MACLONE

from Your Sinclair #2 (Feb.1986)



[They didn't bother to say so in the article, but ]

[access the utilities with SymbolShift+Space, then]

[1, 2 or 3 to select one; or 4 to return to BASIC.]

[                                            JimG ]



Nope, it's not the latest fast food fry-up from McDonalds -

though that's how we sold the idea to Tony 'Slim' Samuels!

Maclone's an amazing utility package that packs the power of

the Macintosh into your Speccy.





There's a bandwagon doing the rounds at the moment that

everyone's hitching a ride on - and it's called the Apple

Macintosh. You only have to take a look at SofTechnics' The

Writer, reviewed in last month's YS, or OCP's Art Studio,

reviewed in this, to see the influence it's having - all

those drop- down menus and icons. Now just so you don't feel

left out in the code, I've written my own Mac influenced

program.



Maclone is a collection of three pull- down utility programs

that are related to the Desk Accessories on the Mac -

perhaps you've seen the calculator, puzzle and scrapbook

that can be pulled down over the top of the screen you're

working on. My three programs are similarly transparent to

the Speccy so the screen won't be permanently corrupted.

That means, for example, if you're bored with the program

you're working on, you can call up one of these utilities

and it'll sit on top of your program until you're ready to

get going again.





CLONE RANGER



As soon as you're ready to use your saved copy of Maclone,

type CLEAR 61950: LOAD "Maclone" CODE and start the tape.

There are three main RAND USR calls to Maclone - 63256 sets

the program up, 63278 switches it off and 63269 turns it

back on again. You'll only need to set up Maclone after

you've loaded it in or after NEW.





MAC MIMICRY



Here's a run-down of the three Macalike programs that mimic

the desk accessories. Two grand computers - who needs 'em?





THE LETTER SQUARE



Imagine you're writing a program and inspiration has

deserted you. You've made enough cups of coffee to keep

Brazil in credit for the next ten years but still nothing'll

come. Nope, there's nowt for it but drop everything and play

a game - if only you weren't already using the Speccy. Well,

now, at the press of a key, you can jiggle your brains with

this letter square puzzle. Just use the keys Q, A, O and P

to move the blank tile around the letter square. As soon as

you get bored or inspiration returns, just press Space and

bingo, you're back into Basic.





THE UDG EDITOR



Here's a real time-saver - well, you can make up all the

time you've wasted playing the word square. It's a UDG

editor that you can call up and use from within the Basic

program you're editing. It lets you change any one of the

Speccy's 21 UDGs just by moving the cursor round the UDG

with the Q, A, O and P keys. You can flip it on or off with

the M key and change a UDG using Enter. Once back in Basic

(press Space), your UDGs'll appear just as you defined them

in the Maclone routine. Save your data before you shut down

with SAVE "udg data" CODE USR "a",21*8.





THE LOCK-UP



Phew, that megaprogram's nearly finished but you've just got

to go out / sleep / eat / go for a pee. And what happens -

Sod's law, that's what! Someone's dusted and well, my hand

slipped, honest. Sorry just doesn't seem to say enough. Plus

you've got to keep a constant vigil against all those

industrial spies just waiting to rip off your programming.

Panic no more 'cos this program provides the answer. Select

option 3 and the screen will go black with just six question

marks in the centre of the screen. Now type in your six

letter password - no repeats are allowed so if your name's

Aardvark, you'll have to find an alternative. When all six

are in, press Enter and a message appears on the screen that

should deter all Intruders - DON'T TOUCH. Even if someone

has a go, they'll find the Speccy completely locked up - and

it'll stay that way without the password. Clever on? When

you're ready to begin again, type in your password to take

you back to Basic - But if you get it wrong you'll have to

go right back to the beginning.





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Another Fine Product transcribed by:

Jim Grimwood (jimg@globalnet.co.uk), Weardale, England

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