When a computer company goes into receivership, liquidation, or any other state covered by a long word with a sinister sound, there are usually frantic efforts to find a rescuer.

Time isn't on the side of the stricken company. As time passes, any reputation the company might have had is forgotten and any prospects of its being successfully revived dwindle. Time, in these cases, is not a great healer.

Two months have now passed since alas poor Oric's knees were unstrung. Are the interested parties hoping that its reputation will be forgotten?

Over the Channel, where rumours home in on a possible purchaser, the micro scene was shocked last week by the resignation of a man with an unpronounceable long name over an issue close to British hearts. Monsieur Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber quit the Paris-based World Computer Centre to register his protest against the French Government's decision to favour native micro manufacturers. It wants to keep Apples et al out of its schools and colleges. Jean-Jacques could turn out to be the first French whinging Pomme.

But IBM France is doing its best to relieve the gloom. A recent advertising campaign (produced by Saatchi et Saatchi) included a card that played tunes and flashed green and red lights. This was given away inside a four-page insert in a magazine called Le Point; it was intended was a one-off, but other IBM sections are reported to have shown interest in the stunt. Is the world's most serious company growing frivolous? Or was the card a trial-marketing of the rumoured PC 2?

There isn't any known way of getting to the bottom of this kind of mystery. IBM (in France and elsewhere) is rumoured to be on le point of launching a lap-held, code named Clamshell. Not many first time users want a clamshell on their laps, but the name reflects IBM's attitude to so far unlaunched products.

The PC 2, expected to be an advance on the PC but not so much as to merit the sufficx AT (Advanced Technology) is due soon. The name is, of course, a code. If IBM maintains the lead given it by the French subsidiary the successor it might settle on will be the CID, or even the Flic.

Meanwhile, a semi-blank piece of paper arrives from The Program Bureau, allegedly a newly-launched software house, which claims not to conform, and has a certain originality of style.

Despite the claimed non-conformist nature of the outfit, however, the sheet - marked 'News' (there isn't much yet) - says the company is "promising new ideas" (don't they all?) and tells us to "look to early April" (which is what they all say, until they tell us it won't be finished till May).

Far be it from PCN to knock a good idea out of spite. Eclipse Software wasn't to know that the handout it sent to tell us about the Letaset software might cause offence.

Letaset, for the Spectrum, is intended to give you 18 character sets - "a lettering style for every occasion", it announces proudly. To illustrate the point it includes a sample of printout that happens to sing the praises of another home computer mag, not too modest to call itself "popular". "Get it today!!!" the sample trumpets.

We're not so small-minded as to knock Letaset for a minor lapse of diplomatic protocol. But it's odd that Eclipse uses a typewriter to produce its press handouts, when it has all those lettering styles available...

Printer Bonanza
Hard up for hard copy? Turn to our buyer's guide for a walkthrough view of the best printers on the market. Sub-divded by type, speed, cost and capability, the special supplements will help you make a choice.

Parallel Lines
In Workbench we turn to the thorny problem of Commodore output. Follow our instructions to produce your own parallel interface.

Dragon Fly
The 6809 Show in London last weekend was due to mark the return to the UK of the Dragon 64 under the banner of Compusense - read our report.

Comms Tricks
We kick off a new regular column looking at the world of communications - what you'll need, where you should look, and what you can expect to find.

Easter Teaser
As usual this column is headed Next Week, but prepare yourself for a shock - we won't be publishing in Easter week.#