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GEnieLamp Apple II - Vol.2, Issue 10
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|||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GEnie Lamp A2/A2Pro
|| |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable
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|| |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE!
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~ A2 CLASSICS: FORGET ME NOT! ~
~ FLOPTICAL DISK DRIVE FOR YOUR IIGS ~
~ PROFILE: ELLEN ROSENBERG FROM A2-CENTRAL NEWSLETTER ~
~ THE GURU OF MY DREAMS ~ ZEN & THE ART OF FLAMING ~
~ COMPUTER NEWSCENTER: A WALK-THROUGH DEMONSTRATION ~
~ HOT NEWS ~ HOT MESSAGES ~ HOT NEWS ~
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
GEnie Lamp A2/A2Pro ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.2, Issue 10
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Publisher.................................GEnie Information Services
Editor-In-Chief........................................John Peters
Editor.............................................Darrel Raines
~ GEnieLamp IBM ~ GEnieLamp [PR]/TX2 ~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp A2 ~
~ GEnieLamp MacPRO ~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~
~ Member Of The Disktop Publishing Association ~
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
>>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE II/A2Pro ROUNDTABLE? <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ January 1, 1993 ~
FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] APPLE_TALK .............. [TAL]
Notes From The Editor. Changes, Changes, Changes.
CPU STATUS REPORT ....... [CPU] HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY]
Late-Breaking News. Is That A Letter For Me?
A2/A2PRO_ductivity ...... [A2P] CowTOONS! ............... [MOO]
What's Up Doc? Moooo Fun!
PROFILES ................ [PRO] THE MIGHTY QUINN ........ [QUI]
Who's Who In Apple II. Technomare.
HARDVIEW A2 ............. [HAR] ONLINE FUN .............. [FUN]
Floptical Drive For Your IIGS. Search-ME!
DIGITAL DIVERSIONS ...... [DIG] A2 CLASSICS ............. [CLA]
Games People Play. Forget Me NOT!
THE ONLINE LIBRARY ...... [LIB] APPLE II ................ [AII]
Yours For The Downloading. Apple II History, Part 8.
GEnie ELSEWHERE! ........ [ELS] LOG OFF ................. [LOG]
Computer Newscenter On GEnie. GEnieLamp Information.
[IDX]"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
READING GEnieLamp GEnieLamp has incorporated a unique indexing
""""""""""""""""" system to help make reading the magazine easier.
To utilize this system, load GEnieLamp into any ASCII word processor
or text editor. In the index you will find the following example:
HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM]
[*]GEnie Fun & Games.
To read this article, set your find or search command to [HUM]. If
you want to scan all of the articles, search for [EOA]. [EOF] will take
you to the last page, whereas [IDX] will bring you back to the index.
MESSAGE INFO To make it easy for you to respond to messages re-printed
"""""""""""" here in GEnieLamp, you will find all the information you
need immediately following the message. For example:
(SMITH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M475)
_____________| _____|__ _|___ |____ |_____________
|Name of sender CATegory TOPic Msg.# Page number|
In this example, to respond to Smith's message, log on to page
475 enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1.
A message number that is surrounded by brackets indicates that this
message is a "target" message and is referring to a "chain" of two
or more messages that are following the same topic. For example: {58}.
ABOUT GEnie GEnie 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 ////
/ "...Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house /
/ not a creature was stirring, not even a Replacement Mouse..." /
//////////////////////////////////////////////// J.MEEHAN3 ////
[EOA]
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
FROM MY DESKTOP /
/////////////////////////////////
Notes From The Editor
"""""""""""""""""""""
By John Peters
[GENIELAMP]
TOP OF THE PAGE The GEnie RoundTables were a sure hummin' with activity
""""""""""""""" during the month of December! Thousands of messages
were posted throughout the system as well as many, many new files were
uploaded to the libraries. How does one sift through them all? You're
reading it! In this and every issue you will find the latest file
highlights from the library and juicy messages from the hottest topics in
the Computer bulletin boards. And as a bonus you get reviews, news and
computer related information too, all in one easy to get download. Best
of all, it's included in your GEnie*Basic package making GEnieLamp an
inexpensive means of staying in touch with what's happening in the Computer
RoundTables here on GEnie.
Can I Upload GEnieLamp To... I'm still receiving GE Mail asking for
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" permission to post GEnieLamp on other BBS's
and information services. Folks, not only do we allow GEnieLamp to be
uploaded elsewhere, we _encourage_ it! See LOG OFF elsewhere in this
issue for more details.
Changes Are Happening! The GEnieLamp staff is undergoing some changes.
"""""""""""""""""""""" As of the February 1st, Peter Bogert is resigning
his position as editor of GEnieLamp IBM. Taking his place is Robert
Connors, a.k.a. Bob, a.k.a. BobC, a.ka. Bobsie. Bobsie is a long time
SysOp of the Wildcat! Orphanage and former co-editor of our original online
magazine, TeleTalk Online.
My thanks to Peter for sticking with it as long as he did. (Peter was
more or less drafted into the position. :) I am happy to say that Peter
will remain on the GEnieLamp IBM staff as a library program reviewer.
Peter will also be doing the online interviews for GEnieLamp.
In The Misc. Department Two other important changes have taken place in
""""""""""""""""""""""" GEnieLamp during December. Mike White took us
up on our CowTOONS offer so many times, I appointed Mike to be our official
Cowlumnist. We're still accepting CowTOONS from "guest CowTOONists" so if
you would like to try your hand at ASCII art, drop us a line at GENIELAMP.
Scott Garrigus has been doing the Online Fun column for so long we decided
to make it official and invite him on as a permanent staff writer.
Welcome Mike and Scott!
What? _Another_ GEnieLamp? That's correct! Last month we brought you
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" GEnieLamp MacPRO, next month it will be
GEnieLamp A2Pro. The last three issues of GEnieLamp A2/Pro have easily
gone over the 200K mark so it was time to look at splitting the magazine up
into a more manageable size. The staff is now being assembled for the
Apple II Developers RT magazine so if you're interested in joining the
GEnieLamp staff, now is the time to get your resume in. (GE Mail:
GENIELAMP) Starting on February 1, 1993 GEnieLamp A2Pro will make it's
first appearance in the main menu in the GEnieLamp (M515), the A2Pro (m530)
and the A2 (m645) RoundTables. Watch for it!
NEW GEnieLamp Macintosh MACROS The latest version of the GEnieLamp
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Module is smaller with a new better
interface, online help and options for multiple downloads. This newest
incarnation has been incorporated into Erik Thauvin's "GEnie Navigator 1.1"
for Microphone II. With GEnieLamp Module 3.0e, you can capture the new
GEnieLamp MacPRO online or download its graphic version, as well as capture
the online versions of any other Lamp, including the A2Pro issues starting
in February.
GEnie Navigator 1.1 will be uploaded to the GE-MUG library (m605;3)
the first week of January. The GEnieLamp Module will also be uploaded as a
"stand-alone" module for Microphone II folks not using Navigator to GE-MUG
and to the GEnieLamp Library (m515;3.) We're still working on the White
Knight version of the module and should release it before the end of
January. If you like to see it sooner write me and let me know. :)
Also if you're not reading the DocMaker versions of GEnieLamp
Macintosh and GEnieLamp MacPRO, you're missing color graphics, an excellent
index, and screen shots of the products reviewed. Plus beginning with the
January issue, the "GE-MUG Gallery" returns with artwork from our members
and perhaps we'll even start running brand-new cartoons. And it's all
available only in the graphic versions of the Mac Lamps. -Jim Flanagan
[*][*][*]
Until next month...
John Peters
[GENIELAMP]
[EOA]
[TAL]//////////////////////////////
APPLE_TALK /
/////////////////////////////////
Changes, Changes, Changes!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Darrel Raines
[D.Raines]
>>> MORE GEnieLamp CHANGES ARE ON THE WAY! <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
GREETINGS EVERYONE! I hope that Christmas this year was a time of joy for
""""""""""""""""""" you and yours. I always enjoy the holidays as a
chance to spend more time with my family.
More changes are in the works for the A2/A2Pro edition of GEnieLamp.
You may have noticed that the size of the 'Lamp has grown over the past
year to the point where it is a sizable download. With an electronic
newsletter, we are not constricted on space. Our goal has always been to
provide good information, interesting articles, and probing interviews in a
timely manner.
The recent expanded coverage of the A2Pro area has inflated our size
to the point that we feel that some changes are in order. The A2Pro area
has sufficient events, bulletin topics, and other happenings to warrant
separate coverage in its own GEnieLamp newsletter. Therefore, starting in
February, we will have not one, but two separate issues of GEnieLamp
covering the Apple II! This newsletter will continue to cover all of the
A2 news fit to print. Our sister magazine for the A2Pro area will cover a
more focused subject matter: topics of interest to A2Pro Roundtable
participants.
Now you can have twice the fun on a monthly basis. GEnieLamp for the
A2 and GEnieLamp for the A2Pro will be available separately starting in
February.
Shareware Idea Exchange For those of you who were interested in the
""""""""""""""""""""""" Shareware Idea Exchange that I proposed in an
earlier edition of GEnieLamp, read on. Four topics have been created in
category 13 (Independent Developers Online) to start a dialogue on this
subject. The topics are listed below. Please drop into these discussions
if you are a programmer or a user with an interesting idea for a program.
Category 13 - Independent Developers Online
-------------------------------------------------------------------
No. Subject Msgs Status Author
18 Shareware Ideas - educational programs 1 Open P.SHAPIRO1
19 Shareware Ideas - games 7 Open P.SHAPIRO1
22 Shareware Ideas - utilities 23 Open P.SHAPIRO1
23 Shareware Ideas - miscellaneous 24 Open P.SHAPIRO1
Author and editor Darrel Raines (D.Raines) welcomes any feedback or
""""""""""""""""" comments via electronic mail to the listed user name.
/////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Hahahaha ahah ahaha haha ah /
/ hahaha /
/ hahahahah /
/ ahahahaha /
/ hahah /
/ THUD! /
/ "That was me, laughing so hard I fell off my chair and /
/ hit the floor. :-) To all, welcome to the wonderful /
/ world of programming. /
///////////////////////////////////////////// POTECHIN ////
[EOA]
[CPU]//////////////////////////////
CPU STATUS REPORT /
/////////////////////////////////
Late-Breaking Industry-Wide News
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Compiled By Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
[ST-REPORT]
Ohio Researchers Develop New LCD Researchers at Ohio's Kent State
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" University have developed a new
smaller, lighter, more energy-efficient liquid crystal display that they
say could revolutionize portable computing.
Researchers at the university's Glenn H. Brown Liquid Crystal
Institute say it took two years to develop a different type of liquid
crystal material -- namely, polymer-stabilized cholesteric liquid crystal
-- that allows a display to operate without a backlight.
J. William Doane, one of the display's inventors, said, "This is a
breakthrough in reflective, front-lit displays. (It) is important because
virtually all flat-panel liquid crystal displays manufactured today require
backlights (and it) will allow the batteries of the terminal to last much
longer. Backlights are bulky and power hungry, draining most of the power
from batteries of laptop computers."
The researchers as saying their invention also has full memory,
meaning, says the wire service, "an image can remain displayed indefinitely
without requiring an additional electronic charge and offering better
contrasting images."
In addition, the new material can be used in plastic displays;
existing LCDs require a glass screen.
Doane says patent applications have been filed and work is under way
to develop color displays and to achieve display speeds fast enough for
television.
Japan Starts Project for Human-Like
"""""""""" Approaches to Computing Japan has launched a 10-year project
""""""""""""""""""""""" to teach computers to mimic the
human brain, an effort called Real-World Computing Partnership that backers
say will benefit fields as diverse as agriculture, medicine and education.
Reports from Tokyo say the project "aims to develop software that
would enable computers to escape from their traditional number-crunching
role and think in the kinds of ways humans do."
Hajime Irisawa, executive director of the project, told a news
conference, "Our computer will have quite excellent intuitive sensory
power. The scientific impact, the industrial impact and the social impact
will be quite significant."
The Japanese government is putting up 90 percent of the project funds
and that 14 private institutions are taking part, including Hitachi Ltd.,
NEC Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd.
Microsoft Faces Injunction Action Attorneys investigating Microsoft for
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" the Federal Trade Commission have
requested the agency's permission to seek a premliminary court injuc- tion
to stop alleged monopolistic practices, a Washington, D.C. news- letter has
reported. The action was the latest move in a lengthy inves- tigation into
Microsoft's pricing practices and, if pursued by the FCC, could force the
software manufacturer to change the way it deals with thousands of computer
makers who buy its MS-DOS operating systems.
Novell Denies Apple Merger Talks Novell Inc. is denying a report in the
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" San Jose Mercury News that said the
networking giant was negotiating a merger with Apple Computer Inc.
"There is no truth to that," said a Novell spokeswoman. "We're always
in industry discussions with them, but we're not having discussions with
them about merging."
An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the report.
The Mercury News said talks between Apple Chairman John Sculley and
Novell Chairman Ray Noorda were a closely held secret and only known by an
elite group of senior executives at the two firms.
Chip Shipping Ratio Up In November The U.S. chip industry's book-to-bill
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ratio rose to 1.13 in November, up
from 1.11 in October, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association
trade group. A 1.13 book-to-bill ratio means that for every $100 of
products shipped, or billed, manufacturers received $113 in new orders, or
bookings.
Former Computer Whiz Kid Caught Kevin Poulsen, a former Silicon Valley
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" computer whiz kid, has been charged with
stealing Air Force secrets that allegedly included a list of planned
targets in a hypothetical war. The 27-year-old Los Angeles resident was
named in a 14-count indictment that includes a charge of gathering defense
information. If convicted, he would face 7-1/2 to 10 years in prison.
In the early 1980s, Poulsen was accused of breaking into UCLA's
computer network, but he escaped prosecution because he was a juvenile. He
later went to work for Sun Microsystems. It was while Poulsen was employed
by Sun that he illegally obtained a computer tape containing an order
concerning a military exercise code-named Caber Dragon 88, the government
said in court papers.
Poulsen was also charged in 1989 along with two other men with
stealing telephone access codes from a Pacific Bell office, accessing
Pacific Bell computers, obtaining unpublished phone numbers for the Soviet
Consulate in San Francisco; dealing in stolen telephone access codes; and
eavesdropping on two telephone company investigators. Sources say he
remained at large until a television show elicited a tip that led to his
capture in April 1991. He is scheduled to be tried in March on these
charges.
/////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "...hot diggety, I can do what I want. This has got to be the /
/ best place in the world for help. :-) A very big thanks to /
/ everyone who helped." /
////////////////////////////////////////////// K.SPRINGER1 ////
[EOA]
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
/////////////////////////////////
Is That A Letter For Me?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Darrel Raines
[D.RAINES]
o HOT TOPICS!
o A2 ODDS & ENDS
o F.Y.I.
o WHAT'S NEW?
>>> HOT TOPICS <<<
""""""""""""""""""
APPLE IIgs? Well friends & neighbors, I called the Apple Customer
""""""""""" Assistance Center (1- 800-776-2333) twice today and around
4:50 p.m. I spoke to a guy named Shawn. Told me that Apple had gone and
discontinued the IIgs, effective 12/14/92, apparently confirming our worse
fears. I say apparently because when I called earlier today 10:00 p.m. EST,
the guy I spoke to told me that he had heard that the IIgs was going to be
discontinued but had no further info.
On the skeptical side, Shawn told me that a new price list had NOT
been released as of close of business today. The rumor I had heard
involved the IIgs being dropped from the price list on 12/15.
In the "what else is new dept.", he told me that there was no official
confirmation from Apple (read "press release" or "bulletin"), as of yet. He
could just offer the VERBAL confirmation.
Real Apple Information or Real Apple Misinformation? You decide.
TTFN, Larry ;-))
P.S.- I chose to post this here and NOT in "Confirmed News" for
obvious reasons.
(L.FAUST2, CAT2, TOP5, MSG:146/M645;1)
[*][*][*]
!!!!!!!!!!!!! Much shouting, name-calling and general anguish followed
""""""""""""" the speculation and then confirmation (of a sort) that the
IIgs was going to be discontinued. One of the most discussed events
involved a report by some of the Bay Area Apple User Group (BAAUG) members
concerning a meeting with Apple representatives. The following posts
exemplify the information you can find in this topic.
[*][*][*]
REACTIONS TO THE NEWS Now that the cat's out of the bag, allow me to add
""""""""""""""""""""" a bit more information that I gleaned from that
meeting {BAAUG and Apple}, and from talking to John Santoro later that
evening at a user group meeting.
o Apple wanted to do a IIgs Card for the Mac LC, and
looked into it, but found that they couldn't make one for
less than the cost of the Mac itself.
o Apple will not license the Apple II ROMs to a third
party for three major reasons:
I. It is proprietary technology.
II. Apple is now has a competing product to the Apple
II, the Mac LC.
III. The Apple logo must be licensed with the ROMs. Any
action that a third party takes while using the
Apple logo reflects on Apple Computer, Inc.,
whether good or bad. This is unacceptable.
o No new Apple II hardware is expected to be developed by
Apple Computer, Inc. after the Apple II Ethernet card is
released.
o System software tweaks such as printer drivers for new
Apple printers are expected to continue. One large
thrust will be continued network and printer
compatibility.
o HyperCard GS and Apple IIgs System Software 6.0 were
done partially to give Apple IIgs users "a taste of the
Mac" in the hope that they would eventually migrate to
that platform.
o Apple is actively investigating a PowerBook-style
mail-in service plan for all Apple II users.
o The much-rumored "ROM 4" Apple IIgs was to have the
following features: Built-in 40MB hard drive, built-in
SuperDrive, 2 Meg RAM, System 6.0 tools in ROM, DMA SCSI
port, HyperCard GS bundled with the machine. It would
have retained the 2.8 Mhz processor speed of the previous
versions of the IIgs.
o Part of the delay in the development and release of
System 6.0 was because of the cancellation of the "ROM 4."
o A re-engineered Apple IIgs was investigated, solely to
lower production costs (continued production could be
justified for a longer time with lower costs) but it
never even got past the idea stage.
Finally, with all this darkness, I'd like to add a little light.
Regardless of the actions of Apple Computer, Inc., A2 and A2Pro, the Apple
II RoundTables on GEnie, have pledged to do everything we can to support
you, the Apple II user, for as long as you continue to call this system.
We will be here, as strong as ever, and in fact growing in size as we
continue to add direct online support from more third party Apple II
companies, for many, many years to come. As long as you, the users of A2
and A2Pro, continue to support us by your presence here, we will support
you in any way we can. There is no question as to where OUR loyalties lie.
We all love our Apple IIs, and we will not give them up! Apple II Forever!
-= Lunatic E'Sex (A2.LUNATIC, CAT5, TOP4, MSG:18/M645;1)
MORE REACTION TO THE NEWS... I'd like to add a few comments.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" First off, I attended the meeting at Apple
as a representative and officer of two Apple II User Groups. I was not
there to represent inCider/A+. (Of course, as soon as I left the meeting, I
did call inCider/A+ and offered them "the scoop of the decade", and in a
later phone conversation with an inCider staffer, John Santoro confirmed
that the Apple IIGS would be "removed from the price list" before the end
of 1992.)
Second...I grappled with it, and I made the decision to not broadcast
this information. With the holiday season just starting, I didn't want to
be thought of as the guy who announced the death of the IIGS. As anyone who
knows me knows, I aspire to be known as the world's biggest supporter of
the Apple II; I've often been heard to say that I want to be remembered as
the person who saved the Apple II.
Third...To my great surprise, there was not a lot of anger at the
meeting. In fact, everyone remained very civil. I personally want to say
that I was not entirely surprised by Apple's decision to cancel the Apple
IIGS. And, in an odd sort of way, I breathed a sigh of relief at the
announcement.
I feel as if all of us, myself included, have spent entirely too much
time over the past several years wondering about Apple Computer Inc, and
what they were going to do. In many ways, it's been wasted energy.
As I left the meeting, I thought "now we know what Apple has planned,
so to hell with them, and let's get on with, and back to, business".
IMHO, the Apple IIGS will not die. Over the past several years, I've
often thought of the Apple II "as the computer that refuses to die". The
fact that Apple intends to stop producing the IIGS makes no difference to
me. My computer is just as powerful and fun to work with today as it was
one month ago. Apple's decision will never take anything away from how I
feel about the IIGS. It has, however, changed the way I feel about Apple
Computer Inc.
As I have said often in the past year, it's very important for us as
Apple II owners to support those who support us. That's even more important
now. If we want Seven Hills and Quality and WestCode and Vitesse and
Sequential Systems and TMS (and on and on...the battle lines are
clear...you know who supports you) to remain with us over the years, we
absolutely must support them now with our wallets!!
Now, speaking as a guy who has made 100% of my living for the past 6
years working with and for the Apple II...
I am personally obsessed with the Apple II. I do not have any
intention of leaving the Apple II. I will continue to write for inCider/A+
and Softdisk G-S and anyone else that wants me. I will continue to make
freeware and shareware disks available to my Shareware Solutions readers. I
will continue to be involved with Apple II User Groups. I will continue to
volunteer my time to assist non-profit organizations that use Apple II's.
In short, I am in for the long haul.
I love the Apple II, and nothing that Apple Computer Inc does will
change that! Long live the IIGS! Long live the Apple II family of
computers. And, long live those who will continue to produce hardware and
software for the Apple II. -Joe Kohn
(the above views are mine, and mine alone. I do not speak for any
organization) (J.KOHN, CAT5, TOP4, MSG:23/M645;
>>> A2 ODDS & ENDS <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""
GOOD TIP! Sometimes one will get 3.5" disks, where the write protect tab
""""""""" has been permanently removed. Those disks can't be written to,
because they are write protected permanently. No longer!! Just take a write
protect strip from 5.25" disks, declare it to be a write enable strip and
cover the hole on the 3.5" disk with it. You're now able to reformat the
disk and store some information on it. If it's information that mustn't be
changed in the future, just remove the strip covering the hole and the disk
will be write protected again and you don't risk losing your data. BTW,
it has to be an opaque strip, see-through material won't do.
(U.HUTH, CAT2, TOP4, MSG:196/M645;1)
>>>>> The trick with using 5.25" write protect strips to write enable a
""""" 3.5" will also work when you have a Superdrive, and a High Density
disk, but do not want it formatted High Density (HD). You just put the
strip on the other side. (We've only tested this with the AE drives so
far.) (A2.SUSAN, CAT2, TOP4, MSG:197/M645;1)
PRINTING DHR GRAPHICS To print out DHR graphics, you need a program
""""""""""""""""""""" called Photomatrix. It will work on IIe & IIc,
but requires an ImageWriter printer. If you have something else, you could
be out of luck for the printing part.
To view DHR graphics (& other kinds, too), you need the program
Sneeze. It will work with any II & does lots of other neat stuff.
Both these files are in the library.
18768 SNEEZE.BXY V2.2 X K.BUNKER
Desc: Popular file viewer/program launcher
14547 PHOTOMATRIX.BXY X T.KONCZAL
Desc: Great double hires print utility
-Pat Kern (as forwarded by Tim Tobin)
(A2.TIM, CAT3, TOP8, MSG:27/M645;1)
MORE DISK TIPS The SOS disk format is completely identical to the ProDOS
"""""""""""""" disk format, except for a small difference in the boot
block which is, for the most part, totally irrelevant. You can stick any
SOS format disk into an Apple II and it will work just like a ProDOS disk,
and vice-versa. GS/OS uses the ProDOS FST, and this will read SOS disks no
problem (because ANYTHING that reads ProDOS disks can read SOS disks).
File types work exactly the same under SOS, too. Several file types
are used by both machines, such as TXT and BIN. SOS has a few that are
reserved for itself, but these are rare and basically not relevant.
I imagine that Apple Writer II would read Apple Writer III files
automatically - in fact it probably couldn't even tell the difference (i.e.
the file formats are almost certainly COMPLETELY IDENTICAL and neither
version of Apple Writer would know the difference).
SOS was a really good operating system. Whole chunks of the ProDOS
kernel are byte-for-byte identical with chunks of SOS in fact - since
they're both 6502- based machines with a lot of shared architecture, that's
not surprising. -Dean Esmay
(A2.DEAN, CAT7, TOP6, MSG:95/M645;1)
SOFTWARE LOST AND FOUND I always thought the same thing: that Police
""""""""""""""""""""""" Quest II and Space Quest III were never even
developed for the Apple IIgs, but a Sierra rep (who has a IIgs) at a
Scorpia Roundtable Conference told me differently. According to him, those
titles are not nonexistent, just very rare; I backordered them several
years ago when they first appeared in advertisements (for the GS), but I
got a letter saying they were discontinued. :-(
(S.STUART2, CAT2, TOP22, MSG:84/M645;1)
DOLLARS AND SENSE The marketing and development rights to Dollars and
""""""""""""""""" Sense for all platforms (MS-DOS, MAC, DOS 3.3, and
ProDOS) are now owned by:
Business Sense, Inc.
6360 Moki Circle
West Jordan, Utah 84084
Phone: 800-377-4954
FAX: 800-377-5453
They are currently offering all versions at special promotional
prices. Might be of interest to the Dollars and Sense fans lurking here.
-Hank (H.WESSEL3, CAT8, TOP5, MSG:102/M645;1)
SPECIAL PRICE INFORMATION Purchase one (Mac, IBM, Apple II) for $39.95
""""""""""""""""""""""""" and you can purchase any number more at "two"
for $39.95. It makes no difference if you mix Mac, IBM,or Apple II. I had
two people in my church that wanted IBM versions so we split the total cost
three ways. The more people you get involved the better the deal. They are
backlogged on the Apple II orders. The person I talked with on the phone
said they were swamped with orders from Apple II users. From what I
understand they plan on continual upgrades and support for the Apple II
version in the future. [*] Vic B.[*]
(V.BENTLEY, CAT8, TOP5, MSG:119/M645;1)
LESS SOFTWARE? NOT! Whoever above said he was sorry to see less and
"""""""""""""""""""" less new software needs to look again - I see more
new IIgs software coming out today than a year ago, or two years ago, or
three, for that matter. We're in good shape, with a good computer.
Commodore hasn't {enhanced the} Commodore-64 in a good five years,
yet THEY manage to maintain a thriving community and new software STILL
comes out for that machine. And a C-64 isn't nearly as nice or as powerful
as a IIgs. Think about it. :-) -Dean Esmay
(A2.DEAN, CAT5, TOP4, MSG:34/M645;1)
>>> F.Y.I. <<<
""""""""""""""
ALTERNATIVE NETWORKS FOR GEnie SprintNet is the new name for Telenet,
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" one of the major public data networks.
It has many local nodes throughout the country. There's a $2 per hour
surcharge to use SprintNet for GEnie access, though. You dial up a local
node, tell SprintNet what system you want to connect to, and it connects
you. You can reach systems like Dialog, Knowledge Index, and Dow Jones
News/Retrieval through SprintNet. It's well worth knowing about, even if
you don't want to use it for GEnie.
You can get the details from GEnie for free under PHONES.
-Bill Dooley (A2.BILL, CAT3, TOP13, MSG:6/M645;1)
GEnie SLOWDOWN? HERE'S WHY Here's an explanation of the problems we've
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" had with slow system response these last few
days:
> GEnie User's RT Category 1, Topic 10
> Message 12 Wed Dec 02, 1992 JOHN.J [GEnie SysDev]
> at 10:20 EST
> There is no question that system performance has been atrocious
> the last two nights. We have been in the middle of a system
> reconfiguration that (believe it or not) is intended to improve
> GEnie performance. We were at least as surprised (and dismayed)
> as you folks by the current results. There are a number of
> things we can do to alter the new configuration to address the
> current problems, and we will be making changes again today. I
> wish I could say that all will be well tonight, but I can't. We
> went with the intuitively correct configuration Monday and were
> proven very wrong, so it may take us more than two tries (last
> night's was clearly a bummer) to get it right.
> GEnie is a distributed system, and all of the bulletin boards,
> software libraries and real time conferences are on different
> systems (which we're not messing with) so you should see good
> performance once you get there even if it's painfully slow
> getting there. I'm convinced the changes we're making will
> ultimately make for a better, more responsive, GEnie, but I
> admit I grossly underestimated the difficulty of the transition.
> My apologies to all who have been inconvenienced.
> John
-Bill Dooley (A2.BILL, CAT3, TOP13, MSG:12/M645;1)
{Sometimes the average GEnie user is not aware of happenings that
affect them online. A2 strives to bring information of this sort the
attention of all. Well informed users = Happy users. -Ed.}
>>> WHAT'S NEW? <<<
"""""""""""""""""""
HYPER-PAST AND FUTURE For general information: Roger Wagner Publishing,
""""""""""""""""""""" Inc. started under the name "Southwestern Data
Systems" in August, 1978, and is, I believe, THE oldest operating company
providing Apple II products other than Apple Computer, Inc.
Our newly announced HyperStudio for the Mac has been described as "an
addition, not a transition", and it's as good a description as any of our
current position.
We have a number of new Apple II-related products still under
development, and only one Mac product: HyperStudio for the Mac. Our
company mission at this point is to provide the best personal multimedia
authoring tools available, particularly for K-12 education, but also suited
for home and family users. In that direction, we also intend to continue
our position as a valuable resource for anyone with questions about
multimedia.
Regardless of what Apple Computer does with the Apple IIGS on their
price list, the Apple IIGS remains the best bargain for personal
multimedia, and offers the most capability for the vast majority of users.
Sales of new Apple IIGS computers have been diminishing for some time now,
primarily due to the success of those who would like to sell other models
in convincing the public at large that the Apple IIGS is a dated and
insufficient machine.
For myself, I will continue to use the Apple IIGS as my primary
presentation tool, and show people what the machine offers. For those with
eyes to see the value there, the machine remains an exceptional value.
I deeply appreciate the support given to me and my company over the
past many years by computer users the world over, and hope to continue to
earn that support by our continued enthusiasm for personal creativity and
expression via the personal computer.
By the way, the summer of 1993 will offer the first "HyperStudio
Festival", to be held in San Diego, California. I hope to see you there!
-Roger Wagner (ROGER.WAGNER, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:24/M645;1)
[*][*][*]
In the following sections we present a variety of interesting posts
that have appeared during the last month in the bulletin boards for A2.
These messages can be identified by the footer attached to each item.
(See the introductory notes on how to interpret the footer.) If you find
the topic, excerpt, or just the interplay between various people to be
stimulating, then please jump to that topic on a weekly basis and read
about developments in the Apple II community. Our hope is that you will
find something new and interesting each month in the A2 bulletin boards.
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 ////
/ "Well, I have time on my hands every evening 6 'til Midnight. /
/ GEnie is my girlfriend. :-( " /
///////////////////////////////////////////////////// MUSE ////
[EOA]
[HUM]//////////////////////////////
HUMOR ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
Quayle Season Is Almost Over!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Charles Johnson
[CODEHEAD]
>>> POLITICAL PONDERINGS <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
WE'RE GONNA MISS YA! I always get a kick out of people who say, "The
"""""""""""""""""""" media picks on Dan Quayle" and "Quayle's not so
bad!" Hey, just because everybody says he's a moron doesn't mean he isn't!
The fact that Dan Quayle could reach the second-highest office in the
land says something deeply terrifying about American politics.
But in a way, his retirement from the vice presidency is also very
sad. Poignant, even. We've gotten some of the biggest laughs of our lives
from Mr. Potatoe Head, and I, for one, will always be thankful.
How can we ever forget his chihuahua-like attack-dog strategy, in the
debate with Al Gore? ("You know what you're doing? You're pulling a
Clinton!!!") His wonderful way of paraphrasing fables and aphorisms? (Like
the time he said, "Give a man a fish and he'll fish for a day; teach him to
fish and he'll fish for life.") Or his monumental gaffs -- like when he
posed for a picture in El Salvador with a grenade launcher aimed at his own
elbow?
How can we ever forget that picture in Time magazine of J. Danforth
Quayle with a fly resting between his eyebrows?
I had to stop typing for a while to laugh at that one again. He he
he.
Or the time he visited the cleanup workers at the Exxon Valdez oil
spill, and told them to "have a great day!" Or the fact that he voted for
a special tax break ... for golf pros???
One of my favorites, Quayle explaining why he favors sending humans
to Mars (this is a direct quote): "Mars is essentially in the same orbit.
Mars is somewhat the same distance from the sun, which is very important.
We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If
there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can
breathe."
This is funny, funny stuff, and it wasn't just every once in a while.
Compilations of his hilarious misstatements and slapstick clowning fill
books. Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative, who cares? Danny boy,
yer a certified stalk of broccoli, but arrr, we'll miss ye! - Charles
(CODEHEAD, CAT18, TOP10, MSG:192/M475)
//////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Ooooohhh Nooooo! Not the handles debate again!!! :-)" /
//////////////////////////////////////// R.WATSON15 ////
[EOA]
[A2P]//////////////////////////////
A2/PRO_ductivity /
/////////////////////////////////
What's Up Doc?
""""""""""""""
By Jim Couch
[J.COUCH]
>>> A2PRO REORGANIZES <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
December was a busy month in A2 Pro. Probably the biggest news was the
reorganization of the Roundtable. Most of the categories have remained
essentially the same but some have changed a bit. Some topics have been
moved to more appropriate categories. The biggest change is that Byte Works
has formalized their support in A2 Pro and they have their own category.
Here is a list of the current A2 Pro categories:
CATEGORY 1 : A2Pro Roundtable Business
CATEGORY 2 : Programming in 6502 Assembly
CATEGORY 3 : Programming in 65816 Assembly
CATEGORY 4 : Programming in C
CATEGORY 5 : Debugging
CATEGORY 6 : Programming in Pascal
CATEGORY 7 : Programming with ProDOS 8 and other 8-bit Operating Systems
CATEGORY 8 : Programming with GS/OS and ProDOS 16
CATEGORY 9 : Programming in BASIC
CATEGORY 10 : Tools and Utilities for Programmers
CATEGORY 11 : Algorithms, Design, Data Structures and File Formats
CATEGORY 12 : Hardware and Peripherals
CATEGORY 13 : Developer Information Center
CATEGORY 14 : Other Programming Languages
CATEGORY 15 : Using the Apple IIgs Tool Box
CATEGORY 16 : Developer and User Lounge
CATEGORY 17 : Communications and Networking
CATEGORY 18 : HyperMedia Programming
CATEGORY 19 : Development Environments and Shells
CATEGORY 20 : DAs, Inits, Control Panels, Modules, Parts and Friends
CATEGORY 21 : The Human Interface and You
CATEGORY 22 : A2 University
CATEGORY 30 : Procyon, Inc. Online
CATEGORY 31 : Softdisk Publishing Online
CATEGORY 32 : Morgan Davis Group (MDG) Programmers' Exchange
CATEGORY 33 : GS+ Magazine Online
CATEGORY 34 : JEM Software Online
CATEGORY 35 : Lunar Productions Online
CATEGORY 36 : The Byte Works Online
Welcome to Byte Works Online For those of you who enjoy the fine support
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" that Byte Works provides in A2Pro, but had
trouble finding them things just got easier. All of the Byte Works topics
can now be found in Category 36! Mike Westerfield has provided wonderful
support to Byte Works customers via A2 Pro for ages. Byte Works has
formalized that support with official participation in Category 36. the
many Byte Works topics, which were formerly spread throughout A2 Pro are
now gathered into one category. Byte Works also now has their own A2 Pro
library, #36!
As if all this weren't enough Mike Westerfield joined the A2 Pro
folks in a Real-Time Conference December 13th to talk about the upcoming
ORCA/C v2.0! A transcript of the RTC is available in the A2Pro library.
Category 36, The Byte Works Online currently features 29 topics
dealing with the numerous Byte Works products available to Apple II
programmers:
CATEGORY 36 : The Byte Works Online
====================================
1 The Byte Works, Inc.
2 Catalog
3 Rumors, Wishes and Vaporware
6 ORCA/M 8-bit Assembler
7 ORCA/M 8-bit O/S Source
8 ORCA/M 8-bit Floating Point Libraries
9 ORCA/M 16-bit Macro Assembler
10 ORCA/Pascal
11 ORCA/C
12 ORCA/Integer BASIC
16 The ORCA Shell
17 Linker
18 Text-Based Editor
19 Prizm Desktop Development Environment
20 Utilities
21 Learn to Program Pascal
22 Toolbox Programming in Pascal
23 Learn to Program C
24 Toolbox Programming in C
25 Programmer's Reference for System 6.0
26 ORCA/Disassembler
27 Design Master
28 Talking Tools
29 ORCA/Debugger
But Wait There's More! Byte Works is not the only company that offers
"""""""""""""""""""""" online support in A2Pro. Many other companies
offer formal support via the roundtable and our listed in the Categories
above. Here is what is happening with some of them:
PROCYON, INC Procyon will be shipping 'Switch-It' very soon. Switch-It
"""""""""""" is a multiple application switcher for the GS. Also on the
horizon from Procyon is an update to GNO/ME their UNIX like multi-tasking
environment. Check out Category 30 for all the details.
MORGAN DAVIS GROUP Morgan's 'History Buffer' is a regular on-line
"""""""""""""""""" newsletter you can find in Category 32. This
newsletter contains information about goings-on at MDG, and other
interesting tidbits. EVERYONE should check this out, even if you are not a
programmer or MDG customer. Morgan's little on-line newsletter is well
written and entertaining!
JEM SOFTWARE Ultra 4.1 is now shipping and INCLUDES Ultra Extras! The
"""""""""""" improvements, added features, new utilities and
capabilities over UltraMacros 3.X are nothing short of amazing! To get all
the information on this new Appleworks programing language (macros long ago
ceased to adequately describe this product) check out Category 34.
LUNAR PRODUCTIONS If you are a registered owner of Foundation be sure to
""""""""""""""""" check out Category 35. The latest version of
Foundation (1.0.2) is a free upgrade to previous purchasers and is
currently shipping.
A2U News A2U continues to roll along. Will Nelken's fine Ultra 4.x class
"""""""" is finishing up with a contest for all participants. Check out
Category 22, Topic 22 to see who will win the coveted Ultra 4 to the MAX
T-shirt.
If you wanted to get involved with Andy McFadden's 'Hacking Data
Compression' course now may be your chance. Andy is busy working on his new
file compression program for Westcode (HardPressed) and the class has
slowed for a bit. Now might be a good time to jump in and get caught up.
Once HardPressed is finished Andy's class will be back up and rolling.
Check Category 22, Topic 23 to get involved.
Ultra Extras Becomes Ultra 4.1 Roger, as I've been telling folks
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" whenever possible, Ultra 4.1 _is_ a
updated Ultra 4.0 along with Ultra Extras. There is no separate UE disk, or
separate U4.1 disk w/o UE. JEM Software now offers one product only, Ultra
4.1, which is priced at the combined Ultra 4.0 and Ultra Extras price of
$60, apart from any special offers. In other words, you now have no choice-
if you want Ultra 4, you will get Ultra Extras, like it or not. :-) Ultra
Extras is dead, long live Ultra 4.1!
(BRANDT [Randy], Category 34, Topic 8, Message 21, M530;1)
Ultra 4.0 - 4.1 Changes > Can you list the bug fixes/new
""""""""""""""""""""""" > features/changes for 4.0 to 4.1?
Yes. Oh, you weren't just wondering if I could, you actually wanted me to
do it? Here goes, off the top of my head:
o updated clock init solves some early problems, displays according AW
date/time settings
o updated Debug 2.0 adds more power including breakpoint debugging
o added oa-H init does screen shots to clipboard or printer
o Macros2Menus lets you convert macro programs to TimeOut apps
o macro titles allow you to pick a macro from a scrolling list without
having to know the keystroke command; just press SA-Esc from the macro
menu, paralleling OA-Esc for the TimeOut menu
o 60 new dot commands add everything from handy menu stuff like boxes,
scrolling lists, etc., to extended math for BIG numbers, new input
commands such as .getvalue, .getstring, .getinput, commands to search
and sort string vars, returns dates in various formats, draw
thermometers to display macro progress, etc. You can even change the
speed macros run at to create hands- off demos, and if you have a IIgs
you can change screen colors, and get the time with seconds.
(BRANDT [Randy], Category 34, Topic 2, Message 7, M530;1)
Announcing GSTape version 2 County Line Technology announces a new
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" release of its premium tape archival
program. GSTape is a fully file oriented, backup and restore utility for
the Apple IIGS, offering the convenience that GS owners have come to expect
in a desktop program, and providing power that advanced productivity users
appreciate. Among the current users of GSTape include companies,
government agencies, schools, bulletin boards, and others who demand the
convenience of tape backup.
The new version continues to provide the original GSTape features such as:
incremental backup, image backup, multiple backups per tape, point and
click selection of files/directories/volumes, numerous restoration choices,
backup logging, friendly prompts and warnings, etc.
Version 2 adds RamFAST support, System 6 and HFS compatibility, backup
scripting, timed backups, and a new fast backup mode for ProDOS partitions
and streaming tapes (4-5 megs per minute using a Teac or Archive drive and
a DMA card).
System Requirements
"""""""""""""""""""
o Apple IIGS with 2 megs memory
o GS/OS System 6
o Apple SCSI card (rev C or HSDMA) _OR_
o C.V. Technologies RamFAST SCSI card (Rom 3.0 required)
Tape Drives
"""""""""""
o Apple (3M) 40 meg
o Teac SCSI 60 or 150 meg
o Teac SASI (CMS/Sider, RamFAST required)
o Archive Viper 150/250
Availability GSTape can be purchased directly from County Line
"""""""""""" Technology for $35 US, check or money order, shipping
included. Rev 1 owners may upgrade for $15 (include serial number).
Demonstration disk available for $5. Add $5 for shipments outside of the
USA.
Tim Grams County Line Technology
P.O. Box 462283 Garland, TX 75046 USA
(214) 495-7675
(TGRAMS [Tim], Category 1, Topic 4, Message 49, M530;1)
Jim Murphy to Intern at Apple I am pleased to do another "Local Boy
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Makes Good" announcement with his
permission, even though I had little to do with it:
Our own Jim Murphy (A2PRO.JIM) has accepted an intern position with
the Apple II Continuation Engineering group beginning in January.
Jim is a junior at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, studying
computer science. Through the normal Apple intern program, he'll be
helping our friends Dave Lyons and Tim Swihart and company produce things
like 6.0.1 and beyond before returning to Drexel sometime in late 1993 to
continue his studies.
(At least in theory -- I started out on a five-month internship in
March 1988 and I never went back. Go figure.)
Jim's been responsible for the past six months (has it been that long
already?) for helping answer questions here in the bulletin board,
maintaining our product support and beta-test areas and generally being
helpful. He's also the author of Big Edit Thing, Big Crunch Thing and is
the chief designer and author of ScriptEdit and HexEdit, the generically-
useful editing parts of Foundation, Lunar Productions' resource editor for
the Apple IIgs.
Jim will be continuing his work here in A2Pro before and after his
move to California later this month, because he knows that since he'll be
local, I'll pummel him about the upper torso if he tries to quit.
Please join me in congratulating Jim on taking on a lot of thankless
work for not nearly enough credit. :)
--Matt (I speak for myself, not for Apple)
(M.DEATHERAGE, Category 1, Topic 17, Message 44, M530;1)
Softdisk Looking for Programmers Softdisk Publishing is now accepting
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" applications for in-house programmers.
If you can program in 6502 or 65816 assembly, enjoy short-term projects and
are willing to relocate to Shreveport, LA, send your resume to:
Softdisk Publishing
ATTN: Lee Golden
606 Common Street
Shreveport, LA 71101
(btw: Just think you might be able to work alongside Jay and Bryan ;-)
(SOFTDISK.INC [Zak], Category 13, Topic 8, Message 91, M530;1)
Why You NEED those Tech Notes Believe it or not a common mistake a lot
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" programmers make is thinking that they
Toolbox References are Correct. In fact, the technotes are just as, if not
more important than having the references. There are _tons_ of
corrections, examples, clarifications in the technotes that you really
_need_ to know.
If you have trouble downloading, you can purchase (and when you
consider that you are paying $6 an hour to download, the price isn't that
bad) the entire set of technotes (over 200 of them) from Resource Central.
You can also just get specific groups: only GS/OS or only IIGS, but I
recommend getting them all just to be safe. The price for all of them is
about $60 and well worth it.
(SOFTDISK.INC [Zak], Category 15, Topic 14, Message 40, M530;1)
Jim Couch
Tacoma, Washington
/////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "The last 10% always takes 90% of the time. I think it's some /
/ unwritten programmer's law. :-} " /
//////////////////////////////////////////////////// DITEK ////
[EOA]
[MOO]//////////////////////////////
CowTOONS! /
/////////////////////////////////
Moooooo Fun!
"""""""""""" (_/^\_)
By Mike White /~~~~~\
[M.WHITE25] / \
| )|( |
\_ | _/
| * |
|| ||
~~ ~~
" Last Bull Moon of 1992 "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cowbell
[======-o-======]
_/|\_
/~~~ ~~~\
/ \
/ (__)) \
/ (cc)) \
/ /-------\// \
/ / | || \
/ * ||----|| \
/ ~~ ~~ \
( )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\\~~~~~~~~~
~O
" Ringing in the Moo Year "
) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(
)
( * * CowTOONist Mike White took us up on
) (,/^\,) . (,/^\,) our offer so often that we decided
( (o o) . (o o) to make him our CowTOON cowlumnist.
) /(.) \_/ /(.)\ Watch for a thunderin' herd of Moo Fun
( | ~_/~| / ~ \ coming to future issues of GEnieLamp.
* |\ | ~ / \ / \
( " | | ~ ~ | If you have an idea for a CowTOON, we
\ \ \_ _/ would like to see it. And, if we pick
|| \\ //^|| your CowTOON for publishing in GEnieLamp
|| // \\ || we will credit your account with 2 hours
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ of GEnie non-prime time!
" Barn Dance "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 1, 1993
Happy Moo Year!
///////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Luck? Oh. I was trying to play with skill. ;-) /
/////////////////////////////////// POTECHIN ////
[EOA]
[PRO]//////////////////////////////
PROFILES /
/////////////////////////////////
Who's Who In Apple II
"""""""""""""""""""""
By Phil Shapiro
[P.SHAPIRO1]
>>> WHO'S WHO? <<<
""""""""""""""""""
~ A GEnieLamp Profile of Ellen Rosenberg ~
Editor-In-Chief: A2-Central Newsletter
GEnieLamp> Ellen, can you tell us a little about how you first became
""""""""" involved with Apple II computers?
Ellen> My life as a computer-obsessed person started only about four
""""" years ago with a Laser 128 computer. My son started pestering
his dad for a computer (I didn't need convincing) when he was about four
and won the battle when he was ten. It took us that long to convince the
major breadwinner that a computer was more than just another screen to sit
in front of. Actually, I don't think that we ever did convince him but he
got tired of fighting the war. We couldn't talk him into a genuine Apple
and we didn't mind starting with a clone. I was hooked from day one, so
much so that a few months later I asked for a printer for Mother's Day and
a modem for our anniversary one month later.
The modem opened up worlds unknown. I lost neighborhood friends but
gained online ones. My phone was constantly busy, the common things that a
stay-at-home mom normally did, suddenly didn't get done. I got active in
my local user group and took on the editorship of the user group
newsletter. I had taught school full time before I had children and very
part time afterward but I must admit that doing the editing thing grabbed
me in a way that I hadn't been grabbed before. I'd found myself.
Well, I'd found myself but my husband felt like he was losing me. "If
you're going to fool around on the computer all day long," he said, "why
don't you find a way to be paid for it?" This was getting serious. He
meant it. So my brain went into gear.
GEnieLamp> When and how did you come to work for Resource Central?
"""""""""
Ellen> A fitting second question. <grin>
""""" When we first got that Laser 128, I started reading inCider and A+
magazines. I believe that was the time that inCider (or was it A+?) cited
A2-Central as the best Apple II publication around and noted that its
publisher and founder Tom Weishaar, lived in Overland Park, Kansas.
Incredible, I thought. I'm living in the same town as this famous
newsletter publisher! I called and asked for the two issue free trial
subscription, but decided after perusing the publication that it was "too
technical" for me. I passed on paying for a yearly subscription.
Well, I guess that A2-Central and I were meant to be, because a few
months after my free trial ended, I won a year's subscription at our user
group's summer picnic. The more I read, the more it all made sense. While
I might not have understood everything in every issue, it was beginning to
seem less daunting.
This was all about the time that laundry was piling up at home,
home-cooked meals were becoming scarce and my family was becoming more
jealous of the time I spent with my computer. We traded in the Laser 128
for a used Apple IIgs that a neighbor was selling. Had it been left up to
me, we would have kept the Laser 128. But selling it was conditional to
buying the IIgs.
My husband continued to complain about my hours on the computer and I
knew that I'd have to find a way to make a living at this or else. It
seemed more than ironic that A2-Central's office was a few miles from my
house. At that time the KansasFest conference was a few months away. I was
drooling to go but knew it wasn't in the budget.
There had to be a way. I knew a couple of the guys from the user
group who worked at A2-Central, but had never met Tom Weishaar. I decided
to write a letter to him and for months composed clever letters in my head.
Finally, one day I took a deep breath, sat down and wrote (actually typed)
an unsolicited plea for employment. I didn't know the guy and if he read
my letter and laughed cruelly as he threw it in the trash, I'd never know
it and he'd never know me.
To my surprise, a few days after I wrote that letter he called. We met
for lunch and the rest is history. I started work at the end of April,
1991 as a "front end" type person doing, among other things, low-level
customer support. After six or seven months Tom asked me to take over the
editorship of A2-Central. Big city girl makes good in small town. I still
say that the unedited version of this story would be a great article for
one of those Good Housekeeping success stories.
GEnieLamp> Many admirers of A2-Central would be keen on hearing how the
""""""""" publication is put together each month. Can you tell us
briefly about what goes into assembling the publication each
month? What are the parts of the work you like best?
Ellen> I get submissions from various people or former editor Dennis Doms
""""" writes an article or two. After looking over the submissions, I
decide what I'm going to use each month. Once that decision has been made,
I usually edit the copy in Classic AppleWorks on my IIgs. I write the
Miscellanea column and the Ask (or Tell) Uncle Dos section that way as
well. When the text approaches printable form, I dump it all into
QuarkExpress on the Mac and do the fine print stuff like bold-facing and
other style details. I try to remember to change the page numbers and the
issue dates on the templates and only have slipped twice in the year that
I've been doing this. (That's a record, I think. Or I may be tied with Tom
Weishaar, but he's been publishing newsletters for years and years.) Before
the newsletter leaves our office, Tom always give it the final once over.
Then it goes to a commercial art service to be readied for the printer.
GEnieLamp> Any amusing anecdotes about office life at Resource Central?
"""""""""
Ellen> Lots of amusing anecdotes really, but I wouldn't want to spoil our
""""" image! I have the pleasure of working with an exceptional bunch
of people and most days don't seem like work at all.
GEnieLamp> Most unusual phone call? Most extraordinary letter? Most
""""""""" distant Apple II user? (i.e. Tibet? Nepal?)
Ellen> We get a variety of unusual phone calls and letters. Mostly from
""""" people who want technical help and want it now. One person who
called recently was indignant because I couldn't tell her which version of
the system software she was using without her reading the label on the disk
which she didn't have with her. We have subscribers literally all over the
world. Australia is probably the furthest away but we've got customers in
lots of little countries in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia as well.
GEnieLamp> Which person do you think has had the greatest influence on
""""""""" your choosing to pursue a career in computers?
Ellen> I can't really say that anyone really influenced me to pursue this
""""" career, except for maybe my husband who threatened to divorce me
if I didn't start getting paid for what was becoming an all-consuming
hobby. Of course, if it hadn't have been for Tom Weishaar, I wouldn't be
answering these questions, either. <grin>
GEnieLamp> Your role as editor of A2-Central, the leading national
""""""""" publication for Apple II programmers, places you with one
foot in the "humanities" and one foot in the "hard sciences." Do you have
any thoughts about whether these two intellectual "modes of thought" are
reconcilable or not?
Ellen> First of all, we don't consider A2-Central to be a publication for
""""" programmers. We feel that it's a newsletter aimed at all Apple
II users who want to get the most from their computer. This includes
everyone from the novice to the power user. Our slogan, so to speak, is
that we're a "journal and exchange of Apple II discoveries." An
international clearinghouse of ideas and innovations.
Humanities and hard sciences are indeed reconcilable. Technology has,
and is, giving the arts new means of expression. It's hard to even
envision how far and how wide computers can take us into seemingly
unrelated fields.
GEnieLamp> In the computer industry, both hardware and software companies
""""""""" are overwhelmingly populated by men. Even Apple Computer
itself has just a handful of women in the company's upper echelon. What
are your ideas for helping bring greater gender equity in the profession?
What can schools do to help?
The role of women in the computing fields is probably changing for the
better, as it is in all fields of business. I read recently that the
majority of small businesses today are owned by women. We bought an
expensive computer software program to run the business earlier in the year
from a local company owned by a woman. Things are looking up.
Schools should reinforce positive feelings about computers and the
computer field in general as well as other non-traditional areas for women.
Positive role models and mentorships are essential.
GEnieLamp> Soon you'll be editing A2-Central from your new home in Texas.
""""""""" Do you have any comments to share about how tele-
communications has had a liberating effect on the workplace? What are the
down sides to working from your home, do you think?
Ellen> I feel incredibly lucky that I'll be able to take my job with me
""""" when my family moves to Dallas sometime early in 1993. It's one
of the things that will make the move more bearable. Naturally, without
telecommunications, I probably wouldn't be afforded this luxury.
This opportunity will probably have some good and some bad points. It
will be great to work from home, to be there for the kids when they get
home from school or when they're sick and have to stay home. It probably
will require a good deal more discipline than comes naturally for me,
though. I'll miss going into the office everyday and I'll definitely miss
the interaction with my coworkers. I'll miss answering the phone and
chatting with customers. I'll miss the office birthday parties too.
I will have more time to explore my computer again, the way I did
before I started working. This may end up being the best of both worlds.
GEnieLamp> Favorite authors? (Any good books you've read recently?)
"""""""""
Ellen> Read? Read? Who has time to read anymore? I used to read
""""" voraciously but now feel like I'm ahead of the game if I get to
read the headlines. Maybe when I get to Dallas...
I do listen to National Public Radio almost exclusively these days,
though. Unless I'm in the car with my daughter who has to listen to the
local rock stations.
GEnieLamp> How about a few words on what GEnie has offered to A2-Central,
""""""""" and vice-versa?
Ellen> I think the A2 RoundTable on GEnie does an extraordinary job of
""""" supporting Apple II computers and the people who use them. The
technical level of expertise here is as good and solid as it can possibly
be. As the support from developers and mail order houses diminish, the
online services (and user groups) become all the more important. More and
more, we're recommending that our customers get hold of a modem and
telecommunications software in an effort to get quick answers to their
questions.
A2-Central will be around as long as we're supported by the users. We
have to face the fact that many Apple II users are either moving on to, or
adding another platform to their computer desks. Tom is starting a new
publication, Fishhead's Children, to address the needs of our subscribers
as they learn other systems. But we're not about to give up on the Apple
II until our subscribers tell us that it is financially ridiculous to do
so.
//////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "I've always known you to be the king of rhetoric, but I never /
/ knew you could do contortionist gymnastics in ASCII. ;^)" /
/////////////////////////////////////////////////// WALLY.W ////
[EOA]
[QUI]//////////////////////////////
THE MIGHTY QUINN /
/////////////////////////////////
The Guru of My Dreams
"""""""""""""""""""""
By Mark Quinn
[NEWSIE]
"A Whole Buncha Milliseconds with Mark"
by Mark Quinn, DOA
GEnie address: NEWSIE
"The Guru of My Dreams"
"""""""""""""""""""""""
The time comes for all good (or bad) computer users: that fateful
middle-of-the-night-on-a-Sunday hardware/software problem that rears its
head(s). Perhaps your problem is that you just want to install a
program/device, and are biting your nails over whether it will mesh
properly with the rest of your system. Staying productive means keeping
your system happily crunching bytes into bits, and it also means keeping
your hardware 'current'.
Let's face it: a mere mortal such as I can't give you an answer as to
how to proceed in such situations. You need a guru. No, let me amend
that. You need a Guru, with a capital "G". What is the difference between
a guru and a Guru?
A guru will "seem to know everything"; a Guru will have some
solutions.
A guru will find excuses; a Guru will find solutions.
A guru will always do the job "next week"; a Guru will do it ASAP.
A guru will meditate and make things worse; a Guru will fix the
problem.
A guru gives out a lot of bad advice; a Guru checks other sources to
make certain his advice is up to date.
A guru finds working with hardware/software 'mysterious and
challenging', but hates it with a passion -- yeah, and it's going to
be a minor miracle if your system survives his/her tomfoolery; a Guru
loves her job _most_ of the time, and will be aware of most of the
problems which she will encounter. At the very least, she will return
your system to you in the same condition she found it.
A guru will plunge right ahead in tricky situations, sometimes with
disastrous results; a Guru will admit that she needs help, and get on
the phone/modem until she gets it.
A guru will either trash or "half-repair" your system, get it "half-
working", and let it sit there for a couple of months/indefinitely; a
Guru will see your problem through to an end which satisfies both of
you.
A guru will sometimes tell you "There is no problem. Your system
worked the last time I left it, and is working now. YOU'RE the
problem"; a Guru will try to the best of his ability to explain
things/get your system working to your satisfaction, and failing that,
refer you to a person/source of information which can.
A guru will make appointments that he doesn't have any intention of
keeping, and generally avoid you like the plague when he's confronted
with problems he can't handle -- he'll never admit defeat; a Guru will
tell you flat out: "Look, this is out of my field. You need the
advice of another Guru." (This may seem contradictory. After all,
why should a true Guru refer you to another Guru? The first expert
should know everything there is to know about hardware/software.
Sorry, folks, but that's patently impossible, given the amount of
information that your basic Guru has to weed through.)
A guru can never be a Guru. The two are like oil and water.
(I have yet to meet a Guru, at least, in the IBM realm. If you know
of one of these gallant and magical beings who just happens to live in my
neck of suburbia -- GET HIM THE HE** OVER HERE!)
/////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "This looks like 'The People's Court', without da judge!" /
/////////////////////////////////////////////// J.P.C. ////
[EOA]
[HAR]//////////////////////////////
HARDVIEW A2 /
/////////////////////////////////
Floptical Disk Drive For The IIGS
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By John B. Wilson
[JBWILSON]
>>> TEST DRIVING TULIN'S NEW FLOPTICAL DISK DRIVE <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ On My IIGS ~
Last summer I started thinking that I was missing out on computing in
the 90's by staying with my 1979 Apple ][+. So, when a member of the local
Apple user group said that he was selling his Apple IIGS, I decided it was
time to move. After all, his machine had all the trimmings - - a 20
megabyte Applied Engineering (AE) Vulcan hard drive, an AE 8 MHz Transwarp
accelerator card, an AE 2400 Datalink internal modem, a 1.75 Meg AE GS-Ram
card, and an AE PC Transporter card. What more could I possibly need?
Well, I've had the new system for six months and I now know what I
desperately need - - - MORE STORAGE. Twenty megs of storage seemed like a
lot when compared with an Apple ][+ with a 20 Meg Sider that was only 60
percent full. I knew that GS/OS programs were big but I did not truly
appreciate that big data files go with big programs.
In the two operating system environment, MS-DOS and GS/OS-ProDOS, in
which I operate I quickly filed up the Vulcan and faced the decision of how
to add additional storage. My choices included a 105 Meg SCSI hard drive,
an Apple 1.4 Meg Super Drive, or a 21 Meg floptical drive. All three
options required another interface card and I was running out of slots -
only 4 and 5 were still available. And, the winner was -- the 21 Meg
floptical drive from Tulin connected to a RamFAST SCSI card. The Tulin won
over the Applied Engineering floptical (which uses the same internal
mechanism) because for about the same price, Tulin included two 21 Meg
disks formatted with System 6.0, a $25 value.
One of the factors that led me to chose the Tulin floptical was the
drive's ability to read and write 1.4 Meg disks, giving me more disk
storage options. Backing up my 20 Meg Vulcan could be done with 14 (1.4
Meg) disks rather than 25 (.8 Meg) disks. Of course, I could use just one
21 Meg floptical disk. The other factor was the forecast that Apple would
be releasing in early 1993 a new version of GS/OS System 6 (V6.01) which
would include a File Structure Translator (FST) that would enable ProDOS to
read (and maybe write, but that's another rumor) MS-DOS disks. However,
only the Apple SuperDrive would be able to use the new FST unless one
considers the floptical. Since the floptical uses the same disk format as
MS-DOS drives, all that was needed to read a MS-DOS disk was the new GS/OS
FST. With the FST and the floptical, I could bring home a 1.4 Meg MS-DOS
disk from work, insert it into the floptical, and using AE's PC Transfer
program, I could move the data to the MS-DOS partition on my Vulcan.
Actually, I can do that with my current 800k disk drive but I am restricted
to the 720k MS-DOS disks. Being able to do all of this remains to be
proved after the new MS-DOS FST is released. Maybe that will be material
for another story.
When my new drive arrived I immediately pulled out the manuals for the
drive and the RamFAST SCSI card and read them cover-to-cover (that's what
everyone does first, isn't it?) before installing the card. The
installation was smooth and uneventful once I had decided to use slot 4.
(As a side comment, setting slot 4 to "YOUR CARD" in the Control Panel
meant that I would not be able to use the mouse in any ProDOS 8 programs or
with the PC Transporter. GS/OS programs, however, can see the mouse
regardless of the setting of the Control Panel.)
The RamFAST card comes with its own installation program built into
the card's firmware and will install the SCSI driver and RamFAST.System
file on to the drive that you select. All went as advertised until I tried
to startup the system. Then, everything came to a screeching halt. After
a long-distance call to Tulin (they do not have an 800 number) and a long
discussion with Francis, it was finally decided that I needed to turn DMA
(direct memory access) off because my AE-GS Ram was not DMA compatible.
Once the proper setup was established, I was off and running with another
21 Megs of storage. Now that I have broken the ice by getting a SCSI
interface card, the possibilities for chaining a CD-ROM drive or replacing
my Vulcan (freeing up slot 4) becomes an option.
For the RamFAST and the floptical to work together properly requires
ROM V3.00k on the card. If you have already upgraded your RamFAST to ROM
V3.00 but do not have a "k" then I understand that CV Technology will
provide the necessary upgrade without charge. Otherwise, a full upgrade
from rev C boards to rev D V3.00k is available by returning your card to CV
Tech along with a check for $79.00.
Most of my experiences to date have been positive. I have divided one
floptical disk into a 10 Meg volume for ProDOS and a 10 Meg volume for the
PC Transporter. ProDOS recognizes the drive on the Finder as a removable
hard drive allowing the disk to be ejected by dragging it to the Trash Can.
Changing disk from within a program, however, requires a "straightened"
paper clip inserted into the tiny hole below the disk window, like the
original 128K Mac's because the Tulin drive does not have an eject button.
From the pictures in the magazine ads, it appears that the AE floptical
does have an eject button.
The PC Transporter is not as flexible. It sees the drive as a fixed
hard drive (/:D, in my case) and goes ballistic if the disk is removed.
One of these days, I am going to format a 1.4 Meg disk as a small MS-DOS
(/:D) drive with the same PCT volume name as the floptical and see if I can
make the switch.
I thought that two disks (42 Megs) would be plenty but disks make an
easy way to sort programs and data. And, if one has a lot of data, like
sound files for HyperStudio from Roger Wagner Publishing, the flopticals
can put a large quantity of storage on line without committing large
sections of your hard drive. In fact, depending on the level of sampling
(5 to 10 K per second), one floptical disk could provide 25 to 35 minutes
of digital sound.
I had one problem with one of the floptical disks. It somehow lost
its configuration block so the Finder would not recognize it asking if I
wanted to initialize it. If, however, I ran RamFAST.SYSTEM and reset the
partitions, it would work until I removed or rebooted the machine. To
solve the problem, I backed up the two partitions (ProDOS and MS-DOS) using
the Finder Archiver and repartitioned the disk using RamFAST.SYSTEM. After
I restored the two volumes, everything was back to normal.
As I mentioned, Tulin sells additional disks for $25 but I have been
able to find the same brand, InSite Peripherals, locally at CompUSA, which
sells a SCSI floptical for the MS-DOS world. Their price was $29.95.
In closing, let me relate my experience at the new Computer City Super
Store when I asked them about floptical disks. When I told the salesperson
that I had put a floptical disk drive on my Apple IIGS, he asked, "Why
would you want to put such new technology on such an old machine?" My
answer was, "because I can!", which to me says it all. The Apple IIGS
(properly equipped with a hard drive, System 6.0, and an accelerator) is a
powerful machine. As long as I can do the things I want a computer to do,
it will remain the computer of choice.
///////////////////////////////////
/ 21 Meg Floptical Drive /
/ Price: $489 /
/ SCSI Card extra /
/ /
/ Tulin Technology /
/ 2156H O'Toole Avenue /
/ San Jose, California 95131 /
/ 408-432-9057 /
/ /
///////////////////////////////////
[Thanks are owed to Steve Weyhrich for suggesting the idea for this
article, and to Tulin Technology for their steadfast support of the
Apple II.]
////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "I have no comment on anything at this time. /
/ Well, maybe not anything." /
//////////////////////////////// POTECHIN ////
[EOA]
[FUN]//////////////////////////////
ONLINE FUN /
/////////////////////////////////
Search-ME!
""""""""""
By Scott Garrigus
[S.GARRIGUS]
WELCOME BACK! Well, the holiday season has come and gone. Did everyone
""""""""""""" get what they wanted from Santa? Oh, and I hope you all
made some really good New Year's resolutions! I've decided to spend more
time keeping in touch with my friends. :-)
Now on to this month's puzzle. Just cause the holidays are over
doesn't mean we can't have some fun, right? :-) This month I visited the
GEnie Livewire Chat Lines. This is the place to be if you want to find
some new friends this year! Here you'll find people who are interested in
all the things you could possibly be interested in and more. There's even
a Chat lines library with pictures from some of the Chat lines regulars.
So check out the GEnie Chat lines and make a few new friends! To get there
type M400 or use the keyword CHAT. But before you do, be sure and solve
this months puzzle! It'll help you to remember those Chat Line commands!
Happy New Year! :-)
>>> LIVEWIRE CHAT LINES <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
R L L M W H K Z H H F C R W L C V M Q R E G N
U Z L T O Q Y X U L D D T I N X K N A L B X S
H E Y D K S S N J M R B E X I T U M V Q M C V
Y A X P Q D R U V A D Y Y X A P M P W T R B X
T J N H Z S E N O Z B E E N F D H O A A M O C
D T H D B Y S N U Q A C V H J I H T M T R T Q
J T L Y L W U X X I H L D L U S R B N G G Q K
A I L R L E H V N O D I L N G R L X P V K V R
S B Q O X T G F J B B E Q E B E H K X F P A D
R D R L T X C O L V H G T V V N B L T F L B V
G G Y M L H S A K J J A B G S F I I B Z E J X
K S S G A P N J A L V E T L V U U L Q J H K H
A Q Z N F K F R G I W C Q S H Q T Y E G A C R
N G N T P J S L R L Y H S E N D Z A X N H V O
N E K W B M A P N H I O I O Z K D P T D F X T
L T P C S N C G L R D H E M O K T D J S Z N I
B V T Z L L F F L L V Z Q W G N R G H D E H N
V Y E H C O K D B U A H C L E U Q S R S A N O
L Z F A B H S U K E G C Z F O I J Y Q N L Z M
J V F G V W R P R G W G R Y F E M I T R R U M
BLANK BYE CALL
CHANNEL ECHO HANDLE
HELP MONITOR PRIVATE
SCRAMBLE SEND SHOW
SQUELCH STATUS TIME
USERS WHO XBLANK
XECHO EXIT QUIT
[*][*][*]
GIVE UP? You will find the answers in the LOG OFF column at the end of
"""""""" the magazine.
This column was created with a program called SEARCH ME,
an Atari ST program by David Becker.
/////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "It's teeth that dissolve in Coke, not bolts. /
/ Topic, people, topic..." /
///////////////////////////////// BAREFOOT ////
[EOA]
[DIG]//////////////////////////////
DIGITAL DIVERSIONS /
/////////////////////////////////
Games People Play
"""""""""""""""""
By Darrel Raines
[D.RAINES]
Program Name : Solarian GS
Filename : SOLARIAN.GS.BXY V1.0.1
Library Area : 21
Program Number : 19761
File Size : 262528
Program Type : Arcade Game
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
File Type : Shareware
[*][*][*]
*** WARNING: Addictive material contained within! **
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Solarian GS This is a very likely candidate for the best shareware arcade
""""""""""" style game to ever be created for the Apple IIgs. This game
claims to be patterned after a similar game on the Macintosh. I have never
seen the Mac game, but this one is a real winner. Warning, Warning:
Solarian is deceptively addictive. Great quantities of time may be wasted
by the unwary player who thinks, "Just one more crack at it before I go to
bed." Play at your own risk.
The object of the game is to clear a level of attacking aliens. They
come in different shapes, sizes and attack characteristics. Some of them
will simply float around and do nothing. Some will shoot at you. Some
will drop bombs at you. And some will even try to dive down and crash into
your ship. What does our fearless player have to defend himself/herself
with? Not much, actually.
The initial craft that the player starts with moves and shoots very
slowly. The ship will only fire one gun at a time and takes a while to
reload. The shields to protect the ship are not fully charged. This
doesn't sound like a picnic, for the good reason that it is not. All of
these deficiencies can be cured during the course of a game by catching
presents that fall from the sky. One present will fall (fully wrapped)
during each level. The ship's defensive powers are improved by catching
these presents. The presents sometimes give extra points, as well. The
presents aren't all positive, though. Watch out for the dreaded "Nothing"
present.
You can build up your ship's powers until you have quite a powerful
craft. However, if you manage to allow the aliens to destroy your ship,
then you must start over with one of the dismally plain vanilla ships.
Lose three ships and you are out - - - game over.
On the other hand, if you manage to clear a level, then another level
will provide you with more of the nasty aliens to wipe out. A top ten
scores list is maintained to stroke your ego. Sound and visual effects are
equal to the best game software that I have ever seen on the IIgs market
(including commercial software). Online instructions and a worthy cause
(elementary education) for the shareware payments round out a very nice
offering for the IIgs gaming crowd.
Every IIgs owner should download this file. Just be sure to remember
the warning posted at the first and last of this section.
*** WARNING: Addictive material contained within! **
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
/////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "There seem to be more off topic than on topic messages. /
/ Therefore, don't sweat it; but don't do it again [grin]." /
////////////////////////////////////////////// BRIAN.H ////
[EOA]
[CLA]//////////////////////////////
A2 CLASSICS /
/////////////////////////////////
Forget Me NOT!
""""""""""""""
By Darrel Raines
[D.RAINES]
Blackjack Tutor V3.0 This is a somewhat older upload that needs to be
"""""""""""""""""""" mentioned from time to time so that it is not
forgotten. Blackjack Tutor is much more than a Blackjack game for the
Apple IIgs. It is a Blackjack training system that will teach you how to
play, assess appropriate hit/stand decisions, and even count cards.
Spending a few hours with this program will get you ready for the Vegas
Blackjack tables. You may even be able to play for many hours without
losing your shirt.
One of the integral features of Blackjack Tutor is the ability to
learn "proper" playing techniques by having the Tutor prompt the player
during the game. The rules that this program uses for making its decisions
are completely modifiable. Therefore, you can use a system described in a
book, or even one that you create yourself. After entering all of the
pertinent information in the preference lists, you can even test out your
latest set of rules by turning on the automatic play option.
During automatic play you can watch as the computer keeps track of
your winnings (or lost money, as the case may be). A graph can be drawn if
you wish to get a visual image of your status. You can also adjust the
rules used by the computer for the amount of each bet. Virtually unlimited
control is available to the user of this program.
If you are planning a trip to the Blackjack tables anytime soon, then
you need to download a copy of this program. If you like to play Blackjack
and want to improve your play without going to Vegas, then this program is
for you. If you just like to play card games, then how can you possibly go
wrong by downloading this game. Be sure not to miss this all time favorite
Tutor program.
///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Thanks.. I learn something new, here on GEnie everyday..." /
////////////////////////////////////////////// T.EVANS21 ////
[EOA]
[PDQ]//////////////////////////////
THE ONLINE LIBRARY /
/////////////////////////////////
Yours For The Downloading
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Phil Shapiro
[P.SHAPIRO1]
Program Name : Shove It GS
Filename : SHOVEIT.BXY
Library Area : 21
Program Number : 19544
File Size : 68096
Program Type : Addictive Puzzle Game
Author : Peter Brinkley [P.Brinkley]
Version Reviewed: 1.0
File Type : Freeware
[*][*][*]
If you like sliding piece logic puzzles and you own an Apple IIGS
computer, you're bound to find the new Shove It GS freeware game absolutely
captivating. In some ways Shove It is reminiscent of the popular Sokoban
puzzles that are available on other computer platforms. But Shove It goes
way beyond any other version of Sokoban you might have seen.
Not only does Shove It give you fifty mind-teasing puzzles to solve.
You can also download complete solutions to all of the puzzles and watch
the puzzles solve themselves, in a "puzzle movie," right on your computer
screen. Or you can watch an "instant replay" movie of your own attempts to
solve any of the puzzles.
The object of Shove It is simple: push the colorful rainbow colored
apples one-by-one around the mazes to the storage areas. The difficulty is
that you're only allowed to push one apple at a time. Moving all the
apples over to the storage area therefore requires some circuitous pushing.
Invariably you'll find yourself getting into one kind of jam or
another, with the apples getting stuck in corners or against each other.
But if you persevere you'll encounter great delight in discovering the
solutions to some of these fiendishly fun puzzles.
You say challenging puzzles are not your bag? No problem. You can
easily design your own puzzles using Shove It's built-in puzzle editor.
Designing puzzles itself can be an interesting exercise in creativity and
reasoning.
My own preference is to modify existing puzzles, simplifying the
difficult puzzles by replacing some of the apples and storage areas with
bare floor space. Editing existing puzzles saves yourself the chore of
creating your own original maze walls.
The other day I had a chance to play Shove It with an energetic third
grader. We played the puzzles for almost forty-five minutes before I
suggested that we try designing some of our own puzzles. The young
fellow's eyes lit up on this suggestion.
We proceeded to load puzzle number 49, one of the most difficult
puzzles on the Shove It disk. It took us no more than three to four
minutes to simplify the puzzle by removing apples and storage areas.
(Please note: You need to always remove an equivalent number of apples and
storage areas. Otherwise Shove It will not allow you to save and play your
edited games.)
We were somewhat disappointed to discover that the puzzle we designed
did not have any possible solutions. But after loading the puzzle back up
into the puzzle editor, we were able to easily modify the puzzle to make it
solvable.
Having tasted the fruit of puzzle design, my young friend insisted on
trying his hand at designing a puzzle from scratch. Fifteen minutes later,
to my amazement, this young fellow had designed his own puzzle from
scratch. The entire puzzle was created with about seventy to eighty
mouse-clicks - - - well within the capability of a third grade puzzle
designer.
I must admit that I was a little surprised to find that my young
friend's puzzle was solvable without going back to make further
modifications to his original design. It appears this young fellow has an
equal talent at solving puzzles as he has at designing them.
Speaking from a teacher's point of view, Shove It GS can be very
beneficial in teaching younger and older students about the concept of
forces in physics. One of the wonders of the microcomputer is that it can
bring alive such vital scientific concepts in a game format.
The analysis skills that Shove It develops would certainly be
transferable to any type of higher level mathematics, as well. But you
don't need to tell your third grader this game is preparing him or her for
advanced algebra and calculus. Chances are the child is having too much
fun to notice, anyway.
A big thanks is owed to Peter Brinkley, the inspired programmer who
created Shove It. While Peter does not explicitly request a shareware fee
in his freeware notice, chances are he wouldn't refuse a monetary gift you
sent his way. Programmers like Brinkley deserve both our gratitude and
financial support.
One final note: The gorgeous color graphics from Shove It GS do not
show up well on a composite color monitor. So if your Apple IIGS has a
composite color monitor, rather than an RGB color monitor, you may find it
difficult to see the shapes in the game.
-Phil Shapiro
[*][*][*]
[The author takes a strong interest in the social dimensions
of communications technology. He can be reached on GEnie at:
p.shapiro1; on America Online at: pshapiro; and on Internet
at: pshapiro@pro-novapple.cts.com]
///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "HELP! I just received my copy of Straight Fax! today and I /
/ can't even install it! I don't know if its 'Komputer Karma' /
/ or what, but if there is a problem when it comes to /
/ installing anything, I run into it! /
///////////////////////////////////////////////// J.NYMAN ////
[EOA]
[AII]//////////////////////////////
APPLE II /
/////////////////////////////////
Apple II History, Part 8
""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Steven Weyhrich
[S.WEYHRICH]
>>> APPLE II HISTORY <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""
Compiled and written by Steven Weyhrich
(C) Copyright 1991, Zonker Software
(PART 8 -- THE APPLE IIC)
[v1.1 :: 12 Dec 91]
INTRODUCTION Apple II historian Steven Weyhrich brings us yet another
"""""""""""" detailed and informative chapter in his 23 part series on
the history of the Apple II. This month, the intriguing story of the Apple
IIc.
[*][*][*]
PRELUDE: STEVE JOBS AND MACINTOSH Rewind back to 1982, before the Apple
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" IIe was introduced, and adjust the
tuning on our Flux Capacitor-enhanced peripheral card. Before dealing
specifically with the smallest Apple II, the IIc, it would help to take an
aside and look at some other events happening at Apple Computers, Inc. at
this time that affected its development.
If you recall, the Lisa project was designated as the computer that
was considered to be the future of Apple. From a series of parallel
processors and a "bit slicing" architecture, to a focus on the Motorola
68000 microprocessor as the controller of this advanced computer, the
project had been progressing very slowly. It was begun back in 1979 with
the same focus as any other Apple product: "Both [Apple III and Lisa] had
been conceived of as nifty pieces of hardware rather than as products to
appeal to a specific market: At Apple you designed a box and people bought
it because it was neat, not because any thought had been given to what it
would do for them."<1> However, a significant change occurred in 1979 when
Xerox bought a large chunk of Apple stock. In return for being allowed
this stock purchase, Xerox allowed some of their research ideas to be used
in designing an office computer. After Steve Jobs visited the Xerox Palo
Alto Research Center in 1979 and saw the user-interface on their Alto
computer--icons, graphics-based text characters, overlapping windows, and a
pointing device called a "mouse"--the Lisa took on a distinct personality
that made it possible to become the ultra-computer Apple needed. This was
important, since by 1981 Apple executives were getting sweaty palms
worrying about the future. The Apple III was clearly NOT taking the
business world by storm.
Unfortunately for Jobs, who was excited about using the Xerox
technology in designing a new computer, he was excluded from the Lisa
project. After the problems associated with the introduction of the Apple
III, a reorganization in 1980 moved the Apple II and III into one division,
and the Lisa into another. Lisa was put under the control of John Couch,
and Jobs was not allowed to participate. Since Lisa had been taken away,
Jobs in 1981 began to assemble a team to "out-Lisa the Lisa" by creating a
smaller, less expensive computer that would do the same thing. Jef Raskin,
the engineer that helped design it, called it Macintosh.
While the Macintosh developed as a pirate project with a smaller team
and less money than Lisa, the concept of an "appliance" computer also
emerged. Instead of those messy slots and a lid that popped off (which
made the Apple II so popular with the hacker community), Jobs' team was
sold on the idea that all necessary features should simply be built-in and
the case sealed. It would be something that you just plugged in, turned
on, and started using. With the Xerox Alto mouse/icon/window interface it
would not only be easy to set up and turn on, but also easy to use.
THE APPLE IIC: BEGINNINGS What was happening with the Apple II during
""""""""""""""""""""""""" this time? The efforts to make it less
expensive to build were progressing, and the Apple IIe was in the formative
stages. In the summer of 1981 someone proposed a portable Apple II, a
book-sized computer. It wasn't until Steve Jobs became interested in it as
engineering challenge, well after Macintosh was under way, that anything
came of the idea:
"...one day late in '82, Paul Dali showed him [Jobs] a photograph
of a Toshiba portable and they started fooling around with the
idea of an Apple II that would look like the Toshiba but come
with a built-in disk drive. They took out a IIe circuit board
and a disk drive and a keyboard and played with them until they
arrived at a promising configuration--keyboard in front, disk
drive in back, circuit board in between. What got Jobs excited
about this idea was the engineering difficulty of squeezing it
all into a package not much bigger than a notebook. And a
machine so small wouldn't have the expandability that
characterized all the other II's. Like Macintosh, it could be
taken out of the box, plugged in, and put to work--no extra parts
to buy, no cables to figure out. It was the II reinvented as an
appliance."<2>
As with all Apple projects, the IIc went by various code names during
its development, for the sake of internal communications and to keep
outsiders from knowing what was going on. The various names used included
VLC (Very Low Cost), Yoda, ET, IIb (for "Book"), and Teddy (which stood for
"Testing Every Day"). Also, following a long standing tradition at Apple,
some of the code names assigned to the project at various times were names
of children of people at Apple: Chels, Jason, Lolly, Sherry, and Zelda.
These names persist in the source code for the firmware for the IIc as
later printed in the technical reference manual; the serial port driver is
called a "Lolly" driver.<3>
During the time the IIc was under development, Apple was working on a
change in the look of their products. They planned a more European
styling, and a color scheme called "Snow White". The IIc would be the
first product with the new appearance and color.
THE APPLE IIC: HARDWARE As mentioned earlier, the IIc had its origins
""""""""""""""""""""""" while the IIe project was going on. When Steve
Jobs became involved, he felt they should continue with the open IIe as
they had planned, but do this other Apple II as a product "focused" to a
specific group of customers, primarily new users. Originally he had
planned a closed Apple II that had a built-in mouse port, one serial port,
and some other features. What they ended up with at that point was just a
computer and a keyboard. Walt Broedner, the engineer who pushed for the
Apple IIe to be produced, used some of their previous work with custom IC's
for the disk controller and combined both projects together to make the
IIc.<4>
Although he was told it was not be possible, Jobs strongly pushed for
the mouse in this closed Apple II to be compatible with the Macintosh
mouse--and they managed to make it work.<2> Regarding the plans for a
single serial port, however, Apple's marketing people pointed out to Jobs
that many people were going to want both a printer AND a modem, so they
added a second port to the original design. They decided to use serial
ports on the IIc instead of parallel ports for a couple of reasons. First,
the socket for a serial port is smaller than a parallel port, and it would
fit better onto a small box like the IIc. Also, Apple's general direction
at the time was to get consistency in its hardware, and they had decided to
make everything they made use a serial interface.<4>
They began work on the Apple IIc in earnest right after the IIe was
finished. Because they were trying to squeeze an Apple IIe with 128K, 80
column routines, two serial cards, disk controller, and a mouse card into
an 11 by 12-inch case, the design challenges were greater than with the IIe
(recall that this was what appealed to Steve Jobs). The size of the case
was determined by the decision to make it able to fit into a standard-sized
briefcase.<4>
Apple also had the international market in mind when they designed the
IIc. A special chip containing the keyboard map could easily be changed
depending on the country where the computer would be sold, to make it
consistent with regional keyboard differences. The external pushbutton
would switch between the two different keyboards, between a UK and German
layout, for example. In the U.S. version of the IIc it switched from a
standard Sholes keyboard (also known as "QWERTY") to a Dvorak keyboard
(which allows faster touch typing). The decision for the foreign keyboards
came first; the added bonus for American versions of getting Dvorak came as
an extra bonus, to save having two different cases (one for US and one for
foreign versions).<4>
One problem in creating such a compact computer was dealing with heat
production. Apple engineers wanted it to be able to function in
environmental temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius (about 104 degrees
Fahrenheit). One article published at the time of its introduction
mentioned jokingly that the designers wanted to make the IIc capable of
doing a long disk sort (sorting data in a disk file) while on the beach in
Florida in the summer! Their major obstacle was the heat generated by the
internal 5.25 disk drive. They tried some special low power drives (which
would have been much more expensive), but they didn't overcome the heat
problem even with them. Eventually they tried a complicated venting scheme
that was designed by drilling holes into a case and putting it into an oven
to let them measure internal temperatures. The engineers were surprised
when they found that the normal power disk drive worked and generated less
overall heat within the case than the special low power drive did. The
only explanation they could come up with was that the normal power drive
generated enough heat to cause it to rise, which pulled cool air in through
the vents by convection.<4>
THE APPLE IIC: FIRMWARE Since they used the newer 65c02 chip, which ran
""""""""""""""""""""""" cooler and had 27 additional commands that could
be used by assembly language programs, Apple's programmers had some new
power to use in firmware design. Such power was needed to squeeze in all
the firmware code for the IIe, plus code for the disk controller, serial
cards, mouse card, and 80 column card into 16K of ROM space.
The firmware for the IIc was written by Ernie Beernink, Rich Williams,
and James Huston. They designed it to look (to a software application
program) exactly like a IIe with an Apple Super Serial Card in slots 1 and
2, an 80-column card in slot 3, a mouse in slot 4, and a Disk II in slot 6
(though there were NO slots in hardware). Since these first IIc's had
nothing emulated in slot 5, the firmware authors immortalized themselves by
making a "ghost" peripheral appear to be present in that slot. Entering
this Applesoft program:
100 IN#5 : INPUT A$ : PRINT A$
and running it would print the names of the authors. (They used a decoding
scheme to extract the names, character by character, so a simple ASCII scan
of the ROM would not show their little trick). This "feature" had to be
removed in later revisions of the IIc ROM, because an actual disk device
was added then to slot 5.<4>,<5>
What about the unassigned slot 7? Here they put a small piece of code
to allow booting from the external 5.25 drive by typing "PR#7" from
Applesoft.
The programmers fixed some known bugs in the IIe ROMs, and added 32
graphics characters they called MouseText. To make MouseText fit they
removed the ability to use flashing characters (when in 80 column mode) and
replaced those characters with MouseText. Apple veteran Bruce Tognazzini
designed the MouseText characters, which included a picture of a running
man (perhaps to suggest "running" a program). He later sent a letter to
Call-A.P.P.L.E. magazine to warn programmers that the Running Man
characters (assigned to "F" and "G") had been determined to be unnecessary
and would probably be replaced eventually. (This did eventually happen,
but not with the IIc).
Beernick, Williams, and Huston also made some minor changes to the
Applesoft part of the ROM. They fixed things so Applesoft commands could
be entered in lowercase (and translated into uppercase). They removed the
Applesoft commands that were specific to the obsolete cassette interface
(which was absent in the IIc) and made Applesoft more compatible with 80
columns.<4>,<6> They did NOT go so far as to make any major changes in
Applesoft to use the newer 65c02 commands and therefore fix known bugs or
add features to this seven year old language. Their reluctance stemmed
from the fact that historically many BASIC programs had made use of
undocumented assembly language entry points in Applesoft, and any changes
they would make here made it more likely that older programs would crash
unexpectedly.<4>
THE APPLE IIC: PRODUCT INTRODUCTION Apple's introduction of the new IIc
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" came at an "event" at the Moscone
Center in downtown San Francisco on April 24th, 1984. It was entitled
"Apple II Forever", and was described as "part revival meeting, part
sermon, part roundtable discussion, part pagan rite, and part county fair".
Apple's objectives here were to introduce the Apple IIc, describe how it
fit into the company's marketing strategy, show off new software that was
made to work with the new computer, and emphasize that Apple was still
firmly behind the Apple II line of computers. (Steve Jobs also took some
of the time to report on the sales of the Macintosh in its first 100
days).<7>
One of the interesting things they did at the "Apple II Forever" event
was the actual introduction of the IIc. Giant video screens were used to
show previews of Apple's TV commercials for the IIc, as well as slides and
images of the speakers, including Wozniak, Jobs, and Apple's new president,
John Sculley. Sculley spoke of "sharing power", and then demonstrated that
in a unique way: "After holding up the tiny IIc for everyone to see and
eliciting a response that they'd like to see it better, Sculley ordered the
house lights on. As the light burst forth, nearly every fifth person in
the audience stood up, waving high a IIc. As startled dealers cheered
uproariously, the Apple plants passed the IIcs to them. Within seconds of
its introduction, more than a thousand Apple dealers had a production-line
IIc in their hands."<7>
When Jobs gave his report on the Mac, it revealed some interesting
statistics. He told them that the first industry standard was the Apple
II, which sold fifty thousand machines in two and a half years. The second
standard was the IBM PC, which sold the same amount in eight months.
Macintosh had done sold its fifty thousand machines only 74 days after its
introduction. Although sales would not be nearly as good, Apple took
orders that day for fifty thousand Apple IIc's in just over seven HOURS.
At the "Apple II Forever" event, they also had a general software
exhibition and a setup called the Apple II Museum. This contained Apple
memorabilia, and included Woz's original Apple I, and a reproduction of
Steve Jobs' garage where it was built. Although not on the schedule,
"Apple II Forever" included an early-afternoon earthquake centered south of
San Jose that measured 6.2 on the Richter scale.
THE APPLE IIC: SUCCESS? Their original goal had been to sell the IIc for
""""""""""""""""""""""" $995. As productions costs turned out, they
found that they couldn't hit that price, so they came up with $1,295,
balancing the decision with the number of people who were predicted to buy
the optional Monitor IIc or an external Disk IIc drive.
The only problem was that although the IIc was a technological
breakthrough in miniaturization, customers at that time didn't value
smallness. They viewed something that was too small as also being cheap
and lacking power. Although the Apple IIc was equivalent to a IIe loaded
with extra memory, a disk drive, two serial cards, and a mouse card, most
customers seemed to want the more expandable IIe. Apple marketing went to
much effort to make the IIc attractive, but it didn't sell as well as the
IIe. Just as IBM overestimated the market when producing its PCjr (which
eventually failed and was discontinued), so did Apple when producing the
IIc (and the original Macintosh).<7>
THE APPLE IIC: OVERCOMING LIMITATIONS Although the IIc did not have any
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" slots for plugging in peripheral
cards that had traditionally been used in the Apple II, the ports that were
built-in had the capability to do much of what the slots had often been
used for. The serial ports were compatible with any serial device; this
included common ones such as printers and modems, and uncommon ones like
security controllers, clocks, and speech synthesizers. Some third party
companies also supplied serial-to-parallel converters for IIc owners who
wanted to use parallel printers made by Epson, Okidata, and C. Itoh that
were popular elsewhere in the computer world.
There was, of course, the AppleMouse IIc sold by Apple. It plugged
into the game port on the IIc. Also available were two types of touch
tablets: The Power Pad (Chalkboard) and Koala Pad (Koala Technologies),
though the latter sold best. The Koala pad would appear to a program to be
the same as a joystick, but could not emulate the mouse.<8>
The disk port on the original IIc was only designed to control an
external 5.25 disk drive. Apple sold the Disk IIc for $329, and other
companies later sold similar drives for less. Despite this firmware
limitation, Quark Engineering released a 10 MB Winchester hard drive called
the QC10 that would work with this disk port, and was the first hard disk
available for the IIc.<8>
The video port worked with a standard monitor, but had access to all
video signals. Included with the original IIc was an RF modulator that
allowed it to be connected to a
standard television (for color games). An
RGB adapter box attached to the video port would allow a true RGB monitor
to be attached, giving color and sharp, readable 80 column text on the same
monitor. Apple also sold a flat-panel liquid crystal display for the IIc
that attached to this video port. It was capable of 80 columns by 24
lines, as well as double hi-res graphics. Apple's price was about $600,
but it looked somewhat "squashed" vertically, and did not sell well.
Another company marketed a better flat panel liquid crystal display called
the C-Vue.
With a battery attached to the 12V input, and a liquid crystal
display, the IIc could be made into a truly portable computer.<8>
THE APPLE IIC: ENHANCEMENTS The earliest change made available for the
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" IIc was a motherboard swap that fixed a
hardware bug causing some non-Apple modems to fail if used at 1200 baud.
This modification was made only if the owner could show they needed the
change (that is, they owned a 1200 baud modem that wouldn't work).
The first significant upgrade available for Apple IIc owners was also
available as a free upgrade for previous owners. Changes were made to the
disk port firmware to accommodate the new 800K UniDisk 3.5. Using Apple's
Protocol Converter scheme (later called "Smartport"), this new IIc could
handle four 3.5 disk drives, or three 3.5 disk drives and one 5.25 drive.
With the UniDisk 3.5 upgrade, the internal 16K ROM was increased in
size to a 32K ROM that was bank-switched to make space for the extra code
necessary to implement the Smartport. Also added were additional serial
port commands to improve compatibility with the older Super Serial Card.
The Mini-Assembler, absent from the Apple II ROMs since the days of the
original Integer BASIC Apple II, was added back in, with support for the
extra commands provided by the newer 65c02 processor (the disassembler had
always supported those new commands). The STEP and TRACE Monitor commands
made a comeback, having also been a casualty of the 1979 Autostart ROM for
the Apple II Plus. Lastly, the new IIc ROMs included a built-in diagnostic
program to do limited testing of the computer for internal failures, and
had improved handling of interrupts.<9>
The next Apple IIc upgrade was known as the Memory Expansion Apple
IIc. This came as a response to requests for the ability to add extra
memory to the IIc. Applied Engineering had already produced a Z-80
coprocessor for the IIc (to allow access to CP/M software), and an expanded
memory card, up to 1 MB, which would either act as a RAMdisk for ordinary
ProDOS applications, or as extra memory for the AppleWorks desktop (through
a special patching program). Seeing the popularity of this, Apple released
this third version of the IIc ROMs and motherboard, this time with a RAM
expansion slot included. The Apple IIc Memory Expansion Card could take up
to 1 MB of RAM, in 256K increments. The firmware in the new ROMs made it
work as a RAMdisk automatically recognized by ProDOS and following the
Smartport protocol that had been designed for the UniDisk 3.5. Apple even
included code in the new ROM to patch DOS 3.3 so it could be used as a
RAMdisk with that system (400K maximum size), and did the same with Pascal
v1.3. Also, because this firmware was in the motherboard ROM, ANY company
could make memory cards to attach to this version of the IIc.
Other changes made in this version of the IIc ROM included moving the
mouse firmware from slot 4 to slot 7, and putting the RAMdisk firmware into
slot 4. Also fixed was a bug that caused a write-protected 3.5 disk to be
incorrectly identified with early versions of the UniDisk 3.5.<9>,<10>
Since code as complex as ROM firmware rarely makes it out the door
without at least one bug, Apple had to make one final improvement to the
IIc ROM. The Revised Memory Expansion Apple IIc (ROM version 4) included
changes which made it easier to identify if no RAM chips had been installed
on the memory card. A problem with keyboard buffering was also fixed.
Lastly, this version of the ROM resolved an obscure bug in the slot 2
firmware that was supposed to allow the IIc to function as a simple
terminal (with a modem attached to that port). The previous version of the
IIc ROM had been assembled with a couple of wrong addresses in the code,
and the terminal mode produced garbage. Few people used this feature, so
it was not noticeable to most users, and the corrected ROM chip was
therefore not as quickly available as the original Memory Expansion
upgrade.
[*][*][*]
NEXT INSTALLMENT: Disk Evolution / The Apple IIc Plus
NOTES
"""""
<1> Rose, Frank. WEST OF EDEN: THE END OF INNOCENCE AT APPLE
COMPUTER, 1989, p. 48.
<2> Rose, Frank. WEST OF EDEN: THE END OF INNOCENCE AT APPLE
COMPUTER, 1989, pp. 110-112.
<3> Hogan, Thom. "Apple: The First Ten Years", A+ MAGAZINE, Jan 1987,
p. 45.
<4> Williams, Gregg. "'C' Is For Crunch", BYTE, Dec 1984, pp.
A75-A78, A121.
<5> Little, Gary. INSIDE THE APPLE //C, 1985, pp. 1-7.
<6> Weishaar, Tom. "Miscellanea", OPEN-APPLE, Aug 1985, pp. 1.61.
<7> Durkee, David. "Marketalk Reviews", SOFTALK, Jun 1984, p. 120.
<8> Baum, Peter. "Expanding The Unexpandable IIc", SOFTALK, Jun 1984,
pp. 95-97.
<9> -----. "Preface: The Apple IIc Family", APPLE IIC TECHNICAL
REFERENCE MANUAL, 1984, 1986, pp. xxiii-xxv.
<10> -----. APPLE IIC MEMORY EXPANSION CARD OWNER'S GUIDE, 1986, pp.
2-4.
////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "I did discover that the game can be paused with the /
/ (ta-da) 'P' key." /
/////////////////////////////////////// M.ALLEN14 ////
[EOA]
[ELS]//////////////////////////////
GEnieLamp ELSEWHERE /
/////////////////////////////////
Computer NewsCenter On GEnie
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By John Peters
[GENIELAMP]
~ W E L C O M E T O ~
C O M P U T E R & E L E C T R O N I C S N E W S C E N T E R
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
COMPUTER NEWSCENTER NOW AVAILABLE So, what exactly is the Computer
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" & Electronic NewsCenter? The Computer
& Electronic NewsCenter is a database where you can quickly find the
latest product announcements, software and hardware reviews, editorials and
industry trends from a wide variety of computer science journals and
recently released government reports. All of this is available to you by
simply entering a word or phrase, and then selecting the type of source
you're most interested in. Some articles have informative abstracts while
others contain the full text.
Articles and abstracts you can download are from Byte Magazine Plus,
Computer Database(TM), Computer ASAP, (more than 45 computer publications)
Engineering/Technology Journals, Government-Sponsored Research from the
NTIS database, newsletters come from the PTS Newsletters database,
(contains more than 500 consumer, business and professionally-oriented
newsletters,) physics journals from the INSPEC database and software
reviews from Microcomputer Software Guide.
That's the good news. The bad news is that having all this power at
your fingertips isn't free. If you don't plan your searches carefully, you
can easily run up a large bill in a matter of minutes. Clearly, this is
not a place for browsing or window shopping!
One of the disadvantages of owning an Atari ST (and I have heard the
same said for other GUI systems as well) is that GUI users tend to develop
the bad habit of jumping into the program head first and only resorting to
the documentation when all else fails. Well, being the GUI lover that I
am, I ignored the above warnings, threw caution to the wind and jumped into
the Computer NewsCenter headfirst. In hindsight, I strongly recommend
that you do not do the same! However, you can take advantage of my
boldness, (and lack of common sense :) and learn from my mistakes.
But before we do, let's jump to the bottom line. The Computer
NewsCenter is a GEnie$Professional service which means that there are
additional charges over and above your normal online charges. To search
through the millions of records and to provide a list of those sources will
cost you $2.50. It's another $4.50 to view up to the first 10 record
titles per source on your topic. For each group of up to 10 titles,
sources marked 'Summaries' cost $4.50 and sources marked 'Fulltext' cost
$6.00. Full records that include a summary of the article cost $4.50, and
those that contain the fulltext of the article cost $6.00 for each full
record. If by some chance your search request comes up with no hits, you
are charged $1.25.
Fortunately, a practice area is available so that you can learn the
basics of fulltext online searching at a greatly reduced cost. Note
however that the Practice Area does *NOT* include all sources or all years.
The charges which apply to practice searching, in addition to GEnie's
hourly connect rates are Groupsearch - $1.00, Title Review - $1.00,
Fulltext Review - $1.00 and a No-Hit Search - $1.00.
Still with me? Let's get online! (I'll use a >>>> prompt to indicate
my comments as we go.)
[*][*][*]
>>>>> First off, we pick option #14 from the GEnieLamp RoundTable menu
""""" located on page 515. Here is the first menu:
Computer & Electronics NewsCenter
1.[*]About the Computer & Electronics NewsCenter
2.[*]Computer & Electronics NewsCenter Rates
3.[*]Computer & Electronics NewsCenter Instructions
4.[*]Disclaimer & Warranty Limitations
5.[$]Search in the Computer & Electronics NewsCenter >>>>> Notice the
6.[*]Send Computer & Electronics NewsCenter FEEDBACK """"" [$] prompt!
7. GEnie Computing RTs and Services
>>>>> Option #5 is the where the action is, so...
"""""
Computer & Electronics NewsCenter (Staff) Main Menu
1 Begin your search
2 See description of Computer NewsCenter (Staff)
3 See rates for Computer NewsCenter (Staff)
4 Return to GEnie
5 Practice in Computer NewsCenter (Staff) TRAINING AREA
Your Computer NewsCenter (Staff) charges: $0.00
>>>>> Computer NewsCenter keeps track of your charges as you go along.
""""" Nice touch. We forget the practice area, damn the torpedoes, full
speed ahead and we dive directly into the search area.
Computer NewsCenter (Staff)
1 Search by Subject
2 Focus by Year
Your Computer NewsCenter (Staff) charges: $0.00
>>>>> Here I need to set up the search pattern so I pick option #1. I
""""" want to search for Atari articles (might as well make it difficult
:) and I limit the years from 1989 to 1992.
Computer NewsCenter (Staff)
1 Search by Subject ATARI
2 Focus by Year 1989:1992
B Begin your search
Your Computer NewsCenter (Staff) charges: $0.00
>>>>> I enter B and hit the return key. Here we go!
"""""
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made. Any liability is limited to amount paid by you to GEnie.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Hi, I am a Knowbot... your computerized online librarian. My job is to help
you find information on your topic. While you're reading this, I'm already
working -- checking all my sources to find the best places to start.
I'm searching thousands of publications to find the articles and reports to
find which ones are best for your question. In fact, I'm already working
on your request.
Next, I'll provide you with a menu which informs you which sources have
information on your topic. Select one of these and I'll show you up to 10
titles.
You can select from the list of titles and I'll get the full record for
you. You can always come back to the list of titles and select other full
records...or back up a menu and see titles from another source.
I'm looking for the information...
I'm still looking...
I'm still looking...
I'm still looking...
I'm still looking...
I'm still looking... >>>>> I envision Knowbot running around a
I'm still looking... """"" bunch of file cabinets frantically
I'm still looking... searching for the data. :)
I'm still looking... After approx. 3 or 4 minutes, Knowbot
I'm still looking... appears with the following report:
Computer NewsCenter (Staff)
Source Results
1 Computer Magazines (summaries).....213
2 Newsletters (fulltext)......181
3 Computer Magazines (fulltext)......175
4 Physics Journals (summaries).....113
5 Byte Magazine Plus (fulltext)........3
6 Engineering/Technology Journals (summaries).......3
P Modify this search
>>>>> 688 hits! Not bad. Of course, it would cost a minor fortune to
""""" download all of these hits and I really should back up a menu and
enter in a couple of variables to narrow the search field. Naaaa... I go
with number 3, Computer Magazines.
Your Computer NewsCenter (Staff) charges: $2.50
I'm looking for the information...
There are 175 records which match your search requirements.
I will display the first 10 records now.
Record 1
12834517 COMPUTER ASAP FILE 675 *Use Format 9 for FULL TEXT*
Is the reverse true? (court case involving Nintendo of America Inc., Atari
Games Corp. and Tengen Inc.; reverse engineering) (Law) (Column)
AVAILABILITY: FULL TEXT ONLINE LINE COUNT: 00074
SOURCE FILE: CD File 275
Record 2
12659129 COMPUTER ASAP FILE 675 *Use Format 9 for FULL TEXT*
Multiplayer VR-like games for Atari ST demonstrated. (virtual reality;
Barefoot Software's Midi Maze computer game)
AVAILABILITY: FULL TEXT ONLINE LINE COUNT: 00030
SOURCE FILE: NW File 649
Record 3
12653824 COMPUTER ASAP FILE 675 *Use Format 9 for FULL TEXT*
Atari takes multimedia to extremes with Falcon30. (Atari Corp. introduces
new multimedia microcomputer) (Product Announcement)
AVAILABILITY: FULL TEXT ONLINE LINE COUNT: 00037
SOURCE FILE: CD File 275
>>>>> and so forth... Knowbot then sends out a Copyright notice and one
""""" more menu to navigate. I choose #2, Get full record(s) Note that
our current charges so far are $8.50.
Trade Magazines OPTIONS
1 Get more record titles Titles not yet displayed: 165 of 175
2 Get full record(s)
3 Redisplay items already seen
5 Return to the Groupsearch menu
Your Computer NewsCenter (Staff) charges: $8.50
Enter the record number(s) you would like to see, or type P for previous
screen. (For example: 1,3,7,9-12): 3
I'm looking for the information...
Record 3
12653824 COMPUTER ASAP FILE 675 *This is the FULL TEXT*
Atari takes multimedia to extremes with Falcon30. (Atari Corp. introduces
new multimedia microcomputer) (Product Announcement)
Computergram International PAGINATION: CGI09250004
PUBLICATION DATE: Sept 25, 1992
ARTICLE TYPE: Product Announcement
AVAILABILITY: FULL TEXT ONLINE LINE COUNT: 00037
SOURCE FILE: CD File 275
OPERATING PLATFORM(S): Motorola 68030
PRODUCT NAME(S): Atari Falcon030 (Microcomputer) - Product introduction
COMPANY NAME(S): Atari Corp. - Product introduction
DESCRIPTORS: Multimedia Technology; Microcomputers; Product Introduction
SIC CODE: 3571; 3944
ISSN: 0268-716X
ATARI TAKES MULTIMEDIA TO EXTREMES WITH FALCON030
Atari Corp's new Falcon030 multimedia computer sounds like the ultimate
Christmas present for anyone that can afford $800. The Sunnyvale,
Press <RETURN> or <S>croll? S
>>>>> Since we are dealing with copyrighted material, I'll stop here.
""""" I can say that the information received is accurate and
informative.
Your Computer NewsCenter (Staff) charges: $14.50
[*][*][*]
Is It For You? So, as you can see, the total cost of our Computer
"""""""""""""" NewsCenter adventure was $14.50. Too expensive? Well,
that depends on how quickly you need the information the Computer
Newscenter offers. In my opinion, that is the whole point of Computer
NewsCenter. If I had an editor breathing down my neck looking for an
article on the new Atari computer, then yes, having quick access to this
data could mean the difference between making the deadline or not.
However, there was nothing in this particular NewsCenter article that
couldn't be found elsewhere, (like the ST RoundTable for example). But
keep in mind that this was a fairly basic search. Where Computer
NewsCenter would really shine is when you are looking for facts and/or
information on a specific product or perhaps an obscure computer related
topic.
The Computer Newscenter is available from the GEnieLamp RoundTable
menu (Page 515, option #14).
/////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
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/ I had no idea there was so much out there, or in here as the /
/ case may be. I am so new to all this power and to know that /
/ there is a host of knowledgable help here online is /
/ reassuring and gratifying." /
////////////////////////////////////////////// D.GILLOGLY1 ////
[EOA]
[LOG]//////////////////////////////
LOG OFF /
/////////////////////////////////
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"""""""""""""""""""""
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GEnieLamp GEnieLamp is monthly online magazine published in the
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"""""""""
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Atten: John Peters
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>>> GEnieLamp STAFF <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""
GEnieLamp o John Peters [GENIELAMP] Editor-In-Chief
"""""""""
ATARI ST o John Gniewkowski [J.GNIEWKOWSK] Editor
"""""""" o Mel Motogawa [M.MOTOGAWA] ST Staff Writer
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"""""""""
ATARI [PR] o Fred Koch [F.KOCH] Editor
""""""""""
IBM o Peter Bogert [P.BOGERT1] Editor
""" o Brad Biondo [B.BIONDO] IBM Staff Writer
o Tippy Martinez [TIPPY.ONE] IBM Staff Writer
MACINTOSH o James Flanagan [JFLANAGAN] Editor
""""""""" o Richard Vega [R.VEGA] Mac Co-Editor
o Tom Trinko [T.TRINKO] Mac Staff Writer
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o Bill Garrett [BILL.GARRETT] Mac Staff Writer
MacPRO o James Flanagan [JFLANAGAN] Editor
"""""" o Erik C. Thauvin [MACSPECT] Supervising Editor
o Chris Innanen [C.INNANEN] MacPRO Staff Writer
o Paul Collins [P.COLLINS] MacPRO Staff Writer
APPLE II o Darrel Raines [D.RAINES] Editor
"""""""" o Phil Shapiro [P.SHAPIRO1] A2/A2Pro Co-Editor
o Mel Fowler [MELSOFT] A2/A2Pro Staff Writer
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A2Pro o COMING SOON!
"""""
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""""""""
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GEnieLamp CONTRIBUTORS
""""""""""""""""""""""
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>>> SEARCH-ME! ANSWERS <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
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reprinted. Reprint permission granted, unless otherwise noted, to
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[EOF]***
