Sinclair distributor Terry Blood (TBD) is trying to bring sanity back to micro prices by offering dealers a guarantee that they won't lose out if prices plummet. The idea is to encourage dealers to carry more stock - it will apply to Spectrum Plus and QL systems.

Other manufacturers might find it too late for such protection. According to the UK's Aladdin's Cave of facts and figures, the National Computing Centre, nearly one third of the current crop of micro suppliers in the UK will have pulled out, one way or the other, before the end of the year.

It isn't PCN's style to write obituaries, but we send our sympathy to Firebird Software after the tragic death of James Scoular last week. James was doing great things at Firebird and he'll be sorely missed. But the company is making sure that show goes on by releasing a new budget range, the Lead Range, with a compilation tape of five of the worst games it's ever seen. Called Don't Buy This, it costs £2.50 for the 48K Spectrum. "They are really awful," said a spokesman, bravely.

Ocean is getting some familiar titles into the Amstrad format and the games should be ready to go into shops by the time you read this. The names to look out for are Daley Thompson's Decathlon, Kong Strikes Back, and Hunchback II. More are due to follow.

Saga Systems, supplier of add-on Spectrum keyboards, is taking the Spectrum Plus in its stride. "The Plus is only credible as a business machine when used with our keyboard," said director David White. Saga (04862-69527) has cut the price of its box to £49.95.

RAMpack veteran Stonechip Electronics (0252-333362) has managed to turn the Commodore 16 into the C32 with a plug-in unit called the Vixen 16. It is self-contained, requiring no additional connections or power supply, and is available now for £34.95.

Enterprise-starved citizens around the country may not believe it, but the machines are well on their way to full production, according to marketing manager Michael Shirley. Software is also coming out at the rate of eight titles a month, he added. The company still aims to grab 10 per cent of the market - more than 150,000 machines sold - by the end of the year.