Scor­pio News

Withdrawal symptoms

Dear sir,

When I received your leaflet in December ’86 for Scorpio News as an 80-BUS News subscriber I took no action as I own a Nascom 2 and could not afford to update it to CP/M. Instead I purchased an IBM Clone.

Documentation of the IBM Clone is non-existent and I miss the ability to work on a machine which has hardware that I can understand.

However, the arrival of the first issue of Scorpio News triggered withdrawal symptoms and I now enclose my subscription.

I look forward to the rest of the series of articles on Disk Formats and CP/M Disk Routines by M.V.T. Waters and enjoy the Dave Hunt pages and Doctor Dark’s Diary (having all previous 23 episodes) – keep up the good work.

Yours faithfully, G.H. Hestor, Brentwood, Essex.

Scorpio *IBM-Clone* News ?

Dear Editor,

Well I guess it’ nice to be back in harness again, although I’m not so sure about being nagged about deadlines, I tend to write when the urge takes me, and producing something to be ready by a specified date is going to impose a discipline which I suppose will be good for me. Still never mind, it’s good to see the old rag appearing under a new name even if it does cost a bit more. Let’s all try and keep the quality up so that those who buy it think it’s good value for money and so keep on buying it.

Next on my list is the content, I found the last issue chock full of the usual useful goodies from the usual contributors, particularly the article on 0.5″ tape. To that particular instance, it was little late, as I had done all the basic research a month or so before, for something I was up to. None the less, it confirmed all I had discovered and filled in a few gaps. It was nice to see MAP back in the fold, and I understand there will be a couple of useful articles coming up about some of their products which I confess I know very little about. Dr. Dark, of course, comes across strongly as usual, and so did Paddy Coker. Mike Waters’ article I’ve already read, having had that on disk since last May. Very wise to make it a serial, it’s fascinating but a bit heavy all in one go (apart from taking one whole magazine to itself).

Now, what’s missing? I guess most of the readership are what I would call ‘mature’ micro users. By that I mean that they know what they (or someone else) is talking about, and are not grey haired and over weight, like myself, or knowing a few of them personally, perhaps, both. Might it not be a good idea to commission a few articles at the rank beginner level, you know like the Dodo”s Guide I wrote for INMC all those years ago (no I’m not volunteering)? That way you might approach new readers who at present are being poorly served by the current stock of mags which seem to spend most of their time reviewing clever games, but not explaining how to write them or what makes the machine tick. Now I know we are primarily a Nascom/​Gemini/​Map based magazine, but some insight into the workings of some of the other Z80 based machines, such as the Einstein (which has a remarkable resemblance to a Nascom with disks), wouldn’t do me any harm and I might pick up a few good ideas.

As threatened in my last offering I have had to defect (this week) to the ranks of IBM clone owners, as there was a limit to the amount of work-work I could do at home on my trusty old Gemini/​DH machine (it had been reduced to producing documentation, and very Little else). Now I know any defection from the ranks is sad, but in my case it’s a case of expediency. If my family expect me to continue to earn the daily bread, then unfortunately, I must have the correct tools for the job.