BYTE ® THE SMALL SYSTEMS JOURNAL PRODUCT FOCUS Ultra-High-Speed Modems Falling prices, rising speed IN DEPTH BYTE's New Benchmarks JUNE 1988 VOL. 13, NO. 6 $3.50 IN UNITED STATES $4.50 IN CANADA/£1 .95 IN U.K. A McGRAW-HILL PUBLICATION 0360-5280 REVIEWS IBM's OS/2 ALR FlexCacI Quattro vs. Surp Double Helix vs. 80386 Replacement I. t -\U V^ rj ist k.' '■-■J 'JJ H 4^ Mv I T) <5J f 90WWP! See the technological excellence of Turbo C, Turbo Pascal and Turbo Basic! Meet Turbo Prolog 2.0: Artificial Intelligence like you've never seen it! The Critics Agree: Borland^ "Turbo C . . . will stun you with in-RAM compilations that operate at warp speed." Turbo C's® sleek compiler is so fast and powerful, we used it to write our equation solver, Eureka.™ Even better, all that muscle is wrapped in a smooth, integrated environment with every- thing you need to make writing, editing and compiling your programs a snap: • Compiles 10,000 lines per minute* • Online, context-sensitive help • ANSI compatible • Six memory models— tiny to huge • 450 library functions • Utilities: Librarian, Make, GREP • Source code for MicroCalc spreadsheet • Command-line version of the compiler • Inline assembly that lets you mix C and assembler System Requirements For the IBM PS/2™ and the IBM* family ul personal computers and all 100% compatibles. PC-DOS (MS-DOS) 2 or later, 384K RAM. —Richard Hale Shaw, PC Magazine • Professional-quality graphics library supporting VGA, CGA, EGA, Hercules, and IBM 8514 • Interfaces with Turbo Pascal 4.0 and Turbo Prolog Just $99.95 H A lightning fast, fully featured C compiler suitable for almost every- thing . . . Borland's Turbo C compiler is flexible, fast and friendly. — Peter Feldman, PC Week JJ Heap Sort Turbo C 1.5 Microsoft C 5.0 Compile time 4.7 sec. 16.3 sec. Compile & link time 7.4 sec. 19.5 sec. Execute time 10.5 sec. 15.5 sec. Object code size 1119 1313 Execution size 6392 7891 Sort benchmark run on an 8 MHz IBM AT using Turbo C version 1.5 and the Turbo Linker version 1.1; Microsoft C version 5,0 and the MS overlay linker version 3,61. "Turbo Pascal 4.0 flies 4.0 is ballistic!" -r om s WOT , Almost from its introduction, Turbo Pascal® has been the world- wide Pascal stan- dard. It's fast. It's flexible. It's affor- dable. And it gives you full control. Compile more than 27,000 lines of code per minute*. And work in a complete, integrated programming environment with pull-down menus and a full-featured editor. You don't have to swap code in and out to beat the 64K barrier; it's designed for large programs. Break your code into convenient modules and work with them swiftly and separately. If there's an error in one, you can see it and fix it. System Requirements For the IBM PS/2™ and the IBM® family of personal computers and all 100% compatibles. PC-DOS (MS-DOS) 2.0 or later. 3B4K RAM. t Customer satisfaction is our main concern: if within 60 days of purchase Ulls product does not perform In accordance with our claims, call our customer service department, and we will arrange a refund. All Norland products ore trademarks or repi su-red trademarks ol llorlaad Iniernatianal. Inc. Other hrand and prodoct names are trademarks uf their respective holders Copyright otSSfl norland International. Inc. 81 1230 Turbo Languages are Super ! like a rocket . . . '987 Programmer's Journal Powerful features include: • Producing EXE files • Separate compilation • Built-in project management • Graph unit including support for IBM CGA, EGA, VGA, and 3270, Hercules and ATT 6300 • Online, context-sensitive help *Run on an 8 MHz IBM PC AT. Add expertise: The Turbo Pascal Toolboxes Start with Turbo Pascal Tutor for just $69.95 and add the others as your interests and expertise grow: • Database Toolbox • Editor Toolbox • Graph ix Toolbox • Numerical Methods Toolbox • GameWorks Toolboxes require Turbo Pascal 4.0 Just $99.95 each U Each new Turbo Pascal 4.0 Tool- box is a virtual treasure of program- ming methods and tips. —Giovanni Perrone, PC Week JJ Circle 40 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 41) "Turbo Basic compiles faster than anything I have seen." -Ethanwmr.pcu^ Turbo Basic® is the lightning-fast Basic compiler with a total devel- opment environ- ment that puts you in full control. Even novices can write professional programs with Turbo Basic's full-screen windowed editor, pull-down menus, and trace debugging system. You also get a long list of innovative Borland features like binary disk files, true recursion, and increased compilation control. Plus the ability to create programs as large as your system's memory can hold— not just a cramped 64 K. The choice is basic: Turbo Basic! zxne Just $99.95! ii Turbo Basic, simply put, is an incredibly good product ... Not only is this the most advanced BASIC ever, but Borland has lived up to its Turbo tradition. — William Zachmann, Computerworld JJ Add another Basic advantage: The Turbo Basic Toolboxes • The Database Toolbox • The Editor Toolbox Toolboxes require Turbo Basic 1.1 Just $99.95 each. System Requirements for ine IBM PS/2" and lire IBM® family or personal computers and all 10(1% compatibles. PC-DOS (MS-DOS) 2,0 or later. 38-IK HAM. 640K1O compile toolboxes. Compare the BASIC differences Turbo Basic 1. 1 QuickBASIC 4.0 Compiler QuickBASIC 4.0 Interpreter Compile & Link to stand-alone EXE 3 sec. 7 sec. Size of .EXE 28387 25980 Execution time w/80287 0. 16 sec. 16.5 sec. 21.5 sec. Execution time w/o 80287 0.16 sec. 286.3 sec. 292.3 sec. The Klkins Optimization Benchmark program from March 1988 issue of Computer Language was used. The Program was run on an IBM PS/2 Model 60 with 80287. The benchmark tests compiler's ability to optimize loop-invariant code, unused code, expression and condi- tional evaluation. TfcVitffeTO OCS1G*£ MAPPING SVSTCM 11OTO v0£ RC srutx / j THIS 15 fl Jo6 Foa rO&uJ roCOO PAOlCXS 2-0 -ITS flltHFICiAt ^fijp £- Turbo Prolog 2.0: Powerful Artificial Intelligence for your real- world applications! New Turbo Prolog 8 2.0 lets you harness powerful Al techniques. And you don't have to be an expert programmer or artificial intelli- gence genius! You get an all-new Prolog compiler that's been optimized to produce smaller and more efficient programs than ever before. An improved full-screen, completely customizable editor with easy pull- down menus. All-new documenta- tion, including a tutorial rich with examples and instructions to take you all the way from basic program- ming to advanced techniques. Even online help! System Requirements For ihe IBM PS/2" and the IBM* family of personal computers and all 100% compatibles. PC-DOS (MS-DOS) 2 or later. 384K RAM. More new features! An external database system for developing large databases. Supports B+ trees and EMS Source code for a fully-featured Prolog interpreter written entirely in Turbo Prolog. Plus step-by-step instructions to adapt it or include it as is in your own applications! Support for the Borland Graphics Interface, the same professional-quality graphics in Turbo Pascal, Turbo C, and Quattro Improved windowing Powerful exception handling and error trapping features Full compatibility with Turbo C so the two languages can call each other freely Supports multiple internal databases High-resolution video support Turbo Prolog Toolbox is 6 toolboxes in one! More than 80 tools and 8,000 lines of source code help you build your own Turbo Prolog applications. Includes toolboxes for menus, screen and report layouts, business graphics, communications, file- transfer capabilities, parser generators, and more! Toolbox requires Turbo Prolog 2.0 Just $99.95 4£ If I had to pick one single recommendation for people who want to try to keep up with the computer revolution. I'd say, 'Get and learn Turbo Prolog.' —Jerry Pournelle, Byte 1/88 An affordable, fast, and easy-to-use language. —Darryl Rubin, Al Expert }} Just $149.95! 60-Day Money-back Guarantee t For the dealer nearest you Call (800) 543-7543 Circle 42 on Reader Service Card (Dealers: 43) BORLAND INTERNATIONAL Contents 65 PRODUCTS IN PERSPECTIVE 67 What's New 89 Short Takes PixelPaintl.O, color painting for the Mac II The Norton On Line Programmer's Guides: OS/2 API, for OS/2 functions FreeHand 1.0, a Mac drawing package Datacomputer DC 3.0, a hand-held PC compatible PopDrop and RAM Lord, help for managing TSRs Delta Voyager, a $99 powerhouse modem REVIEWS Product Focus: High-Speed Modems by John H. Humphrey and Gary S. Smock These modems take transmission rates to a blazing 9600 bps and beyond. ALR's FlexCache 20386 Catches Compaq by Mark L. Van Name With a 20-MHz processor and FlexCache architecture, the FlexCache 20386 has power to spare. 127 A Tale of Two Laptops by Wayne Rash Jr. The NEC MultiSpeed HD and the HP Vectra CS Model 20 emphasize different aspects of portability. 128F Revitalize Your Old AT by Don Crabb Four 80386 replacement motherboards bring new life to tired ATs. 137 An AT in a Mac II? by Naor Wallach AST Research's Mac286, essentially a complete AT motherboard, brings PC processing capability to the Mac II. 102 117 Product Focus/102 145 IBM OS/2 Standard Edition by Eva M. White PC-DOS compatibility and a robust environment for new multitasking applications. 159 Two Mac Databases Go Toe-to-Toe by Charles Spezzano Double Helix II and 4th Dimension are two relational database systems with very different personalities. 167 Double Threats to Lotus 1-2-3 by Diana Gabaldon Quattro and Surpass are 1-2-3-compatible and offer even more features. 173 A Spreadsheet for Unix by Paul Schauble Q-Calc Standard promises Lotus 1-2-3 compatibility. COLUMNS 181 Computing at Chaos Manor: A New Member of the Family by Jerry Pournelle Zanna Lee, a Zenith Z-386, joins the Chaos Manor household. 197 Applications Only: Planning and Publishing by Ezra Shapiro Ezra likes InstaPlan but has a few reservations aboutRagTime2. 205 IN DEPTH: Benchmarks 206 Introduction 207 That "B" Word! by Bill Nicholls Designing a good benchmark test is a lot more difficult than it appears. Here's a look at the complications involved. 2 BYTE- JUNE 1988 Cover illustration by Robert Tinney BYTE JUNE 1988 VOLUME 13 NUMBER 6 In Depth/205 Features/271 217 Problems and Pitfalls by Alfred A. AburtoJr. Casting a critical eye on the current crop of computer benchmarks. 225 Why MIPS Are Meaningless by Ron Fox A typical computer system consists of several component systems; micro benchmarks are designed to measure the performance of these subsystems. 239 Introducing the New BYTE Benchmarks by Richard Grehan, Tom Thompson, Curtis Franklin Jr. , and George A. Stewart A suite of low- and high-level tests that gauge total system performance. 271 FEATURES 273 Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar: Computers on the Brain, Part 1 by Steve Ciarcia Steve presents HAL, an EEG device utilizing a cleverly crafted amplifier and A/D converter circuitry. 289 Error-Free Fractions by Peter Wayner Computers can store rational numbers exactly by using factorial-base format. 303 A Personal Transputer by Dick Pountain Atari is developing a small system around the Transputer, with a new operating system to match. 313 Dynamic Memory Management in C by David L. Fox Use C and its built-in memory functions to produce better programs, plus some debugging code to help use them. DEPARTMENTS 6 Editorial: Our New Benchmarks 11 Microbytes 22 Letters 33 Chaos Manor Mail 38 Ask BYTE 51 Book Reviews 363 Coming Up in BYTE Section art by John Craig © 1988 READER SERVICE 362 Editorial Index by Company 365 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers 367 Index to Advertisers by Product Category Inquiry Reply Cards: after 368 PROGRAM LISTINGS From BIX: see 310 From BYTEnet: call (617) 861-9764 On disk or in print: see card after 224 BYTE GSSN 0360-5280) is published monthly with an additional issue in October by McGraw-Hill Inc. Founder: James H. McGraw (1860-1948). Executive, editorial, circulaiion, and advertising offices: One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458, phone (603) 924-9281 . Office hours: Monday through Thursday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM, Friday 8:30 AM- 1:00 PM. Eastern Time. Address subscriptions to BYTE Subscriptions, P.O. Box 7643. Teaneck, NJ 07666- 9866. 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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, MI 48106 or 18 Bedford Row, Dept. PR, London WC1R4EJ, England. Subscription questions or problems should be addressed to: BYTE Subscriber Service, P.O. Box 7643 Teaneck NJ 07666-9866. JUNE 1988 -BYTE 3 EVTE THE SMALL SYSTEMS JOURNAL EDITOR IN CHIEF Frederic S. Langa PUBLISHER/GROUP VICE PRESIDENT J. Burt Totaro OPERATIONS Glenn Hartwig /Associate Managing Editor REVIEWS (Hardware, Software, Product Focus) Cathryn Baskin Associate Managing Editor, Dennis Allen Senior Technical Editor, Software, Curtis Franklin Jr. Senior Testing Editor, BYTE Lab, Stephen Apiki Testing Editor, BYTE Lab, Stanford Diehl Testing Editor, BYTE Lab NEWS AND TECHNOLOGY (Mlcrobytes, What's New, Short Takes) Rich Malloy Associate Managing Editor, D. Barker Senior Editor, News and Technology, Anne Fischer Lent Senior Editor, New Products Peterborough: Roger Adams Associate News Editor, Martha Hicks Associate News Editor, Jeff Merron Associate News Editor West Coast: Gene Smarte Bureau Chief, Costa Mesa, Nicholas Baran Technical Editor, San Francisco, Jeffrey Bertolucci Editorial Assistant, San Francisco SENIOR TECHNICAL EDITORS Ken Sheldon Features, Richard Grehan At Large, Jane Morrill Tazelaar At Large, Tom Thompson At Large TECHNICAL EDITORS Janet J. Barron, Eva M. White, Stanley Wszola ASSOCIATE TECHNICAL EDITOR Robert Mitchell CONSULTING EDITORS Steve Ciarcia, Jerry Pournelle, Ezra Shapiro CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jonathan Amsterdam Programming Projects, Mark Dahmke Wdeo, Operating Systems, Mark Haas At Large, Rik Jadrnicek CAD, Graphics, Spreadsheets, Robert T. Kurosaka Mathematical Recreations, Alastair J. W. Mayer Software, Stan Miastkowski New Technology, Alan R. 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Meeks La Mesa, CA, Jeff Merron Peterborough, Stan Miastkowski Peterborough, Wayne Rash Jr. Washington, DC, David Reed Lexington, KY GROUP MODERATORS David Allen Applications. Frank Boosman Artificial Intelligence, Leroy Casterline Other, Marc Greenfield Programming Languages, Jim Howard Graphics, Gary Kendall Operating Systems, Steve Krenek Computers, Brock N. Meeks Telecommunications, Barry Nance New Technology, Donald Osgood Computers, Sue Rosenberg Ofner, Jon Swanson Chips BUSINESS AND MARKETING Doug Webster Director (603) 924-9027, Patricia Bausum Secretary, Denise A. Greene Customer Service, Brian Warnock Customer Service, Tammy Burgess Customer Credit and Billing TECHNOLOGY Clayton Lisle Director, Business Systems Technology. MHIS, Bill Garrison Sen/or Business Systems Analyst, Jack Reilly Senior Business Systems Analyst, Bob Dorobis Business Systems Analyst, Fred Strauss Senior Business Systems Analyst ADVERTISING SALES Dennis J. 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Bradley Browne Director Susan Boyd Administrative Assistant BYTE BITS (2x3) Dan Harper (603) 924-6830 THE BUYER'S MART (1x2) Mark Stone (603) 924-3754 REGIONAL ADVERTISING SECTIONS MID-ATLANTIC, METRO NY & NEW ENGLAND, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, SOUTHEAST Elisa Lister (603) 924-8830 MIDWEST, PACIFIC NORTHWEST, SOUTHWEST, METRO NY & NEW ENGLAND Scott Gagnon (603) 924-9281 BYTE DECK MAILINGS National Ed Ware (603) 924-6166 A/E/C COMPUTING DECK COMPUTING FOR ENGINEERS DECK Mary Ann Goulding (603) 924-9281 INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES STAFF See listing on page 365. EDITORIAL AND BUSINESS OFFICE: One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458, (603) 924-9281 . Weat Coast Branch Ofiicea: 425 Battery St., San Francisco, CA 941 1 1 , (415) 954-971 8; 3001 Red Hill Ave., Building #1 , Suite 222, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714) 557-6292. New York Branch Editorial Office: 1 221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, (21 2) 512-3175. BYTEnet: (617) 861-9764 (set modem at 8-1-N or 7-1-E; 300 or 1200 baud). Fax: (603) 924-7507. Telex: (603) 924-7861 . SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMER SERVICE: Non-U.S. (201)837-1315; inside U.S. (outside NJ) 1-800-423-8272; (inside NJ) 1-800-367-0218. "it ■:nn Officers of McGraw-Hill Information Systems Company: President: Richard B. Miller. Executive Vice Presidents: Frederick P. Jannott, Construction Information Group; Russell C. White, Computers and Communications Information Group: J. Thomas Ryan, Marketing and International. Senior Vice Presidents-Publishers: Laurence Airman, Electronics; David J. McGrath, Engineering News-Record. Group Vice Presidents: J. Burt Totaro, BYTE; Frank A. Shinal, Dodge; Peter B. McCuen, Communications Information. Vice Presidents; Robert D. Daleo, Controller; Fred O. Jensen, Planning and Development; Michael J. Koeller, Human Resources; Julia Lenard, Systems Planning and Technology. Officers of McGraw-Hill Inc.: Harold W. McGraw Jr., Chairman; Joseph L. Dionne, President and Chief Executive Officer; Robert N. Landes, Executive vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary; Walter D. Serwatka, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Shel F. Asen, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing; Robert J. Bahash, Senior Vice President, Finance and Manufacturing; Frank D. Penglase, Senior Vice President, Treasury Operations; Ralph R. Schulz, Senior Vice President. Editorial. BYTE, BVTI , and The Small Systems Journal are registered trademarks of McGraw-Hill Inc. 4 BYTE* JUNE 1988 srrvlRTWORK Kee Getting Smarter Smarter Artwork Three years ago, Wintek engi- neers createa smARTWORK to reauce the time and tedium of laying out their own printed-circuit boards. Thousands of engineers have since discovered the ease of use and sophistication that makes smARTWORK the most popular PCB CAD software available. And thanks to them, smARTWORK keeps getting better. New smARTWORK Features □ Silkscreen layer for component placement and identification D Text capabilities for all three layers □ Selectable trace widths and pad shapes and sizes □ User-definable library □ Ground planes created with a single command □ Solder-mask and padmaster plots generated automatically □ Quick printer 2X checkplots □ Additional drivers for printers and plotters D Optional drill-tape and Gerber photoplotter utilities D AutoCAD® .DXF file output □ Completely updated manual D 800 number for free technical assistance smARTWORK transforms your IBM PC into a PCB CAD system Interactive routing, continual design-rule checking, pad shav- ing, and production-quality 2X artwork have always been a part of smARTWORK. And now that many customer suggestions have become a part of the software, smARTWORK is an even better value. That's why we offer it with a thirty- day money-back no-nonsense guarantee. 2" by 4" section of a 10" by 16" double- sided board with silkscreen layer Using an Epson or IBM dot-matrix printer, you can create 2X artwork and 1X or 2X checkplots in a fraction of the time hand-taping requires Current Versions HiWIRE V1.1r1 smARTWORK V1.3r5 Camera-ready 2X artwork from an HI or HP pen plotter The Smart Buy. Guaranteed. Still priced at $895, smARTWORK is proven, convenient, and fast. Our money-back guarantee lets you try smARTWORK for 30 days at absolutely no risk. Call toll free (800) 742-6809 today and put smARTWORK to work for you tomorrow. Thaf s smart work. System Requirements D IBM PC, PC XT, or PC AT with 384K RAM, and DOS V2.0 or later □ IBM Color/Graphics Adapter with RGB color or B&W monitor □ IBM Graphics Printer or Epson FX/MX/RX-series printer, and/or D Houston Instrument DMP-40, 41, 42, 51, 52, or Hewlett-Packard 7470, 7475, 7550, 7580, 7585, 7586 pen plotter □ Optional Microsoft Mouse Wintek Corporation 1801 South St. Lafayette, IN 47904 Telephone: (800] 742-6809 In Indiana: (317) 742-8428 Telex: 70-9079 WINTEK CORP UD "sinA31WC3K". Wm'e< ". and the Wintek logo are registered trademarks of Wintek Corporation. ■AutoCAD" is a registered trademark of Autodesk. Inc Europe: fiWA Terminals Ud.. England, Phonei 04862-71001, Telex: 859502 / Australia: Entertainment Audio Pry. Ltd., Phone: [08) 363-0454 or (008) 88 841*/ Brazil: Comlcro Intormatlca E Tecnotogia Ltda., Phone: (0*1) 224-5616 Circle 289 on Reader Service Card JUNE 1988 • B Y T E 5 EDITORIAL Our New Benchmarks Here they are: BYTE's new system benchmarks. Our goals in developing these new benchmarks were very high: We set out to create a new suite of benchmarks that would give you the most comprehensive, accurate, and useful information on microcomputer performance that is avail- able today; benchmarks that were appro- priate for the current generation of hard- ware and software and that would not go out of date at any time in the foreseeable future. It was a tall order, but based on our ex- perience, research, and consultation with numerous industry experts, we believe we've succeeded. Once you've seen the benchmarks, we're confident that you will agree. The new suite comprises high-level tests, which examine a machine's real- world performance, and low-level tests, which amplify and illuminate the high- level tests by providing a detailed, spe- cialized examination of each machine's constituent subsystems. The new benchmarks provide an im- pressive level of detail— but not merely numbers for numbers' sake. For exam- ple, when a machine turns in an unusu- ally good or bad performance, our benchmarks show you exactly where the machine excels or falls short and which kinds of applications are affected. Just as important, they can reveal hidden strengths or weaknesses in machines that turn in otherwise seemingly average overall performance. The wealth of information provided by our combination of high- and low-level benchmarks means that you're not locked into some narrow, preconceived or sub- jective interpretation of the results. Rather, you can easily use our bench- marks to estimate how any given machine will perform for your unique mix of ap- plications. (If you've ever wasted time trying to guess how an arbitrary and arti- ficial benchmark like the infamous NOP— no operation— test relates to real- world throughput, you'll appreciate the realism and immediate usefulness of our new benchmarks.) Also, there's our objectivity: BYTE, alone among the leading computer publi- cations, is not allied with a particular family of machines. We have no ax to grind about any particular product, no reason— intentional or otherwise— to stack the benchmark deck one way or an- other. Our system tests are deliberately not optimized to favor any particular brand, chip family, or architecture. This means we have a way to address the thorny issue of accurately and objectively comparing the relative performance of systems with different processors and designs. We've— in effect— constructed a "level playing field" on which any machine can be put to the test with a minimum amount of tweaking. This also means we'll be able to adapt our benchmarks to handle brand-new chips and architectures in a re- markably short time. But you don't have to take my word for any of this, because our benchmarks aren't of the "black box" variety— you know, the kind that spits out a result but doesn't tell you how the number was gen- erated or what it really means. The "hows and whys" of our new bench- marks are explained in detail in this month's In Depth section, and the com- plete source code for all our low-level benchmarks is available via BYTEnet (free, except for the cost of your phone call), on BIX, in print in our Quarterly Listings Supplement, and on disk (see page 3). We invite your close inspection. In the Reviews section, you'll see the new system benchmarks in action, with the results presented in easy-to-use, in- formative tables and graphs that should satisfy any level of curiosity about the re- viewed systems. At the top of each page of benchmark results you'll find an overall number, or index. This represents the cumulative performance of the machine on our appli- cations-level benchmarks compared to several "standard" machines, such as the venerable 8-MHz IBM PC AT and the newer Compaqs and PS/2s. (Our new Macintosh benchmarks follow the same pattern; there are no new Macs to review at this time, so the new Mac system benchmarks do not appear in this issue's reviews. However, the Mac benchmarks are discussed in the In Depth section.) Our high-level benchmarks measure the performance of each machine while running a wide variety of real- world com- mercial software packages, such as word processors, compilers, databases, CAD packages, desktop publishing packages, spreadsheets, and so on. These tests are designed to realistically exercise each machine's major subsystems— disk I/O, video, CPU, floating-point unit, and memory— in a variety of ways. The overall index can serve to give you a "quick fix" on a particular machine, but you should be aware that— like all generalizations— this overall number does not in itself provide high precision. That's why the index is visually joined to a graph that breaks down the overall per- formance into application-by-application results. Here, you can begin to see strengths and weaknesses emerge, and you can begin to use that information to see how a given machine meets (or fails to meet) your own specialized needs. The numbers to the left of the graph provide the detailed results of the applica- tion tests, for even greater refinement and accuracy. The lower portion of the page contains the low-level test results. On the right, a graph clearly illustrates relative perfor- mance on a subsystem-by-subsystem basis; on the left are the detailed, test-by- test results. You can use the low-level results to ex- amine, in as much detail as you wish, why a machine performed as it did in the high- level tests. They also let you compare ma- chines at the most fundamental level, and to tailor our benchmark results to unusual applications not included in our high- level tests: Just examine the subsystem(s) your application will exercise most, and you can get a good idea of how the re- viewed system will handle the task. The Future These new system benchmarks are the foundation for an entire new set of bench- marks. Over the next few months, you'll see additional refinements and improve- ments, including a new suite of software benchmarks. BYTE was the first magazine to use objective benchmarks in evaluating per- sonal computers. We're proud to con- tinue that tradition with these— the first "second-generation" microcomputer benchmarks in the industry. As always, we welcome your com- ments and suggestions. — FredLanga Editor in Chief 6 BYTE" JUNE 1988 maxell MINI-FLOPPY DiSK J.I I .,<#■ And then. . . < Maxell created i the RD Series. ^ w 10PCS- .-- The Evohitbri of the Floppy Disk, Neve and Durability been available in floppy disks. Introducing the new RD Series from Maxell. Twice the durability of the disks you're now using. Twice the resistance to dust and dirt. And the RD Series is ten times more reliable than conventional floppy disks. The Gold Standard has always meant maximum safety for your data. Now it means even more. maxell ■ Have you read the latest from PC Magazine about ALR's FlexCache 386? Even Compaq's DeskPro 386/20 eats the dust made by the ALR FlexCache 20386 as it screams down the DOS highway..." PC Magazine, March 15, 1988 At Advanced Logic Research (ALR) the philosophy of getting more for your money has become a tradition. A tradition recognized by a long line of excellent reviews from all the major trade journals. FlexCache 386 Series is based on the ALR 386/220, PC Magazine's choice as "The Best of 1987". Now the fastest PCs available, the FlexCache Series approach mini- computer performance and offer you the most for your money. FlexCache dual bus architecture separates the standard 8MHz peripheral bus from the high- speed memory bus. This permits access at the 16MHz or 20MHz CPU clock rate. By keeping fre- quently used data close at hand, the cache memory controller elim- inates wait states 95% of the time. Since 90% of all data transfers relate to the data bus, long delays in computations disappear. Faster Than IBM or Compaq This innovative design allows for up to 60% faster CPU /memory data through-put than the IBM PS/2 model 80-071 with the much touted microchannel. And the FlexCache 20MHz CPU "...consis- tently lays down a coating of dust on Compaq's IBM-basher." -Compaq DeskPro 386/20. Balanced System/ Fast Disk Full track data transferring (1:1 interleave) plus ESDI look-ahead buffering, allow FlexCache 386 systems to turn what used to be a data bottleneck into a super high- speed corridor. Compaq wants you to pay $7490 for their DeskPro 386/20 model 60 with a 60MB hard disk. But for the same price you can get ALR's FlexCache 20386 model 150 with a 150MB hard disk and 200% faster transfer rate. Room to Grow The minicomputer-style chassis of the FlexCache 20386 offers space for five internal devices, allowing more data storage than any other PC available. For the name of the ALR dealer nearest you call: 1-800-366-2574 Advanced Logic Research, Inc. 10 Chrysler, Irvine, CA 92718 Phone: 714-581-6770 FAX: 714-581-9240 Telex: 510-601-4525 Answer back Advanced Logic FlexCache 16386 and FlexCache 20386 are trademarks of Advanced Logic Research, Inc. Compaq DeskPro 386 & 386/20 are trademarks of Compaq Computer Corp. IBM PS/2 is a trademark of International Business Machines, Inc. Prices and configurations are subject to change without notice. 8 BYTE* JUNE 1988 Can you cope with fame? "ALR products make headlines. Broad exposure from trade reviews and national advertising campaigns create public demand. This makes ALR dealers very popular." Alan Weinberger - President - The ASCII Group, a 180 member nationwide chain Can you say goodbye to your middleman? 'ALR only sells through authorized dealers which means you dont get a knife stuck in your back. It also means direct support from the factory. Support from ALR's sales staff, cus- tomer service staff and technical sup- port staff. ALR also offers Dealer Incentive Programs such as Flooring, Co-Op Advertising, and some of the highest margins in the industry." Tom Diroff - President - Technology Partners, Ann Arbor, Ml Do you have what it takes to be an ALR dealer? Can you be a "Yes Man"? "We've had to learn to say yes, a lot. Yes to speed, power and affordability. Yes to Novell expandibility and a complete variety of networking solutions." Sam Woo - President - Micro Age Computer Store, Dallas, TX Can you handle success? If you think you can live with this kind of success, you may have what it takes to be an authorized Advanced Logic Research Reseller. If you know you can handle satisfying customers with the most advanced computing systems available, or your looking for an ALR dealer who already is, call ALR today at 1 -800-366-2574 and we'll send you dealer information and a product package, Advanced Logic Research, Inc. Maybe yOU dO have 10 Chrysler, Irvine, CA 92718 what it takes. 714-581-6770 FAX: 714-581-9240 Telex: 5106014525, Answer back Advanced Logic Circle 10 on Reader Service Card (Dealers: 11) JUNE 1988 -BYTE 9 Sharpen Your PC Skills and Build a Great Software Collection ONTY $6.65! Monthly Software for IBM PC™, Apple II C-64/128™ or Softdisk rating: Reviewers Love Our Monthly Software! ". . .Big Blue Disk offers games, educational programs, product reviews, programming utilities, and even commercial programs. We bad more fun than an ant at a picnic, and we're going to subscribe!. . .RATING: ■■■■ Value for .Money" Family Computing inCider, Apr. 1987 ". . ./ highly recommend Loadstar. If you can afford only one disk service, make it Loadstar. . . " Steve Levin, Commodore Microcomputers Learn From the Experts Draw on the vast experience of our editors to provide you with carefully selected software you can use each month, from spreadsheets to role-playing games, from telecommunications to accounting to recipe programs. With easy-to-use documentation, you will master each new application with confidence and ease. Become Experienced Inexpensively Without investing a fortune, our monthly software will help you to see why your personal computer is the most versatile and powerful tool you own. You will know more about your computer, its capabilities, and software for it, than you would have thought possible. At $6.65 a month, our monthly software is the best value in software today. Try our Monthly Software for Three Months Every month your postman will bring you the latest issue of our monthly software, contained on two unprotected 5W diskettes. Each issue is chock-full of our best software, including utilities, games, home and business applications, and educational programs. Order now and receive a special software gift absolutely free. Apple II, C64I128, IBM PC, and Print Shop are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc., Commodore Business Machines Inc., International Business Machines Inc., and Broderbund Software, respectively. Available at Waldenbooks, B. Dalton Booksellers, and fine bookstores everyivhere (cover price S9.95). "^^^^ I Please rush my free gift and start my three month X v3 • subscription for only $ 19.95 postage paid. I understand that this is a trial subscription and that I am under no obligation to continue beyond three months. (Overseas $27.95) D BIG BLUE DISK™ for IBM PC and compatibles. (5 W disk) □ BIG BLUE DISK™ for IBM PC and compatibles. (3V2" disk) □ SOFTDISK™ for Apple II family & compatibles. (SVV disk) □ LOADSTAR " for Commodore 64 & 128 family. (SW disk) Name Address City Contents of Issue #17 Casino Craps Vegas- style dice game. Puzzle 15 Slide- the- tiles puzzler. Label Printer Keep your address book on file. Select & print labels. Alfredo's Hulking Hubris Comedy digital animated cartoon. Print Shop™ Images For use with Br0derbund's® popular program. A Pair of Sorts Compare 2 popular sorting algorithms in action. Diskette Cookbook Includes Cajun recipes. Also add your own recipes. And much more! 19 # . State. . Zip_ In mt l-i In the bonus gift listed below for your computer •*■ ■*■ A when you order the next three issues of our monthly software for your IBM PC, Apple II or C64- 128. FREE for IBM PC - "Best of BIG BLUE DISK" when you order BIG BLUE DISK. Nine of the best programs from recent issues. FREE for Apple II - 400 Print Shop™ Graphics on two disks when your order SOFTDISK- Not available elsewhere. FREE for C-64/128 - "Best of LOADSTAR" when you order LOADSTAR. 14 of the best programs from recent issues. Telephone □ VISA/MC Card # □ AmEx □ Payment Enclosed Exp. Date. Call Toll Free 1-800-831-2694 Louisiana residents include 4% sales tax BY068 SOFTDISK • P.O. Box 30008 • Shreveport, LA 71130-0008 Your Satisfaction Guaranteed If you are not satisfied with your purchase for any reason, return your first issue for a full $ 19-95 refund. The free gift is yours to keep. You can't lose. 10 BYTE* JUNE 1988 Circle 36 on Reader Service Card MICROBYTES Staff-written highlights of developments in technology and the microcomputer industry Device Could Break the Chains Between Portables and Batteries A new device that converts RF energy into DC is capable of powering small electronic devices, such as laptop com- puters, and could free portables from "battery bondage. " "Using this de- vice, you'll never need batteries for your laptop again," Sonic Electric Energy Corp. president Ray Weilage told Micro- bytes. He said the company has been snowing a "prototype RF-powered com- puter" at its headquarters in Atlanta. According to Rick English, technical analyst for Prudential-Bache, "Sonic's patent for the RF conversion device has been approved. They have a lock on the technology." Weilage said Sonic has successfully shown the device is capable of powering small color TV sets and other little units, such as portable radios. "How- ever, the expansion of the technology into computers and television sets opens a new field for making these units por- table and power-source self-sufficient, " he said. "We have a cell that converts radio frequency to direct current under 66 MHz. That's on the other end of the spectrum from NASA's experiments with microwaves to power an airplane type of thing. We're on the other end of the spectrum working with the longer wavelengths," Weilage said. The actual device is "very similar to the photoelectric cells that convert light to energy. It's the same thing, except that we're converting radio frequency to energy," Weilage said. To power a laptop computer would take a box about the size of a pack of cigarettes. Weilage said the unit would add virtually no weight to a laptop and would cost a manufacturer "about $20." The Sonic device draws the RF fre- quency from an antenna based on the Tesla coil theory. The efficiency of the device, Weilage claimed, stems from having reduced the Tesla coil to a microchip. "Bell Labs was the first to implement the Tesla coil technology on a microchip, " said English, "but they were using it for a 'what if we could do this' type of experiment. " "DRAM Scam": Atari Chief Slams Shortage America's computer industry is starved for computer chips, Japanese semiconductor firms are raking in the profits, and Atari CEO Jack Tramiel thinks it's all a scam— "the DRAM Scam, " he calls it. Tramiel used a press conference at the CeBIT '88 computer exhibition in West Germany to assail the "short- sighted and underhanded" trade policy of the U.S. and to denounce the "so- called DRAM shortage." He claimed there is plenty of chip manufacturing capacity in the world; however, because of trade agreements between Japan and the U.S. , the supply can't match the demand. "This is a case of calculated short- age," said Tramiel; the trade policy has foisted a classic manifestation of the Law of Unintended Consequences on the computer industry. A trade sanction against Japanese chip makers, intended to stop the "dumping" of low-cost chips on the American market while al- lowing the survival of the U.S. chip in- dustry, has backfired, he said. As a result, there's a shortage of dynamic RAM chips and a dramatic increase in their price, which in turn has meant higher prices for computers. Nine months ago, DRAMs sold for $1.50. "Today on the spot market, those same chips cost $6," Tramiel said. "That's not profit. That's robbery." The current world demand for DRAMs runs around 100 million per month, ac- cording to Tramiel; the total U.S. out- put is only 10 million. "It didn't take the Japanese long to figure out that they could get a higher price for selling fewer chips. They don't mind profiting from America's stupidity." Tramiel wasn't totally negative. "I don't see this chip shortage lasting more continued Nanobytes • The hottest thing our traveling news hand saw at the massive Hannover Fair in West Ger- many—or at least it was treated as if it was the hottest thing— was a Macintosh 512K-byte clone. Representatives of a Taiwanese manufacturer had brought the il- licit box to show to a select few. The fact that it used illegal copies of the Mac ROMs made the reps a little secretive. "We are not cer- tain that Apple can maintain its grip on the technology," one of them said. "We feel it is a possi- ble violation of U.S. antitrust laws. " Asked what such a clone might sell for, the spokesperson said, "We would like to see the computer sell for around $795. " • Although some expect the shortage of memory chips to lighten up soon, computer makers are wrangling to get mem- ory wherever they can. We've heard that certain Japanese semi- conductor companies have been quietly distributing 4-megabit dy- namic RAM chips to select cus- tomers. The DRAM shipments are invoiced "test samples" or "research samples," which could indicate that the chips are being offered in advance of actual pro- duction quantities. Japanese firms are increasing their outputs of dynamic RAMs; analysts say the few U.S. companies that sup- ply DRAMs had better do the same. • MIPS Computer Systems (Sunnyvale, CA) claims "sus- tained performance" of 20 VAX MIPS with its new RISC proces- sor, the R3000, which is about three times the claimed processing power of Sun's SPARC chip. The 25-MHz chip will be supplied by Integrated Device Technol- ogy, LSI Logic, and Performance Semiconductor. Perhaps as im- portant as MIPS's new chip is its agreement with AT&T to de- continued JUNE 1988 -BYTE 11 MICROBYTES velop an application binary inter- face (ABI) that will allow binary compatibility of Unix applications across all systems using MIPS processors. MIPS spokespersons claimed the AT&T deal sets them on equal status with Sun's SPARC architecture in relation to Unix. However, Sun will jointly develop Release V of Unix Sys- tem V with AT&T. • Tandy (Fort Worth, TX) is now licensing its easy-to-compre- hend DeskMate interface to de- velopers. DeskMate is a pictorial interface that works on 8088, 8086, and 80286 computers. It takes up only 384K bytes of memory. Some of the software publishers saying they'll write for the environment include Symantec, Electronic Arts, Broderbund, Intuit, Sierra Online, Software Publishing Corp. , and Activision. Tandy marketing di- rector Ed Juge said that because DeskMate is so easy to use, it will help sell "a ton of computers. " • Epson America (Torrance, CA) cut the suggested price of its Equity III+ computer with a hard disk drive by $196 to $3299 and the floppy disk drive version by $96 to $2199. The bad news is that the price of the LQ line of 24-pin printers went up (except for the LQ-2500): the LS-500 went up $30 to $529, the LQ-850 up $50 to $849, and the LQ-1050 up $100 to $1199. • G-2 Inc. (Milpitas, CA) has gotten into the growing IBM-com- patible business with three new products: a chipset compatible with IBM's PC XT and PS/2 Model 30 and supporting clock speeds up to 10 MHz, a VGA chip, and a trio of chips that G-2 says "replaces most of the ICs" used to build AT compatibles and systems based on the 80386. Samples are ready now. • U.S. companies will spend $20 billion on software and re- lated services this year, a new report claims. Based on interviews with 137 Fortune 500 compa- nies, Newton- Evans Research (El- licot City, MD) says packaged software will account for about $12.5 billion of that sum. The researchers say that 350,000 Americans are working in soft- ware-development jobs . continued than 6 or 9 months," he said. He also announced that Atari hopes to either buy or build its own semiconductor plant within the next 12 months. Atari will hold the line on the prices of its systems, Tramiel said. (Atari is re- portedly currently buying chips, under contract, from Japanese manufacturers for $2.50 each.) "So maybe we only make $55 million next year instead of $57 million," he told an applauding European audience. Europe receives the largest share of Atari's computer output. Regardless of its causes, the current shortage of DRAM chips is preventing Atari from manufacturing enough Mega STs to supply the U.S. market, company marketing director Neil Harris said. Because of Atari's popularity in Eu- rope, most machines, which are manu- factured in Taiwan, are being delivered to European customers. Atari has held back advertising and marketing of the Mega ST on this side of the Atlantic, Harris said. The shortage of Mega STs in the U.S. has also put a damper on Atari's laser printer, which depends on the large memory capacity of the Mega ST for effective performance. Unlike most other laser printers, the Atari unit has no internal memory of its own but uses part of the Mega ST's 4 megabytes of RAM, which is actually a more effi- cient and cost-effective use of memory capacity, according to Harris. Atari continues to delay production of its MS-DOS computer, announced more than a year ago. "It came down to a choice between manufacturing STs or MS-DOS machines," said Harris. "The MS-DOS machine is ready to go but won't go into production until the RAM shortage goes away." Harris said that Atari expects the DRAM shortage to start easing by the third quarter of this year and still has plans to aggressively market the Mega ST in the U . S . Motorola Pushing 88000 Motorola has established its 68000 as one of the powerhouse processors in the microcomputer market. Now the com- pany's Microprocessor Products Group (Austin, TX) is aiming for similar suc- cess with the 88000, its 32-bit reduced- instruction-set computer (RISC) pro- cessor. The 88000 is based on a Harvard-style computer architecture, with separate address and data lines for a program's code and data. These dual "paths" allow code and data operations to operate in parallel, which improves throughput. The 88000 is composed of three chips: the MC88000 central processor and two MC88200 cache/memory management units (CMMUs) that super- vise the code and the data paths. The MC88000 has a register file of thirty- two 32-bit registers, built-in integer and floating-point math units, an exten- sible instruction set, and an extensible architecture. The extensible architecture is made up of eight special function units (one is the floating-point math unit) with 256 reserved op codes that allow a vendor to expand the MC88000's capabilities. Such expan- sions might include transcendental func- tion support or a serial driver. The MC88200 CMMU has a built-in 16K- byte memory cache and performs bus snooping to maintain cache coherence. A scoreboarding function in the MC88000 maintains validity of the reg- ister file contents. For example, if a multiply operation uses two register as Chip of the Nineties values, and the contents of one of the registers is invalid (perhaps the fetch in- struction loading the target register is still in progress), the scoreboard will stop the multiply operation until the fetch operation is completed. Score- boarding lets software designers write RISC software without becoming mired in the details of moving data through the processor. It also allows certain code optimizations to be performed. Pro- grams written for the 88000 are typically 10 percent larger or smaller than equivalent programs written in MC68020 code, according to Motorola officials. From the beginning, both the MC88000 and the MC88200 were de- signed to support tightly coupled multiprocessing. You can use up to four MC88000s in parallel to boost process- ing power, or, if your application de- mands it, you can combine up to four MC88200s on a path to expand the path's memory cache to 64K bytes (128K bytes total). A single 20-MHz 88000 processor runs at about 15 to 17 million instructions per second and 34,000 Dhrystones. Motorola offers boards with combinations of one, two, and four 88000 processors. In what's shaping up as a trend, companies are bringing out support tools with their new chips rather than just saying, "Here's the silicon, baby; you're on your own. " For the 88000, there's an optimizing C compiler from Green- continued 12 BYTE • JUNE 1988 dBASE Users-Attack the Mac with FoxBASE+/Mac New Frontiers, No Fears. FoxBASE+/Mac gives you the unprece- dented ability to run your dBASE pro- grams on the Macintosh immediately— without changing a single line of code! But there's much more. With FoxBASE+/Mac you can create beautiful, robust applications that are truly Mac- like— using the familiar dBASE language! Speed and Power. FoxBASE+/Mac gives you speed to burn— plus the power and performance you've come to expect from Fox. In fact, FoxBASE+/Mac is by far the fastest database system available on the Mac today— up to 200 times faster! View Window. The View Window is the master control panel for FoxBASE+/Mac's graphical, non-programming interface. Use it to open and close files, set up indexes, establish relations, access BROWSE, and even to modify database structures! BROWSE. FoxBASE+/Mac's BROWSE feature brings new convenience and power to database display and editing! You're in complete control — BROWSE lets you dynamically adjust the size and order of fields displayed, add or delete records, and split the window to show different database sections side-by-side. Together, BROWSE and View Windows eliminate the need to write programs for common database operations! Integrated Graphics. Copy and paste graphs, charts, diagrams and even pictures into your database— instantly! FoxBASE+/Mac gives you the power to display these graphics, or merge them into reports and documents! FoxBASE i- and FoxBASE J-/Mac are trademarks of Fox Software. dBASE and dBASE III PLUS are trademarks of Ashton-Tate. Macintosh is a trademark of Mcintosh Laboratory, Inc., licensed to Apple Computer, Inc. "MWMMBMMMlMPiMAMlBil You can create stunning screens like this with FoxBASE + /Mac— immediately! This actual FoxBASE + /Mac screen photo illustrates the View Window, Command Window, Integrated Graphics, Memo field editing, Trace and Debugging Facilities, and the BROWSE feature. Command Window. FoxBASE + /Mac's Command Window gives both experienced developers and novice user ultra-convenient access to the dBASE command language— just type a command into the Command Window, and it's executed! Get The FoxBASE +/Mac Facts Now! Call (419) 874-0162 for more information about FoxBASE+/Mac. Or visit your local software retailer. FoxBASE+/Mac is part of the award-winning family of products from Fox Software. FoxBASE + has been given the prestigious Editor's Choice award by PC Magazine, and scored an impressive 9.2 out of a possible 10 when tested by InfoWorld's Review Board! Circle 111 on Reader Service Card Fox Software m Nothing Runs Like a Fox. Fox Software, Inc. (419) 874-0162 1 18 W. South Boundary FAX: (419) 874-8678 Perrysburg, OH 43551 Telex: 6503040827 JUNE 1988 -BYTE 13 MICROBYTES • C + + is now available for workstations from Apollo Com- puter (Chelmsford, MA). Apollo's version of the object- oriented programming language, called Domain/C + + , is based on AT&T's C+ + translator. The company intends to integrate the language with its Distributed Debugging Environment later this year. • Since many IBM-compatible computers have high-resolution EGA or VGA monitors, the company known for bringing graphics to monochrome PCs, Hercules Computer Technology (Berkeley, CA), has had to turn to other areas of the graphics mar- ket. Hercules is working on sev- eral products for enhancing the performance of VGA-based ma- chines such as the IBM PS/2. The firm is also developing similar products for the Macintosh II. The VGA package will coexist with an existing VGA board, con- nected via the VGA card's fea- ture connector. It will allow you to use Hercules' RamFonts on a VGA system and will also "im- prove the performance of current bit-mapped graphics applica- tions," according to Hercules CEO Jim Harris. Hercules hopes to show the VGA board at Fall COMDEX, with a Macintosh ver- sion following close behind. • Saba Technologies (Beaver- ton, OR) has retooled its Page Reader scanner to handle draft type from dot-matrix printers and to be a little fester at reading pages (about one per minute, the company says). The $1299 Page Reader 2.0 also now supports the Tag Image File Format, which means the graphics can be used in PageMaker and other programs that accept TIFF files. • The Computer Security In- stitute will demonstrate viruses and virus detectors at its confer- ence for users of IBM and DEC systems. The program will em- phasize network security, with sessions covering Ethernet and Mac VAX networks. The event happens this month (June 13-15) in Arlington, VA. For more infor- mation, phone Irene at (617) 393-2600. - • The market for used micro- computers has reached $1.2 bil- continued hill, with FORTRAN, Pascal, Lisp, and Prolog languages available in mid- 1988, and COBOL and Ada languages available in the second half of 1988. Tektronix has its DAS 9200 logic ana- lyzer with a MC88000 probe for hard- ware prototyping and testing. Phoenix Technologies and Insignia Solutions an- nounced programs to allow MS-DOS applications to run on the 88000. Anticipated uses for the 88000 in- clude large-scale parallel processing projects, big banking systems, AI workstations that use three-dimensional graphics, CAD systems manipulating three-dimensional objects, and jobs (such as in aerospace) that demand fault-tolerant computing. Tektronix has said it will incorporate the 88000 in color graphics workstations. U.S. Firms Show Workstations Overseas Although Atari and Commodore are known in the U.S. primarily for their low-cost home computers, both com- panies continue to work at high- performance machines. At the recent Hannover Fair in West Germany, they talked about their Transputer-based systems and Unix boxes that are in the works. Atari demonstrated prototypes of its system based on the INMOS Transputer, the Abaq, at COMDEX in November. The company will ship "about 100 Tran- sputers to developers in the next month," president Sam Tramiel told us at Hannover. Commodore also announced its own Transputer-driven system. The company claims a processing rate about 10 times faster than an IBM PC AT. Each chip has four high-speed serial connections in addition to a normal bus. Four addi- tional Transputers can be connected to the main processor. Commodore is developing its system with a large-scale research institution, Gesellschaft fur Biotechnologische (the Society for Biotechnology Re- search). Commodore plans to develop a high-performance workstation around the Transputer for use primarily in lab- oratories and industries. This project is based on the Amiga 2000, which, when equipped with the Transputer sys- tem, offers a greatly enhanced graphics capability for such applications as mod- eling molecular structures. Atari showed us a prototype of a Unix workstation. The system, when available, would be shipped with Unix System V version 3.1, according to Shiraz Shivji, Atari's head of research and development. However, the working unit that we saw demonstrated was a wire-wrapped prototype. Shivji said the actual boards are now being manufac- tured and that Atari will begin shipping systems to developers in "two or three months." The workstation will have at least 4 megabytes of RAM, use a VME bus, and support Sun's Network File Struc- ture. The system is based on the 68030 chip. It will use the International Stan- dards Organization model for network- ing, have a SCSI port, and use X-Win- dows, Shivji said. Commodore is also developing a Unix workstation. The Commodore model is based on the 68020 chip and will first appear as an add-on board for the Amiga 2000. Mac the Mouth Shows How We Speak You speak into a microphone. On the screen of a Mac II, you see a cross- sectional animated diagram of a per- son's head. As you speak, you see the lips, the teeth, and the tongue move in sync with your voice. You think to your- self, "Gee, I didn't know my tongue moved so much." What makes this animation possible is a program under development by a small San Diego firm called Emerson & Stern. The primary purpose of the program, informally called Mac the Mouth, is to help people who have speech difficulties. According to Jan Zimmerman, the CEO of the company, the program will help speech pathologists to correct speech problems that may be caused by hearing impairments, stroke, or head injury. It may also help people who want to lose their accent or develop a different one. Mac the Mouth works by digitizing the sounds that a person makes when he or she says a word and breaking them down into a series of frequencies, simi- lar to a standard spectrogram. The pro- gram then translates these sounds into an animated diagram of a person's mouth. The effect is almost that of being able to look into someone's mouth and watch his or her tongue move. The program will allow people with speech impairments to have visual feed- continued 14 BYTE • JUNE 1988 $299 For 3-D CAD you can't be by spendin thousands more. You can spend thousands of dollars for three dimensional CAD software and still not get the power and capability that DesignCAD 3-D offers for a remarkable $299! DesignCAD 3-D is proof positive that you don't have to spend a fortune for quality. DESIGN&4 D 3D The compatibility that DesignCAD 3-D offers you means that it can be used with almost any PC compatible system. It supports more than 200 dot matrix printers, more than 80 plotters and most digitizers and graphic adapters. DesignCAD 3-D can read drawings from most other CAD systems. DesignCAD 3-D allows you to develop and advance any design in 3 dimensional space, while providing you with features such as shading, hidden line removal, printer and plotter support. DesignCAD 3-D's extensive file transfer utilities allow you to: transfer documents to and from IGES, DXF HPGL, transfer to GEM and Post Script and to read ASCII text files and X, Y, Z coordinate files. It allows up to 4 simultaneous views (any angle or perspective) on the screen. Complex extrusions, extensive 3-D text capabilities, auto dimensioning and a host of other features are all included with PC R es0 urce Magazine DesignCAD 3-D, all at no extra charge. as one f ^ e s j x new computer products worth watching in 1988. Circle 19 on Reader Service Card The best reason to buy DesignCAD 3-D is not the low price, the performance or the compatibility. The best reason is the amazing ease of use. DesignCAD 3-D's powerful commands mean that you can produce professional 3-D drawings in less time than you thought possible. In fact, we think you'll agree that DesignCAD 3-D is easier to learn and easier to use than any 3-D CAD system for IBM PC, at any price! See your local computer dealer for DesignCAD 3-D, or contact: •»A inerican Small Business Computers, Inc. 327 S. Mill St., Pryor, OK 74361 (918)825-4844 FAX 918-825-6359 Telex 9102400302 JUNE 1988 -BYTE 15 MICROBYTES lion, according to the National Association of Computer Dealers (Houston). Despite specialty stores and "computer brokers," most used computers are sold in traditional ways: friend to friend or via classified ads, an NACD spokesperson said. • Okay, he's rich and famous. But is he happy? "I'm frustrat- ed," said Apple vice president Jean-Louis Gassee. "I see the power of computing, but we're not doing it," he told an audience at the University of California at Berkeley. "We're not building networks or systems that can be used by normal people. " Gassee warned that the "techno-clergy" must not become isolated from the rest of society. "The idea of 10,000 remote databases means absolutely nothing to most people," he said. back on the sounds they are producing and the way they are producing them. In normal operation, a person will watch the diagrams that are produced when a speech pathologist says a word and then try to duplicate those same patterns. According to Zimmerman, the soft- ware has already helped one of the com- pany's programmers. The program- mer, who emigrated from Thailand, had trouble pronouncing the "1" sound in words such as "really. " By using the program, she was able to see where her tongue should be correctly placed and was able to produce the correct sound. Zimmerman hopes to have Mac the Mouth ready in about 6 months. It will be available only for OEMs. No pric- ing data was available. The significance of Mac the Mouth may extend beyond speech pathology. Emerson & Stern's Zimmerman says the company is exploring the possibility of combining Mac the Mouth with a grammar parser to develop a system for speech recognition. Such a system, Zimmerman says, would be speaker-in- dependent, since we all use the same patterns of mouth movement to produce a particular sound. Laser Printers Getting Higher Resolutions You might not notice it, but higher- resolution laser printing is on the way. Several companies, including Fujitsu, Agfa-Gevaert, and Itek, demonstrated at the recent Hannover Fair in West Ger- many a new breed of laser printer based on a Canon engine and capable of pro- ducing output with a resolution of 400 dots per inch. And at least three com- panies introduced printers with resolu- tions of 500 dpi or better. These higher-resolution models represent a coming trend for the desktop publishing market as the gap between typesetting and desktop publishing narrows, accord- ing to analyst Tim Bajarin, vice presi- dent at the market research firm Cre- ative Strategies. Although the higher-resolution laser printers (500 dpi and beyond) sound im- pressive, their effectiveness is lost on the lower-grade paper used in most of- fices. At 400 dpi, the ink sufficiently continued With Maplnfo, More Ways Than Ever To Map Your Data Pin Map. Automatically use your existing database (from dBASE III or others) with street maps that we can supply. Maps from over 300 U.S. cities and towns contain all addresses, accurate to the correct block and side of the street. Type any address and Maplnfo will find it for you. Call to the screen your complete record. Thematic. Use our boundaries (state or county) or draw your own (sales regions, election districts, etc.). Create a database for the region (population, average income, etc.) Color code boundaries or entire regions based on parameters you define. Presentation. Use powerful graphics commands to add your own titles, legends and text. Create arrows, windows or callouts. Turn on or off labels of points, streets, bridges, regions, etc. Visual Database. Draw anything from a floor plan to aircraft design. Store data on any point or region. Create multiple layers to add flexibility to your display. Map 16 BYTE- JUNE 1988 And that's just a sample. If you need to map your data, Maplnfo can do it for as little as $750. IBM PC or 100% compatibles, with 640K memory, a hard disk drive, and graphics capability. To order, call 1-800-FASTMAR In New York State, call 1-518-274-8673 (Telex 371-5584). Maplnfo Corp., 200 Broadway, Troy, NY 12180 dBASE III is a trademark of Ashton-Tate. IBM and IBM PC are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. Circle 166 on Reader Service Card Write. Right. If you've got better things to do than debug pages and pages of code, you need ASYST™ It's the programming environment developed specifically for scientific and engineering applications. ASYST simplifies data analysis and graphic display, and integrates them with data acquisition. Using ASYST, you can replace pages of low-level code with a few specialized commands. And it's easy to tailor to your changing applications. ASYST's simple configuration menus and our technical support will get you up and running quickly— and keep you there. Call and discuss your application with one of our technical specialists. Or request more information. Just make the next line of code you enter 1-800-348-0033 . It '11 put you on-line with ASYST, the scientific way to program. Features: ■ Analog-to-Digital, Digital-to-Analog, and Digital I/O Support ■ GPIB/IEEE-488 Interface ■ RS-232 Interface ■ Sophisticated Analysis and Graphics System requires IBM PC, XT, AT, or 100 % compatible. SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES. INC. 100 Corporate Woods Rochester, NY 14623 1-800-348-0033 (or 716-272-0070) System Developers: Ask about our new ASYST Run-time License. ASYST is a trademark of Asyst Software Technologies, Inc. IBM, IBM PC, IBM PC/XTand IBM PC/AT are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Circle 23 on Reader Service Card MICROBYTES "bleeds" to fill in the "step effect" that is typical of desktop publishing fonts. Anything above 400 dpi is wasted be- cause of this bleeding, many desktop publishing experts say. And most eyes can't differentiate between 400-dpi and 600-dpi output. However, several software houses, including Aldus (of PageMaker fame), say they'd upgrade their page-makeup programs to support 400-dpi printers. Toshiba and Kentek showed new printers using Phoenix's PostScript clone. Kodak had a four-color laser printer producing 17 pages a minute. Nashville Cats Plugging into MIDI Would "Your Cheatin' Heart" sound any different if Hank Williams recorded it today? Nashville, known as Ameri- ca's country music capital, is home to hundreds of musicians who've plugged into computers as a tool for composing and recording. "This is a pretty computer-based city," said Tom Gerber, a MIDI studio technician and editor of a Nashville MIDI newsletter. "People are surprised when they come here and see what is going on. A lot of people are using Mac- intoshes for various parts of music pub- lishing." Despite Apple's relatively late arrival on the electronic music scene with its MIDI adapter for the Mac and IIGS, the Macintosh is one of the fa- vorite electronic axes of Nashville musicians. Gerber noted that already five major recording studios are using Macintoshes in one way or another. "Some of them even started as MIDI studios," Gerber said. "West Park Studios uses three Macs for sequencing, mixing control, and sound editing. DBS Studios uses a number of Macs, and Masterfonics, one of the top CD recording and mastering studios, uses them with MIDI. " "Right now, most of the work is done on Mac Pluses and SEs," Gerber explained. "There are software com- patibility problems with the Macintosh II due to copy-protection schemes right now, but that is supposed to change in the next few weeks, and we'll see more Mac Us involved in MIDI here in Nashville." "Nashville is more than just country music," Gerber noted. "I've done some 'space' music with the Mac for some performances. And many publishing houses use the Macs and MIDI for their lead sheets." TECHNOLOGY NEWS WANTED. The news staff at BYTE is always interested in hearing about new technological and scientific developments that might have an impact on microcomputers and the people who use them. We also want to keep track of innovative uses of that technology. If you know of advances or projects that involve research relevant to microcomputing and want to share that information, please contact us. Call the Microbytes staff at (603) 924-9281 , send mail on BIX to Microbytes, or write to us at One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. Transmitted Invoice Price, Qty, Part# Matched Invoi-^ stamped ".oded |& (c) -TeA'' ,*-£5-.s52KS& 9U£» Checks Printed & Signed 1 T X T 1 1 T Check Register Open Accounts Payable ; ! (e) i . (e) i i i i T <■— ► A/P Distribution )m ****** (*ti *Z#' v*a<* ,to e (*»«£•*"■ *<*»:£*** *jj&*J*o#* MO 01 \oca' BYTE- JUNE 1988 RATION &RMT0N 81 Great Oaks Blvd., San Jose, CA 95119 1-800-525-0082, Outside California 408-629-5376, California/International 'plus shipping. In California add tax. Excellence in charting the flow of ideas Circle 213 on Reader Service Card N R J 1 ^^! "-:- The Graphics Toolkit for Contemporary Software Developers Already the fastest and most powerful graphics toolkit on the market, the new HALO® delivers subroutines and device support for exciting, contemporary applications in publishing, office automation, vision, and image processing. HALO '88 is a device independent library of 190 graphics subroutines. It is compatible with 18 programming languages, and over 140 hardware devices such as image scanners; graphics, vision, and imaging boards; printers and plotters; and mice. HALO '88 is designed for the complete IBM compatible microcomputer line including the PS/2 and VGA. Today's Tools for Tomorrow's Applications HALO '88 has new subroutines which control scanners and scanned images — even images which are larger than screen resolution and available memory. Extended character set support enables software developers to address IBM's full 255 characters in graphics and to design foreign language fonts. Among contemporary HALO '88 applications are CAD, Computer- Based Training, Presentation Graphics, Graphic Arts, Mapping, Machine Vision, Silicon Wafer Manufacturing, Sound System Design, Vehicle Scheduling and Routing, and Real Estate. Join the HALO Family HALO has an installed base of 60,000+ end-users, hundreds of site-licensed corporations, government agencies, universities, and national laboratories and most importantly, over 220 Independent Software Developers (ISVs) who market applications written with HALO. HALO '88 provides the software designer with the richest environment of graphics functions; the programmer with reliable and "Halo infinite possibilities in graphics and imaging Circle 171 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 172) well-documented tools, and DP managers with continuity of user interface and database format. Reach for the Future If you need high performance graphics development software that provides a migration path to OS/2 and other future technology, follow the industry leaders — call (800) 992- HALO (4256). HALO '88 is just $325 and includes all device drivers, 20 fonts, your choice of one compiler binding, completely new documentation, an interactive tutorial and free 800# technical support. Update from HALO for $150. Ask about the new HALO Programmers' Workbook which provides C program examples for HALO '88 applications developers. media cybernetics 8484 Georgia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301) 495-3305, (800) 992-HALO HALO is a registered trademark of Media Cybernetics, inc. IBM PS/2, VGA and OS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. The newDIconix300 Desktop and 300wWkie~Carriage mistake them for Diconix 150 s. Before you plain paper printers. So quiet, so small, so last, you could lecide on a PC printer, reflect on these* *, <~ i A Kodak Company 3100 Research Boulevard Dayton, Ohio 45420 1-800-DICONIX • Semi-automatic paper handling • 308 characters per second • IBM & Epson emulation Circle 84 on Reader Service Card LETTERS Shuddering, Blurring Solved In his review of multiscan color monitors (February), George A. Stewart found two problems with our Flexscan 8060S when it was connected to the Macintosh II. We have fixed both problems. The shuddering that occurred during disk access was caused by a special cable for the Mac II, whose proper pin assign- ment was not available when Mr. Stewart did his evaluation. We now sell the proper cable for the Mac II. The blurring was not caused by the side of the monitor but generated because of a 0.1- volt difference in signal levels. The Macintosh II's signal level is 0.6 V; the VGA signal level is 0.7 V. As we re- fined the hardware level for matching both signals, the blurring problem improved. Ted Fukada Applications Engineer Nanao USA Corp. Torrance, CA Digivision on Monitors Having read "Multiscan Color Moni- tors," I think you may be interested in Digivision 's range of multifrequency monitors. Compared to corporate giants Sony and NEC, Digivision is a relatively small company, though it's technically advanced in many areas of display unit development. In July 1987, Digivision successfully launched the world's first 12-inch autosync monitor, which was closely followed by a 10-inch unit in No- vember 1987. At present, we are about to seek UL listing for these products with an eye toward entering the U.S. market. The article was extremely interesting and technically informative— the best I or any of my colleagues have read on the subject so far. Previous articles have contained minimal technical information and descriptions, so your article was a re- freshing change. Leonora Walker Marketing Executive Digivision Ltd. Leicester, U.K. Monitor Misconvergence I recently finished your excellent article on multiscan color monitors. Yours is the first article I've seen that presented an objective instead of a subjective review of monitors. I 'd like to point out, however, a pos- sible problem with some of the measure- ments. Doing the misconvergence and voltage regulation at a specific brightness level for each monitor is accurate only if each CRT has the same light transmis- sion. The faceplate of the CRT can be made to give off different percentages of the display's light output by using lighter or darker glass. The darker the glass, the less light output there will be from the tube for the same amount of CRT drive. However, the darker glass gives a better contrast ratio, so less light output is nec- essary. For example, if you had a CRT with a 90 percent transmission and a brightness of 50 footlamberts (ft-L), a darker CRT of 45 percent transmission would require only 25 ft-L for the same contrast ratio. Therefore, it is possible that your tests were unfair if a monitor had dark glass. Misconvergence is a very important aspect of a monitor to consider. How- ever, judging a series of monitors from looking at only one could be misleading. The CRT specs for misconvergence are typically to 0.6 millimeter. Therefore, it is possible to see one monitor that is near perfect and another that is only good. For your information, "voltage regula- tion" is referred to as "high-voltage regu- lation." The anode voltage of a color CRT is typically 24 kilovolts. If there is no regulation of this voltage, it will de- crease as the screen gets brighter, which causes the display size to increase. Jim Samuels Chief Engineer Princeton Graphic Systems Princeton, NJ Smart EGA Plus Resolution In the Product Focus on enhanced EGA and VGA boards (March) by Curtis Franklin Jr., several errors appeared in the chart on page 104. NSI Logic's Smart EGA Plus board has a maximum resolu- tion of 800 by 800 by 16 colors, and it supports VGA modes 11H and 12H, as the article states on page 106. The price of the board is $199. Also, in 640 by 640 mode, I have not seen a flicker problem on NSI or other boards that are operating normally, so I have to assume that you were operating in 800 by 600 mode. You will see some flicker on all current high-resolution 800 by 600 boards running on the NEC MultiSync. This can usually be adjusted so it is not troublesome to the user. The degree of flicker is a function of the manufacturer of the monitor, the speed of the EGA chip/board, and, in some cases, the applications software. Robert Gallagher Director of Sales NSI Logic Inc. Marlborough, MA How About "Ubiquitous Electronic Device"? "It's All in the Symbols" by Merrill Cor- nish (March) punctures the lid of what may eventually be the computer indus- try's biggest can of worms. The house- hold name of these ubiquitous electronic devices signifies a major stumbling block— as if we were to call automobiles "corner turners," ignoring their many other capabilities. Mr. Cornish admirably points out the difficulties in parsing English language text (other languages have other difficul- ties), while also mentioning those associ- ated with programming languages. But most people have a problem envisioning all those nonnumeric symbols he talks about— for starters, the 52 characters of the Roman alphabet that the standard key- board can produce in dozens of fonts and in a variety of enhancements, such as underline, reverse, bold, italics, and so on, not to mention the combinations. This brings us to tens of thousands of pos- sibilities before we start combining these letters into words and then into sentences and then adding symbols and punc- tuation. Surely C. L. Sholes (of QWERTY fame) would say something like *Jf}rrf>"+%$@ if he could see how his continued LETTERS POLICY: When submitting a let- ter for publication, double-space it on one side of the paper and include your name and address. Express your comments and ideas as clearly and concisely as possible. We can print listings and tables along with a letter if they are short and legible. Because we receive hundreds of letters each month, we cannot publish all of them. We cannot return letters \o authors. Gener- ally, it takes four months from the time we re- ceive a letter until we publish it. 22 BYTE- JUNE 1988 Upgrade Your Technology We're Programmer's Connection, the leading independent dealer of quality programmer's development tools for IBM personal com- puters and compatibles. We can help you upgrade your programming technology with some of the best software tools available. Comprehensive Buyer's Guide. The CONNECTION, our new Buyers Guide, contains prices and up-to-date descriptions of over 700 programmer's development tools by over 250 manufacturers. Each description covers major product features as well as special re- quirements, version numbers, diskette sizes, and guarantees. How to Get Your FREE Copy: 1 ) Use the reader ser- vice card provided by this journal; 2) Mail us a card or letter with your name and address; or 3) Call one of our convenient toll free telephone numbers. If you haven't yet received your copy of the Programmer's Connection Buyer's Guide, act now. Upgrading your programming technol- ogy could be one of the wisest and most profitable decisions you'll ever make. USA 800-336-1166 Canada 800-225-1166 Ohio & Alaska (Collect) 216-494-3781 International 216-494-3781 TELEX 9102406879 FAX 216-494-5260 Business Hours: 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM EST Monday through Friday Prices, Terms and Conditions are subject to change. Copyright 1988 Programmer's Connection Incorporated Established 1984 386 products List 0urs 386 ASM/386 UNHbyRiarbspSoftwam 495 389 386 DEBUGGER by Phar Lap Software 195 129 NDP C-mbyMooWay 595 529 NDPForTran-386oyMcraWay 595 529 PC-MOS/3BS Single-User by The Software Link 195 179 PC-KOS/3S65-User by The SoltwareUnk 595 539 PC-MOS/2SS25-User by The Software Unk 995 869 blaise products ASYNCHMANAGERSped/yCorfasra/ 175 135 C TOOLS PLUS/5.0 129 99 PASCAL TOOLS/TOOLS 2 175 135 Turbo ASYNCH PLUS/4.0 129 99 Turbo CT00LS 129 99 Turbo POWER SCREEN New 129 99 Turbo POWER TOOLS PLUS/4.0 129 99 VIEWMANAGERSpeo/yCorfasca/ 275 219 borland products EUREKA Equation Solver 167 115 Paradox 1.1 by AnsalBoriand 495 359 Paradox 2.0 by Ansa/Borland 725 525 Paradox 386 by AnsalBoriand New 895 639 Paradox Network Park by AnsalBoriand 995 725 Quattro: The Professional Spreadsheet 247 179 Sidekick Plus New 200 125 Turbo Basic Compiler 100 68 Turbo Basic Support Products All Varieties 100 68 Turbo C Compiler 100 68 Turbo Pascal Compiler 100 68 Turbo Pascal Database Toolbox 100 68 Turbo Pascal Developer's Toolkit 395 285 Turbo Pascal Editor Toolbox 100 68 Turbo Pascal Gameworks Toolbox 100 68 Turbo Pascal Graphix Toolbox 100 68 Turbo Pascal Numerical Methods Toolbox 100 68 Turbo Pascal Tutor 70 49 Turbo Prolog Compiler 100 68 Turbo Prolog Toolbox 100 68 Other Borland products CALL CALL c language CJalkbyCNS 150 129 Eco-C88 Modeling Compiler byEcosolt 100 69 Lattice C Compiler from Lattice NewVersion 450 289 Mark Williams Let's CwitbFREEcsd 75 54 Uniware 68000 C Cross Compiler by SDS 995 899 UniwareZ-80C Cross Compiler bySDS 995 899 WATCOMC6.0 oyWOTCOM Group New 295 269 database management Clipper by Nantucket 695 379 dBASE III Plus byAshton-Tate 695 389 dBFasttfa4S£///PteCompoyoBfas[ 69 59 FoxBASE+ by Fox Software 395 249 FoxBASE+/386cyftKSoflware 595 399 Circle 229 on Reader Service Card Geniferoybyre/ 395 249 Tom Rettig's Library by Tom Rettigi Assoc 100 89 digitalk products Smalltalk/V 100 84 EGA/VGA Color Oplion 50 45 Goodies Diskette #1 50 45 Goodies Diskette #2 50 45 Goodies Diskette #3 50 45 Smalltalk/Comm 50 45 Smalltalk/V 286 200 175 golden bow products Vcache 60 55 Vleature Hard Disk Utility 80 74 Vteature Deluxe Hard Disk utility 120 111 Vopttfard Disk Optimization Utility 60 55 komputerwerk products Finally BASIC routines 99 85 Finally Modules 99 85 Finalry XGraf 99 85 lahey computer products F77L-EM/16 New 695 639 F77L-EM/32 New 895 799 F77L-FORTRAN Compiler New 477 429 Lahey Personal Fortran 77 New 95 85 withToolkit New 119 99 logitecii products LOGIMOUSE/Wlfcn'ef/es CALL CALL LOGITECH Modula-2 Development System 249 199 Modula-2 Compiler Pack 99 75 Modula-2 Toolkit 169 139 microcompatibles products GRAFMATIC 135 119 GRAFMATIC With PLOTMATIC 240 219 PLOTMATIC 135 119 microport products DOSMerge286Specrfy2-(AersorlMro//eo' 149 129 DOSMerge386 2-Users 395 345 DOSMerge386 Unlimited Users 495 429 System V/386 Complete Package 799 669 System V/AT Complete Package 549 465 microsoft products Microsoft C Compiler 5 w/CodeView NewVersion 450 299 Microsoft COBOL Compiler with COBOL Tools 700 465 Microsoft FORTRAN Optimizing Comp NewVersion 450 299 Microsoft Macro Assembler NewVersion 150 105 Microsoft Mouse AllVarieties call CALL Microsoft OS/2 Programmer's Toolkit New 350 239 Microsoft Pascal Compiler NewVersion 300 199 Microsoft QuickBASIC 4 99 69 Microsoft QuickC 99 69 Microsoft Windows 99 69 ORDERING INFORMATION FREE SHIPPING. 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Send mail orders to: Programmer's Connection Order Processing Department 7249 Whipple Ave NW North Canton, OH 44720 Microsoft Windows 386 195 129 Microsoft Windows Development Kit 500 329 Other Microsoft products CALL CALL peter norton products Advanced Norton Utilities 150 89 Norton Commander 75 55 Norton Editor 75 59 Norton Guides Specify tanguage 100 65 For OSS New 150 109 Norton Utilities 100 59 sco products FoxBASE+/t//fanef/es CALL CALL XENIX System V ESDI Versions CALL CALL XENIX System V tor PS/2 CALL CALL XENIX System V 286 1295 979 XENIX System V 386 1595 1179 soft warehouse products muLISP-87 Interpreter 300 219 muLISP-87 Interpreter & Compiler 400 299 muMATH-83 300 219 other products Actor by The Whitewater Group 495 439 Brief by Solution Systems 195 CALL Dan Bricklin's Demo II by Soltv/are Garden 195 179 Desqview Irom Quarterdeck 130 115 Disk Technician by Prime Solutions 100 89 DiskTechnician+oyPnmeSo/utos 130 119 Flow Charting \\+ by Palton & Patton 229 189 HALO 88 oyMetf/aCytonefcs NewVersion 325 289 Instant Replay III by Nostradamus 150 129 MaceUtilitiesbyfau/MaceSoftrarE 99 85 MathCAD byMathSott 349 319 Opt-Tech Sort oyOpMecri Data Proc 149 99 Peabody by Copia Inll, Specify Language 100 89 PMI Products AllVarieties CALL CALL Qm'nn-Curtis Products Ail Vaneties CALL CALL STATGRAPHICSoySTSC 895 699 TLIB Version Control by Button Systems Software 100 89 Turbo Professional 4.0 byTurboPower 99 89 Turbo Programmer by ASCII 289 239 Ventura Desktop Publisher byXEROX 895 499 CALL for Products Not Listed Here JUNE 1988 -BYTE 23 HARMONY COMPUTERS LETTERS ,NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE FOR CREDIT CARDS IBM PS II MODEL 30 (20 Meg) J1679.00 EPSON LQ500 $334.00 PANASONIC 1091 i $109.00 TOSHIBA T-1000 $709.00 Apple Image Writer tl Cilizen 120D Olzen 180D Citizen MSP 10 Citizen MSP 15 Cilizen MSP 40 Cilizen MSP 45 Cilizen Preiser 35 Diconix InkJet 150 Epson LXB00 LX BO and 86 Cutsheet Feed Epson LQ500 Epson LQ 850 Epson LQ 1050 Epson FX B6E Epson FX 286E Epson EX800 Epson EX 1000 Amdek 300 A Amdek 310A Amdek 410A 139 Princeton Max 12E 129 Princeton Ultra Sync 509 NEC Multisync G.S. 189 I NEC Multisync II 574~| NEC Mumsync Plus 859 Gold Star TTL Amber 84 Gold Star RGB Color 269 Magnavox (RGB, Composite) CM515 259 •PR NTER SPECIALS" Hewlett Packard Usarjet II Hewlett Packard Deskjet IBM Proprinter II IBM Proprinter 24 IBM Proprinter XL24 NEC 3550 NEC B850 NEC 2300 NEC P6 NEC P7 NEC Color P6 NEC Color P7 Okidata 182 Plus Aldus Pagemaker Lotus 123 Power Mate I w NEC 20 Meg Hard Drive 1549 Ponermaie II w NEC 40 Meg. Harddrive 2159 Powermate NEC 40 meg. 386 3349 Amiga 500 with 1084 Monitc Amig3 1084 Color Monitor Amiga 500 Compuler Amiga 512 RAM Upgrade (lor Amiga 500) Amiga 2000 1 Meg ram. 3'^r Disk Drive Hayes 1200 Hayes 1200B w'Smarlcom 2 Hayes 2400 Hayes 2400B w'Smarlcom 2 Hayes Smartcom II Micomodem 2E Everex Internal 1200B Everex 2400 Internal Everex 2400 External Everex Mac 2400 External Zuckerboard 1200 External Promelhius 2400 Internal Lotus Symphoney 2 D Base 3+ Plus Framework 2 Ver 1.1 Microsoft Word 4.0 Microsoft Excel (IBM) Microsoll Windows 2 03 Word Perfect 4 2 Word Perfecl Library Q & A 3.0 PFS Prolessionai Write Norlon Utilities 4.0 Norton Utilities Advanced Microsoll Mouse Microsoft Mouse with Windows Logitech Mouse Logitech Paint Logitech with Publisher Logitech with Cad Wordstar Professional Rel. 4 Mjltimate Advantage Rel 2 Ventura Desk Top Publishing Managing You: Money - Release 4 Fast Wire II (Data Transfer Software and cables) 3 t/2 Inch Software — "III IIIMII \\m Microsoft Excel Microsoll Word 3.02 Microsoft Works Spellwell More (Symantic) D Base Mac Word Perlect Aldus Pagemaker Okidata 192 Plus Okidata 193 Plus Okidaia 292 w/INTFC Okidata 293 w'lntlc Okidata 393 Panasonic KXP 1080 i Model 2 Panasonic KXP 1091 I Modd 2 Panasonic KXP 1092 i Panasonic KXP 3131 Panasonic KXP 3151 Panasonic KXP 1592 Panasonic KXP 1595 Panasonic 1524 Siekosha 1200 Star NX 1000 — aaiaiig Toshiba 5'/. Disk Dr (360 K) Toshiba 3' 7 Disk Dr (720 K) Toshiba 3'/j Disk Dr (i 44 Meg) AST Six Pack 64K AST Six Pack Premium 256 K AST Rampage (286) Hercules Color Card Hercules Monographic Plus NEC EGAGB1 Quad Prosync (with mouse) Ouadram Ultra VGA (wifh mouse) Video 7 Deluxe Video 7 VGA Genoa Hi Res Card Plus w.'Gem Graph ATI Wonder EGA ATI VGA Wonder Paradise Auto Switch (460) Paradise VGA Plus Everex Auto Sync (460) Everex Auto Sync (480) Deluxe Everex VGA lei 80B7-3 el 6087-2 80287-6 60287-8 B0287-10 60387-16 el 80387-20 Star NX 1000R (color) Star NX 10O0C Star NX 15 Star ND 10 Si.ii ND 15 Star NB 2410 Star NB 2415 Toshiba 341 SL | Toshiba 321 SL 499 | Toshiba 321 SL Color Toshiba 351 SX 649 949 ^^™™ IBM PS;2 Model 30 (2 Drives) IBM PS/2 Model 30 (20 Meg ) IBM PS'2 Model 50 (20 Meg ) IBM P/S 2 Mono Monitor IBM P/S 2 Color (8512) Moniior IBM P/S 2 Color (8513) Momlor Hertz xl (10 MHZ) 256 K. w/Dnve Hertz At 286w'1.2Meg Drive AST Rampage 286 (40 Meg) AST Rampage 286 (70 Meg) 2GS wifh 256K Apple Drive (3>A) Apple Drive (3VS) MAC Plus MACSE 12 Drives) M99 2049 2599 Apple Color Moniior (RGB) Apple Black 8 While Monitor Milac Orive (2E. 2C. MAC) 5'A* Miniscribe MAC 20 Meg Exl. Drive Everex MAC Modem 1200 Ext rJHMSiaSrl Seagate 20 Meg. w/controller Seagate 30 Meg. w/controller Seagate 30 Meg. AT :4038 Seagate 40 Meg. :251 Miniscribe 30 Meg. Hard Card Plus Hard Card (20 meg.) Plus Hard Card (40 meg.) I (Miniscribe) MAC 20 Meg External NEC Multispeed NEC Multispeed EL NEC Muliispeed H.D. (20 Meg.) NEC Muliispeed EL? Toshiba T 1000 Toshhiba T 1100 Plus (2 Drives) Toshiba T 1200 (20 Meg.) Toshiba T 3100 (20 Meg.) Toshiba 3200 (40 meg.) Sharp 4502 (2 Drive. El Screen Zenith 181 (2 Drive) Zenith 183 (20 Meg) Diconex Ink Jet Port. Printer Fastwire II (Data Transfer Software 3Vj to 5%) 1449 709 1340 2225 2B49 3,699 1179 Master Card and Visa welcome For your proteclion we check tor siolen credit cards. Shipping S handling extra Defective merchandise will be replaced or repaired at our discretion within the tBrms of our warranlee. No exchanges or refunds. Price and availability sub;ecl to Change wilhout notice. We cannol guarantee compatibility. Digital I/O, Power Control GPIB (IEEE-488) CONTROLLER WAVEFORM SYNTHESIZER Arbitrary Waveform Generation C? Q| IA TECH 478 E - Exchange St., Akron, Ohio 44304 ZZ^Z^Z^TV^ZZ (216) 434-3154 TLX: 5101012726 INCORPORATED 1-800-553-1170 FAX: (216) 434-4409 keyboard has been contorted, aug- mented, and Mickey-Moused around just to accommodate a tiny number of the pos- sibilities that are available on present-day computers. Many languages use a variety of alpha- bets, and some, using pictographs, ideo- graphs, and hieroglyphs, don't even use alphabets at all. And then there are sym- bols—verbal, graphic, or iconic?— that are used to represent concepts in music, science, religion, finance, road signs, and programming conventions, to name a few. For example, a red circle with a diagonal line drawn in it can represent three words, but a cross may represent several pages of words. Relational databases, hypertext, expert systems, and so on represent the first step of a thousand-mile journey. It is a para- dox that computer cognoscenti who can't abide last year's 16-bit processors wres- tle daily with a keyboard that was de- signed for mechanical typewriters about 115 years ago and ASCII that was de- signed for teletype machines about 45 years ago. Mr. Cornish's article has given us a hint of the revolutionary changes that will be necessary in soft- ware and in hardware before we can begin to realize the potential of these devices after we change the name of the machine. Larry Salmon Comptche, CA So Much for Symbols I just read "It's All in the Symbols" by Merrill Cornish. It's true that we use symbols for numbers, but the representa- tion is to represent the process. Gener- ally, in mathematics counting is defined as the concatenation of empty sets (a pro- cess) , and from this we attempt to prove addition, subtraction, multiplication, and virtually everything else. There are no 0s and Is inside a computer. What a com- puter does is complex processing on dif- ferent levels. There are no symbols inside a machine; there is only a method of pro- cessing symbols. An artificial intelligence unit involved in symbol processing, such as natural language processing, tokenizes the words and parses them according to the specific grammar. Semantic nets are used in con- junction with the cognitive model to at- tempt to clarify meaning. These semantic nets generally represent a token world or an empirical representation of the organi- zation of human knowledge. A number of simple data structures used in higher- level languages allow for practical repre- sentations of the empirical world. We are living creatures, and one could say that we understand everything as a set of threshold neural responses. This could continued 24 BYTE* JUNE 1988 Circle 233 on Reader Service Card It's A Matter Of Security With Everex tape backup products, users of IBM* PC™/XT7ATs e , compatibles or PS/2s™can easily protect the valuable information stored on their systems. A variety of options are available including external and internal units with 40MB to 125 MB of capacity in cartridge, cassette or mini-cartridge drives — all at affordable prices. Everex has been an industry leader in tape backup systems since 1984. Our popular half-height, internal units are designed to fit inside 5 1/4-inch disk drive slots. There's even a mini-cartridge drive that fits right into a disk drive slot and runs off an existing floppy controller. With Everex tape systems, you have the flexibility to save or restore all information on your hard disk, including DOS and all other operating systems. Backup can be done file-by-file or as an entire mirror image, and you can restore individual files from image backups. If you have an assortment of PC/XT/ATs, compatibles and PS/2s, you can cut down on costs by using one Everex tape backup unit and a controller card in each computer. When you buy an Everex tape backup system you get everything you need. This isn't true with other tape units on the market today — their extra costs can add as much as $250 to a system. When it comes to securing your data, it's easy to see why Everex has the answer. For more information or the name of your nearest Everex dealer please call: in caiif 1-800-821-0807 in U.S.A. 1-800-821-0806 Everex is a trademark and Ever for Excellence is a registered trademark of Everex Systems. Inc. IBM and AT are registered trademarks and PC, XT and PS/2 are trademarks of Internationa! Business Machines Corp. ©1988 Everex Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Circle 103 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 104) EVER for Excellence® 415-498-1111 48431 Milmont Drive, Fremont, CA 94538 JUNE 1988 -BYTE 25 Circle 1 78 on Reader Service Card OUTSTANDING SOFTWARE For IBM PC's and Compatibles LETTERS $Q50 PER DISK Small Quantities $000 PER ^^J DISK | For Ten or More SHIPPED WITHIN 24 HOURS! Satisfaction Guaranteed or Money Back! □ BUSINESS 1— EZ-FORMS business form generation, completion and printing program. □ CAD 3— The PC-Flow 1 .0 computer aided flow- chart generation program. Color graphics required. [5] COMM 4a,b,C,d,e— (5 disks) Join the world of sysops with RBBS Bulletin Board System 1 4.1 D. {2} DATABASE 1a,b— (2 disks) File Express 3.8 menu driven general purpose database manager. EDUCATION 1— Interactive DOS tutorial for new PC users. Makes learning DOS painless. UO FINANCE 1a,b— (2 disks) PC Accountant 2.0 personal bookkeeping and finance management. 1 I GAMES 1 — 3-D Pacman, Kong, Spacewar, Janit- Joe, futuristic Flightmare and more, Color required. □ GAMES 2— Qubert, Pango, Centipede, dun- geons and dragons style Zoarre, etc. Color req. | I GAMES 3 — Blackjack with customizable rules, Armchair Quarterback (you call plays), and more. □ GAMES 4— Star Trek, the Castle adventure game, and the original Colossal Caves Adventure. S I | GAMES 5 — The Hack adventure game from the ® universities. Like Rogue, only much richer. ^ □ GAMES 6— Pinball, Othello, Dragons, Sopwith (fly a Sopwith Camel) and more. Color required. \2\ INFO 1a,b— (2 disks) Cooking recipes database with keyword/ingredient retrieval. Add your own. [U MUSIC 2a,b— (2 disks) PianoMan 3.0 polyphonic music recording and playback program. □ ORGANIZER 1— DeskTeam, a Sidekick clone, and the Judy personal calendar program. □ PRINTER 1— Resident print control and font utility, intelligent spooler, banner maker, and more. □ SIMULATION 1— Maze making program, MITs Life simulation, starfields, etc. Color graphics req. \] UTILITIES 1 — A collection of invaluable general purpose DOS utilities. An absolute must for all. □ UTILITIES 2— More invaluable DOS utilities in- cluding screen burnout, ram disk, and more. [~1 UTILITIES 3 — A comprehensive set of debugging and diagnostic utilities for monitoring your computer. NEW RELEASES/UPDA TES I | BUSINESS 2 — Expressgraph business graphics. Chart your data and find trends. Color graphics req. [|] CAD 1a,b— (2 disks) Fingerpaint 1.2 advanced painting and Altamira object oriented design. Color. [U CAD 2a,b— (2 disks) DanCad3d, an advanced 2D/3D drafting program w/animation. 640K, color. H] COMM 2a,b— (2 disks) Procomm 2.42, an excel- lent modem program with terminal emulation. □ EDUCATION 3— PC-Fastype 1 .20 typing tutor, ideal for beginners and advanced students alike. \2\ FINANCES 3a,b— (2 disks) Express Calc 3.12, a powerful and user friendly spreadsheet program. □ GAMES 8— Striker helicopter attack and Risk, the game of world domination. Color required. [~l GAMES 12 — Backgammon (play the computer) and Wheel of Fortune based on the gameshow. I | GRAPHICS 1 — Record and play back screen im- ages! Excellent for demo, etc. Color required. \3} GRAPHICS 2a,b,C— (3 disks) An excellent 3-D surface modelling and shading program. Color. \Z\ INFO 2a,b— (2 disks) Zip-Phone, national areacode/prefix to zip-code cross reference. [2] LANGUAGE 3a,b— (2 disks) The A86 3.09 macro assembler and debugger for 8088/86/286s. \2\ SHELL 4a,b— (2 disks) Automenu and HDM II 4.04 hard disk prog, for custom full-screen menus. □ UTILITIES 5— Hard disk utilities for verifying, for- matting, parking and optimizing your disk drives. I I UTILITIES 6 — Advanced utilities including Mark/Release (remove resident progs w/o reboot!) I | UTILITIES 7 — More advanced utilities including Masterkey (undeletes files from hard disks). \g\ WORD 1a,b— (2 disks) PC Write 2.71, a powerful word processing system w/spell checker, laser supt. Most software listed is shareware or user-supported. 3.5 format add $1 disk. 125 page directory, add $2. MicroCom Systems 3673 Enochs Street Santa Clara, CA 95051 Cost of items Shipping CA res tax_ Total encl._ $3.00 L^m (408)737-9000 H. ^^^^ Mon-Fri 7am-9pm. Sal-Sun 8am-5pm ^ ^^^^ ' I explain why trees have leaves; however, I doubt if it will ever explain trees or leaves. Until computers function on a glandular level, they will never be able to successfully abstract humanly because we are not made of silicon chips. It is true that Godel proved (by the application of the Liar's Paradox) that there are no for- mal systems that cannot be made incon- sistent and that there are no systems made inconsistent that cannot be made consis- tent. So much for symbols. There are no symbols that cannot be made meaning- less and no symbols that are meaningless that cannot be made meaningful. Perhaps this man is just tired of silicon and elec- tricity and is proposing a newer, more progressive, coherent light megabit pro- cessor. That may be in the future, but by that time I doubt if the computers will take anything that we say or do very seriously. Joe Barnette San Francisco, CA Making Columns Wrap Dick Pountain's column- wrap program (Focus on Algorithms, "Multicolumn Paged Text," March) is a fine base on which to erect improvements once you get it running. Unfortunately, in its pres- ent form it won't run at all. The problem is function spaces, which reads Spaces :- Copy(Blanks, 1, Num) where Num is the number of spaces you want. This won't work, because in the Turbo Pascal Copy function the third pa- rameter (Num) says how many characters to copy from the input string. Here the in- put string, Blanks, is merely 1 character long, so there's no way to copy, say, 38 characters out of it. The simplest fix is to make the Con- stant Blanks contain 40 spaces between its two quotes, which is probably what Dick had in mind before a typesetter got at his listing. There's also a typo in procedure WriteOutPage: The first appearance of the word Spaces should be followed by an end bracket. Hugh Kenner Baltimore, MD Reordering the Alphabet After doing considerable reading on data-retrieval systems, search and sort al- gorithms, and the like, I have come to think that we may be letting a historical accident impede the efficiency of our pro- cedures. We inherited our alphabet and the ordering of its letters from the Romans, and we have preserved the order, with minor additions, as though it were something ordained and immutable. However, the order of our alphabet is by no means the most efficient possible, even for human use in sorting through lists, and for computers' use it is almost criminally inefficient. Unfortunately, the ubiquity of ASCII clearly makes it too difficult and expensive to retool our sys- tem of encoding text for use with a CPU. A few moments' thought shows that if our alphabet were arranged in descending order of frequency of occurrence of the letters, any search based on alphabetic order should go much faster, whether done by humans or computers. Human nature being what it is, the hope of convincing the great mass of hu- manity to learn a new ordering of the al- phabet is totally in vain. It is a different matter with computers. We could, of course, simply reorder the assigned codes, but this would require massive retrofitting. Fortunately, there is an easier way to go. It makes no difference what order the characters of a text file are in inside the computer, so long as they appear in the expected order on the monitor screen or in hard copy for human consumption. How many people could or would read Robinson Crusoe printed in decimal ASCII code, let alone in binary numbers? It would be neither particularly diffi- cult nor time-consuming to run text through a filter that would recode the in- dividual characters of the alphabet to match their natural frequency of occur- rence. Once converted, data files would, or at least should, be much faster to search or sort. Recoding before printing would be required, but, in general, only selected fragments of data files would be output at any one time. I believe it would be well worth testing to see whether enough time would be gained by quicker searching to compen- sate for the encoding and decoding time and leave a net gain in speed. If there proved to be a substantial gain, it would add little to the cost to include the encod- ing filter in future revisions of existing programs or new software and probably would not be prohibitively expensive to patch into software in the field. This is just a suggestion — something to think about. If anyone has done any ex- perimenting along these lines, I'd like to hear about it. Billy R. Pogue Lake Havasu City, AZ Objects in Continuous Systems In object-oriented programming, the pro- grammer thinks in terms of objects, which often have a correspondence in the real world (e.g., a dictionary). These ob- jects can respond to messages (e.g., continued 26 BYTE- JUNE 1988 Now You're Talking Communicate with anyone anywhere in the world. Whether you use E-Mail or bulletin boards, information services like The Source and CompuServe,® or data file transfer, Everex modems meet all your communications needs. Working at your desk or on the road, Everex offers you a complete range of modem solutions. We have 1200 or 2400 bps internal and external modems, modems that send and receive FAX communications, modems with MNP error correction, and a miniature modem that fits in your shirt pocket. EVER for Excellence is it registered trademark and EVEREX is a trademark of Everex Systems, Inc. IBM, AT and PS/2 are registered trademarks and PC and XT are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. Hayes is a registered trademark of Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. BitCom is a trademark of Bit Software, Inc. Apple is a registered trademark and Macintosh is a trademark licensed to Apple Computer, Inc. CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe Information Services. The Source is a trademark of Source Telecomputing Corporation. ©Copyright 1988 Everex Systems. Inc. All rights reserved. Circle 105 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 106) All Everex modems offer worldwide compatibility with Bell, CCITT or Hayes® standards. And, our modems are compatible with IBM® PC™/XT™/ATs® and compatibles, PS/2s,® Apple® II and Macintosh™ computers. Features like automatic data-to-voice switching, tone or pulse dialing, built-in diagnostics, helpscreens, adaptive dialing, software-adjustable volume control, and auto-dialing all combine to increase the flexibility and ease-of-use of Everex modems. The powerful communications package BitCom™ is included with every modem. Complete hardware and software manuals make setting up and using Everex modems quick and simple. You can rely on Everex modems to deliver superb performance at an affordable price. So, when you need a modem for your PC/XT/AT or compatible, PS/2, or Apple II and Macintosh computers, Everex has the Answer. For more information or the name of your nearest Everex dealer please call: in caif 1-800-821-0807 in U.S.A. 1-800-821-0806 EVER lor Excellence is (415) 498-1 1 1 1 48431 Milmont Drive, Fremont CA 94538 JUNE 1988 'BYTE 27 FROM NOW OH THERE'S ONIYONE RISC WORTH TAKING. 28 BYTE- JUNE 1988 INTRODUCING THE MOTOROLA 88000 MICROPROCESSOR FAMILY: THE GREATEST RISC OF ALL The future of RISC computing has been reduced to three small, but amazingly powerful chips. Namely, the Motorola 88000 family. One awesome microprocessor unit, support- ed by two cache memory management units. Designed to take RISC architecture far beyond anything else in the marketplace. The 88000 runs at a blistering 14-17 MIPS, 7 million floating point operations per second, and an incredible 50 MIPS in parallel processing applications (using just four 88000 chip sets on our HYPERmodule'"card). Which makes everything from multi-user business systems to fault tolerant on-line trans- action processing systems to artificial intelligence systems several times faster and more powerful than ever before. What's more, it comes with absolutely every bit of hardware and software needed to build your system of the future, today. In fact, many leading hardware and software companies, including those in the independent consortium 88open, are already designing systems around the 88000. And many more will follow So make sure your future is as rewarding as it can possibly be. Call us for more information at 1-800-441-2447. Or write Motorola Inc., PQ Box 20912, Phoenix, AZ 85036. Because the greater the RISC, the greater the reward. M) MOTOROLA ^Reduced Instruction Set Computer 1988, Motorola Inc. HYPERmodule is a trademark of Motorola Inc. JUNE 1988 -BYTE 29 LETTERS search for a word). The dictionary exam- ple seems natural, in that it is inert (shut) until we want it to do something. But what about continuous systems? Consider the idea of a billiard ball mov- ing toward a cushion (or "rail," as I be- lieve you call it in the U.S.). Clearly, "ball" should be an object— it responds to "hit" messages and knows how to move. But the cushion is not passive— it has elasticity and responds when contact is made. Is the cushion, too, an object? For the sake of argument, assume it is an object. How does it know when contact is made? Is it constantly on the lookout for approaching balls? This doesn't seem to fit the real world. Another possibility is the addition of a third party— an overseer who spots where and when collisions occur and reports them to the cushion. I am well aware that billiards video games exist and also of the existence of planetary simulation systems in which the laws of physics can be changed. Is Smalltalk natural for the implementation of such systems, in that the design of the software bears a close relationship to If you think jrou can buy a better C compiler, don't. Well buy it for you. Buy Let's C* with csd™ for just $75. If you're not satisfied, get lurbo Cor QuickC. Free* Why are we making this incredible offer? Because we're absolutely cer- tain Let's C and csd C Source Debugger are the best C programming tools you can own. Rest assured that, like its competition, Let's C features incredibly fast in-memory compilation and produces extremely tight, high quality code. The differences lie in how much faster you can perform other programming chores. Our debugger, for example, can cut development time in half. But that's not all: "csd is close to the ideal debugging environment.. . a definite aid to learning C and an indispensable tool/or program development." -William G. Wong, BYTE And comparatively speaking: "No debugger is included in the Turbo C package... a serious shortcoming." —Michael Abrash, Programmer's Journal Unlike our competition, Let's C includes its own full-featured assembler, features documentation with complete examples and technical support with complete answers-thejirst time you call. LETS C: • Now compiles twice as fasl • Integrated edit-compile cycle: editor automatically points to errors • Includes both small and large memory model ■ Integrated environment or command line interlace • 8087 sensing and support LET'S C AND csd FEATURES • Full UNIX compatibility and complete libraries • Many powerful utilities including make, assembler, atchiver • MicroEMACS full screen editor with source code included • Supported by dozens of third party libraries csd: • Debug in C source code, not assembler ■ Provides separate source, evaluation, program 2nd history windows ■ Ability to set trace points and monitor variables • Can interactively evaluate any C expression ■ Can execute any C function in your program • Trace back function So if you're thinking about buying any other C compiler, think again. But this offer is only available for a limited time. So think fast. And see your software dealer or call 1-800-MWC-1700 soon. (1-312-472-6659 in IUinois.) "lb exchange Let's C and csd for TUrbo C or QuickC, return registration card within 15 days ofpurchase date, notify Mark Williams Company that you are returning products and receive a return authorization number. Products must be returned within 30 days ofpurchase date or within 30 days of shipping date on telephone orders. '""""' I Mark | Williams Company 1430 West Wrightwood, Chicago, Illinois 60614, 312-472-6659 i 1988 Mark Williams Company what exists in the real world? Smalltalk experts, what do you think? Mike Parr Sheffield, U.K. Take Two Computers and Call Me in the Morning You might well ask why am I writing to a computer magazine about a medically caused problem. I think I had better start at the beginning. My wife, my son, and I were going to Reno, Nevada, in early June of 1985. I was to attend a week of schooling put on by the National Council of Juvenile Jus- tice. It was funded by the federal govern- ment under a grant. I had decided to take my spouse and 15-year-old son with me and make the trip a working vacation. We drove our car during the day and stopped to eat, swim, and sleep in preselected camping areas at night. We'd been traveling for several days and were almost to Reno when my wife said to me, "Dick, you're not driving very well, and your speech sounds funny. I think we should go to the hospital and see if they find something wrong with you. " We checked into the motel in Reno. I couldn't write very legibly, and I found it very difficult to keep my signature on the line provided for this. Yet I never felt any pain. Through this time I did not suffer from any physical discomfort. The doctors at a hospital in Reno, after giving me a thorough physical examina- tion and a CAT scan, all agreed that I had had a massive stroke of the right part of the brain stem. I had not only lost much of my sense of balance, but I had great difficulty in speaking, and I had double vision. I was kept in the hospital in Reno for several days while I was given a battery of tests. When my blood pressure was no longer considered dangerous, my wife and I took an airplane to my home in South Dakota, while my son and brother drove our car back. When I got home, my wife took me to the local hospital, where the doctor sug- gested that I go to the physical, occupa- tional, and speech therapy unit. In ther- apy I was immediately placed on a computer, first the Visi-Pitch that was part of an Apple computer, where I learned to watch the track my speech therapist's voice made across the screen. I then tried to copy her pattern with my voice. She also encouraged me to turn the computer and Visi-Pitch on. I think this exercise helped my coordination, both physical and mental. Next I was given the task of playing games on the computer. These games helped me reestablish hand-eye coordina- continued 30 BYTE • JUNE 1988 Circle 167 on Reader Service Card \\ \ v:\\ \ \ N - PSpice The Standard for Analog Circuit Simulation Now Available on the Macintosh II Since its introduction just over four years ago, MicroSim's PSpice has sold more copies than all other commercial Spice programs combined. In addition to running on the IBM PC family, in- cluding the new PS/2, the Compaq 386, the Sun 3 workstation and the VAX/VMS family, PSpice is now available on Apple's Macintosh II. All these features which have made PSpice so popular are available: • Standard parts libraries for diodes, bipolar transistors, power MOSFET's, opamps, voltage comparators, and transformer cores. • GaAs MESFET devices. • Non-linear transformer devices modeling saturation, hysteresis, and eddy current losses. • Ideal switches for use with, for example, power supply and switched capacitor circuit designs. In addition, all these PSpice options are available on the Macintosh: • Monte Carlo analysis to calculate the effect of parameter tolerances on circuit performance. • The Probe "software oscilloscope", allowing interactive viewing of simulation results. • The Parts parameter extraction program, allow- ing you to extract a device's model parameters from data sheet information. • The Digital Files interface, allowing you to transfer data from your logic simulator to (or from) PSpice. The interface performs the necessary D to A or A to D conversions. Each copy of PSpice comes with our extensive product support. Our technical staff has over 50 years of experience in CAD/CAE and our software is supported by the engineers who wrote it. With PSpice, expert assistance is only a phone call away. Please call or write today for a free evaluation copy of PSpice. Find out for yourself why PSpice is the standard in analog circuit simulation. MicroSim Corporation 23175 La Cadena Drive, Laguna Hills, CA 92653 U.S.A. • (714) 770-3022 (800) 826-8603 • Telex 265154 SPICE UR PSpice is a registered trademark of MicroSim Corporation; Macintosh II is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.; Compaq 386 is a trademark of Compaq Computer Corporation; IBM PC, PS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation; Sun is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.; VAX and VMS are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. Circle 180 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 181) JUNE 1988 -BYTE 31 LETTERS tion; they also made me think, and my ability to problem-solve improved daily. When I finally did return to work, one of my staff members had his own personal Apple lie at work, and he encouraged me to make use of it at any time. I did this a great deal, using a word processor until I got my own Tandy 1000. I do like mechanical things, and the computer is an electrical/mechanical de- vice. Also, my son was heavily oriented to the use of computers, and to keep up with the rest of the world and my own child, I wanted to know more about them. Both my son and I now have computers at home. I can use both of my hands, and I attribute this digital dexterity to the use I gave to my hands while using the key- board of my computer. I probably would never have written this letter if I had to rely on a typewriter, or a pen and paper. The desire to become proficient in using a computer was the motivating agent I needed— physical as well as emotional. My doctor agrees with me. He gave me a prescription for a computer. My tax ac- countant said I could deduct most of the cost as a medical expense. ONLY F0RTR0N COMES WITH ONE FULL YEAR OF SERVICE. FREE. ON-SITE. When you buy any Fortran 286 and 386-based IBM-compatible, one full year of service at your site is part of the package. Just call the service hotline, and we'll take care of you from a network of 300 service locations throughout the country. Because we design and build our systems right here, ourselves, you always know exactly who to call for any kind of support you need. And you'll get it. Fast. Call toll-free for more information, and for the name of your nearest Fortran dealer: 800-821-9771. In Califomia,(408) 432-1191. Small Footprint 80286 80386, 16 MHz or 20 MHz POffiRON 2380 Qume Drive, Ste. F San Jose, CA 95131 Desktop 80286 or 80386 I will admit that I can type only about 12 words a minute, versus the 60 words a minute I could type before I had my stroke. I can no longer touch-type but have to watch my fingers all the time to make sure they go where I want them to. But at least they all still work. So now you can see why I am writing this letter to a computer magazine. I sim- ply want to say thanks, and I don't know who to say thanks to. Richard F. Stanford Pierre, SD Heatsinking 80387s I would like to commend you on your In Depth section about floating-point pro- cessing (March). I particularly liked Mauro Bonomi's article, "Avoiding Co- processor Bottlenecks. " I liked the whole concept of the graphic beach ball. The Weitek/80387 combination is fan- tastic, but, based on table 1 in the article, the over one million Whetstone-per-sec- ond difference does not warrant the addi- tional cost of $1000 to $1500. I have friends who heatsink their 16-MHz 80387s and run them between 23 and 25 MHz with good success, which brings their efficiency even closer to the Wei- tek/80387 combination. Please let me know whether your Float, Calcpi, Savage, Dhrystone, and Whetstone programs are available for us BYTE readers to run in our own hardware through your bulletin board. Doody R. Ungson San Jose, CA BYTEnet carries listings for all pro- grams mentioned in BYTE articles. The phone number is (617) 861-9764. — Eds. Up the Down Mouse If anyone, for whatever reason, would like to learn opposite movements (i.e., moving your hand up creates an action down and vice versa, and moving your hand left creates an action right and vice versa), the solution is simple. Take your mouse, turn it 180 degrees and go to work. After a little practice, you may be- come quite good at it. Bob Hester Toulouse, France FIXES In the review of enhanced EGA and VGA graphics boards (March), we stated that Sigma Designs' Sigma VGA board does not work with the IBM 8513 analog color monitor. Sigma Designs says that its board does work with the monitor when equipped with the correct cable. ■ 32 BYTE • JUNE 19 Circle 109 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 110) HowMacintDshll came to be one of the safest decisions in business. Firsts met Business computing has re- cently undergone some fairly radi- cal changes. Consequently so has the idea of "safety" Because, at present, only one computer offers all the promise for the future, and delivers on it today: the Macintosh n personal computer. Rest assured, it has the power to meet every standard that serious business demands. Like breakneck speed. Full expandability A wide choice of so- phisticated programs for every bus- iness use. And the capacity to store even the most intimidating moun- tain of information. It has memory that grows beyond megabytes, all the way to gigabytes. And can display your work in a choice of millions of colors, on monitors that show up to four pages at once. Its own power aside, Macintosh n is perfectly prepared to meet the standards of other machines as well. Whether they speak MS-DOS, UNIX'or assorted dialects of mainframese, from IBM to DEC. So it can work with files from- and run- DOS programs like Lotus 1-2-3 and WordPerfect. Connections are painless via the AppleTalk network system, using a variety of cabling, includ- ing Ethernet. Keep in mind, you can use Macintosh technology no matter what size your thirst for power. There's a whole family of Macin- tosh computers, all designed to connect to existing equipment. Macintosh II just happens to make a perfect place to start, because you can add so many options down the road. Except, of course, the warm feeling of security That comes standard. Compatibility. Easily digests - datafrom-and even runs- MS-DOS programs. Display. All sizes and shapes, - including color and large-screen. Applications. A wide choice - for every business use. Connectability. Via AppleTalk, ~ using cabling such as Ethernet. Expandability. Six expansion - slots for future growth. Raw Power. Math co-processor - standard, Vast memory 1MB and up. Internal storage to 80 MB. . ii it A //nr/o vZ si Z y _'' m ( u f:ts/ cn//y paste ^& \| ^^ ^« __ M _ M _ MMMMM __ M>M _ M . .^MMMMM s a registered trademark ofMiamqfl Corp. UNIX is a registered tmdemarkoJ\Ar&rm^ns a registered^ mes with a CPU (which isn't shown hire) ami a mouse (which is). For the sake of custom configuration, monitor -and 'keyboard 'are purchased 'separately. As are your desk, chair.trash can and pencil cup. At this point, we'd hardly stand in the way if you were de- termined to own a Macintosh. But may we suggest, in the interest of complete safety that you start with one simple phone call. In return, you'll get an exec- utive summary of a study that was conducted by Peat, Marwick, Main & Co., examining the effect of Macintosh computers on busi- ness productivity At the risk of spoiling the ending, we'll tell you this. In the cases studied, it was found that the use of Macintosh raised pro- ductivity as much as 25%. Now then. All those interested in receiving a free copy of this report, please raise your finger. union. And use it to punch 800- 446-3000, ext. 333. Then you can easily ponder the implications for your own busi- ness. And make the safest decision feel even safer. The power to be your best: Circle 39 on Reader Service Card CHAOS MANOR MAIL Jerry Pournelle answers questions about his column and related computer topics The Ice Age Cometh By way of background for the following letter: My talk to a meeting of authors of books in the Yourdon Prentice-Hall series was titled "We 're Eating Your Eggs. " It was built around the theme that much of the MIS community reminds me of dino- saurs having a debate over whether to evolve bigger teeth or longer tails, while the mammals are chowing down on their eggs. . . . —Jerry Dear Jerry, Just a note to you mammals to let you know how things are going here at Dino- saur Central. . . . I just got a call from a fellow who wanted a price on converting 13,000 pro- grams—about 7.8 million lines of code— from one system to another (incompat- ible) system. I gave him a price— I'm in business to do this sort of thing— but I thought this is really stupid. I'm being asked to clone a dinosaur. The agency that wants the new dinosaur is willing to consider spending millions of dollars so that it will have a newer version of exactly what it has now. Incredible! There's a lot of this dinosaur cloning going on these days. Companies are mov- ing their systems from IBM to DEC, or you can pick any other combination you want. If you think there are problems with compatibility between systems in the micro world, you ought to see how the dinosaurs have screwed it up. Even mov- ing from one IBM system to a larger one requires the sort of planning previously reserved for D day. All this cloning takes up a lot of time and energy. Once the dinosaur keepers have spent the time they need to keep their beasts in order, there really isn't much time left for actual users who want the system to do something new or some- thing old a little better. Enter the mammals. The sales man- ager in the West Fencepost office can't af- ford to wait for the dinosaur keepers to do their thing, so he goes out and gets him- self a PC and gets someone to show him how to use Reflex or dBASE. He doesn't care so much about what the dinosaurs are doing, except when they louse up an order for one of his customers. Eventually, however, this guy is going to move upward in the company. He, or someone like him, is going to become Create Powerful Programs with Blaise TOOLS president, and he's going to remember how the dinosaurs hurt his efforts and how the mammals helped him. That's when the Ice Age will start. Any vestiges of the dinosaurs that remain will have to earn their keep, either by keeping giga- bytes of data accessible or by providing very fast computation in special situa- tions. The mammals are going to call the tune. John Boddie Newark, BE It does seem to me that rather than build ever-larger COBOL programs for those giant machines that lurk in climate- controlled rooms, big companies might think about reverse engineering: Figure out what their programs actually do, and commission someone to write code for micros to accomplish that. Of course, that would decentralize control and give computing power to people who don't work for the MIS, so I suppose it will never happen. —Jerry Amiga vs. Atari Dear Jerry, I'm afraid your biases toward the Atari ST showed again in the November 1987 Computing at Chaos Manor. Like all software-only emulations, pc- ditto is unacceptably slow. Unfortu- nately, the ST cannot make use of the Motorola 68020 microprocessor (as you implied), because the TOS operating sys- tem will not support it, as does the Amiga's. Nor will it support more than 4 megabytes of memory, as does the Amiga's. The Amiga 500 offers far greater per- formance for a modest price difference. The Amiga 2000 makes true high-perfor- mance PC compatibility possible and can use a 15-MHz 68020 add-in card that offers most of the performance of a Mac- intosh II at about one-third the price. The same individual who was respon- sible for one of your favorite computers, continued Jerry Pournelle holds a doctorate in psy- chology and is a science fiction writer who also earns a comfortable living writ- ing about computers present and future. He can be reached c/o BYTE, One Phoe- nix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. Whether you're an expert or a novice, you can benefit from using special tools to enhance your programs, make them reliable, and give them a professional look. With windows, menus, pop-up memory resident programs, and communications support, Blaise Computing offers you a wide range of programming tools to let you take full advantage of the Microsoft and Borland pro- gramming environments. All language support packages include fully commented source code, complete comprehensive manuals and sample programs. C TOOLS PLUS/5.0 $129.00 Full spectrum of general service utility functions including: windows; menus; memory resident applications; interrupt service routines; interven- tion code; and direct video access for fast screen handling. Specifically designed for Microsoft C 5.0 and QuickC. Turbo C TOOLS $129.00 Windows and menus; ISRs; intervention code; screen handling including EGA 43-line text mode support; direct screen access; and memory resi- dent applications. Carefully crafted specifically to complement Turbo C. Turbo POWER SCREEN $129. 00 NEW! Genera] screen management; paint screens; block mode data entry or field-by-field control with instant screen access. Now for Turbo Pascal 4.0, soon for C and BASIC. Turbo POWER TOOLS PLUS $129.00 NEW VERSION! Now supports Turbo Pascal 4.0. Screen, window, and menu management includ- ing EGA support; DOS memory control; ISRs; scheduled intervention code; and much more. Turbo ASYNCH PLUS $129.00 NEW VERSION! Now supports Turbo Pascal 4.0. Interrupt driven support for the COM ports. I/O buffers up to 64K; XON/XOFF; up to 9600 baud; modem and XMODEM control. ASYNCH MANAGER $175.00 Full featured interrupt driven support for the COM ports. I/O buffers up to 64K; XON/XOFF; up to 9600 baud; modem control and XMODEM. For Microsoft C, Turbo C or MS Pascal. Key Pilot $49.95 "Super-batch" program. Create batch files which can invoke programs and provide input to them; run any program unattended; create demonstra- tion programs; analyze keyboard usage. PASCAL TOOLS/TOOLS 2 $175.00 Expanded string and screen handling; graphics routines; memory management; general program control; DOS file support and more. For MS- Pascal. EXEC $95.00 NEW VERSION! Program chaining executive. Chain one program from another in different languages; specify common data areas; less than 2K of overhead. RUNOFF $49.95 Text formatter for all programmers. Written in Turbo Pascal: flexible printer control; user-defined variables; index generation; and a general macro facility. TO ORDER CALL TOLL FREE 800-333-8087! BLAISE COMPUTING INC. 2560 Ninth Street, Suite 316 Berkeley, CA 94710 (415) 540-5441 JUNE 1988 'BYTE 33 CHAOS MANOR MAIL the Commodore 64, also guided the de- velopment of the Atari ST: Mr. Jack Tra- miel. Accordingly, the ST was designed and built with but one thing in mind- cheapness. This would be apparent to anyone who has lifted the cover off an ST and examined its innards (I have). Generally, Amiga software is of higher quality than comparably priced ST soft- ware. I will admit that there is slightly more ST software available, but is quan- tity more important than quality? I think not. More Amiga software will appear as programmers become accustomed to the computer's more sophisticated operating system. Jeff Joseph MinotAFB.ND Well, sir, you have one view. I have both machines, and I have another view. True: pc-ditto is quite slow, about 80 per- cent as fast as a PC, while the Amiga 2000 is exactly the speed of a PC; as for the 68020 card for the Amiga side, I haven 't seen one yet. Actually, like most people who 've been around as long as I have, I followed the A HOLMES IN EVERY PORT -i**<&*>* ARRIVING AT COMM. PORT 2 The Best Laptop Modem (John C. Divrak — P.C. Magazine) .At an Affordable Price, (p.c. wmm All Holmes Corresopndent"' Modems are fully Hayes 1 " compatible. They include auto answer, auto dial, and use very little power. These features, along with a two year warranty and a complete software MICROSYSTEMS. INC. package make Holmes the best value available. 1-800-443-3034 tDLnra WE'VE GOT THE MODEM FOR YOUR LAPTOP! Tramiel odysseffrom its inception; and I've done quite a bit of poking around in- side *the Atari ST, including installing extra memory on a 540. I assure you I've had more Guru Meditations (Amiga's system error messages) than cherry bOmbs (Atari 's). t I hope you 're right about the upcoming softvmrefor the Amiga. — Jerry r - i Medical Spelling Checker? Dear, Jerry, jMy mother is a physician who has trouble spelling* We have an IBM PC, which she uses for word processing, and a couple of spelling checkers (Word Proof and the one in BC-Write). However, we have been unable to find a medical word list f<5r any IBM PC spelling checker. Do yrjii kno'w of a, spelling checker that comes with a medical dictionary, or a medifcal dictionary that we could add to ofle of our 'current spelling checkers? (Since PC-Write can add words to its list, all vye really need is a file of medical werds on an- IBM PC disk with enough information to detode the file format.) We tried to contact Oasis Systems, the m^ker of. Word Plus, which you've men- tioned favorably .'Our letter was returned. Has the company moved? I e'njoy reading your column in BYTE, but could you coyer the Amiga more? Michael Hanson Seattle, WA r- . i I don 't know of a medical dictionary. It is relatively easy to make one if you have tile -kind of spelling checker that adds up- date words easily. The simplest way would be to get one of the medical CD- Rf)M units, put the text on-screen, aim the spelling checker at it, and add the medical words to the dictionary. A couple oihours of that should build one heck of a dictionary. • A second method would be to write as you formally do, look up every word the first time it comes up on-screen, be sure it 's right, and add it to the dictionary. It won \ take long before you 've built a pretty powerful dictionary. _ Oasis Systems is located at 6160 Lusk Blvd%, Suite C-206; San Diego,' CA 91121, (€19)453-5711. Incidentally, \he folks at Microlytics are aj-ways looking for new dictionaries tOf incorporate into jheir packages. They've got the*one I built out of these columns in th eir la test one; it ev en knows haw to spell Pournelle. — Jerry • The Trouble with Turbo Dear*Jerry , I'noted with interest your discussion of C compilers in your October 1987 Com- • continued on page 322 34 BYTE • JUNE 1988 Circle 131 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 132) 11 Important Reasons C Programmers Use Our File Manager 1 . It's written in C. Clearly the growing language of choice for applications that are fast, portable and efficient. All of db VISTA's source code is written in C. 2 . It's fast - almost 3 times faster than a leading competitor. Fast access that comes from the unique combination of the B-tree indexing method and the "network" or direct "set" relationships between records. A winning combination for fast performance. 3. It's flexible. Because of db_VISTAs combination of access methods, you can program to your application needs with ultimate design flexibility. Use db_VISTA as an ISAM file manager or to design database applications. You decide how to optimize run-time performance. No other tool gives you this flexibility without sacrificing performance. db_VISTA is also well behaved to work with most any other C libraries! 4. It's portable. db_VISTA operates on most popular computers and operating systems like UNIX, MS-DOS and VMS. You can write applications for micros, minis, or even mainframes. 5. Complete Source Code available. We make our entire C Source Code available so you can optimize performance or port to new environments yourself. 6. It uses space efficiently. db_VISTA lets you precisely define relationships to minimize redundant data. It is non-RAM resident; only those functions necessary for opera- tion become part of the run-time program. 7. Royalty free run-time. Whether you're developing applications for yourself or for thousands, you pay for db_VISTA or db_QUERY only once. If you currently pay royalties to someone else for your hard work, isn't it time you switched to royalty-free db_VISTA? clb_ VISTA" Features ♦ Multi-user support allows flexibility to run on local area networks ♦ File structure is based on the B-tree indexing method ♦ Transaction processing assures multi-user consistency ♦ File locking support provides read and write locks ♦ SQL-based db_QUERY is linkable ♦ File transfer utilities included for ASCII, dBASE optional ♦ Royalty-free run-time distribution ♦ Source Code available ♦ Data Definition Language for specifying the content and organization of your files ♦ Interactive database access utility « Database consistency check utility File Management Record and File Sizes ♦ Maximum record length limited only by acces- sible RAM ♦ Maximum records per file is 16,777,215 ♦ Maximum file size limited only by available disk storage ♦ Maximum of 256 index and data files ♦ Key length maximum 246 bytes ♦ No limit on number of key fields per record ♦ No limit on maximum number of fields per record Operating System & Compiler Support ♦Operating systems: MS-DOS, UNIX, XENIX, ULTR1X, Microport, VMS, Macintosh ♦ C compilers: Lattice, Microsoft, IBM, Aztec, Turbo C, XENIX, UNIX and LightspeedC 8. SQLbased db.QUERY is the query and report writing program that provides a relational view of db_ VISTA databases. Use ad hoc or link into your C applications. Royalty-free. Source code available. 9. Free tech support. 60 days of free technical and application development support for every Raima product. Of course, extended support and training classes are also available at your place or ours. 10. Upward database compatibility Start out with file management in a single-user PC environment — then move up to a multi-user LAN or a VAX database application with millions of records. You'll still be using db_VISTA. That's why so many C programmers are choosing db_VISTA. 11. WKS LIBRARY The WKS LIBRARY PROVIDES THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY FOR C and BASIC programmers to interface with 1-2-3, Symphony and dBASE. ♦ Reads & Writes WKS & WK1 Files ♦ Reads & Writes DBF Files ♦ 1-2-3, Symphony & dBASE compatible ♦ Source Included ♦ No Royalties 30-day Money Back Guarantee! Price Schedule db_visTA db_auERY D Single user $ 195 $ 195 D Single user w/Source $ 495 $ 495 D Multi-user $ 495 $ 495 D Multi-user w/Source $ 990 $ 990 NEW: D WKS LIBRARY for Lotus 1-2-3 $ 195 Call Today! Ordering is easy — simply call toll-free. We'll answer your technical questions and get you started. 1 (800) db_RAIMA (800) 327-2462 or (206) 828-4636 For international orders In the U.K. call Systemstar Ltd. : FAX: In Switzerland call Comptronix AG: FAX: VISA In France call In Belgium call In Germany call 1SE-CEGOS: FAX: Lemnie S.A.: FAX: ESM GmbH: (0992)500919 (0992)554261 01 725 04 10 01 725 87 77 (1) 46 09 2828 (1) 46 09 2800 (02) 720.96.57 (02) 721.12.00 07127/5244 « RAIMA CORPORATION 3055 - 112th NE, Bellevue, WA 98004 USA FAX: (206) 828-3131 Telex: 6503018237 MCIUW © 1988 Raima Corporation CO CD BASIC FEATURES 1.2MB Floppy Drive FL/HD Controller 512K Memory Expands to 1MB 101 Enhanced Keyboard 195 Watt Power Supply 80287 Mathcoprocessor Socket Operation Manual Clock/Calendar with Battery Backup One year Warranty FCC, UL, and CSA Approved Mono System includes 14" Flat Screen, Tilt/Swivel base and Hercules compatible graphics card. EGA System includes 14" Evervision with Tilt/Swivel base and EGA card. C1.UB IV VI. 14/7/88 MODEL 208 80286-8MHz, 6-16 bit and 2-8 bit expansion slots, plus basic features. Mono System $995 Mono System with 20MB $1274 Mono System with 40MB $1420 Mono System with 70MB $1725 For an EGA System add $320 MODEL 211 80286-lOMHz, wait state with 2 serial and 1 parallel port, plus basic features. Mono System $1359 Mono System with 40MB $1784 Mono System with 70MB $2089 Mono System with 130MB $3254 For an EGA System add $320 Small footprint chassis with 8028612MHz, wait state, 1MB 100ns DRAM, 4-16 bit and 4-8 bit expansion slots, plus basic features. Mono System $1595 Mono System with 40MB $2020 Mono System with 70MB $2325 Mono System with 130MB $3490 For an EGA System add $320 MODEL 316 80386-16MHZ, wait state, 1MB 120ns DRAM with 64K RAM cache, 6-16 bit and 2-8 bit expansion slots, plus basic features. Mono System $1995 Mono System with 40MB $2420 Mono System with 70MB $2725 Mono System with 130MB $3890 For an EGA System add $320 36 BYTE • JUNE 1988 It's not just another machine. . . It's the way to America's future. MODEL 110 (XT TURBO COMPATIBLE) 8088 CPU,4.77/10MHz wait state, 256K RAM upgradable to 640K; 360K floppy and floppy controller, 101 enhanced keyboard, 150W power supply and FCC approved. Mono System $595 Mono System with 20MB $889 Mono System with 40MB $1049 For an EGA System add $320 ORDER 8Y MAIL: Check and Money Order, C 0R0ER BY PHONE: COD. Cashier Check. VISA {3%), American Express (4%) or approved Company P.O. TERMS: All prices are subject to changes and quantity may be limited and we reserve the right to substitute equivalent items. Unauthorized returns are subject to 10% restocking fee Call for RMA numbers for returns and repairs. Returning Items must be sent shipping prepaid by customer. Limited worranty. 1 year parts Bnd6r ' , arid EVERVISION are For Sales Call: (415)490-2201 Fax: (415) 490-2687 Customer Service: (415) 683-6580 Corporate, Government and University P.O.'s are welcome. Dealer quantity discounts are available. MasterCard, VISA, and American Express cards welcome. Canadian Distributor PC Centre Tel: (416) 470-0560 Toronto, Ontario Fax: (416) 470-2644 American Technologies, Inc. 3-401 W. Warren Ave. Fremont CA 94539 Circle 55 on Reader Service Card JUNE 1988 'BYTE 37 ASK BYTE Circuit Cellar 's Steve Ciarcia answers your questions on microcomputing Printer Woes Dear Steve, My NEC CP6 printer is capable of producing 360- by 360-dot-per-inch graphics, but the results that I have seen are far from this. (I have been using the Epson JX-80 printer definition for the best results, which are still poor.) It seems that the printer produces plenty of dots of resolution on thcx-axis but far too few on the y-axis. This creates images that appear to have bands in them. I no- tice this fault with every bit-mapped re- production I make. Why is this happening? I would think that a simple dot-replication scheme built into the printer definition would create denser, darker graphics by simply repli- cating the solid lines . Also, is it possible to use an analog monitor, such as an NEC MultiSync, as a standard color TV if it's hooked up to a tuner? Chris Durst Laytonsville, MD I think the bands in your printed output come from irregularities in the paper feed. Take a very careful look at the paper path and see if anything is binding or sticking, or if the paper is snagging on the cables in the back. Then make sure that the paper exits smoothly and doesn 't bunch up or drag on the way out. The real reason why you aren 't seeing more dots on the page is that the printer driver software in the computer isn't sending them out. The printer commands provide the ability to put a dot nearly anywhere on the page; the software has to translate the screen image into the ap- propriate dot patterns. You 'd think that the printer could "fill in the dots " and produce a good-looking image, but it's not quite that simple. The problem boils down to the ratio between the dot's horizontal and vertical sizes, called the aspect ratio (there's also a screen aspect ratio, which is a different matter). Because each display mode has a different dot aspect ratio, there's no one way to translate a bit-mapped image from screen to paper. For example, the aspect ratios that show up in normal use are shown in table 1. But the aspect ratio of a printer dot de- pends on the horizontal dot spacing and vertical line spacing. Only the software Table 1: Dot aspect ratio for various IBM PC screen modes. Mode Aspect ratio 320 by 200 CGA 640 by 200 CGA 640 by 350 EGA 640 by 480 VGA 1.12 0.56 1.28 1.00 knows both the screen aspect ratio and the printer aspect and can (presumably) reach a compromise. Given the number °f different screen modes and printers, it 's a wonder anything comes out at all. As a simple example, take a 640 by 200 CGA image with a 1. 12 dot aspect ratio. Try to find a way to represent that image on the paper with your NEC's 1.00 as- pect ratio dots so that the image comes out about 8 inches wide and 6 inches tall. Be sure to look up the details of the print head dot patterns and restrictions on pin- firing order. You '11 probably have to move the paper in an irregular fashion to get the dots in the right places. Once you 've done that, repeat the ex- ercise for the EGA display and see what changes. At some point you '11 realize that you need a fraction of a dot to make the answer come out right, and that's where the problem lies. Also, despite everyone's best efforts, paper just doesn 't move reliably in tiny fractions of an inch. The resulting twitches cause painfully obvious glitches in the dot patterns, and nobody's happy. The good news, though, is the last line in table 1. VGA displays have 1-to-l aspect dots, exactly matching laser printer dots. That means it 's easy to get good-looking results on screen and paper. All you need is the right hardware. Unfortunately, the MultiSync won't work with a stock TV tuner. The problem is that the tuner produces standard Na- tional Television System Committee (NTSC) composite baseband video on a single output, while the MultiSync expects to see separate RGB and synchro- nous inputs. —Steve Expert Nutrition System Dear Steve, I am currently developing a set of rules for an expert system that will be used as an advisor in enteral and parenteral nutri- tion systems in intensive care unit pa- tients. What is the best way to go about creating such an expert system? Should I learn a language such as Lisp or Prolog to write my own, or should I use some form of expert system shell? If the latter is the best, could you please let me know what is available? J. D. Harrison Nottingham, U.K. Although not as extreme, the differ- ence between programming an expert system in Lisp or Prolog and using an ex- pert system shell is much like the differ- ence between programming in assembly language and programming in a high- level language, such as BASIC. You'd have much finer control over your pro- gram if you used Lisp or Prolog, but you would also have the overhead of much of the "housekeeping " (e.g. , the user inter- face, input screens, and file handling). Since your object is to encode your ex- pert knowledge of nutrition systems, it would be far easier to use a shell. You will have to do some additional home- work to find the shell that is best for you. I recommend that you check out Knowl- edgePro from Knowledge Garden (473A Maiden Bridge Rd. , Nassau, NY, 12123). It 's very easy to use and would be espe- cially suited to a teaching-type expert system because of its built-in hypertext capabilities. Also contact EXSYS (P.O. Box 75158, Contract Station 14, Albu- continued IN ASK BYTE, Steve Ciarcia, a computer con- sultant and electronics engineer, answers questions on any area of microcomputing and his Circuit Cellar projects. The most repre- sentative questions will be answered and pub- lished. Send your inquiry to Ask BYTE c/o Steve Ciarcia P.O. Box 582 Glastonbury, CT 06033 Due to the high volume of inquiries, we cannot guarantee a personal reply. All letters and photographs become the property of Steve Ciarcia and cannot be returned. The Ask BYTE staff includes manager Harv Weiner and researchers Eric Albert, Tom Cantrell, Bill Curlew, Ken Davidson, Jeannette Dojan, Jon Elson, Frank Kuech- mann, Tim McDonough, Edward Nisley, Dick Sawyer, Robert Stek, and Mark Voorhees. 38 BYTE* JUNE 1988 Maybe you dorit think you need a new word processor. Yes No If you answer yes to just one of these questions, you'll find that you're a prime candidate for a new, advanced level of word processing. Do you create any of the following types of business documents: reports, plans, proposals, presentations, manuals, contracts, documentation, specifications? Do your documents call for more than words? Or have you considered a desktop publishing package to mix graphics, spreadsheets or tables with text on a page? r In the process of creating a document, do you or others frequently have to review and revise it? Have you ever had occasion to create a document without sufficient time to turn it around? Is it critical that your documents look great? Turn this page over and fold on the dotted line to find out why you may be a candidate for a whole new level of word processing. © 1988 Lotus Development Corporation. Lotus. Lotus Manuscript, 1-2-3, Symphony, Freelance and Graphwriter arc registered trademarks of Lit us Development Corporation. PostScript is a registered trademark of Adotie Systems, Inc. AutoCAD is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc. ■Manuscript and Manuscript evaluation kit require JJ12K and a hard disk. you do need processor. If you answered yes to just one of these questions, you are a candidate for Louis® Manuscript* 2.0. Manuscript is specifically designed for documents with tables, graphics, auto- matic numbering and tables of contents, cross-references or indexes. It can easily handle routine correspondence, too. Manuscript merges text with graph- ics created in 1-2-3? Symphony? Freelance® Plus, and Graphwritei* II , as well as Postscript? .TIF, .PCX, AutoCAD® files and more. And it's great at handling tables. Manuscript has many editing features and even provides for reviewer's com- ments. Our draft copies look just like the final version, with the right type- faces, graphics and tables in place. Manuscript easily supports major revi- sions to text, data, and format, so that last minute changes are a cinch. Plus it can link your most current 1-2-3 or Symphony spreadsheet data to tables in your document. Manuscript produces higher quality pages than conventional word proces- sors, with sophisticated hyphenation and justification, plus balanced news- paper-style columns previously available only on high-end publishing systems. Manuscript 2.0 gives you all the advantages of full-featured word processing, along with the powerful design and typeset- ting capabilities of desktop and electronic publishing— for the highest quality printed pages. Try Manuscript. Order our $15 demo kit and get working software ] and a tutorial manual * Call l-800-345-1043| and ask for demo I kitACW-1450. Lotus Manuscript 2.0 ASK BYTE querque, NM 87194) for information on its EXSYS program. —Steve Dead Drive Blues Dear Steve, Last weekend, a drive bearing on my 20-megabyte Hardcard started going bad. I bought the drive 17 months ago from Logic Array of Costa Mesa, California. Alas, the company is apparently no longer in business, so I can't get the drive replaced or repaired under my 2-year warranty. Is there a company that sells 3'/2-inch 20-megabyte hard disk drives without a controller? The dead drive is an NEC D3126, part number 134-200420-001. David G. McDonald Ames, I A If you 've got a genuine Hardcard from Plus Development, you should be able to get factory service. If, on the other hand, you 've got one of the clones, you 're sunk. Although I hate to say this, I think the cheapest way out for you is to buy an- other card. While it's possible to pick up just the drive, you '11 have to worry about connectors, cabling, mechanical hard- ware, and all that. "But, " I hear you say, "isn 't all that stuff standardized?" The answer, regret- tably, is "not quite. " The only way to find out whether a new drive will fit is to buy it and see. You can accumulate quite a pile of parts while you're thrashing around. Given the price competition in hard- disk drive cards, I suspect you can re- place that thing for about half of what you paid for it originally. —Steve Help with Heath Dear Steve, I teach a course in which we use Heath trainers (5-MHz 8088 microprocessor, 64K bytes of RAM). These machines have an editor, an assembler, a debug- ging program built into ROM, and all the 8088 control signals (minimum mode) available for building circuits on bread- boards. They're nice machines, but they lack disk drives and sufficient memory, so we can't use them to teach anything about the use of a disk-based operating system, a higher-level language, or disk files. Heath also sells an upgraded version of the basic machine that you can fit with two 360K-byte floppy disk drives and 196K bytes of RAM. Except for the limited memory, this is what I'd like to use, but it costs twice as much as a good- quality IBM PC AT clone . There ought to be an expansion board for a standard PC that would bring the microprocessor signals (through buffers and isolators) out to a breadboard. Do you know of any products of this kind? The only one I've heard about is the eZ Board from Sabadia Export Co., but a friend told me that he had severe prob- lems trying to use it. Maynard Fuller Montreal, Canada Given that you can buy an IBM PC clone for about $600 complete with moni- tor, drives, DOS, and keyboard, you would expect that someone would have a useful breadboard accessory for it. But I haven 't seen one anywhere. Perhaps the best thing to do is to get a cheap computer and a standard IBM PC prototyping card and have your classes roll their own. JDR Microdevices sells PC prototyping cards— check the back of a recent BYTE. The circuitry is simple enough that your students can probably handle the design on their own, and it will be a real learning experience. One suggestion: If you 're going to use ribbon cables to bring the signals out, make sure you have a ground lead be- tween every signal wire, put the control signals in a separate cable, and keep the length down. Don't try to save wire by running 26 signals in a single cable. Al- though I haven 't heard of the Sabadia board, I bet that's what the company tried to do. Even though we think of the PC as being pretty slow, those signals are still fast and delicate. —Steve Memory Mayhem Dear Steve, I have an Intel 2010 Above Board/ AT memory expansion board from Mead Computer. When I placed the order, Mead told me that I wouldn't have to dis- able the 384K bytes of my 1 -megabyte motherboard. After delivery, I phoned Intel technical support to ask about switch settings, and I was told that I'd have to disable the 384K bytes (above 640K) of my motherboard. Mead Computer then told me that the 2010 board would work without compli- cation in extended memory if I would start my extended memory location at 1 .5 megabytes rather than at the customary 1.0 megabytes. It will be a while before I actually start running OS/2. Please straighten me out regarding memory configuration. Americus Mitchell Kilmarnock, VA If you don 't disable the 384K bytes of RAM on the system board, you '11 wind up with a "hole " between the end of the RAM at 1 . 384 megabytes and the start of the Above Board at 1.5 megabytes. All continued Aztec C Power to go the distance..* Whatever that distance might be From real time embedded applications to comprehensive commercial applications on Macintosh, IBM PC, Amiga, Atari, and others, Aztec C has earned a well-deserved reputa- tion as an innovative, tough to beat, rock-solid C development system. But don't just take our word tor it— try it yourself. We know that the best way to understand what puts you ahead with Aztec C is to use it. That's why Aztec C systems purchased directly from Manx come with a 30-day, no questions asked, satisfaction guarantee. Call for yours today. We can also send you informa- tion that details the special fea- tures and options of Aztec C. Plus information on support soft- ware, extended technical sup- port options, and all of the services and specialized sup- port that you may need when you're pushing your software to the limits and... beyond. MS-DOS Hosted ROM Development Systems Host + Target: $750 Additional Targets: $500 Targets: • 6502 family • 8080-8085-Z80-Z1 80-641 80 • 8088-8086-801 86-80286/8087-80287 • 68000-68010-68020/68881 Components: • C compiler for host and target • Assembler for host and target • linker and librarian • Unix utilities make, diff, grep • Unix vi editor • debugger • download support Features: • Complete development system • Fast development times • Prototype and debug non-specific code under MS-DOS • Compilers produce modifiable assembler output, support inline assembly, and will link with assembly modules • Support for INTEL hex, S record, and other formats • source for UNIX run time library • processor dependent features • source for startup Aztec C Micro Systems Aztec C is available for most micro- computers in three configurations: The Professional; The Developer; and The Commercial system. All systems are upgradable. Aztec C68k/Am Amiga source debugger-optional Aztec C68k/Mac . . . Macintosh MPWand MAC II support Aztec C86 MS-DOS source debugger • CP/M libraries The followng have special pricing and configurations Call for details. Aztec C68k/At Atari ST Aztec C80 CP/M-80 Aztec C65 Apple II & II GS Standard System $199 • C compiler • Macro Assembler • overlay linker with librarian • debugger • UNIX and other libraries • utilities Developer System $299 • all Standard System features • UNIX utilities make, diff, grep • UNIX vi editor Commercial System $499 • all Developer features • source for run time libraries • one year of updates C.O.D., VISA, MasterCard, American Ex- press, wire (domestic and international), and terms are available. One and two day deliv- ery available for all domestic and most international destinations. Circle 165 on Reader Service Card Manx Software Systems One Industrial Way Eatontown, NJ 07724 Azfec C is available on a thirty-day money back guarantee. Call now and find out why over 50,000 users give Aztec C one of the highest user-satisfaction ratings in the industry. Call 1-800-221-0440 In NJ or outside the USA, call 201-542-2121 Telex: 4995812 Fax 201-542-8386 JUNE 1988 -BYTE 41 Circle 298 on Reader Service Card Paul Mace SOFTWARE 7ZTEST /^FORMAT ... Can double your hard disk performance. Experience has shown most hard disks are set up wrong . . which means the interleave is probably wrong and you are being penalized anywhere from 50 to 600% in perfor- mance. Included in the hlEST ■ /iFORMAT package is an interleave optimizer, nOPTIMUM. It calculates the opti- mum value for interleave, then resets the disk, automatically, for peak performance. The second casualty to improper setup is your data . . . because some hardware vendors take the easy route. They skip low-level testing and entry of manufac- turer's bad-track information. /jTEST finds those marginal regions on the disk before they cost you time and information. ^FORMAT lets you enter the manufacturer's test information and certify for yourself that the disk is properly initialized for reliable service. When the worst happens . . . and you lose data, /ZFORMAT will help recover your disk— even from that ultimate disaster: "Invalid Drive Specification." /7TEST • /iFORMAT: for IBM PC, XT, AT and compatible computers. Requires 64K, DOS 1.1 or higher. Advanced Hard Disk Diagnostics designed by Mod Research . . . $89.95 Paul Mace Software, Inc. 400 Williamson Way Ashland, OR 97520 (800) 523-0258 (503) 488-0224 (COD's, PO's add $5.00) (Foreign orders add $10.00) o e nd us *»• " . pS ( d\s^_ ASK BYTE the programs I know of assume that the RAM is contiguous, so that hole is going to cause some problems. You 've probably found that out, right? Mead is correct in saying that the board will work, but only custom code that you write can take advantage of the disconnected RAM on the Above Board. All the standard code will fall into the hole and die. The best solution is to disable the 384K bytes of system board RAM and have everything work. Anything else isn 't go- ing to be worth the effort. You '11 wind up wasting a little chunk of those RAM chips, but so it goes. As far as OS/2 goes, there 's going to be a lot of blood in the streets when peo- ple find out that they can 't run a "stan- dard" version of OS/2 on clones that were sold as compatible with IBM PC ATs. The reason is that OS/2 can 't use the BIOS routines in those clones: It must talk directly to the hardware because the BIOS code won 't run in protected mode. And that means the clone vendors must supply modified versions of OS/2 for their machines. If you 've added oddball displays or other hardware , you won 't be able to run the standard OS/2 from the vendor be- cause it won 't talk to the display. It 's not at all clear how this problem is going to be resolved, but I'm certain that the final answer isn 't going to make everyone happy. —Steve Designing Chips Dear Steve, I've been working on an idea that may have commercial value, and I need to look into having a custom chip designed. Could you give me some insight into what to expect in terms of minimum quantities, design and production time, chip costs for the initial run, and so on? The chip I have in mind shouldn't require a dense mask, such as the 68020, but it does require a very high pin count (68 to 166 or more). All the major functional blocks are in commercially available chips, so a lengthy design phase shouldn't be necessary. Where should I start? Your article "The BCC180 Multitask- ing Controller" (January through March) was very interesting, and I'd like to see more in the same vein. It's fairly obvious that the chip you're using is the most suit- able one available today for general- purpose controller work. Way back when you started out with designs based around Zilog or Intel processors, why did you choose these architectures over Motoro- la's 6802, 6808, and 6811? I'm no ex- pert, but it seems to me that if I have a specific control application, I can usually use a Motorola processor to accomplish the task and end up with a lower chip count than I can with a Zilog or Intel processor. Finally, with regard to programming languages, when I do control work, I pre- fer using Forth. I know most of the argu- ments in favor of using BASIC. I don't agree with all of them, but I can under- stand why you've chosen to use BASIC. The fact remains, though, that Forth is the only language available that gives you an operating system and language in 16K bytes or less and that runs on almost every processor available today. Its code is compact, and execution is fast. I'd like to see Forth as an alternative to BASIC in your future articles. Ken Martinson Ringgold, GA I assume that the custom chip you are asking about is an application-specific IC (ASIC). ASICs include programmable logic devices (PLDs), gate arrays, stan- dard cells, or handcrafted full-custom ICs. The advantage of an ASIC is a single chip that replaces perhaps 30 or more standard logic parts and the board space that they would normally occupy. The de- sign is more difficult to copy, and you can realize optimum performance be- cause of reduction in pin and circuit board delays. Designing with PLDs requires only a personal computer equipped with PLD software and a PLD programmer (which costs approximately $10,000). In com- parison, setup costs for gate arrays or standard calls include nonrecurring en- gineering (NRE)fees, and the equipment requirements might include a CAE/CAD workstation, a timesharing computer, or both. The NRE costs for gate arrays range from $5000 to $80,000. For stan- dard cells, this figure runs from about $20,000 to $150,000. Production turn- around for gate arrays and standard cells can run anywhere from 2 months to a year; turnaround for PLDs is perhaps a few minutes. The choice of a microprocessor is not an easy one. Certainly it would be nice to choose the best chip for every job, but that's not practical. A number of fac- tors— familiarity with the family, pro- gramming knowledge, software develop- ment equipment, factory support, and parts and sample availability— determine the processor of choice. In most cases, these items weigh more heavily when comparing architecture than does saving a chip or two in a design. Only in designs where constraints are rigidly dictated (such as volume productions and a small physical size) would I trade the things I continued 42 BYTE* JUNE 1988 HEADS UP JAPAN Above you see the most ingenious printhead developed in years. It's a new stored-energy head that uses less energy and deliv- ers more speed than traditional ballistic printheads. And according to Infoworldf delivers constantly superior print quality, with letter quality compa- rable to a laser. You'll find this printhead, with its seven patents on design, materials, and production proc- ess, only on Mannesmann Tally's newest family of printers. Includ- ing the 24-needle MT330 word processing printer, a 10,000 page- per-month, 300 cps printer. And the 18-needle MT340 data proc- essing and industrial graphics printer, a 13,000 page-per-month, 400 cps machine. We invite you to compare either of these heavy-duty printers to their Japan- ese counterparts. Because head to head, we win. And body to body? Again from Infoworld: "... most plastic and metal components appear quite a bit sturdier than their Japanese equivalents." Again, bad news for Japan. But very good news for you. To take advantage of this news at a pleasantly surprising price, call the number below for the name of your nearest dealer. MT340 MT330 with optional dual bin sheet feeder h\*0 *WiUI« iiMmmA 800-843-1347 Circle 163 on Reader Service Card (Dealers: 164) Ext. 80 In Washington state, call: 206-251-5524 Ext. 80 *lnfoworld, July 6, 1987 JUNE 1988 -BYTE 43 "During the next 10 years, millions of programmers and users will utilize OS/2 , . . The best way for them to understand the overall philosophy of the system will be to read this book. "Bill Gates INSIDE OS/2. Here — from Microsoft's Chief Architect of Systems Software — is a candid and ex- citing technical examination of OS/2. In unprece- dented detail, Gordon Letwin explores the philosophy, key development issues, programming implications, and future of OS/2. And he provides the first in-depth look at each of OS/2's design ele- ments — how they work alone and their roles in the system. INSIDE OS/2 is a valuable programmer-to- programmer discussion of the graphical user inter- face, multitasking, protection, encapsulation, inter- process communication, and more. You can't get a more inside view. 4JQ QC Microsoft Press Quality Computer Books Available wherever books and software are sold. Or call in your credit card order. 800-638-3030 (In MD 824-7300). Refer to adBM38. ASK BYTE mentioned for a lower chip count. BASIC is an interactive language that is easy to learn and available on virtually every computer. Forth is also interactive, but it 's not nearly as popular. The virtues in each have caused many to suggest the need for a single language that combines their best features. I use BASIC because of its popularity, but I will consider using Forth in a future article. —Steve Optical Scanning Dear Steve, My company, Hemisphere Software, does contract programming and sells IBM PCs to small businesses and munici- palities. We've been working on a project that is missing one important part. I need a scanner with an automatic feeder to read a continuous form 2.4 inches wide. This scanner will have only one typeface to read. The scanner must meet the fol- lowing criteria: • It must read a continuous form of paper 2.4 inches wide. The paper will hold text only, in black or blue ink. The paper has 22 character positions and no special spacing at the top and bottom of each page. • The text is in code. The code equivalent for one word appears on each line. • The text consists of 17 letters of the al- phabet, numbers 1 through 9, and the as- terisk. The letters can appear only in the following sequence, and only in these locations: STKPWHRAO*ELFRPBLGTSDZ Consequently, the letter T can appear only in the second or nineteenth position of the line, and so on. Numbers can ap- pear instead of certain letters, as dia- grammed below: STKPWHRAO*ELFRPBLGTSDZ 12 345 6789 For example, line position 1 can be either blank, S, or 1 . • The scanner's output is to be sent to an ASCII file. Each line of input will be one record. • The scanner's operation (start and stop) will be controlled from an MS-DOS IBM-compatible microcomputer. To keep the price of the system as low as possible, we're trying to keep the cost of the scanner below $1500. We'll need two scanners as soon as possible, and we'll be purchasing more later. Thanks for any help you can offer. Stephen A. Gonslaves Wilmington, NC continued 44 BYTE • JUNE 1988 Circle 184 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 185) Now create superb sounding music on your IBM® PC. Ad Lib™ makes it easy. Just when you thought you'd heard it all, along comes - Ad Lib. And with it comes rich, room-filling music like you've never heard from a PC before. With rumbling 1 1 KkvmH rKi n 1 In IzrAa iTftl 1KSIII1 front mid-range. All of it composed and performed on the first complete PC \ music system for people like you — long on desire, a little short on experience. The heart of the system is the , Ad Lib Music Synthesizer Card™ An electronic sound synthe- ( sizer based on the same digital technology found in professional keyboards and the finest music computers. Just plug it into your PC and get clean, powerful music through high fidelity head- phones, bookshelf speakers, even your home stereo. If II handle up to eleven differ- ent instrument sounds playing at once, so it's perfect for anything from a solo to a f symphony. There's also Ad Lib Visual Composer;" about the most instinctive composition software ever devised. Simply draw lines to indicate notes, using the on- screen piano keyboard as a guide. Change instruments, tempo and volume with a couple of keystrokes, f Cut, copy and paste portions of your music in a snap. Included with the program is Composition Projects ™#1, a step-by-step guide to creating all kinds of music, including classi- cal, jazz, bossa nova, ragtime, and more. Just the thing for an ever-expanding repertoire. Visual Composer is worth $89.95 if purchased separately, but it's yours free when you buy the system. Then play back all of your crea- tions, as well as several pre- programmed selections, on the Juke Box™ playback soft- * ware, also included with your system. Look for the Ad Lib Personal Comput Music System™ at selected computer and music stores, or order direct from Ad Lib with your check, Visa or MasterCard. The Ad Lib Personal Computer Music System. At last, you have what it takes to make great-sounding music. The Ad Lib Personal Computer Music System. Includes the Ad Lib Music Synthe- sizer Card, Juke Box playback software, free Visual Composer software with 50 pre-set instrument sounds and Composition Projects #1 ..... $245.00 Enhance your system further with this additional Ad Lib software: Music Championship #1 — Basic Con- cepts. Learn to identify basic musical con- cepts, including tempo, mode, rhythm and key. Perfect for all ages. The first in a series of music training programs combining syn- thesized music with I exciting 1 computer game com- petition $39.95 Instrument Maker software. Lets you create and save new instrument use with Visual Composer. Alter 23 sound characteristics like attack, sustain ;\ and decay. Modeled after professional music synthesizer software' $49.95 ' ... Look for more Ad Lib music software titles coming soon. , .equires IBM PC, XT, AT or compatible, 256K RAM,CGA,EGA,orMGA. For the name of your near- est dealer and a free demonstration recording, or to place an order, call us toll free today from either the US or Canada. Ad Lib Inc. 50 Staniford Street Suite 800 Boston, MA 021 14 Personal Computer Music System Circle 7 on Header Sc, ii Music Charopkinshio a'« trademarks of Ad Lib Inf. fBM is a registeredtrademarli Machines Corporation. Circle 6 on Reader Service Card A A AI 88 Seventh National Conference on Artificial Intelligence August El -26, 1 98B— St. Paul, Minnesota The National Conference on Artificial Intelligence is considered the most important presentation of theoretical and applied research in the field of Artificial Intelligence in North America. The Conference highlights and publishes state-of-the-art research findings in the widest range of AI related fields including Machine Learning, Knowledge Acquisition, Expert Systems, Robotics, and Knowledge Representation. The Tutorial Program covers the spectrum from beginning to advanced topics such as Introduction to AI and Expert Systems, Object Oriented Programming, Knowledge Acquisition, Managing Expert Systems Projects, Knowledge Engineering Tool Evaluation, Diagnostics, and Uncertainty Management. The Exhibit Program features the largest Artificial Intelligence trade show spotlighting demonstrations of commercial hardware and software, university research, and AI related services. Vendors will also be making technical presentations concerning the advanced aspects of their current products. Sponsored by the American Association for Artificial intelligence Send in this coupon to AAAI, 445 Burgess Dr., Menlo Park, CA 94025 for more details or call (415) 328-3123 Name Company . Address City State, Zip_ ASK BYTE What is a Best Western? The right place at the right price. Make reservations at any Best Western, see your travel agent, or call toll-free 1-800-528-1234 INDEPENDENT WORLDWIDE LODGING "World's largest chain of independently owned and operated hotels, motor inns and resorts" Every now and then I get a letter that reminds me just how weird the real world can get. A scanner to read 2. 4-inch con- tinuous paper with everything in 22- character codes ? Zounds! Although you call it a scanner, what you describe is really an OCR (optical character recognition) system in dis- guise. Mercifully, you 've simplified some of the most vexing parts of the project by using only one typeface and two possible characters per position, so you don't have to solve the general problem. I first thought that a linear charge- coupled device (CCD) array would make a nice line sensor, with scanning down the paper handled by a gear motor pull- ing the sheet through the reader. Unfor- tunately, that puts the mechanical design in the critical path: The motor has to be fairly precise, the optics need to be quite good, and the whole assembly reeks of precision machine shop work. Ugh. Another way to handle it would be to use a TV camera with a macro lens and an Image Wise (see the May 1987 Circuit Cellar) digitizer to grab an image of the sheet. With a full line extending com- pletely across the screen, there 's enough resolution to get about 100 pixels on each character. That should be enough to han- dle the recognition part of the problem. The reader might look something like this: a TV camera with macro lens and some lights, peering down at a flatbed section holding the paper. A motor and traction wheels draw the paper length- wise across the flatbed. The Image Wise digitizer sends the TV picture of the PC over a serial link. The RTS and DTR lines can control the motor and lights, with CTS, DSR, and CD returning some status bits. All the OCR logic is in the PC, which keeps the cost of the scanner down by eliminating a lot of dedicated computing. You don 't mention the throughput you need, but I doubt that the speed will get better than a few tens of seconds per line. That may sound slow, but even simple OCR requires a lot of computations be- cause there are many bits in each line. I'm not sure there's enough room in your budget for development and manu- facturing, even at $1500 per unit. At 25 units a year, you 've got a buy of $37,500. Figuring a parts cost at $750 (even sim- ple optics are expensive), you're allow- ing about $19, 000 for nonrecurring engi- neering, design, and programming expenses— figuring no profit at all on each unit. Not good. If you take a look at standard OCR scanners, I think you 11 find they're much more expensive than $1500, even though they're in volume production. Even though you 've simplified the problem, it still isn 't trivial. —Steve ■ 46 BYTE • JUNE 1988 Periscope Power at mKeeps you going full steam ahead when other debuggers let you down! With four models to pick from, you'll find a Periscope that has just the power you need. , * Start with the model ujiat fits your current needs. If you need more horsepower, upghtde'for tlifi'difference in prieeplus $10! When you move to another Periscope model, don't worry about having a lot to tearri. . . Eve+i when you move to the most powerful model, Periscope 111, an extra dozen commands are all that's involved. A Periscope I user who recentfy beg'afl using Periscope HI writes, "I like the fact that within the first^half hour of use I was debugging my program instead of learning to ' use the debugger. ' ' Periscope software & 200+ page manual ■ Periscope's software* is solid, comprehensive, and flexible. It hglps you debug just about any kind of program you can write . . . thoroughly and efficiently. " * Periscope's the answer for debugging device-drivers, memory-resident, non-DOS, andinterrupt-driven programs. Periscope works with any language, and provides source and/or symbol support for programs written in high-level languages and assembler. ■ Periscope's hardware adds the power to solve the really tough debugging problems. The break out switch lets you break into the system any time. You can track down a bug itstantly lf or justj:heck what's going on, without having to reboot or power down and back up. That's really useful when your system hangs! The switch is included with Periscope 1, Periscope II, and Periscope III. Periscope 1^ has a board with 56K of write-protected RAM. The Periscope software resides i« this memory, safe from run- away programs. DOS memory, where debugger software would normally reside, is thus freed up for your program. * ' ' Periscope III has a board with 64lv of write-protected RAM, wbich performs the same function as The Periscope l'prote'c£d memory. AND . . . The Periscope III boa§d adds another powerful dimension to your debugging. Its hardware breakpoints aTrfl real-time trace buffer let you track down bugs that a software- oriented debugger would take too long to find, or can't find at all! Periscope III Board Periscope I Board Periscope Break-Out Switch **"^««£^ "*w« '""""""nan,: What Periscope Users Like Best: "I like the clean, solid design and the crash recovery." Periscope I user "1 like the ability to break out of (a) locked up system!" Periscope II user "I am very impressed with Periscope II-X ... it has become my 'heavy duty' debugger of choice, especially if 1 need to work on a memory resident utility or a device driver." Periscope II-X user ". . . Periscope III is the perfect answer to the debugging needs of anyone involved in real-time programming for the PC . . . The real time trace feature has saved me many hours of heartache already" Periscope III user ■ Periscope I includes a half-length board with 56K of write-protected RAM; break-out switch; software and manual for $345. ■ Periscope II includes break-out switch; software and manual for $175. ■ Periscope II-X includes software and manual (no hardware) for $145. ■ Periscope III includes a full-length board with 64K of write-protected RAM, hardware breakpoints and real-time trace buffer; break-out switch; software and manual. Periscope III for machines run- ning up to 8 MHz is $995; for machines running up to 10 MHz, $1095. REQUIREMENTS: IBM PC, XT, AT, or close compatible (Periscope III requires hardware as well as software compatibility); DOS 2.0 or later; 64K available memory; one disk drive; an 80-column monitor. Call us with your questions. We'll be happy to send you free information or help you decide on the model that best fits your needs. Order Your Periscope, Toil-Free, Today! 800-722-7006 MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED PERISCOPE Company, Inc. 1197 PEACHTREE ST. PLAZA LEVEL ATLANTA, GA 30361 404/875-8080 Circle 218 on Reader Service Card JUNE 1988 -BYTE 47 M SZiN THIS IS WHAT HAP LET OUR CUSTOMERS This is not exactly your typical dot matrix printer. But then, the new ALPS Allegro 24 wasn't built in typical dot matrix printer fashion. It's the result of a highly sophisti- cated new design process, never before attempted by any other printer company. We call it "Giving the Customers What They Want'.' You told us you wanted a 48 BYTE • JUNE 1988 rugged 24-pin printer for under $500. Which the Allegro 24 is. You wanted it to churn out page after page of crisp, letter-quality output. Which it does. And you wanted it with easy- to-use front panel controls. Which, of course, it has. Then you insisted that it be jam-proof. Which explains this printer's uncharacteristic profile. You see, it has no platen. Just a unique flatbed design for a PENED WHEN WE DESIGN A PRINTER. paper path that's straight, direct and virtually unjammable. As if that weren't enough, you asked for— and got— features like "paper parking" for automatic switching from fan-fold to single sheet feed. Four resident type fonts. And Ml compatibility with most all the PCs and software you already have. For a free demonstration of the printer you've always wanted, see your local ALPS dealer. Or direct your questions, comments Circle 15 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 16) and brilliant ideas to us at 800-828- ALPS. In California, 800-257-7872. And help us design our next printer. ALP AMERICA Built by popular demand. Allegro 24 is a trademark of ALPS Electric Co., Ltd. © 1988, ALPS America. JUNE 1988 'BYTE 49 COMPUTER DISCOUNT WAREHOUSE NEC NEC Mullispeed $1348.64 NEC Mullispeed EL 1499.76 NEC Mullispeed HD w/20 Meg . . .2365.77 NEC Powermate 2, 40 Meg NEW NEC Powermate 2, 66 Meg LOWER NEC Powermate 386, 66 Meg NEC NEC Powermate 386, 130 Mr , . . .PRICES TOSHIBA 1100 Plus $1484.10 3100 w/20 Meg 2998.50 1000 759.41 1200 2237.55 3200 SPECIAL BUY 5100 NEW MODEL WHY PAY RETAIL? Nobody Setts for Cess CALL FOR LOWEST CUSTOM QUOTES moORMELL Free Sidekicl< jKUjAKVVtLl s Tulorial PB88 (XT Turbo) 512K, 1 Floppy, DOS & |E"&SH GW-Basic, Serial/Parallel, Color/Monochrome Adapter & Keyboard $645.14 VT286 (AT Compatible! 8 MHz, Wait State, 640K 1.2M Floppy, Serial/Parallel, F/H , Controller, Keyboard $1299.36 SAMSUNG SJOO 4/8 MHz, 512K, 6 Slots S/P/C, Monographics board, DOS, Keyboard S-300, 1 Floppy $749.50 eg S-300, 20 Meg 989.95 S-300, 40 Meg 1117.82 $-500 AT Compatible 8/10 MHz, 8 Slots, S/P/C, Monographics Board, DOS, Keyboard S-500, 1.2M Floppy $1095.45 S-500, 20 Meg 1469.80 S-500, 40 Meg 1624.45 HARDWARE, SOFTWARE & PERIPHERALS AT DISCOUNT PRICES COMPUTERS /ISC MDL 80 S1570.70 MDL 170 SZ949.36 MDL 90 1879.15 MDL 300 3380.40 MDL 120 2219.05 MDL 340 4099.65 MDL 140 2599.55 MDL 390 5540.40 WYSE MDL 2108 . S1082.50 MDL 2214 . . . .S1868.30 MDL 2112 1568.20 MDL 3216 2658.05 IBM PS2 MDL 30. 2 dr . .51272.20 MDL 60. 70 Meg $3399.60 MDL 30 20 Meg .1725.17 MDL 80 40 Meg .4497.67 MDL 60. 40 Meg .3340.15 MDL 80. 70 Meg .5677.33 cotrtPM ,v Deskpro 286. Model 1 S2095.55 Deskpro 286. 40 Meg 2580.19 Deskpro 286. 70 Meg 2895.20 Deskpro 386. 40 Meg 4662.05 Deskpro 386. Model 60. 20 MHz 5579.30 Deskpro 386. Model 130, 20 MHz 7059.92 Deskpro 386. Model 300. 20 MHz 9168.20 Portable II. Model 2 1896.10 Portable II. Model 4 2797.00 Portable III. Model 20 3577.85 Portable III. Model 40 4159.33 PRINTERS EPSON EX800 CALL LX800 ALL EX1000 CDW™ LQ500 EPSON FX86e FOR BEST LQ850 MODELS FX286e PRICE LQ1050 IN Call for Accessories LQ-2500 STOCK ®lS§1»X by Kodak 150P/300 S319.17/479.17 IBM Pro Printer II . .S447.95 Quielwriter III. S1295.62 NEC Color P7 S699.12 P760 609.35 P960XL 1035.70 8850 1040.79 CALL FOR ACCESSORIES Color P6 S539.74 P660 439.22 P560XL 888.75 P2200 359.65 3550 719.12 OKPflTA Okimate 20 ...5122.74 ML 292 Plus ML 182S 279.76 ML 182P 232.50 ML 192 Plus... 329.50 ML 193 Plus... 456.48 LASERLINE 6 .1229.30 PANASONIC .377.44 ML 293 Plus.. 5516.55 ML 294 737.10 ML 393 949.55 ML 393 Color .1057.60 PACKARD BElt PB88 (XT Turbo) 512K. 1 Floppy. DOS. S/P/C. Monitor Adapter & Keyboard S645.64 PB88 w/1 floppy. 20 Meg 956.80 VT286 (AT Compat.) 10 MHz. Wait State. 1 2M Floppy. S/P/C, F/H Cont & Keyboard 1299.36 VT286 w/20 Meg 1573.50 VT286 w/40 Meg 1724.10 VT386 NEW MODEL TOSHIBA T1100 Plus . . .51484.10 T1000 5759.41 T3100, 20 Men 2998.50 T1200 S2237.55 T3200 . . .SPECIAL BOY T5100. . . .NEW MODEL lUBUi 1092i . 1595 . 3151.. .S179.60 1091i . .334.28 1592 .. ..459.45 3131.. ..409.52 1524.. ©CITIZEN S219.85 .433.44 ..274.32 ..579.10 MSP40 5318.45 MSP45 459.20 MSP50 385.64 MSP55 489.66 Premiere 35 . . .477.17 tjAT&T 6300 W/640K 1 Drive . 6300 W/640K 1 Floppy. 20 Meg . 6300 W/640K 1 Floppy. 30 Meg 6300 W/640K 1 Floppy. 40 Meg . 6312/6386 WUS S849.20 .1159.60 .1187.70 .1410.90 ...CALL 120D S169.55 124 495.10 180D 188.85 224 668.30 MSP10 286.20 TOSHIBA P321SL S494.85 P351-2 Color .51199.95 P341SL 634.17 P351S X 1019.45 1— 3SHE II III I —I H-P User Jet Model 2 $1699.40 AST Turbolaser P/S IN STOCK H-P Deskjet 689.00 NEC LC860/ LC890 1982.44/ 3295.60 TOSHIBA PageLaser $AVE PLOTTERS, DIGITIZERS & SCANNERS Z-183 ALL ZENITH MODELS Z-183, 20 Meg IN STOCK Z-386 CALL FOR PRICE Other Computers Available Upon Reguest MINISCRIBE 30 Meg Flashcard 5425.96 MOUNTAIN 20 Meg/ 30 Men ... .549.40/819.80 PLUS DEVELOPMENT 20 Meg 555.55 PLUS DEVELOPMENT 40 Meg 765.80 WESTERN DIGITAL 30 Meg 416.30 Mil MM MINISCRIBE 40 Meg 28ms S60940 MINISCRIBE 80 Men 28ms 849.45 PRIAM 40 Meg barrf disk 669.55 PRIAM 60 Meg hard disk 777.95 PRIAM 130 Men hard disk 1967.68 SEAGATE 4038 30 Meg hard disk 479.80 SEAGATE 4053 40 Meg hard disk 589.98 SEAGATE 4096 80 Meg hard disk 739.59 360K floppy drive 110.12 CALCOMP 1023 S3838.38 1043 S6535.15 1042 7539.95 1044 10,305.06 12x12 . SUMMASKETCH . S376.30 12x18 S632.50 HEWLETT PACKARD HP744nA ....5968.30 HP7475A ....1417.44 HP7550 2926.56 HP7570 3931.20 HP SCANJET... SAVE mam HOUSTON INSTRUMENTS HI DMP-42 HI DMP-52 HI DMP-52MP HI DMP-56A HI DMP-61 HI DMP-62 From Here to Anywhere in 18 Seconds SHARP FO-300 S1220.10 » - SHARP FO-500 1735.95\ TOSHIBA 3010 1314.44, GBC-1656 1459.80 GBC-1236S 915.44 FLOPPIES, DRIVES & TAPES 1/2 height floppy drive 599.00 MINISCRIBE 20 Meg 1/2 height w/cont. .329.14 MINISCRIBE 30 Meg 1/2 height w/RLL ..345.95 SEAGATE 20 Meg 1/2 heighl hard drive 295.69 SEAGATE 30 Meg 1/2 height w/RLL 309.72 SEAGATE 40 Meg 1/2 height 432.50 GENOA 60 Meg int. tape 734.60 GENOA 60 Meg exl. tape 895.10 GENOA 125 Meg int. tape 995.85 IOMEGA BERNOULLI 10 + 10 1395.25 IOMEGA BERNOULLI 20 + 20 1629.99 IOMEGA 20 Men 1/2 height int 995.55 IOMEGA 20 - 20 Externaf 5V> 1795.73 IRWIN 10 Meg tape backup 259.34 IRWIN 20 M/ 40 M Internal Tape. . .399.10/539.20 MOUNTAIN 4440 int 368.80 MOUNTAIN 4440 ext 547.75 ■a-aa FA CLARA Diskle SOFTWARE TERN DIGITAL 3 Western Digital '-level 286 Starte '■level 286 Starte ELL 286 Softwar ELL SFT Netwart ELL SFT Netware ledicaled Netwar. 'Keycard INTERF NET PC110 LANE NET PC210 LANf ERNET Interface ERNET Plus Boai IT Interface Card TERN DIGITAL E ACCI NET Passive Hut NET Active Hub met Terminators lales People are I 3DW for all your Ni ,'r.].'IH.hll,'bH:IJm.M:I.F CDW" color card S 99.00 CDW"'' monographics card w/p 99.00 GENOA Spectrum (color monoqraohic w/p)168.75 HERCULES color card w/p . . I 146.16 HERCULES monographics plus w/p 179.84 TAXAN MONOGRAPHIC w/p 99.00 M'.|.1.'|.H:i:M'.l*'.M,'IW.):lT AT&T Monochrome Monitor 5189.40 AMDEK 310A/410A 119.99/ 149.99 AMDEK 1280 679.78 COMPAQ monochrome monitor 188.46 COMPAQ VGA Mono IN STOCK IBM PS2 8503 187.90 NEC Multisync GS 184.52 NEC Monograph 1297.25 PGS MAX 12E amber color 139.40 PACKARD BELL Green or Amber 86.95 TAXAN 123 Green/ 124 Amber .. .119.50/ 124.05 ■ ^■lM:lH.MJ;iH.M.|'lb.'.ITTE«i AMDEK color 600T / 722 S349.24 / 444.49 IBM PS2 8512 Color 428.40 IBM PS2 8513 Enhanced Color 498.20 SAMSUNG RGB Comp 238.60 PGS HX-12 Plus 417.15 TAXAN 650/ 720 469.90/ 299.80 MAGNAVOX 8762 259.05 ^»M'l=m.move move cli move move move add sti push push push push move int dx.ss cx.sp ax.es ss.ax sp,0d60 sp,0200 dx ex bx ex ah, 30 DOScall Part of a Quaid Analyzer display Quaid Analyzer is a powerful diagnostic tool that shows what is going on inside your com- puter. The > at the top is the cursor. You can move it with the arrow keys. When you move the cursor off the screen, the instructions scroll like text in an editor. You can move the cursor into a register and change its value, or see the instruc- tions or data it points to. Of course, you can scroll through the data display as well, and type new values into memory. With Quaid Analyzer you never have to type a command. This example shows the first instructions exe- cuted when VDISK.SYS installs itself. You can see that it changes stack pointers, then gets the DOS version number. We got to this point by loading Quaid Analyzer before DOS, then watching the DOS call and disk interrupts until the driver was loaded, then putting a breakpoint on its first instruction. Drivers are installed before DOS gives you the first prompt. What other soft- ware tool can show you a device driver install? Quaid Analyzer comes with a manual, and software on a 3 inch and a 5 inch diskette. If you are not satisfied with Quaid Analyzer, you can return it within 30 days for a re- fund. Quaid Analyzer is not sold by dealers in the United States or Canada. It is not copy-protected. To order Quaid Analyzer, call us with your credit card, or send us a check for $200 US funds. We ship within a day at our expense. Quaid Software Limited Third Floor Dept B633 45 Charles Street East Toronto Ontario Canada M4Y 1 S2 BOOK REVIEWS (416)961-8243 Warning! For advanced programmers only. 54 BYTE' JUNE 1988 ages "on-screen thinking," and thinking— especially thinking in print— is bound with "existential commitment"; it "estab- lishes and reflects our identity." Word processing removes anxiety about establishing that identity because a word- processed document is so easily revised. This also means word processing "reinstates some of the formlessness of conversation or soliloquy," especially compared with the strict linearity of typewriting. Further, "word processing reveals knowledge to be a flowing process, a process parallel to ideational flow" as opposed to knowledge modeled on dialogue (give and take) or on reading and writing printed pages (argumentation). Michael Heim considers word processing a mixed blessing: "The thoughtful paging and browsing through tangentially re- lated books, all done at a leisurely pace, will no longer be af- forded by computerized writing and reading." (Heim doesn't consider hypertext systems, which promise to restore browsing in a big way.) And while he draws the consequences of the text being presented as a pageless scroll of characters by the current generation of word processors, the new generation presents a full-size image of paper on screen, restoring the sense of bor- ders and divisions. The arguments range over all of Western phDosophy (and some Eastern as well), from the ancient Greeks to contempo- rary phenomenology. This is a difficult, thoughtful exposition of primary interest to the philosophical community. But every- one who has used a word processor will find much to think about in Heim's ideas. —David Weinberger ADVANCED C PROGRAMMING FOR DISPLAYS by Marc J. Rochkind, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1988, 331 pages, $40 (hardcover), $27 (paperback). Despite its title, this is not a book on computer graphics; it is limited to alphanumeric displays. But that's not a fault. If you're at all involved in getting alphanumeric data out of the keyboard and onto the display (and what programmer isn't?) on a Unix- or MS-DOS-based com- puter, then Marc J. Rochkind 's book definitely belongs on your library shelf. Wisely selecting the C language as his vehicle, the author tackles terminal emulation (for the Z-19; he should have se- lected the more common VT-100), raw and buffered keyboard I/O, an elaborate window system, and virtual screen handling. Keep in mind that, throughout the book, the author presents plenty of source code for both Unix and MS-DOS systems (he even dips into assembly language code on the 8088 to speed crit- ical functions). You'll find the early chapters particularly help- ful in demystifying the Unix termcap database and curses screen management utilities. The C source code presented is compatible with Microsoft and Lattice compilers on the MS-DOS side, and Unix System III, Xenix (based on Unix version 7), and 4.2 BSD and 4.3 BSD on the Unix side. The source code is available on floppy disk at extra cost. —Richard Grehan PROLOG PROGRAMMING IN DEPTH by Michael A. Covington, Donald Nute, and Andre Vellino, New York: Scott, Foresman and Co. , 1988, 506 pages, $24.95. Aimed at readers somewhat familiar with computer programming (but not neces- sarily artificial intelligence (AI) techniques or languages), this book starts with the basics and delivers on its title, covering Pro- log in depth. Intermediate and advanced Prolog users will also find the book's comprehensive coverage of algorithms and tech- niques a useful reference. The book has been classroom-tested, and the polish shows: The text is uniformly good. Discussions on expressing pro- cedural algorithms in Prolog and on Prolog as its own meta- language are outstanding. A chapter titled "Additional Tech- continued Circle 66 on Reader Service Card — ► ComputerExpo TEXAS # 1 IBM - COMPATIBLE COMPUTER CENTER EXPO 286 40 MB SYSTEM 10 MHZ WAIT • 80286 CPU FCC 12MHZTHRUPUT APPROVED • 512K • 1.2 MB FLOPPY DRIVE • 40 MB SEAGATE HARD DRIVE • MONO/GRAPHICS/- PARALLEL ADAPTER/CLOCK CALENDAR . •HI-RES GREEN/AMBER MONITOR • AT KEYBOARD • 1 YEAR WARRANTY •3 HOURS FREE TRAINING NOW 80 MB SEAGATE IN STOCK EXPO 386 80 MB SYSTEM INTEL 80386 (32 BIT) FCC APPROVED 1 MB RAM (Upgradeable to 4 MB on board) 64K CHACE MEMORY WAIT 1.2 MB FLOPPY DRIVE 80 MB SEAGATE DRIVE (28 MSC) SERIAL/PARALLEL/CLOCK CALENDAR RESET/TURBO LIGHT INDICATOR CASE 5 DRIVE SLOT 101 ENHANCE KEYBOARD 200 W. POWER SUPPLY 1 YEAR WARRANTY 3 HOURS FREE TRAINING 30 MHz System $CALL I.S. MADE 8Wt^HM!M;|.|.|;lk'J*|.1g EXPO PORTABLE 286/10 12MHZTHRUPUT J.S. MADE INTEL 802B6/10 MHZ CPU •512KRAM(640K,Add$75) COMPACT SIZE 9" AMBER GREEN MONOGRAPHICS 720x348 HI-RES 1.2 MB FLOPPY DRIVE • 7 FULL-LONG INTERFACE CARD SPACE 200 W. POWER SUPPLY ( 1 10/220V) • LIGHTWEIGHT, RUGGED CHASSIS DIMENSIONS: 17.3"(2w)x8.2"(H)x16.9"(D) CLOCK CALENDAR •WEIGHT 28 LBS. 3 HOURS FREE TRAINING 20 MB SYSTEM COMPLETE 40 MB SYSTEM COMPLETE $1695 $1895 EXPO PORTABLE IV 286 12MHz 40MB SYSTEM 0/1 WAIT STATES 1975 80286/12 512K RAM (1MB RAM-ADD $150) HI-RES LCD DISPLAY • 640 X 200 PIXEL (80 X 25 LINES) •AUTO SELECT 110/220V • FIVE EXPANSION SLOT • EXTERNAL RGB/COLOR PORT DIMENSIONS 8V4(H) X 9V 2 (W)X15%(D) 386 MODEL ALSO AVAILABLE ST-225 20 MB KIT • 20 MB Hard Drive System includes • Controller Cables • Instructions ST-238 30 MB KIT • 30 MB ALL Hard Drive System includes • Controller Cables • Instructions $ 267 *320& 40 MB HI-SPEED • AT Drive • Part 28 MSC 20/20 ST 251 • (Controller is optional) • ST-4026 20 MB AT Drive (Full Height 38 MSC.) !419 *299 • ST-4038 30 MB Drive (Full Height 38 MSC.) • ST-4096 80 MB Drive (Full Height 28 MSC) $ 845 AST Premium/286 '2195 '"%&*■. 10 MHZ/WAIT 40 MB - SYSTEM p | #%T&l $ 1395 MODEL 6300 30 MB COMPLETE SYSTEM • 1 MB RAM • 1.2 MB Floppy Drive • 40 MB Seagate (28 MSC) Drive • Serial/Parallel/Clock • 101 Enhance Keyboard • MS DOS 3.2+ Basic • 1 Year Nationwide Warranty AST PREMIUM 386 — CALL NOW Ld • 360K Floppy Drive • 640K RAM • 30 MB Seagate Hard Drive • Monochrome" Display • Hi-Res Graphics • Parallel/Serial/Clock/Calendar • Keyboard AUTHORIZED AT&T DEALER brother PERSONAL FAX 4 Easy Controls A _ ^ _ PCC Approved $QQK Compatible %#!#%* w/Group 3 Fax Machines Hands Free, non-monitored operation Fine detail FAX -COPIER -PHONE MONITORS Mono TTL Samsung RGB Color (IBM Compatible) Vlagnavox Multiscan 926x580 Res Mitsubishi 300x600 Res 1 9" Monitor Green/Amber §95 5275 5495 5495 CALL Everex 1200B Anchor 1200B Everex 2400B Anchor 2400B Int. * 85 Int. * 75 Int. *179 Int. *179 EVEREX EXTERNAL - CALL Practical Peripherals 1200B Int. «69 WE SERVICE/REPAIR GUARANTEED QUALITY SERVICE • Genions Mouse w/paint software . . . • Opt. Mouse w/Dr Halo Paint . . . . $69 $97 £0903*4 # AT&T m&M> FOR DESKTOP PUBLISHING HANDY SCANNER $249 • Compatible W/Your • Compatible Auto CAD XT/AT or Clone • Unlimited Point Sizes • 20 Sec. Printout • Support Desktop Publishing IRWIN TAPE BACK WD STARCARIT ARCNET, PC SLAVE On Site Installation Available. 4 user 8 user 12 user AUTHORIZED DEALER. Come See Our Demo 10 MB XT/86 Model 110D 40 MB/286/386 Model 1450 60 MB 286/386 Model 165D TECH-SERVICE 784-78171 HRS: M-F 8-6 SAT. 1 0-3 SUNDAY CLOSED INQUIRY LINE 713 784-0990 TOLL FREE ORDER ONLY 1-800-622-EXPO When you want to talk computers.. ATARI COMPUTERS 65XE64K Computer 99.99 130XE132K Computer 139.00 520ST-FM Monochrome Syst. 649.00 1040ST Color System 969.00 SF124 Monochrome Monitor .159.00 SF1224 Color Monitor 329.00 AMIGA SOFTWARE New Tek Inc. Digi-View2.0 149.00 Digi-Paint 44.99 Sub-Logic Corp. Flight Simulator II 39.99 Word Perfect Corp. Word Perfect 199.00 MACINTOSH PRODUCTS Atari 520 Color System Includes: 520ST-FM, 512K RAM with 3Vz" Drive Built-in, Basic, RF-MOD, Atari Mouse, and SF-1224 Color Monitor. ATARI ST SOFTWARE Accgss Leaderboard Golf 24.99 Antic CAD 3D 29.99 Avant Garde PC Ditto (IBM Emulation) 64.99 Batteries Included Degas Elite 39.99 DAC Easy Accounting 61.99 Soft Logik Corp. Publishing Partner 64.99 Timeworks Swiftcalc/Wordwriter 47.99 VIP Profes sional Gem 139.00 Absoft AC Basic 139.00 Aegis Development Animator/Images 89.99 Draw Plus 149.00 Sonix 49.99 Discovery Software Maranderll 31.99 Electronic Arts Deluxe Video 1.2 89.99 Gold Disk Software Pagesetter w/Text ed 89.99 Micro Illusions Dynamic Cad 349.00 Micro Systems Software Scribble 69.99 AMIGA SOFTWARE MacBottom21MB $ 799 Hard Drives CMS MacStack60 899.00 Everex 40 MB SCSI 999.00 PCPC Macbottom HD32 999.00 Floppy Drives Cutting Edge 800K External 189.00 Central Point 800K Floppy External 199.00 Monitors Network Specialties Big Top 20" 1,549.00 Radius Full Page Display Plus 1,499.00 Two Page Display SE 2,199.00 Sigma Designs Laser View Display For SE .1,749.00 Memory Upgrades Dove Computer Mac Snap 524S 199.00 Scanners AST Turboscan 1,349.00 Datacopy 730 Flatbed Scanner 1,199.00 Ast Premium 286 & 386 Call Compaq Deskpro and Portbls. .Call IBM PS/2 25, 30, 50, 60, 80 Call MS/DOS SYSTEMS MS/DOS SYSTEMS Leading Edge 899.00 NECAPC-IVPowermate ...2,399.00 NEC Multispeed Laptop ...1,229.00 PC-TOO 80286 1.2MB, 51 2K . .899.00 Toshiba T-1000 Laptop 799.00 1,199 ZENITH PC Portable Dual Floppy MULTIFUNCTION CARDS AST 6-Pak Plus 576 Board 149.00 Hot Shot 286 Accelerator 349.00 Hercules Color Card 129.00 Graphics Card Plus 159.00 Intel Inboard 386 Board 799.00 5th Generation Logical Connection 256K 349.00 Quadram Quad386XT 80386 PC-Upgr. . .799.00 Video 7 Vega V.G.A. Adapter 299.00 Zuckerboard Color Card w/Parallel Port 89.99 MS/DOS SOFTWARE AshtonTate d-Baselll+ 389.00 Borland Quattro 129.00 5th Generation Fastback Plus 89.99 Genius Genius Mouse 6+ 59.99 IMSI Optimousew/dr. Halo 89.99 Logitech Hi-Res Buss Mouse 119.00 Lotus Lotus 1.2.3 299.00 Software Publishing First Choice 99.99 Word Perfect Corp. Word Perfect 4.2 199.00 WE SHIP 90% OF ALL ORDERS WITHIN 24 HOURS y SELECT FROM OVER 3000 PRODUCTS 56 BYTE • JUNE 1988 COMPUTER MAIL ORDER When you want to talk price. MONITORS Amdek Video 310A 12" Amber 99.00 Video 410 12" A/G/W. .. .(ea.) 139.00 Magnavox 7BM623 12" TTL Amber 99.00 CM8505 14" RGB/Composite .189.00 CM8515 14" RGB/Composite. 269. 00 CM8762 14" RGB/Composite. 279.00 NEC GS-140014"Monochr.TTI 219.00 JC-1402 Multisync-M 599.00 Packard Bell PB-1418F 14" Flat TTL A/G/W (ea.) 119.00 PB-1420CG 14" Mid-Res CGA 269.00 PB-1422EG 14" Hi-Res EGA . .369.00 PB-8526-MJ Uniscan Monitor. 399.00 Princeton Graphics Max-12 12" TTL Amber 149.00 Thomson 450 15" 132 col. TTL Amber ..119.00 4120 14" RGB/Composite 239.00 Magnovox CM8505 s . _ _ 14" RGB/Composite 189 DRIVES Atari AA31 4 DS/DD ST Disk 209.00 SHD204 20MB ST Hard Drive .569.00 C.LTD (For Amiga) C.LTD20MB 899.00 C.LTD 33MB 999.00 C.LTD A500 SCSI Controller .179.00 Indus GT Disk Drive Atari XL/XE ...189.00 GTS-100 ST Drive 189.00 Racore Jr. Expansion Chassis 299.00 Seagate Technologies ST-225 20MB Drive 249.00 Supra Atari ST 20MB Hard Drive 559.00 Amiga 2000 20M B Hard Drive . 629.00 Xebec Amiga 20MB Hard Drive 799.00 MODEMS Anchor 6480 C64/1 28 1 200 Baud 99.99 520 ST520/1040 1200 Baud . . .129.00 1200E 1200 Baud External . . .129.00 Atari XMM301 XL/XE 300 Baud 44.99 SX-212 St Modem 89.99 Avatex 1200 He External 94.99 2400 External 189.00 Best Products 2400 Baud Vz Card w/software 159.00 Everex Evercom 2400 Baud External .239.00 U.S. Robotics $ _ 1200 Baud External 99 99 Hayes Smartmodem 300 149.00 Smartmodem 1200 279.00 Packard Bell 1200 External 89.99 2400 External 169.00 Practical Peripherals Complete Telecom Package ..79.99 2400 Baud Stand-Alone 189.00 Supra 2400AT 2400 Baud Atari 169.00 U.S. Robotics Direct 2400 Baud External . . .199.00 DISKETTES Maxell MD1-MSS/DD5V4" 8.49 MD2-DM DS/DD 5V4" 9.49 MF1-DDMSS/DD3V2" 12.49 MF2-DDM DS/DD 3V2" 18.49 MC-6000 DC-600Tape 23.99 Sony MD1DSS/DD5V2" 6.99 MD2D DS/DD 5V2" 7.99 MFD-1DDSS/DD3V2" 11.99 MFD-2DD DS/DD 3Vz" 16.99 PRINTERS Atari 1020 XL/XE Plotter 35.99 XDM-121 Letter Quality XL-XE 209.00 XM-M801 XL-XE Dot Matrix ..199.00 XM-M804 ST Dot Matrix 189.00 Brother M-1409 180 cps Dot Matrix . . .309.00 Citizen 120D 120 cps Dot Matrix 149.00 Premier-35 35 cps Diasywheel 479.00 C.ltoh 315-XP Epson/IBM 132 col. .. .549.00 Epson LX-800150cps,80col 179.00 FX-86E 240 cps, 80 col Call FX-286E 240 cps, 132 col Call LQ-500180cps,24-wire Call LQ-850 330cps, 80 col Call LQ-1050 330 cps, 24-wire Call Hi-80 4 Pen Plotter 279.00 Hewlett-Packard 2225A Thinkjet 369.00 NEC P2200 Pinwriter 24-wire 379.00 P660 Pinwriter 24-wire 459.00 P760 Pinwriter 132 col 679.00 Okidata Okimate 20 color printer 129.00 ML-182 120cps80col 229.00 ML-192+ 200cps,80col 359.00 ML-193+ 200 cps, 132 col 469.00 Brother M -11 09 Dot Matrix Panasonic KX-P1080i144cps,80col. .. KX-P1091i194cps,80col. .. KX-P1092i240cps,80col. .. Star Micronics NX-1000140cps,80col NX-1000C C64/128 Interface NX-15120cps, 132 col Toshiba P321-SL 216 cps, 24-wire .. . P351-SX 300 cps, 24-wire ... 179 .189.00 . 209.00 .339.00 .179.00 .179.00 .319.00 .499.00 .999.00 In the U.S.A. and in Canada Call toll-free: 1-800-233-8950 Outside the U.S.A. call 717-327-9575, Fax 717-327-1217 Educational, Governmental and Corporate Organizations call toll-free 1-800-221-4283 CMO, 101 Reighard Ave., Dept. A1 , Williamsport, PA 17701 OVER 350.000 SATISFIED CUSTOMERS • ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED • CREDIT CARDS ARE NOT CHARGED UNTIL WE SHIP POLICY: Add 3% (minimum $7.00) shipping and handling. Larger shipments may require additional charges. Personal and company checks require 3 weeks to clear. For taster delivery, use your credit card or send cashier's check or bank money order. Credit cards are not charged until we ship. Pennsylvania residents add 6% sales tax. All prices are U.S.A. prices and are subject to change, and all items are subject to availability. Defective software will be replaced with the same item only. Hardware will be replaced or repaired at our discretion within the terms and limits of the manufacturer's warranty. We cannot guarantee com- patibility. All sales are final and returned shipments are subject to a restocking fee. We are not responsible for typographic or photographic errors. Circle 67 on Reader Service Card . _ „ A106 Circle 56 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 57) C programmers are talking about Ctalk™ The easy way to add the POWER of OBJECT-ORIENTED Programming to C BOOK REVIEWS Ctalk extends your C compiler to a real Object-Oriented Language (OOL). It is not a new language; it simply adds Smalltalk-like features to C: Q Encapsulation □ Messaging (Dynamic Binding) ■* "V_ a Inheritance fV^ ft' Cjalk offers all of the advantages of OOLs: O A highly modular software design methodology Q Reusable software components Q Extendable software components > 9* Plus the advantages of C: Q Speed, size, flexibility Q Ease of application delivery Q Access to C libraries and C tool sets Ctalk consists of an application development environment with: Q A powerful Smalltalk-like Browser for browsing, defining and editing an application's object class hierarchy Q A Preprocessor for converting object class descriptions into standard C programs that are compatable with popular C compilers Q An integrated, semiautomatic Make utility for controlling the preprocessing, compiling and linking of an application, object classes, C files or libraries C^ialk is designed to run on an IBM® PC (or compatable) with one of the following C compilers: Microsoft® C, Lattice C, Turbo C, or C86. A system configured with a hard drive and mouse is highly recommended. To order: CNS, Inc. Software Products Dept. 7090 Shady Oak Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 (612)944-0170 Credit Cards: Master Card, Visa Shipping: SS - US S25 ■ In retrial ion al ■■■"■ ■■■ ■■ ■| M.irnp SucW EIEQIIXEa^^H Jjlj-fi'- "- irfii. Bt»Ob|«i r> Add .nObjtct to It <,«,;.„.„. iftfaubftdlMtftafyiftlhttfl "/ Th*idDfihf*)Mttoli.«rllnlo(hiirt. -/ 11 (Mlf->tnum a> 1 ■wOblttlbool. fcboolB; '* iinn.(Jh|KUlm<]yi ,„„.., "» •■';:.' „. — MATHPAK87 High Performance 80x87 Software MATHPAK 87 is a set of over 130 assembler coded numerical routines for use with 80x87 math coproces- sors. These routines are highly optimized and run up to 20 times faster than equivalent high-level lan- guage routines. A detailed and easy-to-read manual (180 pages) gets you started using MATHPAK 87 in minutes. MATH- PAK 87 routines are fast, convenient and reliable. MA THPAK 87 Timings Execution Times on an IBM XT 6 S 2 a i s Ne S V DolProd VAildV ZeroV Routine MATHPAK 87 includes: 65 vector/scalar routines (vector add, subtract, ...); 24 complex vector/scalar routines; 11 matrix routines (add, subtract, multiply, transpose, etc.); LU decomposition/backsolving routines for real and complex systems; Gaussian elimination; matrix inversion; tridiagonal equation solver routines; EISPACK eigenvalue/vector routines; statistical routines; FFT routines (1-D, 2-D, complex, real, convolution); spectral analysis routines (windows: Parzen, Hamming, ...); routines for numerical integration and solution of differential equations; and missing functions for Modula-2 and Pascal: tan, loglO, aloglO, power, sinh, cosh and tanh. MATHPAK87 routines are the fastest available! On an IBM XT, a lKcom- plex FFT takes 1.85s (real 1.0s); dot product (length 10,000) takes 0.638s. $99 US for Turbo Pascal 4.0 version. $1 19 US for MS Fortran, IBM Pro Fortran, Lahey F77L, MS C, Lattice C, Logitech Modula-2 or ITC Modula-2 versions. Please specify version. Add $5 shipping/handling. Precision Plus Software, 3148 Kingston Road, Suite 209-276, Scar- borough, Ontario, Canada M1M 1P4. Telephone: (416) 761-5309. International Dealers: U.K.: Grey Matter Ltd., Tel: (0364) 53499; West Germany: SOS Software Service GmbH, Alter Postwcg 101, 8900 Augsburg, Tel: 0821/57 1081. niques" contains genuine nuggets about trees, sorting, and object-oriented programming. The second half of the book (on AI applications) is mostly expert-system-oriented; other chapters are devoted to discus- sions of natural language processing and Prolog's logical basis. Noteworthy among the expert-system topics are representation of uncertainty and extension of the Prolog inference engine. The programming examples are written in Edinburgh Prolog, and they're practical, plentiful (80K bytes overall of source code), and available by mail or network. Turbo Prolog users will benefit from reading this book, too, even though not all the code can be translated into the Turbo dialect. Appendixes describe the features of Arity and Turbo Prolog and how to use the Prolog debugger. —Alex Lane COMPUTER VISION: A FIRST COURSE by R.D. Boyle and R.C. Thomas, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, England: 1988, 210 pages, $29.25. This textbook is aimed at advanced undergraduate computer science students, though anyone who doesn't mind a lot of math in the text could profit from it. The material is not strictly state-of-the-art or detailed, but it provides a solid background in established theory. The authors distinguish three levels of vision tasks— low, medium, and high— and examine each in turn. Particularly good chapters cover low-level processing and segmentation. The ma- terial on knowledge representation concentrates heavily on se- mantic nets and frames, while the material on rule-based sys- tems considers only production systems. R. D. Boyle and R. C. Thomas touch on neural networks briefly, more as an example of what can be done without using the ideas in the rest of the book. The appendixes augment sections of the text instead of merely bulking up the book. They consist of C source code for histo- gram equalization and hierarchical edge detection, a brief intro- duction to Fourier theory, a table of three-dimensional interpre- tations of two-dimensional junctions, and a discussion of Goad's algorithm. The remaining end material includes an ap- pendix of solutions to chapter exercises, a list of references, a separate bibliography, and separate author and subject indexes. As a brief, technical introduction to computer vision, this tome deserves a place on your shelf. —Alex Lane ILLUSTRATING PASCAL by Donald Alcock, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England: 1987, 184 pages, $12. 95. Like its forerunner, Illustrating BASIC, this introduc- tory programming text combines a visual emphasis and a totally hand-lettered format. The method can be very fast once you've adjusted. For instance, why use many words warning the reader never to write constant for const, when you can just display the word constant surrounded by little black bugs? I'm not sure that the "Utter Beginner" Alcock presupposes will find the early pages transparent. Though each statement is clear, the tax on memory is great. Also, his examples often em- ploy terms (e.g. , trunc) that he hasn't yet gotten around to de- fining formally. But as things get more complex, and the diagrams that gener- ally go with exposition become the exposition, the method pays off. By about midjourney, even experienced Pascalers may want to jump aboard. If there's a clearer exposition of Quicksort than Alcock manages on one page, I don't know it. As for pointers, stacks, queues, rings, binary trees, and even hashing: Alcock' s drawings and pithy comments are of unparalleled clarity, and his sample programs are fun. He claims to be covering the whole of the language as defined by ISO 7185. Though I haven't checked that claim in detail, I'm inclined to believe it. I recom- mend the book. —Hugh Kenner continued 58 BYTE • JUNE 1988 Circle 224 on Reader Service Card 9t&mt »■:*• tatz, Im, a, WYSE deaMoti WYSEpc 386 SYSTEMS Standard Features . INTEL 80386 Processor Running at 16 MHz • Phoenix Bios 1.2 MB Floppy Drive . 1 MB of Wait State Static Ram • Up to 24MB of True 32 Bit RAM . Socket for 80387 Math Co-Processor • WYSE Window System Status Display • 2 Serial and 1 Parallel Ports • 220 Watt Power Supply . MS-DOS 3.3-GW-BASIC • 1) Slots»Real Time Clock • 102-KEY Enhanced PC-Style Keyboard . 20 MB 28ms HARD DISK DRIVE WYSE P c 286 SYSTEMS Standard Features . INTEL 80286 Processor . Model 2108 Running at 8 MHz . Model 2108 512k RAM Standard . Model 2112 Running at 12.5 MHz . Model 2112 1MB RAM Standard • Phoenix Bios 1.2 MB Floppy Drive . MS-DOS 3.3 GW-BASIC • Small Footprint • 1 Serial & Parallel Port • 102-Key Enhanced PC-Style Keyboard • WYSE Window System Status Display . 20MB 28ms HARD DISK DRIVE Model 2108 Model 2112 Model 3216 EGA COLOR SYSTEM • Hi Res 640 x 350 EGA Color . CGA, MDA & HGC Compatible • 752 x 410 Drivers Included • Autoswitching with CGA emulation . WY-640 EGA Color Monitor Model 2108 System $2,295 Model 2112 System $2,745 Model 3216 System $3,940 MONOCHROME SYSTEM • Hercules Graphics Compatable • 1 extra Parallel Port . 720 x 350 Resolution • 132 Column by 25 or 44 Line Mode • WY-530 14 inch Hi Res Monitor Model 2108 System $1,795 Model 2112 System $2,245 Model 3216 System $3,440 SYSTEM UPGRADES • 2108 Math Co-Processor $185 • 2112 Math Co-Processor $350 • 3216 80387 Co-Processor $500 • 360k 5.25 Floppy Drive $99 . 720k 3.5 Floppy Drive $155 • 1.44 3.5 Floppy Drive $179 . 1.2 MB 5.25 Floppy Drive $155 • 41MB ST 251 Hard Disk Drive $210 . 71MB Hard Disk Drive $660 . 80MB 4096 Hard Disk Drive $660 • 130MB Priam Hard Disk Drive $1780 . WY-60 Terminal $455 . NEC MULTISYNC II $150 . NEC MULTISYNC gs $99 . 1200 Baud Modem & Software $ 99 . 2400 Baud Modem & Software $199 . PC MOS/386 5 User OS $495 . SCO XENIX 286 $499 . SCO XENIX 386 $599 NEW VGA COLOR SYSTEM . Hi Res 1280 x 600 • 256 Colors from Palette of 256,000 • Implements all 17 VGA mo des . 640 x 400 & 512 x 480 . NEC MULTISYNC II Monitor Model 2108 System $2,545 Model 2112 System $2,995 Model 3216 System $4,190 TV// Ct&AHCI, rft4C. qaitiuMAuAf, Md. 20779 Circle 33 on Reader Service Card 1-800-638-9628 Fax # (301) 258-2753 For information call (301) 963-5800 Trademarks WYSE • trademark o' WYSE Technology • MS-DOS , OS/2 & XENIX trademark of Microsoft Corporation • Hercules - Irademark of Hercules Computer Technology NEC - trodemark of NEC Corporation • PC-MOS/386 • trademark of Software Link. Specifications, configurations, and prices are subject to change without notice Copyright 1988 B&W Systems, inc. Circle 68 on Reader Service Card SERIOUS ABOUT -, SPORTS? X. 1 1 GET IT ALL WITH COMPUTER SPORTS WORLD America's oldest and largest sports and horseracing database with over 4200 files of computerized information. AT YOUR FINGERTIPS! 24 HOURS — UP TO THE MINUTE Scores In Progress • Weather • Transactions Injuries • Team Logs • Fantasy Stats • Call now and speak to a representative for your demonstration account number and password. 800-321-5562 CIW, COMPUTER SPORTS WORLD A service of The Chronicle Publishing Company, San Fransisco. BOOK REVIEWS Finally! A Keyboard Protector That: • PROTECTS CONTINUOUSLY - 24 HOURS A DAY - Against computer downtime due to liquid spills, dust, ashes, staples, paper clips and other environmental hazards. • REMAINS IN PLACE during the operation of your keyboard. SafeSkin is precision molded to fit each key - like a "second skin." • EXCELLENT FEEL - The unique design eliminates any in- terference between adjacent keys, allowing smooth natural operation of your keyboard. • SafeSkin IS VIRTUALLY TRANSPARENT - Keytops and side markings are clearly visible. In fact, SafeSkin is so clear, sometimes you may not know it's there! • DURABLE - LONG LASTING - SafeSkin is not a "throw- away" item. Many of our protectors have lasted over 3 years under continuous daily use, without failure. SafeSkin is available for most popular PC's and portables including: IBM, APPLE, AT&T, COMPAQ, DEC, EPSON, KEY- TRONICS, NEC, TANDY, TOSHIBA, WANG, WYSE, ZENITH. Specify computer make and model. Send $29.95, Check or M.O., VISA & MC include exp. date. Dealer inquiries invited. Free brochure available. Merrill Computer Products, Inc. 4561 S. Westmoreland / Dallas, Texas 75237 / 214/339-0753 HOW TO THINK ABOUT STATISTICS by John L. Phillips Jr., W.H. Freeman and Co., New York: 1988, 198 pages, $17.95 (hardcover), $9.95 (paperback). Tools for doing statis- tical calculation are becoming commonplace in personal com- puter software— from spreadsheets to high-level languages to specialized math programs. Dedicated statistical packages are bringing the most sophisticated tools to personal computer users. With all that power, however, comes the potential for a great deal of confusion and misinformation: Statistical mea- sures are easily misused. This book's admirable goal is not to teach you how to do sta- tistics, but to teach you how to understand the statistics that others (or personal computers) do. The front cover of the book claims that it "will help you understand statistical concepts vital to your education, your business, or your profession; evaluate the news, polls, and trends that affect you as a consumer and citizen; and make better sense of the social statistics, advertising claims, economic fore- casts, and political issues you encounter every day." How to Think About Statistics might actually deliver on 80 percent of that claim— if you're willing to work at it. This well-written book is really an introductory undergradu- ate text focusing on applications of statistics to education, political science, psychology, social work, and sociology. The textbookish outlook shows from the first sentence in the intro- duction, "You may be planning to study statistics not because you want to but because you have to. " The author overcomes the reluctance of a coerced undergraduate audience through the use of sample applications that follow each chapter. The sample applications take the place of exercises found in most textbooks. They present a seemingly real- world problem (e.g., measuring the incidence of coups in Latin America) and then ask the reader, "How would you approach this problem?" The author warns that to get the most out of this book, it will probably be necessary to engage in a lot of page flipping. He even suggests that the reader keep two bookmarks handy for just that purpose. He's right. The author's solutions list the appro- priate statistical approach and are followed by possible ways the resulting statistic could be misinterpreted. Unfortunately, the solutions buried in the back of the book contain some of the best parts of this book. Phillips makes no assumptions on the mathematical capabili- ties of his audience, placing essential calculations inside boxes where they can be studied by those who have the background or interest, otherwise ignored or simply glanced at. The book leads the reader from understanding the purpose of a simple mean to contrasting means using analysis of variance, pausing along the way to explain standardization, correlation, causation, and contingency tables. Throughout, the emphasis is on under- standing the purpose and shortcomings of the individual statis- tics rather than on the nitty-gritty of calculation. People who have wondered what statistics are about (or who plan on using statistical software) will find this book a useful beginning. —William Gould CONTRIBUTORS LEAD REVIEW: Eliakim Willner is vice president for re- search and development at Pecan Software Systems Inc. and co- author of Advanced UCSD Pascal Programming Techniques (Prentice Hall, 1985). BRIEFLY NOTED: David Weinberger (Brookline, MA) is a writer for Interleaf. Richard Grehan is a senior technical editor at large for BYTE. Alex Lane is a knowl- edge engineer for Technology Applications Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida. Critic and author Hugh Kenner lives in Baltimore. William Gould is president of the Computing Resource Center (Los Angeles, CA) and a manufacturer of statistical software. 60 BYTE- JUNE 1988 Circle 176 on Reader Service Card OUR MOVE DTACK:= DTACK FAULT5:. iDTACK i'AUI.T-1 BGACK&BG& DTACK \ Trigger program to detect 1 of 5 possible faults in the DMA cycle of a MC68000. This example uses only a fraction of the capabilities of the Pc/La. Destroy all circuit bugs! ©1988 V 5 Corporation In the mid to late 70's, when engineers designed with SSI and MSI, the demands that they made on logic analyzers reflected the technology that they worked with - low density, low complexity, and low performance. Along came the 80's and with it PALs, GALs, PLAs, LCAs, ASICs, faster CISCs, and RISC machines. Technology leaped ahead... same old logic analyzers. Finally, a machine tuned to the times. The Pc/La provides you with competitive sample speed and channel count, but more importantly, its superior trigger capabilities enable you to track down system bugs quickly and efficiently. No fumbling around the edges or shooting in the dark, you are right where you need to be. There is no need to translate your problem into someone else's idea of logic definition. This instrument uses state syntax directly. The Pc/La is packaged as a single add-in card for an IBM Pc/XT/AT or compatible. This means that you already own 50% of an efficient, high-performance hardware and software troubleshooting instrument. The other half is yours for less than $2000.00. The Pc/La - the only logic analyzer to earn the right to use the word analyze in its name. Take it from here, now it's YOUR MOVE (41 6) 266-551 1 285 Raleigh Avenue.Toronto, Canada. M1K 1A5 PAL is a trademark of Monolithic Memories Inc., GAL is a trademark ot Lattice Semiconductor Corp., LCA is a trademark of Xilinx l.B.M. is a trademark of international Business Machines Corp. Mc66000 is a trademark ol Motorola Semiconductor. Circle 283 on Reader Service Card JUNE 1988 • BYTE 61 The most affordable way to build a skyscraper. ii MultiSync Plus For superior business graphics, desktop pub/ isliing and CAD. Or construct a bridge. Or design a circuit. Or even create a pie chart. With the MultiSync® Plus, high resolution graphics are well within reach. When used with the graphics board that was designed for it— the MVA 1024 from NEC— it may well be the ulti- mate value for all your CAD and business graphics applications. MultiSync Plus has a 15" diagonal flattened CRT and a tilt-swivel base to make you more comfortable. It works with boards for a variety of systems, from PC/XT/AT/386 (or 100% compatibles) to MAC II and PS/2. It automatically adjusts its scanning frequency from EGA to VGA, and on up to even higher standards with our MVA 1024 in AT/386 based systems. Whether your plans are as big as a skyscraper or as small as a memory chip, MultiSync Plus makes the world of high resolution graphics more accessible. For literature or a dealer call 1-800-447-4700. For technical details call NEC Home Electronics •pij.sie'eil !iac1emjrhs ot Apple Cor (USA) Inc. 1-800-NEC-SOFT. NEC is a rogrslered trademark ol NEC Corporation NEC Computers ana Commijnicalions ^* ^ .^■■m^M ^^^^ Circle 200 on Reader Service Card JUNE 1988 -BYTE 63 Introducing OmniLab 9240. Totally Integrated Scope- Analyzer-Stimulus. ■ Combine a 100 MHz digital oscilloscope with a time-aligned, 200 MS/s 48-channel logic analyzer. Next add synchronized analog and digital stimulus generators. Then a remarkable new triggering system. What you have is the 9240 — a whole new class of instrumentation. Expressly designed to speed challenging analog and digital analysis. And get you from concept to product faster. ■ The 9240 is based on an innovative new instrument architecture that merges high-speed universal hardware and seamlessly- integrated software to create high-perfor- mance capabilities not available in separate instruments. Analog and digital traces are always time-correlated in a unique, single screen display. SELECT™ triggering bridges scope and analyzer techniques. And OmniLab's stimulus generators can playback captured or edited signals. ■ At the heart of the 9240 is SELECT triggering, the most straightforward and complete solution ever to triggering dilemmas. It's one system, operating with synchronized analog and digital views of your data. By combining conventional oscilloscope and analyzer triggering with powerful RAM truth tables — plus min/max time qualification as needed — SELECT triggering helps you analyze hardware, debug software, and integrate systems more easily. ■ OmniLab™ is a generation ahead of con- ventional digital scopes that often hide rarely occurring faults because they only show you a few cycles out of millions. With its con- tinuous monitoring, you can use SELECT triggering to quickly catch every occurrence OmniLab display demonstrates capture of an imbedded analog glitch (in top trace) with time-aligned presentation of the waveform's digitized bit values (center) and numeric states. of rare events like metastable states, bus contentions, missing pulses, and buried noise glitches. ■ The 9240 is like having a complete bench top of instruments integrated with your PC/AT or compatible. Which you can easily customize for digital development, analog development, or a combination of both. NO-COMPROMISE 9240 SPECIFICATIONS DIGITAL OSCILLOSCOPE LOGIC ANALYZER Digitizers: Two, 8 bit Inputs: 48, timing and state Bandwidth: 100 MHz Asynchronous Clocking: 34 MS/s on 48 inputs: Single-Shot Digitizing: 34 S/s to 204 MS/s 204 MS/s on 8 inputs Repetitive Sampling: 680 MS/s Repetitive Sampling: 680 MS/s on 48 inputs Scale Factor: 5 mV/divto IDV/div Synchronous Clocking: to 34 MS/s in 1-2-5 sequence Acquisition Memory: 4K samples 11 BK.64K optional) Record Length: 4K(16K,64K optional) Disassembly Options: Over 150 microprocessors ANALOG STIMULUS DIGITAL STIMULUS Output: 8m V to 8 V peak-to-peak, 8 bit Outputs: 24. 74F tri-state drivers Cycle Length: 4 to 4K samples (16K optional) Cycle Length: 4to4Ksamples(16K optional) Clocking: 34 S/s to 34 MS/s Timing: 34S/sto34MS/s Functions: Record, edit and playback Functions: Record, edit and playback ■ With OmniLab, your productivity will soar. Because you achieve results with fewer instruments. And in fewer steps than ever before. By no means least, the 9240 delivers the best price/ performance you'll find any- where, costing just $8900 fully outfitted. And most importantly, without compromising a single high-performance spec. Not a one. ■ For more information, call toll free 800/245-8500. In CA: 415/361-8883. Or write for complete literature. INSTRUMENTS 64 BYTE- JUNE 1988 702 Marshall Street, Redwood City, CA 94063 TELEX: 530942 FAX: 415/361-8970 Computer Integrated Instrumentation 'OmniLab, and SELECT are trademarks of Orion Instruments, Inc. Circle 208 on Reader Service Card BUTE ■;; Products in Perspective 67 What's New 89 Short Takes PixelPaintl.O The Norton On Line Programmer's Guides: OS/2 API FreeHand 1.0 Datacomputer DC 3.0 PopDrop and RAM Lord Delta Voyager Reviews 102 High-Speed Modems 117 ALR's FlexCache 20386 Catches Compaq 127 The NEC MultiSpeed HD and the HP Vectra CS Model 20 128F Fortran 386, Micronics 386, Tumpoint 386, and Whole Earth Electronics (Mylex) 386 137 AST Research's Mac286 145 IBM OS/2 Standard Edition 159 Double Helix II and 4th Dimension 167 Quattro and Surpass 173 Q-Calc Standard 181 Computing at Chaos Manor by Jerry Pournelle 197 Applications Only by Ezra Shapiro JUNE 1988 'BYTE 65 IT'S TIME TO DO SOME SERIOUS 386 BUGBUSTING! PROBE'S menu bar and pull- down menus set a new standard for debugger interfaces. PROBE has source-level debugging to let you "C" your program. POP registers up and down with a single key. This is an out-of-range memory-overwrite bug. Since it is interrupt related, it only appears in real time. Welcome to your nightmare. Your company has bet the farm on your product. Your demonstration wowed the operating committee, and beta ship- ments were out on time. Then wham! All your beta customers seemed to call on the same day. "Your software is doing some really bizarre things',' they say. Your credibility is at stake. Your profits are at stake. Your sanity is at stake. THIS BUG'S FOR YOU You rack your brain, trying to figure something out. Is it a random memory overwrite? Or worse, an overwrite to a stack- based local variable? Is it sequence dependent? Or worse, randomly caused by interrupts? Overwritten code? Undocu- mented "features" in the software you're linking to? And to top it off, your program is too big. The software debugger, your program and it's symbol table can't fit into memory at the same time. Opening a bicycle shop suddenly isn't such a bad idea. THIS DEBUGGER'S FOR YOU Announcing the 386 PROBE™ Bugbuster,*from Atron. Nine of the top-ten software developers sleep better at night because of Atron hardware-assisted debuggers. Because they can set real-time breakpoints which instantly detect memory reads and writes. Now, with the 386 PROBE, you have the capability to set a qualified breakpoint, so the breakpoint triggers only if the events are coming from the wrong procedures. So you don't have to be halted by breakpoints from legitimate areas. You can even detect obscure, sequence-dependent problems by stopping a breakpoint only after a specific chain of events has occurred in a specific order. "Versions for COMPAQ. PS/2-80s anil compatibles. Copyright © 1987 by Alron. 386 PROBE is a Circle 25 on Then, so you can look at the cause of the problem, the 386 PROBE automatically stores the last 2K cycles of program execution. Although other debuggers may try to do the same thing, Atron is the only company in the world to dequeue the pipelined trace data so you can easily understand it. Finally, 386 PROBE's megabyte of hidden, write-protected memory stores your symbol table and debugger. So your bug can't roach the debugger. And so you have room enough to debug a really big program. NIGHT'S SLEEP PUT YOU IN THE TOP TEN? Look at it this way. Nine of the top-ten software products in any given category were created by Atron customers. Maybe their edge is — a good night's sleep. Call and get your free, 56-page bugbusting bible today. And if you're in the middle f of a nightmare right now, give us a purchase order ■J£ number. We'll FEDEX you a sweet dream. , .»•,# ■'"* ■**■'*' BUGBUSTERS A division of Northwest Instrument Systems, Inc. Saratoga Office Center • 12950 Saratoga Avenue Saratoga, CA 95070 • Call 408/253-5933 today. trademark of Alron. Call 44-2 855-888 in the UK and 49-8-985-8020 in West Germany. TRBA Reader Service Card WHAT'S NEW SYSTEMS Stacked Planes for the Little Board Thanks to a new expan- sion adapter, you can now use standard IBM PC-style expansion cards with Ampro's Little Board/PC single-board computer. The StackPlane/PC adapter lets you install plug- in cards in parallel to the com- puter board. Ampro says this means no more card cages and backplanes in embedded ap- plications where space is tight. The Little Board itself, measuring 5 l h by 8 inches, is a PC-compatible CMOS mod- ule with an 8-MHz 8088-com- patible processor. It can be configured with 256K bytes to 768K bytes of dynamic RAM, 32K to 288K bytes of EPROM, a floppy disk con- troller, a keyboard interface, a speaker interface, two serial ports, a parallel port, a PC ex- pansion bus, and a SCSI bus. It needs about 4 watts of power from a 5-volt DC power sup- ply, and it comes in eight versions. Price: Little Board/PC, start- ing at $393; StackPlane/PC, $43. Contact: Ampro Computers Inc., 1130 Mountain View-Alviso Rd., Sunnyvale, CA 94089, (408)734-2800. Inquiry 751. A Rugged 386 Do you need powerful computing capabilities under adverse conditions? KMS Advanced Products says you can take its new rugged- ized computer "to the field or behind the lines"; in other words, just about anywhere. The RMC-3000 is an 80386-based system in a case that looks like a Kaypro transportable except for the The Ampro Little Board/PC uses standard expansion cards. heavy metal housing and rows of rivets; there's also a rack- mount model available for your tank or air transport vehicle. The system is fully com- patible with the PC XT and PC AT, KMS says. The company will assemble just about any configuration you can come up with. The basic machine has 10 slots (one 16-bit and the rest 32-bit) and one serial and one parallel port, and it weighs about 45 pounds. You can mix storage options; KMS offers both 5 '/4-inch and 3 '/2-inch floppy disk drives, hard disk drives, and tape drives. Price: Starting at $13,900. Contact: KMS Advanced Products Inc., 3850 Research Park Dr., P.O. Box 1868, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, (800) 521-1524; in Michigan, (313) 769-1780. Inquiry 752. A Powerful Crayon for Graphics Applications This Crayon isn't for kids, and it's probably not for people who just want to put a little more speed into their day- to-day applications. This spe- cies of Crayon is an 80386- based rack-mounted system for folks who work in advanced graphics, CAD/CAM, anima- tion, video, and other areas that require sophisticated im- SEND US YOUR NEW PRODUCT RELEASE We 'd like to consider your product for publication. Send us full in- formation, including its price, ship date, and an address and tele- phone number where readers can get further information. Send to New Products Editor, BYTE, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peter- borough, NH 03458. Information contained in these items is based on manufacturers ' written statements and/or telephone interviews with BYTE reporters. BYTE has not formally reviewed each prod- uct mentioned. aging capabilities. Inside the box is a mother- board holding an 80386 pro- cessor (20 MHz, no wait states), 1 megabyte of memory (expandable to 16 megabytes using single in-line memory modules), and a socket for an 80387 or Weitek 1 167 math co- processor. The Crayon 386 SP motherboard also supports "shadow RAM," which lets the Award BIOS run in high- speed RAM for increased performance. You can set the bus speed to 8 or 12 MHz, and there are two serial, one parallel, one SCSI, and one game port. For storage, the basic sys- tem comes with one 1.2-mega- byte 5 Vt -inch and one 720K- byte 3 'A -inch floppy disk drive, but the case has room for a total of six half-height drives. The proprietary multidrive controller can han- dle two floppy disk drives, two hard disk drives, and seven SCSI devices. For hooking up the sorts of equipment that graphics types will need (e.g., digitizers, pointing de- vices, and high-resolution cards), the system has six 16- bit and two 8-bit expansion slots. The Crayon has three fans to keep things cool. Its maker says the Crayon 386 SP is fully compatible with the IBM PC AT and will run MS-DOS (3.3 comes with the basic box), OS/2, or Unix and supports EMS 4.0. For looking good in those con- temporary art and video houses, the system is housed in a black case. Price: $7495 for the basic system. Contact: Video Graphic Sys- tems, 4163 St. Clair Ave., Studio City, CA 91604, (818) 509-5738. Inquiry 753. continued JUNE 1988 -BYTE 67 WHAT'S NEW PERIPHERALS The Write-Top is a computer without a keyboard. Look Ma, No Keyboard Now there's an IBM PC- compatible laptop system that neither needs nor comes with a keyboard. Of course, a keyboard is available as an option, but you can simply in- put data into the system using your own handwriting. The Linus Write-Top, from Linus Technologies, combines a laptop computer with a transparent digitizer tablet and a handwriting-recognition al- gorithm. The tablet is situated right above the computer's flat panel display. The com- puter uses an 8- by 5-inch backlit supertwist LCD display with a resolution of 640 by 200 pixels. When you draw on the tablet, the display under- neath responds as if you were actually drawing on paper. The company also claims that the computer can be taught to recognize any handwritten character and convert it to a standard character entered via a keyboard. The Linus Write-Top fea- tures 640K bytes of CMOS static memory, an 8088-com- patible processor, an internal modem, and a 3 '/2-inch flop- py disk drive. The computer weighs 9 pounds and is the size of your typical small lap- top. The display/digitizer, which can be detached from the rest of the system, is about 1 1 by 1 1 inches and less than an inch thick. Options include a keyboard and a soft- ware package called Code- Write that allows developers to adapt existing applications to receive handwritten input. An- other package, Just- Write, is a word processor designed for handwritten input. Price: $2995. Contact: Linus Technologies Inc. , 1 889 Preston White Dr. , Reston, VA 22091, (703) 476-1500. Inquiry 754. Output to Your Heart's Delight Do you need lots of print- outs every day? Are you sick of waiting for your printer to tap, tap, tap along at its snail-like pace? If 600 lines per minute (1pm) of draft- quality text is fast enough, you might consider Output Technology's OTC 2161. This dot-matrix printer gets its speed by using a three-headed print mechanism that prints two lines of text with each pass. And if you need higher- quality output, it prints 325 lpm in correspondence mode and 90 lpm in near-letter- quality mode. The 2161 features a control panel with 16 switches and an expandable 8K-byte buffer. A parallel interface is standard, but you can also get RS- 232C, RS-422, twinaxial, co- axial, or PrintNet interfaces. The printer emulates the Data- products LB600, Printronix P6080, and Epson FX-286e. In addition to standard ASCII, the OTC 2161 comes with 12 international charac- ter sets, IBM Character Sets #1 and #2, and the IBM Code Page #437 and #850 sets. Op- tions include extra font car- tridges, additional emulations, additional character sets, a paper stacker, and a quietized pedestal. The 2161 weighs 80 pounds and includes free in- stallation in addition to 6- month on-site service. Price: $6450. Contact: Output Technology Corp., East 9922 Montgom- ery, Suite 6, Spokane, WA 99206, (800) 468-8788; in Washington, (509) 926-3855. Inquiry 755. A Security Guard for Your Modem Gateway U prevents unau- thorized folks from stealthily sucking data from your computer. Installed be- tween a serial port and your modem, the stand-alone Gate- way II prompts a caller to enter a name and password be- fore permitting system ac- cess. If the correct information isn't entered within a user- designated period, Gateway II rudely hangs up. Every call is logged in Gateway IPs memory. You can even pick up that report from a distant system by using a modem. Two models are available. Gateway II can store up to 100 passwords and telephone numbers (250 optional). For extra peace of mind, Gateway II DB (dial back) provides the additional security of logging the user into the Gateway II system and then calling back to a predetermined telephone number. It requires an exter- nal Hayes-compatible auto-dial modem. Both Gateway II devices operate at from 300 to 19,200 bits per second (bps). Price: $395 for Gateway II; $495 for Gateway II DB. Contact: Adalogic Inc., 7844 McClellan Rd., Cupertino, CA 95014, (408) 257-1352. Inquiry 756. continued OTC's latest model prints 600 lines per minute. 68 BYTE- JUNE 1988 For problems involving engineering calculations or scientific analysis, the answer is MathCAD. Transporting an iceberg to Southern California is a formidable task. Calculat- ing the variables is just as demanding. How many tugboats would be needed to tow the ice mass? At what cost? How much fresh water would be lost? Innovative solutions require extra- ordinary tools. For problems involving calculations or what-if analysis, the answer is MathCAD. MathCAD is the only PC-based soft- ware package specifically designed to give technical professionals the freedom to follow their own scientific intuition. Requires IBM® PC or compatible. You decide how to solve the problem - MathCAD does the "grunt work." □ Ends programming and debugging, a Recalculates as variables change. □ Generates quick plots. Easy to learn and use, MathCAD operates interactively in standard math notation. And its built-in functions pro- vide all the power you need to solve real-world problems. MathCAD handles matrix operations, solves simultaneous equations, works with real and complex numbers, does automatic unit conver- sion, displays Greek characters and HOW other math symbols, performs FFTs and much more. There's never been a better way to get fast, accurate solutions to analytical problems. That's why 20,000 engineers and researchers are using MathCAD daily in applications as diverse as fluid mechanics, signal processing and molecular modeling. To find out what MathCAD can do for you, call us today for a free demo disk: 1-800-MathCAD (in MA, 617-577-1017). Or write to MathSoft, Inc., One Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA 02139. Math Soft 2-t-V- = X/-=-S Software Tools for Calculating Minds MANY GLASSES OF WATER IBM® International Business Machines Corporation, MathCAD® MathSoft, Inc. © Copyright MathSoft, Inc. 1988. CAN THIS ICEBERG SUPPLY TOLA.? Circle 169 on Reader Service Card JUNE 1988 -BYTE 69 WHAT'S NEW PERIPHERALS A Clean Sweep for Data It may not have the power of your fairy godmother's magic wand, but DataSweep 1 is a hand-held character reader that lets you enter typed or printed information into your IBM PC by sweep- ing the reader across text. According to Soricon Corp. , the reader can scan 120 words per minute, with an ac- curacy of 99.3 percent. It can read from 8- to 14-point type and scan up to 8 inches of char- acters in one stroke. The two- button wand lets you activate reading with the front button and program the rear button to keyboard functions such as Return, Tab, and Indent. A multi-font feature automati- cally recognizes most popular font styles, including propor- tionally spaced text and some typeset text. You can use the reader with most word-pro- cessing, spreadsheet, data- base, and desktop publishing programs. DataSweep 1 comes with the hand-held character reader, an interface board, and soft- ware. It requires an IBM PC, XT, AT, or compatible run- ning under DOS 2. 1 or higher with at least 256K bytes of RAM and a full-size expansion slot. To get the most from DataSweep, you should also have a hard disk drive. Price: $1250. Contact: Soricon Corp., 4725 Walnut St., Boulder, CO 80301, (800) 541-7226; in Colorado, (303) 440-2800. Inquiry 757. Data Sweep 1 scans up to 120 words per minute. See It All on Your Mac SE If your eyes are complain- ing about the Mac SE's pal- try 9-inch display, help is on the way in the guise of the V- Screen monitor from New Image Technology. Based on Princeton Graphic Systems' LM-300 high-resolution moni- tor, the V-Screen lets you view a whole page of text and graphics on its 15-inch screen. An 8 'A- by 1 1-inch page appears "life-size" with a resolution of 72 dots per inch and a 1-to-l aspect ratio. The V-Screen uses paper- white (P-138) phosphors and has a hardware mechanism that lets the 600-pixel screen pan left to right across a full 1024-pixel virtual screen. The monitor comes on a tilt-and-swivel base and in- cludes a controller card, soft- ware, and all connecting cables. Price: $1150. Contact: New Image Tech- nology Inc., 9701 Philadelphia Court, Lanham, MD 20706, (301)731-2000. Inquiry 759. ...And Also on Your PS/2 If you're using your PS/2 for those same desktop pub- lishing and CAD applications as the Mac above, you too can get eyestrain relief with the king-size Ventek PS 2000, an ultra-high-resolution mono- chrome text and graphics display for PS/2s equipped with the Micro Channel. The PS 2000 has a truly Promethean 20-inch diagonal screen. It is VGA-compatible and has a maximum resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels. It comes with an IBM PS/2 GIVE YOUR LAPTOP A 5V4-INCH COMPANION Laptop computers and their 3 '/2-inch high-ca- pacity floppy disks are great. But for better or worse, most of the world still runs on old-standard 5!4-inch floppy disks. There's no need to fear The Great Incompatibility: You can transfer and share data between disk sizes using the W525 Subsystem, an exter- nal 5 14 -inch 360K-byte floppy disk drive that plugs right into your Toshiba, Tandy, Zenith, Sharp, Datavue, or NEC laptop computer. The W525 Subsystem at- taches to the external floppy disk drive port and comes with a power supply and cable for your specific model of laptop computer. It measures 2 { h by 10 by 6V2 inches. Price: $249. Contact: Weltec Digital Inc., 17981 Sky Park Cir- cle, Suite M, Irvine, CA 92714, (800) 333-5155; in California, (714)250-1959. Inquiry 758. Micro Channel card and all the necessary cables. On the software side, the PS 2000 includes drivers for most popu- lar desktop publishing and CAD packages. Price: $2495. Contact: Ventek Corp., 31336 Via Colinas, Suite 102, Westlake Village, CA 91362, (818)991-3868. Inquiry 760. 123-Key Keyboard Remembers Macros EECO, the company that manufactures the popular DataDesk keyboard, is com- ing out with a new keyboard that offers more features. The Maxi-Switch Memory Pro for the IBM PC and AT includes a whopping 123 keys and can remember its own macros. The keyboard includes nonvolatile EEPROM (electri- cally erasable programmable ROM) to allow it to record key- board macros. According to the company, you can repro- gram any of the keys from the keyboard or by running a utili- ty program on the system. Having the macros stored in- side the keyboard avoids compatibility problems that can be caused by garden-vari- ety RAM-resident keyboard macro programs. The Memory Pro includes many more keys than the famil- iar 84-key or 101-key key- boards of the IBM PC and AT. For example, two sets of function keys are provided: the traditional 10 keys to the left of the typewriter keypad, and a horizontal row of function keys above the typewriter key- pad. These latter keys have removable transparent tops to accommodate legends de- scribing their function. The keyboard also has separate numeric and cursor keypads. Price: About $150. Contact: EECO Inc., 1601 East Chestnut Ave. , P.O. Box 659, Santa Ana, CA 92702, (714) 835-6000. Inquiry 761. continued 70 BYTE- JUNE 1988 Why Paradox 2.0 makes your network run like clockwork :■ Paradox® runs smoothly, intelligently and so transparently that multiple users can access the same data at the same time— without being aware of each other or getting in each other's way. With Paradox news travels fast and it's always accurate Paradox automatically updates itself with a screen-refresh that ensures that all the data is up to date and accurate all the time. Record-locking, Paradox- style, safeguards data integrity by preventing for example, two different users from making changes to the same record at the same time. How to make your multiuser network work To run Paradox 2.0 or the Paradox Network Pack on a network, you need: ■ Novell with Novell Advanced Netware version 2.0A or higher ■ 3Com 3Plus with 3Com 3+ operating system version 1.0, 1.1 or higher ■ IBM Token Ring or PC Network with IBM PC Local Area Network Program version 1.12 or higher ■ Toms Tapestry version 1 .45 or higher ■ AT&T Starlan version 1.1 or higher ■ Banyan VINES version 2.10 ■ Other network configurations that are 100% compatible with DOS 3.1 and one ol the listed networks System Requirements lor the Network Workstation ■ DOS 3.1 or higher ■ 640K RAM ■ Any combination ol hard, floppy, or no disk drives ■ Compatible monochrome, color, or EGA monitor with "Customer satisfaction is our maio concern: it within 60 days ot purchase this product does not perform in accordance with our claims, call our customer service department, and we will arrange a refund. Paradox is a registered trademark ot Ansa Software. Ansa is a Borland International Company Other brand and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks ol their respective holders Copyright «19M Borland International. Bt 1243 Circle 44 on Reader Service Card (Dealers: 45) • • When 1 saw the record-locking and autorefresh in action, I couldn't believe it. Here was a true network application, a program that can actu- ally take advantage of a network to provide more features and functions, things that can't be done with a stand- alone PC. Aaron Brenner, LAN Magazine With Version 2.0, Paradox becomes a sophisticated multiuser product that boasts an impressive selection of data- production features and password- security levels. Rusel DeMaria, PC Week J J Paradox responds instantly to "Query-by-Example" The method you use to ask questions is called Query-by-Example. Instead of spending time figuring out how to do the query, you simply give Paradox an example of the results you're looking for. Paradox picks up the example and automatically seeks the fastest way of getting the answer. Queries are flexible and interactive. And in Paradox, unlike in other data- bases, it's just as simple to query more than one table as it is to query one. it The program elegantly handles all the chores of a multiuser database system with little or no effort by network users. Mark Cook and Steve King, Data Based Advisor J J (£ Paradox ... has quickly become the state-of-the-art product among PC database managers . . . Paradox still reigns supreme as the thinking user's DBMS. Jim Seymour, PC Magazine J J You don't have to be a genius to use Paradox Even if you're a beginner, Paradox is the only relational database manager that you can take out of the box and begin using right away. Because Paradox is driven by the very latest in artificial intelligence technology, it does almost everything for you— except take itself out of the box. (If you've ever used 1-2-3® or dBASE,® you already know how to use Paradox. It has Lotus-like menus, and Paradox documentation includes "A Quick Guide to Paradox for Lotus Users" and "A Quick Guide to Paradox for dBASE users.") Paradox, it makes your network work. 60-Day Money-back Guarantee* For a brochure or the dealer nearest you Call (800) 543-7543 BORLAND INTERNA I I N A L JUNE 1988 -BYTE 71 WHAT'S NEW A D D - I N S Konan 's Ten Time transfers data at 4 megabytes per second. Konan the Controller It's a claim and a name: Konan's Ten Time disk con- troller accesses data 10 times faster than most controllers, the company reports. Using an on-board RAM cache, the controller features a caching algorithm that results in a transfer rate of 4 megabytes per second for most data requests. Both disk reads and writes are cached. When you write to the disk, it goes to the cache and is then written to the disk in the background. A 4-year battery protects your data if your computer goes down. If you request data that isn't wait- ing in the cache, a zero- latency read capability has- tens disk access by reading and transferring data immediate- ly, regardless of which sector the head lands on. Ten Time features a 1 -to- 1 interleave and can control up to two hard disk drives and two floppy disk drives. It's com- patible with DOS, Unix, Xenix, and Novell and 3Com networks, and requires an IBM PC AT or compatible. Price: $595 for the hard disk controller; $695 for the hard and floppy disk controller. Contact: Konan Corp., 4720 South Ash Ave., Tempe, AZ 85282, (602) 345-1300. Inquiry 785. Capture that Image! FreezFrame lets you mix standard video and com- puter graphics. It's a full-slot board that provides a window into your VCR, video cam- era, laser disk player, or other standard NTSC video source. The board lets you capture images in real time, with up to 32,768 colors, and then su- perimpose text and graphics on top of the image. FreezFrame has five display modes: EGA-Pass- through displays EGA images on the monitor; Real-Time lets you view video input directly on your screen; Freeze lets you display a still image captured during Real-Time mode; and EGA/CGA Low-Resolution Overlay lets you overlay text or graphics on a full-screen cap- tured image. FreezFrame gives you a maximum image resolution of 512 by 256 pixels. It captures images in 1/60 second and comes with 256K bytes of video RAM. The system runs on the IBM PC, XT, AT, and compatibles running DOS 3.0 or higher and requires a multifrequency analog moni- tor, and an EGA or CGA card for overlay capabilities. Price: $1749. Contact: VuTek Systems Inc., 10855 Sorrento Valley Rd., San Diego, CA 92121, (619) 587-2800. Inquiry 786. Hard Power for Your PS/2 Model 25 or 30 If you've been putting off adding a hard disk drive to your IBM PS/2 Model 25 or 30 for lack of a controller, your wait is over. Data Technol- ogy's 5150CR2 and 5160CR2 each occupy a half slot and support both hard cards and 5M- and 3 !/2-inch hard disk drives. The 5 150CR2 uses modi- fied frequency modulation (MFM) and supports drives with up to 16 heads and 1024 cylinders. The 5160CR2 uses run-length-limited (RLL) tech- nology to increase storage ca- pacity by 50 percent and re- duce the data transfer rate. It supports drives with up to 16 heads and 2048 cylinders. Software is included that assists you in installing the con- trollers. You can choose from among the drives of 15 manu- facturers and add other drive models to the menu. You can also split your drive into par- titions and enter media defect tables. Price: 5150CR2, about $80; 5160CR2, about $95. Contact: Data Technology Corp., 2551 Walsh Ave., Santa Clara, CA 9505 1,(408) 727-8899. Inquiry 787. NuVista Delivers Ultimate Mac II Video Truevision's NuVista is a 32-bit video-capture and display board that occupies one NuBus slot in your Mac II. The board is based on Texas Instruments' powerful 34010 graphics processor and features a custom video cross- point chip. It supplies up to 16.7 million colors and pro- vides a resolution of 1024 by 1024 pixels in 32-bit mode, though the resolution can be as high as 2048 by 2048 pixels in 8-bit mode. You can also capture a video signal in real time, and generate an analog video output signal. The board functions as the Mac IPs standard graphics controller. NuVista comes with either 2 or 4 megabytes of dual- ported CMOS video RAM. It also includes input and output lookup tables, four channels of A/D and D/A conversion, and a programmable pixel clock. Price: $4250 with 2 mega- bytes of RAM; $5995 with 4 megabytes. Contact: Truevision Inc., 7351 Shadeland Station, Suite 100, Indianapolis, IN 46256, (800) 858-8783; in Indiana, (317)841-0332. Inquiry 788. continued SKY SCANNER IN A SLOT After you've scanned through the 200 chan- nels received by your back- yard satellite dish, then what? Norsat's Micro-Sat is a satellite dish receiver that plugs into a full slot in an IBM PC or compatible. It lets you receive audio, video, and data signals at up to 9600 bps. Jacks on the board's rear-edge connector output the audio, video, and base band. You can send data directly to your RS- 232C serial port and view video input directly on your computer monitor. You tune Micro-Sat using EPROM, binary-coded dec- imal switches, or through the data bus. It captures sig- nals at a frequency between 950 and 1450 MHz. You can reset frequencies while run- ning AUTOEXEC.BAT, and you can also select video in- vert and audio bandwidths via DIP switches or directly from your computer. The board is compatible with the VC II, B-Mac, and Oak de- scrambling systems and the C and Ku satellite bands. Price: $1000. Contact: Norsat Interna- tional Inc., 302-12886 78th Ave., Surrey, BC, Canada V3W8E7, (604) 597-6200. Inquiry 789. 72 BYTE* JUNE 1988 the most f agile mouse evemb set foot ona '■ I V ilffifi The LOGITECH HiREZ Mouse- the only mouse expressly designed for high-resolution screens. With a resolution of 320 dots-per- inch (as compared with 200 dpi or less for ordinary mice), it covers the same area on your high-res screen, but needs less of your desk to do it. More than 50% less. Saving you valuable desk space, and effort: mouse maneuvers that used to require a sweep of the hand are now reduced to a flick of the wrist. The LOGITECH HiREZ mouse needs 50% less desk space to cover the same amount of screen area as a 200 dpi mouse. J Which makes this new mouse a hand's best friend. And a more reliable, long-lasting companion— fully compatible with all popular software, and equipped with a Lifetime Guarantee. Equipped, too, with other advantages exclusive to all Logitech mice: A unique lightweight ergonomic design. Low- angled buttons for maximum comfort and minimum fatigue. An exclusive tech- nology that guarantees a much greater life span. An exceptionally smooth-moving, dirt-resistant roller ball. And natural compatibility with all PCs, look-a- likes, and virtually any software. So if you've got your eyes on a high-res screen, get your hands on the one mouse that's agile enough to keep up with it. The LOGITECH HiREZ Mouse. For the dealer nearest you, call 800- 231-7717 (800-552-8885 in California), or write Logitech, Inc., 6505 Kaiser Drive, Fremont, CA 94555. In Europe, call or write: Logitech Switzerland, European Headquarters, CH-1111 Romanel/Morges, Switzerland (++41-21-869-9656). ffl LOGITECH Circle 159 on Reader Service Card (Dealers: 160) How to pick th mmgagmmggmgm/m/gag^Hmmmmams Though most mice out there look pretty much alike, they're not all equal in performance. It pays to be just a little choosy to make sure you end up with the right mouse for your needs. Starting with software. If you want full com- patibility with all of your software, all you have to do is look for a mouse with the Logitech name. There are four in all, each one designed for dif- ferent hardware needs. THE HiREZ MOUSE If you've got your eyes on a high-resolution screen, the mouse to get your hand on is the new LOGITECH HiREZ Mouse. With a resolution of 320 dots-per-inch (as compared with 200 dpi or less for ordinary mice), it covers the same area on your high-res screen but needs less of your desk to do it. More than 50% less. Saving you valuable desk space, and 74 BYTE • JUNE 1988 The LOGITECH HiREZ Mouse needs 50% less desk space to cover the same amount of screen area as a 200 dpi mouse. Good instincts run in this family (left to right): the new LOGITECH HiREZ Mouse ($179), the only mouse designed expressly for Ingh-res screens; the LOGITECH Series 2 Mouse for the IBM PS/2 ($99, plugs right into mouse port); and the LOGITECH Mouse for standard screens ($119, in bus and serial versions). All come with Logitech's own Phu Software, which assures ease of use with virtually any software, mouse-based or nol. effort: mouse maneuvers that used to require sweeps of the hand are now reduced to a flick of the wrist. Which makes this new mouse a hand's best friend. And a more reliable, long-lasting com- panion. And, like all Logitech mice, it's fully compatible with all popular software, and equipped with a Lifetime Guarantee. THE SERIES 2 MOUSE For those who've chosen the Personal System/2,™ the most logical choice is the LOGITECH Series 2 Mouse. It's 100% compati- ble with PS/2, and plugs right into the mouse port, leaving the serial port free to accommodate other peripherals. e right mouse Iloocadd THE ALL-PURPOSE MOUSE: SERIAL OR BUS Most people find our standard mouse is still the best choice for their systems. It's available in both bus and serial versions, one of which is sure to fit perfectly with your hardware. And with all your favorite software —whether mouse-based or not. It's hardly an accident that only Logitech offers you such a complete selection— we're the only mouse company to design and manufacture our own products. We make more mice, in fact, than anyone else. Including custom-designed models for OEMs like AT&T, DEC, and Hewlett-Packard. The three mice pictured to the left come with all this expertise built right in. Which explains an interesting paradox: while you may pay less for a Logitech mouse, you'll surely get more in performance. A Logitech mouse plus Logitech application software equals a complete solution (all prices include mouse, Plus Software, and application): LOG1CADD. . . $189. PUBLISHER PACKAGE Turns your PC into ...$1 79. PUBLISHER a full-featured CADD software lets beginners and workstation. Every- experts alike produce pro- thing you need for fessional, high-impact dimensioned line documents. Design templates drawing and CADD. make page layout easy. LOGIPAINT SET. . . $149. Eleven type fonts and a 16-color palette. Creates files that move easily into both LOGIC ADD and PUBLISHER documents. (800-552-8885 in California). Or fill out and mail the coupon below to: Logitech, Inc., 6505 Kaiser Drive, Fremont, CA 94555. In Europe, call or write: Logitech Switzerland, European Headquarters, CH-1111 Romanel/Morges, Switzerland (++41-21-869-9656). And in comfort. With a unique lightweight ergonomic design. Low-angled buttons for maxi- mum comfort and minimum fatigue. An exclusive technology that guarantees a much greater life span. An exceptionally smooth-moving, dirt- resistant roller ball. And natural compatibility with all PCs, look-a-likes, and virtually any software. All of which leads to an inescapable conclu- sion: if you want to end up with the right mouse, start with the right mouse company. Logitech. We've got a mouse for whatever the task at hand. For the dealer nearest you, call 800-231-7717 Circle 161 on Reader Service Card (Dealers: 162) n ~l Logitech, Inc., 6505 Kaiser Drive, Fremont, CA 94555. Logitech Switzerland, European Headquarters, CH-1111 Romanel/Morges, Switzerland. Yes! Please send me the name of the nearest Logitech dealer. Name Company /Title Address Phone HTQGIIECHj Personal System/2 is a trademark of International Business Machines, Corporation. JUNE 1988 -BYTE 75 WHAT'S NEW HARDWARE • OTHER Let the Computer Design that Servo With the SDK-400, your computer designs, con- nects, and tests motion-con- trol systems. Included in the servo design kit is a PC-com- patible motion controller, a servo motor with encoder, and a power driver. It also comes with a power supply, connec- tors, and design software. The motion controller plugs into the PC bus and ac- cepts over 40 ASCII com- mands and motion profiles. The controller accepts ASCII commands from the keyboard. Assembling the hardware is simplified by step-by-step graphic explanations included with the software. Diagnostic routines make sure you've connected everything properly, and then the software tunes the system for optimum perfor- mance. The software also in- cludes modeling and analysis programs that let you evaluate system performance and teach you about the theoretical as- pects of servo design. The SDK-400 servo design kit requires an IBM PC, XT, AT, or compatible with DOS 2.0 or higher, at least 512K bytes of RAM, and a Her- cules or EGA board. Price: System 1 , with motor encoder size 5-500, $1 145; System 2, with motor en- coder size 50-1000, $1 175. Contact: Galil Motion Con- trol Inc., 1054 Elwell Court, Palo Alto, CA 94303, (415) 964-6494. Inquiry 767. Design and test motion-control systems with the SDK-400. Mr. Mox Powers up Your PC Do you ever need to power up your PC to ac- cess files from a remote loca- tion? Mr. Mox, an AC power switch that you control with an external modem, may be the solution. Mr. Mox features four grounded outlets, two of which are always hot; you control the other two with the Carrier Detect signal in your modem. You plug your PC into the out- lets and attach the DB-25 cable to the modem outlet on Mr. Mox and to the external modem. Mr. Mox also includes a manual-override switch, a 100-second power-off delay, built-in surge protection, a PURE PC POWER PROTECTION When lightning's crash- ing down, your hard disk drives and modems are safe with the DSDLP surge protector — at least from a surge of up to 6000 volts, ac- cording to Dynatech. The DSDLP has sensors that detect undervoltages and power-line losses on up to four AC outlets and two telephone receptacles. It also filters RFI (radio-fre- quency interference) and EMI (electromagnetic inter- ference) noise. Price: $139.95; includes a 10-year warranty. Contact: Dynatech Com- puter Power Inc., 5800 But- ler Lane, Scotts Valley, CA 95066, (800) 638-9098; in California, (408) 438-5760. Inquiry 768. 125-volt 15-amp circuit breaker, and a DB-25 cable. Price: $99.95. Contact: Kenmore Computer Technologies, 30 Suncrest Dr., Rochester, NY 14609, (716) 654-7356. Inquiry 769. ASCII on the Wall What is the hexadecimal ASCII code for a check mark? Which color codes will give your screen yellow letters on a blue background? What are the keyboard scan codes for your function keys? You can answer these questions with a quick glance at Top- spot's computer reference wall chart. The chart features an ASCII table with all 256 sym- bols; keyboard scan codes; codes for the 16 basic colors and gray scales; tables of hexadecimal, decimal, and binary numbers; box-drawing codes; and a musical-note fre- quency chart. The wall chart measures 24 by 36 inches and has a metal edge and hook for easy hanging. Price: $15. Contact: Topspot, P.O. Box 881, Marion, IA 52302, (319) 377-0207. Inquiry 770. A PC-Based Digital Scope Rapid Systems says its PC-based R1200 digital scope is ideal for transient, vibration, modal, audio, and physiological waveform anal- ysis. It features sampling rates selectable from 1 Hz to 1 MHz, a 64K-byte data buffer, 12-bit A/D converters on each channel, and antialiasing filters on each channel. The R1200 is capable of zooming in vertically on wave- forms to see increased 12-bit resolution. An autosave feature stores the sweeps mode to disk, and the scope offers op- tional real-time fast Fourier transform spectrum analysis. Price: $2995. Contact: Rapid Systems Inc., 433 North 34th St., Seattle, WA 98103, (206)547-8311. Inquiry 771. Extend Your SCSI The SCSI 50-pin parallel protocol normally oper- ates to only 19.6 feet, or, with the differential version, it can be extended to 82 feet. But Paralan reports that with the Paraline SCSI enhance- ment products, you can operate at distances of up to 1000 feet, or up to 2 miles with fiber optic models. The Paraline SCSI bus ex- tenders are freestanding units that operate from wall-mount power supplies. The single ex- tenders have one parallel in- terface and one serial connec- tion. You mate the serial interface with coaxial or fiber optic cables (depending on the model). Hub models are also available, and they have one parallel and four serial connections. Price: $305 for the coaxial version; $820 for fiber optic; $1 195 for Parahub-4; $2625 for Parahub-4 fiber optic. Contact: Paralan Group, C.D.R. Systems Inc., 7171 Ronson Rd. , San Diego, CA 92111,(619)560-1272. Inquiry 796. continued 76 BYTE' JUNE 1988 Feature: dBASE ORACLE SQL Promises, no dates IBM DB2 Compatible Mainframes No Way 1BMMVS & VM/CMS Minis Nope DEC, HP, Sun, etc. PCs All, PC Jr. too 286 & 386 PCs MS/DOS <640K programs >640K programs OS/2 Still waiting Shipping Multiuser Primitive Mainframe quality Networking PC Nets only PC, mini & mainframe Fault Tolerant You must be kidding CPU & Disk Recovery THE LAST DBMS ONLY $199 CALI 1-800-ORACLE1 racle Corporation, the world's fastest growing software company,' has just climbed past Ashton-Tate to become the world's largest supplier of database man- agement software and services. 2 Why? • Because ORACLE® runs on PCs, plus mainframes and minicom- puters from IBM, DEC, DG, HP, Prime, Wang, Apollo, Sun, etc. — virtually every computer you have now or ever will have. AshtonTate's dBASE runs only on PCs. • Because ORACLE is a true dis- tributed DBMS that connects all your computers — PCs, minicom- puters and mainframes — into a single, unified computing and infor- mation resource. dBASE supports only primitive PC networking. • Because Oracle has supported the industry standard SQL language since 1979. Ashton-Tate promises to put SQL into dBASE sometime in the indefinite future. • Because ORACLE takes advan- tage of modern 286/386 PCs by letting you build larger-than-640K PC applications on MS/ DOS that run unchanged on OS/2. dBASE treats today's 286/386 PCs and PS/2s like the now obsolete, original PC. Don't go down in flames. Bail out from dBASE. Call 1-800-ORACLE1 and order your S199-PC copy of ORACLE 3 today. Or just ask and we'll send you information on ORACLE, the number one selling DBMS on minicomputers and mainframes. ORACLG* COMPATIBILITY • PORTABILITY • CONNECTABILITY Call 1-800-0RACLE1, ext. 149 today. h Dear Oracle, PC ORDER PROCESSING Oracle Corporation 20 Davis Drive • Belmont, CA 94002 I want ORACLE to be THE LAST DBMS for my 286/386 PC. Enclosed is my □ Check or □ VISA DMCD AMEX credit card authorization for $199 (California residents add 7% sales tax). I understand this copy is for PC develop- ment only. Offer valid only in the US and Canada. Company Street IPO. Box numbers not acceptable) Zip Credit Card Number Card Expiration Date 1 Revenue doubled in 9 of Oracle's 10 years. ? Sales rale over 5200 million In current fiscal year. ' For PC development use only. Requires a 286/386 PC plus 1-MByte extended memory. Offer ■ valid only In OS & Canada. © 1988 by Oracle Corp. ORACLE* Is a reg. trademark of Oracle Corp. dBASE Is a reg. trademark of Ashton-Tate. Microsoft & IBM own numerous reg. trademarks. TR8A I Signature BYTE I am a value-added reseller (VAR): D YES □ NO JUNE 1988 -BYTE 77 WHAT'S NEW SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING MOVING FORTH WITH OS/2 FloPro 2.2 runs at 5 milliseconds per logic serve. Real-Time Machine Control on a PC FloPro 2.2, a CAM pro- gram for industrial appli- cations, emulates the pro- grammable controller processes of updating I/O and solving user logic. Using flow- charts as its programming language, the program can run at 5 milliseconds per logic serve, according to Universal Automation. You can run FloPro in a simulator mode that allows the flowcharts to execute without the I/O attached to the PC. The FloPro debugger lets you view flowcharts; modify current status of the I/O, flags, timers, counters, and registers; display real-time status while executing; trace flowchart blocks and set breakpoints; cross-reference flowcharts; and terminate or resume execution. FloPro also works in a multitasking environment. The program includes 512 (each) inputs, outputs, flags, timers, 16-bit binary counters, and 4-digit binary- coded-decimal registers. A graphics editor lets you put up to a 15-character label on each mnemonic. FloPro runs on the IBM PC and compatibles with DOS 3.0 or higher, 512K bytes of RAM, an EGA card, and a 132-column printer. Price: $895 for the develop- ment system; $295 for the run- time module. Contact: Universal Automa- tion Inc. , 9G Rebel Rd. , Hud- son, NH 03051, (603) 880- 6553. Inquiry 772. Compile any Microsoft BASIC Program on Your Apple IIGS Based on the Microsoft BASIC compiler, AC/BA- SIC is a native 16-bit com- piler optimized for the IIGS's 65816 processor. The com- piler produces stand-alone ap- plications by translating BASIC programs directly into machine language. It does not require a linker, but does re- quire the run-time libraries included with the program. Absoft reports that you can take programs written in Microsoft BASIC for the Mac, IBM PC, or Amiga, and run and compile them on the IIGS through AC/BASIC. In addition, AC/BASIC supports the IIGS sound and color capabilities. To run the compiler, you need at least 5 12K bytes of RAM on a IIGS and one 3 '/2-inch floppy disk drive. Price: $125. Contact: Absoft, 2781 Bond St., Auburn Hills, MI 48057, (313)853-0050. Inquiry 797. continued LMI UR/FORTH for Microsoft OS/2 is a Forth programming envi- ronment for 80286- and 80386-based machines run- ning OS/2. UR/FORTH runs in pro- tected mode and lets you take advantage of OS/2's support for multitasking, in- terprocess communications, and virtual memory man- agement. UR/FORTH offers a di- rect threaded-code imple- mentation, a segmented memory model, a hashed dictionary for fast compila- tion, use of dynamic mem- ory allocation functions, and a uniform file interface. It includes a battery of string-handling operators, such as search, extract, compare, and concatenate, and a dynamic string-stor- age manager. A table-driven full-screen editor lets you edit as many as six files simultaneously. You can invoke OS/2 sys- tem functions interactively from the UR/FORTH inter- preter by typing the func- tion's parameters, followed by the function's name. When you leave the OS/2 operating system, the status of the operation is left on the Forth stack, and other re- sults are placed in the Forth data segment at addresses specified in the original call. You can also call OS/2 func- tions from within compiled Forth programs. UR/FORTH supports text and graphics display modes of the CGA and EGA. It contains graphic drawing routines for reading or set- ting individual pixels, line drawings, arcs, ellipses, and circles; region filling with patterns or solid color; bit- block moves; and position- ing of graphics at arbitrary graphics coordinates. Software floating-point, 80287-assisted floating- point, and 80387-assisted floating-point function li- braries are supplied. Lab- oratory Microsystems re- ports that you can use the software floating-point li- brary on any 286- or 386- based machine. To run UR/FORTH for OS/2 you need version 1.0 or higher of OS/2, a 286- or 386-based system, at least 2 megabytes of RAM, and a CGA, VGA, EGA, or mono- chrome display adapter. Price: $350. Contact: Laboratory Mi- crosystems Inc., 3007 Washington Blvd., Suite 230, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, (213) 306-7412. Inquiry 773. I« ill* If ::-:- i i: *•* 1 J ( « ) 1 -;■; LiattatP! ~ .fcWKtf ■■ 1 — If- "•;-. 3ir« 8 !st5to|»! ^H - : -::r;: : .--:: ttvMU j 1 5-C-3K1 ;■:■:;:.-:.": T2- ■ ..-' '-.■•■••i 53; - i-i ttttrplii: — »_„. -... t. „.. ..: i Z.--::r:.;::-: I -W 1 1. MUM ] An AC/BASIC control window. 78 BYTE • JUNE 15 Take a peek at Genoa's new PC graphics You've known Genoa as a developer of high performance graphics chips, and a leading manufacturer of graphics boards and tape backup. Soon you'll be able to depend on us for all your PC graphics add-on hardware. Over the next year, we'll be unwrap- ping a series of graphics products. Each is designed to give you the most reliable, yet innovative engineering features. And above all, the highest performance possible. Our SuperVGA HiRes family, featured here, is the first in our new product series. SuperVGA HiRes offers breathtaking color and resolution. From 16 colors in 1024x768. Up to 256 colors in 800x600. You'll see more of your spreadsheets at once with SuperVGA HiRes. 132 columns and 60 rows. You'll do Windows or OS/2. In fact, every SuperVGA HiRes feature is designed to turn your IBM PC/XT/AT and PS/2 models 25 and 30 into real graphics engines. Genoa SYSTEMS CORPORATION Delivering SuperVGA HiRes now' 100% IBM VGA compatible Advanced features -1024x768 in 16 colors and 800x600 in 256 colors/Model 5200 -512x512 in 256 colors/Model 5100 132 columns text For both analog and TTL displays If you're looking for PC graphics add-ons, take a look at Genoa first. Our new line of products is starting delivery now! For the Genoa dealer nearest you or to add your name to our mailing list contact: Genoa Systems Corporation, 73 E.Trimble Road, San Jose, CA 95131. Fax: 408/434-0997 Telex: 172319. Or phone: 408/432-9090. In the UK, contact Genoa Systems Limited, phone: 01-225-3247 In the Far East, contact Genoa/Taiwan, phone: 2-776-3933. Circle 118 on Reader Service Card E 1988 Genoa Systems Corporation. SuperVGA HiRes is a trademark ol Genoa Systems Corporation.Windows is a trademark ot Microsoft, Inc. IBM PC/XT/ AT, PS/2, and OS/2 are trademarks of International Business Machines. ¥>u carit buy a faster 286 computer for the price* In fact, you can't buy a faster 286 computer at any price* BYTE 'JUNE 1988 JUNE 1988 • B Y T E 80-A 1 1 Jit lL/-4?Jjfe Because. The handsome piece of high- tech wizardry you've just been admiring (on the previous two pages) is the new Dell System 220 The first 286 computer running at 20 MHz. You read it correctly. 20 MHz. Which means it's as fast as most 386 computers, running MS + OS/2 and MS-DOS at blis- tering speed. All from a tiny little corner of your desk. Yet this engineering marvel costs less than half of what most other 386 computers sell for. Which might lead you, quite reasonably, to wonder: How can the people at Dell offer you so much for so little? The short answer is that you buy direct from us, the manufacturer. Eliminating the computer stores and their salespeople-who can add thousands of dollars to the cost of every computer. "Speed is a good thing. Safe, reliable, no hassles speed is better still!' -Al Poor, Editor's Choice, PC Magazine But while we eliminate the things you don't need, we also make certain we never eliminate anything you actually do need. The very first thing you need from any computer company, obviously, is terrific computers. 80-B B YTE • JUNE IS Well, we design and build our computers right here at our head- quarters in Austin, Texas. Putting a premium on speed, compatibility, and reliability. Because we're flexible, we often get new technologies to the marketplace faster than any other computer company. In fact, we're already shipping our version ofMSOS/2,soyou can run MS OS/2 applications, now as well as in the future. '.'..includes a year's on-site support. ..in the price of the computer. This is the sweet- est support deal offered by any computer vendor in the business!' -Eric Knorr, PC World As for quality control, around here it's an obsession. Each and every computer goes through a battery of diagnostic checks, including a comprehensive burn- in before we ship it to you. Every single Dell computer also comes equipped with one other remarkable feature. A level of service most retail computer stores can only envy. Starting with expert technical advice before you even buy a com- puter. To help you decide which system best suits your needs. Followed by a thirty-day money -back guarantee. To make sure you're completely satisfied. And all systems come with a one-year limited warranty. Then, we give you free tech- nical support over the phone. With technicians who know the inside of our computers the way you know the back of your hand. If on-site service should ever be required by you or your business, we'll send a Honeywell Bull service engineer to your office by the next business day? Our attitude towards service is perhaps best summed up by a phrase we hear around here, delivered in a no-nonsense tone by our Chairman, Michael Dell: "Fix itj' he says. "Or give them their money back!' "The combination of technical know' how and service is impressive . . . it's a good bet the computer world will be earing a lot more about Michael Dell in the years ahead!' -Stanley W. Angrist, Forbes In four years, we've become one of the largest personal com- puter manufacturers in the U.S. We've more than doubled our sales each year we've been in busi- ness; last year, our sales grew from $69 million to $159 million. It shouldn't be any surprise. After all, we've been offering better computers, with better service-at better prices. All you do is call us and place an order, and we ship it direct to you. Which makes buying a computer as simple as it can be. Now, if you'd like the rest of the details on our hyper-fast 286 computer, and information on the rest of our line, there's only one more thing you have to do. Turn the page. JUNE 1988 • BYTE 80-C The Dell Computer Store* Welcome to our store. To buy or lease a Dell computer, call (800) 426-5150. We'll help you select the right system. For service and technical support, call our highly trained technicians at (800) 624-9896. In almost all cases, any prob- lem can be solved over the phone. These technicians are also supported by Honeywell Bull service engineers who can be dispatched to your office by the next business day, should on-site service be required. This optional service contract is available in over 95% of the United States, with over 1,000 engineers in 198 service locations* We are so confident in our quality products that we also provide a Total Satisfaction Guarantee, which says that any system bought from us may be returned within thirty days from the date it was shipped to you for a com- plete refund of your purchase price. We also offer a One Year Limited Warranty, which warrants each system we manufacture to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for one full year. During the one year period we will repair or replace any defective prod- ucts properly returned to our factory. CaE or write for the complete terms of our Guarantee Warranty, and the Honeywell Bull Service Contract. Dell Computer Corporation, 9505 Arbore- tum Blvd., Austin, Texas 78759-7299. Dell products are available on GSA contract #GS00K87AGS6127 Call us to get GSA pricing. THE NEW SYSTEM 310. The top of the line. It's the highest performance 80386 computer available, faster than the IBMt PS/2t Model 80 and the Compaqt 386/20. It runs at 20 MHz, with the latest 32- bit architecture for complete MSt OS/2 compatibility and maximum performance. Since it also has Intel'st Advanced 82385 Cache Memory Con- troller, and high performance disk drives, the System 310 is ideal for intensive database management, complex research and development, CAD/ CAM, and desktop publishing. As a network file server the system offers an unbeatable combination of price and performance. Standard Features: Intelt 80386 microprocessor running at 20 MHz. 1 MB of 80 ns 32-bit RAM expandable to 16 MI3 without using an expansion slot. Advanced Intel 82385 Cache Memory Controllet with 32 KB of high speed static RAM. Socket for 20 MHz 80387 coprocessor 5.25" 1.2 MB or 3.5" 1.44 MB diskette drive. Dual diskette and hard disk drive controller. Enhanced 101-key keyboard. I parallel and 2 serial ports. 200-watt power supply. Real-time clock. 8 expansion slots (6 available with hard disk drive controller and video adapter installed). Dell System Analyzer. MS-DOS and MS OS/2 compatible. Security lock with locking chassis. 12 month on-site service contract (Available on complete systems). Options: 1 MB RAM upgrade kit. 20 MHz Intel 80387 math coprocessor. 2 MB or 8 MB memory expansion boards. SYSTEM 310 With Monitor and Adapter Hard Disk Drives VGA Mono VGA Color VGA Color Plus 40 MB-28 ms $3,799 $3,999 $4,099 90MB-I8ms ESDI J4.599 $4,799 $4,899 I50MB-I8ms ESDI 15.099 $5,299 $5,399 322 MB-1S ms ESDI $7,099 $7,299 $7,399 THE NEW SYSTEM 220. As fast as most 386 computers, at less than half the price-more power for the money than any other system. An 80286 system that runs at 20 MHz, with less than one wait state. Completely compatible for both MS-DOS and MS OS/2 applications (it runs OS/2 faster than IBM PS/2 Model 80), and with a remark- ably small footprint, the System 220 is the ideal executive work- station for database manage- ment, business, or sophisticated connectivity applications. The system uses page-mode inter- leaved memory; the page-mode RAM operates at less than one wait state, and inter-leaving results in a performance increase of about 15 percent. Standard Features: 80286 microprocessor running at 20 MHz. 1 MB of RAM expandable to 16 MB (8 MB on system board). Integrated diskette and VGA video controller on system board. One 3.5" 1.44 MB diskette drive. Integrated high performance hard disk interface on system board. Enhanced 101-key keyboard. 1 parallel and 2 serial ports. L1M 4.0 support for memory over 1 MB. Real-time clock. Three full-sized ATt compatible expansion slots. Socket for 80287 coprocessor. Dell System Analyzer. MS-DOS and MS OS/2 compatible. Security lock with locking chassis. 12 month on-site service con- tract (Available on complete systems). Options: 3.5" 1.44 MB diskette drive. Intel 80287 coprocessor. 1 MB RAM upgrade kits. SYSTEM 220 With Monitoi VGA Mono VGA Color VGA Color Plus One Diskette Drive $1,799 $1,999 $2,099 40MB-29ms Hard Disk $2,499 $2,699 $2,799 100 MB-29 ins Hani Disk $3,399 $3,599 $3,699 80-D BYTE- JUNE 1988 THE NEW SYSTEM 200. A great value in a full-featured AT compatible. An 80286 com- puter running at 12.5 MHz, this system is completely MS OS/2 compatible. It's ideal for general business applications, as well as software development, local area networks, CAD/CAM, and desk- top publishing. The System 200 offers high speed drive options, industry standard compatible BIOS, and on-site service. At these low prices, the System 200 is the best value in the 80286 marketplace. As Executive Com- puting said of this computer's predecessor, "If faster processing speed and low cost are two key issues affecting your purchase decision, this machine might be the ideal choice for your office." Standard Features: Intel 80286 microprocessor running at 12.5 MHz. 640 KB of RAM, expandable to 16 MB (4.6 MB on system board.) 5.25" 1.2 MB or 3.5" 1.44 MB diskette drive. Dual diskette and hard disk drive controller. Enhanced 101-key keyboard. 1 parallel and 2 serial ports. 200-watt power supply. Real-time clock. 6 expansion slots. (4 available with hard disk drive controller and video adapter installed). Socket for 8 MHz 80287 coprocessor. Dell System Analyzer. MS-DOS & MS OS/2 compatible. Security lock with locking chassis. 12-month on-site service contract (Available on complete systems). Options: 512 KB RAM upgrade kit. 8 MHz Intel 80287 coprocessor. SYSTEM 200 With Monitor and Adapter Hard Disk Drives Mono VGA Mono VGA Color VGA Color I'Ilis 20 Mil $1,799 $1,999 $2,199 $2,299 40MB-40rr,5 $1,999 $2,199 $2,399 $2,499 40 MIS-28 ms $2,199 $2399 $2,599 $2,699 SOMIMSms ESDI $2,999 $3,199 $3,399 $3,499 150 MB 18 ms ESDI $3,499 $3,699 $3,899 $3,999 322 MIS 18 ms ESDI $5,499 £5,699 $5,899 $5,999 THE SYSTEM 100. A full-featured, yet economical one-piece computer for office, school, or home. This system is fast, easy to use, and ready to run with Dell Enhanced MS- DOS 3.3, Microsoft!- DOS Man- ager, and Microsoft Works soft- ware-more than a $400 value, included at no extra charge. Complete MS-DOS compatibility means you can run thousands of programs for business, per- sonal finance, education, and entertainment. And the System 100 can grow, with the high quality options listed below. A price leader in 8088 technology, the System 100 boasts an inno- vative design that allows for more power, speed and convenience than most of its competitors. Standard Features: Intel 8088 microprocessor run- ning at 9.54 MHz selectable to 4.77. 640 KB of RAM. 3.5" 720 KB diskette drive. Diskette drive controller inte- grated on system board. Integrated high-quality 84-key keyboard. 1 serial and 1 parallel port. Two full-sized expansion slots available when video adapter is installed. One half-sized expansion slot used for video adapter. Socket for 8 MHz 8087 coprocessor. Internal speaker with earphone jack and volume control. Security Tie-Down bracket. Dell Enhanced MS-DOS 3.3 Microsoft DOS Manager, Microsoft Works. Options: 3.5" 720 KB diskette drive. 8 MHz Intel 8087. SYSTEM 100 W rh Monitc rand Adapter Mono- ehrome CGA Color VGA Mono VGA Color 720 KB Diskette Drive $799 $899 S999 $1,199 Two 720 KB Diskette Drives $949 $1,049 $1,149 $1,349 20 MB Hard Disk $1299 $1,399 $1,499 $1,699 PRINTERS. We now offer a full line of PC-compatible dot matrix and laser printers. Our dot matrix printers range from inexpensive near-letter quality printers to the highest resolution printers available. Our laser printers include some of the fastest, most reliable printers ever made. All are 300 dots per inch, and all support serial and parallel interfaces. And all printers come with our 30-day money- back guarantee and a one year warranty. LASER PRINTERS Laser System 150 $5,995 15 pages per minute, text and graphics 1.5 MB standard memory, expandable to 2.0 MB Dual 250-sheet input trays Laser System 80 $3,195 8 pages per minute text and graphics 1.5 MB standard memory, expandable to 2.0 MB Laser System 60 $2,195 6 pages per minute, text and graphics 1,5 MB standard memory, expandable to 2.0 MB DOT MATRIX PRINTERS Printer System 800 $699.95 Highest resolution text and graphics from a 24-\vire dot matrix printer Draft quality at 200 cps Correspondence quality at 132 cps Lettet quality at 66 cps Standard parallel and serial interfaces Wide carriage Printer System 600 $499.95 9-wire dot matrix Draft quality at 240 cps Near-letter quality at 60 cps Standard parallel interface 12.6 KB Buffer (expandable to 28.6 KB) Wide carriage Printer System 300 $199.95 9-wire dot matrix Draft quality at 144 cps Near-letter quality at 36 cps Four standard fonts Paper parking 4 KB buffer Standard Parallel interface PERIPHERALS. With our unique manufacturing capabilities, we can build a system to your exact specifications. We offer monitors, modems, graphics boards, tape backups, hard drives, diskette drives, expanded memory boards, a serial mouse, and more. Call for details. Operating System Software Dell Enhanced MS-DOS 3.3 with disk cache and other utilities $119.95. Dell MS OS/2 Standard Edition 1.0 $324.95 SOFTWARE. Complete your system with software: accounting, communications, desktop publishing, graphics, home, spread- sheet, training, word processing, and inte- grated packages. Call for more information. DELL TO ORDER, CALL 800426-5150 AH prices and specifications are subject to change without notice. Please inquire for current details. Del) cannot be irsponsible for errors in typography or photography. In Canada, leasing is not currently available, and configurations and pricing may vary. *Available on System 100 at extra charge. fSignihVs registered or unregistered trademarks owned by enrities other than Dell Computer Corporation. ©1988 DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION. 11EF8 Circle 317 on Reader Service Card JUNE 1988 • BYTE 81 WHAT'S NEW SOFTWARE SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING Anvil Forges Designs on Your 386 Anvil-5000pc integrates drafting, wire-frame, sur- face modeling, section analy- sis, and numerical control using the same data structure and interactive interfaces for all functions. Its drafting capabilities in- clude notes, labels, dimen- sions, cross-hatching, arrow on curve, balloon, text edit, surface finish, and true-posi- tion tolerancing. Its geometric features offer points, lines, arcs and circles, splines, conies, strings, and polylines. The program has an inte- grated database, a warm re- boot, and an open architec- ture. It can handle drawings of parts that have more than 340,000 entities. The program supports VGA, PGA, and EGA. It comes in six software mod- ules, beginning with 3-D De- sign and Drafting, which is the core module of the system and is available immediately. Other modules will be released throughout 1988. Price: 3-D Design and Draft- ing module, $3995; other mod- ules will range from $495 to $1995. Contact: Manufacturing and Consulting Services Inc., 9500 Toledo Way, Irvine, CA 92718,(714)951-8858. Inquiry 774. Astronomical Space Birds Space Birds is an astro- nomical program that pre- dicts the visibility of artificial earth satellites. It requires that you obtain information on or- bital elements from NASA on forms provided in the pack- age. You enter the elements, your latitude, longitude, and height above sea level, and the time period for which you want visibility predictions. The program runs on the IBM PC, XT, AT, and compat- AnvilSOOOpc does all kinds of 3-D design and drafting. ibles with DOS 2.0 or higher. Price: $40 for PC and XT version; $45 for PC AT version. Contact: Astronomical Data Service, P.O. Box 26180, Col- orado Springs, CO 80936, (719) 597-4068. Inquiry 775. New Mathtool Module Statistics I is the first module in Gulfs numeri- cal analysis library, Math- tool. Statistics I calculates means, variance, moments, moving averages, frequency distributions, and cumulative frequency distributions. It also performs data smoothing, tests of hypotheses and signifi- cance, and confidence inter- val estimates. The modules in the Math- tool series offer on-line editing of data, mathematical rou- tines, and graphics output to the screen or printer. You can input your own data, ASCII files, or Lotus 1-2-3 files. Other Mathtool modules will include Matrix Analysis, Re- gression and Correlation, Probability, Differential Equations, Fourier Series, Bes- sel Functions, Numerical In- tegration, Analytic Geometry, Mathematical Functions, and Numerical Differentiation. Statistics I operates as a stand-alone program or will work with other Mathtool units. They all run on the IBM PC, XT, AT, and compat- ibles with 256K bytes of RAM. A monochrome or color graphics card is recommended. Price: $95. Contact: Gulf Publishing Co., Book Division, Dept. R8, P.O. Box 2608, Houston, TX 77252,(713)529-4301. Inquiry 776. Passage into Two Dimensions World Precision Instru- ments has designed Pas- sage for two-dimensional plotting and numerical analysis on a Mac. The program lets you enter data from other pro- grams. It will scale and plot multiple sets of the data, in- cluding asymmetrical error values. Passage also analyzes and manipulates the data, using routines to calculate inte- grals, fast Fourier transforms, and polynomial fits. Passage runs on the Mac Plus, SE, and II. Price: $495. Contact: World Precision Instruments, 375 Quinnipiac Ave., New Haven, CT 06513, (203)469-8281. Inquiry 777. SEGS Plots Engineering Graphics SEGS is a scientific engi- neering graphics system that can plot over 5000 data points for each of 10 curves with up to four independent y axes. It features a Lotus 1-2-3-style interface and lets you produce presentation-qual- ity graphics on many plotters and printers, including Hew- lett-Packard pen plotters and LaserJets, and IBM graphics- compatible dot-matrix printers. An internal numeric spreadsheet lets you enter, transform, and manipulate data mathematically to produce plots. You can enter data with the numeric spreadsheet, or you can import data from spreadsheet print files or ASCII data files. To run SEGS, you need an IBM PC, XT, AT, or compat- ible with 256K bytes of RAM and DOS 2.0 or higher. It also runs on PS/2s and supports CGA, EGA, VGA, and Her- cules Graphics cards. Price: $195. Contact: Edmond Software Inc.,3817WindoverDr., Edmond, OK 73013, (800) 992-3425; in Oklahoma, (405) 340-0697. Inquiry 778. PCB Design on the Mac II EDS-l is an electronic de- sign program that com- bines modules for producing printed circuit board designs. Modules include schematic entry, PCB layout, routing, and a Gerber translator. Vamp also offers EDS-II, which is essentially the same package as EDS-l , but in- cludes a digital simulator. Price: EDS-l, $1495. Contact: Vamp Inc., 6753 Selma Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90028,(213)466-5533. Inquiry 779. continued 82 BYTE- JUNE 1988 THE COMPILER THAT MAKES THE FASTEST CODE FOR SIEVE IS JPI TOPSPEED MODULA-2. The successor of Pascal: JPI TopSpeed Modula-2 produces better code than Microsoft C, Turbo C, Logitech Modula, and Turbo Pascal 4.0. The fig- ures speak for themselves: Measured by British Standards Institution (BSI) (25 iterations of Sieve on 8MHz AT) In England and Europe contact: Jensen & Partners UK Ltd. , 63 Clerkenwell Rd. , London EC1M 5NP, Phone: (01) 253-4333. In England call Toll Free 0800 444-143, 24 Hours. Compiler Kit £59.95, TechKit £29.95 (introductory offer only valid in the US ). Jensen & pjj Partners International TopSpeed is a trademark of Jensen &. Partners International. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Circle 146 on Reader Service Card JPI TopSpeed Modula-2 is a professional Modula-2 development system with full support of memory models, multi-tasking, long data types, structured constants, long and short pointers, 80 x 87 inline code and emulator, separate compilation, direct BIOS/DOS calls etc. The comprehensive library includes CGA. EGA and VGA graphics support, math functions, sorting, file handling, window management and more. Here is what our users say: "JPI Modula-2 is the Modula-2 we have all been waiting for. JPI Modula-2 will do for Modula-2 what Turbo Pascal did for Pascal. " -KNKing Author of Modula-2: A Complete Guide "JPI Modula-2 is a landmark product. The environment is better than anything on offer from Borland or Microsoft. " —Huw Collingbourne Computer Shopper The Compiler Kit includes: High-speed optim- izing compiler, integrated menu-driven environment with multi-window/multi-file editor, automatic make, fast smart linker. All Modula-2 sources to libraries included. Bonus: Complete high-speed window man- agement module included with source. The TechKit includes: Assembler start-up source code for system, JPI TopSpeed Assembler, TSR module, communications drivers, PROM locator and technical information. Systems requirements: IBM PC or compat- ible, 384K available RAM and two floppy drives (hard disk is recommended). To become part of the excitement, make use of our limited-time introductory price of $59.95 (after July 4, 1988: $99.95). 30 days unconditional money- back guarantee. • To Order: Call 1-800-443-0100 Ext 255, 24 Hours. Or mail in the coupon or a letter. / / f1? 4? >£> dy ^ WHAT'S NEW SOFTWARE • SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING Camstat Analyzes Manufacturing Data With this set of statistical functions, you can monitor, detect, correct, and improve quality control in manufacturing processes. You can enter data into Camstat through its editing en- vironment or from files gen- erated by other applications. You can also create a series of prompts that you can use to enter data directly into the system, making it available on the manufacturing floor. Camstat handles paramet- ric, attribute, date, and charac- ter variables. You can split data into subsets, change values, transform values, and filter out subsets of data. Charting features include X-R, trend, and p-charts. Its graphics capabilities include histograms, cumulative sum plots, x,y plots, capability anal- ysis, SPC control charts, and Pareto charts. Camstat runs on the IBM PC AT or compatibles with at least 640K bytes of RAM, a 1 .2-megabyte floppy disk drive, and an EGA or Her- cules monochrome adapter. A math coprocessor is recommended. Price: $649. Contact: Cameo Systems Inc., 2880 San Tomas Express- way, Santa Clara, CA 95051, (408) 986-9200. Inquiry 780. Generate Spif fy Scientific Presentations You can use Ventura or GEM Desktop Publisher to create text for publication, then use Specific Fonts 4 (SF4) to create the scientific and mathematical formulas, expres- sions, and diagrams to insert into your document. SF4 provides you with symbol and monospace fonts for GEM users, a set of math and Greek picture fonts in the form of Draw objects, and an art library of numbers and let- ters for special decorative features. tflDTH IMNni 664.5 flcaii! 683.9 Std Deviation: $n0 1 13.97 69.84 N SIjmm: 3. 888 >. uithin i Signa: 66.57 i uithin 2 Signa: 96.13 to, Observations: Capability: 697 .7168 ^paUlito Index: CU: 2.312 ,5788E«B3 .685UEIU3 .6188E-83 ChiSq: 2.914 Lower Units Uppc r Units Plot: 579.8 Points Bol .0*1 : 8 Plot ! 648.8 Points Akws: 8 UCntrl: 598.8 Points I'.l w: 115 UCntrl : 628.8 Points Above: 92 BCntrl: 573.8 Points Be! :' ' a BCntrl : 639.8 Points Above: 8 1-tono 2-Print 3-Char>se U*l Is 4-Climg b H-Slgn* 5-Boset Control Units Putting Camstat to use on the manufacturing floor. You can edit SF4 with FontEdit, a GEM-based editor from Specific Solutions. The program requires GEM or Ventura and runs on the IBM PC and compatibles with at least 5 12K bytes of RAM. Price: $75. Contact: Specific Solutions, 1898 Anthony Court, Moun- tain View, CA 94040, (415) 941-3941. Inquiry 781. Thermal Analyzes Semiconductor Temperatures Thermal is a three-dimen- sional thermal-analysis program that assists you in re- designing semiconductor cir- cuits. It calculates a grid of temperatures, up to 30 by 30, on as many as five power sources for a given substrate. A list of 20 substrates is in- cluded, or you can define new ones. The program runs under Microsoft Windows and makes use of Windows' Clipboard, allowing you to integrate any of its display modes into other Windows applications. You can also create text files to use with other non- Windows programs. You can view your output in graphic or text form. When viewing graphically, you can toggle isothermal and grid lines on and off. In text mode, you can display the cell and sub- strate input data as well as any calculated output data. You can also page through the data with the keyboard or mouse. Thermal runs on the IBM PC and compatibles with at least 640K bytes of RAM, a math coprocessor, and Win- dows 1 .03 or higher. A Win- dows-compatible mouse is recommended. Price: $449.95. Contact: Solutions Firm- ware, 6915 Rendina St., Long Beach, CA 90815, (213) 596- 1900. Inquiry 782. Analyzing Time Series or Random Data Micro-Mac/Ran is a microcomputer version of the time-series and spec- tral-analysis system Mac/Ran, originally designed for mainframes. The program performs spectral analysis, data correla- tion, generation and complex arithmetic manipulation of sig- nals, and digital filtering. It comes in modules that can run as stand-alones, interactively, or in batch mode. The modules include shock spectra, multi- ple-input linear systems analysis, probability function estimation, tracking filters, third-octave processing, and more. University Software re- ports that the program was de- signed so that you need only an elementary knowledge of time-series analysis characteristics. Micro-Mac/Ran runs on the IBM PC and compatibles with at least 512K bytes of RAM, a math coprocessor, and a hard disk drive. It supports graphics boards and Hewlett- Packard plotters. Price: Four microcomputer versions range in price from $599 to $2495. Contact: University Software Systems, 250 North Nash St. , El Segundo, CA 90245, (213) 640-7616. Inquiry 783. Fit and Plot Your Curves Curve-fitting routines performed by F-Curve in- clude cubic spline, divided difference, polynomial and multiple linear regression with least squares, and non- linear fits using the simplex technique. You can use Savitzky-Golay filters to smooth the data. The program also lets you calculate the value of y for any value of x on the smoothed curve, the value of the integral of the smoothed curve for any x interval, and the value of the derivative of the curve for any value of x. Plotting capabilities let you plot data points with or without the fitted curve. You can plot data points with error bars or symbols or both. F-Curve runs on the IBM PC, XT, AT, and compatibles. Price: $59.95. Contact: LEDS Publishing Co. Inc., P.O. Box 12847, Re- search Triangle Park, NC 27709, (919) 477-3690. Inquiry 784. continued 84 BYTE- JUNE 1988 "There's No Reason To Look Beyond PC TOOLS )) -PC Magazine, Editor's Choice Award, Two-Time Winner Data Recovery * Fast Hard Disk Backup * Disk Management Now we've given you even more reason-PC Tools™ Deluxe. PC Tools Deluxe gives you all the best features of Fastback™ Norton," XTREE," Mace 1 ; Side- kickf Lightning™ and Disk Optimizer-a $700 value-for just $79. Other utilities may claim they "do it all" but only PC Tools Deluxe delivers: ♦ A DOS shell so complete 80 Micro called it their "over- whelming choice based on versatility, ease of use, and cost:' -The best UNDELETE available-instead of merely "guessing" it recovers all data even on fragmented files. ♦ HARD DISK BACKUP as fast and every bit as reliable as Fastback. ♦ The leading UNFORMAT for hard disks and floppy disks, enabling you to recover from many disk disasters. ♦ PCFORMAT for safe for- matting of floppy and hard disks. ♦ A quick, reliable DISK CACHING utility for speeding up disk access. ♦ A fast COMPRESS feature that like Disk Optimizer dramatically improves hard disk performance. ♦ And a better resident mini WORD PROCESSOR than Sidekick, including word wrap, search /replace, formatted page printing and more. Before you buy any of these other utilities, take a look at PC Tools Deluxe. Like PC Magazine, you'll find there's no reason to look any further. For the dealer nearest you, or to order direct, call (503) 244-6036, M-F, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (West Coast time). Questions? Call us at (503) 244-5782. CentralPoint Software J INCORPORATED 9700 S.W. Capitol Hwy. Portland, OR 97219 Circle 54 on Reader Service Card PC Tools is a trademark of Central Point Software. All other product names are trademarks of their manufacturers. WHAT'S NEW SOFTWARE • BUSINESS Manage Your Money on Your Mac The Macintosh version of Managing Your Money in- cludes the same capabilities as the IBM version and also allows you to integrate the financial "chapters" to come up with a budget, manage savings, calculate income, and more. The program performs basic budget and checkbook management, tax planning, portfolio management, and re- tirement planning. Managing Your Money for the Mac is not copy-protected and runs on the Mac 512Ke, Plus, SE, and II. You must have two disk drives, one of which must have at least 800K bytes of RAM. Price: $219.98. Contact: Meca Ventures Inc. , 355 Riverside Ave. , Westport, CT 06880, (203) 226-2400. Inquiry 762. Low-Cost Turbo- Charged Accounting Everything you need to perform basic accounting tasks is integrated in Info- Team Turbo Accounting from Info Designs. The program includes modules for general ledger, accounts receivable, invoicing, accounts payable, and check writing. The mod- ules are integrated so that every time you enter or change in- formation, each transaction is time-stamped, and the gener- al-ledger module is updated. On-line help is included in each module. InfoTeam Turbo Account- ing is available on 3 Vi- and 5 W-inch disks. It runs on the IBM PC, XT, AT, and compatibles. Price: $99. Contact: Info Designs Inc., 445 Enterprise Court, Bloom- field Hills, MI 48013, (313) 334-9790. Inquiry 763. Financial analysis at your fingertips. Scoring Big with Mutual Funds Mutual Fund Scoreboard disks are issued quarterly by BusinessWeek and cover equity and fixed-income funds listed in the NASDAQ sys- tem. The current version of the Scoreboard includes the criti- cal fourth quarter of 1987 and covers approximately 728 equity funds and 536 fixed- income funds. The Scoreboard disks offer more than 25 fields of informa- tion, including a rating by BusinessWeek, which measures a fund's performance ad- justed for risk and sales charges. You can retrieve in- formation from the fields in a variety of ways; for instance, you may want to know which no-load funds emphasize growth, or which outperformed Standard & Poor's 500-stock index in the past 5 years. You can convert the data to Lotus 1-2-3 or ASCII format. The Scoreboard runs on the IBM PC and compatibles with at least 256K bytes of RAM and DOS 2. 1 or higher. A data management program is in- cluded on each disk, so you can access and print the information. Price: $49.95 per disk; $149.95 for annual subscrip- tion to either Equity or Fixed Income disks; $239.95 for an- nual subscription to both Eq- uity and Fixed Income disks. Contact: BusinessWeek, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, (800) 553-3575; in Illinois, (312) 250-9292. Inquiry 764. Developing Business Programs Concept 1.0 from Archi- medes lets you prepare documents, design forms, write programs, generate spreadsheets, and organize a database. The word-process- ing, report-processing, and database management func- tions are integrated with a programming language. Archi- medes says you can add macros, templates, and data libraries. Concept comes with soft- ware for word processing and mailing-list management, a pop-up calculator, a calendar, and an accounts receivable module. The program runs on the IBM PC, XT, AT, and compat- ibles with 5 12K bytes of RAM and DOS 2.0 or higher. It also runs on PS/2s. Price: $195. Contact: Archimedes Inc., O'Hare Lake Office Plaza, 2350 East Devon Ave. , Suite 242, Des Plaines, IL 60018, (312)635-0715. Inquiry 765. A Micro-Based Management Information System EMIS II (executive man- agement information sys- tem) keeps databases of phone calls, letters, prices, in- voices, delivery dates, when to call back, and buying cycles. It can offer you figures on sales, call activity, time spent on the phone, internal memos, averages, and summaries. The Dossier is the pro- gram's central file. Stored in the Dossier are names, ad- dresses, phone numbers, ZIP codes, titles, and greetings, along with information fields that you can designate. You can display past activity of the account with the files and in- clude forms, memos, call dates, buying patterns, and other information. EMIS II has three levels of security. The first requires that you have an operator code. The second limits certain data segments to only those users who have optional passwords. The third level lets managers limit access of certain functions. The program uses the Btrieve Record Manager, which sorts by midpoints, moving you closer to the de- sired files than alphabetical sorting, according to the com- pany. You can separate data- bases into data segments, and transfer files between data segments. You can also import and export ASCII informa- tion. The program also has a forms- and report-producing capability. EMIS II runs on the IBM PC, XT, AT, and compatibles with 512K bytes of RAM. It also runs on PS/2s, and there is a multiuser network version. Price: $1495 for single-user version; $2495 for three-user version; $1995 for every three users added. Contact: EMIS Software Inc., 901 Northeast Loop 410, Suite 526, San Antonio, TX 78209,(512)822-8499. Inquiry 766. continued 86 BYTE- JUNE 1988 Some Datacomm Standards Should Be Carved in Stone 15] Universal Data Systems ®> RS CS OM CD *@BF iA TALK/OAT* RO TD V.32 ■ ' NC* In the matter of full-duplex data communication at 9600 bps, a number of approaches have been discussed. There's the CCITT-approved V.32. There are even some "pseudo V.32s" around. Some suggest that, because of their somewhat lower cost, non-standard modems may be the answer. At Universal Data Systems, our position is carved in stone: for full end-to-end compatibility, regardless of equipment source, standardization on true V.32 is the only workable solution. That's why the fully featured UDS V.32 is the acknowledged price/performance leader. Our exclusive near-end/ far-end echo cancellation techniques, combined with trellis coding, result in -17dBm signal- to-noise ratio; that's plenty of horsepower for voice-grade lines. As back-up for your dedicated four- or two- wire system, or for a 9600 bps upgrade of your present dial-up communications, check out the UDS V.32. It's the standard! Universal Data Systems, 5000 Bradford Drive, Huntsville, AL 35805. Telephone 205/721-8000; Telex 752602 UDS HTV $ 1595 00 Quantity One TELEPHONE 800/451-2369 u Universal Data Systems (M) MOTOROLA INC. Circle 280 on Reader Service Card Created by Dayner/Hall, Inc., Winter Park, Florida WHAT'S NEW SOFTWARE • OTHER SCORPIO ON THE DESKTOP The Scorpio desktop publishing system fea- tures WYSIWYG editing, up to 4096 pages per docu- ment, up to 40 columns per page, automatic text flow, and both automatic and manual kerning. It comes with nine fonts, which in- clude two font families plus a utility font. Other features include automatic text-over- flow handling, automatic page numbering, and head- ers and footers. Text-formatting capabili- ties include style-sheet defi- nition and recall, superscript and subscript, and type sizes of up to 72 points in 1 -point increments. You can enter text directly on the screen or import ASCII files or files from WordStar or PC Write. The program supports a variety of scanners, graphics monitors, and mice. It runs on the IBM PC XT, PC AT, or compatible 386 systems. Minimum configuration is 640K bytes of RAM, a graphics monitor, a mouse, and a printer. Price: $595. Contact: Via-PC, 1571 West Katella Ave., Suite E, Anaheim, CA 92802, (714) 491-8871. Inquiry 790. Take a Closer Look Zoom in on your text with ZoomText, a RAM-resi- dent character-magnification program. It magnifies text from 2 to 8 times its normal size, and three fonts let you vary the thickness and spacing be- tween characters. When you use it with a monochrome monitor, ZoomText supports all character attributes includ- ing reverse video, high inten- sity, blinking, and underline. With a color monitor, Zoom- Text supports all foreground and background colors as well. ZoomText doesn't require any special hardware, accord- ing to Algorithmic Imple- mentations. It runs on the IBM PC, XT, AT, and compat- ibles with DOS 2.0 or higher. It uses 50K bytes of RAM and requires an EGA card and compatible monitor. Price: $495. Contact: Algorithmic Imple- mentations Inc., 1463 Hearst Dr., Atlanta, GA 30319, (404) 233-7065. Inquiry 791. Turn Your DeskJet into a Plotter You can turn your Hew- lett-Packard DeskJet printer into a plotter to print engineering drawings, business graphics, and other docu- ments with Insight's DeskPlot- ter utility. Insight claims the software is completely trans- parent to your plotter applica- tions. A control panel lets you set print characteristics ac- cording to your needs, includ- ing the plotting resolution, the width of each pen, and the shade of gray. If you need to plot multiple graphs, you can queue as many plot files as you like. DeskPlotter will run any program that outputs HPGL (Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language). It runs on the IBM PC, XT, AT, and compat- ibles and emulates the HP 7470A, 7475A, and ColorPro. Price: $129. Contact: Insight Develop- ment Corp., 1024 Country Club Dr., Suite 140, Moraga, CA 94556, (415)376-9451. Inquiry 792. Multitasking Word Processor Jandi Technologies calls EPEC the first word pro- cessor in a multitasking win- dowing environment. EPEC stands for "editor for produc- tivity, enjoyment, and creativity. " The windowing system supports overlayed windows and concurrent multitasking. The word-processing features include underline, boldface, text reformat, word wrap, pagi- nation, and multiple undo and redos. You can also edit across windows, moving text be- tween documents, or you can edit the same document in separate windows, so you don't have to scroll to edit. Other editing features in- clude editing an area as if it were a subdocument, so you can reformat or reshape it if you need to accommodate graphics. You can also gener- ate cross-references by listing lines and line numbers that contain a specific text string. You can assign up to eight function keys as macros. The program runs on the IBM PC, XT, AT, and compat- ibles with 256K bytes of RAM and DOS 2.0 or higher. Price: $99. Contact: Jandi Technologies Inc., 155-U New Boston St. , Woburn, MA 01801, (617) 932-0629. Inquiry 793. Bridging CP/M and DOS DosDisk lets you use DOS disks on your CP/M sys- tem, according to Plu*Perfect Systems. You can log into the PC disk and read, write, re- name, create, delete, and change the attributes of MS- DOS files. You cannot, how- ever, format DOS disks or run MS-DOS programs. Dos- Disk will read ASCII, dBASE II, WordStar, and other for- mats, and it maintains the date and time stamps of DOS files. The program supports standard 360K-byte disks. A resident system extension ver- sion uses about 4.75K bytes of RAM, plus 2K bytes for the command processor. The pro- gram runs on many CP/M sys- tems. If it doesn't run on your system and you have experi- ence in Z80 programming, you can purchase a kit version and configure it to your system. Price: $30; kit version, $45. Contact: Plu*Perfect Sys- tems, 410 23rd St., Santa Monica, CA 90402, (213) 395-4984. Inquiry 794. Stay in Tune with the Weather A ecu-Weather Forecaster translates National Weath- er Service codes and lets you display them in maps and graphs. To use Accu- Weather Fore- caster, you need to set up an account with Accu-Weather. Metacomet reports that an average forecasting session will cost $2 in connect-time charges with Accu-Weather. The forecasting program lets you preselect what data you want from the database; it goes on-line and retrieves it, saves the data to disk, and logs off. You can specify tem- perature, barometric pres- sure, precipitation, and other variables for the entire coun- try, or you can zoom in on in- dividual regions or cities. Accu-Weather Forecaster runs on the IBM PC with 256K bytes of RAM, DOS 2.0 or higher, two floppy disk drives, a color or monochrome monitor, and a CGA card or compatible. A version is available for the Mac 512, Plus, and SE. A Hayes-com- patible modem is required. Price: $89.95 for either the IBM or Mac version. Contact: Metacomet Soft- ware, P.O. Box 31337, Hartford, CT 06103, (203) 223-5911. Inquiry 795. 88 BYTE- JUNE 1988 The 35" Migration. As though by the force of nature, computer users are flocking to the new 3.5" standard. A Clear Flight; A top-quality 3.5" drive allows direct access between older and newer systems, between IBM PC/XT/ AT, compatibles and PS/2 systems, and between home office desktops and laptops in the field. And most ex- perts agree that it's better to upgrade an older system with a 3.5" floppy drive than to downgrade a new sys- tem with an old-technology drive. A Third First: Manzana in- troduced the industry's first 3.5" upgrade in 1985, and the first 1.44MB drive in 1987. To- day, Manzana introduces the 3rd Internal™ drive, for those with room for more than two. Manzana ^ g g -4 uoieta, v. drives it home. Maximum Versatility: Manzana offers several drive configurations, including an internal, a host- powered external, and a self-powered external. All systems come with Manzana's own 3Five® software, which runs with MS-DOS version 2.0 or higher, to read, write and format disks at 1.44MB, 720K, and non-standard MS-DOS formats, including HP 150 and 110. Flying to PC Expo? See us in Booth #2520. Or call 805/968- 1387, FAX 805/968-5449, TELEX4932215 or write for the whole story on The 3.5" Migration, and literature on the full line of Manzana drives: Manzana MicroSystems, Inc., P.O. Box 2117, Goleta, CA 93118. Soon you'll be head- ing in the right direction from instinct alone. Circle 484 on Reader Service Card (DEALERS: 485) Trademarks: 3Five and 3rd Internal — Manzana MicroSystems, Inc.; IBM and PS/2 — International Business Machines Corporation; MS-DOS — Microsoft, Inc.; HP — Hewlett Packard Corporation; ©1988, Manzana MicroSystems, Inc. WHAT'S NEW REGIONAL SECTION METRO NEW YORK • NEW ENGLAND LaserSpool lets three IBM PCs share a LaserJet II. Share the Jet LaserSpool is a board that plugs into the Hewlett- Packard LaserJet II I/O slot, allowing three IBM PCs or compatibles to share the printer. It includes software that enables you to select resident printer fonts and use copy and control functions. The board also includes a 250K-byte print buffer and utilizes DB-25 or RJ-45 connectors for the three serial inputs. Price: $395. Contact: PrintManager, 108 Water St., Watertown, MA 02172, (800) 642-5019 or (617) 924-3952. Inquiry 840. "Mark Well "Gets Better Nota Bene is Latin for "mark well," and with about a dozen major features added to version 3.0 of the word-processing program, it will help you "mark" even bet- ter. Based on Xy Write and long a favorite in the academic world, the program now of- fers a 100,000-word spelling checker, a thesaurus, and redlining capabilities. Text-retrieval capabilities are also added in the new ver- sion. You can search for words, phrases, and combina- tions of phrases using Bool- ean operators. You can display or print matches and insert them into the document you're working on. Nota Bene 3.0 supports IBM's DCA (Document Con- tent Architecture) file format. You can automatically print en- velopes, selecting from a menu of nine styles. The text- sorting capability has been expanded, allowing you to sort based on values found in any column of text. The program provides a menu that lets you select printer fonts by name, and another menu that lets you download portrait or land- scape fonts on Hewlett-Packard and compatible laser printers. This menu indicates memory requirements for each font and the remaining memory available in the printer. You continued h — ■ ■ Your electric service can affect the way your computer system operates. You've invested a lot of time and money choosing the right computer system. And, normally, it's designed to run perfectly well using your available power. But each manufacturer specifies certain limits under which their products should be operated for maximum performance. Even as you read this, the electric service to your computer or other sensitive electronic equipment is being hit with a variety of powerline disturbances: spikes, sags, surges, and blackouts. We can put an end to all that. Emerson refined power will increase your system's performance and throughput to a level you never thought possible. Emerson Uninterruptible Power Supplies produce refined, clean power, steady voltage, transient suppression, ride through during interruptions, steady frequency and total harmonic distortion within specified limits. Emerson products run the gamut. From large Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) for computer mainframes to surge suppressors for small electrical phone systems. We also offer a full line of power conditioning distribution systems. Don't wait for the day something happens. Protect your valuable invest- ment. Give us a call now! EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR: LOWELL CORPORATION RO. Box 158, Worcester, MA 01613 (617) 756-5103 I—IEMIER5DN ■■ Computer Power DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED... ■ ■ BBS —■... | .■-'•' J 1 - i * * - * 3 1 , ^ fir , •■:! life-' 88NE-2 BYTE- JUNE 1988 Circle 483 on Reader Service Card ADVERTISEMENT HIGH SPEED PC TO PC COMMUNICATIONS Breaking the Baud Barrier Here's how your 2400 baud modem can send data as fast as a 9600 baud modem for less than $90.00 Leigh Tracy w. hen you got your first modem — that neat little 300 or 1200 baud job — you really thought you had it made, all the power, speed and convenience you'd ever need to move data from PC to PC. Right? Now, of course, if you've got lots of data to move, you've recently bought or are consider- ing switching over to 2400 baud speed. And, in reality, if your company is a power user it would make a lot of sense in saved time and telephone bills to be running at 9600 baud, if it were not for the initial overwhelmingly high modem hardware costs. Enter TurboCom high performance PC to PC modem software by Datran, the clever Southern California based state-of-the-art data compression specialists that brought you the great dCompressor short card that triples the dBASE storage capacity of any hard disk. Modems Run 4 Times Faster TurboCom turbocharges your Hayes compatible modem to send data files (letters, documents, reports, data bases, spreadsheets, binary files, pro- grams) up to four times faster with your existing 300, 1200 or 2400 baud modems. And it sells for only $89.00 to connect two PCs. When the good people at Datran sent me TurboCom 3.0 for a test run, I was amazed at how simple and well thought out it was for the ordinary person (like me) to use. Transfer data files PC to PC up to four times faster. TurboCom Facts: Version 3.0 Each package has software for use with two PCs. $89.00 Datran Corp. Order direct: 1-800-332-0456 Requirements: IBM PC/XT/AT, 386 or compatible. Minimum 384K RAM, PC-DOS, MS-DOS 2.0 or greater. Internal or external Hayes compatible modem. TurboCom at both sending and receiving PCs. Leigli Tracy is a consultant and freelance writer whose columns have appeared in many microcomputer magazines. Easy to Send and Receive TurboCom is the easiest to learn and use modern software that I've ever tried. No menus are required. It's as simple to use as the COPY command! To send data with TurboCom, all you do is type: C>SEND FILENAME PHONE NUMBER To program for delayed transmis- sion you type: C>SEND FILENAME PHONE NUMBER AT TIME That's all you do. Then, the con- tinuing status of the transmission automatically appears on the screen until file transmission is completed. Receiving transmitted TurboCom messages is automatic and unat- tended. Simply type C>RCV and Tur- boCom does the rest. Any businessman, insurance bro- ker, accountant, office manager, sec- retary or salesman on the road that can use a PC can simply operate Tur- boCom. It's that simple. Unattended Electronic Mailbox TurboCom is ideal as a fast, low cost mailing system between offices or companies. The sending PC is aware of how much disk space is available at the receiving end. If a file is transmitted with the same name and extension, TurboCom will assign it a unique extension, i.e., !-l, !-2, !-3. If the receiving PC does not have sufficient disk space for the file you are sending, TurboCom terminates the phone connection, saving time and wasted money. Increased modem speed allows you to save up to 75% on your telephone time and costs. Because TurboCom can be programmed for delayed unattended transmission for auto- matic sending, you can transmit data when telephone rates are lowest. PC to PC data is transferred perfectly because TurboCom was designed with an advanced error-free high speed protocol. Because oiTurboCom's high speed, cost savings, flawless operation and sensational low $89.00 price to con- nect two PCs, I give this product my highest recommendation. Turbo Your Laptop Each TurboCom package comes with both 5-1/4" and 3-1/2" diskettes, which makes it ideal to run with lap- tops, too. It is not copy protected. To order direct from Datran, you can call toll free at 1-800-332-0456. They accept MasterCard and Visa and will ship within 24 hours with a 30-day money-back guarantee. ORDER TODAY TOLL FREE: 1-800-332-0456 $89.00 S Plus $5.00 Shipping/Handling turboCorri 4 DATRAN Leadership in Data Compression Technology Datran Corporation 2505 Foothill Blvd., La Crescenta, CA 91214 JUNE 1988 'BYTE 88NE-3 WHAT'S NEW METRO NEW YORK • NEW ENGLAND can view lines of more than 80 columns without having to scroll horizontally, and you can merge graphics output files from other programs with text when printing. Nota Bene 3.0 runs on the IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2, and compatibles with DOS 2.0 or higher and 384K bytes of RAM . Price: $495. Contact: Dragonfly Soft- ware, 285 West Broadway, Suite 600, New York, NY 10013,(212)334-0445. Inquiry 835. Lotus Crams More into Less Has Lotus perfected the art of packing everything into a small suitcase? You would think so, looking at what the company has done with this new version of Metro, its desktop-management program. The TSR (terminate-and- stay-resident) package of desk accessories now requires about half the space of version 1.0, taking up as little as 64K bytes of RAM. It accomplishes this through The Swapper, which is the kernel of the pro- gram and is permanently in memory. The Swapper access- es additional memory only when you call on one of Metro's accessories. You can view and change memory allo- cations and enable or disable The Swapper. Metro 1 . 1 includes the same accessories as version 1.0: a macro generator, a list manager, a phone book, an ap- pointment book, a calculator, a DOS file manager, a text edi- tor, a clipboard, a notepad, an activities timer, and a list of special characters. The program runs on the IBM PC, XT, AT, and com- patibles with DOS 2.1 or higher. If you're running the program without The Swap- per, it requires two 5 W-inch floppy disk drives or one 3 '/2-inch floppy disk drive; a hard disk drive is required when running The Swapper. It takes up 64K bytes of RAM with The Swapper, and 125K bytes without it. It is not copy-protected and comes on both 5 '4- and 3'/2-inch flop- py disks. Price: $85. Contact: Lotus Development Corp., 55 Cambridge Pkwy., Cambridge, MA 02142, (617) 577-8500. Inquiry 836. Sound Design on the Amiga SpeakerSim is a CAD program that assists you in designing loudspeaker sys- tems. You can analyze loud- speakers and enclosures in accordance with the Thiele- Small Vented model. The program comes with data files containing param- eters for over 100 loud- speakers, and you can add new loudspeakers to the data files. You can also produce graphs of small signal response, maxi- mum acoustic output, and ex- cursion or thermally limited output. The program enables you to produce three-dimensional graphs, calculate enclosure vent dimensions, and save screens in IFF format. It sup- ports screen resolutions of 640 by 200 and 640 by 400 pixels with 16 colors from a palette of 4096. SpeakerSim runs on the Amiga 500, 1000, and 2000. A color monitor is recom- mended. Price: $112. Contact: dissidents, 730 Dawes Ave., Utica, NY 13502, (315)797-0343. Inquiry 839. Youll Flip When You See Our Prices! 334; a '> CO 3D O3 -n-< is m H oO S-o ■8 3J CO o m o CD 3 c CD CO I o o 3 CD mo c/>-n HDD ™m m I 3TJCOO ;dtoO ». ro — >■ — <- i CO to -P* n cd o en 3 CD CD CD z -\ m 3D co 2 CD r~ m 33 z > > r 35 m O z 6* 3D CO ■ rO O 3 o GJ ) cocz 3, 00 3 m m 'G)~C7> m mm co33 :5 o S^I cococo 1— tj co -^ -n ™g§3 CDO-n^ 3D TJt- >"DO "D "< T3 o t\J Co On ■~J CJi en -*| MOOUl OOOO O O CD O ; co co 3 ^- m <- m -§>%> >comCom Hgmcomco 2Zco Z (vo t» — Co ^ K> 5O0D0 o — CO » co en -j on -j co co to — j to co en co to co co cd cocntnroo OOOOO to cd cd cd i*. cd OOOOO CJI O O CD O CD > o o 6 z CO 3 c/> I wS2 11 £5 en -W p ~>l co (O en (0 w o o it f=r= ° tn o o o o ^ 1 15 o IO s 01 CD g E 3 w "5. >£ * CD gi ^h 22 -o?2-' en 'lis 5§ — n> CO ^ o Ssffg- • > O ^g sg tjco^ gag sa-< g ^<" g £815- = SCO 2.7; -Z l-cof H ss?»ni •§& Q 3J • CO 90 □-3 o 0—0 CD N ^ tCD = rti • o SL ^Og§ 313T3 5 lag; Jos! 33= ° CO 3 • 3D ?■ ^S.cp » mg S "IS?-' CLTD Qi =r So" CD CO 31*8 • so = sr-o •|c co ^m a^3D • SCO ■o o >< -I o O 1 , ..,.., Sc^^|"E ci or— ■ D ™ w o h-, - rn h ro ri N 2 ^ 3 •^1 4i >l c O) in Ol co tn S ° rn P to g CO > C/) 88NE-4 BYTE* JUNE 1988 Circle 478 on Reader Service Card We Are Moving to a New Facility to Better Serve our Customers • IN PORTABILITY* SYSTEM INCLUDES: • 3.5" 720KB DRIVE • 5.25" 1.2MB DRIVE • 20MB HARD DISK • 1200/300 INTERNAL MODEM • PARALLEL/SERIAL/GAME PORT • REAL TIME CLOCK/CALENDAR • 9" EGA OR DUAL SYNC MONITOR • MODIFIED 84 KEY AT-STYLE KEYBOARD • RESET AND TURBO SWITCH • KEYLOCK/DRIVE LED/POWER LED 80286-12 CPU Multi-Speed Runs at 6/8/10/12 MHz 640K Main Memory 80287 Math Co-Processor Socket 7 Full Expansion / Slots OS/2 Compatible • WE PROVIDE COMPLETE SYSTEMS - NOT BARE BONES • SYSTEMS ARE READY TO GO - JUST PLUG IT IN. Choose From a Full Line of Systems. . . TRIDATA TURBO 8088 SYSTEMS • 4.77/10 MHz 8088-1 CPU, keyboard or hardware selectable, math coprocessor socket • 512K RAM on main board • 8 Expansion slots ■ AT style case with keylock, power on LED, turbo switch and LED - 150W power supply (110/220 V) • Enhanced AT style keyboard • Multi I/O card includes 1 parallel port, 1 serial port (2nd serial port optional), 1 game port, 1 real time clock, calendar, bat- tery backup, 2 floppy drive controller • 2 hard drive controller • 360KB DS/DD floppy drive > 20 MB hard drive > Monochrome Graphics Adapter (compatible with Hercules Graphics Adapter) with parallel port > High resolution monochrome monitor • Full IBM PC/XT compatibility • 2.1 times faster than PC, XT PRICE: $1095.00 TRIDATA TURBO 286 SYSTEMS < 6/10 MHz 80286-10 CPU, 0/1 wait state, keyboard or hardware selectable, math coprocessor socket, real time clock, calen- dar, battery backup ■ 640K RAM on main board > 8 Expansion slots, 6 16-bit, 2 8-bit slots • AT style case with keylock, power on LED, turbo LED, reset button • 200W power supply (110/220 V) > Enhanced AT style keyboard • Multi I/O card includes 1 parallel port, 1 serial port (2nd serial port optional), 1 game port ■ 2 hard & 2 (loppy drive controller • 1.2 MB Hi-density floppy drive can format both 1.2MB & 360 KB floppies ■ 40 MB Hi-speed hard drive > Monochrome Graphics Adapter (compatible with Hercules Graphics Adapter) with parallel port • 14" Flat Screen monochrome monitor • Full IBM AT compatibility > 7 times faster than PC.XT • OS/2 Compatible when OS becomes available PRICE: $1890.00 TRIDATA 386 TURBO SYSTEMS • 6/16 MHz 80386 CPU (20 MHz optional) keyboard or hardware selectable, 1 Wait State (0 wait optional), 80287 & 80387 math coprocessor socket, real time clock, calendar, battery backup, 2 serial, 1 parallel ports on main board, 16 interrupts, 7 DMA channels, support up to 16 MB with 32-bit wide memory bus • 2 MB RAM memory board • 8 Expansion slots, 2 32-bit, 4 16-bit, 2 8-bit slots • AT style case with keylock, power on LED, turbo LED. reset button • 200W power supply (110/220 V) • Enhanced AT style keyboard • 2 hard & 2 floppy drive controller • 1.2 MB Hi-density floppy drive can format both 1.2MB & 360 KB floppies • 40 MB Hi-speed hard drive • Monochrome Graphics Adapter (compatible with Hercules Graphics Adapter) with parallel port • 14" Flat Screen monochrome monitor • Full IBM AT compatibility • 9 times faster than PC, XT • OS/2 Compatible when OS becomes available PRICE: $3295.00 386 PRICESV m FREE $70.00 Nylon Carrying Case with Purchase SYSTEM OPTIONS • 14" Color Monitor w/card 250.00 • EGA Monitor w/card 450.00 • Multisync EGA w/ATI card 650.00 • 1200/300 Internal w/software 85.00 • 2400/300 Internal w/software 165.00 • AT 80286-12MHZ System 65.00 • 386-12MHZ Wait State CALL • YOUR ORDER SHIPPED WITHIN 24 HRS • • ONE YEAR WARRANTY AND 24 HRS REPAIR SERVICE • • MONEY BACK GUARANTEE* • FOR YOUR ORDER CALL NOW (617) 655-3434 PC/XT & AT are registered trademarks of International Business Machines. OS/2 is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. Circle 480 on Reader Service Card JUNE 1988 • BYTE 88NE-S Prices quoted are for cash. We accept MIC and WS4 'Notice must be filed with us within 21 days of receipt Prices, terms and conditions are subject to change w/o notice Not responsible for typographical errors DIGICOM TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION 307 W. Central St., N stick, MA 01760 • (617) 820-1102 i -■ J ip jiiiii ILZH_LJk_L1^3! INDEPENDENT STORE IN NYC DEDICATED TO IBM PC SOFTWARE AND PERIPHERALS ONLY If We Don't Have It, Its Probably Not Worth Having. STORE HOURS: 9:00 A.M.-5:30 P.M. E.S.T. MON.-FRI. SATURDAYS: CLOSED JUNE-JULY-AUGUST. Terms, Conditions and Prices May Differ In Our Store. CORPORATE ACCOUNTS WELCOMED. PC LINK, CORP. 29 WEST 38TH STREET. 2ND FL, NEW YORK, NY 10018 call TOLL FREE 1-800-221-0343 FOR ORDERS ONLY All prices listed in this ad are effective June. 1 -30, 1988. All Brands are Registered Trademarks. IBM Is a Registered Trademark of IBM Corp. innewyorkCALL 1-212-730-8036 FOR ORDERS & INQUIRIES THIS MONTH'S SPECIALS— JUNE 1st through 30th. BITSTEARM. MERIDIAN. DIGITAL REASERCH. jm FONTWARE SOFT FONTS 159.00 CARBON COPY PLUS 129.00 GEM DRAW PLUS 175.00 CONSENTRIC DATA. RaRREPORTWRITER 109.00 BUSINESSSOFTWARE ANSA PARADOX V 2.0 399.00 ASHTON-TATE dBASE III PLUS I.I CALL MULTIMATE ADVANTAGE II CALL BORLAND INT. EUREKA 99.00 PROLOG I.I 69.00 SIDEKICK PLUS 149.00 TURBO BASIC 69.00 TURBO C 69.00 TURBO PASCAL 4.0 79.00 QUATTRO 159.00 CHIPSOFTTURBO TAX PERSONAL 55.00 CLEAR SOFT. CLEAR (CHART dBASE CODE) CALL CONSENTRIC DATA R&R REPORT WRITERFOR DBASE III+ 109.00 CROSSTALKCOMMUNICATIONS CROSSTALK MK.4 129.00 CROSSTALK XVI 3.6 85.00 REMOTE 1 .3 85.00 FOX SOFTWARE FOX BASE PLUS V 2.0 229.00 FOX BASE+ MULTIUSER 379.00 GREAT PLAINS ACCOUNTING PACKAGES CALL JAVELIN SOFT. JAVELIN 75.00 KORTEKFREEWAY ADVANCED 109.00 LIFETREESOFT.VOLKSWRITER3 129.00 LOTUS DEV. CORP LOTUS l-2-3(SOLD IN OUR STORE) CALL SYMPHONY (SOLD IN OUR STORE) CALL MECA MANAGING YOUR MONEY 4.0 139.00 MERIDIAN CARBON COPY PLUS 129.00 MICRO PRO WORDSTAR 2000+ REL.3 249.00 WORDSTAR 2000+ REL3LEGAL VERSION CALL WORDSTAR PROFESSIONAL REL.4 249.00 MICROSOFT CHART V 3.0 295.00 C COMPILER 309.00 FORTRAN COMPILER 309.00 MACROASSEMBLER 119.00 EXCEL 339.00 PROJECT 349.00 QUICK BASIC 69.00 QUICK C 69.00 WINDOWS 69.00 WINDOWS 386 145.00 WORD VERSION 4.0 239.00 WORKS 139.00 MIGENT ABILITY 55.00 ENRICH 109.00 MONOGRAM DOLLARS & SENSE 99.00 NANTUCKET CLIPPER 399.00 OWL INT.GUIDE 89.00 QUARTERDECK DESQ VIEW 89.00 QUARTERDECK MEMORY MANAGER ... 49.00 SBT ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE (SOLD IN STORE) CALL SSCSOFTWARE BRIDGE 129.00 STSC APL'PLUS V7.0 649.00 STATGRAPHICS 649.00 SOPHCO PROTEC (HARD DISK PROTECTION) 185.00 SOFTWAREGROUP ENABLE V 2.0 399.00 SOFTWARE PUBLISHING HARVARD TOTAL PROJECT MANAGERII 369.00 P.F.S. GRAPH/PLAN ea. 89.00 FIRST CHOICE 75.00 PROFESSIONAL FILE/PLAN ea. 159.00 PROFESSIONAL WRITE 139.00 WALLSOFT THE Ul PROGRAMMER 199.00 THE DOCUMENTOR 199.00 WORDPERFECT CORP WORDPERFECT V 5.0 CALL WORDPERFECT V 4.2 209.00 WORDTECHSYSTEMS DBXL 99.00 QUICK SILVER DIAMOND 369.00 XYQUESTXY WRITE III + 399.00 GRAPHIC & DESKTOP PUBLISHING ALDUS PAGE MAKER CALL ASHTONTATE CHART/DIAGRAM/SIGN MASTER CALL DIGITAL GEM DRAW PLUS 175.00 LOTUS DEV. FREE LANCE+(SOLD IN STORE) CALL MKROGRAFX WINDOWS DRAW 229.00 SOFTWARE PUBLISHING HARVARD PRESENTATION GRAPHICS... 295.00 XEROXVENTURA DESKTOP PUBLISHER CALL ZSOFT. PC PAINTBRUSH + 99.00 ZSOFT. PUBLISHER PAINTBRUSH 179.00 UTILITIES CORE INT. CORE FAST 119.00 EXECUSYSTEMSXTREE PRO 79.00 FIFTH GENERATION FAST BACK+ 129.00 FUNK SOFT. SIDEWAYS 3.2 59.00 MICROSOFT LEARNING DOS 39.00 NORTON UTILITIES V 4.0 59.00 NORTON UTILITIES ADVANCED 4.0 99.00 REVOLUTION CRUISE CONTROL 29.00 SOFT CRAFT FANCY FONT 149.00 SOFT CRAFT USER FONT 149.00 TRAVELING SOFT. LAP-LINK 89.00 WHrTE CRANE BROOKLYN BRIDGE 89.00 GRAPHICTABLETS,KEYBOARDS,MICE DATA DESKTURBO KEYBOARD 139.00 LOGrTECHHiREZ MOUSE (BUS VERSION) 129.00 LOGITECH C7MOUSE+PC PAINTBRUSH 99.00 LOGrTECHC7 MOUSE+PAINT+CAD 149.00 LOGrTECHC7 PUBLISHERS MOUSE 119.00 MICROSOFT SERIAL OR BUS MOUSE .... 105.00 MICROSOFTMOUSE WITH WINDOWS.,. 145.00 PRINTERS BROTHERTWINRITER 5 CALL BROTHER M-I709 240 CPS PAR/SER CALL BROTHER HR-20 20CPS DAISY 359.00 BROTHER HR40 DAISY 589.00 EPSON FX-86/FX-286E CALL HEWLET-PACKARDLASERJET II CALL HEWLET-PACKARDDESKJET CALL OKIDATA 32 519.00 OKIDATA 293 699.00 OUTPUTTECH OT-850XL 850 CPS CALL TOSHIBA P35I MODEL SX 1095.00 TOSHIBA P32ISL 549.00 HP LASER ACCESORIES BnrSTREAM FONTWARE (SOFT FONTS) . 159.00 HEWLETT-PACKARD FONT CARTRIDGES (A,C,D,E,G,H,) EA 129.00 (B,F,J,K,L,M,N,P,Q,T,U,V,W,X.Y) EA 219.00 (R,Z)EA 295.00 SOFT FONTS EA 169.00 MEMORY FOR LASERJET II ONLY IMB/2MB/4MB MEMORY BOARDS CALL IMAGEN PC Publisher Kit adds DDL, HP-GL a PostScript to HP Laserjet printers. Emulates 15 HP Cartridges, HP 7470/7475 pen plotters. Diablo 630, Epson MX-80/FX-80, & more. Comes with 30 (1 to 254 point) Fonts, 2Mb Ram PC Publisher Kit tor HP Laserjet II 1995.00 MONITORS AMDEK I280 MONITOR 739.00 AMDEK410A MONITOR 189.00 PGS MAX-I2 (MONO MONITOR) 189.00 PGS ULTRASYNCH EGA MONITOR 589.00 NEC MULTISYNC II EGA 689.00 SONYCPD-I302/CPD-1303MULTISCANEGA CALL WYSE700 I280X800 HI RES. MONITOR ... 789.00 MODEMS HAYES SMARTMODEM 2400 HAYES SMARTMODEM I200 HAYES I200B+SMARTCOM II HAYES2400B+SMARTCOM II .... MIGENT I200 POCKET MODEM . 499.00 299.00 299.00 499.00 139.00 D1SKDRIVES IOMEGA20MBBETAIIINT. DRIVE MINISCRIBE 70MB HARD DISK FOR AT . MINISCR1BE 40MB HARD DISK FOR AT . SEAGATE ST-225 20MB WITH W/D SEAGATE ST-251-1 40MB FOR AT SYSGENQIC FILE 60 EXT.BACKUP SYSGENBRIDGE FILE TOSH1BA3 1/2" I/2 HT. 720KB TOSHIBA 3 1/2" I/2 HT. 1.44MB TOSHIBA ND-04D I/2 HT. 360KB TOSHIBA ND-04DE-G 360KB FOR AT TOSHIBA ND-08DE-G I.2MB FOR AT EXPANSION BOARDS 64K I50NS RAM CHIPS 256K I50NS RAM CHIPS AST SIXPAK PREMIUM 256 C/S/P DCA IRMA BOARD II HERCULES MONO GRAPHICS PLUS . INTELABOVEBOARDPS/2865I2K TALL TREE JRAM-3 OK (TO 2MB) VIDEO 7 VEGA DELUX VIDEO 7 VEGA VGA DISKETTES DYSAN HIGH DENSITY FOR PC/AT . DYSANDS/DD DISKETTES 3 M HIGH DENSITY FOR PC/AT 3 M 3 I/2" DS/DS I35 TPI XIDEXDS/DD DISKETTES ACCESORIES CURTIS SYSTEM STAND CURTIS MONO CABLE CURTIS KEYBOARD CABLE CURTIS DISPLAY PEDESTAL CURTIS RUBY SURGE PROTECTOR DYSAN ANTI-GLARE SCREEN KALMAR TEAKWOOD I00 DISK FILER ... KENSINGTON MASTER PIECE MICROCOMPUTERKEYBOARD DRAWER PC COOLING TURBO COOL FOR PC/XT SMA PC DOCUMATE TEMPLETS TRI MAG I35 WATTS POWER PC/XT TRI MAG I50 WATTS POWER PC/XT TRIPP LITE BCI000 I000W UPS 959.00 859.00 629.00 289.00 595.00 859.00 395.00 149.00 199.00 149.00 159.00 199.00 CALL CALL 259.00 799.00 199.00 439.00 179.00 199.00 295.00 55.00 29.00 39.00 29.00 12.00 21.00 35.00 30.00 30.00 65.00 35.00 45.00 99.00 75.00 65.00 12.00 99.00 119.00 1079.00 NETWORKING SERVERTECHNOLOGY EASYLAN STARTER KIT FOR2 PC'S 179.00 EASYLAN EXPANSION KIT FOR I PC'S.... 99.00 SCANNERS & FACSIMILE BROTHER PERSONAL FAX-100 975.00 DEST PC SCANNERS CALL COMPUTERS TOSHIBA T1000 512KB ONE 3 1/2" D/D4.77MHZ CALL T1 100+ 640KB TWO 3 I/2" D/D CALL T1200 IMBKB 20MB HD. ONE 3 i/2" D/D ... CALL T3100/20 640KB ONE 3 I/2", 20MB HD CALL T5100 2MB RAM ONE 3 I/2", 40MB HD .... CALL WYSE 2112 I.2MB D/D 1MB RAM 8/12 MHz CPU, I0I-KEY KEYBOARD MS DOS 3.I CALL PC 386 (16MHz) ZERO WAIT-STATES 1MB RAM.I.2MB D/D.KE YBOARD.MS DOS 3.2 (8MHz) MODE.SERIAL/PARALLELPORT... CALL HAUPPAUGE COMPUTER WORKS. 80386-16MHz REPLACES IBM/XT MOTHER BOARD. 1MB RAM, FIVE 8-BIT (2 SHORT), 2-16 BIT, 1-32 BIT SLOTS a SOCKET FOR 80387. WORKS WITH MOST PRESENT HARDWARE INCLUDING HARD/FLOPPY DISKS DRIVES a KEYBOARD. OS/2, 1-2-3 (V2.01), dBASE, AUTOCAD.VENTURA, WINDOWS aOTHER MAJOR SOFTWARE COMPATIBLE 1395.00 THIS AD WAS PREPARED USING HPLJ II VENTURA & IMAGEN PC PUBLISHER'S KIT TERMS AND CONDITIONS We reserve the right to repair, replace or return to manufacturer for repair, all goods acknowledged faulty or damaged on receipt by customer. Customer Must Call For Return Authorization Number Before Returning Any Goods. Prompt attention will be given to all damaged and faulty returned goods. Any goods returned for credit are subject to 20% restocking charge, plus shipping charge. No Returns For Credit On Any Software. Customer must deal directly with the manufacturer It the customer finds any false claims made by the manufacturer. All goods are shipped VIA U.P.S. ONLY. Shipping charges are 2% of the total purchase price or $3.00, whichever is greater. Please call for shipping charges on Printers a Accesories. C.O.D. are shipped for Cash or Cashier's Check Only. Max $1500.00. Please allow 7 to 10 working days for per- sonal or corporate checks to clear. To expedite shipping send money order or cashier's check, or charge to your VISA OR MASTERCARD. WE DO NOT Add a Service Charge For Credit Card Usage. PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. 88NE-6 BYTE • JUNE 1988 INTRODUCING THE PC LINK 386 Why deal with MICROCHANELand find out that present adapters, memory ex- pansion boards & other peripherals are not com- patible. When with PC LINK 386 you can be fully compatible with current and future hardware and software without spending a bundle in the process. ! The PC LINK 386 is a powerful 80386 16 MHz, zero wait state computer based upon the highly rated Hauppauge 386 Mother Board . Standard Features • Memory: 1 Mb. of high speed 100ns RAM on the mother- board. This memory is configured in four banks and the banks are interleaved so that most memory accesses zero wait states. • I/O: One 32 bit, two 1 6 bit and 5 eight bit expansion slots, • Floppy Disks: One 5-1/4" 1 .2MB or a 3-1/2" 1 .4MB • Disk Controller: Supports two floppy drives and up to two hard disk drives. • Serial & Parallel Port: One serial and one parallel port • Keyboard: Datadesk International Turbo 101 Enhanced keyboard. • Key Lock: A physical lock and two keys are provided. • Power Supply: The standard power supply for the PC LINK 386 is 200 watts. • Clock: A battery backed real time clock. • Software: Microsoft Windows/386 and public domain utility software included. • Warranty: Warranty covers parts and labor for the first three months after purchase. A one year warranty from the date of purchase is provided for parts. • Approval: PC LINK 386 is FCC class A approved. Software & Hardware Compatibility: The PC LINK 386 is fully compatible with IBM PC/AT expan- sion cards. This includes items such as CGA, EGA, and VGA monitor board, internal modems, network cards (including Novell and 3Comm Ethernet), and the Bernoulli Box board or using it as a dedicated or non dedicated File Server. The PC LINK 386 is fully compatible with IBM PC-DOS 3.0 or higher, PC-OS/2, Unix, Zenix, PC-MOS/386, Novell Netware 286, Lotus 1-2-3 V2.01, dBase III+, Ventura, Pagemaker, Word, Multimate, Wordperfect and more. (We have not found any business software that does not work except the some older versions of copy protected slower speed dependent business software). Module I (Basic Unit) $2295.00 Module II (Basic Unit + 40MB 28MS Hard Disk) Module I $2795.00 (40MB H/D, Vega Delux & EGA* monitor) $3795.00 * Choice of Sony CPD 1302 Muftiscan or NEC Multisync II PC LINK 386A & 386B can accomodate upto five 1/2 height devices (three are accesable). 386B has One 32 bit, four 16 bit and 3 eight bit expansion slots. Model & Prices shown above can accomodate upto fourdevices. See what some of our customers have to say about PC LINK 386. The PC LINK 386 represents the amalgamation of the best of all worlds. Most of us, with long-time PC experience, have asked, at one time or another, why one particuler manufacturer cannot have some of the benifits of another, resulting in a combination that would supposedly be greatly superior. PC LINK'S 386 has accomplished the integration of the best of the best. Coupled with support provided by the PC Link or- ganization, and constant updating and testing of new products, we have not only purchased a "state of the art" computer but It will be the "state of the art" tommor- row and thereafter. Sincerely, Richard D. Hausman, Chairman BELDINC HEMINWAY COMPANY, INC. I am quite pleased with the 386- based machines that you have provided for us. Their speed is quite impressive and we've yet to discover a compatibility problem. It's a great way to purchase a very powerful PC but protect a substantial investment in software and add-ons. I certainly Intend to purchase additional units as my budget permits. Sincerely, Mike Wittman, Controller 1010 WINS RADIO These machines have extended the life of one application that was just running too slow on AT's. DOS ap- plications run so much faster that we don't have to pass up features to get performance when selecting software. When enough software is available we will be able to upgrade to OS/2 and continue to get good performance. Finally, my partners and I are delighted that we can af- ford to equip our staff and ourselves with such high-performance, high- capability machines. We are look- ing forward to completing the conversion of all PCs, XTs and ATs to the new motherboard and to standardizing on the PC Link 386 for our new purchases. Sincerely Denis C. During. Vice President OCEAN CAPITAL CORPORATION I had to tell you how pleased I am with your PC Link 386. This network we are setting up is going to use one of these machines as file server, and this will be the third PC Link 386 we've purchased. So far. every program I've tried has run on these machines. Windows386, Fox- base/386, Excel, Lotus, and Word 4.0 all work flawlessly. The only problem I have Is that when I have to help someone else in the office, their AT class machines seem to crawl. Sincerely, Henry Citenstein Sr. VP Riverside Shirt & Underwear Corp. The PC LINK 386 is not only fast, but so software and hardware com- patible its incredible! It keeps taking everything I have thrown at it and comes back for more-OS/2, IBM's PC DOS. Compilers, off the shelf software, Graphics, Network Boards, Modems, Bernoulli Box, 5 1/4" & 3 1/2" disks each in both formats and more. I am reccomendlng PC LINK 386 to all my clients. Sincerely, Pat Adams, President DB UNLIMITED CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-221-0343 FOR ORDERS ONLY IN NEW YORK CALL 1-212-730-8036 FOR ORDERS & INQUIRIES «]„ ILIIL.-JI Ill Li I I LI Circle 487 on Reader Service Card JUNE 1988 • BYTE 88NE-7 You'll Like Our Prices Even Better When You See What You Get At No Charge: Monday Ship First, Bill Later, Some companies will charge f your credit card weeks before : the system is shipped. We never do. March 19 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE The system or components you purchase from; First Micro wilf meet adver- tised specifications, and deliver ^superior performance for: a 8fetfn^ofserwcbi-: : ■: if for any reason vou are unhappy *wtft your ; - '-- u*> t rsr inirty 03ys, >mi m.jy rcnum me svsiem orcornm;r;$nt :o First Micro ^>