msx computing - aug-sep 1986

8/4/2019 MSX Computing - Aug-Sep 1986

1/66

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2/66

'- c o M P

B 8 > R, E, A M, T

,

These time amily favourites are now available for and compute.Allthree are on cassette and costfrom all good soware retaileordirectfrom

Leisure Genius with the coupon belowAll thefun and excitement of these classc board games, except clearing them away aeards!

Name-ddress-

MONOPO SCRABBLE

CLU[

Please make cheques and posa orde to Vign Games Ltd (.95 each)and pos to the address beow Pease do no po moneyVin Games td, Vernon Yad 119 obeo Road ondon W1 CLUED tade mark and copyrigh lcesedby Waddigons Games Ld. MONOPOLY s produced deicence fom Paer Broes ad Waddigon Games d SCRABBLE trade ma and copyig icesed byJW Spea Sos PLC A copyrights eseved EISURE GENIUS s a egiseed ade a of WnceseHodgs Ld, a sbsidiay of VIRIN GAMES LTD


3/66

EGUS NEWS ad al about t th latt oduct and vc fo X addct STB Who ay thdto i owmad? Th youchanc to t a wod n2 EDE NF How to tyou back u and nu atadyuyinthfutu luan ducatd u at what thnxt iu will hold65 HIH SCES o youthink you know about ayin

am? T to bat thnumb and dont fot to tllu about it if you do66 CLUBS How to makfnd and nflunc ol

FETUES BSIC CUSE tofumblin with tho functionky and a th tuow in you own oam 6 XESS DELIVE. Onman uid to ttin th btfom thi vati machin22 HT STUFF Th cu ofth catt lad haunt atnBank in h attmt to com totm wth th X bun25 CMETTN. tunninnw Yamaha CXI u foab36 DISKTECH. ak youdk div ally wok fo tvn with th oammnniht

ETTS26 DVENTUE QUESTAnoth havy hnt ion36 MUSC in th lattYamaha hadwa and oftwa and an xlanation ofIDI and ynthi

TESTG FELLW TVELLE. Anntuin otofX fomony now avalabl downund2 LLE BTHE Comact ntn at a budt c

EES2NTUTTh latt comut book vwd3 SWE SCENE xa of nw aSTGS

52 A cton fo ad

One of the most inteesting tasks on MSX Computng isooking thogh the lettes yo send s. Rega feedbackfom the eades is the only way we have of knowing whatyo want fom the magazine and whethe o not we aestiking a fai baance between the diffeent topics which

inteest yo. t is becoming cea that most of yo fa into one of twomain categoies. Lots of yo ae expeienced enthsiastswith two o thee yeas of compting nde yo betsinclding expeience of machines othe than MX types.Anothe body of eades consists of elative newcomesmost of whom boght MX micos as thei fist ompteaond ast Chistmas Obviosy thee ae difficties incateing fo both leves of expeience bt we hope we cancontine to come p with an acceptable compomise

Whateve yo think we wold like yo to give s yothoghts on the way the magazine mi ght deveop. Ove thenext month we'l be keeping a specia watch on the mailbag

and yo opinions wi pay a significant oe on the shape offte isses. Please wite athe than telephoning awitten ecod of eveyone's comments helps s get a betteovea picte and besides we cod easily end p so bsyansweing the phone that we have no time eft ove fopodcing the next isse.

Natay any changes yo ask fo wi be moe likely tohappen if they ae easonaby pactica we cant addmoe softwae eviews fo example ness softwaehoses bing ot moe tites. adly thee ae imits on thenmbe of pages we can pt in each isse so if yo sggestmoe coveage in one aea ty to sggest something yothin k we shod ct down on

Leaving aside yo comments on the magazine fo amoment we also get a lot of ettes asking fo help withvaios pobems. Unfonatey we cant gaantee apesona epy to these qeies thogh we do make eveyffo to wite back o to answe thogh the ettes pageswhen we ae able to hep Inevitaby o fist pioity mst beto bing the next MSX Computngot on time otheise wewod ealy see some compaints fom MX ses!

The editor welcomes any corrections or additios Prices quoted ineditorial ad advertisemets are correct at the time of going to press butmay be subject to vaiatioEvery care is take i compilig the tets of this magie to ensurethat theY are correct ad accurate, but the publisher assumes oresposbiliy for ay effect from errors or omissios. All material publishedi MSX Computing is copyright ad reproductio i whoe or in pa isforbidden except by permissio of the publishersEditorial advertising ad circulatio departments: Haymarket PublishigLtd 38-42 Hampto Road, Teddigto, Middlesex T11 OJelephoe: 01977 8787Photosetting ad litho originatio by Meadway Graphics, Carlisle House198 Victoria Road Romford, ssex RL1 2NX Printed by: Chase Webffset Plymouth 1986 Haymarket Publishig Ltd

DAditor: Simo CaveAssistant ditor:ulia AlexanderA ditors:Richard Gril oyBaldwinPhotography Mike CameoPaul DudleyPublisher Gaeth ReowdePubishing Director: Patrick

Fuller

ADV Adveising anager NeilAlldritProduction Assistant ayaChesworthAdveisement Director:Chadra Harriso

Front ver illustratio by GeorgeDamerunTechnica queries: we regretthese canot be aswered overthe telephone. However, shouldyou wish to write in we willendeavour to answer any queriesthrough the magine.

. . ........ 6Europe . . . . .20


4/66

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Less moneyformore

sowareTwotrends in software marketing are currently sweeping thendust One is to bundle lots ofgames on to one tape and sel l itfor a substantal price and theother is to reduce costs to aminmum and br ing out budgetpr iced titles The latest recr uit tothe latter way of doing busnesss Blue Ribbon Software whichhas ust knocked down all itsprces to a nice affordable

1 99Hitherto Blue Ribbon hasproduced a bunch of games forboring machines like the Atariand Electron but now thempany has decided to exhibta bit of taste and come up withan MSX range Goodies included are a completely newgame called M-Droid and conversions of teir existing ttlesAstro Plumber, Diamond Mine and Das.

According to the press informaton the MSX range willberel eased on 30July so evenal lowng for last-minute hitchesthe games should be in theshops by the time youread this

Blue Ribbons new address CS House Beckett RoadDoncaster S Yorkshire sodrect any enquiries there

Gret ttlupgrdMSX owners on the look out fora dot matrix pr inter below the200 mark will be nterested inthe latest from Centroncs

The company has just upgraded its Great ittle Printerbut has kept the pr ice at 1 99

Known as the GP 1 1 thepr nter offers draft pr int at 1 00characters per second andnear letter quality at 25 cps

Other features include 12nternatonal character setsand a varety of print modesincluding condensed, superscrpt and under line

For more detailed informaton contact Centronics Datamputrs Ptrhamu Harrington Rad ondn SW7HA

.:

This is aprinter. lt connects to your micro If you need moreinformation, Epson has some manuals

aving problems wth yourEpson prnter? Dont panic help s at hand.

Instead of tng to telephoneEpsons techncal support deskfor some sympathy and averbal diagnoss for 12 youcan buy one of the company'stechnical suppo manuals andsort out the problem yourself

All this is n addition to theordnary user manual you get

ere's

when you buy your printer in thefirst place (and which Epsondoes better than most prntermanufacturers) In fact youwont often get ths kind oftechncal information at such alow pr ice

The manual is written byEpson's technical services depament and is aimed at supplying end users with detailedproduct information whch pre-

emanuaviously the company was onlyprepared to give out over thetelephone

So nstead of hanging on theend of a telephone waiting for are sponse why not nip down toyour local Epson dealer andr ead up how to make the mostof your printer .

More information can beobtained from Jane arrow atEpson UK on 0902 8892.

Spectravieo oes for anoher rive

Asecond disk drive forupwardly mobile X'Press ownersSpctravideo Xress owners ted capacity of 60k Well sowho find that one dskdriv ust much for the borng stuff Theisnt nough now hav hlp in mpoant detail ar that t isthshapfan additional drv mal nat and pugs straght

hSV77 is a snglsidd int th bac f yur Xrs inch driv giving a frmat vn mr impant i th

fact that you will need to partwith 25995 folding green beer

vouchers to get a dealer to partwith one of these invaluabledevices.

While on the subject ofSpectravideo we hear with regretthat the company is to drop itsVoce Modulator This gasmasklike device transformsthe wearer's speech into one ofthree robotic utterances. Weknow some peopl who musthave these fitted internally

Unfortunately there was notenough interest to make itworthwhile What has ths to dowithcomputing?Absolutely nothing but we all need a breaksometme

For dtails about the dskdriv writ to Spctr avideo 1 5ah Road Mordn SurrySM4 4L


5/66

Gettin a rip on ae habeen ade lihtly eaerthank to three new arvel o

joytck technoloyPalan Eectronc ha re leaed two product h e odetly titled Fantatic 1 1 coecoplete with a trealinedand contoured bae, dual electronic irin button (what didyou expect tea dr ven?)and eht poitional enor.

he econd odel i theQuickhot Plu (where havewe heard that nae beore?) ltha the ede on the previouodel in the or o an autoirecapablity and an eronoicden to top your trutytrier iner lppin at thecrucial oent

he Joytck cot 6.95 and1 295 repectively and oredetail are avaiable ro Graha Cook Palan electronicnit 10, runwick ndutrialPark, Wateall Road, London 1 1

ot to be outdone the lead n joytick producer, Spectra video ha brouht out a odelor al thoe who apire to

Porche and conider a joy tick an eental ahionacceory.he Quickhot 2 urbo re

tain the handrip dein whichha ade the Quickhot ranethe top eller n the joytickworld

In coon wth it predece or the urbo ha an autorewitch and two ire button ut

ichola Overield' plea or anMSX Cobol copiler in the latiue raied an aazin re pone ro reader acrothe world

Guido Verult o the SonySevice Centre (Europe) inelu ha kindly upplied thetitle and Sony reerence nu ber o our dikbaed pack ae or MSX (HJS050) (HJS051 D), (HJS052D) and

(HJS053D) Overeareader hould contact theirlocal Sony headquater orprice and urther detail

A card ro G J Lichtenveldin Aterda reveal a Dutchource or evada Foran on

The new QuickshotTurbo. what hapn to the Ghia?ore ipoant i the iey red he urbo i qute a btcolour chee and back, tud cheaper than a Porche atded handrip which ean it 1 395 and hould help Specwon't look out o place on the travdeo retan t lead aparcel he l o your portcar. oytck chap

MSX dik:randteder electro nic V, Jan avn Genttraat1 1 9 1171 G adhoevedorpetherland

Meanwhile on the hoeront, Ada Dennn o Sot ware oolhop ran to ay thathe can upp ly ot lanua eor MSXDOS yte by ex ploitn the copatiblity oMSXDOS wth any CP/Mprora Apart ro Hot'caettebaed Pacal you

will need a dik yte to uethee lanuae Ad a can bereached on 0525 718271 andwll happly advie you on whichveron o C, Pacal or whatever t in bet wth yourcoputin need and budet

Meanwhile we hubleaazine people are wonderin what people actually do wthall thee lan uae Sure, Pa cal and C are both reatlanuae or writin aeand utilitie Even oran hat rend ut Cobol? Great orwritin coercial payrolprora, but i that yourntention you iht ut belookin at the wroncoputer

o doubt thouand o en

raed Cobol an wll now writein to explain why their avourtelanuae i the inet thinnce tripe toothpate inwhich cae we wil be happy toar their vew in the next iueo

Piraespuup heir handshe anety oered by Mic

roPro, al lowin people to leiti ie pirated copie o the word proceorprora, ha et wth a airlyare repone

he oer wa ade inoveber o lat year Anyonewth a prated dik could end itto MicroPro with a cheque or46, and the copy woud beuitably arked and reitereda le al no quetion aked,

no nae venAbout 750 dik were ent in,

which a quick lin on theabacu tel u repreent anncoe o around 34,500 orMicro Pro hat wl preuablyake otware pirate andMcroPro accountant eepeaier at niht

t didn't al l o oothly Oneperon ent h cheque tapedto the dik Another threatenedto ue McroPro when hioneandonly dk wa corrupted in the pot.

On the whole however it hato be een a a ucce he

copany ha recouped at leatoe o the revenue otthrouh lleal copyinhe anety ay wel have

achieved one o t econdaryai o rain the eneralawarene o the copyrihtlaw ut whether it wil toppeople copyin doubtulwhile prce o proeonaotware rean hh

Anew low

for Sarprinerprices

Printer baran are on oerro Star Micronc to tepthoe coputer uer

he copany ha reducedthe price o it 1 8character perecond Power ype day wheel printer ro 349 to229

Star SX80 theral prn

ter ha alo been reduced ro1 49 to 79.Star Micronc can be con tacted at Craven Houe 40xbride Road, Ealin, London W5 or telephone 018401800.


6/66

Another minor miracle in modem technology

Miracl' latt multitadard mdm brig quality withi rach f th mirMiracle echooy ha re leaed a cheape veio o ittate o the art WS3000 eriemodem The ew WS4000ha al the eatue we've cometo expect rom moder mod em autodial, autoawer,ad mutiple baud ate. lt icompatible with Haye pro tocol which a icrea

umber o otware packaeMicro ownersin the clubI you like the idea o MSX uerclub but ot ui lotech ailmail to et i touch, why ot ueyour micro itead?

VR Wylad i rui a ewpae i the Galery ectio oPretel aimed at MSX microowewho wat to et touchwith each other, or whateverreao. He' epecially i tereted i heari rom morecovetioal club who mihtwat thei detai poted o thielectroic bulleti board.

The idea i that people caread the detail about a cubad make up thei mid whichoe they wat to oi beoreactually etti i cotact ltalo a ood way o idi out ithee' a club opei earyou.

you really do ike ui thepot, why ot drop Mr Wylad aletter teli him about yourclub whether it' ui oimply a twikle i your eye.Write to 35 eechway,Mahull, Mereyide 3 HP

ae adoptihe tadad baud rate

oered are 300 ad 200/75 ullduplex, ad 00 ad 200 haduplex. pade are oeedor 200 ad 2400 ull duplex totake advatae o the ew hihpeed data lie comi itoue o ytem ike Pretel.

Othe uprade cude toe

dialli ad el toe,

althouh they're ot much uei thi coutry. he price ta othe baic modem i 4995.

Accord to our truty pereeae Miracle' ae admarketi maaer, Davidaxter believe that heWS4000 bi the word odata commuicatio withithe each o everyoe ad i the

ultimate i modem lexibility'Don'tsuer little children

Thr i truth i thrumur that cmputig mak yu blidI you're oe o thoe tedy ambe tited lee which iltetype who like to wear u out the hamul blue iht Welae idoor thi i the have o iomatio about thepoduct or you you pero ee modli

Aeted to the dae o eye the ew pec other tha thatatiue, ol le poduced pecial he ha oud a way o cuttilae to cut out tiri blue eyetrai eve uher youliht. ow the compay ha imply do't look at the ceecome up with the uior veio, ow the moitor pobem icaled the Computrex Juio olved, what we eed i a Vad elli or2 95 plu VAT. verio that wil l electively ilterThat' 25.25 to you out roroad Knghrder

he ecret i i the pecial ad The Prce Rgh

Club detailsshowing on aTVnear

youer club ae pii up alover the place. ew ha come

i o clu b i Demak Auta lia , ad eve Spaldi . Admit ityou're impreed.

he Daih c lub ha evovedrom a Spectavideo ueroup ad ow cover bothtype o compute he clubpublihe a maazie whichoe out te time a yea tomember i Demak Swedead oway.

The emphai i the maa

ze o mprov poammi kil both i aic admachie code, ad etti themot out o MSX macheCotact Richard Foerom, JFjord ale 203 957Fredeikbe C, Demark

Meawhile, dow uder iSouth Autralia a buch olkemided cobbe have ottoether to orm a Auie ueroup t' ice to kow theyeiteeted i more tha heeput kiddi uy!)

you wat to ive thedideidoo a ret cotactMauro Saiel li the club preidet, at 5 Eali Street, Sali buy Dow, South Autalia5 08 Autalia

I the moe exotic part o thewold David Webb o Spaldi icolhire ha jut tatedup hi ow club o MSX uewho live withi a 20 mile radiuo hi home tow.

Memberhip cot ae beikept to a miimum i act itwill cot you a mere to joiFo that you et a eularewetter with iomatio oew machie, poram adpeipheral

you live i Spaldi adwhy ot? write to DavidWebb ecoi a tampedaddreed evelope, at Aycouh Aveue, Spaldi,Licolhire PE 2Q

you live i Wale howeveSpaldi i probably a bit too arto travel o cub meeti. Youwould be bette o etti itouchwith G ecra. I pite othe hadicap o oly havi aiitial or a irt ame MLecra ha tated MSX Co tact He' baed at 23 GlycoliRoad, reorci Rhodda, MidGlamoa CF42 SA.


7/66

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8/66

ExpansionCould you pleae anwer a fewquerie?

irtly can et a cartridewith additional RAM for mySony it it?

Several hardware hop tellme that MSX ytem uenontandard oytick i thitrue?

ow do o about makinback up copie of my valuablehadtocomeby oftware?Leuenan B. HasHMS Lveo

Bo Speravideo and ama a supply M paks bu eyare exnsive and l ikely o seyou bak aound .

s for e joysiks MSXmiosan b us wi somenonMSX joysiks bu no all .Before you buy i ou n esop firs.

Dire aa opyingis usually sussful buopies mus no b sold orlen o oer users

Sheddingsome lightI am the owner of a JVC C7and ve pleaed with it. ut Iam very puzzled by the reenliht at the ide of the CODEkey t doent liht up and a fara can make out ee noueful purpoe at all

I would be rateful if youwould enlihten me no punintended of the pupoe ofthe liht and the keyP. JacksonSheed

Te CD keys on MSX

ompuers are us for pu ing aens and umlausave leers.

Te lig simply indiaesweer e CD key or edead key is being used

Having said a oursdsn l ig up eier We aeod by JVC a on Japanesemels i indiaes a eKanji keyard is in use.

Faultfindingirtly may conratulate youon an excellent maazine. heprram litin are reat and

e CODEkey is u forats ave t

the lit of oftware tockit veueful

ow down to buine!Pleae could you tell mewhether there i any oftwareavailable to dianoe fault inMSX computer?

Alo am thinkin of tartinan MSX club for outh wetondon o if anyone i in tereted and ha a few idea d

ve much like to hear fromtemRay GardenerFuham

We know of no diagnosisoare ommerially availabe for MSX miros. We doknow a Tosiba suppliedmosof is dealers wi a esM

f you ink you ave a faulwi your ompue your deale sould b able o elp ou

Learningto codeMy on i eaer to leamachine code and aembly

lanuae and enerally et thet out of hi computer

e i currently thinkin ofbuyin om Sato The ompee MSX rammersGude A you know it i failyexpenive o could you pleaeadvie a to whethe it iu itabe for an intellient 3yearodD WsonWoverhampon

Tom Sao's ok is really areferene guide and alougi is exnsive i is exremelywell wrien and well wobuying

e prrammer's bibeTo ge your son saed lan

Slnais book InducingMSX Assmbly Lngugnd Mchn Code (895publis by Collins or lanTooill and David Barrowsk Z Mchine Cod forHumns (7.95 ranadawould b sound invesmensDesigns ondesigning would very much like to dein

my own peripheral and hadware addon for my MSXytem and proam inmachine code

Can you advie me whatbook I can read in order toobtain information about theytem hardware

Alo ae you able to advieon a uitable aembler. amfamilia with both the Z80 andother aembler o the tech nical level of any informationyou can recommend hold nofear.R Banserhorey

ou realy need o lay yourands on a opy of MSXsardwae speifiaion


9/66

.----- 1>wi you sould be able oobain from Miroso iperHouse Ha Lane WindsorBerksire (elepone Windsor 50075.

s for a book on maineode e bes pae o sar iswi R enfold's book AnInroducion o ZBO MchinCod. is publised byBernard Babani (elepone0 603 258 and oss 2.95.

MSX-out of

fashion? it true that MSX coputerare not bein anufacued anyore? I have been to everalcoputer hop and hey haveall told e that oftwae intbein produced either.

Can you tell e, i MSXoinou of yle? So any peoplehave tod e MS X i on it latle but hope not a have onlyhad y coputer for eihtonth If thi i the cae hen Ihave ade a bad invetent.ee WamsBounemouth

bsoluely no. JVC is plannng o bring ou s MSX 2

maie in e uumn Speravideo s avely selling isXress Tosiba's HX22 isalso available and amaa islauning is CX5M Mark we say more?

Th Grundig P40 125

Wire vranleHavin recently purchaed aSony MSX a eeina oodquality TV/onitor

ro variou ource I havedeterined tha the GrundiP40 5 i the bet buy and Inote fro a previou iue ofMSX omputn that it i copatible

owever you e wrethony h p in nloue outlt po wh the

Tshib's HX-22 ws noth rst sd tin mhins tpprGrundi ha a SCAR inpu. when hey fail o run becaue of neier do you

My local uppier ay tha if ero that ae no of y own Tere are peny of dealershe new which of the pn on ain. and disribuors around andthe Sony were wred and how, Copuin i a coty and many an b found n our lshe could wie up a SCAR inpu tie conuin hobby and it i of soare sokiss.plu. ot annoyin to find hat both

A Sony ha a eady inoed ie effort and oney ha beentwo of y leter houd I wite wated due to ncorect inaain in Japanee? forationJ A Steet Dense Shephed

South Gamoan Baon-Le-Dey

We reomend a you ona Sony's usomer rela ions division a Sony HouseSou Sree Sanes Middlesex TW 8 F. Or you anelepone em on Saines6688

What does

it mean?

Pleae can you hep e ? I haveone throuh he anua wihy MSX icro and all heiterature that cae wih ydata recode bu I till haventbeen able to find ou what ALCean.Matthew DuknSe/by

uomai Level Conro

Authors at

fault afraid I have a coplaint.Mny of the prora haveobtaind fro variou introducto boo for MX te lnthy priod to nt I dontind tht but it i ve n noyin

We oudn' agree more weoo ave suered o our osuors pease ake noe

Unimpressed a writin to how y dipeaure in the hoae of MSXoftware I a ure you officeut be inundaed with etterlie ine

Why i there o tle oftware

and why t not advetedore?Recent iue of MSX Copuin have entioned MSX uppoe there wi be ahotae of ofwae fo thatachine tooAndew GoodwnMancheste

Unfounaey yes we do ge alo of leers and eeponeals omplaining abou elak of soware and sowaredsribuors.

s really a Ca 22siuaion. Unless ompaniesell us a ey exis andsupply soware and unlssy adv r produsw v no wy of knowny r In busnss d

Printinroblems have an MSX Godtar copu ter and a Seioha GP 500 dotatix piner

Pleae can you el l e how toue the achine to print fullcopie of prora a andwhen equired

At the oent I have onlyhad ucce when puttinPR T a the tart of each i ne.I have ried all o of foruaewih no ucce.G awthawBney

T LLIST.

Pokes in

demandWhy don' you have a POpae o reader can cheat onthei favourite ae?

I a ure plenty of eadewould end in PO they havedeined heelve then youcould lay aide a pecial paefor he allKevnGoeyahaton Beeches If radrs wan o send usr KEs w wll b py rn m Ty donom ou o n r


10/66

PH V

TOP MSX GAMES

Mua Mon . . . . . . . . . Coco in Casle . . . . . . . . 50Deah Vaey Gold Rush. . . . . . . . 50No Buon . . . . . . . Galacc Mernaes . . . . . . 7Dungeon Adventure. . . . . . . . .50Snowba . . . . . . 50AdventureQuest. . . . . . . . . . . . 50Red Moon . . . . . . . . . 50Diary of Adran Mole . . . . . . . Pzer Aack . . . . . . . Classic Advenue . . . . . 50Shadow of Bear . . . Buster Block . . . . . . . . . 650Darkwood Manor . . . . . . . . 750Coos Advenu. . . . . . . . . . 50Reu to Eden . . . . . . . . 50ods of Tme . . . . . 50Emerad Isle . . . . . . . . 6Worm in Paradse . . . . . . 50Spea Operaons . . . . . . . . . . . 750The Hobbi . . . . . . . . . . . . 4ak Wood . . . . . . . . . . 750The P is Magik . . . . . . 50Dambusers . . . . . . . 50Grogs Revenge . . . . . . . . . Aack Kler Toto 7Jack

Nipper . . . . .

Molecue Man . . . . . . . Valkyr (wi sh) . . . . . . Knight Tyme . . . . . . .

._NY KAAIDG You hoce

58.00 n U K "

Chuckie Egg . . . . . . . . 76entipede . . . . . . Oh No!

.

.

.

. .

. . .

. . .00

HERO 1150Beam rider . . . . . . . . . . 11.50Dethon . . . . . . . . . . 1150Pasinder. . . . . . . . . . . . 1150Knockout 750Sapshot . . . . . . . . . . . 8506 Computer His . . . . . . . . . 700View a K 1 050Hot Shoe . . . . . . . 600Buoff . . . . . . . . . . 7.50Le Mans . . . . . . . . . . Chack n Pop. . . . . . . . 8Xyzolog . . . . . . . . . Mr Ching . . . . 4Roerball . . . . . . . 14Hoe in One . . . . . 1400Eric and he ots . . . . . 00Hyper per . . . . . . . . Sop e Expess . . . . . . . . .650Bina Land . . . . . .

. . 50

Dog Fighte . . . . . . . . . 6SOStar Avenger . . . . . . . . SOGalia . . . . . . . . . SOHuner Kiler . . . . . . . . . . SOFruiy Frank . . . . . . . . . . .SOSkrambe 00Apha Baser . . . . . . . . . . .00

Eddie Kidd Challenge . . . . . . . . . 750Cher . . . . . . . . . . . 00

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650Cannon Fgher . . . . . 6SOPunche . . . . . . . . . 750Hunchback . . . . . . . . . . 7 SOEidon . . . . . Maxma . . . . . . . 7 .Bale for Midway . . . . . Vacuumania . . . . . 00Booga-Boo (The ea) . . . . . . 7Manic Miner. . . . . . . . . . . Jet Wily 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.50Ly Jones . . . . . . . . . . . Aen 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SOMinder . . . . . . . . . . 50Fight Deck . . . . . . . . . . . Jet Fghter . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.SOFoua One . . . . . . . . . . . 00Brian Jacks Supestar. . . . . SOHopper . . . . . . . . . . . . 00

Boom. . . . . . . . . .00River Raid . . . . . . . 11.Pa . . . . . . . . . . . 1150Ghostbusters . . . . . 11SOMaster of the Lamps . . . . . . 11agger . . . . . . . . . 50Superbowl . . . . . . . . . . . .00Mr Wong's aund . . . . . . .00Huer . . . . . . . . . . 00Shak Hunte . . . . . . . . 850Norseman . . . . . . . 50Barnstormer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Sep Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.00Super Biards . . . . . . . 14.00Super Snake . . . . . . . . 1400Ninja. . 6.Spooks & addes . . . . . . SODrier Tanks . . . . . e Resue . . . . . . . . . . . . Hold Fast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00Mean Strees . . . . . . . . . . . .50Shnax . . . Kubus . . . Zpper . . . . 400Grid Trap . . . . . . . 00Brian Jacks Chaenge . . . 7SOSpace Wak . . . . . . . . . Finders Keepers . . . . . . 00Panc Juncion . . . . . . . . 650Cra Golf . . . . . . . . . . Humphrey . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Boulderdash . . . . . . . 50es F . . . . . . . Time Bdits . . . . . . . . . .50Lazer Byk . . . . . . . . Games Designer . . . . . . JeSe Wily . . . . . . . . . Knigh oe . . . . . . . . . .

Sor . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Mayhem 7Noh Helicoper . . . . . Je Bomber . . . . . . . . . . . Mima 7Pitfal ll . . . . . . . . . . 11 Turmoi . . . . . . . . . . . . 00ods . . . . . . . . . 50Nightshade . . . . . . . . . . . . 8SOGunfrigh . . . . . . . . . . . .50The Heist . . 7Oil's We . . . . . . . Time Curb . . . . . . . . . . .50Coco in e Cases . . . . Sr Avenger . . . . . . Sial Operaions . . . The Boss . . . . . . . . . . 650Siay to Hell . . 12Acon Biker . . . . . . . . . . . 00One Man ad His Droid . . . 00The Way of he Tiger . . . . 50Disc Warior . . . . . . Samantha Fox Strip Poker . . . . . . SO

CE UE CE E UEC CE UE

ie Ar Kung Fu . . . . . . . . . . . 6.00Sky Jaguar . . . . . . . . . 6.00Tenns . . . . . . . . . . . 600Kings Valey . . . 1600Mop ranger . . . . . . . 600Gof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1600Socce . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1600Hyper Ray . . . . . . 1600Ping Pong. . . . . . . . . 1600Crcus Chare . . . . 600Comc Bakery . . . . . . . . . 600Athetc and . . 600Monkey Academy . . . . . . 600Antarctc Adventure . . . . . . 600Road Fighte. . . . . . . . . 600Tme Piot . 6 00Supe Cobra . . . . 1600

Hype Sports 1 . . . . . . . . . .1600

Hyper Spos 2 . . 1600Track & Fied . . . 600Track & Fied 2 . . . . . . . . . 600Knghtmare (new) . . . . . . . 600Bilads (new) . . . . . . . . 600Hyper Sports 3 . . . . . 600

JVC PRODUCTSHc-7 Computer . . . . . . . 95:oHCF303 Disc Drive . . . . . . . . 8S.OOHCR 05 Data Recorde. . . . . . . 85.00HC-J6 5 Joy Stick . . . . . . . . . . 200Mdi lnte + . . . . 59.00

H O

PRINTERS

Toshba HXP . . . . . . . . . . 17000Taly MT80 . . . . . . . . . . . 7500Taly MT80 Pus . . . . . . 9900Tally MT85 wth NQ . . . . . 5000Epson X80 wth NQ . . . . 5000Kaga Taxan with NLQ. . . . . . 50.00uki 6100 Daswhee . . . . . 38900Canon P 020 wth NLQ . . . . 7000Ctizen 20 wth NLQ . . . . 9900Pnter Leads MSX to sut . . 700

I

I II 21

MONITORS

Phiips BM7502 Hgh Res Green 7900Phips BM7522 Hgh Res Amber 8500Phips BM7542 Hg h Res Whe 9200Microvtec 431 Coou . . 1500Ferguson MC05 14in CV+RGB 500Hitachi CPT444 CV+RGB . . . 199.00Phiips 14 14in CV+RGB . 19900Phiips 8500 Comp Video 500Phips 850 RGB . . . . . . . 3500Monto Leads to sut . . . . . . . 500

MSX EDUCATIONAL SOWARENumbe Panter (Age) 5+ Number sks based on adde game 8.95French s Fun . 0+ French Vocabua wth ctues . . . 795Revse Physcs 4 + Mutpe choce physcs questons . 850Gumshoe A Problem sovng (cme detection) 920Fst Steps wth Mse Men 48 Fst steps towads readng sks 895Star Seeker . 6+ ntduction to astonomy . 995Here There wih Mr Men 48 Undestandng d ectons . . . . . . . 795Games Ceator 9+ Awad wnning condven gam 295Introducon to numbes 47 eaing to count and Numbe Sks 95Calcuaion 48 Bascs o addon and subtacton . 995Calcuaton 2 . . 58 Consodates cacuation sks 995Memo 5-8 Shape ecognton & classifton . . 95Reasoning 58 Teaches cacuatons and reasoning . . 9.95Refexes 58 Sharpens and deveops eees

. 995

Supermind 7+ ogc and easonng . . . . . . 695Superme 7+ Memo tesng me game . . 695Super Puzze 7+ Game o coordnation . . . . . . . 95 eve Maths Eamner 4 + Ses multipe choce Maths paers . . 995 eve Physcs Eamner . 4 + Sets multie choce Physcs apes 995 eve Chemst Eamner 4 + Sets mutpe choce Chem papes. 995

RECREAIONAL SOFTWAREContact BdgeChalenge My BufKrss Kross KquzFight Pa 737BoardelaBackgammonMonkey Academy (CART)SuperchessCrbbageGumshoe737 Fgh SimuaorPaenceCubBoardgamesOdyssey KPSG Muswrer (CART)FM Muswriter (CART)Uta ChessTournamen Snooker

Bdge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 995Guessing word defintons . . . . . . . . . . . 995Noughts and Cosses Quz . . . . . . . 9.95Cockp based smuaon 2. . . 895Version o Oheo board game. . . . . 795Tradiona board game . . . . . . . . . 995Number skis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495Chess wth 7 evels ofdfcut . . . . 895Cribbageaganst the compuer . . . . . . . 595Probem sovng (cme detecton) . . . . . . 920Cockpit based ightsmuato

.

.

. . .

. . . . .995

Version of cad game. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69530 Noughts and crosses . . . . . . . 795Darts and Revers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Rea Tme Music Comose . . . 1195Programmabe Sound Geneato . . . . . . 95PSG o Yamaha . . . . . . . . 9.95 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50


11/66

II

ACCESSORIESau icksoft Joystick . . 1000

RB2 Trcker Bl . . . . . 8500Modem . . . . . . . . . . . 22000 24 URModem Cble 1500MS2000 Mouse & C 7900

0 707

t Recode . . . . 9 00Computer esk . . . . . . 6900Computer Covers (ste ype) 550Pinte Covers (stte ype) . . . 6505" S/ iscs (1 0 csed) 19003Y S/ iscs (10 csed) 600C5 t Tpes ( 0 in cses} 450Sef Ad Lbels (4000) . . . . 1750isting Pper Pin Per (2000) 1400Antige Montor Sceen . . 500 Behind The Sceens Of MSX . . . 895isc Stoge Box 3 x 0 . . . 500 Progrmming MSX Bsic . . . . . 795Lockbe isc Box 3 x 60 . 1900

des Fo MSX . 695HXP550 Printer Ribbons 895MSX Exposed . . . . . . . . . . . 795MSX Progrmmers Guide . . . . . . 1495

Pcic MSX Mchine Guide Pog495MS BOOKS

Sing With The MSX . . . . . . . 595 Gmes or our MSX . . . . . . 99Sting Mchine Code MSX . . . 795 Useu Utiities Fo ou MSX . . 99

BSINESS SOFTWARE

Word Pcessor (CART)WDProWpro (SC)Wodpcessor . . . . . 995Cds (CART)Mishot (CART)Csh Accounts (CART)Spedsheet (CART)Communictions (CAR)Communictions + RS232(CART)CommunitionsThe Secrety (CART)Secrery RS232 (CART)Typing TutorKnighs Budget AccountsStock Control

Stock controHome Budgettbsetbse (SC)tbseSpredsheetMST-CcHome AccountsInvoices And StementsBusiness AcunMierckotex S (CASS & SC)ckobse S (CASS & SC)Ackopresto S (CASS & SC)Tsword (CASS)MT-Bse (CART)

MT-ebug (CART)

\

Uncomplited WP pckge. . . . . . 9Wod-processo . . . . . . . 95Word Processor 995Wod Pocessor 190Crd index dtbse . . . . . . . . . . . . 999Word pcessor nd Crds combined . . . . . 69Anysed csh book . . . . . . . . . . . . 9For projections, csh fow etc . . . . 9Viewdt & Ful Preste Grphics . . . . . . 999As Per Comms with RS232

Viewdt nd Eectronic Mi . . . 1995Cds & Word Po & Viewdt . . . . . As Per Secret wih RS232 . . . . . . 199

Typing tutor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595Accounts nd Budgeing 8.75Stock conto . . . . . . . . 875Hods up to 2 items 1495Person innce 1495tbse 1995tbse . . . . . . . . . . . 995tbse 1495Spredsheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 995Sped sheet pogm . . . . 1495Person Finnce . . . . . . . 1495nvoce genertor 1495p To 200 Curent Tnsctions 1495Cretes miing . . . . . . . . . . . . 1495Tex Pocessor . . . . . . . . . . 995t Bse 995Crd iing System . . . . . . 495Word Pcessor . . . . . . . . . . . . 190t Bse 995

Pogm Utity . . . . . . . . 995

& G G G I lease send me: (or order by leer)I 1- I _A I A

P&P

P& P

P&P

III

I enclose cheque/PO for a ccacacaa* elete as pble)Card Nmber Expiry Date

Geting More m MSX . 795ntroducing MSX Bsic . . . 695A Progrmmers Guide MSX System

795lnto MSX Ass Lng nd Mchine Code HXE6 Add / Sot . . 800HX-R700 RS232 ntece . . 9500895HX-S665 Word Processor Rom 47MSX Gmes Book . . . . . . . . 695HX-R750 RS232 Cble . . . MSX Appictions . . . . . . 795oshib oytick . 50our irst Bsic Progm . . . 495

MSX Sting Bsic . . . . . . 545MSX Bsic Reveled . . . . 695MSX Adventure Pogrm 795 Hr Bsic Sndrd Edition . . . . he MSX Red Book . . . . . . . . 895

Microsot Bsic . . . . 12MSX 795Get More rm Epson Pinter

QUAITY14n C/OITO

+ CO VIDO1 99

Word Processing Book . . 12Advnd Z80 MC Progrmming 1295Assember Routines o Z80 . . . 795Pgrmming The Z80 . 1995Tech ousef Assember Z . . r7Z Referen Guide . . . . Z80 Applitons . . . . 15Z8ASS Lnguge Subuns . 19Z8Lnguge Progrmming 19Z80 Mchine Code or Humns Aici nteligence . . . N Hckers Hndbook . . . . . Compete oh . . . . Stng h . 1910Logo Pgrmming . . .Sng Logo . . . . . . . Guide To Png The Hobb . . . he Robot Book . . . . . . .795

LANGAGE TIITIES GRAPHICSSprite EditorGrphic esigneHp-Sof PscHi-Sot evpcevpc 80 (SC)E 80 (SC)

Psc 80 (SC)Zen Mchine Code SystemZen Mchine Code System (SC)ogoColou ntsiKum orthMchine Code Tuto & MonitorPsychedeiHi-Sof evpc 80Hi-So Psc 80Hi-SoChmpMster Voice WordstoeGmes esigneOpertion Cretker

Spite Genertor . . . 695rwing nd Pinting . . 1495Pscl Compie . . . . 9.95Assember/Monitor 1995Assember/Monitor/Editor 9.95Verse ul Sceen Edito . . . . . . . 995

Psc Compier.. . .

.. .

. 995

Assemby Lnguge Utility . . . 1995Assember/Monitor . . . . . . . . . 995Computer Lnguge . . . . . . . . . . 1995Expores MSX Grphis cilies . 995Pogrmming nguge . . . . 995ntrodution To Mchine Code 1495Light Pern Synthesisers . . 600Assemby Lng. ev . . . . 995Ps Compier . . . . . . . . 995C Pus Pus 'C Compier 995Assembly guge Uiy 12.95Tking nd Singing Utiiy . . . . . . . 1400For our Own Gmes . . . . . . . . . . 950. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 950

AT VAT REE EORT ERVCEO ORER OVER ETTEAE A O OR CARRAE COTOR REQET CARRAE QOTATO

Micros - Moniors - Disc Drives- Desks ; I

Daa Recorders - Listing Paper ; Sofware - Games - Books - Assy , per em oae/Games odes ove 1 ISEE CARRIAGE FREE IN UKBFPO ONL Y IACCSS/BARCLAYCARDISA ORDERS WLCOME II In san credi up o deposit / I a l

elephoneMSmp June 8 II


12/66

rjt

MIDI Projectsby PenfoldBernard Baan 01683 25812. 5

Over the lat ew month MSX omputnha evewed at reat lenth MSX mucalcapablte ha tred out everal mucalpackae and ven Yamaha' CX5M a unor t money

We have alo eatured the MSX MDnteace and provded helpul hnt andueul dea However we have not beenabe to do MDI jutce but, by readn APenold' latet ttle or aban you houldbe able to plu many o the ap

MIDI Projects not only explan exactlywhat MI D but alo how to nterace homecomputer uch a Amtrad C ,

Commodore and MSX mcro to MIDytemke al l the aban book MIDI Projects waer thn but crammed wth a wealth oueul normaton.

There are only thee chapte o youhave an averon to readn t won't takeyoulonto work you way thouh t

The rt chapter ubheaded MIDIac and a the ttle uet t runthrou h a ll the ntty rtty uch a computercontrol eral data control byte and thethree common MI DI operatn mode whchwere ornally called Omn Poly and Mono,but have now been replaced wth thenumber ,2 and 4 repectvelyOnce youve raped the three channelyoure ready to et to rp wth the actualnteracn whch explaned n the ollown chapter

The ablty to control one ntrument omanother va ther MID nteace a veryueul eature but reater poblte areopen to you uncomputer control and th exploed n reat depth n th chapter

Alo ncluded n th chapter are a varetyo proect that you can et up and try out.

MID nteracn enable any o equppedntrument reardle o the manuacturr

to be ealy connected toether and ued aa ophtcated ytem Wth a ew MDIntrument a MDI nteace and your MSXmcro you could end up wth a prorammable orchetra n your dnn room

Micro Interfacing CircuitsBook 1by PenfoldBernard Baan 0 1 683 25812.25

We reularly receve letter rom DYenthuat normn u that they buld therown nteace and addon or the MSXmcro Th all very well you have abackround n elementary electonc buto thoeo you that haven't help at hand

The am o Mcro Inteacn rcuts Book to ude you thouh the plethora ounamlar term and equally unamlardevce and equp you wth the bacprncple o nteacn ccut to mcro proceor equpment.

Speakn a one wth a much knowlede

o electronc a you probably have aboutneurourery the book eem to do thejob.The rt chapter upple a rouh outlne

o how a m crocomputerwok and ncludea block daram jut to ram the pont home

ollownchapte cover addre decod n parallel and eral nteacn analoueto dtal and dtal to analou e conveeand multplexn

Th nt an eay book to ollow and canhardly be decrbed a lht eadn utthen t n't meant to be and wll only appealto the real enthuat who ha a ravntoexpot h m cro to t ull potental.

I that ound lke you then th a ttleyouhould erouly conderbuyn You mhtalo lance at the ollowup ttle

Micro Inteacing CircuitBook2by PenfoldBernard Baan 01683 25812.25

A the ttle uet th book a ollow onom Mcro Inteacn rcuts Book anaume that you have eadthat tt le beoopenn the pae othone (Iyou haven'tyou on to be uttely lot!)

ook 2 oe way beyond the bac antackle real world nteacn ncludnuch topc a peech enerator optcalenor and motor contoller.

And a n ook the ubject notbroached n a puely theoretcal way.Practcal crcut un real devce aprovded wth plenty o crcut decpton

o that anyone wth reaonable commonene and loc hould have lttle dculty nun the crcut o the own ndvdualapplcaton

The rt chapter take an ndepth look ataudo nterace crcut whch can va oa arly mple ound enerator wth a nltone channel (a n mot home mcro) to amultchannel ound eneator whch canbe ued to enerate aly ophtcatound eect and computer muc

However a home computer ncludnMS X tend not to all nto th latter cateorthe chapte tend toconcentrate on addn aprorammable ound enerator o peecyntheer to a home mcronteacnoptoelectrc devce uch aLE D dplay and a vaety o other devce.LED dplay can be qute ueul orexample you ae requred to wok n acomputereddakoom and the lhteneated by a montor or televon unacceptable

Aan lke the precednttle th book n'ht readn and youre to an anybenet rom t then concentraton requred Skmmn thouh the pae wlnot only be a wate o tme but you may wlloverlook mportant normaton

read t twce beore ettn to rp wtome o the topc coveed and a t lethan a hun dred pae took notme at all ant rammed home ome o the pont hamed rt tme round


13/66

tt t r rrtr

ting the Most from YournterR A Penfoldnard Babani 01 -683 258 15

ou know that over 80 o dot atrixer uer on l ever ue 20 o theure available? cetainl didnt andordin to R A Penold thi i lareause 'printer manuals ar not in geneaost reader-friendly of documents'.uch act propted Penod to write an to read (and undertand) text that uer to realie ore o the capabilio their printer Havin read the booknwardl dieted the inoration canwith hand on heart that he haeeded where an other anual

e ailed ierabe irt chapter explain the ASC codehen ollow thi u p with a brie run downe control code and what the are ued

hi chapter i then rounded o with ananation o how to end the code to ourer.haptertwo i quite lenth and thi i notriin a the author run everthin

printin ode control and paeth to tab ettin and cobined printe ou nae it Penold cover it andde plent o exaple ut in caee prone to conuione ot ueul chapter

i the inal onea

edicated to dot raphic ode and ito appeal a it explain creen dupher word how the content o our vduen are ent to our printer in uch a waa printout i obtained.ritin creen dup can be a veplex aair a in an cae it involven creen eor and bit anipuao Penold onl dwell on the topic beore coittin the ret o the

pter to explainin how the raphice work and what can be done with

ettn the Most fom You Pnte i aul uide to have and i invaluableke all the other tite publihed bani it i incredibl cheap ven theiet coputer uer wil l ind i t diicut toude orkinout 2

Concise Encyclopedia ofInformation TechnologyBy Adrian V StokesTower Publishing Company (0253)3315517.95

At lon lat one o the ot authoritativetext on inoration technolo ha beenprinted in paperback at a price that i withinthe reach o ot pocket Previoul thititle wa onl available in hardback at aoewhat ore inlated price: that tendedto put a lot o reader o

The book i a the title indicate anencclopediaand the book deine well over200 coputer ter and incorporatean o the new product and ter thathave recentl been enerated

verthin i incuded ro a deinition othe abacu and dvorak (no not thecopoer) to repo prora enerator andxeroraph each i deined a brie apoibebut i a ore detailed exp anation inecear then thi too i uppl ied

Alo included i a litin o the otcoonl ued acron and abbreviation o i ou have probe reeberinwhat PROM and RAM tand orth isectionwill be invaluable

At 7 thi book i a barain a itcraed with an abundance o inorationthat ot coputer uer need to reerto on

a re ular bai t i alo a ueul reerenceuide or the laan who want to keepabreat o technolo and undertand thearon that oten (and wronl) ued

Crmmi Simp

Y

Computer Programming Made Simpleby J MaynardHeinemann 01580 91303.50

There aren t an title we review that arereadil available in our local hih treetbookhop but thi one i and it i one in aerie o ade iple book publihed bHeineann ducational ook and can beoud in ot ood bookhop includinSith.

Riht ro the ta w knew thi bookwould appeal a the author tart o bain that h e wrote the book not onl ortheapirin proraer, the enineer wholike to ue a coputer a a probleolv intool and or the an in the treet who want

to ati hi curioit about icro withoutbecoin bod down in hih alutintechnical jaro nThe book i divided up into ive ection

coverin everthin ro the tructure o acoputer to an introductor coure onCobol aic and Foran. And when ouconider that the text i over 00 pae theauthor ceainl doent kip on an o thetopic he cover

The irt ection i plit up into ninechapter and run th rouh i nput and outputdevice anetic tape and dik device,lowchat operatin te and nuberte ach chapter explain the topic iniple ter and diara are uppliedwhere there i a chance the reader iht etot or conued

The econd ection i entirel dedicatedto the Cobol prorain lanuae and bthe tie ouve worked our wa throuh ithould be able to write at the ve leat aneleenta prora

Section three and our are ver uch inthe ae vein but o throuh the Fortranand aic lanuae Aain b the end othe ection ou houd have rapedenouh inoration to write a ipleprora

ComputerProgramming Made Simple isa ve concise book crammed ful ofessentialinformation and is firstrate readingfor anyoneremotely interested in computing

or coputer


14/66

: = ----------------------------- = ==================

MX function keysare often neglectedTim Markes opensup some possibilities

c u

c ,

er ow many MSXowners ave go roundo using e funion

keys (F F in e lasyear? Tey musbe ere forsome reason surely? Tismon were going o disov er a ese keys ave more

olouul poenial an eirradiionally grey appearane would ind iae!

he lit o ive word at thebotto o your MSX creenhow what character trinwill be enerated when youpre the unction key 5 Ihave y doubt about whetherthee MSX tandard etinare oin to draaticaly iprove y eiciency a thekeyboard, bu let' ee whaton oer

Clor rend e that Aercan can do without Auowll autoatically enerate lin enube or e Goto' it'and run are el explanatoPre the SHIF key and thewod at the botto o thecreen will chane to diplaywhat will be enerated whenyou pre the F6 0 key (F 5

+ SHIF) he ot ueul oth collection ee to be F9(lit) which will prin ou thecurent prora line in ycae thi i uualy the onewhich ha jut been courteou ly laed a an erro

he diplay at the boto othe creen wil ve the irt 6character only o he 5 char acter axiu unction keyettin Check F6 (F + SHI F)and you will ind that it acuallyenerateCOLOR 1 5,4,4 (+ RRN)

hi i ueu i you aeexpeientin with dierencoour cobinaion and wanto et back to he oriinal whie( 5) ore ound aaint a darkblue (4) backround he lat

paraee deine the colour othe creen border which ionly dip layed uin SCREE (which alo ha bier char acter)

Rather than ue he anu acturer idea, why not createyour own uncion key etin they iht be a ot oreinterein too you want to

g

c" c


15/66


16/66

OwnerAndrewEmmerson assesses

this dual-standardpectra video.

an' prove i, bu I havealas suspeed hahe maori of people

ho bu ahing magazinesnever ge o on a ah hisdoesn' sop hem from reading abou ahs, hoeverand I am sure he ge a lo ofpleasure reading abou heirdream mahines and beoming ver exper in he proess, oo

With coputer it i probabydifferent after all hoecoputer are a lot oreaffordable than yacht. Al l theae you ay be undecidedabout upradin and readin

thi aazine in the hope offindin an unbiaed opinionabout the erit of thi or thatachine

Coe to think about it howoften do you read a letter fro areader ayinthat oando ia heap of rubbih and hould betaken off the arket?

Well orry to diappoint youbut thi aicle i not nontopcritici nor i it 00 per centfuloe in it praie. ln hort ita noholdbarred account by afairly experienced hoe co

puter uer of hi chane toMSX the pleaure and thetrial. If you are hoverin on thebrink epecially if you arethinkin about the Spectravideo X' Pre read on!Wh MSX?

hat what y friend akedwhen told the wa chaninfro a peectly ood C toMSX. he C i wellupported with oftware andbook why on earth chane ?

Well had read the publicityfor MSX new word tandardfor hoe coputer nice copact little dik with hue torae capacity copared with 0

1 6

track 55 floppie dik copatibility with the M PC apotential to ix coputerraphic with hoe video inhort a new ta I ut ay have not reretted the chanebut never realied how uchwork it would involve

Many of the clai ade forMSX have turned out fale andit ha not becoe a wordtandard or anythin like it. atill a upporter thouh andyou only have to o to Holandto ee MSX a aor force. nboth Japan and the etherland MSX ha taken off venicely and it i ad that the

anufacturer have left urit lat in the queue to havethe uprade ever ind Idon't need MSX . he X Press

One thin the Japaneehave not quite atered i afeel for ritih dein f youaree that the C Model i areaonably tylih coputeryou will alo aree that ot ofthe oriental hoe coputerare rather lackin in viualtyle he Spectravideo

X'Pre fro Hon onappealed to e however. aloliked the bu iltin dik drive andthe capability to run CP/M andMSXDOS a well a the noral Microot aic So bouht an X' Pre and liket

like the 80 colun dip laywhich i eential for anyeriou word or fiure procein like the carin cae andthe bundled oftware you etwith it like the coprehenivedocuentation you receivetoo plu the ability to buy real'oftware uch a Wodsta atwhat ut cal l Atrad price.

he achine doe have a

few bu the ot obviou ithat when you are in 80 colunode akin any error cauethe beep to ound continuouly (until you hit controltop).

t alo bu e to know thatyou have an extreely detaiedraphic capability without theinforation on how to addrethe creen. A uperb raphicdeo prora accopaniethe achine but it all inachine code. o way coudyou create thee raphic inaic t i unfortunate thatwhen the coputer i in CP/Mode it forat and read dikin a totally different ethod

fro MSX. Spectravideo doeat leat provide a tranlationprora {but doen't tell you itwill only work on a twindriveyte and then only if the MSXdik i in drive A and the CP/Mone in drive ) Goof soare

f you too are a er iou ' MSXuer you will alo have coecoe to breakdown tryin tofind oftware that work. Correctiontryinto find oftwareat all . How any hopbother to tock any MSX otware other than ae? Wherecan you t out a decent word


17/66

.

processor or commnications pogram or a diskdoctor tility? Nowere in teUK it wold appear

OK, teres always maiorder so bogt tree wordprocessors ackte Wdpand ntet None of tese canbe called professional sincenone can display text as it willeventally appear Tey are allconfined to 40 colmn display,

even tog 80 colmn com pters are now on te market.Te acktet came closest toa rea W program andappaently an improved version ison te way Wdp

. _ :y-

' . .

: - - :

. :

' . . - -< : :not even rn on my compterand in fact it does not segenine MSXDOS bt teomebew KmaDOS. Saveyor money go straigt foWdsta! lt takes a bit longer tolearn bt it is a tre pofessionaprogram.

Commnications programs?Wel, I ad tosendoffto Hollandto get one tatdid te bsinessand I can woleeartedly re

commend MT Vidite {te onlyproblem is tat yo ave tonderstand Dtc wic Ido) M does everyting it gives fl color restelgrapics it lets yo download

programs literaly dozens ofMSX programs on te Dtcrestel system) and dmpscreens to te printer. Kmasprodct does none of tese Infact it even ovewrites te d isarea so it cannot be sed on adisk system no is te com pany prepared to adapt teprogram or refnd money topeople wo find tis nacceptable. Caveat emptor TeComptermates package isqite good by compaison, btlacks te ability to downloadsoftware: tis is promised forlater deveopment. I coldntwait).

As for tilities te onlycommercial one wold recommend is Hisofts Devpac asperb piece of software ltdoes, owever, need MSX DOS or C/M to work and noteveryone can get old of tese now ave a good collection of

tilities for playing aond witte contents of disks and todownoad NQ Near LetteQality) fonts to a dotmatrixprinter bt none of tese areavailabe commercially endme an SAE care of te editor ifyo wold like details of tese) .Satisfaion a ast

initialy togt of calingtis article sefelp becaseyo feel as if yo are on yorown wen yo coose MSX. lt

is remarkable tat MSX ownesave no natina ser gop intis conty yes, I know teeare ripoff otfits wic take 1 0off yo bt send no newsletters) Help is at and togTee are tree excellentbooks wic sold be on anyserios MSX ses sef ave fond al l tree very sef Tey are The mpete MSXPammes Guide by SatoMeborne Hose) The MSXBk by Hoffman Osborne/McGrawHil) and te MSXTechnica Guide diect fromMicrosoft UK in Reading)Tese books tel yo nearly) allte secrets

Also, aving C/M gives yoaccess to a ge selection ofsocalled pblic domain soft ware Tese are programswritten by pbicspirited folkwo ave decided to cargenoting for tei labos andmost of te programs are goodsome ae even sperb and afew trn ot to be wel l a bit naff

By oining te blic DomainSoftware nterest GropDSG for sort) yo can aveaccess to n deds of disks ofsoftware pls a good magazneevery tree monts

Te fee fo copying a disk ofD software is jst 2 yospply te disk) and teX ress C/M format is DSGno 21 0 te grop can formatand ecod disks in dozens anddozens of formats) . lt can alsodownload programs fom oneformat of disk to anoter, at acost of arond 7 a disk Teprocess does not transformone diaect of BASIC into

anoter tog tis is eft toyo ts a sefl service if yoare canging comptes andneed to convert a lot of textpocessing files for instance.Other rinkles

Having bogt te Xessyo may well feel te need tors ot and by lots of disksand a second disk drive Teprices wil pobably cre tisdesire bt a twindrive systemis ndeniaby sefl . So is a box

fll of microfloppy disks Andere is my tip sop arondand expeiment Seveal companies sell top

qal ity Apicot disks for arond2 a box of 1 0 and oter firmsget close to tis price if yo byby te box A second drive canbe yors for arond 1 00, fromsomewere ike Vig len Compter Spplies. Wat yo want isan 80 track singlesided drive.Dont get te ceaper 40 tackso

Tis comes in a smart creamcase wic matces teXress nicely) and yo evenget a tiity disk As it is meantfor te BBC micro it wont domc for yor MSX bt yo canse it as a blank Ten all yoneed is a 2pin D plg fromTandy and yo can plg it intoyor Xress f te editorallows write in and pester) llpblis te wire connections ina ftre isse lts great avingtwo drives N need t wite andpesteits cmin in the net

issue EdWell tere yo are it ispossible to enjoy an MSXsystem particlary if yocoose te X ress f yo wantto get in toc wit any of teorganisations I ave mentioned and recommendedtese are isted below I aveno connection wit any of temexcept as a satisfied cstomer

Microsoft Ltd, 9 De MontfotRoad Reading Berks RG 18LP.Public Domain Softwae Interest Goup, 38 Holtye Road,East Grinstead Sussex RH193EA (Send SAE fo informatiosheets)

17


18/66

magi ne a omputer that

ill fit In our briefaseand runs off baeries.

magine suh a omputerith its on liquid rstaldispla and built in soarethat inludes a ord proessor a spreadsheet a diar aommuniations pakageand ASC. magine suh aomputer ith a built in olumn printer a built In

modem a built in telephoneand a built in lok maginethat omputer Is able to runMSX programs Name thisImagina omputer theSon SMCT a nd ou haverealit

Te SMCT11 is aving itsfrst lanc otsde apan nAstrala were MSX s gettngp a god ead of steamagainst entrenced rivals t isavailabe wit a price tag ofarond 1000

t s not strctly an MSXcompter Lacking a 2 lnecolor dspay and oystckpos it cannot ope to do al ofte tngs compters sc aste Sony Ht Bit do Te otermaor dfference is tat teresident Mcrosoft Basic is called HHX Basc standng forHand Held eXtended BascTis is a mxtre of MSX andMSX isk Basics wt someextra commands needed forfeatres on te andeldmacne Specifications

A qick rn trog tespecfcatons gves an dea ofwat yo get for yor money Atte eart of te SMCT1 1 is tetred and tested MSX eng ine aZ80A mcroprocessor rnningat 8MHz Tere s 6K ofROM n wc te bilt inappcatons are stored Forprogram data tere is 2KRAM Tere s also a clock tokeep track of time and date

Te wole compter mea sres st 2 x 280 x 60mmand weigs 6kg owercomes from for szed alka lne cels or an optiona ACadaptr A car andle aidspoability and te keyboard isprotected by a removable lidSeveral flaps protect all posfrom damage n transt Tefinis s n cream sockress tant plastc

Te dsplay s on a liqidcsal screen 80 comnswide egt colmns deep

Maxmm resolton s 80 x 6pixe Bend ts is a nearletter qality prnter prnting oton eiter termal or conven tional A paper wit an inked

18

The ony M- T isnot a true MX micro, butcould be a taste of things

to comeribbon. Te printer rns at 1caracters per second wteac caracter on a 2 dotmatrxand as variabe prntingdensty

Oter pos provde for con

necton of an accessory tele pone andset an ordnarytelepone, an MSX cassetteplayer an accesso 00 badacostic copler an Epson compatble serial printer anMSX disk drive a RAM car tridge and possbly a wolerange of oter periperals

Te keyboard s straigt offan MSX compter togcompressed and rearranged toft te dmensions of temacne Tere are te pro grammable fnction keys cr

sor control keys sift optonand grap keys everytngyo fnd on a desktop MSXSeveral storage options are

presented Te Sony as

enog RAM to store amedimszed docment asmall telepone directo and arange of dia entries Tespreadseet Mcrosofts wellknown Mu/p/an s spped on

a ROM cartridge tat slots in teback of te casng ts 2Koverlays 2K of te 6K application ROM Oter applications cold e written on ROMcaridges by eiter Sony ortird paies making te SMCT11 eminentlysitableforvei ce markets sc as insrancecompanes

Anoter option is to xpandte RAM wit a 2K StatcRAM or SRAM cartrdge Tsgves almost nstantaneosloading of data and te car trdges are extremely portable.Tey ave a battery in tem tokeep te data intact Tey plgnto te dsk drve port andSony is planning a box to allow

several cartridges to be sed atonce

Te cassette port allowsstorage of programs or data onadio cssettes CompatibleMSX programs cold be loadedtis way or data transferredfrom te portable Sony to adesktop MSX ata transferrate s 200 bad

Afaster option s an MSX discdrve plggng nto a port on te

sde of te Sony Any MSXOS program can be loaded orsaved and data switced fromone macine to anoter by1cm MSXOS disks Annformatted disk olds 00K

Te blt i n software is com preensve enog to makeoter programs almost n necessa Wen te Sony isswtced on by a btton nderte screen te nitial dsplaysows te dsk al locaton for pto fve devces te free mem

ory a drectory of files andextensions te crrentlyselected file wit its size andwen it was created if it is a serfile te crrent date and time

and wat te fncton keys doAt ts stage it is possible to

alter te time and date deeteor rename fies copy from onefle to anoter and to load a flefrom an external device Followte prompts and everyting seasily done

Having te btin telepones a ve sefl featre. Al l te

telepone fnctions are avail able if an applicaton calledTlcom s rn Te fnctonkeys intiate te varos procedres and te Sony mst beconnected to a teleponesocketPhone function

For a start any keyedinnmber can be dalled or telast dialled nmber redialledTere is a bilt n mcroponeand speaker so te compter

acts as a ands freeteleponewt variable speaker volmeAn accesso andset can alsobe connected for more prvatecals and an extension ponesed as a normal telepone

A find opton searcestrog a fie caled oneBook looking for a matcto anyname inpt at te prompt ltdisplays al matces to tesearc string and te assoc ated telepone nmbers Yopt al yor commonly callednmbers into tis file and ockyor pone book awayEven f yo arent singTelecom yo can stil se tetelepone. ressng Alt and afnction key allows yo to inpt


19/66

a nmber call t select andset or ands ree operation angp te telepone and evenmte ncoming cals Tis sorto sability was poneered byIC wit its One er esk TeSonydoes mc te same wta smaller compter and n anMSX envronment.Terminal mode

Witin te Telecom programis a termnal mode allowngyo to contact blet in boards orse electronic mal networkssng te biltin 00 badmodem An external modemcan be sed too as well as aSony acostc copler so tecompter old link nto databases trog t e andset o apblic telepone

n te termnal mode tecommncatons settings canbe atered Tere s a coice obad rates rom 110 to 1200

bad wit ve to egt data bitsone 1. or two stop bts anyparty at ll or al dpex wtXO/XO CTS/RTS orXmodem protocols ata canbe vewed on te screen or sentto te printer les can beploaded or downoaded. Yoave al yo need to get intoelectronic commncations

Bt tere is more to tesettngs tan tat. Te SMCT1 1 can be set p to atomatcaly answer an incoming call

and to rn a program at tatstage. or nstance te Sonycod be set p to rn Remotewenever it receves a cal.

Te applcaton caled Remote trns te portable into admb terminal and it can tenbe connected to amost anycompter big or smal andsed to enter or receve datarom tat compter

Te Schedue program isdesgned to make a desk darymore tan redndant. Appont

ments or alarms can be keyedin dsplayed and printed ot.An alarm setting wll caseeiter an alarm to sond even te compter s trned o) wta message dspayed or apreset program to be rn orinstance yo mgt programte Sony to wake yo p andrn a scedle so yo can seewat yo ave ned p

Anoter sel eatre is tata name or oter word can besearced or yo arent srewen yo are meetng MrSmt or lnc se ts acltyto nd te relevant dary entry

Te word processor calledWord s a smple easy to setext edtor Text is typed n andsaved to RAM It can be printed

ot on te nbilt prnter or anexternal prnter. Te nbiltprinter is very dranng on tebatteres so s best only sedor sort letters yo want toprint ot long docmentstranser te le to anoter MSXcompter or se an externalprnterCut and paste

Text can be edited wt ctcopy and paste commands Asecton o text s marked andtat ection can ten be ct orcopied Wat as been ct orcopied s ten pasted to a newlocation

Wen a prntot s reqested te rst tng tatappens is tat a minatrepreview o wat te na pagewill ook ke s sown on teC screen Tis prevew canbe reqested at any tme and s

a great way o seeng owletters wil look wen pntedWord alows a nmber onctions to be embedded nte text Tese do tngs scas centrng text ndernngcaracters and so on So Wordis an excellent means o preparng and prntng letters orpreparng docments or transmission wt te modem toanoter compter I yo wantto wrte a book get anotercompte

Lst s a very sel programaccessed rom te ma in ments prpose is to searc nominated les or speced strngsollow te on screen promptsto se t A target storage devces entered ollowed by a le

name Ten te strng to beond s typed in Te e srapdysearced and lines contaning tat strng are displayedon te screen wit optonaprintot. st cold be sed tond or nstance any docment n wc ondon wasmentoned

Mu/tp/an is an old bt powerl spreadseet or inancial

analyss t as a wde range ocommands or data entry andmanpaton and spreadseets can be prnted ot on teprnter Alternatvey datacod be transerred by temodem or on a disk to a secondcompter

Trnng o power wen anyapplcaton is being rn s nodsaster Wen te Sony strned back on t remans at testage t was beore t was trnedo ow power warnings re

mnd yo o te need to cangebatteresTe last program s BasicHHX Basc s a ybrd o MSXsk Basc and MSX Basic wta ew extra commands Teseextra commands are to deawit te nblt telepone andto allow vaes to be loaded toregsters

Mssing are al te commands related to V otptsc as COOR S RTE andcommands or devces sc asoystcks Tere is no pontwrtng in commands or nonexistent aclities Stl HHXBasc does ave some grapiccommands sc as CRCEIE RESET OT andOCATE Black and wte

grapics come p qite ncelyon te C screen and can ocorse be printed ot

rogrammers sed to MSXBasic wi 11 soon come to termswit HHX Basic Tere is no lscreen edtor. Editng s doneon a lne by ne bass Tenction keys work n te sameway as on an MSX micro andcan be programmed. Tee areal te sel commands scas ATO REM TRO andEETE Te maor dierences relate to te capabiltieso te poable compter

Some MSX sk Basc commands are missng too incldng te WHE WE strctre. Bt yo ave wrtten aprogram in MSX sk Basctere s a very good cance tatit wl rn on te SonyCompatibility

Simiary an appcation wrt

ten nder MS X Basic tat doesnot se te V aclties oroystcks a program sc as atext adventre sod rn onte Sony too t can even beloaded rom cassette

Te SMCT1 1 s totaly compatible wit MSX OS appcatons Any data rom an MSXOS program can be sed anddata transerred nder tisoperatng system to oter MSXcompters i a disk drve sattaced

Compatbity aside teSonys Basic is ve good Inact a good programmer coldprobably wrte some excellentappcations sing te blt inacilities o te compter Certanly ie andlng rotnescold be written tat are conderably better tan teonboardrotnes or instancetere s no batc processng oies or le merging possbleoter tan trog Basc

Te SMCT1 1 s an excelent

example o te MSX plosopy n acton MSX comptersare not st 6K desktops orte ome Te MSX system sgong to be applied wit sigtmodcations to al types ocompters Sony s te irst toapply MS X to te ed o lapedcompters and ave come pwt a device tat is glycompatibe wt te standardyet able to do many dierenttngs

o dobt tere wll be oterHH X compters to come TeSony s a arbnger o tetre and yet anoter sign tatwen te MSX concept s allworked ot t wll be as compeensive a standard as anyonecold ws

9


20/66

= -=- - -_ - -

- Decebe 85/Januay 86Make te most of your microsmemory and reac te partsyouve never reaced beforeWe sow you ow to oad andsavethose programming mas terpiecesGet moe out of your Epsoncompatie prnter wit te aidof contro codesMake musc wit Digita usicSystems atest music cartridgeWe put osibas word processor Bank Street Writertroug te miFebuay/ac 86Te Cat tested a tracker ba to contro games and seriousappications.Formatting te screen dispayfo BASIC programmers witots of text and numbers to

Excusive Sorce map sowsyou te way around VrginsbestseerMke Gerrad expores Leves Worm n aradise.Word processng and pogramming books reviewedTe words first MSX cameraAp/ay 86Learn ow to read and writetape fes from wtin a programwit tis monts BASC aiceby m Markes. Read ourexcusive interview wit tebrains beind Aackosoft andfind out wat games are in teppeinetuck in te batroom? enfoow our excusive map of JeSe Wiy

ande R 8 RR 8 R 8

We aso managed to ay ourands on and test te firstobotic arm for MS X courtesy ofSpectravideo

20

When a copy of X C

comes out, newsagents'

shelves are often emptied ofstocks with in d ays. If you aren'tquck off the mark you mightfind yourself stuck without acopy.

pop down to your local newsagent waving a very large ax,and suggest politey that heincreases his order But werecommend a second method- so m u ch more civ sed your own personal postal subscription to X C

IIII

One possbe solution is to

Pease compete ths om n bock ettes and send t togethe wth a cheque oposta ode o 16 made payable to aymaket Pubshng Ltd to MXComputng ubscptons Dept aymaket Publshng td Ansde teet,London W8 5R

Nae

Add e ss

a 9 a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a aa a a a a aa a a a aa a a a aa a a a a ' a e a e a e a a a a a a e a aa

a t a a a a e a e a a t e f a e I e e a a 4 a a I a l a a e a l a ! t I a a e a a 1 e Postcod I enclose cheque/postal ode* o o ssuesoMXComputng

*Undrn h ne ha appes

I

_


21/66

KONAMIYie Ar Kung Fu 2 15.95Yie Ar Kung Fu 15.95Hyper Ray 15.95Boxng 15.95Soccer 15.95Roadfghter 1 5.95Sky Jagua 15.95Ping Pong 15.95Supe Cobra 15.95Comc Bakey 15.95Track and Feld 1 1195Track and Feld 2 11.95Antactic Adventure 1 5.95Monkey Academy 11.95Hyper Sports 1 15.95Hype Sports 2 15.95Tenns 15.95Mopranger 11.95Gof 1595Crcus Chae 1195Time Piot 15.95Athetc Land 15.95Kngs Valley 15.95Hyper Shot 15.95Nightmare 15.95Blards 15.95ACTVSONGhostbusters 11.99Decathlon 11.99Maste of the amps1 1 .99Pastfnder 11.99

ALLGATA3D Knockout 7.95Superbow .99Bagge 7.95

AACKOSOFTFlght Deck 9.95Noth Sea eicopter 9.95Mus x 7.95

Oh No! .95Hopper 199Scentpede 1.99Boom 1.99Master Voce 7.95et Bombe 6.95et Fghte 795Chess Game 6.95Time Curb 895Ois Wel 7.95Mac Attack .99Space Rescue 1.99

ANROGFightpath 3 8.95

ARTCMutant Monty 695ASK

Numbe Pante 895BEAU JOLLYComputer Hits 695

BUG BYTETurmol .95ouney to the Centre ofthe Eath .95COMPUERMATESThe Secetary 99.95Ma Shot 69.95MSX Text 4995Speadsheet 9.95Cards 9.95Cash Accounts 99.95Communcations 9.95

D K RONIKSMinder 9.95

DOMARKA Vew o A Kll 1 0.99

ELECTRCemans 9.95MSX Ast 9.95Sweet Acorn 8.95Backgammon 9.95GLOBALake the Nppe 8.95Valky 8.95

GREMLN GRAPHCSThe Way of the Tger 995Bounder 8.95HALHole In One 14.95Rollerba 4.95HSOFTDevpac 19.95

Pasca 9.95KUMABrdge 8.95Musc Maestro 8.95Buster Bock 6.95Crbage 5.95Superchess 8.95inja 6.95Shnax 6.95LEVEL 9Coossa Adventure 9.95Snowba 9.95Worm In Paradse 9.95

LVEWREAphabaste 1.99

e radwayedrd 40

elepe: 56

Grdtrap 1.99Scrambe 1.99MARTECH

Samantha Fox Stip Poker8.95Edde Kd 7.95Bian acks 7.95Zoids 8.95MASTERTRONCNghtyme 99Moocule Man 1.99MELBOURNE HOUSEThe Hobbit 1495Cassic Adventure 6.95MENTORSimpe Addition 7.95MRRORSOF3 Flght Smulato 995Star Seeker 995Here and There Wth MrMen 7.95

MCRO TECHNOLOGYMT Base 9.95MT Debug 9.95

MOSACSecret Da of Adrian Moe

995MOREWOODPatience 6.95Cacuation 9.95Memory 995

MSTStock Contro 14.95Business Accounts 1 4.95

ORPHEUSBoardgames 4.95Eidon 8.95Bouderdash 6.95OCEANHunchback 6.90PEAKSOThe Boss 6.95PSSBattle for Mdway 9.95Maxima 7.95ROR MUSCPSG Musicwrtter 4.95Odyssey K 11.95SOFTWARE PROJECTSHarvey Smths Show um-pe 7.95et Set Wlly 2 7.95Manic Mner 7.95

SONYHomewiter 4.95unofirst 17.95SHELDMaths Level Examne9.95SO CARDFront ne 14.95Gaphics Edtor 4995TASMANTasword 1.90TERMNALazy ones 8.95OSHBAPoa Star .953D Gof 95Pyamd Walk .95Teach Yoursef Basic .95Checkmate 95BOOKSStarting with MSX 5.95Statng Machine Code

7.95ehind the Screens ofM SX 8.95MSX Exposed 7.95MSX Progs Ref Guide

1495Ideas for MSX 695Games Book 99PERPHERALSSanyo DR-22 44.95Sanyo Light Pen 8995MSX Prnter Cable 95Toshba Music Keyboards

1995RS-232 Cable 14.95Toshba RS-232 99.95Plotter Printer Pens 595VC Disc Drve 99.95oshiba Dot/Mat Printer

4995Thorn Modem 5.95Wgmore Mouse 6995Hal Cat Trackerba 79.95VC midi inteace 169.95Toshba MU keyboards 1995ULTMATEKnightone 9.95Knightshade 9.95Gunfrght 9.95VRGNScrabbe 995Monopoly 9.95Cluedo 995

I All prices includ e VAT and post and packng. All tems include a ful l year garantee. (Prodcs ae socked and usually despatchd witin two days. Overseas cusomers add 4 post and packing Ceques with cheque card numbe, Posta Orde, etc., payable to AVISOCK HI-FI LTD. elephone orders (0234) 56323.J Pese debi t Access/Brccd ICard N u m be _____

___

[ _ _ _ _Y OSB JV SYO SOY OSB JV SBS SOY OSB JV


22/66

Martin Banks suspectsdiabolical interference

-hiscassettesstill

won't load.is time of te year it

becomes very difficutto concentrate on any ting epemera or intangible,ike work, or oadtesting computes or answering lettersfrom te bank manager

Wen I say tis time ofcouse, I dont mean tis tistime but tat one, a tis timetat is now irrevocably lockedinto te past, a tat tis time ifyou like.(Wha Bankse s n o sayhee s ha hes wn hs n

he as days of June, andWmbedon s occupyn mosof hs aenon Ge on wh Man Ed)

Having to sit in front of acomputer and perfom wonderu tricks wit tem to try andfind out wat tey can do is avey well, but it is not mypersonal idea of fun wen teeis Wimbledon on te gogglebox. I find te ikes of MartinaNavratiova and immy Connors muc more interesting

tan your average spead seet. I ndeed, at times ike tis, find i t more interesting tan teaverage game progam. I ave found one compensa

tion owever tat tennis pro gam I told you about last issueI ave ad great peasuresowing immy Connors justwere e went wrong by playing te game for im. o be fairto te computer, and for tatmatter te program, Connorsin te form of yours truly) stillost. We fougt valiantlyowever, Connors and t was a same tat Connosand I lost te ematc againstte computer, because I couldave tolerated playing tegame for a considerabe time inte inteests of sport, scientific

esearc and aticles for MSXompun aving ost,owever, I was eft wit notingese to do but get on wit someodinary work

o be more precise, I adlittle aternative but to cary onwere I ad left off last issue.For tose wit sort memoies,tis was te point were adfaied completey to get teMSX macine I ad to oad inanyting from cassette. is, Iad decided, was someting ofan inconvenience but, in te

context of a fist aicle and afirst attempt at cracking teproblem, I didnt fee tooaggrieved about it. fte al,everyone as teeting troubleswit a new or different macine,dont tey?

By te time tis next aticlecame ound, tougt I, teprobem would ave beensoved and I cou d move to tenext ideas I wanted to payaound wit. Mupy, te greataw maker and breaker of

strong wi ls , ad decided oterwise, oweverLet me explain just a ittleWen Lord Editor Craven,esteemed spiritual guide of tisaugust organ, read of my pligtwit te cassette, e took pityon me. eepone janging, eleft word wit my answeringmacine tat e would offersome assistance. e suggested tat e migt comeround soon and ceck a fewtings out, not least of wicbeing te computer itself s was already busy doing otertings and being terminalylazyto boot) I accepted tis kindoffer and promptly fogot aboutte problem.

Wit tee tings and fouroters, it was some time before

te two of us got tingstogeter and ten it was a caseof te good Lod Edito dropping off various bits and piecesincuding a different compute,wit a ceery y tat lot

Well, to cut a tedious stoyso, did. e end resultmakes me squim wit sefdoubt, for I stil cannot get

anytin

msx computing - aug-sep 1986

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