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***** EDITORIAL *****
Well, I think summer has started to arrive in the Midlands!!
The last few days have been glorious, and not to miss a moment
of all that lovely warm, fresh air, I have started my normal
summer health and fitness campaign, which consists of opening a
window, and stirring my own tea. Must keep the body in trim!!.
Things on the Supplement front are going at their normal
hectic pace, and I think you will find that there is not much
room left on this disc, there was about 30k when I last looked,
but I've yet to tag in the program notes and the letters. We are
still receiving a good amount of items for the mag, and I know
that if all else fails, I have another 2 issues in my disc box.
This doesn't mean that you can all sit out there on your bums
and do no more, I'm always interested in new programs.
Whilst on the subject of the mag, a new venture that we are
thinking of doing is a hardware library. This would mean that
the club would buy pieces of Sam hardware, and you the members,
could hire them out to try them. We thought that this would give
members an opportunity of trying the various bits of hardware
before parting with their money to buy them.
There are still a few loose ends to clear up, but I think that
it would work something like this:
The hire would be for 2 weeks inclusive of transit time and
would be 4 pounds including post and packing both ways. This
would give each member a least a week with the equipment, but on
the other hand not be too long for the next member to wait.
We thought that there should be some form of deposit, and what
was suggested was that the hirer gives the club a cheque to
cover the cost of the item. This would be returned uncashed, on
return of the equipment. If any member has trouble providing a
cheque, other arrangements could be made by contacting Brian.
At the moment, we have the Blue Alpha sampler for anyone
interested, but we need your suggestions on what to purchase
next, when funds allow. Please let us know if there is a piece
of equipment that you would like to try, and we will attempt to
get it for the library.
This brings me on to the most exiting thing yet.. At the All
Formats show in London on 18/5/91 I actually used a MOUSE on my
Sam.
This is not the mouse promised by Samco, but one made by Blue
Alpha, AND IT WORKS!!!!
There are no interfaces to bother with, just a modified Amiga
mouse which plugs straight into the joystick port, works
instantly with Flash and with a small piece of code loaded,
uses XMOUSE and YMOUSE from BASIC.
Adrian of Blue Alpha tells me that he hopes to have them ready
for the Birmingham show on the 9/6/91 and that the price will be
about 40 pounds complete. Well worth looking into.
No doubt I will mention it again in the Show review somewhere in
this issue.
Right, I've had enough of this typing now, so I'm off to catch
up on the news in the rest of the world...
Enjoy the mag....
Dave
The next letter was send to me, and I was asked to withold the
name and address of the sender: ED
In issue 7 under odds and ends, there was a graphics drawing
program called "SURFACE GENERATOR" by C. Boyle.
This program was a direct copy of a listing in a book by Czes
Kosniowski, "Fun mathematics on your computer", pp.134 to 136,
which was published several years ago.
It's a bit of a NO NO to lift someone else's work and have it
sent in as if it was original with no acknowledgement of
the source. To be strongly discouraged.
But to go and say as Mr. Boyle does, 'please do not copy this
program' is really a bit much.
________________________________________________________________
From:- Matthew Collinge
16 Manor Crescent
Standlake
Witney
Oxon
OX8 7RX
Dear SDC readers and anyone who might be passing,
Now I know this probably will not work, but
it's been on my mind for a few weeks now. What I was wondering
was whether it is a all possilbe to connect a modem, which was
once used on the Speccy (perhaps the VTX5000 if it has RS232
connections) into the RS232 port on the communications
interface, then get it to work properly by using the Speccy ROM
and origional modem software. I haven't got a modem and just
wonder if this is possible, if so, then I will probably buy a
second hand Speccy modem.
I hope one of you out there has decent knowledge of modems etc
to answer this theory of mine, but I still have my doubts that
it will not work. Could you also tell me whether I can convert
my Multi-Font Star LC-10 mono printer to a colour one perhaps
using a colour kit or somerthing of that nature. Oh-yes I nearly
forgot, can you in some way connect a normal PC mouse (or
anything similar) so that it will work on Sam, I havn't got a
mouse so cannot check out my idea of re-wiring it. Probably in
this issue of the SDC there is either a Sampler or a program
called Key List both are very useful and I hope you will enjoy
using them. Hope you liked my massive scrolly message generator
in issue 8. The demo samples which go with the sampler may have
been missed off to save disk space but if they haven't or a few
have been left on then press L on the main menu and load them
up. There are samples of Snap, Vic Reaves, Black Box, Garry C
(can't spell his second name but he's rubbish anyway - only
kidding....or am I? ), there are more but I will let you try and
figure out what they are. Also in this issue you might find my
comments and mini-review of Blue Alpha's Sound Sampler. Please
could someone make a boomin spell checker as it takes me ages to
check my letters and word-processed documents, and I still make
mistakes, probably because I'm not the world's bess speller and
the fact that I often make typing errors.
Well enough of my hair-brained theories and requests, I must
stop before my letter fills up the whole of the disk. Well so
long and thanks for all the fish (where have heard that before?)
Keep up the good work SDC. (how about some more music demo's eh)
(Both "SAMPLER" and "KEYWORDS" are on this issue, Sampler is on
the main menu and Keywords on the Odds and Ends. I've included
as many samples as space would allow. They all have the suffix
".SAM".....ED)
(Done my best with your spelling, Matthew. Les, SUPPLEMENT'S own
inbuilt spell checker!!)
________________________________________________________________
From: Andy Wright
24 Wyche Avvnue
Kings Heath
BIRMINGHAM
B14 6LQ
Dear Supplement readers,
My labour of love of the past five months, MasterBASIC, is
finally ready. (The program is still being checked and I am
editing the manual a little, but by the time you read this you
will be able to place an order to the address above.) The
program costs £15.99 inclusive in the U.K., £16.50 in Europe or
£17.00 anywwhere else. Please make cheques payable to BETASOFT
(i.e. me with my business hat on). Sorry I can't accept credit
cards these days - not since they started charging retailers
£200 a year for the privilege.
Now a little about the program: It merges with SAMDOS or
MasterDOS to form a single BOOTable file that gives you extra
commands and functions, and improvements to some existing ones.
You need ROM 20 or better. (If in doubt, PRINT PEEK 15.)
Editing features include better speed, cursor moves left or
right by entire words, last line recall, line joining and
splitting, search and/or replace, and a line number trace with
delay or single-step. Very large programs "get going" faster.
On the graphics front, there is a faster and more flexible
version of PUT, faster string POKEing, copying from one screen
to another whatever the MODE, better CSIZE, an extra set of
UDGs, a split screen mode that allows you to use two MODEs at
once, and a function to tell you the screen address.
You can do shaded screen dumps of all or part of the screen at
three horizontal and three vertical magnifications. The dumps
included in the DUMP utility are also built in. All printing can
be done via a buffer up to 256K long, so that you can do
something else while the printer works - even load another
program or NEW. I use this with the Supplement to print pages
while reading other sections, and of course with dumps. It works
fine with Tasword II and Sam Scratch. You can use serial
printers - the serial driver is built-in and can be selected
automatically or using LPRINT MODE 2.
There is a system for sound which is similar to RECORD and BLITZ
for graphics. You can take some Basic lines that use SOUND and
PAUSE to create a tune or sound effect and sandwich them between
RECORD SOUND TO some$ and RECORD SOUND STOP. The sound gets
recorded into some$ as well as (or instead of) being produced.
Then BLITZ SOUND some$ will produce the sound again. The command
takes only a fraction of a second, but the sound can continue
for minutes without further effort. Up to 256K of data can be
queued for the sound chip.
For those with lots of data to handle, there is a very fast
string array sort, array searching and joining, and element
deletion. You can EDIT existing variables, rather than having to
INPUT them again. There are functions to force upper and lower
case, compare strings while ignoring case, and convert numbers
to compact strings for inclusion in data files. USING$ allows
precise formatting of numbers. Data files can be automatically
compressed as they are saved.
There are more commands for structured programming - EXIT FOR,
EXIT DO and EXIT PROC. You can use HIDE to create invisible
procedures and functions that cannot be listed and are safe from
NEW and LOAD.
Disk-related features include file compression (with two methods
available for SCREEN$ files), faster MERGE, easy saving of the
BOOT file, and faster DIR (drive). When you use the program with
MasterDOS, you also get OPENTYPE file improvements, faster
RAMdisks, and FSTAT extensions. The SAMBUS clock gets more
support with precision timing functions.
The manual is over 40 pages long and I hope reasonably readable.
I'd hate to have to review this program - as you see, it takes a
lot of space just to give a partial list of features! I hope
many of you will find the program useful. My thanks to Dave
Tonks for the chance to tell you about it.
Regards from Andy Wright
From :: Frank Harrop.
Dear Mr. Editor,
Although we are very pleased with the performance of the Sam
Coupe, I wonder if we really have made much progress away from
the Spectrum? Are we still dressing up mutton to look like
lamb? Are we still really using the Spectrum under the Sam's
keyboard?
Just think with the old 48K Spectrum, I have Tasword Three which
has full word processing facilities almost equal to Tasword PC,
including search and replace, mail merge with Masterfile, 16
programmable printer settings, and a variety of printer options,
and up to 128 columns. With the Sam all I have is Tasword Two
ported across from the Spectrum - and that, in my view, still
has better overall facilities than any that have appeared so
far. Don't get me wrong, this is not to denigrate all the work
and the valiant efforts that have been made to produce a word
processor for the Coupe. Sometimes I wonder if we are on the
wrong track, and ought we as a Club try to assemble as much
support as we can to persuade the professionals, such as Tasman,
to re-work either Tasword Plus Two, Tasword Three or Tasword PC
to run as a Sam specific programme? Surely with its large
memory, and capability, the Sam deserves this?
I have mentioned Masterfile, which has very comprehensive
selective search and selective printout options. Thas also has
been produced for the PC - is there enough support to persuade
Campbell Systems to issue it for the Sam?
Then again, Mini Office was produced for the Spectrum as an
integrated package, and Mini Office Professional is available
for the PC.
The Sam has excellent graphics capabilities, yet the only DTP
programme we have so far, is from PCG ported as is from the
Spectrum.
GM Software have recently produced excellent packages, including
their latest spreadsheet, GM-CALC which shows what can be done
with the Sam; we must not forget all the other suppliers of
utilities and databases and disk organisers, including those who
early on gave us excellent Spectrum emulators to carry on with.
But here again, are they all getting as much support as they
should from Sam owners?
Carol Brooksbank has nearly finished her articles of the 35k
plus Money Manager - if you have not typed it out, are you
prepared to pay a reasonable figure for it? Have we been spoilt
by the excellent programmes that have been produced within the
Club, which we get for such low prices - or even free?
So what do other members think, and what would they like to see
developed in the future for the Sam?
.