Another day, another planet, another micro — but the Ace is so
fast that even Bill Bennett had to switch into hyper-drive to
review it. The Jupiter Ace is a radical departure from the
mainstream of micro-computing, and could prove to be the start
of a very important new-trend. Rather than accepting the
prevailing wisdom, Jupiter Cantab designed the machine around
the Forth language. In a way, this makes the Ace a breakthrough
— it is both the first mass-produced home computer not to use
that tired old lady of micro languages, Basic, and is also one
of the fastest micros ever made. The speed clement is vital; it
is more or less the justification for using a hitherto arcane
computer tongue. But speed is not the only-advantage of Forth,
or indeed of the Ace. It has that all-important feature;
structure. Structured programming is definitely the “coming
thing”. It is preferred by both educationalists and professional
programmers alike, and leads me to another fashionable computer
buzz-word; portability. Portabilit