softalkv1n10jun1981

VOLUME 1 JUNE 1981 Exec Apple: | Mike Markkula Going Forth The 3.3 VisiCalc _ | New: Business Column‘and Beginners Corner J . the ultimate fantasy role-playing game elmer me . Sie ipte rs) Designed by a Lord British Bera >> : Availiie: ethru your local Computer § joe ae = ‘ = ; . mee We = OF THEO « ne Aro ee ae RC |ARD SOFTWARE ‘PRODUCT from California Pacific Computer Company Ab JUNE 1981 Chairman John Haller Editor Margot Comstock = J ( ‘Tommervik 8 f ‘ Managing Bditor Al Tommervik i Associate Editor Craig Stinson Art Director Kurt A. Wahiner Contributing Roger Wagner Editors Jim Merritt Peter Olivieri r eae Exec Apple: New President Mike Markkula Assistant Editor Robert Koehler AL TOMMERVIK. . es Operations Mary Sue Rennells Production Bill Barrett Administrative Assistant Kimberly Curling Circulation David Hunter Ron Rennells Systems William V. R. Smith Advertising Sales Al Tommervik Fair, Days. 22 s.se es. ese (213) 980-5074 Margot Tommervik be Cover photo of Apple president Mike Markkula by Kurt Wahine, Composition by Photographics, Hollywood. California. Printit xy California Offset Printers, clendtle Califor pple is a registered trademark of pple ‘Com- anes \¢., Cupertino, California. UCSD Pascal isa trademark of the University of California at San a 4 Diego. VisiCalc ia.a trademark of Personal Sot: At 3,3, VisiCalc Spawns a Family ... ware, Sunnyvale, California, subscriptions: Complimentary to all owners of Apple ‘computers in the USA. Multiple or non-Apple-owner sub- scriptions for one year: one, $10; two through five, $8 each; more than five, $0 each. Back Issues: $2 through February 1981; $2.50 jovember and December 1980 issues are sold oto encoue) thereafter. in An Apple for Leslie tion, 31021 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, “oi 91601; telephone, (213) 980-5089, secojtati, Voluine 1, Number 10. Conysight "1981 by Sot MAELISSAGMILIGH i ice se ersieretete cies ss talk Publishing Inc, ‘All rights reserved. ISSN: Softak is puullshed monthly by Sofalk Publishing Ine. 11021 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601, telephone, (213) 980-5074. Controlled circulation postage paid at Los Angeles, CA. Postmaster: Send address changes to Softalk, 11021 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hol lywood, CA 91601. ADVERTISERS INDEX 97? cane StSON cs esecsecncess 26 ts Advanced Business Technology tenes fe oy a Aurora. SPECIAL: Expanded Summer Computing Marketalk Reviews....... Avant-Garde Axiom .. Beagle Bros. Bite-Soft .. ‘The Book 1981 .. Broderbund Software . BudgeCo. ..... California Pacific. Compdent . Computer Station . Continental Software . Co-op Software ... Creative Computing Data Transforms Edu-Ware FsI 48 DEBUT: Mind Your Business, Introduction . »....PETER OLIVIERI 59 The Miraculous Modem, Part 3................+.... JEFF MAZUR 66 DEBUT: Beginners’ Corner...............+++.+.++ CRAIG STINSON 71 ithe Double Life) offtord) British)... 0.50.60. .eres aoe eee ee 80 Nase a a ai a ae Ventures with VisiCalc: Otto K. Wetzel, Jr. . 26 Marketalk: News 144 Gs Highlands Computer Servi High Technology Howard Software . Innovative Design Software Intelligent Computer Systems . Interactive Microware 18 More Unknowns: Contest Straightalk . pathy City. 33 Open Discussion Tradetalk a) Micro Lab 21 Basic Solution: William V. R. Smith The Pascal Path: Jim Merritt .... 174 Aieromate 88 Assembly Lines: Roger Wagner . Softalk Presents the Bestsellers . . 83 Micro-Ware Distributing Moneydisk .. MUSE Software Mytopia Software Institute On-Line Systems. Rainbow Computing RTR Market Charter . Sirius Software . pai pon ape 68 Sizzling Jul nee Sttotegic Simulations. . T-Shirt Softsel Sizing July ... Exee Sffotepic Sinviot , a Software Publishing Corp. Country, Computer-Slyle.. Are you ready for @ hor Software Technology for Computers disk diive? ... And move .. Sophisticated Microsystems . Southwestern Data Systems | Spectrum Software . Stellation Two Stoneware .. Strategic Simulation: Street Electronics .. Synergistic Software United Software of A 2 & SOFTALK JUNE 1981 CONTEST: THE LOGICAL SOURCE The Unknown A, February's contest, was the most popular Softalk contest yet; it was also too easy—almost everyone caught on to Apple's address. So, this month, the contest is an- other unknown A, with a little more to it. It's not really a whole lot harder, but it gives you a lot more opportunity to get mixed up. And it brings a new element, a bit of word play, for those who prefer English to math. There are two levels of winning the contest. Both levels must name the Logical Source of the value A. This is the name—a proper noun—of a person, place, or thing. The grand prize winner must also give the value of the letter A. The nine letters that make up the name of the Logical Source have been given values according to their positions in the alphabet. Those values were added together to get the value, A. You must work this path backward. How To Play 0. If you wish to ignore all the formulas and rigmarole, you can try to guess the correct identity of the Logical Source from the Direct Clues in part one and send it in. You'll be eligible for a second-level prize. For a first-prize chance, you'll have to do the rest, however, 1. Determine the values for the letters in the formula (part two) by figuring out the clues in part three. 2. Work the formula in part two to get A. 3. Use A in the miniformulas of part four to determine the alphabet values of the letters that were added to make A. 4, Thinking of the alphabet as a circle, assume each letter to have the value of its position in the circle, starting with A as 1; this would be very straightforward except that, during the night while the alphabet was waiting to be used to build this puzzle, someone who didn’t want you to win put a hex on the alphabet and changed all its values. Fortunately, the change was consistent, and, by reading carefully for clues, you will be able to figure out the new values. When you figure out what let- ters the values you got in part four represent under the hexed alphabet, you’ll have all the letters of the name of the Logical Source. 5, Rearrange (anagram) these letters into the name that fits the Direct Clues to the name of the Logical Source. 6. Send the name of the Logical Source and, for the grand prize, the value of A, to Softalk Source, 11021 Magnolia Boule- vard, North Hollywood, CA 91601. First prize is $100 in goods from Softalk advertisers. Sec- ond-level prize is $50 worth of Softalk advertisers’ products. In case of ties, contestants will be at the mercy of Apple's ran- dom generator. Here’s the puzzle. Part 1: Direct Clues 1, Without the contributions of the Logical Source, compu- ters might not yet exist. 2. Shipping a fortune. 3. The Logical Source’s major predecessor was big on forms. 4. Greece. 5. Another formula using A. 6, Cause of a temperamental opera star's being at sea. 7. Philosophizing. Part 2: The Formula for A (Qe + Vx n A= Salen e + Vv-m u w P ) P P art 3: The Formula Values Brahms symphonies or Rachmaninoff piano concertos. Lucky leaves. Control-D. Zz Marx Brothers. Orange. Little Women + Nancy Drew. p A brace or yoke, If by sea. Bits in a quarter. x Crayons in the big box. Gadolinium. Combined age of quadruplets on their sweet birthday. Half your phalanges. Base of any number system as rep- resented in that system. y= Year Vikings and French gave England the ol’ one-two. $42B, v= Poe’s gables plus Clark. Atlas’s daughters. Top row, middle key. n= Volumes in The Foundation, U.S.A., or The Octopus. Number involved in unlucky cigarette lighting habit. = Polk. Jack, 0000 1011. Great wealth on the Bowery. Winning margin in time when place horse follows winner by two lengths. Bar- gain basement discount. Part 4: Alphabet Letter Values #1 — = INT (A/5)—4 #2 — = (A + 3) / (10 + 1) #3 — = INT (A / [=1]) *4/3 #4 — = [#1] + [#8] ee #5 — = (A*2 + [#1] + (#4) #6 — = [#2] / [#5] #7 — = SQR (A—[#1]—9) #8 — = (A- [45]) / [#6] #9 — = [#4] / [#6] * [#5] If #5 looks hard to you—ask your Apple! Part 5: Anagram Fill in the numbered blanks with the letters derived from the alphabet values determined in part four. #1 42 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 48 #9 Rearrange the letters to form your answer for the Logical Source. Fill in the entry form or facsimile. a Mail to Softalk Source, 11021 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hol- lywood, CA 91601, by July 15, 1981. SS ‘The Logical: Source 1s. === ===) Name: Address: City/State/Zip: The prize I'd like if I win is _—___ My local dealer: My autograph: The pfs: software series nes FUEL wer cere rome Software System Sottvore ft A Btrsonal Information Management System. Your APPLE* computer really can track purchase orders and inventory, analyze your investment records, maintain client and patient histories, or even catalog magazine abstracts and your stereo collection. Software Publishing Corporation has the answer and it doesn't require programming! We call it the PFS software series— an easy to use yet powerful set of programs that let you design a system that’s versatile enough to manage almost any kind of information. ’ PES, the personal filing system, lets i, you design your own form on the screen for organizing information. Once it’s cre- ated you just fill in the blanks. Looking up what you've filed is just as easy. PFS can search fora number, asingle piece of data, a word within a page of text, or any combination. All forms that match are displayed on the screen for browsing, updating, ex- panding, or printing. PFS can even create mailing labels. PFS: REPORT, the personal report system, uses the files PFS creates to produce a report tailored to your PFS isa trademark of Software Publishing Corporation. : : “requires a 48K, 16-sector dis APPLE II system specifications. Just mark the information you want listed and PFS: REPORT will sort it and let you specify head- ings, totals, averages, counts, and calculations. You can save your report design for use on a regular basis. PFS and PFS: REPORT come with simple self teaching manuals plus a support plan that includes program updates and factory experts ready to answer your questions. And all of this at an affordable price. Each program is priced below $100. The PFS software series is differ- ent. It is not a specialized application package nor a complex programmer oriented data base manager. It’s a per- sonal information management sys- tem that lets you store, retrieve, and report information your way without programming. The PES software series is available through your local dealers. If they don’t carry it have them give usa call at (415) 368-7598 or e,) ased write to us at Software Publishing Corpora- tion, RO. Box 50575, Palo Alto, CA 94303. APPLE" isa registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Software Publishing Corporation Exec Apple: New President Mike Markkula JUNE 1981 VYOETAIRS 5 Mike Markkula is a man who believes in plans. This belief is based on empirical evidence—his plan to provide for his re- tirement by the age of thirty-five was realized by the time he was thirty and his plan for Apple Computer Inc. is testimony to the efficacy of business planning. The reputation of Apple's business plan has reached legen- dary proportions within the company. Relative newcomers to the company point with awe to the fact that before the first one thousand computers had been sold, company executives had provided a plan that. foresaw, almost to the exact employee and the exact square foot, what their requirements would be three years later. Even in the volatile arena of commerce it figures that such prescience would garner its own reward; and so it seems to have transpired for the executive team and employees at Ap- ple. The company’s public stock issue late last year appropri- ately rewarded all Apple employees who had worked to imple- Markkula agreed to showing them how to construct a via- ble business plan. But after meeting and talking to them, he realized that ‘Steve and Woz are not the kind of people who ever commit anything to paper.” So he agreed to undertake the writing of the business plan for Apple. It will come as no surprise to anyone who has ever commit- ted any idea to paper that Markkula became enamored with the plan he had wrought. Of course, his prior success at struc- turing business plans gave him a more empirical base for this feeling than many authors have; nevertheless, when it be- came apparent that implementation of the business plan like- ly would be wanting because of a shortage of capital and mar- keting expertise, he provided both—supplying the first ven- ture capital for the company and abandoning his retirement plan to take a hand at marketing the Apple. Since those early days, Markkula’s influence has been per- vasive in the company, first as chairman of the board and now as president and chief executive officer. His move to the presi- BY ALLAN TOMMERVIK ment the business plan and who had the foresight to get in- volved in the company's stock option plan. Any number of individuals—from Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, the inventors of the original Apple, to the entire dedi- cated staff of the company—deserve credit for this success. But as important as any element in the Apple success story is that of Markkula, his foresight, and his plan. The Markkula Retirement Plan. In introducing Markkula to an assemblage of computer retailers at Apple Expo in Los Angeles, Phil Roybal, manager of editorial services, indicated as much when he credited Markkula with being the first to see such potential in the Apple that he provided seed capital to make it go. Roybal also credited Markkula’s strength of belief in the personal computer concept and in Apple with being a prime force in the subsequent success of the company. And then, of course, there was the plan. Markkula has been a constructor of plans. A man of widely diverse interests from such physical activities as tennis and furniture making to such more sedentary pursuits as guitar playing and venture capital investment, he saw early that at- tention to such interests was not best served within the frame- work of the customary career in industry. So he constructed a plan while still in college that would the- oretically permit his retirement at the age of thirty-five. He fol- lowed the plan faithfully through his career as an engineer at Hughes and in marketing positions with Fairchild Semicon- ductor and Intel. The gratifying result was that he had achieved all the goals of the plan by age thirty. But he was so enjoying his work at In- tel at that time that he postponed his life of leisure for an addi- tional two years. When he did opt for surcease from the stress of industry, he constructed a list of things he would like to accomplish or pur- sue. It numbered more than fifty items. Two years later the list was longer yet, although the items then on the list were differ- ent from the original items. During that time, in keeping with his musical interests, he invented a wheel that would convert any chord into the appro- priate fret positions on the guitar and show all possible posi- tions for that chord. Helping Hand Mushroomed into Second Career. And he kept his hand in industry by helping fledgling businesses con- struct business plans. It was through this activity that his plans for lifelong retirement went awry. An acquaintance introduced him to Jobs and Wozniak, iden- tifying them as two youngsters with a hot product who were badly in need of a business plan. dency, succeeding Mike Scott, caused eyebrows to be raised, coming as it did soon after the most un-Applelike action of lay- ing off some forty employees and on the heels of a rather dis- mal unveiling of the Apple III. Speculation has been rampant that Scott and ‘‘forty engi- neers” were being made the whipping boys for the lack of suc- cess of the III. Markkula is a genuinely nice person, uncharacteristically humane for the chief honcho of a three hundred million dol- lar organization. Testimonials to his character, thoughtful- ness, openness to new ideas, and willingness to delegate re- sponsibility come unsolicited from every corner of Apple. So his pained expression at hearing such reports is real, While admitting that the introduction of the Apple III has been a disappointment, Markkula denies any link between that disappointment and the layoffs and executive suite changes. The Story Behind the Rumors. The layoffs came at the end of a year of improbable expansion by the company, with near- ly one thousand new employees added. Clearly the laws of probability defy any company to add that many new em- ployees without making some errors of judgment and placing some qualified people in areas outside their main expertise. That, per Markkula, was what happened at Apple and pre- cipitated the layoffs. The personnel changes affected all areas of the company, so the notion that forty engineers got the axe represented a total misreading of the occurrence. The event probably caused more consternation because Apple has earned the image of a company with high morale that is good to work for. It was likewise puzzling to those who knew that Apple was then and is still hiring at all levels in all divisions of the com- pany. Within a month of the layoffs, Apple had added more than forty new employees. Grommet manufacturers and garment industry firms, or- ganizations unknown for an esprit de corps such as that at Ap- ple, regularly lay off hundreds without any note whatsoever being taken. Likewise, the executive suite shift—executive suite repre- senting real hyperbole for the modest offices occupied by Ap- ple's top team—was apparently neither revolution nor evolu- tion, but merely a reorganizing of the talents available at the top to address the problems now extant, with Jobs taking Markkula’s spot as chairman of the board and Scott stepping up to vice-chairman. As he has in the past, Markkula still takes every opportu- nity to explain that titles are not a primary consideration among the executive team at Apple. “We gave serious consideration to doing away with all ti- 6 ® YOFIALK JUNE 1984 tles here, but that idea had two drawbacks. Primarily, we found that the outside world had a great deal of difficulty cop- ing with the concept. Secondly, new employees to the com- pany would have difficulty understanding where they fit in without some indication of hierarchy.” Apple's solution to the problem is to keep titles to a mini- mum and to make them as definitive as possible. But, at the highest level, the emphasis is on problem solv- ing and not on titles, with the result that executive changes there have less meaning than at other companies where pal- ace coups or kicking an exec upstairs are regular occur- rences. Anticipating the Future—and Future Competition. In the present instance, it was felt that Scott’s talents were more des- perately needed in the area of advance planning and long- range projects. While long-range planning has an honored place at most companies of substance, it’s even more vital at Apple, where the dynamics of technology and the market- place make planning not merely an adjunct of success but the very essence of it. The entrance of Adam Osborne and three Japanese firms into the personal and desktop computer competition and the possible entry of such giants as IBM and Digital Equipment Corporation into the personal computer field mandates care- ful charting of the future course. Likewise, such innovations as Intel’s 64K RAM chip and Hewlett-Packard's 450K microprocessor, developed but still untested, augur a changed technological environment to which every company in the industry must address itself. Markkula believes that, unlike the radio, television, watch, and calculator industries, Apple and the other American mi- crocomputer firms have a good chance of withstanding the on- slaught of Japanese technology and product. His analysis first recognizes the differences between those products that are now predominantly Japanese made and computers—the other products were essentially impulse pur- Now, you can put all your Apple components into top package. Everything is right at your finger tips. chases that had little or no need for follow-on support from the seller. Computers, on the other hand, require considerable after- purchase service and support, and the Apple franchise net- work is viewed as a bulwark against significant inroads be- cause of its strength in the areas of the maintenance, repair, and customer service. Markkula believes that fully 50 percent of the revenues to be derived from the sale of a microcomputer stem from fol- low-on business. And the relationships and business practices already in place at the Apple franchises should stand Apple in good stead. The new Apple president also believes that the large num- ber of smaller companies who are supporting the Apple with peripherals and software places Apple in a strong competitive position. At Apple Expo, he cited the existence of the Apple as being responsible for the birth and growth of one hundred to one hundred fifty smaller companies. [Markkula may be using certain qualifiers to determine that number. Softalk has re- ceived expressions of interest in advertising from more than seven hundred fifty firms and individuals who are intent on the commercial marketing of product for the Apple.] The Saga of Apple III. For all the success Markkula and Ap- ple have had with planning, not everything goes according to plan. The introduction of the Apple III is a clear case in point. Electronic glitches and marketing misjudgments have marked the advent of the III. The original design of the IIT in- cluded sockets in the motherboard that were not up to their as- signed tasks. Expansion and contraction caused by the heat- ing up and cooling down of the system would cause the chips to pop out of these sockets. Apple rectified the problem by replacing the sockets with a new version that sits higher and by inserting the chips with greater force. This solution has caused its own, albeit minor, problem. Chips inserted with greater insertion pressure have a GOTO 62 racked and packed in the new Apple-Crate. For ciency. For more elbow-room. The Apple-Crate is built by the same company that ufactures top-line stereo speaker cabinets ...so it’s scratch and stain resistant, and looks like an expens piece of furniture, Don't settle for any flimsy imitation. Ask for it by name. “The Apple-Crate.” Exclusively distributed by SCFISEL 4079 Glencoe Ave., Marina del Rey, CA 90291 (800) 421-0980 In CA (213) 822-8933 See it at computer stores across the country. Apple” is a trademark of Apple Computer, inc ™ ®@ 7) software series Wes, Please keep my name on the PFS mailing roster so that I can receive future product release notices directly from Software Publishing Corporation. Name Address City State Zip a Software Publishing Corporation A ftrsonal Informatic Key Features PFS has an automatic schema generator. Instead of entering field name, length, and attribute specifica- tions, the user simply designs a “form” on the screen and PFS automatically translates it into a data base design (schema). An item can be multiple lines (up to a page) of text. Data is stored on the diskette in compressed form. Space made available by removing information is automatically re-used. A single diskette file can hold up to 1000 pages. PFS uses a hashed/sequential index method. All items in the form can be used as search keys. The first item is a hashed index key, which provides rapid (less than 3 second) access to any form. Other items invoke a sequential search in entry- reverse order. PFS has a partial item search function. It can search through text to find a specified key word. PFS:REPORT automatically assigns spacing for up to nine columns using a print width maximum of 160 characters. The values in up to three columns may be derived from numbers in other columns. & The first two columns of a report are automatically sorted either alphabetically or numerically.(This feature requires two disk drives). PFS:REPORT lets you specify totals, subtotals, counts, subcounts, averages, and subaverages on any column. Report specifications can include titles and headings. Specifications can be saved under a report name and used on a regular basis. PPS sottware series program diskettes can not be copied. Back-up copies are available from Software Publishing Corp. Program Requirements To use PFS you need: An APPLE II computer system; — An APPLE II or APPLE II PLUS with 48K memory — A video monitor or standard TV set, properly connected to the APPLE computer — A Disk II drive and controller, updated for 16 sector operation To use PFS:REPORT you need: — PFS and an APPLE II system In addition, to take full advantage of all the PFS and PFS:REPORT features, the following optional equipment is recommended -- a second Disk II drive, connected as Drive 2 (this allows you to make a / duplicate copy of your iQ information and sort it) -- a printer, with its APPLE compatible controller card plugged into slot 1 (this allows you to get a permanent record of your information) TNE 1981 TOETALIK S&S Summer is starting, students are commencing, and we at Sof- talk, as you read this, are beginning to put together the last issue of our first year. It's been said before—we couldn’t have done it with- out you. Thanks for all your letters and calls, all your suggestions and your enthusiastic participation in our polls and contests, and for your loyal readership. Thanks, especially, for your willingness to try our advertisers’ products, to support them so they could support us in our efforts to bring you free a fun magazine about your favorite computer. But this is not an ending—we're just making way for the year two; so on all counts, as so many of you have written us, keep it com- ing! We chose to write about our anniversary early, from your point of view, just so you would have the opportunity to take part in plan- ning our second year. Let us know what you'd like to see in Softalk's second volume. Some plans are already laid. We have begun six tutorial columns since September, two in this issue. And there are three more planned yet to begin: one on using the SoftCard, one on programming in Ap- plesoft, and one on graphics. We’ll continue our regular coverage of hardware and software. And we'll look with better than ever re- sources for stories and people: stories of unique uses of Apples by or- dinary people, and colorful people who make ordinary Apple appli- cations seem unique. Each of the two columns beginning in this issue has been in the works several months. Mind Your Business will attempt to help you s teach your Apple to do just that. Dr. Peter Olivieri teaches business and microcomputing with Apples at Boston College in Massachu- setts; he acts also as consultant to businesses using computers; and he’ll be writing regularly for Softalk. Beginners’ Corner deals with all the obvious things that every- one’s supposed to assume and no one really understands until they've had their Apples six months or so, and it takes a shot at ex- orcising some of the lurking, if minor, fears about harming your computer. The first installment is designed to get the brand-new Ap- ple owner running programs without having to read six manuals first. Whether in a business or at home, the first thing you want when you get your first computer is to see it run! Then, when you're bricked out, double Apple-visioned, and on downright friendly terms with your computer, is the time to figure out how to work it. If you're a veteran Apple owner—say, of four or five months’ duration—per- haps you can use your Beginners’ Corner to help a friend who's just bought an Apple or who’s a little afraid about learning how to run one. Also this month, check out our extra-long summertime comput- ing review section. Once again, thanks for enjoying Softalk. nT “QUALITY SOFTWARE FOR THE USER” MYTOPIA GAMEWARE INSTITUTE is proud to introduce A NEW CONCEPT in computer gaming! A revolutionary new oogtam by Frank Heffner and Bob Reynolds provides a tactical maneuver and gunnery duei between battlecruisers in the North Atlantic. CRUISER ACTION It is May 31, 1916. You command the battlecruisers of the British Grand Fleet. Your orders are to seek out and destroy the German battlecruiser squadron of Vice Admiral Von Hipper (your computer. * Battle Cruiser Action required three years of research and design to set a new standard for computer games. * Unique computational procedures - shorten computer response time without sacrificing technical accuracy. High levels of excitement are maintained. © Six levels of play increase challenge as you grow in skill from novice through master. * Complicated tactical maneuvers- handled with minimum data entry. ¢ Program contains complete pack- age. All accessories and gaming aids have been built into clean displays, making Battle Cruiser Action a true computer game. Tension builds as you conduct your search for the enemy. At the sound of the first broadsides excitement peaks as you engage the German battlecruiser squadron in a contest of skill and maneuver. BATTLE CRUISER ACTION Requires 48K Applesoft* in ROM and one disk drive. Check one: U 13 Sector U) 16 Sector Special introductory price $44-85_ $39.95 post paid. (lowa residents add 3% sales tax) Please pri NAME ADDRESS, Clif STATE, ZIP _ Teas Please make check or money order out to: MYTOPIA GAMEWARE INSTITUTE P.O. Box 625, Sioux City, la. 51102 VISA & Mastercharge users: O visa () Mastercharge # Expiration date _ Dealer inquiries invited “Applesolt is a registered trademark of Apple ‘Computers Inc, Oe ae 5h Home Money Reminder To clarify matters for your readers, Home Money Minder does not require a 132-column printer—an 80-column printer will do. Also, if the program is configured properly for the Apple paral- lel card, Apple's video should be proper- ly disabled and screen wrapping will not occur. One other point: The coauthor of Home Money Minder, Stephen Pollack, was not mentioned in the review. Robert B. Schoenburg, Continental Soft- ware, Culver City, CA Yachting Programs Are Yare The United States Yacht Racing Union, the National Sports Authority for the rac- ing sailor, is embarked on a program to develop a new Race Management Manu- al for use by race committees every- where. One section of the looseleaf formatted manual (or handbook) will be devoted to various computer and calculator pro- grams and other such aids. Already we have received a few pro- grams for computers such as the one on the rules and several for scoring multi- class regattas, etc. We earnestly solicit any and all pro- grams readers might have developed relating to sailing, race scoring, handi- Apple 0 RESET * GUARD \ 3 Eliminates reset key mistakes on the Apple II keyboard. Self- stick adhesive provided for easy installation. Lifetime guarantee. Order yours now. $9 discount to club orders of 3 or more) COMPDENT 542 Lake Street Hancock. Michigan 49930 (10 @® TOFTALK JUNE 1981 a Dos ey capping, measurement rules, and the like. ; A library of such contributions is be- ing maintained at the union’s head- quarters and contributions should be sent there: USYRU, P.O. Box 209, Newport, RI 02840. The listing of the programs in the li- brary will be included in the manual and its frequent updates, with appropriate credit to the authors and contributors. Any questions or comments should be sent to my attention. P.S. I have written to Dr. Puckett for his programs [‘‘A Seafaring Apple,” April 1981}. Evans M. Harrell, USYRU Race Management Committee, Marietta, GA 30060. Registering a Problem I have been trying to figure out how to use my Apple to process data from Swe- da cash registers. If you have any info as to how I can do it, please send it to me. Annette Herron, Troy, NY After-Dark Hobbyists We would like to hear from anyone who might be interested in subscribing to a network of hobby computers in which the. central system would place calls to all the other users during the evening hours (reduced rates). The system would be similar in na- ture to many of the bulletin board sys- tems now available, but messages would be delivered and picked up by the central system instead of the users having to call in for them. We don’t know if such a system will turn out to be feasible but we would appreciate it if anyone with an interest in investigating the possibilities would send any comments, questions, or sugges- tions, along with a stamped, self-ad- dressed envelope, to: Michael Witt, P.O. Box 55686, Valencia, CA 91355. We can also be reached via modem at: (805) 255-6445. Donna and Michael Witt, Valencia, CA ‘The Capable Cassette Yes, I know: you're not a software pub- lishing magazine. And yes, I know (it is claimed by some, anyway) that only 10 percent of Apple owners are diskless. But, honestly, a machine with disk really is no more capable than one without! Any- way, the program listing might be of interest. Clearly, being so Apple specif- ic, such material is not of interest to the general computer magazines. The program may not appear to do very much. Actually, though, it is the core capability for a whole raft of inter- active application programs. It’s good for any situation where the user wishes to change the contents of data without a 5 S$ 1 Oma new RUN command (remember, RUN reinitializes all variables; you cannot interrupt a program, change data, and then type CONTinue, either). A few examples of applications: Mail- ing lists. Inventory control. Checkbook and financial data base programs. Multiple parameter engineering appli- cations. The same approach will work with a disk, of course, but is less rele- vant. Incidentally, I notice that Radio Shack does have available a cassette- loaded mailing list program, whereas Apple does not. It is time to challenge the disk-o-chauvinists in Appleland! Although the advantages of a disk cannot be disputed, many users get along without one for some time before mak- ing the additional investment. Program storage and input/output using tape have acquired a bad reputation for reliability and speed, but, with the use of inexpen- sive data quality C-10 cassettes and with the higher transfer speeds of systems such as the Apple, tape is an acceptable medium for many applications. Nevertheless, the market does not yet offer application programs that can han- dle large amounts of data without being disk-based. This is because it is not easy to set up a file directly in Basic. This Applesoft program establishes a 20,000-character file capability, orga- nized as 500 blocks (lines) of 40 charac- ters each. The utility subroutine (at line 800 for input, 900 for output) are the keys to using such a file. Because these sub- routines involve direct (PEEK and POKE) memory accesses to specific memory locations, it is improbable that this program would work on any home computer other than the Apple IT Plus. You need 32K of memory for this size file. The reason for having 40 characters per line will be obvious when you key in the program. By using the repeat key, space bar, and cursor, the entry of 500 data lines should not be too tedious. Sim- ply type in successively numbered DATA statements with exactly 40 spaces after the word DATA. Thus, when you are ready to RETURN statement number 11, the cursor is located thus: 10 DATA 11 DATA t To this basic utility package you may now append whatever specialized pro- grams you desire. For example, I am de- veloping a mailing list package that uses this utility to handle up to 166 addresses (name, street address, city/state/zip, using three file lines per address). The principle that must be followed in any such application program is that all file accesses (input and output) must occur only via the subroutines at lines 800 and 900. Never enter the data file directly via CRAE » A FAST CO-RESIDENT APPLESOFT EDITOR FOR APPLESOFT PROGRAMERS, NOW PER- FORM GLOBAL CHANGES/FINDS TO ANYTHING IN YOUR PROGRAM. OTHER. COM- MANDS INCLUDE: RENUMBER, APPEND, QUOTE (COPY), LIST (OPTIMIZED), MODIFY (SINGLE LINE), AUTO LINE NUMBERING, FORMATTED MEMORY DUMP, HEX/DEC CONVERSION, FREE SPACE, AND ABILITY TO ENTER MONITOR COMMANDS. CRAE 2.0 IS COMPATIBLE WITH NEIL KONZEN‘S PROGRAM LINE EDITOR, REQUIRES 48K RAM APPLESOFT ROM AND DISK. MCAT 2.0 MCAT 2.0 IS A FAST BINARY UTILITY WHICH CREATES A SORTED MASTER CATALOG WHICH IS SAVED ON DISK AS A BINARY FILE (FAST). THE MASTER CATALOG CAN BE EASILY UPDATED A WHOLE DISKETTE AT A TIME (ADD, DELETE, REPLACE). LIST/ PRINT HAVE GLOBAL SEARCH CAPABILITY AND ONE OR TWO COLUMNS, PROVISIONS FOR DUPLICATE VOLUME NUMBERS. APPROXIMATELY 1200 FILE NAMES, 48K OR 32K, 13 OR 16 SECTORS DOS SUPPORTED. CRAE on disk with 20 page manual MCAT on disk with 10 page manual CRAE and MCAT on one disk $24.95 $19.95 $39.95 with manuals EROM #11 EROM #2 EROM #3 CRAE’s powerful Global Change/Find, CRAE’s Autoline numbering, format- | CRAE’s powerful renumber and quote optimized List Command, Hex to ted Memory Dump, Append, number function now on two 2716 EPROMS. Decimal and Decimal to Hex conver- conversion (Hex/Dec) on one 2716 sion now available on a 2716 EPROM. EPROM. EROM #3 w/manual EROM 41 w/manual EROM #2 w/manual $49.95 $69.95 $49.95 EROM 1, 2,3 $149.95 ALL EROMS REQUIRE APPLESOFT ROM AND ROMPLUS+ AND ARE COMPATIBLE WITH NEIL KONZEN’S PROGRAM LINE EDITOR. OLDORFS THE CREATURE REVENGE TARTURIAN VENTURE 48K, Applesoft ROM 48K, Applesoft ROM. 48K, Applesoft ROM. ON DISK $19.95 ON DISK $24.95 ON DISK $24.95 SEE YOUR LOCAL DEALER OR SEND CHECKS TO. U : 4 @oppice HIGHLANDS COMPUTER SERVICES @oppic 14422 S.E. 132nd Renton, Washington 98055 (206) 228-6691 Washington residents add 5.3% sales tax. Applesoft and Apple are registered trademarks of Apple Computers, Inc. Romplus is a registered trademark of Mountain Computers, Inc. 10 another subroutine! When inputting or outputting, the variable FM identifies which file number (1 to 500) you desire. The string variable IN$ transfers data to the file when subroutine 800 is invoked. When subroutine 900 is invoked, string variable OUT$ carries the file output. (Data line 5 contains the total number of file lines. If you modify the program for fewer or more than 500 lines, change the data contents of line 5 accordingly.) Following the main program listing are very simple examples of routines that invoke the subroutines at 800 and 900. These can be used to test the basic pack- age of lines 0 to 991. One useful thing to note is that if you input nothing (i.e., hit return after typing nothing at all), the file entry thereby made consists of forty blanks. This can be used to erase pre- vious entries. Second, note that leading blanks before the first nonblank char- acter are stripped. Thus, all entries are left-justified. Third, a few punctuation characters, particularly the comma, can- not to be entered in the file (the comma is, used as a separator of data items, so a comma cannot appear within a data field). The use of such invalid characters will not damage the file, but the data won't be saved the way you meant it to be. After using this program and ap- pended applications, a SAVE command will tape the entire package, including all file entries, for future retrieval and data modification. > FREE 48-Page Catalog A new, free 48-page catalog is free from Creative Computing and Periph- erals Plus. To help buyers make intelli- gent purchasing decisions, the product descriptions are exceptionally compre- hensive and include screen photos in the software section. The catalog describes 20 books on pro- gramming, games, and educational appli- cations, 160 software packages for Apple, Atari, TRS-80, PET, CP/M, TI, Sor- cerer and Sol computers; 3 magazines (Creative Computing, Microsystems, and SYNC); 5 graphics and music peripherals; an LP record; board game; 8 T-shirts and an eclectic assortment of other products for the personal computer user. To get your free copy, simply drop a card or note to the address below. creative computing Attn: Bonnie 39 East Hanover Avenue x Morris Plains, NJ 07960 Jo 10 808 810 815 B16 818 820 825 & SOFTALY The Program REM DATA BASE PROGRAM REM LINE 5 'S # OF ITEMS DATA 500 DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA DATA GOTO 891 REM ROUTINE TO INPUT DATA REM CALLING ROUTINE GIVES REM FILE # AND INPUT STRING RESTORE : READ XX IF FM > XX THEN PRINT : FLASH : PRINT “CANNOT HAVE FILE NUMBER ABOVE “SXX;"" I’: PRINT i NORMAL : RETURN IF FM < = OTHEN PRINT “INVALID FILE #1": RETURN REM COMPUTE MEMORY LOCATION ML = FM * 46 + 2069 REM DATA LINE # = FM + 9. REM PAD TO 40 CHARS. IF LEN ( IN$ ) > 40 THEN FLASH : PRINT : PRINT “CANNOT ENTER;STRING TOO LONGI": PRINT ; NORMAL : RETURN IF LEN ( INS ) = 40 THEN GOTO 855 FOR | = 1TO( 40 — LEN( IN$ )):INS = INS +“: NEXT REM POKE DATA INTO FILE FOR J = MLTO ML + 39 INS = RIGHTS ( INS( ML — J + 40)) C1 = ASC (INS ) POKE J,C1 NEXT RETURN GoTo 991 REM OUTPUT FROM FILE ROUTINE OUTS = CHRS ( 0) REM CALLING ROUTINE GIVES REM DESIRED FILE # ( FM ) JUNE 19814 908: 910 REM COMPUTE POINTER 911 RESTORE : READ XX: IF FM > XX THEN PRINT : FLASH : PRINT “REQUESTED FILE # EXCEEDS LARGEST FILE # WHICH IS “XX; I": NORMAL : RETURN 912: 915 P = FM * 46 + 2063 916 920 925 927 930 ) 935 C1 = B*K2:C = INT((B2—C1)/K1 ) 938 «DI = C *K1:D = B2 C1 — D1 940 POKE 126,4 *K1 + B 942 POKE 125,C *K1 + D 945 CF = PEEK( MP + 6) 946 REM BLANK FIELD? 947 IF CF = 32 THEN RETURN 948 READ OUTS 950 RETURN 991 1 Sample Application Routines 1000 REM A SIMPLE PROGRAM TO TEST 1001 REM INPUT CAPABILITY 1010 INPUT “ENTER TO FILE NUMBER...2”,FM. 1020 INPUT “STRING OF CHARACTERS TO BE INPUT 2”7INS GOSUB 800 PRINT “ENTERED” STOP REM A SIMPLE PROGRAM TO TEST REM OUTPUT CAPABILITY. INPUT “RETRIEVE FROM FILE #.( 1 — 500 )?":FM GOSUB 900 PRINT “THE CONTENTS OF FILE # “FM,” IS 2": PRINT 1140 PRINT OUTS 1150 STOP George V. Kinal, Washington, D.C. 1030 1040 1050 1100 1101 1110 1120 1130, A Definite Opinion I recently canceled subscriptions to two other magazines, both for the same rea- sons. Both, while purporting to be for Ap- ple, are heavily TRS-80 oriented. It is a. pain to struggle to get a TRS-80 program running on the Apple, and it is most exasperating to read an ad for a promis- ing program, get to the point of rushing out to buy it, and then find at the bottom “TRS-80, Level I Basic’ instead of “‘Applesoft.’’ Most of these programs are not available for the Apple II, nor appar- ently will be, because the authors refuse to write new 6502 code. Therefore, I do not wish to be exposed to such frustration. I do not wish to buy a computer that has a reputation for sys- tem problems. Would you buy a pro- gram that habitually crashes and de- stroys your file when you get back in, though you've been working all day on it? Would you buy a computer that, after you work a straight seventy-two hours on a sophisticated program and try to RUN it, responds by zeroing out all the user memory and asking you for memory size? That's the TRS-80 for you! I’ve read a lot of this in a magazine after it changed from Apple to TRS-80 coverage halfway through my subscription! Beagle Bros. Bargains! Exciting Apple Software PLUS Juicy Apple Information! At Your Dealer Now or Shipped To You Within 24 Hours! Game Pack on sistas 1. TextTrain: Race the on-screen clock with your text-format video "‘freight train.’’ Real-time track switching & coupling simulations; hours of fun! 2. Sub Search: Find & capture the invisible ‘enemy subs on your Apple color graphics scope! Sound-enhanced scanner, tracer & instrument panel! 3. Pick-a-Pair: A coiorful Apple party game for all ages and skill levels! Uncover and remember the hidden graphics symbols to score big & win! Game Pack #2* ONLY #8150 Shipping 1. Wowzo: our challenging changeable maze game! Capture targets in a flexible maze, and ‘outmaneuver your opponent before time runs out! 2. Elevators: Keyboard control 4 elevators at ‘one time in your CRT skyscraper. You'llneed a compu- ter to solve this one! 3. Quick-Draw!: you command two colorful gunmen who shoot it out on your Apple screen! Game Pack #3* | ONLY 1. Magic Pack: Four mind-bending tricks in ‘one fantastic Magic Show! Only you and your Apple know how to perform these amazing feats! 2. Slippery Digits: A chalienging & colorful number-action game for all ages. A great demonstra- tion of your Apple's capabilities! 3. Oink! A nerve-racking sound-enhanced video dice game with unpredictable results and lots of laughs! ONLY Game Pack #4* +5150 shipping 1. Buzzword: A comical story-creator with endless possibilities. 5 changeable stories in memory plus a fascinating ““Create Your Own Story” program! 2. Triple Digits: A thinker’s game with num- bers. Score in four ways and outfox your opponent! 3. Corn Game: A kids’ guessing game involving 3 farm animals and endless supply of corn! * Al games runin Apolesot Inadation tothe games sted, each dskcontans AT LEAST TWO addtional Bonus Programs, power Kile goodies tat wal ure: emonsuate the versstity of your Apple "Apple and the Apple logo are regste’ed wade marks of Te Apple Computer Compeny || dos boss DISK COMMAND EDITOR by Bert Kersey and Jack Cassidy Dos Boss is an extremely versatile, easy-to-use Apple utility package that will customize your disk sys- tem and personalize your personal computer! Here are just SOME of Dos Boss's useful features— Rename DOS Commands wy simpiy enter- ing the command you want changed (say “CATA LOG") and your new command (say CAT"). Now “CAT will catalog your disks. Other changes are just aseasy . . : Change the ‘Disk Volume” heading to anything you want, your name, disk title or code; with or without the Volume Number, Inverse, Flash or Normal! “Save-Protect” your programs! an unauthorized copy attempt will produce a “NOT COPYABLE!”" message. f One-key program selection! run programs by pressing only the key indicated on the screen. Instant free-space on disk with one key too! Customized Catalogs! create mutti- columned catalogs that fit more file names on the screen. Catalog only the file-types you want (A, |, B and/or T). Omit or alter sector numbers and language codes too! Rewrite Error Messages! “syntax ERROR” can be “TRY AGAIN!” or “NO COMPRENDE”; '“DISK FULL" can be "BURP!" . . . anything you want! All of DOS BOSS’s change features may be appended to any of your programs, so that anyone using your disks on any Apple (booted or not) will be formatting DOS the way you designed it! Plus the DOS BOSS BOOK! 36 pases of valuable Apple info! An excellent learning tool covering all DOS BOSS features PLUS 3 new collection ‘of Beagle Bros, Apple tips & tricks; a great companion to our original Beagle Bros. Apple Tip Book (ao in- cluded free!), Inside The DOS BOSS BOOK. ‘ Discover some strange Apple bugs! ‘© Put Inverse REM Statements in your istings! Two-sided Apple disk tips! '® Make your programs un-listable! © Custom-format your catalogs! © Change DOS with creative POKING! DOS BOSS © +51 50 Shipping and The DOS BOSS BOOK 3.2 or 3.3 Applesoft 4315 Sierra Vista, San Diego, CA 92103 COMMAND Free 11x17 Apple COMMAND CHART & 36 page TIP BOOK Included With Every Order! “SINCE 1 GoT My BEAGLE Bros ‘Command CHART, ve ACQUIRED NeW vied AND VIGQR! *An unsolcted endorsement The APPLE COMMAND CHART: Exper- iment with commands you've never met from this handy a- phabetical poster of ALL 190 APPLE BASIC & DOS COMMANDS and their functions, attractively typeset & lithographed on heavy-duty 11x17 stock. An invaluable reference that you will use as long as you use an Apple! APPLE TIP BOOK #2: 36 pases ot practical ideas, tricks, listings & suggestions on how to make better use ‘of your Apple. An excellent collection of Apple reading mate- rial with complete program listings and tips on setting up your ‘Apple, removing garbaged program lines, altering color out- ut, printing “unprintable” text characters, entering machine code, and more checked below PLUS the BW pete COMMAND CHART & TI BOOK [DJ BOS BOSS & The DOS BOSS BOOK ($25.50) HO came pack #4, Train, etc. ($25.50) GG Game pack #2, wowzo, etc. ($25.50) "] GAME PACK #3, Magic, etc. ($25.50) PH GAME Pack 284, Buzzword, etc, ($25,50) = (Prices include First Class Shipping.) Specity: [] DOS 3.2 or [] DOS 3.3 - Multiple Orders 10% OFF mos: IP: ‘allorna resents, youve [uy Att Enctoveg=s_______cottoead oh tc) | VISA/MASTERCARD: include ACCOUNT NO., EXP. DATE & SIGNATURE. Mail to: BEAGLE BROS, Dept. J 4315 Sierra Vista San Diego, CA 92103 Telephone (714) 296-6400. Dealer Inquiries Welcome! 12 Since the software house behind the magazine is dragging its heels on rewrit- ing programs to run on the Apple II (eight for Apple, sixty-nine for TRS-80), I will not put up with that source of frus- tration. I will stick to publications that deal with the Apple II. It has a user-access- ible monitor, full memory support, recov- ery from system hang-ups without loss of code, customer support, and a crash- proof DOS. I would like any other computer—6502 or alien—to make that claim truthfully. The TRS-80 never gave me a break, and the Pet has given me some mulish problems (due to utter ab- JUNE 1981 @ SOFTALK sence of a user monitor, reset button, etc.). But Apple has given me for two and a half years freeflowing, troublefree operation. You should see the fantastic programs I shaped or bought for it! One is uninterruptable, another uses lower case, etc, P.S. I would like to correspond with anybody who has obtained a score of 350 on Adventure. I can only get 349. Paul R. Wilson, Bergenfield, NJ Hot for Hotline I enjoyed the March Issue [Women in Microcomputing] of Softalk and am very interested in finding out the Hotline ABM by silas warner Invader and Asteroids move over ABM has arived! Command your launch sites to fire 1. and kiloton anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs). Save. ‘the East Coast from increasingly fierce Enemy nuclear attack, Posi- tion your target crosshairs to blast the green streamers before they fire- ball your cities—or worse—spiit into multiple warhead MiRVs tuming the entire coast Into a thundering specter of destruction. Hi-res Color ‘graphics, sound. high score to date memory, paddle or joystick control. On disk. requires Applesoft ROM (62495) TWO EXCITING GAMES | FORTHE APPLE I OR I ptus’ available now at your local computer store MUSE=— J GLOBAL WAR by alan boyd Achallenging strategy game for 2 109 players. Your War Room' fea- tures a detailed map of the earth plus territorial occupation status and invasion strategy displays. Players are assigned armies and territories and the war begins. Ine. computer batile simulator calcu- lates the results of each invasion, ‘Occupy all counties and you are the Winner! Games may be saved ondisk to be continued later On disk, requires 48K and Appiesoft ROM. ($2495) spol ta rade ot kore 330.N. CHARLES STREET BALTIMORE, MD 21201 wer (301) 659-7212 Dealer Inquiries Welcome number for Apple .users. The article never gave the number. Thank you for this information. Jane Clark, Loretto Academy, El Paso, TX At present, Apple requests that you try asking questions of your dealer first; if your dealer doesn’t know, there’s a spe- cial hotline dealers can call. If you cannot find the answers that way, call Softalk for the user Hotline number, Three Problems and a Bit of Praise In your current issue of Softalk there are twenty-three photographs and five draw- ings of the Apple computer and not one of the photographs or sketches is an Apple III. On page 35, there is a full-page ad concerning Applefest '81 wherein they say, ‘See it all at Applefest”—and, guess what—a photograph of an Apple II. Now, I’m not complaining about the Apple II, for I have two of them and they are fine machines—so say my employ- ees. Based on their rave reviews I went out and bought myself an Apple III. That was my first mistake. The instruction manuals assume that you are an experi- enced programmer; in fact, they tell you that in the manual introduction. On the Apple III, it is necessary to program into the machine the number of disk drives you have and whether there is a printer. For three months now, the dealer has been trying to find out how to do it, but with no success. Several phone calls and a letter to the Apple people have gone un- answered. By using the emulation disk I can run the Apple III as an Apple II, but is it fair to the customer to have to pay more than $4,000 for a machine that is only doing the job of a $1,500 machine? Scuttlebutt out of Computerland has it that about three dozen Apple engineers have been fired in the last thirty days— could it be because of the Apple III or just scuttlebutt? The only reference I saw to the Apple Til in your magazine was a comment on page 52 that the Computer Case Co. was selling a heavy-duty box to put it in. Are they trying to tell me something? I’m beginning to have the feeling that I may have bought myself an Edsel but only time and Apple's integrity will tell. I must agree with Mr. Velleman and Mr. Crawford (April Open Discussion) that the purchaser is entitled to know the limitations of a program, as they all have them. I don’t see any dealers offering a ten or fifteen-day free trial to try their products—it’s cash on the barrelhead and no guarantees. T’d like to say again that you do have a fine magazine, one that I would be will- ing to pay for, but how about devoting a few pages a month to the beginner who isn’t ready yet for Pascal or machine language? Joffre M. Rothenberg, Santa Rosa, CA 1 See Exec Apple, page 4. 2 Blame it on pirates. 3. See page 7. aa QUALITY DISK SOFTWARE BACKED BY ON-GOING APPLICATIONS SUPPORT ‘Ss HOME FINANCE PAK I: Entire Series $49.95 ® © CHECK REGISTER AND BUDGET: This comprehensive CHECKING ACCDUNT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM not only keeps complete records, it also gives you the analysis and control tools you need to actively manage your account The system provides routines for BUDGETING INCOME AND EXPENSE, AUTD- MATIC CHECK SEARCH, and BANK STATEMENT RECONCILING, CRT or printer reports are produced for ACTUAL EXPENSE vs BUDGET. CHECK SEARCH DISPLAY RECONCILIATION REPORT nd CHECK REGISTER DISPLAY by month Check entry is prompted by user-defined menus of standard purposes and recipient codes, speeding data entry and reducing disk storage and retrieval time, Six fields of data are stored for each check: amount, check no, date, purpose, recipient and TAX DEDUCTIBLE REMINDER, CHECK SEARCH routines allow searching on aiyotiee data fields Up to 100 nec 3 95 storage . BRUNCes Area mare cment cysieml foe pt ol 20 separate, Savings accounts Organizes, files and displays deposits, withdrawals and interest earned for each account GREDITCARD: Get Control of your credit cards with this program. Organizes, stores and displays purchases, payments and service charges for up to 20 Separate cards or bank |OANS. 6... sess e eee etna eees UNIVERSAL COMPUTING MACHINE: $49.95 ® Auser programmable computing system structured around a 80 row. x 50 column table. User defines row and column names and equations forming a unique computing machine, Table elements can be multiplied, divided. subtracted or added to any other element Hundreds of unique computing machines can be defined, used, stored, and recalled, for later use Excellent for sales forecasts, budgets, inventory lists, income statements, production planning, project cost estimates-in short for any planning, analysis or reporting problem that can by solved with a table $29.95 ® COLOR CALENDAR: Got a busy calendar? Organize it with Color Calendar Whether it's birthdays, appointments, business meetings or a regular office schedule, this program is the perfect way to schedule your activities The calendar display 1s a beautiful HI-RES color graphics calendar of the selected month with each scheduled day highlighted in color. Using the daily schedule, you can review any day of the month and schedule an event or activity in any one of 20 time slots from 8.00 A.M to 5.30 P.M BUSINESS SOFTWARE: Entire Series $159.95 @ © MICRDACCOUNTANT: The ideal accounting system for small businesses. Based on classic T-accounts and double-entry booking. this efficient program provides ajournal for recording posting and reviewing up to 1,000 transactions per month to any one of 300 accounts. The program produces CAT and printer reports covering. BALANCE SHEET TRANSACTION JOURNAL ACCOUNT LEDGERS INCDME AND EXPENSE STATEMENT nowdone $4995 Includes a short primer on Financial Accounting. (48K) UNIVERSAL BUSINESS MACHINE: This program is designed to SIMPLIFY and SAVE TIME for the Serious businessman who must periodically Analyze, Plan and Estimate The program was created using our Universal Computing Machine and it 1s programmed to provide the following planning and forecasting tools. CASH FLOW ANALYSIS SALES FORECASTER PROFORMA PROFIT & LOSS SDURCE AND USE DF FUNDS PROFORMA BALANCE SHEET JOB COST ESTIMATOR INVENTORY ANALYSIS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT Price, including a copy of the Universal Computing Machine .... $8995 BUSINESS CHECK REGISTER AND BUDGET: Our Check Register and Budget programs expanded to include up to 50 budgetable items and up to 400 checks per month. Includes bank statement reconciling and automatic > BA ASCED NG AOR Saha cot aie es oe a ee aS $49.95 ELECTRONICS SERIES VOL | & Il: Entire Series $259.95 LOGIC SIMULATOR: SAVE TIME AND MDNEY. Simulate your digital logic circuits before you build them. CMOS, TTL, or whatever, tf it's digital logic, this program can handle it. The program is an interactive, menu driven, full-fledged logic simulator capable of simulating the bit-time response of a logic network to user-specified input patterns. It will handle up to 1000 gates, including NANDS, NDRS. INVERTERS, FLIP-FLOPS, SHIFT REGISTERS, COUNTERS and user-defined MACRDS. up to 40 user-defined random, or binary input patterns. Accepts network descriptions from keyboard or from LOGIC DESIGNER for simulation ...........e0005 515995 @)@ LOGIC DESIGNER: Interactive HI-RES graphics program for designing digital logic systems. Draw directly on the screen up to 10 different gate types, including NAND, NOR, INVERTER, EX-OR, T-FLOP. JK-FLOP, D-FLOP. RS-FLOP, 4 BIT CDUNTER and N-BIT SHIFT REGISTER. User interconnects gates using line graphics commands Network descriptions for LOGIC SIMULATOR generated simultaneously with the GRT diagram being drawn ........ $159.95 (@) MANUAL AND DEMO DISK: Instruction Manual and demo disk illustrating capabilities of both program {s) ........seeeeeeee $2995 (ONO) ELECTRONIC SERIES VOL Ill & IV: Entire Series $259.95 CIRCUIT SIMULATOR: Tired of trial & error circuit design? Simulate & debug your designs before you build them! With CIRCUIT SIMULATOR you build a model of your circuit using RESISTORS, CAPACITORS, INDUCTORS, TRANSISTORS, DIDDES, VOLTAGE and CURRENT SDURCES and simulate the waveform response to inputs such as PULSES, SINUSDIDS, SAWTODTHS, etc ..all fully programmable The output is displayed as an DSCILLDSCOPE-STYLE PLOT of the selected waveforms (Apple only) or as a printed table of voltage vs time. Handles upto 200 notes and up to 20 sources. Requires 48 RAM . EXOVO) CIRCUIT DESIGNER: Interactive HI-RES graphics program for designing electronic circuits. Draw directly on the screen up to 10 different component types, including those referenced above Components interconnect list for CIRCUIT SIMULATOR generated automatically. Requires $159.95 MATHEMATICS SERIES: Entire Series $49.95 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS I: This menu driven program performs LINEAR REGRESSIDN analysis, determines the mean, standard deviation and plots the frequency distribution of user-supplied data sets Printer, Disk, 1/0 roUtines Bn ake apie Ni Te ATi n Na Ca it $19.95 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS: HI-RES 2-Dimensional plot of any function. Automatic scaling At your option, the program will plot the function, plot the INTEGRAL, plot the DERIVATIVE, determine the RDOTS, MAXIMA, MINIMA, IW TEGRAUVALUE S38 soa cscs cesaescuul wssnci os $19.95 MATRIX: A general purpose, menu driven program for determining the INVERSE and DETERMINANT of any matrix, as well as the SOLUTIDN to any set of SINULTANEDUS LINEAR EQUATIONS. 0.0.00... ss eeeceee $19.95, 3-D SURFACE PLOTTER: Explore the ELEGANCE and BEAUTY of MATHEMATICS by creating HI-RES PLOTS of 3-dimensional surfaces from any 3-variable equation. Disk save and recall routines for plots Menu driven to vary surface parameters. Hidden line or transparent plotting ....... $19.95 ACTION ADVENTURE GAMES: _ Entire Series $29.95 ® RED BARON: Can you outfly the RED BARDN? This fast action game simulates a machine-gun DOGFIGHT between your WORLD WAR | BI-PLANE and the baron’s You can LOOP, DIVE, BANK or CLIMB-and so can the BARDN. In HI-RES graphics plus sound. . . $14.95 BATTLE OF MIDWAY: You are in command of the U.S.S. HDRNETS' DIVE- BOMBER squadron. Your targets are the Aircraft carriers, Akagi, Soryu and Kaga You must fly your way through ZERDS and AA FIRE to make your DIVE-BOMB run In HLRES graphics plus sound ............4 $14.95 SUB ATTACK: It's April 1943. The enemy convoy is headed for the CUNTRDL SEA. Your sub, the MORAY, has just sighted the CARRIERS and BATTLESHIPS’ Easy pickings But watch out for the DESTROYERS - they're fast and deadly In HI-RES graphics plus sound $1495 FREE CATALDG-All programs are supplied on disk and run on Applell w/Disk & Applesoft ROM Card & TRS-8D Level Il and require 32K RAM unless otherwise noted. Detailed instructions included. Orders shipped within 5 days. Card users include card number. Add $1.50 postage and handling with each order California residents add 6/;% sales tax. Foreign orders add $5.00 postage and handling SPECTRUM SOFTWARE 142 Carlow, P.O. Box 2084 Sunnyvale, CA 94087 FOR PHONE ORDERS: (408) 738-4387 =a DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED. ate COMPLETE GRAPHICS SYSTEM by Mark Pelczarski for the Apple II More than you ever dreamed possible! ° Over 100 Hi-Res colors! ¢ Drawing program includes automatic filling and user- definable “paintbrushes”. ¢ The finest 3-D graphics available, capable of color and multiple figures with machine language speed. ° Create shape tables with paddles or keystrokes. ° Hi-Res text anywhere on the screen. Define your own fonts. ¢ Thorough, easy-to-use manual even shows how to use drawings and 100 color fill routine in your own programs. @ YOETALK JUNE 19814 THE BASIC Solution By Wn. V. R. Smith The response to our first subroutine has been great, and the letters show an impressive amount of programming abil- ity among Softalk’s readers. Keep it up! This month's subroutine was created and sent in by Dr. Robert Suden of Porta- go, Michigan. Suden’s subroutine, named Date Par- ser, prompts the user to enter a date, which the routine calls DA$. Then it finds the month, day, and year values and as- signs them to the variables M, D, and Y, respectively, which it measures against set values. The program's purpose is to check all input dates for validity. If someone en- ters a thirteenth month or a thirty-sec- ond of June, the routine will catch the er- ror and reprompt. It will not catch an erroneous, but valid, date, nor will it catch February 30, should it be given. The calling program must pass the cursor vertical tab value V and the hori- zontal tab value H to allow the routine to position the cursor. Whenever your programs require cor- rect date values, this routine is a handy one to use. Even if you don't now have any programs that need it, keep the rou- tine in your library; we'll refer to it in later articles. Hint; Eventually, all Ba- sic Solution subroutines will be put to- gether to create a very useful personal program. Be sure to substitute values for V and H (line 7030); otherwise, you'll get an error message. If you try to run the subroutine by it- self, you'll get a return-without-gosub er- ror. It is not intended to stand alone, but to be called, via GOSUB 7000, from with- in a host program. If you want to run it just to see it work, temporarily delete line 7150, insert V and H values in line 7030, and HOME before you run. You may find you'd like the routine to call the attention of the user to the need to reinput in a stronger manner. If so, you can add: 7115 PRINT “[Control-G]’ 7135 PRINT “(Control-G}” This will ring the bell once. Of course, if you really want to make a racket, you can put in a whole bunch of Control-Gs before the closing quotes. If you'd like to have a subroutine printed in Basic Solutions, send it to Sof- talk Basic Solutions, 11021 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601. If it’s published, you'll receive $10 credit from Softalk at your local computer store. $59.95 0n disk EoD as pete eeeeteee tree tener enn! 010 REM DOS 3.2 or 3.3, requires Applesoft u4 DATE PARSER firmware or language system. 28 a DR. ROBERT SUDEN 7025 REM sanceeeannnnssannneenaaniin Faia Cco- OP A 7030 VTAB V: HTAB H: INPUT “DATE MM/DD/YR";DAS 7040 FOR| = 1 TO LEN (DAS) soft tware 7050 IF MIDS (DA,I,1) < > "/” THEN NEXT | 7060 FOR N =! + 1 TO LEN (DAS) a division of Micro Co-op 7070 IF MID$ (DAS.N,1) < > “/” THEN NEXT N Post Office Box 432 7080 M$ = LEFTS (DAS,| — 1):M = VAL (MS) West Chi 1.60185 7090 DS = MIDS (DAS + 1.N — 1 — 1:0 = VAL (DS) ipyean 7100 Y$ = RIGHTS (DAS, LEN (DAS) — N):Y = VAL (YS) (312) 231-0912 7110 IF M> = 1 AND M < = 12 THEN 7130 = 7120 GOTO 7000 VISA and MasterCard accepted 7130 IF D >=1 AND D < = 31 THEN 7150 Dealer inquiries invited 7140 GOTO 7000 7150 RETURN Apple Il is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc aa Waited For! Level-10™, the company that brought you Di Fire™, now presents the Kaves of Karkhan™. The Warrior, the Huntress, the Wizard, the Elf, and the Dwarf, sur- vived their adventure through Salmadon’s lair and are ready for their newest challenge, a Frightening Journey through the Kaves of Karkhan. , In Dragon Fire they fought Salmadon to seek great wealth. Maidamere before his un- speakable evil overcomes them? * Thrill to subterranean hazards like crumbling walls, decaying stairs, falling boulders and fear- some night creatures. You are one of the adventurers. You choose a group of crusaders to travel the treacherous paths and pitfalls of Karkhan with you. None of the group can journey through the dark and dreary caverns without you. Th bs newest mission is to save Kind! * Can they replace the jewel of ort ou must wend you way through the Kaves as quick- ly as possible before Maldamere consumes the Wizard. Your sole purpose is to place a magical stone on the bier of Maldamere at the top of Mt. Karkha Kaves of Karkhan is just as challenging as Dragon Fire. Its animation, Hi-Res ,35-D graphics, — and time constraints add extra ex- citement. Even if you‘ve never _ played Dragon Fire, you'll enjoy the _ Kaves of Karkhan from Level-10, a division of DAKINS5. Kayes of Karkhan fs weitten for the Apple Il Plus and Apple. Hwith 1 disk drive, 48K KAM./and Applesoft ROM. in fire are trademarks of Level-10. Level: 0 is a trademark of DakinS Corporation Apple is a trademark of Apple Computer Inc. 16 @® TOFTALK JUNE 1981 Everyone’s Guide to Assembly Language, Part 9 Commands Covered So Far: JMP LDA LDX DY TAX JSR STA STIX STY_— TAY RTS INC INX INY TXA NOP DEC DEX DEY TYA — CMP CPX cry = — BEQ BNE BCC BCS — Plus These Addressing Modes: IMMEDIATE ABSOLUTE ZERO PAGE — IMPLICIT RELATIVE INDEXED INDIRECT INDEXED INDEXED INDIRECT Figure 1 Part I: The Contest. With the usual comments about how hard it was to decide on a winner in mind, I hereby announce the winner of the contest as Steven Morris, of Queens, New York, His program combines a number of the principles we've discussed so far and also shows some nice touches in pro- gramming. It's an elegant use of all the codes given so far, and of particular interest is a self-modifying part wherein the pro- Apple UCSD Pascal + Compatible with TV or 80 column monitors only 60.00 plus 2.50 shipping Va. residents add 4% tax incuaes text formatter free with purchase of ms.speller R spelling correction dictionary with 2000 hard to spell words user-created dictionary with options to add, correct, or skip a word while processing a text utilities: list oentire dictionary ouser added words owords added in current session interactive query ‘updating se provides complete word processing capability with UCSD editor Pascal program listings documents letters 722 South 24th St. Arlington, Va. 22202 103 684-7389 Intelligent Computer Systems Corporation gram actually rewrites a small portion of itself upon user com- mand. I think it will be of interest, and also a good review, to go through Morris's listing to see what's been done. Before doing that, however, a little background on one more kind of tone routine is in order. This will make the program that much more understandable. Last month I discussed simple tone routines in which the Speaker was accessed at a constant rate for a given length of time. These two factors determined the pitch and duration of the tone played. A variation on this is to have the pitch de- crease or increase as the tone is played, creating effects rath- er like the sound usually associated with a falling bomb or a rising level of something, respectively. This requires three variables, and without getting too technical, let me take a mo- ment to illustrate with this chart: (V-REG.) FREQ. <I> ($300 OR X-REG) TIME << DURATION ($301) —_ Figure 2 The vertical axis represents the frequency of the tone being played. Putting several tones together into a series over a pe- riod of time creates in this case a rising scale. As each tone is played, the pitch is increased. Each individual tone lasts some arbitrary time, 7, and put together, the series lasts an overall “time period, labeled here as Duration. If the pitch is decreased by a certain amount each time, the pattern is reversed. This is sometimes called a ramp tone pat- tern. In parentheses, I have indicated how each of these values is determined in Morris's program. Here is a source listing of the program: terete errr 2* By Steven Morris... * Aeereereereererrerterr teri rey 4* 5 OBJ $302 6 ORG $302 7* 8 PTCH EQU $300 9 DRTN EQU $301 10 SPKR EQU $CO30 11 PREAD EQU SFBIE 12 PBO EQU $C061 13 PBI EQU $C062 14 GRSW EQU $C050 15 TXTSW EQU $CO51 16 CLRSCR EQU $F832 7* 18 LOOP DEX + DEC THIS DELAY 19 BNE CYCLE ; DONE? NO=SKIP CLK 20 * REFRESH X-REG. CLK SPKR 21 CLK LDX PTCH > 22 \DASPKR i; JUNE 1981 VLOFTALLS 23 * SPKR CLKS ONLY ONCE 64 SETINC LDX #SEE ae OPCODE FOR ‘INC’ 24 * FOR EVERY ($300) PASSES 65 STX RAMP 25 * 66 RTS 26 CYCLE DEY # OF CYCLE CTR. o7 * 27 BNE LOOP DONE? 68 TOGGLE JSR SETDEC 28 * NO=KEEP GOING 69 JMP LOOP 29 DEC DRTN 7o* 30 BEQ CHKPDL ; DONE W/ RAMP? 31 ¢* pees This lists in memory as: 32 RAMP INC PTCH 33 JMP LOOP *300L 34 * 35 CHKPDL LOX #00 0300- 38 SEC 36 JSR PREAD READ PDL (0) 0301- AS CA LDA SCA 37 STY PTCH ; SET DRIN 0303- DO 06 BNE $0308 38 INX 0305- AE 00 03 DX $0300 39 JSR PREAD READ PDL (1) 0308 AD 30 CO LDA $C030 40 STY DRTN SET DRTN 0308- 88 DEY 41 LDY #$7F 030C- DO F4 BNE $0302 42 CPY PBI ; #1 PRESSED? 030E- CE 01 03 DEC $0301 43 BCC TOGGLE ; BRCH IF YES 0311- FO 06 BEQ $0319 4a* 0313- CE 00 03 DEC $0300 45 INY + #$7F—>#$80 ; AN EXCUSE 0316- 4C 02 03 JMP $0302. 46 TYA ; TO USE THESE 0319- A2 00 Lox #$00 47 ‘TAX ; COMMANDS. 0318. 20 1 FB JSR SFBIE 48 CPX PBO ;_ #0 PRESSED? O31E- 8C 00 03 sTY $0300 49 BCS LOOP; BRCH IF NO 0321. £8 INX 50 * 0322. 20 1E FB JSR SFBIE 51 SCREEN JSR CLRSCR ; CLR TO BLK 0325- BC 01 03 STY $0301 52 STA GRSW SHOW GRAPHICS MODE 0328- AO 7F Loy #S7F 53 STA TXTSW SHOW TEXT MODE 032A- CC 62 CO CPY $c062 54 JMP SCREEN 0320- 90 27 acc $0356 55 * 032F- cB INY 56 SETDEC TAY —;_: USE UP THIS CODE 0330-98 YA 57 LOX #$CE OPCODE FOR ‘DEC’ 0331- AA TAX 58 TXA 0332- EC 61 CO CPX $C061 59 CMP RAMP IS IT ‘DEC’ Now? 0335- BO CB acs $0302 60 BEQSETINC ; BRCH IF YES. 0337- 20 32 F8 JSR $F832 61 STARAMP =; NO. MAKE IT ‘DEC’ 033A: 8D 50 CO STA $C050 62 RTS 033D- 8D 51 CO STA $C051 63 * 0340. 4C 3A 03 JMP $033A NEW ARTFORM. micro lab presents PAINTER Be an Artist No longer do you need art skills to create bold abstracts or impressionistic landscapes. Using “Painter Power,” you are able to achieve new effects that can- not be duplicated on canvas. Eric Podietz has produced a fascinating new art form which can be mastered by any- one. Using his skills as an artist and pro- grammer, he has been developing this extraordinary graphics program for over a year, showing it to both children and adults in an artmobile and a museum. The technique is now perfected. Take control of the power and speed of the computer and free your artistic imagina- tion and creativity. Micro Lab is offer- ing you the opportunity to create works of art in a new and exciting medium. Endless Possibilities First, with the keyboard, paddles or Q BY ERIC PODIETZ a joy stick for your paintbrush, you draw a line pattern. Use any or all of six high resolution colors to produce many more multi-colored images. Choose the speed level to determine the repetition time. Then watch as the program takes over to expand it into new dimensions, Tepeating your design with artistic spon- taneity. Change colors or include a new shape at any point. You will be ab- sorbed for hours manipulating your de- sign into new arrangements of color and form. Add the finishing touches along with your name ora title to the picture. Then frame it and save it on a disk. Thus you have an original piece of com- puter art. Arrange a special showing of your unique creations. There are two modes—one for the be- ginner and another for the more ad- vanced user. The latter mode allows you to control the paint brush to change the size of your strokes. You may also re- peat your patterns in different ways for new textures. Although you work with one brush at a time, up to eight are available, each having a separate design you selected. You may choose specific shapes within the program as a pattern, ie., circles and elipses, then use your computer to scale them to the size you wish. The beginner version, with a sim- pler operation, is especially suited for children. Enter our Art Fair Micro Lab is sponsoring a computer art fair of your creations. The winning entry will be featured in a leading com- puter magazine. All entries received by September 30th will be considered for this showing. Proof of purchase of the program is required to enter. “Painter Power” will create a gallery of computer art on an Apple with 48K and a disk drive. You will also need Applesoft in ROM or a language card. The program sells for only $29.95. See a demo at your dealer. Cmiceo lab 3218 Skokie Valley Road Highland Park, IL 60035 - 312-433-7550 1981. lero La, Ine [Apples a rademars o! Apple Computers. ne & YOFTATEK JUNE 1981 18 0343. A8 TAY 0344- A2 CE tox #$CE 0346. 8A TXA 0347- CD 13 03 CMP $0313 034A- FO 04 BEQ $0350 034C- 8D 13 03 STA $0313 034F- 60 RTS 0350- A2 EE Lox #$EE 0352- 8E 13 03 STX $0313 0355- 60 RTS 0356- 20 43:03 JSR $0343 0359- 4C 02 03 JMP $0302 I'll try to explain each part of the program, hopefully with a proper balance of enough detail to jog your memory and enough brevity to keep things reasonably short. If all this seems overwhelming, you're trying to read through it too fast. Go back through it slowly, taking your time. Have a nice cup of tea while you're at it. Remember, we're packing eight issues worth of subject matter into one program. Don't worry if the fine details of the tone routine escape you. The important part is to make sure that you at least recall the existence and general nature of each individual command used in the program. To explain the program, the easiest place to start is actual- ly at CHKPDL, where the paddles are checked for new values at the end of each ramp series (line #35 @ $319). The X register is loaded with a $00 to tell the computer we want to read pad- dle #0 in the next step, then JSR to $FB1E. That returns with the Y register holding the value of the paddle ($00 to $FF), which is then stored in location $300, labeled ‘‘PTCH"’ (for pitch). The X register value is then incremented from $00 to $01 on line #38, and paddle #1 read and stored at $301 for the duration value. If paddle button #1 is pressed, location $C062 will hold a number greater than $7F. To check for this the Y register is loaded with $7F and compared against $C062. If $C062 holds a value greater than $7F, the branch carry clear (BCC) will be taken (Y register < memory location = carry clear). We'll see what that does later. YOUR APPLE SPECIALIST HAS THE WORD PROCESSOR FOR YOU... WRITE-ON ss This program and more are described in Rainbow's catalog (produced using Write-on!) which represents the largest collection of products (from every major manufacturer) for your APPLE computer. Write-on! is a simple-to-use professional word pro- cessor which allows you flexibility and versatility in your writing tasks Apple II - 48K - Applesoft-Disk Open Tuesday - Friday OAM.-5PM. Call or write today for your FREE catalog, U.S.A. (except California) (800) 423-5441 California and Foreign (213) 349-0300 For technical questions: Phone (213) 349-5560, Garden Plaza Shopping Center 9719 Reseda Boulevard, Dept. STW] Northridge, California U.S.A. 91324 hppa computer inc. If the value is less than $7F, program execution will fall through to line #45. Here the $7F is increased to $80 and that value passed to the X register via the accumulator. These steps are here to exercise the INY, TYA, TAX commands, and to allow us to use the CPX command next to fulfill the contest requirements. At line #48 the comparison is done. If the X reg- ister is greater (remember it holds a $80 here), the button is not pressed and the branch carry set will be taken (X register > memory loc = carry set) that sends us to the main tone loop. At entry to this loop, the X and Y registers hold rather arbi- trary values, but the overall theory is that, starting at CLK on line #21, the X register is loaded with the pitch value and the speaker clicked once. At #26 the Y register is decremented; this is a counter for the length of that pitch value. Jumping back to loop, the net effect is that the program will make n er once, where 7 is the Judging the cantest was a snap. i) J Southwestern Data Systems photo. pitch value held in $300. This creates the delay between clicks needed for a given tone. The length of that particular tone is determined by the Y register. When it reaches a value of $00, the BNE (branch not equal) fails and the counter for the overall duration is decre- mented. As long as there’s time left (that is, DRTN > $00), the next test fails (BEQ = branch if equal to zero) and the pitch value is incremented. Going back to loop plays this next note until all the notes in the series have been played. Incrementing pitch gives a de- scending note pattern. (Recall that the greater.the pitch value, the lower the tone played.) When DRTN does reach zero, the program branches to the paddle check routine that we started in. Let’s see what hap- pens when a button is pressed. If button #1 is pressed, the program goes via toggle to SETDEC. This clever section (ignore the TAY) loads the X register with the value $CE. This is the opcode for DEC (dec- rement a memory location), and checks to see if the part of the program at ramp ($313)holds a $CE. (Notice that it does in fact start out as an $EE, the opcode for INC (increment a memory location). If the comparison fails, that is, there is not a $CE currently there, the $CE is stored at ramp, the RTS (return from sub- routine) returns to toggle and the JMP loop sends everything back into the tone loop, this time with a DEC PTCH there in- stead. This gives an ascending pitch series. If the comparison is true, it means that a $CE was put there earlier, and the BEQ goes to SETINC, which restores the code for INC at ramp ($313), and then returns with the RTS, JMP loop as in the previous case. These two options give the program the ability to rewrite it- self, an interesting and powerful idea. If paddle button #0 is pressed, the branch at line #49 fails and the program falls into an infinite loop at screen ($337). In this loop, the screen is cleared to the color black by the moni- tor routine at $F832. Locations $C050 and $C051 are softswitches mentioned in earlier articles. Remember that accessing these changes the display mode of the Apple. The screen can be viewed either in a text mode or a graphics mode. Accessing $C050 on line #52 sets the graphics mode, so the screen appears black. Accessing $C051 sets the display to text, which appears as inverse “@”’ signs. JUNE 1981 TOFTALKS: 19 The JMP screen repeats this cycle back and forth so fast that you don’t actually see the flicker, just an interesting pat- tern created by the screens switching faster than your moni- tor screen can display them. At this point you have to hit reset to end. There were a number of other excellent entries. Honorable mention should be made of Steve Hawley, Ray Ransom, Ste- phen Gagola, Jr., and Matt Brookover for their efforts. Part II: The Stack. One of the more obscure parts of the op- eration of the Apple is related to something called the stack. This is a part of memory reserved for holding return address- es for gosubs and for-next loops, and a few other operations in direct machine code. If you want to impress your friends with your knowledge of machine language, just throw this term around in a confident manner and they'll figure you must be an expert! The stack is a reserved part of memory from $100 to $1FF. The 256 bytes (a page of memory, remember .. .) here are re- served for storing temporary values during the operation of the computer. The stack can be thought of like those spring-loaded plate holders they have in restaurants. Plates are loaded onto the top of a cylinder with a spring-loaded platform in it. As more plates are added, the bottom one gets pushed down. The plates must always be removed in the opposite order from that in which they are put in. The catch phrase for this is LIFO, for last-in, first-out. The first location loaded in the 6502 stack is $1FF. Rather than push everything down toward $100 each time a new value is put on the stack, the 6502 has a stack point- er that is adjusted as new data is added. Successive values are added in descending order, with the stack pointer being reset each time to indicate the position of the last value put in. Thus the table is created in a reverse order, building downward. The technical details of its operation are not required to make good use of it, though. One of the most convenient things the stack can be used for is to hold values temporarily while you're doing something else. Normally, in a program, we'd have to assign a zero page location to hold a value. For in- stance, consider this program: ORE OE II AAAI 2* — BYTE DISPLAY PROG. #1 * ere recor 4* 5 OBJ $300 6 ORG $300 7* 8 CHR EQU $06 9 PRBYTE EQU $FDDA 10 COUT EQU SFDED 11 PREAD EQU SFBIE 12 HOME EQU S$FC58 13 * 14 START JSR HOME 15 GETCHR LDX #$00 16 JSR PREAD 17 STY CHR 18 TYA 19 JSR PRBYTE 20 LDA #$A0 ; SPACE 21 JSR COUT 22. LDA CHR 23 JSR COUT 24 LDA #$8D ; RETURN 25 JSR COUT 26 IMP GETCHR This will be listed by the monitor as: *300L 0300- 20 58 FC JSR $FC58 0303- A2 00 Lx #$00 0305- 20 1E FB JSR SFBIE 0308- 84 06 STY $06 O30A- 98 TYA 030B- 20 DAFD JSR $FDDA 030E- A9 AO LDA 4#$A0 siceo lab presents Crown HEAR YE! HEAR YE! NEW FOR THE APPLE Arthain By Dan and Marilyn Meller Gather round ye Knights and Ladies. | tell of a new game written by Sir Dan and Lady Marilyn Meller. One encoun- ters a challenging test of skill that only the bravest should attempt. The con- sequences are dire. | know thou hast seen games played on wooden boards before. While this game has a board divided into hex shapes, it cannot be played on a table top! This one is played only on an Apple. It is a new game — with anima- tion of a type you have never before seen. In the Kingdom of Arthain, the dying King summons his previously banished sons, Berthain and Merthain. The good King sets his sons upon a perilous quest for the Kingdom's crown to de- termine the next ruler. The prince who successfully fords the stream, passing unharmed through hexes of forests and lakes, to discover the secret pas- sage to the underground mountain hall wherein the crown lays, wins the right to be King. Be cautious! Fierce, lifelike monsters of a sort that would make nightmares seem pleasant, stalk the unwary, and appear suddenly without warning. Ah, but such journeys are not inexpen- sive undertakings (not to mention perilous). Gold and a map may be ac- quired, but the special password must be discovered. There is a bit of magic to aid the stalwart princes in their battles against an even more gruesome crea- ture set upon rendering their frail flesh as they are within reach of their goal. This one or two player adventure can be played on twenty skill levels. While almostany knave can slay the monsters at the easier skill levels, only the most practiced knight can win at the highest levels. One must be a skillful and expert swordsman to win the Kinghood at Level 1. He must be prepared to thrust, hack, or shield his weapon at any mo- mentor be mercilessly destroyed. Only the alert and clear-headed will suc- ceed. Heed my counsel and go with God! Make haste if you wish to see this high resolution color game at your Apple dealer. One needs 48K and Applesoft in ROM. The “Crown of Arthain”’ is priced at $35. rm 3218 Skokie Vallr y Road e Highland Park, IL 60035 312/433-7550 cro lab sal 7 systems that work 20 ® YOFTALK JUNE 1981 0310- 20 ED FD JSR SFDED 0313- A506 LDA $06 0315- 20 ED FD JSR $FDED 0318- A9 8D \DA ¥$8D O31A- 20 EDFD JSR SFDED 031D- 4C 03 03 JMP $0303 This program gets a value from $00 to $F F from paddle #0, and stores it in location $06. This is needed because the JSR to $FDDA (a handy routine that prints the hex number in the ac- cumulator) scrambles the accumulator and Y register. We want to keep the value at hand because the ASCII character corresponding to it is then printed out right after the number using COUT. The cycle then repeats until you press reset. Location $06 is used for only a moment each pass to tempo- rarily store the value. In addition, it commits that zero page lo- cation to use and thus limits our choices when we need other ones to use. A better system is to make use of the stack. The commands to do this are PHA and PLA. PHA stands for push accumulator onto stack. When this is used in line #17, the value currently in the accumulator is put onto the stack. The accu- mulator itself goes unaltered, and none of the status flags such as the carry or zero flags are conditioned. The value is simply copied and stored for us. Later on, when we want to retrieve the value, the PLA on line #21 (stands for pull accumulator from stack) pulls the value back off the stack into the accumulator. A PLA com- mand does condition the zero flag (and also the sign bit, which I've not covered yet). Important: For each ‘‘PHA’’ there must be a ‘‘PLA’’ ex- ecuted before encountering the next “RTS” in a program. Here's the revised program: rrr tir 2* — BYTE DISPLAY PROG. #2 * Perr rriirrcr rit) 4* 5 OB) $300 6 ORG $300 7* 8 PRBYTE EQU $FDDA 9 COUT EQU SFDED 10 PREAD EQU SFBIE 11 HOME EQU $FC58 12 * 13. START JSR HOME 14 GETCHR LOX #$00 15 JSR PREAD 16 TYA 17 PHA 18 JSR PRBYTE 19 LDA #$A0 ; SPACE 20 JSR COUT 2) PLA 22, «JSR COUT 23° LDA #$8D ; RETURN 24 JSR COUT 25° JMP GETCHR This will list like so: #3001 0300- 20 58 FC JSR 0303- A2 00 \ox 0305- 20 16 FB JSR 0308- 98 TYA 0309. 48 PHA 030A- 20 DA FD JSR 030D- A9 AO DA O30F- 68 PLA 0310- 20 ED FD JSR 0313- A9 8D LDA 0315- 20 ED FD JSR $FDED 0318- 4C 03 03 JMP $0303 The stack is also used automatically by the 6502 for storing the return address for each JSR as it’s encountered. Each time you do a PHA, this address is buried one level deeper. You must have done an equivalent number of PLAs at some point in the routine before reaching the next RTS to have things work properly. Also remember, if you want to store more than one value, you must retrieve the values in the opposite order in which they were stored. Once a value is removed from the stack with a PLA, it is essentially gone forever from the stack unless you put it back directly. There is a limit to how much you can put in the stack. The limit of sixteen GOSUBs and FOR-NEXT loops in Basic is re- lated to the use of this. Technically you can put 256 one-byte values, or 128 RTS addresses on the stack, but the Apple also uses it for its own operations, and, many times, you have Ba- sic going, too. In general, though, it rarely fills up unless you're getting ex- treme in its use, and at that point the code is probably so confus- ing in nested subroutines that you may want to consider a re- write anyway! Try putting this in some of your own programs; I think you'll find it quite useful. Until next month then, Happy Ap- pling! Errata: Please note that in the first disassembly, given on page 67 last month, the second line should have read: 0303- 4c 00 03 JMP $0300 SFC5B #800 SFBIE $FDDA #$A0 SFDED #880 92h RAM BOARD FOR APPLE 32K of Buffered Read/Write memory on a plug-in card (twice the capacity of other Expansion Boards.) FEATURES: @ On-board Bank Selection @ Switch selection of RAM board @ Write Protect or Motherboard ROM Compatible with Apple !l*, Apple Il+*, Microsoft's Z80 Softcard*, DOS 3.3, DOS 3.2, Integer Basic*, Applesoft®, PASCAL*, FORTRAN®, LISA® ver. 2, Personal Software’s Visi Calc® e@ Applications Software Included e@ 90 Day Warranty WITROOUCTORY DEFER 16K (oz% azn) tec ERCARD Accepted P.O. BOX 8050 @ ANN ARBOR, MI 48107 @ (313) 665-6416 6S COMPUTER ENTERPRISES New Data Factory compatible business program. NEW FOR THE APPLE Do more than invoices It isn’t just an invoice program. The Invoice Factory generates an aged re- ceivable report, a product or customer report, even a yearly bar graph analysis, and much more. You can calculate your yearly, semi-annual, and quarterly busi- ness in minutes. .. it’s easy And it’s easy to operate. After only a few minutes with the Manual, anyone can enter orders and generate invoices. Your statements are ready automatically with 30, 60, or 90 day analyses. With The Invoice Factory your accounts will stay current and you will know exactly where the money isn’t. ... it’s ready when you are We needed this system too! Our bills were going out later and later every month. With today’s economy, and money tight, no one can afford to forget those receivables. As billing became more complex with service and handling charges, we found that we had to have a system to relieve our weary office staff. We had computers that didn’t ask for raises or vacations, and didn’t get the flu, or come in late; we therefore cre- ated another ‘system that works.’ We developed it to work in conjunction with The Data Factory, our data base manage- ment system, but it can also stand alone. ... it’s automatic The data disks that are generated by The Invoice Factory are fully compatible with The Data and Mini Factory. You just enter an account number and The Invoice Factory goes to work. It retrieves all the account information instantly. Terms of payment, method of shipping, special handling procedures, and even your own seasonal comments are noted. About three hundred accounts can be handled on one data disk. One hundred different products can be listed then tabulated automatically. UPS zones and fees are entered to compute charges quickly and ‘correctly. Taxes can be added if desired. You have to see it op- erate to appreciate the speed and effi- ciency of the system. ..it’s an investment With this system, like our others, you can be sure that Micro Lab will add new features to make it even more powerful. By purchasing The Invoice Factory now, you will be able to have your input count. And the next version of the product will include many of the routines that per- haps you, yourself have suggested. ... it’s always there Again, we offer two identical program disks with each package. You are never without a back up should anything go wrong with the original copy. If you have an Extended Warranty just send the blown disk back to us for a renewal at no additional cost. And when new ver- sions of the system are released, your extended warranty covers that as well. The annual Extended Warranty rate is $20, Without the Extended Warranty there is a $10 per disk fee for renewals. You will always have the current version of The Invoice Factory: When we add new features to the program your in- vestment will become more valuable. ... it’s available now Micro Lab has a reputation for quality products. The Invoice Factory is a sure winner. Those that have seen it have been truly impressed with the simplic- ity yet power of the system. The Invoice Factory is offered at the introductory price of $100.00. It requires a 48k Apple Il computer with Applesoft and two disk drives. Orders must be arranged through your local dealer. micro lab, 3218 Skokie Valley Road » Highland Park, IL 60035 - 312-433-7550 22 ® SOFTALY JUNE 1981 Left 10 right: Reger Wogner (stonding) and Tom Burns mon the Southwestern Dote Systems booth Apple's absence was eased by the unofficial presance of severol Apple execs including Stephen [Shonk, for east business monager. Two awards were given of the show. Stove Gibson of Californie Pocific occepts Softolk’s Most Popular Program Ever award for Super Invoder. Tim Smith demos his Olympic Decothion after receiving © progrommers oword from [Creative Computing. Smith’s publisher, Microsoft, was represented by Vern Roburn, Consumer Products division prexy, ond Bill Gotes topper of the parent compony. Left to right. Some traveled long distances to go to the Foire Jerry Vandiver, coauthor of Vanlove's 1981 Apple Software Directory, wos on the last leg of o motorhome trip around the country when, he orrived in San Francisco. Harry Harper come up from Down Under to demo o snaziy new 80-column board for the Apple. Wes Thomas, publisher of VisiNews, 0 VisiCole newsletter, wos in from New York. Another journolist present was Ben Rosen, publisher of Rosen's Electronics Newsletter. Retoilars roomed the flocr looking H for now products, including Jim Sadler of Southern Colifornio's Computerlond of Lawndale Robert Schoenburg, president of Con: tinental Softwore, ond Bill Boker, president of Informotion f Untimited, were omong exhibitors Left to right: Milo Street of Straet Electronics displayed the Echo 1, which made the Apple folk. Unique omong the booths wos this one i from Adventure Internationcl in © bomboo construction This sly- looking fellow hos beguiled adventure fans for the past eighteen In Adventure Inter: ational fantasies. Robert Woadhead, getting ready to lounch Jungeons and Dragons progrom for his Sir-Tech firm, wos in idence ch at to Fab. Loch Wer ocathrocalinen ola fr exhbifes I Scfnats Dove Wagman, Crag Moody, ond Bob Leff grab osnock Sing aki ghee Iynoe cr Jol Mot of WS lecrenles showed anew dock for the Apple ond pened ext B copl cot sred fly bears a paueray’ Whot ere al hess pecple Iceking op 10 ffs the new creedo gome Irom Nes, Pulsar ie vermevuiel eter ode cas Se tenet boo Left to right Gory ond Doug Corlston of Broderbund Softw who published Alien Rain, which led the Top Thirty poll for three months. Ston Gol rector of Micro Lob, exhibited through the Software Express organizational meeting af the Software Publishers Astociotion The | Syntouri music keyboard for the Apple drew some unusval users The drogen actually is Chorlie Kellner of Apple, codesigner of the [Syntouri. The other gentleman is Herbie Hancock, more often os: sociated with jozz fests as opposed to computer fairs, Behind him Hits a defrocked (descaled?) Kellner yooth ond was @ catalyst in the Left te right There was never @ surcecse of octivity of the On-Line Systems booth In the foreground is Ken Willioms, while Roberta [con be spotted in the center, rear. Gary Atkinson and Welt Wilson [demoed RH Electronics language card end their new fan. Not oll the attendees found every facet of the doings fascinoting, But of least some Folks went home with the equipment to while oway t leisure hours the way most Softalk readers do—with on Appl FAIR DAYS Sotto photos Birds migrate north in the spring and congressmen junket in the summer. Mi- crocomputer firms likewise do their own thing—they exhibit—and their schedule this year looked something like that of the birds. Omitting those soirees that had little or no impact on the Apple market, there were the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco in April, the National Computer Conference in Chicago in May and Applefest in Boston in June. And for many companies, there was also Apple Expo, a March-April event conducted in Dallas, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Each of these events has a flavor all of its own. The West Coast Computer Faire focuses on microcomputing in an all-encompassing way. Exhibitors sup- ported many breeds of personal comput- ers and attendees could get a fair sam- pling of each. General emphasis is on the end-user attendees. NCC has more the flavor of a trade show, although thousands of end users and potential end users also find their way onto the exhibit floor. NCC is the big- gie, in terms of floor space, exhibitors, attendees, and the kinds of computing things you'll find there. IBM, Honeywell, Xerox Data Systems, Digital Equipment Corporation, and hundreds of others ex- hibit there. The micro folk are there, but they aren't as dominant as they are at the West Coast Computer Faire. Applefest, probably being conducted as you read this (June 6 and June 7) shares with Apple Expo the distinction of being an Apple specific show. But again, similarities fade at that point. 24 @ SOFTALK JUNE 1981 Applefest primarily serves the end user or potential end user, with approximately one hundred exhibitors, plus semi- nars on various facets of the use and capability of the Apple. On the other hand, although Apple Expo, sponsored by Ap- ple Computer Inc., had a segment open to the general public, its main focus was on the dealer and potential dealer. All but one-half of one day were given over to product dem- onstrations and seminars designed to aid the Apple franchisee or would-be franchisee. More than thirty suppliers of Apple-re- lated products accepted invitations to be a part of the Expo. These pages highlight activities and people who were.at the West Coast Computer Faire and Apple Expo. So Late at the Faire. The West Coast Computer Faire has an honored place in Appledom because it was there, in 1978, that the first widespread excitement over the Apple was gen- erated. So it was with some disappointment that die-hard Ap- ple enthusiasts searched in vain for this year's Apple booth. Apple had a conflicting appointment with its own Expo and wasn't able to make the show. But that initial disappointment faded rapidly at the sight of the many booths dedicated to Apple products. In the eyes of Jim Warren,