TS2068 Software Review
Reviewed by D. Hutchinson
A lot of nice words have been written about BYTE POWER and their software(magazine) on cassette tape for the Timex Sinclair 2068 computer. BYTE POWER is actually two brothers, Eric and Kristian Boisvert, who reside near Toronto, Ontario. If the Timex computer were still produced today, these gents would be very rich. Now, at best, every faithful 2068 user who has stuck it out should be buying their software. It’s that good.
When the BYTE POWER duo started out a few years ago, they announced that their cassette magazine would be “published” on a monthly basis. Considering that each tape contained at least ten good programs, this monthly goal seemed to be a monumental task. I remember at the time thinking, “how are they going to do this?”. There just isn’t enough hours in a day to throw that much code! Well, they did manage to keep it up for a while, then deadlines began to slip.
Currently, BYTE POWER has gone to a quarterly format. I applaud this move for a couple of reasons. First of all, it will take the unrealistic deadline pressure off. A direct result of this has been noticeable improvements in the programs. Each “issue” gets better and better. And another result has allowed the programming team to develop larger full blown individual software packages outside of the regular cassette magazine. 1st CLASS FONTS II is one of these new programs.
When Tim (Editor of TDM) sent me a copy of 1st CLASS FONTS II in the mail for review, I knew right away that I was in for a treat. The software comes packaged in a vinyl album. There are two cassette tapes and a professionally printed user guide, which is quite clear and “to the point”…a rare commodity in the TS market. Actually (and the manual encourages it), documentation isn’t really needed to get started with this program. Ideally, a program should stand alone without ever having to crack a manual. This is my “acid test” for any program that claims to be “user friendly”. FONTS has come very close to achieving this, thanks to an operating system that is frequently seen in other BYTE POWER programs…sort of a “trademark” (more on this in a minute).
1st CLASS FONTS II’s main program has three basic parts: 1. A library of “fonts” (or type styles). 28 different fonts are included in the main program. 2. A simple word processor (“what-you-see-is-what-you-get” type). 3. A “Definer”, that allows the user to modify or change any character within one of the font sets.
To move around the program, a joystick is highly recommended by this reviewer, although using the keyboard is acceptable. If you haven’t used one of the BYTE POWER programs that have similar “pop-down” menus as the FONTS package does, you may miss out on witnessing how powerful your 2068 can be. It works just like a mouse does on (gulp) the more expensive MACINTOSH computer. A little arrow icon is moved around the screen, and when the arrow is placed over a box or any command line, that box or line is highlighted by another color, and when the fire button is pressed, it automatically executes the function, or another menu box is superimposed over the previous menu. It’s fast and smooth. Folk’s this is as close as your 2068 will get to a MAC!
How do you use FONTS? Two ways actually. One quick way is via the built-in wordprocessor which allows the user to switch styles and experiment with several within the text workspace, and then print out with the TS-2040 printer. The other way, is to use a font character set within one of your own programs. This is the one time the user manual will need to be consulted, as it shows how to POKE the new character set’s address in memory.
On the other cassette that is supplied, there is a 64 column print utility, a double-height print utility, a giant “Old English” font, and a scrolling font demonstration program.
There are some features that I feel should have been included in FONTS. First of all, the program is “unlistable”, and for the average 2068 user, it is unbreakable”. This is unfortunate, as I was unable to modify the LOAD and SAVE routines for my disk drive system. I also felt that a full-size printer driver should have been included in the wordprocessor for the AERCO printer interface. Many 2068 users no longer make use of the 2040 thermal printer. My final suggestion is only a minor one. It would have been nice to LOAD another whole library of 28 fonts into the main program. Only single font sets can be loaded in one at a time, replacing current ones.
Setting aside minor quibblings, I liked this software package. It represents fine value, with all of the extra trimmings that are included. Why not add it to your 2068 collection? It just might be what your looking for to “dress up” your text and programs.
I should also mention that FONTS will run on a Spectrum, and it is also reported that font sets in this package will work with PIXEL PRINT (Stan Lemke), but I haven’t personally tested this.
PRICE: $19.95 + $3 S/H. FROM: Byte Power, 1748 Meadowview Ave., Pickering, Ontario, Canada, L1V-3G8.