PANDORA, the Sinclair portable computer, is due for launch in the autumn according to Sir Clive Sinclair.

Clive: "no compromise" on Pandora

He confirmed that the new take-it-anywhere machine would be based on eight-bit technology which, he believes "will continue to dominate the computer market for a long time. There will be no compromise on price. It will be a truly portable machine, light weight and battery driven." Let's hope it's not powered by those flat Polaroid batteries which are so hard to get hold of.

The Pandora will have an integral flat screen display, similar to that used in the Timex pocket television. Sources close to Sinclair say that it will be four times the size of the current screen in order that the text characters can be read. Sir Clive says "It will not have a liquid crystal display and you will be able to read it in most lighting conditions".

The machine is likely to have 128K RAM which will be banked-switched in a similar way to that of the Spectrum 128. Sir Clive suggested that the operating system will be CP/M-like.lf that was the case Sinclair would have to use CP/M Plus which has been implemented on the Amstrad PCW8256. It utilises bank switching but, because of the way it is implemented, is not downwardly compatible with CP/M packages written on earlier versions of the operating system.

Sir Clive would say nothing about the proposed storage medium for the machine. Sir Clive's silicon wafer drive, which is still eagerly anticipated, with its half-megabyte memory could be used but a more likely altemative is a lightweight 3.5in disc drive. The microdrives - QL or ZX would prove almost hopeless as far as CP/M memory requirements, response time and reliability are concerned.

The back-up medium could even be a simple tape recorder. Sir Clive has stated that all 48K Spectrum software will be compatible with Pandora but we've seen few Spectrum game programs on disc.

No price has been put on the machine yet but it is expected to cost within the range of £250-350.

WARNING! The 48K version of Elite from Firebird is not compatible with the 128, although it is mentioned in the broadsheet included in the package.

Andy Knott, a spokesman for Sinclair, admits "The inclusion of a title on the broadsheet does not mean that the old 48K version will necessarily run on the 128, though it probably will".

Sinclair declares that Elite's inclusion was a mistake but, according to Phil Pratt of Firebird, a special 128 version of the game will soon be available. "Anyone who owns a 128 and buys the 48K version of Elite will get a 128 version if they send the 48K one back to us".

Confusion surrounds the reasons for the mistake but the game appears to have been tested on a Spanish 128 which has a different ROM to that of the British machine.

Alison Maguire, marketing manager of Sinclair Research, was disturbed to hear of the error and stated that Sinclair has now investigated compatibility of products on the broadsheet "We decided to ring around the whole lot of them (software publishers) and most have confirmed that the existing product will run on the 128."

The company states that all software designed within its specification guidelines will be compatible but there may still be programs out there which don't work with the machine. We will warn you if that is the case in our reviews, but if you discover an incompatible game or utility - let us know.

Tardy Tardis DR WHO, from Micro Power, is due to materialise in the high street later this month. The reason for the delay of the program, which was due out last year, is that the programmer originally doing the coding had to work on other versions of the game. Bob Simpson (above) managing director of Micro Power, explains: "We have put our top programmer on Dr Who and it should be ready by April." Those who have kept faith will be able to buy the game for £11.95, a lower price than originally stated. Simpson says: "We were going to launch it at £14.95 but now feel that the price might be a bit over the top for Spectrum owners."

THE NEW Spectrum 128 is causing all sorts of problems to those who want to use existing peripherals with the new machine. In the absence of a definitive list of what is, and is not, compatible, here are a few rules of thumb to follow.

If a peripheral uses ROM calls or has a power supply of its own, such as printer interfaces in the first case or disc drive systems in the second, it's most unlikely to work. Stuff that simply reads the keyboard, such as joystick interfaces, ought to be OK - but nothing is guaranteed.

Sinclair User has received a number of enquiries as to the compatibility of the VTX5000 modem, which gives access to Prestel and Micronet 800. The short answer is no, but it is actually possible to use the VTX5000 with a Spectrum 128 provided that you already have a 48K Spectrum, or are prepared to undertake hardware modifications.

Instructions on how to fix your modem up for Micronet are available on page 800001341 of Micronet, but that involves the soldering iron. If you already have a 48K Spectrum you could transfer the software that the modem dumps into the Spectrum to tape - SAVE "VTX" and SAVE "VTX" CODE 30000, 65536-30000 and then reload the software into the 128 after going into 48K mode. In that case you may see several multicoloured crashes before you get the normal loading screen - our resident hacker reckons these won't damage the 128 but continual resetting with short intervals between each reset will.

Sinclair Research points out that "anybody using the modem without BT approval runs a serious risk of prosecution. ln the event of the Spectrum 128 being damaged, the guarantee would be void."

In fact, it's most unlikely you would be prosecuted, although anybody using 'unofficial' modems may have them confiscated if they're foolish enough to leave the system lying around when a BT engineer comes to call. The guarantee threat is worth thinking about, though.

Meanwhile, the best advice is probably to leave well alone and wait for a proper modem to be developed. Micro net is currently talking to several companies about the production of such a modem, which would only require minor changes to the VTX5000 system to operate perfectly. If you want to fiddle around in the meantime, on your own heads be it!

THE 128 has proved popular with most sections of the industry according to Sinclair's only product distributor, Terry Blood Distribution.

Norman Smith, managing director of the company, says: "We see it as a new machine, with a brand new board and a brand new specification. Sinclair has also taken some user requirements into consideration, such as better graphics and noise reproduction. Sinclair Research seems to be a better educated company that it once was.

"Although it's too early to tell how well the machine is doing, we've had no returns and for a new machine that's a good sign. If the standard of the 128 had been introduced with the Plus I'm sure we would have eliminated 50 per cent of returns.

Retailers are also enthusiastic about the new machine. Martin Craswell, a representative of W H Smith, says: "It's early days yet but people will always be interested in a new product. We've had a lot of people through the doors who wanted to look at the machine and it is in about 40 of our bigger stores".

Craswell was surprised to learn of the potential incompatibility of certain 48K programs with the 128 (see separate story). "The only problem with Elite that I know of is the bug in the Amstrad version. I haven't heard of any returns".

You can judge whether the 128 is everything your friends are saying about it. Just turn to our special 128 supplement and read about the launch and the software available.

SIR CLIVE SINCLAIR is planning to launch a microlite aircraft later this year, powered by electricity.

The entire project has been kept under wraps for some time, but sources at the secret Winchester research plant confirm that the revolutionary plane will use technology developed during work on the C5 electric tricycle.

The machine will use a modified version of the C5 motor, driving two rear-mounted propellors. A heavy duty cable will transmit the power to the propellors, delivering a maximum airspeed of up to 25 mph.

Initial models will be single-seater only, and may require a tow when taking off from level ground to deliver an initial thrust to the engine. The batteries will provide about 15 minutes worth of level flight in appropriate weather conditions but Sinclair Research is understood to be investigating the possibilities of air-to-air recharging.

The machine should cost somewhere in the region of £799.95 and Sir Clive is expected to make an announcement concerning its availability some time in the first week of April. The product is to be aimed at the urban commuter market.

Although no official statement has yet been made, the British Safety Council has already expressed concern. A spokesman said, "We utterly condemn this extremely hazardous machine. Sir Clive seems to have his head in the clouds." London Regional Transport is also said to be preparing a report on the feasibility of using bus lanes as emergency landing strips, one of the major planks of Sinclair Aviation's marketing strategy.

HOT ON the heels of the Technician Ted Mega-Mix, Hewson is about to launch Quazatron, a shoot'em up by the author of the Seiddab games.

Your Meknotech robot must battle with the battle droids and repair mobiles of Quazatron, the mechanised subterranean city.

The program, which was formerly titled Ziggurat, will be available for the Spectrum and 128 from April 28.

Pocket TV price drop TIMEX has taken over the worldwide marketing of the Sinclair flat screen television but Sinclair has not relinquished all rights to the product. The move heralds both a price drop of £20, making the pocket television £79.95, and a rigorous sales campaign in stores such as Dixons. Sinclair intends to use his flat screen technology in the Pandora so it is sensible for him not to give all rights to Timex. The deal can be seen as yet another way in which Sinclair can pay off his remaining debts to Timex while continuing to trade.

EUREKA! I have found it and I can have it any size on the screen, thanks to Domark's new wonder monitor for the 128.

It contains two unusual features. The first is that you can alter the size of the central screen display, to fill the screen with animated action and without the usual Spectrum border display. You can also switch from medium resolution colour to a high resolution green screen display.

Unlike other monitors the Eureka! has a sound amplifier which takes advantage of the 128's music capabilities. The monitor supplies the 128 with power through the computer's edge connector. In that way the need for more than two leads computer and tape recorder is eliminated.

Domark hopes that the Eureka! will cost less than £250 but has yet to set a price.

THE financial disaster which threatened Sinclair Research is over for the present, according to Sir Clive Sinclair.

He stresses that no company can boast that it is completely free of monetary problems but his current worries appear to be over. "We have paid off £10 million, that's over half of what we owe."

Sinclair's close brush with receivership occurred because over-zealous retailers bought too many computers for the Christmas of 1984. They were not able to sell stocks and Sinclair was not able to sell any more of its machines until stocks were depleted.

Fortunately creditors such as the city banks and manufacturer Timex were willing to receive back payments according to a financial plan implemented in September 1985.

Sir Clive is confident that "we will be able to announce a profit for the year beginning April 1 1986".

"AAH! Zee faymous Beegles," smirks arch-villain von Stahlein. Aah, zee faymous movie spin-off, groans the cynical computer games player.

Yes, Mirrorsoft has come up with the rather splendid wheeze of basing an arcade game on the soon-to-be-released film Biggles - the Untold Story. And, as is the way with such things, the game bears only the slightest resemblance to the source material.

Which is probably just as well, because the movie is a horrendous mishmash of war film and the time travel hokum which would have author Capt W E Johns doing aerial stunts in his grave.

The setting is supposedly the Western Front in 1917, interspersed with leaps to London, 1986, the time in which Biggles' time-twin Jim Ferguson lives. Jim jets back and forth across the years, helping out ace pilot James Bigglesworth whenever he is in a spot of bother.

Nasty German secret weapons, nuns, helicopters and caves all form part of the ludicrous plot. The attention to detail leaves the mind biggling - sorry, boggling. Our hero's Sopwith Camel is actually a not-so-cunningly disguised Tiger Moth training aircraft.

But enough of the film. Biggles - the Complete Game, as yet unfinished, sounds marginally more interesting, as it features random flips through time from one arcade sequence to another, whenever you're in danger of losing a life. The sections include a search through subterranean caves and a dogfight between von Stahlein's biplane and a police helicopter.

Mirrorsoft plans to unleash Beegles in May for £9.95.

MULTI-USER Dungeon, British Telecom's modem-linked adventure game, is on line for paying customers.

Until recently, players have been using the system free of charge because BT has been testing MUD for bugs. A spokesman for New Information Services, the division of BT running the game, says "I'm now confident enough to start charging players for turns in the game".

To join MUD you must have a modem - to connect you with other players over the 'phone lines - and a MUD pack.

The pack contains an identity code and instructions for play, together with three hours of playing time. After that players are charged £2.00 an hour. It can be obtained by ringing the MUD Line on (01) 606 1173.

BLAST compiler publisher OCS has gone into liquidation but OCP Software, producer of Word Manager and former publisher of Art Studio is still very much alive.

The company has asked us to point out to readers that Oxford Computer Publications has nothing to do with Oxford Computer Systems. Bruce Everiss, a spokesman for OCP, foamed "We've had numerous enquiries asking whether we've gone bankrupt and if we're still selling our products. We are, in fact doing rather well and hope to continue to do so".

THE Graphics Adventure Creator, from Incentive Software, is set to take on the mighty Quill from Gilsoft.

The package, which is compatible with the Plus and 128, will create adventures which allow full sentence input - instead of just verb/noun full word-length recognition, and text compression, so that games can be large and sophisticated. It also includes a flexible graphics designer.

GAC will be available from May 1 and the price has yet to be set.

TRAIN to be a master of the martial arts in The Way of the Tiger, the first in a series of Gremlin Graphics games, based on the Fighting Fantasy books published by Hodder and Stoughton.

You are taken into the guardianship of Naijishi, Grandmaster of the Dawn, who gives you guidance and training in the nirvana state of goodness called Kwon.

The three stages of the game are unarmed combat, pole fighting and Samurai sword fighting. Why anyone would want to reach such a peaceful exhalted state just to bash the hell out of your opponent with a Samurai sword is anyone's guess.

The Spectrum version, which looks similar to Way of the Exploding Fist from Melbourne House, costs £9.95.

Sinclair User
April 1986