      RonsWeek'n'ADAM

      November 5, 1997

      In the course of locating the SmartBASIC 1.X manual last
week, I found a number of other books about ADAM.  There was a
time most of us will recall when commercial publishers actually
put out a fair number of volumes on our beloved orphan. In fact,
1984 was a very good year. Those were the days before ADAM be-
came an orphan.
      It occurs to me that some of the newer ADAMites might not
even know that this material exists, and I'm going to take this 
article to list what I have. I don't have as many as I used to. 
      I've given some away, and some served as donated ADAMCON
prizes over the years. Following is a list of ADAM Books in my 
library along with a brief description of each one. Perhaps
other readers will be able to add to it.
     It should be noted at the outset that most books published
about ADAM in 1984,  covered pretty much the same ground. They
were essentially treatises on BASIC programming which took the
reader to the point where he or she could write SmartBASIC
programs.  
    A number of fairly sophisticated applications were presented,
but they were, almost without exception, written in SmartBASIC.
Only a couple of volumes attempted any explanation of ADAM's
sound capabilities, and none of the commercially available books
did much to alert the user to some of SmartBASIC's inherent
bugs. 
      These latter items were left to some highly talented
hobbyists, whose work appeared during subsequent years, and will 
be dealt with in a subsequent  article.

      Without further adieu then, and in no particular order:

      Word Processing With Your Coleco ADAM
      Carole Jelen Alden
      Sybex Computer Books, Copyright 1984
      ISBN 0-89588 182-9
      127 pages

      This book covers everything you wanted to know about 
SmartWriter, but were afraid to ask. It is slanted to the needs
of the family, and and provides help in creating 'Boilerplates', 
address books, and reports of various types. Explanations are 
illustrated with actual screen captures throughout the book.
   I found a rather interesting page at the end of the book in
a chapter that outlined future Coleco plans for ADAM expansion.  
Here's a quote:
      "Many software packages will become available for ADAM in
1984 that will help you in your writing endeavours. A few of
them are designed to be compatible with ADAM's built in word
processor: 
      Smart Spelling Checker, Smart Writing Checker, Smart
Letters and Forms, and Smart Filer, all made by Coleco.'..(and 
further down.....)
      "Smart Writing Checker is a program that will proofread
your correspondence or reports to catch common errors such as
double words, missing punctuation, wrong capitalization, and so
on.  
      This program will be like a second reader to catch your
errors."      Interesting. Did anyone ever see that program?

      The BASIC ADAM
      A Self-Teaching Guide
      William Abikoff, Gary Cornell
      John Wiley & Sons, Inc. copyright 1984
      ISBN 0-471-80807-5
      524 pages

      This is my favourite, and I make no bones about it. It
takes the reader from very basic SmartBASIC through to a rather
complete sound and music editor with lots of programming examples
in between. There is a complete explanation about filing, and 
writing files to the media (disk or datapack). There is an 
appendix dealing with the differences between ApplesoftBasic 
and SmartBASIC, and there are some special sections throughout 
the book called "Tricks of the Trade" which give you the inside 
scoop on what happens under certain programming circumstances 
that is perhaps not supposed to happen.

      The Second Book of ADAM
      Using the SmartWriter
      Pamela J. Roth
      Que. Corporation, copyright 1984
      ISBN 0-88022-066-X
      244 pages

      As I gaze upon the front page of this book, I cannot help
but chuckle only a little. The ADAM is pictured in the background
on one of the most neatly arranged computer tables I've ever seen 
in my life. There is even a bowl of fruit. The SmartWriter 
printer is pictured front and centre with a printed page inserted.

           The header is boldfaced and centred

           There is a stack of envelopes next to the printer, the
top one of which is neatly typed with both the address and the 
return address shown exactly where they should be.
      Did anyone really ever achieve this with an ADAM printer? 
I shall hold my tongue. This basic level book deals with Smart-
writer only, at a level which I found not too useful. The First 
Book of ADAM (referred to below under 'missing') is the compan-
ion to this two volume set. It deals in very elementary fashion 
with SmartBASIC programming.  I had both volumes at one point. 
We'll let these two go without further comment.

      The Coleco ADAM Entertainer
      Brian Sawyer
      Osborne McGraw-Hill, copyright 1984
      ISBN 0-88134-134-7
      190 pages

      This volume presents a series of 30 programs each of which
is fully explained, line by line. There is a technical descrip-
tion, a list of important variables along with the function of
each, and a program description that explains line by line what
is happening at all points in each program. There are two 
appendices at the end of the book which provide quite readable 
explanations of ADAMUs graphics modes and the Shape Table 
procedure.

      I recall typing in several of the programs in this book 
including the Shape Maker program in chapter 17. All were quite 
satisfying at the time.

      Programming ADAM
      Home Applications in the BASIC Language
      Edward B. Claflin and John A. Heil
      Banbury Books, Inc., copyright 1984
      ISBN 0-88693-034-0
      321 pages

      This book is a basic text on programming. No attempt made
to explain the more advanced features of ADAM such as the sound 
chip or the graphics modes. It deals only with text programming. 
I keep this book not so much for its content, but  for the 
memories it brings to mind each time I pick it up. It was the 
first ADAM book that I  found in the Ottawa Public Library.
I immediately siezed it and headed for the checkout desk.
That day, I was stopped by a total stranger before getting to 
the library desk, and I met for the first  time a gent who
was to become a very good friend, Doug Paterson who is still 
resident in Ottawa. Doug noticed the ADAM book tucked under
my arm, and proceeded to introduce himself. Another ADAMite.

Up to that point I had been  totally alone in the world. After
that point, things changed significantly. Doug had met others, a
fellow named Tony Morehen, and another chap.... Guy Cousineau.
Doug clued me in about the existance of an ADAM user group
there in Ottawa that had just been started by a 17 year old
student.  The group was the ADAM User Friendly Group. I sub-
sequently became the it's President. The rest, as they say, is
history.    So this book carries for me some special memories.

      32 Basic Programs for the Coleco ADAM
      Tom Rugg and Phil Feldman
      Dilithium Press, copyright 1984
      ISBN 0-88056-141-6
      274 pages

      This book made the rounds amongst many popular home
computers of the period. The authors took  their 32 programs to 
various platforms. I have one other copy for either the VIC20 or
the TRS80, (can't quite recall which), but it's the same exact
32 programs.

      There are games, there are home business applications and
there are educational programs. Each comes complete with a
description of what the program does, a program listing, and an
explanation of the main routines and variables. At the end of each
chapter, there are suggestions for improvement, allowing the user 
to change the program if desired.


      How To Use the Coleco ADAM
      Jerry Willis
      Diluthium Press, copyright 1984
      ISBN 0-88056-149-1
      118 pages

      For me, this one appeared under the Christmas tree in 1984
along with the ADAM.  It is a very basic text on BASIC programm-
ing, although the first few chapters cover ADAM setup and use of
the Smartwriter.
      This particular book, to my mind,  is notable for the
history it provides in chapter 9. I'm going to quote here a 
fairly sizeable  passage which seems to 'tell it all'.
      Chapter 9, page 101. "Selecting Hardware and Software for
the ADAM"   "Normally, this chapter in the Dilithium Press How-
to-Use series would be a long one for two reasons. First, many 
home computers are sold unbundled, which means the box you take 
home only has part of the equipment, or hardware, you need to 
set up a fully functional computer system. For owners of 
unbundled systems, this chapter offers lots of information on 
how to select the optional, but essential equipment needed to 
make the computer a useable system.
      "The Commodore 64, for example, does not come with a
printer or any means of mass storage; the IBM PC does not even 
have the video circuits needed to output information to a video
monitor or television, and the Apple IIe includes neither a 
printer nor the curcuits needed to interface a printer to the 
system.  Coleco should be commended for bundling its computer 
into an inexpensive, but functioning system. You can take the
computer home, unpack it, and start computing. You don't have to
worry about finding an optional circuit card that will work with
the printer you want to buy or make decisions on whether or not
to go with audio cassette or disk drive storage. You can start
computing more quickly. And I can write a shorter chapter.

      "That is the positive side of things. There is also a
negative side to the brevity of this chapter. Routinely it might
include lots of information on the software available for the
computer under discussion. Have you ever wondered how companies 
like Apple can announce a new model like the Macintosh at a
press conference one day and the next day 15 or 20 software
companies also have announced software that runs on the new 
computer?  The answer is simple. Apple provides established 
software companies with pre-production prototypes of its new 
models along with thick technical manuals that describe the 
inner workings of the new machine. Many companies provide the 
equipment free of charge because they know the success of 
their computers are, to a great extent, dependent on the 
availability of lots of software.

      "Unfortunately for owners of the ADAM, Coleco did not
follow this pattern. Companies that were willing to pay a deposit
of more than $500 were fortunate enough to be put on Coleco's 
waiting list for a machine. The company shipped machines to the 
toy distributors before it dealt with requests from software 
companies. Of those that refused to give up in disgust over
difficulties in dealing with Coleco, a great many actually 
bought their ADAMs at places like Toys R Us. Many companies that
tried to get a pre-production ADAM in the summer of 1983 event-
ually got a machine in December of that year at a toy discount 
store. Unfortunately, those six months the software developers 
went without a machine (and help from the company) were six 
months owners have had to wait to buy software those companies 
could have produced. In addition, there is very little tech-
nical information on how ADAM works internally. That type of 
information is essential for software developers who want
to develop sophisticated software for the computer. These
factors produce a discouraging short-term picture for ADAM
software   While other competing machines such as the Commodore 
64 can boast the availability of more than 1,000 programs, the
ADAM probably will be a slow starter in the software race.

      "Coleco executives insist they have many excellent programs
in production now, but not one computer manufacturer has ever
been able to meet the software demand for its machine. The
company that tried the hardest to keep the software market for 
its computer to itself is Texas Instruments. It is now out of the 
home computer market after losing hundreds of millions of dollars.
The company that tries the hardest to help other companies devel-
op software for its products is Apple, a company that grew from 
a shoestring operation to a billion-dollar company. Coleco 
patterned its BASIC after Apple's BASIC, but it is a pity Coleco 
didn't consider adopting some of Apple's corporate policies as 
well."   Interesting stuff. Remember, the foregoing paragraphs 
were written in s by Darren La Batt)

      Tab Books, copyright 1984
      ISBN 0-8306-0716-1
      114 pages

      As the title implies, this is a beginner's level book aimed
at the new user with little or no programming experience. It 
presents a series of programs each of which is fully explained 
and illustrated. The user should have little trouble in following
along, (assuming of course that you can find the book).
      There is a rather interesting philosophy expressed in the
first few lines of this book. It's one that we've been talking
about here recently, and one which in our day and age seems to
have gone by the boards. Pity.

    "......... In fact, with the purchase of this book, you are
also getting a large number of programs which would normally
cost you quite a bit of money at a software store. Second, this
is a book which will help teach you how to use your ADAM home
computer effectively, since you are the person who is going to 
be typing in the programs, learning about the programs as you 
type them into the computer, and running these programs to see 
the result of your efforts. Last, this book has the purpose of
teaching you a method of programming and explaining how you 
too can make your own programs - and perhaps even sell them 
for a profit."

      This was an era when program listings used to appear in 
magazines. The user typed them in and made them work. I've said 
it before, and I'll say it again: too bad this sort of thing 
fell by the wayside. We live in a society now that demands 
instant perfection and will tolerate nothing less.

      Discovering Science on Your ADAM With 25 Programs
      by the Talcott Mountain Science Centre

   John Pellino, Mary Ellen Adamo, Sandra Dobrowlsky, Donald P.

(see part # 2 for the rest of the article)




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