Q. I am thinking of buying a computer and I'm torn between the BBC Micro and the Enterprise. I'd like the BBC because of its software but having seen it around for such a long time gives me second thoughts.

I like the Enterprise because I've heard that after buying a converter. You can load Sinclair and BBC games on it. Is this true?

S. A. Mohyuddin
Putney, London

A. You're caught in the classic snag of computer buying - although for the wrong reason. So far no-one has produced a machine emulator for any of the popular computers and the Enterprise is the least likely candidate.

In short, no... you won't be able to run any of the Spectrum or BBC programs on the Enterprise.

In deciding on the computer to buy, you will always be stuck between a tried and trusted system that has a lot of software and peripherals, and a red hot, new design with very little available for it,.

In deciding which machine to go for, you should look back at numerous issues of PCN where we have answered similar questions. Last week's review of the Enterprise, and our retrospective on the BBC in December should help you decide.