softalk-pc-1982-12-reduced

warmed-up car, and drive away in comfort.Except that by the time you get to yourcar, a crowd has gathered and wants toknow where you got the gizmo that made thecar start unattended.The little black box is called TransS tart,and it's part of a system made by TransStartof Provo, Utah. It retails for less than $400.For an additional $100 you can have thewhole kit professionally installed.The entire system consists of the transmitter,a two-by-four-by-six-inch receiverthat attaches undet the dash of your car, andsolenoids that attach to the starter and anyother electrical device you want turned onautomatically. To prevent the device fromaffecting your neighbor's car, if it also happensto have TransStart installed, each systemhas a personal frequency code that programsone system only.When you push the button on the transmitter,the microcomputer in the receiverunder the dash activates the starter, sendsback a message that it has started, then kicksout eight seconds later. It lets the car runeight minutes before turning it off unless itreceives further instructions. That way, incase you are delayed in leaving, you don'twaste gas while your car sits idling without adriver.The mind of man always seems to be racingahead of what technology can actuallydo. In the case of Gene Thall, coinventor ofTransStart, the idea had a twenty-year leadon its realization.Back in 1958, Thall thought there's gotto be a better way to start your car than runningout to it, getting in, and starting it cold,especially on winter mornings." I was born and raised in Wyoming, andit gets awfully cold there," he says. "Sometimesit'll reach thirty below and stay therefor six weeks. "So Thall and his son, Steve, began to formulatea system to start a car by remote controlback when a gallon of gas cost less thana copy of a big city newpaper does today." The theory was strong, but we had tomake it work," says Thall. The idea waseventually knocked out of their minds: nosuitable technology existed at the time.The notion remained parked in the backof the tinkerers' minds for twenty years,until 1978, the year the proper chips anddiodes reached the marketplace. Thall andson hauled out their sketches and broughttheir starter into the microcomputer age."We put together a rough prototype andmade it work on a Dodge pickup. That'swhen we decided to have a go at the thingfull time," Thall explains. "We hired someengineers and set up shop."So far TransStart has marketed aboutseven thousand of the units in the westernstates and they're "moving east," says Thall."It's available mostly through car dealershipsright now.''The success of the au to starter has inspiredTransStart to investigate new products,according to Thall. " Mostly items noone has heard of" Let 's hope the Thallswon' t have to wait twenty years between theidea and the execution of the next gizmotheir imaginations cook up.~ CompuScam. The personal computingworld, though still young, innocent, andexcitable, is subject to all the thousandshocks that flesh is heir to. As yet, it stillcounts first-time users and very young people,rather than seasoned business users,among the greater portion of its population.All the openness and enthusiasm that characterizesthis world makes it particularlyvulnerable to the speculation of less-thanscrupulousindividuals.He calls you on the phone, or knocks onyour door, or comes to your office. He's abusinessman with a problem. He says he'sjust purchased a quantity of Apples/IBMs/ modems/printers/disk drives. Hisclients have put down a 50 percent deposit,but now they can' t come up with therest and he's stuck. If you move fast, youcan take a lot of valuable equipment off hishands at half price. Just give him $1,200 t.o$1,800 per batch of five units, and he'll use itto pay off his distributor, saving two or threemachines for you.You do so. After some time has elapsed,you give him a call. There's been a delay; theitems were misrouted. More time passes.Now the man reveals that the manufactureris checking to see if the equipment is stolen:goods. Months go by. And suddenly yourentrepreneurial partner is nowhere to befound.This may have happened to you, or itmay in the future. And the man's name maybe William Bozarth.Bozarth faces charges of felony grandtheft and falsely representing an Appledealer in the California counties of SantaCruz, Solano, Marin, Concord, and Monterey.His case has produced so many jurisdictionalproblems that the five countiesare considering turning the matter over tothe California state attorney-general's office.If you have any information about Mr.Bozarth, contact the district attorney's officeof any of these counties.The ability of the native American buncoartist-the gentleman who once sold deedsfor the Brooklyn Bridge to arriving immigrants-toadapt to sophisticated technologyis a matter of record. In the recent case of thefictitious Arizona World Enterprises company,the individual responsible was finallycaught, tried, and convicted. He subsequentlymoved to a neighboring city andpulled the same scam again.The advent of the computer age hasfailed to render obsolete the oldest tenet ofbusiness: caveat emptor-let the buy~rbeware. A.PASCAL TOOLS ~c\UlicECODEmBLAISECOMPUTINGINC.1465 17th AvenueSan Francisco, CA 94122(415) 665-4711Pascal Application DevelopmentTools is a series of routines designedfor the serious user of the IBMPersonal Computer. TOOLS providesthe extensions to IBM Pascalwhich allow the rapid developmentof user-oriented software systems.TOOLS gives programmers theresources to take full advantage ofPascal in the PC environment.• Basic IntrinsicsSupports mathematical extension suchas minimum, maximum, general exponentiationand a random numbergenerator.• String FunctionsExtends Pascal string handlingcapabilities giving even more power thanfound in Advanced Basic. Extensivestring conversion and translation are supported.• Screen HandlingProvides complete screen accesswhether your monitor is color ormonochrome. Allows you to set colors,highlight fields, . scroll text and positionthe cursor.• Application RoutinesFurnishes a user-friendly program interface.For example, you can display aprompt and specify the format of acceptableresponses. A complete commandline parser permits the design of flexibleDOS commands provided.The price for TOOLS is only $125.00which includes all source code, an extensiveUser Reference Manual with comprehensiveexamples, and inserts foryour IBM Pascal Manual. The ReferenceManual may be purchased separately for$30.00, the cost of which is applicable tothe full purchase price.Enclosed is my check or money order.Please send:D Pascal Application DevelopmentTools ($125.00)D Documentation and User Manualonly ($30.00)(California residents add applicable sales tax.)Please Type or PrintNameCompanyStreetCityState_____ ZipD Please send additional informationfor the IBM Personal Computer December 198217