Alan Blundell of BBC PD (mentioned in EUG #0) has been in touch with news of his latest activities.

His service has recently been approved by the USSA (User Supported Software Association) which says a lot about the way he runs things. Alan is keen to support the Electron wherever practical or possible and would be grateful for information about software compatibility.

Have any Elk users with DFS or SWR sampled any of BBC PD's wares in the past? If so, I'm sure you Alan would be grateful if you could drop him a few lines to say how you got on.

For those who would like a copy of the BBC PD summary catalogue, the address to write to is <address removed> and please remember to enclose an sae - and to mention EUG!

If you are new to the Electron or have a limited software collection then your proverbial ship has just sailed into port! Robert Cooper has set up ELECTRON PD with a view to distributing his software collection far and wide...and almost all of it is free!

When I received his catalogue, I was at a loss to know where to start, as there is so much to choose from! The vast majority of the programs were originally published in Electron User. Having done a little research into this publication's attitude regarding their listings, it was found that they had no objection to the distribution of this material providing no profit was made from it, and this is the case with Robert's service.

Of course, a little effort must be made on the part of those eager to sample what's on offer! An SAE, large enough to comfortably hold several sheets of A4 paper should be sent to receive an initial catalogue. You will also have to supply your own disks or tapes (Yes, Robert intends to cater for tape users as much as possible!) and the correct postage and packing to receive your software. I expect details about postal charges will be included in the catalogue.

To increase the size of the catalogue, Robert may also be willing to consider a "program for program" swap but obviously you need to see the catalogue first to know if you have anything to offer!

Electron PD can supply software on 3.5" disk and tape, but some files may be tricky to transfer to the latter. It must also be remembered that saving software onto cassette is a slow, thankless task, so I would imagine that there will be a limit to the number that can be included on one tape. Copying a disk is another matter of course! It is vital that you help Robert to help you, as he is a student studying for his A levels and is on a very tight budget so saes included with all enquiries, please. Don't delay, write today!

<address removed>

Will Watts, EUG #1