Home Computing Weekly


Astrocalc
By Astrocalc
Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Home Computing Weekly #103

This is one of an enormous range of programs suited for a variety of computers and is an attempt to give practitioners of astrology the means to make the complicated calculations of relative positions of planets etc at the time of the subject's birth. Other programs in the series will draw the relevant charts and make an analysis, but this confines itself to the calculations on which the interpretation is to be made, and also includes some teaching programs to get the BASIC key words and their meanings stuck in your head.

I'm not qualified to judge the accuracy of the calculations, I must therefore accept them. The standard of usefulness is another matter. Considering the claim that these programs are exported, the results are excruciating. Screen prompts are minimal, and if you manage to evade the input error trapping, which is quite easy, the machine crashes. Although the maths is done quickly, the results are squashed up on the screen, in a slightly different form to that examplified in the detailed accompanying manual. You do have the option to use a printer, though, it would appear, only one which responds to the COPY command.

The level of interpretation based on the manual is very crude and the teaching programs don't really help. All they do is present names of planets and attributes to be learnt, then test you on your learning.

Very expensive and very crude from a friendliness point of view.

D.M.

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