Greetings to our faithful readers. Once again Carol and I hope that you will find this issue of UPDATES to be worth reading. We have received quite a bit of feedback from quite a few of you. Some of your suggestions we have implemented, where they would be of help to you -such as marking in the directory as to just what computer model an article or program concerns. Check this out and you will see that you can now tell at the directory as to whether an article is for the TS2068, QL, Z88 or of general interest to all three.
There were some suggestions which we could not act upon, only try to be fair. A few people wanted the magazine to be only for the TS2068, and some for only the QL. A few wanted greater coverage for the Z88. What we will be doing, as close as is possible, is to represent the computers our users have and use. This comes out to about 40% TS2068, 40% QL and 20% for the Z88 at this time. As (or if) our readership changes we will try to reflect this. Some wanted us to include cassette based programs for the TS2068. We are open to type-in programs of short to moderate length that are for tape, or utilities and tips that apply to tape or disk, but not for ISSUE DISK PROGRAMS. My own aging cassette decks show less and less reliability after some have been in use for ten years. It is not easy to find a good reliable tape deck that is suited for computer use these days. Disks are far cheaper than cassette tapes and with the savings on that alone one could soon justify an Oliger, Larken, Aerco or other disk drive system. This does not even touch upon reliability or speed. Now I will just slide down off of my soap box and into my easy chair.
Tim Stoddard, what with too many commitments and not enough time, was not able to get his next installment on the Trump Card manual for the QL to us in time. He promises it next issue. He carefully researches each article to insure accuracy and this does take a fair amount of time.
Bill Ferrebee will be giving the magazine a new logo which you should see in the next issue. Bill is quite good at graphics for the TS2068. He is doing a regular column on Sinclairs for the Vulcan Computer Monthly, so check out this magazine by either subscribing or buying it at your newstand. He also has an article in this issue and more on tap for future issues.
Please note what Jack Dohany says in his news release. He is not leaving us; he just needs more time to program for TS2068 and is looking to have other dealers take over the sales of his products.I happen to know that Mechanical Affinity is interested in at least all of them and, I’m sure that RMG will also be, just to name a couple.
We were unable to fit in a few items that have gone onto the planning board for the next issue. These include some real meat on corrections to the TS2068 ROM to produce the type of machine it could and should have been. This is by Bill Pederson of Widjup. He has been slowly getting his health back to at least some extent. I wish his continued recovery. Another item is coverage of the QL and Desktop Publishing. They should both be in the April Issue.
Once again we fell a little behind in our schedule due to equipment problems, our photocopier, which is not easy to get repaired in a small Midwest town with only one repairman. From each little problem we learn. This may be our last delay!