'Amiable Spring 1985. © 1985 Apple Computer, inc. Apple the Apple logo. MaclerminalandApplelhlk are trademark of Apple Computet; Inc. Macintosh is a trademark lice Inc. WMis a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. PEC, 1 7100 anil 1752 are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. Lotus and fit oj IjoIus Development Corporation. Microsoft and lHultiplan are registered trademarks of 'Microsoft Corporation. Macintosh is a trademark licensed In Apple Computer, are trademarks IBM is finally talking tous. And we're finally talking to them Thanks to The Macintosh™ Office. Using our Appleline protocol converter and MacTerminal™ software, Macintosh can speak IBM 1 "' 3270 like a native. Not to mention DEC* VnO0™VT52™and TTC In English, that means you can find almost anything that's stored in your company's main- frame. Just the same as if your Macintosh was an IBM terminal. Say, for instance, you want to know how sales are going as of yesterday. Where your inventory stands. Or if receivables are staying ahead of payables. With a Macintosh on your desk, all that information is right at your fingertip. Even if your mainframes on the other side of the build- ing. Or the other side of the world. Now if you think that's impressive, you haven't read anything yet. Once you've located the data you want, you can "cut" it out of the mainframe and "paste" it directly into a spreadsheet program like Lotus" Jazz™*Or Microsoft* Multiplan® Then turn the numbers into a chart with a business graphics program, Such as Microsoft Chart. And hist, but certainly not least, print out a publication- quality report, memo or presentation with our LaserWriter printer. Total elapsed time: about 20 minutes. And if you need to know something that's not in your mainframe— like up-to-the-minute stock quotes— you can use MacTerminal and an Apple Modem to tap into a number of commercial information services. Including Dow Jones News/Retriev;; mm? lexis: AndTheOfficia Airline Guide 8 So you can use Macintosh for everything from scanning The Walt Street Journal to making airline reservations. /;/ The Macintosh Office, workgroups All of of 5 to 25 pecfle will talk lo each other which means orer our Aipleiitlli" Personal Network you should finally be talking to us. Call 800-446-3000, and we'll tell you more about how well The Macintosh Office will fit into the one you're in now. Even if there's a big blue box in one corner. The Macintosh Office Dow Jones Neus/ Retrieval is a registered trademark of Daw /ones & Company. Inc. NEXIS and I.EX1S are registered trademarks of Mead Data Central The Official Airline Guide is a registered trademark of Official Mine Guides. Inc. For an authorized 'Apple dealer nearest you call (800) 538-9696. In Canada, call (800) 268-7796 or (800) 268-763 7. CONTENTS 176 2 BYTE • JULY 1985 FEATURES Introduction 104 Programming Proiect: New Perspectives on Nearby Stars by Bruce Webster 106 This program. develoDed on a Macintosh using Mac Advantage: UCSD Pascal, takes a list of stars and shows you where they are in respect to one another. Liquid-Crystal Displays for Portables by Glenn ]. hdler 119 The author presents an in-depth look into the workings of LCDs. Product Description: The GRiDCase by Rich Malloy 129 One member of this family of portables has a gas-plasma display. Ciarcias Circuit Cellar: Living in a Sensible Environment by Steve Garcia 141 Steve looks into his junk box for items to use with the Home Run Control System. Programming Insight Travesty Revisited by Murray lesser 163 Travesty is rewritten in compiled BASIC. Programming Insight Real-Number Formatting Your Apple by Brent Daviduck 171 Specify the decimal length of any real number. THEMES Introduction 176 Updating the Oldest Science by Russell M. Genet 179 Observers around the globe are using microcomputers in a variety of astronomical applications. Microcomputers in NASA's S1R-B by Richard Wilton 192 The Shuttle Imaging Radar experiment employs a network of personal computers for data acquisition and analysis. Comet Lines in FORTRAN by David S. Dixon 203 The program described calculates the positions of asteroids and comets. Tracking Earth Satellites by E. H. Weiss 215 The Stumpff program can help you calculate earth-orbiting satellite positions with high precision. Automating a Telescope by Louis ). Boyd 227 A codirector of the Fairborn Observatory describes ways of computerizing the repetitious tasks in variable-star photometry. Astronomical Computing with Micros by Richard Bochonko and William T. Peters 239 Small systems increase the amateur astronomer's reach. Astronomy Sources 244 An Astronomy Glossary 245 REVIEWS Introduction 248 Reviewer's Notebook by Glenn Hartwig 251 Texas Instruments' Pro-Lite Professional Computer by Richard Grehan and Eva White 252 A briefcase-size machine that runs MS-DOS. BYTE (ISSN 0360-52801 is published monthly wilh one extra issue per year by McGraw-Hill Inc Founder lames H McGraw (1860-1948) Executive, editorial, circulation and advertising offices 70 Main St., Peterborough. NH 03458 phone 1603) 924-9281 Office hours: Mon-Thur 8:30 AM - 4 30 PM. Friday 8 30 AM — I 00 PM. Eastern Time Address subscriptions to BYTE Subscriptions. POB 590. Martinsville. N| 08836 Postmaster: send address changes USPS Form 3579 undeliverable copies, and fulfillment questions to BYTE Subscriptions. POB 596. Martinsville Nl 08836 Seco nd-class postage p aid at Peterborough. NH 03458 and additional mailing offices Postage paid at Winnipeg. Manitoba. Registration number 9321 Subscriptions are S2I for one year. S38 for two years, and S55 for three years in the USA and its possessions. In Canada and Mexico. S23 for one year. S42 for two years, S61 for three years S69 for one year air delivery to Europe 17.100 yen for one year surface delivery lo lapan. S37 surface delivery elsewhere Air delivery to selected areas at additional rates upon request 5ingle copy price is S3. 50 in the USA and its possessions. S3 95 in Canada and Mexico. $4.50 in Europe, and 55 elsewhere Foreign subscriptions and sales should be remitted in United States funds drawn on a U.5 bank. Please allow six to eight weeks for delivery of first issue Printed in the United States of America COVER ILLUSTRATION BY ROBERT TINNEY NCR Personal Computer Model 4 by Elaine Holden 258 An IBM PC-compatible with a RAM-disk utility Monitoring Halleys Comet by )ohn E. Mosley 265 Three programs for tracking the return of the celestial visitor. Space-Flight Simulators by Benjamin Bernar 269 Link up with a space station or travel to Saturn. MaxThink by William Hershey 279 An outline processor for the IBM PC. The Anchor Automation Signalman Mark XII Modem by George V. Kind 287 It's similar to the Hayes Smartmodem but not fully compatible. Review Feedback 295 Readers respond to previous reviews. KERNEL Introduction 306 Computing at Chaos Manor: Come to the Faire by Jerry Pournelle 309 Trips to shows and a visit with Niklaus Wirth highlight lerry's month. Chaos Manor Mail conducted by jerry Pournelle 338 lerry's readers write, and he replies. BYTE West Coast SNOBOL and Icon by Ezra Shapiro 341 Our West Coast staff interviewed one of SNOBOL4's authors, Ralph E. Griswold. who has gone on to create a new language called Icon. BYTE U.K.: Starlit Spectrum by Dick Pountain 353 Dick reports on an astronomical application for the Sinclair Spectrum. BYTE Japan: Peripherals, Chips, and New Computers by William M. Raike 363 Bill looks at the Silver-Reed EB50. Fujitsu's new optical-disc coating material, and more. According to Webster: Start-up by Bruce Webster 367 The debut of this column covers an assortment of Macintosh products. Mathematical Recreations: Parsing and Solving Linear Equations by Robert T. Kurosaka 385 Set up and solve simultaneous linear equations. Circuit Cellar Feedback conducted by Steve Garcia 391 Steve answers project-related queries from readers. BYTELINES conducted by Sol Life 393 News and speculation about personal computers. Editorial: Clubs & Newsletters 58 Equal Access to Computers: Book Reviews 65 Scruples or Rubles? 6 event Queue 85 Microbytes 9 BooKS RECE1VED 395 LETTERS 14 Unclassified Ads 461 Whats New 39. 406 BOMB Results 462 Ask BYTE 48 Reader Service 463 Address all editorial correspondence to the Editor. BYTE, POB 372. Hancock. NH 03449 Unacceptable manuscripts will be returned if accompanied by sufficient first-class postage. Not responsible for lost manuscripts or photos Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of BYTE Copyright © 1985 by McGraw-Hill Inc All rights reserved Trademark registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Where necessary, permission is granted by the copyright owner for libraries and others registered with the Copyright Clearance Center |CCC| to photocopy any article herein for the fiat fee of SI 50 per copy of the article or any part thereof. Correspondence and payment should be sent directly to the CCC, 29 Congress St Salem MA 01970 Specify ISSN 0360-5280'83 SI 50 Copying done for other than personal or internal reference use without the permis- sion of McGraw-Hill Inc is prohibited Requests for special permission or bulk orders should be addressed to the publisher BYTE is available /f in microfom from University Microfilms International. 300 North Zeeb Rd . Dept. PR. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 or 18 Bedford Row. Dept. PR. wABCW London WCIR 4E] England Subscription questions or problems should be addressed to: BYTE Subscriber Service. POB 328, Hancock. NH 03449 SECTION ART BY STEVEN GUARNACCIA Can You Name a Dual-Drive Color PC That Runs Lotus 1,2,3 and Costs Under $1500? Hints • It comes with a 14" RGB monitor much like the 14" monitor that comes with the $2495 Leading Edge PC. • It has dual 800K disk drives much like the $2495 Tandy 2000, but it also has the ability to read and write to popular 160K, 320K, and 360K IBM-PC formats. • It's an 8088, MS-DOS system with 256K of RAM, but it comes with a better free software bundle than the 8-bit Kaypro including MS-DOS 2.1 1, HAGEN-DOS, DOS-TUTOR, WordStar 3.3, Easy Writer, Spell, Mail Track, PC File HI, FILE- BASE, CalcStar, games, graphics, utili- ties, and two BASIC languages. • Although it's not PC-DOS compatible it will run hundreds of the same pro- grams as the IBM including dBASE II, Multiplan, the PFS series, Lotus 1,2,3 and even Flight Simulator. • During the dog days of summer computer sales, we' ve lowered the prices of both our color and monochrome systems. You can receive a free booklet on these systems by calling our machine at 1-800-FOR A FOX, and leaving your name and address at the beep. Your time is up the answer is: ColorFox $1497 also Fox Jr. . . . $899 Silver Fox . . $1297 Scorrsdale Systems, ^ 617 N Scorrsdale (Xd #B. Scorrsdale. Az 85257 J| (602) 941-5856 g] The Silver Fox is sold exclusively by Scottsdale Systems Ltd., 617 N. Scottsdale Road SB, Scottsdale, AZ 85257. Trademarks: Silver Fox, HAGEN-DOS, and Dntemate, Scottsdale Systems Ud.; WordStar and CalcStar, Micropro International; MS-DOS, and Multiplun, Micro- soft Corporation; FII.EBASE. EWDP Software, Inc.; dBASE II, Ashton Tate; IBM-PC, and IBM-PC DOS; International Business Machines Corporation. Ordering: Telemarketing only, Silver Fox price is for cash, F.O.B. Scottsdale, prices subject to change, product subject to limited supply. We accept purchase orders from Fortune 1000 companies and major universities with good credit - add 2% Visa, Mastercard add 3%, AZ residents add 6%. Returned merchandise subject to a 20% restocking fee. Personal or company checks take up to 3 weeks to clear. No COD's or APO's. BITE editor in chief Philip Lemmons managing editor Gene Smarte consulting editors Steve Ciarcia lERRY POURNELLE Bruce Webster senior technical editors G. Michael Vose. Themes Gregg Williams technical editors Thomas R. Clune Ion R. Edwards Richard Grehan Glenn Hartwig. Reviews Ken Sheldon Richard S. Shuford Jane Morrill Tazelaar Eva White Stanley Wszola Margaret Cook Gurney. Associate Alan Easton. Drafting west coast editors Ezra Shapiro. Bureau Chief. San Francisco Iohn Markoff. Senior Technical Editor. Palo Alto Phillip Robinson. Senior Technical Editor. Palo Attn Donna Osgood. Associate Editor. San Francisco Brenda McLaughlin. Editorial Assistant, San Francisco NEW YORK EDITOR Richard Malloy. Senior Technical Editor managing editor, electronic publishing and communications George Bond user news editor, east coast Anthony I. Lockwood. What's New USER NEWS EDITOR. WEST COAST Mark Welch. Microbytes CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jonathan Amsterdam, programming projects Mark Dahmke. video, operating systems Mark Haas, at large RiK Iadrnicek. CAD. graphics, spreadsheets Mark Klein, communications Alastair I W Mayer, software Alan Miller, languages and engineering Iohn C. Nash, scientific computing Dick Pountain, U.K. William M. Raike. \apan Perry Saidman. computers and taw Robert Sterne, computers and law COPY EDITORS Bud Sadler. Chief Dennis Barker Elizabeth Cooper Anne L. Fischer Nancy Hayes Lynne M. Nadeau Paula Noonan Joan Vigneau Roy Warren Williamson assistants Peggy Dunham Martha Hicks Beverly Iackson Lisa |o Steiner art Rosslyn A. Frick. Art Director Nancy Rice. Assistant Art Director PRODUCTION David R, Anderson. Production Director Denise Chartrand Michael J. Lonsky Ian Muller SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Harry L Brown PUBLISHER S ASSISTANT Doris R. Gamble PERSONNEL Cheryl Hurd. Office Manager Patricia Burke, Personnel Coordinator ADVERTISING SALES 1603-924-6137) I. 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Avenue of the Americas, New York NY 10020, |212] 512-2000 Officers of McCraw-Hill Information Systems Company President Richard B Milter Executive Vice Presidents Frederick P lannoll Con- struction Information Group Russell C White. Computers and Communications Information Group. I Thomas Ryan Marketing and Interna- tional Senior Vice Presidents Francis A. Shinal Controller Robert C Violette. Manufacturing and Technology Senior Vice Presidents and Publishers; Harry L Brown. Computers and Communications, David I McGrath. Construction Group Vice President Peter B McCuen. Com- munications Vice Presidents Fred O lensen. Planning and Development: Margaret L Dagner. Human Resources Officers of McGraw-Hill. Inc. Harold W McGraw lr.. Chairman. Joseph L Dionne. President and Chief Executive Officer Robert N. Landes. Executive Vice President and Secretary Ralph I Webb. Vice President and Treasurer: Donald L. Fruehling. Executive Vice President. Publishing Operations Group Ralph R Schulz. Senior Vice President. Editorial: Walter D Serwatka, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing and Circulation Services Vice Presidents Shel F Asen. Manufacturing; George R. Elsinger. Circulation. 4 BYTE • IULY 1985 Great GifFsuggestion for under $9,000 It's the MC-186/EL™ Gifford's four-user entry level system— just $8,995. It's a complete multiuser system with a 23 megabyte hard disk. Just add terminals, turn it on, and start using over 100 Gifford productivity tools and utilities. You even get word processing, electronic mail, and telecommunications. You can also run thousands of CP/IVf programs (single and multiuser, 8- and l6-bit), and use it as a building block in a fast local area network with IBM PCs, compatibles, and other MC-186 family members. Call 415/895 -0798 for your nearest dealer. Or write to us at 2446 Verna Court, San Leandro, CA 94577. The features make it a Giff. The price makes it a present. 0 GIFFORD COMPUTER SYSTEMS A subsidiary ofZitel Corporation THE MULTIUSER COMPANY' 2446 Vcrna Court, San LeandrO, CA 94577 415/895-0798 Telex 704521 2050 North Loop West, Suite 116 Houston, TX 77018 713/680-1944 In Europe: London (01)878-9111 Telex 28106 (UK) MC-1H6 and MC-I86/EI. are trademarks of Gilford Computer Systems. IBM PC is a trademark of International Business Machines, Inc. CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research. Inc. Inquiry 160 lULY 1985 • BYTE EDITORIAL Equal Access to Computers: Scruples or Rubles? Computer inequity emerges as a gen- uine problem when you consider how hard it would be for a child without a word-processing program to com- pete with a student who does have a word processor. The student with the word processor can revise and polish far more than the student without. All other things being equal, a once- revised essay handwritten on note- book paper can't compete with a tenth-draft essay neatly printed by machine. Of course, word processing is only one of the many ways in which computers can make schoolchildren more productive and therefore give some children a competitive advan- tage in school and in life. Is there, in fact, inequity in access to computers? The answer is "yes," and the inequity is a function of both income and race. The 12,000 most affluent schools are four times more likely to have personal computers than the 12,000 poorest schools (Quality Education Data report, 1983, quoted in Electronic learning. February 1985). Predominantly white schools have twice as many computers as do schools whose students come pri- marily from ethnic minorities (Johns Hopkins study, 1983, also quoted in Electronic learning. February 1985). Soon after taking power, Soviet Communist party chief Mikhail Gor- bachev called for the introduction of small computers throughout the Soviet school system. Clearly the new Soviet leader believes that the Soviet Union will be unable to compete with the West unless Soviet students have equal access to computers. The Soviet electronics industry is far from ready to meet the needs of Soviet students. The Soviet Apple clone known as AGAT (see the November 1984 BYTE, page 134), an inferior copy of a 10-year-old computer, is reportedly being manufactured in very small volume and with significant reliabili- ty problems, and it is said to sell for the equivalent of $17,000. But some news reports have indicated that Apple and IBM may be negotiating large sales of personal computers to the Soviet Union. If the American electronics industry is to solve the problem of computer inequity for the Soviet Union, why not for the disadvantaged of the West as well? DEC, Apple, IBM, Zenith, Tandy, and other companies have already made significant and commendable contributions to the American educa- tional system. But many of these donations and subsidies have gone to organizations such as the Apple Uni- versity consortium, made up mostly of expensive universities attended by the children of the affluent. IBM's joint projects with MIT and Carnegie- Mellon face the same criticism. Playing to Win At the opposite extreme from indus- try-sponsored programs in prominent universities is an organization called Playing to Win (106 East 85th St., New York, NY 10028). Playing to Win is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "promoting educational computer use among socially, economically, and geographically disadvantaged peo- ple." Antonia Stone, the director of Playing to Win, believes that there should be public access to computers just as there is public access to books and magazines in libraries. Playing to Win operates a community computer center in East Harlem. We urge companies in the computer industry to support organizations such as Playing to Win. Supporting equal access will benefit the industry as well as the disadvantaged. Ms. Stone points out that providing public access to computers not only pro- motes equal opportunity, but also builds a larger long-term market for computer products. Furthermore, overcoming computer inequity in the West makes much more sense in the long term than bringing the Soviet Union up to speed in computer technology. This is clearly a case in which scruples should outweigh rubles. — Phil lemmons. Editor in Chief 6 BYTE • JULY 1985 maxell FLOPPY DISK PH2-D Gold The floppy disk that packs more facts into Compaq, sets HP free, and takes IBM Portable where it's never gone before. It's great to have a portable computer. Especially when your data stays put. For error-free performance at home or abroad, trust Maxell. The Gold Standard in floppy disks. There's a Maxell disk for virtually every computer made. Each is backed by a lifetime warranty. Maxell. Accepted everywhere, without reservation. maxell ® IT'S WORTH IT Maxell Corporation of America, 60 Oxford Drive, Moonachie, N.J. 07074 Inquiry 225 YOUR DAYS OF BUYING TERMINALS ARE OVER! Now there's SmarTerm terminal emulation software for your IBM* PC, XT, AT or compatible system. All SmarTerm products offer com- prehensive and exact terminal emulation, powerful ASCII and binary file transfer facilities, and include TTY mode to link you to The Source, CompuServe, Dow Jones, Easylink, Tymnet or other popular services. We've included features such as multiple setup configurations, XMODEM and PDIP* protocol support, "smart" softkeys, plus European DOS support. NEW! SmarTerm 220 supports A-to-Z and other software which requires DEC* VT220 terminals. It includes the full capabilities of SmarTerm 100: DEC VT102, VT100, and VT52 emulation. If you need VT125 ReGIS graphics support, choose SmarTerm 125. For Data General Dasher* D400, D200 or D100 emulation you need SmarTerm 400. SmarTerm 100 now available for: • DATA GENERAL/One • IBM PCjr • TANDY 2000 • Tl Professional More than 25,000 users are already "hooked" on SmarTerm. Try it for 30 days with full refund privileges, and you will be too. Persoft, Inc. - Madison, Wl (608) 273-6000 - TELEX 759491 AFTER SMARTERM, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR OBSOLETE TERMINAL? m WBmKm m ORIGINAL FISH AD: Back by popular demand! See your name in print! The best ideas for uses of obsolete terminals replaced by SmarTerm will be used in future ads. Write Persoft, Dept. FISH II, 2740 Ski Lane, Madison, Wl 53713. "SMARTERM is a (ogisicrod trademark ol Person. Inc 'PDIP is a Irademark ol Person. Ire 'IBM ■ a registered trademark ol International Business Machines Corp 'DEC. VT and ReGIS are trademarks of Digital Equipment Co>p 'DASHER is a registered trademark of Data General Corp "DATA GENERAL/One is a trademark ol Data General Corp 'Tl is a trademark ol Teias Instruments Inc. 'TANDY is a trademark ol Tandy Corp (Radio Shack © Persoll, Inc 1985 All nghls reserved- perst Inquiry 280 MICROBYTES Staff-written highlights of late developments in the microcomputer industry. New Multiuser UNIX Systems Symmetric Computer Systems, San Jose, CA, is selling a 20-pound computer with a 32016 16-/3 2-bit processor, one parallel port, four serial ports for up to four terminals, a 50-megabyte hard disk, a 1 -megabyte floppy disk, and 2 megabytes of RAM. Included in the Model 375's price of $9950 are compilers or interpreters for C, Pascal, FORTRAN, BASIC. LISP, Prolog, Crystal, and APL. It also includes SPICE, Ingres, and a number of UNIX/GEN IX utilities. Although the machine is now available with National Semiconductor's GENIX implementation of Berkeley 4.1 or 4.2 UNIX, Symmetric plans to offer UNIX System V and Berkeley 4.3 versions later this year. Cadmus Computer Systems, Lowell, MA, announced CadMac, a 68010-based workstation with a 17-inch 1024- by 1024-pixel display, a 65-megabyte hard disk, tape backup, a mega- byte of RAM, and a Macintosh-compatible UNIX environment for $23,300. Digital Equipment Corp. introduced its expected MicroVAX II, which reportedly outper- forms DEC's low-end VAX products. Prices for the MicroVAX II, while much lower than com- parable VAX computers, still start at about $20,000. AT&T Offers 3 2 -bit Processor to Other Companies AT&T announced that its WE32100 32-bit microprocessor, floating-point chips, memory-man- agement chips, and other peripheral chips are now available to other companies. AT&T will also sell board-level evaluation systems based on the chips. The WE32100 is an enhanced version of the WE32000 chip used in AT&T's 3B2/300 com- puter; the chip family was originally called Bellmac-32 when developed by AT&T's Bell Labs subsidiary before divestiture. The 132-pin WE32100 chip features a 64-word on-chip cache, a 4-gigabyte address space, 15 interrupt levels, 16 32-bit registers, and a full 32-bit bus. All of the new chips are available in 10- and 14-MHz versions. AT&T's chip is not related to National Semiconductor's 32000-series processors. New 80286 Systems Flood COMDEX Late spring saw the introduction of many new IBM PC AT-compatible computers. By mid- May, new 80286-based systems had been announced by Kaypro, ITT, Compaq, TeleVideo, Corona, Texas Instruments, Zenith, NCR, Tomcat, and Basic Time. Another multiuser AT- compatible computer, available from MAD Computer in both floor and desktop models, will be sold only to other manufacturers. Wang also disclosed that it is developing an AT- compatible system. Intertec, West Columbia, SC, has redesigned its HeadStart computer, replacing its 8086 processor with an 80286 and eliminating its 3 '/2-inch disk drive. The HeadStart ATS's stan- dard 256K bytes of RAM can be expanded to 3 megabytes; the computer also includes serial, parallel, and network interfaces. The basic HeadStart ATS is priced at $1895 without disk drives. A dual 5'/Hnch disk-drive add-on unit is $495 extra. Intertec also announced several 80186-based file servers for its MultiLAN proprietary polling network; a $695 inter- face card also allows IBM PCs to be attached to the network. Network Products Announced IBM PCs and Macintoshes can communicate using two new networking products. 3Com an- nounced EtherMac, which allows Macintoshes and IBM PCs to link 3Com's 3Server Ethernet network file server to AppleTalk networks. Another product, IBMacBridge from Tangent, is a $595 expansion card with software linking the IBM PC to the AppleTalk network and Apple's LaserWriter printer. Separately, Vianetics announced ViaNet, which links MS-DOS- and UNIX-based computers. Rather than requiring a central file server, ViaNet simply treats each node on the network as a separate disk subdirectory, addressable using standard MS-DOS or UNIX path names. ViaNet will be available only to other manufacturers; Tandy, Wang, and several other firms have already licensed the software. (continued) IULY 1985 • BYTE 9 Add-on Makers Support Expanded-Memory Specification Many of the companies that make expansion cards for the IBM PC have announced memory cards that meet the expanded-memory-interface specification announced by Lotus and Intel in late April. Maynard Electronics, STB, Quadram. Tecmar, Mega-Omega Systems, Emulex/Persyst, and AST Research all announced boards supporting the specification, which uses bank switching to allow application programs to directly address up to 4 megabytes of RAM. Most cards will be available in midsummer. They will be priced from $349 to $399 with the first bank of memory installed and can be expanded to 2 megabytes each. Mosaic Unveils 1-2-3 Twin Mosaic Software, Cambridge, MA, unveiled a $145 spreadsheet it says is compatible with Lotus 1-2-3. Mosaic's Twin has a user interface and features similar to those in the Lotus product, but initial versions of the product will not be able to read and write 1-2-3 spread- sheet files. Rather than offering graphics identical to Lotus 1-2-3, Twin's graphics module is derived from earlier products the company developed. Two other companies— Borland Internationa] and Paperback Software— are reportedly developing low-cost spreadsheet programs compatible with 1-2-3, but neither company has formally announced or set availability dates for those products. NANOBYTES Congress has repealed a law requiring home computer owners to keep a complete daily log of computer use in order to claim business-use tax deductions. The law still requires some record keeping of computer use to support business-use claims .... Novix Corp., Cupertino, CA, has unveiled the NC4000, an 8-MHz 16-bit microprocessor that executes FORTH words as its machine language. . . . MicroPro plans to introduce a new word processor in mid- summer, priced at less than $200. The company says the new program will have a user in- terface unlike those of WordStar and WordStar 2000 ... Acuity Computer, Austin, TX, an- nounced The Shell, a $100 program that can either replace or enhance the Finder. . . . Franz Inc., Berkeley, CA, planned to begin shipping Franz LISP for AT&T's UNIX PC this month. Franz also expects to provide a complete Common LISP for the UNIX PC by late August. . . . Prometheus unveiled a 5l2K-byte buffer plug-in card for its ProModem, which can be used to buffer incoming and outgoing electronic mail or as a printer buffer; the buf- fer also provides password and callback security features. The buffer card without memory is $149 and can use 16K-, 64K-, or 256K-bit chips. . . . Intel is now providing samples of 10- and 12-MHz versions of the 80286 processor. . . . Brother unveiled the TwinWriter, a $1300 printer with both daisy-wheel and dot-matrix print elements. . . . ITT and NEC both in- troduced new speech-recognition products for the IBM PC and compatible computers. ITT's $1350 Voice Communications System can recognize up to 200 different words and also features voice playback and phone features. NEC's SAR-10 Voice Plus supports a 250-word vocabulary for $1495 .... Apple announced in April that it would stop production of the Macintosh XL, originally introduced as the Lisa in January 1983 .... Canon announced the A-200, a $2995 20-pound IBM-compatible transportable computer with an 80-character by 2 5-line LCD. Standard features include a built-in 300/1200-bps modem, composite video out- put, two 5 '/4-inch disk drives, parallel and serial ports, and 256K bytes of RAM. . . . Linguistic Products, The Woodlands, TX, announced two language-translation programs for the IBM PC. English/Spanish and Spanish/English programs are $490 each or $790 together. . . . Kyocera, which manufactures computer products for several other companies, announced its first retail product: a 1200-bps modem. The $665 KM1200S will include a copy of Microsoft's Access communications program. Kyocera also announced a 10-page- per-minute, 300-dot-per-inch laser printer that it will sell to other manufacturers. . . . Per- sonal Touch, San lose, CA, announced a touchscreen that can be added to Apple lis and IBM PCs through a standard joystick port. The Touch Window will cost $200 for the Apple II and $225 for the IBM PC when it is shipped later this year. . . . Datran Corp., Los Angeles, CA, announced the Modem Accelerator, a $795 card that encodes English words into tokens. Files encoded with the IBM PC expansion card are reduced to about one-third the original size. . . . Micro Focus has announced a japanese-language version of its COBOL compiler for the IBM PC 5550 and PC AT. In )apan, the compiler is priced at about $500. . . . Edsun Laboratories, Wayland, MA, offers a signal-converter VLSI chip that con- verts the Intel 80286 s signals to work with less expensive 8088 peripherals. The CMOS EL286-88 allows the 80286 to operate at 8 MHz while interacting with 4.77-MHz IBM PC chips. In quantity, the chip costs $44. 10 BYTE • |ULY 1985 If you buy aTI 855 printer now, you won't have to upgrade to one later. Don't tack just any printer on your new PC for now, thinking that you'll get what you really need later. Start with the best, a TI 855 or TI 865 printer. That way you can put the money you'd have spent on a need- less upgrade on some other smart investment. You see, our OMNI 800™ Model 855 is actually three printers in one. For word processing, it deliv- ers letter-quality printing that rivals the best daisy wheel printers around. For data processing, it prints at 150 characters per second. And for your graphics, it reproduces screen or OMNI 800 is a trademark of Texas Instruments. Incorporated. monitor images in the finest detail. Of course, these advantages are all true of our TI 865 wide-carriage printer, too. What's more, since our printers are among the easiest to use, you can utilize all the capabilities built into your PC and software right from the start. Instead of sometime later. You even have a choice of over 30 different plug- in type fonts, any three of which can be printed on the same page without ever stopping the printer! Just touch the control panel and it happens. Simple. So every document looks just the way you want it to. Professional. As for reliability, TI printers are legendary. Just ask any major airline. So don't downgrade your PC's performance with a printer you'll outgrow in a month. Get yourself a TI 855 or TI 865 printer now. It's easy. Just call 1-800-527-3500, ext. 801, for the TI Dealer near you. Texas Instruments Creating useful products and services for you. 28227 ©1985 TI IULY 1985 -BYTE II If you own an Apple Ik, you'd have to add three more Apple Ik's, an Extra Keypad, 30 Block Graphic Sets, Color Sprites, two more voices, four instruments, a Cartridge Port, a Joystick Port, and a Commodore 64... 12 BYTE • |ULY 1985 to match the versatility, expandability and higher intelligence of the new Commodore 128 (and it costs less too). The new Commodore 128"" per- sonal computer is breakthrough technology at a breakthrough price. If outshines the Apple® lie in performance capability per- formance quality and price. It is expandable to 512K RAM. The lie doesn't expand. Commodore 128 has a numeric keypad built into its keyboard that makes crunching numbers a lot easier. And graphic and sound capabilities that far exceed those of the Apple lie. But the most important news is that Commodore 128 jumps you into a new world of business, productivity education and word processing programs while still running over 3,000 programs designed for the Commodore 64.'" That's what we call a higher intelligence. COMMODORE 128' PERSONAL COMPUTER A Higher Intelligence © Commodore 1985 Inquiry 85 IULY 1985 -BYTE 13 LETTERS An Infrared Pyrometer In the process of completing a master's degree in engineering at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, we sought an interesting project for a thesis topic. The answer to this search was the Micro D- Cam that Steve Ciarcia presented in his Circuit Cellar column ("Build the Micro D-Cam Solid-State Camera"; Part 1, September 1983, page 20; Part 2, October 1983, page 67). We decided to use the Micro D-Cam as the basis for an optional infrared pyrometer. The results of our in- vestigation were interesting, and we thought we would share them with you and your readers. We used an Apple lie and an infrared filter that was opaque to visible light with the Micro D-Cam. A heating element served as an infrared source. Thermo- couples with a digital thermocouple meter measured the temperature of the heating element. The only real modification to the Micro D-Cam hardware was the optical filter that we attached to the lens that was supplied with the kit. When we obtained the hardware we conducted a few experiments that showed that focusing the Micro D-Cam's lens with the optical filter on a hot object produced an infrared image. The exposure time was shortened as the object's temperature in- creased. The lowest temperature from which an infrared image could be pro- duced was about 650° Fahrenheit. After we tested the hardware, we modi- fied the software that was supplied with the Micro D-Cam to display the percent of pixels that are on versus the total number of pixels (light-level percent) in an area of 56 by 64 pixels located in the center of the image. This area of the image was that where a temperature measure- ment of the object would be made. We then used the software to develop a calibration curve to relate temperature to light-level percent and exposure time. This calibration curve showed a nonlinear rela- tionship between temperature and ex- posure time. For these measurements the light-level percent was kept between 45 and 55 percent. Once the calibration curve was obtained, an equation was developed using polynomial regression that would produce a temperature output based on an exposure-time input. When the calibration work had been completed, we modified the software for the Micro D-Cam so that on a real-time command the program would go to a pyrometer subroutine and loop, adjusting the exposure times until the light-level per- cent for the 56- by 64-pixel array area was between 45 and 55 percent. Once the light-level percent fell within the range established, the calculated temperature was displayed on the screen and the con- trol of the Micro D-Cam was returned to the basic operating program. The results of the exercise showed that the Micro D-Cam could be used as an op- tical infrared pyrometer when used in con- junction with an infrared filter. Due to the limitations of the laboratory equipment available, the calibration was for a tem- perature range of 750° to 900° F and the resulting equation was as follows: tem- perature of object F = 9.12 x 10"' x ET 2 - (.02815 x ET) + 966.89, where ETisthe exposure time in milliseconds. Later testing of the accuracy of the system yielded results within 6° of the actual temperature. For anyone wishing to try this type of experiment a few items should be noted, based on our experiences. The develop- ment of the calibration curve is dependent on keeping the aperture and the distance between the lens and the object constant. The second item is that great care must be exercised in measurement of the ob- ject's temperature when developing the calibration curve. Due to the relatively long exposure time required for the in- frared system, the temperature of the ob- ject tends to vary a few degrees; therefore the object needs to be thermally stable before the exposure is made. Conclusions from our work indicate that the optic RAM encased in the lens assem- bly is capable of being used as an infrared detector, and when used with the Micro D-Cam it can serve as an optical infrared pyrometer. It is obvious from looking at other types of infrared pyrometers that there are other pyrometers available that are already calibrated and cost about the same as the Micro D-Cam. The Micro D- Cam, however, offers the hobbyist or ex- perimenter a vision system that can, with the use of an infrared filter, be turned into an infrared pyrometer. Virgil Thomason Gerald A. Caudill Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga Macintosh BASIC Available? The April 1984 BYTE carried an article by Scot Kamins about Macintosh BASIC (page 318) that excited me, so I called an Apple dealer and asked him when the product would be released. He informed me that it was scheduled for release in [une 1984. This sounded reasonable, so I purchased a Macintosh. In the meantime, I've waited, and waited, and waited. Still no Macintosh BASIC. Dealers do not seem to be able to get any information about Macintosh BASIC from Apple Computer. I've even pur- chased a nice book titled Introduction to Macintosh BASIC by Scot Kamins (Rochelle Park, NJ: Hayden Book Co.), which in- cludes the following statement: "Apple believes that good books are important to successful computing. The Apple Press imprint is your assurance that this book has been published with the support and encouragement of Apple Computer Inc., and is the type of book we would be proud to publish ourselves." The unavailability of Macintosh BASIC leaves me puzzled. Could Apple have pur- posefully delayed the introduction of its BASIC in order to allow Microsoft a chance to get wide distribution of its BASIC? Microsoft BASIC allows you about 1 5,000 bytes of space for a program, and the company has no compiler for it. The multiply/divide operates in double preci- sion, which is too slow for my use. So. you [continued] LETTERS POLICY: To be considered for publica- tion, a letter must be typed double-spaced on one side oj the paper and must include your name and address. Comments and ideas should be expressed as clearly and concisely as possible. Listings and tables may be printed along with a letter if they are short and legible. Because BYTE receives hundreds of letters each month, not all of them can be published, letters will not be returned to authors. Generally, it takes four months from the time BYTE receives a letter until it is published. 14 BYTE • IULY 1985 With Maynard's Transport™- the Original Portable Hard Drive! Now you can leave that heavy "portable" com- puter on the desk where it belongs and carry up to 20MB of data be- tween home and office. Transport™ comes with easy-release cable and convenient carrying han- dle. Call or write today for product specifics. Your Assurance of Quality- plated media, double shock-mounted drive extensively tested against rigorous performance standards backed by industry- leading 1 -year warranty Available in 10MB or 20MB. Purchase your Transport™ and receive a carrying case at no cost (limited time offer). » Maynard Electronics Shaping Tomorrow's Technology 430 E. SEMORAN BLVD., CASSELBERRY, FL 32707 305/331-6402 Inquiry 227 Inquiry 136 A FULL C COMPILER FOR $4995 The Ecosoft Eco-C88 compiler for Ihe 8088 and MSDOS is going to set a new standard for price and performance. Consider the evidence: Compiler Eco-C88 lotted) C86 (1) Seive 13 11 1 a Fib 44 58 46 Oeref 13 13 Matrix 21 29 27 Price '49.95 '500.00 s 395.00 (1) Computer Language, Feb., 1985, pp. 73-102. Reprinted by permission. The Eco-C88 compiler is a full K&R C compiler that supports oil data types and operators (except bit fields). Now look at the other features we offer: * 8087 co-processor support using a single library. If you install an 8087 later, the software will use it without having to recompile. * A robust standard library with over 150 functions, including trans- cendental, color, and others. * OBJ output for linking with the MSDOS linker (LINK). * Error messages in English - no cryptic numbers to look up. A real plus especially if you're just getting started with C. * Easy-to-read and complete user's manual. * Works with all IBM and compatibles running MSDOS 2.0 (or later). * Plus many other features. For $10.00 more, we will include the source code for the C library functions (excluding transcendental). For an additional $15.00, we will include our ISAM file handler in OBJ format (as published in the C Programmer's Library, Que Publishing). The discount prices for the library source and ISAM only apply at the time the compiler is purchased. Please add $4.00 to cover postage and handling. To order, coll or write: Ecosoft Inc. 6413 N. College Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46220 (317) 255-6476 ft), UNIX (Boll Labs), CP/M (Digital Research), Z80 (Clog). 8086, 8087. 8088 (Intel). TOTAL CONTROL FORTH: FOR Z-8(F, 8086, 68000, and IBM® PC Complies with the New 83-Standard GRAPHICS. GAMES. COMMUNICATIONS. ROBOTICS DATA ACQUISITION • PROCESS CONTROL • FORTH programs are instantly portable across the four most popular microprocessors. • FORTH is interactive and conver- sational, but 20 times faster than BASIC. • FORTH programs are highly struc- tured, modular, easy to maintain. • FORTH affords direct control over all interrupts, memory locations, and i/o ports. • FORTH allows full access to DOS files and functions. • FORTH application programs can be compiled into turnkey COM files and distributed with no license fee. • FORTH Cross Compilers are available for ROM'ed or disk based ap- plications on most microprocessors. Trademarks: IBM. Iniernational Business Machines Corp.; CP/M. Digital Research Inc.; PC/Forth + and PC/GEN. Laboratory Microsystems, Inc. FORTH Application Development Systems include interpreter/compiler wilh virtual memory management and multi-tasking, assembler, lull screen editor, decompiler, utilities and 200 page manual. Standard random access files used for screen storage, extensions provided for access to all operating system functions, Z-80 FORTH tor CP/M® 2.2 or MP/M II, $100,00: 8080 FORTH for CP/M 2.2 or MP/M II. $100.00; 8086 FORTH for CP/M-86 or MS-DOS. $100.00; PC/FORTH for PC-DOS, CP/M-86, or CCPM. $100.00; 68000 FORTH for CP/M-68K, $250.00. FORTH + Systems are 32 bit implementations that allow creation of programs as large as 1 megabyte. The entire memory address space of the 68000 or 8086/88 is supported directly. PC FORTH + $250.00 8086 FORTH +for CP/M-86 or MS-DOS $250.00 68000 FORTH + for CP/M-68K $400.00 Extension Packages available include: soft- ware floating point, cross compilers, INTEL 8087 support, AMD 951 1 support, advanced col- or graphics, custom character sets, symbolic debugger, telecommunications, cross reference utility, B-tree file manager. Write lor brochure. Laboratory Microsystems Incorporated , , Post Office Box 1 0430, Marina del Rey, CA 90295 Mfl Phone credit card orders to (213) 306-7412 LETTERS can see I'm still waiting. Could you ask Apple if it would pay me interest on the money > Frank Hardison Memphis, 77V Public-Key Patent As part of his article titled "Implementing Cryptographic Algorithms on Microcom- puters" (October 1984, page 126), Charles Kluepfel described an implementation of the RSA Public Key algorithm and the BASIC code required. Unfortunately, he did not reference that this RSA Public Key Cryptosystem was patented by the Mas- sachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983 (U.S. Patent 4,405.829). The worldwide ex- clusive license to this patent was then pur- chased from MIT by RSA Security Inc., a company founded by the inventors of the RSA algorithm to develop this technology. Because the RSA algorithm has been published in academic journals, most peo- ple assume that it is in the public domain, similar to the DES algorithm. Unfortunate- ly, some people have developed software and other products based upon the RSA algorithm without researching this point. Nevertheless, the patent exists and. in the opinion of our corporate attorneys, will be easily defended. As RSA Security Inc. paid a great deal of money for the exclusive pa- tent rights, we plan to actively police the commercial use of the RSA algorithm. The purpose of this letter is not to criticize either Mr. Kluepfel or BYTE for his article. Rather, the purpose is to make you aware of our patent position and ask for your help in educating your readership as to its existence. Based on Mr. Kluepfel's article, more people are going to start ex- pending money and effort developing RSA-based software for commercial pur- poses. Regrettably, their effort will be wasted unless they obtain a sublicense from us. Therefore, we suggest you publish a reference to our patent in a future issue of BYTE to protect your readers from this lack of knowledge. Ralph Bennett President RSA Security Inc. Sunnyvale, CA 94087 Fourier Ripple The article "Fourier Smoothing Without the Fast Fourier Transform" by Eric E. Aubanel and Keith B. Oldham (February, page 207) recalled my own experience with Fourier transforms as a graduate stu- dent in chemistry. In particular, the iden- tification of the high-frequency terms as [continued] 16 BYTE • IULY 1985 Inquiry 207 The IBM-PC... HOT-LINE Two Exceptional Modems For tour IBM-PC Internal OurProModem 1200B Gives You A 3rd Serial Comport Free When you plug our $399 1200/300 baud modem card into your IBM or Compatible PC, you suddenly have an additional serial Comport available to use. This means you don't have to disconnect your printer, plotter or other serial device from Comport 1 or 2 when you use our ProModem 1200B to communicate with the outside world. And that's just the beginning. The unit has a host of features such as auto answer and auto dial, programmable intelligent dialing, built-in speaker with volume control, help commands, extensive diagnostics, separate voice and data jacks, and Hayes command set compatibility. If you check prices, you'll find our $399 ProModem card costs less than modems that don't do nearly as much. ProModem 1200B comes with a sophisticated communications package from Mycroft Labs called"MITE"which provides for transfer of any type of text and binary files, with five error checking protocols including X-Modem. You can't lose. Buy our ProModem 1200B and get a Comport free! External ii.ll.il pa PROMETHEUS da Transfer 50 Pages Of Text Without Tying Up Your PC 1**95] Priced at just $495, our Hayes Com- patible ProModem 1200 is the best 1200/300 baud standalone modem you can buy. It runs rings around Hayes and the rest. One reason isouroptional Communications Buffer and Alphanumeric Display which turn our ProModem into a veritable genius. Imagine, unplugging your computer, taking it home for the weekend, and while you're gone having ProModem 1200 answer the phone, collect messages, send out electronic mail, and when you return, review all messages sent and received, and the exact time of each event. And we're talking about 50 pages of text or data! Our $99 Communications Buffer is a card that plugs into ProModem 1200s mother- board. It comes with 2K of CMOS battery backed-up memory, expandable to 64K. Part of the memory is used as a dialing directory, with the balance reserved as a buffer. Plus, for $99 more an Alphanumeric Display can show time, date, and status and help messages. Whether you go internal or external you'll be the winner if you choose Prometheus. Jfusf/atLuiL- Inquiry 287 for End-Users. Inquiry 288 for DEALERS ONLY. PRODUCTS INCORPORATED 4545 Cushing Pkwy. • Fremont CA 94538 .2370 IULY 1985 IYTE 17 Inquiry 165 Brainy Buffer. Do you press print and wait? And wait? And wait? Your waiting is over with the Universal Data Buffer — it frees your computer in seconds while it handles the printing of your file. And the Universal Data Buffer from HanZon is smarter than the average buffer. For one thing it has two inputs — one serial and one parallel, and two out- puts — one serial and one parallel. Since all the ports are active, it means the Universal Data Buffer can interface between serial and parallel devices — even at different speeds and protocols. All that is a bonus to its standard function - as a 64K buffer expandable to 256K. The buffer also has operator controls for selecting additional copies, and pausing. |Lv \ *M HANZON DATA INC. ■ IB/KS M2nd N E • WoodmviHiv WA UmTl Call HanZon today for your nearest dealer: (206) 487-1717. Suggested Retail Price: $385 - 64K Buffer $59 - 64K Expansion Module HAN/bN HANZONDATA INC. • 18732 142nd Ave NE • Woodinville, WA 98072 ULTIMATE PLACE FOR YOUR COMPUTER SOFTWARE AND COMPONENTS LOOK WHO WE SELL TO AND WHAT WE SELL Hughes Aircraft Lotus 1-2-3 Northrop dBASE III Hayes 1200B Rockwell International Microsoft IBM Epson Okidata Price Waterhouse Anchor TRW Orchid Technology Paradise Plus Many More . . . Plus Many More . . . Call today for our quote - - You'll be glad you did! TOLL FREE OUTSIDE CAUF. [g0] 1-800-423-6326 IN CALIFORNIA (213) 827-1851 m SOFTWARE GALORE, INC. 4079 GLENCOE AVENUE • MARINA DEL REY, CALIFORNIA 90292 18 BYTE • JULY 1985 Inquiry 324 for End-Users. Inquiry 325 for DEALERS ONLY. LETTERS noise (1 note that this is qualified with the word "usually") is not justified in the case of crystal x-ray scattering. The noise in the examples Aubanel and Oldham discuss is typical Fourier ripple, which roughly centers around the function measured. Although this noise is a factor in x-ray structures, the more important noise is termination error caused by sig- nificant unmeasured high-frequency terms. Such noise does not generally in- terfere with obtaining atomic coordinates but can cause many spurious effects in an electron-density map. The high-frequency terms, in fact, primarily represent the innermost electrons; when they are miss- ing, the unpresented electron density can, in principle, appear (i.e., be randomly smeared) anywhere in space, either under real atomic peaks or between atoms. Iron- ically, these innermost electrons are the least interesting, but the absence of the terms that represent them interferes with a good representation of the outer electrons. The more general point, however, is that when using Fourier transforms, it is impor- tant to develop a "feel" for how they work. The integral of a function is entirely con- tained in the zero-order term. All the other Fourier terms add and subtract precisely equal quantities (because they are sine and cosine functions) of area or volume "under the function," thus "shifting" peaks and troughs. If the function has high nar- row peaks or discontinuities, such as those in a molecular electron-density dis- tribution, high-frequency terms will be necessary to adequately represent it. If the function is relatively smooth, such as those in your examples, low-frequency terms will represent it and high-frequency terms can, with some confidence, be at- tributed to noise. A caveat, however, is that there ought also to be noise, in prin- ciple, in the low-frequency terms. This noise will be expressed not as ripple around the function but in shifts of the peaks, either in height or position. Thus "smooth" functions may misrepresent the reality they describe, albeit hopefully by statistically small degrees of error. Steve Goldfield San Francisco, CA Conversion Correction 1 have received a number of letters regard- ing my article "A Unit-Conversion Algo- rithm" (March, page 1 51). There were two problems with the published listing, and there is one point that I should clarify Line 3 10 of the listing on page 1 54 reads. (continued) 4 Out Of 5 PC-AT Expansion Board Buyers Own Advantage! The overwhelming choice of IBM® PC-AT users, Advantage! from AST sets the standard in high-powered multifunction enhancement. Advantage! was the first multifunc- tion board for the PC-AT. And it remains the leader by providing mil- lions of characters of memory capac- ity, two serial ports, a parallel port and a game port. All in a single expan- sion slot. First In Memory. All it takes is Advantage! There's no need to add other cards or hard-to-find chips on your system board. Whether you have an 256K, 512K or 640K AT, our unique memory addressing tech- nique lets you add up to 3 Megabytes of parity checked user memory efficiently and economically. For flexibility, Advantage! can use either 64K or 256K memory chips. And of course, it supports your AT's high performance 16-bit bus and faster program processing speed. Now you can have the extra memory to run integrated business software such as Symphony™ and Framework™To make full use of new concept windowing software such as DESQ™To utilize multitasking pro- grams such as IBM's TopView™ or multiuser operating systems such as XENIX™ To handle larger amounts of data, faster. Or for RAM disks. First In I/O. Here's all the I/O capa- bility you need now, even if you're starting with a base model AT. Every Advantage! card includes an AT compatible serial port and a parallel port so you can connect printers, plotters, mice and modems. Or with the appropriate software, you can connect other terminals to create multiuser environments. With our optional second serial port you can attach even more peri- pherals, while our optional game port lets you plug in joysticks and other cursor-control devices for business or just for fun. First In Quality. AST's reputation is built on quality products, qual- ity support and quality service. Our complete documentation means Advantage! is exceptionally easy to install and use, but if it's not enough we're always here to help. Four out of five buyers agree, the choice is Advantage!— only from AST. Ask your dealer, or call our Customer Information Center (714) 863-1333 for more information. AST Research, Inc., 2121 Alton Avenue, Irvine, CA 92714 TWX: 753699ASTR UR FEATURES Memory Expansion • 128Kb to 3.0Mb in a single slot • User Upgradeable with either 64K or 256K memory chips • Split Memory Address- ing rounds out AT's system memory to 640K and continues memory expansion at 1Mb I/O Expansion • Up to 2 Serial Ports (1 optional) • Parallel Printer Port • Optional Game Port Advantage! Supports AT's Full Program Process- ing Speed Advantage! trademark of AST Research, Inc. IBM PC-AT and TopView trademarks oflnternational Business Machines Corp. Framework trademark of Ashton-Tate. Symphony trademark of Lotus Development Corp. DESQ trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems. XENIX trademark of Microsoft Corp. RCSCnRCH INC. Inquiry 9 for End-Users. Inquiry 10 for DEALERS ONLY. ■i INTERRUPT PRODUCT THIS MAJOR INTRODUCTION TO YOU SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT. THE BIG NEWS IN DISK/TAPE IS PC/T, A SENSIBLE NEW APPROACH TO ARCHIVAL STORAGE. We've tamed tape. And made it docile. By making it DOS-like. So, while this started as an ad for our five new HardFile™ subsystems, which deliver 25 to 80 megabytes of hard disk storage and 60 megabytes of tape backup, instead we want to introduce you to PC/T™ PC/T is a new format that makes tape a more sensible storage solution for personal computers. It puts tape on line, In real time, for instant access. And frees your hard disk for your most current data. You already know how to use PC/T. Because it responds to standard DOS commands. Here's the big news: just like any DOS-controlled hard or floppy disk, PC/T enables you to create directories and files on tape. Then you can call up the exact file you need, and change a portion of the tape without having to erase and overwrite the entire cartridge. Without PC/T, you have to rewrite the entire 60 MB cartridge each timeyou make a single change. With PC/T, you create and directly access files on tape, just like with floppy or hard disk. PC/T formats each new tape cartridge, just like you format any hard or floppy disk, locking out bad blocks to assure that every bit of data you write to tape is recorded with utter accuracy. What's more, PC/T gives tape true error correction capability. 50% redundancy during write operations ensures 100% reconstruction of data lost because of oper- ator error, dust and dirt, or everyday wear and tear. There is a catch. You can get your hands on PC/T just one way: Buy one of our powerful new HardFile subsystems. With disk plus tape. Or tape alone. Which brings us back to where we started. And gives you a place to start. Just call 1-800-228- DISK for the Tallgrass dealer nearest you. TALLGRASS SELLS MORE HARD DISK STORAGE WITH CARTRIDGE TAPE BACKUP THAN ANYONE IN THE WORLD. TALLGRASS TECHNOLOGIES COMMITTED TO MEMORY Inquiry 348 Il;inlKik'™and Tallgrass^are trademarks of Tallgrnss Technologies Corporation ^1985 Tallgrass Technologies Speeds Up Everything... Especially 1-2-31 The MicroWay NUMBER SMASHER triples the speed of all cpu bound software while doubling the speed of 8087 bound software. When combined with MicroWay's FASTBREAK " it results in an increase in the speed of 1 -2-3 " of up to 80 to 1 ! If you're tired of WAITing, the SMASHER is the card for you! The heart of the NUMBER SMASHER is a 9.54 mhz 8086 working with a matched high speed 8087. The card comes standard with 51 2K of 1 6 bit RAM and can be ex- panded to 640K. It triples the throughput of your original 8088 by doubling the system clock speed and quadrupling the data bus bandwidth. Software compatibility is guaranteed by the nature of our card. It does not augment the 8088, but replaces it with a special 8086 that runs as a true 16-bit processor in the first 640K of ram and as an 8-bit processor everywhere else. Examples of software which show dramatic speed-ups include AUTOCAD, 1 -2-3 " worksheets which depend heavily on financial or transcendental functions, and multi-user oper- ating systems. Any program written with an MS-DOS compiler that supports the 8087, such as MS-FORTRAN or 87BASIC, will run on the NUMBER SMASHER at least a factor of 2.5 times faster! Software that comes with the card also in- creases the throughput of I/O bound programs and includes a disk cache routine, ram disk and print spooler. The NUMBER SMASHER is an upgrade product for 8088 based PCs and compatibles. It works on the IBM- PC and XT, the COMPAQ and compatibles manufactured to the IBM-PC hardware standard. Contact MicroWay or your local MicroWay Installation Center for technical speci- fications and supporting benchmarks. The World Leader in 8087 Support LETTERS in part, OR X + LEN(I$). This should be OR X > LEN(I$). The program will not work at all without this correction. Most of the letters 1 received indicated this error. The PRINT CHR$(12) that occurs in lines 1 0, 130. and 4000 deserves some clarifi- cation. First of all, in most versions of BASIC, the CLS statement is preferable. Unfortunately, the version of the BASIC compiler that I was using did not accept the CLS statement. The PRINT CHR$(12) worked with both interpreter and com- piler. As I prefer to have only one active version of the program, and I don't like distributing what I don't run, the PRINT statement was submitted to BYTE. Also, line 1 30 is unnecessary in the MS-DOS version. The TRS-80 version prints some material between lines 10 and 130 that is not needed with MS-DOS. I left the line in to minimize the differences between the two versions. I hope these comments are useful to you. David L. Kahn Newton Highlands, MA Terse, Terse, Terse Permit me to comment on Robert Kong Win Chang's one-page article "Build a Serial Card" (March, page 129) on building a serial card for the Sanyo MBC 5 50 computer. Yes, BYTE, you did not title the article "Adding a Serial Card (to the Sanyo)." You verily said only "Build" a serial card. How we are supposed to actually add this to our Sanyos is obfuscated but may hope- fully become the subject of a multipage article in a future BYTE. How does the author expect us to get + 12 volts, - 12 volts, and + 5 volts? From where? Do we simply plug the CN1 con- nector into the Sanyo and automatically get these voltages? Do we have to solder wires to the Sanyo? If so, where? (I am somewhat reluctant to attack my Sanyo with a soldering iron, with such an inade- quate set of instructions from Mr. Chang!) How about sockets for the chips? Where does the perf board mount? How about a photograph? (Didn't Confucius say some time ago that a picture is worth a thou- sand words?) What kind of decoupling capacitors are used? (An electronic-sup- ply catalog I have in my hand lists tan- talum, polyester, metallized film, aluminum electrolytic, axial lead, radial lead, resin-dipped solid tantalum, high- frequency aluminum electrolytic, metal- lized polyester, stacked metallized film, (continued) Data communication problem? Solve it with a BayTech multiport controller Fifty easy-to-use models for cost-effective, RS-232C serial port expansion. ■ Adapt your micro to industrial control and data acquisition applications. ■ Add more terminals to your existing computer system. ■ Allow your computer to share or select printers. • Enable your computers to use the same data communication lines by multiplexing. ■ Simplify your network with any-device-to-any-device communication. These intelligent multiports feature many user-programmable functions and are available in 5, 9, 12 and 18-port sizes, $279 to $1,795. Call or write for complete details. BAY TECHNICAL ASSOCIATES, INC, DATA COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCTS 800/523-2702 or 601/467-8231 Highway 603, P.O. Box 387, Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi 39520 Telex: 910-333-1618 EasyLink: 6277-1271 inquiry 48 JULY 1985 • BYTE 23 LETTERS and disc capacitors, all in a bewildering array of voltages, tolerances, and prices!) Additionally, I find literally dozens of dif- ferent types of DB-2 5 connectors offered by as many manufacturers. How is an ordinary reader— and you have hundreds of thousands of readers who are not experts— expected to follow such extremely abbreviated instructions (a total of only 84 words!)? I am not being picky. It is just that as shown and as printed, your article leaves a lot to the imagination and leaves an un- sophisticated reader up the proverbial estuary without a utensil for propulsion! The article is bound to attract many readers. Obviously Sanyo (using typical contemporary marketing strategy) did not include a serial port as standard equip- ment so as to advertise a low come-on Swap diskettes with popular CP/M* computers! Just $69.95 turns one of your PC's floppy drives into a CP/M computer "look-alike" with UniForm-PC. Imagine a software breakthrough that gives your IBM PC, PC-XT, PC-AT or compatible the ability to directly read, write and format diskettes from most popular CP/M computers — 8 or 16 bit! Remarkable UniForm-PC actually reconfigures your floppy drive to emulate the selected CP/M format, allowing your applications programs and utilities to directly access data files that were previously out of reach. Menu-driven UniForm-PC is easy-to-use and inexpensive. Simply load, select the proper diskette format and gol DOS procedures are un- changed when you use the CP/M dis- kette. You can even start a project on a PC at work and finish it on a CP/M machine at home without the need for additional hardware or modifications! At just $69.95, CP/M compatibility never cost so little! UniForm-PC is available now from your local computer dealer or Micro Solutions. For CP/M computer owners, UniForm bridges the gap between non-compatible CP/M formats, as well as providing access to MS-DOS" files. It's also just $69.95. Trademarks: •Digital Research "Microsoft Corporation MicroSDlutions 125 South Fourth St. DeKalbJL 60115 815/756-3411 price to attract buyers. And since the Sanyo 55X series computers have such a good price/performance ratio anyway, they will probably sell by the millions. However, having a serial interface to enable connection of a modem is becom- ing more and more indispensable in com- puting. The Sanyo RS-232C board, even at discounters, is still around $75. So, a probable high percentage of Sanyo owners, who bought a Sanyo in the first place because it did offer a lot for a low price, will want to add serial capability, and at a cost lower than Sanyo's $75 to $100. Do your readers a favor, though, and make it easier and simpler to construct this good-idea serial card! Bernard A. McIlhany Marble Hill, CA Robert Kong Win Chang replies: I would like to make a number of com- ments. First, there is absolutely no need to attack or otherwise mistreat the Sanyo with a soldering iron; once the board has been built (preferably some distance from the Sanyo to avoid eventual solder splashes!), follow the instructions de- tailed in the Sanyo Operator's Guide, chapter 6; page 6-3 describes how to remove the cabinet cover, whereas pages 6-15 to 6-18 show how to install the RS-232C board and how to program the correct data rate. Instead of the "blue line" mentioned in the manual, read "wire I," i.e., the wire connecting pin 8 of ICI to pin I of the CNI connector. As can be seen from the schematic of figure I in my article, all the pin assign- ments of the CNI connector on the motherboard are listed; in particular, they show that all voltages and signals re- quired for the correct operation of the serial card are provided through this con- nector by the Sanyo— all that is required for installing the serial card in the Sanyo is to screw the card to the rear panel of the machine and then to plug the ribbon header socket onto the CNI connector on the motherboad as described in the manual. It is as simple as that! As far as the actual building of the card is concerned, I am afraid that I assumed wrongly that all readers interested enough to build the card would have the required background to do so. However, I tend to believe that Mr. McIlhany is somewhat too harsh in his criticism about the lack of details for nontechnical readers; no recent article in BYTE de- scribing a hardware project has given the low-level details that he seems to require. [continued) 24 BYTE • JULY 1985 Inquiry 237 LETTERS Nevertheless, I do sympathize with him, and I wish I could refer him to a good manual or article. As a service to BYTE readers, I am prepared to mail to inter- ested hobbyists an assembled serial card upon receipt of a check for $25 (write to me at the computer science department of Brandeis University, Ford Hall, Waltham, MA 022541 The extra $10 should enable me to cover shipping ex- penses and to pay a computer science student to build and test the interface. Sockets for the integrated circuits were not mentioned, though I did socket mine; the reason is that opinions differ on the usefulness/inconvenience of sockets and I preferred to leave the decision to the reader. 1 personally would recommend using sockets for all ICs so as to minimize the chances of damaging them by over- heating during soldering. Besides, troubleshooting is made easier should any problem arise later on. Almost any small low-voltage capacitors may be used in this project; I used small ceramic disc capacitors rated at 0.01 /iF/ 16 V—l bought 100 of these for $6 as these are commonly used components in digital circuits. The choice of the DB-25 connector is not critical; however, the most convenient connector to use is a female one, of the ' right angle PC solder " type. ]DR Micro- devices sells them under the reference DB25SR. jDR also sell the 20-pin ribbon header socket under the reference 1DS20. One thing 1 did forget to mention was the location of pin I of the CNI connec- tor on the motherboard to enable plug- ging the socket the right way. The orien- tation is the same as for all ICs on the motherboard, namely that, looking from the top and from the front of the Sanyo, pin 1 is the last one on the left row of pins. MS-DOS 1.25 and 2.11 for the Sanyo do not provide adequate support for interrupt-driven serial input/output. Unless the user writes his/her own soft- ware to handle interrupts coming from the serial card, interrupt requests from the card should be disabled; the most convenient way to do this would be to leave out the 74LS32 quad 2-input OR gate. Failure to disable interrupts (par- ticularly from TxRDY) would cause the Sanyo to "hang up" when a modem is connected to the interface. Finally, I would like to say that I agree with Mr. Mcllhany that a picture is worth a thousand words; this is why the article contained a minimum number of words (only 84, as he pointed out) and con- veyed (tersely, 1 must admit) most of its technical information in figure I. Note that about 20 of the 84 words that make up the article convey a lot of implied in- formation: "The card plugs into the Sanyo's serial-interface connector on the motherboard and works exactly like Sanyo's version." RightWriter Rebuke In the March Reviewer's Notebook column (page 245), Glenn Hartwig dismissed RightWriter because it did not like Hamlet or the Gettysburg Address. He missed the point. RightWriter is a tool to help make business writing strong, concise, and to [continued] SLICER-THE SYSTEM THAT GROWS TO FIT YOUR NEEDS THE SLICER Real 16 Bit Power on a Single Board — Featuring the Intel 80186 a Complete 8 MHz 16-bit micro- processor on a 6" x 12" board ■ 256K RAM, plus up to 64K EPROM a) SASI port for hard disk controller ■ Two full function RS232C serial ports with individually programmed transmission rates— 50 to 38.4K baud m Software compatibility with the 8086 and 8088. ■ 8K of EPROM contains drivers for peripherals, commands for hardware checkout and software testing ■ Software supports most types and sizes of disk drives ■ Source for monitor included on disk ■ Bios supports Xebec 1410 and Western Digital WD 1002 SHD controller for hard disks Fully assembled and tested only $995 Also available in several kit forms THE SLICER SYSTEM EXPANSION BOARD For expanded memory, additional ports, and real time clock * Up to 256K additional dynamic RAM ■ 2 RS232C asychronous ports with baud rates to 38.4K for serial communication * 2 additional serial ports for asynchronous RS232C or synchronous communication (Zilog 8530 SCC) ■ Real Time Clock with battery backup for continuous timekeeping ■ Centronics type parallel printer port Fully assembled and tested only $750 Available in several kit forms also THE SLICER PC EXPANSION BOARD Gives your Sllcer high performance video capability ■ IBM compatible monochrome video ■ Video memory provides 8 pages of text or special graphics capability * 2 IBM type card slots for color video, I/O expansion, etc. ■ IBM type keyboard port Fully assembled and tested only $600 Available in several kit forms also Also available: The //SLICER 188 $700; 8087 Math Co-Processor Bd. (call); 10 MB Hard Disk $700; W.D. 1002-SHD H.D.C. Bd. $200; Enclosures, Power Supply, and Support Hardware. Operating systems are CP/M 86 by Digital Research, Inc. ($85), and MS DOS by Microsoft Corporation ($175). MasterCard, Visa, Check, Money Order, or C.O.D. Allow four weeks for delivery. Prices subject to change without notice. The SLICER Bulletin Board at 300/1200 Baud 612/788-5909 seee^f' SLICER Slicer Computers, Inc. 2543 Marshall St. N.E., Minneapolis, MN 55418 612/788-9481 • Telex 501357 SLICER UD 26 BYTE • |ULY 1985 Inquiry 3I9 Ven-Tel's Half Card™ modem is in all the best computers. Here's why A. Ven-Tel gives you lots of reasons to buy our Half Card modem for your IBM PC or compatible. The Half Card is a complete system that lets you communicate with other PCs, mainframes, and databases effortlessly. It includes Crosstalk-XVI® software. It's reliable It's got all of the features you want. And it's a good value. Do You Own One of These Computers? Chances are you do. And if you're thinking of buying a modem, consider the Half Card 7 ". Because of its small size, the Half Card™ fits in more computers, including all of the models we've listed here. The Half Card™ is small, so it fits in short slots or long. That means you can save your long slots for other expan- sion uses. Effortless Communication Each Half Card™ comes with Crosstalk-XVI® communications software, by Microstuf. It's the easiest to use, whether you're a beginner or an old hand, and the most powerful. A full on-line help menu makes using Crosstalk® for the first time a snap. It can turn your PC into a terminal on a mainframe computer with its power- ful terminal emulation feature. It will even oper- ate your PC when you're not there. You can call into an information service such as The Source or Dow Jones News Retrieval, or transfer files and electronic mail, all at the touch of a button. The Half Card™ connects your computer to the world. Effortlessly. More Modem for Your Money When you buy the Half Card ™ you don't need anything else. The Half Card™ is a complete communications package that includes a full-featured modem and the best known software on the market. Complete easy-to-understand instructions with full technical support on installation and use. And a very competitive price. The Half Card™ with Crosstalk-XVI® software, retails for only $549. Features . 1200/300 baud auto-dial, auto-answer. . Uses the industry standard 'AT" command set. . Runs with virtually all communications software, including Smartcom II and PC Talk III and integrated packages such as Symphony and Framework. . Includes Crosstalk-XVI® software. • On-board speaker and extra phone jack for easy switching from voice to data mode. . Selective tone or pulse dialing; full or half duplex. . Automatic answer on any ring. . True ring or busy signal detection. Reliability Ven-Tel has been making modems for 10 years. Our experience shows. Ven-Tel's Half Card™ only has about 70 parts, compared to almost 300 on other modems. We reduced the parts by building the first LSI modem chip using advanced switched capacitor technology. What that means to you is greater reliability and lower power consumption, so you can load up your PC with expansion boards and not worry about heat or power problems. And we back the Half Card™ with a full two-year warranty on parts and labor. You Can Buy the Half Card™ Anywhere You can get the Half Card™ at Computer- Land, Businessland, the Genra Group, Entre Computer Centers, Macy's Computer Stores and other fine dealers nationwide. Also from Ven-Tel: the 1200 Plus™ an external modem and the PC Modem 1200™ an IBM internal with V.22 inter- national capability. Effortless Communication 4* Ven-Tel Inc. 2342 Walsh Avenue Santa Clara, CA 95051 (408) 727-5721 Crosstalk isa registered trademark of Microstuf, Inc. Smartcom II is a trademark of Hayes Microcomputer Products. Symphony is a trademark of Lotus Development. Framework is a trademark of Ashton-Tate. Inquiry 365 IULY 1985 • BYTE 27 For everyone who ever tried doing five things at once The perfect computer program for someone as busy as you. It lets you keep several other programs working at once. Do you ever go in so many directions so fast not even a computer can keep up with you? Well, now an IBM Personal Comput- er can— thanks to IBM TopView. TopView is a new kind of software that lets you switch between other pro- grams as quickly as you can change your mind, even run several programs at the same time. Once you load TopView into your computer, you load the other programs you use most— as many as your com- puter's memory will permit. After that, the greatest distance between two programs is just a couple of keystrokes, or (optional) mouse moves. There's no waiting and a lot less diskette swapping. But when you're really busy is when TopView really shines, letting you do many jobs simultaneously. For example, you can print a letter, while you search a file, while you analyze a spreadsheet, while your clock/calen- dar reminds you that your automatic dialer is about to place a call for you. Little Tramp character licensed by Bubbles Inc., s.a. 28 BYTE- IULY 1985 . . IBM presents TopView. And you can see everything through on-screen "windows" and control it all with easy-to-use pop-up menus. You can even make unrelated pro- grams work together; say a "Brand Y" spreadsheet with a "Brand Z" word pro- cessor. But simplest of all is a certain "Brand IBM", namely the IBM Assistant Series— for filing, writing, planning, reporting and graphing. Many other popular programs also work with TopView, and the number is growing. Naturally, the more computer memory you have, the more TopView can help you. At least 512K is recommended. And the price is only $1491! Beyond that, all you need is to be the kind of person who never does a single thing all day, but who wants to do every- thing, at once. To learn more, call an IBM market- ing representative, or visit an IBM Prod- uct Center or Authorized IBM PC or Software Dealer. For the store nearest you, and a free brochure, call 800-447-4700. (In Alaska and Hawaii, 800-447-08%.) Personal Computer Software •IBM Product Center price. Inquiry 176 IULY 1985 -BYTE 29 Inquiry 254 Xerox D25 Diablo daisywheel printer - $545 Get daisywheel letter quality at dot matrix prices with the new Diablo D25 from MTI. This quiet, 25 cps daisywheel printer performs a full range of word and data processing tasks. Its all-purpose interface makes the Diablo D25 compatible with virtually any microcomputer on the market. Diablo printers are known for their reliability, and the D25 is no exception. MTI is an authorized distributor for Diablo printers, so we can get these high- quality, inexpensive beauties to you quickly. Whether you buy lease or rent, MTI is the one source for all the equipment you'll ever need. Call MTI and save. A SUBSIDIARY OF DUCOMMUN INCORPORATED Computer & Data Communications Equipment Sales / Leasing / Service / Systems Integration Digital EquipmentCorp., Intel, Texas Instruments, AT&T, ADDS, Qume, HP* Dataproducts, Diablo, Epson, Lear Siegler, Esprit, Wyse, Link, C.Itoh, PCI Racal-Vadic, MICOM, Ven-Tel, Develcon, Control Data, Emulex, U.S.Design New York: 212/226-2337 516/621-6200 518/449-5959 • New Jersey: Ohio: Kentucky: 201/227-5552 216/464-6688 502/449-6656 Pennsylvania: 513/891-7050 California: 412/931-9351 •FVanchtaed areas only. 818/883-7633 AH other areas: 800/645-6530 XEROX®, DIABLO®, and ihe identifying numbers herein are Irademarks of XEROX CORPORATION, The Dream, Knee-top PC with APL Productivity and Voice Networking too! MPERE W LETTERS the point. It will help produce better manuals, reports, and business corre- spondence. It is not meant for poetry or great works of literature. Would you want to see a user manual written in iambic pentameter? Would you write a report say- ing fourscore and seven more employees are needed for a project? How about a real review on an impor- tant new product? I think your readers deserve it. Robert W. DePree Longboat Key, FL Glenn Hartwig replies: Mr. DePree accuses us of missing the point of his product. In fact, we stated that the program could be used to ad- vantage in "ordinary correspondence and reports." Want My Business? The vast array of computer hardware and software now being marketed is so over- whelming that anyone venturing out to buy a computer system is soon overcome by a feeling of helplessness. The biggest and most frustrating problem encountered by the prospective buyer is the failure of companies in the computer field to provide any kind of information on their products. A case in point: I have written to more than two dozen computer hardware and software companies for general and specific information, and only four saw fit to send me some literature. The rest did not even bother to acknowledge receipt of my inquiry. Apparently it doesn't mat- ter that I am willing to spend up to $1 3.000 for a CAD system. Hardly anyone seems to want my business. Why? Manfred F. Kirchner Redmond, WA Elegant Logic In spite of many very bad experiences in responding to articles I have read in April issues of magazines. I am compelled to write in comment to Marvin Minsky's ar- ticle "Communication with Alien Intelli- gence" (April, page 126). I don't believe in the existence of in- telligent civilizations other than ours in the universe; I have never seen any evidence or heard any argument in favor of them that I find embraceable; but Mr. Minsky's article is a delightful, optimistic viewpoint that makes me hopeful that we may. at least, yet find and be able to communi- cate with intelligent life here on earth. Mr. Minsky's article, though couched in the [continued) Inquiry 331 — ► • Battery operation • 8MHz 6H000 CPU • Lip to 448K bytes of RAM • t?8K bytes ol ROM 0g8x8OchqraGtei LCD #Bit mapped graphu s • Multiple- windowing • Multijob, multitask OS tut powerful networking • Coherent DB-WP-CAl.C-Graphic software • Intelligent phone function • Microcasselte voice data storage kir DISTIHBUTORai 1848 i Phoni* '.' □mpene INCORPORATED ■ ■ hofiu* Nr in Sthtniuhu ShmjuKu i "■ reistoi 01 rwoti T«Ru /I nl B'» i iyIi ami itfnaijp Corti U S fopfWMHMlVI wonKsma (OMPUirRMC t buii.) » U I • 'Kill! WOR> sPA< F HOW TO CONTROL THE RISE AND FALL mess compu- ^^^P ^™ ml^^^m 1 1 lm ances and fai itheDowerto ; ' ■■^.B provides clea Your small business compu- T^^PP^ ter can give you the power to ■ i raise your productivity. But first you have to control the power you give it. Because even the slightest dip or surge of elec- tricity can result in a shocking surprise. An instant loss of important data or misinformation. Even worse, a total power line failure can create department devastation ... a total system crash. You can't afford errors, delays and other problems. After all, you've invested in a computer to increase efficiency. f But now there's a solution you can af- ford The Sola SPS. This economical, UL listed Standby Power System ^/ is designed to protect personal, micro and mini computers from AC line disturb- ' ^~=sSH lym I r Ir ances and failures. Sola SPS t-W WHm^kM provides clean, regulated AC power to your computer when your power line experiences irregular voltage. Line dips or line surges are immediately converted to proper voltage. When the AC line is present, the SPS filters power to eliminate electrical noise. And when the AC line fails, the SPS goes into full action, providing precise AC power to the load from its internal battery. So the only noise you'll hear is the sound of performance. There's no maint- nance. No installation. No kidding. Just "s. plug it in and turn it on. Why let your productivity rise and fall with your ' power? The solution is as simple as SPS. The standby system that Sola stands behind. A UNIT OF GENERAL SIGNAL STANDBY POWER SOURCE Write for free literature. 1 71 7 Busse Hwy., Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 (31 2) 439-2800 LETTERS complex, esoteric rhetoric required of academic communication, makes its case with the same sparse, incredibly simple logic that is the core of its very argument: The simplest thing will always happen first. After reading Mr. Minsky's arguments, I am reminded of another bit of elegant logic which, strangely, now seems to be very wise: Anything that can happen will happen. Mr. Minsky's article is typical of the kind of interesting, thought-inspiring, entertain- ing (though sometimes difficult) reading by which BYTE transcends the label "com- puter mag" and through which BYTE's readers can aspire to transcend the epithet "hacker." There is, of course, also a very practical side to Mr. Minsky's article. If, some day. I turn to speak to an intelligent alien, 1 will Terminals and monitors known by the companies they keep. For quite some time we've been making terminals and monitors for some of the world's best known, most reliable and best selling computer systems. And we're proud of it! We're happy that our level of quality has become an accepted industry standard; that in almost every instance we've been able to exceed specifications with- out exceeding cost requirements; And we're delighted the quality of our CRT imagery has made Tatung Terminals and Monitors an outstanding value. Now you can buy Tatung Terminals and Monitors with our name right up front. Compatible with all popular systems. With superior resolution, operational flexibility and day-in-day- out reliability. But, even more important to you, is that Tatung Terminals and Monitors are now priced to make them the most exceptional value you can buy. U.C.M. COMPUTER PRODUCTS CANADA LIMITED 7225 Woodbine Ave., Unit 119 Markham, Ontario L3R 1A3 (Canada only) 1-800-387-9678/ 1-416-475-1209 Telex: 06-986222 TATUNG WESTERN MICRO SYSTEMS A Quality Distributor Serving the 13 Western States Western States 1-800-544-0020 In California 1-800-338-1600 SEE US AT NCC — BOOTH 6380-6277 For complete information call toll free: 1-800-421-2929. In California, call (213) 979-7055. TATUNG COMPANY OF AMERICA, INC., 2850 El Presidio, Long Beach, California 90810. be able to do so from the reference point of similarity, rather than polarity. There is a world of difference. Zack T. Hinckley Rockledge, FL Honest Interpreter The development and impact of computer hardware and software is so dazzling that one hardly knows which way to turn. During calm moments I convince myself that if I had to select one and only one software utility (beyond the operating sys- tem). I would opt for an honest, easy-to- interact-with BASIC interpreter, one that would never take a single-precision value for V2, tack eight arbitrary numbers onto it, and fob it off as a double-precision number in a double-precision calculation. Hal Falk New York. NY Magic Squares i read with interest Robert T. Kurosaka's Mathematical Recreations column ("Magic Squares." March, page 383) regarding magic squares and his computer program for generating odd-sided magic squares. Although his technique is powerful with respect to generating such squares for consecutive number entries, it is not able to generate squares for any desired magic number. A number of years ago I was intrigued with the question as to whether a general solution exists for a magic square of order n. With the help of a college text on linear algebra— Elementary Linear Algebra by J. R. Munkres (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1 964)— I was able to find the general solu- tion of a magic square of order 3. The general solution for a magic number equal to -a is Xi x 3 X, Xs x 6 X-, Xs X, Xi -x, la 3 x 2 -Xs la 3 x 3 Xs + *t f x t Xs + lx, + 2 f Xs -a 3 Xt -Xi - lx, - f x 7 -Xs - x* — a {continued on page 401) 32 BYTE • IULY 1985 Inquiry 350 for End-Users. Inquiry 351 for DEALERS ONLY. FIXES AND UPDATES BYTE'SBUGS ROMDISK Pricing Lowered We provided some out-of-date prices in an article in the May What's New section. (See "ROMDISK PC Accessory Card." page 468.) The new prices are lower than those we quoted. Curtis Inc.. manufacturer of the ROM- DISK line of disk emulator boards for Apple and IBM computers, reports that it recently received new quotations for the EPROMS and other semiconductors used in its products. A company spokesperson stated that its price reductions, especial- ly for its PC-2 board, are due to the avail- ability of 27C2 56 EPROMs. Previously, Curtis had to rely on 27128 EPROMs and a piggybacked board to achieve large storage capacities. The suggested retail price for the ROM- DISK A for the Apple lie is now $349. The ROMDISK PC-1, which is equivalent to a l80K-byte single-sided disk, is $495. Both are $100 lower than before. Provid- ing 360K bytes of storage, the PC-2 is $595, which is $400 less than reported in May. Curtis Inc. is located at 22 Red Fox Rd., St. Paul, MN 55110. (612) 484-5064. Statement Amplified A discussion in the ]une Fixes and Up- dates requires some explanation. (See page 33.) In the item "Upgrade to Lowercase Descenders," the first sentence in the sec- ond paragraph could be interpreted as saying that the Gorilla Banana printer is manufactured by DAK Industries, which it is not. The Gorilla Banana Printer was pro- duced by Leading Edge Products Inc., 22 5 Turnpike St., Canton, MA 02021, (617) 828-8150. The printer, however, is no longer manufactured. DAK Industries Inc. sells electronic parts and instrumentation. One of the products sold by DAK Industries is the Gorilla Banana Printer. DAK Industries is located at 8200 Remmet Ave., Canoga Park. CA 91304. We apologize for the confusion. Some Fixes for Sunfix An error crept into the references that ac- companied Frederic N. Rounds's Sunfix navigation article, which appeared in the March BYTE. (See "Navigation: Putting the Microcomputer to Work at Sea," page 141.) The first reference should read as follows: Maloney. Elbert S., ed. Dutton's Navigation and Piloting. Naval Institute Printing, 1978. Mr. Rounds also would like to emphasize that the Sunfix program takes the place of almanacs and reduction tables by com- puting the position of the sun for any time and date. The only data inputs it requires are your sextant's readings and the measurements used to make sextant cor- rections. Details, such as RA and SHA, are transparent to users of the Sunfix program. it's also advisable to keep in mind the fact that microcomputers can aid sailors, but, like ham radios and other electronic navigation equipment, they are suscepti- ble to the sea's environment. For those who are interested, Mr. Rounds will supply a printout of the Sun- fix program for $5. You can write Mr. Rounds at 894 Persimmon Ave., Sunny- vale, CA 94087. Bugs in Frequency Analyzer A trio of bugs in Vince Banes's article "Audio-Frequency Analyzer" have been reported. (See page 223 of the (anuary BYTE.) Two of the bugs are in the accom- panying diagrams, and the third bug is in a program listing. In figure 3 on page 227. the labels of the two ports are switched. On page 230. you'll find a mix-up in the pin numbers in figure 4b. Pin 2 5 of the 82 55 integrated circuit should be con- nected to pin 13 of IC8. In the program that determines the end- points of the VC0 ranges (listing 5. page 236), change line 40 to read: OUT 1921.CC Our thanks to David R. Butler of Cameron, West Virginia, and Mark Pinker- ton of Salem, Wisconsin, for reporting these errors to us. Name Corrected In "Factfinder" by John Markoff (March, page 113). the name of a database service was incorrectly presented. NEX1S is a full- text database of general and business news produced by Mead Data Central Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Mead Corporation. Servo Listing Misserves a Line John deLaubenfels, a BYTE reader in Duluth, Georgia, found a bug in the program listing that accompanied Don Stauffer's article "Simulate a Servo System." (See page 147 of the February BYTE.) In the TRS-80 Level II BASIC program on page 150 (listing 1). line 2040, EM = ER is not correct. It should read EM = EM + ER*DT Our thanks to Mr. deLaubenfels for sending this correction. {continued) IULY 1985 -BYTE 33 Inquiry 251 Micro-Peripherals Gigantic Sale! r - Brother - Epson - Sanyo - Zenith FIXES & UPDATES PRICE GUARANTEE We at MidWesl Micro quarantee that we can save you up to 49% or more on your purchase of new fully warranteed equipment and supplies. And we will still give you friendly, courteous service. Call today and Save With Confidence! Get great hard copy and near letter quality with. SG - 10 £W (Replaces the Gemini 10X) List W The SG-10 gives you enough versatility for home or office use. It operates bi-directionally at 120 cps and includes many special features such as near letter quality printing, easy access format switches for a wide range of character modes, friction feed tor single sheets and tractor feed for fanfold paper, and even hex dump. Anothrjr special feature is the IBM character sets available at the flip of a switch. You get all of this plus a 2k memory buffer and Star's full 1 year warranty at a price you can afford! Complete STAR Line $CALL$ brother printer's give you all the features of a letter quality and more with ... |_| p„ List $589* Save$ 15XL Tbe HR-15XL gives you Daisywheel printing and added attractions such as text reprinting, red printing, attachable cut sheet feeder and the exclusive Brother keyboard attachment. vnur Complete BROTHER Line . . . List Price HR-10 M2CPS) $399 . SCALLS HR-15XL (17 cps, 13.5" carriage, 3k Butter) 599. .SCALLS HR-1S t HR-15XL Keyboard Attachment 200 SCALLS HR-25 (23 cps. 1 6.5" carriage, 3k Butler) 895 . . SCALLS HR-35 (32 cps. 16.5" carriage. 7k Butter 1245 . .SCALLS Brolher 2024 (160 cps, 24 pin head, NLQ Mode) 1495. .SCALLS Don't spend a fortune to own the world's most popular printer EPSON^ LX-80 Unbelievable Savings The new EPSON LX-B0 prints smoothly and quietly at a speed ol 1 00 cps. With the superb near letter quality mode and lull graphic capabilities as standard, your correspondence will be letter perfect. The LX-80 comes complete with a parallel interface to quickly connect it to virtually all computers. There are 1 60 typestyles that are switch selectable and the LX-80 comes with EPSON'S lull f year warranty. Friction feed is standard and an optional tractor feed is available. Let the EPSON LX-80 print your next business letter or report. Your Complete EPSON Line . . . List Price LX-80 (100 cps. NQL Mode. 80 Col.) 349 . . .SCALLS RX-100 (100 CPS. 136 Col.) 895 399 FX-B0-H16O cps. 80 Col. 2k Buffer) 699 389 FX-1 00+(1 60 cps, 1 36 Col. 2k Bulter) 999 589 LQ-1500 (200 cps, NLQ Mode, 136 Col.) 1395. . . SCALLS Complete Systems SANYO Free Software LOW AS $899 Computer Systems Get IBM compatibility, improved keyboard, taster processing speed more memory capacity, free software, more expansion capability and unbelievable savings! Call today 1 Prices subject lo change and type errors FREE CARD USE Call Today! Information - Ordering 1-800-423-8215 In Ohio 1-800-321-7731 CUSTOMER SERVICE (513) 663-4992 CASH PRICES Cert Check, Money Orders. VISA or MC CODs (Add S5) AMEX (Add 4%) P 0 s (Add 5%) MldWtit Mkro-Piriphirali (Division ol Infolel. Inc ) 135 South Springlield Si. Si Paris. Ohio 43072 Knowledge Index Numbers Change In the December 1984 BYTE article "The On-Line Search" by Suzana Lisanti (page 215). the telephone numbers for the Knowledge Index database service were incorrect. The correct numbers are (800) 227-1927 and (415) 858-3785. Knowledge Index is a service of Dialog Information Services Inc.. 3460 Hillview Ave.. Palo Alto. CA 94303. BYTE'S BITS BYTE Index Produced A comprehensive index of all the articles that appeared in BYTE from January 1983 through December 1984 is available. The BYTE '83-84 \ndex is 48 pages long and cross-references articles alphabetically by subject. Author's Guide Available For your copy, write to BYTE '83-84 Index. BYTE Publications. POB 372, Hancock, NH 03449. Please enclose $1 to cover ship- ping and handling, as well as a piece of paper with your name and address clearly legible. The latest edition of the BYTE author's guide has just been produced. Writing for BYTE describes how to sub- mit an article to BYTE, the types of articles we seek, where to go and whom to turn to when writing a BYTE article, and other Public-Domain Software Offering information. For your copy, send a self-addressed stamped business envelope to Writing for BYTE. BYTE Publications, POB 372, Hancock, NH 03449. Please note that we cannot honor telephone requests. lohn Morse has written and introduced in- to the public domain a number of pro- grams. Mr. Morse developed these BASICA programs on the IBM PC XT under PC-DOS. The programs include a graphics editor, a utility that displays every character of any file with its hexadecimal and ASCII code as well as its position in a record, a drawing-pattern generator, three ver- sions of the game Mastermind, and a char- acter analyzer in which particular charac- ters in a file can be omitted, highlighted, or changed. You are free to distribute the programs, with the stipulation that you include Mr. Morse's name in each program. The pro- grams are available from Mr. Morse for $10, which includes the disk and instruc- tions within the program. For more infor- mation, write to lohn W. Morse, 274 State St., Albany, NY 12210, FEEDBACK Serial Version of Printer Buffer Keith Alexander, a BYTE reader "since the dark ages of 1976," recently wrote us to say how intrigued he had been with Ion Bono's printer buffer and with Richard Carlsen's comments on the project. (See "Build a Printer Buffer" in the June 1984 BYTE, page 142, and "Printer Buffer Messaged" on page 33 of the April 1985 BYTE.) Mr. Alexander reports that he, too, built the buffer and that he had to make a number of hardware and software modi- fications to suit his system, a Southwest Technology's 6809-based unit. The main problem, according to Mr. Alexander, was connecting his serial printer to a single RTS (request to send) line. After corresponding with Mr. Bono and learning a lot about UARTS. Mr. Alexander got the circuit to work. His SwTPc 6809 now sends data to the buffer at 38.400 bps and the buffer, in turn, drives his Heath H-14 printer at 4800 bps. Mr. Alexander has graciously offered to correspond with BYTE readers interested in his serial version of Ion Bono's printer buffer. You can write to Mr. Alexander at 20426 Lichfield, Detroit, Ml 48221. ■ 34 BYTE ■ IULY 1985 Draw Your Way to the Top PC-Draw Will Increase Your Office Productivity. And Upward Mobility. Imagine. You now have the capability to graphically depict your best ideas, plans, designs and proposals. In color or black & white. Accurately. Completely. Dramati- cally. Concepts presented so forcefully — yet so simply — that you leave that critical meeting with upper management . . . totally confident of success. And you win. Your secret weapon? PC-Draw. A powerful in- teractive graphics program for the IBM PC or XT®— unlike anything else on the market. Using PC-Draw you create virtually anything that can be drawn with pencil and paper. Quick- ly. Easily. With far greater detail. PC-Draw is ideal for presentation graphics, proposals, 10 DAY TRIAL PERIOD systems design, forms, diagrams . . . and an endless variety of charts, graphs and illustrations. PC-Draw allows you to produce drawings up to 99 pages long. Several templates come with PC-Draw including Flowcharting, Electrical Design, Office Layout, and Alternate Text. In addition you create and store your own unlimited supply of user defined symbols. PC-Draw includes an easy-to-follow interactive tuto- rial. Requires IBM PC or XT® or compatible, graphics adapter and graphics monitor. Version for PCjr available. Graphic boards, plotters at competitive prices. Shhh! Don't tell your office competition about PC-Draw. They'll catch on soon enough. For free brochure or to order call 800/2PC-DRAW. In Texas or for customer service call 214/234-1769. Micrografx, Inc., 1701 N. Greenville Ave., Suite 305, Richardson, Texas 75081. (Most popular plotters and printers supported. ) MICROGRAFX The Picture of Success. Inquiry 240 Discover what 50,000 9UBIE' delivers the finest peripheral available in terms of features, reli- / and price /performance. That's why corporations like IBM, GM and Exxon buy peripheral equipment from Qubie', and have for years. Check some of your old back issues of PC — we've been satisfying PC owners since 1982. Select products at low prices, with service and support un- paralleled in the microcomputer industry. Our 30 day No Risk Guarantee and 48 Hour Repair Service during the 12 month warranty period is proof our products are first rate. We stand behind everything we sell. No "call the manufacturer" re- sponses when you have a question. We also offer our exclusive Preferred Customer Plan* 1 with 24 hour repairs and 24 months of coverage. Our low, money-saving prices are the total prices. No small print telling you to add up for credit card charges or shipping and handling. Our prices include surface UPS charges and insurance. In a hurry? 2-day air UPS service is available.* 2 * "h:i in At Qubie', customer satisfaction is one of the cornerstones of our philosophy. Ask your friends, business associates and colleagues about Qubie'. Chances are they are one of our fifty thousand satis- fied customers. 045 Vo _ INTERNAL MODEM PC212A/1200 $249 Auto-dial, Auto-Answer • 300/ 1200 Baud Operation • Runs Hayes Compatible Software Like Crosstalk, Smartcom II, and Sidekick • Two Phone Jacks Allow You To Hook Up Desk Phone • Includes PC- TALK III Software (Complete Communications Package), Modular Phone Cord, User's Manual / Installation Instruc- tions • Optional Serial Port ($30) Allows You To Use Port For Other Peripherals When Modem Is Not Being Used. STANDBY POWER SUPPLY SB200 $329 XT300 $429 AT800 $779 r ' Quae Noise Filtering/ Surge Suppres- sion • Powers Your Computer For Up To 30 Minutes In The Event Of A Blackout Or Brown- out • SB200 (200 Watt) For Floppy-Based Systems, XT300 (300 Watt) For Hard Disk Based Systems, AT800 (800 Watt) For Multi-User Systems HIGH RESOLUTION MONOCHROME MONITORS HE 39 $149 HR 134 $159 Plugs Into The IBM Mono- chrome or Compatible Adapter Card • 720 x 350 Resolution • 12" Diagonal Screen • Super Crisp Text Capability • High Resolution TTL • Includes Tilt /Swivel Base and Inter - face Cable • HR 134 (Amber) I HR 39 (Green) 1 MULTIFUNCTION CARD I BT6Plus(0K S195 ;'j BT6Plus (384K) $299 J Memory Sockets For Adding Up To 384K • Parallel Printer Port • Asynchronous Serial Communications Port • Battery- powered Clock / Calendar • BTPak Software - BTDrive (Electronic Disk Emulation) and BTSpool (Print Spooling Software) 36 BYTE • IULY 1985 PC owners now know Optional Game Port — Chips, Dual Mounting Bracket and Cable ($20) • 64K Memory - Installed and Tested ($25) • Includes Cable, Single Slot Mounting Bracket, Instal- lation Instructions / User's Manual INTERNAL HARD DISK SUBSYSTEMS PC 10 $649 PC20 $699 Boot From The Hard Disk — No Software Patches or Drivers To Install • Runs All The Popular Software • Low Power Consumption • High Reliability And Durabil- ity — Specially Plated Drives • Faster Access Time Than XT • Includes ldir "Visual Shell" Software, Cables, Mounting Hardware, Installation Instruc- tions/User's Manual, Full- Height Bezel — Optional Half-Height Bezel ($15) • Aux- iliary Power Supply And External Models Are Also Available. 1- 1 • \ \- h »: 1' I- I- h I I m 1- V - . WW 1 1 ri- l l l l l l k KEYBOARD ff5151 $159 Solid State Capacitive Key Switches • 3-Position Height Adjustment • Keys In Standard Typewriter Positions • Sepa- rate Cursor Control and Numeric Keypads • Easy-To- Read Key Legends • LED Indicators On All Lock Keys • Extra-Wide Left-Hand Control Key Adjacent To "A" • Control/ Reset Replaces Awkward Contol /Alt /Delete • Plugs Into IBM PC, PC/XT and Compaq Deskpro EXTERNAL MODEM 212A/1200E $299 Auto-dial, Auto-Answer • 300/ 1200 Baud Operation • Runs Hayes Compatible Software Like Crosstalk, Smartcom II, And Sidekick • Two Phone Jacks Allow You To Hook Up Desk Phone • RS-232C Com- * patible • Includes 8' Shield- ed Cable (Specify Male Or Female) • Eight Status Indica- tor Lamps • External Volume Control Knob HIGH RESOLUTION COLOR MONITOR HR31 200 $439 14" Diagonal Screen • Black Matrix Picture Tube • Dot Pitch .31mm • Plugs Into IBM Color/ Graphics Or Compatible Adapter Card • 640 x 200 Resolution • Includes Inter- face Cable And Tilt / Swivel Base *1 *2 PREFERRED PS CUSTOMER RLUE PLAN LABEL PC10andPC20 ... . $150.00 $12.00 ... 50.00 5.00 ff5151 . . . 35.00 7.50 BT6Plus . .. 50.00 5.00 HR 39 and HR 134 . ... 50.00 NA HR31 200 . .. 95.00 NA No Risk Guarantee If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, you may return it within 30 days for a full refund, in- cluding the cost to send it back. The Acid Test If you can get any dealer or competi- tor to give you the same No Risk Guarantee, buy both products and return the one you don't like. For fastest delivery, send cashier's check, money order, or order by Mastercard /Visa. Personal checks, allow 18 days to clear. Company purchase orders accepted, call for prior authorization. California resi- dents, add 6% sales tax. Hours: M-F 8 am-5 pm PTZ Sat 9 am- lpm PTZ London (01) 223-4569 Paris (01) 321-5316 Sydney (02) 579-3322 V/SA LJ3 Outside California 1-800-821-4479 Inside California 1-805-987-9741 4809 Calle Alto Camarillo, California 93010 QUBIE Order Today, Shipped Tomorrow!™ Inquiry 297 IULY 1985 -BYTE 37 FDR PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT THEY'P NEVER MEET THE PERP0GT IO We've got one to knock your socks off. The StarWriter™ F10 from C.ltoh. What sets this daisy wheel apart is its fabulous figure of 58 letter perfect characters per second, at a price of up to $1,000 less than other leading printers in its class. It's compatible with most of the popular PCs and offers a full line of accessories, including a cut sheet feeder and tractor feed. And like the rest of C.ltoh 's printers, the F10 acts without acting up. It has been thoroughly tested and proven on the job to assure reliability. Plus, you get a full year's warranty, backed by over 350 authorized ser- vice centers coast to coast. The F10 is one hot printer for the money. But that's not surprising when you consider that C. Itoh's been pro- ducing superior printers for over a decade, thanks to the strong backing of our 126-year-old parent company with over $60 billion in sales annually. Little wonder C.ltoh printers are the best selling printers in the world. To meet your Perfect 10, just see your local C.ltoh dealer. Or for more infor- mation, call toll free 1-800-423-0300. Or write C.ltoh Digital Products, Inc., 19750 South Vermont Avenue, Suite 220, Torrance, CA 90502. '" SlarWnter is a Trademark of C lloh Digital Products, Inc © 1985 C.ltoh Digital Products. Inc. C.ITOH Printers 38 BYTE • |ULY 1985 Inquiry 65 for End-Users. Inquiry 66 for DEALERS ONLY. WHAT'S NEW The Xerox 6085. The Xerox 4045 laser CP. Xerox Products Xerox recently an- nounced the 6085 microcomputer, a line of personal microcomputers, and a laser printer. The Xerox 6085 is offered in models for network, remote, and stand-alone operation. The networked and remote models can share resources linked by Ethernet. The 6085 is founded upon Xerox's Mesa processor, an 8-MHz device. The Mesa processor has 256 auxiliary registers and executes 48- bit-wide instructions. The 6085 also uses an 80186 chip as an auxiliary processor. The basic 6085 comes with 1.1 megabytes of memory, a 10-megabyte hard-disk drive, two serial ports, and a 1 5-inch high- resolution (880- by 697- pixel) monochrome display. You can expand it to include 3.7 megabytes of memory and up to 80 megabytes of hard-disk storage. Xerox offers hard-disk drives with 20, 40, or 80 megabytes of storage, and a 360K-byte floppy-disk drive is also available. An optional board gives the 6085 the ability to run software prepared for IBM PC-DOS. System software includes the Viewpoint windowing package, which uses icons and is controlled with an optical mouse. Viewpoint is SI 2 5. A variety of applica- tions software, including a software-development package, is planned. The 6085 begins at $4995. The Xerox 6060 family of PCs comprises four com- puters: a pair of IBM PC work-alikes. the Xerox 6064 and 6065, and two dedi- cated word-processing systems, the Xerox 6067 and 6068. The 6067 and 6068 keyboards have been modi- fied for word processing. Both systems come bundled with Xerox's word-pro- cessing software and can run MS-DOS applications software. Each Xerox 6060 comes with ScreenMate, a menu- based shell program for in- teracting with MS-DOS. The general-purpose 6064, with two 360K-byte floppy- disk drives and 2 56K bytes of memory, retails for $2885. The hard-disk-based 6065 lists for $4485. At $2985. the 6067 in- cludes dual floppy-disk drives and 384K bytes of RAM. The 6068, which is equipped with a 10-mega- byte hard disk and 512K bytes of memory, costs $5150. Both the 6067 and the 6068 use a 640- by 400-pixel monochrome display. Xerox rates its 4045 Laser CP "lasographic" printer at 10 pages per minute and 5000 pages a month. It comes with 128K bytes of memory two fonts, and your choice of Centronics or Dataproducts parallel ports or an RS-232C asynchronous connection. Additional cartridge-based fonts are offered. If you choose to expand the 4045 Laser CP to its full 51 2K bytes of memory, you can reproduce a 5- by 7-inch image in a 300- by 300-dot-per-inch format. You can reproduce a full- page graphic at 150 by 150 dots per inch. The 4045 Laser CP has a 2 50-sheet paper cassette, and cas- settes for European paper are available. It's compatible with the Diablo 630 daisy- wheel printer. A copier option lets the 4045 Laser CP function as a standard photocopier. Other {continued) IULY 1985 'BYTE 39 WHAT'S NEW options include an envelope cassette, an interface that permits four PCs to share its resources, and a network in- terface for linking the 4045 Laser CP to IBM 3274/3276 networks and Systems 34/36/38 environments. The suggested list price for the 404 5 Laser CP is $4995. Contact Xerox Corp., Xerox Square 006, Rochester, NY 14644, (716) 423-5078. Inquiry 600. IBM PC XT-, PC AT-Compatible Computers NCR's PC8 and PC6 are compatible with IBM PC AT and IBM PC XT com- puters, respectively. The PC8 can serve as a stand-alone computer, as a 16-member multiuser sys- tem, or as a network server for up to 63 nodes. In its single-user configuration, the PC8 runs under NCR-DOS 3.1. The multiuser operating system is XENIX. Featuring Intel's 6-MHz 80286 microprocessor, the PC8 is reportedly able to run virtually any software designed for the IBM PC AT without modification. It can also use AT-compatible hardware. Standard are 256K bytes of RAM, a 1.2-megabyte floppy-disk drive, six expan- sion slots for devices with 8-/1 6-bit data paths, two ex- pansion slots for devices with 8-bit data paths, and a battery-backed system clock. The keyboard has LED in- dicators and 30 program- mable function keys. Optional are a mono- chrome monitor with a non- glare 80-character by 2 5-line display and 640- by 400-pixel resolution and a The NCR PC8. 14-inch color monitor with 16-color capabilities. GW- BASIC is available, and inter- nal memory is expandable up to 4 megabytes. The basic PC8 begins at $3795. A configuration with 512K bytes of RAM, a floppy-disk drive, and a 20-megabyte hard-disk unit is $5505. The PC6 is supplied with Intel's dual-speed (i.e.. 4.77/ 8-MHz) 8088-2 micropro- cessor, 2 56K bytes of RAM, twin 360K-byte floppy-disk drives. RS-232C and parallel interfaces, and eight expan- sion slots. It comes with NCR-DOS, which provides compatibility with the IBM PC XT. An on-line help pro- gram, GW-BASIC, and a pair of tutorial software packages are also standard. A number of mass-storage configurations are offered, including 20 megabytes of hard-disk storage and 10 megabytes of streaming-tape backup. Options include mono- chrome and color monitors. PC6 pricing begins at $2 583. Contact NCR Corp., Dayton, OH 45479, (513) 445-2075. Inquiry 601. Visual Environment for C Programmers Living C— Personal is a visual programming en- vironment for C-language programmers. It facilitates the design, development, maintenance, and debugging of C programs by showing you exactly what happens at each step of a program's execution. You can use Living C— Personal to animate your source code during execu- tion. You can do this state- ment by statement within user-specified breakpoints or through the entire program. When a bug is found during compilation. Living C— Personal does not force you to abandon the environment because its full-screen editor is still available. With Living C— Personal, your program's output is separated from the debug- ging information by on- screen windows. You can use the window facility to continuously display a vari- able's value or to examine and alter the variable. Living C— Personal pro- vides help facilities and ex- plicit error diagnostics, and it conforms to the Kernighan & Ritchie C standard. It runs under PC-DOS and is priced at $99. Contact Living Soft- ware, London House, 243- 2 53 Lower Mortlake Rd.. Richmond. Surry. England; tel: 44 1 948 5166; Telex: 946 240 cweasy. Inquiry 602. IBM Jetprinter and Proprinter IBM has announced a color ink-jet printer and a replacement for its dot- matrix Graphics Printer. The ink-jet Color letprinter can produce hard copy in seven colors. Its dot resolu- tion is 100 by 96 pixels per inch. The Color letprinter sells for $745. The dot-matrix printer, called the Proprinter. is compatible with the Graph- ics Printer but is faster, with an advertised speed of 200 cps in draft mode and 40 cps in near-letter-quality mode. It has a maximum horizontal resolution of 240 pixels per inch. The Graphics Printer, which Epson manufactured, is be- ing discontinued. The Pro- printer is made by IBM and sells for $549. Contact IBM Corp., Infor- mation Systems Group, 900 King St., Rye Brook, NY 10573. Inquiry 603. [continued) 40 BYTE • IULY 1985 They said it couldn't be done. Borland Did It.Turbo Pascal 3.0 The industry standard With more than 250,000 users worldwide Turbo Pascal is the industry's de facto standard. Turbo Pascal is praised by more engineers, hobbyists, students and professional programmers than any other development environment in the history of microcomputing. And yet, Turbo Pascal is simple and fun to use! TURBO 3.0 TURBO 2.0 MS PASCAL COMPILATION SPEED EXECUTION SPEED CODE SIZE BUILT-IN INTERACTIVE EDITOR ONE STEP COMPILE (NO LINKING NECESSARY) COMPILER SIZE TURTLE GRAPHICS BCD OPTION PRICE Portability. Turbo Pascal is available today for most com- puters running PC DOS, MS DOS, CP/M 80 or CP/M 86. A XENIX version of Turbo Pascal will soon be announced, and before the end of the year, Turbo Pascal will be running on most 68000 based microcomputers. An Offer You Can't Refuse. Until June 1st, 1985, you can get Turbo Pascal 3.0 for only $69.95. Turbo Pascal 3.0, equipped with either the BCD or 8087 options, is available for an additional $39.95 or Turbo Pascal 3.0 with both options for only $124.95. As a matter of fact, if you own a 16- Bit computer and are serious about programming, you might as well get both options right away and save almost $25. Update policy. As always, our first commitment is to our customers. You built Borland and we will always honor your support. So, to make your upgrade to the exciting new version of Turbo Pascal 3.0 easy, we will accept your original Turbo Pascal disk (in a bend-proof container) for a trade-in credit of $39.95 and your Turbo87 original disk for $59.95. This trade-in credit may only be applied toward the purchase of Turbo Pascal 3.0 and its additional BCD and 8087 options (trade-in offer is only valid directly through Borland and until June 1st. 1985). O Benchmark run on an IBM PC using MS Pascal version 3.2 and the DOS linker version 2.6. The 179 line program used is Ihe "Gauss Seidel" program out ol Alan R. Miller's book: Pascal programs lor scientists and engineers {Sybex, page 128} with a 3 dimensional non-singular matrix and a relaxation coefficient ol 1.0. The best just got better: Introducing Turbo Pascal 3.0 We just added a whole range of exciting new features to Turbo Pascal: • First, the world's fastest Pascal compiler just got faster. Turbo Pascal 3.0 (16 bit version) compiles twice as fast as Turbo Pascal 2.0! No kidding. • Then, we totally rewrote the file I/O system, and we also now support I/O redirection. • For the IBM PC versions, we've even added "turtle graphics" and full tree directory support. • For all 16 Bit versions, we now offer two addi- tional options: 8087 math coprocessor support for intensive calculations and Binary Coded Decimals (BCD) for business applications. • And much much more. The Critics' Choice. Jeff Duntemann, PC Magazine: "Language deal of the century . . . Turbo Pascal: It introduces a new programming environment and runs like magic." Dave Garland, Popular Computing: "Most Pascal compilers barely fit on a disk, but Turbo Pascal pacis an editor, compiler, linker, and run- time library into just 39K bytes of random- access memory" Jerry Pournelle, BYTE: "What I think the computer industry is headed for: well documented, standard, plenty of good features, and a reasonable price." BORlfiOD INTERNATIONAL Software's Newest Direction 4585 Scotts Valley Drive Scotts Valley, CA 95066 TELEX 172373 Moo Pascal Is a registered trademark of Borland International, Inc. PC Week is a trademark of Ziff-Davis Pub, Co. Inquiry 55 for End-Users. Inquiry 56 for DEALERS ONLY. WHAT'S NEW Pfaster2&6. an 80286 add-in board for the IBM. 80286 Add-in Board for IBM PC and PC XT Phoenix Computer Prod- ucts' Pfaster286 is an 8-MHz 80286-based add-in board that gives the IBM PC and PC XT the ability to process data at a faster rate than the IBM PC AT. It does not impair the functionality of the PCs or PC XT's resi- dent 8088 microprocessor; rather Pfaster286 reassigns the 8088's intelligence to I/O management. Pfaster286 can run MS- DOS 2.0. 2.1. and 3.1 pro- grams, and applications designed for the IBM PC and PC AT will operate with it. Pfaster286 has software switches that let you jump back and forth into the native 8088 mode for those applications requiring that chip's performance charac- teristics. The basic Pfaster286 is supplied with I megabyte of RAM. expandable to 2 megabytes, and an empty socket for an 80287 floating- point processor. Your oper- ating system and applica- tions software can use ap- proximately 704 K bytes of this board's RAM. Some of its miscellaneous features are disk caching, diag- nostics, four DMA channels. eight levels of priority inter- rupts, and 16K bytes of EPROM expandable to 2 56K bytes. Pfaster286 is $2395, which includes an 8088 service program to call up the board and to load Pfaster- 286's AT ROM BIOS- emulation software. The 80287 mathematics co- processor is $350, and 512K-byte RAM increments are $400. Contact Phoenix Computer Products Corp.. Suite 115. 1420 Providence Highway, Norwood, MA 02062. (800) 344-7200; in Massachusetts, (617) 762-5030. Inquiry 604. High-Speed Modem An asynchronous 9600- bps modem, the UPTA 96, comes in an internal, piggyback version for the IBM Personal Computer and in a stand-alone configura- tion with an RS-232C con- nector for a variety of com- puters. The suggested retail price for the add-in card is $795. and the stand-alone UPTA 96 is $895. This intelligent half-duplex modem operates over stan- dard dial-up telephone lines or through computer-to- computer links. It's data-rate selectable for 4800- 7200- and 9600-bps transmission speeds, with automatic fall- back to 7 ZOO or 4800 bps when noisy lines are en- countered during 9600-bps communications. Standard are automatic adaptive equalization to ensure data integrity, auto-dial, auto- answer, full-duplex emula- tion, and compatibility with the Hayes command set. The UPTA 96 comes with proprietary error-detec- tion/correction circuitry firm- ware known as EDI (Ensured Data Integrity). EDI orga- nizes data into numerically sequenced packets, with each byte subject to a cyclic-redundancy check and packet-check generation dur- ing transmission. The pro- tocol also offers selective automatic request for trans- mission (ARQ). The UPTA 96 supports asynchronous 3270 and VT-100 emulation software. It's FCC-certified for direct connection to the public- switched telephone network by means of a USOC RJ11 jack. Contact Electronic Vaults Inc.. Suite 714, 83 50 Greensboro Dr., McLean. VA 22102. (703) 883-0331. Inquiry 605. The Zenith Z-200 is compatible with IBM's PC AT. Zenith s Z-200 Advanced PC Zenith Data Systems' Z-200 Advanced PC, an IBM PC AT-compatible com- puter, uses Intel's 6-MHz 80286 microprocessor and no-wait-state technology for increased processing speed. The standard model comes with 5 1 2 K bytes of dynamic RAM, a single 1.2-megabyte floppy-disk drive, six expan- sion slots that can accom- modate AT hardware, and MS-DOS 3.1. It costs $3999. RS-232C. Centronics paral- lel, and video interface ports are provided on this com- puter. A choice of video cards is offered. The Z-200 Advanced PC also comes with a combination Win- chester/floppy-disk controller board that can handle two floppy- and three hard-disk drives. The Z-200 Advanced PC's keyboard features enlarged backspace, delete/insert, caps lock, scroll lock, and system request keys. Impres- sion marks on the home-row keys have been included. The Z-200 Advanced PCs dynamic RAM can be ex- panded to 16 megabytes in 1.5-megabyte increments. XENIX is available for multiuser, multitasking en- vironments. The Z-200 Ad- vanced PC can be obtained with a 20-megabyte hard disk for $5599. Contact Zenith Data Sys- tems Corp.. 1000 Milwaukee Ave., Glenview, IL 6002 5. (800) 842-9000, ext. 1; in Illinois. (312) 391-8949. Inquiry 606. {continued) 42 BYTE • JULY 1985 INFOWORLD'S SOFTWARE PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Borland's SideKick Will Clear Your Desk In 30 Minutes And Increase Your Productivity By 50% SideKick is a combination of seven desktop accessories, which makes SideKick the single most effective business tool. Just a keystroke suspends your application program, giving you a window into you back to where you were . A FULL-SCREEN WORDSTARS- LIKE EDITOR You may jot down notes and edit flies up to 25 pages long AN ASCII TARLE for easy reference" AN AUTODIALER for all your phone calls It will look up and dial telephone numbers for you (A modem is required to use this function.) A PHONE DIRECTORY for your names, addresses and telephone numbers. Finding a name or a number becomes a snap. SideKick. Another keystroke brings Instantly. It's that easy. A MONTHLY CALENDAR functional from year 1901 through year 2099. A DATER00K to remind you of important meetings and appointments. ************* > +j^t JLt'-JL-M UJU A FULL-FEATURED CALCULATOR ideal for business use. It also performs decimal to hexadecimal to binary conversions. COPY-PROTECTED $54.95 NOT COPY-PROTECTED $84.95 BORIAHD ») INTERNATIONAL 4585 Scons Valley Drive Scotts Valley, CA 95066 (408) 438-8400 Telex: 172373 THE CRITICS' CHOICE "In a simple, beautiful implementation of WordStar's™ block copy commands, SIDEKICK can transport all or any part of the display screen ( even an area overlaid by the notepad display ) to the notepad. " Charles Pttioit, PC MABAZINE "SIDEKICK deserves a place in eveiyPC. " Bitty Hay, PC WEEK 'SIDEKICK is by far the best we've seen. It is also the least expensive. " Roil Mansfield. ENTREPRENEUR "If you use a PC, get SIDEKICK You'll soon become dependent on it. " Jury Poumlle, BYTE Copyright 1985 Borland International BI-1008 SideKick is a trademark of Borland International, Inc. IBM and PC-IX.">S are registered trademarks of international Business Machines Corp. Infoworld is a trademark of Popular Computing, Inc. a subsidiary of CW Communications, Inc. WordStar is a registered trademark of Micropro International Corp. Inquiry 57 for End-Users. Inquiry 58 for DEALERS ONLY. 1 I 1 1 resJ*an!lwBMl. Please send me SideR ,C/wes=V LEADING EDGE RGB Color. . 399 \ TTL Green .139 TTL Amber 149 1 PRINCETON GRAPHICS: HX12 4S9 Max 12 E...TMII SR 12 w/Scao Doubler .. TAXAN 410 IBM RGB 349 P TAXAH 420 Hi Res RGB I/IBM419 l_ XTRON I0O0 Lines Hi Res Amber ~ l/IBM TU 149 ' ZENITH: ZVM124 IBM Compatible 139 1 FOR IBM AST 6 Pak Plos w/64k 244 HERCULES color card 159 HERCULES graphic card lor TTL mono monitor 289 KOLA game conlroller 44 PARADISE MODULAR GRAPHICS CARD 269 TECHMAR CAPTAIN 169 HARD DISKS Tall Gran Call Amps Call Bernoulli 8oi 20Mb 2499 Mini Scribe Intamal 10Mb. .349 >/ 1 /modems ^«a«j HAYES: 300 159 1200... 389 1200B w/Smartcom II 359 SMARTCOM II 99 2400 Call Micro Modem He 249 NOVATION SMARTCAT Internal 3AA F«ln US ROBOTICS: Password 120O..32" 1 — 1 Nutshell 19 dBase ill ....359 PFSF1I2 84 REIase 4000 Wordstar Professional 249 Wordstar 2000 241 X Y Write Plus II 229 Word Perfect 4(J 239 voltewriler Deluxe w/ATI 189 Samoa Plus 349 Samoa III 299 Multimate 244 leading Edge Word wlspell....189 Smart System Call Framework.. .349 Enable Call Sidekick 29 Norton 30. ...53 Managing Your Money 184 Dollar & Sense 189 Think Tank 188 Pro Key ver 20 39 Flfghl Simulator 39 Sargon III.. ..34 PFS Write 89 Multiplan. ..124 Run V 119 Microsoll "C 279 DISKETTES SS/DD Verbatim Data Life (10)21 FUJI (10) 18 MAXELL (10) 19 BASF (101 17 IBM (10) 22 FAMOUS MAKE ....13 SPECIAL I TDK Quantities ol lOOlea 1.35 DSIDO 29 24 29 23 29 19 ol lOOl ea 1 .35 ea 1.55 H WRITERS fSSPI 5: m jgj /CANON & i^XS f COPIERS "fr3* lS I PC 10 469 PC 20 665 M | PC 25 884 Slang 99| ' TYPEWRITERS CANON Typeslar 5 148 CANON Typeslar 6 196 BROTHER CE 58 458 OLYMPIA Compact II 384 SMITH CORONA 350M - 31B ■ir.n Wi-^Kiurtn RcMt I l ml Wr54k (1) 360 Disc DiKTaj,^ & Keyboard laJSS IBM PC WI256k (2) 360 Disc Drives. Graphka Monitor Card. Mon . Keybd & Software Kit. ..Call IBM PC AT Call ZENITH z 150 Wl(2) 360k Drives. Microsoll Word. HullMan, Keyboard jr l 599 as above except wflOmb Hard Disk nine and (1) 360* Floppy i JaO SANYO 550-2 Now Runs blus 123" IBM PC Compatible, 36* Disc Drive. 128k RAM. Word Slar, C AA Calc Slat 1 Easy Writer RGB VIDEO CARD 149 OLYMPIA RO Daisy Wheel ., Leher Qualify, 1 14 Cps w/Parallel & Serial Ports w/Built In Tractor Feed n-tn 3 Pilch ONLY' J IS COMPAQ Portable W«2) 360k Disc Drrves, DOS & Basic Keyboard 2099 COMPAQ Plus WIHard Disc la Stock ASK BYTE tion Without Wires" in the June 1984 Ask BYTE. The system you suggest there may be inexpensive, but it does not satisfy my requirement of a long-distance, reliable, and inexpensive link for my IBM PC. I believe my best bet would be a high-speed modem to be used with normal long- distance calls. However, a 1200-bps modem would yield only about 120 words per minute, which makes this system very expensive when one has to pay $1.50 for those 120 words. Do you have knowledge of a truly fast, reliable modem not so expensively priced? Or perhaps an idea of another system for a reliable long-distance link for micros? Thank you very much for whatever ideas you can give me. Al Villacres Quito, Ecuador There essentially aren't any long- distance data-communication links meet- ing all your requirements. Cost is the problem. Amateur radio is an inexpen- sive method, but bandwidth restrictions limit speed, and, of course, you can send only to other hams. There is hope in the form of a new ser- vice expected to be introduced in 1985 by AT&T. This service, based on pulse- coded modulation, will allow full-duplex communication at up to 56,000 bps over regular phone lines. See AT&T Breaks the Speed Barrier" in the September 1984 Computers and Electronics magazine. No word on cost, but it may be some time before inexpensive equip- ment is available— Steve File Transfers Dear Steve, My problem is trying to swap data files (mostly, but not entirely, WordStar) from 8-inch double-density disks on an Altos 8002 to either the hard disk or 5V* -inch disks on a Tl Professional Computer. I do not have a modem on either com- puter. I plan to add one to the TI even- tually but don't see much need for one Table 1: Null-modem connections. PIN PIN 3 2 4 5 ■5 4 6 20 ?n 6 at present, running. still have the Altos up and John W. Juechter East Greenwich, Rl If you have RS-232C serial ports in both computers and they are located in close proximity to each other (20 feet or soj, you don't need modems to set up a com- munication link. Make or buy a cable con- figured as a null modem, as shown in table I. You may also need a program to facilitate data transmission in one or both computers. If you are running MS-DOS on your Tl, you can use the COPY command to copy directly from the communication port to a disk file. Simply set up the communica- tion protocol using the DOS MODE com- mand, e.g, MODE COM1:96,n,8,1 to set for data transfer at 9600 bps, no parity check, 8-bit words, and I stop bit. See your DOS manual for other options. Follow this with the command COPY COM1: d:filename.ext (you may have to say AUX instead of COM1:/ The com- puter will wait for data to come in. 1 assume you are using CP/M on your Altos. Some implementations of CP/M in- clude a similar function in the PIP com- mand. If yours doesn 't, you will need a program to read your files and transmit the data. An inexpensive one for 8-bit CP/M systems is MODEM 7, which can be obtained from CP/M Users Croup. 1651 Third Ave., New York. NY 10028-Steve MX-80 Superscripts Dear Steve, I teach a course in word processing using the Apple 11+ and Apple Writer. We have an Epson MX-80 printer. Can you please explain to me how to get superscript numbers for footnotes using this equipment? 1 have called both the Apple people and the Epson people, and both told me to contact the other. Help! Bettye |o Martin Atlanta, CA Certain special characters must first be sent to an Epson MX-80 to enable it to print superscripts. These consist of the ESC(ape) and Control-N characters. They are simply commands that tell the printer to change to the superscript print mode. When using Apple Writer, these charac- ters should be placed immediately before the text you wish to be super- scripted. Of course, you will eventually wish to turn off the superscript mode. [continued] 50 BYTE • JULY 1985 ECLARE YOUR DATA INDEPENDENCE. THE NEW STANDARD OF MODERN OFFICE DATA STORAGE from the limi- tations of shared and finite hard disk storage. Your dynamic and expanding business data needs demand a more versatile way to deal with critical information. The Bernoulli Box, " with its totally inter- changeable 5- and 10-megabyte car- tridges, lets you manage data the way you manage your business-directly, efficiently, by job function and applica- tion. You create, update, store, and back up software and data bases on individual cartridges. You expand your capacity infinitely, by adding more cartridges, not more disk drives. You enjoy the conven- ience of taking or mailing cartridges anywhere-and the security of putting them under lock and key. The Bernoulli Box works with the IBM PC, XT, AT, most compatibles, and the Macintosh.™ For your nearest dealer, call 1-800-556-1234 ext 215. In California, call 1-800-441-2345 ext. 215. IOMEGA Corporation 1821 West 4000 South Roy, Utah 84067 See us at NCC Booth #1732. Inquiry 377 Forecasting and Statistical Analysis for Professionals StatPac the proven statistical analysis package StatPac is convenient. Comprehensive. Inexpensive. Tested in the field for more than five years, StatPac has been updated, debugged and enhanced. So it's well established and easy to use. StatPac is the answer for researchers, statisticians, scientists, and educators. Handles 5,000 cases and 253 variables on a standard IBM PC. Forecast Plus a forecasting tool for the non-statistician A combination of data management, exploratory graphics, and over a dozen forecasting techniques, make Forecast Plus the most powerful time-series package available. It works fast, accurately and automatically. If you can read a picture, you can use Forecast Plus! Call Now for Free Comprehensive Brochures WALONICK ASSOCIATES 6500 Nicollet Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55423 (612)866-9022 1-800-328-4907 INSTANT FINANCIAL PICTURE! Corporate Financial Simulation Model on your IBM PC, XT or AT with Lotus 1-2-3, Multiplan, SuperCalc, VisiCalc or PeachCalc. Also available on most CP/M & all Apple systems. A $6,000 value for $295. Bottom Y A Financial Decision Support System - budgeting, planning, analysis, and five-year forecasting. FREE! SuperCalc Electronic Spreadsheet with Bottomline V purchase. (Offer expires 8/31/85). Fill out this card and mail for complete details, or call 1-800-828-7257, CA only 1-800-523-7201, or 714-476-2842 for UPS COD delivery. |^r^« Send more information □ My check for $10 is enclosed. Please send me a (circle one) black and white/color Demo for my IBM PC. □ Please send me Bottomline V for on the for shipping and handling is enclosed. Name Company Street City Spreadsheet .computer. My check for $295 plus $5 .Title _ . Phone State Zip system ic. • 1300 Dove St., Suite 105 • Newport Beach, CA92660 52 BYTE* JULY I985 Inquiry I8I for End-Users. Inquiry I82 for DEALERS ONLY. 32660^j ASK BYTE This is done by placing the characters ESC and Control-O at the end of the text to be superscripted. To enter the special characters men- tioned above, you must use the Apple Writer Control-V command. This will cause ESC or any control characters that you now type to be inserted directly into the text at the location of the cursor, in- stead of being interpreted as a possible command. Control-V must be used since ESC, Control-N. and Control-D are all commands to the Apple Writer program itself. Press Control-V again to exit this special insertion mode. The characters that must be sent to the printer to control its various printing styles can be found in the manual that came with the printer. The same tech- nique described in the above paragraph may be utilized to print in elite, empha- sized, boldface, or other styles. Simply insert the correct characters into the text using the Control-V command.— Steve OSMOSIS ON THE OSBORNE 1 Dear Steve, I have installed an Osmosis double- density modification in my Osborne I. Even after making the circuit-board changes they recommend, 1 still do not get reliable double-density operation. Can you supply a reference that goes into detail about the difference between single and double density? Robert E. Falkoski Richland, WA A principal difficulty encountered with storing data on floppy disks is the phenomenon of bit shifting, which refers to the physical movement of the location of a recorded bit due to the influence of neighboring bits. If left uncorrected, this shifting could cause unreliable retrieval of recorded information. While these bit- shifting influences exist on single-density disks, the effects are small enough to ignore. On double-density disks, the effects are magnified, and the techniques to record and decipher information must become more sophisticated. One technique uses write precompensation logic to adjust the spacing of the bits as they are writ- ten to disk, so that they will be evenly spaced during subsequent read opera- tions. Such logic is usually handled by the disk-controller circuitry. An excellent, and very readable, discus- sion of these techniques, as well as a source of some practical circuit examples, [continued) 4ztec The Most Powerful C for the IBM AT • MACINTOSH • MS DOS • CP/M-80 • ROM APPLICATIONS IBM PC/XT • APPLE // • CP/M-86 • TRSDOS • CROSS DEVELOPMENT Why Professionals Choose Aztec C AZTEC C compilers generate fast, compact code. AZTEC C is a sophisticated development system with assemblers, debuggers, linkers, editors, utilities and extensive run time libraries. AZTEC C is documented in detail. AZTEC C is the most accurate and portable implementation of C for microcomputers. AZTEC C supports specialized professional needs such as cross development and ROM code development. MANX provides qualified technical support. AZTEC C86/PRO — for the IBM AT and PC/XT AZTEC C86/PRO provides the power, portabili- ty, and professional features you need to develop sophisticated software for PC DOS, MS DOS AND CP/M-86 based microsystems. The system also supports the generation of ROM based software for 8088/8086, 80186, and 80286 processors. Options exist to cross develop ROM code for 65xx, 8080, 8085, and Z80 processors. Cross development systems are also available that target most micro computers. Call for infor- mation on AZTEC C86/PRO support for XENIX and TOPVIEW. POWERFUL - AZTEC C86/PRO 3.2 outper- forms Lattice 2.1 on the DHRYSTONE benchmark 2 to 1 for speed (17.8 sees vs 37.1) while using 65% less memory (5.8k vs 14k). The AZTEC C86/PRO system also compiles in 10% to 60% less time and supports fast, high volume I/O. PORTABLE — MANX Software Systems pro- vides real portability with a family of compatible AZTEC C software development systems for PC DOS, MS DOS, CP/M-86, Macintosh, CP/M-80, APPLE //+ , lie, and He (NIBBLE - 4 apple rating), TRSDOS (80-MICRO - 5 star rating), and Commo- dore C64 (the C64 system is only available as a cross compiler - call for details). AZTEC C86/PRO is compatible with UNIX and XENIX. PROFESSIONAL — For professional features AZTEC C86/PRO is unparalleled. • Full C Compiler (8088/8086 ■ 80186 - 80286) • Macro Assembler for 8088/8086/80186/80286 • Linkage Editor with ROM support and overlays • Run Time Libraries - object libraries + source DOS 1.x; DOS 2.x; DOS 3.x; screen I/O; Graphics; UNIX I/O; STRING; simulated float; 8087 support; MATH; ROM; CP/M-86 • Selection of 8088/8086, 80186, or 80286 code genera- tion to guarantee best choice for performance and compatibility • Utility to convert AZTEC object code or libraries to Microsoft format. (Assembly + conversion takes less than half the time as Microsoft's MASM to pro- duce MS object) • Large memory models and sophisticated memory management • Support products for graphics, DB, Screen, & ... • ROMable code + ROM support + separate code and data + INTEL Hex Converter • Symbolic Debugger & Other Utilities • Full Screen Editor (like Vi) • CROSS Compilers are available to APPLE //, Macin- tosh, CP/M-80, TRSDOS, COMMODORE C64, and ROM based 65xx, and 8080/8085/Z80 • Detailed Documentation AZTEC C86/PRO-AT $500 (configured for IBM AT - options for 8088/8086) AZTEC C86/PRO-PC/XT $500 (configured for IBM PC/XT - options for 80186/80286) AZTEC C86/BAS includes C compiler (small model only), 8086 MACRO assembler, overlay linker, UNIX, MATH, SCREEN, and GRAPHICS libraries, debugger, and editor. AZTEC C86/BAS $199 AZTEC C86/BAS (CP/M-86) $199 AZTEC C86/BAS (DOS + CP/M-86) $299 UPGRADE to AZTEC C86/PRO $310 C-TREE Database with source $399 C-TREE Database (object) $149 CROSS COMPILERS Cross Compilers for ROM, MS DOS, PC DOS, or CP/M-86 applications. VAX - > 80B6/80XXX cross $5000 PDP-1 1 - > 8086/80xxx cross $2000 Cross Compilers with PC DOS or CP/M-86 hosts are $750 for the first target and $500 for each additional target. Targets: 65xx; CP/M-80; C64; 8080/8085/Z80; Macintosh; TRSDOS; 8086/8088/80186/80286; APPLE //. AZTEC C68K — for the Macintosh For power, portability, and professional features AZTEC C68K-C is the finest C software development system available for the Macintosh. The AZTEC C68K-C system includes a 68000 macro assembler, a linkage editor, a source editor, a mouse based editor, a SHELL development environment, a library of UNIX I/O and utility routines, full access and support of the Macintosh TOOLBOX routines, debug- ging aides, utilities, make, diff, grep, TTY simulator with upload & download (source supplied), a RAM disk (for 512K Mac), a resource maker, and a no royalty license agreement. Programming examples are included. (Over 600 pages of documentation). AZTEC C68K-C requires a 128K Macintosh, and two disk drives (frugal developers can make do with one drive). AZTEC C68K supports the 512K Macintosh and hard disks. AZTEC C68K-C (commercial system) $500 AZTEC C68K-p (personal system) $199 AZTEC C68K-P to AZTEC C68K-C upgrade $310 Mac C-tree database $149 Mac C-tree database with source $399 Lisa Kit (Pascal to AZTEC C68k object converter) ..$99 AZTEC C65 — for the APPLE // "...The AZTEC C-system is one of the finest software packages i have seen..." NIBBLE review, July 1984. The only commercial C development system available that runs native on the APPLE II + , lie, and lie, the AZTEC C65 development system includes a full floating point C compiler compatible with UNIX C and other MANX AZTEC C compilers, a 6502 relocating assem- bler, a linkage editor, a library utility, a SHELL develop- ment environment, a full screen editor, UNIX I/O and utility subroutines, simple graphics, and screen func- tions. AZTEC C65 (Apple DOS 3.3) $199 AZTEC C65/PRO (Apple DOS + ProDos) $350 (call for availability) AZTEC C ll/PRO — for CP/M-80 The first member of the AZTEC C family was the CP/M-80 AZTEC C compiler. It is "the standard" com- piler for development on CP/M-80. The system includes the AZTEC CMC compiler, an 8080 assembler, a linkage editor, an object librarian, a full library of UNIX I/O and utility routines, CP/M-80 run time routines, the SMALL library (creates modules less than 3K in size), the fast linker for reduced development times, the ROM library, RMAC and M80 support, library source, support for DRI's SID/ZSID symbolic debugger, and more. AZTEC C ll/PRO $349 AZTEC CII/BAS $199 C-TREE Database with source $399 C TREE Database in AZTEC object form $149 AZTEC C80 — for TRSDOS (Radio Shack Model III & 4) "I've had a lot of experience with different C compilers, but the Aztec CB0 Compiler and Professional Develop- ment System is the best I've seen." 80-Micro, Decem- ber, 1984, John B. Harrell III This sytem has most of the features of AZTEC C II for CP/M. It is perhaps the best software development system for the Radio Shack Model III and IV. AZTEC C80 model 3 (no floating point) $149 AZTEC C80 model 4 (full) $199 AZTEC C80/PRO (full for model 3 and 4) $299 To order or for information call- 800-221-0440 (201) 530-7997 (NJ and outside U.S.A.). Or write: MANX SOFTWARE SYSTEMS, P.O. Box 55, Shrewsbury, N.J. 07701. MANX TRS 80 RADIO SHACK TRS DOS is a trademark of TANDY. APPLE DOS MACINTOSH is a trademark of APPLE. SHIPPING INFORMATION ■ Standard U.S. shipment is UPS ground (no fee). In the U.S. one day shipment is $20, two days is $10. Canadian shipment is $10. Two days ship- ment outside the U.S. is by courier and is freight collect. For Technical Support (Bug Busters) call: 201-530-6557 Inquiry 219 IULY 1985 -BYTE 53 Inquiry 366 for End-Users. Inquiry 367 for DEALERS ONLY. A "Wireless file transfer" package for the IBM PC® to Apple II and back. APPLE TURNOVER™ is a firmware board which fits into any slot in the IBM PC and some compatibles. NO modems, NO serial links, NO hassles, NO problems. APPLE TURNOVER™ will format Apple CP/M® and Apple DOS 3.3 disks. Leave your IBM and Apple computers where they are. Simply bring your Apple disk to work and transfer your file to a PC-DOS disk. Allows for modifications to text and data files. It's a simple, inexpensive, high performance alternative to complicated serial links and modems. "NEW!" APPLE TURNOVER™version 2.0 will read, write and format PRO-DOS and Apple P-System Too. ^yertex 3f systems, mc. See your dealer or call for information: (213) 938-0857 Innovation in microcomputer products 6022 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035 VIA WEST DATA SWITCHES MAKE ANY PC SYSTEM MORE PRODUCTIVE. With a touch of a button, these data trans- parent switches let you switch from dot matrix to letter-quality printing. Oc two computers can share modems, printers, plotters, networks, terminals, etc. Serial or parallel models available. Saves time and frustration of plugging and unplugging cables. No power required. Just plug into your system. You'll wonder how you ever got along without them. And the price is right. Write or call for factory-direct shipment. We also stock a complete line of cables and connector adapters. DSS $42°o* RS232 Applications XSS $55°°* RS232 Applications G3H< SERIAL NETWORK TERMINAL CRT DSP S49 00 * Centronics Compatible ZD XSP $69°°* Parallel Applications ] •Shipped freight-collect. Add S4.00 per product for postpaid delivery Checks, Visa and MasterCard accepted. Quantity discounts available. AZ resi- dents add 7%. Dealer inquiries invited. Ulfl WEST, Inc. 'The Interface Company" 534 North Stone Ave., Tucson, Arizona 85705 To order by phone, call (602)623-5717 ASK BYTE can be found in Microcomputer Interfac- ing by Harold S. Stone (Addison-Wesley. I 982). Another reference that discusses aspects of the disk-recording process and that may help you is "IBM Compatible Disk Drives" by Jefferson H. Harman, which appeared on page 100 of the Oc- tober 1979 BYTE. Manufacturers' service manuals for disk drives often discuss the theory of opera- tion and outline the necessary timing considerations for the disk drive and computer. These manuals can usually be obtained from the drive manufacturer's field offices— Steve VIC-20-CONTROLLED ROBOT Dear Steve, I tried to interface a simple robot I made to my VIC-20 via the communications port. The robot is run by small DC motors. Where can I find information about the software needed to control pulses from the port (what to poke and where) and the hardware needed to convert these pulses to a current and voltage to drive the motors? Thanks for any help that you can provide. Michael Levin Swampscott, MA An excellent series of articles by Joel Swank on interfacing to the VIC-20 ("The Enhanced VIC-20") appeared in the February through May 1983 issues of BYTE. This series should give you the necessary information about the VIC-20 and how to interface to it. You should also read my article on page 105 of the December 1984 BYTE, "Build the Power I/O System," for information on how to connect real-world peripherals to a system. This article will give you a good understanding of optoisolators, which should be used in computer real-world applications— Steve ■ IN ASK BYTE, Steve Garcia answers questions on any area of microcomputing. The most representative questions received each month will be answered and published. Do you have a nagging problem? Send your inquiry to Ask BYTE do Steve Garcia POB 582 Glastonbury. CT 06033 Due to the high volume of inquiries, personal replies cannot be given. All letters and photographs become the property of Steve Ciarcia and cannot be returned. Be sure to include "Ask BYTE" in the address. The Ask BYTE staff includes manager Harv VJeiner and researchers Bill Curlew, Larry Bregoli. Dick Sawyer. Robert Stek. and \eannette Dojan. 54 BYTE • IULY 1985 Inquiry 372 Building your own AT is as easy as it looks. Now, it's easy to have the IBM AT that you want by building your own from ADTEK's SERIES 286AT " corji- patible, board- level kit. Choose from a complete kit (chassis, motherboard, cables, disk controller, keyboard and enhancement boards) and add your own moni- tor and disk drives. Or buy just the parts you need fQr your project. Either way, all series 286AT products are hardware and software AT compatible. But you won't be on your own. The ADTEK SERIES 286AT comes with illustrated, step by step instructions that even a beginner can follow. (Some basic know - edge of electronics will be helpful.) With just a few simple household tools you can put your new compi ter together in a Saturday afternoon. And you'll fee|l confident about your SERIES 286AT because eve: ADTEK product is protected by a full, one year factoi warranty. gpl^ And amazingly frugal. If you're ready for AT power and speed! but don't want to pay IBM's premium 1 price, rest easy. A complete ADTEK SERIES 286AT kit is priced signific antly less than a comparably assembled IBM AT. That's engineering excellence at a real bargain! Call or write today for a detailed brochure and price list on the SERIES 286AT and other fine! ADTEK products. Manufacturer of Personal Computers Peripherals - Access IBM is a registered trademark o( International Business Machines Corporation and SERIES 286AT is a registered trademark of ADTEK Corporation. COMBINE POWER AND ENHANCE YOUR PC-AT Quadram introduces the smart way to enhance your IBM PC-AT. Quadmeg-AT and Quadport-AT. Smart because Quadmeg-AT and Quadport-AT make the most of your AT system today and expand to meet your system's growing needs in the future. Quadmeg-AT comes socketed for memory expansion from 128K to 2 Megabytes. Harness this power to create megabyte- sized RAM drives, access QUADMEG-AT" Advance to 4 Megabytes When you need more than 2Mbytes, Quadmeg-AT adapts with two Quadmeg-AT Expansion Cards. Each packs 512K or 1 Mbyte extra RAM. Both cards filled give Quadmeg-AT a powerful 4Mbyte capacity. Quadmeg-AT delivers the power you need to take full advantage of the AT's capabilities. Maximum Performance in Minimum Space Quadmeg-AT and Quadport-AT jit snugly side by side to deliver a powerfu 4Mb RAM and multiple I/O expan- sion in just two AT expansion slots. greater amounts of informa- tion, and process data faster and more efficiently than ever before. Plus, with "split memory mapping" Quadmeg-AT lets you expand the AT's base system memory to 640K without buying a space-wasting 128K card. Add a Second Quadport Two Quadport-ATs give your AT system a tola of 2 parallel ports ana 10 serial ports. Add peripheral devices or workstations for the ultimate in PC-AT, performance -^r v im Look for this seal. It's the ,f : s j ' mark of dependability and M s^r perform 3002 from the y. ... leader in microcomputer '.':!i««<»5 enhancements. IBM PC-AT is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. 56 BYTE" JULY 1985 EXPANDABILITY TO THE SMART WAY QUADPORT-AT Quadport-AT combines a parallel printer port and a serial port to give your AT the features found on IBM's Serial/ Parallel Adapter. k But at a lower cost and with built-in expandability. Connect printers, plotters, modems, and other devices for increased productivity. Advanced Port Expansion As your AT becomes the center of a high-performance LAN or growing multi- user, multi-tasking system, snap on the optional Quadport-AT Expansion Kit and add 4 more serial ports to your system. The Quadport-AT Expansion Kit comes with software to access these ports, making it easy to add shared peripherals or workstations. Enhance the smart way with Quadram. For basic AT expansion, Quadmeg-AT and Quadport-AT work together to provide 128K memory expansion, a serial port, and a parallel port. Then, as your system grows, Quadmeg-AT and Quadport-AT give you up to 4MB RAM, 1 parallel port, and up to 5 serial ports in just two PC AT expansion slots. Only Quadram combines so much power and expandability. That's PC AT enhancement the smart way. Features Quadmeg-AT: RAM expansion from 128K to 2Mhytes. Expandable in 512K increments. Split memory mapping assigns 128K or 384K to base memory. Total RAM Capacity: 4Mbytes. Expansion Cards: Two cards available. Each comes with 5I2Kor 1Mbyte RAM installed. QuadMaster-AT Software: RAM Drives and Spooling for extended memory. Quadport-AT: Port expansion with 1 Centronics parallel port and 1 RS-232C serial port. Quadport-AT Expansion Kit: (optional) 4 RS-2 32C serial ports. Software to access ports. For a free demonstration visit the Quadram dealer nearest you. Or, for information, write us at 4355 International Blvd., Norcross, Georgia 30093 (404)923-6666. QUADRAM J An Inlelligenl Syslems Company Inquiry 293 IULY 1985 -BYTE 57 CLUBS & NEWSLETTERS • THE SILENT SPEAK A quarterly newsletter about electronic aids for the handi- capped, Current Expressions, contains letters written with the aid of special computers from victims of otherwise disabling diseases. Profiles, a calendar of events, new products, and advertise- ments all relate to easing communication for the dis- abled. Article submissions are welcome. Contact Susanne Shealey, Current Ex- pressions. Prentke Romich Co., 1022 Heyl Rd„ Wooster, OH 44691, (216) 262-1984. • DRBBS FREE FOR ALL The DRBBS Technical Bulletin Board System at (402) 896-3537 is free to all personal computer users 24 hours a day at 300 or 1200 bps. General messages, elec- tronic mail, on-line informa- tion, public-domain file transfer, and special-interest sections are featured. Call the BBS or contact J. Winslade, DRBBS Technical Bulletin Board System, 14725 Emiline St., Omaha, NE 68138. (402) 895-1379. . • SEPARATE BUT EQUAL The Federation of Computer Users in Medicine (FOCUS- MD) and the Federation of Computer Users in Dentistry (FOCUS-DDS) are two sepa- rate organizations staffed by qualified volunteers and run by the same nonprofit in- stitution. Each group wel- comes prospective health professionals who use com- puters. The annual member- ship fee of $100 for each group includes a newsletter.- Each group maintains a con- sultant registry for which ap- plicants must pay an addi- tional fee to cover the cost of testing. Separate seminars are scheduled the first Sun- day of each month across the country; nonmembers pay $10 to attend. For loca- tions and membership ser- vices, contact Specific Technology Center, POB 15579, San Francisco, CA 94115, (415) 626-4600. • ACTR1X IN ACTION Actrix Users Southeast sup- ports users of the Actrix computer and its built-in software. A newsletter is available, as are purchase discounts and updates. Con- tact Irv Koch. 1954 Stanton Rd. EastPoint, GA 30344, (404) 767-7360. • FRIENDS IN THE SE People on the Southeast AMIS bulletin-board service are on line 24 hours a day to answer questions about Atari, Macintosh, and Radio Shack computers. The BBS at (704) 541-3306 carries Newsoft news net, and plans include a national user- group listing. Contact Southeast AMIS, POB 1041, Matthews, NC 28106. • TWO SYSTEMS GROUP The benefits of joining the Micropolis/Vector Graphic Users Group (MUG) include a monthly newsletter, library disks of public-domain CP/M and MS-DOS software, and directions for obtaining parts, service, and commer- cial software for Micropolis drives and Vector Graphic systems. The annual mem- bership is $18. Contact Buzz or Lynn Rudow, Micropolis/ Vector Graphic Users Group, 604 Springwood Circle, Huntsville. AL 35803. (205) 881-1697. • S1G FOR CP/M The Wayne County CP/M Support Group (WCCPMSG) of Williamson, New York, sponsors training programs in CP/M applications soft- ware. Members' interests in- clude BASIC programming, databases, and word pro- cessing at all levels. Computer-literacy lectures are open to the community. Club members meet at 7 p.m. on the second Wednes- day of each month at the Williamson Public Library. Contact the WCCPMSG, POB 34, Williamson, NY 14589. • COMMODORE IN NW PA The main chapter of the North Coast Commodore Users Group (NCCUG) of Erie, Pennsylvania, meets on the third Tuesday of every month. The Edinboro chapter meets the first Thursday of every month. Both chapters enjoy the privileges of a public- domain library, a monthly newsletter, discounted blank disks, and special-interest groups. An annual member- ship is $20; a subscription to the newsletter is an addi- tional $6. Contact the NCCUG, POB 6117, Erie, PA 16512, (814) 866-1625 for the Erie chapter or 398-8146 for the Edinboro chapter. • SCAN THE MBC The Sanyo Canadian Users Group, devoted to the Sanyo MBC 550/55 5 computer, welcomes American par- ticipation. Members main- tain a network for resource sharing, a public-domain software exchange library, and a newsletter, SCAN lines. A BBS is planned. Contact Eric Lillius, Sanyo Canadian Users Group, Box 210 Moun- tain St.. Haliburton, Ontario K0M ISO, Canada, (705) 457-2774. • COMPUTER FILE BLUEGRASS STYLE-The Central Kentucky Computer Society produces a monthly newsletter. Computer File, con- taining ads and articles, a calendar, and membership information. Membership is $20 annually. Contact the Central Kentucky Computer Society Inc.. Suite 100, Security Trust Building, Lex- ington, KY 40507. • AN INDUSTRY FIRST The International MIDI Association (IMA) is a non- profit organization dedicated to promoting musical-instru- ment digital interface (MIDI) and music/computing inter- facing. An electronic library, a database, and a newslet- ter. The IMA Bulletin, contain- ing MIDl-related product and news announcements are included with IMA mem- bership. Contact the Interna- tional MIDI Association, 4128 Wilkinson Ave., Studio City, CA 91604, (818) 505-8964. • BIRD IN HAND The Robin Owners' Group is for users of the DEC VT-180. A software library is main- (continued) CLUBS & NEWSLETTERS is a forum for letting BYTE readers know what is happening in the microcomputing community. Emphasis is given to elec- tronic bulletin-board services, club-sponsored classes, community-help projects, field trips, and other activities. We will continue to list new clubs and newslet- ters. Allow at least four months for your club's mention to appear. Send in- formation to BYTE, Clubs & Newsletters. P03 372, Hancock, NH 03449. 58 BYTE- IULY 1985 Circuit-Board-Artwork Software for the Design Engineer in a Hurry SrtVSRTKORK DM* For only $895, smARTWORK® lets the design engineer create and revise printed-circuit-board art- work on the IBM Personal Com- puter. You keep complete control over your circuit-board artwork — from start to finish. Forget the tedium of taping it yourself or waiting for a tech- nician, draftsman, or the CAD department to get to your project. smARTWORK® is the only low- cost printed-circuit-board artwork editor with all these advantages: □ Complete interactive control over placement and routing □ Quick correction and revision □ Production-quality 2X artwork from a pen-and-ink plotter □ Prototype-quality 2X artwork from a dot-matrix printer □ Easy to learn and operate, yet capable of sophisticated layouts □ Single-sided and double-sided printed circuit boards up to 10 x 16 inches □ Multicolor or black-and-white display System Requirements: □ IBM Personal Computer, XT, or AT with 256K RAM, 2 disk drives, and DOS Version 2.0 or later □ IBM Color/Graphics Adapter with RGB color or black-and- white monitor □ IBM Graphics Printer or Epson FX/MX/RX series dot-matrix printer □ Houston Instrument DMP-41 pen-and-ink plotter □ Optional Microsoft Mouse The Smart Buy At $895, smARTWORK® is proven, convenient, fast, and a sound value. Call us today. And put it to work for yourself next week. L JL X J 'U WVW n 1 1 i. i i Wintek Corporation Inquiry 380 1801 South Street Lafayette, IN 47904-2993 Telephone: (317) 742-8428 Telex: 70-9079 WINTEK CORP UD In Europe contact: RIVA Terminals Limited, Woking, Surrey GU21 5JY ENGLAND, Telephone: 04862-71001, Telex: 859502 "smARTWORK" "Wintek" and the Wintek logo are registered trademarks of Wintek Corporation. : or the same reason that many Computerlands, On- Line Computer Centers and Entre' Computer stores have become dealers for Advanced logic Research's fS Challenger! Advanced Logic Research Offers: • $375 for the standard Challenger!* • Quality and Reliable Products • Friendly Responsive Technical Support • Maximum Price/Performance Ratio • Product Features: 14 Mega bytes memory (128K standard) 4 Serial Ports (1 standard) 1 Printer Port Standard 1 Game Port (Optional) VSpool Standard $225.00 less than AST's similar product Advanced Logic Research, Inc. 15455 Red Hill Ave., Suite B, Tustin, CA 92680 (714)832-7808 basic time and Quble' are registered trademarks of Basic Time, Inc., AST is a registered trademark of AST Research, Inc. VSpool copyright of Rlmos Systems. MR CLUBS & NEWSLETTERS tained, and a newsletter con- tains members' contribu- tions, product reviews, and programming ideas. Contact Jim O'Connor, Robin Owners' Group, POB 492, Rollinsford, NH 03869-0492. • NEW FIG FORMS Members of the Central Arkansas FORTH Interest Group (CAFIG) meet twice monthly at the National Education Center at the Arkansas College of Tech- nology in Little Rock. For more information, contact Gary Smith, POB 7668, Little Rock, AR 722 17, (501) 227-7817. • FOR THE PEOPLE Users of the Kaypro 16 can join a special-interest group, S1G-16, sponsored by the National Kaypro Users Group (NATKUG). The NATKUG 4 Bits x 4 National Newsletter is produced for users of the IBM-compatible Kaypro. Membership in S1G-16 is SI 5 a year; mem- bership in People's Com- puter (NATKUG) is $12 an- nually. Contact Steven Bender. People's Computer (NATKUG). POB 28360. Queens Village, NY 11428, (212) 776-2909. • PAIR AND REPAIR Users and owners of the Otrona Attache computer can find a listing of repair centers and users groups from the Boston Computer Society (BCS). A $24 annual membership entitles you to receive both the Otrona monthly newsletter and one other BCS newsletter. Con- ■ tact the Boston Otrona User Group. 1 Center Plaza, Boston.. MA 02108. • MEET FOR FREE Participants of the North lersey TRS-80 Users' Group discuss TRS-80 computers, programming techniques, and programs. The group meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Friday of the month at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey. Dues are not col- lected. Contact Dr. Howard Silver, Electrical Engineering Department, Fairleigh Dickin- son University Teaneck, NJ 07666. • SINGLE USERS The Sytek Network Users Group (SNUG) encourages communication between owners and users of Sytek's LocalNet products. Funded by membership dues, the club meets informally once every nine months. Contact Greg Scott, Tektronix Inc., POB 500, MS 50-4 54, Beavetton. OR 97077, (503) 627-5007. • FRENCH FIDONET A Fidonet BBS in Paris, France, is available at 300 full CC1TT on 18764.5.6.7. The team of ARTS, a non- profit organization, is com- posed of people involved in radio, video, videotex, and teleservices. Contact ARTS, POB 100, 94123 Fontenay Sous Bois, Paris. France. • MINNESOTA MEETINGS The Central Minnesota Users Group convenes in St. Cloud. The general meetings are not limited to a specific brand of computer but are followed by special-interest- group meetings. Information on public-domain software is available. Contact Lee Larkey, Central Minnesota Users Group, Rt. 1, Box 106, Avon, MN 56310, (612) 356-7402. • A WORD EVERY QUARTER— A word-process- ing newsletter, The Quarterly Report, is devoted to the latest in word processors, issues for businesses con- cerning word processing, and research information. The introductory subscrip- tion rate is $30 a year. Con- tact The Quarterly Report, POB 1060. Mercer Island, WA 98040. ■ 60 BYTE • IULY 1985 Inquiry 19 for End-Users. Inquiry 20 for DEALERS ONLY. Inquiry 14 — » IBM PC/XT Compatibility AT Performance OEM Price Wr High Speed 4.7 or 8 MHZ - ■ 8088-2 Processor CJtUfef , ^ 4:\i f With 8087-2 Option ADVANCED COMPUTER SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL, INC. IHM |V\ I ,\( :u.< icinmi'H'.I ir.KTFlli.nl- ..I IkM In the 92 seconds it find any file you need \ ////////////////////A/////I/IMIIIIH iiiiiiummmuuwwwwwwww 9 Ampex 20 MB hard disk with 25 MB tape backup, '"PC Megastore is a trademark of Ampex Corporation. 'IBM-PC is trademark of International Business Machines, t Apple II and He are trademarks of Apple Computer. 62 BYTE • IULY 1985 takes to read this ad, on our backup streamer. © In the 1 hour, 4 minutes other streamers take, you could call your broker. Linger over coffee. Wade through the Wall Street Journal. Q And read this PC Megastore™ ad too. Q So take the time. You'll more than make it up with a PC Megastore hard disk and tape hooked to your IBM-PC* or compatible, Apple II or lie} because all the riles you need -both current and archive -will always be right where you need them. © Just a keystroke away. © The secret? Only Ampex backs up a 20 MB hard disk with another 25 megabytes* of addressable storage -a unique, bootable streamer with cache memory. That not only means you can address a file in 92 seconds, you can backup files offline just by touching a couple of buttons. Q Without tying up your computer. Q Your time. © Or a small fortune in floppies. (In fact> our 45 megabytes of available storage cost about half the price per MB of other hard disks.) So consider your time, money and convenience. ©And our quality. The PC Megastore system is backed by a full year warranty from Ampex, a company known for manufacturing quality computer peripherals for over 20 years. © Take a moment Contact: Ampex Com- puter Products Division, Marketing Communications, 10435 N.Tantau Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014. 800 421-6863, 213 640-0150 in CA We'll give you a dealer's name so you can buy a PC Megastore system. ©Then in no time at all, you'll |\/| QE\/ make up for the 92 seconds you spent reading this ad. AAIVI JrV, Ampex Corporation • One of The Signal Companies ft TC Megastore is upgradeable and comes in four models: 20 MB with 25 MB tape, 10 or 20 MB disk, or 25 MB tape. Inquiry 31 IULY 1985 'BYTE 63 Before you buy a personal com- puter for your business you should ask yourself two essential questions. One: What do you need today? Two: What will you need tomorrow? The AT&T PC 6300 is the answer to both. Today, you'll get a high per- formance computer that's competi- tively priced. A computer that not only runs the broadest selection of software available, but has the power and speed to make the most of it. A computer with superb graphics in monochrome or color. And a high reso- lution screen that's easy on the eyes. For tomorrow, you'll get a com- puter with the future built in. With its modular architecture and seven expan- ;ayw\\ sion slots, it's ready now to work with future technology, and meet your future needs. From additional power to multi-tasking capabilities, even to features yet to come, it can be easily enhanced as time goes by. That's a commitment from AT&T. And the AT&T PC, the computer with the future built in. For more information, call your AT&T Account Executive, visit an authorized AT&T dealer, or call 1-800-247-1212. AT&T The right choice. BOOK REVIEWS PERSONAL COMPUTERS AND SPECIAL NEEDS Frank G. Bowe Sybex Berkeley. CA: 1984 171 pages, $9.95 DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING: A PRACTICAL PRIMER Gregory A. Baxes Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1984 192 pages, $14.95 PASCAL APPLICATIONS FOR THE SCIENCES Richard E. Crandall John Wiley & Sons New York: 1984 256 pages, $16.95 PERSONAL COMPUTERS AND SPECIAL NEEDS Reviewed by John Wilke In 1977, a group of ac- tivists with a variety of disabilities staged a sym- bolic sit-in at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to demonstrate support for a bill frequently called "the civil rights act for the disabled." Since that legislation became law, engineers and city planners must design public buildings that are accessible to all people. The young man who led the HEW demon- stration and lobbied successfully for the new law has turned his attention to overcoming another set of barriers: software, computers, and communications equipment that, by design, shut out the disabled. Frank G. Bowe is quick to point out in Personal Computers and Special Needs that just as new technology is beginning to make it possible for disabled individuals to not only communicate more effectively but also pursue meaning- ful employment in the information industry, there is a lack ASSEMBLY COOKBOOK FOR THE APPLE 11/IIe Don Lancaster Howard W. Sams & Co. Indianapolis, IN: 1984 368 pages, $21.95 1985 PROGRAMMER'S MARKET Brad M. McGehee, editor Writer's Digest Books Cincinnati, OH: 1984 343 pages, $16.95 of physically compatible and affordable computer interfaces. This paradox is an underlying theme in Bowes book, a survey of personal computer periph- erals and communications prostheses available to people whose hearing or vision is impaired or who are unable to manage normal move- ment Bowe takes what might have been little more than a listing of the latest in speech synthesizers and keyboard emulators and peoples it with firsthand accounts of how the devices are making life more productive for disabled people. Unifying this effort is his concern that with the transition to an increasingly information-based economy— with its obvious promise of fuller participation for the disabled— the danger remains that a new set of barriers will prevent them from participating. The book, then, addresses both how-to and why. It was written first for the nearly 30 million Americans who might {continued) ILLUSTRATED BY IAMES ENDICOTT IULY 1985 -BYTE 65 BOOK REVIEWS benefit from the use of microcomputers for writing, "reading," and "hearing" or handling the everyday tasks that can be daunting for even the most determined dis- abled person. Bowe offers handicapped people and their families, teachers, and friends a practical guide contain- ing prices, sources, and descriptions of scores of spe- cialized interfaces designed to close the gap between disabled people and their computers. These details weave through the text and are then gathered together in an ap- pendix for quick reference. The products Bowe surveys range from speech- recognition units and speech synthesizers to optical text readers and software such as Logo (used increasingly by educators for their dyslexic and developmentally disabled students). The Information Through Speech Unit (from Maryland Computer Services Inc., Forest Hill, Maryland), for example, allows the blind aural access to the popular NEXIS and LEXIS databases. Bowe explores the state of the art in optical character recognition: an extraordinary unit that can scan almost any printed text and read it aloud in synthesized voice. The $29,000 machine (from Kurzweil Computer Products, Cambridge, Massachusetts) is clear- ly beyond the fiscal reach of most people, but Bowe reports that engineering advances will bring prices down dramatically on similar units. Beyond just describing various adaptive products, Bowe visits with people using these interfaces every day, letting them describe in their own words the frustrations and joys the new technologies bring. The Role of Companies Despite such adaptations, much of the promise of the new technology remains to be realized, Bowe points out. This is true in part because companies working on devices to help the disabled must overcome discouraging dis- economies of scale, producing their wares for just a small slice of the market. Indeed, he laments, many of the most significant technological advances come not from research meant to make computers more accessible to handi- capped people but from industry efforts to develop talk- ing vending machines, say, or devices allowing a business- person to dictate letters without a secretary. Another problem, Bowe writes, is that use of the adap- tive systems now available is often hampered by incom- patibility with popular applications software. Most of the software designed for disabled people is limited to ad- dressing a specific need, such as keyboard emulation for people with severely limited mobility. But this software frequently does not then work with widely used software such as spreadsheets and word processors, which are often "locked" to prevent modification. For example, the popular Echo II speech synthesizer (from Street Elec- tronics, Carpinteria. California) does not yet work with such protected programs as MicroPro's WordStar. Hardware, too, must often be altered to function with special devices for the disabled. Bowe is optimistic that at least some computer makers will respond to these concerns. Toward this goal of mak- ing manufacturers more aware of the difficulties of the dis- abled, last year the author conceived and carried out a conference on computer accessibility, under the auspices of the White House Office of Private Sector Initiatives. The conference, which Bowe describes briefly, brought together experts on the needs of the disabled with representatives from AT&T Bell Laboratories, International Business Machines, Apple Computer, Tandy, and Honeywell. Approaches to enhancing accessibility in- volved relatively simple accommodations, including the introduction of standard ports for adaptive interfaces. Some companies expressed concern that the computer market is too fast paced and competitive to meet the needs of such a small market segment. Bowe answers with convincing demographic data suggesting potential market opportunities for firms willing to respond to the special- needs buyer. Bowe's excitement when he considers what microcom- puters might mean for the disabled in the not-too-distant future illuminates his book. Within a decade, Bowe believes, affordable computers will be able to "hear" speech in real time and print out what is being said. "As someone who has not heard a word in three decades," he explains, "this prospect fills me with a wonderful sense of anticipation." \ohn W\lke covers technology and telecommunications for Business Week (Suite 1200, 1 120 Vermont Ave., Washington, DC 20005). DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING: A PRACTICAL PRIMER Reviewed by Richard J. Cass In the preface to Digital Image Processing: A Practical Primer, Gregory A. Baxes states his intention to provide "an elementary overview of digital image processing at a prac- tical level." On a technical level, he succeeds admirably. The book is a sound and detailed introduction to the con- cepts and practices of processing images using digital computers. An entire section on the hardware considera- tions related to image processing would be helpful for those who are interested in designing and configuring systems for digital image processing. A practical advan- tage of this book is a section that contains entries for each of the most commonly used digital image processing oper- ations; a catalog format makes this section most useful as a reference for the beginner and the experienced reader alike. In part I, the author defines image processing in general and discusses methods of image processing other than digital, such as optical and analog. He also details the historical development of digital image processing, from the early 1960s and the space program's attempts to gather pictures of the moon's surface to the later work done by NASA in the Mariner and Pioneer projects. Baxes [continued) BEST MODEM E Other people make modems for telecommunications. But our new Courier 2400™ modem is made for busi- ness. This modem modem transmits, over the phone, 240 characters a second, enabling you to upload or download data at twice the speed of a 1200 bps modem. You'll cut phone costs, save precious hours and increase productivity. The Courier 2400 features auto-dial and auto-answer ...and is fully CCITT and Bell compatible. It responds to the full AT command set, allowing you to use any of the popular telecom software packages, including Telpac™ by USRobotics, Crosstalk™, PC Talk™, Smartcom™ and many others. And the entire AT command set and S-register functions are displayed on "help screens" and again summarized for you on the underside of the unit. Courier 2400 is accom- Hdpscreau modating in other ways too. It lets you know the length of each call, tells you (on screen) the status of a call in progress, and even fea- tures an adjustable speaker to provide audio phone line monitoring. Courier can test itself in both answer and originate modes, and automatically adjusts from 2400 bps to 1 200 or 300 bps. And a powerful automatic equalizer assures nearly perfect performance on every call. BEST OF ALL, ii \f in 1 tli f i n Si At $699, you'll not find more modem for the money. If you prefer an internal slot modem for IBM-PC and compatible MtcroUnk24oo<" computers, our new Microlink 2400™ will deliver the same superior performance at the same affordable price. And to get the most out of either Courier or Microlink, ask for new, improved Telpac telecommunications software with easy to use windows. We Set OUt tO build Bottom of Courier the best modem on the market. Now, it's ready. Once you try Courier or Microlink, we think you'll agree — we're not exaggerating one bit. iflobotics The Intelligent Choice in Data Communications. Inquiry 361 mm U.S. Robotics, Inc. sioon .Skokie, IL 60076 Phone:(312)733-0497 Outside Illinois: 1-800-Dlal USR Telex: 650-1 86-31 30 Inquiry 166 HARMONY VIDEO & COMPUTERS 2357 CONEY ISLAND AVE.. BROOKLYN. NY 11223 800 VIDEO84 OR B00-441-1 144 OR 718-627 1000 IBM PC 256K $1309.95 STAR SG 10 $212.50 PANASONIC 1091 $241.99 APPLE 2Ew/DRIVE $819.95 Brother HR15XL Brother HR35 Citizen MSP 10 Citizen MSP 15 Corona Laser Daisywnter Epaon LX80 Epson RX 80FT + Epson RX 60 Epson RX 100 Epson FX 80 Epson JX80 Epson FX 100 + Epson LQ 1500 HP LaserJet 328 739 546 514 910 2749 'PRINTER SPECIALS" Juki 6100 Televideo 344 Mannesman Spirit 80 177 NEC 2050 NEC 3550 NEC 7730 NEC 8B50 Nec p3 Ot p2 Okidata92 Okidaia93 Okldata 192 Okimate 10 Olympai Compact 2 Olympal ro Panasonic KXP 1091 Panasonic KXP 1090 Panasonic KXP 1092 979 1612 1383 559 333 297 Panasonic KXP 1093 Panasonic XKP3151 Powerlype SiarSGlO SiarSGl5 SlarSDlO SlarSD15 Star SR10 Star SR15 SlarSBlO Silver Reed Exp 550 Silver Reed Exp 500 Silver Reed Exp 770 Toshiba 1340 Toshiba 351 WOW! WOW! WOW! IBM APPLE MONITORS PC 256K 1309 2E w/Disk Drive 819 Amdek 300 Green 112 PC XT 2787 Apple 2C 879 Amdek 300 Amber 109 IBM Drive 189 Imagewrller 46B 310 Amber 146 AST Six Pack 209 Addl. Drives Irom 119 Color 300 205 Tollgraaa 25 Merj 2496 Color 500 333 Quad Board 219 Color 600 374 Keylronics 129 ATARI Color 700 399 Handl 1 269 800 XL 83 Color 710 499 Hercules Color 140 1027 Printer 224 Prlncton HX12 419 Hercules Monochrome 276 1050 Drive 146 PrinctonMax 12 156 Paradise Graphics 250 Indus. Drive 215 Taxan 122A 135 Paradise Multi Display 271 1025 Printer 141 Taxan 420 380 STB Graphics +2 244 Koala Pad 32 Tecmar Graphics 427 Printer l/F 47 SANYO Tecmar Captain 169 550 D S 596 Persysl Monocard 162 MODEMS 555 DS 664 Bernouli Box 10 Meg Drive Joystick 1935 593 26 119 Hayes 1200 Hayes 1200B Hayes 300 361 326 122 MBC 775 COMMODORE 664 Tandon 100-2 Micromodem 2E 127 Commodore 64 145 ZENITH Novation J-cat 89 1541 Disk Drive 1702 Monitor 171 175 Zenith PC2150 1619 M PS 802 182 Zenith PC 15152 Zenith PC161-52 2057 2204 800-441-1144 Indus Drive 224 Hems reflect cash discount For your protection w s check lo sinlen credn cards HERE'S THE BEEF! MAINFRAME TAPE SUBSYSTEM FOR THE IBM PC/XT/AT WITH FREE BACK-UP All the data your PC could possibly consume from corporate, commercial and proprietary data bases. With 9-track Vz" IBM compatible tape you have a universally acceptable medium which provides tor worldwide data interchange. Automatic tape loading ■ High-speed hard disk back-up FREE ■ Dual density at 800 or 1600 BPI ■ Allows direct tape access under any language supported by DOS 2.0 (A Telebyte exclusive) (800)835-3298 TELE3VIE TWX510-226-0449 (516)423-3232 TECHNOLOGY INC. ' w * slu ^ b U44a 270 E. Pulaski Road Greenlawn, NY 11740 A Public Company BOOK REVIEWS moves on to an overview of some of the more recent business applications that have been made possible by image processing, including factory automation and com- puter graphics. The Image Part II covers the characteristics of the digital image— how it is formed, how brightness and resolution affect the way the image looks— and explains such terms as digitizing, pixel, frequency, and frame rate. One chapter concentrates on the image histogram, a tool used to measure and assess digital images. The histogram provides a graphic representation of the contrast qualities of the digital image by plotting the number of elements in an image against their brightness levels. Manipulating an image's histogram can affect the image, as the author demonstrates. Baxes discusses the concept of "point processing," where each element of an image can be modified by a mathematical or logical process to create a new image. He also discusses operations such as contrast enhance- ment, corrections for photometric and geometric distor- tions, and applications for these techniques in graphic arts, as well as the fundamentals of processing picture elements in group relationships. The chapter on image data handling describes, in great technical detail, the major functions that a hardware sys- tem must accomplish. Baxes provides examples of hard- ware specifications from several manufacturers to illustrate the types of hardware used to perform these functions. Digitization, storage, display of images, and the internal interface between where the memory is stored and the hardware image processor, as well as the system's inter- face to the host computer, are covered. The author goes into the mechanics of the hardware device that actually processes the digital image data, with block diagrams and product-specification sheets. He discusses the charac- teristics of single- and dual-pixel point processors, group processors, and frame processors. Image Processes The catalog of 19 digital image-processing operations con- cisely explained in part IV is extremely useful. It provides a detailed explanation, with images from before and after processing, of the most commonly used image-processing operations. The section includes more specific examples of histogram manipulation, as well as discussions of con- trast enhancement, filtering, and edge enhancement. Each entry in this section contains a description of the purpose of the operation, possible applications for it, and prac- tical hints on how to implement the process. The image that accompanies each piece reinforces the reader's understanding of the associated operation. COMMENTS With a few exceptions, the book is well structured. The author introduces terms and concepts only as necessary, {continued) 68 BYTE • |ULY 1985 Inquiry 355 $29* SOFTWARE! POWERFUL NEVADA SOFTWARE FOR CPM-80 NEVADA COBOL ^.•^^Rev. 3.0. Based on ANSI-74 standards with powerful level V^r 2 features, including compound conditionals & full CALL ^^CANCEL. A classroom favorite. Requires 32K RAM. Package includes diskette, 165-page manual, many examples & 16 com- plete COBOL source code programs. $29.95. COBOL Application Package, Book 1: $9.95. NEVADA FORTRAN. Based on ANSI-66 standards (FORTRAN IV) with some 1977 level features. Advanced features include: IF.. THEN. ..ELSE statement; COPY (Include); CHAINing with COMMON: TRACE debugging. Requires 48K RAM. Package includes diskette, 214- page manual, 5 sample programs & an 8080 assembler. $29.95. NEVADA EDIT A full-screen, video-display text editor designed specifically for computer program text preparation. Completely user-changable, it can be configured to almost any terminal & takes only 12K disk space. Requires 32K RAM. Package includes diskette & 59-page manual. $29.95. NEVADA PASCAL" Jjfll 99 NOW $19.95! Diskette & 184-page manual. Requires 64K RAM & 2 disk drives with at least 90K storage. NEVADA BASIC" $29.95 Diskette & 220-page manual. Requires 48K RAM. NEVADA P I LOT'" $29.95 Diskette & 131-page manual with 10 sample programs. Requires 32K RAM. B I G P R I N T™ DISKETTE $19.95 Great for making signs. Requires 132-prinl position printer. POWERFUL UTAH SOFTWARE FOR PC-DOS/MS- DOS UTAH PASCAL Has many advanced features including: 14 digit precision, BCD math (no round-off errors), floating point + 63 - 64, TRACE debugging, Arrays up to 8 dimensions, 64 strings, External procedures & Dynamic Module loading. Requires 128K RAM. Package includes diskette & 134-page manual. NOW $19.95! UTAH BASIC Has advanced BASIC features such as full matrix operations, Single- & Multi-Line functions, BCD math (no round-off errors). And Utah BASIC has a built-in, full-screen text editor that makes programming a real pleasure. Requires 128K RAM. Package includes diskette & 220-page manual. $29.95. UTAH PILOT Written by Prof. J. Starkweather, the language's creator, Utah PILOT exceeds all PILOT-73 standards. And it has an integrated full-screen text editor for easy program development. Ideal for classroom instruction, business training & home study. Requires 128K RAM. Package includes diskette, 125-page manual & 10 sample programs. $29.95. UTAH EDIT'" $29.95 Diskette & 55-page manual. Requires 128K RAM. B I G P R I N T " DISKETTE $19.95 Great for making signs. Requires 132-print position printer. UTAH software requires 128K RAM (i.e.. 90K user RAM) an IBM-PC. XT. AT, PCjr, or compatible (16-bit) micro with MS-DOS or PC-DOS Operating System. Rev. 2.0 or higher. NEVADA Software requires 32K RAM (unless otherwise indicated above), a CP/M Operating System & an 8080, 8085, or Z-80 (8-bit) processor. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! If for any reason you're not complelely satisfied, just relurn the Nevada or Utah package within 15 days-in good condition, with the sealed diskette unopened-and we'll refund your money! There's absolutely no risk to you, so why wait?-order today! We welcome C.O.D.s and (PLEASE NOTE: In-store prices are $39.95. Prices shown here are valid only by mail order with this coupon; offer expires Aug. 31, 1984.) NEVADA Please send me these NEVADA Software packages: □ COBOL □ FORTRAN OEDIT □ PASCAL DBASIC DPILOT □ BIGPRINT (Extra manuals-$14.95 each; diskettes alone-$19.95 each. Specify number & formats of manuals and/or diskettes required.) Please specify the diskette format you want: □ 8" SSSD (Standard CP/M IBM 3740) □ 5V4" Diskette for: □ Access/Actrix; U Apple CPM; □ DEC VT 180, or □ Rainbow; □ Epson QX-10; □ Heath Hard Sector (Z-89), or U Soft Sector (Z-90, Z-100); □ IBM-PC (requires Z-80, Baby Blue II Card); UKaypro DD (NCR); □ Micropolis Mod II; UN EC PC 8001; LINorth Star DD; □ Osborne SD; U Sanyo 1000, 1050; □ Superbrain DD 3.X; UTelevideo; U Xerox 820 SD.) UTAH Please send me these UTAH Software packages (IBM-PC diskette): □ PASCAL □ BASIC DPILOT □ EDIT □ BIGPRINT (Extra manua!s-S14.95 each; diskettes alone-$19.95 each. Specify number & formats of manuals and/or diskettes required.) o Send your order to: ELLIS COMPUTING, INC. 3917 Noriega Street, San Francisco, CA 94122 Phone (415) 753-0186 SINCE 1977 Send me software packages: TOTAL . Other: extra manuals, extra diskettes, Nevada COBOL application Book 1, BIGPRINT: TOTAL . California residents add sales tax (6% or 6V2%) Handling/shipping: add $5 lor first package or manual. $2 each additional. OVERSEAS: add $15 for first package or manual, $5 each additional. □ Check □ MasterCard OVISA Checks must be in U.S. Dollars, drawn on a U.S. bank □ C.O.D. (add $4) Enclosed: TOTAL . CARD # . Exp. . SIGNATURE. SHIP TO NAME. STREET CITY/STATE/ZIP CRM is a Digital Research TM. MS is a Microsoft Corp TM. Apple It is an Apple Compuler, Inc TM, Osoorne is an OsOorne Compuler Corp TM. Xerox 820 is a Xerox Corp TM: Kaypro is a Non-linear Sys TM. Heath Zenith is a Heath Corp, TM; IBM is an International Business Machines. Corp TM. Nevada BASIC. Nevada COBOL. Nevada FORTRAN. Nevada PILOT, Nevada PASCAL. Nevada EDIT. Ulah BASIC, Utah PASCAL, Utah PILOT, Utah EDIT. BIGPRINT & Ellis Computing, Inc ate Ellis Com- puting TMs t t9B5 Ellis Computing, Inc. 1ULY 1985 -BYTE 69 As a programmer, you're already respected* Computer CoNpany Ne< Client Information List Account i! iS State: 1 lilliu fate: m£l& Zip: ffla flef erred By: Ugl New AccounrtV or H): 1 With better4ooking screens, you could be loved. You write wonderful programs . Their logic is elegant. Their organization is solid. They work like a charm. But how do they look? Maybe appearance shouldn't count, but it does. Because not only is a well-designed screen impres- sive to look at — it also makes the program easier to work with. And that makes you look good, too. It takes you days, perhaps weeks of effort to make a program right. Isn't it worth a few minutes to make it beautiful? A few minutes. That's all it takes for you and Screen Sculptor to create a glorious-looking screen. And once it's done, Screen Sculptor automatically writes the program — in IBM Basic, IBM Pascal, or Turbo Pascal — to display the screen and allow the user to enter data. SOFTWARE BDTTLlflC enmpfinv There's no limit to what you can do with Screen Sculptor. Design a screen you like and rearrange it whenever you like. Select colors from a mouth- watering menu. Choose special characters, draw lines and boxes, paint in areas, repeat a character in any direction! Specify input fields, variable names, data types, acceptable data ranges and more. Then Screen Sculptor generates actual program source code based on your screen design. You'll need an IBM PC, XT, PCjr, PC AT or 100% compatible, 128K, DOS, one 320Kdisk drive and any 80-column display. Screen Sculptor does more than design screens. For $ 12 5 , it will enhance your creative reputation and thoroughly impress your users. Because people don't expect a beautiful screen. But they sure do appreciate it when they see it. Try it FREE for 30 days! Here's a no-risk offer. Order now and you'll also get a full demo disk. Use the demo and the manual for 30 days. If you don't love it, return the package for a full refund! Credit card orders only call 24 hours a day, 1-800-824-7888, operator 268. For all other orders and inquiries call or write: The Software Bottling Company of New York, 6600 L.I. Expwy, Maspeth, NY 11378. (718) 458-3700. If we're shipping to aNYS address, please add 8'/ 4 % sales tax. 70 BYTE • JULY 1985 Inquiry 323 BOOK REVIEWS and each discussion of technical material builds logically upon the information and terms already explained. Defini- tions and explanations of the intricacies of image process- ing are lucid enough to instruct the beginner without insulting a more knowledgeable reader. The book is, as promised, a practical introduction to digital image processing. I have only one serious misgiving about the book: All the technical information is presented in clear, coherent prose, but the rest of the writing could have used better editing. Richard J. Cass (29 High St.. Peterborough, NH 03458) is a technical writer for Apollo Computer in Chelmsford. Massachusetts. PASCAL APPLICATIONS FOR THE SCIENCES Reviewed by Steven H. Rogers In Pascal Applications for the Sciences. Richard E. Crandall tackles the problem of teaching scientific programming in a minimal amount of time. The book is intended to be used largely in a self-paced manner; to get the most out of it you should have ready access to a computer running Pascal. It is organized with short blocks of text followed by exercises illustrating the important points just covered. I found this technique effective in keeping my interest. The first five chapters provide the basic tools for writing scientific programs in Pascal. Crandall then presents more advanced examples of scientific applications. The balance of the book consists of five appendixes containing libraries of functions and procedures for scientific programming. Scientific Programming Crandall begins with an intentionally brief review of the fundamentals of Pascal programming. Those readers with a background in Pascal can skip the review without miss- ing anything; readers new to the language will need a stan- dard Pascal text as a supplement. Exercises relate to scien- tific applications. Next, the reader is introduced to mathematical program- ming. The author demonstrates numerical methods for ap- proximating the derivatives and integrals of a function, proceeds to coverage of differential equations, and then moves on to the use of matrices to solve systems of si- multaneous linear equations. One example and several exercises that I found quite enjoyable involved modeling a satellite orbiting the earth. Crandall's coverage of probability presents a concise ex- planation of the problems involved with modeling prob- abilistic phenomena on computers, which are by nature deterministic. This means a given input will always yield the same output, though some people maintain that their computers don't fit this description. Examples range from population biology to card games. An introduction to the statistical analysis of data concludes this chapter. {continued) 64K S100 STATIC RAM *1 392? NEW! LOW POWER! 150 NS ADD S10 BLANK PC BOARD WITH DOCUMENTATION $49.95 PRICE CUT! SUPPORT ICs + CAPS $17.50 FULL SOCKET SET $14.50 FULLY SUPPORTS THE NEW IEEE 696 S100 STANDARD (AS PROPOSED) FOR 56K KIT $125 ASSEMBLED AND TESTED ADD $50 FEATURES: . Uses new 2K x 8 (TMM 2016 or HM 6116) RAMI. • Fully supports IEEE 696 24 BIT Extended Addressing. • 64K draws only approximately 500 MA. • 200 NS RAMs are standard. (TOSHIBA makes TMM 2016s as last as 100 NS. FOR YOUR HIGH SPEED APPLICATIONS.) • SUPPORTS PHANTOM (BOTH LOWER 32K AND ENTIRE BOARD). • 2716 EPROMs may be installed In any ol top 48K. • Any ot the top 8K (E000 H AND ABOVE) may be disabled to provide windows to eliminate any possible conflicts with your system monitor, disk controller, etc. • Perlect lor small systems since BOTH RAM and EPROM may co-exist on the same board. • BOARD may be partially populated as 56K. 256K S-100 SOLID STATE DISK SIMULATOR! WE CALL THIS BOARD THE "LIGHT-SPEED-100" BECAUSE IT OFFERS AN ASTOUNDING INCREASE IN YOUR COMPUTER S PERFORMANCE WHEN COMPARED TO A MECHANICAL FLOPPY DISK DRIVE. PRICE CUTI * 256K on board, using + 5V 64K " DRAMS Uses new Intel 8203-1 LSI Memory Controller Requires only 4 Dip Switch Selectable I/O Ports. Runs on 8080 or Z80 S100 machines. Up to 8 LS-100 boards can be run togelher tor 2 Meg. ot On Line Solid State Disk Storage. Provisions tor Battery back-up. Software to mate the LS-100 to your CP/M' 2.2 DOS is supplied. The LS-100 provides an increase in speed ol up to 7 to 10 times on Disk Intensive Software. Compare our price! You could pay up io 3 times as much for similar boards. BLANK PCB (WITH CP/M* 2.2 PATCHES AND INSTALL PROGRAM ON DISKETTE) $5995 (B203-1 INTEL S29.95) KLS-100 (FULL 256K KIT) (ADD S50 FOR A&T) $169 00 THE NEW ZRT-80 CRT TERMINAL BOARD! A LOW COST Z-80 BASED SINGLE BOARD THAT ONLY NEEDS AN ASCII KEYBOARD, POWER SUPPL Y, AND VIDEO MONITOR TO MAKE A COMPLETE CRT TERMINAL. USE AS A COMPUTER CONSOLE, OR WITH A MODEM FOR USE WITH ANY OFTHE PHONE-LINE COMPUTER SERVICES. FEATURES: * Uses a Z80A and 6845 CRT Controller for powerful video capabilities. * RS232 at 16 BAUD Rates from 75 to 19,200. * 24 x 80 standard format (60 Hz). * Optional formats from 24 x 80 (50 Hz) to 64 lines x 96 characters (60 Hz). * Higher density formats require up to 3 additional 2K x 8 6116 RAMS. * Uses N.S. INS 8250 BAUD Rate Gen. and USART combo IC. * 3 Terminal Emulation Modes which are Dip Switch selectable. These include the LSI-ADM3A. the Heath H-19, and the Beehive. * Composite or Split Video. * Any polarity of video or sync. * Inverse Video Capability. * Small Size: 6.5 x 9 Inches. * Upper & lower case with descenders. *7x9 Character Matrix. * Requires Par. ASCII keyboard. $8Q95 WW #ZRT-80 (COMPLETE KIT, 2K VIDEO RAM) FOR 8 IN. SOURCE DISK (CP/M COMPATIBLE) ADD $10 BLANK PCB WITH 2716 CHAR. ROM. 2732 MON. ROM s 49 95 SOURCE DISKETTE - ADD $10 SET OF 2 CRYSTALS - ADD $7.50 Digital Research Computers P.O. BOX 461565 • GARLAND, TEXAS 75046 • (214) 225-2309 Call or write for a free catalog on Z-80 or 6809 Single Board Computers, SS-50 Boards, and other S-100 products. TERMS: Add $3.00 postage. We pay balance. Orders under $15 add 75C handling. No C.O.D. We accept Visa and MasterCard. Texas Res. add 5-1/8% Tax. Foreign orders (except Canada) add 20% P * H. Orders over $50 add 85e lor Insurance. Inquiry 1 23 JULY 1985 • BYTE 71 WE'RE BUILDING A NETWORK FOR SALES NO ONE BACKS IT UP LIKE WE DO. From first-time user to seasoned pro. From national telemarketing to local retail stores. Whoever you are, and whatever your microcomputer needs, for sales, service and support, you can count on Micro Mart. CUSTOMIZED SYSTEMS, CUSTOMIZED SUPPORT. Micro Mart customizes personal and business computers because we have the expertise to do it right. Our special- ties include advanced memory systems like hard disk drives and multifunction boards. And much more. Now you can depend on Micro Mart for customized service and support. Our service center is the largest in the Southeast, and it backs up every tele- marketing sale we make, nationwide. Our retail sales are supported by the best in-store Techs in the business. So our service is on-line, on site or on-the-spot. And we do it on time. Try us and see. MICRO MART NATIONAL. ALWAYS UP-TO-DATE. Micro Mart is the place to find the latest products. Our state-of-the-art mainframe-to-inventory connection puts every buyer on-line with our ten mil- lion dollar inventory. Instantly. Our telemarketing salespeople are highly trained consultants, constantly up-to-date, so you don't have to be. And we offer equally innova- tive financing, like the Micro Mart Blue Chip Credit Card. Call us today for systems, sales and support, and dis- cover why Micro Mart is way out in front. Orders only YOUR PERSONAL BLUECHIP CARD Micro Mart has financing options available. Ask for a Micro Mart Blue Chip Credit Card application, today. Service & Repairs • On-Site— We have hundreds of service locations nationally. • Depot— Our National Service Center is one of the fastest in the U.S. • We have — A wide variety of services available. Please call us. ® Copyright Micro Mart 1985 Technology Corporate Campus 3159 Campus Drive Norcross, Georgia 30071 MICRO MART HAS OVER 20 STORE LOCATIONS. CALL FOR THE ONE NEAREST YOU. 72 BYTE • JULY 1985 NATIONAL REFERRAL SERVICE AND SUPPORT. Computers Multifunction Boards micropro chanstar. LEADING EDGE Complete systems. FROM $1495 We have a complete line of multifunction boards MICROSOFT Chart AT&T Color and Mono systems. In stock!! compatible with the Portable, AT, XT, & Jr. Communications Call lor Low, Low Price! THE BOARD SPECIAL OF THE MONTH! uu . BMT „ c . 0 noor„» m , , , , • — COMPUTER SPECIAL OF THE MONTH! CALL FOR DETAILS KS522fHio^SS^ 4LKXV/ Latest version $99 CALL FOR DETAILS! SIX PACK 64-384K, multifunc ... SMARTCOMII Klotuinrlrinn/Pmtr>/»nl MPII RAMboards, for PC & PC compatibles. _ CALL Word PrOCeSSOrS IMeiWOrKing/rrOlOCOl l/OMINNIE,l/Oshortboard for Portables AT .. ,„ „■ Z — I — Z ~. Conversion ADVANTAGE 128K-3Mb, expansion for AT _ CALL MULTIMATE w/Spelling checker & tutorial. QUADRAM OUADBOARD, 64-384K, ^r^ir: :; Low Price SNA & BISYNC 3780, 5251 Mod 12 & Mod 1 1 , 3274, multifunction $259 SAMNA + word processor. 3278. TECMAR CAPTAIN, 0-384K multifunc $185 WSJ}2^ F J }? ord NewVersion PCTURBOl86byORCH/D,80186coprocessor TALLTREE J-RAM II III IV. NewLowPricel LIFETREE Volkswriter Deluxe. $169 board $599 STB RIO GRANDE & GRANDE BYTE, Expansionfor SSI WordPerfect. Newversion.. IRMA Complete line FROM $799 AT 128K FROM $259 MICROPRO WordStar Professional Series. FORTEGRAPH for IRMA, upgrades IRMA to 3279 /»'-««|,|« r.. . NewLowPrlce! ASHTON-TATE dBase II & III. AT compatible UOT M aU IX Software MICROSTUF /nfoscope aSS L SOFTWARESPECALOFTHE MONTH! Modems EPSON LQ1500 CALL FOR DETAILS HAYES Smartmodem 300, 1200, 1200B & 2400. The EPSON JX80, color printer. AcCOUntina best stock in the US CALL COMREX 420. 400 cps. Epson compatible. _$1795 a PROMETHEUS Modems. OKIDATA 792 & 193, ML84, Pacemark 2410. _CALL SORCIM/IUS Complete line including windows. VEN-TEL 1200 BAUD Half Card w/ Crosstalk. _ $419 OKIDATA Color printers. Complete line FROM$289/EA. POPCOM Popcorn, int. & ext. w/voice and data TOSHIBA P-357 & 7340 New Low Prices! CYMA Complete business series communications texas instruments 855, 865 & bs oxl^ ^ Spreadsheets & Integrated Miscellaneous I attar Alialltv Packages DYSAND/SKETrESPaXTS AT compatible. t-CUCr V*Udluy g— GUARANTEED LOWEST PRICE IN THE U.S. NEC Spinwriters 2050, 3550, 8850. New Low Price! tur^cncru.MDi^nZ^-^^ CALU JUKI 6100/6300 $41 9/S749 M 1t5°.. o T ^ , „ ■ w/templates. MOUSE SYSTEMS PC Mouse, optical w/software. _ COMREX CR II E CR III& CR IV SORCIM SuperCalc 3, vers. 2.0. _ New Low Price! MICROSOFT MOUSE Bus or serial mechanical diablo New lq printers call Enhancements & Utilities mouse We carry a full range of form handling options. , „ „, ; „^ — — - — — — KEYTRONICS5750&5757 Keyboards for PC and Jr. ni.l/n.i..«. FOX&GELLERCompletelineofenhancementsfor KENSINGTON MICROWARE Masterpiece. _ $119 floppy UISK UriVeS dBase II, III & Rbase 4000. CURTIS Accessories. Pedestals, cables, etc. TANDON TM 100-2 DD/DS 360K NORTON Utilities 3.0 $69 HAYESMac/i // &Mach III Joysticks TANDON TM 100-2, DD/DS, 3 60K. Low Price! ROSESOFTPraKe/3.0 $89 QUADRAM M/crofazer. Printer buffer 8-128K. 1/2 HEIGHT DISK DRIVES F rom SHUGART CENTRAL POINT SOFTWARE Copy II PC. — $35 ^ r^SX $129 MITSUBISHI, TEAC. PC, XT & AT comp. FROM $119 gl'J^'C? c o„, cy 7 3 „ rfc , nft ,,^ DrinlQr 855 TR '"^ L 'T, E Back - u P P ower S "PP' V - 20°- 1 °°° watts, IQPFriAl iTwni/9HFlf;HTnmvF<5 "Y" SOFTSTYLE Sef FX + and Printworks. Printer and /SOfiAR surge protectors, 4& 8 plug. ;«hr a « Ah.I^k«..l ' «oo control pkgs. POLAROID Palette $1345 cables & brackets $229 SIDEWAYS Inverts printout $45 i*B*n<. Hard DiSCS BORLAND SideKick and SuperKey. 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AMDEK 370A, Amber monochrome In Stock!! pc^mo! ii 1 1 TcAj Vir.1 nev u -!h Z* 0 ** p C Paint Brush, mouse driven graphics. _ $95 WYSE 50 Terminal $475 BERNOULLI TECHNOLOGY Hard Disc DECISION RESOURCES ChartMaster/ TAXAN RGB Color Monitors. Complete line at low, a ft line of hard discs. 21 &32Mb Sign-Master pkgs lowprices CALL! 5 PS - starl@$2495 Amenca'sPCSpecialist We guarantee the lowest price for chips! Call us! ! INTEL 8087, 80287 High speed coproc. FROM $1 29 64K RAMCHIPS Call For Market Price 256K RAMCHIPS Call For Market Price 128K PIGGY-BACK Chips for your AT. 1 — ^™ ' — "™ ^ Call For Market Price Prices are subject to change without notice and are similiar, but vary at Micro Mart Retail Stores. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Inquiry 235 IULY 1985 'BYTE 73 o COMPUTERBANC IOWCST PRICCS nNVUJH€R€! DNVTIMC! nNVPLRCC! THOUSANDS OF RVflllRBlfc: IT6MS. CALL FOR COMPieT€ PRICING. IBM PC Starter System $2059 2 drives. 256H, Mono-Card Parallel/Monitor IBM PC Deluxe $2999 20MS/2 drs/256K Monocord/Porallel Monitor IBM PC/RT $5559 36QK 1.2 Meg Floppies 20 Meg Hord 512K7tam IBM PC/AT BflSC CflU IBM PC/AT CNHANCCD CALL IBM PC/AT DRIVES BOBHDS CALL IBM XT CAU IBM SOFTWRflC ASHTON TATC Framework 3S9.00 dense n sao.oo dBflSeill 369.00 CNCAOflAPHICS £69.00 FOX & 0€ll€A Qulckcode I J9.00 dGraph 149.00 ASCII PAO Comm So f tuior. 99.00 ln-Hous« Accountant 99.00 UUord Perfect £49.00 MICAOPAO Wordstar £49.00 2000 £69.00 Professional 359.00 MICAOSOFT Word ££9.00 Multiplon 139.00 Project 159.00 MICAOAIM Hbase 4000 £95.00 MULTIMATC £69.00 PC Mouo Ill/Software 139.00 PFS UJrlte. File. Report 89.00 Proof. Access . . 79.00 IBM HRRDUIRRC AST Six Pock Plus 64 K £59.00 MegoPlusll £69.00 AT Ram to 1.5 MB CAU. FRANKLIN TCLCCOM 10 Meg Harddlsk 659.00 HCACUUS Mono Graphics 316.00 Color Cord 159.00 IBMFIoppul.2Meg CALL IAUIIN fope Drive 539.00 MICAOSClCNCE 10MB Winchester 659.00 MOUSC SVSTCMS Optical Mouse . 169.00 ORCHID Turbo CALL Pc Net Starter Kit CALL QUADRAM Quadboard O-K £19.00 Quadcolor 1 or Mlcrofazer 64K . .£05.00 STB Rio plus 64K £45.00 Super Rio £55.00 Grophli s II N6UJ £45.00 TALL GRASS LU/Tope CALL TANDOM TM 100-2 169.00 TCAC5SB 119.00 CPSON 1.6 Meg Dr 199.00 ALSO — PCRSVST, ORCHID, PARADISE, TITAN AND OTHCRS MODEMS ANCHOR Mark X 109.00 Mark XII £39.00 Volksmodeml200 199.00 HAVeS1200 395.00 200B 349.00 2400 CALL Mlcromoden //e £19.00 PAOMCTHCUSPromodemlSOO .308.00 12008 UJ/Softujare £89.00 Promodenl200B £59.00 Promodenl200R 329.00 Promoden Mac Poc Kit 111.00 UJC SUPPORT TH€S€ FINE SVSTCMS: MONITORS AMDCX 3C0 1£9.00 300R 145.00 310R 169.00 NCC 1201 HI Res Green 115.00 1260 Green 79.00 JC 1215 Composite Color uj/audio . £15.00 PRINCETON GRAPHICS HX-12 . .469.00 SR-12 625.00 MflX-12 189.00 TAXAN 121/122 149.00 420 (RGB) 439.00 415 (RGB) 489.00 PANASONIC DT-S101 Composite. 199.00 DT-H10310"Composite Color . . 5£9.00 DT-D1300D 13" RGB Color 3£9.00 DT-M140 14" RGB Color 489.00 PRINTERS BAOTHCA HR-10 CALL HR-15 353.00 HR-25 599.00 HR-35 599.00 2024LC? 915.00 Tujlnujrlter CALL CPSON RX-80 F/T 3£9.00 FX-80 + 389.00 FX-100 + 595.00 LQ1500 CALL NCC2030 659.00 2050 699.00 3530 1139.00 3550 1449.00 OKIDATA ML182P £44.00 MU92P 410.00 ML193P 569.00 PANASONIC 1091 CALL STARMICRONICS CRLL TOSHIBA CRLL RPPLC PRODUCTS APPLIED ENGA Meqa flam CRLL APPLE Compotlble Drive 145.00 APPLCUJORKS £15.00 APPLEMOUSEII 129.00 RPRICORN Serial 69.00 80col/64//eonlu 99.00 Graphics Card 79.00 RSCI II express Professional 89.00 MACINTOSH 3 3fl95 1 The Silver Fox Trots Through Lotus Like 1,2,3 The Sliver Fox Is nor IDM-PC compatible yer It runs hundreds of MS-DOS programs Including Lotus 1.2,3, dOASE If, Mulrlplan, and even Fllqhr Simulator. The Silver Fox does not hove IBM compatible expansion slots bur you can economically odd primers, serial ports, modems. 10-40 Mb. hard disks, clock/calendar cards, RAM, joysticks, on Q067 co-processor, ond more. What mokes the Silver Fox unique, however, isn't what you con add to It. but what comes wirh If. Each 5llver Fox comes with an 8088 CPU. 256K of RAM, four video ports, and a printer port. Plus you get more than twice fhe storage of a standard PC. 1 .6 Megabytes on dual 5 1 /4" floppys, and rhe Fox will read ond write to srandard 160K. 320K. ond 360K IDM-PC formats. Standard equipment also Includes o better keyboard, a 1 2" high resolution monitor wirh a full 25x80 display, and we back each Sliver Fox wirh o one yeor limited warranty. Were this not enough eoch Silver Fox comes with the best free sofrwore bundle In rhe business including: MS-DOS 2.1 1/HAGEN-D05 2.1 1 . DOS Tutor, Wordstar 3.3, Easy Writer, Spell, Mall Track. PC File III. FILEDASE, CalcSrar. games, graphics, urilltles, ond Two DASIC languages. Because computer sales usually slow down during the summer we've given you on extra Incentive to buy o Fox by lowering our prices. If you wonr to get the most for your computer dollar, coll our machine at 1-800-FORAFOX, leave your name and address of the beep, ond we'll sand you o Silver Fox booklet that will tell you how it can. Silver Fox $1297 Color Fox $1497 Altos ""-^t, High-performance. Xenlx-bosed, multi-user sysrems from lAltos-world leaders In multi-user sysrems and applications | software. As part of TRW's marketing support group we con have your I Altos system installed on your site (additional charge), j Alros sysrems ore easy To expand and with shared printers land hard disks are cost competitive with multiple single user I systems Call for additional pricing and availability. 1486-20 $4509 1566-40 $7249 1966-40 $6829 Wros Acc'r $2779 PRINTERS I The Bernoulli Box: ■ Hard disk capacity dnd performance i Removable cartridge economy i Cartridge convenience ■ Flexible disk economy I ■ Winchester capacity ■Unparalleled reliability I 1 10 Mb $18091 I 20 MD $25291 l5Mb./Moc $13791 Fox 8088»Dual 360K Drives 1 28K»Keyboard«Software $899 Columbia 4280 or 2220 $1698 CLOSED WEEK OF JULY 4th (| OLYMPIA ' I ^ StorSG-10 $206 Star SR-15 $599 EpsonFX-80+ J»9S'$141 off LX-flO l»r$60 off Okidata 182 $225 Okidata 192 $074 Olympic NP $029 Panasonic 1091 $269 , Citizen MSP- 10 $295 Toshiba 1040 $579 | Toshiba 051 $1198 LETTER QUALITY Olympla RO $029 I Juki 6100 $099 Juki 6000 $719 Silver Reed 500 $299 I Silver Reed 550 $409 Silver Reed 770 $724 Diablo Call NEC Call Daisywrirer 2000 $824 HOUSTON INSTRUMENTS DMP-29 $1795 DMP-40 $745 DMP-41 $2040 other models Call Scoftsdale Systems w. 617 N. Scoftsdale Rood, Suite D, ScotTsdole, Arizona 85257 3 (602)941-58565 **3gv Coll 8-5 Mon.-Fri. ~, We participate In orblrrorlon for business ond customers through rhe Defter 15 .. Dusiness Bureau of Maricopa County. SINCE -1980 TELEMARKETING ONLY: If you plan fo srop by please phone oheod. Prices listed ore for cash. P.O.'s from Fortune 1200 companies ond unlverslries wirh good credit add 2% / Mostercord and Visa odd 3% / Arizona resldenrs add 6% soles tax / Shipping extra / All i Items ore new wirh manufacturers warranty / Returned merchandise subject fo 20% restocking fee / Personal or company checks rake up to 0 weeks to clear / No COD's or APO's. Trademarks: Silver Fox HAGEN-DOS. ond Zorro AT, Scottsdole Systems, Ltd.; Wordstar and CalcSrar, Mkropro International: MS-DOS. and Multlplon, Microsoft Corpororlon,- FILEDASE, EWDP Sofrwore. Inc.: dDASE II. Ashron-Tate; IDM-PC. IDM-PC DOS, and I DM- AT, I International Dusiness Machines. TERMINALS Qume VT101 (296 V Wyse 50 (449 | ADDS View- point 60 (479 -I 200 BPS Modems f Volksmodem 12 $199 Password Call Prometheus $015 Hoyes 000/1200 $429 IS IT SICK TO LOVE A PRINTER? If you love your Okidata 92 or Epson FXflO don'r read any further because rhe new Olympla NP is rated as foster. Is noticeably quieter and has a near letter quality mode that Is much superior to anything In Irs price class. Plus, unlike rhe Okldara or rhe Epson rhe Olympla comes wirh adjusroble tractor feed (as well as friction feed) as standard equpmenr. The rracror feed Is rhe "punch- rype" ond rhe NP has a tear bar so that It works great with continuous forms. The NP uses srandard Epson rype ribbons, comes wirh the quality rhar has made Olympla world leader In typewriters ond is backed by nationwide service. To quore PC magazine, "The (NC) printer Is a sure thing If It foils Into your price range ond even if It doesn't Ir may be worth considering . . If you're considering rhe purchase of on Okidata, on Epson, or even o Toshiba, give us a call and let us send you an actual print sample from the Olumpio NPand additional Information. Because If you were ro buy an Epson FX-60 or an Okldara 92 with rracrors and a cable for rhe lowest advertised prices, you would pay about J50 more for on Inferior printer. Scorrsdole Sysrems sells rhe Olympla NP wirh a i 0' shielded coble for o mere: $344 IULY I985 -BYTE 79 WHO MAKES THE HIGHEST QUALITY 15" DISK? ASK SONY. WE INVENTED IT. Long before there was a market for 3.5" disks, in fact, four years before, there was Sony. And while every single 3.5" disk manufacturer has duplicated the Sony design, there's one thing they haven't been able to duplicate. Sony quality. Such error-suppressing materials as VIVAX™ magnetic particles (the very core of the disk itself) have been developed by Sony. As is the case for our manufacturing pro- cess. It includes a burnishing technique that eliminates projections as small as 1/1 ,000,000 of a millimeter from the disk's surface. The result? Every time you use a Sony 3.5" disk you're assured you're using the best magnetic medium you can buy. With somebody else's, you can only guess. © 1985 Sony Tape Sales Company. A division o! Sony Corporaiion ol America, Sony Drive. Park Ridge, New Jersey 07656. Sony is a regislered trademark ol Sony Corporation. Vivax is a trademark ol Sony Corpor aiion. Inquiry 335 IULY 1985 • BYTE 81 Inquiry 162 ATTENTION BERNOULLI BOXERS Give your IOMEGA a Boot! BOOK REVIEWS FiXT/B PLUS for IBM AT, XT, PC and compatibles FiXTIB PLUS gives you the utility of a bootable hard disk while preserving the performance of your Bernoulli Box. You can have it all with FiXTIB PLUS! Golden Bow Systems $95-$ 110 Add $3 for shipping/ handling California residents add 6% sales tax IBM COPY PROTECTION MultiGuard provides maximum protection for your PC soft- ware at a reasonable price. Ten disks or thousands — formatted or fully duplicated. Call today for complete information. DISK COPYING Whether you need 50 disks or thousands, we have years of experience in creating the highest quality copies. Reasonable prices — fast turnaround. Call today for our free booklet on software duplication and packaging. questions of programming technique and style. His discus- sion of speed-optimization techniques covers straight-line code, shared loops, table-lookup methods, and minimal use of subroutines in time-critical sections. With the Apple (as with any other computer), the abil- ity to create the smallest possible program is often im- portant. Lancaster discusses several techniques for doing this, such as custom interpreters, memory overlays, com- pressed text and picture files, and options for building relocatable code modules; he illustrates many of these concepts with examples from commercial programs. Lancaster devotes two chapters to the mechanics of edit- ing assembler source-code files. He deals with the use of the line-oriented editor supplied in the EDASM package and extols the advantages of the screen-oriented Apple Writer word processor for source-code editing. I found this discussion repetitive and wordy. Lancaster belabors the differences between the two approaches: one short chapter would have been sufficient. The eight assembly-language modules presented in the remainder of the text amply demonstrate efficient pro- gramming techniques. The reader is treated to Lancaster's humorous style as his analysis of these routines reveals the secrets of writing quick and compact Apple programs. Each programming example highlights several specific techniques, many of which are further illustrated through examples of similar methods used in actual commercial programs. Lancaster has obviously spent many hours dig- ging into the innards of several popular software packages. The actual code examples Lancaster presents include subroutines for generating random numbers, sound effects, and music; handling message strings; and select- ing program options using a table-driven subroutine. Lan- caster includes complete source listings and flowcharts for all the routines. He also includes an additional module, called an "empty shell," that lists about 200 label names equated to base-page locations, entry points to DOS and Applesoft routines, soft switches, and other hardware- specific memory locations. Assembly Cookbook for the Apple Il/Ile is written with a free- wheeling, irreverent style. If you approach personal com- puter programming from an academic perspective and are looking for a computer science textbook, you will be disappointed. Lancaster writes using both slang and humor, and many of the commercial programming exam- ples are from games rather than business applications. If you are new to the Apple culture, the anecdotes and examples make the learning process more interesting and concrete. Besides developing the fundamentals of assem- bly-language programming, the book provides good in- sight into many of the practical issues that must be ad- dressed when writing commercial software. Assembly Cookbook succeeds in addressing the needs of programmers new to assembly language as well as those considering writing commercial software for the Apple. The two groups obviously have different needs, but Lan- caster emphasizes techniques of interest to both. Call ALF first 1-800-321-4668 in Colorado (303) 234-0871 • J^L,F ALF Pr(,ducls * Denv e r . 82 BYTE" JULY 1985 Inquiry 22 BOOK REVIEWS Roger Cox (POB 45, Pitkin, CO 81241) is a consulting engineer specializing in computer technology and signal processing. 1985 PROGRAMMER'S MARKET Reviewed by E. Francis Avila Writer's Digest Books has for many years produced popular guides for writers and artists in many fields. Like the annual Writer's Market, the 1985 Programmer's Market is a gold mine of information. Freelance program- mers and technical writers could benefit from the data and advice on selling software creations in the competitive microcomputer marketplace. Edited by Brad M. McGehee, author of The Complete Guide to Writing Software User Manuals (Cincinnati. OH: Writer's Digest Books. 1984), this book is patterned after the other publications in the "market" series. Under one cover you will find a comprehensive listing of more than 700 software publishers from across the country that are looking to buy commercially marketable programs. McGehee includes with each publisher's entry: a name to contact (very important): hardware specifics and operating systems: the publisher's software needs: pro- cedures for submitting your software idea: payment schedules: types of contract work: examples of the com- pany's published programs: need for technical writers: and tips on how to break into the market. Good News and Bad News The 1985 Programmer's Market reads like a "Who's Who" in the software industry. It purports to list those microcom- puter software publishers (from the famous to the obscure) that claim to be actively seeking freelance software and technical writing expertise. That's the good news. Here's the bad news. I sent query letters to four well- known software houses and four I'd never heard of. In choosing these companies, I tried to match my expertise with their needs (as described in Programmer's Market). I included stamped self-addressed envelopes. Well, more than six months has passed and I've heard not a word. I'm not encouraged. Obviously, polling 8 out of 700-plus entries cannot be considered a representative sampling of software pub- lishers. Certainly I recognize the possibility that my qualifications did not interest those that 1 queried. At minimum, I expected to get back my stamped envelopes. In the 1985 Programmer's Market. McGehee paints.an op- timistic, albeit cautious, picture of the current state of free- lance programming and technical writing. Given his en- couragement, to say that I was disappointed in the response to my query letters is an understatement. Never- theless, experience in the world of publishing tells me to give it another try. ■ E. Francis Avila (POB 4401, Auburn. CA 95604) is a freelance writer/programmer working on a degree in mathematics. SuperSoft Diagnostics When Reliability Counts Protect yourself from time-robbing system failure. Pinpoint costly hardware problems before they cause serious trouble. Diagnostics II from Super- Soft can help you eliminate hardware problems, service calls, and data loss due to system failure. End Gsers Diagnostics II is the finest set of system diag- nostics available for microcomputers. It thoroughly checks memory, CPU, terminal, printer, and disk drives - isolating many problems to the chip level. It checks both standard and non-standard components, including non-IBM add-ons. The memory test is particularly powerful; incorpo- rating a quick test, walking bit test, bum-in test, and speed test to make sure every bit of memory is completely reliable. Manufacturers Hardware manufacturers, systems houses, and service organizations - we can tailor our diag- nostics software to your specific needs. We have developed custom diagnostics for companies such as NCR, XEROX, MORROW DESIGNS, and SONY. From easy to operate user level diagnostics to exhaustive service level tests, we can provide the expertise you need. So whether you're an end user, service technician, or system manufacturer, get SuperSoft's Diag- nostics II for yourself and keep your system in great shape. Diagnostics II (for all PC DOS, MS DOS, CP/M-86, and CP/M-80 systems): $125 Call for pricing on customized versions. TO ORDER CALL 800-762-6629 (in Illinois call 217-359-21 12) or SEND YOUR CHECK OR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION TO THE ADDRESS BELOW. Add $3 shipping U.S., $6 Canada, $20 all other areas. Please specify your computer and operating system. (C.O.D. orders also accepted) SuperS ft SuperSoft, Inc. P.O. Box 1628, Champaign, IL 61 820 Telex: 270365 SUP ACI CHM Inquiry 346 IULY 1985 • BYTE 83 THE FORTH SOURCE MVP-FORTH Stable Transportable Public Domain - Tools You need two primary features in a software development package a stable operating system and the ability to move programs easily and quickly to a variety of computers. MVP-FORTH gives you both these features and many extras. This public domain product includes an editor. FORTH assembler, toots, utilities and the vocabulary lor the best selling book "Starting FORTH". The Programmer s Kit provides a complete FORTH for a variety of computers. Other MVP FORTH products will simplify the development of your applications. MVP BOOkS A Series □ Vol. 1, All about FORTH by Haydon. MVP-FORTH glossary with cross references to fig FORTH. Starling FORTH, and FORTH 79 Standard 2nd Ed □ Vol. 2, MVP-FORTH Assembly Source Code. Includes IBM-PC®. CP/M® . and APPLE® listing lor kernel □ Vol. 3, Floating Point Glossary by Springer [ 1 Vol. 4, Expert System with source code by Park □ Vol. 5. File Management System with interrupt security by Moreton □ Vol. 6. Expert Tutorial lor Volume 4 by M & L Derick $25 $20 $10 $15 $25 $15 $20 □ HP150 ^js* MACINTOSH MVP-FORTH FORTH DISKS □ APPLE by MM SI 00 □ APPLE by MM.F. 8, G $180 □ ATARI® valFORTH $60 □ ATARI by PNS. F.G. & X S90 □ C64 by HES Commodore 64 cartridge $40 y0H C64 with EXPERT 2 by PS. MVP.G.F & X $99 □ CP/M by MM $100 □ CP/M by MM. F $140 □ HP-75 by Cassady $150 O HP-85 by Lange S90 □ IBM-PC by LM $100 ^HQ IBM-PC by MM $125 □ Macintosh by MM $125 r 1 Timex by HW, cassette □ T/S 1000/ZX-81 $25 IT 2068 $30 n Z80 by LM $100 □ 8086/88 by LM $100 I I 68000 by LM $250 I I VIC FORTH by HES. VIC20 Cartridge $40 I I Extensions for LM Specify IBM. Z80. or □ ^C* Vol. 7, FORTH GUIDE, lo MVP-FORTH by Haydon MVP-FORTH Software A Transportable FORTH I I MVP-FORTH Programmer's Kit including disk, documentation, Volumes 1. 2 & 7 of MVP Series, and Starting FORTH I.1CP/M. DCP/M 86. F1Z100, DApple, □ STM PC. DIBM PC/XT/AT & compatibles. FTPC/MS DOS. □ Osborne. □ Kaypro, nMicroDecisions. DDEC Rainbow, f T NEC 8201. LJTRS-80/100 Key to Vendors: HW Hawg Wild Software LM Laboratory Microsystems MM MicroMotion PNS Pink Noise Studio PS ParSec PI Software Floating Point □ 8087 Support (IBM-PC or 8086 □ 9511 Support (Z80 or 8086) □ Color Graphics (Z80 or 8086) T] Data Base Management Codes: F ■ Floating Point G - Graphics T - Tutorial X - Other Extras $100 $100 S100 $100 S200 S175 MVP-FORTH Enhancement Package for IBM PC/XT/AT Programmer's Kit Includes full screen editor. MS-DOS file interface, disk, display and assembler operators, $110 MVP-FORTH Floating Point and Matrix Math for IBM PC/XT/AT with 8087 or Apple with Applesoft $85 MVP-FORTH Graphics Extension for IBM PC/XT/AT or Apple $65 MVP-FORTH Programming Aids for CP/M, IBM or APPLE Programmer s Kit. Extremely useful tool lor decompiling, callfinding, translating, and debugging, $200 MVP-FORTH Cross Compiler lor CP/M Programmer s Kit. Generates headerless code lor ROM or target CPU. $300 MVP-FORTH Meta Compiler for CP/M Programmer's kit. Use Ini applications on CP/M based computer. Includes public domain source SI 50 1 MVP-FORTH PADS (Professional Application Development System) for IBM PC/XT/AT or PCjr or Apple II. IIB or lie. An integrated system lor customizing your FORTH programs and applications. The editor includes a bi directional string search and is a word processor specially designed for fast development PADS has almost triple Ihe compile speed of most FORTH's and provides fast debugging techniques. Minimum size target systems are easy with or without heads. Virtual overlays can be compiled in object code PADS is a true professional development system Specify Computer. S500 □ MVP-FORTH MS-DOS file interface for IBM PC PADS S80 □ MVP-FORTH Floating Point 8 Matrix Math see above $85 □ MVP-FORTH Graphics Extension see above $65 1 MVP-FORTH EXPERT-2 System for learning and developing knowledge based programs. Both IF-THEN procedures and analytical subroutines are available Source code is provided. Specify □Apple. □IBM, or DCP/M Includes MVP Books, Vol. 4 & 6 $100 1 ^ FORTH-Writer, A Word Processor for Ihe IBM PC/XT/AT with 256K. MVP- FORTH compatible kernel with Files. Edit and Print systems. Includes Disk and Calculator systems and ability to compile additional FORTH words. FORTH MANUALS, GUIDES & DOCUMENTS I 1 Thinking FORTH by Leo Brodie. author S25 of best selling "Starting FORTH" □ ALL ABOUT FORTH by Haydon, MVP Glossary □ FORTH Encyclopedia by Derick & Baker ^jlLl FYS FORTH from the Netherlands □ User Manual □ Source Listing ^jgHD FORTH Tools and Applic. by Feierbach □ The Complete FORTH by Winfield jpttn Learning FORTH by Armstrong □ Understanding FORTH by Reymann ,vnU FORTH, An Applications Approach by Toppen ^»SL1 FORTH Applications by Weber n Mastering FORTH by Anderson & Tracy □ Beginning FORTH by Chirlian □ FORTH Encycl. Pocket Guide □ And So FORTH by Huang, A college level text. □ FORTH Programming by Scanlon □ STARTING FORTH by Brodie. Best instructional manual available, (soft cover) □ 68000 fig-Forth with assembler □ FORML Proceedings □ 1980 H1981 Vol 1 □ 1981 Vol 2 01982 1983 01984 each $25 □ 1981 Rochester Proceedings □ 1981 □ 1982 Q1983 □ 1984 □ Bibliography of FORTH □ The Journal of FORTH Application & Research □ Vol 1/1 nvoi 1/2 □ Vol 2/1 DVol 2/2 Vol 2/3 L I METAFORTH by Cassady □ Threaded Interpretive Languages □ Systems Guide to fig-FORTH by Ting vjgltn msi,le r83 Manual by Ting □ FORTH Notebook by Ting □ Invitation to FORTH □ PDP-11 User Man. I I 6502 User's Manual by Rockwell Intl. I ] FORTH-83 Standard □ FORTH-79 Standard each $25 $17 each $15 $30 S25 $25 $25 $25 $20 $20 $10 $15 $15 S20 Installation Manual for fig-FORTH Source Listings of fig-FORTH, Specify CPU or Computer $15 $15 Ordering Information: Check. Money Order (payable to MOUNTAIN VIEW PRESS, INC.), VISA. MasterCard. American Express. COD'S $5 extra. Minimum order $15. No billing or unpaid PO s. California residents add sales tax. Shipping cnsts in US included in price. Foreign orders, pay in US funds on US bank, include foi handling and shipping by Air S5 for each item under $25. $10 for each item between $25 and $99 and $20 for each item over $100. All prices and products subject to change or withdrawal without notice Single system and/or single user license agreement required on some products MOUNTAIN VIEW PRESS, INC. PO BOX 4656 MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA 94040 (415)961-4103 84 BYTE- IULY I985 Inquiry 253 EVENT QUEUE )uly 1985 • GOVERNMENTAL COMPUTING-Managing Microcomputers in Govern- ment, various sites through- out the U.S. Two seminars. "Managing Microcomputer Usage in Government" and "Using Micros for Govern- ment Management," are of- fered. Fees range from $415 to $795, depending upon duration and governmental or nongovernmental affilia- tion. Contact U.S. Profes- sional Development Institute. 1620 Elton Rd.. Silver Spring, MD 20903, (301) 445-4400. \uly • PBX SEMINAR New Generation PBX: The Path to Voice/Data Integra- tion, various sites throughout the U.S. This three-day seminar covers computer to PBX interfaces, signaling, new products. PBX selection and economics, and a comparison of selected vendors. The full registration fee is $745. Con- tact Data-Tech Institute, Lakeview Plaza, POB 2429. Clifton. N) 07015. (201) 478-5400. July • LOTUS, SYMPHONY SEMINAR— Seminars on Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony, various sites throughout the U.S. A focus on the con- cepts and features of these programs. Contact Data-Tech Institute. Lakeview Plaza. POB 2429. Clifton. NJ 07015. (201) 478-5400. \uly • CAD COURSE Computer-Aided Design. Col- orado State University, Fort Collins. Three-week courses with participants using a high-performance dynamic graphics machine. The fee is $800. Contact Professor Gearold Johnson, Center for Computer Assisted Engineer- ing, Colorado State Universi- ty, Fort Collins. CO 80523, (303) 491-5543. \uly-hugust • ENGINEERING CON FERENCES-Engineer- ing Summer Conferences, Chrysler Center for Con- tinuing Engineering Educa- tion, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Conferences in such areas as biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, and environmental engineering. Contact Engineering Summer Con- ferences. 200 Chrysler Center. North Campus, Uni- versity of Michigan, Ann Ar- bor. MI 48109, (313) 764-8490. )uly-August • COMPUTER SHORT COURSES-The Fifteenth Annual Institute in Computer Science, University of California. Santa Cruz. Among the offerings are "Relational Database Man- agement," "Data Storage." and "Computer-Aided Geo- metric Design." Contact Sally Thomas, University of California Extension, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, (408) 429-4534. july-August • SOFTWARE COURSES Software Short Courses, various sites throughout the U.S. Among the courses are "UNIX: A Hands-on Intro- duction," "Programming in C: A Hands-on Workshop," and "Software Requirements. Specifications, and Tests." Contact Integrated Computer Systems, 6305 Arizona Place, POB 45405, Los Angeles. CA 90045, (800) 421-8166: in California. (800) 3 52-8251 or (213) 417-8888: in Canada. (800) 228-6799. ]uly-August • COMPUTER TRAINING Computer Training Programs. Wintergreen Learning In- stitute, Wintergreen, VA. Hands-on training in word processing, information management, spreadsheets, and graphics. Contact Dr. M. D. Corcoran, Wintergreen Learning Institute, POB 7. Wintergreen, VA 22958, (804) 325-1107. }uly~September • DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS— Professional Development Seminars, various sites around Boston, MA. A brochure describing one- and two-day seminars on computer competence, management, sales, and finance is available. Contact Boston University Metro- politan College, 75 5 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. MA 02215. (800) 255-1080: in Massachusetts, (617) 738-5020. luly-September • SME CONFERENCES, EXPOS— Conferences and Expositions from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, various sites throughout the U.S. For a calendar, contact the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Public Relations Department. One SME Dr.. POB 930, Dearborn, MI 48121, (313) 271-0777. ]uly-November • SNA SEMINAR IBM's Systems Network Ar- chitecture (SNA) Seminar, various sites throughout the U.S. Covers such topics as local-area networks, SNA distribution services, and personal computer connec- tions. Contact Communica- tions Solutions Inc.. 992 South Saratoga-Sunnyvale Rd„ San lose, CA 95129, (408) 72 5-1568. \uly-December • PICK EDUCATION Pick System Educational Series, various sites through- out the U.S. and Europe. Seminars and workshops on the Pick operating system. Contact 1ES & Associates Inc., POB 19274, Irvine. CA 92713, (714) 786-2211. \uly~December • PERSONAL COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS— Data Communications and Net- working for the IBM PC and Other Personal Computers, Atlanta, GA. Topics to be addressed include asyn- chronous connections, syn- chronous mainframe connec- tions, data integrity, and per- sonal computer networking. The fee is $695. Group dis- counts are offered. Contact Software Institute of America Inc.. 8 Windsor St.. Andover, MA 01810. (617) 470-3880. luly 8-9 • ADVANCED AUTOMATION— Robot Manipulators, Computer Vi- sion, and Automated Assembly. Cambridge, MA. Contact Director of the Sum- mer Session, Room E19-3 56. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139. )uly 8-12 [continued) IF YOU WANT your organization's public activities listed in BYTE's Event Queue, we need to know about them at least four months in advance. Send information about computer conferences, seminars, workshops, and courses to BYTE. Event Queue. POB 372, Hancock. NH 03449. IULY 1985 "BYTE 85 Inquiry 306 DISK DRIV€ SUBSVST€MS [[[ PC-INSIDCR OR PC-OUISIDCR \\\ III HARD DISK S6RICS FOR IBM ]]] 10 TO 116 Mb FORMRTT6D UJ/ Controller And All Necessary Cables, Hardware And Power Supply Or PC Style Cabinet From $595 " 60Mb WflNGTCK i /*"ht Yvv STREAMING " TRPC DRIVC OPTION For IBM-PC $1,525 26Mb "d PH€R"std ins l ~/V " CRRTRIDGC DRIVC UJ/ Cabinet, Cables & Software $775 ^ CfllL FOR D€flL€R RND/OR ^ QUANITV PRICING ON HRRD DISKS: Amcodyne Mqpcjor Microsclence QUflAYUfTl MITSUBISHI MICROPOLIS RQDIME landan GCTCRNRl SUBSVST€MS......from $1,525 Over The Fastest 5 1/4" Drives With The 50Mb RMCODVNC SUBSVSTCM Available For COMPUPRO CONCURRCNT DOS 8-16,TURBODOS,And MS-DOS UJ/ 25Mb Removable Cartridge For S Min. Back-Up, Ultimate Data Security/Archival And A Very efficient Networking Solution. — From $4,795 ^==TS2S2 (800) SEE PAGE 431 528-3138 FOR OTHER MDSE The 55! Dau has i Switch ^^tc WW AB'25 'j DATA SPEC presents the affordable data switch. At $59.95* you can conveniently switch between your peripherals without the need for expensive equipment. You also gain outstanding durability with the following quality features: Full metal construction Complete shielding (Exceeds F.C.C. requirements) Reinforced printed circuit boards Anti-skid feet All 25 pins switched Gold plated connector pins Safe "break before make" operation One year warranty Isn't it about time you benefit from high performance at affordable prices? The $59.95 data switch from DATA SPEC. Ask for it at your nearest authorized DATA SPEC dealer. FROM ALLIANCE RESEARCH CORPORATION 20120 Plummer Street . Chatsworth, CA 91311 1-818-993-1202 'Manufacturers suggested retail price lor model AB-25. AIB switch. AIBIC 125 or 36 pin configurations) and cross matrix data switches are also available ©Copyright 1985 Alliance Research Corporation Inquiry 395 for End-Users. Inquiry 396 for DEALERS ONLY. EVENT QUEUE • COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS-The Twenty- Third Annual Meeting of the Association for Computa- tional Linguistics, University of Chicago, IL. Papers, dem- onstrations, and tutorials. Contact Don Walker (ACL), Bell Communications Re- search, 445 South St., Mor- ristown, NJ 07960, (201) 829-4312. July 8-12 • SYMPHONY TIPS Advanced Symphony, Georgia Institute of Tech- nology, Atlanta. Areas covered include auto-dialing to remote computers and "smart" spreadsheets using artificial-intelligence con- cepts to preanalyze numeric outputs. The fee is $390. Contact Irish Stolton, De- partment of Continuing Education. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, (404) 894-2547. July 9-10 • CONSULTANT TRAINING Learn How to Be a Suc- cessful Independent Com- puter Consultant, Honolulu, HI. The risks and rewards of consulting, planning and marketing, legal considera- tions, and resources are covered. Contact Education Technology Center Inc., Suite 1042. 485 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10017, (212) 505-6148. July 13 • AWC CONFERENCE The Fourth Annual National Conference of the Associa- tion for Women in Comput- ing, Allerton Hotel, Chicago, IL. Workshops and sessions on technical and career- enhancement topics. For more information, contact loan Wallbaum, AWCC '85, 407 Hillmore Dr., Silver Spring, MD 20901. July 13-14 • THE NCC The 1985 National Com- puter Conference: NCC '85, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL. Exhibits, technical ses- sions, and development seminars. This year's theme is "Technology's Expanding Horizons." Contact Helen Mugnier, AFIPS, 1899 Preston White Dr.. Reston. VA 22091, (703) 620-8926. \uly 15-18 • iRMX USERS MEET The iRUG Annual Interna- tional Conference, Palmer House, Chicago, IL. The theme is "The Future Direc- tion of Real-Time Software Applications." iRUG is a non- profit organization made up of Intel iRMX operating sys- tem users. Contact Catherine Moon, MS/HF2-57. Intel Corp., 5200 Northeast Elam Young Parkway, Hillsboro, OR 97123. (503) 640-7038. July 17 • DATA SWITCHING Distributed Data Switching Seminar, Washington, DC. A one-day seminar on the technology and application of distributed data switching in telecommunications. The fee is $395. Contact Time- plex Seminars, 400 Chestnut Ridge Rd„ Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07675, (201) 930-4600. July 18 • PERSONAL COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS— Data Communications and Net- working for the IBM PC and Other Personal Computers, New York. NY. See July 8-9 for details. Ju/y 22-23 • SIMULATION The 1985 Summer Computer Simulation Conference: SCSC '85, Westin Hotel. Chicago, IL. Contact Charles Pratt, Society for Computer Simulation, POB 2228, La Jolla, CA 92038, (619) 459-3888. Ju/y 22-26 • COMPUTER WORKSHOPS-Personal Computer Workshops, Aspen and Colorado Springs, CO. Tutorials, including an intro- duction to personal com- 86 BYTE' IULY 1985 THE PROFESSIONAL'S CHOICE Lotus Symphony Call dBase III $349 FrameWbrk $349 MultiMate $249 Word Perfect $209 Software Word Processing Editors FANCY FONT $139 FINAL WORD $189 MICROSOFT WORD $229 MULTIMATE $249 OFFICE WRITER/ SPELLER $279 PFS: WRITE $ 95 SAMNA WORD III $279 VOLKSWRITER DELUXE $159 VOLKSWRITER SCIENTIFIC $279 THE WORD PLUS (OASIS) $105 WORD PERFECT $209 WORDSTAR $199 WORDSTAR 2000 $289 WORDSTAR 2000+ $309 WORDSTAR PRO $259 XYWRITE 11+ $199 Spreadsheets/ Integrated Packages ELECTRIC DESK $209 ENABLE $359 FRAMEWORK $349 LOTUS 1-2-3 $Call MULTIPLAN $135 OPEN ACCESS $359 SAMNA PLUS $379 SMART SYSTEM $559 SPREADSHEET AUDITOR $ 79 SUPERCALC 3 $179 SYMPHONY SCall TKI SOLVER $289 Languages/Utilities CONCURRENT DOS $189 C86 C COMPILER $299 DIGITAL RESEARCH C COMPILER $219 OR FORTRAN 77 $219 LATTICE C COMPILER $299 MICROSOFT C COMPILER $249 MS BASIC COMPILER $249 MS FORTRAN $239 NORTON UTILITIES $ 69 TURBO PASCAL $ SB Database Systems ALPHA DATA BASE MANAGER II $179 CLIPPER SCaU CLOUT V 2.0 $139 CONDOR III $299 CORNERSTONE $329 DBASE II S299 DBASE III $349 INFOSTAR+ $319 KNOWLEDGEMAN $269 PFS: FILE/PFS: REPORT $169 POWERBASE $319 OUICKCODE III $169 QUICKREPORT $169 R BASE 4000 $249 Project Management HARVARD PROJECT MANAGER $209 HARVARD TOTAL PROJECT MANAGER $269 MICROSOFT PROJECT $159 PERTMASTER $549 SCITOR PROJECT 5000 W/GRAPHICS $259 SUPERPROJECT $199 TIME LINE $259 Desktop Environments DESK ORGANIZER $129 SIDEKICK $ 45 SPOTLIGHT $109 Accounting BPI $329 GREAT PLAINS $479 IUS EASYBUSINESS $279 ONE WRITE PLUS $199 OPEN SYSTEMS $379 PEACHTREE $299 REAL WORLD $469 STATE OF THE ART $389 STAR ACCOUNTING PARTNER $249 STAR ACCOUNTING PARTNER II $549 Personal Finance DOLLARS AND SENSE $119 HOWARD TAX PREPARER 85 $195 MANAGING YOUR MONEY $129 Graphics/Statistics ABSTAT AUTOCAD BPS BUSINESS GRAPHICS CHARTMASTER CHARTSTAR DR DRAW ENERGRAPHICS W/ PLOTTER EXECUVISION GRAPHWRITER COMBO MS CHART OVERHEAD EXPRESS PC DRAW PC PAINTBRUSH PFS: GRAPH SIGNMASTER STATPAK-NWA STATPAC- WALONICK SYSTAT $279 $1475 $229 $239 $279 $259 $359 $159 $139 $259 $ 89 $ 95 $179 $329 $349 $419 Professional Development EXPERTEASE $Call MANAGEMENT EDGE $159 SALES EDGE $159 THINK TANK $119 Communications/ Productivity Tools CROSSTALK PROKEY RELAY SMARTCOM II $105 $ 89 $ 99 $109 Hardware 4 Displays AMDEK 310A PRINCETON HX-12 PRINCETON MAX-12 PRINCETON SR-12 QUADRAM AMBERCHROME TAXAN 122 AMBER TAXAN 420/440 ZENITH 124 AMBER ZENITH 135 COLOR Display Boards EVEREX GRAPHICS EDGE $329 HERCULES GRAPHICS CARD $299 HERCULES COLOR CARD $169 PARADISE MODULAR GRAPHICS $275 PARADISE MULTIDISPLAY CARD $295 PERSYST BOB $449 PRINCETON SCAN DOUBLER $Csll SIGMA COLOR 400 $559 STB GRAPHICS PLUS II $309 TECMAR GRAPHICS MASTER $479 TSENG ULTRA PAK $399 TSENG ULTRA PAK-S $349 Networks AST PC NET fCall CORVUS NET $Call ORCHID PC NET SColl 3 COM $C»II Mass Storage/Backup IOMEGA BERNOULLI BOX $2695 MT2S TAPE BACKUP $885 TALLOARSS TQ5025 $2945 SYSGEN IMAGE $850 SYSGEN QICFILE $Call Printers/Plotters C. ITOH DIABLO 620/630 EPSON FX-80+ EPSON FX-100+ EPSON LQ-1500 HP 7475A PLOTTER JUKI 6100 NEC P3 COLOR NEC P3 NEC 2050 NEC 3550 OKIDATA 84P/93P PANASONIC OUME SPRINT 1155 STAR SG/SR/SD TOSHIBA PI340 TOSHIBA P351 Input Devices KEYTRONIC 5151 $17» KOALA lean MICROSOFT MOUSE $139 PC MOUSE W PAINT $159 Emulation Boards AST SCall CXI 3278/9 $950 IRMA $799 IRMALINE $999 IRMAPRINT SCall QUAD 3278 $949 Modems AST REACH 1200 $C.II HAYES 1200 $389 HAYES 12O0B $365 HAYES 2400 $609 VENTEL 1200 HALF CARD $379 Multifunction Boards AST ADVANTAGE $375 AST 6 PAK PLUS (64K) $259 AST 6 PAK PLUS 364K) $339 ORCHID BLOSSOM (64K) $289 ORCHID PC TURBO $739 PERSYST TIME SPECTRUM (64K) $259 QUADBOARD (OK) $229 OUADBOARD 384K) $329 TECMAR CAPTAIN (64K1 SCall TECMAR JR CAPTAIN (128KI $329 TECMAR JR WAVE (64K) $249 TECMAR MAESTRO $429 TECMAR WAVE (64K) $209 Accessories CURTIS SURGE PROTECTORS $Cnll DATASHIELD BACKUP POWER $c.ll GILTRONIX A/B SWITCH $Call MICROBUFFER INLINE (64K) $264 MICROFAZER INLINE (64K) $219 64K RAM SET $25 256K RAM SET $ 79 8087 MATH CHIP $150 •CALL FOR SHIPPING COSTS Samna Word III $279 Chart-Master $239 Quadboard 384K $329 Tseng Ultra Pak $399 Smartmodem Smartmodem 1200B 2400 $365 $609 LOWEST PRICE GUARANTEE!! We will match current nationally advertised prices on most products. Call and compare. fie Diskette Library Case with your order 1B00-2211260 In New York State call (718) 438-6057 TERMS: Checks— allow 14 days to clear. Credit processing— add 3%. COD orders— cash, M.Oor certified check— add $3.00. Shipping and handling UPS surface— and $3.00 per item (UPS Blue $6.00 per item). NY State Residents— add applicable sales tax All prices subject to change. MON.-THURS. 9:00AM-8:00PM SUN. & FRI. 9:00AM-4:00PM Softline Corporation ' P.O. Box 729, Brooklyn, N.Y. 1 1 230 TELEX: 421047 ATLN Ul IULY I985 'BYTE 87 Finally A Video Board That Leaves The Confusion Behind. On an IBM™ monochrome monitor (or equivalent), STB's Chauffeur displays color/graphics software in full-screen format and no software modifications are necessary. Of course, we built the Chauffeur to work with the family of IBM PCs and compatibles. Our new video board is software compatible with the IBM Color/Graphics Adapter, as well as hardware and software compatible with the IBM Monochrome/Printer Adapter. No More Confusion No more mixing and matching hardware with software. The Chauffeur converts graphics display into a format compatible with the IBM monochrome monitor. For you, that means no more worries about preboot software. Best of all, you don't have to deal with those drivers anymore. Follow The Leader STB's Chauffeur is clearly the leader in video boards. It converts colors to a 16 level grey scale, and gives you a graphics display that fills a monochrome screen. For graphics, the Chauffeur supports the same resolutions as the IBM Color/Graphics Adapter. For text, our board produces a high quality monochrome character set. STB's Chauffeur includes a parallel port, an optional clock/ calendar and our exclusive PC Accelerator™, for print spooling and high speed disk emulation. You also get our one year warranty and an illustrated manual with thorough instructions. Relax And Enjoy The View Buy the Chauffeur now. Put it in your system and enjoy watching graphics on your monochrome monitor. STB Systems, Inc. I 1985 STB Systems, Inc. IBM registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp. PC Accelerator trademark of ResiCorp. Flight Simulator trademark of Microsoft. PC Paintbrush trademark of Z-Soft. The Chauffeur trademark of STB Systems, Inc. Avoid The Crazy Drivers In The Graphics Jam With STB's Chauffeur .MfflF Flight Simulator" ub i PC Paintbrush 5 SB ^J"'' 1 ] PC Paintbrush' Finally you can buy the most popular IBM color/graphics software with no worries about hardware compatibility. STB's Chauffeur video board produces monochrome display without preboot software or those crazy drivers. Keep Life Simple Write For A Free Info Pack Today. Inquiry 341 STB Systems, Inc., 601 North Glenville, Richardson, Texas 75081 STB Systems, Inc. Now Showing In Black And White If you own an IBM-PC or PC work-alike, Roland's new MB-142 monitor lets you show off your text and graphics in today's hottest colors- black and white. That's right! The MB-142 gives you black characters on a paper-white background- just like people have been reading for centuries. You can also have white char- acters on a black back- ground with just the touch of a button. Both of these black and white display formats are easier on the eyes and less fatiguing than the green or amber phosphor used in standard monochrome monitors. The MB-142's large 14-inch screen, com- bined with its ultra-high 720 x 350 resolution, can display characters that are larger and more legible than what you can get with ordi- nary monochrome monitors. Another great plus is that the MB-142 plugs directly into the monochrome board of your IBM or com- patible—just like your pres- ent monochrome monitor, with nothing more to buy. Because of theMB-142's advanced electronic cir- cuitry, you even have the ability to mix graphics and text on the same display when using graphics and text boards from leading manu- facturers such as Persyst, STB, Paradise, Hercules, AST and many others. What makes it all possible? The same sophisticated technology used in color monitors. the MB-142 supports all the winning cards ' ush a button for instant reverse screen for business, black and white makes more sense than green and black the big difference is 1 that the MB-142 monitor does the job for significantly less money. The MB-142 is designed to interface economically, too. Imagine seeing your favorite business graphics or CAD/CAM packages, such as Lotus 1-2-3, Ener- graphics, Chart-Master, AutoCAD, CADDraft and VersaCAD, in ultra-high resolution black and white. Also, take full advantage of your pro- gram's windowing capability using the large 14-inch screen. Take a good look at the differences that set the MB-142 apart from the rest. No other monochrome monitor gives you the fatigue-free black and white viewing, text and graphics capabilities and easy interface. Naturally enough, the MB-142 is from Roland DG— the new computer peripherals company that's pointing the way to the future. Look for this and other Roland products at fine com- puter dealers everywhere. For more information, contact: Roland DG, 7200 Dominion Circle, Los Angeles, CA 90040. (213) 685-5141. The software programs listed are trademarks of the following companies: AutoCAD, AUTODESK. Inc.; CADDraft, Personal CAD Systems, Inc.; Chart-Master, Decision Resources, Inc.; Energraphics, Enertronic Research, Inc.; Lotus 1-2-3, Lotus Develop- ment Corp.; VersaCAD, T&W Systems, Inc. Roland DG 90 BYTE- JULY 1985 Inquiry 305 EVENT QUEUE puters, word processing, spreadsheets, and database management. Contact Rocky Mountain Institute of Soft- ware Engineering, 1670 Bear Mountain Dr., POB 3521, Boulder, CO 80303, (303) 499-4782. July 22-26 • SIGGRAPH SIGGRAPH '85: The Twelfth Annual Conference on Com- puter Graphics and Inter- active Techniques, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA. Contact SIGGRAPH '85, Conference Services Office, Smith, Bucklin and Asso- ciates Inc., Ill East Wacker Dr.. Chicago, IL 60601, (312) 644-6610. ]uly 22-26 • AIRBORNE COMPUTING SAFETY-Meeting of the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, Washington, DC. Special Committee 156 convenes at 9:30 a.m. to discuss the possible hazards posed by the use of lap-top computers in airplanes. Con- tact Radio Technical Com- mission for Aeronautics, Suite 500, 1425 K St., Washington, DC 20005, (202) 682-0266. ]uly 23-24 • INTELLIGENT MACHINES Logic Programming & Expert Systems, The Turing Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland. Lec- tures, demonstrations, and sessions on programming techniques, system structure, and Prolog. Contact The Hir- ing Institute, 2 Hope Park Square. Edinburgh EH8 9NW, Scotland: tel: 031-668-1737. ]uly 24-25 • TECH CONFERENCE Semi-Official Get-together: SOG IV, Central Oregon Community College, Bend, OR. Sponsored by Micro Cornucopia, this conference features forums on commu- nications and single-board systems design. Admission is free. Contact Micro Cornucopia Inc., POB 223, Bend. OR 97709, (503) 382-8048. \u\y 25-28 • CHEMICAL ENGINEERING— The Seventh C.C.C.E. National Computer Workshops-East, Clarkson University. Potsdam, NY. Sponsored by the American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Education's Committee on Computers in Chemical Education and Project SERAPHIM. Advanced regis- tration is $100. Contact Dr. Donald Rosenthal. Depart- ment of Chemistry, Clarkson University. Potsdam. NY 13676, (315) 268-6647. \uly 28-August 1 • PUBLIC COMPUTING The Twenty-Third Annual Conference of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, Westin Hotel, Ottawa, Ontario. Canada. The conference theme is "Computers in Public Agencies, Sharing Solutions." Contact URISA Secretariat, Suite 300, 1340 Old Chain Bridge Rd.. McLean, VA 22101, (703) 790-1745. }uly 28-August 1 • AI, EXPERT SYSTEMS BRIEFING-Artificial In- telligence and Expert Sys- tems: What Users and Sup- pliers Must Know Today to Deploy These Technologies as Profitable Strategic Cor- porate Resources Tomorrow, Park Plaza, Boston, MA. A one-day executive briefing. The fee is $790. Contact Ms Lee Burgess, Professional Development Programs, Rensselaer Polytechnic In- stitute, Troy Building. Troy. NY 12180-3590, (518) 266-6589. ]uly 29 • COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION— The 1985 World Conference on Com- puters in Education. SCOPE Convention Center, Norfolk, VA. Exhibits, papers, panel sessions, tutorials, and preconference workshops. Contact WCCE/85, AFIPS. 1899 Preston White Dr., {continued) "Switch boxes are sold by many suppliers, but by far the two best value s are fr om MFJ Enterprises." "The MFJ RS-232 Transfer Switch. Buy it before the manu- facturer conies to his senses!" Joe Campbell, The RS-232 Solution Sybex Computer Books Now you can have reliable and affordable and unplugging cables. You can easily switch letter-quality printer, modem, terminal - any Transfer Switches includes one to fit Look at these choices; then look at any price! Then ask them for show you, call MFJ. . . When you need to switch between two peripherals . computers sharing the same peripheral . . . port expansion. Don't keep plugging your computer to your high-speed printer, RS-232 peripheral device. MFJ's range of your needs at a price you can afford, these prices. Compare others at their reviews. When they won't . or you need to have two Model 1240/S79.9S Never unplug a cable again. Now, with the push of a button you can go from dot matrix to letter quality printing, or go from your printer to your modem. MFJ's Model 1240 Transfer Switch features a built-in transmit/receive switch allowing you two-way information flow. LF.Ds moni- tor important data lines while a built-in surge protector guards them. The 1 240 also acts as a null modem. All this for just S79.9S.No wonder its MFJ's No. 1 seller! When you need l-to-4 computers to share one peripheral or 1 to-4 peripherals to share a common computer... Model 1243/$ 119-9$ The perfect office Transfer Switch. Don't buy multiple printers or modems. Just buy MFJ's Model 1243. Then you can connect one or all your computers to a single printer or modem. Or let your one computer share up to four peri pherals. Think of the money you'll save. LEDs monitor important data lines while a built-in surge protector guards them. Two-way communication is allowed with no complicated software to learn: just push a button' Seven additional models to Choose from. Each unit's casing is constructed from high-quality aluminum. Printed circuit boards assure maximum reliability by eliminating crosstalk, line interference and any need for wiring. All MFJ switches have IADs to monitor data lines and MOV surge protectors. Enhance the investment you've already made in your computer by choosing from the finest line of Transfer Switches on the market, including MFJ's IBM & Centronics Parallel Switches. You've got a lot of money tied up in your computer. Dont blow HI Your valuable computer and peripheral equipment can be damaged by electrical surges much smaller than you've been ted to believe. Far more likely to happen is having your impor- tant data wiped out These disasters, and olners, can be prevented with MFJ's Power Centers. Relay latches power off during power dropouts (Model 1108). Multi-filters isolate equipment, eliminate interaction, noise and hash. MOVs suppress spikes and surges. MFJ's Power Centers also have 3 isolated, switched socketpairs, with at least one unswitched socket (so you can add a clock, etc.), lighted power switch, fast-acting fuse, 3-wire, 6-foot cords; ISA, 12SV, and 1875 watts. Although each model is attractively housed in a protective aluminum casing, these are heavy-duty, commercial-quality power centers. Watch out for fancy names that cost twice as much, last half as long, and have half the features of MFJ's Centers. Model 1 107 8 sockets, 2 unswitched; $79.95 Model 1 108 7 sockets, 1 unswitched; with dropout relay; $99-95 Model 1109 is like 1107 but intelligent (switch on the device that's plugged into the control socket and every thing else comes on). $129.95 There are other RS-232 Switches, Power Centers, and Computer Peripheral Pro- available from MFJ. Call and talk with us about all your computing needs, and when you do, ask for out latest catalog. Both the call and the catalog are free. 1-800-647-1800 For technical/ repair information, or in Mississippi, or outside the Continental United States, please telephone . . . 1 (601)323-5869 — 53-4590 MFJSMCV All MFJ products come with a double guarantee we think is unmatched. Order from MFJ and try any product for 30 days. If it doesn't satisfy your needs, just return it for a full refund, less shipping. If you keep it you can lie assured of continued service with our One Year Unconditional Guarantee. Call toll-free 1 -800-647- 1800 and charge the products you need to your VISA or Master- Card, or send a check or money order, plus S5.00 shipping, and our shipping department will promptly have your computer peripheral on its way to you. MFJ Enterprises Inc. 921 Louisville Road Starkville, MS 39759 Inquiry 231 IULY 1985 -BYTE 91 High performance to cost ratio... Programming Chips? Projects develop profitably with development hardware /software from GTEK. MODEL 7228 - $599 This model has all the features of Model 7128, plus Intelligent Programming Algorithims. It supports the newest devices available through 512Kbits; pro- grams 6x as fast as standard algorithims. Programs the 2764 in one minute! Supports Intel 2764A & 27128A chips. Supports Tektronics, Intel, Motorola and other formats. MODEL 7956 (with RS232 option) .... $1099. MODEL 7956 (stand alone) $ 979. GTEK's outstanding Gang Pro- grammer with intelligent algorithm can copy 8 EPROMS at a time! This unit is used in a pro- duction environment when pro- gramming a large number of chips is required. It will program all popular chips on the market through the 27512 EPROMS. It also supports the Intel 2764A & 27 128 A chips. It will also program single chip processors. EPROM & PAL PROGRAMMERS —These features are standard from GTEK— Compatible with all RS232 serial interfere ports • Auto select baud rate • With or without hand- shaking • BkhrecQonal Xon/Xoff • CTSDTR supported • Read pin compatible ROMS • No per- sonality modules • Intel Motorola, MCS86 Hex formats • Split facility for 16 bit data paths • Read program, formatted list commands • Interrupt driven — program and verify real time while sending data* Program single byte, block, or whole EPROM • Intelligent diagnostics discern bad and/or erasable EPROM • Verify erasure and compare commands • Busy light • Complete with Textool zero insertion force socket and integral 120 VAC power (240 VAOoOHz available) • MODEL 7324 - $1499 This unit has a built-in compiler. The Model 7324 programs all MMI, National and TI 20 and 24 pin PALs. Has non-volatile memory. It operates stand alone or via RS232. Model 7322 PAL Programmer $1249 MODEL 7128 - $429 This model has the highest performance-to-price-ratio of any unit. This is GTEK's most popular unit! It supports the newest devices available through 256Kbits. MODEL 7316 Pal Programmer $ 749 Programs Series 20 PALs. Built-in PALASM compiler. DEVICES SUPPORTED NMOS by GTEK's EPROM Programmers NMOS CMOS EEPROM MPU'S 2758 2764A 2508 68764 27C16 2716 27128 2516 8755 27C16H 2732 27128A 2532 5133 27C32H 2732A 27256 2564 5143 27C64 2764 27512 68766 27C256 5213 I2816A 8748 8741H 5213H I2817A 8748H 8744 52B13 8749H 8751 X2816 8741 68705 48016 8742H UTILITY PACKAGES GTEK's PGX Utility Packages will allow you to specify a range of addresses to send to the programmer, verify erasure and/or set the EPROM type. The PGX Utili- ty Package includes GHEX, a utility used to generate an Intel HEX file. PALX Utility Package — for use with GTEK's Pal Programmers — allows transfer of PALASM® source file or ASCII HEX object code file. Both utility packages are available for CPM,® MSDOS,® PCDOS,® ISIS® and TRSDOS® operating systems. Call for pricing. CROSS ASSEMBLERS These assemblers are available to handle the 8748, 8751, Z8, 6502, 68X and other microprocessors. They are available for CPM and MSDOS computers. When order- ing, please specify processor and computer types. ACCESSORIES Model 7128-L1, L2, L2A (OEM Quantity! $259. Model 7128-24 $329. Cross Assemblers $200. PGX Utilities Call for pricing PALX Call for pricing UTEK XASM (for MSDOS) $250. U/V Eraser DE-4 $ 80. RS232 Cables $ 30. 8751 Adapter $174. 8755 Adapter S135. 48 Family Adapter $ 68705 Programmer | Development Hardware/Software P.O. Box 289, Waveland, MS 39576 601/467-8048 , INC. GTEK, PALASM, CPM, MSDOS, PCDOS, ISIS, and TRSDOS are all registered trademarks. EVENT QUEUE Reston, VA 22091, (800) 522-1985; in Virginia. (703) 620-8900. )uly 29-August 2 August 1985 • PROFESSIONAL EDUCA- TION SEMINARS— Advanced Professional Education Seminars, various sites throughout the U.S. and Canada. Among the titles on the agenda are "UNIX/ XENIX," "The IBM Personal Computer," "Networking the IBM Personal Computer," and "SNA and Telecon- cepts." Contact the Center for Advanced Professional Education, Suite 110, 1820 East Garry St., Santa Ana, CA 92705. (714) 261-0240. August • IBM PC SEMINAR IBM PC Seminar, various sites throughput the U.S. A three-day seminar covering PC hardware, PC-DOS. IBM PC work-alikes, and software selection. Contact Data-Tech Institute, Lakeview Plaza, POB 2429, Clifton, NJ 07015. (201) 478-5400. August • ENGINEERING CON- FERENCE, EXPO-The 1985 ASME International Com- puters in Engineering Con- ference and Exhibition, Sheraton Boston Hotel, Boston, MA. The theme is "Expert Systems: A New Dimension in Computer Engineering." Contact The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 345 East 47th St., New York, NY 10017, (212) 705-7100. August 4-8 • COMPUTERS IN BIOLOGY— Computers in Biology. University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. Con- current, one-week courses on computers in bioeduca- tion. the classroom and laboratory, research, and biological modeling and simulation. Tuition is $595 ($495 for educators). Con- tact Professor Theodore ). Crovello, Biocomputing Short Courses, Department of Biology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, (219) 239-7031. August 4-9 • PREPARE FOR FACTORY AUTOMATION-How To Plan for Factory Automation, Center for Continuing Engineering Education. University of Wisconsin- Extension, Milwaukee. The strategy, technology, systems, and control implica- tions are explored. A work- ing knowledge of computer systems, group technology, CAD/CAM, and manufactur- ing management is recom- mended. The fee is $890. Contact Center for Continu- ing Engineering Education, University of Wisconsin- Extension, Civic Center Campus, 929 North Sixth St.. Milwaukee, Wl 53203, (414) 224-4191. August 5-9 • MACROS AND SYMPHONY-Advanced Ap- plication Techniques: Using Symphony Macros, Dallas, TX. A workshop emphasiz- ing a building-block ap- proach to learning the se- quence of macro instruc- tions and how they can be used to solve everyday ap- plication needs. Contact Data-Tech Institute, Lakeview Plaza. POB 2429. Clifton. NJ 07015, (201) 478-5400. August 7-8 • EVENT FOR TRAINERS COMTRED '85: The National Computer Training and Education Conference and Exhibition, Civic Center. Philadelphia, PA. Seminars and conferences for edu- cators, computer trainers, retailers, and distributors. More than 50 exhibits. Pre- conference workshops on August 6. Contact National Computer Education Exposi- tions Inc., Suite 200, 1411 (continued) 92 BYTE • JULY 1985 Inquiry 163 Vlersaform's new XL database isn't just promises— it's here now! 'And it offers— YES, FOR ONLY $99 — all the features you'd expect in a database costing 4 times as much. Accounting applications are XL's strength. Invoicing, purchasing, receiv- ables, and shipping almost create themselves as you design the forms— and XL transfers data between them. There's an Invoicing, A/R and Inven- tory application— source code included— in the package that shows how it's done. The power's there. And unlike packaged accounting programs, you can do them YOUR way. VersaForm XL dBASE III' R-BASE 4000- PRICE 99 695 495 STRUCTURED LANGUAGE V Y ' Y MULTI-FILE V Y Y COLUMNS WITHIN DATA RECORD V N N DATA ENTRY CHECKING BUILT-IN MUST WRITE PROGRAM BUILT-IN ON-SCREEN CALC BUILT-IN MUST WRITE PROGRAM MUST WRITE PROGRAM FORMS OUTPUT BUILT-IN MUST WRITE PROGRAM MUST WRITE PROGRAM DATE ARITHMETIC Y Y N DATA TYPES DYNAMIC FIXED FIXED COLUMN TOTAL OPERATOR Y N N QUERY BY EXAMPLE Y N EXTRA MAX FILE SIZE 4 MB OPEN OPEN MAX RECORD SIZE 4000 4000 1530 "dBASE III is a registered trademark of Ashton-Tate. R:BASE 4000 is a trademark of Microrim, Inc. 1 XL's structured language can access multiple files. 48 built-in functions give control of file access, printing, and user dialogues. You'll develop transaction-based applications with an ease you've never experienced before. And all at this unheard-of low price. VersaForm XL's unique form-oriented data structures let you easily set up forms and ledgers— even those with columns! Application develop- ment is FAST, FAST, FAST. And since forms are the way that businesses already store their data, the transition is smooth. That's why VersaForm XL is so easy to operate even for high-turnover clerical people— it starts from where they are now. < Automatic data entry checking and on-screen calculation make trans- actions error-free. Stored print formats make output formatting a snap— you can quickly match existing paper forms. VersaForm XL's report generator is clear and intuitive. Designers can pre-install reports, Inquiry 37 users can set up their own. • Query-by-forms (at no extra cost) lets users go right to the data they need. No query language to learn— forms are the natural language of business. Ironclad Money-Back Guarantee Try VersaForm XL for 30 days. If you're not fully satisfied, return it. We'll gladly refund your money. Order now, and have the pleasure of using the right tool at the right price. You can't lose! VersaForm XL runs on IBM PC, XT, AT and compatibles. Requires 192K, two 360KB drives, DOS 2.0 or later. Hard disk recommended. Standard VersaForm (single file, no language) available for 64K, 2-drive Apple II or 128K IBM PC. $69. VersaForm XI Applied Software Technology, Dept 785, 1350 Dell Ave., Suite 206, Campbell, CA 95008 (408) 370-2662 Yes! Rush me Versaform XL for the IBM PC ($99) Standard Versaform (Single file, no language) for the IBM PC ($69) Apple II (+,E,C) ($69) Credit card members can order by phone. Toll-Free. 1-800-824-8145 In California Toil-Free: 1-800-854-4448 Enclose check or money order with coupon. Include $4.50 for U.S. Shipping and handling. $7.00 for C.O.D. California residents add 6.5% tax. My check or money order is enclosed Send C.O.D. Charge my MasterCard Visa Account No. Expires PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY Name Address City Phone 785 _State^ Signature. -Zip_ IULY 1985 -BYTE 93 LOTUS USES FRAMEWORK. Lotus® travels in the fast lane.They can't settle for second best in business software. That's exactly why they went out and bought Framework™ software. Framework's a winner. In their "Over- all Evaluation"category, Software Digest, December, 1984, rated Framework the best integrated package. And when 10 teams of Wharton MBA candidates squared off against each other with dif- ferent business software, the Framework team won hands down. Lotus likes a winner. The future of Lotus is mapped out on Framework where a powerful spread- sheet works with a critically-acclaimed word processor. It's a combination that only Framework has.The Framework out- line function— built in, not added on— lets Lotus see what's up the road ahead. And a data management function helps Lotus keep track of their fast-moving products. Lotus came to two conclusions after looking for software. One: a symphony is something you listen to on the highway with the radio turned up loud. And two: Framework may well be all the business software a fast-moving company needs. For a dealer near you call (800) 437-4329, ext. 222. In Colorado (303) 799-4900, ext. 222. Software from ASHTONTATE Wfell put you in control. Inquiry 41 Inquiry 88 COMPETITIVE EDGE P.O. Box 556 — Plymouth, Ml 48170 — 313^51-0665 Compupro®, LOMAS, EARTH, TELETEK, Macrotech S-100 CIRCUIT BOARDS CompuPro 286 CPU '" CompuPro SPUZ'"8MHZ CompuPro 8085/88" CompuPro Disk,1 A CompuPro Disk3" CompuPro Ram 22 '" CompuPro Ram 23'" CompuPro Ram23 1 2B CompuPro CPUZ'" CompuPro CCP/M*8 16* System Support One'" TeletekHD/ Teletek Systemaster* $750. Lomas286 $821. 261. Lomas8086 420. 245. LomasOctaporVBSerial 320. 347. Lomas LDP'" 72 206. 417. Lomas 256K Dram 556. 850. Lomas512KDram 821. 277- Lomas Ram 67'" 725. 487. Lomas Hazitall " 244. 189. Thunder186" 1095 250. Lomas CCP/MW 280. 245. CompuPro I/O 4 245. 375. TeletekSBCI 525. 557. Systemasterll® 899. Lomas 2 Megabyle Ram-(2048K) just Macrotech 286/Z80H Lomas 10MHz 8086 Lomas 4 serial Macrotech 256K Dram Macrotech 512K Dram Macrotech 51 2K static Macrotech 256K static Lomas Color Magic'" 16K . LomasMSDOS'"2.11 CompuPro MDriveH*512K CompuPro I/O 3 8 port TeletekSBCI 6MHz 128 Turbodos* for Teletek $1595. $795. 520. 200. 499. 799. 1595. 795. 476 200. 495. Earth Computer TURBO SLAVE 1 8MHz 1 28K $395. Turbo Slave I runs with TelBtek, North Star Horizon, Advanced Digital and Others under Turbodos'" SYSTEMS CompuPro 85/88,256K.CDOS, SS1.I/0 4.2-96TPI DRS, 10 Slot CompuPro 85/68.256K.CDOS, SS1.I/0 4.1-96TPI.20MB, 10 Slot 286/280H.1024K Static, CDOS, SS1.I/0 4,1-96TPI,40MB, 10 Slot 286. 1024K, 20MB, AutoCad 2 System — Ready to Run Lomas 286,1024K,20MB HD,1-5",CDOS, 6 SERIAL, 2 Par, 10 Slot Lomas Thunder 186. 256K, 20 MB HD, 1-5", CDOS, 4 Slot Teletek 8MHz Master, 4-8MHZ 128K SLVS, 1-5 ', 20 MB HD, TDOS $3095 $4295 $7495 $8395. $4995 $2895 $4495 UPGRADE YOUR IBM® PC ™!! MONITORS GRAPHIC BOARDS HARD DRIVE KITS AmdBx310A $159 Hercules Monochrome $299 PC 10MB PC $695 Taxan CrJ(rw440 $549 Hercules Color Card $159 PC 21 MB PC $895 Princeton Color HR- 12 $459 Tecmar G raphics Master $449 AT21MBAT $795 PnncelonColoiSR-12 $649 Paradise Graphics $279 AT 36MB AT $1295 STBGraphix II $279 AT 70MB AT $2295 AT 80MB AT $3295 MULTI-FUNCTION BOARDS FLOPPY DRIVES AT 11 9MB AT $3595 AST6Pak64K $245 TEAC 1/2 HT FD55B $119 Quadram Expanded QuadboarOOK $219 Mitsubishi 96 TPI $125 Tecmar Captain 64K S199 5" DSDD Color Diskettes $ 21 ALL PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND STOCK ON HAND CompuPro is a Registered Trademark ot Viasyn, CPU Z. Disk 1A, Disk 3, Intertacer 3. Intertacer 4„ CPU 256. CPU 8085/88 System Support I, MDRIVE-H, Ram 22, Ram 23 are trademarks or registered irademarks ol Viasyn. CP/M 2.2. CCP/M, an registered Irademarks ol Digital Research Inc. MSDOS is a registered trademark ol Microsoft. Systemaster & Syslamaster II an registered trademarks ol Teletek Enterprises. Turbodos is registered trademark ol Software 2000. IBM is a registered irademarl ol International Business Machines. AutoCad 2 is a registered trademark ol AutoDesk, Inc. The Ultimate Cable Assembly Inside and Out You've never seen a cable that looks or works quite like this. The result of extensive research into functional design, the DATA SPEC cable assembly not only visually enhances your computer equip- ment, but provides superior quality with the following features: Full shielding (Exceeds F.C.C. EMI/RFI emission requirements) Positive strain relief Large convenient thumbscrews Gold plated pins Exclusive P.D.T. underhood for maximum integrity Lifetime warranty DATA SPEC makes cable assemblies for all your interface needs: printers, modems, disk drives and monitors. For your IBM, Apple, AT&T and other popular PC's. Ask for DATA SPEC cables at your nearest authorized DATA SPEC dealer. [iDuUDuerajcr FROM ALLIANCE RESEARCH CORPORATION 20120 Plummer Street • Chatsworth, CA 91311 • 1-818-993-1202 IBM Apple aid ATiT ti* wsieiett liaOema-is tastmcinaty ol tpmrruttpnH SUWWM Mat/wies Corp . Apple Computer Inc tt>0 ATST InlormaUon Sy>r»mj Patent PND. ©Copyright 1985 Alliance Research Corporalic EVENT QUEUE Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19102, (215) 972-8792. August 7-9 • COMPUTER, ELEC- TRONIC EVENT-Computer- fest '85, Building 7, Sinclair Community College, Dayton, OH. Seminars, flea-market areas, speakers, users-group meetings, and club booths and displays are some of the highlights. Admission is $1.50. Contact Mark Hanslip, Computerfest '85, 143 Schloss Lane, Dayton, OH 45418-2931, (513) 268-7225. August 10-11 • TOMORROW'S COMPUTERS— International Symposium on New Direc- tions in Computing, Norwegian Institute of Technology, Trondheim, Nor- way. Contact New Directions in Computing, IEEE Com- puter Society, POB 639, Silver Spring, MD 20901. August 12-14 • GRAPHICS Ausgraph '85. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Australia's first international conference and exhibition on computer graphics. Con- tact Conference Secretariat, Ausgraph '85, POB 29, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia; tel: (03) 387 9955; Telex: AA 33761. August 12-16 • MACROS AND SYMPHONY-Advanced Ap- plication Techniques: Using Symphony Macros, Chicago. IL. See August 7-8 for details. August 14-15 • COMPUTER SWAP Northwest Computer Swap Number 9, Fiesta Exhibit Hall, San Mateo County Fair- grounds, San Mateo, CA. Admission is $5. Contact Northwest Computer Swap, 4883 Tonino Dr., San lose, CA 95136, or call Robert Kushner, (408) 978-7927. August 17 • Al INVESTIGATED 1ICA1-85: The International Joint Conferences on Arti- ficial Intelligence, University of California, Los Angeles. Topics include Al architec- tures and languages, intel- ligent CA1, automated rea- soning, and expert systems. Tutorials. Contact DCAI-85, American Association for Artificial Intelligence, 44 5 Burgess Dr., Menio Park. CA 94025, (415) 321-1118. August 18-24 • FOR EDUCATORS Innovative Applications of Microcomputer Technology in Vocational Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison. The emphasis will be on interactive video, net- working, hard-disk systems and storage backup devices, and telecommunications for agriculture, education, and health applications. Contact Dr. Judith Rodenstein, Voca- tional Studies Center, 964 Educational Sciences Building, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 102 5 West lohnson St., Madison, Wl 53706, (608) 263-4367. August 19-21 • MACROS AND SYMPHONY-Advanced Ap- plication Techniques: Using Symphony Macros, Philadel- phia, PA. See August 7-8 for details. August 21-22 • INTERFACING WORKSHOP-Personal Com- puter and STD Computer Interfacing for Scientific In- strument Automation. Washington, DC, area. A hands-on workshop with participants wiring and testing interfaces. The fee is $450. Contact Dr. Linda Leffel, C.E.C.. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, (703) 961-4848. August 22-24 • EUROPEAN MEDICAL INFORMATICS— The Sixth International Congress of 96 BYTE' IULY 1985 Inquiry 397 for End-Users. Inquiry 398 for DEALERS ONLY. INCREDIBLE NEW SERVICE BREAKTHROUGH OVERNIGHT DELIVERY! » jt/£ On Orders Totalling Over $100 ...Shipped UPS FREE II Under S100 V'c Purolator courier ...We'll Continue To Beat ■ ■ 131 ■ ■ W ,Trr ,c CTII I FFFFP.TIVE Any Price By.. DATA BASE MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGEMAN $259 Clout 2 145 Tim IV 279 R:Base 4000 265 R:Ba»e 5000 Lowest Price DB Master 475 d BASE III 365 Ouickode III 159 d Base II iNew Release) 269 Condor III 349 Data Base Mgr. II oipha) 175 Extended Report Writer 1 1 9 Friday 169 pis: file & pts: report 165 REVELATION 745 Powerbase 309 Easyliler 235 FINANCIAL DOLLARS AND SENSE $115 Market Mgr. Plus idow Jones) 179 MANAGING YOUR MONEY 119 GRAPHICS CHARTMASTER $275 THAT'S RIGHT! OUR LDWtai r Tell us the advertiser and price ol paqes currently advertised in any P "hat price by S10 This oiler does r price is nol lower than Logicsoll s SOFTWARE for IBM PC GRAPHICS (com.) BPS Graphics $2B9 SIGNMASTER 195 pfs: graph 85 Graphwriter 319 Graphwriter Extension 319 Graphwriter Combo Pak 485 Microsoft Chart 175 ENERGRAPHICS 259 Energraphics (w/plotter opt.) 325 PC Draw 295 LANGUAGES/UTILITIES CONCURRENT PC D0Si—«i$175 Pascal MT + (PC DOS) 349 PL/1 (DR) 489 Display Manager(DR) 359 Access Manager(DR) 269 LATTICE C COMPILER 305 C-Food Smorgasbord 119 CIS Cobol 86 (DR) 479 Pascal Compiler (MS) 245 C Compiler (MS) (New Reieasei 305 Microsoft Sort 159 Cobol Compiler (MS) 479 LANGUAGES/ UTILITIES (com.) Business Basic (MS) $299 FORTRAN COMPILER (MS) _229 C86 C Compiler (Computer Innovations) 329 INTEGRATED/ SPREADSHEETS LOTUS 1-2-3 $305 Enable 305 Smart Series 579 FRAMEWORK 355 Open Access 395 Electric Desk 229 SYMPHONY 429 Supercalc 3 175 Multiplan 129 TK! Solver 279 pfs: plan 85 PROJECT SCHEDULERS MICROSOFT PROJECT $165 SuperProject (IUS) . 245 HARVARD TOTAL PROJECT MGR. 285 WORD PROCESSING Wordstar 2000 $259 WORDSTAR 2000 PLUS 309 WORD PROCESSING (com.) Wordstar Pro Pac $265 Wordstar Pro Plus 345 WORD PERFECT (New Release,_245 Microsoft Word 245 MULTIMATE 249 Volkswriter Deluxe 165 Peachtext 5000 199 Easywriter ll/Speller/Mailer 199 Edix & Wordix 255 Finalword 225 Samna III 325 Xy Write II Plus 255 Think Tank 125 pfs: write 85 MISCELLANEOUS UTILITIES PROKEY 3.0 $89 Norton Utilities iNew Release) 65 SIDEKICK (unprotected) 65 Crosstalk XVI (New Release). Sideways Copy II PC . DESK ORGANIZER _115 45 39 .129 HARDWARE for IBM PC GRAPHICS BOARDS AST Preview Lowest Price EVEREX Graphics Edge HERCULES Graphics Card Color Card .Lowest Price _$325 169 PLANTRONICS/FREDERICK Colorplus $385 STB Graphics Plus II $315 TECMAR Graphics Master $459 TSENG LABORATORIES Ultra Pak _$545 GRAPHICS BOARDS (com.) PARADISE SYSTEMS Multi-Display Card $279 Modular Graphics Card 289 Options A&B Lowest Price MODEMS (INTERNAL) PROMETHEUS Pro-modem 1200B $319 QUADRAM Asher $395 HAYES Smartmodem 1 200B, ,$385 NOVATION Smart-Cat Plus $355 RACAL VADIC Maxwell 1200PC $395 MODEMS (INTERNAL) (com.) VEN-TEL PC Modem Half Card $439 COMMUNICATIONS BOARDS AST AST 5251-11 or 12 $629 AST 3780 749 I/O Plus II 135 OCA IRMA Board OUADRAM Quadlink MULTI-FUNCTION BOARDS (com.) AST RESEARCH (cont.) Advantage (1 28k; $429 OUADRAM Quadboard (64k) $259 STB Rio-Plus II (64k) $259 Rio Grande Lowest Price _$949 _$449 Grande Byte TECMAR Captain . .Lowest Price $235 MULTI-FUNCTION BOARDS AST RESEARCH Six Pak Plus (64kj $259 Mega Plus II (64k) 275 KEYBOARDS KEYTRONIC 5150 5151 (Deluxe). 51 52 B or L _ _$159 179 .Lowest Price Prices subject to change without notice. * NO SURCHARGE lor VISA or MasterCard * No Sales Tai on Orders Oulside N y Slate * Purchase Orders Welcomed from Qualified Insinubons NO SURCHARGE' iPlease call tor price vanlicalioni • Please add tor handling and insurance llnl l orders add i 1 • Payment MasterCard VISA American E»p COD Mpnev Order o Immediate Replacement on any Detective Product. "SS 1-800-64 5-349 1 Customer Service 1-800-431-9037 THE LOGICAL CHOICE / Q y A Member of The Lcqic Group — ^ m 110 Bi County Blvd.. Farmingdale. N Y. 11735 New York State..516-249-8440 Canada 416-283-2354 Domebtic/lnternational Telex .286905 Soft UR NEW! Expanded Special Order Dept. t We know there are many products that simply cannot be found s^JJ through mail order. We've solved that problem...just ask for our ^ WE WILL BEAT ANY PRICE BY sio See Otne: Side lor Details brtuiAL unutn department... we ve got tne suppliers.. .still at low mail order prices! •Overnight Deliver^ - S« Other's,*, lo, DefaM ™- DATABASE GRAPHICS for Macintosh! 1 DB Master Filevision _ 1st Base _ Habadex _ Helix Mainstreet Filer _ Megafiler Microsoft File _ Omnis 2 Omnis 3 Overview pis: File & Report MacLiort Factfinder GRAPHICS Animation Tool Kit □avinci Series (Buildings, Interiors. Landscapes) _S12S 105 10B 11B 249 1B6 135 140 169 _275 179 105 245 95 Davinci Commercial Int. . Davinci Building Block-; McPic _S39 Microsoft Chart Click Art Series (Pers. Graphics, Pub's, Letters} LANGUAGES/UTILITIES Basic Interpreter (MS) MacForth (Level 1) MacForth(Level2) Smoothtalker Softmaker II Softworks "C" PC to Mac & Back Hippo-C (Level 1) MANAGEMENT/ FINANCE Oollars & Sense Front Desk MANAGEMENT/FINANCE _149 Home Accountant Plus $99 45 MacManager 35 _35 MacProject Lowtit Prict MANAGEMENT/ FINANCE General Financial Analysis $70 Real Estate Dev. (Comm. or Res.)_ _70 .85 S95 _95 149 115 119 275 _85 115 Management Edge 125 Market Analyzer Lowtit Pflct Market Manager (Dow Jones) 119 Peachtree Back To Basics Accounting Sales Edge Straight Talk. SPREADSHEETS/INTEGRATED Jazz Lowtit Met Multiplan $125 Financial Planning (Apropos) . Investment Planning (Apropos). Communications Edge Negotiation Edge Tax Manager (Microlab) Forecast $79 Electric Checkbook . _86 MacCalendar _Lowtit Price 195 369 60 60 110 175 110 45 50 50 Microplanner TKI Solver Ensemble _ _Lowtlt Met 169 _165 WORD PROCESSING Bank St. Writer Lowtit Met Microsoft Word $149 Think Tank (128k) 65 Mac»Spell"Right 55 MacSpell + 50 Hayden: Speller 45 ASSIMILATION PROCESS Mac Daisywheel Connection $75 _85 HARDWARE for Macintosh HAVbH Think Tank (51 2k)_ TECH {Linguist} _ Megaform _135 _70 _185 MICBOCOM OPTIMUM Mac Turbo Touch CURTIS SURGE PROTECTOR Diamond $39 Emerald 49 Sapphire 59 Ruby 69 Smartmodem 300 Smartmodem 1200_ _$195 _$425 INTERMATRIX Macphone $159 KENSINGTON 300 Baud Modem $95 Surge Supressor 39 MICRON TECHNOLOGY Micron Eye $325 _$450 MacTole MICROSOFT PROMETHIUS Prom odem 1200 _ _$65 NOVATION _$170 _$375 DISKS Maxell 3Vr" (Box of 10) Memorex 3Vi" (Box of 1 0) _ 3M 3V!" (Box of 10) _$375 _$35 _39 _39. GENERAL HARDWARE PRINTERS* DIABLO 36"* 025" 630-API 630 ECS" EPSON L01500 Parallel Interface . JX-80 RX-80 LX-80" RX-100 _$1229 619 1529 1799 PRINTERS* (com.) SILVER REED (Cont.) 550 770 _$449 _795 FX-80" FX-100" C. IT0H Prowriter 8510 BPI Starwriter A10P Starwriter F1 0-40P _ Printmastar F1 0 55P JUKI 6100 6300 $1199 _Loweit Met 599 239 265 399 379 599 TOSHIBA 1 351 Tractor . P351 1340 CITIZEN _S159 _1375 779 _Lownl Price PRINTER/ PLOTTERS* HEWLETT PACKARD HP 7470A $945 HP-7475 1595 HOUSTON INSTRUMENT PC Plotter MONITORS* _$475 _S375 529 969 _1249 -$439 _799 MANNESMANN TALLY Spirit 160 180 NEC 2030" 8027" 2050" 3530 3550 8850" PinwriterP2" PinwriterP3" 0KIDATA 182-IBM 84 IBM 192 IBM 93 IBM 241 OP QUAORAM Ouadjet QUME Sprint 11/40" Sprint 11/55" Sprint 11/90" SILVER REED 400 ^500 _S279 579 849 _S719 349 696 _1329 _1396 _17B6 676 895 AMDEK Color 300 Color 500 Color 600 Color 710 12" Green 300G . 1 2" Amber 300A . 12" Amber 31 OA . NEC JB1201 JB1205 JC1215 JC 1216 _S255 369 479 579 135 145 _169 _S169 149 239 _399 VIDEO TERMINALS' ALTOS Smart II QUME QVT102-Green QVT102-Amber 0VT 1 03-Green QVT103-Amber QVT 1 08-Green OVT108 Amber TELEVIOE0 800 800A 910 910 + 921 922 924 925 925E WYSE 50 75 ZENITH Z-22 Z-29 Z-49 (com.) _$695 -$395 _415 _810 _845 445 515 _$1220 975 420 555 445 750 635 695 595 MODEMS (External) PROMETHEUS Pro-modem 1 200 QUADRAM Quadmodem 1 1 00 HAYES Smartmodem 300 Smartmodem 1200 Smartmodem 2400 NOVATION Access 1-2-3 Professional 2400 PRENTICE Popcorn X100 Popcorn C1 00 RACAL-VAWC $395 .$555 .$205 _445 _719 .$475 _635 _S379 _35S Maxwell 1 200 V _ 2400 PC VEN-TEL PC Modem 1 200 _ 1200Plus_ _$439 _635 _S399 399 _$485 _560 _$465 _595 Lownt Prict PRINCETON GRAPHICS RGB HX-12 RGB SR-12 _5239 799 409 _639 _2295 _$789 _$1299 1595 2295 ScanOoubler Board (lor SR I Amber Max 1 2 QUADRAM Ouadchrome 12" Quadscreen 1 7" Ouadchrome 1114" Amberchrome 1 2" TAXAN 100G 105A 121 122 210 420 440 . _$489 590 165 185 -$465 -1695 _466 165 VIDEO TERMINALS* -$125 _135 149 149 259 _409 _699 MULTI-FUNCTION BOARDS AST RE8EARCH Mega Pak(256k) $369 IDEA IDEAmax384(64k) $259 often Blossom (0 k) $235 8TB Super Rio (64k) $329 COMMUNICATIONS BOARDS AST AST-SNA $699 AST BSC 699 GRAPHICS BOARDS AST Monograph plus $426 MA SYSTEMS _$279 349 ADDS A-2 Green A-3 _$465 -$465 Peacock Color Board PERSYST Monochrome Card _ QUADRAM Quadcolor I Quadcolorll _$245 _$199 _$195 _485 BACK-UP DEVICES ALLOY Tape Backup Lowtit Prict 8Y86EN Tape Backup Ltwtit Price MOUSE INPUT DEVICES MOUSE 8Y8TEMS PC Mouse w/paint $139 MICROSOFT Microsoft Mouse (Serial) 149 Microsoft Mouse (Buss) 149 SURGE PROTECTORS KENSINGTON MKROWARE Masterpiece $115 CURTIS Diamond $39 Emerald 49 Sapphire 59 Ruby 69 MEMORY CHIPS (200ns) 64k _..„. $35 DISKETTES L08ICTRAK 5y<" 100% Biunntttd, Doubtt iMt, double dimity 10 ptr box 20 + boxes ptr M $2.35 10-19 boxes ptr dUk $2.50 2-9 boxes ptr disk $2.99 1 box ptr dlik $3.99> *Due to weight restrictions, Printers and Monitors are shipped UPS-FREE! "Parallel Interface req...Ask sales agent * NO SUHCHAHGE lor VISA ot MasterCard * No Sales Tai on Orders Oulside N Y State * Purchase Orders = ■- — Welcomed horn Qualified Institutions NO SURCHARGE' (Please call lor price verification! * Please add 2% = — = =~ lor handling and insurance lint I o*ders add I I * Paymenl MasterCard VISA American E»p COD Money Order ot Check ■= — — — = — ""gar 1-800-645-3491 Customer Service 1-800-431-9037 New York State..516-249-8440 Canada_...416-283-2354 THE LOGICAL CHOICE / () ^ A Member of The Logic Group ' n n 110 Bi County Blvd.. Farmingdale. N Y. 11735 Canada-. ..416-283-2354 Domestic/International Telex ...286905 Soil UR Inquiry 386 for End-Users. Inquiry 387 for DEALERS ONLY. EVENT QUEUE the European Federation for Medical Informatics, Hel- sinki, Finland. Topics include medical-record management and classification problems, expert systems, medical and clinical research and evalua- tion, and personal com- puters. Contact MIE-85 Secretary General, Raija Trevo-Pellikka, The Finnish Hospital League, Toinen Lin- ja 14, SF-00530 Helsinki, Finland; tel: 3 58-0-7712640. August 2 5-29 • INFORMATION TECH- NOLOGY CONFERENCE- The Integrated Information Technology Conference and Exposition: INTECH '85, Moscone Center, San Fran- cisco, CA. Topics to be ad- dressed include integrating personal computers, net- works, information security, integrated voice and data, and managing information technology. An Applications Center will provide at- tendees the opportunity to observe applications in ac- tion. Contact INTECH '85, National Trade Productions Inc., Suite 400, 2111 Eisen- hower Ave., Alexandria, VA 22314, (800) 638-8510; in the metropolitan Washing- ton, DC area, call (703) 683-8500. August 26-29 • VIDEODISC CONFERENCE-The Fifth Annual Nebraska Videodisc Symposium, University of Nebraska, Lincoln. The theme is "Videodisc— The In- dustry Comes of Age." Panel discussions, presentations, and exhibits. Registration is $375. Contact Videodisc Design/Production Group, KUON-TV/University of Nebraska-Lincoln, POB 83111, Lincoln. NE 68501, (402) 472-3611. August 27-30 • NEW ZEALANDERS CONVENE-The Ninth New Zealand National Computer Conference, Sheraton, Auckland, New Zealand. Speakers, panel sessions, and exhibits. For details, contact Conference Com- mittee. POB 3839, Auckland, New Zealand. August 27-31 September 1984 • TRADE CONFERENCE SERIES— The Fifteenth United States Invitational Computer Conference, various sites throughout the U.S. A series of one-day, regional conferences de- signed to bring original equipment manufacturers together with systems in- tegrators and quantity end- users. Exhibits and technical seminars. Fees begin at $1600 each for one to four conferences. Contact B. 1. Johnson & Associates Inc., 3151 Airway Ave. #C-2, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714) 957-0171. September-November • INFO MANAGEMENT SEMINARS— NYU Seminars on Information Manage- ment, various sites through- out the U.S. On the agenda are "Legal Issues in Acquir- ing and Using Computers" and "Networking Personal Computers." Contact School of Continuing Education, Seminar Center. New York University, 575 Madison Ave.. New York, NY 10022, (212) 580-5200. September-November • COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOPS-Data Com- munications Workshops, vari- ous sites throughout the U.S. and Canada. For a catalog, contact Rhonda Carney, Intel Corp., Westford Corporate Center, Three Carlisle Rd., Westford, MA 01880, (617) 2 56-1374. September-December • IBM SHOW IBM System User Show, Olympia 2, London, England. A series of ses- sions focusing on all aspects [continued) $995 III MAX. IBM® AT/PC "ll COMPATIBILITY pc . 2001 . IIMlllll' Made In USA COMPLETE SYSTEM •OEM BASIC System $555 (Minimum Order 10 Units) •PC-2001 Complete System $995 (Dealers at Quantity 2) •XT-2001 10 MB Complete System $1695 (Dealers at Quantity 2) •AT-7000 Call For Evaluation Unit $ (Approx. $2000 Off IBM Pricing) PC-2001 Partial Feature* (Dealers Please Call For Details) • Mother Board • RAM Memory Upgradable to 640K • K-8400 or K-9600 Keyboard • TEAC Drive & Controller • Parallel Port • Runs Lotus 1-2-3, Symphony, Flight Simulator and thousands more 'DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED PLEASE CALL FOR DEALERS NEAREST YOU Other OEM Accessories: •20 MB HARD DISK TAPE BACK UP •8 SLOT MOTHER BOARD r.T-7000 MOTHER BOARD ;ip< CORPORATION 2700 t IMPERIAL HWY. i BREA,\CA 92621 , (714) 678-0680, 57*0691 TELEX 753197 COVER STORY Touchdown" Key Overlays provide new « additional PC keyboard commands lor compali- bilily wilh your soltware programs. Made ol heavy, non-glare materia! similar lo Ihe original keytops. wilh commands printed dn the underside tor durability , , These ate no! ordinary slick-on labels! Hoolerjn also makes custom overlays lo youl exact specs, including foreign language and special symbols. Touchdown"' Keytop Expanders enlarge small keys (Return, Shift, etc.) on Ihe IBM PC and mosl look-alikes. They fasten securely over existing keys with a special adhesive provided, yet are easily removed wiliioul damage lo the keyboard P. 0. Box 201, Dept. B, Cornville, AZ 86325 CUSTOM KEY OVERLAYS can be made to your exact specs, al a much lower cost than engraving Ihe keys KEYTOP EXPANDERS □ Blk; □ Grey City. Price* IBM PC. PC/XT, PC Pod. (12 keys) $21.95 IBM 5291 Display Station (13 keys) 21.95 Compaq, Columbia (10 keys) 21.95 Qty. _Corona, Eagle Spirit. Dubie, Keylronic (10 keys) JBM 3270 PC "Enter" (1 keylop) Individual Expanders (blank) Price' $21.95 3.95 2.75 KEY OVERLAYS 5250/5251 (48 keylops/tronts) 5520(101 keytops) 3270 (32 key fronts) DisplayWrite 2 (36 keylops) DisplayWrite 3 (38 keylops) Dvorak (43 keytops) Wordstar (29 keylops) □ Visa n MasterCard Exp. Date_ Card # $21.95 29.95 21.95 21.95 21.95 26.95 26.95 Visa or MC orders phone 602-634-7517 l " ^Custom Overlay, Olher Software Kits. Write lor information Control Key English (5 keytops) 6.95 Blank Overlays (99 keylops) 21.95 Do-it-yourself Kit (200 + pieces) 29.95 MultiMate (44 keylops) 29.95 EasyWriler II (29 kytp/lronts/Handy Card) 29.95 Lotus 1-2-3 (24 keytops/Handy Card) 29.95 WordPerfect (32 keytops/Handy Card) 29 95 TOTAL (Min. order $10.00) $ prices include first class postage, orders shipped within 24 hours ) Arizona residents add 5% lax TOTAL ENCLOSED $ | Inquiry 172 for End-Users. Inquiry 173 for DEALERS ONLY. JULY 1985 • BYTE 97 Inquiry 327 UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF MACHINE LANGUAGE Our Visible Computer teaching systems do more than tell you about machine language, they show you -by turning your computer into an animated simulation of its micro- processor chip. You'll actually see the registers change as the processor executes instructions; you'll see how instructions are executed, not just the result. The extensive manual mayjust be the clearest tutorial on machine language ever written. You'll work "hands-on- keyboard," at your own pace, as you progress through 30 demonstration programs stored on disk. Apple II version: $49.95. Commodore 64 version: $39.95. £m. NEW! The Visible Computer: 8088 (IBM PC): $69.95. At 901TU)0V6 better software dealers or direct from Software Masters, 3330 * Hillcroft, Suite BB, Houston, Texas 77057. (713)266-5771. MflflfifS MC/Visa accepted. Mail orders enclose $3.00 shipping. * mmmmmmt m-m Seventh Annual Conference on >«' -:;": ::a; : ;::i" N fife ^INTERACTIVE % VIDEODISC In Education and Training August 21-23, 1985 J. W. Marriott Hotel Washington, D. C. Presentations Cover • Current Applications • Emerging Technology • Methodology Implementation Pre-conference tutorials are scheduled for August 19 and 20. Included among exhibitors are: 3M U.S. Video DEC GWF Associates NCR Online Computer Systems WICAT MetaMedia Systems, Inc. Sony Digital Controls, Inc. JVC Applied Science Associates Pioneer o For further information contact: Society for Applied Learning Technology 50 Culpeper St. Dept. B Warrenton, VA 22186 (703)347-0055 EVENT QUEUE of the IBM computer market. Exhibits. Contact Julian Taylor, Peter Walker Associates, 32 Fitzroy Square, London W1P 5HH, England: tel: 01-388-9871. September 3-5 • EUROMICRO Euromicro '85, Brussels, Belgium. Addresses, tutorials, and exhibitions. An electronic mouse race and a robot ping-pong tournament will be held. Contact Euromicro Office, p/a TH Twente, Dept. Inf., Room A 306, POB 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands, Attn: Mrs. C. Snippe-Marlisa. September 3-6 • OFFICE AUTOMATION Third Annual Conference of the Office Automation Society International, Radisson South Hotel, Bloomington, MN. The theme is "The Integrated Office— How Soon?" Contact Office Automation Society International, 2108 C Gallows Rd., Vienna, VA 22180, (703) 790-0490. September 3-6 • PERSONAL COMPUTER FA1RE— The Third Personal Computer Faire, Civic Audi- torium and Brooks Hall, San Francisco, CA. Conference program and exhibitions of hardware, software, and microcomputer services. Contact Computer Faire Inc., 181 Wells Ave., Newton, MA 02159, (617) 965-8350. September 5-7 • ROBOTICS CONGRESS The Second International Personal Robot Congress and Exposition (1PRC), Moscone Center, San Fran- cisco, CA. Seminars on per- sonal robot software, hard- ware, human services, robots in space, education, and business. Exhibits and dis- plays. Contact Robotic In- dustries Association, POB 1366, Dearborn, MI 48121, (313) 271-7800. September 6-8 • COMPUTER-AIDED TECHNOLOGIES-COMPINT '85: The First International Conference on Computer- Aided Technologies. Palais de Congres, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The theory, design, and imple- mentation of com- puter-aided technologies. Contact Stephen G. Leahey, POB 577, Desjardins Postal Station, Montreal, Quebec H5B 1B7, Canada, (514) 870-3 526. September 9-12 • AUTOFACT EUROPE AUTOFACT Europe '85. Swiss Industries Fair, Basel, Switzerland. Workshops on computer-integrated manu- facturing and factory auto- mation. Held in conjunction with SwissData '85/Ineltec '85 Exhibits. Contact Susan Gretchko, AUTOFACT Europe '85 Administrator, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, One SME Dr., POB 930, Dearborn, Ml 48121, (313) 271-1500. ext. 373. September 10-13 • DOCUMENTATION CONFERENCE-The 43 rd Conference and Congress of the International Federa- tion for Documentation, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The theme is "Information, Communications, and Tech- nology Transfer." Contact Mr. E. V. Smith, Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa. Ontario K1A 0S2, Canada. September 14-18 • C SEMINAR/WORKSHOP C Language Seminar and Workshop, Sheraton-Com- mander Hotel, Cambridge, MA. The fee is $695. Con- tact Beatrice Blatteis, CL Publications, 131 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94107, (415) 957-93 53. September 16-18 • DATA STORAGE The Fourth Annual DataStor- [continued) 98 BYTE • JULY 1985 Inquiry 320 -Put more performance in less &pace" Look into the new Princeton HX-9 Series See high-resolution RGB color with the Princeton HX-9 and HX-9E Color Monitors. Observe exceptionally sharp high resolution graph- ics and text created by color phosphor dots which are within a mere .28mm of one another. Enjoy Princeton performance on a 9-inch screen in less desk space than most any other monitor on the market today. Display images of clearly superior quality Flicker-free technology enables you to view colorful images with clear, sharp definition. Dark-glass, non- glare screens further enhance viewing clarity. A built-in green/amber switch allows you to switch from multi- color to either a green or amber mode. It's like owning both a color and a monochrome monitor. The Princeton HX-9 Color Monitor is perfect for view- ing up to 16 vivid colors with the IBM Color/Graphics Monitor Adapter (or equivalent). And, the enhanced member of the HX-9 Series, the Princeton HX-9E Color Monitor, offers one big extra: It also allows you to use the IBM Enhanced Graphics Adapter (or equivalent) to view up to 64 brilliant colors. What's more, they tilt. They swivel. Both have a built- in base to adjust your monitor to a comfortable viewing angle. Princeton quality is built in Both monitors in the Princeton HX-9 Series are manu- factured to provide years of reliable use. Verified by tough quality-control procedures. And backed by a full one-year warranty. Visit your local computer store today See the HX-9 Series and all other products bearing the world-respected Princeton name. To find the Princeton dealer nearest you, call: 800-221-1490 (Extension 404), 609-683-1660 (NJ only), Telex: 821402 PGS PRIN. Princeton Graphic Systems, 601 Ewing Street, Bldg. A, Princeton, NJ 08540. PRINCETON IBM is a registered trademark of International GRAPHIC SYSTEMS „. .... « ftNINTELLiaENTBVSTeMB COMPANY Business Machines Corp. Inquiry 282 JULY I985 -BYTE 99 Inquiry 78 ^VV) We've Medical / Dental • Appointments • Patient Billing • Claim Preparation • Patient Data Base specialized in Vertical Markets. . . Construction / Job Cost • Payroll • General Ledger Estimating k. Educational Administration • Scheduling • Attendance • Grading • Computer Literacy Now over including: WANG ...Since 1977 I I 0 machines MICRO COMPUTER DIVISION . 55722 Santa Fe Trail Yucca Valley. CA 922S4 (619) 365-9718 A UNLOCK " Removes Copy Protection! Runs on IBM® PC, XT, AT, and Many Compatibles New UNlock (4.0) provides the user with: 1) reliable archival back-up copies, and 2) ease of program use. Because UNlock removes copy protection, you can conveniently run protected software from a hard disk, RAM disk or a Data General/One.™ Often you can combine two disks into one, saving disk swaps on floppy systems. UNlock runs on DOS 2.0 or higher and requires 256K of memory. To utilize the UNlock copy requires no co-resident software. UNlock does not risk or change your original distribution disk. ORDER TODAY BY TELEPHONE! (305) 474-7548 OR USE COUPON BELOW [TranSec Systems, Inc. 1701 E. Plantation Circle. Plantation. FL 33324 | Please send me copies of UNlock 1(4.0) @ $49.95 ea. plus $4.00 Ship/Hand'l. ■ Check enclosed MC VISA New UNlock (4.0) Disk Produces Non-Protected DOS Copies from: • LOTUS 1-2-3™ (1.A&1.A*) • dBASE III™ (1.0 & 1.1) • FRAMEWORK™ (1.0 & 1.1) • SYSTAT™(1.3&2.0) • SPOTLIGHT™ (1.0) • GRAPHWRITER™ (4.3) • REALIA COBOL (1.20) $49.95 Version 4.0 (PLUS » 00 SHIPPING AND HANDLING) | Exp. Dale_ I I Company City Zip Signed TRADEMARKS. (OWNER). IBM, PC. XT, AT (International Business Machines), Lotus 1-2-3 (Lotus Develop- ment Corp.). dBase III and Framework (AshtonTate), Sysiat (Systat, Inc.), Spotlight (Software Arts), Graphwriter (Graphwriter Communications. Inc.). Data General/One (Data General Corp.), Relia Cobol, (Relia. Inc.) EVENT QUEUE age International Forum, Red Lion Inn, San lose, CA. Data-storage issues and ap- plications explored. Ex- ecutive focus. Contact Cartlidge & Associates Inc., Suite M-2 59, 1101 South Winchester Blvd., San lose, CA 95128, (408) 554-6644. September 16-18 • SOFTWARE CONGRESS The Sixteenth Convention Informatique, Palais des Congres, Paris, France. Said to be the largest European software congress. The theme is "Data Processing: Opportunities and Draw- backs." Contact Convention Informatique, 4 Place de Valois, 75001 Paris, France; tel: (1) 261 52 42; Telex: 212 597 F. September 16-20 • SOFTWARE EXPO The Sixth Annual Soft- ware/Expo, Infomart, Dallas, TX. A trade show for MIS/DP managers and cor- porate executives. Contact Professional Exposition Management Co. Inc., Suite 205, 2400 East Devon Ave., Des Plaines, IL 60018, (800) 323-5155; in Illinois, (312) 299-3131. September 17-19 • UNIX EXPO UNIX Expo: The UNIX Operating System Exposition and Conference, New York Hilton and Sheraton Centre Hotels, New York City. More than 400 exhibitors comple- ment the conference. Con- tact Robert Birkfeld, Na- tional Expositions Co. Inc., 14 West 40th St., New York, NY 10018. (212) 391-9111. September 18-20 • MANUFACTURING EXPO Eastern Computer Manufac- turing Expo, Charlotte, NC. Contact Great Southern Shows, POB 655, Jackson- ville, FL 32201, (904) 743-8000. September 19-21 • INTERFACING WORK- SHOP— Personal Computer and STD Computer Interfac- ing for Scientific Instrument Automation, Greensboro, NC. A hands-on workshop with participants wiring and testing interfaces. The fee is $450. Contact Dr. Linda Lef- fel, C.E.C.. Virginia Polytech- nic Institute and State Uni- versity. Blacksburg, VA 24061, (703) 961-4848. September 19-21 • TIDEWATER FAIR The Tidewater Tenth Annual Computer Fair, Radio Amateur Hamfest— Electronic Flea Market, Virginia Beach Pavilion, VA. Displays, forums, and flea market. Ad- vance tickets are $5 for both days or $6 at the door. Con- tact Jim Harrison, Tidewater Radio Conventions Inc., 1234 Little Bay Ave., Norfolk. VA 23503. (804) 587-1695. September 21-22 • NEW FRONTIER Space Tech '85 Conference and Exposition, Disneyland Hotel, Anaheim, CA. A focus on engineering solutions re- quired to make the use of outer space practical and economical. Contact Society of Manufacturing Engineers, One SME Dr., POB 930. Dearborn, Ml 48121, (313) 271-1500. September 23-25 • Al, FIFTH GENERATION The Artificial Intelligence and Fifth Generation Com- puter Technology Con- ference and Exhibition: AI/Europa, Rhein-Main-Halle, Wiesbaden, West Germany. Contact Jim Hay, Tower Con- ference Management Co., 331 West Wesley St., Wheaton, IL 60187, (312) 668-8100. September 24-26 • BOSTON COMPUTING The Eighth Northeast Com- puter Faire, Bayside Exposi- tion Center, Boston, MA. Product displays and con- ference program. Contact Computer Faire Inc., 181 Wells Ave. Newton, MA 02159, (617) 965-8350. September 26-29 ■ 100 BYTE- IULY 1985 Inquiry 359 - - - " 2 -■Ol ,1. '.IV.-. SwjjSf- ' i _ Jli,TrlS*l6HSKI. ' ■ M\ \ ™«w ■ - r . 5 You can still buy quality and dependability at a reasonable price. That's exactly what we drive home at Viasyn. We offer you a whole line of CompuPro® IEEE 696/S-100 Bus boards. Along with single- and multi-user systems compatible with over 3,000 standard business applications, plus a wide variety of scientific and industrial programs. Each one's a value our competition finds hard to beat. You can choose from a broad range of CPU boards, memory boards, disk controllers, network and interface boards, plus PC Video, in color or black and white. You can mix or match 8-bit and 16-bit software on the same machine or on different machines. And pick just the power and memory you need. Object: to grow and multiply in capabilities, at optimum cost efficiencies. Without sacri- ficing quality or dependability. ^ M M ^ ^■■fc. ^W^J™ If that's what you're driving for, write us for our new^k m M^^^ C ^m^r^^l short-form catalog or simply call our toll-free number. ^ *M 'M %P^L J lr I The CompuPro People Where Computers Grow 3506 Breakwater Court, Hayward, CA 94545 Call 800/VIASYN-l. In CA, 800/VIASYN-2. TWX: 510-100-3288 VIASYN CORP CompuPro is a registered trademark of Viasyn Corporation. Inquiry 373 IULY 1985 • BYTE 101 IBM's best efforts are now going into Macintosh. Macintosh and IBM PC software. Compatible at last, thanks to MacCharlie, a rather innovative coprocessing system. And imagine the consequences. Nearly 10,000 IBM PC software programs designed for general business and specific applications in real estate, insurance, law, medicine, banking, etcetera, can now join forces with Macintosh's own popular programs. And, the myriad of IBM PC- compatible software adopts Macintosh's many beloved features, including desktop utilities such as the clipboard and the calculator. In addition, MacCharlie allows IBM PC and Macintosh data files to be exchanged. Talk about flexibility. But the good news gets better. You see, MacCharlie delivers hardware compatibility, as well. For example, IBM letter-quality printers can be easily used with Macintosh. Furthermore, MacCharlie now allows Macintosh to perform virtually any networking an IBM PC can perform. Even to the extent of tying in with IBM mainframes. In other words, your networking capability goes beyond the Apple family. The Macintosh keyboard slides right into MacCharlie's keyboard. About as easy as slipping a letter in an envelope. Macintosh sets snugly beside MacCharlie, on a custom- fit pedestal. Once you plug in MacCharlie's power and keyboard cords, you're ready to enjoy a very happy marriage. How does it happen? As easily as slipping on penny loafers. In mere moments, MacCharlie combines the best features of the world's premier personal computers. And despite the fact that it turns one computer into two, MacCharlie adds but a handful of square inches to Macintosh's physique. In short, one of life's most perplexing decisions — whether to buy a Macintosh or an IBM PC — can now be made with the greatest of ease. Ask for MacCharlie at your local computer store. Suggested retail price for the 256K single disk drive model is only $1 195, and just $1895 for the 640K dual disk drive version. For more information, call Operator 14 toll-free, 1-800-531- 0600. (In Utah, call 801-531-0600.) MacCharlie offers 256K RAM, with optional upgrade to 64 OK RAM; 360KB disk drive, and optional second disk drive. MacCharlie THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS. MacCharlie is a product of Dayna Communications, 50 S. Main, Salt Lake City, Utah 84144 Inquiry 120 Apple is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Macintosh Is a trademark licensed to Apple Computer, Inc. IBM Is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation, BYTE Features Programming Project: IN THIS MONTH'S Features section BYTE presents the first Programming Proj- New Perspectives on Nearby Stars e ct, a new monthly column that will be written by various software experts. by Bruce Webster 106 Bruce Webster designed the first project in keeping with the Computers and Liquid-Crystal Displays Space theme. He describes StarMap, a Pascal program for the Macintosh, for Portables which takes a list of stars with Cartesian or astronomical coordinates and shows by Glenn J. Mer 119 yQU where they arg jn re i ation to one ano ther. Product Description: "Liquid-Crystal Displays for Portables" by Glenn Adler takes a look at the J H Rkh R MMo SE 129 tecnno '°gy behind twisted-nematic liquid-crystal displays, which enable com- puters to be battery-operated, lightweight, and affordable. Oarcias Circuit Cellar: Rjch Mal j oy presents a product description of the GRiDCase family of por- Living in a Sensible Environment i t ^n-rs c *■ n 4 . ^ ^n-r^ • , D uS* by Steve Garcia 141 ta ' 3 ' e computers from GRiD Systems Corporation. The GRiDCase is IBM PC- Programming Insight: compatible and offers a range of display options; one version even has a high- Travesty Revisited contrast gas-plasma display. by Murray lesser 163 This month's Circuit Cellar presents a number of devices that can be used Programming Insight witn tne Home Run Control System. Steve has included interrupted-beam Real-Number Formatting detectors, various environmental sensors, and alarm signaling devices— all from on Your Apple his junk box. by Brent Daviduck 171 As a follow-up to "A Travesty Generator for Micros" by Hugh Kenner and Joseph O'Rourke in last November's BYTE, "Travesty Revisited" by Murray Lesser redoes this lexical processor in compiled BASIC. The author believes this language is a better choice for handling a task consisting mostly of string manipulation. In "Real-Number Formatting on' Your Apple," Brent Daviduck has written a program that lets you specify the decimal length of any real number. This machine-language subroutine uses only a small amount of memory. JULY 1985 'BYTE 105 106 BYTE' JULY 1985 PROGRAMMING PROJECT New Perspectives on Nearby Stars by Bruce Webster A Macintosh programming project in Pascal To use an already over- used cliche, a picture is »— ™ worth a thousand words (at least). This is especial- B^IB I true wnen tne w ° rc ' s mm: fiWBH are being employed to describe the real world. Let's say you wanted to describe the physical layout of Europe. You could talk about figures and angles, explaining the size and shape of each country and where each country is in relation to all the others. Or you could use a map. Which one would convey that information more quickly and clearly? The map, of course. We perceive the universe primarily through our eyes, and we are comfortable processing information visually. In fact, if you tried to describe Europe using the figures-and-words ap- proach, your listener would probably try to mentally "draw" a map to understand your description. This problem— the difficulty of compre- hending alphanumeric data— is common in scientific work. For example, look at table 1. This is a list of the 75 stars nearest the earth, along with their right ascension, declination, parallax, and stellar (star) classification (see "An Astronomy Glossary" on page 245 for definitions of these and other terms). Try to picture all those stars hanging in space, each in its correct posi- tion relative to all the others. In many respects, this is more difficult than the "map of Europe" problem because the coor- dinate system is not an easy one to decipher and because you have to deal with three dimensions, not just two. Now look at figure 1. It presents a subset of the information in table 1 in a graphical form. The arrow is pointing at our own sun, Sol. Around it hang the nearby stars, each in its proper position, each shaded accord- ing to its stellar classification. Multistar systems are indicated by lines dividing the circles into two or three sections, each sec- tion representing a star. Figure 2 relates this cluster of stars to its approximate position in our galaxy. Even though you don't know the names of those stars, their classes, or even their distances from Sol, you now have a much better idea of how this region of space looks than you got from reading table 1. And that's from two static figures. Now, what if you could rotate the angle of view, change the scale of the display, or make any star the center? What if you could filter out stars of a certain class, or distance from Sol, or number? What if you could point at any star and get more information about it? In this article, I'll describe StarMap, a pro- gram for the Macintosh that lets you do just {continued) Bruce Webster (6215 Thorn St.. San Diego. CA 92115) is a contributing editor for BYTE. IULY 1985 -BYTE 107 PERSPECTIVES ON STARS that. StarMap takes a list of stars, with either Cartesian (x.y.z) or astronomical (RA, Dec, Par) coordinates and shows you where they are with respect to one another. You can perform all the manipulations described above: limited rotation, scaling, and transla- tion, as well as filtering. I'll first look at the basic concepts behind the Star- Map program and then at some of the specific techniques it uses. I'll discuss the program itself and finish by talk- ing about possible applications and improvements. StarMap was developed on a Mac- intosh using Mac Advantage: UCSD Pascal, a Pascal development system that runs under the Finder and gives you access to most of the Toolbox routines (see the text box entitled "Development Using MacAdvantage: UCSD Pascal" on page 114). Informa- tion on how to obtain the source code for StarMap appears at the end of this article. Basic Concepts StarMap reads in and displays a. list of stars: you view them as if from a point beyond any of them. The stars then appear to form a cluster. Each star is shown as a circle filled with a pattern that indicates its stellar classification (0,B,A,F,G,K,M). Since the computer's display is only two- dimensional, the circle's diameter in- dicates the third dimension (depth): the smaller the circle, the farther away the star is; the larger the circle, the closer it is. StarMap displays multistar systems by subdividing the circle into two (binary) or three (ternary) sec- tions. Each section contains the pat- tern corresponding to that compo- nent's stellar classification. You can select any star (by pointing and click- ing with a mouse) and get a pop-up window with the star's name, its distance from Sol (or the current origin), and the class of each of its components. You can manipulate this display by rotating it, translating the coordinates, and scaling it up. You can rotate it by choosing to look along any of the three axes [x, y, or z), either from the positive end or the negative end. (Figure 3 depicts these axes relative to the Macintosh screen.) Admitted- ly, this is limited rotation; I chose this method because of its speed and simplicity, especially since it makes the detection of a click on a star easy. You can choose any star on the dis- play as the origin (translation). Fur- thermore, you can then add an offset (plus or minus) to any one (but only one) of the three axes. Scaling lets you decide how much of the display is on the screen; it's as if you were sitting somewhere out in space with a high- powered telescope and you cranked up the magnification. Stars get bigger; the screen covers a smaller area, so fewer stars show up. You can also filter out stars so that not all of them appear. For example, you can set which classes of stars will (or won't) be shown. I often choose to get rid of all the M-class stars because they tend to clutter the dis- play. You can even eliminate all classes but one, restricting your view to, say, all G-class stars, which includes Sol. Finally, you can screen stars Table I: The 75 stars closest to the earth. As the text file RawStars, this list is converted by the program ReadStar into a binary file that can be used by StarMap. (This list is taken from, among other sources, Astrophysical Quantities, 3rd ed., by C. W. Mien, London: The Athlone Press, 1973.) Name of System Right Declination Parallax Stellar Ascension Class(es) hours minutes degrees minutes microseconds Sol 0 0 0 0 0 G2 Proxima Centauri 14 26 -62 28 762 M5 Alpha Centauri 14 36 -60 38 745 G2 K5 Barnard's Star 17 55 4 33 552 M5 Wolf 359 10 54 7 19 429 M8 Lalande 21185 11 1 36 18 401 M2 Sirius 6 43 -16 39 377 A1 dA5 UV Ceti 1 36 -18 13 367 M5 M6 Ross 154 18 47 -23 53 345 M4 Ross 248 23 39 43 55 317 M6 L789-6 22 36 -15 36 303 M7 Epsilon Eridani 3 31 -9 38 303 K2 Ross 128 11 45 1 6 301 M5 61 Cygni 21 5 38 30 294 K5 K7 Epsilon Indi 22 0 -47 0 291 K5 Procyon 7 37 5 21 286 F5 dFO 7 2398 18 42 59 33 283 M4 M5 Groombridge 34 0 15 43 44 282 M1 M6 Lacaille 9352 23 3 -36 8 279 M2 Tau Ceti 1 41 -16 12 276 G8 BD +5° 1668 7 25 5 23 268 M5 Cordoba 29191 21 14 -39 4 260 M0 Kapteyn's Star 5 10 -45 0 256 M0 Kruger 60 22 26 57 27 253 M3 M4 Ross 614 6 27 -2 46 250 M7 M0 BD -12° 4523 16 28 -12 32 249 M5 van Maanen's Star 0 46 5 9 236 dG5 Wolf 424 12 31 9 18 230 M6 M7 BD -37° 0 2 -37 36 225 M4 BD +50° 10 8 49 42 219 K7 CD -46° 11540 17 25 -46 51 216 M4 CD -49° 21 30 -49 13 214 M1 CD -44° 11909 17 33 -44 17 213 M5 AD Leonis 1 57 12 50 212 M8 BD +68° 17 37 68 28 209 M4 Ross 780 22 51 -14 31 207 M5 CC 658 11 43 -64 33 206 dA5 108 BYTE • JULY 1985 PERSPECTIVES ON STARS based on the number of components in a system (one, two, or three). If you just want to see single-star systems or if you just want to see binary systems, etc., you can do so. Coordinate Conversion A number of minor hurdles have to be overcome to get StarMap working. First, most star catalogs give stellar coordinates as right ascension, de- clination, and parallax. This is just a disguised polar-coordinate system. Right ascension is equivalent to theta, the equatorial or longitudinal angle. It starts in the constellation Aries and runs eastward through the 12 signs of the zodiac. Right ascension is usually expressed as hours, minutes, and sec- onds (rather than degrees), ranging from 00 h 0CT.00 to 23 b 59 m 59. Declination is equivalent to phi, the latitudinal angle; it's simply the angle up or down from the equator, going from 90 degrees (the north pole), through 0 (the equator), and down to -90 degrees (the south pole). Parallax is an indirect measure of distance; it's the apparent shift (in fractions of a second) of a star's posi- tion as the earth travels around the sun. If you divide 1 by the parallax, you get the distance of the star in parsecs (where 1 parsec equals 3.26161 light-years). Note that in table 1, the parallax value 762 represents 0.762 second. For display purposes, I chose to convert the stars' coordinates to the rectangular (or Cartesian) coordinates x, y, and z. To allow separation of close systems (such as Alpha Centauri and Proxima Centauri), I used 0.1 light-year as the grid-unit size. Thus, a star at (10,0,0) would be exactly 1 light-year (10 x 0.1) away from Sol. The positive x-axis goes out through a right ascen- sion of 00 h 00 m .00; the positive y- axis, through 06 h 00 m .00. The positive z-axis goes up through a declination of 90 degrees. I used a two-step conversion process— from astronomical to true polar, then from polar to rectangular. Figure 4 illus- trates the relationship between the different coordinate systems. For both right ascension and dec- lination, we have two values: hours and minutes, and degrees and minutes. Our very first step is to con- vert both into real values, for exam- ple, converting 05 h 30 m .00 to 5.5 hours. Assuming that the two values are read in as integers, the function shown in listing 1 will do the conver- sion. Note that the sign must be prop- agated to the minutes, because in table 1 only the degrees have nega- tive signs. Having done this, you then need to multiply the right ascension by 1 5, to convert it from hours (0 to 23) to degrees (0 to 359). Furthermore, since the Pascal used for this program ex- pects radians (as do most Pascal im- plementations), you must convert from degrees to radians by multiply- ing both by the value (2xpi)/360.0, which is equal to 0.01745329. You have now converted right ascension and declination to theta and phi. To convert parallax to distance, you need to divide the value into 1000 (remem- ber that the table values are in [continued) Name of System Right Declination Parallax Stellar Ascension Class(es) hours 1 1 III lUifcrb Ufcjyi cca mi ni itoo 1 III lULcb microseconds Lalande 25372 13 43 15 10 205 M4 Keid 4 13 -7 44 205 K1 dAO BD +20° 10 17 20 7 203 M4 Altair 19 48 8 44 197 A7 70 Ophiuchi AC +79° 18 3 2 31 195 K0 K5 11 45 78 58 195 M4 EV Lacertae 22 45 44 5 194 M4 AC +58° 4 26 58 53 192 M4 M4 WX Ursae Majoris 11 3 43 47 186 M2 M8 36 Ophiuchi 17 12 -26 32 184 K1 K1 CD -20° 4125/4123 14 55 -21 12 180 K5 M2 CD -36° 20 8 -36 14 177 K3 M5 Sigma Draconis 19 32 69 35 176 K0 Lalande 46650 23 47 2 8 175 M2 Delta Pavonis 20 4 -66 19 175 G6 L374-14 19 17 -45 37 175 M7 CD -21° 6 8 -21 51 174 M1 BD +4° 4048 19 14 5 6 173 M4 M5 Luyten 97-12 7 53 -67 38 173 dM5 Luylen 674-15 8 10 -21 24 171 M5 UC 48 17 42 -57 17 170 M5 CD -3° 5 29 -3 41 170 M1 Eta Cassiopeiae CD -40° 9712 0 46 57 33 170 GO M0 15 29 -41 6 169 M4 Ross 986 7 7 38 38 169 M5 Wolf 294 6 52 33 20 168 M4 Ross 47 5 39 12 29 168 M6 BD +53° 1320/1321 9 11 52 54 166 M0 M0 LP 658-2 5 53 -4 8 166 dK5 Ross 882 7 42 3 41 165 M4 CD -45° 20 10 -45 19 164 M0 Wolf 629/630 16 .53 -8 15 161 M4 M4 82 Eridani 3 17 -43 16 161 G5 CD -11° 14 32 -12 19 160 M4 Beta Hydri 0 23 -77 32 159 G1 BD +19° 23 20 19 40 155 M4 M6 BD +45° 2505 17 11 45 45 155 M3 IULY 1985 -BYTE 109 File Origin RhIs Scale Range Class Type Star Hap — Copyright © 1985 by Bruce F, Webster Distance = 0.0 ly Class = G2 Figure 1: The stars closest to the earth, as presented by StarMap. Figure 2: The approximate location of the star cluster from figure 1 in the galaxy. thousandths of a second), then multi- ply it by 3.26161 (ParToLY, the number of light-years in a parsec). Assuming that the right-ascension values are RAH (right-ascension hours) and RAM (right-ascension minutes), the declina- tion values are DecD (declination degrees) and DecM (declination minutes), Par is the parallax, and the constant DegToRad equals 0.01745329, then the statements in listing 2 complete the conversion to polar coordinates, with the unit distance being 0.1 light-year. Note that if we change ParToLY to 32616.1, you can rewrite the third statement as Dist : = ParToLY/Par: The more drawn-out version is just for clarity's sake. Conversion from polar to rec- tangular coordinates is well defined. Assuming the integer variables x. y. and z, the statements in listing 3 con- vert from polar to rectangular form, where the function Round takes a real value and rounds it to the nearest in- teger. This lets you do your calcula- tions with real numbers and convert at the end, maximizing precision. Stellar Data Structure The conversion from astronomical to rectangular coordinates just described is performed by a program called ReadStar. ReadStar also converts the data file RawStars (containing the list of stars) from a text file to a binary file called Stars. That way, StarMap can read in the data faster, avoiding any sort of text-to-numbers conversion. The data types used by StarMap and ReadStar are given in listing 4. Note that StarClass is an enumer- ated data type (EDT), not a character data type. Each star system can have up to three components, or three dif- ferent stars. For example, the star system Keid actually contains three stars, with stellar classes Kl, dAO, and M4. Keid's data structure would then have the values shown in figure 5. Note that the record type Compo- nent is declared as being "packed." This is to make it as small as possible. Since each of the three fields— Dwarf, Class, and SubClass-have very small 110 BYTE • IULY 1985 PERSPECTIVES ON STARS ranges of values, the MacAdvantage compiler can pack all three into just 2 bytes, the smallest possible size of a UCSD Pascal record. This keeps the size of the Stars record down to 38 bytes. If the program didn't declare Component to be packed, it would use 2 bytes for each field, for a total size of 6 bytes, and the array Comp would go from 6 to 18 bytes, kicking Stars up to 50 bytes per record. In a list of 200 stars, that's a difference of more than 2K bytes. Organizing the Stars After you've created the data file with ReadStar, you can now run StarMap to display and manipulate it. A few subtly related questions arise. First, in what data structure will the stars be stored? The program could just read them into an array[1 . . n] of Stars, but n has to be fixed when the program is compiled. This limits the number of stars that can be read in and also forces the program to use more memory than it might otherwise need. Second, having read in the stars, in what order should you have the pro- gram draw them? Since stars will over- lap on the display, this becomes an important question. The program should draw from the farthest star to the nearest, so that those closer to your viewpoint will cover up (when necessary) those farther away. One solution, of course, is to sort the ar- ray (if that's what you're using) along the axis being viewed. But that means the program would have to sort the list again every time you change the viewing axis, which would add a fair amount of time and overhead. Third, if you point at a star and click the mouse, the program must detect the closest star and not any that are hidden behind it. This is similar to the second problem; again, a sorted list of stars will solve the problem. The challenge is to avoid constantly resorting. Many solutions are possible; each has good and bad points. The ap- proach I've chosen provides a large degree of flexibility while reducing the storage of redundant information. {continued) 6 = THETA = RIGHT ASCENSION * = PHI = DECLINATION r = DIST = 1/PARALLAX s = TDIST = r * cos (4>) X = s *cos(S) Y = s * sin (8) Z - r * sin (4>) Figure 4: The relationship between the three coordinate systems discussed in the article: stellar [right ascension, declination, and parallax), polar (theta and phi), and Cartesian (x, y, and z). IULY 1985 -BYTE III PERSPECTIVES ON STARS Listing 1: The code for converting hours, degrees, and minutes into real values. function MinToFrac(Degrees, Minutes : Integer) : Real; { purpose converts dd mm to dd.xx } var Sign : Real; begin if Degrees 0.0 then Sign := -1.0 else Sign : = 1.0; MinToFrac:= Degrees + Sign*(Minutes/60.0) end; { of func MinToFrac } Listing 2: The code for converting right ascension, declination, and parallax into polar coordinates. Theta := DegToRad * MinToFrac(RAH.RAM) • 15.0; Phi := DegToRad * MinToFrac(DecD,DecM); Dist := ParToLY - (1000.0/Par) * 10.0; Listing 3: The code for converting polar coordinates into Cartesian coordinates. Z : = Round(Dist * Sin(Phi)); TDist : = TDist « Cos(Phi); Y : = Round(TDist * Sin(Theta)); X := Round(TDist * Cos(Theta)); Each star occupies a location in a large three-dimensional grid, speci- fied by its coordinates (x.y.z). Since you want to sort the stars along each axis, start by linking together all stars with the same x-coordinate, the same y-coordinate, and the same z- coordinate. lb do this, define the data types as shown in listing 5. Each star that is read in will have its own node; that is, the data will go into the field Star. The three pointers— Node[AX], Node[AY], and Node[AZ]- will each point at the next star shar- ing the same x-. y-. or z-coordinate, re- spectively. Of course, if there are no more stars with the same given coor- dinate, the respective pointer will con- tain the null pointer value, nil. With this method, the program can read in as many stars as there is mem- ory for; likewise, you allocate only as much memory as is needed. There is an additional overhead of 6 bytes per node (for the three pointers), which brings the size of each node up to 44 bytes, but we've gained a lot of flex- ibility with those pointers. Now that all these stars are linked together, how do you get to the first star of each list? Use a header list. The data structures for the headers are shown in listing 6. The array Next points to lists of stars sharing the same x-, y-. or z-coor- dinate. AVal tells what that coordinate Listing 4: The data types used by StarMap and ReadStar. StarClass SubRange = (O.BAF.G.K.M); = 0. .9; Component packed record Dwarf : Boolean; Class : StarClass; Subclass : SubRange end; Stars record Name : string[23]; X,Y,Z :. Integer; NumComp : 0. .3; Comp : array[1 . .3] of Component end; Name Keid X 71 Y 141 Z -21 NumComp 3 Comp[1] Dwarf False Class K SubClass 1 Comp[2] Dwarf True Class A SubClass 0 Comp[3] Dwarf False Class M SubClass 4 Figure 5: The data structure for the star system Keid, which consists of three stars. 112 BYTE • IULY 1985 PERSPECTIVES ON STARS is. Note that there is one header for a given value along all three axes. For example, if AVal were 71, then Next[AX] would point to all stars with an x-coordinate of 71, Next[AY] would point to those with a y-coordinate of 71. and Next[AZ], to those with a z- coordinate of 71. As I mentioned, you want the stars sorted along each axis. You can ac- complish this by simply maintaining a sorted linked list of headers. The pointer Link[Front] points to the header with the next highest AVal; Link[Back] points to the next lowest header. Both ends of the list point to a special header called Head (and vice versa). To traverse the list, the program starts at one end and follows Link until it runs into Head. The pro- cedure in listing 7, when given an axis and a direction, traverses the entire list of stars in the order you requested and writes out the name of each star. You won't find this procedure in Star- Map, but the routines to draw the map and to find which star has been selected use code that is similar to StarMap's. HPtr moves through the list of headers until it runs into Head. TPtr checks all the stars at each header for the given axis. For example, if HPtr'.Aval = 15 and Axis = AY, then TPtr will point at all the stars (if any) with a y-coordinate of 15. Transforming the Display StarMap lets you transform the dis- play by rotating it, translating the coordinates, and scaling it up. Rota- tion is limited to your fixing the posi- tion of the axis (x,y, or z) you're look- ing along and choosing to look from the positive or negative end. The pro- gram simply changes the values of Axis and Direction (global variables with the same data types shown in list- ing 7, WriteNames). The list of stars is now automatically "sorted" along that axis, while Direction fixes the direction. Translation takes a couple of forms. First, you can change the map's origin to any star; it doesn't have to be Sol. This is done by clicking the star and then pulling down the Origin menu. The name of that star will appear in the menu; just select it to move. Sol always appears in the menu, so you can easily recenter the display. You also can add an offset of plus or minus 15 light-years to the origin along any axis. The name of the cur- rent origin always appears at the top so that you can remove the offset. It also reminds you what the current origin is. One more effect: When you click a star to get information, the [continued) Listing 5: Definition of the data types for linking together stars with the same X", y~, or z-coordinates. AxisType = (AX.AY.AZ); NodePtr = "Node; NodeList = array[AxisType] of NodePtr; Node record Next : NodeList; Star : Stars end; Listing 6: Data sructures for the header list. DirecType = (Front, Back); HeadPtr = "Header; Header record AVal : Integer; Link : array[DirecType] of HeadPtr; Next : NodeList end; Listing 7: The procedure that traverses the entire list of stars in the order requested and writes out the name of each star. procedure WriteNamesfAxis : AxisType; Direction { traverses all stars 09 Mar 85 DirecType); purpose last update } var TPtr : NodePtr; HPtr : HeadPtr; begin HPtr := Head".Link(Direction]; { start at one end } while HPtr< >Head do begin TPtr := HPtr*.Next[Axis]; { check specific axis } while TPtr< >nil do begin { look at all stars } WriteLn(TPtr". Star. Name); { at that coordinate } TPtr := TPtr.NextfAxis] end; HPtr:= HPtr".Link[Direction] end end; { of proc WriteNames } IULY 1985 -BYTE 113 PERSPECTIVES ON STARS distance given is always with respect to the current origin. If you select Groombridge 34 as your origin, then look at Beta Hydri; the distance shown is that from Groombridge 34. Scaling is basically a zoom function. You are not moving "into" the cluster; you are just increasing the magnifica- tion of your mythical telescope. Each level of scaling represents a twofold increase over the previous level. Filtering Stars You have three filtering functions at your disposal. First, you can screen stars according to their stellar class (O.B.A.F.G.K.M). The program main- tains a set (DisplaySet) containing the currently allowed classes. For multiple stars, if any component is in Display- Set, then all components are dis- played. The second filter is distance. Note that this is the distance from the current origin. If you set Groombridge 34 to be the origin, then limit the range to 8 light-years, you will see all stars within Development Using MacAdvantage:UCSD Pascal MacAdvantage:UCSD Pascal rep- resents something of a first for SofTech Microsystems Inc.; it's a UCSD Pascal compiler running under some- thing other than the UCSD p-System operating system. True, SofTech had released an MS-DOS hosted version of the p-System. but that isn't quite the same as this. MacAdvantage is simply a UCSD Pascal compiler (and assorted tools) running under the Macintosh Finder. The editor is a standard Macintosh- style editor, developed by Bill Duvall at Consulair and found in other soft- ware-development packages (MDS, MacModula-2. Megamax C, etc.). The resource maker is Apple's standard resource compiler, again found in many of the other systems. The com- piler produces applications that you can start by double-clicking an icon. However, those applications don't stand alone: you have to have the Mac- Advantage P-machine and run-time files somewhere on the disk. The ap- plication loads these in before executing. Program development under MacAd- vantage is a pleasure. The package comes with a little executive program that takes you out of the Finder and gives you a Macintosh-like menu bar across the top. The menu bar contains selections to let you compile, run the resource maker, edit a file, run the library or set-options utilities, or exit to the Finder. When you go from the editor or the compiler into the ex- ecutive program, it only takes a second or two to bring the display up, a great improvement over the 15 to 2 5 sec- onds it can take to return to the Macin- tosh Finder. And the Set menu lets you define where (and what) the different utility files are. Since UCSD Pascal is basically a 16-bit language and the Macintosh is a 32-bit environment. SofTech had to make a number of changes and en- hancements to fit the two together. MacAdvantage has a 32-bit integer data type (Integer2). which is heavily used in the Toolbox units, usually to represent 32-bit addresses. A new function, Locate, returns the 32-bit ad- dress of a given variable or procedure. Other functions help conversion be- tween the 16-bit p-code pointers and the Macintosh's 32-bit addresses. Other bridges include functions to con- vert between the two Macintosh Boolean types and the UCSD Pascal Boolean type. The Toolbox implementation is fair- ly complete. One library (with a large number of units) lets you use just the routines and definitions that you want. Most are identical or almost identical to those defined in \nside Macintosh (Cupertino, CA: Apple Computer Inc., 1985), although, again, some modifica- tions have been made to bridge the dif- ferent environments. If MacAdvantage has one major drawback, it is its lack of speed. Like MacModula-2 and the Mac p-System, MacAdvantage uses pseudo-machine code running on a p-code interpreter. This makes it anywhere from 20 to 40 times slower than assembly language, although heavy use of Toolbox rou- tines can significantly close that gap. A minor drawback is that it is neces- sary to copy both the application and the support files (P-machine, run-time file) in order for the application to run. With the recent announcements of SofTech, MacAdvantage now has some strong points to balance against prob- lems. First and foremost is price: at $119, MacAdvantage is a real bargain. On top of that, of course, is word that SofTech has completely dropped all licensing fees for MacAdvantage. This means that programmers can freely give away or sell any products devel- oped with MacAdvantage, including the two support files needed to run them. Even if developers don't want to release a final product in MacAdvan- tage form, they can still make use of the package. MacAdvantage and Lisa Pascal are similar enough that conver- sion from one to the other is fairly straightforward. This means that pro- grammers could experiment and devel- op new programs on the Macintosh (using MacAdvantage), then produce a final version using Lisa Pascal. Finally, MacAdvantage represents the next step after MacPascal (from Apple). MacPascal has a nice environment for beginning programs, but its speed (over 1 5 times slower than MacAdvan- tage), its copy protection, and its lack of full, direct Toolbox support severe- ly limit it as a serious development tool. Educational institutions in par- ticular might be interested in switching to MacAdvantage after a semester of MacPascal. 114 BYTE- JULY 1985 PERSPECTIVES ON STARS 8 light-years of Groombridge 34. The third filter is number of components: one, two, or three stars, or any com- bination of these. As with the stellar class filter, the program uses a set (CountSet) to keep track of the allowed values. All three filters are cumulative. If you only want to see all binary K-class stars within 8 light-years of Groom- bridge 34, you can. As it turns out, there is one such system: 61 Cygni (6.9 light-years away; components are K5 and K7). Selecting Stars To get more information about a star, you point at it with the mouse and click. The program must then deter- mine which (if any) star you selected. Remember that StarMap draws the stars from the farthest away to the closest. StarMap detects stars in the opposite direction, so that you select what you see and not some star hid- den behind it. For each star that meets your selection criteria (i.e., passes through all your filters), Star- Map generates its enclosing rectangle, then checks to see if the mouse was clicked within that area. If it was, the rectangle is momentarily inverted to indicate which star was selected, and then the information window is up- dated. The information window, which gives the name, distance from current origin, and class of components, is shown in figure 1. If another star is selected, the information window is changed accordingly. Applications and Enhancements The obvious application of StarMap is educational, although it can be fun to play with as well. Most important, it displays the data in a more interest- ing and memorable manner than table 1. This program is sure to liven up any astronomy (or general science) class. Numerous changes and enhance- ments are obvious. Since you can substitute your own star list, you can create a larger star map. For example, proper motion information could be added to the star list (in table 1) as The obvious application of StarMap is educational, although it can be fun to play with as well well as to the Stars data structure (in listing 4). A time menu could then be used to track the stars in relation to one another. Other information, such as the absolute magnitude of the components, could be added and dis- played. My own plans include a "uni- verse construction set," which will let me create planets in each of those systems. You can obtain the StarMap listings from BYTEnet Listings at (617) 861-9774. You will also need BinHex, a public-domain program available on BYTEnet Listings, which changes the binary files into executable applica- tions. The listings are STARMAP.HQX, the actual program; STARS. HQX, the data file of stars; READSTAR.HQX, only necessary if you want to create a new data file; and PRUNTIME.HQX and PMACHINE.HQX, the run-time files needed to run the program. If you have the MacAdvantage development system and want to make adaptations to the program, the necessary files are STARMAP.PAS, SMAP.R, RAW- STARS.DOC, and READSTAR.PAS. ■ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A number of people went to some trou- ble to help me locate a decent star list. Among those are Linda Hume at San Diego State University; Dr. Barbara Jones, UCSD; Mike Caplinger, Rice University; David Gehrt, NASA/Ames; Michael Hart- sough, USC; Edward Olson, JPL: Josh Knight, IBM Watson Research Labs; Dick Munro, High Altitude Observatory; Ted Anderson, moderator of the Info-Space discussion on ARPANET/uucp; and the rest of the Info-Space contributors. My thanks to all. Which Master Would Your Slaves Recommend? OurNewCPZ-186 Has It All Intercontinental Micro Systems, the leader in the 8-bit single board computer world, has done it again. The CPZ-186, based on the 80186 CPU with integrated 2 channel Direct Memory Access Controller, has a 4-drive floppy controller, 2 serial I/O ports, 2y 2 parallel I/O ports, Mem- ory Management Unit, Interrupt Con- troller, up to 1 Megabyte of Dynamic RAM, and up to 8K EPROM, all on a single IEEE S-100 Bus Board. Talk about speed and flexibility. 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Disk Drive, BOOK $ 550 $ 479 HAYDEN, Sargon III $ 50 $ 31 HUMAN EDGE, Mind Prober $ 50 $ 29 INFOCOM, Hitchhiker's Guide $ 40 S 25 INNOVATIVE, Flip-n-File, 40 $ 30 $ 19 KOALA, Mac Vision $ 400 $ 229 LIVING VIDEOTEXT, Think Tank $ 145 $ 83 LOTUS, Jazz $ 595 S 395 MEGAHAUS, Megafiler $ 195 S 125 Megamerge $ 125 $ 80 MICROSOFT, Business Pak $ 595 $ 395 Multlplan, Word, or File, each S 195 $ 125 MILES, Mac the Knife, v. 1 $ 39 $ 25 MONOGRAM, Dollars & Sense $ 150 $ 89 NOVATION.SmartcatPlusModemw/SoltviareS 499 $ 349 ODESTA, Helix S 395 $ 259 PENGUIN, Graphics Magician $ 50 $ 32 PROVUE, Overvue $ 295 $ 185 SIMON & SCHUSTER, Typing Tutor III $ 60 $ 37 SOFTW. PUBL, PFS: File S Report Combo $ 175 $ 105 SOFTWARE ARTS, T/K Solver $ 249 $ 159 STATE OF THE ART, Electronic Checkbook $ 80 S 50 STONEWARE, DB Master S 195 $ 125 TELOS, File Vision $ 195 $ 115 WARNER, Desk Organizer $ 149 $ 99 FLOPPY DISK DRIVES MICRO-SCI, A2 Disk Drive, 143K A2 Controller Card Halt Height Drive tor He Half Height Drive for He RANA, Elite I, 163K, 40 Track Elite Controller TEAC, T40 Half Ht, 163K, Direct Controller Card for T40 by ComX UST CONROY $ 345 $ 189 $ 100 $ 60 $ 269 $ 169 S 299 t 189 $ 299 $ 189 $ 145 $ 79 S 249 $ 169 $ 79 $ 45 HARD DISKS QUARK, QC 10 for llc/lle/lll/MAC $1995 $1595 OTHER HARDWARE CCS, 7711 or 7710-A Interface, ea. $ 115 $ 65 CPS/EASTSIDE, Wild Card II (copier, +/e) $ 140 $ 79 COMX, 16K RAM Card (II + ), 1 yr Hd wty $ 1 19 $ 29 HAYES, Mach II, III Joysticks (11 + /lie) KENSINGTON, System Saver Fan $ 90 $ KEY TRONIC, KB200 Keyboard (+) $ 298 $ KOALA, Muppel Keys $ 80 S Touch Tablet w/Micro Illustrator (t/e) $ 130 $ KRAFT. Joystick lll/ll Wile) $ 50 $ 35 MICRO-SCI, 80 CcJ Card 4 64K RAM Card (He) S 199 S 89 MICROSOFT, Premium Softcard (He) $ 395 S 275 ORANGE MICRO, Buffered Grappler Plus, 1BK $ 209 $ 159 16K Buffer Board for Grappler Plus $ 99 I 59 PCPI, Applicard, 6 MHz, 14 features $ 375 $ RH ELECT., Super Fan II w/surge protector $ B9 $ TITAN, Accelerator lie $ 319 $ 128K RAM Card (II + ) $ 269 $ TRACKHOUSE, Numeric Key Pad (lie) $ 100 i TG, Select-a-Port $ 40 $ VIDEO 7, V Color 7 RGB Card $ 150 $ V Color lie S 200 $ 139 V Color He $ 250 $ 169 VIDEX, UltraTerm (II wile) $ 379 $ 229 VideoTerm 80 Col. Card (II + /lie) $ 279 $ 175 WICO, Smartcard (spec. Il/ll + /lie) $ 199 $ 159 179 44 75 LIST CO MROY PRICE PHICE ALS, Word or List Handler, ea. $ 80 $ 36 Handler Pak (Word/List/Spell) $ 170 $ 73 APPLE, Appleworks s 250 $ 215 ASHTON-TATE, dBase II (Req CP/M 80 $ 495 $ 269 BPI, AR, AP, PR or INV, each t * » 240 BRODERBUND, Print Shop s 50 $ 29 Print Shop Graphics Library $ 25 $ 18 Bank St. Writer or Speller, ea $ 70 S 45 Bank St. Combo (Writer & Speller) $ 140 $ 85 DOW JONES, Market Manager $ 249 $ 159 Market Analyzer or Microscope, ea $ 349 $ 219 HOWARD SOFT, Tax Preparer '85 $ 250 $ 165 HUMAN EDGE, Sales or Mgmt Edge, ea $ 250 $ 165 LIVING VIDEOTEXT, Think Tank $ 145 $ 89 MECA, Managing Your Money $ 199 $ 125 MEGAHAUS, Megaworks s 125 $ 80 MICRO PRO, WordStar $ 350 $ 189 WordStar w/ Starcard » 495 $ 265 WordStar Professional, 4 Pak $ 495 $ 265 MallMerge, SpellStar, or Siarlndex, ea $ 99 $ 54 InloStar and StarCard Combo $ $ 295 MICROSOFT, Multi-Plan (Ap DOS) s 95 $ 62 QUARK, Word Juggler & Lexicheck (lle/llc $ 189 $ 129 SENSIBLE, Sensible Speller s 125 s 79 SIERRA/ON-LINE, Screen Writer II $ 130 s 79 SOFTWARE PUBL, PFSiFlle or Write, eacr $ 125 $ 79 PFS:Graph or Report, each $ 125 s 79 SPRINGBOARD, Newsroom t 50 $ 32 STONEWARE, DB Master, v. 4 + $ 350 $ 225 UST CONROY PRICE PRICE EPSON, Graphics Dump $ 15 $ 7 FUNK, Sldewaye $ 60 $ 37 HAYES, Terminal Prog, lor Smartmodem s 99 s 65 MICROSOFT, Full Line In Stock CALL OMEGA, Locksmith $ 100 S 70 PENGUIN, Complete Graphics System I $ 80 s 49 Graphics Magician $ 60 s 40 QUALITY, Bag of Tricks $ 40 s 29 UNITED SWI, ASCII Express-The Pro $ 130 s 82 UTILICO, Essenlial Data Duplicator II $ 80 $ 49 HOME & EDUCATIONAL BEAGLE BROS., Full line IN STOCK CALL BRODERBUND, Print Shop $ 50 $ 29 CONTINENTAL, Home Accountant $ 75 $ 43 KOALA, Full line IN STOCK CALL MICROSOFT, Typing Tutor II $ 25 S 17 MONOGRAM, Dollars 5 Sense (lie) Dollars & Sense (lie) SCARBOROUGH, Meslertype Build-A-Book Your Personal Net Worth SIERRA/ON-LINE, Homeword SIMON & SCHUSTER, Typing Tutor III PLUS: BARRONS, CBS, DAVIDSON, EDU-WARE, HARCOURT, LEARNING CO., TERRAPIN $ $ 100 S % 120 S $ 60 S $ 40 $ $ 40 S $ 80 $ $ 70 $ $ 60 S UTILITIES SOFTWARE BEAGLE, GPLE or Alpha Plot, ea $ 50 S 27 Promo DOS, Disk Quick, Ap. Mecti. or 1.0. Sitver, ea $ 30 $ 19 Full line IN STOCK CALL BORLAND, Turbo Pascal $ 55 $ 33 3 Pak (Pasc, Turbo Tut, Toolbox) NEW $ 105 $ 59 CENTRAL POINT Copy II Plus (bit copier) $ 40 $ 23 RECREATIONAL SOFTWARE DATASOFT, Aztec or Zaxxon, each ELECTRON. ARTS, Sky Fox £ others, ea HAYDEN, Sargon III (Chess) INFOCOM, Zork I, II, or III, ea ORIGIN, Ultima III PENGUIN, Transylvania SPECTRUM HOLOBYTE, Gato SPINNAKER, FULL LINE IN STOCK SUB LOGIC, Flight Simulator II PLUS: BRODERBUND, DATAMOST, MUSE SIR-TECH s 50 $ 32 i 40 $ 27 $ 40 % 29 $ 50 $ 30 s 40 t 25 t 60 S 37 $ 35 I 24 $ 40 $ 25 CALL $ 50 $ 30 DISKETTES * CONROY-LAPOINTE" DISKETTES ★ We guarantee these top quality products with our name. 5 YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY. 10ea.SS/SD,(Apple,elc)35Trk,W/FLIPBOX $ 12 100 ea. SS/SD, (Apple, etc) 35 Trk $ 99 1000 ea. SS/SD, (Apple, etc.) 35 Trk $ 840 10ea.DS/DD,(IBM,H/P)48Trk,W/FLIPBOX $ 15 100 ea. DS/DD, (IBM, H/P) 48 Trk $119 1000 ea. DS/DD, (IBM, H/P) 48 Trk $ 859 10 ea. SS/DD, 3V4" (MAC, H/P), W/FLIP BOX $ 25 50 ea. SS/DD, 3V4" (MAC, H/P) $ 115 100 ea. SS/DD, 314" (MAC, H/P) $ 229 CONROY-LAPOINTE" IBM PRE-FORMATTED 10 ea, DS/DD, 48 Trk W/FLIP BOX $ 19 100 ea, DS/DD, 48 Trk $ 149 1000 ea, DS/DD, 48 Trk $ 959 SINGLE-SIDED, DOUBLE DENSITY UST CONROY CDC, 10 ea, SS/DD, 40 Trk (Apple, etc) $ 45 $ 19 DYSAN, 10 ea, SS/DD, (Apple, etc.) $ 40 $ 27 MAXELL, 10 ea, SS/DD, MD1 (Apple) $ 47 $ 19 VERBATIM, 10 ea, SS/DD, M0515O1, (Apple) $ 49$ 19 DOUBLE-SIDED, DOUBLE DENSITY CDC, 10 ea, DS/DD, 40 Trk (IBM, H/P) S 59$ 23 DYSAN, 10 ea, DS/DD, (IBM, H/P) $ 69 $ 35 MAXELL, 10 ea, DS/DD, MD2 (IBM) $ 71 $ 26 VERBATIM, 10 ea. DS/DD. MD34 (IBM) $ 75 $ 24 3W MICRO DISKETTES CONROY-LAPOINTE, 10 ea, DS/DD, w/Flip Box $ 29 MAXELL, 10 ea. SS/DD (MAC, H/P) $ 60 $ 35 MEMOREX, 10 ee. SS/DD (MAC, H/P) $ 60 $ 33 VERBATIM, 10 ea, SS/DD (MAC, H/P) $ 65$ 32 HIGH DENSITY DISKETTES FOR IBM-AT MAXELL, 10 ea. DS/QD (IBM-AT) $ 77 $ 49 MEMOREX, 10 ea. DS/QD (IBM-AT) $ 77 $ 49 * GENERIK DISKETTES * Top quality, w/jeckeis. no labels. Quantity discounts. 90 day 'No hassle, money back guarantee." 100 ea. SS/SD, 35 Track (Apple, etc) $ 80 100 ea, DS/DD, 48 Track. (IBM, H/P) $ 95 MODEMS LIST CONROY ANCHOR, Signalman Mark XII $ 399 $ 259 HAYES, 24O0B External Modem $ 899 $ 699 Smartmodem 1200B (IBM) $ 549 $ 379 Smartcom II Software (IBM/MAC) $ 149 $ 107 Smartmodem 1200 (External) $ 599 $ 419 Mlcromodem He w/Smartcom (AP) $ 329 $ 239 NOVATION, Apple Cat II 300 Baud (AP) $ 389 $ 219 212 Apple Cat, 1200 Baud (AP) $ 595 $ 419 SmartCat Plus w/soflware (MAC) $ 499 $ 349 ACCESS 1-2-3 1200B Modem* Crosstalk (ISM) $ 595 $ 369 PROMETHEUS, 1200 Standalone Modem $ 495 $ 345 ProModem 1200 w/soflware (MAC) $ 549 $ 429 ProModem 1200A (AP) $ 449 $ 349 ProModem 1200B (IBM) $ 399 $ 289 QUADRAM, Quadmodem, Internal (IBM) $ 595 $ 425 Quadmodem, External, (IBM) $ 695 $ 495 MONITORS AMDEK, Color 300 - Comp/Audio Color 500 - Comp/VCR/RGB/Audio Color 6O0 - Hi Res/RGB/Audio 300A - 12" Amber 300G, 12" Green 310A, 12" Amber/Comp (IBM) PRINCETON, HX-12 - HI Res/RGB SR-12 - Hi Res/RGB MAX-12 - Amber (IBM) QUADRAM, Amberchrome, 12" ZENITH, ZVM122 - 12" Amber ZVM123 - 12" Green ZVM124 & ZVM 135 CABLES $ 349 $ 249 $ 525 $ 375 $ 599 $ 399 $ 199 $ 135 $ 179 $ 119 $ 230 $ 159 $ 795 $ 489 $ 799 $ 599 $ 249 $ 179 $ 250 $ 159 $ 159 $ 95 $ 149 $ 89 20-30% OFF ARBO, IBM-PC to Modem Cable $ 31 $ 19 ASTAR, RF Modulator for T.V. (Apple) $ 35 $ 20 COMPUTABLE, Mac/Hayes Smartmodem CaKe S 32 $ 25 CURTIS, Monitor Extension Cable (IBM) $ 50 $ 35 3'-9' Keyboard Extens. Cable (IBM) $ 40 $ 30 RCA, Monitor Cable $ 15 $ 9 PRINTERS DOT MATRIX: LIST CONROY APPLE, Imagewrtter CALL LaserWriter $6995 $6500 EPSON, RX / FX Series - In Stock CALL LXB0 - 100 cps DQ/16 cps NLQ $ 299 CALL JX80 - Color Printer, 160 cps. $ 699 CALL LQ1500 - 200 cps D0767 cps LQ $1295 CALL OKIDATA, Okimate 20 - Color, Hi Res $ 268 $ 208 182 - 120 cps/80 col $ 299 $ 239 92 - 160 cps/80 col/para. $ 499 $ 399 93 - 160 cps/136 col/para. $ 799 $ 639 2410 Pacemark - 350 cps/para. $2995 $1975 PANASONIC, P1090 - B0 cps/10" $ 349 $ 249 P1092 - 1B0 cps/10" $ 599 $ 459 QUADRAM, Quadjet- Inkjet Color $ 895 $ 395 STAR MICRO, SG10 - 120 cps DO/30 cps NLQ $ 299 $ 249 SG15 - 120 cps DO, 30 cps NLO, 16K $ 499 $ 419 SD10 - 160 cps DQ, 40 cps NLQ $ 449 $ 379 SD15 - 160 cps DQ, 40 cps NLQ, 16K $ 599 $ 509 SR10 - 200 cps DQ, 50 cps NLQ $ 649 $ 549 SR15 - 200 cps DQ, 50 cps NLQ, 16K $ 799 $ 679 TOSHIBA, 351 - 2B8 cps $1895 $1369 LETTER-QUALITY: JUKI, 6300 - 40cpa/para. $ 995 $ 795 6100 - 16 cps/para/3 pitch $ 599 $ 439 Sheet Feeder lor 6300 (single) $ 275 $ 225 PANASONIC, P3151 - 22 cps/15'A" $ 699 $ 539 TOSHIBA, Prop, spacing 4 hi-res graphics: 1351 - 192 cps DQ & 100 cps LQ $1895 $1369 1340 - 144 cps DQ & 54 cps LQ $ 799 $ 619 Bl-dlrection Tractor Feed $ 195 $ 175 PLOTTERS: EPSON, 4 Pen Plotter $ 599 CALL PRINTER SUPPLIES: PAPER: White, Colored, Laser Cut, etc. RIBBONS, DAISYWHEELS CALL PRINTER INTER AND BUFFE ARBO, IBM-PC to Para Printer Cable $ ASSIMILATION, Mac to Epson Conn Iff $ 89 Dalsywheel Connection $ 99 EPSON, Parallel Interface for LQ1500 $ 100 Serial Interface Board $ 130 MPC, Apple II l/FS Cable lor Epson 1 Gemini $ 90 OKIDATA, Plug 'n Play, Tractors, Okigraph, ea. ORANGE MICRO, Grappler Plus lor Apple $ 145 Serial Grappler $ 119 Buffered Grappler Plus, 16K $ 209 QUADRAM, Microfazers, full line IN STOCK Mlcrofazers 8K, P-P, w/copy $ 189 STAR MICRO, Serial l/F & Cable $ 144 Mac/Star Interface $ 100 ACCESSORI CURTIS, Diamond, 6 outlets, switched $ $ $ $ 79 $ 79 $ 110 $ 49 CALL $ 99 $ 79 $ 159 CALL $ 139 $ 119 $ 89 50 $ 60 $ $ 90 $ $ 80 $ $ 45 $ $ 70 $ $ 100 $ $ 60 $ Emerald , 6 outlets, 6' cord Ruby, 6 outlets, 6' cord, filter Sapphire, 3 outlets, w/filter EPD, Lemon, 6 outlets/wall Lime, 6 outlets/cord Orange, 6 outlets/cord Peach, 3 outlets/wall INNOVATIVE, Fllp-n-File 50 (disk holder) $ 22 $ KENSINGTON, Printer Stand $ 30 $ NETWORX.WiretraM outlet, wffiU surge $ 70 $ Wiretree Plus $ 100 $ 59 PROD TECH INTL, Uninterruptable Power Supply 200 Watts, PC2O0 for IBM-PC $ 359 $ 229 300 Watts, XT300 lor IBM-XT $ 499 $ 379 BOO Watts, AT800 for IBM-AT, 72 lbs. CALL r CONROY- LAPOINTE CREDIT CARD S Send me a Conroy-LaPoinle 2jJ_ credit application form, so t can get cash discount prices with credit card convenience $400 Minimum initial purchase Lt. 1 ' 'ai'U j'H/if Minimum initial purchase . . f CITY STATE MAIL TO: 12060 SW Garden Place, ZIP Portland. OR 97223 nOnCDIMr* I M O TCDMCs MAIL T0: 1206O SW Garden Place, Portland, OR 97223 -Include telephone number. C UnUCnllNO HirU