Jan.12,1988

	I found CHALK to be a slow and somewhat primitive
Spreadsheet, but it does function pretty well for the basic tasks
that one expects from such a program.

	You must use CAPS for all commands, and it never tells
you that,  so unaware users may be frustrated from the very start
by the "Amount Invalid. If you don't know what to do enter '?'." 
response to every entry in lower case.

	There is a built-in "Window/Titles" default, so that
everything on the top row and left column is always displayed,
and this is the only text that is allowed in the program.  If
you wanted to add some column headings on row 10, in the middle
of your data, you can't!

	CHALK is pretty thrifty on memory, and you can save a
small "Board" (as each spreadsheet is called in CHALK) of 5 rows
and 2 columns with only 1K, and the largest sheet [9 columns x 82
rows] in the sample sheets the author, Paul Wilson, includes only
takes up 9K.  Whether that increases with more data in the 00.00
parts of his sheet (CHKCASH) I did not check out.  But it looks
like it would not add very much to the existing "00.00" data
already in the "Board".

	The maximum number of rows is 99, and I don't know if
there is any maximum for columns, other than disk memory or RAM.

	You have to CALCulate after every entry, and it seems to
take two "C"(alculate) entries, one for that column, or maybe any
preceding columns, and one for subsequent columns.  This means
two sets of a "C" keystroke and a RETurn" stroke after each entry
of a number.   

	The author supples pretty full documentation, and ways of
changing the defaults for screen size, printer page size, etc.

	However, these default settings in the file CHALKCTL.COM
seem to be the only way to change column widths from the default
settings of 16 characters for ROW titles and 10 for COLUMN widths.

	My OVERALL EVALUATION:   (along with Jack Brown's first
suggestion when he asked me to check CHALK out)-- look for a copy
of Supercalc at about $25 from one of the NYCity distributors of
the software from Osborne's auction, and hope they provide a manual
or some documentation with it.  As your second choice or last
resort,  give CHALK a try, and maybe add some improvements to
pass on to others who can't afford or find a fuller, more
sophisticated  spreadsheet program.

	As Paul Wilson says in his DOC., you need CP/M with at
least 48K, a printer if possible, a CRT that can HOME the cursor,
CLEAR SCREEN from cursor to end of screen, and toggle HIGHLITING
on and off if possible.  Since he graduated in l987 presumably, I
am not sure that his NYC address is valid anymore, if you wanted
either to contribute something for the program or ask him questions.

			Bob Forsberg (Yankee Osborne Users,
				New Haven CT   FOG #54)fault
settings of 16 characters for ROW titles and 10 for COLUMN widths.

	My OVERALL EVALUATION:   (al