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%CO:B,70,75%%H1%CAMBRIDGE COMPUTER Z88%H1%

%H4%%H1%Introduction, and Footnoting Demonstration Document%H1%%H4%


    ^For sheer portability, no computer approaches the Cambridge Computer 
Z88.<1>  
What else can you say when the machine weighs less than 2lbs - 
which is %H1%much%H1% less than 1kg - and measures about the size of an 
A4 pad?}
Others, strictly speaking, are smaller, but they are hand-held and not 
convenient for proper typing.<2>  
E.g., the Psion Organiser.}
Others again will be said to have the advantages of built-in disk drives, 
an 80x24 screen (backlit!), and MS-DOS compatibility.  Whether these are 
%H1%real%H1% advantages is a moot question, but they certainly do not enhance 
portability or, even more obviously, lap-top operation.<3>  
The Toshiba 1000 is only just over twice the weight of the Z88, has a 
reasonable battery life, and costs about the same.  But with a single 3.5" 
disk drive, it must take forever to boot up, compared with instant 
availability of files and programs on the Z88.  As for the new 
(unavailable in Australia?) NEC Ultralite, one can only point out that it 
costs about 4 times the Z88 for about as much in the way of built-in 
facilities - and no disk drive.} 
Of the 12-18lbs arm stretchers which claim "lap-top" operation, the less 
said the better.<4>
No names, no pack drill.  Most of these, though they have all the gas 
plasma and bells and whistles in the world, either run only on mains power 
or have rechargeable batteries of a derisorily short life.}
    ^But - someone might say - what can such a small, light machine offer?  
Must it not be so limited in features as to be more of a toy than a 
working computer?<5>  
Something the same was said of the Tandy Model 100 when it appeared in 
1983.  That was unfair enough.  But the Model 100 and NEC 8201 were made 
into powerful instruments by courtesy of third party providers who saw 
their potential.  Now read on about the Z88 ....}
The immediate and unequivocal answer is: "Nothing of the sort".  The Z88, 
in its basic form, contains ROM software which makes it instantly 
available for sophisticated use; and its operating system<6> 
This is named "OZ".  Could it be that Sir Clive Sinclair designed it for 
special advertisement in Australia?  Well, hardly - but a clever 
advertiser could make something of it.}
and construction allow for extraordinarily powerful expansion.  And 
before going any further, one should say that the first, and, in my 
opinion, the essential expansion one should get is RAM.  The basic machine 
has only 32k - shades of the old Kyocera models - of which some 24k is 
left after operating system requirements are met.  That is not enough for 
anything but your diary and perhaps some expenses, etc.  At least 128k 
extra can and should be purchased.  It will be pushed into one of three 
slots at the front of the Z88.  It makes a lot of difference.  The cost is 
a difference also, but not by much.
    ^Supposing, then, that your Z88 begins its service for you with 
128+24k of memory.  You might well be first attracted to the calendar and 
diary, which are linked to each other and to a clock and alarm.<6a>  
It would not be wise to rely on the alarm to wake you up: the sound is 
pretty slight, though it can be made to repeat indefinitely if you wish.  
The alarm's true purpose is to remind you of appointments or obligations 
while you are working with the computer; it can also run programs.} 
The manual is reasonably clear and comprehensive about all these, and once 
you have set the time and date (in English, not American, format for once, 
unless you care to change it) you can enter your engagements and other 
dates to remember in any form you wish and search the diary, printing it 
out or just viewing it, at will.  It is a powerful and flexible 
application which can be used for any date between 1753 and the middle of 
next century.
    ^The central program of the Z88 is the whimsically named "Pipedream".  
It is a word processor.  It is a spreadsheet.  It is a database.  It is 
all these at once.  For this reason, it comes as a shock to first-time 
users, who have in mind either something like Wordstar, or something like 
VisiCalc.  At first, it can be a peculiar feeling to use a word processor 
which (as someone said) thinks it is a spreadsheet.  But you soon find 
that a little bit of preparation makes Pipedream look just like another 
word processor.<fn>
another word processor: It still has little peculiarities, but they are 
easily accommodated.}
    ^Pipedream as a spreadsheet is just about all that one can ask 
for.<fn>  
can ask for: A version of Pipedream has been written for IBM PC 
compatibles.  Its spreadsheet functions are even more extensive than those 
in the Z88.  But it is worth mentioning that, by installing Pipedream in a 
PC, the Z88 is made to that extent compatible with the PC.  More on that 
later.} 
I won't say more, because a spreadsheet is a spreadsheet is a spreadsheet.  
But here it is also, if you wish, a simple database, because text can be 
mixed with numbers by using the columns, and the program will search or 
sort on any field.  However, it will not sort unless you keep your fields 
together in the one row.  As a result, no field can be more than 254 
characters in length.
    ^Whichever mode is your choice, or whichever application you use, you 
need to be able to see what you put into the computer.  The screen is 
therefore important.  The Z88 has a blue on grey supertwist LCD of eight 
lines, each of which can be, if you wish, as long as 100 characters.  In 
practice, you will keep your text (for word processing) to about 70 
characters.  The remaining right hand portion of the screen can then be 
devoted to the optional "map" of your page.  It comprises pixel dots, one 
per character, so that you can see the shape of your paragraphs.<fn>  
your paragraphs: Like various other options, such as whether you want the 
keys to make a little sound as you type, the "time out", the serial baud 
rates, and default directories, the map is turned on or off in a "popdown" 
called the Panel.}
This is a dynamic display: it changes as you type.  You thus have an 
advantage over almost any other computer user.
    ^That will probably do as an introduction to the beauties of the Z88.  
But it doesn't in fact stop there.  By purchasing third party software, 
and some hardware, the machine can be made yet more powerful and 
convenient.  It is almost all on EPROM cards which, when inserted in the 
slots provided - and alternated in those slots if need be - add extra ROM.  
There is a particularly good linking program for the Macintosh range of 
computers, and others for PC compatibles, BBC and Amstrad.  There is a 
powerful database manager and language highly reminiscent of dBASE II,<fn> 
dBASE II: Its power is largely dependent on copious use of memory.  For 
serious Zbase (yes, that's the name) use, I recommend RAM expansion to 
512k.}
a tape backup system, a communications program which includes the ability 
to access Viatel and other such videotex services (quite a feat on an 8 
line screen), and an outliner program called Thinkz.<fn>  
called Thinkz: It is not yet released.  It is on the lines of ThinkTank.}
I believe this to be potentially a best-seller.  It should have the sort 
of use described thus:
    ^In addition to basic tasks - organizing articles and 
    reports, everyday kinds of project management and to-do 
    lists - creative people are using idea processors for 
    everything from setting up new businesses to documenting 
    data bases to planning travel itineraries.  And outlines 
    can be used as templates of often-used procedures ...<fn>
often-used procedures: Denise Caruso in %H4%Personal Computing%H4%, 10 
(September 1986), p.80.}
^There is also a spelling checker of 65,000 words (NOT American 
spelling<>), 
American spelling: Spellmaster does, however, now come in an American 
version, if you happen to be a U.S. Z88er.}
which will also solve crosswords.  A growing number of BASIC (BBC BASIC, 
Z88 version) programs is also available.
    ^This paper has been written in part as a demonstration of a 
particular implementation of a Z88 facility which is unique.  By employing 
the Command Line Interpreter (CLI), it is possible to give Pipedream a 
facility which it otherwise lacks - viz., the ability to accept embedded 
footnotes in a piece of text, which are then to be "thrown" to the end of 
the document and saved as a separate document, having first been 
renumbered along with the indices in the text.  Briefly, the CLI takes a 
plain text file, in which various symbols are placed to represent 
keystrokes, and carries out the operations controlled by those 
keystrokes.<fn>  
those keystrokes: It does other things as well, but the mysteries can get 
too much for me.} 
Repetitive operations in particular can thus be automated, as this file 
will demonstrate.
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