Micropendium Volume 1 Number 3
Home budgeting - That's NOT what I meant by "Save"!
 April 1984 Micropendium (Home Computer Compendium) Front Cover | |
| Editor | Laura Burns |
|---|---|
| Categories | Home Computers, TI-99/4A |
| Publisher | John Koloen |
| Country | USA |
| Based in | Round Rock, Texas |
| Language | English |
Contents
Comments
Why hasn't anyone produced a good database management program for the TI?
While I'll accept written answers throughout the month, I can't think of many good reasons. Not when you look at the growing proliferation of word processing programs available for the TI. Why so many word processing programs?
It doesn't make any sense. More computer users could put a good database program to work than will ever use a word processing program.
Why?
Economics. It's cheaper. Word processing requires printers, and printers are expensive. Database programs can print to the screen and everyone with a keyboard has a screen of some sort.
Part of the problem may lie in the fact that a good database program requires at least 48K of memory. With databases, the more memory the better. Even so, it's a good bet that there are more TI owners with memory expansion cards than there are owners with printers.
WHO'S PRODUCING WHAT?
The next several months will be very interesting for TI users in the market for hardware and hardware producers in the need of a market. Cor-Comp and Mikel Laboratories Inc. are planning to produce expansion boxes. There are already several sources for memory expansions and RS232 interfaces. Disk drives have never been a problem, though obtaining disk drive manager cartridges may be. There's no shortage of monitors to choose from, color, green, amber or black and white. And, I predict there will not be a shortage of new software for the TI, though obtaining it is probably going to get more difficult as time goes on.
But how long will the hardware producers hang in there? Producing hardware calls for a significant investment, both in time and money, and the big question now is whether there is a market large enough to make it worthwhile.
There are essentially two schools of thought on this issue: One, that everyone who has any intention of having a fully configured TI system already has one. Two, that as long as a manufacturer can produce affordably priced hardware there will be no shortage of people to buy it. If the market is firm, the real problem will be in reaching it. But that could be a bigger problem than anything that occurred during R&D.
This is where TI retailers come in. And I'm not talking about the K-Marts, Sears and department stores that TI relied on. I'm talking· about the local businesses scattered all over the country that have dealt largely, if not exclusively, in TI home computer products. We'll be publishing a feature next month about these businesses so I won't go into great detail now. But it is my belief that anyone who is serious about marketing products for the TI dealers' shelves. TI users may buy their software at the nearest discount house, but when they need to have a problem solved or want to see a piece of software that doesn't have the mass appeal of Donkey Kong, it's to these businesses they must turn.
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Now that we've published our third edition, it's time to ask what you the reader would like us to write about. We're not asking this question because we have run out of ideas. Far from it. Rather, we're more likely to run out of space. So we'd like to know what you want to see covered in these pages. As you already know, we tend to focus on product news, reviews and features.
Tell us what you think. It will be of considerable help.
And while I'm on the subject, I appreciate the little notes many of you have included with your subscriptions, particularly the ones which give us ideas for stories, or questions to ask. In a way, that's what our job is-to ask questions for you. And the better the questions, the better the answers. So, if there's something you'd like to know about, let us know what it is and we'll do our best to find out for you.
— JK
Debugged
The saying is: three strikes and you're out.
Well, this is our third try with this item and we hope we get it right. In our first issue, we mentioned a program called Quick-Copyer that allows users to copy disks much faster than with the TI disk manager cartridge permits. Although it costs $39.95 we neglected to mention that there is a $2 shipping-handling charge. Purchasers must note whether they want the Extended BASIC, Editor/Assembler, or Mini-Memory version when ordering. For more information, call or write: Quality Software, 1884 Columbia Rd. No. 500, Washington, D.C. 20009, (202) 667-3574.
The last of the MBX games are almost gone and just about forgotten
If you see a Milton Bradley game for the Tl99/4A computer on a dealer's shelf, you'd be wise to snap it up if you want it.
Milton Bradley no longer produces cartridge games for the TI computer and after the cartridges that are now out are purchased there won't be any more available, according to a Milton Bradley spokeswoman.
The games were originally designed for use with the Milton Bradley Expander, the game playing peripheral that was supposed to give TI users voice control capabilities. Some of the software that was designed to operate with the MBX unit permitted users to control the action on the screen by voice commands. However, only a limited number of the units were produced prior to Tl's pullout from the home computer market. Production ceased at that point and the units that were produced were quickly gobbled up by TI employees. However, more cartridges were produced than MBX units and some of these cartridges have found their way to retailers' shelves.
The spokeswoman said most of the cartridge-based games will operate on the TI computer without the expander unit, but the voice command capabilities cannot be accessed. Three of the 10 games that Milton Bradley produced, she said, cannot be played without the expander peripheral. These are Championship Baseball, Terry Turtle's Adventure and I'm Hiding.
Games that can be played with the TI console are Meteor Belt, Space Bandit, Big Foot, Super Fly, Sewermania, Sound Track Trolley and Honey Hunt.
"Sound Track Trolley, for instance, is a very delightful children's game where you match things up and follow a tune," she said. "On the TI without the expansion unit you can play the game and do the matching but you can't follow the tune."
— LB
Mikel has RS232; developing PEB
Mikel Laboratories Inc. says it is stepping up production and distribution of its RS232-C interface system for the Tl99/4A.
The Southern California company is selling its standalone unit for $149.95.
The unit allows home computer owners to use a printer or modem with their computer without buying a peripheral expansion box.
The company also offers a cassette interface system that includes a cassette cable and recorder for $49.95. It markets TI cassette cables for $11.95.
Mikel says it is developing a line of peripherals for the TI computer, including a peripheral expansion box, memory card and other accessories.
According to Mikel spokesman David Zislis, there seems to be no shortage of ideas for the TI99/4A. "We're finding there's a lot of engineers out there who have developed different kinds of hardware," he says.
Zislis thinks the TI market will remain firm for some time, noting, "What we're getting is a lot of people calling every day and then I talk to vendors who say there's lots of people coming in for TI products. My perception is it looks pretty good."
