It was just getting to the point where I couldn't look at another utility ROM. I've seen millions of them, the good, the bad and the mind-bogglingly boring. They'll have to stop coming someday, I thought.

Wrong. With the advent of the Master we're now starting to see utility ROMs designed specifically for that machine. Beebug hit upon the brilliant idea of calling its offering the Master ROM, and instantly get zero marks for imagination.

Fortunately the software itself is quite good. It comes on 32K chip, which can cause a few fitting problems. You'll have to put it either inside the machine or in one of the high-profile cartridges.

The chip contains a number of commands which are useful to BBC B Micro owners too, but it's mainly for those of us with Masters.

There are nearly fifty commands - too many to describe in detail here. Many are the disc commands which ADFS users wish were in the original filing system, including formatting, back-up, CATALL, DIRALL and *DIRCOPY.

There is a control panel, like the one you get on the Master's Welcome disc, but now available instantly. And the software also has a menu program, which acts as a fairly simple front-end.

One of the more interesting commands is *S. This is used when programming in Basic. It looks for a filename in the first few lines of code and then saves the program under that name, asking for confirmation of the name if you're about to overwrite an old file. Other features include commands to use Sideways RAM as a silicon disc, part saving and comparing files, and the ability to find files buried deep in an ADFS directory structure. There is also a diary and alarm function, using the Master's real-time clock to prompt you with a beep and a message.

Alas, some of the commands, including the menu, wouldn't work properly with my hard disc. Otherwise, this is an extremely useful package for Master owners who want to make full use of the ADFS and Sideways RAM.