efficient way to
`character sets
`Calc For The 64
`with your disks the ~FJ.:"\"'p···'.JV'
`
`J11n11 IIUIIIII I
`
`Apple Exhibit 4378
`Apple v. SightSound Technologies
`CBM2013-00023
`Page 00001
`
`

`
`MARCH 1987
`VOLUME 9
`NUMBER 3
`ISSUE 82
`
`Commodore's New, Expandable Amigo 2000:
`A Hands-On Report
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Philip I. Nelson
`New Peripheral Technologies
`. , ....................................... .
`An Introduction to Hard Disk Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Philip I. Nelson
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathy Yakal
`The New High-Quality Dot-Matrix Printers
`The Big Picture: Advances in Screen Display ................ Selby Bateman
`A Buyer's Guide to Printers ........................................... .
`Euchre
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Shimada
`
`The Editor's Nores ..................................... Richard Mansfield
`Readers' Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Editors and Readers of COMPUTE!
`Computers and Society: Demons and Events, Part 2
`. . . . . . . David D. Thornburg
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sheldon Leemon
`Microscope
`Telecomputing Today: Packet-Switching Rule Changes
`. . . . . . . . Arlan R. Levitan
`The World Inside the Computer:
`When Buying a New Computer: Don't Ask Me! ............... Fred D'lgnazio
`The Beginner's Page: Getting Started with a Printer
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C. Regena
`ST Outlook: Who Is That Man, and Why Is He Smiling? ............ Philip I. Nelson
`AmigaView: The Sidecar Arrives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sheldon Leemon
`IBM Personal Computing: Two Winners and a Loser ........... Donald B. Trivette
`INSIGHT: Atari-Corrected File Conversions
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bill Wilkinson
`
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . Martin Staley
`3-D Surfaces for Amigo
`Fixing Atari Revision-S BASIC
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Hart
`Custom Characters for Atari XL and XE
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S. M. Baugh
`Applecoder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adam Levin
`l 28 File Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeffrey D. Partch
`Filedump for IBM PC/PCjr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harry Faulkner
`DOS Calc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Kelly
`Diskcheck: Apple Sector Editor for DOS 3.3
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Meyles
`128 Editing Functions for Commodore 64
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Allen
`Amigo Banner Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walter Bulawa
`Using PUT and GET on the PC/PCjr ......................... Rafael Gonzalez
`Superplotter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Greg Perkins and Derry Bryson
`CAPUTEI Modifications or Corrections
`to Previous Articles
`COMPUTEI's Author's Guide
`COMPUTEI's Guide to Typing In Programs
`MLX: Machine Language Entry Program
`for Commodore 64 and 128
`MLX: Machine Language Entry Program for Apple
`Advertisers Index
`
`NOTE: See page 123
`before typing in
`programs.
`
`ing inC is
`ective ST
`w you how
`:ing applica(cid:173)
`files, menus,
`Imming desk
`nediate to
`
`write
`
`aw-Hill, Ryerson
`J M1P 2Z5.
`
`COMPUTEr Publications,lnc.e
`
`ABC Consumer Magazines, Inc.
`of the ABC Publishing Companies
`ABC Publishing, President. Robert G. Burton
`1330 Avenue of the Americas. New York. New York 10019
`
`COMPUTE! The Journal for Progressive Computing (USPS: 537250) is published monthly by
`COMPUTE! Publications, Inc., 825 7th Ave., New York, NY 10019 USA. Phone: (212) 265-8360.
`Editorial Offices are located at 324 West Wendover Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27408. Domestic
`Subscriptions: 12 issues, $24. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: COMPUTE! Magazine, P.O.
`Box 10955, Des Moines, IA 50950. Second class postage paid at Greensboro, NC 27403 and addi(cid:173)
`tional mailing offices. Entire contents copyright ©1987 by COMPUTE! Publications, Inc. All rights
`reserved, ISSN 0194-357X.
`
`Page 00002
`
`

`
`----Editor's Notes
`
`As microprocessors, computer chips, be(cid:173)
`come increasingly a fact of modem
`life-stamped into everything from cof(cid:173)
`feemakers to greeting cards-we can ex(cid:173)
`pect the things around us to grow ever
`smarter and, consequently, more useful.
`Madison Avenue seems to follow a pre(cid:173)
`dictable pattern when describing the
`various levels of appliance intelligence.
`It's most obvious with communications
`appliances like stereos and TV s. What
`was just a radio suddenly becomes a
`digital radio. A year or two later, and
`some additional RAM and ROM chips,
`and it's computerized (or microprocessor
`controlled). Eventually, when the device
`is finally more computer than radio, it's
`called programmable.
`Although there's considerable im(cid:173)
`precision and variability in the use of
`these terms, there is a profound change
`taking place.
`You can see it happening now with
`television sets. A year ago we were
`introduced to the first "digital" TV. All
`this amounted to was "picture within
`picture": You could cause a frame to
`appear on the screen holding an image
`that differed from the larger, normal TV
`image. Now, however, newer "digital"
`TVs use special sampling techniques to
`improve picture quality by creating
`more lines than were originally broad(cid:173)
`cast. In other words, the TV is smart
`enough to infer what would have been
`sent if the TV studio or videotape were
`transmitting roughly twice as much pic(cid:173)
`ture as either is currently able to. The
`result is a sharper, more detailed pic(cid:173)
`ture, and you cannot see the fine hori(cid:173)
`zontal lines which are visible on most
`TV images.
`With this we have moved closer to
`high-definition, theater-quality home
`entertainment. However,
`there is a
`clear line of progress yet to come, from
`these early steps to the ultimate TV. For
`one thing, even intelligently enhanced
`images are not, themselves, digital. To
`see why, we need to briefly define the
`important distinction between analog
`and digital.
`There are only two ways to trans(cid:173)
`mit, store, or manipulate information:
`analogously or digitally. Analog infor(cid:173)
`mation is an imitation, where digital
`information is a numeric code. Cavemen
`
`used both forms: If an advance scout
`needed to tell the hunting party that he
`saw two elephants, he could either imi(cid:173)
`tate them by sketching two elephant
`figures on a tree, or simply poke two
`sticks into the ground. (Digital, being a
`code, depends on a prior agreement(cid:173)
`for instance, that sticks in the ground
`represent elephants.)
`But an even more fundamental dis(cid:173)
`tinction between digital and analog
`rests on whether the information is con(cid:173)
`tinuous or separated into abrupt steps.
`Again, this can be seen in the earliest
`cave paintings: A drawing of an ele(cid:173)
`phant is a unit, a whole unto itself,
`sometimes even drawn with a continu(cid:173)
`ous single line. A series of straight lines;
`however, perhaps representing a herd
`of elephants, is discontinuous, separated
`into symbols, and bears no real resem(cid:173)
`blance to the thing it communicates.
`Thus, when you call someone on the
`telephone, the rise and fall of your
`words is reproduced, imitated by the
`little speaker in the earpiece of the tele(cid:173)
`phone on the other end. The infor(cid:173)
`mation is continuous, a flow of sound.
`Were you to communicate via smoke
`signals or Morse code, the information
`would be broken into distinct steps or
`pulses and would bear no resemblance
`to the spoken word. In the modern
`sense of the term, digital communica(cid:173)
`tion means frequently sampling a con(cid:173)
`tinually varying event to reduce it to a
`series of numbers. The numbers, then,
`can be easily stored or transmitted.
`They are also easy to manipulate: To
`make a louder sound, just multiply the
`numbers.
`Nevertheless, analog has been the
`primary method of communication for
`most of man's history simply because
`it's generally easier to accomplish with(cid:173)
`out computer assistance. For example,
`the traditional phonograph record is
`made by a little needle which vibrates a
`pathway into soft vinyl. When record(cid:173)
`ing a trumpet, the needle digs a vinyl
`pathway which is a direct imitation of
`the vibrations in the air caused by the
`trumpet. Then, when you want to listen
`to it, the needle on your record player
`sends the same vibrations to your
`speaker, which, in turn, vibrates the air
`as the trumpet originally did. All the
`
`way along, from Doc Severinsen's horn
`to your ear, the information is passed in
`the form of various analogies to the
`vibrations of air we recognize as the
`sound of a trumpet.
`To digitize
`this sound requires
`enormous amounts of computer power,
`and it was only a few years ago, with
`advances in microprocessing, that digi(cid:173)
`tal music, in the form of the compact
`disc, became possible. Whereas analog
`is easy (the needle and vinyl and speak(cid:173)
`ers transmit vibrations to each other
`pretty much unassisted), digital re(cid:173)
`quires that the sound be turned into a
`code, into numbers to be stored on the
`disc. Then, in order for you to listen to
`it, those numbers have to be translated
`back into vibrations by a compact disc
`player through a process known as dig(cid:173)
`ital-to-analog conversion. And to get
`accurate sound, you need lots of num(cid:173)
`bers: 44,000 per second. A single min(cid:173)
`ute of music on a compact disc requires
`more than 2.5 million numbers.
`A video event requires far more
`information than audio. So we can ex(cid:173)
`pect to wait years before TV images are
`thoroughly digitized all through the
`chain from network camera to home TV
`screen. Some few studios are just now
`beginning to add digital capabilities,
`but the cost is as yet far beyond the
`consumer market. As usual, the con(cid:173)
`sumer must wait for lower chip costs
`and higher chip speeds before the man(cid:173)
`ifest benefits of digital TV will be every(cid:173)
`where available.
`The latest home video recorders do
`have enough memory to capture a sin(cid:173)
`gle still image and display it, rock
`steady, as a freeze frame. We can also
`expect digital signal enhancement for
`VCRs soon. But the most dramatic
`changes will come in the next stage, the
`computerization phase. At that
`the home television will start to make
`some decisions all by itself.
`To get a hint of what's possible, we
`can look at a couple of recent develop(cid:173)
`ments in the satellite TV world: con(cid:173)
`stant database broadcasting and
`intelligent receivers.
`There's now a service which acts
`like a smart TV Guide. You interact with
`it when you tune it in. You can request a
`list of sports events only, or reviews of
`
`4 OOMPUTEI March 1987
`
`Page 00003
`
`

`
`insen' s horn
`t is passed in
`)gies to the
`;nize as the
`
`nd requires
`puter power,
`rs ago, with
`1g, that digi(cid:173)
`the compact
`ereas analog
`rl and speak(cid:173)
`, each other
`digital re(cid:173)
`urned into a
`tored on the
`u to listen to
`::>e translated
`:ompact disc
`nown as dig-
`And to get
`lots of num(cid:173)
`._ single min(cid:173)
`disc requires
`mbers.
`~es far more
`owe can ex(cid:173)
`V images are
`through the
`1 to home TV
`are just now
`capabilities,
`beyond the
`tal, the con(cid:173)
`:!r chip costs
`:ore the man(cid:173)
`Rill be every-
`
`recorders do
`:apture a sin(cid:173)
`>lay it, rock
`We can also
`mcement for
`::>st dramatic
`ext stage, the
`t that point,
`;tart to make
`H.
`; possible, we
`:ent develop-
`world: con(cid:173)
`:asting and
`
`e which acts
`interact with
`can request a
`or reviews of
`
`;:,u!J;:)L.I.H.I-c, you can
`them your
`serial num(cid:173)
`descrambler. Within 30
`
`What a deal! Your first Shanghai™ game's on us!Just
`send for your free Shanghai demonstration disk which
`contains one tantalizing puzzle. It's guaranteed to
`whet your appetite for the billions of options on the
`complete disk
`What makes us so sure? History. Shanghai is derived
`from the ancient oriental game ofMahjongg, which
`has captured players' imaginations for over 30
`centuries.
`Find out what a 3,000-year obsession is all about.
`Write for your free Shanghai Demo:
`Activision, Inc.
`PO. Box 7287
`Mountain View, CA 94039
`Enclose a $3.00 check for postage and handling.
`
`Now available for IBM PC/
`PCjr, Tandy 1000, Apple H,
`Macintosh, Commodore
`64/128, Arniga, Atari ST
`and compatible computers.
`Corning soon for the
`Apple!IGS.
`
`Tiles of Shanghai
`
`come more IJ'C.l;:)'-'llCl.H"-'"''-'-·
`more shows on
`in(cid:173)
`more foreign movies; more
`terest broadcasts-all because a small
`~ .. ·~~~ .... ~ such narrowcast-
`
`Page 00004
`
`

`
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`
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`magazine may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Entire contents copyright
`© 1987~ COMPUTE! Publications. Inc. Rights to programs developed and submitted by authors are explained in our
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`a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Programs (on tape or disk) must accompany each submission. Printed listings
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`TI-99/4A is a trademark of Texas ""TnnTIH<II>. ,,.,.,
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`IBM PC and PCjr are trademarks of International Business Machines, Inc.
`Tandy. Inc.
`
`Page 00005
`
`

`
`It's not impossible to imagine TV
`eventually becoming so specialized that
`there would be channels devoted to,
`say~ showing only Kubrick films. If that
`happened, whatever you might want to
`see or hear would always be on.
`Eventually, perhaps within the
`next five years, television will enter the
`third stage of its computerization: pro(cid:173)
`grammability. When TV is sufficiently
`integrated with the VCR and other en(cid:173)
`tertainment appliances, it will be possi(cid:173)
`ble to teach the machines to work
`together for the viewer's benefit and to
`suit the viewer's personal tastes. One
`example is the generalized remote
`control brought out by GE last year.
`You put it face to face with all your
`other remotes and simultaneously press
`the same buttons on each. The GE then
`memorizes all the codes and can be
`used in place of all your other remotes.
`Plans have been announced to in(cid:173)
`troduce this year a controller with mac(cid:173)
`ro capabilities. Not only does this
`device know what time it is; it can also
`learn a complicated series of keystrokes
`and be programme9, to repeat them.
`Among the many uses for a macro con(cid:173)
`troller will be its ability to act as if it
`were a well-trained servant performing
`a complex series of tasks-before you
`arrive at breakfast, for example. As(cid:173)
`sume that you want to see the weather
`report first thing. Before you awake, the
`macro will be able to tum on the TV,
`change channels to the weather report,
`precisely adjust the volume, rewind
`your VCR, wait until the weather
`comes on, record just that part of the
`program, and then rewind again, wait(cid:173)
`ing for your arrival.
`Such controllers could contain hun(cid:173)
`dreds of personal macros, and the macros
`themselves could be chained together
`into a highly complicated series of ac(cid:173)
`tions. Macro programming is just another
`word for computer programming.
`There will be some spectacular ad(cid:173)
`vances in the coming years as the quali(cid:173)
`ty and convenience of our domestic
`devices continue to benefit from the
`microprocessor revolution. And what(cid:173)
`ever words are used in advertising,
`many of our household machines are
`clearly in the process of becoming more
`computer than appliance.
`
`Richard Mansfield
`Editorial Director
`
`50340
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`>rder Line
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`Inc.
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`Page 00006