★ AMSTRAD CPC ★ PEOPLES ★ SOFTOGRAPHIE ★ COMPANY ★ HONEYSOFT ★ |
| Applications - Company | Honeysoft |
Honeysoft is a small company which specialises in Amstrad software and peripherals. The quality of its work is second to none but building a system means that you need to know what you are doing. A minimum system would consist of a serial interface, a modem from another manufacturer and the right software. If you want to use ROM based software you will also need a ROM board. An ideal modem to use this with is the WS 3000 from Miracle Technology (shown on the front cover). The hardware does not need any power (although whichever modem you choose will probably have its own mains plug). The Honeysoft software is undisputedly the best Amstrad comms software around. There are two programs. HoneyView and HoneyTerm, which together form HoneyComm HoneyView works with all the dynamic pages on Prestel and downloads telesoftware perfectly. There is a frame buffer which allows you to save and edit pages, store them and flip through when you come off line. All the controls are accessed through a series of menu windows. You can define function keys to reduce the time it takes to get back to menus or pages you often select. If you send a lot of mailboxes you can use the function keys to hold strings of often-used phrases. You can load and save the key definitions to tape or disc. To overcome the problem of producing a good eight colour 40-column display HoneyView offers a mode 0 display, like the Communicator, and a mode 1 display which gives more readable characters but doesn't look as good. In mode 1 you can choose the foreground colours and a stippling effect goes some way to producing the missing colours. HoneyTerm emulates an Ampex terminal. This is VT100 compatible and should work with the majority of mainframe systems. It has some added features, the main one being a review mode. When text scrolls off the top of the screen a copy is kept in memory. You can have more than 10 screenfuls stored before it starts to delete the first stuff. This buffer can be saved to disc and is very useful when using Gold. You can read a long letter and reply to any points in it by just swapping between the letter and your reply. You can send program files from one computer to another using the Xmodem standard or just a simple Ascii transfer for text. We regularly use HoneyTerm to send magazine articles from one place to another. The overall package of a HoneySoft interface, Romboard and HoneyComm is certainly attractive, but the need to buy other bits separately and maybe make your own lead may put off some people. The lack of a case for the interface looks unprofessional.
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