HARDWARE/SOFTWARE

HARDWARE/SOFTWARE

RICHARD ROBINSON

As an electronic swami of sorts, I get quite a few phone calls from friends, friends of friends, and strangers who've been given my phone number. These calls all center around the big question: "I've got the money, I want to buy a new machine, but I don't know which one to get!"

I drag out my crystal, consult the entrails of my favorite circuit board, and slyly ask how much the caller has to spend. If it is a reasonable amount in relation to the machine desired, I suggest the caller buy any machine in that price category that he/she thinks looks good.

"But what about the sound? Or the picture? Or isn't Sony better than Panasonic?" moans the caller, not at all convinced that buying a machine should be based on the color scheme of the machine case.

I suggest that most of fhese machines are made by the same three guys in a basement in Tokyo. I also suggest that in any particular price range just about every name brand manufacturer makes a reliable product. If all this wisdom fails, I engage the caller in an intense discussion of signal-tonoise ratios thus effectively ending the conversation.

3-D Rotations

Most video home machines use the home TV screen as their playing field. This is nof the case with the GCE Vectrex game system, which retails for about $200 and has its own special TV screen. The advantage of this system is that the screen is actually a 9" black and white vector monitor, similar to the kind of screens used in arcade games. The result is that the computer can generate many special visual effects, such as 3-D rotation and zoom, that you won't see on home TV screen games. Also, if you'll look at the picture, you'll note the screen is on its side in relation to the normal home screen.

With a built-in eight bit microprocessor, special screen, full sound effects and a 360 degree self-centering joystick, the Vectrex is really a small arcade machine for the home.

Among the games available so far for the Vectrex (carts retail for about $30) are Scramble, Berzerk, Star Trek, Ripoff, and Space-Wars.

An interesting approach to home game technology.

The truth is that in today's electronic marketplace there

are just too many machines to choose from to make a really specific recommendation as to which is better than the next. And don't think you can rush down to your local electronics store and try them all out, because there are so many that most electronics stores don't even stock them all, so comparison shopping is nearly impossible. No, it does get down to the color of fhe case once the price range and machinetype has been determined.

Fortunately, the keen competition among manufacturers assures that most machines in any particular price range offer very similar functions, reliability and design. Some just have more knobs than others. Some are silver plastic, some are black plastic.

This is all well and good when buying a stereo amplifier, or a Walkman-type cassette player, or a 19" color TV. The guide lines are simple: make sure it's a Japanese brand name, and make sure some other store isn't selling it for less.

But there are some items where this rule of thumb doesn't work. These machines are either unique, or so expensive that not as many companies are making them to compete with the consumer dollar, or so new that they haven't achieved the all-pretty-much-the-same standards of cassette players or color TVs.

Wrist Action

A number of digital watch and video game manufacturers are offering video games that strap on your wrist. Some of them throw in a game with a digital watch as an "extra," such as Casio. Others are making games that throw in the time as an extra. Among these are the Nelsonic PacMan game watch. You can get one of these for about $30, and it features two game modes, sound effects, and game freeze control. Then there's GCE's ArcadeTime game watches (about $40 retail), that feature four different space games in one watch and include a tiny joystick and firing button.

While none of fhese game watches are nearly as interesting as home or arcade games, they are lots of fun to play if you spend a lot of time on busses, trains, or planes.

Two still-exotic machine categories are home computers and video projectors. In both of these categories, the consumer can get taken for a ride and wind up with a machine that doesn't live up to expectations. In these categories thp consumer is strongly advised to ignore the color of the case and the name brand status, and do some real homework as to what each machine does and how well it does it.

Home computers: Yes, you can buy a home computer for $75, like the Timex-Sinclair, or for $160 like the Vic20, or the Atari 400 for $254.95 (current NYC discount prices). You can also buy an Apple II ''Family System'' for about $1,800 or a Franklin Ace "Home Accountant System" for about $1,650. Or an IBM Personal Computer for a good deal more.

They're all "home" computers, but with a price range of $75 to $3,000, they have differences that suggest the consumer has to be wide awake no matter what home computer he/she is buying.

Blaster Components

It's getting more and more difficult to define the dividing line between a stereo system and a ghetto blaster these days, expecially with the new component blaster systems which can be latched together to carry around or broken down into various pieces to set-up at home. A good example of fhis is the new Sanyo C2 which retails for a surprisingly low $169.95 and has enough features to keep you busy for hours trying to figure out what does what when and how.

The Sanyo C2 has two detachable speakers each, with a 4" woofer and piezo tweeffer, operates on batteries (6 D cells) as well as any voltage AC available on the planet, has a five segment LED meter system, built-in mikes, automatic lever recording controls, jacks so you can plug in a turntable or headphones, metal tape capability, and Dolby noise reduction.

Considering the low-priced, under $500 computers, there are two drawbacks which must be taken into account. First, some of these low priced computers don't have real typewriter keyboards. This is a serious drawback to anyone who intends to use a home computer as a meaningful home thinking machine. It is one reason why the Vic-20 from Commodore is an exceptional buy among the many low-priced machines. Second, most low-priced computers aren't really low-priced at all—it's just that the manufacturer is selling you some of the computer to start with, and then if you want to have a complete computer system, you have to buy all the extras..which often add up to the price of an Apple II, Franklin Ace, or Osbourne.

Another serious consideration with any low-priced computer is what programs are available for the computer. Believe me, you won't be sitting around writing your own programs, any more than you'd want to stay up nights writing your own videogames. Program writing is an art in and of itself, and most serious computer users (as opposed to computer wizards) want to use their computer, not struggle with it. Low-priced computers with limited memory storage (you need at least 32K of memory, preferably 64K) and cassette rather than disc drive information storage just won't do all the things you've been led to assume a computer should do.

So if you want to buy a low priced computer as a toy, or as a curiosity piece, or just to say you have one, any one of them will do. But if you plan to compute with your computer, you're much better off spending $1,500 or more, or nothing. And if you're planning to use your computer as a game machine as well as a computer, be warned that the games that are available for most low-priced home computers, are fairly simple-minded and dull compared to the game carts you can get for the home game computers from Atari, Intellivision, and Coleco.

Video Projectors may be a totally different type of machine than home computers, but the same kind of intelligent buying is necessary to ensure the consumer that he/ she doesn't wind up with something that doesn't do the job imagined. First off, don't go out and buy any video projection system that isn't a name brand. There are all sorts of do-it-yourself, Rube Goldberg projection systems lurking about, but none of them will give you the kind of big picture you imagine a video projector should deliver. There are no bargains, although the current price of a good projector from Sony, Panasonic, or other name brand manufacturers is surprisingly low, in many cases being discounted down to $ 1,700 or so.

There are three kinds of video projectors, each having its own advantages. The one I find the least attractive is the type that looks like an oversized TV set, which rear projects inside the cabinet onto a giant plastic TV screen. The other two systems are both front projection methods, and frankly I find the picture to be much sharper and brighter on these machines.

Machine Men

If the arcade games in this photo look a little different it's because they are, from left to right, The Monster, The Robot, and The Space Monkey, whch Sega has introduced as new housings for their arcade games. All of Sega's current games (such as Zaxxon) will be available in these new 'character' cabinets, although Sega says production quantities will be limited. Frankly, we think this is a pretty brilliant, if simple and direct move on the part of Sega, since it takes the arcade game one step forward away from the pin-ball machine design on which all screen games were originally based. The next step of course will be to animate these cabinets so they become part of the game displayed on their chest screens. And after that...?

One of these front pro|ection systems is an all-in-one cabinet where the front swings forward when in use to reflect the picture onto the screen. Sony, RCA, and other manufacturers make a machine like this, and it is very effective, if somewhaf gigantic.

To my mind the best system is the two-piece system which consists of a screen and then a projection unit. The problem with this is that the projection unit has to sit a certain distance in front of the screen — and you better make sure you have room to put it where you want to use it. Sony, Koss, and others make this type of system, and the picture is excellent, as well as amazing.

Projectors also come with different screen sizes, ranging from 50'' screens to 72" screens. Don't make the mistake of thinking that the bigger the screen the better. Depending on the size of the room you use the machine in, the distance you want to sit from the screen, and the number of people who'll probably watch at once, you may find that the 50" screen is quite effective and big enough to do the job.

Video projectors are especially effective for watching

movies and sports. The novelty of watching the nightly news or playing video games on them quickly wears off. So how much enjoyment you get out of a video projecfor really depends on what you watch on your TV.

Speaker Boost Until you've heard them, you won't believe the job they do. The "power booster" speakers available for Walkman-type cassette players are sold from $6.95 to $50, depending on the size and the make. They may seem like a pretty useless accessory, but the truth is that a few of them will let your Walkman outblast all but the largest ghetto blaster.

Especially effective is the Rokina (Model PS-388) which puts out a very loud, full-bodied sound from any cassette player, and is very compact and reasonably lightweight. In addition, the Rokina has bass and treble boost switches so you can adjust the cassette player sound (most Walkman types have no tone control).

When considering any of these power boost speakers (they have built-in amplifiers and run on batteries or optional AC adaptors) turn them up loud. The cheaper ones don't go very loud before they start to distort. But units like the Rokina (which is discounting for about $50) pump out a lot of sound before they reach distortion levels.

With a Walkman-type player, FM tuner cassette, and a pair of these speakers you can have a complete sound system that is ultimately portable, very tiny, and compares more than favorably with most of the integrated blaster systems that cost a good deal more. Walkaround Runaround

Trying to figure out which Walkman is which these days is more than complicated, you need a map! Sony now has a good half-dozen Walkman players / players-recorders/ players-recorders-radios on the market. As far as we can figure out, The Walkman 1 is now the Walkman 4, the Walkman 2 is now the Walkman 5, and, depending on who you talk to, some of the Walkmans have been discontinued to be replaced by other Walkmans with other model numbers.

Among the Walkmans that are worth checking out if you're planning to buy a personal stereo are the Walkman 2, the most compact and handy of all the Walkman series when it comes to playing back stereo cassettes; the Walkman 4, which is slightly more bulky than the Walkman 2, but surprisingly inexpensive and does the job; the Walkman WM-F2 which features FM stereo, plus stereo record (this unit has no built-in mikes, but Sony is making a tiny T-shaped stereo mike module that plugs into the unit, although you may have to search some to find it); and the Walkman WM-R2, which has built-in stereo mikes for stereo record and playback and is available in black, to make it the best looking of all the Walkman currently available.

Video Camera Surprise

While the prices of VHS and Beta home recorders have been coming down steadily, until recently there wasn't much action in the video camera/portable deck area. Now Sharp has introduced their VC-3500 system which included a portable VHS deck (with tuner/timer) and a color camera (weighing it at Vh pounds) with a discount price less than $1,000, or to put it in terms of the competition, you can now get a VHS with camera for about the same price you'd pay for a top of fhe line home VHS alone. If you've always wanted to make your own television, now's the time to start checking out this Sharp and the new lower priced camera/deck technology that is sure to follow.

Panasonic Link Panasonic has introduced a hand-held computer that fits in a briefcase along with a telephone modem. Called The Link, this unit is obviously designed for businesspersons who want to patch into their home office computer while on the road. But like all computers, it will do what the user and the available programs allow. The Link sells for $319 with 4K memory, and $399

with peripherals a 1 5 character 8K memory. now available printer Among are for only the $189, a 40 character printer for $250, a TV adaptor, acoustic modem, extra memory (up to 16 K for an additional $289), and a number of programs including Porta Writer, Porta Calc, and Scientific I Calculator.

Beta Bargain

While we're big boosters of VHS when it comes to the most popular home video system available, it's difficult to ignore this new Beta machine from Sanyo. The VCR3900 is the first home video machine to break the $400 price barrier, with the machine selling as low as $350 at some discount houses. With a comparable in overall basic quality VHS machine selling for up to $100 more, this new Beta from Sanyo makes it possible to have a complete home video set-up for a very reasonable amount. The Sanyo Betacord 3900 features a programable timer to allow recording of any one program up to three consecutive days in the future, highspeed search to scan the picture at nine times normal speed, two-speed operation (Beta II or Beta III, note: it will not play or record Beta I tapes), and instant freeze frame.

Computer Controls

Arcade and home video games and home computers arent the only technologies that are taking advantage of the current level of computer sophistication. Sony for one has taken the computer and put it into a cassette deck to create the world's first fullycomputerized cassette machine.

The Sony TC-FX1010 isn't cheap (it retails for $650), but it is the first of what will probably be a whole series of computer controlled sound system machines. Just about everything to do with this new Sony is automatic, in the sense that the built-in computer runs the machine. Of course you still have to touch the button (you don't push this button, just touch it), but then the computer takes over doing everything, from setting tape and record calibrations to remembering the level settings to turning itself on and off.