More Timex Sinclair

Twas the Night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a Sinclair was blinking, not even a “mouse.” The stockings were hung by the PC with care, in hopes of an upgrade-some hard or software.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of QLs danced in their heads.

And mamma in her software (pajamas), and I in my cap, had turned off the modem for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the street there came a short beep, I immediately arose-from my long winter’s sleep. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, a truck from “FED X” loaded with gear.

A Spectrum, a QL, a Timex/Sinclair, a printer, an Amstrad and tons of software. The little old driver so spry and alive, I knew in a moment it must be Sir Clive. As he drove out of sight and looked in his mirror, “Keep an eye on me yanks, 88 is my year…”

A modest poetic entry from my wife (sure…blame it on Her!).. The dead of winter is finally upon us, for those areas of the nation that experience the cold. With that, comes a moment to reflect on our families and loved ones. Toward the latter part of this month we celebrate by exchanging gifts and look anxiously towards the beginning of a new year.

It is with much optimism and confidence that we begin a New Year here at the Computer Shopper. So curl up near a fire (or air conditioner for those in the south & west), this article is a Christmas wish list of sorts, of the past years highlights. Based on extensive hands on reviews, I will recommend these items as bona-fide welcome gifts for a loved computer enthusiast… Obviously, properly circled and innocently left for a loved one to find, this may spell the best Christmas ever. I am also a firm believer that, after working hard all year long that we all owe ourselves at least one little gift-so Indulge. All relevant addresses are included for pre-Christmas ordering.

TS/1000 TS/1500 TS/2068/Spectrum/Amstrad

Tim Stoddard’s 64K Non-volatile RAM board upgrade for the TS/1000. A very inexpensive way to upgrade your computers memory. At this writing Tim’s address was unknown, but this product is worthy of the mention. His CompuServe # is 73127-2664 for details.

Memopak 16/32/64K RAM Paks from Memotech. Extends the memory of your TS/1000. Memory is directly addressable, user transparent, and is neither switched nor paged. Available from Sunset Electronics, 2254 Taraval Street, San Francisco, CA 94116.

The Timex Sinclair Guide to Telecommunications, a joint project of Pete Fischer and Steve Ishii. This guide is a must have for modem owners or those even considering the purchase. This slick guide lists all of the TS-BBSs, TS SIGs, online etiquette, how tos, and more, you cannot be without this guide. Perhaps this guide alone did more for bringing all of us together than any other development. At the time of this printing the publication cost $7.50 from Pete Fischer, P.O. Box 2002, Tempe, AZ 85281.

Specterm 64. First appeared commercially in England where it is still in use for the Spectrum Computer. Grey & Clifford Computers have obtained the rights to market and sell it here in the U.S. for the TS/2068, although they offer versions for both models. This brings telecommunicating into the 20th century for many of us utilizing 1200 B.P.S. Most everyone utilizing Specterm 64 praises it as putting telecommunicating in a whole different dimension. This is far more efficient and cost effective for downloading as well as quickly getting on and off boards. I have found Specterm 64, a great bargain, well documented and designed to be used with my existing TS2050 300 baud modem. There are many, many features of this product that space will not permit the mention of. Available from Grey & Clifford Computer Products, P.O. Box 2186, Inglewood, CA 90305. Call for price. (213) 759-7406 or (213)516-6648.

For utility programs, and programs that extend the versatility of your 1S/2068, practically any of Lemke Software Development are a safe bet. It became quickly evident to me that these programs were developed by someone who cared deeply for our field, and someone who has pushed the boundary’s to the limits offering new and exciting software for our PCs. For a more complete listing of Lemke software products please refer to this article in last months issue of Computer Shopper. Although there are many, my personal favorite is Pixel Print-The Desktop Publisher. Lemke Software Development, 2144 White Oak, Wichita, KS 67207. Call (316)687-0315 for price.

Perhaps the best relational database I have found, comes from Precision Software and is called SuperBase. It’s first most obvious advantage is it’s compatibility with GEM (Graphics Environment Manager) Software system. Although the program is extremely complex and versatile, the documentation is quite clear and leads you step by step systematically through the program. SuperBase offers easy to read data tables with practically unlimited numbers of fields, attractive pull down menus, multiple windows, point to click selections, multiple sort levels and more. Obviously it’s become increasingly more difficult to get genuinely excited about any particular relational database, as it seems many are very similar. I was extremely impressed with the power and finesse of SuperBase. Available for the Amstrad from Brice Rd. Pharmacy, 1653 Brice Rd., Reynoldsburg, OH 43068. (614)861-3600.

Other products for the Amstrad that merit consideration for holiday shopping are Deskset also from Brice Rd. Pharmacy. Deskset offers pop-up utilities at the touch of a key. The disk features 8 pop-ups: Clock, calendar, calculator, financial calculator, voice, popDOS, word processor or a utility that allows you to create your own utility. You can select one or all of them, pop them ap even when using other programs, and although they are RAM resident, they require relatively little memory.

BrainStorm (is to ideas what word processing is to words), DR Draw a very powerful drawing program for creating/printing complex drawings), NewsDesk (a comprehensive desktop publishing and page making system), Computer Chef (what the name suggests and very well done) are welcome software additions to any serious users collection. For PCW-8256 users I would highly recommend the printer/modem intertace with both centronics parallel and RS232C Serial ports) and an Avatex 1200 modem. The modem offers 300/1200 baud operation, is quite slick and is Hayes compatible. I’ll admit I am beginning to find more and more compatible CPM software available on BBSs. All products are available from S.O.S. Datamension, 615 Academy Drive, Northbrook, IL 60062. (800) 544-9954. Call for prices. A quick Merry Christmas and thank you to Chris Gorski for the cooperation and dedication of S.O.S. the past year.

Turn your un-modified TS/2068 into a BBS with software designed by Willie Jones and Paul Holmgren, two organizers of the TS FEST 87 in Indianapolis. I first reviewed the program favorably in the September issue of Computer Shopper. The BBS software features a real time clock that advances at midnight, a 40 message base, a quick message scan feature, users log and instant printout of log-ons and Sysop messages. Available with complete documentation from Willie Jones, 10126 E. 33rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46236, or call (317)897-9225 VOICE. Program sells for $16.

For Spectrum computers, or Spectrum emulated 2068 models there are any number of outstanding arcade conversions available from abroad. Curry Computer Co. has by far the largest on hand inventory of programs available. There are some very good utility and business programs available if you know where to shop. In all fairness, I have reviewed many Spectrum programs from Curry this past year, and found all to be visually comparable to programs on Ataris or other PCs touted as more sophisticated. Generally it is just a matter of preference. So either quickly get hold of their latest catalog or jot down your favorite programs) along with the following address and leave it for your spouse to find. Curry Computer Co., P.O. Box 5607, Glendale, AZ 85312-5607 or call 800)628-2828 extension 950 for prices or questions.

This past year has brought us a number of high resolution graphic programs for the TS/1000 and TS/1500. Although my obvious favorite is “Mindscape-the adventure” —again it is simply an objective opinion. Most hi-res programs have impacted the market and are available from dealers.

1987 has been a year of very serious development for our corner of the world, and I might seriously add that we have come closer this year with outstanding R&D than ever before.

The new year will bring new developments to excite and amaze us. As is always my policy, I like to remain responsive to your needs. During the holiday season drop me a quick line and let me know what type of system you are using and what you would like to see in upcoming issues. My plans for future articles include hardware modification and projects for all Sinclair & Amstrad computers. Also constant picks & pans of the latest software, user tips & techniques, mailbag and features. I have planned a two month series of articles I’ll write from Europe along with an interview with Sir Clive and Amstrad’s Alan Sugar (if all goes well).

Remember that the Best gift you can give this year is love and attention. It’s very easy to get caught up behind the keyboard for the better part of the year, so every now and then shut it off and make interesting conversation. The second best gift you can give this year is a renewed subscription to the Computer Shopper magazine.