The Resource Magazine For Apple, Atari, and Commodore ...

16 COMPUTE! September/October. 198O. Issue 6
on the marketplace chose to not display their wares
at the CES. For example, since Radio Shack com
puters arc not available for sale through non-Radi
Shack stores, they do not display their wares at the
CES.
Apple Computer, however, has used the CES as
a showcase for their products. This June, Apr.;
relied on full page advertisements in the trade
dailies, and did not have an exhibit on the floor. One
could conjecture that the recent introduction of the
$4,000 + Apple III at the National Computer Con
ference (NCC) was considered to be adequate ex
posure, especially since this new product is probably
not geared towards the type of markets addressed by
the majority of the buyers who attended the CES.
Judging from their advertising, however, it is clear
that Apple is planning to maintain their strong posi
tion in the SI,000 personal computer marketplace.
The Exidy Sorcerer was not on display either,
although this was probably due in part to the for
thcoming acquisition of this product line by another
company.
Another computer which was not displayed was
the Sharp PC-1211 hand held computer. This $200
CMOS computer has a complete keyboard and 24
character liquid crystal display. While the product is
available in Japan and Europe, it is rumored that
Sharp has elected to not introduce this product in the
U.S., but to wait until a later version is ready,
perhaps by next year. Since the Sharp PC-1211 sup
Computer House Div.
Announces
Programing
Tools
For the Commodore/Disk
"SCREEN DUMP/REPEAT" - $35.00
In Machine Language, Dumps anything on CRT
to Printer. Repeat Simulates Repeat on 8032 for
8K, 16K & 32K #2001.
"VARI-PRINT" - $25.00
Prints a Listing of all variables and every line
number where each occurs.
"DOCU-PRINT" - $20.00
Similar to Screen Dump except in Basic for use
within your own program.
"FET/RECOVER" - $65.00
File Editing Tool; Examine Data Files, Fix
Destroyed Pointers, Sectors may be read,
Modified, Displayed or Written — Also Files may
be Re-chained.
"SUPER RAM" - $20.00
Diagnostic Routine Checks Every Possible RAM
Address on 8K, 16K & 32K CBM Computers.
Available on Diskette right now
"SCRUNCH" - $36.00
For Apple II or Apple II Plus. Compacts Basic
Programs up to 20%.
ports a serial I/O port, an attachment is available for
storing data and programs on a conventional tape
cassette. Unlike Panasonic, however, Sharp is ap
parently not ready to introduce the communications
and printer options which are probably very impor
tant selling points for these machines. I have received
one of these computers from Japan and have found il
to be very nice to operate, both Prom a hardware and
software point of view. The resident BASIC is well
designed for scientific calculations, although string
operations are quite limited. It will be interesting to
see if another vendor picks this product up as a
private label item, thus gaining income for Sharp
without forcing their hand too early.
What message, il any, can one glean from all
this information? For one thing we know that com
puter manufacturers have a long way to go before
their products will appeal to the average consumer.
The trends towards simpler and easier to use com
puters are evident. Communications (in the form of
connections to information utilities such as the
Source and MicroNet) are perceived as being of
paramount importance to consumers, and the
development of high quality software is becoming
more evident. It may take a year or so, but before
the end of this decade, the personal computer revolu
tion will come home. You, as a personal computer
enthusiast, have a head start on what promises to be
a most exciting future. 0
Programs for Commodore / Apple
"Legal Accounting" $1200.00
"A/R, A/P, JobEst. 8 Job Cost 310.00
"Political Party Mailing List" 150.00
ENGINEERING
& MACHINE SHOP
"Machine Part Quoting" $280.00
"Trig & Circle Tangent" 70.00
"Bolt Circle" 25.00
"Spur Gears" 35.00
"Beams; Stress & Deflection" 145.00
"Tank Thickness"
For Filament Winding 85.00
All 6 for only $495.00
And many others coming soon including
Report Gen. for Commodore — Ask for Catalog
#80-C2.
COMPUTER HOUSE DIV.
1407 Clinton Road
Jackson, Michigan 49202
Phone: (517) 782-2132