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If you're still using the Sinclair microdrive - ha ha ha. However, those deluded enough to be devoted to the most unreliable storage medium known to Man will be interested to see LERM's latest collection of utilities.

Supplied with a backup cassette and a fifty-page manual, Micromate includes six sets of utilities. RUN can be copied to each of your microdrive cartridges, and provides a fast catalogue of Basic files, then allows any file to be loaded with a single keypress. FULLCAT/PRINTER gives a complete catalogue of the contents of a cartridge, can alter the Basic auto-run line number and provide a hard copy. TOOLKIT repairs free sectors and marks damaged sectors of cartridges, the provides a full status display.

BACKUP will format a cartridge with up to 104K of free memory, and will copy files from drive to drive and clone cartridges. TAPER copies Files from drive to tape, and MINITAPE from tape to drive.

A major annoyance is that the utilities will apparently not work on other LERM packages ."Do NOT attempt to use the package on LERM cartridges. Do NOT interfere with or attempt to copy your Micromate tape. Do NOT have any hardware devices attached (eg Multiface, Disciple, Specmate etc) other than a printer. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!" threatens the manual. If that's their attitude - you can back up other people's packages - but not ours - I'm inclined to tell them where to stick their cartridges.

Useful utility package for a useless bit of hardware.