The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 60

Computers 'J i i Chemical change from puzzle to fun Lag in price cuts tied to launch of new models I 4 i i By PHIL CAMPBELL HEMISTRY was never my if JMMg T1 best subject. I still break into a cold sweat whenever By DAVIO FRITH I think about chemistry 1A ITH the launch of tew model Macin Wl. toshes now just three COMPUTER GAMES weeks away, Apple 6 The arrival of the new models will force a general repositioning of the entire Macintosh line-up. the iow point of my university career. Atoms, molecules, entropy and enthalpy were just too much for tmj addled brain to handle.

In fact, chemistry and I just never hit it off. But I'm willing to let bygones be byfojtes. Chemistry has just become fun. Thanks to Atomix, a neat new $tiie with an educational twist, I've been rehabilitated here I am, bouncing coloured atoms around my screen and learning molecular formulas as I go. Amazing stuff! Before you pick up your hat and go hfcrne, it's not as fearsomely intellectual as it sounds.

If I can do it, so can you. The aim of the game is Simple. Your screen displays a simple maze. Scattered around it are atoms, colour-coded and marked Rvirti their chemical symbols. Each atom has a number of protruding links representing its valency, or potential combining power.

All you have to do is link them to match a small diagram at the side of the screen. Computer Australia is taking a decidedly relaxed attitude towards passing on major US price cuts on its Ilci model. In the US, Apple has slashed the equivalent of from the price of the Ilci, which is expected to become its mainstream business machine. The Ilci now sells in the US for for a basic configuration machine with 4 megabytes of random access memory and no disc drive; or (SA8.336) with an 80-meg hard disc drive. The Australian recommended retail price for the same machines remains at 511,050 and 512,750.

An Apple Australia spokesman said the new US pricing was being discussed at the group's Frenchs Forest headquarters but no decision had yet been made. Apple Australia recently took several months to pass on a similar cut in the price of the Macintosh Portable. i 4 4 i J' SO JK i 4, f- 4 6 Atomix is a game have to bounce them from wall to wall until they're in exactly the place you want. Here to there, up then down, this one across, that one back easy if you have all day, but with a 60-second time limit, next to impossible. Faced with this seemingly impossible task, I did the only thing I could.

And naturally, Mrs Campbell solved the conundrum in moments. A few deft flicks, and there it was a water molecule. Ethane and methanol are next into the test tube. Hydrocarbons. That was in chemistry IB, which was not compulsory.

Until now, a dark mystery but now I even know how to make them. Up and down, round and round in fact, the more atoms the merrier, because they give you more staging points for bouncing your bits and pieces. I'm starting to feel quite educated. Three hydrogens, a carbon, an oxygen and another little hydrogen wagging like a dog's tail. Methanol.

Two carbons with a double link with double hydrogen antennas on each end ethane. Or something like that. Atomix is a game that doesn't rely on flash graphics and sound effects. But it has them anyway. The graphics are neat a nice title screen featuring an endorsement from Einstein himself, crisp play-screens, solid-looking coloured spheres for atoms.

Simple, but elegant. Sound effects are simple too, limited to sliding noises and clunks nothing fancy, but it's all you need. If you like a good puzzle, I can recommend Atomix. And if you're struggling to learn pages of molecular formulas, this could be the perfect way to reinforce your studies. Or look at it another way: chemistry 1A could be the perfect excuse to go out and buy yourself a neat little game.

Atomix is distributed by Factories, phone 02 748 4700. 1 tested the Amiga version. that doesn't rely on flash graphics. i 4 if ir "f-" MEVJS FROM THE APPLE ORCHARD Why is this person working in the dark? Why is she not looking at the screen? Why is the screen turned away from her? Is this a new kind of infra-red computing system designed to work in the stygian gloom which is our office? No. This is an artistic photograph of the new NCR uniprocessor system which is part of a total new range called NCR System 3000 launched last week.

This is the entry level model and can run at 27 mips millions of instructions per second or meaningless information to promote sales, depending and has micro channel architecture bus in a cabinet as big as a standard personal computer. Which is the way that workstations are going these days. There are seven models in the range, starting with this System 3100 machine and going up to the System 3700 which, it is alleged, will gallop at 100,000 mips, which makes it the fastest kid on the block. All of the machines will run with Unix 4.4. Among other features of the new Macs will be low-profile hard disc drives and expanded sound capabilities.

The new models will use 3.5-inch diameter hard drives in a 1-inch (25mm) high case, a technology which is relatively new to the industry. The drives come from Conner Peripherals and are a modified version of the drives used in the Mac Portable. The lightweight mechanism draws only two watts of power and offers a 25-millisec-ond average access time, which users should find quite speedy. Previous Mac models have used Quantum drives, but Apple was not impressed when trouble with some shipments of the drives forced it to run an expensive modification program. A microphone will be included with the new LC and Ilsi models.

Similar in concept to Farallon Computing's add-on MacRecor-der, it will mount on the side of the monitor. Users will be able to record voices, music or other sounds which can be used to replace the beeps of the Apple system software. Third-party programs will integrate sounds with applications such as electronic mail. Sounds recorded by the new microphones will be digitised and stored on disc. All Macs since the original 128-kilobyte model have had sound capabilities built in.

But it has been necessary to buy a MacRecorder or to import prerecorded sound files to make use of them. Even then the results are frequently disappointing, since digitised sound files occupy large amounts of memory, and their use frequently crashes the system. New Apple system software called MACE (Macintosh Audio CompressionExpansion) should overcome this. It will let applications make trade-offs between sound fidelity and storage space by compressing the considerable size of sound files, and expanding them in real time as required. BOBS BITS A new essential for some Take water, for example.

An oxygen atom joined with two hydrogens, H2O the extent of ray prior chemical knowledge, except for K9P, which stains dreadfully if it gets on your trousers. Scattered around the level one maze are two hydrogen atoms, esch with a single link, and one big red oxygen atom, with a link jutting from each side. A quick mouse click on a hydrogen atom sends it sailing across the screen until it hits a barrier the far wall of the maze. From there, I need to move it down through a narrow gap, then along to link with the oxygen. Not so easy.

Because like anything else, these objects remain at rest or continue to move unless acted upon by an outside force. Ia other words, you can't just put them where you want them you There are some programs that absolutely essential to some people but of little interest to others. Take, for example, Checklt, which has just come in for review. Checklt tells you how a computer is working. Most importantly it shows how the Dos interrupts are assigned for various devices and programs.

The program also does lots of other jolly things, such as tell you how fast your computer is running, and carries out a series of diagnostic tests on demand. Finally it can spot a defective chip and tell you which one you have to replace. For most computer users all of this information is not a must. But for some, especially those who mess around with the innards of machines, it is essential. Checklt costs $245 and is distributed by LanLink (telephone 02 316 5002 or fax 02 666 3360.) It now seems likely that price cuts will be held off until the new model launch in mid-October.

(Launch date is October 15, US time; October 16 Australian time.) The arrival of the new models will force a general repositioning of the entire Macintosh line-up. Trade speculation is that the popular Ilex model will be phased out in favour of the faster and currently more expensive Ilci. Both the Ilex and Ilci use a Motorola 68030 processor. But it runs at a clock speed of 25 megaHertz in the case of the Ilci, against 16 MHz in the Ilex. Both machines have three NuBus slots for expansion cards, used for devices such as performance accelerators, networking devices and large display screens.

But the Ilex has built-in 8-bit colour video; an add-on video card is required for 8-bit colour for the Ilex. One reason for Apple Australia's lack of haste in passing the price cuts on may be that the local company is not under the same marketing pressures as its US masters. Trade sources say the US market has been glutted with Macs, forcing prices down. By contrast Australian sales are booming, fed by the extraordinary success of the run-out campaign for the basic Mac Plus, due to replaced by the new Macintosh Classic model. TRAINING Are you among the thousands of people who want to learn UNIX XENIX ONLY "165 Sys Req: IBM PCCompatibles DOS PhoneFax for FREE DEMO disk Make Massy With Year Hcma Computer Make excellent part or, full-time profit from home with your personal computer.

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INTRODUCTORY and ADVANCED Course Notes Post-course support Right at North Sydney Station Level 2 Philips Building 15 Blue Street North Sydney 2060 6 Trade sources say the US market has been glutted with Macs, forcing prices down. iPnvciTT Id atx? North Sydney, Windsor, Melb. (02) 923 2500 (03) 511 572 Borland Authorised Dealer, Training and Solution Centre Underlining its growing commitment to multimedia, Apple Computer in the US has announced the introduction of VideoSync version 1.0, a Macintosh system utility designed to improve the video recording of Macintosh monitor screens by standard American consumer video camera equipment. To use the system, VideoSync is added to the Macintosh System Folder. The user can then, through the use of the Macintosh Control Panel, adjust the timing of an Apple display card.

The change in timing is intended to make the Macintosh monitor image appear stable when viewed by an external NTSC video camera. Announcing the introduction of VideoSync, Doug Camplejohn, Apple product manager of Video Integration Products, said: "VideoSync will provide all types of Macintosh users with an easy-to-use, low-cost tool for recording high-quality Macintosh monitor images to videotape. "Developers can also integrate VideoSync into their own applications. This product is the latest example of Apple delivering on its commitment to integrate video with the Mac." So far VideoSync works only with the NTSC television system used in the US and Japan. There is no news of a version suitable for the PAL system used in Australia and most of Europe.

Pegasus flics again My first understanding of the politics of Australia came with the building of the Opera House which I followed with avid interest in various newspapers around the world. My own view is that it is a great architectural achievement and has added a new dimension to Sydney and Sydney Harbour. A magical building. The sailed roof structure was very much a voyage into the unknown, for nothing like it had been built before and the plans were, the exact word, sketchy. A computer was used in the 50s to calculate the stresses and strains.

That computer, called a Pegasus, has now been restored for the London Science Museum by enthusiasts from the British Computer Conservation Society. This is not a desktop computer in any sense of that phrase. It is about three metres high and five metres long, and weighs in at something under four tonnes. It runs with 1,800 valves and its memory is 5,120 42-bit words roughly 25 kilobytes. You have more processing power in your pocket calculator.

But this machine saved countless thousands of working hours with a slide rule. If you want to know what would have been involved in working out the calculations read Slide Rule by Nevil Shute in which he the mathematical work involved in designing the airship R101. Work on overhauling Pegasus began in late 1988 and the machine was switched on last month. The room immediately filled with smoke which came from disintegrating rubber cladding around wiring used in the low voltage distribution system. Other teething troubles arose but Pegasus has now run for five hours, responding to a program which is switched in by hand.

Five hours is a pretty good figure because back in the 50s, the mean time between failures on the Pegasus was two hours. The non-answered telephone My son who is in computers has been issued with a pager and is not overjoyed with the thought. He will learn to like it. I carry a vibrator given to me by Wendy Giles called a Metagram which is a life saver. Anyone who wants to contact me can get a message through by calling 02 751 1122 always and ever providing I am in the country.

Which is not, in truth, often. I have been using this system for several months now and found it pretty much foolproof because it allows everyone to keep in touch with me when I am here. The problem of staying in touch in this office is a very real one. There is someone called Jeremy Miller of Qantum who appears to be in a state of wrath because he cannot get either Tony Sarno or me on the telephone. In my case it is because I have been driving around the wilds of Wales feeding my face and generally enjoying myself.

That leaves an office run by Amanda, Monique and Tony. Amanda goes at the end of the week to move into a management job which she will carry out with her usual style and efficiency. Monique is a university student and only comes in part-time. That leaves Tony to cover the news, go to press conferences, write copy and occasionally say hello to his wife. The result is that he is as busy as a one-armed paper hanger.

Which is why it is so difficult to speak to us on the telephone. And before you ask the situation will get worse until we get a replacement for Amanda and Tony comes back from his long-delayed holidays which begin today. The only sure way of getting a message through is either to use my pager on 02 751 1 122 or send a fax to 02 282 1640. If you use my pager number you get through to a company called Millicom Australia (02 719 1000) where a very pleasant-voiced lady announces that this is Gareth Powell's office. You can then give a message.

Shortly afterwards I get a vibrating feeling in my trouser pocket to alert me that something is happening. This vibrator with answering service costs $114 a month which is very reasonable. Curiouser and curiouser Last week I was in Oxford which has the very shop where Alice, as in Wonderland, made her purchases. Lewis Carroll, the author of that gem, was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson who was a mathematics lecturer and, for my money, a very strange person as well as a great writer. Alice was the daughter of Henry George Liddell who was vice-chancellor of Christ Church.

This year would have been Alice's 125th birthday and is also literacy year to commemorate that Alice in Wonderland has been produced in 125 different languages. (For comparison the previous most translated author was probably Joseph Stalin with his words in 101 translations.) One version of Alice in Wonderland has been totally produced in bar code by Bar Code Systems in Australia and TPS Electronics in the United States. And why would you reproduce Alice in Wonderland in bar code? Because it is there, matey. Because it is there. NOVELL 0,0 Borland Accredited Training Centre Authorised Education Centre BV3 IS EZD 0-JJ ens Sydney dealers sold out all remaining stocks of the Plus within days of advertising the machines at prices as low as SI, 395.

A spokesman for one dealer, Apple Centre Silverwater, said the centre sold out its allocation of 250 Mac Pluses within two days after advertising in The Sydney Morning Herald computer pages. If you missed out, my advice is: don't despair. Wait to see what October brings. ry The University of Sydney Lotus 123 Executive Lotus 123 Advanced Lotus 123 Advanced Macros Lotus 123 Version 3 Upgrade Microsoft Excel Introduction Microsoft Excel Advanced Framework III Introduction Multimate Advantage II and IV WordPerfect S. 05.1 Introduction Wordperfect 5.05.1 Advanced Dbase III Plus Introduction Introduction To LANs Netware V2.1: System Manager Netware V2.1: UpdateAdvanced Netware 386: System Manager Netware 386: OS Features Word For Windows Introduction Word For Windows -Advanced Word 5.0 Introduction Word 5.0 Advanced Quattro Pro Microsoft Windows V3.0 Dbase III Plus Programming Dbase IV Introduction Dbase IV Programming Paradox Version 3 Beginning Paradox Version 3 Using Computer Appreciation Introduction To DOS Advanced DOS Ventura DTP Introduction Ventura DTP Advanced Harvard Graphics Introduction University Computing Service Sydney University fNorthpoint Tower, North Sydney (02) 957 1633 Fax (02) 956 7761 UNIX Introduction to Unix (2 days) Macintosh Beginners Introduction (2 days) Introduction to Word Ver 4 (2 days) Introduction to Excel (2 days) VMS MS-DOS Beginners Introduction to PCs (2 days) Everyday DOS (1 day) introduction to Lotus 1-2-3 (2 days) More About DOS (1 day) Introduction to Lotus 1 -2-3 (2 days) Introduction to Word Perfect 5.1 (2 days) Advanced WordPerfect (2 days) Introduction to VMS (2 days) Each student has their own computer.

Full course notes provided. Lunch provided Courses satisfy the Training Guarantee Act. Phone 692 3491 for bookings. Improve your career As already widely broadcast the new Macs to be announced in October will comprise the Classic, with a 68000 processor running at a modest 8 MHz; the LC, an 8-bit colour machine with a Motorola 68020 running at 20 MHz; and the Ilsi, a high-performance machine with a 20 MHz 68030, sitting just below the Ilci in the revised line-up. Trade sources are beginning to sketch in some details of the new models.

A key feature of the LC is said to be inclusion of a He emulator, allowing it to run Apple II software as well as the Mac applications. Apple lis remain the mainstay of the education market. Apple Computer would like to persuade schools to step up to the Mac, but realises that they do not want to abandon their large investment in Apple II software. A similar policy is being followed in Australia by Microbee, another major supplier to the schools market. Its newly announced Matilda model can run both the CPM operating system keeping faith with programs used by older Micro-bees as well as the industry-standard MSDOS system.

Which of the following companies do you think is the smarter? The US-made Cray supercomputer is generally believed to be the fastest, most powerful computer in the world as well as the ultimate corporate status symbol. Apple Computer Inc has a Cray. It was one of the corporation's first purchases when it became a 51 billion-plus company, and it's principally used to design new Macintoshes. What Apple paid is a matter for conjecture, but these days Cray prices start around 525 million. OK, now what do the people at Cray use to design new supercomputers? You guessed it.

Apple Macintoshes. According to my Macintosh-Aided Design Calendar, presented earlier this year by Apple Computer Australia, Cray's hardware engineering department uses the Macs to design the 256 different logic boards that hold the 3,200 gallium arsenide chips which make up each of the machine's 16 background with a WEA Computer Course. Skilled computer people are required MOW You can learn: a The basics through the IBM Information Technology course. a Introductory and Advanced skills in most packages for IBM and MACINTOSH computers. The Informatics Institute utilises the latest technology in a modern environment close to Central Station.

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