Practical Computing - March 1983, Volume 6, Issue 3

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Publication Date : March 1983

Publication Contents :

Page Item
4 Upgrade to an Oric-1 [Advert]
5 Editorial [Article]
Jack Schofield
Safeguarding whose date? The recently-announced Data Protection Bill does not offer enough protection against the misuse of data.
7 Feedback [Article]
Your Letters: How can you avoid "cowboys" when buying a computer? Plus an assortment of comments, corrections and enhancements.
9 NEC turns 28 years of computer experience to your personal advantage - PC-8000 [Advert]
10 Commodore VIC-20 - Let Commodore expand your horizons [Advert]
Double-page, colour advert
15 PB-100 pocket computer from Casio [News Item]
The PB-100 pocket computer from Casio is designed for the non-specialist in computing. The PB-100 is aimed at business users, providing them with a number of functions; 10 programs can be stored, with a total of up to 544 program steps.
15 Speedy Basic from Pet compiler [News Item]
The Petspeed Basic compiler is now available for the Commodore 64. It is a special version, optimised for the new micro, from CBM and can transform a relatively slow Basic program into a fast machine-code one.
15 New lease of life for Apple II [News Item]
The revamped Apple II and products to enhance the Apple III, as well as two new printers, are available now. The Apple IIe takes over from the existing Apple II Europlus and is designed to be software and hardware compatible with it. The main unit, now with 64K RAM as standard and a revised ISO-standard keyboard costs £845.
15 Selling boom pleases retailers [News Item]
Microcomputers are now on sale in every High Street. They sold in their thousands in the period leading up to Christmas and look like becoming the most popular electronic consumer item of 1983. What is now clear is that most retailers did not have the stocks to meet the totally unexpected Christmas demand.
20 Galaxy Computer System >/ Whatever Requirements You Have [Advert]
21 Provincial shows pull in crowds [News Item]
With at attendance of 23,073 visitors in only three days the Northern Computer Fair was an unqualified success.
21 Apple, DEC and IBM set to compete for executive market [News Item]
For the first time the giants of the computer field are to meet head-on - in the professional personal-computer market. The significance of the plans revealed by IBM, DEC and Apple are that each at present holds the dominant share in respectively the mainframe, minicomputer and microcomputer fields. And each is adopting a different strategy in an attempt to take the personal computer prize. The IBM PC is to be available immediately through official IBM channels. DEC has announced dealers, software and support arrangements for the Rainbow 100, Decmate II and Professional range of computers. Apple is defending its stronghold in the personal-computer market with extensions to the existing Apple II and Apple III product ranges, and by the introduction of the Apple Lisa.
22 From Apple, the Inventors of the Personal Computer. Evolution. Revolution. [Advert]
Apple IIe, Apple III, Apple Lisa
24 BBC Micro becomes a two-channel 'scope [News Item]
The GSL analogue signal display and analysis system will turn a BBC Model B computer into a large-screen storage oscilloscope. It has a two-channel input and can accept frequencies up to the high audio range. It also has a printer.
24 Midwich games joysticks [News Item]
The Midwich joysticks have a life expectancy of more than 200,000 operations. Made of injection-moulded plastic and designed to sit comfortably in the hand they are available for the Dragon 32, BBC Micro, ZX-81 and ZX-Spectrum.
24 Electrical modeller [News Item]
AC/MP is an electrical circuit-modelling CAD package which will run on a CP/M system. Capable of modelling any AC circuit with up to 24 nodes, the package solves the simultaneous linear equations that are usually associated with electrical circuit design.
25 ZX Spectrum [Advert]
Four-page, colour advert.
29 Portable Forth [News Item]
Kuma Computers has developed a version of Forth for the Osborne portable micro. Kuma Fig Forth runs under CP/M and conforms to the Fig Forth international standard.
29 Camera-to-computer graphics interface [News Item]
Microsight will give a microcomputer eyes for less than £500. The system comprises a standard CCTV camera, a camera-computer interface and vision software. The Microeye camera-computer interface sends images to the computer as eight-bit digital video.
29 Tandy's 16-bit micro [News Item]
Tandy is to opt for the Zenix multi-user operating system on the new TRS-80 model 16 microcomputer. The micro is based on the Motorola 68000 processor, which lends itself to Zenix, a Unix-like operating system. The micro also has a second Z80-A processor to handle house-keeping tasks.
35 The PC launched in Britain - official [News Item]
On January 18 IBM finally launched its Personal Computer in the UK, nearly 18 months after its American introduction.
35 Digital Research's offering [News Item]
Digital Research may not have written PC-DOS, but it has produced a range of products to run on the IBM PC.
39 Axioms and assumptions [Article]
Boris Allan
Boris Allan discusses axioms, assumptions, and different approaches to the logical process of arguement.
77 Apple's Lisa - A Revolutionary Micro [Review]
Ian Stobie
The long-awaited 16-bit Apple IV has been officially announced. Ian Stobie previews the integrated software/hardware architecture.
82 Sharp MZ-80A - The Desktop Genius [Advert]
Double-page, colour advert.
84 The Lynx - For Home and Business Use [Review]
Bill Bennett
Bill Bennett tests the £225 Lynx from Camputers, which starts as a home colour computer but promises CP/M for the future.
87 Fujitsu SP-830 [Review]
Chris Bidmead
Chris Bidmead tries out a fast Japanese letter-quality printer.
93 Computing on the Train [Review]
Ian Stobie
Portable micros in action - Ian Stobie investigates word processing on the Sony Typecorder and Epson HX-20.
100 BBC/Atom graphics digitiser [Article]
J.C. Flower [Flowers]
Can't afford a digitiser? Why not build your own. J.C. Flower supplies details of software and circuits for the Acorn micros.
105 CompuStar - Tough to Outgrow [Advert]
107 Monday Morning Computing Guide [Article]
Chris Naylor
Start the week with Chris Naylor's humorous A-Z guide to micro jargon.
110 Confuse-an-Apple [Type-In Listing]
Geoff Buckeridge
Geoff Buckeridge's program lets you run Pet programs on an Apple without having to make a laborious line-by-line coversion.
112 Computers In, Workers Out? [Article]
John Dawson
John Dawson looks at the problems of industrial relations when companies try to computerise.
115 When it's time to stop playing games and get down to business...Rair Business Computer [Advert]
116 Looking ahead on a micro [Type-In Listing]
Adrian Hill
Predict future behaviour - Adrian Hill provides a program which uses Julius Kane's KSIM forecasting method.
120 Know Your Sort [Article]
Andrew Featherstone
Part 1 of a comprehensive guide to sorting from Andrew Featherstone, with examples in Sinclair Basic.
124 Monkeynut Mystery [Article]
Peter van der Linden
Fiction.
126 Enveloped by BBC Sounds [Type-In Listing]
David Peckett
David Peckett presents a program for displaying the sound envelope on the BBC Microcomputer.
130 Spectrum Games [Review]
Jack Schofield
Jack Schofield play-tests a handful of low-priced cassette games, including the new Penetrator for the Sinclair Spectrum. Games reviewed include Space Raiders, Spectral Invaders, Chess, The Chess Player, Hungry Horace, and Penetrator.
132 Programming for Disabled Users [Type-In Listing]
Robin Nixon
Robin Nixon pleads for software that can be tailored to individuals' needs.
139 Open File [Type-In Listing]
16 pages of free software - More programs and programming tips for the Apple, Commodore, Tandy, BBC, Atari, Sinclair and other microcomputers.
171 Book Reviews [Review]
Michael Trott
Michael Trott looks at recent books about the popular Apple II computer. Books reviewed include "The Apple II User's Guide" by Lon Poole, "The Addison-Wesley Book of Apple Computer Software" ed. by Jeffrey Stanton and John Dickey, "Circuit Design Programs for the Apple II" by Howard M. Berlin, "Mostly Basic: Applications for Your Apple II" by Howard Berenbon, "I Speak Basic to My Apple" by Aubrey B. Jones Jnr, "Apple Interfacing" by Jonathon S. Titus, "The Apple Personal Computer for Beginners" by Seamus Dunn and Valerie Morgan, "Apple Basic" by Richard Haskell, "Assembly Language Programming for the Apple II" by Robert Mottola, "Golden Delicious Games for the Apple Computer" by Howard M. Franklin, Joanne Koltnow and Leroy Finkel.
175 Puzzle [Article]
Douglas Tate
Printer's Error - Douglas Tate's printer is playing up. Can you decipher the message?
179 Peter Laurie's "Last Word" [Article]
Peter Laurie
Could the whole 16-bit world be a bit far-fetched?


ISSN Number : 0141-5433

Creator : IPC Electrical Electronic Press

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH5277. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.
 

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