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     ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN MICROPENDIUM
     P.O. Box 1343  Round Rock TX 78680
     Phone [phone]
     Internet [e-mail]

     MICROREVIEWS for August 1994
           by Charles Good

          There is nothing very "micro" about this month's column.  I am
     devoting the entire review to a single piece of very important
     software.   If you want your important software reviewed, send it to
     me at P.O. Box 647, Venedocia OH 45894.  My evening phone is
     419-667-3131 and my internet address is now
     [e-mail].

          Lets be honest with ourselves.  The TI community no longer exists
     in its own isolated little world.  Many TI computer users also use
     other types of computers.  In particular, many TI users also have a
     DOS (ie.  IBM comaptible) computer at home.  In addition to myself, TI
     users  who own a home DOS computer include the late Jim Peterson,
     Berry Traver, Tony McGovern, Bruce Harrison, Bill Gaskill, and the
     vast majority of TI user group officers attending the most recent Lima
     MUG Conference.  Let us also recognize the fact that many previous TI
     users have sold their TIs and replaed them with DOS computers.  Well,
     it is now possible to have your cake and eat it too.  At least two
     software products exist which allow you to run 99/4A software on DOS
     computers.  I am reviewing one this month and hope to review the other
     in the near future.  These TI emulators represent a whole new category
     of software only dreamed of a few years ago.  A DOS computer can now
     be made to behave exactly like a 99/4A.  Why would one want to do
     this? The answer is that some TI software is really good or offer
     unique features, such as the Funnelweb word processor whose
     multilingual capabilities are unknown to me in any DOS word processor.
     Like policemen, you can't always find an expanded TI system when and
     where you need one.  These days DOS systems are much more common than
     99/4A systems.

         I feel that emulators will enhance, rather than decrease, interest
     in the 99/4A.  My father in law, for example, learned computing on a
     99/4A but left the TI community 7 years ago when he got his first 8088
     DOS computer.  He now has a 486 something or other on which he
     occasionally plays his favorite TI games and uses label printing
     software written in TI extended basic.  Due to an emulator, my father
     in law has returned this year to the TI community.
     ----------
          PC99 by CaDD Electronics

          This commercial 99/4A emulator is technically very close to
     perfect.  Minimum recommended requirements are a 386 computer with VGA
     graphics, 640K memory, and a hard drive.  You can also special order a
     version that will run on a 286 DOS computer with the above
     configuration.  Almost all features of a 99/4A system are emulated and
     all 99/4A software and modules, apparently without exception, will run
     correctly.  The emulated system includes three DSSD "drives", PIO,
     RS232, joystick(s), and 1 channel sound through the PC speaker.  If
     you don't have joysticks on your DOS computer, joystick movement can
     be simulated from the keyboard.  Speech is not emulated.  Applications
     programmed for speech or more than one sound channel run normally but
     without speaking or enhanced sound.  I am reviewing PC99 release 2A.
     Full 3 channel TI sound emulation with a DOS sound card is being
     worked on for a future release.

          The PC99 package includes the emulator itself, the extended basic
     editor/assembler and tombstone city modules, 99/4A <-->PC transfer
     software, and an amazingly complete set of utilities.  You can
     purchase at a modest extra cost DOS files to emulate any module TI
     ever made for the 99/4A as well as files to make PC99 emulate a 99/4
     (without the "A").  TI is paid a royalty on each console operating
     system and module sold.

          Software allows you to transfer whole TI disks to PC99 format
     either using a TI system directly cabled to the DOS machine, or
     indirectly without cabling by using PC Transfer.  PC Transfer (not
     included when you purchase PC99) is software that runs on a TI system
     with a double sided disk controller and allows you to move TI files
     from one TI drive to a 360K DOS disk you put in a second TI drive.
     You then take the DOS disk from the TI, put it in your DOS computer,
     and convert the files on this disk to PC99 format.  I have done so
     successfully and find the procedure lengthy and confusing, requiring
     lots of user intervention.  Using a cable to link the two computer
     systems makes the procedure much easier! Transferring a DSSD disk
     between cabled computers takes just a few minutes and requires almost
     no user intervention once the transfer starts.  In addition to whole
     TI disks you can also transfer gram files over to PC99 to run as
     emulated modules.  To do this you need a gram device to make gram
     files of your TI module collection.  If you don't have a gram device
     or a particular module, module files runable from PC99 can be
     purchased from Cadd.  File transfers can go in both directions.  Any
     TI software created on PC99 can be sent over to a real TI system,
     either cabled or not cabled.

          PC99 emulates whole TI disks, not individual TI disk files.  You
     have 3 "drives" on line when running the PC99, each with either a
     SSSD or DSSD TI disk represented by a single DOS file.  The large size
     of these DOS files that emulate TI disks makes it difficult to fit
     PC99 onto one 3.5 inch disk and run it directly from the disk, but
     this can be done if you include only one module on the disk and leave
     out the docs and PC99's configuration utility.  Normally you would
     install PC99 onto a hard disk.  OLD, SAVE, and other disk operations
     from within PC99 just modify these TI "disk" PC files.  Because these
     files exactly emulate TI disks, emulated TI software correctly reads
     TI "disk" directories.  A large assortment of DOS utilities are
     provided to manipulate the emulated TI disks.  You can get a TI type
     directory from DOS, extract modify and reinsert single TI files to and
     from the emulated disks, etc.  The method PC99 uses to emulate TI
     disks works very well.

          All 40 column 99/4A software and transferred modules I have tried
     work perfectly running under PC99 release 2a.  I know of no exceptions
     except for the lack of speech and full TI sound.  Because only 16K of
     VDP is emulated you can't run 80 column or Geneve specific software
     from PC99.  There is, unfortunately, one potentially very big problem
     with PC99's software emulation.  Execution speed of TI software
     running from PC99 is extremely slow.  I guess this the price to be
     paid for "perfect" emulation.  On my 386DX/40 TI software running
     under PC99 seems to just crawl along.  When running the Funnelweb
     v5.01 editor, maximum typing speed is about 60 characters (not words)
     per second.  As with a real 99/4A there is no keyboard buffer, so you
     can't type faster than the speed your letters appear on screen.  Using
     a TI word processor running from PC99 just isn't practical on my DOS
     machine, at least not yet.  I have been given a beta version of
     release 2b to play with and it is perhaps 20% faster than 2a because
     of speeded up CPU operations.  This speed increase still isn't enough
     to allow me to use Funnelweb's word processor on my 386.  The speec of
     PC99 is in part determined by the DOS computer's central processor,
     and I am told that on a 486DX2/66 PC99 release 2a will drive the
     Funnelweb word processor at acceptable speed.  I can't personally
     verify this.  If you have a fast 486 or pentium DOS computer then PC99
     release 2a's speed may not now be a problem.  From what I have seen,
     future releases of PC99 will certainly be faster than 2a.

           The only advantage of PC99's slow speed is with games.  Because
     I can react quickly and the game can't, I get fantastic scores.  I
     have no trouble leaving the Tombstone City town and killing all the
     bad guys with PC99.  On a real TI I always get zapped soon after I try
     to leave town.

          PC99 has an excellent assembly language memory debugger.  Any
     kind of 99/4A memory manipulation is possible.  Because the PC99
     debugger doesn't occupy any part of the memory reserved for the TI,
     the debugger can do tricks that are not possible with any debugger
     operating from a real 99/4A.  An even more enhanced debugger screen
     display is in the works for a future PC99 release.

           An appropriate feature of any professional software product for
     which you pay a professional price is a comprehensive (on disk) manual
     backed up by technical support.  You get this support with PC99,
     either by phone or US mail.  Registered owners can phone (not a toll
     free number) CaDD evenings and weekends and speak to one of the PC99
     authors.  If the phone line is not attended you can leave a message on
     the answering machine and your call will be returned.  You might need
     this sort of help the first time you try transferring your TI software
     to PC99, particularly if you are using computers that aren't cabled
     together.  CaDD also offers to convert TI software to PC99 format for
     you if cabling a DOS and 99/4A computer is not practical.  You send
     them your TI disks and you get your software back in the mail in PC99
     format.  There is a nominal charge for conversion, starting at $1 for
     a single disk.  The more disks you send the cheaper per disk it gets.

           The most important question that should be asked by those
     considering purchasing PC99 is, "Will 99/4A software emulation be too
     slow on MY particular DOS computer?" You can get the answer for free.
     Send CaDD a high density 3.5 inch disk and a postage paid return
     mailer.  They will return your disk with a full speed but limited
     feature "cripple ware" version of PC99 and some 99/4A software in PC99
     format for you to speed check on your machine.  PC99 release 2A costs
     $147 to new purchasers.  If you have already purchased an earlier
     release,  the cost to upgrade is the difference between what you
     originally paid and the current price.  It costs $7 to upgrade from
     release 2 to release 2a.  CaDD's address is at 81 Prescott Rd.,
     Raymond NH 03077.
           -----------------
           Additional comments about emulators:

           Get a TI-DOS serial cable! Without the ability to transfer your
     own important TI software to a DOS computer 99/4A emulators are little
     more than expensive toys that allow you to play around with the few
     pieces of TI software that come with the emulator.  File transfers via
     cable are easy.  You can't just run out to WalMart and buy a serial
     cable.  You have to make one or have somebody make one for you.
     That's because the TI RS232 port is wired a bit differently than every
     body else's RS232, and there are two different sized connectors for
     COM ports on DOS computers.  The PC99 documentation gives pin in/out
     data for the needed cable.  I had a cable made to my specification
     (specified cable length and DOS COM port) and tested on an emulator by
     L.L. Conner Enterprise, 1521 Ferry St., Lafayette IN 47904.  You can
     phone voice at 317-742-8146 for a price quote.

           The question of distribution of copyrighted TI products needs to
     be discussed.  The PC99 people have a license from TI to sell the code
     of the 99/4A operating system and all official TI 99/4A modules.  TI
     is paid a royalty on such sales.  Such a license is probably not
     difficult to get these days, since O.P.A. (Gary Bowser) also has
     licensed the 99/4A operating system.  As of this writing (mid July)
     the other TI emulator some of you have heard about does not have a
     license from TI to distribute code contained within 99/4A consoles.
     TI complained, and the other emulator has been temporarily withdrawn
     from the marketplace.  As I understand things, software and computer
     code patent and copyright protection boils down to this-- Software
     owners can make make for themselves or pay someone else to make as
     many backup copies of their software as they want.  BUT, each legally
     owned piece of software or computer operating system code can only be
     run on one machine at a time.  If you own two 99/4A consoles (even a
     broken console) then you have the right to run two copies of the
     console operating system simultaneously, and one of these can be on a
     DOS computer.  If you own an extended basic module, then you have the
     right to run XB on a DOS computer.  For members of the TI community,
     making a DOS computer behave like a 99/4A and run 99/4A software
     is probably not a violation of TI's patent and copyright protection.