This program first appeared as a commercial program in England where it is widely used on the Spectrum. Grey & Clifford Computer Products obtained the rights to sell it in the U.S. as modified for the 2068. Version 4.0 ran only in Spectrum mode. There are both Spectrum & 2068 versions of 4.1.
NOTE: I originally reviewed this software in Ver.1.0 of “The T/S Guide to Telecommunications”. Much of that review proved erroneous. Please read this carefully!
The big news here is Telecommunications at 1200 B.P.S. on the 2068. This is the ONLY way to achieve that speed on this computer. How can I describe 1200 B.P.S.? Well, let me put it this way, if you bought a magazine and could only look at 10 sq. inches at a time and had to read the ENTIRE MAGAZINE in sequence- that’s 300 bps. But 1200 is like skipping through till you find the part you want and THEN stopping to read. It’s much more satisfying and efficient.
It also puts Long Distance telecommunications in a “whole other dimension”. As I mentioned elsewhere, an Xmodem transfer at 1200 BPS takes ONE EIGHTH the time of HEX transfer at 300 BPS; with the additional benefit of error checking. Once you begin serious downloading, you will truely appreciate this!
The second big feature of this software is it’s versatility which is m-nifest in a block of 7K designated as a permanent BASIC component. That is, permanent all the time you’re online, it dosen’t get erased the way the MTERM II buffer does. However, you can easily change it, just by loading a different version. What good is that major block of memory? Well one PRIMARY use is to interface the program to YOUR mass storage, WHATEVER that may be: Microdrive, Disk Drive or Ramdisk (coming soon).
The next major use is to interface a WIDE range of modems which is particularly easy with the use of the Z-SI/O Card, but also possible through other RS-232 interfaces.
What else? Well there have been a wide variety of utilities written for MTERM over the years, all squeezed into small blocks of memory left over by accident. The 7K block in the Specterm software is a LARGE BLOCK by comparison. In it, you could easily put printer drivers, RLE decoders, auto-save routines or a number of other utilities ALL AT THE SAME TIME!
Those routines used to I/F the mass storage and modems are called “OVERLAYS”, and were developed by CP/M programmers to allow easy modification of a program without divulging the SOURCE CODE. When you buy Specterm 64, what you’re buying is the CODE. But packaged with it, as a convenience , are some examples of these OVERLAYS.
In my first review, I said, quite negatively, that you need to enter a long BASIC statement in order to check the buffer. That was ABSOLUTELY FALSE!You can simply incorporate this statement into the BASIC component, and thus, easily check the buffer, simply by escaping to BASIC. In fact, this routine is provided in the stock tape as it comes from Grey & Clifford. I had simply failed to load that Overlay.
This terminal generates 64 columns WITHOUT the use of the OS-64 cartridge. This in itself turns out to be a big feature.. Nearly all BBS’ are configured for 80 col., and while it isn’t perfect, 64 col is MUCH CLOSER. A monitor is pretty essential, one I bought for $30 worked perfectly. The character set has been designed for readability (better than Tasword, I think). Once you get used to 64 Col, it’s difficult to go back to 32 col for terminal work. It DRAMATICALLY increases the amount of information on the screen at any one time. All too often, at 32 Col., by the time you get to the bottom of a menu, the top has scrolled off the screen. This NEVER happens in 64 col. In addition, the ARRANGEMENT of the menu makes more sense, and is easier to follow.
In my original review, I decried the lack of an 80 col printing facility. Beside the potential to add one through the 7K BASIC area (as Tony Gomez has recently done), the standard buffer saves are completely Tasword2 compatible. Although they may be too long, it’s easy to break them up with Unloader, then simply load them into Tasword and print from there.
Also, in my original review, I stated that , upon downloading it was impossible to tell if the transfer was successful or not. THAT WAS ALSO INCORRECT. The blinking “R” on the screen tells you it’s a successful transfer.
Another mistake I made in my first review was when I said, “If you forget the CAPS LOCK and entee a lower case letter in command mode… you must then reboot the program.” Not true at all! (Are you beginning to see how BADLY I mangled the first review?) If you make the above error, it will simply refuse the command until you use a capitol letter. It WILL lock-up and need rebooting if you go offline (using the 2050 modem) and fail to immediately escape to BASIC. However, once you understand this, there’s no problem.
Since my original review, I’ve put this program through a great deal of testing- spending hours and hours online & making file transfers (over 100) of all descritions. I moved MAC files, AMIGA files, IBM files Text files and Etc.It worked beautifully. There WERE failures, but none I couldn’t eventually trace to operator error or Host error. The trick to moving files on foreign computers is this: don’t save/load it. Call board A, D/L, disconnect, call board B, and U/L. As I said, I did this MANY times with great success.
One feature I grew to like more and more was the speed of the keyboard. The keyboard scan routine on MTERM is a very slow one. Put mildly, it’s a pain. I can, and frequently do, out-type it. But the joy of Specterm is that you can type MUCH faster. This is great on L.D. calls. Specterm also gives you “audio feedback” for each keypress. I really missed it when I went back to other terms. My experience showed that ver 4.0 was a bit TOO fast, but both versions of 4.1 are adjustable so you can select the speed you want. Both new versions also allow for color control of the screen.
One of the BEST things about this program is the certainty of future support. You will be hard pressed to find two people who are more knowledgeable and have done more for T/S Telecommunications than Ed Grey and Dave Clifford. Their support is available both by voice and by modem- the latter in the form of the TIMEXCHANGE BBS. They and fellow users are currently working on utilities to enhance the program and are available for download free from the TIMEXCHANGE.
So, The big reasons for going to Specterm 64 are these:
1) 1200 BPS Communications, the ONLY way to do this on the 2068
2) Tremendous versatility in the form of a wide-open 7K BASIC component thus enabling direct access to YOUR mass storage device and/or a wide variety of modems.
3) VERY active continued support for the system with new utilities & additions all the time- available on the TIMEXCHANGE BBS.
4) The size of the buffer :31.487K
5) Better display and no need for the OS-64 Cartridge.
6) A Faster keyboard (the newest versions let you adjust the speed)
7) Allows you to use nearly ANY RS-232 modem (the industry standard) when used with a Z-SI/O Card.
I HATE to see a good product maligned by poor reviewing and hope you will understand my error in rushing v 1.0 to print.
The main differences between ver 4.0 and the 2 v.4.1 (Spectrum & 2068) are these: A)4.0 is Spectrum only B)4.1 allows you to adjust the keyboard speed and screen color (not true of 4.0) C) The new versions have “RELAXED” Xmodem which allows them to work through PC Pursuit. If you own ver4.0 and want to upgrade to the SPECTRUM v.4.1, it will cost you $5 even. If you want the 2068 v.4.1 it will cost $30+ $2 S&H. The Program is available from RMG, SUNSET, Variety Sales, or Grey and Clifford Computer Products/ POBox 2186/Inglewood,CA 90305 (213)759-7406