GETTING THE GENERAL DRIFT OF THE MAP OF THE U.K.

NEW FROM Kuma Computers is a Map of the U.K. program for the Spectrum. It allows you to see a 73-mile by 60-mile area of anywhere in the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland and extends also to Calais.

The map shows only the coastal outline and as many towns and cities as Kuma could fit. The 75-by-60-mile window can be scrolled in all four directions in fine, medium or coarse steps.

When you reach the edge of the map, the program beeps and will not let you go further.

Besides being able to scroll the window, you can also search for a named town, find the distance between two points, find the latitude and longitude of any place, and copy the screen to the printer.

Everything you need to know about operating the program is contained in instruction screens. Typing 'H' always returns you to the Help page, which displays all the command instructions. Only valid commands are accepted and the program ignores all other key presses except BREAK. CONTINUE re-starts the program.

Also included is a balloon game in which you burn a limited amount of fuel to try and keep a balloon aloft as long as possible while you drift seemingly at random over the map. If you drift off the edge, you lose even if you still have fuel left.

The only problem encountered with the program is that nowhere did it indicate whether it was for a 16K or 48K Spectrum and there was no mention of the name Map of the U.K.

The program is about 17.5K and the data is about 22.5K of code so it takes a long time to load from tape. While a map program is certain not to be as exciting as a game, this is a very user-friendly program with no obvious bugs.

Map of the U.K. Is available from Kuma Compputers, 11 York Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire. It costs £11.95.