YOUR FINGERTIPS! - TRS-80 Color Computer Archive

3 TOP CHOICES FOR YOUR FIRST COMPUTER! April 1989 

COMPUTE! 

The Leading Magazine of Home, Educational, and Recreational 

THE WORLD AT 

YOUR FINGERTIPS! ■ 

COMPLETE GUIDE 

To 7 Major 

Online Services 

COMPUTE! 

KFYEAR 

► What Each 

One Offers 

► 10 Tips for 

Saving Money 

► Decoding 

Online 

Lingo 

^ 

DER 

Food, Tickets, 

And More 

From Home 

48 SUPER 

Telecommunication 

Packages Compared 

HIT THE ROAD! 

6 High-Rev 

Race Games 

USA S2.95 Canada S3.50 

04 

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3mputergame.n 

, War strategy, and 

1V- ^.f ,tT^'; V-' i! animated adventure games have been skillfully blended for a unique computer 

■o*î^.V- ^-- gamirigêrience. \__,^,~—-— 

■' ^JtJ l*Sp!$'. *-F3Biw in the footsteps of Frodo, Aaragom and Gandalf as they battle to get 

V>" -ts V_-/?''-?'.~s' -thering to the Cracki of Doom. Ranged against you are all the evil forces of 

isveTS >' ;-^^-1 theDaik Lork Sauron and the corrupt wizard Saruman. Tbe odds are■ 

-";^*?*t^* . -(^^^^rc^>'^'"'overw8uiung, but you cannot afford to fail. The destiny of Middle Earth lies 

?l~&£ -X Roani at will across the36-screenscrollingmap (if Middle Earth, wherein are 

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■w*-rf. '■ contained thousands of digitized locations in which you can control a cast of 

!*£ JVi over,80 animated characters and armiet. Test your strategic abilities as you 

[■.^•ftif.a)1' command entire legions to move against the forces of evil. 

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With the almost infinite variety and multiple layers of play, War in Middle 

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It will delight and enthrall, and ultimately become a firm favorite in any 

software library. 

^'yf ' May your heroic efforts be met with success, and the forces of darkness 

I if i1. be vanquished! 

W.,lioid W«t Emntl \* KmI En 

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HARADWAITH 

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Most PC compatibles charge extra 

for the operating system. With the 

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included, it's actually built into 

memory. Five seconds after you turn 

the 1000 SL on, MS-DOS has loaded, 

and up comes the DeskMate® Graphi 

cal User Interface—a neat, organized 

display of your programs. This simple, 

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is the ultimate in ease of use—and a 

Tandy exclusive. 

The 1000 SL even comes with 

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With DeskMate, you're ready to go 

with ten popular applications that let 

you write letters, prepare budgets, file 

information, draw colorful pictures 

and more. There's even a 90,000- 

word spell checker, address book, 

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And listen to this: Tandy offers 

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Come into Radio Shack today and 

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Tandy Computers: Because there is no better value. 

Sale begins 3/19/39. ends 5/22/89. Prices apply a! Radio Sha:k Computer Centers and participating 

Stores and dealers. Tandy 1000 SL reg. S899. Monitor sold separately. Modem required lor communica 

tions; microphone required tor recording. MS-DOS/Reg. TM Microsoft Corp. PC-Link/Reg. TM Quantum 

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The Technology Store 

A DIVISION OF TANDY CORPORATION 

TM

1 FEATURES 

The World Through a Wire 

Tap the telephone lines with your computer and light up the 

screen with a whole new universe of information, services, and 

products./AW/ Randall 20 

Burn 

Rubber! 

Hairpin turns, brushes with death—the stuff of dreams in the fast 

lane. Six driving games put horsepower in your hardware. 

Peter Scisco 30 

Beginner's Luck 

Buying Your First Computer 

Three standout computers—the IBM PS/2 Model 25, Tandy 1000 

SL, and Apple lie Plus—make perfect first purchases. Which 

one's right for you?/Gregg Keizer 38 

Shop Around 

Beat mall madness! Put your keyboard on your knees and shop 

safely and sanely from home./Heidi E. H. Aycock 41 

Buyer's Guide 

Telecommunications Software 

Tie up your phone line with one of these 48 telecommunications 

packages./Caroline D. Hanlon 48 

REVIEWS 

APRIL 

1989 

VOLUME 11 

NUMBER 4 

ISSUE 107 

The Leading Magazine 

of Home, Educational, and 

Recreational Computing 

Fast 

Looks 

Battlehawks 1942 

Bob Guerra 

Wealth Insurance 

Glenda McClure 

FormSet 

Bob Gingher 

Rocket 

Ranger 

Joey Lalimer 

Twist & Shout 

Lynne Frey 

Flight Simulator 3.0 

Richard Sheffield _ 

62 

63 

63 

64 

65 

68 

68 

The Children's Writing & 

Publishing Center 

Gregg Keizer 

F-19 Stealth Fighter 

Bob Guerra 

Quicken 

Steven Anzovin 

TKO 

Tom Netsel 

PC-Link 

David Stanton 

70 

70 

72 

72 

74

COLUMNS 

Editorial License 

Telecommunications is the space 

shuttle of computing—too complex 

and too fragile to live with, too 

important to live without. 

Gregg Keizer 4 

News & Notes 

Instant MS-DOS mix, armored 

attack computers, 27 million 

can't be wrong, and more 

noteworthy news of late. 

Editors 6 

Gameplay 

Commie plots and copy protection—all 

in the same column! 

Orson Scoti Card. . 11 

Impact 

Computers bring the Information Age 

Uome.jDavid D. Thornburg 12 

Discoveries 

What's a BBS without a phone? A 

message center, a computerized bull 

session, a place to pontificate—and all 

for next to nothing./Da v/rf Stanton 14 

Levitations 

Worried about Nintendo taking over the 

universe? Soothe your fears with this 

prefabricated SWAN song. 

Arlan Levitan 88 

Letters 

Choice comment, low-cost lament, and 

time travel/Editors 13 

New Products! 

Titanic software, compact keyboard 

keeper, and more new stuff. 

Mickey McLean 15 

COMPUTE! SPECIFIC 

MS-DOS 

Clifton Karnes 

64 & 128 

Neil Randall _ 

Apple 

Amiga 

II 

Gregg Keizer _ 

Steven Anzovin 

Macintosh 

Heidi E. H. Aycock 

Atari ST 

David Plotkin 

52 

53 

54 

56 

58 

59 

Cover photo © 1989 by Mark Wagoner. 

COMPUTE! The Leading Magazine of Home, Educational, and Recreational Computing (USPS: 537250} is published monthly by COMPUTE! PuOlicatjons. Inc . ABC Consumer Magazines. 

Inc Chilton Company ore ot the ABC Publishing Companies, a pan of Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. Editorial Offices are located at 324 West WenQover Avenue, Greensboro. NC 27408. Domestic 

Subscriptions; 12 issues S2d. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: COMPUTE! Magazine. P.O. Box 10955. Des Moines. 1A 50950. Second-class postage paid at New York. NY and 

addrttonal mailing offices. Enure contents copyright © 1989 by COMPUTE! Publications. Inc. All rights reserved, ISSN 0194-357X.

'ditmiallicense 

GREGG KEIZER 

Okay, Who 

Made Things 

So Tough? 

I'm no rocket scientist. I don't pretend to 

be. But 1 do consider myself prepared for 

most personal computer tasks. I've used 

nearly every' home computer made, from 

the flimsy plastic Coleco Adam to a top-ofthe 

line IBM PS/2.1 can pop computer cov 

ers, yank boards out and press them in, set 

up printers, install software, back up hard 

disks as well as anyone. As long as it doesn't 

involve solder or live electrical wires. I'll 

take it on. 

Then why, for crying out loud, is it so 

hard to telecommunicate? Why can't a file 

get from computer A to computer B today, 

when it made it yesterday? What makes 

sending messages on a national information 

service so tough that it takes five tries to get 

it right? What's going on here? 

Complex convolutions of technology, I 

guess. Telecommunications is. without a 

doubt, the most difficult, the most frustrat 

ing, the most delicate of personal computer 

applications. Telecommunications is com 

posed of too many parts, any one of which 

can go bad and turn on you. Telecommuni 

cations is the space shuttle of computing. 

Not only is there a computer involved, 

but there's also a mysterious device called a 

modem. Add the telecommunications soft 

ware, which runs the gamut from the ab 

surdly arcane to the barely usable. Toss in 

the phone line, which, as we all know from 

voice communications, isn't always the 

crystal-clear medium that pin droppers 

would have us believe. Finally, you've got to 

contend with the equipment on the other 

end and its strange software. 

If the phone line isn't quite clean, or 

your software isn't set quite right, or sunspots 

are too active, you'll have trouble. Fix 

ing things isn't easy, for you must first locate 

the problem—usually through a hit-and-miss 

process of elimination—before you can cor 

rect it (assuming you can make corrections). 

All this is terribly time-consuming. 

Tracking down trouble is never fun, and in 

telecommunications, it's hell. A good rule 

of thumb is to allow yourself at least three 

times as long as you think necessary to han 

dle any telecommunications chore. I can't 

remember the last time a session I thought 

would be only 15 minutes long actually 

lasted only 15 minutes. 

Once you get everything running and 

you manage to get connected with a bulletin 

board or information service, you've got to 

mess with an almost infinite number of in 

terfaces. Amateur bulletin boards don't wor 

ry too much about ease of use. so you've got 

to struggle through even the best. Commer 

cial systems aren't much better, for you're 

either slugging it out with menus or trying to 

recall what odd alphanumeric combination 

calls up the area you're after. 

Downloading public domain and 

shareware software, although a popular pas 

time on bulletin boards and services, is 

daunting enough to send thousands scurry 

ing for the nearest user group library or pub 

lic domain disk collection. Assuming you 

get everything right and get software down 

loaded into your computer, you still may 

not be ready to run what you've grabbed. 

You may have to download even more pro 

grams—file compressors, conversion utili 

ties, virus checkers—before you can use the 

ones you have. 

The final insult comes when you get the 

bill for your online exploration. Sit down, 

grip the chair firmly, and don't scream when 

you see the first month's tally- 

It's as if there's a telecommunications 

conspiracy—how else do you explain such 

formidable obstacles thrown willy-nilly into 

the beginner's path? 

To be truly useful, to really persuade 

most (or all) home computer users that it's a 

great idea, telecommunications had better 

wake up. Unless it's as easy to use as the 

phone (or as near to that as possible), tele 

communications won't affect anyone be 

yond the thousands of computer technophiles. 

Millions of potential users will 

simply take a telecommunications rain 

check. 

There has been some progress of late. 

Services such as the recently introduced PC- 

Link and AppleLink offer graphic interfaces 

for easy access and make connecting almost 

automatic. CompuServe's Navigator, a Mac 

intosh-specific program, uses that machine's 

vaunted graphics to simplify nearly every 

telecommunications task. GEnie. the pio 

neer of low-cost telecommunications, is 

growing fast, proving that high prices aren't 

an inherent part of the business. 

Push those ideas to their limit and 

you'll have telecommunications for the 

masses: cheap rates (how about equivalent 

to the cost per hour of other entertainment, 

such as movies?), machine-specific, servicespecific 

software that takes the sting out of 

logging on and getting around, and electron 

ic message systems as simple to use as a 

typewriter. Make things simple, simple, 

simple. 

Only then will our computers pick up 

the phone as often as we do. b 

compute

20432 CORISCO STREET, CHATSWORTH CA 91311 - 818-709-3693 

ir\ ioafi TiTiic tit am Time Aun tuctitiic in^n adc DC/îcTDcn TDAncniADVC ncTiTM^

'notes 

Consumer Computers 

Winter's Consumer Electron 

bundling well-made 

ics Show (CES) is held every 

January in Las Vegas, lerra firma 

for gamblers, hustlers, and. 

for a few days, anyone con 

nected with electronics. Com 

puter software publishers, at 

MS-DOS machines 

with easy-to-use 

software and selling 

these computers 

through mass-market 

merchandisers, 

least those with an interest in 

not computer 

the consumer (read home) 

market, head there, too. Hard 

ware manufacturers, on the 

other hand, seem to think that 

the home is not a fit place for a 

computer, and so arc harder to 

find at CES. 

One of the few hardware 

manufacturers that's not hard 

to find is Vendcx. the maker of 

a popular line of IBM PCcompatible 

computers. All you 

have to do is look for the com 

pany's spokesman. King Kong 

Bundy. a bald-headed profes 

sional wrestler who looks as 

though he could tear a com 

puter in half. 

dealers. In the 

process. Vendex 

has made a name 

for itself among 

home and home-office 

computer users. 

Its most rccenl introduc 

tion is the Vendex HeadStart 

III. an 80286-drivcn PC AT 

compatible (8 and 12 MHz) 

equipped with 1 megabyte 

(MB)ofRAM.a32MBhard 

disk, a 360K./1.2MB 5'A-inch 

drive.a720K/1.44MB3V> 

inch drive, and built-in VGA 

graphics. A slew of software 

also comes in the box: Frame 

work 11. Twist & Shout, Pub- 

Chessmaster2000 

are among the 14 packages 

included in the system. All 

this costs $2,995 list; look for 

a lower street price, though. 

The only things not part 

of the Vendcx HeadSlart MI 

package are a printer and a 

monitor. One of the latter is 

often thrown in by the seller, 

said Henry Fox. executive vice 

president of Vendex. without 

exceeding that $3,000 price 

The combination of de 

pendable hardware, included 

software, availability through 

major mass merchants, and 

low cost seems to attract the 

poiential home computer buy 

er who is intimidated by tradi 

tional computer dealers, wants 

an instant system, and likes to 

get going as soon as the boxes 

arc unpacked. 

Vendex has specialized in 

lish-It!, Splash, XTree. and 

tag. 

— Gregg Keizer 

Home Is Where the Fax Is 

the organization reports that a 

million new home ventures are 

launched each year and that 

home businesses will contrib 

ute $ 100 billion to the nation's 

economy in 1989. 

The average home-based 

business owner is 38.8 years 

old and married, has two chil 

dren, earns S56.OOO annually, 

owns a home, has graduated 

from college, and has worked 

for a large corporation for sev 

eral years, says the AHBA. 

Consulting is the most 

popular home-based business. 

5 Other professions include act 

counting, veterinary care, writ- 

1 ing, editing, psychology, 

If you work out of your home, 

million people work part-time 

dentistry, and commercial art. 

you're in good company. More from the home, according to 

The personal computer is 

than 13 million full-time busi 

the American Home Business 

partly responsible for the 

nesses operate out of Ameri 

Association (AHBA). With 

boom in horne-based business 

can households. Another 14 

those numbers comes power— es, according to Dorothy Denton, 

executive director of the 

Association, "it's made it pos 

sible for people who have al 

ways had an entrepreneurial 

bent to start a business without 

a large support staff because 

computers can do the work of 

many people." she said. 

People who own homebased 

businesses can get help 

ful information and assistance 

from the Association. The 

group offers a monthly news 

letter, tax information, group 

insurance, and a buying ser 

vice that provides savings on 

office equipment. 

For information, contact 

the American Home Business 

Association, 397 Post Road, 

Darien. Connecticut 06820; 

(800)433-6361. 

— Heidi E.H.Awock 

6 COMPUTE

The Latest Sim Craze 

Remember—you heard it here firsl. The hot 

test computer simulation category in 1989 

will be tank-combat sims. Forgei about fly 

ing 100 feet off the deck at Mach 2 with 

some two-bit pilot from the Third World in 

yourjet fighter's sights. Forget about diving 

100 fathoms as you escape a determined de 

stroyer captain who will be happy only when 

he sees your sub bubble up. Instead, think 

aboul sticking your head out a turret hatch 

as you guide a modern metal monster across 

battlefields littered with smoking wreckage. 

Tanks are but the most recent techno 

logical marvel portrayed in computer simu 

lations. Submarines, jet fighters, and 

helicopters have been done to death. The ar 

mored behemoth may be the lasi machine 

left to simulate on the screen. 

Several software publishers have come 

to the same conclusion and have been busy 

developing tank simulations. Accolade was 

firsl out the gate with Steel Thunder, a game 

for the Commodore 64 that puts players in 

side one of four armored vehicles: the 

M48A5 Palton Battle Tank, the M60A3 

Main Baltic Tank, the M3 Bradley Cavalry 

Fighting Vehicle, and the MIAI Abrams 

Main Battle Tank. Steel Thunder, which is 

more an arcade-style action game than a re 

alistic simulation, lets you assume the roles 

of tank commander, tank driver, and tank 

gunner. A fourth crew member, the loader, is 

computer-controlled, but vital: If he's slow 

or tires easily, you'll have a hard time of 

things. Graphics in Steel Thunder axe ade 

quate, bui not dazzling. Stick figures, for in 

stance, stand for enemy infantry. 

Electronic Aris should have iis Abrams 

Battle Tank on the shelves by the lime you 

read this. Abrams runs on MS-DOS ma 

chines and is a more realistic portrayal of 

modern armored combat. Several crew sta 

tions let you rotate from commander to gun 

ner to driver to loader inside the M1A1 

Abrams, the Army's front-line battle tank. 

Three-dimensional graphics spice up the 

screen, and a bevy of targets pop up in front 

of your thermal sights. You can lay smoke as 

cover, and even take on Soviet choppers. 

Play levels let you determine the fight's fe 

rocity. At the lowest level, for instance, your 

lank can take hit after hit and rol! away from 

the action virtually unscathed. Play at the 

highest level, though, and a single round can 

brew up your lank in moments. 

Other publishers are rumored to be 

working on tank simulations. The most 

prominent names bandied about are Spec 

trum HoloByte, of Falcon fame, and Micro- 

Prose, creator of such landmark simulations 

as Gunship, Silent Service, and F19 Stealth 

Fighter. 

If this crop is any indication, the year 

should see a lot of fighter jocks ground them 

selves for a chance to lake a turn or two in 

the turret. Meet you on the battlefield. 

— Gregg Keizer > 

Radar detectors: 

Which are really best? 

Ihese days every maker says their radar 

detector is best. Who's telling the truth? 

Freedom of the press 

If you read movie ads, you know how 

each one finds a short phrase from a 

review that makes it sound like "the year's 

best" Well, some detector makers play 

the same game. 

But we wont play games. Below are 

the overall results of three recent inde 

pendent tests of radar detectors. 

LATEST PERFORMANCE RANKINGS 

Car and 

Driver 

Is'Passport 

(Escort 

not tested) 

Cobra 

Uniden 

Radio Shack 

BEL 

Whistler 

Sparkomatic 

Fox 

GUL 

BMW 

Roundel 

1st Passport 

2-Escort 

BEL Quantum 

Whistler 

Maxon 

Radio Shack 

Uniden 

Fox 

Cobra 

BEL Vector 

Snooper 

Fuzzbuster 

Sparkomatic 

Sunkyong 

r 

Popular 

Mechanics 

1" Escort 

2-Passport 

tftL 

£ Snooper 

L Uniden 

Whistler 

r Cobra 

H GUL 

L Radio Shack 

r Sparkomatic 

"L Maxon 

Although each staff of experts used 

different methods to evaluate the detec 

tors, their conclusions were unanimous: 

Escort and Passport are winners. 

Here's the proof 

Call us toll-free (1-800-543-1608) 

and we'll send you the complete, unedited 

tests. Read exactly what the experts say. 

How to order 

We sell direct to you. Orders in by 

5:00 pm eastern time go out the same 

day. and we pay for UPS shipping. Overnight 

Federal Express delivery is only $10 extra. 

Ifyou'renotcompletelysatisfiedwithin 

30 days, return your purchase. We'll refund 

all your money, including return postage. 

For top-rated radar protection, just 

call us toll-free. 

TOLL FREE 1-800-543-1608 

(Call Mon-Fn 8am 11pm. Sal-Sun 9:30am-6 ESTj 

ESCORT 

RADAR WARNING RECEIVER 

ESCORT$245 ■ - 

PASSPORT 

RADAR-UECEIVER 

PASSPORT $295(OH res aOdS1623tax) 

Cincinnati Microwave 

► Department 656849 

One Microwave Plaza 

Cincinnati, Ohio 45249 c i989cmi 

For information, call toll free 1-800-543-1608 

APRIL 1989

wm&notes 

Much Ado About Mac 

Tens of thousands of enthusi 

asts, corporate buyers, soft 

ware developers and publish 

ers, and interested onlookers 

swarmed over San Francisco 

in January to help Apple cele 

brate the Macintosh's fifth 

birthday. MacWorld Expo 

filled both of the city's major 

convention centers with hun 

dreds of exhibits; despite a 

noticeable Sunday afternoon 

drop-off following the kickoff 

of the Super Bowl, total atten 

dance topped 60,000. 

Apple CEO John Sculley 

set the tone with a multimedia 

keynote address demonstrat 

ing the Mac's ability to inter 

face with television images. 

Wearing an Apple sweatshirt, 

Sculley used a Macintosh II to 

drive a laser-disc video history 

of the Mac. which included the 

first of the weekend's showings 

On the product front, the 

big news was Apple's introduc 

tion of the Macintosh SE/30, a 

powerful computer that incor 

porates many features of the 

Macintosh II. With a 16-MHz 

68030 at its heart—augmented 

by a 16-MHz math coproces- 

40-or 80MB hard disk and 

more RAM. The floppy drive 

can access MS-DOS, OS/2, 

and ProDOS disks. 

An upgrade kit will be 

available for current Macin 

tosh SE owners. 

Claris debuted MacWrite 

matting capabilities. 

Perhaps Ihe greatest ex 

citement at the show was gen 

erated by Silicon Beach's 

SitperCard. a customizable 

software toolkit compatible 

with Apple's HyperCard. Super- 

Card, as much a softwareauthoring 

environment as a 

toolkit, includes a runtime 

program for executing userdesigned 

applications. 

Entertainment software 

for the Macintosh was more in 

evidence at this MacWorld. 

Mcdiagenic attracted a lot of 

attention with its CD-ROM 

version of The Manhole, a Hy 

perCard narral'wc. The Whole 

Earth Catalog on CD-ROM 

was demonstrated by Broderbund. 

and Microlllusions 

showed a Macintosh II version 

of Faery 'Tale Adventure. Dis 

covery's Arkanoid continued 

of the company's classic 

to attract fans. Mindscape 

"1984" commercial. Promis 

boasted the largest rollout of 

ing further progress toward his 

vaunted "Knowledge Naviga 

tor" personal computer. Scul 

ley leaned more toward style 

than substance in his presenta 

tion, but style seemed to be 

what his audience wanted. 

sor—the SE/30 accesses its 

RAM at speeds equal to those 

of the Mac IIx. In its basic con 

figuration, the SE/30 includes 

I megabyte (MB) of RAM and 

a high-density floppy drive. 

Other configurations include a 

//. the successor to MacWrite. 

The new program was built 

from the ground up and deliv 

ers features such as sharply in 

creased speed, WYSIWYG 

capabilities, resident Hyper 

Card help, and advanced for 

Macintosh entertainment and 

began building suspense for 

Chris (Balance ofPower) 

Crawford's latest exercise in 

simulated budget balancing. 

Guns and Butter. 

— Keith Ferrell 

Quick Decision 

U.S. Supreme Court decisions 

as many people as it can as fast 

no automatic cross referenc 

won't compete with legal re 

may become more accessible 

as it can." public information 

ing, no indexing. You would, 

search databases like Lexis and 

than ever. A committee of de 

officer Toni House said. 

however, be able to download 

Westlaw. 

partment heads is considering 

The electronic opinions 

these files and manipulate the 

"We're looking at who 

a system that would download 

would be available in raw form 

information. 

needs the information when." 

decisions from the Supreme 

only—no keywords, no notes. 

House said the system 

she said. "We started down 

Court's Atex system into a PC 

this road because of people in 

from which an outside organi 

terested in legal matters, and 

zation would publish the text 

on a public telecommunica 

tions network. 

A 

our principal objective has 

been to receive Supreme Court 

opinions in machine-readable 

Right now. the court is 

sues decisions at 10:00 a.m. It 

form as fast as possible." 

Those who would benefit 

takes about 24 hours to scan 

typeset opinions into legal da 

tabases like Mead Data Gener 

al and news-service databases 

like the Associated Press. With 

the new system being consid 

ered, the opinion could be 

transferred to interested people 

by a few minutes after 10:00. 

"It's in the court's best in 

terest to gel the opinions out to 

from this service include law 

yers, legal researchers, and the 

news media. 

The instant opinion ser 

vice is still only an idea. The 

committee has invited organi 

zations to make proposals but 

hasn't decided whether the ser 

vice would be feasible. 

— Heidi E. H. Aycock 

continued on page 82 > 

8 COMPUTE!

Learn to troubleshoot and service today's 

computer systems as you build 

a fully XT-compatible micro, 

complete with 512K RAM an< 

powerful 20 meg hard drive 

Your NRI computer training includes all this: • NRE's unique Discovery Lab' forcircuit design and diagnosis 

• NRI's hand-held digital multimeter featuring "talk-you-lhrough" instructions on audio cassette • A digital 

logic probe that lets you visually examine computer circuits • The new Packard Bell VX8fi computer with 

■■intelligent" keyboard, 360K double-sided, double-density disk drive, 512K RAM, 16K BOM • 20 megabyte 

hard disk drive • Bundled soilware 

including US-DOS, GV,1 BASIC word 

processing, spreadsheet, and database 

programs • Packard Bell reference 

manuals with programming guidelines and 

schematics. 

Train the NRI Way— 

and Earn Good Money Servicing 

Any Brand of Computer 

Jobs for computer service technicians will 

almost double in the next 10 years according 

to Department of Labor statistics, making 

computer sen-ice one of the top 10 growth 

fields in the nation. 

Now you can cash in on this exciting 

opportunity—either as a full-time industry 

technician or in a computer service business 

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Giving Games the Female Touch 

Geoffrey the Steel-Hearted 

Game Designer faces the grue 

some Riddle Beast and asks, 

"What's the hardest riddle in 

the universe?" The Riddle 

Beast rears back his spiked 

head and bellows. "That's 

easy: How do we get women 

and girls to play computer 

games?" 

And all the software com 

panies nod their heads as the 

Riddle Beast again besls Geof 

frey. For the most part, the en 

tertainment-software market is 

a male world. Bui some com 

panies are fighting that trend 

and trying to attract women 

and girls to their products. 

Sierra, for instance, has 

released King's Quest IV: The 

Perils o/Rosella. in which the 

lead role is female. The game 

was designed by Roberta Wil 

liams, who wrote the other in 

stallments in the King's Quest 

scries. "It's a risky proposi 

tion," she said. "But I think 

it's high time we had a hero 

ine. As one of the few women 

game designers in the business. 

I think it would have been 

riskier for us not to introduce a 

heroine." 

Other games—such as 

Sword ofSodan, from Discov 

ery Software, and Axe ofRage, 

from Epyx—let players choose 

the sex of the main character. 

Changing the sex of the 

main character may not be 

enough, though. New plots 

with less violence and aggres 

sion may be necessary. Wil 

liams' latest project is The 

Plantation Murders—a 1920s 

murder mystery with another 

female lead character. Solving 

the mystery is more important 

than physically subduing an- 

other character. 

Doug Glen, of LucasFilm. 

feels that the company has suc 

cessfully attracted women by 

approaching game design dif 

ferently. "You've got to have a 

philosophy about the metagame 

instead of trying to femi 

nize aspects of a masculine 

game." 

LucasFilm's market re 

search shows that in the under- 

18 category. 15 percent of the 

audience are girls. In the over- 

18 category. 30 percent are 

women. 

Attracting young girls 

may be the toughest part of the 

riddle. Because young girls tra 

ditionally don't use computers 

as much as young boys do. the 

software market isn't driven to 

win the group. And if young 

girls don't use the computer, 

they can't offer any input. 

The Riddle Beast eats 

Geoffrey the Steel-Hearted 

Game Designer and says, 

"Next?" 

— Heidi E. H. Aycock 

continued on page 82 

10 COMPUTE!

mmeplayORSON SCOTT 

CARD 

Tetris Must Be 

a Commie Plot; 

the Game's 

Not Copy- 

Protected 

Every now and then a game comes 

along that is so dangerously addictive 

your fingers. 

that it sucks your brains out through 

Such a game is Tetris (Spectrum Holo- 

Byte). It was programmed by a Russian, and 

I warn you, this game will steal weeks from 

your life. 

You'll sit down at your computer, in 

tending to get some work done, and sudden 

ly there will be these geometric shapes 

slipping down the screen. You'll rotate them 

until they fit—or fail to fit—into a slot in 

the pile of objects that have already fallen. 

When a shape completes a horizontal row, 

the row disappears. But if too many shapes 

don't fit, they pile up to the top of the screen 

and you're dead. 

I have played until I see these dumb lit 

tle concatenations of four tiny squares slid 

ing down before my eyes as I'm trying to 

read, as I'm watching TV, as I'm driving. 

Tetris proves that Russia still wants to 

bury us. I shudder to think of the blow to 

our economy as computer productivity 

drops to 0. 

And it isn't even fun. It's the Computer 

Game from Hell. I've even erased it from 

my hard disk—but it keeps coming back. 

If you don't believe my conspiracy the 

ory about Tetris, try this for evidence: Tetris 

isn't copy-protected. That's right, a hot new 

computer game, and you can make as many 

copies as you want. Obviously the game is 

meant to find its way onto every American 

machine. If the Russians were sincere about 

Perestroika-style game marketing, they'd 

copy-protect this sucker eight ways from 

Tuesday, like true-blue, red-blooded Ameri 

can game designers do. 

Take MicroProse's Pirates!, for in 

stance. Admittedly, its title is like a red flag 

for game thieves—how delicious to give 

your friends pirated copies of Pirates', right? 

But they go way overboard. Not for Micro- 

Prose the old-fashioned key disk. No, you 

have to boot from the game disk. You can't 

copy even part of the game onto your neat 

new 3-picosecond, 9-gigabyte hard disk 

from Mattel. It's the A: drive or nothing. 

As if that weren't enough, the company 

also requires you to come up with passwords 

out of the manual. Now, I approve of pass 

words as the most humane copy-protection 

scheme. The people at Lucasfilm Games, for 

instance, have worked their passwords into 

Maniac Mansion and Zak McKracken so 

deftly that it feels like you're still playing. 

And if you hold their un-Xerox-able black- 

than they're going to get. But then, we play 

ers deserve a better visual experience than 

they've given us. It's almost fair. E 

on-dark maroon password list just right, 

you can sometimes read off the numbers 

without going blind. But passwords and 

boot disks? These folks from MicroProse are 

deeply paranoid about copy protection. 

Ah—but with reason. Pirates! is so 

good that even people who drive 55 mph 

might consider stealing it. You're captain of 

your own ship in the Caribbean during the 

great era of piracy. Choose to be English, 

Dutch, French, or Spanish—your career as a 

swashbuckler will be thrilling. 

It may also be short. This game feels 

easier than it actually is. Sure, you get right 

into your boat and start tooling around the 

Caribbean. Even the one-on-one sword 

fighting is so well programmed to fit the nu 

meric keypad that it takes only a little prac 

tice before you're parrying and thrusting 

with the best of them. But after a while you 

realize that there are nuances to the game. 

When do you use your cannon, and when 

do you grapple and board? When should 

you divvy up the spoils? Should you pro 

pose to the governor's ugly daughter? How 

do you get out of a duel you think you might 

lose without earning infamy as a coward? 

I'm afraid that I'm still a rank amateur, 

though. Even when I try to move up to the 

next level, the program senses my ineptness 

and demotes me. Only once have I managed 

to complete a good career and retire in hon 

or and dignity. 

Friends of mine have fared better, but 

no one has enjoyed it more than I have. 

This game feels like life—only more exciting 

and a lot faster. Splendid graphics in every 

phase of the game make it a pleasure to play, 

and it is so deftly designed that it never be 

comes tedious. 

By contrast, Annals ofRome (PSS) 

looks like it was programmed in the Bronze 

Age. You can go blind squinting at a screen 

full of cryptic codes. Yet despite its appear 

ance, I assure you that the game designers 

have done a splendid job of letting us re 

live—and rewrite—the history of the 

world's greatest empire. The programmers 

have a real understanding of that epoch, and 

I enjoyed playing the game. If I had never 

seen the good graphics and humane inter 

face of Pirates! or Romance ofthe Three 

Kingdoms, I'd be perfectly satisfied with 

Annals. 

But I have. So I'm not. The people who 

created Annals of Rome deserve better sales 

APRIL 1989 11

impact 

~~J- nA\/in DAVID nD.THORNBURG 

thdi 

From Telstar to 

Typefaces, 

Computers 

Bring the 

Information 

Age Home 

Computers define the world of com 

munication. Electronic transmission 

has moved so far since its inception 

that Morse, Bell, and Edison would hardly 

recognize the tools we now take for granted. 

We can't pick up a telephone without caus 

ing millions of dollars' worth of computer 

equipment to spring into action. Even fac 

simile, a very old communication technol 

ogy, has been revitalized through the use of 

computer-based fax machines. 

We've grown used to transmitting doc 

uments during off-peak early-morning hours 

and to bringing paper documents onto a 

computer display screen by means of highresolution 

scanners. In fact, these communi 

cation tools have infiltrated our businesses 

so deeply that we would be lost without our 

high-tech toys. 

Recently, while on a speaking engage 

ment in Washington, I got a taste of how far 

communication technology reaches. On my 

way back to the airport, the phone rang in 

my host's car. She picked it up and said. 

"It's for you." Communication tools have 

become so pervasive that we never have to 

be out of touch—no matter where we are. 

But even as computers are influencing 

older electronic media like telephones and 

facsimile machines, the medium that has 

felt the greatest impact is paper. 

Visions of workers sitting at immacu 

late desks, conducting all their business 

communication electronically, occupy a 

prime place in the computing imagination. 

The communicative power of satellites, cel 

lular radio, and high-speed phone lines were 

once considered so great as to one day re 

place cumbersome paper. Futurists plotted 

the rise in postage, showing that it would 

cost less to send a document instantly over a 

phone line than it would to send it slowly 

through the mail. 

But even though those price predictions 

have come true (especially for local calls), 

the post office still staggers under a mound 

of paper that grows larger all the time. 

The truth is, computers don't eliminate 

paper; instead, they extend its utility by 

enhancing its expressive power. The popu 

larity of desktop publishing software and 

hardware proves how attractive that power 

is. Poster and greeting-card programs like 

Broderbund's The Print Shop have probably 

felled more trees than last summer's wild 

fires in Yellowstone. 

This romance with desktop publishing 

would never have bloomed if our computers 

and printers were restricted to only one 

typeface. Fortunately, we have a cornucopia 

of tools that let us craft a page as a work of 

art. The ease with which the computer al 

lows us to mix graphics with text, adjust 

type size and style, and even pick from a va 

riety of typefaces has made many people 

more aware of the communicative power of 

the written word. Because of the computer, 

the rest of us are finding out what graphic 

artists have known for ages: The content of a 

message is embodied in its words audits 

graphics style. 

Besides enhancing the look of printed 

documents, the computer has reduced the 

entry fee for publishing. Prior to the creation 

of inexpensive computer systems, which 

support low-cost laser printers, anyone who 

wanted to publish a brochure or a book had 

to enlist the expensive services of a type 

setter. But now computer users can publish 

books or pamphlets themselves. 

The number of small publishers is 

growing rapidly as authors who once moved 

through the publishing giants now take mat 

ters into their own hands. This move to per 

sonal publishing is resulting in a large 

number of books that would not otherwise 

have been published. Not all are master 

pieces, by any means, but that's a small 

price to pay for the freedom that computerbased 

publishing has brought us. 

The computer's enhancement of paper 

communication is but the forerunner of 

what's in store for our other modes of com 

munication. Already there are children who 

have never seen a rotary-dial phone; the 

push-button world of computerized switch 

ing stations has eclipsed the world of finger 

dialing and hometown operators. Videoscreen 

telephones, which are still a novelty. 

will one day be as prevalent as telephone 

booths. Pay-per-play movies, instant faceto-face 

international communications, in 

stantaneous information retrieval—the 

information age will come home to us 

through inexpensive terminals that will 

make today's personal computer look like 

an abacus. 

Our right to communicate freely is 

granted through the First Amendment to 

our Constitution. There is no guarantee, 

however, that the right of free communica 

tion will remain in our hands unless we vig 

orously exercise that right as often as 

possible. Our personal computers can play a 

key role by serving as the tool with which we 

learn new ways to express ourselves—no 

matter what the medium—to the fullest 

benefit of all. B 

12 COMPUTE!

Mac Choices 

Your January awards issue truly proved 

that COMPUTE! hasn't forgotten that 

most home computer owners have nei 

ther the want nor the need for superexpensive, 

feature-laden software. 

However, as a Macintosh owner, I 

must disagree on two points. Although 

MocWrite is an inexpensive, useful pro 

gram, WriteNow 2.0 outshines it in al 

most every respect. It has a much more 

friendly user interface and incorporates 

other important features that Mac Write 

doesn't, including impressive speed and 

autonumbering footnotes. I'm sure 

you'll agree that these features are im 

portant to a student or even an occa 

sional computer user. I might also add 

that although WrheNow costs more 

than MacWrite, it can be ordered from 

discount software vendors at a very rea 

sonable price. 

Second, I'd like to point out that 

the Amiga indeed docs have a peer, 

when it comes to graphics, in the Mac 

intosh II. Several Macintosh paint and 

draw programs are capable of display 

ing many more than 4096 colors. Case 

in point: Siudio/8 from Electronic Arts 

is capable of painting with all 16.8 mil 

lion colors that the Macintosh II can 

display. 

What Price, Computing? 

Russell Arcuri 

Ulica, NY 

I am the owner of an 8-bit computer 

and have been looking into upgrading 

to an MS-DOS machine. After experi 

encing the sticker shock connected with 

pricing different units, I read Gregg 

Keizer's February 1989 editorial with 

great interest. 

I agree completely that pricing has 

gotten out of hand for entry-level ma 

chines. If I had not already gotten a ma 

chine and had not gotten comfortable 

with programming it, I would have 

been afraid to think of putting down 

that much money on a machine. What 

if I can't program it? What if it doesn't 

do what I'd like it to do? What if I'm to 

tally computer illiterate and end up 

with a $ 1,200 paperweight? 

Mr. Keizer's idea of a low-cost 

letters 

entry-level unit is right on target. How 

ever, there are entry-level machines for 

under $500: the 8-bits. Atari and Com 

modore still make their great 8-bit ma 

chines, andjust this month I sawa 

magazine ad for an Atari 130XE with 

dual-density drive and printer for 

$429.95. What better way to introduce 

the novice to this wonderful world and 

not bankrupt him in the process? If 

more people talked up the 8-bits and 

started to support them again, there 

would be more first-time buyers, and 

that would help make the home com 

puter industry healthier. 

For the record. I use an Atari 

130XE with twin 1050 drives and an 

XMM801 printer. I use my machine for 

word processing, spreadsheets, inven 

tory, home finances, charts, and games 

(of course); and my wife has her compa 

ny's advertising and training manuals 

on it. As I look at the MS-DOS ma 

chines, 1 keep asking: "Do I really need 

a new machine or am I just going for 

the glitter?" 

Time Travel 

David M. Schoch 

Scotia, NY 

Who goofed? I just received my Febru 

ary 1989 issue of COMPUTE! and set 

tled back behind my desk to read 

through it—and was I surprised! 

Are you way ahead of yourself for 

next Christmas or behind yourself from 

the Christmas past? 

Kenneth C. Sickels 

Phillipsburg, NJ 

Mr. Sickels refers to "Editorial Li 

cense," in which we say "With Christ 

mas still a month away, there's no way I 

can know how many personal comput 

ers we'll buy in the 1988 gift-giving 

season." 

Because ofthe lead times inherent 

in magazine publishing, we're often 

forced to practice a crudeform oftime 

travel—we write ofthe future knowing 

that it will be the past by the time you 

read it. Make sense? 

If not, just remember. That's why 

we call the column "Editorial License." 

COMPUTE! 

[Hdnj Mogmim Ol Ham, tdueoHonol. ind 

Editor 

Senior Art Director 

Features Editor 

Assistant Editors 

Assistant Features Editor 

Buyer's Guide Coordinator 

Editorial Assistant 

Copy Editors 

Stall Contributor Clifton Karnes 

Contributing Editors Arfan Levitan 

ART DEPARTMENT 

Assistant Art Director 

Junior Designer 

Mechanical Arl Supervisor 

Mechanical Artist 

Gregg 

Keiier 

Janice Ft. Fary 

Keith Ferrell 

Heidi E. H. Aycock 

Peter Scisco 

Tom Netse! 

Caroline D. Hanlon 

Mickey McLean 

Karen Siepak 

Tammie Taylor 

Karen 

David 

Uhlendorf 

Thornburg 

Robin L Strelow 

Meg McArn 

Robin Case 

Scolty Billings 

PRODUCTION 

DEPARTMENT 

Production Director Mark E. Hillyer 

Assistant Production Manager De Poller 

Production Assistant Kim Polls 

Typesetting Terry Cash 

Carole Dunton 

Advertising 

Production 

Assistant Anila Armlield 

COMPUTE! PUBLICATIONS 

Group Vice President. 

Publisher/Editorial Director William Tynan 

Managing Editor Kathleen Martinek 

Senior Editor Lance Elko 

Editorial Operatrans Director Tony Roberis 

Executive Assistant Sybil Agee 

Senior Administrative 

Assistant Julia Fleming 

Administrative Assistant Iris Brooks 

Customer Service Supervisor Cathy McAllister 

ABC CONSUMER 

MAGAZINES, INC. 

Senior Vice President Richard D. Bay 

Vice President, Advertising Peter T. Johnsmeyer 

Vice President, Circulation Robert 1. Gursha 

Vice President. Production llene Berson-Weiner 

Director, Financial Analysis Andrew E. Landis 

Senior Art Director John Ciofalo 

CIRCULATION 

DEPARTMENT 

Subscriptions Ora Blackmon-DeBrown 

Harold Buckley 

Maureen Buckley 

Beth Healy 

Thomas D. Slater 

Raymond Ward 

Newsstand Mitch Frank 

Jana Friedman 

Customer Serivce S. Adekemi-Adaralegbe 

ABC Consume' Magazines, lie ^ 

CHILTON Company. One cJ the ABC Publishing Companies. 

a part ol Capital Cities'ABC. Inc 

President Robert G. Burton 

1330 Avenue of the Americas 

New York, NY 10019 

ADVERTISING OFFICES 

New York: ABC Consumer Magazines. Inc., 825 Seventh 

Ave.. New York. NY 10019. Tel. (212) 265-8360. Bernard J. 

Theooald, Jr., Group Advertising Director. 

Greensboro: COMPUTE! Publications, Suite 200, 

324 Wast Wendover Ave.. Greensboro. NC 27408. Tel. 

(919) 275-9809. Kathleen Ingram. 

New England & Mid-Atlantic: Bernard J. Theobald. Jr., 

(212] 315-1665: Kathleen Ingram (919) 275-9609. 

Midwest & Southwest Jerry Thompson, Lucille Dennis. 

Jennifer Dells (312) 726-6047 [Chicago]: (713) 731-2605 

[Texas]; (303) 595-9299 [Colorado]: (415) 348-8322 

[California], 

West, Northwest, & British Columbia: Jerry Thompson, 

Lucille Dennis, Jennifer Delfs (415) 348-8222. 

Southeast & International: Bernard J. Theobald, Jr. (212) 

315-1665; Kathleen Ingram (919) 275-9809. 

Address all advertising materials to: Anita Armfield. 

COMPUTE! Publications, Inc., 324 West Wendover Ave., 

Suite 200. Greensboro. NC 27403. 

Editorial inquiries should be addressed to The Editor, 

COMPUTE!. 324 West Wendover Ave., Suite 200. 

Greensboro. NC 27408 

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A 

APR 19 8 9 13

. DAVID STANTON 

BBSing on the 

Cheap—the 

Phoneless 

Electronic 

Bulletin Board 

There's no denying it. I'm an addict. 

Just ask the local sysops (system op 

erators)—they'll tell you. Or call and 

check their users' logs. No other name ap 

pears more often. 

Not that my timing is especially regular. 

tor. Like most addictions, this one can't 

stand up to the merciless scrutiny of logic. 

Maybe an overwhelming desire to be 

the first to know drives this compulsion. 

Maybe it feeds on an irrational fear of falling 

behind in a field with which no one person 

can keep pace. Possibly it's one man's ver 

sion of "shop till you drop," an insane need 

to stock tomorrow's computer lawn sales 

with today's great software deals. 

Whatever the explanation, that addic 

tion explains why this column is not about 

recent studies on the effectiveness of 

computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in the 

nation's schools. That one was progressing 

nicely one Sunday afternoon when my mis 

chievous mouse plotted an escape and 

scampered off for my telecommunications 

software. Cajoling did no good. Only a di 

version would mollify the plastic rodent. 

My modem's red lights began their captivat 

ing dance. 

Three hours and $12 later, I was the 

proud owner of a fully functional copy of 

Warp 6 (Apple II), a freeware electronic bul 

letin board system. With it or similar soft 

ware for other operating systems, an 

enterprising person can start a BBS. 

Right then, though, I had a column to 

finish. Unfortunately, by the time I returned 

to contemplate the pros and cons of CAI, 

the Muse had gone. Only a nagging suspi 

cion that my new software might somehow 

prove useful remained. 

Introducing students to the pleasure of 

telecomputing is difficult. School adminis 

trators often veto even limited access to 

commercial services (something about bud 

gets). In rural areas, access to small, free 

boards is limited. What to do? 

Like many similar programs, Warp 6 

can operate in a purely local mode. Set up 

this way, it requires no phone line and no 

modem. Instead, Control-L from the host 

triggers an answer exactly as if the signal has 

come from a remote terminal. Thus, a per 

BBS (bulletin board system) fever strikes 

fect BBS simulation can be effectively run 

unpredictably at any hour. Just sitting down from one computer acting as both host and 

at the keyboard gives me the urge. Thinking remote. To anyone but a frugal educator, 

about writing a new column prompts it. The this might seem pointless. It does, however, 

tolling of the clock triggers it (cheaper rates suggest fascinating possibilities. 

after 11:00 p.m.). Saturday morning's sun 

Suppose the computer club or an Eng 

rise evokes an especially strong craving (low lish class or the school newspaper staff de 

weekend charges, you know). 

cided to set up an entirely local BBS. 

Nor is it an irresistible desire to chat Would-be sysops could practice until they 

that lures me past business applications, 

got it perfect. Students could write welcome 

around paint programs, and under and over messages, validate new users, maintain text 

enticing sound-manipulation software to 

files, and perform all the other required 

stop directly at my favorite terminal emula tasks. Where else could so many gain the sysop 

experience so easily? 

"But who wants to run a BBS that no 

one calls?" you might ask. 

A well-maintained board will generate 

action. Just use a little imagination. Design 

your BBS to serve its constituency and suc 

cess is guaranteed. 

Why not set up a few forums where 

kids can express opinions on sports or poli 

tics or school rules? How about one where 

students, teachers, and administrators ex 

change views? Maybe one section could list 

classroom assignments (no more "Did we 

do anything in class a week ago last Tues 

day? I was absent" questions). And the E- 

mail section will be a surefire hit: Consider 

the long-time classroom tradition of ex 

changing notes! Whether "callers" work 

with educational games, write private or 

public messages, or simply read the work of 

others, they'll learn and enjoy every minute. 

Home users, too, can benefit from this 

concept. Youngsters interested in establishing 

their own BBS can practice and prepare by 

running a local, family system. Members can 

post messages, write happy-grams to bright 

en each other's day, and maintain shopping 

lists and print them out when needed. 

Who knows where your school or home 

BBS simulation might lead? Maybe some 

will decide to take their act on the wire. 

Others may discover that playing sysop in 

volves too much hard work. Whatever the 

outcome, everyone is sure to benefit from 

the experience. Try it—I promise you won't 

be disappointed! 

David Stanton can be contacted via CompuServe 

(72407,102) or by mail at P.O. Box 494, Bolivar, 

New York 14715. 

□ 

COMPUTE

wductsl 

A Titanic Adventure 

The world's most famous shipwreck 

comes to the computer screen with 

IntraCorp's Capstone adventure simu 

lation, Search for the Titanic. Reviewed 

for accuracy by the staff of the Woods 

Hole Oceanographic Institution, the or 

ganization that first discovered and 

photographed the Titanic site, the pro 

gram contains digitized pictures from 

actual photos of the sunken ocean liner. 

Begin as an inexperienced oceanographer 

searching for the wreck of the 

Titanic; then build a reputation as an 

explorer by finding and exploring other 

lost vessels and earning the resources 

necessary for funding your search. Each 

expedition requires money, a ship, per 

sonnel, and the correct equipment. You 

must chart your own course and battle 

the elements as you explore more than 

75 shipwrecks. 

Search for the Titanic features over 

100 navigational maps and charts, 47 

ports of call, realistic weather patterns, 

underwater cameras, and minisubs. It's 

available for the IBM PC and compati 

bles, Apple II, Atari ST, and Amiga for 

the suggested retail price of $39.95. The 

Commodore 64/128 version sells for 

$34.95. 

IntraCorp, 14160 SW 139th Ct., 

\4inn\i FT 11!fit. 

Circle Reader Service Number 200. 

The Force Is with Brederbund 

Brederbund has based its latest release, 

Star Wars, on the Lucasfilm movie and 

the coin-operated videogame. 

Take the role of Luke Skywalker as 

you maneuver an X-wing fighter 

through attack waves in an attempt to 

destroy the Empire's Death Star. The 3- 

D view from the cockpit provides im 

ages similar to ones seen in the movie. 

You can even hear the Star Wars theme 

by pressing a spot on the software box. 

The versions for the IBM PC and 

compatibles, Amiga, and Atari ST have 

a suggested retail price of $39.95. The 

Commodore 64/128 release is priced at 

$29.95. 

Br&derbund, 17 Paul Dr., San Ra 

fael, CA 94903-2101 


Now You See It... 

Now You Don't 

Gain more desktop space with the Cur 

tis Keyboard SpaceSaver from Curtis 

Manufacturing. The keyboard can be 

installed underneath your CPU housing 

or your desktop. Just slide the keyboard 

out when you're ready to use your 

computer. 

When installed on a desktop, the 

SpaceSaver holds a CPU and monitor. 

For installation beneath the desktop, 

the package includes mounting screws. 

The product can also protect your key 

board from spills, dust, and debris. 

The SpaceSaver can mount a keyboard 

beneath the CPU or under a desktop. 

The SpaceSaver has a suggested re 

tail price of $39.95. 

Curtis Manufacturing, 30 Fitzger 

ald Dr., Jaffrey, NH 03452 


Tangled Up with Origin 

Origin has released a fantasy roleplaying 

adventure, Tangled Tales: The 

Misadventures ofa Wizard's Apprentice 

for the Apple II and Commodore 64/128. 

You assume the role of a wizard's 

apprentice and receive three progres 

sively difficult tasks to perform as proof 

of your worthiness. The game features a 

world of haunted houses, medieval for 

tresses, and contemporary country 

Mickey McLean 

farms. As the game progresses, you 

meet more than 50 odd characters. 

Tangled Tales uses a menu and 

icon interface and is designed to have a 

lighter theme than others in this genre. 

The game sells for $29.95. Origin 

products are distributed by Broderbund. 

Origin, 136 Harvey Rd., Bldg. B, 

Londonderry, NH 03053 


Mac Sports 

Accolade has ported two of its most 

popular sports games to the Macintosh. 

Now Mac users can tee it up with Mean 

18 Ultimate Golfand throw the long 

bomb in 4th & Inches. 

In Mean IS, one to four players 

can challenge Augusta National, Pebble 

Beach, St. Andrews, or the custommade 

Bush Hill Country Club golf 

courses. Each of the courses can be re 

designed by using the built-in course 

architect. 

Players first choose to compete in 

stroke, best-ball, or match play and 

then select a skill level. They can also 

choose whether to tee off from the regu 

lar or pro tees. 

Mean 18 is available for the Mac 

intosh SE, II, Plus, and 512KE and re 

quires 512K of memory. The suggested 

retail price is $44.95. The game has 

been released previously for the Apple 

IlGS, IBM PC and compatibles, and 

Amiga for $44.95. 

With 4th & Inches, you run a full 

11-player offense against a full 11-player 

defense. Assume the role of coach by 

calling the plays and directing their exe 

cution on the field and by selecting a 

formation, a play, and a player to con 

trol. You can also call timeouts and 

make substitutions. The players on 

each team are rated according to height, 

weight, and years played; an assessment 

of the speed and strength of each player 

is also given. 

The game has a suggested retail 

price of $44.95 and is available for the 

Macintosh SE, Plus, and 512KE. At 

least 512K of memory is required. The 

game is also available for the IBM PC 

and compatibles for $39.95, Commo- 

APRIL 1989 15

vvducts! 

dore 64/128 for $29.95, and Apple IlGS 

and Amiga for $44.95. 

Accolade, 550 S. Winchester Blvd., 

Suite 200, San Jose, CA 95128 


Epyx's Newest Jewel 

Assume the role of the savvy Devon 

Aire, a reformed cat burglar, in Epyx's 

Devon Aire in "The Hidden Diamond 

Caper." Devon has been hired by the 

wealthy widow Crutchfield to find her 

priceless jewel collection. Her late hus 

band trusted no one and stashed the 

jewels somewhere in the mazelike 

Crutchfield manor. 

To find clues, you must search 

more than 30 rooms, secret passage 

ways, and hidden doors that conceal the 

Crutchfield mansion's mysteries. In ad 

dition to revealing the mansion's se 

crets, you must also avoid mutant pigmice 

and killer canaries—the results of 

Old Man Crutchfield's genetic 

experiments. 

You have three chances to find all 

the jewels and return them to Lady 

Crutchfield, but, even then, you still 

must find a way out of the mansion. 

Versions for the Amiga and Atari 

ST have a suggested retail price of 

$49.95. Commodore 64/128 and Apple 

II editions sell for $29.95, while the 

IBM PC and compatibles version is 

priced at $39.95. 

Epyx, 600 Galveston Dr., P.O. Box 

8020, Redwood City, CA 94063 


Jungle Warfare 

Taito's Operation Wolf is set in a 

steamy jungle where heavily armed ter 

rorists hold innocent civilians hostage. 

You must instigate a commando-style 

mission to free the hostages by overtak 

ing the captors in a weapons facility. 

routing them from a jungle hideout, 

and finally leading the hostages aboard 

a rescue plane. 

In the game's six missions, you 

must overcome enemy gunboats, heli 

copters, armored vehicles, and enemy 

soldiers. Sound effects include the 

sound of rotor blades and staccato 

bursts of gunfire. 

Operation Wolf, designed for the 

Commodore 64/128, sells for $34.95. 

Versions for the Amiga, Atari ST, and 

IBM PC and compatibles will be re 

leased shortly. 

Tatto Software, 267 W. Esplanade, 

16 COMPUTE! 

Suite 206, N. Vancouver, B.C., Canada 

V7MIA5 


Courting Magic 

Earvin "Magic" Johnson will endorse 

Virgin Mastertronic1 s planned basket 

ball game, to be released under the Mel 

bourne House label. 

Magic Johnson's Basketball will be 

a translation of Arcadia's arcade game 

Magic Johnsons Fast Break. Johnson 

contributed not only his name to the 

product, but also commentary on style 

and technique. 

According to Mastertronic, the 

game features seven rounds of two-ontwo 

play and a final round where play 

ers face the magic man himself. Players 

can execute set plays, including the pick 

and roll and alley-oop. They can also 

slam dunk and lead the fast break. 

Initially, the game will be released 

for the Amiga and IBM PC and compa 

tibles, with Apple II and Commodore 

64/128 versions to follow later this 

year. 

Virgin Mastertronic, 711 W. 17th 

St., Suite G9, Costa Mesa, CA 92627 


Street Gangs and Cycles 

In Data East's action-oriented streetfighting 

game. Bad Dudes, you assume 

the role of a modern-day hero sent to 

rescue the President of the United 

States from deadly kidnappers. Blade 

and Striker, two street fighters who are 

out to preserve good and justice, must 

fight their way through waves of ninjas. 

dogs, and other enemies, using knives, 

shurikens, nunchakus. and their fists. 

Bad Dudes is available for the IBM 

PC and compatibles and the Atari ST 

for $39.95. The Amiga version sells for 

$44.95, and the Commodore 64/128 

game costs $34.95. 

Data East has also released its first 

Macintosh game, Super Hang On. It's a 

global motorcycle race based on the 

Sega arcade game. 

You can ride your motorbike as 

fast as 160 miles per hour while chal 

lenging the unique terrain of each conti 

nent. Points are awarded for distance 

driven, speed, and course completion. 

You can pick up bonus points for mak 

ing a perfect run and can even design 

your own race courses. 

This one-player game can be con 

trolled by keyboard or mouse and re- 

SuperHang On is Data East's first entry in 

the Macintosh market. 

quires 512K of memory. Super Hang 

On retails for $39.95. 

Data East, 470 Needles Dr., San 

Jose.CA 95112 


Write Some Macros 

Users of PC-Write can make use of 100 

advanced and alternate commands 

with a product from Simple Produc 

tions called PC-Write Macros. The 

commands can be assigned to specific 

keys and used as macros. 

PC- Write Macros enables you to 

reverse the video display, print an ad 

dress from a letter onto an envelope, in 

stantly set up margins and spacing, and 

edit with a single keystroke. 

The package requires version 3.0 

of/JC-HW/cor later. With a printed 

manual, it sells for $25; the disk alone 

costs $15. 

Simple Productions, 12 E. 15th St., 

Suite 3, Arcata.CA 95521 


On the House 

For homebuilders, designers, and others 

who want a source of current house 

plans. Computer Plan Source has intro 

duced Plan Finder. The program pro 

vides the user with a database of floor 

plans that can be displayed onscreen 

and also assists in searching for appro 

priate house designs. 

It supports Hercules, VGA, CGA, 

and EGA graphics adapters and can 

print the plans on any Epson-compatible 

printer or HPGL-compatible plotter. 

All plans are less than a year old and are 

professionally rendered. For the IBM 

PC and compatibles, the program lists 

for $285. 

Computer Plan Source, 9603 Flintrock 

Cir., Dept. PF, Austin, TX 78737 

Circle Reader Service Number 210. □

Advanced 

Dungeons£f>ragons 

COMPUTER PRODUCTS 

Role-Playing Action Utility 

Pool of Radiance fulfills all your gaming 

fantasies. The legendary ADVATiCED 

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® role-playing 

system springs to life on your computer! 

Embark on dangerous quests in the magi 

cal FORGOTTEN REALMS game world - 

made incredibly real by advanced com 

puter animation and combat that adheres 

strictly to AD&D® game standards. Prepare 

yourself for 

the ultimate 

fantasy roleplaying 

experience! 

IBM 

APPLE 

C-64/128 

Heroes of the Lanci gives you non-stop 

excitement and fully animated action on 

the mystical DRAGONLANCE® game world. 

Guide eight Companions, each with differ 

ent skills, deep into the treacherous ruins 

of the temple Xak Tsaroth. They will need 

all of your skills to help them survive the 

attacks of giant spiders, demons, dragons 

and countless other terrors. Retrieve the 

precious 

Disks of 

Mishakal if 

you can! 

IBM 

C-64/128 

AMIGA 

ATARI ST 

DWGEOft MASTERS ASSISTANT, 

Volume I: Eticowiers is a utility program 

designed to help Dungeon Masters gener 

ate encounters for AD&D® campaigns. 

It provides more than 1000 encounters, 

and over 1300 monsters and characters, 

including all of the monsters found in 

AD&D® Monster Manuals I «5r II. DMs can 

modify the existing data and add original 

monsters 

and encoun 

ters to the 

database. 

IBM 

APPLE 

C-64/128 

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAOOfiS. AD&D, FORQOTTEM REALMS 

and DRAQONLAT1CE are trademarks owned by and used under license 

from T5R, Inc. 

51988 TSR. Inc. £1988 Strategic Simulations, Inc. All rights reserved. 

I 

How To Order: Visit your retailer or call 1-800-245-4525. 

To receive SSI's complete product catalog, please send 

$1.00 to: Strategic Simulations, Inc., 1046 N, Rengstorff 

Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043. 

STRATEGIC SIMULATIONS, INC.

FIVE WAYS TO MAKE YOUR PC . ONE. 

^nn 

SUDDENLY, SPACE IS A DEADLY PLACE... 

There s no turning back. No place 

to run—no place to hide They've 

troyed yourplanet and 

now they're coming 

you. Their destruction 

is your only chance for survival. 

It won't be easy, but survival never is 

S3SSSB 

iiiililiig 

ill i 

Don'! settle for imitations. Add the arcade classic voted "one of the best home video games ever" by Electronic Came Player Magazine to your video collection.

...TWO, 

THREE, FOUR, FIVE. 

chains 

And it's Three against 

ana—but iftey'v* 

£>c*eef the wrong 

The streets . 

i_~ 'n a rnttss 

Now you can blast into one of the hottest arcade space games right in your own home. It's This is the original arcade hit. Thrill to the arcade quality graphics of this fast-paced, streetthe 

ultimate inter-planetary combat. You've never seen action like this on your home computer! style karate brawl. Find out what real action is all about! 

THCSl ARE TWO HUNGRY DINOMIGHrS ANO THEY'VE 

■SOTBUBBLE fIGHrft fUN DOWN TIGHT...Ybti and roor hvo bronlottunil BuMctet Bui 

ndttob ate up to r.-w tiros.5 tn bubble Infvbto You've got lobitfo banofions ol butby 

Ot&v^ng and bulling billions ot bubbles li'i t tail-paced bubble banquet through 

ain

20 COMPUTE! 

Get in touch with the 

wide, wide world 

with your computer 

by your side. 

f there is one persistent 

I v^sôn °ftne electronic 

I world, it's one of a 

I shrinking globe 

BWHH ^^^ __ H embossed with the 

',".". ■^■I'VI^Bl I flPI 1^1 snaking connections of 

I 1H mill! % I computers. 

i I To some extent, the vi 

o Wire 

Neil 

Randall 

sion has been realized. Call 

for concert tickets and your 

request is entered into a lo 

cal, or sometimes a nation 

wide, computer system. Go 

to a travel agent and your 

air ticket is reserved accord 

ing to the dictates of a vast 

computer network. You can 

even register for college 

using 

computers.

Somehow, though, the dream 

seems truest at the professional level; 

only a small percentage of home users 

join in. But all the home user needs is 

a computer, a modem, telecommu 

nications software, and a phone line; a 

wide variety of long-range computer 

hookups are readily available. 

Even so. telecommunicating re 

mains one of the underutilized areas 

in home computing. There are several 

reasons, not the least of which is that 

telecommunicating takes time, a rather 

scarce commodity for many people. 

Second, the whole process can be 

expensive, especially for those who use 

the professional services. Third, a 

modem and software, though less 

expensive now, are still a sizable 

investment. Most of all, however, tele 

communications can be the most 

intimidating part of computing. 

Even the term telecommu 

nications is intimidating. It conjures 

up visions of a global computer link in 

which technologically adept people 

work together on some mysterious. 

ultramodern project. Once past these 

visions, the intimidation is perpetu 

ated by the jargon: modem, log-on, 

baud rate, protocol, buffer, chat mode, 

scripting, configuration. Few of these 

terms are household words. There's 

even something called Kermit, which 

until recently was only the name of a 

very low-tech frog. 

To make matters worse, the man 

uals for telecommunications software 

have traditionally been about as fun to 

read as those for Pascal compilers. 

Terminal settings, file-transfer meth 

ods, and duplex choices are but the 

beginning of the software learning 

curve. More than most applications, 

telecommunications software has de 

manded that you know what you're 

doing before you start. 

All that is needed, though, is a bit 

of courage and a reasonable invest 

ment of time. Courage because that 

first log-on is still a mystical expe 

rience. Time because one of tele 

communications' guarantees is that 

things generally don't work the first 

time. Once you're up and running, 

however, the process soon becomes 

second nature. Well, close enough. 

Picking 

Your 

Information 

Service 

Before you're up and running, though, 

you'll need to choose an information 

service. Several are available, and all 

have strengths. Before choosing, how 

ever, ask yourself these important 

questions: 

Does the service have local telephone 

access? Each of the services has a 

user's fee of some sort. Over and 

above that fee, though, is the cost of a 

long-distance telephone call. In some 

cases, a toll-free number connects you 

to the service; in others, a local call 

does the trick. If yeu live in an out 

lying area, however, or in an area 

First, You Need a Modem 

where the toll-free number doesn't ap 

ply, you must consider phone access. 

Heavy users of telecommunications 

services can run up extremely high 

phone bills very quickly. 

What are my primary interests? Most 

of the services have a specific focus. 

The Source, for example, concentrates 

on business information, while 

QuantumLink (and PC-Link and 

AppleLink) are aimed at the casual 

telecommunicator. GEnie, Compu 

Serve, and Delphi are all general-pur 

pose services. You'll find descriptions 

here that will help you decide which 

service is best for you. You should be 

aware, though, that you probably 

won't use all the features any service 

offers. 

Do 1 have free connection time avail 

able? This is critical, because you will 

Actually, first you need a computer. But all computers have connections for modems, 

even if some—such as the Macintosh, the Commodore 64/128, and the Amiga 1000— 

need special adapter cables. Macintosh-specific and Amiga 1000-specific modems are 

available, but you'll have more options if you buy an adapter cable and then decide on 

the modem. Many Macintosh dealers, for instance, reported that Apple's Macintoshspecific 

modems are priced too high. 

There are two kinds of modems available: acoustic or direct-connect. Acoustic 

modems tend to be less expensive, and they work with pay phones or other phones 

that do not connect with the standard wall jack. Direct-connect modems, however, have 

a wider variety of features and are generally more reliable than acoustic modems. 

Consider transmission rate when buying a modem. A 300-bits-per-second (bps) mo 

dem is quite slow {it will transmit about 30 words per second, for instance), and unless 

you buy one that's very inexpensive, it's rarely worth the slow speed. A 1200-bps mo 

dem is still standard for home use, but 2400-bps modems are rapidly catching on. If you 

can afford a 2400-bps modem—which can also communicate at 300 or 1200 bps—buy 

it; if not, aim for 1200 baud. 

Anchor 2400E or 1200E: 2400 and 1200 bps, respectively: Hayes-compatible; $249.00 

and $139.00; Anchor Automation. 20675 Bahama St., Chatsworth, CA 91311 

Aprotek Minimodem-H: 300 or 1200 bps; includes communications software; S89.95 

(Minimodem-C is a C64/128-specific product); Aprotek, 1071-A Avenida Acaso, Camarillo, 

CA 93010 

Avatex 2400 or 1200HC: 2400 and 1200 bps, respectively; Hayes-compatible; S269.00 

and $149.00; Avatex. 1230 Oakmead Pkwy., Suite 310, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 

Delta Gold Voyager 300 or 1200 bps: AC/DC power; includes ProComm software: 

S99.00; Delta Computer, 260 Forbes Blvd., Mansfield, MA 02048 

1670 Modem: 300 or 1200 bps; connects directly to a Commodore 64 or 128; $149.95 

($79.95 with Q-Link subscription); Commodore Business Machines, 1200 Wilson Dr., 

West Chester, FA 19380 

SmartLink 2400 or 1200: 2400 and 1200 bps. respectively; S199.00 and $99.00; Join 

Data Technology. 14145 Proctor Ave., City of Industry, CA 91746 

Smartmodem 300, 1200, 2400: 300, 300/1200. and 300/1200/2400 bps, respectively; 

$199.00. $399.00, $499.00, respectively; Hayes Microcomputer Products, P.O. Box 

105203. Atlanta, GA 30348 

Supra Modem 2400: 2400 bps; Model 2400CM is Commodore 64/128 specific; $219.95; 

Supra, 1133 Commercial Way, Albany, OR 97321 

APRIL 1989 21

probably spend your first few hours 

wandering around the service. Most 

telecommunications software pack 

ages—and some integrated packages— 

include a coupon for free time on one 

or more telecommunications services. 

A magazine ad for the service might 

offer free hours as well. Keep in mind, 

too. that you'll have to join the service 

to use all of its features, even though 

you might be able to browse without 

joining. 

Do I know anybody who already uses 

a service? If a friend or colleague is al 

ready registered on one of the services. 

ask for a demonstration (but do not 

ask for a password—that's a tele 

communications no-no). Offer to pay 

for the online time and—if nec 

essary—the phone call. Once you see 

how the service works, ask if you can 

take an hour to run through some 

things by yourself, again with an offer 

to pay for the time. At the end of the 

hour, you will know whether the ser 

vice is for you. 

How much does the service charge? 

Information services charge in one of 

two ways. The first is a flat monthly 

fee. such as that charged by Quantum- 

Link and PC-Link. More common is 

an hourly rate, with substantial sav 

ings in nonbusincss hours. All services 

have additional charges for special ser 

vices, which include online shopping, 

encyclopedias, and stock information. 

(Actual charges are listed in each ser 

vice's section below.) If you plan to 

use the service for long periods of 

time, a flat fee will be cheaper than an 

hourly rate, but if you plan to drop in 

for short stretches, choose a service 

that charges by the hour. No matter 

which price structure, however, watch 

for minimum monthly charges. 

What 

You 

Different telecommunications services 

Then, You Need Some Software 

Telecommunications software is readily available for all popular computers. The iist be 

low highlights an outstanding package (or two, in some cases) for each of the six per 

sonal computers COMPUTE! covers. 

Remember that you can always find some excellent telecommunications software in 

the public domain. Ask your local user group for suggestions (or your machine. 

Amiga 

Macintosh 

Diga! (Aegis Development, 2210 Red Ryder (The FreeSoft Company, 

Wilshire Blvd., Suite 277, Santa 10828 Lacklink, St. Louis, MO 63114; 

Monica, CA; $49.95) $80.00) 

Apple II 

AppleLink-Personal Edition (Appleauthorized 

dealer; $35.00) 

Atari ST 

Flash (Antic Publishing, 544 Second 

St., San Francisco, CA 94107; $39.95) 

Commodore 64/128 

Q-Link (QuantumLink, 8620 Westwood 

Center Dr., Vienna, VA 22180; 800- 

392-8200; $9.95) 

BobsTerm Pro (Progressive 

Peripherals and Software, 464 

Kalamath St., Denver, CO 80204; 

$49.95/559.95 for 64/128) 

have a lot in common. All five of 

those surveyed here, for example, offer 

news and information areas (though 

some are more extensive than others). 

All five let you communicate with 

other users, and they all offer public 

domain and shareware software for 

downloading. 

But each service has its own fo 

cus. If you're looking for extensive 

business news, for instance, you 

shouldn't sign up with Quantum. On 

the other hand, if you're looking for 

features designed specifically for Com 

modore computers, you should give 

Quantum a try. 

Get 

Specific 

Perhaps the most useful part of a tele 

communications service, machinespecific 

forums are often the best place 

to settle once you're comfortable with 

a service. Here you can communicate 

with people who use the same com 

MS-DOS 

PC-Link (Radio Shack, 1700 One 

Tandy Center, Fort Worth, TX 76102; 

529.95) 

ProComm Plus (Datastorm, P.O. Box 

1471. Columbia, MO 65205; $89.95) 

puter you do. You can get expert ad 

vice from experienced users, find out 

what's hot and what's not, and 

commiserate when hardware doesn't 

live up to expectations or software 

goes south. 

Best of all, though, you can find 

public domain and shareware software 

to download to your own computer. 

The selection is staggering in quantity 

if not entirely in quality. 

CompuServe has the strongest fo 

rums because it has the largest mem 

bership and is the most popular 

service. Every major personalcomputer 

format (and some not so 

major) is well supported by Compu 

Serve. For Commodore information. 

Quantum's Q-Link is the best bet 

since it's aimed solely at Commodore 

users. Although they are relatively 

new. Quantum's PC-Link and Apple- 

Link will likely develop into fine 

sources of software. GEnie's machinespecific 

forums are almost as strong as 

CompuServe's; its Apple II and Mac 

intosh areas are particularly active. 

The Source and Delphi are weakest in 

machine-specific forums, although The 

Source seems to be shoring up its 

offerings lately. 

22 COMPUTE'

News and 

Business 

Generally speaking, every telecommu 

nications service offers a lot of news. 

CompuServe's News-Weather-Sports 

area includes the Associated Press 

Sports Wire, the Associated Press 

Videotex Wire, the Business Wire, the 

Executive News Service, the Holly 

wood Hotline, and the St. Louis Post- 

Dispatch, among others. Q-Link's 

News & Information has the latest 

news, weather, and sports information, 

but compared with the broader tele 

communications services such as 

CompuServe and The Source, it's lim 

ited. GEnie's current-events area in 

cludes NewsGrid Headline News, 

USA Today DecisionLines, press re 

leases, personal computer news, news 

on FCC proposals, and Fight Back 

with David Horowitz, based on the 

TV consumer show. The Source pro 

vides news from several press wires, 

including UPI, AP, and the Wash 

ington Post Capital Edition. You can 

also find Accu-Weather forecasts. 

If you're interested in financial 

information, you won't have to go 

far—every service offers several kinds 

of economic news. CompuServe lets 

you browse through services such as 

Commodity Market News and Analy 

sis, Earnings & Growth Estimates, and 

Stock Prices & Volumes Since 1973. 

You can also find brokerage and bank 

ing services on CompuServe, like 

Quick & Reilly and United American 

Bank. In Delphi's Business and Fi 

nance area, you'll find resources like 

AP Business News—for general infor 

mation, government economic figures, 

the Dow Jones average, and so on— 

and Japan's Kyodo News—for eco 

nomic news from Asia and Japan. 

Delphi also offers stock quotes, a 24- 

hour investment advisor, and a loanor 

mortgage-calculation program. In 

Quantum's general news area, you can 

access stock information and an inves 

tor's debate board. GEnie's financial 

area has the Dow Jones News/ 

Retrieval Service, the GEnie Quotes 

Securities Database, a 24-hour invest 

ment advisor, and a loan calculator. 

But The Source is where you can 

find a complete menu of business re 

sources. Options include the Business 

Update, Investment Data and Analy 

sis, Financial Market Reports, 

Employment Services, a Business Bul 

letin Board, and a Tax Reform Infor 

mation service. Quotes from the New 

York and American stock exchanges 

are available, as are information on 

mutual funds and market indexes, a 

good portfolio-management system 

that checks current stock prices auto 

matically, a full mutual-fund analysis 

service, and an online trading service 

through Spear Securities. 

Shopping 

and 

Other Stuff 

Each of these services offers an elec 

tronic shopping service of some sort 

(see "Shop Around," in this issue, for 

more on computerized shopping). You 

can buy computer equipment, maga 

zine subscriptions, and many other 

products at special shops and depart 

ment stores. CompuServe features an 

extensive mall with special discounts 

for members. GEnie's mall includes 

compact-disc stores, coffee shops, and 

software discounters. It's easy to find 

the shopping areas on each service. 

Most of the services have forums 

for specific interests, ranging from 

computers to comic books. Besides the 

typical computer forums, though, 

CompuServe offers forums on religion, 

human sexuality, fish, music, and 

learning disabilities. You'll have to go 

exploring to see what else is avail 

able—the list is endless. GEnie has, in 

its long list of forums, a writer's round 

table, a discussion of the law, a medi 

cal group, and a home office/small 

business area. 

For pure fun, telecommunications 

services offer a wide variety of games, 

both solitaire and multiple-player, to 

keep you occupied. You can battle— 

or join forces with—someone you've 

never met. CompuServe's repertoire 

includes Castle Quest, Island of 

Kesmai, BlackDragon, several trivia 

quizzes, and some parlor games. Mul 

tiple-player games include Air Traffic 

Controller and Mega Wars. In Quan 

tum's Just for Fun area, users partici 

pate in games and contests, join 

special-interest groups, or just chat. 

From Delphi's Entertainment and 

Games menu, you can access a wide 

range of games, including Colossal 

Cave, Dungeon, Quest, and the French 

version of Adventure (Aventure). 

Astrological predictions are available, 

as are board and logic games. A games 

group offers a shopping service, hints 

on 18 adventure games, the Infocom 

newsletter, and software ready for 

downloading. Like CompuServe, GE 

nie offers BlackDragon and Castle 

Quest. You can also play Hunt the 

Wumpus or participate in a football 

pool. GEnie's multiple-player games 

include Stellar Warrior, Chess, Orb 

Wars, and PhraseMania!. 

If you think of yourself as a world 

traveler, you'll be happy to find fea 

tures that let you arrange vacations 

and make flight reservations; they also 

offer advice for your trip. Compu 

Serve's travel services include the 

ABC Worldwide Hotel Guide, the 

American Express Travel Services, the 

Official Airline Guide, the National 

Tourism Citilog, and travel-advice 

areas. Information is even available on 

aviation weather, forecasts, and avi 

ation safety. Like almost all services, 

Quantum lets you reserve space on 

American Airlines flights through 

EAAsy Sabre Travel Service. Delphi 

gives you Travel + Plus, travel news 

and bulletins, the Official Airline 

Guide, and a city- and country-travel 

search service. You can make reserva 

tions, order theater tickets, and plan" 

APRIL 1989 23

several details of your vacation or trip. 

Delphi even offers travel prizes in its 

TQ Travel Trivia Contest. One of GEnie's 

more impressive services is its 

Adventure Atlas, which provides 

information about a specific style of 

trip you're interested in (a cruise down 

the Nile River, golfing in Mexico, or 

almost anything else). Other travel fea 

tures include a ski-resort database, a 

traveler's information round table, and 

American Airlines' EAAsy Sabre. 

Many of the services offer a ref 

erence area to help you find answers 

to those puzzling questions of life. 

CompuServe's IQuest provides brief, 

general information on many subjects, 

but you'll also find the Academic 

American Encyclopedia, MicroSearch, 

and SuperSite Demographic Infor 

mation. Quantum also offers the Aca 

demic American Encyclopedia in its 

Learning Center, while GEnie offers 

an online version of Grolier's 

Encyclopedia. 

Short Stats 

CompuServe 

P.O. Box 20212, Columbus, 

OH 43220; (800) 848-8199, or 

(800) 614-457-0802 in Ohio 

Supporting magazine: Online 

Today 

CompuServe is perhaps the best 

known of all the communications ser 

Next, You Learn the Jargon 

vices, and its subscriber base boasts 

nearly 500,000 users. CompuServe of 

fers local access in virtually all major 

U.S. and Canadian cities, and expan 

sion into Japan is on the horizon. 

As a result of its rapid growth, the 

service has been able to drop its 

prime-time rates, with all subscribers 

now charged $6.00 per hour at 300 

bits per second (bps) or $12.50 per 

hour at 1200 or 2400 bps. Additional 

fees are levied for several specific ser 

vices, with business-oriented charges 

often in the range of $15.00-$25.00 

per hour. 

Just reading through Compu- 

Like all areas of computing, telecommunications has its own technical terminology. Often 

it's not the online services that demand you know the arcane words, but rather, the tele 

communications software you buy. Here's the most common jargon: 

ASCII. The standard code used for all computer communication. ASCII files can be read 

by practically all software, which is why there are ASCII terminal emulations (otherwise 

known as TTY) and ASCII text files. 

autodial. A modem feature that lets the computer dial a phone number automatically. An 

excellent timesaver when you're dialing over and over again to get through to the ticket 

agency. 

Electronic 

Mail 

Last, but not least, most services offer 

electronic mail features that let you 

keep in touch with users across town 

or across the country. Delphi's elec 

tronic mail and conferencing capabili 

ties are particularly good examples of 

telecommunications correspondence. 

Two different online text editors offer 

near-word processor-quality features, 

while its E-mail offers multiple mes 

saging and extensive searching. GE 

Mail, on the other hand, gives you a 

fairly simple electronic-mail service, 

and its LiveWire CB area simulates a 

CB environment and allows for real 

time conferences and several chat 

modes. 

Most of these features are com 

mon to each telecommunications ser 

vice. The trick is finding the service 

that's best suited to you. Here are the 

things that make each service special: 

baud rate. The rate at which data is transferred over telephone lines. Although baud 

rate is often used interchangeably with bits per second, the latter is more accurate. 

buffer. Computer memory set aside to hold information captured from an online service. 

download. To transfer data from another computer to yours. The opposite is upload, 

where you send data from your computer to another computer. 

electronic mail, or E-mail. A service that lets you send messages to other users on the 

same online system or to users on other online systems. 

Hayes compatibility. Modems that use the commands originated by Hayes Micro 

computer Products are called Hayes-compatible. Hayes compatibility is not required for 

accessing most services, but it is a standard. 

ID, or user ID, or user name. The number you receive when you sign on to a service. 

One of the intimidating factors of telecommunications, it makes many people think of Big 

Brother. You must know your ID and your password (which you create yourself) to 

sign on. 

log on. Who invented this one? You log on to a system when you dial the number and 

enter your ID and password. You log off before you hang up. 

modem. An acronym from the words modu/afe/democ/u/ate. A modem is a device that 

translates computer signals into tone signals (and vice versa) that the phone lines can 

comprehend. 

parity. In the NFL, parity is the guarantee that all teams will be equally boring. In tele 

communications, it's a setting for the error-checking bit during transmission of data. 

There are several possible parity settings, and your software will let you change them as 

needed. 

protocol. The agreed-upon settings for the transfer of information. XMODEM is the 

most common protocol, but many others exist. Among them are Y-MODEM, Z-MODEM, 

CompuServe-B, Kermit, and ASCII. The two computers must agree on parity and proto 

col if they are to exchange information properly. 

terminal. A device that can send information to and receive information from a com 

puter. That's all a terminal can do. You have to use special software to make your com 

puter act like a terminal. 

24 C O M P U T E I

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FOR FASTER SERVICE, CALL TOLL-FREE 1-800-727-6937

Serve's information packet gives you 

an idea of the features available. In 

fact, reading the packet is practically a 

prerequisite to logging on because 

CompuServe is so large. Its size can 

force you to rack up a lot of connecttime 

charges as you figure out where 

you want to go and what you want to 

do. If variety and broad scope is what 

you're looking for, CompuServe is the 

best service to tackle. 

GEnie 

Short Stats 

General Electric Information 

Services, 401 N. Washington 

St., Rockville, MD 20850; 

(800) 638-9636 

Supporting magazine: 

UveWIre 

GEnie is CompuServe's closest com 

petitor. In operation since 1985 and 

rapidly growing, GEnie is a userfriendly 

service that offers a relatively 

easy entry system for the new telecommunicator, 

yet it provides features 

elaborate enough to suit experienced 

users. 

GEnie's pricing structure 

distinguishes sharply between primetime 

and non-prime-time hourly rates. 

Between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. 

Monday through Friday, GEnie's ser 

vice costs $35.00 per hour, but at 

other times the rate drops to $5.00 per 

hour. Charges apply to both 300- and 

1200-bps connections, with a $7.50 

hourly additional charge for 2400-bps 

users. Registration on GEnie costs 

$29.95 and gets you the GEnie manual 

and two free hours of connect time. 

26 C O M P U T E I 

© 

Short Stats 

Delphi 

3 Blackstone St., Cambridge, 

MA 02139; (800) 544-4005, or 

(617) 491-3393 in 

Massachusetts 

Delphi began in 1982 as the first 

online encyclopedia service. Since 

then, it has expanded to include the 

general features found on such services 

as CompuServe and GEnie. It's an 

other good alternative for people who 

want a general service like 

CompuServe. 

Accessible through direct lines, 

Telenet, Tymnet, or DataPac (in Can 

ada), Delphi charges $7.20 per 

nonprime hour and $17.40 per prime 

hour. Unlike most services, modem 

speed does not affect the connect 

charge: Users with 2400-bps modems 

pay the same as those with 300-bps 

devices. Access throughTelenet or 

Tymnet, of course, incurs additional 

charges. A few special services cost ex 

tra, as well. Frequent users, however, 

can opt for a Delphi Advantage 

membership, which carries a mini 

mum monthly charge but a lower 

hourly fee. 

Two special features help to 

distinguish Delphi. First, a Magazines 

and Books menu takes you to one of 

four magazines: Analog Computing 

(Atari), DirecTIons (TI), PCM Maga 

zine, or Rainbow. You can subscribe 

to each online, or you can read news 

and communicate with editorial staff. 

Second, Delphi offers a translation ser 

vice. You can send electronic mail to 

the service; have it translated into 

Spanish, Italian. Portuguese, French, 

German, or other languages; and then 

have it forwarded to your destination 

by electronic mail or telex. 

Short Stats 

Q-Link, AppleLink, PC-Link 

QuantumLink, 8620 Westwood 

Center Dr., Vienna, VA 

22180; (800) 392-8200, or 

(703) 883-0788 in Canada 

Supporting magazines: QLink 

Update (Q-Link), AppleLink 

Update (AppleLink), and PC- 

Link Update (PC-Link) 

Originally a popular Commodore 

64/128-specific service, QuantumLink 

has expanded to include Apple and 

MS-DOS users. Actually, Q-Link, 

AppleLink, and PC-Link are three 

separate services, each available only 

to owners of the specified machine. 

Because of this exclusivity, Quantum's 

services are able to provide machinespecific 

graphics and keyboard control. 

What this means is that the 

Quantum services are probably the 

least intimidating option. All you need 

to do is boot up the software for your 

machine and then follow the prompts 

to sign on for the first time. After that, 

simply booting the disk automatically 

logs you on. There are no identifica 

tion numbers or passwords to memo 

rize and change. 

Coupled with this convenience is 

Quantum's reasonable fee structure. 

Basic service for Q-Link and for PC- 

Link is a flat $9.95 per month, with 

specialized services adding a bit more. 

AppleLink doesn't use a flat-fee ap 

proach but instead charges by the

hour: Costs run $6.00 per hour during 

non-prime time and $15.00 per hour 

during prime time. 

The machine-specific nature of 

the services allows an uncomplicated 

interface. Q-Link is the only online 

service I know of that children can op 

erate. In the Commodore-specific Q- 

Link, for example, everything is 

accessed with the four function keys, 

the Return key, and the up and down 

cursor keys. Menus and submenus 

guide choices and, in fact, provide the 

only means of moving among the 

features. 

But because of its simplicity, the 

Q-Link, PC-Link, and AppleLink soft 

ware doesn't offer much for the ad 

vanced user wanting to customize and 

streamline telecommunications. Even 

so, the services have a great deal to of 

fer casual and experienced users alike. 

QuantumLink's goal has been to 

make telecommunications accessible 

to anyone, and, to a large degree, they 

have succeeded. If you live in an area 

with local telephone access to the ser 

vice, your money buys a wealth of in 

teresting evenings. 

Short Stats 

The Source 

1616 Anderson Rd., McLean, 

VA 22102; (800) 336-3366 or 

(703) 821-6666 in Virginia and 

outside the United States 

The Source was one of the earliest 

information services available, and it 

remains one of the most respected be 

cause of its focus on financial infor 

mation. So strong are The Source's 

ties with financial users, in fact, that 

the service is still largely perceived as 

being oriented toward the business 

user, not the general consumer. 

Over the past year and a half, 

Last, You Need to Save Money 

Using online services can be expensive, but with a little planning and a reliable clock, 

you can avoid running up enormous telephone and connect charges. Here are a few 

hints: 

1. Choose a service that you can access with a local call. If there are none, choose 

one with a toll-free number. 

2. If the service requires a long-distance call or access to Telenet, Tymnet, or DataPac. 

read tie telecommunications-service information carefully to determine how much it 

will cost. Direct dialing is often cheaper than packet-switching networks such as 

Telenet and Tymnet, especially in the middle of the night and on weekends. 

3. Before choosing a service, browse through computer magazines and look at the 

advertisements. Often you'll find discounts and offers of free connect time. 

4. If the service offers an online tutorial, use rt. There's nothing worse than not knowing 

how to get out of an area. Keep in mind that turning off the modem won't immedi 

ately disconnect you from the service—you may still be ringing up a bill. 

5. Compose E-mail offline. Uploading is much faster than typing. When conferencing, 

use 300 bps if it's cheaper. Unless you're a super typist, 300 bps will keep up with 

you. 

6. Download software during the least expensive connect hours and at the fastest pos 

sible speed (2400 bps if you have an appropriate modem). 

7. If exploring new areas of the service, keep the manual in front of you. Don't get 

caught in an area that charges extra; some of them are meant for business use and 

will cost you $15-$30 per hour. 

8. Change your password often. If someone were to discover it, your bill could rise 

dramatically. 

9. Use ramdisks whenever possible to send or receive files. RAM is faster than a disk 

drive in reading from or writing to disk, which saves you connect-time charges. 

10. Many telecommunications software packages include a timer, but if yours doesn't, 

buy a cheap digital watch to keep track of the time. Set yourself a time limit per 

night, week, and month, and stick to it. Unlike you, your service's billing department 

will never lose track of the time. 

however, The Source has made con 

siderable strides toward becoming a 

full-featured service. It remains among 

the best—if not the very best—for 

serious financial users, but its 

entertainment, shopping, and educa 

tion areas are growing rapidly. 

You can access The Source 

through surcharged WATS numbers, 

local phone numbers, Telenet, or—in 

Canada—DataPac. Current usage rates 

are $21.60 per prime-time hour at 300 

bps, $25.80 at 1200 bps, and $27.60 at 

2400 bps. Non-prime-time hourly 

rates are $8.40, $10.80, and $12.00, 

respectively. Certain options have 

additional charges. Members are 

charged a minimum of $10.00 per 

month, a fee applied against the first 

$10.00 of chargeable time. 

Considering its reputation as a 

service for the advanced user, it's 

somewhat surprising that The Source 

offers the best online tutorial of any 

service. Completely free, the tutorial 

consists of two sections, one dealing 

with the basics of moving through the 

service and the other offering detailed 

instruction in how to use the Commu 

nications services, the Business and 

Investment services, or the Travel ser 

vices. The First section takes roughly 

15 minutes to complete, while each of 

the other three takes 20 minutes. By 

the time you've worked your way 

through the tutorial, you won't have 

any trouble using the service. 

If The Source were to concentrate 

its efforts on entertainment, specialinterest 

groups, and shopping services 

as well as it has on its news and finan 

cial areas, it could become the best 

overall service available. For now, it's 

the service of choice for business users 

who want more than Dow Jones 

News/Retrieval (a financial online 

information service) has to offer. For 

those wanting entertainment and 

socializing, though, The Source is not 

yet first choice. E 

Neil Randall teaches at the University of 

Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, writes fre 

quently about computer concerns, and 

needs another phone line into his home. 

APRIL 1989 27

Sit down and grab on! You're 

driving the fastest and most 

beautiful machine on 4 wheels! 

So kick up the engine revs, down 

shift the gears, hear the tires 

squeal and grab the pavement— 

on your computer! 

Hot car. Hot music. Hot scenerybeaches, 

cities, snowy mountains, 

deserts and the blonde next to 

you will tempt you to take your 

eyes off the road. At close to 

300 KPH, our advice to you is 

a 4-letter word. DON'T.

UNLEASHES ARCADE 

ACTION ON YOUR 

HOME COMPUTER! 

Out Run. One of the big 

gest arcade hits ever, and 

fne ultimate motor-sports 

simulation. Now you can 

brjng the action home! 

With 4.4 liters under the 

hood, you're driving a 

beast of a machine only 

top drivers attempt to 

drive. Can you handle it? 

Maybe. Maybe not. 

Space Harrier. You are 

Harrier, the extra-terres 

trial warrior. Space is your 

battlefield. Your mission 

is to save the Land of 

Dragons from the vicious 

followers of the vile oneeyed 

mammoth. Grab 

your laser blaster because 

fhis game is 100% action, 

non-stop clashes, power 

ful combat scenes. 

Alien Syndrome. Genetic 

lab overrun by hideous 

organic mutations! Scien 

tists captured! Activate the 

lab's self-desiruct mecha 

nism! Break in and blast 

oway the slimy hordes 

and me biggest, most gro 

tesque mutants guarding 

the doors. Can you do it 

before the bomb explodes? 

DISTRIBUTED BY 

MINDSCAP 

sit you' retailor or call 1-300-221-9BB4 tor VISA and MasterCard orde p 

by moil, send your card number and eipiralion dole check or 

Sprite p Harrier). 129.95 [Alien 5yndrome); C64 S C128 versions: 

oneyy order for IBM/Tondyy ven.^m (specify (py 3.5" or 5.25"disks}: } S39.95 [Out[ Run nd 

S34.95 495 [Spoee Hi Horrier and Amigo Atarii ST versiions: $49.95 (Out Rgn and Space Harrier). S3S.95 (Alien 

(Out RJ RunJ, S2995 S29.95 Allen Sd Synd-cme); and ond 60065. w 3-5 weeks for delivery. Copy right ? 1988 Mindscope 

Syndrome); (plus 13 00 handling) to Mindscape. Inc.. PO. Box 1167, Northbrook. IL All 

Int. Mindscopeijorrodemorkof p Mindscope. p. Inc. Copyright pyg G 1986. 19373 Sego Eerpses, Enterprises, Ltd. These gomes hove been manufactured under license 

fromf SegoS Enterprises. Eti Ltd, Japan. J Out Ot Run. R Spoce Hairier Hi endd Alien Syr>drome Sd ore trademarks dk oll 

Sego Enterprises, Ltd. Commodore 64 ond Commodore 128 

are registered trademarks ol Commodore Electronic). Ltd. Atari is o registered trademark ond ST. 52OST ond 1040ST ore trademarks of Atari Corporation. 

Amiga is a registered trademark and Kitkslort is a trademark of Commodore-Arnigo. Inc. and IBM is a Irodemork ol IBM Corporation. Made in U.S.A. 

Screen shots represent Atari ST Version, oihen may vary.

you like to fly on 

your computer. You're a 

high-tech Walter Mitty 

strapped into the cockpit 

of an F-19, rolling out at Mach 3. Or 

maybe you like the sea. You run si 

lent, run deep. Maybe you like the 

outreaches of space or the fantastic 

maze of a dragon's lair. 

But I want to drive. 

Buckle me into the close confines 

of a Lamborghini Countach and hand 

me the keys. Tighten the lugs on my 

Formula One fireball and tap on my 

helmet. Outfit my pickup for a gruel 

ing run across the Baja, or send me on 

a midnight spin up a stretch of twist 

ing mountain road, 500 horses scream 

ing under the hood, a hundred pounds 

of rubber crying for mercy. It's the 

ff of dreams. 

■ roadster or a $1 million Grand Prix 

{ motorcar, if you've got the itch, you' 

: better have the scratch. Thanks to a 

? handful of software developers, 

; though, you can climb behind the 

] wheel of your computer for a whole 

\ lot less. 

You're sure to find a driving 

game that meets your taste: high- 

• scoring, quick arcade action; realistic 

racing-circuit simulations; dragsters; 

dirt scrabblers; modified stock cars; 

and the crown prince of road racing, 

the Formula One. 

Few names are as synonymous 

with Formula One racing as Ferrari, a 

. fact not lost on game makers. From 

Ferrari Grand Prix to Ferrari Formula 

] One. this high-speed, corner-hugging, 

! five-gear, Italian rubber-burner is making 

a name in the software driving 

simulation circuit the same way it did 

icks of Monaco and Detroit > 

oad. Jack 

Driving high-performance cars is a 

risky business that takes agility, quick 

thinking, nerve, and lots of money. 

Whether it's a $50,000, street-legal 

•■-,...

Ferrari Formula 

One puts the 

entire Grand 

Prix circuit on 

your desktop. 

Blow an engine 

and you're only 

out one race. 

Blow a curve 

and you're out 

one life. 

32 COMPUTE! 

Ferrari 

Fandango 

On the Macintosh, Ferrari Grand Prix 

promises edge-of-the-seat excitement 

with its superbly realistic-scale speed. 

You'll swear you're really moving. 

Using fast frame rates and limiting the 

background graphics, this simulation 

boasts some of the smoothest action 

around. 

Although the background is lim 

ited, it's no throwaway. Besides, when 

you're sitting low in the cockpit of a 

Ferrari racer moving around a curve 

at 175 mph, your attention had better 

be on the road. But you can glance at 

lap and speed information displayed 

conveniently below the steering wheel 

at the bottom of the screen. 

Several game options give you 

some control over how you run your 

race. You can, for instance, modify 

your gear ratios to get more top end or 

change your two computer opponents' 

skill levels to Great or Good. You can 

design backgrounds for your track and, 

in an interesting departure from other 

driving simulations, you can design 

your own racetracks. 

If there's a hitch to Ferrari Grand 

Prix, it's in using the mouse. It's tough 

to control your car with a mouse. The 

manufacturer, Bullscye, says the game 

works well with a joystick, so you may 

want to go that route if possible. 

Experienced mouse users probably 

won't suffer so much from the mousesteering 

dilemma, and if their mouse 

is hooked to an Amiga, they can warm 

their engines to the sound of Ferrari 

Formula One. Electronic Arts really 

pushes the envelope with this simula 

tion, exploiting the Amiga's sound and 

graphics to put the entire Grand Prixcircuit 

experience on your desktop. 

For most racing-game enthusiasts, 

driving is the bottom line. They want 

to wring that redline for all it's worth, 

double-clutching the curves and hitting 

the straights flat out. But the real rac 

ing circuit is comprised of modifying. 

testing, and qualifying the team's car 

before it makes its charge for the win 

ner's circle. Ferrari Formula One is a 

pretty successful attempt to capture all 

the elements that go into making a 

world champion. 

From the test track of Fiorano, It 

aly, to the Australian Grand Prix in 

Adelaide, South Australia, take your 

Ferrari through its paces as you finetune 

everything from fuel mix and 

tires to suspension and wings. As you 

follow the racing circuit around the 

globe, allow ample time for testing and 

qualifying. Blow an engine and you're 

out of the race. Blow a curve and you 

could be out for the season. 

This game requires patience, time. 

and imagination. You'll have plenty of 

opportunities to experiment with the 

intricacies of your car, just as a Grand 

Prix racing team would. Once you 

take to the road, the Amiga's graphicsprocessing 

power gives you pretty 

smooth operation—assuming you can 

control the mouse, shift gears, brake. 

and steer while keeping one eye on the 

other cars and the other on the track. 

If you want the World Driving Cham 

pion trophy, you've got to earn it. No 

body said it would be easy. 

And the Amiga's digitized sound 

makes motors roar, tires squeal, and 

air wrenches sing. You'll be looking on 

your hands for oil stains. The sound 

effects are leagues ahead of the twotone 

warble of an IBM PC or compat 

ible computer and easily outclass the 

loose-lipped Bronx cheer of a nondigitized 

Macintosh. 

Switching 

Gears 

If you're tired of Ferrari, Accolade's 

Grand Prix Circuit relieves some of 

the doldrums by offering two other 

choices: a V-8 Renault six-speed road 

hugger and a six-speed Honda Turbo 

that's only a little slower than a light 

ning strike. Like its Ferrari Formula 

One cousin. Grand Prix Circuit takes 

you through a simulated racing season, 

albeit a shorter one. The emphasis 

here isn't on the work behind the 

scenes as much as it's on driving 

performance. 

You get into the action quickly 

with practice laps and then move on 

to qualify and race on any of eight 

tracks. Keep your eye on the tachom 

eter so you don't blow your engine, 

and watch the other nine drivers who 

share the two lanes of asphalt. Some 

are quick, clean racers who ride the 

groove as well as Jackie Stewart ever 

did; others are slow, clumsy road hogs 

who'd be more at home on farm 

tractors. 

Options in Grand Prix Circuit are 

limited to more arcade-type modifica 

tions than those offered with Ferrari 

Formula One: You can choose skill 

levels, length of race, and a particular 

track (if you don't want to run the 

whole circuit). The background graph 

ics are a knockout on an EGAequipped 

PC, though they can be 

disconcerting, shifting around boxlike

as you steer around a curve or another 

driver. 

The same design team brought 

out Test Drive two years ago. which 

also leans more toward arcade action; 

you'll come across the same passing 

situations and tight squeezes time after 

time. The goal is to get to the top fast, 

and there's just one way to do it: Put 

the hammer down, fuse your foot to 

the clutch, and don't worry about that 

cliff to your left. 

From the stock Corvette to the 

Lotus Esprit Turbo. Test Drive's five 

exotic cars are built to move. They are 

quick out of the gate, slip lanes like 

butter in a frypan. and cling to the 

curves like lint to a cheap suit. Each 

comes equipped with a radar detector, 

which flashes and beeps when you 

move through a speed trap at 105 

mph. If Smokey appears in your rearview 

mirror, you have two choices: 

Pull over and take a speeding ticket or 

kick it up a notch and leave him 

chewing dust. 

Test Drive, like Grand Prix Cir 

cuit, suffers from a background that 

shifts like Los Angeles in an earth 

quake, but to a lesser degree. Because 

the game is fashioned on a verticalscroll 

model, there's not as much de 

tail to bog it down. Like Grand Prix 

Circuit, it's best to run Test Drive on a 

Tandy I6-color or EGA-equipped 

computer instead of in CGA; other 

wise, you'll end up driving a purple 

car up a blue mountain. It's enough to 

make you carsick. You could drive in 

Hercules graphics mode of course, but 

only as a last resort. Both games suffer 

from the poor sound capabilities of 

the IBM PC and compatible comput 

ers, and. although both support joy 

sticks, you'll get better control from 

the keyboard. 

Off the 

Beaten Track 

Barring a steering wheel modeled after 

the yokes sold for flight simulators, a 

joystick is the most natural control for 

a driving game. Unfortunately, the 

games that make the best use of joy 

sticks are those furthest removed from 

the realities of driving and racing. 

Racing enthusiasts who thrill to the 

chase may be disappointed in games 

like Crazy Cars from Titus, but they 

can still find some elements of real 

driving in 4 X 4 Off-Road Racing 

from Epyx. 

Crazv Cars is flat-out full-tilt ar 

cade action. It emphasizes points, and 

it's not hard to rack up 5 million 

points after only 10-15 minutes of 

play. The game's context is a set of 

races (they're not races as much as 

weaving contests) in places like New 

York. Arizona, and the space shuttle 

launch pad at Cape Canaveral. The 

object is to hit the finish line first so 

that you can move up to a faster car. 

You start with a Mercedes 560 SEC 

and climb to a Porsche 911, then to a 

Lamborghini Countach, and, finally. 

to a Ferrari GTO. 

The cars are represented realis 

tically onscreen, but that's where the 

real world ends. Unlike the black as 

phalt you find in the lop-of-thc-line 

simulations, in Crazy Cars you drive 

on a striped ribbon that floats eerily 

over a spray-painted field. This game 

takes the idea of minimal background 

graphics to the extreme, even on the 

Amiga version. Depending on where 

you're driving, the horizon can be a 

skyline (the George Washington 

Bridge in New York) or landscape 

(brown buttes in Arizona), but even at 

speeds over 100 mph. you never get 

any closer to the things you see on the 

horizon. And don't forget the sky. 

which in the Amiga version is a series 

of horizontal blue stripes of different 

hues. 

With its fantasy-world graphics 

and predictable patterns, Crazy Cars 

offers little to those who want the 

thrill of real racing action. Epyx im 

proves the situation with its 4 X 4 

Off-Road Racing by mixing arcade ac 

tion with simulated racing prepara 

tions. Although not nearly as complex 

as Ferrari Formula One, 4X4 gives 

you the chance to customize your rig 

for a race over any of four terrains. 

This game gets you out of the garage 

and into the race without requiring 

too much technical expertise. It's 

enough to know you should bring 

some spare tires, tools, and a few extra 

parts. 

Once on the road (or off the road, 

to be more exact), the game resorts to 

arcade-style play. Your path is strewn 

with boulders, holes, and other as 

sorted obstacles. Along the way, you 

can pass your computerized oppo 

nents. One of your rivals, called the 

Doombuggy. is a highway hit man 

who drives like a reject from The 

Road Warrior. The only reason he's in 

the race is to put you out of it. If you 

damage your vehicle, you can pull into 

a checkpoint for repairs, and you may 

want to gas up before heading back 

xotic 

ike bu 

to a p suit. 

APRIL 1989 33

into the race. 

The four races in 4 X 4 Off-Road 

Racing are pretty similar, differing 

mainly in color—another bow to the 

arcades. The Baja is light brown, 

Death Valley is yellow. Georgia is 

dark mud-brown, and wintery Michi 

gan is—you got it—snow white. The 

sound on the Commodore 64/128 

resembles a running motor, with 

splash sounds when you hit water. It's 

not state of the art, but it's better than 

silence. 

Home Stretch 

Games like Crazy Cars and 4X4 Off- 

Road Racing aren't designed as fullfledged 

driving simulators, and 

whatever shortfalls they have should 

be considered with that fact in mind. 

Bona fide driving simulations like 

Ferrari Grand Prix and simulationarcade 

mixes like Grand Prix Circuit 

come much closer to matching the 

true racing experience. Every com 

puter user interested in cars will find a 

favorite driving game to capture the 

spirit of the moving road. 

There's still plenty of room in the 

driving-game field for innovative 

products. A game modeled after the 

Daytona 500 would please stock-car 

fans, especially if it incorporated some 

of the intricacies of racing prepara 

tions and featured realistic crash 

graphics that would add tension to the 

oval track. Another overlooked 

possibility is a Demolition Derby 

simulation filled with Detroit dino 

saurs. There's nothing quite like ram 

ming the back end of a '67 Chevy 

Impala into the grill of a '64 Ford Gal 

axy. Or maybe someone will model a 

game after great movie car-chase 

scenes—imagine driving Steve 

McQueen's Mustang in Bullitt, or 

chasing the French Connection 

through the streets of Manhattan, a la 

Gene Hackman. 

Figure-eight dirt tracks, quartermile 

drag strips, curving Grand Prix 

roadways, asphalt ovals—all of them 

form the racing arena. No matter if 

you're a weekend cruiser, a Mondaymorning 

motorhead, or a pedestrian 

who doesn't know a piston from a 

pipe cleaner, your search for some 

pulse-quickening excitement can start 

at your neighborhood software store. 

Let your computer put you in the 

driver's seat. □ 

Peter Scisco is an assistant editor with 

COMPUTE! and doesn't make enough 

money to drive a real Ferrari. 

Drive 

Like a Demon 

Crazy Cars 

Titus 

20432 Corisco St. 

Chatsworth, CA 91311 

(818) 709-3693 

Amiga—$39.95 

Atari ST—$39.95 

Commodore 64/128—$39.95 

IBM PS/2, PC and compatibles—$39.95 

Macintosh—$39.95 

Ferrari Formula One 

Electronic Arts 

1820 Gateway Dr. 

San Mateo, CA 94404 

(415)571-7171 

Amiga—$49.95 

Ferrari Grand Prix 

Bullseye Software 

P.O. Box 7900 

Incline Village, NV 89450 

(702) 831-2523 


4X4 Off-Road Racing 

Epyx 

600 Galveston Dr. 

Redwood City, CA 94063 

(415)366-0606 

Amiga—$49.95 

Commodore 54/128—$39.95 

IBM PC and compatibles—$39.95 

Grand Prix Circuit 

Accolade 

550 S. Winchester Blvd. 

Suite 200 

San Jose, CA 95128 

(408) 296-8400 

Commodore 64/128—$29.95 


The Great American Cross-Country 

Road Race 

Activision 

Distributed by Mediagenic 

3885 Bohannon Dr. 

Menlo Park, CA 94025 

(415) 329-0800 

Apple II—$14.95 

Commodore 64/128—$14.95 

Lombard/RAC Rally 

Top 10 Software 

40308 Greenwood Dr. 

Oakhurst, CA 93644 

(209) 683-5575 


Commodore Amiga—$39.95 

Richard Petty's Talladega—3D Nascar 

Cosmi 

431 N. Figueroa St, 

Wilmington, CA 90744 

Commodore 64/128—$12.95 

Shirley Muldowney's Top Fuel 

Challenge 

Cosmi 

431 N. Figueroa St. 

Wilmington, CA 90744 

Commodore 64/128—$24.95 

Test Drive 

Arpnlarip 


Suite 200 

San Jose, CA 95128 

(408) 296-8400 

Amiga—$44.95 



Commodore 64/128—$24.95 


Top Fuel Eliminator 

Gamestar 




(415)329-0800 


Commodore 64/128—$29.95 

34 COMPUTE

I. Experience innovative combat and 

exotic magic! 

2. Enter into the extraordinary 

world of Britannia ... 

3. Unprecedented realism 

crafted in exquisite detail! 

p 

Unfa 

In Ultima IV and Ultima V, Lord 

British weaves the spellbinding tale 

of the Avatar - a quest for spiritual en 

lightenment and a test of virtue gone awry. 

It's one incredible story in two captivating games! 

And while each stands alone, together they deliver 

unparalleled intensity and incomparable depth. 

The Avatar's epic tale expands the world of Brit 

annia. While it still contains demons and devils, 

puzzles and pitfalls, and magic and myths, the 

heroes now race difficult moral decisions . .. 

and true character is revealed. 

Ultima IV - Become an Avatar and inspire the 

people to reject the evil burning in their hearts. 

Ultima V - The Avatar returns to a land of 

corrupted virtue - where the penalties are 

worse than the crimes! 

"... once you play one, you'll want to 

play them all." 

(COMPUTE!) 

136-B Harvey Road. Londonderry, NH 03053 

T T 

Available for: IBM-PC Tandy/compatibles. Apple II series. Commodore 64.128. Amiga, Alan ST 

Not available at your local retailer? Call 1-800-999-4939 (8am to 5pm EST| lor VISA MC orders; or mail check, money order 

(U.S. S) to Origin. All versons S59.95 Allow 1-2 weeks (or delivery.

FROM PRICE TO PERFORMANCE, THERE'S NO COMPARISON 

Version 

MONEYCOUNTSf 

5.0 

QUICKEN! 

2.0 

MANAGING 

YOUR MONEY! 

5.0 

DOLLARS & 

SENSE! 

3.1 

Manufacturer 

Parsons Technology 

Intuit, Inc. 

MECA Ventures, Inc. 

Monogram Software, Inc 

Suggested Retail Price 

$29.00 

$49.95 

$219.98 

$179.95 

Account Balancer 

- Automatic Error Finder 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

YES 

NO 

YES 

NO 

Accounts Can Be Added 

When Entering Transactions (Data) YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

Budgeting 

- Variable Budgeting By Month 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

Automatic Transactions 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

Financial Reports 

- Actual Financial Results 

- Month and Year to Date 

- All Months On One Report 

- Budgeted Financial Results 

- Actual Compared to Budget 

- Actual Compared to Prior Month 

- General Ledger Report 

- Accountant's Trial Balance 

- Net Worth Computation 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

YES 

NO 

NO 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

YES 

Inquiry Reports 

- Check and or Deposit Register 

- Account Analysis 

- All Transactions with Parly 

- Cash Requirements Forecast 

- Aged Invoices Payable 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES, 

YES 

YES 

NO 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

Graphics 

YES 

NO 

YES 

YES 

Fiscal Year Support 

YES 

NO 

YES 

YES 

Optional Password Protection 

YES 

NO 

NO 

YES 

Financial Calculator 

- Prints Amortization Schedules 

- Prints Accumulation Schedules 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

Mail List Manager 

- Prints Address Labels 

- Prints Index Cards 

- Prints Telephone Directory 

- Mail Merge with Word Processor 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

NO 

YES 

Check Writer 

- Prints Laser Checks 

- Prints Any Pin-Feed Check 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

NO 

YES 

Personal Income Tax Estimator 

YES 

NO 

YES 

YES 

Pop-up Note Pad 

YES 

NO 

YES 

YES 

Pop-up Math Calculator 

YES 

NO 

YES 

YES 

Capacity 

- Total Number of Accounts Per File 

- Total Number of Open Transactions 

999 

100,000 

300 

65,535 

* 

* 

"Unlimited based on RAM 

memory and disk space available. 

120 

4,000 

tTrademarks of their respective manufacturers.

The $29 Money Management Solution. 

MQNEVCOUms 

■Th 

pr-ORr 

Guaranteed. 

Du're looking for a complete money management/ 

ccounting program that offers outstanding value, we 

invite you to examine the evidence on MoneyCounts. ' 

It's the clear choice for home and business. 

MoneyCounts is CPA designed, easy to use, menu-driven 

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ence. You'll appreciate the ease with which Money- 

Counts 5.0. . . . 

■ Manages your cash, checking, savings, & credit cards 

■ Prepares your budget 

■ Balances your checkbook 

■ Prints 5 types of financial statements (including net 

worth) 

■ Prints 6 types of inquiry reports 

■ Prints any type of pin-feed check & updates your 

records automatically 

■ Prints general ledger & accountant's trial balance 

■ Handles up to 999 accounts & 100,000 transactions a 

year with its fast financial data base 

■ Estimates your personal income tax 

■ Analyzes financing options & savings programs — 

computes interest rates & loan payments — prints 

amortization and accumulation schedules 

■ Manages mail lists — zip and alpha sorts — prints 

labels and index cards 

■ Displays and prints three-dimensional graphics — 

works with monochrome or color monitors 

■ Provides password protection, fiscal year support, 

pop-up notepad, and much more! 

Hard to believe the low price? Don't worry! There's no 

catch. MoneyCounts has a proven track record, has 

been on the market over four years, and is continuously 

receiving rave reviews, If you're not 100% satisfied, return 

MoneyCounts within 30 days fora full refund (excluding 

shipping). Over 50,000 users have decided in favor of 

MoneyCounts! Order today and judge for yourself! 

For Same Day Shipping 

VISA, MASTERCARD & C.O.D. ORDERS 

1-800-223-6925 

(In Canada, call 319/395-7300) 

Weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. CST 

Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Or send check or money order 

payable to Parsons Technology. 

r 

Dept. COM 

375 Collins Road NE 

Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402 

NAM E 

ADDRESS 

CITY 

MoneyCounts 

Version 5.0 

$29 + $5 shipping 

NOT COPY PROTECTED 

INCLUDES PRINTED MANUAL 

STATE/ZIP. 

PHONE 

CHECK" MONEY ORDER" VISA" MASTERCARD D 

CARD # EXP. DATE 

375 Collins Road IM.E. 


MonevCounts 5.0 requires an IBM or compatible computer, 256K 

or more RAM, DOS 2.0 or higher, 2 disk drives (or .1 hard disk). 

Add S5 shipping/handling — S10 outside North America. Iowa resi 

dents, please add 4rf sales tax. 

L. J

Buying 

Your 

Choosing your first 

computer is serious 

First 

Computer 

business. Here are 

three picks that won't 

do you wrong. 

Gregg 

Keizer 

Your first computer should be 

like your first love—forgiv 

ing and faithful, endearing 

and enduring, steadfast and satisfying. 

You'll always remember your first 

computer. 

Picking the right first computer 

for your family or business is crucial. 

After all, it's going to be your in 

troduction to personal computing. 

And if it breaks down (and breaks 

your heart), or if it makes you work 

too hard at the computer-human 

relationship, you're not going to take 

to personal computers. First im 

pressions are, even in electronics. 

important. 

A first computer should be reli 

able, easy to use. easy to set up, 

equipped with nearly everything you'll 

need to get started, and able to offer 

access to an impressive amount and a 

variety of software. Even with those 

qualifications, though, you have scores 

of acceptable machines to pick from. 

The three first-computer can 

didates described here are standouts 

not only because they represent highquality 

computer hardware, but also 

because they open the door to peerless 

software libraries. Each is a genuine 

good buy and can deliver on the 

promise of entertainment, education. 

and productivity. Pick one of these 

three and the memories of your first 

days of computing wil! be fond, not 

frightening. 

IBM PS/2 Model 25 

IBM's low-end PS/2 is the modularlooking 

Model 25, an excellent choice 

38 COMPUTE 

for the first-time computer buyer eager 

to work beneath the famous blue logo. 

The computer's cubelike appearance is 

marked by an all-in-one monitor and 

system case that sits on the desk at a 

slightly tilted angle for easy screen 

viewing. Typing on the full-size, 

detachable, 84-key keyboard is a plea 

sure—the keys have a nice, firm feel 

and make a satisfying click when 

pressed. On the downside, the small 

keyboard is much too large for dinky 

desktops. An even smaller keyboard 

would be a welcome option. 

Unboxing and setting up the 

Model 25 is a breeze. Put the 

system/monitor on the tabletop. con 

nect the keyboard cable, and plug the 

power cord into the computer and an 

outlet. The computer itself takes up a 

surprisingly small piece of desktop real 

The Model 25 

is a safe 

selection for 

first-time buyers. 

estate: about 15X13 inches. 

Open the case and you'll find an 

Intel 8086 8-MHz microprocessor, 

512K of RAM {expandable to 640K), 

and two expansion slots that take one 

full-size and one short PC XTcompatible 

card. On the back are a se 

rial port, parallel port, earphone 

connector, keyboard connector, and 

connector for the optional mouse. At 

the front, just under the monitor, are 

the power switch and one 3l/2-inch 

disk drive (another can be added). 

The Model 25 can sport either a 

monochrome or a color display. The 

color version uses MCGA (MultiColor 

Graphics Array) mode, which offers 

256 colors in 320 X 200 resolution. 

The monochrome model is no slouch 

either: It can put 64 shades of gray on 

the screen.

Model 25 buyers have the entire 

MS-DOS productivity software library 

to choose from. And though the Vhinch 

disk format excludes older pro 

grams (which probably are available 

only on S'/i-inch disks), more software 

is appearing on the smaller-size disks. 

There's plenty lo get a first-time com 

puter user started, including the top 

integrated packages and business 

applications. 

The Model 25 also makes sense as 

a student's computer, especially for 

high schoolers and collegians who 

have need for MS-DOS applications in 

business and finance classes. And the 

machine's rugged all-in-one case 

should keep it running even after the 

umpteenth move. 

As a home computer, the Model 

25 has much to offer, but it's not the 

first choice. The computer's price 

takes it out of the reach of many 

potential buyers. Entertainment and 

educational software is heading into 

the MS-DOS market, but many pack 

ages run only in the crude CGA (fourcolor) 

graphics mode. When more 

software supports the 25's MCGA 

graphics, the computer will become a 

better pick for those wanting to enter 

tain and educate in the home. 

Apple lie Plus 

The Apple II is more than a decade 

old. That kind of longevity hasn't gone 

unrewarded: The Apple II is still the 

computer of choice for most schools, 

and tens of thousands of II's make it 

home every year because parents think 

of Apple when they think of a com 

puter for their kids. 

The Apple lie Plus is the newest 

Apple II, and though it's more a 

reworking of an ancestor (the He) than 

I i i I J I I I I i I I i 

I I i i f I i i 1 I I I 

i ) I I I I I I I I I 

f I i I I ! I 1 I 

a brand-new model, it has many 

things to recommend it to the firsttime 

computer buyer. 

A petite computer, the Apple He 

Plus's design puts the keyboard and 

the computer in a case measuring a 

mere 12 X 12 X 2 inches. When 

propped up on its handle, the Ik Plus 

rests at a comfortable typing angle. 

The 63-key keyboard feels solid, al 

though it doesn't have enough tactile 

and audio feedback. 

Inside the computer is a 6502 

microprocessor that can run at the Ap 

ple II-traditional speed of 1 MHz or 

at a more respectable 4-MHz speed. 

The faster speed is one of the ma 

chine's more impressive features. The 

He Plus also boasts 128K of RAM, 

two serial ports, a mouse port, an ex 

The Apple lie Plus 

is a smart pick 

for 

parents. 

ternal disk drive connector, and two 

video connectors. All this precludes 

most add-on boards—a good thing, 

considering that the computer is a 

"closed" system (not designed for later 

expansion). A built-in 3!/:-inch disk 

drive rounds out the computer's 

features. 

You can connect a monochrome 

or a composite color monitor to the 

Apple He Plus (or even a television set 

with an optional RF modulator). And 

since the He Plus supports traditional 

Apple II graphics modes, including the 

acceptable but not dazzling 16-color 

double-hi-res mode, color is an inte 

gral part of its software. 

Entry-level computers like the lie 

Plus should have entry-level prices, 

and the He Plus doesn't disappoint. 

PS/2 Model 85 

Apple lie Plus 

Tandy 1000 SL 

Software 

Format 

MS-DOS 

Apple 

II 

MS-DOS 

Price 

$1,350 (monochrome) 

$1,695 (color) 

$675 

$899 

CPU 

RAM 

Keyboard 

Monitor 

Disk Drive 

Slots 

Ports 

8086 (8 MHz) 

512K 

84-key detachable 

Included" 

3'/2-inch 

2 

Serial 

Parallel 

Earphone 

6502 (1/4 MHz) 

I28K 

63-key integrated 

Optional 

3l/2-inch 

0 

Serial (2) 

Joystick/Mouse 

8086 (4/8 MHz) 

384K 

101-key detachable 

Optional 

5 Va -inch 

5 

Serial 

Parallel 

Joystick/Mouse (2) 

Mouse 

Earphone 

Microphone 

Colors 

256 

16 

16 

APR L 19 8 9 39

The Tandy 1000 SL 

is a bargain for 

buyers looking 

for PC 

compatibility. 

t_J f J ! I it-M( n I | l i 

of its attractive pricing and because of 

the tremendous selection of MS-DOS 

business software. Although the mea 

sly 384K of RAM and single 5V4-inch 

disk drive aren't enough for fullfeatured 

business applications, you can 

add more memory to the motherboard 

and increase the storage with another 

disk drive, a hard disk, or a hard disk 

card. 

The 1000 SL is a strong contender 

for home education and entertain 

ment. Its 16-color mode enhances 

learning and gaming programs far 

above and beyond CGA-equipped PC 

compatibles, and its 5l/«-inch disk 

drive opens up a wider software selec 

tion than does IBM's Model 25. Add 

the DOS and DeskMate interfaces in 

ROM, bundle in the integrated 

DeskMate applications, and the life of 

a first-time computer owner becomes 

a lot easier. 

It's the least expensive Apple II 

around, an important point to anyone 

concerned with the bottom line and 

the benefits of home computing. If 

you have kids at home and in school, 

Apple's entry-level computer makes 

the most sense as your first home ma 

chine. The computer's small size and 

easy setup make it practically 

kidproof. 

Even if your child's school doesn't 

use Apple IPs, the computer's impres 

sive library of educational software— 

still second to none—makes it the 

choice for home education. And if 

your local schools do use Apple IPs, 

your children will be able to use the 

same software at home that they're 

familiar with in class. Athough the 

majority of Apple II software is in the 

older 5'/4-inch size, many of the bestknown 

and best-selling packages now 

come in 3V;-inch versions. 

If you're looking for more than an 

education computer, don't discount 

the Apple He Plus. Apple II software 

may not have the breadth and depth 

of MS-DOS, but several excellent 

applications, notably the venerable 

AppleWorks, can complete most 

productivity tasks. 

Tandy 1000 SL 

It may not be a bottom-end computer. 

but the Tandy 1000 SL is sure priced 

like one. This compact IBM PC 

compatible is the least expensive 

Tandy computer that also features 

substantial expansion capabilities. Its 

built-in features, however, are what 

make the machine the perfect choice 

40 COMPUTE! 

for first-time computer buyers eager 

for MS-DOS but put off by IBM's 

prices. 

Measuring just 15 X 13 inches, 

the 1000 SL comes with a 101-key 

detachable keyboard that's actually 

wider than the computer. Although it's 

an improvement over previous Tandy 

keyboards and it gives good audio 

feedback, it still feels mushy. The 

monitor, a separate buy often bundled 

with the SL during Radio Shack sales, 

sits on top of the computer. 

Like that of the other two firsttime 

computers, the SL's setup is a 

snap. Computer and monitor power 

cords and monitor and keyboard ca 

bles are all you have to contend with. 

The inclusion of DOS 3.3 and Tandy's 

own DeskMate interface shell in the 

SL's ROM helps immeasurably in get 

ting first-timers going. 

Inside the computer, you'll find 

384K of RAM (expandable to 640K). 

an 8086 microprocessor that runs at 

either 4 MHz or 8 MHz, a 5'/4-inch 

disk drive, a serial port, a parallel 

port, two joystick/mouse ports, and 

five slots that take PC XT-compatible 

cards. 

Equip the SL with a Tandy color 

monitor, and the SL's enhanced CGA 

mode sports 16 colors, not the usual 4. 

Monochrome is compatible with the 

Hercules standard for crisper screens. 

It's possible to use more advanced 

graphics modes, but you'll need to slip 

a card into one of the SL's slots. 

Interested in computerizing your 

business in the office or at home? The 

Tandy 1000 SL makes sense because 

You 

Win! 

No matter which of these three ma 

chines ends up on your desktop, you 

can rest assured you've made a good 

choice. All come from solid companies 

long-involved in personal computing. 

That's important to the first-time com 

puter buyer—nothing is worse than 

buying a computer and seeing its sup 

port (and its manufacturer) slink away. 

Each machine has its strengths 

and weaknesses, and each has a signi 

ficant software base. You're not taking 

much risk buying one of these com 

puters; your caution will steer you to 

ward a solid relationship with home 

computing. 

After all, you don't want your 

heart broken by a whirlwind computer 

romance, do you? a 

Gregg Keizer is editor of COMPUTE! maga 

zine and remains a first-time computer 

buyer at heart. 

Manufacturers 

For more information about these 

computers, contact the manufacturer or 

visit a local computer dealer. 

Apple Computer 

20525 Mariani Ave. 

Cupertino, CA 95014 

(408)996-1010 

IBM 

Contact an authorized dealer 

(800) 447-4700 (for the closest dealer) 

(800) 246-2468 (IBM Direct) 

Tandy/Radio Shack 

1700 One Tandy Center 

Fort Worth, TX 76102 

(817)390-3011

Heidi E. 

H. Aycock 

Crowded parking lots? Forget 'em. Pushy 

salespeople? They're history. Try shopping 

from home with your computer for a sane 

solution to mall madness. 

Remember the crowds at the mall in December? 

Remember following thousands of other shop 

pers like lambs to the slaughter, lemmings to the 

sea? You couldn't take a left turn out of the 

shopping center because of the traffic, and you paid $2.00 

for an ice cream cone that ended up on the floor. 

Now's probably not a good time to tell you this, but 

you could have done most of your shopping from your 

trusty computer keyboard. Every major telecommu 

nications service sponsors an electronic shopping center 

with plenty of parking, polite salespeople, and cheap food. 

If you think that the wares might be too obscure or the 

prices too high, you're wrong. You can find Levi's jeans, 

Godiva chocolates, Penguin books, and more. You can also 

find Alaskan reindeer sausage, which, for most of us. falls 

squarely into the obscure category. Prices are reasonable, 

too—just what you'd expect to find at a traditional mall. 

Those Levi's, for instance, cost about $22.50; the Godiva 

chocolate runs $3.75 for a two-ounce bar; and you'll pay 

$3.95 for a Penguin paperback. And the reindeer sausage? 

How about $7.50 for 12 ounces? 

Check Out the Checkout 

Different telecommunications services have different stores; 

so. prepare for your first shopping trip by learning what 

shops are in which mall. CompuServe, for instance, has 

Bloomingdale's, but GEnie and Delphi don't. Most of the 

services have a coffee shop, a CD store, and some bookstores. 

In publications like CompuServe's Online Today and 

GEnie's LiveWIRE, advertisements and features tell what 

stores are available. Try to locate a winter issue because the 

shopping coverage is extensive during the holiday season. 

Once you know what kind of stores are in the mall, 

you can start thinking of reasons to go shopping. Do your 

parents enjoy exotic coffee? Is there a compact disc player 

in your house? Do you have a friend who will read any 

thing about cats? Don't be too specific as you list items to 

look for. You may not find the latest effort by Bruce 

Springsteen or Jackie Collins, but you'll likely find a collec 

tion of New Age music, and you could stumble into a gold 

mine of British mysteries. Leave yourself open to possibil 

ities and you won't be disappointed. 

To help in your search, you can order catalogs from 

most of the mall merchants. You could, in fact, devote one 

shopping trip to ordering catalogs from the stores that in 

terest you. Then, after you've browsed on paper, log on and 

place your order. Using catalogs will save you online 

charges because you won't spend all your computer time 

looking for that perfect gift. 

Now that you know what you're looking for, grab a 

piece of paper, a pen, your charge card, and any address 

information you might need if you're buying a gift for 

someone else. Turn on your computer and log on to your 

favorite telecommunications service. CompuServe has the 

most variety, but the other services also have tempting 

wares, and new shops show up all the time. After you've 

found the mall, look for an index to the stores. 

Let's say, for example, that you've decided to get a 

book for your friend who lives in another state. You can lo 

cate the bookstores by looking through an index organized 

by categories. Or, if you know the store where you want to 

shop, you can often look for it in an alphabetical list or 

even perform a search. 

Once you're in the bookstore, peruse the collection. 

You might find prices listed with the titles, but sometimes 

you must ask for more detailed information to get the 

price. Ordering and paying for a book or any other item is 

a menu-driven process. Type in all the pertinent infor 

mation—everything from title and quantity to your billing 

APRIL 1989 41

address and shipping addresses. Up to this point, you 

haven't committed to buying anything. The service will ask 

you to check the information and to verify your purchase, 

and you'll be given a confirmation number, which you'll 

use if you need to check on the order later. Once you leave 

the store, your order is final. 

Now, just sit back and wait for the package to arrive. 

Caveat 

Emptor 

What happens if you order a cashmere sweater and Brooks 

Brothers' idea of size 9 is different from yours, or the dyedin-the-wool 

blue doesn't match the dyed-in-your-imagina 

tion blue? Can you return unsatisfactory purchases? 

While the electronic malls don't guarantee satisfaction, 

many of the merchants do. Shops usually have an "About 

Our Store" section where you can find payment and return 

policies. You can also contact the merchant if you have 

problems with your purchase. It's especially important to 

check on these policies before you order anything because 

the shops aren't required to provide guarantees. 

Also, check on shipping and handling charges. They 

aren't standard from merchant to merchant, and these hid 

den costs can boost the price of items you want to buy. 

What's the Catch? 

The selection is good, shopping is easy, the prices are fair, 

and many stores guarantee their products. So why would 

you ever go shopping in a real mall again? For one thing, 

you can't window-shop in an online mall; there isn't any 

thing to see through the windows. Malls without walls rely 

on text to convey product information, so you really need 

to know what you're looking for before you log on. You 

definitely should avoid buying products you don't know 

much about. Remember the sweater that didn't fit? If all 

you know about a cashmere sweater is what you read in the 

Prodigy: Ahead of Its Time 

Paying for connect time is probably the number 1 drawback to 

shopping online, so the Prodigy network is to be commended 

for its progressive service. Created by Sears and IBM, the Prod 

igy telecommunications service charges a $9.95 monthly fee for 

time spent online. 

Besides online shopping, Prodigy offers many of the stand 

ard telecommunications service features: electronic mail, advice 

columns, financial services, and national news. 

What makes Prodigy different from the other services is its 

terminal software, which you install on your IBM PC through a 

simple but time-consuming procedure. The benefit of Prodigy's 

packaging is its impressive onscreen color graphics. Instead of 

plain text, each shop is represented by a colorful logo running 

along the top of the screen. You're not getting any more infor 

mation than you would get from any other online mall, but Prod 

igy is more attractive. 

The service is only available for IBM PCs and compatibles 

right now (look for a Macintosh version soon). This means your 

membership isn't portable; you can't log on from your Uncle 

Ralph's Amiga. You can, however, log on from his PC as long 

as you have your installation software with you. 

Unfortunately, Prodigy is confined to a few areas: parts of 

Connecticut, parts of California, and Atlanta. So the inexpensive 

$9.95 monthly charge is offset by long distance charges for 

those who live outside those areas. When Prodigy becomes 

more widely available, it could be a real boon to computer 

shoppers. 

Telecommunications 

Services 

CompuServe 

P.O. Box 20212 

Columbus, OH 43220 

(800) 848-8199 

(614) 457-0802 in Ohio 

Delphi 

3 Blackstone St. 

Cambridge, MA 02139 

(800) 544-4005 

(617) 491-3393 in 

Massachusetts 

GEnie 

General Electric Information 

Services 

401 N. Washington St 

Rockville, MD 20850 

(800) 638-9636 

Prodigy 

Prodigy Services 

500 S. Broad St. 

Meriden, CT 06450 

(800) 759-8000 

The Source 

Source Telecomputing 

1616 Anderson Rd. 

McLean, VA 22102 

(800) 336-3366 

(703) 821-6666 in Virginia and 

outside the United States 

store's menu, you're taking a chance that you'll get some 

thing you didn't expect. But you don't have to see a CD of 

Beethoven's Eighth Symphony before you buy it, so an 

electronic store is probably just as safe a gamble as your lo 

cal record shop. 

Another drawback to online shopping is the connecttime 

expense. GEnie, which is a fairly inexpensive tele 

communications service, charges about $5.00 per hour at 

night. Even if you must pay for parking at your nearest 

mall, it probably doesn't cost $5.00 per hour. If it does, 

make one more trip to the shopping center and buy a 

modem. 

Some shops offer free connect time, especially during 

the winter holidays. Look for these specials as you meander 

through the mall because they'll save you a lot of money. 

Things to 

Come 

Right now there's no good way to avoid the cost of wander 

ing around the electronic mall. In the future, businesses 

may create their own services and let you log on for free to 

place orders from their catalog or just to browse. 

With more powerful microcomputers and higherresolution 

monitors, you may one day be able to see the ac 

tual products onscreen. With the addition of 3-D graphics, 

high-quality sound, and a hypermedia interface, online 

shopping could impart more information than paper cat 

alogs. Imagine a men's shirt displayed in color on your 

computer screen. Position the cursor over the neck of the 

shirt and press Return; the computer lets you enter your 

neck size. Select the front pocket and the computer shows 

you a close-up of the careful stitching. Request other colors. 

Request care instructions. 

Someday, shopping by computer may become the 

mode of choice for those of us who were born to buy. No 

parking hassles, no crowds—just a leisurely stroll through 

electronic aisles, the jingling of coins in our pockets re 

placed by the tapping of keys on our keyboards. That day is 

still to come; right now, it's still an expensive way to shop.B 

Heidi E. H. Aycock is an assistant editor with COMPUTE! who loves 

to shop any way she can. 

42 COMPUTE!

Lyco Computer 

Marketing & Consultants 

Air Orders Processed Within 24 Hours. 

MONITORS 

MODEMS 

Magnavox 

BM7652 $84.95 

Gold Star 

2105 G Composite $79.95 

NEC 

Multisync GS $189.95 

Avatex 

1200e $69.95 

Hayes 

Smafimodem 300 $139.95 

BM7622 $84.95 

7BM-623 579.95 

CM8702 $179.95 

CM6762 $239.95 

8CM-515 $259.95 

9CM-053 $339.95 

2105 A Composite S79.95 

1410 CGAH* $219.95 

1420 EGA 14* $329.95 

1430 VGA 14" $389.95 

1440 Superscan $475.95 

Multisync II S5B9.95 

MuHisync + S899.95 

Multisync XL $2699.95 

1200iPCCard $65.95 

1200p $89.95 

1200hc Modem $89.95 

2400 $149.95 

2400i II PC Card $129.95 

Smafimodem 1200 .... $279.95 

Smartmodem 2400 .... $419.95 

Smanmodem1200B. $279.95 

Smartmodem 2400B. $419.95 

9CM-082 $439.95 

PRINTERS 

PRINTERS 

Seikosha 

SP Series Ribbon ... $7.95 

SP 1600Ai 

$185.95 

SP1200AS 

RS232 

SL80AI 

SKSOOOAi 

SK3005AJ 

SL130Ai 

MP5420FA 

SPB 10 

Brother 

$189.95 

$329.95 

$359.95 

$445.95 

$599.95 

$999.95 

. $CALL 

HR20 $345.95 

M1709 $439.95 

M1724L $569.95 

HR40 $599.95 

HR60 $699.95 

Twinwrrter 6 Dot & 

Daisy $899.95 

Atari, C-64, A IBM 

Intorfwcos Available 

Star Micronics 

NX-1000 

$169.95' 

NX-1000C 

(64C) 

$169.95' 

NX-1000 Colot . $225.95' 

NX-IOOOCCotof 

(64C) 

$229.95' 

NX-15 $299.95 

NX-2400 $299.95 

NR-10 $319.95 

NR-15 $419.95 

NB24-10 24Pin .. $419.95 

NB24-1S24Pin .. $545.95 

NB-1S24 Pin $669.95 

Laser 8 $1759.95 

'limited quantities 

Toshiba 

321SL $449.95 

341 SL $599.95 

351 SX 400 cps . $899.95 

Citizen 

120 D $137.95* 

180 D $159.95 

MSP-40 $279.95 

MSP-15E $329.95 

MSP-50 $369.95 

MSP-45 S389.95 

Tribute 124 $399.95 

MSP-55 $459.95 

Premiere 35 $499.95 

Tribute 224 $589.95 

'with interface cable 

Epson 

NX-2400 

Star* 

Superior 24 pin performance 

Is now a luxury you can afford. 

With 170 cps draft and 57 cps 

letter quality mode, your 

document needs are quickly 

$169 

taken care of. Add Star's paper 

parking feature, variety of print 

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dented 24 pin performance at 

a price you can afford. 

$299 95 

LX800 $185.95 

LQ5O0 $305.95 

FX850 $339.95 

EX600 $369.95 

FX1050 $439.95 

LQ850 $529.95 

LQ1050 $739.95 

FX5000 $1399.95 

Star's answer to 9 pin dot 

matrix printers. A soft touch 

control panel and Star's paper 

park feature solves your munidocument 

needs. 144 cps draft 

and 36 cps NLO give you high 

resolution 9 pin performance 

in an affordable package From 

Star. 

Okidata 

Okimate20 $129.95 

Okimate 20 

w/cart $189.95 

182 S209.95 

180 $219.95 

1B2+ $225.95 

183 $239.95 

320 S337.95 

292 w/intertace ... $449.95 

321 $469.95 

390 $479.95 

293 w interlace ... $585.95 

391 $649.95 

294 w interface ... $814.95 

393 $955.95 

Lasers 

$CALL 

Printar Ribbons Avatltbt* 

NX-1000 

1-800-233-8760 PAGE 

1 OF 4 

Panasonic 

10801 Model II .... SCALL' 

1091i Model II .... SCALL' 

1180 $179.95 

1191 $245.95 

3131 S2B9.95 

1092i $299.95 

1124 $319.95 

1592 S375.95 

1595 $429.95 

1524 24 Pin $549.95 

Fax Partner $579.95 

Optical Scanner.. $859.95 

KXP4450 

Laser $1399.95 

'quantities limited 

Csblea A Connection* 

For All Applicillont 

CITIZEN 

If you are seeking world 

renowned printer performance 

for your home, look no further 

than the 120D. Your data 

processing needs are handled 

quickly at a print speed of 120 

cps (draft) or 25 cps (NLO). 

The 120D features 9 pin dot 

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$137 

Turn page for more specials.

CM8762 

17% Larger Screen Than 

Standardly Monitors 

RGB TTL (CGA) 

Composite Video Inputs 

640X 240 Resolution 

Green Text Display Switch 

Audio Input 

Bultt-ln TiH Stand 

One-Year Limtled Warranty 

■LASER 128 

Built-in 128KRAM 

Built-in 5V* Drive 

Buitt-in Parallel Port 

Built-in Mouse,'Joystick Port 

High Res. Graphics 

Apple 



MAGNAVOX 

Compatible 

COMMODORE 

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• 128K Std. 

■ 3 Mode Operation 

1-64: Runs 64 

software. 2-C128: 

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for Increased 

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3-CPM: Uses 

Standard com titles 

$239 95 Attention 

Educational 

Institutions: 

MAGNAVOX 

8P Seagate 

Composite Video 

ST138R30Meg 

Internally Mounted 

Card 

• Premounted on its own 

Controller Card 

• EZ Slot Installation 

(app. 10 min.) 

Office Automation/; 

KXP4450 

Laser 

Partner 

900 Dots ol Resolution 

Anti-Glare CRT Face 

Line Level Audio Input 

One-Year Limited Warranty 

$329 

if you are not currently using 

our educational service 

program, please call our 

representatives for details. 

BM7622 

Amber Monitor 

95 

95 

20-30-49 meg drives available! 

95 

$1399 

Special Purchase 

Move your business n the 

laser age with Panasonic. 

512K memory comes 

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print speed makes it the 

fastest in its class. Panasonic's 

laser technology and 2-year 

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CITIZEN 

$589 95 

Cables Optional 

■LASER 128 

Take a look at the Laser 126 

Apple-compatible computer, 

and beginning with its buiti-in 

disk drive and 128K RAM of 

memory, you start to feel that 

this machine was designed 

with you in mind. 

$379 95 

I200e 

Modem 

Auto/manual Originate or 

Answer 

Auto Speed Select in 

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RS-232C Interface 

2-Year Warranty 

150 cps Draft 

29cpsNLQ 

Graphics Capability 

Built-in Pull Tractor 

180-D 

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Apple llc-lle 

Compatible 

$10 off any Item Purchased 

With Laser 128! 

TOSHIBA 

3.5 Floppy Drive 

• IBM PC XT/AT Compatible 

• 720 K 

• 3.5' DSDD 

• Universal Installation Kit 

Included 

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95 

See complete listings under Toshiba Drives. 

Panasonic, $179 95 

KXP1180 

1-800-233-8760 

/n, 

Announcing ihe Panasonic 

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Avatex 

$6995 

PCs & ACCESSORIES 

Laser Compact XTE 640K $539.95 

User Turbo XT Model II $629.95 

Vendex vTl-33-XT $699.95 

Vendex VTI-55-AT S1139.95 

Sharp PC 4502 51149.95 

Sharp 4521 S1949.95 

BCC CG ColorCard $94.95 

ATI VIP $299.95 

SP Seagate hard drives 

5.25' Half Heights 

ST225 20 meg 65msec MFM .. $219.95 

ST225N 20 meg SCSI $294.95 

ST238R 30 meg RLL $234.95 

ST251 40 meg 40 msec MFM . $339.95 

ST251-140 meg 28 msec MFM. S419.95 

ST277R65meg40msecRLL. $369.95 

3.5' 

ST125 20 meg 40 msec MFM . $235.95 

ST125N20megSCSI $299.95 

ST136R 30 meg RLL $249.95 

ST138N30megSCSI $334.95 

ST157H 49 meg FILL $399.95 

ST157N 4S meg SCSI $445.95 

SMgata Internal Cardi 

ST125 20 meg Internal Card ... $299.95 

ST157R 49 meg Internal Card . $485.95 

TOSHIBA 

drives 

5V.' 360 KB PC/XT Compatible 

ND-04D £69.95 

3V;." 720 KB PC/XT Compatible 

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HARDWARE 

64C Computer $149.95 

C128D Computer/Drive S429.95 

1541 II Disk Drive $179.95 

1581 Disk Drive $187.95 

Excel FSD-2+ C64 Drive $139.95* 

1802C Monitor 

$1B9.95 

1064 Monitor $279.95 

CI351 Mouse $36.95 

1764 RAM C64 $117.95 

Cott PC $669.95 

Call for system pricing. 

■Limited Quantities 

JT//LASER128 

Compatible wKh Apple Software. 

Laser 128 EX $419.95 

Laser External 5vi Drive S119.95 

Laser External 3vb BOOK Drive . $199.95 

Two Slot Expansion Box $44.95 

Laser 128/EX Mouse $55.95 

We carry a full line of 

laser accessories. 

PAGE 

2 OF 4

Out perform the conventional 

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$629 95 

VENDEX 

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• Parallel Printer Port 

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6 Total Empty Slots 

135 Watt Power Supply 

MS-DOS Version 3.3 

GW-Basic 

Easy Working Writer (Word 

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When deciding upon 

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95 

PC-4521 $1949.95 

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PPC 640-2 $859.95 

Step Into a new era of 

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TOSHIBA 

Pick up on the T-1000 and you'll go 

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$669 95 

PC1640 DDC 

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95 

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#CITIZEN 

World class competition in an 

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Drive 

Parallel Printer Port 

RS232 Serial Port 

Clock Calendar with Battery 

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101 Key Keyboard 

EGA Graphics Adaptor 

$1179 

Monitor Optional 

95 

5 Total Empty Slots 

200 Watt Power Supply 

MS-DOS Version 3.3 

GW-Basic 

Easy Working Writer (Word 

Processor by Spinnaker) 

PAGE 

3 OF 4 

Turn page for more specials.



Price Guarantee 

Since 1981, we have led the industry by 

continuing to offer the lowest national prices 

while providing quality service. Many companies 

have come and gone trying to imitate our quality 

and service. If by some oversight we do not 

have the lowest prices advertised on the products 

you desire, then we would appreciate the 

opportunity to rectify this oversight. 

ES3 

_- 

Sates: 1-800-233-6760 or 717-494-1030 

Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m.to 8:00 p.m. 

Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

Customer Service: 717-494-1670 

Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Fax:717-494-1441 

Why shop at Lyco Computer? 

Lyco Computer is one of. if no! the largest, and most established firms to provide only quality name brand 

compiler products at prices 30% to 50% below retail. We've set many industry standards, and we are setting the 

pace for many more in the future. Our standards include: a separate department for customer service; a price 

guarantee; guaranteed factory fresh merchandise; diverse payment and shipping policies, including a C.O.D. policy 

which allows customers to have products in their hands before paying anything. Selection places Lyco at the 

forefront of the industry. Due to our in-stock volume, we cannot advertise all of our products. II you do not see the 

product you want advertised, call Lyco Marketing toll free. 

How do I know 1 will get the product I need? 

Our marketing staff is well-educated in the compuler industry. They receive continuous formal training by our 

manufacturers which enables them to develop and maintain a high degree of expertise on the products they 

represent. Though our strict guarantee on providing only new merchandise prohibits free trial periods and a 

guaranlee on compatibility, a weafth of knowledge is available !o our customers to help wtth the purchasing 

decision. As thousands of people every week capitalize on our savings and services, we hope you too, will make 

Lyco Computer your first choice. 

What about warranty or service? 

We decided several years ago that a Cuslomer Service Department was needed in the Industry. Unfortunately, few 

of our competitors offer this service. Our Customer Service Department Is available al (717) 494-1670 to provide 

assistance in all warranty matters. Our product line enjoys "name brand recognition," and we back all of our 

manufacturer's stated warranty terms. Many manufacturers will allow defective products to be exchanged. Before 

returning any item that appears to be defective, we ask that you call our Customer Service Department to assist 

you in determining if the product is defective. If the product is determined defective, they will give you a special 

authorization number and speed processing of your order. 

Will you rush an Item to me? 

Since 1981, we have set the standard in the industry by processing orders within 24 hours — not 4 lo 6 weeks. 

We offer next day air, two day air, standard UPS, and postal international shipping services. Our records show we 

fill 95% of our orders dairy. Temporary shortages are normally filled within 10 days. If an order cannot be filled 

within 60 days, we refund your money in full, unless you choose to wait for the order and benefit from the price 

savings. Any time prior to shipment, you may cancel or change the out of stock product by contacting our 

Customer Service representatives. 

How do I order? 

Send your order to Lyco Computer. P.O. Box 5088, Jersey Shore. PA. 17740. Or, call 1-800-233-8760 or (717) 

494-1030. We provide lour payment methods. We have always accepted C.O.D. orders through UPS. Prepaid 

orders over S50 are stopped freighl-free in continental U.S. For orders under S50. please add S3 lor freighl. Orders 

prepaid by a certified check or money order are shipped immediately. Personal and company checks require a 4 

week waiting period prior to shipping. Visa and Master Card orders are accepted lor your convenience, but we 

cannot pass along (he 4% discount offered lor cash. Pnces advertised are cash prices. Purchase orders arB 

accepted from Educational Institutions. We only charge sales tax on items delivered in Pennsylvania. For APO, 

FPO. and international orders, please add S5 plus 3% for priority mail. Advertised prices and availability are subject 

to change. No! responsible for typographical errors. 

AATARI 

COMMODORE 

COMMODORE 

Might S Magic $27.95 

Print Shop $34.95 

Jet Fighter $28.95 

Epyi: 

California Games $22.95 

Print Magic $32.95 

4x4 Off Road Racing .. $22.95 

Sporting News 

Baseball $22.95 

Universal Military 

Simulator $28.95 

Mfcretaagut: 

Microleag. Baseball $22.95 

GM Disk $16.95 

Stat Disk $13.95 

88 Team Dish $11.95 

Gunship $28.95 

Gauntlet $22.95 

AfiCMt: 

Triple Pack $11.95 

Balance of Power II S27.95 

Leader Bd. Double Pk. .. S9.99 

Origin: 

Uitima IV $34.95 

Prin! Shop $26.95 

Ultima V $34.95 

Graphic Lib. I, II. Ill. ea.$l4.95 

Strategic Simulation* 

Heroes of the Lance ... $25.95 

C|jMhU. 

Lode Runner 

Silent Service 

$9.95 

S19.95 

Jet Simulator $30.95 

F-15 Strike Eagle $19.95 

Western Europe 

Scenery Disk $14.95 

Gauntlet $20.95 

Infiltrator $17,95 

WordwriterPC $27.95 

Origin: 

PC Quintet $49.95 

Autoduel S24.95 

Partner PC S22.95 

Uitima IV S34.95 

Publish It $99.95 

CALL FOR 

ATARI ST. LISTINGS 

jCipplG Call for Apple Listings 

ACC*M: 

Echelon $25.95 

Mach128 $28.95 

WW. Cl. Leader Brd. ... $22.95 

LastNlnja $19.95 

Might 8 Magic $22.95 

Maniac Mansion $19.95 

Paperclip 111 $31.95 

Bariwfey Sottwortu: 

Geofile64 $29.95 

Geos64 $35.95 

Geos 128 $39.95 

Geowrite 128 $39.95 

Berkeley TriPak $29.95 

Brodwtound: 

Print Shop $26.95 

Graphic Lib. 1.2.3 ... ea.$14.95 

Electronic Arts: 

Jordan vs. Bird S19.95 

Epyx: 

Fastload $22.95 

California Games S22.95 

4x4 Off Road Racing .. $22.95 

Mindroll $22.95 

UNcroproM: 

Airborne Ranger $22.95 

F-15 Strike Eagle $19.95 

Pirates $22.95 

Stealth Fighter $22.95 

Red Storm Rising $23.95 

Origin: 

Ultima IV $34.95 

Springboard: 

Newsroom $19.95 

Certificate Maker $14.95 

Strategic ShroArtorui: 

Pool of Radiance $25.95 

Tbrwworfca: 

Swittcalc 128 $27.95 

Wordwriter3 $22.95 

5-1/4 Diskettes Joysticks 

Disk f4otcher $5.95 

SSDD $7.95 

DSDD $8.95 

Bonus: 

SSDD $5.95 

DSDD $6.95 

SKC: 

DSDD $6.95 

DSHD $13.95 

Xkfex: 

DSDD $4.95 

3.5 

Maxell: 

SSDD $11.50 

DSDD $17.95 

Bonui: 

SSDD $10.95 

DSDD $13.95 

VertwHm: 

SSDD $12.95 

DSDD $18.95 

Xldex: 

DSDD $12.95 

SKC: 

SSDD _ $9.95 

DSDD $13.99 

Tac3 $9.95 

Tac2 $10.95 

Tac5 $12.95 

Tac 1 + IBM/AP $26.95 

Slik Stick $6.95 

Black Max $10.95 

Boss $11.99 

3-Way $19.99 

Buthandle $16.75 

1-800-233-8760 PAGE 

4 OF 4 

Winner 909 $24.95 

WicolBMMP $29.95 

Lipstic Plus $14.95 

Kraft KC III Ap/PC $16.95 

Kraft PC Joystick 

Card $24.95 

Kraft Maze Master $8.95 

I Controller $13.95 

Epyx 500 XJ $13.95

•-. 

\ 

bu might use 

your car for pleasure, 

but insuring it is 

a business decision/7 

RAYMOND BURR 

S w!fliy*o» With the cost of auto 

insurance, particularly with two or more cars, you must 

make informed decisions. The right insurance company 

with the right coverages, with the proper limits at 

appropriate rates. Those are business decisions that require 

the advice and counsel of an Independent Insurance Agent. 

We represent several fine companies.. .not just one.. .so 

you choose the right policy at the right price, with the 

right service. An Independent Agent —always a good 

business decision. 

INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENTS OF AMERICA 

...and the insurance companies they represent

Ic 

buyer's., 

= guide 

iii 

II i 

^ -5 > 

II 

illl 

5 § S I 

Telecommunications 

Software 

ill 

Want to connect your computer with others across 

the country? Want advice from experts? Want to 

shop from home or download software? Then get 

yourself some telecommunications software so you 

>|2 

o s e 

= ■* ni 

55S 

can log on to one of the hundreds of services or 

bulletin boards around the world. 

Check out your software choices in this 

gridlike comparison chart. Here, you'll find 

information about the important telecommunications 

software features—from protocols 

and terminal 

emulation to price and special requirements. In 

short, this chart lists all the details you need to 

choose the right telecommunications package. 

Caroline D. Hanlon 

n 

—i c 

■S"S 

48 C O M P U T E I

Ascom IV 

Dynamic Microprocessor 

Associates. 60 E 42nd SI, 

New York. NY 10165, (212] 

687-7115 

S19500 

IBM PC and 

companies 

256K. DOS 2.0 or later 

XMODEM, YMODEM 

XON/XOFF, Keritnl. 

AscomIV, high-speed 

transfer 

VT52, VT100, VT220, Up to 19.200 y 

Televideo 912, IBM 3101. 

and mote 

Remote operation, twill-in editor; com support (or 

com 1 -4; can be used lo create bulletin boards: 

version available that includes bulletin boards: online 

support included. 

A-Talk III 

CommumcaUons 

Program 

Oxxi, 1339 E. 281h. Long 

Beach, CA 90806. (213) 427- 

1227 

S99.00 

Amiga 

1 megabyte 

recommended 


ZMOOEM, 

WXM00EM, Kermit 

4010.4014, VT100. VT52. Up to 19.200 y 

H19, ANSI. TTY 

Sctmaps lor foreign character sets; resizable and 

scrolling butler: voice option: /Wowsuppon: over 

50 con in lands; multitasking spooler, IFF graphics 

export; voice option: recording feature; online help 

Belter Working 

Communicator 

Spinnate Software. One 

Kendall Sg. Cambridge. MA 

02139.(617)494-1200 

$29.95 

IBM PC and 

compatibles 

256K, DOS 2.1 or later, 

hard drive or 5'4-incfi 

dish 

XMODEM 

VT100. IBM 3101. Televideo 300-1200 

920 

y 

y 

n 

Macro-key capabilities: full- or split-screen option: 

adjustable terminal width. 

BrtCom 3.5 

BIT Software. 830 Hillview Ct., 

Suite 160. Milpdas.CA 95035. 

(408) 2632197 

S69.00 

IBM PC and 

compatibles 

256K. DOS 2.0 or later 

XM0OEM, XOfJ/XOFF. 

Kermit 

VT100A. V7100B, IBM 3101 Up lo 19.200 

V 

y 

y 

Support for most graphics cards with 132 columns, 

multiple-clioice selections far installation, storage lor 

32,767 names, addresses, and phone numbers. 

BLAST (Slocked 

Asynchronous 

Transmission) 

Cominumcaiicns Research 

Group. 5615 Corporate Blvd.. 

Baton Rouge. LA 70808. (504) 

923-QB88 

$250.00 IBM PC and DOS 2 lor later XMODEM. Kermil; VT52.VT100.VT220.DGC. 300-38.400 y 

compatibles advanced, full duplex O2O0. HP 2392A, ADM-3A, 

wth CRC validation Televideo 925, Dialog 80 

Translates as it communicates; overrides noise in 

lines for transmission overseas anil to mini and 

mainframe computers: creates lull-duplex link; balch 

command hies, includes recording feature. 

BLAST Communications Research 

Group, 5615 Corporate Blvd. 

Baton Rouge. LA 70808. (504) 

923-0868 

S195.00 Macintosh Plus. SE. 

II 

1 megabyte XMODEM. BLASI lullduplex 

protocol 

TTY, VT52, VT100, VT220 Up to 38.400 If y y Connecis to AppleTalk, transmits and receives 

graphics; operates under Finder; includes slave 

mode; supports multiple file transfers, overrides 

noise in lines; translates as it communicates. 

BobsTerm Fro Progressive Peripherals and 549.95/ Commodore 64 and 

Software. 464 Kalamath St.. $59.95 128 

Denver. CO 80204. (303) 825- 

4144 

XMODEM. XQN/XOFF. VT52. VT100.80ADN31 300.1200. y 

CompuServe Bin. (128 only) 2400 

Punter 

Reads from and writes to CP/M-formatted disks, 

texl-ediling capabilities; macro commands: 28K 

bufler with Commodore 64 version and 6OK bullef 

with 128 version: not copyprotected 

Carbon Copy Plus V. 5.0 Mendian Technology, 7 

Corporate Park, Suite 100, 

Irvine, CA92714.(404)390- 

9152 

S19500 IBM PC and 256K 

compatibles 

XMODEM, YMODEM, VT52, VT100.TV1920. IBM Up to 38.400 y 

Kermit 3)01 

Compiler lor terminal emulation; remote control 

mode, background file transfer: universal graphics 

support. 

The Communicator Free Spirit, 58 Noble St., 

Kulztown.PA 19530, (215) 

683-5609 

S29.95 Commodore 64 XMODEM VT52 300-2400 Menu-driven; user-defined paramelers; optional 

macro keys; online help; DOS-commands menu, fileconversion 

utilities: graphics capabilities; 40-, 64-. or 

BO-coIumn display on the Commodore 64; online 

help. 

Crosstalk Mk.4V.1.1 Crosstalk/Digital 

Communications Associates. 

1000 Holcomb Woods Pkwy., 

Roswell.GA 30076. (404) 998 

3998 

S24500 IBM PC and 

compatibles 

256K XMODEM, YMODEM, VT52, VT100, VT101. 

ZMODEM. Kermn. VT102, VT220. and more 

Crosstalk. Quick B t . 

FAST 

Up to 115,200 y Fifteen separate, simultaneous communications 

sessions: lull-featured programming language called 

CASL (Crosstalk Application Script Language). 

Crosstalk XVIV. 3.7 Crosstalk/Digital 

Communications Associates, 

1000 Holcomb Woods Pkwy., 

Roswcll, GA 30076, (404) 998 

3998 

S! 95.00 IBM PC and 

compatibles 

256K XMODEM and a variety Most popular terminals 

of popular protocols 

Up to 115.200 y y Background communications, pathname suppori. 

command-I me editor: support ol Remote?, also Ifom 

Crosstalk; compaiible with Microsoft Windows; 

upgrade to version 3.7 available for $30. 

Aegis Development. 2115 Pico 

Blvd.. Santa Monica, W 

90405.(213)392-9972 

$79.95 Amiga 5I2K and Kickslart 1.2 XMODEM. YMODEM. VT5Z VT100, TTY, 

CompuServe B. Tektronix 4014, ANSI 

DoubleTalk 

Up to 19,200 y Macro keys; password protection, Aegis' DoubleTalk 

file Iranster capability for chat mode. 

Dr. Term Professional Progressive Peripherals and 

Software, 464 Kalamath St., 

Denver. CO 80204, (303) 8Z5- 

4144 

S99.95 Amiga 512K XMODEM, YMODEM. VT52. VT100. TTY. ANSI 

WXMODEM. Kermit, 

CompuServe 0 

Up lo 19.500 y y Pull down menus; answer-back capabilities. 300 

enlry phone book; command language for 

programming 40 macros 

Easy Wtorking: The 

Connector 

Spinnaker Software. One 

Kendall Sq. Cambridge. MA 

D2139. (617) 494-1200 

S9.95 

(SVt-tnch 

disk): 

S14.95 

(3'A-irrch 

disk) 

IBM PC and 

compatibles 

256K. DOS 2.0,5tt-inch XMODEM 

disk drive 

i.Vi 300-1200 y y Full- or split-screen options; support lor over 250 

pnnters;dropdown menus. 

Flash Antic Publishing, 544 Second 

St.. San Francisco. CA 94107, 

(415)957-0886 

$29.95 Atari ST XMODEM. 

CompuServe. Kermit. 

and other major 

protocols 

VT52 Up to 9600 y y Macro capabiliiies. online help; a Kermil macro 

helper available separately.

Company Computer Computer 

Requirements' 

Error-Cheeking 

Protocols 

Terminal* Emulated Baud Rales 

Supported 

(ops) 

Telephone 

Directwy 

Feature Autodial Language 

Senpt 

Features 

MacTeiminal Apple Computer. 20525 

Mariani A/e, Cupertino. CA 

95014,(408)996-1010 

$125.00 Macinlosh 128Kor512K XMODEM. XON/XOFF VT100. IBM 3278 300.1200 Simulated macros from Notepad; Macintosfi-lo- 

Macintosli Iran si er mode: free time and membership 

mitt) online services such as CompuServe, Dow 

Jones. Western Union Easylink. and The Source 

MtcroPhone 1 5 Software \tentures. 2907 

Claremont Are.. Suite 220. 

Berkeley. CA 94705, (415) 

644-3232 

£149.00 Macintosh 512K XMODEM, YM0UEM VT1O2 50-57.600 Bundled with Gtueltx desktop publishing; 

compatible wilh Multi Finder: text editor included, 

resizable screen; recording feature; complimentary 

subscriptions to The Source, GEnie, Dow Jones 

News/Retrieval Service. CompuServe, and the 

Official Airlines Guide 

Microphone II Software \femuies S295.00 Macinlosh 512K XMODEM. VMODEM, VT52. VT102 

Kermit. MacTerminal 

1 i.MacBmaryll 

50-57,600 XON/XOFF pacing, compatible wih MultiFmder; 

support lor extended keyboard, capability to run m 

tbc background: recording feature included. 

Mirror III SoltKlone Distributing. Suite 

100,327 Office Plaza Df., 

Tallahassee, FL 32301. (904) 

878-8564 

$99.95 IBM PC and 256K. DOS 2.0 or later XMODEM. YM0DEM, DEC 220, Wysfi-50.and Up lo 115,000 y 

compatibles Kermit. Crosstalk, more 

Hayes. /CT 

Compressor 

Operates completely in Ihe background; bmll-in 

IMxdStar-hka text editor; includes PRISM, a script 

language thai can be accessed while running in the 

background. 

Mi-Term 4.0 MichTron. 576 S. Telegraph 

Rd.Pontiac, Ml 48053, (313) 

334-5700 

$29.95 Atari ST; IBM PC 

and companies 

512KarxJGEM(IBM) XMODEM, YM0DEM, VT50. VT100. VT200 300-9600 y 

DFT 

Twenty-si* user definable keys; printer echo: online 

parameter changes; split windows for conferencing: 

online help 

United Software Industries. 

8399 Topanga Canyon Blvd.. 

Suite 201. Canoga Park. CA 

91304.(818)887 5800 

$99.95 Apple II and lies 128K XM0OEM. BinaryII. VT52. VT100, VT102. Upto19.200 y 

ASCII Express Tetevideo. DataMedia. IBM 

3101 

Macintosh-like user interface for lull point and Click: 

macro capabilities, full-screen editor: scroll-back 

review buffer, VT100 terminal emulation supports all 

function and application keys and reverse video 

Online! Platinum Edition Micro-Systems Software, 

12798W. Forest Hill Blvd. 

Suite 202. West Palm Beach. 

FL 33414. (407) 790-0772 

S99.95 Amiga 512K XMODEM. VT52. VT100, VT102, TTY. Up to 19.200 y 

WXM0DEM. CiS-B. Tektronix 

Quick B. HVP, Kermit 

Pulldown menus; ten definable macro keys: seven 

translation tables: multitasking capabilities: ability to 

transfer data and chat simultaneously. 

PC-Talk III Headlands. P.O. Box 8, 

$35.00 IBM PC and 

Tiburon. CA 94920. (602) 299- 

compatibles 

6296 (technical support), (415) 

435-0770 

128K XM00EM 30(1-9600 Online help available 

PC-Talk IV Headlands. PO. Box 8. 

Tiburon. CA 94920. (602) 299- 

6296 (techncal suppoft). (415) 

435-0770 

S9900 IBM PC and 192K 

compatibles 

XMOOEM VT-t00,VT52 300-9600 Optional packages available for additional tcminal 

emulation; macro capabilities: upgrade to version IV 

for S45 available to registered users of versen III 

PoinMo-Point 

Pinpomi Publishing, 5865 

$129.00 

Doyle SI. #112. Emeryville, CA 

94608,(415)654 3050 

Apple II. enhanced 

lie. IIGS 

128K. ProDOS 

XMODEM. Binary II 

VT52 

300-9600 

y 

y 

n 

Recording teature; macro capability; full-screen text 

editor; AppleWotks file -card interface; print-screen 

teature 

ProCom M 

Prometheus Products. 7225 

SW8onitaRd.,Tiard,0R 

97223, (503) 624 0571 

$49.95 

Macintosh 

512K 

XMDDEM. MacBinary 

VT52.VT100 

2400, 9600 

V 

y 

n 

ProCom M also sold as a package with the 2400M 

modem for $279 

PmComm Datastorm Technologies. P.O. 

Box 1471. Columbia. MO 

65205.(314)474 8461 

$50.00 IBM PC and 128 K 

compatibles 

XMODEM. YM0DEM. 

Ksrmit. CompuServe 

B. Telink. Modem 7. 

Windowed XMODEM 

VT52,VT100.VT102.IBM 

3101. Televideo 912. 

Televideo 920. Televideo 

925. Televideo 950. Lear 

SeglereOM 3/5. Adds 

Viewpoint. WYSE 100. 

Heath/Zenith 19. ANSI 

X364.TTY 

300-19.200 Keyboard macros, host mode: pulldown menus: 

scroll-back review buffet. 

ProComm Plus Datastorm Technologies, P.O. $89.00 

Box 1471, Columbia. MO 

65205.(314)474 8461 

IBM PC and 192K 

compatibles. PS/2 

XMODEM, YMODEM. VT52. VT100, VT102, IBM 300-115,200 

Kermit. CompuServe 3101.Telewfeo 900 series. 

B. CompuServe Quick Lear Siegler 80M 3/5. Adds 

8. Telink, Modem 7. 

Viewpoint, WYSE 100 and 

Windowed XMODEM, 50, Heath/Zerilh 19, ANSI 

Sealrnk, IMUDL-M, 

YMOOEMG 

X3.64. IBM 3270, TTY 

Proprietary scnpl language called Aspect featured: 

keyboard macros; advanced host mode; pull-down 

menus; scrollback review buffer: record mode for 

automating logon processes, remaopable keys for 

terminal emu la I ion 

ProTerm2.1 Checkmate Technology. 509 S. 

Rockford Dr. Tempe. AZ 

85281. (602)966-5802.(800) 

325-7347 

Si 29.00 Apple II. IICS, Laser 128K 

128 

XMOOEM. YMODEM. 

ZMODEM. ASCII. 

Kerml Chnstcnsan, 

Transit 

VTTOO. VT52. Televideo. 

Heath H19, Zenith 219. 

ADM-3A. and more 

110-9600 Online help with pop-up screens: batch mode, directconned 

capabilities: Autclearn recording feature. 

software also bundled with Epic Technology modem 

(BOO 634 992 or 415-683-0932)

1 

Qusck Lin^; ' Smith Micro Software, P.O. 

Box 7137. Huntmgton Beach, 

CA 92615. {714)964-04 12 

$99.00/ IBM PC and 

$149.00 compatibles: 

Macintosh 

512K.DOS2.1+(fw 

PC): 512K (for 

XMODEM, YMDDEM. Teletype. VT52. VT1D0. 

Kerml Super Kermit VT102. ANSI 

Upto 115.200 y Account and usage time lo CompuServe. Dow 

Jones, and The Source included; compatible with 

Macintosh MultiFmder. text editor: macro keys. 

Red Ryder 10.3 FreeSoft. 150 Hickory Dr.. 

Oeaver Falls. FA 15010. (412) 

846-2700 

S80.00 Macintosh, Plus, 

SE. II, and XL 

512K XMODEM, YMODEM, 

Kermit 

TTY,V752,V71QQ Up to 57.500 y Free subscription to GEme: access to FreeSoft 

Round Table; 30 macro keys; 150-command 

procedure language; recording fealure; onscreen 

time and money meters, auto rcdial; MacBinary II 

support 

Relay Gold 3.0 

Relay Communications. 41 

Kenosia toe.. Danbury. CT 

06810. (203) 798-3800. (800) 

84-RELAY 

$295,00 

IBM PC and 

compatibles, PS/2 

192K. DOS 2.0 

XMODEM, Kermit, 

Relay 

Most majw terminals and 

IBM 3270 

Up to 38.400 

y 

y 

Data compression, overnight operations; multiple 

sessions; background lite transfer; recording feature: 

online help. 

RESFOND/Async 

Software Synergy. 230 Park 

Ave., Suite 539, New York. NY 

10169, (212] 697-0360 

$129.00 

IBM PC and 

compatibles 

256K; hard disk 

recommended 

XM0OEM 

DEC ZT1000. IBM 3101, HP 

2621. TTY 

300 5bD;j 

y 

y 

y 

Online help; support for data encryption. 

SmartCom E2 

Hayes Microcomputer 

Products. P.O. Box 105203, 

Atlanta, GA 30348, (404) 449- 

8791 

S39.O0 

IBM PC and 

compatibles 

DOS 2.2-3.0 

XM00EM 

None 

300-1200 

y 

y 

n 

Keyboard macros; sold with the Hayes Personal 

Modem 1200 for $179.00; simple onscreen menus: 

online help. 

SmartCom 11 


Products, P.O. Box 105203. 

Atlanta. GA 30348. (404)449- 

8791 

S149.00 

Macintosh 

512K 

XMODEM. MacBinary. 

Hayes \tenfication 

VnM.VT102.VT52. TTY 

Up 10 9600 

y 

y 

y 

Compatible with MultiFinder: support lor Hayes 

modems, including V-senes; capability to move and 

resize windows; support for printers on AppleTalk 

network 

SmartCom 11 Version 

3.0 


Products, P.O. Box 105203, 

Atlanta. GA 30348, (404) 449- 

8791 

$149.00 

IBM PC and 

compatibles 

384K. DOS 2,0-3.3 

XMODEM, YMODEM. 

Hayes Verification 

VT52,VT1Q2.Vri00,TTY 

Up lo 9600 

y 

y 

n 

Macro keys; storage lor 26 batch-command sets; 

menu-driven. 

SmartCom III 


Products. P.O. Box 105203. 

Atlanta, GA 30348. (404) 449- 

8791 

S249.0Q 

IBM PC and 

compatibles 

512K. 80-column 

display, hard disk, DOS 

2.0-3.3 

XMODEM, YMODEM. 

Kermil 

TTY.VT5Z,VT1Q0.VT102. 

ANSI] 

Up to 38,400 

y 

y 

y 

Terminal settings separated Irom modem settings, 

editor peruse buffer; simultaneous communication 

through two com ports, online help; recording 

feature: senpt language called SCOPE. 

SpeedTerm 

Abacus Software. 5370 52nd 

St. SE, Grand Rapids, Ml 

49508, (516] 698-0330 

S29.95 

Commodore 54 and 

128 

XMODEM, Punter 

VT52 

300-1200 

y 

y 

n 

Function keys; access to DOS; batch-file capab lilies; 

Commodore 64 has 24K buffer and Commodo'e 

128has45Kbu1fer. 

Straight Talk Dow Jones. P.O. Box 300, 

Princeton. NJ 08543-0300, 

(609)520-4641.(609)520- 

4642 

$95.00 Macintosh 128K None None 300-2400 y Includes membership to the Dow Jones 

News/Retrieval service, accesses CompuServe and 

The Source; uses Notepad to click on stock choices; 

retrieves up to 30 stocks; automatically logs on lo 

the DJN/R service 

Telecom m 

Popular Programs. 6915 La 

Granada, Houston, TX 77083, 

(713)530-1195 

S59.95 

IBM PC and 

compatibles 

126K 

XMODEM. XON/XOFF 

VT52.VT100 

200-9600 

¥ 

y 

y 

Provides access to airline reservations, ticketing, and 

low fares. 

Teleworks Plus 

Aclwision, Distnbuted by 

Mediagenin, 3885 Bohannon 

Dr., MenioPark, CA 94025, 

(415)329-0800 

$99.95 

Apple IIGS 

S12K. RGB monitor 

XM00EM. ASCII, 

NONE lor character 

sets, Teleworks Plus 

X-Modem 

None 

300-9600 

V 

y 

y 

Capability to send and receive artwork and text; pull 

down menus; mouse or keyboard control; maao 

keys; online text editor; recording feature. 

Telpac 

U.S. Robotics. 8100 fJ. 

McCormick Brvd. Skokie, IL 

60076,(312)982-5244 

S99CG 

IBM PC and 

compatibles 

256K senal port 

XMODEM, ASCII. 

Modem 7 

TTY. VT52. VT100 

Up to 19.200 

y 

y 

n 

Contains Photologon to record sequences; written in 

assembler and C; ts menu-driven; logs outgoing 

calls; has remote access capabilities; includes 

windows, secunty options, and online help. 

vTXON-Lme 

MichTron. 576 S. Telegraph 

Rd.. Pontiac Ml 48053, (313) 

334-5700 

$79.95 

Amiga 

XMODEM, YMODEM, VT1 GO, 4014 

CompuServe B. Kermit 

300-9600 

y 

y 

y 

CLI-compatible capture buffer; two-window 

conferencing; recording feature: mouse-, keyboard-, 

or menu-driven; online help. 

XChange 

Commtech International. 2580 

Cumberland Pkwy. Suite 150, 

Atlanta, GA 30339. (404) 438- 

9999. (800) 678-89B8 

S149.95 

IBM PC and 

compatibles 

256K, DOS 2.0 or later 

XM0OEM. YMODEM 

None 

Up to 36,400 

n 

n 

n 

Unattended execution, encryption of data; activity 

log; customized protocols and routines. 

XChange Plus 

Commtech International, 2580 

Cumberland Pkwy.. Suite 150, 

Atlanta. GA 30339, (404) 438- 

9999. (800) 678-8988 

S24500 

IBM PC and 

compatibles 

280K. DO5 2.0 or later 


None 

Upto 115.200 

n 

n 

y 

Error-free transmission; automatic data compression, 

detailed history logs: color map to depict calls 

graphically; support of null modem; data encryption: 

online help. 

* All software packages require a computer-compatible modem and connecting cables.

COMPUTE!.. 

specific 

Immense PC 

Floppies; 64 

Rumors; Riper 

Apples; Amiga 

Antics; Mac 

Files Swapped; 

New GFA 

BASIC 

Nels Anderson got tired of 

playing games that didn't take 

advantage of his PC's EGA 

graphics, so he decided to 

write one that did. The result 

is Mah Jongg (Uete Anderson. 

92 Bishop Drive. Framingham. 

Massachusetts 01701; 

shareware—$10) a game that 

uses the classic Oriental tile 

contest to push an EGA sys 

tem to its max. 

The Mah Jongg screen 

consists of! 44 beautifully de 

tailed tiles randomly arranged 

in a classical dragon, or pyra 

mid, formation. To play the 

game, you simply find match 

ing tiles and remove them 

from the board. When you've 

removed all the tiles, you've 

won the game. 

That may sound simple, 

but winning depends on stralcgy. 

and each game has a re 

markable number of varia 

tions and subtleties. 

Whal makes Mah Jongg 

such a success is Anderson's 

attention to detail. Not only 

are the tiles exceptionally well 

designed, but the game fea 

tures full mouse support, on 

line help, an undo feature, and 

a boss key. as well as singleuser, 

multiple-user, and tour 

nament play options. In 

addition, you can customize 

the background color, the 

color of the mouse pointer (ac 

tually a tile-sized rectangle), 

and much more. 

If you get stuck and don't 

know what to do next. Mah 

Jongg offers just as much help 

as you need. Select Help and 

you'll find out whether anoth 

er move exists. If that isn't 

enough help, the program can 

show you exactly what your 

next move should be. If you've 

chosen one tile and are looking 

for the other, click on Help, 

and the program will show you 

the matching tile if one exists. 

Mah Jongg keeps track of 

the number of tiles you have 

left to piay and. on an alternate 

screen, the tiles you've already 

played. You can save games in 

progress and load them later. 

and. since each game has an 

identifying number (there are 

over 65,000 games), you can 

jot down any game's number 

and replay it to try to better 

your score. 

If you have an EGA sys- 

1cm or equivalent (MCGA or 

VGA), Mah Jongg is a visual 

feast and a mental workout. If 

you have a Hercules system, 

don't feel left oul: Anderson 

has included Hercules support 

in his newest release of Mali 

Jongg, version 3.0. 

360K and Counting 

When the PC was released in 

1981. its standard disk drive 

was a single-sided, ninesectors-per-track 

device that 

could store about I60K. 

The PC has come a long 

way since then, but floppy-disk 

storage capacity has lagged be 

hind other advances. Although 

you can now buy AT-class ma 

chines with 1.2MB 5'A-inch 

and 1.44MB 3'/:-inch drives, 

the standard floppy drive is 

still 36OK and has an average 

access time of about 270 milli 

seconds (ms). 

You may wonder why 

manufacturers simply can't 

squeeze more bits onto a disk. 

This is exactly what's hap 

pened with hard drives. Five 

years ago, 10 megabytes was 

the standard size: todav. 150- 

megabyte hard disks are be 

coming common. Things arc 

different with floppies, 

however. 

Hard drives usually con 

sist of several disks, called plat 

ters, with one head for each 

platter. The head mechanism 

can read the information on 

each cylinder—the tracks that 

are on ihe same location on 

each platter—without having 

to move. The more platters 

there are, the more infor 

mation can be read without 

moving the heads and the fast 

er the disk can read a file. If 

you've ever wondered why 

larger hard disks arc almost al 

ways faster than small ones, 

this is why: Larger disks have 

more platters and a higher cyl 

inder density. 

Because hard disks are rig 

id, they can be precision-coaied 

with superdense media, which 

means more tracks per inch, 

yielding a higher track density, 

and more bits per track, yield 

ing a higher data density. 

Floppy disks, however, 

are limited to one. nonrigid 

platter. The only way to 

squeeze more information 

onto one of these disks is to in 

crease the track density and 

the data density. Ironically, the 

smaller the disk is, the more 

rigid it can be made and the 

more accurately tracks can be 

laid out. This is why 316-inch 

disks hold more than physical 

ly larger 5'/i-inch disks—the 

3'/>inch disks are more rigid. 

Several years ago, PCs 

reached a floppy-disk storage 

limit of something over a me 

gabyte, and it looked as if ca 

pacity was going to be stuck 

there. But two companies have 

jusi announced exciting new 

supcr-high-capacity floppy 

drives that could easily revolu 

tionize the way we use our 

computers. 

Maxell has developed a 

3.2MB 5'/i-inch disk as well as 

4MB and 12.5MB 3'/>inch 

disks. Briar Technology has 

just announced two drive/disk 

combinations that hold 

21.4MB and a whopping 

52 COMPUTE!

COMPUTE! 

specific 

43.2MB. The access times of 

the Maxell disks are in the 

neighborhood of 200 ms, but 

Briar's 43.2MB model clocks 

in at 29 ms—an excellent ac 

cess time fora multiplatter 

hard disk and an almost unbe 

lievable time for a floppy. 

The prices for these highcapacity 

drives should start at 

around $1,000, with disk 

prices ranging from $6 for the 

3.2MB Maxell disks lo $30 for 

Briar's 43.2MB media. 

Power Pak 

A PC power system needs 

three things: a disk cache, a 

print spooler, and a ramdisk. 

A disk cache really moves a 

hard disk into the fast lane. A 

ramdisk just can't be beat for 

liglilning-fast file access. And 

when it comes to freeing your 

machine while it's printing, 

nothing saves you like a print 

spooler. 

These llirec RAM-based 

system enhancers have one 

thing in common: The more 

RAM thev use. the better they 

work. 

Bui choosing how to allo 

cate scant RAM resources 

among these software devices 

is an almost impossible task. 

Do you simply divide your 

available RAM evenly among 

them? That probably won't 

give you maximum per 

formance because the disk 

cache will get the most use, fol 

lowed by either the ramdisk or 

the print spooler, depending 

on your needs. No matter what 

type of allocation system you 

come up with, most of the 

time your print spooler will 

just be sitting there taking up 

space and electricity. And, de 

pending on how you use your 

system, the same probably 

goes fora big chunk of the 

memory allocated lo your 

ramdisk. 

Multisoft has the answer 

lo the cache/print-spooler/ 

ramdisk dilemma with PC- 

Kwik Power Pak (Multisofl. 

15100 SW Koll Parkway, Suite 

L, Bcaverton. Oregon 97006; 

503-644-5644: $ 129.95), a sys 

tem enhancement that man 

ages your PCs memory and 

dynamically allocates RAM 

for the print spooler and ram 

disk from the cache. When 

you're not using the print 

spooler, all its memory can be 

dedicated to the cache. Like 

wise, if you don't need the 

ramdisk, its memory can be 

used by the cache—or by ex 

tension, by the print spooler. 

Power Pak uses conventional, 

expanded, or extended 

memory'. 

The cache memory man 

ager is a TSR program that 

lakes about 60K of conven 

tional memory; the amount of 

memory used by the print 

spooler and ramdisk depend 

on the options selected for 

each. All programs work com 

pletely transparently, manag 

ing your memory while you go 

about your computing as 

usual. 

But Power Pak doesn't 

stop there. Also included are a 

keyboard accelerator and a 

screen-boost utility. The screen 

boost has a feature that lets 

you recall pasl screens and. 

like that of the ramdisk and 

print spooler, its memory is 

dynamically allocated from the 

cache. 

If you're planning to buy a 

new PC, there's a chance Power 

Pak will be bundled with your 

new micro: Computers by 

AST. Hewletl-Packard. Dell, 

GRiD. and Cordala now in 

clude PC-Kwik Power Pak, and 

the software also comes with 

Intel's Inboard 386 and Plus 

Development's Hardcard 40. 

— Clifton Kames 

Two rumors come from the 

Commodore camp this time 

around. The first predicts a 

Commodore 64D. which 

would be packaged like a 

128D. (The 128D's mother 

board, power supply, and 1571 

disk drive are built into a sepa 

rate console: its keyboard and 

monitor arc separate.) The sec 

ond rumor suggests a fullfledged 

Commodore 64 

emulation for the Amiga. Two 

Amiga products already exist 

that emulate the 64. but nei 

ther is particularly impressive. 

This one would be an add-on 

card for the Amiga 2000 and 

would include a port for a 

1541 drive. 

Like other rumors con 

cerning Commodore's 64, 

these are probably idle. The 

64D idea would be more via 

ble if the Commodore 64 were 

still used extensively for home 

or small-business productivity. 

The 64 emulator for the Amiga 

would be useful only if Amiga 

software were still scarce. 

Ancient Future 

PSS. licensed by DataSoft and 

distributed in turn by Elec 

tronic Arts (! 820 Gateway 

Drive, San Mateo, California 

94404:415-571-7171). has re 

leased two new war games for 

the Commodore 64/128. An 

nals ofRome ($24.95) simu 

lates the rise and fall of the 

Roman Empire, from 273 B.C. 

through the fifth century A.D.; 

and b'ireZone ($24.95) lets you 

fighi twenty-first-century colo 

nial wars. Both are designed 

with the hisiorical-gamc fan in 

mind. 

The map for A nnals of 

Rome represents the ancient 

world in 28 regions, extending 

from Acgyplus and Judaea in 

the southeast to Britannia in 

the northwest. As the ruling 

body of the Roman senate in 

273 B.C.. you establish the Im 

perial stralcgy, send leaders 

into the fight, arrange for new 

rulers in Rome when they're 

needed, and soon. 

The game is purely strate 

gic, with a host of conditions 

to keep you on your toes: infla 

tion, decreased popularity, and 

the declining population. Then 

you have to worry about mak 

ing sure the right leader is in 

charge of the right territory. 

You even have to decide 

whether you want to start a re 

bellion. There are foreign wars 

and civil wars, as well. In other 

words, it'sjust like good old 

Rome. 

FireZone depicts tactical 

combat between the European 

League and the Pacific Com 

bine in 2160 A.D. Also in the 

futuristic picture are the Unit 

ed African States and Islam, a 

collection of Arab-based pow 

ers. The game comes with nine 

scenarios. First Blood is an in 

troductory game; Surprise At 

tack and Final Conflict 

increase the complexity. The 

other six advance from there, 

and once you get through all 

these, you can design more. 

FireZone features seven types 

of terrain and seven types of 

combat units. The units in 

clude infantry with plasma ar 

mor and X14 nuclear rifles; 

nova guns; striders. machines 

much like the Star Wars walk 

ing assault vehicles; grav 

tanks, a son of armored hover 

craft; heavy tanks: and levia 

thans, powerful tanks. 

Movement is by hexagon, and 

combat is simple lo execute 

but difficult to survive. 

Yet Another Jet 

From Absolute Entertainment 

(distributed by Mediagcnic, 

3885 Bohannon Drive, Mcnlo 

Park. California 94025; 415- 

329-0500) comes F-iS Home! 

($34.95), a one-player flight 

simulator. Here you take com 

mand of a Navy F-18/A jet 

and execute a series of increas 

ingly complex missions. The 

introductory mission is tough 

enough to complete, but by the 

time you master the tenth mis 

sion you can rightly call your 

self a Top Gun. 

Each time you fly, your 

score is based on whether or 

not you've completed the mis 

sion, the number of targets 

you've destroyed, the condi 

tion of your jet. how many dif 

ficult maneuvers you've flown, 

and how well you landed on 

the deck of an aircraft carrier. 

As in most flight simula 

tors, you look out from the 

cockpit. Controlling your jet 

with the joystick, you learn to 

taxi, take off, land, and fire 

missiles. A nice option lets you 

fly around without worrying 

about the enemy. 

Flying is unusual in that 

APRIL 1989 S3

COMPUTE!. _ 

specific 

you can't turn around until 

you reach your destination. It 

can be an island, a carrier, or 

an airstrip. 

Certainly not an easy 

game to master. F-18 Hornet 

offers something different in 

the line of flight simulators for 

the 64/128. 

Q-Link Games Grow 

Q-Link. the 64/128-specific 

telecommunications service, 

has added two new games to 

its repertoire: Boxes, which 

was previewed November 

1988. should be running fulltime 

by now. Quad 64 made 

its debut in January. 

Boxes is the old dots 

game. Most of us played the 

game as kids, trying to join the 

dots and eventually close the 

boxes. Win boxes by closing 

them, and win the game by 

closing the most boxes. In the 

Q-Link version, two players 

compete in realtime by 

modem. 

Quad 64 is threedimensional 

ttc-tac-toe. 

Each of four boards has a 

4X4 grid. The object is to fill 

in four consecutive squares— 

vertically, horizontally, diago 

nally, or across the four boards. 

Try it once and find out how 

tied to two-dimensional gam 

ing you are. 

Both games must be 

downloaded to your Q-Link 

games disk before you can play 

them. For information, con 

tact QuantumLink. 8620 

Westwood Center Drive. Vien 

na. Virginia 22180; (800) 392- 

8200. or(703)883-0788 in 

Canada. 

Long-Playing Roles 

Three notable role-playing 

products have found their way 

to the shelves. If you like com 

puter role-playing games, 

you'll like all of these. 

After what seems an eter 

nity since its release of the pro 

gram for the Amiga. Micro- 

Illusions (17408 Chatswonh 

Street. Granada Hills. Califor 

nia 91344; 800-522-2041) has 

finally ported The Faery Tale 

Adventure to the 64/128. Faery 

Tale ($49.95) offers a graphi 

cally stunning overhead view 

of a large, rich fantasy world in 

which you direct three broth 

ers through their individual 

quests. The game works with 

either keyboard or mouse; the 

mouse is better. 

Faery Tale is a very fine 

game with a very big problem. 

Even on the Amiga version, 

disk access is frequent and an 

noying; on the 64/128. it's 

more frequent and far, far 

slower. Speed-up cartridges 

don't seem to help (I tried 

Warp Speed and Fast Load), 

and the game, unfortunately, 

does not use the 1571 's burst 

mode. The game is still enjoy 

able, but playing it requires 

even more dedication than is 

usual fora role-playing game. 

Death lord ($29.95). from 

Electronic Arts (1820 Gateway 

Drive. San Matco. California 

94404; 415-571-7171), is par 

ticularly welcome because it 

deals with Japanese, rather 

than European, mythology. 

Races include Human. Toshi 

(good magic users). Kobito {a 

dwarflike race). Gnome, 

Obake (a hobbitlike race). 

Troll, and Ogre. The rich as 

sortment of character classes is 

comprised of Senshi (merce 

naries), Ansatsusha (assassins), 

Genkai (illusionists). Kishi 

(good guys). Mahotsukai (spell 

casters). Ronin (head bashers), 

Yabanjin (primitives), and. of 

course. Samurai. 

In Deathlord, you and 

your party must defeat the evil 

power loose in the world of 

Lorn. Six adventurers can join 

the party, but each character 

needs money for goods and 

equipment. There are objects 

to be found, dungeons to be 

explored, magic spells to be 

learned—the whole bit. This is 

a strong game, with its Japa 

nese emphasis especially 

appreciated. 

Mars Saga ($34.95), also 

from Electronic Arts, is a 

science-fiction role-playing 

game that takes piace on Mars 

in the not-too-distant future. 

Like Deathlord, Mars Saga is 

party-oriented. It also features 

a good tactical battle system. 

Your goal is to find out 

what happened to Proscenium, 

the mining outpost destined to 

be Mars' largest city. Contact 

with the oulpost has been lost, 

and vou must brave the Mar 

tian environment in an at 

tempt to find out why. Another 

rich and lengthy game, Mars 

Saga makes good use of the 

64's graphics without accessing 

the 1541 drive too often. 

— Nell Randall 

Now may be the time to get 

the family another Apple 11 

computer. A second Apple in 

the house could solve a lot of 

problems—maybe keep the 

kids' sticky fingers off your 

keyboard and keep your 

spouse at bay when the two of 

you argue over who gets to use 

the computer. 

Becoming a two-computer 

family won't even cost much if 

you look into buying a used 

Apple II as your second ma 

chine. The price of used Ap 

ples has never looked belter. 

Maybe it's just the lime of 

year that's pumped so many 

Apple IPs into the used-com 

puter pipeline, but a belter ex 

planation is the rush for Apple 

IIgs computers. The pricey 

lies costs plenty, enough that 

a lot of prospective buyers 

must unload their current Ap 

ple IPs to come up with the 

cash. Their loss can be your 

gain. 

In a recent issue ofConiputerEdges, 

a San Diego com 

puter magazine that includes a 

hefty used-computer classified 

ad section. Apple He systems 

were going for an average of 

around $600. Equipped with a 

monitor, a second disk drive, 

and in many cases a printer, 

the used He systems ranged 

from $350 toSl.OOO(a He with 

640K of RAM). Apple lie sys 

tems were priced higher—the 

rugged expandable computers 

started at $650 and topped out 

at $ 1.300. but averaged about 

$850. 

Depending on the pack 

age, the age of the Apple II. the 

condition of the equipment, 

and the included software, you 

can find deals and dogs. But 

when you consider that a new 

lie Plus, which is the cheapest 

Apple II, runs $675 without 

monitor, printer, or software, 

and that the He is almost 

impossible to get, the usedcomputer 

route could be your 

best bet for a second machine. 

Check your local news 

paper's classified ad section, or 

give a used computer broker 

like the Boston Computer Ex 

change a call if you don't live 

near a major metro area. The 

Boston Computer Exchange 

will try to match you with a 

seller for 10 percent of the 

action (the seller pays the com 

mission). Contact the Ex 

change at (800) 262-6399 or 

(617)542-4414. 

You Can't Do Thai 

AppleWorks GS is a window 

on the future of Apple II scftware. 

It may be a cracked v;indow, 

what with its frequent 

system crashes and its multi 

tude of quirks that users are 

only now discovering, but it's 

still a clear enough window to 

see that true 16-bit software for 

the IIgs is hereto stay. 

Many of the early users of 

Apple \\ arks GS were Apple- 

Works Classic pros, people 

who had spent years with 

AppleWorks and wanted some 

thing more than just a fast ver 

sion of a four-year-old 

program. (In fact, these were 

the people who made early 

AppleWorks GS sales so 

good—35,000 during the first 

three weeks, the grapevine 

said.) 

AppleWorks GS is particu 

larly rough on traditional 

AppleWorks users, who must 

forget virtually everything 

they've learned. A prime ex 

ample is in the AppleWorks GS 

database module. 

The database is extremely 

flexible and. in its Form view, 

lets you customize how each 

record shows on the screen. 

54 COMPUTE!

COMPUTE! v 

specific 

There's also a List view, which 

puis ihe daiabase information 

in a sprcadsheetlike format, 

each record on a line, each 

field in a cell. So far. this 

should sound familiar to 

AppleWorks Classic users. 

Bui while you can switch 

from Form view to List view 

in AppleWorks (using the 

Open Apple-Z combination) 

and sec the record in the Form 

view that you selected in the 

List view, that's impossible in 

AppleWorks OS. Select a re 

cord while in List view, switch 

to the Form view, and you'll 

see an entirely different record. 

It's not a randomly selected re 

cord, but the last one displayed 

in that format. More than like 

ly, it's the first record in the 

file. 

There is no work-around. 

The only way to keep both the 

Form and List view synchro 

nized is by manually moving 

the scroll ihumb until the ap 

propriate record is on the 

screen in both views. Alter 

nately, and easiest even though 

it's time-consuming, you can 

use the Find command on the 

Organize menu to shift to the 

correct record. 

What a pain. 

Talk it Up 

When the Apple Mgs debuted 

over two years ago, some of its 

most enthusiastic fans were 

educators. Teachers nearly 

drooled over the IIgs's 15- 

voice sound chip, seeing (or 

hearing) in that chip a poten 

tially powerful teaching tool. 

Digitized and synthesized 

speech were ihe promises that 

teachers took to heart. 

It's only been recently, 

however, that the major edu 

cational software publishers 

have come through with their 

end of the bargain—talking 

lies software. 

Three packages in particu 

lar are worth noting. Two of 

them. Talking Math and .\fe 

and Talking Reading and Me, 

come from Davidson (3135 

Kashiwa Street. Torrance, Cal 

ifornia 90505: 213-534-4070; 

S39.95 each). Although they 

play the same way their nontalking 

ancestors do, these 

llos-specific programs use 

higher-quality graphics and 

speech that has to be heard to 

be believed. Children get to 

choose between two voices— 

an adult's and a child's. Both 

voices are female—in fact, the 

adult voice is the digitized 

voice of a Davidson employee. 

The third package is The 

New Talking Siickybear Alpha 

bet, from the Weekly Reader 

Software series (Optimum Re 

sources. 10 Station Place. Nor 

folk. Connecticut 0605S; 203- 

542-5553; $49.95). As with the 

Davidson programs. Talking 

Stickyhear Alphabet is a re 

make of an earlier success, bul 

adds sound and speech. The 

quality of both is just as good 

as. if not better than, that 

found in the Davidson 

programs. 

Neither Davidson nor 

Optimum took many chances 

with these releases; they were 

proven sellers without speech 

and so are guaranteed to do 

well with it. Apple IIgs owners, 

whether schools or parents, 

want more than just a crisper 

picture on the monitor for the 

money they've spent. It looks 

as if they're finally getting the 

same extra in their software 

that they've paid for in their 

hardware. 

Full of GS 

Almost all of the hot Apple II 

software action is in IIgsspecific 

packages. Although 

there's an occasional great 

piece of software that runs on 

all Apple IPs (an example is 

The Learning Company's Chil 

dren 's H 'riling & Publishing 

Center), the really good stuff is 

only released for the IIgs. 

Zanv Golf, an offbeat ver- 

Everyday People on CompuServe 

Get Support. 

It doesn't matter what kind of computer you have, 

there's bound to come a time when you could use a lit 

tle help. Well, you can get it on CompuServe, any time, 

day or night. Once 

4 *-r 

online, you'll find 

industry experts, 

technical reps, and 

"Ifind CompuServe to be a 

community of users really will 

ing to help each other. lam conthousands 

of other ttnually surprised when I ask a 

users just like you, question about a program, and 

all swapping help 

ful tips and infor 

find that the author is there 

online, and helping." 

mation in one of 

CompuServe's 

— Sally Ryce, Finance Director 

Forums. 

Browse libraries, use Forum message boards, attend 

online conferences, share software, and just have fun; 

it'sall on CompuServe. Call 800 848-8199, orseeyour com 

puter dealer. But, do it soon, because you never know 

when you may need a little help from your friends. 

CompuServe

COMPUTE!. _ 

specific 

sion of miniature golf, is a 

good case in point. The IIgs 

game from Electronic Arts 

(1820 Gateway Drive, San Mateo. 

California 94404; 415-571- 

7171;$39.95)puts 1S eclectic 

holes in front of your putter. 

There's a windmill, of course, 

but it's on the first hole, leav 

ing the real fun for the next 17. 

A bouncing hamburger, rising 

walls, high-speed fans, a mov 

ing hole, and even lasers come 

into play before the game's 

over. Naturally, Zany Golf 

makes use of the IIgs's great 

graphics-and-sound capabili 

ties, and you use the mouse to 

aim and hit the ball. The game 

plays quickly and. until you 

reach the 18th hole, addictivcly, 

as you keep going just to see 

the next crazy. Rube Gold 

berg-like setup. The 18th hole 

is a miniature-golfer's night 

mare, for its two levels are 

studded with pitfalls and barri 

ers that misdirect and vaporize 

your ball. The only thing going 

for you is that you can stock 

pile balls during your run for 

the last hole. Just hope you 

have al least a dozen ready 

when you waltz up to the last 

tec. 

Another example of inno 

vative IlGS software that will 

never make it to the He. He. 

and He Plus computers is Cartooners. 

also from Electronic 

Arts ($59.95). This animated 

movie maker is a fun toy and 

tool for children of all ages, 

though the package says to 

keep it in the hands of kids 

6-12. Ten background scenes 

are included, as arc more than 

40 characters that you can 

place, lurn. walk, and spin 

across the stage. Although the 

characters are generic cartoon 

figures, some, like the big. bad 

wolf and the little, pink pig. arc 

sure to find favor with the 

kids. You can easily add text 

in speech balloons that move 

with the actors, and you can 

insert sound effects (the boing 

effect, for instance, sounds like 

something from a Wile E. Coy 

ote cartoon) anywhere in the 

animation. Within a few mo 

ments of popping in the disk 

(more like a few minutes, be 

cause Canooners is one of the 

slowest-loading IIgs programs 

around), you'll know how to 

change one of the animated 

shorts included with Cartooners 

or how to build your 

own version of Steamboat 

Willie. 

56 COMPUTE! 

Don't expect cither Zany 

Golfor Canooners to migrate 

down to the 8-bit Apple II 

computers. Their graphics, 

sound, memory requirements, 

and interface are strictly IIgs 

fodder. The trend is already 

clear—if you want to stay at 

the cutting edge of Apple II 

software, you need hardware 

to match. 


Commodore recently pub 

lished a new technology report, 

hinting at the direction the 

company intends lo take with 

the Amiga. The report de 

scribed in detail such mouth 

watering hardware as the 

Professional Video Adapter. 

Commodore's broadcast-quality 

plug-in board meant to give the 

Amiga built-in Targa-like capa 

bilities. The PVA. which is 

planned only for the A2000. 

will occupy the video slot and a 

Zorro slot and will include a 

genlock/keyer, a realtime frame 

grabber and digitizer, broadcast 

composite output, and videopa 

intbox/special-effccts soft 

ware. Given NcwTek's prob 

lems with bringing out the 

Video Toaster, Commodore 

may be able to grab the profes 

sional video market for itself. 

Another device discussed 

in the report is a combination 

hard disk and RAM expansion 

for the A500. The autobooting 

20-megabyte hard disk plugs 

into the expansion port and 

contains a controller and chip 

slots for up lo 2 megabytes of 

RAM, making the A500 a for 

midable home machine. The 

rumor is that the hard disk/ 

RAM combo will be unbeatably 

priced, but ihe disk is very 

slow—about 85-ms access 

time. Thai's still faster than 

floppies, though. 

The A2500UX, the UNIX 

Amiga mentioned in an earlier 

column, may appear in the 

second quarter of this year. 

AMIX, the Amiga version of 

UNIX, wil! run concurrently 

with AmigaDOS. so you'll Still 

be able to play Arkanoids 

while running those atmo 

spheric turbulence simula 

tions. Watch also for official 

announcements of such ad 

vanced hardware as Commo 

dore's Transputer boards for 

parallel processing at the speed 

of a mainframe, and a graphics 

card for realtime 3-D anima 

tion at a resolution as high as 

1024 X 1024 pixels. 

As is customary with 

Commodore, the new technol 

ogy report didn't include price 

information or ship dates. You 

can always try to pry the infor 

mation out of the company by 

contacting Commodore Busi 

ness Machines. 1200 Wilson 

Drive, West Chester, Pennsyl 

vania 19380; (215) 431-9100. 

Apple Sauce 

Many industry insiders ac 

knowledge that the Amiga 500 

hurts Apple IIgs home market 

sales. Compared to a 52.000. 

similarly equipped Apple lies, 

the A500 is a real bargain. 

Amiga developers should take 

note and start working on bet 

ter educational software. 

Now. if only Commodore 

could hone the Amiga operat 

ing system to match its superi 

or hardware. Apple would 

really have something to worry 

about—the recent price hikes 

on Macintoshes have also left 

Apple vulnerable to less ex 

pensive competitors. Work 

bench 1.4 holds some real 

promise in that regard, but 

more about that in a future 

column. 

Genlock Games 

Video-hardware developers 

arc entering the expanding 

Amiga desktop-video field. 

Magni Systems (9500 S\V 

Gemini Drive. Beavcrton. Or 

egon 97005; 800-237-5964). a 

small company started by engi 

neers with a long list of creden 

tials, designs award-winning 

broadcast-video equipment, 

but now the company has in 

troduced a broadcast-qualily 

genlock for the Amiga 2000. 

The Magni 4004 Video Graph 

ics System consists of two 

Zorro plug-in cards and an ex 

ternal controller. One card in 

terfaces with the Amiga RGB 

graphics system; ihc other con 

tains a broadcast encoder v. ith 

internal black-burst and sync 

generators, a genlock, and r:s 

own system clock. The con 

troller box has sliders for fad 

ing video in and out. 

As you might expect, the 

Magni Video Graphics Sys 

tem's top quality comes at a 

list price to match: S1.695 far 

the two-board set. plus $300 

for the controller box. Video 

professionals will definitely 

want to check out the Magni 

System. 

If you're just getting start 

ed with desktop video, you 

might want to consider the 

Amigen genlock, from Mimetics 

(P.O. Box 1560. Cuperti 

no. California 95015; 408-7-41- 

0117). This little unit's signal 

may not be as good as the 

Magni's. but it's fine for re 

cording Amiga graphics on 

your home VCR, and remains 

the only low-priced (S179) gen 

lock on the market that works 

with any Amiga. 

The Amigen plugs into 

the RGB port and has compos 

ite video in and out jacks 

(RCA), plus a pass-through for 

the RGB signal so you can 

hook up your monitor and run 

the genlock at the same time. 

There are no external adjust 

ments, knobs, or sliders, 

however. 

Latest Models 

Commodore's shipping two 

new Amigas: the Amiga 

2000HD and the Amiga 2500. 

The 2000HD package consists 

of an A2000 with a formatted 

40-mcgabyte hard disk and 

Commodore's new 2090A 

hard disk controller, which autoboots 

with the [.3 ROM and 

1.3 Workbench. The Amiga 

2500 is an A2000HD equipped

COMPUTE!. _ 

specific 

with the A2620, Commodore's 

68020 accelerator board, and 

two megabytes of 32-bit RAM. 

Both machines are hardwareand 

software-compatible with 

earlier Amigas. 

You won't need to buy a 

whole new Amiga to get the 

new boards; Commodore is 

selling the hard disk, the 

2090A controller, and the 

A2620 accelerator board 

separately. The A2286, ATcompatible 

Bridgeboard 

should also be available by 

now. List price for the 2O9OA 

is$399:theA25OOruns 

$4,695—not bad fora ma 

chine with better performance 

than a $9,000 Mac IPs. 

Amiga Antics 

The near demise of the Atari 

ST in the United States has left 

the home computer field with 

three major players: Commo 

dore, Apple, and Tandy. For 

mer Atari boosters are moving 

over to Amiga with some in 

teresting new products. 

One of the best-known ST 

developers is Antic Software 

(544 Second Street, San Fran 

cisco, California 94107; 415- 

957-0886). which publishes the 

Cyber series of CAD. 3-D, and 

animation software for the ST, 

as well as the magazines dedi 

cated to Atari computers. 

Sources at Antic tell me they 

are planning an Amiga maga 

zine as well. A good measure 

of the growing popularity of 

the Amiga is how many new 

Amiga publications are com 

ing out. [In fact, COMPUTE! 

Publications recently intro 

duced a new Amiga magazine 

of its own, COMPUTE'S 

Amiga Resource. Look for it 

on your local newsstand—Ed.) 

Antic's Amiga offerings 

include Zoelrope, an anima 

tion program written by Jim 

Kent, creator of.Aegis Anima 

tor, and a series of 3-D object 

clip-art disks that work with 

Sailpt 3-D and VideoScape 3-D. 

Plague Ship 

Antic also offers the Amiga 

Pioneer Plague, an arcade 

shooi-'em-up with a twist— 

Antic claims it's the first 

Amiga game with all HAM 

graphics. The premise is that 

Earth has sent out the selfreplicating 

space probe Pio 

neer Probe Mark IV to terraform 

all the planets in the 

galaxy so that they will be 

habitable for Earthlings. The 

Pioneer Probes have mutated. 

though, so they use planet in 

habitants as raw material for 

constructing planetwide 

megalopolises. 

You must stop the spread 

of the Pioneer plague by shoot 

ing down as many Probes as 

you can find. You have an air 

ship with photon missiles and 

several drone protectors. The 

Probe has Shark Fighters, 

Homers, Air Mines, and Box 

ers. Once you've obliterated 

the menace on one planet, you 

must warp to the next infected 

planet, with battles en route. 

Some strategy is involved: 

You can program your drones 

to execute various attack and 

defense maneuvers, and you 

can, if necessary, take short 

cuts from one planet to the 

next using map overlays pro 

vided with the game. 

The 4096-color graphics 

in Pioneer Plague are indeed 

impressive, especially the plan 

et views (although the HAM 

files are so big that only a few 

planet views fit on one disk). 

The realism extends to the 

smoothly scrolling, very de 

tailed cityscapes. where most 

of the gameplay takes place. 

The driving score creates ten 

sion before each big battle. It 

will be hard to port this game 

to another system and retain 

the same interest level. 

I have only a few com 

plaints: All the colors on the 

control panel make it hard to 

read; and the cityscapes and at 

tackers are not well differenti 

ated from planet to planet. 

even though the planel types 


Have Fun. 

If you're a kid at heart, join others just like yourself 

playing games on CompuServe. You'll find fun and 

challenging competition online all hours of the day or 

night, in every- 

thing from space 

games to trivia 

contests. 

Exercise your 

memory in the col 

orful trivia match, 

"You Guessed it!" 

Sharpen your 

empire-building 

skills in the popu- 

"Tbe idea ofplaying a spam 

war game against realpeople 

immediately appealed to my 

competitive instincts. In Mega- 

Wars, when you go one-on-one 

combat with a player. . . there 

is only one ship left when tbe 

dust settles." 

— Douglas Banker, Rock and Roll 

Business Manager 

lar MegaWars space 

series. Use your intellect in role-playing games and ex 

plore the ever-changing Islands of Kesmai. Or participate 

in electronic Play-by-Mail adventures. You may even wish 

to gather up treasures playing British Legends. Call 800 

848-8199 or see your computer dealer to join. You'll 

find CompuServe is really the only game in town. 

CompuServe

COMPUTE!. _ 

specific 

are different. I also found the 

arcade action a mite too fast— 

but maybe I'm just getting too 

old to monitor the tactical dis 

plays while shooting at at 

tackers, deploying drones, 

avoiding the control towers, 

stealing fuel from depots, and 

choosing the next planet. 

Now let's see a HAM 

game with excellent gameplay, 

3-D ray-traced overscan ani 

mated graphics, speech synthe 

sis, engaging characters with 

minds of their own, a real nar 

rative, and an UNDO func 

tion. Anyone ready for the first 

ten-floppy game? 

— Steven Anzovin 

QuickLelter ($124.95). from 

Working Software (740 Front 

Street, Suite 318A, Santa Cruz, 

California 95060; 408-423- 

5696), is a new addition to the 

word processor ranks with a 

twist—it's a desk accessory. At 

first. 1 was skeptical: Is there 

room for still another word 

processor? 

For a word processor desk 

accessory, there is. For one 

thing, you can use it for short 

notes while you're playing 

games. For another, you can 

use it for short idea sketches 

while you're writing in your 

full-blown word processor. 

The program can really come 

in handy. 

Imagine how handy it 

could be if you didn't use a 

word processor very often. If 

you use a spreadsheet or a 

graphics package most of the 

time, you might find yourself 

jotting notes on paper. With 

QuickLetter, you can jot those 

notes on your computer— 

often a preferable method. 

But QuickLetter isn't just 

another word processor-cumdesk 

accessory. You can get a 

public domain package if 

that's all you want. QuickLet 

ter stores letterhead stationery 

images, keeps track of address 

es, and creates envelopes easi 

ly. Right now, the package 

comes with SpellsWell, so you 

even have a spelling checker. 

Breaking and Entering 

Before complicated networks 

and E-mail and special-interest 

bulletin boards, there was 

Sneakernet. Sneakernet re 

quired no special protocol, no 

special cables and terminal 

software. To communicate on 

Sneakernet, all you needed to 

do was take a disk from your 

computer to someone else's, 

stick the disk in that remote 

drive, and copy some files— 

instant data transfer. Well, al 

most instant. 

For many of us, Sneaker 

net is still the way to go. We 

exchange public domain 

games with friends at work, we 

take our word processing files 

to laser printing services, we 

share particularly useful bud 

get templates with business 

colleagues. But what happens 

if I send you a picture for one 

of your word processing files 

and you don't have a graphics 

program? What happens if you 

send me a MacWrite file when 

all I have is WriteNow, and 

you forgot to save it in ASCII 

format? How do we share in 

compatible files? 

Mediagenic's TENpointO 

division has just released a 

package that could help those 

of us using Sneakernet. Open 

It! prints files to disk so that 

you can manipulate them even 

if you don't own the program 

used to create them. You can 

use Open If! on an electronic 

network, too—if you must. 

Printing to disk works just 

like printing to a preview 

screen. You see the document 

as it will look on paper. You 

can even do a little touch-up 

on the file: You can change 

fonts and scale the image. 

Then either convert the file to 

importable text or copy the 

image to the clipboard and 

you're ready to paste it into 

your word processing or graph 

ics file. Open It! lets database 

and spreadsheet users separate 

items with commas, tabs, or 

returns, so some of the data 

can be preserved as it moves 

from its original incarnation to 

Open It! to its final destination. 

Last but not least. Open It! 

includes a public domain ver 

sion that you can send with 

any Open //.'file. I don't need 

to own Open It! to be able to 

use your files. I can't do as 

much fiddling around with the 

program as you can. but at 

least I can get your files into 

my computer so that I can 

work from there. 

It's important to under 

stand that you can only open 

files that can be printed. I 

wanted a peek at a file I 

couldn't identify, but it wasn't 

a printable document. 

My only gripe with the 

program is that you have to go 

through the printing procedure 

before you can see the file. 

Printing to disk should be im 

plied by opening a file in Open 

It!. Outside of that glitch, the 

program is easy to use and can 

be very helpful. 

Open It! costs $89.95. You 

can get more information from 

the TENpointO division of 

Mediagcnic. 3885 Bohannon 

Drive, Menlo Park, California 

94025; {415) 329-0500. 

Business Focus 

Also from TENpointO: Focal 

Point has been revamped and 

renamed as Focal Point II 

($199.95:589.95 for an up 

grade). It's a powerful organiz 

er for business people who 

want to use HyperCard to its 

fullest potential. 

The application is a col 

lection of interrelated cards: 

An appointment book stores 

daily engagements, a to-do list 

helps prioritize and track each 

day's tasks, a monthly calendar 

easily stores regular appoint 

ments and special occasions, 

and a phone directory and di 

aler tracks outgoing and in 

coming calls. Then ihereare 

cards for keeping track of re 

cords: client records, vendor 

records, and financial records. 

There's a project-management 

module and a task-assignment 

module. You can even set up 

an electronic mail system. 

It's overkill for the hone, 

but not for the home business. 

If you have enough RAM to 

run your Macintosh applica 

tions from HyperCard, you 

can benefit from Focal Point 

II. But you should compare it 

with similar packages like 

QuickDex or SideKick. 

Ahoy Mattes 

If you've been reading COM- 

PVTEI for a while, you already 

know our general opinion of 

Pirates!: We love it. (We gave 

it our 1989 COMPUTE! 

Choice Award in the Historical 

Game category, for instance.) 

Until now, though. Macintosh 

users have been left high and 

dry- Finally, we can sail the 

ocean blue with the rest of :he 

micro-sea dogs. 

Maybe the game suffers a 

little on the Macintosh's blackand-white 

monitor, maybe the 

mouse isn't the ideal input de 

vice for fencing and sea battles, 

maybe the hornpipe music 

doesn't go on long enough, but 

Pirates! is as entertaining as 

any game I've played. 

In this simulation, you 

play the role of a seaman. You 

pick what kind of sailor you're 

going to be. Did you know 

there was a difference between 

a pirate and a buccaneer? Can 

you attack the French if you've 

made friends with the English? 

You'll learn about all of these 

subtleties in the game. As an 

apprentice, you get a lot of 

help from outsiders. The game 

really makes it easy for begin 

ners to become addicted. 

I'm not crazy about simu 

lations, but this one is absorb 

ing. The skills are easy to learn, 

but hard to master. You get a 

feel for sailing, for using a sex 

ton, and for firing cannons on 

other ships—first you must 

turn to a vulnerable broadside 

position and then you fire. 

MicroProsc has put to 

gether a good manual, with 

rules, tips, and historical infor 

mation. Pirates! costs $59.9.1 

For more information, contact 

MtcroProse. 180Lakefront 

Drive. Hunt Valley. Maryland 

2IO3O;(3OI)771-I15I. 

—Heidi E. H. Avcock 

58 COMPUTE!

COMPUTE! . _ 

specific 

Macro Mouse ($29.95). a mac 

ro recorder from Antic Soft 

ware (544 Second Street. San 

Francisco, California 94107; 

415-957-0886). holds as many 

as four macros in memory. 

These macros can record all 

keystrokes and mouse move 

ments, so you can automate al 

most any task. 

Macro Mouse is a desk accessorv 

which can be activated 

by either selecting it from the 

Desk menu or pressing a hot 

key. A small menu pops up 

when Macro Mouse has been 

activated, at which point you 

can record, play, load, or save 

macros. Macros can insert 

specified text on the screen, 

loop through a specified sec 

tion of the macro for a selected 

number of limes, loop until a 

special code word is input, and 

chain to another macro (allow 

ing for macros of virtually un 

limited length). Macro Mouse 

can be configured by a separate 

program to set buffer sizes and 

also to autoload as many as 

four macro files when it's first 

activated. It can even be set to 

autorun one of the loaded 

macros, very neatly circum 

venting the ST's inability to 

autorun a GEM-based 

program. 

Macro Mouse also comes 

with a utilities program that 

duplicates many of the con 

trol-panel functions and adds 

several utilities such as a calcu 

lator, a free-RAM indicator, a 

disk-write verify switch, a 

screen-to-print echo, a screen 

snapshot (DEGAS format) 

utility, and a hot key io enable 

a warm or cold reboot. Best of 

all, this utility doesn't take up 

a desk accessory slot but sim 

ply adds commands to the 

Macro Mouse menu. 

Package Deal 

Michtron (576 South Tele 

graph Road. Pontiac. Michi 

gan 48053; 313-334-5700) has 

released a collection of the 

company's powerful utilities 

called Utilities Plus ($59.95). 

DOS Shell is the command 

line interface which uses MS- 

DOS-like commands and runs 

batch files. Superdirectory cat 

egorizes files and records filecontent 

comments (as many as 

25 characters); it also finds, 

sons, edits, and prints directo 

ries. M-Disk sets up a ramdisk 

and print spooler. And Stuff 

features 21 useful utilities for 

such tasks as reordering the ex 

ecution of AUTO folder pro 

grams, comparing binary files, 

autobootinga selected GEM 

program, encrypting files. 

selectively enabling AUTO 

folder programs and desk ac 

cessories, searching for text 

strings in files, and displaying 

program files in binary and 

hex. This package bundles 

programs which were original 

ly sold separately for more 

than $200. It belongs in the 

software library of any serious 

ST user. 

Less Basic BASIC 

GFA BASIC has become the 

language of choice among ST 

users, and version 3.0 ($79.95) 

is the newest incarnation of the 

runaway best seller. The pack 

age, formerly marketed by 

Michtron. is now pan of the 

Antic Software line (Antic 


Communicate. 

When it comes to getting your message through, 

nothing delivers like EasyPlexf CompuServe's elec 

tronic mail service. Businesses, families, and friends can 

communicate 

across the country, 

"I bought my son inNew 

and around the 

York a CompuServe package 

world. Through and modem, and we often keep 

EasyPlex, members in touch that way. It's nice to be 

can also communi- able to send messages or share 

cate with MCI files when we need to." 

Mail® and Telex® — David Babb, Attorney 

users, as well as —James Babb, Physicist 

send fax messages 

directly from their computers. 

There are hundreds of discussion Forums and the ori 

ginal CB Simulator, where you can "talk" to other mem 

bers from all ages, professions, interests, and cultures. Call 

800 848-8199, or see your computer dealer. The next time 

you want to drop someone a line, simply go online. 

CompuServe8

COMPUTE!... 

specific 

Software, 544 Second Street, 

San Francisco, California 

94107: 415-957-0886). The 

new editor is similar to the one 

in version 2. A menu bar holds 

commands for loading, saving, 

and editing programs. You can 

select the commands by using 

a function key or by clicking 

on the menu selection with the 

mouse. Enhancements to the 

editor include access to desk 

accessories and customization 

options for printing program 

listings. 

There are over 400 com 

mands available, including ad 

vanced loop commands (DO, 

WHILE. LOOP, and UNTIL), 

decision commands (IF, ELSE. 

ELSEIF, and CASE), and 

structured commands (PRO 

CEDURE and two kinds of 

FUNCTIONS). With the 

PROCEDU RE and FUNC 

TION commands, you can 

build GFA BASIC programs in 

segments, to which variables 

are passed and from which val 

ues are returned. A full com 

plement of commands for file 

operations, sound generation, 

reading joystick and mouse in 

put, and advanced arithmetic 

calculations are included. 

A wide range of error han 

dling and debugging com 

mands are also available, such 

as a command to run proce 

dures after each command is 

executed, providing a way to 

check on a program in pro 

gress. Also included are inter 

rupt programming (EVERY 

and AFTER), graphics com 

mands, and even turtle graph 

ics commands. GEM support 

extends to alert and dialog 

boxes, menu setup and pro 

cessing commands, event 

messaging, and GEMDOS, 

XBIOS, BIOS, VDL and AES 

calls by name. Even the GEM 

arrays (INTIN, ADRIN, and 

so on) can be accessed direct 

ly—no need to PEEK or 

POKE. Support for windows 

isn't appreciably better than it 

was in version 2—opening 

multiple, overlapping win 

dows, for instance, still re 

quires too much work. 

Antic is rewriting the pro 

gram manual to fix some seri 

ous problems. People who buy 

Antic's GFA BASIC 3.0 will 

get the current manual plus a 

card which can be returned to 

Antic for a free copy of the re 

vised manual. People who pur 

chased version 3.0 from 

Michtron may buy the upgrade 

manual for a nominal fee from 

Antic. Antic also plans to 

make GFA Artist and GFA 

Draft available. 

All upgrades of Antic's 

GFA products will be available 

through Antic regardless of 

where the original program 

was purchased. 

Michtron published many 

books to support GFA BASIC, 

and Antic plans to make avail 

able as many as possible. 

Michtron retained the rights to 

GFA Reboot Camp ($ 12.95). a 

beginner's book about GFA 

BASIC. While it isn't as de 

tailed as other books and 

doesn't touch on the more 

complex commands, it's an ex 

cellent text for getting started. 

Michtron also kept the rights 

to GFA BASIC Programmer's 

Reference Guide ($19.95). a 

much more advanced book. 

The first section largely dupli 

cates the information in the 

manual, but in a friendlie f way 

and with more complete ex 

amples. Sample programs 

abound. Advanced subjects 

such as sound, animation, 

input/output, and VDI/AES 

arc covered. 

Check with Antic for Pro 

gramming with GFA BASIC 

3.0 ($ 12.95), which coven; dia 

log boxes, menus, the resource 

construction set, sorting, struc 

tured programming. Line-A 

calls, debugging. GDOS appli 

cations, and new variable and 

pointer types. There's also a 

section on how to handle win 

dows. Many sample programs 

are included, and the explana 

tions arc clear and well illus 

trated. Utility programs 

include a resource analyztT, a 

3-D function plotter, and an 

icon creator. 

—David Plot kin 

H 

COMPUTEI's 

• Advanced Laser 

i award-winning 

Never-Before- 

Published 

outstanding new version of 

'•"Mediterranean- Ambush—challenging battleship game 

for ons.oi 3 pfayers, with modem option 

• Caverns of Tfirang—unique graphics adventure 

• Fourziflîntriguing strategy game 

ay to begin enjoying the amazing "Advanced Laser 

=tnd the other great games. The new version of Laser 

features a larger game board, diagonal firing, stun guns, 

^ mirrors, two lasers, a save-game option, and much, 

miuch more. 

Disk includes lull documentation lor all programs and source code tor all programs 

except "Caverns ol Thrang." All programs are lor use on an Atari ST computer, and all 

except Time'" require a color monitor. 

r 

Bonus Utility 

Programs! 

• Mandelplot—stunning graphics with Mandelbrot 

• Time!—no need for a clock card with this handy utility 

Mail personal check or money order for $11.95 to 

COMPUTED ST Games Disk 

P.O. Box 5188 

Greensboro, NC 27403 

YES! Send me copies of COMPUTEfs Atari ST Games '89. 

I've enclosed S9.95 plus $2.00 postage and handling for each 

Name 

Address. 

Crty 

State. 

Zip. 

7 - ' 

Amount 

Sales Tax". 

■Residents ol New YorK, Pennsylvania, and Norm Carolina atia approbate sales tan lor your arfa All 

orders must be paid m U.S. funds Dy a cnec* drawn on a U.S. bank.jSorry. no credr: card orders 

accepted. Please allow 4-6 weeks (or delivery. 

Torai 

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and New Testament in only tenths of a second - as fast 

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faster. 

■ Perform partial phrase or word searches. For example: 

searching for Bapt* With would locate any verse con 

taining Baptize With, Baptized With and Baptizing With. 

■ View verses in context. You can easily browse back 

and forth through surrounding verses and chapters. 

■ Limit your searches to a particular range of books, 

chapters or verses. 

■ Print passages with the search phrase in bold type, 

and with words added by the KJV translators in italics. 

■ Supports all popular printers. 

■ Export passage selections to a file for use with your 

favorite word processor. 

■ Display or print scripture in several popular formats 

(e.g. verse reference following or in front of passage, 

etc.). 

Hard to believe the $49 price? Don't worry, Parsons 

Technology is known for software that outperforms 

products costing much more. And the QuickVerse Bible 

Concordance is completely guaranteed. If you're not 

100% satisfied, return the QuickVerse Bible Concordance 

within 30 days fora full refund (excluding shipping). 

Available in IBM or Macintosh versions, with printed 

manual. Not copy protected. 

For Same Day Shipping 

VISA, MASTERCARD & C.O.D. ORDERS CALL 

1-800-223-6925 

(In Canada, call 319/395-7300) 

Weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. CST 

Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Or send check or money order 

payable to Parsons Technology. 

Dept. COM 

375 Collins Road NE 


QuickVerse 

Bible Concordance 

$49 + $5 Shipping/Handling 

NOT COPY PROTECTED 

INCLUDES PRINTED MANUAL 

Customer may select: 

D King James Version 

l~ New International Version (Add SIO publisher's royalty) 

Z2 Revised Standard Version (Add S4 publisher's royalty) 

Then select IBM or Macintosh version: 

H IBM or Tandy version H Macintosh version 

NAME 

ADDRESS 

CITY 

STAT E/ZIP 

CHECK D MONEY ORDER Q VISA D MASTERCARD □ 

CARD # EXP DATE 

Iowa residents please add 4^r sales tax. Orders outside North 

America please add S10 shipping and handling. 

375 Collins Road N.E. 


IBM version requires IBM, Tandy or compatible computer with 

256k or more memory, two (loppy disk drives or floppy disk drive 

and hard disk drive, and DOS Release 2.0 or later. (A hard disk 

drive is recommended but is not required.) 

Macintosh version requires 512k or more memory and works 

with any disk drive configuration.

n reviews 

ers encounter. If you live on the road, 

your only companion your trusty com 

puter, pick up this utility. 

IBM PC and most compatible laptops—£39.95 

Traveling Software 

18702 North Creek Pkwy. 

Bothell. WA 98011 

(206) 483-8088 

— GK 

Ace a Zero, Win 

Wealth, Design 

Forms, Battle Evil, 

Twist Prints, Fly 

with 3.0, Stop the 

Presses, Sneak in 

the Sky, Balance 

Home Books, Land 

a Punch, and Link 

Up Your PC 

Each month, "Fast Looks" offers up 

snapshots of some of the most interest 

ing, unusual, or important software and 

hardware for the Amiga. Apple II, Atari 

ST, Commodore 64/128, IBM PC, and 

Macintosh lines of personal computers. 

Get the last word on what's new—here, 

fast, first. 

Battery Watch 

Ping! That flicker you just saw on your 

laptop's screen was your computer's 

last spark of power. Your built-in bat 

tery is dead, and there's no outlet on 

United Airlines at 30,000 feet. 

Unless you have ESP, you never 

know exactly when a laptop's battery 

might fade. That's why Battery Watch, 

a TSR program from Traveling Soft 

ware, is such a great utility. You set it 

once by telling it how much juice is left 

in the battery (the best time is right 

after a full recharging), and from then 

on it tracks your computer's power con 

sumption and keeps a relatively accu 

rate estimate of how much longer you 

can run the machine. You can call up a 

bar indicator at any time by pressing a 

hot-key combination. 

Battery Watch also solves another 

major laptop problem, a phenomenon 

that eventually reduces your laptop's 

ni-cad battery life to nearly 0. When 

you recharge a battery that's only par 

tially discharged, you're actually "train 

ing" it to provide power for a shorter 

period of time. Battery Watch offers a 

deep-discharge option which returns it 

to its maximum charge life. 

Battery Watch is an elegant solu 

tion to problems nearly all laptop own 

Neuromancer 

You wake up in a bar in Chiba City, a 

sleazy section of Tokyo. A hot cyber 

space cowboy—a sort of superhacker 

able to penetrate corporate databases— 

you're down on your luck. Your com 

puter deck is in nock. But you've got a 

few credits, a few contacts. With the 

right hardware, software, and skills, you 

could be back in cyberspace. 

William Gibson's speculative nov 

el Neuromancer comes to life in this ex 

cellent adaptation. Through conversa 

tions with other characters—both in 

person and via communications net 

works—you're able to build a picture of 

a dark, futuristic world where money 

and information are all that matters. 

Despite a regrettable tendency to 

mute the grittiness of its fantastic world 

with adolescent jokes, Interplay has ac 

complished quite a bit in Neuromancer. 

Its setting and plot are well realized and 

commendably rich. Using an efficient 

point-and-click interface, you can ma 

neuver your character through both real 

and electronic worlds that are convinc 

ing and self-consistent. 

Good graphics, an excellent sound 

track by DEVO, and an easily mastered 

interface help make this a convincing 

and entertaining software novel. 

— KF 


Commodore 64/128—$39.95 

IBM PC and compatibles version tentatively sched 

uled for April release—S44.95 

Interplay 




(415)329-0800 

Contributing to "Fast Looks" this month 

were Keith Ferrell and Gregg Keizer. 

62 COMPUTE

n reviews 

Battlehawks 

1942 

Climb into the cockpit of a carrierbased 

fighter or bomber and get ready 

fora seat-of-the-pants, sophisticated, 

World War II naval air-combat simula 

tion. Depending on the mission you se 

lect and the country you fly for, 

Battlehawks 1942 lets you pilot a Japa 

nese Zero fighter, Val dive bomber, or 

Kate torpedo bomber, or an American 

Wildcat fighter, Dauntless dive bomb 

er, or Avenger torpedo bomber. 

Fly and fight in four famous naval 

air battles—Coral Sea, Midway, East 

ern Solomons, and Santa Cruz—each 

offering four specific missions for Japa 

nese and American pilots. As a U.S. 

pilot in the Coral Sea scenario, for ex 

ample, you pilot a Dauntless in a divebombing 

attack on the damaged Japa 

nese carrier Shoho, or you fly a Wildcat 

to escort other U.S. bombers and de 

fend the Lexington against attack from 

Kate torpedo bombers, or you defend 

the Yorktown from a dive-bombing at 

tack by Vals. Assume the role of a Japa 

nese pilot in the same battle and you fly 

a Zero protecting the Shoho or Shokaku 

carriers, pilot a Kate on a torpedobombing 

attack of the Lexington, or 

bomb the Yorktown with your Val. 

Four training missions let you per 

fect your fighter intercept, fighter es 

cort, and dive- and torpedo-bombing 

skills. During these training missions, 

you'll face only limited opposition from 

the enemy. In addition, you can modify 

any of the regular active-duty missions. 

For instance, you can fly the mission in 

newer or older models of the same 

plane, take along unlimited fuel or am 

munition, make your plane invincible, 

put yourself a few thousand feet above 

the enemy at the outset of the mission, 

or select the skill level of the enemy pi 

lots you'll face. When you customize a 

mission, however, the results won't be 

recorded onto your permanent service 

record. 

Battlehawks 1942 isn't a complete 

ly realistic simulation. There aren't any 

takeoff or landing sequences to master: 

You begin and end airborne. Also, 

while a steep climb will invariably stall 

your aircraft, the program is very for 

giving and, unless you stall at a low alti 

tude, it's easy to recover. 

What is amazingly realistic about 

Battlehawks is its detailed, animated 

graphics. Everything you see, from the 

water and ships below to the enemy 

fighters darting evasively across your 

gunsight. appears solid. 3-D, and trueto-life. 

Though few of us have actually 

flown a combat mission in a World 

War II-era fighter or bomber, anyone 

who's ever watched filmed footage of 

naval air combat will agree that this 

game replicates the action as well as, if 

not better than, any other aerial-combat 

simulation for the PC. 

Go up against enemy ships and fighters in 

Battlehawks 1942. 

With many air-combat games, you 

battle wave after wave of robotic enemy 

fighters that come directly at your plane 

and fire a few machine-gun blasts 

before peeling off in a steep bank to the 

right or left. Battlehawks. on the other 

hand, challenges your dogfighting skills 

with enemy pilots who aren't locked 

into specific attack patterns. Just when 

you think you've seen the enemy from 

every possible angle, a Zero will swoop 

by frighteningly close to your windscreen. 

In fact, the onscreen action of 

Battlehawks 1942 is so detailed and re 

alistic that it's almost impossible to 

fully appreciate the view while piloting 

your aircraft. Fortunately, if you re 

member to toggle on your onboard 

camera just before the action gets 

heavy, you'll be able to watch an instant 

replay of your dogfight or bombing run. 

You can watch the replay from al 

most any vantage point. While in Re 

play mode, you can increase or decrease 

the altitude of the camera, reposition 

the camera to directly behind your own 

plane, or move the viewing angle 

around by using either a joystick or a 

mouse. All these possibilities let you 

not only relive the glory of a trium 

phant dogfight or successful bombing 

run, but also analyze your mistakes. 

Battlehawks 1942 comes with an 

exceptional 128-page manual. It covers 

everything you need to know to take to 

the skies and also provides a historical 

overview of the four battles and refer 

ence information concerning flight fun 

damentals, aerial tactics, and Japanese 

and American aircraft and warships. 

With its detailed animation, wor 

thy adversaries, and photo replay, 

Battlehawks 1942 promises aerial thrills 

and combat chills for even the most 

jaded personal computer fighter pilot. 

Battlehawks 1942 

— Bob Guerra 

For... 

IBM PC, PS/2, and compatibles with CGA 

or better and 384K—$49.95 

From... 

Lucasfilm Games 


P.O. Box 10307 

San Rafael. CA 94912 

(415)662-1800 

And... 

Joystick or mouse recommended; 3Vfeand 

5V*-inch disks included. 

Wealth 

Insurance 

Economist Paul Erdman predicts the 

U.S. economy is headed fora major 

recession/depression in the 1990s. But 

never fear—he has a game that can help 

you survive this impending financial 

catastrophe. 

Wealth Insurance simulates a de 

pression's impact on your net worth 

within five different scenarios, includ 

ing the Great Depression, the 1961 Re 

cession, and the Reagan Boom. Two 

other scenarios—a 1990s recession and 

a 1990s depression—are based on his 

torical trends of various economic indi 

cators. Each scenario is modeled after 

actual stock prices, interest rates, real 

estate prices, and income tax rates of 

the period. You are randomly assigned 

a starting financial position: poor, mid 

dle class, or rich. As in real life, you win 

when you increase your net worth by 

making astute investment decisions. 

Well-designed screens assist you 

through each three-month turn. A 

screen shows the current Dow Jones In 

dustrial Average and your net worth. 

monthly income, and cash position. As 

the game progresses, screens display 

news bulletins and investment advisor 

reports. 

You can call up summary screens 

to examine your stock or real estate 

holdings and transactions. These 

screens display information like recent 

price action and costs (for stocks) and 

sale price, fees, loans, payment, and 

more (for real estate). You can print the 

screens if you want a paper record. 

The game year starts with Wealth 

Insurance computing your federal tax 

status. To make things interesting, you 

may get a 10-percent salary cut or even 

APRIL 1 9 B 9 63

REVIEWS 

lose your job. You may reduce expenses 

for food and charity by 10 percent if fi 

nances get loo tight. You might also re 

ceive an inheritance—good news! 

Shrewd investing will make you a winner 

in Wealth Insurance. 

Every three-month snapshot in 

cludes the effects of mortgage, taxes. 

and insurance for your real estate hold 

ings. The computer advisor recom 

mends actions generally accepted by 

financial consultants of your scenario's 

time period. For instance, if you have 

negative income and little cash, your 

advisor will suggest selling assets to 

avoid bankruptcy. Oddly, the recom 

mendations didn't always match my fi 

nancial situation. Fortunately, you can 

either take this advice or make your 

own decisions. 

Depending on the scenario, a game 

spans six or eight years. Just as there are 

loopholes in life, there are ways to boost 

your game rating by manipulating your 

net worth—but you'll have to discover 

them on your own. 

Investment choices are severely 

limited; simplifications in securities 

choices, tax rales, and real estate invest 

ments restrict the game's realism. You 

have, for instance, only 11 choices in 

the stock market: seven blue chip 

stocks. Treasury bills, corporate bonds, 

gold, and silver. For real estate invest 

ments, you are limited to one house 

and one duplex in California, Illinois. 

New York, or Texas, and one piece of 

land in each of three states—California, 

New York, and Texas. 

In the futuristic scenarios, state 

taxes are always 5 percent of wages 

even though Texas and Florida have no 

income tax. There are no deductions 

for taxes paid on rental real estate, and 

your own home is always in California. 

For purchases, you have a choice of five 

fixed- and six adjustable-rate mortgages, 

The first half of the 40-page man 

ual, written by Erdman, explains the 

business cycle and its effects on wealth 

building. There's sound investment ad 

vice here for playing the game's future 

scenarios and for managing your fi- 

64 COMPUTE! 

nances during the upcoming decade. 

The last half of the manual con 

tains some errors. It says the game re 

quires a color monitor, but monochrome 

is one of the installation options. Also, 

instructions to insert the program disk 

into drive A (if you're installing on a 

hard disk) arc missing. And the man 

ual's half-inch illustrations are too 

small to convey much information. 

An explanation of the assumptions 

used in the game would have been bet 

ter than the glossary provided. For ex 

ample, you can sell short, but only for 

one three-month turn and only if your 

assets are sufficient. The manual 

doesn't define what sufficient is. You 

just have to experiment, changing the 

size of your short sale until the program 

accepts it. That's the kind of figuring a 

computer game should do for you. 

Wealth Insurance gives novice in 

vestors a historical portal to the finan 

cial world and offers a "flight 

simulator" opportunity to explore the 

heady atmosphere of finance without 

risking a real crash. Its limitations make 

it a simple game instead of an in-depth 

simulation that can accurately score 

your financial 

Wealth Insurance 

survival. 

— Glenda McClurc 

For... 

IBM PC and compatibles with 512K- 

S39.95 

From ... 

BritannJca Software 

345 Fourth St. 

San Francisco, CA 94107 

(415)546-1866 

FormSet 

Any business, large or small, has to 

keep a lid on expenses. Business sup 

plies, especially printed forms, can fill a 

balance sheet with red ink if they're not 

controlled. SoftView. with its Business 

Forms Edition of FormSet, can help 

you maintain the health of your bottom 

line. 

FormSet s discrete stock of 65 pre 

designed business forms comes with cli 

ent and vendor addresses configured 

for standard left-window envelopes. 

The program allows easy, automatic in 

sertion of information at appropriate 

places within individual and linked 

forms. The program's appeal obviously 

depends upon the degree to which 

you're locked into your existing busi 

ness forms. If your business is young 

enough, or flexible enough, to adapt to 

the program's forms, then all the better. 

On the IBM PC. FormSet uses a 

runtime version of Microsoft Windows 

as its interface and allows input from a 

mouse or the keyboard. I prefer the 

mouse; without it you'll have to execute 

double keystrokes (F5 and the Alt key 

twice) because of a Windows anomaly. 

SoftView promises to fix this in a future 

release, but. for the time being, it's 

annoying. 

You can use FormSet to produce 

master documents for photostats.. But if 

you want to fill out the forms and keep 

running records of outstanding receiv 

ables, payables. or inventories, go right 

ahead. Fill out the forms directly from 

the computer screen; where applicable. 

FormSet lets you itemize. 

Forms are divided among five 

menus; general, accounting, payables. 

personnel, and sales. Individual forms 

cover everything from inventory sum 

mary to payroll records. You begin by 

completing a customization form which 

identifies your company, address, and 

phone number. The program transfers 

your company name and address, in 

the appropriate format, to your letter 

head and all of the remaining forms. An 

included utility even lets you import 

company logos or artwork from any 

standard paint program. 

For the most part. FormSet is a 

breeze to use. The roving pointer makes 

the pull-down menus quickly accessi 

ble. You can load one or several "orms 

and print them either blank or with 

company-pertinent data. If you're using 

a mouse, the shape of the cursor shows 

you where data entry is possible. In 

most instances, data is formatted auto 

matically. A clipboard lets you cut, 

paste, and copy. Online directions are 

available if you need them. If several 

forms are open, the windows are 

stacked like filing cards. FormSet lets 

you shuffle through them or open them 

selectively. 

SoftView has built some effective 

protective features into this program. If 

you incompletely fill out a purchase or 

der, for example, and then try to print 

it. FormSet will warn you that the order 

is missing data. B\ hitting the F3 key. 

you can go right to the lines on the form 

where you failed to insert data. 

The program will let you mark 

fields as missing or put in estimated 

amounts for projections. Form menus 

visually flag form status: An incomplete 

form is identified with a question mark; 

a complete form, with an asterisk. 

FormSet isn't designed to be a full 

blown accounting package, but it can 

take care of simple invoicing and in-

a reviews 

vcntory needs. With linked forms, the 

pertinent entries you make in one form 

arc automatically selected for inclusion 

on related forms. This feature precludes 

operator error and ensures consistent 

data entry. When you save a data file. 

all the data entered into all forms is as 

sembled into a single file. When you re 

call the saved data, all needed forms are 

automatically opened. 

3E= 

I Uirg1nr.Fr, me 

f f r 

Boost your business's bottom line with 

FormSet's predesigned business forms. 

You can import data from other 

applications as long as these applica 

tions can generate ASCII text files, sep 

arate data fields by tabs, and record 

data by returns. (Most accounting, 

spreadsheet, and database programs 

can produce these kinds of data files.) 

FormSet accommodates many 

printers, but for presentation purposes 

it's best to have either a laser printer or 

high-resolution dot-matrix printer. If 

you're planning to use a paint program 

for importing logos or artwork, a highquality 

printer is requisite. 

FormSet offers coherency, useful 

ness, and, most of all, economy for al 

most any business. If used as designed, 

it should pay for itself in short order. 

— Bob Gingher 

FormSet 

For... 

IBM PC and compatibles with 640K, a hard 

disk, a graphics adapter compatible with 

Microsoft Windows, and DOS 3.0 or lat 

er—S95 

Macintosh—$95 

Apple IIGS with 758K and two 800K drives, 

or 1.25MB ol RAM and one BOOK drive— 

S95 

From... 

Softvlew 

4820 Adohr Ln. 

Suite F 

Camarilio. CA 93010 

(800)622-6829 

Rocket Ranger 

Before the days of television (and long 

before home computers), kids all over 

the country looked forward to Satur 

day-matinee serials at the local theater. 

Munching candy and popcorn, they 

watched spellbound as Flash Gordon. 

Buck Rogers, and other fantastic heroes 

performed hair-raising feats using rock 

et ships and ray guns. Long lost, but 

never forgotten, the matinee serial re 

turns to the screen in the form of an in 

teractive computer game from Cinemaware 

called Rockei Ranger. 

As the hero, Rocket Ranger, your 

job is really cut out for you. The game 

begins with an urgent message from 

twenty-first-century scientists: The Na 

zis won World War II! By sending you a 

jet-propelled rocket suit, ray gun, and 

secret decoder wheel from the future, 

the scientists hope that you can alter 

history and save humankind—a rather 

difficult assignment for even the most 

intrepid adventurer. 

Playing the part of Rocket Ranger 

was difficult at first. The game's in 

structions are a bit complex; it took a 

while to figure out what I was supposed 

to be doing. Once I got the hang of it, 

though. I realized that Rocket Ranger 

works on several levels, with plots and 

subplots that all tie together. Winning 

requires a knack for arcade action, stra 

tegic thinking, timing, and, most of all, 

patience. 

Your ultimate goal is to slop the 

Nazis from spreading their reign of ter 

ror over the entire planet. To do this 

you must find their five secret rocket 

labs, obtain the components to build 

yourself a rocket ship, and then capture 

enough Lunarium fuel to fly to the 

source of the Nazi's power, the moon. 

Along the way. you must also rescue a 

kidnapped American scientist and his 

beautiful daughter. (After all, it 

wouldn't be a matinee serial without a 

young damsel in distress, would it?) 

While this is a fairly straightforward 

plot, there are many subtle steps in 

volved. The first few times I played, I 

had a hard time just getting off the 

ground, let alone trying to save Profes 

sor BarnstorfTs beautiful daughter. 

The game opens at Fort Dix. New 

Jersey, which is your base of operations 

in your secret war against the Nazis. 

The dazzling graphics include the Ft. 

Dix Menu, which gives you choices of 

either going to the War Room, Fuel De 

pot, or Rocket Lab. or taking off (Take 

off) with your rocket pack. 

You play much of the game from 

the War Room, where you send orders 

and receive reports from your five se 

cret agents, who help you locale and in 

filtrate targets. A detailed world map 

shows your location as well as that of 

agents, zeppelin fleets, bases, factories, 

and targets. 

Secure the Earth from Nazi terror by at 

tacking the secret moon base in Rocket 

Ranger. 

In enemy territory, you'll find 

yourself involved in arcade action 

against squadrons of ME-109 airplanes, 

antiaircraft guns, zeppelins firing aerial 

torpedoes, ack-ack batteries, and fistfighting 

guards. The arcade sequences 

are extremely detailed on the PC in 

CGA mode and are even better in EGA 

or Tandy 16-color mode. I found that 

the animated sequences worked well in 

CGA mode on an 8-MHz machine, but 

for 16-color mode I would highly rec 

ommend a PC of at least 12 MHz. I 

would also advise that you use a joy 

stick for maximum effectiveness during 

the arcade sequences. 

Even after you've battled the Nazis 

on Earth, the game is far from over. 

You must fly to the moon for the final 

assault, where you must eliminate a 

squad of Nazi Zombie Women before 

the air. heavy with Lunarium dust, be 

gins to affect you. Saving the world isn't 

easy, even with twenty-first-century 

technology. It took many hours before I 

discovered the secret behind the Nazi's 

leap in technology. 

Cinemaware has included key 

board functions for changing the game 

speed, pausing and resuming, turning 

off the sound and/or music, and tog 

gling the CGA color palettes. The mu 

sic, terribly loud and obnoxious on my 

PC, was the first thing to go (the sound 

on the Amiga version is much better). 

And since I don't relate well to purple 

grass, it was great to be able to toggle 

the color palette, too. 

If you're a fan of movie serials, if 

you like adventure mixed with arcade 

action, or if you just want a shot at sav 

ing the world, then you'll like Rocket 

Ranger. But don't forget the popcorn 

APRIL 1989 65

COMPUTER DIRECf 

Since 1979 WE WON'T BE UNDERSOLD! 

Expires 4/30/89 

*640K Laser Turbo XT® 

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*16 MHz 286 IBM® AT® 

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with purchase of computer 

640K Professional Turbo XT Computer 

360K Floppy Disk Drive & Controller 

MS DOS & GW Basic 

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Complete DOS & System Tutor Included 

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Our Low Sale Price 

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List SI995 

Monitor shown available for $79.95, Lilt $179 

AMIGA 

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• 80286 16 Bit Microprocessor 

• 1.2 MEG Floppy Disk Drive 

• * 16 MHz (Landmark CPU Rating) 

• !01 Key "AT Style" Keyboard for 3 Vt" drives 

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IMMEDIATE ANSWER 

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IBM

n reviews 

and soft drinks before you sit down to 

play. 

Rocket Ranger 

For... 

Amiga—$49.95 

Commodore 64/128—$34.95 

IBM PC and compatibles—S49.95 

From... 

Cinemaware 

P.O. Box 5083 

Westlake Village, CA 91359 

(805)495-6515 

— Joey Latimer 

And... 

Apple IIgs ($49.95} and Atari ($49-95) ver 

sions are pianned, although no release 

dates are available. 

Twist & Shout 

Twist & Shout is more than an indis 

pensable utility program for people who 

do a lot of printing. It's actually three 

programs in one package: Twist prints 

spreadsheets or text files horizontally 

across your computer paper; Shout 

prints oversized alphanumeric charac 

ters and graphics to produce banners; 

and Disk Spooler II lets you send a file 

to a printer or to disk while you contin 

ue work on your computer. 

I like software that gets me going 

quickly—it took me less than five min 

utes to get Twist & Shout from installa 

tion to the opening screen. The pro 

gram isn't copy-protected, and it's 

guaranteed to work with any dot-matrix 

printer and most ink-jet and laser print 

ers. If your printer isn't on the list. Soft 

ware Toolworks promises to make it 

work with Twist & Shout—or your 

money back. It runs on IBM PC, PS/2, 

and compatible computers. 

Twist & Shout incorporates the 

same instinctive menu format into all 

three programs. To display a menu or 

select a command, you use the cursor 

keys to highlight it on the screen; then 

press Enter. As a shortcut, you can 

choose a command by pressing its first 

letter, such as Q for Quit. 

Twist works as a stand-alone pro 

gram, but the company says it will also 

work as an add-in for Lotus 1-2-3 or 

Quattro. {Add-in means you can install 

the program so that it runs from within 

1-2-3 or Quattro.) Twist reads 1-2-3, 

Quattro, and Symphony files directly, 

as well as any text file. Mouse support is 

provided when you use the program as 

a stand-alone. (My mouse, an off-off 

68 COMPUTE! 

brand masquerading as a real rodent. 

workedjust fine.) 

Once Twist is started, you use a 

pop-up list box to choose the file that 

you want to print. Either whole files or 

ranges of cells (only when Twist is used 

as an add-in—an unfortunate over 

sight) can be selected, and you can add 

attributes such as underline, bold, ital 

ics, and color to designated characters. 

It's easy to set margins, paper size, char 

acter and line spacings, and whether 

you want bidirectional printing. Type 

sizes can be changed to accommodate 

from 28 to 120 lines per page (in draft 

or high-quality type style). Varying the 

size of your print lets you emphasize 

more important information. 

The second member of this print 

ing trio. Shout, lets you create a banner 

by printing from one to six lines hori 

zontally across your computer paper. 

The size of the type decreases as the 

number of lines increases; a one-line 

banner prints letters as tall as the width 

of the page (generally 8V2 inches), while 

a six-line banner contains lines about 

Vh inches tall. 

As with Twist, you activate com 

mands in Shout through menu choices. 

When you create a new file. Shout pre 

sents a simple text editor that lets you 

enter and edit your information. It of 

fers you a choice of four typefaces— 

Times Roman. Script. Olde English, 

and Sans Serif—which can be printed 

in one of three modes—Graphics, a 

slow high-quality print; Auto, a draftquality 

print that forms banner letters 

from the letter being printed (a large D 

would be formed of regular-sized capi 

tal D's); and Manual, which lets you 

choose the character that forms the 

banner letters. For example, banner 

characters could be created with aster 

isks or dollar signs. 

Shout also offers a set of 52 graph 

ics in such categories as playing cards, 

arrows, animals, sports, hand signals, 

and holidays. Symbols, typefaces, and 

colors (if you have a color printer) can 

be mixed on the same line, and type 

faces and colors can be changed before 

or after you enter text. Creating my first 

banner took less than a minute. 

Disk Spool II. the last of the trio. 

can be loaded through your AUTO 

EXEC.BAT file when you start your 

computer. That way. it's ready to use 

with any application, not just with Twist 

& Shout An added utility, PRINTII. 

COM. prints any text file from the DOS 

prompt. Menu commands let you sus 

pend, restart, and clear the print spool 

file. Although more complicated than 

the other two programs. Disk Spool II 

is still fairly simple and its commands 

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CZS.Bl 

Ml. SI 

Kua 

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■ Mhm hi i rîr 

II Iv Itl, 

asr 

«.M 

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JB3.O1 

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• ■ 

Twist & Shout prints text sideways, and 

also lets you create banners. 

are straightforward. 

For those who need help, Twist & 

Shout s user and reference manuals are 

clearly written and offer good indexes. 

Context-sensitive help is available at 

the touch of a function key. 

At less than 60 bucks. Twist & 

Shout offers great value. Pick it up if 

you need a fast, reliable way to squeeze 

your spreadsheets onto regular-sized 

paper or if you're tired of waiting for 

your printer to continue working. But 

most importantly, get Twist & Shout if 

you're the one in charge of the office 

birthday party banners. 

— Lvnne Fre\- 

Twist & Shout 

For... 

IBM PC. PS/2, and compatibles—$59.95 

(or Lotus and Quattro add-in version, 

$79.95 for VP Planner Plus, Framework, 

Symphony, Lotus, and Quattro add-h 

version 

From... 

Software Toolworks 

13557 \fentura Blvd. 

Sherman Oaks. CA 91423 

(818)907-6789 

Flight Simulator 

3.0 

The third edition of Microsoft's Flight 

Simulator is the latest threat to produc 

tivity in the workplace. All over the 

country, thousands of Flight Simulator 

fans who have seen the new version on 

their home computer have been heard 

to mutter. "Wow, this is great! But I'll 

bet it would really cook on the 336 ma 

chine I have at the office!" 

If you're a fan of Flight Simulator 

version 2.0. lake a look at version 3.0. 

The whole thing appears to have been 

recoded. Microsoft has finally done 

away with the copy protection, so the 

whole program can now sit fat and hap- 

£•

n reviews 

py on your hard drive. It also has joined 

the rest of the game industry in sup 

porting EGA. VGA, and Tandy 16- 

color graphics. The bad news is that 

you'll have to pay full price for the up 

grade; there's no trade-in policy. 

If you're new to Flight Simulator, 

this is the package to get you started. 

The 200-page manual takes you step by 

step into the program. The software 

takes over from there with a series of 

well-done flight-training lessons that 

will teach you everything from straight 

and level flight to aerobatics. 

Take your Learjet in for a three-point 

landing with version 3.0 of Flight 

Simulator. 

You can run the program entirely 

from menus, which you can access ai 

any time during your flight. Any 

changes you make will occur after 

you've exited the menu screen—no 

need to reboot. The first menu, Mode, 

lets you choose how you want to oper 

ate the system. Normal Flight. Flight 

Instruction, and Entertainment are just 

a few of the options available. My fa 

vorite feature is the Instant Replay, 

which runs continuously so that any 

time you do something really spectacu 

lar (tike zipping beneath the Golden 

Gate Bridge) you can go back and see it 

again or even save it to disk. 

If you tire of serious flying, you'll 

be glad to hear that Microsoft has great 

ly expanded the entertainment options 

in this version. The World War I Ace 

game is still here, but it's much more 

challenging—you can't zip over to ene 

my territory, land at the enemy base, 

and blast your foe's planes as they come 

down the runway anymore. Other en 

tertainment options include a cropduster 

game, formation flying with a 

computer-controlled plane, and an op 

tion to fly with another player over the 

phone lines with a modem. 

The Navigation menu includes all 

the instrumentation you could ask for. 

If the terms I'OR. OBI, ADF, and the 

like aren't in your vocabulary, don't 

worry; the book does a good job of ex 

plaining them. Navigation is not nearly 

as mysterious as it sometimes sounds. 

Learn a few quick facts and you can fly 

anywhere on the map. Autopilot is also 

included, but I couldn't get it to track a 

VOR station. 

Where Flight Simulator really 

shines is in its View and Environment 

selections. Multiple windows make the 

combinations of views almost limitless. 

Windows can be dropped in anywhere 

on the screen. You can make them big 

ger or smaller, narrower or wider—it's 

up to you. Each window can display a 

variety of views or an overhead map. 

Don't need the instruments? Get rid of 

them. Want a full-screen chase-plane 

view as you do a loop? You've got it. 

The outside environment is equal 

ly controllable. The time of day, season, 

wind conditions, and cloud cover can 

all be adjusted as you wish. You can 

even toss in an anvil-shaped thunder 

storm or two to avoid. Morning and 

dusk flights are particularly stunning. 

The total simulation is built 

around the Cessna Skylane Turbo 

RGII aircraft, but you can also fly a 

Gates Learjet or a Sopwith Camel. Each 

aircraft has very different flight charac 

teristics, but changes in the basic instru 

ment layout are minimal. Some of the 

Cessna's characteristics, in particular, 

seem different from those in version 

2.0. For example, it takes a little longer 

to speed up and slow down. Speaking of 

taking awhile to speed up. wait until 

you try the Learjet. Jet engines must 

"spool up" to provide more power, and 

the simulation faithfully includes this 

fact. Come up short on a landing ap 

proach, and full throttle may not help 

much. 

Scenery Disks used with version 

2.0 can be converted for version 3.0. 

This conversion should also allow you 

to install these copy-protected disks 

onto your hard drive or onto a 1.2- 

megabyle floppy disk. If you store them 

this way. the next scenery area will 

automatically load as you enter a new 

zone. The conversion procedure is the 

one item not fully covered in the man 

ual, but the README.DOC disk file 

gives you a complete set of instructions. 

Aside from all this, you can create 

your own startup demos; use a key 

board, mouse, or joystick; choose from 

over 100 airports; and fly by landmarks 

like the Statue of Liberty. Best of all. in 

most of the software stores I've visited, 

there is little if any increase in price 

over version 2.0. 

If you earned your wings on an old 

Flight Simulator version, you'll enjoy 

and appreciate the improvements made 

to version 3.0. If you're new to the han 

gar, this is the package to start with. 

FREE 

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Before you decide on desktop equip 

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• Brand-name equipment at affordable 

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■ Exclusive comparison charts and 

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APRIL 1989 69

n reviews 

Roll out onto the runway and get ready 

for an air-raising experience. 

— Richard Sheffield 

Flight Simulator 3.0 

For... 


From... 

Microsoft 

16011 NE 36th Way 

P.O. Box 97017 

Redmond, WA 98073-9717 

(800) 426-9400 

The Children's 

Writing & 

Publishing 

Center 

KLids are like revolutionaries. Give one 

a printing press, control of the printed 

word, and you may be lighting a fire 

you can't put out. Viva la revolution. 

Desktop publishing, long the rage 

among grownups, in effect stuffs a 

printing press inside a personal com 

puter. Graphics and type combine to 

allow the masses to turn out a blizzard 

of sophisticated documents. The Chil 

dren 's Writing & Publishing Center 

(CWPC) brings the vaunted power of 

the press to the small people who in 

habit our homes and schools. The com 

bination of kids, computers, and 

CWPCmay well spawn a generation 

that isn't afraid to write book reports, 

thank-you letters, and class newsletters. 

The key to CWPC, and the reason 

it so aptly serves its audience (ages 9 

and up), is its simplicity. The Learning 

Company, CU'PC's publisher, knew 

exactly what to include and what to 

leave out. 

There are only two possible docu 

ment formats— the Report, Story, or 

Letter format and the Newsletter for 

mat. The former produces one- to fourpage, 

one-column documents appropri 

ate for school reports, letters to 

grandma, and short short stories for 

friends; the latter creates single-page, 

two-column newsletters. Each format 

has only two possible layouts—with a 

heading and without. 

Having selected the format type 

and layout style, the pint-size publisher 

advances to the main editing screen. A 

row of boxed icons with labels runs 

across the top of the screen. This menu 

bar includes the selections Font, Pic 

ture. Next, File, and Print. The choices 

are self-explanatory and available by 

70 COMPUTE! 

pressing a single key. Another key 

stroke, and an appropriate menu pops 

into place. Choices within these menus 

are easily understandable and limited. 

to keep confusion to a minimum. Pick 

Picture, for instance, and the subselections 

Select Picture, Move Picture, and 

Erase Picture appear. 

Most of the main editing screen, 

however, is the Workspace. This is 

where kids type text, edit sentences, and 

place pictures. Both the heading (if 

there is one) and the body of the docu 

ment are created on this screen. The 

only difference is the amount of allotted 

space and the final printed size. Kids 

with limited patience will like the fact 

that typing and correcting require a 

minimum of fuss. 

Font selection, always an impor 

tant part of desktop publishing's suc 

cess, is good, if a bit limited: three small 

lower-/uppercase, three large lower-/ 

uppercase, and two huge uppercase 

fonts. Although text can be underlined 

and centered on the page, the only fea 

ture worth the name advanced is one 

that lets writers cut out sections and 

erase or move them to another part of 

the document. 

Placing pictures is as easy as typing 

text. Over 100 color pictures and nearly 

two dozen predesigned headings are in 

cluded with CWPC {The Print Shop 

graphics can also be used). Kids select a 

picture, then move it to an exact spot (if 

it's going in a heading), or to the left or 

right side of the page (if it's being 

dropped into the body copy). They can 

even flip graphics backward or upside 

down. Text automatically moves to 

make way for the picture. 

Saving and retrieving work is a 

snap. So is printing, although the selec 

tions here may mystify youngsters who 

aren't familiar with terms such as Slot 

and Card. An adult may need to config 

ure the printer setup. 

The results of all this journalistic 

sweat? Attractive documents, especially 

if a color printer is used (the Image- 

Writer II with an Apple II computer, 

for example). Print quality is good. 

though not great. In all my tests, the 

print was too light for my liking. 

The 120-page manual may seem 

too much, but it is well organized, of 

fers numerous tips, and serves as an ad 

equate reference. More likely to be 

used, however, is the program's built-in 

help function, which is available at the 

press of a couple of keys and which can 

immediately answer most questions. 

Of PC effortlessly guides kids 

through the mechanics of creating and 

printing their writing. By funneling 

their efforts into limited channels. 

CWPC lets kids think more about what 

they're writing, not how they're writing. 

And because the final product is goodlooking, 

kids will find it easier to show 

their creative writing to teachers, par 

ents, even friends. 

A Book Report or 

Columbus 

By Pat Davis 

In 1492, rnanu people, like Columbus, 

:hou«ht that the mor-ld mis 

round. This meant that you 

could sail * boat From Spain 

■' the Indies, mhich uje noui 

Japan and China, t>y 

The Children's Writing & Publishing Center 

is desktop publishing for the small set. 

Anything that makes kids want to 

write—in this video era—is top-notch 

in my book. As a parent, a former 

teacher, and a writer, I applaud a prod 

uct that gels kids excited about the writ 

ten word and the crafting of imagination. 

I give Children's Writing & Pub 

lishing Center a standing ovation. 

The Children's Writing & 

Publishing Center 

For... 

Apple II—S59.95 


From... 

The Learning Company 

6493 Kaiser Dr. 

Fremont, CA 94555 

(415)792-2101 

And... 


Boih 3Yz-inch and 5'/4-inch disk versions 

are available. 

F-19 Stealth 

Fighter 

Want to really push the envelope of 

personal computer military simula 

tions? Then point the nose of a S:ealth 

fighter into the sky and hang on. Micro- 

Prose's latest release, F-19 Stealth 

Fighter, boosts graphics animation and 

functional realism to the blast point. 

With F-19, you fly a variety of mis 

sions in the most well-publicized topsecret 

fighter plane ever built. From 

your first training mission—a strike 

against a Libyan radar station—you 

move to subsequent missions in the 

Persian Gulf, the North Cape area of

n reviews 

ADVERTISEMENT 

Norway, and in Central Europe. Flying 

conditions affect the rules of engage 

ment that you must follow and can 

range from cold war to all-out conven 

tional war. 

In a cold-war situation, you must 

use the F-19's stealth capabilities to 

their fullest as you sneak up and destroy 

your designated target and then slip 

away. During a conventional war, how 

ever, it's all right to take out anything 

and everything that gets in your way. 

Missions become increasingly difficult, 

but if you perform successfully, you can 

advance from second lieutenant to brig 

adier general while collecting a variety 

of service ribbons and medals. 

Originally released for the Com 

modore 64/128 as Project Stealth Fight 

er, F-19 has been dramatically over 

hauled for the MS-DOS environment. 

One of the biggest improvements is the 

increased variety of views available to 

you as a fighter pilot. Besides the stand 

ard front, rear. left, and right views 

from within the cockpit. F-19 offers 

several outside views. 

The Chase Plane view follows your 

every turn and dive, the Tactical view 

keeps both your plane and the enemy's 

plane onscreen at all times, and the 

Reverse Tactical view takes the ene 

my's perspective. There's also a Side 

view and even a Missile view that lets 

you ride a Sidewinder right into the fu 

selage of an enemy MiG—shades of Dr. 

Strangelove. Most of these views let you 

zoom in and out or toggle between a 

standard 60-degree viewing angle and a 

wide-angle viewing arc of 120 degrees. 

Detailed briefings and debriefings 

are available. At the briefing screen, 

you are presented with a map of the 

mission area; you can review specific 

aspects of the mission by choosing the 

appropriate menu item. By selecting 

Mission Targets, for example, your pri 

mary and secondary targets show up as 

/*and S on the map. This information 

is essential because it can help you de 

sign a flight plan that exploits weak 

nesses in the enemy's air-defense 

system. 

Before embarking on your mission, 

you can select four kinds of armaments 

from an arsenal of 18 types of weapons. 

These include several types of radarand 

infra red-guided air-to-air missiles 

as well as laser-guided and free-fall 

bombs. Some missions require that at 

least one of your four weapon pods be 

loaded with such things as a I35mm in 

frared camera (for surveillance), an 

auxiliary fuel container with a 1900- 

pound fuel capacity, or special equip 

ment that you must secretly airlift into 

strategic locations. 

Debriefings occur after you have 

completed your mission. Starting at the 

time of takeoff, a digital clock runs as 

your course is traced on a map that dis 

plays the entire mission area. The clock 

stops running at major events such as 

the firing of weapons or the destruction 

of targets, These events are depicted by 

graphic inserts similar to the computergenerated 

graphics used by networknews 

broadcasts to illustrate the 

unfolding of events, such as the United 

States1 bombing of Libya. 

F-19 Stealth Fighter has you flying topsecret 

combat missions with state-of-theart 

military hardware. 

The mission debriefing shows ex 

actly how each phase of your mission 

has added to your cumulative rating. 

During the Libyan training mission, for 

example, you may receive 78 points for 

destroying your primary target, the 

SAM radar station at Tripoli, but only 

27 points for taking out the missile gun 

boat that's patrolling off the coast. 

The first section of F-19 Stealth 

Fighter's 192-page manual guides you 

step-by-step through your first couple 

training missions, while the second sec 

tion provides detailed operating in 

structions. Subsequent sections include 

descriptions of advanced techniques 

and tactics and a guide to weapon sys 

tems capabilities. 

F-19 Stealth Fighter isn't the last 

word in military aircraft simulations. 

But if you're a would-be combat flyer 

itching to get into today's headlines 

through the cockpit of one of the 

world's most sophisticated aircraft, this 

package will give you wings. 

— Bob Guerra 

F-19 Stealth Fighter 

For... 

Commodore 64/128—S44.95 

IBM PC, PS/2, and compatibles with 

384 K—S69.95 

From... 

MicroProse 

180UkefrontDr. 

Hunt valley, MD 21030 

{301)771-1151 

Flight 

notes 

#6A 

-^* Exploring Stealth Mission 

Several man-years went into developing Stealth 

Mission for the Commodore 64/128 computers. 

The program incorporates many new design 

concepts. Target-hit detection, for example, is 

embedded within the Stealth Mission scenery 

structure itself. This lets the software designer 

easily assign a different score value to each 

potential target, including negative scores for 

destroying targets that should be avoided 

(hospitals, for example). Programmable scoring is 

just one unique feature of this third-generation 

flight simulator. 

~4< Stealth Mission Reviews 

While we don't like to brag, we certainly can't argue 

with Stealth Mission reviews like these. Ahoy 

magazine (7/88) writes that this simulator "pushes 

the C64/128 envelope beyond the blue horizon, to 

a whole new level of animation and frame rates... 

absolutely incredible." Stealth Mission "... sets new 

standards at the top of the C64 flight simulator 

heap." according to Info (5-6/88). Commodore 

(2/89) calls Stealth Mission's combination of 

strategy and action "truly superior to others. Only a 

flight simulation this good could come from 

SubLOGIC.' Stealth Mission, winner of the 1988 

Consumer Electronics Show "Best Strategy Game" 

Software Showcase Award. What more can we say? 

Top Selling Commodore 

Products This Month: 

1. Flight Simulate 

2. Steal 

3: 

64/128 

Disk 

5.San-FTancisco Scenery Disk (S24.95) 

6. Scenery Disk # 3 - U.S. South Pacific 

(S19.95) 

7. Scenery Disk # 7 - O.S. Eastern Seaboard 

(S24.95)) 

8.Scenery Disk # 4 - U.S. North West 

(S19.95) 

See your dealer to purchase SubLOGIC products, 

or call us direct to order by charge card at (800) 

637-4983. Illinois residents call (217) 359-8482. 

SubLOGIC Corporation 

501 Kenyon Road 

Champaign, 1L 61820 

Please address any feedback/correspondence regarding 

SubLOGIC products, operations, or this "Flight Notes" 

column to ATTrH: Chairman's Office. 

APRIL 1 9 8 9 71

H REVIEWS 

Quicken 

Most people arc reluctant to change 

their accounting practices, preferring to 

muddle through with a system they un 

derstand—no matter how inefficient. 

Computerizing their finances sounds 

like a good idea, but most personal and 

home-business accounting packages are 

too complicated or too inflexible. 

Quicken, Intuit's checking-account 

management program, overcomes the 

complexity hurdle by modeling itself 

after your checkbook and performing 

the same functions: You can enter de 

posits and withdrawals, automatically 

total your balance even' month, and 

print custom checks on your printer. 

Use Quicken to write checks and to keep 

tabs on your personal finances. 

The program's interface is reason 

ably simple to master and avoids ac 

counting jargon. The Write Checks 

screen, for example, looks just like a 

checkbook; you fill out the check side 

and the program fills out the stub and 

computes the new balance. But Quick 

en can do more than just keep your 

checkbook. It can set up separate ac 

counts for home and business (or any 

other account you like, with no limit 

to the size and number of accounts) 

and assign each transaction to a sepa 

rately named category. For example, 

every payment for office supplies can 

be tagged as belonging in the Office 

Supplies category; then, at the end of 

the year, Quicken can list every officesupply 

expense and tell you the total 

amount you spent in that category. 

(The program supplies a list of sug 

gested categories for home and busi 

ness transactions, but you can devise 

your own categories or edit the ones 

provided.) 

When April 15 comes around. 

Quicken can pull out all transactions 

with labels that correspond to catego 

ries on Form 1040 and Schedules A, B. 

C. D, and E, and total them so you can 

enter them onto your tax return. (It 

works especially well with a computer 

tax program like MacinTax.) 

72 COMPUTE! 

Just automating the addition and 

subtraction of checkbook entries (no 

more pencils and stubs) can save you a 

lot of time and aggravation. And if you 

need to find an old transaction. Quick 

en 's fast search feature lets you search 

by category, date, or amount—better 

than looking through old stub booklets 

or canceled checks. You can also tag 

regular payments, such as loan pay 

ments and first-of-the-month bills, and 

print those checks in batches. Quicken 

will address the checks for use with 

window envelopes, which are available 

by mail along with tractor-feed blank 

checks; the checks are accepted by near 

ly all financial institutions in the U.S. 

With Quicken s report generator, 

you can sort transactions by payee, cat 

egory, or date, and then print detailed 

reports for tax and accounting pur 

poses. If you take the time to enter all 

your transactions—cash, credit card, 

savings account, dividend, and so on— 

Quicken can provide you with a com 

plete statement of your financial posi 

tion at any time. There's nothing like a 

well-organized, complete, and up-todate 

financial report to convince a bank 

to approve a personal, mortgage, or 

small-business loan. (The Macintosh 

version includes a HyperCard stack so 

you can link your data with other 

HyperCard slacks and make use of its 

extensive reporting capabilities.) 

Although designed for home and 

small-business use. Quicken can also 

serve a business wilh several employ 

ees. It tracks gross wages, state and fed 

eral withholding taxes, and FICA for 

each employee. Building on its basic 

checkbook concepts, you can set up 

budgets and compare actual expenses 

and income against the budget figures, 

create profit and loss statements, and 

track accounts payable, accounts re 

ceivable, and cash flow. Quicken will 

even export data as SYLK files for use 

in a spreadsheet. You might not use all 

these features at home, but it's nice to 

know they're there. 

Any accounling package, even one 

as easy to use as Quicken, requires 

some effort to learn. You have to enter 

your basic financial information when 

you begin with the package, and again 

even' month at check-writing time. 

You must also enter all checks you 

write manually, like checks to the 

supermarket, or your balances will be 

inaccurate. 

Quicken requires that you think 

systematically about your money, 

which may be difficult to do at first. But 

once you develop the habit, the benefits 

you derive in having accurate, compre 

hensive, and accessible financial re 

cords, in automating routine check 

writing, and in knowing just what's 

happening lo your money make the ef 

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TKO 

Johnson hit the ropes and dropped to 

the canvas for an 8-count. I had him 

now. A couple of quick jabs and a right 

hook sent his energy level to zip and he 

kissed the canvas again. The crowd 

went wild, but the round ended before 1 

could finish him off. 

Be a contender for the championship box 

ing belt with TKO. 

I won that fight on points but I had 

hoped to add a knockout (KO) or at 

least a technical knockout (TKO) to my 

statistics in this power-packed boxing 

simulation from Accolade, appropriate 

ly called TKO. 

You may have watched two fight 

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through the ropes and faced another 

boxer yourself? That's what you do in 

TKO. Your opponent is right in front of 

you. He's just a jab away, and he wants 

to rearrange your face. 

TKO lets you choose a fighter, give 

him a name and a boxing style, and 

even select a face you like (or don't 

like). You can select a power hard and

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P REVIEWS 

a best punch, set speed and power ra 

tios, and even decide if your fighter will 

tire quickly or is prone to getting his 

face cut. TKO lets you fine-tune your 

boxer's attributes. Decide on a threeround, 

five-round, or ten-round match 

and step into the ring. 

You can challenge a friend in a 

two-player version or take on one of 

eight computer contenders. The disk 

saves the win/loss statistics of the oneplayer 

bouts; two players pummel each 

other just for bragging rights. 

The Main Event shows you and 

your opponent from the chest up in 

split-screen. When your boxer throws a 

punch, you see a gloved fist slam into 

your opponent. Connect with an uppercut 

and watch his head snap back. 

Watch your own eye turn black when 

his jabs land on you. The graphics ren 

der the damage on each boxer's face as 

the bout progresses. 

To the right of the animated fig 

ures is an aerial view of the ring. You 

can't control your fighter's footwork, 

but the boxers do move about the ring, 

depending on the blows being thrown. 

Back an opponent into the ropes or a 

corner and your punches increase in 

power. 

A digital clock counts down each 

three-minute round, and numbered 

boxes indicate which round you're in 

and the winner of each. Beneath each 

fighter is an Energy Bar. Watch it care 

fully and fight conservatively if your 

energy level drops too low. Become 

more aggressive when your opponent's 

energy drops, because he'll fall when it 

reaches 0. 

If you study your opponent's fight 

ing style before a bout, you can set your 

guard position accordingly. If his strong 

punch is a left to the head, lift your 

guard. You can also protect your throat, 

chest, or stomach with a flick of the joy 

stick. That defensive position remains 

in effect until you change it. 

The nine positions on your joy 

stick correspond to the nine target areas 

you can aim for. For example, the up 

per left position throws a left at your 

opponent's eye. The center aims for his 

mouth and a lower right throws a right 

to his body. Press the fire button to 

throw a punch or to block your 

opponent's. 

After each round, a statistic screen 

provides a blow-by-blow account of the 

fight, including the number of head and 

body blows attempted and landed. It 

also indicates the winner of each round. 

If you're taking a pounding, pres:> a key 

when you're between rounds and re 

view each boxer's attributes. You may 

want to adjust your defense and con 

centrate on your most effective punch. 

Boxing may not appeal to every 

one, but fight fans will like TKO's 

unique first-person perspective. Instead 

of shouting advice from ringside, tape 

your hands, put on the gloves, and 

climb through the ropes. See if you're a 

boxer, brawler, bleeder, or bum. You al 

ways said you could've been a contend 

er; here's your chance to prove it. 

— Tom Netsel 

TKO 

For... 

Commodore 64/128—$29.95 


From 

Accolade 


San Jose. CA 95128 

{408)985-1700 

Introducing Educational, Non-Trivia Bible Games! 

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THE OLD TESTAMENT GAME 

Hardware Requirements: Currently available for IBM or compatible: 

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PC-Link 

Late last year. Quantum Computer Ser 

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74 

COMPUTE!

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XT Turbo 

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H REVIEWS 

tor and a CGA, EGA, VGA, or Hcrculestypc 

graphics adapter. 

The PC-Link package, available at 

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created a very enticing service. Dollar 

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ease of use, it sets a new standarc. that 

others will be hard-pressed to match. 

And while it's true that broader-based 

scvices generally boast longer member 

ship lists, all PC-Link users share a 

common interest—MS-DOS comput 

ers. PC-Link's computer forums and 

software libraries ignore all but PCrelated 

material, but many users will 

have no interest in other computer op 

erating systems anyway. 

Whether you own a true-blue IBM 

PC or a compatible like a Tandy 1000 

SL, if you're interested in serious, tele 

computing, you should test-drive the 

PC-Link demo. It could be the intro 

duction you need to the electronic 

world beyond your monitor. 

PC-Link 

For... 

— David Stanlon 

IBM PC and compatibles with 384K; CGA, 

EGA, VGA, Tandy 16-color, or Herculos 

graphics adapter; and modem—S29.95; 

monthly fee for basic service—S9.95; pre 

mium service an additional S0.10 per 

minute 

From... 

Quantum Computer Services 

8619 Westwood Center Dr. 

Vienna, VA 22180 

[703) 448-8700 E3

Our specialty is software! Call or send for our complete listing of games and other software for 

IBM, AMIGA, COMMODORE and APPLE. 

We're so sure you'll love ordering the Wright way, the call is on us! 

IBM SOFTWARE 

LIST 

PRICE 

Lotus 123 S495 

Microsoft Word 

Printshop 

WordPerfect 

2400 AD 

4th & Inches 

Ancient Art o! War 

Ancient Art ot 

War at Sea 

Apollo 18 

Balance of Povm 

Bard's Tale 

Beyond Zork 

Black Cauldron 

8reach 

Bridge 5.0 

California Games 

Chessmaster 2000 

Defender of the 

Crown 

Earl Weaver's 

Baseball 

Bway 

Quarterback 

Empire 

Falcon 

Flight Simulator 

3.0 

Gold Rush 

Gunship 

Hunt for Red 

October 

Impossible 

Mission II 

Jordan vs Bird. 

one on one 

King s Quest 1, II, 

III or IV 

LA Crackdown 

450 

60 

495 

S30 

40 

45 

45 

40 

50 

50 

50 

40 

40 

30 

40 

45 

40 

40 

30 

50 

50 

50 

40 

50 

50 

40 

40 

50 

50 

WRIGHT 

PRICE 

$345 

230 

39 

255 

$20 

26 

29 

29 

26 

34 

33 

33 

26 

26 

20 

26 

29 

26 

26 

20 

33 

33 

33 

26 

33 

33 

26 

26 

32 

33 

Leisure Suit Larry 40 26 

Leisure Suit 

Larry II 50 33 

ManhunterNY 50 32 

Monopoly 40 26 

Nobunaga 's 

Ambition 60 39 

PT-109 50 33 

Pirates 40 26 

Platoon 40 26 

Police Quest I or II 50 32 

Rocket Ranger EGA 50 33 

Romance of 

Three Kingdoms 70 46 

Sent. Worlds I: 

Future Magic 50 33 

Sherlock 43 28 

Shiloh 40 26 

Silent Service 35 23 

Solitaire Royale 35 23 

Sons of Liberty 40 26 

Space Max 60 39 

Space Quest I. II 

or III 50 32 

Star Command 50 33 

Starflight 50 32 

Star Saga 80 52 

Strike Fleet 40 26 

Test Drive 40 26 

The Games: 

Summer Edition 50 33 

The Games: 

Winter Edition 50 33 

The Sporting 

News Baseball 40 26 

Thexder 35 23 

Three Stooges 50 33 

Thud Ridge 40 26 

Ultima I or III 40 26 

Ultima IV or V 60 39 

Under Fire 35 23 


Sim. 50 33 

Visions of 

Aftermath 40 26 

Warship 60 39 

Wasteland 50 33 

Wizard's Crown 40 26 

Wizard Wars 45 29 

Zak McKracken 45 29 

AMIGA SOFTWARE 

LIST 

PRICE 

Superbase 

i ",150 

Barbarian 

Bard's Tale 

Clever and Smart 

$40 

50 

35 

Defender of Crown 50 

Earl Weaver 

Baseball 

50 

Final Assault 

45 

Impossible 

Mission II 

50 

King's Quest 1. II 

or III 

50 

LA. Crackdown 50 

Lords of the 

Rising Sun 

50 

Marble Madness 50 

Menace 

30 

Obliterator 

40 

Paladin 

40 

Police Quest 

50 

Questron II 

50 

Rocket Ranger 50 

Sherlock 

40 

Solitaire Royale 30 

Space Quest 1 or II 50 

Starglider II 

50 

Terrorpods 

40 

Thexder 

35 

Three Stooges 50 

Tv/ilight Zone 

40 

Ultima III 

40 

Ultima IV 

60 


Simulator 

50 

War in Middle Earth 60 

Wizard Wars 40 

WRIGHT 

PRICE 

S75 

$26 

34 

23 

33 

33 

29 

33 

32 

33 

33 

33 

20 

26 

26 

32 

33 

33 

26 

20 

33 

33 

26 

23 

33 

26 

26 

39 

33 

39 

26 

APPLE II SOFTWARE 

LIST 

PRICE 

2400 AD $40 

American Civil 

War 2 or 3 40 

Bard's Tale 45 

Bard's Tale II or III 50 

Battles of 

Napoleon 50 

Demon's Winter 30 

Empire 50 

King's Quest I, II, 

III or IV 50 

Manhunter 

New York 50 

Space Quest I or II 50 

Times of Lore 40 

Ultima IV or V 60 

Under Fire 60 

C-64 SOFTWARE 

LIST 

PRICE 

4th 8. Inches 

S30 

American Civil 

War Vol 2 or 3 40 

Bard's Tale I, II or III 40 

Battles of 

Napoleon 50 

Demon's Winter 30 

Impossible 

Mission II 40 

Jordan vs Bird: 

One on One 30 

Questron II 40 

Red Storm Rising 40 

Road Runner 35 

Three Stooges 35 

Times of Lore 40 

Ultima IV or V 60 

Zak McKracken 35 

WRIGHT 

PRICE 

$26 

26 

30 

32 

33 

20 

33 

32 

32 

32 

26 

39 

39 

WRIGHT 

PRICE 

$20 

26 

26 

33 

20 

26 

20 

26 

26 

23 

23 

26 

39 

23 

Same Day Shipping (subject to 

Oitier by mail with money ordei or check (check aiders not shipped until cleared) Do not send cash 

SHIPPING US oideis sen! U.PS. Add S? 50 tor shipping and handling US Mai FPO and APO available Call lor shipping and 

handling costs Kansas residents add 5% sales lax Prices subject lo change 

Wright 

Computer 

P.O. Box 7804441 Wichita, KS 67278-0444 

VISA - MASTERCARD 

(800)233-2124 

Toll-free

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Send #10 SA5E for wint. catlg. T & Z Software 

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FREE CATALOG—OVER 1000 PUBLIC DOMAIN 

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Buy or Rent. Low as Sl.Ofl/iiisk. Write lo 

Softshoppe, POB 709, Ann Arbor, MI -18106 

QUALITY APPLE II PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE. 

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on 5V4". SASE for info (407) 723-1693. D & H, 

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TRY BEFORE YOU BUY; C64, 128, AMIGA. 

Games utilities, educn'l, classics, new re 

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GRAPHICS FOR PC's and COMPATIBLES 

$45.00 ppd 

P.O. Box 6434 S.B., CA 93111 

For more information call (805)964-7810 

ATARI 800/XL/XE SOFTWARE- New Releases, 

Hits, Classics-ALL INTERESTS! FREE INFOR 

MATION. Write or call: 25th Century, Hox 

8042, Hicksville, NY 11802 (516) 932-5330 

PC BIBLE. Complete Bible text. Search, 

index, print, edit. Demo $5. $95 (KJV or 

NIV) both for $145 ($5 s/h). MD res. add 

5%. SCR1PTRON, 9353 Northgate Road, 

Laurel, MD 20707. 301-776-1196. IBM PC 

State: 

Type Of computer: 

Quantity 

Issue 

(Month/Year) 

Zip: 

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or Disk Name 

Price' 

•FREE' IBM SOFTWARE 'FREE1 

BW AND 3Vz" FORMATS 

FREE CATALOG: AP-JP, INC., 

BOX 1155, W. BABYLON, NY 11704 

FREE SOFTWARE-BEST OF PUBLIC DOMAIN 

& shareware. Carefully selected and edited 

programs for l.B.M. Send large S.A.S.E. 

for free catalog. C.C.S., Inc. Dcpt. C2, 

P.O. Bo* 312, Lafayette Hill, PA 19444 

C64/128 FINEST PUBLIC DOMAIN PRO- 

CRAMS. Pretested quality programs 'Most 

$1.50*" On Disk *YOU pick the programs that 

YOU want!! Free diskful of programs with first 

order! For a list + description, send SASE to: 

ILH Co. Dept. H, Box 67021, Topeka, KS 66667 

IBM SOFTWARE SALE - 6 DISKS ONLY S10 

Enjoy our most popular programs including 

Word Processor, Database, Checkbook, DOS 

Tutor, Spreadsheet, and 12 exciting games 

with color. Send S10 to Pacific Exchange, 

333 Cobalt Way 8107, Sunnyvale, CA 54086. 

FREE PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE—Request 

free catalog or send $2 for sample disk it 

catalog (refundable). APPLE, C64-128 (specify) 

CALOKE 1ND., Box 18477, K.C., MO 64 133 

OUTSTANDING IBM SOFTWARE 

The Best of P.D. & Shareware programs 

S2.50/disk for 5.25' or S3.75 for 3.5" 

Free list or 75c stamp for disk catalog. 

ACL., 1621 Fulton =35-C4 Sac. CA 95825 

SUBTOTAL: 

NY residents—Add 8Vi% Tax: 

NC residents—Add 5% Tax: 

FREE CATALOG OF DISCOUNT SOFTWARE. 

Apple, Atari, Commodore, and IBM. 

WMJ Data Systems-C, 4 Butterfly Drive. 

Hauppauge, NY 11788. 800-962-1988 ext. 122 

** MASTERMENU PLUS " Hard Drive Menu 

Easily Create/delete Menu's. 20 Security 

Lvls, User Audit Trails, Encrypt/decrypt/ 

hide- files, IBM (MS-DOS) S 139.95. Product 

catalog Avail. Cali (207)439-5074: Applied 

Technologies Inc. Lyndon Way, Kittery, ME 03904 

EDUCATION 

TURN ON IN ELECTRONIC 

Get our FREE Brochure today lo learn about 

Iraimng at Lincoln Technical Instilute. 

■ Eleclromcs ■ Auto Diesel Truck Technology 

■ Drafting CAD • Healing A C ana Helngerallon 

Locations nationwide, financial Aid (lot I nose who 

quality) Employment assistance Call Depl. C 

1-800-992-5200 

TOTAL: 

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available. COMPUTE: Fall 1979-3/81. 9/81. 11/81. 

2/82-12,'82. 2/83. 4/B3. 1/85. 11/85- 12/85. Gatette: 

7-83-12-83, 1/84-7/84. 9/84. 11/14-12/84, 

1/85-7/85.9/85-11/85-3/86. 

Single disks (or COMPUTE! or Gazerre are $15.00. 

NOTE: No disks dated prior 10 June 1986 are avail 

able. The October, 1987 Gazelle disk is no longer 

available. 

Back issues ol COMPUTE! s PC Magazine are 

$15.00 eacti. This publications is available only as a 

magazine/disk combinations. The following issues 

are NOT available: PC Magazine: 9/87. 11/87. 

Disk/magazine combinations are S16.00. 

Shipping and handling included. 

NO CREDIT-CARD ORDERS ACCEPTED. 

Paymeni must be in U.S. dollars Dy check drawn on 

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bank. 

COMPUTE! Classified is a low-cost way to tell over 250,000 

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Rates: $25 per line, minimum of four lines. Any or all of the first line set in capi 

ta] letters at no charge. Add S15 per line for boldface words, or $50 for the eiHre 

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Terms: Prepayment is required. Check, money order, American Express, Visa, or 

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General Information: Advertisers using post office box numbers in their ads must 

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Closing: 10th of the third month preceding cover date (e.g., June issue closes 

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call Kathleen Ingram at (919) 275-9809. 

Notice: COMPUTE! Publications cannot be responsible for offers or claims of 

advertisers, but will attempt to screen out misleading or questionable copy. 

78 COMPUTE!

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES 

PERSONAL COMPUTER OWNERS CAN EARN S1000 

to $5000 monthly selling simple services 

part time. Free list of 100 best services. 

A.I.M.Y.5., Box 60369, San Diego, CA 92106 

BIG MONEY AT HOME WITH YOUR COMPUTER. 

All new CTMS program, first release. 

Send $2.00 for complete program out tine. 

CTMS, 604 Phyllis, Conroe, TX 77303 

GET PAID for mailing letters! 

5200.00 daily. Write: PASE 

MF7, 161 Lincolnway, North Aurora, 

IL 60542 

STOP! LOOK! $4,000/month with computers. 

Homebased. Proven. No experience/capital. 

Guaranteed. Free details. MacKenzie, 

Box 91181-LSC, Pasadena, CA 91109 

WORK AT HOME. 1000+ companies hiring 

home workers. Computer & other skills. 

Specific job leads. Details: TWN, Box 

820a, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670. SASE. 

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Write: Pase - CS5, 

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Mail to: University Microfilms International 

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2 FREE DISKS! 

with every 6 purchased, 

FULL OF GREAT PROGRAMS! 

Arcade(req. CGA) & Monoqames 

AR 1: Battlezone, Crossfire, Shoot Gallery, Beast, more! 

AR 2: Bushido. Nin a. Froqqer, Chess, Artill. Sub, more' 

AR 3: Asteroids, Baby, Space Inv, Star Pinball, more1 

AH 4: ABM, Willy, Zaxxon, Striker, Starqaie, more! 

AH 5: Pacman collection, PC Tennis, Panqo, more' 

AR 10: Goll-Daytona. Ohio South- Realistic feaiures! 

AR 12: 1938 Ford Driving Simulator. 3 drrvinq courses' 

AR 14: Concentration. Wheel ol Fortune, (like on TVI 

AR 15: Devastator, Fireworks. Q-bert. Hardhal more1 

API 16: Defender, Dragon, GTW, Spacewar, Trek, more! 

AR 17: Scrabble. Monopoly, Jusl like the home version1 

AR 13: Over 40 of our besl BASIC qames! 

AR 19: PC Chessfmulit-level), Submarine,Baseball,more 

AH 20: Deiend, Backqamon, EGA Risk. 

AH 21: Castle. Sleuth. Queslor. Zoarre. 

AR 22: Lifeform. PUZS8. Mahjong. Wari. 

AR 23: Baiali, Berzerk, Disk Crash, EM, Tank. 

Order Toll Free 

1-800-426-3061 

(outside U.S. 1-919-921-2668) 

AR 24: Fortune- Tells vour fortune! 

MG 1: Football. Vietnam. Animal. Bowling CIA mnrH 

MG 5: Scrabble- lull of qraphics & includes dictionary1 

MG 13; 2 Good Baseball games. Realistic actionl 

Accounting & Finance 

AC 12: HBMS-Home budget management system in 

cludes checkbook with 254 account capability. 

BU 2: E-Z Forms- Create your own forms! 

BU4:As Easy As-Lotus 1-2-3 Clone(100% Lotus Comp) 

BU 8: Complete Accounting. Accounts Payable/Receiv 

able, General Ledger, Payroll System. 

BU 21: 500 plus simple business letters & legal forms. Ir 

eludes accounting, legal, employee. Can be modified! 

F) 2: Finance Pak. Financial calculator. 10+ calculator 

Fl 3: PC-Checkbook- deluxe checking. Newly updated! 

Education & Learning 

CE 1: Clockgame, Hangman, Teachtot, more learn tool;. 

CE 2: Animal Math, AMY- PreSchool aqes 3-8. 

CE 3: Alphabet, Memory Game, Fun-Keys-colorful! 

CE 4: Word Drocessor for kids. A must fo- small children 

CE 5: Kid Games: for school kids grades 4 +. 

CE 6: Play and Learn- Etch-a-Sketch type qame. 

ED 1: SAT Vocabulary builder. 7500 plus wards! 

ED 4: Deluxe Typinq Tutor. Great graphics! 

ED 6: Math package, 15 programs. Fun for all aqes! 

EO 7: IQ Builder, PC Touch, Gooqrnphv, much morel 

ED 10: Bible quiz I & II. Test vour knowledge' 

ED 14: Time Capsule- headlines from the past! 

Call for FREE Catalog! 

1000's more programs! 

ED 15: Very qood Algebra tutor. Multiple skill levels! 

ED 19: Hiqh School/Cotleqe Basic Physics tutor. 

ED 20: Beginner Chemistry Tutor. Good Graphics' 

LE 1: DOS Help-on-line quick DOS referecne.lmem res) 

l.E 2: DOS Tutoi-Complptc liJlorial on DOS cornmnnds. 

LE 3: BASIC Tulor & Balch File Tulor, PC =rof. 

L£ 4: HELP DOS- Thcrouqh DOS helo vil tech. diet. 

Word Proc, Database, Graphic, Other 

CU 1: Copy unprolect for 60 t- proqrams.(Lotus, dBase) 

DB8.0,8.1:PCFile:db- Update of PC File +. Includes 

70 paqe manual on disk. Best in Shareware! (2 disk set) 

GR 3: Celebrity poster for printer or screen. Great Fun! 

GR 12: Dreamhouse-creale plans for vour dream home. 

WP 1.0,1.1: (counts as 2 disks) All New Ver. 3.0 ot PC 

Write. Leadina shareware word processor. A must! 

W3 5: Galaxy- Eesy lo learn WPw/ cull down menus. 

100% IBM Compatible 

Total 4 5-1/41 disks x $4.00-* S 

Total* 3-1/2'disks x$5.O0= $ 

C.O.D. orders add £2.50 

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S 

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Mail to: Paragon,..pc software 

PO Box 187 

Moravian Falls, NC 28654-187

MIMO 

CO., EVC 

OUR ONLY STORE 

ESTABLISHED 1950 

64 WEST 36th ST 

NEW YORK CITY 

NEW YORK I001S 

COMPUTER 

DISCOUNTS 

ON ALL YOUR 

COMPUTER 

NEFDS 

CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-451-9780 

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faj 

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EQUITY I + 

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EPSON 

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,_~ 

PACKAGE 

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V 

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Memory sidecars which increase memory to 736K 

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Upgrades which expand 128K sidecars to 512K 

Speed up & pseudo DMA cartridges 

Clock modules, printer ports & speech attachments 

Joysticks, optical mice & light pens 

Adapters to use your PCjr monitor with a PC 

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PC ENTERPRISES 

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(800) 922-PCJR (201) 280-0025 

VOICE MASTER KEY® 

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ORDER HOTLINE: (503) 342-1271 Monday-Friday. 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific Time 

Add $5 for snipping and handling on all orders MO an additional S3 lor 2nd day delivery All 

goods shipped UPS Master Card and VISA, money order, cashiers check or personal 

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inquiries contact Covox lor C&F price Quotes. Specify computer type when ordering. 30 DAY 

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE IF NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED ONE YEAR WARRANTY ON 

HARDWARE 

Call or write for FREE product catalog. 

COVOX 

INC 

675-D Conger Street, Eugene, OR 974(2 

Telex 706017 |AV ALARM LID) 

TEL: 503-342-1271 FAX: 503-342-1lf83

a 

Control 

Simulator 

? It looks simplejust 

keep every blip on your scope apart as you vector them around for 

approaches and departures. But they keep coming, pushing you to your 

limits. And you alone must prevent a dreaded crash between airliners loaded 

assengers. 

'n this first ever microcomputer simula 

tion of a terminal adar .'.pproach 

:: trol facility created by a PhD 

R&D manager, and profes 

sional controllers, you'll 

enter the Inner sanctum of 

air traffic control. 

S» •, Handle traffic on a "real" 

ATC radar scope. Adjust 

traffic loads from "nosweaf' 

midnight levels to 

a five-o'clock rush. Choose 

"lousy" pilots or "stormy" 

weather to test your skill with 

pilot errors and "go-arounds". 

i : 

FAA insiders compare '■■ .1! 

with million-dollar ATC trainers. It 

gives you a realistic traffic mix from 

Piper Cubs to Boeing 747 "heavies" in 

Isectors: Los Angeles, 

^_ ■ ■ ■ _ . * t\t. • _ _ _i 

Boston. Yet no experience is necessary: 

a detailed manual, sample scenarios, and 

an audio cassette demo tape train you in 

ATC procedures and jargon. 

hrdiy. TRACON mirrors a world where decisions determine not revenues or profits, but 

To order, call 1-800-634-9808. 

Requires IBM PC or compatible wiih at least 

256K, one disk drive, and graphics monitor. 

Mouse optional. Price of $49.95 includes program 

on 5.25" and 3.5" IBM PC diskettes, typeset 

manual, on-disk samples and an audio cassette 

tape demonstration scenario. Please add S5 (or 

shipping and handling; Texas residents add 8% 

sales tax. We ship the next day via UPS. 

Unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee: it 

not completely satisfied, just return it to us for 

a full refund. Dealer inquiries welcome. 

esson 

1439 Circle Ridge Dr. 

Austin. Texas 78746 

(512)328-0100 

Producing intuitive, elegant 

microcomputer software since 1981 

EGA Screen Photograph of TRACON 

j

■news&notes 

continued from page 10. 

Tandy-Built 

Agreements with Digital 

have yet to be released. 

Equipment (DEC) and Pana 

Ed Jugc. Tandy's director 

sonic have boosted Tandy's 

of market planning, says that 

prominence in the computer- 

companies like DEC are look 

manufacturing arena. While 

ing to capitalize on Tandy's 

other PC-compatibles makers 

ability to manufacture com 

fight for market share, the 

puters efficiently, reliably, and 

Texas consumer electronics 

inexpensively. He says Tandy 

gianl has roped a lucrative deal 

will be able to increase its own 

for its Fort Wonh computer- 

market share through the ven 

faciory corra!. 

Under the DEC agree 

ture because the agreement 

will give Tandy added credibil 

computers won't offer the 

probably would have found 

ment. Tandy will build person 

ity with business customers. 

DeskMate interface or MS- 

another supplier. "If you have 

al computers according to 

DEC design specifications. 

Then DEC will disiribule and 

Panasonic has also sought 

Tandy's help in building per 

sonal computers to be sold un 

DOS in ROM. and they won't 

carry Tandy's sound chip. 

Both the ROM and the sound 

to lose market share, you 

might as well lose it to your 

self," Juge said. Tandy will 

market those computers under 

der the Panasonic label. As a 

features are included with 

supply all the raw materials 

its own name. Famous for its 

leading consumer electronics 

Tandy's 8086 and 8-bit 80286 

and oversee the entire con 

minicomputer systems and its 

company, it hopes also to capi 

computers like the Tandy 1000 

struction process. 

workstation networks. DEC 

talize on Tandy's economies of 

SLand 1000 TL. 

Tandy has been building 

has never been able to match 

scale. It's less expensive for 

Even with those differ 

personal computers at iis Texas 

that success with iis own PCs, 

Panasonic to use Tandy's facil 

ences, it will be hard to avoid 

plant for nearly ten years, says 

a line starting with its ill-fated, 

ity than it is for Panasonic to 

conflict when it comes to sales. 

Jugc. and in that time has radi 

noncompatible Rainbow. 

build its own computers. 

"They will compete with our 

cally cut the number of ma 

DEC says its customers 

There will be some impor 

machines: there's no question 

chines produced that are prone 

will be able to integrate the 

tant differences between the 

about it." said Juge. "Anybody 

to failure. Testing makes up 75 

Tandy-built computers into 

Panasonic and Tandy comput 

who sells a PC is a competitor." 

percent of the manufacturing 

existing and planned mini 

ers, even though both will be 

Juge went on to say that if 

process; only 25 percent of the 

computer installations. Com 

built at the same facility. For 

Panasonic hadn't asked Tandy 

process is actual construction. 

plete design specifications 

example, the Panasonic-brand 

to manufacture its machines, it 

— Peler Scisco 

An Offer You Can't Refuse 

If you believe Brad Fregger. 

president of Software Interna 

tional, almost every flight sim 

ulator package sold in this 

country ends up on a closet 

shelf. What customers bring 

home for computer entertain 

ment too often ends up being 

hard work—and who has time 

these days to work at being 

relaxed? 

To underscore Fregger's 

point. Software International 

will sell its Pharaoh's Revenge 

arcade-action game for $5. 

Fregger said he got the 

idea after he visited several 

computer dealers throughout 

the northwest United States. 

He said that those dealers told 

him (hat most first-lime com 

puter buyers took home MS- 

DOS clones, and for entertain 

ment they almost always left 

the siore with a flight simula 

tor because simulators have 

become synonymous with 

computer entertainment. 

"It makes me sick to my 

stomach to hear that." Fregger 

said. "Most of the people I talk 

lo (n the industry can't get off 

the ground with a flight simu 

lator." What happens, he ex 

plained, is that computer 

entertainment packages are 

perceived as too difficult to 

play—which means losses to 

videogame makers. "Nintendo 

is fun. Computers arc difficult 

and complex. That's the 

attitude." 

"Complexity is killing this 

industry." Freggcr said. A lot 

of people don't understand 

how productive they can be on 

computers, he continued, be 

cause they are turned off by 

the industry's emphasis on fea 

tures. "To reach that 80 per 

cent of the population we 

haven't reached yet. we have 

to talk about what computers 

can do." He hopes that by in 

troducing customers to a sim 

ple arcade game like Pharoah 's 

Revenge he can broaden the 

appeal of personal computers. 

"The offer is a little step to 

show that computers aren't as 

complex as people think." 

Fregger said that compulers 

haven't yet become a mass 

consumer product on the level 

of VCRs because the industry 

is afraid lhal if it goes after less 

computer-sophisticated cus 

tomers it will lose some of iis 

established base: enthusiasts 

and hobbyists. "We're selling 

[to] the same customer over 

and over," he said. 

Software International 

isn't just interested in games, 

however. The company also 

markets a line of software, 

called ByteSize, with what 

Fregger calls "targeted fea 

tures." Packages include Home 

Inventory. Mailing & Phone 

List, Stock Portfolio, and Hard 

Disk Log. A simple word pro 

cessor and personal finance 

package arc in the works. 

bringing the total number to 

19. The packages retail from 

$21.95 to $29.95 and arc avail 

able at most software stores 

and some computer-dealer 

outlets. 

Fregger said the ByT.eSize 

products let users become pro 

ductive without bogging them 

down with lopheavy features 

and unintelligible documenta 

tion. "They do only the :hings 

you need to do to get the job 

done." he said. 

To receive a copy of Pha 

raoh's Revenge, send $5 and a 

letter detailing your frustration 

with complex computer games 

to Brad Fregger. Publishing In 

ternational. 333 West El Camino 

Real. Suite 222, Sunny 

vale, CA 94087. The game is 

available for IBM PCanj 

compatible, Apple II. and 

Commodore 64/128 personal 

computers, so be sure to speci 

fy which version you want. 

— Peter Scisco & 

82 COMPUTE!

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Court Games 

And you thought games were 

only for fun. You never knew 

they were serious, serious busi 

ness, did you? 

Nintendo, the homearcade-game 

giant, has been 

charged with violating federal 

antitrust laws in a suit brought 

by Atari Games (a privately 

held company not associated 

with computer manufacturer 

Atari Corporation). 

In its $ 100 million suit. 

Atari Games claimed that Nin 

tendo inserts lockout chips 

into its game machines and 

into its cartridges to prevent 

game cartridges made by other 

manufacturers from working 

on the Nintendo system. The 

only reason for such chips, 

claimed Atari Games, is to 

monopolize the making of 

Nintendo cartridges. (Nin 

cartridges (Atari Games has in- 

tendo manufactures all car 

tridges for its licensees.) 

According to the com- 

plaint filed in December, Nin 

tendo controls the American 

home videogame industry. 

with 80 percent of the system 

market and 100 percent of the 

cartridge-manufacturing mar 

ket. Atari Games plans on sell 

ing its Nintendo-compatible 

troduced several) through its 

Tengcn subsidiary. 

Hitting back. Nintendo 

sued Atari Games and Tengen 

in January, charging breach of 

contract, trademark violation, 

unfair competition, conspira 

cy, and violation of federal 

racketeering laws. Atari 

Gamcs used confidential infor 

mation available to it as a Nin 

tendo licensee, said Nintendo, 

when it put together its com 

patible cartridges. Nintendo 

struck another blow by revok 

ing Tcngcn's Nintendo license 

and threatened more charges if 

its engineers found copyright 

infringement or patent viola 

tions in the Tengen cartridges. 

Meanwhile, the Software 

Publishers Association tSPA), 

a group of more than 400 soft 

ware developers and publish 

ers, threw its support behind 

Tengen. Nintendo created a 

shortage of cartridges by its 

policy of controlling all aspects 

of cartridge manufacturing, the 

SRA said as it applauded Tengen's 

move to produce Nin 

tendo-compatible cartridges. 

Although third-pany car 

tridges would break the Nin 

tendo lock and probably 

reduce prices and make more 

games available, many poten 

tial publishers of such car 

tridges voiced concern over 

the possibility of a future game 

glut. Everyone remembers the 

Atari videogame debacle in the 

early 1980s, when cartridge 

manufacturing was uncon 

trolled and games became so 

plentiful that prices took a 

nose dive and a lot of publish 

ers took it on the financial 

chin. 

No one wants to replay 

that game. 


Help Line 

NEC's corporate motto, 

"Computers and Communica 

tions." becomes tangible with 

the introduction of the compa 

ny's HELP Phones. The 

telephones, developed to ad 

dress emergency needs, use 

512K. of RAM to manage so 

phisticated emergency moni 

toring and assistance call 

services as well as to digitize 

outgoing messages. 

The telephone can be pro 

grammed to recognize the 

sound of your smoke detector 

and. upon hearing it, to initiate 

a call for emergency assistance. 

Additionally, the phone has 

three illuminated one-touch 

emergency buttons, which 

transmit assistance calls for 

fire, police, or medical emer 

gencies. Different models will 

offer options, including a 

hand-held remote unit which 

can initiate a call for help 

should the user be unable to 

reach the telephone. 

Upon sensing an emer 

gency or having an emergency 

call initiated by cither the 

push-button or remote unit, 

the phone automatically calls a 

central Help Center. The 

HELP Phone transmits:! 

digital code identifying the 

owner and type of emergency, 

followed by a digitally record 

ed voice message from the 

owner. When the emergency is 

verified, or if there is no an 

swer when it calls back, the 

Help Center notifies the appro 

priate local authorities. 

In addition to its emer 

gency features, the phone in 

cludes 17 programmable onetouch 

dial buttons. Prices for 

the HELP Phone range from 

$119 to $199, depending jpon 

the model. NEC's Help Center 

is staffed 24 hours a day and is 

listed with Underwriters' Lab 

oratories. There's an annual 

fee for the Help Center se:-vice. 

— Keith Ferrell ED 

84 COMPUTE!

IBM Software as low as $2*9 

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ARCADE GAMES (106) Has 

Kong. 3-D Pacman, Bricks, 

Pango. (Requires color.) 

BASIC GAMES (107) Pac 

man. Lunar Lander. Starlrek, 

Meteor. Breakout, and others. 

CARD GAMES (109) Canasta, 

hearts, draw poker & bridge, 

STRIKER (110) Defender-like 

gome. "Top Gun" in space. 

FLIGHTMARE (112) Futuristic 

fighter pilot gome, (Requires 

color graphics adapter.) 

SLEUTH (117) Who done it? 

DND (119) Like Dungeon 

and Dragons. 

ROUND 42 (120) Better than 

Space Invaders. 42 levels. 

GAMES IN BASIC (124) Land 

er, biorhythms. desert. Phoe 

nix. Star Wars, others 

QUEST (152) Role ploying 

adventure fantasy game. 

(Requires CGA.) 

SPACE WAR (158) Dogfight in 

outer space, using phasers, 

photon torpedoes, etc. 

BRIDGE PAL (171) Complete 

game of contfact bridge, 

with tutorial, 

FENIX (193) Just like the 

famous arcade game. 

PINBALL GAMES (197) Pinbail, 

Ram. Twilignt Zone. 

Wizard, etc. 

KID-GAMES (GAM8) Animals 

math, clock game, alpha 

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CHESS (GAM9) Incredible. 

2D and 3D. Many levels. Play 

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EGA RISK (GAM11) World 

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PC PRO-GOLF (GAM27-28) 

Great graphics. Complete 

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PEARL HARBOR (GAM32) 

Shoot down Jap Zeros before 

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ULTIMA 21 DELUXE (GAM34) 

Best Blackjack game around. 

Includes Video Poker. 

FORD SIMULATOR (GAM37) 

Great driving simulation. 

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PIANOMAN 4.0 (301) Turn 

ycur keyboard into a piano. 

PC-MUSICIAN (302) Com 

pose, save, and play music. 

PC-WRITE 3.0 (434, 435, 436) 

(3 disks) Newes: version! 

Very popular and complete. 

Includes spelling checker 

PC-TYPE+ (421-423) (3 disks) 

Excellent Includes mail 

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PC-File-. PC-Stvle. 

MAXI-MAX (432) 59 macros 

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forms, border designs, etc. 

KEYDRAWCAD SYSTEM (1001. 

1002, 1065) (3 disks) Popu 

lar. Also uses mouse. (Requ 

res color graphics - CGA.) 

SIDEWAYS (1007) Prints text 

sideways. Useful for spread 

sheets. 

SIMCGA/HGCIBM (1027, 

1062) (2 disks) Use with Her 

cules graphics card/ com 

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requiring CGA on your mono 

chrome PC 

IMAGE 3-D (1048) Create 

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scale, rotate and tip image. 

FINGERPAINT (1050) Use key 

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Like MacPaint, (Requires 

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DANCAD 3-D (1051, 1052) (2 

disks) Create 3-D graphics. 

Rotate, magnify, etc. Runs 

on CGA, EGA. or Hercules. 

FANTASY (1057) Create Mow 

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mouse or keyboard. (CGA), 

FLOWCHARTING (1078-1079) 

Complete system for flow 

charts, organizational, elec 

trical, etc.. with symbols. 

AS-EASY-AS (505) Great. In 

cludes screen help menus, 

Utilizes function keys. A Lotus 

clone that reads Lotus files. 

PC-CALC+ (512-514) (3 disks) 

Jm Button's famous Lotus clone. 

PC-PROFESSOR (1401) BASIC 

tutorial. Good. 

BASIC PROGRAM GENERA 

TOR (1402) The menu driven 

way to write programs. 

B-WINDOW (1407) Give win 

dowing capabilities to your 

Basic program, 

HOMEBASE (2608, 2612. 2613) 

Complete desktop organ 

izer. Great! 

PROFESSIONAL MASTERKEY 

(2805) Like Norton's. Retrieve 

deleted files. A lifesaver. 

BAKER'S DOZEN (2821) 13 

utilities from Buttonware. 

AUTOMENU (3003) Make PC 

menu driven, inci. passwords. 

SCREEN (3006) Save your 

monitor from screen burn-in. 

DOT MATRIX FONTS (3061- 

3062) (2 disks) Print your text 

in different fonts. Works with 

most printers. 

MARKET CGA (BUS17) Per 

forms sophisticated analysis 

en stocks, funds, etc. (EGA 

version is BUS16). 

i:a jt> n.io;»ni-at BJI''" "»*(■»! |W 

BILLPOWER+ (BUS 40,41) (2 

disks) Bill clients for time and 

materials, advances, re 

tainers, etc. Computes, 

taxes, past due interest, etc. 

Has full G/L 

CPA LEDGER (706-708) (3 

disks) Complete general 

ledger for corporations, part 

nerships or sole proprietors. 

PERSONAL FINANCE MAN 

AGER (715) Household bud 

get manager. Keep track of 

checking, savings, invest 

ments. 

PAYROLL USA (725-726) Up to 

2,000 employees in any state 

dBaselll and Lotus compati 

ble. Complete P/R. system. 

EXPRESS CHECK (786) Check 

acount with running bal 

ance, monthly reports, etc 

Prints checks. 

FINANCE MANAGER II (774- 

775) (2 disks) For personal or 

small business financial man 

agement. 

DOS TUTORIAL (1301) Teaches 

you to use DOS 

STILL RIVER SHELL (1304) Run 

DOS commands from a 

menu, Makes DOS easy. 

BATCH FILE TUTORIAL (1305) 

Utilize batch file processing. 

MORE DOS TIPS (1318, 1323) 

(2 disks) More about DOS 

HELP DOS (1326) On line 

DOS help with menus. In 

cludes DOS dictionary of 

terms and a hints menu. 

THE BIBLE (3301-3306) (6 

disks) Old Testament, King 

James version. 

THE BIBLE (3307-3308) (2 

disks) New Testament. King 


WORD WORKER (3309-3310) 

(2 disks) Bible search pro 

gram. New Testament, King 


BIBLEMEN (3330) Excellent 

Bible quiz program. 

AMY'S FIRST PRIMER (248) 

Children's learning game 

that teaches letters, numbers 

and keyboard. 

V 

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V 

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Ce 

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c 

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dunhy 

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LETTIBS 

FUN 

LKTEJIS 

COUNT INS 

K[U> ME FROCSV 

LOUD 

0H¥'S FIRS! FfilMR 

FUNNELS AND BUCKETS (201) 

A fun way to learn math. 

MATHPAK (202) Tutorial with 

lessons in higher math. 

PC-TOUCH (204) Learn typing. 

BASIC TUTORIAL (208) Learn 

programming with BASIC. 

BEGINNING SPANISH (211) 

Tutorial. 

SPANISH II (232) Sequel. 

BIBLEQ (214) Learn the Bible 

with this Q-A tutorial. 

FACTS 50 (239) Geography 

lessons for U.S. Nice graphics 

INCREDIBLY 

LOW PRICES 

1-9 Disks *2« ea. 

10-19 Disks *2"ea. 

20 or more *24» ea. 

LOTUS MACROS (601) Save 

lours of work. (Req. Lotus) 

LOTUS SPREADSHEET TEM 

PLATES (602) Ready-made, 

; Requires Lotus 1-2-3) 

GOAL-SEEKER V3.5 (624) 

Achieve ojectives by chang 

ing spreadsheet and seeing 

result. (Requires Lotus.) 

LOTUS TUTORIAL (630) Learn 

Lotus (requires Lotus). 

FORM LETTERS (1907) Com 

monly used form letters and 

business applications. 

EZ-FORMS (1908) Make forms 

to meet different needs. 

MANAGER'S PLANNER (1920) 

Daily planner. Prints out. 

HOME INVENTORY (1966) 

Track all your possessions. 

BIORHYTHM (1990) Display 

the 3 biological cycles: phys 

ical, emotional, intellectual. 

FAMILY HISTORY (2203-2204) 

(2 disks) Create files and 

genealogical reports. 

LOTTO PROPHET (2364) Best 

Lotto program we've seen. 

CITY DESK (2513) Simple 

desktop publisher. 

■ uiw.i;i:,ih;iw.iim;h 

Q-MODEM 3.1 (1101, 1102, 

1144) (3 disks) Powerful but 

easy to use. Fast. 

RBBS V16.1A (1107-1109,1150) 

(4 disks) Multi-user bulletin 

board system. 

PROCOM 2.42(1112-1113) 

(2 disks) Hacker's delight. Redial 

capability. Latest version. 

COPY PROTECTION I (1219) 

Instructions for unprotecting 

commercial software 

COPY PROTECTION II (1220) 

More software unprotect. 

COPY PROTECTION III (1221) 

More software to unprotect 

FLUSHOT (1225) Checks 

software for viruses. 

PC-FILE dB (853,854, 855) (3 

disks) Newest versioni Rated 

better than dBase UK 

PC-GRAPH (802) Create 

graphics from PC FILE. 

FILE EXPRESS 4.0 (803-804) 

Powerful system. Allows 32.000 

records. Sorts up lo 10 key 

fields. 

DBASE III+ ROUTINES (851- 

852) (2 disks) Latest utilities 

to help you utilize dBase ill ■ 

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Any Boob Can 

Take a 

Nintendo 

Cartridge and 

Shove It into a 

Slot 

continued (ram page 88 

meetings, and any local rally held by SWAN. 

the soon-to-be formed Senators' Wives 

Against Nintendo coalition. Here's the offi 

cial SWAN song, with deepest apologies to 

Meredith Willson and to Professor Harold 

Hill. 

Wait a few billion nanoseconds, friends! 

Either you are deliberately ignoring signifi 

cant data or you are unaware of the poten 

tial of disaster indicated by the presence of a 

Nintendo game machine in your home. A 

Nintendo game ... just because we're all 

busy finding our own space and channeling 

spiritual entities .. .just because we listen to 

new-age music ... because it's 1989 ... 

doesn't give our kids the right to surf along 

the wave of life using a light pistol as a 

crutch. 

"Now I'm a computer-game player, a 

"Fin telling you. it's the first real step 

on the road to pixelization. First it's a little 

bit of Duck Hum. Then Legend of Zelda. 

And before you get back from your week at 

Club Med, your kid will be playing Super 

Mario Brothers 2 for Oreos in a Cardin jog 

ging suit.. . listening to some out-of-town 

video guru ... hearing tell about power-pad 

controllers ... not a wholesome joystick— 

no—but the kind where your kid stands 

right on (he switches! 

"Now friends, you can grok what I 

mean. You got two-, four-, six-, eighthundred 

K on a disk . .. those disk drives 

spell the difference between a technocrat 

and a prole ... that starts with P which 

rhymes with Twhich stands for Tapes. 

"We got trouble. Right here in Silicon 

Valley ... with a capital T without a 

V... that stands for Tapes. We got trouble 

... right here in Silicon Valley. We've got to 

figure out a way to keep the young ones con 

scious after school. 

"Our children's children gonna have 

trouble ... oh. we're in terrible, terrible 

trouble ... I'm talkin 'bout the V-neckcd 

Reebok young ones... peeking in the Toys 

"R" Us window after school. Hey, look 

friends—we got trouble right here in the 

Valley .. . with a capital T. Hey. can't you 

sec we're played for fools? 

"Now all week long our Silicon Valley 

youth will be oblitterin'. .. blitterin' away 

aliens. Nazis, PR folks, too. Get the cart in 

the socket... never mind taking mom in 

for liposuction or swabbing the Jacuzzi. 

Never mind pumping gas for the parents un 

til they're caught on a Saturday night with 

the BMW empty, and that's trouble ... oh. 

we're in terrible, terrible trouble. That game 

designed by the Kanji lackeys is the devil's 

tool. Hey. look friends—we got trouble in 

Silicon Valley ... we're in totally awesome 

trouble with a capital 77 Hey, where'*, the 

brie ... let's go to the pool. 

"Now all you folks are the right kind of 

parents ... I'll be perfectly frank ... did you 

Mac/Amiga/Atari/PC game player, and I'm 

always proud to boot up. I consider the time 

I spend in front of a CRT to be golden. Helps 

ever wonder what kind of conversation goes 

on while they're loafin' around that game? 

develop programming awareness... solid They'll be punchin' out Tyson, doin' Double 

keyboard technique, you know ... spread 

sheet savvy. Did you ever try to fly between 

the World Trade Center Towers at Mach 3? 

Well, just as I say, it takes reading skills, in 

tellect, and mechanical dexterity to install 

games on a PC. But I say any boob can take 

a Nintendo cartridge and shove it into a 

slot... and they call thai entertainment. 

Dragon, mowin' down Contras. hangin' out 

all night with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 

braggin" all about how they're gonna get 

brand-new wireless controllers. One fine 

night they'll leave your living room and 

head direct for Tokyo... stainless steel balls, 

springed levers ... Pachinko! Gonna drag 

your son and my daughter down to the 

depths of that mechanical mind drug! Friends, 

the bullet train has your name on it! 

"Trouble ... right here in Silicon Val 

ley, with a capital T... don't look at 

me ... they're your kids. too. Hey, look 

dudes—we're in trouble. I mean gnar'y 

trouble ... remember windsurfing. MTV, 

and righteous brew? 

"Parents of Silicon Valley ... heed the 

tell-tale signs of video co-option! When your 

kids go out. are the lime green high-top 

sneakers retied around the waist? Are there 

power-controller callouses on their index 

fingers? Are they starting to memorize jokes 

from poorly dubbed Japanese sci-fi? Are cer 

tain words creeping into their conversation? 

Phrases like Power up and Go for it, Mario!? 

"Well, we're in trouble—1 mean bigtime, 

wide-screen trouble. If they don't learn 

Lotus 1-2-3, then they'll all be fools. There's 

no golden parachute future when your rip 

cords are tied to video hog slop ... we're 

beggin' you, please 

"Say No to sleaze. 

"And take up pool." 

e 

86 COMPUTE!

FREEWARE 

ONLY$2.99 per disk! ONLY $2.99 per disk! ONLY $2.99 per disk! OAfty $2.99 per dlskll 

Public Domain Software and Shareware for IBM and Compaiibles, DOS 2.1 or higher. 

Programs and Utilities to meet all your computing needs. 

-I EZ-FORMS R»V. 

D16 (66] - Menu-driven forms generator, 

misc. 

skeleton forms. 

3 FAST BUCKS V3.18-C ISM 8. 665) - 

Menu- anven tiorne finance package. 

3 EXPRESS CHECK Y!.l* {561] ■ Menudriven 

home checking account system 

3 COMPETITIVE SALARY ASSESSOR [7373 - 

Provides consansus salary medians & 

Assessor Qdjusiea estimates of Case saiorles 

for ovar 2.500 positions as compilea 

(torn various surveys. 

3 LEGAL FORMS i LETTERS |611) ■ 100 

types ot legal forms & letters. 

3 BUSINESS LETTEfiS (303 ft 304) - |2 disk 

set) 650 business letters to (it oil your 

needs Edit w/any wora processor. 

3 EXPBESSGRAPH V1.M |4S7] - Business 

grophmg in 10 different formats 

3 GEOGRAPHIC ASSESSOR [7351 ■ 

Calculate; salary a cost o! living Differ 

ences between oyer 3.CO0 U.S. & Ca 

nadian cities. 

3 RENTAL MRG V2.0J (565] ■ Menu - 

driven, does credits. aeDirs. reports, 

hondies up to P6W renfol unrtj. 

3 MANAGEMENT TOOLS |643] • 10 progroms 

for managers / supervisors A mmimonagement 

course! 

Great1 

3 PAINLESS ACCOUNTING VC2.60 [774- 

776] - (3 disk set) A lully integrated 

menu-driven accounting package 

3 INSTACALC V2.50 [697] - A full powememorv 

resiaent spreaasneet 

R&BS 

.ll.'i.il 

BULLETIN 

BOARD V17.1A (613 - 

-616} - [A disk set| Turn 

your computer into, a 

RBBB 

industry standard 

3 OMODEM V3.1 [293 5 294] - [2 auk set] 

Full featured modem progtom. 

3 PROCOMM V2.42 [53 & 54] - (2 disk set| 

Menu - driven modem progrom: still one 

ot 

the oest. 

,3 FILE EXPRESS VA.22 

[33 ft 34] • |2 d^k set] 

i Menu ■ driven dataoose, 

report generator 

mony features One ol 

the pest dotapase programs on the 

morket! 

3 PC-FILE * V2.0 (493 ■ 4951- [3 CiSk set] 

Full-feoiurea aotaoase. heip screens. 

menui macros Excellent1 Buttonwcre 

3 WAMPUM VJ.2B [37 ft 36) ■ (2 disk set] 

Menu-driven dBase ill clone Knowledge 

of 

dBase suggested 

3 INSTANT RECALL V1.64F [515} - Memory-iesideni 

free-term aoiaoose witn ifs 

own wora 

processor 

3 PIANOMAN 

V4.00 \i ft 5] - |2 

disk set] ■ Turn your 

PC into o piano. 

create ft edit mu 

siC CGA ot mono 

3 GRADE GUIDE V3.00b [118! - A versa 

tile progrom lot storing, retrieving & ana 

lyzing student graaes 

n IHE WORLD V2.9 & WEADATA V2.0 

1127! - Drspiaymaps ot tre world CGA 

EGA 

required 

3 FUNNEIS & BUCKETS V2.0 p30] ■ Greo! 

leainmg game, cad suPtroct. ex Ages 

5-10 CGA / monochrome 

3 AMY'S FIRST PRIMER 1133)- Alphabet 

numbers counting shapes. matCNng 

etc. Ages i ■ 8 CGA 6 Basic reduced 

3 ANIMAL MATH.'MOSAIC (1811 ■ Count 

oDjects 8 grophic leatnmg tool Ages 4 

ft up CGA reauireO 

-1 MATH HELPER [193] ■ leaches various 

math operations Ages 5 and up You 

choose the level Basic requred. 

3 BLACKJACK GAMES 

VI. 1 [95] - 3 aavonced 

blockjoci; gomes, multi 

ple players / setup. 

CGA or Here jlev 

-1 GAMES OF SKIIL [100] ■ 

Contains pool, bowling. & Dackgammon 

CGA required. 

3 MONOPOLY Vt.7 [106] - Just like the 

board gome. 2 to i players CGA tea 

3 IAS VEGAS [116) - Craps. Rouiiete. 

Pokei ft more CGA req. Basic on some 

-} SOLITAIRE (211] - ■■. .;"...!:■■■ 

Nice graphics 

CGA required. 

3 PLAY N LEARN V2.01 (6241 ■ Contains 

7 games designed to' "ids uo io 6 years 

old CGA requ'red 

3 5UPER PINBALL [212] - 5 different 

games 

CGA required 

3 3-D CHESS V1.01 [215] ■ Excellent 

chess gome. Switch between 2-D 8. 3-D 

CGA or monochrome required 

3 WORDPLAY V1.01 [367] . Wneel Of Fottur.e 

clone You provide prizes. CGA reauned 

3 MINIATURE GOLF [SOS] ■ IB hole golf 

coune with grapmes CGA required. 

3 FINGERPAINI 

V2.00 12B2) - 

Greet oomt pro 

gram easy to use 

CGA. EGA or 

monochrome 

3 PRINTMASTER GRAPHICS (319.549 8. 

550| ■ |3diskset| Over 440rr,isc gtophics 

tor Pnntmaster/PlbS Requires "rmtmaster 

Of Plul Fot Printthop Graphics- Ordar 

diiks » 320 589 590 respectively 

3 PC DRAFT II V3.20 [629] - A pointing/ 

dratting program mast useful lor produc 

ing chp-ort lor desktop publishing apolicotions 

CGA required 

3 DANCAD 3-D V2.0E [424 8. «5) - (2 

disk set] Advanced 2-D/3-D drafting pro 

gram Siereoscooic 3-D wire Irame ani 

mation Hard drive ft 512k leq 

1 PC-KEY-DRAW Vi.Sl [743-7511 - (4 disk 

set] Ccmomes features of a CAD & 

paint program lor power/flexibility. Incluaes 

a full grapnicai database called 

HYPERDRAW. NEW... 

3 -j TURBO -C- TU- 

•■" TOR VI.SO |J89 S 

490] ■ 12 disk set] 

14 lesson lutotioi 

learn to program m C language Works 

with Borland s Turbo C 

3 -C- LANGUAGE V2.1 (299 & 300} ■ (2 

disk set] Complete programming environmen: 

Source, compile: samples. 

3 ADA TUTOR (644| ■ An 'nteroctme tu 

torial tor tne ADA programming lan 

guage 

3 YOUR PERSONAL POET 

(?18i - Create your own 

poem frorn 

a variety ot 

cnoicesS. print n NEW.. 

-| HUMOROUS DOS TRICKS [2361 ■ Vonous 

tucks to ploy on vour 'nends A must 

for any ioker 

-J CROSSWOB0 CREATOR VJ.JO (1221 ■ 

Design solve ft print professional looking 

pu:zies NEW.. 

n PC-BARIENDEB VI.00 (619] - Recipes 

lor appro* 200 dunks Search by dun* 

mgiedients, adjust sizes etc 

0 WEISHT CONTROL [536) - Get tid Ol 

those unwonted inches / lbs. 

Multiple lonts with print 

scooler 

NEW... 

~| 3 LO V2.JI [509] - Pro- 

1 duces high quality text 

on dot molru pr.nters 

3 LASERJET FONTS/2 [471 ft 472) - 12 disk 

set] Fonts mcluae Pica. Old Enghsn. 

Scipt. & Garomond 

3 LASERJET UTIIS/2 ;32fl| - Places 2 

peges sice by siae. convert (onts lor 

Ventura, make graph paper. 8. more. 

3 ON-SIDE V1.01 |560] - A sideways 

printing program with multiple fonts, up 

to 175 Great Ml 

3 LOTUS LEARNING SYS 

IEM V2.4 I769S 77O| - Ejpianotians 

illustrations, ft 

practice sessions Tutor Does NO! require 

Lotus. 

3 QJBECALC V3.02 [591] - A 3-D spread 

sheet progrom turn rows into columns. 

import Lotus filet. 44 preaefinea func 

tions & more 

3 AS EASY AS V3.01F (302| - Lotus Clone 

52 column sheet g.aptimg, supports 

functions of 123 WKS files, etc. NEW... 

I'iTIm ' I 

3 SIM-CGA V4.0 (220| - 

Great lor most programs 

that need color (CGA] 

to 

run. 

3 DOS HELP V3.3 |25S| - Help screen lor 

DOS commands 

3 DOS TUTORIAL V4.i |256] - Menudriven 

tutorial that tecches DOS com 

mands, terms 

etc 

3 PKPAK V3.61 fc ASCMASTER V2.41 

(244) -The complete & fostes' orchivmg/ 

deorcnwing 

progrom avoiiooie 

3 PC-DESKTEAM V2.01 J27B] ■ SiOekiCk 

like utility plus mo'e features NEW... 

3 AUTOMENU V4.S0 [2801 - Excellent 

menu program for your hard dnve Pass 

word p'otec'ion 

& mere. 

3 FLU-SHOT PLUS V1.4 (541] . Various 

P'ograms to protect agomst trojon hors 

es 8. the virus A MUST FOR ALL « 

3 LIST V4.2A (27d| - Bast ulility for viewing 

doeumenlotion A MUST, lot ony ASCII 

file. 

3 GALAXY V2.4 [111 ■ Eosy 

to use wora processor, me 

nus Si quick keyboard com 

mands 

3 PC-WRITE VJ.0 I7M-766] ■ (3 dii* set] 

Full featured wora processor, all the feotures 

of the expensive ones NEW... 

1 SAIL TEXT EOIIOR VJ.0 (376) - A power 

ful 6 fast text editor with on-line help 

screens 

8.rnanvmoreteatutes 

T MAXI-MAX [669| ■ Contains Over 65 

macros ft templates for Woiapertect V4 2 

3 WORDPERFECT MACROS FOR V6.0 

[189] -Containsover60 macros. 

3 AMTAX 1988 

Vor»l«n (429| - Pre 

pare & print com 

plete tax returns lor 

lorm 1040 & Sched 

ules A ■ SE 

3 BILLPOWER PLUS V4.1 |794 & 795] - (2 

diskset| A timekeeping billing & book 

keeping program designed specifically 

tor small firms 3S(K S naia anve requirec. 

3 PC- PROFIT VJ.1 (612J - Business plans 

ond ideas tor part-time or homeoased 

DuSi nesses 

3 PC-REVIEWS [771] - Contains evalu 

ating on mony prana name computers, 

punters, software books, etc. 

-) SERVICE PIUS V2.64S [790 ft 7911 - |2 

disk set| the ultimate maintenance & 

service call tracking system 640K & 2 

floppy anves required 

3 PCSHIFT V1.01 (798] ■ An employee 

time scheduling application where you 

can schedule employees ov dept. or lo 

cation & By position within each de 

partment or at eocn location. 

3 PCLOANi V*.07 [799| ■ Does loon 

calculations & amortization schedules. 

Super! 

3 DESKJET FONTS / 1 (80S) - Contain) 10 

pt. Roman. Heivetico. Times-Ramon. & 

Script. Included are u'lliiies lor down 

loading & sample printouts HP Deskjel 

required. 

3 SAILING IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE 

(757) ■ A giaphics adventure game. 

Rescue swimmers ana rafters 

the water. CGA required. 

stronded In 

3 SLIMMER V1.0 [816] ■ This program is 

designed for you who are a little over 

weight and are looking for on effortless 

way to rose a few pounds. 

3 VGA PAINT Vl.l |808) ■ A graphics 

drawing program that produces screen 

images in up to 248 colors ot once 

VGA monitor required. 

3 BAILOON SPELLER (809) • A program 

for use in the home ot school. Play three 

different spelling games using lists of 

words you input. 

3 BLACKJACK (810) -A completely ac 

curate simulation ol the game Blackjock 

(21) Included is o thorough discussion 

ol the rules of play, basic strategy, 

cord counting and betting systems 

3 CHARTS UNLIMITED (812] - Integrates 

graphics and teit processing Into one 

powerful system to allow quick ond 

eosy creation editing ond printing of 

flowcharts, organizational charts. Moorplans, 

electtical diograms. Gaant 

charts, forms and many types ol charts 

CITY 

~N 

ORDER FORM 

ST 

Zli' 

PHONE! . 

Multiple d isk Mil count as the 

* of disks in a set (a $2.99 each 

3.5" media - S3.99 ea 

# of 5.251' disks

ARLAN LEVITAN 

"We Got 

Trouble. Right 

Here in Silicon 

Valley.-.With a 

Capital T 

Without a 

V...That 

Stands for 

Tapes." 

Those of you who were expecting ma 

jor-league coverage of the Winter 

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 

would be well advised to do an impromptu 

shuffle of your expectations. I had intended 

to attend CES in January', of course, but cer 

tain things stood in the way. Money, for 

instance. 

The advent of the tax-filing season and 

its attendant liabilities weren't the only 

things moderating my yen for CES. Trying 

to take in both Winter COMDEX and CES 

typically means spending eight days in Las 

Vegas over the course of seven weeks. That 

may be fine for inveterate gamblers and 

lounge lizards, but it usually takes me at 

least four months to recover from a typical 

run of Vegas trade-show press parties. Win 

ter COMDEX normally occurs in the first 

two weeks of November, which barely gives 

one enough time to wake up by Thanksgiv 

ing. Despite a prolonged relationship with a 

case of generic aspirin. I still spent most of 

Thanksgiving dinner discussing the future of 

OS/2 with the turkey. 

When January rolled in with the New 

Year, the idea of spending another three or 

four days in Kenoland was about as appeal 

ing as a John Travolta film retrospective. 

CES just isn't that much fun anymore for 

journalists covering personal computers. In 

recent years, that part of CES dedicated to 

home computers has been steadily eroded 

and encroached upon by Nintendo and Sega 

videogame and cartridge-software exhibits. 

In fact, the only interesting rumors 

floating around before the show were that 

Nintendo and/or Sega would unveil their 

new game machines based on 16-bit proces 

sors and that Commodore would publicly or 

privately show an under-$200 home video 

game machine that would essentially be an 

emasculated Amiga 500. Both rumors 

turned out to have as much substance as 

your typical Apple "look and feel" lawsuit. I 

got several firsthand reports from friends 

who had to attend, all of them punctuated 

by uncontrollable yawning. 

While most of the computer press talks 

down when the subject of Nintendo comes 

up. I'm in no position to take potshots. Back 

in 1973. Nolan Bushnell's Pong, the first hit 

commercial videogame, showed up in a lo 

cal tavern I frequented on a semiprone ba 

sis. In a desperate effort to save the bulk of 

my disposable income. I shelled out over a 

hundred bucks for the home version the 

moment it hit my local Sears Roebuck. 

Three months of nonstop high-pitched pings 

convinced most of my neighbors either that 

my apartment housed a government radar 

installation or that I was watching reruns of 

"The Enemy Below" 24 hours a day. 

I graduated to the Sears Video Arcade 

machine, the first available incarnation of 

the Atari 2600. The 2600's graphics may 

have been crude, but they were in color. For 

months, the only available cartridge was 

Land/Air/Sea Battle, which, like disco les 

sons at Arthur Murray, served up two dozen 

monotonous variations on a mildly amusing 

theme. 

In time I grew tired of the blips, bloops. 

and bleeps and turned my attention to mi 

crocomputers. The hook was set one Satur 

day afternoon by an Atari 800 running Star 

Raiders. The hook hasn't come loose yet. 

While little of my computing time today is 

spent playing games, I'm never averse to 

booting up new entertainment titles tor a 

quick look. 

What's the point of all this witless me 

andering? Namely to provide a framework 

for stating that I don't see any imminent 

threat to the youth of America in the Nin 

tendo craze. I don't care for Nintendo 

games, but I care even less for endless local 

news vignettes and '"20/20" segments on 

Nintendo fever. Anyone whose brain cells 

are more or less intact may recall that in the 

early eighties we managed to survive tidal 

waves of truly distasteful Atari VCS games 

such as Porky's, Texas ChainsawMassacre, 

and gamy raunch like Custer's Revenge. Last 

time I checked, shopping malls were no 

longer peppered with arcade zombie sixyear-olds 

panhandling quarters, and the 

words Coleco and Intellivision have van 

ished from the vocabulary of prepube scents. 

I can't find fault with the kids or manu 

facturers of videogames—check out rnom 

and dad first. Parents who would rather 

plunk their kids in front of the Nintendo 

eight hours a day than spend time with them 

themselves are probably much less interest 

ing than the games the kids play. 

The personal computing industry can 

put down dedicated videogames, but it's a 

resoundingly hollow denunciation. Much of 

the pontification is a product of financial 

pixel envy. Check out Operation Wolfcm 

the Amiga. It's a lot bloodier than on 

Junior's 

Nintendo. 

As a public service to the guardians of 

our taste in entertainment. I'd like to pro 

vide a prefabricated speech suitable for de 

liver}' at PTA, Jaycee. or Young Republican 

continued on page 86 

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Hiliiiillilililil 

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THE 

CONTINUES 

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