Classic Computer Magazine Archive COMPUTE! ISSUE 19 / DECEMBER 1981 / PAGE 177

New Products

Advanced Operating Systems Publishes 10 Program Household Package

Michigan City, IN, October 1, 1981—Advanced Operating Systems has published a package of 10 programs useful in performing household duties. The programs are written in BASIC.

The "Mostly BASIC Household Program" package offers two programs which give a synopsis of energy consumption. The "Electric Energy Usage" selection compares energy units used during two different years. The "Gas Mileage Calculator" uses basic data to figure the gas mileage of a vehicle.

Two programs focusing on diet and eating habits of the user are the "Recipe Amount Calculator" and "The Basic Diet."

"The House Buying Guide" and "The Amortization Schedule" focus on budgeting and investing of money. The schedule calculates the balance, principal, interest, and cumulative interest for each month of a loan. The buying guide weighs answers from questions it gives the user and advises on the possibilities of making a profit from buying a structure. The program can be used whether the operator will be renting out the structure or selling it at a later date.

Two programs which offer no frills, but are unlimited in their usefulness, are the "Digital Stopwatch" and "The Message Taker." The stopwatch counts off minutes, hours, and seconds until told to stop. The message program records up to six messages and enables members of the household to leave "notes" for one another.

Medical expenses can also be cataloged through use of this package. The "Medical Expense Record files away the type of expense, cost, and cumulative total for each year.

"The Tarot Card Reader" is an entertaining program based on a deck of 78 cards used in fortune telling. The program answers questions from the user by picking 10 of the cards. The position they hold after being layed out has a meaning, as well as whether the figure on the card is right side up or upside down. The translation of the 10 cards is listed briefly by the computer. This program requires 16K to run.

The package is available through computer retail outlets. Advanced Operating Systems is the microcomputer software division of Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc., a subsidiary of International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation.