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Ocean House
6 Central Street
Manchester M2 SNS
Tel: 061 832 6633
•
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IIIMEMISIIIIIMEIBEIMME
EMMEN! '
BM
Plus/4 - the soft side
b k h .
new Plus 4 computer and majored on its extended Basic. This
month he assesses its butit-in software - fi le manager. wordprocessor, spreadsheet
/ 1 7
.ind a
L graphics packages That lot amounts to the Plus-4's major selling point But how
really useful are they !
s t
m o
n t
h ,
K
a
:n the third part of his series, Chris Durham looks at a c ommerc ially
r
available control system that uses your home's wiring system to link
your Vic or 64 to various devices i h e r it s le: % the wonderful o f
l
and infra-red transmission
D
P E TIN
voo.for A - -
1 He M IS TAME
in
v o u riA u f i
1401.114
rifts m o m ;
Home Control - part 3:
Control without wires
ultrasorucS
Ac ting Editor:
Production:
Contributors :
Bohdan
Mk e Pattenden
Chris Durham
Karl Dallas
John Ransley
Fred Reid
a
l
l
a
s
t
The wealth of features in the MusiCalc range makes it probably
o most powe ful and versatile synthesiser package yet available for the 64 - and
o
The most expensive Nic k Pickett tried out all three MuxiCalc modules to fi nd out
k
nhether it s all worth the money.
a
p
r
e
l
i
Chris Preston continues his inchspensible series with another set of
m
rules to help you produc e better programs
i
n
a
r
John Ransley continues his Adventuring for regulars spat: news,
y
reviews, handy hints and tips
l
o
o
k
a
ttus month, wordproc ess ing guru Chris Durham. looks at Textpro, one of the
heapet WP offerings for y our 64 So what do you get for your tennerl
C
o
m
m
American scene observer. Dan Gutman. starts a new regular
o
column specially for Commodore User
d
o
r
e
Comal enthusiast Brian Grainger continues his look at this
'
alternative' language by c omparing its command structure and
s
facilities with those of Basic. Whic h came out on top?
MusiCalc - a real synth package
for your 64
Make your programs user-friendly
- part 2:
Adventuring - into the Valley
\NoP c s
l e°
o
Wordprocessing on the cheap:
Te)dpro reviewed
Stateside Report
COMM. versus Basic
7 2 N
Ad Manager:
Julie Madigan
Julia West
Adv ertis ing:
Magaz ine Secretary: Josephine Collins
Rita Lewe.
Publisher:
Victuals for Vic and 64
A routine that 'names' GOST1Bs for both Vic and 64, a challenging
Cross Collec tor game for the 64, and a set of useful routines (given
• hot h Basic and As s embler) for your v
,
t --
Registered Offices: Priory Court,
30-32 Farrmgdon Lane, London
EC1R 3ALT.
1984 An EMAP Pubhcation.
Hi-tech home management:
Abrasco's Home Manager reviewed
Edit orial
Adv ert is ing
Production
01-2516222
01-251 6222
01-251 6222
Subscriptions Back Issues
(See las t p a g e ) 0 7 3 2 - 3 5 1 2 1e,
Abrasco's Home Manager is a cassette or disk-based suite of programs that lets you
.
dealings with the bank. That's a tall order for a package costing a mere 1.12.50 on
-
tape and EIS on disk, Ken Ryder fi nds out how useful it really is
r
g
a
n
Richard Hunt concludes his incisive introduction to the Forth
i
language with a look at the Stack
s
e
a
c
Karl Dallas introduces the concept of managing information and
h
-
a
d f ew 'database' packages that have impressed him most
,
r
o
y
w
,
t
a
o
The Forth Dimension - part 3
Do it with a database
l i r o r AEMI I I I Pti l l OM
or A. I I P l'A rAii;:11•111f
AM I A A E • u w a
a IF Air smalems •
•
Keeping tabs on
your tapes
Useyour loaf
•
The market for educational
software is now well under way,
but it is still courting only the
tender of age and has left adult
computer users t widdling their
thumbs. Try pt ic h Publishing, a
new British publishing house, is
trying to remedy that situation
with its range of Brainpower
software, available for the
Commodore 64.
The range sets out to enable
adults to learn practical skills
skills like starting your own
business, project planning,
business forecasting and general
decision making. "Our target
market is people who have
bought a mic ro and want to put it
to senous use without necessarily
learning to program", says
Tryptich MD, David luster.
Each title in the series costs
£19.95 on tape (E24.95 on disk),
and they all contain an
educational book and program.
together wit h a practical
applications program. Five titles
are currently available for the
Commodore 64.
Entrepreneur is designed f or
the budding businessman and
deals with the intricacies of
budget forecasting, profi t and
loss accounts, balance sheets,
overheads assets and liabilities.
Forecaster delves into financial
planning and forecasting at a
deeper level - sounds rather like
an electronic spreadsheet
calculator.
Numbers at Work deals wit h
"all the arithmetic problems
you're likely to face in your day
to day business lif e, according
to the blurb. Another package,
Decision Maker, lets you explore
all the avenues in mak ing those
tough decisions whether they
involve business or family. And
finally there's Project Planner, a
planning and assessment tool_
Two more programs, Cash
Controller and Statistician, are
already in the pipeline,
according to Tryptich. More
details on 0276 62144_
:•••••:: Co mmo d o r e users who store
:•:•••• t h e i r programs on cassette soon
•••:•: fi n d that their index cards and
••••• c as s et t e labels become a mass of
:••::•
-:•.•: indec ipherable scribblings. A
•••••• n e w c ompany called Tape Tabs
is all set to remedy that for you_
•••••••• A n d it's a pretty simple idea at
•••• • t hat .
:••••:-
.7.•:•: T a p e Tabs will sell you a pack
••••••
••••••' o f ten cassette index cards with a
different and c olourf ul design on
•:- e a c h . There are four different
packs, each wit h a different
coloured spine. That gives you 40
different insert designs - and the
packs cost a mere 615p each You
can also buy a pack of ten
cassette labels whic h contain
three sheets of rub-down letters
••••.*
:•:•:. f o r "a professional fi nish" Thos e
cost 85p, too
For the more artistically
adventurous, there's a DIY pack
: : : ( s a me pnc e) whic h lets you use
your ( M r designs for your
cassette insert Look s like a
: pret t y cheap and colourful way
of getting your tape library
: organis ed. You should be able to
buy Tape Tabs where you buy
your blank tapes Mo r e details
:•:::: f r o m Tape Tabs, PO Box 157,
London SW 11 3NT
•
Zapping with
Busby
• • • • .'
Tymat Talkies
••••
An unlikely new software house
••-:
Tymac UK, part of the American
is set to squeeze itself into the
already bulging games market.
• .
Tymac Controls Corporation, has
..
introduced a range of 'talking'
•:•:::
It's called Firebird, a subsidiary
•
„
of British Telecom. It's claim to
•:•:-
games for both the Vic and
Commodore 64 which don't need
distinction is selling games f or a
mere i2.50 and putting a full
•_
a synthesiser attachment
speech is digitised and loads
colour screen-shot on cassette
with the game itself.
inlays_ If you're slightly put off by
:
For the Vic, Tymac has two
the cheapo price, Firebird has
arcade-style games featuring
the reassuring comment: "despite
"words, music, arcade sounds
the pocketmoney price, Firebird
and sound effects" called
will offer the same quality as
Samurai and Code Name:
some products costing twice as
Deadline. There's also an
much".
educational game called Ty pe
So what's on offer? Five fast-
Snyper (also available on the 64)
loading arcade titles (Mr Freeze,
which helps players use a
Booty, Exodus. Headache and
typewriter style-keyboard. All
Zulu) are soon to appear for the
three offerings are available on
Commodore M. Commendably .
cartridge for E.12.95. A graphics
Firebird has not forgotten the
package c alled Wizard's
Vic, whic h gets t wo arcade
Graphics should be available
games: Snake Bite and Mic k ey
soon, according to Tymac, on
the Bricky (those don't fast load).
•••••
disk costing E12.95.
•
No rev iew copies yet m a y b e
For the Commodore 64. there's
we should phone them.
Flyer Fox (you're a fighter
escorting a Jumbo )et), Gandall
the Sorcerer (castles, sorcery et
al). Pegasus and Trials of Peseta
(in both games you search for
treasure) and fi nally First Strike
(something tasteless to do with
fi ring nuclear missiles ...) That
lot is available on cassette for
E9.99 and on disk for E14.99 No
news on how effective the 'talk'
facility is w e ' r e waiting for our
review copies
••
•
SHO RT S
•
Slow on the draw: Those of you
who didn't buy a Stack lightpen
because it lacked a drawing
program will be pleased to hear
that the c ompany has (at long
last) rectifi ed matters. Ws offering
the lightpen, c omplet e with _
paintbox package. ten games (all
on the sarne tape), and a useful
40-page manual for a very
reasonable Ea. I f you already
own a lightpen. Stack will offer
you an 'upgrade kit f or a mere
:-:-:- fi v er.
N
'
A
OF,ErEErEseb E
Ff
•
r
1 1 1 / I MP FALI I I I
an'A:v.% low A
i
n
1
Thesofttouch
Touchmaster is a new pressure-
sensitive digitising tablet f rom a
new company of the same name,
the idea being that it replaces
your Vic or Commodore 64's
keyboard as an input device.
Touchrnaster reckons that
home computers generally are
not fully unlised t he main reason
being the resistance to using the
conventional keyboard,
especially from younger children.
The tablet's pressure sensitive
surface is A4 in size, and has a
quite impressive resolution of 256
by 256. Interface options include
serial and parallel so. in theory,
you could use it wit h a wide
variety of micros_ It has a data
transfer rate of 9600 baud.
Touchmaster is not just
marketing the product as a
drawing device wit h appropriate
software, but wit h a range of
games, called Touchware. whic h
include an ov erlay that fits over
the pressure•sensitive surface_
•-: •
Instead of using keys to play
games, you touch various parts of
the inlay.
At present, the range includes
some early learning educational
programs; board games lik e
chess, draughts and Othello, a
few arcade and adventure
•• •
games, a graphics editor and a
music synthesiser. Prices haven't
:•:•:•:
been finalised yet but the
education and games software
should be selling for around i n .
Touchmaster itself comes
complete wit h 'muftipaint'
drawing program. interface f or
your Vic or 64 and costs E149.95_
More details from: Touchmaster
Ltd. PO Box 3, Port Talbot. West
Glamorgan.
•
SHORTS
•
Fresh start f or V i r g i n
has announced that it's to make a
fresh start in the games mark et
by t hrowing out all the duff titles
from its existing catalogue and
selling what remains for E2.99.
That means you'll get Falcon
Patrol and Hideous Bill on the 64,
and Mission Merc ury on the Vic
at a bargain price.
Says Virgin MD Nick
Alexander, 'We have changed
with the market t h i s autumn we
are only releasing 6 titles, all of
which have been extensively
researched and tested for market
appeal, and we're going to
market hell out of them" -- and
spend around E250,000 doing it
Of those six titles, three are for
the 64: Falcon Patrol II. Terrorist,
and Sorcery. They all cost E7.99.
Maybe next year they'll be
somewhat cheaper?
tradition with: "these t wo
::: mac hines will reinforce
Commodore's position of
leadership in a home computer
market whic h is bec oming more
sophisticated and increasingly
competitive in the process". That
sounds fine unt il you consider the
two machines aren't particularly
sophisticated and not quite as
competitively pnc ed as
Stanworth would have us believe.
But wit h bumper sales fi gures
-". s t ill to announce, that won't
bother him much: fi gures lik e
Commodore achieving quarter
billion dollar worldwide sales in
the last fi rmancial year and total
UK sales exceeding E.100 million:
"it leaves ev ery one of our
• c ompet it ors in the home
computer market so far behind
that I believe it will be a very
long time before our position as
• Nu mb e r One is lik ely to be even
challenged" - a n d all that said in
:" a rather matter-of-fact way.
changing too. Ac c ording to
Stanworth, a recent Gallup poll
puts Commodore and Sinclair
neck and neck in terms of
numbers of machines sold.
That brings Stanwonh on to
Christmas and the market for the
new machines, and the
consequent lack of a market for
the Vic-20, which has now sold
around t wo million world wide.
The Commodore message is
clear 't he 16 will eventually
supercede the Vic-20 as the
world's favourite entry-pnce
computer'. Like the Vic, the 16 is
being sold as a Starter Pack, for
the same pric e of £139.99. That
should surely sound the Vic's
death knell.
About the Plus .
opined. "we believe that this
,
product is the first evolutionary
4
step towards an raffordable home
S t a n w o
computer for the more serious
t h
user". Confi dent remarks but
E299 is riot outstandingly
'affordable'. The 64 is E100
cheaper and offers a wealth of
'serious' software Fo r the extra
money, a good shopper will
acquire better software than the
Plusmi's ROM variety. Asked
whether Commodore planned to
drop the 64's price, Stanworth
replied, "unequivocally no"
The philos ophy behind the
new mac hines may be dif fi c ult
to f ollow but, one thing's f or
sure, Commodore wi l l be
bombarding us with it through
:::: M o r e amazing statistics to
follow: Commodore is investing
more that E20 million in its new
• C o r b y plant where Commodore
▪
6 4 5 are being churned out at the
rate of one ev ery five seconds
and that's only half its capacity.
No wonder then, that Stanworth
should be able to hold aloft the
one milliont h 64 to be produc ed
at Corby since it opened fifteen
:::: mont hs ago.
•
•
•
Battle for Britain
Despite these mammoth sales
figures, the Battle for Britain
being fought between the 64 and
the Spectrum rages on Alt hough
Stanworth admits the Spectrum
sold better in terms of units, the
lead in 'value' sales must go to
Commodore. That is probably
•::
Theview from
Commodore
Jaded press hacks may have
been slightly bored at
Commodore's offi cial launch of
its new Plus/4 and Commodore
16 machines (after all, we'v e
been hearing and writ ing about
them since most of us can
remember), but ears must have
pric k ed up at Howard
Stanworth's speech.
Commodore's UK general
manager managed to reel off a
set of statistics and proclamations
that sounded both impressive
and provocative_
Mic ro manufacturers generally
feel the need to justify new
models and Stanworth didn't flout
:
Christmas, the final wor d from
-
Stanworth being, 'we will be
:
spending more on advertising
-
and promotion than any of our
:
•: competi tor s, and probably more
-
than any ot her consumer
:
electronics c ompany in
•
t
Brit ain".
h
e
w
e
e
k
s
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e
a
d
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n
g
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t
o
Not the £7 Million Bingo winner Floward Stonworth wttli the millronM
64 out of Corby

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