3418 lines
173 KiB
Erlang
3418 lines
173 KiB
Erlang
|
||
|
||
|||||| |||||| || || |||||| ||||||
|
||
|| || ||| || || ||
|
||
|| ||| |||| |||||| || |||| Your
|
||
|| || || || ||| || ||
|
||
|||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GEnieLamp Computing
|
||
|
||
|| |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable
|
||
|| || || ||| ||| || ||
|
||
|| |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE!
|
||
|| || || || || || ||
|
||
||||| || || || || ||
|
||
|
||
|
||
~ WELCOME TO GEnieLamp APPLE II! ~
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
~ POLISHING GREEN APPLES: Hooked on Storage, Part 1 ~
|
||
~ TECH TALK: Apple II Hybrids and File Transfer ~
|
||
~ PROFILES: HangTime Talks About HyperCard IIgs ~
|
||
~ DR'S EXAMINING TABLE: Xenocide Review ~
|
||
~ APPLE II HISTORY: Part 20/21a, Magazines ~
|
||
~ HOT NEWS, HOT FILES, HOT MESSAGES ~
|
||
|
||
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
|
||
GEnieLamp Apple II ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.3, Issue 24
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
Editor....................................................Douglas Cuff
|
||
Publisher.............................................John F. Peters
|
||
Copy-Editor...........................................Bruce Maples
|
||
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
|
||
~ GEnieLamp IBM ~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp [PR] ~ GEnieLamp Windows ~
|
||
~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~ GEnieLamp TX2 ~
|
||
~ GEnieLamp A2 ~ LiveWire (ASCII) ~ GEnieLamp MacPRO ~
|
||
~ Solid Windows ~ Config.sys ~ A2-Central ~
|
||
~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~
|
||
GE Mail: GENIELAMP Internet: genielamp@genie.geis.com FTP: sosi.com
|
||
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
|
||
|
||
>>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE II ROUNDTABLE? <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
~ March 1, 1994 ~
|
||
|
||
|
||
FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY]
|
||
Notes From The Editor. Is That A Letter For Me?
|
||
|
||
REFLECTIONS ............. [REF] BEGINNER'S CORNER ....... [BEG]
|
||
Shared Long Distance Billing. Polishing Green Apples.
|
||
|
||
TECH TALK ............... [TEC] CowTOONS! ............... [MOO]
|
||
Apple II Hybrids and Transfer. Career Cows.
|
||
|
||
DR'S EXAMINING TABLE .... [DRT] PROFILES ................ [PRO]
|
||
Golden Oldie Review: Xenocide. HyperCard IIgs (via HangTime).
|
||
|
||
PAL NEWSLETTER .......... [PAL] APPLE II ................ [AII]
|
||
March 1994 Report. History Part 20/21a: Magazines.
|
||
|
||
LOG OFF ................. [LOG]
|
||
GEnieLamp Information.
|
||
|
||
[IDX]"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
READING GEnieLamp GEnieLamp has incorporated a unique indexing system
|
||
""""""""""""""""" to help make reading the magazine easier. To
|
||
utilize this system, load GEnieLamp into any ASCII word processor or
|
||
text editor. In the index you will find the following example:
|
||
|
||
HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM]
|
||
[*]GEnie Fun & Games.
|
||
|
||
To read this article, set your find or search command to [HUM].
|
||
If you want to scan all of the articles, search for [EOA]. [EOF] will
|
||
take you to the last page, whereas [IDX] will bring you back to the
|
||
index.
|
||
|
||
MESSAGE INFO To make it easy for you to respond to messages
|
||
"""""""""""" re-printed here in GEnieLamp, you will find all the
|
||
information you need immediately following the message. For example:
|
||
|
||
(SMITH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M475)
|
||
_____________| _____|__ _|___ |____ |_____________
|
||
|Name of sender CATegory TOPic Msg.# Page number|
|
||
|
||
In this example, to respond to Smith's message, log on to page
|
||
475 enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic
|
||
1.
|
||
|
||
A message number that is surrounded by brackets indicates that
|
||
this message is a "target" message and is referring to a "chain" of two
|
||
or more messages that are following the same topic. For example: {58}.
|
||
|
||
ABOUT GEnie GEnie's monthly fee is $8.95, which gives you up to four
|
||
""""""""""" hours of non-prime time access to most GEnie services,
|
||
such as software downloads, bulletin boards, GE Mail, an Internet
|
||
gateway, multi-player games and chat lines, without charge. GEnie's
|
||
non-prime time connect rate is $3.00. To sign up for GEnie service,
|
||
call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369 in the USA or 1-800-387-3880 in
|
||
Canada. Upon connection type HHH. Wait for the U#= prompt. Type:
|
||
XTX99014,DIGIPUB and hit RETURN. The system will then prompt you for
|
||
your information. Need more information? Call GEnie's customer
|
||
service line (voice) at 1-800-638-9636.
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
|
||
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ /
|
||
/ "My brother tells the story of a student who walked /
|
||
/ into the computer lab, pulled a 5.25 disk out of his /
|
||
/ hip pocket, unfolded it, straightened out the wrinkles /
|
||
/ as best he could, stuck it in a drive, and proceeded to /
|
||
/ read the Appleworks files he had stored on it as if /
|
||
/ this were perfectly normal. (And perhaps for him, it /
|
||
/ was. :)" /
|
||
/ /
|
||
//////////////////////////////////////////// GARY.UTTER ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
|
||
FROM MY DESKTOP /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Notes From The Editor
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
By Douglas Cuff
|
||
[EDITOR.A2]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> THE BUTTERFLIES EMERGE <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
As our collective world grows smaller, so do our individual worlds.
|
||
We're "cocooning" -- a word dreamed up to legitimize lethargy and apathy by
|
||
making them appear to be family values.
|
||
|
||
This tendency to laud emotional detachment has made me even more
|
||
grateful to be part of the Apple II community than ever (limited gene pool
|
||
or not). Our community seems to be peopled by those who have emerged from
|
||
their cocoons as butterflies -- butterflies, moreover, who have no idea how
|
||
much color they bring to the lives of others. I won't go so far as to
|
||
claim that you can be sure that everyone that's using an Apple II has never
|
||
burned down an orphanage, but we seem to have more than our fair share of
|
||
caring individuals, and less than our fair share of ivory-skulled zealots.
|
||
|
||
Of course, it is a personal incident that prompts this observation:
|
||
Recently, my copy of _II Alive_ failed to arrive. Larvae that I am, this
|
||
would have been distressing enough for me as a subscriber, but the issue in
|
||
question was my professional debut. (At last count, it was my fifth
|
||
professional debut.) That is to say, I had contributed a few bijoux to the
|
||
journal in question, and desperately needed my own copy, if only to bring a
|
||
smile to the faces of my parents. As the publisher had distributed its
|
||
entire print run to the clamouring hordes, it seemed future employers were
|
||
going to have to take my word that I had indeed written for _II Alive_.
|
||
|
||
This moving drama swiftly reached a happy ending by the simple
|
||
expedient of visiting GEnie's A2 RoundTable and pleading for a spare copy.
|
||
"Top prices paid!" I yelled from the sidewalks up to the upper-floor
|
||
apartments.
|
||
|
||
The echoes had scarcely faded when Rich Hare from Michigan had his
|
||
spare copy in the post. The cost of posting the magazine from Michigan
|
||
across the Canada-U.S. border was scandalously high given the distance
|
||
travelled, but Mr Hare cheerfully offered to eat the postage costs.
|
||
|
||
Cheerfully, mind you. Not grudgingly; blithely. Despite the fact
|
||
that I've never met Rich Hare. I have, to be sure, occasionally seen the
|
||
ASCII bunny-head with which he signs his messages here on GEnie and on
|
||
CompuServe, but that's the extent of it.
|
||
|
||
As an incident, it's probably not sufficiently remarkable to be the
|
||
subject of an editorial. But it's not the first time such a thing has
|
||
happened -- heck, it's not even the first time such a thing has happened to
|
||
me! Sara Groves, Hal Shapiro, Terry Steeper, and heaven knows how many
|
||
others have rushed to my rescue over the years.
|
||
|
||
Apple II people seem to consider a day lost during which they do not
|
||
practice at least one random act of senseless kindness. Harold Hislop's
|
||
recent arrival on the A2 RoundTable just seems to underline the sense of
|
||
community... hardly a day goes by when Mr Hislop doesn't tell some poor
|
||
caterpillar about to be crushed under the bootheels of indifference, "If
|
||
nothing else works, send your hardware to me. You pay the postage costs,
|
||
and I'll try to fix it." (I'm beginning to think the man gave up sleep at
|
||
the tender age of 8.) Mr Hislop is not the patron saint of the Apple II,
|
||
but it's only because there are too many other contenders.
|
||
|
||
It's not so unusual for computer users to care about their computers
|
||
-- if you don't believe me, disparage someone else's computer platform --
|
||
but those who own Apple II computers seem to care about the computer
|
||
owners. Even those who have little are willing to share what they have.
|
||
Someone who uses a program sees a way to improve it -- and before you know
|
||
it, that someone has taken over support for the program. People actually
|
||
*volunteer* for workloads that seem destined to cause burnout, brownouts,
|
||
blackouts, and knockouts.
|
||
|
||
The first time a complete stranger went considerably out of her way
|
||
to do me a favor, I thanked her until it became positively fulsome. I
|
||
expressed my hope that I could pay her back one day. While the
|
||
conversation that follows comes from Robert A. Heinlein's book, _Job_, it
|
||
could almost be the conversation that we had that day:
|
||
|
||
"...I'll make you a deal. You take me to dinner but I
|
||
lend you the money."
|
||
|
||
"I'm a poor risk."
|
||
|
||
"Nope, you're a good risk. What the bankers call a
|
||
character loan, the very best risk there is. Sometime, this
|
||
coming year, or maybe twenty years from now, you'll run
|
||
across another young couple, broke and hungry. You'll but
|
||
them dinner on the same terms. That pays me back. Then when
|
||
they do the same, down the line, that pays you back. Get
|
||
it?"
|
||
|
||
"I'll pay you back sevenfold!"
|
||
|
||
"Once is enough. After that you do it for your own
|
||
pleasure. Come on, let's eat."
|
||
|
||
It's because of our sense of community that the Apple II gentlefolk
|
||
will enjoy a summer conference in Kansas City, Kansas this July. It
|
||
promises to be quite a banquet. Or didn't you know that the attraction of
|
||
dinner parties was meant to be the conversation, not the bill of fare?
|
||
|
||
-- Doug Cuff
|
||
|
||
GEnie Mail: EDITOR.A2 Internet: editor.a2@genie.geis.com
|
||
|
||
|
||
__________________________________________________________
|
||
| |
|
||
| REPRINTING GEnieLamp |
|
||
| |
|
||
| If you want to reprint any part of GEnieLamp, or |
|
||
| post it to a bulletin board, please see the very end |
|
||
| of this file for instructions and limitations. |
|
||
|__________________________________________________________|
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
.....,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.....
|
||
.,;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;,.
|
||
;;;;%;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;%;;;;
|
||
`;;%%;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;%%;;'
|
||
`;;;%;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;%;;;'
|
||
`;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;'
|
||
`%%%%%%%;#################;%%%%%%%'
|
||
`%%%%%%;###;%%%%%%%%%%;##;%%%%%%'
|
||
`%%%%%;###;%%%%%%%%%%;##;%%%%%'
|
||
%%%%%;#################;%%%%%
|
||
.,;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;,.
|
||
;;;;;;;;;;;vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv;;;;;;;;;;;;
|
||
;;;;@@@@;vvn nnnnnnnnnn nnvv;@@@@;;;;
|
||
`@@@@@@@vv n@@@@nnnn@@@@n nvv@@@@@@@'
|
||
.mmvv@@@@vvn n@@@@@@vv@@@@@@n nnvv@@@@vvmm.
|
||
mmvvv@@@vvnnnn@. )@vv@. )@nnnnnvv@@@vvvmm
|
||
mmvvv;@vvnnnnnn@aa@vvvv@aa@nnnnnnnvv@;vvvmm
|
||
`mvv;@@vvnmmmnvv%mmmmmmmm%vvnmmmmnvv@@;vvm'
|
||
.@@@@@vvnmmmmvv%mmmmmmmmmm%vvmmmmmnvv@@@@@.
|
||
@@@@@@@vvnnnnvv%mmmmmmmmmm%vvnnnnnvv@@@@@@@
|
||
@@@@@@@vvnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn'nnnnnnnvv@@@@@@@
|
||
`@@@@@@@@vvvvvvvvvvvvv::'.vvvvvvvv@@@@@@@@'
|
||
`@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@::@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@'
|
||
`@@@@@@@@@@@@::@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@'
|
||
::'
|
||
;;;
|
||
;;;
|
||
,;;,.....,;;;;'
|
||
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
|
||
`;;;;;;;;;;'
|
||
''''''''
|
||
|
||
ASCII Art by Susie Oviatt
|
||
[SUSIE]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
|
||
HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Is That A Letter For Me?
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
By Douglas Cuff
|
||
[EDITOR.A2]
|
||
|
||
o BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS
|
||
|
||
o A2 POT-POURRI
|
||
|
||
o HOT TOPICS
|
||
|
||
o WHAT'S NEW
|
||
|
||
o THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
|
||
|
||
o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> A2 POT-POURRI <<<
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
FREE UPDATES STILL VALID As I said, I'd let you know how upgading a ROM
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""" 00 GS to a ROM 01 went.
|
||
|
||
In a word "SLICK".
|
||
|
||
Took it to a small Authorized Apple dealership in Rocklin CA (just
|
||
north of Sacramento) where I had purchased my first Apple system (a II+)
|
||
and also purchased my first IIGS system. I went in, walked through all the
|
||
Quadra's & Centra's etc. to the service counter and timidly asked if they
|
||
could possibly update my IIGS.
|
||
|
||
The fellow says "got a ROM 00 there, huh?' (pops off the top and says
|
||
"yup, you need the upgrade - it'll take just a few minutes until someone is
|
||
free to do it". He then went on to tell me what a great machine he thought
|
||
the GS was. In about 20 minutes I was out of there with an invoice marked
|
||
"warranty repair - no charge".
|
||
|
||
Where, but in the "Apple II World", can you get a warranty like that?!
|
||
|
||
Again, THANKS ! to all who informed me about the free update.
|
||
(D.HEYES1, CAT12, TOP5, MSG:508/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
>>>>> I called Apple today (800-SOS-APPL) to ask about the IIc upgrade
|
||
""""" for unidisk and modem compatability. The person I spoke to was
|
||
polite, but said the program was over a long time ago. I insisted he check
|
||
with a supervisor, he returned by saying, "...I like when people like you
|
||
call. I learn something new. The authorization number is _ODL660_."
|
||
|
||
Keith (K.SAGALOW, CAT26, TOP3, MSG:109/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE INTERNET/APPLE II GRIND SITE > How's grind iowa doing toward that
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > goal? Like how many MB are you up to?
|
||
|
||
Well, Steve Nelson (the Apple II FTP admin) is trying to get a
|
||
replacement unit because the drive they have now was coughing up bad blocks
|
||
to the tune of a couple hundred a day. It seems to have settled down now,
|
||
but he's not taking any chances. I have no idea how much is on the drive
|
||
right now, but he is mirroring at least three other Apple II sites to build
|
||
up the file collection. He is investigating the possibility of creating
|
||
accounts for off-site volunteers to aid in the maintenance of the archive.
|
||
|
||
BTW, for those who don't know what the "grind" site is, here's some
|
||
background info. Last year, a few people on the Internet decided it would
|
||
be nice to have a single, comprehensive FTP site for Apple II files. A
|
||
call was put out on the net for donations to buy a 1-gigabyte drive to
|
||
house the archive. While that was going on, the CS students association at
|
||
the University of Iowa agreed to donate their resources to maintain the
|
||
site (thus the address grind.isca.uiowa.edu). Eventually, we collected over
|
||
$1200 in donations. Hard drive prices had been dropping the whole time,
|
||
and now we found we could afford a nice 1.7-gigabyte drive.
|
||
|
||
The idea is to press a CD-ROM for every 500 megabytes of files on the
|
||
site. This could then be sold for a nominal cost and the funds put back
|
||
into running the site and pressing more CD's. The grind site, like most
|
||
FTP sites, is run by volunteers who have a desire to see the project
|
||
succeed. It only recently got off the ground (the HD was installed over
|
||
Christmas), so things are still a bit disorganized, but it'll straighten
|
||
itself out soon.
|
||
|
||
-----|----- Sent by CoPilot (beta)
|
||
*>=====[_]L) for ANSITerm 2.1
|
||
-'-`-
|
||
(B.TAO, CAT10, TOP10, MSG:180/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
IS THIS A VIRUS? The last couple of days I've had a problem show up in
|
||
"""""""""""""""" Co-Pilot, AWGS, and AppleWorks. I'll be working merrily
|
||
along and I'll look up at my screen, and there it will say "Welcome
|
||
Datacomp". Anyone know where this is coming from? Anyone know how I can
|
||
get rid of it?
|
||
|
||
Harold, this could be part of [one of the] problems I have E-mailed
|
||
you about [with your init]
|
||
(EW.CHRISTIAN, CAT12, TOP16, MSG:32/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
>>>>> That's a strange one, never heard of it, seen it, or anything else.
|
||
""""" No idea how to get rid of it. (yep it just might be causing
|
||
problems with my extended keyboard init...)
|
||
|
||
-Harold (H.HISLOP, CAT12, TOP16, MSG:33/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
>>>>> I haven't seen a "new" Apple II virus in a long, long time. Most
|
||
""""" of the original viruses were 5.25" disk-based and did numerous bad
|
||
things. Some of the nastier ones (according to The Exorciser's
|
||
documentation):
|
||
|
||
CyberAIDS (circa 1988) - can destroy the data on all connected drives by
|
||
erasing the root directory and bit map. This was spread via
|
||
"SYS" files in the root directory.
|
||
|
||
Festering Hate (1988) - advanced version of CyberAIDS that attaches itself
|
||
to "SYS" files in ALL folders, not just the root directory.
|
||
|
||
Lode Runner (1988) - destroys data on any connected drives when a certain
|
||
month/day/minute combination occurs. Spread via the boot blocks
|
||
of non-5.25" disks.
|
||
|
||
Blackout (1988?) - messes with the IIgs battery RAM making your IIgs look
|
||
dead even though it's perfectly fine. This one has been talked
|
||
about recently in the A2 BB.
|
||
|
||
You won't find any of these viruses on files in the A2 library. I
|
||
run every file through 2 virus checkers and I check executable files (SYS,
|
||
S16, TIF, PIF, NDA, CDA, ...) for suspicious disk access calls. To date, I
|
||
have found exactly one problem file and it has been deleted. You have to be
|
||
careful when downloading programs from local "pirate" BBSs that carry
|
||
illegal copies of copyrighted software. In the past, hackers would crack
|
||
software (remove the copy protection), install the virus, and upload it to
|
||
every local BBS they could find. There's really not much to worry about
|
||
nowadays because the hackers have moved on to more lucrative platforms (PC,
|
||
Mac, etc.) There's just not enough satisfaction (if you can call it that)
|
||
in planting a virus that relatively few people will ever see. Wow! Did I
|
||
really have to be that verbose? Probably not, but you asked :)
|
||
|
||
Tony Ward [via GEM 4.21/PT 3.1]
|
||
(A2.TONY, CAT12, TOP16, MSG:44/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
TWILIGHT II PASSWORD? Yeah, we're considering a password feature for the
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""" next version.. In the meantime, here's a little
|
||
known trick you can use (but you'll have to do it every time..) with caps
|
||
lock lock: after the screen blanks, hit caps lock, then hit shift-clear.
|
||
the screen will not be able to be unblanked until shift-clear is hit again
|
||
(to reactivate T2).
|
||
|
||
<<Jim (DIGISOFT, CAT13, TOP30, MSG:155/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
HFS FST CHOKES ON DISKS? Is there a new HFS format around? I just bought
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""" the Mac Quadra 840 AV, and it won't read HFS
|
||
disks created by the IIgs. Yet the IIgs will read disks from the 840 AV
|
||
just fine. Another intresting note is that a SE/30 will read my HFS IIgs
|
||
disks, so I know my HFS FST is fine
|
||
|
||
Mike Kingsley (C.KINGSLEY, CAT9, TOP7, MSG:82/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
>>>>> This problem is known, and it's not related to the HFS FST on your
|
||
""""" GS. The problem seems to be some of the new disk drives Apple is
|
||
putting in new Macintosh models.
|
||
|
||
There is an entire topic about this in the Macintosh RT (page 605)
|
||
and Apple has been informed of the problem, but no solution has yet been
|
||
found, other than just always formatting the disks on your Quadra 840av --
|
||
they should then work just fine on your GS and SE/30.
|
||
|
||
Bryan (SOFTDISK.INC, CAT9, TOP7, MSG:83/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
>>>>> Incidentally, that isn't exclusively a Mac/IIgs problem. Even
|
||
""""" old/new _Macs_ occasionally won't read each other's disks. (This
|
||
was making me crazy with the PowerBook.) It makes buying off-the-shelf Mac
|
||
software a real treat. :(
|
||
(POWERPC.PRO, CAT9, TOP7, MSG:84/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
TEXAS II STRAIGHT TALK Someone sent e-mail saying my prices are
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""" confusing. I am sorry about that. Please do not
|
||
hesitate to call (210) 490-6373 for more details.
|
||
|
||
TEXAS II Subscription, 6 issues, printed newsletter ......... $15
|
||
TEXAS II Subscription (Europe, Australia) ................... $18
|
||
TEXAS II on MACROS (3 issues, printed) ................ sent free
|
||
|
||
You must be a subscriber (see above) to order TEXAS II on Disk:
|
||
|
||
Disks 8,9, and 10 (upcoming)...$24 Disks 5,6, and 7 (recent).. $24
|
||
Disks 2,3, and 4 (past)...... $24 Single disks vol.1 to 8 ... $10
|
||
|
||
Kingwood Micro Software, 2018 Oak Dew, San Antonio, Texas 78232-5471.
|
||
(B.CADIEUX, CAT13, TOP15, MSG:159/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
REVIEW OF TULIN DRIVERS This may not be the best review of the Tulin NEC
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""" driver, but I'll bet it is one of the first.
|
||
|
||
System: Apple ][gs with Ramkeeper, 6 meg GSRam+, 10 mhz Zip, Quickie, 240
|
||
''''''' meg Quantum vanilla hard drive, 3M vanilla tape drive, NEC 3Xe
|
||
(triple speed CDROM), 3.5" drive, 5.25" drive, and a few other hangers on.
|
||
|
||
Software: sys 6.01, Quicklaunch, Find File, IR, EGOed, File Manager,
|
||
''''''''' Lithium Grease, Contacts GS, Typeset, Pointless, all latest
|
||
releases.
|
||
|
||
Good stuff: It works, I can read Mac disks, copy files with the Finder,
|
||
''''''''''' or CD Roam. I can sometimes get it to play music through the
|
||
headphone jack.
|
||
|
||
Mediocre stuff: (this is so good to begin with, there is no bad stuff):
|
||
''''''''''''''' Tulin has very sparse documentation.
|
||
|
||
Things omitted: a) you must install the Apple drivers for Multimedia and
|
||
''''''''''''''' CDROM to access the music side of the drive. Otherwise
|
||
GS/OS sees the music CD as a volume and refuses to mount it without trying
|
||
a format. So it ejects by your choice, or by failing to format. Even with
|
||
the drivers, it is an iffy thing to get the NEC CDROM to play music with
|
||
GS/OS.
|
||
|
||
b) dragging the CDROM icon into the trash disconnects the drive, it
|
||
does not eject the disk. To change disks you must change, then drag the
|
||
dimmed disk to the trash. This does not work for music CD's (see below).
|
||
|
||
c) The MAC CD shows up as three volumes, one of which is unreadable
|
||
(device 12 on my machine, so maybe that is part of the problem.
|
||
NEC.CDROM.01.00 is the one in use, the other two Prosel shows in the device
|
||
listing are mysteries to me.
|
||
|
||
d) Music CD's can be listened to if your timing is good. You must
|
||
hit play in the control panel at the right time (or be in an application
|
||
other than the Finder) to intercept the attempt to recognise the disk.
|
||
|
||
e) Prodos 8 stops the music, you lose the recognition of the disk
|
||
too, causing an eject (manually, as the CD controller is confused) and
|
||
re-insert.
|
||
|
||
So What: It's the only game in town, and Tulin will fix it if it's really
|
||
'''''''' broken.
|
||
|
||
Perhaps this needs to be closer to a removable drive type volume.
|
||
|
||
I really like listening to music while I compute, and this is the
|
||
best there is (CD's with headphones). DiskQuest requires this driver for
|
||
the Apple card. The NEC triplespeed is faster than the 5.25, slightly
|
||
slower than the 3.5 drive. I'll do some timing if requested, but for
|
||
speed, you'll get the Ramfast anyway.
|
||
|
||
If you see any glaring errors in my setup or reporting, send it here
|
||
or e-mail me.
|
||
|
||
Rainy @;^)
|
||
(L.WILSON6, CAT20, TOP12, MSG:196/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
QUALITY DISK DUPLICATOR We got our new disk duplicator in last week.
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""" This should virtually ELIMINATE mixups like the
|
||
one with the One-Touch Commands Disk (and the AW 4.01 mailing), since
|
||
instead of having a master disk which is read into the duplicator each time
|
||
a batch of disks is made up, our new duper stores all the masters on a hard
|
||
drive, reducing the likelihood that an obsolete master could be used. The
|
||
duplicator also stores a customized label for each master disk, and applies
|
||
the labels as the disks are duplicated, eliminating mislabeling problems.
|
||
This thing is SLICK (it had better be, for what we paid for it!). In all
|
||
our disk mixups, the problem has been attributable to human error. Remove
|
||
the humans from the process and you can drastically reduce the errors. B)
|
||
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:132/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
BUG STOMPED IN APPLEWORKS 4.0.1 TO 4.0.2 UPDATER The mystery is solved.
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I now know why there
|
||
were reports of errors in copying SEG.DC, a file I wasn't working with at
|
||
all. Bill Carver at Quality added a program to auto-install it, but there
|
||
were some bugs. He's currently working on a new version.
|
||
|
||
If you run the existing MAKE402, your AppleWorks has been
|
||
successfully patched by my MAKE402 program by the time you get the error
|
||
message. You can reboot at that point and run AW 4.02 successfully,
|
||
although you should manually copy SEG.DC from the MAKE402 files to your own
|
||
AppleWorks startup disk if you want to autocopy the dictionaries.
|
||
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:418/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> HOT TOPICS <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
KANSASFEST PLANS The dates are Thursday to Saturday July 21-23. The
|
||
"""""""""""""""" location is Avila College, which in Kansas City,
|
||
Missouri. (Why do we call it KansasFest? I don't know.) Last year the price
|
||
to stay in the dorms at Avila and get breakfast and supper in the cafeteria
|
||
was $30/night double room or $40/night private room. This may change this
|
||
year; we don't have a final contract yet, but it does change it won't
|
||
change by more than +/- $5/night. If you prefer, you can also stay in a
|
||
local hotel and eat in local restaurants.
|
||
|
||
Last year the price of the conference itself was $350. This included
|
||
lunch and snacks on Thursday and Friday. Our tentative plans this year,
|
||
barring opposition here in this topic, are to have the entire conference at
|
||
Avila, as we did the first two years. The last three years we've also used
|
||
the NOMDA conference center, which is a great facility, but expensive. If
|
||
we can do the whole thing at Avila the price will come down by at least
|
||
$100.
|
||
|
||
As always, we need to know what you'd like to see and hear at the
|
||
conference, and we'd like to have some folks volunteer to make
|
||
presentations. Resource Central is a MUCH smaller company than it was a
|
||
year ago, so to pull this off we're going to need more help from those of
|
||
you who love this event to get it all organized. And the more outside help
|
||
we get, the lower we can set the price. Let's talk.
|
||
(TOM.W, CAT23, TOP10, MSG:67/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
>>>>> Do you think that non-programmer, non-hacker, recreational GS users
|
||
""""" would get anything out of Kansas fest?
|
||
(C.GARRETT, CAT23, TOP10, MSG:53/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
>>>>> Would a non-programmer get anything out of Kfest? Depends what you
|
||
""""" consider "fun". If hanging out all night (and I do mean ALL night)
|
||
with a whole bunch of computer phreaks, eating pizza, bouncing from room to
|
||
room, and just partying hardy is your idea of fun, then GFI. KFest is more
|
||
programmer oriented from 09:00 to 17:00, but all the hours in between are
|
||
up for grabs (and several are usually spent at the KC Masterpiece!) --
|
||
HangTime [Script-Central] B-)>
|
||
(A2.HANGTIME, CAT23, TOP10, MSG:54/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
<<<<< The final makeup of the event will depend entirely on who comes.
|
||
""""" Yes, as an ICON event, it opens the possiblity of having info on
|
||
other platforms. Even last year, as an Apple II event, there were an awful
|
||
lot of Macintoshes around. On the other hand, as an event with a long
|
||
history as the premier gathering of Apple II folks, I'm sure the Apple II
|
||
presence will continue to be strong. Users have made up the majority of
|
||
the attendees for some time. While there are seminars that are of interest
|
||
only to developers, there are others that are of a more general interest.
|
||
There is no reason not to come because you're "just a user". There is
|
||
nothing about this event that's outside the control of any of you. Let us
|
||
know what you want and we'll either get it or delegate getting it to you
|
||
<g>. Seriously, Sally, Jeff, and I can't put this whole thing together
|
||
ourselves. We need those of you who want to come to participate in the
|
||
planning and organization, which means you can make it whatever you want it
|
||
to be.
|
||
(TOM.W, CAT23, TOP10, MSG:75/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
>>>>> To reiterate what Tom has said about KansasFest, it is not just
|
||
""""" an event for programmers. I know; I've gone 4 years in a row, and
|
||
I'm not a programmer.
|
||
|
||
I've really enjoyed myself at Kfest, and will attend Kfest 94.
|
||
|
||
I've especially enjoyed hosting a panel/talk the past 2 years, and
|
||
would like to do so again. 2 years ago, I spoke about the FTA and used
|
||
Kfest as a way to publicize the Bouncin'Ferno 2 contest that I set up. Last
|
||
year, my talk _was_ directed towards programmers, and I "shared the secrets
|
||
of the stars" (the shareware stars, that is) in an effort to help shareware
|
||
programmers maximize profits.
|
||
|
||
I'd like to host one or more sessions at KFest 1994. Of course it is
|
||
up to Tom to accept or reject a proposed panel, but before we even get that
|
||
far, I'd like to turn it over the *you*...my fellow Kfest attendee.
|
||
|
||
What would you like to hear me speak about?
|
||
|
||
Joe Kohn (J.KOHN, CAT23, TOP10, MSG:76/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
HYPERCARD IIGS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOADING Hey, I just noticed that there
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" are several files for HyperCard
|
||
GS in the library now! Looks like Apple has released it! Thanks!
|
||
|
||
I'm _so_ glad I didn't buy it! Now I can get it for free! :)
|
||
(P.CREAGER, CAT3, TOP13, MSG:198/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
>>>>> This is a bit misguided -- had more people purchased it, Apple
|
||
""""" might have updated it past 1.1 and made it even more useful. But as
|
||
it stands, the HyperCard IIgs package comes with about 600 pages worth of
|
||
manuals that are not available online, and never will be as far as I can
|
||
tell. If you see a HCGS package for sale and you like the program, you'd
|
||
better purchase it because once everyone is out, there won't be any more
|
||
manuals available.
|
||
|
||
--Matt (M.DEATHERAGE, CAT3, TOP13, MSG:199/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
CD-ROM DRIVES AND DISCQUEST > I know the RamFAST does not currently
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > support on CD-ROMs and I know you were/are
|
||
> working on that. I wasn't sure if you had gotten there yet and if the
|
||
> CD-150 was part of the journey.
|
||
|
||
Whoa! Who said that? My RamFAST certainly works with a variety of
|
||
CD-ROM drives.
|
||
|
||
Hopefully the following diatribe will clear up all the confusion...
|
||
|
||
discQuest SCSI Controller and CD-ROM Drive Compatibility List
|
||
|
||
Card: Apple High Speed SCSI Card
|
||
|
||
Apple CD-150: Complete compatibility
|
||
Apple CD-300: Data is okay, no audio
|
||
NEC (any) : Currently incompatible, a new NEC driver is
|
||
forthcoming from Tulin
|
||
SCSI-2 : depends on the drive, some work fine, some have
|
||
various cosmetic problems (like with
|
||
inserting/ejecting CDs), no audio support
|
||
|
||
Card: RamFAST SCSI Card
|
||
|
||
Texel : Complete compatibility (Sequential's drive is a
|
||
Texel)
|
||
NEC : Complete compatibility
|
||
SCSI-2 : Complete compatibility (any SCSI-2 CD-ROM drive...
|
||
virtually all CD drives made today are SCSI-2,
|
||
ask the vendor)
|
||
AppleCD-150 : Data is okay, audio currently does not work
|
||
|
||
(The Apple CD-300 and PowerCD's are SCSI-2 drive).
|
||
|
||
New news on the CD-150/RamFAST: I have located technical information
|
||
on the CD-150, I should have it in my hands by the end of the week. This
|
||
means the RamFAST will do audio on a CD-150 very shortly.
|
||
|
||
Tulin is finishing up their updated NEC CD-ROM driver for the Apple
|
||
SCSI card. After that one, I have suggested they make a SCSI-2 CDROM
|
||
driver for that card. I encourage everyone with interests at stake to call
|
||
Tulin and encourage them to do so as well.
|
||
|
||
In short, it's all coming together rather well, and I must say I'm
|
||
quite pleased :)
|
||
|
||
Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP12, MSG:179/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
"WHAT'S YOUR RECOMENDATION FOR A RAMFAST?" Anything _but_ an Apple
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CD-150. :) Seriously, the
|
||
RamFAST seems to work great with every CD-ROM drive we've found so far. I
|
||
do not recommend the CD-150 because of the audio support problem, but any
|
||
CD-ROM made today (the CD-150 is obsolete) should work.
|
||
|
||
Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP12, MSG:140/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
DISCQUEST NOW WITH COLOR! discQuest v1.2 is now shipping. Included in
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""" this release are the following enhancements:
|
||
|
||
Bug fixes :)
|
||
|
||
Color rendering of images
|
||
|
||
Various user preferences (including "page" mode mouse movement of
|
||
pictures)
|
||
|
||
Better audio support (incl. new support for the CD-150 & RamFAST!)
|
||
|
||
Additionally, by the end of next week we'll have available Media
|
||
Control drivers for all the CD-ROM drives (w/ RamFAST) that discQuest
|
||
supports.. which is to say, you'll be able to play audio CD's on a RamFAST
|
||
for the first time.
|
||
|
||
Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP12, MSG:206/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> WHAT'S NEW <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
MANAGEMENT CHANGE SyndiComm, Inc., the company that manages the Apple II,
|
||
""""""""""""""""" Macintosh, and PowerPC-related RoundTables on GEnie,
|
||
has been sold to Dean Esmay, who becomes the company's new President. Esmay
|
||
had been the chief sysop of the Apple II and PowerPC RoundTables.
|
||
|
||
Tom Weishaar and Kent Fillmore, former co-owners of SyndiComm, intend
|
||
to remain active on GEnie, but will no longer have any responsiblity for
|
||
the seven SyndiComm-managed RoundTables.
|
||
|
||
(DEAN.ESMAY, CAT3, TOP12, MSG:12/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
WAITLESS PRINT BUFFER FOR APPLEWORKS 4 Special Offers for NAUG Members -
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" AppleWorks 4 Print Buffer
|
||
|
||
AppleWorks 4 co-developer Dan Verkade recently announced the release
|
||
of WaitLess, a set of patches that add automatic print buffering to
|
||
AppleWorks 4. WaitLess lets you use AppleWorks while your printer generates
|
||
your output.
|
||
|
||
Using WaitLess is easy. You print normally from AppleWorks; the print
|
||
thermometer appears on your screen and fills quickly as WaitLess uses the
|
||
AppleWorks desktop memory to store your output. The program then returns
|
||
you to AppleWorks while it prints your document.
|
||
|
||
A TimeOut utility included with WaitLess lets you turn off buffering,
|
||
pause and re-start a print job, or stop the current print job and clear the
|
||
buffer.
|
||
|
||
WaitLess lists for $17. NAUG members can buy the program directly
|
||
from Clear Night Software for $15 plus $3 s/h ($8 s/h for international
|
||
orders).
|
||
|
||
Include a check or money order with your order; Clear Night does not
|
||
accept credit cards. Purchase orders accepted with payment of a $5
|
||
processing charge.
|
||
|
||
WaitLess requires AppleWorks 4.01 or later. The program works on any
|
||
system capable of running AppleWorks 4, but at least 256K of RAM is
|
||
recommended. Clear Night Software maintains a "satisfaction guaranteed or
|
||
your money back" policy for NAUG members.
|
||
|
||
[Clear Night Software, 51 Bowen Road, Perris, California 92571.]
|
||
(NAUG, CAT17, TOP42, MSG:126/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
SCAN COLOR IMAGES WITH YOUR IIGS AND QUICKIE NEW!!! Quickie-C(tm)!!! With
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" our new color adaptor for
|
||
the Quickie scanner, you'll be able to scan color images into your Apple
|
||
IIgs. This process eliminates the need to purchase an expensive hand
|
||
scanner. The adaptor comes complete with scanner cixture. built-in light,
|
||
color filters, and software. Just mount your Quickie scanner green, and
|
||
blue. The software automatically mixes the colors. After just a few
|
||
moments, a color image is displayed on your screen!
|
||
|
||
o Colorize in 16 or 3200 colors in 320-mode
|
||
|
||
o Options for using default desktop palettes to create desktop
|
||
images or 640-mode pictures for use with AppleWorksGS
|
||
|
||
o Software contrast and brightness controls allow find adjustment
|
||
of the final image
|
||
|
||
o Colorize scanned images with different settings as many times as
|
||
needed to produce the desired balance
|
||
|
||
o Wide scan option allows you to scan and colorize and image up to
|
||
8 inches wide
|
||
|
||
o Individual filter rescan functions let you correct scanning
|
||
errors without repeating the three filter passes
|
||
|
||
o Custom viewing mode allows you to scroll around a large picture,
|
||
even in 3200 color mode
|
||
|
||
o Palette sorting makes 3200-color images legible even when viewed
|
||
in 16 colors
|
||
|
||
o Monochrome toning allows you to save more interesting gray-scale
|
||
pictures using Sepia, Red, Blue, Green, and Selenium toning
|
||
effects (standard gray-scale is also still available)
|
||
|
||
o BONUS! With purchase of color adaptor above, Quickie 3.12. New,
|
||
improved algorithm for gray-scale software gives smoother shading
|
||
transitions, and minimizes dithering effects even from newsprint.
|
||
|
||
Quickie-C requires and Apple IIgs equipped with a minimum of 2MB RAM,
|
||
and GS/OS System 6.0, or later.
|
||
|
||
Introductory price: $99.95 (SRP 129.95)
|
||
(VITESSE, CAT40, TOP8, MSG:210/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
BETA BLUEDISK CONTROLLER NOW FOR SALE Silence is golden...
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
...but we don't want to be too golden (we have been busy behind the
|
||
scene). So we think it's time to open sales a bit. You might have noticed
|
||
that a lot of beta tests have been done on the BlueDisk card and the
|
||
results aren't too bad IMHO. We have discussed features of BlueDisk, we
|
||
have fixed some minor bugs, we have changed and optimized the behavior of
|
||
BlueDisk to make disk handling as comfortable as possible. You have heard
|
||
that BlueDisk's appearance in the operating system now comes very close to
|
||
Apple's original drives (this has been a rather difficult thing to do).
|
||
And you have heard that many different disk formats can be read or written
|
||
(and of course formatted). Yes, I dare to say that this is the most
|
||
versatile floppy disk controller for the Apple II. Last not least,
|
||
BlueDisk is the absolutely cheapest way to use high capacity floppy disks
|
||
with your Apple II. If you only read this message, please step back and
|
||
read all messages beginning from mid January 1994 (in addition, two
|
||
BlueDisk pictures are available in the A2 library).
|
||
|
||
BlueDisk's firmware and software have reached a state where we can
|
||
offer cards to you. Yes, you can get a BlueDisk card _now_. You would
|
||
receive a firmware/software that still has "beta version" numbers and there
|
||
still _could_ be some minor bugs. But our tests show that no bugs have
|
||
been left that could be essential to data security.
|
||
|
||
So, once again, we can offer BlueDisk cards which are in "final"
|
||
hardware condition and have "near final" software versions. If software
|
||
upgrades are required, you can get them free via the GEnie A2 library, or
|
||
our beta testers probably will help. Joachim Lange of SHH Systeme confirms
|
||
that all results about beta tests and performance published here in BB
|
||
topic 13 are authentic and true.
|
||
|
||
Here is a short list of things you get if you buy a BlueDisk now:
|
||
|
||
o A floppy disk controller that supports DD, HD and ED MFM floppy
|
||
drives (5.25" and 3.5", "MS-DOS style") in a variety of formats.
|
||
|
||
o a utility disk that contains a GS/OS driver and a program that
|
||
helps you checking MFM drive installation. Additional utilities
|
||
are in work but not complete.
|
||
|
||
o A "draft" manual (preliminary) written in English.
|
||
|
||
o One year limited warranty on parts and labour.
|
||
|
||
o support here in the bulletin board and via the A2 library.
|
||
(BlueDisk works with Apple IIe enhanced and Apple IIGS ROM01 or
|
||
ROM03)
|
||
|
||
Some important features not mentioned before:
|
||
|
||
o Tested with Archiver backup (720K to 2.88meg per disk,
|
||
uncompressed)
|
||
|
||
o Tested with HardPressed
|
||
|
||
o Tested with MTools (MS-DOS read, write (!) and format (!))
|
||
|
||
o Works in slot 5 if slot is set to your card (new)
|
||
|
||
o Tested with PC-Transporter (some restrictions apply: you cannot
|
||
boot MS-DOS, drive parameters must be set up correctly and
|
||
DRIVER.SYS must be installed, _same_ problems that occur with a
|
||
floptical drive connected to a SCSI card).
|
||
|
||
Some important things about what's _not_ working (which, in our
|
||
opinion, isn't the fault of BlueDisk):
|
||
|
||
o ProSel 16 refuses to backup on non-Apple, non-slot 5 floppy
|
||
drives.
|
||
|
||
o Salvation Backup doesn't recognize non-Apple floppy drives.
|
||
|
||
o ProSel 8 Cat Doctor doesn't format correctly.
|
||
|
||
o MFORMAT (MTools v1.3) won't allow to _change_ the low-level
|
||
format of the current disk. Blank disks aren't formatted as
|
||
expected. No GS/OS formatting dialog is presented before
|
||
formatting begins.
|
||
|
||
Pricing: This is an introductory offer and it will be valid for a limited
|
||
'''''''' time only.
|
||
|
||
BlueDisk single card package as described before:
|
||
|
||
US $109 plus $16 shipping/handling
|
||
two packages: $109 each plus $21 s/h
|
||
three packages: $109 each plus $24 s/h
|
||
|
||
Shipping is via standard air mail for overseas orders.
|
||
|
||
Payment: All orders must be prepaid. We accept payment by cash, check or
|
||
'''''''' money order (American or German currency) and payment via post
|
||
office. If payment is _not_ by cash, an additional fee of US $10 (DM 17)
|
||
is required (we have to pay this fee to get the cash for the check). If
|
||
you feel unsure when sending cash, please use registered mail.
|
||
|
||
///SHH SYSTEME Dipl. Ing.
|
||
Joachim Lange
|
||
Bergstrasse 95
|
||
82131 Stockdorf Germany
|
||
GEnie: J.LANGE7
|
||
(J.LANGE7, CAT13, TOP23, MSG:265/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE <<<
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
IIGS FAX SOFTWARE? I noticed several messages in A2 over the past week
|
||
"""""""""""""""""" about people asking for send/receive fax capability
|
||
right from their Apple II. Although it is more likely that Apple IIGS
|
||
users will see this wish fulfilled first, I would not hesitate to say the
|
||
//e and //c may eventually have the proper software as well (Timeout Fax,
|
||
anyone?). :) I also noticed Bill Heinemann was dropping delicious little
|
||
tidbits about SimCity GS in another category. Here is my little
|
||
firestarter. ;-)
|
||
|
||
When file #22282 has been verified and released, please download it
|
||
to see an actual transmission received by GS fax software. The original
|
||
file was twice the size in both dimensions, but it was reduced by 50% to
|
||
make the file size more manageable. I can't give out many more details at
|
||
the moment, except to say Richard Wifall is the author of the software. It
|
||
is presently in alpha, but he expects to begin beta testing in a couple of
|
||
weeks. There is already a working G3->APF converter (that's what produced
|
||
the graphic you see in the library), and there are tentative plans to
|
||
produce it as a stand-alone application, an NDA (for receiving faxes at any
|
||
time) and as a shell utility for GNO and ORCA users.
|
||
|
||
Please post your comments, feature requests, suggestions for a name,
|
||
etc. in this topic. I will forward them to Rich from time to time. If you
|
||
want to contact him yourself, he can be reached on the Internet as
|
||
rwifall@nmsu.edu (RWIFALL@NMSU.EDU@INET# from the GEnie e-mail page).
|
||
(B.TAO, CAT10, TOP9, MSG:1/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
<<<<< The sendfax portion will initially be coded as a standard GS/OS
|
||
""""" device driver. All you do is drop the appropriate faxmodem driver
|
||
in your System folder and away you go. When you're in AWGS, go into the
|
||
"DC Printers" control panel and pick your faxmodem rather than your
|
||
printer. Then you can "print" your document to the faxmodem without having
|
||
to go through a hard copy first! IMHO, this is the *only* reasonable way
|
||
to write a sendfax (i.e., as a printer driver rather than a stand-alone
|
||
utility). This means anything that uses the Print Manager will now have
|
||
fax capability.
|
||
|
||
Faxes generated directly by a computer are MUCH cleaner than the
|
||
spotty, "dirty", misaligned stuff you see with a regular fax machine. The
|
||
graphic file I uploaded will prove this nicely.
|
||
|
||
Number: 22295 Name: FAXCOVER.BXY
|
||
Address: B.TAO Date: 940224
|
||
Approximate # of bytes: 56960
|
||
Library: 23
|
||
|
||
This is the cover page of a fax transmission sent by NEC's
|
||
FastFacts(tm) document request service. The original fax image was
|
||
received on an Apple IIGS running as-yet unnamed software, converted
|
||
and scaled down to a 320-mode 864x1100 APF graphic. You will need
|
||
Platinum Paint 2.0 to view and print this graphic. The ShowMe! NDA
|
||
and FinderView 3.0 Finder extension will also view this oversized APF.
|
||
Please see Category 10, Topic 9 for discussion on fax software for the
|
||
Apple II.
|
||
(B.TAO, CAT10, TOP9, MSG:9/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
SIMCITY FOR THE IIGS Don't count out SimCity GS ...
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
(BURGERBILL, CAT6, TOP2, MSG:158/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
>>>>> And, with that cryptic comment, Bill has set off a new wave of
|
||
""""" rumors and excitement, like nobody else can!
|
||
|
||
Way to go, Bill!! :)
|
||
|
||
-- Eric S.
|
||
(aka Sheppy)
|
||
(E.SHEPHERD, CAT6, TOP2, MSG:159/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
<<<<< It is SimCity Classic (NOT 2000) and it has the terrain editor
|
||
"""""
|
||
Burger (BURGERBILL, CAT6, TOP3, MSG:290/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
ELECTRONIC ARTS BUYS BRODERBUND Interesting note: It was just announced
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" that Broderbund will become a wholly
|
||
owned subsidiary of Electronic Arts. To be finalized in the next few
|
||
months. Maybe now _would_ be a good time to hit them up.
|
||
(P.CREAGER, CAT6, TOP2, MSG:152/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
>>>>> That is scary -- EA now really owns the market, after buying out
|
||
""""" Origin last year. Serria is about the only other really big
|
||
competitor.
|
||
|
||
Bryan (SOFTDISK.INC, CAT5, TOP3, MSG:525/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
WRITING ADVENTURES ON THE IIGS Actually, years and years ago I tried to
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" write a game using Eamon, but it wasn't my
|
||
idea of a great time. :)
|
||
|
||
I've used TADS on MS-DOS, and I can use that quite nicely, but
|
||
there's no IIGS version.
|
||
|
||
One of the other adventure design languages has been ported, but I
|
||
don't like it much.
|
||
|
||
I'm trying to compile Inform, which lets you create Infocom-format
|
||
adventures that can be played by Big Red's Lost Treasures of Infocom
|
||
package, but have run into some problems getting it to compile (ORCA/C is
|
||
running out of memory while building one of the files-- I need to split it
|
||
up :).
|
||
|
||
Another reason I haven't looked at Eamon again is that I read
|
||
somewhere that a new version of Eamon (v7.0?) would be out soon, but I
|
||
haven't seen it yet.
|
||
|
||
-- Eric S.
|
||
(aka Sheppy)
|
||
(E.SHEPHERD, CAT34, TOP9, MSG:264/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
GEM FOR APPLEWORKS 4? We're nearing completion of the beta cycle. As
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""" soon as the documentation changes are completed, we
|
||
will need to do a final short test on the installer and then we'll be
|
||
ready. It shouldn't be long now.
|
||
|
||
Greg [ A2U Guy ] ...via GEM 4.22 and Spectrum
|
||
(A2PRO.GREG, CAT29, TOP4, MSG:52/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE MAGIC NEWS GROUP READER
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
[Now works with:
|
||
AppleWorks 3.0 with UltraMacros 3.1
|
||
AppleWorks 3.0 with Ultra 4, 4.1, 4.2
|
||
AppleWorks 4.x with or without UltraMacros 4.3]
|
||
|
||
Allows readers of Proline USENET/InterNet news groups to quickly read and
|
||
process, WHILE OFF-LINE, their news group captures saved in an AppleWorks
|
||
file. The MNGR greatly facilitates and increase your pleasure and speed
|
||
while reading hundreds of news group messages.
|
||
|
||
For details go to GEnie / A2 / CAT 13 /TOPIC 5
|
||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
||
(G.E.HAYMAN, CAT10, TOP10, MSG:191/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
>>>>> Gary - A few months back, you'd said that as soon as you finished
|
||
""""" the AW 4 version of your Magic News Reader, that you'd then think
|
||
about expanding its use to other than ProLine news reading.
|
||
|
||
Is that still a plan?
|
||
|
||
If so, what can I send you to show you what usenet newsgroups look
|
||
like on my site?
|
||
|
||
I'd love to have an offline usenet reader!
|
||
|
||
Joe Kohn (J.KOHN, CAT10, TOP10, MSG:192/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
<<<<< Right now, THE MAGIC NEWS GROUP READER relies on several
|
||
""""" standards: 1) 'CS-ID: ' starts the FIRST line of each new newsgroup
|
||
message 2) 'Subject: ' starts the FOURTH line of each message
|
||
|
||
With AW4, I feel that that could easily be adjusted to meet a variety
|
||
of headers -- provided the formats remain constant from message to message.
|
||
|
||
Why don't you send me a 'cut' of three or four messages that you
|
||
would normally capture and I could take a look at it to see if I could go
|
||
further with this and possibly expand THE MAGIC NEWS GROUP READER.
|
||
|
||
Joe, handy for you would be the Clipping feature of MNGR. Since you
|
||
are a collector of information for SSII, as you peruse the newsgroups you
|
||
can instantly 'clip' information of interest. Also, the ability to follow
|
||
threads is of great value.
|
||
|
||
TO OTHERS: If your news group messages are different than the
|
||
typical pro-line messages (CS-ID and Subject) then send me a 'cut' of
|
||
yours so that I can play with them.
|
||
|
||
PLEASE: SEND info to me at my EMAIL address of: ghayman@cap.gwu.edu
|
||
|
||
Gary Hayman - MAGICAL SOFTWARE (CAT 13 TOPIC 5)
|
||
(G.E.HAYMAN, CAT10, TOP10, MSG:194/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
APPLEWORKS GS THIS SPRING I was hoping that my mentioning it would spur
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""" Quality into making a official
|
||
announcement/press release here in A2. But since they have remained
|
||
silent, I will give the information that they included in the flyer.BTW
|
||
when you recieve the flyer look on the back page near the mailing
|
||
information. Here is what it says:
|
||
|
||
APPLEWORKS GS 2.0 Coming Spring 94
|
||
Dozens of new & improved features!
|
||
|
||
o Macro record & playback
|
||
o Compatible with Pointless(tm), The Manager(tm), and accelerators
|
||
o System 6 Savvy
|
||
o Import/Export to Macintosh WP format
|
||
o Print Preview
|
||
o Large fonts over 48 point
|
||
o Bezie`r curves and degree rotation in Paint module
|
||
o Text wraps around graphics
|
||
o Auto-Save
|
||
o GS/OS compatible clipboard
|
||
o Pre-defined envelope printer
|
||
o Many, many more!
|
||
|
||
NEW! $99.95 Upgrade from 1.1
|
||
|
||
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
My only question is: If I order now will they wait until they ship
|
||
before they charge my credit card? Now that I think about it thats what
|
||
they did when I ordered AWKS 4.xx
|
||
|
||
My faxed order will go in today!!! Thanks Quality!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
||
(D.SINGLETON2, CAT42, TOP32, MSG:323/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
DIGISOFT TO SELL APPLE II CD A quick status report: the CD is well
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" underway. I'm not predicting a release date
|
||
yet though, as there still are too many variables :-)
|
||
|
||
Thanks for everyone's support!
|
||
|
||
<<Jim (DIGISOFT, CAT13, TOP29, MSG:56/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
LOOKING GOOD IN (LASER) PRINT In a few issues of Shareware Solutions II,
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I have referred to low cost laser printer
|
||
options. A few issues back, I mentioned that the Okidata OL400e, a 300 DPI
|
||
laser printer that offered HP LaserJet IIP series compatibility, was
|
||
available for less than $500. If I remember correctly, I may have even
|
||
offered my opinion that this printer was the printer that was going to
|
||
start a laser printer price war.
|
||
|
||
Imagine my surprise when I looked at my local newspaper today, and
|
||
saw a huge ad for CompUSA - a computer "superstore" with branches around
|
||
the country - offering the Oki OL400e for $389!?!
|
||
|
||
Imagine that? A laser printer for less than $400?! Such A Deal!!
|
||
|
||
Offering HP LaserJet IIP series compatibility, this printer is
|
||
definitely worth checking out. It is essentially "plug and print" with the
|
||
Apple II or IIGS. As you know, Shareware Solutions II is produced on an HP
|
||
LaserJet II serie printer, so you should have an idea - if you've seen SSII
|
||
- of what a LJ II is capable of outputting from an Apple II.
|
||
|
||
I have not personally used this printer, so don't take this post as
|
||
an endorsement of the Oki OL400e. But, if you are thinking of buying a new
|
||
printer, you owe it to yourself to visit a CompUSA (or other computer
|
||
warehouse stores) and see the OL400e for yourself. In the final analysis,
|
||
only you can decide if this printer is worth buying for your Apple II
|
||
system.
|
||
|
||
Joe Kohn (J.KOHN, CAT28, TOP4, MSG:313/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<<
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
Category 5, Topic 3
|
||
Message 507 Tue Feb 08, 1994
|
||
A2.LUNATIC [Lunatic] at 00:05 EST
|
||
|
||
|\|ot to bring up an old arguement, again (uh oh, too late...), but Woz
|
||
would have really done a disservice to those students to have bought them
|
||
Apple IIs NOW, unless he was going to write all the software for them
|
||
himself, service the hardware, and adapt many new peripherals for them on
|
||
his own. I'm sure Woz loves the Apple II as much as we all do, but the
|
||
simple fact is, for new purchases, and for longevity, it just isn't the
|
||
best buy. Yes, if he'd been allowed to buy used equipment, he could have
|
||
gotten a good deal on Apple IIs -- but I don't know of any schools that
|
||
allow large purchases of used equipment, and I don't know of any single
|
||
vendor that would have full labs' worth of appropriate Apple IIs and
|
||
associated hardware and software to sell (much less service and support).
|
||
|
||
\/\/e're here, we love our machines, they do what we want, they have
|
||
lots of life and new capabilities left in them, and we're going to stick by
|
||
them (and them by us) for a long time to come. But our world, the Apple II
|
||
world, is not growing any more, and we shouldn't expect it to. We are
|
||
still here IN SPITE of everyone else, and that's because we, as Apple II
|
||
users, owners, and programers, have the strength to weather these blows.
|
||
To ask others to join us now, as we stand shoulder to shoulder against the
|
||
crushing hordes of the MS-DOS/Windows/Mac industry, would not be fair.
|
||
|
||
][t takes strength to be an Apple II user, today.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-= Lunatic (:
|
||
|
||
[*][*][*]
|
||
|
||
|
||
While on GEnie, do you spend most of your time downloading files?
|
||
If so, you may be missing out some excellent information in the Bulletin
|
||
Board area. The messages listed above only scratch the surface of
|
||
what's available and waiting for you in the bulletin board area.
|
||
|
||
If you're serious about your Apple II, the GEnieLamp staff strongly
|
||
urge you to give the bulletin board area a try. There are literally
|
||
thousands of messages posted from people like you from all over the
|
||
world.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[REF]//////////////////////////////
|
||
REFLECTIONS /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Thinking About Online Communications
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
By Phil Shapiro
|
||
[P.SHAPIRO1]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> SHARED LONG DISTANCE BILLING: A PHONE SERVICE LONG OVERDUE <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
Each month my phone company sends me information about the new
|
||
enhanced phone services they have to offer. And each month I scan the list
|
||
looking for something that might truly be useful. It seems at times that
|
||
phone companies have gone to great lengths to provide every new feature we
|
||
don't need, and few new features that we do need.
|
||
|
||
At the top of the list of enhanced features the phone company should
|
||
be providing is "shared billing". Shared billing is a way of splitting the
|
||
cost of long distance calls between the caller and the receiver of the
|
||
call. The concept of "shared billing" has great possible uses in both the
|
||
business and residential phone market.
|
||
|
||
Take, for instance, the case of a small business that sells its
|
||
products nationwide. If the business cannot afford to set up a toll-free
|
||
phone line, it is faced with a difficult dilemma: it cannot afford to pick
|
||
up the entire cost of calls from prospective customers, yet it does not
|
||
want to shift the cost of those calls entirely onto the shoulders of those
|
||
prospective customers. Both the small business and the prospective
|
||
customer have a shared interest in the communication taking place from such
|
||
a call.
|
||
|
||
So it would be to everyone's benefit if the billing would be shared.
|
||
The end result? When each party feels that the conversation should come to
|
||
an end, the call can be terminated. Both parties can avoid being in the
|
||
awkward position of picking up the entire cost of the call.
|
||
|
||
Likewise, shared billing would be fondly embraced by long distance
|
||
lovers. With Janine in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Justin in Washington DC,
|
||
what better way to promote a harmonious relationship than to have long
|
||
distance bills split evenly on both phone bills? Chances are long distance
|
||
lovers would spend even more time on the phone than they already do if the
|
||
billing of the calls were shared.
|
||
|
||
How might this "shared billing" service be implemented, you ask?
|
||
Very much in the same way that long distance collect calls are now
|
||
implemented. The calling party might dial a special two digit prefix to
|
||
signal that he or she wanted to place a "shared billing" call. So Justin
|
||
in Washington, DC might prefix Janine's phone number with the two digits
|
||
"99."
|
||
|
||
The long distance phone company would then recognize that a shared
|
||
billing call was being placed. The next step would be for the long
|
||
distance phone company to prompt Justin to clearly enunciate his name and
|
||
city, so that Janine can be alerted to an incoming shared billing call from
|
||
her beloved.
|
||
|
||
Janine, on her side, would receive a phone call that started with an
|
||
automated message from the long distance phone company. The automated
|
||
message would run something to the effect: "A shared billing call has been
|
||
placed to this number from Justin in Washington DC. Press the two digits
|
||
99 to accept this call."
|
||
|
||
Janine could then have the option of accepting or declining the
|
||
"shared billing" call.
|
||
|
||
It seems to me that the "shared billing" concept goes far beyond a
|
||
"mere convenience". When used in a business setting, "shared billing"
|
||
could act as a serious stimulus to small business. Considering the vital
|
||
role that small businesses will be playing in the information age economy,
|
||
this new phone feature could speed up the wheels of our economy in ways
|
||
that will benefit consumers and businesses alike.
|
||
|
||
Considering its possible uses in both residential and business phone
|
||
service, long distance companies would do well to give serious thought to
|
||
bringing "shared billing" services online. In case the executives at phone
|
||
companies are too busy with their conference calls to read this article, my
|
||
message to them can be boiled down to: "Get smart. Call 99."
|
||
|
||
-Phil Shapiro
|
||
|
||
[*][*][*]
|
||
|
||
The author takes a keen interest in the social dimensions of
|
||
communications technology. He can be reached on GEnie at:
|
||
P.SHAPIRO1; on America Online at: pshapiro.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[BEG]//////////////////////////////
|
||
BEGINNER'S CORNER /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Polishing Green Apples
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
By Steve Weyhrich
|
||
[S.WEYHRICH]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> HOOKED ON STORAGE (Part 1) <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
PREAMBLE We hold these truths to be self evident; that not all computers
|
||
"""""""" or their users are created equally. Therefore, with this
|
||
Polishing Green Apples article I will begin a discussion about hard disks,
|
||
which can level the playing field somewhat between our favorite computer
|
||
and those Big Blue and Big Mac things out there. I plan to address their
|
||
internal workings (the basics), what they can be used for, their cost, how
|
||
to use them to the fullest, and anything else of interest that I can come
|
||
up with.
|
||
|
||
|
||
CONSUME MASS QUANTITIES! When talking about the resources of your
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""" computer (memory, storage, and speed), most
|
||
newer applications for the Apple II and IIgs tend to do just that: Consume
|
||
mass quantities. Okay, so you probably don't absolutely NEED a hard drive
|
||
in order to make use of your computer. You CAN continue to use floppy
|
||
disks, either 5.25 inch (which hold 143K) or 3.5 inch (holding 800K). You
|
||
do NOT need to take advantage of any of those ads that recently have
|
||
appeared for low cost hard disks or "floptical" drives...
|
||
|
||
...and you don't really NEED power steering, power brakes, fuel
|
||
injection, AM/FM Cassette, or air bags in your new car...
|
||
|
||
But...
|
||
|
||
...those items can sure make things easier for you as a driver. And
|
||
in the same way, a hard disk can make things significantly more convenient
|
||
for you as a computer user, whether you consider yourself a "power" user or
|
||
not. In fact, using an Apple IIgs WITHOUT a hard drive is getting
|
||
downright frustrating these days. Some newer applications require so much
|
||
disk swapping (even with TWO of the 3.5 drives) that they can become more
|
||
hassle than they are worth.
|
||
|
||
Let's face it, the "good ol' days" when a program AND its data files
|
||
would fit comfortably on a 143K floppy disk are long gone. Programs are
|
||
larger (because users have demanded more and better features), and the data
|
||
files that they create and use have also become larger. Additionally, just
|
||
keeping track of your library of programs can become difficult when they
|
||
are spread over some 30 to 50 (for some users, over 200) different disks.
|
||
|
||
As in an earlier article, let's begin with some pertinent
|
||
definitions. For a general review on how disks work at their most basic
|
||
level, I suggest you obtain the February 1993 GEnieLamp A2, which carried
|
||
part 9 of my AppleII History. (Either file #1078 or #1075 from GEnie's
|
||
DigiPub libraries.) In that segment I explained in detail the concept of
|
||
interleave, and how it affects the speed at which data can be read from or
|
||
written to disks, which is applicable to hard disks as well as the older
|
||
floppy disks.
|
||
|
||
|
||
DEFINITIONS (for disk drives)
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
Disk A storage device, usually made up of a plastic film coated with
|
||
'''' magnetic particles (much like the tape used in audio cassettes).
|
||
Aligning these tiny magnetic specks one way represents a binary "0", and in
|
||
another direction as a binary "1".
|
||
|
||
Floppy disk A flexible disk within a protective envelope of firmer
|
||
''''''''''' plastic. It has most commonly come in 5 1/4 (or 5.25) inch
|
||
size in the past, (and 8 inches also, but that size never penetrated very
|
||
far in the Apple II world). However, the newer 3 1/2 (or 3.5) inch size
|
||
has been popularized over the past ten years by the Macintosh and other
|
||
newer generation computers. Strictly speaking, the 3.5 disks are still
|
||
considered to be "floppy", even though the flexible part of the disk is
|
||
encased in a hard plastic shell with a metal sliding window to afford
|
||
greater protection to the surface of the disk.
|
||
|
||
Hard disk Also known as a "fixed disk", this device is significant for
|
||
''''''''' its much greater storage capacity. Where the Apple II standard
|
||
5.25 disk typically holds about 143K of data, and a 3.5 disk holds 800K
|
||
(.14 and .78 meg, respectively), a hard disk holds anywhere from 5 meg to
|
||
over 1000 meg of data. A hard disk is not usually as portable as a floppy
|
||
disk, since it is built directly into the mechanism that reads and writes
|
||
the data. However, a company known as Syquest has created a series of hard
|
||
disks that are removable, with capacities of 44 meg, 88 meg, and 105 meg.
|
||
|
||
Magneto-optical drive These drives are currently significantly more
|
||
''''''''''''''''''''' expensive than other mass storage drives available.
|
||
However, their storage capacity is quite high, and the disks are NOT
|
||
sensitive to stray magnetic fields as are most other disks used in
|
||
computers. The term "magneto-optical" means that this type of disk uses
|
||
both magnetic AND optical technology in it function.
|
||
|
||
An optical disk is much like a CD or CD-ROM, except that it can be
|
||
written to. When reading, a laser is aimed at the disk surface, and the
|
||
direction that the light is deflected determines whether it was a "1" bit
|
||
or "0" bit. When writing, a higher-powered laser heats the disk surface to
|
||
the point where its previous "1" or "0" is erased, and while it cools, a
|
||
magnetic field is used to determine the NEW bit that is written there.
|
||
|
||
Because it is more complicated, the currently magneto-optical drives
|
||
are slower than standard hard drives, but the resistance of the disks to
|
||
accidental erasure make them more reliable for long-term storage. This is
|
||
currently as close to a re-writable CD-ROM that we have gotten.
|
||
|
||
Floptical This is a trademarked term, which means "floppy drive,
|
||
''''''''' optically tracked". It is made by only a few companies that
|
||
have joined together to create and market these drives as a mass storage
|
||
alternative to the traditional fixed or hard drive. The disks look just
|
||
like a standard 3.5 floppy disk, but is very different in the amount of
|
||
data it can hold, currently either 20 or 40 megs. This type of a storage
|
||
device is similar to older drives in the way which data is stored on the
|
||
disk surface, using a magnetic read/write head. However, other types of
|
||
disk drives use a stepper motor or a mechanical screw to position the
|
||
read/write head over the disk surface; a magneto-optical drive uses an
|
||
optical sensor to determine where on the disk surface the head should be
|
||
placed. With this method, higher densities of data storage can be
|
||
obtained, 1245 tracks per inch, compared to the more typical 135 tracks per
|
||
inch on a standard floppy disk. However, it also requires a disk medium
|
||
that has been specially created to containing the tracking marks that the
|
||
optical sensor uses to place the read/write head, and so each disk is
|
||
significantly more expensive than a standard 3.5 floppy.
|
||
|
||
Another advantage of the Floptical drives are their ability to ALSO
|
||
handle the standard (in the MS-DOS world) 720K and 1.44 meg 3.5 inch floppy
|
||
disks. So with this disk drive you can have the advantages of a large
|
||
removable storage device, plus the ability to manage older types of disks.
|
||
|
||
CD-ROM drive An audio CD uses a laser to read the digitized musical
|
||
'''''''''''' "data" from the disk and relay that to other circuitry,
|
||
which turns it into sound. A CD-ROM does the same thing, but uses it
|
||
simply as data which COULD be sound, but also can be programs, pictures,
|
||
and more. These drives are getting to a critical mass in the computer
|
||
marketplace, and more CD-ROM disks are becoming available all the time.
|
||
|
||
Although SCSI CD-ROM drives meant for the Macintosh have been usable
|
||
on the Apple II and IIgs for some time, there have not been many of the
|
||
CD-ROM disks that were useful for our computer. However, the new discQuest
|
||
software from Sequential Systems makes it possible to utilize the
|
||
proprietary coded data on many of the popular CD-ROMs that are available,
|
||
opening up the CD-ROM world to the Apple II.
|
||
|
||
Tape drive The original tape drive for the Apple II was a standard
|
||
'''''''''' cassette recorder using audio tapes. It was slow and not very
|
||
easy to use. Modern tape drives are capable of higher density for data
|
||
storage, and faster access. However, because of the way that a tape works
|
||
-- in a linear fashion -- tape access will never be as fast as disk access.
|
||
(This is for the same reason that it is faster to jump between songs on a
|
||
record album or a CD in random order than to rewind and fast-forward a
|
||
cassette to do the same thing.) These are used primarily for backing up
|
||
data from a hard disk.
|
||
|
||
RAM disk Acts just like a disk drive with moving parts, but is in reality
|
||
'''''''' just a bank of RAM chips with software that designates where
|
||
data is stored in the bank. The advantage is speed (no moving parts to
|
||
wait for), but the disadvantage is data stored on a RAM disk disappears
|
||
when the power is turned off.
|
||
|
||
Backup/restore Because the law that states "Anything that can go wrong,
|
||
'''''''''''''' will go wrong" definitely applies to computers, it is
|
||
necessary to ensure that if something goes wrong with your large storage
|
||
device you have a protection from loss of important data files. Think of
|
||
it as "safe computing". In this case, it does not involve a condom, but
|
||
rather making a duplicate copy of your vital files and keeping the copy in
|
||
a safe place. With floppy disks, it may be as simple as duplicating the
|
||
entire disk, and then putting the duplicate away. For a hard disk, it is
|
||
unlikely that you just happen to have ANOTHER hard disk sitting around to
|
||
use for backing it up. In that case, you need to be able to write part of
|
||
the hard disk files to several smaller capacity disks, or perhaps to a
|
||
tape. When you load files back onto your hard disk from the backup disks,
|
||
this is called "restoring" the files.
|
||
|
||
Sector A term describing a certain number of bytes that are stored as a
|
||
'''''' group on the disk surface. In DOS 3.3, data was read from or
|
||
written to the disk in 256-byte sectors. This was felt to be the best
|
||
compromise between the limited memory available on older Apple IIs
|
||
(requiring smaller sector sizes) and the speed of disk access (which could
|
||
be improved with larger sector sizes).
|
||
|
||
With the small disk capacities available with the older Apple II
|
||
operating systems (143K for DOS 3.3, and 112K for DOS 3.2), a smaller
|
||
sector size made more sense. This is because even if a file consisted of
|
||
only 50 bytes of data, 256 bytes was still the minimum size that could be
|
||
used as a holding space for that data on the disk. The other 206 bytes
|
||
were wasted space. A larger sector size would just have the potential for
|
||
wasting more space if many small files were stored on the disk. An older
|
||
operating system, CP/M, used 128-byte sectors. However, as a file gets
|
||
larger and larger, it requires more overhead in the directory to store the
|
||
map that tells the disk system where the sectors that make up the file can
|
||
be found. A larger sector size makes for smaller file maps.
|
||
|
||
Block The Sophisticated Operating System (SOS) designed for the Apple III
|
||
''''' redesigned the data structure for disk access so 512-byte chucks of
|
||
data were used. These were called "blocks", and allowed data to be read a
|
||
bit faster with each disk operation; reading 256 bytes twice was slower
|
||
than reading 512 bytes once. ProDOS was designed as a subset of SOS, and
|
||
so used exactly the same disk format.
|
||
|
||
Track Data stored on the surface of a disk are arranged as concentric
|
||
''''' circles, one within another. These circles of data are called
|
||
tracks. Each type of disk device has its own peculiarities as to how many
|
||
tracks can be utilized on the disk surface, and how many sectors or blocks
|
||
can be placed on a single track. The older 5.25 disks used on the Apple II
|
||
have a standard of 16 sectors per track, and 35 tracks per disk (DOS 3.2
|
||
could only handle 13 sectors per track). The 3.5 disks use a varying
|
||
number of sectors per track, with fewer as you go from the outer rim of the
|
||
disk toward the center. Since the tracks are smaller in diameter at the
|
||
inner part of the disk, there is less disk media available for packing data
|
||
into blocks (fewer inches of disk pass under the read/write head until the
|
||
track starts over), and so some disk devices have fewer blocks per track on
|
||
the inner tracks.
|
||
|
||
Interleave Refers to the way in which groups of data are written to a
|
||
'''''''''' disk to achieve the best throughput and speed for the device
|
||
being used. A fast disk drive might be able to use a 1:1 interleave, where
|
||
the physical number of a disk sector corresponds to the logical number of
|
||
the data sector being written to it. A slower drive or slower controlling
|
||
software may need to use a 2:1 or higher interleave, to allow the drive to
|
||
read a sector, and while it is processing it, have one or more disk sectors
|
||
pass beneath the read/write head that are ignored. If the interleave is
|
||
set correctly, the disk should be at the right position when the software
|
||
is ready for the next sector of data to be immediately read.
|
||
|
||
DOS 3.3 (NOT the "DOS 3.3" that was released by Microsoft for the IBM PC
|
||
''''''' a few years ago.) This oldest disk operating system for the
|
||
Apple II still in use. (DOS 3.3 was preceded by DOS 3.1, 3.2, and 3.2.1,
|
||
but they are little more than historical curiosities now.) It is limited
|
||
primarily to 5.25 disks, although with some patches it can be made to work
|
||
on hard disks or 3.5 disks. This disk operating system is quite liberal in
|
||
the types of characters allowed in naming files. A filename under DOS 3.3
|
||
can be nearly ANY character in the ASCII set, even if that character would
|
||
not display on the screen; however, it may not handle lowercase characters
|
||
well, since it was designed to work with the Apple II Plus, which did not
|
||
have lowercase. A filename must start with a printable letter (A-Z), but
|
||
after that, anything goes. Examples include "APPLE-VISION", "A REALLY #$%@
|
||
FILE", or "THIS FILE IS _____". The length of the filenames was limited to
|
||
30 characters or less.
|
||
|
||
ProDOS Known now as ProDOS 8, it stands for "Professional Disk Operating
|
||
'''''' System", and is more flexible than DOS 3.3 in the types of disk
|
||
devices it will support, and how much capacity on each disk is allowed. A
|
||
filename under ProDOS must start with a letter, is limited to only 15
|
||
characters, and those characters can only be letters, numbers, or a period.
|
||
Examples include "BASIC.SYSTEM", "B1.2.3.WOW", "B.....C...D". The largest
|
||
size disk device supported under ProDOS is 32 meg, and so a hard disk that
|
||
is larger than 32 megs must be partitioned into multiple volumes that are
|
||
32 megs or smaller.
|
||
|
||
One of the other advances that came about with ProDOS 8 was device
|
||
independence. That is, ProDOS was not tied down to a specific type of disk
|
||
hardware, as DOS 3.3 was (which was designed to work only with 5.25 disks,
|
||
although it was patched many different ways to allow it to use other types
|
||
of disk devices). As far as ProDOS is concerned, if the software that
|
||
controls a disk device responds to certain types of commands in the right
|
||
way, it does not care whether that device is a 5.25 disk, 3.5 disk, hard
|
||
disk, RAM disk, or tape drive. If the right controlling software was
|
||
designed, you could even attach a computer via a phone line and modem to a
|
||
large disk storage device elsewhere, and data could be saved and loaded
|
||
from that remote device just as if it was right there on the desk next to
|
||
the computer. In fact, an AppleTalk network works very much like that
|
||
example (minus the phone line and modem, of course).
|
||
|
||
GS/OS A true chameleon of an operating system. Its earlier incarnation,
|
||
''''' ProDOS 16, was shipped with the original Apple IIgs, and in that
|
||
form ONLY handled disk input and output, and actually made use of the older
|
||
8-bit code in ProDOS 8 for most of what it did. When GS/OS came out, it
|
||
was designed to deal with nearly everything that the computer did, in
|
||
addition to disk functions.
|
||
|
||
Directory A list of files on a disk, usually including other information
|
||
''''''''' about the file's size, the date it was created or modified, and
|
||
the kind of information the file holds.
|
||
|
||
Catalog The same as a directory, but an older name used with DOS 3.3 or
|
||
''''''' earlier operating systems.
|
||
|
||
Subdirectory Just like a directory, but at a "deeper" level than the main
|
||
'''''''''''' or root directory on a disk. Makes it possible to organize
|
||
files in different groups.
|
||
|
||
Partition This refers to a method of taking a disk device and "breaking
|
||
''''''''' it up" into two or more smaller sized disks. On a PHYSICAL
|
||
basis, this does not mean that the disk is actually changed. On a LOGICAL
|
||
basis, the disk device may either have a storage capacity that exceeds what
|
||
the operating system is able to handle, or it may need to be divided up for
|
||
the convenience of the user.
|
||
|
||
A disk drive that has been partitioned into two or more smaller
|
||
devices may APPEAR to the computer and its disk operating system as if
|
||
there were more than one PHYSICAL device attached. For example, the
|
||
maximum size disk volume that ProDOS can handle is 32 megs. If a 40 meg
|
||
hard disk is attached to a computer running the ProDOS operating system,
|
||
only 32 megs of it will be usable, and 8 megs would be unavailable and
|
||
therefore wasted. Partitioning that disk into different sized volumes
|
||
(20/20 or 30/10 or 32/8) allows ALL of it to be used for storage.
|
||
|
||
With the older DOS 3.3 operating system, in which a 143K disk size
|
||
was standard, hard drives used at that time were logically divided up into
|
||
multiple 143K volumes. In this case, there was still a particular slot and
|
||
drive that was assigned to the disk controller card, but any particular
|
||
143K "disk" on that hard disk was accessed via a "V" parameter ("V" for
|
||
volume) in DOS 3.3 disk commands. A catalog command would then be issued
|
||
as "CATALOG,S5,D1,V1", "CATALOG,S5,D1,V2", and so on.
|
||
|
||
SCSI Stands for "Small Computer Systems Interface", and is usually
|
||
'''' pronounced "scuzzy". It refers to a set of commands that are used
|
||
to control storage devices of various types. The SCSI protocol even allows
|
||
the use of devices such as modems and printers, but I haven't seen much of
|
||
this penetrate into personal computers as a whole, and none have appeared
|
||
for any computer in the Apple II line.
|
||
|
||
When the term "SCSI" is used with the name of another piece of
|
||
hardware, it means that that device is intended to be used on a chain of
|
||
devices that all communicate with one another via the SCSI command set.
|
||
Therefore, a SCSI cable is used to connect a SCSI hard drive and a SCSI
|
||
tape drive to the SCSI controller card plugged into a computer.
|
||
|
||
Generally speaking, connecting a SCSI device to a computer is no more
|
||
complicated than turning off the power, plugging it in, and turning it back
|
||
on. In reality, however, this sometimes requires a bit more to be done to
|
||
make it function properly.
|
||
|
||
|
||
CONCLUDING STATEMENTS We'll stop here for now, and let you chew on that
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""" for a while. Next time I will begin to get into
|
||
some suggestions on how to organize your hard disk to get the best use out
|
||
of it. In the meantime, keep your eyes on those sale prices -- hard disks
|
||
are getting more affordable all the time!
|
||
|
||
|
||
[*][*][*]
|
||
|
||
Steve Weyhrich is a family physician from Omaha, Nebraska. He
|
||
has been using Apple II computers since 1981, and writing about
|
||
them since 1990. He follows closely the events that continue to
|
||
shape the destiny of the legendary Apple II and IIgs computers,
|
||
and writes a monthly column called the "A2 News Digest" for
|
||
A2-Central disk magazine. He is also the author of the "Apple II
|
||
History", available on fine BBSes everywhere.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[TEC]//////////////////////////////
|
||
TECH TALK /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Apple II Hybrids
|
||
""""""""""""""""
|
||
By Jay Curtis
|
||
[J.CURTIS8]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> FILE SYSTEMS AND THE PC TRANSPORTER <<<
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
Who really needs a PC Transporter? After all, in a world that has
|
||
become thoroughly dominated by Microsoft Windows, what advantage is there
|
||
in adding what is "merely" a DOS engine to an Apple II?
|
||
|
||
When considering this question, it is good to keep in mind that
|
||
Windows must run on top of DOS, and nearly anything that can be written to
|
||
MS-DOS can be imported to a Windows application. In fact, some DOS
|
||
fanatics view Windows as little more than a specialized DOS user interface,
|
||
program launcher and file manager.(1) If you happen to be someone who
|
||
loves the capabilities of their Apple IIe or IIgs, but must routinely work
|
||
in the MS-DOS and/or Macintosh worlds, the addition of a PCT card may be a
|
||
perfect option to pursue.
|
||
|
||
Any Apple II user who has ever had to work on a PC, however, knows
|
||
that MS-DOS is a pain to navigate from the command line. More current
|
||
versions of MS-DOS (4.0, 5.0 and 6.x) have made desktop navigation easier
|
||
by supplying a shell with pull down menus, popup dialogue boxes, and mouse
|
||
capability. On the PC Transporter, the Apple mouse works acceptably with
|
||
MS-DOS programs that use the mouse. Hybrid users must, however, configure
|
||
the PCT by adding the appropriate mouse drivers through the PCT's control
|
||
panel and through MS-DOS. Several users have reported running MS-DOS 6.2
|
||
(the latest version) with no problems on their Apple II/PC hybrids. Many
|
||
more, however, continue to use MS-DOS 3.3 and 5.0, regarding them as the
|
||
most stable and least likely DOS versions to cause any difficulties.
|
||
|
||
Applied Engineering gives users the option of attaching a PC keyboard
|
||
to their Transporter or of using the Apple keyboard and mouse in PC
|
||
emulation. Apple users who are most comfortable with their Apple keyboard
|
||
will probably want to use Applied's emulation rather than attaching the PC
|
||
keyboard. The emulation relies upon the use of macro key combinations for
|
||
function keys and upon key substitutions on the numeric keypad for such
|
||
things as page up, page down, right, left, numlock, print screen, etc.
|
||
|
||
GS/OS vs MS-DOS Unlike GS/OS users, who have up to 8MB of directly
|
||
""""""""""""""" addressable, conventional RAM available, MS-DOS users
|
||
have had to beg, borrow and steal additional RAM to get beyond the basic
|
||
640K to which MS-DOS has always been limited. Consequently, there now
|
||
exists a confusing potpourri of memory protocols for "messydos" users,
|
||
which include "Conventional, Expanded, Extended, High, and Upper" memory.
|
||
DOS users, who need to run Windows or other memory-hungry applications on a
|
||
regular PC, must configure DOS to use these additional areas of memory for
|
||
storage of device drivers, TSRs,(2) and parts of the operating system
|
||
itself. Most Apple II/PC hybrid users, however, will probably not need to
|
||
bother with all of these machinations, given that GS/OS or ProDOS will be
|
||
used as their principal operating system.
|
||
|
||
As 16-bit operating systems go, GS/OS 6.0.1 pretty well beats MS-DOS
|
||
6.2 hands down. Even the most casual user can't help but notice the
|
||
superiority of the GS/OS desktop user interface over the MS-DOS shell on a
|
||
640x200 display. There are better color availability, use of icons,
|
||
resizable and movable windows, superior sound capability and much superior
|
||
program launching and file management. MS-DOS users must always add
|
||
Windows to DOS to get anything comparable to GS/OS. Even then, many Apple
|
||
users feel that Windows comes up short. Beneath the obvious cosmetic
|
||
advantage over MS-DOS is GS/OS's ability to function as a full operating
|
||
system which manages virtually every aspect of I/O. The ease with which
|
||
GS/OS can be configured and expanded through the use of desk accessories,
|
||
control panel devices, inits, system extensions and so forth, should make
|
||
PC users green with envy.
|
||
|
||
However, despite the advantages of GS/OS over MS-DOS, PC users are
|
||
NOT green with envy. In fact, millions upon millions of them blithely use
|
||
their computers each day, quite unaware that there might be anything any
|
||
better than MS-DOS or Windows. It has been said so often that it has
|
||
become cliche, yet it still bears repeating: If Apple had not held back
|
||
development of GS/OS or promotion of the IIgs, there would probably be many
|
||
fewer MS-DOS machines around now, especially in education. Because today's
|
||
students are tomorrow's business market, more earnest promotion of the
|
||
Apple II series would have made good business sense. Nonetheless, that
|
||
isn't how it all came about. The important point for Apple II users to
|
||
consider about MS-DOS is that, while it may not be especially wonderful, it
|
||
is UBIQUITOUS.
|
||
|
||
MS-DOS TERRITORY In my city, the "MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade" package occupied
|
||
"""""""""""""""" the largest portion of software retail shelf space in
|
||
nearly every software retail store I visited this past December. In 1992,
|
||
IBM added the ability to run multiple DOS sessions simultaneously under
|
||
their most advanced operating system, OS/2.(3) Earlier versions of OS/2
|
||
could run only one DOS session. That change, along with increased support
|
||
for Windows, have probably contributed to a four-fold increase in OS/2
|
||
sales. Windows NT supports MS-DOS and can also run multiple DOS sessions
|
||
under what it calls "VDMs" (Virtual DOS Machines). "Soft PC" and "Soft AT"
|
||
run DOS on the MAC, as do Orange Micro's 486 Nubus card and Apple's own 486
|
||
PDS card.
|
||
|
||
Like it or not, MS-DOS is everywhere. Even Apple seems to be
|
||
acknowledging this fact at long last with the development and promotion of
|
||
the 486 PDS card. While the MAC 486 cards target Windows users, DOS-only
|
||
applications are the principal reasons for the existence of Insignia's
|
||
"Soft PC" and "Soft AT" emulators, and some believe that the ability to run
|
||
non-Windows, DOS-only applications will be the principal reason that many
|
||
will actually buy Apple's PDS 486 card.
|
||
|
||
SHARING FILES Despite all of this, no Apple II user should ever feel that
|
||
""""""""""""" they need to give up their computer because of
|
||
incompatibility with other machines and operating systems. In my
|
||
workplace, the MS-DOS machines run DOS 5.0, WordPerfect, ProCOMM Plus,
|
||
R-Base and MicroSoft Works for DOS. All of these are non-Windows
|
||
applications, and, with brief testing, all of them appeared to run fine on
|
||
my GS/PC at home. As mentioned earlier, the GS, even without a PC
|
||
Transporter card, has the capability to format, read and write HFS and
|
||
MS-DOS.
|
||
|
||
The Macs in my office run System 7 and Microsoft Works 3.1. With
|
||
System 7's Apple File Exchange, I can import DOS Microsoft Works files that
|
||
have been created on my GS/PC at home, and the files translate beautifully
|
||
to the MAC version of Microsoft Works. Apple File Exchange also works very
|
||
nicely with AppleWorks classic files and MicroSoft Works 3.1. When it is
|
||
necessary for me to export files to a PC from my IIgs at home, either the
|
||
PC Transporter or Peter Watson's utilities fill the bill nicely without
|
||
having to use one of the office's MACs as an intermediary.
|
||
|
||
In an earlier article we discussed the Watson utilities and the
|
||
MS-DOS FST, which run under GS/OS on the Apple II side of a GS/PC hybrid.
|
||
However, Applied Engineering also has a ProDOS file translation and file
|
||
management utility that runs under MS-DOS on the PCT side of an Apple II/PC
|
||
hybrid. This utility and documentation come stored on the "MSDOSVOL" file
|
||
which comes with the PC Transporter software. The utility, an executable
|
||
file that runs under MS-DOS, is labeled "TRANSFER.EXE."
|
||
|
||
Applied's transfer utility will catalog and display any online ProDOS
|
||
volume while IN MS-DOS, allowing the user to navigate their Apple II
|
||
directories in much the same way as they would from ProDOS. Files are
|
||
displayed in standard ProDOS fashion by name, type, number of blocks,
|
||
modification date and creation date. File transfer can be done both ways
|
||
between MS-DOS and ProDOS. However, translation is somewhat rudimentary
|
||
from MS-DOS to ProDOS, and best results come from the transfer of (ASCII)
|
||
text files.
|
||
|
||
MS-DOS's annoying habit of placing extraneous linefeed and return
|
||
characters into DOS text files can make file transfer from MS-DOS to ProDOS
|
||
somewhat less than straight forward. Two ProDOS 8 utilities that are
|
||
potentially helpful in using DOS text files on the Apple side of an Apple
|
||
II/PC hybrid are Stowe Keller's "List" utility (GEnie A2 library file
|
||
#17171, LIST024.BXY) and Mark Munz's "CR Stripper" (which runs as a TimeOut
|
||
AppleWorks enhancement). You can obtain "CR Stripper" on the TimeOut
|
||
"TextTools" disk. Munz's utility works by allowing you to highlight a
|
||
block of text within an AppleWorks word processor file when you wish to
|
||
remove extra returns. You then simply press <RETURN> to get rid of them,
|
||
then move to the next block of text. Stowe Keller's utility has the
|
||
capability to automatically add or remove linefeed and return markers with
|
||
a print-to-disk feature.
|
||
|
||
A more straight forward method of moving files between MS-DOS
|
||
applications and AppleWorks is "Cross-Works". Cross-Works has the
|
||
capability to make full translations of files (keeping file formatting
|
||
intact) between AppleWorks and several popular DOS applications (i.e.,
|
||
Lotus 1-2-3, dBase, Word Perfect and Microsoft Works). Cross-works,
|
||
currently sold by Quality Computers, has been designed to be used in direct
|
||
serial transfers and modem file transfers, but it can also be used with the
|
||
PC Transporter.
|
||
|
||
AppleWorks 4 has improved text file handling capabilities which makes
|
||
its use in both HFS and DOS import/export much easier. However, for those
|
||
who have not yet made the switch to AppleWorks 4, there are two additional
|
||
TimeOut utilities that will facilitate file movement between AppleWorks and
|
||
your most often-used MS-DOS (or Mac) word processor. These utilities are
|
||
"AWP to TXT" (available on the TimeOut "PowerPack" disk) and TimeOut
|
||
"Textloader+" (available on the "Companion Plus" disk). AWP to TXT is a
|
||
relatively fast method of converting AppleWorks WP files to TXT files
|
||
without having to use the AppleWorks "print-to-disk" feature. Textloader+
|
||
will allow the loading of up to 12 text files from disk and automatic
|
||
conversion of them into AppleWorks WP files.
|
||
|
||
HARD DRIVE SPACE While the PC Transporter card does not require a hard
|
||
"""""""""""""""" disk drive in order to operate, considering all of the
|
||
additional software that becomes necessary on both the Apple and PC sides
|
||
of an Apple II/PC hybrid, a hard disk drive is a very nice peripheral to
|
||
own. Approximately 64MB of hard disk space can be allocated on a ProDOS
|
||
hard disk to MS-DOS. The PC Transporter's system software makes use of
|
||
ProDOS's ability to create 16MB files that then serve as MS-DOS emulation
|
||
volumes. Using the PCT's control panel and system software, two 16MB files
|
||
can be linked to emulate one 32MB MS-DOS volume. The PCT control panel
|
||
will allow two hard disk volumes to be online at one time. Anyone who
|
||
finds that they require more space than that for storage of MS-DOS software
|
||
and data files, probably should consider using a regular PC.
|
||
|
||
Once the 16MB ProDOS files have been properly described to the PC
|
||
Transporter system software as available for MS-DOS use, they can be
|
||
"FDISKed" and then formatted. So far as MS-DOS is concerned, it is always
|
||
interacting with standard MS-DOS hard disk volumes. On the ProDOS side of
|
||
the Apple II/PC hybrid, these MS-DOS volumes look simply like large ProDOS
|
||
files. Their MS-DOS contents are not accessible to ProDOS. (At the time
|
||
of this writing, Peter Watson's IIgs MS-DOS utilities, which CAN access
|
||
these volumes, provide the only exception to this rule.) The PC
|
||
Transporter system software can also work with "small" MS-DOS volumes,
|
||
allowing the user to allocate any ProDOS block device as a PCT hard disk.
|
||
|
||
SYSTEM SOFTWARE Configuration of the PCT's use of the Apple's hard drive,
|
||
""""""""""""""" mouse, keyboard, printer, modem and disk drives would not
|
||
be possible without the PCT's system software, BIOS and control panel.
|
||
Being a DOS engine, the PCT has 640K of conventional RAM available for
|
||
running programs. The PCT's additional 128K of RAM is reserved for use by
|
||
its BIOS (Basic Input Output Services code) which is loaded as a binary
|
||
data file into the PCT's RAM by a ProDOS system file when the card is
|
||
booted.
|
||
|
||
The BIOS and System Software function in much the same way as the ROM
|
||
firmware functions in an Apple II. You can add or delete I/O drivers
|
||
through the PCT's control panel. This control panel can be accessed at any
|
||
time while in MS-DOS by pressing a <caps lock>-<shift> key combination. It
|
||
works much the same way as the GS's ROM control panel and system software.
|
||
Over the years, much of the refinement and updating of the PCT's functions
|
||
has been accomplished by AE's engineers through simple improvement of the
|
||
PCT.SYSTEM and drivers. While Applied Engineering has steadily worked to
|
||
improve its portware through changes and additions to its device drivers,
|
||
it appears to this writer that, even now, there remains much that could be
|
||
done to improve the PCT card's portware and therefore its versatility and
|
||
functioning.
|
||
|
||
Much has been said in this article, and in the three previous ones,
|
||
about the PC Transporter Card and its role in Apple II/PC hybrids.
|
||
However, there are two other Apple II/PC hybrid computer systems that seem
|
||
worth mentioning, and next month we will talk briefly about these systems.
|
||
Until then, think hybrid!
|
||
|
||
|
||
NOTES
|
||
"""""
|
||
|
||
(1) Dan Gookin, author of _DOS for Dummies_, expresses amusement at
|
||
Windows' "happy friendly graphical face" (p. 271). He asks, "What's the
|
||
difference between a DOS program and a Windows application?" and answers,
|
||
"About $300." (p. 61). Gookin, a onetime Apple IIgs and MAC owner,
|
||
displays the attitude of the hard core DOS user toward Windows in _DOS for
|
||
Dummies_.
|
||
|
||
(2) Terminate and Stay Resident applications.
|
||
|
||
(3) Hayes, Frank. "Personality Plus". BYTE. January 1994. pp. 155-168.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[MOO]//////////////////////////////
|
||
CowTOONS! /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Career Cows
|
||
~~~~~~~~~~~
|
||
by Mike White ,_/\_, .
|
||
[MWHITE] (oo) . .
|
||
/-------\/ /^ <\/>
|
||
/ | |X /^ ) ( ^\ oo
|
||
* ||----|| (^ ( ) ) (\/)*
|
||
~~ ~~ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ~~
|
||
|
||
Smokey the Cow
|
||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
_:_ /~~~~~~~~~~T~~~~~~~~~~\
|
||
/ ^ \ | | (__) |
|
||
/ CTA \ | | (oo) |_[]
|
||
(~~~~~~~) |__________/~\____\/____|/[]
|
||
| |__) |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
|
||
| |oo) | -= C T A =- |
|
||
/| |\/ | -+- |
|
||
/ | || |_______________________|
|
||
* | || [[_______________________]]
|
||
""""""""""""""~"| _[/ (__) (__)
|
||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
||
|
||
Cowmmuter Catching the Bus in Chicowgo
|
||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
_ Arrrgh! Watch for the last thunderin' herd of
|
||
/o> (__) .' Moo Fun from Mike White in the next
|
||
/ ) (o%) .' issue of GEnieLamp.
|
||
/--^^----\/ '
|
||
/ | || If you have an idea for a CowTOON, we
|
||
* ||-----|| would like to see it. And, if we pick
|
||
~~ ~~ your CowTOON for publishing in GEnieLamp
|
||
we will credit your account with 2 hours
|
||
Buccowneer of GEnie non-prime time!
|
||
~~~~~~~~~~
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[DRT]//////////////////////////////
|
||
DR'S EXAMINING TABLE /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Golden Oldie Review: Xenocide
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
by Darrel Raines
|
||
[D.RAINES]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
If you remember, in last month's column we started a discussion on
|
||
how to build a personal software library of games, utilities and
|
||
applications that would make Bill Gates jealous. I described how you could
|
||
use GEnie and the A2 RoundTable to purchase used software from other people
|
||
just like yourself, and promised to help you decide what software was worth
|
||
acquiring by reviewing some golden oldie software from time to time.
|
||
|
||
I should mention that this column will be somewhat different than a
|
||
new product review. I will not be wasting your time and mine by talking
|
||
about software that I did not like. There is a purpose in reviewing new
|
||
software that does not live up to high standards. However, with such a
|
||
large selection of used software available to you, there is no need to
|
||
spend a lot of time talking about poor commercial programs.
|
||
|
||
This month I have chosen the arcade game Xenocide. Xenocide was
|
||
originally published by Micro Revelations in 1989. The software was
|
||
written by Brian Greenstone with graphics from Dave Triplett. You may
|
||
remember this team from a number of very good Apple IIgs "24-hour"
|
||
shareware games such as Cosmocade, Pirate Killers, and Orbizone. This game
|
||
was their only commercial venture.
|
||
|
||
Xenocide, much like a number of shoot-'em-up games, gives you a
|
||
scenario where you can feel comfortable blowing away the evil villains that
|
||
appear with regularity on your screen. It seems that alien creatures have
|
||
taken over the three planets that you are supposed to be protecting.
|
||
Therefore, you need to exterminate these pests and destroy the planets
|
||
before they complete a gate that will allow some bigger and more nasty
|
||
meanie into the area. Its time to pull out your joystick and go to work!
|
||
|
||
In order to start blowing away the bad guys, you first have to go
|
||
through a setup screen. The options available to you on this page allow
|
||
the external speakers or other stereo output to be used for the
|
||
better-than-average musical score. A high point total Hall of Fame is
|
||
shown so that you can ponder over your past heroics. There is also a
|
||
joystick calibration option on the main menu. I have found that this game
|
||
does not recognize when it is running on an accelerated machine.
|
||
Therefore, you will be unable to calibrate your joystick (and play the
|
||
game) if you do not set the accelerator back to a normal speed.
|
||
|
||
The final option on the main menu is for Play/"Let's get it on"/Go.
|
||
Now the fun starts. You are shown a picture of three different planets. A
|
||
message informs you that the first planet is Malachite, the rock planet.
|
||
You are then placed in the driver's seat of a hovercraft and given control
|
||
of the vehicle.
|
||
|
||
An overview of the game might be in order here. The object of the
|
||
game is to blow up each of the planets, in order, before you expire
|
||
yourself. You have three lives (men) and can get additional men only after
|
||
certain milestones. You must complete a number of different games/levels
|
||
in order to blow up a planet. There is a hovercraft level, an underground
|
||
level, an underwater level and a laboratory level for each planet. The
|
||
landscape in the levels will differ on each planet. However, the basic
|
||
play and objective will be the some on each of them.
|
||
|
||
The hovercraft level is played much like a road rally game, with a
|
||
difference. You have to watch out for some very large bugs and critters on
|
||
the road. If you happen to hit a bug, they leave a reminder on your
|
||
windshield. After a while it can be very difficult to see where you are
|
||
going. Therefore, the best advice is to stay away from the grasshoppers...
|
||
er, I mean aliens.
|
||
|
||
The hovercraft is somewhat sluggish in performance and does not have
|
||
very much fuel. You have to proceed to a docking station before your fuel
|
||
and/or shields run out. Rockets and lasers will protect you from the
|
||
potential road-kill. The supply of these weapons is limited, so you cannot
|
||
just blast away. Besides animals/aliens, the road is littered with rocks
|
||
and supply canisters. You have to avoid (or shoot) the rocks and you need
|
||
to collect the canisters. The number of canisters you collect will
|
||
determine the amount of ammunition that you can carry on the next level.
|
||
|
||
If you manage to dock your hovercraft, then you proceed to the
|
||
underground cave. In this area you are propelled by a jet backpack. You
|
||
can protect yourself from the cave dwellers with a laser and with a supply
|
||
of grenades. And believe me, there are many nasty creatures in the cave.
|
||
If you ever played the game Cavern Cobra, you will be familiar with this
|
||
part of Xenocide. The object is to collect five individual bombs that are
|
||
strewn throughout the cave. The bombs will be used later in the
|
||
laboratory. There are re-fuel and re-supply stations along the way. You
|
||
have to hop from one of these to the next before you can get more jet fuel
|
||
for your backpack and more laser power and grenades for your weapons. If
|
||
you happen to collect all of the bomb sections, then you can take an
|
||
elevator tube to the underwater level of the game.
|
||
|
||
Before moving on to the underwater level, I should spend a few
|
||
sentences describing the wildlife that resides in the cave. I do not know
|
||
where the design team got all of their ideas for this game, but I can only
|
||
assume that they ate too much pepperoni pizza before going to bed. The
|
||
resultant bad dreams would have served as inspiration for the cavern
|
||
critters. There are dragon flies, floating bowling balls, mounted canons,
|
||
falling stalactites, lava pools, bouncing barrels, blinking stars,
|
||
repelling-field generators, and deadly mushrooms to name a few. You can
|
||
get so interested in looking at the pretty (but deadly) scenery that you
|
||
could forget to avoid the bad guys. This section of the game qualifies as
|
||
one of my all-time favorite arcade games. The graphics, game play, and
|
||
objectives make for a rollicking good time.
|
||
|
||
One of the features of the last three levels of each planet are the
|
||
option pods. These little jewels are very important. They appear as
|
||
either a blue dot or a red brick, depending upon the level. Each time that
|
||
you grab one of these, you advance a notch in the option sequence. The
|
||
options available will let you have a stronger shield, shoot a meaner gun,
|
||
replenish your shield energy, or otherwise increase your chances. You will
|
||
learn to use these wisely or you will never get past the first level of
|
||
caverns. However, once mastered, the option pods become your best means of
|
||
escaping the underground cave.
|
||
|
||
Just when you thought that you had finished with the caves, you get a
|
||
nasty surprise. The next level is just like the caverns, with the
|
||
exception that the caverns are underwater. You replace your jet pack with
|
||
compressed air and your laser with an underwater gun. However, this level
|
||
of the game plays just like the last. Seaweed, eels, starfish, and other
|
||
submerged critters will make your life miserable. The object to this level
|
||
is to find a set of keys that will open doors in the underwater caverns.
|
||
At the end of these caverns is an elevator that will take you up to the
|
||
biology laboratory on the planet surface. Since this level is otherwise
|
||
just like the underground cavern, we will move on to the laboratory.
|
||
|
||
After climbing out of the elevator, you remove your underwater gear
|
||
and load up for the final confrontation. The aliens in the laboratory are
|
||
all robots that have many mean tendencies. They love to shoot at you from
|
||
behind cover. And some of them have grenades just like yours. In this
|
||
level you have a few resupply areas available for more laser power and
|
||
grenades. However, your objective is to place the five bombs collected in
|
||
the underground caves in five strategic locations within the lab. Once all
|
||
of these bombs are placed, you have a few seconds to find and activate a
|
||
transporter that will take you back to your ship above the planets. If you
|
||
manage to do all of this, then the planet will blow up for your enjoyment
|
||
and the aliens chagrin.
|
||
|
||
The hovercraft level is played from the vantage point of the cockpit
|
||
inside the vehicle. The underground/-water levels are played with a side
|
||
view of your character. You control the character while being able to see
|
||
in all directions around him/her. The laboratory level is played with a
|
||
top view of the action. You survey the scene from a god's-eye view. The
|
||
only thing that you cannot see from this view is a few robots off screen
|
||
that can shoot at you without you being able to see them. Because of the
|
||
different objectives and the different perspective of each level, you could
|
||
actually call this game a melding of three separate games into one package.
|
||
In my opinion, this feature adds to the variety of the game as a whole.
|
||
|
||
This program is one of the better arcade games ever written for the
|
||
Apple IIgs computer. The variety of levels and mini-games (with subplots)
|
||
allow the player to stay interested in this shoot-em-up long after the
|
||
boredom has set in with a standard game of this genre. Music sets the mood
|
||
for each level of play. It is not obtrusive, yet does serve to show off
|
||
the IIgs sound capabilities. Action is smooth, especially when you
|
||
consider the fact that the game only runs on unaccelerated machines.
|
||
Action is continuous and does not lag between levels. The plot, while not
|
||
necessarily believable, does a good job of setting up the rest of the game.
|
||
All in all, this is an exceptional game.
|
||
|
||
I do have a few complaints. The software really should have made
|
||
provisions for a player to visit any one of the planets. By constraining
|
||
you to a sequential movement among the planets, many game players will
|
||
never see more than the first planet. I have only managed to complete one
|
||
full planet and all but the last few seconds of the second planet. So I do
|
||
not know what the surface and caverns of the third planet look like. My
|
||
other complaint lies in the fact that the software cannot detect and adjust
|
||
for the processor speed of the Apple IIgs. It can be very annoying to work
|
||
around this problem without the proper software installed to slow down the
|
||
accelerator.
|
||
|
||
My final complaint lies in the difficulty of the game itself. You
|
||
can end up playing for about 45 minutes to an hour for each game. If you
|
||
were able to finish the whole series, it would take you about an hour and a
|
||
half. However, the levels increase in difficulty along the way. There is
|
||
virtually no chance that the average game player will ever finish this
|
||
game.
|
||
|
||
Now with all of this said, I heartily recommend Xenocide. You will
|
||
find the playing experience to be enjoyable. The graphics and sound will
|
||
amaze you. The smooth scrolling of the screen will make your Amiga friends
|
||
jealous. The joy of blasting aliens to bits will make you feel like a
|
||
proud marine. All-in-all, the game is one of the best to ever be written
|
||
for the Apple IIgs computer!
|
||
|
||
Remember, if you are having trouble finding one of the golden oldies
|
||
in your favorite mail order catalog, then use the resources of GEnie. Hop
|
||
on over to the Roundtable and check out category number 4. You will be
|
||
glad that you did. Until next time, blast a few aliens for me.
|
||
|
||
|
||
[*][*][*]
|
||
|
||
Darrel Raines is a computer programmer, hacker, and hobbyist.
|
||
When he is not writing articles for GEnieLamp, he works for NASA
|
||
as a contractor. He is still looking for real aliens to blast --
|
||
or shake hands with.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[PRO]//////////////////////////////
|
||
PROFILES /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Who's Who In Apple II
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> WHO'S WHO <<<
|
||
"""""""""""""""""
|
||
~ HangTime, Editor of Script-Central ~
|
||
|
||
|
||
Recently, HyperCard IIgs was released for downloading in the A2 and
|
||
A2Pro libraries. To celebrate this wonderful event, we wanted to
|
||
interview someone who's an expert on HyperCard IIgs. The closest
|
||
thing we could find to that expert was our own HangTime -- A2
|
||
Hypermedia Librarian -- Host of HangTime's HyperBar and Grill in
|
||
A2Pro -- editor of Script-Central -- and HyperCard IIgs user
|
||
extraordinaire!
|
||
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> What is HyperCard GS?
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> That's a question asked by many quite innocently; however, it's
|
||
"""""""" a loaded one. First of all, the name is "HyperCard IIgs"...
|
||
although it's frequently abbreviated to "HCGS".
|
||
|
||
So what IS HyperCard IIgs?
|
||
|
||
Answer: What would you like it to be? It is many things. In as few
|
||
words as possible, though, I'd say it's:
|
||
|
||
1) a HyperMedia engine
|
||
2) A complete programming environment.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> Let's start with the HyperMedia engine. Isn't it a sort of
|
||
""""""""" database with sound and graphic capabilities?
|
||
|
||
HangTime> I am no authority on the definition of HyperMedia, but I can
|
||
"""""""" give you my take on it. HyperMedia is the linking of text,
|
||
graphics, and sounds. In its most simple form, a digital "story book"
|
||
would fit this description. You could have a story about wild animals
|
||
including pictures of the various creatures. You could add yet another
|
||
dimension to your story my "attaching" sounds to the pictures of the
|
||
animals. Thus after reading a virtual page of the story one could click
|
||
the mouse on a picture of say a lion, and hear it roar.
|
||
|
||
In a more complex model, one could have words in the story link to
|
||
other words in other parts of the story. Moving to an example of a
|
||
technical journal, if one were to not understand what is being explained
|
||
clicking on a keyword might bring the reader to a further discussion of the
|
||
topic. And much like the story book example, pictures and or sounds might
|
||
be included as well. In theory (and with an infinite amount of time) all
|
||
words could be linked with other words. A cross-reference, if you will.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> What are the differences among a field, a button and a card?
|
||
""""""""" Which would you use, and when?
|
||
|
||
HangTime> Sticking with the simplest description, a "button" is something
|
||
"""""""" you click on to cause an action. A "field" holds textual
|
||
information, and the card is what holds the buttons, fields, and any
|
||
graphic elements. This however is not completely true in the case of
|
||
HyperCard because HyperCard is not THAT restrictive. The above
|
||
descriptions are true, however much more can be done in HyperCard.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> How is HyperCard different from HyperStudio?
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> My standard answer to that is: You can link Text, Graphics,
|
||
"""""""" and Sounds with HyperStudio, but if you want to DO something
|
||
with those things, you want HyperCard. The main difference between the two
|
||
is HyperTalk, the Scripting (or programming) language that HyperCard uses.
|
||
HyperTalk is a complete programming language that allows access to the full
|
||
range of things that an Apple IIgs is capable of. HyperTalk has been
|
||
called the Applesoft BASIC of the 90s, but again that is not an accurate
|
||
description because HyperTalk can do MUCH more and a lot easier too.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> Is it hard to use?
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> Not at all. If you want to make the computer beep, the command
|
||
"""""""" is, oddly enough "beep"! If you wanted it to beep twice the
|
||
command would be "beep 2". Sound hard to you?
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> No, not at all.
|
||
|
||
HangTime> For an example of how powerful HyperCard can be using only the
|
||
"""""""" tools included with the package, I was able to create a "stack"
|
||
that logged onto GEnie and send/receive text in 20 minutes. This time
|
||
includes reading the documentation to figure out how to get a stack to use
|
||
the Modem port. Try THAT in BASIC or Pascal. B-)>
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> What hardware requirements are there to run HyperCard?
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> HyperCard Requires:
|
||
""""""""
|
||
|
||
1.5 Megs of memory and a Hard Drive, but I think 2 Megs is better
|
||
(and with 4Meg cards going for around $120, why would anyone want less!)
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> What else would be good to have on your system to get the most
|
||
""""""""" out of HyperCard?
|
||
|
||
HangTime> Other then the standard GS equipment, nothing else is required.
|
||
"""""""" HCGS doesn't take advantage of a stereo card, though pumping it
|
||
through a 100 Watt stereo system wouldn't hurt.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> Isn't HyperCard supposed to be slow?
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> An accelerator is also a really good add-on, Just a 7mhz
|
||
""""""""" Accelerator is plenty to make HCGS very useful.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> Since you used the word "stack", explain what a stack is.
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> Besides all the cute little metaphors, a "stack" is just the
|
||
"""""""" name given to the "thing" that you create with HyperCard. The
|
||
term comes from using a metaphor of a "Stack of Index Cards"... because
|
||
it's possible to imagine a HyperCard stack as being just a series of cards
|
||
that are all instantly accessible.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> Okay, so let's say I have a IIgs with at least 2 meg of
|
||
""""""""" memory, a hard drive, a color monitor and I'm interested in
|
||
finding out about HyperCard IIgs. What's the first thing I do?
|
||
|
||
HangTime> Download it. From the A2 Library on GEnie.
|
||
""""""""
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> How many disks is it?
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> There are 6 disks making up the complete suite. This includes
|
||
"""""""" HyperCard IIgs along with all the support stacks (Help, Tour,
|
||
Sample Stacks [2 disks worth], Ideas, Xcmds, etc)
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> This program sold for about $70 previously. How did A2 get
|
||
""""""""" the right to distribute HyperCard for free?
|
||
|
||
HangTime> I was speaking with Matt Deatherage, an Apple employee and head
|
||
"""""""" of the A2Pro RT on GEnie, and we were discussing how great
|
||
HyperCard is and what a shame it is that more people aren't using it.
|
||
Since Apple is no longer selling the product Matt spent a few weeks talking
|
||
with the high muckity mucks and arranged for it to be electronically
|
||
licensable. That's the long and the short of it.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> But no manuals are included. What can you do without manuals?
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> Depends how gutsy you are.
|
||
""""""""
|
||
|
||
If you check out the stacks that are included in the package and
|
||
don't mind digging into the code, you might very well figure out a LOT of
|
||
HyperTalk. Also, A2 University is just gearing up to teach a HyperTalk
|
||
course beginning February 17! This course will start you out on the basics
|
||
and take you through the nitty gritty.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> And there is a HyperCard RTC in A2Pro for additional help.
|
||
""""""""" When is that? What is covered in the RTC?
|
||
|
||
HangTime> I think the _major_ RTCs are going to be the HyperTalk courses
|
||
"""""""" for awhile, but in addition to these Thursday night courses
|
||
there's a HyperCard RTC every Wednesday night as well. There is no set
|
||
agenda, all HyperCard questions are fair game.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> How about stacks by other people -- are there some available
|
||
""""""""" for downloading to see what can be done?
|
||
|
||
HangTime> Yes, there are PLENTY of HyperCard stacks available on GEnie
|
||
"""""""" for download in both the A2 and A2Pro libraries. Plus with the
|
||
new availability of HCGS, you are likely to be seeing dozens more very
|
||
shortly!
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> Is there a way to share or sell stacks that I write myself?
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> Sure, just like any other software, you can sell it
|
||
"""""""" commercially (if you know how, or find a company to do it), or
|
||
upload them to any BBS you might frequent.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> A good example of the full range of uses for HyperCard is
|
||
""""""""" displayed in the disk based magazine "Script-Central", which
|
||
you edit. How did this magazine come about?
|
||
|
||
HangTime> Believe it or not, all I did was apply. That's the short
|
||
"""""""" story. The longer version is that I got HCGS the day it was
|
||
released (overnight delivered in fact) and spent the next 6 hours or so
|
||
reading all the manuals cover to cover. I had my first stack completed and
|
||
uploaded a couple of hours after that. From that point there was no
|
||
stopping me, I was having too much fun.
|
||
|
||
I immediately became the HyperMedia librarian for the A2 library.
|
||
Then a couple of weeks after that I logged on to find some mail from Dean
|
||
Esmay mentioning that Tom Weishaar (owner of Resource Central) was looking
|
||
for an editor for a HyperCard publication. Before I even finished reading
|
||
Dean's letter I was sending a letter off to Tom... and the rest is history.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> How long ago was this?
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> Let's see, 3 years and 14 days ago (38 minutes, 29 seconds and
|
||
"""""""" 40 ticks) HyperCard was released, and I got my copy several
|
||
hours after that. And the first issue of Script-Central was in July 1991
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> What does a typical issue of Script-Central contain?
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> There's no such thing as a "Typical" issue. Every issue is new
|
||
"""""""" and different, filled with a variety of stacks and info. When
|
||
you start up an issue of Script-Central the first thing you see is some
|
||
sort of titles (some animations, sounds, whatever I feel like doing that
|
||
month). After the titles you find yourself standing before the front door
|
||
to our HyperCard School House (address 65816 School House Road). Knock on
|
||
the door by clicking on it and you enter the world of Script-Central.
|
||
|
||
Once inside the building you can move around by clicking on doors,
|
||
buttons, drawers, and even a couple of not so obvious things (I like hiding
|
||
gags in each issue). In our Regular Departments area you can find things
|
||
like Clip Art News, Rumors, Mail, Press Releases and the like.
|
||
Additionally the Work Shop is also in this area providing new fonts,
|
||
sounds, scripting tips, Xcmds, ready to use handlers, Homework, or any of
|
||
probably a dozen other things. Items in various rooms tend to change over
|
||
time, as I come up with new ideas, or become bored with the "same old
|
||
stuph". This is all on the main floor of our Virtual School House. On the
|
||
second floor you'll find the main "Feature" stacks of the month. These
|
||
cover ALL the bases, from Games and Utilities to straight HyperMedia-type
|
||
applications.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> Is there a sample issue that can be downloaded?
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> Yes there is, but it doesn't do justice to the Script-Central
|
||
"""""""" of today! That demo was created almost three years ago and the
|
||
stacks we're doing today are light years ahead of that.
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp> Any other comments about HyperCard IIgs?
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
HangTime> There is not enough time in the day to talk about all that
|
||
"""""""" HyperCard is, let alone DO all that HyperCard can do. The end.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[PAL]//////////////////////////////
|
||
PAL NEWSLETTER /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
March 1994 Report
|
||
"""""""""""""""""
|
||
By GEna Saikin
|
||
[A2.GENA]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Welcome to the March issue of PAL!
|
||
|
||
PAL (Planetary Apple League) was created to help fill in the gaps all
|
||
too often left by the availability of user groups in the local communities.
|
||
We meet the third Sunday of every month, in the Apple II Real Time
|
||
Conference area, and each month is filled with demonstrations,
|
||
announcements of what's new in the world of Apple, and in the Apple II
|
||
Round Table, as well as time for questions and answers on hardware and
|
||
software problems.
|
||
|
||
This is YOUR meeting! We want suggestions and feedback as to what
|
||
YOU would like to see! Please feel free to email GS.OZONEMAN or A2.GENA,
|
||
the leaders of PAL with your ideas and suggestions.
|
||
|
||
WHAT'S NEW IN THE APPLE WORLD As we all know, Spectrum has been released,
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" and is being met with great enthusiasm.
|
||
Though there are still wrinkles to be ironed out, that is commonplace for
|
||
new programs. Talented people are already busily creating autogreet and
|
||
other automated type scripting and are loading them into the A2 library.
|
||
|
||
AppleWorks 4 and its updated versions continue to be popular, and why
|
||
not? AppleWorks is and always has been the "workhorse" of the Apple II
|
||
world!
|
||
|
||
discQuest, the newest program out, is described below by Jawaid
|
||
Bazyar [PROCYON.INC]. discQuest (with a small D) is a revolutionary
|
||
program for the IIgs. It is a front-end program that enables people with
|
||
Apple IIgs's to "read" CD-ROM's. There are now over 15 titles available --
|
||
from Shakespeare to the Family Doctor; from Darwin to the Classics. To
|
||
quote from Jawaid's presentation:
|
||
|
||
Basically, discQuest is a "front-end" to access these particular CD's
|
||
in a user-friendly, fast, efficient, and productive manner. Before you say
|
||
"but only 15?", let me mention some of the titles available: Parenting; US
|
||
History; Countries of the World Encyclopedia; Darwin (his journals, books,
|
||
maps, and research notes); Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Complete
|
||
Sherlock Holmes; and History of the World (not the Mel Brooks version :),
|
||
just to name a few.
|
||
|
||
In short, there are a wide variety of very comprehensive titles in
|
||
our group of 15. DiscQuest allows the user to view the text articles,
|
||
graphics images (in some cases Photographic quality!), and play audio clips
|
||
from the CD. Everything is tied together in a rough "HyperMedia" or
|
||
"HyperText" format, so that cross-references can be viewed easily. In
|
||
addition, you can export text via the clipboard, or save text out to a file
|
||
on disk, for inclusion in a report or whatever.
|
||
|
||
NEW discQuest Titles (as of January 1994)
|
||
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
|
||
|
||
Total Baseball -- New 1993 Edition (CMC)
|
||
|
||
This Multimedia guide is the most comprehensive baseball
|
||
reference ever compiled.
|
||
|
||
o 2,300 pages of statistics and articles - dating back to 1871
|
||
|
||
o Player, pitcher, and relief-pitcher registers
|
||
|
||
o Top 100 All-Time Leaders: Life-Time and Single-Season
|
||
|
||
o Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Hall
|
||
of Fame awards
|
||
|
||
o A variety of rosters
|
||
|
||
o Detailed articles covering everything from hitting streaks
|
||
to scandals to controversies
|
||
|
||
o More than 600 photos and images of players, teams, and
|
||
ballparks
|
||
|
||
o Sound clips of some of the game's most memorable moments
|
||
|
||
|
||
1991 YearBooks(R) (YearBook Medical Publishers, Inc)
|
||
|
||
Medical publication yearbooks for 1989, 1990, and 1991.
|
||
|
||
Other discQuest titles
|
||
''''''''''''''''''''''
|
||
|
||
Darwin Multimedia CD-ROM (LIGHTBINDERS)
|
||
Monarch Notes(R) on CD-ROM (Bureau)
|
||
Sherlock Holmes on disc! (CMC)
|
||
The Family Doctor (CMC)
|
||
Shakespeare (CMC)
|
||
Great Literature (Bureau)
|
||
Parenting -- Prenatal to Preschool (CMC)
|
||
Multimedia Audubon's Birds (CMC)
|
||
Multimedia Audubon's Mammals (CMC)
|
||
The Best of The Bureau (Bureau)
|
||
US History on CD-ROM (Bureau)
|
||
History of the World on CD-ROM (Bureau)
|
||
Countries of the World on CD-ROM (Bureau)
|
||
|
||
This pretty much sums up DiscQuest. For further information, contact
|
||
Procyon, Inc.
|
||
|
||
THE LIBRARY STACK The A2 RoundTable has a library that contains thousands
|
||
""""""""""""""""" of public domain freeware, shareware and other assorted
|
||
programs. Here is a short listing of the best of the most recent
|
||
additions:
|
||
|
||
22235 RADTRASH.BXY Animated trash icon & "flush" rSound
|
||
+22234 TAX.FORMS93.BXY 1993 federal tax forms - AW spreadsheets
|
||
+22227 BIG402B.BXY Updates AppleWorks 4.01 to 4.02
|
||
22225 MINITALK162.BXY Telecom program in a CDA
|
||
22220 CDA.ADB.BXY CDA to view AppleWorks ADB files
|
||
22207 DISKOPEN.BXY Auto-opens Finder's disk icons
|
||
+22183 A2.DOM.0294.BXY A2 Disk of the Month, February 1994
|
||
22181 DISKTIMER2.BXY Check the speed of your hard drives
|
||
+22171 A2AWLIBLONG.BXY A2 library database - lists all files in A2
|
||
|
||
Thanks to the efforts of Matt Deatherage, we have also recently received a
|
||
license from Apple Computer that allows us to distribute HyperCard IIgs!
|
||
The complete HyperCard IIgs program comes on six 3.5" disks:
|
||
|
||
22199 HTALKHELP.BXY HCGS HyperTalk Help disk
|
||
22198 HCGS.HELP.BXY HyperCard IIgs Help disk
|
||
22197 STACKS2.BXY HyperCard IIgs Stacks disk #2
|
||
22196 STACKS1.BXY HyperCard IIgs Stacks disk #1
|
||
22195 HCGS.BXY HyperCard IIgs Program disk
|
||
22194 INST.TOUR.BXY HCGS Installer/Tour disk
|
||
|
||
We also have a "starter kit" that contains just enough files to give you a
|
||
taste of what HyperCard IIgs is all about:
|
||
|
||
22200 HCGSSTARTER.BXY HyperCard IIgs Starter Kit
|
||
|
||
Our libraries contain all kinds of interesting files. Whether you're
|
||
looking for games, graphics, music or system files, you can find it all
|
||
right here in A2!
|
||
|
||
|
||
GUEST ARTICLE I asked a newcomer to the IIgs to write a short article on
|
||
""""""""""""" her experiences. Read with a blimmer of remembrances when
|
||
YOU were once new!:
|
||
|
||
I have had my Apple //c computer for almost ten years now. My mom, a
|
||
junior high computer teacher, let me play with her classroom disks and
|
||
games. I always thought that the only things there were for the Apple were
|
||
math games.
|
||
|
||
I originally logged on to GEnie with an old IBM. But, knowing I was
|
||
going to lose access to that, I sought to find out if there was a way to
|
||
continue my stay with my Apple //c. After visiting the A2 RTC and looking
|
||
through the bulletin board, I discovered that there were TONS of things I
|
||
could do with my Apple!
|
||
|
||
With the help of Sue and Gena, I found out that I could not only
|
||
access GEnie with my Apple //c, but there were also many many software
|
||
programs out there! Between the freeware and shareware in the A2 Library,
|
||
and the commercial software available through various commercial outlets, I
|
||
have learned more and more about my Apple.
|
||
|
||
I had always considered myself an "Apple Gal" but was considering
|
||
switching to IBM, out of desperation. Now, I am DEFINITELY still am an
|
||
"Apple Gal" and plan to stay that way for a long time! I would not be on
|
||
GEnie today without the wonderful help from Gena, the rest of the A2 staff,
|
||
and the users in A2. Thanks to everyone for all their help!
|
||
|
||
WHAT'S NEW IN A2? As our library stack mentions, HyperCard GS (HCGS) is
|
||
""""""""""""""""" now available in both the Apple II RT library and the
|
||
Apple II Programmers RT library. It was once a commercial program, but now
|
||
is available to the general public! For further information on HCGS,
|
||
please read the related interview right here in this issue of GEnieLamp!
|
||
|
||
CONCLUSION Remember, we have Real Time Conferences every night of the
|
||
"""""""""" week, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. eastern time; and all afternoon on
|
||
Sunday! We're here to help you with any problems you may have.
|
||
|
||
Don't forget our Bulletin Board, with is full of advice, questions,
|
||
and answers on almost any conceivable subject. Feel free to post a
|
||
question, or if you know the answer to a question, by all means,
|
||
contribute!
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[AII]//////////////////////////////
|
||
APPLE II /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Apple II History, Part 20/21a
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
By Steven Weyhrich
|
||
[S.WEYHRICH]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> APPLE II HISTORY <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
Compiled and written by Steven Weyhrich
|
||
(C) Copyright 1992, Zonker Software
|
||
(PART 20/21a -- MAGAZINES)
|
||
[v1.2 :: 10 Feb 94]
|
||
|
||
INTRODUCTION Originally, the segments on Apple II magazines appeared in
|
||
"""""""""""" two parts, 20 and 21. Since then there have been changes in
|
||
the magazine landscape, and some additional material had to be added.
|
||
Consequently, I've chosen to combine parts 20 and 21 into one large file,
|
||
and then split that file into three smaller pieces that are more
|
||
appropriately sized for publication in GEnieLamp A2. They will be called
|
||
Part 20/21a, 20/21b, and 20/21c (this will avoid the problem of changing
|
||
the numbering sequence for this segment of the history).
|
||
|
||
In this segment, we will deal with the magzines Micro,
|
||
Call-A.P.P.L.E., SoftSide, Apple Assembly Line, Nibble, Peelings II, and
|
||
Softalk.
|
||
|
||
|
||
INFORMATION AND COMMUNITY From the earliest days that Apple II user
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""" groups have sprung up, there have been
|
||
newsletters shared within (and often among) these groups, providing hints
|
||
and tips on how to make the best use of this computer. Some of these user
|
||
groups eventually turned their newsletters into nationally distributed
|
||
publications, sharing the information on even a wider scale. Nationally
|
||
distributed magazines that dealt with computers began to run regular
|
||
columns and special articles that dealt with the Apple II, while other
|
||
magazines began with the purpose of serving the Apple II community
|
||
exclusively. This segment of the History will take a look at some of the
|
||
publications that have grown (and sometimes failed) during the age of the
|
||
Apple II. I will be concentrating on those that were either exclusive to
|
||
the Apple II or that dealt heavily with it.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Micro (1977-1985) Micro began with the October/November 1977 issue, and
|
||
""""""""""""""""" covered the 6502 microprocessor (and later the 6809) in
|
||
all the various computers that used it, including the KIM-1, the AIM-65,
|
||
the C1P, Commodore's PET, the Ohio Scientific, the Atari 800, and, of
|
||
course, the Apple II. It was an excellent source for machine level code
|
||
for the 6502, eventually including more and more articles that applied
|
||
specifically to the Apple II. Many general-purpose machine language
|
||
articles appeared in its pages, such as "Improved nth Precision" (code
|
||
optimization for the 6502), "Precision Programming", and "Computer Assisted
|
||
Translation Of Programs From 6502 to 6809". They also carried
|
||
do-it-yourself hardware articles, such as "C1P To Epson MX-80 Printer
|
||
Interface", "PET/CBM IEEE 448 To Parallel Printer Interface", and "Apple II
|
||
Digital Storage Oscilloscope".
|
||
|
||
Micro tended to use each issue for a particular theme, starting out
|
||
with articles that concentrated on a particular brand of computer per
|
||
issue, and later expanding to topics that applied to several computers
|
||
(such as printers, games, and languages). The articles presented were
|
||
usually technical in nature and could be very useful for the advanced Apple
|
||
programmer.<1>
|
||
|
||
One feature that was unique to this magazine was the "Micro 6502
|
||
Bibliography", which presented a reference to many different computer
|
||
publications and the topics these magazines covered that were specifically
|
||
important to programming the 6502. Also, the magazine's cover was unique,
|
||
giving the impression of looking out from the INSIDE of a computer monitor,
|
||
over the keyboard to the room beyond. Graphics on the screen would be
|
||
reversed, since it was supposed to be a reverse view.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Call-A.P.P.L.E. (1978-1989) This magazine began in February 1978 as a
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" newsletter for a newly formed Apple II user
|
||
group in Seattle, Washington. This group, which called itself the Apple
|
||
Pugetsound Program Library Exchange (A.P.P.L.E.) was begun by several early
|
||
Apple II owners in the area. They began a newsletter, Call-A.P.P.L.E., and
|
||
under the leadership of its founder and editor, Val J. Golding, it grew to
|
||
become a full magazine by 1979, and its boundaries spread well beyond the
|
||
Seattle area. As pioneers in the era of Apple II exploration and
|
||
expansion, the group's members and magazine subscribers discovered and
|
||
published many hints, tips, and programming techniques necessary to the
|
||
early Apple II community. Their major thrust, as with user groups today,
|
||
came from assisting members in getting their systems to work. This covered
|
||
anything from establishing communication between a computer and the newest
|
||
low-cost printer, to the nuts and bolts of adding memory chips to get a
|
||
full 48K. Call-A.P.P.L.E. also informed its readers with reviews of new
|
||
software and programming languages, and entertained them with short Integer
|
||
BASIC and Applesoft programs that did strange or unexpected things (in a
|
||
recurring feature entitled, "So What Did You Expect?") They also served
|
||
their members by scheduling guest speakers for the group meetings, and
|
||
printing a summary of the meeting in the magazine. Their early speakers
|
||
included notables such as Mike Scott (president of Apple Computer), Randy
|
||
Wigginton, and Steve Wozniak.
|
||
|
||
By 1980, Call-A.P.P.L.E. had become a full magazine published on
|
||
slick paper, and it carried advertising by some of the new software and
|
||
hardware companies. Their articles became more complex, dealing with
|
||
topics such as "Moving DOS 3.3 To The Language Card", and "Applesoft
|
||
Internal Structure", as well as various hardware or construction articles.
|
||
|
||
The year 1984 saw many changes for Call-A.P.P.L.E. The front cover
|
||
had previously been white, with the title logo at the top, followed by a
|
||
list of major articles. Beginning with the January issue, the cover was
|
||
now graced with color artwork, and a subtitle was included under the logo:
|
||
"The World's Largest Apple User Group". In April, Val Golding stepped down
|
||
as editor, handing that position over to Kathryn Halgrimson Suther. She
|
||
had been working with him on production of the magazine since he hired her
|
||
back in 1980, and was best qualified for the position. And finally, in
|
||
September 1984 the membership voted to change their organization to a
|
||
co-operative, officially named A.P.P.L.E. Co-op, to help improve their
|
||
efficiency and allow them, under Washington state law, to continue
|
||
expanding services in as inexpensive a manner as possible. Previously
|
||
selling software written primarily by members, they now began to carry
|
||
outside software and hardware items considered useful to their members.
|
||
|
||
A.P.P.L.E. also advanced the cause of providing useful technical
|
||
information to Apple II (and Lisa and Macintosh) programmers by helping
|
||
with the formation of APDA (Apple Programmers And Developers Association)
|
||
in September of 1987. Through a membership in this Apple-sponsored group,
|
||
a programmer could obtain up-to-date tech notes and preliminary material
|
||
directly from Apple, to aid in the refinement of his project. (Apple later
|
||
took APDA back under its own control in December 1988.)
|
||
|
||
Another change for the magazine occurred beginning in June 1988. The
|
||
cover artwork was toned down, and the thrust of Call-A.P.P.L.E. changed as
|
||
it become more of a technical journal than the "hint and tip" magazine it
|
||
had originally been. Again the cover listed the major features for that
|
||
issue, but in a smaller typeface than in the old days. Articles were now
|
||
much more complex, consistent with the increase in complexity found in the
|
||
new Apple IIgs. This was also reflected in the subtitle now found under
|
||
the logo on the front cover: "The Magazine For The Advanced Apple IIgs And
|
||
Apple II User". Topics covered included a series by Mike Westerfield about
|
||
"Programming On The GS With APW" (he was the author of the ORCA/M assembler
|
||
used in the official Apple Programmer's Workshop on the IIgs), "NDAs 101"
|
||
and "NDAs 102" (Tim Swihart writing about writing New Desk Accessories),
|
||
and "A Powerful Graphics And Sound Trio" (utilities to allow use of super
|
||
hi-res graphics and GS sound from Applesoft BASIC).
|
||
|
||
Even more significant in 1988 was the change in the name of the
|
||
sponsoring group. In her monthly editorial in December of that year,
|
||
Kathryn Suther wrote, "Sorry, Val, but the Co-op is undergoing a name
|
||
change. Apple Computer, Inc., doesn't seem to appreciate the word Apple in
|
||
our name with or without the periods. Rather than having to license the
|
||
name back from them, we opted to change the name of the co-op to
|
||
TechAlliance, a computer cooperative."<2> (Fortunately, they were not
|
||
apparently required by Apple to change the title of the magazine). The
|
||
members felt that this name more accurately reflected what the organization
|
||
was doing; support, technical journals, and access to products and
|
||
information. They also laid plans for a journal aimed at Macintosh
|
||
programmers, called "MacTech Quarterly".
|
||
|
||
With declining Apple II sales in the late 1980s, it was becoming
|
||
harder for TechAlliance to put out the type of magazine they wanted as a
|
||
monthly publication. Part way through 1989, the decision was made to
|
||
switch to a quarterly printing schedule to allow it to stay in print.
|
||
However, with the ninth issue of that year they had to announce that they
|
||
were ceasing publication. With the passing of Call-A.P.P.L.E. came the
|
||
passing of an era. Val Golding wrote to A2-Central's Tom Weishaar about
|
||
it: "The 12-year illumination of Call-A.P.P.L.E.'s guiding light is about
|
||
to be extinguished. The next issue will be the last. 'Call' was my baby
|
||
and I loved it very much, even these last several years when I didn't play
|
||
a direct role. It is, after all, like a death in the family." He went on
|
||
to mention that he believed that their research into Applesoft internals
|
||
and the use of its ampersand command made it possible for the appearance of
|
||
more advanced programs earlier than would have been possible otherwise. He
|
||
included a copy of his guest editorial from that final issue, reprinted in
|
||
the pages of A2-Central in January 1990:
|
||
|
||
|
||
The Editor Bytes Back
|
||
Val J. Golding, editor emeritus
|
||
Full Circle
|
||
|
||
Perhaps I've lived in a private dream world all this time,
|
||
where visions of ampersand faeries were real and 16K of RAM
|
||
sufficed. My 1978 world where, still wrapped in swaddling
|
||
clothes, the infant Call-A.P.P.L.E., with wise men guiding,
|
||
exploded upon the technological night sky--its contagious
|
||
fountain of knowledge spreading like a Washington wildfire, a
|
||
depth and rugged determination to share never before and never
|
||
again to be seen.
|
||
|
||
Volume 12, number Nine; there will be no Volume 13. Words
|
||
I thought would never be written blur my vision and scar the
|
||
moist paper with ugly burn marks. "Our last issue". A doorway
|
||
to another dimension has closed after 12 years.
|
||
|
||
It would take pages to list our accomplishments and firsts,
|
||
more still for our failures. But we stood proud while others
|
||
perished. And so it will be in the future, the Alliance remains
|
||
to serve its members.
|
||
|
||
None of it would have been possible without those brilliant
|
||
pioneering researchers and authors, far too numerous to even
|
||
consider thanking individually. Virtually every Apple author
|
||
writing today appeared first in these pages. It isn't fair,
|
||
however, to leave without at least expressing my gratitude to and
|
||
admiration for Kathryn Halgrimson Suther, without whom we would
|
||
not have survived thus far. I love you, Ms. K.
|
||
|
||
Still everything is O.K. I wouldn't have missed it for
|
||
anything. "The moving finger, having writ, moves on..."<2>
|
||
|
||
|
||
SoftSide (1978-1984) SoftSide was a magazine about software, begun in
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""" October 1978 by Roger Robitaille. It had a format
|
||
similar to the early issues of Nibble, with articles and program listings
|
||
to enter and try out. A version that was specific to the Apple II began in
|
||
January 1980, and lasted as a focussed publication until August 1980, when
|
||
it combined with the other versions of SoftSide that were for the TRS-80,
|
||
IBM-PC, and Atari computers. The Apple edition was edited by Mark
|
||
Pelczarski, who was also an Apple II game author and publisher.
|
||
|
||
One problem some readers had with SoftSide was with their program
|
||
listings; they were a copy of the printout from a dot matrix printer. The
|
||
dot matrix printers of the time were not as legible as they are now and by
|
||
the time it was photographed and put into the magazine, it had become a bit
|
||
illegible. One reader commented, "After a short while of typing, you felt
|
||
like you needed some of the 'coke bottle bottom' eye glasses!"<3>
|
||
|
||
Like many computer publications of the time, SoftSide fell on hard
|
||
times because of financial pressures and competition. This came during
|
||
their attempt in 1983 to increase their distribution and reach a larger
|
||
audience of readers. As a result, Robitaille made some efforts to
|
||
reorganize the publication into a new magazine called SoftSide 2.0
|
||
(directed towards the computer user), and Code (for the programmer), with
|
||
disk versions of both to be made available. Unfortunately, he was never
|
||
able to get either concept fully established, and SoftSide disappeared from
|
||
view.<4>
|
||
|
||
|
||
Apple Assembly Line (1980-1988) This was something more than a
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" newsletter, but not quite a magazine. It
|
||
was edited and printed by Bob Sander-Cederlof, author of the SC-Assembler,
|
||
and was written initially for support of that product. It included
|
||
information about how to write assembly language routines for various
|
||
projects, and one of Sander-Cederlof's favorite pastimes was finding ways
|
||
to squeeze the most code into the fewest bytes possible. Often he would
|
||
take sections of code from Apple's system software, disassemble it, and
|
||
point out how it could have been coded more tightly or efficiently. He
|
||
also included various products that he or others had written that were
|
||
useful for other programmers, including a package of extensions for
|
||
Applesoft that allowed 18 digit precision math functions.
|
||
|
||
In 1993, the Apple II Programmer's Roundtable (A2Pro) on GEnie was
|
||
given permission by Bob Sander-Cederlof to upload the complete text and
|
||
source code for every issue of Apple Assembly Line that was ever produced.
|
||
Matt Deatherage, chief Sysop for that roundtable, took on the laborious
|
||
task of converting all of the old DOS 3.3 and hybrid DOS 3.3/ProDOS disks
|
||
provided by Sander-Cederlof. Deatherage had to convert all of the old
|
||
files into a format that was accessible under ProDOS (which you may recall
|
||
has a more limited file-naming system than did DOS 3.3). Also, he had to
|
||
locate and organize all of the various source files pertinent to a
|
||
particular issue of the newsletter from the various disks that
|
||
Sander-Cederlof had previously made available to his subscribers. After
|
||
compiling all of the information, Deatherage then created individual
|
||
archives for each issue and uploaded them to the A2Pro library. They are
|
||
there available on an exclusive basis, as permission for uploading them to
|
||
any other online service or BBS was NOT granted.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Nibble (1980-1992) Begun in his living room in January 1980 by Mike
|
||
"""""""""""""""""" Harvey, Nibble survived longer than most Apple II
|
||
magazines. His original advertisement for the magazine stated:
|
||
|
||
|
||
NIBBLE is an unusual Newsletter for Apple II owners. Each Issue will
|
||
follow a major theme...such as:
|
||
|
||
* DATA BASE MANAGEMENT
|
||
* PROGRAMS FOR THE HOME
|
||
* TEXT PROCESSING
|
||
* COMPUTING FOR KIDS
|
||
* SMALL BUSINESS JOBS
|
||
* GAMES AND GRAPHICS
|
||
* PRACTICAL PASCAL
|
||
* etc.
|
||
|
||
Significant programs will be in each issue, surrounded by articles
|
||
which show how to USE the programming ideas in your OWN programs.
|
||
|
||
Examples of Upcoming Articles...
|
||
|
||
* Building A Numeric Keypad
|
||
* Home Credit Card Management
|
||
* LORES Shape Writing
|
||
* Designing Games That Last
|
||
* Arcade Shooting Gallery
|
||
* Random #'s in Assy. Lang.
|
||
* HIRES Weaving Design
|
||
|
||
And many many more. NIBBLE will literally "Nibble Away" at the
|
||
mysteries of the Apple II to help Beginning and Advanced Programmers,
|
||
Small Businessmen, and the Whole Family enjoy and USE the Apple MORE!
|
||
|
||
It costs a paltry $15.00 for 8 Issues! It will invite and publish
|
||
user ideas and programs. DON'T WAIT! Send your check or money order
|
||
right now, to receive the January issue! Mail to:
|
||
|
||
S.P.A.R.C.
|
||
P.O. Box [number missing]
|
||
Lincoln, Mass. 01773
|
||
|
||
Software Publishing And Research Co.<5>
|
||
|
||
|
||
Mike worked carefully to make sure that he was not under the pressure
|
||
of banks or investors, and so worked out of his own savings, running the
|
||
company on a "pay as you go" basis. He printed enough of the first issue,
|
||
42 pages long in black and white, to mail to the few who responded to his
|
||
ad, and the rest were sent free of charge to Apple dealers to make them
|
||
aware of Nibble's existence. Their initial schedule was for eight issues
|
||
per year, which was what he could afford to put out. By mid 1981 the
|
||
magazine had grown to the point where Harvey could quit his regular job
|
||
(president of a subsidiary of Exxon Enterprises) and work full-time as
|
||
publisher of Nibble.<5>,<6> His editorials over the years covered many
|
||
topics that were helpful for small businesses, giving advice that would
|
||
help them survive in good times and bad. He certainly took his own advice;
|
||
although Nibble expanded to the point where it went to a monthly schedule
|
||
(around 1984) and was printed as a square-bound magazine, it had to reduce
|
||
by 1990 back to a center-stapled format with fewer pages. Eventually its
|
||
newsstand distribution also had to be curtailed, and in the end it was
|
||
available only by subscription.
|
||
|
||
Nibble's articles covered a wide array of topics, from simple
|
||
Applesoft and Integer BASIC programs, to complex assembly language
|
||
applications, BASIC extensions, and games. In its prime it also included a
|
||
popular series called "Disassembly Lines", by contributing editor Sandy
|
||
Mossberg, M.D. In his series, Mossberg taught some of the tricks and
|
||
techniques of assembly language by taking parts of DOS 3.3, and later
|
||
BASIC.SYSTEM and PRODOS, and "disassembling" them into readable assembly
|
||
source code. This provided some insight into reasons why Apple's system
|
||
programs worked the way they did, and made it possible to either modify
|
||
them to fix bugs, or to incorporate the programming techniques in other
|
||
projects. Mossberg later went on to delve into the Apple IIgs toolbox
|
||
(built-in ROM routines).
|
||
|
||
Nibble was a good place to learn how to write programs. Their
|
||
published listings were well commented, and the tricks used by the
|
||
programmers who wrote their articles were available for all to see and
|
||
learn. Along with the various utilities they published were games (some
|
||
that were very complicated, with long tables of hex bytes to enter). They
|
||
also included in later issues reviews of various commercial software
|
||
products, and always made available disks containing all of the programs
|
||
from a single issue of the magazine, for those who didn't want to enter by
|
||
hand the programs.
|
||
|
||
In April 1985 a section was added to the magazine called "Nibble
|
||
Mac", to cover topics of interest to Macintosh users. Later in 1985 this
|
||
was split out and a separate publication (short-lived) with the same title
|
||
was printed to concentrate on the Macintosh users. Nibble also helped
|
||
establish the concept of copyright protection on program listings printed
|
||
in magazines. This was important to Nibble, as they sold disks of their
|
||
old programs to save readers the trouble of typing in by hand the long
|
||
listings.
|
||
|
||
With decreasing sales, a decision was made in 1991 to no longer
|
||
supply Nibble to newsstand vendors and continue the magazine on a
|
||
subscription-only basis. The market for Apple II programming-oriented
|
||
magazines continued to decline, and the July 1992 issue announced itself as
|
||
the last one. The balance of subscriptions were filled out through
|
||
A2-Central.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Peelings II (1980-unknown) Started around August 1980, this magazine was
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" devoted entirely to Apple II software
|
||
reviews.<7>
|
||
|
||
|
||
Softalk (1980-1984) Softalk ... ah, this one was special. Of all the
|
||
""""""""""""""""""" magazines that have dealt with the Apple II since its
|
||
release in 1977, none have been quite like Softalk. Their first issue in
|
||
September 1980 was 32 pages, including the cover which featured Darth Vader
|
||
with the title, "Apple Helps The Empire Strike Back". This first issue
|
||
opened with the following introductory remark. I reproduce it in its
|
||
entirety here, because it highlights what I feel is the ideal in a computer
|
||
magazine, and because the last two paragraphs are still very applicable
|
||
today:
|
||
|
||
|
||
Welcome to SOFTALK. Whether you're a hobbyist or a
|
||
businessperson, a programmer or a nonprogrammer, SOFTALK is
|
||
designed for you, because each of you has chosen Apple for your
|
||
computer; and so did we.
|
||
|
||
SOFTALK is a feature magazine, intended to pique the
|
||
curiosity and intrigue the intellect of everyone who owns an
|
||
Apple. In SOFTALK, you'll find articles about people who own and
|
||
use Apples, some of them famous, some merely ingenious. You'll
|
||
find articles about issues--those most pertinent within the
|
||
microcomputer industry, such as piracy, and those the
|
||
microcomputer is helping to solve, such as unemployment among the
|
||
handicapped.
|
||
|
||
SOFTALK'S regular columns will strive to keep you up with
|
||
what's new in software and hardware and what's new in the
|
||
companies that make software and hardware. We'll also try to
|
||
keep you informed of how the computer is making news, both in the
|
||
United States and abroad, both seriously and lightly.
|
||
|
||
SOFTALK is not a programming magazine. Beginning in
|
||
October, our programming columns will be intended as tutorials,
|
||
offering running courses on how to program. Although we believe
|
||
that those of you who are seriously involved in programming will
|
||
enjoy SOFTALK, for your programming applications we recommend
|
||
that you seek out the excellent programming articles and tips in
|
||
such magazines as APPLE ORCHARD, MICRO, CALL-A.P.P.L.E., CREATIVE
|
||
COMPUTING, and the many other fine magazines that address
|
||
themselves to this aspect of computing.
|
||
|
||
Fun is another feature of SOFTALK. There will be puzzles,
|
||
games, contests. The prizes won't be huge, but they will be fun.
|
||
This month, you'll find a contest on page 2; later in the
|
||
magazine lurks another puzzler.
|
||
|
||
We encourage you to patronize our advertisers. Those
|
||
advertisers make it possible for you to receive SOFTALK. And,
|
||
further, we hope you'll support your local computer store. A
|
||
healthy retail sector is crucial to our industry on every level;
|
||
it is to all our benefits to help our retailers prosper.
|
||
|
||
I hope you share my enthusiasm for Apple and for the
|
||
remarkable microcomputer industry, because, when you share it,
|
||
you'll find yourself looking forward to the fast-coming future
|
||
with excitement and optimistic anticipation. If SOFTALK serves
|
||
only to instill such a positive enthusiasm in you, it will be
|
||
well worthwhile.<8>
|
||
|
||
|
||
Oddly enough, Softalk owed its beginning to a television game show.
|
||
Margot Tommervik was a contestant on "Password", and with part of her
|
||
winnings she purchased an Apple II computer. She was fascinated with the
|
||
machine and what it allowed her to do. When a local computer store offered
|
||
a prize for the first person to solve On-Line's Mystery House adventure,
|
||
she dove into it headlong and had it solved in twenty-four hours. Later
|
||
that year, she came across a publishing house that was trying to produce a
|
||
magazine about software and wanted a partner. With the rest of her
|
||
"Password" winnings, Margot and her husband Al agreed to do the magazine if
|
||
they were allowed to determine its course and retain management control. It
|
||
would be as much a magazine for Apple II enthusiasts to enjoy as a platform
|
||
for software publishers to display their wares. Although it had the modest
|
||
beginning of only 32 pages printed on newsprint stock, within a year there
|
||
were over one hundred advertising pages in each issue. It was an ideal
|
||
arrangement: The readers got a magazine that was specifically about their
|
||
computer, and the software and hardware companies got a magazine with
|
||
widespread distribution that could showcase their products to those
|
||
readers.<9>
|
||
|
||
Part of the uniqueness of Softalk was due to the way it did business.
|
||
Although it was a magazine that was available by mail or in computer stores
|
||
(as were other computer magazines of the day), this one offered EVERY Apple
|
||
II owner a FREE six month subscription as a trial! One only had to provide
|
||
the serial number on the bottom of the computer, and you were in the club.
|
||
And it felt like a club, almost a family, of fellow Apple II (and later,
|
||
Apple III, Lisa, and Macintosh) enthusiasts. This unusual method of
|
||
providing a magazine lasted even until the final issue.
|
||
|
||
Softalk carved its niche among the other Apple II magazines of the
|
||
time by providing a variety of articles not available anywhere else.
|
||
Whereas Nibble was best known for its games and utilities, Call-A.P.P.L.E.
|
||
for its technical information, and Apple Orchard for its focus on beginners
|
||
and Apple user groups, Softalk concentrated on the Apple computer industry.
|
||
This included information about Apple Computer, Inc., as well as the many
|
||
companies that provided software or hardware for the Apple II. A monthly
|
||
series called "Exec" (taken after the DOS 3.3 disk command), profiled a
|
||
company that made hardware or software for the Apple II, and gave some of
|
||
the background about its products. They carried reviews of many new
|
||
releases each month, and provided news on a continuing basis ABOUT the
|
||
companies making those products. They also developed a monthly best-seller
|
||
list for Apple II and III software, and used not the sales figures provided
|
||
by the companies who marketed the programs, but rather the actual sales
|
||
figures from the software and computer stores that sold them. Their reason
|
||
for doing it this way was to get a more accurate picture of what was
|
||
SELLING, not just what was shipping.
|
||
|
||
As time went by, Softalk expanded its coverage to include columns
|
||
that dealt with specific programming areas on the Apple II, but chose to do
|
||
so in a tutorial fashion, as they promised in their introduction article.
|
||
Roger Wagner started in October 1980 with a column called "Assembly Lines"
|
||
that taught 6502 assembly language (he says that what he knew about 6502
|
||
assembly was only about one month ahead of what the readers were
|
||
learning<10>); Doug Carlston instructed users in the art of BASIC
|
||
programming in "All About Applesoft"; Mark Pelczarski expounded on hi-res
|
||
graphics techniques in "Graphically Speaking"; Taylor Pohlman (an Apple
|
||
employee) wrote about the Apple III in "The Third Basic"; Jim Merritt (who
|
||
also worked for Apple) championed Pascal in "The Pascal Path"; Greg
|
||
Tibbetts delved into Apple CP/M in "Softcard Symposium"; and Bert Kersey
|
||
and Tom Weishaar deciphered DOS 3.3 and ProDOS in "DOSTalk". Other regular
|
||
features included "Fastalk" (an annotated listing and description of
|
||
current and classic software), "Marketalk News" (product release
|
||
announcements) and "Marketalk Reviews" (detailed product reviews),
|
||
"Tradetalk" (Apple industry news), "Hardtalk" (hardware projects or
|
||
information), "Storytalk" (fiction, primarily computer related), and
|
||
eventually a column called "Backtalk", which was a look back at older
|
||
issues of Softalk itself (this began on the third anniversary of the
|
||
magazine). One unusual column, called "Open Discussion", was quite similar
|
||
to the interaction on today's online information services. They printed
|
||
letters from readers that ranged from comments on previous articles to
|
||
questions such as "How do I get Apple Writer to work with my printer?"
|
||
Rather than directly answering each question, Softalk often left it to
|
||
readers to send in replies with help. In its last year, Softalk did begin
|
||
a column called "If Then Maybe", which actually took some of those
|
||
technical questions and used some of its consulting writers (the "Softalk
|
||
Sages") to answer them.
|
||
|
||
Each month there was a new contest, usually involving a puzzle of
|
||
some sort that might or might not require the use of a computer to help
|
||
solve it. The winners of the previous month's contests were awarded a
|
||
credit towards $100 worth of products advertised in Softalk. The puzzles
|
||
were creative and unique. One issue asked to have various shapes in a
|
||
later part of the magazine identified (some that were obvious, such as a
|
||
computer monitor, some less so, such as a hand phaser from Star Trek).
|
||
Another contest consisted of only lists of five character scrambled words;
|
||
no clues, no instructions, no direction. One month had a crossword puzzle
|
||
with VERY obtuse clues. One November issue featured tiny little "hi-res"
|
||
turkeys scattered throughout the magazine; the goal was to correctly count
|
||
ALL of them. Some of the contests even allowed those entering to be
|
||
creative; one asked entrants to write a short paragraph that might
|
||
illustrate the use of an Apple computer by a fictional or non-fictional
|
||
historical figure (an example being Emperor Nero playing an adventure game
|
||
in which he is trying to figure out the correct commands to get it to allow
|
||
him to burn down Rome). In the case of multiple entries with correct
|
||
answers, the winner of the monthly contests was selected with a
|
||
random-number generator. Even if you didn't enter the contests, they were
|
||
fun to read and ponder, and some of the winning entries (when creative
|
||
writing was involved) were great.
|
||
|
||
Softalk suddenly disappeared after the August 1984 issue was mailed.
|
||
There was no announcement, nothing that had indicated that this was going
|
||
to happen, and with its disappearance the "Golden Age" of the Apple also
|
||
passed. (By this time Softalk Publishing also had two other magazines,
|
||
"Softalk For The IBM PC" and "St. Mac", for the Macintosh). This ending
|
||
could have been predicted by the way in which the magazine had gotten
|
||
smaller and smaller in size over the previous few months, but its ending
|
||
was still somewhat of a shock to the readers. One reader was reported to
|
||
have said that if he had known that they were having financial problems he
|
||
would have taken up a collection!
|
||
|
||
What led to the demise of Softalk? Several factors likely played a
|
||
role. One was the explosion in the number of magazines for and about
|
||
computers between 1981 and 1983. Each new magazine that appeared was yet
|
||
another place where a vendor needed to consider putting advertising
|
||
dollars, and for some small companies it was simply not affordable to put
|
||
ads in ALL of them. Another factor that figured in was the introduction of
|
||
the IBM PC, and the sudden need for companies to produce versions of their
|
||
programs that would run on THAT computer. When the recession of 1982-84
|
||
arrived, the computer market began to loose steam, and small single-product
|
||
companies either had to associate with larger ones or go out of business.
|
||
Lower consumer spending on computer hardware and software hurt the market
|
||
further, and the necessary advertising dollars were simply not available,
|
||
and Softalk became, unfortunately, one of the casualties.<11> Perhaps the
|
||
major factor that contributed to this was that Softalk did not have any
|
||
large publishing company backing it up; it was owned and operated by the
|
||
Tommerviks, and they didn't have the cash cushion that would allow them to
|
||
pay expenses during time of slow advertising revenue.<12> Perhaps if a
|
||
major publisher had taken an interest, Softalk would still be around today.
|
||
|
||
In its prime (December 1983), Softalk was over 400 pages long, but by
|
||
its final issue in August 1984 it had shrunk down to only 128 pages.
|
||
Although a next issue was in the works (according to the "previews" section
|
||
in the table of contents), it never made it to the printer. Remaining
|
||
subscriptions were filled out by inCider magazine, but sadly, the magic was
|
||
gone.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[*][*][*]
|
||
|
||
NEXT INSTALLMENT: Magazines, cont.
|
||
""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
NOTES
|
||
"""""
|
||
|
||
<1> Peterson, Craig. GEnie, A2 ROUNDTABLE, Mar 1992, Category 2,
|
||
Topic 16.
|
||
|
||
<2> Suther, Kathryn Halgrimson. "The Inside Track", CALL-A.P.P.L.E.,
|
||
Oct 1984, p. 34.
|
||
|
||
<3> Vanderpool, Tom. GEnie, A2 ROUNDTABLE, Oct 1991, Category 2,
|
||
Topic 16.
|
||
|
||
<4> Barr, Mike. GEnie, A2 ROUNDTABLE, Oct 1992, Category 2, Topic 16.
|
||
|
||
<5> Harvey, Mike. "Nibble At Seven Years...Roots And Blooms",
|
||
NIBBLE, Jan 1987, p. 5.
|
||
|
||
<6> Harvey, Mike. "Time Flies When You're Havin' Fun!", NIBBLE, Jan
|
||
1985, p. 5.
|
||
|
||
<7> Golding, Val J. "Call-A.P.P.L.E. Book Review", PEEKING AT
|
||
CALL-A.P.P.L.E., VOL 3, 1980, p. 249.
|
||
|
||
<8> Tommervik, Margot Comstock. "Straightalk", SOFTALK, Sep 1980, p.
|
||
3.
|
||
|
||
<9> Levy, Steven. Dell Publishing Co., Inc, HACKERS: HEROES OF THE
|
||
COMPUTER REVOLUTION, New York, 1984, pp. 308-310.
|
||
|
||
<10> Bird, Alan, & Weishaar, Tom. "Old Timers: Two Survivors", 1991
|
||
A2-CENTRAL SUMMER CONFERENCE (tapes), July 1992.
|
||
|
||
<11> Golding, Val J. "The Magazine That Dared To Sing",
|
||
CALL-A.P.P.L.E., Oct 1984, p. 34.
|
||
|
||
<12> Disbrow, Steven. "Old Timers: Apple II Magazines", 1992
|
||
A2-CENTRAL SUMMER CONFERENCE (tapes), July 1992.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ /
|
||
/ "The IIGS is about as obsolete as the 1966 427 Cobra. /
|
||
/ A few years old, yes, but still one of the hottest /
|
||
/ machines around!" /
|
||
/ /
|
||
//////////////////////////////////////////// E.SHEPHERD ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[LOG]//////////////////////////////
|
||
LOG OFF /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
GEnieLamp Information
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
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|
||
|
||
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||
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||
|
||
|
||
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|
||
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||
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||
|
||
RoundTable Keyword GEnie Page RoundTable Keyword GEnie Page
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|
||
GEnie, set your modem to 2400 baud (or less) and half duplex (local
|
||
echo). Have the modem dial 1-800-638-8369 (in Canada, have the modem
|
||
dial 1-800-387-3880). When you get a CONNECT message, type HHH. At
|
||
the U#= prompt, type: XTX99014,DIGIPUB and hit the [return] key. The
|
||
system will then ask you for your information. Need more help? Call
|
||
(voice) 1-800-638-9636 for more information.
|
||
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
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||
[EOF]
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