer (1*2-3 from Lotus)

Texas Instruments Professional Computer (1*2-3 from Lotus)

Take TFs "Dare to Compare" challenge today. Selected dealers want you to see for yourself how the TI Professional makes the best software perform even better. You 11 also learn how TI backs you with outstanding service and support, including an optional m .

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Call us toll-free at 1-800-527-3500 for your nearest TI dealers.

IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines, Inc. Lotus and 1-2-3 are trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation. BPS Business Graphics is a trademark of Business &. Professional Software, Incorporated. MultiMate is a trademark of SoftWord Systems. Copyright © 1984, Texas Instruments Incorporated.

2764-48 NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 353

REVIEW FEEDBACK

to -serve both needs, but it looks terrible as an apostrophe particularly if you are doing quotes within quotes. It just looks wrong. For this reason, a Triumph/Adler wheel is best if you are preparing English-language text where appearance is important. The Triumph/Adler wheels can also get you in trouble at times, such as when printing out a SuperCalc 2 spreadsheet with borders. What you get instead of ver-

tical bars for column separators are paragraph signs. It looks very awkward.

Being able to use standard IBM typewriter ribbons is a great convenience. I have found that the Tech III multistrike ribbon is of sufficiently high quality for nearly all uses—including correspondence—and its long life lessens the likelihood of running out of ribbon in the middle of a page. When preparing originals

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IN A WORLD OF CHANGE,

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fttH'Mli'

Call today for more information.

Available through your local software dealer, or Persoft, Inc., 2740 Ski Lane, Madison, Wl 53713. Phone (608) 273-6000. TELEX 759491.

persofr

for offset printing, however, a single-strike ribbon such as Tech II will markedly improve the quality of the end product, and it is easy enough to switch ribbons back again,

Stuart C. Dobson Irvington, NY

Toolworks C/80

It was gratifying to see our Toolworks C/80 used as one of the comparison compilers in the review of three CP/M-80 C compilers (June, page 303). It's nice to see that our $49.95 compiler still matches up well with those costing much more.

But Toolworks C/80 would have done ever better if Christopher Kern had used version 3, which has been the current version since August 1983. It generates better object code and comes with an expanded library of over 45 functions. The library includes the string functions that Mr, Kern noted were missing in C/80 2.0, coded in fast machine language which greatly speeds up the sort benchmark.

The most important improvement in version 3 is the optional C/80 Mathpak, which adds true float and long data types (not just subroutines) to the language. We sell that Mathpak separately at $29,95 to keep the price of the compiler down.

We compliment BYTE for its new review format, with graphs clearly showing differences in performance. As a leader in low-priced software since 1980. The Software Toolworks depends greatly on objective reviews to point up the differences (or Jack of them) between our products and more expensive ones.

Walt Bilofsky

The Software Toolworks

Sherman Oaks, CA

New Plastic Chips

In regard to Harry I. Kuhman's letter in Review Feedback (June, page 374) about hangs and crashes while using Pinball Construction Set, Commodore has started using plastic-package video controller chips instead of the ceramic-package chips. These plastic chips run hotter than the ceramic ones and after using the C64 with some games that have a lot of screen activity the chip will overheat and lock up. This can also occur when scrolling through a file with a text editor. Pulling the reset pin low with an external reset switch will not reset the chip; the only cure is to power down and let the machine cool off. A very helpful service technician at a

{continued)

354 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 326 on inquiry card.

Would you hire an entire band when all you need is one instrument? Of course not.

So why use a whole orchestra of computers when all you need is one to develop software for virtually any type of micro-processor?

The secret? Avocet's family of cross-assemblers. With Avocet cross-assemblers you can develop software for practically every kind of processor — without having to switch to another development system along the way!

Cross-Assemblers to Beat the Band!

Development Tools That Work

Avocet cross-assemblers are fast, reliable and user-proven in over 4 years of actual use. Ask NASA, IBM, Xerox or the hundreds of other organizations that use them. Every time you see a new microprocessor-based product, there's a good chance it was developed with Avocet cross-assemblers.

Avocet cross-assemblers are easy to use. They run on almost any personal computer and process assembly language for the most popular microprocessor families.

Your Computer Can Be A Complete Development System

Avocet has the tools you need to enter and assemble your soft-ware and finally cast it in EPROM:

VED1T Text Editor makes source code entry a snap. Full-screen editing plus a TECO-like command mode for advanced tasks. Easy installation - INSTALL program supports over 40 terminals and personal computers. Customizable keyboard layout. CP/M-80, CP/M-86, MSDOS, PCDOS $150

EPROM Programmers let you pro

gram, verify, compare, read, display EPROMS but cost less because they communicate through your personal computer or terminal. No personality modules! On-board intelligence provides menu-based setup for 34 different EPROMS, EEPROMS and MPUs (40-pin devices require socket adaptors). Self-contained unit with internal power supply, RS-232 interface, Textool ZIF socket. Driver software (sold separately) gives you access to all programmer features through your computer, lets you download cross-assembler output files, copy EPROM to disk.

Model 7228 Advanced Programmer

— Supports all PROM types listed. Super-fast "adaptive" programming algorithm programs 2764 in 1.1 minutes.

Model 7128 Standard Programmer —

Lower-cost version of 7228. Supports all PROM types except "A" versions of 2764 and 27128. Standard programming algorithm programs 2764 in 6.8 minutes.

Model 7956 and 7956-SA Gang Programmers — Similar features to 7228, but program as many as 8 EPROMS at once. 7956-SA stand-alone version copies from a master EPROM. 7956 lab version has all features of stand-alone plus RS-232 interface.

EPROM: 2758, 2716, 2732, 2732A, 2764, 2764A, 27128,27128A, 27256,2508,2516,2532,2564,68764, 68766, 5133, 5143. CMOS: 27C16, 27C32, 27C64, MC6716. EEPROM: 5213, X2816A, 48016, I2816A, 5213H. MPU (w/adaptor): 8748, 8748H, 8749, 8749H, 8741, 8742, 8751, 8755.

7228 Advanced Programmer $ 549

7128 Standard Programmer 429

7956 Laboratory Gang Programmer 1099

7956-SA Stand-Alone Gang Programmer 879

PDV Driver Software 95

481 8748 Family Socket Adaptor 98

511 8751 Socket Adaptor 174

755 8755 Socket Adaptor 135

CABLE RS-232 Cable (specify gender) 30

HEXTRAN Universal HEX File Converter — Convert assembler output to other formats for downloading to development systems and target boards. Also useful for examining object file, changing load addresses, extracting parts of files. Converts to and from Intel, Motorola, MOS, RCA, Fairchild, Tektronix, TI, Binary and HEX/ASCII Dump formats. For CP/M, CP/M-86, MSDOS, PCDOS $250

Ask about UNIX.

AVOCET'S SUPERB 68000 CROSS-ASSEMBLER - With exhaustive field testing completed, our 68000 assembler is available for immediate shipment. XMAC68K supports Motorola standard assembly language for the 68000 and 68010. Macros, cross-reference, structured assembly statements, instruction optimization and more. Linker and librarian included. Comprehensive, well-written manual. XMAC682 for MK68200 has similar features.

Call us toll-free for some straight talk about development systems.

1-800-448-8500

(in the U.S. Except Alaska and Hawaii)

VISA and Mastercard accepted. All popular disc formats now available •-please specify. Prices do not include shipping and handling - call for exact quotes. OEM INQUIRIES INVITED.

*Trademark of Digital Research **Trademark of Microsoft

AVOCET /X SYSTEMS INC;

DEPT. 1184-B

804 SOUTH STATE STREET DOVER, DELAWARE 19901 302-734-0151 TELEX 467210

Circle 32 on inquiry card.

REVIEW FEEDBACK

local dealer helped to find the problem and replaced the plastic video chip with a ceramic one; the problem disappeared. I hope this information will help Mr. Kuhman and other BYTE readers with similar lockup or hang problems.

R. SUNLEY

Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

Four Logos

I liked the review "Four Logos for the IBM PC" by Mark Bridger (August, page 287). It was a well-written, in-depth, and fair review.

1 was especially pleased with the text box "Recursion: Therein Lies a Tail" (page 300), because Mark Bridger realizes the importance of optimizing tail recursion and making the best use of stack space.

IBM Logo (from Logo Computer Systems Inc.) was written in machine code by people who were determined to get performance. Tail recursion and list processing are optimized.

I could not resist the temptation to

rewrite the recursive version of your Sieve program (listing 6, page 301} to make it more efficient (by making it tail recursive and by building up the lists with FPUT). The new version can find all of the prime numbers between 1 and 1500 on an IBM PC with only 128K.

TO SIEVE :N

PR SIEVE2 BF IOTA :N []

END

TO SIEVE2 .LIST :RESULT

IF EMPTYP :LIST [OP REV :RESULT [ ] ]

OP SIEVE2 {SHRINKIT (FIRST :LIST)

:LIST [ ]) FPUT FIRST :LIST :RESULT END

TO REV :LIST :RESULT IF EMPTYP :LIST [OP :RESULT] OP REV (BUTFIRST :LIST) (FPUT (FIRST :LIST) .RESULT) END

TO SHRINKIT :N :LIST :RESULT

IF EMPTYP :LIST [OP REV :RESULT [ ] ]

LOCAL 4 T MAKE "t (FIRST :LIST) / :N

IF NOT T =INT T

[MAKE "RESULT FPUT (FIRST :LIST)

:RESULT] OP SHRINKIT :N (BF:LIST) :RESULT END

TO IOTA :N

LOCAL "T MAKE T LIST :N

REPEAT :N - 1

[MAKE "T FPUT ((FIRST :T) - 1) :T] OUTPUT T END

Ian MacMillan

Logo Computer Systems Inc.

Lachine, Quebec

Canada

Compaq Plus

Mark Dahmke's review of the Compaq Plus duly, page 247) was very informative except for one small bit of misinformation.

Mark was pleased to see that Compaq was now supplying technical information with its machine, such as how to open the cabinet, how to install add-ons, set memory switches, etc. This is not entirely correct.

This information is not supplied, it must

7 Reasons Why Every Corpora

1. You compile sales

data..,track inventory...make

client mailings...keep personnel

records...or need timely access

to facts and figures for any of a

hundred other business tasks. (relational capabilities)

2, You want the power

of personal computing, but don t have the time or desire to become technical, (everything in

PLAIN ENGLISH)

3. You need from your software what everyone wants from you—instant answers.

^^ (datazoom™)

W'l'W

4 You have to produce all kinds of reports on a regular basis to keep everybody happy (multi-file reporting)

5. You get interrupted so much even the interruptions get interrupted, so the last thing you need is software that makes you wonder where you are. (completely . jgjKg menu-driven)

356 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

REVIEW FEEDBACK

be sought out. Compaq will try to answer questions, but it publishes no technical information of any kind. No instructions for any modifications to the Compaq, such as adding an 8087, are provided.

One is referred to the IBM technical manual for memory and I/O maps, and since Compaqs are sold on the basis of their compatibility to the IBM PC, one can only hope that the technical information contained in this volume is valid for the Compaq.

David Korst Canoga Park CA

Sanyo 550/555

I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you how much I enjoyed Bill Sudbrink's review of the Sanyo MBC-5 50/555 computers (August, page 270). This system certainly deserves the kind of attention your magazine offers. I think it is fair to say that no other MS-DOS computer on the market today offers as much value and performance for the money as the Sanyo. I have been using my 555 for nine months now and

have few complaints. About the only thing that would make it a better machine is if software developers would do the little work needed to rewrite certain IBM-specific programs so that they would run on the many Sanyos out there.

There were a few minor errors in Mr. Sudbrink's article that I'd like to correct also. First, the 550 comes with WordStar 3.3— not the earlier 2.4 version stated in his review. Also, Sanyo now offers purchasers the choice of receiving either a bundle of lUS's "Easy" software packages or the MicroPro "Star" bundle at their option.

Brad Scholz Norwalk CT

I read with interest Bill Sudbrink's review of the Sanyo MBC-555. I purchased the Sanyo as an expensive way to back up my Columbia 1600-4, which we use at the office. There was a curious problem in the WordStar program that was bundled with the machine. When I installed WordStar and attempted to set the function keys similar to the way we had set them at the

office, I discovered that, while I was able to redefine the function keys, the install program did not allow me to change the message that appeared at the bottom of the screen. I was able to take the program into the office and use the WordStar install program, which we had purchased for the Columbia, to install that particular feature and had no difficulty doing so. I enjoyed the review and enjoy the magazine considerably.

Robert C. Sacks Lilburn, CA

I bought a Sanyo 4050 and have tried to get the Sanyo company to answer a number of questions about upgrading the memory recommended communication packages, disk formats, etc., with absolutely no success. Three phone calls have been ignored as well as three letters; the last one having been sent by registered mail on June 28. Perhaps you or your readers can tell me how to get this company to respond?

Harvey }. Coopersmith Elmhurst, NY ■

te Creature Needs Power-base:

6. You have word-processing packages, spreadsheets, and mainframe data files, with no way to make them relate to each other, (powerlinks™)

7 You think you deserve some time to yourself. (then read ON.)

Visit your local 12 West 37th Street, New York,

computer dealer today and ask NY, 10018 1-800-237-4778 for Power-base™—the #l-rated „ «r ~- - S, ¥ (In NY,

business management program that helps you get the job done simpler.

PowerBase Systems, Inc.,

\212-947-3590)

_J ( - power-b^se \ }

We Made It Powerful. But We Kept It Simple.

SEE US AT

C@fflli>IM T "

Booths 7032,7133.

Circle 33 5 on inquiry card.

•C2sjS^ Requires 256K for use on the IBM PC, PC/XT and compatibles.

t^^ % Requires 320K for use on the IBM PC/AT.

Power-base, DataZOOM, and PowerLinks are registered trademarks of Powerbase Systems, Inc.

IBM PC, IBM/XT, and IBM PC/AT are registered trademarks of the IBM Corporation.

Not long ago, PC Magazine called MDBS III "The most complete and flexible data base management system available for microcomputers." That's a powerful statement. But then, MDBS III is an amazingly powerful software package. So powerful, in fact, that it lets you build mainframe-quality application systems on your micro or mini. MDBS III is not for beginners. It's for application developers with large data bases or complex data interrelationships who want to define data base structures in the most natural way—without resorting to redundancy or artificial constructs. It's for professionals who can appreciate its extensive data security and integrity features, transaction logging, ad hoc query and report writing capability and its ability to serve multiple simultaneous users. And if you want the power and the glory that only the world's most advanced data management system can provide, MDBS III is for you. For information on MDBS III and our professional consulting services, write or call Micro Data Base Systems, Inc., MDBS/Application Development Products, 85 West Algonquin Road, Suite 400, Arlington Heights, IL 60005. (800) 323-3629, or (312) 981 -9200. MDBS IIL ABSOLUTE POWER.

Circle 269 on inquiry card.

WE'LL GIVE YOU THE POWER.

TAKE THE GLORY

ONE OF THE APPEALING QUALITIES of Computing at Chaos Manor is Jerry Pournelle's frankness in stating his opinions about products. This month his frankness extends to acknowledging a mistake. He retracts some criticisms of Microsoft BASIC for the Macintosh. Jerry also looks at several other products and comments on whether computer hobbyists are dinosaurs.

Our West Coast crew reports on a dBASE II compiler, new printer technology pfs:Plan, and talking Macintoshes. Bill Raike's BYTE Japan column compares the Japanese computing scene to the American and looks at an Apple clone and several NEC machines. In BYTE U.K. Dick Pountain reports on new Apricots and a pocket computer called the Organiser. Michael Ecker provides some mathematical recreation, and Steve Ciarcia starts a new custom of answering Circuit Cellar feedback in the Kernel.

Computing at Chaos Manor. NCC Reflections

by jerry Pournelle 36I

Chaos Manor Mail conducted by ]erry Pournelle 381

BYTE West Coast New Developments

by John Markoff, Phil Robinson, and Ezra Shapiro 387

BYTE Japan: Technology Shock by William M. Raike 401

BYTE U.K.: A Plethora of Portables by Dick Pountain 413

Mathematical Recreations: Toggling Functions

by Michael W. Ecker 42 5

Circuit Cellar Feedback conducted by Steve Ciarcia 430

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Apology

Hype Merchants

Endangered Species?

NCC

Puzzled Bell

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Screen Test

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In Love with Love

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by Jerry Pournelle

COMPUTING

AT CHAOS MANOR

NCC Reflections

jerry Pournelle holds a doctorate in

psychology and is a science-fiction

writer who also earns a comfortable

living writing about computers

present and future.

I don't usually write about software that isn't running at Chaos Manor. Once in a while I may take someone's word for something, but when I do, I find I often regret it. There's no substitute for personal experience.

Case in point; I reported in the July issue that Bruce Tonkin had found a number of bugs in Microsoft BASIC for the Macintosh.

I shouldn't have.

What I said was true: the version Bruce was using, 1.0, did not implement mouse functions; and he did report some problems. Alas, some of those "problems" turn out to be rumors he'd heard, and even as we were speaking, Microsoft had replaced 1.0 with 1.1, which does hook into the Macmouse.

I routinely send manuscript copies of my reviews to affected companies so that they can complain about errors. (I don't pay any attention to other kinds of complaints.) Somehow, though, the copy sent to Microsoft went astray.

The best news, though, is that Microsoft is now bringing out Microsoft BASIC 2.0, which has graphics, the ability to use pulldown menus, and lots of other goodies. Note; as I write this, I have only 1.1, which works fine. I've been promised 2.0, which I should have long before you read this. More when I know more. Meanwhile my apologies.

Invasion of the Product Snatchers

I sometimes think this industry is going to dissolve in hype

Case in point: at NCC I made contact with some people at a major hardware house, which I'll call the Glubnautz Company to protect the innocent. They asked me why I never reviewed their products.

"I only write about what I'm using, and I've already got a good thingummy."

"Would you try one of ours if we sent it? We think you'll like it better than the Brand X you're using."

"Sure. Love to."

"Fine We're also introducing Finkleduddy, a revolutionary new software product. Can we get you to try that?"

"Yeah, sure, it sounds interesting. You do know that I'm not BYTE, and stuff you send me doesn't get to the BYTE product-review editor, and stuff you send to BYTE doesn't get to me."

"Yeah, sure, we read your column all the time. Can we have your card?"

So I gave them a card. In fact, I gave them two: one with the BYTE address and phone and one giving the real address and phone for Dr. J. E. Pournelle at Chaos Manor. Alas.

T\vo weeks later, the phone rang at 8:30 a.m. My staff doesn't get here before 9:00, so I got out of bed and staggered into the office. A voice with a cultured accent asked for Dr. J. E. Pournelle I reluctantly admitted that was me.

"Hi, J. E. I'm Joe Gland, media relations specialist for the Glubnautz Company. How're you doing? Hey, J. E., I see you're with BYTE. Great magazine. We were just up to New Hampshire Must have missed you when we were there."

"Yeah, well, I don't get to New Hampshire very often. I live in California."

"Oh? Hey, yeah, that's right, it says so on the card here Look, J. E., you gave your card to one of our people at the booth at NCC, right? You want some information on our new Finkleduddy software Great product. Really great. Revolutionary."

"That's not quite the way it was." Patiently I tried to explain that it was his people who had approached me and wanted me to evaluate his company's products.

"Well, we sent a copy of the Finkleduddy program to BYTE already."

Sigh. I tried once more. "As I explained to the people at your booth, I am not BYTE."

"Your card says here you're with BYTE."

"I write a column."

"Oh, do you? Hey, J. E., that's great! If I

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 361

Circle 10 on inquiry card.

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CHAOS MANOR

send you Finkleduddy, when will you send it back?"

"I don't usually return software."

"Oh. Well I. E., it's a pretty valuable program. Look, I'll send you our press kit on the Finkleduddy program."

"Please don't bother," I said. "I have 12 cubic feet of unreviewed software already. I certainly don't need any product descriptions."

The conversation dwindled downward from there. It was obvious that Joe Gland, the "media relations specialist," had never read a copy of BYTE in his life. I found out later from the New Hampshire staff that when he'd visited the BYTE offices, it had become obvious that Mr. Gland had never read any computer magazine, nor had he ever used a microcomputer. He'd come straight out of a consumer products environment, probably something to do with selling soap. He apparently used my initials because he didn't know my first name and the Gladhander Association rescinds the membership of anyone using honorifics like "Mister" or "Doctor."

Whatever he'd been trying to do, he has certainly undone the relationship his engineering people tried to build while I was at NCC. I have to cope with a mountain of software and hardware that I feel some obligation to review. I'm always looking for good stuff, advertised or not, but let's face it, there's no real shortage; yet Mr. Gland wanted me to beg for his sacred products, which he would grudgingly send on 30-day loan, doling out the precious gold to media peasants who in his imagination must be panting with anticipation.

In other words, he didn't know the territory.

The horrible part is that he's not unusual. These "product representatives" from the consumer products outfits have descended in force; dozens of companies, including some old-line outfits, have employed them. It's as if the micro community were the victims of a curse. It's the invasion of the product snatchers, creatures determined to sell computers and software the same way you'd hype

Procter & Gamble soap.

It has to stop. Look: how can it possibly benefit a company to employ "media relations specialists" who haven't read any of the media they "specialize" in relating to?

Are We Dinosaurs?

The product snatchers think computer hobbyists are out-of-date crumb balls, aged hackers dreaming of the days when we owned this field. We are, they think, obsolete fools unwilling to move aside and let the common people have their day. Query: do the common people deserve "media relations specialists"?

Is the world better off when computers and computer programs are thought of as "the product"? I would have thought that good programs, like good books, have authors who have poured something of themselves into their work, and that it's demeaning to refer to such efforts as "product" as if it were no more than yet another bar of soap.

Leave that, though: is the hacker a dinosaur? Is BYTE doomed, as computers become more and more popular? Must all computer magazines become business oriented or vanish?

No.

First, let's look at some data. Alas, this is the year of the computer book. There are so many of them, and bookstore managers are so unfamiliar with computer books, that almost no single title—including my own—will do very well. Oh, mine are making money for both me and the publisher, but less than we'd expected. Fortunately, 1 didn't insist on one of those truly monstrous advances, so my publisher—Jim Baen—will still be in the computer-book business two years hence.

Individual books aren't doing well-but the total sales of computer books this year is expected to exceed total sales of fiction.

There's a huge market out there. Thie, the book salespeople, and the public, don't yet know who to trust and what to buy, and it's going to take

[continued)

362 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE

CHAOS MANOR

a while for them to learn; but learn they will. Just as science-fiction readers have learned to trust certain authors, and editors, and publishing houses, so those interested in computers will learn to recognize certain names and publications. Many readers already have; it's the bookstore managers who haven't yet. They will; and it will be the hobbyists who show the way, as well as write many of the books.

Meanwhile, the computer field moves fast: today's miracle is tomorrow's old hat. It's much easier to get stung buying a computer than buying a car. The only defense is either to learn more about the machines—or find people you trust who do know about them. Pournelle's Law: if you don't know what you're doing, find people who do. As long as the field keeps moving, there'll be a need for BYTE.

Not everyone interested in computers will want to really get their hands dirty studying them—but quite a few will. After all, most people who read books don't try to write them, but there are still a vast number of writers, potential writers, and would-be writers out there. It will be the same for programs and programmers. Just as most books are not written by salaried writers, within a few years most commercially successful programs will not be written by salaried programmers. They will be published by software houses but not written by staff writers.

When BYTE first began, hobbyists were the entire micro community. This column was an unusual feature in BYTE because it dealt with using these little beasts, not just playing about with them or hacking their insides. Indeed, it was originally called the User's Column to distinguish it from

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the rest of the magazine, which largely appealed to true hackers.

Things have changed a bit now. For one thing, I've learned a bit of hacking. For another, there are millions of small computers out there, most used by people who pay so little attention to what's in the machines that they make me look like an expert. Once we BYTE types, hobbyists and hackers and users alike, were the whole of the micro community. Now we're only a small part of it.

We're still an important part. Far from being a bunch of old dinosaurs, we're the cutting edge of a real micro revolution. Part of our job is to protect "the rest of us" from the invasion of the product snatchers.

We have our work cut out.

NCC

The National Computer Convention was dull this year. The most exciting thing I saw had nothing to do with micros: it was an Intergraph design-automation system, and it was pretty wonderful. A big computer has a complex mouse that controls a large drafting table. You can draw extremely complex circuits, using conventional symbols, and specify the characteristics of all the components, such as the various chips you've sketched in.

When you're finished, the Intergraph will simulate the circuit. It analyzes waveforms, does fault simulation, shows you the circumstances under which each logic gate is activated, and in general does about everything you'd do if you'd actually built the hardware.

Computer-assisted-design (CAD) systems aren't all that new, but I've never seen one as complex, yet easy to use, as the Intergraph.

I wonder when I can get that for a micro?

An Audience with Ma Bell

AT&T had a big display at NCC, with the 3B2/300 tabletop computer, as well as the new Olivetti-manufactured PClone. The clone didn't interest me very much; from the specs it's Yet Another, with no special features. I do

[continued)

364 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 295 on inquiry card.

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CHAOS MANOR

remain interested in the 3B2/300, which runs UNIX. The 3B2/300 in combination with the Teletype 5620 "Blit" bit-mapped terminal looks like a really wonderful programming environment.

Incidentally, the Pyramid Technology Corporation thinks so, too. The company makes fairly expensive multiuser minicomputers and has done some pretty impressive things with them. Pyramid's people had to sweat blood to adapt the Teletype 5620 to their machine, but they've done it.

One thing I didn't know: just what are the practical limits of the 3B2/300? That is, how many jobs can it be doing before it slows down to a crawl? It seemed an interesting question, so I devised an experiment: keep adding tasks, each task simulating a user, until the text editor slows down enough to be annoying to a fast typist such

as me. That's no exact measure, but it will give a ballpark figure. Since my son Alex, who's been studying UNIX at UCSD, was along with the camera, we headed for the AT&T booth at a time when they didn't have many visitors.

The booth was big, and it was crowded with AT&T people in three-piece suits despite the 105-degree Las Vegas weather. AT&T people at shows have a badge system. Lowest in hierarchy have paper badges in plastic holders. Then come short white plastic badges. Then wider white badges. Then (I am not making this up) short gold badges. The senior officer present wore a wide gold badge.

He'd never heard of Pournelle and had barely heard of BYTE (even though nearly everyone at the show was carrying the July BYTE with my AT&T comments in it). One thing he was sure of: he hadn't the authority

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366 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 233 on inquiry card.

to authorize that kind of test, and he was pretty sure there was no one in Las Vegas who could. (Technology Division Vice-President Jack Scanlon was at the show as a speaker, but one presumes he was off duty or something; or maybe he hasn't the authority?)

"Alas," said I. "That's too bad. I guess I'll have to concentrate on your clone. Okay Alex, get some pictures—

"Oh no, no, we can't authorize you to do that. You're not supposed to take pictures on the show floor," said the Wide Gold Badge.

Nobody else in the show objected to Alex taking photographs, and the Apple people even moved their crowds around so we could get better shots. I don't think AT&T knows the territory Anyway, that's why I have nothing to report on the new AT&T machines.

Man, That's Compatible!

The Zenith display was just down the aisle from AT&T. The Zenith account reps aren't product snatchers. They normally know the machines, and when they don't know, they have people who do.

One of them, Mark Foster, a senior systems engineer from the St. Joseph, Missouri, plant, had been waiting for me. He writes most of the firmware (the code in the read-only memory or ROM) and wanted to show me just how compatible the Zenith Z-150 really is. While he was at it, we went over some of the built-in debugging features of the Z-l 50. It has a lot of them, all impressive. The Z-150 isn't just a PClone; it's a distinct improvement.

It is also compatible. Mark Foster is compulsive about that. For instance there's one public-domain program that wouldn't run on the Z-l 50. It was driving everyone nuts until Mark found that it was actually doing a comparison with the checksum on the IBM copyright notice. No one knows why the programmer went to all that trouble—but the program will run on the Zenith Z-l 50 now.

Foster has gone to extreme lengths

{continued) Circle 367 on inquiry card. —*

CHAOS MANOR

to make the Z-150 compatible and knows of no program that will run on the PC and won't run on the Zenith. Even as he was telling me this, Philippe Kahn, president of Borland International, came around to test his new Sidekick program on the Z-150. If you read last month's column, you'll know I'm quite fond of Sidekick (except for the name). Naturally I stuck around.

It works fine. There is one oddity. When run in the color mode one of the windows generated by Sidekick appears to be the wrong color, or at least a different color from what it displays on the PC itself. Neither Kahn nor Foster knew why. I last saw Foster muttering to himself, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the next iteration of the Zrl 50 ROM changed that color.

Shortly after we returned from NCC I received a new set of ROMs for our own Zrl 50. Since I was going to be in-

side the machine anyway, I figured I might as well fill it up with memory.

Neither operation is particularly difficult. The Zenith Zrl 50, unlike the IBM PC, doesn't have a motherboard; every board, including the one holding the central processing unit, is a plug-in. Getting the main board out of the machine takes a little effort; not much, but you do have to bend it somewhat, since it's just a millimeter or so too long. Once out, installing the new ROMs was simple enough. There are also plenty of sockets for new memory. As usual, we used 4164-type 64K-bit dynamic-memory chips, which we obtained from California Digital; they're currently advertised for $5.95 each and install in sets of nine. Each set adds 64 K bytes of memory (eight chips for the memory itself and one chip to store the parity check).

The Z-150 does parity generation and checking for reliability. So does

the IBM PC, of course, but there's a difference. With the Zenith Z-100 series (Z-100 through Z-161), the machine performs a register dump on finding a parity error and then exits to the system monitor (DOS). If you want to continue the program, type "G" and the machine will try to pick up where it left off. At least that's what Mark Foster tells me; I've never had a parity error, so I've never used the feature. It seems a reasonable thing to do, though.

The Z-l 50 is well made, quiet, and free of glitches. I have only one problem with it. Mrs. Pournelle weary of being switched from machine to machine has claimed the Z-150 as her own to use until she finishes her reading-instruction book/program. Since the Z-l 50 has far and away the best color display I've ever seen for any PClone—it scrolls smoothly without

{continued)

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CHAOS MANOR

flashing—I don't get to play Cygnus's Star Fleet I in color as often as I like.

Color versus Monochrome

There's one other problem with the Z-150, but it's generic to nearly all PClones and, for that matter, to most of the microcomputers I've yet seen. If you use the Z-l 50 with its color

screen for word processing, the letters are just a bit fuzzy. It's not too noticeable at first, but it's enough to tire the eyes after working several hours. The 150 comes with both composite and RGB (red-green-blue) color output as standard, so it's only necessary to plug in a high-resolution monochrome monitor to clear up the situa-

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tion. TYue, that involves having two monitors if you want color as well, and it's a nontrivial exercise finding a place to keep two monitors; but with the Zrl 50 you have that choice. When you buy an IBM PC, you have to choose one or the other (or buy an extra board).

Mrs. Pournelle has been using the color monitor. This was mostly because the only good monochrome monitor I have (other than the one that came with the IBM, and that has the wrong kind of plug) is the 9-inch amber-screen monitor that belongs to Adeline, my Otrona. Tbday, though, we plugged in the Otrona monitor to the Z-150, and it's a great improvement for word processing, which is what she's doing to get her book out; so I fear I've lost the Otrona screen.

The "fuzzy image" problem is hardly unique to the Z-l 50. It's at least as bad for both the Z-IOO and the IBM PC. Indeed, I have yet to see a color-monitor system I could write books with. High-resolution monochrome works fine, though, on both Zeniths (100 and 150) and the IBM PC itself. Incidentally since Adeline mostly gets used on trips (I wrote some of this column with her in my Las Vegas hotel room), we have generally used Adeline's amber screen with Zorro the Z-100. She doesn't seem to mind.

T^e Exceptional TI

The one machine that has good monochrome letters displayed on its color screen is the TI Professional, which has great color and well-shaped letters. Nothing comes up to my standards: I use a memory-mapped video board into a high-resolution 15-inch Hitachi black-and-white monitor, which gives pleasing letters I can see from five feet away. I sure wish somebody would make something that good for new machines. The TI Professional, though, is plenty good enough, even for people with eye problems.

It has one problem: there's a rapidly blinking cursor that's optimally designed to drive you mad. Peter Flynn thinks there's a way to turn that off.

{continued)

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CHAOS MANOR

The Zenith Z-150 has quite the nicest keyboard of any computer I know, including the Archive keyboard Ym using to write this with.

I sure hope that he's right.

There's a lot to like about the TI. I was going to review it for this column, but today the TI technicians came out and did things to Big Tex. He got a new motherboard, a new processor, and a whole mess of other stuff. Alas, one of the new boards is so thick that the TI people had to remove the speech board, which is a pity; I was just getting used to the idea of using the TI as my telephone. It will dial numbers and let you talk through its headset (as well as accept voice commands).

There's much software for the TI, although not as much as for the PC or the Z-150. Alas, alas, Sidekick, Borland's nearly indispensable notebook/calculator utility, won't work with Big Tex. The good news is that I'm trying to put the TI people and Borland's Philippe Kahn in touch with each other; Philippe thinks it wouldn't be much trouble to get Sidekick working with the Professional if TI will send him a machine and the information he needs.

With Sidekick and the voice capability restored (and I'm betting TI will figure out how to get all that working at the same time before you can read this), Big Tex may just become the 'master machine" to control a lot of the others here, provided that I can get that blinking cursor under control. I would like a good color/monochrome combination, and the TI has both, as well as an excellent keyboard. I may even use it as a terminal to control a gehuine IBM PC.

At the moment, though, it won't even read the directory of standard IBM PC disks, so I can't even play Star Fleet I with it. I suppose there's some

kind of conversion routine, but I'll never get it implemented before I have to send this off. More when I know more.

The Keyboard Mystery

The IBM PC comes with an infuriating-ly excellent keyboard.

That is; I find the sculpting, touch, and feel of the genuine IBM PC keyboard highly acceptable; excellent, in fact. On the other hand, the key layout, with that extra key between the Z and Shift, and the tilde (~) between the quotation marks and Return, is enough to make a saint weep, especially when you remember that IBM manufactures the Selectric with its wonderful keyboard.

Practically nobody likes the IBM keyboard: so what did I see all over NCC?

Why, I saw PClones with key layouts identical to the IBM but without the excellent touch and feel of the IBM. Worse, there's a plethora of keyboards that have the same goofy layout, in that there are extra keys between the Shift and the Z, and between the quotes and Return—but they aren't even the same keys that IBM put there! This is insanity cubed. The extra key near the Z is bad enough; but putting that extra key on the Return row makes it physically impossible, for me at least, to reach Return when I have my fingers on the normal home keys. Yet, having sacrificed a sane key layout, these silly companies go on to assert their independence by making their keyboard just a little different from the genuine IBM.

For instance, there's a great little Australian lap-sized computer, but I'll probably never be able to use it because my little finger's not long enough to reach Return when my index finger is on the "J" home key

Dumb.

I know why this happens: there's some kind of regulation, perhaps a union rule, that forbids anyone involved with keyboard and display design to be a touch-typist. The design engineers are pecking about with two fingers; what does it matter to them how the keys are laid out? More:

because they are staring at the keyboard and not looking at the screen, they don't notice ugly scrolling, screen flashing, flickering cursor, and other distractions.

Fortunately there are exceptions as well as remedies.

The simplest remedy is to learn to live with the IBM PC keyboard. This you can do if you buy one of those programs that rearrange the IBM PC's keyboard. There are a number of them. I use Magic Keyboard, which is run as part of my PC's start-up procedure. Magic Keyboard is a small demon that sits at the top of memory and turns those badly placed keys into about what you'd like them to be. It toggles on and off with Control-1, while Control-3 toggles the PC in and out of graphics mode, making it easy to draw figures on the PC screen.

Another remedy is to buy a Zenith Z-l 50 instead of a PC. The Z-l 50 has quite the nicest keyboard of any computer I know, including the Archive keyboard I'm using to write this with. For that matter, the TI Professional's keyboard is really excellent, laid out like a Selectric

You can also buy a Key Tronic KB 5151. We've installed one on the IBM PC ("installed" = unplug old, plug in new keyboard) and it works fine. The 5151 has all the keys of the IBM PC keyboard plus some extras; and they're much better laid out. It's not quite a Selectric, but it's close enough. There's even a stiff-springed Reset key set where you can't possibly hit it by accident. It accomplishes the same result as the "Control-Alternate-Delete" kludge the PC wants.

The Key TYonic layout is good, it looks nice, and the keys are well shaped. Alas, I find I like the feel of the genuine PC keyboard far better than I do the 5151 's. This is, of course, a matter of personal taste, and there's nothing wrong with the Key Tronic's feel; indeed, I'm sure that many typists will prefer the 5151, which has a soft inaudible mechanical click and good travel.

The Key Ttonic 5151 keyboard measures 8K2 by 20 inches, as opposed to

{continued)

372 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

CHAOS MANOR

the IBM's 7% by 18 inches. The size difference isn't really noticeable unless you have space problems. It has nice little lights to tell you if the Caps Lock and Num Lock keys are on or off, something the IBM keyboard badly needs. The cursor control keys are much more sensibly arranged, too. It may be just what you're looking for. Recommended, but try it first to be sure you like the feel.

More Macthoughts

Apple had a new two-story booth at NCC. The upper story was filled with minibooths, about as small as the library carrels they assign you in graduate school. Developers of Apple software were given use of these mini-booths in shifts.

There are a lot of them, with some pretty impressive stuff. Probably the most impressive was a package that attaches to the print head on the Macintosh's Imagewriter (printer). Once the device, which contains a light source and an electric eye, is in place, the software package causes the print head to scan across whatever document is in the Imagewriter. The scanner sends a stream of data back to the Mac, and Hey Presto!, your document, whether words or pictures, is digitized into a MacPaint file.

There was also a program to produce poetry, namely rhymed couplets. I was reminded of the public poet in Kismet and his introduction song, "Fine Rhymes Have I."

There was a C compiler, said to be full Whitesmiths C

There was a program to generate musical scores.

There were several database programs.

With the exception of the digitizer, all these programs and many more had certain things in common:

1. They were demonstrated by their owners, and audience suggestions were in general not implemented.

2. The developers said they were ready "now."

3. They promised review copies within

{continued)

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NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 373

CHAOS MANOR

I've developed a definite love/hate relationship with my own Mac.

a few days but had none I could take

home

4. The review copies haven't come as

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NCC

As I said, the digitizer was an exception: its owner said he couldn't possibly ship a review copy before September. I have a recent letter confirming that. For the rest, the software will be ready Real Soon Now; at least we can all hope so. The C compiler would be especially important, since it might enable us to write some new Mactools and utilities.

Meanwhile, I've developed a definite love/hate relationship with my own Mac. On the one hand, it writes

wonderful letters. I find that I like doing illustrated manuscripts, printing a fried egg in the middle of a line, and simply being silly with boldface, shadow, etc.

On the other hand, it's painfully slow, and sometimes its limits are just silly. For example, after you create and store a document of any length at all, you may not be able to print it. Attempts to print produce quite a lot of disk activity lasting a minute or more, followed by the message, "Disk Full. Please TVy Again."

Trying again produces the same result, and indeed you can probably stay there trying until you starve. Eventually you get the picture: this is no temporary problem. You have to do something, like erase stuff off your disk. Indeed, it turns out that you can't have very much at all on the MacWrite system disk if you want documents more than a page long. Okay. Query:

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why does it try to save the document for so very long before it discovers there's not enough room? Surely it could check that first.

Falling in Love with Love

What I find interesting is that everyone loves the idea of the Macintosh; but when pressed they don't care for the actual implementation. Everything is going to be fixed when we get hard disks and the 512K-byte memory Tat Mac," and meantime we ought to be grateful that there's a machine to rival the IBM PC.

Macintosh is the machine for "the rest of us," the nonhackers of this world. What's interesting is that it's the hacker types who are the most passionate defenders of Mac. They don't use it much if they have one at all. They do their work on something else. After all, it's the machine for the naive user. Since the naive user doesn't know what small computers can do, he's not going to notice the Mac's problems; he's too busy getting his work done.

That view may even be correct. Certainly the Mac is easier to learn than the IBM PC. Whether it's easier to use is a different story

I keep hoping. I really do. I don't want to see an IBM-dominated world. I have more faith in American technology than the "we must save the Mac at all costs because it's the only alternative to Big Blue" school, but I don't want to see Apple and the Mac fail. On the other hand, I'm getting very weary of the promises and hype. There was a full-page ad in the Wall Street journal weeks ago showing Mac-screen after Macscreen, each with a new and different application program up and running. In the real world, though, those programs will be available Real Soon Now.

Progress is happening. Dr. Michael Hyson has a new version of Mac-FORTH that doesn't crash unless he does something egregiously wrong. As I said earlier, there's a good Microsoft BASIC. At NCC I saw a C compiler, even though I don't have it weeks after it was promised.

{continued)

374 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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CHAOS MANOR

Even Philippe Kahn is getting in the act: he intends to have a Macintosh version of TUrbo Pascal (for $49.95!) before the end of the year.

It could well be that the Mac will become all it was supposed to be. What bothers me is that the early purchasers were made unwitting venture capitalists when they thought they were buying "the computer for the rest of us."

Success Story

Philippe Kahn's Borland International has done it again: this time it's a bundle of Pascal software tools called the TUrbo Toolbox. I have a test version. By the time you read this, the programs will be for sale. As usual the price is reasonable. The tools include a B-tree search and a sorting system; I've seen stuff like this, but not as well thought out, sell for hundreds of dollars.

Borland is, nearly single-handedly, transforming the micro industry, largely by doing things right. For example the indispensable Sidekick utility has already been updated (if you run a PC or PClone without Sidekick, you don't know what you're missing). Borland keeps doing new and better versions of Tlirbo Pascal. A Modula-2 compiler is already in alpha test, and now Kahn's people are doing a BASIC compiler that will of course, sell for $49.95.

Meanwhile, the people at Borland pay attention to user complaints. They keep revising their products to make them better, and they keep their prices low.

Philippe Kahn tells the story of how a bunch of venture capitalists visited his company. "We don't need venture capital," he says, "but I thought it would be fun to hear what they had to say."

What they found horrified them. Here was a company started on a shoestring. Most of the furniture comes from secondhand stores, and they use banquet tables for desks. They started out in offices above a garage and took out their first advertisements on credit secured largely by some favorable reviews (including one

of mine).

They don't have any Harvard or Stanford MBAs. They do have computers, and most of the marketing decisions are modeled on spreadsheets—in fact, on the spreadsheet whose source they give you with TUrbo Pascal. If the activity looks profitable they do it. It's an old Wall Street adage: "Nobody ever went broke making a profit." In these days of "profitability maximization," it's an adage often forgotten to the peril of the maximizers.

Borland sells decent products at good prices, and if you don't like what you get, you can get your money back.

That's the kind of attitude the micro community needs.

TUTSIM

It ain't easy to use, the documentation is terrible, and the user interface leaves a lot to be desired: but if you want to solve differential equations or do really complex numerical analysis on an IBM PC or PClone, TUtsim is what you need.

TUtsim is avery advanced computational program "analog computer," complete with "feedback resistors" and "condensers"; only instead of wires and walls of operational amplifiers and other hardware, you use an IBM PC and this program.

If TUtsim sold at a more reasonable price, I'd say buy it for the learning experience; I've had a lot of fun figuring out how high tennis balls rise on the fifteenth bounce and solving complex meeting engagements. It is possible, given the TUtsim program and documents and an elementary knowledge of calculus, to make your PC or PClone do some pretty amazing simulations, nothing like the big CAD simulators, but still more than worthwhile; stuff like shock absorbers, electronic systems, etc. I even managed to simulate a Richardson arms race. (Lewis F. Richardson tried to model a two-nation arms race using a series of differential equations; more on that in Strategy of Technology by Stefan Possony and Jerry Pournelle and "Microcomputers in the Study of Politics: Predict-

ing Wars with the Richardson Arms-Race Model" by Philip A. Schrodt in the July 1982 BYTE, page 108.)

TUtsim has the potential to be one of the best educational tools I've ever seen. If the documents were improved and the price lowered, Applied i could really do well by doing good. A recent letter from Applied i says they're doing all that. Meanwhile, if you need TUtsim, you need it bad. It would be a really super program for the Macintosh.

Eagle Flies!

Ttoo months ago I detailed the problems we'd had getting our programs out of the Eagle 1600 and over to an IBM PC. All's well that ends well. The interesting part is that our programmers, now that they know there's a way to get stuff out of the Eagle and into a PC, insist they want to work with the Eagle; it's fast, convenient, and just easier to work with.

On the other hand, fair warning: the Eagle company has problems. There's a creditor committee and a new president. The original founding president is dead, one of the major software designers is dead, and Mr. Kappen-man, the Eagle founder I worked most closely with, has left the company. Rumors fly about the long-term survivability of the company

That's a subject I know little about. I've taken a number of courses in economics and finance, and I'm supposed to know a lot about political economy; but I preserve my reputation as a financial wizard by not making predictions.

I do like Eagle machinery I'm not fond of the documents. Eagle people have been helpful to me on the phone, but my correspondents give mixed reports, depending on when they called.

Eagle has more or less discontinued the 1600 series. At least, orders are not being taken. The Spirit XL is a very nice portable PClone about 98 percent PCompatible.

My troops like Eagles. So do I. More than that I can't say.

Anyway, our data-transport prob-

[continued)

376 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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lems were solved in a number of parallel ways. First, Dave Sturgiss of Eagle took copies of our disks and had the Eagle engineers transform them to standard IBM PC format. That worked fine. (Understand: our data-transport problems were with the 1600; there is no such problem with the Eagle Spirit XL or the Turbo PC) At the same time, Dave Butterfield of Locus Computing, the Santa Monica outfit that designed much of the AT&T 3B2/300 networking software managed to read the Eagle disks into a VAX and use the Locus networking system to download onto an IBM PC. That worked fine, too.

Thanks, Dave.

The Disk Maker I people are solving the problem generically by teaching Disk Maker I to read Eagle 96-tpi disks.

Finally, the Eagle engineering people swear blind that if your Eagle disks are aligned just right they're able to write to an IBM PC format just fine. You may recall that I'd thought it was alignment and sent the troops out to buy a new disk drive rather than try to align the old one. It turns out my idea was right, but the alignment is really critical. Anyway, Dave Sturgiss is arranging to have Eagle align both my drives. We'll see how that works.

I have seen and worked with the wonderful Eagle Tlirbo PC. The company keeps promising me my own copy but every time one is available a new wave of orders comes in. Sturgiss says he can't even keep one on his desk: the salespeople roam the halls looking for machines to ship. The Tlirbo PC is about 98 percent IBM PC compatible (Lotus 1-2-3 and Flight Simulator, including the World War 1 mode, run right out of the box), but in keeping with Eagle's philosophy it does more than that. It has an 8086 (rather than IBM's 8088) and runs faster than the IBM even when the Eagle is in its "slow" or "compatible" mode. It also has a "TUrbo" mode that goes like sin.

The Eagle Tlirbo PC is apparently a souped-up 1600 with added features to make it as nearly IBM PC compatible as Eagle can manage. It has more slots than an IBM; it's faster; and it has a better keyboard arrangement. I would be very glad to hear that Eagle is alive and well.

It's a real dilemma for columnists: if we don't recommend good companies, they may very well die. If we do. and they die anyway we deservedly get letters from those who bought machines only to find they have orphans.

Eagle has contracted with Bell & Howell to provide servicing, including warranty service, through 1989, so that removes one worry.

Use your own judgment on this one.

Wrap-up

Once again, I'm out of space before I've finished my list.

There are two games of the month; Star Fleet I, which is likely to drive me crazy but I keep coming back for more, and M.U.L.E. from Electronic Arts. M.U.L.E. is a cross between Hammurabi, Diplomacy, and an arcade game, with lots of subtle strategic decisions—provided that you're skillful enough with a joystick to implement what you've decided to do. The kids love it. I like it well enough except for the arcade aspects; I've never been very good at hand-eye coordination. I managed to beat two boys and

378 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

CHAOS MANOR

the computer, though; strategy experience will tell. . .

The PClone of the month is still the Z-150; it's full of surprises, all good ones.

The book of the month is The Recursive Universe by William Poundstone (William Morrow & Co.). This is a thought-provoking series of essays on thermodynamics, Maxwell's Demon, the Game of Life, and Fifty Million Monkeys. I read it off and on during lulls in the Olympic modern pentathlon competition. Recommended.

Next month, with any luck, I'll be done with Footfall and can clean up some of that threatening pile of un-reviewed software. ■

Editor's Note: Rejoice. Footfall is finally finished. For those who don't know, Footfall is the latest NivenlPournelle science-fiction novel spectacular, look for it from Ballantine Books next spring.

More good news. You don't have to go to a computer show to get a signed copy of the Pournelle Users Guide poster. This is a wonderful thing, done by Robert Tinney, showing Pournelle astride a stack of dead computers, ready to do battle with yet another. You can get one free at the BYTE booth at most computer shows. 1/ it's one either jerry or Robert are at, they'll be glad to sign it.

For those who can't go to shows, Workman and Associates (112 Marion Ave., Pasadena, CA91106, (818) 796-4401) is selling 25 numbered copies signed by Tinney and Pournelle and 1000 signed or inscribed by \erry alone. If you'd like it inscribed to a certain person, make that clear in the letter ordering the poster. It's sent in a mailing tube, postpaid. Inscribed posters will take a couple of weeks longer, since jerry does these in batches.

\ jerry Pournelle welcomes readers' comments \ \ and opinions. Send a self-addressed, stamped \ : envelope to jerry Pournelle, do BYTE:

• Publications, POB 372, Hancock, NH ; \ 03449. Please put your address on the let- \ : ter as well as on the envelope. Due to the :

• high volume of letters, jerry cannot guarantee [ I a personal reply. I

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CHAOS MANOR MAIL

Pancho? Tonto Maybe?

Dear Jerry,

I found Borland's Sidekick to be generally well designed and implemented except for two inconvenient features.

First, it is copy-protected, meaning it can't be copied onto a hard disk or RAM disk for faster operation. The whole utility doesn't reside in memory; it reads from help text files and notepad document files on the disk. Since the whole idea of Sidekick is that it be available at the poke of a key, that means it has to occupy a disk drive all the time or you wind up changing disks very often.

Second, when you try to run GW BASIC with Sidekick in the background, the computer hangs up. You can't break out of it; you can only turn the computer off and on again. This is extremely hazardous for computers with integral hard disks. It means a guaranteed head crash unless your particular model of hard disk automatically retracts to a landing track after a certain period of inactivity. Before you can run GW BASIC, you have to reboot to get rid of Sidekick. Again, this is quite time-consuming and therefore inconvenient for a hard-disk user. I was told that Borland is working on that bug and that a GW BASIC-compatible Sidekick is in the works.

These two faults combine to make Sidekick much less useful than it could be. In a machine with one hard disk and one floppy disk, it's more of a kick in the side than a sidekick. In all fairness, I was told that a hard-disk version will probably be offered at a higher cost Real Soon Now.

If your machine has a hard disk, wait for the hard-disk version. If you use GW BASIC a lot, wait for the friendly version to come. If you have only one floppy-disk drive, Sidekick may not be worth the additional disk changing.

Changing subjects, as president of SAPASSLA (the Society of American Programmers Against Silly Software License Agreements) it is my privilege to inform you that at our last meeting you were named honorary chairman for the courageous way in which you have championed the cause of common sense in our

young industry We all owe you a debt of gratitude.

Dave Hamner Hudson, OH

Actually, both you and I have read the documents wrong: you can put Sidekick on a hard disk very easily. All you have to do is copy ail the files over (except SK.EXE). Then, when you turn the machine on, you do SK from the A drive. You can then remove the Sidekick disk until the next time you turn the machine off. I'm no fan of copy protection, but I have to admit this is the least harmful kind. In-cidentally, Philippe Kahn tells me he's starting a new policy to make life even easier for Sidekick purchasers.

In the fine print of the Sidekick documents, it tells you there's a configuration program that lets you tell it that the notepad and help files are on a drive other than A, and once you've done that configuration you never have to do it again. Thus, the hard-disk version works already—and at no extra cost. I do agree: if you have only one disk drive, Sidekick is probably not worth the effort

I asked Kahn about GW BASIC He's never tried it If you really have problems, Borland will refund your money. Oh—and there's a new version of Sidekick that will even work with the Pro-Key keyboard re-arranger. I don't myself care for Pro-Key because it messes about with the machine's registers: 1 prefer Magic Keyboard. However, for Pro-Key fans, there's a new Sidekick that works with it: maybe it will work with GW BASIC

Thanks for the election. I'll try to live up to the office.— Jerry

Is TIjrbo TkAT Good?

Dear Jerry,

I happen to have a copy of Turbo Pascal version 2.0 for my personal computer and think that it's really the best Pascal available, especially considering the price. However, I am getting a little tired of people's unbounded praise for it. Look-it's very good, but it's not perfect. What really prompted this letter was your remark in June that you haven't heard one

complaint about Turbo Pascal. Here are a few.

As part of its ultraefficient operation, Turbo has some compiler-directive defaults that can be extremely frustrating to the novice who doesn't yet know how to set them. For instance, recursion is not allowed, there is no way to stop program execution (e.g., endless loops) without turning the computer off, and subscript checking is not performed. In case the problems of no subscript checking have never occurred to you, consider what would happen if you tried to read a string of length 132 into a variable declared to be of length 5. That's right—it gets read in and possibly writes over the operating system. I've never seen a Pascal (or any other language for that matter) that lets something like that happen!

As those who have Turbo know, when you first get it you have to "install" it. You supposedly have the opportunity to define whatever keys you wish to operate the editor with, including the programmable function keys. Problem is, some programmable function keys (depending on the specific ASCII code they generate) just won't program in; that is, the editor ignores them. Borland promises to fix this in version 3.0. Also (at least on CP/M-80 versions), you must first install the editor commands, then install the terminal; any other sequence used to install the editor commands will not work. The result would be that the default WordStar editor commands are used instead.

I'd also like to point out what I feel is an outright design mistake on the part of Borland. First, a little background. During my upbringing on Pascal, I've learned what I feel to be a rather effective method of inputting sets of data; use the end-of-line (EOLN) function to test for the end of a particular data element (it's set true by a carriage return) and use the end-of-file (EOF) function to test for the end of a data set (this is set true by the end-of-file character Control-Z). If this isn't real clear, imagine reading in several names to several groups. The end of each name is indicated with a carriage return, and the end of each group is indicated by a Control-Z. Every other version of Pascal I've used has al-

(continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 381

CHAOS MANOR MAIL

lowed this sort of control scheme without any hitches, but not Turbo.

The folks at Borland found an obscure paragraph in the manual to justify this. It states that in the special case of reading in strings from the CON: device, if a string read in is terminated prior to its defined length (ie., entering eight characters for a string defined to be length 10), then a Control-Z is appended to the string. Of course, this Control-Z sets EOF to true even though one has only hit a carriage return.

The Turbo manual (along with every other Pascal book) states that EOLN is set true by either a carriage return or an end-of-file character and EOF is set true only by the end-of-file character. The only justification Borland can offer for this obvious contradiction is that the manual says it's supposed to work that way. There is no sensible explanation for it. One way around this is to change the default I/O device to TRM:, but this can create other problems I don't feel like elaborating on,

I'm not down on Turbo, but I am just a little tired of people claiming it's absolutely perfect. Let's face it folks, nothing's perfect or above criticism.

Rion T. Cassidy San Luis Obispo, CA

Gee, did 1 go overboard in my first appraisal of Turbo? Possibly. On the other hand, I was so pleasantly shocked to see a good product, marketed intelligently priced reasonably and put out by really nice people—

Your points are well taken. Thanks. —Jerry

Networks and Bulletin Boards

Dear jerry,

I want you to consider coverage in your column of the telecommunications resources, from local bulletin boards to networks like CompuServe. I'm sure you have had at least some experience with these. Why don't you join in message exchanges on CompuServe's IBM PC Special Interest Group subsystem (just type GO PCSI31). By the way, that SIG is not affiliated with nor supported by IBM.

Also we would like to hear more about your experiences with public-domain software. There are some great programs out there for the IBM PC, like PC-Talk, Newkey, PC-File, and dozens of utilities to browse through files, look at directory contents. and selectively delete files.

These are generally available through CompuServe's SIG databases and also from the local boards. Boards are great sources of info and gossip. Come join in! You'll spend more time than you probably have to spare, but you'll have fun. And just think of the expansion of the effectiveness of your efforts to promote sanity in this industry. Some of the principals of some companies are participating now on CompuServe. For example, Philippe Kahn gets instant give and take about his products there.

Larry Weiss Garland, TX

Agreed: now that Footfall is done I can devote more time to playing about with small computers, and I'd love to. Learning more about what's available from networks and bulletin boards will be one of my first tasks. I'd appreciate tips on where to begin. I've been out of touch too long.— Jerry

Believe It or Not

Dear jerry,

In the April BYTE (page 64), you mentioned some things about telephone customer software support. Because I work in customer support for a good-sized OEM I was intrigued. You were right on most aspects of the game. It is difficult, boring, and tends to drive the best people out fast.

To show you what the other side of the picture looks like, I transcribed one half of a telephone conversation that is very close to what a real customer-support person finds himself doing for several hours per day. In reading this, you must imagine the poor man (or woman) speaking into a telephone handset, hunched over a pile of mostly out-of-date manuals, in a small room with at least four other people doing the same thing. The name, of course, has been changed to protect the guilty.

"Hey, this is Rupert with Enisoft, what's up?"

"You can't get anything on the screen?"

"Well, is it plugged in?"

"No, look in the back of the terminal."

"No, the back—the side opposite to the side with the screen on it."

"Okay, good."

"Can you see the black cord coming out? Yeah? Okay, is it plugged into the wall?"

"It's lying on the ground? Okay, so you can see the cord part of it. What's the end

of the cord doing—I mean, where can you see the end of the cord?"

"It's lying on the ground, too? Okay, well there's our problem. You need to plug it into the wall."

"No, there's a hole in the wall. Can you see it?"

'Okay, now the prongs on the plug—see them, they're on the other side from the cord—no, no, on the plug, not the terminal—they go into the hole."

It won't go in? Okay, are you sure it's right side up? The single prong should go into the bottom hole ... No, it sounds like you have it sideways . .. Look, it plugs in just like a vacuum cleaner."

"There is no third hole?"

"Okay so on that one socket you're looking at there are only two holes, then the screw below that."

"And the plug definitely has three prongs on it. Okay I'm going to have to get back to you on this."

Charles Shapiro Atlanta, GA

Ye gods!

Actually I think Digital Research has made a ghastly mistake with its new technical-support policy The other day Jim Hudson told me he spent three weeks trying to get hold of someone there to tell him why his Digital Research C compiler kept blowing up when he tried to use 8087 math-chip routines.

Eventualiy, after DR people continually refused to talk to him until he paid his $250/year technical-support fees, he got hold of someone there who wanted to buy one of his Zenith Z-100 8087 support boards—and told them he wouldn't sell until they answered his question.

The answer was that the compiler, or at least the version he had, didn't support the 8087 math chip although the advertisements said it did.

I don't think anyone should have to pay $250 a year to find out that a product doesn't do what the advertisements say it does.

Last minute note: DR people say they agree with me and that they are retraining some telephone receptionists. We'll see. They also say the newest version of the compiler can use the 8087. 1 haven't seen it.— Jerry

Scientific Languages

Dear Jerry, 1 read with great interest Jay Pasachoff's

{continued)

382 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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CHAOS MANOR MAIL

letter to you (April page 404). Although my current position is that of director of a computing center, my background is in astronomy, which qualifies me to comment on his views,

To begin with, Mr. Pasachoff overstates the case when he writes that " .. it seems unlikely that scientists will change to Pascal, Modula-2, or whatever." Some scientists will undoubtedly never abandon FORTRAN until they are forced to. But many of us adopted better languages a long time ago. When I worked at the U.S. Naval Observatory, a large part of the programming was done in PL/I. Languages such as BASIC, C, and Pascal also are widely used among scientists.

It is simply not true that "... physics and astronomy students simply have to learn FORTRAN." Like students of any other disciplines, those in physics and astronomy should be introduced to programming by use of a structured language such as Pascal. Although a student whose first introduction to programming is by way of FORTRAN may not be permanently brain damaged, as some computing professionals feel, Niklaus Wirth's observation that it is difficult to find a language that incorporates structuring principles to a lesser degree than FORTRAN is certainly relevant. Even FORTRAN-77, which provides some of the control structures so lacking in FORTRAN-1V, still fails to include a number of necessary features, such as recursive subroutines, and remains, in my opinion, an inferior language.

After they have mastered a structured language, physics and astronomy students may want to learn a little FORTRAN to be able to interpret FORTRAN programs written by others or to incorporate FORTRAN subroutines into their own programs. Such needed subroutines can always be linked with a main program written in a structured language. With our VAX-11/780 it is simple, as long as you are careful when passing parameters, to link a main program written in, for example, Pascal, with a FORTRAN subroutine

Three cheers to you for being unrepentant about FORTRAN and for your pertinent comments. Perhaps with the development of new languages such as Ada and Modula-2 many scientists will finally give up their obsession with FORTRAN and realize that more suitable languages exist for their programming tasks.

Richard Branham Mendoza, Argentina

Thanks for the kind words.

I haven't repented yet/—Jerry ■

384 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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BYTE WEST COAST

The dBASE

Compiler

package, new

printer

technology, pfs:Plan, and

talking

Macintoshes

by John Markoff,

Phil Robinson,

and Ezra Shapiro

Ezra Shapiro [McGraw-Hill. 425

Battery St.. San Francisco. CA

.94111) is BYTEs West Coast

bureau chief. John Markoff and Phil

Robinson (1000 Elwell Ct, Palo

Alto. CA 94303) are BYTE senior

technical editors.

New Developments

Two of the most widespread database-management programs ever marketed are dBASE II and dBASE III from Ashton-T^te. A key to their success is their programmability. Although the programs themselves are fully functional, their cryptic command structures are a source of frustration for many users. As a result, consultants and programmers have built a lucrative profession out of manipulating the products' built-in programming language to produce menu-driven database packages in which the end user is completely protected from dBASE.

However, it has not all been gravy for dBASE programmers. In order to market an application for dBASE, a developer either had to purchase one copy of Ashton-Tate's RunTime module for each copy of the package he wished to sell, or distribute original, unprotected source code that could easily be pirated.

Tbday, a package called dB Compiler from Wordtech Systems of Orinda, California, may be the answer to many dBASE programmers' dreams. The program, which consists of a compiler and a linker, is similar in operation to many Pascal compilers. It takes source code written for Ashton-Tate's dBASE products and compiles it into low-level intermediate code (so much like Pascal's p-code, in fact, that authors Richard Sheng, San San Sheng, and Charles Chou refer to it as "d-code"). The dB Compiler program then builds a command file and several overlays (PC-DOS and MS-DOS versions produce an .EXE file and two overlays; the CP/M-80 version yields a .COM file and three overlays) that incorporate emulation of most major dBASE functions and the application programmer's material. A word processor can create original source code for dB Compiler; actual dBASE is required only for interactive program debugging and for database file creation, which dB Compiler does not support.

The dB Compiler package is essentially a self-contained new program that parses

dBASE syntax. It handles all dBASE commands and functions except those interactive commands that would drop the user back into dBASE when finished. The program's authors decided that dB Compiler would use interpreted d-code, rather than compile all the way down to assembly language in order to support the dBASE macro substitution facility

As Wordtech doesn't impose any license fees for the programs produced with dB Compiler a developer is freed from the RunTime requirement and can market dBASE applications at a much lower cost than before. In addition, compilation represents an effective form of encryption that protects the author's original source code.

Furthermore dB Compiler is a handy tool for businesses. A firm that wished to develop a complex dBASE application to be used by a large number of employees on separate microcomputers would have to purchase one copy of dB Compiler and one copy of dBASE—period. The application programs created by dB Compiler could be distributed in unlimited quantities.

Wordtech's principals, Dave Miller and Mike Gardner, are quick to point out that dB Compiler may not offer the same speed increases that other programming language compilers do. Some operations are much faster than they were, while others are a bit slower, depending on the size of the database the type of data being handled, and the nature and complexity of the manipulations performed. In general they predict a 20 to 2 5 percent increase in speed under most conditions.

The current price of the dB Compiler package is $750. A CP/M-80 version was shipped around June 15, generic MS-DOS on July 8, PC-DOS on August 8, and a CP/M-86 version was planned for the end of August. Cross-compilers (to compile source under one operating system for use under another) are available for $3 50 each. These are all compilers for use with dBASE

{continued}

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 387

BYTE WEST COAST

II. Wordtech plans to develop a 16-bit version for dBASE III and intends to announce a trade-in policy in the near future. The purchase price includes free bug fixes forever and free upgrades for one full year from the date of purchase.

Magnetic Printing Rivals Lasers

Recently a number of U.S. companies, including Hewlett-Packard, have introduced their own versions of the Canon laser printer, and Apple Computer is set to use the Canon as a print-server in its promised network of Macintoshes and Lisas. But as soon as it appeared that the personal computer industry had settled on laser printing as office automation's technology of the future, a new rival appeared on the horizon.

Ferix, a start-up company from Fremont, California, has introduced a

novel magnetic printing technology that may potentially undercut low-cost laser printing before it gets off the ground. The first Ferix product, the Model 800 Magnetic Printer, looks like a desktop copier. However, it has an 8085 microprocessor, contains both serial and parallel interfaces, and has both ROM (read-only memory) and RAM (random-access read/write memory) cartridges to allow you to alter fonts. With the addition of a graphics controller, the Model 800 can function as a bit-map printer.

The Model 800 is targeted at almost exactly the same market as the Canon laser printer. It prints 10 pages per minute (14 pages in duplication mode) and is designed for applications that print between 2000 and 10,000 pages per month. The cost of supplies (not including paper) may fall as low as one cent per page. Ferix plans to sell the model to OEM (original equip-

DYSAN

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Dysan is a registered trademark of .Dysan Corporation

ment manufacturer) distributors for between $2000 and $3000, depending upon the quantity ordered and the features desired.

Ferix uses a semiconductor-like process to produce a thin-film magnetic printing head that differs significantly from traditional ring/core heads that employ wire coils wrapped around a soft magnetic material. Instead, the Ferix technology incorporates an "inside-out" architecture that focuses magnetic flux patterns to produce distinct magnetic boundaries in an array of magnetic heads. Inside-out in this case means that each individual magnetic coil (which is lithographically deposited on a substrate) is actually embedded in a magnetic material shaped like a half doughnut. This approach results in a flux pattern that generates less interference or crosstalk, between individual heads and produces sharper characters with higher definition. The Ferix head projects the flux pattern through the plane of the substrate instead of off an edge as in traditional recording techniques. Although the manufacturing process of the flexible thin-film head is similar to that of semiconductors, it uses an entirely wet chemistry and 7-micron technology—a much larger scale.

The head array is embedded in a flexible strip that slides across a rotating drum. The heads deposit a magnetic bit-map image on the drum material that is similar to the magnetic material used in conventional floppy disks. After the image is recorded, toner is transferred from the drum to the paper and fused in a manner somewhat akin to a traditional xerographic process.

One of the intriguing aspects of the Ferix process is that once the image is written to the drum, it stays indefinitely, allowing the device to easily function as a copier. The magnetic image is deposited on the drum as if it were an 8'/2- by ll-inch sheet of paper (three lines at a time in the daisy-wheel emulation mode).

Ferix President Pete Wilson claims that the printer is currently capable of

{continued)

388 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 141 on inquiry card.

RamTape-PC.

Because backups

should do more

than just take,take,take.

NORTH ATLANTIC / QANTEX

PRESENTS

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*■

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The trouble with conventional hard disk backups is that backing up is all they do. They take and store informa-tion-and can take a lot of time and effort doing it-but they don't help you use that information,

RamTape-PC is a complete data storage peripheral that does more than just take data from your PC; it gives you new and advanced capabilities.

It gives you: Electronic disk-a RamTape-PC exclusive. Load data into its 360 Kbyte RAM, without reducing user's memory. Breeze through file editing and spread sheets. With an access

time measured in nano-seconds, the electronic disk speeds every function.

It gives you: A floppy library capa-bility-another RamTape exclusive, Store the contents of 32 double-sided floppies on one cartridge: it's more manageable, less expensive, And you access files up to 50 times faster.

It gives you: A choice of hard disk backup, either file or image oriented, A complete 10MB file by file backup requires less than 15 minutes, with no user intervention. Image backup is even faster, The file mode of backup allows great flexibility providing for backup and restoration of specific files

which meet selected criteria.

Even with its exclusive features, RamTape-PC costs no more than ordinary backups, So why settle for a system that only takes, when the RamTape-PC gives, gives, gives?

For details contact Qantex, 60 Plant Ave., Hauppauge, NY 11788. Call toll-free 800-645-5292; in NY State 516-582-6060.

^H north iitlnntic

Qantex

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BYTE WEST COAST

The Model 800 produces excellent gray scales and sharp images.

densities up to 240 by 240 dots per inch, but adds that this is conservative in terms of the potential of thin-film magnetic technology. The current pixel size is 6.5 mils. The speed of the current model is also nowhere near potential; much higher-speed printing should be possible in the near future.

Wilson also says that the printing-head technology is generic enough that Ferix could place it in both higher-performance, more expensive printers and less expensive desktop models that could compete with the high end of the daisy-wheel market.

We are impressed with the printing

samples that Ferix showed us, although the one graphics sample was slightly less dense than the output we've seen from laser printers. However, the Model 800 produces excellent gray scales and sharp images. So far, Ferix is the only U.S. company that has introduced a thin-film magnetic printing technology. Both a French and a Japanese company are currently selling printers based on more expensive magnetic technologies.

Yet Another Spreadsheet

Does the world need another electronic spreadsheet? With a personal computer software market flooded with the likes of Multiplan, SuperCalc, Lotus 1-2-3, and even two VisiCalcs, how can yet another program be added to the deluge? With the introduction of pfs:Plan, Software Publishing of Mountain View, California, is

betting that there's room for another contender—at the low end of the market. The company has already scored with this strategy; the success of the PFS family (pfs:Write, pfs:File, pfs:Report, and so on) has firmly established Software Publishing as a leading money-maker in an overcrowded software industry.

They've also been eyeing statistics from Future Computing, the market-research firm, about the purchasers of new personal computers; something like 23 percent of all microcomputer buyers get spreadsheet software at the same time they purchase their machines. That's a hefty market, and with a $140 list price for pfs:Plan, the company hopes to attract a significant chunk of it.

The program represents one of Software Publishing's biggest product-development efforts to date; it

{continued)

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390 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

"My computer keeps track of135,000 cubic feet of wholesale auto parts."

The more work you do, the more you need to store. And the harder it is to work with stacks of floppy diskettes.

Sysgen-II-G™ hard disk systems store everything—up to 20 Megabytes-con veniently. You can look at any program or file in seconds. But...

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,

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^E*'

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Go to your local computer dealer. Ask for a demonstration of Sysgen back-up systems. And find out how to make sense of your storage. 47853 Warm Springs Blvd., Fremont, CA 94539 (415) 490-6770 Telex 4990843

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IBM PC-XT and IBM PC are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. SYSGEN-II-G and IMAGE are trademarks of Sysgen, Incorporated.

BYTE WEST COAST

Perhaps pfs:Plaris nicest touch is that it can read values from data files written by other programs.

took two years to bring pfs:Plan, developed mostly in Pascal, to market.

The version we saw recently wasn't quite ready to go out the door, but it had a number of interesting aspects. Like other third-generation programs, formulas in pfs:Plan use a very English-like syntax. They are built around user-defined column and row headings, rather than numbers. A typical formula might look like "Profit « Sales - Expenses."

Construction of worksheets as large as those allowed by programs like Lotus 1-2-3 is not permitted by pfs:Plan. However, it is big enough for

models based on five-year projections with quarterly columns and summaries. It also includes automatic consolidation, the ability to add in numbers from other spreadsheets, and the ability to clear values from a spreadsheet without destroying headings and formulas (similar to the Zap command in Microsoft Multiplan). And there's an additional feature that isn't seen in other spreadsheets; pfs:Plan allows targeting—the ability to constrain one variable in an equation embedded in the spreadsheet. With this feature, for example, you can set gross margin goals and then compute the required sales. The only thing we found that was obviously missing from pfs:Plan was a set of statistical functions, though there is a series of financial functions that can be built into equations.

Perhaps pfs:Plan's nicest touch is that it can read values from data files

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More on SoftOffice

SoftOffice, the icon-based integrated package for the IBM PC and PCjr mentioned in this column in June, will be distributed in the last quarter of 1984 by BreakThrough Software, 505 San Marin Drive, Novato, CA 94947, (415) 898-1919. The price was not announced at press time.

A Smooth Talker

The BYTE Palo Alto office is becoming the BYTE Macintosh office, with software (pre-pre-release versions largely), hardware (such as the Corvus hard disk), and press releases rolling in every day. Amidst a growing chorus of "Yes, the Mac is fun but what can you do with it?" we are starting to see some real live software.

Dave Fradin, the president of First Byte, came through the office to show off the Macintosh version of Smooth-talker, a speech-synthesis program. Dave was visiting more than just the BYTE offices; he was on a full tour that included a "talk-off" the following week at Apple, where Smoothtalker and Mactalk would compete "mouth-to-mouth"

First Byte expected to sell 10,000 copies of Smoothtalker between the September 1 release date and December 1. The program was first developed for the Apple III— Dave Fradin used to work for Apple as the business unit manager for the Apple III. First Byte sprang out of PCMA (Professional Computer Marketing Associates), which distributed Apples in Southern California.

First Byte called up lots of Apple Macintosh owners and asked them if they would like a program like this. Supposedly, 70 percent said yes. When asked how much it would be worth to them, $150 was the figure that was often quoted and will be the price of Smoothtalker. In 1985, First Byte hopes that the computer that

{continued)

392 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 155 on inquiry card.

THE BRIEFCASE DMA BASE

CARTRIDGE DATA MANAGEMENT COMES OF AGE

Today's business microcomputers have generated an informa- bases defined by job function and software application. Data

tion explosion that today's data storage devices-including bases that give people the versatility to work more productively,

the highly-touted, high-capacity Winchesters-have been ill M ^ fe mQre More performance and reliabi|ity tefer

prepared to contain. rates ^ acces$ dmes faster than mQSt Winchesters No

head crashes ever. And cost per megabyte that Winchesters f cannot touch.

The Bernoulli Box's cartridge capacity, portability, and absolute mmmmmmmmi interchangeability give your business more options. You can

With one notable exception. The Bernoulli Box v from easily build primary data bases. You can package individual-

10MEGA. Available for the IBM PC, XT, most compatibles, the ized data bases, software and all—for payroll, accounting,

TI Professional, and Apple's Macintosh;the Bernoulli Box delivers unparalleled data base dynamics. Thanks to its removable 10-megabyte cartridges (5 -megabyte for the Macintosh) and its proprietary removable disk technology.

And that, more and more, is what your business needs today. Not centralized, monolithic banks of information, but data

marketing-in convenient, dedicated cartridges. You can secure them quickly and economically in backup. And you can pack all of the data into a briefcase, an interoffice envelope, or even a file drawer.

For the dealer nearest you, call 1-800-556-1234 ext. 215. In California call 1-800-441-2345 ext. 215.

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has speech will have an important edge over the computer that doesn't. Fradin illustrates that appeal with an analogy to Dolby sound: as Dolby is to ,l hiss elimination," so Smoothtalker will be to speech synthesis in personal computers.

Smoothtalker will be available only on the Macintosh at first but then will be adapted for other machines. It will be available in two forms: as a complete package for individual customers and as modules that can be linked to other software. The modules can be called directly from Pascal, BASIC, or FORTH programs.

There are already two and a half years of work in Smoothtalker, which is written mostly in Pascal and assembly language. It meets the first three criteria imposed by First Byte: adherence to the Macintosh interface, software-only implementation, and a small memory requirement (it uses only I8K bytes). First Byte also claims the Smoothtalker voice will meet their self-imposed criteria: naturalness, intelligibility, and good long-term effect (doesn't fatigue the ear).

Smoothtalker accepts ordinary English text—up to the length of a MacWrite file—and reads it through the Macintosh speaker. It is said to use 1200 rules of pronunciation, which may explain why it was able to handle numbers, symbols (such as +, $, and @), and many abbreviations. Enhancements will include foreign-language pronunciation, a user dictionary (where you can enter whatever pronunciation you want a word to have), and the ability to adjust the sex, pitch, volume, speed, bass, and treble levels of the voice. And you'll be able to change any of these factors within a speech. Smoothtalker also analyzes sentence structure to change intonation for questions and the like.

Fradin claims that the Smoothtalker in its original form—written for the Apple III— used only 20 percent of the power of the 6502 central processing unit. That is one of the claims of Smoothtalker's superiority over Mac-talk. Mactalk eats up all the processor's time, says Fradin, which

BYTE WEST COAST

Companies Mentioned

Ferix

48571 Milmont Dr. Fremont, CA 94538 (415) 659-0800

First Byte

2845 Ttemple Ave, Long Beach, CA 90806 (800) 624-2692 (California only) (800) 523-8070

Software Publishing

1901 Landings Dr. Mountain View, CA 94043 (415) 962-8910

Wordtech Systems

POB 1747 Orinda, CA 94563 (415) 254-0900

means the computer can't do anything else while it is speaking. (And please don't let me hear anyone say "Can't talk and do graphics at the same time?") The pre-release version of Mactalk I heard/couldn't handle numbers or abbreviations, either.

Smoothtalker has a rasp at the end of its "s" sounds where Mactalk doesn't. The version some heard at NCC (National Computer Conference) had phonemes recorded by an engineer in a garage next to an Orange County airport. The version I heard— recorded by the same engineer but in a sound studio—was supposed to be two orders of magnitude below the version scheduled for September release. The documentation and a spoken tutorial will be on the disk.

Smoothtalker uses a proprietary wave-form compression method along with phonetic smoothing to make a sonorous voice while using only a little RAM. Fradin claims this scheme is superior to the LPC (linear predictive coding) scheme used by many other synthesizers, including Mactalk. Smoothtalker uses a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to produce the voice. The Commodore 64 and

[continued)

erfec

p erfect

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IBWT& ACP

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Standard Disk Controller $ 115

with Parallel Port $ 165

with Serial Port $ 175

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SOFTWARE

ASHT0N TATE

dBase It $285

dBase III.... $ Call

Framework $ Call

FOX & GELLER

Quickcode II or ill $ 169

dGraph (Requires Graphics Card) .... $ Call

dUtll (Utilities For dBase II or III) $ Call

FUNK-Sldeways $ 49

HAYES-Smartcom II $ 99

IMSI-4 Point Graphics (Rated #1).. $ 119 (Inhance Lotus Graphics)

INDIVIDUAL SOFTWARE

Tutorial Set (IBM PC/XT and DOS)..., $ 79 Typing Instructor $ 39

INFOCOM-Zorkl.il, HI $ 29

All games available $ Call

INFORMATION UNLIMITED SOFTWARE

EasyWriter II System $ 195

Accounts Receivable $299

Accounts Payable $ 299

General Ledger ..$ 299

Payroll $369

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C-Compiler $ 299

C-Food Smorgasboard $ 110

LIFETREE

Volkswriter Deluxe w/TextMerge $ 169

LOTUS DEVELOPMENT

Lotus 1-2-3 (Version 1A) $ Call

Symphony $ Call

Symphony Upgrade $ Call

MICRO DATA BASE SYSTEMS

Knowledgeman $ 299

MICROPRO

Wordstar w/Tutorial on Disk $ 229

ProPack (Wordstar/MailMerge/

CorrectStar/Starlndex) $329

ProfessionalPlus (ProPack plus

TelMerge Electronic Mail System

Mailing List Management and

Business Letters) $ Call

MICRORIM

R.base4000 $299

Clout $ 139

Extended Report Writer $ Call

MICROSOFT

C-Compiler $ 349

Flight Simulator $ 35

Muitiplan (New Version) $ 149

Project (Project Manager) $ 180

Chart $ 180

Word $239

Wordw/Mouse $ 299

Mouse w/Software $ 139

MICROSTUF Crosstalk XVI (for Hayes Smartmodem) $ 99

MORGAN COMPUTING

Trace 86 (Assembly Language Debug) $ 99

Ted (Program Editor) , $ 79

Professional Basic (170K Work Space w/8087 Support) ..$ 259

MULTIMATE INTERNATIONAL

Multimate $ 269

PETER NORTON

Norton Utilities $ 55

ROSESOFT

Prokey (Newest Version) $ 95

SATELLITE SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL

Word Perfect (includes Speller) $ 269

SOFTWARE PRODUCTS

Open Access $ 299

SOFTWARE PUBLISHING

PFS/Access $ 65

PFS/File , $ 89

PFS/Graph $ 89

PFS/Report $ 79

PFS/Write $ 79

WANG PUBLICATION

Random House Proof Reader (50K) . $ 45

WORDTECH SYSTEMS

dB/Compiler (True dBase II

Compiler) $450

OUR POLICY

• We accept VISA, MasterCard, Money Orders, Certified Checks, Cashiers Checks, Personal Checks. Wired Funds • We do not charge your card until we ship • No surcharge added on VISA and MasterCard ■ Allow one week for personal and company checks to clear • COD maximum $500 Cash or Certified check on delivery • Please use local phone number for order status inquiries

• Prices subject to change without notice • Returns may be suDject to restocking fee. SHIPPING (U.S.). For monitors, and hard disk drives add 2% to all orders. Blue label and Next Day Air available. For all other items add $4. Most ordtn shipped next dey.

When you need competitive prices, prompt service and complete support, Call US. Circle 23 on Inquiry card.

APPLIED COMPUTER PRODUCTS INC.

1916 Welsh Road #6, Philadelphia, PA 19115 215-934-6990 Telex 756876 UD

1-800-223-3860

* IBM is a registered trademark of Internationa! Business Machines.

DATA EXCHANGE/64K SPOOLER

The ADS-8212 DATA EXCHANGE/64K is a computer independent interface converter and print spooler. It can be installed between virtually any computer and any peripheral.

Data can be input in either serial or parallel, stored in its 64K bytes of RAM, and output serial or parallel. Serial ports support baud rates from 50 to 19 200 and both hardware and software handshaking. The input and output ports are completely independent; input data with one protocol and baud rate and output it with a different protocol and baud rate. Selections are dip switch selectable.

A unique feature is its ability to make unlimited numbers of copies, Hitting the copy button will send another copy to the printer. When done making copies, hit the reset button to clear the memory.

Included with the DATA EXCHANGE/64K are two 4 foot output cables, one parallel cable with standard Centronics type connector and one serial cable with standard DB 25 connector. Standard plugs are supplied for input ports.

Suggested list price: $339.00 Dealer inquiries welcome.

RS-232 HANDSHAKING: RDY/BSY (DTR) Xon/Xoff ETX/ACK

INPUT

DATA EXCHANGE/64K

OUTPUT

Available al your local dealer or contact:

NTEX DATA SYSTEMS

A Division of International Antex inc. 2630 California Street lew* California 94040 m Phone: (415) 941-7914 Telex: 704 969 INTERAX UD

BYTE WEST COAST

the Atari computers have a DAC. The Apple II and IBM PC will require an add-on DAC board.

Smoothtalker is designed for incorporation into other programs and into computers (maybe as a ROM). The First Byte Company sees the use of Smoothtalker in various applications; for example imagine your computers being used in the classroom, saying "Don't worry if this is the first triple-integral you've seen." In entertainment it might say 'The engines can't take Warp 7 for long, sir."; in custom-product demonstrations, "Dicer-slicer-chopper-grinder, the Wonco does it all!"; as a security measure, "John, I think there's a prowler in the kitchen-let the Dobermans in, quick."; and in text-to-speech for the visually disabled, 'The Source: Main Menu." First Byte even tried to appeal to my interests as a writer by suggesting that Smoothtalker could read my words back at me so I could hear their cadence. I'm not so sure I want to hear my words. But, come to think of it maybe when I can adjust the timbre of the voice to something between James Earl Jones and Richard Burton. . . Thinking of applications for speech isn't a problem; getting good-quality speech is.

One interesting sidelight is that First Byte thinks it has the first program that can advertise itself on radio. Unfortunately, that same discussion led to expected groaners along the lines of 'The product speaks for itself" and so on.

Which speech maker, Mactalk or Smoothtalker, is more glib? We haven't seen a final version of either yet and really can't make a final judgment. If the voice on the Smoothtalker version I heard is truly two orders of magnitude below the final version, Smoothtalker will probably win the contest hands down. But for now, both still sound robotic in the 1950s sense. However, I'd love to have those text-to-speech modules to plug into some of my programs, and there is no doubt at this point that Smoothtalker has a much better grasp of all the extras like abbreviations, numbers,' and symbols. ■

396 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 21 on inquiry card.

Genuine Genius.

When it comes to expert systems, we wrote the library.

Human Edge™ Business Strategy Software Smart, tough, tactical programs that provide the user with personality profiles of two people dealing in a business situation.

The Sales Edge™ gives you a handle on your prospect. You'll know when to be aggressive. And when to back down. How to best prepare, open and close to sell anyone the way they want to be sold.

The Management Edge™ helps you better analyze, understand and manage the

people you work with. You can hold the bright ones. Lose the losers. And keep an easyjjrip on the reins.

The Negotiation Edge™ helps you size up your opponents. You'll see where they're strong. Where they're vulnerable. No matter what's on the table, a property deal, a merger, or the promotion you're overdue. In short, the Negotiation Edge will help you win.

The Communication Edge™ shows you how to make your conversations and meetings more meaningful and effective.How to make your point with a specific person so

there's no doubt that you've said what you meant. And meant what youVe said.

In just a few minutes your IBM, Macintosh or Apple II pc will give you a strategic report that's cunningly accurate.

The Sales and Management programs are $250. The Negotiation Edge is $295, and The Communication Edge is $195.

Your personal strategy is as close as your nearest Computer Dealer. Or your phone.

HUMAN EDGE

We Make Computers Think.

1-800-624-5227 (in California 1-800-824-7325)

Human Edge Software Corporation

2445 Faber Place, Palo Alto, CA 94303

Circle 201 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 397

UNIX SYSTEM VL FROM ATsT. SEUING

When you start with products based on UNIX System V from AT&T, you can end up closing the sale* And opening up new markets.

It's another reason why good business decisions are based on UNIX System V from AT&T.

More and more of your customers will be demanding multiuser and multi-tasking systems. Thabenefits of UNIX System V-portability, reliability, flexibility —make it the ideal software

system for this lucrative market.

In addition, AT&T $11 support UNIX System V vtfith the service, training, and documentation resellers need to prosper.

More choices, more opportunities

UNIX System V is virtually hardware independent. So you'll be able to^tmf igure systems using equipment from a variety ofvendors.

You can use the flexibility of UNIX System V as a real selling

point to customers who want to add hardware that is compatible with the machines they already have.

And over the long term, UNIX System V offers continuing opportunities to upgrade and expand your customers' systems. End-user flexibility translates into market opportunity for the reseller.

Software that sells

—UNIX System V offers another sales opportunity in

an area of treinendous potential-customized software.

You'll be able to sell software for a wider range of configurations. You'll have more software to offer, too. Your programmers can concentrate on developing new packages instead of rewriting old ones.

For more information on this sales tool from AT&T, send in the coupon for a copy of our free booklet, "Why Good Business Decisions are Based on .^mmmmm UNIX System V."

UNIX System V. From AT&T. From now on, I consider it standard.

AT&T

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BYTE JAPAN

Comparisons

Vectorio III

NEC computers C batches and pipes

by William M. Raike

Wdliarn M. Mike, who holds a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Northwestern University, has taught operations research and computer science in Austin, Texas, and Monterey. California. He holds a patent on a voice scrambler and was formerly an officer of Cryptext Corporation in the United States. In 1980, he went to japan looking for 64K-bit RAMs. He has been there ever since as a technical translator and a software developer.

Technology Shock

It's been the better part of a month since I returned to Tokyo after a whirlwind U.S. tour. That two-and-a-half-week Midwest and West Coast trip was my first chance in nearly two years to glimpse firsthand the U.S. personal computer scene, and the changes were too numerous to itemize. Particularly after seeing the diversity of computers and peripheral equipment here in the Akihabara district of Tokyo, the dozen or so U.S. showrooms I walked into made me feel like a visitor from another planet. Reading about the influence of Big Blue didn't prepare me for the reality: near-total shaping of the growth of an entire market by a single product line from a single company.

I saw IBM PCs, more IBM PCs, several IBM PC-compatible machines, the occasional PCjr, various Apples, one DEC machine and a few assorted portables. I saw lots and lots of applications software on display, the greater part of it for the PC. I saw almost no peripherals, except for the occasional printer. (Presumably it's hard for a retail store to compete with the mail-order pages of BYTE.)

Comparisons

Chatting with the people in the stores seemed to produce either incomprehension or surprise when they heard me comment on the lackluster performance of the IBM PC and compatibles in the Japanese market. The fact that virtually no Japanese manufacturers advertise IBM compatibility for their machines in Japan also produced surprise. This phenomenon can be explained mostly by the lack of Japanese-language software (and hardware) for the PC and partly by the intense competition within the Japanese market itself. The high level of competition has resulted in a number of technologically superior machines available at extremely low prices.

Although it may be too early to say, the language gap seems to have given Japanese manufacturers both the time and the leeway

to create a substantially different and highly differentiated domestic market. Their challenge will be to exploit that market in the future. What makes their job tough is that they don't have the base of de facto standards that was available to U.S. vendors as a by-product of IBM's long domination that led in turn to the creation of so much outstanding American software.

Apple Clone

The most significant exception to the general lack of interest in compatibility here, apart from the Microsoft-inspired MSX standard, is the wide availability of the Apple and Asian-made Apple compatibles. A particularly interesting Apple compatible is a new machine from Honda Trading Company, a small firm in Akihabara. Honda is run jointly by Hiroo Honda and by an American, Pete Perkins, who see their future in bucking big-company domination of the Japanese personal computer market. Honda and Perkins improve their technical and engineering leverage by encouraging young engineering students to participate part-time. Additionally, they spend a significant part of their time in their showrooms, seeing who the customers really are and what they have to say.

One Honda Trading Company product, about to debut, is a 3H-inch microfloppy-disk drive that is otherwise completely plug-compatible with standard Apple drives. Another is the just-released Vectorio III portable computer, the latest in the Vectorio series. The Vectorio III is compatible with all existing Apple 11+ hardware and software. It's supplied with one or two built-in 1-megabyte 3 Hi-inch microfloppy-disk drives; standard RAM (random-access read/ write memory) is 64 K bytes. The processor is the 65C02, a CMOS version (and upgrade) of the 6502 workhorse, running at 1 MHz. The Vectorio III has an RS-232C interface on the board in addition to the RGB (red-green-blue), composite and RF (radio

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 401

BYTE JAPAN

frequency) video outputs, and parallel printer interface; on-board memory is expandable up to 256K bytes; either a serial or a parallel keyboard can be used; and there are five expansion slots on the main board (accessible through a "hacker's hatch" without removing the case) that accept Apple option cards.

The price for the Vectorio III with two disk drives will be around $1200; the complete board (minus the drives, case, power supply, and keyboard) is available for approximately $350.

NEC Computers

The nearest thing to single-company market dominance in Japan is the

Whatever System You Use.

SB**

I *£/5/» CWMUS

1. <*M«£ S , WMW

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(MS-DOS)

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BOM® . MWEAO

... there's plenty of UniPress Software from our product library

PRODUCTIVITY AIDS APPLICATIONS LANGUAGES

• Emacs Multi-window extensible editor

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• Phact Isam File Manager

• /RDB — Relational Database

• The Menu System

• QCalc Spreadsheet

• Lex Word Processing

• Leverage List Processor

• Lattice C Native

• Lattice C Cross to MS-DOS

• Amsterdam C and Pascal Compiler Kit

SUPPORTED OS

UNIX 4.1, 4.2, System III,

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In addition, we carry the UniPlus + Unix System V for the Apple Lisa and a full line of application software dedicated to the Lisa.

Call or write our trained staff for more product information

UniPress Software, Inc.

2025 Lincoln Highway, Edison, NJ 06817

201-9853000 • Order Desk: 800-222-0550 (outside NJ) Telex: 709418

Mastercard and Visa

NEC's PG-8801 M/ell has a split personality.

NEC line of personal computers. One survey put NEC's market share at 40 percent; whether that figure is precise or not, the company is clearly the powerhouse. However, NEC is only number two in the Japanese mainframe business, behind Fujitsu and ahead of Hitachi.

NEC offers dedicated (Japanese language) word processors and a separate line of small "OA" (office automation) computers in addition to its personal computers. The NEC lap-sized portable the PC-8201, has been out for over a year and is widely available in the U.S.; the PC-8801. which I've owned for more than a year, has been replaced by the PC-8801 Mkll.

The Mkll is roughly equivalent to the original PC-8801, but with different packaging and a much lower price. It's based on the NEC version of the Z80A (running at 4 MHz), and the main unit includes up to two built-in 5M-inch. 320K-byte floppy-disk drives, along with the standard 64K bytes of RAM. Also provided are another 48K bytes of graphic video RAM and 72K bytes of ROM (readonly memory). One RS-232C serial port is standard; a second port is optional. The main unit can be installed either in the conventional horizontal position or standing on edge the smaller "footprint" being helpful on a crowded desktop or in situations that don't permit the monitor to be placed on top of the main unit.

This computer has a split personality. A DIP (dual-inline pin) switch allows you to select either of two banks of ROM: NsrBASIC or the older N-BASIC from the now-obsolete PC-8001. The two are incompatible and the NEC version of CP/M-80 boots up only from the N-BASIC ROM.

Despite its peculiarities, the PC-8801 Mkll is a powerful and useful 8-bit machine and an impressive value. Dis-

(continued)

402 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 408 on inquiry card.

Raging C

Concise structure and fast execution make C the ideal language for applications and system-level programming.

And compared with other MS-DOS C compilers, Microsoft® C consistently produces the fastest executable code.

It supports the full C language and includes an extensive library of subroutines that implement most UNIX™compatible functions.

Small, medium, compact, and large memory models give you flexibility in selecting the addressing requirements of your software. Programs can be designed to make

MICROSOFT. pfc*5 «* of

The High Performance Software the available

memory of your computer, up to one megabyte.

Microsoft C Compiler provides you with a complete development system including the compiler, run time library, linker and library manager, and full support of

MS-DOS 2.0 directory structure (pathnames) and I/O redirection.

How do programmers feel about Microsoft C?

"In the top category for its quick compile and execution time, small incremental code, best documentation, and consistent reliability!'** —Ralph Phraner, BYTE Magazine

"Best for software development!'

-Bill Hunt, PC Tech Journal "Produces good, tight-running programs!'

—Peter Norton, Softalk

Call 800426-9400 to order the raging C- $500?

In Washington State, call 206-828-8088. Ask for operator A6, who will rush you your order, send you more information, or give you the name of your nearest dealer to see Microsoft C in action.

*Price exclusive of handling and Washington State sales tax.

Microsoft is a registered trademark and MS is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation

UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories.

**Reprinted with permission, BYTE Magazine, August '83,

BYTE JAPAN

Amazingly enough, the two-drive version (the PC-9801F2) can be bought, discounted, for a little over $1300.

counted, a two-drive version sells for about $900.

TWo 16-bit NEC computers are based on the 8086 processor, not counting the older model N5200 (sold in the U.S. as the APC). One is the PC-100. introduced late last year, which runs MS-DOS and is sold bundled with Microsoft's Multiplan (the Japanese-language version) and the JS-Word Japanese word-processing program. It is supplied with 128K bytes of user RAM plus another 128K bytes of video RAM and two 360K-byte floppy-disk drives. A mouse is optional.

The most prominent feature of the PC-100 is that the video display can be installed either in the normal position or on its side, providing a total of six different screen formats (three in each position). This seems sort of

gimmicky to me, but NEC apparently feels that it's worth the effort. All in all the PC-100 seems overpriced; it lists for just under $1900, although discounts can no doubt be found.

A far more interesting (and much more popular) machine is the PC-9801F. A slight variation on this machine has been released in the U.S. as the APC III (see What's New, July BYTE, page 44), but the Japanese version incorporates 640K-byte, 5!4-inch floppy-disk drives instead of 320K-byte drives. Its 8086 processor clocks at 8 MHz (compared to 7 MHz for the PC-100), although a 5-MHz clock rate can be selected for compatibility with an earlier version of the 9801. A 128K-byte RAM is standard, expandable to 640K bytes; 192K bytes of graphics RAM and 96K bytes of ROM (including N 86 -BASIC) are also standard. Available options include an 8087 coprocessor, a mouse, a 68000 processor board, and up to two 10-mega-byte hard disks. Both the Japanese-language version of MS-DOS and CP/M-86 are available as operating systems; nothing has been announced yet about the memory-management hardware and UNIX operating system that you can get for the APC III.

Amazingly enough, the two-drive version (the PC-9801F2) can be

bought, discounted, for only a little over $1300; the PC-9801E version, without any built-in drives (external drives can be connected, though), is available for only about $700.

While NEC says nothing about IBM PC compatibility for the PC-9801F here in Japan, the APC III in the U.S. is supposedly a PC-compatible machine. Further, utility programs are available for the PC-9801F that convert files from disks in the IBM-PC format to NEC format. Such conversion at least makes the huge body of CP/M-86 and MS-DOS software easily accessible to people (like me) who want good C compilers, modern word processors, and other goodies,

C Across the Sea

Living in the world of CP/M-80,1 find various occasions when typing several CP/M commands on the same line (command-line batch initiation) would be convenient. An example is when I want to compile a source program, assemble the resulting object program, and obtain a printed listing of the source code without having to sit in front of the computer the whole time The CP/M SUBMIT (and XSUB-MIT) commands provide batch submission capabilities, but the com-

[contimed]

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REFERENCE, AUTONUMBER, NEW programs by Paul Johnson. Far more powerful and mistake proof than other versions.. and always at hand.

NEW! I COPY ZAP by Glen Bredon, author of BIG MAC. SMART DISK COPIER, and $39 95 ZAP utilities written for our system. Also copies 40 track disks!

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404 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 197 on inquiry card.

Eerodous

FORTRAN.

Microsoft® FORTRAN crunches numbers with a vengeance!

It combines fast and efficient native code compilation with built-in 8087 coprocessor support. The result? Mini and mainframe performance from your MS- DOS micro.

Based on the 77 standard, Microsoft FORTRAN supports extensive statements and data types—including complex numbers and IEEE single and double-precision floating point accuracy.

Support for large arrays (greater than 64K bytes), separate module

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How do programmers feel about Microsoft FORTRAN?

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and the power of the 8087!' —Jack Wilschke, Softalk

"We decided to use the Microsoft FORTRAN Compiler for its INTEGER 4 capability and the flexibility of its 8087 implementation!'

—Charlie Huizena & Chip Barnaky, PC World

Call 800426-9400 to order

the ferocious FORTRAN.

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In Washington State, call 206-828-8088. Ask for operator A4, who will rush you your order, send you more information, or give you the name of your nearest dealer to see Microsoft FORTRAN in action.

*Price exclusive of handling and Washington State sales tax. Microsoft is a registered trademark and MS is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation

BYTE JAPAN

Listing 1: The It program.

Ac — Produces a submit file from the command line and chains to SUBMIT.COM. To use, separate commands with semicolons. E.g.: / c test ; as test ; pip 1st:-teste Also partially simulates pipes. For example, / cdir *.c | sort produces the command sequence:

cdir >1,+ + + i

sort < 1. + + + era /.sub era *. + + + #include tprintf.c #include exec.c main()

{ int f1, pipeflg, i; char c, s[6], *comline, -comstr, * comptr, *itoa{); comline ■ 0X82; /» CP/M stores cmd line tail at 0082H */ i ■ pipeflg - 0; f1 - file {"/.sub", "w"); while (c * *comline+ + )

{ if (c ■ ■ V) /* semicolons separate multiple cmds */ { putc(\n\ f1);

while (*comline - - ' ') comline + +;

}

else if (c - - T) /* simulate pipe with temp file i. + + + */ { pipeflg - 1; i+ + ;

comptr ■ comstr - alloc(128); fprintf(f1," >°/os. + + +\n" ( itoa(i,s)); /*redir. output*/ while (*comline - » ' ') comline + + ; while ((c - ^comline) !■ \0' && c I- V && c I- 1') *comstr + + - *comline+.+; h next cmd to comstr */ * comstr + + - \0'; strcat(comptr, " <"); /* redir, input */ strcat(comptr, itoa(i, s)); strcat(comptr, ".+ + + M ); 3trcat(comptr, comline); /* comptr now has the rest of the cmd line h with redirected input for the next cmd comline - comptr;

}

else putc(c, f1);

}

putc(\n\ f1);

fprintf(f1, "era /.sub\n");

if (pipeflg) fprintf(fl, "era *.+ + +\n n );

fclose(fl);

exec("submit", "/.sub");

file(fname, fmode) /* general-purpose file opener */ char *fname, *fmode; { int i;

i - fopen(fname, fmode);

if (i > 0) return i;

printf ("Can't open: °/os\n",fname);

exit();

•I

}

include stdlib.c

mands must exist in advance in a disk file which is awkward.

There are other times, such as when sorting the output from a text-processing program, that "pipes" come in handy. (A pipe is a way of executing a sequence of programs in such a way that the output of one program is used as the input to the next.) Various operating systems (notably UNIX) offer pipes. While true pipes have the component programs running as concurrent tasks, you can achieve a similar effect under CP/M-80 by using temporary files to hold the intermediate results.

Several commercially available software packages (such as MicroShell, Unica, and C/NIX) offer these and other useful features. More limited programs already exist in the public domain. But it's easy and instructive to implement simple versions in C

The C program in listing 1, compiled using the Software Tbolworks C/80 compiler, allows you to enter multiple CP/M commands on one line, preceded by a slash (/) and a blank and separated by semicolons (;). It then creates a CP/M SUBMIT file and executes the SUBMIT command, which processes the commands sequentially Upon completion, the SUBMIT file is erased. If a vertical stroke (|) is used as a separator instead of a semicolon, the output of one program is used as the input to the next by redirecting the respective outputs and inputs to temporary files. (Note: individual C/80 programs automatically offer I/O [input/output) redirection. For example, the CDIR program [August BYTE, page 342) can output a file directory to a file called, say, DFILE by typing the command CDIR > DFILE. If your C compiler uses different conventions or does not implement I/O redirection, the program in listing 1 won't simulate pipes correctly. The command-line batch-initiation feature, with the successive commands separated by semicolons, will still be usable though.)

One tricky aspect is to prevent the program from simply recognizing a < or > (less than or greater than sign)

{continue^

406 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Potent Pascal*

Microsoft® Pascal may be the most powerful software development environment available for the MS-DOS system. It combines the programming advantages of a structured high-level language with the fast execution speed of native code compilation.

And it exceeds the proposed ISO and ANSI standards with logical extensions that make the language more powerful and versatile. For example, programming capabilities even allow you to manipulate data at the system and machine level.

It gives you single and double

MICROSOFT P rec l s l° n IEEE

The High FerfoTnumce Software* floating point

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Support for long heap allocation and separate module compilation gives you the flexibility to create large programs up to one megabyte.

And the standard linking interface makes it easy to combine Microsoft FORTRAN or assembly language subroutines.

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In Washington State, call 206-828-8088. Ask for operator A5, who will rush you your order, send you more information, or give you the name of your nearest dealer to see Microsoft Pascal in action.

* Price exclusive of handling and Washington State sales tax. Microsoft is a registered trademark and MS is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation

PREVENT THE DISASTER

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Dust-Off II is most effective when used with Stat-Off II. Stat-Off II neutralizes dust-holding static electricity while Dust-Off II blasts loose dust away. There's also the Dual Extender and Mini-Vac for vacuuming dust out of hard-to-reach places.

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BYTE JAPAN

One tricky aspect is to prevent the program from recognizing a < or > as an indication to redirect its own input/output.

on the command line as an indication that its own input or output is to be redirected. (That is, I/O redirection has to be disabled for this program so that < or > symbols in the command line can be handled correctly.) Your C compiler might provide compile-time options to accomplish this task; the C/80 compiler doesn't, but it does supply an assembly-language file containing its normal run-time library. Deleting four lines in that file (CLIBRARYASM) disables I/O redirection; the lines to be deleted are lines 89 to 92: CPI '<', JZ$B1, CPI >.\ and JZ $B2.

The program is reasonably straightforward. It parses the command-line tail (stored by CP/M starting at hexadecimal address 0082 in the CP/M buffer area); places successive commands on individual lines in the file /.SUB (and sets up I/O redirection to temporary files when necessary); adds a line after the last command, which causes the /.SUB file and any temporary files to be erased; and chains to the CP/M SUBMITCOM program to start execution.

The include files (TPRINTF.C and EXEC.C) are supplied with the C/80 compiler and contain the code for the formatted output routines and the program chaining feature respectively. Similarly, STDLIB.C contains various standard C library functions. These files may or may not be needed with your compiler.

Coming Up

The December BYTE Japan will feature hand-held computers, particularly the Ampere Big.APL, and a comparison of several available MSX machines. ■

408 BYTE • NOVEMBER I984

Circle J 64 on inquiry card.

Captures lything You Can

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The illustration incc rates line art, photos, text, textures and color elements. You can do the seme with this icon-driven, user-friendly system*

For $695.00 yo« get IN 'G-EYE m video digitizer board and IMIGtT™ graphics software. PC-EYE allows you to capture real-life images with an ordinary video camera or VCR and produce them on your personal computer. IMiGIT is an icon-oriented graphics software package which allows you to modify the camera image by adding text, patterns, colors, lines and shapes: By using cut and paste features with multiple video images, you can store images for later retrieval and print images from the screen.

You get this Exciting too! for integrating video images with graphics created by other software packages like Lotus 1-2-3*; Graftalk*; CAD and business presentation packages. Imagine combining a real-life camera image, text and a pie chart generated by Lotus into one picture. It's really as easy as 1, 2, 3.

IMIGIT Supports...

High Resolution - up to 640 x 512 pixels with 16 colors or gray scale (64 with 6-bit PC-EYE). Flexibility -to support the most popular graphics cards and printers for convenient display and hardcopy output Speed - less than 2/10 of a second to capture an image in the IBM-compatible 320 x 200 mode. All in ail, a powerful but easy-to-use package that allows you to develop sophisticated and dramatic graphic presentations.

CHORUS is the Single Source for

your graphics and imaging needs. Complete solutions in both hardware and software. Call us for other low cost/high performance imaging products such as Dr. Halo* and Halo* graphics software; video cameras and accessories; and graphic adapter cards: You can expect prompt delivery, technical support and complete OEM design assistance.

CALL 1-800 OCHORUS or 603-424-2900.

PC-EYE and IMIGIT are trademarks of Chorus Data Systems, Inc.

*Dr. Halo and Halo are trademarks of Media Cybernetics, Inc.

Graftalk is a trademark of Redding Group, Inc. Lotus 1 -2-3 is a trademark of Lotus Development Corporation.

Circle 56 on inquiry card.

CHORUS

Chorus Data Systems, Inc., 6 Continental Blvd., P.O. Box 370, Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054

Don't spend one more dollar on microcomputer hardware or software until you get Tony Webster's amazing new Buyer's Guides for the micro marketplace!

COMPLETE INFORMATION ON OVER 1100 MICROCOMPUTER PRODUCTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!

These are the buying guides that every experienced and prospective micro user needs. Clearly written, completely objective guides that provide up-to-date information on the price, performance, special features, compatibility and ease of use for hundreds of micro hardware and software products.

Until now it's been next to impossible to keep track of today's bewildering array of new micro products and peripherals. Conflicting claims and sketchy product literature have confused even the most experienced users. And you can't rely on salespeople to always be objective with you. But all your confusion will melt away when you get Tony Webster's extraordinary new Buying Guides for home and small computer users.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO MAKE WELL INFORMED, PRICE-WISE BUYING DECISIONS

Here's where you'll find complete details on the entire spectrum of microcomputers, printers, terminals, firmware and major applications software—not only the best-selling systems from Apple, IBM, Commodore, Radio Shack and the like but the many less expensive "clone" systems now on the market. Fully illustrated and formatted for easy cross reference, these are the best Buying Guides published, bar none. They help you get the most from your computer dollar by making it simple for you to...

1. Save time and money. Model by model price information makes comparison shopping easy.

2. Focus on compatible systems and software. Avoid costly mistakes when upgrading your system.

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4. Choose the most appropriate applications software packages. Many programs make the claim, but just how "friendly" are they?

5. Compare performance and capabilities. Get the best price/performance trade-off on every purchase you make.

410 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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G Microcomputer Buyer's Guide

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\S22L

Apricots

and the

Organiser

by Dick Pountain

BYTE U. K.

A Plethora of Portables

Dick Pountain is a technical author

and software consultant living in

London, England. He can be

contacted do BYTE, POB 372,

Hancock. NH 03449.

One of the corollaries to Murphy's Law states that whenever you choose to go on holiday it will all start to happen at home. This proved to be true when I decided to take an unprecedented four-week vacation in June; ACT launched not one but a whole family of new Apricots, while Psion unveiled its first venture into hardware design—a pocket computer. Because none of them is likely to be available in the U.S.A. at the time this article appears in print, I thought you might enjoy a sneak preview.

ACT is Together

ACT is the U.K.'s largest and most successful purveyor of business microcomputers. After an early period of selling CP/M machines and software, the company rose to prominence through marketing Chuck Peddle's 8088-based Victor 9000 under the name Sirius 1. While IBM procrastinated over European introduction of the IBM Personal Computer (PC), the Sirius 1 became the 16-bit business machine, particularly in the U.K. and Germany. In the intervening three years, Big Blue has not enjoyed the easy ride to dominance that was predicted for it over here, with a strange result: the Victor 9000 flopped in its home market, swamped by the IBM PC tidal wave, but prospered across the Atlantic. It was inevitable that ACT should take manufacturing into its own hands, so it designed and built the Apricot—launched just in time to take over as the Victor 9000 foundered. The Apricot is much smaller, neater, and cheaper than the Sirius/Victor, and the software is almost entirely compatible with it, though not with the IBM PC-it uses the full 16-/16-bit 8086 rather than the 16-/8-bit 8088, and it has Sony 3 ^-inch disk drives. TWo versions of the Apricot were introduced to the U.S.A. earlier this year—the standard PC and the XI, which features an integral 3-inch 10-megabyte (MB) Winchester drive— and both versions were enthusiastically received by the computer press.

ACT could have been expected to take a rest at this point. Instead, they have chosen to introduce no fewer than three new Apricot models, one of which is a portable featuring one of the new 80-column by

2 5-line LCDs (liquid-crystal displays). All three machines are equipped with infrared cordless keyboards (a la IBM's PCjr), the world's first infrared mouse, and an icon-driven shell that sits on top of MS-DOS.

First, the Fl

The Apricot Fl comes in a box that is less than half the width of the standard Apricot's processor unit. In fact, at 221 by 160 by 420 millimeters, it's not much bigger than many manufacturers' disk drives. A single Sony

3 !4-inch drive with a capacity of 7 2 OK bytes is built in, along with a standard 2 56K RAM (random-access read/write memory) and an 8086 central processing unit (CPU) (4.77 MHz). RS-232 and Centronics printer ports are included, plus one internal expansion slot and an external bus. A 10-MB Winchester or extra Sony drives can be attached to the latter. ACT used the occasion of the launch to announce a local-area network (Point 32) and a cluster controller (Point 7), which can link all members of the Apricot family, the Sirius I, and the IBM PC

Three Sorcim applications, SuperWriter, SuperCalc, and SuperPlanner, come bundled with the machine, together with ACT'S own drawing and diary packages and a game. The operating system is MS-DOS version 2.11 with Concurrent CP/M and the GSX Graphics extensions as optional extras. The U.K. price is £995, just under the magic £1000 barrier.

There is no integral display, but provision for color is built in, allowing it to drive either an RGB (red-green-blue) color or an Apricot monochrome monitor. (A new color monitor of Sony manufacture will be available as an option.) In addition, the Fl has a composite video output to drive standard monochrome monitors and an optional

{continued}

BYTE UK.

UHF modulator to drive domestic TVs. Unlike the original Apricot, which inherited the very high-resolution 800-by 400-pixel Victor graphics, the Fl has 640 by 256 graphics in two modes, and 640 by 200 (for ease of software transfer from the IBM PC) in two further modes.

One dramatic improvement over the original Apricot is a smart VDU (video display unit) driver that provides what ACT has dubbed "mad" (for multidirectional) scrolling; this is said to allow you to pan the screen smoothly in any direction and define scrolling windows. I haven't seen the full thing yet but the Fl I used certainly had smooth scrolling in the vertical dimension.

The keyboard is also a new design, lacking the LCD "microscreen" of the original Apricot (which was considered virtually useless by popular consensus). Ultra-low-profile keys are used with fashionably round tops and all 92 keys are arranged in a single block, with no gaps between the QWERTY, editing, numeric, and function-key groups. The keyboard communicates with the processor unit via an infrared link, though a fiber-optic cord is available for use in crowded

offices where interference might occur ("group environments," in the horrid language of the promotional leaflet). I found that the infrared link worked reliably with the keyboard sitting on the same surface as the processor box, but not so well on my knees, where the edge of the desk could shadow the sensor.

I couldn't get my hands on the infrared cordless mouse in time for press, but it appears to be highly original in design. The rotating ball protrudes from both the upper and lower surfaces of an elongated plastic box; the ball can be manipulated directly with the fingers as a trackball or, by tilting, can be brought into contact with the desktop to act as a conventional mouse. TWo buttons are provided.

The New Shell Game

It would be nice to report that the new operating system shell lived up to the innovative hardware, but it does not, at least in the early version I used. Whichever side you take in the "mouse versus no mouse" debate, you have to admit that the concept of a mouse- and icon-driven user interface, as it came from Xerox PARC

Photo 1: The Apricot Fl [left) and Apricot Portable (right) from ACT.

(Palo Alto Research Center) through Lisa and Macintosh, is an indivisible one. The prerequisites are a completely bit-mapped display with soft character generation and sophisticated window and menu management integral to the operating system. Such software, as Apple has shown, requires years of painstaking effort to develop. Putting a shell over standard MS-DOS, supplementing menus with little pictures, is not adequate and smacks of cashing in on fashion.

The new Apricot front-end program is called Activity (get it?) and consists of a menu along the bottom of the screen, in which words are highlighted by a reverse-video cursor and have a small icon underneath to reinforce the message. Choices can be made by using the ordinary cursor keys or the mouse. When a choice is made, the screen fills with other menus (and icons) from which selection is made by moving a separate cross-hairs cursor, using the mouse (or the numeric pad keys). The whole setup, with two totally independent cursors, was completely incomprehensible to me and inferior in ease of use to an ordinary Multiplan-style menu. I prefer to stick with the unadorned MS-DOS interface.

A reduced version of the Fl (called FIE) is to be produced for schools and universities, with 128K bytes of RAM and a single-sided 320K-byte disk drive. The attraction will be the low (£795) cost and Digital Research's Dr. Logo as bundled software.

An Apricot for the Road

The most exotic of the new machines is the Apricot Portable. Sharing all of the features of the Fl, this machine is packaged in a futuristic wedge-shaped case and has a full-sized (80 by 2 5) LCD manufactured by Hitachi. The keyboard unit is the same as the Fl's though the infrared sensor sits under the beveled lower edge of the case, which makes it even more sensitive to positioning than the Fl's keyboard. The Apricot Portable has its disk drive situated at the right-hand side of the case but the disk operation light,

[continued)

414 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

WRONGS FOR $59.95.

Most word processing programs create more problems than they solve. Introducing the first program that rights all those wrongs: THE WRITE STUFF?

WRONG #1: WORD PROCESSING PROGRAMS ARE EXPENSIVE.

Some people say software has to be expensive to work well, We don't agree;

THE WRITE STUFF is everything those more expensive programs should be. And more: It's affordable. Only $59.95. And it's available for Apple® n +, JTe, Zfc and IBM®PC, XT, and compatible computers,

WRONG #2: GOOD WORD PROCESSING PROGRAMS ARE HARD TO USE.

THE WRITE STUFF was written for Harper 8c Row by the co-developers of The Bank Street Writer ™, the best-selling word processor for children. To say that it's easy to use is an understatement, Twenty minutes is all it takes

to master THE WRITE STUFF. Your l *help menu"

of functions and commands is just a key

away. Creative Computin g calls it v v as simple

as using a typewriter.. .an excellent word

processor."

WRONG #3: YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

There's virtually no word processing function THE WRITE STUFF can't perform. As well as options you only find in programs costing five times as much: word count, complete cursor control variable speed scrolling, undo any change in one step, on-screen underline and boldface, automatic save, and more.

WRONG #4: GREAT SOFTWARE COMES FROM SOMEONE'S GARAGE.

THE WRITE STUFF is from Harper &Row, one of the world's leading publishers. We've been recognizing great writing for more than 150 years, even before Mark Twain brought us Huck Finn. We think you'll find THE WRITE STUFF right in his league.

Harper&Row. Software for people:

1984 Harpei & Row, 10E. 53rd St.. 20th fl. New York. NY 10022. (212)207-7492

Circle 188 on inquiry card.

BYTE U.K.

along with several other indicators, is placed at the left-hand edge of the screen for visibility.

Like the Fl. the Portable relies entirely on mains power, battery operation having been rejected as a design option. In this sense it's not a competitor to the new Vadem/Morrow/Os-borne machine that has a much smaller footprint and a battery power option. ACT'S managing director Roger Foster doesn't believe that this sector of the market demands any more than easy transportability though I feel that some engineers, geologists, and other field workers might disagree. A very smart carrying case holds the processor/display unit and the keyboard for traveling.

The most spectacular feature of the Apricot Portable is the voice-recognition circuitry and integral microphone. This sits in a recess at the right-hand side of the screen and can be removed on a self-rewinding cable. It wasn't fitted on the early prototype I used, but according to my information the circuitry works like the Tfecmar PC-Mate. The machine is trained to a person's voice by speaking the chosen keywords from three to five times. Unlike the Tfecmar, however, it

uses a hierarchical system of keyword storage, with 64 primary words; upon recognition of one of these words, a further 64 different words can be recognized and so on.

At £1695 the Apricot Portable is priced close to the Compaq, Kaypro, and the new Osborne Encore (Morrow Pivot).

T&ken altogether, the new Apricots are smartly designed and incorporate some bold technical innovations at remarkably low prices. Their future is assured in Sirius-conscious Europe, but whether they can succeed in the IBM-dominated U.S. without IBM soft-, ware compatibility remains an open question.

A Psion in Every Pocket?

Psion is a successful U.K. software house that started out writing games for the Sinclair ZX81 and Spectrum and later produced the highly acclaimed applications programs for the less-than-highly-acclaimed Sinclair QL (see BYTE U.K., September, page 415). On the same day that ACT unveiled the new Apricots, Psion revealed a venture into hardware manufacture in the shape of a pocket computer called the Organiser. (See photo 2.)

Photo 2: The Organiser pocket computer from Psion.

The pocket computer has been alive for many years, but so far none of the offerings quite make the grade in terms of truly general usefulness. One line of thought has led to instruments like the Sharp PCI 500 (and similar machines from Casio), which are the modern version of the programmable calculator. They run more or less standard BASIC with a bias toward mathematical applications, but they are limited in their data-processing capability by the use of cassette tapes for mass storage.

Another line of thought (started years ago by Toshiba) has led to a pocket database: the "electronic address book" concept. Despite some neat designs currently emanating from Casio, using expensive CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) RAM modules, these too have been inhibited by inadequate mass-storage capacity

The Psion Organiser spans both of these concepts, with some degree of success. It succeeds by the application of new CMOS microcomputer (as opposed to calculator) technology, together with clever firmware design.

The Organiser certainly won't have the Japanese running scared on account of its packaging. Compared to the current models from Sharp and Casio it's overly large (about the size of the older TV remote-control units) and, though it is well made it lacks the exquisite finish that the Japanese achieve.

Inside the chunky case, however, is a proper 8-bit microcomputer, the HD6301X, which is a CMOS version of the Motorola 6800 with some extra instructions. The display is a quite ordinary single-line 16-character LCD as used in inexpensive calculators. The mass storage is something new though; Psion has adopted ultraviolet-erasable PROMS (programmable read-only memories) called Datapaks as removable storage media. These cartridges are about the size of an ordinary eraser and fit into the side of the Organiser. Ttoo Data-pak cartridges can be inserted at a time, with capacities of either 8K or

{continued)

r

416 BYTE* NOVEMBER 1984

ProModem 1200A Apple Card Pack yt

It's the best 300/1200 baud 212A telephone modem for your Apple R II, II+, and He. "Best because it's the easiest to install and use, provides more useful modem features for your money, and lets you add software capabilities as your needs grow.

We really do mean easy. Just plug the ProModem Card Pack into any expansion slot and connect the telephone cord. On-board intelligent software in ROM includes a simple but powerful terminal program. With a few keystrokes, you'll be "on line" and communicating.

ProModem 1200A offers you the best price-to-performance modem available with Auto-Answer and Auto-Dial, Programmable Intelligent Dialing, Built-in Speaker with Volume Control, Help Commands, Extensive Diagnostics, and more

And when you need more sophisticated capabilities like Terminal Emulation, you're all set.

The 1200A is fully Hayes compatible. You'll be able to use most of the Apple II communications programs available.

PRICE COMPARISON

PROMETHEUS

(1) ProModem 1200A Apple Card Pack, complete with on-board software and all necessary hardware

List Price: $449

HAYES

(1) Smartmodem 1200 "standalone modem"

(2) Serial Card

(3) RS-232C Cable

(4) Communications Software

Total List Price: $957

Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc

The "Help" Screen and "Auto redial if busy" functions make the 1200A convenient to use. The second phone jack for the telephone handset allows switching from voice to data. You get all of this, ready to use, complete with easy to understand documentation, and a telephone cord for only $449.

See your local dealer for a demonstration. He'll show why ProModem 1200A is your best connection.

Prometheus Products, Inc. 45277 Fremont Blvd. Fremont, CA 94538 (415)490-2370

Circle ^44 on inquiry card.

BYTE U.K.

16K each, giving a usable amount of quickly accessible storage. The Data-paks are "write-once" media, so data stored in them is secure against most kinds of accidental loss. Records can be erased from the database but they continue to occupy EPROM space; when a Datapak becomes full, you can copy all the active records to a new one and have the old one erased and reformatted using a special ultraviolet eraser. This service will be available at Psion dealers, though larger organizations might wish to purchase one for internal use.

Battery power is supplied by a single 9-volt alkaline cell, which lasts for about six months of normal use. The HD6301X has 4K bytes of mask ROM (read-only memory) and 2K of RAM actually on the chip, and this is all the memory that the Organiser directly addresses. The Datapaks are treated as external serial devices (like

disk drives) and, apart from some math routines in the ROM, all code is fetched as a serial stream into the 2K workspace. When it's switched on, the Organiser presents a real-time clock/ calendar display—pressing the Mode key clears this and allows you to proceed.

Data Entry

What makes the Organiser concept work is the design of the soft/firmware. This is based around a very fast search algorithm with partial word matching. With a full ,16K-byte Datapak the maximum search time is 5 seconds, and retrieval is typically much faster.

All database manipulation is done using dedicated keys, so that a minimum amount of typing is required on the small alphabetically arranged (as opposed to QWERTY) keyboard.

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Four keys control the storage and retrieval of data, programming, and calculation function. Records consist of free-format strings of text and numbers, up to 200 characters. You enter these in Enter mode (the Mode key steps through a circular list of the available modes) into the temporary display memory where they can be edited at will. Hitting the Save key stores this record into a Datapak (if two Datapaks are fitted, the prompt will show SAVE1: or SAVE2: on alternate presses). To retrieve a record, merely hit the Find key (which also alternates if there is a choice of paks) and enter as much or as little of the target record as you wish to search on. Pressing the Execute key then displays all the records that have been matched, stepping through them at each press. Using an asterisk specifies that the search word must occur at the beginning of a record, so that FRE will match FRED or ALFRED, but *FRE will only match FRED. If you execute FIND with no search clue, then you can single-step through the whole database. By paying attention to the design of records (using special characters or letter codes) you can easily classify your information.

The ergonomics of the Organiser are so carefully designed that it is quite possible to operate it with one hand, using your thumb to reach the various keys. This is slightly spoiled by the small keyboard, which dictates that most keys have a shifted value— the numbers and math operators are all shifted letters and Shift toggles between sets.

The limitations of the small display are diminished by left and right scroll keys, which, rather than step by single characters, cause the display to scroll automatically until another key is hit. The Delete key was designed in a similar way It deletes characters to the right as long as there are any, but deletes to the left if there aren't.

The Organiser has a Calc mode in which it behaves as a simple four-function calculator; BASIC-style operators are used and, on pressing Execute, the whole calculation and

{continued)

418 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 120 on inquiry card.

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Circle 384 on inquiry card.

BYTE U.K.

result are displayed as in: 23 x 2 = 46. Arithmetic is floating point to seven significant figures, and scientific notation is supported. When the Mode key is pressed, the prompt changes but the displayed data remains the same. This allows you to do a calculation and then press Save to store either the result (adding an alphabetic label to help retrieve it) or the text of the calculation itself. This principle applies across the board; once a record has been retrieved, it behaves as if you'd just entered it, so you can calculate on it, edit it, and then resave it.

The whole design is aimed at foolproof operation; the only possible error conditions are a full or faulty Datapak, other illegal input merely being re-presented for editing. The system senses the presence or absence of Datapaks, and the Mode key is context-sensitive and displays certain modes only at the appropriate time—for example, Erase is only allowed after a Save.

POPL

The Organiser is programmable using a specially developed language called POPL (no relation to last month's POP-11). POPL is not built into the machine but is included in each of Psion's application packs. As I write, only the Finance Pack is ready but Science and Math/Stats Packs are in preparation. Adding an application pack (it replaced one of the Datapaks) causes a number of new modes to be added, including Prog and Copy.

POPL is a very simple language, with a syntax similar to a structured BASIC; it is procedure based and allows the passing of parameters. The input and output functions are rudimentary: IN "prompt" X causes "prompt" to be displayed and assigns the input to X, while OUT "result" X causes "result" to be displayed followed by the contents of X. All variables are local to a procedure, but there is a predeclared 20-element system array that can be used either as an indexed array or for global variables. The total workspace available for data is only 3 56 bytes, and

this can be exceeded quite quickly if you write deeply nested procedures with lots of local variables.

You can get an idea of POPL from this factorial example:

FACT

IN "NUMBER" N

C = 0

F=^

LOOP:C = C+1

F=FxC

IF C<N GOTO LOOP

OUT "FACTORIAL IS" F

This procedure is called FACT and it is saved, retrieved, and edited in the same way as any other data (except that a special mode called Cat lists only procedures and not data records; it works just like Find). Procedures can be run either in Run or Calc mode—they can call other procedures (including recursive calls to themselves)—with parameters being passed using the reserved variable names PI to P5. No procedure may exceed 200 characters, and no one line may exceed 100 characters.

Some discipline is required to avoid squandering scarce storage and workspace. A procedure being edited is held in workspace RAM, from where you can run and test it during development, saving it only when it's fully debugged. On the other hand, to release the maximum workspace for running procedures, you must save the current procedure and then delete it from workspace (by using QUIT rather than EXIT).

A nice touch is that the source code of the built-in functions in an application pack is available to inspect and edit and can be copied to a Datapak to be incorporated into your own procedures. The Finance pack includes various compound interest, cash-flow, depreciation, and bond-yield functions, as well as some general scientific functions, such as exponentials and trigonometry.

I couldn't run the Sieve of Eratosthenes due to the small amount of workspace RAM, but an impression of the speed can be gained by timing the factorial program—the conclusion is that Seymour Cray needn't lose any

sleep. Calculation of 50! took 44 seconds or almost one second per iteration, and an empty loop takes Vi second per iteration. This slow result is a consequence of the amount of overlaying from the serial EPROM, rather than a reflection of the CPU's true processing power, but it suggests that POPL will not be used much for heavily iterative programs. Recursion is worse still, as the stack quickly grows to overflow workspace. This should not be taken as condemnation though; realistically speaking, POPL is intended for writing short procedures, typically involving simple arithmetical transformations. Its ease of use, and the fact that user procedures become extensions to the catalog of available functions, makes it preferable to a cassette-stored BASIC program for most nontechnical users.

In summary then, what I find impressive about the Organiser is not its absolute performance in any sphere, but the clever design of the software for fast and foolproof use. A general-purpose BASIC machine like the Sharp PCI 500 will beat it soundly at complex scientific calculations, but just try writing any sort of database program using cassette tape storage to find out what slow really means. I also liked the consistency of the Organiser environment, where records and procedures are all handled in similar ways using the same few keys; when I first received the machine, it took me only 15 minutes to discover how to do everything (apart from POPL) without any documenta-y tion or outside advice. A 16K-byte Datapak will hold over 300 average telephone-book entries, five times more than most of the competing "electronic notebooks." The price and relative difficulty of reusing Datapaks militates against using them as the exact equivalent of disk or tape; instead they are highly suitable for semipermanent information such as names and addresses or commercial data such as price lists. The machine costs £99.95 in the U.K., about the same as a BASIC pocket computer. Datapaks cost £12.95 for 8K and £19.95 for 16K. ■

420 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

S^^^ZENT ^ mt ^

*SSSSa*

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We put our 212 modem to the critical test. We stacked it up against Hayes, one of the "smart" modems.

The Performance

Hundreds of phone calls were carefully monitored, analyzed, and verified by telecommunications engineers. After exhaustive testing, the results were conclusive: when line quality was average, our modem was one and a half times more accurate than Hayes. When line quality was bad, however, our modem was up to ten times more accurate. And when line quality was really bad, their error rate shot up to as much as 100 times ours! The errors ranged from misspelled words to incorrect numbers. The implications for modern business are understandably serious.

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Then we went inside and did a component count. The final score: Hayes 252, us 155. This can be viewed two ways: Either Hayes has a 60% better chance of developing part failure, or our modem has a 60% better chance of delivering higher reliability

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NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE 423

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424 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 228 on inquiry card.

The

Slobbovian Amnesty and the Eccentric

Jailer

by Michael W. Ecker

Dr. Michael W. Ecker is an

associate professor in the

Department of Mathematics and

Computer Science at the University

of Scranton.

MATHEMATICAL RECREATIONS

Toggling Functions

An eccentric jailer proposes the following cockeyed partial amnesty to the 100 prisoners in his 100 cells. All cells in the prison are initially closed. Then the warden walks by all 100 cells and turns his key in the door of each; however, no prisoner may leave. Then the jailer walks back and, starting with cell number 2, reverses every second cell. Hence, cells numbered 2, 4, 6, . . ., 100 are again closed. Again, no prisoner in an open cell may leave. The warden continues with every third cell, starting with 3, 6, 9, and again turns the key This reverses every third cell, the cells formerly open are now closed and vice versa.

It starts to get a bit fuzzy as to who is in an open cell, for this process continues 100 times. On the fourth time, every fourth cell, starting with 4, 8, and so on, is reversed by a turn of the key, In general, every feth time, cells k, 2k, etc., are reversed. No prisoner may leave during the process. (The vicious guards see to that.)

Now, this is the offer. Any prisoner fortunate enough to be in a cell that is open at the conclusion of this 100-pass process may go free. Which prisoners will be released?

Let's first make sure we understand the problem. T&ke the prisoner in cell number 8. His cell will be opened at pass #1, closed at pass #2, ignored at pass #3, opened again at pass #4, ignored at passes #5, 6, and 7, and finally closed again on pass #8—not to be opened again during the rest of the warden's walks. On the other hand, the prisoner in cell number #4 is more fortunate. His cell is opened at pass #1, closed at pass #2, and opened at pass #4—never to be reversed again.

What is more special about cell number 4 than cell number 8? Let's try a BASIC program to simulate the opening and closing. Let us agree to use 0 for closed and 1 for open.

Since the cells involved are essentially being toggled, I would like to sneak in an

elegant programming trick for toggling. For it, I am indebted to David B. Lewis (himself a writer of mathematical recreations and programs) for reminding me. Suppose you have a variable called A that is storing 0 or 1 for off and on, or for closed and open, or whatever. Ordinarily, one would use some program line in BASIC like this:

100 IF A = 0THEN A = 1 ELSE A = 0 or, using 0 and -1, 100 A = NOT A

Instead, we'll use:

100 A=1-A

If A -0, then A is assigned the value 1, and conversely, \l A=\ then A is now assigned the value 0. (The mathematicians reading this will note that the function F(x)=\ -x and the identity function I(x)=x together constitute a cyclic group of order two under the operation of function composition, with F a generator.)

Type in listing 1. When you are done, you will find a fascinating result: The only cells open are those whose number is a perfect square (i.e., 1, 4, 9, 16, 2 5, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100).

What is so special about perfect squares? Why not the odd numbers, for example, instead of the perfect squares, as many people often incorrectly guess? Look again at what happened to the prisoners in cells 4 and 8. Note that a cell is reversed precisely at a pass number that is a divisor of the cell number. For 8, the divisors are 1,2,4, and 8. On these passes we get open, closed, open, closed. For 4, the divisors are 1, 2, 4, and we get open, closed, open. In order for a prisoner to go free, the last pass must produce an open. But for that to happen, we see that the number of divisors of the cell number must be odd. In general, each divisor d may be paired with another divisor d' = f. However, if the number is a perfect square, the square root is a divisor that is not paired with any other divisor.

Although you might like to say that the

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 425

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MATHEMATICAL RECREATIONS

square root should be paired off with itself, don't lose sight of the fact that the goal is to see how many divisors the number has, and we don't count any divisor twice. So perfect squares always contain an odd number of divisors. It now makes sense that the only lucky prisoners are the ones in cells whose numbers are squares.

T>iE Eccentric Jailer's More Eccentric Cousin

Mathematicians never like to leave things alone—not even nice things like the previous conclusion. In that spirit, I offer the related tale of another warden (a cousin of the first jailer) who had his own cockeyed plan. He made the same kind of offer, except that instead of turning the key once

each time, he turned the key as many times as the number of the pass. On the first pass, the jailer turns the key in all cells—once. On the second pass, however, he will turn the key in cells 2, 4, 6, etc., two times. (Hence, on the second pass, nothing changes.) On pass number 3, he goes to cells 3, 6, 9, . . . and turns the key in each three times. He continues this for all 100 passes.

Listing 2 ought to do it. Lines 3 5 and 4 5 ensure that the key is turned as many times as the number of passes made. Of course there are shorter ways to implement the process, such as by noting that a switch is made if and only if the pass number is odd, but the idea is to let the com-

{continued)

Listing 1 : The Eccentric Jailer program.

1 DIM A(100):REM ARRAY TO STORE 0 OR 1 FOR CLOSED OR OPEN FOR

EACH CELL 10 CLS:REM CLEARS SCREEN 20 FOR PASS=1 TO 100 30 FOR CELL = PASS TO 100 STEP PASS 40 A(CELL) = 1 -A(CELL):REM TURN THE KEY 50 NEXT CELL 55 PRINT "PASS NUMBER" ;PASS; "COMPLETED" :REM SO YOU'LL KNOW

THE PROGRAM IS WORKING 60 NEXT PASS

65 PRINT "OPEN CELLS ARE ..." 70 FOR CELL=1 TO 100 80 IF A(CELL) = 1 THEN PRINT CELL; 90 NEXT CELL 100 PRINT: END

Listing 2: The Eccentric jailer's More Eccentric Cousin program.

1 DIM A(100):REM ARRAY TO STORE 0 OR 1 FOR CLOSED OR OPEN FOR

EACH CELL 10 CLS:REM CLEARS SCREEN 20 FOR PASS=1 TO 100 30 FOR CELL-PASS TO 100 STEP PASS 35 FOR CHANGE = 1 TO PASS

40 A(CELL)=1 -A(CELL):REM ELEGANT TRICK FOR SIMULATING KEY TURN 45 NEXT CHANGE 50 NEXT CELL 55 PRINT "PASS NUMBER"; PASS; "COMPLETED" :REM SO YOU'LL KNOW

PROGRAM IS WORKING 60 NEXT PASS

65 PRINT:PRINT "THE OPEN CELLS ARE. . ." 70 FOR CELL=1 TO 100 80 IF A(CELL) = 1 THEN PRINT CELL; 90 NEXT CELL 100 PRINT: END

426 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

My Datec EA.L has a lot of pals.

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MATHEMATICAL RECREATIONS

The only way to have an odd number of odd divisors is if the odd part of the original number is a perfect square.

puter do all the work. Again, stop reading and run the program.

This time it is not quite as obvious what all the open cell numbers have in common. Note that all 17 of the numbers that you should find—and no others—are expressible as a power of 2 (e. %., 1,2,4, ...) times an odd perfect square. This description includes the numbers that are pure powers of 2 or pure odd squares as well, since 1 may be used as the other factor in each case. The basic idea relates to what happened in the previous problem. We can reason as follows: In the previous question, a cell wound up being open if and only if the number of its divisors was odd. Here, a cell will be open if and only if the sum of its divisors is odd. Now, if the sum of the divisors is to be odd, since the sum of the even divisors is

even, the sum of the odd divisors must be odd. But if the sum of the odd divisors is odd, then there must be an odd number of odd divisors. (Otherwise, if you had an even number of odd divisors, the odd numbers could be paired off, and since odd + odd = even, we would have an even sum.)

Now, by what we had before, the only way we could have an odd number of odd divisors is if the odd part (factor) of the original number is a perfect square. Thus, it follows that the number must be expressible as [2 to some power] times [an odd square).

I have extended this even further and found that there actually exists a plan for amnesty that involves a specific number of togglings per pass in the jailer problem with the net effect that each cell is reversed exactly as many times as the cell number. This means that cell number 1 is reversed only once, number 2 is reversed a total of two times, number 3 a total of three times, etc. Moreover, the solution function involved is well known in mathematics. It is called the Euler phi function. This function counts the number of integers less than the number and having no factor in common with it. Since this obviously is

beyond the intended scope of this column, I will merely mention that I recently published this problem in Crux Mathematicorum, a Canadian problem-solving journal. I will supply further information upon request.

About the Listings

The programs provided here run on a TRS-80 Model III (48K, two drives) and a Sanyo MBC-5 5 5 (2 56K, IBM Personal Computer data-compatible under MS-DOS with two single-sided drives that can probably read IBM BASIC programs if saved in ASCII). Users of compatible machines probably can run the programs I provide as is. Other machine users may need to make modifications.

For those of you who wish to send me suggestions, questions, improvements, etc., please feel free to use magnetic media for programs if we have compatible machines. I am interested in all comments, original problems,^ and whatever you feel would enhance this column. Credit for contributions will be given for any material I use Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you would like an acknowledgment or reply Write to me, Dr. Michael W. Ecker, c/o BYTE, 70 Main St., Peterborough, NH 03458. ■

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IBM Personal Computer Furniture. It's designed with you and your PC in mind. ^^_^ — _

Circle 206 on inquiry card.

CIRCUIT CELLAR FEEDBACK

Conducted by Steve Garcia 8-inch Drive Interface

Dear Steve,

What hardware and software are available to interface an 8-inch disk drive to my Leading Edge PC?

Jim Darrough San Diego, CA

I have no immediate pians for a Circuit Celiar article on an 8-inch disk controller for the IBM PC or its compatibles and have no circuit diagrams available. How-ever, here are some companies that offer controllers, drives, and software to add 8-inch floppy disks to the IBM PC and compatibles.

Maynard Electronics 400 Semoran Blvd. Casselberry, FL 32707 (305) 331-6402

Tecmar Inc. 6225 Cochran Rd. Solon, OH 44139 (216) 349-0600

MicroXpress

305 South State College Blvd., Suite 135

Anaheim, CA 92806 (800) 632-8515 —Steve

Modem Kit Available?

Dear Steve,

I recently read your article in the August 1980 BYTE on constructing a modem for less than $50. What is needed to interface your modem to the Commodore 64 computer?

M. W. Cameron Clareinch, South Africa

The modem described in the August 1980 BYTE is no longer available from the Micromint It has been replaced by the ECM-103 modem, which I described in March 1983. It features both originate and answer modes, has provisions for direct connection to the telephone lines, and requires no calibration or adjustment. The modem uses the Texas In-

struments TMS99532 frequency-shift-keying modem chip and is available for $60 plus postage and handling (The Micromint Inc., 561 Willow Ave., Cedarhurst, NY 11516).

The modem interfaces to a standard RS-232C port and requires only pins 2, 3, and 7 of the standard DB-25 connector. Your Commodore 64 has a serial port, but the signal levels are TTL levels (+ 5 V) and not RS-232C levels (± 12 V). Fortunately, all that is required are some level-shifter ICs to effect the necessary changes. An article for such a circuit appeared in the May 1983 BYTE. "The Enhanced VIC-20, Part 4; Connecting Serial RS-232C Peripherals to the VICs TTL Port" by Joel Swank (page 331) describes the requirements for a VIC-20. The Commodore 64 is similar, and the article will serve as an excellent reference—Steve

Laser Canon

Dear Steve,

Please consider designing an interface for the Canon LBP-CS laser printer.

R. T QUENETT

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I share your enthusiasm about the new Canon LBP-CS laser-printing mechanism. It looks like it could give the higher-priced character printers some stiff competition.

However, when I write an article, I try to keep the topic as general as possible and try to use parts that are available to the individual from common sources. Canon has already stated that it will not be selling the LBP-CS directly to consumers but will be selling to original equipment manufacturers for incorporation into their equipment. These OEM prices are much lower than individual prices because the OEM buys in high quantities. This price advantage usually outweighs the savings made by designing and building your own interface electronics, and there may be no cost advantage over a commercially available unit

If the price and availability situation changes to make the LBP-CS mechanism of interest to a wide range of readers,

there could be a Circuit Cellar project on the subject— Steve

Where's the Chip?

Dear Steve,

The single-board computer I want to build needs an ASCII parallel keyboard. I'd like to build a serial keyboard and connect it to a UART (universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter) in the computer via a coiled cord carrying power to the keyboard and data from it. I recall you once mentioned a 5-volt encoder chip with 1200-bps serial output. Who makes this chip, and where can I get it?

Mike Olson Lincoln, NE

Your power of recollection is very good. My article in the September 1980 BYTE, "Build a Low-Cost, Remote Data-Entry Terminal," revolved around a keyboard encoder that operated from a single 5-V supply and that converted keyboard depressions into an ASCII serial output at 1200 bps.

The chip that performs all this is an MM57499 and is an excellent choice for your application. For information on the availability of the MM57499, write to Product Marketing, National Semiconductor, 2900 Semiconductor Dr., Santa Clara, CA 9505L— Steve

Hook the Commodore 64

Dear Steve,

Is there a way to hook a Commodore 64 to the Micro D-Cam? Also, is there any way to connect the 64 to the Term-Mite ST Smart Terminal without using the user port?

Greg Bollheimer Warrensburg, IL

The easiest way to connect the Micro D-Cam to the Commodore 64 is to use the serial version and connect it to the user port using its RS-232C facility. Otherwise, the Apple 11+ version could be adapted by interfacing through the expansion port

Software changes would be extensive

{continued)

430 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle ,72 on inquiry card. —►

CompuPro 10!" The Price is Nothing Personal

Compare the Cost of CompuPro to Networked Personal Computers.

Modesty aside, business is good and you're considering buying a computer. Or, another computer. In fact, business is so good, you'll be needing a multi-user system.

Your instinct may be to buy several personal computers. But these systems are designed to work with you, not with each other . . .and computer networks can be expensive propositions. Consider a four-user network: you'll need four personal computers, plus a networking package. Your total cost for this personal system? $18,000.* Now that's a personal problem.

In contrast, the CompuPro 10 is specifically designed to be a four-user microcomputer. One fully integrated system with advanced multiuser capability is less than $10,000**

Price isn't the only advantage our CompuPro 10 has over networked personal computers. We also provide the most popular software programs. . .word processing, financial spreadsheet and data base management. And innovative hardware features, including five microprocessors. So every user can work faster, without the performance degradation associated with personal networks.

What's more, the CompuPro 10's multi-user operating system allows you to run both 8-bit and 16-bit software at the same time. So you can choose from a library of over 3,000 programs, as well as use your existing CP/M R software. It can also support your company's growth plans with a $100 per user networking option for communications between a thousand workstations. And even mainframes. Now that's flexibility.

To make the CompuPro 10 multi-user system even more incomparable, we offer a full one-year warranty.

For a complete demonstration, visit one of our Full Service CompuPro System Centers Or call (415) 786-0909, ext. 206 for the System Center nearest you.

Don't get personal, get CompuPro.

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ouggestea list price for tour popular personal computers, 40 Mb of hard disk storage and network package.

"Includes CompuPro 10 with 1 Mb RAM, 40 Mb hard disk and applications programs ($7995 list), plus four terminals. ©1984 CompuPro

CIARCIA FEEDBACK

because the Commodore 64 uses not only different addresses for screen memory but also a considerably different method of producing graphics displays.

The Term-Mite terminal is basically a serial I/O device, as are most terminals, and can also be interfaced through the user port If you are already using the RS-232Cport you might use an RS-232C switch, available from Misco Inc., 404 Timber Lane, Marlboro, NJ 17746, or build one using the circuit in my article 'Build an RS-232C Code-Activated Switch" in the May 1983 BYTE. These switches make the port accessible to more than one device.

The alternative is to make your own serial port and connect it to the expansion bus. This would also require supporting software to account for the new address of this port— Steve

Better than Micro D-Cam?

Dear Steve, Concerning the Micro D-Cam (Septem-

ber and October 1983), wouldn't it be better to use a television camera and map its output to a video-display terminal? I think that resolution would be higher. Do you know of any companies that make economical units?

Speaking of resolution, what is the resolution of the Micro D-Cam? I have in mind some image-analysis studies that involve an area of 1.5 by 2 feet with a resolution of 0.003 inch.

David Hooper Atherton, CA

Here are some of the differences between the Micro D-Cam and commercial television digitizing systems.

The Micro D-Cam is fundamentally a digital device from the image detector to the screen, while the television digitizers convert analog signals from the camera to a digital representation of the original. This requires expensive high-speed A/D converters and associated circuitry

The television digitizers are usually designed to operate in real time, i.e., 30 frames per second, while the Micro D-

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432 BYTE* NOVEMBER 1984 Circle 195 on inquiry card

Cam produces less than 1 frame per second for a full-width picture with no gray scale (black and white only).

The Micro D-Cam produces a gray scale with reduced resolution by dithering several images taken at different exposure times.

The maximum resolution is 256 pixels per row by 128 rows for a continuous image.

A resolution of 0.003 inch over a 1.5-by 2-foot area is not easily achieved with present low-cost video equipment You will have to divide the overall area into a number of small regions and combine the results of your analysis somehow if you want to keep costs down.

A "low-cost" digitizing system (Data Copy Model 90) is available from Data Copy Corp., 1215 Terra Bella Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043 for $9945. This was reviewed along with the Micro D-Cam in the June 26, 1984, issue of PC magazine on page 154.Steve

Needs Listing

Dear Steve,

I am extremely interested in your Term-Mite ST Smart Terminal (January and February 1984). What I need is a listing of the hexadecimal code that the Term-Mite contains in its external ROM so that I can emulate other terminals and include XON-XOFF protocol. Also, any other information you have regarding the NS455A terminal-management processor (TMP) will be of great help.

Your fans here at Penn State University are always guessing what you will dream up next. Keep those articles coming, Steve. We can't learn and build enough.

David G. Whitenack University Park, PA

The Term-Mite firmware is presently the same as the firmware supplied by National Semiconductor in the NS455A TMP but placed in an outboard EPROM. This was done so that users wanting to enhance the operation of the Term-Mite could do so by modifying the control program in the outboard EPROM. This is the approach that would have to be taken to add XON r XOFF handshaking to the Term-Mite. Modifying the firmware to include the XON-XOFF protocol should not be difficult, once a listing of the existing firmware is obtained. The firmware listings are available from The Micromint Inc., 561 Willow Ave., Cedarhurst, NY 11516, (800) 645-3479 for $20 '.-Steve ■

Think BEFORE YOUR NEXT PC!

Your PC to Time Sharing System KT-7/PC

Why buy

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just to get additional users!

Kimtron is the only one that enables you to expand your IBM PC, XT, AT or the other PC compatibles to Multi-Tasking and Multi-User system at a fraction of the cost of additional PC's, Only Kimtron can display the screen exactly as your PC monochrome monitor, even for software like Lotus 1 -2-3 or Word Star. Plus only Kimtron provides an IBM PC keyboard look-alike.

Operators will not only think and feel the KT-7/PC as if they're using IBM PC, but the KT-7/PC

provides many more useful features such as tilt, swivel and height adjustment of monitor, optional amber screen, a dedicated serial printer port for each user at no extra cost, and optional 14 inch screen.

In addition, the KT-7/PC is designed for flexibility so that it can also be used as an industry compatible ASCII terminal.

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Circle 236 on inquiry card.

MAC GO PROGRAM

{continued from page 128)

One way to debug the program is to delete the FORTH word — > from the ends of screens 2 through 29, then load each screen manually. In this way, you can isolate some errors to a certain screen. Once you have the program running, replace the — > at the end of screens 2 through 29 so

that you can later load the go program directly from the Macintosh desktop by clicking on the Go Blocks icon.

Running the Program

Once you have correctly loaded the program, you will get the screen shown in figure 1: the go program is

up and running. Before starting a game, you can use the Handicap menu to set any level (zero or two through nine stones) of handicap.

When you're ready to play, select the Start option in the Go menu. Black and White can now take turns placing stones. (The mouse cursor changes to

{continued)

TtiE Ancient Game of Go

There is some dispute as to just how long ago the game of go started. It is at least 2000 years old; it may well be a dozen centuries older than that. By comparison, chess (born around 650 A.D. in India) is a newcomer. Originating in China, go was carried into Japan by invading soldiers and remained long after the armies left. It is still a national pastime in Japan, with professional players competing in tournaments for prize money.

If chess depicts armies meeting on a battlefield, go represents guerrilla warfare. Players seek to capture territory as well as opponents' pieces. Fierce fights often break out at key points on the board, and the placement of a single stone may determine victory or defeat. Throughout the game, each player must be aware of both global patterns and local formations.

Go is played on a board with 19 horizontal and 19 vertical lines, forming a 19 by 19 grid of 361 intersections. Shorter games are played by using a portion of the board: 15 by 15, 13 by 13, 11 by 11. or even 9 by 9. Each player has a set of rounded, convex stones; one player has black stones, the other, white. The stones are placed on the intersections, not on the squares, of the grid.

TVie Rules of Go

Go has relatively simple rules, which may in part explain its longevity. Here's a brief summary:

•Black plays first. If White has given Black a handicap (two to nine stones placed ahead of time in a predefined pattern), then that counts as Black's move, and White places a stone. •Opponents alternate placing stones on the board. You may choose to

pass—that is, not place a stone at all. The game is over when both players pass.

•You may place a stone on any intersection, with the two exceptions noted below.

•You may capture one or more of your opponent's stones by eliminating all of their freedoms (see 'Armies and Freedoms"). You remove them from the board and keep them. •You may not place a stone so it has no freedoms unless by doing so you capture enemy stones and thereby create the freedoms you need. •If your opponent captures a single stone of yours, you cannot on the following turn place a stone in the vacated spot and capture the stone your opponent just played. Instead, you must wait at least one move before capturing that particular stone. This situation is known as ko: the prohibition on immediate recapture prevents "infinite loops" with two opponents trading stones until both run out. •When the game is over (i.e., both players pass), all "dead" stones are removed from the board and counted as captured. A dead stone is one that could be captured if the game were to continue. If there is any doubt, then you should keep playing until both of you are convinced. •Count up the territory (empty spaces) surrounded by each color. If you have removed all of the dead stones and filled in any neutral points (empty spaces bordered on by both colors), then it is easy to see who controls which spaces, since each group of spaces will "touch" only one color. •Each player's score is the sum of the stones captured and the territory controlled. The player with the higher score wins. |Editor's Note: The traditional

method of computing the final score involves placing captured enemy pieces to fill your opponent's territory, with the final score being the count of the territory left on each side. The preceding method produces different numbers but the same win margin for one player]

Armies and Freedoms

If two stones of the same color are adjacent—that is, if they occupy two side-by-side spaces connected by a single vertical or horizontal line—they form an army. If another stone of that color is adjacent to either of those two, it is part of the same army. If a fourth stone is adjacent to any of those three, it also belongs to that army, and so on. Separate armies can be merged into one by placing a stone in a spot adjacent to all of them. A single stone by itself can be considered an army of one.

A given army (one or more connected stones) has some number of freedoms. A freedom is an empty (unoccupied) space adjacent to one or more of the stones in that army. To capture an army, you must take away all of its freedoms. You then remove the army from the board, keeping the stones for the end of the game.

A key concept in go is the formation of eyes. Stated very simply, an eye is a freedom (or group of freedoms) surrounded by an army. An army with two or more eyes cannot be captured. Why? Suppose Black has an army with two eyes, each of which has exactly one empty space in it, and suppose that this army is completely surrounded by White's stones. To capture Black's army White must place stones in both of those eyes. But White can't place a stone in either eye because that stone would have no freedoms and wouldn't capture any black stones.

434 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 393 on inquiry card. —►

StarPolish brings out the best of WordStar (version 3.30) with a true display of special print effects before you print. Boldface, underlines, sub script, super scr jpt and italics all appear in final format 1 . What you see on the screen is exactly what you will get on paper. Word for word, line for line, space for space. There are no confusing control characters, like ^B or as, to clutter your screen and make the text hard to read. So you make fewer mistakes and correct them faster.

Use of WordStar with StarPolish is totally compatible with normal WordStar files and commands. You don't even have to remember command sequences because StarPolish HELP menus remind you, in terms you understand. And StarPolish puts

your PC function keys to work to give you the option of saving keystrokes. StarPolish also supports the full special print effects capability of your dot matrix or ink jet printer.

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BOLDFACE

MAC GO PROGRAM

a go stone the color of the current up again. The game continues until

player.) One level of "undo" is sup both players are satisfied that no

plied (also in the Go menu), so that more effective moves can be made,

the last stone played can be picked Each player then passes, using the

i Options I I Handicap

Undo &U | - © 1984 Bruce F. Webster

Loadi

Block stones taken 0

White stones taken 0

a

Figure 1: The Macintosh screen immediately after listing 1 has been loaded. Notice the custom texture that fills the square used as the go board. Also note the two custom menus, Go {pulled down] and Handicap. The stage of play deter-mines which items in the Go menu are currently active.

Figure 2: The end of a game. When a player chooses the Done selection from the Go menu, the program counts each side's territory (marked with hollow circles).

Pause selection from the Go menu. The mouse cursor now changes to the familiar arrow shape and players pick up any "dead" enemy stones within their territory. When both are done, one player should choose the Done menu selection. The program then counts all the remaining territories, totals the score for each side and declares a winner (see figure 2). You can then select Clear to start over again or Quit to end the program. Also, you can now skip the editor and load the go program directly by double-clicking the Go Blocks icon from the desktop.

Summary

Because MacFORTH was one of the first two languages available for the Macintosh, it will probably remain one of the major languages for that computer. There are already a lot of public-domain programs written in MacFORTH. You might check the Apple SIG (special-interest group) in CompuServe for FORTH programs you can download into your Mac.

It's interesting to note that this program is only 10 manuscript pages long. Brevity comes from the power inherent in both the Macintosh and MacFORTH; I don't think I could have done this program as easily or compactly using, say Microsoft Macintosh BASIC MacFORTH is not for everyone but it offers a lot to the programmer willing to use it—fast, compact programs, customized language commands, and increased productivity.

The go program illustrates many features of the Macintosh and MacFORTH. Once you have it running, make a backup copy of the Go Blocks file then start making changes and see what happens. For example set the masks of both cursors (in screen 4) to all 0s and watch the difference as they move across the screen. You might try changing the size and location of the window or reorganizing the menus. Major changes you might try include converting the game to a full 19 by 19 board or adding a save/load game option. As you play around, you'll learn how to make the Mac do what you want it to. [continued)

436 BYTE ■ NOVEMBER 1984

GREAT DISPLAY. GREAT KEYBOARD. GREAT AESTHETICS. GREAT EMULATIONS GREAT PRICE.

VISUAL 60... i

A truly sreat terminal

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NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 437

Circle 267 on inquiry card.

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MAC GO PROGRAM

{listing continued from page 12 color @ 1 *

13 14 15

.28)

— >

SCREEN # 10 "Go Blocks" 06/29/84 03:50:02 AM

0 (2c-, 2c!, 2c*9, swap.colors ( 060884 bfw)

: 2c- ( acldrl addr2 — flag | compares two bytes from addrs )

2dup c@ swap c@ - rot 1 + c@ rot 1 + c@ - and ;

2c! ( a b addr — | store 2 bytes )

rot over c! 1 + c! ; ( a - > addr, b - > addr + 1 )

addr — a b | fetch 2 bytes )

dup c@ swap 1 + c@ ; (fetch addr, addr+1 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15

swap.colors (flag— | changes player from black to white )

dup 0= if ( 0 = pass — check for consecutive passes )

pflag ! else pflag +! pflag @ 2 = if

2 gflag ! ( game ends on two consecutive passes )

then then bflag @ 1 - if ( change to appropriate cursor)

wcurse else bcurse then set.cursor bflag @ 3 xor bflag ! ; ( and swap to other color player)

— >

SCR #11 "Go Blocks" 06/29/84 03:50:21 AM

0 (clear.stone, remove, army (060884 bfw)

1 : clear.stone ( r/c — I removes stone from board )

2 2dup get.addr 0 swap c! ( clear from map data structure )

3 (fill board with wood grain, redraw lines—clip if needed )

4 2dup get.bounds stretch.bounds texture pattern rectangle

5 get.bounds stretch,bounds rot swap

6 2dup + 2 / >r 2over r> rot over limit.bounds vector

7 2swap + 2 / rot over swap 2swap swap limit.bounds vector ;

8 : remove,army (r/c — | removes entire army )

9 0 stptr ! 0 stones ! 2dup taken 2c! ( initialize values )

10 2dup clear.stone push begin (remove stone, push on stack )

11 pop 1 stones + ! 4 0 do 2dup i get.adj ( get adjacent stone)

12 2dup get.stone color @ - if (if same color as dead army )

13 2d up clear, stone push else 2drop then ( remove stone )

14 loop 2drop stptr @ 0= until ; ( continue until stack empty ) 15

SCREEN#12

'Go Blocks"

06/29/84

0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15

( put.count, do.error

— >

03:50:40 AM ( 060884 bfw)

: put.count ( — | put stone-captured count 320 blackif if ( x - 320,

40 btaken @ else 120 wtaken @ then >r move.to r> . cr ;

)

y and value are based on color)

( get y, value )

( move to x,y and print value )

do.error ( errnum — 270 200 move.to CASE 0 OF ."

1 OF .'

2 OF /

3 OF .' ENDCASE cr

prints out appropriate error message )

(this is all pretty self-explanatory )

" ENDOF ( clear msg on valid move)

No freedoms ENDOF

Spot occupied " ENDOF

Ko situation " ENDOF

— >

{continued)

438 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Now there's a real-time video image acquisition and color display module that plugs directly into the IBM PC and PC-XT/AT.

It's called the PCVISION™ Frame Grabber From Imaging Technology— the leading OEM supplier of low cost, board level image processors.

The PCVISION Frame Grabber converts a standard analog video signal (RS-170) from a camera to digital data at 30 frames per second, and stores the resulting 8-bit pixel data in a 512 X 512 x 8 frame memory

It allows your IBM PC or PC-XT/AT to access stored images for processing or manipulation, and features up

to 256 gray scales/colors per pixel, full color support, low cost, easy installation and high reliability.

The PCVISION Frame Grabber turns your IBM PC into a low cost, multi-featured image processing system for teleconferencing, robotic vision, factory inspection, medical imaging, microscopy, X-ray analysis and many other applications in business, industry, medicine and research.

The PCVISION Frame Grabber comes complete with driver level software, cables and full documentation for fast, easy installation and integration.

Sophisticated image processing software optional.

All for just $2995 (camera and display monitor not included). 256 pseudo-colors optional module.

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Votrax, Inc. enables your computer to talk with either the TNT or the PSS. Both have an unlimited vocabulary. Both are adaptable to most personal computers.

Suggested retail price is $189 for the TNT, $395 for the PSS. Call 313-583-9884 today to hear an actual voice demonstration of the PSS over the phone.

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Notice of Waiver: Votrax. Inc. cannot guarantee that ideas or information submitted to this contest will be held in confidence. Please do not submit any proprietary

information. Rules and regulations available upon request.

MAC GO PROGRAM

440 BYTE • NOVEMBER I984

These are a few examples of the unlimited variety of typefaces and symtoots available on dUR that download to Toshiba's P13S1 j-fft-One printer* Tlie PUS1 elves you i>r ©%r airumln$ access to 5

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The Toshiba P1351 is the ultimate 3-in-0ne printer. Others come close to us on speed. Others try to approach our level of graphics sophistication. And there are even a couple of printers with a 24-pin dot matrix print head similar to ours. But no other printer has it all.

Because Toshiba has always pioneered in printer development and technology. Where we have led, others have followed. And now we've added the benefit of software-selectable downloadable typefaces.

Smart and unlimited. The Toshiba P1351 does more than give you access to three resident typefaces. It also gives you the ability to download an unlimited variety from a growing library of IBM-compatible software typefaces. They're all stored on floppy disk. And you get programming access to five typefaces at any time.

Smart and letter-perfect. Our unique high-density 24-pin dot matrix print head gives you letter-quality results from any typeface you choose. JKM And with Qume SPRINT 5™ emulation, the Toshiba P1351 can give you those results — from almost every popular word processing program.

Of course, it's fully IBM-compatible. And there's even an optional forms tractor or sheet feeder for paper handling versatility.

Smart and fast. Why sacrifice speed for letter-quality printing? The Toshiba P1351 gives you the best of both worlds. Sharp, clean letter copy at 100 cps. And even faster draft copy at 192 cps.

Smart and an eye for detail. The P135Ts print head doesn't just produce letter-quality type. At 180 x 180 dots per square inch, its high-resolution graphics lead the industry. And it's supported on popular graphics software like Lotus 1-2-3.''

Smart and reliable. The Toshiba P1351 is designed and built with a very intelligent attitude toward reliability. And optional third-party 24-hour service is also available. That's why, over the past four years, more than 200,000 smart buyers have depended on Toshiba24-pin printers for letter-quality results. So make the smart move. To the Toshiba P1351 3-in-One"*' printer. For more information, call 1-800-457-7777, Operator 32.

Lotus and 1-2-3 are trademarks of Lotus Development

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In Touch with Tomorrow

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NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE 441

Circle 79 on inquiry card.

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MAC GO PROGRAM

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15

i j get.addr c@ dup 0> if i j rot draw.stone else drop then loop loop ; draw.board ( 1 draw board in window

9 9 263 263 frame rectangle

10 10 262 262 texture pattern rectangle 262 28 do

i 28 i 244 vector 28 i 244 i vector 18 +loop

270 20 move,to ." Black stones taken" 270 100 move.to ." White stones taken" 1 color ! put,count 2 color ! put.count ;

( look for stones )

(if found, draw on board )

( clean up everything )

"Go board" )

( draw outline of board )

(fill "wood grain" )

( draw lines for 13x13 go board)

( vert, horiz )

(lines are 18 units apart)

cr ( set up labels )

cr

( redraw counts )

06/29/84

03:52:04 AM ( 060884 bfw)

SCREEN # 17 "Go Blocks"

0 ( backup.game, restore.game 1

backup.game (flag | saves game state into bmap/cmap)

0 = if map bmap bmap map - cmove (flag = 0 — store in bmap )

else map cmap bmap map - cmove then ; ( else store in cmap )

restore.game (flag

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

SCREEN # 18

restores game from bmap/cmap

)

0= if bmap map bmap map - cmove else cmap map bmap map - cmove then bflag @ 1 - if

bourse else wcurse then set.cursor draw.board redraw.stones ;

(flag = 0 — store in bmap )

( else store in cmap )

( restore correct cursor)

( redraw board, stones)

— >

"Go Blocks"

06/29/84

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

(expand.empty

03:52:19 AM ( 060884 bfw)

expand.empty (re — | search for adjacent empty points )

4 0 do 2dup i get.adj ( get adjacent stones )

2d up get. stone dup CASE ( handle according to "color" )

( empty slot — fill up, push onto stack for later check )

0 OF drop 2dup fill.spot push ENDOF

( stone — keep track to see if all one color)

1 2 RANGE.OF freedoms @ or freedoms ! 2drop ENDOF

( edge of board — just ignore ) 3 OF drop 2drop ENDOF

ENDCASE loop ;

"Go Blocks"

SCREEN # 19

0 (count.territory

1 : count.territory ( 1 tally up free areas

0 bspace ! 0 wspace ! 0 color ! 14 1 do 14 1 do i j

get.stone 0 = if

0 stones ! 0 stptr ! 0 freedoms !

i j 2dup fill.spot push begin

pop 1 stones +! 2d up

get.bounds stretch.bounds frame oval

expand.empty

2drop stptr @ 0~ until

06/29/84

03:52:32 AM ( 060884 bfw)

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

)

( clear variables )

( scan entire 13x13 board )

(look for open spaces )

( clear counters )

( get x,y, trace "army" )

( pop x,y and incr. count)

( draw empty stone )

( look for neighbors )

( continue until filled )

{continued)

442 BYTE * NOVEMBER 1984

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MAC GO PROGRAM

11

12

13 14 15

freedoms @ dup if dup 3 < if color ! stones @ blackif if bspace else wspace then +! else drop then else drop then then loop loop ;

( see if controlled area )

( get controlling color)

( and increase captures )

( cleanup )

— >

SCREEN # 20 0 ( pick.stone.up

'Go Blocks"

-1 pick captured stone

06/29/84

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

SCREEN #21 "Go Blocks"

0 (turn.off, disable.all, turn.on

pick.stone.up @mousexy

at.point if swap at.point if 2dup get.stone dup 0= if 3 sysbeep drop 2drop else

( else store color color ! 1 blackif if btaken else wtaken ( update counts, clear put.count clear.stone init.cursor then else drop then else drop then ;

03:52:51 AM ( 060984 bfw) up from board)

( get location of cursor)

( check if on board )

( see if a stone is there )

(if none, then beep )

and increment appropriate counter)

then +!

stone from board, cursor = arrow )

( otherwise, clean up stack ) — >

06/29/84

03:53:07 AM ( 060884 bfw)

1 (these routines are used to control what is and is not active

2 on the "go" menu ) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

11 3 turn.off (start

12 5 turn.off 6 turn.off ( clear, pass

13 8 turn.off 9 turn.off ; ( resume, done 14

15

turn.off ( n — | turns off indicated item in go.menu 0 go.menu item.enable ;

turn.on ( n —| turns on indicated item in go.menu -1 go.menu item.enable ;

turns off all specific items in menu

SCREEN #22 "Go Blocks" 06/29/84 03:53:20 AM

0 ( show, results ( 060884 bfw)

1 : show.results ( — | show final stuff of game ) disable.all 5 turn.on ( adjust go menu ) count.territory ( count free area on board )

( show how much each side controls ) 270 60 move.to ." Area white controls" cr ( write values )

320 80 move.to wspace @ . cr 270 140 move.to ." Area black controls" cr 320 160 move.to bspace @ , cr

( calculate and declare winner) 270 200 move.to bspace @ wtaken @ + wspace @ btaken @ + - dup 0> if ." Black" else ." White" then ."wins by " abs . cr

( wait until gflag changes [by menu]) begin do.events drop gflag @ 3 = not until ;

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

SCREEN # 23 "Go Blocks"

0 ( get.pair, ?6.or.8, do.handicap

06/29/84

03:53:36 AM ( 060884 bfw)

{continued)

444 BYTE • NOVEMBER I984

How the Program Works

by Gregg Williams

During the editing of this article I had trouble tracing this program's flow as it ricocheted from FORTH word to FORTH word. The notes that follow should clarify the workings of this program.

The key to this program is a variable called gflag ; its value causes the program to switch from one word to another. Here are some notes about the various values of gflag and their meanings:

gflag = 0—initial value at beginning of program, before an actual game has started

- 1—during the play of a game = 2—possible end of game, signaled by both players executing Pass from menu

- 3—end of game confirmed by player executing Done from menu

= 4—go program being exited by player executing Quit from menu

All states except gflag = 2 are manipulated by making selections from the Go menu (see screens 26 and 27). In screen 26, menu selection names are separated by semicolons; thus. Undo is selection 1, selection 2 is unused, Start is selection 3, and so on. gflag is set to 2 by execution of the menu selection Pass (screen 27, line 6), which executes the word swap.colors (screen 10) with the argument 1 instead of the usual 0.

Another variable that helps describe the state of the program is bflag , which denotes the current player (1 = black, 2 =white). Many of the words in this program do the same work for both players—they simply look at the value of bflag to determine who is currently playing. The word swap.colors toggles the value of bflag between 1 and 2; in fact, the main loop of the program—take a move, process it, and switch to the other player—consists of swap.colors as called from the word play.go , which is itself part of a loop.

Figure 3 shows a state diagram of the program where each node is a FORTH word and the label of each connecting line describes the conditions that cause program control to transfer to another node. Notice that either a change in the value of gflag or the activation or deactivation of the board window causes these transitions. The following paragraphs provide overviews of the FORTH words in figure 3.

go.program (screen 29] executes when the window board is activated or deactivated; lines 6 to 12 execute upon activation, and line 13 executes on deactivation. Lines 6 to 12 run initialization code then fall into a loop that ends only when gflag - 4 (quit program). The initialization code sets gflag to 0, so start, new.game executes the first time through the loop.

start, new.game (screen 2 5} draws the board and turns on the Handicap menu and the Start selections in the Go (main) menu (the Quit selection is always active). The only way to get out of this word is to choose one of the two selections. When selected, Start causes gflag to change to 1 and program execution to pass to the word play.go.

play.go (screen 24) activates the Clear and Pass selections; it then switches to the other player (line 3) and gets the location at which the current player wants to place his piece (lines 4 and 5). Players can set gflag to 2 by choos-

ing the Pass selection twice in succession instead of playing pieces; this causes execution to pass to the word end.game.

end.game (screen 24) activates the Resume and Done menu selections and lets players discard "dead" stones. Resume returns gflag to 1, enabling the game to continue; Done sets gflag to 3, causing execution to pass to show, results.

show.results (screen 22) activates the Clear menu selection and calculates and displays the final score of the current game. By executing Clear, the player sets gflag to 0, thus preparing for a new game.

exit.program (screen 29) removes the Go and Handicap menus, restores the normal pointing-arrow mouse cursor, and returns the MacFORTH system to the default window, sys.window .

Gregg Williams is a senior technical editor at BYTE. He can be contacted at POB 372, Hancock, NH 03449.

(activate

board g flag =4 or

window) window deactivated J

g flog = 0 or 4

g flag = 0 or 4

Figure 3: A state diagram of the go program. With the exception of the Mac-FORTH node, each node represents a keyword within the go program of listing 1. The labels on the arrows indicate the events that cause program control to go to another word: for example, when the program is executing go.program , control transfers to play.go only when gflag becomes 1 (which happens when a player chooses the Start selection from the Go menu).

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MAC GO PROGRAM

446 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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MAC GO PROGRAM

Books on Go

Grunfeld, Frederic V., ed. Games of the World. New York: Ballantine Books, 1975. This volume features a concise but complete explanation of the game.

Haruyama, Isamu, and Nagahara Yoshiaki. Basic Techniques of Go (2nd edition). Tokyo: Ishi Press, 1973. A good second book, after your introduction.

Holmes, John C Go. Mt. Vernon, VT: Paul P. Appel, 1979.

Iwamoto, Kaoru. Go for Beginners. New York: Pantheon, 1977. An excellent introduction by a high-ranking professional.

Kishikawa, Shigemi. Steppingstones to Go. Rutland, VT: Charles E. TUttle Co., 1965. A good substitute if you can't find Go for Beginners.

Lasker. Edward. Go and Go Moku. York: Dover Books, 1960.

New

Takagawa, Shukara. Go! Carlisle, PA: Sabaki Go Co., 1982. A reprinted combination of How to Play Go and The Vital Points of Go. The author is a former national go champion of Japan.

Mr. Quentin Dombro, of the Sabaki Go Company, says that his firm carries a complete line of go materials, including two go magazines (one from Japan) and every English-language go book available. The company will also send its catalog free upon request. The address is POB 23, Carlisle, PA 17013.

Program Available

Readers who don't want to type in the entire go program can get a copy for $10; checks should be made payable to Bruce F. Webster.

MacFORTH Go Program c/o Bruce Webster 7907 Ostrow St., Suite F San Diego, CA 92111

You'll receive a 3!/2-inch disk with the Go Blocks file on it.

You'll still need MacFORTH 1.1, from Creative Solutions Inc. (CS1), to run the the program. CSI is located at 4801 Randolph Rd. Rockville, MD 20852.

9

10 11 12 13 14 15

hand.menu delete.menu hand.menu 1 + " Handicap' " Clear;2 stones;3 stones" " 4 stones;5 stones;6 stones' " 7 stones;8 stones;9 stones draw.menu.bar ;

( delete any existing menu ) hand.menu new,menu ( set title )

hand.menu append.items hand.menu append.items hand.menu append.items

SCREEN # 27

"Go Blocks"

06/29/84

do.go.menu

0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15

SCREEN # 28

03:54:41 AM ( 060884 bfw)

do.go.menu ( | defines actions for each menu item

go.menu menu.selection: 0 hilite.menu CASE 1 OF gflag @ 3 * if 1 else 0 then restore.game 3 OF 1 gflag !

5 OF 0 gflag I

6 OF 1 swap.colors

8 OF 1 gflag ! 1 restore, game

9 OF 3 gflag ! 11 OF 4 gflag I

ENDCASE;

"Go Blocks"

06/29/84

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15

( do.hand.menu, init.program

: do.hand.menu ( | handles handicap stuff

hand.menu menu.selection: 0 hilite.menu map 256 0 fill dup 1 - if 0 hlevel ! 2 bflag ! else do.handicap then draw, board redraw.stones;

( set

— >

03:54:56 AM ( 060884 bfw)

)

( clear board )

for regular play )

( set handicap )

: init.program ( | set everything up at the start )

0 gflag ! ginit page upper.left ( init graphics )

2 2 pensize srccopy textmode ( set up to draw or write )

create.menus ( create go and handicap menus)

0 hand.menu menu.enable ( disable handicap menu )

do.go.menu do.hand.menu ; { define actions for both )

SCREEN #29 . "Go Blocks" 06/29/84 03:55:12 AM

0 ( exit.program, go.program ( 060984 bfw)

: exit.program ( | clean everything up when program is done )

go.menu delete.menu hand.menu delete.menu (turn off menus )

sys,window window init.cursor ; ( make sys.window active )

1 2 3 4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

go.program ( 1 driving loop; switches between segments

if init.program begin gflag @ CASE

0 OF start,new.game ENDOF

1 OF play.go ENDOF

2 OF end.game ENDOF

3 OF show.results ENDOF ENDCASE gflag @ 4 = until exit.program else

exit, program then ;

board on.activate go.program

)

( use gflag to select)

( handle new game selections )

( play the game )

(tally score )

( give results of game )

( continue until quit)

( cleanup and exit)

{ do same on window deactivate )

( attach program to window )

448 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

TRAVESTY

{continued from page 131)

This line of reasoning brings us to the unexpected fact that essentially random nonsense can preserve many "personal" characteristics of a source text. TYavesty (listing 1), a program suitable for small systems, will scan a sample text and generate, from the sample's n-gram statistics, a "nonsense" imitation through which the original text, and even its authorship, is disconcertingly recognizable.

For example, we provided TYavesty with 29 names of towns taken from a gazetteer of England and called for third-order (trigram) analysis. It promptly churned out a couple thousand characters. These letter groups included (1) many input words regurgitated; (2) some uninteresting letter strings that we agreed to call "garbage" (on the principle that a weed is a flower you don't want); and (3) some wondrously plausible names for English towns that don't exist but ought to. They included Bambudge, Nettlewett, Gidge, Hample, Bognor-ton, Chire, Clop, Tootinton, Bleweth, and Eastle. (If any of these is a real name, that's by accident; none was on our input list.) And fancy being Mayor of Clop!

The connection of the output to the source can be stated exactly: (or an order-n scan, every ^character sequence in the output occurs somewhere in the input, and at about the same frequency. That is all, yet it is enough to account for an eerie similarity. Every string of three letters in our pseudo-place-names, "tti" or "dge", for instance was lifted out of a string of characters and spaces that consisted simply of the 29 input words typed one after another with one space after each.

Figure 1 shows one of the thousands of machine-generated derivations TYavesty can extract from a 75-word sample of James Joyce's Ulysses. This passage is an order-4 scan; every /our-character sequence in the output comes from somewhere in the input.

Frequency Arrays

There is a lot of fun to be had here. There is also much for the student of

language and literature to investigate, even more so before procedures were

To what degree can personal "style" be described as a manifestation of letter frequencies? Such a question, though not new, was merely tantalizing before the modern computer;

discovered—quite recently—that didn't demand impossible amounts of machine memory. Brian P. Hayes, associate editor of

{continued)

Remarks on the Travesty Listing

Pascal input/output (I/O) conventions are, to say the least, poorly standardized. We have three Pascal systems available: Turbo Pascal for CP/M and MS-DOS. Lucidata Pascal for CP/M and HDOS, and Berkeley Pascal running under UNIX—and we haven't been able to write a version of Travesty that will run on all three unmodified. Judging that Turbo is the rising young comer, we list the TUrbo Pascal version, with notes on such problem areas as we know about. This version might run on UCSD Pascal too, but we've not been able to try it. Since it avoids features unique to TUrbo and UCSD, it ought to be transportable to any decent Pascal system at the cost of a little attention to input and output.

Line numbers are, of course, for reference only; don't type them into your Pascal listing.

23 This value is safe and may even be increased, but remember that you'll have two arrays this size. How big you can make ArraySize depends on your system's memory requirements. Tlirbo Pascal when compiled to disk to get the compiler itself out of the way, permitted ArraySize = 14,000 on a 64K-byte CP/M system. That's about 2300 words of input text. On an MS-DOS system with I96K bytes, maximum Array-Size increased to 21,000, or 3 500 words of text, independent of whether compilation was to memory or to disk. 33 If your Pascal doesn't know about the TEXT type, change this line to f : file of char.

40 If your Pascal system has a RANDOM function, you can drop lines 40 to 44 altogether. Then change line 239 to read toss : = random(total) +1;. You should also delete lines 38, 52, and 53. 49 Many versions of Pascal don't recognize STRING types unless they

.12]

have been declared:

Type STRING = PACKED ARRAY[1 , OF CHAR;

Then change line 49 to InFile : STRING.

62 Some Pascals will require you to declare a variable i and say, FOR i: = 1 TO 12 DO READ InFilep];.

63 Berkeley Pascal doesn't use the ASSIGN command. You'd omit this line and change line 64 to reset (f, infile);.

Also, you will probably want output to a disk file, and you'll have to set that up yourself. Add a second TEXT variable, g, to line 33 and a second STRING variable, OutFile, to line 49. Then insert after line 64 a request for the name of the Outfile, and ASSIGN it to g in whatever way your system provides. And if your system requires files to be explicitly closed, add a statement line, CLOSE (g), just before the final END. (Don't forget the semicolon at the end of the line above it)

Notes on Hellbat

To change Travesty into Hellbat, procedures InitSkip and Match are replaced by the versions given in listing 2, and numerous lines are deleted as shown below. Note that WriteCharacter now receives its characters from Match and has only formatting duties to perform. If your Pascal has its own RANDOM function, make the deletions listed in the section on Travesty for line 40; and the major change—applied above to the WriteCharacter procedure—should instead be made to the line in the new Match procedure that invokes Random.

Lines to delete for Hellbat include 28, 72 to 80, 269. 273 (all references to FreqArray), and 232 to 245 (process for getting a character).

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TRAVESTY

Listing I: Travesty, a program for generating pseudo-text. The program will scan a sample text and generate a "nonsense' imitation. For an order-n scan, every ^character sequence in the output occurs somewhere in the input.

3 PROGRAM travesty (input, output);

5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

22 23 24

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38

{Kenner / O'Rourke, 5/9/84}

This is based on Brian Hayes's article in Scientific American, November 1983. It scans a text and generates an n-order simulation of its letter combinations. For order n, the relation of output to input is exactly:

"Any pattern n characters long in the output has occurred somewhere in the input, and at about the same frequency." Input should be ready on disk. Program asks how many characters of output you want. It next asks for the "Order"—i.e. how long a string of characters will be cloned to output when found. You are asked for the name of the input file, and offered a "Verse" option. If you select this, and if the input has a "!" character at the end of each line, words that end lines in the original will terminate output lines. Otherwise, output lines will average 50 characters in length.

CONST

ArraySize

MaxPat =

= 3000; {maximum number of text chars}

9; {maximum Pattern length}

VAR BigArray ; PACKED ARRAY [1..ArraySize] of CHAR; FreqArray, StartSkip : ARRAYf '..'!'] of INTEGER; Pattern : PACKED ARRAY [1..MaxPat] of CHAR; SkipArray : ARRAY [1..ArraySize] of INTEGER;

INTEGER; {number of characters to be output} INTEGER;

OutChars ; PatLength f : TEXT; CharCount

{characters so far output}

INTEGER; Verse, NearEnd : BOOLEAN; NewChar : CHAR;

TotalChars : INTEGER; {total chars input, + wraparound} Seed : INTEGER;

40 FUNCTION Random (VAR Randlnt : INTEGER) : REAL;

41 BEGIN

42 Random ;= Randlnt / 1009;

43 Randlnt : = (31 , Randlnt + 11) MOD 1009

44 END;

46 PROCEDURE InParams;

47 (* Obtains user's instructions *)

48 VAR

49 InFile : STRING [12];

50 Response : CHAR;

51 BEGIN

52 WRITELN ('Enter a Seed (1 ..1000) for the randomizer');

53 READLN (Seed);

54 WRITELN ('Number of characters to be output?');

55 READLN (OutChars);

56 REPEAT

57 WRITELN ('What order? <2-', MaxPat,'>');

58 READLN (PatLength)

59 UNTIL (PatLength IN [2..MaxPat]);

60 PatLength : m PatLength - 1;

61 WRITELN ('Name of input file?');

{continued)

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452 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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TRAVESTY

125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148

150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166

168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187

MaxPat))) DO

{When a blank has just been}

{printed, Blank is true,}

{so succeeding blanks are skipped,}

{thus stopping runs.}

{To BigArray if not a Blank}

AND (j < m (ArraySize BEGIN {While Blank} READ (f, ch); Cleanup;

IF ch <> ' ' THEN BEGIN {If} Blank : m false; BigArrayO] := ch; 11 m j 4 1 END {If} END {While Blank} END; {While Not EOF} TotalChars : a j - 1; IF BigArray[TotalChars] <> ' ' THEN BEGIN {If no Blank at end of text, append one}

TotalChars : ■ TotalChars + 1; BigArray[TotalChars] : • '' END;

{Copy front of array to back to simulate wraparound.} FOR j: - 1 TO PatLength DO

BigArray[TotalChars + j] :■ BigArrayO]; TotalChars := TotalChars + PatLength; WRITELN('Characters read, plus wraparound « \TotalChars:4) END; {Procedure FillArray}

PROCEDURE FirstPattern;

(* User selects "order" of operation, an integer, n, in the

(* range 1 .. 9. The input text will henceforth be scanned

(• in n-sized chunks. The first n -1 characters of the input

(* file are placed in the "Pattern" Array. The Pattern is

(* written at the head of output.

VAR

j : INTEGER; BEGIN

FOR j : - 1 TO PatLength DO PatternO) : ■ BigArrayO];

CharCount : ■ PatLength;

NearEnd := false;

IF Verse THEN (' ');

FOR j : - 1 TO PatLength DO WRITE (Pattern[j])

END; {Procedure FirstPattern}

PROCEDURE InitSkip;

The i-th entry of SkipArray contains the smallest index j > i such that BigArrayO] - BigArrayp]. Thus SkipArray links together all identical characters in BigArray. StartSkip contains the index of the first occurrence of each character. These two arrays are used to skip the matching routine through the text, stopping only at locations whose character matches the first character in Pattern. VAR ch : CHAR; j : INTEGER; BEGIN FOR ch : - " TO '!' DO

StartSkip[ch] :» TotalChars + 1; FOR j : - TotalChars DOWNTO 1 DO BEGIN ch :- BigArrayO]; SkipArrayO] : * StartSkip[ch]; StartSkip[ch] :- j

{Put opening chars into Pattern}

{Align first line}

454 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

TRAVESTY

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TRAVESTY

')) THEN

251 IF ((NearEnd) AND (NewChar =

252 BEGIN {If NearEnd}

253 WRITELN;

254 IF Verse THEN WRITE ('

255 NearEnd : = false

256 END {If NearEnd}

257 END; {Procedure WriteCharacter}

259 PROCEDURE NewPattern;

260 (* This removes the first character of the Pattern and *)

261 (* appends the character just printed. FreqArray is *)

262 (* zeroed in preparation for a new scan, *)

263 VAR

264 j : INTEGER;

265 BEGIN

266 FOR j : - 1 to Patlength - 1 DO

267 Pattern[j] : = Pattern[j + 1]; {Move all chars leftward}

268 Pattern[PatLength] : = NewChar; {Append NewChar}

269 ClearFreq

270 END; {Procedure NewPattern}

272 BEGIN {Main Program}

273 ClearFreq;

274 NullArrays;

275 InParams;

276 FillArray;

277 FirstPattern;

278 InitSkip;

279 REPEAT

280 Match;

281 WriteCharacter;

282 NewPattern

283 UNTIL CharCount >= OutChars;

284 END, {Main Program}

Scientific American, explained in the November 1983 issue of that publication ("Computer Recreations," pages 18-28) how the obvious approach to an order-M scan used K-dimensional arrays. Let Array] count all occurrences of all characters. Let Array 2

keep track of the character that follows each character. Let Array 3 keep track of the character that follows each pair. Now generate a random printout that reflects the probabilities recorded in the arrays. The result of this order-3 scan will be what

we saw in the place-names, a scrambled impression that preserves, to a surprising degree many idiosyncrasies of the input text.

A higher order would be even more interesting, especially if the input sample were long. But until quite recently order-4 was an exceptional achievement and no one had ever seen an order-5. Getting even as far as order-3 (trigrams) gobbles up memory if you use arrays of arrays. For example, even if you restrict the character set to a mere 28—the uppercase letters, a space, and an apostrophe—you have to store 21,952 characters to create three arrays. Most of the character combinations would actually be blanks, because most trigram possibilities don't occur: think of l cnx". A fourth array would entail over half a million places of storage. A fifth is nearly unthinkable (and almost empty).

Sparse arrays are generally a sign that a new approach is needed. It was Hayes himself who took the next step, which was to discard multiplied arrays altogether. He perceived that you could get the same result by scanning the text for patterns and simply recording the character that follows each pattern. Consider this brief text: ALL IN ALL THE CHANCES MAY WELL BE ENHANCED.

To run a trigram scan, take any two letters and see what comes next. "AC is followed only by "L'; "LL' is followed only by a space, which we'll

[continued]

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TRAVESTY

Gleaming harnesses, petticoats on slim ass rain. Had to adore Gleaming silks, spicy fruits, pettled. Perfume all. Had to go back. Had to back. Had to back. His braces all him ass to adore. Gleaming harness rain yielded. A warm silver, rays of the mutely craved dorn on slim ass rays of the woman plumpnesses. Uselesh obscurely, he mutely craved down on him assailed. A warm hungered down on him assailed to adore. Gleaming silks, silver, rich from Jaffa. A warm hungered down on slim braces all. Hig

Figure I: An order-4 scan taken from a 15-word sample of )ames Joyce's Ulysses.

represent as " "; so the pair "AC can

only lead to the string 'ALL ". But

the next pair, U L ", may be followed

by l T', T". or ,4 B". We list these characters as we come to them, then choose one from the list at random. Let's say we choose ,l B" so that we

have 'ALL B". The next pattern is

M B", and the only thing that can

follow is "E". Continue in this way, and by the time you've convinced yourself that one possible result is ALL BE ENHANCES MAY WELL THE ENHANCED, you'll have understood the

method. You'll also see how it produced a word—ENHANCES—that was not in the input.

One further principle isn't illustrated by an example this short. A long text may yield a fairly long list of characters from which to make the random choice, and many of these will have turned up over and over. In such a case, frequent appearance on the list should improve a character's chance of being chosen. What we want our output to reflect is H-gram frequency, not just H-gram presence. Hayes's

method provides for this too.

His method has several advantages. It is applicable to programs that fit a small computer. It makes feasible order-4, order-5, order-6 scans—in fact scans of any order. Nor need it conserve memory by restricting the character set; it can accommodate uppercase and lowercase letters, numerals, and all punctuation. But it does have one disadvantage. Since with his method you have to scan the entire input text to generate each character, the process can be very slow. We'll describe a partial remedy for that.

Implementation

In our first attempts to implement the Hayes algorithm, we left the source text on disk to be read through over and over. Though it's tempting to let source length be limited only by disk

{continued)

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TRAVESTY

capacity, the amount of disk reading can be altogether unreasonable: one full read per output character. Not only is the process slow but, if you try to run the program to get a meaningful amount of output from a long text, it might consume an appreciable fraction of a disk drive's service life. We settled for a limited input sample, to

be read from the disk just once and stored in an array.

In the program in listing 1, this is BigArray, indexed by a range of integers from 1 to ArraySize. As the source text is read in, linefeeds, carriage returns, and tabs are stripped out, and runs of blanks are condensed to a single blank. The cleaned-

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up result is stored, character by character, in BigArray. Next, for an order-n scan, the first n-1 characters of the source are put into a small array called Pattern. They are also printed, to get the output started. All this may take a second or a few.

The rest is simple in principle. A Match procedure runs through BigArray, checking for matches with the contents of Pattern. Each time a match is found, the next character is stored in a way we'll explain in a moment. At the end of the scan, one of the stored characters is randomly chosen for printing, the more frequent ones being the more likely choices. We now make a new Pattern, by dropping the old Pattern's first character and appending the character just printed. And we keep this up until we have generated as many characters of output as we want.

Tb store the characters from which to choose at random, we used a method suggested by Hayes. Freq-Array is an array of integers, indexed by 93 ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) characters, from M " (space, ASCII 32) to T' (ASCII 124). (We might have stopped with "z" [ASCII 122], but we had a special use for "!", as will appear.) Before each scan, all of Freq-Array's elements are zeroed. After each match, the element indexed by the found character is incremented. Thus, after four "e"s have been found, Freq Array I'e'l contains four. At the end of the scan, the contents of all FreqArray elements are totaled, and a random number in the range "I. . . Total" is generated. The contents of the individual FreqArray elements (most of them zero) are then subtracted, one by one, from this number; the subtraction that drops the remainder to zero or less chooses the character that will be printed. That way characters that index some fairly large FreqArray number stand a better chance of being chosen.

You decide how much output you want by setting the variable MaxChars when the starting menu prompts you. You also set the Order, which deter-

{continued)

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TRAVESTY

The language makes three-fourths of your writing decisions.

mines the pattern length. As the Order increases, so does the likelihood of every pattern being unique in which case the output would be simply the unaltered input. We set the constant MaxPat to 9, but that's an option.

The output is formatted by counting the characters printed (TbtalChars) and watching for a chance to break the line whenever this total passes a multiple of 50. The next space after that will trigger a new line. To make verse look more like verse, we type a bar ("|") at the end of each line of input text. No bar is ever printed, but if the user has selected the Verse option from the starting menu, a new line will commence whenever a bar is encountered. On top of that, any line breaks created by the 'TotalChars MOD 50" test will be followed by a 5-character indent. Figure 2 shows

what the result can look like. The input text was the whole of T. S. Eliot's The Hollow Men,

The smooth running of this system depends on the fact that a match will be found, and a new character returned, somewhere on every scan. There is one potential bug—when the new character isn't valid because the matching process stepped right off the end of BigArray. Suppose the last four characters of the input text are

"it. ". Now suppose an order-4 scan

has come clear to the end, seeking

the pattern M t "; though it finds a

match, the character after the match is undefined. If that character happens to get selected for printing, something unauthorized will turn up in the output. Worse, something undetermined will go into the next pattern. Whether the Match procedure can find the new pattern in the input text is now doubtful. If it can't, the program will lock into an endless loop.

Our solution was to wrap the end of BigArray back to the beginning, by appending a space (if there wasn't

We are not appear Sight kingdom These do not appear:

This very long Between the wind behaving alone

And the Kingdom Remember us, if at all, not

appear Sightless, unless In a fading as lost kingdom

Remember us, if at all, not me also wear And

voices are thine images Are raised, here, is that

five o'clock in dreams In the Kingdom. This is

the world ends There, the stuffed meaning places

Are quiet and more solent souls, but on a bang

but a whimper. Let me also wear Prickly pear:

Figure 2: A pseudo-text version, in verse form, of T. S. Eliot's The Hollow Men.

one) plus as many of the opening characters as there are in the search pattern. Thus the input text is, in effect, a closed loop and has no end that the matching routine can step off.

A Faster Version

As first set up, with a simple matching algorithm, all this worked perfectly but slowly, new characters trickling onto the screen like drops of molasses. Then a way to get a dramatic speedup presented itself. Consider that the Match procedure is spending most of its time checking out cases that don't match at even the first character. They are the majority of the cases, and they are a total waste of time. Suppose we are looking for the string "rep"; is it possible to skip through BigArray investigating only sequences that begin with "r"?

Yes, it is, at the cost of a second array the size of BigArray. Called Skip-Array it works as if it were many linked lists braided together. In our example, we have only to follow Skip-Array's linked skein of T's. With its guidance, the Match procedure can skip swiftly through BigArray from one "r" to the next, ignoring all other checkpoints. If all letters were equally frequent, that would hasten the matching process by a factor of 26. In the program run that generated figure 2, the number of searches was cut by a factor of 15. If Match were the only determinant, we'd speed up execution by that much. However, other overhead stays constant and hogs time. In practice, the overall speedup approaches a limit of about 7—for big jobs, the difference between five minutes and half an hour.

SkipArray is accompanied by a much smaller array called StartSkip, which is indexed by characters and simply records the first location of each character in BigArray. The two of them are set up, once and for all and very quickly, by the procedure InitSkip. Once they are in place we start each search from the information in StartSkip, and then use SkipArray as follows.

Consider our example, a pattern

(continued)

464 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 465

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TRAVESTY

that begins with "r". Let's suppose we have learned from StartSkip that the first "r" is at BigArray|3|. Then the "r" entries in SkipArray might begin like this:

3 4

7

6 7 8 9 10 11 13

12 13. 22

At 3, we learn that the next "r" is at 7; at 7, that the next l Y" is at 13; at 13, that the next "r" is at 22; and so on. Of course the other positions in SkipArray would be filled with information about the other characters. That information is ignored this time through but stays available for other scans.

Inspection of the listing will show how the Match procedure consults StartSkip to see where, in BigArray the first character of the Pattern to be matched first appears. Thereafter, guided by SkipArray, it can safely leave most locations of BigArray un-visited. In a count that includes the spaces, "r" occurs in English about once every 18 characters. So if BigArray were 2000 characters long, only about 110 of its locations would be checked. "P", with a frequency of about 2 percent, would trigger a mere 40 visits. The improvement in speed over our preceding versions is dramatic. Scanning a small input file on a fast system, we've seen new characters patter onto the screen faster than we could read them. The analogy is no longer with molasses but with raindrops.

Timing Analysis

Some statistics yielded by the "time" function on the UNIX system suggest two timing considerations. First, the time consumed seems independent of pattern length. (Most matches fail well before the pattern length is reached.) Second, time is largely determined by the product of two factors: the number of characters in the input file and the number of output characters requested. For large inputs and outputs, doubling either doubles the time and doubling both quadruples the time. But on a small scale the program works more slowly than that.

(continued)

466 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

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NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 467

TRAVESTY

In the short run Hellbat can be disabling^ input-sensitive.

More exactly, the time in seconds follows quite closely an equation of the form

T = K (i/IO + 0 + to)

where i is thousands of characters supplied as input, o is thousands wanted in the output, and K is a system constant, obtained by trial. Thus, 1000 characters both in and out (i and o both - 1) took 21 seconds on one system, a VAX 750 running Berkeley Pascal. The same job took 130 seconds with a different compiler on a 2-MHz Heath H-89. System constants were thus 10 and 62, respectively. For large inputs and outputs, the

last term—the product of i and o—predominates. On a smaller scale, the increasing weight of the first two terms will slow things down.

It is possible to obtain a measure of the speed contributed by the Skip-Array process. With SkipArray deactivated so that the Match procedure must check every character, the final term gets multiplied by about 7. This factor represents an empirical weighted average of the frequency of the characters that get checked, and it means that for big jobs, where the final term predominates, SkipArray speeds up the matching of English text by 7 times. For smaller samples, the improvement factor may be closer to 4.

Shannon's Algorithm

At this point, we wondered if there wasn't still more speed to be gained. In 1948, working without a computer,

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Claude Shannon had not bothered to build up frequency tables at all. He opened a book at random, selected a letter, and recorded it. He then opened the book again, read till he found that letter, and recorded its successor. On another random page, he found the first successor to that letter . .. and so on.

This process amounts to hopping into BigArray at random and letting the first occurrence of Pattern you encounter be the one to define the following character. Why build a table only to select one element from it at random? Why not acknowledge that the text itself is a frequency table and make random entries into it? So we implemented a new method and got a further speedup factor of better than 3 (listing 2). After molasses and raindrops, this was a torrent! The new version flew like a bat out of hell and got nicknamed Hellbat.

Theoretically, in the long run, Travesty and Hellbat give equivalent generation results, with Hellbat a lot faster. But in the long run, as John Maynard Keynes said, we are all dead. The world's results are obtained in the short run, and in the short run Hellbat can be disablingly input-sensitive.

Its problem is this. Let's imagine an input that contains, midway the sequence "... silk stockings and silk hats ...", and no other occurrences of "silk". Suppose the pattern we are

matching is "silk ". The chances are

good that a random pounce will land either before that sequence or after it. If before, then "silk" will be followed by "stockings". If after, then wraparound will carry us around to before, and "silk" will again be followed by "stockings". Only if the jump chances to land in the short interval between the two occurrences of "silk" can the following word ever be "hats". So the output can settle into a tedious loop, "silk stockings and silk stockings and silk stockings and ...". Nothing but a rather unlikely jump can enable Hellbat to break out of that loop.

But note how this case would be handled by the frequency-table

method of Ttevesty. "Silk s" and

{continued)

468 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

TRAVESTY

Listing 2: These routines turn Travesty into Hellbat, a faster, but finicky, version.

PROCEDURE InttSkip; VAR HeadSkip, TailSkip : ARRAY [' "..'! *] of INTEGER; ch : CHAR; i : INTEGER; BEGIN

{Initialize HeadSkip and TailSkip to indicate that} {no occurrence of any character has yet been Found.} FOR ch := " TO T DO BEGIN HeadSkip[ch] :- TotalChars + 1; TailSkip[ch] : = 0 END;

{Link SkipArray by reverse pass through BigArray.} FOR i :« (TotalChars -PatLength) DOWNTO 1 DO BEGIN ch :« BigArray[i]; IF TailSkip[ch] = 0 THEN {1st occurrence} BEGIN TailSkip[ch] : = i; HeadSkip[ch] : = i END ELSE BEGIN SkipArrayp] : ■ HeadSkip[ch]; HeadSkip[ch] := i END END;

{Close links from tail back to head.} FOR ch : = ' ' TO '!' DO IF TailSkip[ch] <> 0 THEN SkipArray [Tai!Skip[ch]] : = HeadSkip[ch] END;

{one location BEFORE start of Match in BigArray}

{index into pattern}

{true if there is a match from i +1 to i + j -1} {first character in Pattern; used for skipping}

PROCEDURE Match; VAR i : INTEGER; j : INTEGER; Found : BOOLEAN; Ch1 : CHAR; BEGIN ch1 :- Pattern[1];

{Hop into BigArray at a random location} i ;= TRUNC((TotalChars-PatLength) * Random(Seed));

{Search for an instance of ch1 at location i +1} WHILE BigArray[i + 1] <> ch1 DO

\:m (i + 1) MOD (TotalChars-PatLength); Found ; = false; WHILE (NOT Found) DO BEGIN !■:■■ t;

Found : = true;

WHILE (Found AND (j < - PatLength)) DO IF BigArray[i + j] <> PatternO]

THEN Found ;= false ELSE j : = j + 1; IF Found THEN

NewChar :* BigArray[i + PatLength + 1] ELSE i :« SkipArray[i + 1] - 1 END END;

silk h" would be considered equally likely; the letters "s" and ,l h" would ring up the same increments in Freq-Array; and the upshot, all else being equal would be truly 50-50. TVaves-ty, in short, makes probability independent of the spacing of items. Though slower than Hellbat, it is less particular about peculiar input structures,

Hellbat, on the other hand, is temptingly fast; the io term disappears altogether from its timing equation, which takes the form

T = K (f/5 + o)

For order-5, and input and output of 1,000 characters each, the two machines that took 21 and 130 seconds to run TYavesty ran Hellbat in 4 and 50 seconds, respectively.

Because a long pattern is apt to entail more tries before a match is found, Hellbat's time, unlike TYavesty's, is order-dependent. The dependency could be incorporated into K, which could then stand for both the computer system and the order.

So, if the input text is fairly free of repeated words clumped together, or if it is long and varied enough for such words to be scattered elsewhere also, then Hellbat (jump in with closed eyes) is the algorithm of choice. Otherwise, opt for the inefficiencies of Travesty and its frequency table. We print herewith (listing 1) the Pascal code for Ttevesty (modified Hayes) and append instructions for converting it into random-jump Hellbat (Shannon) (listing 2). The nature of your input must decide which version is for you. ■

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Bennett, William R. Jr. "How Artificial is Intelligence?" American Scientist. November-December 1977, page 694.

2. Hayes, Brian. "Computer Recreations." Scientific American. November 1983, page 18.

3. Shannon, Claude E. "The Mathematical Theory of Communication." Bell System Technical journal. July and October 1948, pages 379, 623.

4. Shannon, Claude E. "Prediction and Entropy of Printed English." Bell System Technical Journal. January 1951, page 50.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 469

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PICK

[continued from page 133)

of Open Architecture, a new release of the operating system that is now being readied.

Stored Command Sequences

Proc the stored-procedure processor, is roughly equivalent to a cross between the UNIX concept of a script and a highly sophisticated job-control language. It lets you store command sequences and call them by name. It also provides tools for a number of tasks associated with these functions.

For example, Proc has a series of commands that makes it easy to set up a command menu screen. With Proc you can set screen characteristics, position the cursor, display screen prompts, and check keyboard input.

Proc can also string together other Pick utilities. In general, if a command or process is available on Pick at the TCL (terminal-control language) level, it can be incorporated in a stored procedure, or Proc (similar to a batch file). BASIC programs, Access sentences, and other contructs can be used. Procs can even call other Procs. In addition, Procs can test for conditions and branch on the results. Proc includes facilities for labeling statements and can use those numbers as

references for commands like GO.

Proc also has commands that test for errors or a specific error and perform a specified command if the error occurs.

Structurally a Proc is an item in the user's master dictionary, or a Proc library, and is called by its ITEM-ID. This lets you call Procs by name, as if the Proc were a TCL command.

terminal-control Language

TCL is rather like the command processor in a microcomputer operating system. When you log onto the system, you are normally in TCL. However, for the benefit of users who need a specific application or applications or who shouldn't be allowed access to TCL for security reasons, this is easily changed by automatically transferring into a Proc.

There is a great deal to TCL, much more than its microcomputer equivalents. Among other things, TCL commands let you create files and new accounts, set the time and date, clear files, compare files, perform a system backup, reorganize files, send messages to other users, copy files to magnetic tape, and other system-maintenance functions. For the user,

TCL tends to blend in with Proc and Access.

Other Features

In addition to the parts already named, Pick has several other useful segments. One of them is Runoff, a fairly elaborate print formatter. Runoff is a text formatter rather than an editor or word processor, but it provides many of the features normally associated with word processors.

Spooler is a print spooler that includes a variety of commands to help manage the printer function on a multiuser system. Spooler supports multiple print queues so it can handle multiple printers, and it can mix dot-matrix, letter-quality, and other kinds of printers. It includes restart capabilities that let it search a document for a character string and restart printing on that string. Spooler can also send reports to tape or other back-up media for archival storage.

Pick has several security and data-protection features, including built-in permission levels. It also has a form of file and record locking. Instead of locking the file or the record, Pick locks the group in virtual memory.

The Pick editor is a full-function line editor for entry and editing of Pick

[continued]

DATA TRANSFER PROBLEMS?

REFORMATTER® Diskette Conversion Software

Avoids serial communication protocols. Needs only one system to transfer data. Converts source code and data files. Allows 2-way transfer. Quick, reliable, and inexpensive.

VERSIONS

Runs On CP/M CP/M CP/M-86 CROMIX DEC RT-11 -MS-DOS TRSDOS ir-TRSDOS II *

Reads/Writes

-►IBM 3740 -►DEC RT-11 -►IBM 3740 -►DEC RT-11 -►CP/M -►IBM 3740 -►CP/M -►DEC RT-11

PRICE:

$350 *$249

Requires 8" floppy drive. (415) 324-9114 TWX: 910-370-7457 467 Hamilton Avenue, Suite 2, Palo Alto, Calif. 94301

474 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 282 on inquiry card.

Fifteen user defined Flex-Keys provide single keystroke data entry and database commands, making DataFlex one of the most user-friendly database systems available. DataFlex's powerful program generator processes easy to create screen "images" to quickly define applications and produce ready to run, menu-driven software that's perfectly tailored to your needs. From simple

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DATA

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MSDOS ,s a trademark of Microsoft. CP/M and MP/M are trademarks of Digital Research. DataFlex and FlexKeys are trademarks of Data

i

Access Corp.

PICK

files of all sorts, including programs and Procs. Like the rest of Pick, it is rich in commands to make life easier for programmers. For instance, the REPLACE command has an option for global replace, replace between specified lines, and replace in specified columns. You can concatenate editor commands, store them, and call them using a single command. You can replace the first occurrence of string A with string B and then replace every occurrence of A with B in columns 5 through 9 of the next 10 lines with one stacked command.

Porting Pick

Below the visible level of the Pick operating system are the software structures that make it operate. This is a level of the system that few programmers ever see. As has been mentioned, it is elaborate and rather complex.

The Pick operating system is divided into two parts (see figure 1). About 95 percent of it is in the hardware-independent portion called the virtual, or (more narrowly) ABS. About 5 percent of the system is the monitor, which is roughly equivalent to the BIOS (basic input/output system) in CP/M. Like the CP/M BIOS, the monitor is the part of the system that interacts directly with the hardware. In addition, the monitor contains the virtual memory manager (VMM), the time-sharing executive, and the hardware interrupts for I/O to terminals and other slow devices. Virtual interacts with the hardware entirely through the monitor.

Pick, as it exists on a host computer, is entirely in machine language. Tb port it over, a two-pass table-driven assembler is constructed on the host machine running Pick and sent to the new machine.

The assembler used to move Pick to

a new machine works like most assemblers, but above the native (executable) object code and the assembly language (called native, or host, assembly language) is the Pick operating software in Pick pseudo-assembly language, sometimes called the "missionary" source code (see figure 2).

The Pick pseudo-assembly language is the mother tongue of the Pick operating system. Virtual is written in it. The monitor part of Pick, however, is written in the host assembly language of the target machine.

The Pick assembly language is the language of the Pick paper computer. Tb translate Pick into something that will run on a real machine, the Pick assembly source code is put through a two-pass table-driven assembler. On the first pass, it is translated into host assembly language and on the second pass, into executable host object code.

{continued)

NO KNOWLEDGE , OF MACHINE \ HARDWARE

PICK OPERATING

SOFTWARE

VIRTUAL

i.e., PICK/BASIC TCL

ACCESS ED

95%

-STANDARDIZED INTERFACE

KNOWLEDGE ,

OF MACHINE \ HARDWARE

PICK OPERATING

SOFTWARE MONITOR

5%

Figure I: The parts of the Pick operating system and some supporting hardware. The interface between "virtual',' which contains most of the Pick operating system, and the monitor, which connects to the hardware, is standardized. Only about 5 percent of the code in Pick is in the monitor.

476 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

-■■ ■

I

i

^.

Photographed at Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, GA,

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Avant-Qarde Air Traffic Controller

Bluebuah Chess (Your Toughest Opponent)

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Infocom Zork I or Witness

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Apparat 2S6K Memory Board with OK 87.00* (2,50)

Apparat Combo II w/ser/'par/game/

I Word with Mouse—Latest Version Microsoft Muttipian Monogram Dollars & Sense ■»■» Multimate Multimate (Latest Version) Oasis The Word Plus Open Systems P/O Sales A/RINVG/L A/P

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Compatible" Tava PC Complete IBM Compatible 1,450.00* (31.32)

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DISK DRIVES & CONTROLLERS ■ Cogito 1/2 Ht Low Power 10MB 735.00* (75.83;

Winchester W/IBM Controller IBM Floppy Disk Controller 75.00* (2.50)

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Disk with Sandstar Mutti Function Card

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(Same as used on IBM Portable) J nTVr-"-

clock/sfwr

Multifunction with networking at an unbelievable price. Up to 384K/ Ser/Par/Clock/Sottware/Net Slot

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with Tape Backup ■ Teac FD55-B Half Height DSDD Drive Pair 208.00* (5.72; MEMORY CHIPS All chips guaranteed tor lite. » 64K Memory Upg- * ;) 35.55

• 64K Dynamic Ram Chips (Each) 3.95'

2S6K Dynamic Ram Chips (Each) 33.00'

Tecmar Captain Multifunction Card O/K 195.00* (2.50;

PRINTERS Amdek 5025 (NEW!) 25CPS LQ 525.00* (10.48)

w/2K Buffer-C. Itoh F10/40 Starwrlter 40 CPS LQ 875.00* (18.90) C . Itoh Prow r Iter 8510 AP 285.00* (6.16)

Epson RX-80 267,00* (6.00)

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Epson FX-100 600.00* (14.35)

Epson LQ1500 CALL

Epson IBM-to-EPSON Parallel Cable 21.00* (1.00)

NEC 2030 20CPS L Q Parallel 625.00* ( 16.53)

NEC 2050 20CPS Letter Quality Printer 675.00* (74.58; NEC 3530 33CPS LQ Parallel 1,185.00* (37.54;

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Circle 316 on inquiry card.

PICK

In a microcomputer assembler, the machine-code sequence to be generated by each instruction is fixed and' embedded in the assembler itself. Because of the structure of the assembler, changing the translations would require a major rewrite.

In the Pick assembler, these translations are kept in a separate table. This makes the operating system more portable and it allows tweaking those instructions to speed up operation without rewriting the assembler. There are two such tables for every Pick machine, one for going from Pick assembly language into host assembly language and one for going from host assembly language into host object code. Each of the 600 or so instructions in Pick assembly language is represented by an entry in the tables.

To make all this work as efficiently

as possible, close attention is paid to optimizing Pick when it is transported to a new computer. The translation tables are reviewed carefully to make the best use of the architecture of the new microprocessor. There is also an automated optimizer built into the assembly process. It is used after the first assembly pass.

The Pick virtual machine has 16 pseudoregisters. One of the main jobs of the optimizer is to map those pseudoregisters onto the actual hardware registers. Obviously, the more swapping of values in and out of registers it takes to perform mapping for the different instructions, the less efficient the implementation will be. The optimizing process seeks the best possible match between the pseudo-hardware and actual hardware to minimize these kinds of inefficiencies.

After the optimizer has done its job,

the same instruction in Pick assembly language may produce very different host source code depending on the instructions that went before it and the state of the machine. This avoids many of the inefficiencies built into simple assemblers and compilers and speeds up system operation.

Finally the optimized version in host assembly language is put through the second pass of the assembler and emerges as host object code.

Pick Assembly Language

It is possible to write in Pick assembly language, but most applications programmers don't.

As you might expect from an assembly language with more than 600 instructions, Pick assembly language was designed for use by assemblers, not humans. Furthermore, it is not

{continued)

a)

PROGRAMMER

SOURCE CODE

b)

ABS

(OR VIRTUAL)

PICK

OPERATING SOFTWARE

IN

PSEUDO-ASSEMBLY

LANGUAGE

FORM

(SOURCE)

0

ASSEMBLER PASS

OBJECT CODE

COMPUTER

PICK

ASSEMBLER PASS N0.1

TRANSLATION TABLES NO.l

PICK

OPERATING SOFTWARE

IN

HOST ASSEMBLY

LANGUAGE

FORM

(SOURCE)

MONITOR IN

HOST ASSEMBLY FORM

(SOURCE)

-MISSIONARY SOURCE-

- NATIVE SOURCE-

PICK

ASSEMBLER PASS NO. 2

TRANSLATION TABLES NO. 2

ONLY PICK

ASSEMBLER

PASS

-EXAMPLE OF A CONVENTIONAL ASSEMBLY

PICK

OPERATING SOFTWARE

IN

HOST MACHINE

LANGUAGE

FORM

(OBJECT)

v95%

flMEGABYTE

MONITOR IN

HOST MACHINE FORM

(OBJECT)

,5% 48K-64K BYTES

-NATIVE OBJECT-

Figure 2: Stages in transporting the Pick operating system. The process of porting Pick to a new machine uses a two-pass table-driven compiler that ultimately produces a machine-language version of the system. The code sizes are for the IBM PC implementation of Pick.

480 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

/MR/g/ves you ALL the training

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ALL microcomputers.

When you've learned the basics the NRI way, you can troubleshoot the entire system—and earn good money doing it!

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But for the NRI-trained computer service technician, a down computer can mean higher earnings or even the opportunity to start a profitable business.

Fixing computers: fastest growing occupation in the U.S.

Whether the flaw is in a circuit board, a disk drive or a printer, everybody wants it fixed fast.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently projected that the number of computer service jobs will double before 1995. Median earnings of full-time computer service technicians are $430 per week (with much higher earnings for experienced service persons). And while all computer-related job opportunities are expanding, the computer service technician is the fastest growing job category of all.

The trained computer technician can choose between: working for a large corporation or an independent; making office calls or staying in the shop; working for a retailer or for a specialized service firm—even starting his own computer repair business.

Total System Training from NRI

As an NRI graduate, you'll be qualified to fix just about everything

IBM is a Registered Trademark ol international Business Machine Corporation. Epson is a Registered Trademark of Epson America, Inc. the Apple logo are Registered Trademarks of Apple Computer, inc. Compaq is a Registered Trademark of COMPAQ Computer Corporation. 1984 AT&T Technologies, Inc.

that can go wrong, for any major brand of desktop microcomputer (and a large chunk of the aging minicomputer population, as well).

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TRS-80 is a trademark of the Radio Shack division of Tandy Corp. NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 481

PICK

Few programmers know their way around in Pick assembly language.

machine-oriented. That is, it is quite different from the assembly language for any physical machine and those differences extend right down to the concepts.

Because the virtual machine does not have physical registers, it uses a data structure called the primary control block (PCB) as a scratch pad to keep track of things like the contents of each pseudoregister. To list the registers, flags, and all the other things you must keep track of, a description of a PCB takes up an entire 8K2- by ll-inch sheet of paper. Beyond that you must keep track of a secondary control block (SCB), a tertiary control block (TCB) or debugger control block, and other things.

The main difficulty with writing in Pick assembler, though, is that Pick is tightly integrated and not written in a highly structured form. Unless you are very careful and quite knowledgeable, an assembly-language program in Pick is likely to produce all sorts of unwanted side effects. Few programmers know their way around in Pick assembly language.

The biggest reason that so few people program in Pick assembly language is that they don't feel the need. Working in an information-management environment there is little you cannot do through Pick BASIC Proc, Access, TCL, or the other easy-to-use Pick features.

Pick Virtual Memory

In keeping with its philosophy of leaving the user free to concentrate on the data and not the details of the hardware, Pick uses virtual memory. Like almost everything else on the micro-

Figure 3: The memory allocation on the Pick operating system for the IBM PC. The monitor is in the lowest part of RAM, with the hash table and FID tables above it. Above them is the virtual space, which is divided into pages. On the IBM PC, Pick uses pages of two different sizes. The lower section of virtual is reserved for ABS, the operating system proper. Frames in ABS are 2048 bytes each. Everything above ABS is divided into pages of 512 bytes each and used for data, programs, etc.

computer implementation of Pick, this is done entirely in software.

On Pick the virtual memory is so well integrated into the system that programmers (other than assembly-language programmers) never have to deal with it. Figure 3 shows the memory structure of Pick.

Pick divides the RAM (random-access read/write memory) available on the computer into three main areas. The lower 32K to 48K bytes of memory is occupied by the monitor, which is always resident. Above that are two sets of tables used by the memory-management system. One of them is the hash table and above that is the frame identification (FID) table. Above that are the frames (pages) of virtual memory space. (In Pick, the subdivisions of memory are called "frames" when they are on the disk and "pages" when they are in RAM'. To keep things simple, we will call them frames all the time.)

On the IBM PC implementation, the virtual space is divided into two parts. One part, ABS, is for operating-system code and the other part is for data. The frames in ABS are 2048 bytes each, while the ones in the data space are 512 bytes. It is more efficient to bring in the Pick system in larger pieces because the program can transfer more code on a single read operation.

Above ABS is the data area. This area contains user data, operating-system data, and user programs.

When the system is running, there are a few frames of the virtual operating system in memory, even if no one is on it. Basically, it is executing a tight loop waiting for someone to give it instructions. As soon as someone logs on, the monitor detects it and calls for frames that are not resident in memory required to service the user. These can be frames of data or frames of the operating system. The frames are swapped in by the virtual memory manager (VMM) in the. monitor.

As a program or part of the operating system executes, it eventually reaches a boundary of a frame. The VMM portion of the monitor detects

482 BYTE- NOVEMBER 1984

PICK

this and looks to see if the next needed frame is already in memory. First it checks the hash table to find out roughly where the appropriate frame identification entry would be in the FID table, and then it searches that section of the FID table. This cuts the time needed to search the FID table by a factor of 2 56. The FID table has 8-byte entries, each describing frames in RAM. After a short search, the monitor knows whether the page is in RAM. If it isn't, the memory-management portion of the monitor can locate it on the disk and load it into RAM.

Given the size of Pick frames and the way the system works, there are a lot of searches through the hash and FID tables. This is another area where Pick is carefully optimized for speed.

If the frame that is needed is in memory, the VMM directs the program to it and execution continues. If it isn't, the virtual memory manager puts a disk-access request for the needed frame in the disk queue, the user loses the time slice, and the system goes on to service the next user.

As the system loads up and more users log on, the VMM has to decide which frames to swap out to get the room it needs to bring in new frames. Pick uses a variation of the clock algorithm to determine which frames to replace. Every time the monitor determines it needs to swap out a frame to make space for a needed one, it begins searching sequentially through the FID table checking flags for candidates. When it reaches the end of the FID table, it goes back and starts searching through again. The process is something like the sweep of the hand on a clock, hence the name for the algorithm.

The system maintains flags for each frame in RAM. These flags tell whether the frame has been referenced since it was last checked and whether it has been changed (dirty) or not changed (clean) since it was read into RAM.

Every time a frame is used, it is marked as referenced. What the VMM is looking for as it sweeps through the FID table is frames that are both clean

and not referenced. Each time it checks a frame, it resets the reference bit to show the frame as not referenced. If the frame has not been referenced by the time the clock hand comes around again, it is considered a candidate for replacement. If the frame is dirty, the VMM puts it in the write queue to be written back to the disk. Once it has been written, it becomes clean—and available for replacement.

There are complexities in this area that go beyond the obvious. For example, what happens if a frame has been added to the write queue and then it is called again? The Pick version of the algorithm was designed to handle these situations with the greatest possible efficiency.

Conclusions

The Pick operating system is far easier to work with than UNIX. It offers a

practical alternative to UNIX as a well-established multiuser operating system for the business community and applications programmers. Setting up the various dictionaries and data files requires a somewhat sophisticated user but actual use of the system is straightforward. ■

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Overview of the Pick Operating System. Anaheim, California: General Automation, 1982.

2. Sisk, Jonathan E. The Pick Pocket Guide. Irvine, California: Pick Systems Inc., 1982.

3. Zarrella, John (editor). The Pick Operating System: Microcomputer Operating Systems, vol. III. Suisun, California: Microcomputer Applications, 1984.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors would like to thank Dennis Gallagher of Pick Systems Inc. for his assistance with this article.

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Circle 215 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 483

The best values always come from a name you can trust.

APPLE SOFTWARE

Ashton-Tate Call

Microsoft

Cobol-80 $499

Fortran-80 145

Financial Statement... 79

Budget. 119

Peachtree Call

Penguin Software... Call Software Publishing PFS: File, Graph,

Report ea$ 79

Visicorp Call

Xerox Education

Sticky Bear ABC $ 35

Sticky Bear Numbers . 35

CP/M SOFTWARE

Formats Available

All prices below are for 8"

standard. Other formats

are available. Some are

subject to "Download"

fee and require minimum

2 weeks for delivery.

Please inquire.

ATI *Afl Trng Prog's ea $ 60

Balcones

Boss Financial Acct'g System ....$999

GL, AP, AR. ea 399

CompuView •V-Edit 8080 Z80,

IBM/PC $130

*V-Edit CP/M 86 130

Systran 99

dBASE II CORNER

Anderson-Bell

Abstat $289

Ashton-Tate

dBase II Call

dBase III.. Call

Framework Call

Friday Call

Data Based Solutions

dNAMES... $ 95

Pox & Geiler

dGraph $199

Quick Code 175

dlltil..... 58

Human Soft

DBPIus $ 90

(All above available on PC-DOS.)

SOFTWARE SPECIALS

Intermatrix

Macphone Telemanagement System -

Telephone, time and management system. (Compatible w/MacWrite) Telephone Call log - Logs outgoing calls Electronic Calendar Executive Diary - Records dates/events Telephone Directory - 200-name cap. Quick Dialer - auto-dial up to 80 numbers Memo Pad - Electronic note keeper For Macintosh $145

Peachtree

Home Software Library - Multi-faceted

program which includes:

Home Accountant - Basic accounting

Home Writer - Word processing

Home Analyst - Spreadsheet

Basic Tutor - Beginning BASIC

programming Compu-Spell - Learning to spell Compu-Read - Reading speed and

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and reasoning Documentation provided for various levels so all ages will profit. For IBM, PCjr. $275

Connecticut Software Printer/Letter Boss -Utility program with full menu*based operation of control functions of Epson printers. Allows advantage of sending, complicated control codes with simple keystrokes. Letter Boss prints at full text-mode speed, a two-pass near-tetter-quality text. For IBM % 75

Borland

Sidekick - Productivity tool permits, by striking one key, opening windows which include: calculator, notepad, appointment calendar, auto-dialer, ASCII table, and much more. Another keystroke returns to original program. For IBM PC, XT. $ 40

Living Video Text

Think Tank - Designed to organize ideas through outlines which can be arranged in any order by use of a few keystrokes.

For IBM ....$115

For Apple & Macintosh 85

Alpha Software

Electric Desk - Integrated program w/

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For IBM, PCjr. .. $195

Warner Software Desk Organizer - Management tool aiding users in tracking information. Managing time and work flow becomes easier. Also included are communication capabilities. For IBM $195

Multi mate

Multimate - Word processing made simple. Includes 80,000 word spelling checker. For IBM $265

for the TRIVIA buff:

Professional Software - Trivia Fever.

For IBM $ 35

Mirage Concepts - Trivia. For

Macintosh. .-, . $ 35

Springboard (Counterpoint) -

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Dow Jones

Investors 1 Workshop - Integrated investment portfolio management, chartina and communications package. Allows user to go online with Dow Jones News/Retrieval. For

Apple H, lie, lie $ 95

Dow Jones

Straightalk - Communications program allowing Mac users to log-on, retrieve and save information. For Macintosh $ 69

Digital Research

•Pascal MT+w/SPP... $389 DR Assembler & Tools 149

CP//M2.2 125

C Basic 95

PL/1-80 375

Personal Basic 120

Access or

Display Mgr. $299

C Lang/compiler 260

All 8"-86 Version of Above Call

Infocom

•Deadline $ 49

*Starcross 39

•Suspended 39

*Zork, I, II, III ea 39

Mark of the Unicom

•Final Word $199

Micro Pro

•WordStar $230

*Pro-Pak (WS,

MM, SI, CS) $339

All Others .. Call

Microsoft

Basic 80 $239

Basic Compiler 249

Fortran 80 330

Cobol80 449

Macro 80 130

•Multiplan 149

Microstuf

•Crosstalk.. $109

Northwest Analytical

•Statpak $365

Oasis

The Word Plus $120

Punctuation & Style.... 99

Peachtree

Back to Basics Acct's System Call

Home Software Library Call

PeachPak 4 (GL,AP,AR) $249

Series 8 (ea. mod.) $389

Sorcim

•Supercalc II $189

Superwriter (w/ Speller, Mailer)... $189

T Maker III $195

IBM/PC SOFTWARE

Please see CP/M listing. All products with an * in front are also made for PC/DOS and are priced the same unless otherwise specified.

Alpha Software

Data Base Mgr II 179

B&L Multi-Job (runs 9

programs at once)... $145 Central Point

Copy II PC $34

CTek Call

Digital Research Concurrent CP/M 86 .. Call Pascal MT+ CP/M 86.. Call

Pascal MT+ DOS Call

DR Logo Call

Dow Jones

Market Analyzer $229

Market Manager 189

Spreadsheet Link 179

Ecosoft, Inc.

Microstat $259

Enertronics

Energraphics. $259

w/ Plotter Option 299

Fastware Thor (the

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Tax Series $105

Financier II 119

Fox & Geiler

Grafox $189

RGraph (for

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Hayes

Please Call

Lifetree

Volkswriter Deluxe $179

Micropro Call

Microrim

R-base4000 $279

R-base Clout 129

R-Writer... 119

Prog Interface 319

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Prof Basic $299

Trace 86 99

Satellite Software Word Perfect w/ Sp... Call Sorcim

Supercalc III $249

SPI Open Access $379

Star Software Systems

Property Mgmt $695

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.. .and many more!

/ ■

484 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

APPLE/

ALS

CP/MCard $259

Smarferm II 119

Z-Cardll 119

CCS 7710 Asynch Serial $109

East Side

Wild Card II. $ 99

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Grappler + w/ buffer. $175

Prometheus

Versacard $159

Video-7, Inc.

V-Color RGB cards.... Call Videx

Videoterm VT-600 $179

Videoterm VT-602 249

Ultraterm 249

IBM/PC

AST Research

MegaPlus64K, (Cl/Cal, S Port, 512K cap w/Megapak) $269

Extra ports available for Megaplus and I/O Plus II (Game, P/S)...$ 40

5251 (PC to Syst/34, 36, 38 connection)... Call

Megapak 256K upgrade for Megaplus. Call

I/O Plus II Cl/Cal and S Port.. $159

Maynard Electronics

Floppy Drive Cntrlr.... $169

w/ Par Port 219

w/ Ser Port 229

Sandstar Call

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Quadboard 64K, (exp

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Quadboard 384 (OK). 239 Microfazer Stack Printer

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Amdek

300 - 12" Green comp mono $135

300A - 12" Amber comp mono— 155 310A - 12" Amber IBM compatible mono $185

Princeton Graphics Systems

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MAX 12 - 12" Hi Res Amber 185

MODEMS

Anchor

Volksmodem - Features direct connection for RS-232C type interface, Bell 1093 compatible, built-in interface cable and connector, audible carrier detect signal, full /ha If duplex switch, 0-300 baud. Available for

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Hayes Microcomputer Smartmodem 1200 - Features direct connection to telephone lines, full/half duplex, self-test, compatible with Bell 103 and Bell 212A, tone and pulse dialing $485

PRINTERS

Juki Industries of America, Inc. 6100 - Prints graphics! 2K buffer {exp to 8K}, proportional spacing, 11" print

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The lemon / EC-I ~ Features include:

6 outlets and indicator light. Provides

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spikes, surges and transients. Lemon

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The Lime / EC-I I - Features are same as Lemon but include 5' power cord and AC on/off switch. Choose Lime or Vanilla color.......... $ 65

The Orange / EC-Ill - Features are same as Lime, but also provides EMI-RFI filtering. Orange or Vanilla color. ....... $105

DISPLAY CARDS

Amdek

MAI Card ..,$420

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tronicsColorplus...$399

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Graphics Board $339

MA Systems

PC Peacock Color Board $249

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Quadcolorh........ $199

Quadcolor II ... 389

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Graphic Master.....$479

.$429

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Color 11+

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JB1201-12" Green $169

NEC continued

JB1260-12" Green.... 119 JC1216RGB 429

PGS

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Smartmodem 300 $205

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Circle 459 on inquiry card.

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AGAT

{continued from page 136)

It was obvious that the system was using Apple Tool Kit to produce the Cyrillic characters for the user interface. Listing the program confirmed this.

It was also apparent from the listing that a variant of Applesoft was in ROM (read-only memory). I say variant because, while all the normal Applesoft commands were present, they were occasionally used a little differently A few of the keywords were parsed differently as well An example is the TEXT command. On the AGAT TEXT could be used with a number to specify cursor position. Calls could be made to the usual places to perform the usual things. I did not test them all, but all those I did test worked normally

One feature that I liked was the ability to directly address text pages and graphics pages—there were three text pages available in the demonstration program. I understand that it is possible to address a total of seven text pages, but I didn't try it. Since the basic machine is only equipped with 64K bytes of RAM (random-access read/write memory) and there is no apparent way to expand the memory, I wonder how useful that ability would be.

There are three graphics modes—low, medium, and high resolution—producing graphics much as you would expect. The medium-resolution mode has almost the same resolution as high-resolution, with all the colors of low-resolution and very little bleeding. Another nice feature was the ability to specify color in text mode. Also, text could be printed to the screen in medium-resolution mode.

The screen appears to be bit-mapped and the software switches are identical to the Apple's, with the addition of switches for the extra screens. By using the color and plot statements in low-resolution mode, I could print letters to the screen with the Apple parameters. This leads me to believe that the screen is mapped identically to the Apple's.

The only "application" I saw was a surgical calculation program. The ELORG officials told me that it was "forbidden" to list the program, but I worked around their protection scheme quickly, much to their dismay. The program was written in mishmash BASIC in English. The programming was clumsy, using a lot of IF. . THEN loops. I shortened the program by 5K bytes, just by tightening the code for them.

Benchmarks

I had not come prepared for elaborate testing, but I did have a back issue of BYTE in my apartment, which contained an article on benchmarks. I ran the Sieve of Eratosthenes and Fibonacci routines on the AGAT and found it to be about 30 percent slower than the Apple. A SAVE to disk was 15 percent slower for a BASIC program and 22 percent slower for a text file or binary program. LOADS were somewhat faster, but still slower than Apple.

{continued)

486 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 298 on inquiry card.

■ If you thought you couldn't afford hard disk performance, think again. • The MD5-E hard disk Micro Decision computer with 128K RAM • Seagate 5W Hard Disk with 5.4M bytes formatted (Second hard disk can be added) • 384K floppy disk backup • Superfast CP/M 3.0 operating system (compatible with most CP/M 2.2 software) • NewWord word processor • Correct-it spelling checker • New tilt & swivel monitor • Low profile keyboard • Morrow does it again. At $1999, this special introductory offer shatters the price barrier for hard disk computer systems ■

Call (800) 521-3493 (in California (415) 568-8599 for a dealer near you. Or write to Morrow, 600 McCormick Street, San Leandro, California 94577.

MORROW

Circle 290 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 487

Circle 226 on inquiry card.

HP 9000/216 Word Processor

• Mix graphics & text output

• Screen always shows final form of document with page divisions

• Mistakes cannot cause loss of any text

• Integral spelling checker-corrector with 60,000 word dictionary

• Keyboard overlay supplied

• Header and footer, Auto page numbering

• Superscripts and subscripts

• Comment lines — outline processing

• Variable indentation, right justification

• Table of contents generator

• Mail list and low cost options available

• Unprotected HP BASIC source code

• Also available for HP 236, 226, 520 & 9845

• LaserJet and many other printers fully supported

"Much easier to use than WordStar" —ml. ca "Very well written, congratulations" —re. fl "My customers love the dictionary" — a.mcd. tx

WORDWISE 2

L. W. James and Associates • 1525 East County Road 58 Fort Collins, CO 80524 . 303-484-5296

ORDER LINE CUSTOMER SERVICE

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SANYO COMPATIBLE RS232 PORT

Directly Interchangeable With Sanyo. Can be Programmed for Bi-Sync Operation $79

RS232 PORT W/CABLE

As Above With Modem Cable 99

Modem Cable Only 29

SHEET FEEDERS High quality mechanical single bin feeders for Diablo, Qume, NEC, C.ltoh, Ricoh, Daisy, Daisywriter, Juki, Dataproducts and Others (specify type) , $495

Electronic Dual Bin sheet feeders

for most printers Call

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High Swiss quality bi-directional tractors

for Diablo, Qume, NEC, C.ltoh, Ricoh,

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Silver Reed 125

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DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED

2017 EAST CACTUS • PHOENIX, AZ 85022

AH prices are for cash, cashiers check or money order. Allow 4 weeks bank clearance for personal checks. C.O.D.'s, Visa/MC, and P.O.'s accepted at additional charge. Prices subject to change. Returns must have authorization number and are subject to a restocking charge.

AGAT

My- overall impressions of the system were favorable, considering the source, although I wouldn't buy one. Its too difficult for a non-Russian to use the keyboard, and the system is too slow to compete with what's already available.

Ordinary number crunching was also slower, but harder to measure. I ran a calculation program involving heavy use of SQR and SIN functions on the AGAT. I copied this program onto a disk that I had with me and ran it on the Apple when I returned home. Apple is faster by 6 percent. I have to attribute this to a deliberate system slowdown, probably because of poor chip performance or because of the long conductor runs and point-to-point wiring of the system. This could produce problems at higher chip speeds. However, as I am not an electronics engineer, I am probably missing something.

A Closer Look at the DOS

During my most recent visit to the Soviet Union, in April of 1984, I saw the AGAT again and was given a copy of a disk containing the DOS to try on the Apple at home. The boot portion of the code is not identical to DOS 3.3, and it is not possible to boot a disk initialized with this system on an Apple. This is probably an effort to avoid being sued by Apple.

The reverse is not true. Examination of the initialized disk with a "nibble editor" such as Locksmith 5.0 shows that the VTOC (volume table of contents), the RWTS routine within DOS (the routine that reads and writes disk sectors), and the file manager are identical to DOS 3.3. Once booted, disks from either system can be read from or written to the other system. There are some gaps in the Soviet DOS not present in Apple DOS; it's the bootstrapping portion that seems to be missing. Since Apple includes the bootstrapping portion only to make the DOS compatible with old Apples having less than 48K bytes of memory, it is not needed in this machine. But the commands are all there—a CHR$(4), for example, will route a command string to DOS on the Russian system—so the differences are not material.

An AGAT for the Teacher?

My overall impressions of the system were favorable, considering the source, although I would not buy one. It is just too difficult for the non-Russian to use the keyboard, and the system is too slow to compete with what is already available It's akin to the old Apple I. Because of the Western boycott on computer exports to Eastern bloc nations, there is an unfilled demand for such devices in

[continued]

488 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 160 on inquiry card.

THE 8087 AND 80287 ARE IN STOCK!

MicroWay* is the world's leading retailer of 8087s. We also have the most accurate statistics on chip reliability. They are: .01% infant mortality, .00% adult mortality and .02% 8088 incompatibility. As for ease of installation, we have never had a customer return a chip because of bent pina We are so confident that you will be able to successfully install and use the chip that we offer a 180-day warranty with every chip we sell. Thaf s 90 days more than anyone else!

MWS-286 Configured to your specifications, our computer runs RTOS-286 or XENIX. Includes one Intel compiler, seven slot multibus chassis, hard disk, streaming tape backup and Intel Service Contract Six to twenty times faster than your PC CALL

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87 FORTRAN/RTOS™ our adaptation of the Intel Fortran-86 Compiler generates in line 8087 code using all 8087 data types including 80-bit reals and 64-bit integers The compiler uses the Intel large memory model, allowing code/data structures of a full megabyte, and supports overlays Includes RTOS and support for one year $1350

87PASCAURTOS M is inters ISO Standard Pascal with 8087-8088 exceptions These make it possible to use all the 8087 data types directly, while generating modules in one of the three Intel Memory Models Includes RTOS and support for one year $1350

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Circle 284 on inquiry card.

AGAT

Eastern countries, so the AGAT may find a home outside of the Soviet Union. It should do very well in Russia as a computing device in an institute or other facility, though not in the home.

If ELORG plans to distribute the AGAT widely in the West, they will have to cut the price dramatically from $17,000 (the price that I was quoted), which includes software, of course. When I told ELORG officials what kind of a computer I could buy for that price in the United States, they were shocked. I'm not certain they believed me. Clearly, they had not researched the competition.

As a government agency, ELORG could afford to offer the AGAT at a very low price in order to develop a market for it. I believe, though, that it wouldn't stand a chance in today's international market, even if they gave it away. It has neither the polish nor the sophistication to compete. The Soviets seem to lack a certain business acumen—especially in this area.

If ELORG has manufactured this computer for home consumption in the Soviet Union, then the AGAT would seem to herald an unprecedented move by the government toward the public at large. However, considering their fantastic paranoia about information and their tendency to bury it under layer after layer of red tape, it does not seem

likely that it was intended for home use. The Soviet leaders themselves are highly suspicious of new technology and could view general use of a cybernetic device as hazardous.

Even if a microcomputer were available to Russians for use in the home, it would have to be very cheap to compete with more mundane, but more desirable, consumer goods such as refrigerators and washing machines. Besides, what would Soviet citizens do with a home computer? They certainly don't need to worry about investments or figure out income tax.

It is quite possible that the AGAT has been developed with education in mind; it may be intended for centers of higher learning. I just can't see them placing any in secondary schools, at least not in the near future. Russian education stresses the three R's, with rote and recitation given high marks. In my view, the rigidity of the lower school education system weighs heavily against the possibility of computers in the classroom.

Don't expect to see the AGAT in your local computer store any time soon. The high value of the American dollar in the foreign exchange and the nearly 60 percent duty that would be tacked on this machine by the U.S. puts this device into the category of the exotic. ■

Come visit us in our New York City Showroom

226 Sherwood A ve. Farmingdale, NY 11735

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Prism 132 200 cps, 132 col 1,100

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{TERMINALS: HAZELTINE, ZENITH, WYSE, VISUAL.. CALL)

Panasonic amber super 199

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NEC JC1216 RGB monitor, 640x300 resolution 435

JB1201 20 Mhz green monitor .185

Princeton Graphic HX12 RGB monitor 490

SR12 RGB 630

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Color IV Xtra 710

Zenith ZVM 123 Green Monitor 87

ZVM 122 Amber monitor 135

ZVM 135 RGB monitor for IBM PC 475

Prices subject to change. American Express, VisayMastereard add 3%. F.O.B. point of shipment. 20% restocking fee for returned merchandise. Personal checks take 3 weeks to clear. COD on certified check only. N.Y. residents add sales tax. Manufacturers' warranty only. International customers, please confirm price before order. Accept P.O. from Fortune 500, schools and gov't.

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HIPAD DT-11AA Digitizer 725

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PRINTER

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MODEMS

HAYES Smartmodem 300/1200 bps 499

1200B modem for IBM PC CALL

USR 300/1200 bps w/64K, parallel port. 550 Password 300/1200 bps modem 339

NOVATION Smartmodem 300/1200 bps modem.. 415 PC Cat 300/1200 bps modem 450

490 BYTE- NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 75 on inquiry card.

Statpro™ brings thepower of mainframe statistic your personal compxJ

Until now, serious statistical analysis meant mainframes, computer centers and a lot of extra work for you.

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Statpro is a trademark of Wadsworth Professional Software, Inc. Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp.

Circle 421 on inquiry card.

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The Age Of Trigger Has Begun.

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It Makes You Run Your Business With Greater Insight, Power And Control Than Ever Before.

It Triggers Actions To Make Smarter And More Profitable Business Decisions.

A manager has three overwhelming problems. A lack of time. An information overload. A difficulty in remaining focused on key business objectives and controlling them. Trigger solves these problems in a brilliant and innovative way.

It will transform the way you run your business. Trigger monitors key performance areas. And performance can be measured in volume, dollars, behavior; whatever criteria are important to your business.

And whenever an element being monitored falls outside of its acceptable performance range, Trigger issues an action memo, with probable causes and actions to be taken, requiring the individual responsible to respond. And it makes sure those actions are taken.

The More You Use It f The Smarter You Get.

Trigger becomes an expert system, learning from experience and helping you learn as well. The more you use it the smarter you both get. The more you use it, the more easily and efficiently you can analyze problems, make decisions and create solutions.

It works with your people, monitoring and \alyzing their actions, day to day, week to ek, month to month. In your absence, ger is still present, acting as your surrogate, ing sure what needs to be done, gets done. Tie more you use it, the more smoothly dutifully your business will run.

>1 on inquiry card.

Why It's Easy To Consult With Trigger

Getting to know Trigger is exciting. Everything is provided to quickly and easily integrate Trigger into your regular business operations. The computer, itself, assists you in every phase of using the program. It explains the business approach on which it is based, and provides all the consultative help that you will need to set up Trigger, and involve and motivate your people.

The Thoughtware Behind Trigger

Thoughtware pioneered personal computer-based management training. As a member of the Alexander Proudfoot worldwide family of companies, Thoughtware drew on Proudfoot 1 s nearly forty years of management consulting experience in thousands of companies, to develop Trigger.

To meet Trigger, your astounding new Expert Business Consultant, or some of Thoughtware's other Expert Consultants listed below, visit your local software or computer store, or call toll-free 1-800-THT-WARE for the dealer nearest you.

Assessing Personal Management Skills-Evaluating Organizational Effectiveness-Understanding Personal Interaction Styles-Leading Effectively-Motivating To Achieve Results-Defining Goals and Objectives-Improving Employee Performance-Performance Appraisal-Managing Time Effectively-Conducting Successful Meetings-Managing By Exception.

Trigger runs on: IBM* PC, XT, AT and operationally compatible PC's. Trigger is a Trademark of The Alexander Proudfoot Company. Thoughtware is a Registered Trademark of Thoughtware. Inc.

ThooghtiR

Expert Consultants In Your Computer.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 493

We decided not to burden this ad with the usual ostentatious, self-indulgent software hype, not to dwell on the fact we've contained four accounting modules on a single diskette for total integration of the most powerful accounting package available for small business, nor to stress the sophistication, creativity, clarity and conciseness of the program's remarkably proficient reporting capabilities, nor to mention the tutorial, the queuing files, or even the fact we've put an incredible $395 retail price on it. No, as our professional peers, we realized you'd prefer a more subtle marketing approach.

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494 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 106 on inquiry card.

BOOKS RECEIVED

Adam's Companion, Ramsey J. Benson and Jack B. Rochester. New York: Avon Books. 1984; 416 pages, 15.3 by 22.8 cm, softcover. ISBN 0-380-87650-7, $9.95.

An Analysis of CAD/CAM Applications, Richard Stover. Englewood Cliffs, Nf: Prentice-Hall, 1984; 306 pages, 18.3 by 24.3 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-13-032871-5. $32.

The Art of Micro Design, A. A. Berk. Kent, England: Newnes Technical Books, 1984; 310 pages, 13.8 by 21.5 cm, soft-cover, ISBN 0-408-01403-2, £13.95.

Ascent to Orbit, Arthur C. Clarke. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1984; 238 pages, 22 by 29 cm, hardcover. ISBN 0-471-87910-X. $19.95.

Assembly Language Primer for the IBM PC & XT, Robert Lafore. New York: Plume/Waite. 1984; 510 pages, 18.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-4 52-25497-3, $21.75.

BASIC Primer for the IBM PC & XT, Bernd Enders and Bob Petersen. New York: Plume/ Waite. 1984; 448 pages, 18.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-452-25495-7, $16.95.

The BBC Microcomputer for Beginners, Seamus Dunn and Valerie Morgan. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1983; 320 pages, 14.5 by 22.8 cm, softcover. ISBN 0-13-069328-6, $13.95.

Pluebook of Assembly Routines for the IBM PC & XT, Christopher L. Morgan. New York: Plume/Waite. 1984; 258 pages, 18 by 23 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-452-25497-3, $19.95

Book Bytes-The User's Guide to 1200 Microcomputer Books, Cris Popenoe. New York: Pantheon Books, 1984; 240 pages, 21.3 by 27.5 cm, soft-cover, 0-394-72273-6, $9.95.

The Bytes Brothers, Lois and Floyd McCoy. New York: Bantam

Books, 1984; 128 pages, 10.5 by 17.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-5 53-24419-1, $2.25.

The C Programming Tutor, Leon A. Wortman and Thomas O. Sidebottom. Bowie, MD: Robert J. Brady Co., 1984; 288 pages, 17.8 by 23.5 cm, soft-cover, ISBN 0-89303-364-2, $17.95.

Commodore 64, Larry Joel Goldstein and Fred Mosher. Bowie, MD: Robert J. Brady Co., 1984; 320 pages, 17.8 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89303-381-2, $15.95.

Commodore 64 Subroutine Cookbook, David D. Busch. Bowie. MD: Robert J. Brady Co.. 1984; 208 pages, 17.8 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89303-383-9, $12.95.

Comparing & Assessing Programming Languages, Alan Feuer and Narain Gehani, eds. . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1984; 288 pages, 18.3 by 24 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-13-154857-3. $24.95.

Computer Aided Design, J. Encarnacao and E. G. Schlechtendahl. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1983; 360 pages, 17 by 24.8 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-387-11526-9, $29.50.

Computers for Realtors, Laurence Gonzales. New York: Ballantine Books, 1984; 144 pages, 13.5 by 21 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-345-31477-8, $6.95.

Computers for Writers, Laurence Gonzales. New York: Ballantine Books, 1984; 144 pages, 13.5 by 21 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-345-31476-X, $6.95.

Computers, Information and Manufacturing Systems, David Rhodes. New York: Praeger, 1984; 158 pages, 15.5 by 24 cm.

hardcover, ISBN 0-03-071672-1, $29.95.

Construction of Data Processing Software, John Elder. Englewood Cliffs. NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984; 448 pages, 15.3 by 22.8 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13-168675-5, $22.95.

CP/M Software Review, Michael L. Gonzales. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing, 1984; 208 pages. 17.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-83 59-1101-2. $19.95.

DBASE II for the Programmer, Nelson T. Dinerstein. Glenview, !L: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1984; 176 pages. 18.8 by 2 3.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-673-15956-6, $19.94.

DBASE II Programming, Albert L. Peabody and Richard H. C Seabrook. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1984; 176 pages, 17.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13-196148-9, $14.95.

Distributed Data Processing-Technology and Critical Issues, M. P. Mariani, ed. Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1984; 240 pages, 15.5 by 22.8 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-444-86796-1, $40,

DOS Primer for the IBM PC & XT, Mitchell Waite, John Angermeyer, and Mark Noble. New York: Plume/Waite, 1984; 208 pages, 18.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-4 52-2 5494-9, $14.95.

The Easy Guide to Your Atari 600XL/800XL, Thomas Blackadar. Berkeley, CA: Sybex, 1984; 222 pages, 15 by 22.8 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89588-125-X, $9.95.

8086/88 Assembly Language Programming, Leo I. Scan Ion. Bowie, MD: Robert J. Brady Co., 1984; 224 pages, 17.8 by 23.5

THIS IS A LIST of books recently received at BYTE Publications. The list is not meant to be exhaustive, its purpose is to acquaint BYTE readers with recently published titles in computer science and related fields. We regret that we cannot review or comment on all the books we receive: instead, this list is meant to be a monthly acknowledgment of these books and the publishers who sent them.

cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89303-424-X, $16.95.

Enjoying BASIC: A Comprehensive Guide to Programming, Richard D. Greenwood and Ignatius F. Brodzinski. New York: Harper & Row, 1984: 290 pages, 21 by 27.8 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-06-042 504-0, $19.50.

The Epson QX-10 Users Guide, James M. Hansen. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1984; 176 pages, 19.3 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-673-15973-6, $17.95.

Experiments in logic and Computer Design, Albert Y Teng and William A. Malmgren. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984; 192 pages, 21.3 by 28 cm, softcover. ISBN 0-13-295833-3, $15.95.

Exploring Applesoft, Roger McShane. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1983; 176 pages, 15 by 22.8 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13-295916-X, $19.95.

EZ/KEY, Productivity Aid for Easytrieve Plus, User's Guide,

Documentation department of Pansophic Systems. Oak Brook, IL: Pansophic Systems, 1984; 334 pages, 18.3 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-881898-042-0, $19.50.

A First Course in Formal Language Theory, V. I. Ray ward-Smith. Boston, MA: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1983; 144 pages, 15.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, 0-632-01176-9, $14.95.

From Logic to Computers, P. J. Thewlis and B. N. T. Foxon. Boston, MA: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1983; 144 pages, 15.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover. ISBN 0-632-01183-1, $13.95.

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits, 3rd ed.. David A. Bell. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing, 1984; 864 pages, 18.5 by 24.3 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-83 59-2125-5, $27.95.

The Future of Videotext, Efrem Sigel. Englewood Cliffs,

(continued)

Circle 65 on inquiry card.

DUMP/RESTORE-XT

Directory Management at

Your Fingertips

01-WORDPROC

COGITATE s DUMP/RESTORE-XT is a package of utilities specifically designed to handle directory manipulation and file backups under MS-DOS.

J~ COGTREE-A graphic tree display. Hardcopies are available as well as file and directory dumps. J~ COGDIR-A multiple wildcard directory utility; i.e.: C>COGDIR\ACCOUNT\*.DAT, MDX, *..BAK The *..BAK excludes all BAK files.

JT COGBKUP-Reads lists created by COGDIR and compresses the files to the floppy diskette. Diskettes can be spanned and are serialized.

JT COGRSTR-Reads diskettes created by COGBKUP and restores to hard disk based upon multiple wildcards.

The package includes other utilities to assist in file and directory manipulations. COGITATES DUMP/RESTORE-XT is priced at $90. Dealer inquiries welcome. MasterCard and Visa accepted.

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BOOKS RECEIVED

NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1983; 208 pages, 15.3 by 22.8 cm, soft-cover, ISBN 0-13-345777-X, $9.95.

Going Places with the New Apple He, Danny Goodman. New York: Simon & Schuster. I984; 2 56 pages, 10.8 by 17.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-671-53188-3. $3.95.

Guide to Effective Software Technical Writing, Christine Browning. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984; 160 pages, 15.5 by 23.5 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-13-369463-1, $19.95.

Handbook of BASIC for the Commodore 64, Frederick E. Mosher and David I. Schneider. Bowie, MD: Robert J. Brady Co., 1984; 368 pages, 17.8 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89303-505-X, $14.95.

How To Choose a Computer Camp, Joseph W. Cellini. Sherman Oaks, CA: Alfred Publishing Co., 1984; 64 pages, 10.8 by 28 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-88284-266-8, $2.95.

How To Make Money with Your Personal Computer, Paul and Sarah Edwards. Sherman Oaks, CA: Alfred Publishing Co., 1984; 64 pages, 10.8 by 28 cm, softcover ISBN 0-88284-264-1, $2.95.

How To Use the TRS-80 Model 100, Robert K. Louden. Sherman Oaks, CA: Alfred Publishing Co., 1984; 64 pages, 10.8 by 28 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-88284-270-6, $2.95.

IBM PCir. Larry Joel Goldstein. Bowie, MD: Robert J. Brady Co., 1984; 400 pages, 17.8 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89303-539-4, $16.85.

THe Illustrated Multiplan Book, Russell A. Stultz. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984; 192 pages, 18.8 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13-450313-9, $16.95.

Industrial Electricity and Electronics, Robert G. Seippel. Reston. VA: Reston Publishing, 1984; 384 pages, 18.3 by 24.3 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-8359-3073-4, $26.95.

Introducing the Acorn BBC Micro, Ian Sinclair. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984; 192 pages, 15.3 by 22.8 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13-477266-0, $12.95.

An Introduction to Automated Data Acquisition, Ben E. Cline. Princeton, NJ: Petrocelli Books, 1984; 312 pages, 16.3 by 24 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-89433-192-2, $29.95.

Introduction to Business Programming & Systems Analysis, Keith Lohmuller. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1983; 240 pages. 13 by 20.8 cm, soft-cover, ISBN 0-8306-1437-0, $13.50.

An Introduction to System Programming-Based on the PDP11, Derrick Morris. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1983: 200 pages, 15.3 by 23.3 cm, soft-cover, ISBN 0-387-91230-4, $16.80.

Language Arts Computer Book-A How-TD Guide for Teachers, Wayne Dickson and Mike Raymond. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing, 1984; 336 pages, 15.8 by 23.5 cm, hardcover. 0-8359-3942-1, $21.95.

Large Sparse Numerical Optimization. Thomas F. Coleman. Lecture Notes in Computer Science #165. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1984; 112 pages. 16.5 by 24.3 cm, soft-cover, ISBN 0-387-12914, $8.50.

The Last Word on the TI-99/4A, Linda M. and Allen R. Schreiber. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1984; 2 54 pages, 19.5 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-8306-1745-0, $11.50.

Lisp Programming, I. Danicic. Boston, MA: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1983; 112 pages, 15.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-632-01181-5, $11.95.

TKe Macintosh Guide, Paul Stark. New York: World Almanac Publications and Pasadena. CA: Micromedia Marketing Inc., 1984; 128 pages, 14 by 21 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-911818-70-7, $9.95.

Making CP/M-80 Work For You, The Human Connection. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1983; 96 pages, 19.8 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-8306-1764-7, $9.2 5.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Science and Engineering, Sybil P. Parker, ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984; 960 pages, 16 by 23.5 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-07-045483-3, $32.50.

{continued)

496 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 98 on inquiry card.

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The BDS C Compiler. ..

"Performance: Excellent.

Documentation: Excellent.

Ease of use: Excellent."

That's what InfoWorfd said when we introduced the BDS C Compiler four years ago. Today, the updated BDS Version 1.5 is even better.

First, the BDS is still the fastest CPM/80-C compiler available anywhere.

Next, the new revised user's guide comes complete with tutorials, hints, error messages and an easy-to-use index — the perfect manual for beginner or seasoned pro.

Plus, the following, all for one price: Upgraded file searching ability for all compiler/linkage system files. Enhanced file I/O mechanism that lets you manipulate files anywhere in your system. Support system for float and long via library functions. An interactive symbolic debugger. Dynamic overlays. Full source code for libraries and run-time package. Sample programs include utilities and games.

Don't waste another minute on a slow language processor. Order now.

Complete Package {two 8"SSDD disks, 181-page manual): $150. Free shipping on prepaid orders inside USA. VISA/MC, C.O.D.'s, rush orders accepted. Call for information on other

disk formats.

BDS C is designed for use with CP/M-80 operating systems, version 2.2 or higher. It is not currently available for CP/M-86 or MS- DOS.

BD Software, Inc. P.O. Box 2368

Cambridge, MA 02238

(617)576-3828

SIC

Programmer's Quiz

BetterBASIC is

a. Interactive

b. Structured

c. Compiled

d. Modular

e. Extensible

f. Supports 640k

g. All of the above

aAoqe am \o ||e '6 suy

Ask your dealer for BetterBASIC or call Summit Software at 617-235-0729

BetterBASIC 199.00 8087 Math Module 99.00 Runtime System 250.00 Sample Disk 10.00

Summit Software Technology.,

P.O. Box 99, Babson Park.Wellesley, MA 02157

BOOKS RECEIVED

Memories THat Shaped an Industry, Emerson W. Pugh. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1984; 336 pages, 15.5 by 23.5 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-262-16094-3, $2 5.

Microcomputers and their Commercial Applications. D. E. Avison. Boston, MA: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1983; 104 pages, 15.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover. ISBN 0-632-01172-6. $9.95.

Microprogrammed Market 1984, Marshall Hamilton. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1984; 240 pages, 19.5 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-8306-1700-0, $13.50.

The Multibus Design Guidebook, James B. Johnson and Steve Kassel. New York:

McGraw-Hill, 1984; 448 pages, 15.8 by 23.5 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-07-032 599-5, $32.50.

Music & Speech Programs for the IBM PC, Robert {. Traister. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1983; 200 pages, 19.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-8306-0596-7, $11.50.

1984 National Electrical Code, J. D. Garland. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984; 144 pages, 15.5 by 23.5 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-13-609561-5. $17.95.

TViE Osborne/McGraw-Hill CP/M User Guide, 3rd ed. Thorn Hogan. Berkeley, CA: Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 1984; 334 pages, 16.3 by 23,3 cm, soft-cover, ISBN 0-88134-128-2, $17.95.

ItiE Osborne/McGraw-Hill Guide to Using Lotus 1-2-3, Edward M. Baras. Berkeley, CA: Osborne/McGraw-Hill. 1984; 320 pages, 20.8 by 27.5 cm, soft-cover. ISBN 0-88134-123-1, $16.95.

Parents, Kids, and Computers. Lynne Alper and Meg Holm berg. Berkeley, CA: Sybex, 1984; 160 pages, 30.8 by 17.8 cm. softcover. ISBN 0-89588-151-9, $4.95.

Pascal, Charles H. Goldberg, Walter S. Brainerd, and Jonathan L. Gross. Boston, MA: Boyd & Fraser, 1984; 480 pages. 21.3 by 27.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-87835-140-X, $22.95.

Pascal, Geneva G. Belford and C. L. Liu. New York: McGraw-

Hill, 1984; 3 52 pages, 18.8 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-07-038138-0, $19.95.

Pascal Primer for the IBM PC Michael Pardee. New York: Plume/Waite, 1984; 304 pages. 18.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-452-25496-5, $17.95.

Personal Computers for Executives, Christina J. McClung, John A. Guerrieri, Kenneth A. McClung Jr., and William Weiss, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1984; 160 pages, 17 by 25.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-471-89722-1, $10.95.

Pilot-'Dhe Language and How To Use It, Tom Conlon. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984; 240 pages, 15.3 by 22.8 cm, softcover. ISBN 0-13-676247-6, $15.95.

THE Power Of: Word, Robert E. Williams. Portland, OR: Management Information Source Inc., 1984; 156 pages, 21.3 by 27.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-943958-14-8, $29.95. Includes floppy disk.

A Practical Guide to Designing Expert Systems, Sholom M. Weiss and Casimir A. Kulikowski. Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Allanheld, 1984; 192 pages, 16.3 by 24 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-86598-108-6, $24.95.

Prelude to Programming, William Mitchell. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing, 1984; 190 pages, 18.3 by 24 cm. hardcover. ISBN 0-83 59-5614-8, $19.95.

Programmer Productivity, Girish Parikh. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing, 1984; 2 56 pages, 15.8 by 23.5 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-83 59-5650-4, $31.50.

Programming the Apple II & He, revised ed., John L. Campbell and Lance Zimmerman. Bowie, MD: Robert J. Brady Co., 1984; 464 pages. 17.8 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89303-779-6, $19.95.

Programming the IBM PC & XT, Clarence B. Germain. Bowie, MD: Robert J. Brady Co., 1984; 352 pages, 17.8 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89303-783-4, $19.95.

Programming the IBM Personal Computer: Assembly {continued)

498 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 383 on inquiry card.

Now! Reach 120,000 Specif iers Of Engineering

Products And Services With The Most Comprehensive

Directory Ever lb Come Off The Drawing Board.

You simply can't afford to miss this opportunity.

Now, for the first time, your advertising message can reach all 80,000 members of the NSPE in a single publication—the unique, new "Professional Engineering Directory." Every member of NSPE—a group identified by a Gallup poll as a leading force in the profession—will be listed and have a copy for ready reference.

There's never been a directory like it.

To provide optimum convenience and usefulness to engineers, the "Professional Engineering Directory" has the unique distinction of being planned and developed by a panel of NSPE engineers in cooperation with BellSouth National Publishing, one of the country's most experienced directory publishers with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. BellSouth National Publishing is developing a network of marketing information tools, including the Regional Industrial Pages (currently in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and the Carolinas) and an Import/Export Directory for Latin America.

This could be your last chance to sell the cream of the engineering crop.

Think for a moment what you will miss if you fail to advertise in this directory—80,000 members of the NSPE in all five categories of practice: private, industry, government, construction and education. What's more, copies of this directory will also be sent to 40,000 specifiers of engineering products and services in such fields as architecture, construction, transportation, communications,

government and others.

Altogether, circulation will total 120,000. And you can reach them all in this one, single directory. In fact, if you sell more than one product or service, you'll want to consider ads under more than one category heading. This new, comprehensive directory will offer up to 6,000 different headings.

So don't wait! November 16 is the closing date for this significant, new advertising medium. For complete details, write or call today.

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BOOKS RECEIVED

Language, Chao C Chien. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1984; 312 pages, 17.8 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-03-070442-1, $18.45.

Programming Tips and Techniques for the Apple II and He, lohn L. Campbell. Bowie, MD: Robert ]. Brady Co., 1984; 416 pages, 17.8 by 23,5 cm, softcover. ISBN 0-89303-273-5. $19.95.

The RS-232 Solution, Joe Campbell. Berkeley, CA: Sybex, 1984; 224 pages, 17.8 by 23 cm. softcover. ISBN 0-89588-140-3, $16.95.

Sensor Selection Guide, 1984 Edition, Harry N. Norton, ed. Lausanne, Switzerland: Elsevier Sequoia, 1984; 186 pages, 21 by 29.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-444-75024-X, $15.

Sequential Program Structures. Jim Welsh. John Elder, and David Bustard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1984; 348 pages, 15.5 by 23.8 cm,

hardcover, ISBN 0-13-806837-2, $26.95.

Solving Math Problems in BASIC Thomas P. Dence. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1983; 400 pages, 13 by 21 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-8306-0164-3, $15.50.

STAGS 84-Symposium on theoretical Aspects of Computer Science. Paris. April 1984, M. Fontet and K. Mehlhorn, eds. Lecture Notes in Computer Science #65. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1984; 344 pages, 16.5 by 24.3 cm, soft-cover, ISBN 0-387-12920-0, $15.

Strategic Data Processing. lames W. Cortada. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1984; 224 pages, 18 by 24 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-13-851246-9, $24.95.

Structured ANS COBOL Programming, 2nd ed., William M. Fuori and Stephen J.

Gaughran. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984; 480 pages,

NEW !)

NEW!) PRINTER BUFFER FOR PC

1.024K

Printer Buffer for the IBM PC and Compatibles

SPOOL-2^0 BLUE is a TRUE HARDWARE PRINTER BUFFER which plugs into your PC and takes the wait out of printing Spoot-Z-Q Blue doesn't take one single byte of memory away from your programs while at the same time buffenng up to 1.024K characters [actually, even more since Spool-Z-Q Blue has full-time internal space compression] of printing, depending on how much memory is installed on the buffer All sizes of Spool Z-Q Blue are USER EXPANDABLE to 1.024K [using 256K RAM chips] or 256K [using 64K RAM chips]. Expansion consists of simply plugging in the chtps, Spool-Z-Q Blue is smart enough to determine how many and what kind of chips are plugged in, Spool-Z-Q Blue appears to the operating system as the standard parallel printer adapter [may be strapped as LPT1, 2, or 3] so no software "patches" or special boot disks are necessary Since Spool-Z-Q Blue has a completely separate computer, you can even switch operating systems, or reset the PC [using the Ctrl-Alt-Del keys] without losing characters already in the buffer waiting to be printed. Spool-Z-Q Blue may be used with either serial

Spool-Z-Q Blue

[RS-232] or parallel [standard IBM/Centronics] printers. Serial protocols supported include XON/XOFF ETX/ACK, and hardware handshaking. Serial Baud rates up to 19.2 Kbaud are switch selectable.

An optional switch panel is available which allows the Spool Z-Q Blue to perform special functions, such as Copy, Clear, Reset, Pause-on-Formfeed. Self-Test, etc.

There is nothing else like Spool-Z-Q Blue available anywhere, but Spool-Z-Q Blue is available from your dealer now! Suggested List Prices start at $495 for a 64 K buffer

JVB Electronics also manufactures the Spool-Z-Q 100 buffer for S-100 computer systems, and the Spool-Z-Q Standalone buffer for use with all parallel printers.

See us at

Fall'84

November 14-18, 1984 Las Vegas Hilton Hotel

Booth H7131

1601 Fulton Avenue, Suite 10A Sacramento, CA 95825 [916] 483-0709

| Be

TVD

Uelectronics

21.3 by 28 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13-854430-1, $24.95.

Systems Development Without Pain: A User's Guide to Modeling Organizational Patterns, Paul T. Ward. New York: Your-don Press, 1984; 288 pages, 17.8 by 25.3 cm, softcover. ISBN 0-917072-40-5. $27.50.

Systems Programming for Small Computers. Daniel H.

Marcellus. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984; 396 pages, 17.3 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13-881656-5, $18.95.

Taking Off with BASIC on the Texas Instruments Home Computer, Nancy Ralph Watson. Bowie: MD: Robert I. Brady Co., 1984; 176 pages, 17.8 by 23,5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89303-870-9, $12.50.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS for the

Executive, Ronald R. Thomas.

Princeton, NJ: Petrocelli Books, 1984; 144 pages, 16 by 24 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-89433-233-3, $19.95.

Things To Do with Your Coleco Adam Computer, Jerry Willis, Merl Miller, and Cleborne D Maddux. New York: New American Library. 1983; 192 pages, 10.5 by 17.8, softcover, ISBN 0-451-13182-7, $3.95.

Things To Do with Your IBM PCjr Computer, Jerry Willis, Merl Miller, and Deborrah Willis. New York; New American Library, 1984; 224 pages. 10.8 by 17.8 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-451-13183-5, $3.95.

The TKISolver Book. Milos Konopasek and Sundaresan Jayaraman. Berkeley. CA: Osborne/McGraw-Hill. 1984; 464 pages, 16.3 by 23.3 cm, soft-cover, ISBN 0-88134-115-0, $19.95.

TRS-80 Model 100: A User's Guide, Joseph Coleman. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1984; 160 pages, 19.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-8303-1651-9, $15.50.

Understanding the Macintosh Computer, Rick Dayton. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing, 1984; 224 pages, 17.3 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-8359-8054-5, $18.95.

Understanding Software Law, Jonathan D. Wallace. Sherman Oaks. CA: Alfred Publishing Co., 1984; 48 pages, 10.8 by 28 cm.

softcover, ISBN 0-88284-268-4, $2.95.

UNIX for Users. Chris Miller and Roger Boyle. Boston, MA: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1984; 224 pages, 15.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-632-01182-3, $12.95.

Using & Programming the VIC-20, Dennis Raney. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1984; 224 pages, 19.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-8306-1702-7, $10.25.

Using BBC BASIC, P. J. Cockerell. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1983; 392 pages, 15 by 22.8 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-471-90242-X, $16.95.

Using CP/M on Your Kaypro 10, The Human Connection. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books. 1984; 128 pages, 18.8 by 23.3 cm, softcover. ISBN 0-8306-1774-4, $19.50.

Using Small Business Computers, D G. Dologite. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984; 448 pages, 18.3 by 24.3 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-13-940156-3, $23.95.

Visual Display Terminals, John Bennett, Donald Case, Jon Sandelin, and Michael Smith, eds. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1985; 304 pages, 18.3 by 24 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-13-942482-2, $28.

WOPPLOT 83-Parallel Processing: Logic Organization, and Technology, Becker and 1. Eisele, eds. Lecture Notes in Physics #196. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1984; 200 pages, 16.5 by 24.3 cm, soft-cover, ISBN 0-387-12917-0, $10.

Word Processors and the Writing Process, An Annotated Bibliography Paula Reed Nancarrow, Donald Ross, and Lillian Bridwell, Westport, CT Greenwood Press, 1984; 160 pages, 16 by 24.3 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-313-23995-9, $29.95.

Zappers, Having Fun Programming and Playing 23 Games for the TI-99/4A, Henry Mullish and Dov Kruger. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984; 208 pages, 14.8 by 21.5 cm, spiral-bound. ISBN 0-671-49862-2, $9.95. ■

500 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

/MicroAge

"THEY PROVIDED THE LINK BETWEEN US AND MILWAUKEE'S MAJOR CORPORATIONS/'

"Both of us had experience in the corporate world and we wanted to open a business reflecting that orientation. \Ne chose MicroAge because they shared our business philosophy."

"Back in 1981, some of the major vendors still hadn't entered the microcomputer market. \Ne anticipated that when they did, they would channel their products through a national organization. With MicroAge behind us, we're able to offer Milwaukee businesspeople and professionals such respected products as IBM, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard and most recently AT&T. And we have the technical expertise to provide service after the sale.''

"MicroAge has supported us from day one. Without this help, we wouldn't be opening our second storeV

^9*1

Franchise Owner

Elayne Kulman Franchise Owner

Tb build your own professional computer sales organization with MicroAge requires an initial investment of $200,000 to $350,000 which includes $80,000 in liquid assets. Write to:

/MicroAge

co/MPUTer srores

"The Solution Store"®

1457 West Alameda • Tempe, Arizona 85282

(602)968-3168

L.SS

liimwiMi

I

MicroAge franchisees Ernie Venta and Elayne Kalman shown with an IBM Personal Computer.

Circle 268 on inquiry card.

The Micromint Collection

w

TERM-MITE ST

SMART TERMINAL BOARD

TERM-MITE is a completely self-contained video display controller,

All you need to build a Smart Video Terminal equivalent to the types advertised for $1000 or more is a Term Mite ST circuit board, scanned or parallel keyboard, video monitor and power supply.

- Uses brand new Nat'l Semi NS405 Terminal Processor.

24 lines by 80 characters, 25th reverse-video

status.

Upper & lowercase. Line {block} graphics.

- Selectable data rate, parity & display options. Reverse video, half intensity, double height & width, underline/blinking and/or blank character.

■ Separate sync or composite video output. Self Test.

TERM MITE ST Video Display Terminal Board

BCC22 Assembled & Tested $284.

BCC23 Complete Kit $244.

MPX-16 MICROCOMPUTER IBM PC COMPATIBLE

As featured on the cover of BYTE Magazine. Also featured in Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar Novemtier, December 1982 & January 1983

The Computer with a Split Personality

- Use it as an IBM PC look alike that directly boots PC DOS 2.0 and accepts all expansion boards designed for the IBM PC.

- Use it as a powerful 8088 single board computer for all your OEM applications. Just add.serial terminal, disk drive and power supply. Directly boots CP/M-86.

Buy the MPX-16 in the form that best meets your needs or budget. As a bare board, as a wave soldered board that contains all components less ICs, as an assembled and tested circuit board or as a complete system.

Directly boots PC DOS 2.0 and CP/M-86.

Most IBM PC software executes with no

modifications.

IBM PC bus compatible +9 expansion slots.

Intel 8088 16-bit microprocessor.

Optional Intel 8087 math cocprocessor.

256K bytes on board memory.

Up to one megabyte of system memory.

Up to 64K bytes of system ROM/EPR0M,

2 RS-232C Serial & 3 Parallel I/O ports.

Disk controller for 5Vi" or 8" drives.

Sixteen levels of vectored interrupts.

MPX 16 Circuit Board Assembled

w/64K RAM $1,200.

OEM 100 quantity price 840.

MPX 16 Circuit Board Assembled

w/256K RAM 1,400.

MPX-16 Semi-Kit (wave soldered circuit

board w/all components) Less ICs 595.

Complete Kit of ICs w/256K RAM 595.

MPX-16 Unpopulated (bare) PC Board 300.

CP/M-86 Operating System + Manuals 80.

MPX-16 Switching Power Supply 300.

MPX-16 Technical Reference Manual 50.

MPX-16 Metal Enclosure with Fan 225.

Tandon TM 100-2 Double Sided/Density

Drive 300.

IBM/PC Keyboard Interface Adapter 100.

Shipping and handling additional on MPX-16 orders.

Z8 COMPUTER SYSTEM

BASIC System Controller

The Z8 Basic System Controller is an updated version of our popular BCC01. The price has been reduced and features added. The entire computer is 4" by 4V4" and includes a tiny BASIC interpreter, up to 6K bytes of RAM and EPROM, one RS-232C serial port with switchable baud rates and two parallel ports, BASIC or machine language programming is accomplished simply by connecting a CRT terminal. Programs can be transferred to 2732 EPROMs with an optional EPROM programmer for auto start applications. Additional Z8 peripheral boards include memory expansion, serial and parallel I/O, real time clock, an A/D Converter and an EPROM programmer.

- Uses Zilog Z8 single chip microprocessor.

- Data and address buses available for complete

peripheral expansion

- Can be battery operated.

Cross assemblers for various computers. New

BCC11 Assembled & Tested $149. Low Price

FORTH Language Version

With the new Z8 with on board 4K FO RTH you can program high speed control functions in a few simple high level language commands. Perfect for data reduction, process control and high speed control applications.

BCC20 Z8F FORTH Microprocessor chip . $150. BCC21 Z8F FORTH System Controller {This board is a BCC11 with a BCC2Q installed) Assembled & Tested 280.

Memory, I/O Expansion, Cassette Interface

■ 8K hytes of additional RAM or EPROM. • Three additional 8 bit parallel ports.

Cassette interface - 300 baud K.C. Standard. - Software real time clock. BCC33 w/OK RAM Assembled & Tested . . . $150. BCC34 w/6K RAM Assembled & Tested . . . $180.

Eprom Programmer

- Transfer BASIC or Assembly Language application programs from RAM to 2716 or 2732 EPROM.

- Comes with programming & utility routines on EPROM.

- Requires Z8 I/O Expansion Board for operation. BCC07 Assembled & Tested $145.

Analog to Digital Converter

- Uses Analog Devices 7581 IC r 8-channel 8-bit.

■ Adds process control capability to the Z8 system

- Over 1,000 conversions per channel per second.

- Monitors 8 analog signals in one of two tOv Range: BCC13 Assembled & Tested $140.

Serial Expansion Board

Adds additional RS-232C and opto isolated 20 r current loop serial port to the Z8 System.

- Runs at 75 to 19,200 baud in all protocols.

- Comes with iistings of sample serial I/O routines. BCC08 Assembled & Tested $160.

16K Memory Expansion Board

- Add up to 16K of additional memory, RAM or

EPROM, to your Z8 System Controller in any

multiple. ■ Accepts 2016, 6116, 2716, or 2732 memory types.

Four 16K cards may be installed on the Z8 System

bringing the total memory to 64K. BCC14 Assembled & Tested w/4K RAM . $120.

IBM PC is a trademark of International Business Machines Inc.

CP'M-86 is a trademark of Digital Research Inc. Z8 is a trademark of Zilog Inc.

Circle 279 on inquiry card.

Cross Assemblers

From Micro Resources

IBM PC, APPLE. 6502 Systems 5%",

CP/M 2.2 8" . -. .- $75.

From Allen Ashley

TRS 80 Model I, III, Northstar 5V 75.

CP/M 2.2 8" 150.

Five Slot Mother Board

- Expand your Z8 BASIC System with minimum effort.

- Contains five slots complete w/44 pin connectors. MB02 Assembled & Tested $69.

Triple Voltage Power Supplies

+ 5V@300ma. +/-12V@25ma.

UPS01 Assembled & Tested $35.

UPS02 Complete Kit 27.

+5V @ 1 Amp. +12V @ .5 Amp, 12V @ 50 ma.

UPS03 Assembled & Tested 60.

UPS04 Complete Kit 50.

SPEECH PRODUCTS

Lis' ner 1000

Voice

Recognition

Board

Uses the new, high performance SP1000 voice recognition chip.

The LIS' NER 1000 provides voice input capability for your computer. The unit functions in the same manner as your keyboard, serving as a data entry device for application programs or the normal operation of the computer.

The LIS' NER 1000 recognition system works by analyzing human speech and extracting the most important features. These impressions of words are compacted into "templates" which can be stored and later compared to someone talking to the recognition unit. The LIS' NER 1000 supports a 64 word vocabulary in speaker dependent, discrete utterance mode. The recognition accuracy is greater than 98%. Each unit comes with a professional quality headband style electret microphone to assure accuracy, software on diskette and a user's manual. The APPLE II LIS' NER board has provision for an SSI 263 phonetic speech synthesizer chip with text-to-speech algorithm. This addition provides all the features described for the Sweet Talker 11 as well as speech recognition. APPLE II LIS' NER 1000 with SP1000 recognition/synthesis components only

VR01 Assembled & Tested $189.

VR02 Complete Kit $149.

APPLE II LIS' NER 1 000 with SP1 000 recognition/synthesis components and SSI 263 phoneme synthesizer chip with text to speech algorithm.

VR03 Assembled and Tested $259.

VR04 Complete Kit $219.

COMMODORE 64 LIS' NER 1000 with SP1000 recognition/synthesis components

VR10 Assembled & Tested $149.

VR11 Complete Kit $119.

Sweet Talker II Text-to-Speech Synthesizer

Speech Synthesizer ICs

SWEET TALKER II, a 3rd generation speech synthesizer, is based on the SSI 263. SWEET TALKER II directly drives a speaker to provide music, sound effects and continuous speech of unlimited vocabulary at data rates as low as 50-70 bps.

- SSI 263-based Apple II compatible speech speech synthesis board

- Comes with text-to-speech algorithm on disk (DOS 3.3)

- Appropriate control inputs for mapping with several buses

- On-board 1 watt amplifier with volume control

- Measures 3" x VA"

- Operates on +5 and +12v

ST22 SWEET TALKER II Apple li compatible speech synthesizer with text-to-speech algorithm on disk $104.

Microvox Text-to-Speech Synthesizer

Microvox is a professional voice quality text- to speech synthesizer that is easily interfaced to any computer, modem, RS-232C serial or parallel output device and provides speech of unbelievable clarity.

- Unlimited vocabulary.

- 64 programmable inflection levels.

- 6K text-to-speech algorithm.

- Full ASCII character set recognition and echo.

- RS232C and parallel input.

- 1000 Character buffer, 3000 optional. -Adjustable baud rates (75-9600).

- Spelling output mode.

- 7 octave music and sound effects.

- On board audio amplifier 8* power supply.

- X-On/X-Off handshaking.

MV01 Assembled with 1K buffer $349.

MV02 Complete Kit with IK buffer $269.

Add $15.00 for 3K buffer option.

The SC-01A Speech Synthesizer is a completely self-contained solid state device that phonetically synthesizes continuous speech of unlimited vocabulary. SC0TA Quantity 1-99 $32.

100+ $24.

1000+ call

The Silicon Systems SSI 263 Speech Synthesizer Chip is a third generation speech synthesizer chip that produces even more intelligible speech than did older devices. The SSI 263 has improved intonation, inflection and filtration. SSI 263 Quantity 1-9 $42. ea.

10-99 $34. ea.

100 $30. ea,

The Micromint is stocking thousands of SP10D0 voice recognition chips. Call us for a quote.

MICRO D-CAM DIGITAL TV CAMERA

Give your computer the dimension of sight.

- Interprets, enhances and stores images.

- 256 x 128 digital image sensor.

-Plug-in boards for the IBM-PC, APPLE It ore.

- Software includes utilities for auto exposure. multi-level greyscale, screen dump and image enhancement.

- Includes interface card, 4 foot extension cable camera assembly, manual, and software on diskette.

DC01 IBM PC Assembled & Tested $299.

OC02 IBM PC Complete Kit $264.

DC03 APPLE II Assembled & Tested .... $299. DC04 APPLE II Complete Kit $264.

ULTRASONIC RANGING SYSTEM

The Micromint Sonar Ranging Experimenter's Kit is an updated and higher functioning version of the Polaroid SX-70 Camera sonar ranging circuit used in the original Polaroid Ultrasonic Ranging System Designer's Kit. There are similar performance characteristics but this unit requires far less support circuitry and interface hardware.

The Tl ranging module can function between 4.5 and 6.8v. With a 5v supply, the ranging module I/O isTTL compatible and can be connected directly to most computers with one input and one output bit.

The Sonar Ranging Experimenter's Kit includes one SN28827 ranging module, one Polaroid 50 KHz electrostatic transducer, and user's manual with data sheets. TI01 Sonar Ranging Experimenters Kit. . . $60.

300 BAUD ANSWER/ ORIGINATE MODEM KIT

Micromint's latest 300 Baud Modem Kit is crystal controlled, uses the Tl TMS99532 IC, contains just 25 parts and requires no calibration or adjustments. Use with acoustic coupler or in direct connect mode.

MD04 Complete Kit as shown $60.

MD05 Transformer for Direct Connect Mode $9. ACOt Acoustic Coupler Kit $20.

MICROMINT INC. 561 Willow Avenue, Cedarhurst, NY 11516 To Order: Call Toll Free 1-800-645-3479 For Information Call: 1-516-374-6793 Call: Monday-Friday, 9-5 PM

APPLICATION NOTE

WORDSTAR AS A PROGRAMMING

TOOL

by Vincent Alfieri

Put the power and flexibility of WordStar to work when you program

MICROPRO'S WORDSTAR has its faults, but for power and versatility in a word processor you would be hard-pressed to find its equal. WordStar is set up to handle any number of word-processing tasks, including the text processing that programmers engage in to put their hard-earned code into a form for compiling.

Don't be too upset that WordStar calls programs "nondocuments." This is merely its way of distinguishing those files that aren't set up with standard formatting—in this case, programs—from those that require formatting for a printout, such as letters or articles. Nondocument files (created and edited with the N command from the opening/no-file menu) are actually standard ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) files, while WordStar's normal document mode (created and edited with the D command) contains WordStar's special use of the high-order bit.

Because inputting programs is a function more akin to word processing than to the actual business of writing code, programmers are well advised to take advantage of some of

the tricks of the trade used by professional word-processing operators to save time, work, and frustration.

This article serves a double purpose: it suggests how to use several word-processing tricks in program development, and it covers ways to get around some of WordStar's quirks (for example, what to do about space limitations and the iniquitous .BAK |BACKUP] files). Even if you don't use WordStar to write programs, you might find the programming tools presented here applicable on your own word-processing or text-editing setup.

Key Positions in a File

Four commands that no professional word processor should be without allow the operator to move quickly to key places in the file. These commands move the cursor to (I) the

Vincent Alfieri, Ph.D. (4118 Los Feliz Blvd.. bos Angeles, CA 90027), has recently completed a book, Mastering WordStar, on practical applications for WordStar. He is a software analyst at the University of Southern California.

beginning of the file, (2) the end of the file, (3) the left side of the line, and (4) the right side of the line

Being able to skip over large chunks of the file, especially to arrive at the beginning of the file (to start checking it through, for example) and the end of the file (to begin entering more text), is crucial for saving time and work. You do not want to crawl slowly through an entire file of code with the one-step cursor commands.

Similarly, going from one side of the line to the next quickly by skipping over the rest of the line is another way to save time and work. You'd be surprised how often these commands are used (some programming-language editors, such as Microsoft BASIC, also provide these commands).

WordStar has these four quick commands, all invoked with the Control-Q prefix. They are Control-QR (cursor to beginning of file), Control-QC (cursor to end of file), Control-QS (cursor to left side of line), and Control-QD (cursor to right side of line). (On the IBM PC, Control-QR can be effected

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 505

Of course, DOCU-POWER! POWER! saves will make your your Bad Disk. WordStar

SHINE!

NOW! WINDOWS FOR IBM!

It also does

54 other things to

keep your disk in line.

EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO DO, BUT WERE AFRAID TO TRY

Unlike some utility programs that are a headache to use, POWER! is engineered to spoil you with 55 features, simple and uniform commands, and utter simplicity of use. POWER! automatically alphabetizes and numbers your files. You select by the number and never type file names again. Need to [COPY], [RENAME], [ERASE], or [RUN] programs? Just type in their menu number! POWER! also locks out your disk's bad sectors [TEST] without destroying files-a critical difference from other utilities that search and destroy, without informing you what they've done, leaving you to wonder why your programs won't run, (And POWER! still has 50 commands to go!)

POWER! ONE PROGRAM DOES IT ALL!

You may own a few utility programs for your computer housekeeping, each with its own commands to memorize. POWER! has all the programs rolled into one 16K integrated package, so you do things you've never tried before-every day. Save sensitive data from prying eyes with [PASS] word protect, move a block of memory [MOVE], look for data [SEARCH] or compare files [CHECK]. POWER! also makes easy work of patching, [DISPLAY/SUBSTITUTE], customizing software [LOAD/SAVE]. Among the other commands are [SIZE], [STAT] [LOG], [DUMP], [TYPE], [JUMP], [FILL], [SET], and the CP/M version lets you restore erased files-even when you don't remember the filename-at a flick of the POWER! [RECLAIM] command. (Still 31 commands to go!)

POWER! NOW FOR IBM's PC-DOS AS WELL AS CP/M

We first developed POWER! for CP/M two years ago, and a stack of testimonials from FORD to XEROX testify to its excellence. For IBM-PC™ users, special features like managing sub-directories, [CHANGE], and a separate creation of up to 8 simultaneous, on-screen [WINDOWS] have been added.

MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE AND A 10 DAY TRIAL

POWER! has the Seal of Approval from the Professional Software Programmers Association, and you, too, must be happy with POWER!-or your money back! For only $169 you can now really be in control of your computer. Call Computing! at (415) 567-1634, or your local dealer. For IBM-PC or any CP/M machine. Please specify disk format.

TO ORDER CALL 800 TOLLFREE

IBM and IBM-PC are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.

CREATE NEW TEXT WITHOUT RETYPING,

DOCU-POWER! turns your existing text files into a database. Now you can create new documents from parts of old files by simply picking sections from the DOCU-POWER! master index. You never have to retype the same words again.

DOCU-POWER! WORKS WITH ANY WORD PROCESSOR

At your leisure, you set up your library files, and then give a DOCU-POWER! mark to any section, paragraph, or even groups of pages you think you may want to use again. DOCU-POWER! automatically indexes them for you, and, at the same time, extracts a comment description from your text — up to 40 characters long.

NOW YOU CAN WRITE BY NUMBER.

To create your new text, simply scroll through your DOCU-POWER! index —you have instant window preview into any text— and pick the appropriate numbers. Now you can walk away, free to work on something else. DOCU-POWER! pulls together all the pieces of text, and gets it ready for printing or further editing with your own word processor.

MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE AND A10 DAY TRIAL

DOCU-POWER! is available by mail or through your software dealer—for only $149. To order, call our 800 Toll Free number. For more information, call Computing! at 415-567-1634. For IBM-PC or any CP/M machine. Please specify disk format.

COMPUTING!

The company that earns its exclamation point

2519F Greenwich,

San Francisco, CA 94123

TOLL® FREE

800-428-7825 Ext. 96F

In CA: 800-428-7824 Ext. 96F

WordStar is a trademark of MicroPro.

APPLICATION NOTE

people don't know. You can even have your procedure and function files on other disks. When you need one, merely hit Control-KR, then wait for the program drive (A) to stop rotating. Remove the program disk from the A drive, insert the library disk, type the desired filename with the "A:" prefix, and hit the carriage return. Then, when the file is copied into your current work file on the B drive and before you do anything else, replace the WordStar program disk in the A drive. This trick provides a great deal of copying flexibility between files. It lets you bypass exiting WordStar and entering the operating system or having to keep all available library files on the same disk. And anyone with single-density systems knows how hard that can be.

Going the Opposite Way

Just as you can use Control-KR to call up separate modular files that contain procedures and functions, you can also move parts of files in the opposite direction with WordStar. For instance, after developing a procedure or function in a program, you decide to add it to the library. Merely block it out (with Control-KB to begin the block and Control-KK to end the block [F7 and F8, respectively, on the IBM PC]) and write it to another file with ControI-KW. Make sure that the file with the written-to text block has a new filename (otherwise, WordStar will ask if you wish to overwrite the existing file).

And don't forget that you can then delete the same block from the current file after writing it to its own separate file (with Control-KY), move it around in the current file (with Control-KV), or even copy it again in the current file (with Control-KC). These block maneuvers can save a great deal of programming time, especially after you've gotten your program structure totally organized.

Keep Files Small

A major problem with using WordStar is its strange habit of keeping a backup file every time you edit an

[continued)

508 BYTE • NOVEMBER ]984

Circle 91 on inquiry card.

Circle 67 on inquiry card.

Circle 443 on inquiry card.

niEBfVBVTES FDR miCRD-BUDGETS enpand your system...shrink your cost

Why pay more for top quality products when our prices are

consistently among the lowest anywhere?

We invite you to compare prices, then call us.

MISC. PERIPHERALS

HAYES SMARTMODEM 1200B (IBM-PC) $399.50

HAYES SMARTMODEM 1200 (RS-232) 489.50

HAYES CHRONOGRAPH 189.50

ROLAND DG XY800 6 PEN PLOTTER 799.50

BAUSCH&LOMB DMP-29 PLOTTER 1885.00

PENCEPT PENPAD 320 .900.00

PRINCETON GRAPHICS SYSTEMS HX-1 2 Cat/

EPSON PRINTERS

MX-100 $475.00 RX-80 $309.00

FX-80 489.00 RX-80 F/T 375.00

FX-100 .689.00 LQ-1500 1135.00

DYSAN DISKETTES (Box of 101 3740/1 8" SSSD $32.39

104/1 5Va" SSSD $31.20 3740/1D 8 SSDD 40.19

104/1D 5W SSDD 32.98 3740/2 8" DSSD 40.19

104/2D 5W DSDD 38.99 3740/2D 8" DSDD 46.89

GREAT LAKES (PEGASUS) HARD DISK SYSTEMS

10 MEGABYTE INTERNAL $1149.00

10 MEGABYTE EXTERNAL 1295.00

23 MEGABYTE EXTERNAL 1895.00

40 MEGABYTE EXTERNAL 2449.00

65 MEGABYTE EXTERNAL ... .3249.00

140 MEGABYTE EXTERNAL 4995.00

TAPE DRIVE 23 MEGABYTE INTERNAL 950.00

TAPE DRIVE 23 MEGABYTE STAND ALONE 1249.00

COMMERCIAL BUSINESS SYSTEMS

2858 S. ROBERTSON BLVD., LOS ANGELES, CA 90034

ORDERS ONLY 800-858-4810 F IN CALIF. 800-821-6662

INFORMATION (213)559-0596

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NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 509

___

APPLICATION NOTE

Strange as it seems, you can get more pages on a disk with many small files than with one large file.

existing file. This means, in effect, that you must maintain a great deal of disk space for the necessary backup files. Once again, anyone who has a single-density system knows what can happen if you are not careful about disk space: WordStar will refuse to save a file that is too large and you're stuck. When doing word processing and when inputting large programs with WordStar, I have found it a good idea to divide them into smaller files, no matter how large the eventual size of the document or program is. One obvious advantage of this method is that you don't run the risk of losing as

much work in a 5-page file as you would in a 20-page file, should Mr. Murphy be lurking around (which is usually the case).

The other important advantage to this method is that small files in turn create small backup files, and— strange as it may seem—you can actually get more pages on a disk with many small files than with one large file. Think about it: a small file needs only, at any one moment, a small amount of disk space for its backup. TYy it; it works.

Here's another useful tip: distinguish related files with the file extension. By this, I mean labeling files like "P.l," "R2," "R3," instead of "PI," "P2," l, P3." The reason for this is that WordStar will create a backup file only once, no matter how many "P" files there are, because the ".BAK" is a file extension.

Thus, when you edit "P.l," WordStar will create a backup file called

"P.BAK." When you then edit "P.2," WordStar will create another backup file called "P.BAK" to replace the first backup file, and so on. You therefore need to have at the most only one small backup file on a disk for all these different modular files. Of course, this means that you should be even more careful than usual to keep separate backup copies of your files.

How to Concatenate

Sometimes it is necessary to use the operating system when working with WordStar, especially when you have large programs and limited disk space.

I recently agreed to type the entire FIG-FORTH code on my trusty, but limited, Osborne 1. As it turned out, the entire listing took up slightly more than 60K bytes on the disk. It would have been impossible to have it in one

{continued)

BARGAIN PRICES BARGAIN PRICES BARGAIN PRICES

Computer Software Technology, Inc. of Sunnyvale, makes computer communication easy, simple and error free by introducing "SYSTALK"

Software available for IBM PC/XT and compatibles, Compu Pro, Kay Pro, etc.

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For "SYSTALK" contact your dealer/distributor or CST direct. Distribufor/Dealer/lnternational inquiries welcome.

SYSTEMS

IBM-PC 64K/2 Drives $1990

Controller Card IBM-XT $3799

Televideo PC 1605 $2150

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510 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 433 on inquiry card.

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Search service. If we don't have the LC. you need in stock, we can find it for you. (There is a $25 min-imum charge for I.C.'s found through a search.)

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74SXX

74LSQ0 74LS02 74LS04 74LS08 74LS10 74LS11 74LS12 74LS14 74LS20 74LS21 74LS30 74LS32 74LS37 74LS38 74LS40 74LS42 74LS51 74LS54 74LS63 74LS74

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$ 87

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Partial List

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51.49 99 1,30 160 1 30 1 30 1 30 1 49 1 49 75 .75 .75 79 1 69 1.49 149 1.49 3.49 199 299

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NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE

C Is The Language. Lifeboat Is The Source.

Lifeboat.™ The Leading Source And Authority For Serious Software

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In NY State: 212-860-0300

Serious Software For The C Programmer From Lifeboat.™

Lattice® C Compiler: The serious software developer's first choice.

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C Food Smorgasbord™: This beautifully written collection of C functions is a valuable time saver. —Library includes a binary coded decimal arithmetic package, level 0 I/O functions,

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Pmate is a full screen editor with its own powerful macro command language: —Perform on screen row and column arithmetic, alphabetize lists,

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—Contains 10 auxiliary buffers for storage of macros, text, subroutines. —An "undo" feature allows the programmer to retrieve whole series of deleted items.

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Panel™: Screen formatter and data entry aid. Lattice Windows™: Windowing utility; create "Virtual Screens." Plink-86™: The popular linker; includes extensive overlay capabilities. Pfix86™: Dynamic debugging utility.

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Call Direct: 1-800-847-7078 (In NY State: 212-860-0300)

Return coupon to: Lifeboat Associates™

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B/ll

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE

Circle 458 on inquiry card.

C the world from the Lattice perspective.

As a program designer, you know that it's essential to establish the right perspective. If you've chosen the C language perspective, then why not join the many professionals who use the Lattice family of C compilers and associated tool kits?

Our compilers provide the complete C language and the portable UNIX function library across a broad range, including MS-DOS, PC-DOS, CP/M-86, CP/M-80, and a variety of 68000 environments. Our cross-compilers operate on VAX/VMS, IBM/MVS, and all UNIX systems.

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APPLICATION NOTE

file because if I had to edit the file (as is always the case), I couldn't have saved my corrections because there would not have been enough space on the disk for the backup file.

Instead, I broke up the entire job into four separate files that all fit on the same disk because each was a workable size. I named the four modules "F.l," T.2," T.3," and T.4," with only one small backup file on the disk at any time.

Then, after I had corrected each module file, using CP/M's powerful PIP feature, I copied the four files into a single file named "FORTH" on the other drive. I did this by concatenating the four files during the copying operation. The command looked like this (after invoking PIP):

* b:forth = a:f.l|v|,f.2,f.3,f.4<CR>

where the four files were on the A drive and the new, composite file was to be created on the B drive. Note the placement of PIP's verify parameter ([v]) after the first filename. With an IBM PC running Microsoft's MS-DOS, the command line would be

copy a:f.l+f.2+f.3+f.4 b:forth/v<CR>

A trick is involved with concatenation, however. Make sure that the last line in each separate file is a blank line. In other words, whatever the last program line in the file, make sure that you have hit the Carriage Return key and brought the cursor down to the next blank line. This prevents the first line of one file from joining with the last line of the previous file during the concatenation process.

After concatenating the four files with PIP, I was ready to assemble it in the normal fashion. And I could go back to make corrections in the module files, reconcatenate them into one file, and reassemble them.

Watching Your Program Pass By

Most word-processing programs, including WordStar, let you scroll through a file slowly to check it for obvious errors. In WordStar, you can

{continued)

514 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 387 on inquiry card.

Circle 123 on inquiry card.

Imte^talker

TEXT-TO-SPEECH SYNTHESIZER

16K Vocabulary Module Now Available.

A NEW STANDARD

IN PROFESSIONAL VOICE QUALITY

The new INTEX-TALKER features unlimited vocabulary, automatic inflection control and has an unmatched pronounciation accuracy. An optional, new 16K vocabulary module and the built-in text-to-phoneme algorithm enable the INTEX-TALKER to pronounce the 5000 most commonly used words with approx. 100 percent accuracy. INTEX-TALKER can speak or spell any ASCII text-including punctuation. Other available options are an 8 K byte user programmable memory and a 2.7 K character buffer for text storage or down loading user programs. Additional features include:

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Write or call us at (313) 540-7601 to order, request our product brochure or to discuss your requirements. Prices start at $295. (plus shipping)

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a message to our subscribers

From time to time we make the BYTE subscriber fist available to other companies who wish to send our subscribers material about their products. We take great care to screen these companies, choosing only those who are reputable, and whose products, services, or information we feel would be of interest to you. Direct mail is an efficient medium for presenting the latest personal computer goods and services to our subscribers.

Many BYTE subscribers appreciate this controlled use of our mailing list, and look forward to finding information of interest to them in the mail. Used are our subscribers' names and addresses only (no other information we may have is ever given).

While we believe the distribution of this information is of benefit to our subscribers, we firmly respect the wishes of any subscriber who does not want to receive such promotional literature. Should you wish to restrict the use of your name, simply send your request to the following address.

BYTE Publications Inc.

Attn: Circulation Department,

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Special Purchase

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ERGO" 4000 is the ASCII Terminal featuring 80-column by 66-line format for full-page display capability. Features include: 15 downloadable function keys, four video attributes, pass-through printer port, screen saver, alternate character generator, settable tabs, 24-line display, and user-definable custom mode. (Compatible with VT100 codes.} Most popular word processing packages are already modified to run on the ERGO" 4000.

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NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 515

APPLICATION NOTE

WordStar's power and flexibility make it a true programming tool

scroll by line up with Control-W and down with Control-Z. A more useful

way to scroll, however, is by screens: up screen with Control-R and down screen with Control-C (On the IBM PC, these two commands are also effected with the Pg Up and Pg Dn keys, respectively.)

An even easier way to scroll through a file is with WordStar's repeating command Control-QQ. By appending

^:w>,^.= ,-^,^®*'.

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MACINT OSH PERIPHERALS

Maxell MF1 3-1/2 Cartridges S 42

Microsoft Multlplan % I4S 1

PC to Mac-*-Back S 95 •Prometheus ProModem 1200 w/MacPac S 395 :

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PC SOFTWARE I

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Control-QQ to another one-letter command, you get continuous movement. Thus, Control-QQR scrolls the file continuously up by a screen and Control-GQC scrolls it continuously down. Similarly ControI-QQW scrolls continuously up by line while Control-QQZ scrolls continuously down by line. To stop the repetition, hit the space bar once. (On the IBM PC, you cannot use the Control-QQ feature with the Pg Up or Pg Dn keys, however; you would have to use the WordStar originals.)

This repeating function gives you the option to view the file easily without having to hit the scrolling commands over and over again. You can even vary the speed of the repetition by hitting a number key (1 is fastest, 9 is slowest). You just sit back and watch your work scroll by, stopping only where necessary (by hitting the space bar) and avoiding unnecessary keystroking.

A NONDOCUMENT PRINTOUT

You can print your nondocuments if you wish, but the formatting is no great shakes. There is, however, nothing to stop you from copying your program file to another file, which you would edit with the standard document command (D) and then format as you wish, utilizing WordStar's many dot commands for headers, footers, fancy pagination, special print features, etc. One especially useful, and little-known, feature is the page offset command (.po plus an integer number), which decides where the first column of the file will print on the page. With page offset, you can center the output on the page without having to change the left margin setting in the file.

lust remember that your compiler will not be able to compile a program with WordStar's special formatting commands, so distinguish between the real program and the printout program.

WordStar's power and flexibility make it an ideal choice both for your regular word-processing needs and for helping you write programs. It is a true programming tool. ■

516 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 466 on inquiry card.

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COMPUTER SWITCH

PI-SWITCH lets you safely share your computer among multiple SERIAL or PARALLEL printers, modems, terminals, etc.. ail with just a flick of the wristl

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e Parallel switch has female Centronics connectors,

e All models have an attractive aluminum case

• 30-day satisfaction guarantee.

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PI-02-S Serial Shares (2) devices PI 03 S Serial Shares (3) devices PI-Q5-S Serial Shares 151 devices PI-02-P Parallel - Shares 12) devices . Pi-04 P Parallel Shares (41 devices

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RS-232 INTERFACE TESTER connects in series with any RS-232 interlace. LED's clearly display status of 7 functions: TD, RD, RTS, CTS, DSR, CD, DTR. Requires no power; may be left in permanently. Satisfaction guaranteed. Order Direct! Only $39.95. All cash orders postpaid (IL res, add 6% sales tax); we accept MC, Visa. Free: new illustrated catalog of RS-232 interface and testing equipment. Phone: 815-434-0846. Make checks payable to:

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Get twice as much from your H88 or H89 microcomputer. Our FDC-880H floppy disk controller, in conjunction with your S 1 ^" drives, for example, expands memory capacity from 256 bytes to 512 bytes per sector.

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TOGETHER, STOPPING

YOU.

518 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

THERE'S NO

KnowledgeMan™ and You. The possibilities are endless.

To succeed in business, you need a partner that's fast, flexible, intelligent and easy to work with. A partner that can help turn your big ideas into well-conceived reality. One that gives you the support you need to make critical decisions confidently.

No partner can give you more of what you need than KnowledgeMan, the knowledge management software from MDBS.

A powerful partner.

KnowledgeMan helps you manage more knowledge, in more ways, than ordinary software. It can help you make better decisions on just about everything from production scheduling to financial planning to market

forecasting. KnowledgeMan and its optional components offer data management, spreadsheet analysis, statistical analysis, text processing, forms management, business graphics, programming and more.

The key to KnowledgeMan's versatility is its exclusive synergistic integration, allowing you to accomplish your computing needs within one program. Unlike other software, there's no need to exit one function before entering another. The result: different kinds of processing can be intermingled. Quickly and easily.

A partner that speaks your language.

For all of its power and sophistication, KnowledgeMan is remarkably simple to understand. Even a beginner can start putting KnowledgeMan to work in minutes. With a single query, you can obtain related data from unlimited multiple tables. \bu can even teach KnowledgeMan to understand your own jargon.

A partner that helps you along.

The on-line HELP facility allows you to draw on 6800 lines of helpful information organized into 380 screens. If you have a problem or question, KnowledgeMan allows you to access the pertinent HELP screen immediately. Each screen is carefully designed to provide a quick reference guide to KnowledgeMan commands.

A partner that gives you room to grow.

Ordinary software packages can be frustratingly easy to outgrow. Not KnowledgeMan. Each KnowledgeMan component has more power than you'll probably ever need—far more than conventional integrated programs. With KnowledgeMan, you don't sacrifice capability, capacity or convenience. So with KnowledgeMan, you spend your time solving problems— not trying to overcome software limitations.

A partner that protects your interests.

KnowledgeMan offers sophisticated security features. Unauthorized access to data is next to impossible, thanks to password checking, thousands of access code combinations and data encryption.

So your secrets are safe with KnowledgeMan.

A partner you can build on.

To add yet another dimension to KnowledgeMan's capabilities, you can get fully-integrated options like K-Graph, an extensive business graphics facility that

Operating Systems: PCDOS, MSDOS CP/M-86. Minimum RAM required: 192K, K-Graph: PC DOS only. Circle 270 on inquiry card.

lets you plot information in a variety of colorful graphs, charts and diagrams. For text processing, the K-Text option lets you incorporate data into written documents quickly and easily. Or, create highly-polished, full-color customized forms with K-Paint, our forms painting option. To short-cut the keyboard, put the K-Mouse option to work.

A partner you should get to know better.

To see KnowledgeMan in action, visit your dealer. Or contact Micro Data Base Systems, Inc., P.O. Box 248, Lafayette, IN 47902, (317) 463-2581,Telex: 209147ISE UR. It may be the beginning of a long, successful partnership.

Current version is 1.07as of 9/10/84. KnowledgeMan. K-Graph, K-Paint, K-Text, and K-Mouse are trademarks of Micro Data Base Systems, Inc. MDBS is a registered trademark of Micro Data Base Systems, Inc.

KNOWLEDGE

_mon_

The Knowledge Management Software from MDBS

NOVEMBER 1984 * BYTE 519

WHAT'S NEW

N E W. ■:>■■ S Y ST E MS

Portable Micro Designed for Communications

The Orcima Solution is a portable microcomputer designed for communications with mainframes using high-level, high-speed communications protocols. This 23-pound computer comes with a 2400-bps autoanswer/auto-dial synchronous modem and with software that supports both bisynchronous IBM 3280 batch protocol and IBM 3270 interactive terminal protocol. The modem connects directly to the telephone lines; a telephone is not required for operation.

The batch-transmission software permits text- or binary-file transfers. File transfers can take place on an unattended, delayed basis for automatic overnight transmissions.

The 3270 terminal emulator provides full keyboard and screen support for all functions. A twenty-fifth status line keeps you abreast of status and errors.

Basic system hardware comprises a 4-MHz Z80A microprocessor, 64K bytes of RAM, and an RS-232C

serial port. The 9-inch amber display features an 80-character line. 7- by 9-dot characters in an 8- by 12-dot cell and lowercase descenders. Video attributes, which are user-selectable, include underline, reverse, intensified, blinking, and block graphics. The DOS is Info-soft's l/OS, a CP/M 2.2-compatible operating system.

Mass storage is provided by a 3!/2-inch Epson microfloppy-disk drive, which can

handle 322K bytes of formatted data. A Winchester hard-disk drive is optional. Miscellaneous features include 12 programmable function keys, a separate numeric keypad, three expansion slots, and a built-in carrying handle. The list price is $2995. For more information, contact Orcima Corp., 8406 Center Dr., Minneapolis, MN 55432, (612) 784-7926. Circle 611 on inquiry card.

UNIX-Based Computer Supports Four Users

The MicroFactor is a 32-bit UNIX-based system for four users. It has a VME bus architecture, a Motorola MC68000 microprocessor, a 43-megabyte Winchester hard-disk drive, 512K bytes of RAM, four serial RS-232C ports, and a Centronics-compatible 16-line parallel port. Two backup storage systems are offered: a 514-inch floppy-disk drive or a 32-megabyte streaming-tape unit.

MicroFactor supports such languages as C, FORTRAN, and Pascal, and it can run the VRTX real-time kernel. Available applications soft-

ware includes accounting, database management, and vertical-market packages.

Two versions are offered. The first, MicroFactor/FD, comes with Winchester and floppy-disk drives. It lists for $9990. The MicroFactor/ST is

supplied with the Winchester drive and the streaming-tape unit. It sells for $11,990. Contact Victory Computer Systems, 1610 Berryessa Rd., San Jose, CA 95133. Circle 612 on inquiry card.

Select Desired Central Processor

The Microkey 4500 is offered with a choice of central processors: 6502, 6809, or Western Design Center's 16-bit W65SC816. It's available in two basic units, the 65xx family and the 6809E FLEX package, both of which can be upgraded to the other.

The Microkey 4500 has a pair of independent composite-video monitor outputs, each software scrolled. Video controllers achieve a resolution of 640 by 200 pixels in either 16-color analog or 8-color TTL. A very-high-resolution mode offers 1280- by 200-pixel monochrome displays.

Standard are 128K bytes of dynamic RAM, 32K bytes of EPROM, a serial interface, a 16-color board, a pair of 8-bit bidirectional ports, a cassette interface, and connectors for microfloppies and most standard 514-inch disk drives.

The 65xx family package is based on the 6502 microprocessor and comes with an implementation of FORTH-79 and FIG-FORTH. The 6809E FLEX package features the 6809 microprocessor as well as the FLEX operating system so that you can run such languages as FORTRAN, BASIC, and polyFORTH.

The base unit in the 65xx family is £92 5, which includes a central processor, color board, RAM, and FORTH-79. The 6809E package, which comes with FLEX, 6809 and 6502 microprocessors, FORTH-79, RAM, 16-color analog video board, IBM-style keyboard, and a disk drive, is £1550. Contact Microkey Ltd., 98a St. James St., Brighton, East Sussex BN2 1TR England; tel: Brighton (0273) 672911. Circle 613 on inquiry card.

520 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

WHAT'S NEW

ADD

Professional Computer Expansion

Western Automation Laboratories' Seeker series expands the capabilities of the Texas Instruments Professional and Portable computers. The primary product in the series is the Seeker SI multifunction board.

The SI provides up to 512K bytes of RAM, an asynchronous/synchronous RS-232C communications

port, and an SCSI/SAS1 interface for up to eight internal or external Winchester disk drives. A battery-backed real-time clock is optional.

Currently, Western Automation offers a 10-megabyte Winchester, with a 20-mega-byte Winchester and a 60-megabyte streaming-tape backup scheduled for delivery by the end of this year.

A shielded data cable attaches the external drives to the SI. The enclosures complement the Professional Computer's. The internal Winchesters occupy the space set aside for a second Professional Computer floppy-disk drive. Both drive packages come with a format program, bootstrap EPROM, disk-format and verify routines, and required

cabling and hardware.

The Seeker SI board is $42 5 without memory. With its full 5l2K-byte memory complement, it's $1095. A 10-megabyte Winchester raises the price to $1895. Contact Western Automation Laboratories Inc., 5595 Arapahoe, Boulder, CO 80303, (800) 227-463 5; in Colorado, (303) 449-6400. Circle 614 on inquiry card.

Data Acquisition Without Programming

Analog Connection data-acquisition and control cards do not require any special programming because ranges, engineering units, data-log intervals, alarm limits, and control levels are selected through menus. The cards accept signals from thermocouples, RTDs, pressure sensors, and voltage and current sources without additional modules.

Analog input resolution is 14 bits. The digital I/O lines drive relays or detect events. Expansion is accomplished by adding more circuit cards to your computer. On the IBM PC, data manipulation and graphic analysis can be performed on logged data using Lotus 1-2-3.

Minimum Apple system requirements are 48K bytes of RAM, one disk drive, Applesoft BASIC, and DOS 3.3. Memory requirements for the IBM PC or PC XT are 64 K bytes, a disk drive, and PC-DOS 2.0. Analog Connection also works with the Franklin Ace 1000.

An eight-channel card for the IBM PC costs $889. For the Apple 11+ or He, it's $695. Contact Strawberry Itee Computers, 949 Cascade Dr., Sunnyvale, CA 94087, (408) 736-3083. Circle 615 on inquiry card.

Ultra Hl~Res Adapters

The Ultra-Res Graphics adapters, models 4-79 and 4-111. provide the IBM PC with a programmable display resolution to 1024 by 1024 and 2048 by 2048 (interlaced) pixels, from a memory of 1 million or 4 million pixels, respectively. These controllers, which use a single expansion slot, feature the NEC 7220 chip and are programmed by means of I/O commands or DMA.

Vector, circles, and arcs are drawn at rates of up to 1 million pixels per second. Zoom from 2 to 16 times is provided. Pan is smooth vertically but coarse horizontally.

The 4-79 and 4-111 con-

trollers have a standard 9-pin D-type connector for TTL direct drive. An analog video signal can also be generated. Software drivers in FORTRAN are supplied. Optional software drivers

include a subset of Plot-10. The Ultra-Res 4-79 is $995. The 4-111 is $2000. Contact C. S. D. Inc., POB 2 53, Sudbury MA 01776. (617) 443-2750. Circle 616 on inquiry card.

Expand PC ATs Storage

Internal hard-disk drive and !4-inch streaming-tape upgrade kits for the new IBM PC AT are available from Emerald Systems. The hard-disk drive capacities are 40, 70, 140, and 280 megabytes, and the streaming-tape cartridge provides 60 megabytes of backup.

The tape-drive subsystem is said to be 30 percent faster than the IBM 20-megabyte hard-disk drive. It allows you to back up multiple files, and it provides an

incremental database file growth beyond 32 megabytes. It supports DOS 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, QNX, PC/IX (IBM's version of UNIX), Concurrent DOS, UCSD p-System, PC XT/370, 3270 PC and PC-compatible networks. It also provides user-configurable disk-caching of up to 4 megabytes.

Emerald System's BRU (backup and restore utility), which lets you transfer files to the tape medium, comes with the tape drive. It pro-

vides menu- and command-driven file management.

The tape-backup system kit is $1950, including hardware, BRU and installation software, and manual. Hard-disk pricing begins at $4350; the full 280-mega-byte drive is $15,850. For further information, contact Emerald Systems Corp., 4901 Morena Blvd., San Diego, CA 92117, (619) 270-1994. Circle 617 on inquiry card.

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 'BYTE 521

WHAT'S NEW

PERIPHERAL

TWo-Line Telephone/Modem

Code-A-Phone's Tel-A-Modem is an intelligent modem coupled with a two-line desk telephone. The modem is compatible with AT&T 2I2A-type modems, such as Hayes's products, and with Smartcom and other communications software. It'll work with any RS-232C terminal and is designed to be a direct replacement for any modem.

Tel-A-Modem combines a full function-key telephone with the modem to provide simultaneous voice/data communications. Its telephone lets you select either pulse- or Touch-Tone dialing, and it provides an

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audio/visual phone-status reports, hold functions for both lines, last-number automatic redial, nine-

number memory automatic dialer, and individual volume controls for ring signals and line monitors.

A direct-connect modem, Tel-A-Modem lets you initiate a carrier on either line with a push button. The default switches for setting the modem's operation parameters are readily accessible. Miscellaneous modem features include 300- and 1200-bps data-transmission rates, full-duplex operation, automatic answer, automatic selection of data rate and answer/originate tone, and programmable signal interchange.

The Tel-A-Modem is $695.95. Contact Code-A-Phone Corp., 16261 South East 130th Ave., Clackamas, OR 97015, (503) 655-8940. Circle 618 on inquiry card.

Rainbow Touch Screens

Touch-screen kits for the DEC Rainbow and Professional 350 are available for OEMs and systems integrators. The kit includes a touch screen, controller board, and firmware

The controller is fully programmable, allowing data rates, data formatting, calibration, and other modes of operation to be set from the host computer. The controller averages the entire area touched to a single discrete point, making it possible to manipulate a single letter. It's available with an EEPROM for storing the calibration values and other parameters.

An optional firmware package, Command*Point, provides all the codes necessary to create and manage touch zones, which helps reduce software-development time. The program is able to off-load work usually performed by the computer, and it allows the application software to dynamically reconfigure the screen into

touch-sensitive zones of differing sizes and shapes. It also monitors lift-offs and touchdowns and manages such zone attributes as timeouts and audio feedback.

CITTT Modem

The Fujitsu 1915L, a CCITT V.27 bisynchronous terminal-compatible modem, is designed for four-wire, unconditioned leased lines. It operates at 2400- or 4800-bps and is equipped with an equalizer that continually adapts to transmission-line characteristics.

The 1915Ls 32-character LCD panel lets you monitor operation, check signal quality, and do local and remote loopback. The LCD and the local and remote strap setting controls are on the front panel.

The 1915L is $1695. Contact Fujitsu America Inc., 3055 Orchard Dr., San Jose, CA 95134. Circle 620 on inquiry card.

Installation can be done by the manufacturer or the user. Including installation, the single-unit pricing for the DEC kit is $1595. The kit will also work with VT220,

VT240, and VT100 terminals. Contact MicroTouch Systems Inc., 400 West Cummings Park, Woburn, MA 01801, (617) 93 5-0080. Circle 619 on inquiry card.

MacPhone Dials 200 Numbers

The MacPhone Tele-Management System is a software and telephone handset package for the Macintosh. It features speed dialing, automatic logging capabilities, note and memo pads, a billing feature, a built-in three-month calendar, and an area-code directory

Up to 200 numbers can be stored and dialed with the MacPhone. Its calendar includes an appointment book and a note pad for annotating calls. Your notes are automatically filed in a telephone log, which lists the person called, the time the call began and ended, the date, the cost, and any consultation charges. The

phone log can be displayed on screen and printed out.

MacPhone supports speaker phones, headsets, and modems. Miscellaneous features include a tone signaling the passing of a minute or hour, Tbuch-Tbne compatibility, the ability to work with long-distance services, and a MacWrite-compatible memo pad for recording larger notes.

MacPhone works with a standard telephone jack. The suggested price is $199.95, which includes software, manual, and connecting cords and plugs. Contact Intermatrix, 5547 Satsuma Ave., North Hollywood, CA 91601, (818) 509-0474. Circle 621 on inquiry card.

522 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

WHAT'S NEW

Communications Line Protection

Software Protection Software

DataGuard from Control Industries gives you a protected, dedicated communications line Once you've installed DataGuard, your logged-on modem will always have priority while on line Consequently data loss or tripped communications resulting from someone picking up on the same line are eliminated.

DataGuard comes in two models: in-phone and snap-

488 Port for Mac

in cord. The in-phone model is not visible after installation, and the snap-in cord model features a 12-foot cord that replaces your present telephone cord. Normal telephone functions are not interfered with, and no external power is required.

The suggested retail price is $39.95. Contact Control Industries, POB 6292, Bend, OR 97708, (503) 389-1969. Circle 622 on inquiry card.

The MAC 488 connects directly to the Macintosh's rear-panel serial port and provides IEEE-488 bus control. Simple high-level commands transmitted to the MAC 488 are converted into 488 bus protocols and handshaking. Responses from an IEEE-488 device are sent to the Macintosh through the serial port.

The MAC 488 has an 800-character I/O buffer. It's sup-

plied with BASIC routines for creating IEEE-488 bus-control programs. Indicators for talk, listen, SRQ, and error are front-panel-mounted.

The suggested list price for MAC 488 is $595, which includes a manual and connecting cables. Contact IOtech Inc., POB 21204, Cleveland, OH 44121, (216) 321-0609. Circle 623 on inquiry card.

Ultralock, a file-encryption software system, intercepts data written on or read from a disk and scrambles or unscrambles it according to your key. A key can be a word or phrase, including punctuation, from 8 to 60 characters. You can use one key for all files, or separate keys for each file

It lets you copy scrambled disks, but they cannot be read without Ultralock and the key words. In the Concurrent CP/M version, different users can protect their files simultaneously. Ultralock's operation is transparent. When it's booted, Ultralock asks you

TEA for WP

what files you want protected and what the keys are for each file. It uses 16-byte keys (the American Data Encryption Standard uses 7-byte keys), which provides a total of 2 128 possible keys.

Ultralock will work on any 8-bit computer running CP/M-80 and 16-bit machines with either Concurrent CP/M or Concurrent DOS. It costs £190 (approximately $240). Contact Business Simulations Ltd., Scriventon House, Speld-hurst, Kent TN3 0TU, England; tel: Langton (0892 86) 3105. Circle 624 on inquiry card.

Colossum Software's TEA is a tree-editor word-processing package. It lets you break up files into mini-files, called leaves, that you can connect using a tree structure that reflects the structure of your document. TEA can serve as a scratch pad for ideas that can later be strung together logically and for designing or writing programs.

A TEA tree can contain 500 nodes; each leave counts as 1 node Up to 99 nodes can be attached to a single parent, and a tree can have as many as 3 5 levels. A TEA file can contain 2 million characters.

Each leaf or branch can contain a header and a two-line summary describing its contents. You can scroll through documents one leaf at a time or jump from leaf to leaf. Blocks of text can be swapped, and leaves or subtrees can be exchanged.

Printing a document is said to a be merely a matter of letting TEA use the tree to work out the order of

leaves. All tree facilities can be disabled, which automatically creates a single-leaf file. External word-processing files can be read into this program, and TEA files can be converted for use by other word processors.

A string-combination search that locates combinations of separate words occurring in any order within a leaf, sub-tree, or header is provided. Other features include the use of function keys, the ability to split screens, date stamping, and background printing.

Currently, TEA does not support spelling checking, proportional spacing, index generation, or mail-merge. It runs on 64K-byte Z80 systems running under CP/M. An MS-DOS version is planned. It costs £245. (In the U.S., it will range in price from $149 to $199.) Contact Colossum Software Ltd., 310 Finchley Rd., London NW3, England; tel: 01-435-9321. Circle 625 on inquiry card.

{continued)

NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 523

WHAT'S NEW

S O F T W .P • ^ APPLE

68000 Cross-Assembler

Owners of 64K-byte Apple II 11 +. and He computers can develop MC68000 assembly programs with the SX-68 cross-assembler from Allen Systems.

Made up of an editor and an assembler, the SX-68 package provides 15 commands, including ASM and Find, and 7 pseudo op-

codes. DOS 3.3 can be accessed from SX-68. The instruction set considered legal by the assembler is that specified by Motorola for the MC68000.

The editor lets you create 68000 assembly programs and regular text files. Programs can be saved on disk or employed as input to the assembler.

The assembler generates both program listings and object codes. An assembly consists of two passes. The first pass defines all symbols; the second is responsible for generating the object code and program listing. Errors are reported on each pass.

The maximum text size is 24K bytes, and the object

code can be as large as 4K bytes. The maximum number of symbols is 450, and the maximum number of statements is 9999.

SX-68 is $100, including documentation. A disk drive is required. Contact Allen Systems, 2151 Fairfax Rd., Columbus, OH 43221, (614) 488-7122. Circle 626 on inquiry card.

Voice for Mac

SmoothTalker is a text-to-speech synthesizer for the Macintosh. This software package accepts plain English text from either the keyboard or from a text file and synthesizes it into an adult female or male voice. The voice is broadcast through the Mac's internal speaker or through an external amplifier.

With SmoothTalker, you can control the speed, pitch, volume, bass, and treble levels of speech, each with nine levels of control. You can switch between voices and define a custom dictionary. SmoothTalker is said to understand phrasing, intonation, such salutations as Dr. and Ms., and mathematical symbols. SmoothTalker can read MacWrite text files and selected portions of text.

An on-disk tutorial is supplied. The retail price is

Data-Analysis Programs

$149.95. Versions for other computers will be announced. To hear a demonstration, call (714) 536-0086, ext. 999. Contact First Byte

Inc., 2845 Temple Ave., Long Beach, CA 90806, (800) 523-8070; in California, (800) 624-2692 or (213) 595-7006. Circle 627 on inquiry card.

Data Bridge Between MAC and PC

MacLink is a data bridge between comparable applications on the Macintosh and the IBM PC. Through the use of matched software on the two computers, data can be moved at your request and automatically translated for the application being used. MacLink will move such

spreadsheets as Lotus 1-2-3 and VisiCalc from the IBM PC to the Macintosh and translate them for use with Multiplan. Word-processor and general text files are recognized and converted for the Mac, and BASIC programs are recognized and relocated for use in Microsoft BASIC.

The entire process is user-controlled from the Mac. The program is available for $95, which includes a pair of disks and instructions. Complete with an 8-foot cable, it's $12 5. Contact DataViz Inc., POB 1319, Nor-walk, CT 06856, (203) 866-4944. Circle 628 on inquiry card.

Scopex-1 and Frequency Spectrum are available from MAP International. Both programs run on 48K-byte Apple 11+/lie systems equipped with a fast analog input interface, such as the AI-13 from Interactive Structures. A disk drive is also mandatory.

Scopex-1 turns the Apple into a digital-to-memory oscilloscope; up to 2 560 points can be processed. Its functions include a program sampling time from 28 to 2 570 microseconds, x-/y-axis factors, zero-line offset, delay, auto/manual ranging, and minimum/maximum, rms, and average calculations. With a single keystroke, you can display the signal received and produce hard copy.

Frequency Spectrum, which comes with all the features of Scopex-1, calculates a frequency spectrum using a file of overlap-ping-bandpass filters. Analysis parameters can be stored in AN.files for routine analyses.

Scopex-1 costs $13 5, which includes documentation and a backup. Frequency Spectrum is $222. Contact MAP International, Herculesweg 116, NL-2624-VT, Delft, The Netherlands; tel: 015-561750. Circle 629 on inquiry card.

524 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

WHAT'S NEW

Computer Activity Log

ARE* IBM PC

Interactive Software for Scientists

.

Oak TYee Technologies' PCLOG keeps track of your daily computing activities, which can be useful for establishing your federal income-tax deduction or tax credit. With this program, you can track the time spent on one or more projects or tasks.

PCLOG automatically creates a log file entry, or you can define its parameters. The default values for a project name and remark are user-definable. It gathers time and date information from the system clock. All parameters can be overridden. PCLOG can be called from an AUTOEXEC.BAT file, a .BAT file, or from DOS.

You can use this program with the IBM PC, the PCjr, the AT&T PC6300, and a variety of IBM PC compatibles. System requirements are 64K bytes of RAM and a single floppy-disk drive.

The list price is $19.95, which includes a manual and a print utility. For further information, contact Oak Tree Technologies, 2619 Quail Valley Rd. Solvang, CA 93463, (805) 688-1495. Circle 630 on inquiry card.

ASYST is a three-package set that gives scientists data-acquisition, analysis, and graphics functions. It operates under standard PC-/MS-DOS and uses the IBM PCs 8087 microprocessor to achieve 80-bit internal precision. With ASYST, your applications can be as large as the full 640K bytes available with the IBM.

All ASYST commands are written in so-called conceptual terms, rather than programming syntax. On-line help and a glossary of keywords are provided.

Multiple operations can be condensed into single names, and you can program your function and control keys to execute ASYST words or commands in a single keystroke.

The first module, called Systems/Graphics/Statistics, establishes the system environment, stores data, and provides graphics and basic mathematics/statistics functions. Data Analysis, the second package, lets you reduce, manipulate, and analyze data. It also provides advanced mathematical capabilities. The Acquisition module allows you to interface with various scientific instruments.

Each module comes on a

double-sided, double-density floppy disk. Module 1, which can be used as a standalone program, is required to load the other two. The complete package is less

than $1800. Modules can be purchased separately. Contact Macmillan Software Co., 866 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022, (212) 702-3438. Circle 631 on inquiry card.

Multifont Printing from WordStar

Tech/Print is a multifont printing program for WordStar users. It replaces WordStar's Print command and is compatible with all WordStar control characters and dot commands.

Tech/Print comes with a number of ready-to-run fonts, including IBM graphics, mathematics/scientific and italic fonts. A font-design tool Tech/Font, is also provided. Four fonts can be

printed simultaneously.

An IBM PC or a PC-compatible computer with 96K bytes of RAM and a single floppy-disk drive are required. It supports the IBM Graphics Printer or Epson's RX-, MX-, or FX-80 printers. It costs $69.95. For more information, contact Goldstein Software, 2 Redgate Court, Silver Spring, MD 20904, (301) 384-5565. Circle 632 on inquiry card.

WHERE DO NEW PRODUCT ITEMS COME FROM? The new products listed in this section of BYTE are culled from the thousands of press releases, letters, and telephone calls we receive each month from manufacturers, distributors, designers, and readers. The basic criteria for selection for publication are (a) does a product match our readers' interests, and (b) is it new or is it simply a reintroduction of an old item. Because of the volume of submissions we must sort through every month, the items we publish are based on vendors' statements and are not individually verified. If you want your product to be considered for publication (at no charge), send full information about it, including its price and an address and telephone number where a reader can get further information, to New Products Editor, BYTE, POB 372, Hancock, NH 03449.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 525

The Source For ALL Your Computer Needs

IBM

SYSTEM NO. 1

ONLY $1699

• 256K * One 360K Drive • Monitor & Interface Card

IBM

SYSTEM NO. 2

ONLY $2100

• 256K • Two 360K Drives

• Monitor Interface Card

• AST Six Pac

IBM

SYSTEM NO. 3

ONLY $2395

• 256K • Two 360K Drives

• Monochrome Monitor

• Monochrome Adaptor

• Epson Printer & Cable

IBM

SYSTEM NO. 4 ^ ONLY $3195

• 256K • Two 360K Drives

• 10 Meg. Hard Disk

• AST Six Pac w/64K

• 1200 Baud Modem • Monitor w/lnterface

COMPAQ

• 256K, 2 Drives

$2150

The Source!

i^j

SANYO

STB

GRAPHICS

PLUS 2

• MBC 555-2

$1089

• Hercules Compatible

• RGB Port • Par. Port • IBM Monochrome Port

• Mono-Graphics

$359

TANDON

• TM100-2 • 360K

$149

^jtwMml)^ C O MP U T E R S I

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Prices Subject to Change

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We Want YOUR Business - can toll free (800) 841-0905

IBM & COMPATIBLE COMPUTERS

IBM

PC w/64K,1 Drive $1399

PCw/256K,2Drives 1649

PC XT, 256K10 Meg Disk 3695

COMPAQ

Compaq, 256K, 2 Drive $2250

COLUMBIA

1600-1,2-Drives (360K) $2295

1600-4,12MB Hard Disk 3795

MPC-XP Portable 2095

SANYO

MBC 550,1-Drive, software $ 699

MBC 555,2-Drives, 160K ea 999

MBC 550-1,1-Drive, 320K 799

MBC 555-2,2-Drives, 320Kea 1099

Optional Serial Port 79

Optional Drive w/Software 189

TAVA

2-Drives, 128K, 2 Ser. 1 Par. Port, Color Graphics Card & Hi-Res. Green Monitor $1789

PRINTERS

OKIDATA

ML92A(160cps)

ML93A(160cps)

92&93 Plug&Play '•

STAR MICRONICS

Gemini 10X, 120 cps

Gemini 15X,120 cps, 15" car.

JUKI

6100,18cpsitr.qual.

Tractor Feed

EPSON

RX80 RX80FT

FX80 . . FX100 .

MONITORS

AMDEK

300G, 12" Green $ 129

300A,12" Amber . 139

310A, 12" Amber Monochrome . . 165

Color I + Color Composite 299

Color II + RGB w/Cable 409

INTERFACE CARDS FOR IBM AND COMPATIBLES

AST RESEARCH

SixPac + 64K Par. & Ser. Software . $ 259

Mega + 64K exp. to 512K Ser. Port 259

MegaPack 256K option for Mega. . 269

l/o + Ser. & Optional Par. Game . . 149

Additional Ports 49

QUADRAM

Color! $ 209

Colorll • 229

Quadlink 499

Quad Board 64K w/Game Port... 279

Quad Board II 269

HERCULES

Color Graphics Card $ 329

PLANTRONICS

Color + $379

IBM

Dos2.1 $ 49

Monochrome Monitor or Adaptor 229

FLOPPY DISK CONTROLLERS

Maynard , $ 169

Maynard w/Ser. Port 229

Maynard w/Par. Port 229

Sigma Controller 159

Pipeline Controller 129

DUST COVER

Covers Monitor, Mainframe & Keyboard $ 19

MORE ACCESSORIES

Koala Graphics Tablet $ 85

8087 Co-Processor 149

KraftJoystick 39

Par.PrinterCable I 24

PIPELINE

ColorCard $ 18

VUTEK

Color Card w/Par. & Ser. Ports .... $ 24

PC PEACOCK

Color board w/Par $ 21

Your IBM Connection!

Circle 329 on inquiry card.

ORDER DESK: (213)320-6822 (800) 841-0905 (OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA)

MAIL ORDER & WAREHOUSE:

20317 Western Avenue Torrance, CA 90501

68000 Cross Assembler Motorola VERSAdos + Compatible

Assembler, Linker, Object and Macro Librarian. Absolute and Relocatable Code, Macros, Includes, and Conditional Assembly. Structured Programming. No limit on source tile size.

Unix (C) Compatible Source $700

CP/M-80* $200

PC/DOSt $250

Manual: $20 (refundable)

CP/M-86* $250

*farbware

1329 Gregory {312)251-5310

Wilmette, IL 60091

"Digital Research trademark f'BM trademark + Motorola Trademark

Monitor Mover Gives Back the Desk

• Models to fit most CRT's

• Rotates 360° on base

• Adjustable height

• Support tray swivels and tilts

• Holds up to 50 lbs

• Clamp, screw and wall mountings

Lirffekllllliii

P.O. Box 8056

Grand Rapids, Ml 49508

(616)241-4040

Apple Macintosh

IBM, XT, Hard disks

Eagle, Compaq, Columbia

NCR, Olivetti, Leading Edge

Multiusers

up to 16/TermSyst.

Printers/Plotters

Monitors, Disk Drives

Modems, Diskettes

Software

for PC & Multiusers

Printers: Epson, Okidata

Gemini, Radix, NEC, HP

COMPUTER EXPO INC SOURCE COMPUTERS

(213)208-0352 (213)906-1984

208-0259 906-1634

Circle 165 on inquiry card.

Circle 245 on inquiry card.

Circle 78 on inquiry card.

Your IBM Model 50, 60, 65, 75, 85 or 95 Electronic Typewriter can be a computer printer or terminal using our interface modules: Model 5060 RS232 Serial Model 5060-CP Centronics Parallel

Both Versions can be easily installed and require HO modifications to the typewriter. A 2K buffer is standard, 8K optional.

CALIFORNIA MICRO COMPUTER

9323 Warbler Ave., Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (714)964-9301

H Dysan

Solve your dbc prob le m *, boy 100% surface tested Dyaen ctolirtfrs Afl ordera shipped from stock, wtthftn 24 hours. Call to0 FREE (800) 2354137 for prices m \flsa and Master Card accepted

PACIFIC EXCHANGES

100 Foothill Blvd. San Luis Obispo. CA 93401. (InCal.call (805)543-1037.)

PROMPT DELIVERY!!! |

S SAME DAY SHIPPING (USUALLY)

IC

MasterCard VISA or UPS CASH COD

Factory New, Prime Parts juPoo

MICROPROCESSORS UNLIMITED rEGGs S S7 P 4T 2 T Ave (918) 267-4961

Prices shown above are for October 14, 1984

ise call (or curreni prices & volume discount Prices Subject 10 change Please expect I I higher prices on some parts due to world wide shortages Shipping ar— — -

I Cash discount pn

1 you by the neit

js shown Small otters received By 6 PMest can u suasy Dt lorning, via Federal Expraaa Standard Air a SS.MI

Circle 318 on inquiry card.

Circle 280 on inquiry card.

SAVE$$$$!

with

THE FREE SOFTWARE

CATALOG AND DIRECTORY

by Robert A. Froehlich. For a//CP/M computers. 5,000 entries. Indexes for keywords, language, author, and file-name. The first book of its kind ever! 480 pages. Enclose check or money order for $9.95, plus $1.40 postage and handling charge. If you wish, return book within 10 days for full refund.

Crown Publishers, Inc. Dept. 915 34 Engelhard Ave., Avenel, NJ 07001

_State_

-Zip-

City

N.Y. and N.J. residents, add sales tax.

PERIPHERAL SWITCH

AUTOMATIC SWITCHES FOR IBM PC

Fast, easy, automatic way to share a printer or modem among many computers. No software required. RS232 or Centronics. It scans for peripheral request, connects to the peripheral, handles all hardware handshaking, and releases the port. LEDs display channel selected and busy status. Attractive aluminum box. # channels-price: 2-$20O 4-$250 6-S300 8-S350 MANUAL SWITCHES FOR IBM PC Uses PC board and aluminum box. # lines switched RS232-10 Cent-20 RS232 l:2$59(wow) 1:4 $99

Centronics 1:2 $99 1:4 $179

Free book with each order entitled Serial and Parallel Explained ROSE MC AND VISA

ELECTRONICS (713)240-ROSE

P.O. Box 742571 Houston, Tx 77274

i ttw IBM PC

of data m bar graph* .ne PC mailing li«t. coat propoul. mongaga, pia-chim, probability, Marko* Analyiit. irtvoicing.and • wy powarful BUSIPACK diterata dtitributton, normal diltribut.on, combimr* inwic. writing.. mail.no til, Gaua. Oiatnbulion, ttatiat.eal t«t (off

automatically updatad by tha imrnksa

writing part All thit plut twatw toi l

program! to mcraaia productivity on £|ch , ub)tc ,'" cor , u ; n , , n introduction.

VOurPC. . program in BASIC, and ■ practical

Book and dnh pacha* application

Want to lava 8 haunt Go ahaad and gat Ot<daf No. 47 I Book onlyl S 12.M

tha Domination paajkajgl "PC-COMBO" Ofdar-No.470 IDnk only) IH.N

Qrdar-No. B21 iflooktliik) ■ MOO Omar-No 471 lBook.di,kj I J9 00

Ordar-Nc. 52 (Book only) I12P6 BABIC in 80 Mlnuta.

Ortar-No. 520 <D<t> onlyl ■ 2B.BG An my way to laarn BASIC on tha

APPLE lie, IBM PC ♦ Compatiotat, Commodora and ATARI Each command

MS-DOS introduction and AppMaattona w|lh , pf^.d „mpla and croai

How to gat tha matt out ot your IBM raf aranca 130 pagat

PC or Compatibla. Um thii book and Ordar-No. 38 lt»ok| I 7.B6

including: birgrapri.

rdar No H I Book onlyl I 9.96 braak-avan-anilym Plui 9 otnei powarful

»k and dak packaga containing all Crdar No 1M (Book) S12 K

ia programi from book No 56 on ditk Ordar No. IBM (Diik only) t »JC

13*00 Ordar No. 1S7 (Book+diakl t 39 00

•MM ara PAYMENT: Chaafc, VISA. MC

E LCOMP PUBLISHINO. INC. Add I 2.00 rw *.ppin§-

2174 W Foothill MNkUaill <>*«*»• "** «" '5% for *

Upland. CA.UM In Sina*»n eonoct: tatu 22 4

Phona 1714} 823-&31, Ti» : » B1 91 In Oarmany ntnaci tain 52 I

Circle 102 on inquiry card.

Circle 358 on inquiry card.

Circle 149 on inquiry card.

icro products

Hot Summer Movers!

/a

&

^J

COLOR RGB

Three models of Color lo choose from, each with higher and higher resolution.

MON-1600-00 $345.00

XPC-XT / IBM-PC KEYBOARDS

Keyboards with the Touch you have been searching for! (Even nicer than IBM!) LED. indicator for CAPS and

<e> o <$* */f,

~* NUM Lock. Choose IBM type or Selectric Keyboard layout. FREE Extender Cable with each Order

$139.00 $195.00

KEY-1000-00 IBM KEY-1024-00 Selectric .

fi

IIP

IBM STYLE MOTHERBOARDS

Two IBM-style Motherboards to choose from, 5-slotand 8-slot. Both expandable to 256K 5-slot has two serial slots and

one parallel.

BOA-6000-00 5-Slot

$395.00

BOA-6050-00 8-Slot

MONOCHROME

Monochrome Monitor is outstandingly clear and easy on the eyes. Available in Green or Amber Green Screen MON-1000-00 $125.00 AmberScreen .. MON-1010-00 $135.00'

%

ADD-ON POWER SUPPLY \^Vk * Q*

Power Supply with Fan and Power \^ O ^l^A ^Jh Filter. Uses 140 watts, runs Hcd X ^tm \!» HQ ^^

Disk & Tape Back-Up.

IBM Replacement type for Hard Disk.

<\X

TOW-1040-00

$175.00

V

<u

POWER BACK-UP

Protect your Data with Datashielct 5 in case of a Power failure. Datashield® is a battery operated,

setf-contained Power Generator which instantly supplies even

uninterrupted AC Power to a Microprocessor in the event of a Power

Drop or Outage, in addition provides Surge Protection, which filters

and eliminates voltage spikes (surges) above 140 VAC.

PC-200 200 watts POW-2000-Q0 $329.00

PC-300 300 watts

POW-2050-00 $495.00

Do it Yourself!

| We think of this System as a "Do it Yourself" System. Start by choosing

5 or 8 Slots. Some of the standard Features: • 64K RAM expandable [ to 256K • 4 DMA Channels • Runs MS-DOS™ and CP/M-86™ | (software not included) • Multi-function Keyboard & Cable

• Hard Disk Ready Power Supply • Serial Ports • Parallel Ports

• And MORE! SYS-8000-00 Only $895.00

•174S!'17451*17451 Add-On H.D. * Tape

XPC-XT byXOR

4 ' X

IBM type Case only

5 Slot

8Stot

CAB-3050-00 $110.00 CAB-3060-00 $110.00

This is OUR Junior!

I Use this "Driveiess" workstation for low-cost network-I ing. Features; • 4-slot IBM™ compatible Motherboard I • 128K Standard Memory • 8088,8087 Math Co-I processor • Optional Floppy Drive with Controllers.

ISYS-8100-00 $475.00

I Full System w< Keyboard. Mono Monitor. Video Display I Card, 128K RAM SYS-8725-00 $895.00

NEW

IBM "AT" 1.2M Floppy In Stock - For yourXPC! Can Read 3.0 or 2.1

DOS Formats!

10MegH,D.

$ 2655 00

20 Meg Color

*3490 00

40 Meg w/Tape $ 3990 00

10 Megabyte Irwin

on the top, your choice of Hard Disk | on the bottom. Super appearance! I Requires one slot in | your PC for SASI interface and an extension connector on the floppy card. Everything else is supplied by us. 10 Meg $1395 65 Meg $2895 20 Meg $1695 105 Meg $3695 40 Meg $1995 140 Meg $4595

Hard Disk Add-On

Two ways to go. The Internal system is cheaper I because it does not need a Power Supply & Chassis. The same P/S & Chassis can be used | for a 10 Meg Tape Back-up on your XT!

Standard Features:

• Full-size Keyboard with 10 Function Keys and Calculator-type Numeric Keypad •

• Disk Controller Expan. Card, runs up to four SS or DO ■ 2-Slimline 5%" DS/DD 48 TPI36OK Drives •

• 5 IBM compatible expan slots • Operating System Software Rebate » DOS BIOS on EPROM •

• 256K parity checked RAM on Motherboard • 8088 16-bit CPU • 4 DMA & 3 Timer channels •

• Up to 32K of EPROM (full 8K supplied) • Supports PC-DOS - MS-DOS - CP;M-86 •

• Power Supply is Hard-Disk-Ready, no • High resolution 12" Monitor with Green

need to add-on additional power Screen -18 MHz bandwidth

10 Megabyte $ 795 int/*995 ext 20 Megabyte *1095int/*1295ext 40 Megabyte $ 1595int/ $ 1795ext

65 Megabyte

$ 2495 105 Megabyte I

*3295 140 Megabyte I

s 4195

Not enough room here - Call for Catalog

hA IT^k MultiMedia Interactive l/v\\l 1 ^5 Training Systems

INTERACTIVE

Video or Audio Tape Training! That's Right!

Learn at home - at your own pace -Lotus 1-2-3™ Framework™ WordStar™ IBM-PC DOS™ dBase II™ Symphony™

SuperCalc™ BusinessMaster™

At last! An inexpensive, convenient means of learning how to use a Computer and Software. With this System you sit comfortably in front of your Computer, watch a demonstration, and then, the Tape system (Audio or Video) actually INTERACTS with you! Telling you what keys to strike, waiting for you to do the exercises at your own rate. As much practice time as You want. A pace that you set. Some classes 10 hours in length! Fantastic detail and tips! Call us for more information and practical demonstrations. Nothing like it anywhere else!

The following are registered Trademarks and their Companies 1 -2-3. Symphony - Lotus Development Company: MS-DOS. PC-DOS. Flight Simulator - MicroSolt. dBase II - AsMon-Tate; WordStar - MicroPro International Corp ; SuperCata - Sorcim. Inc.; VisiCalc ■ VisiCorp, inc.. CP/M-86 - Digital Research Inc . IBM. I8M-PC. IBM-PC XT - International Business Machines

PROM LASER

This is the One! Our PROM Burn er allows reading, storing-to-disk, recalling, and burning. Hi-speed alogrithmes burns 2764 in 45 seconds! Also handles 2716,2732, 27128,27256. Features: Zero insertion force sockets; On-board Vottage Generator; No Interference with normal computer operations. BOA-8640-00 $199.00

300/1200 BAUD MODEM

Does your computer communicate? If not, get one of ours ■ it's by Qubie'. This little jewel mounts in the Short-Slot in your PC. Includes: Phone jack cables, PC Talk III Software, One Year parts and labor warranty, and a manual.

BOA-8725-00 . . $310.00

Optional Asynch Com Port circuitry and connector

BOA-8726-00 . . . . $ 20.00

ADD-ON MEMORY

This single Card will enable you to expand the smallest 64K PC to its full * 640K limits in increments of 64K. Includes RAM Disk and PrintSpool software and runs DOS 1.1 and 2.0 with no watt states BOA-8650-00 $265.00

'Additional" 64K Memory Chips ICC-7801-00 $ 75.00

SUPER 12 PAK MULTIFUNCTION

This one is loaded! Two (2) IBM™ compatible Joystick Ports, Real-Time Chronograph / Calendar with Battery Back-up, Parallel Port, RS232-C Serial Port, * 64K to 384K of Parity-checked Memory, PrintSpool and RAM Disk Software. Supplied with OK of Memory BOA-8680-00 $225.00

* Additional 64K Memory Chips ICC-7801-00 $ 75.00

COLOR / MONOCHROME GRAPHICS

A Color Graphi cs Card with smooth scrolling display - No Flicker! includes Light M. Pen Interface, PrmtSpooler, and RAM Disk Emulator.

| BOA-8400-00 $289.00

pWH This Monochrome Graphics Card is 100 % compatible with Lotus 1 -2-3. Features bit-mapped graphics with a resolution of 720H x 348V and Simultaneous display of Text AND Graphics. BOA-8500-00 $245.00

SERIAL SWITCHER I/O BOX

Expand your System with this low-cost A-B Serial Switcher Box. It allows you tc connect Two Printers to One Port or Two Computers to One Printer. Switch from Dot Matrix to Daisy Wheel with the push of a button.

ACC-2000-00

$79.95 -*

Micro Products

15392 Assembly Lane

Huntington Beach, CA 92649

714/898-0840

3UftiTR0IUICSC0.,INC.

12621 Crenshaw Blvd., Hawthorne, CA 90250

1-800-421 -5775(ORDERS ONLY) (213) 644-1140(CA. Order & inf.) STORE HOURS : 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.(Mon.-FrL) 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.(Sat.)

IBM XT Compatible

System I : 2 Slimline DSDD, 128K RAM, 1 Parallel Printer Port & Serial Port, Color Graphics Card, Monitor (Amber or Green) $1,499.00

FREE! Software (Personal Pearl : Data Base Management System)

System II : System I Plus 10MB Hard

Disk Drive System $2,399.00

Features:

lintel 8088 CPU

lintel 8087 Math Co-Processor (Option)

^ Expandable on-board to 256K

^128KRAM w/Parity

^8 IBM Compatible Expansion Slots

^4 Channel DMA 8237

^8 Channel Interrupt 8259

^Mother Board dimension same as IBM PC

D Mother Board w/128K RAM $475.00

□ Computer Cabinet . $69.00

□ 83 Key fult-funtion Keyboard $120.00

□ 100 WATT Power Supply $130.00

□ Monochrome Graphic Card

w/Printer Port $289.00

D FDD Controller Card $149.00

□ Parallel Printer Card $59.00

D Dual ASYNC & RS232 Port $75.00

□ 320KB DS/DD Slimline Disk Drive . $149.00

□ IBM Parallel Cable 10' $19.95

□ IBM Prototype Board (SUN-208) . . . $9.50 D MICROLOG Z-80B Co-Processor,

Multi-funtion (Run CP/M80 Software)

$499.00

Q Apparat EPROM Blaster $129.00

□ IBM Up-Grade Kit (4164). . . , $44.00/per kit

Apple Compatible Products

SUN Z80 Card (w/o Software) $55.00

SUN 80 Column Card (w/Soft switch). . $97.00

Power Supply (5 Amp) $59.95

Cooling Fan $42.00

Parallel Printer Card $39.00

Floppy Disk Controller $47.00

EPROM Programmer (2716, 2732, 2764)

$75.00

APPARAT PROM Blaster $119.00

ALSZ-Card(Z80CPU) $149.00

ALS 80 Column Card $159.00

AFDC-1 Floppy Disk drive Controller . .$55.95 Run DOS 3.3 with any standard Shugart compatible 5 1 /4 Disk drive (2 drives per card, Does not read Vz track, Apple II & Apple II Plus) Apple Prototype Board (SUN-722) $5.95

64K Static Memory Board (6116)

w/o RAM A&T $155.00

64K Static Memory Board (6116)

w/RAMA&T $339.00

Uses 6116 CMOS RAMS, 1 / 2 Amp Max, w/64K @6MHz Extended Addressing, Bank Select 4-16K Blocks, 2716 EPROM can replace any 6116RAM, 8 Bit IEEE 696. UFDC-1 5V4 and 8 Floppy Disk Controller

(BIOSavailable)A&T $245.00

Clock/Calendar A&T $115.00

Prototype Board (SUN-721) $9.95

Mother Boards/Card Cages

(6, 8 & 12 Slots) are available CALL

General Products

SAM WOO HIGH RESOLUTION DISPLAY

^22 MHz Bandwidth ^Composite Video ^Anti-glare Screen ^Passes FCC & UL Approved ^1000 Lines or 132 Charactors Across

12" AMBER or GREEN $99.00

• 10MB Hard Disk Drive (Internal)

w/Controller for IBM PC $790.00

• Personal Pearl (Data Base Management

System) IBM Format $99.00

• S-100 12 Slot Motherboard A&T . . .$55.00

Bare Board $23.00

• IBM Prototype Board (SUN-208) $9.50

• RAM 4164 (150ns) $4.95

TTL IC, ROM, RAM & CPU CHIPS, CONNEC-TORS & IC SOCKETS ARE AVAILABLE.

TERMS : VISA,. MASTER Card, C.O.D (Cash or Certified Check Required). Check (Allow 2-3 WKS for Clearing) Shipping & H/C $3.00 for 3 Lbs plus $0.50 for each add Lb.

Calif, residents add Calif. Sales Tax.

IBM & Apple are registered trade marks of IBM & Apple

SEND ORDERS & INQUIRES TO:

SOFTWARE

APPLIED SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY

VersaForm. $267.

ASHTON TAPE

dBASE II 296.

Friday 175.

BPI ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS

GUAP/AR (Each) IBM-Lisa 365.

CONTINENTAL

Property Management 326.

FOX & GELLER Quick Code 155.

Quick Code DultiPack 55.

FUNK SOFTWARE Sideways 44.

HOWARD SOFT

Real Estate Analyzer II Apple .... 137.

LOTUS1-2-3 299.

LATTICE C Compiler 325.

LIFETREE Volkswrlter Deluxe 177.

LIVING VIDEOTEXT

Think Tank 110.

PETER NORTON Utility 55.

MICROSTUFF Crosstalk 128.

MICROPRO Spell Star 101.

Word Star w/Applicard 299.

Mail Merge 137.

Super Sort 137.

CalcStar 87.

Info Star 299.

Word Star Pro 349.

MICRORIM

R Base 4000 299.

SP COMPUTERS, INC.

P.O. Box 4073, Burlingame, CA 94010, U.S.A. Monday thru Saturday - 8:30 am thru 5:30 pm

TEL (415)340-1006 TELEX: 4070477 MONS

MICROSOFT

Flight Simulator (IBM) $ 34.

Flight Simulator (Apple) Sublogic....33.

Mufti Plan 128.

Multitool Word W/Mouse 315.

Pascal Compiler 235.

C Compiler 335

PBL CORPORATION

Personal Investor 95.

PEACHTREE

Peach Pak (AR, AP, GL) 254.

ROSESOFT Prokey 93.

SOFTWARE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL

Open Access 367.

SATELLITE SOFTWARE

WordPerfect 275.

SOFTWARE PUBLISHING

Pfs: File

Apple 74.

IBM 84.

Pfs: Report 74.

SOFTWORD SYSTEM

Multimate 265.

SORCIM SuperCalc II Apple 185.

SuperCalc III IBM 167.

STATE OF THE ART (FM Series)

Bookkeeping 350.

SYNPSE File Manager

WOLF Move-It 119.

V1SICORP

VisicalcIV 170.

Visiword 275.

TERMS: All prices subject to change. Cashier's check, MO, Bank Transfer. Allow time for company or personal checks to dear. Prices reflect cash prepaid discount. VISA-MASTERCARD/Add 3%. California residents add sales tax. SHIPPING: UPS Surface Min. $3.50 within USA Continent.

HARDWARE

PRINTERS

Okidata Epson Call

Juki Call

HAYES MICROCOMPUTER PRODUCTS

Hayes 300 Baud $205.

Smart Modem 1200B 434.

Smart Modem 1200 ... 485.

MONITORS

Amdek 12" 310A 169.

Princeton RGB Hi Res 480.

MEMORY CHIP SET

(64K/9 chips) 45.

AST6-pak 64K 266.

KRAFT & TG Joystick

IBM 35.

Apple 35.

QUADRAM

Quadboard 11 64K 285.

Quadcolor I — 206.

Quadlink 525.

STB

Color Graphix Card 375.

HERCULES

Graphic Card 350.

TALL GRASS Hard Disk 20 mgb .2296. VERBATIM DISC

S/SD/D10Pk... 24.

D/SD/D10Pk ..34.

INTERNATIONAL INQUIRES WELCOME

530 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 457 on inquiry card.

SOMEBODY

Has To Have The Lowest Prices!

MONITORS

AMDEK300

AMDEK300A

AMDEK310A

AMDEKCOLORI AMDEK COLOR II

PGSHX-12

PGSMAX-12

PGSSR-12

$135.00

$149.00

$165.00

BEST PRICE . BEST PRICE $475.00

$195.00

$625.00

IBM MONOCHROME DISPLAY $260.00

IBM COLOR DISPLAY $590.00

QUADCHROME C. DISPLAY_ $590.00

printers "

EPSON FX 80

EPSON FX 100

EPSON RX 80

EPSON RX 80 FT

OKIDATA 82A

OKIDATA 83A ,

OKIDATA 92P

OKIDATA 93P

OKIDATA 84P

OKIDATA 2410P

OKIDATA 2350P

TOSHIBA P1351

TOSHIBA 1340

$489.00

$689.00

$295.00

$349.00

$299.00

$569.00

$399.00

$649.00

$799.00

$1999.00

$1849.00

$1399.00

$825.00

NEC SPINWRITER 3550 $1650.00

NEC SPINWRITER 7730 $1750.00

NEC PINWRITER 80 COI $720.00

NEC PINWRITER 136 COI $960.00

QUAD INK JET PRINT $799.00

CITOH 40 CPS BEST PRICE

CITOH 55 CPS BEST PRICE

GEMINI 10X_ GEMINI 15X_

BROTHER HR-25

BROTHER HR-35

SILVER REED 500P_ SILVER REED 550P_ SILVER REED 770P-

$290.00 $390.00 $719.00 $925.00 $465.00 $570.00 $995.00

ACCESSORIES ON NEC & OKIDATA PRINTERS AVAILABLE.

IBM PC, 256k, 320k

Disk Drive, (Toshiba Half or

Tandon Full-High), Persyst

Color Card, Amdek 300

Monitor, Dos 2.1

PLUS!-A 10MB HARD

DISK SUB SYSTEM

All For Only:

$2699.°

(We configure and test the system for you at no extra cost)

DRIVES

TANDON TM-100-2-SLIMLINE DRIVES:

TOSHIBA

HITACHI

PANASONIC-TEAC 55B

$199.00

$165.00

$165.00

. $165.00

. $165.00

MULTIFUNCTION BOARDS

AST 1/0+1 SER & 1 PAR _ AST SIX PACK 64K, 1 SER, 1 PAR

ASTMEGA+64K, 1 SER_ AST COMBO

$179.00

.$269.00 $269.00 $269.00 $269.00

QUADBOARD 64K

(EXPANDABLE TO 256K) QUADBOARD 64K, 1s, 1p, GAME PORT (EXPANDABLE TO 384K). IBM COLOR GRAPHIC ADAPTER

IBM MONO/PRINTER ADAPTER

PERSYST COLOR ADAPTER

PERSYST MONO/PRINTER ADAPTER

$299.00

$225.00

$230.00

$199.00

$215.00 $349.00

HERCULES GRAPHIC

PLANTRONICS

COLOR PLUS BEST PRICE

PARADISE MULTIFUNCTION

CARD BEST PRICE

ORCHID BLOSSOM BEST PRICE

64K RAM UPGRADE KIT $50.00

PEACOCK COLOR CARD W/PP

. $215.00

STB RIO PLUS64K

STB SUPER RIO 64K _ STB PIGGYBACK FOR SUPER RIO

STBGRAPHIXPLUSII

.BEST PRICE . BEST PRICE

. BEST PRICE $375.00

MODEMS

HAYES

SMART MODEM 1200

HAYES

SMART MODEM 300

HAYES 1200B

PLUG IN MODEM CARD_

QUBIEPC212A/1200

INTERNAI

QUBIE212E/1200 EXTERNAI

i $469.00 $209.00 $429.00 $275.00

. $299.00

HARD DISKS

10MB HARD DISK SUB SYSTEM INCLUDES:

SOFTWARE, CONTROLLER, CABLES, ETC. INTERNAI $850.00

EXTERNAL.

.$1025.00

TALLGRASS TECHNOLOGY

12MB W/TAPE BACKUP $2750.00

20MB W/TAPE BACKUP $3199.00

35MB W/TAPE BACKUP $4350.00

INTERFACE IBM $125.00

POWER BACK-UP SYSTEM $479.00

GENERAL

MAXELL

DISKETTES MD2

CONTROL

DATA DISKETTES

MICROSOFT MOUSE

MOUSE W/WORD

KEYTRONIC KEYBOARD KB5151_ PARALLEL CABLES_ IBM PC DOS 2.1

. $35.00/box

. $30.00/box

$130.00

$339.00

$199.00

. BEST PRICE BEST PRICE

We also carry CORONA, APPLE lie,

APPLE lie, MACINTOSH,

TECHMAR.

Many other products available, Please call for Low, Low Prices!

COMPUTER PRODUCTS,

(714)838-7530

2640 Walnut Avenue, Unit K, Tustin, California 92680

Prices & availability subject to change without notice - IBM is a registered trademark of IBM Corp.

Circle 453 for Dealer inquiries. Circle 454 for End-User inquiries

"PERSONAL SERVICE'

ORDER LINE 7 AM-7PM MST 800-528-8960

CUSTOMER SERVICE (602) 482-0400

2017 E. CACTUS • PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85022

All prices are for cash, cashiers check or money order Allow 4 weeks bank clearance for personal checks. COD. s, Visa/MC, and P.O.'s accepted at additional charge. Prices subject to change

Returns must have authorization number and are subject to a restocking charge.

COMPUTERS

ALTOS

APPLE

COLUMBIA

COMPAQ

FRANKLIN

IBM

LEADING EDGE

NEC

NORTHSTAR

SANYO

TELEVIDEO

ZENITH

TERMINALS

Adds

A-1 Green

A-2 Green

Viewpoint 60

Hazeltine

Espirit I

Espirit II

Espirit III

Qume

QVT 102 Green .

QVT 102 Amber

QVT 103 Green .

QVT 103 Amber Televideo

910 +

925

950

970 .

Visual

Visual 50 Green .

Visual 55 Green . Wyse

Wyse 100

Wyse 300

475 490 619

445 435 575

535 550 840 850

519

699 899 975

599 720

Zenith

Z-29

.. 680 1020

639

MONITORS

NEW

AMDEK CALL

BMC (Color)

249

SAVE

Leading Edge

Color RGB 399

NEC

JB 1201 155

JB 1260 115

Taxan

12" Amber 125

Zenith

12" Green Screen 95

12" Amber Screen 99

FOR IBM PC

IBM PC Call $ave$

AST Research

Six Pak Plus—from $279

Combo Plus II—from ■;. 279

Mega Plus—from 309

I/O Plus—from 139

Quadram

Quadlink 489

Quadboard 289

Quad 512 Plus 249

Quadcolor 229

SOFTWARE

Lotus

1-2-3 319

Micropro

WordStar/MailMerge 349

InfoStar 299

SpellStar 159

CalcStar 99

Microstuf Crosstalk 105

Microsoft Multiplan 159

Ashton Tate

Framework Call

Friday! 185

Ram Memory 4164-150 49/9 per set

SAVE

SANYO

$AVE

550-555 Systems from $699

RS232 Port

Directly Interchangeable with Sanyo. Can be

programmed for bi-sync operation 79

RS232 Port W Cable

As above with Modem Cable 99

Modem Cable Only 29

PRINTERS

Blue Chip

M120/10 279

M120/15 349

C.ltoh

1550 AP 499

1550 BCD.... 549

8510 AP 309

8510 BC2 419

8510 BPI 389

A10-20 449

F10-40 899

F10-55 1199

Data Products 8010 449

8051 (IBM Color). 1299

Daisywriter

2000 Call

Diablo

620 API 699

630 Call

Epson

All models .. Call Juki

6100 419

NEC

2050 759

3510 1214

3550 1469

7710 1649

OKIDATA

LOWEST PRICES Panasonic

All models Qume

Letter Pro . 11/40

WIBM IF 11/55

WIBM IF

Call 629

1369

.1569

Silver Reed

EXP 400 Call

EXP 500 349

EXP 550 399

EXP 770 Call

Star Microtronics Gemini 10X . 239

Tally

Spirt 80 249

160L

w/Tractor....549 180L w/Tractor....769

Toshiba

1340 749

1351 1299

Transtar

120Ltr. qual...395 130 Ltr. qua!.. .549

Sheet Feeders

High quality mechanical single bin feeders for Diablo, Qume, NEC, C.ltoh, Ricoh, Daisy, Daisywriter, Juki,

Dataproducts and others (specify type) 495

Electronic Dual Bin sheet feeders for most printers Call

Tractor Feeders

High Swiss quality bi-directional tractors for Diablo, Qume, NEC, C.ltoh, Ricoh, Radio Shack and others,

(specify type) 199

Silver Reed 125

Print Wheels & Ribbons Call Save $

SAVE

ZENITH

SAVE

Z160 PORTABLE w/Dual 360K Drives, 320K RAM Memory, Microsoft Word & Multiplan, and Serial & Parallel Ports 2049

VHS VIDEO RECORDERS SAVE

MONITORS — All models LOWEST PRICES

MODEMS

Novation-Access 1-2-3

w/Crosstalk XVI Call

Smart Cat 300/1200 Call

Netmaster (Apple) 179

Anchor All models Call

Microcom Era 2 w/Software 349

— CALL —

HAYES

QUBIE

PROMETHEUS LOWEST PRICES

DISK DRIVES

ACI 5, 10, 20 MB Hard Disk System w/6 MB Cartridge Back-up Call

Alpha Omega 10 MEG w/controller 849

TEAC 55B slimline DSDD 179

TEAC 55F slimline DSQD 249

Maynard Call

Tal(grass Tech Hard Disk System Call

Tandon

5 1 /4"TM 100-1-SS/DD

160K 150

5 1 /4"TM 100-2A DS/DD

320K 199

TM101-4 (96 TPI Quad Den) .... 339

Indus

GT—Apple 339

GT—Atari 349

Micro-Sci

A-2 (35TR) 189

A-20 (35TR) 169

Rana

Elite I 249

Elite II 399

Elite III 509

1000 319

ACCESSORIES

3M

5V4" SS/DD 19/Box

5W DS/DD (96TPI) . 45/Box Memorex

5V4" SS/DD 18/Box

5 1 A" DS/DD 23/Box

Elephant

5 1 /4" SS/SD BULK ... 1.50 ea. Head

5 1 /4" Disk Head Cleaner (2 Disk) 14

Printer Type Head

Cleaner) 9

Kraft

Joystick 39

Standby Power Sys Save

Switch Boxes

Parallel & Serial Save

Surge Protectors 35-99

Chips 64K (4164-150) ........ 49

Koala Pad

w/Graphics Illustrator 74

552 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 161 on inquiry card.

74LS00

74LS01

74LS02

74LS03

74LS04

74LS05

74LS08

74LS09

74LS1Q

74LS11

74LS12

74LS13

74LS14

74LS15

74LS20

74LS21

74LS22

74LS26

74LS27

74LS28

74LS40

74LS42

74LS48

74LS51

74LS54

74LS55

74LS73

74LS74

74LS75

74LS76

74LS78

74LS83A

74LS85

74LS86

74LS90

74LS92

74LS93

74LS95

74LS96

74LS107

74LS109

74LS113

74LS114

74LS122

74LS123

74LS124

74LS125

74LS126

74LS132

74LS133

74LS136

74LS138

74LS139

74LS145

74LS148

74LS151

74LS153

74LS154

74LS155

74LS156

74LS157

74LS158

74LS160

74LS161

74LS162

74LS163

74LS164

74LS165

.25 25 .30 25 30 30 .25 30 30 75 75 35 25 30 30 .30 30 .30 30 .35 35 .35 35

74LS166 74LS168 74LS169 74LS170 74LS173 74LS174 74LS175 74LS181 74LS190 74LS191 74LS192 74LS193 74LS194 74LS195 74LS196 74LS197 74LS221 74LS240 74LS242 74LS243 74LS244 74LS245 74LS247 74LS248 74LS249 74LS251 74LS253 74LS258 74LS259 74LS260 74LS261 74LS266 74LS273 74LS275 74LS279 74LS283 74LS290 74LS293 74LS295 74LS298 74LS323 74LS324 74LS347 74LS348 74LS352 74LS353 74LS363 74LS365 74LS366 74LS367 74LS368 74LS373 74LS374 74LS375 74LS377 74LS378 74LS379 74LS381 74LS385 74LS386 74LS390 74LS393 74LS395 74LS424 74LS640 74LS668 74LS645 74LS670 74LS690

1.50 1.35 1 35 1.35 1.35 85 .90 2.50 1.45 1 45 1 45 1 45

1 45 1.45 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.85 1.85 1.85

2 25 3.95 1 65 1 65 1.65 1 75 1 75 1.50 2.95 1.15 3.75 1.35 1.75 1.95

.75 75 .75 1 25 1.65 1 65 2.95 1.15 1,55 1.45 1.65 1.95 1.95 1.25 1 25 .95 .95 1.95 1.95 95 95 1 55 1.55 1.95 1.95 1.25 2.55 1.55 1 55 1.95 1.95 2.75 1.95 1 50 1.50

74S00

74S00 74S02

74S03

74S04

74S05

74S08

74S09

74S10

74S11

74S15

74S20

74S22

74S30

74S32

74S38

74S40

74S51

74S64

74S65

74S74

74S86

74S112

74S113

74S114

74S124

74S133

74S134

74S135

74S136

74S138

74S139

74S140

74S151

74S153

74S157

74S158

74S160

74S161

74S163

74S174

74S175

74S188

74S194

74S195

74S196

74S225

74S240

74S241

74S242

74S243

74S251

74S253

74S257

74S258

74S260

74S280

74S283

74S287

74S288

74S289

74S373

74S374

74S387

74S471

74S472

74S473

74S474

74S475

30

30

30

.35

.35

65

.65

.95

.95

95

.95

95

95

95

95

.95

95

95

95

95

,95

.95

.95

1.25

365

95

1.25

1.65

2.25

1.25

1 25

1 25

1.25

1.95

1.95

1 95

1 95

1 95 2.95

2 25 2.25

3 55 2.55 2.55 255 775 295 2.95 2.95 2.95 2 25 2.25 1.95 1.95 1.25 2.95 395 3.95 395 4.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 4.95 795 7.95 995 9.95

MOSS EPRON

2708

2716-450

2732-450

2732-250

2764-450

2764-250

2764-300

27128-250 25 95

TMS2516 4.95

TMS2716 7.95

TMS2532 5.95

5.95 3.95 5.95 6.95 7.95 9.95 9.95

1984 IC

Master Manual

$79.95 plus $5.00 shipping

MISC

STATIC RAM

2101 5101

2114-450

2114-200

2147

6116-4

6116-3

6116-2

6116LP-4

6116LP-3

6116LP-2

2.95

4.95 1.95 2.15 4.95 5.75 6.75 7.95 6.75 6.95 8.95

DYN. RAM

4116-200 4116-150 4116-120 4164-200 4164-150

1 95 2.25 2.95 6.75 6.95

8031 8035 8039 8085

SOUND CHIPS

76477 2.95

76489 8.95

AY 3-8910 995

AY3-8912 12,95

CRYSTALS

32.758 khz

1.0mhz

1.8432

20

2.097152

2.4576

3,2768

3.579535

4.0

50

5.0688

5.185

5.7143

6.0

6.144

6.5536

8.0

10.0

10.738635

12.00

14.31818

15.0

16.0

17.430

18.0

18.432

20.0

22.1184

320

1.75 3.95 3.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 95 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95

GENERAL PURPOSE BOARDS BLANK BOARD - HOLES ON 100" GRID, No ETCHED CIRCUIT EXCEPT CONTACT FINGER

No. Contacts Size Contact Centers Price

P 441-1 P 442-1 P 721-1 P 722-1

22/44 22/44

36/72 36/72

4.5"

4.5" 4.5" 4.5"

x6

156"

.156" .100"

.100"

9.95

10.95 995 10 95

D- SUBMINIATURE CONNECTORS

Description

Contacts 9 15 25 37

Solder Cup

DXXP

2.05 2.05 2.50

4.75

3.00

Socket

DXXS

2.65 3.60 3.25

7.10

925

Right Angle PC Mounting ) Hood

390

3.70 4.50 9.40

RDXXS

320 5.40

4.80 10.95

Grey

DXXCGY

1.55

1.55 1.55 2.95

3.50

Black

New Multichannel Hobby Microwave Antenna System Freq. Range: 2.1 - 2.7 GHz

Includes:

1. Wide Band Probe With Down Converter

2. 20" White Painted Dish

3. 60' and 3' Coax Cable Set

4. Steel Case 5 - 20 DCV Tuneable Power Supply

5. Mounting Accessories and Instructions

ALL FOR $97.95

MODEMS

IBM PC SMARTMODEM 1200B. Plug-in 449.00

SMARTCOM II COMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE 99 00

SMARTMODEM 300. AUTO ANS/DIAL. 300 BAUD. RS232 199 00

SMARTMODEM 1200, AUTO ANS/DIAL. 1200 BAUD, RS232 475,00

SMARTMODEL lie, 300 BAUD. AUTO ANS/DIAL. Plug-in 249.00

SMARTCOM I COMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE 79 00

RESISTORS

¥> WATT 5% CARBON FILM FROM 1 OHM TO 10M OHM

50 pes ,99

100 pes 1.89

1000 pes 9.50

5000 pes 42.50

7 a WATT

50 pes 100 pes 1000 pes 5000 pes

5%

CARBON FILM

1.25 2.35 11.50

52.50

.02 ea

019 ea .010 ea ,009 ea

.025 ea .024 ea .012 ea .011 ea

Apple ll/lle Compatible Disk Drive

$139.°° CONTROLLER CARD $44.95

JOYSTICK FOR APPLE II <jj-|g 95

Joy Stick for IBM P/C

$22. !

8087

MATHEMATICS

CO-PROCESSOR'

$189.'

FOR APPLE II & lie

16K RAM CARD

Compatible with DOS 3.3CP/M Visicalc. PASCAL 1 YR WARRANTY

S39. 9!

Speedy EPROM

Programmer

for Apple II

$149. 00

Programming 2716, 2732,

2732A, 2764. 27128,

2516, 2532, 2564

in 30 seconds, software

control programming,

no additional

hardware required.

IC SOCKETS

WW = WIRE WRAP

8 PIN 14 PIN 16 PIN 18 PIN 20 PIN 22 PIN 24 PIN 28 PIN 40 PIN

6 PIN SPIN

14 PIN 16 PIN 18 PIN 20 PIN 22 PIN 24 PIN 28 PIN 40 PIN 64 PIN

WW WW WW WW WW WW WW WW WW LP LP LP LP LP LP LP LP LP LP LP LP

55

65

65

89 1 00 1.15 1 19 1.45 1 89 LOW PROFILF .10

12

14

16

18

28

28

30

40

48 4 10

45

,55

55

79

90

1.05

1 09

1.35

U/V EPROM ERASER

General Industries

$37.50

SUPER COOLING FANS For APPLE

WITH SURG $37. 50

Build Your IBM™ PC/XT Compatible

DEALER AND flt

OEM ARE J* .».•

invited Competitive

Completed PflCGS

Unassembled

System ^. 0 — ft

Hardware Only A| .^J § *f

MULTIFUNCTION BOARD

• 2 serial ports, 1 parallel port real time clock, 64k RAM up to 256k RAM 219.00

• Floppy disk drive controller board 119.00

• Hard disk controller board/DTC 5150BX 299.00

• Color graphic board 199.00

• Monochrome + color + graphic board 299.00

• Panasonics disk drive, 320k, half height 129.00

• Hard disk drive 10 MB/Shugart SA712 549.00

• 100W power supply with fan 129.00

• Case 109.00

• Manual 25.00

• Keyboard 119.00

• High resolution color RGB monitor/Taxan 399.00

• High resolution green monitor/Taxan 119.00

• Monitor stand 19.95

• Hayes 1200B modem 399.00

• Hayes 1200 modem 475.00

• Tandon TM100-2A 160.00

• 64k Memory Expansion Kit 45.00

• 50 5V4 Diskett Store 19.95

MOTHER BOARD:

• 8088 CPU with socket for co-processor 8087

• 8088 is supported by 8259A interrupt controller and 8237 DMA controller

• 2 (two) 28 pin sockets for ROM

• 8 (eight) expansion slots

• No RAM on board (RAM is on multifunction board)

Bare Board . 69.00

Ready Board 179.00

(With IC sockets, resistors, capacitors, connectors, crystals, transistors soldered)

Tested Board (w/o ROM) 299.00

IC kit 120.00

IBM is the trademark of International Business Machines. Prices subject to change without notice.

7400 SERIES CALL FORI PRICE

TERMS. For shipping include $2.50 for UPS Ground or $3.50 for UPS Blue Label Air.

Items over 2 lbs. require additional shipping charges $10.00 minimum order.

COD Additional $2.00 Fee.

IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Apple is a trademark of

Apple Computer.

CAPACITORS

* Ceramic Disc

* Electrolytic

* Tantalum

* Mylar

* Monolithic

Price is subject to change without notice.

1-(800) 821-3628

125 Hand well

4962 EL CAMINO REAL I TELEFAX (415) 962-8249

• LOS ALTOS, CA 94022 • (415) 962-9265 TXL 171947 HANDWELL LTOS |

corp

Circle 185 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 533

TM

I Introducing ...

I TurboTax

:J personal tax program

•] • IBM PC or 100% compatible

S • 33 forms, schedules & worksheets

8 • FAST! Complete return in 3sec.

| • Windows!

5 • Exceeds IRS print specs.

3 • Full depreciation support

] • Much more!

• CA/AZ available December-$30 Req. 192K $65 plus $5 ship/hand B (CA residents addj6V2% sales tax) K

5674 Honors San Diego, CA 92122

P H I (619)453-8722

L-uJ (800) 621-0852 ext 355 «S !j

■ ■^

idiuni

Advises,

Forecasts,

Simulates,

Tutors,

Decides,

Evaluates,

Solves,

Reports.

Lets you Design, create and run problem solving expert systems on the IBM-PC or DEC Rainbow No programming, uses English language knowledge base.

$95.

Lew/5 Research

4980 S-A1 A, Melbourne Bch. FL 32951

305/729-9046

CREDIT CARD ORDERS ACCEPTED

Circle 241 on inquiry card

LOW COST UNIVERSAL E C K ) PROM PROGRAMMER

* SUPPORTS: (EPROMS) 2516 THRU 64. 2716 THRU 512 27C16 THRU 128, 68732 THRU 66 (EEPROMS) 52BI3 * THRU 33, 2816A THRU 64A (MICROS) 8741 THRU 49H

* NO PERSONALITY MODULES, ONBOARD POWER SUPPLY

* RS232C INTERFACE, XON-XOFF, RTS, CTS, DTR

* ACCEPTS KEYBOARD ENTRY WITH LINE EDITING

* ACCEPTS ASCII, INTEL, AND MOTOROLA FORMATS

* USER FRIENDLY MONITOR FOR I/O DEBUGGING

* FAST PROGRAMMING SUPPORTED: 2764 UNDER 3 MIN

* LOW/HIGH BYTE PROGRAMMING TOR 16 BIT DATA PATH

* BYTE, BLOCK, OR CHIP ERASE (EEPROMS ONLY)

* LIST IN INTEL OR MOTOROLA HEX FORMAT

* VERIFY PROGRAM AND VERIFY BLANK COMMANDS

! !JS"2, i: 4K FIHMWARE . «*• XFORMER, DOC $90

* 1409-02: 1409-01 ♦ FULL SET OF PARTS $200

* 1409-03: ASSEMBLED AND TESTED UNIT $300

t SSSiS 1 mm*** rcB ' xfohmer - doc *i2 5 :

! L A?t U: 1409 ~ n + FULL SET 0F PARTS S250.

* 1409-13: ASSEMBLED AND TESTED UNIT $350

* COMMUNICATION DRIVERS FOR MOST PC'S $35."

BS.O MICROSYSTEMS

6322 MOJAVE DR. SAN JOSE. CA 95120 Tel. (408)997-7685, TWX 4995363

Complete package includes:

Simulator:

coT™ 680 . 00 P r °9 rams ° n your 8-bit system. Full set of 68000 instructions and CP/M function calls available ope- ' ration abort anytime, 100% protected system RAM.'

Cross assembler:

Fast unlimited program length, long symbols (12 characters distinguished), file includes, conditional assembly command line switches, interactive operation, brilliant listing output, detailed symbol table, symbol reference 32-bit Arithmetic

Debugger:

Single-step, trace, breakpoints, register and memory manipulations, 100% program execution control. '

Fast running machine language software! - Interested? -These 3 high-performance tools all for $ 395

- Available on 8" and most 5" formats for Z80 CP/M

- Free airmail shipping to the US (abroad, add $ 7.50/packge) Send check or money order to:

I Wilke Software Engineering P.O. Box 1727 5100 Aachen 1 West Germany (01149) 2 41 - 3 06 81

Circle 208 on inquiry card

SAVE MORE

THAN EVER ON

3M Scotch

DISKETTES

$158

lotv.

5WSSDD Qty.50 _»

5WDSDD

mam

$2io

Qty.50

5W SSDD-96TPI $2.33 ea. 5</<"DSDD~96TP! $2.94 ea.

8 "SSSD $2.05 ea. 8" SSOD $2.50 ea.

8"DSD0...$3.10ea.

Add 5% for orders less than 50 5W diskettes.

All diskettes are boxed in 10's with Tyvek sleeves, reinforced hubs on 5%". user identification labels and write-protect tabs

SSjfcjirf*: Di f SV/Srr Add ,S-°° per 10 ° or fewer diskettes

sMAEskzS&I&P per 10 ° or tewer diskettes. Payment: VISA and MASTERCARD accepted. COO orders only add $3 00 handling charge. Tax«: Illinois residents only, add 8% sales tax'

WE W nt L r?, E c A IA!fJ« NAT,0NALLY ADVERTISED PRICE

ON THE SAME PRODUCT AND QUANTITIES!

For orders only: 1-800-621-6827

(In Illinois: 1-312-944-2788)

(All other calls: 1-312-944-2788)

Hours: 9AM-5PM Central, Mon.-Fri.

DISK WORLD!, Inc.

juite 4806 • 30 East Huron Street • Chicago, Illinois 60611

Circle 129 on Inquiry card.

it's insured?

SAFEWARE Insurance provides full

replacement of hardware, media and

purchased software. As little as $35/yr covers:

• Fire • Theft • Power Surges • Earthquake • Water Damage • Auto Accident

For information or immediate coverage call-

1-8O0-848-3469

In Ohio call (614) 262-0559

p

SAFEWARE, THE INSURANCE AGENCY INC,

THE

RELIABLE £|

ONE

DAY AFTER DAY 5% Diskettes

"APPLES TO APPLES" We will BEAT any price on 3M Diskettes in this issue. Guaranteed same day shipping of in-stock items on orders placed bv 1 • fin * m EST. NEED IT EAST' Ask

3:00 p.,,,. „

about I-DAY AND 2-DAY delivery

service (available for a reasonable

upcharge).

Come on...Take the Challenge...The Call is Free!

SS-DD-RH $1.62 SS-DD-RH $2 19

SS-DD-96TPI-RH ..$2.45 DS-DD-96TPI-RH .. $3^05

10% Surcharge tor quantities less than 50 diskettes.

Hard or Soft Sector with Reinforced Hub (RH)

UNLIMITED WARRANTY. Sold in Boxes of 10.

P/ecision Data Products

■ O. Box 8367, Grand Rapids, Ml 49508 - . JJ 452-3457 • Michigan 1-800-632-2468 Outside Michigan 1-800-258-0028

Shipping & Handling, - lQ LST?

QO.D.

Ml Residents, Add 4% Sales Tax.

Add $3.00/100 C.O.D. Add $2.00

Circle 337 on inquiry card.

SPEED UP YOUR

dBASE

PROGRAMS

with dB/RA, dBRX,

dBRx/87, dHELPER&RA+

Add arrays, math functions, 8087 support, syntax checking, animation & windowing. Call or write for details!

micfoproducts

P.O. BOX 65*43 SILVER SPRING, MO. 2DSQ6 [3CI1JS46-25B5

See us at COMDEX in Las Vegas

Circle 183 on inquiry card.

IBM® Compatible

Cjc

v%

Circle 363 on inquiry card.

E-PROMS — Call! Lowest Prices Anywhere

*4164-150/200 ... 399

2764-250 ....... '575

6U6-LP3 '499

256K '" 26 50

TTL & HCT Parts — now avail .. CatI XIDEX DS DD Box of 10 ... 26 50

♦TM-100-2 , ". 16995

*Teac Half-Heights 164 95

27-128 7., call

27-256 call

Add $3.95 shipping to all orders • Prices subject to change • PC's on approval • C.O.D. OK • All new no surplus, no seconds, QUANTITY DISCOUNTS 3310 W Main St., Tampa, FL 3360/ In FL and for info, call 813-875-0299 FOR ORDERSONLY, 800-237-8910

TELEX 330690

Circle 323 on inquiry card.

[SAVE — PRINTERSI

PRINTER INTERFACING

APEFACE $59.95

TYMAC CONNECTION ... CALL

AXION CALL

MICROBITS CALL

BLUE CHIPS

M12010 $279.00

M12010C-64 $279.00

D4015 $1399.00

LEGEND

880 $259.00

1000 $279.00

1200 CALL

1500 CALL

1081 CALL

CARDCO

LQ1 $449.00

LQ3 $339.00

PRINTER INTERFACE... $39.75 PRINTER INTERFACE VW FULL GRAPHICS $65.75

Citoh

Gorilla GX100 $119.00

Gorilla Serial $129.00

Prowriter8510 $315.00

Prowriter II $575.00

8600 $899.00

Starwriter $929.00

Printmaster $1199.00

Sheet feeder $425.00

620 $929.00

630 $1699.00

8510Sp $499.00

8510SCP $559.00

A10 Letterqual $499.00

OKI DATA

80 CALL

82A $299.00

83A $569.00

84 $959.00

92 $399.00

93 $685.00

MANNESMANN TALLY

SPIRIT 80 $299.00

MTL-160L $559.00

MTL-180L $775.00

EPSON

RX-80 $259.00

RX SOFT $299.00

FX-80 $439.00

FX-100 $639.00

NEC

NEC 8025 $699.00

NEC 8027 $359.00

GEMINI 10X| $249.00

STAR MICRONICS

GEMINI 15X $359.00

DELTA 10 $375.00

DELTA 15 $475.00

RADIX 10 $509.00

RADIX 15 $559.00

POWERTYPE CALL

SWEET P

(MODEL 100) $549.00

STX80 $149.00

PANASONIC

1090 ..$229.00

1091 $299.00

1092 $439.00

MONITORS

MITEYMO 79.95

MICROBITS

MPP1000C $109.00

NOVATION

J-Cat $89.00

Cat.... $129.00

Smart Cat 103/ $169.00

Smart Cat 103/212 ...$389.00

AutoCat $209.00

212 Auto Cat $539.00

Apple Cat II $239.00

212 Apple Cat $439.00

Apple Cat 212 $24900

(Upgrade) Smart Cat Plus $359.00

SKC

SKC-SSSD $14.75

SKC-SSDD $17.75

SKC-DSDD $21.75

ELEPHANT

5V4-SSSD $15.99

5V4"SSDD $17.99

SV/'DSDD $22.99

MAXELL

5V*"MD-1 $19.95

5'/4"MD-2 $24.99

CERTRON CASSETTES

CC-10(12) ..$15.99

CC-20(12) $17.99

I commodore

KOALA 64

KOALA TABLET $69.75

PROGRAMMERS GUIDE . $12 75

SCARBOROUGH 64

SONG WRITER D ... $27.75

PHI BETA FILER $32 75

MASTER TYPE S27.75

ATARI

CONTINENTAL

HOME ACCOUNT D . $44.75 TAX ADVANTAGE $35.75

BUSINESS

VISICALC $159.75

LETTER PERFECT $89.75

ATARI

DEADLINE $34.75

ENCHANTER $34.75

1 IBM-PC

| COMPATABLE CORONA

PPC22A

Portable 256K-Amber. PPC22G

Portable 256K-Green PPCXTA

Portable256K-10Meg. COR1 28K 1 28K RAM ..

ZENITH

Z-150 CALL

COLUMBIA DATA

1600 CALL

TELEVIDEO

.$1995

$1995

$3295 $ 159

HARD DISK DRIVE

IBM, APPLE

10 MEG $975.00

20 MEG $1399.00

30 MEG CALL

'D.O.S. EXTRA

INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS

DISK STORAGE (10)..... $4.95

DISK STORAGE (15) $9.95

DISK STORAGE (25).... $1 9,95 DISK STORAGE (50)

w/lock $25.75

DISK STORAGE $17.95

ROM STORAGE $24.75

DISK DRIVES

MSD

SD1 DRIVE ....$309.00

SD2 DRIVE $499.00

RANA 1000 $299.00

INDUS GT $325.00

CONCORD

ATARI176K

MASTER $289.00 |

ATARI348K

MASTER $369.00 |

ATARI ADD-ON

DRIVE CALL I

TS1605 CALL

OVER 2000 SOFT-WARE TITLES IN STOCK

PERCOM

AT88S1 $249.00

AT88S1 PD $299.00

ADD-ON DRIVES CALL

AT88DOUBLER $119.00

TRACK DRIVES

AT D2.... $329.00

AT-D2 TURBO PAK $22.96

AT-DH CALL

PRINTER CABLE $22.95

AMERICA'S MAIL ORDER HEADQUARTERS

LYCO COMPUTER

WORLD'S LEADER IN SALES & SERVICE

CUSTOMER SERVICE POLICY

1-717-327-1825

Risk Free

No deposit on C O D orders, free shipping on prepaidcash orders within the continental U S

APO F PO and internatiqnal orders add $5 00 plus 3*V tor priority mail sefvtc* PA ifstdents add sates lax Advertized prices snow 4% discount rort.isn add 4 for Master Card or Visa

p.

NOW! from

100 CPS Dot Matrix Printer

$ 275

with a 90 day warranty

• Graphic Symbols

• Condensed Print

[/• Centronics Interface

For Immediate Delivery CALL 800-645-5300

Or In N.Y. State Call (516) 293-5775

AFFORDABLE M 68000 COMPUTER SYSTEM

M68KCPU610 MHz CPU. 20K static RAM, 16K EPROM, on board monitor, two RS-2J2

serial ports. 16-bit parallel port, 5 timer/-counters expansion bus.

Bare board ....» 99.95

Complete Kit <595.00

MD512K 128-512K static RAM, floppy disk controller

& hard disk interface Bare board 9 99.95

Complete Kit (128K) S725.00

M68KE Enclosure with power supply, fan, filter, 4 slot card cage

9249.00

M68KA8M M68000 Macro Cross Assembler for CP/M80, IBM PC, TRS-80 and Apple II computers

819900

UPS shipping & handling 9 4.00

COD orders add * 3.00

Foreign orders add $20.00

California residents add 6.5% tax

EMS MkSSmp'iter (714)854-8545 Sytamt

P.O.Box 16115* Irvine, CA 92713

DUST COVERS

For Personal Computers and Small Business Systems, Peripherals, Game Units - Protective, Long-Lasting Vinyl Resists Both Dust and Liquids

-CHOICE OF COLORS-

GROUP/VOLUME DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE

FOR FREE BROCHURE WRITE:

ENCHANTED FOREST

P.O. Box 5261, Newport Beach, CA 92662

(118 Onyx)

Dealer Inquiries Invited

Circle 159 on inquiry card.

Circle 147 on inquiry card.

p^TA ^ FiXTends

boot hassles,

stops data

thieves —

DAT AM AC, DAVONG,

GREAT LAKES, IOMEGA,

XEBEC, ZOBEX, others.

No-Slot Installation for IBM PC, COMPAQ, COLUMBIA

$70 - $95 + tax/shpg

GOLDEN BOW

SYSTEMS

Box 3039

San Diego

CA 92103

619/298-9349

SPECTACULAR

LOWEST PRICES 3M DISKETTES

LIFETIME WARRANTY

$|gOeas ss,o $Qjgea

5 l A" SS/QD/96TPI ...$2.55 5Va" DS/QD/96TPI ... $3.20

8" SS/SD $2.00

8" SS/DD $2.45

8" DS/DD $2.95

1-800-328-3472

Dealer inquiries invited. COD's and charge cards accepted. All orders shipped from stock within 24 hrs.

North Hills Corporation

3564 Rolling View Dr.

White Bear Lake, MN 55110

MN Call Collect 1-612-770-0485

IN STOCK

MODEMS

2 DAY SHIP

■*■ Hayes Compatible * # Free Communications Software it

HAYES 12(H) *$449

I'.S ROBOTICS Password

300/ 12(H) Auto A/D w/cables. spier *$:!14

ANCHOR AUTOMATION SIGNALMAN

Mark I 300 Baud $ 69

Mark X 300 Baud Auto A/D *$119

Mark XII 1200/300 Auto A/D *$239

Ql'BIE"

Internal 300/120(1 Auto A/D #$269

External 300/1200 Auto A/D #$289

DIRECT CONNECT DEVICES

P.O. Box 13256, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

CALL FOR

FREE CATALOG

CALL TO

ORDER:

(KO.S) 543-6308

Dealer Inquiries Invited

Circle 182 on inquiry card.

Circle 121 on inquiry card.

How to turn a shy computer into a smooth talker.

It's simple to give your computer a voice with the Personal Speech System (PSS) from Votrax. Inc. The PSS is:

■ a truly phonetic voice synthesizer

■ an unlimited speech output synthesizer

■ able to create sound effects and music

■ an easy to operate, easily installed

synthesizer

■ adaptable to most personal computers

Call 313-583-9884 to hear an actual voice demonstration of the PSS over the phone. Suggested retail price - $395.

For more information and specifications, write:

VOTRAX, INC.

1394 Rankin. Dept. 22B Troy, Michigan 48083 1-800-521-1350 313-588-0341 (in Michigan)

Circle 419 on inquiry card.

Buy/Sell Used Hardware Without Risk!!!

In addition to receiving a monthly newsletter containing latest computer information and sales, membership allows you 1 free ad plus additional ads at reduced prices. Buyer selects ad, sends purchase price to Computer Swap Shop who holds same in escrow and notifies seller who ships to buyer. Buyer has 7 days to examine the equipment and if satisfied, seller receives sales price less small commission; otherwise, money is refunded. You must be a member to buy or sell with Computer Swap Shop Inc.

NO RISK! BONDED.

Send $20 subscription fee to:

Computer Swap Shop, Inc.

Box 2988

Delray Beach, FL 33444

INTRODUCING ^

Hi THCCVPHiR "u

A COMPLETE 680O0 & Z 80 SINGLE BOARD COMPUTER SYSTEM WITH ULTRA-HIGH-RES GRAPHICS!!

ESI Of BOTH WORLDS'

6K TO l MEGABYTE MEMOflY

3UBLE DENSITY FLOPPY DISK

— "Bib- an . t.:::

O MEMOOY (IMTB237)

B32 SERIAL PORTS (ZSiOl

IT ADDRESS MANAGEMENT FOR

„„.. ..EYBOARO INPUT • FULL EXPANSION 16 SIT EXPANSION BUS

PLUG IN CARD CI

III.

Circle 86 on inquiry card.

Circle 291 on inquiry card.

A B Computers

THE VALUE LEADER II SINCE 1976 .

COMPUTERS

IBM PC and PC XT in stock, available at special prices,.

CALL

Zenith-All

patible with Computer

ZF-151-21

ZF-151-52

ZW-151-52

ZF-161-21*

ZF-161-52*

data systems

Zeniths fully software & hardware com-the PC and XT.. .superior keyboard:

Ram Drive Ports Price

128K 360 1 PL/2 SER, CALL

320K 720 (2 drives) 1PL/2 SER. CALL

320K 10.6 MB + 3601PU2 SER. CALL

128K 360 1PL/2 SER. CALL

320K 720 (2 drives) 1PL/2 SER. CALL

Wordstar 335.

dBASE II (AshtonTate) CALL

dBASE III (AshtonTate) ....CALL

Microsoft "WORD" (with MOUSE). 325.

Peachtree Peachtext 5000 189.

Spinnaker Software—full line CALL

UNIX Operating System for PC CALL

COPY PC 29.

• Personal Pearl (pearlsoft) — Database filing/ reporting system for personal productivity. Manipulate database thru simple English sentence commands. Great for beginner or pro. Super business aid. Includes functions for bookkeeping, general ledger, billings management, mail list, sales

analysis, budget planning, more $235.

PLUS many other software specials CALL

j- - - - "pJJe^catauoSi" 1 """ ~ ~

J This ad space can accommodate only a few of the J J exceptional values available from AB. Our latest J J catalog is packed with fantastic buys, top brands, . J thousands of items. For a free copy call or write. |

Sanyo— We have Sanyo 550 & 555 PC's. Built-in software includes MDOS Version II, Wordstar, CalcStar, Basic, more. Great Prices CALL

ALSPA 8" CPM Computers. 64 K memory workhorse at super special prices.

1/SS as low as $500.

2/SS. $700. 2/DS..... $1,000.

* Portable

DISKS AND ACCESSORIES

VERBATIM— Verbatim DATALIFE* Minidisks are super quality, super durable. Price per 5Va" minidisk (sold in boxes of 10)

Qty. 10 Qty. 50 Qty. 100

SS/DD 1.95 1.90 1.85

DS/DD 2.60 2.55 2.50

*AB's OWN DISKETTES-Top disk quality at a low, low price... buy 100 (DS/DD) and pay

only $1.60 per disk.' Plus, before December 30, get a free Amaray Mediamate 5 disk file in the bargain! AB carrys all major brands... 3M, Verbatim, Maxell, Wabash, BASF, Sentinel, Dysan.. .in all popular sizes and configurations. CALL for super prices. DISK STORAGE

Mini Flip 'N File (50 5" disks) $17.45

Rolltop 100 (100 disks, 10 dividers) 28.99

Mini Kas-ette/10 (for 5" disks) 1/2.25 10/2.05 ea

• Amaray Mediamate 5 11.99

PLUS- "HEAD" disk cleaning kit (w/2 disks) 11.99 IBM drive analyzer (Verbatim) 22.50

SOFTWARE

Lotus 1-2-3 $315.

Lotus Symphony , 479.

Multi-Mate 325.

Multiplan (Microsoft) 129.

MONITORS

USI—20 MHz band width, 1000 lines resolution. Easily capable of 80 character display. • 1200G (Pi-2)-12 green phosphor SPECIAL $85. 11200A (Pi-3)-12" amber phosphor SPECIAL 89.

AMDEK

Video 310A-12" amber, 18 meg. TTL-IBM.$155.

Color II + -13" RGB TTL input 435.

ZENITH

ZVM-124-12" amber..22 MHz, TTL for IBM $150.

ZVM-135-High res, RGB + composite monitor.... 470. ZVM-135-1-Cable for RGB monitor 23.

COMMODORE SPECIALS

65.

WC 6420 Auto Modem (also available

for Atari & Apple at slightly higher price)

Tech Sketch Light Pen & Micro Illustrator 44.

MSD Dual Superdrive for C64 & IEEE 570.

CBC 4/12 Analog to Digital 4 Chan/12 Bit 179.

Typing Tutor III with Letter Invaders 35.

(Also for Apple & IBM)

Paper Clip Word Processor CBM/C64 60.

Oracle (Consultant) Data Base 89.

BY Batteries Included

All other "Batteries Included" items in stock CALL FORTH for PET/C 64 50.

(Full Fig Model) by Cargile/Riley

Ditto Disk 64 (copy discs even if 36.

original is copy protected)

STAT for PET/CBM/C64 95.

comprehensive Statistical Analysis Routines

Star Micronics Gemini 10X .....$285.

-10" carnage, F/T 120 CPS

Epson LQ-1500- NEW 24-pin CALL

letter qual. dot matrix Epson RX-80-Tractor feed. Graftrax + 289.

Okidata 92 CALL

Brother HR-35 Daisywheel 25 cps Bi-Dtrectionai 915.

Brother HR-25 DaiSywheel-23 CPS Bi-Directional 675. Brother HR-15 DaiSywheel-13 CPS Bi-Directional 399.

Panasonic 1090 Printer. 249

with Correspondence Mode

PLOTTERS BY AMDEK, SWEET-P:

Amdek Amplot II—Six Pen 890.

• SWEET-P 100— Single Pen (with 4 color pens)

SPECIAL, CALL IBM Parallel Printer Cable 19.

/ETC.

Panasonic, Amdek, Hitachi & Other—

Vt height, double side drives from $149.

• Winchester Drives (10 MB) 895. Quadram Quadboard—Parallel port, serial port, clock/calendar

No RAM-$229, w/64K-$279, w/384K-$499

Hercules graphics board 359.

Votrax speech synthesizers-Personal Speech System 249.

AST—full line of IBM cards & boards CALL

Keytronics 5150 keyboard 179.

Hewlett Packard calculators, all models: LOW, LOW PRICES CALL

POWER DEVICES _

Datashield back-up power source

200 PC-200 watt $265.

300 XT-300 watt 390.

"BITS" Power back-Up-250W, Trueuninteruptable.695.

Brooks 6 Outlet-Surge Suppressor/Noise Filter 54.

COMMUNICATIONS

Mark X Auto Dial/Auto Answer $119.

Anchor Mark XII Smart modem 265.

Hayes Smartmodem 1200B 459.

(includes Smartcom II software)

Hayes SmartModem 1200/300 529.

"Crosstalk" software 135.

AB SATISFACTION GUARANTEE

Every product sold by AB Computers is factory packed and comes with the manufacturers warrantee. However, if an item is defective when received, you may return it to us within 15 days for repair, adjustment or replacement at our option. Returns must be accompanied with copy of your invoice, letter detailing defect, blank warrantee card and all original factory packing. To expedite handling, please call for return authorization number, (Sorry, no returns on computer software, once opened.)

Ordering Information: Prices shown in elude cash discount. Add 3% for credit card purchases (Mastercard or VISA). Personal checks take 15 days to clear; no waiting on certified checks or money orders. Add $1.50 shipping and handling on all orders. Mail, APO/FPO. Air may require additional charges. PA residents add 6% sales tax. All items subject to availability. Prices subject to change Additional discounts available to qualified educational institutions.

A B Computers

THE VALUE LEADER SINCE 1976

252 BETHLEHEM PIKE COLMAR, PA 18915

OR USE OUR ORDER LINE, MONDAY-SATURDAY

9 A.M. — 6 P.M. EST

800-822-1211

(IN PA, 215-822-7727)

Circle 4 on inquiry card.

SS DD 104/1D

DS DD 104/2D

SS SD 3740/1

DS DD 3740/2D

5 1 /4

8

maxell

SS DD MD1

DS DD MD2

SS DD FD1

DS DD FD2

5V 4 8

wabash

r-H/ SS SD M11A O 74 DS DD M14A

8

SS SD F11A SS DD F13A

100 20

Qty Qty

1.97 2.10

2,66 2.82

2.50 2.65

3.18 3.36

• Fast

Delivery

1,86 2.44 2.95

3.24

1.74 2.29 2.79 3.07

• Factory Warranty

1.40 1.52

1.94 2.07

1.53 1.65

1.81 1.94

CALL 818-706-8602

^ Credit For USA Direct Dial Call ^

With Any Disk Order.

Disks 'n Things

5505 Softwind Way *"*

i(tert ^, Agoura Hills, CA 91301 Wgfl

Free Price List Available

A word tor this Punch/Reader Combo is

Speed! Model 510 punches paper tape at 110cps. reads at 150cps. This rugged machine is computer compatible offering RS232C. current loop, parallel inputs. The ASCIl-to-Baudot code conversion permits direct keyboard entry for Telex/TWX transmission. Plus: 256 character storage. 75-9600 baud rate. 5-8 level tape, stock, ADDMASTER CORP 416 Junipero Serra Dr.. San Gabriel. CA 91776 • 213 285-1121.

Powerful Single Board Computer Includes CP/M Plus (3.0 bankedl

$599

Assembled, Tested

Includes CP/M 3.0 on disk

with all manuals

Model MSC-fCO

All Features Fully Supported By CP/M Plus

• Z8QA, 4 MHZ, No wait states

• 128Kb Banked RAM, 60Kb TPA

• 80 x 24 line high speed video

• Disk Controller {up to 4 drives) 8"SS/SD,DS/DD(t.2Mb|

5" SS/DD, DS/DD, OHD (t 2Mb) Use 5" and 8" simultaneously Both 5" and 8"connectors built-in

• Two programmable RS232C ports

• Centronics printer port

• 16 bit TTL I/O port

■ Parallel keyboard input port

• Clock calendar wrtn battery backup

• Expansion bus for enhancements

• Requires only +5V 1 2A, + -12V 0.1A MSC-ICO +5"PHD (1.2 Mb) drive $975

Circle 124 on inquiry card.

Circle 6 on inquiry card.

Circle 26 on inquiry card.

THE

HANDICAPPED'S

SOURCE-

Division Of Computability Corporation

FREE

Catalog of Computer

Products

for the Handicapped

Software & Hardware

for

COMMUNICATION-EDUCATION

ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL VOCATION AL»ENTERTAINMENT

THUS

Computability Corporation

101 Route 46 East

Pine Brook. New Jersey 07058

201-882-0171

618TOZ8-Z09

20298 euozuv 'bssw 9Ui|0SB9 AA 2E92

swinsuusia siru ahomon

xo

OW/esiA 6u|dd!MS GOES PPV sjepjQ IIV

iaaiiANi senio onv suaivaa

aiu/\A JO iibq 8|QB|ieAv spnpoid jamo S6'fr£S pueis Jonubw le^MS ? U!l «9N

DNIddlHS +

S6 a 9£

A1NO

US|S3Q LUMS M9f\J

suo^ng sjy ienQ

ail $ j| a|ddv ioj

DEALERS

TURN YOUR PROFITS.

Circle 142 on inquiry card.

Circle 74 on inquiry card.

Circle 456 on inquiry card.

DYNAMIC RAM

64K (4164) $4.65

256K (41256) $29.00

EPROMS

2732 EPROM 350ns $4.50

2764 EPROM 250ns $7.00

27128 EPROM $21.00

STATIC RAM

6116LP-3 $6.95

6246LP-15 $32.00

8087 $150.00

We carry a wide selection of IC's. IF YOU NEED IT, WE CAN USUALLY GET IT!

OEMS AND DISTRIBUTORS,

CHECK OUR QUANTITY DISCOUNTS!

(206) 876-6298

NORTHWEST MICROCHIPS

DISTRIBUTORS

6730 VIEW DR. S.E. PORT ORCHARD, Wfc 98366

All Prices Subject to Change We Ship UPS ■ COD or PREPAID Shipping and Insurance Are Extra

ANALOG I/O CAPABILITY

FOR

HP 150

• 16 CHANNEL A/D SINGLE ENDED

• 8 CHANNEL A/D DIFFERENTIAL

• 2 CHANNEL D/A

• 12 BIT RESOLUTION

- DISPLAY 1 TO 4 CHANNELS OF DATA ON SCREEN IN REAL TIME,

- BOARD MOUNTS IN ACC. SLOT OF HP

150.

- COMPLETE LOW COST SOFTWARE HANDLER AND EXAMPLE PROGRAMS AVAILABLE.

$995 QTY 1-5

CLINICAL MICROSYSTEMS, INC.

Box 1055 Melbourne, Florida 32936

(305) 723-5475

Circle 307 on inquiry card.

Circle 62 on inquiry card.

Circle 435 on inquiry card.

PRE-CHRISTMAS SALE

WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD!

PRINTERS

OKIDATA

ML82A, 10" Para. &Ser. $ 289

ML83A, 15" Para. & Ser 545

ML92P,160cps 399

ML92 IBM Graphics Comp 429

ML92S ( 160cps 499

ML92 Apple Mac. 2K Graphics Call

ML93P, 160cps 629

ML93 IBM Graphics Comp 649

ML93S,160cps ., 769

ML84P,200cps 799

ML84S,200cps 899

RITEMAN

Riteman Plus 120 cps wrTractor .... $ 257

Riteman Blue Plus 140cps IBM 342

Riteman I1160 cps, 8K mem, w/Trac. 369

Riteman 15,160 cps, 15"carr 549

QUME

Letterpro20PProp.Spc. EnhPrnt ..$ 567

Sprint 1140 + .2K, 40 cps,

132col.width 1299

STAR MICROIMICS

Gemini 10X, 10", 120 cps $ 265

Gemini 15X, 15", 120 cps 367

Delta 10,10", 160 cps 399

EPSON

RX80,120cps $ 275

RX80FT, Friction &Tractor 319

FX80,10"160cps 447

MX100,15" Carriage 469

FX100,160cps 667

LQ1500 CaH

G. ITOH

Prowriter8510AP,120cps $ 329

Prowriter8510 BC2,120 cps 429

Prowriter8510SP, 180 cps 455

ProwriterU1550P,15"120cps 527

Prowriter 111550BCD, 15" 120 cps .. 557

Starwriter F10-40PU, 40 cps 949

Starwriter A10,18 cps 479

PrintmasterF10-55PU,55cps 1199

BROTHER

HR25 $ 669

DYNAX

DX15By Brother, Same as HR15 ...$ 379

JUKI

6100, L.Q. 18 cps w/proportional spc.$ 429

TOSHIBA

P1351 Dot Matrix, 192 cps, letter quality 100 cps, does graphics. 3 in 1 printer $1289 P1340 same as above but 10" carr. . 757

MANNESMAIMN-TALLY

160L,160cps .........$ 559

180L,180cps 765

PANASONIC

1091 w/Tractor, 120 cps, 1 yr. war. . . $ 309

SOFTWARE

LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORP.

Lotus 1-2-3 $ 295

Symphony 437

ASHTON TATE

DBasell $ 329

DBaselll 419

MICROPRO INTERNATIONAL

ProPak(WS/MM/SS/Star Index) $ 399

Option Pak(M/M,C/S,S/l) 199

MICROSOFT

Softcard(CP/M) $239

. Microsoft Word 315

PRINTER ACCESSORIES

ORANGE MICRO

Grappler + $ 115

BufferedGrappler +,16Kexp.64K . 165 Mr. Chips for PC & XT, Par. Ser. Clock & Cal.,64K 389

TOSHIBA

Bi-Directional Tractor .$ 159

Font Disk for Down loading P1351 . . 48

MICROTEK

Dumpling GX (same as Grappler +) $ 68

Dumpling GX w/16K buffer 149

Dumpling GXW/32K buffer 165

Additional Buffering 16K . 16

FOURTH DIMENSION

Par. Card & Cable for Apple $ 49

OKIDATA

Plug and Play for IBM ......$ 35

Okigraph I for 82A 43

Okigraph I for 83A . , 43

Tractor for 82A& 92 49

CABLES

IBM PC to Parallel Printer. ... .$ 16

Serial Cable. 18

DISPLAY MONITORS

NEC

JB1260,12" Green $

JB1201,80 col., 20MHz 133

JB 1205(A) 12" Amber, 20MHz 139

JC1215ColorComposit w/audio ... 245 JC 1216 RGB, Hi-Res/IBM 640x300.. 365

AMDEK

V300 $ 139

V300A 149

V310AforlBMPC

Color I +, Composite 13" 279

Color II + , Hi-Res. 13'7IBM 425

TAXAN

IBM Green Monochrome #121 $ 139

IBM Amber Monochrome #122 145

RGB IBM w/Cable #420 439

RGB Super Hi-Res. #415 393

RGB/Comp. Med. Res. #210 259

PRINCETON GRAPHICS

HX-12forusewithlBMPC $ 479

Max12AmberforlBM 199

JAGUAR

12" Green, Hi-Res Non-Glare $ 99

12" Amber, Hi-Res Non-Glare 99

V

IBM PC ACCESSORIES

PARADISE

Multi-function Card .$ 273

PC PEACOCK

Color Graphics Card w/Par. Printer Port, Com pat. w/AII IBM Software, 2 yr. war. $ 225

64K MEMORY UPGRADE

64K(9chips) ....$ 39

AST RESEARCH

SixPak+ .$ 249

Mega Plus II 265

QUADRAM

Quad Color 1 Board $ 199

VUTEK

Vutek - CPS, Fully IBM PC Software & Hardware Compatible. RGB & Composite Outputs. Parallel Printer Port. Serial Port 50-9600 Baud. Two Year Warranty ..$ 249

APPLE & FRANKLIN ACCESSORIES

ACCESSORIES

System Saver $ 69

Fan for Apple II &IIEw/surge 37

APPLE

SuperSerial Card $ 139

MICROMAX

Viewmax 128K extended 80 col. card

forApplellE $ 129

80col.cardforApplell&ll+ 139

MODEMS

ANCHOR

MarkXIl $ 229

U.S. ROBOTICS

Password 300/1200 $ 335

Auto Dial 212A 459

HAYES MICRO

300 Baud Smart Modem $ 205

1200 Baud Smart Modem . 459

1200 B for IBM PC 389

Micro Modem HE 259

Chronograph 189

PERSONAL SYSTEMS

APPLE

Apple ME Starter System inch Apple ME, Tilt Monitor, 1 Drive w/contoller, 80 col.

card $1189

Apple lie Lightweight Portable 999

Macintosh w/lmage Writer 2500

IBM

IBM PC Bare w/cont. & keyboard . ..$1199

IBM PC64K, 1 Drive 1345

IBM PC64K,2 Drives 1525

IBMPC,2Drivesw/256K 1665

IBMXT,128K,10Meg.,360KDr 2995

Call About All "AT" Systems

KAYPRO

Kayproll $1179

Kaypro 4 1645

KayprolO 2295

SANYO

MBC555-2W/1320KDrive&sftwr. . .$ 895 MBC 555-2 w/2 320K Drives &

more software 1095

Serial Port for Sanyo 69

TAVA

TAVA PC1 Par. & 1 Ser. Ports, 128K, 2-320K

Drives, Color Card & Monitor $1550

TAVA XT same as above including 10 meg. Hard Disk Drive $2495

NEC

PC8800, 2-320K Drives, TB1205 Amber Monitor, FREE Software, Wordstar, Mailmerg, Multiplan $1145

COMPAQ

256K, w/2-320K Drives $2195

DISK DRIVES

SIEMENS

FD10OS $ 145

TANDON

TM10Q-2forlBMPC $ 149

TM65-2, Vt Height, 320K 189

KAMERMAN

10 Meg. Internal Low Power w/Controller Card & Software. 1 Year Warranty, 48 Hour Replacement Guarantee ,....$ 895

ALPHA OMEGA

10 Meg HD for IBM & Comp. w/Cont. Card

13 Month Warranty $ 875

TEAC

55B Double Sided 360K ... .$ 135 2 for 255

Quad Density 189

PANASONIC

1/2 Height, 360K ...$ 139

Drives For Apple & Franklin RANA SYSTEMS

Elite I $ 225

Elite II 339

Elite III 399

Controlleradd 75

SUPER 5

Sup-5(V 2 Height) $ 199

Controller Add 65

MICRO-SCI

A-2 $185

Controller Add 70

GIVE US A CHANCE TO BEAT THE

COMPETITION'S ADVERTISED PRICE.

IF YOU SEE IT ADVERTISED FOR LESS, CALL

COMPUTER CONNECTION FIRST FOR LOWEST QUOTE!

MAIL ORDER:

12841 S. Hawthorne Blvd., No. 585 Hawthorne, California 90250

NO SURCHARGE FOR CREDIT CARDS

We accept VISA, MasterCard, COD [w/deposit), Certified Checks or Wire Transfers. Minimum Shipping Charge $4.00. Some items subject to back order. California Res, add 6V»% Sales Tax. Prices subject to change without notice.

TOLL FREE

ORDER LINE

(800) 732-0304

{Outside California]

[813] 514-S019

[Inside California)

TECH. SALES S. INFO. :

[213) 514-9019

Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Circle 76 on inquiry card.

• :i*

FLEXIBLE DISCS

WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD!! Call Free (800)235-4137

for prices and information. Dealer inquiries invited and CO.D.'s accepted

PACIFIC EXCHANGES

100 Foothill Blvd. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. InCal. call (800)592-5935 or (805)543-1037

take the drudgery out of programmlngt

Your IBM PC w/128K, DOS 2,0, one disk drive and our Program; Will cross reference and/or print Source

Code Will flag duplicate data names and invalid

references. Will allow more than 1400 data names and

11,000 references Will process all versions of Cobol Will be "personalized" with your name on

the report heading.

Invest $95 00 in your future

Send check or money order to: Meta System Inc. of Alaska 2806 Iris Drive Anchorage, Alaska 99503 Phone 907-243-8619

8051/52 DEVELOPMENT BOARD

8051-Based Single-Board Computer with

Monitor/Debugger

■4 28-pin byte-wide sockets; monitor will program EEPR0MS. ■Perfect for System Development and Educational Applications

□1

Binary Technology

J P O. BOX A-59 • HANOVER, NH 03755 • 6D3,'643-2861

Circle 318 on inquiry card.

Circle 266 on inquiry card

Circle 41 on inquiry card.

BYSO™ LISP is a complete implementation ol LISP. Includes a full screen editor, arrays, good debugging. Very fast. Thoroughly tested. Documentation includes 'THE LITTLE LISPer." Everything you need to get started plus a first class programming environment. Order today from LEVIEN INSTRUMENT CO., Box 31R, McDowell, VA 24458

(703) 396-3345

$89*5

FOR IBM PC 128K

Get What You've Always Wanted -

Get type-set quality true proportional spaced printing from your WordStar and NewWord document files.

PropStar prints on most daisy-wheel printers including Diablo, Qume, NEC, and compatibles with ps type-wheels.

PropStar is a stand-alone program, not a patch to your w.p. program, gives higher quality print than modified WordStar, never crowds caps. PropStar supports most of the common WordStar and NewWord print enhancements- For CP/M-80 systems on 8" and 5-1/4" media, also for MS-DOS systems on PC media. Only $ 49.95, Visa & M/C o.k. Specify computer and printer model.

CIVIL

COMPUTING

CORPORATION

2111 Research Drive, Suite !

Livermore. California 94550 |4I5| 455-8086

Comm.64 Book

GET ONE BASIC BOOK FREE WITH EVERY ORDER

BLIZTEXT 1.1 W

for more than 4000 char!

cesser plus tome additional featur standard feature* include: Full screen oriented editing with h U\ and vertical scrolling, dynarr matting, printer control codes imbedded anywhere within the t< underlining, jhift to a different front, and whatever else your printer can perform, works with all printers I parallel, serial, IEEE), single keystroke for disk directory and error channel, global or local search and replace, left and right margin justification, centering, page numbering, footnotes heading, calculations within the text, different screen and border colors definable, copy register to move/duplicate portions of the text, double line spacing, definable form length and width, indent paragraph, text can be saved on disk or cassette, in normal format or in format, text can be saved

The additional features of BLIZTEXT 1.1 ere:

An INCLUDE function for large texts that cannot be held in memory at the

up to four disk drives.This givex you control over every targe texts, you can print a whole book that way. About 26000 '>e in memory at the same in to that you have room

phone system and a modem [VIC, HES, or Smart Modem). This gives you ire. mendous opportunities, for example,

puter via a RS232 signal. Everything can be defined with the terminal mode, like the number of stop bits, the word-length, the baudrate, parity, full or half duplex, 3 line or X line. Program is available on disk and on cassette (pis

Ord8rNa 4965 only t 49.00

BLIZTEXT COMBO PACKAGE

the BLIZTEXT i the following .... .vith BLIZTEXT: A (

with an option allowing addresses with a letter created by BLIZTEXT.

sequential file into a BASIC program file, so that you can use BLIZTEXT to edit BASIC programs.

build a very inexpensive printer interface tor all CENTRONICS compatible printers. —I * 89.00

ELCOMP PUBLISHING. INC.

Z174 Wen Foothill Blvd., Unit E, Dept. 36

Upland,CA91TS6

Phone: (714) 6238314.Tix .: 29 81 91

PAYMENT: Check, VISA, MC CA residents add 6 % sales tax. Add S 2.00 for shipping. Outside USA. add 15% for shipping

telex 52 89 73

Circle 242 on inquiry card.

Circle 61 on inquiry card.

Circle 150 on inquiry card.

CHESS COMPUTERS

CHESS SOFTWARE

At Discount

Fidelity Elite A/S World Champion

Was i^eCNow $510

Fidelity Sensory 9

Was i#r Now $160

Sargon III by Hayden Software

WasjfeCTNow $45

Other Fidelity products discounted

Prices include shipping. C.O.D. add $2.00 MA residents add 5% sales tax.

Call or write—Questions answered

CHESS MATE— Dept. Bll

21 Faulkner Hill Road

Acton, MA 01720

(617) 263-2087

THE DOCTOR IS IN!

Meet ELIZA, the computer psychotherapist.

Created at MIT in 1966 to run on a large mainframe, ELIZA has become the world's most celebrated artificial intelligence program, ELIZA will analyze any statement you enter and respond in true Rogerian fashion-and her remarks are often amazingly appropriate! Unlike the stripped down versions you may have seen, our ELIZA has

retained the FULL power and range of expression of the

original mainframe program.

Best of all, ELIZA comes with the complete SOURCE

PROGRAM (written in BASIC) ... anyone, even a

beginner, can easily customize ELIZA's responses.

So next time people ask you what your computer can

do, bring out ELIZA and show them!

ELIZA is only $45 and available in the following formats: •Apple II, II plus, He, He, Ml •8" CP/M disk •IBM PC and all compatibles •514" CP/M disk •Commodore 64 (disk or cas.) {specify make and model)

Srtiiicial Intelligence V RESEARCH GROUP

Add $3.00 shipping & handling (Calif, res. add 6 1 /2% sales tax.) Checks, MasterCard and VISA accepted

921 N. La Jolla Ave., Dept. B Los Angeles, CA 90046

(213) 656-7368 or 654-2214

C SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

PCDOS/MSDOS

• FULL C COMPILER PER K&R

• Inline 8087 or Assembler Roating Point

• Full 1 MB Addressing for Code or Data

• Transcendental Functions

• MSDOS 1.1/2.0 LIBRARY SUPPORT

• Program Chaining using Exec

• Environment Available to Main

• c-windowTMC SOURCE CODE DEBUGGER

• Variable Display & Alteration Using C Expression

' • FAST 8088/8086 ASSEMBLER Combined Package — $199 Call or write:

c~systems Fullerton, CA 92634 P.O. Box 3253 714-637-5362 ^TM c-systems

Circle 55 on inquiry card.

Circle 25 on inquiry card.

M&& FORTRON CORPORATION

;.:«£

Quality at Low Cost

Designed for

UPGRADE IBM® PC to PCXT

Ideal for

•Development Labs •Industrial Application •OEM Manufacturers

140 Watts Switching Power Supply

Model: FC 135-40

Worldwide

Representatives

Wanted!

PC XT Assembly Kit $375.00

Includes:

*Power Supply FC-135-40 *Cabinet FC-630 A2 •Keyboard FC-427

PC Upgrade Kit $1040.00

Includes: 'Power Supply FC-135-40 *10 MB Winchester Drive with Controller •Winchester Bios

ONLY

$1g9 00

[Quantity discount available]

—ORDER TOLL FREE— [800] 821-9771

[Outside Calif.]

Tel. [415] 490-8171 TLX=559291 Fortran UD

3797 YALE WAY FREMONT, CA 94538

Full Replacement

Same Dimension, same power

connector, same pin out to regular

pc power supply.

4 Disk Drives Connectors

Capable of handling 4 Drives. Hard or Floppy.

Built-in "ROTRON" Cooling Fan

High CFM, Low Noise, Reliable.

• ® File #E82453

• European Safety Design

• 115 V/230 VAC Input Dual Selectable

• Assembled, Fully Tested in USA

• One year Warranty

Terms:

Shipping immediately from stock usually. Minimum $5.00 shipping & handling. Personal check ship two weeks later. 6.5% sales tax for CA residents.

*Also carry: Hundreds of standard models power switches from 30 watts to 300 watts, single output-multiple outputs.

Dealer & OEM Manufacturers Quantity Discounts Available

FC-427

^KEYBOARD $115.00

• 100°/o IBM® PC Plug-in Compatible

• Use High Quality TS-M0001 Switch, Life Time 20 Million Cycles

• High performance, High reliability

H SC130 -40

$179.00

130 W. Switching Power Supply

• To Build an IBM PCXT Compatible

• Power Switch on Back Side Position Fit Cabinet FC-630

FC-630

$99.00

CABINET

• Comes with two different

| slots, panels, accepts CPU 1 BOARDS with 0.75" or 1" I apart slot connectors.

• Use Power Supply HSC130-40.

• Back Side Power Switch Position

FC-630 A-2 CABINET

• IBM Type Right Side Power Switch Position

• Comes with different slot panel, accepts CPU Board with 0.75" or 1" apart slot connectors

$99.00 • Use Power Supply FC135-40

FC-330

$299.00

FC-530

$219.00

FC-230

$139.00

Hard Disk Card

IBM PCXT Compatible

Monochrome Card

IBM PCXT Compatible

Floppy Drive Control Card

IBM PC Compatible

I.C.

MC14S8 0.28

MC1489 0.29

8086 9.00

8284A 4.50

8237A-5 7.50

8284C 1.50 8275 15.00

Prices for Min. Order 100 pes

Single Unit ^ Prices

IBM® PC, PCXT are trademarks of IBM Corp.

Circle 170 for Dealer inquiries. Circle 171 for End-User inquiries.

WOW!

HARMONY VIDEO & COMPUTERS

2357 Coney Island Ave.. B'klyn.. NY 11223

Call Toll Free

800-VIDEO84 or 800-441-1144

or in NY 718-627-1000

Circle 187 on inquiry card.

FREE FORTH

GET ONE FORTH OR BOOK FREE WITH EVERY S 20.00 ORDER *

FORTH Applications on the IBM PC Application programs in FigFQFsTH tot /our PC Scrwns show programs from

routine keyword index. * little g*mt, mailing IcM with invoice writing and a complete business package combining

r-No 61 (Book) S12.0S

POWER FORTH for APPLE 111. ATARI

800XL Comrr.odor.-64 Ktendee) Fig-FORTH incl editor and any useful utilities Very powerful igFORTM for Apple It c

Order No 6155 S 19.95

FigFOR i H for Commodore-64

Order r*o. 4960 S 39.00

FigFORTM tor ATARI BOOXL

Ordar No 7066 S 39.00

Laarn FORTH f.Attri 600/800XL (Dak

or HfMM.

Ordw No 7063 I 19 96

Laarn FORTH for APPLE Ik

Order No. 6163 S9 96

FORTH on th* ATARI - Lwmtna

FORTH application examples for the novice and expert programmer 118 pages This book discusses the us* of FORTH for generating sound, plotting graphics, and handling text and strings Included are sample programs illuitrating input and output, math, use of the game pon and a sample mailing list Order-No 170 IBookl 17.99

FORTH Introduction on your APPLE Ik (The Apple in your Hand) A complete introduction to FORTH on your APPLE Includes many FORTH application programs and machine language count Order No, 178 (Book, 112.96

Dealer and Dintribsrtor inquiries

invited.

ELCOMP PUBLISHING, INC

2174 Weat Foothill Blyd Ltnit E

Upland, CA 917B6

Phone (7141 623-8314,Ttx 29 81

PAYMENT: Check. VISA. MC CA rawterm add 6 % sales tax Add S 2.00 for shipping Outside USA add 16% *or shipping

n Germany contact taien 52 69 73

(omputer /pntinuum

San Francisco, CA 941

Circle 151 on inquiry card.

VT102

CONNECT YOUR PC TO YOUR DEC SYSTEM

PC100 turns your IBM PC/XT into a VT100/52 terminal. PC102 adds VT102 printer and file transfer support. PC102-132 supports true 132 columns. Guaranteed, compatibility with all VT100/52 applications maiding EOT, WORD II, ALL-IN-ONE. DEC-CALC AND UNIX. PRICED FROM $89.

• 110 through 9600 baud operations

• Complete keyboard and screen emulation

• Optional 4010 graphics support

GENERAL MICROSYSTEMS

6440 Flying Cloud Dr., Suite 205

Eden Prairie. Minnesota 55344

(612)944-0593

CALL FOR FREE INFO

AGE.

Serial 4 ■■■!"■■ ■ } Parallel

Convert What You Have To What You Want!

* RS232 Serial * Centronics Parallel

* 8 Baud Rates * Handshake Signals

* Latched Outputs * Compact 3% x 4% x ijrj

No lonc-er will your peripheral choices be limited by the type of port you have available! Our new High Performance 700 Series Converters provide the missing link. Based on the

transfer efficiency. Detailed documentation allows simplified installation. Order the Model 770 (Ser/Par) or Model 775 (Par/Ser) Today!

ImErfraniLB

2734-C Johnson Dr.

Post Office Box 3717

Ventura, California 93006

«nly*89."

Connector Option 110.00 CA Residents 6% tax UPS Shlppino S3.00

CALL (805) 658-7466 or 658-7467 _ £ For FAST Delivery

TST"

MEMORY MODULES

8Kx8 CMOS RAM

Radio Shack Model 100

NEC PC-8201A

Olivetti M10

j Suggested List $120.00.

Purple Price *49b95 v Low power CMOS design. j Simple installation.

j 30 day satisfaction guarantee or your money back. v 1 Year warranty.

* Next day shipment via UPS included in price. j Optional Memory Test program $15. (Cassette) 4 No frills direct connect Modem Cable - $9.95 Shipping: From stock. Free UPS surface Cont. USA — Add $4.00 for UPS 2 day Air — Add $7.00 for Canada — Payment: VISA. Master Card, or American Express, Checks held 14 days — Tax: 6% (Calif only).

CALL NOW visa

PURPLE COMPUTING Ameron Eiprew

2068 Ventura Blvd. 1 - (800) 732-5012

Camarillo, CA 93010 Calif (805) 9874788

Circle 177 on inquiry card.

Circle 156 on inquiry card.

Circle 347 on inquiry card.

'"

New 64K Single Board Computer

eliminates need for a terminal.

Includes video controller, any

size floppy driver controller,

6Mz CPU and CPM 2.2*-Only $375.

Li"

Substantial OEM Discounts Available.

Save yourself time, cost and trouble of hardware design and integration. Hardware— Graphics/Alpha

Video Controller, No Terminal Necessary • 2 Serial Ports • 64K RAM

• I/O Expansion Software— Floppy Disk Driver • Alpha Terminal Driver

• Source Code Provided Call Us Tbday-Megatel 1051 Clinton St., Buffalo N.Y. 14206 (416) 745-7214

•CPM is a truciemark of Digital Research Inc.

APPLE COMPATIBLE

Prices for dealers in quantities of 10 or more. End Users Inquiries welcomed.

lie Slim Drive $170.00 ea.

It +, lie Slim Drive $140.00 ea.

II + , Me Shugart Drive . . .$130.00 ea.

Controller Card $35.00 ea.

Computer Case $55.oo ea.

Keyboard $70.oo ea.

(Numeric and Function Keys) Switching Power Supply. .$45.00 ea.

ELECTRADE CO. (408) 946-2541

780 Trimble Rd. Suite 605 San jose, CA 95131

FLEXIBLE DISCS

WE WILL NOT BE UNDER-SOLD!! Call Free (800)235-4137

for prices and information. Dealer inquiries invited and C.O.D's accepted.

PACIFIC EXCHANGES

100 Foothill Blvd. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. in Cal. call (800)592-5935 or (805)543-1037

Ode 263 on inquiry card.

Circle 154 on inquiry card.

Circle 318 on inquiry card.

TOLL-FREE

ORDERING:

800-222-8686

CCT

CUSTOM COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY

FOR technical SUPPORT/ 1 CCT PLAZA - BOX 4160 - SEDONA, ARIZONA 86340

SERVICE / IN ARIZONA' Purchase your Hardware and Software directly from an OEM / Systems Integrator. Take advantage of our buying power! We stock a o i hi n u ■ f U || |j ne 0 f g oarc j |_ eve | Components, Software and Peripherals. Call for your needs. We'll give you the Lowest Prices, and the Technical

602-282-6299 Support and Know-How we are quickly becoming well-known for Satisfied Customers Nationwide. The Nation's Custom Systems House

for Business, Education and Science. Call for a system quote. CCT implements tomorrow's technology today!

• FOREMOST QUALITY • ADVANCED SUPPORT • REASONABLE COST •

CCT

I (ompuPi

80286 NOW!

□ CCT-286Z is our modified version of the Ml-286dual processor board from Macrotech. It features a Z-S0H and the Intel 80286, with socket for the 80287. Directly replaces 8085/88 under MP/M 8-16, at throughput increases of 3 to 5! D Introductory price -$1099.

CCT-4 SERIES W/286Z

CCT-4A45995 (INCL. CCT-2.4) OCT-4B-$4895 {+DRIVE SYS.) CCT-4C-$6695 (+DRIVE SYS.) CCT-M512-512K STATIC BD-$2449

• 8" CP/M SOFTWARE SPECIALS •

dBASE II - Latest Version 2.4 $349

Supercalc86-forCP/M86&MP/M $ 99

Wordstar $299Pro-Pak $429

Microsoft BASIC .. $299 Compiler .. $339 Supersoft FORTRAN IV $339CComp $399 Peachtree Series 8 Modules each $599

• TOP SELLING PERIPHERALS •

CCT-90K Parallel S-100 Terminal

Amber Screen - 90K Baud $749

Wyse 100-14" Green

Wordstar Prom Option $ 75

WyseSO $529 75 .

200/300

$1069

$599 Televideo 925 ... $749 $950 970 $1099

Visual 50. 950 .

Liberty Freedom 100 - $479 200 - $679

0kidata82-$329 83 -$619 84 -$899

92 $459 93 $719

NEC 7710 $2150 7730 $2150

Diablo 620 $969 630 $1899

INDUSTRIAL GRADE SUPERIOR QUALITY

CCT DISK DRIVE SYSTEMS

S-100 HARD DISK SUBSYSTEMS

ROLLS ROYCES OF THE INDUSTRY

Professionally engineered ST-506 type systems for the business market S-100 Computer user. Includes industry top quality drives, CompuPro Disk 3 DMA controller, all cabling, A&T, formatted, burned-in. Provisionsfor up to two hard disks in each system. We include operating system update. CP/M 80, CP/M 86, CP/M 8-16, MP/M 8-16, CP/M 68K. (/1 Systems are CCT innovated hard/floppy combinations, with Mitsubishi DSDD 8" drive.) 12 month warranty.

CCT-10(11 + MEG) $1799

CCT-20(22+ MEG) $2319

CCT-40(36+ MEG) $2799

CCT-60 (58 + MEG) (New) $3999

CCT-90(87 + MEG) (New) $5209

CCT-125(123 + MEG) (New) $6399

CCT-10/1 $2349

CCT-20/1 $2869

CCT-40/1 $3349

CCT-60/1 $4549

CCT-90/1 $5759

CCT-125/1 $6949

Drive capacities shown are after formatting! We are working on tape cartridge back-up units.

FLOPPY SYSTEMS CCT-2.4 • Dual 8" DSDD ™ w CCT-5 • 5%" DSDD

Mitusbishi 2.4 Megabyte in Extra Heavy horizontal enclosure, IBM Compatible Tandon 320K. Extra Heavy Cabinet removeable filter air system, all cabling, A&T, Burned in. The accommodates two drives, hard or floppy. All cabling, A&T, fastest system available: $1229 Burned-in. Perfect for our MS-DOS Package .... $399

* SUPER PRICES * COMPUPRO COMPONENTS * IN STOCK *

CCT-2-$6799 • CCT-3-$6699 • Disk 1Aw/CP/M- $619 • CPU 8086/87 - $819 • M-Drive/H - $1099

CPU 8085/88 - $349 • CPU 8086 - $559/1 OMh z $599 • CPU6 8K - $519/10Mhz - $639

CPU-Z-S249 • Disk 1A-$519 • Disk 3 -$499 « |RAM 16 (12Mhz) - $249[ • RAM 21 (128K) - $749

RAM22(256K)-$1319 • Interfacer 3 - $459 • Interfaced -$349 • System Support 1 - $329

Enclosure 2 Desk-$649/Rack-$699 • CP/M80(CCTHMX)~$125 • CP/M86(CCTTMX}-$175

CP/M 8-16 (CCTTMX)-$199 • MP/M 8-16 (CCTSX)- $499 CP/M 68K(CCICX)- $279

CP/M 86 Upgrade Kit: CP/M 86, RAM 16, Sys. Supt. 1, Cable - $709

Call for CSC Boards — New Releases — CCT Mods Updates - S30/O.S.

ALL NEW MP/M SALES GET FREE CONCURRENT DOS UPDATE WHEN AVAILABLE!

CCT-1 - ENTRY LEVEL S-100 BUSINESS SYSTEM

• Enclosure 2-Desk-20 Slot Mainframe < » CPU 8085/88 - 6Mhz 8085/8Mhz 8088 •

• Disk 1A - DMA Floppy Disk Controller «

• RAM 16 - 64K Static RAM - 12Mhz •

• Interfacer 4 - 3 Serial/2 Parallel I/O •

• CCT-2.4-Dual 8" Mitsubishi DSDD Drive System - 2.4 Megabytes •

• CP/M 80-2.2 HMX - CCT Modified •

• All Cabling, Complete CCT Assembly, Testing, and Minimum 20 Hour Burn-in •

SPECIAL PRICE

$3,559

RUNS ALL STANDARD 8" CP/M SOFTWARE - INCLUDES OUR EXCLUSIVE 12 MONTH DIRECT WARRANTY

OPERATING SYSTEM NOTE: Latest CP/M, CP/M 86, MP/M 8-16, CP/M 68K, have each been restructured and optimized by CCT, for utmost flexibility, power and speed. Ail CCT products are supported.

MS-DOS FOR COMPUPRO - IBM COMPATIBLE CCT MODIFIED SYSTEM

For any CP/M 86 CompuPro System - Includes MS-DOS Version 2.0 and 5W DMA Disk Controller, All Manuals ■

Prices & availability subject to change. All products new, and carry full manufacturer's warranties. Call for catalog. Free technical help to anyone. AH products we sell are CCT individually tested and set up for your system - Plug-In & Go! Arizona residents add sales tax CCT© Trademark — Custom Computer Technology; MS-DOS© Trademark — Microsoft; IBM© Trademark — International Business Machines; CompuPro© Trademark — W.J. Godbout; CP/M© MP/M© Trademarks — Digital Research

Circle 104 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 543

SAGE IV OWNERS

5, 10 MB EXPANDED WINCH.

BACKUPS AVAILABLE

ON REMOVABLE

CARTRIDGE DISK.

NOW AVAILABLE:

•FLEXWARE m Financial Software Sys. •Our ULTRA-STREAM™ Graphics Contact: MASTERBYTE

COMPUTERS OF N.Y.

Suite 815, 19 W. 34 St. N.Y., N.Y. 10001 (212) 760-0340

Authorized STRIDE MICRO Distributor

DIGITAL RESEARCH • SORCIM « P.O. Box 4135 W.N.Y., NJ. 07093

1-800-932-0627

1-800-624-0799

&TDKI

flexible disks

Call Free (800)235-4137

for prices and information. Dealer inquiries invited. C.O.D. and charge cards accepted.

VISA'

PACIFIC EXCHANGES

100 Foothill Blvd San Luis Obispo. CA | 93401 (in Cat call (805)543-1037)

Circle 258 on inquiry card.

Circle 59 on inquiry card.

Circle 318 on inquiry card.

RS-232

DATA

TAP

Modal 232DT

RS-232 DATA TAP can be used to monitor the data which is being transmitted and received on a RS-232 line. Drives a printer, CRT, or any other RS-232 receive type device. Requires no AC power or batteries to operate. ORDER NOW! Only $34.95. All cash orders postpaid (IL res. add 6% sales tax); we accept MC, Visa. Free: new illustrated catalog of RS-232 interface and testing equipment. Phone: 815-434-0846. Make checks payable to:

(

B&n electronics ■■0 MANUFACTURING COM PAN V

P.O. Box 1008B, OTTAWA, IL 61350

NEW

From the people who brought you ACCESS/80 ... It's FRIEND The Report Generator

FRIEND The Report Generator befriends your current software package, with an English query language for reports, and applications language extensions for complex tasks. Reads and writes virtually all files (DBASE II, COBOL, BASIC, any ASCII)! Ask us about your package,

FRIEND The Report Generator has hundreds of business and research applications, from mailing list management to data reduction. Extracts, sorts, lists, cross-tabulates, computes, and displays any number of fields and computed variables, formatting and totalling automatically. Original data remains untouched.

For PC DOS. MS DOS, CPM. MPM, CPM86 For most micros. (Z80, 8080, 8085, 8086-8088) Most terminal characteristics are already in our install program. We download. We support. $295 suggested retail price.

FRIENDS SOFTWARE CORPORATION

P 0. Box 527. Berkeley, CA 94701 415-540-7ZB2

FRIEND is available from: Distributors: *DATA PLUS BENELUX. Waalre, Netherlands and Brussels 011-31-4904-5115 *RPW. Montreal and Toronto, Canada 514-878-1325 * Dealers and Systems Houses: •ARMETTA ASSOCIATES. Chicago 312-226-3957 + C0MPLUS. Hickory Hills, IL 312-430-5205 + COMPUTER CONSULTANTS, Waitsfield. VT 802-496-3158 •CUSTOM RUBBER PRODUCTS. INC.. Houston 713-691-2211 *HANSEN RESEARCH INC.. Houston 713-723-8129 *M I 0 SYSTEMS (with Myte Myke), Orchard Park. NY 716-662-6621 • MARSH MANUFACTURING COMPANY. Norlhridge. CA 213-886-6113

WHOLESALE PRICES

PLUS 6%

I Hardware. Software, Supplies, Accessories

SOFTWARE RENTAL

RENT: LOTUS 1-2-3 $99.00

OR

dBase III $99.00

Annual Membership $ 8.00 I

Software Rental Library $25.00 |

compumart

16 Shipmaster, Clover, SC29710

CALL: 1-800-334-3818. In SC: 831-8502

mmm 8:30-5 00 et Monday-Friday

Circle 34 on inquiry card.

Circle 172 on inquiry card.

Circle 71 on inquiry card.

E3

o

BASF

FlexyDisks® 5 V*"

Specify soft, 10 or 16 sector

Price 10-90 Price 100 +

Single side double density

1.60. 1.45,

1.85. 1.70,

Double side double density

Hard sectors In Library box only add .15.

Certified Check - Money Order - Personal Check. Allow up to 2 weeks for personal checks to clear. Add $3.00 per 100 or part to each order for UPS. shipping charges. NJ Residents add 6% sales tax.

178 Route 206 South, P.O. Box 993 Somerville, N.J. 08876 • (201) 874-5050

ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS

L'lWEt

*f CATALOG

I MANUFACTURERS OF DUALITY ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS

OVER 15,000 DIFFERENT ITEMS IN STOCK'

MOUSER ELECTRONICS

11433 WOODSIDE AVE SAIMTEE. CA 92071 PHONE . (619) 449-2222 TWX 910-331-1175

Circle 152 on inquiry card.

Circle 110 on inquiry card.

Circle 293 on inquiry card.

HOW TO BUY BETTER VALUES

PROGRESSIVE will

custom engineer NETWORKS a networking i FOR YOUR

configuration for your office needs.

IBM PC

Details below

Here's what you get:

• Engineered Layout.

• Custom Parts List.

• Price Comparisons.

• Service Options.

The AT will

appeal to

buyers who

need maximum

performance.

Call to ask our AT specialists how to buy better value while avoiding hidden pitfalls.

Floppy Disk Drives: TANDON TM 100-2

IBM's 1st choice now only

HALF HEIGHTS «haq

Direct drive with 1 year warranty $ IHJJ

Mounting kit & "Y" jack FREE with purchase of two MITSUBISHI, TEAC. SHUGART, CDC in stock CALL

$179

XT-LIKE HARD DISKS

CALL FOR THE LATEST AND GREATEST BUYS AND

CHOOSE FROM NAMES UKE PEACHTREE PERIPHERALS, MAYNARD, EVEREX AND MITSUBISHI,

Chips (Always in stock}:

&4K RAM CHIP MEMORY UPGRADE (set of 9)

full 90 day warranty

WE ARE CHIP BROKERS, ASK FOR QUANTITY PRICI

39

NETWORKING APPLICATIONS ENGINEERING

We'd like to design a network application for your business using the PC. For a fee of $35 (refundable w/order) our networking applications department will custom sketch a layout designed for your hardware and software requirements. Send us your description of the PC configurations and the software applications to be considered. We will prepare and supply you with your own custom networking layout specific to your needs, complete with diagram, parts recommendations, our bottom line price (with price comparisons), and service options.

Sf PRICE

Quantity purchases allow us the best prices anywhere. The prices you see in our ads were prepared far in advance, due to magazine production requirements. We will always try to have the lowest possible prices If you have any questions call our TOLL- FREE NUMBER.

Sf STOCK

We stock huge quantities of the finest and most popular products for your PC Because we're on-line we can suppty stock information accurately and ship immediately from our enormous inventory. There's no need to call around, because if we don't have it, you probably don't want it.

Sf SERVICE

Simply the best. We pride ourselves on our unparalleled technical service and troubleshooting. In the unlikely event a problem should arise, our tech staff is trained to get to the bottom of things and help you get online ASAP. We have incredibly fast turn-around if repair is necessary.

Sf SUPPORT

We know and we care. We wont lead you into anything we know won't work. Our staff is trained to ask questions like "What is your application?" and won't avoid a tower cost alternative to push what's in stock. We'll gladly send you product information instead of pushing the close of a sale to an unsure buyer. Again, WE CARE.

Ask for an application to join our Preferred Account Charge Club.

Circle 342 on inquiry card.

NEW IBM PRICES!!

IBM PC W/256K, 2 360K drives, controller, Monochrome/Printer adapter, Amdek 310A $2195

IBM PC W/256K, 2 360K drives, controller,

Color/Graphics adapter, HX-12 color monitor $2495

IBM PC W/256K, 2 Yi ht. 360K drives,

controller, 10MB hard disk w/autoboot $2795

(These systems are brand new, fully tested and burned in, fully warranted for 90 days AND ARE ALWAYS IN STOCK!)

PROGRESSIVE

MICRO

DISTRIBUTORS

"IBM PC System Enhancement Is Our Business ...Personal Service Is Our Commitment,"

FOR ORDERS ONLY

1-800-446-7995

for further information and technical support

1-404-446-7995

HOURS: 9AM to 9PM EST <Sat/Sun-12PM to 5PM EST)

7000 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. Norcross, Georgia 30071

All prices are subject to change without notice.

IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines

Call for an up-to-date price list.

NO SURCHARGE FOR MC VISA MOST ORDERS SHIPPED NEXT DAY

wp m

Lifetime Guarantee!!

DISKS

Fuji - Memorex and Others...

Order 2 Boxes and SA VE!

Call Disk Works for our latest prices on Memorex, Fuji and

3M diskettes.

1-800-292-1492 Nationwide or

(512) 568-0359 in Illinois

51/4SSDD $1.79 each

5 1/4 DSDD S2.29 each

3 1/5 DSDD $5.80 each

Prices are per disk in quantity 2 boxes of 10. Add $2.50 shipping and handling. Call

for quantity pricing and shipping. All orders shipped same day via UPS ground.

DISK WORKS

11 S.LaSalleSU, Suite 2601 Chicago, IL 60603

CROSS

SOFTWARE

for the NS32000

INCLUDES:

* Cross Assembler * * Cross Linker *

* Debugger •

* N.S. ISE Support *

* Librarian *

• Pascal Cross Compiler *

* C Cross Compiler *

U.S. prices start at $500

SOLUTIONWARE

1283 Mt. View-Alviso Rd.

SulteB

Sunnyvale, Calit 94089

408/745-7818 * TLX 4994264

Are You Interested In

COMPILERS

And How They Operate?

Edison-80: A CP/M®-80 compatible system based on Per Brinch Hansen's Edison compiler, includes:

• Complete run time source and execution code

e 8" SS/SD Diskette

e Edison-80 User Manual

e Hansen's "Programming A Personal Computer" {Including complete compiler source)

$49.95

Available Only From SEQUITUR SOFTWARE

P.O. Box 411

Excelsior, MN 55331

Circle 122 on inquiry card.

Circle 377 on inquiry card.

Circle 369 on inquiry card.

SPEECH SYNTHESIZER

% Big, Mouth

<f

Complete

$199

LISTEN! Your computer could be talking to you through the BIG MOUTH from ASTROTRONICS. True speech synthesis for ANY computer through your printer port, (parallel or serial}.

• No software required

• 400 Character butter

• Text to speech

• Will run on any computer

• Embed phonemes in text for those special words.

• Programmable: Vocal-tract frequency, intlectton rate, duration pitch, articulation amplitude...for all 64 phonemes

• Can be programmed to make sound effects or sing!

Kits from $59 Add S5.00 S & H Cai. res. add 6% tax

Phone for Demonstration (714) 734-6006

AstroTronics

MICROSYSTEMS

1137 Topaz Street | Corona, CA 91720

Logic

Simulation

System

Type:

Input:

4 state unit delay (1,0, unknown, hi-z)

ASCII files or keyboard entry

User defined macros

Circuit description

Named nodes

Signal sources, patterns

Full editing Output: Timing diagram (screen/printer)

Loading report (fanout)

Circuit listings For MS-DOS, CP/M Price $175

Tatum Labs

P.O. Box 698

Sandy Hook, CT 06482

(203) 426-2184

GILTR0NIX SWITCHES ARE THE BEST CHOICE.

. and here are 10 good reasons why:

IBM PC

APPLE

'yss

1. Serial (RS232) or Parallel (Centronics)

2. Prompt Deliveries

3. Nationally Advertised Products

4. Broad Product Line

5- Over 30,000 Units

Sold to Date 6. Sales and

Technical

Support

( jCS. )

/r amaw& \

7. F.C.C. Approved Units

8. Manual and Automatic Units

9- Highest Quality PC Board Switch Technology

10. Buy Direct From Giltronix, or From Any Authorized Distributor

Manual Units—2 to 6 Ports Automatic Units— 3 to 15 Ports

Circle 29 on inquiry card-

Circle 391 on inquiry card.

COGiltronix

ORDER HOTLINE: 1-800 531 -13

Circle I8l on inquiry card.

-

6800 Family Cross-Software

6800/01/05/09 microprocessor software development tools for PDP-11, VAX, IBM or other mainframes: Cross-Assemblers, High-level Language PL/W Compilers, Linker, and Simulators.

WIITBKIS^S *J5

Circle 426 on inquiry card.

\ferbatim

flexible disks

Call Free (800) 235-4137 for

prices and information. Dealer inquiries invited C.O.D. and charge cards accepted.

VISA'

PACIFIC EXCHANGES

100 Foothill Blvd. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. InCaL call (800) 592-5935 or (805) 543-1037.

Circle 318 on inauiry card.

COMPUTER DISCOUNT PRODUCTS

Stocking HUGE Inventories of APPLE & IBM Products SINCE 1977 • GUARANTEED Fair Pricing Is Our Policy *

idex

PRE-BOOTS: Apple Writer Apple Wrier for Ultraterm Visicalc

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Ultraterm 259.99

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Other Monitors & Printers - SCALL

MONITORS' Amdek 300A-Ap 159.99

Amdek 31OA-IBM 179.99

Princeton HX-1 2 RGB -IBM 475.99

Princeton Max-12 Amber -IBM 189.99

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Taxan420RGB-Ap/IBM 489.99

Taxart 12'Amber-IBM 169.99

Taxan 12" Amber 20mhz-Ap 139,99

USI1400C Color Composite-Ap'IBM 279.99

USIP-4 9" Amber 20mhz-Ap.1BM 109.99

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M MicroPro

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Dysan5'/<"SS/DD 31.99

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| Flip 'n File w/Locktray Holds 25-5Vi" I Fhp n File w/Locktray Holds 50-5%" [ Library Case (Assorted Colors)

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I Mierofazer (Alt Configurations} 149.99 |

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PLANETFALL Investigate a Wild New World 27.99 I

SEASTALKER Junior Level Rescue Mission 27.99 1

I SORCERER Mystic Clues & Magic Encounters 31.99 I

STARCROSS Sci-Fi Adventure,2188AD 34.99 I

SUSPENDED 3 Levels and Custom Options 34.99 I

WITNESS Classic Murder Mystery 27.99 I

ZORKI All-Tme Most Popular 27.99 I

1 ZORK ll-lii Advanced Levels 31.99 1

UTILITIES & ENHANCEMENTS

PTfrafim

Our UNIFORTH Systems are used on computers from the VIC-20* to the VAX® , and now are available specifically customized for your DEC* mini- and microcomputer. All of these features are standard with UNIFORTH: enhanced FORTH-79 (strings, arrays, etc.); a full macro assembler; video editor (string functions, line stack); complete DOS interface (uses standard files for I/O): primitive disk utility (R/W any sector); IEEE-compatible floating point with all trig functions; single-step tracing; decompiler; text file support; vectored I/O; and an excellent 200-page User's Manual.

Unified Software Systems

P.O. Box 2644, New Carrollton, WD 20784, 301/552-9590

DEC. VAX.PDP.RT-11,RSX-11 (TM) Digital Equipment Corp; CP/M (TM) Digital Research MSDOS (TM) Microsoft VIC-20 (TM) Commodore

Circle 372 on inquiry card.

Circle 407 on inquiry card.

B Dysan

^CORPORATION

SPECIAL DISKETTE OFFER

The Dysan quality difference is yours to try with advanced production techniques that assure every diskette to be 100% error-free. PLUSI if you call, write, or utilize reader service in response to this ad—we'll send you our full-range catalog of computer supplies with Special Offers good for further savings on Dysan diskettes and many other quality products.

LYBEN COMPUTER SYSTEMS

1250-E Rankin Dr., Troy, Ml 48083 Phone: (313) 589-3440

Simply #1 In Service & Reliability

Circle 250 on inquiry card.

"BASF

DISKETTES

BASF Diskettes at competitive price. Call TOLL FREE (800) 235-4137 for prices and information. Visa and Master Card accepted.

PACIFIC EXCHANGES

100 Foothill Bivd San Luis Obispo. CA 93401 (InCal call (805)543-1037

Circle 318 on inquiry card.

64K

MEMORY CHIPS J4.1U each

• 41 64 equivalent

• 200 ns

• Fully guaranteed

• Data Sheet Included

• Add $3.00 shipping

• Send for info on our new low cost IBM PC memory board

ICS TECHNOLOGY P.O. BOX 643 MIDVALE, UT 84087 (801) 254-1463

PAL, EPR0M PROGRAMMERS & UV ERASERS

from $49.95

Mce*e ReUaMtfand U, of Utmost 9mp&dcwoe,

SEE OUR AD ON PAGE 32

OE3OQ0Q

ORDER TOLL FREE

1-800-EQ-PROM

(1-800-331-7766)

Circle 216 on inquiry card.

Circle 247 on inquiry card.

DATA ACQUISITION

and control for ANY computer

The Model 8232 communicates via RS-232, and has 8 analog inputs (0-5 VDC; 8 bits), 8 digital inputs and outputs, and a 2000 point buffer. Suitable for field data logging or lab use, the 8232 costs only $540. Direct bus-connect unit for TRS-80/111 & 4 is $295. Detailed manual, $6. Phone our applications engineer or write:

^+ 3TARBUCK+ +

W T* DATA COMPANY « M

225 Crescent St., Waltham, MA 02154 . (017) 899-8629

Logo is the

programming

language

you can use.

Terrapin is the

simplest Logo

to use.

The Original uitgo People (617)492-8816

LOWEST PRICES "GUARANTEED"

FIND A LOWER ADVERTIZED PRICE IN THIS MONTHS BYTE AND WE WILL BEAT IT BY 5%

**PC EXPANSIONS**

BABY BLUE li (256K) BACKGROUND $649

PROCESSING, CP/M-80 EMULATOR

SMART TERMINAL EMULATOR PACKAGE

AST SIX PACK PLUS (64K) 239

AST SIX PACK PLUS (384K) 489

EVEREX 10MB HD Va HEIGHT (INT) 749

SYSQEN 10MB HD WITH 10 MB 2099

STREAMING TAPE BACKUP

* DAPPLE EXPANSIONS**

ULTRATERM 40 T0160 COLUMNS 209

TETON DIGITAL GROUP

BOX 20320 JACKSON, WY 83001 (307)733-9315

Circle 380 on inquiry card.

Circle 399 on inquiry card.

Circle 400 on inquiry card.

CCESSORIES

for your IBM PC

NEW! FROM JADE IBM Multifuntion Card

LIST

JADE

Up to 384K, parallel printer port, RS-232 serial port, FREE serial cable, clock/calendar, RAM Disk/spooler and diagnostic software package

OK

64K _ 256K 384K

349 SALE 198.95 . 449 ___ 243,90

.549 372.90

.649— 458.90

10 MEGABYTE HARD DISK For IBM PC

Plug-n-Run, ready to go, complete with controller card, data cable, and mounting hardware, totally PC/XT compatible, faster than XT, handles 4 different operating systems, streamer tape back-up available. External model includes cabinet & power supply

LIST JADE

10 mbyte internal 1795 899.95

10 mbyte external 2095 999.95

15 mbyte internal 7995 1299.95

15 mbyte external - 2295 1399.95

22 mbyte internal 2495 1699.95

22 mbyte external 2795 1799.95

64K RAM UPGRADE For IBM PC

High speed RAM upgrade kit with FREE! parity (error detection) and one year warranty price

LIST JADE ^

64K kit for IBM PC 90— 39.95- 39,95

128K kit for IBM PC 180— 77.90- 38.95

192K kit for IBM PC 270 _ 115.85 __ 37.95

256K kit for IBM PC 360 _ 147.80 - 36.95

384K kit for IBM PC 540 __ 209.70 _. 34.95

KEYTRONICS KEYBOARDS

LIST JADE

209 159.95

KEYTRONICS KEYBOARD

HIGH SPEED 8087 APU

List Price 293 SALE PRICE 179.95

COLOR PLUS-Vutek

Multifunction display adapter, fully hardware and software compatible with IBM PC. Provides color graphics, parallel printer port and async. serial port. The 640 x 200 resolution graphics operates in both RGB color or composite video modes. Backed by two year warranty.

LIST JADE

COLOR PLUS 449 249.95

320K DISK DRIVES For IBM PC

Double-sided, double-density

TANDON 100-2 TEAC 55B

169.00 each 129.00 each

SOFTWARE For IBM PC

MICROSOFT WORD

R-BASE 4000

SMART KEY

MOVE-IT

MULTIPLAN _

ACCOUNTING PARTNER

CROSSTALK

PROKEY

MULTIMATE

SUPERCALC III

TRANSEND PC

SIDEKICK

LIST

395 495

_89

_ 125 250 395 195

„129 495 395 189

- 50

JADE

249.95

319.95

69.95

89.95 169.95 249.95 129.95

99.95 299.95 249.95 139.95

44.95

MICROSOFT For IBM PC

MOUSE w/WORD MOUSE __

SYSTEM CARD 64K SYSTEM CARD 256K

LIST JADE

495 339.95

199 129.95

395 279.95

625 429.95

LOCAL AREA NETWORKS For IBM PC

QUADNET II -

QUADNETVI

QUADNET IV

AST-PC net II

ORCHID TECHNOLOGY .

LIST

_ 995

1995

2295

_ 495

_ 595

JADE

879.95

1659.95

1989.95

399.95

499.95

DISKETTES For IBM PC

High quality double-sided, double-density diskettes, certified to be absolutely error free. Box of 10, warranteed for one year

LIST JADE

Box of 10 w/FREE plastic case _ 39 19.95

AST For IBM PC

SIX PAK PLUS OK _ SIX PAK PLUS 64K

SIX PAK PLUS 256K SIX PAK PLUS 384K MEGA PLUS64K _ MEGA PLUS 256K _ MEGA PLUS 512K __

I/O PLUS

MP PLUS 64K _ MP PLUS 128K MP PLUS 192K MP PLUS 256K GRAPHPAK

LIST

. N/A

395 _ 695 _ 945 _ 395 _ 665

1095

_ 765

- 295 _ 395 . 495 _ 595 _ 790

JADE 249.95 269.95 489.95 589.95 269.95 429.95 799.95

119.95

199.95 249.95 299.95 349.95 574.95

New Advantage PC-AT

Up to 3 megabytes of RAM, parallel and serial I/O ports plus many options available

128K Advantage

384K Advantage

1-5 Mb or 3Mb Advantage .

. 495 . 895

IBM VIDEO BOARDS

HERCULES COLOR

HERCULES GRAPHIC

LIST - 245

499 PLANTRONICS COLOR PLUS 549

QUADCOLOR I 295

QUADCOLOR II ___ 275

AMDEK MAI 649

AST MONOGRAPH PLUS 595

PC Peacock _______

PC 384K Genie OK

Paradise graphics card Paradise Module A __ Paradise Module B

299 395 395 -95 275

349.95 499.95 CALL

JADE 189.95 339.95 379.95 209.95 209.95 449.95 449.95

239.95 249.95 319.95 87.95 239.95

PERSYST BOARDS

Mono display adapter 225

Mono display adp. w/parallel __ 250

BoB Hi-res display adp. 595

Time Spectrum SB 384 64K 395

QUADRAM For IBM PC

QUADBOARD No RAM

QUADBOARD64K

QUADBOARD 128K

QUADBOARD 256K

QUADBOARD 384K

QUADLINK __

QUAD 512 PLUS 64K _ QUAD 512 PLUS 256K QUAD 512 PLUS 512K

QUADCOLORI

QUADCOLOR II

LIST

. 269 . 395 . 495 . 595 . 795 . 680 . 325 . 550 . 895 . 295 . 275

189.95 199.95 469.95 299.95

JADE 234.95 275.95 339.95 399.95 595.95 449.95 239.95 389.95 549.95 209.95 199.95

Continental USA 800/421-5500

Los Angeles 213/973-7707

Inside California 800/262-1710

Circle 223 on inquiry card COMPUtCr PtOdUCtS

4901 West Rosecrans Ave, Hawthorne, California 90250

HAYES Smartmodem

Sophisticated direct-connect auto-answer/auto

dial modem, touch tone or pulse dialing

RS232C interface programmable list jade

Smartmodem 1200 699 475.00

1200B w/o Smartcom II 539 359.95

1200B for IBM PC 599 399.95

Smartmodem 300 289 199.00

Hayes Cronograph 249 199.95

Micromodem 100 399 299.95

Mlcromodem He 299 239.95

Smartmodem lie 339 249.95

PLEASE Software 395 299.95

Smartcom II 149 99.95

1200b PRO MODEMS From Prometheus

1200B for IBM PC

1200RS-232

1200A for Apple

1200 Mac Pac for Macintosh

HI-RES MONITORS

399 299.95

495 389.95

449 329.95

495 389.95

JADE

139.95 179.95 149.95 249.95 399.95 469.95 589.95 199.95 469.95 649.95 229.95 499.95 499.95

ISOBAR

The ISOBAR looks like a standard multioutlet power strip but contains surge suppression circuitry and built-in noise filters, plus 15amp circuit breaker list JADE

4 receptacle 89 59.95

8 receptacle 99 69.95

Complete Computer under 400.00

THE LITTLE BOARD with FREE! CP/M 2.2

Minature single board CP/M computerdesigned to mount directly on top of a 5y 4 floppy disk drive (7.75" x 5.75"). Contains 2 80A, CPU, 64K RAM, Boot Eprom, terminal port, modem port, parallel printer port, floppy disk controller, and CP/M 2.2 included FREE! UST jade

Little Board with CP/M_

Support package

Serial cable

Diskless monitor Eprom

190K Disk drive

350K Disk drive

-400 « 50 - 13 -. 30 -249 _ 399

329.95 48.95 11.95 24.95 99.95

149.95

ULTRA-VIOLET EPROM ERASERS

Inexpensive erasers for industry or nor

LIST

Spectronics w/o timer 99

Spectronics with timer 139

Logical Devices 89

JADE 69.95 94.95 49.95

SUM2

COMPLETE COMPUTER s 995.

with FREE! SOFTWARE

4MHz Z-80A, 64K RAM, 9-inch hi-res non-glare amber monitor, composite video output,

two 192 disk drives, full size 63 keyboard with separate numeric keypad and 16

programmable function keys, speech synthesizer, two serial ports, Centronics parallel

printer port, bit mapped graphics, sculpted high-impact plastic case, only 26 lbs.

(Sale subject to FCC approval)

BW-14 with twice the disk storage

128K RAM, and CP/M 3.0 $1195.00 ^Wordstar

. itf^ta»*. <Mailmerge

<Calcstar <Datastar <Reportstar <CP/M & BASIC $®^2m <KAYPRO compatible

<Speech Synthesizer

90 day warranty 30 day exchange Local service through nationwide field service team.

DISK DRIVES

SIEMENS FDD 100-8 SS/DD

List 399 149.00 ea 2 for 139.00 ea

SHUGART SA 801R SS/DD

List 502 355.00 ea 2 for 349.00 ea

SHUGART SA-851R DS/DD

List 605 459.00 ea 2 for 455.00 ea

TANDON TM 848-2 DS/DD thin-line

List 599 439.00 ea 2 for 435.00 ea

NEC FD1165 DS/DD thin-line

List 599 450.00 ea 2 for 440.00 ea

Handsome metal cabinet with proportionally balanced air flow system, rugged dual drive power supply, cable kit, power switch, linecord, fuse holder, cooling fan, nevermar rubber feet. All necessary hardware to mount two 8 inch disk drives, power supply, and fan. Does not include signal cable Dual 8" Sub-Assembly Cabinet list jade

Bare cabinet — 75 49.95

Cabinet Kit 299 199.95

A & T 349 249.95

8" Sub-System—Single sided, double density

Kit w/2 Siemens FD100-8Ds 950 479.00

A & T w/2 Siemens FD100-8DS 995 529.00

Kit w/2 Shugart SA-801RS 1195 939.00

A & T w/2 Shugart SA-801RS _ 1295 969.00

APPLE ACCESSORIES ON SALE!

Full Height Disk Drive Half Height Disk Drive Controller

8 Inch 2 Mbyte system

CP/M 3.0 Card

Z-Card with CP/M

16K RAM Card

Best 80 Column Card Printer card & Cable -Fan w/surge protect _ Koala Pad

Grappler Plus

Buffered Grappler/16K Buffered Grappler/64K

LIST _ 299 _ 249 _ 100 2495 _ 399 _ 169 _ 99 _ 219 _ 709 _ 99 _ 125 _ 175 _ 245 _ 345

JADE

179.95

169.95

79.95

1395.00

199.95

119.95

39.95

139.95

49.95

59.95

89.95

119.95

175.95

239.95

8" Sub-Systems—Double sided, double density Kit w/2 Shugart SA-851Rs —_ 1495 1199.00 A & T w/2 Shugart SA-851RS

1595 1219.00

S-100 MAINFRAME

2 8 inch cut-outs

6 SLOT w/power supply 699

12 SLOT w/power supply _

799

439.95 499.95

Dual 8" Slimline Cabinet Bare Cabinet

A & T v:/o drives

A & T w/2 DS/DD drives

LIST JADE

75 59.95

249 164.95

1495 1099.00

MEMORY BANK BARE BOARD

25.00 each

4 for 49.00

We have showrooms in—

Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, Santa Ana, San Diego, Sunnyvale, and Dallas

(Prices will be slightly higher In our retail stores— But we're still the best deal In town!

Serving Your Computer Needs Since 1975

Circie 224 on inquiry card.

Computer Products

NEW! EPSON LQ-1500 200 CPS & letter quality!

24 pin head, 200 CPS draft mode, 67 CPS

letter quality mode

LQ-1500 SAVE 200.00

LIST JADE

TRACTOR 89 54.95

SHEET FEEDER 499 439.95

EPSON

Call us for our best price!

EPSON RX-80 100 CPS w/tractor, graphics

CALL FOR BEST PRICE

EPSON RX-80FT 80 CPS w/FREE graphics

Friction & tractor feed SAVE 150.00

EPSON MX-80FT 80 CPS w/FREE graphics

Friction & tractor feed SAVE 150.00

EPSON FX-80 160 CPS w/FREE graphics

Friction & tractor feed SAVE 150.00

EPSON FX-100 160 CPS 15 inch platten Friction & tractor feed SAVE 150.00

Apple lie or Macintosh Universal serial interface

4K buffer, x-on, x-off 119.95

LETTER QUALITY PRINTERS ON SALE!

OKIDATA Prices slashed!

BOM*

Diablo 630 40 CPS ___.

Tractor for 630

Starwriter F-10 40 CPS Starwriter F-10 55 CPS Tractor for F-10

160 CPS, Correspondence Quality list jade OKI 92 parallel

OKI 93 parallel FREE tractor .

2K serial board _.—

IBM PC ROMS for 92

IBM PC ROMS for 93

Extra 82/93 Ribbons (2)

82/92 tractor

599 995 120 _ 59 _ 69 _79 _ 89

120 CPS & 200 CPS OKIDATAS

OKI 82 120 CPS

OKI 83 120 CPS

OKI 84 parallel 200 CPS OKI 84 serial 200 CPS _ 2K serial board ,

IBM PC ROMS for 82/83 IBM PC ROMS for 84

. 499 _ 775 1395 1495 _ 150 _49 — 99

350 CPS, Near Letter Quality, High-Resolution Graphics

OKI 2350 parallel „—___

OKI 2350 serial

2695

2775

389.95* 599.95 99.95 49.95 59.95 9.95 54.95

299.95

569.95

799.95*

949.95

119.95

39.95

89.95

1899.95 1999.95

Comrex CR-II 5K parallel . Comrex CR-II 5K serial _

Tractor for CR-II

Keyboard for CR-II

Sheet feeder for CR-II _ Silver Reed 500 14 CPS *

Tractor for 500

Silver Reed 550 18 CPS „

Tractor for 500 —

Silver Reed 770 ,

Tractor for 770

Juki 6100 18 CPS

Tractor for 6100

NEC 3550 33 CPS ___ Tractor for 3550

LIST

2340

_ 250

1895

1995

- 250 _ 599 _ 644 _ 120 L 199 _ 259 _ 599 _ 149

- 699 _ 159

1295 _ 159 _ 599 _ 149

2250 _ 265

JADE 1699.95 219.95 999.95 1299.95 219.95 399.95 499.95 99.95 179.95 199.95 499.95 124.95 599.95 129.95 999.95 139.95 449.95 124.95 1699.95 229.95

1 FREE Plug-n-Play option with purchase of 92. 93, or 84

A-B PRINTER SWITCH

Allows your computer to run either of two printers. Standard parallel switch box

LIST JADE

Printer Switch 749 89.95

Extra Cable 40 29.95

TOSHIBA P1351

High speed & letter quality!

High quality 24 pin head, 192 CPS draft mode, 96 CPS fetter quality LIST JADE

P1351 1895 1299.95

TRACTOR 195 174.95

SHEET FEEDER 1095 899.95

PRINTER ACCESSORIES

LIST JADE

IBM PC style cable

STANDARD parallel cable

APPLE Card & Cable „

TRS-80 MDL-3 cable

COLUMBIA MPC cable _

RS-232 serial cable

PRINTER stands

RIBBONS

APPLE IIC cable

28.95

28.95

49.95

49.95

39.95

24.95

AS LOW AS 19.95

_ AS LOW AS 4.99

39 27.95

. 54 - 40 109 109 . 50 . 30

NEW! EPSON JX-80 Color Printer

160 CPS black and white printing (identical to FX-80). Plus seven color printing compatible with popular software such as LOTUS Symphony. Full color graphics—plus 144 different typefaces!

NEW! EPSON JX-80

799 599.95

MICROFAZER BUFFERS

Quadram

Expandable to 64K (parallel model expands to

512K)

Parallel in/Parallel out list jade

8K 169 139.95

32K 225 164.95

128K 445 269.95

Serial In/Parallel out

8K

32K

Parallel in/Serial out

8K

32K

Serial in/Serial out

8K

32K

MICROBUFFER Practical Peripherals

Stand alone Mlcrobuffers

Parallel, 32K

Parallel, 64K

Serial, 32K

Serial, 64K

64K add-on board

Mlcrobuffers for Apple II

Parallel, 16K

Parallel, 32K

Serial, 16K

Serial, 32K

LIST

299 349 299 349 179

259 299 259 299

Microbuflers for Epson Printers

Parallel, 16K

Serial, 8K

159 159

JADE 229.95 269.95 229.95 269.95 149.00

189.95 229.95 189.95 229.95

129.95 129.95

STAR MICRONICS Lowest prices!

GEMINI 10X

269.95

Call for prices on Gemini 15X, Delta 10 & 15, Radix 10 & 15, Power Type LQ

We accept cash, checks, credit cards, or purchase orders from qualified firms and institutions.

Minimum prepaid order $15.00 California residents and 6y 2 % tax. Export customers outside the U.S. or Canada please

add 10% to all prices. Prices and availability subject to change without notice. Shipping and handling charges

via UPS Ground 50C/lb. UPS Air $1.00/lb. minimum charge $3.00 Prices quoted are for pre-paid orders only.

Circle 224 on inquiry card.

Inside California 800/262-1710

Continental U.S. 800/421-5500

SPECIAL DISKETTE OFFER

Verbatim Datalife Disks have 6 data-shielding improvements for greater disk durability and longer data life, PLUS! if you call, write, or utilize reader service in response to this ad—we'll send you our full-range catalog of computer supplies with Special Offers good for further savings on verbatim diskettes and many other quality products.

Call or write for our discount catalog.

LYBEN COMPUTER SYSTEMS

1250-E Rankin Dr., Troy, Ml 48083 Phone: (313) 589-3440

DATALIFE • THE NAME IS THE PROMISE THE WARRANTY IS THE PROOF

The Statistician

CPM IBM-PC TRS-DOS XENIX

Multiple Regression

Stepwise

Ridge

All Subsets

Backward Elimination Time Series Analysis Descriptive Statistics Transformations

" Survey Research

* Nonparametrics

* XY Plots *ANOVA

* Random Samples

* Data Base

* Search & sort

* Hypothesis tests

Please call TOLL FREE 1-800-334-0854 (Ext. 814)

Q

for more information

or write:

Quant Systems

Box 628

Charleston, SC 29402

VISA-M/C Accepted

Circle 25 i on inquiry card.

Circle 349 on inquiry card.

Circle 31 5 on inquiry card.

PRINTER CABLES $20.00

SPECIAL PRICING AVAILABLE TO DEALERS CUSTOM CABLES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

FABRICATION

CONCEPTS,

INC

8230 Miralani Drive • San Diego, CA 92126 (619) 271-4522

Circle 163 on inquiry card.

Scotch* Diskettes

Rely on Scotch* diskettes to keep your valuable data safe. Dependable Scotch diskettes are tested and guaranteed error-free. The low abrasivity saves your read/write heads. They're compatible with most diskette drives.

(800)235-4137

Dealer Inquiries Invited

PACIFIC EXCHANGES

11)0 F«xh* Blvd

9MU1 In Cai C§l (NMACMt).)?

Circle 318 on inquiry card.

DIABLO 630

API or SPI

Heavy duty letter auality printer, 40 C.P.S. in it's original condition.

List price: $1,749.00

SPECIAL x inn - AA PRICE: $1295.00

Like new: $1,095.00 Limited quantities at this low price. F.O.B. Santa Cruz, CA. C.O.D. cash or certified check. Calif, residents add sales tax.

Also: VICTOR 9000 SERVICE

Please call for information.

Z. EGERESI

211 WESTERN DR.

SANTA CRUZ, CA 95060

(408) 425-4512, TX 550467

Circle 430 on inquiry card.

—mm f MPs

$495 ^^

PCMOTION™ Control Board

I DM DP /YT compatible stepper motor IDIVI rb/A I control plug-in board

• 4 Axis stepper motor controller interface

• 32 digital I/O with (5) interrupts

• 4 channels encoder pulse inputs

• Includes real time interrupt-driven easy to use software

Smart board for Industrial and Robotic motion control that uses only a small percentage of cpu time. System needs only simple BASIC commands from application software.

— 100s of satisfied customers

use our products —

***30-day money back guarantee***

ROGERS LABS™ %»S

2710 S.CroddyWay, Santa Ana, CA 92704

wabash

Flexible Diskettes

6 Year Warranty- 100% Certified

FREE § DELIVERY

24 Hour Order Desk

^™i 1-800-634-2248

Visa, MasterCard, Cert. chk„ M/CvC.O.D. cash.

Get immediate shipment. Schools & govt, on P.O. #.

Personal or company checks held 14 days.

APO, FPO. Can. and other non-UPS delivered, add $5.

*Fr«* d#(iwry on minimum ortttr* ol 150 or mar: Ottitra *aat2 lor Si H

Software Services'

1326 25 th St. S. Suite H, Fargo, ND 58103 1-701-280-0121

Circle 376 on inquiry card.

fiiTmARYmRC

INDUSTRIES INC.

800-231-3680

Radio Shack TRS-80's Epson Printers

People you Trust to give you the very best!

22511 Katy Fwv., Katy (Houston) Texas 77450 (713) 392-0747 Telex 774132

Circle 257 on inquiry card.

California Digital

17700 Figueroa Street m Carson, California 90248

TeleVideo

'795

The Televideo TPC/1 portable micro is a full featured computer with the advantage of portability. The 9inch amber phosphor offers easy readability and a non-glare surface for easy on the eyes screen display. TPC 1 has an IBM style, low profile keyboard, detachable for comfortable data input which folds up to make a compact carrying case. The alpha numeric displayed character set includes 96 ASCII characters, 32 control codes, along with 10 programmable function keys. The TPC/1 portable uses the Z80 microprocessor and provides 64K of user RAM along with 32K of screen memory which is used for both text and graphics. The standard software package includes Telewrite exclusive word processor, Telecalc spreadsheet, Telechart business graphics and CPM operating system which makes the portable compatible with the largest library of microcomputer software available. TVI-TPC/1

Compupro * 629

RAM

16 BIT MICROPROCESSORS

Octagon dual CPU 80W/Z80. ft controller Cofnpup* "

SINGLE BOARD COMPUTERS

.___Dlfjltal, Floppy ft 64K AMD-Z80

Teletek System master, f 65 floppy, WK. TEL-SM1

8 BIT MICROPROCESSORS

Compupro Z80,24 bH axtandad add. GBT280

California Computer ZBO microprocessor CCS-2B10

Tarbell Z80 with two RS232 ports T AR-280

MEMORY BOARDS

GBT-R16

Compupro Ram 17; 64K B bit 24 bltaddresa GBT-R17

Compupro Ram 21,128K byte B/16 tranafer GBT-R21 Compupro Ram 22, 256K static 16 bit transfer G BT-R22 Compupro Ram 23, information pending GBT-R23

FLOPPY DISK CONTROLLERS

CCS-2422 TAR-DDC TAR-SDC

Tarbell Electronics double density Terbell Electronics single density

CPM OPERATING SYSTEM

Digital Research CP/M 3.0,8" sgl. den. ORC-CpM3Q

Compupro CPM 2.2 for Disk 1. GBT-CpM22

Compupro CPM86 for 6088 and 8086 GBT-CpM86

Tarbell Electronics CPM 2.2 TAR-CpM22

HARD DISK CONTROLLERS

Octagon hard disk controller wKh E/C. OCT-HD1

God bo ut Disk 2,8" ft 14" hard disk GBT-OSK2

Godbout Disk 3, for SV«" Winchesters GBT-DSK3

Western Digital new WD-1001 (not S-100) WDI-1001

EPROM BOARDS

Inner Access EPROM Bd. programs 271 28 IAC-P100

Digital Research PROM board, 32K DGR-P32

INTERFACE BOARDS

Compupro Interfacer II, with 5 serial ports GBT -13 5 A

Compupro Interfacer HI, with 8 serial ports GBT-138A

Compupro Interfacer IV, 3 serial, 2 parallel GBT-187A

California Computer 2710,4 serial ports CC5-2710

California Computer 2719,2 serial, 2 pari. CCS-2719

■ ir 2720,4 port pari. CCS-2720

SPECIAL FUNCTION BOARDS

i!12bltD/Aconv. Dual System 12 bit resolution, 32 ch A/D Mulllns Opto-lsolator, controls 8ch. Mulltns extender board with logic ft probe I/O Technology wire wrap prototype " ironies '

DSC-AOM12 DSC-AIM12 MUL-ICB10 MUL-TB4 IOT-W100 wire wrap prototype A FIT WW 1 00

MAINFRAMES & MOTHER BOARDS

EcllpaeData, stainless, 22 slot torld supply EOP-100

795.00 495.00 359.00

250.00 275.00 339.00

495.00 429.00 359.00 629.00

1179.00

495.00 339.00 419.00 279,00

249.00 159.00 265.00 159.00

475.00 569.00 629.00 319.00

495.00 585.00 329.X 279.00 295.00 219.00

139.00 350.00 619.00 629.00 179.00 79.00 49.00 25.00

The Eagle I IE/2 Computer features a 12" non-glare green phosphor CRT, typewriter style keyboard with separate numeric cluster. This unit provides two 5 1/4" drives for a combined storage capacity of 780 K/Byte. The computer contains a 4Mhz Z-80A, DMA disk interface, two RS-232C serial ports, Centronics printer interface, along with an auxiliary parallel port.

Software included consists of ULTRACALC electronic spread sheet, SPELLBINDER word processor, CBASIC2. CP/M 2.2, and an exclusive Eagle menu driven utility package. These units are all "factory new" and are being offered far below their suggested price of $2495. This is your opportunity to purchase a complete CP/M system for only $895.

PP*

495.00 675.00 35.00

ENCLOSURES

California Digital manufactures an asortment of stock and custom disk drive enclosures. If the volume is justified we will custom design an enclosure for your application. The following disk drive enclosures are available from stock All include power supplies the 8" enclosures are supplied with exhaust fans.

a Horizontal mount dual 8" full height drives. $279.00

• Vertical mount dual full height 8 drives. 299.00

a Horizontal mount one full height or two half height 8". 239.00

a Horizontal one full height or two half height 5W. 89.00

DEC

Q-BUSS

This is the same backplane used with Digital Equipment PDP-11/23 computer. Four slot dual height suitable for use on all kinds of Q-buss systems. DEC-H9281

Commodore $ 2(%

HesModem 9w

The HesModem 1 is designed to be used with the VIC-20 or the Commodore 64 microcomputers. The Hes Modem 1 comes complete with terminal communication software. Plugs directly into the communications port of your Commodore Computer. HES-M1

Ampro $22Q

Little Board 99T

Little Board

The Ampro Little Board is a single board Z-BQA microcomputer with on board 5'A" disk controller. 64K/btyes of memory two serial ports along with a Centronics parallel printer port. This computer is supplied with enhanced CP/M 2.2 with well documented user manual. AP0-LB1A

59

CONRAC t

9" MONITOR

A crisp display is assured with the conrac 9" monitor. This unit features 12 volt only operation, open frame construction, separate high resolution video and most of all incomparable Conrac quality. Documentation includes schematic and theory of operation. C0N-9BW

Shipping: First five pounds $3.00, each additional pound $.50. Foreign orders: 10% shipping, excess will be refunded. California residents add 6 1 /2% sales tax. • COD's discouraged. Open accounts extended to state supported educational institutions and companies with a strong "Dun & Bradstreet" rating.

*219

SIX PAK PLUS

MULTIFUNCTION

AST SixPackPlus zero memory

AST SixPackPlus 64K with software AST SixPackPlus 384K fully populated board AST MegaPlus II 64K to 512K with MegaPak AST MegaPak 256K piggyback / MegaPlus Persyst Board 64K with software

Quadboard 64K with six functions

STB RIO Plus 64K with PC accelerator

STB Super I/O serial/parl/game port

VIDEO DISPLAY CARDS

AST Monograph Plus monochrome/graphic

$219.00 265.00 499.00 269.00 279.00 319.00 249.00 279.00 184.99

449.79 339.89 229.00 379.98 209.75 379.67

Hercules Graphic two year warranty

PC Peacock Color mono. RGB, graphics

Plantronics ColorPlus printer port / software

Quad Color I expandable, high res.

STB Graphics Plus with software

HARD DISK DRIVES

Franklin 10MB ext. controller, power 1195.45

Franklin 10MB int. 3X speed of XT 995.95

Maynard 10MB int. full XT emulation 998.97

INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

4164 Memory Chips 150 or 200 ns 5.95

64K Set (9 chips) with instructions 48.95

8087 Coprocessor arithmetic chip 199.54

CONNECTORS

DB25P S-100 Gold

GOLD S-100 EDGE CARD CONNECTORS catalog Bach 10-99 100+

lmsais/t.250 CNE-IMS 2-95 2.SO 2 19 Sullms Hi/Rel CNE-HlOQ 4 19 3 85 3.47 S-100 Wire W CNE-W10 3 95 3 50 3.19 Altair 140 s/t CNE-100A 4 95 4.50 4 19 .156" CENTER EDGE CARD CONNECTORS 22/44 Eyelet CNE-44E 2 50 2 15 1.95 43/72 Moto s/lCNE-725 6 60 6 15 5 75 36/72 D/Gs/t CNE-72S 5.95 5 50 5 19 Olher connectors available upon request

CONNECTORS

CND-r25P 5 65 5 25 4 15

5S 5.95 5 59 4.50

ISP 7.95 6 75 5 90

CNC-r36S 7.95 6 75 5 90

20 4.35 3 30 2 50

CNI-DS20 2 75 1 65 I 60

CNI-DE26 4.95 3 50 2 70

CNI-DS26 3.50 2 40 2.15

■ 34 4,95 4 50 3.50

■

; 5 95 5 60 4 90

CNI-DS50 495 460 3.80

OB25P male DB25S female 57-30360 male 57-30360f'male 20 pm edge 20 pm socket 26 pm edge 26 pm socket 34 pm edge 34 pm socket 50 pm edge 50 pin socket

DE9P male CND-9P DE9S female CND-9S DE hood CND-9H

DAl5Pmale CNO-1SP DA15S female CND-15S DAtShood CND-1SH DB25Pmale CND-25P DB25S female CND-25S DB2S hood CND25H DC37P male CND-37P OC37S female CND-37S OC37 hood CND-37H DDSOPmale CND-50P DO50 hood CND-50H Hardware 2/set CND-2HS

AMPHENOL I CENTRONICS TYPE 57-30360 36/P CNC-36P 7.95 6 35 3.9 IEEE488,CdorCND-24P 7 95 6 35 5.3

DISK DRIVE POWER CONNtCTORS 8 6 pm DC CNP-6DC 1.95 1.29 -8! 8 3ACSgl/S CNP-3SS 1 69 109 6! 8 3ACDBI/S CNP-3DS 1.69 109 .61 5'4 4 pin DC. CNP-4DC 179 1 19 9! 3ptnDINrecpt CNP-D3P 2,59 1.99 1.5!

1.60 140 1,3

2.25 2.00 1.3'

1.50 1.35 12'

2 35 2 10 19

325 310 29i

4.20 395 3.6!

5.95 5,75 5.5<

2.25 1 95 1.6!

5.50 5 10 4 7!

2 60 2 40 2K

TOLL FREE ORDER LINE

(800)421-5041

TECHNICAL & CALIFORNIA

(213)217-0500

California Digital

17700 Figueroa Street • Carson, Califomia 90248

Shusart

The Shugart 801R has long been the standard by which all other eight inch disk drives have been judged. The 801R has historically been used by thousands of quality conscious equipment manufacturers because of their extremely high degree of reliability.

These units are current production, rack mountable LSI technology. The drives are identical to drives currently sold by distributors at $600.

California Digital has aquired these NEW units as a result of a change of marketing strategy of the A.M. Jaquard Corporation. This is the best value that has ever been offered on any Shugart eight inch disk drive. SHU-801R

'389

TANDON

603SE

These Tandon 14.2 Megabyte hard disk drives are the excess inventory of a major computer company. Each unit has passed 24 hours of incoming burn-in.

Five Inch Winchester Herd Disk Drives

FUJITSU M2235AS 27 Meg. RODINE RO-208 53 Meg. MAXTOR XT 1065 65 Meg. SHUGART 712 13Meg.V 2 Ht TANDON 503 19 Meg. TANDON 603 14.2 Meg.

One Two

999 959

1589 1493

1995 1965

795 765

795 775

389 379

Three Inch Disk Drives SHUGART SA300 229 219

Upon request, all drives are supplied with power connectors and manual

MEMORY

4164 E3i£f 150ns

'S.95

DYNAMIC MEMORY

4116 150ns. 16K ICM-4116150

4116 20Ons.T6K ICM-4116200

4164 150os. 64K 126 refresh ICM-4164150

41256 150ns 256K ICM-412S61S0

DP8409 dynamic controller ICT-8409

STATIC MEMORY

21L02 200ns. 1K static 21L02 450ns. IK static 2112 450ns. 2K static 2114 300ns. 1K« 4 4044TMS 450ns. 4K H 5257 MOna. 4K % 1 6116 P4 200ns 2Kx 8 6116 P3 150ns. 2Kx B

2708 450ns. IK X 6 2716 450ns. 2Kx 8 2716TMS 450ns. Tri-voltage 2732 450ns. 4K x 8 2764 350ns. 8K % 8 27128 350ns. 16Kx 8

ICM-21L02200 ICM-21L02450 ICW-2112450 ICM-2114300

ICM-5257300 ICM-6116200 ICM-6116150

EPROMS

ICE-270B

tCE-2716

ICE-2716TMS

ICE-2732

ICE-2764

ICE-27128

3.49 2.50 4.85 5.25

4.95 4.50 7.95 4.50 6.95 24.95

1.29 1.15 2.65 1.85 3.25 2.2S 4.65 4.05

1.99 4.50 4.85

4.55 3.97 7.25 3.55 6.95 23.75 22.50

4.75 4.25 7.65 3.75 6.95

TEAC

Your Choice >5B 55F

48TPI96TPI

Five Inch Single Sided Drives

One Two Ten TEAC FD-54A half height 99 95 89

SHUGART SA400L full height 189 179 175 TANDON TM100-1 full height 169 165 179

Five Inch Double Sided Drives TEAC FD55B half height 139 135 129

TEAC FD55F 96 TPI, half ht. 139 135 129 CONTROL DATA 9409 PC 219 199 195 CONTROL DATA 9428 Vz ht. 219 199 195 SHUGART SA455 Half Height 189 179 175 PANASONIC JA551/2N (455) 139 135 129 SHUGART SA465V 2 Ht.96TPI 269 259 249 TANDON 100-2 full height 179 175 169

TANDON 101-4 96TPI full ht. 329 319 305 MITSUBISHI 4851 half height 169 159 155 MITSUBISHI 4853 96/TPIV 2 ht. 179 169 165 MITSUBISHI 4854 8" elec. 395 385 375 QUME 142 half height 219 205 199

REMEX

■asr *n

Eight Inch Single Si SHUGART801R

SIEMENS FDD 100-8 129 125 119

TANDON 848E-1 Half Height 369 359 349

Eight Inch Double Sided Drives

SHUGART SA851R 495 485 475

QUME 842 "QUME TRACK 8" 459 459 449

TANDON 848E-2 Half Height 459 447 435

REMEX RFD-4000 219 219 209

MITSUBISHI M2894-63 447 439 433

MITSUBISHI M2896-63 Vi Ht. 459 449 409

FREE

Plastic library

case supplied

with all diskettes

purchased from

[California Digital.

DISKETTES

FIVE INCH SINGLE SIDED DOUBLE DENSITY

Each box 10 Boxes 100 Boxes

Soft Seclor Ten Sector

CALL DIGITALS^ 18.95

CAL-516

SCOTCH

VERBATIM

MEMOREX

MAXELL

DYSAN

MRX-3481 -.- -._.

MRX-3483 2*+. 95

MRX-3485 . ' w

MXL-MD1 _ _ __

MXL-MH1710 24.95 MXL-MH1/16 ■* , " w " ww OYS-104/1D __ __ DYS-107/1D 35-00

17.50 22.75 22.75 21.75 22.75 33.00

OVS-105/1D

FIVE INCH DOUBLE SIDED DOUBLE DENSITY

CAL-5S1

16.50 21.75 21.75 17.75 21.25 30.50

CAL DIGITAL 24 95

SCOTCH

VERBATIM

MEMOREX

MAXELL

. _ _ MXL-MD2/96

MAXELL / 96 ff£ 45.00

N/A

MMM-745?0 __ __ MMM-745/10 37.95 MMM-745M6 W "*»w VRB-5S0/01 __ _ _ VRB-550/10 37.95 VRB 5S0/16 w " ■*»"* MRX-3491 „ ._ MRX3493 32.95 MRX3495 W*C«^»

MXL-M02

MXL-MD2/10 17 QC

MXL-MD2/16 W # .93

DYSAN

DYS-107/2D A *% CA DYS 105/2D 4Zi9V

DYS-204/20

DYSAN / 96 BS 49.95

22.75 35.95 35.95 31.25 35.95 43.00 40.50 47.95

20.50 31.25 32.75 26.25 33.75 41.25 35.50 45.75

EIGHT INCH SINGLE SIDED SINGLE DENSITY

SCOTCH mmm74o/o 28.50

MEMOREX MRX3062 27.75

VERBATIM vrb 34/9000 31.50

DYSAN dys 3740 1 35.75

27.50 26.60 29.50 32.75

23.80 22.25 25.60 29.75

EIGHT INCH SINGLE SIDED DOUBLE DENSITY

SCOTCH MMM741/0 33.95

MEMOREX max -3090 31.95

VERBATIM vrb 34/sooo 35.25

DYSAN DYs-3740/io 40.75

31.75 27.75 33.25 38.75

MAXELL mxlfdi 45.50 39.75

29.15 26.15 28.75 32.25 35.15

EIGHT INCH DOUBLE SIDED DOUBLE DENSITY

SCOTCH mmm 743/q 45.95

MEMOREX mhx-3ioz 37.95

VERBATIM vrb 34/4001 41.75

DYSAN oYs-3740/20 54.65

43.25 36.75 37.50 49.75

37.50 31.50 32.25 40.50

MAXELL mxlfo2 52.50 48.75 40.45

Macintosh Diskettes

Shipping: First five pounds $3.00, each additional pound $.50. Foreign orders: 10% shipping, excess will be refunded. California residents add 6V'2% sales tax. • COD s discouraged. Open accounts extended to state supported educational institutions and companies with a strong "Dun & Bradstreet" rating.

California Digital

17700 Figueroa Street % Carson, California 90248

NEC RGB, A ^

color fz»y

MONITOR **"*

The NEC JC-1401D is a 13" medium/high resolution RGB monitor suitable for use with the Sanyo MBC-550/555 or the IBM/PC. The monitor features a resolution of 400 dots by 240 lines. Colors available are Red. Green. Blue, Yellow, Cyan, Magenta, Black and White. These monitors are currently being used in applications far more critical than microcomputers.

The NEC monitor carries the Litton-Monroe label and was originally scheduled for use in their "Office of the Future" equipment. A change in Monroe s marketing strategy has made these units excess inventory which were sold to California Digital, We are offering these prime "new" RGB monitors at a fraction of their original cost. Sanyo compatible NEC-1401 /S; IBM/P/C Computer compatible NEC-1401 /PC

MONITORS

BMC 12A green phosphor 15 MHz composit video

BMC 12" high resolution, 20MHz

Amdek 300G 12 green phosphor

Amdek300A 12 amber phos . hi-resolulion

Amdek 310A designed for IBM/PC, amber

Zenith 2VM122 Amber Phosphor 12" 40/80 column switch,

Zenit-i ZVM123 green phosphor 12' 40/80 column switch

MEG JB1201 green phosphor 18 MHz composit video.

NEC J81260 commercial grade composit.

Moioi. ia 23" open trameblk/white composit video.

Conrat. 9 open frame requires horz sync & 12v supply

COLOR

NEC JC1401D Medium/ High 13" RGB

BMC AU9191U Color composit video with sound

BMC 9191M RGB designed for use with the IBM computer.

NEC ICO m R "f monitor

NEC JC1201 color composit ,„.,„-.

Zenith ZVMl 35 RGB & composite suitable for IBM PC

- ■'.> '.:. r-,-, : ry:,:

Amdek Color II ■ . 13 RGB hi/resolution -\mi1ok Color ill " ! RHB. medium resoluliion Princeton HX-12 RGB IBM/PC compatible

BMC-12A

BMC-12EN

AMK-300G

AMK-300A

AMK-310A

ZTH-122

2TH-Z123

NEC-JB1201

NEC-JB1260

MOT-BW23

CON-BW9

NEC-1401/X

8MC-9191

BMC-9191M

NEC-1203

NEC-JC1201

ZTH-2135

AMK-100

AMK-200

AMK-300

PRN-HX12

78.95 119.00 I 28.95 I 38.95 158.95

94 95

94 95 159,00 119 00 159 00

59 00

259,00 238.95 379.00

699.00 :;..• r i.;o

475.00 299,00 419.95 359,95 478.95

The CTS212AH Modem is 300/1200 Auto Answer/Auto Dial, Hayes Compatible. Mycroft Labs Companion communications software 535.00 additional

CTS 212AH 1200 baud, auto dial yignaiman Mark 12,1200 baud, Hayes compatible Signalman Mark 1, direct connect with terminal cable Hayes Smart Modem 1200 baud, auto answer, auto dial Hayes 1200B for use with the IBM/PC, 1200 baud Hayes Smartmodem, 300 baud only, auto answer, auto di.

Micromodem II, 103 Apple direct connect Hayes Chronograph, time & date U 5 Robotics 212A 300/1200 baud, auto dial/answer Q S Robotic-

\ J :y<m A0 : -> CHC U, i i <

Universal Dal.; I - , a '?r. answer & originate

■ ■ ' 1200 baud, half duplex only Universal Data 212LP, full 1200 baud duplex, line power Novation J Cat r"— Novation SmartC

CTS-212AH SGL-MK12 SGL-MK1 HYS-212AD HYS-1200B HYS-103AD HYS-MM2 HYS-CHR232 USR-212A USH-PW212 PEN-12AD UDS-103LP UDS-202LP .,," _ 12Lp

NO

aha

31900 259.00 75.00 479.00 429.00 ■ f : 9 '; ■

199.00 439 00 389.00 595 00 169.00 219,00 359 00 115,00 529.00

ASCII

KEYBOARD

49

California Digital has purchased

over 3000 ot these Microswitch

keyboards from the General Dynamics Corporation 93 ASCII encoded Hall effect

switches includes 8 function keys and 14 key numeric cluster make this keyboard an

excelled value at only $49. MIC-93GD 5 lbs.

We also have available a matching General Dynamics steel trim panel S10.

Returnot>a Smash Hit Sellout,

Compatible with the Radio Shack Color Computer. The world famous Dragon computer is now available

Compatible with the Radio Shack Color Computer. The world famous Dragon computer is now available in the United States. Manufactured by the Tano Corp. under license of the British Broadcasting Company. The Dragon comes complete with 64K Byte of memory, serial modem port along with a Centronics printer interface. This unique microcomputer features Motorola's advanced 6809E microprocessor and comes standard with Microsoft Color Basic, data base manager, and a complete word processing package. The computer outputs color composite video along with R.F. video that allows the unit to be used in conjunction with any color television. This is the Ideal low cost computer to be used with any dial up information system such as the Source, Western Union's EasyLink or any other time share service.

California Digital has agreed to act as exclusive agent for North America in an effort to assist The Tano Corporation in reducing their overstock. For a limited time California Digital can offer the Dragon computer for only $139. ;

PRINTERS

MATRIX PRINTERS

Star Gemini-1QX 120 char/sec, STP-G10X

Slar Gemini-15X, 100 char. /sec. 15" paper. STR-G15X

Star Gemini Delta 10. 160 Char/sec STR-O10

Star Coex SOFT friction & tractor VST-C80FT

Toshiba P1351, 192 char/sec, letter quality TOS-1351

Okidata 82A serial & parallel 9'/*" paper OKI-82A

Okidata 92A parallel interface, 160 char/sec. OKI-92A

Okidata 83A & parallel 15" paper OKI-83A

Okidata 84A & parallel 15 paper OKI-84A

Okidata 2350 (new) 350 char/sec OKI-2350

Epson RX-8010" 120 Char/sec EPS-RX80

Epson FX80, 10 160 char./sec. with graphtrax EPS-FX80

Epson FX 100 15" 160char./sec with graphtrax EPS-FX100

Anadex 9501B high speed with graphics ADX-9501B

Anadex 9620B200char/sec. pari & serial. ADX-96206

Prowriter 8510 parallel 9V paper PRO-8510P

Prownter II. parallel 15" paper, graphics PRO-2P

Dataproducts B-600-3, band printer 600 LPM. OPS-B600 t P300 hign speed printer 300 lines per minute. PTX-P300 Printronix P600 ultra high speed 600 lines per minute. PTX-P600

WORD PROCESSING PRINTERS

NEC7710 55 char/second, serial interface NEC7730 55 ff^ -sec. par' interface.

"..") popular printer designed for the IBM/PC Ni-Cr'ioU , ', '. M ' ' ■ -

Silver Reed EXP500, 14 char/ sec. pari interface Silver Reed EXP550 17 Char/sec pari interface

- , :■. ::.;■ I

Diablo 620.

Juki 6100, 1

Brother HP 1A serial interface Starwnter F10 serial, 40 char/sec

let F10 parallel, 40 char/sec. Comrex CR2. 5k buffer, proportional spacing, par I

NEC-7710

NEC-7730

NEC-3550

NEC-2050

SRD-EXP500

SRD-EXP550

DBL-630

BTH-HR1S PROF 10S PRO-F10P CRX-CR2P

279.00 389.00 399 00 195.00 1495.00 347,00 427.00 567.00 997.00 1995 00 317.00 529.00 719.00 1029,00 1129,00 359.00 689 00 698500 399500 5795 00

1 795.00

1795.00

1599.00 995.00 45900 659 00

1765.00 879 00 319 00 695.00 i - ■ ,

1125.00 49500

TERMINALS

Freedom 100, split screen, detatchable keyboard

Qume 102 green phosphor terminal

Ampex Dialogue 125 green screen,

Ampex Dialouge 175 amber screen, two page, func. keys

Wyse 50.14" green phosphor

Wyse 300, Eight color display, split screen.

Zenith 29 terminal. VT52compatible, detatch.ble keyboard.

Televideo 910 Plus, block mode

Tele video 925, detatchable keyboard. 22 function keys

Televideo 950, graphic char .split screen, 22 tunc.

Televideo 970, 14 green, 132 column. European

Switching Supply

Power your single board system with one supply! This Kepro switcher power supply outputs +5 volts at 5 amps, + 12 volts at 1.8 amps, 2.8 amps surge, -12 volts at 0.5 amps, and a second +12 volts at 2.0 amp output. It is jumper selectable for both 120 volt and 220 volt operation. Units measures approximately 6" by 8". This board is capable of supplying power for two §W Winchesters, a single board computer along with a hard disk controller. Also suitable for use with all IBM look-a-likes. Priced at only $49.95 this power supply offers excellent value along with high reliability. KPT-512

IBM £'

Compatible

The Sanyo MBC-550 Microcomputer includes 128K byte of memory, a 5 1 /4" disk drive along with a parallel printer port. The computer outputs both RGB color and monochrome composite video. Extensive software such as Sanyo Basic, Wordstar, Calcstar and Easy Writer I is included with the MBC-550.

Sanyo 550 reduced SALE price 759.00

Sanyo 550 Plus two single sided drives 829.00

Sanyo 550-2 one double sided drive 949.00

Sanyo 550-2 Plus two double sided drives 1095.00

Sanyo 555 two sgl. drives, bonus soft. 1095.00

Sanyo 555-2 two dbl. drives, bonus soft. 1249.00

Memory Upgrade 256K total memory 99.00

Serial Card modem interface 85.00

Advanced Logic Systems

CP/M 3.0 CARD

Includes Digital Research C/PM Plus

We have just purchased from Digital Research over I eight hundred of the Advanced Logic Systems CP/M I 3.0 cards. This unique product offers performance I upto 300% faster than existing Apple CP/M cards. I

Featuring a 6 MHz. Z80B micro-processor, 64K/Byte of on board memory, with CP/M 3.0 along with GSX 80 graphics and CBasic. The ALS card supports larger programs with enhanced CP/M editing features.

Manufacturers suggested price on the CP/M board is $399. while supplies last California Digital is offering this card at only $179. ALS-Z80

TOLL FREE ORDER LINE

(800) 421-5041

TECHNICAL & CALIFORNIA

(213)217-0500

tov>

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MONITORS

PRINCETON GRAPHICS

SPECIALS

MONTH ONLY

TEAK

COMPUTERS

SANYO

MBC55C

COLOR

MONOCHROME

AMDEK

MEMORY UPGRADE

HAYES 1200 MODEM

COMPAQ

DESK PRO MODEL

KAYPRO

KAYPRO II

KAYPRO II +

KAYPRO 4

KAYPRO 4+

KAYPRO 10

COMMODORE

COLUMBIA

31OA [Monochrome]

COLOR I [Composite Video] COLOR II + [RGB Video] . . .

ZENITH

LEADING EDGE

GORILLA [Green]

GORILLA [Amber]

OTHER MONITORS AVAILABLE ,

DISK DRIVES

SAMWOO MONITOR

Monochrome

RITEMAN PRINTER

Compatible

$319.

COPROCESSOR

TANDON

TEAC

MACINTOSH

MODEMS

HAYES

MICROMODEM lie OVATION

ANCHOR

MARK VII 300 . MARK XII 1200

SHUGART

MATSUSHITA

SLIMLINE

MICRO SCI

RANA SYSTEMS

DRIVE CONTROLLERS

RANA [Controls 4]

MAYNARD

MAYNARD (w/Parallel Port] . . MAYNARD [w/Serial Port) ....

APPLE COMPONENTS

PADDLES

KENSINGTON

SYSTEM SAVER . . . MICRO TEK

SERIAL INTERFACE MICROMAX

VIEWMAX 80

VIEWMAX 80e . . .

WE WILL BEAT ANY ADVERTISED IBM PRICE!!

IBM PRODUCTS

IBM CPU

PC 64K 1 DRIVE $'

PC 1 28K 2 DRIVES 4

XT 128K 10Mb 1 DRIVE !

AT BASE MODEL

ENHANSED

IBM DISK DRIVES

TANDON 100-2 169

CDC 189

MPI 179

DRIVE CONTROLLER CARDS

IBM [Controls 2 Drives) $149

MAYNARD Call

The Sav-On System II

IBM PC

• 2 Half Height DS/DD Disk Drives

• 256K

• Parallel Port

• Monochrome Monitor

Only $1995

DANA COOLING FAN

FOR APPLE $79.00

KEYTRONICS KEYBOARDS

[We will beat any advertised price)

LOTUS 123

Only $299.00 TELEX TERMINAL

Model C (300/1200 Baud) D.D.D. Capability

$1119.00

IBM PRODUCTS

par. & clock]

MONO CARD

COLOR CARD .

MONO MONITOR

COLOR MONITOR •

HERCULES

MONO CARD . .

COLOR CARD

QUADRAM

QUADBOARDS AVAILABLE

MEMORY UPGRADES

MATH COPROCESSOR

KEYTRONICS

PARADISE CARD . . PLANTRONICS

GRAPHICS II . . TECHMAR

EVEREX

HARD DISK DRIVES

20Mb TALLGRASS Call

35Mb TALLGRASS Call

70Mb TALLGRASS Call

FINANCING AVAILABLE

with Approved Credit

Circle 364 on inquiry card.

PRINTERS

DYIMAX

DynaxDX15 !

DYNAX DX25

STAR MICROIMICS

GEMINI 10X !

GEMINI 15X

POWER TYPE

OKIDATA

82A [120cps par. & ser. interface]!

S3A (15" carriage]

84P (200cps, frict & tractor]

92P[160cps]

93P [160cps, 15" carnage]

EPSON

RX80 [120cps] ...'.!

RX80FT (120cps, fnet/tract]

FX80 [160cps]

FX100 (160cps, 15" car.]

JUKI

6100 [18cps & let. quality] !

TRACTOR FEED

NEC • BROTHER • DAISY WRITER • DIABLO • SILVER REED '

PRINTER INTERFACE and PERIPHERALS

CABLES

FOURTH DEMINSION

MICRO TEK

DUMPLING GX

DUMPLING GX (Exp to i 16K UPGRADE

OKIDATA

TRACTOR for 82 & 92 SERIAL INTERFACE . .

ORANGE MICRO

GRAPPLER +

GRAPPLER + w/1 BK . .

,o<*

««*%<

^ > <**

LAEMVNCED^

COMPUTER

!ODUCTS|64KRAMS

Set of 9 $50.00

IBNTPC MULTICARD II

"MULTICARD II" multifunction card for the IBM PC & XT expandable to 384K. Thousands of this popular card have already been shipped by ACP.

• 64-384K • Disk Emulator Software

• Parallel Port • Printer Spooler Software

• Serial/Game Port • Clock/Calendar

• 1 Year Warranty • Clock Software

$ 229 00 w ok $ 229°°

S-10064Kc M osRAMCARD

Unbelievable Price!

'249°

100

Assembled and Tested

• ACP has sold over 1 000 of these IEEE compatible, low-priced, high-reliability 64K Static RAM Cards Single 5-Volt operation.

SIEMEN'S SALE

8 Disk Drives

«139°°

You can now purchase Shugart compatible 8" Disk Drives below your

existing factory direct pricing! These Prices are the lowest ever published. *Siemen's DSDD FDD200-8.. $199.00

Also, with purchase of Disk Drives you can buy the Vista V-1000 Dual Case

with Power Supply and Cable for only $375.00 . . , . Regular Price $495.00

Offer Limited! Factory Warranty 90 Days! Shipped Immediately from Stock! "OEM Quantities

DOT MATRIX PRINTER

C0EX 80-FT

** 9x7 Dot Matrix,80 CPS. 8i-Directional

Printing v 2K Buffered Memory v 80, 96, 132 Columns, Graphics and

Block Printing v Selectable Char Pitch, Line Spacing

and Feed C0EX Interface Card to Apple $4

ACP HAS DISK DRIVES

APPLE II COMPATIBLE

APPLE COMPATIBLE

DISK DRIVES STANDARD HEIGHTS

Thin

Line

Drive

$ 17 goo

VISTA Solo 5 1 /4" Std $199.00

FOURTH DIMENSION . .199.00

QUENTIN 209.00

Compatible Disk Controller 49.95

^m^ TAND0N 100-2

'^E ■ PC Compatible • Double Sided

^^d $1M °°

**&* TM100-1 $169.00

TOSHIBA Half High

PC Compatible • Double Sided

*169°°

OTHER DRIVES WE STOCK

BUSINESS

ACP PRICE APPLIED SOFTWARE Versaform $299.00

Versaform Hard Disk 399.00

ARTSCI Magic Window II 95.00

Magic Combo 169.00

ASHTON-TATE dBASE M (CP'M) 385.00

Friday (CP/M) 198.00

BPI (GL, AR, AP, Pay. Inv) ea. 299.00

BRODERBUND Bank Street Writer 49.00

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS The Incred Jack . 149.00 CONTINENTAL (GL, AR. AP. Pay) ea, 189.00

Home Accountant 49.00

DATAMOST Real Estate Inv 99.00

DOW JONES Market Manager 229.00

Market Analyzer 269.00

Market Microscope 499.00

EAGLE Money Oecisions Vol. 1 149.00

FOX & GELLER Quickcode 199.00

d Utility 69.00

d Graph 199.00

HAYDEN Pie Writer 99.00

Compiler Ptus 79.00

Basic Compiler 45.95

HOWARDSOFT Tax Preparer 199.00

Real Estate Analyzer 139.00

KENSINGTON Format II 99.00

LIGHTNING Mastertype 35.00

LIVING VIDEOTEXT Think Tank(ll,lle.lll) .. .119.00

MICROPRO Wordstar 249.00

Mailmerge or Spellstar 139.00

Wordstar Prof 4 Pak 449.00

Info Pak or InfoStar Call

MICROSOFT Multiptan 179.00

Multitool Financial 79.00

Multitool Budget 119.00

MEGAHAUS Megawriter 69.00

PEACHTREE Series 40 (GL. AR. AP).. . 379.00

Series 9 (Text, Spell, Mail) 239.00

PERFECT SOFTWARE Call

QUARK Word Juggler (He) 199.00

Lexicheck (He) 99.00

Call for Apple III SIERRA ON-LINE

Screenwriter II 99.00

Screenwriter Professional 149.00

General Manager II 169.00

Dictionary 79,00

SOFTWARE PUBLISHING PFS/Fite 69.00

PFS. Graph or PFS Report 89.00

STATE OF THE ART Call

STONEWARE DB Master 4 0 249.00

DBB Utility 1 or 2 89.00

SYSTEMS PLUS Acct Plus (GL, AP, AR) Set 599.00

VISICORP Visicalc 3.3 179.00

Visicaic Enhanced 199.00

Visifile or Visidex 179.00

HOME & EDUCATION

BRODERBUND Choplifter $28.00

Drol or Loderunner 28.00

Arcade Machine 44.00

Apple Panic 24.00

BUDGECO Raster Blaster 24.00

Pinball Construction Set 29.00

COUNTERPOINT SOFTWARE

Early Games for Young Children 26.00

DATAMOST Aztec 29.00

Pig Pen or Shark Attack 23.00

DATASOFT Zaxxon (II + . e. c) 31.00

EDU-WARE Compumath 37.00

Algebra I. II or III 30.00

Compuread or Compuspell 23.00

EINSTEIN Memory Trainer 73.00

ELECT. ARTS Music Construction Call

HARCOURT Computer SAT Call

HAYDEN Sargon If 29.00

INFOCOM Zork I, If or III 29.00

Deadline 36.00

KOALA Modules (8 available) Call

LEARNING COMPANY

Juggles Rainbow 30.00

Bumble Games 40.00

Gertrude s Secrets 45.00

LAS Crossword Magic 41.00

MICROFUN Miner 2049er Call

MICROLAB Call

MICROSOFT Decathlon 25.00

Typing Tutor II 19.00

MONOGRAM Dollars & Sense 74.95

ORIGIN Exodus: Ultima III 41.95

PENQUIN The Quest 16.00

SENSIBLE Sensible Speller 99.00

SIERRA ON-LINE Frogger 28.00

SIRTECH Legacy of Llyigamya 29.00

Knight of Diamonds 29.00

SOUTHEASTERN Data Capture 4 0 54.95

SPINNAKER Alphabet Zoo 20.00

Delta Drawing 35.00

Fraction Fever 23.00

Kindercomp 21 .00

Facemaker 28.00

SUBLOGIC Flight Simulator or Pinball 40.00

SUNDEX-No. 1 Rated Home Finance

CPA Personal Accountant 74.95

CPA Personal Investor 74.95

Personal Payables 42.95

TERRAPIN Logo $119.00

TRANSEND Transend I 75.00

VIRTUAL Micro Cookbook (II. e, c) 29.00

UTILITIES'SYSTEM

BEAGLE Apple Mechanic $30.00

Apple Plot or Pronto DOS 30.00

Beagle Basic 30.00

DOS Boss 20.00

Double Take or Utility City 30.00

CENTRAL POINT Filer 18.00

Copy II Plus 31.00

LOCKSMITH 79.00

MICROSOFT A LD S (Req Softcard) 85.00

Cobol 80 (Req, Softcard) 575.00

Fortran 80 155.00

PENQUIN CGS System 65.00

PHOENIX Zoom Graphix 31.00

SOUTHWEST Merlin 49.95

Send for Complete Catalog of Software

APPLE COMPATIBLE

DISK CONTROLLER

Only

$4Q95

Apple Compatible

Printer Interface $4 Q95

w Apple to Epson Cable "§5J

Apple lie Compatible

80 Column $i

Card w/64K

99 s

APPLE COOLING FAN

with

Surge Suppression

QUENTIN/ FORTH DIMENSION

Apple II lie Compatible Disk Drive

Totally compatible to Apple Drives.

Controller $49.95

Just plug in and run.

Apple II16K RAM CARD

Compatible with Z80 Softcard™ . PASCAL CP M

Full 1 year Warranty. Top Quality by COEX

NEW low $4Q95

ACP PRICE 43

Also from COEX, NEW EPSON

Parallel Interface for Apple.

With cable $49.95

CLEARANCE SALE

RAINBOW 100A MODEL CLEARANCE

CPU SYSTEM UNIT

RAINBOW 100A w64K of Main Memory, 800Kb Dual Floppy Disk Drive, Keyboard plus User Kit, Serial Printer Port and Modem Port built-in.

Retail $2995 ACP $1995

VR201 MONOCHROME MONITOR

Retail $325 ACP $259

CPM/86/80 and MS-DOS

Retail $250 ACP $195 5Mb WINCHESTER HARD

DISK w/CONTROLLER

(While Supplies Last) «*»B e>70n

(128Kb Mm. Memory Req.) All" $/oU

192Kb Memory

Retail $650 ACP $521 Call for Special Rainbow 100* Pricing!

800-854-8230

TWX

910-595-1585

Mail Order: P.O. Box 17329 Irvine, CA 92713

Retail: 13108 E. Edinger, Santa Ana, CA 92705

(714) 558-8813

542 W. Trimble, San Jose, CA 95131

(408) 946-7010

ffappkz computer

l^» Authorized Deafer

Complete Apple Support Facility Complete Apple Service Center We service most Floppy Disk Drives

Apple lie w/64K

Apple lie Business System 2995.00 j

Includes: Apple Me w128K. Dual Disk, 80 Column |

Card, Monitor II. Profile Extension Option Apple Me Entry System 995.00 |

Includes: Apple Me w 64K. Disk M w/Controller Apple Me Professional System 1795.00 i

Includes: Apple Me w/128K, Dual Disk. 80 Column

Card Monitor II

Imagewriter Dot Matrix Printer 545.00

Apple Color Plotter 779.00

Apple Modem 1200 495.00

Apple III 256K System 2695.0I

Apple III Plus 256K System 2995.00 \

Apple III Pius Business System 4495.00

Lisa 2 3495.00 |

Macintosh System 2495.0C

Apple lie System 1295.CK

"Apple Products Available In-store Only"

wamamamMBamm

ALS CP/M 3.0 Plus Card $399.00

COMPUTER ACCESSORIES Power Control Center P12 COEX 16K Ram Card 99.00

Parallel Printercard w.'Cable 99.00 Apple II Prototype Card 29.00

Apple I Extender Card 29.00

64K Extended 80 Column 199,00 CORVUS Hard Disk Omninet EASTSIDE Wildcard (11 +W/64) Wildcard 2 (Me) Wildcard Plus (64K in 10 sec) FINGERPRINT Epson Enhancer GIBSON Light Pen (new Improved) IS PKASO Inferface (ll/lle) 199.00

PKASO Interface (111) 199.00

KENSINGTON System Saver 89.95

PC Saver 49.96

KEYTRONICS K8200 II + Keybd 298 00 KOALA Graphics Pad KRAFT Joystick

Game Paddles MCT Speed Demon MPC 128K Bubble Memory MAR Sup'r Mod II RF Modulator Sup'r Fan

125.00 49.00 49.00 29500 875.00

50.00

MICROPRO 6MHz Applicard + Word

MICROSOFT Z-80 Softcard

2-80 Softcard Plus

Softcard Premium Pak (II +

Softcard Premium Pak (Me) MOUNTAIN COMPUTER

Music System 395 00

AD Plus D/A 350.00

MICROTEK Dumpling But w.'64K 349.00 ORANGE MICRO

Grappler Plus

16K Bufferboard

Grappler Buffered w<16K PCPI Applicard w 128K. 6MHz 8088 Coprocessor Applicard w 128K. 4MHz PERISOFT (All w 1 Year Warranty)

39500 645 00 695.00 495 00

175.00 175.00 24500 595.00 595.00 495.00

99 00 135.00 110.00 175.00 189.00

199.00

149.00

49.95

49.95

20.00

20.00

99.95

Cell

89.00

119.00

149.00

59.00

Call |

139.00

159.00

69,95

39.95

225.00 I

95.00

36.00

36.00

249.00

699.00

49.00

38.00

Call

24900

479.00 •

499.00 |

395.00 I

335.00 299.00 265.00

129.00 129.00 199.00

429.00 ]

79.00 109.00

89.00 139.00 159.00

149.00

179.00

159.00

199.00

279.00

279.00 '

166.00 |

Printerlmk Intel! Printer I/O

Messenger Univ Serial 10

Timelink Realtime Clock

Graliink Graphics to

Bufferlmk w 16K Buffer PRACTICAL PERIPHERALS

Microbuffer 16K (Epson Parallel) 159.00

Microbuffer 32K (Epson Parallel) 199.00

Microbuffer 16K (Epson Serial) 179.00

Microbuffer 32K (Epson Serial) 219.00

Microbuffer In-line 64K (Parallel) 349.00

Microbuffer In-line 64K (Serial) 349 00 PROMETHEUS Versacard 4 m 1 QUADRAM

Quadlink (IBM to Apple)

Microfazer 16K (Parallel)

Microfazer 16K (Serial)

Microfazer 32K (Parallel) SATURN/TITAN

32K Ramcard

64K Ramcard

128K Ramcard

Accelerator II Card (2,2e,2 + )

Neptune 64K + 80

Neptune 128K + 80

Neptune 192K + 80 STREET Echo II (Apple)

Echo II Serial (In-line) SYNETIX Sprite I Sprite II Supersprite Flashcard 144K Flashcard 288K TG PRODUCTS

Joystick

Select-a-port

Trackball

Joystick wToggle lie VIDEX Videoterm (80) Ultraterm (132) Enhancer II VISTA COMPUTER

A800 8" Disk Controller

A500 5VV Disk Controller VOTRAX Type NTalk

Personal System

64K RAMS

Set of 9 Pes $ 50 oo

Apple" Apple Trademark of Apple Computer IBM'" IBM Trademark of International Business Machines

TtflMS: We accept VISA. MC. M0. Cashiers and Personal checks. School and Company PO s We do not charge your card until we ship Personal checks require drivers license and credit card # No Surcharge Added on VISA or MC COD s over S5M) require 20% deposit with order Add 3% shipping and handling for UPS We offer sameday shipment Prices subject to change without notice. We reserve the right lo substitute manufacturer We are not responsible lor typographical errors Retail Sale Prices May Vary

558 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

EDUCATIONAL

ELECTRONIC ROBOT KITS

A Great Gift Idea . . .

PEPPY

PEPPY's 2-way sensor is susceptible to noise and solid objects in its path. When the front sensor contacts a wall or other obstacle or hears a loud noise, such as a hand-clap, it automatically turns to the left. Uses 2 AA and 1 9V battery (not included).

MV-916

$24.95

LINE TRACER II

Uses an infra-red light sensor to automatically follow a black line (min. 10mm wide) drawn on white paperboard. (Minimum turn radius 15cm.) Uses 2 AA and 1 9V battery (not included).

MV-913

$39.95

The MOVIT line is a series of computerized (and logic controlled) battery robot kits that can teach the basic principles of robotic sensing and locomotion. Each of the kits features pre-assembled pc boards, hardware and mechanical drive systems that can be handled by anyone. Only basic hand tools are required for assembly. You can experience and learn any one or all of the following features: remote control, sound sensor, infrared sensor, wired control or programmable memory.

You'll want to meet all of these entertaining, affordable, robots!

CIRCULAR

Two large wheels roll this new robot left or right, forward or round & round; controlled by hand-held remote control box. Uses 3 AA and 2 9V batteries (not included).

MV-935

$69.95

MR. BOOTSMAN

Two speeds with six legs! Walks or runs forwards, backwards, left, right, even full circle turns. Wired control. Uses 2 AA batteries (not included).

MV-931

$32.95

PIPER-MOUSE

Controlled by a Supersonic sound sensor and a 1 -channel electronic circuit. Use the whistle in this kit and Piper-Mouse will follow your commands, immediately turning left, stopping, turning right, advancing and stop. Uses 2 AA and 1 9V battery (not included).

MV-915

$44.95

TURN BACKER

When its about to hit a wall, just yell "Look Out!" and the robot automatically turns left. Requires 4 "AA" batteries (not included).

MV-911 $39.95

MEDUSA Walking robot with Sound Sensor!

Medusa's electronic brain registers your command and starts to hobble on its 4 legs, stopping after a preset time. Sensor includes condenser microphone Uses 2 N size 1.5 V (E90, MN9100) batteries (not incl.)

MV-939 Sound Sensor $29.95.

AVOIDER

Emits an infra-red beam to detect obstacles in front. Knows how to avoid hitting walls! Uses 2 AA and 1 9V battery (not included).

MV-912

$44.95

MEMOCON CRAWLER

Runs through the program you input on the included keyboard: forward, turn right or left, pause, sound buzzer or turn light beam on. Uses 2 AA and 1 9V battery (not included).

MV-918 $74.95

TERMS: Minimum order $10.00

For shipping and handling, include $2.50 for UPS ground or $3,50 for UPS Blue (air) For each additional air pound, add $1 for UPS Blue shipping and handling California residents must include 6% sales tax, Bay area and LA residents include 6V?% sales tax Prices are

graphical errors We reserve the right to limit quantities and to substitute manufacturers All merchandise subject to prior sale.

MJIl/jafelUlMMinii

HOURS: Mon - Fri 7:30 to 5:00 Saturdays 10:00 to 3:00 VISIT OUR RETAIL STORE

2100 De La Cruz Blvd

Santa Clara, CA 95050

(408) 988-0697

ALL MERCHANDISE IS

100% GUARANTEED

I Teex: 756440

DoKa

mmm

DoKa

74LS00

COMPUTER PRODUCTS, Inc. ORDER TOLL FREE

(800) 538-8800

(CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS)

(800) 848-8008

STATIC RAMS

LP = Law PiMr Qttit = Qml-StitJe

DYNAMIC RAMS

TMS4027

UPD411

MM5280

MM 108

MM 5298

4116-200

4116-150

2118

4164-250

4164-200

4164-150

1702

2708

2788

2716

2716-1

TMS2516

TMS2716

TMS2532

2732

2732-250

2732-200

2764

2764-250

2764-200

TMS2564

MC68764

27128

4096 x 1 (250m)

4096 x 1 ( 8192x1 (200m) 8192x1 (280m) 16384x1 (200m| 18384 x 1 (150m) 16384x1 (160h)(Sv) 65536 x 1 (250m) 65536 x 1 (200m) (5v) 65536 x 1 (150m) (5v)

5V = Sliglt 5 Voit Supply

EPROMS

288x8 1024x8 1024 xB 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 4096 x 8 4096 x 8 4096 x 8 4096 x 8 8192x8 8192x8 8192x1 6192x8 8192x8 16384x8

(In) (480it) (4S0n) (5i)

(450m) (5f| (350n) (5i) (450ii) (5*j (450m) (450m) (5v) (450m) (5v| (260ii) (5f| (200n) (5V) (480m) (5*j (250m) (5*| (200m) (Sv) (450m) (8i) (460m) (5v) (24 Call

1.95 1.95 1.95 1.90 1.80 .79 1.20 4.90 4.45 5.00 5.00

4.45 2.49 5.90 2.98 5.90 5.45 6.95 5.90 4.45 8.90

10.95 8.45 7.48

16.48

16.98 pli) 38.95

24.95

74L800 .23

74LS01 .24

74LS02 .24

74LS03 .24

74LS04 .23

74LS06 .24

74LS08 .27

74LS09 .29

74L810 .24 74L311 74L312 74L813 74LS14 74LS15 74LS20 74LS21 74L822 74L826 74L827

74LS28 .34

74LS30 .24

74L832 .28

74L833 .84

74LS37 .34

74LS38 .34

74LS40 .24

74L842 .48 74LS47 74L848 74LS49 74LSS1 74LS54 74LS55

74L883 1.20

74L873 .38

74L874 .34

74L876 .36

741878 .38

74LS78 .46

74L883 .69

74L886 .68

74L886 .38

74L890 .54

74U91 .88

74LS92 .64

74LS83 .64

74LS85 .74

74LS96 .88

74LS107 .38

74LS108 .38

74LS112 .38

74U113 .38

74LS114 .38

74LS122 .44

74L8123 .78

74LS124 2.86

7418125 74LS126 741S132 74LS133 74L8136 7411137 74LS138 74LS139 74L8146 74LS147 7418148 74L8151 74L81S3 74LS154 74LS155 74U156 74U157 74LS168 7418160 74L8161 7418162 74LS163 74LS1B4 74L8166 74U186 74LS168 74U169 74L8170 74L8173 74L8174 74LS178 74L81B1 74U189 74LS190 74LS191 74L8192 74L8I93 74L8194 74LS198 74L8196 74LS197 7418221 741S240 74LS241 74U242 74L8243 74LS244 7418245 74LS247 74LS248 74LS249 74LS261 74LS253 74LS257 74U258 74U289

.48 74LS260

.48 74L8286

.68 74LS273

.66 74LS276

.39 74L8279

.98 74LS280 1.98

.58 .54 1.46 3.30 .48

.54 74LS283

.54 74LS290

1.15 74LS293

2.46 74LS296

1.30 74LS298

.84 74LS299

.88 .88 .88

.98 .88

1.70

.54 74LS323 3.46

1.85 74LS324

.68 74L8362

.68 74LS353

.64 74LS383

.58 74LS364

.68 74LS366

.64 74LS366

.89 74L8367

.64 74LS368

.68 74U373

.94 74L8374

1.90 74LS377

1.70 74LS378

1.70 7418378

1.46 74LS386

.88 74LS386

.54 74LS390

.54 74L8393

2.10 7418395

8.90 74LS399

.89 74LS424

.88 74L8447

.78 74L8490

.78 7418624

.68 74LS64Q

.68 74L8845 2.15

.78 74LS666 1.86

.78 74L8869

.86 74L8870 1.48

.94 74L8874 9J0 74L8662 74LS883 74LS684

125 74L8686

1.45 74LS688

.74 74L8689 3.15

.98 74LS783 23.98

.98 81L895 1.46

.58 81L898 1.45

.58 81L897 1.45

.58 81L898 1.46

.68 25L82521 2.75

2.70 25LS2S69 4.20

.96 .98 .98

3.15 3.16 3.16 3.16 2.36

CRT CONTROLLERS

1771

1761 1793 1795 1797 2791 2793 2795

14.95 23.95 28.95 28.95 48.95 79.98 79.98 84.95

2797 .. 5843 .. 8272 .. UP07B6 MB8876 MB8877 1691 .. 2143 ..

84.85 33.95 38.95 38.95 23.98 25.95 16.95 17.95

DISC CONTROLLERS

1771 1791 1793 1798 1797 2791 2793 2795

84.98 2143 17.98

QUV-T8/1 EPROM Eraser

6500

5* = Sii|ll 5 Hit Supply

QUV-T8/1 Economy Model:

Low cost EPROM eraser in plastic enclosure. The UV element is in the lid and you place the EPROMS in the bottom half. No timer or switch option.

• Erasis up ti 8 EPROMS ii 15 - 20 minutes.

• 12,000 uWatts at 1" distance.

• 90-Day Warranty

49. 95

1 MHZ

6802 4.90

8604 6.90

6505 8.90

6607 6.90

6620 4.30

6522 6.90

6532 9.90

6546 21.60

6551 10.88

2 MHZ

6602A ........ 6.90

6522A 9.90

6532A 10.95

6545A 26.95

6561A 10.95

3 MHZ

66028 9.90

6800

68000. 6800 . 8802 . 8808 . 6809E.

6809 ,

6810 . 6620 . 6821 . 6828 .

6843 ...

6844 ...

6846 ...

6847 ... 6850 ... 6862 ...

. 58.95 . 3.60 . 7.90 .12.90 .18.95 . 10.95 . 2.90 . 4.30 . 3.20 .13.95 .11.95 . 33.95 . 24.95 . 13.95 . 10.96 . 3.20 .16.70

6862 . 6875 .

6883 .

66047.

.. 9.90 .10.98 . 6.90 . 2.20 .21.95 . 23.95 .18.95

1 MHZ

68800 9.98

68B02 ....21.28

66B09E . . .28.96

68809 28.95

68810 6.90

68821.... 6.90

68B45 16.95

68850 5.90

8000

8036 6.90

8039 6.90

IN8-8060 16.85

INS-8073 49.96

8080 3.90

8086 ........ 5.90

8068A-2 10.96

6088 28.85

6087 199.00

8088 38.95

8068 86.95

8185 6.90

8186-2 7.90 [

8166 6.8

8185 28.65 |

8186-2 38.

8741 38.88 I

8748 49.98

8755 23.96

8200

6202 23.98

8203 38.86

8205 3.45

8212 1.75

8214. 3.80

8216 1.70

6224 2.20

6226 1.75

8226 3.45

6237 18.98

8237-5. 20.95

8238. 4.45

8243 10.95

8250 16.95

8251 4.45

8253 6.90

6253-5 7.90

8255 4.48

8266-6 5.20

8257 7.90

6257-5 8.90

8259 6.85

8259-8 7.46

8271.... 75.00

8272 38.95

8275 28.95

8279 8.90

8279-5 9.00

8282 8.48

8283. 6.48

8284 ....14.98

8286 6.45

8287 6.45

8268 24.00

8289.......... 48.95

8292 16.95

Z-80

MHZ

2.5 ..

ZB0-CP0 3.90

Z80-CTC 3.98

Z80-0AHT 10.96

ZB0-DMA 13.95

Z80-PI0 ....... 3.85

Z80-3I0/0 11.96

Z8O-3I0/1 11.95

Z80-SI0/2 11.96

Z80-SI0/9 11.98

6.0 MHZ

Z808-CPU 9.95

Z806-CTC 12.88

Z80B-PI0 12.98

Z80B-DART .... 12.96

4.0 MHZ ZB0A-CPU ...... 4.29

Z80A-CTG

Z80A-DART

Z80A-0MA

Z80A-PI0 .

Z80A-8I0/0

Z80A-3I0/1

Z80A-SI0/2

Z80A-SI0/6

4.90 9.95 12.95 . 4.29 12.98 12.96 12.96 12.95

ZILOG

Z6132 Z8671

33.95 38.85

DIP SWITCHES

pr

-

4 POSITION 14

8 POSITION 89

6 POSITION 89

7 POSITION 94

8 POSITION 94

1984 - THE IC MASTER -

I Your ticket to fast and easy IC selections

$89.

95

INTERFACE CHIPS

6T26 . 68T28 . 8T65 . 8T98 . 8T97 .

1.54 8T98...

1.84 DMB131

.88 0P8304.

88 DS8836

.68

2.90 2.24 1.94 .98

CRYSTALS

1.0000 MHz 3.89 8.0000 MHz..... 2.69

18432 MHz 3.69 18.0000 MHz..... 2.89

20000 MHz 2.69 10.7386 MHz.. 2.89

tmtm 2.69 12.0000 MHt.... 2.89

2«76 MHz 2.69 14 .3182 MHt.... 2.69

I™*** 1 "J 16.0000 MHt.... 2.69

;"5! !u I'll '8-0000 MHz..... 2.69

■ J! ' 17.4300 MHt.... 2.69

5.0000 MHz 2.89 J*2 !£ ' " ' III

5.0688 MHz..... 2.69 106608 MHz..... 2.68

5.1860 MHz 2.66 20.0000 MHt.... 2.69

5.2429 MHz 2.69 22.1184 MHt.... 2.89

8.7143 MHz 2.68 32.0000 MHt.... 2.69

6.0000 MHz ..... 2.89 36.0000 MHt.... 2.69

6.1440 MHz ..... 2.69 48.0000 MHt.... 2.69

6.4000 MHz 2.69 49.4350 MHt.... 2.69

6.5536 MHz ..... 2.68 49.8800 MHt.... 2.69 32.768 KHz...... 1.69

CRYSTAL CLOCK OSCILLATORS

VOLTAGE REGULATORS

7805T 74

78M0SC 34

7808T 74

7B12T 74

7815T 74

7824T 74

7B05K......... 1.34

7812K, 1.34

7815K 1.34

7824K 1.34

7BL05 88

7BL12 .88

78L15 88

78H05K 9.90

78H12K. 9.00

7905T... 7908T... 7912T... 7815T... 7924T... 7905K... 791 2K... 7915K... 7924 K... 79L06... 79L12... 70L16... LM323K.. UA78840.

. .84 . .84 . .84 . .84 . .84 1.44 1.44 1.44 1.44 . .78 , .78 . .78 4.90 1.90

C,T = TO-220 K = TO-3 L = TO-92

IC SOCKETS

(1 to 99)

8 pit ST 12

14 pin ST 14

IBplaST 16

18 pin ST IB

20 pin ST 16

22 pin ST 29

24 pin ST 19

28 pin ST 39

40 pli ST 46

ST = Soldertall

6 |ti WW 58

14 pm WW 68

16 Hi WW 68

16 phi WW 98

20 phi WW 1.04

22 pin WW 1.34

24 pit WW 1.44

28 pin WW...... 1.64

40 phi WW 1.94

WW = Wlrewrap

ZIF SOCKETS

16pHZIF 5,90

24 ph ZIF 7.90

28 pin ZIF 8.90

ZfF = TEXTOOL (Zero Insertion Force)

DISKETTES

5 1 A"

ATHANA

SS/SD 15.90

SS/DD 16.90

DS/DD 22.90

SOFT SECTOR with HUB RING

BULK 5V4" DISKETTES

(NO LABEL)

SS/DD ... 10for 14.90

100 up 139.00

(Lifetime Warranty)

The FLIP SORT"

The new Flip Sort" has all the fine qualities of the original with some added benefits: a new design and 50% greater capacity. Holds 75 diskettes and the price is now lower than ever— j£| 6.95

The Flip Sort PLUS™

The new Flip Sort PLUS™ adds new dimensions to storage. Its smoked acrylic elegance holds over 100 diskettes with all the features you expect from the Flip Sort Family- $24.95

IBM ACCESSORIES

MEMORY EXPANSION KIT

4164 1 50ns 9 for $45.00

MULTIFUNCTION CARD

• 64K to 384K RAM

• Pinllel Port

• Serial Pert

• Clock Calendar

• Software Included

• 1-Year Warranty

$249.95

MEMORY CARD

Mr/'mm-r

• Expandable to 512K

• Fully compatible with IBM software

• Fully compatible w/IBM diagnostic utilities

• Serial Pert Available

• 1-Year Warranty

$199.95

—VUTEK—

Color • Parallel • Serial Card

4 - Jf

**-«<.:

' :1

• Full bit-mapped Color Graphics

• Printer Port (LPT1, LPT2, LPT3I

• Serial Pert (Coml. Com2)

• IBM PC, XT and Portable compatible

• Full software compatibility

• Compatible with Lotus 1-2-3, Multi-Plan end Flight Simulator

• Full 2-Year Warranty Parts and Labor

$299.00

DISK DRIVES

Tendon TM100-2 DS/OD 199.00

TeecFD-55B DS/DD 159.00

KEYBOARD EXTENSION CABLE

$19.95

APPLE ACCESSORIES

80 Column Apple II+ ... 149.95 80 Column Apple HE ... 129.95

Z80 Apple II+ 89.00

Z80 Apple HE .89.00

16KCard 39.95

Cooling Fan .............. 38.95

Power Supply 74.95

Joystick 29.95

RF Modulator 13.95

Disk Drive 199.00

Controller Card 59.95

Paddles 7.95

APPLE COMPATIBLE JOYSTICK

29.

95

COOLING FAN

38. 95

Ill

w

I

APPLE COMPATIBLE

POWER SUPPLY

• Powers Apple type systems

• +5V @ 5A +12V @ 3A -5V @ .5A -12V @ .5A

• Includes instructions

16K RAM Card - Apple II + e 2-Year Warranty

39.95

Assembled & Tested .

APPLE COMPATIBLE

DISK DRIVE

• Shugart mechanism, made in U.S.A.

• Directly replaces Apple Disk II

• Fully compatible with Apple Controller or other Apple compatible controllers.

• One Year Warranty

micromax

VIEWMAX-80 J4Q95

e 80 Col. card for Apple II+ e Video Soft Switch e Inverse Video e 2 Year Warranty

VIEWMAX-80e J29 95

e 80 Col. card for Apple HE

e 64K RAM Expandable to 128K

64K RAM Upgrade 40.00

PRINTMAX

The finest Parallel Printer card for Apple II Series

• Sell-Controlled 7 & 8 bit parallel interface | compatible with any electronics printer

• Software commands to enable/disable 8th bit) transmission for dot/block graphics programs

• Commands to enable/disable auto line feed

• Variable print width 140-255 characters/line)

• Transmission rate up to 5000 characters/sec

• DOS 3.3. Pascal & CP/M compatible

• High quality amphanol connector, protected low profile header, sturdy 5' cable

• Gold plated edge connector

$59.00

Reg. Power Supply

Model 4A/PS (99/4) 3 DC Outputs:

12V@.4A, +5V@1.1A -5V @ .2A Highly Filtered

6.95

KEYBOARD (99/4) 48 keys 4" x 10" 6.95

(800) (800)

538-8800 I 848-8008

DoKo.

■TM

*IBM and IBM PC are trademarks of International Business Machines

562 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

©1984 Display Telecommunications Corporation Circle 130 on inquiry card

-TM

CHOICE OF MAJOR OEM MANUFACTURERS, UNIVERSITIES, RESEARCH LABS ETC A THOROUGHLY FIELD PROVEN DESIGN. ncocMm '" UMDO c ' *" HIGH VOLUME PRODUCTION ENGINEERED.

• FULL IBM PC-XT* COMPATIBILITY!

• FULL MEGA-BYTE RAM CAPACITY

ON MOTHERBOARD!

DEALERS AND OEM MANUFACTURERS QUANTITY DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE

_E

Standard Keyboard Interface

(Full PC compatible)

THOUSANDS

SOLD WORLD WIDE!

Eight Compatible I/O Interface Connectors

(Full PC compatible) (compatible with all IBM-PC* plug-in cards)

X

Special J1 Interface

(Allows horizontal mounting of compatible expansion cards for easy bus expansion and custom configuring) (Board has 62 pin gold plated compatible connector)

X

Extended ROM Capability

(Runs all compatible PC ROMS) (Jumper programmable to accommodate all popular 8K, 16K, 32K and 64K ROM chips and NEW EE ROMS! VPP power pin available for EP ROM burning!) (External VPP voltage required)

Full Mega-Byte Ram Capacity! On board!

(With parity)

a 256K Bytes using 64K chips

a 1 Mega Bytes using 256K chips

Hardware Reset

(Overcomes reset flaw

in PC)

Power Connector

(Full IBM* pinout compatible)

8088 Processor

(Same as PC)

8087 Numeric Processor

(Same as PC)

Peripheral Support Circuits

(Same as PC)

Configuration Switches

(Same as PC)

Speaker/Audio Port

(Same as PC)

Wire Wrap Area

To facilitate special custom applications!

Evaluation Board Kit!

(Blank board with full assembly instructions and parts list.)

Includes highest quality PC board with gold plating, silk screen, solder mask

B

J MEGA-BOARD™ —XT

BARE BOARD KIT $ 99.95

ASSEMBLED AND TESTED

SOCKETKIT $199.95

(LESS IC'S) (FULLY SOCKETED) □ ASSEMBLED AND TESTED —

COMPLETE $499.95

(INCLUDES USERS MANUAL AND MEGA-BIOS ROM) D USERS MANUAL WITH THEORY OF OPERATION, SCHEMATICS, BLOCK DIAGRAM, APPLICATION NOTES $ 19.95

□ MEGA-BIOS™ ROM (2764) FULLY XT

COMPATIBLE, MS-DOS,

PC DOS $ 29.95

□ HARD TO GET PARTS CALL

FREE OFFER

FREE! Displaytel™

Exclusive.

Our Commitment to

Microcomputer

Education!

Intel 8088 Data Book with each Mega-Board™ Order!

Board Size 10.5 inch x 13.5 inch

ORDER NOW!!!

Fast, friendly service

CALL 214-991-1644

VISA

Immediate shipment! Most instock items shipped same or next day!

10 Day money back guarantee if not completely satisfied!

DISPLAY

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

CORPORATION

4100 SPRING VALLEY ROAD SUITE 400 DALLAS, TX 75234 (214)991-1644

trchase orders from qualified

;hange without n ig charges via Ul

*IBM and IBM PC are trademarks of International Business Machines

Circle 130 on inquiry card.

©1984 Display Telecommunications Corporation

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 563

\

TM ESTABLISHED 1977

SALES 800-528-3138

TECHNICAL 602-991-7870 TELEX 165025 FTCC SEC PHX

IFLUKEI

FLUKE 77

DVO METER $ ng

0.3% DC ACCURACY

PERSONAL SPEECH SYSTEM

$286

j£pc\ Pro Modem 1200 from...

HAYES COMMAND COMPATIBLE W/HELP MENU

$329

U.S. ROBOTICS FREE TELPAC INCLUDED

PASSWORD 1200 AUTO AIMS DIAL 6369

AUTO DIAL 212A (HAYES COMPAT.) 6469

IBM PERSONAL MODEM W SOFTWARE 6297

IBM PERSONAL MODEM W 64K,

PRT PORT. CLOCK. S.W. §469

IBM PERSONAL MODEM W/ 266K, ETC. 6769

TELPAC MSDOS/ CP/M 80 $79

HAYES 1200 MODEM $489

:software:

SOFTWARE IS NOT RETURNABLE

BDS "C" COMPILER $99

C86 C COMPILER 6299 COMPUVIEW TRANSYS MS-DOS

CP/M86 FILE TRANSFER $159 COMPUVIEW VEDIT-86=$156 MS DOS-6120

KNOWLEDGEMAN-86 8" DBMS $345

K-PAINT $75

SORCIM SUPER CALC 3 IBM-PC $245

PERSONAL PEARL DBMS (PC) $215

ACCOUNTING PEARL (PC) $635

DATAFLEX MULTI-USER FILE & RECORD LOCKING DBMS

AVAIL FOR MOST O/S FORMATS CALL

NEW WORD WORD PROCESSOR IS WORD STAR COMPATIBLE & HAS MERGE PRINT SINGLE/MULTIUSER

CP/M 80 OR 86 & PC-DOS $169

S3 DIGITAL RESEARCH

"C" LANGUAGE COMPILER 86 $229

CP/M PLUS (3.0) $245

ACCESS MNGR. 80 = $195 86 = $260

DISPLAY MNGR. 80 - $260 86 = $326

SPEED PROG. PKG. 80 = $130 86 = $163

GSX 80 = $55 86 * 665

C BASIC COMPILER 80 = 6325 86 * $390

PASCAL MT+ 80 = 6226 86 ■ $390

PL/1 W UTILITIES 80 ■ 6359 86 ■ $488

ASMBLR + TOOLS 80 = $130 86 = $130

: TERMINALS!

:& monitors:

QUME QVT 102G $459 FREEDOM 200 TERMINAL - AMBER

(EMUL TELEVIDEO 960 & ADM 31) CALL LIBERTY FREEDOM 220G

D*C VT220 EMUL. W/ FULL

SUPERSET OF VT100 CALL

PRINCETON GRAPHICS HX12 HIRES RGB $469

TAXAN RGB 420 (IBM LOOK-ALIKE) $489

USI AMBER 12" HI-RES MON. (20MHz) $99 WYSE-60 14", 132 COL.. EMUL. TVI 910.

920, 925, ADDS VP & HAZELTINE 1600 $519

ZVM122A GRN. NON GLARE $86 $86

r f*fTM

ZM123A AMB NON GLARE

PRINTERS

BROTHER HR 15 $425

BROTHER HR 25 6696

BROTHER HR-36 $975

BROTHER M 2024 MATRIX L.Q. 61.099

DAISYWRITER 2000 W/48K 6976

EPSON RX80FT CALL

EPSON FX80FT FOR

EPSON FX100 LOW

EPSON LQ1500 W/ CENTRONICS l/F PRICE

OKIDATA92P 6419

OKI DATA 92S $489

OKIDATA 93P $650

OKI DATA 93S $749

TALLY SPIRIT - 80 PARALLEL $289

TALLY SPIRIT - 80 2K SERIAL l/F $86

TALLY MT-160L PSiS W/ TRACTOR $695

TALLY MT-180L P&S W/ TRACTOR $795 TALLY MT 1805 SERIAL "DEMO SALE" $795

TALLY PIXY 3P PLOTTER $489

TEXAS INST. TI856 W/ TRACT $798

NEC 2010-1 20 CPS SERIAL/FRICTION $707

NEC 3610-1 35 CPS SERIAL/FRICTION $1,339

NEC 7710 1 56 CPS SERIAL/FRICTION 61.819

mm PRACTICAL ^PERIPHERALS

MICROBUFFER EPSON "CARDS":

MBP-16K PARALLEL $65

MBS 32K SERIAL $163

MBS 64K PARALLEL $195

MEM 32K EXPANSION MODULE 658

MICROBUFFER IN-LINE STAND ALONES":

MBIS SERIAL 64K $244

MBIP PARALLEL 64K 6244

MEM 64 EXPANSION MODULE $118

APPLE II. //♦. HE MICROBUFFER 11+ I6K 6181

PROCLOCK/APPLE II, II+. ME 6108 SERtALL APPLE II. IK HE W/ RS232

COMMUNICATIONS & GRAPHICS $119 GRAPHlCARD W ON BD S.W FOR 35 PRT $65

^^A^mM^ UNIVERSAL 64K BUFFER

^r^rV "IN" S OR P

* * ^% "OUT'S OR P $209

ZINDUSTRIAL QU ALITYZ CABINETS==

DUAL VjHI HORIZ 5V«" FLPY. SINGLE STD HI HORIZ. 5%" FLPY 5V«" HO, CABINET KP.S. & FAN DUALS" % HI FLPY

INTEGRAND

800 DB2F W/ NECESSARY OPTIONS 800 DW SAME AS ABOVE

W/ PROVISION FOR 8" H D 1100D W/ OAK SIDE PANELS 2906 DUAL 6Y«" W/ 1 SLOT

$75

$59

$225

$189

$496

$575 6445

6169

PARA DYNAMICS

3820S PRONTO W SEQUENCED $1,159

2810 MINI-PRONTO 10 SLOT

2X8" BAYS $749

3610D 10 SLOT W/ 2X6V4" FLPY BAYS $669

2200D DUAL STD. 8 DRV. CAB. $296

IHPOWER SOLUTIONS^

Litton

LB

JEFFERSON' ELECTRIC

TRUE SINE WAVE, 100% BATTERY OPER W/NO SWITCH-OVER. BYPASS STATIC SWITCH 750 WATTS @ 16 MIN. #370-811-100 $1,575

tripp:lite

STAND-BY POWER W/ YUASA BATTERY EXCELLENT FOR SWITCHING P/S PC's

SB 400- LVC 1HR+ @ 400 WATTS $395

SB 1000 1 /2HR-r <3> 1000 WATTS $696

ISOBAR LINE FILTERS:

IBAR 2 6 2 OUTLETS & 6 FT. CORD 640

I BAR 4-6 4 OUTLETS & 6 FT. CORD 656

IBAR 8 15 8 OUTLETS & 16 FT. CORD $66

:disk DRIVES"

CALL FOR LOW, LOW PRICES ON SUBSYSTEMS

landon 100-2 5V4-dsdd

$159

Pume

1 YEAR WARRANTY

142 DSDD SV*-'V2 HI 242 DSDD 8"V2 HI 842 DSDD 8" STD HI

$149 $359 $449

MITSUBISHI

M2894 STD 8* DSDD $445

M2896 V, HI 8" DSDD $446

NATIONAL/PANASONIC

5V4" ViHI FLPY. DIRECT DRV. 1 YR. WARR. 6129

SANYO

5V4*' V2HI FLPY. DIRECT DRV. 1 YR. WARR. $115

TOSHIBA

FOR IBM-PC & PORTABLE

RATED HIGHEST ENGINEERING QUALITY

5V4" V2HI FLPY. DIRECT DRV. 1 YR. WARR. 6165

WE SERVICE FLOPPY DRIVES 5V4" + PARTS + SHIPPING $35

8" + PARTS * SHIPPING $50

ST506 5% INCH BARE HARD DRIVES:

QUAflTUm

Q540 42.66Mb 45m SEC ACCESS

Mqptfor

XT 1066 66.99Mb 30m SEC ACCESS XT-1106 105.27Mb 30m SEC ACCESS XT-1140 143 66Mb 30m SEC ACCESS

61,395

$1,995 $2,996 $3,749

ALLOV

DXS-tOO TAPE BACK-UP FOR

S-100 BUS COMPUTERS W/HARD DISK

17 6Mb on 555' CARTRIDGE TAPE

INCLD.s ALL SOFTWARE, CTRL BD.,

CABINET, DRIVE. AND CABLES $1,995

ITS-100 ♦ 42Mb 9-TRACK TAPE SUBSYSTEM

PCQ/CTAPE IBM PC BACK UP TO 60Mb IN 10 MIN. OR LESS

$5,795

$1,995

PC 9 TRACK SUBSYSTEM FOR BACK-UP & MAINFRAME DATA TRANSFER $5,795

nf/'ii" 1 ' 1 " Amcodyne

ARAPAHOE 7110 25Mb FIXED &

REMOVABLE 8" H.D. W/35 mSEC. AVG. ACC. FULL CDC LARK COMPATIBLE $3,995

OPTIONAL P/S $285

25Mb 8" DYSAN CARTRIDGE $140^-

S-100 DIV./696 CORP.

14455 NORTH 79TH ST.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85260

FULL DEALER SUPPORT VISIT OUR SHOWROOM

OF S-100 PRODUCTS

(ompuPro

SYSTEM 816/A SINGLE-USER SYSTEM 816/B TWO-USER SYSTEM 816 C MULTI-USER

SYSTEM 816 D 8086 10MHz SYSTEM 816 Dd W/O M-DRIVE/H SYSTEM 816 E 680OO 10MHz SYSTEM 816 E» W/O M-DRIVE/H

TO ADO 40Mb H.D. TO A80VE ADO: TO HAVE 2ND 8" FLPY W/ H.D.

®

$4,199 •4,899 •6.299 •9,299 •6,699 •7.099 •6.099

• 1.900 •600

SYSTEM 816/10 4 USERS $3,496

SYSTEM 816/10 H20 20Mb H.D. $5,295

SYSTEM 816/10 H40 40Mb H.D. $5,596 SEE ALLOY FOR TAPE BACK-UP

CPU 286 AAT W/ 287 MATH CHIP $1,613

CPU 286 6MHz CSC W/ 287 MATH CHIP $1,649

CPU Z 6MHz A6.T $229

CPU 8086/88 A&T $349

HUDSON 8087 PIGGY BACK FOR ABOVE $446

CPU 8086 10MHz AS.T «569

CPU 86/87 5MHz A&T $739

CPU 68K W/MMU OPTION CSC $796

CPU 68K 10MHz CSC •800 RAM 22 266K STATIC 8&16 A&T $ 1,075

M-DRIVE/H 612K RAM-DISK *896

INTERFACER 3 8 SERIAL A&T $489

INTERFACER 4 3 SERIAL/2 PARALLEL $319

SYSTEM SUPPORT 1 A&T $319

DISK 1A 5V4" & 8" FLPY CTRL $489

DISK 2 A&T 8'' H.D. CNTRL SET «559 DISK 3 A&T 6V4" H.D. CNTRL

W/CP/M 80&86 $669

KONAN

SMC 200 DUAL DRV. SMD l/F CTRL BD. $500 DGC-100 CTRL BD/5V*" H.D., ST 506 |/F $325

MORROW

MD2 SYSTEM W/ TERMINAL

& EPSON RX80FT PRT.

MD3 AS ABOVE W PEARL DBMS

• 1,699

• 1,999

ND-1E PLUS W2 DSDD DRVS. AND ONLY CP/M 2 2. NEW WORD. & CO-PILOT

MENU SYSTEM $1,059

MD3 MDCP88 256 as above w/

8088 CO-PROC. & 256K RAM UPGRD. $2,498 MDP-3 PORT. SAME AS MD3 EXCEPT WITH 5X7" SCREEN

& EPSON RX80FT PRT. »i.S99

SUPER WORD PROCESSOR SALE

MD3-E PLUS W/ 2 DSDD DRVS.. TERMINAL. NEW WORD. CO PILOT MENU SYSTEM, SPELLING CHECKER, PLUS BROTHER HR-15 PRT. $1,499

MD5-E W/ 1 FLPY & 6Mb H.D. MD5-E W/ 2 FLPY & 6Mb H.D.

• 1,826

• 1,896

MD11 SYSTEM w 11 Mb h d , 128K, 1DSDO DRV., TERMINAL, CP/M 3.0, ALL MD3 SOFTWARE EPSON FX80 180 CPS DOT MATRIX OR BROTHER

HR-15 13 cps daisy PRINTER $2,995

MD-16 SAME AS MDII W/ 16.44Mb • 3.495

MD-34 SAME AS MDII W/ 34Mb •4,995

COLUMBIA

1600-VP PORTABLE

W CURRENT SW. PKG AND DUAL DS DD DRVS. 91,796

YtN/TN I data

I systems

MICROSOFT WORD W MAIL LIST & MULTI-PLAN INCLUDED WALL ZENITH CPU'S UNTIL JAN 85 Z-1 50 PC THE MOST COMPATIBLE PC 82.095 Z 150 PC (W/10.6Mb H.D.) $3,369

Z-1 60 PC PORTABLE $2,249

IF-121-22 SYS. W/ 2 DRVS.. COLOR.

MSDOS 2.0, LOTUS 12 3, ZVM135

HI-RES RGB 13" MONITOR $3,396

CV-1952 19" HI-RES RGB MON. »395

STANDARD-NET

FOR IBM & Z150 PC'S INCLD.'s BD, SOFTWARE & INSTALL GUIDE $599

**■ ADVANCED DIGITAL

CORPORATION

SUPER SIX 128-6MHI «596

SUPER SLAVE 128 6MH2 $670 SUPER 186/256K MSTR SLAVE 4 USERS $1,439

CP/M 3.0 $360

TURBODOS MULTI-USER »660 HDC 1001 6 6V4" H.D. CONTROLLER

W/ SW. ORIVERS $460

^Intercontinental MicroSystems

CPZ 48006 6MHz MASTER 266KMB MEMORY BOARD CPS-B4D 64K RAM SLAVE 6MHz CPS-B6A 128K RAM SLAVE 6MHz MUTD-E Z80 MULTI-TURBODOS

•739 •709 $389 $529 $556

QUASf-DISK 612K RAM-DISK W/ON-BD. DRV. STATUS LED'S WRITE PROTECT, DMA E Z INSTALL W/SAMPLE CP/M BIOS $896

512K PIGGY-BACK EXPANSION $695

BATTERY BACK-UP W/PWR. SUPPLY $169

Mf/0 ALL-IN-ONE I/O BD. IEEE S-100/696 8 ASYNCH. SERIAL, 2 PARA.. BAUD RATE GEN.. CLOCK CALBATT, PROG PRIORITY INTERRUPT W/8 LEVEL CTRL PERSONALITY BDS & CBLS OPTIONAL •469

SERIAL OPTION BD. FOR MFIO $26

CENTRONICS PARA OPTION FOR MFIO $39

STD PARALLEL OPTION BD. FOR MFIO * 25

ISYNTECH IDAIA I SYSTEMS

SBC 300 MASTER OR SLV-6MHz, 64K. IS, 1P. SASIPORT

EXPANDORAM IV 268 W/ PARITY

I/O 8 W/8 ASYNCHRONOUS RS232

SBC816 DUAL CPU EXECUTES Z80 & 8088 CODE, 6V4" & 8" FLPY CTRL. 2S. 8 VECTORED & REAL TIME INTERRUPTS $889

EXPANDORAM V 266K »652

• 696

• 825 •436

Cromemco

DPU 68000 & Z80A »669

FFP FAST FLOATING POINT $2,369

MCU MEMORY CONTROL/FOR 612MSU $419

612MSU ERROR CORRECTING MEMORY «2,119

68000 CROMIX MULTIUSER/TASK. DOS $506

$39

BUILD YOUR OWN P.C.

IBM-PC W/256K RAM, PC-DOS 2.1

1 DSDD DRV. & CONTROLLER W K B $1,695 1 TANDON TM 100-2 (SEE DISK DRVS.) $159

STB GRAPHICS PLUS II MONO & COLOR

GRAPHICS W/CLOCK. PRT. PORT $325

64K RAM 4164-150 NS 9 CHIPS/SET

U.S.I. 20MHz 12" AMBER MONITOR $109

PGS HX12 HI-RES RGB MONITOR $495

INTEGRATION. BURN IN & TEST $95 5Mb REMOV. CARTRIDGE H.D. IN PC

(WILL BOOT FROM THE HARD DISK) $1,395

10Mb "PC-INSIDER" h.d. subsys 769

16Mb "PC-OUTSIDER" H.D. SUBSYS $1,225

21Mb "PC OUTSIDER" H.D. SUBSYSTEM $1,375

33.3Mb "PC OUTSIDER" H.D. SUBSYS $1,775

WESTERN DIGITAL ST 506 H.D. CTRL S245

TEGM/1R

FOR IBM-PC

CAPTAIN 64K. IS. IP. CLK/CAL $269

WAVE XT' MEMORY BD 64K $210

DYNAMIC MEMORY W 266K 5335

INTERNAL REMOV. H.D. IN PC - INSTALLS

DIRECTLY INTO PC. STORES 30X MORE

THAN FLPYS & IS 9X FASTER $1,456

6Mb REMOV. H.D. & 33Mb IN EXPAN.

CHASIS - HIGH DENSITY PRIMARY

STORAGE. MANY CONFIG. POSS.,

STORES 100X MORE THAN FLPYS..

6 ADDITIONAL SLOTS FOR OPTS. $3,995

EXPANSION CHASSIS W / 8 SLOTS $689

GRAPHICS MASTER - HIGH RES. COL.

(640X400). MONO (720X700). RGB.

NTSC COMPOSITE & IBM MONO.

MON., 128K. LT. PEN INTERFACE $495

SCRIBE TENDER - IP & IS CABLE. IP

& 2S PORTS, MULT. I/O CAPABILITIES $169

TIME MASTER - W BATTERY

jrCAPTAIN 64K P. C. 1 YR BATT UFE

jiWAVE 64K

jrCADET 64K ADD ON PIGGYBACK BD.

FOR jr CAPTAIN/WAVE jr 2ND MATE 64K, P. C. 1YR BATT UFE

$99 $266 $239

$169 • 119

Mac Drive

73200 - 10Mb FIXED H.D. «1,496

73020 • ABOVE W/ 6Mb REMOV. H.D. •2,468

73O10 - 6Mb REMOV. H.D. $1,496

73210 - 2 6Mb REMOV. H.D.'s •2,488

RIO PLUS: RS232 S, P I/O, G, CLK/

CAL 84K & PC ACCEL. STB-RIO+64 »257

GRAPHIX PLUS II: RGB & MONOCHROME

PRINTER & LT. PEN PORTS $325

SUPER RIO: RAM-IO MULTI-FUNC. W

64K (UPGRD TO 768K). 2$. 1P (IBM

COMPAT.) 1G. CLK/ CAL. STB SRI0-64 $275

STB PB 64 PIGGYBK (EXPAND. TO 612K) $165 MEMORY EXPAN. BD: 64K (EXPAND

TO 384K) STB-1-64 $ 19 5

IBM AT COMPATIBLE BDS:

QUARTER BYTE 64K

(CAN USE 256K CHIPS) $165

RIO PLUS II 64K

TO 384K, 1S (2ND S OPTIONAL).

1P, CLOCK. GAME, PC ACCELERATOR $259

PRICES ARE CASH PREPAID & MAY CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE SHIPPING, INS., HANDLING EXTRA

Circle 360 for Dealer inquiries. Circle 36! for End User inquiries.

SUBJECT TO AVAILABLE QUANTITIES HRS: 8:30AM - 5:00PM M-F

SHOD,

AMERICA'S NO. 1

=== i Systems =^== Specialists

WE CUSTOMIZE IBM PC SYSTEMS

IBM PC $1899

256K, two disk drives 360K each, Drive Controller and Keyboard

IBMPCw/lOMB

256K, one floppy Drive, Keyboard rAr AA

10 MB Hard Disk with Controller 52599

BOOTS FROM HARD DISK Backup also available

ALL SYSTEMS ARE CONFIGURED AND TESTED AT NO EXTRA CHARGE

IBMPCw/30MB

256K, one floppy Drive, Keyboard 30 MB Hard Disk with Controller and Booster Power Supply BOOTS FROM HARD DISK

$3699

* PRICE WAR * LAST

PRINTERS

RX-80 $259 FX-80 $429

I RX-80FT $299 FX-100 ....$629

LQ 1500 Parallel ... $1,149 Serial $1199

LQ-1500 Tractor $50 Cutsheet feeder $399

OKIDATA

INCLUDES PLUG&PLAY

JUKI Ur Quality, 18 CPS, 13" wide $399

6100 Tractor ..$129

2050 $799

3550 $1,499

PINVVRITER P2 and P3 CALL

DYNAXDX-15 $399

Keyboard .. $149 Tractor .. $99 Sheet Feeder .. $199

BROTHER HR-25 $619 HR 35 Tractor $119 Cut Sheet Feeder

$899 $199

HARD DRIVES

TALL GRASS TECHNOLOGY

20 MB w/20 MB Backup $3,099

35 MB w/45 MB Backup $4,299

70 MB w/60 MB Backup $5,999

WITH YOUR BEST QUOTES

NETWORKING

QUBIE10MB

$888

EVEREX 1OMB

.$888

MULTI DISPLAY CARDS

DATA PRODUCTS IDS PRISM COLOR PRINTER

80 $999 132 $1199 OPTIONS CALL

ANADEX • DIABLO

CALL QUME • TOSHIBA

MAYNARD10MB/30MB

10MB/WS-1 $888 10MB/WS-2 $1,029

30MB/WS1A $1999 30MB/WS-2A $2,099

WS-1 Gemini $1049 WS-2 Gemini $1149

"The Gemini" includes 10MB Hard Disk & Half Hi. Floppy

FLOPPY DRIVES

---^HALF 55B-DSDD $149

TEAC HEIGHT 55F QUAD $199

CDC Half Ht.

DSDD .

DSDD

$199 $179

TANDON100 2

Full Ht. DSDD

• SUPER SPECIALS *

$179

MONITORS

MAX-12 Amber-Monochrome $179

_ _._HX-12-Hi-Res Color $449

P©5SR 12-Super Hi Res Color $599

TAXAN MONOCHROME CALL

310A $169 300A $149 300G $119

; COLOR MONITORS .CALL

64K RAM Set of 9 chips

$45

HAYES

SMARTMODEM

1200 Standalone $469 200B w/Software $389

8087 CHIP

$159

JUKI 6100

$399

MAYNARDlOMB/WS-2 $1,029

MODEMS

MICROCOMERA2

PC Internal 1200 Baud w/soffware, 4 Yr. Warranty

IBM PC Keyboard (original).. $129

$359

HAYES 1200 Standalone $469

SMARTMODEM I200B w/software $389

QUBIE Standalone . $329 Internal $299

POPCOM Internal or Standalone CALL

NOVATION • ANCHOR PROMETHEUS • RIXON U.S. ROBOTICS CALL

P.O. & FOREIGN ORDERS Call, write or telex for details

COMPU

OKIDATA

INCLUDES PLUG&PLAY

92P. 93P. 84P.

$399 $619 $749

nM upll HR-25 (23CPS, BROTHER HR-35 36CPS

$619 $899

KEYTRONIC

Deluxe Keyboard KB5151

$179

LOTUS 1-2-3/SYMPHONY

Will Call Only

AMERICAN EXPRESS

NO SURCHARGE ON COO, VISA or MC

AMEXSH

ORCHID TECHNOLOGY

PC Net PLUS Starter Kit $899

PC netBlossom, PC turbo, PC netPlusRam CALL

CORVUS OMNINET

CALL FOR YOUR CONFIGURATION AND PRICES

■%—■%«» w«» v Mono OR Color $199

PERSYST BOB Mono and Color CALL

gmsMULTIORAPH CALL

EVEREX Graphics Edge $399 TECMAR Graphics Master CALL

HERCULES 5rgff:::::::::;jg}

new STB y II $349

PLANTRONIC m m $366

PARADISE Multi-display Cord $299 NEW Multiitsplay Card CALL

ORCHID TECHNOLOGY

Blossom - OK (to 384K) Best Price

PC net/upgrades CALL

NEW QUAPBOARP(i,384K)$219~

ASTSIXPAKwith64K(to384K) $249

_..___«- Magic Card w/software £ 1 nn

EVEREX o-icito i84Ki j IV V

MISC. ADD OIMS

8087CHIP $159

Math Software $130 Both. $269

CABLE Parallel $20 Serial $25

Keyboard Extension, 6 ft $10

BOOSTER POWER SUPPLY

ADOS POWER TO PC CALL

VERBATIM Datalife DSDD

Box of 10 $29

COMPUTER POWER n $109

ACCESSORIES DIRECTOR PI2 $149

STANDBY 200 watts.

POWER SUPPLY 300 watts..

Surge Protection, up to 30 minutes Standby Power

..$279 ..$379

WILL CALL

Please call first

for workorder number.

805-498-6635

3541 OLD CONEJO ROAD, SUITE 102, THOUSAND OAKS, CA 91320

TELEX 888522

566 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 70 on inquiry card.

NEW!

KEYBOARD PROTECTOR

Remains in place during keyboard use. Prevents damage from liquid spills, dust, ashes, etc. Fits like a second skin, excellent feel. Homerow and numeric locators. Available for: IBM-PC, Apple He, Radio Shack Model 100, Commodore 64. Send $29.95, check or M.O., Visa & MC include exp. date. Specify computer type. Dealer inquires invited. Free brochure available.

MERRITT Computer Products, Inc.

2925 LBJ, #180 / Dallas, Texas 75234

{214)942-1142

diskettes

5Vi"

Specify soft, 10 or 16 sector

Price 10-90 Price 100 +

Single sided double density

1.9(h 1.75e

2.45 2.30

Double sided double density

Certified Check - Money Order - Personal Check. Allow up to 2 weeks for personal checks to clear. Add $3.00 per TOO or part to each order for U.P.S. shipping charges. NJ Residents add 6% sales tax.

178 Route 206 South, P.O. Box 993 Somerville, NJ. 08876 • (201) 874-5050

FREE SOFTWARE

RENT THE PUBLIC DOMAIN!

User Group Software isn't copyrighted, so no fees to pay! tOOO's of CP/M and IBM software programs in .COM and source code to copy yourself! Games, business, utilities! All FREE!

CP/M USERS GROUP LIBRARY

Volumes 1-92, 46 disks rental-$45

SIG/M USERS GROUP LIBRARY

Volumes 1-90, 46 disks rental-$45

Volumes 91-172, 40 disks rental-$45

SPECIAL! Rent alt SIG/M volumes for $85

MOST FORMATS AVAILABLE) SPECIFY.

IBM PC-SIG (PC-DOS) LIBRARY

Volumes 1-135, 5V*" disks $135

Public Domain User Group Catalog Disk $5 pp.

(CP/M only) (payment in advance, please}

Rental is for 7 days after receipt, 3 days grace to

return. Use credit card, no disk deposit.

Shipping, handling & insurance —$7.50 per library.

(619) 941-0925 information,

(619) 727-1015 anytime order machine

Have your credit card ready!

Public Domain Software Center

1533 Avohili Dr. Vista, CA 92083

Circle 265 on inquiry card

Circle 111 on inquiry card;

Circle 330 on inquiry card.

Maxell Floppy Disks

The Mini-Disks with maximum quality.

Dealer inquiries invited. C.O.D's accepted. Call FREE (800) 235-4137.

J?

PACIFIC EXCHANGES

100 Foothill Blvd., San Luis San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. In Cal. call {800} 592-5935 or (805)543-1037.

Circle 196 on inquiry card.

Circle 239 on inquiry card.

Circle 318 on inquiry card.

NEW!

NOTHING LIKE IT!

THE PRINTER STAND

0<W$44 B 95

Plus $2 Postage

• Elevates & Tilts 80 Column Printer 45° Angle for easy readability • Saves space!

• Paper feeds from underneath

• Solid Hardwoods

ORDER NOW

SEND CHECK, MONEY ORDER OR CHARGE IT: VISA • MASTERCARD • AM. EX. SPECIFY FINISH: LT. OR DARK POPLAR OR WALNUT. UNCONDITIONALLY GUARANTEED 2 TO 4 WEEK DELIVERY.

(812) 897-5351

SYNERGY PflOOlGTS

P.O. Box 485, Boonville, IN 47601

IBM PC

& COMPATIBLES

COMPAQ

INTERNAL 10MB HARD DISK

W/ WESTERN DIGITAL Controller 1 Year factory warranty.

Several installed. Complete . . $850 Additional 10 MB hard disk $550

Fixed + Removable HD (10MB) -$CALL Hard disk + Tape backup -$CALL

MOTOROLA 64K chips $49.00

I IIVIO Complete Medical,

Dental office software, written in

dBASE II

Dealer Inquiries

SRI DATA SYSTEMS

10 S, Route 17, Paramus, NJ 07652 (201} 684-4518 Visa, MC, Check, COD

-> A// LOMAS DATA PRODUCTS ' 4-16-Bit, S-100 Bus: Systems & Boards

* * * FIREBALL DISCOUNTS * * *

25% off Ust Price (UPS extra) for

Cashier's Check or Money Order

+ + +

You save MONEY = We save TIME

+ + +

See -> TjOMAS «- ad in byte

or request complete specifications

\ UQHTNINQ SPEED /

80286-CPU & 80287-NDP: $1458. 75

! t THUNDERING PERFORMANCE ! >

80166 & I/O & 256K-DRAM & 5. 25V8" disk controller & CCP/M-86: $1196.25

Configured for SanTec-S7Q0 printer:

Tmle Vldeo~GA9 70C VDT : $1121.76

Spellbindor-6.30 W/P: $371.25

HIERATIC COMPUTER SYSTEMS BOX 133s MEDFORD, I4A 02155

(617) 683-6540

Circle 462 on inquiry card.

Circle 448 on inquiry card.

MPI B52 DS/DD FULL HEIGHT FDD FOR IBM $139.95

130W POWER SUPPLY

XT COMPATIBLE

+5V@15A

+12V@4.2A

$175.00 5V@ 5A

V,IV,VW -12V@.5A 1 YEAR WARRANTY

PROTOTYPE BOARDS

BOTH CARDS FEATURE GLASS EPOXY WITH PLATED-THROUGH HOLES, SOLDER MASK. SILK- SCREENED. GOLD CARD-EDGE. MOUNTING BRACKETS AND INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED.

IBM-PR1

$27.95

GENERAL PURPOSE DEVELOPMENT BOARD WITH CONVENIENT LINES FOR POWER AND GROUND. HOLES ON .1" CENTERS.

$29.95

AS ABOVE. WITH MODULAR SIGNAL DECODING AREA PROVIDING BUSS BUFFERING, BLOCK DECODING, AND ADDITIONAL DECODING.

TANDON

TM100-2

* SAME DRIVE AS SUPPLIED BY IBM

* DS/DD - 320K

$199.00

TEAG

H)5WBV2HBBtfT

* 6ms STEP RATE

* DS/DD

* INCLUDES INSTRUCTIONS

$159.00 \m^±=i

buy 2/$299.00,

AND GET FREE MOUNTING BRACKETS!

MAMIMIZER

S1CMA DESIGNS, INC.

MAXIMIZE YOUR IBM OR XT

AST 6-PACK+

Maximum Memory 384K/512K 1 384K

RS-232 Serial 2 2 1

Parallel Port 1

Clock Calendar YES YES

Game Adaptor OPTIONAL OPTIONAL

With Optional 128K MAXISTACK 2 Second Serial Port Optional

OPTIONS:

(acq ||e * 2nd Serial Port $49185

$£33.00 * Game Adaptor $2a95

(64K) * 128K MAXISTACK $10.95

* Additional 64K Ram $44.95

ONE YEAR WARRANTY

FOR APPLE COMPUTER USERS

JDR16K RAM CARD

» 2 YEAR WARRANTY - EXPAND YOUR 48K APPLE TO 64K . USE IN PLACE OF APPLE LANGUAGE CARD

$39.95

JDR HALF HEIGHT DISK DRIVE

$169.95

* TEAC MECHANISM-DIRECT DRIVE

* 100% APPLE COMPATIBLE-35 TRACK

* 40 TRACK WHEN USED WITH OPTIONAL CONTROLLER

MITAC AIM

$179.95

> FULL HEIGHT SHUGART MECHANISM

i DIRECT REPLACEMENT FOR APPLE DISK II

COHTTOLLBl CARD $49.95

RP 525 EPR0M PROGRAMMER

FOR APPLE COMPUTERS$79.95

Low cost eprom programmer for Apple and Apple compatible machines. Allows copying and burning of all standard 27 series (2716-27128) eproms. A very simple menu operated display gets you on your way in seconds.

* NO EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY NEEDED

* NO SOFTWARE NEEDED

* AUTOMATIC SELECTION FOR 2716, 2732, 2723A, 2764 & 27128

* LED INDICATORS FOR ACTIVITY

* HIGH SPEED WRITE ALGORITHM

♦

ALL WITH A 2 YEAR WARRANTY

VIEWMAX-80 $158.95

* 80 COLUMN CARD FOR APPLE 11+

VIEWMAX 804 $129.95

* 80 COLUMN CARD FOR APPLE lie

* 64K RAM EXPANDABLE TO 128K

8RAPHMAN $129.95

* HIGH RESOLUTION GRAPHICS

* PRINTER CARD

OTHER ACCESSORIES FOR APPLE II

THUMDERCLOCK $129.951

* OFFICIAL PRODOS CLOCK CALENDAR

* 100% MOUNTAIN SOFTWARE COMPATIBLE

* BSR CONTROL OPTIONS AVAILABLE

KRAFT JOYSTICK

* SELF CENTERING

* AXIS ISOLATION

APPLE COMPATIBLE POWER SUPPLY

* USE TO POWER APPLE TYPE SYSTEMS

* +5V@4A +12V@2.5A -5V@.5A -12V@.5A

* APPLE POWER CONNECTOR

* INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED

$49.95

$39.95

PERIPHERALS AND ACCESSORIES

BMC MONITOR STAND MODEL PA-900

Your Display will Tilt & Swivel

I BMC BM JJ1201G GREEN 12" I BMC BM 12EUY 18MHz AMBER I BMC BM 12EUN 18MHz HIGH

RES GREEN J NEC JB 1201M 20MHz GREEN I ZENITH ZVM 123 1SMHz GREEN

$29.95

89.98 139.95

115.00 169.00 105.00

COLOR

I BMC BM AU9191U COMPOSITE 13" 279.00

NO C.O.D. ORDERS PLEASE

BMC BX-80 PRINTER

■ 80 CPS DOT MATRIX PRINTER PRINTS BI-DIRECTIONAL IN 40, 80, 71 OR 142 COLUMNS IN NORMAL, DOUBLE WIDTH OR COMPRESSED TEXT.

■ PRINT SUPERSCRIPT AS WELL AS SUPERB GRAPHICS IN CHARACTER OR BIT IMAGE.

5V4" DISKFILE

* ATTRACTIVE, FUNTIONALDISK STORAGE SYSTEM

* 75 DISK STORAGE CAPACITY

NASHUA DISKETTES I

5 1 /4" WITH HUB RINGS

MD1 Soft, SS/SD 19.95

MD1D Soft, SS/DD 26.25

MD2D Soft, DS/DD 30.75

MD2F Soft, DS/4D 45.00

MD110 10 Sector, SS/DD 19.95 MD210D 10 Sector. DS/DD30.75

8 INCH

FD1 Soft, SS/SD 24.74

FD1D Soft, SS/DD 30.00

FD2D Soft, DS/DD 36.75

VERBATIM

DATALIFE DISKETTES

SS/DD Soft Sector SS/DD 10 Sector Hard DS/DD Soft Sector

29.95 29.95

34.95 .

VISIT OUR NEW, EXPANDED RETAIL STORE AT 1256 SOUTH BASCOM IN SAN JOSE

■ HOURS: M-W-F. 9-5 TTH.. 9-9 SAT.. 10-3

■ ■ HOURS: M-W-F. 9 5 TTH.. 9-9

SfpJDR Microdevices

■ ■ 1224 S. Bascom Avenue. San Jose, CA 951!

PLEASE USE YOUR CUSTOMER NUMBER WHEN ORDERING

1224 S. Bascom Avenue, San Jose, CA 95128 coni,c. 0 u

800-538-5000 • 800-662-6279 (CA) ;„"<;

(408) 995-5430 • Telex 171-110 [ZZT,

>4j 0 RM.codevice. FAX (408) 275-8415 apple u

TERMS Minimum order $10 For shipping and handling mcl $2 SO lor UPS Ground and $3 SO lor UPS Air Orders over 1 lb foreign orders may require additional shipping charges — pie contact our sales department for the amount CA residents n include 6°- sales tax. Bay Area and LA residents include 6" >°j Pr> subject to change without notice We are not responsible typographical errors We reserve the right to limit quantities an substitute manufacturer All merchandise subject to prior sate APPLE iS A TRADEMARK OF APPLE COMPUTER CO.

570 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 230 on inquiry card.

4KX8EPR0M M QC 450ns *t.%IU

CABINETS FOR 5 1 /4 "

DISK DRIVES CABINET #1 s 29.95

• Dimensions 8% x 5'Vi 6 x 3' s /, 6 "

• Color matches Apple

• Fits standard 5'A" drives, inc. Shugart

• Includes mounting hardware and feet

CABINET #2 s 79.00

• Complete with power supply, switch, line cord, fuse & standard power connector

• Dimensions; 11% x 5V« x 3'%i*

• + 5V @ 1 AMP, + 12V @ 1.5 AMP

• Please specify gray or tan

NOTE: Please include sufficient amount for ! shipping on above items.

TRANSFORMERS FRAME STYLE

DISK DRIVES

12.6 VAC 12.6VAC CT 12.6VACCT 12.6VAC CT 25.2VAC CT

2amp 2amp 4a mp 8amp 2amp

4.95 5.95 7.95 10.95 7.95

PLUG CASE STYLE

12VAC 250m a 3.95]

12VAC 500m a 4.95

12VAC lamp 5.95

12VAC 2amp 6.95 |

DC ADAPTER

6, 9,12 VDC selectable with univeral adapter 8.95

Please include sufficient amount for shipping on above items.

TANDON

TM 100-1 5V4" (FOR IBM) SS/DD $199.00

TM 100-2 5V4" (FOR IBM) DS/DD $199.00

MPI

MPI-B52 5V«" (FOR IBM) DS/DD $139.95

TEAC

FD-55B Vi HEIGHT DS/DD $159.00

FD-55F Vi HEIGHT DS/QUAD $200.00

SHUGART

SA 400L SVa" (40 TRACK) SS/DD $199.95

8" DISK DRIVES

FD100-8 BY SIEMENS. SHUGART 801 EQUIV. SS/DD 10 $129.95 ea. $149.95

FD200-8 BY SIEMENS, SHUGART 851 EQUIV.

DS DD 10 $185 00 ea. $195.00

JFORMAT-2 $59.95

SUPPORT FOR QUAD DENSITY DRIVES FROM TALL TREE SYSTEMS

:wm±

TANDON 5V4 "

TEAC HALF HEIGHT

PLEASE INCLUDE SUFFICIENT AMOUNT FOR SHIPPING ON ABOVE ITEMS

MICROCOMPUTER HARDWARE HANDBOOK

FROM ELCOMP — $14.95

Over 800 pages of manufacturers data sheets on most commonly used IC's. Includes:

• TTL — 74/74LSand74F

• CMOS

• Voltage Regulators

• Memory — RAM, ROM, EPROM

• CPU's - 6800, 6500, Z8Q, 8080, 8085, 8086/8

MPU support & interface — 6800, 6500, Z80, 8200, etc.

ORDER TOLL FREE _,

800-538-5000 800-662-6279 - -

(CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS) I _J

CENTRONICS

IDCEN36 Ribbon Cable 36 Pin Male 8.95 |

IDCEN36/F Ribbon Cable 36 Pin Female 8.95

CEN36 Solder Cup 36 Pin Male 7.95 J

HARD TO FIND

"SNAPABLE" HEADERS

Can easily be snapped apart to make any size header, all with .1" centers

1x36 STRAIGHT LEAD .99

2x40 STRAIGHT LEAD 2.49

2x40 RIGHT ANGLE 2.99

SHORTING BLOCKS

v-i itzvl

SPACED AT .1" CENTERS

IDEAL FOR DISK DRIVES

OR ANY .1" HEADER

EDGECARD CONNECTORS

S-100ST S-100WW 72 pin ST 72 pin WW 50 pin ST 44 pin ST 44 pin WW

3.95 4.95 6.95 7.95 4.95 2.95 4.95

D-SUBMINIATURE

MOUNTING HARDWARE-$1.00

For order instructions see "IDC Connectors'* below.

IDC CONNECTORS

ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS: Insert the number of contacts in the position marked "**" of the "order by*' part number listed. EXAMPLE: A 10 pin right angle solder style header would be IDH 10 SR.

Copynghl 1984 JDR Microde

Circle 230 on inquiry card.

NOVEMBER 1984 -BYTE 571

'■SB" 24.95 4116

,6K a M,c 8/7.95

FLOPPY SALE

FD200-8 For 8-iM $195.00

• Manufactured by Siemens w/ 90 day warranty

• 8" Double sided, double density

• Manual included

• NEW (not surplus as sold by others)

MPI-B52 for ibm pc $139.95

• Manufactured by MPI w/ 90 day warranty ' • 5V<" DS/DD, better than Tandon

• NEW (not surplus as sold by others)

BAL'525 FOR APPLE USERS $139.95

• v a Height — ALPS mechanism

• 1Q0% Apple compatible NFIM

• Full 1 YEAR WARRANTY nL " f

'NASHUA DISKETTES t

5%'SOFT SECTOR

DOUBLE SIDED, DOUBLE DENSITY

WITH HUB RINGS

SULK PACKAGED IN PAC^ £ El 3AGS OF 50.

INCLUDES DISKETTE SLE . OTECT TABS

.LfORSCHOOL NQUSERS* )UPS.THIS IS A

S»f('IAl PiiPi HASt SOOJANTITIES AREUJMITCD

5fUR HAJBUWttt,

$1.39ea

m 250

an too

$1.59ea.

QTY50

•NASHUA DISKETTES WEf^ ^D TO HAVE THE HI<3h

POLISH AND RECORDED AMPLITUDE OF ANY DISKETTES TESTED. (SEE "COMPARING FLOPPY DISKS", BYTE $/84J

DISKETTE FILE

$9.95 63.

BY DEALING DIRECT WITH THE FACTORY WE CAN MAKE THIS UNBEATABLE OFFER!

* ATTRACTIVE SMOKED ACRYLIC CASE ^ ^> WITH 6 INI RS

♦ RUGGED/HlGH QUALITY CONSTRUCTION

W+ HOLDS fO 5V«" DISKETTES WITH ROOM TO SPARE

ORDER 50 NASHUA DISKETTES. AMD GET THIS DISKETTE FILE FOR ONLY $8. 05

SPECIALS END 11/30/84

RF MODULATOR

(ASTEC UM1082) QUANTITIES LIMITED

• PRESET TO CHANNEL 3 NOW

• USE TO BUILD ONLY TV-COMPUTER INTERFACE

• +5 VOLT OPERATION

$095

ZIF SOCKETS

ZIF = / I ' 53

Zero

Insertion

Force

" t I f t t t t t w f

EMI FILTER

* MFC BY CORONA

* LOW COST

* FITS LC-HP BELOW

$4.95 LINE CORDS

LC-2 2 CONDUCTOR 6 ft .39

LC-3 3 CONDUCTOR 6 ft .99

LC-HP 3 CONDUCTOR WITH STANDARD

FEMALE SOCKET 6 ft 1.49

LC-CIR CIGARETTE LIGHTER

PLUG WITH 6 ft COILED CORD 2.95

MUFFIN FANS

4.68" SQUARE 14.95

3.125" SQUARE 14.95

HEAT SINKS

TO 220 SCREW ON .35

TO-220 CLIP ON .35

TO-3 SCREW ON .95

TO-220 INSULATOR 10/1.00

TO-3 INSULATOR 10/1.00

SWITCHES

SPDT MINI-TOGGLE ON-ON 1.25

DPDT MINI-TOGGLE ON-ON 1.50

DPDT MINI-TOGGLE ON OFF-ON 1.75

SPST MINI-PUSHBUTTON N.O. .39

SPST MINI-PUSHBUTTON N.C. .39

BCD OUT 10 POSITION 6 PIN DIP 1.95

MasterCard

BYPASS CAPS

| .01//f DISC 100/$6.00

.01 pi MONOLITHIC 100 $12.00

.1/if DISC 100 $8.00

.1 /if MONOLITHIC 100 $ 15.00

RESISTORS

V« WATT 5% CARBON FILM

ALL STANDARD VALUES

FROM 1 OHM TO 10 MEG OHM

50 PIECES SAME VALUE .025

100 PIECES SAME VALUE .02

i 1000 PIECES SAME VALUE .015

1N751 1N759 1N4148 1N4001 1N4004 1N5402 KBP02 KBP04 MDA801 MDA980-1 MDA980-2 ,VM48

DIODES

5.1 VOLT ZENER .25

12.0 VOLT ZENER .25

(1N914)SWITCHING 25/1.00

50PIV 1A 12/1.00

400PIV RECTIFIER 10/1.00

200PIV 3A 200PIV 1.5A BRIDGE 400PIV 1.5A BRIDGE 50PIV 12A BRIDGE 50PIV 12A BRIDGE 100PIV 12A BRIDGE DIP-BRIDGE

.25

.45

.55

1.39

1.95

2.25

.35 J

LED LAMPS

1-99 100-up JUMBO RED .10 .09 JUMBO GREEN .IS .16 JUMBO YELLOW .18 .16 LEO MOUNTING

LED DISPLAYS

k HARDWARE

.10

.09

I HP 5082-7760

I MAN 72

I MAN 74

I FND-357 (359)

I FND-5Q0 (503)

lFND-507 (510)

1TIL-311 4k 7

.43"

.3" .3" .373"

.5" .5"

CC CA CC CC CC CA

1.291 99 I .991 1.25 I 1.49 I 1.49]

270 HEX W/LOGIC 9.95 M8POSITION

DIP SWITCHES

.85 .90 .90 .95

| 4 POSITION 5 POSITION

| 8 POSITION 7 POSITION

.95 '

DISC

10pf 50V .05 470

22 50V .05 580

25 50V .05 660

27 50V .05 620

33 50V .05 .001 uf

47 50V .05 .0015

56 50V .05 .0022

66 50V .05 .005

82 50V .05 .01

100 50V .05 .02

220 50V .05 .05

330 50V .05 .1

50V .05

50V .05

50V .05

50V .05

50V .05

50V .05

50V .05

50V .05

50V .07

50V .07

50V .07

12V .10

50V .12

MONOLITHIC

luf-mono 50V .18 .047uf-fnono 50V .15

.47uf-mono 50V .25 .01 ul-mono 50V .14

ELECTROLYTIC

.47uf

1

2.2

4.7

10

47

100

220

470

2200

RADIAL

50V .14 1uf 25V .14 4.7 36V .16 10 50V .15 10 50V .15 22 36V .16 47 16V .18 100 36V .20 100 25V .30 150 16V .80 220 330

COMPUTER GRADE

1600 30V 3.95 6000

50V .14

16V .14

16V .14

50V .16

16V .14

50V .20

15V .20

35V .25

25V .25

25V .30

16V .40

16V .42

16V 60

16V .70

16V .85

VISIT OUR NEW. EXPANDED RETAIL STORE AT 1256 SOUTH DASCOM IN SAN JOSE

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PLEASE USE YOUR CUSTOMER NUMBER WHEN ORDERING

"H %^fc^l ■ ■ W UM^JFU ^^^p*^^ W ■^^ , v-r^^ TERMS: Minimum order $10 For shipping and handling Include

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800-538-5000 • 800-662-6279 (CA) include 6 C ■ sales tax. Bay Area and LA rejidenli mclude 6 v, Prices

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Copyright 19S4 JDR Mm

572 BYTE' NOVEMBER 1984

Circle 231 on inquiry card.

UNCLASSIFIED ADS

BYTE is concerned about software piracy. Unclassified ads proposing exchanges of software must specify that the software was written by the individual or is in the public domain. BYTE reserves the right to reject any unclassified ad that does not meet this criterion.

NEEDED: Nonprofit organization seeks tax-deductible donations of disk-based computers and peripherals (Apple II, IBM PC VIC-20) to teach computer technology and programming to economically disadvantaged students. American Philanthropy Association Inc., 101 Santa Barbara Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90008. (213) 295-3707.

WANTED: Apple II or CP/M-compatible hardware for a financially distressed grade/high school seeking to expand computer training program. Will pay shipping and provide receipt for tax purposes. Yeshiva Achei Tmimim, 2408 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, (412) 681-2446.

WANTED: Small grade school seeks donation of Apple 11+ or lie to introduce small children to computers. Donation is tax deductible. Dick Stringham, St. Mary's School 195th St.. Mokena, IL 60448, (312) 479-2 526.

WANTED: Tax-deductible donation of Commodore 64 computers and appropriate hardware accessories for Commodore 64 and TRS-80 for use in K-12 school system classroom activities and programming. W David TUrner. Superintendent, Mt. Morris Community Unit School. District #261, 401 South Fletcher. Mt. Morris, IL 61054, (815) 734-6032.

WANTED: Tax-deductible donation of computer, monitor, disk drives, and printer for nonprofit "rights of animals and those who protect them" group. B. I. Huffman. Robinwood. 8591 Kennard Rd„ Lodi, OH 44254, (216) 948-4101.

WANTED: New England Sierra Club needs a computer for filing, accounting, mass mailing, and word processing. Two workstations, letter-quality printer, and modem needed. Tax-deductible contribution: we pay shipping. IBM compatibility preferred, lonathan Driller. (617) 227-5339 or (617) 522-9239 evenings.

WANTED: Biologist needs donation of IBM or compatible computer for environmental water quality study. Goals are to improve supply, quality, and cost-effectiveness of present system. Resulting simulation software will become public domain. Grant Barkman, 2602 Edgar St., Regina, Saskatchewan S4N 3L7, Canada.

NEEDED: Near-bankrupt, nonprofit public-domain software group would appreciate CP/M-86 or MS-DOS business computer (Fujitsu, DEC Rainbow, TI Professional, etc.) for organization automation. Will pay shipping. Alex Gray 922 West Duarte. Apt. 3, Arcadia. CA 91006.

WANTED: Apple computer for church to keep member mailing lists, personal information files, and bookkeeping. Donation is tax deductible and a letter of confirmation will be sent. St. James Baptist Church, c/o Stuart H. Brooks Jr., 1429 Briarcliff Ave, Charlottesville. VA 22903. (804) 979-0146.

WANTED: Missionary responsible for introduction of computer system (MC68000 multiuser micro with UNIX) in Christian publishing organization needs books (UNIX. C DBMS, word processing, etc.) or magazines. Anything will help. Ingo Haake, Beth-Shalom, Caixa Postal 1688, 90000 Porto Alegre RS, Brazil.

NEEDED: I need help (including modems) to form the first international bulletin-board service in Europe. The Commodore 64 will be the first system. Contributors will come on line first. SFC C P. Daniels, HQ 7th Medcom, Box #1, APO NY 09102.

NEEDED: Donated computer equipment for noncommercial, open-access RBBS/RCPM. Need 1200-bps modem, 8-inch disk drives, and computer. Prefer MITS Altair but can use any CP/M computer. Mark D. Pickerill, 80 Desmond Rd., Salinas, CA 93907.

WANTED: Computer engineer seeks donation of hardware to set up full-time, nonprofit bulletin-board service. Robert F Foery Jr., 103 Smith-Monroe Hill, Charlottesville, VA 22904, (215) 436-0266.

NEEDED: Information on good statistical and other software packages available for the NCR Decision Mate V. Plan to purchase; need opinions on performance. I. E. Bangali, PEMSU Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa.

WANTED: Tax-deductible donation of a computer system for nonprofit arts organization in Appalachian mountains. For use with mailing lists, accounting, word processing, graphics, and teaching youth. Will pay shipping. James Agee Film Project. 316 East Main St.. Johnson City. TN 37601, (615) 926-8637.

WANTED: Small church needs computer for word processing and newsletter mailing-list maintenance. Donation is tax deductible. United Church of God, POB 45, Lake Winola. PA 18625, (717) 378-2056.

NEEDED: Nonprofit organization researching schizophrenia and drug abuse needs donation of computer, disk drives, printer, and information on computer diagnosis systems. Stephen Resch. PSR Research Group, 651 Lakecrest Dr., Menasha, WI 54952. (414) 722-9626.

NEEDED: New York scriptwriter requests advice on using WordStar to write and edit scripts. Gary Apple, 165 West 47th St.. New York, NY 10036. (212) 787-8741.

WANTED: A used printer for a VIC-20.1 will pay for shipping and will accept almost any reasonable offer. Brett Greenberg, POB 1553-VHFS, Warrenton, VA 22186, (703) 754-8621 weekends or evenings.

FOR SALE: Micromation chassis, I MSA I chassis, IMSAI S10 board, four PTC 3P+S I/O boards, four S-100 32K memory boards, two IMS PI0 boards, two INFO 2000 adapter boards. Dynabyte Naked Terminal board, Exercisor and parts for PerSci floppy-disk drive, two digital voltmeters, and Educassette data recorder. For prices send SASE. lohn Freeman, 855 West 1800 North Place, Grove. UT 84062.

WANTED: Information on laser, artificial intelligence, and holography. Donald Sutherland. C-60410/ N-162-L. POB 2000. Vacaville, CA 95696.

WANTED: People interested in joining a Televideo users group for the East Coast. Jon Cohen, 115 Country Club Place, Cherry Hill. N] 08003.

FOR SALE: CDR FDC 880H VA- and 8-inch disk controller with dual board modification kit and Livingston Logic Labs CDR BIOS. Best offer or trade, fim Cunningham, 1563 Van Wyck Rd.. Bellingham, WA 98226, (206} 733-8820 evenings.

FOR SALE: Netronics Explorer-85 with 4K RAM, six-slot S-100 card cage, RS-232C, cassette interface. and power supply: $400. Netronics terminal; 64 by 16, RS-232C. case, cable: $150. S-100 64K dynamic RAM board: $22 5. All three: $650. Cassette deck with power supply and cables: $50. Sanyo 12-inch monitor: $75. Richard J. Havanec, 575 Sedgewick Ave, Stratford, CT 06497, (203) 377-4080 evenings.

FOR SALE: Two Std-Bus Z80 systems: each has Mostek MDX-CPU-1I Z80 board. MDX-S10 board, and prolog #7702 2716 EPROM card (16K). One system with monitor and keyboard. Excellent working order with documentation: $500 firm. Larry Stack, 9037 Stack Rd., Colfax, NC 27235. (919) 993-5828.

FOR SALE: ERG-68000 System II with 24-megabyte 8-inch Winchester disk. DMA controller, 10-MHz CPU. eight serial I/O lines, and 18-slot solid card cage with 30-amp power supply. Like new. Original cost $13,000; asking $8000 or v best offer. Mitch Bogart, 268 Foster St.. Brighton, MA 02135. (617) 890-8558 days, (617) 782-5789 evenings.

FREE: Information about public-domain software and a directory of users groups for the Commodore 64. Dallas Computer Club, C-64, 2914 Poplar Trail. Garland, TX 75042.

FOR SALE: S-100. Z80 microcomputer, 48K single Micropolis Model II drive, with Amdek 100 monitor and Centronics 779 printer: $950. Atari 800 bare boards: $50. TI 59: $50. Pat Fitzgibbons, 235 East Viking Dr., #355, St. Paul. MN 55117. (612) 481-9296. 5-6 or 10-11 p.m.

WANTED: Information on 3-bit red and white plastic computer circa 1968, that programmed with different lengths of drinking straws and ran programs as fast as you could cycle the clock lever by hand. It also played N1M and did binary arithmetic. David Dubowski, Q9 Estes Park. POB 3318, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-3318.

FOR SALE: Back issues of BYTE. TWo sets. 1976-January 1978. Many still in orginal wrapper. Singly: $5 an issue. Quantity discounts. Chuck Markham, 362 Commonwealth Ave., #2E, Boston, MA 02115.

FOR SALE: TRS-80 Model 1 Level II expansion interface 48K. RS-232 interface, single disk. Asking $800, will consider reasonable offer. Albert Kasenter, POB 2026, Lynchburg, VA 24501.

FOR SALE: Complete 6809 system includes; SWTPCo mainframe, Percom 6809 CPU, 40K static memory. real-time clock, floppy-disk system with 80-track double-density disks, 40-coIumn printer, cassette interface, and modified CT-1024 terminal. SASE for complete list. No reasonable offer refused. S. Brown. 35 Kettle Pond Rd., Amherst, MA 01002. (413) 253-3183 evenings.

FOR SALE: H-1IA computer. Compatible with DEC PDP-11/03. Serial and parallel interfaces, extended arithmetic chip, 32 K bytes. Manuals and relevant Heath Users Group Remarks. Will consider trade for $3000 value, but prefer cash offer. John Potter, RR 5, Eganville, Ontario KOI 1T0, Canada, (613) 62 5-2137.

FOR SALE: TRS-80 Model I with 48K expansion interface, monitor, external disk drive, RS-232, voice synthesizer, quick printer II. cassette recorder, all cables, and reference literature. Fully operational: $950. Joseph J. Cappello, Eagle Valley Rd., Sloats-burg, NY 10974, (914) 753-5 536 after 7 p.m.

FOR SALE: DEC PDP-8, complete documentation, less rack cabinet and teletype. Best reasonable offer plus shipping. Also need any information on the F-8 based Video Brain Computer System: schematics, ROM packs, interpreter listings, etc. Bryan McPhee. 418 Virginia Dr., Browns Mills. NJ 08015.

FOR SALE: Godbout desktop S-100 enclosure with 20-slot motherboard, CPU-Z 6-MHz Z80 card, one DMA floppy-disk controller, two RAM 20 boards, lnterfacer 2, memory-mapped video board, dual Shugart 801 Rs with power supply, monitor, and keyboard: $3000 or best offer. Bjorn Helgaas. RR 2, Luverne, MN 56156, (507) 283-4751.

FOR SALE: S-100 boards. Vector Electronics motherboard and power supply: $100. Extra motherboard: $50. Wameco front panel board: $75. G.R.I. 771 keyboard: $50. IMSAI 8085 MPU-B: $75. Vector Graphics 8080 CPU and PROM boards: $50/set. IMS 8K RAM: $50. Tarbell cassette I/O: $50. Cromemco Color Dazzler: $75. Wanted: printer, 1200bps modem, or SixPakPlus for IBM PC David Deelstra, Box 520402. Salt Lake City, UT 84152, (801) 278-7040.

FOR SALE: HP Series 80 package. Includes HP-87A: $990. HP9121: $990. Both for $1800. HP-86A: $850. Three Epson 1EEE-488 adapters: $50 ea. Many accessory modules, ROMs, and supplies: 50-75 percent off list or best offer. Don Person, Box 3103. Albany, NY 12203, (518) 482-9023.

FOR SALE: Apple Silentype thermal printer with interface for Apple 11/11+ and lie, and five rolls of thermal paper: $300 or best offer. Warren Spivack, 662 5 Ave. H, Brooklyn, NY 11234, (212) 494-52 50.

UNCLASSIFIED POLICY: headers who have I

computer equipment to buy. sell or trade or who •

are requesting or giving advice may send a notice •

to BYTE for inclusion in the Unclassified Ads I

section, lb be considered for publication, an adver I

tisement must be noncommercial and nonprofit •

{individuals or bona fide compu ter clubs), typed \

double-spaced, contain 60 words or less, and in ;

elude name and address. This is a free service: *

notices are printed as space permits. Your con •

firmation of placement is appearance in an issue \

of BYTE as we engage in no correspondence. I

Please allow at least four months for your ad I

to appear. Send your notices to BYTE, Un I

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BOMB

BYTE's Ongoing Monitor Box

ARTICLE# PAGE

I 102

22

no

125 129

132

179

387

ARTICLE AUTHOR(S)

The Data General/One Williams,

Sheldon Ciarcias Circuit Cellar:

The Lis'ner 1000 Garcia

A Go Board for the Macintosh Webster

A Travesty Generator for Micros Kenner,

O'Rourke The Pick Operating System, Part 2: System Control Cook,

Brandon

AGAT A Soviet Apple II Computer Bores

Introduction to Semiconductors .Miller

The MC68020 32-bit Microprocessor Groepler,

Kennedy The Xtar Graphics Microprocessor Coleman,

Powers

RISC Chips Markoff

Gallium Arsenide Chips Robinson

The 80286 Microprocessor Wells

The PF474 Rosenthal

The HP 150 Computer Haas

The Columbia Multipersonal ComputerVP. .Callamaras

Leading Edge and MultiMate Puotinen

polyFORTH and PC/FORTH. Tello

Samna Word III Rabinovitz

The Mannesmann Tally Spirit 80 Printer. .Welch The Brother HR-15 Letter-Quality Printer. .Callamaras Computing at Chaos Manor:

NCC Reflections Poumelle

BYTE West Coast: New Developments .... Markoff,

Robinson,

Shapiro

BYTE Japan: Technology Shock Raike

BYTE U.K.: A Plethora of Portables Pountain

Mathematical Recreations:

Toggling Functions Ecker

THE PICK OF THE CROP

Readers selected the review of "The Macintosh" for the top "spot in the August tally. Bruce R Webster will be sent the $100 bonus because he reviewed the Mac prior to his appointment as a Contributing Editor. Jerry Pournelle's variety of reflections, obtained "Between Conventions" while Computing at Chaos Manor, wins second mention. In third place is the renowned Niklaus Wirth, who wins $50 for "History and Goals of Modula-2." Steven Hendrix's "The 65816 Microprocessor, Part 1: Software" about the successor to the 6502 takes fourth place. And in fifth place is the BYTE West Coast interview conducted by editors John Markoff and Ezra Shapiro, "Macintosh's Other Designers."

BIG BLUE BOMB RESULTS

The results for the BYTE Guide to the IBM Personal Computers are in as well First place and a c-note go to Stephen S. Fried for "Evaluating 8087 Performance on the IBM PC." William J. Claff's "An Introduction to PC Assembly-Language Programming" takes second place and $50. "Modems: The Next Generation" by Mark Klein wins third place. BYTE congratulates all these writers.

574 BYTE • NOVEMBER 1984

READER SERVICE

Inquiry No.

Page No

I

2 449

450 4 5

436 6

7 8 9 459 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 19

20 21

22 23 24

25 26 28 29

30 31 32 33 34

35 36 37 38 39 40

42 43

451

452

46

445 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55

56 57 58 59 60 61 327 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71

1st PLACE SYSTEMS 180

800 SOFTWARE 365

AST RESEARCH 19

A ST. RESEARCH 19

AB COMPUTERS 537

ACL INC 205

ACTON CORP. 370

ADDMASTER CORP. 538

ADISA 462

ADV. COMP. PROD 558

ADV. SYS. CONCEPTS 84

ADVANCED BUSINESS COMP . . 325 ADVANCED COMPUTER SYS, . . 486

ADVANCED MEMORIES 362

ALF PRODUCTS. INC 256

ALL ELECTRONICS CORP 66

ALLOY COMPUTER PRODUCTS.380

ALPHA OMEGA COMPUTER 16

ALPHA OMEGA COMPUTER 85

AMBER SYSTEMS 212

AMPEX CORP. 156, 157

AMPRO COMPUTERS INC 70

ANADEX 290

ANTEX DATA SYS 396

APPLE COMPUTER INC CII, I

APPLIED COMPUTER PROD ... 394 APPLIED COMPUTER PROD. ... 395

APROPOS TECHNOLOGY 92

ARTHUR YOUNG BUSINESS SYS.213 ARTIFICIAL INTL. RESEARCH. 540

ARTISOFT 538

ASHTONTATE 463

ASTROTRON1CS 546

AT&T TECHNOLOGY 46, 47

AT&T TECHNOLOGY 398, 399

AVERY LABEL 330

AVERY LABEL 330

AVOCET 355

B&B ELECTRONICS. 517

B&B ELECTRONICS 544

B&C MICRO SYSTEMS 534

BABETTE INC 94

BASF SYSTEMS 412

BAUDVILLE 239

BAY TECHNICAL ASSOC 22

BAY TECHNICAL ASSOC,. . 23

BD SOFTWARE 498

BELLSOFT INC 468

BELLSOUTH ADV. & PUBL 499

BEST WESTERN INTL. INC 312

BINARY TECHNOLOGY 540

BORLAND INTL 28, 29

BORLAND INTL .41

BRIDGE DISPLAY SYS 517

BYTE BACK ISSUES 460

BYTE SUBSCRIBER NOTICE .... 515

BYTEK COMP. SYS CORP 506

C WARE/DESMET C 452

C-SYSTEMS 540

C ITOH DIGITAL PRODUCTS 38

C ITOH DIGITAL PRODUCTS .... 38

CS.D INC. 206

CALIF. DIGITAL 553, 554, 555

CALIF. MICRO COMP. 528

CAMBRIDGE GRAPHIC SYSTEMS450

CANON U.S.A 195

CANON U.S.A 197

CANON U.S.A 199

CANON U.S.A 201

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT CORP.. . .238 CBS EDUC. & PROF. PUB. DIV. . 375

CDR SYSTEMS 517

CHESS MATE 540

CHIPSOFT. INC 534

CHORUS DATA SYSTEMS 409

CHRISLIN INDUSTRIES INC. ... 165

CHROMOD ASSOC 160

CHRYSTAL SOFTWARE 544

CITIZEN AMERICA 138, 139

CIVIL COMPUTING CORP. 540

CLEO SOFTWARE 456, 457

CLINICAL MICROSYSTEMS INC. 538

CMA MICRO COMP. DIV. 94

CODE-A-PHONE CORP. . . . 332, 333

COGITATE 496

COGITATE 517

COMMERCIAL BUSINESS SYS, . . 509 COMP. COMPNTS. UN LTD, 472, 473

COMPETITIVE EDGE 70

COMPUMAIL . 566

COMPUMART 544

Inquiry No.

Page No

72 COMPUPRO 431

73 COMPUSERVE 183

74 COMPUTABILITY CORP. 538

88 COMPUTERBANC 76

447 COMPUTER BROKERAGE SVCS. . 50

75 COMPUTER CHANNEL 490

76 COMPUTER CONNECTION INC. . 539

• COMPUTER CONTINUUM 542

77 COMPUTER DISCOUNT PROD. . . 547

78 COMPUTER EXPO 528

79 COMPUTER FRIENDS 442

80 COMPUTER HEADQUARTERS . . 181

81 COMPUTER HUT OF N.E 371

82 COMPUTER INNOVATIONS .... 227

83 COMPUTER MAIL ORDER . 300, 301 461 COMPUTER PARTS MERCHANT 511

84 COMPUTER SALES 84

433 COMPUTER SOFTWARE TECH. . 510

86 COMPUTER SWAP SHOP 536

• COMPUTER WAREHOUSE 363

87 COMPUTER-MATE. INC 466

89 COMPUTERS AND MORE 219

90 COMPUTERS WHOLESALE .... 190

91 COMPUTING! 508

92 COMPUV1EW PROD. INC 251

93 COMPUVIEW PROD. INC 236

94 CONDOR COMP. CORP. 7

95 CONROY-LAPOINTE 202, 203

96 CONROY-LAPOINTE 202. 203

97 CONROY-LAPOINTE 202, 203

• CONTROL DATA CORP. . . , 282, 283 99 CORVUS SYS INC 249

442 COSMOS 286

101 CROMEMCO 5

102 CROWN PUBLISHERS 528

103 CUESTA SYSTEMS 26

104 CUSTOM COMP. TECH 543

106 CYMA CORPORATION . , 494

107 DANAS COMP. DISCOUNT 390

108 DATA ACCESS CORP. 475

109 DATA ELECTRONICS INC 461

110 DATA EXCHANGE 544

111 DATA EXCHANGE 567

112 DATA GENERAL CORP. 32A-D

113 DATA SPEC 182

114 DATA SPEC 182

115 DATASOUTH COMP CORP 260

116 DAYFLO SOFTWARE 316, 317

117 DAYTEC INC 427

118 DENNISON COMP. SUPPLIES . . 400

119 DIDAK MFG. INC 323

120 DIGITAL PRODUCTS INC 418

• DIGITAL RESEARCH COMP ..... 60

121 DIRECT-CONNECT DEVICES ... 536 455 DISCOUNT COMPUTER 291

• DISCOUNT COMPUTER CENTERS93 435 DISK DRIVES WEST 538

122 DISK WORKS 546

125 DISK WORLD INC 172

126 DISK WORLD INC 254

127 DISK WORLD, INC .444

128 DISK WORLD. INC 454

129 DISK WORLD. INC 534

123 DISKETTE CONNECTION 515

124 DISKS 'N THINGS 538

130 DISPLAY TELECOMMNCTNS.562, 563 133 DOCUTEL OLIVETTI 225

135 DOKAY COMP. PROD. 559, 560, 561

136 DOW IONES 337

137 DOW JONES SOFTWARE 271

138 DOW JONES SOFTWARE 273

139 DOW JONES SOFTWARE 275

140 DOW JONES SOFTWARE 507

141 DUPONT COMPANY 388

142 DWIGHT CO., INC 538

• DYMEK CORP. 295

143 DYNAX. INC 151

144 DYSAN CORP. 71

Inquiry No,

Page No,

146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155

157 158 159

466 160 161 162 464 163 164 165 166 167 168 170 171 172 173 174 175 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184

185 186 187 188 189

190 191 193 194 448 195 196 197 198 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 216 338 209 210 211 212 214 215 217 218 219 220 221

ECONOMY SOFTWARE 298

ECOSOFT 30

EDUCATIONAL MICROCOMP. .536

ELCOMP 517

ELCOMP 528

ELCOMP 540

ELCOMP 542

ELCOMP 544

ELECTRADE CO 517

ELECTRADE CO. 542

ELEK-TEK 392

ELLIS COMPUTING INC 221

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH GROUP 455

ENCHANTED FOREST 536

EN FIN RESOURCES. INC . . 374

EPSON AMERICA 210

ESPRIT SYSTEMS INC 536

EXPERT COMPUTERS 516

EXPOTEK 488

EXPOTEK 532

EXPRESS BUSINESS SOFTWARE 77

EXSEL 428

FABRICATION CONCEPTS INC. . 552

FALCON SAFETY PROD. 408

FARBWARE . 528

FIDEL1TY-FIE 517

FLAGSTAFF ENGINEERING .... 384

FLOPPY DISK SERV INC 18

FORTRON. INC 541

FORTRON, INC 541

FRIENDS SOFTWARE 544

FUJI ELECTRONICS AMERICA . . 150

FUJI PHOTO FILM 12. 13

GENERAL DATA COMM.. .422, 423 GENERAL MICROSYSTEMS. ... 542

GENERAL TECHNOLOGY 235

GENESIS MICROSYSTEMS 467

GIFFORD COMP SYS 257

G1LTRONIX, INC 546

GOLDEN BOW SYSTEMS 536

GRYPHON MICRO PROD. 534

GTEK INC 67

H&E COMPUTRONICS 233

HANDWELL CORP. 533

HARMONY VIDEO COMP. 86

HARMONY VIDEO COMP. 542

HARPER & ROW PU&INC 415

HAYES MICROCOMP. PROD208, 209 HAYES MICROCOMP. PROD. ... 465

HEATH COMPANY 184, 185

HEATH COMPANY 426

HERCULES COMPUTER TECH. . . 25

HERMES PRECISA INTL 299

HIERATIC COMP. SYS 567

HIGH CALIBER SYS. INC 432

HOFFMAN INT'L 567

HOLLYWOOD HARDWARE 404

HOOLEON COMPANY 74

HUMAN EDGE SOFTWARE 174

HUMAN EDGE SOFTWARE 397

HWAN HONG 313

IBS. CORP. 96

I.B.S. CORP. 96

IBM-(ISG) SERVICES 453

IBM NDD-SYS SUPPLIES 429

ICS TECHNOLOGY 548

IMAGING TECHNOLOGY 439

INKWELL SYSTEMS 220

INMAC 330

INNOVATIVE SOFTWARE. .346, 347

INOVION CORP. 216

INTEGRAND 68

INTEGRATED DATA SYSTEMS . . 483

INTELLIGENT DATA SYS 451

INTERACTIVE STRUCTURES .... 90

INTERACTIVE STRUCTURES 281

INTERTEC DATA SYS 15

INTEX MICRO SYS 515

TO GET FURTHER information on the products advertised in BYTE, fill out the reader service card with your name and address. Then circle the appropriate numbers for the advertisers you select from the list. Add a 20-cent stamp to the card, then drop it in the mail. Not only do you gain information, but our advertisers are encouraged to use the marketplace provided by BYTE. This helps us bring you a bigger BYTE. The index is provided as an additional service by the publisher, who assumes no liability for errors or omissions. * Correspond directly with company.

Inquiry No.

Page No.

222 223 224 225 226 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 312 235 236 237 238 239 458 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252

253 254 255

256 257 258 259 260 261

262 263 456 264 265 463 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 444 278 279 275 280

453 454

282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 298 299 300 301 302

IOMEGA 393

JADE COMP. PROD 549

JADE COMP. PROD 550, 551

JAM ECO ELECTRONICS . . 228, 229

JAMES, LW & ASSOC. . , 488

JC SYSTEMS 424

JDR MICRODEVICES INC. . . 568, 569 JDR MICRODEVICES INC. . . 570, 571

JDR MICRODEVICES INC 572

JVB ELECTRONICS 500

KADAK PRODUCTS 366

KAMERMAN LABS 297

KEITHLEY/DAS 327

KENSINGTON MICROWARE 87

KIMTRON CORP. 433

KOALA TECHNOLOGIES CORP.. 226

LABORATORY MICROSYS 239

LANTON COMP, SYS. INC 567

LATTICE. INC 514

LEADING EDGE PROD .55

LEVEL 5 RESEARCH 534

LEVIEN INSTRUMENT CO , 540

LIBERTY ELECTRONICS 241

LIFEBOAT ASSOC 512, 513

LINTEK 528

LOGICAL DEVICES 32

LOGICAL DEVICES 548

LOGICAL MICROCOMPUTER 97

LOMAS DATA PRODUCTS . . 75

LYBEN COMP. SYS 548

LYBEN COMPSYS 552

LYCO COMPUTER 535

MACMILLAN BOOK CLUBS 193

MAGNUM PC , 446

MANX SOFTWARE SYS 52

MANX SOFTWARE SYS 53

MARIACH1 OY 66

MARYMAC INDUSTRIES 552

MASTERBYTE COMP OF NY. , . 544 MAXELL DATA PRODUCTS .... 223

MAYNARD ELECTRONICS 58

MOP APPLICATIONS 318

MCGRAW-HILL BOOK CO. . 410, 411

MCT. 31

MEGATEL COMPUTER TECH. . . 542 MEMORY PLUS DISTRIBUTORS. 538

MERCURY MEGABANK 161

MERRITT COMP PRODUCTS ... 567

METCHEM 428

META SYSTEMS 540

MFJ ENTERPRISES INC . 438

MICRO AGE COMP STORES INC 501

MICRO DATA BASE SYS 358

MICRO DATA BASE SYS. . . 518, 519

MICRO DESIGN INTL . 64

MICRO DESIGN INTL 377

MICRO MART INC 51

MICRO MART. INC 56, 57

MICRO PRODUCTS. INC .529

MICROGRAFX 255

MICROMINT INC 504

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NOVEMBER 1984 • BYTE 575

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REVIEW FEEDBACK

Speech and Voice Synthesis

1 found Tom Clune's "Speech and Voice Synthesis" text box for the "Five Voice Synthesizers" article (September, page 3 37} to be a concise account of the problems of voice synthesis from the computer's point of view, but a linguist he ain't. In fact, the first three paragraphs were quite painful to read.

Voiced sounds {those in which we use our vocal cords, like vowels and m, n, b, r, etc.) and voiceless sounds {those for which we do not use our vocal chords, like s, sh, f, h, etc.) both have amplitude peaks and a frequency range and thus identifiable formants. If they didn't, our ears could not distinguish the differences between them. Thus, the voiced/voiceless distinction is one of degree only.

The concept of allophone is a central concern in speech synthesis. Simply defined, allophones are different realizations of the same basic sound. For example, the "p" sound in "pat" is measurably different than the "p" sound in "hypnosis".

A phoneme, in general terms, is a minimal unit of sound that cannot be changed past the allophone limit without changing the meaning of the word. If we changed the "p" to "f", "pat" would be "fat". The differences in "p" and "f" are too great for them to be allophones; they are different phonemes.

As an aside, the "oy" in "foil" is not an allophone, it is a diphthong. A diphthong is two vowels that, when taken together, can serve as the nucleus of a syllable and can receive stress as a unit.

Now the interesting part: The occurrence of allophones is determined by the environment in which the basic sound occurs. In other words, it is predictable that the "p" in "pat" will have a puff of air after it, as all "p"s do when they are followed by a vowel. Because allophones are predictable, they are programmable. The stiffness and artificiality of today's voice synthesizers is due in large part to the lack of allophonic variation in the phonemes, as well as other word- and sentence-level stress and intonation phenomena that are largely predictable by linguists.

Speech synthesizers and voice-recognition programs will not approach "natural-

ness" until the predicted changes in the

speech stream are indeed programmed.

Michael R. Thomas

Port Arthur, TX

Certainly if unvoiced sounds lacked formants there would only be one unvoiced sound. To repeat the point 1 made in the text box, the origin of the sound is, in essence, white noise. The creation of formants is a function of vocal-tract resonances, not of the original sound. An analogy may help clarify this point A drop of water falling into a gallon jug will seem to make a lower sound than a drop of water falling into a dropper bottle. The difference is in the resonance of the container, not the sound the drop makes. However, it is true that the voiced/voiceless distinction is not absolute. The "zh" sound in "azure," for example, straddles the voicedAmvoiced boundary. The linear predictive coding (LPC) model treats the boundary as absolute, which is one of the simplifications involved in the model.

Second, 1 did not call the "oi" sound an allophone, but a phoneme. This is in agreement with the standard linguistic classification schemes, e.g., Fries-Pike and Trager-Smith. Diphthongs are one type of phoneme.

—Tom Clune Technical Editor

Four Logos

In his review of "Four Logos for the IBM PC" (August, page 287), Mr. Bridger overlooked the fact that in the Dr. Logo editor, one can continue a statement over several lines by indenting subsequent lines. Thus, if condition [actionl] [action2] can also be expressed

if condition [actionl] [action2]

Formatting can make Logo procedures much more readable. TLC Logo, from The LISP Company also allows formatting.

He also pointed out that Dr. Logo's primitives are case-sensitive. The same is true for IBM Logo. The difference is that Dr. Logo's primitives are lowercase, while IBM Logo's primitives are uppercase.

There are some typos in listing 2. The reader should insert >, >, >, = , and =

at appropriate places in the five IF statements.

Mr. Bridger is to be commended for his useful review.

Roger B. Kirchner Northfield. MN

Sorry about the typos. One of our word processors stopped printing the characters > and = and nobody noticed in time to fix the listing.

—Rich Malloy Product-Review Editor

Fujitsu Micro 16s

I feel it is necessary to clarify and update several points made in the recent BYTE review "The Fujitsu Micro 16s" by Alex Pournelle (October, page 246).

The author said the Micro 16s doesn't come with BASIC; in addition, I was misquoted as saying: "the business marketplace doesn't need or want BASIC." The fact is, application programs and programming tools are essential to the business marketplace and Fujitsu has a wide range of business software and programming languages currently available, including CBASIC, which have been available since May 1984. Fujitsu's target market for the Micro 16s is primarily the business professional and its focus is to provide business solutions and productivity tools for its users.

Fujitsu offers multiple operating systems, CP/M-86, MS-DOS, and, most recently, single or multiuser Concurrent CP/M-86. The software offerings include Super-Calc3, WordStar, MailMerge, SpellStar, DR Graph, a variety of languages and mainframe communications packages including ACCULINK, Micro SNA/3270, and BIS-3780, all available in MS-DOS format.

In addition, more than 250 business software packages are available that have been tested by Fujitsu for performance on the Micro 16s family of personal business computers.

Referring to Fujitsu's documentation, Mr. Pournelle stated that, in some cases, it was lean or inadequate. Fujitsu has recently

{continued)

DECEMBER 1984 -BYTE 301

REVIEW FEEDBACK

undertaken the task of improving and enhancing its documentation.

Other than the minor points clarified above, we are pleased with the fair and favorable review given our product,

Claudia Natalia

Marketing Communications Manager

Fujitsu Microelectronics Inc.

Santa Clara, CA

LISP FOR THE IBM PC

The software review "LISP for the IBM Personal Computer" by Jordan Bortz and John Diamant (July, page 281) contained the kind of high-quality writing that originally prompted my subscription to BYTE. I would like to congratulate these authors on a very understandable overview of the LISP language and a well-considered critique/comparison of muLISP-83 and 1QLISP. I would like to see more articles on artificial-intelligence applications in the future.

My only criticism of the article is of figure 1 on page 286 that depicts a list visualized as a tree. Although I was amused by its content ((JOHN AND JORDAN) HACK (C AND LISP)), I believe it to be an incorrect representaton of the list as shown in listing 1 on page 282, which is (JOHN (AND JORDAN) HACK LISP). "C AND" is not present in the original listing. Furthermore the tree depicts three objects: the list (JOHN AND JORDAN); the atom HACK; and the atom LISP. The listing actually contains four objects: the atom JOHN, the list {AND JORDAN), the atom HACK, and the atom LISP.

The concepts of atoms and lists are the basis of LISP. Unresolved confusion at this point could turn off someone's interest rather quickly. This criticism aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the review.

Lawrence Routhenstein Manayunk, PA

The theme of our April 1985 issue will be artificial intelligence.

—Rich Malloy Product-Review Editor

EcoC Compiler

I read Jack Purdum's letter (August, page 310). He has a good point about the need for a long integer benchmark. The following is my contribution.

Listing 1 is a C program to find factors of a number. Factoring very large numbers is not a trivial task. Public-key cryptography systems depend on that difficulty to give them their security. The algorithm

Listing I: A long integer benchmark in C that finds a factor of a number.

factor.c—a long integer benchmark in C

*/ #inciude

'stdio.rv

#define BIGNMBR 1394761 /* number to be factored

*/

long p - BIGNMBR; long x, y, cnt, gcd ();

main () {

puts(" Factoring...");

cnt = 0;

x = y = 3;

while (gcd(y-x, p) < 2)

{

cnt + +;

x = (x*x + 2) o/o p;

y m (y*y + 2) °/o p;

y = (y*y + 2) % p; }

printff'A factor of °/old is 0 /old\n", p, gcd(y-x, p)); printf("lt took %ld iterations\n\n", cnt);

gcd—greatest common divisor of a and b

*/

long gcd(a, b) long a, b;

{

long q, r;

if (b < 0) b =

if (a < 0) a =

if (a > 0)

{

-b; -a;

b % = a; if (b = = 0)

r * 0; else

r = 1; while (r > 0)

{

q = a/b;

r = a - q*b;

a = b;

b = r; }

return (a);

302 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

REVIEW FEEDBACK

in the listing is called the Pollard rho algorithm. My program is derived from a Pascal program that appeared in Pascal Applications for Sciences by Richard E. Crandall (John Wiley & Sons, 1983).

I think this program is a good one to use to examine the quality of the implementation of long integers among various versions of C. It uses most of the operators applicable to the long data type—addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and modulus—as well as passing long integers as function arguments and returning long

values from functions. My choice of BIGNMBR is arbitrary. It is the square of the prime number 1181. This value produced short execution times, so 1 didn't get too bored; however, it isn't short enough to cause errors in hand timing, which would cause significant errors in the result.

Table 1 gives my results for running the benchmark on two popular versions of C; Aztec CI I and Ecosoft's Eco-C The methodology used in preparing these results was the same as for my original article: all

Table I: The results of running the benchmark in listing I with the Aztec and Ecosoft compilers. The code sizes are reported in bytes. The Eco-C, ZSOasm assembly and link times were obtained using an optional highspeed assembler and linker.

timing was done by hand. For compilation, assembly, and linkage, timing was started when the command line was entered, and it was stopped when the system prompt reappeared. Execution timing was started when the program sign-on message appeared and stopped when the sign-off was displayed. These benchmarks were run on a 4-MHz Z80 system with dual 8-inch double-sided double-density disk drives. When completed, the program prints

A factor of 1394761 is 1181 It took 871 iterations

The Eco-C version reported on in the table was compiled with the -i compile-time option. This causes a version of the printf function that does not format real numbers to be linked into the executable file. When the program is compiled without the -i option, the code size is 9470 bytes, which is roughly comparable to the code size produced by the Aztec compiler. I also timed assembly and linkage of the Eco-C program using the

(continued)

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REVIEW FEEDBACK

optional high-speed assembler and linker. As you can see, the improvement is significant.

David C. Clark State College, PA

WANTED: News on HP 110

The purpose of this letter is to request any evaluation/review information available on the HP 110 portable computer, related accessories made by Hewlett-Packard.

Thanks in advance for any independent review information that could be made available.

P. C. Smedes Tampa, FL

A review of the HP 110 will appear in the January issue.

—Rich Malloy Product-Review Editor

Statistics

In the September Review Feedback (page 3 58), Jerry M. Lefkowitz stated: 'The point

is, if you enter only N significant digits in your input data, you cannot get more than N significant digits in your answers."

Not so. For instance 1/7 - 0.142856, and all six digits can be significant to the internal computation, regardless of the external lack of trailing zeros. A familiar example is temperature conversion from centigrade to absolute. A temperature of 6°C = 284°K, and presto! we turned one significant figure into three.

Ubrse yet, Anders Celsius would convert the 6° into 94°, because he had the scale upside down. (See Webster's Unabridged Dictionary under "centigrade.") So 1-. 2-, or 3-figure accuracy is merely an artifact of the way you measure a quantity.

Steven J. Rhodes Willoughby, OH

Mr Rhodes raises an interesting, and sometimes confusing, point about significant digits. But the fact still stands that the number of significant digits in a result is equal to the number of significant digits in one's data. Most people assume that the number 1 is equal to 1.000000

To a scientist, a single-digit measurement such as 1 is usually assumed to represent some indeterminable value between 0.5 and 1.5. In the same way, 7 represents a value between 6.5 and 7.5. The result of the division of these two measurements, 1/7, then lies somewhere between 0.5/7.5 and 1.5/6.5, or between 0.066 and 0.23. This rather large range is approximately represented by the value 0.1. A resultant value of 0.142856, though mathematically correct, would suggest undeserved precision in one's original measurements.

—Rich Malloy Product-Review Editor

REVIEW FEEDBACK is a new column of readers' letters. We welcome responses that support or challenge BYTE reviews. Send letters to Review Feedback. BYTE Publications. POB 372. Hancock, NH 03449. Name and address must be on all letters.

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304 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

Circle 18 on inquiry card.

TKimdi

THIS MONTH, JERRY POURNELLE recounts an equipment-repair episode falls in love with the HP Laserjet printer, begins a quest for a clock board, and has his son Alex take a close look at the Tl Professional Computer.

The BYTE West Coast staff reports on local-area-network standards, Digital Research's Concurrent PC-DOS, and the import of IBM's acquisition of Rolm Corporation.

From London, Dick Pountain describes micro-PROLOG, a microcomputer version of what is to a degree the highest-level computer language yet devised.

previews the Big.APL portable, and discusses MSX computer standards.

And in Circuit Cellar Feedback, Steve Ciarcia replies to reader letters about Circuit Cellar projects.

Computing at Chaos Manor: Home Again

s

5Xs

Chaos Manor Mail

conducted by \erry Pournelle

BYTE West Coast Happenings

by \ohn Nlarkoff and Ezra Shapiro

BYTE U.K.: Prolog on Microcomputers

by Dick Pountain

BYTE Japan: Hand-held Computers and MSX Standards

by William M. Mike 365

Circuit Cellar Feedback

conducted by Steve Ciarcia 375

I

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1

4

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InfoWorld magazine

We think $798 is a small price to pay for a printer that's engineered to work as hard as a Tally.

Nobody offers more productivity for the price. But don't take our word for it. See what leading computer magazines like InfoWorld have to say:

"The frame and mechanism are obviously meant for heavy-duty office use."

That means continuous full speed printing for everything from correspondence and spreadsheets to reports with graphics. And when it comes to print quality, we couldn't have said it better than Interface Age:

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The MT160 and MT180 printers. See your Tally dealer for the most convincing quote of all. Or call toll-free for information: 800-447-4700. In Illinois: 800-322-4400.

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Repair Beware

LaserJet Printer

KoalaPad

Clock Boards

Discount Blues

Lilith Computer

Modula-2

Apple Modules

Software Essentials TI Professional

Gulf Strike

Under Ware

by Jerry Pournelle

jerry Pournelle holds a doctorate in

psychology and is a science-fiction

writer who also earns a comfortable

living writing about computers

present and future.

COMPUTING AT CHAOS MANOR

Home Again

It's over. August saw: the completion of Footfall (by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle; Ballantine Del Rey Books, June 1985); the publication of The User's Guide to Small Computers (by Jerry Pournelle; Baen Books, 1984, and if you don't like these columns you'll hate it); the World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim (Gordon Dickson, Guest of Honor; Jerry Pournelle Master of Ceremonies); and, in early September, the BYTE Computer Show in San Francisco, where I was a speaker. It was mid-September before I could come up for air.

Zorro Rising

Zorro, our Z-100, is something between a working machine and an experimental box. We depend on him for a lot of our work. Zorro is the host for the wonderful Disk Maker I that allows us to transfer files from nearly any 514-inch disk format to nearly any other, and since the Z-100 can take 8-inch disk drives without modification, we can also transfer to and from 8-inch, as well as 514-inch, disks. On the other hand, he gets an awful lot of experimental boards, ROMs (read-only memories), memory chips, and other stuff installed in him.

Alex tried to install a new board and discovered that the machine didn't work. He'd followed all the usual safety precautions, but Zorro's keyboard wasn't sending control characters—and saw only 128K bytes of memory instead of the 192K bytes installed.

We were all worried. Of course, three Disk Maker I jobs awaited. (Faster than a speeding modem! More powerful than a copy of Transporter! Able to leap from MS-DOS to CP/M in a single bound! This is a job for Disk Maker I!)

Zorro's long been out of warranty, but as it happens we've never had any trouble with him at all, so we didn't know where to take him. Naturally, this happened just before the World Con, so we had little time to deal with the situation, A quick call to the West

Coast Zenith distributor produced a recommended repair facility, and off he went.

The news was horrible: they wanted to replace both the motherboard and the keyboard at a cost of $500 and $300, respectively. This didn't seem reasonable. Zorro had problems, but there hadn't been any smoke, and there was surely no visible damage. We retrieved him, paying $20 for the diagnosis. Now the World Con was only one day away

"Take him to a Heath store," 1 suggested. "In fact, why didn't we do that in the first place?"

"Because," Alex and Peter explained patiently, "they're remodeling the one in downtown L.A., and the Woodland Hills Heath place is doing double duty while that happens, and they can't promise quick action."

1 could understand that, but $800 seemed pretty steep, and besides, we wouldn't need Zorro during the World Con anyway; so off he went to the Woodland Hills Heath store.

Heath's backlog was mostly illusory. A week later Zorro was fixed. One bad chip and one broken wire in a cable. Total cost: less than $100, including both diagnosis and repair. That's the first repair in more than a year-and-a-half of intensive use, including being carried about through the house, transported across town several times, and a half-dozen dissections for installation of new stuff. It's certainly not an unreasonable repair bill.

The moral of the story should be plain: the first place we went didn't really do repairs; they merely tested boards (and didn't do that very well, since they thought the problem was the keyboard rather than the keyboard cable). They had the facilities to replace boards, but they didn't even try to do anything else. The Heath stores were able to get in and see what was really wrong.

Pournelle's rule applies: If you don't know what you're doing, deal with people who

(continued)

DECEMBER 1984 • BYTE 307

CHAOS MANOR

do—and make sure they do know what they're doing.

Lasers!

I first saw the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet printer at COMDEX in Las Vegas. The printer is based on the Canon cartridge-copier system. It has the Canon sheet feeder, connects to your system with a 9600-bps (bits per second) RS-232C serial connection, and prints eight pages a minute. It's also quiet.

I thirsted for one.

In mid-August I got a conference call: Bill Godbout, president of CompuPro, in Oakland and Steve Rose of Capacity Inc., a CompuPro Systems Center in Kahului, Hawaii.

"Good news," Dr. Godbout said. "We have the HP LaserJet working with the CompuPro 10." (The 10 is his silly name for the multiuser Shirley that has become the workhorse of Chaos Manor.)

"Better news," Steve said. "I can ship you one this week. Interested?"

"Works like a bomb," Bill Godbout said. "We want one here, but Steve's a fan of yours and wanted to offer you the first shot—

"Stop!" said I. "How much?" They told me. I gulped. It wasn't cheap. I went to consult the checkbook. After

all, we had just finished Footfall the acceptance payment had been authorized, and I hadn't bought any presents for Shirley and Zeke II in some time. "Done," says I.

It arrived just before World Con, of course. That's all right. Bill Godbout still doesn't have his. We unpacked it, and Peter took almost 10 minutes getting it hooked up to Shirley, after which it ran like a charm. It did listings and printed WordStar files just fine, and if you tell WRITE that it's a standard Teletype simpleminded printer, it does WRITE files. The only catch-you must set WRITE's sheet length to 60 lines, instead of the standard 66. For some reason, HP set the default that way.

Enter Barry Workman. "If you let me have it for a week, I'll take it to Noor Singh, and he'll do some custom software for WRITE," says Barry. "After all, you're going to the World Con, and up to San Francisco, and you'll have it back before you return, and —" He held out a glass of Armagnac.

Two glasses later, his arguments sounded so reasonable that I let him take the printer away. I got back last night. They tell me I'll have my printer back tomorrow.

Meanwhile, they've made some discoveries.

It underlines fine. To make it do boldface, we'll need an alternate character set, which comes in a ROM cartridge. (Actually, it tries to do boldface, but it just prints the same letters twice—accurately.) There also seems to be some problem with proportional spacing of the kind WRITE uses (the WordStar method of justifying line-ends works fine for either WordStar or WRITE). The machine is said to have a whole bunch of different type fonts, but I have only one.

The paper-feed tray holds only about 80 sheets of paper, meaning that you have to reload it every 10 minutes or so.

The print-intensity control on the side doesn't do a damn thing; Canon insisted on putting it in. The LaserJet doesn't use the same cartridge as the Canon personal copiers.

But it runs like a bomb, silently printing eight pages a minute in beautiful black characters on any quality of paper you like.

I think I'm going to be in love.

BASIC Compatibility for the Z-150

Mrs. Pournelle has taken over the Z-l 50 and normally allows no one to touch it, but she saw an ad for the

{continued)

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CHAOS MANOR

KoalaPad and wanted that. (Not surprising: the KoalaPad is great fun, easy to use, and one of the better enhancements for your machine.) We had it here at Chaos Manor. Alex was drafted into installing it on the Z-l 50. Here is his report on some curious phenomena.

"Through, some oversight, we never received any software from Zenith for the Z-l 50 IBM PC clone. That hadn't bothered us; we just used our IBM PC disks. They all worked just fine—for the first six months we got along without. Then 1 tried to hook up the KoalaPad to it and discovered it needed BASICA.

l,, No problem,' thought I, Til just get a copy from Lucy Van Pelt (the IBM).'

"The result wasn't quite as I expected: the Zenith went slightly gaga! It printed a long series of graphics characters, bells, letters, and other extraneous matter and then went dead. Really dead: the old Ctrl-Alt-Del sequence wouldn't reboot it.

"At first I blamed the KoalaPad software: 'Hmm, must be a bad disk: But I tried to run BASICA alone and got the same result. I knew the program was all right; it had run on the IBM.

"Right then I should have remembered the problem but didn't. I called Rachel Klau, our friend at Zenith who-wrote Zenith's BASICA and other Z-l 50 software.

"IBM BASICA won't run on the Z-l 50, Rachel!'"

"'"Alex, I'm disappointed in you! What happens to the IBM if you turn it on without a disk?'""

" "It waits for a disk for a while, then it runs built-in BASIC"

None of the compatibles, not

even the Compaq, have—or can have legally-BASIC in ROM. IBM's BASICA calls routines in those ROMs. That's why its BASICA is shorter than ours.""

"Now it came back to me. I felt a bit silly, having forgotten that IBM's ROMs include a number of BASIC routines.

"Rachel arranged to send us BASICA. The upshot is obvious—IBM-compatible still means that you must buy Zenith's BASICA; you can't use the IBM's. Note that compiled BASIC

CHAOS MANOR

programs, such as Cygnus's Star Fleet I and Bruce Tonkin's My Word!, seem to work just fine without the Zenith BASICA. Most interpreted BASIC programs run once you install the Zenith BASICA.

'As promised, we received both BASICA and Zenith's DOS 2.0. The KoalaPad software, when tried, booted just fine—but didn't listen to the KoalaPad. I called Koala Technologies' service department.

'The current KoalaPad software is for the IBM PC only. It doesn't say PC-compatible, nor will it run on them. That software is being developed."

I don't know what Koala's software does, but it must be pretty specific to not run on the IBM PC clones, especially one designed as carefully as the Z-l 50. Zenith went to great lengths to make the Z-l 50 compatible; this is the first major incompatibility we've found. More when we know more For now, all you compatible owners beware.

ThE Great Clock-Board Quest

Mrs. Pournelle grew weary of typing in the time and date when she booted the Z-l 50—complaining (correctly!) that we didn't have to do that on the IBM, TI PC, or CompuPro. So off went Alex to get a time-and-date board, possibly with some memory, for the Z-l 50.

Upon arriving at Priority One, he discovered there was only one in stock-the STB RIO PLUS board, which we have in Lucy Van Pelt. Upon return, he plugged it in the Z-l 50, set the memory switches, and booted it.

The Zenith's self-test program said there was bad memory in the new block. Alex swapped for known good chips—for a programming major, he sure fixes hardware—and tried again. Same result. Called Priority One.

Mike, the showroom technician, thought the RIO PLUS board was good, but it just wouldn't work in the Zenith. Alex brought the board in, and during World Con Mike tested it. The RIO PLUS board was fine but didn't work in Mike's Z-l 50, either.

{continued)

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DECEMBER [984 -BYTE

CHAOS MANOR

The upshot is that we're getting a Quadram Quadboard instead. Those successfully run in the Z-l 50. Jean, the Priority One assistant sales manager, was extremely patient with us, but no one offered an explanation of why some boards will not work in the

Zrl50.

Incidentally, I'm willing to bet that when Zenith's Mark Foster reads this, he'll brood until he finds a way to Do Something; the Zenith firmware crew really work at keeping the Z-l 50 compatible with the PC

This compatibility business can be tricky. My best advice is to either look for the Zenith list of tested hardware (which we didn't do, alas) or deal with places that don't mind taking stuff back if it doesn't work.

Discounted Services ...

On that score: Priority One sells good stuff at big discounts. The only way it can afford to do that is by cutting ser-

vice and support to the bone. That can result in some pretty unfair impositions on full-service (and full-price) computer stores, such as ComputerLand.

The people at Priority One protest that they do have a hardworking service department. I agree. This is one of the best of the by-mail discount houses. However, on their margins they cannot hold novices' hands.

Indeed: one ComputerLand manager tells us that perhaps 2 5 percent of his support requests come from people who buy boards from Priority One and then discover they don't really know how to install them.

There's another problem. A customer comes to a computer store one that employs knowledgeable salespeople. After several hours of analysis of the client's requirements, the store recommends a system—and discovers that the customer has checked the Priority One catalog and

George Tate, RIP

He got started as a technician back in the early days of the micro revolution. Noor Singh, who knew him in those days, says he was always conscientious and eager to give customers more than their money's worth. George Tkte was one of the first to recognize that immense fortunes could be made from microcomputers.

Before he was well into his thirties he'd started a software chain that became one of the industry's largest. Then he read my review of a program called Vulcan, decided it could be marketed, and arranged to publish it as dBASE II.

The program sold well, making Ashton-TSte (there wasn't any "Ashton"; George thought a hyphenated company name sounded better, and he and his partner, Hal Lashiee, agreed that 'Ashton" sounded better than "Lash-lee") one of the giants of the industry. When George bought Vulcan, he was offered all rights; but he chose to leave the original author a hefty percentage of the profit to encourage him to main-

tain and expand the program. That turned out to be a wise decision.

In the old days, George, my late mad friend Dan MacLean, and I used to get into violent arguments on where this micro revolution was (or should be) taking us. We soon spilled over into discussions of his own company's policies. No matter how loud the argument, George always listened to our suggestions and was unfailingly polite. He gave copies of dBASE II to a half-dozen charities and scholars on my recommendation. After I complained about his license agreements, he rewrote them. For a while I thought George would publish Tbny Pietsch's WRITE program, and I still wish they'd been able to come to some agreement.

He was only 40 years old when he died of a heart attack on August 10. Ironically, one of the papers on his desk was an employment application from Noor Singh.

We'll all miss him. George was one of the good guys.

wants the equipment for those prices.

It won't take long for stores to go broke that way. In the old days, we complained that computer stores didn't employ knowledgeable salespeople. Some still don't. Those that have taken the trouble to hire and train good people get ripped off by customers out to save money at the store's expense.

This isn't a diatribe against Priority One or the other discount houses, nor am I trying to talk computer companies out of selling to discounters. Hobbyists, hackers, and others who know what they're doing don't need full services at full prices and ought to have lower-price sources. On the other hand, those who don't know what they're doing shouldn't really expect costly advice for nothing, and constant attempts to get support without paying for it is driving the full-service stores out of business.

It has got so bad that one store suggests contracts with customers: either buy the equipment at the store or pay a consultation fee. That policy has obvious problems, but I can't offhand think of anything better.

The problem is real. Suggestions are welcomed.

LlLITH

In the midst of our hectic August, Lilith arrived. We were glad to see her, since we'd returned our Diser (and the Diser Company vanished into Chapter 11).

Lilith is the computer designed in Europe to Professor Niklaus Wirth's specifications. She has Modula-2 built into her microcode. There's a mouse fast bit-mapped screen, great graphics, mediocre to crummy documenta-, tion, a pretty hefty software library, and a keyboard that looks an awful lot like the DEC VT-100 keyboard. There's a full review in the September BYTE on page 300.

Lilith does everything the Diser did, and more. She has a real Winchester hard disk (instead of the washing-machine Honeywell-Bull cartridge hard disk the Diser sported) and a 5 ^4-inch floppy disk for backup and

[continued]

312 BYTE ' DECEMBER 1984

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CHAOS MANOR

Our Lilith is very quiet. Her three fans just barely make any noise.

transferring programs. It took Alex about two hours (and a phone call to Provo, Utah) to get Lilith set up; as Modula Corporation improves the documents and shipping crates (I never saw so much foam rubber and plastic worms in my life), the setup time and complexity ought to come down, but it's hardly onerous now.

Once set up, Lilith will play chess (although we can't find any documents for the chess program; the computer knows how to castle, but we can't figure out how to get the machine to let the player do it) and pool (the same game the Diser played). She'll also do terrific text editing, and they tell me they'll have software to let Lilith drive my HP LaserJet Real Soon Now. (She can already work with dot-matrix printers.)

Alex decided to modify an existing program, just to find out how the Modula development tools worked. He reports that there is a master program to call the editor, debugger, compiler, and the program under development; much like TUrbo Pascal, this makes correcting bugs much easier.

Our Lilith has 128K bytes on four boards; you can get as much as 512K bytes for her. The boards, unfortunately sit on a nonstandard bus designed specifically for Modula machines—you can't buy boards from anyone else. There is an extra serial port, though.

Lilith is very quiet. Her three fans just barely make any noise. That's very welcome here at Chaos Manor, where we've considered learning Navy semaphore to converse when all the computers are on at the same time.

Lilith was intended to be an idealized workstation for generating Modula-2 programs, and that's why we have her. Dr. Michael Hyson and

I are doing a book on Modula-2, and I intend to have lots of examples. From the little experimentation I've been able to do, Lilith ought to let me get the book out about twice as fast. I expect you'll hear a lot more about Lilith in future reports.

More Modula-2

Hurrah! Logitech now has a version of Modula-2 for the IBM PC and clones that produces stand-alone code. The code size and speed aren't much to brag about yet; Logitech is working to do optimizations. Still, they're comparable to some of the Pascal compilers on the market. (My apologies for being vague; I've barely had the compiler in the machine long enough to verify that it will, indeed, turn out stand-alone .EXE programs. A complete report when I've had a chance to do real tests.)

Another good machine for playing with Modula-2 is the Sage IV with the Volition Systems Modula-2 and ASE editor. This runs p-code only and thus is slow. You can do practical programs, but you'll wish there were a 68000 native-code compiler.

Alas, there isn't one. A story goes with that. ..

Revolution at Volition?

For months, Volition Systems people reported that they would have a native-code stand-alone Modula-2 compiler for the 68000 chip Real Soon Now. Indeed, for several months it was always "next month."

Then, during August, there was a general shake-up of Volition Systems. Several people who had formerly worked there (and still owned stock) formed a coalition able to muster a majority of voting stock just before the company was supposed to go public. The result was that Joel McCor-mick, A. Windsor Brown, and Richard Cleaves (otherwise known as Glitch) have left the company. Lawsuits are rumored. As I write this, the 68000 native-code compiler seems further away than ever.

I wish I had better news. With a Modula-2 native-code compiler, my

(continued)

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CHAOS MANOR

Sage IV would run like gangbusters. Sigh.

Apple Modules , . .

After Lilith arrived, I called up Professor Richard Ohran of Modula Corporation. You may recall that Richard is also director of the nonprofit Modula Research Institute, which distributes much public-domain Modula-2 software; Modula Corporation sells Lilith and other Modula-2 hardware, hopefully for a profit. During our discussion, Prof. Ohran mentioned his Modula-2 package for the Apple II.

Understand: I do not yet have this package so I can only report what Ohran told me. On the other hand, I've known him several years now and I've never been fed any hype, so I have every reason to believe him.

According to Ohran, they have developed a Modula package that in-

cludes a language card and software. The package doubles the memory and quadruples the speed of the Apple II— and works with the Apple accelerator. The package, plus an accelerator, lets an Apple with Modula-2 outperform an IBM PC Moreover, you can develop and compile programs on Lilith, then download to the Apple.

This all sounds wonderful. I can hardly wait to test it out.

Flash: Modula Corporation also has a Macintosh compiler complete with toolbox for $90. It looks superior to Mac Pascal.

Such a Deal ...

Bruce Tonkin is a software wizard. He works mostly in Microsoft BASIC because of its portability; and he can do wonders. Of course, he makes copious use of pointers and indirect variables and the like, and he often uses his highly structured PBASIC pre-

With the Mind Prober™ you can. In just minutes you can have a scientifically accurate personality profile of anyone.This new expert systems software lets you discover the things most people are afraid to tell you. Their strengths, weaknesses, sexual interests and more. Mind Prober. Another insightful product from the Human Edge™ Software Corporation. Call 1-800-624-5227 (in California 1-800-824-7325) for more information on the location of the nearest retailer. Macintosh • Commodore

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Software That Lets You Read People Like A Book.

compiler (it compiles to Microsoft BASIC which can in turn be compiled with Microsoft's BASCOM compiler). His results are amazing.

For example: his My Word! word-processing program has some features not found in any other text editor I've ever seen. His Creator database-generation program is simple to use runs splendidly on a variety of machines, and was, to my knowledge, the very first outside-developed application program for the Macintosh.

Alas, Bruce will do no more work with the Macintosh. Although Apple professes to be eager for Macintosh software, Bruce has been unable to get Apple to do more than look at Creator, which has never been put on Apple's list of Macsoftware. Maybe it's because Bruce is uninterested in spending the money to become a "certified developer." In a recent letter he writes, 'All the little developers who made the Apple II popular are frozen out of the Mac market. How many can afford to lay down $6000 for a Lisa on top of what they paid for a Mac, then pay Apple $500 so they can get answers to technical questions and $150 for a preliminary technical manual set?"

He's also annoyed that no Apple magazine seems interested in reviewing the Creator (although they will review programs that do less and cost more). Bruce thinks it's because he doesn't buy high-cost advertising: at his prices he can't afford to.

Indeed, his prices are one of his problems: many dealers refuse to carry Tonkin's T.N.T. software line because he insists that the prices be kept low, and many dealers believe they can't make any profits with such low prices. That's not as ridiculous as it may sound. Unless you're doing a very high volume of business, you need to make quite a bit on each sale.

There's another approach. Barry Workman has bundled several of Tonkin's programs into a package he calls The Software Essentials. The total price—about $12 5—is high enough that Barry can advertise it, sell it through dealers, support it, and

{continued)

316 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

Circle 182 on inquiry card.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY AT AFFORDABLE PRICES

Dot Matrix Printers

Brother 2044L/Dynax DM-40 $ 1039.88

C. Itoh Prowriter (8510) 359.88

C. Itoh Prowriter-2, (136 col) 589.88

C. Itoh Prowriter BPI (IBM-PC) 389.88

C. Itoh HotDot 509.88

C. Itoh HotDot-2 (136 cof) 729.88

DMX-80 (Panasonic 1090) 259.88

Epson RX/FX/LQ Series CALL

Epson/ 1 m age writer upgrade CALL

Inforunner Riteman 309.88

Mannesmann Tally Spirit-80 329.88

Okidata Microline 92 419.88

w/IBM graphics compatibility .. 419.88

w/Image writer compatibility 499.88

Okidata Microline 93 679.88

93 w/IBM graphics compatibility 679.88

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NEC Pinwriter w/tractor (80 col) 699.88

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Star Micronics Gemini 10X 279.88

Star Micronics Gemini 15X 399.88

Star Micronics Delta 10 379.88

Star Micronics Delta 15 529.88

Star Micronics Radix 10/15 679.88

Toshiba P-1351 CALL

Toshiba P-1340 CALL

Printer Buffers (Quadram) CALL

Letter-Quality Printers

Brother/Dynax DX-15 $ 399.88

Brother/Dynax DX-25. 669.88

Brother/Dynax DX-35 939.88

C. Itoh A-10 Starwriter (18 cps) 549.88

C. Itoh F-10 Starwriter (40 cps) ..... 1079.88 C. Itoh F-10 Phntmaster (55 cps).... 1379.88

Diablo 620/630/Series35 CALL

NEC 2010/2030 (18 cps) 739.88

NEC 2050 for IBM-PC (18 cps) 759.88

NEC 3510/3530 (33 cps) 1379.88

NEC 3550 for IBM-PC (33 cps) 1499.88

NEC 7710/7730 (55 cps). 1779.88

Qume Sprint 11/40 (40 cps) 1519.88

Qume LetterPro 20 (18 cps) 459.88

Silver Reed EXP-770 (35 cps). 979.88

Silver Reed EXP-550 (18 cps) 469.88

Silver Reed EXP-500 (12 cps) 389.88

Silver Reed EXP-400 (10 cps) 329.88

Star Micronics PowerType (18 cps)... 349.88

Modems

Anchor Volksmodem, 300 bd $ 69.88

Anchor Mark XII, 1200 bd 299.88

Hayes Micromodem lie (Apple) 249.88

Hayes Smartmodem, 300 bd CALL

Hayes Smartmodem, 1200 bd CALL

Hayes Smartmodem 1200B (PC) CALL

Novation AppleCat, 300 bd 289.99

Novation AppleCat, 1200 bd 449.88

Novation SmartCat+,

IBM-PC Internal, 1200bd 349.88

External, w/software (MS-DOS) 349.88

USR Password, 1200 baud 369.88

Multi Phone-Line Junction Box. 29.88

Monitors

Amdek 300G (green) $ 144.88

Amdek 300A (amber) 159.88

Amdek 310A <TTL amber) $ 179.88

Amdek Color 300 (composite) CALL

Amdek Color 600 (RGB) CALL

Princeton Graphics HX-12 509.88

Princeton Graphics Max-12 199.88

Quadram QuadChrome 529.88

Roland DG-121 (green/amber) 144.88

Roland DG-122 (TTL output

green or amber, w/cable) 169.88

Monitor Stand (tilt/swivel) 39.88

Monitor Cable (NTSC composite) 9.88

IBM-PC Peripherals

64K Memory (4164/200ns) 9/pkg $ 69.88

Alloy 41MB Hard Disk w/Tape CALL

Alloy PC Tape Backup CALL

Curtis Monitor Stand 39.88

Curtis Monitor Extention Cable 39.88

Curtis Keyboard Extention Cable 29.88

Curtis System Stand 21.88

Hercules Graphics Card 379.88

Hercules Color Graphics Card CALL

Keytronics 5151 keyboard. 219.88

Microsoft Mouse (parallel) 149.88

Mouse Systems PC-Mouse (3.0) 149.88

Paradise MultiDisplay 299.88

Quadram 384K Quadboards CALL

Quadram Quad 512+ (64K) 239.88

Quadram Quad 512 + (512K) 609.88

Quadram QuadColor-1 219.88

Quadram QuadColor-2 229.88

QuadVue (TTL output) , 259.88

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Quadram Memory Boards (64K) 209.88

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Quadram Memory Boards (192K) 319.88

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QuadLink (Columbia/Compaq) 539.88

STB Graphics Plus II 359.88

STB Super I/O 169.88

STB Super RfO (64K) 289.88

STB Super RIO Plus (64K)........... 809.88

Tandon TM 100-2 DSDD 199.88

Titan Cygnus I/O (clock/parallel) 149.88

Titan Cygnus I/O (clock/RS-232) 169.88

TG Joystick 59.88

Apple Peripherals

ALS CP/M Plus Card (CP/M 3.0).... $ 279.88

ALS Smarterm II (80 col) 139.88

ALS Dispatcher (RS-232) 74.88

AMT MicroDrive (half height) 179.88

Grappler+ Printer Card & cable 109.88

Buffered Grappler+ (16K) 184.88

Microsoft Softcard (CP/M) 244.88

Microsoft Softcard lie (CP/M, 64K,

80 col. for Me only) 279.88

Pkasso-U Printer Card & cable 129.88

Printer Card & cable 79.88

Quadram E-Ram (lie, 80 col/64K).... 119.88

Rana Elite-1 Disk Drive 279.88

Rana Controller 84.88

Titan/Saturn Memory Boards

32K 154.88

64K 244.88

64K... 349.88

Neptune 64k/80 col (He) $ 194.88

TBL Cooling Fan 59.88

Titan Accelerator II 419.88

Videx VideoTerm 199.88

Videx VideoTerm/softswitch 219.88

Videx UltraTerm (80/160 column).... 244.88

Videx Enhancer II 109.88

Videx PSIO (parallel & RS-232

interface card) 159.88

Macintosh Peripherals

1 st Base DB S 739.88

Diskettes (5-pk) 24.88

Diskettes (10-pk) 43.88

Bluechip Millionaire 44.88

Daisywheel Printer Drivers 79.88

Habadex DataBase 139.88

Hayden DaVinci Series .. CALL

InfoCom Games CALL

Kensington Starter Pak 69.88

Kensington Diskette Holder 29.88

Kensington Modem 11 9.88

Living Video Think Tank. 99.88

MacForth (Level l/ll) 1 79.88

Microcom MacModem 519.88

Micron Eye (digitizer) CALL

Microsoft BASIC 109.88

Microsoft MultiPlan 139.88

Miles Comp. Mac the Knife 29.88

Monogram Dollars & Sense 114.88

Magnum McPic 39.88

Main Street Filer 139.88

Megahaus MegaMerge 89.88

Odesta Helix PDSS 279.88

Omnis 2 (mouse ver.) 199.88

Penguin Games CALL

PFS: File 89.88

PFS; Report 89.88

ProVUE OverVue 199.88

Sargon III 39.88

Soft-Life MacSlots 54.88

Softworks C Compiler 319.88

Telos FileVision 739.88

T/Maker Click Art 39.88

Tecmar MacDrive (5MB) CALL

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318 B Y T E • DECEM BE R NH4

Circle 90 on inquiry card.

CHAOS MANOR

Borland's Sidekick lotus 1-2-3. and the T.N.I package turn your PC into one heck of a useful machine.

make a profit. Bruce is happy, since the price per program is low. Of course, they both are betting that customers will also be happy.

Included in The Software Essentials are My Word! and My Word! extended (contains extended sort, global paragraph reformatting, and calculations; it's WordStar-compatible); 80-page manual plus NEWDOC on disk; My Word!'s mail-merge utility, alias "My Merge."

Textref: an indexing program that makes very complete indexes; too complete for large books but not bad for program documentation. It's a single-word indexer; for multiple levels, you have to do a bit of work by hand. Still, it does work well for a first pass, and the price is right.

The Creator and Reporter: with a newly reprinted 120-page manual. While these won't do everything that dBASE II will, they'll do a surprising amount of data management and report generation, probably as much as most users need.

Just to sweeten the deal they've thrown in some utilities.

Compress/Expand: makes My Word! files smaller for disk storage. Much akin to the public-domain squeeze and unsqueeze utilities. I'd never use it myself, but it does seem safe and can save disk space.

Read: a typing program like MS-DOS's More Unlike the TYPE command, the MORE command lets you move forward and backward by pages through the file.

Cheapsort: a low-price database-sorter program.

Xtrax: converts random or sequential files for mail merge, etc.

I'm told there are several other utilities, too.

All the programs will run on every

model IBM, from PCjr through PC AT. They also will run on most compatibles; the utilities should run on almost all MS-DOS computers. My Word! runs on the TI PC Zenith Z-l 50, and T^ndy 2000, but not the Zenith Z-l00.

As an instant software package it looks hard to beat: word processor, mail merger, sorter, database handler, and utilities.

After watching Philippe Kahn demonstrate his Borland International Sidekick with Lotus 1-2-3, I came to the conclusion that Sidekick plus 1-2-3 is at least as useful as Symphony; add the Workman TNT. package and you can turn your PC into one heck of a useful machine.

Big Tex

We've had our Tl Professional for a couple of months; alas, busy months, which haven't given me much time to play with the machine. On the other hand, just as we were about to get to Big Tex, TI sent technicians out to rebuild him from bottom to top, so I'm glad we hadn't invested a lot of time in the old model.

Although I've been busy with Footfall and other novelistic matters, Alex has had the summer off and was able to put in nearly a full week with the Professional.

Alex talks mostly about hardware. The TI Professional is not an IBM PC clone and most PC software won't run on it. That's the bad news. The good news is that dozens of the best programs, including Lotus 1-2-3, dBASE II, EasyWriter, BASIC, WordStar, and many others, have been specially rewritten for the TI, and many take advantage of the machine's special features. Programs adapted for Big Tex work very well indeed.

Now to Alex's notes.

T^e TI's Hardware

'"Being the inquisitive type, I took the TI apart to look at its construction. I was impressed. TWo screws hold on the top panel, at the upper corners of the rear panel. This is much better than the five that are inconveniently placed on the IBM PC. Once open, the TI is better looking, too. There's a

spacer bar along the left-hand side of the cabinet so that the boards won't twist (which does happen on the IBM PC). The power supply is much larger than the IBM's, large enough to run all our boards, the Winchester, and one floppy-disk drive (I'm told by TI engineers that it's not quite large enough to run another floppy-disk drive, but an even heavier supply is in development.)

"There is a whole lot of room under the Winchester and floppy-disk drives. There's actually enough that some enterprising individual could stick a half-height hard disk under the floppy-disk drive (The speaker is under the Winchester drive, but of course that could be moved.) This, by the way, isn't so unusual: the Zenith Z-l 50 has much the same arrangement—intentionally designed that way.

'The machine had six boards in it: RS-2 32C board, memory-expansion board, TI's graphics board with three planes of memory, speech-command board, 300/1200-bps modem, and Winchester disk controller. The first two boards plugged into two separate connectors that are in a row, so the TI PC can be said to have "five-and-a-half" slots. The floppy-disk controller, parallel-port connector, 8088, and 128K bytes of memory are built into the motherboard of the TI PC The modem board is built for TI by Racal-Vadic, an old minicomputer modem firm that now sells PC modems. All the other boards are built by TI (more on that in a moment).

"Most of the boards are thicker than normal. The modem board has a transformer that sticks out. If you add color to the TI PC, the extra graphics memory is put on a piggyback board—otherwise you have but one color. The speech board is two boards thick, but it has extremely large connectors that make it effectively three boards thick. I expect that new versions of these boards will be much smaller and draw less current."

INCOMPATIBILITY

"The TI's bus, though it looks exactly like the IBM PCs, isn't compatible. Tl

{continued)

DECEMBER 1984 -BYTE 319

Circle 252 on inquiry card.

/ Multi-function A

RS-232 Transfer Switches

MFJ-1240

*79 95

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CHAOS MANOR

In a world of me-too machinery, the Tl Professional is obviously different and thus more salable.

decided to move the bus lines around so that IBM cards wouldn't work in the Professional. This seemed to me like a pretty bad idea when I first heard about it—after all, TI had lost big on the TI-99/4A with much the same approach. But there was some logic to the decision, as I discovered later.

"If the Professional had had IBM-compatible slots, everyone would have thought it was another IBM PC clone. Customers would have rioted if they knew that boards could plug in but wouldn't work exactly as in the IBM. One of the main selling points of the TI PC is its high-resolution graphics; if TI had made the slots compatible, it would have had to make the graphics compatible (and therefore much lower resolution).

"While you can argue that compatibility isn't quite that cut and dried, you must admit that it was a smart move. In a world of me-too machinery, the Tl PC is obviously different and therefore more salable. This, without going overboard in the other direction, as with the Victor 9000, Apple III, or NEC micros.

'This incompatibility meant that TI could include a much better display than the IBM's. Screen resolution is 720 by 300 pixels, with no display modes that I can find. The higher resolution, better character set, and larger screen make the display better than the IBM PC's if you compare color to color. Compared to the IBM monochrome, it's a toss-up, which is a compliment to the TI's color display."

| In any event, the TI has the only color display (under $10,000 anyway) I know of that you could use day after day for word processing. All the other color systems are too fuzzy and will

give you (or at least me) eyestrain after a few hours. . . .J.E.PJ

The TI Board Crunch

"When we first got Big Tfex, he had all six expansion connectors filled (see above); it's pretty tight in there When Bill Cmela came out from TI, he replaced the two boards in a row (that's the memory and RS-232C boards, if you're keeping count) with a Persyst Time Spectrum board. The Time Spectrum board has a light-pen adapter, battery-supplied real-time clock, an RS-232C port, and space for up to 448K bytes of memory—which brings the Tl PC up to 512K bytes. The light-pen adapter has the same connector as the monitor, so I labeled them both to circumvent confusion. The Time Spectrum board comes with software to automatically set the TI PC's time at start-up plus print-spooling and RAM-disk software. The clock was accurate to within a few minutes when I tested the board.

"The Time Spectrum board supplants the RS-232C and memory boards (the short ones in a row) plugging into both sockets, so it looks like two different boards to the TI. Unfortunately, Bill had to remove the modem board so that he could fit in the Persyst board—since the Time Spectrum board, with all its memory is two boards hooked together.

"We were certain we wanted all five boards (which were around nine boards thick) installed, so it became a game of Chinese checkers, figuring out which boards would fit in which slots. One of the engineers at TI said that he didn't think you could physically fit all the boards into the box, but if you could, the power supply wouldn't complain. I saw a challenge, so I played with various configurations. Then the speech board wouldn't listen, so Bill had to come out again anyway. Between the two of us, we discovered a way to fit all of them in."

All the Boards Do Fit!

"People who don't own a TI PC are invited to skip this section; those who do will be happy to know that you can

{continued)

320 BYTE* DECEMBER 1984

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CHAOS MANOR

fit all of those thick boards in your PC.

"Unplug the computer and take off its top. Tkke out the screw that holds down the Winchester controller board—that's the one nearest the floppy-disk drives with two cables on it. You'll need longer cables for this board. The cables needed are 34-pin card-edge socket to 2-row female pin connector and 20-pin with the same connectors. If in doubt, take the old cables with you when you get them made up. I had them made about a foot longer than the current ones. They were about $30, which is far less than an expansion chassis for the TI. You can get them made at most specialty computer supply stores. Radio Shack stores stock only cables for Radio Shack computers. (Make sure you notice the orientation of the connectors when you remove them; the new ones must be connected the same way. Also note what connectors are used; there are extras on the Winchester board. I don't know what would happen if you connected something backward or to the wrong socket, but I wouldn't want to find out.)

"Once you've got your new cables, here's how to fit all the boards in: first, make sure the power cord is unplugged. (You did that anyway, right?) The Time Spectrum (or memory) board goes in the first slot (as seen from the front of the computer). Next goes the graphics board, which you probably haven't touched. Next, route the Winchester cables between the power supply and drives, past the first slot where the Winchester board used to sit, between the card sockets and card guides. (The card guides sit up near the front of the cabinet and keep the cards from twisting.) Connect the cables to the Winchester board with the same orientation as when you took the board out. Give the cables a quarter-twist gently, so they won't be in the way of the next board. Then connect the wire from the speech board to the motherboard. If it's still connected, leave it alone. If the jumper has come loose, the speech-board hardware manual tells how to reconnect it. Now insert the speech board, taking care that the Winchester

cables are out of harm's way—not between the cards and their card guides, nor between the socket and card edge, nor where the speech board will sit. Be very gentle with all the boards. You may have to pull the Winchester board out partially to seat the speech board. Some gentle persuasion of both boards and their cables may be in order. Don't force anything. All the boards must sit in their connectors, the card-edge guides, and their sockets or they (the cards) will twist. This is a no-no

"Once these two boards are in place, make sure the Winchester cables aren't pinched and that no boards are touching. Then plug in the computer, turn it on, and boot up the diagnostic disk. Test the computer and the speech board. If all is working, you can put the modem board (or whatever's left over) in the last slot, put all the hold-down screws back in the boards, check for boards touching again, and put the cover back on. You've just saved yourself a lot of money."

Hard-Disk System

"Our TI has the optional 10-megabyte hard disk; as with the PC XT, the drive itself sits in the right-hand slot. The TI will accept hard disks from 5 to 30 megabytes. The hard-disk formatting program lists 10 different models.

"The only problem with that program is it's slow! It took 20 minutes to format and error-check our 10-megabyte drive. I'm glad you have to do it only once.

"I couldn't find a program to partition the hard disk for operating systems other than MS-DOS. I know that the UCSD p-System, CP/M-86, and Concurrent CP/M-86 are available for the TI, though.

"The hard-disk controller itself is an add-on board. Unlike the IBM, the TI's floppy-disk controller is on the motherboard, along with a parallel (Centronics) printer port. That means one more free slot.

"TI's hardware approach contrasts well with IBM's and Zenith's. IBM builds the keyboard interface, some

{continued)

322 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

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CHAOS MANOR

memory, a cassette interface, processor, and boot ROMs into the PC motherboard. TI adds a floppy-disk interface, diagnostic LEDs (light-emitting diodes), and the parallel port. Zenith's motherboard is more like an S-100 bus: nothing but power and data signals. All the functions, from processor through keyboard interface, are on add-on boards. On the one hand, the basic machine price can be kept low (as with IBM and TI). On the other hand, expansion is much easier—as with the Zenith."

TI Hardware Plans TI's own mouse is being approved by the Federal Communications Commission, but some third-party mice will work. Someone makes an expansion chassis for the TI, a product we'll probably need soon. Of course, Cor-vus makes an Omninet board for the TI, and several other local-area-network boards are available.

The TI Diagnostics

"Most computers come with a diagnostics or troubleshooting disk, but I've never seen a microcomputer with such good ones. Three LEDs are on the motherboard; these light up when the computer is too sick to boot. You can figure out what's wrong by reading the hardware manual. The computer gives itself a short self-test before starting up. Unlike the IBM PC the memory test is tolerable even with 512K bytes in it. You may remember we disabled this test in the IBM PC because it took so long; we don't feel the need in the TI.

"The diagnostics disk is very good. I learned this by doing: I checked out the speech board before using it and discovered it wasn't listening to the headset. Yet it passed all 10 internal tests and it spoke, so I knew it was otherwise okay. A quick board swap later and all was well.

"These tests are so thorough that the extremely knowledgeable could fix moderately bad problems themselves. As it is, the diagnostics disk, plus operations manual is enough for the beginner to isolate most faults. It insults neither beginner nor expert,

which is a rarity among manuals. This goes for the software and other manuals, too. Many companies could benefit from manuals this good.

"A few complaints: there is no physical Reset button. Like the IBM PC, Ctrl-Alt-Del will reset the machine if it's listening to the keyboard. If a program crashes or turns off the interrupt that listens to the keyboard, this won't work. You must turn off the power, wait 20 seconds, and then turn it back on. That's extremely bad for both boards and the hard disk. The TI PC shares this deficiency with most IBM PC clones.

"Also: the cursor blinks about once a second, which is distracting, [Alex charitably calls it distracting. I call it maddening... J.E.R] I know this can be disabled because the speech program does so. I will have to plumb through the manuals for how to turn this off. Also, the Caps Lock on the keyboard (which has an LED, bless TI) goes on whenever you reboot. It must have been designed by an uppercase typist. A little program to set these would be extremely nice, especially if it would reset them between programs.

"On the hard disk: the model we have has no way to retract the hard-disk head. Later models have a landing zone. Also, I would really like a physical write-protect switch on it, just like on larger drives.

"The hard disk does make PC-DOS and MS-DOS easier to use. I set up separate directories for programs like WordStar, BASIC and modem software, with path commands to search them. With buffers set to 30, the hard disk really moves. The TI would be a great development computer."

THE Speech Hardware

"With the full name of the Speech Command System, this is a rarity. It's both a talker and a listener. You can dictate, dial and answer the phone, give voice commands to programs, use a voice password to lock out unwanted guests, set up appointment schedules, set alarms, and give yourself audio reminders. The board's vocabulary (on input or output) isn't

good enough to actually transcribe your audio ramblings, but it is good enough for everything else. It's quite a board— I'm disappointed that it hasn't been accorded the publicity it deserves. {Editor's note: The Speech Command System was reviewed in }une, page 341.]

"A word on I/O: the board comes with a microphone/headset that works well; a phone can also be used through the board. If neither suit you, you can use any good dynamic 600-ohm microphone with a !4-inch plug. I'm using a Radio Shack cardioid microphone, catalog number 33-992B. You'll also want a good microphone stand; effective range is only about 3 inches. (There may be a way to adjust sensitivity of the input: I'm still learning.) With the external microphone, the board talks back through either the TI PC's own speaker or any 8-ohm external one

"The speech system isn't perfect. Its quality could stand improving. Voices played back are discontinuous and somewhat garbled—less so with the external microphone than the headset. Both are a bit too noisy. Yet the board is still a great start.

"Voice data is recorded at 2400 bps. With data compression (speech is mostly silence) and a little better circuitry, I'll bet that TI could improve the voice quality considerably.

"You can change the speed of playback, much as with dictation recorders. Unlike them, however, the replayed voice tends to break up at high or low speeds—much like the discontinuity at regular speed.

"The Speech Command System requires a great deal of memory to run, both RAM and disk. The speech program itself is 161K bytes. A bit* of arithmetic shows that floppies are quickly used up at 2400 bps with serious dictation. A hard disk is certainly in order for more than 15 minutes of dictation at a time."

Phone-System Software

"The speech program itself is broken into major selections: phone dialer, phone answerer, dictation system, and

{continued)

324 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

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CHAOS MANOR

transparent keyboard software. I'll talk about each of these in a moment.

"This is one nice hunk of software. In fact, it almost has too many options. Let me explain.

"A problem that software developers must face is a user's experience. Unless he's going to restrict the software's flexibility (people will feel insulted), he must explain all of them. The more options, the more likely a newcomer will give up because it's too hard to learn. Yet people like me who want everything controllable will snub inflexible software. With the speech board's obvious target being the busy executive, I wonder if TI hasn't erred by putting too many features in the program. Of course, the gadget-mad person will love it and be patient enough to read about all its features. I'd love to hear how long it took other people to figure out this system.

"That out of the way, I can say that TI's programmers have paid very close attention to detail. All of their programs use the function, arrow, and editing keys right where you'd expect them. Escape gets you out of one menu into the previous one. The editing keys even work in MS-DOS: using Ins and Del, you can insert or delete a character within a command. The line under consideration changes color to remind you you're working on it. The same function key does the same thing through all of the voice-command routines. The menus are all tree-oriented, but there aren't more than two levels to the bottoms. The menu items do what they say they will—without much jargon.

"Like it? I may go hoarse praising its good points. It quietly does what it says it will, with accurate sample screens in the manual.''

Phone Dialer

"I haven't experimented with the phone dialer much. The software looks good and does dial the phone. You can set it up to dial someone and play a prerecorded message. Once you run PCSpeech smartphone,' you can use the TI keypad, the phone or your on-line list of numbers to dial

out. There's also a way to continue working on the computer when you're put on hold. You can take notes on the computer while phoning, too."

Appointment System

"Nicely done. You can set the alarm to remind you to leave or expect someone. You can set up "day at a glance' appointment lists days in advance. I don't think you can set daily or weekly appointments, except one at a time. Nonetheless, the overworked man without a secretary might find this essential."

ThE Phone Slave

"I've now played with the answering-machine function for about an hour. (The biggest problem was my plugging the phone into the modem instead of the speech board!) It's easy to learn; everything is menu-driven and consistent. You record your phone greetings (up to five) and can then set the machine to answer with one of these. You can also replay messages from any Tbuch-Tone phone. For privacy, you can set up a four-digit password. Once you've convinced the computer that you're entitled, it will let you play back, delete, and skip over messages. It differentiates between old and new messages—and remembers when they came in. There was serious attention paid to detail in this program.

"Complaints: speech quality (again). The recorded messages tend to distort. The TI's voice itself is very clear, though. Other complaints: the machine takes several rings to answer the phone, even set to answer on the zeroth ring, and it takes several seconds to hang up after you hang up. But these are probably features: almost no one is actually ready to talk until the second ring, and you wouldn't want to hang up too early on anyone. There is no provision for remote voice command—you must use touch tones—nor can the many commands be listed over the phone. You'd have to carry the supplied reference card. You can't record new messages, switch messages, etc.,

[continued]

326 BYTE • DECEMBER I984

Now there's no excuse to drop dead.

Producing a brochure. Introducing a new product. Moving your entire company across town. Every project has a start date, a completion date, and a date beyond which you absolutely, positively cannot go. The drop dead date. Blow that date and you've got positively, absolutely no excuses.

19 17 24 1

-ting

ai F.eview > a

r*l

ikI Beyort nit to Hg*i I Fisalize

it Present,

12 Mine Design

13 frfttacti*

MiNriNS

15 22 29 5 12 19

3

Better to arm yourself with Microsoft® Project, the new software tool for business managers and their IBM® PCs. Microsoft Project tells you which activities are essential to keeping your schedule. And which you can let slide.

Microsoft Project keeps you on a healthy track.

What a spreadsheet does for financial planning, Microsoft Project does for start-to-completion scheduling. Give it your best to worst "what-if" scenarios. It tells you what must be accomplished. By whom. By when. At what cost.

When management needs detailed

Microsoft and Multipart arc registered trademarks and MS is a trademark of Microsoft

Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business

Machines Corporation. Lotus and 1-2-3 are trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation.

status or budget reports, it prints them out. In text and bar charts. And it can also send budgeting information to programs like Multiplan® Microsoft Chart, or Lotus™ 1-2-3™

Get Microsoft Project No excuses,

Microsoft Project is easy to use. Especially if you're familiar with electronic spreadsheets. It saves your company time, work, money. Makes you an on-time, on-budget manager. Not to mention it's from Microsoft. We're the people who designed the MS-DOS operating system that teUs the IBM MICROSOFT

1L hOW tO think. The High Performar.ce Software

And our BASIC is the language spoken by nine out often microcomputers worldwide.

For the name of your nearest Microsoft dealer, please call 800-426-9400. In Washington State, Alaska and Hawaii 206-828-8088.

Should you decide you can face another drop dead date without Microsoft Project, tell us where to send the flowers.

CHAOS MANOR

remotely. August 15, 12:05 a.m. is replayed as 'zero eight one five at zero zero zero five—the speech board's vocabulary should include the months, the numbers from 1 through 20, and a.m./p.m.

"Don't get me wrong: I like this product. TI could have left the phone-answering option off, with its atten-

dant circuitry, but didn't. I'm glad; it's as good as some mechanical answering machines and doesn't limit the caller to a 15-second "HellothisisDave I'mtryingtoreachyou bye!"

Thoughts for Improvement

"The speech program should display the length (in bytes and seconds) of

each piece of dictation. I don't like its green display (everything else is white on black), but that's minor.

"Playing with this board prompted many ideas. For instance how about a software overlay that plays back dictation while in another program? That way, I could replay my meanderings and type them in with WordStar at the same time. A really smart program could find the space between words, play back one word at a time, and watch for the space bar to be pressed. You could listen to a word at a time and never have to fiddle with a foot control as with a regular dictating machine. Of course, it'd also have to wait for you when you made corrections. Hmm, maybe it could watch for the arrow and editing keys. When it saw one, it could wait for you. Then you'd signal start-up with something like Alt-Space. Oh, and it should repeat the word if you don't type anything for a while or press a Replay key.

"Listening, TI?"

The Modem

"The modem and speech software are somewhat integrated but leave room for improvement. The modem itself seems to work well. You can hook your phone through the modem and speech boards and still use the instrument. An integrated speech/modem board would be the next logical step. "Another integration I'd like to see is using the network software (e.g., Omninet) to send voice messages from TI to TI."

TI Software

"We also received some Tl-specific software. The WordStar uses all the special keys, including all 12 function keys. Other niceties: Shift-right-arrow moves by word, Shift-up-arrow by screen, etc This is very intuitive for most people and much easier to remember than control keys.

"The MBASIC seems pretty standard. I haven't experimented with it.

"Emulate, a supplied utility, makes the TI much more like an IBM PC. You can run My Word! with it installed. It's not perfect—StarFleet Battles (com-

[continued)

328 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

The most BASIC

Microsoft® BASIC is the language spoken by nine out of ten microcomputers worldwide. It's the language with the most programs written for it.

So if you want to access the power of your Macintosh^ only one language makes the most sense. Mac's first language, Microsoft BASIC.

Not only is it the industry standard, it's the most advanced BASIC for Macintosh. It lets you add mouse commands. Graphics. Windows. Change type fonts and styles. Customize menus. Incorporate music and sound effects. Write your own dialog boxes. Basically, it lets you take advantage of everything that makes Mac'Mac'

It makes editing programs as easy as cutting and pasting and pointing and clicking. Debugging is easier

than ever with the advanced trace command.

It's no wonder Microsoft is the most logical choice for the Macintosh.

MICROSOFT Weve

The High Performance Software WHtten more

Macintosh programs than any other software company. Including Mac's spreadsheet, Multiplan®

So if you want to get the most out of your Macintosh, call (800) 426-9400 for the name of your nearest Microsoft dealer. In Washington State,

laska, Hawaii and Canada, call (206)

28-8088.

Microsoft and Multiplan arc registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Macintosh is a trademark licensed to Apple Computer, Inc.

DECEMBER 1984 -BYTE 329

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All orders shipped UPS surface on IBM format disks. Shipping included in price. California residents add sales tax. Canada shipping add $5, elsewhere add $15. Checks must be on US Bank and in US Dollars. Call 9 am. - 1 p.m. to CHARGE by VISA/MC/AMEX.

CHAOS MANOR

piled IBM PC BASIC) still won't run. Emulate doesn't seem to affect the operation of Tl-specific programs, so I run it at boot-up.

"IUS's EasyWriter II is also supplied and runs, but I didn't experiment much with it.

"The major defect of all the supplied software is the same: none of it supports PC-DOS and MS-DOS pathnames. You can change drives but not directories."

The Last Roundup

"The TI Professional deserves better than it has gotten. A lot of people own and use it: enough that most MS-DOS software is first announced for the IBM, then quickly for the TI. The computer is well designed, well built, well documented, and well supported. It's a dream to maintain. Even in a world with IBM PC Alfc, this computer competes well. Its speech equipment is more than just a gadget—though there's room for improvement. The keyboard has a nice touch.

"If you're in the market, it's worth a good look."

I've obviously had far less experience with the machine than Alex has, but I find nothing to disagree with. I'm also hoping that TI will get a machine up to Philippe Kahn at Borland so that he can get Sidekick running for it.

Winding Up

The game of the month is Victory Games' Gulf Strike, a simulation of action in the Persian Gulf. We have the Atari disk version. It's strategy rather than arcade, though you use the joystick to select, move, and attack. The computer sets up the dozens of pieces so you don't have to—a major complaint about board games. Gulf Strike is for two people or the computer will play one side.

I think I might become fond of Avalon-Hill's implementation of Diplomacy for computers (A-H and Victory Games are sister firms located in Baltimore and New York, respectively); but the game can be played only on a machine with color, and it needs a lot of memory. However, you can even play solitaire, and if there are

missing players, the computer can act for them. I've mixed emotions here; there was something satisfying about writing orders on little slips of paper and chunking them onto the board, and I don't get quite the same feeling from typing them in. Ah, well. If you don't have a gamesmaster, the A-H computerized version of Diplomacy can save a lot of quarrels.

There is no book of the month. What with everything else, I didn't read any computer books (other than my own).

Meanwhile, I'm piling up data for my big article on the future of BASIC (I'm beginning to believe it has a great future); starting my Modula-2 book; and encouraging Alex to work on an introductory-level Pascal book keyed to Borland's Tlirbo Pascal.

I'm also hoping to do some real work on my accounting program and minimum database, adding lots of help files and getting it running on the IBM PC. I'll be working with several BASIC dialects; doing practical programming like that is the best way to get a basis for comparison.

I have an interesting-looking program called Expert-Ease that claims to generate expert systems. I've much interest in expert systems. At the BYTE Show I was shown another such program, too, so when I get it I'll be able to compare them.

Also at the BYTE Show, Diversions Inc. gave me a special ribbon for my Macintosh Imagewriter printer. You make up any MacPaint image, then flip it left to right. You install this ribbon (it's called, appropriately Under Ware) and insert a sheet of bond paper, print your MacPaint file, and out comes an iron-on suitable for transfer to a T-shirt. The possibilities stagger the imagination . . . ■

}erry Pournelk welcomes readers' comments and opinions. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to jerry Pournelk do BYTE Publications, POB 372, Hancock, NH 03449. Please put your address on the letter as well as on the envelope. Due to the high volume of letters, }erry cannot guarantee a personal reply.

330 BYTE* DECEMBER 1984

mill!

TURN PC INTO A GRAPHICS TERMINAL WITH VTERM/4010

fifflil ■111

mi

m m m

The original VT100 terminal emulator for the IBM PC has something new under the hood: Tektronix 4010/4014 emulation. Now you can use one powerful, well-built software package for mainframe graphics, terminal emulation and file transfer.

VTERM/4010 gives you ail of the features of VTERMII, plus Tektronix graphics. It can run mainframe graphics applications from SAS, ISSCO, Tektronix (PLOT 10), Precision Visuals, and many other similar packages. And VTERM/4010 will save pictures on disk, or draw them on Hewlett-Packard and IBM plotters.

But that's not all. As thousands of users know, the VTERM communications line comes standard with these exceptional features:

• Complete VT100, VT101 and VT102 emulation.

• Full throughput to 9600 baud.

• A highly reliable error-free file transfer with CRC checking, including complete host software for several host operating systems.

• XMODEM file transfer also supported.

• An ASCII file transfer system with a wide variety of options that allow exchanges with most host systems using only standard host utilities.

• Optional 132 column display using a special display adapter available from Coefficient.

• Autodialing, on line help, and a unique softkey command system that lets you automate many communications functions.

• Easy-to-use setup screens always accessible with a single keystroke.

• Multiple setup files.

• A "hot-key," that lets you switch instantly back and forth between DOS and VTERM without ever losing your terminal screen or communications link.

Get the picture? VTERM II gives you DEC terminal emulation, file transfer and lots more. VTERM/4010 gives you all that plus Tektronix graphics. Call Coefficient or your local dealer today.

Coefficient Systems Corporation (212) 777-6707 611 Broadway. New York, N.Y 10012

Circle 63 on inquiry card.

DECEMBER 1984 -BYTE 331

IT ALL ADDS UP...

IBM SYSTEMS

Starting as low as

$1399

NEC PRINTERS

NEC 2050 $749.00

NEC 3550 $1449.00

NEC 8850 $1799.00

TANDON 5V4" 320K Floppy $189.00

VISICORP

VisiCalc IV $159.00

VisiWord + $249.00

Optical Mouse $189.99

IDEAssociates

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as low as..... $1399.00

AST RESEARCH

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ComPo Plus II.. from $279.00

Mega Plus from $299.00

I/O Plus from $139.00

QUADRAM New Quadboard...as low as....$249.00

Quadlink 64K $479.00

Quadboard II as low as $249.00

Quad 512 Plus...as low as $259.00

Quadcolor I $209.00

Chronograph... $89.99

Parallel Interface Board $89.99

64K RAM Chips Kit $49.99

PARADISE

Multi-Display Card $339.00

Modular Graphics Card $319.00

SPI Open Access $339.00

HARVARD

Harvard Project Manager $229.00

PPS IBM/APPLE

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Graph $79.99

Report $79.99

File $89.99

Plan $89.99

ELECTRONIC ARTS Get Organized $139.00

^SANYO

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1-2-3 $319.00

HAYES

Please (Data Base) $269.00

MAI General Ledger, Payroll, Inventory, Accounts Payable/Receivable.,, .CALL

MICROPRO

WordStar Professional Pack..$299.00

MICROMIM

R:Base 4000 $279.00

MUITIMATE INT.

Multi Mate $289.00

MICROSTUF

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MICROSOFT

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ASHTON-TATE

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dBASE II upgrade $149.00

dBASE II $299.00

dBASE III $399.00

Friday! $179.00

IUS

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310 Amber IBM Plug $169.00

Color 300/audio $359.00

Color 500 Composite/RGB/VCR $3 8 9.00

Color 600 Hires(640 * 240) $439.00

Color 700 Hires(720 x 240) $499.00

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JC 1216 RGB $399.00

JC 1460 Color.... $339.00

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SAKATA

SC-100 Color $249.00

SG-1000 Green $129.00

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121 IBM Green $149.00

100 12" Amber $135.00

122 IBM Amber $159.00

210 Color RGB $269.00

400 Med-Res RGB. : $319.00

415 Hi-Res RGB $439.00

420 Hi-Res RGB (IBM) $469.00

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Pi 1, 9" Green $99.99

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1400 Color $249.99

QUADRAM

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ZVM 124-IBM Amber $149.00

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Cat $139.00

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Smart Cat 103/212 $399.00

AutoCat $219.00

212 AutoCat $549.00

Apple Cat II $249.00

300... $199.00 212 Apple Cat $449.00

1200 $489.00 Apple Cat 212 Upgrade $259.00

Smart Cat Plus $339.00

ZENITH

ZT-1 $339.00

ZT-10 $309.00

ZT-11 $369.00

ANCHOR

Volksmodem $59.99

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Mark VII (Auto Ans/Auto Dial)$99.99

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Mark TRS-80 $99.99

9 Volt Power Supply $9.99

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Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L1T1 Open purchase orders accepted with net 30 days terms, subject to credit approval. Next day shipping on all stock items. Ho risk, no deposit on C.O.D. orders and no waiting period for certified checks or money orders. Add 3% (minimum $5) shipping and handling on all orders. Larger shipments may require additional charges. NV and PA residents add sales tax. All items subject to availability and price change. Call today for our catalog.

332 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

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BMC

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. .

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Graphcard $84.99

Seriall Card $109.00

Microbuffer II + $179.00

Microbuffer 32K $199.00

We carry interfaces and cables for most computers on the market today. Call to determine your requirements. -

NEC

PC-8201 Portable Computer$439.00

PC-8S31 Disk Drive $619.00

PC-8221A Thermal Printers..$149.00

PC-8281A Data Recorder $99.99

PC-8201-06 8K RAM Chips....$105.00 PC-8206A 32K RAM Cartridge$329.00

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PC-1350 $189.99

PC 1361 $189.99

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1020 Color Printer $79.99

1025 Dot Matrix Printer $199.99

1027 Letter Quality Printer..$269.99 1030 Direct Connect Modem....$59.99 1050 Disk Drive $229.99

Touch Table/Software $64.99

Light Pen/Software $72.99

CX22 Track Ball...... $39.99

7097 Atari Logo $74.99

4018 Pilot (Home) $57.99

405 Pilot (Educ.) $99.99

8036 Atari Writer $49.99

5049 VisiCalc $79.99

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Axlon 32K $44.99

Axlon 48K $69.99

Axlon 128K $269.99

Microbits 64K (600) $109.00

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ATR-8000-64K Z80 CP/M $499.00

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QgL commodore

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HPIL Module $98.99

HPIL Cassette or Printer .$359.99

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Time Module $63.99

We stock the full line of HP calculator products

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CE-500 ROM Library ea $29

KOALA

Atari (ROM),.. $79.99 IBM $99.99

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DECEMBER 1984 • BYTE 333

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334 BYTE* DECEMBER 1984 Circle 194 on inquiry card.

CHAOS MANOR MAIL

Definite Disagreements

Dear Jerry,

The bias you've shown lately (perhaps always) against so-called "user-friendly computers and computer interfaces" seems to have at bottom an intense desire for all present personal computers to have an almost Marxist efficiency and no room for creativity. Being one of the elite reviewers with unlimited access to free-bies, I guess you can afford to support any expensive computer (especially if it runs Pascal or UNIX). But do be honest: who pays for all this stuff you review and seem to have an endless affair with? The people with the big bucks, of course!

Have you taken a look lately at who buys the fancy equipment you so eagerly espouse (especially when CompuPro or Sage bend over backward to make sure your demos are always up to snuff and hang the cost in office visits)? Surely you don't think most people with incomes under $20,OCX) can afford the cream of the crop or would want to buy it for what? Small business, you say is where it's at. Well, if business is the only useful purpose for a personal computer, then I wouldn't have it. Workaholics can have all the multiuser business computers they want. They won't find happiness in a personal computer. UNIX on a micro, even at 10 MHz and with a 20-megabyte hard disk, is painfully slow and klutzy at word-processing and accounting programs when accessed simultaneously by several users.

Obviously, you have no use for innovators such as Apple or Osborne. Their systems have the clear stigma of being popular computers, alas. Bugs are easy to spot in new systems under $3000. If only more people could afford a classy AT&T computer, but then again AT&T isn't making another Lisa. (This is debatable, as the starting price of Lisa 1 was $10,000, and the available software was about the same then—not very much.) For about a third of what an AT&T development system costs, a Lisa 2/10 can run UNIX and a host of other software, including MacWorks.

I would be careful about referring to dedicated Macintosh users as Mactribes-men or other Macnasties, They might decide you were unfunny and quite bor-

ing (as the genre goes—enough is enough). A sage such as Pournelle should stick to sci-fi writing instead of out-of-date computer reviews.

There is enough merit to MBASIC to resist the likes of any BASIC hater as yourself. BASIC may not be structured like Pascal, but it's a lot less tiring to look at than "PROCEDURE, BEGIN, END," ad nauseam. An English-like language would be better than BASIC, but so far natural languages have shown no popularity and ergo no large users group has evolved. FORTH is still a lot harder to master than BASIC

Perhaps you would care to elaborate on MBASIC's bugs, if any exist in the Macintosh version. I haven't seen any, short of a few omissions from the version Radio Shack uses. MSX BASIC, as used by David Ahl, runs exactly as shown in recent issues of Creative Computing, when converted to Mac's MBASIC. The only difference is one of scaling. The high resolution of the Mac screen must be mapped to take advantage of BASIC'S graphics commands.

It is going to take a lot more ingenuity to discover truly useful tasks for a personal computer to accomplish to be an actual friend and not an expensive sideline or sounding board. Bellyache as you will about present deficiencies, the real challenge is still magic. If you can do something you only dreamed about on past computers, the Mac dream will have become worth the song. Print this as it is if you dare.

TfcRRY W. GlNTZ

Berkeley, CA

Like, wow, man, whose column have you been reading? Surely not mine.

1.1 have never had an "office visit" from Sage, which, incidentally is a company started literally in a garage by Rod Coleman and a couple of friends on a shoestring; it's hardly "big business." As to Tony Pietsch's visits: eight years ago 1 borrowed $12,000 in order to get enough to have Tony, then a graduate student, build Ezekial, my friend who happened to be a Z80 computer.

Perpetual maintenance wasn't in the contract but Tony takes pride in his work and likes to see his creations run; one

reason why he doesn 't install computers any longer. Now he comes here mostly out of friendship; certainly not for any big bucks.

2. I have never advocated multiuser systems. Pournelle's rule is 'One user, at least one processor.'' That's one reason I like the CompuPro 10: it has five processor chips for four users, and each user has his own block of memory I thoroughly agree that the multiuser UNIX systems I've had access to have been too slow for me to write with.

3. 1 wrote one of the first favorable reviews of the Osborne. Well before the machine came out I did an unpublished critique of the Osborne 1 for Dr. Osborne. I believe Adam greatly and beneficially changed this field. Incidentally the Osborne 1 cost more, in constant dollars, than the Sage II costs now; and Osborne Computer Company had far more financing and was much larger than Sage.

4. Alas, a usable Macintosh is not a system for under $3000. Anyway, I've said enough on that subject. Hike innovations; but am 1 not obligated to tell the truth as I see it?

5. I am sure some people find my writing dull. Fortunately most don't. And if I don't get my novel done pretty quick, you 11 get your wish: my publishers will insist that I stick to science fiction (most SF writers do not much care for the cutesy sci-fi label).

6. You must surely be the only person in the universe who believes me a "BASIC hater.'' I've been enough through that war. Certainly ' FORTH is still a lot harder to master than BASIC"; who ever doubted it? FORTH enthusiasts say it's worth the extra effort. They may be right; alas, I've never taken the time to master FORTH.

7. The version of Microsoft BASIC we had is not the version you get now; and the new 2.0 Microsoft BASIC for the Mac has lots of nifty new features.

8. I believe that most programs in future will be written by users, just as most books are written by readers. A professional writer is someone who can make a living at writing—and writing is

{continued)

DECEMBER 1984 -BYTE 335

CHAOS MANOR MAIL

definitely not a full-time occupation. I believe that will soon be true of programming. When the user can think of something to make the machine do, and cause the machine to do it, we'll start getting the programs you want.

9. ' 'Dare"? I don't know if the editorial people in New Hampshire will print your letter or not but if not it won't be from fear of you by either them or me. Contentious letters that generate long replies don't often get published simply on grounds of space; and you are so thoroughly misinformed about me that 1 wonder if you have read anything other than a few random paragraphs from a single column. Stay well— Jerry

Not a Toy

Dear Jerry,

Before I get to the fire and sword, I have to say that an open, say-it-the-way-you-feel-it article makes a terrific escape from BYTE's usual earthy technical submissions. Your column is the best there is for opinion.

I just hate it when circumstance makes you look foolish. I have no doubt that your July Macintosh attack would have been toned down if you had written about it in July. The Mag Lag between submission and print date must be at least three months. As an example, I was shocked to find out from you that Microsoft was pulling Macintosh Multiplan out of distribution. Only later did I realize that you were talking about the conversion from version 1.1 to 1.2. Your single disk-copy-swapping problem has been eliminated from two fronts. There is now a utility to copy an entire disk in only four swaps, and the Finder's standard copying capabilities have been sped up tremendously. Mag Lag might not be a problem if technology were not changing monthly How about dating your column each time you write it?

I should say that I was pleased to note that you are more fond of Macintosh than you might realize yourself. After reading your scathing review, I suddenly noticed in your other columns what computers you were comparing Mac to. You say that the $15,000 Lilith has better graphics. Well, I should hope so, and the same goes for AT&T's $10,000 (bare-bones) 3B2/300. You even made mention of a Japanese color-drawing program similar to MacPaint. Why all the comparisons if you don't regard Mac as a serious machine?

1 think the descriptor I hated the most was "toy." Your definition of toy must be incredible praise, but most regard it as an

insult. You say that Mac was fun to play with, but it was slow and that there is no software for it. I have to admit that disk access is terribly slow, but the 512K-byte upgrade (which your column ignored) will let it be a real computer. The 'lack of software" problem is more of a "wait for software" problem. What exists now and what's coming are fantastic! Toy is only appropriate in the sense that Macintosh is fun! You undoubtedly enjoy your computers, but you have never called even your earliest 8080 computer a toy. I have seen a 6-year-old girl go to town on MacPaint, and her technophobic mother fell in love with MacWrite, and they had never seen a computer before. Now that hackers can find all the crazy computer designs they could ever want, real live human beings can get their benefit from computer technology.

I'll stick up for my Mac because you're too far away in the past to hear it talk. With an effective 6-MHz clocked 68000 and optimized ROMs, Macintosh is a tough cookie to beat. Lots of available software is not a matter of "maybe" but "when." Macintosh may be a slow starter, but it has what no small computer that exists today has: potential. In that respect, Macintosh is just about to break the ribbon.

Keith Nemitz Flagstaff, AZ

Well there is a matter of cost-effectiveness here. A full-up Mac with a second drive and the 5l2K-byte memory upgrade is not going to be cheap; indeed, I think you can buy a Sage 11 with the TPl color-graphics board and the Modula-2 operating system (complete with mouse) for about the same price. Of course, the Sage with Modula-2 won't have so very much software when it first comes out; but given Modula-2, that certainly will be a matter of "when," not "if."

1 wish Apple and the Macintosh well and if you Ve detected in my columns a willingness—yea, even a desire—to be fond of it you're right, ljust wish the implementation were up to the expectations.— jerry

Macpraise

Dear Jerry,

In your July column, you miss what I consider essential about the Mac: good-bye commands and syntax; hello icons!

I can understand that you were impressed by AT&T's display, but after getting acquainted with the Mac's presentation of what computing should be like, I

hope to never have to go back to an operating system, no matter how full of utilities and packages, where the burden is on me to remember what to say at the appropriate moment and how. In this respect, I think UNIX is particularly weak: for all its power and its bright ingredients, it is a messy system, with more than 400 commands with cryptic names like "troff" instead of "print," directories inside directories, complex punctuation in command lines, and redundancy of function.

With nothing but Apple's introductory software and a single disk drive, my roommate and I have been using our Macintosh not as a toy but as a workhorse, for everything that used to be done on a typewriter: homework, term papers, a journal article—even a set design, using MacPaint! In fact, the prime application I have in mind for it is to write my doctoral dissertation in biomathematics (no consortium deal: list price!), and even though the final document will run into at least a couple of hundred pages, \ foresee no problem in editing and printing the whole thing: I wouldn't write it in a single block no matter how much memory I had.

None of this requires "yet another" compiler-compiler, line-oriented editor, or what have you. If I were given a system with half a dozen text editors, like UNIX, I would try them ail and end up using one, so why should I pay for the redundancy? My hunch is that UNIX will prove difficult to sell to the office and the individual. It would have been great a year or two ago, but it came out too late.

Francisco Jose Oyarzun Los Angeles, CA

You 're certainly not alone in your views of UNIX. On the other hand, real UNIX has some wonderful utilities, like sorting, indexing, and table of contents generators, hidden in among all the cryptic yacc and yaloe nonsense.

On Mondays and Wednesdays 1 think UNIX will sweep the world. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I agree with you. It's midnight Monday just at the moment. . . -Jerry

Proprietary Operating

Systems

Dear Jerry,

I have written an entire database system for the local Chamber of Commerce, but it is, alas, in Pascal. The reason: the machine they bought was the luxurious Corvus Concept. As you know, it is an

{continued)

336 B YTE • DECEMBER 1984

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elegant machine but not well supported by outside software. I found that all the database systems that were installed under its proprietary operating system were severely lacking in the facilities that I need to develop my system. I realized that despite its many shortcomings and bugs, I had been spoiled by dBASE II and expected other systems to offer the same facilities. I wouldn't settle for less for my client, so I went to a high-level, standard language.

The dangers of proprietary operating systems—yes, they fit the machine and make it shine, but there's not enough competition to inspire really good software. After all it is this competition for the mass market that made micros succeed despite their price/performance ratio being less than mainframes. I don't care how good that ratio is, if the machine can't be made to do exactly what the user wants without hiring a staff of programmers, the one with the software wins.

Ben Smith

Smith Design

POB 80582

Fairbanks, AK 99708

My father once owned radio station KFRB in Fairbanks, but I've been there oniy once; it was cold with lots of snow.

Proprietary operating systems can help improve the breed, but companies that go that route often regret it. I can't help thinking that the Corvus would be a much more popular machine if it ran CP/M-68000. It sure is pretty

Is your database likely to be for sale? I should imagine other Corvus owners would be interested.— Jerry

Apple Strategy

Dear Jerry,

I am writing in regard to your comments in recent months concerning the Macintosh. The recent change in the title of your column is, perhaps, symbolic of changes in the microcomputer industry. You are no longer a typical "user" but in fact an expert by today's standards. This change is also typified by the Macintosh. It is aimed at people who don't have the background that the industry has taken for granted in the past, a background shared by you and me. This means that everyone can use computers to some extent, but it also means that machines will not in the future be pushed to the limits of what the physical hardware can do. The usefulness of this machine to us "expert users" will not be negligible in the case of the success of

Apple's gamble. However, its usefulness to the "real users" is not going to be vastly improved by that success either.

I can't say that I agree or disagree with your comments overall. Perhaps I could best say that I agree with your analysis but disagree with your opinions. I think Apple is, indeed, trying to put together a success story by the method of self-fulfilling prophecy. I agree that it is a skillful advertising technique that has allowed Apple to market a machine that is for all present intents and purposes useless to sophisticated users. However, I don't necessarily think that, as you implied, this is a bad thing.

While somewhat unfair to initial customers, especially somewhat sophisticated ones, the cart-before-the-horse technique is a calculated gamble that, if successful, will put equipment and software in the hands of the public that not only could not have been purchased for the price otherwise but wouldn't have been available at all. The important point is not whether Macintosh owners are getting their money's worth. Rather, it is a question of whether they will get their money's worth.

If Apple wins this gamble on the Macintosh's success, then there presumably is no problem. While I don't feel that ends justify means, it seems that the means are justified in this case by the fact that nobody can really lose (except Apple, and that is somewhat unlikely). Certainly it seems at this fairly early point that the Mac will in fact take off, in which case owners of the machine are way ahead. And if not, they still have a machine that will be useful for the purposes for which they purchased it (read: MacWrite and MacPaint).

Lowell Gilbert TYoy, NY

I find little to disagree with. I, too, want the Macintosh to succeed.

On the other hand: given the price and the limits, what we have is a machine that is easy to learn and not so easy to use. Perhaps the naive user will not know this and thus be satisfied. I rather hope so. What I fear, though, is that after a few weeks the Macintosh owner will regret buying a computer, so that the whole computer movement is set back.

All this will be moot if we get programs—and in particular, languages—for the Mac in the near future. The languages are not for "the rest of us,'' but so that semipro hackers, like me, can quickly turn out software for the machine. I know

338 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

CHAOS MANOR MAIL

you're supposed to be able to use a Lisa to write for the Mac but I greatly prefer to develop software on the machine it's intended for.

I'm told that Philippe Kahn has decided to do Turbo Pascal for the Mac. 1 sure hope so; that will do wonders for the little beast. Meanwhile, I write letters, complete with fried egg, with mine; but 1 find the CompuPro and the IBM PC more useful for day-to-day work.

Incidentally; 1 don't think I'm an expert at all. / still use these machines. One thing / use them for is to write programs. 1 find programming easier—but more tedious— than writing books, and as programming languages get more powerful, programming gets easier. That's not expertise, just experience.— Jerry ■

Users Group Corner

I have newsletters from

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CompuPro Users Group

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First Attache User Group (FAUG)

1827 Haight St., Rm. 16 San Francisco, CA 94117-2791 Much ado about using the Attache.

Morrow Owner's Review

POB 5487 Berkeley, CA 94705

Actually published by Morrow, but contents are like a users group bulletin.

CB News Software Magic

3823 Ocean View Blvd., Suite 401 Montrose, CA 91020

Actually a newsletter for CB-80 users; independent of Digital Research. Highly recommended for anyone using Compiling CBAS1C

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System requirements for all programs: Z-80 CP/M 2.2 System with 54k TPA and at least a 96 column printer is recommended. Or 8086/88 256k CP/M-86 or MSDOS (PCDOS).

Cross Assembler Special Features

Z-8 —User defined registers names, standard Zilog and Z-80 style support. Tec Hex output option. 8748— standard Intel and Z-80 style syntax supported. 8051 —512 User defined register or addressable bit names. 6800 Family —absolute or relocatable modes, all addressing modes supported. Motorola syntax compatible. Intel HexorS-Record format output.

6502 —Standard syntax or Z-80 type syntax supported, all addressing modes supported.

8086 and Z-8000 XASM includes Source Code Translators -

Z-80 CP/M®

ZILOG

SYSTEM 8000

UNIX

IBMP.C. 8086/88 MSDOS

IBM P.C. 8086/88 CP/M 86

OLIVETTI M-20 PCOS

8086/88 ASM

8086/88 XASM $199.50

80186 XASM new 199.50 16000(all)XASM new 199.50 68000,08,10XASM new 199.50 Z-8000® ASM

Z-8000 XASM 199.50

Z-80 ASM 49.50 Z-80 XASM

Z-8XASM 99.50

6301 (CMOS) new 99.50

6500/11 XASM new 99.50

6502 XASM 99.50

65CO2(0MOS)XASM 99.50

6800,2,8 XASM 99.50

6801,03 XASM 99.50

6804 XASM new 99.50

6805 XASM 99.50 6809 XASM 99.50 8748 XASM 99.50 8051 XASM 99.50 8080 XASM 99.50 8085 XASM 99.50 8096 XASM new 199.50 1802 XASM 99.50 F8/3870XASM 99.50 COPS400XASM 99.50 NEC7500XASM 99.50 NSC800 99.50

$750.00 750.00 750.00 750.00 750.00

500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 750.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00

$ 99.50

199.50 199.50 199.50

199.50

99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 199.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50

$ 99.50

199.50 199.50 199.50

199.50

99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 199.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50

$199.50 199.50 199.50 199.50 299.50

99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 199.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50 99.50

Subtotal

Name

Company Address _

City

Phone

State

-Zip

Ext..

Make and model of computer system.

□ C.O.D. (2500ADpays C.O.D. charges)

□ VISA or MasterCard #, Exp. Date (mo./yr.;

Signature.

TO ORDER. Simply circle the product or products you want in the price columns above, enter the subtotal at the bottom of that column and add up your total order. Don't forget shipping/handling. Total $

shipping/handling ($6.50 per unit, $20.00 per unit for

Int'l. airmail) $

Check one:

D 8" Single Density D 5 1 /4" Osborne

□ IBMP.C.

□ Cartridge Tape

□ Apple (Softcard)

□ KayproDSDD otherformats available, please call!

Total Order$

CP M is a registered trademark of Digital Research, Inc.

250WD93FTVWREINC

P.O. Box 4957, Englewood, CO 80155, (303) 790-2588 TELEX 752659/AD

VER 2000 SOFTWARE TITLES IN STOCK

SAVE- PRINTERS!

MANNESMANN TALLY

SPIRIT 80 ...$269.00

MTL-160L $549-00

MTL-180L $74500

JUKI

I Juki 6100 $389

| Tractor kit $119

Epson

RX80 $239

RX80FT $279

RX100 $379

FX80 .... .... $389

FX100 $559

JX80 $529

LQ1500P jnc)udes m $1089 LQ1500S $1149

Citoh

Prowiter8510A $309

8510BC2 $429

8510BP1 $349

8510SP $449

8510SR $499

8510SCP $519

8510SCR $569

1550P $499

1550BCD $589

A10-20P $469

F1040PU or RDU $899

F1055PU or RDU $1199

PANASONIC

1090 $229

1091 $289

1092 $439

1093 $CALL

BLUE CHIPS

M12010 $279,00

M1 2010 064 $27900

D4015 ..$1399.00

OKI DATA

LEGEND

880 $259.00

1000 $279.00

1200 CALL

1500 CALL

1081 CALL

STAR MICRONICS

Gemini 10x $239

Gemini 15x $355

Delta 10 $339

Delta15 $449

Radix 10 - $499

Radix 15 $589

Powertype $319

Sweet p 100 $CALL

STX 80 $CALL

GEMINI 10X

$239

CARDCO

LQ1 $449.00

NEC LQ3 $339.00

PRINTER INTERFACE... $3975 NEC 8025 $69900 printer INTERFACE W/ NEC 8027 $359.00 FULL GRAPHICS $65 75

Lyco Computer Marketing & Consultants

Microprose

Solo Flight $22.75

NATO $22.75

Spitfire $22.95

Leading Edge

PC Compatable Call

ZENITH

Z-150 CALL

COLUMBIA DATA

1600 CALL

TELEVIDEO

TS1605 CALL

IBM-PC

COMPATIBLE

CORONA

PPC22G

Portable 256K-Green... $1995 PPCXTA

Portable256K-10Meg... $3295 COR128K128KRAM...$ 159

MONITORS

NEC

JB 1260 Green $ 99.00

JB 1201 Green $145.00

JB 1205 Amber $145.00

JC 1215 Color $255.00

JC 1216 RGB $39900

JC 460 Color $349.00

SAKATA

SC-100 Color $229.00

STSI Tilt Stand $ 35.00

SG 1000 Green $ 99.00

SA 1000 Amber $109.00

AMDEK

300 Green $139.00

300 Amber $149.00

310 Amber-IBM $159.00

Color I Plus $259.00

Color 4T-IBM $589.00

TAXAN

210 Color RGB

100 Green

105 Amber .... 400 Color RGB 410 Color RGB .. 420 Color RGB-IBM .

121 Green-IBM

122 Amber-IBM

ZENITH

ZVM122A Amber

ZVM123G Green

ZVM124 Amber-IBM

ZVM131 Color

ZVM133 RGB

ZVM135 Composite ZVM136 HI RES Color

GORILLA

1 2" Green ... 12" Amber ...

NEC

PC8201 Portable $429

NECB1 64K Computer

System $1049

NECB2 128 K Computer

System $1299

PC8221 Thermal Printer... $ 139 PC8201 8KRAMChip .. $ 99 PC820632K RAM Cart , $ 299

PC300 Modem $ 65

PC8801 MSDOS

16 Bit Card $ 339

MAXELL

5VMD-1 $19.95

5VMD-2 $24.99

MODEMS

DRIVES

MSD

SD1 DRIVE $309 00

SD2 DRIVE $499 00

INDUS

ATARI $279.00

COMMODORE call

ELEPHANT

5VSSSD $15.99

5WSSDD $17.99

5'/4"DSDD $22 99

SKC

SKC-SSSD $14 75

SKC-SSDD $17.75

SKC-DSDD $21 75

MITEYMO 69.95

MICROBITS

MPP1000C $109 00

Hayes

NOVATION

$ 95.00 $ 85.00 $129.00 $275.00 $389.00 $449.00 $589.00

$ 82.00 $ 89.00

J-Cat

Cat

Smart Cat 103/ Smart Cat 103/212

AutoCat

212 Auto Cat

Apple Cat II

212 Apple Cat Apple Cat 212

(Upgrade) Smart Cat Plus

$89 00 $129 00 $169 00 $38900 $209 00 $53900 $23900 $43900 $249 00

$35900

Smartmodem 300 Smartmodem 1200 Smartmodem 1200b Micromodem lie, Micromodem 100 Chronograph

$199.00 $469.00 $399.00 $249.00 $289.00 $179.00

ANCHOR

Volksmodem $55 99

Mark VII $95 99

(auto ans/dial) Mark VII S259 00

(1200 band)

TOLL FREE 1-800-233-8760

^^^^^ Circle 238 on inquiry card.

Qp TO ORDER

CALL TOLL FREE or send order to

800-233-8760 SfStSS 1

Customer Service 1-717-327-1825 Jersey Shore PA 1774C

POLICY

In-stock items shipped within 24 hours of order Personal checks require four weeks clearance before shipping. No deposit on C O D orders Free shipping on prepaid cash orders within the continental US PA residents add sales tax All products subject to availability and price change Advertised prices show 4% discount offered for cash, add 4°": for Master Card or Visa DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED

BYTE WEST COAST

IBM and

networks,

Concurrent

PC-DOS,

and other

developments

by John Markoff and Ezra Shapiro

BYTE West Coast is prepared

monthly by BYTE's editors and staff

in San Francisco and Palo Alto.

Correspondence should be addressed

to BYTE West Coast. BYTE

Magazine. 425 Battery St.. San

Francisco. CA 94111.

Happenings

It's certainly been a busy season for IBM— a network cabling standard, price cuts on the PC, a new keyboard for PCjr, the introduction of the AT, a network from Sytek, a carload of new software in all areas, and finally the announcement of the acquisition of Rolm, the innovative tele-communications company. If you take these developments one by one, they're all interesting, but not riveting. \f you add them up, however, it becomes rather easy to launch into wild speculation on the fate of the personal computer industry. Immediately following the \tolm news, the grapevine has been awash with just such speculation, and a fair amount of gossip that verges on conspiracy theory.

The items about Sytek and Ro/m products that appear later in this month's column were originally written with no knowledge of IBM's plans to move into communications in a major way. We saw the Rolm story as a fascinating new direction but certainly not an overwhelming trend, and we wondered parenthetically whether IBM's 23 percent stake in Rolm was a signal to AT&T that IBM was going to invade that corporate giant's territory, just as AT&T's foray into computers had been a challenge to IBM. As we write this, the details of IBM's Rolm takeover arrangements have been made public, but full stockholder {and legal) approval is still pending. While IBM's intentions have become clearer, the final outcome still is unsettled as of this writing. (Such are the problems of dealing with breaking news stories on the deadline schedule of a monthly magazine such as BYTE.)

Are the Rolm computer products, the Cedar and the juniper, now to be seen as IBM products? Will they bear the blue IBM logo? Will the BIOS ROM, developed to be "PC-compatible' by Rolm engineers, be replaced with the true IBM chip? Will there be other changes to either IBM or Rolm microcomputers? We don't know yet, but we do know that the show is going to be worth watching.

—Ezra Shapiro, BYTE West Coast Bureau Chief

Communications Integration

Rolm Corporation will be announcing a couple of new products intended to round out its line of office communications equipment, both of which integrate sophisticated telephone features with data-processing power for individual users in the form of IBM PC-compatible computing. Though the two devices must be used in conjunction with Rolm's CBX computerized switchboard system and as such are in no way single-user machines, they do indicate one of the important directions in which the microcomputer revolution is spreading.

The high-end product, called the Cedar, is a full system in itself. Like the mythical centaur, a creature that was half man and half horse, the Cedar is a blend of two existing technologies; it's both computer and telephone. Physically, the device is a compact workstation with a footprint somewhat smaller than that of the IBM PC. The base of the unit houses two 360K-byte disk drives and the system's electronic guts. Rising from the top on the right side is an angled mono-

chrome monitor (a 9-inch diagonal green-phosphor display that operates in both text and graphics modes, much like the Compaq computer); on the left, there's a standard telephone handset. A detachable keyboard tucks into an opening under the drives.

The computer portion of the product is an IBM clone, running an 8088 microprocessor with 512K bytes of RAM (random-access read/write memory) standard. The telephone part is Rolm's high-tech telephone that can handle from one to four separate lines on one twisted-pair cable. Since the telephonic part of the system is digital for both data and voice, the unit has no need of an internal modem. (Any conversion of digital to analog signals takes place at the CBX level to interface with the outside world; within a Rolm system, ail transmission is digital.)

The Cedar comes with a package of personal communications software that loads over the operating system and remains resident in 128K bytes of RAM. The software

{continued)

DECEMBER 1984 • B Y T E 343

Circle 380 on inquiry card.

Your computer could talk you into winning

$1,000.

K »OV. I

Votrax, Inc. isn't just talking when we say you could win $1,000. We mean it. All you have to do is come up with the best application idea for the Votrax Type 'N Talk (TNT) or the Votrax Personal Speech System (PSS) text-to-speech synthesizers.

Send your best idea to Votrax, postmarked no later than 1/31/85, one idea per entry, and enter as often as you like. The most original idea wins $1,000. Second Prize: the Votrax PSS. Third Prize: the »^ Votrax TNT

Votrax, Inc. enables your computer to talk with either the TNT or the PSS. Both have an unlimited vocabulary. Both are adaptable to most personal computers.

Suggested retail price is $189 for the TNT, $395 for the PSS. Call 313-583-9884 today to hear an actual voice demonstration of the PSS over the phone.

For more information on Votrax voice synthesizers, or to enter the Votrax Talking Computer Competition, write to:

TALKING COMPUTER COMPETITION Votrax, Inc.

1394 Rankin, Dept. 23B TVoy, Michigan 48083 1-800-521-1350 313-588-0341 (in Michigan)

Notice of Waiver: Votrax, Inc. cannot guarantee that ideas or information submitted to this contest will be held in confidence. Please do not submit any proprietary information. Rules and regulations available upon request.

BYTE WEST COAST

IBM's decision to go with a medium-speed broadband LAN came as something of a surprise.

handles various telephone management functions, such as true electronic mail (both transmission and storage) with an on-screen alert, data sharing through the CBX, softkey control of telephone functions such as auto and repeat dialing, maintenance of a personal phone directory, and so on. Obviously, since the unit can control more than one line with no additional cabling, simultaneous voice and data transmission is easy. Product pricing is roughly equivalent to the sum of the component parts (computer, memory, software, phone) at $4995 for one unit, down to $424 5 in quantities over 100.

The second product, the Juniper, is a stand-alone add-on to an existing IBM PC or compatible that links an existing computer to the CBX system and gives it all the features of the Cedar. It's a smaller box that looks much like a telephone; it connects to a card that plugs into an expansion slot in the computer. All the software previously mentioned comes with the package, and all the integration of the CBX system is made available to the workstation. It costs $1495 for one, down to $1360 in quantity.

The products represent a thorough solution to the problems of personal computing in a business installation. Users have all the advantages of individual desktop processing with full privacy, yet can use the telecommunications aspects of the system to share data with remote microcomputers, file servers or other storage devices, and even company mainframes. Though not a true local-area network, the system makes use of the features of the CBX to provide a more-than-adequate surrogate. In addition, the units provide full telephone capabilities.

Not only do the Rolm products make a lot of sense for a multiuser

business environment, the solution is accomplished without the rat's nest of wiring that usually accompanies this much functionality.

The IBM LAN

Now that IBM has spoken, the real question about the company's decision to offer a local-area network (LAN) configuration for its personal computer line is: Will the microcomputer industry be any closer to a standard in the LAN world?

IBM's decision to go with a medium-speed broadband local-area network came as something of a surprise to industry analysts who had been expecting a network that was more closely modeled after the "token ring" topology that had been discussed in recent IBM technical papers. However, IBM claims that there will a gateway between this net and any future network that they might offer.

In its search for its local-area network, IBM turned to an established broadband LAN manufacturer, Sytek Inc., of Mountain View, California. Sytek is located in a corner of Silicon Valley that has been affectionately dubbed "Coaxial Corridor" because, in addition to Sytek, Ethernet manufacturer 3Com and several other network companies are all based within easy cabling distance of each other.

Sytek has been marketing its own network, a product called LocalNet/ 20, that is used by both large corporate and government installations and by a number of college campuses as well. In the Sytek system, each user is connected to a broadband cable through a network interface device. Each of these devices has its own microcomputer and a broadband modem that converts digital data to an analog frequency-modulated form for transmission across the network. LocalNet uses frequency division multiplexing to define as many as 120 separate channels that can share each network.

Sytek also has been working on an ongoing cable television project called MetroNet in conjunction with the Gerald Division of General Instru-

{continued)

344 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

OUR WORKSTATION DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM HAS TOMORROWS

SOLUTIONS BUILT IN.

xm.s you conduct your search for the ideal data acquisition system, we think you'll find a number of capable systems, all from fine makers.

But we also think you'll find this: there is really only one system likely to meet, and perhaps exceed, your own personal standards for accuracy, flexibility, performance and power. And do so for a bottom line investment that is truly easy to justify.

That system is the Keithley DAS Series 500 for the IBM PC and Apple II families of microcomputers.

To begin with, even a basic Series 500 configuration, like the one shown in the chart, comes out of its carton with enough power and capacity for most lab and test bench applications. So you needn't trade up to more expensive options to get basic capabilities.

And because the Series 500 is completely modular, you can start out with just the capacity you need. Then choose from our comprehensive library of plug-in function cards to instantly reconfigure your system for the most demanding applications-with up to 272 channels of discrete analog input, 50

1. System 520. 2. 16 channels of $725 32 channel card. 3. $1640 A/D card plus 16 channels of $580 20 channel card. 4. + 0.003% accuracy (a 200 H z. 5. ± 0.006% accuracy (a 40Hz. 6. Apple system 27 kHz, IBM system 31.4 kHz. 7. 200 kHz option available + $3825. 8. Only available with 16-bit A/D converter with programmable gain preamplifier + $1100. 9. 1 channel from $750 4 channel card. 10. 5 channels from $750 4 channel card. 11. 5 channels from $1000 2 channel card. 12. 16 channels of $350 32 channel card. 13. Price based on 16 channel rack <§ $550 plus 4 AC outputrelays ft $22. 14. Four channels of $525 8 channel card. 15. Or other multi-tasking structure.

Keithley DAS Series 500 Measurement and Control System.

channels of analog output, 160 channels of digital I/O, and AC/DC device control. With direct transducer connection and signal conditioning for each individual channel.

It's also the only system equipped with Soft500, the integrated measurement and control software that proves once and for all that easy doesn't have to mean simplistic.

SoftSOO gives first time users the accessibility and friendliness they need to get excellent results the first time out. Yet it also provides experienced users with the depth and extended facilities needed for complex applications. Including unique features such as foreground/background architecture, powerful screen graphics and statistical analyses. Plus, automatic conversion of binary data to familiar engineering units.

In all, you'll find the features you need to make the Series 500

increasingly productive through years of new and more demanding applications.

Naturally, we'd like to suggest the Series 500 as the wisest choice in workstation data acquisition. But we also believe that as you compare and examine the facts, the Series 500 will eventually suggest itself.

For complete information on the Keithley DAS Series 500 workstation data acquisition system, call us toll-free at 1-800-552-1115. In Massachusetts call (617) 423-7780. Or write to us at Keithley DAS, 349 Congress Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.

Series 500

KEITHLEY i

©1984 by Keithley DAS, Boston, Massachusetts

Information contained in the comparison chart is correct to the best of our knowledge as of July 3, 1984; however, Keithley DAS assumes no liability for its accuracy. IBM PC is a

registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Apple II is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. ISAAC is a registered trademark of Cyborg

Corporation. MACSYM is a registered trademark of Analog Devices, Inc. HP is a registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard, Inc.

Circle 2(5 on inquiry card.

DECEMBER 1984 -BYTE 345

Circle 352 on inquiry card.

Pascal and C

Programmers

Your programs can now compile the

FirsTime™

FirsTime is an intelligent editor that knows the rules of the language being programmed. It checks your statements as you enter them, and if it spots a mistake, it identifies it. FirsTime then positions the cursor over the error so you can correct it easily. FirsTime mil identify all syntax errors, undefined variables, and even statements with mismatched variable types. In fact, any program developed with the FirsTime editor will compile on the first try.

More than a syntax checker!

FirsTime has many unique features found in no other editor. These powerful capabilities include a zoom command that allows you to examine the structure of your program, automatic program formatting, and block transforms.

If you wish, you can work even faster by automatically generating program structures with a single key-stroke. This feature is especially useful to those learning a new language, or to those who often switch between different languages.

Other Features: Full screen editing, horizontal scrolling, function key menus, help screens, inserts, deletes, appends, searches, and global replacing.

Programmers enjoy using FirsTime. It allows them to concentrate on program logic without having to worry about coding details. Debugging is reduced dramatically, and deadlines are more easily met.

FirsTime for PASCAL $245

FirsTime for C $295

Microsoft PASCAL Compiler $245

Microsoft C Compiler $395

Demonstration disk $25

Get an extra $100 off the compiler when it is purchased with FirsTime.

(N.J. residents please add 6% sales tax.)

Spruce

Technology Corporation

110 Whispering Pines Drive

Lincroft, N.J. 07738

(201) 741-8188 or (201) 663-0063

Dealer enquiries welcome. Custom versions for computer manufacturers and language developers are available.

FirstTime is a trademark ol'Spruce Technology Corporal ion.

V/SA*

BYTE WEST COAST

The most intriguing aspect of the IBM LAN is the potential to support video and voice across the network.

merits, This is a broadband communications network that will use cable television networks as its medium. MetroNet is designed to bring videotex services, as well as conventional television programming, to residential and business subscribers.

According to Gregory Ennis, director of systems engineering at Sytek, the IBM PC Network has been designed to conform to LocalNet architecture. In practice, this means that the IBM version will use standard 75-ohm CATV (cable television) coaxial cable and connection hardware. The Network itself will be a 2-mega-byte Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) broadband network. It will consist of a Network Adaptor for each PC, a Network Translator Unit (a stand-alone unit that is designed to provide single-channel frequency translation for the network), and cabling hardware.

The Network Adaptor card, which will plug into IBM PCs, XT& Portable PCs, and the new PC AT contains a Network BIOS (basic input/output system) in ROM (read-only memory), its own on-board microprocessor, and an RF (radio frequency) modem that broadcasts onto the network. Each card is given its own unique 48-bit network identifier and provides support that allows each individual PC to be booted from the .network, making networks of diskless PCs and a single disk server possible.

The most intriguing aspect of the Sytek LAN is the obvious room for growth—particularly the potential to support video and voice across the network in the future. Also worth mentioning is the capability of each Network Adaptor card to support up to 32 sessions simultaneously. Thus, as PC-DOS moves closer to a true

multitasking architecture it is possible to conceive of an individual PC with the capability of connecting to one or several mainframe hosts and carrying out other LAN-based tasks such as access to files or a distributed database.

Finally, we note that IBM rudely shut the PCjr out of the PC Network. In saying that the PCjr won't be supported on the first LAN to be offered, is IBM giving us some sort of a broader hint on the future of the PCjr?

However, despite IBM's alleged power to make any decision a de facto standard, most existing network manufacturers have shown no signs of abandoning their own network products and insist that they still offer more performance and value than . IBM does. Perhaps this announcement was just not compelling enough to pull the rest of the industry along in IBM's wake.

A Different Approach

If your local-area networking needs aren't quite as extensive as the capabilities offered by the new IBM PC Network, or if you have the vision of your personal computer controlling a variety of functions around your house or office, you might be interested in hearing about the Power Line Network (PLN) from Mollard Systems Design in San Jose, California. Mollard has recently announced a simple low-cost network based on a stand-alone controller (developed around a bipolar controller chip from National Semiconductor) that connects to an IBM PC through an RS-232C interface and then directly to any standard 110-volt 60-Hz power outlet. The PLN network allows data transmission at 2880 bps (bits per second) for up to 2 54 individual network stations as well as a special A/D (analog to digital) converter PLN controller that allows monitoring from one to four analog inputs. Although the PLN data transfer capabilities are only of limited speed, the network does permit peripheral sharing. And because the network will support a large number of device controllers from BSR, it offers an inexpensive way to use an IBM PC

{continued)

346 B YTE • DECEMBER 1984

/MicroAge

"THEY PROVIDED THE LINK BETWEEN US AND MILWAUKEE'S MAJOR CORPORATIONS."

"Both of us had experience in the corporate world and we wanted to open a business reflecting that orientation. We chose MicroAge because they shared our business philosophy/'

"Back in 1981, some of the major vendors still hadn't entered the microcomputer market We anticipated that when they did, they would channel their products through a national organization. With MicroAge behind us, we're able to offer Milwaukee busine&people and professionals such respected products as IBM, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard and most recently AT&T. And we have the technical expertise to provide service after the sale."

"MicroAge has supported us from day one. Without this help, we wouldn't be opening our second storeV

>J&r~*^lA

Ernie Venta Franchise Owne

Elayne Katman Franchise Owner

lb build your own professional computer sales organization with MicroAge requires an initial investment of $200,000 to $350,000 which includes $80,000 in liquid assets. Write to:

/MicroAge

co/MPUTer stores

"The Solution Store" 9

1457 West Alameda • Tempe, Arizona 85282

(602)968-3168

MicroAge franchisees Ernie Venta and Eiayne Kalman shown with an IBM Personal Computer,

I

Circle 253 on inquiry card.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

OWI

EDUCATIONAL ELECTRONIC ROBOT KITS. 1

Clever, inexpensive robot kits feature pre-assembled pc boards, hardware & mechanical-drive systems that can be handled by anyone. Only basic hand tools required for assembly. OWI's MOWTIine provides innovative, affordable robot kits that entertain as well as educate.

PEPPY Sound/Touch Sensor Robot Kit

The PEPPY has a 2-way sensor that reacts to noise & solid objects in its path. When the front-located sensor comes in contact with an obstacle, or hears a loud noise such as a clap, it will automatically turn left. Contact with a solid object triggers reverse action and the PEPPY will turn 180 to the left and continue until another object blocks its way.

Power source: 2 ea. AA batteries (not incl.) • Color: pink

Size: 4.75" Radius x 2.75'H

MV-916 Poddy. $24.95

BYTE WEST COAST

CIRCULAR Remote Control Robot Kit

The CIRCULAR model has 2 large wheels which roll this super robot left, right, forward, or around. All the movements can be perfectly controlled by a hand-held remote control box. • Power source (main body): 3 ea. AA batt, 1 ea. 9V battery - (control box): 1 ea. 9V battery (not incl.) • Color: green • Size: 2.75" Radius x 5.75"H

MV-935 Circular $69.95

MEMOCON CRAWLER Programmable Memory Robot Kit

BUILD AN INTERFACE FROM MEMOCON TO YOUR PERSONAL COMPUTER!

This robot is memory controlled. It operates according to the program you input using the keyboard included with the kit. The keyboard has 5 mode switches: forward, right, left, pause, buzzer/light (LED). The CRAWLER employs a sequence func. static RAM 256x4 bit memory • Movement: 3 wheels driven by 2 DC motors ■ Control: Memory/electronic circuit (thru the keyboard) • Element: 4-bit static RAM • 256 steps (no repeat steps) approx. 0.7-0.3 sec/1 step • Power source: 2 ea. AA batteries, 1 ea. 9V battery (not incl.) • Color: black • Size: 2.75" Radius x 2.5"H

MV-918 Memocon $74.95

We also specialize in a complete line

of IC's (see opposite page}.

Don't miss our Season's Greetings

specials in this issue's

Apple Supplement!

US. Funds Only-Prices Subject to Change Send $1.00 California Residents Add 6%% Sates Tax postage for

Shipping - Add m Plus $1-50 .nsurance ^ ^19^

Send SA.S.E. for Monthly Sales Flyer!

lHutjh!

I ELECTRONICS

VK4*

1355 SHOREWAY ROAD, BELMONT, CA 94002 Phone Orders Welcome - (415) 592-8097 Telex: 176043 12/8*

User's familiar with either MS-DOS or CP/M can quickly feel at home with the new operating system, Concurrent PC-DOS.

for computerized control and security applications.

Mollard is offering three different types of controllers: a master PLN for the IBM PC a controller PLN with a Centronics parallel interface for peripherals, and the A/D converter with provision for inputs with a voltage range between 0 and 5 volts.

According to Fred Louder, one of the designers of the Power Line Network, most small offices and homes have AC power supplies that allow PLNs to communicate. However, without special modifications the network will not extend beyond local transformers. (Common transformers are generally shared within most commercial and industrial buildings and by several houses in residential areas, but floors in large buildings are usually separated.) Although each network can be composed of a maximum of 254 PLNs, an additional security code in the network protocol creates the possibility of having many networks sharing the same power line.

Louder claims that previous attempts at using the local power supply as a network medium have encountered difficulties because they used AM (amplitude modulation) transmission techniques. The Mollard system uses FM (frequency modulation) instead, which makes the network insensitive to electrical noise on the power line. In fact, an earlier application of this technology was for built-in computer control of industrial lighting systems that eliminated the need for any additional wiring beyond the traditional power cabling.

The PLN network includes software that permits viewing of remote PC directories, unattended file transfer, and sending files to remote peripherals such as printers. A simple file-

locking mechanism is incorporated into the network software to exclude unauthorized downloading or modification of existing files on a shared file system. The network controllers and system software cost $699 each. Currently only network software for the IBM PC is available; however, Mollard plans on extending the network to Apple II computers in the future.

A New DR Operating System

Concurrent PC-DOS, version 3.2, is another attempt by Digital Research Inc. (DR) to win back a chunk of the microcomputer operating-system market it lost when DR's CP/M line of products received a sound trouncing from Microsoft's MS-DOS and PC-DOS for 16-bit computers. As such, Concurrent PC-DOS raises more questions than it answers.

The new operating system, which was released at the end of September, should not be confused with Concurrent DOS, version 3.1, an earlier DR package, though both products are multitasking operating systems that allow you to create multiple display windows for running an assortment of programs simultaneously.

Older Concurrent DOS closely resembles its CP/M ancestors. Although it can run both MS-DOS and CP/M-86 software in individual windows, it retains CP/M's command syntax. The utilities that come with the operating system have familiar CP/M names like PIP and STAT and the Concurrent DOS package includes an assembler, a debugger, software hooks for GSX, a graphics interface, and DRNet, a networking interface.

Concurrent PC-DOS is much more of a consumer product. It is designed to be similar enough to both MS-DOS and CP/M in command structure and name that users familiar with either system can quickly feel at home with it. It's also the first Digital Research operating system to include real applications software—a visually oriented address filer that closely resembles Hewlett-Packard's Personal Cardfile for the HP 150 (though with-

{coniinued)

348 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

74ALS00

SN7400N SN740tN SN7402N SN7403N SN7404N SN7405N SN7406N SN7407N SN7408N SN7409N SN7410N SN7411N SN7412N

SN7413N

SN7414N SN7416N SN7417N SN7420N SN7421N SN7422N SN7423N SN7425N SN7426N SN7427N SN7428N SN7430N SN7432N SN7433N SN7437N SN7438N SN7439N SN744QN SN7441N SN7442N SN7443N SN7444N SN7445N SN7446N SN7447N SN7448N SN7454N SN7459N SN74&ON SN7470N SN7472M SN7473N

74LS00 74LS01 741$02 74LS03 74LS04 74LS05 74LS08 74LS09 74LS10 74LS11 74LS14 74LS15 74LS20 74LS21 74LS26 74LS27 74LS28 74LS30 74LS32 74LS37 74LS36 74LS42 74LS47 74LS51 74LS73 74LS74 74LS75 74LS76 74LSB5 74LS66 74LS90 74LS92 74LS93 74LS96 74LS107 74LS109 74LS112 74LSH4 74LS122 74LS123 74l.Si;»i 74LST26

74SQ0 74S02 74S03 74S04 74S05 74S08 74S09 74S10 74S1I 74S15 74S20 74S22 74S30 74S32 74S37 74S38 74SS1 74S64

74S86 74S112 74S113

CA3O10H CA3039H

CA3046N H

CA30S9N 14

CA3O60N IE

CA306SE 14

CA3080E I

CD4IJU1 CD4002 C04006 CD4007 CD4008 CD4009 CD4010 CD4011 CD4012 CD4013 CD4014 C04015 C040t6 CD4017 CD4018 CD4019 CD402Q CD4021 CO4022 CO4023 C04024 CD4025 C04026 CD4027 CD4Q28 CD4029 C04030 C04034 CD4035 . CD404O

SN7474N SN7475N SN7476N SN7479N SN7480N SN7482N SN7483N SN7485N SN7486N SN7489N SN7490N SN7491N SN7492N SN7493N SN7494N SN7495N SN7496N SN7497N SN74100N SN74IQ4N SN74105N SN74107N

wmm

SN74116N SN74121N SN74122N SN74123N SN74125N

SN74132N SN74136N SN74141N SN74142N SN74143N SN74144N SN74145N SN74147N SN74148N SN74150N SN74151N SN74152N SN741S9N SN74154N SN74155N SN74156N 8K74157H

74LS132

r^sm

74LS136 74LS138 74LS139 74LS145 74LS147 74LS14B 74LS151 74LS153 74LS154 74LS1W /4LSlf« 74LS157 74LS158 74LS160 74LS161 74LS162 74LS163 74LS164 74LS165 74LS168 74LS169 74LS170 74LSI73 74LS174 74LS175 74LS181 74LS190 74LS191 Mi ',!'!;> 74LS193 74LS194 74LS195 74LS196 74LS197 74LS221 /4LW4U

mntiiwiiM

Pill No.

mmm

SN74160N SN74161N SN74162N SN74163N SN74164N SN74165N SN74166N SN74167N SN74170N SN74172N SN74173N SN74174N SN74175N SN74176N SN74177N SN74179N SN74180N SN74181N SN74182N SN74184N SN74185N SN74190N SN74191N SN74192N SN74193N SN74194N SN74195N SN74196N SN74197N SN74198N SN74199N SN74221N SN74251N SN74273N SN74276N SN74279N SN74283N SN74234N SN74285N SN7436SN SN74366N SN74367N SN74368N SN74390N SN74393N

74LS244 '

74LS245

74LS251

74LS253

74LS257

74LS258

74LS260

74LS266

74LS273

74LS279

74LS280

'4LS/83

hl ,:■*<

74LS322 741K323 74LS347 ?4LS352

74LS365 74LS366 74LS367 MLSobB 74LS373 74LS374 74LS375 74LS386 74LS393 74LS399 74LS490 74LS533 74LS534 74LS540 74LS541 74LS640 74LS641 74LS645 74LS670 74LS688 81LS95 81LS96 81LS97 8TLS98

74S114 74S124 74S132 74S133 74S13S 74S136 74S138 74S139 74S140 74S151 74S153 74S1S7 74S158 74S160 74S169 74S174 74S175 74S188' 74S194 74S195 74S196 74S240

74S241 74S242 74S243 74S244 74S251 74S253 74S257 74S258 74S260 74S273

74S373 74S374 74S387' 74S47V 74S472' 74S473* 74S570* 74S571* 74S572* 74S573*

CA30B1N CA3082N CA3083N CA3086N CA3069N CA3096N

CA3130E CA3140E CA3160H CA3160E CA3161E CA3I62E CA3189E CA3401N

CD4041 C04042 C04043 OM044 C04046 CD4047 CD4048 CD4049 CD4050 CD4051 CD4052 CD4053 CD4056 CD4059 CO4O60 CD4066 C04068 CD4069 CD4070 CO4071 CD4072 CD4073 CD4077 C0407B C04081 C04093 C04094 C04098 CD4099

CD4503 CD4506 CD4507 CD4S08 CO4510 C04511 C04512 C04514 KJ4515 CD4516 CD4518 CD4519 CD4520 CD4526 CD4528 CD4529 CD4531 C04538 CD4541 C04&43 CD4562 C04566 CD4583 CD4584 CD4723 C04724 MC14410 MC1441I MC14412 MCI4433 MC14572

Digitalker

74F00 14 Quad 2-lnput NAND Gate

74F02 14 Quad 2-lnput NOR Gale

74F04 14 Hex Inverter

74F08 14 Quad 2-lnput AND Gate.

74F10 14 Tnple 3-inpul NftND Gate. .

74F32 14 Quad 2-lnpui Ofi Gate

74F74 14 Dual D flip-flop

74F86 14 Quad Exclusive Ofi Gate

74F109 !6 Dual JK Positive Edge Flip-Flop.

74F138 IB Expandable 3/8 Decoder

74F157 IB Quad 2-lnput Multiplexer

74F158 IB Quad 2-lnput Multiplexer (Inv).

74F193 IE 4-Bil UvlOom Binary Counter

74F240 10 ?i-Saie Octal Line Driwr [tnvertmgi

74F244 HJ Tri-State Octal Line Driver

74F257 IE Tn-Slate Quad 2 Input Multiplexer

74F373 a Tn-State Octal Latch

74ALS00 74ALS02 74ALS04 74ALS08 74AiS10 74ALS30 74ALS32 74ALS74 74ALS109 74ALS138 74ALS240 74ALS244 74ALS245 74ALS373

Quad 2-lnpul NAND Gate 59

Quad 2-lnput NOR Gate 59

Hex Inverter 59

Quad 2-lnpul A«D Gate 59

Triple 3-mput NAND Gate 59

B-lnpul NAND Gate 59

Quad 2-lnput OR Gate 65

Dual D Flip-Flop 79

Dual JK Pds. Edge Flip-Flop 79

Expandable 3/8 Decoder 1.25

Tri-State Octal Line Driver (Inverting) 2.25

Tn-State Octal Line Driver 2 25

Octal Bus Transceiver (Nonlnv) 2.59

Tn-State Octal Latch 2.59

MICROPROCESSOR COMPONENTS

MICROPROCESSOR CHIPS—

D765AC

D3242

IMSfo-M

Z80

Z80-CTC

Z80DART

Z80-OMA Z80-P10 Z&0-S10/0

Z.'ilihMi. 1

Z&0-S10/2 Z80-S10/9 Z80A Z80ACTC Z80A-DART ZBOA-OMA Z80A-P10 780A-S10/0 ZB0A-S10/1 Z80A-S10/2 Z80A-S10/9 Z806 Z80B-CTC Z8tlB-DART IB-P10

...

8040N-6

8060

8070N

8073N

8080A

B085A

8086-2

8087

8088

8155

8156

8205

8212

8224

8251

8251A

8253

8255

8255A-5

8259

8272

8274

8279

8282

8284

8286

8287

8748 8749 8755 80186-6

INS1771-1

FD1791

FD1793

FD1795

FD1797

40 Floppy Disk Ccntrollef

M Addr Mutliplexer & Refresh Counter

40 Synchronous Data Interface (SIRCl , .

Z80, Z80A, ZBOB, Z8000 SERIES"

40 CPU (HK3880N) (780C) 2MHz

IE Counter Timer Circuit

40 Dual Asynchronous ftec /Trans .

40 Direct Memory Access Circurl

40 Parallel I/O Interface Conttiller

40 Serial I/O (TxCB and RxC8 Bonded) , .

40 Serial I/O (Lacks DTRB)

40 Serial I/O (Lacks SYNCB)

« Serial I/O

40 CPU (MK38B0N-4) (780C-1) 4MHi

28 Counter Tinner CtrcurL

40 Dual Asynchronous Rec/Trans.

40 Direct Memory Access Circuit. .

40 Parallel I/O Interface Controller .

40 Serial I/O (TxCB and RxCB Bonded) . .

40 Serial I/O (Lacks DTRB)

40 Serial I/O (Lacks SYNCB)

40 Serial I/O

40 CPU (MK3880N-6) 6Mte

28 Counter Timet Circuit .

40 Dual Asynchronous Rec./Wans.

40 Parallel I/O Interlace Controller

48 CPU Segmented (10MHz}

40 CPU Non-Segmented (10MH2)

- 6500/6800/68000 SERIES

40 MRU with Clock (IMHi)

40 MPU with Clock (2MH?). . .

40 MPU with Clock (3MHz) -

40 Penpheral Inter Adapter.

40 Peripheral Inter. Adapter

28 Async. Comm. Interface Adapter. . .

40 MPU

40 MPU with Clock and RAM

40 CPU - 8-Bil (On-Chip Oscillator!

40 CPU - 8-B1I (External Clocking)

40 CPU - 8-Bit |Ex1. Clocking) 2MH|

24 128x8 Static RAM (2MHz). .

40 Penpheral Inter Adapt. (MC6820)

40 Peripheral Interlace Adapter (2MH?!

40 CRT Controller (CRTC)

40 CRT Controller (CRTC) 2MH*

24 Asynchronous Comm. Adapter. .

24 0-600bps Digital MODEM

B4 MPU 16-Bit 18MHz)

40 General Purpose Int Adapter

8000/80000 SERIES

40 Control Oriented CPU w/RAM & I/O

40 MPU - 8-Bit

40 CPU-Sgl. Chip 8-Bit (128t)ts. RAM). .

40 CPU (256 bytes RAM)

49 CPU - 8-Bit NMOS

40 CPU (64 bytes RAM)

40 CPU w/Basic Micro Interpreter

40 CPU

« CPU

40 CPU 16-bit 8MHz

40 Arithmetic Processor

40 CPU 8/16-Bit

40 HMOS RAM 1/0 Port-Timer. .

40 RAM with I/O Port and Tinw

16 Hi Speed 1 out ol 8 Binary Decoder

24 8-Bit Input/Output (74S412) .

16 Clock Generator/Dfiver

28 System Conl./Bus Driver (74S428I

40 High Perl Prog DMA Com. (5MH;j .

26 System Controller (74S438).

24 1/0 Expander lor 48 Series

40 Async Comm Element

28 Prog Comm 1/0 (USART)

28 Prog. Comm Interlace (USART) .

24 Prog Interval Timer

40 Prog. Peripheral I/O (PPI)

40 Prog Peripheral I/O (PPI) 5MHz

28 Prog. Interrupl Control

40 Sgle/Dble Density floppy Disk Com.

40 Mufti-Protocol Serial Com. (7201)

40 Frog Keyboard/Display interface

20 Octal Latch

IB Clock Generator/Onvef

20 Octal Bus Transceiver

20 Octal Bus Transceiver (Inverted)

20 Bus Controller

20 8-Bit Tri-State Bi-Directional Trans.. .

20 8-8it Bi-Oirectional Receiver

20 Octal Latched Peripheral Driver. . .

40 8-Srt Univ Peripheral Interface

40 HMOS EPROM MPU

40 MPU 8 Bit (EPROM version of B049).

40 16K EPROM with I/O. . .

SB High Integration 16-Bit MPU

DISK CONTROLLERS

40 Single Density

40 Singie/Oual Density (Inv)

40 Single/Double Density (True)

40 Dual Density/Side Select (Inv).

40 Dual Densiry/Side Seled (True)

- SPECIAL FUNCTION

26.95 2695 29,95

DS0O26CN

in:-.,/!-/- i

MC3470P

mm;/'.; if.

MM54240N

MM58167AN

MM58174AN

MMS3S9AA/N

MM5369EST

8 Dual MOS Clock Driver (5MHz). .

28 Communication Chip

18 Floppy Disk Read Amp System .

18 TV Camera Sync Generator

24 Asynchronous Transmitter/Receiver

24 Microprocessor Real Time Clock

16 Micro Compatible Time Clock

8 Prog Oscillator/Divider (60Hz).

I Prog. Oscillator/Divider (10OHz) .

IE 1024x1 (300ns) 99

IE — ■

4164N-150

4164N-200

MM5261

MB262

MM5270

MM52B0

MM5298-3

IB 16,384x1 (150ns) 1.39-8/10,95

IE 16,384(1 gOQns) :5» ! : :

IE 16,384x1 (250ns) 89-8/6.95

IB 65.536x1 (150ns) 519-8/40.95

IE 65,536x1 (200ns). 4 95 - 8/38,95

IE 1024x1 (300ns). . .... 35-8/1.95

22 2048x1 mbra\

18 4096x1 "'

22 4096x1

16 8192x1

IE 262,144

. Mi-i 59

1 (200ns) 31.95

2147HN

2148HN

TMS4045

TMS40L47-45

5101

MM5257

HM6H6P-2

HMf.i'lWP-^

HM6H6P-3

HM611SLP-3

HM6116P-4

HM61taP-4

HM6264PI2

HM6264LP-12

HM6264P-15

HM6264LP-15

27LS00

7489

74C921

74C930

74S189

22 256x4 (450ns) 8101 1.95

16 1024x1 (350ns) .89

16 1024x1 (250ns) LP (91L02) 1.49

18 256x4 (450ns) 8111 2.49

18 256x4 (450ns) MOS 2.49

IB 1024x4 (450ns) 1.29 8-9.95

18 1024x4 (450nsi LP. ... 1.95 - 8/13.95

18 1024x4 (200nsi. .. . 139 - 8'1D 95

' i?O0nsUP ,. . 169-8/13.49

(70ns) 4.49

IB 1024x4

18 4096x

18 1024x4 (70ns)

IB 1024x4 (450ns)

20 1024x4 (450ns).

n 256x4

IB 4096x1

24 2048x8

"" 2048x8 2048x8

8192x8 8192x8 8192x8 8192x8 256x1

1702A

2 /I.th

2708-5

TMS2516

TMS2532

TMS2564

TMS2716

2716

27C16

2716-1

27160-5

2732

2732-20

2732A-20

2732A-25

2732A-45

27C32A-30

2764-20

2764-25

2764-45

27C64

MCM68764

27128-25

27256-25

74S188

74S2B7

74S288

74S387

74S471

74S472

74S473

74S474

74S475

74S476

74S478

74S570

74S571

74S572

74S573

82S23

82S115

82S123

82SI26

82S129

82S130

82S18S

82S191

DM87S181N

DM87S184N

DM87S185N

DM87S191N

(450ns) CMOS 3.95

(450ns) 4044 4.95

(120ns) CMOS 7.95

11 .r P i MOS B.95

(150ns) CMOS 4,95

24 2048x8 (150ns) LP CMOS 6.49

24 2048x8 (200ns) CMOS 4.75

24 2048x8 (200ns) LP CMOS 549

* (120ns) CMOS .37.95

(120ns) LP CMOS 39.95

(150ns CMOS 34.95

(150ns) LP CMOS 37.95

(80ns) L.P 3.95

IB 1BX4 (50ns) 3101 2.25

18 256x4 (250ns) CMOS 5.95

.' .,.'.:■-■' y:

IE 16x4 (35ns) 93405 2.95

IE 16x4 (35ns) 3101 2.95

IE 1024x1 (50ns) OC (93415) 3.95

IB 16x4 (50ns) OC. f74S289) . . 2.25

— PROMS/EPROMS

24 256x8 (1ms) 3.95

24 1024x8 (450ns) 3.95

24 1024x8 (550ns) SM00246 3.49

24 2048x8 (450ns) 2716 4.95

24 4096xB (450ns) NMC2532 5.49

2B 8192x8 (450ns) 10.95

24 2048x8 (450ns) 3 voltage 7 95

-* (450ns) 3.95

CMOS 14.95

(350ns). .

24 2048x8

24 2048x8

24 2048x8

24 2048x8 (550ns)

24 4096x8 (450ns). .

24 4096x8 (200ns). ..

24 4096x8 (200ns) 21V

24 4096x8 (250ns) 21V.

24 4096x8 (450ns) 21V 6.49

24 4096x8 (300ns! 21V (CMOS) 22 95

" (200ns) 21V 14,95

(250ns) 21V.

. 3.75 495 10.95

28 8192x8

2fl 8192x8

Z8 8192x8

24 8192x8

(450ns) 21V CMOS 21V .

. 649

22.95 ... (450ns) 21V. . ... 24.95

16,384x8 (250ns) 128K Eprom 21V 2195 32.768x8 (250nsi2 = -

IB 32xB PROMOC (6330-1) .1.75

PROMTS (6301-r

PROMTS. (6331-1)

PROM O.C.(6300-1i PROM TS. (6309

PROMTS. (6349-11.

IB 256x4

16 32x8

IB 256x4 ■ ■

20 512x8

20 512x8

24 512x8

24 512x8

IB 1024x4 PPGV ts

24 1024x8 PROMTS..

IE 512x4 PROM 01.

IE 512x4 -■-•■

2 55 .2.95

PROM O.C. (6352) 4.95

18 1024x4 PROMTS [82S137) 4.95

16 32x8 PROM O.C (27S18) 2.95

24 512x8 PROMTS. I27S15) .9.95

IE 32x8 PROMTS. (27S19) .2.95

IE 256x4 PROM O.C. (27S20) . 2.95

IE 256x4 PROM TS. (27S21) 2.95

16 si?*4 PR0M0C.(27S12J. ..3,95

18 2048x4 PROM TS. (T8P24S81) 9.95

24 2048x8 (80ns) 14.95

24 1024x8 PROM TS. (82S181) 9.95

18 2048x4 PROM O.C. (82S184) 9.95

IE 2048x4 PROM TS (82S185) 9.95

24 2048x8 PROM TS. (82S191) 14.95

DATA ACQUISITION- —

DC10 Mostek DC/DC Convener +5V 10 -9V 2.95

ADC0801 20 B-8rtA/D Converter (1/4LSBJ. ..14.95

ADC0803 20 8 Br > L9BJ 495

ADC0804 20 8-Brl A/D Converter (1LSB) 3.49

ADC0808 28 8-Bil A-Tj Ch nv w-'S-Ch.-mnel Analog 9.95

AOCO809 28 6-Bit A/D Converter (8-Ch. Mufti.) 4.49

ADC0816 40 8-Bit A/D Conv. w/16-Channel Analog 14.95

ADC0817 40 8-Bit A/D Converter (16-Ch Multi.) . 9.49

OAC0B06 IE 8-Btt 0/A Converter (078% Lin.) 1.95

DACO80? IE 8-Bil 0/A Converter (MC1408-7) 1.49

DAC0B08 IE BBrl 0/A Converter (MC1408-8) .... 2.25

CWC0830 ZO 8 Bui :■ :n] 5.95

DAC0831 20 8-Bil Up 0/A Conv. (.10% Lin, 4.49

DAC10O0 24 10-Bit D/A Conv Mi 1 i ib

DAC1008 20 IO-P11 , I imp (0 20%) 6.95

■:"'■ ■ ■■ ■:,':'. '...■■ :i. .: :- i ;-

DAC1222 18 12-Brt 0/A Conv (0.20% Ltn) 6.95

D/C1230 20 12-Bit Up 0/A Conv (05% Lift.) ... 14.95

D«;i231 20 12-Brt Up 0/A Conv {.10% Lin) 13.95

AY 5 1013A 40 30K M UMT |TR)S02). 3.95

^^ff^

LP .19 17

LP .26 .24

LP 30 27

LP .31 28

LP .33 .30

LP 40 .37

LP .49 46

(MP

TrTTTTr Soldertail (Gold) Standard mm i-s io4E gj

8 pin SI

.35

pin SG .49

16 pin SG 55 .49

18 pin SG .65 59

20 pin SG .75 .65

22pinSG .79 .69

24p»nSG .79 69

28p«nSG .95 .85

36pinSG 1.25 115

40pinSG 1.39 125

Wire Wrap

Sockets

(Gold) Level #3

ftrtlH. 1-9 II

8 pin WW 55 10 pin WW 69 14 pin WW 75 16 pin WW .79 18 pin WW .95 20 pin WW 1.19 22 pin WW 1,29 24 pin WW I 35 28 pin WW 1.69 36 pin WW 1.89 40 pm WW 2,29

.95 1.79

14ptnHP .65 .59 16 pin HP .69 65 24p»nHP 1.15 .99

Header Covers

HpinHC ,15 .13 16 pin HC .19 .17 24 pin HC .29 ,25

.22

$10.00 Minimum Ordef - LIS. Funds Only California Residents Add 6'/?% Sales Tax Shipping - Add 5% plus $1.50 Insurance Send S.A.S.E. for Monthly sales Ftywl

Spec Sheets - 30c each Send $1.00 Postage for your FREE 1985 JAMECO CATALOG Prices Subject to Change

1355 SHOREWAY ROAD, BELMONT, CA 94002

12/S4 PHONE ORDERS WELCOME — (415) 592-8097 Telex: 176043

DT1050 — Applications: Teaching aids, appliances, clocks, automotive, telecommunications, language translations, etc.

The DT1060 is a standard DIGITALKER kit encoded with 137 separate and useful words, 2 tones, and 5 different silence durations. The words and tones have been assigned discrete addresses, making it possible to output single words or words concatenated Into phrases or even sentences. The "voice" output of the DT1050 Is a highly intelligible male voice. Female and children's voices can be synthesized. The vocabulary is chosen so that It is applicable to many products and markets.

The DT105O consists of a Speech Processor Chip, MM54104 (40-pin) and two (2) Speech ROMs MM52164SSR1 and MM52164SSR2 (24 pin) ■ long with a Master Word list and a recommended schematic diagram on the application sheet.

DT1050 Digitalker™ $34.95 ea.

MM54104 Processor Chip $14.95 ea.

DT1057 - Expands the 0T1050 vocabulary from 137 to over 260

words. Includes Z ROMs and specs.

Part No. DT1057 $24.95 ee.

~ _1»31 —

7045IPI 28 CMOS Precision Timer .14.95

7045EV/Kit 28 Slopwatcfi Chip, XTL (Evaluation Kit) 19.95

7106CPL 40 3'.'! Digit A/D (LCD Drive) . . 10.49

FE0Z03D 3ft Digit LCD Display lor 7106 & 7116 14.95

7106EvVKit 40 IC Circuit Board, Dtsp lay [Evaluation Kit I 46.95

7107CPL 40 3'/!D»gilA/D(LEDDfive) 10.95

7107EV/KH 40 tC, Circuit Board, Display (Evaluation Kiti 46.95

7116CPL 40 3ft Digit A/D LCD Dis HLD 1095

7201IUS Low Battery Volt Indicator . 2.25

7205IPG 24 CMOS LED Stopwatch/Timer , 14.95

7205EV/Kit 24 Stopwatch Chip. XTL (Evaluation Kit) 16.95

7206CJPE 16 Tone Generator 4,95

7206CEV/KH 16 Tone Generator Chip, XTL (Evaluation Kit) 7.95

7207AIPD 14 Oscillator Controller 5.95

?207AEV/Kil 14 Free, Counter Chip, XTL (Evaluation Kit) 8.49

7215IPG 24 4 Tunc CMOS Stopwatch CKT , ... 16.95

7215EV/Kit 24 4 Func. Stopwatch Chip, XTL [Evaluation Kit) , , 19.49

7216AUI 28 8 Digit Univ. Counter C A 3149

7216DIPI 28 8 Digit Freq Counter CC 2149

7217IJI 28 4 Digit LED Up/Down Counter CA 10.95

7217AIPI 28 4 Digit LED Up/Down Counter C C 995

7224IPL 40 LCD 4 ft Digit Up Counter Ml 10.95

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out the touchscreen interface), a communications program called DR Talk that's a modestly revised version of the popular PC-Talk III freeware program, a sophisticated menu generator, and a flexible text editor that replaces DR's venerable ED line editor (the new editor, DR Edix, is licensed from Emerging Technologies of Colorado, which also sells it as just plain Edix). The assembler and debugger are no longer included but can be purchased as part of a programmer's toolkit" for between $50 and $100. Neither GSX nor DRNet are part of the Concurrent PC-DOS package, and the program can only handle a maximum of two users.

But Concurrent PC-DOS has some nice features. It will recognize, read, and write both CP/M and MS-DOS disks and can run CP/M programs stored on MS-DOS disks and vice versa. Its front-end file-handling utility and extensive help screens simplify novice use. Full MS-DOS 2.xx file and directory structures are supported, and Concurrent PC-DOS makes, changes, and removes named directories with ease, while still allowing you to employ the CP/M "user area" convention.

However, windowing remains something of a chore. You can create a multitude of windows for application programs all over the screen, but because window creation does not employ a mouse (like Visi On, Microsoft Windows, and DesQ), you have to be adept at entering lengthy and

350 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

rather cryptic command lines. And if your software was designed to avoid the operating system and write directly to the screen, the display can be corrupted and final results are unpredictable. Though multitasking is indeed possible, you have to keep close watch over memory allocation and usage to avoid disaster. Finally, not all 8088/8086 software will run under Concurrent PC-DOS, and that which will may not be able to run in more than one window at a time. (The operating system comes with a list of acceptable software that includes most top-selling programs, such as WordStar, MultiMate, dBASE II. Lotus 1-2-3, the PFS series, etc.)

Looking at the prospects for the program, there is as yet no indisputable proof of a crying demand for concurrency on the 8088-based IBM PC and IBM is responding to that challenge with TopView, a product of its own. The ability to mix CP/M-86 and MS-DOS software is a marginal benefit when you consider how little CP/M-86 software has been sold to date. Also, in an era when "ease of use" is a watchword, an operating system that requires as much care to operate as this one does seems something of an anachronism. Lastly, as most 16-bit computers are sold with an MS-DOS operating system to begin with, one wonders how many consumers will be willing to shell out an additional $295 for a second operating system that's a mixed blessing. ■

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Logical

propositions replace

computer-oriented instructions

by Dick Pountain

Prolog

on Microcomputers

Dick Pountain is a technical author

and software consultant living in

London, England. Address

correspondence to him do BYTE,

POB 372, Hancock, NH 02349.

In a recent column (September, page 415) I alluded to the relatively great importance of the Prolog language in European artificial-intelligence (AI) laboratories. Interest in Prolog is hotting up in the U.S.A. (where LISP has been the traditional AI tool for many years). As the language is now available on humble home computers in the U.K., I'll devote this month's column to a brief look at micro-Prolog, a dialect written originally for the Z80, which was the first microcomputer implementation of Prolog.

The name Prolog is a contraction for "programming in logic," and the intention of its inventors was to create a computer language in which logical propositions about known facts could replace computer-oriented instructions about data structures. In other words, Prolog was to be (and to a large degree is) the highest-level computer language yet devised. Prolog was first implemented at the University of Marseilles in 1972 by Colmerauer and Rousell, and since then many mainframe dialects have been produced at various universities, including Edinburgh, London's Imperial College, and Budapest. Much publicity has been given to the adoption of Prolog by Japanese workers as the "core" language for their Fifth Generation project.

The philosophy of logic programming is fundamentally different from that of other computer languages. In the terminology of Prolog users, most languages are imperative: to solve a problem you must find a way to tell the computer what to do (in converting an algorithm into a program you are seeing things from the computer's point of view, giving it objects that it understands). Prolog sets out to be declarative: to solve a problem you tell the computer the facts you know already and, in the ideal case, the way the machine works it out is of no concern to you.

Here's an example that illustrates the difference. Multiply three by five in your head. Now ask yourself how you did it. Unless you

are very unusual, you will not have used any sort of multiplication algorithm for so simple a calculation. In fact, you have a built-in database of such results, which you learned at school. If instead I ask you to multiply 56134 by 678103, then you will have to resort to an imperative method (long multiplication), which explicitly sets out the steps required to achieve an answer, though at the bottom level of this calculation you will still call upon your declarative knowledge to do the single-digit partial multiplications.

Computers are still at a stage where the simplest of activities have to be spelled out in an imperative way, painstakingly describing, in machine terms, the steps that a human being takes for granted. The ideal of logic programmers is to reach a stage where by formally specifying your problem (using a logical predicate calculus), you will have written the program to solve it; the specification is the program.

Prolog is not yet by any means a pure-logic language. It's much more declarative than other languages, but it still runs on a real computer, which you can't ignore completely. Prolog programmers have to read their programs in two distinct ways: a declarative (problem-oriented) reading and an imperative reading that considers matters such as control flow (which should ideally be of concern only to the computer).

MICRO-PROLOG

Written by Frank G. McCabe and Keith L. Clark, micro-PROLOG is a simple dialect of Prolog. It was written at Imperial College in the Logic Programming Unit, which is headed by Prolog guru Professor Robert Kowalski. The first version appeared over two years ago, written in Z80 assembler for CP/M 2.2 systems. Since then versions have been produced for the Sinclair Spectrum (Z80), the Acorn BBC Micro (6502), and for 8088-based systems including the IBM PC under MS-DOS or CP/M- 86. Logic Program-

{continued)

DECEMBER 1984 -BYTE 355

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MicrO'PKOLQG has

floating-point arithmetic—quite an achievement given that there are many C compilers and LISPs that don't.

ming Associates, a company set up by the author and colleagues, sells the CP/M and MS-DOS versions.

Prolog can be, like LISP, rather greedy for both memory and processor time; to make it work usefully on a microcomputer, micro-PROLOG has a much simplified syntax compared to "standard" systems (in the U.K., Edinburgh DEC-10 Prolog is considered the standard). It is, however, extensible, either by adding a range of utility modules provided or by the user's own code, written in micro-PROLOG, assembly language, or compiled languages like FORTRAN.

One of the supplied modules includes a front-end program called Simple, which provides a friendlier syntax than the LISP-like list form used internally. (Programs entered under Simple are translated into internal form.) Experienced users can dispense with this, and various other aids, to free more space. In the interests of clarity I shall use Simple syntax for all the examples here. The version referred to is 3.0 for CP/M 2.2 throughout.

Programming in micro-PROLOG

The micro-PROLOG language is, like BASIC and LISP, an interpreted language. A program consists of a database of facts and rules that you query to solve problems. Typical facts look like this;

John likes Maple-Walnut Mary likes Butter-Pecan John male Mary female

Simple also allows such relation-

ships to be expressed in a prefix form:

likes (John Maple-Walnut) female (Mary)

This has advantages for relations that involve more than two things:

gives (John Mary ice cream)

though the infix form gives a more English-like appearance (which may or may not be a good thing). You can enter the preceding facts in either form or a mixture of both.

You can add facts about relationships of this sort to the database, list them (by relation name, eg., "list likes"), delete them, or edit them using a special structure editor written in micro-PROLOG.

Once a database exists, you can make queries such as

is (John male) YES

or

which (x : x likes Maple-Walnut)

John

No (more) answers

This latter query demonstrates the heart of Prolog programming: the search for pattern matches that result in variables becoming bound to the matched values. Logic programmers say that they become "instantiated." It's not dissimilar from the process of using wild-card matches in an operating system like CP/M or PC-DOS, except that instead of * or ? you use named variables that come back containing the values that match. This search facility is already built into Prolog and thus requires no programming effort from you at all; this is the mainspring of its power.

The Simple front-end program has the useful effect of automatically printing the value of the instantiated variables at the terminal (along with the message "No (more) answers") when a query is evaluated. The internal form of micro-PROLOG is more austere and free of side effects; it only prints the values if you explicitly add an instruction to do so, using the PP (print) relation. Otherwise, a query will

356 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

Circle 151 on inquiry card.

BYTE U.K.

reply with nothing at all if it succeeds and a ? if it fails, which can be confusing for the beginner. I used the word "succeed" because Prolog programs can be regarded as either failing or succeeding, depending upon whether they can find a match in the database—for this reason queries often are referred to as "goals." In common with functional languages like LISP, the variables in a Prolog program only have a value during evaluation and cease to exist when it finishes.

If more than one person is known to like maple walnut ice cream, the which query will search for all of them and return something like

John

Fred

Wilma

No (more) answers

You could impose a further condition to narrow the search, so that

which (x : x likes Maple-Walnut and x female)

would only find Wilma.

You can use logical operators to combine existing relations and build rules, which themselves go into the database as new relations:

x fails-to-impress y if y likes Maple-Walnut and gives (x y Butter-Pecan)

A rule differs from a fact in that you don't have to enter any instances; Prolog deduces them itself from its existing knowledge. You'd use it in the form which (x : x fails-to-impress Wilma). This deductive ability is, of course what makes Prolog suitable for writing expert systems. You can probably see a certain symmetry in this query. It would be just as easy to ask which (y : John fails-to-impress y). Such symmetry is characteristic of Prolog programs, which are often reversible; take for instance the arithmetic relation SUM:

which (x : SUM(4.5 6.3 x))

10.8

No (more) answers

(micro-PROLDG has floating-point

arithmetic, which is quite an achievement given that many microcomputer C compilers and LISPs don't). You also can use SUM "backward" to do subtraction:

which (z : SUM(35 z 97))

62

No (more) answers

Once we get into rules and queries involving several variables and logical relations, it helps to know how Prolog performs its searches. Facts are stored in the database in the order in which they were entered, and Prolog searches from the top. When two (or more) conditions are to be met, say, 'John loves x and x likes spinach," Prolog tries to fulfill the first one (say, with Mary), then tries to comply with the second. If it can't do this, because Mary doesn't like spinach, "backtracking" occurs; in other words, Prolog abandons Mary and tries to find another solution to the first query, then starts again on the second. If Mary did like spinach, backtracking still would occur in case John has any polygamous leanings. All of this is again automatic and built into Prolog, and it is usually totally transparent to the programmer.

The departures from pure "declarative" style in Prolog often arise when you must intervene in the backtracking process because a solution is dependent on the ordering of the database. You do this with a construct called the "cut" (signified by /), which inhibits backtracking; just like GOTO among Pascal programmers, the cut is regarded as a distasteful necessity.

Prolog shares many features with LISP; in particular it works with lists and relies heavily on recursion. As an example of a recursive rule, take the definition of an ancestor given that the relation "parent-of" already exists:

x ancestor-of y if x parent-of y x ancestor-of y if z parent-of y and x ancestor-of z

Notice that here we have a pair of rules. When reading such a pair it helps to imagine an implied "or" between them; x is an ancestor if they're

{continued)

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DECEMBER 1984 -BYTE 357

BYTE U.K.

a parent or if they're an ancestor of a parent.

The language micro-PROLOG uses a simple but elegant notation for lists—the expression (x|y) represents a list whose head is x and tail is y. If we match this expression to the list (fish chips peas) then x would be instantiated to (fish) and y to (chips peas). Though this notation can cause your brain to hurt at first, it is in fact very powerful and general. It's easy to write LISP-style functions if you want them; the definitions of car, cdr, and cons look like this:

car((x|y) x) cdr((x|y) y) cons(x y (xjy))

and you could use them so:

which(x : car((flip flop fly) x))

flip

No (more) answers

It may appear to you, from the scanty evidence presented so far, that Prolog is just a glorified database-query language. This is not so; it's a very general-purpose language and, perhaps surprisingly, you can use it for system programs. Sizable parts of micro-PROLOG are written in micro-PROLOG, including the editor and the Simple front end.

As an example of a non-database program, why not the good old factorial, as I don't seem to have got it in yet this month:

factorial (1 1)

factorial (x y) if 1 LESS x

and SUM (z 1 x)

and factorial (z y1)

and TIMES (x y1 y)

The first clause is merely the assertion that the factorial of 1 is 1. The second clause can only succeed if x is greater than 1 (the LESS relation)

■Set'*'

i 1 9 ° ~2 ^ 6

«-«-fi8»i

ao5 #

f of l

\f*° erf****

33 AOA

^sfess^^^ssa

and proceeds by subtracting 1 and finding the factorial of the result in traditional fashion. The y1 is just another variable name; micro-PROLOG, for implementation reasons, only allows the letters x, y, or z optionally followed by a number as variable names, like some of the older BASICS. The program is used as in which(y : factorial(10 y)). In this case, you can't use the relation backward to find a number whose factorial is supplied, because LESS is only a test—it can't generate all the numbers that are greater than 1.

One of the more advanced features of micro-PROLOG is its "query the user" facility. If a program fails to find a match in the database, you can make it ask the user to supply the necessary information, add it to the database, and then succeed. This offers a neat way to create expert systems.

A somewhat similar facility is provided in the error-handling routine. When an error occurs (under Simple) you are given a number of options: the query can be made to fail or succeed; you can issue a command (e.g., to load a file) or edit the program; you can supply missing information to the database and then in all cases resume evaluation where it left off. The error response also can be customized by writing micro-PROLOG programs to take whatever action you wish.

Development Aids

The error trap just described creates a very powerful debugging environment, but there is more. You can load a trace package that goes well beyond those found in most other languages. As a query is evaluated step by step, the source code is displayed with the variables "filled in" with their current values. Again, there are options to succeed or fail particular conditions or to skip the trace for bits you're not interested in and merely show the result.

A structure editor is supplied to edit items in the database but like some LISP editors it will not be to everyone's taste (mine included). It works

{continued)

358 B YTE • DECEMBER 1984

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DECEMBER 1984 • BYTE 359

About Bulls

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BYTE U.K.

on the stored form of programs in internal-list syntax, rather than the Simple infix syntax, which is an immediate source of confusion. You edit by moving up and down in the levels of the list structure, rather than by moving the cursor through the text. Fortunately you can always use an external editor such as WordStar, and for large jobs I suspect most people will.

You also can write and save modules similar to those used for the system options. You load a module en bloc and it only reveals those definitions that are on its export list; similarly it only can use external definitions on its import list. All names not on the lists are private to the module and may be safely used outside it. You can kill a loaded module with a single command.

Random and sequential files of formatted records are supported and there is access to a variety of CP/M functions.

Virtual memory support is provided by allowing a program to refer to relations held on disk rather than in main memory. The clauses defining the relation in the database are merely replaced by a single clause referring to a disk file via the RPRED relation. Combined with the ability to have four files open simultaneously, this permits you to easily program quite sophisticated database-management applications.

For more experienced programmers there is a second front-end program called Micro that has the advantage of taking up less memory than Simple. It accepts programs in internal-list syntax but provides some of the nice features of Simple such as the error trapping. For the record, this is what internal syntax looks like:

((ancestor-of x y)(parent x y))

Users of the 8088 version also get a third front end called Dec that allows them to enter programs in the Edinburgh syntax.

While on this subject, there is a serious reason for writing in internal (rather than Simple) syntax, apart

{continued)

360 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

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DECEMBER I984 • BYTE 361

BYTE U.K.

from merely saving memory. An extremely powerful programming technique using "metavariables" is only possible in the internal syntax. There is not sufficient space to go into it in detail here but, in brief, a metavariable is a variable used to represent a whole chunk of program that can be given values at run-time You can use this to achieve lots of "second-order" actions, equivalent in conventional languages to procedures with variable numbers of parameters, passing procedures as parameters, treating multiple parameters as a list, and much more. An advanced programmer can use this facility to write mind-bending system programs in a space that makes C look quite verbose.

Overall Performance

Getting a serious implementation of Prolog onto a personal computer is

an impressive achievement in itself. The Z80 version that I've used occupies around 15K bytes in its naked form and Simple takes up another 8K bytes, which leaves enough room for quite sophisticated programs.

It also runs surprisingly fast, faster than any LISP I've tried and comparable to most interpreted BASICs. A colleague benchmarked it against DEC-10 Prolog (about $1,000,000 worth of hardware), which only turned out to be twice as fast as micro-PROLOG running on a 4-MHz Z80. Like any list-based language it tends to use up RAM (random-access read/ write memory) quickly in the middle of a complex evaluation, but this is kept in check by automatic "success popping" to discard redundant stack items, and by not growing the stack at all for "tail recursive" definitions (ones in which the recursive call is the last item).

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w

The main gripes I have with micro-PROLOG are the idiosyncratic editor (you might like it, though), the crude variable-naming system, and the overall complexity introduced by three different user interfaces, two syntaxes, and a host of optional module files. The variable naming is even worse than I have described so far, in that the names you give to variables when typing in a program are not preserved; when you later list the rule, more often than not micro-PROLOG will have changed all the names. Also there are a few rough edges to the user interface concerning the use of upper- and lowercase letters, which are distinguished in a very unforgiving way.

Even though it has some problems, the system remains a very good buy for anyone who would like to find out more about Prolog at a reasonable price. I don't find logic programming as easy as its most enthusiastic adherents would suggest, but using the Simple front end with its powerful aids is about as easy an introduction as you can get. The documentation is well written and comprehensive (including a thick paperback Primer and a Reference Manual) and the software is robust. A considerable bonus is the fact that you get the source code for Simple, Micro, and the other modules to modify or merely to study as examples of non-trivial Prolog programs.

Logic Programming Associates also has a related product called sigma-PROLOG that runs on large UNIX systems. Future plans are based around a compiler for micro-PROLOG that will produce pseudocode that is more compact and runs over five times faster than the interpreted version, and which accepts arbitrary-length variable names; this will not be ready until late 1985.

The DOS and CP/M versions of micro-PROLOG already are being distributed in the United States. Each version lists for $295. Further information can be obtained by contacting Programming Logic Systems, 31 Crescent Dr., Milford, CT 06460, (203) 877-7988. ■

362 BYTE DECEMBER 15

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DECEMBER 1984 -BYTE 363

MVP-FORTH

Stable - Transportable - Public Domain - Tools You need two primary features in a software development package a stable operating system and the ability to move programs easily and quickly to a variety of computers. MVP-FORTH gives you both these features and many extras. This public domain product includes an editor, FORTH assembler, tools, utilities and the vocabulary for the best selling book "Starting FORTH". The Programmer's Kit provides a complete FORTH for a number of computers. Other MVP-FORTH products will simplify the development of your applications.

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364 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

Circle 274 on inquiry card.

Epson HO88/-80

Ampere Big.APL

MSX Machines

by William M. Raike

William M. Raike, who holds a

Ph.D. in applied mathematics from

Northwestern University, has taught

operations research and computer

science in Austin, Texas, and

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patent on a voice scrambler and was

formerly an officer of Cryptext

Corporation in the United States. \n

1980, he went to japan looking for

64K-bit RAMs. He has been there

ever since as a technical translator

and a software developer.

BYTE JAPAN

Hand-held Computers and MSX Standards

In the October BYTE Japan column, I wrote about the inexpensive, RS-232C-equipped Brother EP-44 portable electronic typewriter/printer/terminal. I decided to buy it instead of a hand-held computer, and I'm still delighted with it; when I'm not traveling, it's my backup printer. It now looks like there's another good reason for having postponed buying a portable: some interesting new machines are available, and more will be coming along.

Hand-held Computers from Epson

Hand-held computers are proliferating these days, with hot competition among Hewlett-Packard, Epson, Apple Ihndy, Sharp, NEC and others. On the Japanese scene, Epson has released the new HC-88 and its companion, the HC-80. The HC-88 incorporates extensive Japanese-language processing features: large Japanese-character dictionaries are implemented in ROM (read-only memory), and it has a new, efficient method for entering Japanese characters from the keyboard. In addition to the katakana and hiragana phonetic alphabets, you can enter any of the 725 most frequently used characters using only two keystrokes, while the remaining 1800 require only three keystrokes. Lots of different systems exist for converting keyboard entries to Japanese-character displays, but this is just about the simplest and fastest one yet, and it is supported at the operating system level.

The HC-88 uses the CP/M operating system, stored in ROM. Standard applications software, also ROM-based, includes a Japanese-language word processor called "Portable Symphony Word," plus "Portable Supercalc" and BASIC

The HC-88 (and the HC-80) is a triple-processor machine; the main processor is a Z80-equivalent CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) microprocessor running at 2.45 MHz. For external storage, it has a built-in microcassette drive,

similar to those in other Epson portables like the HC-40 and HC-20. Main memory consists of 64 K bytes of CMOS RAM (random-access read/write memory), and an additional 64 K bytes of RAM are configured as a RAM disk, backed up by a nickel-cadmium (nicad) battery. The liquid-crystal display (LCD) operates in three modes: a 480- by 64-dot graphics mode, an 8-line by 80-character alphanumeric mode, and a 3-line by 30-character Japanese-character mode. The built-in RS-232C interface operates at speeds ranging from 75 to 19,200 bits per second (bps), and a separate highspeed serial interface works at up to 38,400 bps. You also can buy a portable 3'/2-inch, 360K-byte microfloppy-disk drive as an option; list price for the microfloppy (which works through the high-speed serial interface) is about $42 5. The HC-88 itself lists for about $122 5. That seems a bit steep in comparison to the HC-80, which offers just about all the features of the HC-88 except for the Japanese-language capabilities and carries a list price of only about $825. Epson says that WordStar and SuperCalc also are available (in ROM) as options for the HC-80, but I haven't had the opportunity to try out either of them.

APL Takes Wing

Not long ago I had a chance to get an advance look at an engineering prototype of a beautiful and unconventional new hand-held computer, the Big.APL. Since the appearance of the October What's New item, I've talked to Ampere about the specifics. I hope to have a chance to give one of the production prototypes a workout sometime soon; although the machine was expected to be in production by November, no one has actually confirmed a fixed date.

Ampere is a medium-sized company, based in Tokyo, that in the past has produced communications equipment, in-cir-cuit emulators, and custom integrated cir-

{continued)

DECEMBER 1984 -BYTE 365

BYTE JAPAN

cuits, in addition to software development activities. Its president, T^kashi Kusanagi, talks about the APL language with missionary fervor and is understandably enthusiastic about the Big.APL.

Very few computers are visually distinctive; this one looks like a cross section of an airplane wing or, with the cover/display screen open, like a graceful futuristic chair (see the photos in the October BYTE, page 42). The case for the Big.APL was designed by Kumeo T&mura, whose design credits include the Datsun 280Z.

The rest of the Ampere computer is just as unconventional and as intriguing as its appearance. It's built around the powerful 3 2-/16-bit HD68000 microprocessor, running at 8 MHz. The heart of the machine is the software environment, which is an APL interpreter. The custom operat-

ing system, called Big.DOS, is APLr based, supports one foreground and one background task, and provides some windowing capabilities.

Although I haven't yet seen it, an integrated software package, written in APL and stored in ROM, will be supplied with the computer. Ampere says it will include a word processor, spreadsheet, and database handler, plus a communications package.

APL is a programming language that has proven extremely popular within the IBM mainframe community, particularly among scientific and academic users; it provides a concise way to state many numerical and statistical algorithms and is also suitable for text manipulation. The character set is very large and, at first, very confusing; instead of keywords like WRITE, FOR, etc., as in conventional languages, APL has unique characters for mathematical opera-

tions like finding the maximum, minimum, or sum of an array and for producing the transpose of a matrix, as well as for input/output operations. Usually interpreted instead of being compiled, it is subject to many of the same limitations (and advantages) as all interpreters. There are relatively few implementations of APL for personal computers; one is APL.68000, which I saw operating on the Sord M68, a 68000-based desktop computer. As far as I know, Ampere will be the first to use APL in a portable computer; its version of APL is an adaptation of APL.68000.

The Big.APL has lots of memory. Basic system RAM is 64 K bytes, and 128K bytes of ROM is standard. Ampere reports that the RAM will be expandable to 512K bytes. In addition, it has three RAM/ROM cartridge slots; each cartridge can hold 64K

{continued)

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bytes of RAM or a megabyte of ROM. The internal 16-bit bus configuration is a standard Motorola VME (virtual machine environment) bus. Peripheral interfaces include a Centronics printer port and two RS-232C serial ports capable of speeds ranging from 75 to 19,200 bps. One of the serial ports is equipped with a built-in auto-dial 300-bps modem. No disk drive will be available initially, but the company says it's developing a portable 1 -megabyte 3 '/Hnch microfloppy-disk drive as a companion to the Big.APL.

The display is an LCD panel built into the hinged coven along with membrane-type function keys. The screen displays 2 5 lines by 80 characters in character mode and 200 by 480 dots in graphics mode, an upgrade from the planned 120- by 480-dot display and a respectable graphics performance for a hand-held.

The Big.APL contains a built-in microcassette drive, but the storage and transfer-rate specifications were not firm at the time of publication. In addition to the data storage, a separate voice track is provided on the cassette, and the computer includes a built-in microphone and speaker. The potential for educational applications is enormous—in fact, Ampere estimates that about 2 5 percent of the market will be in that area—and the possibilities for using voice instructions to provide a friendly but nonpatronizing user interface are also good. The availability of a voice track, combined with the built-in modem, also lets you use the computer as an intelligent telephone terminal and/or answering machine, capable of transmitting and receiving voice or data.

No price has been set, but a figure in the neighborhood of $2000, rather

than $1500, seems more likely. I hope to be able to report on this machine again after I've had a chance to give it and its software a good workout.

MSX Machines

As I mentioned in last month's BYTE Japan, the IBM PC-compatibility issue has barely touched the Japanese personal computer market. But at the low end of the computer market here, as measured in terms of price, there's another standard: the MSX standard. The prices of MSX computers range from a little over $200 up to about $415 (not including a monitor), with most of them clustered near the bottom figure of the price range.

Introduced last year by Microsoft, MSX is a hardware and software standard for computers that are based on the 8-/8-bit Z80 microprocessor and that incorporate Microsoft BASIC in

{continued)

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32K bytes of ROM. All MSX machines have a standard cassette-tape interface and can accept standard ROM cartridges; all have 2 56- by 192-dot color graphics and 24-line by 40-char-acter displays. Most models have built-in RF (radio frequency) modulators in addition to a composite video output, so that an ordinary television set can be used as a display, and provide an 8-bit parallel printer interface (Centronics-type). The amount of main memory varies from 16K bytes up to 64 K bytes; most models incorporate an additional 16K bytes of video RAM for graphics, along with 8-octave sound generators, dual joystick interfaces, and other features. None of the machines I've seen yet has RS-232C serial interfaces, although several vendors have announced that RS-232C interface cartridges and/or expansion units will be available Any Day Now.

Well over a dozen MSX machines are on the market now; several new ones were introduced at this year's Microcomputer Show (see the September BYTE Japan). A separate magazine caters to owners of MSX machines, and a mammoth supply of games is available, both on tape cassettes and in ROM cartridges. Sadly, the marketing approaches to these machines are all "targeted at the teenage and preteer^ market and the parents who buy such "toys." The idea that these computers might actually be useful for something besides game playing, generating sound effects, or learning to program in BASIC doesn't seem to be very widespread yet, judging from the fact that "software" has been nearly synonymous with "game" for MSX users up to now.

One development that could change the MSX image from frivolous to utilitarian is the coming availability of MSX-compatible 3 1 /2-inch microfloppy-disk drives. Although at this point Sony is the only manufacturer from which you can buy one (list price for a single 360K-byte drive is about $375), Microsoft has already developed an operating system called MSX-DOS that supports them. (Toshiba supposedly has a drive on

the market, but I couldn't find a dealer that knew anything about it; Sanyo and Mitsubishi will release their drives Any Day Now.) As an operating system, MSX-DOS is file-compatible with MS-DOS in that it uses MS-DOS file formats, and Microsoft claims that it provides an environment that allows you to run "nearly all" CP/M-based programs directly

With the wide range of available CP/M applications software, MSX machines could become appealing to a whole new class of users; in the MSX price class, the limited Japanese-language support and the 40-column screen format may not be severe limitations. (Although they don't provide Japanese-character support, the extended ASCII [American Standard Code for Information Interchange) character sets do include either the hiragana or katakana phonetic alphabets.) Also, limited Japanese-character support and (fairly primitive) Japanese-language word processing are available on ROM cartridges; however, they cost between $100 and $200 instead of being in the typical $12 to $20 game-cartridge range.

Some typical MSX models are described below, with approximate list prices and individual features.

1. Canon V-10 and V-20. 16K and 64K bytes of RAM, and priced at $22 5 and $270, respectively. TWo slots for ROM, RAM, and/or interface cartridges. Available in two colors: black or white

2. Tbshiba HX-10S and HX-10D 16K and 64K bytes of RAM, and priced at $230 and $275, respectively. One cartridge slot. No printer interface, but the HX-10DN has one and costs about $10 extra. Available in three colors: red, white, or black.

3. Victor (JVC) AV Personal Computer HC-6. 32K bytes of RAM, $270. For about $120 extra, a "superimpose adapter" is available that lets you superimpose computer-generated titles or games over ordinary television or video images.

4. Sanyo "Wavy" MPC-5, MPC-10, and MPC-11. Priced at about $225, $310, and $415, respectively. The MPC-5 has 16K bytes of RAM, while the other

two have 32K bytes. The MPC-11 has a separate RGB (red-green-blue) video output and video-superimpose capability; both the MPC-10 and MPC-11 include a light pen. Japanese phonetic keyboard.

5. Pioneer PALCOM PX-7. About $370. Separate RBG video output and video-superimpose capability. Extended P-BASIC in addition to MSX BASIC TWo cartridge slots. A video-disk controller is built in, and Pioneer supplies various games on videodiscs. A video input and a video output are provided. Stereo input and output for audio.

6. Sony "Hit Bit" HD-55 and HD-75. About $22 5 and $290, respectively. The HD-55 has 16K bytes of RAM; the HD-75 has 64K bytes. Available in various color combinations. Japanese phonetic keyboard.

7. Hitachi HI. The model MB-H1 has 32K bytes of RAM, while the HB-H1E has 16K bytes and does not include an RF video output; they are priced at about $22 5 and $260, respectively Both have two cartridge slots. Japanese phonetic keyboard. Requires a separate power supply.

8. Yamaha YIS503. About $270. TWo slots, 32K bytes of RAM. An extensive range of music synthesizers and associated software is available. Japanese phonetic keyboard. The YIS303 with no printer interface, only 16K bytes of RAM, and a cheaper keyboard costs only about $205.

9. Fujitsu FM-X. About $205. 16K bytes of RAM and one cartridge slot. No printer interface.

10. Mitsubishi ML-FI20. About $270. 32K bytes of RAM, two cartridge slots.

11. Matsushita CF-2000 and CF-3000, about $270 and $330 for 16K and 64K bytes of RAM, respectively. The CF-3000 has a separate keyboard and a superimpose option is available. Japanese phonetic keyboard.

Coming Up

The January BYTE Japan will cover the latest on integrated circuits, a new hand-held from NEC, and a high-tech printer from Casio, as well as my most recent computer purchase and the serious issue of software piracy. ■

370 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

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CIRCUIT CELLAR FEEDBACK

Conducted by Steve Garcia 65816 Info, Please

Dear Steve,

Do you have information on the new 65816 chip that has been announced as an upgrade for 6502 systems?

If this chip is available, please print information as to company, price, and any comments you have regarding its use for upgrade of 6502 systems.

Bill Bunn Covelo, CA

The Western Design Center of Mesa, Arizona, is in the production-test phase of the 65816, a 16~bit CMOS version of the 6502. (See the August and September issues for a two-part article on the 65816.) It will feature an 8-bit data bus and 24-bit addressing to address up to 16 megabytes of RAM. One version will be pin-compatible with the current 6502, so a direct replacement is possible. Existing 6502 software can be run with this new chip.

No further chip data is available at this time, but Hayden Software of Lowell, Massachusetts, is preparing an assembler and Pascal compiler for use with the 65816.Steve

Digitized Stamps

Dear Steve,

1 was very interested in reading your articles on the solid-state video camera (September and October 1983). I became interested in this field about a year ago because of my hobby, stamp collecting. 1 collect the first issues of Greece, which were printed in 1861-82. Because of the crude printing method, there are variations between each of the stamp positions on the printing plate. A study of these variations allows one to determine from which position any stamp was printed.

Visual inspection with a magnifying glass is tedious and often in error. Since I have an IBM PC, I thought that it would be possible to digitize an image of the stamp using a video camera and then have the computer recognize variations in each stamp by a pattern-recognition program.

1 purchased a Tecmar Video Van Gogh digitizer board ($300) and an RCA TC2000 closed-circuit video camera ($300 without lens). Using a Nikon close-up lens I already had, 1 was able to digitize the images of about 1500 stamps whose position I had previously determined by visual means. Standard variations for each of 150 positions were stored in memory and used as a comparison (by least squares) with stamps whose positions were unknown. This procedure was successful.

In addition to its use in my hobby, I also tried digitizing photographs and printing the image on an Epson MX-100 printer. The Tecmar board digitizes a 2 55- by

2 55-pixel image with 2 55 levels of gray scale for each pixel. Since the Epson MX-100 prints 810 dots horizontally in single-density bit mode, I wrote a program to digitize an image with 200 pixels across. To print the gray scale, a 4- by 4-dot matrix was used for each pixel (4 x 200=800). This matrix allowed the printing of 17 gray levels (0 to 16 dots). In my program, I divided the 2 55 gray levels from the digitizer into nine increments and used 2 dots per increment and 0 dots for white.

Lou Basel Stamford, CT

I am impressed with your application of computerized video imaging to stamp collecting. It is a clever application of a proven concept

The uses for the hardware you described are endless. Your setup has a higher resolution and more gray scale levels than my Micro D-Cam, so sharper pictures with better contrast can be obtained. With proper software and imagination, anything is possible— Steve

MPX-16 Keyboard Interface

Dear Steve,

I recently took delivery of an MPX-16 empty board. It is not up and running (still shopping for a good price on a quality terminal) but will be shortly.

My IBM technical manual reveals that interfacing the IBM serial-type keyboard (non-RS-232C) requires a reasonably simple hardware design supplement to the

MPX-16, and software will be needed to drive it.

My problem is primarily time. To wire-wrap my own hardware interface would not be cost-effective.

Do you know where I can get an assembled interface?

Allan J. Domuret Fair Oaks, CA

It is not necessary to wire-wrap a keyboard interface for your MPX-16. The MPX-17 is an IBM Keyboard Interface Card that plugs into an expansion slot to allow the use of your IBM or Key Tronic keyboard. It includes a tone generator and a 2-inch speaker and is available from The Micromint for $100.— Steve

No More Ringing!

Dear Steve,

1 can find books on logic design and general interfacing techniques by the pound. But books dealing with the more basic issues of grounding, shielding, and decoupling (I think the generic term is "circuit analysis") have been difficult to find. One specific problem I am concerned with is ringing on lines, as I plan to move up to a 10-MHz system. From what I have read, 10 MHz is where systems become noticeably more susceptible to line noise and other gremlins.

L. A. Grinzo Endwell NY

Important procedures to follow in design of circuits in the 8- to 10-MHz range, where the faster microcomputers operate, include installing bypass capacitors at the power-supply terminal of each iC, proper termination of all signal lines longer than a few inches, and providing a ground plane for the longer lines.

Information may be obtained from IC manufacturers' data books and application notes. For example, the Signetics TTL Logic Data Manual (Signetics Corp., 811 East Arques Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086) recommends 100-ohm lines terminated by connecting the line to the center point

{continued)

COPYRIGHT© 1984 STEVEN A. GARCIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

DECEMBER 1984 -BYTE 375

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CIARCIA FEEDBACK

of a pair of200-ohm resistors connected from V cc to ground for lines more than a foot long. Reflections on shorter lines are usually not a problem at CMOS or TTL frequencies.

The book Grounding and Shielding Techniques in Instrumentation by Ralph Morrison (John Wiley & Sons, 1977} will also provide useful in formation.Steve

It'd Be Neat If THere Were

Dear Steve,

I enjoyed your September and October 1983 project, "Build the Micro D-Cam Solid-State Video Camera." I would like to put together a system for capturing mechanical drawings, maps, and various forms of line art on a microcomputer system. I would like to be able to manipulate or improve these drawings by performing functions such as zoom, rotation, thresholding, halftoning, filtering, and edge detection. In addition, I would like to reproduce the processed drawings on a plotter at various sizes and scales. I realize this process will require some fairly complicated vectorization software, which leads me to my question: Does the software necessary to drive such a system exist?

David A. Satko Reston, VA

1 don't know of any software system available for microcomputers that can do all the things you want, but a system just announced by Datacopy Corp. is described as a 'word image processing system" that runs on an IBM PC XT. This system, called the Model 800, consists of a digitizing camera and supporting software. It reportedly can enter text, photos, and drawings into a computer for processing. Contact Datacopy Corp., 1215 Terra Bella Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043, (415} 965-7900 for more information.— Steve

Power Questions

Dear Steve,

Your article about power-line pollution (December 1983) was very good, but I have some questions. Does a series installation of protective devices offer any additional protection? Why did you use metal-oxide varistors (MOVs) rather than silicon zener diodes, which appear to have a faster reaction time? Also, how can you determine that an MOV has failed? Are

there any obvious signs? Panamax Corp. (150 Mitchell Blvd., San Rafael, CA 94903) claims that its surge suppressor reacts in 5 picoseconds. Can any suppressor react that quickly? Panamax also claims that its uninterruptible power system (UPS) has a line-to-battery transfer time of 5 milliseconds. Is that typical?

Walter I. Nissen Jr. Takoma Park, MD

My article on power-line pollution generated a lot of reader response. I was surprised that so many people were concerned with transient suppression.

Placing protective devices in series can offer increased protection. For example, a line filter placed ahead of a transient suppressor can help reduce some transients due to the filter's time constant. The filter components usually are able to withstand large transients.

I used MOVs instead of silicon zener diodes since they were more readily available (at any Radio Shack} and offered adequate protection. MOV failures usually result in a short circuit. A fuse in series with one leg of the MOV is a good idea to prevent a short across the line, and this can be used to trigger a neon bulb or LED, indicating failure.

The response time of a varistor or silicon zener diode is influenced by its lead length and configuration. It is usually shorter than its inductive lead effect and can be less than a few nanoseconds. The Panamax claim of 5 picoseconds is not unreasonable.

The 5-millisecond battery transfer time of the UPS is not unusual. Many manufacturers advertise times in the 1.5- to 6-millisecond range. Some units use the battery to generate the AC voltage. The power-conversion circuitry serves only to charge the battery. In this case, there is no transfer time.— Steve

Hardy Users Want Modem

Dear Steve,

I am the editor of a new newsletter for a hardy group of Epson QX-10 users in the Washington area. We are almost 100 strong after four meetings and are growing. I noticed by a show of hands how few own modems and thus are missing much of the microcomputer world.

I own a Hayes 300 and often decline to download or send because of the length of time required. Modems introduce an intense social pressure into many homes:

{continued)

376 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

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0-384K memory expansion phis 256K on board to give maximum addressable memory.

The Ultimate in IBM PC/XT' compatibles.

The Super XT Plus by Super Computer is a better alternative than the standard PC/XT configuration. The 256Kb of dynamic RAM with parity can be upgraded to 640Kb. Eight I/O slots give you the maximum in tailored expandability A 16 Bit 8088 Microprocessor with an 8087

coprocessor option gives you the speed to tackle the heavy jobs. Two half-height 360K Floppy Disk Drives are matched with a half-height 5 Mb Removable Hard Disk and a 10 Mb fixed Hard Disk. A Multfunction card is included with Serial and Parallel ports, Clock Calendar, Game port, and memory expansion to

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Circle 415 oh inquiry card.

SPEECH SYNTHESIZER

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Circle 416 on inquiry card.

CIARCIA FEEDBACK

who is going to use the phone and when, and who is waiting for a call that can't come through, and all the friends and acquaintances who exclaim about your busy phone.

I know, Circuit Cellar is off on very esoteric, exciting things, but why don't you help computer folks from coast to coast by selling us a kit for a 1200-bps modem? It should be a "smart" modem technically stand-alone, and the parts, board, and case should cost $12 5.

James N. Davis Falls Church, VA

1 have been thinking about a 1200-bps modem project but have been reluctant because of high cost The most readily available 1200-bps chips are made by Exar, and a circuit built around them would cost about $150 just for parts. To offer it as a kit, with a printed-circuit board and instruction manual, would raise the cost to levels comparable with some of the commercially available units.

Obtaining FCC device approval would add substantially to the unit cost, so it could be offered only as a kit

1 have been waiting for some new devices to become available that will enable the construction of a 1200-bps modem for the price that you mentioned. I want to present such a project So when I can offer a circuit for a reasonable price, it will be published.—Steve

Home-Control Computer

Dear Steve,

I wouJd like your help in constructing a Touch-Tone decoder for a remote control that would not only survey the situation of my home but would operate a Rainbow air cleaner robotically. This would essentially clean the house from anywhere. Robert B. Singer Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1 am planning a home-security/control project that will use a computer to control various devices directly or via the power lines, have a real-time clock to enable events to occur at precise times, include the capability of reminder messages, be callable via modem, and allow for remote control. It should meet your requirements.

On a recent consulting job, I demonstrated the prototype of this home-control computer to representatives from the National Association of Home

{continued)

Inside On

Thinking of

buying a modem?

You owe it

to yourself to check out the Qubie' 212A modems.

\

Just a few years ago, computers * needed big air-conditioned rooms to operate in, balefuls of money to buy, and a team of wizards to keep them running. The constant march of technological progress has given more and more powerful machines which cost less and less. Desktop computers more powerful than the early mainframe computers are the result of the evolution. The Qubie' modems represent the latest extension of this progress. Because up until now, a 212A compatible modem cost at least $500. Through the use of four low-cost, state of the art microprocessors, we can now offer two versions of our full featured 212A modem at prices the competition sells 300 baud modems for.

In The Beginning

In September of 1983 we introduced the first 212A modem card for the IBM PC available for under $300. The PC212A/1200 is a complete communications package including PC-TALK III software, modular phone cable, card edge guide, and instruction manual. The modem is an auto-dial, auto-answer type, which uses all the Hayes software commands so it can be used with any of the popular software packages including Crosstalk™ and Smartcom™ We picked the best software package we could find based on it's ease of use and features, PC-TALK III. Our modem includes features the old industry standard missed out on. Like being able to fit in one slot in a Portable PC or PC/XT.

Or an optional connector to use the modem's serial port when not using the modem. Of course the topper is the $299 price, hundreds less than the competition.

New Available Outside

Our standalone modem, the 212E/1200 can be used with any computer or terminal with a RS-232C serial port. You can use any Hayes compatible communications software on anything from an Apple to a Zenith. Many owners of IBM PC's are using it because they lack available expansion slots, or have more than one computer they want to use their modem with.

It's attractive gold anodized case houses seven status lights (who says low prices means a shortage of features). It fits comfortably under a standard telephone. It is also a 212A compatible auto-dial, autoanswer modem which supports all Hayes software commands. Even the switch settings are the same, so any software giving recommended switch settings for a Hayes modem can be used, without knowing what the switches do. There is a volume control knob for easy adjustment of the speaker's output. Included in the package is modular phone cable, a cable to hook it to your computer or terminal, and instruction manual. Choose the communications package right for your needs, and you're ready to go!

Four Hearts

The heart of the Qubie' modems are four digital signal microprocessors. Two handle sending, and two do the receiving. Rather than attempt to filter all but the relevant tones used for modem communications, the

I PC212A/1200 Includes: Modem I

• Card, PC-TALK HI software, card J I edge guide, modular phone cable, J

• quick reference card, and instruc- * I tion manual. $299

- Optional external serial port con- ,

1 nector $20. ■

• •

J 212E/1200 Includes: Standalone J

■ modem with cable (specify male or ■ m female), modular phone cable, and m

■ instruction manual. $329. |

II

microprocessors measure the tones digitally. This allows them to overcome line noise and static better than analog filter based modems

Why Buy From Qubie"

Because you will get a product as good or better than any available, pay less for it, and get factory direct help i! you need it. If at any time during the one year warranty period your modem should require service, we will fix it or replace it within 48 hours. Notice also there are no hidden charges in our prices. No extra for freight, insurance, credi' trds < COD fees. In a hurry? UPS 2nd day air service is just $5 extra. II v . are like many who say, "Nan, it's too good to be true!' just ap< ly test and find out. Then you will be asking yourself, "Whys! pay

what these modems used to cost?'*

The Acid Test

Qubie' gives you a 30 d<r sfac-

tion guarantee on your modem. If you are not completely satisfied we will refund the entire amount of your purchase including the postage to return it. If you can, get anyone selling another modem to give you the same guarantee- Buy both, and return the one you don't | Afe

know which one you will keep.

IBM is a trademark of International Business

Crosstalk is a registered trademark of Mic •

PC-Tali III is a registered trademark of Tht . ,

QUBIE'

212 A/1200 E

HS AA CD OH RD SD TR MR

Order Today, Shipped Tomorrow!

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Circle 334 on inquiry card.

SCI Model 232 Speech Synthesizer

The SCI Model 232 is a stand-alone digital speech synthesizer board which will directly interface to any device having an RS-232 interface. Model 232 utilizes data encoded from actual human speech to produce high quality, digitally synthesized speech. Model 232 includes a general purpose, 200 word vocabulary, high quality male voice, wall mount power supply, adjustable volume, 8K bytes of RAM capable of buffereing up to 30 phrases of 15* words each, and switch selectable baud rates from 300-9600 baud. Model 232 lends itself to a wide variety of applications including: security warning systems, robotics, annunciators, instrumentation, talking clocks and telecommunications. Consumer product applications could include applicances, home computers, games, or as an aid for teaching or the handicapped. Options include a RS-422 interface, an enclosure for mounting, and a female voice. The dimensions for the board are 4V2"W x 7V2X. Pricing is $259.00 in single quantities with discounts for volume purchases. For more information, contact:

SCI SYSTEMS, INC.

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on all products. Available through Dealers and OEMs.

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formation write or call (303) 449-6400 or Toll Free (800) 227-4637

CIARCIA FEEDBACK

Builders Research Foundation. They ordered three units on the spot, which they intend to demonstrate at the NAHB Show in January 1985.

This Circuit Cellar article should be in BYTE soon.—Steve

Where Do I Get I^em?

Dear Steve,

I am currently pursuing the idea of building the Term-Mite ST Smart Terminal and the Sweet Talker II and interfacing them with my homebrew 6800 system, but where do I buy an NS455A Terminal Management Processor and an SSI263 Phoneme Speech Generator? I have tried all the electronics parts houses in my area, and no one can even provide me with addresses of manufacturers.

The second thing I need is information on some 6800 programs I have seen listed on the inside cover of Ciarcids Circuit Cellar, Volume I.1 wrote a letter to BYTE Books asking about these programs and have received nothing in return to date. Can you help me get a copy of these programs? Douglas A. Kerslake Norfolk, VA

The chip you want is the NS405A, which is presently available only from National Semiconductor. As production quantities increase, it probably will be stocked by distributors and mail-order houses. Contact National Semiconductor Corporation, 2900 Semiconductor Dr., Santa Clara, CA 95051, (408) 721-5000.

The SSI263 is a product of Silicon Systems Inc. and may be obtained from JDR Microdevices, 1224 South Bascom Ave., San Jose, CA 95128, (800) 538-5000.

The programs listed on the inside cover in volume 1 o/Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar were published in a bar-code format known as PAPERBYTE and may still be available from BYTE Books. I am not aware of any other listing.— Steve ■

Over the years I have presented many different projects in BYTE. I know many of you have built them and are making use of them in many ways.

I am interested in hearing from any of you telling me what you've done with these projects or how you may have been influenced by the basic ideas. Write me at Circuit Cellar Feedback, POB 582, Glastonbury, CT 06033 and fill me in on your applications. All letters and photographs become the property of Steve Ciarcia and cannot be returned.

380 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

Circle 383 on inquiry card.

IT'S ABOUT TIME.

If you're losing time because of missed connections, garbled messages, wrong numbers and never ending busy signals, your time has finally come.

Because now there's a way to combine the power and speed of your IBM® PC with the practicality of your telephone.

And wind up with a personal productivity tool that's far greater than the sum of its parts.

Its name is Watson.™ And its function is to save you time. A lot of time.

Just slip Watson into your PC, hook up your telephone, and instantly both become part of a personal office automation and communication system that can double, triple, even quadruple your productivity

How? By providing instant access to the people and information you need. No matter where you happen to be.

In the office or on the road, Watson will have you doing things you never

thought a telephone or PC could do. Even while you're asleep.

Watson will forever eliminate the wasted time and frustration of "telephone tag!' unclear or garbled messages, the tedium of looking up numbers, dialing and redialing wrong numbers and busy signals.

You get sophisticated digital voice messaging, powerful information management, electronic mail capability, scheduling, time billing, remote-editing dictation and more. Plus a built-in 300/1200 baud modem.

And all this includes time-sharing and function switching, so you can run other programs like Lotus 1-2-3 ™ and Wordstar™ while Watson is taking care of your telephone. Take this ad to your computer products dealer today and ask for a demonstration. You'll be amazed.

Or, call Watson directly at 1-800-6-WATSON and we'll send you some helpful information plus tell you where to find the Watson dealer nearest you.

Do it today After all, time is money.

Watson

Instant access to people and information.

Natural Microsystems™

Natural Microsystems Corporation

6 Mercer Road, Natick, Massachusetts 01760

Telephone 617/655-0700

IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Watson and Natural MicroSy stems are trademarks of Natural MicroSystems Corporation. Lotus 1-2-3 is a trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. Wordstar is a trademark of MicroPro International Corporation. © Natural MicroSystems Corporation, 1984

Circle 281 on inquiry card.

DECEMBER 1984 • BYTE 381

C DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

{continued from page 120)

statement executes. The Profiler even generates a histogram showing the percentage of time the program executes a function or statement.

By revealing which parts of a program execute most often, the Safe C Profiler points the programmer to the code where optimization yields the greatest results. For example in a function where multiple if. . . else tests are made the test executed most often should appear first for optimal performance, The Profiler identifies this code for proper alignment by the programmer. This process is analogous to a delivery service analyzing all its truck deliveries to ensure that the truck doesn't backtrack when delivering goods.

The Safe C Profiler also profiles code that does not get executed. Often this exposes subtle errors, such as using a single = instead of the

equivalence operator ==. This error, syntactically and lexically correct, could be hard to find unless you could show that a certain test was never being made—an indication that a bug existed. Profiling identifies code that hasn't been tested by repeated program execution, giving the testing phase of program development a new dimension.

Using these tools is similar to using a standard compiler. Catalytix's products are tailored to existing compilers so that the appearance of both is the same. If you work with the Lattice compiler for example, the Safe C products designed to work with this compiler look identical to it.

The Safe C Compiler/Profiler is available for the IBM Personal Computer (PC), its compatibles, and computers from at least 17 other manufacturers. Prices range all the way from $400 for an MS-DOS version to $4000

for minicomputer versions.

Catalytix will shortly announce a C interpreter and an English-to-C/C-to-English translator, products BYTE will preview.

INSTANT-C

The value of interaction with programming languages is evident in the recent consumer release of an interpreted Pascal (see "Macintosh Pascal" in the June BYTE, page 136) and the success of Tlirbo Pascal, a fast compiler that provides the illusion of interpretation for small programs.

Several attempts at writing an interpreter for C have failed within the university community, but at least two commercial attempts appear headed for success. One is the Catalytix product mentioned earlier; the second is Rational Systems' Instant-C, which runs on Intel 8086-/8088-based com-

[continued)

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IBM DISC DRIVE. $199

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ADVANCED COMPUTER SYSTEMS

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382 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

Circle 13 on inquiry card.

Squeeze More Out Of Every On-Line Minute.

i

.f t;/-/

L^s^

y

With NewVidtex™

Communications Software

From CompuServe.

>l/f v i aV? ^^H

Wm?£

Presenting the software package that makes your computer more productive and cost-efficient.

CompuServe's new Vidtex™ is compatible with many personal computers sold today (including Apple® Commodore? and Tandy/Radio Shack® brands). And it offers the following features*-and more-to let you communicate more economically with most time-sharing services (including CompuServe's Information Service).

Auto-Logon. Lets you log on to a host simply and quickly by utilizing prompts and responses denned by you. Also allows quick transmission of predefined responses to host application programs after logging on.

Function Keys. Let you consolidate^ long commands into single keystrokes. Definitions can be saved to and loaded from disk file, allowing multiple definitions for multiple applications.

Error-Free Uploading and Downloading. CompuServe *B* Protocol contained in vidtex lets you transfer from your computer to CompuServe and from CompuServe to your computer anywhere in the country. Also provides error-free downloading from CompuServe's extensive software libraries.

Full Printer Support. Printer buffer automatically buffers characters until printer can process; automatically stops on-line transmission when full; and automatically resumes transmission when capacity is re-established. Also, lets you print contents of textual video screen or RAM buffer at any time.

•Some versions of the Vidtex software do not implement all features listed

Vidtex is a trademark of CompuServe, Incorporated Apple is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Commodore is a trademark of Commodore Business Machines. Radio Shack is a trademark of Tandy Corp

Capture Buffer, Saves selected parts of a session, Contents can be written to a disk file; displayed both on and off line; loaded from disk; and transmitted to the host.

On-line Graphics. Integral graphics protocol displays stock charts, weather maps and more.

If you are already a CompuServe subscriber, you can order vidtex on line by using the GO ORDER command. Otherwise, check with your nearest computer dealer; or to order direct, call or write:

Circle 72 on inquiry card.

CompuServe

P.O. Box 20212, 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd. Columbus, Ohio 43220

1-800-848-8199

In Ohio, call 614-457-0802 An H&R Block Company

C DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

Early buyers of \nstant-C help finance its development.

puters under MS-DOS or CP/M-86 and costs $500.

Instant-C supports all standard C features except initialization, parameterized #defines, declaration in compound fields, and an assembly-language interface.

Envisioned primarily as a language-development tool, Instant-C features a compiler, an interpreter, a full-screen editor, a linker/loader, a library of C functions, a source debugger, a UNIX-like lint utility (that checks for the number of arguments passed to a function and for external variable declarations), and a source-code formatter.

Although Instant-C has been advertised since midsummer, as of this writing (October) the product is still under development. A potential buyer receives an explanation of this situation; if he decides to buy, he gets the latest version (in my case version 0.88) with the promise of subsequent versions as they become available. This means that early buyers of the product help to finance its development. The people at Rational Systems deserve credit for being honest with their customers about this unusual marketing technique

To use Instant-C, you load the interpreter and can subsequently enter and execute any valid C-language code. You can call library functions or user-written functions stored on disk. Typing a function's name, including arguments where they are necessary, calls the function. The interpreter cannot use compiled code but must have

source files for interpretation.

The most obvious use of the interpreter for execution of individual commands or library functions is for instructing the novice C programmer.

Experienced programmers will use a different scheme. From the interpreter, typing ed filename places you in the editor to create a new function or edit an existing function. The fullscreen editor offers reasonable functionality and an attractive display area. On the IBM PC the editor uses the cursor, insert/delete, and page-move keys.

Within the editor, you write C source code in the normal manner. When you execute the editor's exit command, the source code is partially compiled and, if there are no errors, you return to the interpreter. Calling the name of the function just written executes the code providing an im-

{continued)

BARGAIN PRICES BARGAIN PRICES BARGAIN PRICES

Computer Software Technology, I nc. of Sunnyvale, makes computer communication easy, simple and error free by introducing "SYSTALK"

Software available for IBM PC/XT and compatibles, Compu Pro, Kay Pro, etc.

SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE through 12/15/84 (SAVE $100) $ 99.99

RETAIL PRICE • ■ • • $199.99

For "SYSTALK" contact your dealer/distributor or CST direct. Distributor/Dealer/International inquiries welcome.

SYSTEMS

IBM-PC 64K/2 Drives $1875

Controller Card IBM-XT $3450

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384 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

Circle 86 on inquiry card.

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C DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

mediate way to verify logical correctness.

Checking of syntax errors is handled by a compiler pass made when exiting the editor. If errors are discovered, an error message appears on the top line of the screen and the cursor drops back within the source code to the location of the error. Errors are uncovered one at a time until the source file is syntactically clean.

When I examined Instant-C, the debugging facilities were just being defined and implemented. The debugging commands include

back—show all the functions

called to a breakpoint go—resume after breakpoint local—enter a function for local

execution trace—set breakpoint functions untrace—turn off tracing reset—turn off breakpoints

These facilities implement well-known debugging techniques.

Rational Systems said it expects to complete and ship version^ 1.0 of Instant-C by November 15. The program requires 2 56K bytes of memory but 384K bytes is recommended for developing programs of any length.

C Source Debugger

Mark Williams Company purveyor of the UNIX-like Coherent operating system, introduced its MWC-86 C compiler and an accompanying C Source Debugger on September 1. The products work together and sell as a package for $495. In this description, I'll look only at the debugger. The C Source Debugger (called by the company in typical UNIX fashion, dbc) can debug your C programs in C instead of in machine language, dbc does not add code to your programs and enables you to view the source code as you debug, dbc can provide

• a trace of the execution of any statement with or without breakpoints

• a display of the value of variables and expressions during program execution

• single-step execution of code

• separate windows for source program output, history, and evaluation of expressions

• exploration of the stack

These features make use of a simple user interface that relies heavily on function keys and page-move keys.

Using dbc resembles using an assembly-language monitor. Instead of looking at representations of the computer's memory and central-processor registers, you look at C source code and a variety of windows that show program output and evaluation of variables and expressions. You can execute the code with or without breakpoints, backtrace through the code, single-step through the program, and track the changing of variables and expressions. You can also record a history of your debugging sessions, available in the separate history window.

The programmer records errors and changes that need to be made to the source code. You can make changes to the source within the debugger, permitting a way to test different strategies for solving a problem; however, the changes cannot be saved.

You can set breakpoints {tracepoints in the lexicon of dbc) to halt execution when a line of code executes or when the value of an expression changes. Programmers can toggle tracepoints on and off. You can execute programs with tracepoints through to the end with tracepoints overridden, but a trace history is listed in the history file.

The program window displays the output of your program as if it were executing without dbc . This window is saved and restored when the programmer switches between windows.

The underlying theory behind dbc is analogous to building a car's engine block out of clear plastic so that mechanics can watch the internal engine parts function. If something goes wrong, the mechanic can spot it and then later go inside the engine to make repairs.

The C Source Debugger, like the MWC-86 C Compiler, requires 2 56K bytes of memory. ■

386 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

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You get this Exciting Tool for integrating video images with graphics created by other software packages like Lotus 1-2-3*; Graftalk*; CAD and business presentation packages. Imagine combining a real-life camera image, text and a pie chart generated by Lotus into one picture. It's really as easy as 1 , 2, 3.

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FIBER OPTICS

{continued from page 123)

a constant lower value in the cladding. The single-mode fiber (2c) has a step-index profile, but it is distinguished by its much smaller core size and by a smaller difference in index between the core and the cladding.

Light propagation in the step-index multimode fiber is depicted in figure 3. Only rays of light that enter the fiber passing through the longitudinal axis within a certain solid angle, the angle of acceptance, are able to travel within the core. Three modes are shown in the figure; in reality, hundreds of discrete modes typically propagate in a single fiber.

Figure 3 also illustrates the major limitation of step-index fibers. The low-order modes, those launched into the fiber at small angles with respect to the axis, travel a shorter ray distance to reach a given point along the fiber than do the high-order modes, those launched at large angles. This effect, called intermodal distortion, or "modal time dispersion," constricts the bandwidth of the cable; waves that start out at the same instant arrive out of sync at the other end. It smears out any signal waveforms that have been modulated on the light.

Another area of disturbance, intra-

LOST LIGHT

-ANGLE OF ACCEPTANCE, 9 a

NUMERICAL APERTURE = sin 6 a

INTERMODAL

DELAY

DISTORTION

Figure 3: The step-index multimode fiber enables propagation of any ray of light that enters within the angle of acceptance 6 a . The numerical aperture is a measure of the fiber's ability to accept light. The high-order modes travel over a longer path than the low-order modes and therefore arrive later at any given point down the cable, causing intermodal delay distortion.

Figure 4: In a graded-index multimode fiber, the rays are conveyed in curved paths. The more sharply curved paths of the high-order modes lie mostly in the low-refraction areas near the cladding, so they propagate faster and arrive at the same time as the low-order modes.

modal time distortion, is manifested in two ways: as material dispersion, resulting from the slightly different indices of refraction that the fiber presents to different wavelengths of light (essentially the same problem that causes chromatic aberration in lenses) and waveguide dispersion, resulting from the inherently longer path taken by longer wavelengths, which reflect at more oblique angles with the cladding. Taking into account all these factors, optical fibers are assigned dispersion ratings expressed either in bandwidth—megahertz (MHz) per kilometer—or in time spread—nanoseconds per kilometer.

Graded-index fibers were developed to overcome these limitations. The refraction index changes gradually across the core's diameter to guide the various modes along curved paths, as shown in figure 4. Because the index of refraction is essentially an expression of the speed at which light travels in a material, the gradations of index reduce the delay suffered by the high-order modes; although they zigzag nearer the cladding, they travel more swiftly while in that region and thus do not fall behind the low-order modes, which meander less but travel mainly in the slow lane in the middle of the core.

(These explanations are simplified and leave out consideration of the wave nature of light, which must be taken into account for a full understanding of the processes involved. For rigorous analysis, see reference 8. But ray optics can be applied to all phenomena that are described by the wave equation as long as they satisfy the additional requirement that the light wavelength be short compared to the dimensions of the waveguide.)

There is a way to avoid intermodal distortion altogether. Careful selection of refraction index and core radius can create a waveguide that cuts off all angularly incident modes and enables propagation only straight down the center axis of the fiber. With this major source of disturbance eliminated, single-mode fibers offer far greater usable signal bandwidth.

[continued]

388 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

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FIBER OPTICS

However, they are much more trouble to install, due to the tiny core, and they must be driven by laser transmitters, making their interface circuitry more complex and expensive than that needed by multimode fibers, which can be driven by light-emitting diodes.

Single-mode fibers are not, however, inherently immune to intramodal delay distortion, but one property of

silica glass provides a convenient means of avoiding it. In the visible spectrum of light, material dispersion causes longer wavelengths to travel faster than shorter ones. But down in the near-infrared region around wavelengths of 1.1 to 1.3 microns, the opposite begins to happen: longer wavelengths begin to travel slower. At some wavelength the material and waveguide dispersion meet and

ULTRAVIOLET \

ABSORPTION

TAIL

0.7 08 0.9 1.0 1.1 1-2 1.3

WAVELENGTH, M m

1.4 1.5 1-6

Figure 5: Light absorption in a high-silica (relatively pure) glass fiber. \n this region of the curve, the ultraviolet electron-excitation absorption tapers off and the infrared molecular-vibration absorption begins. Light at the wavelengths near the bottom of the curve can be carried for long distances.

cancel each other out; this is the zero-dispersion point (ZDP). The ZDP occurs naturally in pure silica glass at 1.27 microns. Since in principle single-mode fibers work with a single coherent wavelength, one way to exploit the ZDP is to find a laser that emits light at 1.27 microns.

However, the pursuit of greatest overall efficiency brings in other factors. Usually glass waveguides suffer from losses due to Rayleigh scattering, which occurs because of inevitable density and compositional variation within the glass. Rayleigh scattering lessens as wavelengths grow longer. To take advantage of this lessening, dopant materials can be added to the glass until its ZDP is shifted into the range between 1.3 and 1.6 microns. Happily, many formulations of glass reach their lowest possible absorption in this range. (Below this, molecular thermal scattering becomes a problem.) Some care in manufacture must be taken to avoid impurities in the glass that increase absorption, but this is no longer an excessive task. A typical light-absorption curve for a high-silica fiber is shown in figure 5.

There are two major ways of manufacturing optical fibers. The original technique developed for step-index fibers is the double-crucible method. One platinum crucible contains the molten

{continued)

390 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

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f

FIBER OPTICS

A single-mode system costs approximately ten times as much as a multimode system.

glass for forming the fiber core; this crucible is nested inside another that contains the molten glass for the cladding. Both crucibles have drawing nozzles, arranged so that the clad fiber can be drawn from the intersection of the melts. Graded-index fibers are made by depositing materials from a vapor (vapor deposition) on or within a starting tube or cylinder of glass for creating a preform rod, in which the varying chemical content at different depths controls a varying index of refraction. The preform rod is then drawn long and thin to achieve the final fiber. Some progress has been made recently in fabricating graded-index fibers more cheaply by a modification of the double-crucible method that employs ion migration. The characteristics of the three types of fiber-optic waveguide are summarized in table 1. Although single-mode cable has the greatest potential, the multimode types are easier to work with and have cheaper support circuitry In view of this, multimode types will probably continue to dominate in applications that require less than ultimate bandwidth and efficiency. (Currently a single-mode system costs approximately ten times as much as a multimode system.) But in spite of the costs and the difficulties encountered in working with them, single-mode fiber-optic cables, with their undeniable advantages, are carving out an increasing slice of the long-distance, wideband communication pie.

TVie Photon/Electron Connection

The devices that transmit light into optical-fiber waveguides fall into two main classes: the exotic injection laser diodes (ILDs) and the familiar light-

emitting diodes (LEDs). Possessing high speed, high power, and narrow emission bandwidth, the lasers serve well in applications where long continuous runs of cable carry wide-bandwidth signals. They are essential in single-mode applications. But in multimode installations LEDs can be used at lower cost, particularly where low-loss fibers are used in distances less than 1 kilometer and for data rates under 10 MHz—the kind of conditions existing, for example, in many computer local networks. Both ILDs and LEDs are available in various wavelengths suitable for fiber-optic work, with the 0.85 micron and the infrared 1.3 microns the most popular.

Because an LED usually radiates into a rather broad angle, the efficiency of its coupling to the end of the optical fiber greatly influences the efficiency of the whole link. Fibers with small numerical apertures especially need precision in alignment. But for the installer's convenience, many transmitter LEDs now come in a package with a fiber stub already installed in proper alignment.

Several kinds of optoelectronic devices can be used as the photode-tector in a fiber-optic receiver, including standard p-n junction photodiodes, PIN (positive-doped, intrinsic, negative-doped) photodiodes, photo-transistors, and avalanche photodiodes (APDs). PIN photodiodes are most often used in data-transmission links, even though they provide no direct gain. The undoped intrinsic layer gives the component low capacitance, enabling frequency response up to the gigahertz range, and the 5- to 10-volt bias required is easily provided. Avalanche photodiodes, which give inherent signal gain of 50 to 500, need a reverse-bias potential of hundreds of volts and are sensitive to changes in temperature, so the receiver circuitry must be complex. Standard phototransistors have high capacitance that restricts their response at high frequencies, a particularly undesirable trait in an application wherein the detector bandwidth often governs the bandwidth of the system.

An interesting side effect of the growth of fiber optics has been a resurgence of use in semiconductor fabrication of the long-neglected element germanium. Germanium photodiodes excel in sensitivity in the infrared spectrum, where silicon components are practically useless.

In the Future

Fiber optics is a new field. Many of its potential applications lie waiting somewhere down the learning curve. The technology is still being stretched to fit new uses. But even so, fiber-optic communication has found a place in today's world.

Fiber-optic cable will likely see increased utilization in computer networks. Its compactness and immunity to electromagnetic interference are attractive to designers of local computer-communication schemes, and the technology will achieve more use as current problems are solved and costs are brought down. In part 2 I'll look at some ways fiber optics may be used with computers. ■

REFERENCES

1. Bailey, Dick, ed. "Fiber Optic Data Links, Part 1: The Basics." Photonics Spectra, September 1983, page 3 5.

2. Bailey, Dick, ed. "Tiber Optic Data Links, Part 2: Choosing Fiber Optic Input and Output Devices." Photonics Spectra. October 1983, page 41.

3. Bailey, Dick, ed. "Fiber Optic Data Links, Part 3: Factors in Optimizing a Complete System." Photonics Spectra, November 1983, page 42.

4. Bamoski, Michael K., ed. Fundamentals of Optical Fiber Communications, 2nd ed. New York: Academic Press, 1981.

5. Cherin, Alien H. An Introduction to Optical Fibers. New York; McGraw-Hill, 1983.

6. Haavind, Robert. "Future Looks Bright for Guided Wave Optics." High Technology. November/December 1981, page 35.

7. Kao. Charles K. Optical Fiber Systems: Technology, Design, and Applications. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1982.

8. Marcuse, Dietrich. Light^ansmission Optics. 2nd ed. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.

9. RS-458-A: Standard Optical Waveguide Fiber Material Classes and Preferred Sizes. New York: Electronic Industries Association Engineering Department, 1984.

392 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

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SOFTWARE FRAMEWORKS

3A

File/Print Edit V\ew Disk

3B

r File/Print: Edit Page Layout Arrangement Shades

BBEggg gg

ESB5S3

irf^Tv'M'S

Figure 3: How a new Toolkit!32-based application appears within the desktop environment. Once the application is linked to the Lisa Office System (figure 3a), it becomes visible on the desktop as two icons, a tool (here, Lisa Boxer) and a notepad of paper (Lisa Boxer Paper). When a sheet of paper is torn off (figure 3b), it becomes an open window used to display the application. Here, Lisa Boxer is a simple program (written in five pages of code) that puts two boxes in the window and allows you to move them arbitrarily.

{continued from page 127)

We insert this code into the Tbolkit/32 program, compile it, and link it to the Lisa Office System (the software that the Lisa runs to give the desktop-metaphor environment) under the name "Lisa Boxer." When we boot the Lisa Office System, the Lisa Boxer program appears on the desktop as a Lisa Boxer tool icon and, beneath it, a "notepad" of Lisa Boxer "paper" (see figure 3a). When we "tear off" a sheet of Lisa Boxer paper and "open" it, we get a window with two shaded boxes in it (figure 3 b).

Now we can see how Tbolkit/32 greatly simplifies the software developer's job. We find that we can change the size of the window, as shown in figure 4a; this default behavior results from the predefined Tbolkit/32 code We can also move either of the boxes, as shown in figure 4b; this behavior results from the code we added. If we try to do something that neither the Tbolkit/32 code nor our code knows how to do (like selecting a box and giving it the "Gray" command from the Shades menu), the Tbolkit/32 program recognizes its inability to execute the command and deactivates the command in the pull-down menu (the computer indicates this by printing the new selection in gray instead of black).

There are literally hundreds of events and interactions that you would have to orchestrate if you were writing a driver program for an application with a sophisticated user interface. Granted, it takes some effort to correctly integrate your code into a software framework like Tbolkit/32, but you will still save a lot of lines of code you don't have to design, write, and debug.

Object-Oriented Languages

Before we can take a closer look at Apple's implementation of a software framework, we must first look at object-oriented languages. If you're familiar with the phrase you probably associate it with the language Smalltalk, on which BYTE did a special language issue in August 1981. At the

394 BYTE • DECEMBER 1984

SOFTWARE FRAMEWORKS

moment, Smalltalk is the best-known object-oriented language

Most computer languages are operator-operand languages— that is, languages in which operators (like " + " and '7") perform predefined functions on operands (usually numbers). When we execute "5 + 3" in an operator-operand language, the operator " + " adds the operands 5 and 3. This is an orientation so widespread that most of us have trouble understanding a different one. Object-oriented languages, on the other hand, present the programming environment as a collection of objects that receive messages; here, when we calculate "5 + 3", the object "5" receives the message "+3" and knows what to do with it (it adds the two numbers, returning the value 8). Each object has a set of messages (called methods) it understands. When a message is passed to an object, the object checks the message against its list of methods. If it finds the method, it executes the associated code; if it does not find the method, it returns a message that says, "I do not understand the message 'xxx'."

Objects are grouped into classes, with the possibility that some classes may be contained within others. When this occurs, a member of a class (with some exceptions) understands not only its own methods, but also the methods of its superclass (the class that immediately contains it) and its ancestor classes (any nth-generation-removed superclass). (For more details, see 'The Smalltalk-80 System," by members of the Xerox Learning Research Group, August 1981 BYTE, page 36.)

The object-oriented approach is too involved for an environment that manipulates numbers only, but it is very useful in environments that include different number types, windows, graphics, icons, lists, control structures, and other items. The object metaphor can encompass all these (and other) items; this simplifies the language and, therefore, makes the programmer's job easier. Also, by the careful creation of classes and subclasses, programmers can amplify

{continued)

4A

File/Print Edit Page Layout Arrangement Shades

4B

r File/Print Edit Page Layout Arrangement Shades

Figure 4; Component of a Toolkit/32-based application's behavior. Behavior may be specified by the software framework (e.g., changing the size of a window, figure 4a) or the application [moving one box, figure 4b). In only the second case does the programmer have to add code to the software framework to get the desired result: see the text for details.

DECEMBER 1984 • BYTE 395

SOFTWARE FRAMEWORKS

their programming work by defining useful methods that can be used automatically by objects within a subclass. In this and other ways, object-oriented languages help programmers design and modify extremely large projects. As Bruce Blumberg puts it, "Object-oriented programming will be to the 1980s what structured programming was to the 1970s." Object-oriented languages differ from operator-operand languages in two other important ways. First, the definition of a given operator in an operator-operand language is given in the code that defines that operation for all possible data types; to add a new data type to such a language, the programmer must add code to the definition of the numerous operators that will deal with that data type and add error-trapping code to all the operators that won't. In an object-oriented language, all such code is

located in one place—the definition of the class—and operations that members of that class don't understand return error messages automatically. In addition, code that was previously written, when compiled with the information defining that new class, will run as is when it sends an old message (operator) to a new object (data type).

A second advantage of the object-oriented language is that it mirrors the subject-verb orientation of some user environments more closely than traditional operator-operand languages. Many software designers have found that the subject-verb orientation (i.e., selecting an item to be worked on, then choosing the action that will be performed on it) makes software easier to understand. For example, in Apple's Lisa Write, Microsoft's Word, and other word-processing programs, you can delete a phrase of text by first

selecting it, then choosing the "delete" operation. You can see that the object-message orientation of an object-oriented language closely parallels the subject-verb orientation of the software itself; this strong parallelism makes the software easier to write and, later, to maintain.

Readers interested in learning more about Smalltalk as an example of an object-oriented language can refer to the August 1981 BYTE and to Small-talk-80: The Language and Us Implementation, by Adele Goldberg and David Robson, Reading, MA: Addison-Wes-ley, 1983.

Pascal + Classes = Clascal

The presence of Apple's Larry Tfesler in BYTE's Smalltalk issue telegraphed Apple's interest in the language (although we didn't know at the time that it was being researched in rela-

[continued)

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SOFTWARE FRAMEWORKS

Toolkit/32 Naming Conventions

To understand Toolkit/32, you first have to understand several terms that have specific definitions (refer to the figure below). The window is the object through which you manipulate data via your application program. This is the same kind of window as is advertised in several desktop-metaphor environments; its size can be changed, it can be moved to any location on the video screen, and it can be "behind" or "in front of" other windows. Underneath the application program, invisible to you, is a data structure, and the purpose of the application program is to give you one or more views of the data. The actual data, which is not shown, is a collection of four ordered pairs: (1,10.5), (2,21.0), (3, 13.8). (4. 25.1). The

top view shows the data as a spreadsheet, and the bottom shows it as a graph, but neither is the actual data. A window (and the application program it represents) can show more than one view. To do this, the application program divides the window into one or more panels. Each panel shows part of its corresponding view and can be scrolled independently from any other panel to show any arbitrary region of its view. In many cases, a panel can be broken into panes, each of which can be scrolled in one dimension to show different regions of the same view. (Below, note that the right pane of the right panel has been scrolled to show only the fourth bar in the bar graph.)

Panes

the Vi

(another representation of) the View

tion to the Lisa). Apple implemented Smalltalk for the Lisa but never released it; "It's too slow," Tesler said, "and its syntax is too different for most people." However, designers at Apple did not lose their enthusiasm for object-oriented languages, especially after they had a taste of the problems that came with the original six Lisa application programs, which were written as standard Pascal programs.

The Tbolkit/32 team created Clascal, a superset of Pascal that contains a new data type: classes. By doing so, they created what they thought contained most of the familiarity of Pascal with most of the power of an object-oriented language. The class data type is like the record data type in Pascal. Just as a Pascal RECORD statement defines the record by the fields it has, a Clascal SUBCLASS statement defines a class by the fields and methods it has. Similarly, just as a record is an instance of the record definition, an object is an instance (or member) of a class. Clascal defines one class, TObject. All other classes are subclasses of TObject, and all objects have TObject as an ancestor class. Each object can respond to the methods of its class and those of all its ancestor classes; the only exception to this is that if two of the object's classes and superclasses have the same method, the object uses the one closest to it—this allows a subclass to override the (perhaps inappropriate) methods of one of its ancestor classes.

The definition of a class consists of stating the class's name, the class of which it's a direct subclass, the new fields not inherited from an ancestor class, the functions and procedures that constitute the class's methods, the algorithms that implement those methods, and (optionally) the code that must be executed when the class is created. A class inherits the methods and fields of all ancestor classes unless they are specifically redefined within the class definition. When an object of this class is created, it is associated with a set of

{continued)

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SOFTWARE FRAMEWORKS

values for that class's fields; you can think of a field as a private variable each object gets upon its creation. Listing 1 shows sample code from

the application that created the Lisa Boxer application program described earlier. This segment defines the methods that the objects of the TBox-

Tkble 1: A partial list of tasks that are taken care of automatically by the Standard Application within Apples Toolboxl32. Software frameworks present a prepackaged solution to the complicated problem of creating an event-driven, window-based user environment: as such, they decrease the programmer's work by one to two orders of magnitude, thus allowing him or her to create a software application much faster and with a smaller time commitment.

memory management file management printing and other I/O

communication with the desktop environment

communication with the clipboard (allows different applications to exchange data) creation, deletion, activation, deactivation, and size and position change of windows multiple panes within a panel multiple panels (giving differing views of the data) standard scrolling within a pane or panel handling of all errors not dealt with by user code

passing of system events (e.g., mouse movement, keypresses) that the Standard Application cannot handle to user code

View class understand—NEW, Box-With, and Draw— and the code (under the heading CREATION) that executes when the class is created. In this example of code, methods are capitalized and fields are not, and an object and its method are joined with a period—for example, "s.Scanfbox)" sends the method Scan to the object s with the object box as an argument; also, braces delineate comments that are included only to explain the surrounding code.

Interfacing

to the Standard

Now we can examine the Standard Application in more detail. The Standard Application is a collection of classes that implement the generic behavior of a standard Lisa application program—that is, all the actions that, because of the previously de-

{continued)

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