80-Bus News

They have even agreed to give me a list of registered NasDos users to assist in expanding the NasDos Users’ Circle. As to what have they been doing – well, I can answer that at least in part. They have been developing a CAD system now called Lotti II. As a professional engineer, I can say that this is an excellent product and could well transform their sales forecasts. If any readers are thinking of buying a CAD system, then make sure you see Lotti before parting with green stuff.

b) The NasDos Users circle is now actually happening – thanks mostly to Roger Dowling. Hopefully this circle will grow as it becomes better known.

c) The recent article in your magazine comparing various colour cards for Nas Bus/80-BUS was very useful – it was the final straw that prompted me to invest £150 on the Nascom AVC. Incidentally, I had CP/M 2.2 installed at the same time with the Business & Leisure switch to select either CP/M or NasDos. This is extremely handy since it allows files to be transferred from NasDos disks to CP/M disks by moving to middle memory before switching formats. They still need modifying to run under CP/M of course – should keep me busy for the next 999 years! I have already got NAS­SYS 3 working under CP/M by following the instructions in Chris Blackmore’s Monitor.COM article which was found in an early Nascom N.....tter, as modified by Chris Bowden in the next issue – thanks to both gents.

Yours, Colin Case, Rugby, Warks.

PS: The survey was a great idea.

Lucas/​Nascom attitutude; 80-BUS irregularity

Thanks for the latest issue of 80-BUS News (vol 3 issue 2) and the questionnaire. I hope that lots of readers return them.

I’m not at all surprised to read about the demise of the Nascom Newsletter – which appears to reflect the generally ‘couldn’t care less’ attitude of Lucas/​Nascom to Nascom owners. Mr Scadden may have had more luck than most in that the above firm actually acknowledged his letters – they ignore my requests for information or pricelists and seem unwilling to supply spares in less than trade quantities. A great pity!

I would also like to reinforce Mr Scadden’s plea for more regular issues of the magazine; perhaps an increase in the part-time editorial staff would help so that pressure of work at Gemini would not cause the erratic appearances to which we have had to accustom ourselves. From the potential and actual contributors’ point of view, I hope that the replies to the questionnaires will be published and that we will be told what types of article are required, and, having put our minds in gear, and articles on tape or disk, that you will let us know whether or not the contribution is suitable and roughly when it will appear. This would do much to avoid the annoyance which contributors experience with the present system, to which M. Dasnoy referred. In spite of previous vicissitudes, I do feel that the magazine is very useful and it has a great deal more potential now that it is effectively the only one catering for 80-BUS users.

Yours sincerely, Dr P.D. Coker, Orpington, Kent

[Ed. – It is certainly our intention to publish a summary of the information gleaned from the questionnaires, and hopefully this will be in the next issue. We are also forever hopeful that we can achieve improved regularity of the magazines, although this has never been our strongest point!! Finally, it is our intention during 1985 to implement a much faster feedback system to potential contributors on whether an article is to be published or not.]