TS Bulletin 2-1990

Date: February 1990
Issue: 2-1990
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Articles

Title Description Computers
Amateur Programmers' Line: The Future of BASIC Extended opinion column arguing that BASIC remains viable for amateur programmers across all platforms, including the Sinclair range. Harmer discusses migration paths to Pascal (HiSoft Pascal on TS2068, Partial Pascal for ZX-81/TS1000, Turbo Pascal for IBM) and the importance of distributing BASIC source code for educational purposes rather than compiling and distributing binaries only. Reviews Sinclair QL, Timex/Sinclair 1000, Timex/Sinclair 2068
Bugs, Fixes, and Compatibility Notes Discussion of technical compatibility questions from around the community: interfacing a Commodore 64 disk drive to the TS2068 (reportedly attempted by an Ohio group per SLIX); TurboPascal 4.0-5.5 CASE/LONGINT compiler bug and fix (use IF..THEN..ELSE instead); MS-DOS version 3.x compatibility issues for compiled programs; searching for a public domain program to read CP/M disks from Timex/Sinclair 1000, Timex/Sinclair 2068
Magazine News Updates on Timex/Sinclair periodicals: SyncWare News/Quantuum Levels selling back issues at $3 each before closing (lost ~$5,000); Time Designs Vol.5 No.2 now available; Update Disk System Magazine subscription details ($18/yr for TS2068, QL, and Z-88 content); and Byte Power cassette magazine pricing (demo $3, 6 issues $32, also offering TS1000 programs, fast-load utility for TS2068,
Mailing List Changes Reports new contacts for Sinclair SIGs discovered via SLIX: G. Granger in New Carlisle, Ohio, and Pittsburgh Area Computer Club Sinclair SIG (R. Vasko, Donora PA). Notes these are informal leads rather than official SIG representatives. Also reports that the Boston TSUG separation from Boston Computer Society is confirmed but no new mailing address yet
Supplier File Curated list of active Timex/Sinclair hardware and software suppliers: TK Computerware (QL software, North Stanford Kent UK); Lloyd Dreger (3 machine code books for TS2068, Butler WI); Pyramid Electronics (TS1000 and TS2068 software, Sarasota FL); Bottle Cap Software (OS-64 programs for TS1000/TS2068 including Checkbook Balancer and Credit Card Payer at $6 each, Cincinnati OH); AT Sinclair QL, Timex/Sinclair 1000, Timex/Sinclair 2068
TS Bulletin News Supplement #2-1990: Hardware and Software News News roundup covering TS2068 hardware and software developments: Pixel Print Plus v4 completed by Steven Spalding (after Stan Lemke exited the market) with greeting card design replacing TS2040 printer support; Larry Kenny’s forthcoming TS2068 desktop publisher with spellchecker; the Oliger double-density disk system (WD1770 controller, Spectrum ROM 48K compatible, board available bare/unpopulated); and the Sineus Timex/Sinclair 2068
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