Commodore Format

1st July 1992
Light

 
Published in Commodore Format #22

You may be wondering why CF is reviewing another magazine. Well, Light is different; it doesn't have pages, its five and a quarter inches high and it's floppy - in a disky kind of way. Were we impressed?

Light

Light (advertised as LightDisk 64) scores with its ability to deliver instant, hands-on programs. Each is well documented and supported by a neat GUI (Graphical User Interface) that guides you from prog to prog on the two-disk package.

Light is produced by a nucleus of writers from Commodore Disk User, and they have collected a bundle of text and code for the serious C64 user. If you're a games peep, it won't change your life. But for folk who want to wring yet more hours of major processing from their C64, it really is the business!

The GUI is elegant and easy to use. Once loaded, there's none of this nasty LOAD "WHATSIT",8,1 malarkey, it's all point and click. Select the topic you want with a joystick controlled cursor and press fire. Select the program you need and press fire, then choose from either the program or the instructions, press fire, and you're in! And if you're too lazy to do that, there are keyboard shortcuts to make loading even faster!

The two vital pieces of kit for the committed Light user are a disk drive and a printer. The games and fun utilities have easily remembered key commands and instructions - when hitting the metal in the tutorials and programs, you don't want to be struggling for commands. At the click of an icon, Light can provide a hard copy of the instructions.

The programs themselves vary from lightweight games to severe hardware tweaks. The more specialised the programs, the better they get, allowing major league messing with your machine's happy thoughts. And after all, isn't that what computing on a curiosity level is all about: forcing chips to do everything possible - with a smattering of the impossible thrown in for good measure?

Light feels like - and I mean this is a complimentary way - a slick PD compendium. The advantages it holds over such compendiums though is the slick interface, its comprehensive instructions and periodical appearance. The range of topics means that there's something here for anybody with an interest in things techie. Although, to use a chocolate analogy, there are bound to be a few orange creams left in everybody's box.

Launches can be a painful time for any kind of magazine, and Light is no exception. Some of the programs/utilities aren't fully integrated with the GUI and force you to re-boot after you've played around with them. But as you are re-booting from disk and the loading times are kept mercifully short, this is no great pain.

Frankly, Light is impressive. It's an in-depth specialist publication, delivered on an ideal media. Aimed at a specific user base, it supports the one area that the C64 world has been left wanting since the demise of CDU: hardcore techie talk with a friendly face. And, if that's what you want, then you'll find Light is £4.50 well spent.

Bad Points

  1. Some programs crash the GUI.
  2. You really need both a disk drive and a printer.

Good Points

  1. What techies have been waiting for!
  2. Very slick GUI (or Graphic User Interface).
  3. Every program comes with easily printable instructions.
  4. Broad mix of programs, games and features.
  5. Excellent value - two code packed disks for 4.50.
  6. Disk swapping kept to a minimum, hurrah!
  7. Keyboard shortcuts make life real easy.
  8. There are programs and features for both the veteran and the beginner.