Make the Most of Your ZX Microdrive

ZX Computing

Patrick Cain

From Granada Publishing Ltd. we received "Make the Most of Your ZX Microdrive" by Ian Sinclair at £4.95 which is full of advice on using the latest wonder to the full. Chapter titles include Caring for Tapes, BASIC filing Techniques, Interface Uses and a Database program. A book for those who want to investigate the possibilities of their equipment rather than just load Space Destruction in ultra quick time. In fact there is nothing on transferring commercial programs to microdrive, and that is unfortunately probably the most usual intention of its owners (would be mine if I had one). For the microdriver who wishes to transfer programs as well as improve his usage of the machine, I was sent three pages of typed A4 paper headed MICRODRIVE EXCHANGE. At first glance this looked unimpressive, but on further reading this turned out to be issue 1 of a new Newsletter Club run by G.A. Bobker, proprieter of the ZX Guaranteed company. The information contained by this newsletter was well written, accurate and useful, the way to transfer around 75% (by his estimation) of commercial software is clearly explained. At this stage I must make it clear that I am not advocating making pirate copies for friends or profit, but if you have the means to get fast access to a program there is very little wrong with making a copy for your own use. But back to Microdrive Exchange, at £5.00 membership per year for a monthly hint sheet it is well worth subscribing to. My best wishes for its success....

Personal Computer News

John Lettice

'Make the Most of your ZX Microdrive' by Ian Sinclair, published by Granada at £4.95 (paperback 99 pages). Trees, it is said, tremble as Ian Sinclair walks by, and this latest effort from micro computing's answer to Barbara Cartland isn't liable to cheer them up. Its 99 pages may not seem much, but the thinking forest will be justly grieved by the ubiquitous arboricide's profligate use of these pages. The trouble is, too little seems to have been written too fast. When it finally gets down to the meat of the subject with an explanation of streams and channels, it is certainly useful, but Mr Sinclair doesn't go nearly far enough in answering the questions that arise from Sir Sinclair's inadequate manual. For instance: 'If you try to load a program called "TEX-TINDEX", however, without winding the cassette back to the beginning, you may find that the program cannot be loaded.' Somewhere in the depths of the Amazon jungle there may possibly be someone who can't work this out themself but I doubt Sir Clive has sent them an order form. This sort of helpful advice, together with the recommendation not to store your Microdrives in a room where you'll be using sandpaper, is out of place in a book this short. That said, there is some useful information in the book. The explanation of RS232 is clear, and a short database program is also included. Mr Sinclair also gives copious details on using Interface 1's RS232 with a Tandy printer-plotter. I'd query his choice of printer, and I'd rather he'd spent less space on this, but the information should at least help you connect up to another printer. Overall, however, the book really is too sketchy to recommend, it holds some useful information, but not £4.95's worth.