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SETTLEMENT talks have been concluded between Atari and Namco on the one hand, and Philips and Commodore on the other. Atari claimed in October that the Philips Munchkin program and the Commodore Jelly-monsters infringed its copyright of Pac-Man. It was widely expected that a legal ruling on the case would establish a precedent on software copyright but the parties concerned decided to settle out of court, leaving the question open again.
Although at present the law specifically forbids pirating of tapes, the line between plagiarism and the fair use of available material has not been clearly defined. Several recent cases involving copyright have been settled out of court but it is thought that the forthcoming Filetab Support Services case against the National Computer Centre about the use of Usertab and Filetab may give a few pointers.
A Bill to give explicit copyright protection to computer programs will be introduced by Lord Lloyd to Parliament in this session. "It is a piecemeal piece of legislation," says a leading computer software specialist, "and it is unlikely to go through because of its knock-on effect on other laws. It may force the Government to issue a policy statement on software copyright but it may take two years before we see definite changes in the law."
A NEW DEVICE to prevent software piracy has been invented by Professor Adi Shamir at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. It would be applicable mainly to disc units of bigger microcomputers but it could also help to prevent piracy of telesoftware on databases and networks, such as Micronet 800, which have hundreds of small computers logging into them every day.
Where it differs from other types of software anti-piracy devices is that it will also allow a manufacturer to limit the amount of times a program is used.
The system prevents copying by taking into account the relative weakness of a signal which has been copied from one storage medium to another. Professor Shamir says:
"The beauty of the system is that it is cheap to implement and does not require modification of computers already on the market."
Mike Johnston, secretary of the Guild of Software Houses, was pleased to hear of the new device, which could be of benefit to some members of the group. He says:
"My first reaction is that it will be of some use and I would like to hear more about it. New security devices such as this are needed all the time, because no sooner are they in operation than some bright spark has cracked them."
SINCLAIR RESEARCH has answered suggestions that the model three Spectrum is incompatible with some software on the market. The company says that no major range of software has been affected, so far as it knows, by the change in the ULA reported several months ago.
It adds that the operation of the Spectrum has in no way changed and it is through the assumptions of some software houses that difficulties have occurred.
Problems have occurred with some software because it was taken for granted that the values from the three higher-order bits from bytes coming from the keyboard will always be one. That assumption is not correct and the company thinks it unwise to take such a thing for granted.
ODYSSEY COMPUTING, producer of ZX-81 high-resolution games and utilities, has been having difficulty with two items in its range. The tapes in question are High-Resolution Zorf and High-Resolution Graphics in which there are several bugs.
The company is doing its best to rectify the situation and will offer money back to customers who have a faulty version of the programs.
It also warns that customers may wait for new tapes or for the fulfilment of orders but it cannot state definitely when the programs will be ready for re-release.
If customers have queries they should write to Odyssey Computing, Nottingham. Alternatively they can write to the advertising department of Sinclair User.
THE COMPUTER BOOM is taking over on television, following the introduction of the BBC Computer Programme two years ago.
The Thames Television series Database, hosted by Tony Bastable, has just finished and Central Television has a series along similar lines. It is called Magic Micro Mission and is hosted by Adrian Hedley and Jo Wheeler. Hedley plays the captain of the show and leads the cast and guests on a journey in a spaceship through the world of computers.
Yorkshire Television is now thinking of producing its own show. The company is seeking users who have applied their computers to strange tasks, such as feeding a dog and blowing up balloons.
More information can be obtained from Yorkshire Television, Leeds.
ORDERS fulfilled for Interface One and Microdrives have not yet passed the 1,000 mark but some companies are adapting their existing software to work with the Microdrive.
Richard Shepherd Software is selling Cash Controller with an extra menu option for Microdrive storage and retrieval.
The immediate advantage is that the program can be saved on to Microdrive and recalled quickly but little seems to have been done to increase the amount of data which can be retrieved by the program. The other company using Microdrive is Campbell Systems and its data storage program is Masterfile. It has been adapted so that the user can store and recall data on to the cartridge and modification to the existing program is minimal.
According to Sinclair Research, several companies have shown interest in putting software on to Microdrive cartridge.
Development has been hampered by the lack of cartridges available, although Sinclair hopes to arrange with software houses about the distribution of software on cartridge in the near future.
Orders for the Interface One and Microdrive are still being completed slowly as Sinclair does not want to hurry a process which may cause difficulties.
A spokesman for the company says that from what information it has, one in 10 people ordering bought only an Interface One. That is surprising, as most customers will not have access to two interfaces and would not be able to use the RS232 and networks which it supplies.
DURING a conference for overseas distributors in Cambridge and a conference tour of European countries, Sinclair Research has given details of its sales plans for the European market, including the introduction of the Interface One and Microdrive.
The marketing details for the devices were discussed with respect to the countries visited, which included France, West Germany, Sweden, Italy and Spain.
Sinclair also introduced several new computer ventures in the countries visited. In Paris, the company displayed a new special interface designed to enable customers to use the Spectrum with the SECAM television system. Until now potential customers have not been able to buy Spectrums in Britain because of the differences in the television systems.
The Stockholm conference featured a new keyboard device which will allow the use of extra letters in the Swedish alphabet to be used in programs.
Sinclair Research intends to make Europe and the other international markets, such as the U.S., its top priority. It visualises 300 million potential customers in Europe.
Nearly 40 percent of Sinclair computers are produced for export and Sinclair will continue with that plan. It anticipates making £1.5 billion with the European figures taken into account this year. Nigel Searle, managing director of Sinclair Research, says:
"We place tremendous importance on exploring new markets for Sinclair products. The U.K. now holds the number one position in per capita ownership of personal computers and our experiences at home can and will be utilised in export markets."
THE CAMBRIDGE Award Trophy for programming, co-sponsored by Sinclair User and Cases Computer Simulations, was presented to Mark Lucas at the ZX Microfair at Alexandra Palace, London.
His program, Battle 1917, is a war simulation for the Spectrum. As well as receiving the trophy, Lucas collects a cheque for £1,000 and the royalties from his program which will be marketed by Cases Computer Simulations. He was also treated to a champagne dinner by one of the representatives of the software company.
The second prize for the Spectrum was for War 70, also a battle simulation, was written by Mike Wheeler, a reader from Sale.
The second prize for ZX-81 software went to John Sherry of Staffs for his program Broodslayer, an adventure game for the 16K machine. The ZX-81 and Spectrum prize winners each received £250. Third prize for a Spectrum game went to N. Holgate of Surrey for Oligopoly, a game of skill and intrigue set in the world of business. For the ZX-81 the third prize was won by Christopher North, North Yorkshire for another adventure called Barrows Quest. The third place winners received £100 each.
Nigel Clark, managing editor of Sinclair User and joint chairman of the judges says, "We were impressed with the level of entries. We are planning to run another competition along the same lines soon."
Melvyn Lloyd-Jones, a director of Cases Computer Simulations, the other joint chairman, says: "The first two Spectrum winners were close, but the deciding factor which led us to select Battle 1917 was the simplicity of the rules which added to its addictiveness." There were 10 runners-up for the Spectrum and ZX-81.
Each will win five CCS programs and a free annual subscription to Sinclair User.
FEARS about the demise of the ZX-81 and the 16K Spectrum have been quashed by Sinclair Research. A spokesman for the company, says: "About six months ago we thought that the ZX-81 would not last for much longer and we thought about winding-down its manufacture.
"We have no date for a wind-down now, as the machine has gone from strength to strength. We hope it will continue to sell well in the first few months of the year. We think sales will now be concentrated in third world countries, with demand falling in the U.K."
There are no plans to drop the 16K Spectrum. Sinclair Research will continue to sell the machine but it cannot confirm that individual suppliers will continue to provide stocks to retailers. A spokesman for the company says:
"We have no plans to cease production but sales have shown that the 48K Spectrum is out-selling the 16K version by four to one. None of the big retailers, such as W H Smith, has shown any inclination to drop the machine from stocks."
SIR CLIVE SINCLAIR intends to fight Acorn Computers, and others, for the contract to build the new BBC computer. The contract will be awarded to the winner in the autumn and the BBC is already having consultations with Acorn.
Sinclair Research has fought for the contract twice already and the Spectrum could have been the first BBC computer if Acorn had not made a deal with BBC first. Sir Clive, however, is confident that he can win this time. He has submitted a request for the specifications of the projected new machine.
One of the things which could win Sinclair the contract is its impressive sales record, with sales of the Spectrum reaching beyond the million mark. The more expensive BBC micro has sales of about 200,000.
FORMER Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was guest of honour at the launch of a new range of educational software produced by Sinclair Research in conjunction with Macmillan publishing.
His family founded the company 140 years ago and he spoke of the great technological advances in his lifetime. "What is said is still as important as the method of saying it," he commented.
The nine initial programs in the range are based on the widely-used Macmillan Educational school textbooks.
Two software houses, Five-Ways Software and Fisher-Mariott, were involved in developing the programs which sell at £9.95 each.
Although Sinclair Research plans to expand its Macmillan software range, a company spokesman says it will also be producing educational programs in conjunction with other firms.