Untitled - TRS-80 Color Computer Archive

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Tom R. Halfhill, Staff Editorore Bytes Per BuckOne of the prime forces driving themicrocomputer revolution of thepast decade has been the explodingtechnology of memory chips. Everycouple of years, memory capacityhas been quadrupling while priceskeepplunging.Don't confuse memory chipswith microprocessor chips. Memorychips are quite different. Althoughthey share the same microelectronictechnology as their microprocessorcousins, memory chips are designedto store—not process—information.One important kind of informationthey store is the set of program instructions which is executed by themicroprocessor. A microprocessorhas a tiny amount of memory of itsown, but it depends on memorychips to hold the thousands of instructions required to run even thesimplest program. When you load aprogram into a computer from diskor tape, you're copying these program instructions into the memorychips, where they can be quicklyaccessed by the microprocessor.Memory chips are also the temporary repository for information created with the program—the text youwrite with a word processor, for instance, or the numbers generatedwith a spreadsheet.There are two general types ofmemory chips: random accessmemory (RAM) and read-onlymemory (ROM). RAM chips holdinformation only as long as electricity is supplied. When the powergoes off, they forget everything.That's why you have to save yourwork on disk or tape before endinga session with a computer.ROM chips, on the other hand,hold their information even whenthe computer is switched off. Thedata is permanently burned into thecircuitry of the ROM chips and cannot be altered. That's why ROMchips are used to store informationthat the computer always needs—such as how to display charactersand graphics on the screen, or howto transfer data from RAM chips todisk when you issue the appropriatecommand.Better And CheaperThe miracle of microcomputing isthat RAM chips keep getting betterand cheaper. In the late 1970s, youwere considered lucky if youi personal computer had as much as 16Kof RAM. In the early 1980s, the newstatus symbol was 64K of RAM.This was the maximum amount ofmemory that could be directly addressed by most of the microprocessors then in use, such as the6502 and Z80. Now, in the mid-1980s, most computers come withat least 128K or 256K of RAM, andmachines with a megabyte (1024K)or more are becoming commonplace. Yet, today's one-megabytecomputer may cost less than the16K computer of ten years ago.The reason is that engineersare continually finding ways ofpacking more microcircuitry intosmaller and smaller spaces. Tenyears ago, a typical RAM chip couldhold four kilobits of data. A kilobitis 1024 bits. It takes 8 of these bitsto make 1 byte—which is roughlyequivalent to one character—and ittakes 8 kilobits to make 1 kilobyte.Therefore, it takes 8 of these 4-kilobit chips to equal 4 kilobytes ofmemory, which is commonly abbreviated as 4K or 4KB.By the late 1970s, 4K memorychips were supplanted by 16Kmemory chips. Eight of these chipsprovided 16K of RAM. In contrast,it would take 32 of the 4K chips toyield the same 16K of RAM. Byincreasing the memory capacitywithout increasing the chip count,engineers could build computersthat were smaller, less expensive,less power-hungry, and more reliable than their predecessors.In the early 1980s, the 16Kchips were in turn superseded by64K chips. Eight of these chips provided 64K of RAM. It would take 32of the 16K chips or 128 of the 4Kchips to provide the same 64K.In the mid 1980s, 64K chipsare now being phased out in favorof 256K chips. Again, the progresshas been exponential. Eight 256Kchips yield 25 6K of RAM, while thesame 256K would require 32 of the64K chips, or 128 of the 16K chips,or 512 of the 4K chips. If you triedto build a one-megabyte computerwith the old 4K RAM technology, itwould take a whopping 2048 memory chips—not to mention a powertransformer the size of a concreteblock and an air-conditioning unit,to keep the whole mess from melting itself down.The next step is the one-megabit RAM chip. Only eight of thesechips are needed to provide onemegabyte of RAM, and they shouldstart appearing at reasonable priceswithin a year or two. The onemegabitchip will make it possiblefor engineers to exhaust the capacity of microprocessors like the68000, which can directly addressup to 16 megabytes of memory.Beyond that are microprocessorssuch as the 68010, 68020, 68030,and 80386, which can address several gigabytes of RAM (a gigabyteequals 1024 megabytes).Is there a limit to how muchmemory can be packed on a chip?Scientists may be getting fairlyclose. If circuits grow too dense,there is some fear that they'll bevulnerable to interference from cosmic rays. And there are weird effects that happen at subatomiclevels, such as electron tunneling,which could cause electricity to"leak" from one circuit to another.But most scientists seem confidentthat we won't encounter any majorroadblocks in the near future. Andeven if we do, there's always hopefor the next technological breakthrough.20 COMPUTEI February 1987
TM"The #\ Best Selling Word Processing Package"- billboardscoMpm^Rsoftware chart'PAPERCLIP IIFOR THE COMMODORE 128■ Compatible with C-64 PaperClip files: thenatural choice for C-128 upgrades■ Includes integrated 38,000-word spellingchecker■ Built-in telecommunications module: accesson-line services, incorporate on-line data in yourwork, and send text to other users■ New editing features include multiple columns,reverse video scroll, chaptering, powerful macros■ Maximum document size expanded to999 linesPAPERCLIP FOR THE APPLE He, c■ Insert/Delele, Move & Copy, Cut & Paste.Global Search & Replace■ Automatic page numbering, headers andfooters■ Simplified columns, tabbing and scrolling■ Form letter and mailing label functions■ Unique new capabilities for Apple: dual textwindows, automatic text protection, macrocommands and morePAPERCLIPFOR ATARI HOME COMPUTERS(WITH SPELLPACK FOR THE 130 XE)■ All the high-productivity editing features plus:Dual Text Windows, Automatic Paging, Macrosand much more■ Fully-integrated SpellPack spelling checker onthe same disk■ 36000 words in the SpellPack dictionary plusyou can add thousands more■ Memory-resident for speed and convenience:no need to quit the word processor to checka documentPAPERCLIP with SPELLPAKFOR THE COMMODORE 64■ Built-in spelling checker■ All the high-productivity text editing features■ Move, Copy, Insert, Delete — words, sentencesor entire blocks of text■ Macro power: define & store up to 52repetitive words 'phrases, then enter them withjust one keystroke■ Includes 80-column Print Preview display,requires no extra hardware■ Sophisticated Global Search & Replace, MailMerge and Mailing Label functionsPAPERCLIP ELITE FOR THE ATARI STand COMMODORE AMIGA■ Go beyond word-processing, with ideaprocessing, text/graphics integration, real-timespell checking, independent variable columns andso much more. Look for PaperClip Elite.Coming soon."you can't go wrong choosing Paper Clip "- THE GUIDE TO COMPUTER LIVING"the Cadillac of word processors."- OMNI MAGAZINE"best professional word processor available"- RUN MAGAZINE"by far the best word processor ever available...So clearly superior,... State-of-the-artword processing"-ANTIC"as far as we are concerned, PaperClip is thetop word processor running on a microcomputer."- HOME APPLICATIONS FOR THE C-64"Performance: excellent. Error-handling:excellent. Value: excellent... You'll findyourself growing spoiled."- FAMILY COMPUTING"Exceptional word processing..."-INPUT"many features... easy to use"- ATARI EXPLORER' 'A superb word processor ...the mostsophisticated to date."- COMPUTE MAGAZINE"... the ultimate word processor- ANALOG MAGAZINE"One of the easiest of the professional wordprocessors ...a sensible manual... plenty ofaids for the accident prone."- COMPUTING NOW"An excellent word processor... welldesigned... many advanced features."- 1NFOWORLD"a "must have" in an ideal software library"- ELECTRONIC LEARNING"... most powerful of packages"- COMMODORE MAGAZINE"PaperClip is a logical evolutionary stepforward."-AHOY"... facts attest to its excellence!"-FAMILY COMPUTINGBATTERIESINCLUDEDBATTERIES INCLUDED, an TTM company. 30 Mural Siren, Richmond Hill. Onlario. Canacln, LIB 1B5{ t]6)l«il-994].Cu»tomrrlnfoniiallon (4I6)H8I-9KI6.If you cani find this product al your local rclailer. you may order it direel from iir at Ihe full nuHgi-nlcd H»t price plus JS.OOlor poiinRp and handling, r'orproduci urdera pieaw call 1-HO0-387-5707 (U.S. only). For mod Balierif»Included produrtu you can alwuyt have the latrtt version of your program, liyreluming Ihe original disk and J 10.00. Write to u* for i>ur full color catalog of products for iheAPPLt. APPLE MACINTOSH. ATARI, ATARI ST,COMMODORE, COMMODORE AMIGA. AND IBM SVSTtMS.i:1986 Batteries Included. APPLE, AITLE MACINTOSH. ATARI, ATARI ST. COMMODORE. COMMODORE AMIGA. AND IBM are its isle red trademarksrespectively of APPLE COMPITERS INC.. ATARI CORPORATION. COMMODORE BUSINESS MACHINES INC.. AND I WTERNATtONAL BUSINESS MACHINES INC.Some features may vary with conipuler system u*ed.■AS COMPILED FROM PWTIONAL RETAIL SALES REPORTS. US SUGGESTED LIST PRICE.RETAILERS MAY SELL FOR LESS.IntegralSolutions
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Page 6 and 7: Editor'sNotesThis is the 81st issue
Page 8 and 9: PublisherFounder/Editor in ChlelSen
Page 10 and 11: Selby BatemanFeatures Editor....
Page 12 and 13: , ■■-■■'■ ;-.-..■■■
Page 14 and 15: The new Compaq Deskpro 386 is among
Page 16 and 17: Selby Bateman, Features Editoricrop
Page 18 and 19: 68030 chip, which should be readyfo
Page 20 and 21: computer are often called proprieta
Page 24 and 25: Selby Bateman, Features Editorasers
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Page 51 and 52: END**Beap:*SOUND 800,1,100,0:SOUND
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INSIGHT:AtariBillWilkinsonNumber-Ba
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