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Show IFeattiunres Friday, April 9, 1982 Home Computers part 2 Commissary Advisory Council provides more than lip service Selecting She coinmputteir thats right for yy In the last issue we discussed some of the technology and terminology involved in the home computer boom. This issue is going to give a brief look at some of the various home systems, their capabilities and the price ranges, with and without Like all of the special councils YOUR needs. disc-driv- $6000. ne disc-driv- e, even though the last experiment with these items was less than successful, they are now experiencing a reasonable degree of success with the program. Those items identified as the top sellers among the generics were the box of cookies, vitamins, peanut butter and toilet tissue. Commissary advisor Dave Stangler said that at the present time there is 2-l- b. ns . to $510. . who do find themselves in this predicament should bring the container back to the commissary and it will be exchanged without question. Higher prices: A member of the council asked why a container of a particular brand of milk costs more in the Commissary than in Tooele. The advisor explained that the price difference in this case and in most similar cases reflects the costs of transportation, that by regulation must be passed along to the customer. Perishable items: Bread, milk, eggs and meats and their seeming disappearance from the shelves was brought up. The commissary is always looking for ways to improve the selections available at all times! They try and predict just how much of these items to put up prior to the weekend so that there will be as little waste as possible. This is not an easy task, and occassionally they will . el second-generatio- . . . TRS-80.Mod- before the date on the container. This problem is a perennial one that has been discussed several times both in the council and between the Commissary and the dairy. While instances are infrequent, they are an irritant that unfortunately cjoesnt show signs of going away. Patrons' M For those looking for a portable unit, theres the Osborne 1, an unit, in a brief case sized To get the basic system, the keyboardcomputer for $1795. It contains a miniature monitor, package unit itself, the prices range from $150 to $8500 keyboard and adapters for software prowhich, most times doesnt include the TV monitor etc. also contains over $1500 worth of proIt for data display or a cassette recorderplayer for gram, discs as Wordstar and SuperCalc to name such tlit a storage. Most units have plug in software, agram few. computer programs) capability, with programs for everything from balancing the home budget to the One of the most expenive small businesshome latest computer games and educational programs. computer systems is the David, made by Logical Business Machines, and it is appropriately named, out at the lower of end the because is its features put many of the larger profesStarting price range, the Sinclair ZX81 which is about the size of the aver- sional systems to shame. Its base price is $8500 but age notebook. It can be hooked up to your TV (color with options and custom program development with or black and white) and an average cassette recorder' installation by a company representative, it can cost for memory storage. It has a 24 line display, a IK up to $12,000. However the basic unit is prowith the of 16K a an with extended memory option grammed in English, or one of any of 20 other lanThis small is unit memory pack. priced at $150 for guages, which means you dont have to leam a comthe liasic unit and should be just about right for the puter language to use it. It is also adaptable to a comaverage family budget. puter network for more memory storage. The monitor screen is built right into the keyboardcomputer console itself. Higher in price is' the Radio Shack TRS-8- 0 Color Computer, also adaptable to the average color or Other brand-nam- e computers systems similar to black and white TV. It has the capability of having include the Hewlett-Packar- d mentioned those earlier such options added to it as dial-u- p data bases, and exHP-8- 5, a suitcase sized portable unit with panding its memory from 4K to 48K or a 32,000 let- built-i- n features similar to the Osborne 1, but at a ter memory. Radio Shack has approximately 20 difhigher base price of $2750. ferent programs available for it, and there are other Radio Shack also puts out the I and companies that have programs that are adapable to it. The basic unit, without recorder or monitor is II, at $3899 for the basic. Model II and $699 for the Model III. The Model III is a priced at about $399. compact version of the $399 Model I. Model II is deAt the same price for the basic unit, is the Atari signed more for small businesses than the I or III, 400 home computer, brought to you by the same though they can be expanded and adapted. folks that revolutionized home video games. This svstem Is supposed to have the best sound effects and Quasar puts out a portable model, the Hand-Hel- d is which be to expected by only graphics available, Computer HK2600TE for $600 while Xerox the folks who let space invaders loose on the makes the Xerox 820, which at $2995 is designed American public, much to their delight. This system to interface with many business programs and retails also for $399, but with options'it can cost up software. , : Members are selected from various facets of the Community to serve on the council and provide ' feedback both good and which - the Commissary uses to tailor their operations to keep in step with what you the shopper expect. As with many other activities on DPG, the Commissary has limitations from their parent organization the Western Region of the U.S. Army Troop Support Agency (TSA) "which vary a great deal in their flex- ibility and impact cm the focal Store. As a member of this council the one thing that has impressed me the most over the three years I have served on the council is the ready willingness for the Commissary managers to try, and the very swift corrective action they have taken when some problem area arises. The Council meets quarterly and the meetings are open to any person with business for the council, or to anyone who just wants to sit in. At the last meeting, March 11, the following items were addressed: . . Generic merchandise: The commissary has added a few new items, e and the program the. basic unit. It has manuals are written for the average person with no special skills required to operate it. With options such as an expanded memory, it can cost up to all-in-o- no way to bring in a complete line of generic vegetables. Milk souring: Some patrons complained that milk was souring here on Post, the Commissary Advisory Council is there to provide guid-.anc- e for the Commissary in serving options. . udnerestimate. The best way to avoid finding yourself caught short of these items is to get them on Wed., or Thtirs. instead of Fri. ' Sides of beefpork: Can patrons buy half a beef or half a pig? Well, yes and no. Yes for beef but no on the pork. In the past, the butcher The entry into the home computer race by Texas Instruments, a company known for its calculators and watches, is the Theyve carried the . same basic technology used in their calculators one step further and like their educational math calculators, they have a wide variety of educational programs available for their system. Basic system price ' is $525 but with additional memory units and other options it can cost up you up to $1425. There are a few other units just under $1000. But they are designed more for small businesses or fami- -' lies that demand more out of a system than video games or balancing the budget. Some of the higher priced systems have a built-i- n TV monitor and can be adapted to memory units, but prices go up, with capabilities and options. IBM, already recognized as a leader in the business, field for their company computers, has an entry in the small business home computer field with , their IBM Personal Computer, which costs $1565 tor TT-994- A. disc-stora- Pick up go ge able to the person in the market for the homesmall shop couldnt handle these orders, but with a second butcher on board, it is now available. If you are inter- ested' please call the Commissary butcher shop. Inventory vs shelf stock: A complaint heard often is that before an inventory the shelves are almost bare, is this planned or not? The advisor explained that they dont plan it that way at all, BUT, the warehouse ckoes for a day and a half be. fore the store is inventoried, and workers are taken from the store to inventory the warehouse. Because they cant replenish from the warehouse to the store, and even if they could they, wouldnt have the people to keep up with it, the stock level in the store drops. Theyre sorry if it causes any inconvenience, but so far, its the best way they have of accomplishing the task. Baggers and tips: Commissary baggers are NOT commissary employees and are trying to do the best they can for you. Please remember than with your tips If you have any questions or . business computer If youre shopping for one, its wise to check more than one place. Salt Lake City to help improve your store, feel free to contact one of the council members: CPT Richard E. Gilmore (PT-FChairman; Mrs. Kay Can I expand the system as my needs increase? Does the memory dump every time the power is shut off? What options are available? What kind of language or special training must I know to operate it? Be inquisitive, after all the salespersons, if they know their business will be more than happy to their machines, but also some of the that things you need to know about computers in general. ex-abo- ut Air Force Representative; Mr. Doug Moe; Mrs. Karen Love; Ms. Gail Strait; lSgt Larry Washburn; SSG Phil Hale; SP4 Duetta Szabo. Dont wait for the next council meeting if you need help, ask the folks in the gold blazers or one of the store workers, theyll be happy to help you drop more comfortably in the Dugway Commissary. 3 will-tak- e a free family ticket to, the movies from any Valley Fair Mall Store... Good for the whole family to see " Bon Voyage Charlie Brown" plus a 3 cartoon extravaganza Saturday April 10th Courtesy of Valley Fair Merchants and Valley Fair ' VISIT THE EASTER BUNNY APRIL 6 THRU 10 AT THE BUNNY HOUSE ... Instant Color Portraits with Mr. Rabbit FILM FACTORY East South, Salt 163 ItiS People 2nd Picture Same Person 1 .99. 2 to 7 Daily 10 to 6 Saturday 3rd Lake City Phone:322-354- 6 TOOELE: 58 North Main, The Tooele Transcript Hours: Drop off film from 8 a.m.-- 6 p.m. Mon.-Fr-i. 882-005- 0 Featuring the famous Norftsu Automatic Film Processing System Al ; Here is what to do. . . First, you should buy a roll of color print film, preferably from us. Second, Place it in your camera and shoot, shoot, shoot! Third, When you come to the end of the roll of film bring it to 58 North Main, Tooele. . . the Tooele Transcript. Then we your film and rush it to our Salt Lake Film Factory and have it back to you. . . before you know it!!! pffO feu Four Cinemas. Ska-lick- y. D) has several electronics stores that sell many of the branch mentioned in this article, but you need to decide exactly what uses youd put your home computer to and then ask the salespersons what the capabilities and options the various machines have. Some questions that you might ask the dealer are: What kind of memory does the system have? Are their software programs available for it? sug- gestions for the Commissary Council Drop Off Your Film And Have It Back Before You Know It!! these are just a few of the systems currently avail- rjBiifs uG c w THE SAMPLER |