alw@houxo.UUCP (07/22/83)
This is my first new item so pardon me if this gets botched. Here goes. I have the basic ACE 1000 system: computer, disk drive, monitor, ACEwriter, and a Star Gemini printer interface with a Grappler. Is anyone else out there interested in exchanging information about problems, solutions, etc. involving this machine? Alan Wiemann American Bell
jmd@wheps.UUCP (DISHMAN) (07/24/83)
I have recently purchased the ACE 1200, with two drives, the CP/M card and 80 column card. Except for a noisy fan, which I understand is a common complaint on these machines, I am very satisfied. All software that I have purchased has, with some minor problems, appeared to be completely Apple compatible, including the Merlin Assembler and the C Compiler from Manx. The latter program includes a poor man's "vi-type" editor called "ved," which I have found quite reasonable. (Regarding the latter, I have to use an "escape" to get upper case on the Franklin's approximation to the Videx 80 column card, a bit of an annoyance.) One interesting interaction with a software vendor, Sir-Tech, led to their comment that the Franklin drives tend to be slower than Apple drives (although, they are both Shugart I believe). As a result, they have had a number of complaints that their Pascal-based programs won't run without creating intermittent garbage on the disks. I consequently checked my own drives with a utility program, which showed them out of calibration on the fast side. On the other hand, using the "fluorescent light" strobing technique suggested they were in fact in spec. I'd be interested in hearing comments from others on the correct way of calibrating such drives. Finally, might I suggest that future discussions of the Franklin might best be done on "net.micro.apple".