ZX81 Video Plan

ZX Computing

TRACKING DOWN THOSE POUNDS Not only can you play games in your ZX81, but now, with a number of programs, you can keep track of your personal finances. Among these programs is the J P Gibbons Personal Banking System, which can also be used to check bank statements. The system can be used to help in budgeting and is designed to be easy to use, even by relatively inexperienced computer users. A number of controls and facilities have been built in with this in mind. The Personal Banking System includes a full page detailed bank account, which can be dumped to the printer, as well as automatic generation of standing orders on due dates, and validation of all entries. You can correct any item previously entered (with single or multiple field correction), and enter a previously omitted item in the correct date order of the account. You can search for any item or items by cheque number, description or amount. There is a continuous display of statement extract, which is updated continually during input of entry. A file of standing order details can be displayed, printed, added to, cancelled and amended. The program is provided with a detailed user manual, and Mr Gibbons says he'll provide after sales maintenance. The Personal Banking System (including a cassette and users' manual) is £9.95. You can get a copy of the manual for £1.00. A 32K version, offering multiple accounts, more entries and bar charts - among other features - is also available. J P Gibbons, [redacted]. DATABASE Most businesses and many other activities require the filing of names and addresses for mailing and reference, and DATABASE - available from Campbell Systems - fulfills this function admirably. Almost any kind of list can be accommodated, but most users just make use of name, address, interest codes, and text - as the standard data to be stored in each record of the file. The file is maintained by machine code in a way that ZX81 BASIC cannot, such that no space is reserved until after it is filled with data. All items and records are variable length, so there is no waste of space. You start with 12688 bytes of file space, and extra RAM above the 32K address will be usable as well. There are various display formats and search methods. All file handling, searching and display is done in machine code, so DATABASE is very fast. The program is designed to be crash-proof. The cassette, which costs £10.00, is accompanied by a detailed user guide, and is available from Campbell Systems, [redacted]. BUSINESS GAMES A company called CCS have developed two business games for the ZX81. They are AIRLINE and AUTOCHEF, which are available for £4.75 each. In AIRLINE your objective is to make enough capital by trading at a profit to take-over British Airways. You are required to decide on the number of aircraft to operate, whether to buy or charter, the level of staffing and maintenance, whether to enter into long term contracts for supply of fuel and whether to repay loans. Problems encountered are tax demands, strikes, cancelled flights, hi-jacks and aircraft crashes. In AUTOCHEF your object is also to trade profitably, so that the company accumulates sufficient capital ($25 million) to take-over Trust House Forte in the shortest possible time. The quality of the decision making is of even greater importance in achieving the objective than it is in Airline. From information supplied you have to decide on which type of outlet to operate, the price of the menu, whether to enter into loan contracts or purchase consignments of food or wines and the level of advertising, wages and dividends. You are warned that if results and dividends are insufficient to satisfy the shareholders, you will be made to resign. There are three levels of difficulty. Cases Computer Simulations are at [redacted]. VIDEO-PLAN Video-Plan, developed by Video Software Limited, is designed to enable the ZX81 to be used as an analysis tool. It performs many functions which could otherwise be carried out using an analysis book and calculator. Video-Plan can be used for such tasks as keeping stock records, analysing sales orders or invoices, analysing expenditure by nominal headings, cash flow forecasting or production scheduling. The heart of the system is a user-defined chart stored in the computer's memory (say 50 lines by 20 columns). Data may be added to the chart and a full range of calculations performed across the lines, together with column totaling and subtotaling. The TV screen acts as a window through which the chart may be viewed. This window, of course, can be moved under user control to any part of the chart. The cassette is well designed, with two copies of the program on one side, and a spoken explanation of the Video-Plan demonstration supplied is on side two. The program is very long (14K?) and starts running automatically. It takes nearly eight minutes to load. No loading difficulties were experienced. When you first get the program up on the screen, a menu of seven choices is displayed: 1 - set up new chart 2 - define functions/titles 3 - enter data 4 - move window 5 - save the system 6 - reset chart 7 - re-calculate totals If you wish to set up a new chart, you are invited to enter the dimensions (line and columns). A chart which is too big is rejected by the program. The program is supplied with a clearly written, detailed 20 page booklet. Although it may seem overwhelming at first, the demonstration application, along with spoken word description, should enable any careful user to discover the value of the program. In summary, this is a carefully written, well-documented program, which should prove a definite asset to a company wishing to carry out any of the tasks mentioned at the start of this article it is available from Video Software Ltd., [redacted].