2199 lines
108 KiB
Erlang
2199 lines
108 KiB
Erlang
|
||
|
||
|||||| |||||| || || |||||| ||||||
|
||
|| || ||| || || ||
|
||
|| ||| |||| |||||| || |||| Your
|
||
|| || || || ||| || ||
|
||
|||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GEnie Lamp Apple II
|
||
|
||
|| |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable
|
||
|| || || ||| ||| || ||
|
||
|| |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE!
|
||
|| || || || || || ||
|
||
||||| || || || || ||
|
||
|
||
~ HOT FILES / HOT MESSAGES ~
|
||
~ APPLE BYTES: Confirmed News! ~
|
||
~ APPLE II HISTORY - PART 1 ~
|
||
~ APPLE II AND THE FUTURE ~
|
||
~ ASK DOCTOR FRANKLIN ~
|
||
|
||
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
|
||
GEnie Lamp Apple II ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.1, Issue 03
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
Publisher............................................Kent Fillmore
|
||
Senior Editor........................................John Peters
|
||
Editor (AII).......................................Tom Schmitz
|
||
Co-Editor (AII).................................Phil Shapiro
|
||
|
||
~ GEnie Lamp MAC ~ ~ GEnie Lamp IBM ~
|
||
~ GEnie Lamp ST ~ ~ GEnie Lamp Elsewhere ~ ~ GEnieLamp Apple II ~
|
||
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
|
||
|
||
>>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE II ROUNDTABLE? <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
~ June 1, 1992 ~
|
||
|
||
FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] APPLE BYTES ............. [BYT]
|
||
Notes From The Editor. Confirmed News!
|
||
|
||
HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM]
|
||
Is That A Letter for Me? Virus Alert!
|
||
|
||
WHO'S WHO ............... [WHO] FOCUS ON... ............. [FOC]
|
||
Who's Who In Apple II. Apple II History.
|
||
|
||
TELETALK ONLINE ......... [TEL] ABOUT THIS APPLE II ..... [ABO]
|
||
Apple II BBS's Around the USA. Apple II & The Future.
|
||
|
||
THINK ABOUT IT! ......... [THI] ONLINE FUNNIES .......... [FUN]
|
||
Online Food For Thought. CowTOONS!
|
||
|
||
VIEWPOINT ............... [VIE] THE ONLINE LIBRARY ...... [LIB]
|
||
Pointless Made Easy. HOT Files For The Asking.
|
||
|
||
THE PROGRAM CLINIC ...... [ASK] LOG OFF ................. [LOG]
|
||
Ask Doctor Franklin. GEnieLamp Information.
|
||
|
||
|
||
[IDX] """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
READING GEnie Lamp GEnie Lamp has incorporated a unique indexing
|
||
"""""""""""""""""" system to help make reading the magazine easier.
|
||
To utilize this system, load GEnie Lamp 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 GEnie Lamp, 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 costs only $4.95 a month for unlimited evening and
|
||
""""""""""" weekend access to more than 100 services including
|
||
electronic mail, online encyclopedia, shopping, news, entertainment,
|
||
single-player games, multi-player chess and bulletin boards on leisure
|
||
and professional subjects. With many other services, including the
|
||
largest collection of files to download and the best online games, for
|
||
only $6 per hour (non-prime-time/2400 baud). To sign up for GEnie
|
||
service, call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH.
|
||
Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XTX99368,GENIE and hit RETURN. The system
|
||
will then prompt you for your information.
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
|
||
///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ "There are probably thousands more who installed system 6.0 /
|
||
/ and have had no problems and of course you won't hear from /
|
||
/ us--and that's the way it should be. So......GO AHEAD, Try /
|
||
/ it, you'll like it!" /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////////////////// D.GILL10 ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
|
||
FROM MY DESKTOP /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Notes From The Editor
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
By John Peters
|
||
[GENIELAMP]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
TOP OF THE PAGE Soon after the May issue was online, a GEnieLamp reader
|
||
""""""""""""""" by the name of Jim Goepel wrote to me asking if I would
|
||
consider starting up another version of GEnieLamp for all the other
|
||
RoundTables here on GEnie. My first reaction was, "Oh no! _FIVE_ issues
|
||
of GEnieLamp?" But after thinking about it for a bit, I came to the
|
||
conclusion that Jim may be onto something here. And with that, GEnieLamp
|
||
Elsewhere was born. Now you have an online magazine devoted to the "other"
|
||
computing RoundTables. To check out the premier issue of GEnieLamp
|
||
Elsewhere, look for it in the GEnieLamp RoundTable on page 515. Thanks,
|
||
Jim!
|
||
|
||
Another reader asked if it would be possible to download GEnieLamp
|
||
instead of capturing it off the menu. I was kind of surprised to see this
|
||
request since capturing GEnieLamp from the menu is free (i.e. part of the
|
||
GEnie*Basic service) and downloading the magazine would be at normal online
|
||
charges. However, there are some advantages to downloading the magazine
|
||
such as the time it takes. Another factor would be if you have trouble
|
||
with line noise. For those of you who would prefer to download GEnieLamp,
|
||
you will now find all the GEnieLamp versions in the GEnieLamp RT Library on
|
||
page 515;3.
|
||
|
||
You also might want to keep in mind that with the proper script
|
||
Aladdin could capture GEnieLamp for you. Fred Koch has come up with an
|
||
excellent script for the Atari ST. (File #23605 in the ST Aladdin
|
||
RoundTable/M1000;3). We are also working on a all platform Aladdin script
|
||
that will, with the push of a key, download any or all of the GEnieLamp
|
||
issues, do an Autopass 1 or 2 (if you like) and then log off GEnie. Look
|
||
for more info in the next issue of GEnieLamp.
|
||
|
||
|
||
GEnieLamp MAC Goes Graphics! As most of our Atari readers know, we have
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" a special version of GEnieLamp available
|
||
for the ST which includes pictures, screenshots, illustrations and other
|
||
graphics. Now Macintosh readers can get in on the excitement too! Our
|
||
Macintosh editor, Jim Flanangan has come up with a graphics issue for the
|
||
GEnieLamp MAC readers. If you own a Mac, do yourself a favor and download
|
||
the latest graphics issue available in the GEnieLamp RoundTable library
|
||
(M515;3). It'll knock your socks off!
|
||
|
||
|
||
That's about it for this month....
|
||
|
||
Take care!
|
||
John Peters
|
||
[GENIELAMP]
|
||
|
||
|
||
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ "(I'm) Gonna have to check into that, and stop these "Whip /
|
||
/ up a program real quick, 45-minute C- language marathons." /
|
||
////////////////////////////////////////////// EXPLORER ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[BYT]//////////////////////////////
|
||
APPLE_BYTES /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Confirmed Apple II News
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
o INCIDER/A+ TO HOLD FTA CONTEST
|
||
|
||
o KANSASFEST TAKING SHAPE
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
INCIDER/A+ TO HOLD FTA CONTEST Summer time, for many, is vacation time
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" and a time for fun, so the next several
|
||
Shareware Solutions columns will be all about fun and games. In the July
|
||
issue, we'll be taking a look at some wonderfu l ProDOS-8 based games and
|
||
in the August issue, we'll be looking at some phenomenal GS/OS games.
|
||
We'll be looking at some of the unreleased treasures from our good friends
|
||
The FTA, and from some other French programmers you may have never heard
|
||
of before.
|
||
|
||
Also, in the August issue, timed to coincide with KansasFest, we will
|
||
be announcing the first ever Shareware Solutions Contests. One contest
|
||
will be for programmers and one will be for end users. Without giving
|
||
away any state secrets, I'll just say that the contest is being made
|
||
possible by Olivier Goguel. You know the Gog; founder of the FTA.
|
||
|
||
(Go one Joe, tell 'em a little more)
|
||
|
||
As you may have heard, when the FTA disbanded last winter, they left
|
||
behind a number of partially completed programs. Olivier Goguel has
|
||
provided me with the source code for the FTA software, and it is that
|
||
source code that will be the basis of the programming contest. That source
|
||
code is going to be released as public domain (Spread it far and wide,
|
||
please) and we will be conducting our contest to see who can create the
|
||
most mind blowing completed product from the source code. We're currently
|
||
trying to get sponsors, so we can offer prizes.
|
||
|
||
I'm very excited about the contests, as I see it as a way for the II
|
||
community to get focused again on something positive. There's been
|
||
entirely too much doom and gloom recently (IMHO) and I see the contest as a
|
||
way out of all that negativity. I hope you'll agree, and get involved in
|
||
that first contest. So does Olivier Goguel, who sends his regards to the
|
||
IIGS community. -Joe Kohn
|
||
(J.KOHN, CAT28, TOP4, MSG:2/M645;1)
|
||
\
|
||
[NOTE: Joe writes the SHAREWARE SOLUTIONS column and other articles
|
||
for inCider/A+. Be sure to check out his great work!]
|
||
|
||
|
||
KANSASFEST TAKING SHAPE A2-Central Summer Conference!
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""" July 21-22: Two-day Colleges. If you come for
|
||
Tuesday and Wednesday's activities, you'll have your choice of one of three
|
||
two-day developer colleges. One of these will be an introduction to Pascal
|
||
programming on the Apple IIgs, by Mike Westerfield, developer of the Orca
|
||
series of development tools from The Byte Works. The second will be an
|
||
introduction to C programming on the Apple IIgs, by Walker Archer and Gary
|
||
Morrison. The third will be an intensive look at Apple IIgs Sound and
|
||
Graphics programming, which will be led by Nate Trost, Chris McKinsey, and
|
||
Bill Heineman.
|
||
|
||
|
||
JULY 23-24: KANSASFEST If you come for Thursday and Friday's activities,
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""" you'll get our best summer conference ever - two
|
||
days packed with sessions about the Apple II. We're planning sessions that
|
||
will help developers keep their System 6 products compatible with each
|
||
other. We already have registrations from a group of Australian developers
|
||
and a number of interesting proposals. For example, Softdisk, which
|
||
continues to actively buy Apple II software from developers, is planning
|
||
several sessions. And we're planning sessions for HyperStudio, HyperCard,
|
||
and UltraMacros developers. Apple itself will once again attend this
|
||
portion of our conference. In addition, we'll have a bunch of old-timers
|
||
around to reminisce with you and a bunch of new-timers to tell you about
|
||
their dreams for the Apple II's next 15 years.
|
||
|
||
JULY 25-26: APPLE CENTRAL EXPO Just like last year, Events Specialists is
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" holding its Apple Central Expo in Kansas
|
||
City on the Saturday and Sunday following our conference. This is a
|
||
user-oriented show that draws Apple II users from across the midwest. The
|
||
Expo will be held in the same building as our conference. For tickets to
|
||
the Expo or to reserve exhibit space, call Events Specialists at
|
||
800-955-6630 (617-784-4531), or write them at 17 Lilac Road, Sharon, MA
|
||
02067
|
||
|
||
Call for proposals If you'd like to make a presentation at this year's
|
||
"""""""""""""""""" conference, send us a proposal by May 1. Tell us
|
||
about your topic, intended audience, and equipment and time requirements.
|
||
Presenters earn a discount!
|
||
|
||
|
||
Facilities Like last year's summer conference, most of our sessions will
|
||
"""""""""" be held at a state-of-the-art conference facility owned by
|
||
the National Office Machine Dealer's Association (NOMDA) in Kansas City,
|
||
Mo. This facility is within networking distance of Avila College, where
|
||
our conference has been held in the past and where, once again, we'll be
|
||
able to provide dormitory rooms and meals to those who want to have the
|
||
best time possible meeting and learning from other developers. Make your
|
||
plans to attend now. Whether you come for one day or more, we promise
|
||
you'll enjoy the sessions you'll attend and the people you'll meet. You
|
||
must register by June 1 to get the best prices. We have private rooms
|
||
available at Avila this year, or, if you prefer, choose double-occupancy
|
||
and save some money. Avila's prices include evening and morning meals
|
||
surrounding the nights of your stay. College and conference prices include
|
||
lunch. If you like, you can pay for the sessions only and make your own
|
||
hotel and transportation arrangements. Or you can eat and stay at Avila
|
||
for $30 a night ($40 for a private room). And, for $30 more, we'll arrange
|
||
to have you met at the airport and brought directly to Avila and returned.
|
||
This final option would cover ALL of your costs for the conference except
|
||
airfare.
|
||
|
||
Registration Information Tuesday & Wednesday
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
CONF-GS Graphics & Sound College before after
|
||
CONF-P Pascal College June 1 June 1
|
||
CONF-C C College
|
||
College of choice (lunch incl) $150 $175
|
||
Thursday & Friday
|
||
CONF KansasFest(lunch incl) $300 $350
|
||
|
||
Saturday & Sunday
|
||
|
||
Apple Central Expo 1-800-955-6630
|
||
|
||
Accommodations
|
||
""""""""""""""
|
||
TRANS Airport/Avila round trip $30 $35
|
||
AVILA-1 2 Meals, Private Room, per day $40 $45
|
||
AVILA-2 2 Meals, Double Room, per day $30 $35
|
||
|
||
You must attend a college or KansasFest to be eligible for a room at
|
||
Avila. Room charge includes supper the night of your stay and breakfast
|
||
the next morning. You must indicate which nights you want to stay at
|
||
Avila.
|
||
|
||
Accommodations are available from Monday the 20th to Sunday
|
||
(RC.ELLEN, CAT23, TOP10, MSG56/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ "Overnight there have been a dozen downloads. Now, how do we /
|
||
/ reach all those folks NOT on GEnie ? :-)" /
|
||
//////////////////////////////////////////////// L.ROCHA1 ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
|
||
HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Is That A Letter For Me?
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
By Tom Schmitz & Phil Shapiro
|
||
[TOM.SCHMITZ] [P.SHAPIRO1]
|
||
|
||
o BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS
|
||
|
||
o APPLE II ODDS & ENDS
|
||
|
||
o WHAT'S NEW W/APPLE II?
|
||
|
||
o ...THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
|
||
|
||
o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
[*] CAT2, TOP5, MSG:76.....How to make CDA's, NDA's, CDEV's & Init's work
|
||
[*] CAT2, TOP5, MSG:113....Clean-up by name -- neat new System 6 option!
|
||
[*] CAT3, TOP3, MSG:71.....How your Apple dealer can download System 6
|
||
[*] CAT9, TOP6, MSG:148....Patch to restore white folder default to 6.0
|
||
[*] CAT9, TOP6, MSG:385....What is Archiver on the system software?
|
||
[*] CAT9, TOP6, MSG:412....ZIP Chip GS Speed problems
|
||
[*] CAT9, TOP6, MSG:425....How to wire a SCSI cable
|
||
[*] CAT9, TOP13, MSG:64....SYSTEM 6.0 AND RAMFAST
|
||
[*] CAT11, TOP11, MSG:122..Zany Golf patch -- Get to the Mystery Hole!
|
||
[*] CAT13, TOP21, MSG:36...New features for TCX!!!
|
||
[*] CAT13, TOP6, MSG:47....New BrainStormer application for WriteWorks
|
||
[*] CAT13, TOP25, MSG:105..Where did my Texas II subscription go?
|
||
[*] CAT17, TOP5 , MSG:57...Word counting with AppleWorks 3.0
|
||
[*] CAT26, TOP2, MSG:71....The 911 error and what to do
|
||
[*] CAT26, TOP9, MSG:4.....Apple StyleWriter warning
|
||
[*] CAT35, TOP3, MSG:5.....ECON Announces Pegasus 0i - Internal SCSI Hard Drive Kit
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> APPLE II ODDS & ENDS <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
WHAT IS APPLE'S TIM SWIHART DOING? Now that System 6 and HCGS are done,
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I've moved into a new role at Apple.
|
||
I'm now managing the development and quality engineers in the A2 group.
|
||
Same group, different role. Instead of managing products, I'm managing
|
||
people. :-) Tim Swihart
|
||
|
||
|
||
NEW Co-PILOT VERSION 2.0 I have just uploaded Co-Pilot version 2.0
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""" (finally!!!). It should be available as
|
||
#18389, GECoPilot.BXY, as soon as the sysops get to review it.
|
||
|
||
This version of the Co-Pilot program itself is pretty much the same as
|
||
the beta version that has been available, but with the bugs all fixed
|
||
(hopefully) and a few details improved. The scripts have been completely
|
||
revised to make them easier to understand (for those of you who care) and
|
||
easier for me to modify and improve and to work better with GEnie. There
|
||
is a new installer to make the installation easier but, due to numerous
|
||
changes in the organization of Co-Pilot, the installer can not update
|
||
configuration files from previous versions -- you will have to re-configure
|
||
them manually.
|
||
|
||
This version of Co-Pilot requires Point-to-Point version 4.0 or later
|
||
or Talk is Cheap version 3.20 or later (please note that TIC 3.20 is now
|
||
required -- the beta worked with earlier versions IC). This version will
|
||
work correctly with PtP and System 6.0.
|
||
|
||
The fee for new users remains $25. I regret that I have concluded
|
||
that I have to charge an upgrade fee for this new version, due to the
|
||
amount of time and effort that went into it, and the severe reduction in
|
||
new sales. The upgrade is $10. There is one exception to this -- in
|
||
appreciation of his support of Co-Pilot when I have not been available,
|
||
Gary Utter gets a free upgrade.
|
||
|
||
Besides squashing the inevitable bugs that will appear, I will be
|
||
devoting my time in the next few weeks to adding support for ProTERM to
|
||
Co-Pilot. (K.GLUCKMAN, CAT10M TOP11, MSG:65/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
MORE FROM GEnie LAMP When we saw the good word GEnie Lamp decided to
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""" give Ken a call and find out more about Co-Pilot:
|
||
Co-Pilot is an off-line message processor which works with Talk is Cheap or
|
||
Point-to-Point (and soon with ProTERM 3.0) to provide an easy to use IIGS
|
||
desktop interface to GEnie. Changes in the latest version allow you to
|
||
copy text from the message you are reading and paste it into the message
|
||
you are writing, or to any other program which supports the clipboard.
|
||
Other changes improve the perform ance of the scripts used to access GEnie
|
||
and make the script files easier to read and therefore to customize. Many
|
||
smaller refinements in the program have also been added to make use even
|
||
easier.
|
||
|
||
Co-Pilot was originally written as my first programming effort. It is
|
||
still the only major application that I have written. It is written
|
||
entirely in ORCA/M assembly.
|
||
|
||
I only intended to create a desktop program that would allow me to
|
||
read messages from (excuse me) CompuServe. However, it just kept growing
|
||
and soon had many features for responding, archiving, downloading files
|
||
and, eventually, fully automating an on-line session. Subsequently, I
|
||
began to notice that really cool things were happening in the Apple II
|
||
world on GEnie. However, I just couldn't deal with the GEnie interface.
|
||
Tom Hoover's GEM helped a lot, but I am not an AppleWorks person, so I was
|
||
still not comfortable with GEnie. I approached Tom Weisharr at AppleFest
|
||
in Boston and he agreed to support the creation of a version of Co-Pilot
|
||
for GEnie. I got a lot of help from all of the Sysops, Tom Hoover, Don
|
||
Elton, Gary Little and others.
|
||
|
||
I was really pleased when I was able to create a version of Co-Pilot
|
||
for GEnie that looked to the user almost the same as the CompuServe
|
||
version. I believe that one of Co-Pilot's greatest contributions has been
|
||
that it provides the same interface for both GEnie and CompuServe. I know
|
||
of no other set of programs that does that for any other computer. This
|
||
has enabled many users of CompuServe to start using GEnie and vice-versa.
|
||
In fact, it was Co-Pilot that brought the famous Gary Utter to GEnie from
|
||
CompuServe! -Ken
|
||
|
||
|
||
AII ADVERTISING THIS MONTH The following is from John Majka, secretary
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" of AII: The ads for the Apple II have been
|
||
placed in the following magazines:
|
||
|
||
National Review - Mother Jones - Discover - Sports Afield - The
|
||
Atlantic - Inc. - Electronic Musician - CQ (for ham radio operators)
|
||
|
||
They should begin appearing in the June issue due to publishing
|
||
schedules except for NATIONAL REVIEW. Our ads are already appearing there
|
||
and we have been getting responses to it.
|
||
(D.CRUTCHER, CAT5, TOP7, MSG:44/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
NO HARMONIE FOR EXPRESS From the thread here on GEnie it has become
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""" obvious that Express is not useful with the
|
||
Harmonie printer drivers. This is due to the way Harmonie works (images a
|
||
little then sends data out the port i n little chunks). Express is most
|
||
beneficial for printer drivers like the standard ImageWriter driver and the
|
||
Independence printer drivers for the DeskJet and LaserJet. All of these
|
||
drivers image larger chunks of data and pump more data out the port in a
|
||
single shot. For these drivers Express DOES REDUCE the time waiting to
|
||
regain computer control.
|
||
|
||
We apologize for making the assumption that if it saved time with our
|
||
Independence printer drivers and if it saved time with the ImageWriter
|
||
printer driver, that it would save time with the Harmonie d rivers. {Live
|
||
and learn the hard way...}
|
||
|
||
If you are using a Harmonie driver and Express isn't working well for
|
||
you, please try to return the program to the place of purchase...we don't
|
||
want anyone to be unhappy with us or with Express. Express is a great
|
||
product; unfortunately it just doesn't benefit Harmonie users
|
||
|
||
For those who do find Express useful, please don't return the software
|
||
just to get it free...it took two years and lots of money to develop. We
|
||
don't mind refunding Kirk and others who are using Harmonie because
|
||
Express doesn't appear to be useful to them. Thanks, -Dave
|
||
(SEVENHILLS, CAT43, TOP10, MSG:21/24/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> WHAT'S NEW WITH APPLE II? <<<
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
A2 RT HAS A NEW BOSS Dean Esmay (A2.DEAN) has been promoted to Head
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""" Sysop of A2 and A2Pro, the Apple II RoundTables on
|
||
GEnie. Dean has been our librarian here since early 1989. Dean follows in
|
||
the footsteps of Chet D ay, who resigned in late March to run the Religion
|
||
and Ethics RoundTable here on GEnie.
|
||
|
||
I'm renovating this room for Dean so he can have an office. Please
|
||
excuse the folding table and chairs for now, we've got a computer desk and
|
||
some file cabinets on order. If you have any ideas u'd like to share with
|
||
Dean about how the Apple II RoundTables should be run, this is where you
|
||
can catch him. -Tom Weishaar, Manager, Apple II RoundTables
|
||
(UNCLE-DOS, CAT3, TOP7, MSG:1/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
WHO IS DEAN? Gosh, Lloyd, tell you about myself? That might scare
|
||
"""""""""""" people away, but I'll give it a shot. :-)
|
||
I started working with computers in an independent study program back at a
|
||
special education High School I attended back in the early 80's. Actually
|
||
I started before that playing around with a TRS-80 Model I and Commodore 64
|
||
systems, went through a brief love affair with the IBM-PC, and finally
|
||
discovered the Apple II via an Apple IIe at school. I started reading
|
||
Open-Apple at that time and because me a fanatic (perhaps too much of one,
|
||
but I was young) from that point on.
|
||
|
||
When Tom Weishaar took over the Apple II RoundTables on GEnie, I sent
|
||
him my resume. I'd been using a modem for a while and was running my own
|
||
BBS at the time. I was also President of the Apple Tree Computer Club and
|
||
had developed a reputation with a lot of folks for being a problem-solver.
|
||
Tom, in a momentary lapse of reason, decided to hire me. I became library
|
||
and A2.HELP manager here in A2 something like three and a half years ago.
|
||
I started in December '88 I think, and after a couple of weeks of training
|
||
I took over from Doug Acker (library) and Dennis Doms (A2.HELP). Those
|
||
were pre tty scary days, especially since I'd never even used GEnie before,
|
||
but I guess it worked out. I'm still here.
|
||
|
||
I was divorced a while back, and now live in the south suburbs of
|
||
Chicago with my girlfriend Susan, owner of Digital Data Express (a small
|
||
Apple II software & used hardware dealership that also distributes the
|
||
Apple II GEM CD-ROM), with her two kids and her dad. We reside in
|
||
beautiful unincorporated Midlothian, just a few minutes south of the city.
|
||
Heck, if anyone from around here wants to get together for coffee or beer
|
||
or some such, I'd be happy to meet you.
|
||
|
||
In addition to my duties here, I've been the editor of A2-Central On
|
||
Disk ever since its inception. My first job was converting all our back
|
||
issues into text format for sale on a single package, and after that
|
||
massive project began creating a monthly disk issue jammed full of the best
|
||
PD, freeware, and shareware software I could find.
|
||
|
||
I also have that wonderful job responsibility known as "other tasks as
|
||
assigned," and have at various times done things like answered mail for
|
||
A2-Central or handled other tasks that Tom needed. Mostly it was just the
|
||
library and A2 On Disk.
|
||
|
||
Last year I became the editor of Studio City, nee' Stack-Central. I'm
|
||
particularly proud of Studio City. We made a lot of changes to it and I
|
||
now think it's one of the finest disk based publications you'll find on any
|
||
machine. It's a lot of work and terribly demanding, maybe even more than
|
||
it's worth, but I find it incredibly rewarding.
|
||
|
||
I still do the occasional article or other task for the A2-Central
|
||
newsletter, and am in the process of negotiating a deal to become a
|
||
columnist for inCider on top of everything else.
|
||
|
||
This stuff is about all I do for a living, though I occasionally teach
|
||
computer workshops or write articles for other magazines. I also sometimes
|
||
write music reviews for On-Line Digital Music Review.
|
||
|
||
I've been working more or less on my own since '88, mostly at home
|
||
though I do have an office in Blue Island, Illinois. I find it all quite
|
||
wonderful. Perhaps I don't make as much money as I might at a "real" job,
|
||
but the compensation is that I have a much greater degree of freedom in my
|
||
working hours and habits than most people ever do. It also allows me to
|
||
take occasional classes at the local community college without worrying too
|
||
much about scheduling conflicts. I never went to college after High School
|
||
so this is nice.
|
||
|
||
Though I'm familiar with and occasionally use other machines, I've
|
||
been an Apple II diehard since the early 80's and I don't see that changing
|
||
any time soon.
|
||
|
||
I stand about 5'10", weigh too much, and sport quite long blonde hair and
|
||
a beard to go with my somewhat piercingly blue eyes. I've been told at
|
||
various times that I look like either some kind of Viking or Gregg Allman,
|
||
though neither is intentional. I usually don't wear much besides t-shirts
|
||
and shorts. I own exactly one tie, which I never learned how to put it on
|
||
and haven't worn in at least three years.
|
||
(A2.DEAN, CAT3, TOP7, MSG:26/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
MORE NEW HIRES I'd like to announce that Bill Dooley (BILL.DOOLEY) has
|
||
"""""""""""""" recently joined the A2 staff as our bulletin board
|
||
manager and Chief Topic Cop. You may not all be familiar with Bill, he's
|
||
usually pretty quiet here in A2, but you may recognize him from some of the
|
||
other RTs he frequents, most notably the Jerry Pournelle RT.
|
||
|
||
I hope you'll all make Bill feel welcome in his new role. I know the
|
||
staff here in A2 is looking forward to working with him.
|
||
|
||
I'd also like to announce here that Greg DaCosta, now using the
|
||
account GREGD, has rejoined the staff, this time as an assistant to Tom
|
||
Stechow over in A2Pro. Welcome back, Greg!
|
||
(A2.DEAN, CAT3, TOP7, MSG:36/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
TRADING ZONE REVAMPED Categories 4 and 7 were completely reorganized
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""" last month. Category four, A2 RT's trading zone
|
||
has expanded its scope and sectioned off various types of products into
|
||
their own topics. GEnie's A2 RT is a unique second-hand market where great
|
||
bargains are constantly found. And if nobody is offering what you are
|
||
looking for, just ask. Somebody will be right along with a hot lead or
|
||
maybe even with the item in hand. Here is a list of the new trade zones:
|
||
|
||
Category 4 Product/Service Directory (ads, addresses, phone numbers)
|
||
Topic # Description
|
||
[*] 1 A2's Classifieds
|
||
[*] 5 Full Systems/Large packages
|
||
[*] 7 8-bit Software
|
||
[*] 10 16-bit Software
|
||
[*] 14 II+ specific expansion cards
|
||
[*] 15 Standard slot (1-7) expansion cards
|
||
[*] 16 IIe auxiliary slot expansion cards
|
||
[*] 17 IIgs memory expansion slot cards
|
||
[*] 19 5.25 floppy drives
|
||
[*] 20 3.5 floppy drives
|
||
[*] 22 IIc Hard Drives
|
||
[*] 23 SCSI Hard Drives
|
||
[*] 24 Non-SCSI Hard Drives
|
||
[*] 25 Tape and CD-ROM Drives
|
||
[*] 28 Printers
|
||
[*] 29 Scanners/digitizers
|
||
[*] 30 Monitors
|
||
[*] 31 Modems
|
||
[*] 35 II+ and II+ specific hardware
|
||
[*] 36 IIe and IIe specific hardware
|
||
[*] 37 IIc/IIc+ and IIc-specific hardware
|
||
[*] 38 IIgs and IIgs-specific hardware
|
||
[*] 39 Other hardware & misc. equipment
|
||
[*] 44 Computer shows and fairs
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE SEARCH IS ON FOR EARLY APPLE II AUTHORS In recognition of all the
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" fine support the Apple II
|
||
family of computers has enjoyed from its inception, A2 and A2PRO are proud
|
||
to announce a new effort dedicated to preserving as much of this older Cl
|
||
assic software as is humanly possible. To do this we are soliciting the
|
||
aid of all the visitors to A2 and A2PRO here on GEnie.
|
||
|
||
We are instituting a massive search for as many of the early Apple II
|
||
programmers as possible. We have several reasons for this. By tracking
|
||
down these early luminaries, we hope to get them interested in continuing
|
||
their work (for those who have since left the Apple II word), or, failing
|
||
that, to obtain permission for distribution of their programs and/or source
|
||
code via GEnie. This would involve release of Copyright, or otherwise
|
||
gaining permission for distribution. With the rumors of the loss of the
|
||
original masters for much of Infocom's early adventure games (whether true
|
||
or not), the ability to acquire older programs for safekeeping has taken
|
||
on a new importance.
|
||
|
||
At this point, a statement of our general goals would probably be the
|
||
best way to explain what we are trying to do.
|
||
|
||
>>>>> LOST CLASSICS GOALS
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
1. Preserve as much Classic Apple II software as possible, including
|
||
source code, if available, to prevent inadvertent loss due to
|
||
accident or misplacement.
|
||
|
||
2. Provide a service to our clients by providing access to software
|
||
which is otherwise unavailable due to cessation of commercial
|
||
publication.
|
||
|
||
3. Provide a clearinghouse for dated software which needs update for
|
||
modern Apple IIs (ProDOS vs DOS 3.3, //e vs ][+, etc.), but which
|
||
may need other third or fourth party assistance to complete. (T
|
||
his includes both public and where necessary, private assistance
|
||
with negotiations between interested parties.)
|
||
|
||
4. Try to obtain derivation rights for non-Apple II software for
|
||
porting to the Apple II platform. (For example, Sim-City for the
|
||
GS, perhaps).
|
||
|
||
5. In the process, make A2 and A2PRO an important hub in the
|
||
continuing support of the Apple II line of computers.
|
||
|
||
These goals have been stated basically in order of importance. Our
|
||
primary consideration is the preservation of existing software which may no
|
||
longer be published. Because of this, we here at A2/A2PRO applaud efforts
|
||
by Big Red, Triton, and others to acquire distribution rights for much of
|
||
the more recent Apple II software. But they do not go far enough. In many
|
||
cases they do not obtain source code, so they cannot upgrade or update much
|
||
of the software they carry. If the current owner of the source code should
|
||
lose their disk(s), the software is gone forever. (And we know how many
|
||
people keep backups, right? :) The best that can be accomplished through
|
||
Big Red, et al, is partial satisfaction of Goal #1 and Goal #2 (which is no
|
||
mean feat, but it is not enough).
|
||
|
||
|
||
Detailed Approach We will be keeping a database of as many Apple II
|
||
""""""""""""""""" programmers as possible. The only criterion will be
|
||
that these programmers be owners of copyrights on previous commercial
|
||
(copyrighted) Apple II soft ware. We need your help. If you are an Apple
|
||
II programmer (current or past), reply in the appropriate Topic in this
|
||
category with your particulars: address, phone #, e-mail addresses (GEnie
|
||
and elsewhere), and what software you have written. Doing so will NOT
|
||
obligate you in any way. Should you know of the whereabouts of other
|
||
programmers/copyright holders, then we would like that information also.
|
||
|
||
By knowing where these people are, we can start a systematic effort to
|
||
track them down to ask for support of our project. Since storage on
|
||
GEnie's mainframes would appear to be a very safe place for storage, this
|
||
would satisfy Goal #1, even without source code. If allowed to distribute,
|
||
this would satisfy Goal #2. If it needs update, we can work to organize
|
||
the programmers which frequent A2P RO to get software updated (with
|
||
permission, of course), assuming the original programmer is unable or
|
||
unwilling to undertake the task himself. This satisfies Goal #3. Because
|
||
some Apple II programmers went on to other platforms, it may be possible to
|
||
convince them, or another programmer, to do a port to the Apple II of the
|
||
newer, non-Apple II software which is currently unavailable on the Apple
|
||
II. This satisfies Goal #4. By performing all of these, we automatically
|
||
meet Goal #5.
|
||
|
||
Privacy Issues Should you be one of the programmers we are searching
|
||
"""""""""""""" for, and do NOT want your personal information stated
|
||
publicly, then send private e-mail to T.TOBIN with your data and
|
||
instructions to that effect . All information acquired privately will
|
||
remain that way, private. If you are providing data on another individual
|
||
and are unsure if they wish their addresses publicly aired, then please
|
||
send their info by e-mail as well. All requests for privacy will be
|
||
honored. It is also assumed that there may be programmers who do not wish
|
||
their software distributed online, but would like to partake of t he other
|
||
services being offered here (safety from loss, programmer clearinghouse,
|
||
etc.).
|
||
|
||
Although this avoids Goal #2, we realize we cannot have everything,
|
||
and we will be willing to help work the problem. We are in the process of
|
||
setting up an Optical Disk Cartridge (560MB Total Stora ge, per Cartridge)
|
||
for offline storage of any and all programs and source which programmers do
|
||
not wish on GEnie initially. This provides a geographically separate
|
||
'safety' storage which can be guaranteed not to be distributed without
|
||
express permission, and which can be used to support whatever
|
||
update/upgrade plan the author may have in mind (if any).
|
||
|
||
In Summary Remember, if you are an Apple II programmer, let us know
|
||
who and where you are. If you know of an Apple II programmer, let us know
|
||
where he or she is. This will only work with your support. Show your
|
||
support for the best, most versatile computer ever made by becoming
|
||
actively involved. Apple II Forever! (And WE really mean it!)
|
||
|
||
Disclaimer As this effort evolves, we retain the right to change or
|
||
"""""""""" improve how we do this, as necessary. (But we will not
|
||
violate any confidences, regardless)
|
||
(T.TOBIN, CAT7, TOP1, MSG:2/3/4/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> LOST CLASSIC TOPICS
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
[*] 1 About Lost Classics
|
||
[*] 2 Who Really Owns this Stuff?
|
||
[*] 3 Lobby and Front Desk: Check in Here
|
||
[*] 4 Apple ][ Fantasies
|
||
[*] 5 Volunteer Programmers Needed
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> ...THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
HYPERCARD MAC DEATH? I see where Apple is now denying the rumored death
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""" of HyperCard (Mac). It seems some people are
|
||
interpreting the release (pending?) of Apple script as the death knell for
|
||
HyperCard. Apple says it ain't so. Isn't strange that they have to spend
|
||
so much time and energy saying they aren't killing a product line?
|
||
|
||
HyperCard (and the Mac) will probably evolve to the point where
|
||
current users are in the same boat as we ][ users. Tools on a RISC chip to
|
||
allow it to run 680404 code? Wanna bet what kind of compatibility problems
|
||
that will cause?
|
||
|
||
But hey, system 6 is great. Thanks Tom et al.
|
||
(J.L.COFFEY, CAT5, TOP3, MSG:76/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
APPLE II GF? Readers of GEnie's paper magazine, LIVEWIRE, may have
|
||
"""""""""""" noticed a photo caption mentioning the Apple IIGF. As
|
||
always, this started the rumor mill churning so we at GEnie Lamp decided to
|
||
call our friends at Livewire and get the scoop. Here is what they had to
|
||
say:
|
||
|
||
The 'IIGF' is unfortunately nothing more than a typo of IIGS.
|
||
Somewhere along the line someone made a mistake and it was mentioned under
|
||
a screen shot of Sensei as 'IIGF', when it was supposed to be IIGS.
|
||
|
||
Being a IIGS owner myself, I wasn't exactly thrilled to see the error
|
||
appear (especially since I captured the screen shot, etc).
|
||
|
||
Sincerely,
|
||
Kevin J. McCann
|
||
Asst. Editor, LW
|
||
|
||
|
||
HEATHKIT COMPUTER PASSES Today, in the Chicago Tribune Tempo section, I
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""" saw some very sad, though in retrospect, not
|
||
very surprising news. Heath Co. is discontinuing the production of
|
||
Heathkits. "Actuarial tables" were cited as the determining factor in
|
||
discontinuing the kits in favor of ready-made consumer electronics items.
|
||
Just another sign of the times. Too many of Heathkit's customers were old,
|
||
and passing on, and they were not being replaced. Mr. William Johnson,
|
||
president of the company asked "Do your kids have the patience to sit down
|
||
and build there own stereo set over the course of several evenings, or a
|
||
weekend? Mine don't. They want to buy one at a store so they can listen
|
||
to it the very same day".
|
||
|
||
So easy. So convenient. No curiosity for how or why it works. No, as
|
||
Johnson called it, "Eureka!" factor needed... although some people I've
|
||
seen lately probably shout that when they manage to get the batteries in
|
||
the right way.
|
||
|
||
I guess I'm just sad. Another treasure of the past fading away, as so
|
||
many others have recently, in the name of the holy bottom line. The world
|
||
is becoming a very gray place.
|
||
|
||
Bartender, got a Coke? I'm gonna dig out my Don Lancaster books and
|
||
my IC references and have some fun, in memory of Heathkit. -Rich
|
||
(BARRACUDA, CAT2, TOP7, MSG:17/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<<
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
Category 19, Topic 13
|
||
Message 3 Mon May 18, 1992
|
||
A2.DEAN [Studio City] at 18:11 EDT
|
||
|
||
I might as well throw myself into this controversy... some of my
|
||
friends won't like that I say this, but what the heck.
|
||
|
||
BTW, I'm editor of Studio City, a HyperStudio based magazine, and am
|
||
involved on the fringes of Script-Central (some months more than others).
|
||
|
||
Using an accelerated IIgs with a hard drive and a RamFast, I have
|
||
still never seen a stack working under Hypercard IIgs that I considered
|
||
fast enough to be useful. I find it painful any time I try to do anything
|
||
with Hypercard; yes, there are neat things you can do with that language,
|
||
but anything you do with it is going to run so slow you'll probably have
|
||
time to walk down to a local restaurant for a few cups of coffee while you
|
||
wait for it to finish whatever it's doing.
|
||
|
||
I can't even imagine how horrid it would be trying to use Hypercard
|
||
on a IIgs without acceleration. If I didn't already have a Zip GS, and I
|
||
bought Hypercard IIgs, I'd want my money back.
|
||
|
||
HyperStudio is significantly faster all the way around. So much
|
||
faster that from what I've seen, a IIgs without an accelerator will be
|
||
faster with HyperStudio than a machine WITH an accelerator will be with
|
||
Hypercard.
|
||
|
||
HyperStudio excels in the tons of little things it does that other
|
||
Hypermedia programs can't do. Little things mean a lot when added up;
|
||
funky transitions, vastly better graphics and animation support, speed,
|
||
greater ease of use, flexibility, and on and on. Right now the ONLY think
|
||
Hypercard has on HyperStudio is the scripting language; if it weren't for
|
||
Hypertalk's power, Hypercard would be a complete joke. HyperStudio's
|
||
scripting is quite weak right now; not only weak, but also embarassingly
|
||
buggy. If SimpleScript were half as good as HyperTalk, and actually WORKED
|
||
right most of the time, there simply wouldn't be any question that
|
||
HyperStudio was a better environment.
|
||
|
||
I'll go ahead and say that I think that HyperStudio is a vastly
|
||
superior environment for most Hypermedia tasks on the IIgs. Hypercard is
|
||
too bloody slow and cumbersome to do anything really useful with; it's fun
|
||
to play with if you're "into" programming and want a neat and easy language
|
||
that you can do lots of stuff with, but I frankly have a hard time thinking
|
||
of it as anything more than an impressive and glorified toy.
|
||
|
||
Dean Esmay
|
||
|
||
[*][*][*]
|
||
|
||
|
||
Category 19, Topic 13
|
||
Message 5 Mon May 18, 1992
|
||
BO.MONROE [ =040 ] at 21:22 EDT
|
||
|
||
Heh heh. You're fired, Dean. (Did I mention I'm Editor-In-Chief?)
|
||
|
||
The truth is, HyperCard IIGS has been getting faster while
|
||
HyperStudio has been getting SLOWER. My gut feeling is they operate now at
|
||
about the same speed, though HyperStudio is still probably a little
|
||
snappier. This could be because this here Quadra running HyperCard
|
||
makes'em both look like they're stuck in the mud. On the other hand, I
|
||
don't find the pace of either of them to be painful; more like
|
||
"deliberate". At any rate, seems like some benchmarks are in order.
|
||
|
||
As for HyperCard being "useful"... I use a hacked-together HyperCard
|
||
IIGS stack to, believe it or not, balance my checkbook. It's eminently
|
||
useful and every bit fast enough for my needs. (Like I said, I've got a
|
||
Quadra sitting next to my GS. If HCGS was so "painfully slow", I'd just use
|
||
the Mac. But it ain't, so I don't.) Best of all I wrote it in about 5
|
||
minutes in accordance with MY particular needs. That's the promise and the
|
||
power of HyperTalk: the ability to quickly create software tailored to your
|
||
own specific needs. Remember Applesoft?
|
||
|
||
Dean hints at one of the truly cool things about HyperStudio: the
|
||
modular nature of NBAs, Extras, and Transitions. This means that if some
|
||
enterprising programmers were to write packages of these things, you could
|
||
buy them and seamlessly integrate them into HyperStudio. So far, however,
|
||
these things haven't materialized. (For that matter, scripting languages
|
||
themselves are modular, and new languages for HyperStudio could be added if
|
||
someone were to develop them. I think this idea is a more than a little
|
||
retarded, but that's another story...)
|
||
|
||
Dean rattled off some impressive HyperStudio features. On paper, it
|
||
doesn't look like a contest between HyperStudio and HyperCard. However, a
|
||
program is lot more than a list of features -- it's how well those features
|
||
work together to make you creative and productive. My experience has been
|
||
that HyperCard IIGS grows on me-- the more I work with it, the more
|
||
comfortable (and transparent) it becomes. My experience with
|
||
HyperStudio has been pretty much the opposite; the more I work with it, the
|
||
less I enjoy it, and the more I find myself fighting the program and
|
||
devising work-arounds.
|
||
|
||
That sounds like a hell of a slam, I s'pose. However, I think it
|
||
really only reflects the different natures of the two programs (and,
|
||
admittedly, my somewhat unusual use of them). One of the primary design
|
||
goals of HyperStudio has been to make it instantly accessible; this, in my
|
||
opinion, comes at the cost of depth. HyperCard is a simpler tool; you have
|
||
to master it before you can do anything neat with it.
|
||
|
||
If HyperStudio were a plastic model airplane kit, HyperCard would be
|
||
an X-Acto knife and a block of balsa. A lot of people are going to be
|
||
perfectly happy with the results of the kit. But the person with the block
|
||
of balsa doesn't _have_ to build a plane; she can carve a boat or even a
|
||
cuckoo clock if she feels like it. She may also cut her hand or never
|
||
finish the project because it's too hard. Your preference depends on your
|
||
creative inclination and whether you view mastering a tool as a challenge
|
||
or a chore.
|
||
|
||
--Bo
|
||
[*][*][*]
|
||
|
||
|
||
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 are serious about your APPLE II, the GEnie Lamp 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.
|
||
|
||
|
||
/////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ "I used to spell it correctly, until I began reading messages /
|
||
/ from others online." /
|
||
///////////////////////////////////////////// D.A.BRUMLEVE ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[HUM]//////////////////////////////
|
||
HUMOR ONLINE /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Virus Alert!
|
||
""""""""""""
|
||
Compiled by Terry Quinn
|
||
[TQUINN]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
! ! ! POLITICAL VIRUS ALERT ! ! !
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
* George Bush Virus: Doesn't do anything, but you can't get rid of it
|
||
until November.
|
||
|
||
* Ted Kennedy Virus: Crashes your computer but denies it ever happened.
|
||
|
||
* Warren Commission Virus: Won't allow you to open your files for 75
|
||
years.
|
||
|
||
* Jerry Brown Virus: Blanks your screen and begins flashing an 800
|
||
number.
|
||
|
||
* David Duke Virus: Makes your screen go completely white.
|
||
|
||
* Congress Virus: Overdraws your disk space.
|
||
|
||
* Paul Tsongas Virus: Pops up on Dec. 25 and says "I'm NOT Santa Claus".
|
||
|
||
* Pat Buchanan Virus: Shifts all output to the extreme right of the screen.
|
||
|
||
* Dan Quayle Virus: Forces your computer to play "PGA Tour" from 10am to
|
||
4pm six days a week.
|
||
|
||
* Bill Clinton Virus: This virus mutates from region to region. We're not
|
||
exactly sure what it does.
|
||
|
||
* Richard Nixon Virus: aka the "Tricky Dick Virus"...you can wipe it
|
||
out, but it always makes a comeback.
|
||
|
||
* H.Ross Perot Virus: same as the Jerry Brown Virus, only nicer. Fonts are
|
||
used and it appears to have had a lot more money put into its'
|
||
development.
|
||
|
||
And, for those of you that absolutely *must* have the state-of-the-
|
||
art in everything, is the recently released:
|
||
|
||
* L.A.P.D. Virus: This is a reincarnation of the Ted Kennedy Virus, but
|
||
comes with videotape coverage of the crash and the insanity which
|
||
follows.
|
||
|
||
This was contributed by Rick Bryan on another source......
|
||
(R.SCHENOT, CAT15, TOP21, MSG:1/MXXX)
|
||
|
||
|
||
//////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ "P.S. There's another question that hasn't been asked yet, so /
|
||
/ I'll try to head it off. Yes, when you type keys on the /
|
||
/ keyboard, they appear on the screen. <grin>" /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////////////////// J.EIDSVOOG1 ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[WHO]//////////////////////////////
|
||
WHO'S WHO /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Who's Who In Apple II
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> GEnieLamp PROFILE OF KARL BUNKER <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
[This is the first in a series of profiles planned by the editors of
|
||
the Apple II version of GEnie Lamp. These profiles will spotlight
|
||
some of the uniquely creative individuals that have contributed time
|
||
and energy to making the Apple II such a wonderful computer. -ED]
|
||
|
||
|
||
[*][*][*]
|
||
|
||
|
||
1) How did you first become interested in the Apple II computer?
|
||
2) Can you share with us some anecdotes of your first forays
|
||
into computer programming?
|
||
|
||
Early in 1986, I decided to buy a computer. For the life of me, I
|
||
can't think why I wanted to do this. I literally had never touched a
|
||
computer at this time. After looking through a Consumer Reports paperback
|
||
on personal computers, I decided to get an Apple //c. I chose the //c
|
||
because I liked the look of it. I don't mean the features, or the display
|
||
options, or the available software; I mean the LOOK. I liked the design of
|
||
the external case. Also, I could afford it.
|
||
|
||
Once I had the computer, I figured I'd better learn how to use it, so
|
||
I got a book called "Understanding the Apple //c." This book just happened
|
||
to contain a lot of information about Applesoft BASIC programming. I tried
|
||
typing in some of the programs from the book, and before I knew it, I was
|
||
hooked -- I had discovered why I had bought a computer in the first place.
|
||
My first "original" program was one that continuously printed an obscenity
|
||
at random locations on the screen. I thought it was hilarious; then, as
|
||
now, I had an pretty juvenile sense of humor.
|
||
|
||
I bought a copy of AppleWriter (a word processor) along with my //c.
|
||
After I had learned a little bit about BASIC programming, I figured I could
|
||
use this knowledge to modify AppleWriter to correct some of its faults. I
|
||
was quite surprised and disappointed to learn that I couldn't just "LOAD"
|
||
and "LIST" AppleWriter. (AppleWriter, of course, was written in assembly
|
||
language, about which I knew nothing.)
|
||
|
||
3) Over the years you've released some very high quality Apple II
|
||
freeware utilities. (Such marvels as DOGPAW and Sneeze come
|
||
immediately to mind.) What was your motivation in sharing these
|
||
programs for free with other Apple II users? Do you have a personal
|
||
philosophy about such things?
|
||
|
||
Well, first off, many programs much better than any of mine have been
|
||
released as freeware. I've gotten a lot of use and benefit from things that
|
||
others have donated to the Apple II community, so I feel compelled make a
|
||
contribution myself -- and that's how the tradition is perpetuated.
|
||
|
||
With Dogpaw (a text file displayer/printer) in particular, I wanted to
|
||
create something that could be used to display or print out the instruction
|
||
files that are distributed along with freeware and shareware programs. For
|
||
this to work, I had to allow Dogpaw to be freely distributed, so I made it
|
||
public domain. Sneeze is free because it started out life as "Window", a
|
||
program written by someone else and released as freeware. I modified and
|
||
improved this earlier program, eventually putting it through about 10
|
||
zillion iterations and increasing its capabilities enormously, but kept it
|
||
as freeware. Sneeze is now probably one of the most versatile and powerful
|
||
freeware utilities available for Apple II's. (Sneeze is a combination text
|
||
viewer/printer, graphics viewer, program launcher, and file manager.)
|
||
|
||
Most of my "major" programs have been released as shareware. I love
|
||
the institution of shareware; the voluntary, honor-system nature of it, the
|
||
fact that all payments and other communication go directly from user to
|
||
programmer, with no "MBA" middle-man deciding what the customer wants and
|
||
what the programmer should do. I say in the documentation file to one of my
|
||
programs that a shareware payment "provides inspiration and moral support
|
||
that goes far beyond its monetary value", and it's quite true. I LOVE
|
||
getting those little checks!
|
||
|
||
4) Who do you consider your mentors? What about them do you most
|
||
admire?
|
||
|
||
There are many, many extraordinary Apple II programmers, past and
|
||
present. A list of the ones I admire would go on for pages. Actually, it's
|
||
easy for me to admire other programmers, because I'm not really that great
|
||
of a programmer myself. I think that I get some good IDEAS for programs,
|
||
and that I can design a pretty decent user interface, but when it comes to
|
||
being a whiz at writing code, or inventing the killer algorithm, I'm
|
||
honestly nothing special. It took me AGES to learn assembly language, and
|
||
MORE ages to learn IIgs toolbox programming, and right now I'm in the
|
||
process of learning C -- and it's taking me AGES!
|
||
|
||
Probably the most significant "mentor" in my life was William Ross, a
|
||
woodworker who gave me my first job when I was 16. He taught me a lot about
|
||
good craftsmanship, attention to detail, and that getting something RIGHT
|
||
is more important than how long it takes. These principles apply very much
|
||
to computer programming.
|
||
|
||
5) Where do you see the future of personal computing going?
|
||
|
||
It's not going in the direction of more and better Apple II's, that's
|
||
for sure. <sigh>
|
||
|
||
But the future of computer technology is an interesting subject.
|
||
There will certainly continue to be vast improvements in hardware (more,
|
||
cheaper, faster, smaller), but software will continue to be something of a
|
||
bottleneck. Programming is still difficult (even for smarter programmers
|
||
than me), and I don't see any great breakthroughs coming that will make it
|
||
significantly easier. Artificial intelligence continues to be the Great
|
||
Promise for the future of computers. Apple Inc. produces promotional videos
|
||
touting the hypothetical "Knowledge Navigator" of the future -- a
|
||
handy-dandy personal computer that you'll be able to talk to like you'd
|
||
talk to your mother, only it will understand your spoken sentences better
|
||
than your mother probably does, and have more intelligent and useful
|
||
responses than your mother probably does. This sort of thing has been a
|
||
pipe dream since the earliest days of computers, and it's still a LONG way
|
||
off, in my opinion.
|
||
|
||
6) Can you tell us a little about the types of things you like
|
||
to do for fun? (Speaking of "non-computer" fun, here.)
|
||
|
||
I read a fair amount of non-fiction, and I tend to "go through" a lot
|
||
of interests; reading about many different topics. My current favorite
|
||
non-computer subject is military history. I've also done a lot of reading
|
||
lately on the topic of failure -- great planning disasters, engineering
|
||
failures, military disasters, historical embarrassments, etc. I think that
|
||
spectacular failure is a fascinating subject.
|
||
|
||
7) What accomplishments are you most proud of?
|
||
|
||
I think one's best, proudest accomplishments should always be the
|
||
ones you haven't done yet; the ones you're still working on.
|
||
|
||
More prosaically, I especially like my IIgs program-switcher
|
||
"Quit-To". I use it constantly myself, and it makes my computering much
|
||
faster and more productive. The IIgs and its system software make for a
|
||
terrific machine, and I get a real kick out of the fact that something that
|
||
I've written can enhance the system so much.
|
||
|
||
Looking at my life as a whole (not just the computer side of things),
|
||
I'd have to say that the accomplishment I'm most proud of is my
|
||
relationship with my wife. Hokey, but true.
|
||
|
||
8) Are there any long term goals that you've set for yourself?
|
||
|
||
I'm learning Mac programming. (Boo, hiss, says the crowd.) I fully
|
||
intend to continue programming on the Apple II, but I also want to move out
|
||
into a market that isn't being actively buried by the company that controls
|
||
it.
|
||
|
||
9) Do you have any favorite motto?
|
||
|
||
Sure, lots:
|
||
|
||
"Why the *&^% did THAT happen?"
|
||
"Oops, that doesn't look right."
|
||
"I thought I FIXED that!"
|
||
"I don't understand this at all."
|
||
"I wonder what's on TV."
|
||
|
||
|
||
10) Are you active in the local user group in your area? If so,
|
||
what kinds of activities are going on involving the Apple II.
|
||
|
||
I'm too shy and antisocial to go to user group meetings. One of the
|
||
many pleasures of computers for me is that I get to interact with people
|
||
via screen and keyboard -- an environment that I feel more at ease with.
|
||
|
||
11) How long have you been on GEnie?
|
||
|
||
Since about 1988, I think.
|
||
|
||
12) Does your daytime job involve computers, too? If so, kindly
|
||
detail trade secrets and other compromising information.
|
||
|
||
My daytime profession is mechanical technician. It's boring and
|
||
doesn't involve computers, but it lets me spend lots of time thinking about
|
||
whatever program I may be working on at the time. I'm constantly jotting
|
||
down little programming-related notes to myself during the day.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[FOC]//////////////////////////////
|
||
FOCUS ON... /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Apple II History
|
||
""""""""""""""""
|
||
By Steven Weyhrich
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> APPLE II HISTORY <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
Compiled and written by Steven Weyhrich
|
||
(C) Copyright 1991, Zonker Software
|
||
|
||
(PART 1 -- PRE-APPLE HISTORY)
|
||
[v1.1 :: 12 Dec 91]
|
||
|
||
|
||
INTRODUCTION This project began as a description of how the Apple II
|
||
"""""""""""" evolved into a IIGS, and some of the standards that emerged
|
||
along the way. It has grown into a history of Apple Computer, with an
|
||
emphasis on the place of the Apple II in that history. It has been gleaned
|
||
from a variety of magazine articles and books that I have collected over
|
||
the years, supplemented by information supplied by individuals who were
|
||
"there" when it happened. I have tried not to spend much time on
|
||
information that has been often repeated, but rather on the less known
|
||
stories that led to the Apple II as we know it (and love it) today. Along
|
||
the way I hope to present some interesting technical trivia, some thoughts
|
||
about what the Apple II could have been, and what the Apple II still can
|
||
be. The Apple II has been described as the computer that refuses to die.
|
||
This story tells a little bit of why that is true.
|
||
|
||
If you are a new Apple II owner in 1992 and use any 8-bit Apple II
|
||
software at all, you may feel bewildered by the seemingly nonsensical way
|
||
in which certain things are laid out. AppleWorks asks which "slot" your
|
||
printer is in. If you want to use the 80 column screen in Applesoft BASIC
|
||
you must type an odd command, "PR#3". If you want to write PROGRAMS for
|
||
Applesoft, you may have some of those ridiculous PEEKs and POKEs to contend
|
||
with. The disk layout (which type is supposed to go into which slot) seems
|
||
to be in some random order! And then there is the alphabet soup of disk
|
||
systems: DOS 3.3, CP/M, Pascal, ProDOS, and GS/OS (if you have a IIGS). If
|
||
you use 16-bit software EXCLUSIVELY, you will probably see none of this;
|
||
however, even the most diehard GS user of the "latest and greatest" 16-bit
|
||
programs will eventually need to use an 8-bit program. If you can tolerate
|
||
a history lesson and would like to know "the rest of the story," I will try
|
||
to make sense of it all.
|
||
|
||
I think one of the Apple II's greatest strengths is the attention they
|
||
have paid over the years to be backward compatible. That means that a IIGS
|
||
"power system" manufactured in 1991, with 8 meg of memory, a hand-held
|
||
optical scanner, CD-ROM drive, and 150 meg of hard disk storage can still
|
||
run an Integer BASIC program written in 1977, probably without ANY
|
||
modification! In the world of microcomputers, where technology continues
|
||
to advance monthly, and old programs may or may not run on the new models,
|
||
that consistency is amazing to me. Consider the quantum leap in complexity
|
||
and function between the original 4K Apple ][ and the ROM 03 IIGS; the
|
||
amount of firmware (built-in programs) in the IIGS is larger than the
|
||
entire RAM SPACE in a fully expanded original Apple ][!
|
||
|
||
This strength of the Apple II could also be considered a weakness,
|
||
because it presents a major difficulty in making design improvements that
|
||
keep up with the advances in computer technology between 1976 and the
|
||
present, and yet maintain that compatibility with the past. Other early
|
||
computer makers found it easy to design improvements that created a better
|
||
machine, but they did so at the expense of their existing user base
|
||
(Commodore comes to mind, with the PET, Vic 20, Commodore 64, and lastly
|
||
the Amiga, all completely incompatible). However, this attention to detail
|
||
is just one of the things that has made the Apple II the long-lived
|
||
computer that it is. In examining the development of the Apple II, we will
|
||
take a look at some pre-Apple microcomputer history, the Apple I, and the
|
||
formation of Apple Computers, Inc., with some sideroads into ways in which
|
||
early users overcame the limits of their systems. We will follow through
|
||
with the development of the Apple IIe, IIc, and IIGS, and lastly make some
|
||
comments on the current state of affairs at Apple Inc. regarding the Apple
|
||
II.
|
||
|
||
|
||
PRE-APPLE HISTORY Let's begin our adventure in history. I've designed a
|
||
""""""""""""""""" special interface card that plugs into slot 7 on an
|
||
Apple II. It contains an item its inventor called a "Flux Capacitor"
|
||
(something about the being able to modify flux and flow of time). The card
|
||
derives its power from a self-contained generator called "Mr. Fusion"
|
||
(another item I dug out of the wreckage from a train/auto accident in
|
||
California a couple of years ago). Connected to the card via a specially
|
||
shielded line, Mr. Fusion runs on trash (and is, therefore, the ultimate
|
||
computer peripheral, if you recall the old principal of "garbage in,
|
||
garbage out"). Let's put a few issues of PC MAGAZINE into Mr. Fusion, and
|
||
switch on the Flux Capacitor. (Incidentally, for this to work, it needs an
|
||
Apple II equipped with a specially modified Zip chip running at 88 MHz).
|
||
Boot the disk and set the time circuits for 1975. Ready? Set? Go! **
|
||
CRACKADOOM ** !!
|
||
|
||
Did you make it all right? (Just don't touch anything -- you don't
|
||
want to disrupt the space-time continuum, you know!) Now, since the first
|
||
Apple II wasn't released until 1977, what are we doing back in 1975? Well,
|
||
to understand how the Apple II came about, it helps to know the environment
|
||
that produced it. In 1975, the microcomputer industry was still very much
|
||
in its infancy. There were few "home computers" that you can choose from,
|
||
and their capabilities were very much limited. The first microprocessor
|
||
chip, the 4-bit 4004, had been released by Intel back in 1971. The first
|
||
video game, Pong, was created by Nolan Bushnell of Atari in 1972. Also in
|
||
1972, Intel had gone a step further in microprocessor development and
|
||
released the 8-bit 8008, and then the 8080 in 1973. The year 1974 saw
|
||
Scelbi Computer Consulting sell what some consider to be the first
|
||
commercially built microcomputer, the Scelbi 8-H, based on Intel's 8008
|
||
chip. However, it had limited distribution and due to the designer's
|
||
health problems it didn't go very far. The first home-built computer, the
|
||
Mark 8, was released that same year. The Mark 8 used the Intel 8080 chip,
|
||
but had no power supply, monitor, keyboard, or case, and only a few
|
||
hobbyists ever finished their kits. Overall, the microchip had yet to make
|
||
much of an impact on the general public beyond the introduction of the
|
||
hand-held calculator.
|
||
|
||
With the start of 1975 came a significant event in microcomputer
|
||
history. If you will consider the early microprocessors of the years 1971
|
||
through 1974 as a time of germination and "pregnancy" of ideas and various
|
||
hardware designs, January of 1975 saw the "labor and delivery" of a special
|
||
package. The birth announcement was splashed on the front cover of a
|
||
hacker's magazine, Popular Electronics. The baby's parents, MITS, Inc.,
|
||
named it "Altair 8800"; it measured 18-inches deep by 17 inches wide by 7
|
||
inches high, and it weighed in at a massive 256 bytes (that's one fourth of
|
||
a "K"). Called the "World's First Minicomputer Kit to Rival Commercial
|
||
Models," the Altair 8800 used the Intel 8080 chip, and sold for $395 (or
|
||
$498 fully assembled). MITS hoped that they would get about four hundred
|
||
orders for clones of this baby, trickling in over the months that the
|
||
two-part article was printed. This would supply the money MITS needed to
|
||
buy the parts to send to people ordering the kits (one common way those
|
||
days of "bootstrapping" a small electronics business). This "trickle" of
|
||
orders would also give MITS time to establish a proper assembly line for
|
||
packaging the kits. However, they misjudged the burning desire of Popular
|
||
Electronic's readers to build and operate their own computer. MITS
|
||
received four hundred orders in ONE AFTERNOON, and in three weeks it had
|
||
taken in $250,000.<1>
|
||
|
||
The Popular Electronics article was a bit exuberant in the way the
|
||
Altair 8800 was described. They called it "a full-blown computer that can
|
||
hold its own against sophisticated minicomputers now on the market... The
|
||
Altair 8800 is not a 'demonstrator' or souped-up calculator... [it] is a
|
||
complete system." The article had an insert that lists some possible
|
||
applications for the computer, stating that "the Altair 8800 is so
|
||
powerful, in fact, that many of these applications can be performed
|
||
simultaneously." Among the possible uses listed are an automated control
|
||
for a ham station, a digital clock with time zone conversion, an autopilot
|
||
for planes and boats, navigation computer, a brain for a robot, a
|
||
pattern-recognition device, and a printed matter-to-Braille converter for
|
||
the blind.<2> Many of these things will be possible with microcomputers by
|
||
1991, but even by then few people will have the hardware add-ons to make
|
||
some of these applications possible. Also, despite the power that micros
|
||
will have in that year, the ability to carry out more than one of these
|
||
applications "simultaneously" will not be not practical or in some cases
|
||
even possible. The exaggeration by the authors of the Popular Electronics
|
||
article can perhaps be excused by their excitement in being able to offer a
|
||
computer that ANYONE can own and use. All this was promised from a
|
||
computer that came "complete" with only 256 bytes of memory (expandable if
|
||
you can afford it) and no keyboard, monitor, or storage device.
|
||
|
||
The IMSAI 8080 (an Altair clone) also came out in 1975 and did fairly
|
||
well in the hobbyist market. Another popular early computer, the Sol,
|
||
would not be released until the following year. Other computers released
|
||
in 1975 that enjoyed limited success were the Altair 680 (also from MITS,
|
||
Inc., based on the Motorola 6800 processor), the Jupiter II (Wavemate),
|
||
M6800 (Southwest Technical Products), and the JOLT (Microcomputer
|
||
Associates), all kits.<3> The entire microcomputer market was still very
|
||
much a hobbyist market, best suited for those who enjoyed assembling a
|
||
computer from a kit. After you assembled your computer, you either had to
|
||
write your own programs (from assembly language) or enter a program someone
|
||
else wrote. If you could afford the extra memory and the cost of buying a
|
||
BASIC interpreter, you might have been able to write some small programs
|
||
that ran in that language instead of having to figure out 8080 assembly
|
||
language. If you were lucky (or rich) you had 16K of memory, possibly
|
||
more; if you were REALLY lucky you owned (or could borrow) a surplus paper
|
||
tape reader to avoid typing in manually your friend's checkbook balancing
|
||
program. Did I say typing? Many early computer hobbyists didn't even have
|
||
the interface allowing them to TYPE from a keyboard or teletype. The
|
||
"complete" Altair 8800 discussed above could only be programmed by entering
|
||
data via tiny little switches on its front panel, as either octal (base 8)
|
||
bytes or hexadecimal (base 16) bytes. With no television monitor available
|
||
either, the results of the program were read in binary (base 2) from lights
|
||
on that front panel. This may sound like the old story that begins with
|
||
the statement, "I had to walk five miles to school through snow three feet
|
||
deep when I was your age," but it helps to understand how things were at
|
||
this time to see what a leap forward the Apple II really was (er, will be.
|
||
Time travel complicates grammar!)
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>>>> NEXT INSTALLMENT The Apple I
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> NOTES <<<
|
||
"""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
<1> Steven Levy, HACKERS: HEROES OF THE COMPUTER REVOLUTION, pp.
|
||
187-192.
|
||
|
||
<2> H. Edward Roberts and William Yates, "Altair 8800 Minicomputer,
|
||
Part 1", POPULAR ELECTRONICS, 7(1) (January 1975), pp. 33, 38.
|
||
The article is interesting also in some of the terminology that is
|
||
used. The Altair is described as having "256 eight-bit words" of
|
||
RAM. Apparently, the term "byte" was not in common use yet.
|
||
|
||
<3> Gene Smarte and Andrew Reinhardt, "15 Years of Bits, Bytes, and
|
||
Other Great Moments", BYTE, (September 1990), pp. 370-371.
|
||
|
||
Steve's ever growing Apple II history can be found in the GEnie A2
|
||
software library. To get a complete list of available files run a file
|
||
search with the keyword HISTORY.
|
||
|
||
|
||
////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ "Given that theproduct already has some name recognition and the /
|
||
/ fact that my wife REALLY likes the name and STRONGLY suggested /
|
||
/ that I leave it alone, I believe that it will be released as /
|
||
/ Diamond Edge. (Hey, I may wash the dishes, but I am very aware /
|
||
/ of teh importance of keeping teh cook happy :-)" /
|
||
////////////////////////////////////////////////// B.LUNESKI1 ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[TEL]//////////////////////////////
|
||
TELETALK ONLINE /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Apple II BBS's Around The USA
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
DOING IT ONLINE! Here is a list of BBS's which can be found promoted in
|
||
"""""""""""""""" category 10, topic 23 of the A2 RT. GEnie Lamp does
|
||
not offer any guarantees to the accuracy of this list. BBS's are listed by
|
||
area code.
|
||
|
||
o Pro-Nka (201) 944-3102
|
||
o Gng-Tff (201) 989-0545
|
||
o Unicorn BBS (206) 472-9331
|
||
o StarBase 74 (213) 695-6785
|
||
o Pro-Gateway (214) 644-5113
|
||
o Name Unknown (219) 586-7880
|
||
o Bloom County (313) 582-0888
|
||
o Apple Byte GS (408) 578-3201
|
||
o Trimuvirate (410) 486-9812
|
||
o Pro-micol (416) 731-3468
|
||
o Nexus 6 (504) 522-6607
|
||
o A.U.G. Livermore, CA (510) 294-8052
|
||
o Final Nexus (518) 298-4294
|
||
o Eagle-Eyes' Emporium (514) 337-8844
|
||
o Appletree Computer Club (708) 597-6942
|
||
o Sirius Cybernetics (808) 521-3306
|
||
o Club Playhouse (818) 781-PLAY
|
||
o Wozniak's Revenge (913) 272-5173
|
||
|
||
I also found this message which may be of interest:
|
||
|
||
On the internet, you might want to consider the following ftp sites
|
||
for apple II files. I know that this is not a complete list, but it might
|
||
get you started.
|
||
|
||
bric-a-brac.apple.com
|
||
archive.umich.edu
|
||
f.ms.uky.edu
|
||
|
||
Again, this is not a complete list by any means, but it should get
|
||
you started. -Eric
|
||
(KITCHEN.SINK, CAT12, TOP5, MSG:44/M645;1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
//////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ "Patience everyone. Tolerance and patience." /
|
||
/ /
|
||
/ " ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm " /
|
||
/ " ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm " /
|
||
//////////////////////////////////// JEFF.W / J.NESS ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[ABO]//////////////////////////////
|
||
ABOUT THIS APPLE II /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Apple II And The Future
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
By Roger Wagner
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> THE APPLE IIGS <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
~ What the Mac LC Should Have Been? ~
|
||
|
||
A REVIEW OF THE MAC LC in the December, 1990 issue of inCider magazine
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""" was subtitled "What the Apple IIGS Should Have
|
||
Been?" The underlying idea was reasonable: If the Mac LC had been
|
||
introduced in 1986, rather than the IIGS, people would most likely have
|
||
been fairly happy with this transition machine to the Mac. However,
|
||
history does not accommodate "what ifs", and at this point, one can
|
||
legitimately ask, "Is the Apple IIGS what the Mac LC should have been?"
|
||
|
||
The unexpected factor today is the world of multimedia, and that the
|
||
Apple IIGS is arguably the ideal multimedia (or hypermedia) machine.
|
||
Regardless of what term you use, this environment will be more significant
|
||
in the 90's than desktop publishing was in the 80's, particularly in the
|
||
classroom.
|
||
|
||
The ideal multimedia machine should have good color graphics,
|
||
excellent sound, and the ability to connect to laserdiscs, CD-ROM, and
|
||
VCRs. It should be easy and intuitive to use, and as affordable as
|
||
possible. You should be able to present your work, and easily record and
|
||
transport it to share with others. The Apple IIGS has all this and more.
|
||
|
||
Let's suppose a student creates a multimedia report, and then
|
||
presents it to the class. With the Apple IIGS, a standard classroom monitor
|
||
or TV can be used with no special hardware. Although a TV isn't great for
|
||
displaying 80-column text screens, multimedia presentations with graphics,
|
||
larger text, and video sequences from a laserdisc will look quite nice. On
|
||
a Mac or PC, a projection system that can handle true color is likely to
|
||
cost $2000-$3000, or more.
|
||
|
||
Laserdiscs, combined with a video overlay card, add a very attractive
|
||
component, and allow anyone to create very exciting results. On the Apple
|
||
IIGS, a school can buy a Video Overlay Card for about $400. On the Mac LC
|
||
(if a card were available), using the slot for a video card would preclude
|
||
using the IIe card. Cards similar to the Video Overlay Card on other Mac
|
||
models cost around $2500. (By the way, services are now available that
|
||
will convert your own videotapes to a laserdisc for $200-$300!)
|
||
|
||
On its way to that TV or monitor, the Apple IIGS video can be routed
|
||
through any common VCR, recording both the audio and video portions of the
|
||
presentation, so Mom and Dad can see what they did at school, and keep a
|
||
permanent record of the moment. Presenters can go to conferences with just
|
||
a video tape, without lugging tons of computer hardware. Macs and PCs
|
||
require a special adapter (an "NTSC Converter"), and these can be an
|
||
expensive addition.
|
||
|
||
You heard it here first: The VCR will be the printer of the 90's. How
|
||
else to record sound, animation, graphics, video and more, and in a form
|
||
that anyone can view (virtually all homes and schools now have VCRs). Once
|
||
you're aware of what the GS can do, hearing that another computer can't be
|
||
recorded with a VCR is like hearing it can't be attached to a printer. An
|
||
article in the October 15, 1990 issue of BusinessWeek discusses Apple's
|
||
generation of computers AFTER the Mac: "At least two years off, Jaguar
|
||
will include extensive video technology and the ability to connect to TVs
|
||
and VCRs, Apple employees say." How great for Apple IIGS owners to know
|
||
that they don't have to wait for the successor to the Mac. They can have
|
||
all this now!
|
||
|
||
Schools that purchase Mac LC's, hoping for a color multimedia machine,
|
||
will be surprised to discover that HyperCard on the Mac is only black &
|
||
white. A limited ability to display single color graphics is available,
|
||
but to just draw a line or two in color, you'll need a GS with HyperCard or
|
||
HyperStudio. Want to use the microphone on the LC? You'll have to leave
|
||
HyperCard, run a separate program, and then go through some additional
|
||
steps to incorporate the sound. On a GS with HyperStudio, adding sound is
|
||
easy and perfectly integrated into the overall environment.
|
||
|
||
Last of all is the working environment itself. Stackbuilding on the
|
||
GS is significantly easier. Thousands of schools are using the Apple IIGS
|
||
for multimedia right now, and projects created entirely by 1st graders are
|
||
by no means unusual. Home users of the Apple IIGS find it perfect for not
|
||
only the kids, but fun for personal-interest uses from family trees to
|
||
hobby-related projects. Through user groups, mail-order catalogs, and
|
||
online services like America Online, CompuServe and GEnie, there are
|
||
already almost 200 megabytes of existing hypermedia applications (stacks)
|
||
of every imaginable kind - all for the Apple IIGS.
|
||
|
||
What does the future hold for the Apple IIGS? The Apple IIGS is not
|
||
an outdated technology. The Apple IIGS has features that are not currently
|
||
available in any machine, and offers a solution that couldn't be more
|
||
relevant to the next revolution in computing. I've personally travelled
|
||
extensively across the U.S. in the last year, and everywhere I've seen a
|
||
tremendous amount of interest and enthusiasm for what the Apple IIGS
|
||
offers. This interest is the result of recognizing a practical and
|
||
immediate tool. If you haven't yet seen what multimedia and the Apple IIGS
|
||
are all about, there couldn't be a better time than now to find out what
|
||
the future holds, and how you can make that future a present reality. If
|
||
you already have an Apple IIGS, then you'll be happy to know you own the
|
||
best machine possible to enter the 90's!
|
||
|
||
[*][*][*]
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>>>> From a letter to inCider/A+ magazine, March, 1991. Permission is
|
||
""""" hereby given by the author to anyone wishing to reprint this
|
||
letter. Please include this permission statement with any reprints.
|
||
|
||
|
||
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ "I vote for Dorothy as King, Yes, that's the ticket. Nah, /
|
||
/ wouldn't work. If we made her proof reader though, that /
|
||
/ should bring the magazine to a dead stop, guaranteed! :-)" /
|
||
/ /
|
||
/ "It's far too late to vote me in as King. I appointed /
|
||
/ myself to this position (or a semblance thereof with more /
|
||
/ motherly instincts) a looong time ago. Proof-reader, eh? /
|
||
/ How much am I offered to stop this flow of information /
|
||
/ dead in its tracks? ;-)" /
|
||
//////////////////////////////////// ISD / D.A.BRUMLEVE ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[THI]//////////////////////////////
|
||
THINK ABOUT IT! /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Food For Thought
|
||
""""""""""""""""
|
||
By Phil Shapiro
|
||
[P.SHAPIRO1]
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>>>> SOME THOUGHTS ON THE VALUE OF BEING A RESPONSIBLE ELECTRONIC CITIZEN
|
||
"""""
|
||
|
||
In the early days of our nation the pioneer settlers had distinct
|
||
views on the nature of civic virtue. People looked out for one another.
|
||
People volunteered a fixed number of hours each week for the public good.
|
||
And in times of crisis, people pulled together to help the most needy.
|
||
|
||
In the electronic age, a similar set of civic ideals is emerging in
|
||
the new electronic nations. The new civic responsibility includes pitching
|
||
in to help in various ways.
|
||
|
||
Contributions of time and energy can take many forms. Leaving
|
||
thoughtful answers to posted questions can be a way of carrying out one's
|
||
civic duty. Uploading new files to the roundtable library can likewise be a
|
||
civic good deed.
|
||
|
||
In terms of library uploads, you need not be a professional programmer
|
||
or software designer to upload files to a roundtable library. Less than ten
|
||
percent of all uploads are original programs or data files created entirely
|
||
from scratch. The great majority of uploads are programs and files
|
||
collected from other places. Such "other places" include local user groups,
|
||
local bulletin boards systems (BBS's), or commercial public domain disk
|
||
distributors.
|
||
|
||
Many times an individual might seize the opportunity to enhance a
|
||
particular program or file before uploading it. Typical enhancements to a
|
||
public domain program might be to set up an easy front end menu, or to
|
||
write some easy to understand instructions to be bundled as a text file
|
||
within the shrunk archive.
|
||
|
||
Writing instructions, or adding helpful comments to existing
|
||
instructions, requires no programming capability whatsoever. Some people
|
||
who do this choose to leave full credit with the person who originally
|
||
wrote the program or documentation. Others may choose to add a brief
|
||
mention of their own contribution to the project.
|
||
|
||
The latter course of action is actually helpful in establishing the
|
||
collaborative effort of the project. As end users come to use and enjoy
|
||
such programs, seeing multiple names on the credits helps to reinforce the
|
||
idea that we all have individual talents we can contribute to the
|
||
electronic nation.
|
||
|
||
In terms of being an active citizen in the message roundtables, the
|
||
duties of citizenship require regular reading of new messages. Someone may
|
||
post a question which you are uniquely qualified to answer. Then again,
|
||
someone may post an answer that solves a particularly troublesome question
|
||
that you yourself have had.
|
||
|
||
The duties of citizenship further require that the public messages you
|
||
post be predominantly constructive and positively phrased. It's all too
|
||
easy to use a public forum to air one's gripes. In certain circumstances
|
||
legitimate complaints can and should be discussed in a public electronic
|
||
forum. But even in such cases, the duties of citizenship dictate that care
|
||
be given to refrain from name calling and other communications that could
|
||
cause emotional hurt in others.
|
||
|
||
In thinking about such ideas, recall the image of our nation's pioneer
|
||
settlers. A publicly posted message with negative remarks is tantamount to
|
||
standing in the middle of a village green yelling out scandalous remarks
|
||
about one's neighbor. Negatively phrased electronic messages are far less
|
||
noisy, but equally injurious.
|
||
|
||
One further duty rounds out the responsibility roster. When newcomers
|
||
to the electronic nation require assistance, the role of experienced users,
|
||
the "village elders," is to give helpful and concise advice. Such advice
|
||
often involves no more effort than writing a note pointing the newcomer in
|
||
the direction of written instructions. Other times a village elder may
|
||
refer a newcomer to the counsel of another village elder. A virtuous
|
||
electronic citizen tries to keep such referrals to a minimum, ever
|
||
sensitive to burdening others with extra duties.
|
||
|
||
The value of civic virtue is that when each citizen contributes his or
|
||
her part, the entire nation benefits from such acts of goodwill. Within an
|
||
electronic nation, the entire nation is constructed on the good deeds of
|
||
its citizens. The foundations of such a nation are built on goodwill.
|
||
|
||
As you participate in electronic communities, both local and national,
|
||
take a minute to think about the time and effort being invested by others.
|
||
And consider how you yourself might make a contribution. For the goodness
|
||
you give to others is bound to resonate back in some way to yourself or
|
||
your friends.
|
||
|
||
Perhaps John Lennon said it best on the Abbey Road LP:
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
"And in the end,
|
||
The love you take,
|
||
Is equal to the love,
|
||
You make..."
|
||
|
||
[*][*][*]
|
||
|
||
|
||
[The author develops educational software for the Apple II
|
||
line of computers. He can be reached at Balloons Software,
|
||
5201 Chevy Chase Parkway, NW, Washington, DC, 20015. Or on
|
||
GEnie at: P.Shapiro1]
|
||
|
||
|
||
/////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ "Anyone who works with computers and doesn't recognize Woz in /
|
||
/ an Apple ad is a philistine. (:" /
|
||
////////////////////////////////////////////////// LUNATIC ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]#20
|
||
[FUN]//////////////////////////////
|
||
ONLINE FUNNIES /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
CowTOONS!
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
By "Hawk"
|
||
|
||
|
||
(__)
|
||
(oo) U
|
||
/-------\/ /---V
|
||
/ | || * |--| .
|
||
* ||----||
|
||
~~ ~~
|
||
|
||
Cow at 1 meter. Cow at 100 meters. Cow at 10,000 meters.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]@@!
|
||
[VIE]//////////////////////////////
|
||
VIEWPOINT /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Pointless Made Easy
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""
|
||
By Udo Huth
|
||
[U.HUTH]
|
||
|
||
|
||
WHAT'S THE POINT? Well, now that you've got Pointless, what can you do
|
||
""""""""""""""""" with it? Pointless allows the use of TrueType fonts
|
||
(which were introduced on the Macintosh with System 7.0) on the Apple IIGS
|
||
with desktop programs. It will not enhance 8-bit programs... well, not
|
||
quite so. You have possibilities for using TrueType fonts with TimeOut
|
||
SuperFonts or PublishIt. But more on that later.
|
||
|
||
First you need to install Pointless in the CDEVS folder on your boot
|
||
disk. The installer provided on the Pointless disk will do that for you,
|
||
but asks first for your name and imbeds it into Pointless. The installer
|
||
forgets to copy the Courier fonts, however, but using the Finder it's only
|
||
a matter of opening the appropriate folders and dragging the Courier icons
|
||
to the Fonts folder of your boot disk. After a re-boot Pointless is
|
||
installed and you can start configuring it and the fonts.
|
||
|
||
Choosing Pointless from the Control Panel NDA (5.0.4) or from the
|
||
Control Panels NDA (System 6.0) opens the CDEV (window). First you have to
|
||
tell Pointless where it can find the TrueType fonts. You do this with the
|
||
"Add" button. A Standard Get File Dialog will open and you just select the
|
||
drive and folder, where the TrueType fonts are located. Once there, you
|
||
select the fonts you want to add. To select all fonts, click on the first
|
||
one, then scroll to the last entry and while holding the "Shift" key down,
|
||
click on it. You have now selected all fonts. Click once on "Accept" and
|
||
Pointless will save the locations of all fonts in it's TrueType.List file,
|
||
which is located in the Fonts folder. To select just a few fonts, click
|
||
once on the first one, scroll to the next you'd like, and while holding the
|
||
"Apple" (or "Command") key down, click on it. Repeat this for the other
|
||
fonts you'd like. Then click on "Accept". Now you'll find the fonts in the
|
||
font window of the Pointless window.
|
||
|
||
There is no need for you to copy all TrueType fonts into the Fonts
|
||
folder of your bootdisk. The chances are that you'll be quite quickly out
|
||
of room there. It is possible to have the TrueType fonts everywhere. The
|
||
"Add" button and the Get File Dialog will take care of that. It is even
|
||
possible to use the TrueType fonts directly from a Mac hard disk, when the
|
||
Macintosh is running System 7.0 with file sharing enabled and the IIGS
|
||
connected via AppleTalk. In case you added fonts from somewhere other than
|
||
the boot disk, Pointless will prompt you to insert the appropriate disk
|
||
when you want to use a font which is not in your Fonts directory. "Add"
|
||
will install the names of the fonts in the "Choose Font..." menu of your
|
||
programs, too.
|
||
|
||
Now you have to configure the range of the font. Double clicking on
|
||
"Configure" will open just another dialog. You'll see 255 different
|
||
characters there (well, some are just the missing character symbol). Three
|
||
rows of those characters are already selected. These are the characters
|
||
Pointless will generate, when you choose a TrueType font from the Fonts
|
||
menu. With System 5.0.4 configuring the range of a font was critical
|
||
because you mustn't exceed the 64K limit for the size of a font. The larger
|
||
a font had to be, the fewer characters could be generated. With System 6.0
|
||
this limit has been removed. You can configure those fonts in any way. For
|
||
adding characters in addition to those already selected, hold the "Shift"
|
||
key down and click on the characters you want to add. For removing
|
||
characters from the set hold the "Shift" key down, and click on the
|
||
character or characters you want removed.
|
||
|
||
In case you're done with a font, select it from the scrollable fonts
|
||
window of Pointless and click on "Remove". This removes the font from the
|
||
TrueType.List file and from the "Choose Font..." menu of your programs.
|
||
|
||
There is a fourth button in the Pointless window: "Save bitmap". This
|
||
is where those 8-bit programs come in. Select a font from the scrollable
|
||
fonts window in the Pointless window and click on "Save bitmap". A dialog
|
||
box will appear where you can specify where to save the file and with
|
||
which name. For the file name enter the name of the font followed by a
|
||
period and the desired size of the font. (E.g. Bookman.125 will save the
|
||
Bookman font in the size of 125 point.) These fonts can now be used by
|
||
TimeOut SuperFonts as they are. For use with PublishIt they have to be
|
||
converted. This can be done with a font editor which offers this
|
||
capability. Font Factory will do very well.
|
||
|
||
Well, this was just a short expedition into the world of TrueType.
|
||
With the Pointless software, TrueType fonts, and maybe a StyleWriter
|
||
printer for sharp output, the Apple IIGS is really "The power to be your
|
||
best".
|
||
|
||
|
||
////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ "When you refer to Murphy, I hope that you don't mean Murphy /
|
||
/ Brown!! I sure don't want the Vice President of the United /
|
||
/ States of America attacking GEnie on morality grounds<G>!!!" /
|
||
//////////////////////////////////////////////// J.KUDRON ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[LIB]//////////////////////////////
|
||
THE ONLINE LIBRARY /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
HOT Files For The Asking
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
By Richard Vega
|
||
[R.VEGA]
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> HOT FILES! <<<
|
||
""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
>>>>> LOOK NO FURTHER FOR PRINT SHOP CLIP ART & BORDERS
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
Print Shop enthusiasts can find graphics galore in the Apple II
|
||
Roundtable library. A search under the keywords "Print Shop" turned up
|
||
over 130 files. The listed files include everything from color borders
|
||
for Print Shop GS to baseball logos to scout insignia to Print Shop
|
||
graphics of flags. But clip art files are not the only interesting Print
|
||
Shop uploads to the Apple II GEnie Roundtable. Also available for
|
||
downloading is a popular utility to convert classic Print Shop graphics
|
||
to Print Shop GS graphics. (File number 6541: PSGS.CONV.BNY). The fact
|
||
that this file has been downloaded 317 times is an indication of its
|
||
usefulness.
|
||
|
||
At 1200 baud, this 16K file should take no more than 3 or 4 minutes to
|
||
download. At 2400 baud, about half that time.
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>>>> FREEWARE UTILITY ON GEnie HELPS EASE COLD WAR TENSIONS BETWEEN
|
||
""""" APPLE II AND MS.DOS TEXT FILES
|
||
|
||
Do you ever have a need to send a text file to MS/DOS users, to help
|
||
them gain the privileged insights of Apple II users? Your MS/DOS friends
|
||
may gnash their teeth if you don't do them the courtesy of adding linefeeds
|
||
to your text files.
|
||
|
||
Prodigious programmer Karl Bunker has created a very useful utility,
|
||
"Linefeed.IR" that will insert or remove linefeeds from any text file. You
|
||
can use this same utility to remove linefeeds from captured GEnie text
|
||
that you've saved to disk. (Using Linefeed.IR is far more elegant than
|
||
doing a search and replace with your word processor. By replacing linefeeds
|
||
by spaces this way, you're actually altering your document.)
|
||
|
||
Directions for using Linefeed.IR are contained in a concise text file
|
||
bundled with the program. Much to his credit, Karl fits the entire
|
||
directions into a plain English paragraph:
|
||
|
||
"Linefeed.IR does not alter your text file. Instead, it creates a new
|
||
text file, with linefeeds inserted or removed, depending on your initial
|
||
selection. After you select a source file to be processed, you are asked
|
||
for a name for the new, "object" file. A default name, with the suffix ".I"
|
||
for Inserted linefeeds, or ".R" for Removed linefeeds, is offered. You can
|
||
accept this name by pressing <return>, or type in another. Once the object
|
||
filename is given, Linefeed.IR goes to work, and lets you know when it's
|
||
done. That's all there is to it."
|
||
|
||
Just in case you run into trouble, Karl invites you to contact him for
|
||
technical support: "I hope you find this program useful. If you have any
|
||
problems, I can be reached at the addresses shown below. " Karl deserves
|
||
an "Apple II citizenship" award for such selfless contributions to the
|
||
public good.
|
||
|
||
|
||
OTHER GOODIES IN THE APPLE II LIBRARY! Meanwhile Bill Dooley has
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" uploaded several archived
|
||
messages from the A2 Roundtable. Looking for information on Apple SCSI
|
||
(small computer system interface) cards? Check out the file:
|
||
"SCSI.MSG.BXY" You can easily find Bill's other uploads by searching for
|
||
new files. (Choice 11 on the A2 Library's menu.)
|
||
|
||
You've Got a Good Friend in NAUG
|
||
|
||
YOU'VE GOT A GOOD FRIEND IN NAUG If you're an AppleWorks user, don't
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" forget to check the frequent high
|
||
quality uploads from the National AppleWorks Users Group (NAUG). You can
|
||
search for all the NAUG uploads by specifying "NAUG" as the uploader in the
|
||
"Search for a File" option on the roundtable menu.
|
||
|
||
Likewise, if you find a golden nugget file in the library, it pays to
|
||
check to see if that same person uploaded other golden nuggets. Every once
|
||
in a while a choice nugget points to a whole rich vein of files to be
|
||
mined.
|
||
|
||
Until next month, happy mining.
|
||
|
||
|
||
///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ "Yeah, but them hot keys are just sooo much trouble... ;^)" /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////////////////// OUTRIDER ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[ASK]//////////////////////////////
|
||
THE PROGRAM CLINIC /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
Ask Doctor Franklin
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""
|
||
by Ken Franklin, MD
|
||
[KEN.FRANKLIN]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>> THE DOCTOR IS IN! <<<
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
GOOD AFTERNOON Good afternoon, and aren't air conditioners wonderful?
|
||
"""""""""""""" Spring cleaning is well underway, and I'm glad to say
|
||
that includes cleaning out my in box - which is full of interesting
|
||
questions like these:
|
||
|
||
[*][*][*]
|
||
|
||
|
||
Dear Dr. Ken What is multi-tasking?
|
||
"""""""""""" -- Synchronous Shirley from Sausalito
|
||
|
||
Dear Shirley Simon says rub your tummy with your left hand. Simon says
|
||
"""""""""""" pat your head with your right hand at the same time. Simon
|
||
says say the Gettysburg address while continuing with both
|
||
hands. Now hop on one foot. Ah-ha! I didn't say Simon says;
|
||
you're out.
|
||
|
||
Now you know what multi-tasking feels like to a computer.
|
||
|
||
Most microcomputers are programmed to run one program at a
|
||
time (like a word processor). But sometimes a program needs
|
||
to run without your help (like sort 20,000 names and
|
||
addresses, or calculate a huge spreadsheet, or download a
|
||
file by modem), and you're forced to watch while it chugs
|
||
away. I usually pick up a good book during these times.
|
||
Wouldn't it be nice if you could play a game or run another
|
||
program during these times?
|
||
|
||
Multi-tasking allows this. Each program thinks it's the only
|
||
one running, but the computer's operating system switches
|
||
back and forth between them several times a second. To you
|
||
it looks like they are running at the same time, albeit a
|
||
bit slower. The Amiga crows about its ability to do this.
|
||
However, for most of us micro-munchkins, it is rarely very
|
||
useful -- and for system programmers, it's a major migraine.
|
||
|
||
Limited multi-tasking, called "background tasking", is more
|
||
practical. The most common example is a "print spooler". It
|
||
grabs print requests from other programs (like a word
|
||
processor) and tells the program they're done. Then, while
|
||
you work on other things, the spooler feeds the printing job
|
||
to the printer. If you have several long letters to edit,
|
||
this can be a real time saver.
|
||
|
||
There are two more good examples of background tasking. One
|
||
is the digitized sound hardware on the IIgs, which plays
|
||
sounds without stopping or slowing the main program. The
|
||
other is a screen blanker utility, which sits and watches
|
||
how long since you've touched a key (and pounces on your
|
||
screen if it's been too long).
|
||
|
||
|
||
Dear Dr. Ken I heard that Apple now sells a 1.44 megabyte high-density
|
||
"""""""""""" disk drive for the IIgs. For what purposes would someone
|
||
buy such a drive? I use my GS about once a week, with a
|
||
database application, to sort and print the 17 active people
|
||
in my church group. Would a high-density drive help?
|
||
Supposing I had a choice of buying a 40MB hard drive, or the
|
||
high-density drive. Since the price would be about the
|
||
same, when would each of these drives be recommended over
|
||
the other? -- Solly Schneider from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
|
||
|
||
Dear Solly Forget about the hard drive -- let's worry about your church
|
||
"""""""""" group. Seventeen members? We gotta get a MAJOR revival
|
||
going in Saskatoon!
|
||
|
||
For you, I'd buy the hard drive. It's much faster than the
|
||
high-density drive, and will allow you flexibility should
|
||
your needs change in the future.
|
||
|
||
In general, the high-density drive has two advantages.
|
||
First, it allows you to save more stuff on a disk for
|
||
backups; and second, it allows you to read MS-DOS and
|
||
Macintosh disks (if you have the software). This second
|
||
advantage only applies to II users with a PC Transporter,
|
||
or to IIgs users who want to convert files from Macs (like
|
||
Hypercard stacks, sounds, and graphics). It is MUCH slower
|
||
than a hard drive at reading and writing information, and
|
||
you must buy a special kind of 3.5" disk to be able to
|
||
format for 1.44 megabytes. These special disks cost 50-80%
|
||
more than standard 800K floppy disks.
|
||
|
||
I only use 1.44MB disks to make hard drive backups, because
|
||
it makes a shorter stack. And by the way, the TMS Shadow
|
||
52MB hard drive is about the same price as well, so don't
|
||
settle for a measly 40MB.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Dear Dr. Ken What is Teach text and how does it differ from ASCII? --
|
||
"""""""""""" Sharp Sven from Chicago
|
||
|
||
Dear Sven Teach text carries imbedded rulers, which your computer uses
|
||
""""""""" to rap your knuckles if you daydream or throw spitballs at
|
||
the monitor. It also automatically generates pop quizzes
|
||
every fourth time you access the file.
|
||
|
||
Now if I were part of the "Wayne's World" fad, here's where
|
||
I would say "NOT!!!!!!" But I'm not, so I won't.
|
||
|
||
Teach text is a format created by the Macintosh folks and
|
||
recently moved over to the IIgs world. It's a file with two
|
||
parts: one is straight (or ASCII) text, and the other is a
|
||
set of codes with font and formatting information (like
|
||
boldface, italics, and so on). Straight ASCII files cannot
|
||
contain formatting information (unless you want sentences
|
||
like "This is *BOLD START*not*BOLD END* a pretty way to
|
||
*ITALIC START*communicate*ITALIC END*!)
|
||
|
||
Teach files are most commonly used for on-disk program
|
||
documentation (the "Read Me" or "Latest Release Info"
|
||
files), though you can use them for any text information.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Dear Dr. Ken When running with an accelerator board, should it be slowed
|
||
"""""""""""" to normal speed when doing supercritical things like
|
||
optimizing or backing up a hard drive? -- Slinky Sparky
|
||
from Silver Spring
|
||
|
||
Dear Sparky You should only slow the accelerator down when processing
|
||
""""""""""" school or hospital files, or when a police memorandum wants
|
||
the right of way. Otherwise, floor it, bubba.
|
||
|
||
Your accelerator board, if it's working properly, should not
|
||
have any problem accessing your hard drive. But if you have
|
||
problems, before you toss the card, check a few things.
|
||
|
||
Does your SCSI card (the hard drive interface card) have a
|
||
"DMA" switch? If so, turn your computer off, turn that
|
||
switch off, and try again. Some accelerator boards and SCSI
|
||
cards modify memory without telling each other, and that
|
||
confuses your computer.
|
||
|
||
Are all the cables and sockets firmly seated? Sometimes a
|
||
poor connection makes these boards intermittently flaky - and
|
||
you'll hate it when that happens. Try taking each card out
|
||
(with the power off, of course), wiping the contacts with a
|
||
clean T-shirt, and reinserting them.
|
||
|
||
Is your Apple full of cards? You may be overtaxing your power
|
||
supply, which causes the computer equivalent of low blood
|
||
sugar-confusion and shakiness. Consider buying a heavy duty
|
||
power supply.
|
||
|
||
Finally, do you have quality software? I would recommend a
|
||
quality package, like Glen Bredon's "Prosel" or Vitessse's
|
||
"Salvation" series, over a utility like "Bill and Rusty's
|
||
Disk Toolkit and Bowling Simulator".
|
||
|
||
Once again, campers, I'm out of blathering room. Remember,
|
||
you can send electronic mail questions to me on GEnie as
|
||
KEN.FRANKLIN or on America Online as Dr Ken FP.
|
||
|
||
(This column copyrighted 1992 by Ken Franklin. All rights reserved.
|
||
Permission granted for use in GEnie Lamp and user group newsletters.)
|
||
|
||
|
||
///////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
|
||
/ "Personally, I respect electricity. I have this bad habit of /
|
||
/ glowing in the dark when I get excess electrons flowing through /
|
||
/ my body! :)" /
|
||
//////////////////////////////////////////////// D.G.SHIELDS ////
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[EOA]
|
||
[LOG]//////////////////////////////
|
||
LOG OFF /
|
||
/////////////////////////////////
|
||
GEnie Lamp Information
|
||
""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
o COMMENTS: Contacting GEnie Lamp
|
||
|
||
o GENIE LAMP STAFF: Who Are We?
|
||
|
||
o CONTRIBUTORS: This Issue
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
GEnie LAMP GEnieLamp is monthly online magazine published in the
|
||
"""""""""" GEnie Lamp RoundTable on page 515. You can also find
|
||
GEnieLamp in the ST (475), the Macintosh (605), the IBM (615) Apple II
|
||
(645), Unix (160), Mac Pro (480), A2 Pro (530) and the Geoworks (1050)
|
||
RoundTables. GEnieLamp can also be found on CrossNet, Internet and many
|
||
public and commercial BBS systems worldwide.
|
||
|
||
We welcome and respond to all GEmail.To leave messages, suggestions
|
||
or just to say hi, you can contact us at the following addresses:
|
||
|
||
o John F. Peters [GENIELAMP] Senior Editor/RoundTable SysOp
|
||
o Kent Fillmore [DRACO] Publisher/GEnie Product Manager
|
||
|
||
|
||
U.S. MAIL
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
GEnie Lamp Online Magazine
|
||
% John Peters
|
||
5102 Galley Rd. #115/B
|
||
Colorado Springs, CO 80915
|
||
|
||
|
||
GEnie LAMP STAFF
|
||
""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
ATARI ST o John Gniewkowski [J.GNIEWKOWSK] ST Editor
|
||
"""""""" o David Holmes [D.HOLMES14] ST TX2 Editor
|
||
o Fred Koch [F.KOCH] GEnie LAMP[PR] Editor
|
||
o Mel Motogawa [M.MOTOGAWA] ST Staff Writer
|
||
o Terry Quinn [TQUINN] ST Staff Writer
|
||
o Sheldon Winick [S.WINICK] ST Staff Writer
|
||
o Richard Brown [R.BROWN30] ST Staff Writer
|
||
|
||
IBM o Peter Bogert [P.BOGERT1] IBM Editor
|
||
""" o Mark Quinn [M.QUINN3] IBM Co-Editor
|
||
o Mark Dodge [M.DODGE2] Staff Writer
|
||
|
||
MACINTOSH o James Flanagan [J.FLANAGAN4] MAC Editor
|
||
""""""""" o Richard Vega [R.VEGA] MAC Co-Editor
|
||
o Tom Trinko [T.TRINKO] MAC Staff Writer
|
||
|
||
APPLE II o Tom Schmitz [TOM.SCHMITZ] AII Editor
|
||
"""""""" o Phil Shapiro [P.SHAPIRO1] AII Co-Editor
|
||
|
||
INTERNET o Coming Soon!
|
||
""""""""
|
||
|
||
CROSS-NET o Bruce Faulkner [R.FAULKNER4] BBS SysOp
|
||
"""""""""
|
||
|
||
|
||
GEnie LAMP CONTRIBUTORS
|
||
"""""""""""""""""""""""
|
||
|
||
o John Hoffman [JLHOFFMAN]
|
||
o Bill Yung [W.YUNG1]
|
||
o Ken Franklin, MD [KEN.FRANKLIN]
|
||
o Bill Garrett [BILL.GARRETT]
|
||
o Udo Huth [U.HUTH]
|
||
|
||
|
||
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
|
||
Material published in this edition may be reprinted under the
|
||
following terms only. All articles must remain unedited and
|
||
include the issue number and author at the top of each article
|
||
reprinted. Reprint permission granted, unless otherwise noted, to
|
||
registered computer user groups and not for profit publications.
|
||
Opinions present herein are those of the individual authors and
|
||
does not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or staff of
|
||
GEnie Lamp. We reserve the right to edit all letters and copy.
|
||
Material published in this edition may be reprinted only with the
|
||
following notice intact:
|
||
|
||
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
|
||
(c) Copyright 1992 T/TalkNET OnLine Publishing, GEnie, and the
|
||
GEnie Computing RoundTables. To sign up for GEnie service, call
|
||
(with modem) 1-800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH. Wait for the
|
||
U#= prompt. Type: XTX99368,GENIE and hit RETURN. The system will
|
||
then prompt you for your information.
|
||
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
|
||
[EOF]
|
||
|
||
|