ZX Computings - OpenLibra

Spectrum
name
under fire
The British computer
manufacturers MicroAPL are
angry with Clive Sinclair for
naming the latest Sinclair
micro the ZX Spectrum. This
is because last September,
MicroAPL launched a
computer of their own, a
fancy 16-bit machine, capable
of supporting 4 megabytes of
RAM, and costing around
£20,000. And MicroAPL
called their machine
"Spectrum".
They tried to register the
name, but were not allowed to
do so. Rob Bittlestone, one of
MicroAPL's directors, said:
"We were told that the name
was too general purpose to be
accepted as a registered
name, but now we are very
concerned that confusion will
arise over the two machines.
Customers are already
commenting on what a foolish
name we chose for our
product which is a bit
upsetting."
Uncle Clive says he is
willing to listen to suggstions
from MicroAPL, who would
like him to place some
advertisements pointing out
the difference between the
two products.
ul - NIGEL SEAELE
Nigel Searle
zx News
Micro Cassette
Disk
London company BATS-NCI
Ltd. have announced a
'revolutionary' new MCD-1
Micro Cassette Drive system
which provides random access
mass storage with compact
size and high reliability. Bill
Musker of BATS told ZX
Computing that the MCD-1
"frees personal computer
users from the slowness and
uncertainty of saving and
loading programs on tape
recorders". MCD-1 is based
on a small 3" single-sided
floppy disk — totally enclosed
with a rigid plastic cassette
similar in size to ordinary
cassettes.
Inside the cassette, the disk
material is safeguarded
against physical damage by
bending, dust, scratching or
greasy finger contact.
Opening of the shutter, which
completely covers the read/
write head and drive spindle
access holes, takes place
automatically and only on
insertion of the cassette into
the front slot of the drive.
Capacity of the present
version is (formatted) up to
1 50 Kbytes and the transfer
rate is up to 250 Kbits/
second. Average access times
are comparable to the normal
minifloppy disk. The hardware
design of the drive is simple
and strong and is functionally
compatible with standard
minifloppy controllers.
You can get more details
from Bill Musker, BATS-NCI
Ltd., 375b Regents Park
Road, London N3 (01 -349
451 1/349 921 7). The unit
was demonstrated at the IPC
Computer Faire attached to a
ZX81.
New Software
Launched
Clive Sinclair's sidekick Nigel
Searle has announced a new
range of programs for the
ZX81. Many of them have
been bought from Psion, and
include a chess, backgammon
and "fantasy games'.
The full list of software
includes:
Cassette G3: Super Programs
3 (ICLt
Hardware required: ZX81.
Price: £4.95.
Programs: Train Race,
Challenge, Secret Message,
Mind that Meteor, Character
Doodle, Currency Conversion.
Cassette G5: Super Programs
5 (ICL)
Hardware required: ZX81 +
16K RAM.
Price: £4.95,
Programs: Martian Knock Out,
Graffiti, Find the Mate,
Labyrinth, Drop a Brick,
Continental.
Cassette G9: Biorhythms {ICL)
Hardware required: ZX81 +
16K RAM.
Price: £6.95.
Programs: What are
Biorhythms? Your Biorhythms.
Cassette G10: Backgammon
(Psion)
Hardware required: ZX81 +
16K RAM.
Price: £5.95.
Programs: Backgammon,
Dice.
Cassette G11: Chess (Psion)
Hardware required: ZX81 +
16K RAM.
Price: £6.95.
Programs: Chess, Chess
Clock.
Description: Fast, efficient
machine code, a graphic
display of the board and
pieces, plus six levels of
ability.
Cassette G1 2: Fantasy Games
(Psion)
Hardware required: ZX81 (or
ZX80 with 8K BASIC ROM) +
16K RAM.
Price: £4.75.
Programs: Perilous Swamp,
Sorcerer's Island.
Description: Perilous Swamp
involves rescuing a beautiful
princess from the evil wizard
— with monsters lurking along
the way. Sorcerer's Island is
where you're marooned. To
escape, and avoid the dreadful
beast, you'll probably need the
help of the King of Dwarfs and
the Grand Sorcerer.
Cassette G14. Flight
Simulation (Psion)
Hardware required: ZX81 +
16K RAM.
Price: £5.95.
Program: Flight Simulation
(plus blank tape on side 2).
12 ZX COMPUTING AUG/SEPT 1982