My name is John Riley, and for a year now it has been my privilege to be a part of CATS. For most of that. time I have been the 2068 software librarian, and for the last four issues I have been editor of this newsletter. I only wish that I had discovered CATS when I moved into the area in 1983!
My journeys with Sinclair computers began in 1982, when one of my seminary professors made a comment that we must either become “computer literate” or get left behind as our church offices became increasingly automated. I looked around at the computers that were available then and almost resigned myself to ignorance, because they were all out of my price range. It was just then that Popular Science magazine did a front cover feature on “the first affordable computer” — the TS1000.
“That’s for me!” I shouted, and was able to pick up a 1000 with a 16K rampack and a software subscription for $150, For many months I kept myself busy in my spare time learning BASIC and writing simple programs. The high point of my TS1000 career was when, Microcomputing magazine published a database program for my little computer, and I actually began to use it in my office work!
In 1983 I moved to a new church in Maryland and celebrated by buying the newly-available, wondrously powerful, and yet still affordable 2068. In short order I was wearing the legends off the keys with the heavy use of Profile and a word processor (first TW2000 and later MSCRIPT). In addition, my son and I spent many hours playing games. In due time I acquired a monitor, an 80 column printer, and AERO’s disk system.
By this time I had also discovered and subscribed to Syncware News, and discovered with some astonishment that its editor, Tom Bent, lived only a few miles up the rood from me (I thought that I was the only T/S user in the state!). Thus it was Tom’s fault that I came to roost so happily among you. Now, armed with a QL and my trusty old 2058, and supported by my fellow Sinclair enthusiasts, 1 feel that I have “arrived” at last. Thank you for being there when I needed you! I can’t think of any other pastime that so nicely combines pleasant company and practical benefit!