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                       PCM Online December 1994

COLUMNS Contents:

   []  Back to BASIC: A BASIC quiz for non-beginners
   []  Business as Usual: PIMs -- Personal Information Managers
   []  FAQs in Focus: The Sound(ing) Board -- Frequently Asked
          Questions about sound boards
   []  Pipeline: Communicating on the Road -- cellular data 
          communications on the open highways
   []  The Silicon Warrior: Life in SimCity

Entire contents copyright 1994 by Falsoft, Inc.

PCM -- The Premier Personal Computer Magazine -- is intended for the 
private use and pleasure of its subscribers, and reproduction by any 
means is prohibited.

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Back to BASIC     \|/     by Alfred J. Bruey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~             Contributing Editor

                    A BASIC QUIZ FOR NON-BEGINNERS

   Even if you've been writing BASIC programs for a long time, I'll bet 
there are some BASIC instructions you've never used. And you may not be 
familiar with some of the features and quirks connected with some of the 
commonest BASIC instructions. Sure, you know what it means when you see 
the statement 100 GOTO 250, but what is the output when you run the one-
line program 100 PRINT (7 OR 3) AND 10?

   So you got that one; you know that the answer is 2. But what is the 
output of the one-line program 100 PRINT 7 (OR 3 AND 10)? You should get 
output something like Syntax error in 100, since the left parenthesis is 
not placed properly. What do you get if you move it to a legal location 
and run 100 PRINT 7 OR (3 AND 10)?

   Right: 7. And what about 100 PRINT 7 OR 3 AND 10? Again, 7. But does 
this mean that BASIC executes the ANDs and then the ORs, or does it 
execute from right to left? If you run the program 100 PRINT 10 AND 3 OR 
7, you should get the value 7; this shows that the ANDs are executed 
before the ORs unless parentheses are present to indicate the order of 
operation.

   Getting a BASIC program to run correctly often depends on knowing the 
precedence of operations. Every BASIC manual I've ever seen lists the 
precedence rules. The important thing to remember is that you can set 
your own order of operations by inserting the parentheses wherever you 
want them.

   Are you ready to try some questions on your own? I'll give you the 
answers right away so that you don't lose a lot of sleep wondering how 
you did on this quiz. Of course you can tell how you're doing by trying 
the questions on the computer. If you use the computer, you should get a 
pretty high score. Good luck!


>>[ The Quiz ]<<

   1. Enter the program:

   10 LIST
   20 NEW

What do you get if you run this program? What do you get if you list it?
   Answer: The output is:

   10 LIST
   20 NEW

You get the same thing when you issue a LIST command. Thus the NEW 
instruction does nothing as part of the BASIC program. This is an 
example of a program that lists itself when you run it.

2. Does the following program give you an error message if you run it?

   100 FOR I=1 TO 10
   200 FOR J=1 TO 10
   300 NEXT I,J

   Answer: Yes. To correct it, change Line 300 to 300 NEXT J,I. When you 
use nested loops, the indices in the NEXT statement should always be in 
reverse order to the indices in the FOR statements.

3. Does this run give you an error message?

   100 FOR I=1 TO 10
   200 FOR J=1 TO 10
   300 NEXT

   Answer: Yes. To correct the program, you can add the line 400 NEXT or 
change Line 300 to 300 NEXT J,I.

4. What value is printed for Y if you run this program:

   100 X=99
   200 Y=NOT X
   300 PRINT Y

   Answer: -100. To find which value will be printed, add 1 to the 
original value and then change the sign. For example:

   NOT 97 = -98
   NOT 50 = -51
   NOT 0 = -1
   NOT -99 = 98

5. If A=3 in the line 100 X=-(A=7)-2*(A=3)-3*(A<3)-4*(A>7), what is 
printed for X?

   Answer: 2, since A=7 is false, A=3 is true, A<3 is false, and A>7 is 
false. This answer assumes that false values are set equal to 0 and true 
values to -1, as they are in most versions of BASIC.

6. After you run the program:

   100 X = 64 OR 32
   200 Y = 64 + 32

X equals Y. Do the + and OR operators always behave the same?

   Answer: No, the only time these operators give you the same answer is 
when both operands are sums of different powers of 2. For example, + and 
OR work the same on the numbers 296 and 71, since 296=256+32+8 and 
71=64+4+2+1. Note that the binary representations of 296 (100101000) and 
71 (001000111) have no 1 bits in common. On the other hand:

   12 + 8 = 20
   12 OR 8 = 12

since 8 (1000) and 12 (1100) have the high-order bit in common.

7. Is there a difference in output between lines 100 and 200 in the 
following program?

   100 PRINT POS(0)
   200 PRINT POS(41)

   Answer: No, both of them should print 1 in Screen Column 2. The 
number in parentheses in the POS function is a dummy variable whose 
value doesn't matter.

8. What does the following program do if you run it? (Use the CTRL-BREAK 
combination to stop the run.)

   100 FOR I=1 TO 1000
   110 PRINT I
   120 A$=INKEY$:IF A$="" THEN 140
   130 B$=INKEY$:IF B$="" THEN 130
   140 NEXT I

   Answer: The program lists the integers from 1 to 1000. If you press a 
key, the printing stops. Pressing a key again continues the listing.

9. What is the difference in output between the two following short 
programs:

   100 X=INT(RND(0)*6+1)
   200 PRINT X

   100 X=1+INT(RND(0)*6)
   120 PRINT X

   Answer: There is no difference. You can add the value 1 either before 
or after you use the INT function.

   The RND function is often useful. Does it make any difference which 
number is in parentheses after the RND? Why do the parentheses have to 
be there at all?

10. If you run the following program using the command RUN 500, what is 
the output?

   200 X=3
   400 Y=5
   600 PRINT X,Y

   Answer: The output should be the operating system message Undefined 
line number.

11. What does the output of this program look like?

   100 X=1E3
   200 PRINT "X = ";X

   Answer: X = 1000, expressed in BASIC's version of scientific 
notation. If you try to print a very large or very small number, BASIC 
automatically converts your output to this format.

12. What value of A prints when you run this program?

   10 A = 5
   20 REM CHANGE VALUE OF A: A = 7
   30 PRINT A

   Answer: The value 5; statements following a REM are not executed.

13. What value is printed if you run the following program?

   10 DIM A(100)
   20 FOR I=1 TO 100
   30 A(I)=I
   40 NEXT I
   50 PRINT I

   Answer: The value 101 -- but don't count on it. If you jump out of 
the middle of a FOR/NEXT loop, the index value is preserved. But if a 
loop goes to the end and drops through, it's not safe to count on the 
value of the loop index.

14. What values of X and Y are printed by this program?

   10 X = 20
   20 Y = X = 15
   30 PRINT X,Y

   Answer: X will have a value of 20 and Y a value of 0, since X=15 is 
false. Line 20 is easier to understand if you write it as 20 Y = (X = 
15). (X = 15) is a logic statement that is in this case false, so its 
value is 0.

15. What values do you get for X and Y in Question 14 if you change Line 
20 to 20 Y = NOT X = 15?

   Answer: X still equals 20 but now Y is equal to -1. (NOT X = 15 is 
true if X = 15 is false.)

16. What is the output from this program?

   10 OPTION BASE 1
   20 FOR I = 0 TO 3
   30 N(I)=I
   40 PRINT N(I)
   50 NEXT I

   Answer: The output is Subscript out of range in 30 because Line 10 
sets the minimum subscript to 1 in all arrays in the program. You should 
probably use this OPTION BASE statement if you're working on problems 
for your math class, since math books usually start numbering with Row 1 
and Column 1.

17. List two differences between the STOP and END statements.
   Answer: The STOP statement prints the message Break in xxx, where xxx 
is the line number of the STOP statement. Execution of the END statement 
closes all open files, but execution of the STOP statement does not.

18. What is the output when this program is run?

   10 FOR I = 4 TO 2
   20 PRINT I
   30 NEXT I

   Answer: Line 20 is never executed because the initial loop value, 4, 
is greater than the final loop value, 2.

19. How many elements are there in the array dimensioned by 100 DIM 
A(5,7)?

   Answer: There are 48, since the first value can go from 0 to 5 and 
the second from 0 to 7. Thirty-five elements are defined if the 
statement 50 OPTION BASE 1 is included in the program, because then the 
0 subscript can't be used.

20. What is the advantage of the first of the following programs over 
the second?

   100 LINE INPUT "ENTER DATE ";D$
   200 PRINT D$

   100 INPUT "ENTER DATE ";D$
   200 PRINT D$

   Answer: The LINE INPUT statement accepts commas or quotation marks as 
part of the string D$; the INPUT statement won't. Try running these two 
programs with the input 123,456 to see what happens.

   That's all for this quiz. You can grade yourself if you like, but 
please don't send your papers to me for grading -- I'm not in that 
business anymore. You should have done pretty well on this quiz if you 
have a computer on which to solve the problems. Otherwise some of the 
questions are tricky, and getting a 100-percent score is difficult.


>>[ Your Assignment ]<<

   Write a BASIC program to grade this quiz. Have the user enter the 
number of correct answers and then have the program convert this to a 
letter grade. Let 90 to 100 percent be an A, 80 to 89 percent a B, etc. 
Then print the percentage and letter grades onscreen and a certificate 
of achievement on your printer for A, B or C scores.

                                 -=*=-

            The award-winning author of From BASIC to 
            FORTRAN, Fred Bruey has more than 30 years'
            experience in the computer field as a systems
            and operations-research analyst, programmer 
            and trainer. He can be reached at 201 S. 
            Grinnell St., Jackson, MI 49203.

-=-------------        -=*=-     -=*=-     -=*=-        -------------=-

Business as Usual     \|/     by Emmett Dulaney
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~             Contributing Editor

                 PIMS: PERSONAL INFORMATION MANAGERS

   A few months ago this column discussed project-management software. 
This software really consists of nothing more than a database that has 
been modified to hold information pertinent to projects. Aimed at 
supervisors, managers or anyone involved in the process of maintaining 
close scrutiny over deadlines and time frames, these packages include 
such peripheral utilities as calendars, chart displays and so on.

   Personal information managers (PIMs) are similar in that they are 
modified databases including many of the same utilities; but they differ 
in the object of which they keep track. Rather than managing projects, 
they oversee contacts -- as in customers and prospects. For that reason, 
their intended end users are salesmen, agents or other individuals whose 
livelihoods are dependent upon phone conversations and "pressing the 
flesh."


>>[ The Concept ]<<

   A large number of PIMs and similar programs are on the market. While 
each differs slightly in the features it provides, the majority of them 
perform the following operations:

   []  Multiple databases can be maintained of all the contacts you 
have. Each database performs as a "heart" off which all other functions 
perform. From a database you can search for any piece of information 
pertinent to your present need. Most also include a means by which the 
PIM database can export information to and import from other 
applications, such as dBASE.

   []  Notes can be attached to the database as reminders of things you 
need to do or mention the next time you contact a person. These notes 
can also be kept as history to refer to when you want to see how your 
last few contacts with Mr. Scott of General Amalgamated have gone. 
Almost all PIMs allow you to create a log file that keeps track of every 
call placed, and some allow differentiation between those placed and 
those received.

   []  A scheduler allows activities to be spooled and popped up as 
reminders at future dates. If during the course of a phone call, Scott 
tells you to call him back on Friday at 3 p.m., for example, you can 
tell the program to remind you at that time to make the call.

   []  A word processor of some type is usually (though not always) 
included to allow you to create documents and perform printing. While 
the word processor is rarely the strong point of the program, it does 
prevent the necessity of exiting the application and starting another 
for a quick letter. Coupled with this many times is a Merge feature that 
allows you to pull information from the database and insert it into the 
word processor. The best use of this is in creating a form letter (I 
will be on vacation for the next two weeks, but I look forward to 
talking to you when I return . . . .) and pulling names and addresses 
from the database to print one customized, individualized copy for each 
contact.

   []  Report generators allow you to create reports and lists as well 
as phone directories and calendars. Some also include the capability of 
recording your expenses and carefully monitoring them.

   []  Many PIMs offer the ability to use a connected internal or 
external modem to dial a phone number you've entered in the database. 
Once the number is dialed, you pick up the handset connected to the 
modem and begin chatting away.


>>[ What's Available ]<<

   A large number of PIM programs from which to choose are available on 
the market. I set out to find what I considered to be the best for DOS 
and Windows users. Very quickly I settled upon Act! from Symantec as my 
favorite running from DOS. What was somewhat surprising, however, is 
that the Windows version of the product did not become my favorite. 
Instead it was surpassed by CogniTech's SharkWare -- for a variety of 
reasons, most of which are both performance- and feature-related.

   Other programs available include ClientWorks from IMS, Organizer 1.1 
from Lotus (which I assume replaces Agenda, a PIM that was around for 
years), Ecco from Arabesque, and PackRat 5.0 from Polaris.


>>[ Act! ]<<

   Act! was one of the first PIMs to come to market. Released in 1987 by 
Contact Software Management, it quickly became a marketplace favorite of 
salesmen and was the framework upon which many of the newer PIMs built 
themselves. A few years ago Symantec went on a buying spree of smaller 
software companies, and Contact Software Management was one of them.

   The application features the ability to create an unlimited number of 
databases, with each holding an unlimited number of contacts. The 
restraints that apply to "unlimited" are the size of your hard drive and 
its amount of memory -- and the amount of time you are willing to wait 
for searches through files.

   Contact information is stored in two screens. The first screen holds 
the name, address and other pertinent information to be seen at a 
glance. The second can hold a second address (such as a person's home, 
in case you want to drive by really late at night in a dark car) and 
user-defined fields.

   The calendar feature allows the creation of task lists that keep 
track of meetings, as well as calls that need to be made. An "activity 
timer" can be attached to events in the future, and memory-resident 
alarms wait to inform you that these items need your attention. This TSR 
portion of the alarm is extremely important with any PIM. It is all well 
and good to schedule a phone-call reminder for 3:00, but what happens if 
you exit the application to run your new Opus 'n' Bill screen saver and 
don't happen to be back in the application at 3:00? With the alarm 
running in memory, your reminder will occur regardless of what the 
computer is doing at the given time.

   Created calendars can be printed, complete with scheduled events, in 
daily, weekly or monthly formats. An additional feature is the ability 
to print them on specific paper sizes for inclusion in a Day-Timer or 
similar organizer.

   The word processor includes a spelling checker and can merge data 
from the database directly into documents. Standard text enhancements 
are available, including emboldening, underlining and subscript.

   The report generator is extremely easy to use for generating address 
lists and the like. Other features include the assignment of passwords 
to the database, the ability to install it on a network (where you 
definitely need password capabilities), and the ability to create 
keyboard macros. A pop-up calculator enables quick calculations, and 
automatic dialing is possible with a modem.

   Installation is very straightforward and easy to follow. Once Act! is 
installed, I would highly recommend running through the tutorial and 
placing the function-key template on the keyboard. After you run through 
the operations a few times, however, using the program becomes very 
intuitive, even for those unused to the concept of a PIM.

   A company I know in Colorado decided that its sales force needed to 
be better equipped than any of its competitors'. The management rushed 
out and purchased very expensive color laptop computers for all salesmen 
and loaded them with two software packages, one of which was Act!. Given 
virtually no training whatsoever, this assorted collection of salesmen 
(who had but one thing in common: the fact that rarely had any of them 
ever touched a keyboard) mastered the program in record time -- a 
tribute to its ease of use.


>>[ SharkWare ]<<

   SharkWare is a PIM spawned from the mind of Harvey Mackay and the 
witticisms he included in several books. One of the most successful of 
those books was Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive -- hence 
the title of the program.

   Mackay, owner of Mackay Envelope, believes that a good salesman can 
outsell and outmaneuver the competition by being equipped with more 
information than anyone else and constantly being on top of that 
information. To accomplish this, he created the Mackay 66, a list of 
items you need to know about every person with whom you come in contact: 
name, address, birthday, alma mater, children's names and so on. Armed 
with this information, you are more able to talk one-on-one with your 
prospect than is anyone else.

   The software package includes many items normally not found in an 
application. These include an audio tape on the principles of achieving 
superior results and a pen (the text upon which reads, This pen can be 
the start of a great relationship) glued to the registration card.

   Histories are linked to contacts, and you can keep up to three 
separate histories for each contact: one for meetings, another for 
outside activities, etc. A complete report generator allows the creation 
and printing of coming schedules or directories. Once more a timer can 
be attached to anything, and a TSR program sounds the alarm at the 
appointed time regardless of whether or not you are still in the 
program.

   If any item in SharkWare could be improved, it is the reliance upon 
Windows to provide features that could be a part of the PIM. An example 
is that clicking on the Calculator icon brings up the standard Windows 
pop-up calculator. This calculator is flawed and should not be used for 
any computation on which you're really depending. (Jjust for fun, enter 
150.00 and subtract 149.95. Rather than .05, the answer you get is 
.0499999).

   Another example of missing features is that clicking on the Word 
Processor icon brings up whatever processor to which you've mapped it -- 
no word processor is included with the package. While everyone has his 
own preference in word processors, it would still be nice if a crude 
processor were included to round out the SharkWare package. On the 
positive side, though, the import/export feature is excellent, allowing 
you to pull information in or send it out to your word processor for 
inclusion in documents you're writing.

   The feature I like most about SharkWare was the wit available at the 
click of a mouse button. When the program starts, a Quote of the Day or 
"Mackay-ism" can be popped up quickly onscreen and then made to 
disappear when you begin working. (Example: It isn't the people you fire 
who make your life miserable, it's the people you don't.) The icon bar 
contains a "Mackay's" option that allows you to browse through the 
quotes or select tips, and you can scan through essays and anecdotes 
relating to business and a positive outlook.


>>[ The Bottom Line ]<<

   I highly recommend both packages for those needing to maintain 
databases of business contacts and follow-ups. If you are a DOS user, 
Act! will meet all of your needs. If you travel a great deal with a 
laptop computer and hate lugging around an external mouse and trying to 
find the icons on a small screen, I would again recommend Act!. On the 
other hand, if you spend most of your time before a desktop PC, find 
acumen as well as functionality important, and are comfortable with a 
Windows environment, SharkWare is a great choice.

   Next month we'll cover a grab-bag of multiple software applications 
as we go through small packages that serve large purposes but fit into 
no other category.

                                 -=*=-

                             BUSINESS BITS

   If the numbers are to be believed, each month one million computer 
users do two new things: become Windows users and gain access to the 
Internet. I have something to say to both these groups.

   In the old days if you installed a software package on your hard 
drive and did not like the way it worked, you used DEL *.* to remove the 
program from its own conspicuous directory and restore your megabyte or 
so of free hard-drive space. Today when a program is installed with 
Windows, you can be assured that it will gulp as much space as possible, 
with 20MB not being uncommon. Not only that, but finding where that 
space has gone is often difficult. Subdirectories layer beneath 
subdirectories, modifications are made to .INI files, and portions of 
the program can invade Windows subdirectories as well.

   MicroHelp has released a product called UnInstaller 2 that is a 
natural for dealing with these situations. It is a software utility that 
retails for $69.95 (but can be found for about half that on the street), 
and it removes DOS and Windows applications completely -- including 
references to them in .INI and .DLL files. Not only does it recover all 
the disk space the application was occupying, it also speeds other 
program operations by removing the references to removed applications.

   As for the Internet, one of the most difficult things for a person 
who has never used the service is to figure out what everyone is talking 
about. Quite simply it is the closest thing to an "Information 
Superhighway" presently in existence. By getting onto the Internet, you 
can leave electronic mail for anyone around the world with similar 
access, obtain news and information on any topic, or transfer files to 
any other computer.

   Michael Fraase has written The PC Internet Tour Guide (Ventana Press, 
$24.95), which explains Internet access and operation in great detail. 
The book also comes with the software necessary to connect to the 
service, and the first month's connection is free. I highly recommend it 
for those wanting to see what all the talk is about.

                                 -=*=-

              Emmett Dulaney is the author of several
              computer books, including Voodoo NetWare
              and UNIX Unleashed. He can be reached at 
              P.O. Box 353, Muncie, IN 47308; on America
              Online, username EDULANEY; or via the 
              Internet as edulaney@aol.com.

                                 -=*=-

                            INTEROFFICE MEMO

Act! 2.1 for DOS: Symantec Corporation, 10201 Torre Ave., Cupertino, CA 
95014-2132, (408) 253-9600; $399. REQUIRES: 640K of RAM, a 286 or faster 
CPU, DOS 3.1+, and a hard drive.

SharkWare: CogniTech Corporation, P.O. Box 500129, Atlanta, GA 31150, 
(800) 997-4275; $129.95. REQUIRES: 4MB RAM, Windows 3.1, DOS 3.3 or 
higher, and a VGA monitor.

-=-------------        -=*=-     -=*=-     -=*=-        -------------=-

FAQs in Focus     \|/     by Ed Ellers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~             Technical Assistant

"Frequently asked questions about sound boards"

                       THE SOUND(ING) BOARD --
                       AND WHAT TO DO WITH IT

   Sound boards may not be the fastest-growing category of PC 
accessories, but they're definitely near the top as far as home users 
are concerned. It's a truism in the computer business that last year's 
outrageously expensive add-on is this year's success story and next 
year's standard feature, and audio has been no exception. This month's 
"FAQs in Focus" tells some of the story of how PC sound works, how to 
choose a good sound upgrade, and what it can do for you.

   PC sound, of course, started with the PC speaker. When IBM designed 
its first PC back in 1980, it needed to be able to "beep" the way a 
terminal does when a CTRL-G is sent. The simplest (and cheapest) way to 
do this was to send a fast series of pulses to a little "transistor 
radio" speaker, so that's what IBM did. It turned out to be far more 
flexible than expected: a programmer can change the sound by varying the 
widths of the pulses sent to the speaker, so many programs over the 
years have used this "pulse-width modulation" system to generate much 
more complex sounds. Some programs -- several games from Access 
Software, The Norton Utilities' Diagnostics program, and Dareware's 1-2-
3 Talk and A-B-C Talk educational programs, for instance -- can even 
play back sampled voice.

   Two years later IBM wanted a better, but still economical, sound 
system for its PCjr home computer. The answer was a chip from Texas 
Instruments -- featured in the TI 99/4 in the late '70s -- that could 
generate three tones and one "noise" channel at the same time with very 
little programming. The PCjr didn't do all that well in the market, but 
it was the benchmark for the team that developed the original Tandy 
1000. The PCjr sound standard quickly became known as the Tandy 1000 
standard instead; it was widely supported for several years by many 
publishers.

   Meanwhile Yamaha was making noises from the other side of the Pacific 
with a technique called FM synthesis that allows one chip to generate 
multiple complex waveforms. The company used this at first in its own 
keyboards and an MSX home computer. Later Ad Lib designed a card around 
the Yamaha chip for PC-compatible systems; and when Sierra On-Line 
started selling games that used the Ad Lib card for musical 
accompaniment, it became the industry standard for PC music.

   Most sound cards today support the Ad Lib standard for either 11-
voice mono or (with two Yamaha chips) 22-voice stereo music. Yamaha 
recently introduced a new chip with more and better voices and is 
promoting what it calls the Gold Sound Standard, which is supported by 
some newer software and by boards such as the Ad Lib Gold.

   There's another way to get a PC to play music -- it's called the 
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI for short), and it was 
designed to let musicians connect synthesizers and sequencers together 
for complex compositions. Roland, another well-known Japanese "synth" 
maker, brought out a board called the MPU-401 that lets any PC-
compatible system control MIDI instruments (or accept notes from other 
MIDI devices). This was followed by a unit called the MT-32, which 
looked dangerously like a cable TV converter but actually contained the 
synthesis "guts" of a professional keyboard without the keyboard or 
speakers.

   An MPU-401 or an MT-32 can make music good enough to record and 
release; and when Sierra added MT-32 capability to its games (complete 
with some amazingly good musical scores), another standard was born. The 
one hitch was that a program which plays great MIDI music through an MT-
32 sounds just awful on a Casio MT-240 keyboard, because different MIDI 
instruments often use different codes for the sounds they can produce. 
Roland and other makers settled on a standard called General MIDI that 
settled that difference, so newer synths like the Roland SC-7 Sound 
Module (a little box that can hook up to your serial port or a MIDI 
port) can make music with a wide range of software. The improved 
synthesis technology of the better MIDI synths has found its way into 
the latest sound boards as well, with such models as Roland's RAP-10/AT 
and SCC-1 and the MultiSound from Turtle Beach Systems.

   All this is good for music and effects, but what about voices? That 
brings us to digital audio, the same technology that makes the compact 
disc work. Techies call it pulse code modulation, or PCM for short (and 
no, this magazine was not named for it). This system samples the audio 
signal tens of thousands of times a second and saves each sample in 
memory on disk. Then it reads the stored samples and converts them back 
into audio. Creative Labs' Sound Blaster was one of the first to use 
this technique, and it became popular partly because it also included an 
Ad Lib-compatible synthesizer to allow a program to use both digital and 
synthesized audio.

   Most PC sound boards these days are both Ad Lib- and Sound Blaster-
compatible, though there are still a few cases (as in the Roland and 
Turtle Beach cards, Tandy's original Sensation system, and the first 
version of Microsoft's Windows Sound System) where some compatibility 
has been given up to concentrate on other areas. As with other types of 
audio, there's a difference in quality between different boards. Almost 
all can record and play back at a sampling rate of 22.05KHz (half that 
of the compact disc) with 8-bit resolution, giving audio quality 
comparable to a good AM radio. Some, though, can do the same thing in 
stereo -- and a few even allow 44.1KHz sampling and/or 12- or 16-bit 
resolution for better audio quality. A 44.1KHz/16-bit board's 
performance is almost indistinguishable from that of a CD player, 
because the sampling rate and resolution are identical and the actual 
circuitry is similar.

   At the lower end several companies have introduced digital audio 
playback devices that plug into a printer port on either a desktop or 
laptop PC; two of the best-known examples are the Covox Speech Thing and 
Disney Software's Sound Source. Some of these units, such as the 
Portable Sound Plus from Digispeech, even let you record digital audio 
as well as play it back.

   So what kind of sound board do you need? That depends on the software 
you're planning to run. If you are running DOS applications (games, for 
instance) that specify Sound Blaster compatibility, you'll obviously 
need a Sound Blaster-compatible board instead of something like the 
Roland cards. Some DOS programs allow a choice of several types of sound 
options, so look carefully at the ones you intend to use.

   Windows is a very different matter; if you have Windows 3.1 and a 
driver for your sound card, you can use it with any Windows application 
that uses the sort of features your card has. (You can't play MIDI files 
through a Disney Sound Source, for example, or digital audio through an 
original Ad Lib card.) Windows 3.1 comes with a set of drivers for the 
best-known sound options, but these days almost all PC sound devices 
come with their own Windows driver disks that may do a better job.

   If you're running Multimedia PC applications, it's best to have a 
sound card that carries the MPC logo. Until very recently these could be 
found only in MPC upgrade kits or MPC-certified PC systems, but starting 
in January 1995 the Multimedia PC Marketing Council will certify sound 
boards as MPC-compatible if they meet the MPC specs and come with the 
right connector to let you plug an MPC-certified CD-ROM drive into the 
board for audio mixing. Many MPC applications work with non-MPC (but 
still Windows-compatible) sound devices, especially if they use only one 
type of audio output (assuming your board handles that type).

                                 -=*=-

              Ed Ellers is a self-confessed electronics 
              fanatic whose other interests include 
              photography and science-fiction writing. 
              He can be contacted on Delphi, username 
              EDELLERS, or via the Internet at 
              edellers@delphi.com.

-=-------------        -=*=-     -=*=-     -=*=-        -------------=-


Pipeline     \|/     by Ed Juge
~~~~~~~~

"Trials and joys of cellular data communications on the open road"

                      COMMUNICATING ON THE ROAD

   After a little more than a year, it is good to be back in the pages 
of PCM! I hope we can again explore some interesting subjects and maybe 
learn something new together.

   As some of you know, I left Radio Shack in early 1993 to join the 
proposed spin-off of manufacturing operations. At the proverbial 
eleventh hour, the spin-off was canceled when Tandy saw an opportunity 
to sell the computer manufacturing operations to AST Research. Having 
lost nothing in Irvine, California, I opted for "early semi-retirement." 
(Define that as still working, but at a much less intense pace.) As I 
suspected, there are indeed some roses in this world in need of 
smelling.

   For 25 years, my wife and I have shared a dream of seeing North 
America by motor home if ever we had the free time to do it. Within days 
of my departure from Tandy, we were motor home owners.

   Another week later, CompuServe approached me about doing some 
"evangelism" for them. I'm a long-time CompuServe user, so I accepted 
enthusiastically, with the caveat that there would be time for the 
travel we have planned.

   My evangelistic duties include a couple of trips each month to 
demonstrate and promote CompuServe's software and services to reporters 
and editors across the USA. I also hold seminars, showing newspaper 
reporters how they can use CompuServe for background and research in 
their work. The job is ideal, and it's lots of fun. My wife and I 
sometimes combine business and pleasure trips, giving us a little time 
to play, and saving considerably on expenses when compared to air 
travel, hotel rooms and rental cars.

   I have also done a little freelance PR work as time permits.

   The objective of this column, however, remains to help you 
understand, enjoy and benefit from using your computers. Your comments, 
suggestions and criticisms are welcome -- and encouraged -- as always.

   I am no different from many of you. I'm an individual user with a 
strong interest in getting my work done quickly and efficiently, and 
without spending a lot of time "fiddling" with the hardware and 
software. I'm not a game player, and I have no great interest in 
computers as an activity in and of itself.

   Yes, even though I'm no longer obligated to say it, I still believe 
Tandy built a great line of ultra-reliable PCs. I still own my 4833 
LX/T, though I have acquired some other PCs as well.

   In my work with CompuServe, I use an IBM ThinkPad 750C because of its 
exceptionally large and bright 101/2-inch active matrix screen. It is 
much easier to see when four or five people are watching a 
demonstration. Equipped with a 340MB hard disk and 20MB of memory, it 
leaves little to be desired. It is the machine I travel with, and in 
fact the one on which I'm writing this column, sitting among beautiful, 
tall trees in an RV campground in Norris, Tennessee. The column will be 
transmitted to PCM later today, very probably by cellular telephone 
connection.

   Shortly after "retirement," I started a Recreational Vehicle forum on 
CompuServe (GO RV) and do a fair amount of work with graphics. That was 
a good excuse to upgrade to a Pentium PC with 24MB of memory and about 
700MB of space on two hard drives.

   Readers of my previous columns will recall I was a big proponent of 
not purchasing more computer than needed to get your job done. I haven't 
abandoned that philosophy. But, today's 486 hardware offers so much more 
capability for so little difference in price that when it is time to 
upgrade, there are few reasons not to -- and many reasons to -- go for 
the higher-performance hardware if your budget permits.


>>[ Communicating on the Road ]<<

   As I hinted above, one of the interesting things I've been doing is 
communicating with CompuServe while traveling, so let's make that this 
month's topic for discussion.

   It's a piece of cake if you're staying in hotels with plug-in phones. 
I find very few hotels without them, and when I do, a call to the 
engineer usually results in a quick installation of a plug-in box. Some 
hotels will gladly switch you to a modem-capable room. PC use in hotels 
is so common now that asking for a modem-capable room no longer produces 
an open-mouthed stare. They know exactly what you mean.

   There is no substitute for direct (wire) connection to a local phone 
line. If you won't be in a hotel and need to maintain connections with 
electronic mail or online services, by all means, look for a friendly 
phone owner!

   By the way, cellular is a near-perfect voice communications tool. We 
rarely find ourselves out of range of some cellular system. In almost 
all areas now, you can dial *18 to turn on "Follow-me Roaming" (called 
by other names in some areas) so that when someone dials your home 
cellular area code and number, your cellular phone will ring wherever 
you happen to be. In most cases, you must reactivate the service daily, 
or when moving to a new service area.

   Unfortunately, data communication, when there is no hard-wired phone, 
is a bit more difficult. It's a challenge I'll be continuing to work on 
in coming months. There is no "best" way. Pay phones would be ideal . . 
. a quarter for a local call wouldn't break anyone. There are some good 
(and some not-so-good) acoustic couplers available today. Unfortunately 
the quality, functionality and performance of pay telephones is highly 
inconsistent but generally horrible. The acoustic coupler manufacturers 
face a near-impossible task of designing a product that works under 
most, let alone "all," conditions.

   A rare acoustic connection may work as well as a wired connection. 
Unfortunately, very few! But the next dozen phones you try may not work 
at all . . . even with considerable fiddling with modem parameters and 
levels.

   Cellular connections are considerably more reliable, but still far 
from perfect and prohibitively expensive. Even when voice communication 
is near-perfect, data transmission can be difficult or impossible. For 
example, the San Francisco area system has a cell that serves the ocean-
front Pacifica community. It worked flawlessly for me during a week-long 
stay in January. The cell due east, at the San Francisco airport 
absolutely refused to work with data at all. And in several trips, I 
have never been able to establish a data connection on any cellular 
service in the state of New Mexico. Is it something in the phone lines? 
The switches? Levels? Who knows! It just doesn't work.

   My modem is a 14,400 bps AT&T/Paradyne "Keep in Touch" PCMCIA card. 
It's easy to use, has never failed me on a hardwire connection and 
features some cellular-specific error-correction protocol. Best of all, 
the firmware may be easily updated by the user, so I'm not stuck with 
whatever the state-of-the-art was at the time of purchase. Each firmware 
release seems to improve the cellular data performance a bit more.

   The KIT modem seems to work as well as others from reports I hear. My 
success rate with it is probably on the order of 75 percent. In many 
cases, the standard transmit level of -18dBm must be reset to -24 or -
27dBm (AT&I24 for -24dBm, for example). Setting the error control mode 
to LAPM (AT\N4) helps considerably. Setting the baud rate to 4800 or 
1200 (if the node you're talking to allows it) will provide the best 
connection under difficult conditions.

   Still, on some calls, in some locations, three or four attempts yield 
nothing but failure and disconnects. Yet on the third or fourth try, not 
only is the connection established, but it is maintained through lengthy 
sessions and/or file up/downloads.

   I hear from an engineer friend at AT&T/Paradyne that many cellular 
carriers are creating modem pools that will offer a tremendous 
improvement in cellular data throughput. These modems offer 
AT&T/Paradyne's ETC protocol and MNP-10, both touted to provide better 
cellular performance. You can, of course, improve your cellular 
performance if your modem and the one you're talking to both offer one 
of these protocols. However, more often than not, there are long 
telephone lines between the two modems. The advantage of the modem pools 
is that you connect directly to the similarly-equipped modem, which then 
talks to the target computer system by landline.

   In areas where this service is available, it is accessed by preceding 
your desired phone number by "star-data" or "*3282." Unfortunately, I 
have not been in an equipped area to try it, so can only report what I'm 
told about the system. My contact tells me this system should be 
nationwide by the end of this year.

   The other rumored development is the addition of interactive connect 
capability by RAM Mobile Data. Today, RAM Mobile Data furnishes wireless 
messaging service in more than 400 major metropolitan areas, nationwide. 
I have not used this system or its closest competitor, ARDIS. It is said 
to be quite reliable, and the cost is less than $100/month for virtually 
unlimited messaging. If interactive connections and data transfer can be 
made available in the same price range (I'm sure it will be somewhat 
higher), it could well be the data communications method of choice.

   Even when data connections are flawless, cellular communication is 
horribly expensive. Most cellular services offer their customers some 
number of free minutes every month. In my area it is several hundred 
minutes per month. Should you use all your free time (I never have), 
additional minutes cost from 10 to 40 cents depending on the time of 
day.

   But, once you "roam" outside of your own home area, all bets are off. 
Carriers seem to think they give their local users such a good deal, 
they must make it up on the poor roamers. I rarely see charges of less 
than $1.15 per minute when roaming. It is easy to spend $250 per week 
roaming. Easy! So, come on RAM Mobile Data or ARDIS . . . let's put some 
competition back into the phone companies' lives. They can either get 
real with their charges or lose the business altogether.

   I would very much appreciate hearing from any of you who can add some 
helpful hints to the discussion of on-the-road communication and, of 
course, will be very happy to pass it along to other readers.

-=-------------        -=*=-     -=*=-     -=*=-        -------------=-

The Silicon Warrior     \|/     by Wayne Kawamoto
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~             Contributing Editor

   The valiant warrior takes             |                             |
      on seven challengers:              |   Wayne's Rating System     |
                                         |                             |
   Automenu for Kids                     | ***** Outstanding           |
   Classic 5                             |  **** Excellent             |
   Microsoft New York                    |   *** Good                  |
   Police Quest IV                       |    ** Fair                  |
   SimCity 2000                          |     * Poor                  |
   Soft Karaoke                          |   :-( The "Last Action Hero"|
   Victor Vector & Yondo:                |        of software          |
      the Cyberplasm Formula             |                             |

                           LIFE IN SIMCITY

   How many times have you cursed your civic officials when your car ran 
over a huge pothole or you sat in traffic waiting for an ill-placed 
signal? Since we all know that we can run a more efficient and better 
city than our local pols can, SimCity 2000 gives us that chance.

   Yes, the classic SimCity is back in a new and improved version. We'll 
take a look at SimCity 2000, hit the streets with Sierra's Police Quest 
IV: Open Season, sing out with Soft Karaoke, travel through time with 
Sanctuary Wood's Victor Vector & Yondo: The Cyberplasm Formula, 
highlight a menu for youngsters in Magee's Automenu for Kids, look at 
the view with a Microsoft Flight Simulator scenery disk, play with 
Interplay's Classic 5, and briefly look at what's new on CD.


>>[ It's Your Move -- Classic 5 ]<<

   It's not an original plan, but featuring several computerized board 
games in one package always sells. Sierra has done it successfully and 
now Interplay offers its version in Classic 5, which offers bridge, 
checkers, chess, go and backgammon. I find that no matter how many 
sophisticated computer games I play, I always enjoy quiet board or card 
games on the computer.

   Interplay's package features a single interface for access to all the 
games. The graphics in each individual game are all right -- certainly 
not cutting-edge SVGA, but playable. The individual games against a 
computer opponent aren't much to get excited about. For example, the 
chess module won't hold a candle to the bells and whistles of 
Chessmaster 4000 Turbo or Kasporov's Gambit. But to have all five 
activities at your beck and call is certainly worth something.

   So don't look here for anything that's ground-breaking or 
outstanding. Classic 5 is nothing but solid game play in a nondescript 
format. But you'll enjoy it. *** (3 stars)


>>[ We Built This City -- SimCity 2000 ]<<

   SimCity 2000 is the long-awaited, enhanced version of SimCity, a 
computing classic. The original was a surprise hit that ultimately sold 
a million copies over a variety of platforms. SimCity 2000 is the worthy 
successor that offers improvements but maintains the original's 
compelling game play.

   Once again you play a combination mayor and urban planner whose task 
is to manage a budget and build a city from scratch. You'll construct 
power plants to electrify your city; establish zones for industrial, 
commercial and residential use; lay out electrical wires; and build 
roads and subways to handle the traffic. To keep your city growing and 
your citizens happy (it is their taxes that keep things moving), you can 
add the finer things in life: zoos, libraries, museums, parks and more. 
The object is to make your city an ideal place where "Sims," imaginary 
citizens, want to live. If you're successful, you'll see your city 
booming on the map.

   SimCity 2000 offers enhancements over the original game that include 
an isometric side view that is more attractive than the old overhead 
one, and the graphics are a whole new generation above the earlier 
version. The game comes with a built-in terrain builder, a water system, 
and subways that you lay under the city. The new package also comes with 
such scenarios as the Oakland fire.

   In all, SimCity 2000 offers the same compelling game play as the 
original and is even more fun and challenging. If you're ready to try 
your hand at being mayor, get this game and cancel all your 
appointments. This is as good as being mayor gets. ***** (5 stars)


>>[ Singing in the Pain -- Soft Karaoke ]<<

   Watch out! Close those windows and stay inside. With my three-note 
range and a frog in my throat, I've been "singing" again with Tune 
1000's Soft Karaoke. Soft Karaoke turns your PC into a karaoke machine 
by playing background music and displaying the words to a song -- 
similar to those devices that are so popular in bars.

   The program runs in Windows and displays an easy-to-use interface. 
You simply choose a song and click on Play, and the program plays the 
music and flashes the words. You'll be booming away (microphone not 
included) and sending your neighbors packing.

   Unfortunately the program comes with only five songs: "New York, New 
York"; "The Way We Were"; "Dust in the Wind"; "Stand By Your Man"; and 
"Steamy Windows." But you can send in for a microphone and add-on disk 
(10 more songs) for a $7.50 handling fee. And of course Tune 1000 is 
happy to sell you additional songs as well.

   You may recall that I reviewed a competing product, PC Karaoke, a few 
months back. It's now something of a shouting match between these two 
very viable contenders. Although they're similar in function, they do 
have differences. First, Soft Karaoke uses your sound board's MIDI 
capability to play the music. Although Soft Karaoke's arrangements are 
well-done, the music sounds "electronic." On the other hand, PC Karaoke 
plays digital CD tracks with full orchestrations, and its background 
instrumentals and vocals are superior to those of Soft Karaoke. But with 
PC Karaoke you also need a CD-ROM player.

   Soft Karaoke lets you readily alter songs for tempo, instrumentation 
and -- most importantly -- key. If you're like me and have a range of 
perhaps one octave on a good day, the ability to change keys means you 
won't have to strain for those high notes -- an excellent feature. By 
far I prefer PC Karaoke's music quality, but I do like Soft Karaoke's 
ability to alter songs.

   For those of you who are up to it, Soft Karaoke lets you croon, belt 
and strain your vocal chords. It's certainly an excellent choice in the 
battle over karaoke on the PC. *** (3 stars)


>>[ Not Kidding -- Automenu for Kids ]<<

   To avoid cryptic DOS commands, a menu system is just what the user 
ordered. For kids (and parents as well), Magee's Automenu for Kids is 
perfect.

   Because many consider DOS difficult to learn, PC menu programs are 
quite common. These programs provide selection screens so users can 
scroll to Word Processing or Spreadsheet and press ENTER, and the 
correct program loads. Familiar products such as Magee's Automenu and 
Direct Access fit into this category.

   Automenu for Kids offers menus in several forms: a street down which 
you "walk," a video arcade or a space ship interior. By selecting 
specific signs or machines in one of these venues, kids can launch their 
own programs.

   The best part is that after you set up the menu, kids work and play 
only in their own applications. When they exit an application, they come 
back to the menu; leaving the menu takes a settable code word. Thus you 
don't have to worry about Junior accidentally erasing some key files or 
your recent tax return.

   Although the menu graphics could be better, the program is an 
excellent idea and encourages kids to use the PC. It takes some effort 
to set up -- but if you have children who play on the PC, Automenu for 
Kids is definitely worth a look. *** (3 stars)


>>[ Fly Me to New York -- Microsoft New York ]<<

   Microsoft dominates the virtual-flight market with its Flight 
Simulator, and the latest version (5.0) offers breakthrough scenery and 
landscapes. But you haven't yet seen flight-simulator landscape until 
you've flown with one of Microsoft's new add-on scenery disks.

   I fired up the New York scenery disk and was absolutely amazed at the 
detail. The buildings have windows, and -- viewed from the air -- the 
city's streets are filled with cars. Oh, yeah -- feel free to fly 
through the Twin Towers or buzz the Statue of Liberty. It's definitely 
the best flight-simulator landscape yet to hit the PC. The only down 
side is that you'll need heavy-duty hardware and lots of memory with 
EMS. If you're into flight simulators, this version and its scenery 
disks are outstanding. Come on up, the view is great from here. ***** (5 
stars)


>>[ Donuts Not Included -- Police Quest IV ]<<

   At one time or another, most people have wondered what it's like to 
be a policeman. For the last five years Sierra's Police Quest series has 
tried to bring street-cop experience to the PC.

   Police Quest is an adventure game in the vein of Sierra's King's 
Quest. In it you play a cop, and you have to think and act like one. To 
win, you can't shoot everything that moves, and you have to use your 
brains as well -- in other words you'll have to approach every situation 
as a policeman does. The game even makes you read Mirandas and fill out 
paperwork.

   Unlike earlier Police Quests, which were written by Jim Walls (now 
with Tsunami), Police Quest IV was written by former Los Angeles Police 
Chief Daryl Gates. Chief Gates has certainly had his share of 
controversy during and after his tour of duty in L.A., but he brings a 
lot of police insight to the game.

   It's no surprise that Police Quest IV is set in Los Angeles, with a 
dark story that involves a serial murderer and that includes tinges of 
gangs, hate groups, and a rapper who encourages violence against the 
police. There's also the hounding press -- undoubtedly drawn from Chief 
Gates' own experience.

   In places the game is rather grisly. The very first scene has you 
investigating the torture/murder of your former partner at a gruesome 
crime scene. There are repeated trips to the morgue, bloody shoot-outs, 
and very graphic graphics.

   The photorealism is impressive and complements the serious and dark 
tone of the game. Nice touches include characters who walk into and out 
of the scene, growing and shrinking in perspective. In the first scene 
the main character ducks under the crime-perimeter tape. As in all 
Sierra games, the interface is very well-done. The only thing that gets 
really repetitive after a while is going up and down the elevators in 
Parker Center. I could do without waiting for elevators, especially in 
game playing.

   I have to give Chief Gates credit for developing a timely and 
compelling storyline. If you want to get a taste of being a cop, Police 
Quest is the game to play. I can almost taste that donut now. It's 
jelly-filled with sprinkles, and . . . . **** (4 stars)


>>[ Let's Do the Time Warp -- Victor Vector & Yondo:
The Cyberplasm Formula ]<<

   This is all about a guy in the future and his trusty (and talking) 
St. Bernard. Vector & Yondo are a part of Sanctuary Woods' I-ventures, 
which offer something between a comic book and an adventure game on CD-
ROM.

   In the game you're the Archivist of the Museum of Fantastic 
Phenomena. Unfortunately the curator of the museum, a robot, needs a 
special formula called cyberplasm to live. The only way to find this 
formula is to go back in time. You control the moves of Vector and Yondo 
as they travel into the past to find it and bring it back.

   In the past Vector and Yondo discover dark secrets and have to just 
survive. The game also includes some skill/arcade-like segments, such as 
when the pair cross a street (it's "Frogger").

   Vector & Yondo is refreshingly different, with high-resolution 
graphics, speaking characters, a well-done interface, and excellent 
sound effects. The lighthearted story plays within a basic adventure-
game format, but with bright comic book images. For all the talk of 
interactive comics, Vector & Yondo comes closer to it than any other 
product I've seen.

   Vector & Yondo is for younger players -- say, kids 8 years old and up 
-- but it appeals to everyone. Yondo, in particular, is a talking dog 
who pants (dog-style) as he talks, and he's fun to listen to. The best 
thing is that there's no violence -- unusual for a computer game. This 
one comes highly recommended. **** (4 stars)


>>[ What's New on CD ]<<

   Interplay will soon offer on CD-ROM an enhanced version of Castles 
II: Siege and Conquest, that all-consuming medieval strategy game. Here 
you struggle, along with your neighboring realms, to build up your 
kingdom and ultimately unite and rule the country through negotiation 
and battles. On CD-ROM the game features cinematic sequences, spoken 
dialogue, and actual BBC documentary footage on castles that shows how 
they were constructed, sieged and attacked. Castles is a great game 
that's even better on CD. Serf's up.

   Interplay's 10 Year Anthology: Classic Collection offers 10 classic 
games of the past on CD-ROM. This collection includes Mindshadow, Tass 
Times, The Bard's Tale, Wastelands, Dragon Wars, Battle Chess, Lord of 
the Rings, Castles, Star Trek 25th Anniversary, and Out of This World. 
As you can see, there are some excellent games here, and this CD will 
keep you busy all year long. Although some of these have dated graphics 
and game play by today's standards, there are some gems. My favorites 
are Out of This World and of course Star Trek 25th Anniversary.

   I'm not sure there's a title left at Capstone that hasn't been 
rereleased on CD-ROM. Now Capstone releases Trump Castle III on the 
silver platter as well. My favorite of the series is Trump Castle II, 
but III offers those customized casino players, SVGA graphics, and modem 
and network play. But as with other Capstone CD titles, you still have 
to install it to your hard drive -- so the CD-ROM title offers no 
advantage except easy installation.

   Sierra's Gabriel Knight Sins of the Father is also available on CD-
ROM. This mysterious and supernatural adventure game thriller is greatly 
enhanced for CD-ROM with voices that make the characters come alive. The 
voice actors include such notables as Mark Hamill, Tim Curry, Michael 
Dorn (Worf on Star Trek -- The Next Generation), and Efrem Zimbalist, 
Jr. This is another excellent title that is even better on CD-ROM.

   When I thought of all the kids who have wasted hours playing Mario 
Brothers, I couldn't imagine an educational series based on Mario could 
be worth anything. But I was wrong: Software Toolwork's Mario's Early 
Years series on CD-ROM includes three titles: Fun With Letters, 
Preschool Fun, and Fun With Numbers. These programs are very well-done 
and entertaining, and kids love to play them as they learn. Mario's now 
OK in my book, and he plays on CD.

                                 -=*=-

            Wayne Kawamoto works as a market analyst 
            in Los Angeles. When he's not writing about
            games, Wayne says, he's playing them. He 
            welcomes your comments and suggestions for 
            columns (addressed to him in care of PCM, on
            CompuServe as 71053,3010, or via the Internet
            at 71053.3010@compuserve.com), but he regrets
            that he cannot respond individually to letters.

                                 -=*=-

                         TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS

Automenu for Kids: Magee, P.O. Box 1587, Norcross, GA 30091, (404) 446-
6611; $29.95. REQUIRES: DOS 3.1+ and EGA/VGA or better; a mouse or 
joystick is recommended.

The Classic 5: Interplay Productions, Inc., 17922 Fitch Ave., Irvine, CA 
92714, (714) 553-6678; $49.95. REQUIRES: a 286/10MHz or faster CPU, DOS 
3.1 or higher and a hard drive with 640K of memory; EGA/VGA, Microsoft 
mouse, and Ad Lib, Roland MT-32, Pro Audio Spectrum and Sound Blaster 
supported.

Microsoft New York: Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, 
WA 98052-6399, (800) 323-3577; $39.95. REQUIRES: a 386 or higher 
microprocessor, Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.0, MS-DOS 3.2 or later, VGA 
graphics and 2MB of memory; 4MB memory, an expanded-memory manager, SVGA 
graphics, a Microsoft mouse or compatible pointing device, and a sound 
board recommended; compatible with joystick or flight yoke.

Police Quest IV: Open Season: Sierra On-Line, P.O. Box 800, Coarsegold, 
CA 93614-0800, (800) 757-7707; $69.95. REQUIRES: a 386 or better CPU 
with 4MB RAM, MS-DOS 5.0 or later, a hard disk, VGA graphics and a 
mouse; supports Ad Lib, General MIDI, Sound Blaster, Pro Audio Spectrum, 
Pro Audio Spectrum 16, Roland MT-32 and Microsoft Sound System.

SimCity 2000: Maxis, 2 Theatre Square, Orinda, CA 94563-3346, (510) 253-
3736; $69.95. REQUIRES: a 386 or higher CPU, MS-DOS 3.3+, 4MB of RAM, a 
hard disk, a mouse, and extended VGA mode (640-by-480-by-256); supports 
Ad Lib, Ad Lib Gold, Roland MT-32, Roland MTU, Pro Audio Spectrum and 
Sound Blaster.

Soft Karaoke: Tune 1000 Corporation, Suite 1000A, 295 Forest Ave., 
Portland, ME 04101-2000, (800) 363-TUNE; $49.95. REQUIRES: Windows 3.1, 
2MB of RAM and a sound board; 4MB RAM recommended.

Victor Vector & Yondo: The Cyberplasm Formula: Sanctuary Woods, 1875 S. 
Grant St., Suite 260, San Mateo, CA 94402, (415) 578-6340; $39.95. 
REQUIRES: a 386 SX or faster CPU with 4MB RAM, Windows 3.1+, a CD-ROM 
drive, a hard drive, a mouse, 640-by-480 by 256-color SVGA, and a sound 
card.

-=------------=-     T-H-E   E-N-D   F-O-R   N-O-W     -=------------=-

