Last issue I told you we would be looking at some of the newsletters of North America, so here we be. I also mentioned that I would hold off on subscribing to QL World, as at that time they had an uncertain future. It appears we can rest assured for now that QL World will be around for awhile, it was bought by what seems to be capable hands and is still publishing. Now let us see what we have in the way of news from Sinclair Clubs and Groups.
For QL users we have the NESQLUG News, % P.O. Box 8763, Boston, MA 02114. Seems to be bi-monthly and is edited by Peter Hale of EMSoft. Annual membership is $10, $5 for students, and $15 out of North America.
FDD Newsletter for the Zebra Disk Drive System, is edited by Jay Siegel, 1274 49 St., #821, Brooklyn, NY 11219, Phone 718 853-7521. A good mix of hardware, software and CPM coverage.
QZX, the Journal Covering Amateur Radio and Sinclair Computers. That is quite a mouth full, but just what you get from this long running newsletter edited by Alex F. Burr, K5XY, 2025 O’Donnell Drive, Las Cruces, NM 88001. $15 a year for 12 issues. This is not just for ham radio operators.
SINC-LINK, edited by Jeff Taylor of the Toronto Timex-Sinclair Users Club, 14 Richome Court, Scarborough, Ontario, M1K 2Y1. The largest newsletter put out by any North American club or group. It has very heavy emphasis on the Larken interface for the TS2068, good support for the TS1000, and above average QL coverage. No coverage of the Z88. Newsletter subscription alone is for $12, and full membership is $20 a year. Good use of Print Factory on the TS2068 for graphics.
The RAMTOP, is published quarterly, and is edited by Thomas Simon, 615 School Ave., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44221. It is the publication of the Cleveland TS Users Group. No mention of rates for those wanting to subscribe. Covers TS1000, PC, QL and TS2068.
SWYM, the newsletter for SEATUG, is edited by Chuck Kereluck and can be subscribed to by sending $10 to Dave Battershill, P.O. Box 64462, Tacoma, WA 98464. Seems to cover all but the Z88.
ISTUG, the newsletter of the Indiana Sinclair-Timex Users Group is edited by Frank Davis and assistant editor Mike Felerski of desk top publishing fame. It covers mainly the TS2068 and QL, but has occasional coverage for the Z88 and the TS1000. Newsletter subscriptions for non-members are $9 a year and can be obtained from ISTUG, 513 East Main, Peru, IN 46970.
THE PLOTTER, is the newsletter of the Clackamas Computer Applied Training Society, 1419 1/2 7th St., Oregon City, OR 97045. It is edited by Dick Wagner and is heavily contributed to by Rod Gowen of RMG. Subscription is by membership and is $20 a year. It covers all of the Sincalir computers, except the Z88. It also covers the PC, and IBM compatible shareware.
CATS Newsletter, the journal of the Capital Area Timex/Sinclair Users Group, is edited by Tim Swenson. It supports all of the Timex and Sinclair computers and a newsletter subscription can be obtained for $12 a year from CATS, P.O. Box 11017, Takoma Park, MD 20913.
For the Z88 user to get full coverage he can subscribe to Z88 EPROM, % Roy Woodward, Z88 Users Club, 68 Wellington St., Long Eaton, Nottingham NG10 4NG. Rate for a subscription is unknown at this time, but I have seen some excellent back issues. Resembles the QUANTA format of magazine/newsletter.
LATE BREAKING NEWS ABOUT COMPUTER MONTHLY
I just got a call from Bill Ferrebee, who writes the TS Column for Vulcans Computer Monthly. They told him that after the June issue they were going to be going to a strictly IBM and MAC format. Shades of Computer Shopper!!! This means that they will be dropping all of the Classic Computer coverage, from Commodore 64 to TI99, and us included. They will also be dropping the Amiga and Atari ST. Bill said this was a decision made by the owners of the company and not by the Editor or staff. I am not sure if it would do any good to let Vulcans know what we feel about this, but I am going to do so anyway. They seem to have hit me on all of my computers, from my QL to my Amiga and all in between. Speaking of the Amiga, I have the latest version of the QL Emulator for the Amiga. I plan to give a write up on this software in the next issue, and possibly the Spectrum emulator for the Amiga. I also have a Commodore 64, Atari ST, Mac and IBM emulator for my trusty Amiga. It is a nice computer except for the Workbench and CLI environment on it. It is great for emulating, but not all that hot for use as an Amiga if you are a programmer. It uses huge amounts of memory for screens and for many of its programs. I have a few programs that require 3 meg of memory as a minimun! Having weaned myself on computers such as the PDP 8 and 11 and the ZX81 I learned to conserve memory. Is this the wave of the future of computing?
One last note for all of you. You have only one more issue before it is time to renew again. Write and let us know if you want us to continue with UPDATE. It took a long time for most of you to get your renewals in the last time, and frankly I find that to be discouraging. All but a few ended up renewing.