Many new owners of this marvellous machine will know that the screen resolution can be set to any of several values, and they might also know that the highest resolutions allow very detailed and accurate drawing. However, not everybody will be able to delve into the delights of DRAW, PLOT, MOVE, GCOL, etc. It is for them that this package will be absolutely perfect, but many other owners of Electrons will appreciate the tremendous ease with which this cassette will allow them to create intricate drawings and diagrams.

Taking the cassette and booklet from the usual Salamander video-type case, the first impression made me a little nervouse, but within a very short time the controls and facilities become second nature. Many of the keys are chosen for their initial, T for instance allowing Text to be input. There is a choice from Modes 0, 1 or 2, each giving a different choice of palette, although these colours can be simply and instantly reset to any of the Electron's sixteen combinations. The current position of the cursor is displayed clearly so that pictures previously drawn on graph paper may be faithfully reproduced. It is also possible to draw within a grid, and lines may be drawn dotted or solid. The PLOT 85 command has a simple replacement in F (for Fill) although some complex chapes took several separate F commands to finish. Pictures drawn in one mode may be redrawn in another, and pictures may be saved and reloaded onto cassette. The demonstration figures supplied on tape do not show off this program to its best advantage, it has a great deal of potential.

Dave Reeder