Accountants hold demonstration

Press, 5 July 1983, Page 26

Accountants hold demonstration

Sixteen-bit microcomputers were the order of the day when the public practice committee of the New Zealand Society of Accountants organised a demonstration in Christchurch recently of microcomputers for members of the accountancy profession. Equipment from Burroughs, DEC, IBM and ICL showed that 16-bit microcomputers are now considered to be the state of the art by most suppliers. However, software may not have caught up on the latest generation hardware. Mr John Pyle, of Business Distributors, Ltd, admitted he recommended using 8-bit application software on the DEC personal computer (which has both 8-bit and 16bit processors) because the 8-bit software “is more bugfree.”

Mr Tony Lewis, chairman of the public practice committee, said: “There’s got to be an increasiong awareness of personal computers by our members, both for personal use and where they are likely to be installed by clients.” He said that wordprocessing systems were

also very "useful to members of the society. At the end of May, mem-

bers opened their doors to fellow members to show the equipment that is in the offices of local accountants. “Now we have invited a limited number of suppliers to show members what is available,” said Mr Peter Steele, convener of the demonstration.

“Many members have already made a decision,” said Mr Lewis. Often, small machines such as the TRS--80 had been installed by accountants to find out what the personal computer would do.

Burroughs demonstrated two of its 820 series microcomputers at the meeting. The neatly packaged documentation kits on display on the Burroughs stand included manuals for the company’s Easy financial application software, developed in the United States and modified for New Zealand.

Mr Grant McLeod, a 820 product specialist for Burroughs in Christchurch, said the company had a letter of intent for 50 B2o’s from a local mainframe user. Two Christchurch companies which intend to sell

the DEC range of personal computers demonstrated their offerings. Business Distributors, Ltd, showed the DEC Rainbow personal computer and was proposing that the application software come from Interactive Applications, Ltd, or Cogito, Ltd. Business Computers, Ltd, demonstrated the Rainbow’s bigger brother, the DECmate II with DEC’S WPS-8 word processing software. IBM displayed its Personal Computer, complete with Charlie Chaplin silhouette and red rose. Once again software from lAL was suggested. Systems Software and Instrumentation, Ltd, and ICL teamed up to talk about the ICL PC2. Systems Software and Instrumentation has just completed a truck-cost-ing software package that runs on the ICL microcomputer.

ICL also showed its DRS 8801 word-processing system. The 8801, which stands out because of it large characters and amber-on-dark display, was designed by a New Zealander working in Britain.