Jupiter plays its ace

At the recent Computer Fair in Earls Court, one computer company, Jupiter, could be seen shedding its old grotty image by driving a series of robots.

This is the first step in a whole new deal for Jupiter Ace computers, starting with the launch of a new, prettier box to replace the floppy plastic one of early models.

New face Geoffrey Walker, a man with widely varied business experience (about which he is strangely shy, considering that the worst thing he seems to have done was to work for his father's company for a while) is bringing management to a formerly amateur group.

Some 5,000 machines have been bought, bringing the language Forth (without disks, of course) to many beginners, instead of Basic.

The news is good for existing users, too. The main reason for the new professionalism is the fact that Jupiter is hoping to start selling to Americans, and is beefing up the machine's specifications with reductions in radio interference, new add-ons, and a serious scientific range of software.

The work done with Cyber Robotics is just one example: and of course the result (if it all works out) will be a sudden surge of software for the otherwise minority-interest computer.

The new model, costing maybe £10 extra, will appear in the next couple of months in stores.