Applied Technology and Microbee adverts. - The MESSUI Place

MicroBee
. . . from p97
preliminary word processor manual provides
sufficient information to connect a
printer without a great deal of trial and
error.
Although extensive, WordBee does
have some faults. The lack of easily
remembered control command names is
one. More serious is the apparent
absence of any command which allows
spaces to be opened in text to insert
new material. It can be done with the
use of the Block copy mode, or the Find
and replace function, but this seems like
a lot of work just to insert a missing letter,
for example.
Other failings are no doubt due to the
fact that we reviewed a preliminary version
of the program. The most glaring is
the "Kil" or erase function, which according
to the manual double checks the
user's intention before deleting a text
file. In our version of the program, it
does not.
These details aside, WordBee is an impressive
program, and is considerably
enhanced by the features of the
MicroBee itself. Bearing in mind the
reservations expressed on the
robustness of the keyboard, the
MicroBee with WordBee would not be
out of place in the small business.
Conclusions
All in all the MicroBee is a compact,
powerful computer, with features equally
likely to meet the needs of the
newcomer and the experienced computer
user. For the newcomer the
manuals leave something to be desired,
despite the presence of a tutorial section
(why is it one of the last sections in the
book?).
Experienced programmers will be
delighted by the power and flexibility of
MicroWorld Basic and the extensive
graphics capabilities of the MicroBee. A
simple program to clear the entire
memory will circumvent problems caused
by retention of programs in memory.
Ultimately, though, a heftier power supply
may be required if much expansion
of the system is planned.
With these reservations, the MicroBee
seems to provide excellent value for the
price. If Applied Technology's marketing
and manufacturing plans are realised,
the system will take off in a big way!
A MicroBee with 16K of memory and
MicroWorld Basic costs $449. An additional
16K of memory adds $100 to the
price. The WordBee word processing
program is $89.50 and an
Editor/Assembler in ROM is available for
$59.50. An S-100 expansion interface is
also available, at $299, with disk drive,
controller and CP/M operating system
for $799. There is no shortage of expansion
options.
108 ELECTRONICS Australia, February, 1983