Previous Next

Don't confuse this with Print'N'Plotter's program of the same title. With so many easy screen design competitors, ISP has decided to be 'different', abandoning the moving cursor line drawing favoured by others. Being 'different' seems to come down to being the same as BASIC.

There's little difference between "PRINT AT 10,10" and (10,10)" or "PLOT 128,S8" and "@(12S,SS)" except the extra effort required to learn the 'new' language.

ISP claims Screen Machine is 'suitable for five-year-olds'. Can they read this manual?

There's some non-BASIC extras, like changing overall ink or paper without CLS, off-screen circles and filled circles (a geometric pattern filling which would be useless for, say, a face). Arc refused to work, giving 'Number out of Range' report. Automatic edging can be done by any character or graphic.

You can rotate anything primed and enlarge letters to eight times their normal size as well as fill rectangles (explanation here omits the + signs).

There are 95 extra graphics, with a copyright notice which renders them useless. Many manual examples don't work.

There are easier designers on the market, with more facilities.

D.C.