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ISSUE 1
March-April 1984

Expandable Computer News

An Independent Newsletter for the Adam & Other Computers

COPY RIGHT 1984 SAGE ENTERPRISES

PREMIERE ISSUE

Coleco,  Colecovision,  Adam, SmartWRITER, and SmartBASIC are all 
trademarks of Coleco Industries, Inc.

Page - 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Ramblings from the Ridge - 3
West Hartford Happenings - 5
What About the Competition - 6
Programs-Programs-Programs - 9
Product Reviews
Bringing Adam Home - 12
WICO Joystick - 14
SUBROC - 15
Popeye - 16
Glitches, Bugs, Errata, Etc - 17
Public Domain Software - 19
User Group News - 19
Product Manufacturers - 20
Submission Requirements - 21

Expandable  Computer  News (ECN) is published bi-monthly by  Sage 
Enterprises.

Current Subscription Rate: $12.00 per year (6 issues).

Send all correspondence (subscriptions,  ads,  reviews,  articles 
and products) to:
Sage Enterprises
Expandable Computer News
Rt. 2, Box 211, Scrivner Rd.
Russellville, Missouri 65074

Telephone:	314/782-3448

Staff (such as it is):

Editor - Darrell R. Sage
Associate - Shirley Sage

Page - 3

RAMBLINGS FROM THE RIDGE
Darrell Sage, Editor

This is the premiere edition of your newsletter.  I would like to 
welcome  you  personally to Expandable Computer  News  (ECN).  To 
those of you who are our charter subscribers we would like to say 
thanks. We hope that you
will be pleased with your newsletter.  One of the things you  can 
do  to make our effort a success is to write to us.  Send us your 
comments and suggestions.  Elsewhere in this issue you will  find 
guidelines  for  submitting  reviews of  products,  programs  and 
articles which you have written.  Because of our efforts to  keep 
this  publication as inexpensive as possible,  we cannot pay  you 
for  your  contributions.  We  will however  attempt  to  publish  
everything  that  you  send in so that you will  be  rewarded  by 
seeing your name in print.  As our newsletter  continues to grow, 
we will select some of you to become regular contributors.  These 
persons will be supplied with new products for review or be given 
a by-line in the newsletter.  At some point we hope to be able to 
pay a fee to our contributors.

Our  goal  is  to serve you.  We want to make you  aware  of  new 
products  as  soon as they are available and we want to tell  you 
whether  or  not they are worth your  money.  We  recognize  that 
different  people like different things so if you like a  product 
that we didn't, tell us.

We  urge companies whose products are reviewed to respond to  our 
comments  and those of our readers.  We also urge these companies 
to consider the reviews when designing or modifying software. The 
best  way to sell a product and stay in business is to listen  to 
the buying public. If we do make a mistake we will correct it but 
we plan on making it clear if a product is bad.  After all,  this 
newsletter is for users.

A few words about our title and subtitle are in order. We spent a 
good  deal of time trying to develop a title for this  newsletter 
that would accurately reflect what we are all about.  Many of our 
early  ideas  focused on Adam and Eden.  Most of these  were  too 
restrictive  or did not convey the fact that this is  a  computer 
newsletter.  Then  we  began thinking about Colecovision and  its 
built in expandability. We felt that those computers that are the 
most  adaptable and expandable are the most likely to succeed  in 
the home market.  The more we thought about it the more we  liked 
the idea of expandability.  Finally one morning around 6 A.M.  it 
came to me just like it appears on the cover sheet.  The subtitle 
was  added  to  convey  several  things,  one  of  which  is  our 
independence.  We feel that it is important that our independence 
from manufacturers be stressed. While initially our focus will be 
on  the  Adam,  we  did  not want to  start  off  by  restricting 
ourselves  solely to that product.  In this industry it is diffi
cult to imagine what tomorrow will bring.

Since I am the editor of this newsletter it is probably  appropr
iate that you know a little bit about me and how I got started in 
this business. I have been involved with one aspect or another of 
data processing since

Page - 4

1968. 	In  some  ways that makes me an old timer.  Much  of  my 
experience  has  been in the design and  programming of  specific 
applications.    My   experience   includes   assembly   language 
programming  as well as applications languages such  as  Fortran, 
Basic  and  others.  I have not had any formal training  in  data 
processing  or  programming.  In  many ways I feel this  lack  of 
training is an advantage. I have been able to look at specific
applications  more from the user's standpoint than from  that  of 
the systems analyst's or programmer's.  In many ways that is what 
led  me  to  become involved in publishing a newsletter  for  the 
Adam.

I have seen a lot of software that just did not take into account 
the needs of the user.  It was inflexible. The user had to tailor 
his application to the software rather than being able to  tailor 
the software to a specific need.  Hackers have been much maligned 
in  recent times.  I am often unsure what some people consider to 
be a "hacker." Nevertheless, I have seen software that was highly 
structured,  well  documented and thoroughly explained  that  was 
totally  useless.  on the other hand,  I have also seen  programs 
written  by hackers that were excellent.  I would be the first to 
say document your programs,  but make sure it does what is needed 
first. If that makes me a hacker then so be it.

My goal is to bring the mystery and wonder of computers to you in 
a useable fashion. I also want to make sure that you are aware of 
what a product does and how well it works before you buy  it.  We 
will  also  try  to find ways to fix problems that  develop  with 
products you have bought.

We feel that the review section of the newsletter will make  your 
subscription  more than worthwhile.  Company magazines and  maga
zines supported primarily through advertising revenues are simply 
not  as  likely to give an honest review of a product that  makes 
them a living. We feel strongly that computer users need a source 
of  information  and  assistance  to  turn  to  other  than   the 
manufacturer.  The inspiration for our effort came largely from a 
similar  magazine for Commodore computers.  The MIDNIGHT SOFTWARE 
GAZETTE is the best independent newsletter for Commodore products 
that I am aware of.  If you also own a Commodore computer I  urge 
you  to subscribe to their magazine.  You will find  subscription 
information listed at the end of this article.

While  reviews will be a major part of our effort,  we intend  to 
provide  you  with a good deal more.  There will be  articles  on 
programming  techniques,  new  developments,  ready-to-run  fully 
tested  programs,  news  about other computer  manufacturers  and 
their  products,  news  about  products for  the  Adam  including 
products from independent third-party companies,  news about user 
groups and about available public domain software.

The  Midnight Software Gazette is published bi-monthly by Midnite 
Software,  Inc.  Subscription  rates  are $23 US  per  year.  For 
subscriptions  or more information contact Jim & Debbie  Oldfield 
at:

The MIDNIGHT
Subscription Office
635 Maple
Mt. Zion, Illinois 62549
Telephone:	217/864-5320

Page - 5

WEST HARTFORD HAPPENINGS

.In case you did not know,  West Hartford,  Connecticut is  where 
Coleco  is  located.  This article will therefore deal  primarily 
with  news from and about Coleco and its computer and video  game 
products.

Though rumored to be in development for some time, Adam was first 
shown at the summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last June. At 
that  point an actual working production model did not appear  to 
exist.  For  some time prior to that event the company  had  been 
hyping  the Colecovision unit on its expandability and a soon  to 
be  announced keyboard attachment.  Subsequently Coleco announced 
and began advertising the super game pack expansion module.  This 
module contained expansion memory for the Colecovision game  unit 
and  a high speed tape drive which at that point consisted of the 
Exatron  stringy floppy.  The stringy floppy or wafer tape  drive 
consists of a continuous loop tape system.  It was believed  that 
the  super game module would become a major part of the  computer 
component.  In  the meantime the stringy floppy was coming  under 
some criticism for its apparent lack of reliability. The company, 
Exatron,  had been marketing its devices for the Commodore Vic-20 
and  other computer systems.  All at once it seemed to  disappear 
from the market.

Because  of  the problems that were developing with  the  stringy 
floppy, Coleco began to seek other solutions for its data storage 
device.  Unfortunately  this  appears to have taken  place  right 
before Adam appeared at the summer CES. Shortly thereafter Coleco 
announced  that  it  would delay introduction of the  super  game 
expansion module and direct its efforts to the Adam. In order for 
the company to take advantage of the upcoming Christmas season it 
had to have a working prototype in a very short  time.  Initially 
the company hoped to begin shipping the Adam in August.

The  data storage problem was partly resolved by switching to the 
current  digital data pack drive.  This device uses an  expensive 
pre-formatted tape cassette and operates with a directory in much 
the same manner as a disk drive.  Later Coleco intends to  intro
duce a disk drive which should help reduce the cost of developing 
and  marketing software.  Disks cost considerably less thin  data 
packs  and  extra data packs are nearly impossible to  obtain  at 
this time.

Coleco  soon found that its problems were not solved  completely. 
They  still had to pass FCC requirements before the Adam could go 
into  production.  Rumor has it that final approval did not  come 
until late October 1983.  Such a late start had a major impact on 
production  and  delivery  of the Adam  in  time  for  Christmas. 
Nevertheless  the  company did make the effort and ended  up  air 
freighting large numbers of Adams to

Page - 6


retailers.   At the 1984 Winter Consumer Electronics Show, Coleco 
officials  indicated  that the company was only able  to  produce 
95,000  Adams in 1983.  They went on to say that they would  have 
the capacity to produce as many as 140,000 Adams a month in 1984.

It  is  unfortunate  that there has been so  much  misinformation 
about  the Adam floating around and being reported by  the  press 
and  other  mass  media.  One account I saw  indicated  that  the 
expansion module version of the Adam would not be produced at all 
until  1984.  We  received ours in December 1983 as  did  others. 
There were also a number of accounts printed that indicated-there 
were  problems with the hardware.  one account indicated that the 
word  processor  could only store one page of text at a  time  in 
memory.  This of course is not true.  We are NOT in this business 
to  sell the Adam,  but we will try to provide you  with  factual 
information.  So far we think the Adam is a great little machine. 
I  suspect  many  of  the rumors may have  been  started  by  the 
competition  or  have been due to the press's  general  ignorance 
about computers.

Coleco  is  generally keeping quiet about what it is up  to  now. 
They  have  indicated that they obtained the rights to  "Dragon's 
Lair".  The  possibility of a video disk interface or a low  cost 
video disk player compatible with the Adam are among alternatives 
currently being explored.  We will try to keep you posted on  any 
developments. There is still no word on disk drives. We hope they 
have them out soon and go for some kind of a standard format.

WHAT ABOUT THE COMPETITION?

This  column  will be dedicated to covering developments  in  the 
rest of the industry.  I have been watching the industry for some 
time  and  have a few introductory comments that I would like  to 
make.

I  feel  that  the  market for home  and  personal  computers  is 
composed  of  several overlapping  buying  groups.  These  groups 
differ  partly  because of the price differences but also in  how 
they view the product. It is this perspective that has led to the 
success of some products and the failure of others.

One of the first buying groups to arise was composed of lower end 
commercial  and business buyers.  Such consumers  bought  Apples, 
Pets,  Radio  Shack TRS-80s,  IBM PCs and other computers in that 
price  range  for  primarily  business  applications.  The  group 
immediately above them had been used to receiving data processing 
support from main frame computers and mini-computers.  This group 
has  turned  to IBM PCs,  Apple's Lisa,  and a variety  of  other 
computers that are promoted for heavy business

Page - 7

applications.   Directly  below these two groups are  people  who 
could afford Apples, Radio Shack TRS-80s, and other computers for 
a  mixture  of applications including game playing.  The cost  of 
machines in this category greatly hindered general expansion into 
the larger home market.

Soon lower priced computers like the Atari series,  Commodore  64 
and  Vic-20s,  Texas Instrument's 99/4A,  and lower priced  Radio 
Shack  computers began moving into the upper income home  market. 
These  products were used heavily for game playing and were still 
perceived  by  the general public as expensive toys  even  though 
most  of them were fairly powerful machines for  the  price.  The 
price  cuts made by Commodore greatly broadened the base of  this 
buying group and forced price cuts by the competition. The result 
of this price war led to the withdrawal of Texas Instruments from 
the  home market with major financial losses.  Atari also took it 
on the chin but did not withdraw.

I  really think TI and Atari misjudged the buying  public.  Their 
losses  were  partly due to poor marketing and partly  to  greed. 
Commodore  marketed  a good product with low  priced  peripherals 
while  the other companies charged ridiculous prices for  cables, 
expansion  boxes,  peripherals and anything else while trying  to 
compete  in  the  broader market  that  Commodore  was  creating. 
Ultimately  Atari  had  to  retrench  and  retool  developing  an 
improved XL series. Atari also began marketing software for their 
competitors' machines. I still have doubts about Atari's approach 
to  marketing  and  look for them to eventually get  out  of  the 
hardware end of the business altogether.

How  does the Adam fit into all of this ?  Well,  I believe  that 
although  its  market  will certainly overlap with  that  of  the 
Commodore  64 and Atari XL series it really is being focused at a 
new group of buyers.  I really do not think that the Adam will be 
in major competition with Commodore.  I think their markets  will 
differ. Adam will probably be more in competition with Atari, who 
doesn't  seem  to  know who its  market  is,  the  Aquarius,  and 
computers  yet to come.  I really believe that the Adam is moving 
to a new market area and that Coleco has done an excellent job of 
identifying  that  market  and following  an  appropriate  market 
strategy.

If none of this makes any sense, I apologize. What I am trying to 
say  is I think Adam will do well unless someone else goes  after 
the same market in a better and cheaper way.

On to the news, rumor and gossip.

Rumor - the founder of Atari,  Nolan Bushnell,  may be trying  to 
team up with Australian publisher Rupert Murdoch who is trying to 
acquire Warner the parent company of Atari.

Mattel   has   sold  all  rights  to  the  Aquarius  to   Radofin 
Electronics.

Warning  - the British invasion of computers may come before  the 
Japanese. Some of the British products look pretty good.

Commodore's  sales  doubled  last  year.  The  company  plans  to 
introduce  a "touch-screen" this spring and has a couple  of  new 
computers  ready  for  introduction.   If the new  264  and  V364 
compete directly with the C-64 I

Page - 8

think  it  will be a big mistake for the company.  I  think  they 
ought to go after the IBM PC Jr.

Atari  will be marketing home versions of arcade games  developed 
by Nolan Bushnell's company as well as part of a line of robots.

Sinclair has announced the QL computer priced at about $550.  The 
QL is supposed to be a 128k thirty-two bit machine.   The current 
plan  is to market it by	"mail order?" Even though it is supposed 
to compete with Adam, I will have to wait and see.

I am still not sure who the IBM PC Jr.  will be competing with. I 
really  suspect  it will compete more with the IBM PC  and  maybe 
Radio Shack and Apple.  Actually it doesn't look like a very good 
idea to me.  A full fledged Jr.  will cost as much as some of the 
IBM PC look-alikes.

Leading  Edge is marketing a PC that is compatible with  most  PC 
software and peripherals. The Leading Edge PC comes with monitor, 
128k,  seven  expansion slots,  disk  drives,  DOS,  Basic,  word 
processor, internal clock, etc. all for $2895.'

Radio  Shack  has  announced the Model  2000.  This  computer  is 
another  IBM  competitor  with 128k,  two  disk  drives,  16  bit 
processor and more for $2750.

As  news  comes in we will keep adding it on until printing  time 
arrives.

Jack Tramiel,  founder and president of Commodore,  announced his 
resignation as president and member of the board of directors. We 
will  try  to watch the impact of his retirement  and  report  it 
here.

Mattel has sold the rights to the Intellivision and has withdrawn 
entirely from the videogame and electronics market.  20th Century 
Fox   has  discontinued  production  of  video  game  cartridges. 
Commodore  has  delayed  indefinitely  the  introduction  of  the 
recently  announced 264 and 364 computers.  Timex has decided  to 
discontinue  marketing  Sinclair computers.  Milton  Bradley  had 
dropped production of the Vextrex video game system developed  by 
GCE.  The  failure  of  the Vextrex appears to have been  due  to 
inadequate promotion and support for a quality product.

IBM,   IBM  PC  &  IBM  PC  Jr.   are  registered  trademarks  of 
International  Business  Machines.  Apple & Lisa  are  registered 
trademarks  of  Apple  Computers,  Inc.  Atari  &  Atari  XL  are 
registered trademarks of Atari,  Inc. Commodore 64 and Vic-20 are 
registered trademarks of Commodore Business Machines, Inc. Mattel 
& Aquarius are registered trademarks of Mattel, Inc. Leading Edge 
is a trademark of Leading Edge Products,  Inc.  TRS-80 and  Radio 
Shack  are trademarks of the Radio Shack division of Tandy  Corp. 
Texas   Instruments   and  TI  99/4a  are  trademarks  of   Texas 
Instruments, Inc.

Page - 9

PROGRAMS-PROGRAMS-PROGRAMS

Each  issue of this newsletter will provide you with a number  of 
program listings of fully tested and debugged programs ready  for 
you to enter and run on your Adam computer. Unlike s6me magazines 
we  will thoroughly proofread our program listings before they go 
into print.

If  you  have programs that you have written and  would  like  to 
share  them  with others,  just send them in.  Include  a  little 
information  about  yourself and we will test your  programs  and 
print  the best ones here.  Please,  do not send us any  programs 
written by someone else or taken from a magazine or book.

In  addition  to our program listings we will provide a  line-by-
line  explanation  of  the  program  so  that  you  can  use  the 
information  provided  to  learn  more  about  writing  your  own 
programs.  This  issue's  programs will demonstrate some  of  the 
graphics capabilities of the Adam.

Program 1 Graphics Demo

5 HGR2
10 FOR I = l TO 42
20 HCOLOR = 1 + INT(I/3)
30 SCALE = I
40 ROT = 0
50 DRAW 1 AT 125, 100
60 FOR J = 1 TO 1000
70 NEXT J
75 NEXT I
80 TEXT

Line 5 sets high resolution graphics mode.  Sounds complex but it 
simply  means  that each dot on the screen can be  controlled  to 
draw  pictures or whatever you want.  Line 10 is the start  of  a 
loop that will be carried out 42 times. The program will run from 
line  10  down  through line 75 at which point the  program  will 
return  to  line  10 and begin again until it has  done  that  42 
times.  Line  20  sets the color of the dots that will  be  drawn 
using the formula.  The value of 1 is added to the integer  value 
of I (from line 10) divided by 3. This means that the color value 
will range from 1 to 15.

Line  30 sets the scale value to the value of I which will  range 
from 1 to 42.  The scale value determines the size of the line or 
object that will be drawn.  Line 40 determines the angle at which 
the line or object will be drawn. A line or object can be rotated 
over 64 different positions.

Line  50  instructs  the  computer to draw  shape  1,  a  square, 
starting at column 125 and row 100.  Line 60 starts a delay  loop 
that ends at line 70.

Page - 10

Delay  loops  are used to slow down graphics so that you can  see 
the changes as they occur. Line 75 is the end of the loop started 
at line 10. Line 80 turns off the high resolution graphics screen 
and returns to text format.

As this program executes a series of ever increasing squares will 
be drawn on the screen.  In addition the color of the new squares 
will change.

Program 2 Graphics Demo

5 HGR2
10 FOR J=l TO 1000
15 FOR I=l TO 64
20 K=INT(I/4) + 1
25 IF K > 15 THEN K=15
30 IF K = 4 THEN K=15
35 HCOLOR = K
40 SCALE = 20
50 ROT = 0 + I-1
60 DRAW 1 AT 125, 100
70 NEXT I
75 NEXT J
80 TEXT

In line 5 the high resolution graphics mode is turned on. In line 
10 a loop is started that will be repeated 1000 times. In line 15 
a loop is started that will be executed 64 times.  This loop will 
start  over everytime the loop at line 10 repeats.  Line 20  sets 
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