Popular Computing Weekly 10-16 Nov 1983
Acorn shoots itself in foot
ACORN has run into serious problems with its Electron computer.
With retailer orders, according to Acorn, over the 150,000 mark, the company has been able to do little else than supply a trickle of demonstration models to dealers in the two months since the Electron was launched. Software, too — the 12 titles announced with the Electron — is nowhere in sight.
This, despite claims earlier this year by Acorn’s joint managing director Chris Curry that the delays and production problems which characterised the early days of the BBC machine would not befall the Electron.
Even WH Smith, the only. High Street chain to be offering the computer, has received but a few machines. A WH Smith spokeswoman said: “We are having to disappoint customers — we are not able to supply demand. What we have had has sold out and while we are expecting more deliveries, the amount will still be well below demand.”
The problems all appear to stem from serious production difficulties at Astec in Malaysia, at present the only Electron manufacturer.
Acorn has quickly looked for alternative manufacturing sources and has found Hong Kong manufacturer Wongs and South Wales AB. Electronics.
Unfortunately, the first Wongs Electron will not come until the end of November and AB will not get going until early 1984. So, it seems the situation is unlikely to improve before Christmas and, unfortunately, many of Acorn’s orders from retailers are conditional on their being fulfilled before Christmas. In the words of one industry source — Acorn would appear to have shot itself in the foot.
“There isn’t a problem with manufacture — they just can’t make enough,” explained an Acorn spokesman. “The production line target is 25,000 a month. As they ramp up to that, there is no way that they will clear the backlog.”
IBM announces Peanut Junior
AS expected, IBM has announced its Peanut home computer to be called the PC Junior.
The machine, very like a cutdown IBM PC, is expected to be in the shops in North America and Canada early in the New Year but, at present, there are no plans to sell the machine in the UK.
As was the case when the PC was announced, only a version compatible with the American tv standard is available, and it is expected to be some time before a PAL version will be manufactured for the UK.
The PCjr is based on the same chip as the PC - the 16-bit 8088, and it will be available in two versions.
The PCjr Entry model has 64K Ram and costs $669 (around £450). The PCjr Expanded model has 128K Ram, includes a built-in 5 1/4 inch disc drive, with 360K dual sided, double density. discs and will sell for $1,269 (around £850) The Entry model is capable of being up-graded to the Expanded version.
Otherwise, the two models are identical. Neither has a built-in display but the PCjr will work with an ordinary tv or monitor.
Both have 64K Rono which includes Basic, and both feature a separate keyboard connected to the main unit by an infra-red link. The link operates in a similar way to a remote tv controller and has a range of about 20 feet. A cord connection can also he used.
The PCjr has twin cartridge ports (the PC has none), cassette port. twin joystick ports, modem and interface, light-pen port, tv and composite video outputs. RS232 serial interface and an additional I/O bus. Options include a thermal printer priced at $175, joysticks and 64K Ram pack.
Most programs available for the PC will run directly on the PCjr, although the up-dated 2.1 disc operating system may cause some difficulties.
A number of software cartridges have also been announced for the PCjr - mostly games: Crossfire. Mineshaft, Mouser and Scuba Venture. There is also an extended Basic cartridge.
IBM hopes to produce 20,000 machines for the US and Canada this year — only enough to supply each dealer with 15 machines. Although IBM plans to make over 300,000 PCjrs next year, the company’s manufacturing capacity is already severely stretched by the run-away success of the earlier PC model. PCjr may not, therefore, be available in the US in volume until well into 1984.
Aquarius is still alive and kicking
THE Aquarius computer, recently recently abandoned by troubled Mattel, is far from dead.
Its Hong Kong manufacturer Radofin, which is to take over selling the machine when Mattel bows out later this year, has announced two new machines.
The Aquarius 2 will be launched in January, to be followed by a more up-market Aquarius 3 machine in April. Both computers will be compatible with the present range of Aquarius cartridge software and peripherals.
Aquarius 2 will be very similar to the existing Aquarius machine, hut with a full-size, full-travel keyboard and additional Ram. It will have 4K on-board plus an additional 16K or 32K either on-board or as a plug-in cartridge.
The Aquarius 3 will have 64K Ram and be a competitor for machines like the Commodore 64 computer.
No prices have yet been decided for two of the new machines. Radofin’s managing director Alan Leboff- commented: “I could guess, but there are too many hazards in doing so at this stage — who knows what will happen between now and the New Year?”
Mettoy struggles no more
Mettoy, the struggling Corgi-toy giant which originally developed the Dragon 32 computer, has gone into receivership.
It was Mettoy’s continuing financial problems which forced the company to sell off its Dragon 32 computer venture to Dragon Data in November last year, retaining only an 18 percent share.
In September this year, when Dragon itself ran into cash-flow problems, Mettoy was unable to contribute to a £2.5m rescue plan, and its shareholding in ‘ Dragon was further diminished to 15.5 percent.
Now Mettoy’s receivers will be looking for a buyer for the company’s share of Dragon but, so far, no likely candidates have emerged.
Commenting on Mettoy’s failure, Dragon Data’s new managing director, Brian Moore, appointed after the Prutech rescue in September, said: “Dragon Data is a fully independent company and the news of Mettoy’s receivership can have no significant effect on the running of this company.”
Mettoy’s collapse has long seemed. probable. At the end of 1982 the company’s debts stood at £10.5m. Deloitte, Haskins and Sells have been appointed as receivers.
Irish Spectrum protection
DUBLIN based software house Micro-Kraft has developed a range of software protection systems for Sinclair Spectrum programs.
Three software packages have been developed — Basic Protectrum, Machine-code Protectrum and Anti-copier Protectrum — designed to help software authors protect their work.
In each case, the Protectrum program is loaded into the Spectrum, followed by the software to be secured. The degree of protection required is then selected from a menu and the secured program is then saved out to tape in the normal way.
Basic Protectrum contains seven security systems to prevent merging, listing to screen or printer, to corrupt the program if edited, to store the program as junk on tape and to disable the Break key. Basic Protectrum will be available in December.
Machine-code Protectrum performs as for the Basic Protectrum, but for machine code programs, and Anti-copier Protectrum secures software against the use of so called ‘breaker’ programs. The latter is claimed to work against all known copier programs. These two programs will be available in January 1984.
The Protectrum series is priced at 15.95. More details from Micro-Kraft, 48 Sea- court, Clontarf, Dublin, Eire.