10 Tips to Buying a Used Computer February 1989

COMPUT
The Leading Magazine of Home, Educational, and Recreational ■ unilllldffbllri

^ COMPUTE!
, $

MONEY

6 Packa
Manage

DO-IT-YOURS
SPREADSHEI
How to Build Your
Bottom Line Work

PLUS!
HOT GAMES R
► Red Storm Rising
► Pool of Radiance
► The Games

0 7148602193 3
 New Wave

Introduces

The
Rebellion's Over!
Your Mission:
Terminate the Rebels of Hollerith.

Your Role:
You are the latest in Cyborg
Technology.

You are... a Cyber Cop

& The Rebels
are Ready for You.
• Fast Action Arcade Adventure

• Full Spectrum Color Animation

• 3-D Spritable Characters

• Life-Like Battle Environments

• Plays in 3 Domains:
Atmospheric • Geosphere • Aquatic

• Realistic Sound Effects

• Quick Manual Response

• Choice of Play Longevity

vs. Higher Point Scores

• For IBM PC/XT/AT Commodore

64/128, Apple 2 + /E/C. On diskette.

For Information, Write or Call:

Pedersen Systems, Inc.

2 N. Highview Ave. • Nanuet, NY 10954

(914) 623-2245
COMIWG SOON!
1988 Pedersen Systems, Inc
NOW PLAYING AT A SOFTWARE DEALER NEAR YOU
Available for Amiga. Commodore 64. IBM PC, Apple llgs, and Atari ST, which are trademarks respectively
ol Commodore-Amiga, Commodore Electronics. Ltd., International Business Machines. Apple Computer Inc., and Alari Inc.
Cinemaware Corporation, 4165 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Westlake Village, CA 91362
 FEATURES

Money, Money, Money

You make money the old-fashioned way: You earn it. Six money-
management packages help you keep what's yours.
Neil Randall 30

Do It Yourself
Order from Chaos: Money and Your Spreadsheet
This step-by-step guide to building power templates puts your
spreadsheet to work saving you money.fDan McNeil/ 40

Used but Not Abused

Yesterday's computers can be today's bargains if you know
where to look and what to look iox.fTom Netsel . 19

REVIEWS
Fast Looks 60

Pool of Radiance
Shay AddamK 62

FEBRUARY Fantavision
StPVPti An?nvin 64
1989
Tutor-Tech
Nnnrv Rpnttrhfar 64

VOLUME 11 Red Storm Rising

Richard Shpffipld 66
NUMBER 2
The Games: Summer Edition
ISSUE 105 Pptpy Srisrn 68

The Leading Magazine

oi Home, Educational, and
Recreational Computing
 A B c 0 E

COLUMNS A
'.:
170,QCC $120,000 $200,000 132^,000

1 labor, inc. Fringe Benefits to.ooc 15,000. 30,000 40.000

Editorial License n Manufacturing Overhead 5.00C 10 000 15.0QO 20,000

$6,500 home computers? Forget it!

What we need are high-tech machines \?

at bottom-line prlces./Gregg Keizer

15 MARKETING AMD ADMIN 115.000 (20.000 (30,000 540 000
News & Notes l(.

The Eiffel Tower connection, Larry the !i) Lms Interest ZjOOC 4,000 4,000 6,000

Lounge Lizard is on the make again, INCOME BEFORE TAX 11 3 000 $36,000 ?66t0O0 5134,000

and Wang bets on pen and pad.

Editors

Gameplay
What goes around comes around—
classic game concepts return.
Orson Scott Card 12 Levitations
The hot, the not, the bad, the rad from
Impact
Las Vegas COMDEX./Arlan Levilan _ 86
Is desktop tax-preparation the first step
toward desktop taxation? Letters
David D. Thomburg 14 TAPS isn't 6ea6.(Editors 15

Discoveries New Products!

Plug into the electronic educational Tennis anyone? Ready for the SAT?
connection for long-range learning. Feel like taking on the
David Stanton 80 universe?/McrC£y McLean 46

COMPUTE! SPECIFIC
MS-DOS
Clifton Karnes 47

64 & 128
Neil Randall _ 48

Apple II
Gregg Keizer 49

Amiga
Rhett Anderson 50

Macintosh
Heidi E. H. Aycock 52

Atari ST
David Plotkin 56

Cover photo © 1988 by Mark Wagoner.

COMPUTE! The Leading Magazine of Home, Educational, and Recreational Computing (USPS: 537250) b published monthly by COMPUTE! Publications Inc.. ABC ConsumerMagazines^
Inc. Chilton Company, one olthe ABC Publishing Companies, a part of Capital C*es/ABC. Inc. Editorial Offices are located at 324 West Wsndover Avenue, Greensboro. NC27406 Domestic
Subscriptions: 12 issues. $24. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: COMPUTE! Magazine. P.O. Box 10955. Des Moines, IA 50950. Second-class postage paid at New York. NY and
additional mailing offices. Entire contents copyright © 1989 by COMPUTE' Publications. Inc. All fights reserved, ISSN 0194-357X.
 GREGG KEIZER

Computers cost too much. Way reported on it last issue in "News & Notes,"
too much. as did every other computer publication.
With Christmas still a month Associates and writers wondered what I
away, there's no way I can know how many thought of the machine. I shrugged my
personal computers we'll buy in the 1988 shoulders, literally or not, and said I thought
gift-giving season. There's no way I can even it was a fascinating machine, but that it cer
know which computers we'll decide on. But tainly was not. nor would it ever be, a com
I can promise this—when the holiday puter for the home. A bewildering opinion
spending is tallied, we'll all have paid too to some, it seemed, as if I had to embrace
much for the big boxes under the tree. every new turn of high tech. no matter what
"Pay Less, Get Computers range widely in price, of the price. Although the NeXT computer un
course, but no matter which one you choose, doubtedly gives us a glimpse of what our

More" Is Our you're going to be laying down a lot of cash

at the cash register. An Apple IlGS system—
own computers will be like in five years or
so, it's certainly not a home computer. I
printer, monitor, and two disk drives in can't get behind the idea of home computers
Rallying Cry cluded—costs over $3,000. This is a home costing more than a year of college or a
computer? An MS-DOS system equipped small car.
for home use—and that means at least EGA A NeXT in the home is only the most
graphics for games and home education— glaring example of computer one-upmanship.
runs around $ 1.200-$ 1,500. Machines like For home computing to break out of the
the Amiga 500 and the Atari ST hover in the narrow niche it's won for itself—less than 20
$800-$ 1,000 range. percent of American households—it must
Even that's too high. Unless you are be on a price level nearer its consumer-
working there at least part of the time, it's electronics competition.
hard to justify buying a computer for the That will take a savvy computer manu
home. The continued high price of home facturer, one willing to roll back prices and
computing hasn't made it any easier. After then roll the dice and shoot at the home
the initial enthusiasm in the early part of computer craps table. A simple, stripped-
this decade, home computer ownership down machine at a stripped-down price
growth has gone flat. Why? Not because of would do it. Since MS-DOS has the software
any decrease in functionality—computers world at its beck and call—for the next few
have picked up more and more duties as the years, at least—it could be a plain-box,
productivity software tidal wave washes 8086-based, one-drive system with EGA
ashore. And it's not because computers are graphics capabilities (or something akin to
harder to use. Graphic interfaces on the the Tandy 16-color format). Complete with
Macintosh, Amiga, ST, and IlGS; shells such a monitor and an inexpensive 9-pin printer,
as DOS 4.0 and DeskMate for MS-DOS; the system should run no more than $400—
consistently designed software on more and $500 tops. Depending on the markup from
more systems all have made the machines maker to retailer, such a computer could be
more accessible to more people. sold direct or through electronics mass mer
I suspect it's the big-buck entry point chandisers. Support would be tenuous at
into home computing that's turned people best (about what you get when you ask how
away. Consumer electronics, of which home to hook up a VCR to your TV),' but a DOS
computers are but a part, competes for a fi shell and bottom-line basic software could
nite number of our dollars. Buy a new tele temper the need for support.
vision and you won't pick up a CD player. At that price, volume means survival.
Purchase a stereo and you can forget a new To sell in volume, this computer company
VCR. Spend your money on a dedicated would need to sell at a low price. It's nearly
cartridge-based game system and you won't a Catch-22 scenario at first glance, but I'm
have the dollars for a computer. convinced it's an idea whose time has come.
But the one thing that all these other It wouldn't be the first time that a low-cost
high-tech items have in common, and one computer caught on and made its manufac
thing that distinguishes them from personal turer lots of money—Commodore did it in
computers, is their price. For iess than $300. the first half of this decade with the 64.
you can buy a good color TV. CD player, But $6,500 home computers? Forget it.
■
stereo, VCR, or game unit. Try to put a We need numbers to take the home com
home computer system together for that puter revolution out of its opening days and
price. Good luck. onto the long, hard road toward computers
What prodded me to say all this was by the people, for the people. "Pay less, get
the NeXT computer rollout in October. We more" should be our slogan. H

COMPUTE!
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The same Ad Lib Music Visual Com poser/Ml Dl Supplement —
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is now stepping out with some of the Instrument Maker—$49.95 Create thou
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All it takes is the Ad Lib Pop-Tunes
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examples
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Space Quest III from Sierra (top) an(j fj|e
And in more titles, from more pub and Ad Lib Visual Composer/MIDI , mate
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 mm&notes

L'lnformatique Videotex
In France. Minitel is everyman's network.
Whether as electronic liaison to countless
clandestine affairs or as consumer clearing
house for informational intrigue, the French
network crackles tike an autumn brushfire.
And now the French hope that Minitel will
be as welcome in the United Slates as brie
and Pcrricr.
Miniiel USA and Infonet have launched
a joint venture called Miniiel Services
f MSC) lo bring videotex services to Ameri
can personal computer owners. "Everything
is in place now." said MSC president Joseph
Mazzeo.
In France. Minitel's network of kiosks,
equipped with special terminals, allows con
sumers spontaneous access to information.
More than 8000 vendors offer their products
or services on the French Miniiel network.
MSC has no plans to provide public charge. The service cosls about 17 cents per Mazzeo said.
Minitel terminals in the U.S., but consumers minute ($10.20 per hour) for most services, Already, through Infonet, Minitel is
can buy dedicated Minitel terminals from which can be billed to a credit card. "We available in 150 American cities. Mazzeo ex
other sources. For those who own an IBM have met no resistance at that price." Maz pects to have 45.000 users by the end of
PC or compatible. Apple II, Macintosh, or zeo said. When gateways are established 1989. He said the company only needs
Commodore 64 computer. MSC will send through local phone companies, customers 20.000 users in order for it to be profitable.
free terminal-emulation and communica may be able to have the charges put on their To get the free communications soft
tions software. Mazzeo died studies thai phone bills. ware, call or write Minite! Services. 707
show those four models making up the ma In addition to services like airline book Westchcstcr Avenue. White Plains. New
jority of home computers. The communica ings, car rentals, and home shopping, the York 10604; (914) 683-5320. The software
tions package—no matter which version— U.S. Minitel network offers an interactive can also be downloaded from Infonet; Maz
requires only 64K of RAM. chat service for computer-to-computer com zeo said MSC will also make it available
The Minitel network doesn't charge a munications. "Everybody in this business is through selected bulletin boards.
subscription fee. nor is there a minimum trying lo guess what the consumer wants," — Peter Seisco

sound arc two other differences from Larry's

Larry Has the Last Laugh first escapade. Separate versions for the Ap
Larry, the nerdy star of Sierra's Leisure Suit ple 1 Igs, Macintosh, and Atari ST are
Larry in the Laud of the Lounge Lizards, is planned.

back on the make-out track. This newest Bui as in Lounge Lizards, this episode's
tongue-in-cheek adventure has Larry on a plot is secondary to the adult puns, double
hot streak. entendres. risque humor, and out-and-out
In Leisure Suit Larry Goes Lookingfor oulragcousncss thai made Larry an instant
Love (in Several Wrong Places), Larry strolls hit amongst his {mostly male) fans.
through dating the way Sherman marched to Larry has spawned an entire industry.
the sea. This time, though, it's not all Larry's His creator and mentor. Al Lowe, is report
fault. He unwittingly walks into the taping of edly working on Leisure Suit Larry's Party
"The Dating Connection." wins a trip on a Games, a 3-D nongame product. Lowe is
cruise ship, and stumbles onto a iropical plot also busy with another game, this one called
reminiscent ofa bad Bond movie. The MS- Polyester Patty which unlooses Larry's fe
DOS version, first out the door, comes on male counterpart on an unsuspecting world.
six disks and includes a parser that recog I shudder to think what would happen if
nizes over 5000 words and their derivatives. the\ got together and had kids.
Higher-quality graphics and vastly improved — Gregg Ke'tzer

6 COMPUTE!
 -nem&notes

tions. explained thai ihe golfer has been The IBM PC-and-
pleased with Accolade's work. compatibles version of the game
Polish up your clubs and get new shoelaces
"What he has seen has blown him is already out. Amiga. Commodore 64/128.
for your golf shoes—you've got a dale with
away." said Jastrow. "Accolade has shown and Apple IIgs versions arc planned for re
Jack Nickiaus. the Golden Bear of golf.
us what they've done, and we've been really lease by the winter holidays. The price will be
Accolade, publisher of the best-selling
impressed. It's an authentic representation $49.95 for the PC. Amiga, and Apple IIgs ver
Mean IS golf simulation, and Jack Nickiaus.
of the 18 greatest holes of major champion sions: S29.95 for the Commodore 64 game.
winner of almost even1 major PGA lourna-
ship golf." — HeidiE. H. Avcock >
ment. have announced thai they will co-
develop a line of home computer golf
simulations.
The first project is Jack .\icklaus'Great
est IS Holes ofMajor Championship Golf.
Based on Nicklaus's favorite golf courses,
ihe game includes two new Nicklaus-
designed courses: Castle Pines, in Colorado,
and Desert Mountain, the Cochise course in
Scottsdale. Arizona. Players can compete
against a computerized Jack Nickiaus or
against a combination of live or computer
opponents.

"We've patterned the computer golfer

after Jack's own game." said Ralph Giuflre.
vice president of marketing at Accolade. "All
of his club distances are patterned after real- Why radar makes mistakes.
How to protect yourself.
life distances thai he hits on tour."
Nickiaus was away working on some
real golf courses he's designing, but Terry
Jastrow. president of Jack Nickiaus Produc-
It's hard to believe, but traffic radar does meter. You'll know when the radar unit is
not identify which vehicle is responsible near enough to have you under surveillance.
for the speed displayed. It shows only a Car and Driver, Popular Mechanics
speed number. The radar operator must and Roundel magazines have each tested
decide who to blame. radar detectors. And each gave us their
World of Commodore is a Commodore- How radar works highest ratings. Call toll-free and we'll send
specific trade show notorious for bringing in The radar gun is aimed at traffic and it reprints of the complete tests.

hordes of loyal Commodorians from miles transmits a beam of invisible radar waves. We're as close as your phone
Moving objects reflect these waves back To order, call toll-free. Orders in by
around. Last year in Toronto. 46,000 Com
to the radar gun. Using the Doppler principle, 5:00 pm eastern time go out the same day
modore users brought hundreds of thou
the radar calculates speed from the by UPS and we pay the shipping.
sands of dollars to the show. And we guarantee your satisfaction.
reflected waves. But there's a problem.
On November 3. the first U.S. World of The best guess If you're not entirely satisfied within 30 days,
Commodore was held in Philadelphia. The Remember, these reflections are in return your purchase. We'll refund your
four-day show supported all current Com visible. And truck reflections can be ten money and shipping costs.
modore computers, although the lion's share times stronger than car reflections. How The best defense against wrongful
of interest went to the Amiga. This frustrated can the operator know for sure which vehicle tickets can be in your car tomorrow.

some of ihe many ioyal Commodore 64 and is responsible for the number?

128 users. Commodore's PC compatibles TOLL FREE 1-800-543-1608

were practically out of sight (and mostly out (Call Mon-ffi Sam-llpm. Sat-Sun 9:30-6 EST)
of mind).
Held just a few days before COMDEX
(the huge Computer Dealers Exposition), ESCORT
RADAR WARNING RECEIVER
WOC was a show of rumors. When was the
long-awaited Amiga 2500 going to be an
ESCORT $245 (OH res. add $13.48 tax)
nounced? What about Commodore's hoi
new VGA AT compatible? (Both computers, The truth is, in many cases he can't
in fact, made their debut at COMDEX.) be sure. The result? You can be ticketed
Amiga products were announced left for somebody else's reflection.
and right. One of the best was Dragon Is Lair, The only way to defend yourself
a popular arcade game featuring graphics against these wrongful tickets is to know PASSPORT $295 (OH res. add $1623 tax)
when radar is operating near you.
that best those of many Saturday morning
Self Defense Cincinnati Microwave
cartoons.
We specialize in radar warning. Escort Department 656829
For more news on ihe World of Com
and Passport have a unique warning One Microwave Plaza
modore show and some of the Amiga prod system that tells you radar strength—with Cincinnati, Ohio 45249 e i989cmi
ucts shown there, sec this month's both a variable-rate beeper and a visual
"COMPUTE! Specific" Amiga section.
— Rhett Anderson

FEBRUARY 1989 7
 -nem&twtes

optical drive writes to the disk,

Just Another
information is recorded as 0s
Pretty Storage and 1 s. A laser beam heats a
Option disk sector to its Curie point,

You're not likely to sec a mag changing all the crystals in the
neto-optical disc drive in your sector to 0s. Then the laser
next home computer, but this passes through the sector again

latest mass-storage technology- and heats only those magnetic

has found a home in the NeXT particles that should be

computer and will probably " changed to Is. The laser makes

take up residence in future a third pass to verify the accu

workstations. racy of the data.

Erasable optical disks The same laser reads the

have enormous storage capaci disk. As the light reflects from

ty—between 256 and 650 the disk, it's polarized by the

megabytes—and excellent data crystals in the magnetic mate

integrity. Developers expect lo rial. The intensity of the polar

see the new disks used lo hold ization indicates whether the

large operating systems, store panicle is set to I orO.

intricate hi-res graphics, serve Because nothing physical

as buffers for image process ly touches the disk, head crash

ing, hold large collections of es rarely occur. The cartridge's

electronic documents, and re protective plastic layer is out

place large tape drives. of the laser's focal length, so

scratches and dust don't affect
Canon U.S.A. manufac Stephen Burke, manager of drives.
tures the drive used in the Corporate Communications at Erasable optical disk oper the stored information.

NeXT computer and makes If it all sounds like some

Sony. Sony's 650-mcgabyte ations depend on something
disk cartridges in 256- and 512- thing out of the twenty-first
cartridges cost around $250. called the Curie point, the tem
megabyte capacities. Sample The only storage device century, remember that ii. may
perature at which heated mag
be that long before you have
prices for evaluation packages thai would compare with eras netic particles change. The
an erasable optical disk on
of the Canon M-0 system able optical disks is Tandy's Curie point is quite high for
your desk at home. But be pre
range from $6,000 for the drive Thor-CD disk drive; its disks the magnetic material on eras
pared—future shock usually
to $200 for a disk cartridge. hoid about 550 megabytes. able optical disks: the particles
Sony already has a drive
comes first to personal
Tandy hasn't set a price for the resist change well. This pro
computers.
on the market. Priced at disks and drives, but has said tects stored data and allows for
around $4,600. the drive faces the cost will be comparable to very-high-density storage.
little competition, according to that of CD-ROM disks and When the magneto- — Heidi E. H. A ycock

COMPUTE! Reader Survey

Here's your chance to tell us what you really think. We need io know more about you (and whal you want) lo make COMPUTE! magazine
as valuable and Informative as possible.
Please take a lew moments to complete and mail this shori survey to COMPUTE! Reader Survey, P.O. Box 5406, Greensboro. North
Carolina 27403.

What computer(s) do you own or use at □ 1 year How long have you been regularly read-

horns? □ 2-5 years Ing COMPUTE', magazine?

D IBM PC D More than 5 years □ 6 months or less

D IBM PS/2 D7-12 months
What types of software do you own?
O Tandy D 1 -2 years
□ Word processor
D Other IBM PC compatible □ 3-4 years
□ Spreadsheet
n Commodore 64/128 D 5 years or more
□ Database
D Commodore Amiga
D Integrated package Which part of the magazine do you like
D Apple lie or He
□ Other business applications most? (Check no more than two.)
D Apple IIgs
D Telecommunications D Features
D Macintosh 512K. 512Ke. Plus, or SE
□ Education D Reviews
D Atari 8-bit
D Games D News & Notes
D Aiari ST
□ Graphics design □ COMPUTE! Specific
D Other (please specify)
D Other D Buyer's Guide
Do you use a computer outside the D Conversations
How many software packages have you
home? D New Products!
purchased in the last 12 months?
D Yes (please specify type of computer
D None Which columns do you read regularly?
and location)
D 1-4 D Editorial License
D No D5-10 □ Gameplay
How long have you been using a □ 11-19 D Impact
computer in your home? □ 20 or more D Discoveries
□ Levitations
□ Less than 1 year

8 COMPUTE!
Pencil Me In
tibles, including, of course.
The search for the world's Wang's own 200/300 Series.
most comfortable computing Freestyle includes an electron
metaphor continues. A passing ic pencil and tablet that let us
parade of folders, windows, ers add handwritten comments
menus, pointers, and sundry to displayed information and
other devices, perspectives, manipulate onscreen data;
and icons have nearly numbed typed comments can be added
us. As yet, no single point of with the keyboard. The pro
view has stepped from the gram captures data as a Free-
crowd. The latest entrant. styic page but doesn't affect the
Wang Laboratories" Freestyle program or data file itself.
computer system, uses an ex If, for example, a user
tremely familiar concept—a wants to add a signature to a
desk cluttered with paper. Freestyle page, he or she can
Right now, its pricing and expand that page to fill the
marketing put il strictly in the screen and then write on the basic Freestyle system (tablet,
business world. Few home tablet with the electronic pen interface card, pencil, software,
users will sec Freestyle in ac cil. The writing is added to the and cable) requires 640K and a
tion, though the interface may document, which can be standard-resolution Hcrculcs- ments. An optional telephone-
come to a screen near you in shrunk back to icon size. Users graphics-compatible monitor. like handset and accompany
the future. can erase comments with the Its price is steep—$ 1.995. ing voice board even iet users
Freestyle is a hardware/ other end of ihe pencil. Freestyle options include add spoken comments to
software combination de The tablet's controller electronic mail and the on documents.
signed for IBM PC AT compa takes up one slot in the PC; the screen display of fax docu — Peter SciSCO

space, they're not eager to

stock two versions of the same
program.

Software publishers have

responded—each with a differ
ent strategy. Davidson and As
sociates (an educational-
software publisher) supplies
5!/i- and 3'/;-inch disks in sepa
rate packages. A disk swap to
the other format is also avail
able at no extra charge. Bor
land International (producti
vity and language) sells its
IBM software only in the 5Vt-
inch format, offering a coupon
for a free 3'/2-inch disk. Media-
genie (productivity and enter
The Incredible Shrinking Disk
tainment) has a separate policy
Smaller is better in the disk ity, protective housing, and the dual, and dueling, formats? for its IBM and Apple prod
market, an easy observation higher storage capacity won From a buyer's perspective, ucts. MS-DOS packages con
when you consider that even converts. It picked up momen the box should include both tain both formats, with a small
though the 3'/>inch format tum in 1984 with several 3'/> disks, or the store should carry- increase in price to cover the
currently represents only 20 inch-based laptops and the two separate packages. Buyers extra costs. Apple products,
percent of total disk sales, esti introduction of Apple's Macin shouldn't have to wail fora however, arc available only in
mates mark 1991 as the year tosh. In a final blow to ihe 5'A- usable disk by return mail and the 514-inch format.
the format will take the major inch disk. IBM chose the 3'/> certainly should not have to In a changing market, it's
ity of sales. inch for the PS/2 in 1987, pay for the exchange. On the difficult to please everyone.
In 1983, the first com ending production of its 5'A- other hand, it's more expen Check the box carefully before
puter shipped with 3'/:-inch inch-bascd PC line. sive for the software compa you buy, and ask your dealer
drives—Hewlett-Packard's In this lime of transition nies to include both disks or software company about the
now-defunct HP 150. The 3'/> from 5'A-inch to 3'/>inch (especially prohibitive with turnaround time for disks by
inch format gained ground as disks, what are software com less expensive programs). And mail.
the smaller size, better reliabil panies doing to accommodate since stores have limited shelf — David English >

F E RUARY 1989 9
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-nem&notes

calculator-style keyboard.
Pocket Dictionary
which is laid out in QWERTY
I write using a $200,000 edit fashion, a recent improvement
ing system, and it doesn't even to the device. Now, press Spell
have a spoiling checker. A the or Synon. and wait for Word-
saurus? Forget it. Finder to find the word. If
That's why there's a you're checking a word's spell
WordFindcr on my desk, right ing. WordFindcr tells you
beneaih my monitor. The whether your spelling is right
pocket-sized box from Selec- or offers its own guess if your The stand-alone Word- offices. Nonelectronic writing
ironics uses linguistic technol spelling is wrong. Looking for Finder isn't much different may be likened to cave walls
ogy licensed from Microlytics. just the right word? The lhe- from a spelling checker/the and charcoal by some, but for
the company that publishes a saurus is organized in a hierar saurus used in conjunction many it's the way of the word.
disk-based thesaurus for the chy (had to look that one up) with a word processor on your An electronic dictionary and
IBM PC and Macintosh lines in which words are grouped personal computer. If you're thesaurus like WordFindcr re
under the same Word Finder under relatively direct syn working with words on your places tattered desk references
name. Inside the black case, onyms. Under the word friend, computer. WordFinder will be wiih an intelligent aid for the
which is slightly smaller than a for instance, arc two groups, a waste—an integrated spelling wordsmith.
3X5 inch index card, is a sin one headed by the synonym checker is far more convenient For more information
gle 256K. chip that holds a advocate, the other led by the and costs about the same. aboui WordFindcr, contact
100.000-word dictionary and a word associate. Move to the But not everyone writes Microlytics al Techniplex. 300
220.000-word thesaurus. latter group with the press of a with a computer. Paper and Main Street. East Rochester,
Using the WordFinder is key and you'll find synonyms pencil, believe it or not, are New York, 14445;(7I6)248-
simple. Turn it on; then enter ranging from accomplice to still used by millions. Type 9151.
the word in question on the supporter. writers still inhabit millions of — Gregg Keizer H

12 COMPUTE!
 gameplay ORSON SCOTT CARD

Isn't it a little early in the history of com Asteroids. Like the old anthology game
puter games for us to start getting Zork, it seems that no familiar concept is
nostalgic? off-limits to game designers.
Maybe not. Like rock music, computer Is Better Dead than Alien a great game?
gaming has a youth-dominated audience; Look, it won't change your life. It's fun,
three years is a long time in this field, and though, the way those old games were fun—
five years is a generation. Look at it that but with graphics that make your hotshot,
way, and Breakout is three generations old. up-to-lhe-minute, state-of-the-art computer
Heck, if they can revive Peter Framp- stand up and dance.
Classic Game ton songs from 1977, why shouldn't some I played Better Dead than Alien on the
game designer "cover" a classic like Amiga, a game machine so sweet that you

Concepts Get Breakout?

Blockbuster (Audiogenic Software/
have to work overtime not to get beautiful
graphics out of it. But Blockbuster even
Mindscape) claims that it "takes up where managed to look good in CGA graphics on
Better the the arcade classic Breakout left offi" Oh an IBM PC, proving that if you take the
yeah? I used to play the Atari 800 version trouble, you can make a silk purse out ofa
Second Time of Super Breakout till my brains fried. sow's ear.
Hours after playing. I could still see the ball So why did Epyx botch its IBM graph
Around moving geometrically around the screen ics so badly with Street Sports Basketball?
For reasons passing understanding, the
whenever I closed my eyes. No way could
anybody surpass the classic videogame that company used the bland, low-contrast,
started it all. purple-and-green CGA screen, with the re
Well, somebody did. Blockbuster is the sult that you can't possibly tell the teams
same paddle-and-ball contest, but the bricks apart at a glance. In a fast-moving sports
are now arranged in interesling patterns on simulation like this one, a glance is all you
the screen; no two screens are alike. Aliens have time for without giving your oppo
float down from the top—you get points nents an edge.
when you hit them, but the ball is also de Such a shame, too. because when I
flected. Some bricks have to be hit twice, played Street Sports Basketball on the Amiga,
and some drop tokens—catch the tokens and I discovered that it's the first game in this
you can use them to buy special features that genre that's good enough to make me forget
make it easier to wipe out the brick walls. the old Atari 800 basketball simulation.
Best of all, the game designers have in The concept, for once, is more than
cluded a build-your-own-screen option that mere decoration. The setting is an integral
makes this game literally inexhaustible. part of the game. You can choose your play
Blockbuster is as compulsive as Breakout, ing field—city, alley, suburban driveway,
but not quite as mind-numbing; the pattern schoolyard. The game titles arc graffiti on a
of ball movement isn't so relentlessly brick wall. You really flip a coin to decide
repetitive. who gets first pick, and then you choose up
If Breakout is being "covered" with a teams from a group of kids, each with differ
fancy new souped-up version, can Space In ent strengths and weaknesses.
vaders be far behind? Better Dead than Alien Play moves fast; watch out for oil slicks.
comes from a British game company called Challenging? I'm still at the easy level and
Electra. and while I've got to admit that I having fun.
was never a fan of the marching morons of I really like this street-sports idea, and
the original Space Invaders. I do like this the Epyx game designers are doing a good
game.
job of using it in other games, too—Street
You'll recognize the concept—rows of Sports Soccer, Street Sports Football, and
aliens marching back and forth—but this Street Sports Baseball. On the Amiga, the
game refuses to be boring. After every other graphics are superb, and they really add to
standard round, you get a single monster the fun of the game.
alien floating down at you, like the giant The game really has the feel of child
bomber in the movie 1941. The first one hood pickup games. At crucial moments,
you meet is like a giant jellyfish; the next you have to decide whether you want to
one, a great stone head (remember that film pass the ball to Dana, who has a bad habit of
Zardoz?). dropping it. or give it to Ralph with the hot
Then, all ofa sudden, instead of aliens hands. Just like the schoolyard. Good stuff.
you get meteors. No, let's be honest: You gel Just don't bother with the ugly IBM version.
asteroids, as in the targets in the videogame

FEBRUARY 1989 13
 impact DAVID D.THORNBURG

In a month or so, millions of Americans what happens to your taxes if you start your
will start preparing their 1988 tax return. own retirement program, donate money to
For some people it's a pleasure. Perhaps charity, or average your income. Many peo
you are among those who find lax time a ple overpay their taxes each year because
highlight of your year. I know one person they don't lake the time to explore various
who loves to work on his taxes. He makes a legal opportunities for tax reduction.
big sandwich, opens a bag of potato chips. It occurs to me. however, that there are
stocks a cooler full of drinks by his desk, and some possible risks and rewards associated
works nonstop through the night finishing with the increased use of personal comput
Doing Your all the forms. He's almost sad when the job ers for tax calculations.
is done. One of the greatest risks is that if every
one had access to personal computers, the
Taxes on the I don't fall into his camp, however.
Like most Americans, I find taxes a neces tax code could be made tremendously com
sary evil and think the calculation of taxes plex. Congress could decide lhat the com
Desktop—No should be done as quickly and as painlessly puter's ability to handle tricky calculations
as possible. As the president of two small allows for the creation of new types of tax-
Computation companies, I have a lot of forms to fill out. calculation rules that are beyond the capaci
Fortunately, I'm able to use a computer to ty of most people to perform by hand. If you

Without help me. By using database and spreadsheet

programs, I'm able to keep a running record
doubt the capacity of the tax code to become
complex, just look at the confusion resulting
of my businesses that lets me quickly gener from the last two years of "tax simplification."
Human ate a financial statement. My computer pro On the plus side, personal computers
vides two benefits of great value: First, it may someday allow taxpayers at all income
Interpretation saves a tremendous amount of lime; second, levels to have the benefit of expert advice in
it provides me with accurate calculations the preparation of their tax returns. Through
and flexible report formats. the use of computer-based expert systems,
Saving time is tremendously important the tax laws dujour could be stored as a set
for most small companies. Time spent on of rules—for example, IF vour income ex
recordkeeping takes away from time better ceeds $50,000, THEN throw a party, The
spent making sales calls or developing prod user would sit down with his or her box of
ucts. If computers did nothing more than receipts and income statements and then en
save time, they would be indispensable to ter all the needed information. At this point,
most businesses. The second computer ben the computer could calculate the lowest legal
efit, accurate reporting, is also important. tax payment and (best of all) cite the rele
No matter how many times I try. I can nev vant sections of the tax code in case you
er seem 10 add a long list of numbers on a were audited.
calculator without making a mistake. On the The problem with creating expert tax-
other hand, when I have a table of numbers preparation systems is lhat they must be re
on a computer display screen, I find them created each year because the tax code is
easier to proofread and edit. continually modified. Also, I've been told
It takes a special talent to decipher tax that there are major sections of the tax code
code, a talent that I've never developed. that are in conflict with each other. We hu
When I see instructions like Subtract the mans can deal with ambiguity and apparent
greater of line 16 and 17 from [he product of conflict; computers can't.
your age and the phase of the moon and add My accountant has attended seminars
the result to the number ofbirthmarks on at which experts disagreed with each other
your left leg, my eyes glaze over. on the interpretation of certain nuances in
I know that there are some great tax- the law. Many people have received oppos
preparation programs on the market, but I ing interpretations from the IRS on some
still want the benefit of a fellow human to aspects of tax law. Obviously, such ambigu
tell me my options. I have my final tax cal ities have to be resolved before a good ex
culations done by an expert in the field rath pert system for tax calculations can be
er than risk misinterpreting the rules and created.
incurring the wrath of the IRS. Still, when you think about it. it could
Even though in the end I rely on human be worse. The simplest tax calculation I've
guidance, the computer is still a wonderful seen looks like ihis:
tool. To start with, the case with which data 1. How much money did you make?
can be manipulated allows you to play what- 2. How much do you have left?
if games. For example, you can calculate 3. Send it to us. s

14 COMPUTE
 COMPUTE!
letters
Ih> leading Mogcnln* Of Homo, EaueatJsnal. And Bee notional Computing

Editor Gregg Keizer

Senior Art Director Janice R. Fary
Features Editor Keith Ferrell
As5islant Editors Heidi E. H. Aycock
Peler Scisco
Assistant Features Editor Tom Netsel
Editorial Assistant Mickey McLean
Copy Editors Karen Siepak
Tammie Taylor
Karen Uhlendcrf
Statf Contributors Rhett Anderson
David English
Clifton Karnes
Contributing Editors Arlan Levitan
David Thornburg

ART DEPARTMENT
Football, Eh? Assistant Art Director Robin L Strelow
Junior Designer Meg McArn
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, right TAPS for target analysis and battle Mecnanical Artists Scotty Billings
near the border with Canada. Because damage assessment, both conventional Robin Case

of this. I have always been as big a Ca and nuclear. The intelligence communi PRODUCTION

nadian Football League fan as I have ty used TAPS to assist in determining DEPARTMENT
Production Director Mark E. Hillyer
been an NFL fan. Do you know of any possible target locations and target Assistant Production Manager De Potter
Production Assistant Kim Potts
body who publishes a CFL game along types. Typesetting Terry Cash
the lines of Avalon Hill's Super Sunday The poor Apple II eventually be Carole Dunton
Advertising Production
or other NFL- and college-style football came overtaxed, and TAPS migrated to Assistant Anita Armfield
games for the computer? I realize there a Corvus Concept computer. The Cor
COMPUTE! PUBLICATIONS
wouldn't be much of a market for a vus Concept used many of the same Group Vice President.
game like that here in the United States, controller cards used by the Apple II, as Publisher/Editorial Director William Tynan
Managing Editor Kathleen Martinek
but perhaps a Canadian company has well as the same hard drive. Senior Editor Lance Elfco
done one. It's been a few years since my in Edrtonal Operations Director Tony Roberts
Executive Assistant Sybil Agee
volvement with the program, but I Senior Administrative
Ken O'Dell
have been told by the department direc Assistant Julia Fleming
Canton, GA Administrative Assistants Iris Brooks
tor in charge of the Nuclear and Chemi Cathy McAllister

After searching a directory of Canadian cal Analysis Course at Fort Sill,

ABC CONSUMER
compuier products—among other re Oklahoma, that TAPS is alive and well. MAGAZINES, INC.
Senior Vice President Richard D. Bay
sources—we couldn 't find any CFL Currently TAPS is '"officially" only at Vice President. Advertising Peter T. Johnsmeyer
games. Anyone know ofanyfootball Corps level and is being used to process Vice President. Circulation Robert I. Gursha
Vice President. Production llene Berson-Weiner
games from the Great H 'kite North? Emergency Action Procedure messages Director. Financial Analysis Andrew E. Landis
as well. The U.S. Air Force is pushing Senior Art Director John Ciofalo

the program into a new field—commu CIRCULATION

TAPS Update nication nets.
DEPARTMENT
Subscriptions Ora Blackmon-OeBrown
Just wanted to drop a line to let you Harold Buckley

know how much I enjoy your magazine

Dale Mclntosh Maureen Buckley

Lawton, OK Beth Heafy

and to address the article on Tom Thomas D. Slater
Raymond Ward
Clancy (November 1988), specifically Newsstand Mitch Frank

the few questions and answers about Jan a Friedman

Pet Pals
TAPS. Customer Senvce S. Adekemi-Adaralegbe
William S. Hough writes about the
I was involved with the early evo Subscriber Service (800) 727-6937
RAM Intermittent problems with the
lution of TAPS. It was originally named OneoftheABCPlBUSHING ® Companies
early PETs. He might try mounting a
TAP. and it stood for Target Analysis President Robert G. Burton
small cooling fan inside the cabinet. It'll
and Planning. The S was added later to 1330 Avenue ot trie Americas
save lots of wear and tear. New York. NY 10019
stand for System.
When I bought my PET. only the ADVERTISING OFFICES
Representatives from the Defense New York: ABC Consumer Magazines. Inc., 825 Seventn
printer was functional. I owe a great
Nuclear Agency and the software au Ave., New York. NY 10019. Tel. (212) 265-8360. Bernard J.
deal to Alice Feeney at Commodore Theobald. Jr., Group Advertising Director.
thors, BDM Corporation, brought the
Customer Service in West Chester, Greensboro: COMPUTE1 Publications. Suite 200.
system to Europe in 1980. TAPS was 324 West Wendover Ave.. Greensboco, NC 27408. Tel.
Pennsylvania. She dug around the of
originally written in Apple Pascal. (919) 275-9809. Kathleen Ingram.
fice and was able to help me get parts New England & Mid-Atlantic: Bernard J. Theobald. Jr..
TAPS was beta-tested using an Ap (212) 315-1665: Peter Hardy (508) 681-9000; Kathleen
and even some manuals. If it hadn't
ple 11+ with a whopping 64Kof RAM. Ingram (919] 275-9809
been for Alice and some back issues of Midwest & Southwest: Jerry Thompson. Lucille Dennis,
A Corvus 5-megabyte hard disk was our Jennifer Delfs (312) 726-6047 [Chicago]: (713) 731-2605
COMPUTE! magazine, I'd have never
first hard drive; it grew to 10 megabytes [Texas]; (303) 595-9299 [Colorado]; (415) 348-8222
gotten my winter project off the ground. [California],
and finally 20 megabytes. All of this
Another possibility is Kasara West, Northwest. S British Columbia: Jerry Thompson.
equipment was strictly "off the shelf; Lucille Dennis, Jennifer Dells (415) 348-B222.
Microsystems in Spring Valley. New Southeast & International: Peter Hardy (508f 681-9000;
none of it was militarized. We moved
York. Call the order desk and ask to Kathleen Ingram (919) 275-9809.
the hardware in its original boxes to
speak directly with Joel Kravitz. He'll Address all advertising materials to: Anita Armfield,
and from field exercises. In two years of COMPUTE1 Publications, Inc.. 324 West Wendover Ave..
tell you to write him a letter explaining Suite 200. Greensboro. NC 27408.
packing and moving in an army 2'/2-ton
what you want, and he'll take care of it. Editorial inquiries should be addressed to The Editor.
truck, I had one hard disk crash. I think
Joel, like Alice, has been very helpful. COMPUTE!. 324 West Wendover Ave.. Suite 200.
this says a lot for the ruggedness of Ap Greensboro. NC 27408
Both of them should be commended.
ple and Corvus hardware. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. -^u

The program had two primary' Bill Michael

missions. The artillery community used Elizabethtown. KY
F E RUARY 1989 15
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And what to look for
only a matter of time. after you've found them. computer may be as easy

Millions of comput as turning to the classi

Tom Netsel
ers have been sold over fied section of your local

the past ten years. That means millions newspaper. Most newspapers have col

of computers are now years old, and that umns devoted to used computers and
some of those millions are ready to be peripherals. These listings can be quite
passed on to new owners. If you're look extensive, but lots of listings doesn't nec
ing for a good computer at a bargain price essarily mean lots of bargains. Prices can

and you're willing to invest some time be outrageous, o

F E RUARY 1989 19
What's Fair? Sellers contact a broker and list the equipment they
Arriving at a fair price is the biggest hurdle facing both have for sale. The broker has pricing information to help
buyers and sellers. Buyers need to know current market them establish a realistic price, but sellers are free to ask
prices before they start shopping. Sellers need to realize that whatever amount they like. (That could explain why a used
what they paid for a system three years ago bears little Commodore 64 priced at $175 was still listed on the ex
resemblance to its worth today. change after ten months—a new 64 often sells for less.)
The classified computer ads in a recent edition of a St. If a buyer is interested in a specific listing, the broker
Louis newspaper listed a dozen different personal comput refers him or her directly to the seller. (Some buyers call a
ers, printers, and accessories for sale. One seller, advertising broker requesting a specific configuration and price range.
a six-month-old Commodore 64 equipped with a printer, The broker then tries to find a seller who can supply that
disk drive, and color monitor, asked $900. Further down system.) After the broker has put the parties together, the
the page, someone else was trying to sell a six-month-old buyer and seller agree on a final price.
IBM PC compatible—with 640K of RAM, two disk drives, Once they come to terms, the buyer sends the money
a monitor, and several pieces of software—for only $795. to the broker. After the funds have been verified (check
Obviously, the Commodore system price was way out cleared—that sort of thing), the broker notifies the seller to
of line—it's hard to spend that much for a new 64 setup. ship the equipment to the buyer, who then has 48 hours to
But the PC compatible may not be a bargain, either. The check out the items. When the buyer is satisfied, the broker
ad didn't say what microprocessor the PC used, or whether deducts a 10-percent commission and sends a check for the
the machine was a brand-name or no-name clone. There remainder to the seller. The buyer never pays a commission.
are new IBM compatibles on the market in thai price Some items, more
range. The monitor—especially if it's color—and the soft in demand than others.
ware being offered could sweeten the pot and make the hold their value longer,
difference. but they still move
quickly—provided
they're priced right.
The Machine's Market Value Top-of-the-line items,
Before entering the used-computer arena, both buyers and such as the IBM AT,
sellers must have an accurate idea of what used equipment the Macintosh Plus
is worth. Technology changes rapidly—the computer that and SE. and the
cost $2,500 in 1986 may now sell for $500. Yet when some Compaq Desk Pro,
owners decide to upgrade and thus sell their old system, are in constant de
they simply knock a few hundred dollars off the original mand, brokers say.
price and stick an ad in the paper. If you're not familiar The Boston Exchange
with the used-computer market and jump on the deal, it recently listed an
may be some time before you realize your mistake. early-model IBM AT
"It's always hard to get good used computers at a for $1,650. Newer,
reasonable price," says Brad Naegle, president of Micro updated models carried]
Xchange. a computer brokerage firm in Santa Barbara, prices between $2,300
California. "People know what they paid for a computer and $3,500. depending
three or four years ago. but they don't realize new ones just on accessories included.
like it only cost a fraction of that amount." A four-year-old IBM
A good pricing reference for anyone buying or selling PC with 512K. two drives, and
used computers is the Sybe.x Computer Blue Book, pub several software packages, including Microsoft Word, was
lished twice a year by the National Association of Com listed for $800. Clones are usually much less. An Amiga
puter Dealers. The Winter 1988-89 edition provides 500 with one megabyte of RAM. a Commodore 2002 color
realistic prices for 13,000 computers and peripherals. Buy monitor, an Epson LX800 printer, and assorted software—
ers of new equipment will also find the book useful since it including WordPerfect—was going for $1,000. These are
includes suggested retail prices, dealers' wholesale prices, just a few of the Boston Exchange's recent listings of more
and actual retail prices of new items. The book also pro than 600 personal computers. Most prices are negotiable.
vides the addresses and telephone numbers of 277 used- and items usually sell for less than their asking price.
computer dealers. Boston Computer Exchange publishes a printout of its
Subscribers to CompuServe or Delphi have access to a database each week. If you don't have access through one
another source of current used-equipment prices. Each of the telecommunications services, you can order a print
week, the Boston Computer Exchange, a nationwide bro out for $10 by contacting the exchange by telephone or
kerage firm for used mainframes, minis, micros, and mail.
peripherals, publishes a list of its current closing prices of Micro Xchange charges the same commission and op
selected models on those telecommunications services. Val erates in a similar fashion, but Brad Naegle serves local cli
ues are based on prices of items sold during the previous ents only. He feels most people want to get their hands on
week. The Boston Exchange also lists hundreds of used equipment before buying, so they prefer working with a lo
computer items that can be purchased online through the cal broker and local sellers. "You wouldn't buy a used car
telecommunications services. without seeing it first, would you?" he asks.
Micro Xchange has the same procedure as Boston
Computer Exchange for holding funds until the buyer is
Computer Middlemen satisfied, but Naegle says his customers don't buy that way.
Computer brokerage firms, such as Micro Xchange and the Packing equipment, shipping it, and returning an un
Boston Computer Exchange, are middlemen who bring satisfactory' item can be more trouble than it's worth.
buyers and sellers together. Micro Xchange limits its ser Naegle says. "Who wants to go through all that hassle?"
vices to customers in the Santa Barbara area, but the Bos
Still, many people don't mind the hassle when it comes to
ton Computer Exchange, which calls itself the world's
saving money, and they're willing to invest the time and ef
largest computer brokerage house, deals on an international fort required to search for a bargain.
basis. Both firms handle transactions in a similar manner. Brokers usually arrange sales between two parties, but
20 C O M P U T E
Velocity Development Corpniatkm P. 0. Boi 875. Palatine. Ill 60O7S-O875. (312) 331-0534 Jet Fighter lit Adventure, and Velocity are trademarks of Velocity II- Him*!' <*,,./ IS88 Vehcrty. Velocity products art

ttisiirtutid by BrodeibvndSotlHare. Sctttmhats itowi are mi/i CCA union Suggested retail price S43.SS.

I
some also buy equipment outright, computer owners. One client is an
refurbish it, then resell it. Thomas avid Coleco Adam user. The cus
Business Systems in Boca Raton, tomer has several daughters in
Florida, does just that. Paul Seeler, different colleges around the
a consultant at Thomas, says the country, and they'd each like to
firm deals primarily with business have a Coleco to keep in touch.
clients and office computers. Harold says he even buys
If a company has a computer it things he shouldn't, a habit that
no longer needs, Thomas buys it means he often has used equip
rather than taking it on ment other dealers don't handle.
consignment. After cleaning or re One businessman used a Franklin
furbishing. Thomas typically offers 1000 for a number of years—had
used clones for about 30-35 all his accounts on it—when it
percent below the cost of a new- suddenly died. A call to Shreve
system. All equipment comes Systems put him back in business.
with a 30-to-90-day guarantee. Shreve Systems publishes a
Like many purveyors of used monthly flier, listing trade-ins,
equipment. Thomas Business used equipment, and new specials,
Systems sees its inventory fluctuate but Harold finds it's almost
daily. A phone call is the best way impossible to keep it up-to-date.
to locate an item. "Call us up and give "We would have to make up a
us the configuration you'd like." Seeler says. "We'll put to flier three times a day to stay current with what we have,"
gether a nice package for you and. hopefully, be the most he says.
competitive."
Thomas doesn't handle Commodore, Atari, or other 8-
Look Here
bit machines. "They're not that expensive to begin with,"
If you don't have a copy of the Sybe.x Computer Blue Book
Seeler says, "so their resale value is going to be very nom
inal, which means little margin." and you'd like to contact other brokerage firms or used-
equipment dealers, try the Tuesday edition of the New York
Times. The Times publishes a "Computer Services Guide"
Used-Computer Dealers in its business section that lists computer brokers and deal
Richard Harold, owner of Shreve Systems in Shreveport, ers, plus other computer-related products and services.
Louisiana, isn't that particular. "I'll buy anything if it's Local user groups are additional sources of used
cheap enough," he says. computers. Because the people who frequent user groups
Harold, who normally handles Apple equipment, has a often update their equipment, they're anxious to unload
number of corporate clients, but he also takes trades and older items. They make announcements at meetings, post
buys used equipment—even orphans—from individual fliers on club bulletin boards, or place classified ads in the

Computers to Charity

Selling on the open market isn't the only way to get some mileage of San Francisco's Tenderloin district. From a room in the commu
from your used computer. Combine economic and altruistic re nity's Glide Memorial Church, a longtime shelter-counseling-
wards with a charitable contribution; then give away your used education-meals-spirituat outpost, Computers & You proposes to
hardware and software. create a computer education center that will help Tenderloin res
Getting a tax break for donating your computer means idents become computer-literate. That means children who might
completing some paperwork on your 1040 tax form. The new tax not normally have the opportunity will be able to play with educa
laws say you have to file an itemized return to claim any charitable tional software. It means underemployed and unemployed adults
contribution as a deduction. You can still donate your computer will get the chance to learn job-landing skills like word processing
even if you don't or can't itemize—just don't expect a thank-you or data entry.
from Uncle Sam. If you do itemize, the first thing you have to do is If you're interested in donating hardware/software to Comput
determine the fair market value of your computer. ers & You, if you want to donate time or money, or if you just want
You can do that by noting the prices of similar systems as they to find out more about it, write to Computers & You, c/o Corporate
appear in the local classified ads. If you use this method, be sure to Development, PCW Communications, 501 Second Street, San
keep a copy of the ads so you can document your figure should the Francisco, California 94107.
IRS question it. You can also get a price from a used-computer bro Global Technology acts as a worldwide channel for used
ker, if there's one in your city. Ask the broker to send you a letter, computers. The computers you think of as obsolete, underdevel
on letterhead, stating the fair market value of your system. oped countries see as advanced engineering. Working through
Next, you have to make sure your recipient qualifies, in the several international organizations, Global Technology has sup
eyes of the IRS, as an organization worth getting something for plied computers to a hospital in Bangladesh, an orphanage in Hon
nothing. Telling the revenuers that you gave your computer to your duras, and a Native American reservation here in the United States.
niece isn't going to cut it. Look around your town—a school or local Global Technology receives hundreds of requests every week
library wiil do, as wiil other nonprofit service centers such as a shel and is strapped to match supply with demand. It's looking hardest
ter or food bank. for IBM PCs and compatibles and Apple computers. If you want to
If the fair market value of your computer is over $500, you and donate your used equipment, or if you'd like to make a cash
your recipient must compete IRS Form 8283. Part of that form de contribution, write to Global Technology, P.O. Box 4861, Boulder,
fines what type of organization you're donating to, and another part Colorado 80306.
states the value of your donation. A big part of the personal-computer mystique is the communal
If you don't have a local recipient in mind, there are other feeling it promotes among users. Novices and sophisticates alike
organizations who'll gladly take your contribution. Two examples share common experiences, frustrations, and solutions. Donating
are Computers & You and Global Technology. Both of these your used computer can bring others into the fold and open a door
organizations seek to put computing power into the hands of peo to the future for those unable, for whatever reason, to open that
ple who otherwise might go without. door alone.
For Computers & You, that means empowering the residents — Peter Scisco

22 COMPUTE!
Tandy® Computers: The broadest line of PCs in America.

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u I I J

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O I i
i ' i ' i ' I ' I ' i 1 ' i ' ' 1 *^
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The Tandy 1000 TL is a powerful You also get the latest in computer- The new generation Tandy 1000
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I
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DeskMate features ten applications
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A DIVISION OF TANDY CORPORATION
group's newsletter. Even if you don't sec an ad for the of-town brokers or used-
equipment you want, go to a meeting and make your needs equipment dealers as their
known. Someone may have just what you're looking for. primary equipment sources.
Area electronic bulletin boards are also good places to Novice users may want a
contact individuals about buying and selling equipment. local dealer who can afford
Most boards have special-interest groups devoted to major to provide the support they
computer brands: callers often list items they have for sale. need, both before and after
Some boards even have sections reserved for the buying a sale. Several brokers say
and selling of computer equipment. If you want to deal they cringe when people call
with a larger base of callers and don't mind dealing directly and say. "I need a computer
with an out-of-town seller, browse through the classified but I'm not sure what kind;
listings on the national telecommunications services, such what have you got?"
as CompuServe. GEnie. Delphi. QuantumLink. and The In used equipment deals,
Source. it's not unusual for someone
to sell a complete system—
computer, disk drives, monitor, and printer.
Buyer Beware Sellers are often reluctant to part with items separately,
Since selling used equipment isn't a high-profit area, most so they usually set one price for the lot. In addition
dealers can't offer extensive telephone support. As a result, to knowing the value of used computers, buyers need
buyers not familiar with computers shouldn't rely on out- to know the prices of different monitors, printers, and ex-

10 Ways to Sell a Used Computer

Your classified ad isn't doing the job. You're spending 15 bucks a have the darn thing. A deal's a deal.
week on a half-inch of ink, and your old computer is gathering dust
Brother, can you spare a dime? Times are tough. Where are you
Don't give up hope. Here are ten ideas for giving your used com
going to get the jack to buy that new graphics card you covet? A
puter sale a shot in the arm.
quick trip to the Salvation Army or Goodwill store can outfit you for
Tell ya what I'm gonna do.... Go on the air with your local- surefire street sales. Stand around a busy intersection and hang a
access cable channel and sell your PC just like the folks on Home sign on your used computer that reads: "Will sell for VGA."
Shopper's Network. Spice up your offer with a handful of cubic
A bird in the hand. Hold a lottery by selling, for a dollar apiece,
zirconia and maybe a porcelain statuette of Elvis. Oh, and remem
chances to win your used computer. The key here is to blanket your
ber the four-word mantra of professional TV hucksterism: Time is
hometown with fliers advertising the raffle as a once-in-a-!ifetime
running out.
chance to step on that bridge to the future, an electronic paradise of
Strip that chip. With the price of dynamic random access memory wonder and hope. Your arrest on gambling charges will make yet
chips hovering somewhere near the price of weapons-grade piuto- another terrific tale for your grandchildren.
nium, you might want to sell only the chips from your old computer.
Piecemeal piecework. If you can't get one buyer, try for several.
Don't even bother to take them out of the machine—just advertise
Sell the monitor to somebody with a dedicated videogame system.
the chips as coming in an "attractive carrying case."
The keyboard is a perfect toy for a 13-month-old with future-
Hold a yard sale. Next to the battered toys, the blackened pots shocked parents. Unload the system unit on somebody who's
and pans, the p!aid polyester slacks, and the moosehead your learning computer maintenance from one of those back-of-a-
wife's uncle willed to you, your used computer will shine like the matchbook universities. External disk drives make dandy book-
gold from a pharaoh's tomb. You might consider offering a buy- ends. As for the cables, you're on your own.
one-get-something-free approach: Whoever buys the computer
Mondo exotica. As any professional will tell you, there are three
gets something free, like ... the moose head. Now you're cooking.
cardinal rules to selling: location, location, and location. Pack up
An offer you can't refuse. Dress as Indiana Jones and stand in a that used computer and hit the road. Offer it at a fire sale in Yellow
darkened downtown alley. Whisper furtively to passersby until you stone National Park. Cruise to Jamaica and advertise it at a price
catch someone's attention; then lead that person past the trash that'll blow them away. This idea might never sell your computer,
cans and fire escapes to where you've stashed your little treasure. but it'll get you out of the house.
You might not sell the system, but your arrest on loitering and tres
The big hardware giveaway. Take a hint from IBM and DEC. The
passing charges will make a great story for your grandchildren.
big boys know that the real money is in software, and they work
Do I hear seven twenty-five? It's hard to beat the pandemonium their fingers to the bone to ensure that today's mainframe software
of an auction for sparking the impulse buy. Salt the audience with will be obsolete with the computers they release tomorrow. You
relatives who can bid the price up should interest go soft. But don't can do the same thing, but on a smaller scale. Offer your computer
let them off the hook. If your cousin is seized by a paroxysm of auc free to anyone who will buy your software programs.
tion hysteria and shouts out "Seventeen fifty!," by all means let her — Pefer Scisco

24 COMPUTE
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tcrnal drives. A package price may seem fair, but the buyer
should add up the prices of the individual items to see if For More Information
the total still sounds like a bargain.
Two systems that appear similar may have prices that Boston Computer Exchange Sybex Computer Blue Book
are only a few dollars apart. Don't reach for your check P.O. Box 1177 S15.95 for a two-year
book until you've determined exactly what's being offered. Boston, MA 02103 subscription ($12.95 for a sin
because the less expensive package is not always the better (800) 262-6399 gle copy in bookstores)
(617) 542-4414 in National Association of Com
deal. Both systems may come with printers, monitors, and
Massachusetts puter Dealers
drives, but computer peripherals vary in quality. If the
Memorial Dr.
higher-priced system includes a 24-pin printer, it could be a Computer Surplus Store
Building A
better buy than a slightly cheaper package that comes with 715 Sycamore Dr.
Houston, TX 77079
Milpitas, CA 95035
a 9-pin printer. (800) 223-5264
(408)434-1060
Never assume anything from a used-equipment listing.
Micro Xchange Thomas Business Systems
Some sellers quote a price that sounds good until you dis
4301 OakCir.. Unit 11
cover it covers only the computer and built-in drives. The 1727 State St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Boca Raton, FL 33431
asking price may not seem so attractive by the time you (407) 392-2005
(805) 687-1320
add a keyboard, monitor, and accessories. If you already
have some equipment, make certain the hardware you're Shreve Systems
considering is compatible. A low-priced computer is no bar 2421 Malcolm St.
Shreveport, LA 71108
gain if it won't work with the rest of your system.
(318) 865-6743

Take a Test Spin

Computers normally are reliable pieces of equipment, but machines's sound chips and joystick ports before you take
things can go wrong. Used equipment bought through a possession.
dealer usually carries some guarantee, but hauling or ship In today's computer marketplace, technology is still on
ping a defective unit back to the store is still an inconven the upswing. New features, increased power, and compet
ience. If you have the opportunity to examine a used itive prices continue to make new equipment attractive to
computer before buying it, test the keyboard and all many buyers. Yesterday's computers quickly lose their ap
switches for obvious defects. Mechanical components such peal—and their value—in such a volatile market. It may be
as these are often the first to fail. some time, therefore, before used-computer dealers turn to
Heat is the big enemy of computer chips and power television to lure buyers into their stores with promises of
supplies. A computer may work perfectly when it's first fantastic deals, free financing, and hotdogs. But if you don't
turned on. only to have glitches appear after it has warmed need state-ot-the-art equipment to handle your computing
up. If possible, turn the computer on and leave it running chores and you're willing to ferret out a great buy, or if
for several hours; then see if problems develop. you're just the kind of shopper who loves a bargain, don't
It's a good idea to test the computer with several dif overlook those low-mileage models available in the slightly
ferent software packages before giving the equipment an used, but not abused, computer market. □
OK. A word processor or spreadsheet may perform and
print flawlessly, but boot an arcade game to test the Tom Netsel is an assistant features editor with COMPUTE!.

Software—The Second Time Around

You've been aching to get your disk drive around a copy of While it's possible to pick up a $100 package for $20, your tim
SuperSpread, a top-of-the-line spreadsheet that can do just about ing has to be good if you're going to find what you want. Jones has
everything. But you know the first thing the $500 program will do is tried publishing lists of available titles, but because he may have
bust your budget. If $500 is a little steep for a new copy, would you only one copy o{ a certain title, the list is often out of date by the
be willing to spend $100 for a slightly used demonstration model? time it's mailed. Jones encourages customers to call with their re
Roger W. Jones is betting a lot of people would. Jones, presi quests. If he has an item, he'll hold it for ten days or until a check or
dent of Mastertronics (P.O. Box 574575, Orlando. Florida 32857; money order arrives.
407-282-8213), says his company is one of the few in the country Ever read the fine print that comes with software? Some
dealing in used software. His firm handles only IBM-compatible companies sell their programs; others grant users only permission
programs at the moment, but Jones says Mastertronics probably to use the product. If a company grants users a license, it may or
will add Apple, Macintosh, and Commodore titles to its inventory of may not say whether the license is transferable. There are many
used software in the near future. variations of this policy, and it depends on the legal jargon found in
Mastertronics acquires its software in a variety of ways, and the license. Some software companies permit the resale of their
not all the titles suffer from heavy use. Being a computer consul products; others do not.
tant, Jones purchases packages to evaluate for clients. After a few Identifying which products can and which cannot be resold le
hours of testing a product, Jones may decide it won't meet his cli gally often presents a problem. "We're not attorneys, but we try
ent's needs. The software then gets added to Mastertronics' in very hard to determine if a company will permit the resale of the
ventory of used software, even though it's almost brand-new and product," Jones says. "If the company has actually sold the prod
has never been registered. Selections and quantities are limited, uct to the user rather than licensed the product to the user, then it's
depending on which products clients ask to have evaluated. our interpretation that the product can be resold."
Software comes from other sources as well. If a computer Copyright laws protecting software are similar to those
dealer goes out of business or a company auctions off its computer protecting books, record albums, cassette tapes, and compact
supplies, Mastertronics often picks up the software at greatly re discs. In practically every city, there are stores selling used books
duced prices. Jones also buys software packages from individuals and used records; even municipal libraries raise money by selling
and even takes them in as trade-ins on new products- books. If government and corporate attorneys who are familiar with
Special orders that clients never pick up are another source of copyright laws feel it's legal for their clients to sell used books and
software. These items are often unique products that may not have records, that's good enough for Jones. "If we see used books,
wide appeal. Jones marks them down and moves them as used, used record albums, then why not used software?"
even though the shrink-wrap hasn't been broken. — Tom Netsel

26 COMPUTE!
Wl ZARDRY

LOSE YOURSELF

The Legacy Continues...

But now, the

asters. To save the very won

intrepid party must rush headlong into the ...
Heart ot the Maelstrom
Now
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characters'froi Apple II Series

Wizardry, you will .ind:^^ (51/4 inch only)
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30 COMPUTE! Collages by RoDin L. Strelow
Buying a computer costs money. Buying software costs as much or more. Then
there's the printer, and the color monitor, and the second floppy drive, and
the hard drive, and, just when things seem a bit easier, more and better software.
Before long, the indispensable machine has become an indefatigable money hog.
So why not have it manage the money it's costing'/

The Balancing Act

Computerized money management is far from new—businesses have been doing
it for a couple of decades. But for the home computer user, financial manage
ment software has had to overcome two major obstacles. First, the early pro
grams were difficult to use. Second, they seemed to offer little that couldn't be
done with a pencil, a notebook, and a bank statement.
In the last few years, software publishers have responded to both objections.
The six packages examined here—Dollars and Sense, Managing Your Money,
On Balance, Smart Money, Your Personal Financial Planner, and MoneyCounts
5.0—all claim ease of use. To varying degrees, that claim is valid. The second
objection, more difficult to overcome, has been addressed in a variety of ways—
automated bank reconciliation, integrated programs, and future financial plan
ning are just some of the features now part of such programs.
Most importantly, though, software designers no longer treat homes and
businesses alike. While the accounting principles used in personal finance soft
ware are identical whether home or business accounts are selected (most pack
ages offer both), the home accounts "feel" much less technical. Personal
financial management, simply put. is not the same as business financial manage
ment, any more than balancing the nation's budget is the same as balancing
your budget.
In the past, the question might have been "Who will use this software?"
Now, with software capabilities up and difficulty down, the question has
changed to "Who does not need such software?"
Few people, actually. Those who must spend all their income on basic
essentials, those who already have a thorough, workable financial management
system, those who never suffer from cash-flow problems, those who spend
wisely but have no money available for investment—these are the people who
have little need for a financial management program.
But if you have more than one loan, more than one credit card, more than
one bank account, more than one income, a record of cash-flow difficulties, or
extra money to invest, you'll do well to explore one of these packages. And if
you own a small business, particularly if it's run out of your home, you'll find
one of these financial management programs essential.

The Reign of Double-Entry Bookkeeping

All six financial packages are based on the double-entry' bookkeeping system. In
this system, all transactions affect a minimum of two accounts. Using your Visa
card to buy a $200 suit not only adds $200 to your clothing account, for in
stance, but also adds $200 to your Visa bill. Thus, the increase in assets (you
now have a $200 suit to your name) means a corresponding increase in your
liabilities (you have $200 more to pay off in your Visa account). Double-entry
bookkeeping is the financial equivalent of Newton's second law.
So now do you ever get ahead? Basically, by buying items whose value out
lasts the time it takes to pay for them or, preferably, whose value increases over
time. In the above example, a transaction next month might show $200 dis
appearing from your checking account to eliminate the $200 in the Visa bill ac
count. Your checking account has decreased by $200, and your Visa account is
now empty, but you still have the suit (a $200 asset). Better still, the acre of land
you spent $2,000 for two years ago has suddenly jumped in value to $4,500;
your net worth should show an increase of $2,500.
The purpose of all these packages is to calculate your net worth. In financial
terms, net worth is defined as the difference between your assets and your liabil
ities. If you have more assets than liabilities, you have a positive net worth; the
reverse gives you a negative net worth. Your goal is not only a positive net
worth, but a constantly increasing one. The differences among the six packages
is, to one degree, the sophistication with which they calculate and track net
worth.
All six programs begin by having you prepare your accounts. You'll need
account categories for such things as income, expenses, assets, and liabilities. In
come accounts include salaries (often called paycheck accounts), royalties,
commissions, dividends, and so on. Expenses are, of course, everything from the
phone bill to the dental visit. Assets include your car, your house, and your
computers, while credit cards, loans, and your mortgage will show up under
liabilities. Several of the packages have account lists already prepared, which you
can easily alter, add to, or delete from. This is a welcome feature because setting
up the accounts is the single most time-consuming aspect of these programs. >
F E R U A R Y 9 8 9 31
 The success of each program, from program to program, to the way

Organize!
without exception, depends on your in which the package handles the
entering financial transactions regu financial information you provide.
larly and on a timely basis. Practically Other unique features include the abil
speaking, this means every two weeks ity to handle small businesses or the Organizing your finances takes time.
or. better still, weekly. Entering a method of predicting your monetary Assembling the information you need is
transaction, in all six packages, means future. For the most part, the differ the first step; learning to use the program
specifying which account to add to ences are the result of the purpose of is the second. Here's a ten-point program
and which to subtract from. All pro each package: Some are designed to re lor getting started:
grams support automatic (or recurring) port your financial situation as ac 1. Get your checkbooks, bank state
transactions, those which occur regu curately as possible, while others strive ments, credit card statements, re
larly and rarely vary. Paycheck deposit to advise you in your monetary ceipts, and any other records of this
and mortgage or rent payment fall into transactions. year's financial transactions.
this category. Transactions such as Choosing a financial management 2. Find your insurance policies, loan con
buying a jug of milk need not be re package will depend, to a large extent, tracts, and mortgage contracts, as
well as information about stocks and
corded separately; each package lets on the features you want. Pick the
bonds.
you work with a kind of petty-cash program with the functions and fea
3. Dig out recent paycheck information
account. tures you need, and you'll be well on
for you and your spouse. Include with
All six programs also offer the op your way to financial organization, if this any other information about this
tion of printing reports and graphs. not security. year's income, from royalties to divi
dends to student grants.
4. Take a household inventory. List the
approximate value of such things as
jewelry, clothing, computers, stereos,
musical instruments, furniture, lawn
mowers, and your comic-book collec
tion. These are your assets; without
Dollars and Sense this information, no program will be
abte to calculate your net worth.
comes with ready-tt 5. Separate all the information into en
velopes or, if you want lo be traditional
iccount sets for house about it, shoe boxes. Categorize the
items under assets, liabilities, income,
M and business or expenses. If you wish, keep stocks

plications. and bonds separate.

6. Go through the tutorial for the financial
program you've just purchased. Make
sure you understand how to create
new accounts, set up opening bal
ances, and enter transactions. Experi
ment with the examples provided.
Then prepare your data disks.
7. Enter information into your asset and
liability accounts, creating new ones
Reports begin with income and ex Dollars and Sense as need dictates. Then trace your in
pense statements and profit and loss Dollars and Sense comes with ready- come back over the year to date,
entering information as accurately as
statements, with each program offering made account sets for household and
possible. Do the same for your ex
a series of its own specialized reports. business applications. Adding to, alter
penses, although you'll probably want
Graphs provide visually oriented ing, or deleting from these sets is easy to estimate some items here. Remem
information about several areas of and encouraged. On the Macintosh ber that your goal is to track your fi
your financial status; bar charts are version, accounts are indented on the nances from this point forward, not to
the most common type, but pic and screen to reflect the various levels of relive the past ten months.
line charts are available with some account types (a hierarchy). On the 8. Go through the accounts on the com
programs. IBM PC version, additions, deletions, puter, checking that you have all the

Each program also contains a rel categories you need. Delete those ac
and other commands are accom
counts you won't need over the next
atively painless means of reconciling plished by using the function keys; the
few months, including ones you think
bank statements when they arrive. Rel Apple version has a key-selection
you might need later (they can be
atively is the operative word here, be menu.
added when they are necessary). In
cause if you dislike reconciling your The Macintosh version makes use other words, make sure you've cus
statements now, you won't find the of separate windows, while the PC tomized the database to your financial
computerized process much more en version uses pop-up windows. Pressing concerns.

joyable. But by tagging the cleared F6 on the PC version, for instance, 9. Print out your financial statements to
checks and then letting the computer lets you enter and update information get an idea of where you stand right
do the reconciliation work for you, in a pop-up window for each checking now. If you discover you're bankrupt,
recheck your calculations.
you'll have a much better idea of your account. Dollars and Sense uses this
10. Set up a schedule for entering trans
banking situation. information at check-printing time to
actions each week. If you're married,
help you verify that the checks for the get your spouse to help. Make sure
Individuals, All correct account are in the printer. Pop you have a place to store all receipts,
Despite their common features, each up menus let you define variable bud bank statements, bills, and so on.
of the packages is uniquely designed gets and multiple-account transaction Finally, make sure you use the soft
and targeted toward a specific audi information as well. In the Apple ver ware regularly; catching up is time-
ence. This uniqueness extends from sion, all transactions are handled on a consuming.
the user interface, which differs widely ledgerlike transaction screen. [>
32 COMPUTE!
PRESENTING TECHNOLOGY THAT LETS YOU
PROGRAM YOUR OWN DESTINY.
Electronics and coriiputer equipment can be most intimidating circuitry in existence anywhere.
state-of-the-art today. And ready for the garbage If you attend college, we'll pick up 75% of
can tomorrow. your tuition. You can even earn an associate degree
Demand for technology is changing that fast. from the Community College of the Air Force.
And the people who can stay on top of it can What does all that mean?
write their own ticket in this world. It means there's no telling where technology
That's the beauty of the Air Force. is going in the future.
We can put you to work with technology that But with Air Force training, you've always got
you may not read about in magazines for years. a future to look forward to. For more information,
We can teach you how to make sense of the call an Air Force recruiter at 1-800-423-USAE
 The consolidation feature dem clicked from a window.
onstrates the sophistication of Dollars Dollars and Sense devotes 44
and Sense. When you use separate ac
count files (a different set of books, in
pages of its manual to its forecast fea
ture, and 50 pages to its portfolio Expert
essence) to keep track of different management section. Both are de
financial activities, you can use
consolidation to merge data from as
signed for people serious about watch
ing their money. Forecast helps you Advice
many as 40 account files into one organize finances to keep your federal
Ron Trace is national coordinator for per
large file. Thus, you can track and tax bill as low as possible "(but still sonal financial planning at the accounting
chart how much each file contributes legal): the package's upgrade policy firm of Peat Marwick in Toronto. The au
to your overall financial picture. keeps new tax laws in the program. thor of the 'Personal Financial Planning"
Consolidation might be useful if you Portfolio management is for those who column in CA magazine, he also teaches a
have income from. say. several play the stock market. Here you can course in personal financial planning at
sources—salary, portfolio, rental prop work with open or closed trades, de the Canadian Institute of Chartered
erty, and freelance work—that you fine selected portfolios, enter dividend Accountants.
Trace's approach to personal finan
want to keep separate for tax reasons. information, update split shares, and
cial planning software is simple and com
At some point, though, you'll want to produce a series of reports that let you
plex at the same time. He advises, quite
know how much each activity is con track your progress. simply, using a good spreadsheet pack
tributing toward your millionaire-hood. age rather than an off-the-shelf financial
Reports in Dollars and Sense let Andrew Tobias' Managing package. The complex part, he realizes, is
you analyze your financial situation Your Money learning to use a spreadsheet program
from almost any angle. An account If you want a program that's more a effectively enough to put it to work as a
financial planning assistant. That requires
a major time commitment.
But commitment. Trace insists, is
what financial planning is all about. "One
of the biggest problems I have," he said,
"is that clients come to me asking for help
with their finances, but they don't realize
the commitment it takes to put their fi
nances in order."
Using a good spreadsheet, he contin
ues, will force them to learn how to per
form financial calculations such as tax
formulas. Understanding these calcula
tions is essential to true financial control.
Peat Marwick clients use a software
package the firm has designed, but it isn't
available to nonclients. According to
Trace, the firm designed the program be
cause there are no satisfactory commer
cial packages that use Canadian taxation
laws. Furthermore, because commercial
packages are aimed toward ease of use,
year-to-date summary lists the number financial coach than a bit of software,
the programs sacrifice the flexibility and
of entries, the total dollar amounts, this might well be your choice. I say customizability available with a spread
budget information, and a tax balance coach intentionally because Managing sheet. Several excellent packages are
for each account. Monthly budget to Your Money is the most loquacious available to U.S. users, he explains, but at
tals are also available, along with their program I've ever seen. The 270-page prices far higher than those of the pack
corresponding monthly actuals totals manual (Macintosh: longer for the ages examined in this article.
as well as a report comparing the two. IBM and Apple versions) is written in Trace's message is clear: There are
no quick fixes. Use an off-the-shelf, in
Income statements compare your in a chatty style, as are the help screens
expensive package to get a fee! for your fi
come and expense accounts, while bal in the program. The good news is that,
nances, but viable financial planning
ance sheets compare assets and right from the beginning. Andrew To
comes only with the investment of time
liabilities to calculate your net worth. bias himself seems to be with you. and effort. Working with your money, he
Cash-flow reports help you plan nec Tobias' goal, like Sylvia Porter's says, must become a labor of love.
essary changes in spending patterns, (see below), is to assess your current
and account reports (which you can monetary situation and help you plan
customize) show the activity for an in your financial future. He also makes 38 pages—is devoted to setting up a
dividual account. A series of graphs the assumption that your financial budget and entering transactions. To
offer a visual description of the management package will be a fre some extent, the manual assumes that
information. quently used piece of software. To that the program is at least partially self-
To minimize duplicated work. end, Managing Your Money includes a explanatory, an assumption that
Dollars and Sense makes use of reminder pad and a card-file {IBM makes learning the software somewhat
descriptors, macrolike creations in and Apple) word processor. The word difficult. The information you need.
which one keypress does all. When processor can be used independently— though, is on the help screens, not in
you enter a regular transaction (paying by pressing Ctrl-W from anywhere the manual.
the phone bill, for example), you can within the program—or as a tool to Managing Your Money has a
assign that transaction to a descriptor. add information to a particular activ good working interface, and it lets you
The next time the transaction occurs, ity in the program. The reminder pad customize freely. Its strengths, how
you need only type the first one or lets you list reminders, appointments. ever, are in its extras. For example,
two letters in the descriptor box, and and to-do lists, and it can even be set the included tax estimator lets you
the information appears. In the Mac to appear when you boot the program. plan for next year's tax expenses. The
intosh version, descriptors can also be Only one chapter of the manual— process is simple: Press F4 in the PC
34 COMPUTE!
Presenting the Red Storm Rising™ Ultimate Challenge

Win alHo forTwo to

Seofland&Enpuid! Your skill in Red Storm Rising — the gripping World War Hi
nuclear submarine simulation by MicroProse Software for the
Commodore 64 — can win you and a companion an
unforgettable visit to Great Britain!

MicroProse Software has convened a Board of Naval Examiners to

find the Admiral of the Fleet — the very best Red Storm Rising
nuclear submarine commander in the world.

mown In September, 1989, the Red Storm Rising Admiral of the Fleet and
a companion will embark on a 7-day expense-paid trip to Dunoon,
Scotland, home of the US submarine base at Holy Loch from which

Rising
Red Storm Rising players operate. Then they will visit London for the
international Personal Computer Show. The Admiral of the Fleet and
nine Runners-Up will receive other terrific prizes as well.
To enter, obtain your Official Log Form and complete Rules by
sending a letter or postcard to the Red Storm Rising Board of Naval
Examiners, 180 Lakefront Drive, Hunt Valley MD 21030. While you're
waiting for the Official Log Form, start playing the full Red Storm
Rising campaign game and learn to achieve maximum Efficiency
Rating (ER). You can protect the ER of your campaign in progress by
choosing the "Computer Log" option at the "Contact Screen" (see
below) preceding each battle, and then saving your game. If your
performance in the ensuing contact does not meet your standards,
you can re-play it (before going on to another battle) without losing
your previous score.
On the Official Log Form you will fill in the details of each of your
most successful battles in your best campaign. The deadline for the
Board of Naval Examiners to receive your entry — your completed
Official Log Form and final game save disk — is March 31, 1989.
The Board of Naval Examiners is making every effort to ensure that
the Red Storm Rising Ultimate Challenge is a fair test. As you
proceed into the higher levels of competition, the Board of Naval
Examiners will advise you of specific examination procedures. If you
intend to win you must be available for certain arrangements during
the weeks of April 10 and 17, 1989, and on April 30 and May 1, 1989.
The Rules, included with your Official Log Form, explain the details.

Commodore &s is a registered tracemark

o! Commodore Electronics Limited.

Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy © 1986 by

Jack Ryan Enterprises Ltd. and Larry Bond.
 page) manual is a section on getting
started, another on using the program.
a lengthy reference section, and an
appendix on exporting data to Apple-
Works. This extremely clear docu
mentation provides solid instructions
on setting up the program and your
databases, and it offers eight fully ex
plained examples of transactions.
The transactions screen looks
more or less like a checkbook register.
On the screen you'll see the date, the
check number (if applicable), a flag
ging column (if you want to flag trans
actions for further analysis), and
columns for the two affected accounts
version or Open Apple-3 in the Apple Included in all versions of the and the amount. All transactions are
version, and the numbers are drawn package, but as a separate chapter in handled through this screen.
from the appropriate accounts (the the Macintosh manual, is a section on Four possible reports are avail
Macintosh version puts a Form 1040 planning for the future. It begins with able, offering information on trans
onscreen with the numbers in the right a simple calculation about life expec actions, accounts, your net income,
places). Another keypress explains the tancy (but without guarantees), then and your net worth. The first two re
numbers, while a third lets you change proceeds into insurance and retire ports can be viewed in either text or
the tax laws for a different year. The ment planning, planning for sending bar-chart form. Data can be searched
help screens guide you through the your children to college, mortgage for according to whatever criteria you
process. refinancing, loans and annuities, and choose, including flagged items. On
The 48-pagc chapter on portfolio bond yields. The idea is to give you an Balance also includes a calculator and
management corresponds to a separate idea of where you will stand in your a memo pad.
section of the program, one which financial future and how you could On Balance is as no-nonsense a
tracks your investments. Along with a start saving for various contingencies. financial management program as
description of how to record puts and you're likely to find. It has none of the
calls, zero-coupon bonds, mutual On Balance businesslike complexity of Dollars and
funds, mergers, and so forth, there is On Balance is an easy-to-use financial Sense, nor the emphasis on financial
also a brief four-pronged approach to management program for the Apple II. advice offered by Managing Your
investing. Included in its relatively brief (104- Money or Your Persona! Financial

Money Talk
Money may make the world go 'round, but matter what kind of account is being kept. investment, your car isn't (unless it's a
its jargon can also make your head swim. Debit. Like a credit, a debit changes the collector's item). Stocks are an invest
If you're not a CPA and the most advanced balance of an account. In an asset ac ment, even though they might fail. Bonds
financial terminology you use is Charge it count, a debit adds to the value of the ac are an investment because they earn
when you're at the department store, count. In a liability account, a debit interest.
browse through this short glossary. decreases the value of the account. Debits
Liability. A long-term or short-term debt.
Account The basic building block for all appear on the left side of the ledger.
Loans and mortgages are liabilities, even
bookkeeping activities. Basically, you put a Expense. Any of the things that eat your though the car and house you bought with
monetary value into an account or take it money: the phone bill, the electric bill, the them are assets.
out. Every transaction involves at least kids' dancing lessons, the new exhaust
Reconciliation. The process of checking
two accounts, often many more. system for the car, groceries, computer
your bank statement for errors at the end
disks.
Assets. Things you own: your house, car, of the month. Your balance won't equal the
diamond watch, thoroughbred racehorse, Financial statements. Reports that detail bank's balance, because some checks
Learjet. property in Manhattan. If your as your financial situation. The two most im will not have cleared at the time the bank
sets exceed your liabilities, you have a portant are the income and expense sent the statement Reconciling means
positive net worth. statement (a.k.a. profit and loss state accounting for these outstanding items, as
ment), which shows how you've spent well as adding service charges and the
Budget. The plan you make for spending
your income, and the net worth statement like, to see if the bank has made a mistake.
and saving your income. The important
(a.k.a. balance sheet), which compares If it has (it happens), phone the bank and
thing is to be realistic. Budgeting your loan
your assets and liabilities. In both cases, a have the mistake corrected.
payment at only 75 percent of the real
amount might balance your budget on pa positive balance is the goal.
Transaction. An activity that changes the
per, but your bank manager won't buy it. Income. The money you bring in: salary,
balance in at least two accounts. Buying
And don't forget about the little things— hourly wage, contract income, royalties,
groceries decreases the cash account
clothes, spending money, supplies. They interest received, dividends, tips and
and increases the grocery account. Taking
add up quickly. gratuities, scholarships, and so on. If in out a loan increases your checking ac
Credit. A credit changes the balance of an come exceeds expenses, you've made a
count but also gives you a new liability ac
account. In an asset account, a credit re profit.
count And so on. Every time you bring
duces the value of the account. In a liability Investment. Purchases you make with money in or spend it, a transaction has
account, a credit increases the value of the intention of reselling at a higher price taken place. Note that some transactions
the account. You'll always find credits re sometime in the future, or purchases that (receiving your paycheck, for instance) af
corded on the right side of a ledger no will earn you interest. Your house is an fect many accounts at the same time.

36 COMPUTE
 PERSONAL
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 Planner. On Balance makes financial start using. It gives you a solid current available for that project (if any), fig
tracking straightforward and matter-of- financial picture as long as your fi ures of funds from outside sources,
fact. For those with an Apple II com nances themselves are not especially and a percentage figure for eslimated
puter who want to get started as complex. annual inflation and average annual
quickly as possible. On Balance is rate of return.
worth checking out. Sylvia Porter's Your Personal Once you've set up all your work
Financial Planner sheets, including one for each college-
Smart Money Your Personal Financial Planner con destined child, one for the business
Like On Balance. Smart Money sticks sists of six separate programs. Its you want to start, one for retirement,
to basics in its financial management. transaction manager lets you enter one for the motor home you want to
The transactions screen is not as use financial transactions and then search buy. and one for the house you want
ful or as appealing as On Balance's, and modify them. With the budget to pay off. you do the same for insur
but the icon-style interface (accessible manager, you prepare your budget, ance policies; then you ask for a print
with cursor keys on both IBM and Ap create graphs to view budget figures out of your financial plan. The pack
ple systems) is a strong idea. What sets pictorially, and load information from age responds with several pages of
this program apart from the others is the transaction manager. The asset/ information. It establishes where you
the ease of use of its financial- liability manager also takes infor are financially at this time, what your
computations function. mation from the transaction manager, current resources are. and what your
By performing financial computa- then lets you work with and analyze current assets and liabilities are. Then
it offers two lists of your financial
objectives—one arranged chronologi
cally, the other ordered by your
Smart Money priorities.
sticks to the The program offers advice about
what to do if it calculates that you
asics in its won't meet your financial goals.
Among these points of advice: Elimi
mancial nate some of your objectives al
lanagement. together {there goes the Ferrari!), target
some objectives for later, invest in dif
ferent ways, and plan to balloon
contributions to savings and invest
ments. None of these suggestions is
particularly noteworthy, but finding
out that you simply can't meet your
monetary goals under current con
ditions is well worth knowing. The
purpose is to let you know exactly
lions, you can plan your future fi your assets and liabilities. The income- where you stand and whether or not
nances. Loan-amortization calculations and-expense-statement program cre your objectives are realistic.
show you how much interest you pay ates that report—again, by taking
on a loan over a given period of time information from the transaction man MoneyCounts 5.0
(and at a given interest rate); you can ager, just as the balance sheet program MoneyCounls is certainly one of the
use it before you take out a loan. imports transaction information to most widely advertised of the personal
Compound interest shows you how prepare the balance sheet. Finally, the financial-management packages. Full-
much to deposit in savings and other financial planning program helps you page ads boldly proclaim it to be a su
accounts to meet a specific financial plan your monetary future. perb value at a bargain price. The
goal at a specified point in the future. Each program is highly usable, question, of course, is Just how valu
If you need cash for a specific purpose and, for many people, separating the able is MoneyCounts? Low price and
in the future (your children's college package's functions makes for a high quality, after all, do not usually
education, for instance), the annuities shorter learning time. Bar charts and go hand in hand.
function helps you plan. Also included X-Charts (cross-reference charts) can As it turns out, the claim is well
is an interactive net-worth calculation be created in the budget manager, substantiated. MoneyCounts not only
that shows what happens to your nel while reports can be generated in each offers nearly all of the features the
worth under certain spending and in of the programs. Where Your Personal home user needs, but it also comes
vestment circumstances. Finally, Financial Planner excels, however, is with perhaps the friendliest user inter
the program tracks appreciation and in its financial planning capabilities. face of any financial program. Not
depreciation. The first slep in financial plan that the manual helps—its first 18
Equally accessible are the reports. ning is to tell the program your finan pages come close to alienating the user
Smart Money's reports include a bal cial goals. This means creating a work with deadening information about re
ance sheet, a profit and loss statement, sheet for the program. Five work-sheet sponse conventions. DOS system
an accounts chart, a transaction jour types are available: college, house, prompts, installation instructions, and
nal, a budget report, and more. business, retirement, and other. Filling password protection. The best ap
Graphs showing actual figures or in a work sheet requires that you proach to starting MoneyCounls is
actuals versus budget figures are also choose the type, note what it's for simply to load the program and follow
available. (Lucy's college education, perhaps), the prompts.
Smart Money is less sophisticated and then set the priority of that in The first time you use Money
than Dollars and Sense, Managing dividual goal, the amount of money Counts, a menu appears which lets
Your Money, or Your Personal Finan needed to achieve it. and the year the you specify the current accounting
cial Planner. But it's also less amount is needed. Also required are month and year, the first and last
intimidating and considerably easier to figures of the funds you currently have month of the fiscal year, one of five

38 COMPUTE!
printer files (or you can create your one choice here—Your Persona!
own), the disk drive for saving data, Financial Planner. The program offers
and the monitor type. It's here that
you first come across the program's
a wide range of financial advice and is
inexpensive.
Your
simple interface: simply type the Less constrained are Apple II
appropriate letter and enter the
information.
owners. Your Personal Financial
Planner, On Balance, Smart Money,
Bottom
The second and subsequent times Managing Your Money, and Dollars
you load the program, you'll see the
main menu, where you'll begin by
and Sense are all available for this sys
tem. Each package has its own
Line
creating your accounts. Typical of strengths.
MoneyCounts' interface, the bottom of IBM PC and compatibles owners Andrew Tobias' Managing Your Money
this creation screen lists the nine ac have a similar embarrassment of Apple II—$149.95
count categories, along with the range riches, with only On Balance unavail IBM PC and compatibles—$219.98
Macintosh—$219.98
of numbers available for each cate- able for them.
MECA \fentures
355 Riverside Ave.
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 226-2400
MoneyCounts' Dollars and Sense

simple interface Apple II—$119.95

IBM PC and compatibles—$179.95
makes it a good Macintosh—$149.95
Monogram Software
choice for any 531 Van Ness Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
budding financial (213) 533-5120
manager.
1,
MoneyCounts 5.0
IBM PC and compatibles—$29.95
Parson Technology.
375 Collins Road NE,
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402
gory. Type 800. for instance, and you As a guideline, consider On Bal (800) 223-6925
create your first expense account. Type ance, Smart Money, or MoneyCounls (319) 395-7300
800 again, and MoneyCounts auto for a quick, easy start, but not if you
On Balance
matically supplies 801. The process is plan extended use of a financial pack
Apple II—$59.95
easy and the system is very usable. age or if you want serious help with
Broderbund
two features appreciated by beginning planning. Of the other three, it de
17 Paul Dr.
financiers. pends on your needs. Your Personal
San Rafael, CA 94903-2101
MoneyCounts can handle as many Financial Planner's strength is its dis (415)492-3200
as 999 accounts and process 100,000 tinct financial planning function, while
Smart Money
transactions per year. The manual Dollars and Sense has, unquestionably,
Apple II—$79.95
contains an appendix with hints for the most traditional businesslike
Apple IIgs—S79.95
such transactions as depositing the orientation. Managing Your Money, IBM PC and compatibles—$79.95
paycheck, refinancing a mortgage, and on the other hand, is perhaps the most
Sierra
buying a new car. MoneyCounls also feature-filled of all, and its financial P.O. Box 485
includes a forms-manager program for advice will be very attractive to many Coarsegold, CA 93614
creating checks, mailing labels. serious users. (800) 344-7448
Rolodex cards, and phone lists. Like Macintosh owners can choose
Sylvia Porter's Your Personal
all the packages examined in this arti confidently between Managing Your
Financial Planner
cle, MoneyCounls also contains a Money or Dollars and Sense, their
Apple II—S99.95
financial calculator, a math calculator, only decision being Tobias" personality
Commodore 64—S39.95
and a notepad. or Dollars and Sense's detachment. Commodore 128—$49.95
You may prepare reports at any Both offer a wealth of features as well IBM PC and compatibles—S99.95
time. Available are financial reports, as a Macintosh-specific interface. Timeworks
inquiry reports, special reports, and re The final question, though, is 444 Lake Cook Rd.
ports of grouped accounts. One major whether or not you really want to Deerfield, IL 60015
deficiency of MoneyCounts is its in know your financial situation. Cer (312)948-9200
ability to display these reports on the tainly, all these programs offer an
screen (you send them to your printer enormous amount of information, but
instead). sometimes you'd simply rather not about to do so, or if you feel your fi
MoneyCounts has little of the know that you can't afford the soft nances slipping away from you, one of
sophisticated feel of either Managing ware, or the lawn mower, or the car these packages might get you back on
Your Money or Dollars and Sense. It you want to buy. The terrifying track. Much less expensive than sev
is, however, an excellent value. Its possibility is booting up the program, eral visits to an accountant, they give
simple interface makes it a good entering all the information, and then you day-to-day control over your
choice for any budding financial discovering you can't possibly get money and, to a large degree, your
manager. through another Christmas season financial future. □
without going bankrupt, winning a lot
Neil Randall teaches at the University of
So Who Wants to Help Me tery, or robbing a bank. Waterloo (Canada), writes for numerous
Become a Millionaire? On the other hand, if you've just computer magazines, and knows the value
Commodore 64/128 owners have only made some investments or you're of money.
FEBRUARY 1989 39
 yourself

Order
from
Templates
Step by Step
The average template requires five

0
steps:

1 Outline the document on paper.

Planning is the key to an effective
template. Here, you need only set up
the skeleton—the labels down the left
and across the lop. Each vertical cate
gory will intersect with a horizontal
category, and the result will be a grid
Money and Your Spreadsheet of cells, the framework.
2 Enter labels. This is the first
Make that spreadsheet of yours earn its keep. Here's how hands-on software stage. It has
two simple parts: entry, where you se
to build your first template the absolutely painless way.
lect the cells and type the names in,
and formatting, where you tidy them
Dan McNeill up. Entry is merely rote, but format-
ling takes a bit of thought, especially if
you want the template to look crisp
Pity the poor spreadsheet. Begin ren facade: not the exotic symbols of and clear.
ners sec it as the unscalable face advanced mathematics, but the col 3 Enter raw data. Stable, changeless
of El Capitan, yet it is the most umns and subtotals of an accountant's numbers are the meat of the
helpful of programs. It offers case and statement. People are reluctant to face spreadsheet. This step also has two
order—something those most daunted spreadsheets. parts: entry, where you select the cell
can most profit from. Second, learning a spreadsheet and enter the figures; and formatting,
A spreadsheet is a table that cal takes a little effort. Some people feel where you provide commas, dollar
culates automatically. Since most ta more comfortable with the addition signs, and decimal points.
bles contain numbers that stem from and subtraction they learned in school.
other numbers, spreadsheets have a It's a strange, short-term outlook, since 4 Enter formulas. Formulas, the
lightning-fast, magical quality. You al over the years, working by pen or cal nerves of the spreadsheet, can
ter one figure in one cell, and the form a broad, interwoven nexus. Here
culator demands far more time and la
change ripples through all the other again, you first enter the formulas and
bor than devising a template or two.
numbers that depend on it. In fact, the time spent recalculating be then format them.
This is a marvelous ability. It cause of a single basic mistake could 5 Format the page. Once the
means that spreadsheets can instantly equal or surpass that of creating a spreadsheet is in working order,
update baseball statistics, census data, template. you'll want to spruce it up. You can
and, of course, financial information Hence, the Big Leap in spread insert extra rows or columns, add a ti
of every sort. sheets is creating your first template. tle, and generally make it easier to
So why do potential users shy Once you make one. the worry ebbs, read. Page formatting is cast as the last
away? There are at least two reasons: the barriers fall, and you can easily step because its effect is more obvious
math and learning. build many more. once the rest of the template is done.
Spreadsheets look like math, and This article will take you through However you can usually format the
math affects some individuals like a that process, using a template that page at any stage. The more spread
sensory-deprivation tank. Moreover, looks tough and rugged but is actually sheet-fluent you get, the more likely it
spreadsheet math has a peculiarly bar a snap. is that you'll format it early and often.
40 COMPUTE!
Rainy Day
Umbrella
Can You Really Do It
Not all spreadsheet templates are as sim if it'll perform the functions you need.
Now let's apply these steps to a sim
ple as the business plan for Rainy Day
plified business plan. Q. When is it better to buy a template?
Umbrellas. Should you write your own
Suppose you're starting a com template, buy prewritten programs, or hire
A. When you don't have the confidence to
pany to make umbrellas, called Rainy do the programming yourself. For in
a professional? I asked Julie Rubin, a tax
stance, don't try to write a very complex
Day Umbrellas, Inc. You want some computer specialist at the major account
tax computational model unless you are
grasp of your firm's future: You need ing firm of Peat Marwick Main and Co., in
familiar with both the application and the
a business plan to forecast overall Los Angeles, for answers.
laws and regulations regarding that
sales and subtract such projected ex Q. When should a person try to develop a application.
penses as manufacturing, marketing, spreadsheet template?
Q. When should a person consult a
administration, interest, and taxes. A. I've found that it's best to have a good
professional?
Note the basic mechanism under understanding of the basics of the pro
A. Deciding when to write a program or
lying this document: Money is coming gram you are working with. It may be hard
consult someone else can be determined
in and money is going out. You want for a nonuser or novice to decide when to
in advance, before doing any work. If
design an application, but once you've
to keep track of it and match income you're a novice, the first thing you might
gained experience and have a feel for a
against outlay. That's it. It's simple. want to do is consult with your CRA firm. It
program's commands and capabilities,
Moreover, the same construct supports you can make that decision more easily.
might have an application to meet your
numerous other templates. It won't needs, might design one for you, or might
Q. How do you get that experience? research third-party packages. Remem
take much of a conceptual leap to
A. Hands-on classes are really great, but ber that computers are only as good as
adapt this fictitious business plan to
studies show that people normally the person doing the programming. I've
handle your own checkbook, house remember only about 20 percent of what seen problems with too much reliance on
hold expenses, preliminary tax is taught. So hands-on use becomes ex computers. People don't double-check.
"preparation, and an array of other tremely important.
Q. When should a person double-check a
financial matters.
Q. Does designing a template make for spreadsheet application?
One final word: If the steps below good experience? A. I check every calculation with a cal
seem arduous, realize that in reality A. Yes. You should try something simple culator. I leave nothing to chance.
they aren't. It's like explaining a and work your way up.
Q. If you check every calculation, why use
microwave to someone who's never
Q. What kind of template should a begin a computer?
seen it. The workings sound in ner tackle? A. Making changes or revisions to a
tricate—full of knobs and settings and A. Financial statements, balance sheets, spreadsheet is much faster than recom
special cautions—until you actually even a checkbook-adding template might puting by calculator. I verify my formulas. If
have the machine in front of you. at not be too overwhelming. You should try they're accurate, I can change a variable
which point it becomes more or less something that's close to home, not too within a column being computed, and the
obvious. In this process, experience is complicated, where perhaps you add formula will take that new variable into
numbers in columns. You should also do a account.
the best teacher.
lot of reading about that application to see — Dan McNeill

Step 1 as the geographic distribution of sales.

Usually, however, income will be far
axis. Here, you're simply indicating
years. Four years is a reasonable
The Outline more monolithic than expenditures. projection, so you can write in 1989,
A spreadsheet has two dimensions: Outlays form the rest of this 1990, 1991, and 1992.
vertical and horizontal. You set verti chart. They fall roughly into four cate Don't bother filling in the grid
cal labels on the left and horizontal la gories: cost of sales (the cost of making yet. This structure is all you need to
bels across the top. The vertical labels the umbrellas), marketing and admin turn on the computer.
normally refer to figures, such as gross istration, interest, and taxes.
profit, since you stack numbers in col The first two have important Step 2
umns to add and subtract them. The subcategories. Under Cost of Sales, for
horizontal labels often indicate time. instance, you may wish to indicate ex Labels
With that in mind, you should penses for materials and subcontrac When you first open a spreadsheet
carefully consider what you want from tors, for labor, and for manufacturing and gaze at its empty grid, you may
the spreadsheet. Let's take the vertical overhead, which itself can include panic. Here, however, you're all set.
part first. For the income/outlay brand such items as rent, power, heat, You just transcribe your outline onto
of template, you probably want to maintenance, insurance, and any re the program.
place income at the top of the column search and development you may do. Begin with the vertical labels.
and outlays (which you'll be subtract Marketing and Administration Start in the far left column several
ing) below. The difference between all also comprise notable subsections. lines down from the top, to give your
income and all expenses will go on the Marketing is a compound of sales sal self room for the horizontal labels, and
bottom line, where it belongs. aries and commissions, advertising, then type in the labels one by one
Here, you can start by penciling trade shows, travel and entertainment, (Figure 2).
in Gross Sales, the overall revenue. and similar items. Under Administra The labels arc now entered. But
Note that, in this case, Gross Sales is tion, you'll place administrative and look at them. The lines are crammed
the only figure for income. If you have office salaries, legal and accounting together, with no space to separate dif
several sources of funds—for instance, fees, and bad debts. ferent categories and nothing to high
a home budget might include the sal Thus, going down the left, you'll light those categories that arc more
aries of both husband and wife—you write the vertical labels you see important. You can't leave these labels
can subdivide the category. You can sketched out in Figure 1. as they are. You need to format them,
break it down by other indices, such Now let's address the horizontal with spacing and capital letters. >
FEBRUARY 1989 41
 Spacing separates the template Figure 1
into distinct regions yet unites the fig
ures that belong together. It not only
makes the template look more attrac
tive, but it also confers order and at-a-
glance comprehensibility.
Enter blank lines after the labels
Gross Sales, Cost of Sales, Gross
Profit. Marketing and Admin., and
Stale and Federal Taxes. If you want,
you can also add spacing after the Less
Interest Expense and State and Federal
Taxes labels to isolate the interest and
tax factors.
Now you have a list of vertical la
bels cleanly separated. Some labels,
however, refer to raw data, such as
Marketing, and others indicate the re
sults of addition or subtraction, such
as Operating Income. The latter are
more important, since they sum up
(and so will include formulas, not just
numbers). The template will look- bet
ter if you differentiate the two. Nzr /a/comta~
You can do so by placing the ma
Outllne the spreadsheet's labels on paper, before you
jor labels in uppercase. Except for
Gross Sales, these headings all indicate turn on the computer.
results of arithmetic performed by the Figure 2
program (Figure 3). C 0 E F
A B
There's another way to emphasize 1
priority: indention. You can type a few 2
3
spaces before the subheads to inch
A Gross Sales
them in from the left edge. You don't 5 Materials, Subcontractors
need to do thai here, but you can use in 6 Labor, inc. Fringe Benefits
dented subheads to set up three levels 7 Manufacturing Overhead (
8 :oat of Sales :
of rank: (I) all caps, not indented; (2)
9 3ros3 Profit !
upper- and lowercase, not indented: 10 Marketing
and (3) upper- and lowercase, indented. 1 1 Administration
There's one final, gnatlike prob 12 Marketing and Admin. 'Z""iz:z .. .

13 Operating Income
lem. The vertical labels occupy two full
14 Less Interest
columns and a dotted line bisects them. 15 Income before Tax
That's OK. On most spreadsheet pro
... _ ._..

16 State and Federal Tax

grams you can easily widen an individ 17 Net Income
i 8
ual column. It takes just a moment to
19
expand Column A to fill the space pre
viously occupied by both Column A Vertical labels are In place, but without spacing or
and Column B. All the other columns
uppercase letters.
shift to the right (Figure 4).
Now you're ready to move on to Figure 3
the horizontal labels, where things are A B C D E F
much simpler. Each label is a year, so 4 GROSS SALES
you don't need to worry about organi 5
6 Materials, Subcontractors
zation or levels of importance. Place
7 Laborjnc Fringe Benefits
them on the second line above the 8 Manufacturing Overhead
vertical labels, and enter them one by 9 COST OF SALES
one across four columns. 10 re „..

But now a new problem arises. 1 1 GROSS PROFIT

12
The year labels are numbers, so the 15 Marketing
program automatically aligns them 14 Administration "
flush right, as if they were data in a 1b MARKETING AND ADMIN
column. But they're headings and will 16
17 OPERATING INC OME
look better centered. Select and center 18 Less Interest
them, and they all shift over to the iy INCOME BE FOR
middle of the cell (Figure 5). Hi State and Feder si Tax
2\
Now you're set. The spreadsheet
11 NET INCOME 1
has backbone. It stands on its own,
and you can move on to the next Spacing and uppercase have been added for emphasis
phase. and clarity.
42 COMPUTE
Figure 4 Step 3
A B C D E
4 GROSS SALES Numbers
Here you have the static, unchanging
numbers—the ones you start with
7 Labor, inc. Fringe Benefits
8 Manufacturing Overhead
rather than the ones you derive.
Entering these figures is the least
„„

appealing part of spreadsheet-template

—

1 0 __ _^j\

1 1 GROSS PROFIT \r
creation. Labels constitute the initial
12
13 Marketing
plunge and build the grid. Formulas
14 Administration bring the document to life. But enter
1b MARKETING AND ADMIN ing numbers is merely copying. You
16
have to do it. and you might as well
17 OPERATING INCOME
18 Leas Interest
get it over with fast.
19 INCOME BEFORE TAX This template has many rows
20 State and Federal Tax with formulas, so now you can see one
21
benefit of having distinguished these
22 NET INCOME
23
from the rows containing simple data.
Enter numbers in each year's Gross
Expanding Column A makes the template easier to follow. Sales column, and in every subsequent
line that's labeled in upper- and lower
case (Figure 6).
When you've finished, however,
the numbers remain completely bare.
Figure 5
They have no commas, decimal points,
A B C D E or dollar signs. You can touch them up
t by adding these helpful items. In fact.
2 1989 1990 1991 1992 you can do more. Formatting, even i\
3
this early stage, can improve the overall
comprehensibility of the template.
6 Materials, Subcontractors Let's reserve the dollar sign for
7 Labor, inc. Fringe Benefits^
only those numbers under labels in all
8 ManufectunngOverhead "
9 COST OF SALES
caps: the important ones. You'll see the
1 0 result later, but for now, format the
11 GROSS PROFIT Gross Sales line with dollar signs and
12
commas, and the other numbers with
13 Marketing
14 Administration
commas only (Figure 7).
15 MARKETING AND ADMIN The labels and numbers give you
16 almost everything the spreadsheet
17 OPERATING INCOME
needs. It's like laying pipe and funnel-
18 Leas Interest
19 INCOME BEFORE TAX t ing water toward the fountain. Now it's
?n I time to turn on that fountain and watch
it play.
Years become the horizontal labels.

Step 4
Formulas
Figure 6 Formulas calculate numbers from other
A B C D E
numbers on the spreadsheet. When you
4 GROSS SALES 70000 120000: 200000 320000 look at a spreadsheet, a formula cell dis
5 plays a number just as a data cell does.
6 Materials^ Subcontractors 25000 35000 55000 80000
The difference is that the number in the
7 Laborvinc Fringe Benefits 10000 15000 30000 40000:
Manufacturi ng Overhead 15000 20000
formula cell can change.
a 5000 10000
9 COST OF SALES Why? Formulas don't act on prc-
10 specified numbers. They act on the con
11 GROSS PROFIT
tents of other cells, whatever those may
12
1 3 Marketing 8500 12000 20000 25000
be. If they acted only on preset num
14 Administration 6500 600G 10000 15000: bers, a spreadsheet would differ little
15 MARKETING AND ADMIN from a pocket calculator. You'd have to
16 punch in the numbers anew for each
17 OPERATING INCOME
18 Less Interest 2000 4000 4000 6000!
addition.
19 INCOME BEFORE TAX With complex templates, manag
20 State and Federal Tax 300C 450C 10000 22000: ing the formulas is the trickiest part of
21 the operation. Not here. The formulas
22 NET INCOME
in this example merely add and sub
25
tract. All you have to do is be a little
Now the boring part—entering the numbers. careful. >
F E RUARY 1989
 Once again, let's contemplate the Figure 7
overall design. Your template starts
with one large sum, Gross Sales, and A B c D E
4 GROSS SALES :"■ J Q00_ i ■:!.: cion $200,000 $320,000
subtracts a series of numbers one by
5
one until it arrives at Net Income. f. Materials, Subcontractors 25 ,000 35,000 55,000 80,000
This example uses two kinds of 7 Labor, me Fringe Benefits 10 ,000 15,000 30,000 40,000

formulas: addition of minor cells to 8 Manufacturing Overhead s ,000 10,000 15,000: 20,000
9 COST OF SALES
arrive at a figure to be subtracted,
10
such as Cost of Sales, and subtraction 1 I GROSS PROFIT <( >
of major cells, such as Cost of Sales 12

from Gross Sales, to yield a new and 1 3 Marketing E ,bUU 12,000 20,000 25,000
14 fid ministration 6 ,500 8,000 10,000 15,000
steadily dwindling subtotal, like Gross 15 MARKETING AND ADMIN
Profit. 16
You meet the first kind of for 1 7 OPERATING INCOME
18 Less Interest 2 ,000 4,000 4,000 6,000
mula at the outset, in the Cost of Sales
19 INCOME BEFORE TAX
cell. To determine this amount, insert 20 Slate and Federal Tax 3 ,000 4,500 10,000 22,000
a formula to add the contents of the 21
three cells just above it. (Because each 22 NET INCOME 1
23
spreadsheet program does this a bit
differently, it's impossible to explicitly
Using formatted numbers makes the template easier to
outline how to insert such a formula;
understand.
you'll have to refer to your spread
sheet's manual if you haven't done
this before.)
The next formula cell is Gross
Profit, the difference between Gross Figure 8
Sales and Cost of Sales. You need to B c D E
supply a formula that subtracts the 4 GROSS SALES $70,000 $120,000 $200,000 $320,000
contents of the Cost of Sales cell from 5
6 Materials, Subcontractors 25,000 35,000 55,000 80,000
the contents of the Gross Sales cell.
7 Labor, me Fringe Benefits 10,000 15,000 30,000 40,000
And thus you proceed down the 8 Manufacturing Overhead 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000
column. In the Marketing and Admin, 9 COST OF SALES $40,000 $60,000 $100,000 $140,000
cell, the formula should add the two 10
1 1 GROSS PROFIT $30,000 $60,000 $100,000 $180,000
numbers from just above. In the
12
Operating Income cell, the formula 13 Marketing 8,500 12,000 20,000 25,000
should subtract Marketing and Admin. 1 4 Administration 6,500 8,000 10,000 15,000
from Gross Profit. 15 MARKETING AND ADMIN $15,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000
16
In the last few cells, simply sub
17 OPERATING INCOME $15,000 $40,000 $70,000 $140,000
tract. In the Income before Taxes cell. 18 Less Interest 2,000 4,000 4,000 6,000
the formula subtracts Less Interest 19 INCOME BEFORE TAX $13,000 $36,000 $66,000 $134,000
from Operating Income. And finally, 20 State and Federal Tax 3,000 4,500 10,000 22,000

in Net Income, State and Federal

22 NET INCOME $! 0,000 $31,500 $56,000 $1 12.000
Taxes are subtracted from Income 23
Before Taxes.
Now add the formatting—com Formulas can be simple, as in this template where they
mas and dollar signs. The dollar signs add and subtract numbers in spreadsheet cells.
now make the major numbers stand
out clearly from the minor ones and
provide an instantly visible structure
(Figure 8). Figure 9
You now have a fully operative
A B C D E
template for a business plan. You can 1
change any of the raw-data figures, z 1989 1990 1991 1992
and the subtotals and bottom line will 3
4 GROSS SALES $70,000 $120,000 $200,000 $320,000
reflect the alterations automatically.
5
6 Materials^ Subcontractors 25,000 35,000 55,000
Step 5
80,00C
7 Labor, inc Fringe Benefits 10,000 15,000 30,000 40,OOC
B Manufacturing Overhead <? 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,00C
Page Formatting y COST OF SALES $40,000 $60,000 $100,000 $140,000
10
But the template isn't quite finished. It ! 1 GROSS PROFIT $30,000 $60,000 $100,000 $180,000
lacks a title and is packed into the work
sheet's upper left corner. It needs seri 13 Marketing 8,500 12,000 20,000 25,000
14 Administration 6,500 8,000 10,000 15,000
ous enhancement (Figure 9).
1b MARKETING AND ADMIN $15,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000
Basically, you need to do three 16
things: insert a column on the left, add 1 / OPERATING INCOME $15,000 $40,000 $70,000 $140,000
more space at the top, and supply a 1 H Less Interest 2,000 4,000 4,000 6,000
19 INCOME BEFORE TAX $13,000 $36,000 $66,000 $134,000
title.
2U Stale and Federal Tax 3,000 4,500 10,000 22,000
The first step in dislodging the
template from the corner is to wedge in Here's the final spreadsheet before it's formatted.
44 COMPUTE!
 NEW GAMES! SPECTACULAR GRAPHICS!
FASCINATING STORIES!
The excitement and challenge is yours-order today!
D ZorkZero n James Clavell s Shogun
□ IBM PC and 100% compatible}' S59.95 Z IBM PC and 100% compatible*:}: $59.95
C Macintosh" $59.95 D Macintosh* *£ $59.95
C Apple II series! $49.95 D Apple II series$ $49.95
C Apple II GS+ $59.95 C Apple II GSi $59.95
C Amigat $59.95 D Amiga! $59.95

BattleTech □ Journey
G IBM PC and 100% compatible' $49.95 Z IBM PC and 100% compatible! ■ $49.95
□ Apple II seriesf $49.95 D Macintosh" "$ $49.95
□ Commodore 64/128+ $39.95 □ Apple II seriest $49.95
□ Amigat $49.95 Zi Apple II GS| S49.95
□ Amigat $49.95

•RequiresCGA, EGA,VGA, MCGAorTandy Graphics.

□ Quarterstaff " 'Also supports color Mac II.
□ Macintoshtf $49.95 tAvailable Spring, 1989.
n Apple II GSt $49.95 # Requires EGA, VGA. MCGA orTandy Graphics.

[ I IBM PC and 100% compatibles!# $49.95 ^Available February, 1989.

ttRequires Mac Plus. SE or II with 1 MB RAM.
Color requires MAC II with 2 MB RAM and 16 color video card.

SOLID GOLD TITLES

All Solid Gold games
are available for:
□ IBM PC and 100% compatible $14.95
D Macintosh $19.95
□ Apple II series $14.95
□ Commodore 64/128 $14.95
□ Solid Gold ..Solid Gold I! Solid Gold Li Solid Gold □ Solid Gold
Zorkl Hitchhiker's Leather Planetfall Wishbringer
Guide to Goddesses
the Galaxy of Phobos

Infocom games are available wherever fine software is sold. Or order direct using the order form below.

Please indicate the payment method you've used:

.ast name F rstname M.I □ Check Money Order □ MasterCard D Visa D Amex

Card Number Exp. date (Mo. & Yr.)

Address

Signature
City Stale Zip Code

Make checks payable to Infocom, Inc. (Please do not send cash.)

Country, il no! the U.S. IfoutsideoftheU.S., make check out in U.S. funds.

Quantity Product Computer Price Ea. Total Price

Subtotal

inFcJ^^^^lf ^
25 CambridgePark Dnv
Add S3,90 shipping, handling and insurance charges
If outside the U.S., add $2.00 export handling charge
Cambridge, MA 02140
TOTAL ENCLOSED
For telephone orders, please call 1-800-227-6900 and have the above information ready. Or send completed order form with payment in a
stamped, business-size envelope to: TRITON PRODUCTS CO., P.O. Box 8123, San Francisco, CA 94128. Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery.
©1988lntocorn. Inc. Zork, Planetfatl, Wishbringer, Leather Goddesses at Phobos, Enchanter and Deadline ate registered trademarks and Journey, role-play chronicles, The Crescent
Hawk's Inception, Quarterstatf, The Tomb o! Setmoth, and Intocomics are trademarks ot I ntocom, Inc.
BattleTech is a registered trademark ol FASA Corporation. The Hitchhiker's Guide 10 ihe Galaxy is a trademark of Douglas Adams. Shogun, Noble House and TaiPan are trademarks o I
James Clavell Phantasie III and Questronll are trademarks of Strategic Simulations. Inc. Summer Games is a registered trademark of Epyx.
DRAGON MAGAZINE is a registered trademark olTSH, Inc. CM CB CD CF
 JAMES CLAVELL'S SHOGUN"
Now James ClavelPs compelling saga of power
and intrigue in 16th Century Japan comes to life in
a riveting work of interactive fiction. You play the
English sea-pilot John Blackthorne, a stranger who must learn to
survive in the exotic world of feudal Japan. How you aa, what you
say and whom you befriend will determine your fate and the course
of the game.
• Shogun is an adaptation of James ClavelPs novel in which you
actually become the hero. If you enjoyed the book or television
miniseries, you will love the interactive version of
James Clavell's Shogun.
• Shogun's breathtaking graphics are designed in the style of 16th
Century Japanese painters. You have
never seen computer screens like these. niFocom
• Shogun features on-screen hints and
friendlier language interface.
• James Clavell's Shogun is a collabora
tion between two extremely popular
authors: James Clavell, whose
bestselling novels include Noble
House" and Tai Pan," and Dave Lebling, author of the Zork
Trilogy and Enchanter'
• Your Shogun package includes a game disk and Blackthorne's map
(Top) Experience the drama and pageantry of 16th of the known world.
Century Japan in Shogun.
• James Clavell's Shogun is available for most personal computers.
(Center) Infocom's Shogun captures all the power See the order form on the reverse side for machines and prices.
of the novel.
(Bottom) Rich text and vivid graphics weave a
gripping story of honor, intrigue, and survival.
 JVoDozzica
teepdifts to this article,
i
HIS

ism tse Lrf ipe, biu ^Ov<i

spokesh?n l^ve denied all
such rums, N&dra

The game that started it all has a new beginning! Zork

Zero is the interactive fiction prequel to the Zork
Trilogy, the most popular entertainment software
produa of all time. In Zork Zero, an unpredictable jester challenges
you with puzzles, paradoxes and plenty of fun as you seek out
objects ranging from the curious to the sublime.
• One million satisfied game players can't be wrong! Discover the
origins of the Great Underground Empire in this new and excit
ing chapter of Zork.
• Zork Zero integrates graphics into the game play with visual puz
zles, illustrated maps and a Zorkian encyclopedia.
* Zork Zero includes our most requested features: a friendlier
parser for easier typed-in commands,
on-screen hints, mapping, optional inFocom
mouse interface and sound.
* Zork Zero is by Steve Meretzky,
author of Leather Goddesses ofPhobos,
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy INTERACTIVE FICTION

and Planet/all.
* Your Zork Zero package includes the game disk, a secret spell,
"Lives of the Twelve Flatheads" Calendar and an unusual blueprint.
• Zork Zero is available for most personal computers. See the order
form on the reverse side for machines and prices.

(7op_J The Great Underground Empire comes

alive with spellbinding graphics.
(Center) Look for Zork Zero at a software retailer
near you.

(Bottom) New visual puzzles will challenge you

like never before.
Erasmus at sea:
Bridge of the Erasmus
[The gale tears at you, biting deep
Li thin, and you know that if you
Idon't make t andfa i! soon you"It all
Ibe dead- Vou are John Blackthorne,
Ipi tot-Hajor of a dead fleet: one
|ship left out of five, eight and
uenty men out of one hundred and
[seven, and only ten of those can
•alk. No food, almost no water, and
that brackish and foul .

bridge of the Erasmus

iThis is the bridge of the Erasmus, a
[Dutch merchant and privateer. The
lunlashed wheel is directly forward
lof you, a sea chair is lashed to the
[deck aft of the wheel, and the
(ship's bell is hanging here. Spray
jblows past in an angry torrent.

The wheel dominates the quarterdeck,

jft is turned straight and free to
turn now.

The sh!p heeIs in a sudden squa11,

1 throw ing you from your post at the
[wheel, which, uncontrolled, begins
[to turn to port.

!>STRfliGHTEN THE UHEELJ

Figure 10
a blank column on the left. That's
A 0 C D E F easy with most spreadsheet programs.
1
Next, add four blank lines on the top,
I
3 Day Umbrellas Inc.-- Business Plan, 1989-1992 pushing the table down. Now for the
4 title: On row 3. type in Rainy Day
b
Umbrellas -- Business Plan, 1989-1992
6 1989 1990 1991 1992
and then press the space bar until the
__._„—„—
title is centered. The template is fin
9
ished (Figure 10).
10 Materials, Subcontractors 25,00 O1 3St00O 55,000 80,000!
1 1 Labor,inc Fringe Benefits 10,000 15,000 30,000 40,000:
Not only is it done, but you can
\l Manufacturing Overhead 5,000 10,000 1 5,000 20,000: copy it and alter it to give you other
13 COST OF SALES $40,000 $60,000 5100,000 $140,000! templates. The same substructure—in
14
15 GROSS PROFIT [£f,30^000 $60,000 3100,000 $ i 80,000 ! come minus expenses—applies to a
16 variety of other templates. Once you
17 Marketing 8;500 1 2,000 20,000 25,0O0i master this one, you can go on to
IB Administration 6,500 8,000 10,000 15,000!
19 MARKETING AND ADMIN $15,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000
others with relative ease.
20 That's the great secret of template
21 OPERATING INCOME $15,000 $40,000 $70,000 $j 40,000; design. Like juggling, it looks harder
22 Less Interest 2,000 4,000 4,000 6,000
than it really is. With a little practice,
23 INCOME BEFORE TAX $13,000 $36,000 $66,000 $134,000
24 State and Federal Tax 3,000 4,500 10,000 22.000 you'll develop all the reflexes you
25 need.
26 NET INCOME 110.000 $31,500 $56,000 1112.000;
Dan McNeill isn't an accountant, but he's
The completed spreadsheet template not only works, but
not afraid of math or money. His spread
looks great. sheet of choice is Excel on the Macintosh.

Templates for Sale

Even with gentle coaching, not everyone HeadStart Manusoft
is ready to step into the worlds of finances 34 templates for home and small- 8570 W. Washington Blvd.
and spreadsheets at the same time. A business use Culver City, CA 90232
more gradual transition can be found in HeadStart Software (800) 292-6123 (in CA, 213-559-1564)
many of the following tempfate collections. P.O. Box 51596 BM PC and compatibles—$199.95
If your needs exceed your spreadsheet Durham, NC 27717 3uns under Lotus 7-2-3; each module
prowess, you may want to buy a template (919)556-8792 available separately
rather than build one. Here's a sampling of Macintosh—$34.00 Ryan Estate Tax
available templates. Runs under Excel Makes major estate calculations and
BizPlanBuilder Loan Qualifier generates reports, charts, and form
Business/marketing plan for use in Template for mortgage brokers, real es letters
presentation tate agents, and loan officers Ryan Software
Tools for Sales Financial Microware 901 N. Broadway
13335 Wildcrest Dr. P.O. Box 40 North White Plains, NY 10603
Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 Cupertino, CA 95015 (914) 682-0106
(800) 442-7373 (408) 446-5639 (800) 447-8338
(415)941-9191 (in California) Apple II—$99.00 IBM PC and compatibles—$150.00
IBM PC and compatibles—$99.00 Macintosh—S99.00 Runs under Lotus 1-2-3, release 2
Macintosh—$99.00 PC—$99.00 Templicity
Runs under any Lotus 7-2-3-compatible Runs under most spreadsheets A set of 60 templates, including those
spreadsheet on the PC or under Excel for accounts, auto loans, refinancing,
MICROTEMP Financial Calculators
or Multiplan on the Macintosh and retirement
Fifty templates for home and small busi
Business Plan Toolkit ness finance Templicity
Financial Forecasting Toolkit MICROTEMP Box 4850
Sales and Market Forecasting Toolkit 318 Mendocino Ave. Berkeley, CA 94704
Templates for business plan, cash-flow Santa Rosa, CA 95404 (415)655-2355
and financial planning, and sales (800) 284-8367 Amiga—$29.95
prediction Macintosh—$79.95 Runs under Analyze, Haicalc, Logistlx,
Palo Alto Software Runs under Excel and Works MaxiPlan, and VIP
260 Sheridan Ave. 1040Works-X
Project Calc
Suite 219 Helps prepare individual tax forms
Performs what-if project cost calcula
Palo Alto, CA 94306 Personal Financial Services
tions and issues charts
(800) 336-5544 P.O. Box 1401
Frontline Systems
(415) 325-3190 (in California) Melville, NY 11747
P.O. Box 7408-PC
IBM PC and compatibles—$69.95 to San Francisco, CA 94120-7408 (516) 757-3201
$99.95 Apple II with 256K—$27.95
(800) 451-0303, ext. 55
Macintosh—$69.95 to $99.95 IBM PC and compatibles—$149.95 Apple II with 128K—$24.95 (called
Runs under Lotus 7-2-3-compatible Runs under Lotus 1-2-3 or Symphony 1040Works)
spreadsheets on the PC and Excel, Runs under AppleWorks: add $3.00 for
Multiplan, and Works on the Macintosh Ready-to-Run a 3V2-inch disk
Offers general ledger, accounts payable,
accounts receivable, inventory/order en
try, and payroll

FEBRUARY 1989 45
 roductsl
lets. The Tetroids have split them into In the tradition of their successful
SAT Prep 64 pieces and have hidden them in the driving simulation, Test Drive, Acco
Simon and Schuster Software has re six provinces of their world. Their lade has released Grand Prix Circuit, a
leased a computerized preparation world contains 384 sections, where you racing simulation based on the Formula
guide for the Scholastic Aptitude Test. will encounter Spitters, Aliens, acid and One series.
Simon & Schuster's Computer Study oil slicks, mutating deflectors, and joy Players can choose to represent
Guide for the SAT provides users with sticks. Some obstacles can be turned to either the McLaren. Ferrari, or Wil
two simulated exams. your advantage. liams team at Monaco. Japan. Detroit,
Features include a built-in limer to Available for the Amiga and Atari Germany, or four other tracks. Other
monitor speed, an automatic scoring ST, Tetra Quest has a suggested retail options include three modes of play—
device to pinpoint right and wrong an price of $39.95. qualifying lap, single race, or Grand
swers, a catalog of explanations for ev Microdeal, 576 S. Telegraph, Pon- Prix Championship—and a choice of
en' question, and an online scratch pad tiac, MI 48053 five difficulty levels.
for computations. Bar graphs display Circle Reader Service Number 201. Features that add to the realism of
improvement charts and projected the game include cars that show dam
scores. All the required areas of study age after mishaps on the track, func
are covered in 25 practice modules that tional rear-view mirrors, accurate track
contain more than 500 questions. An representations (including overpasses
online four-function calculator, an on and tunnels), and authentic background
screen help menu, and test-taking strat scenery of each city.
egies act as the student's College Board Grand Prix Circuit is available for
tutor. To simulate the actual environ the Commodore 64 and 128 for the sug
ment of a test, the calculator locks out gested retail price of $29.95. The IBM
during the two tests. PC and compatibles version sells for
The program's random-start fea $39.95.
ture allows a second-time test-taker to Accolade, 550 S. Winchester Blvd.,
skip over the basics and review the Suite200, San.lose, CA 95128
Accolade's Serve & Volley simulates actu Circle Reader Service Number 202.
more difficult areas of the test. A com
al tennis action.
plete review of high school grammar is
included with the Test of Standard
Written English. The manual also fea From Wimbledon to Monaco Car Clash
tures more than 120 pages of exam tips Accolade has released two new sports Origin has released an Amiga version of
and strategies. simulation games: Serve & Volley and Autoduel, an arcade-style role-playing
Simon & Schusters Computer Grand Prix Circuit. game based on the board game Car
Study Guide for the SAT is available for Serve & Volley simulates tennis- Wars.
the Commodore 64 and has a suggested court action. Players must make careful Players custom-build their own fu
retail price of $29.95. The Apple II ver stroke selections and correct ball place turistic four-wheel weapons and then
sion retails for $34.95, and the rBM PC ments, possess accurate timing, and an engage in car-to-car battles. The action
and compatibles release sells for $39.95. ticipate the correct court position after takes place in Autoduel arenas or on the
Simon and Schuster Software, One each ground stroke, volley, and serve. freeways. Vehicles can be loaded with
Guif+ Western Plaza, New York, NY The Strobe-O-Stroke feature con add-on equipment such as flamethrow
10023 sists of action windows with animated ers, oil slicks, and heavy armor. Players
Circle Reader Service Number 200.
racket movement that allows players to encounter action in 16 different cities
time each hit or serve. You can choose during the various missions.
from several serves or ground strokes In addition to the Amiga version,
Ancient Quest and play the game at the beginner, in Autoduel is available in versions for Ap
Players of Microdeal's Tetra Quest find termediate, or advanced levels. Other ple II, IBM PC and compatible, Com
themselves involved in the first galactic game options include a choice of court modore 64/128, Atari ST. and Atari 8-
athletic games, for which athletes from surfaces, match or tournament play, ad bit computers. The suggested retail
different worlds have assembled. The justable player attributes, and saved price is $39.95. Origin games are dis
games cannot go on, however, because game. tributed by Bredcrbund Software.
the six Phoenix Tablets have been sto This one- or two-player game is Origin, 136 Harvey Rd., Bldg. B,
len by the Tetroids. who were not invit available for the Commodore 64 for the Londonderry, NH 03053
ed to participate in the games. suggested retail price of $29.95. IBM PC Circle Reader Service Number 203.
Your challenge is to find the tab- and Apple IIgs versions sell for $39.95. Mickey McLean H
46 COMPUTE!
 COMPUTE! ,r
specific
start typing, and you're talking AtS89.95. The Norton
DOS Dilemma; directly to DOS. Commander's price is hard to
The Norton Commander beat. It may even encourage
Alpine 64; IIGS takes the have-it-your-way some dinosaurs to collect a few
idea and runs with it. The shells and some mouse lovers

Plus What; Mac main screen consists of Iwo

panels that contain subdirec
to take command.

tory' trees or file listings, a

'n' Amiga; function-key template across
the bottom of the screen, and a
Hyper Tales; menu bar that appears only
when you summon it. Neslled Invisible Link
and ST Speed on the next-to-the-last screen
line is the familiar DOS Telecommunications is one of
prompt. the joys of owning a computer.
Power command-liners You can share information,
will appreciate the fact that programs, and gossip with
The Norton Commander lets electronic friends across the
you paste filenames from di country or across the world.
rectory listings onto the com Few computer thrills equal
The MS-DOS world is split mand line. You simply posi that of reading about an excit
into two seemingly incompati tion the cursor over the ing shareware program, find
ble camps: those who love the filename, press Ctrl-Enter, and ing it on a BBS. downloading
DOS command line and those the filename appears next to it, and running it. all in the
who hate it. Command-line the DOS prompl. If you want space of an hour or two.
haters love shells and mice for to load your word processor Bui there's a negative side
their simplicity and ease of and four or five files, this fea to telecommunicating: While
use. They think that command- ture is a timesaver. you're downloading, your PC
line lovers are dinosaurs with Another boon to A:> ad- is tied up. It was designed to
mainframe mentalities. dicls is the command-line his think about only one thing al a
Command-line lovers tory feature. The program time, and transferring files
think thai shell collectors are keeps track of the last 15 com usually takes a lot of thought.
wimps. Real men don 1 use mands entered at the com The Invisible Link, a
shells, you'll hear them say, and mand line and displays them shareware program by Robert
real women no! only don't use in one of two ways. While on and Garland Wong (8663 Via
shells, they don't even talk io the command line, you can Mallorca #86, La Jolla, Cali
men who do. Give command- press Ctrl-E or Ctrl-X to scroll fornia 92037; $20.00), puts file
liners an esoteric command through the list from top or transfer in the background,
and a dozen switches, and bottom, or you can view all 16 where it belongs, and returns
they're as happy as can be. commands in a pop-up win your PC to you.
They're sold on the power and dow and choose the one you Invisible Link is a TSR
control that the command line want. that hovers in your PC memo
offers. The Norton Commander ry, doing its job while you go
[t's almost impossible to is only as intrusive as you about your business. After In
imagine a DOS enhancement make it. If you find the display visible Link is loaded, you
that could satisfy both groups, panels or the function-key summon it with a hot key.
but there Is one: The Norton template distracting, you can You'll find yourself in termi
Commander, version 2.0 (Pe resize them or toggle off any or nal mode with a help screen
ter Norton Computing, 2210 all of them. With The Norton and a dialing directory avail
Wilshire Boulevard. Suite 186, Commander in the back able. After you've dialed your
Santa Monica, California ground, you summon il only number and decided what you
90403; 213-319-2000; $89.00). when you need to use its built- want lo download or upload,
The Norton Commander in features to view, edit, copy, one of Invisible Link's best fea
gives shell lovers a flexible and move, or rename a file; to tures comes into play: you can
easy mouse-driven environ search for files or subdirec give Invisible Link a batch
ment with powerful features. tories; or to recall the com command to upload or down
For command-line addicts. mand-line history. A new load as many as ten files. You
The Norton Commander per wrinkle in the View command simply tell the program the
forms all its tricks without los will please power users: With commands you wanl to give to
ing sight of the command the new version of The Norton the BBS. and the files to send
line—there's always one at the Commander, you can view or receive, and you're off. If
bottom of the screen. Simply dBase and Lotus 1-2-3 files. you want to automatically give

FEBRUARY 1989 47
 COMPUTE! v
speajic

a log-ofFcommand. Invisible prim a document. Printing a market this year. Berkeley quickly and accurately.
Link has that option, too. so six-pass, six-page, single- thoroughly redesigned the Preparing an AD & D ad
you can completely forget spaced document lakes about basic package while respecting venture takes a long time. Not
about the transfer once it has 45 minutes. If your output has the market's familiarity with only must dungeon masters
begun. to look good, though, the wait the system. The result is concoct some kind of viable
As soon as you give the will be worthwhile. impressive. plot, but they must also popu-
command to up- or download. The real beauty of Meta- Berkeley upgraded origi laie their worlds with charac
Invisible Link returns lo your text is that it works in the nal GEOS features and added ters and opponents. The
calling application. You can't background, with your word some new offerings, including official Monster Manuals offer
use ihe hot key to reenter ter processor. When you tell your a spelling checker, a mail- a wealth of bad guys with dif
minal mode while files are be word processor to print. Meta- merge program, a text import ferent idiosyncrasies, so keep
ing transferred, but Invisible text steps between the word er, and a driver compatible ing track of everything is
Link's status screen displays processor and printer, produc with Apple's LaserWriter. difficult SSI's package lets
ihe current file, the block being ing super-quality output. If geoH'rite 2.1 is actually a ver dungeon masters design and
sent or received, and other use you have underlining, bold sion ofgeoWrite Workshop. control the encounters in ad
ful information. face, italics, or boldface italics As a word processor, geoWrite vance, allowing random as
Invisible Link doesn't in your document. Metatext 2.1 rivals MacWrite. a package well as contrived meetings.
have many bells and whis- recognizes these, too. and regarded as a standard on the Available on the disks arc
llcs. and it only offers the prints them in the font you've Macintosh. geoPaint has about 1000 encounters and
XMODEM protocol, but it selected. added several options, too. in more than 1300 monsters and
can transfer files at up to 9600 You may wonder why cluding overlays, ellipses, line characters.
bps. it uses only about 20K of anyone would want to use connection, and stretching and
memory, and it works like a ImagePrint, the batch pro scaling. Paint Drivers creates a
charm. If you like to telecom gram. Well, you can use more geoPaint file from a document
municate. Invisible Link is fonts with ImagePrint. and written with geoWrite 2.1, let Attack the Alps
worth a look. you have a great deal of con ting you easily add graphics.
trol over your document's final The biggest change in the
Epyx (600 Galveston Drive,
format. If you're doing the page dcskTop is support for all Redwood City, California
design fora poster or news three Commodore disk drives. 94063: 415-368-3200) has
letter. ImagePrint is the pro You can run GEOS with two come through with another
Laser Power gram to use. For high-quality different disk drives plus a
unusual sports game, this one
everyday printing, however, RAM expansion unit. To devoted to mountain climbing.
Metatext is the answer. make your files easier to find,
Don't give up on your iricd- Final Assault ($39.95) takes
and-true 9-pin dot-matrix — Clifton Karnes the Pad Color Manager desk
you into the Alps, letting you
accessory lets you color-code
printer. Laser printers may be choose from six climbing
at the cutting edge of technol your files with 16 available trails. You use a joystick and
ogy (and a high-priced technol colors. the keyboard to get around.
ogy, at that), but there's With the release of GEOS Beginners should choose
amazing untapped power in 2.0, GEOS has become an im the training trail, where you
your dot-matrix. The Image portant addition for those who
don't need to pack your ruck
Printing Utilities (Image Com use their 64 as a productivity sack and. when you fall, you
puter Systems. P.O. Box 647, machine. GEOS owners should don't die.
Avon. Connecticut 06001; upgrade immediately, and oth If you don't choose the
203-678-8771: $89.95) brings ers should consider GEOS se training course, you proceed
that power to your page. riously. The original program immediately to the supply
The Image Printing Utili was an excellent idea, but it screen, where you pack your
ties consists of two programs: was limited. GEOS 2.0 an rucksack. The length of your
Metalext, a memory-resident swers the earlv criticisms well. trip and the types of terrain
print enhancer, and Image- dictate which items you should
Print, a program that formats take, and as you gain expe
files in batch mode. rience, you'll pack to meet the
To run Metawxt, you type specific demands of each
the program's name followed Dungeon Helper climb. You can accept the
by the name of a font or fonts basic selection or design your
(16 are supplied with the pro The second installment in the own pack.
gram) and the print quality. Advanced Dungeons and Packing teaches beginners
There are three qualities avail Dragons series {SSI. 1046 what mountain climbing in
able: a fast draft mode, a beau North Rcngstorff Avenue. volves. You need a rope: ev
tiful three-pass mode, and an If GEOS is to remain the offi Mountain View. California erybody knows that. But you
amazing six-pass mode. cial Commodore 64 operating 94043; 415-964-1353) is Dun need carabiners to hook the
The three-pass mode system, Berkeley Softworks geon Master's Assistant, Vol rope to your climbing gear, or
looks good and will suffice for (2150 Shattuck Avenue. Berke ume I: Encounters ($29.95). the rope is useless. The carabi-
most applications, but the six- ley, California 94704; 415-644- The program is the first in a se ncrs. meanwhile, will have to
pass mode produces output 0883) must continue not only ries of helpful packages for the be attached to the mountain
that's so smooth and dark, to add modules, but also to up beleaguered creators of side, so you'll need ice pins for
many people would mistake it grade the basic system. With AD & D adventures. The an ice cliff or pitons fora rock
for laser printing. that in mind, the release of package puts the AD & D face. But these are pointless
As you might expect, the GEOS 2.0 ($59.95; $29.95 for Monster Manuals on a disk so without a hammer, unless you
more passes your printhead upgrades) is the most exciting that dungeon masters can cre rely on cracks in the rock, in
makes, the longer it takes to news to hit the Commodore 64 ate encounters much more which case you can anchor
48 COMPUTE!
 COMPUTE 2B9

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 COMPUTE! .r
specific

with a chock. the game. One game position hard to recreate on the com though, is the fact that the Ap
Thai's not all. You'll need can be saved to the master puter, but Fast Break does its ple Education division—really
things to wear, as well, includ disk. job very well. the only part of the company
ing two kinds of shoes, an ano The game plays quickly. — Neil Randal! that still focuses on Apple
rak, gloves, hats, mittens, wool but it isn't hampered by disk II's—has been downgraded to
socks, and gaiters. You'll need access. It even autoboots on a part of Apple USA.
goggles, hammocks, sleeping the Commodore 128. For ded Without a heavyweight
bags, a first aid box, a knife, icated followers of Ultima. like Yocam at its helm. Ap
a shovel, and even an extra Bard's Tale. Wizardry, and ple's educational efforts, and
pair of shoelaces. Of course, other fantasy games, Times of in many respects the success of
you can't take everything, so Lore will seem simplistic, but the Apple II. may be in for
selection must be carefully for those wanting something some rough sledding.
considered. faster moving, its blend of ac
Once you've packed, the tion and adventure is extreme
real test begins. You'll jump ly good.
over crevasses and negotiate
ice cliffs. Climbing the rock
Stratospheric
face is more dangerous still,
and icons show whether you
Back in mid-September, they
have safe handholds and foot
didn't strike up the band or
holds. After a while, your Triple-Team
even shout it out, but Apple
climber will want food and
did raise prices of nearly every
sleep, and then the climb con Also in the sports-simulation
computer model it produces,
tinues. Eventually, you'll line is Fast Break ($29.95), a
as well as prices of its monitors
either fall or reach the summit. basketball package from Acco
and some other peripherals.
In the meanlime. you can save lade (550 South Winchester
High demand for DRAM
your climb to disk, resuming it Boulevard. Suite 200, San
chips (which show up in com
later. Jose, California 95128; 408-
puters and on memory boards,
Final Assault is a welcome 296-8400). In contrast to Elec
of course, but not in monitors)
simulation because, like most tronic Arts' one-on-one game Del Yocam. long the champi
was the reason given by Apple
simulations, it's highly educa and Gamestar's two-on-two. on of the Apple II series within
for the increases.
tional. Mountain climbing is Accolade presents thrcc-on- Apple Computer, has given his
In case you missed the
hardly everyone's idea of a threc, and the results arc good. notice, citing as his reason a
hikes, here arc the new prices
good lime, but many people To begin, choose a center, desire to get off the fast-track
of the affected Apple II prod
are fascinated by it. This game a guard, and a forward, using treadmill. He'll leave the com
ucts, with their old prices in
offers a chance lo learn a little Fas! Break's scouting reports pany within a year.
parentheses:
of what it's like —without risk to help you select the optimum During the latest round of
ing your life. combination. Next select four reorganization at Apple—a Apple IIgs: $1,149 ($999)
of the available 15 offensive seemingly endless process at Monochrome monitor: $159
plays: you can exchange these the company this year—Yo ($129)
4 plays for others during lime- cam left his position as chief Color composite monitor
ouis and between quarters. Of operating officer and took the $399 ($379)
fensive plays include Give 'n helm of a new division. Apple
RGB monitor $599 ($499)
More Lore Go. Reverse Cut. and Alley Pacific and Apple Education.
Oop: and five defensive plays A strange mix to put within S'/j-inch disk drive: S329
In the same fantastic vein, include Man-2-Man and one division, many said. They ($299)
Times of Lore, from Origin Double-Team. The idea is to were right. Yocam is now sim 3V2-inch disk drive: $429
Systems {136 Harvey Road, select a play and then execute ply head of Apple Pacific. ($399)
Building B, Londonderry, New it using your joystick. Apple Education has been Apple II 256K memory-expan
Hampshire 03053; 603-644- Fas! Break includes in- dumped into Apple USA's sion kit: $159 ($69)
3360; $39.95), uses overhead- bounding, dribbling, and pass marketing group.
Apple IIgs memory-expansion
view graphics to show yet ing. Take shots from the three- Yocam joined the compa
card (256K): $229 ($129)
another kingdom in distress. point line and block oppo ny in 1979 and was the general
You must save the kingdom nents' attempts. There are no manager of the Apple II divi Buying a typical IIgs sys
from an evil fate by rescuing free throws because, as the sion when the company was tem (computer, RBG monitor,
three magic artifacts and, ulti manual says, "free throws are split by machines, not geogra two 3L/2-inch disk drives) now
mately, the heir to the throne. for wimps." You'll need skill phy. There are few current em costs you $2,606. That's a
Times of Lore is refresh at rebounding, though, and ployees who have been there 13'/:-percent increase over the
ingly simple. Combat and you'll have to watch out for longer. old total of $2,296. If you pick
magic are easy lo master, and personal fouls, the 24-second Yocam's departure—and up an ImagcWriter II printer,
the game doesn't require rule, and the half-court the shunting of educational as do many first-time buyers,
lengthy character creation or violation. concerns to the division most you'll end up paying more
equipment purchase. It oper The plays are the thing responsible for the company's than $3,000 for an Apple IIgs
ates in two modes: In Move here. and. like Final Assault; success in the business arena— system!
ment mode, you use the joy this game teaches as well as it may dramatically affect the That staggering price isn't
stick to wander through the entertains. It's questionable Apple II line. Without Yocam. going to win many hearts, or
kingdom, fighting rogues, ores, whether Fast Break is a better long a proponent of the Apple minds, for the IIgs this
ghosts, and other foul foes. In simulation than Jordan vs. ITs place in the company's Christmas.
Command mode, you talk to Bird: One-on-One, but Fast business, the older line may re Apple He computers
other characters, examine ob Break certainly offers some ceive even less emphasis than didn't go up in price, however.
jects, use objects, and pause thing unique. Team games are it does now. Most important. And since the lie was replaced
50 COMPUTE!
 COMPUTE! . _
specific

by the lie Plus (which actually ments are less likely than ihe tures that should impress the P.O. Box 1222, Lcwiston, New
costs less than its predecessor), other possibilities, simply be kids and dazzle leachers. York 14092:416-731-4175).
it also avoided ihe price cause IIgs graphics are already H' & PC uses a graphics Shell out $150 for ReadySoft's
jumps. quite good. interface, but it isn't an Apple- box, drop in a sel of 64K or
This makes the lie Plus. Of the additions, the most standard interface. You access 128K Macintosh ROMs (avail
for all its 8-bit failings, look important, by far. is a faster menus through icons at the lop able for about S50 and S90. re
like a bargain when compared processor. It's unlikely that a of the screen. Everything can spectively), and you're ready
to the lies. At $ 1,099 with a new IIgs will have a graphics be done from the keyboard, a to go. The Max is a full-speed
color composite monitor and coprocessor (as docs ihe domi big plus on machines without a Macintosh emulator. In fact,
its single, built-in, 3'/2-inch nant graphics computer for the mouse: Hit Escape to get to the the Amiga's blitterchip makes
disk drive, the He Plus costs home—the Commodore menu bar, press an arrow key screen-intensive programs run
less than half as much as ihc Amiga), so more processing to cycle through the icons, and even faster than they run on a
IIgs system listed above. power is vital for such lasks as then hit Return when you get Macintosh.
Guess which machine will scl! screen refresh and animation. to your choice. Drawbacks? The program
belter in December? The new GS/OS may cut Extensive printer support uses ihe flickering interlace
I'm putting my money on down on boot time and disk includes color printers, such as mode of the Amiga, so you'll
the He Plus. access time, but it does noth the ubiquitous imagcWriter II, probably want to use Micro-
ing for the machine's raw so the package's included Way's flickerFixer or buy a
speed. Sixtcen-bit productivity graphics can be pounded out long-persistence monochrome
software—word processors in color. Text prints only in monilor. Commodore's up
and desktop publishing pack black, mercifully saving teach coming Enhanced Chip Set
ages, for instance—runs pa ers and parents from reading and new color monitor should
Talk, Talk, Talk
thetically slow on the IIgs. In yellow print on white paper. also steady the screen image.
order for the machine lo be an Because of W & PC's con Another problem is that
II seems as if the talk of a
acceptable home computer, it straints, finished reports and Amiga drives can't read Mac
newer, faster, more powerful
must be faster. newsletters are generally clean intosh disks directly, so you
Apple IIgs just won't go away.
Here's hoping that the ru and attractive. With a color need a transfer program to
Speculalion, or perhaps just
mors, whatever lheir source, printer and ribbon, they're move your files from Mac to
idle wishes, about a beefed-up even bright.
turn out to be true, and true Amiga. ReadySoft is consider
IIgs is at least a year old. It
It shouldn't take much to ing letting you plug a standard
didn't take long after the com
get W& PC into classrooms, Macintosh disk drive into the
puter reached users before
what with The Learning Com back of the box. The result? A
many people wanted more
pany's excellent reputation system that runs Amiga and
power.
among educators. It's an easy- Macintosh software for about
The current guesses on the
to-use, friendly program that $1,500.
IIgs Plus (a likely name, since Mini-Murdochs should give software veterans
Apple has added Plus to its
like The Newsroom and The
machines three times already) It's been more than a year and
Print Shop a run for their
generally run like this: a half since The Learning money.
Company (6493 Kaiser Drive.
•A new microprocessor from W & PC is available in
Western Digiial. the makers of Fremont. California 94555; 3:/> and 5'/<-inch disk versions Cavalcade of Shows
ihc machine's current 65816 415-792-2101), developer of forS59.95.
chip. The new chip will run Apple II educational software Amiga developers and dealers
—Gregg Keizer
two times faster, if not three classics like Reader Rabbit and are spending a lot of time on
limes faster, than the current Rocky's Boots, released a new the road. At the time of this
microprocessor. Note thai Ap program. That drought ended writing, the October Los Ange
plied Engineering's Transwarp with the October shipment of les AmiExpo and ihe Novem

GS (not yet released at press The Children's Writing & Pub ber Philadelphia World of

lime) speeds up the machine lishing Center. Commodore have just fin
The program simplifies ished. Ahead are a spate of
by a factor of a bit more than
desktop publishing by cutting winter shows—COMDEX, the
2. Apple needs to beat that
speed.
down on confusing options. Toronto World of Commo
Half-pint Hearsts can creale dore, and CES (the Consumer
• At least 768K—or perhaps
documents in only two for Electronics Show).
even a full megabyte—of
mats—single-page newsletter Commodore has been
RAM. Virtually none of the
or multipage report. Every pushing the Amiga into every
best productivity and creativ
thing prints larger in a report, niche it could find, but the
ity software for the IIgs can
so young publishers can most impressive drive is being
run with less than 768K.
squeeze the same amount of made into the field of educa
• A SCSI port so that fast hard text and graphics into cither tion. Nothing rivals the Ami
disks. Apple's CD-ROM play formal. ga's video and animation
er, and other peripherals—the Writing & Publishing capabilities, and Commodore
AppleScanner, perhaps—can Center (the program's title is making sure that the word
be connected. Software for the needs an acronym—what gets out to schools.
II is starting to beg for a hard about W & PC?) doesn't At the World of Commo
disk. skimp on features in its quest dore in Philadelphia, educa
• Maybe, just maybe, enhanced for case of use. though. Easy tors were handed video cam
graphics in the form of a high graphics importation, eight The Philadelphia World of eras and assigned to make a
er resolution mode and/or fonts and type sizes, and the Commodore's big hit was movie. Back in the conference
more colors in current resolu ability to wrap text around ReadySoft's Macintosh emula area, they learned firsthand
tion modes. These improve graphics are some of the fea tor, called Max (ReadySoft. how to add Amiga graphics to

FEBRUARY 1989 51
 COMPUTE!
specific

Ihcir work. Educators interest movies. next frame of the animation

ed in using the Amiga in the Zoetropc, written by Aegis appears. After you've set up
classroom should contact John Animator author Jim Kent, is the movement for the charac
DiLullo. education manager. an updated and expanded ver ter, you can clone it. Keep
K-12, ai Commodore Busi sion of Kent's CyberPaint. a copying the character, and you
ness Machines. 1200 Wilson program for the Atari ST. Zoe- can create an army of march
Drive, West Chester, Pennsyl trope is like a paint program ing ants or a roomful of walk
vania 19380:(215)431-9246. that works on every frame of ing robots. Movie Setter has
Professional video con an animation. Of course, it excellent sound support, so
nections with the Amiga are wouldn't be much fun to draw you can select a sound for any
also booming. RGB Computer each frame individually, so event in a Movie Setter movie.
and Video Creations has com Zoeirope lets you perform vi Movie Setter includes a
bined hardware and software sual tricks on several frames at public domain player program
to control up to 32 profession a time. There arc three groups so that you can distribute your
al videotape machines. The of special effects: pixel effects, movies without a hassle.
company's popular Deluxe color effects, and APM effects. Deluxe Paint III has been
Help scries will soon be ex Using pixel effects, you spotted. It sports a new anima
panded to cover the video con create spectacular dissolves tion menu that allows you to
troller software. In no time, and motions. The names of create animations and load
anyone can learn how to make the effects hint al some of the and save AN1M files. It sup
and mix video productions. possibilities: Dcfocus. Shatter, ports the 64-color EHB mode, Yeah, yeah. I know the Macin
RGB has two successes under Wipe. Anlialias. Crystallize, but not the 4096-color HAM tosh isn't supposed to be a
its belt. \\ worked with NASA Venetian. Outline. Tile. Rip mode. game machine. It's supposed
on several video products and ple. Edge In. Unrcz. and Buzz. to be a practical business com
put together a full turnkey sys With Zoetrope's color effects, puter, but honestly, wouldn't
tem for a video house thai was you have full control over the you like to have some fun
already using Amigas. color palette of each animation with it?
Contact RGB Computer frame. Careful use can give
and Video Creations at 3944 you glowing and sparkling ani Font Tricks the top arcade-style games on
Florida Boulevard. Suite 102. mations. The most powerful other computers, has just been
Palm Beach Gardens. Florida effects are the APM (Antic Are you tired of the same old released for the Macintosh by-
33410; (407) 622-0138. Pixel Mover) effects. With fonts in the Amiga's Com Discovery Software (163 Con
The big hit at ihe these, you can make a picture mand Line Interface? If so, duit Street, Annapolis. Mary
Ami Expo was ASDG's new spin on any axis, move along you'll enjoy SysFont. a pro land 21401-2512; 800-342-
video scanning system, which any path, and expand or shrink. gram that allows you to use a 6442). It's a highly evolved
uses a Sharp scanner to pro Zoetrope uses RIF-format typeface different from the To version of the venerable
duce the most breathtaking files for animation, meaning paz fent built into the Amiga. Breakout, full of bouncing
pictures yet. This product is that you can load and alter dig SysFont includes ten fonts balls and shattering bricks. In
for high-end users only, since itized sequences captured with and five sizes. The various black-and-white (and gray). Ar-
the scanner itself runs $6,000. Amiga Live!. Zoetropeako of sizes let you have 60. 70, 80, kanoid's game screens arc a lit
Contact ASDG at 925 fers full support for static IFF 90. or 106 characters per line. tle hard to get used to because
Stewart Street. Madison, Wis images and animations saved The benefits may not seem im they're so intricately textured.
consin 53713; (608) 273-6585. in the populai AN'IM format. mediately obvious, but you'll Once you've adjusted, though,
Zoeirope is an impressive soon discover them. Consider the game is a lot of fun. While
and easy-to-use program that a directory listing. If your CL1 you're playing the game, hit
will help the Amiga gain respect window is too small, directo the space bar to pause, then
among video professionals. ries can wrap onto a new line, look under the Apple menu for
Movie Setter is a different making them nearly impossi information about how to get a
Moving Pictures sort of animation program. It's ble to read. With a font that screen editor that will let you
best suited to creating cartoon- squeezes 106 characters onto a create your own arrangement
New animation software con like animations. Carefully con line, you can have smaller win of blocks.
tinues to appear monthly. structed movies can run for dows without the text wrap Watch Discovery Soft
With the latest two entries, cre several minutes—even on a ping to the next line. In effect, ware for more games, includ
ating short animations is easy one-megabyte machine. you have a larger Workbench ing an educational version of
not only for programmers, but In MovieSeuer, you work screen. the old Ad-Libs game (un
for animators as well. Zoe- the same way a cartoon artist SysFont works with many named as of yet) and Sceptre
trope, from Antic Software works. Using the built-in paint text editors and several other ($49.95). another arcade game
(544 Second Street. San Fran program, you create the char programs. Virtually anywhere due out soon. In the Ad-Libs-
cisco. California 94107: 415- acters which will inhabit your the system font is used. Sys style game, players complete
957-0886: $ 139.95). and Movie movie. You draw each frame Font will fill in. stories by filling in blanks
Setter, from GoldDisk (P.O. of the animation separately Since SysFont supports with the right part of speech.
Box 789. Streetsville, Missis- (not too difficult, if you take very small fonts, those who The computer version is en
sauga. Ontario L5M 2C2; 416- advantage of the features of have a good, clear mono hanced by help screens that de
828-0913: $99.95). are both the program). Then you load chrome monitor will find it fine the parts of speech and
powerful, but in different background screens and set up most useful, but SysFont is suggest possible words. Sceptre
ways. Y.oetrope's features help background scrolling. also handy for the rest of us. is an arcade-style game in
you create professional special You design movies with SysFont is available for which your character moves
effects. Movie Setter is a the mouse. Simply select a $34.95 from Erawarc, P.O. through a castle, battling mon
mouse-driven program thai character and then click on the Box 10832. Eugene, Oregon sters and avoiding traps. The
lets you produce surprisingly screen where you want to see 97440: (503)-344-7684. game should be available by
long and detailed it. Each time you click, the — Rhett Anderson February. >
52 COMPUTE!
 JUDGE A GAME
BY ITS
"Ifit were any more
realistic, you'd need
a batting helmet'.'
Licensed by The Major Gary Carter
League Baseball Players
Association.

COVER Endorsed and developed

in part by the "Bible of
As the pitcher, you can
throw the batter a curve,
a high hard one. Pitch
Baseball;1 The Sporting
him inside, outside.
The action-packed
Even brush him back if
statistically enhanced News?
he's crowding the plate,
computer game with all
just remember, he's got
26 major league teams,
great bat control. He
and all the stars like
might even drag
DaveWinfield,Ozzie
a bunt on you.
Smith, Jose Canseco,
Roger Clemens,
George Brett,
AlanTrammell
and Fernando
Valenzuela.
Throw it home or
hit the cutoff man.
Go for the great
t'tnuir *» D*i
catch or play it safe.
Steal a base? How
about a pitching
Updated roster/ change? Just remem
stat disks ber. Anything the
available every pros can do, you can
season. do. If you're good.

«J 1988, Epy*, Inc.

Screens from Commodore
version. The Sporting
News is a federally \vailalilt for Commodore
registered trademark 64/128, Apple II &
of The Sporting News compatibles. IBM&
Publishing Company, compatibles
a Times Mirror
Company. The

EPYX
Sporting News ■
Baseball is a
trademark of
EPYX.Inc.
 COMPUTE!. _
speajK

Brodcrbund(17Paul printer output. What you get is that are different from what's run up against obstacles. You
Drive. San Rafael. California a folksy booklet packed with already offered. should know what your goal is.
94903-2101:415-492-3200) useful information. Program authors support or at least that you have a goal.
hasjusi released Shufflepuck For information, contact their own programs and retain In the future, wc'il proba
Cqfe ($49.95), an arcade-style Computer Quick, 14928 Lef- copyrights. Hcizcr handles all bly sec more hyperfiction—
game with amusing graphics fingwell Road, La Mirada. Cal the marketing and order fulfill perhaps designed for adults. I
and sound. It's one of the few ifornia 90638; (213) 941-7951. ment. Currently, Hcizcr mar would enjoy running through a
Macintosh games that really kets packages for about 150 hypertext version of a book I'd
use the mouse intuitively. program designers. already read, taking new routes
The game is air hockey. Ray Heizer's strategy through familiar plot lines.
The setting is an intergalactic saves progammcrs the trouble The Manhole is enor
bar. the last bastion of air and expense of starling a soft mous, four megabytes, so you
Templates to Burn
hockey competition. Your op ware company. Much of a must have a hard disk to go ex
ponents, computer characters, company's overhead costs the ploring. Some may have that
Heizcr Software is the brain
havedislinct personalities. same whether you're selling much disk space to spare, but
child of another garage entre
Each has a unique voice and one product or 150 products, my guess is that most people
preneur. Ray Heizer. His
ridicules or compliments you he said. will keep this story on their
company has been selling user-
on bad plays and good shots. The catalog is free, but if hard drives only as long as it
developed spreadsheet tem
Best of all. their personalities you send $4. you'll receive a takes to "read" through it. I
plates, program macros, and
affect their play. Lexan sample disk that includes 3 think of the program as a book
HyperCard stacks for two
Smythe-Worthington. a lizard- free programs and about 30 that comes off the nightstand
years.
like creature, has a penchant demo programs. For infor and goes back on the bookshelf
The idea is this: If you
for a local blue champagne, for mation, contact Heizer Soft when I'm finished.
need a specialized Excel work
instance. He's a pretty good ware. P.O. Box 232019. For information about
sheet, somebody else has prob
shufflcpucker, but the longer Pleasant Hill. California The Manhole, contact Media
ably developed one. and if
you play him, the drunker he 94523; (415) 943-7667. genic, 3885 Bohannon Drive.
you've developed one, some
gets and ihe easier he is to Menlo Park, California 94025;
body probably needs it. Heizer
beat. (415)329-0500.
provides a clearinghouse for
Excel, Works, and HyperCard
users.

His company publishes HyperStory

three catalogs. Excellent Ex
Upgrade 101 change hawks templates, data Ever since the first adventure Printers to Go
bases, macros, and tutorials for game, people have enjoyed in
teractive fiction. With The Add a Macintosh-compatible
Thinking about spending some Excel; Stack Exchange lists
utilities, databases, and tutori Manhole ($49.95). Mediagenic ink-jet printer to the list of por
money on your Macintosh?
has provided the first children's table computer products. GCC
Want a more powerful com als for HyperCard: and
WorksXchange offers data interactive-fiction game to use Technologies has started ship
puter? A bigger hard disk?
bases, tutorials, and templates HyperCard as the interface. ping WriteMovc. a 192-dpi
More RAM? More software?
for Works, The Worksmd Ex Fora first. The Manhole printer weighing in at only
If you're not sure what
cel catalogs even include prod is impressive. You travel three pounds.
to buy. invest in The Macin
Once the printer-driver
tosh Upgrade Book ($4. in ucts for the IBM PC versions through a fantastic landscape,
of the programs. into the sky via beanstalk, un software is installed, you can
cluding shipping and hand
For businesses, there's the der the ocean via manhole, select WrileMove from Choos
ling). This small book is
Small Business Accounting into a rabbit's home via fire er. WriicMove comes with sev
published by Computer
System. For construction of hydrant. Scenes are linked in eral fonis. including Helvetica,
Quick, a company that ser
fices, there's the Construction the strangest ways: The ele Times, and Symbol. Other
vices and upgrades Macintosh
Cost Estimator. For astrono phant in his boat is a good ex WrileMove software allows
computers. In the introduc
tion, the author admits he has mers, a set of work sheets plot ample. Float along wiih him you lo spool files or print them
a producl to sell, but you'll the orbits of the moon, the for a while and you'll find out in a batch.
find the book is much more sun. and Jupiter. If you take you're in the teacup that the It's priced ai $699. For
than an advertisement. trips, you might need the Fre rabbit offered you a few min information, contact GCC
Author Loy Spurlock ex quent Flyer Flight Log. You utes ago. Later, at ihe top of Technologies at 580 Winter
plains different kinds of up can find calendars, business the castle, you find that you've Street. Waltham, Massachu

grades and offers tips that logs, engineering tutorials, climbed to the top of a chess setts 02154; (617) 890-0880.
make your Macintosh work educational databases, and piece on a chessboard floating
more efficiently. When Spur games. Can you imagine play in some water. And who
lock writes aboul hard drives, ing solitaire with Excel? Learn should turn up but the ele
for instance, he explains how ing Bridge conventions with phant in his boat. Talk about
hard drives become fragment HyperCard? links! Any Questions?
ed and offers several methods You can even get tutorials While the idea of interac
for slowing down the process, on how to design your own nif tive hyperfiction is intriguing. If you have questions about
thereby speeding up disk ty programs so that you can The Manhole doesn't use the Macintosh or about soft
access. become an author for Heizer HyperCard's full potential. ware for the Macintosh, write
In the grand tradition of Software. If you've written You spend a great deal of time to COMPUTE!, Attention:
the early years of personal some useful add-ons for Excel, exploring an enchanting world, Mac Specific, 324 West Wen-
computing. Computer Quick Works, or HyperCard, query but you don't really get any dover Avenue, Suite 200.
started in a garage, and The Heizer by calling the company. where. A stronger plot would Greensboro. North Carolina
Macintosh Upgrade Book Check out the catalogs first— make a better program. In any 27408.
looks tike photocopier or laser- Heizer is looking for programs good adventure, you should — Heidi E. H. Avcock >
54 COMPUTE!
 THE MASTERS COLLECTION

Welcome to the world

of Bantross. Where
monsters don't Just
to&meriacing.They
WILL HOLD labyrinth. Play games
of chance, arcade
games and far more.
The Legend of
lunge directly at Blacksilver provides
you, ready to wound, all the depth and
paralyze or kill. challenge worthy of
Where whistling wind, a skilled adventurer. Intrigue.
roaring surf and echoing foot Danger.
steps mix with the; sound of i# Complexity.
your own h<eart pounding. Unparalleled
Wl)ere realism! All
earthquakes, ancient archives where torches others are
floods and glow against damp walls. You'll tameby
a treacherous venture into 40 levels of dun: - comparison.
Scores of maps give a
baron wreak geons. Journey to 16 different Advanced Hint global perspective.
Book available.
havoc on towns. Explore a mysterious / I Details on -
Youil see geography
change with earth
3-D effects andin entire -_

Jbrchesflicker'\'- package. quakes andfloods.

credibly realisticfirst
iconfments.. and crackle in the
To order yourpreview disk, send a check or money
person views make archives, where
the action even more ■ Where you'll youll acquiresecret
order for §3.75 (Canada; add 50C) to: Legend of
spine chilling. Blacksilver Preview Disk, Softmail Code 155-013,
needexceptiona^ knowledge and
2995 Woodside Rd.,Ste. 400-383, Woodside,
strategic skills.
skill, cunning and magic CA 94062. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer .
to survive. Main E TI expires 3/31 /90. Valid only in continenial U.S.
and Canada. Void where prohibited. Specify:
You'll wander through^ Commodore 64/128.

Apple II and compatibles, Commodore 64/128,

IBM PC and compatibles. Screens from
Commodore. & J988 Epyx.Iur.
 COMPUTE!. _
specific

comes with the package. These single command. ing new macros. Once you've
are specially designed to work Convert translates any fig saved the macro file to disk,
with ST Flexcessor)-! and in ure into polylines. A polyline you can load it whenever nec
clude two calculators, a printer- figure can be adjusted in ways essary. Editing macros is
configuration utility, a drive which aren't possible with the somewhat clumsy because the
step-speed utility, a control original shape. A polyline lakes keyboard is reserved for typ
panel, an RS-232 port-confi up more memory, though. Poly- ing, and all editing commands
guration utility, a disk format text appears in four sizes and must be given with the mouse.
ter, a notepad, a file-comparison with the option of italics or One valuable feature of
utility, a show-file utility, a back-slanted characters. Be Wholly Macro! is its macro-
VT52 emulator, and a file rcn- cause these characters are actu recording abilities. You simply
amer. Other utilities can be ally polylines, you can stretch, go through the typing and
loaded and used within 57" rotate, group, and manipulate commands that you want in
Flexcessory! provided they fol them in ways that are impossi cluded in the macro from
low a couple of rather stringent ble with regular text. within an application, record
rules: They must noi use re The only difficult thing ing all the while. A flashing
source files, and they must not about using this product is that block lets you know that a
use menus (the main applica the measurement and rotation macro is being recorded; press
tion's menu is still on the adjustments must be made via ing the hot key shuts offthe re
ST Flexcessory!. from E. screen while ST Flexcessory! \s keystroke, so you must memo cording. The dialog box also
active). rize or look up the keys neces provides a List function to
Arthur Brown (3404 Pawnee
One problem appeared al sary to control the tools. Easy show you which macros are
Drive, Alexandria, Minnesota
most immediately with the Tools has an excellent reference currently stored in memory
56308; 612-762-8847; $29.95),
notepad program. Even manual, designed for insertion and what the corresponding
is a unique desk accessory that
though the notepad was the into the Easv-Draw binder. keystrokes are.
lets you load and unload utili
only desk accessory loaded If you do a lot of repeti
ties at any time. Thus, if you
don't have the right utility and 150K was reserved for ST tious typing, this program
loaded, you can use it to sim Flexcessory.'. the notepad could be of considerable help

ply load what you need and couldn't duplicate a block of to vou.

unload unnecessary utilities text because it was out of

that are taking up valuable Holy Macro, Batman!
memory. You can summon
57" Flexcessory.' from any Wholly Macro!, from Scdroc
GEM program that allows ac Software (3815 Greengrass
cess to the Desk menu. Drive. St. Louis. Missouri Blitter Substitute
ST Flexcessory! includes a Easy Tools 63033-6636:314-921-9048;
print spooler and a configur $39.95), gives you timesaving Many of the most important
able ramdisk. You can reset Migraph (200 South 333rd, macro capabilities. A macro applications for the ST are
the size of both features, but Suite 220. Federal Way. Wash replaces many keystrokes with text-based: spreadsheets, word
the new size won't take effect ington 98003; 206-838-4677) a single keypress. For example, processors, and databases. Us
until the next time you boot. has released Easy-Tools when you press a certain key ers have complained that the
These features also can be dis ($49.95), a desk accessory that combination, such as AJternatc- screen-update speed is slow,
abled to save memory- A clock adds functions to the compa Left Shift-N. a macro can but the much-heralded Blitter
can be set to appear in the up ny's page-layout program. automatically insert infor chip should fix this problem.
per left corner of the screen. Easy-Draw. mation such as your name, ad The Blitter is in short supply,
You can specify which Easy-Tools'sma\\ toolbox dress, and telephone number however, and even if you can
utilities should be loaded into includes many useful features. on the screen. Using a macro find one of these chips, you'll
memory on startup, but you The Angulator measures se- facility, you can also redefine a need a hardware upgrade to
must remember the program iected objects. The edges of the program's commands. use it in older machines.
names because you can't ac Angulator can be moved in in You can customize many TurboST (SofTrek. P.O.
cess a file-seSector box. All the crements as fine as 1/100 inch Wholly Macro! features—in Box 5257, Winter Park. Florida.
programs must be in the same to match the size of the object. cluding the default directory, 32793; 407-657-4611; $29.95)
folder. and the tool can be rotated to the hot key which turns the is a software alternative which
Also, you can choose sev make measuring easier. macros off and on, and the works surprisingly well. Using
eral system parameters and the The Inquisitor views and amount of memory reserved this desk accessory is as simple
amount of memory you want adjusts the location and size of for macros. Except for memo as copying it lo your boot disk.
reserved for ST Flexcessory.'. If selected objects. For example, ry, nothing limits the number It appears under the Desk
you don't reserve enough use the Inquisitor to change or length of macros. menu. TurboST invisibly
(enough isn't well defined by the upper-left-corner coordi Key combinations using speeds up window updates for
the documentation), you'll get nates, the width, and the Alternate. Control, and the left text-based applications. It
an out-of-memory error. Save height of a rectangle. and right Shift keys arc most doesn't affect graphics, so it's
the configuration to disk so The Rotator turns select common, but the sample file useless with GDOS fonts, but
thai it will be used the next ed objects around a user- redefines the number keys at lliis shortcoming is being ad
time you boot. defined point in increments as the top of the keyboard so that dressed by program designers.
When you select ST Flex small as 1/100 degree. You can when one is pressed, the name With help from TurboST. ST
cessory! from the Desk menu, also program a series of copies of the number, rather than the Writer's speed was increased
a new menu appears. From by telling the Rotator how numeral, is typed. The keys on by more than 100 percent,
there you can load or run a many objects to make in what the number pad offer addition while the speeds ofGFA
utility, unload a utility, recon size and at what orientation to al possibilities. BASIC and dBman increased
figure ST Flexcessory.', or quit. the original object. This power Wholly Macro!'provides a by 60-70 percent.
A complete set of utilities ful tool creates spirals with a dialog box for editing and add — David Plotkin B
56 COMPUTE!
Technocop. You're bad. You're cool.
You're part of the Enforcers, a high-
tech police task force. And it's up
to you to take down the sleazeball
members of an organized crime
empire and restore safety to the city.
Your weapons? An .88 Magnum (it's
twice the size of Harry's), a snare gun,
a criminal radar locator and a com
puter wrist watch. And that's just on
you. Your car (aV-Max, the baddest
thing on wheels) is equipped with
rapid fire machine guns, killer
bombs, a crime computer and turbo
acceleration.
Your mission? Race down savage
highways and blow away punks.
Check out seedy buildings where
rats and thugs are buddies, it you're
tough enough to survive, then it's
back in the V-Max and on to the
next crime scene.

Win a trip to California*

See package for details.

Anoth
intensely
fun game
from
 Air
Traffic
Control
Simulator

game? Or a reflection of a deadly reality? it looks simple—

just keep every blip on your scope apart as you vector them around for
approaches and departures. But they keep coming, pushing you to your
'imits. And you alone must prevent a dreaded crash between airliners loaded

In this first ever microcomputer simula

tion of a Terminal adar ■.pproach
.trol facility created by a PhD
ATC simulation expert, an FAA

trollers, you'll
enter the inner sanctum of
air traffic control.

Handle traffic on a "real"

ATC radar scope. Adjust
traffic loads from "no-
sWeat" midnight levels to
a five-o'clock rush. Choose
"lousy" pilots or "stormy"
weather to test your skill with
pilot errors and "go-arounds".

A insiders compare Ti
with million-dollar ATC trainers. It
gives you a realistic traffic mix from
Piper Cubs to Boeing 747 "heavies" in

Boston Yet no experience is necessary:

a detailed manual, sample scenarios, and
an audio cassette demo tape train you in
ATC procedures and jargon. ;

iardly. WACON mirrors a world where decisions determine not revenues or profits, but lives!

To order, call 1-800-634-9808. EGA Screen Photograph of THACON

Vvesson
Requires 18M PC or compatible with at least
256K. one disk drive, and graphics monitor.
Mouse optional. Price of S49.95 includes program
on 5.25" and 3.5" IBM PC diskettes, typeset
manual, on-disk samples and an audio cassette
Jiitemalionol
tape demonstration scenario. Please add S5 for 1439 Circle Ridge Dr.
shipping and nandling; Texas residents add 8% Austin, Texas 78746
sales lax We ship the next day via UPS. (512)328-0100
Unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee il
not completely satisfied, just return it to us for Producing intuitive, elegant
a full refund. Dealer inquiries welcome. microcomputer software since 1981
 KOEI, WE SUPPLY THE PAST,
YOU MAKE THE HISTORY.
Make history in a real past with these
incredible simulations —
Struggle against Sixteenth Century
Japan's feudal lords to become Shogun
in Nobunaga's Ambition. A military,
economic and social simulation stressing
strategy and tactics. Use your army,
negotiate with other lords or perhaps you
would rather just send Ninja.
Fight warlords for control of Second
Century China in Romance of The Three
Kingdoms. Recruit good subordinates
and win their loyalty. Administer your own
states to increase their wealth, and seize
those of others.
As Genghis Khan experience love
and war as you carve a path of conquest
through Asia and Europe.

KOEI
Please contact your local software retailer.
If unavailable or for more information contact
Koei Corporation, 20000 Mariner Ave.,
Suite 100, Torrance, CA 90503. visa/mc
Phone 213-542-6444.

Genghis Khan

UNITE FEUDAL JAPAN CONTROL ANCIENT CHINA CONQUESTS OF LOVE AND WAR

i —— "•

IBM is a registered trademark ot

Titles available on IBM 31/2" and 51/4" formats. International Bus/ness Machines Corporation
 m reviews

blacktop than a steamroller. Put your Council offers commissions (what other
self behind the wheel and go for the adventures call "quests") to those brave
World Driving Champion title. enough to clear the slums of monsters
Take a practice spin around any of and rewards to those who are success
the tracks. When you're ready you can ful. As you venture deeper into the
run a single race (1-99 laps) at a partic mazes and out across the Wilderness
ular track or run the whole circuit. In area, more of the plot comes to light. A
this traffic, spinouts, crashes, bumping, villain with the unwieldy name Tyr-
and cutting are the rules of the road. anthraxus is behind the invasion of
The game features five skill levels monsters, and you must locate the
and pit stops that can make or break source of his power, the fabled Pool of
your race. Detailed graphics and heart- Radiance, in order to squelch his dia
thumping action make Grand Prix Cir bolical plan. In doing so, you'll explore Pool of Radiance takes its lead from the
cuit a standout sports simulation. If you 18 dungeons, each with a unique chal Advanced Dungeons and Dragons theme.
think the world looks better shrinking lenge to meet.
fast in a rearview mirror, baby, you can Mazes, both in the towns and in screen. As part of its interface design,
drive this car. the dungeons, offer colorful images of SSI has dumped most of the combat
— PS shopkeepers, streets, and buildings, as if commands and options that made Wiz
you were seeing through the eyes of ard's Crown and Eternal Dagger need
IBM PC and compatibles with 512K your party. Monsters and characters are lessly complex and intimidating for
Accolade often brought to life with effective spot many adventurers.
20813 Stevens Creek Blvd.
animation, such as an ore swinging his The combat system is a highly re
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 435-0900
blade through the air. A convenient fined version of the one used in Wiz
automapping feature replaces the pic ard's Crown. A black box surrounds
ture with an aerial map of your team's your active character (or monster). To
Contributing to "Fast Looks" this month
were Heidi E. H. Aycoch, David English, and immediate area. battle, you (or the computer, if it's the
Peter Scisco. Your characters can be elves, monster's turn) pick one of several
dwarves, humans, or any of three other orders. You can easily move sword-
races, but only four classes (Fighter, wielding fighters into better positions,
Thief, Magic-User, Priest) are available. or pull back a heavily wounded man,
The chief distinction between Pool of while your archers and spell casters pin
Radiance and other computer role- down the enemy.
Pool of playing games is in character alignment: Animation and sound effects
Radiance Each character can assume a personal round out the combat simulation. Ar
ity from law-abiding saint to the vilest rows zip across the field of battle,
Dungeons and Dragons (D & D) and its scum. Some elements of gameplay, like clouds of smoke puff up when combat
big brother, Advanced Dungeons & the reaction of other characters you spells hit their target, and characters
Dragons (AD & D), the ever-popular meet, depend on your party's align spin around when a monster moves
TSR board games, have come to the ment. This is especially true if you within striking range.
screen with SSI's latest release, Pool of choose to interact with them by adopt A difficult game that will take hun
Radiance. Around a scenario of elves, ing a stance (from meek to abusive) in dreds of hours for most people to finish,
dragons, dwarves, and magic, SSI has hopes that they'll help you instead of Pool ofRadiance isn't for the novice.
developed the sharpest, most polished hurt you. And though veterans of other computer
piece of programming ever to emerge After you've created a character, role-playing games won't find anything
from its labs. you can use the Modify option to new here, the D & D spell remains un
Battles are what Pool ofRadiance change its attributes. This allows you to broken. Now that the computer version
is all about. You'll spend the majority use the characters you created in the of AD & D is finally here, you can't call
of your time in combat, directing the AD & D board game. You can choose yourself a serious fantasy role-player if
actions of a party of up to eight sword each character's image by combining you haven't experienced it. Those of
swingers and spell casters as they tackle head and body graphics. You can also you who enjoy prolonged sessions of
dozens of ores, kobolds, and other dun customize the combat icons by chang well-animated tactical combat will be
geon dwellers. Represented by detailed ing the color and type of weapon, head, especially pleased. If you love dun
and semi-animated icons, characters shield, and other parts. geons, dragons, and drama, Pool ofRa
and monsters are seen from the side, SSI has earned a reputation for diance will probably get your vote as
while the maze itself is viewed from an producing games with difficult inter Best Game of the Year.
oblique angle that gives a 3-D effect. faces that are usually made more con — Shay Addams
But while combat is the game's es fusing by the documentation. These
sence, you'll find puzzles, too. A code drawbacks have been thoroughly ad
wheel that serves as copy-protection is dressed in Pool ofRadiance, giving it Pool of Radiance
also used to decode clues and pass one of the most streamlined, adventurer- For...
words found in the dungeons, and there friendly interfaces SSI has ever Commodore 64—$39.95
are plenty of teleports and hidden doors developed. IBM PC and compatibles—$49.95
to discover. From a horizontal menu that runs From...
Set in the Forgotten Realms, the across the bottom of the screen, you can SSI
story unfolds in a thousand-year-old highlight commands by moving the 1046 N. RengstorffAve.
Mountain View, CA 94043
city called Phlan. Overrun by monsters, joystick or using the cursor keys. In
(415)964-1353
most of Phlan is inaccessible. The City some cases, a vertical menu fills the
62 COMPUTE!
 ' •■■■".'.:■
? 3?

The $29 Tax Return Solution.

lere's the solution to your 1988 personal federal in Whether you do your own return, want to check on
come tax return. Prepare it yourself with this easy-to- your tax preparer, or, would like to plan your 1989 tax
use CPA designed program. Let Personal Tax Pre situation, Personal Tax Preparer is for you.
parer^ "on-line" help, plus easy-to-follow menus
and screens guide you every step of the way through For Same Day Shipping
your 1988 federal tax return.
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(In Canada, call 319/395-7300)
Form 1040, Schedules A, B, C, D, E, R, SE, and more. Weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. CST
Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
It also features:
Or send check or money order
■ "What-if" processor — Change any information
parable to Parsons Technology.
and instantly see the effect on your tax situation.
■ Pop-up "on-line" help windows that provide expla
nations, relevant IRS Publication numbers and toll n
free IRS Tele Tax numbers. 1989 Personal
■ Three "IRS Approved" pin feed 1040 forms.
■ A pop-up arithmetic calculator. Tax Preparer
■ A pop-up note pad.
Dept. COM
$29 + $5 shipping
■ A financial calculator that figures interest rates, 375 Collins Road NE NOT COPY PROTECTED
loan payments, balloon payments, loan balances, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402 INCLUDES PRINTED MANUAL

interest earned, savings and investment future

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■ Prints amortization and accumulation schedules.

ADDRESS
■ A 1989 Tax Planner.
■ Not copy protected. CITY

STATE/ZIP. PHONE.

CHECK □ MONEY ORDER D VISA ID MASTERCARD D

CARD #. . EXP. DATE.

1989 PERSONAL TAX PREPARER requires an IBM or compatible

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n reviews

Map Skills
Next time you need to teach someone
to read a map. pull out your trusty com
puter and a copy ofMap Skills.
Designed for the education market,
this program features about 100 lessons
on navigating through highways and
byways. You can also design your own
lessons based on the five maps provid
ed in the package.
The program gives you instruc
tions on how to get from point A to
Descend into Each month. "Fast Looks" offers up
snapshots of some of the most interest
point B. and you direct your car across
the onscreen map. When you've fin
ing, unusual, or important new software
Dungeons, and hardware for the Amiga, Apple II.
ished your trip, the computer tells you
how many miles you traveled and how
Atari ST. Commodore 64/128. IBM
Animate Your PC. and Macintosh lines of personal
much time you took to gel to your des
tination. Sometimes you can take a
computers. We think you'll want to
Artwork, Harness know about them now. not next month.
shorter, faster route than the one sug
gested by the program.
The report card feature is useful for
Hypermedia, Sink teachers because it tracks students' pro
DeskPaint 2.0 gress. Teachers can also customize the
Ships from a Sub, program for each student, starting a stu
DeskPaint is a good example of how far dent at a low difficulty level, for in
Go to the Games Macintosh paint programs have come. stance, or limiting a student to exercises
It puts most of the features of Mac from one map.
Paint, SuperPaint, and MacDraw into Map Skills isn't just educational.
two desk accessories. With DeskPaint,
though. It's fun. too—not the kind of
you can stay in your favorite applica frantic fun seen in an arcade game, but
tion, such as a desktop publishing pro enjoyable learning as students drive
gram or a word processor, while you across the computer landscape.
open, alter, and save paint or draw files. — I/A
The DeskPaint package includes an
Apple II—S39.95
Auto Trace feature, which converts bit
mapped graphics into draw objects for Weekly Reader Software/Optimum Resource
10 Station Place
higher-resolution printouts, and Desk-
Norfolk, CT 06058
Draw, a separate draw program in an (800)327-1473
other desk accessory. DeskPaint lets
you load. edit, and save MacPaint and
TIFF files, while DeskDraw Ids you
load. edit, and save PICT files. Zedcor Grand Prix Circuit
has also improved DeskPaint's handy
Browse feature, which lets you quickly You've got your two-tones through the
look through the picture files. floorboard and your eyes on the red
If you're looking for a full-featured line. The motor roars as you white-
paint/draw program and prefer the flex knuckle your McLaren Honda Turbo
ibility of a desk accessory, put Desk through a hairpin curve and onto the
Paint under your Apple menu. straightaway at 180 miles per hour.
-DE Welcome to Grand Prix Circuit.
Macintosh—S129.95 This hot-rod game gives you the
Zedcor
choice of three supercharged cars and
4500 E. Speedway puts you on any of eight Grand Prix
Suite 22 racetracks around the world. From Mo
Tucson. A2 85712 naco to Motor City, from Britain to
(800) 482-4567
Brazil Grand Prix Circuit covers more
60 COMPUTE!
PAST THE GHOULISH CRYPT,
BEYOND THE ELFIN CAVERNS,
THROUGH THE FUBLIO VALLEY
AND INTO THE 31st CENTURY.
INTRODUCING FIVE SPECTACULAR
NEW GAMES FROM INFOCOM.™

We swore we'd never add graphics to our games until we

could make the pictures on the screen as compelling as the
ones in our mind. And we've kept our promise. Now our
screens are bursting with color, form and shadow. And
that's not all.
We've meshed storytelling and graphics into exciting
new types of games. Role playing games. Interactive fiction.
Fantasies. And a new hybrid of interactive fiction and tradi
tional RPG's we call "role-play chronicles!"" You've never seen
anything like it!
And every title is jammed full of the most riveting
plots, compelling descriptions, and dastardly puzzles ever to
fit on a floppy.
Now you don't have to choose between a great story
and great graphics. Because Infocom brings you both. Take a
look at our pixel-popping new entertainment products. We're
sure they will blow you out of the water.

SOLID GOLD TITLES

Now you can enjoy Intocom's most popular games for a

mere $14.95*! Zork* I, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GaLixy?
Planet/all? Wishbringer? and Leather Goddesses ofPhobos*
have been re-packaged with everything you'll need to play-
including on-screen hints! You can't afford to pass up this
solid gold opportunity!
*Mosi systems—see order form

Yikes! The classic comic book comes to your computer

screen! Infocomics have sophisticated cinematic effects like
panning, zooming and animation, but are ridiculously easy
to use. Priced at just SL2.OO, there's a fabulous Infocomic
fantasy, comedy or superhero adventure for everyone!
 Journey

For six long hours, we climbed steeply up the side of the

Sunrise Mountain, and thus we came to the high tower of Rstrh
the Utzard No sooner had we arrived, then the tower's massive'
oak door opened

"1 hove been following your progress nuth great interest " the
Ltfzard said, stroking his stringy gray beard. "Vou ore a ve
resourceful group, that is certain!"

His voice became dark and u>e seemed to wince from some unseen
injury. "The question is: Have you mettle enough to iwit-.e siege
on the Evil One himself?" find then, smiling, the dar+ness tell
from his voice, and he answered his own question "We shall
see, I suppose; u>e sha I I see "

Leading us to his hearth, he sat us in a semi-circle around the

blazing fire and spofce "There is a story I must tell, a story"
of the Seven Stones Created in a time lost to 1 iving'iwanory,
these Stones contained the very strength and essence of our
world. Of the Swan, Four were entrusted to the races of aen
who could use them best Elves. Dwarves, Hymphs, and Uizards "

"These ore the Four the Elf Stone, green as the forests of
old, and the Dwarf Stone, brown as the caverns of Fom
a-klamen, the Nymph Stone, blue as the deep iwt^s of rfnera
IHOREll
1 nd i v i dua I Commands— ——

Cast TeI I Legend

Scout
Drop Inven tory

JOURNEY™
journey into a world of naturaj beauty and unnatural
magic, a world of monsters and melee, an entirely
new world of entertainment software. In Journey,
you lead a pany of four adventurers on a noble quest to save the
countryside from evil./owrttey combines Infocom's storytelling
expenise with the essence of role playing games to create the truly
new genre of "role-play chronicles!'
* Journey requires no typing and can be played entirely with a
keyboard, a joystick, or a mouse.
* If you like RPG's, interactive fiction or fantasy stones, you'll love
the saga oiJourney.
• Over one hundred stunning graphics give you new vistas to
explore at every stage of your quest.
* Favorite Infocom writer Marc inFoconx
Blank, author of Zork, Deadline* and
Enchanter, has developed Journey and
the new role-play chronicles.
• Your Journey package includes a game
disk, a beautifully illustrated map and
a quanz crystal secured in a velvet pouch.
• Journey is available for most personal computers. See the order
form on the reverse side for machines and prices.

(Top) Magical creatures and wondrous wizards

inhabit the world of journey.
(Center) Ask for Journey at your favorite soft
ware retailer.
(Bottom) You must lncerprct what you find lor
your journey to be successful.
 BattleTech*:
The Crescent Hawk's Inception1"
In the 31st Century, brutal wars are waged in giant
machines, and human lives are cheaper than water.
In this action-packed RPG, you are Jason Youngblood, a warrior
cadet who must fight to preserve his planet, his honor and his life.
• BattleTech is the first computer RPG set in the powerful Battle
Tech universe.
• BattleTech includes "The Arena," a gladiatorial module you can
play again and again to hone your skills and accumulate supplies.
• BattleTech features the richness of plot and depth of detail that you
have come to expect from Infocom games.
• You will see animated game sequences rendered in the distinctive
style ofJapanese "monga" comics.
• BattleTech features the largest RPG iriFoconv
universe ever created, with over four
million different locations on the com
puterized playing board.
• BattleTech features the most explosive
warfare and complicated strategy of
any computer RPG.
• BattleTech is a fully integrated pan of FASA's BattleTech universe.
It was developed with Westwood Associates, creators of
Phantasie" HI, Questron™ II and Summer Games"
nim,ited outtakes let you zoom in on • Your BattleTech package includes a game disk, an exciting full-
the action. color poster, and an official Weapon and 'Mech Recognition
Guide.
(Center) The package tells you that BattleTech
means business. • BattleTech is available for IBM PC and 100% compatibles, Apple II
(Bottom) Detailed scan helps keep track of series, Commodore 64/128 and the Amiga. See the order form on
damage sustained in combat. the reverse side for specifications and prices.
 Poor Bruno Cave Entrance 200(200)
BRUNOs Group m
From trie outside, the CAVE
EnTRAHCE is almost, completely
camouflaged. Briars and rubble
provide concealment sufficient to
thwart an but the most persistent
visitor The walls and ceiling of
the CAVE EnTRAFiCEare
constructed from packed earth.
The passage leads downward and
to the south as far as the eye can
see. which isn't far, considering
the dimness of the light There is
no evidence of man-made
workmanship The cave appears
to have been naturally
constructed

QUARTERSTAFF":
THE TOMB OF SETMOTH™
Three months ago, the Tree Druid Colony vanished
without a trace. A search party is sent to discover
what fate befell these peaceful people, and to save any who may
survive. In Quarterstaff, it is your mission to guide this ever-chang
ing band of warriors through cavern and crypt in search of an
unknown demon.
* Qiiartcrstaff'is the first computer role playing game to capture the
mood and feel of pen-and-paper RPG's.
* Q#4 rrmZtf^features the most realistic environment of any fantasy
role playing game. Characters need to eat and sleep, objects have
size and weight, and even monsters have motives.
■ The Macintosh version of Quarterstajf
features the ultimate in Macintosh inFoconv
interfaces, with hierarchical menus,
realistic sound, context-sensitive hints
and a dynamic map window.
* When QtiartersUiffvs2s developed by HOLE PLAYING GAME

Scott Schmitz and Ken Updike,

Dragon Magazine • gave it a perfect rating. This new version is re
fined and enhanced with Infocom's distinctive brand of storytelling.
* Your Qmrterstaffpackage includes the game disks, a dazzling
poster, a mystical ritual parchment and a Druid coin. Macintosh
(Top) Superb graphics, on-screen mapping, and version also has an extra color graphics disk.
a dramatic story create a realistic roie playing * Qiiarterstaff\s available for the Macintosh, Apple II GS, and IBM
experience. and 100% compatibles. See the order form on the reverse side for
(Center) Quarterstajfls the fantasy role playing specifications and prices.
game for true RPG players.
(Bottom) Quarterstaffis easy to play using logical,
sophisticated menus.
 Faster than Earl Weaver
I only play one Baseball™ Harder than
way—all out. That's Hardball!™ Here's your
game—Pete Rose Pennant
because real baseball Fever. Now you can play
is tough, gutsy and every position and catch all
the action from eight different
aggressive. And you field-level views!
don't win ball games
Hear the crack of the bat,
unless you're willing the roar of the crowd, all the
to play faster, harder umpire calls. Digitized voice
and sound plus the hottest
and better than every graphics bring you baseball
one else. ■■ that's /ratter than all the rest.
Because Charlie Hustle won't
PETE ROSE accept anything less.
Baseball's Ail-Time Leading Hitter

Take complete charge of all pitching and hitting Judge the fly. scoop hot grounders, chase down It's spikes first when you gotta have the hag-
with pop-up option windows. drives at the wail, tell'em Charlie sent ya.

YOU'RE ON THE FIELD YOU'RE IN THE DUGOUT YOU'RE IN THE FRONT OFFICE
Pick your heat from 23 pitches. Set a blistering batting order As GM, you've got 10 seasons
Gauge your throw and gun and pitching rotation. Bring in to build a dynasty. Draft red-
down the runner. Steal second relievers, pinch-hitters and hot rookies and buy expensive
in a cloud of dust. Five differ pinch-runners. Call for the steal free agents. One or two player
ent batting options give you all or hit-and-run. action give you all the realism
the power of Pete. of the championship chase.

For IBM,1 Tandy1 and 100% Compatibles. 512K RAM and Graphics Adapter Required. Not Copy Protected.
PETE ROSE PENNANT FEVER.
HOW TO ORDER: Visit your retailer or call 800-227-6900 for Visa MasterCard orders. Direct price is 544.95. A shipping and handling
charge ol S4.50 applies lo all direct orders. Sales tan will be added to orders in California and Texas. BASEBALL AT ITS BEST.

Tandy iaeens shown Screens may vary depending on computer system. Gamestar and Peie Fuse Ptfirani Fever are tradtmatks of Gamesiar
Earl Weaver BaseOall. Harcbail'. ISM. and Tandy are Iraderrams oi Electronic Aits, Accolade. Inc.. International Business Machines Core . and Tandy Corn . respecnvety
 O REVIEWS

Fantavision ries of different movies based on the

same characters).
Walt Disney's artists had to draw mil Fantavision doesn't have to be all
lions of pictures to produce full-length fun and games, however. Managers can
animated movies. But you don't. Ani use it to create animated charts and
mation programs, packages that give graphs that will enliven presentations.
you the tools to create your own com Teachers can use Fantavision to present
puter "toons," are the hot new kids on difficult concepts—the evolution of gal
the software block. Broderbund's Fant axies, for example. Still, Broderbund
avision easily qualifies as the best such isn't marketing the program as a high-
program for the IBM PC and powered business or educational tool.
compatibles. Instead, Fantavision is for all of us who
Making short movies with Fant With Fantavision, you can animate your spent countless Saturday mornings
avision is simple. The program's graph computer art for a moving experience. watching cartoons, dreaming of the
ics interface works best with a mouse, chance to create our own "Tom and
but you can operate it (rather awkward animations. You can loop animations Jerry."
ly) with the keyboard. To make a shape and you can use the material in individ — Steven Anzovin
that will move from left to right on the ual frames more than once within an
screen, create it on the far left of the animation—a real convenience when
screen with one of the drawing tools (a you're creating repetitive sections. You
Fantavision
line-segment tool, a rectangle tool, and can vary the timing of a movie and the
For...
a circle tool). This is the first frame of number of frames it takes to accom
Amiga—$59.95
your movie. Create a second frame by plish an action. In addition, the pro Apple II—$49.95
cloning the first (with an option in the gram's frame-editing features let you Apple IIGS—S59.95
File menu), but this time move the cut, copy, and insert frames in any IBM PC and compatibles with Hercules.
CGA, and/or EGA compatibility—S59.95
shape all the way to the right of the sequence.

screen. Click on Go and Fantavision You can load backgrounds for your From...
Broderbund Software
produces a sequence—your shape sails movies from any paint program that
17 Paul Dr.
smoothly across the screen. saves picture files in PC Paintbrush for San Rafael, CA 94903
The program works on the key mat. Only one background per movie is 415-492-3500
frame principle: It interpolates an ob allowed, however. One effective tech And...
ject's motions between two widely dif nique is to create a rich and colorful Microsoft or compatible mouse is recom
ferent frames and then draws the backdrop with your paint program and mended for the IBM PC version.

intermediate positions. Those interme then animate a simple shape over it.
diate drawings are called tweens. Once you have created your ani
Fantavision treats shapes as ob mated movie, you can store it on disk
jects, collections of points and lines. for playback either in Fantavision or
Objects can be as simple as a single dot with a different player program.
or as complex as a fully drawn figure of Besides its grace and simplicity, Tu1:or-Tech
lines and color shapes. Metamorphic another aspect of Fantavision that sets
tools (a grabbing hand, a point-creating it apart is its sound effects library. Ef It's here—hypermedia for the Apple II.
finger, and a point-cutting knife) allow fects include a variety of animal noises, Actually, it's been here for over two
you to change the arrangement and bug squeaks, and laser blasts. You can years, but few people in the classroom
number of points in any object from create and customize your own sounds know about it. Likened to HyperCard
one frame to the next. Thus you can with the help of frequency and duration in its structure and capabilities, Tutor-
draw a tiger in one frame and then turn histograms. Tech has one distinct advantage—it
it into a chair in the next frame simply One of the few drawbacks in this runs on any Apple II with 128K.
by rearranging the points that make up otherwise well-designed and easy-to-use With Tutor-Tech, nonprogram-
the tiger. When you play back the mov program is its inability to draw true ming teachers can write unique pro
ie, Fantavision transforms the tiger curves. The best you can do is approxi grams to match their curriculum.
smoothly into the chair. (This sort of mate curves by drawing many short, Several different types of lessons and
metamorphosis can often produce un straight sides. Without curves, it's hard tests can be designed, including true/
expected intermediate results; you'll to make convincing cartoon characters false, multiple choice, and fill in the
need some practice to get a feel for it.) (although the polar bear movie includ blank. Teachers can import laser disc
You can use the Goodies menu to ed on the movie demo disk is a clever information and speech synthesis to
make special object transformations demonstration of how a talented ani their lessons. The program can use
like rotating, squashing, and spinning mator can overcome this). Broderbund Print Shop and Newsroom graphics
around a center of rotation. Objects can might consider offering a Bezier-curve (after conversion to ProDOS), and it's
be any available color; with a mono tool in a future upgrade. also compatible with MousePaint,
chrome adapter, Fantavision offers a The ability to preset a motion path which allows teachers to paint their
pattern palette instead. The IBM PC for objects would also be a welcome ad own graphics and icons.
and compatibles version supports as dition. Similar programs, such as Aegis Tutor-Tech comes with a Teacher
many as 16 individual, independently Animator for the Amiga, offer a path- disk, a Student disk, and an excellent
moving objects in any one movie. creation tool. Finally, you should be manual. A Grader disk and a Samples
Because Fantavision is object- able to save complex objects in separate disk are also available. Deciding how to
oriented rather than page- or bitmap- files rather than as part of a movie file. present a lesson may be your hardest
oriented, you can create lengthy This would make it easier to create a se task. A storyboard method gives you a
64 COMPUTE!
 OFFICIAL

Advanced
Dungeonsf^pragons®
COMPUTER PRODUCT

Heroes of the Lance

STRATEGIC SIMULATIONS, INC.

Look for FOOL OF RADIANCE, an AD&D1
Fantasy Role-Flaying Epic set in the
FORGOTTEN REALMS'" game world.

Available now for C-64/128 and IBM.

Coming in 1989: ATARI ST. AMIGA,
APPLE n GS and APPLE II.

advanced Dunaeons & Diwaoris, ad&d, roRoorrcn

REALM5. DRAQOMLAKCE and the TSR toga are trademarks owned
by and used under license from TSR. Inc. ©1988 TSR. Inc.
S19S8 Strategic Simulations, Inc. All rights reserved.
 n reviews

good idea of how many pages are Red Storm Rising realistically sim
needed and where to insert motivation ulates modern naval warfare. When you
al cues and remediation pages. The sign on for duty, you take charge of one
manual provides several good examples of the major players in modern naval
of how to organize yourself before you action, the SSN, a fast-attack nuclear-
begin constructing your lesson; its tuto powered submarine. This is no awk
rial exposes you to every aspect of the ward, strategic, missile-carrying sub, or
programming process. "boomer"—the SSN is agile, fast, and
The Teacher disk displays a tool very deadly. Your mission as com
box along the left side of the screen and mander lies mainly in battling for con
a menu bar across the top. There are trol of the Norwegian Sea Theater. You
four font choices and line options and are a hunter-killer. Anything that floats
16 colors and patterns. You can use a and has a red star on it is fair game.
grid to draw point-to-point lines and Teachers can use the Tutor-Tech hyper You assume command of your
shapes or turn the grid off to do free media program to construct interactive boat in peacetime but, after you head to
hand graphics. You can page forward or lessons. sea, things sour quickly. You pick up
backward, make filled or unfilled sketchy details of worsening NATO-
squares and circles, and even stretch You can incorporate movies or still Soviet relations. Before you know it, a
those shapes in any direction by click shots into your lessons; the manual pro real shooting war has developed and
ing and dragging. The toolbox also sup vides you with all the appropriate com you're on the front line. A war in Eu
plies positive, negative, and proceed mands. Informational video clips rope can't last long without supplies
target buttons, as well as a target for fill- interspersed with text are sure to be a and troops from the U.S., and they
in-the-blank questions. hit with students. Along with video, Tu must come across the vast Atlantic.
You can easily make lessons and tor-Tech also offers speech capabilities. You know that the Soviet Red
tests by using the positive and negative With the use of a speech synthesizer Banner Northern Fleet will come rush
targets. Indicate which page in the story and commands sent to the speech print ing down the Norwegian Sea corridor to
a selected target would send the user to. er card, your lessons can feature words the Atlantic in an attempt to cut that vi
and then assign the target a page to of encouragement and/or direction. tal supply line. You will receive orders
which it would return. Tutor-Tech is a long-awaited pro to attack specific targets in the area, and
After you've created the lesson on gram for those who haven't the exper your performance will have a major im
the Teacher disk, copy it to the Student tise to develop full-blown software pact on how the war progresses.
disk. The positive and negative targets packages. Writing computer programs An interesting part of the game is
signs become round, filled buttons. The to accompany lessons can lead to excit the Strategic Transit Screen, which
student can boot the program on any ing possibilities and discoveries for shows a map of the whole ocean area.
Apple II and use the keyboard to move teachers and students alike. Educators You move in compressed time to avoid
through the lesson. First, the student se should find this fabulous program the the tedium of long periods without ac
lects his or her name from the roll, perfect complement to their teaching. tion. Besides searching for targets, you
which the teacher has created using the — Nancy Rentschler must also deal with loads of infor
Grader disk. (Even if the Grader disk mation. For example, the positions of
isn't used, the program will score the enemy forces are shown; some are re
student's activity and print that infor cent and accurate, some are old and
mation for the teacher.) The Grader Tutor-Tech
starting to fade, and all of them move.
For...
disk offers the benefit of recording the You must also avoid enemy antisub
Apple II—$195
score beside the student's name: you marine warfare ships, Soviet Tu-142
From...
can retrieve the score (number of cor Bear aircraft, and recon satellites. Good
Techware
rect responses, number of incorrect re P.O. Box 151085 luck.
sponses, and percentage) later. Altamonte Springs. FL 32715-1085 Stealth is imperative. Once you
The Grader disk isn't a full-fledged (407) 695-9000 make sonar contact with a possible tar
gradebook manager, but it's extremely And... get, you stalk your prey, all the while
useful for Tutor-Tech lessons. It allows Grader disk—£95; full teacher-student trying to get a good ID and a good firing
for class rolls with as many as 191 package—S290
solution. Is this the target you're after?
names and calculates individual scores Should you fire or should you wait?
and percentages as well as class scores Should you reveal your position by fir
and a class-percentage average. The ing a cruise missile, or should you try a
teacher can grade ranges, distribute the slower, quieter torpedo shot? You're
grades on a curve, call up the grades on Red Storm the skipper. You decide. You'll find out
a bar graph, and print the graded roll. Rising quickly if you have the wrong answers.
Hours spent grading papers could be The North Atlantic is deep, cold, and
come a thing of the past. It was bound to happen. Tom Clancy unforgiving; you won't get many sec
The Samples disk offers four les is the master of the technically rich, ond chances.
sons for preview, which can give you action-packed military novel. Micro- Like other MicroProse games, you
ideas of ways to set up your own les Prose is the industry leader in complex, have a wide variety of weapons from
sons. It also features clip art and icon realistic, action-packed military simula which to choose. There are several
graphics. tions. Sooner or later, they had to get models of Mk 48 wire-guided torpedoes
An exciting feature of the package together, and I'm glad they did. The re (which you can steer toward a maneu
is its interface with the Pioneer LD sulting game, Red Storm Rising, is vering target), tube-launched Harpoon
V2000 or LD V4200 laser disc players. outstanding. antiship missiles, vertically launched
66 C O M P U T E I
 Arcade Fantasy
adventure role-
at its
finest... af its best!
Fast-paced, exciting Astonishing realism
combat demands the is yours through
use of all your wits scores of uniquechar-
and endurance to best acters and sophisti
a world teeming with cated conversations.
assassins, wizards Immerse yourself in
and monsters. Expe the sights and sounds
rience captivating graphics of an unprecedented cal of an ancient world embroiled in turmoil—the disap
ibre. Relentless opponents will hone your combat pearance of the king and his young
skills to a razor's edge. A simple yet powerful menu child—the struggle m\^~
and icon interface provides effortless interaction with for control of the ■'■'.■-■:;

the world and its people, while the incredibly smooth realm. The stakes
animation are high; your role
presents a as the hero-for-hire
continuous requires all the cour
panorama of age and savvy you
action and can muster. Your
adventure. quest for truth will
teach you much of
the distinction be
tween appearances
and reality. Magic
and intrigue com
bined with finely
crafted game-play
Screens
bring you the best shown
are for the
of fantasy in... Commodore

Times of Lore
To gel your copy of
Times of Lore, eilher
1) mm: jour local retailer,

2) call 1-800-999-1939 8am

Io5pmEST to order by VISA/
MC,or
Stunning graphics and animation

3) mall check n s. S) or VISA/

Fast-paced combat action
MC#, cardholder name and ex
piration date to Origin. All ver
■ Dynamic conversations
sions $39.95 plus $2.50 shipping/
handling. Allow 1-2 weeks Tor
• Compelling plot
delivery

Try it! A demo disk of

Times of Lore is now
available for the Commo
dore 64/128K. Send $2.50 to
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towards a direct order
purchase.
Origin Systems, Inc.
Also available for the IBM and 136 Harvey Road, Building B., Londonderry, NH, 03053

Apple II series. Times of Lore is a trademark of Origin Systems, Inc.

 n reviews

competition you'd expect to find at a put a solid metal ball right through your
computerized Olympiad sanctioned by monitor (not really, but a hole and a
the United States Olympic Committee. webbing of cracks give that illusion). At
From the music of the opening ceremo the diving competition, the water rip
nies to the grandeur of the gold medal ples in the pool and drips from the
presentation, The Games: Summer Edi three-meter springboard, spectators
tion effectively captures the spirit of
converse, and judges motion from their
world-class athletics.
booth.
The game's main menu is an over
view of the Olympic Village, with eight
icons representing separate events and
one icon, the Olympic torch, represent
ing system options. From this screen
As submarine commander in Red Storm you may practice any of the events or
Rising, your decisions influence the con
set up for competition. To practice, use
flict between the Soviets and the West.
the arrow keys or joystick to highlight
the appropriate icon; then press the
Tomahawk missiles. Sea Lance antisub space bar.
marine missiles, and, if you're fighting
You'll need all the practice you can
in 1992 or onward, mast-mounted
get. Each event (diving, uneven bars,
Stinger antiaircraft missiles to use
velodrome cycling, hurdles, rings, ham
against those deadly sonar-dipping He
mer throw, pole vault, and archery) re
lix ASW helicopters. Bicycle racing is just one of eight events
quires a blend of timing, planning, and
If all of this sounds intimidating, in The Games: Summer Edition.
reflexes. The rings and uneven bars es
don't worry. The designers have includ
pecially demand that you look ahead
ed several levels of play. Both novice
and react quickly. I've planted my head With eight events to choose from,
and expert players should be able to
in the mat more times than I can it's a real treat to set up your own
find a level at which the game is both
count—looks like the gymnastics world Olympiad. You're allowed as many as
interesting and winnable. Excellent doc
is safe for four more years. eight players; each can represent any of
umentation and a keyboard overlay 24 countries. The game automatically
I played The Games on a Tandy
(which proved very helpful in Micro- stores world records during competi
1000 EX and on an IBM PC AT clone
Prose's own Gunship and Stealth Fight
equipped with EGA. The graphics were tion; if you break a record during play,
er) are included. the Scoreboard shows you both the new
superb on both. I opted for keyboard
For the serious player, the com and old records.
control and, although I didn't use a joy
plexities of this simulation can be quite It's difficult to find any problems
stick, I would recommend the keyboard
challenging. If you have any interest in with Epyx's design. Each event is differ
for precise control over your computer
military simulations or in Tom ent enough to allow for various kinds of
ized athlete.
Clancy's books, don't miss this one. I skills among competitors. Some events
Archery is probably the easiest
give it my highest recommendation. call on skills easily learned, while other
event. You have 90 seconds to fire six
— Richard Sheffield events remain tough. The truth is, every
arrows at a target 90 meters away. Use
your arrow key or joystick to draw your lime you sit down in front of your com
bow and aim: press the space bar to fire. puter, your performance will vary. Hey,
Red Storm Rising just like real life.
Pole vaulting and the 400-meter
For... Few of us will ever experience the
hurdles both require a sense of rhythm.
Commodore 64/128—$44.95 thrill of wearing the gold medal that
You have to move your arrow keys (left
says we're best in the world. The
From... and right) or joystick (back and forth)
MicroProse Games: Summer Edition won't make
quickly to imitate your contestant's
180LakefrontDr. you a folk hero and it won't put you on
HuntVa!ley,MD 21030
footsteps, and then you have to hit the
a box of Wheaties. but for just a little
(301)771-1151 space bar (to jump the hurdle or plant
while it'll let you run with the best.
And...
the pole) at just the right time. A wrong
— Peter Scisco
An IBM version is scheduled for spring move can leave you flat on your back
release. on the track.
In the velodrome cycling event,
you compete against another player or The Games: Summer Edition
against the computer in a three-lap stra For...

tegic sprint around a banked oval track. Apple II—S49-95

The Games: Start out slowly and try to draft your
Atari ST—$49.95
Commodore 64/128—S49.95
Summer Edition opponent to conserve your energy for IBM PC and compatibles—S49.95
the sprint. A graphic of your cyclist's
From...
Lay off, Louganis. Move over. Moses. face measures exhaustion during the Epyx
You guys got company. I may be late, grueling pace. You'll have to be careful 600 Galveston Dr.
not to crash and put yourself out of the Redwood City. CA 94063
but I'm heading for Seoul, Korea, cour
(415)366-0606
tesy of Epyx. It's my chance to rewrite race (if it's any consolation, your com
puter opponent can also crash). And ...
the 1988 Olympics.
The Games: Winter Edition (S49.95) in
All right, so it'sjustagame—a The graphic detail really brings cludes an Amiga version as well as the
sports game at that. But it's a darn good your computer screen to life. A miscue versions noted above.
one, with all the color, excitement, and in the hammer throw, for example, can

68 COMPUTE!
 INTO YOUR I M A/Gil NATION

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To A New World
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■ Fantasy lovers will delight in Wizard Wars, a creative
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Visit Your Nearest Retailer

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Sul
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A Division of MicroProse Software, ue call 1-800-521-24

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 Wridit
Our specialty is software! Call or send for our complete listing of games and other software for
IBM, AMIGA, COMMODORE and APPLE.
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IBM SOFTWARE APPLE II SOFTWARE

Leisure Suit Larry 40 26 Warship 60 39
LIST WRIGHT Leisure Suit Wasteland 50 33 LIST WRIGHT
PRICE PRICE Larry II 50 33 Wizard's Crown 40 26 PRICE PRICE
Manhunter NY 50 32 Wizard Wars 45 29 2400 AD S40 $26
Lotus 123 S495 S345
Monopoly 40 26 Zak McKracken 45 29 American Civil
Microsoft Word 450 230
Nobunagas War 2 or 3 40 26
Printshop 60 39 Ambition 60 39 AMIGA SOFTWARE
Bard's Tale 45 30
WordPerfect 495 255 PT-109 50 33 LIST WRIGHT Bard's Tale II or III 50 32
Pirates 40 26 PRICE PRICE Battles ot
Platoon 40 26 Superbase i '150 S75 Napoleon 50 33
2400 AD S30 $20
4th & inches 40 26 Police Quest 1 or II 50 32 Demon s Winter 30 20
Barbarian S40 $26
Ancient Art ot War 45 29 Rocket Ranger EGA 50 33 Empire 50 33
Bard's Tale 50 34
Ancient Art of Romance ol King's Quest 1. II.
Clever and Smart .
35 23
War at Sea 45 29 Three Kingdoms 70 46 Ill or IV 50 32
Defender of Crown Ed 33
Apollo 18 40 26 Sent. Worlds 1: Manhunter
Earl Weaver
Future Magic 50 33 New York 50 32
Balance of Power 50 34 Baseball 50 33
Sherlock 43 28 Space Quest 1 or II 50 32
Bard's Tale 50 33 Final Assault 45 29
Shiioh 40 26 Times ol Lore 40 26
Beyond Zork 50 33 Impossible
Silent Service 35 23 Ultima IV or V 60 39
Black Cauldron 40 26 Mission II 50 33
Solitaire Royale 35 23 Under Fire 60 39
Breach 40 26 King's Quest 1, II
Bridge 5-0 30 20 Sons of Liberty 40 26 orlll 50 32
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Space Quest 1, II Lords of the C-64 SOFTWARl
Chessmaster 2000 45 29
orlll 50 32 Rising Sun 50 33
Defender of the LIST WRIGHT
Crown 40 26 Star Command 50 33 Marble Madness 50 33
PRICE PRICE
Earl Weaver's Starflight 50 32 Menace 30 20
4th & Inches S30 $20
Baseball 40 26 Star Saga 80 52 Obliterator 40 26
American Civil
Elway Strike Fleet 40 26 Paladin 40 26
WarVol2or3 40 26
Quarterback 30 20 Test Drive 40 26 Police Quest 50 32
Bards Tale 1. II or III 40 26
Empire 50 33 The Games: Questron II 50 33
Battles ol
Falcon 50 33 Summer Edition 50 33 Rocket Ranger 50 33 Napoleon 50 33
Flight Simulator The Games: Sherlock 40 26 Demon's Winter 30 20
3.0 50 33 Winter Edition 50 33
Solitaire Royale 30 20 Impossible
Gold Rush 40 26 The Sporting
Space Quest 1 or II 50 33 Mission II 40 26
Gunship 50 33 News Baseball 40 26
Stargliderll 50 33 Jordan vs Bird:
Hunt for Red Terrorpods 40 26 One on One 30 20
October 50 33 Three Stooges 50 33
Thexder 35 23 Questron II 40 26
Impossible Thud Ridge 40 26
Three Stooges 50 33 Red Storm Rising 40 26
Mission II 40 26 Ultima I or III 40 26
Twilight Zone 40 26 Road Runner 35 23
Jordan vs Bird: Ultima IV or V 60 39
one on one 40 26 Ultima III 40 26 Three Stooges 35 23
Under Fire 35 23
King's Quest 1. II. Ultima IV 60 39 Times ol Lore 40 26
Universal Military
Ill or IV 50 32 Sim. 50 33 Universal Military Ultima IV or V 60 39
i.A. Crackdown 50 33 Simulator 50 33 Zak McKracken 35 23
Visions of
Aftermath 40 26 War in Middle Earth 6i 39
Wizard Wars 40 26

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F E RUARY 1989 73
 COMPUTER DIRECT
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-^i Exploring Japan with Jet - Mow that

Japan Scenery Disk is included with Jet. we'd like
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APPL, MS/DOS, Atari. OH adds %5 ST. SASE IRS forms! Yearly updates $10. Tl w/XBasic; Ap
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overshoottherunwayoryou'llendupinTokyoBay! 5.25 or 3.5 disk. For catalog of diskettes
Next month - another Japanese adventure! FREE CATALOG - OVER 1000 PUBLIC DOMAIN available for education, games, business, etc.
Programs of IBM PC and Compatibles. Buy or Write; Morning Star Industry, Box 3095,
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-^« Submarine Action in the Pacific -
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1."Western European Tour" Scenery Disk

2.Scenery Disk # 7 (U.S. Eastern Seaboard)
3.Scenery Disk # 3 (U.S. South Pacific)
4.Scenery Disk # 11 (U.S. North Eastern
COMPUTE! Classified is a low-cost way to tell over 250,000
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 . DAVID STANTON

Yoichi Tsuji teaches English to Japa ming? Having trouble deciding which print
nese teenagers at Tezukayama Ga- er to buy? Trying to learn a programming
kuin Izumigaoka High School in language and having trouble? Chances are
Sakai City. Japan. While searching for a you can find help on a national or local BBS.
way to bring the foreign language alive, he Whatever your interests, an inexpen
discovered CompuServe, one of several sive modem can connect you with others of
U.S.-based telecommunications services. A like mind. An electronic bulletin board in
few online sessions later, he found the Edu Roanoke, Texas, specializes in information
cation Forum. Wilh help from the forum's for inventors and authors. Aspiring genealo
Plug Into the sysop (.mlem operator), Mr. Tsuji met sev gists can meet on BBSs in Salt Lake City,
eral American teachers interested in a pen Lexington (Massachusetts), and San Diego.

Electronic pal arrangement. Soon a deal was cut—his

Japanese students and a class of elementary
Boards in Phoenix and Detroit cater to in
vestors. Religious themes prevail on bulletin
children from Columbus. Ohio, would make boards from Missouri to California. Those
Educational friends, share personal insights, and study with genius genes can even contact Mensa-
each other's customs. BBS (Palm Beach, Florida), the official
Connection Recently, New York University spon board of the Mensa club.
sored a research project designed to help No phone numbers here—small local
handicapped secondary students improve bulletin boards come and go too quickly.
their reading and writing skills. Participants Don't worry, though. Once you install your
suffered from a wide variety of handicaps, new modem, you'll find more boards than
including mental retardation, deafness, and you could ever hope to contact. In addition,
learning disabilities. The experiment used your tax dollars support several specialized
computers, modems, and telephone lines to BBSs run by Uncle Sam from his home
link ten schools from New York and other along the Potomac.
nearby cities. Students composed messages Most pertinent to this column is a toll-
and exchanged them with others via the net free bulletin board operated by the U.S.
work. Motivated by their desire to make Department of Education's Office of Educa
friends, they took a new interest in commu tional Research and Improvement (OERI)
nication skills. (800-222^922). The system holds hundreds
High school seniors in several western of text files that document OERI's research.
New York schools rarely see their Advanced In addition, it offers many public domain
Placement Biology teacher. In fact, their in educational programs for downloading.
structor teaches simultaneously in ten wide Anyone can call, but only professional edu
ly dispersed districts. The state-sponsored cators qualify for full access. Since this BBS
experiment uses computers, modems, is quite popular, expect to encounter a few
graphics tablets, and telephones to reduce busy signals before you get online.
the cost of providing challenging courses to Or why not start your own BBS? If you
students in smaller school districts. A con limit its hours to the evening and night, you
ference-call hookup combines with a speak won't even need a dedicated phone line.
er phone at each location so that teacher and A few schools run their own BBSs.
students can talk. Using a graphics tablet as More should. Such boards can post class
"chalk." classmates draw on their own IBM room assignments, provide online educa
computer monitor and send that drawing to tional games, even offer drill-and-practice
all other classrooms. The post office delivers exercises. In communities with heavy con
assignments and tests from teacher to stu centrations of home computers, teachers
dent, and back again. and parents could use the system to send in
But you don't have to wait for the fu formal messages back and forth. Students
ture to see practical real-life benefits of being with long-term illnesses could even take
connected. Today's news reporters write on- tests online.
the-scenc stories using computers and then Few computer applications have
send them to editors thousands of miles greater potential. If you're doing something
away. Experienced telecomputisls order air unique with educational telecomputing,
line tickets, buy and sell stocks, bank, and write and tell me about it. And if your fam
do research from their keyboards. Local ily doesn't own a modem, you might want
electronic bulletin board systems (BBSs) act lo ask yourself, why not? H
as free messenger services and provide easy David Stanton can be contacted via CompuServe
access to public domain software. (72407,102) or by mail at P.O. Box 494, Bolivar,
Need an expert on Atari ST program New York 14715.

80 COMPUTE!
Advertisers Index

Reader Service Number/Advertiser Page

102 ActionSoft 18
103 Ad Lib 5
104 Air Force 33
105 Arcadia 87
106 Cincinnati Microwave 7
Cinemaware Corporation 1
107 CompuServe 10-11
108 Computer Direct 74-75
109COV0X, inc 76
110 Davidson Assoc, Inc 81
111 Epyx 53
112 Epyx 55
113 Epyx 57
114 Independent Insurance Agent 82
115 Indus-Tool 73
116 Infocom 44i
117 Koei Corporation 61
118 Lyco Computer 88-IBC
119 MasterPlay Publishing Corporation . BC
120 Mediagenics 63
121 MIBROCo 76
122 Micro Prose 35
123 Micro Prose 83
124 Montgomery Grant 49
NRI Schools 25
Give your child the READING and ME (ages 4-7)
125 Origin Systems 67 covers • readiness • alphabet
basic training needed for
126 Paragon PC Software 79 future success in school. • phonics • words
127 Paragon Software 69 MATH and ME and
128 Parsons Technology 16-17 READING and ME MATH and ME (ages 3-6) covers
software. shapes • numbers
129 Parsons Technology 59
These two programs patterns • simple addition
130 Parsons Technology 85
provide your child with a solid Sugg, retail price: $39.95 each
131 PC Enterprises 12
foundation in math and reading.
132 Pedersen Systems, Inc IFC Animated, colorful learning games For the Authorized Davidson
133 Precision Data Products 76 give your child a positive first expe L Dealer nearest you or for more
134 Radio Shack 23 rience with the computer. And when information, call us!

135 Renco Computer Printer Supply ... 73 your child completes an activity, he/ (800) 556-6141 • (213) 534-2250 (CAonly)
136 Sir-Tech Software, Inc 27 she is rewarded with a certificate
Apple" II Family (128K), IBM* (256K & color
that has characters for coloring!
137 Smart Luck Computer Systems ... 12 graphics adapter), and major compatibles
MATH and ME and READING
138 Soft-Byte 73
and ME have been teacher
139 Software Discounters of America .. 77 developed and child tested. Both
WIN $1OO WORTH OF SOFTWARE! Clip and return this
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140 Strategic Simulations. Inc 65 programs follow in the tradition of free Davidson educational software programs We'll also
send information on our full line of programs tor students
141 Sublogic Corp 18 Math Blaster" (Math Blaster Plus'"), and leachers.

142 Sublogic Corp 78 one of the best-selling educational

143 Taito Software 28-29 software programs ever published. I Name_

144 The Computer Book Club 37 j Address.

145 Travelers Access 70-71 City. Slate. Zip.
146 \fefocity Software 21
Type ol Computer
147 Wesson International 58 Davidson 4 As sociates. Inc.
3135 Kaihlwa St.,Torrance, CA 90505
148 Wright Computer 72
■NO PURCHASE NECESSARY Otter ends Dacember 31.1989.
Void whatever prohibited or restricted by law. Odds of win

Classified Ads 78-79 ning will be determined by total number of entries received.

©1988 Davidson & Associates. Inc.

Davidson.
Teaching Tools From Teachers

FEBRUARY 1989 81
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 continuedfrom page 86 Most Laid-Back Attire. Dan Bricklin,
roll and rhythm and blues while hundreds of coauthor of VisiCalc, great granddaddy of
beach balls, burritos, and shrimp sailed spreadsheets. Dan still has the good sense to
through the air for five hours. While the esti refuse to wear a suit at COMDEX.
mated quarter-million-dollar tab may seem Most Embarrassing Moment. Being
excessive to some, remember that the cost of cornered by Mark Smith from U.S. Robot
the bash, which included nonstop beverages ics. Smith had the temerity to ask if I was
for everyone, just might be enough to pay ever going to mention the Courier HST
for a coffee maker on the new Stealth 9600 bps modem he loaned me nine months
How We Lost bomber. ago fora planned article on high-speed mo
Most Incongruous Party-Animal Hon dems that got put off indefinitely after my

the COMDEX ors. Hiroyuki Yokoyama, Asutoshi Fujii,

and Toshiko Nakatsu for their thoroughly
"Telecomputing Today" column was re
placed by "Levitations." Just to make me
incomprehensible rendition of "Okie from feel extra guilty, he gave me an updated list
"Party-Animal Muskogee" at the Micrographix Texas bar of over 3000 bulletin boards that support
becue party. After an hour of instruction the Courier HST.
Honors" to the from yours truly in the finer aspects of con Most Arrogant Support Attitude. Move
suming taco chips, hot sauce, and Margari over Lotus and Microsoft. Enter Wizard-

Team from tas, the Tokyo trio looked real down-home

in their red bandanas, straw hats, and three-
ware, which proudly proclaimed that by in
tegrating an easy-to-use menu system with
piece suits. its MS-DOS products it has created "mo
(Western) Best Video Display. The Las Vegas Hil ron-friendly" software.
ton Sports Book. I was stopped dead in my Ugliest Product of Show. CompuHood.
Japan tracks while cutting through the hotel be Designed by an eye surgeon to save you
tween press conferences. Most casinos have from nasty x-rays and neck strain, this
sports books, an area set aside for folks who vacuum-formed periscope hood fits over
want to bet on the outcome of sporting your computer monitor and lets you see the
events throughout the country. The usual screen by looking down, just above your
setup is a dozen or so televisions and a tote keyboard. Guaranteed to turn any computer
board where results are displayed. The Hil system into an eyesore. The computer
ton's sports book is in a class by itself. equivalent of asking your mate to wear a pa
Imagine a truly cavernous room with an im per bag over his or her head.
mense wall studded with video displays
ranging in size from 26 inches to 30 feet. I By Thursday morning I was ready for a
stood there, mouth agape, for at least 15 serious break from anything remotely relat
minutes, half expecting the live horse races ed to COMDEX. To relax for a few hours, I
and baseball and football games to be re tooled over to the Hoover Dam and bought
placed with displays of incoming ICBMS, a ticket for the tour. As I rode down the ele
taclical-fighter-wing readiness reports, and vator 400 feet into the center of the indiffer
nuclear-sub threat analysis. Later that eve ent concrete. I felt removed from the hustle
ning some Las Vegans told me that Caesar's of the floor show and oddly at peace with
Palace has an even more impressive sports world. The elevator opened, and there stood
book. It reportedly prompted NORAD to a dozen suits with their COMDEX badges
authorize a billion-dollar revamp of Chey neatly pinned to their lapels. I managed a
enne Mountain. muted scream and lunged back into the safe
Most Popular PR Stall. "We should ty of the elevator, deciding it was time to
have FCC approval for the machine in head for home.
about two weeks." I heard this so often thai. A few hours later, as I turned in the Le-
by my reckoning, it must take only about 20 vitan party van at the rental agency, I ech
minutes for the Feds to certify a system. oed an inward sigh of relief. My billfold had
Probably a mass hallucination resulting gotten considerably lighter over the last four
from excess gas generated by the otherwise days. It was a genuine relief to put COM
excellent eggplant parmigiana at Batista's DEX, the gaming tables, and their associat
Hole in the Wall restaurant. ed hustle behind me for another year.
Weirdest Story Proposal. Pitched by a "Thanks for taking care of your vehicle,
freelancer to a bemused editor at an after- sir. Here's your $300 security deposit." The
show cocktail reception: "Environment smiling, uniformed agent hesitated for a mo
threatened by disposal of spent laser-printer ment before continuing. "Care to Hip for
toner cartridges." it... double or nothing?" E

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 ARLAN LEVITAN

Wouldn't you know it? I spend the utive but pricey four-and-a-half-pound PC-
last four columns sneaking in compatible laptop that journalists and yup-
cracks about trade shows, and scale types will covet until something
now that it's actually lime to devote an en smaller and more expensive becomes avail
tire column to writing about one. I feel like able. Other good-news items included flop
I'm still shell-shocked by five days of 80386 tical drives that store 20 megabytes of data
clones and laptops. Drop the "'this is serious on a 3V:-inch disk. And the introduction of
business, folks" altitude of the Computer high-density magneto-optical drives hold
Dealers Exposition (COMDEX) into a glit forth the near-term promise of reasonably
Computers tering, gritty location like Las Vegas and you priced mass storage on 500-mcgabyte re
end up getting hustled on and off the show placeable cartridges.

and Casinos, floor.

Two weeks before the show, the COM
Virtually even- manufacturer displayed
PC-compatible wares that seemed more de-
DEX lodging situation looked particularly pressingly similar with the passing of each
Bean Counters grim. Jimmy the Greek's latest line made it day of the show. Even the Amiga crowd was
3:1 lhat the show's attendance would top downplaying things. Commodore having
and Bookies 100.000. The only way I could land a room given strict orders that no (heaven forbid)
was to book space on a gambling junket game software was to be run at its booth
Mix It Up at charter. It was the first time I've ever been during the show.
asked to put my wallet through the airport
security x-ray machine. Our plane was a Here are my impressions of the show in
Las Vegas Lockheed L-1011; its normally sardinelike shotgun format:
seating configuration was made even more Longest-Running COMDEX Giveaway
COMDEX intimate after the ventilation system gave Item. Informix's red-and-yellow nylon
up the ghost 30 minutes into the flight. shoulder bags. Once again, these stylish bags
I was somewhat curious about the were the most coveted COMDEX badge of
nameplate our chartered bird was flying un courage. The only way to get your mitts on
der. "Isn't Air America the same name used one was to wait in line for an hour so you
by the Central Intelligence Agency for covert could be subjected to a ten-minute multi
air transport?" I asked one of the air hostess media extravaganza featuring Leonard Nimoy
es. "Beats me," she replied. "As far as I touting WingZ, the Macintosh spreadsheet
know, all flights to Vegas are vectored over vaporware. I got my bag by donning a pair
Nicaraguan air space." of pointed latex ears and slipping inio the
A humid four hours later, we slammed exhibit area five minutes before it opened.
down on the Tarmac at McCarran Interna Some industry insiders claim that WingZ
tional Airport on a cool, but dusty. Sunday. doesn't really exist, that the whole thing is
The intercom clicked on. "Not bad for my merely a front for an international nylon-
first lime, eh folks?" our pilot cracked. bag smuggling operation.
Forget about getting a car from Hertz, Least Popular Application of High
Avis, or any of the other major rental outfits Tech. AT & T's message system. The corpo
on short notice during a Vegas COMDEX. rate giant tried to make a big deal out of pro
Anything with wheels has usually been viding an electronic message system for the
booked six months in advance. The week press. If a you had a message waiting, your
before, however. I had used American Air name would appear on monitors in the press
lines' online SABRE system to locate a cou area. The system was decidedly unpopular. I
ple of local rental outfits with decidedly never saw more than a handful of messages
nasty terms, which included a S300 damage waiting on the system. The computer press
deposit. I signed my life away at the car- prefers using bulletin board systems—
rental counter, opting for a practical mini- namely, the old standby cork and pushpin
van instead of last year's screaming-yellow type—which were jammed with the usual
Corvette convertible. While the 'Vctte was crazy quilt of messages, party notices, and
decidedly stylish. I had quickly been in pleas for spare sleeping space.
formed by the local constabulary that carry Most Excessive Party Trophy. The
ing passengers on the luggage rack is IDG publishing group's intimate gathering
generally frowned upon. at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas
The truth of the matter is that this stadium for 9000 of its closest friends. Mitch
COMDEX just wasn't particularly interest Ryder and the Detroit Wheels and Otis Day
ing or fun. Sure, there were some bright and the Knights belted out basic rock-'n'-
spots. One was the NEC UltraLite, a dimin continued on page 84

86 COMPUTE!
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Zucker CGA CoiorCard $89.95
• Anli-Glare CRT Face
BCC CG CokorCanJ $94.99
• Line Level Audio Input Quantities Limited
Mitsubishi 310'AT S1229.95
• One-Year Limited Warranty Cables Optional
ATI VIP $299.95
Kraft PC Joystick Card $24.95

HARDWARE

5.25' Hall Heights COMMODORE 95 WLASER128 95

ST225 20 meg 65msec MFM .. $219.95
Apple llc-lle
ST225N 20 meg SCSI $294.95
128 D System
ST238R 30 meg RLL $234.95 Compatible
ST251 40 meg 40 msec MFM . S345.95
■128KSW. Built-in 128K RAM
ST25I-1 40meg 28msec MFM . $419.95
- 3 Mode Operation Built-in 5vi Drive
ST277R65meg40msecRLL. $384.95 1-64: Runs 64
Built-in Parallel Port
3.5" software 2-C128:
Built-in Mouse;Joys1ick Porl
Fasler. more mercury
ST125 20 meg 40 msec MFM . S235.95
for increased Hi Res. Graphics
ST125N 20 meg SCSI $299.95
productivity
ST138H 30 meg RLL S249.95
3-CPM: Uses S10 off any Item Purchased
ST138NX meg SCSI S334.95 Standard com titles With Laser 128!
ST157R 49 meg FILL S399.95
ST157N48megSCSI S445.95
Seagate Internal Cards

<$> Seagate
ST125 20 meg Internal Card ... $299.95
ST157R 49 meg Internal Card . $485.95 Toshiba
Controllers
MFM Controller (XT)
RLL Controller (XT)
$59.65
S64.95 ST138R30Meg
3.5 Floppy
Call for kit pricing and specials.
Ask about our
Internally Mounted Drive
Seagate Paired Solutions! Card IBM PC XT'AT Compatible
720 K
COMMODORE $329 95
$99 95
• Premounted on its own
3.5" DSDD
Controller Card
HARDWARE Universal Installation Kit
64C Computer $149.95 • EZ Slot Installation Included

C128D Computer/Drive 5435.95 (app. 10 min.) 20-3Ch49 meg drives available! Full Manufacturers Warranty
1541 if Disk Drive $179.95
1581 Disk Drive $167.95
Excel FSD-2+ C64 Drive $149.95

Panasonic, ...„« Panasonic,

$319 95
1802C Monitor $179.95
1084 Monilor
C1351 Mouse
$279.95
$38.95
OtfceA.torna.ionQ^ *"| §0095
1764 RAMC64 S117.95
Colt PC $669-95 KXP4450 KXP1124
Panasonic introduces the best
24 pin dot matrix printer in its

■LASER 128 Laser Partner Move your business in the class, the KXP-1124. After
laser age with Panasonic. comparing the competitive
ComptfM WWt Amt« Sottrara. 512K memory comes features of this printer, you'll
standard. 11 pages per minute look no farther. 192 cps (draft)
Laser 128 EX $419.95 print speed makes it the — 63 cps (NLQ), 360x360
Laser External 5vS Drive Si 19.95 (astest in its class. Panasonic's graphics resolution parallel
Laser External 3Vz 800K Drive . $199.95 laser technology and 2-year interface, 5 standard LQ fonts
Two Slo! Expansion Box S44.95 warranty — commitment to and Panasonics 2-year
your printing needs. warranty.
Laser 128EX Mouse $55.95

1-800-233-8760
 —w —» —•^ -v » --^^ --^^ —v --^^ ^"^^ "-*^ "^^ "^r ""^^r "^^ ~^^ "^^ **^^ "^^ ""^^ **^^"*^^ ""^^ "-^^ '^^S '*^S '^S "*^^ **^S ~^^ r-*^ **^^ "^^ "-<^ **^^*^^^ *

I Price Guarantee: Since 1981. we have led the Industry by continuing 1o ofter the lowes! national puces while providing quality service. Many companies have cor
and gone trying to imiiale our qua/rty ana service. I) by some oversight we do not have the lowest prices advertised on the products you desire. Ihen we wouid appreci;
I the opportunity to rectify this oversight. t^T*^x^ic^*^i^x^v^Tt^T(^v^<^T<^Tc^<^H^v^i^i''*--***"-''*"-•'**'-^-■'**•'*-''*•--"-

Jr $52995
Out perform the conventional
PC/XT competition with Lazer's Continental
Turbo XT-II. The Lazer
provides everything you expect
8088 XT
Get the PC/XT you need, at
from an XT plus such standard
the price you can afford, with
features as 4.77/10 MHz
the Continental Turbo 8088
speed, 102 key enhanced
XT. Take a look at these
keyboard, security lock and a
standard features: one 360K
clock/calendar with battery
floppy drive, WOK RAM, 150
backup. Lazer's compatability
Wati power supply, parallel/
is guaranteed through a 150W
serial port and clock/calendar
power supply, four accessible
with battery back-up. Internally
drive slots. (1 360K 5.25
this system pfovides full
standard) 8 I/O expansion
compatability with Phoenix
slots, parallel Centronics and
Bios, 8088 Intel at 4.77/10
RS 232 interfaces, 640K RAM
MHz. with memory expandable
standard, (expandable to 1.6
to A MB and a socket for an
MB) along with a CGA video
card already installed.
Introduce yoursetf to the new
IB/LASER Turbo XT 8087 math co-processor. This
is a superb PC/XT, backed

generation XT through Lazer's Monitor Optional Model II with a full 1 -year parts and
labor warranty.
Turbo XT-II.
Monitor Optional

When deciding upon Pick up on the T-1000 and

a laptop personal you'll go far. Give yourself
computer. Sharp has desktop PC power wherever
the modet for you. you need it. Toshiba's T-1000
Sharp's PC-4502 is a includes 512K RAM, one built-
lightweight, compact, PC-4502 Laptop in 720KB 3.5' disk drive
supertwist LCD display with
single unit design.
CGA capability.

$1169 95
Included in the PC-
4502 are two 3.5"
720KB disk drives, Toshiba 95
supertwist display
Step into a new era of
with back lighting,
convenience and control with T-1000
along with parallel
and external disk
Amstrad Amstrad's exciting new PPC
640 portable computer. The
dnvB ports. 640K
RAM is standard
Laptop PPC 640 features 640K RAM.

(expandable) to 1.6 PPC 640-1 full sized AT 101 keyboard, an

8086 processor (6MHz) and
MB) and a 7.16 Mhz
your choice of either one or
clock speed. Take

$779 95 two 3.5- 720KB disk rjnves.

advantage of Sharp
technology.
PPC 640-2 $859.95

$669 95 $95995
Turbo 888 XT
COMMODORE <£ fl [] The Commodore Colt, a
The Vendex Turbo 888 XT will
bring out the genius in you.
computer with all the built-in
features you need. The Colt HeadStart Vendex is setting the industry
standard with such features
includes 640K RAM, CGA as 512K RAM, two 5.25" 360K
video support, two 5.25 360K floppy drives. 7 I/O slots, and
disk drives, serial and parallel a CGA/Monochrome video
ports with three dock speeds card wilh your choice of either
(4.77/7.16/9.14 MHz). Plus, CGA color or TTL green
look at these Commodore monochrome monitors. Vendex
extras: lull size keyboard, includes more start-up
clock/calendar with battery software than any other
back-up, MS-DOS 3-2 and GW manufacturer, again, leading
Basic 3.2 and Wordstar word the industry. This software
processor. Try the Commodore Includes ATI skill builder.
Colt in your home or office and Executive writer, Executive
experience what a difference filer, MyCak: and MS-DOS with
it will make. GW Basic v3.20.
Monitor Optional

Continental
#CITIZEN $1349 95 We realize that 80286 AT
computers are becoming the 80286 AT
trend in oft ice use. Continental
Mate/12 provides the 80286 AT model
at an affordable price. Some
World class competition in an of the outstanding features
80286 PC AT from Citizen. included are; 640K RAM
One MB RAM is standard, (expandable to 4MB), one 1.2
along with 2 serial and 1 MB 5.25" disk drive, 1 parallel
parallel port, EGA video card and serial port. 101 key
and keyboard switch able 6.25/ enhanced keyboard, and a
12.5 MHz for full PC/AT clock/calendar with battery
compatability. Citizen also back-up. Full compatability is
includes added features such ensured through Award Oios,
as, switchable 150 watt power 8 I/O slots (6/16 bit-2/8 bit),
supply. 1.2 MB 5.25' floppy 200 watt power supply, and
drive. MS-DOS-GW Basic an Intel 80286 running at 8/12
software fo provide for your MHz. Combine all of these
immediate computing needs. features with a full one-year
Leave the competition behind warranty lor an outstanding Monitor Optional
with the Citizen Mate 12 Plus. PC/AT system package.
Monitor Opfional

Please refer to previous pages for ordering Information.

 Why shop at Lyco Computer?
Lyco Computer is one of, i' not the largest, and most established firms to provide only quality name brand
computer products at pnces 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 COD. 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. If you do not see the
product you want advertised, call Lyco Marketing toll free.

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

Our marketing staff is well-educated in the computer 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
guarantee on compatibility, a wealth of knowledge is available to our customers to holp with 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 Customer Service Department was needed in the industry. Unfortunately, few
of our competitors offer this service. Our Customer Service Department is available at (717) 494-1670 to provide
assistance in atl warranty matters Our product line enjoys "name brand recognition,' and we back atl ol 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 ordBrs within 24 hours — not 4 to 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 daily 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 1 order?
Send your order to Lyco Computer. P.O. Box 5088, Jersey Shore. PA. 17740. Or, call 1-600-233-8760 or (717)
Sales: 1-800-233-8760 or 717-494-1030
494-1030. We provide four payment methods. We have always accepted C.O.D. orders through UPS. Prepaid
Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m
orders over $50 are shipped freight-free. For orders under S50, please add S3 for freight. Orders prepaid by a
Saturday. 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. certified check or money order are shipped immediately. Personal and company checks require a 4 week waiting
Customer Service: 717-494-1670 period prior to shipping. Visa and Master Card orders are accepted for your convenience, but we cannot pass
Hours: Monday through Friday. 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. along the 4% discount offered for cash. Purchase orders are accepted from Educational Institutions. We only
Fax: 717-494-1441 charge sales lax on items delivered in Pennsytvania. For APO, FPO, and international orders, please adc1 $5 plus
3% for priority mail. Advertised prices and availability are subject to change.

AATARI" COMMODORE

Actlvlslon; Mlndscape: Acceaa: Access: Epy»:

Zapped Zork $27.95 Gauntlet S22.95 Triple Pack $1t.95 Echelon $25.95 Fastioad S22.95
Might & Magic $27.95 Harrier Combat Leader Bd. Double Pk. .. $9.99 Mach 128 S28.95 California Games S22.95
Simulator S20.95 Wtt. Cl. Leader Brd. ... S22.95 4x4 Off Road Racing .. S22.95
Brodertound: Actlvlslon:
Pnnt Shop S34.95 Origin: Music Studio $19.95 Actlvlsion: Firebird:
Ultima IV S34.95 Last Ninja S19.95 Stargiider $11.95
Epyx: Brodorbund:
Ultima V $34.95 Might 4 Magic $22.95
California Games S22.95 Print Shop S26.95 M'croprosa:
Strategic Simulations: Maniac Mansion $19.95
L.A. Crackdown $28.95 Graphic Ub. I, II, III. ea.SU.95 Airborne Ranger $22.95
Home Video Producer. S28.95 Questron II $25.95 Batteries Included: F-15 Strike Eagle $19.95
Micro proM:
Print Magic S32.95 Subloglc: Silent Service S19.95 Paperclip II $31.95 Pirates $22.95
4x4 Off Road Racing .. S22.95 Flight Simulator S34.95 Stealth Fighter $22.95
Berkeley Softworfcs:
Mind scape;
Jet Simulator S30.95 Geofile64 S29.95 Origin:
Firebird: Gauntlet $20.95
WestBrn Europe Geos64 S35.95 Ultima IV $34.95
Universal Military Infiltrator $17.95
Simulator S28.95
Scenery Disk $14.95
Geos 128 $39.95
Origin: Springboard:
Tlmeworks: Geowrrte 12B S39.95
Mlcrolsague:
Autoduel S24.95 Newsroom S19.95
WordwnterPC $27.95 Berkeley TriPak S29.95
Microleag. Baseball $22.95 Certificate Maket S14.95
Ultima IV $34.95
GM Disk $16.95 PC Quintet $49.95
CALL FOR Broderbund;
Strategic Simulations:
Stat Disk $13.95 Partner PC S22.95
Pnnt Shop S26.95 Phantasie 111 S25.95
ATARI ST. LISTINGS
Graphic Lib. 1,2.3 ... ea.$14.95
Mlcroprose: Tlmoworfca:
Gunship S28.95 Electronic Arts:
jClpple Call for Apple Listings Bards Tale III $25.95
Swiflcalc 128
Wordwriter3
$27.95
$22.95

Diskettes Joysticks
5-1/4
Disk Notcher S5.95 Xldex: Verbatim: Tac3 S9.95 Winnor 909 $24.95
DSDD $4.95 SSDD $12.95 Tac2 S10.95 Wico IBM/AP $29.95
Maxotl:
DSDD S18.95 Tac5 S12.95 Lipstic Plus $14.95
SSOO S7.95 3.5 Tac 1 + IBM/AP S26.95 Kraft KC III Ap/PC S16.95
DSDD $8.95 XMu:
Maxell: Slik Stick $6.95 Kraft PC Joystick
DSDD S12.95
Bonus: SSDD $11.50 Black Max $10.95 Card $27.95
SSDD $5.95 DSDD S17.95 SKC: Kraft Maze Master $8.95
Boss Si 1.99
DSDD $6.95 SSDD S9.95 I Controller $13.95
Bonus: 3-Way S19.99
DSDD $13.99 Epyx 500 XJ $13.95
SKC: SSDO S10.95 Buthandle $16.75
DSDD $6.95 DSDD $13.95
DSHD $13.95
 COMPUTE!
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 MAGNAVOX
2400
Avatex
CM8762 $239 95 Modem

17% Larger Screen Than

Standard 12" Monitors
Attention
RGB TTL (CGA|
Composite Video Inputs Educational
Auto'manual Originate Of
640X 240 Resolution
Institutions: Answer
Green Text Display Switch

$149 95
Auto Speed Select in
Audio Input If you are not currently using Originate /answer Modes
Built-in Titt Stand our educational service RS-232C interlace
One-Year Limited Warranty program, please call our 2-Year Warranty
representatives for details.

MONITORS MODEMS

Magnavox NEC Avatex Hayes

BM7652 S79.95 CM3762 S239.95 Multisync GS S189.95 1200e S65.95 Smartmodem 300 S 139.95

BU7622 579.95 8CM-515 $259.95 Multisync II S589.95 12O0i PC Card $65.95 Smartmodem 1200 .... 5279.95
7BM-613 S79.95 9CM-053 S339.95 Multisync + S699.95 12O0p 589.95 Smartmodem 2400 .... 5419.95
7BM-623 $79.95 9CM-0S2 £439.95 Multisync XL S2699.95 1200hc Modem 589.95 Smartmodem 1200B . S279.95
CM87O2 S179.95 2400 $149.95 Smartmodem 2400B . S419.95
2400i II PC Card $129.95

US Robotics
Courier 1200 5169.95
Courier 2400 S289.95

PRINTERS Sportsler 1200 PC .. 579.95

Courier24O0e $319.95
Courier 2400 PS .. $259.95
Courier 9600 WST 5619.95

Seikosha Citizen
120 D S144.95
SP 1200AS RS232 ... S189.95
Star Okidata
180 D $159.95
SL 80Ai $329.95
NX-1000 5169.95'
Okimate20 $139.95 Panasonic
MP5420FA S999.95 MSP-40 $279.95
Okimate 20 w.cart S189.95 10801 Model II $J49.95-
NX-1000C $169 95 MSP-15E S329 95
SP Series Ribbon S7.95
180 S219.95 1091i Model II 5179.95*
NX-1000 Color 5225.95 MSP-50 $369.95
SK30O0 Ai S369.95
182 S209.95 1092i $309 95
NX-10O0C Color $229.95 MSP-45 S389.95
SK3005 Ai $445.95 182- S225.95
NX-15 $299.95 1592 5375.95
SPB 10 SCALL MSP-55 S459.95
183 S239.95 1595 $439.95
NR-10 5319.95 Premiere 35 5499.95
SL 130Ai S599.95
292 w/interface S449.95 3131 $289.95
NR-15 $419.95 Tnbute 224 $589.95
SP 1600Ai 5189.95
293 w interface S585.95 3151 SCALL
NB-15 24Pin $669.95 Tribute 124 $399.95
294 w/intertace S799.95 KXP 4450 Laser S1599.95
NX-24O0 $309.95
Brother NB24-10 24 Prr $369.95
393 S955.95 1524 24 Pin S559.95
M1109 $169.95 Epson Laser 6 SCALL Fax Partner S579.95
NB24-15 34 Pin 5545.95
M1509 $335.95 LX80O $184.95
390 5479.95 Optical Scanner $859.95
Laser B $1759.95
M1709 $439.95 FX850 $339.95
391 S649.95 1124 $319.95
Twinwnler 6 Dot & 'w cable purchase FX105O $499.95
320 $345.95 1160 S179.95
Daisy S899.95 EX800 5434.95
321 5475.95 1190 SNEW
M1724L $569.95 Toshiba LO500 $339.95
HR20 $345.95 321SL $489.95 GQ3500 $LOW 'quantities limited
HR40 $599.95 341 SL $659.95 LQ850 5525.95
HR60 $649.95 351 SX400cps S979.95 LQ1050 $749.95

Call about '69 models!

NX-2400 NX-1000 CITIZEN 120-D

$169 95 $144 95 J
II you are seeking world
Superior 24 ptn performance renownBd printer performance
is now a luxury you can afford. Star's answer to 9 pin dot for your home, look no further
With 170 cps draft and 57 cps matrix printers. A soft touch tnan the 120-D. Your data
letter quality mode, your control panel and Star's paper processing needs are handled
document needs are quickly park feature solves your multi- quickly at a print speed of 120
taken care of. Add Stai's paper document needs. 144 cps draft Cps (draft) or 25 cps (NLQ).
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 /

An interstellar, interactive,
role-playing space opera.
There's not another game
like it on earth.
From the creator of Wizardry® comes an
entirely new concept in computer
gaming.Open the box to reveal a unique
combination of elements never before
found in a single game. Six vivid characters
with unparalleled role-playing depth, living an
epic science fiction adventure. The tactics and
strategy of a challenging board game. An expert
computer game-master, moderating the actions of one
to six players. STAR SAGA: ONE'" Beyond the
Boundary. It's a multi-media entertainment experience
that will sweep you off your feet. Ask for it at your local
software dealer today, or call (813) 888-7773 for
more information.

SOU
BEYOND THE BOUNDARY
Available for: Apple II Family, Apple lies, IBM-PC and Compatibles, and Tandy.
Masterplay Publishing Corp.- 8417 Sun State St., Tampa, FL 33614
PUBLISHING CORPORATION

Wizardry e a regiSeied iademaifc of SIR-TECH Software. Inc Games That Go To Your Head
STAR SAW ONE isa tratemam oi Masteipiay PublffiHing Corp