| QL Hardware World |
ONE MAJOR drawback of the QL is that you can only plug one thing into the user port on the left-hand end of the machine at a time. If you want to add RAM, a disc interface or possibly a printer interface at the same time you have to buy an adaptor at £70 upwards. The Medic Datasystems QL Expansion system overcomes that by combining all three into one box.
That still presents a problem as the QL provides very little power to the user port. The Expansion system, however, is available in two packages. The first combines disc and printer interfaces and contains 256K of RAM, the second is a disc drive and expansion box which, with the drive providing extra power, can accommodate up to 512K of RAM.
The system provides the facility to create RAM discs and set up a printer buffer, and is supplied with a number of utilities on disc. At present Medic is still not supplying all the currently advertised programs but upgrades will be supplied free as they become available.
The most remarkable feature is the price. The expansion box with memory (256K) is only £129.95, and drive/box prices, without memory, start at £199.95. In view of recent adverse publicity, most of it justified, about delays in supplying systems, Medic is now offering cash on delivery so you don't have to pay until the system arrives.
On the system disc at present are three of the nine advertised programs, M_BOOT, M_KEY and M_TRANSFER plus M_COPY and M_SWITCH.
The most useful programs, if you have additional RAM, are M_TRANSFER and M_SWITCH. The first copies the Psion programs to disc and the latter allows you to have, memory permitting, all four in the QL at the same time. You can switch between them at will; it takes less time to switch than the QL does to redraw the screen.
The beauty of all the programs is that they provide an enclosed environment where everything you need to do is accomplished by single key presses. When the other programs are available they will also be integrated and will provide the icing on what is already a pretty fancy cake.
The disc drive(s) supplied with the system are 3½in and include their own power supply. Unlike most other drives they are housed above the power supply which, although they get a little warm, allows you to put them behind the QL and still be able to reach the bottom drive.
Medic has set out to produce a system which out performs all other systems at a competitive price, and has succeeded.
Now Medic has started shipping and, with the COD deal perhaps it will be able to restore its reputation. If you are in doubt you could order by credit card or pick up a system at the next Microfair.
Five packages are available; box including 256K £129.95; box plus one 1Mb £199.95, or with 512K £349.95; and box plus two 1Mb drives £329.95, or with 512K £449.95. New products recently announced, and due to be released in October are the 5Mb hard disc, including interface £299.95; replacement keyboard £29.95; and separate numeric pad £29.95. The modem will be £120.00.
Medic Datasystems Ltd, Hampshire.
THE QL disc market is hotting up and prices are tumbling. Opus has just announced a package of a CST interface and an 80-track, double-sided, switchable drive for only £249.95. A package with dual drives is £349.95.
Either 5¼ or 3½in drives are available and you can order the items separately at £89.95 for the interface, £179.95 for a single drive and £299.95 for the dual unit.
The CST interface supplied with the drive contains the latest version software, 1. 10. If you already have a CST interface the main difference between it and earlier versions are that the sector read commands are now the standard Tony Tebby versions.
Most other packages advertised at a similar price offer only single-sided drives, and so this package, coupled with a two year warranty on the drives, is particularly inviting. The CST interface should ensure Opus a niche in this competitive market.
Opus Supplies Ltd, Surrey.