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GEnieLamp Apple II - Vol.2, Issue 20
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~ WELCOME TO GEnieLamp APPLE II! ~
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ BEGINNER'S CORNER: Polishing Green Apples ~
~ ACROSS THE WIRES: WorldWide Apple II User Group ~
~ APPLE II HISTORY: Languages (Cont.) ~
~ HOT NEWS, HOT FILES, HOT MESSAGES ~
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
GEnieLamp Apple II ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.2, Issue 20
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Editor....................................................Douglas Cuff
Publisher.............................................John F. Peters
Copy-Editor...........................................Bruce Maples
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~ GEnieLamp IBM ~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp [PR] ~
~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~ GEnieLamp TX2 ~
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~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~
GE Mail: GENIELAMP Internet: genielamp@genie.geis.com FTP: sosi.com
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>>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE II ROUNDTABLE? <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ November 1, 1993 ~
FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY]
Notes From The Editor. Is That A Letter For Me?
HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] REFLECTIONS ............. [REF]
You Want What? Online Communications.
BEGINNER'S CORNER ...... [BEG] APPLE ANECDOTES ......... [ANC]
Polishing Green Apples. True Stories.
CowTOONS! .............. [MOO] F.Y.I. .................. [FYI]
Thanksgiving on the Hoof. Adventure Game Contest.
PROFILES ............... [WHO] ACROSS THE WIRES ........ [ATW]
Who's Who In Apple II. GEnie Worldwide!
COMMUNICATION .......... [COM] APPLE II ................ [AII]
Making Contact Apple II History, Part 17
LOG OFF ................. [LOG]
GEnieLamp Information.
[IDX]"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
READING GEnieLamp GEnieLamp has incorporated a unique indexing
""""""""""""""""" system to help make reading the magazine easier.
To utilize this system, load GEnieLamp into any ASCII word processor
or text editor. In the index you will find the following example:
HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM]
[*]GEnie Fun & Games.
To read this article, set your find or search command to [HUM]. If
you want to scan all of the articles, search for [EOA]. [EOF] will take
you to the last page, whereas [IDX] will bring you back to the index.
MESSAGE INFO To make it easy for you to respond to messages re-printed
"""""""""""" here in GEnieLamp, you will find all the information you
need immediately following the message. For example:
(SMITH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M475)
_____________| _____|__ _|___ |____ |_____________
|Name of sender CATegory TOPic Msg.# Page number|
In this example, to respond to Smith's message, log on to page
475 enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1.
A message number that is surrounded by brackets indicates that this
message is a "target" message and is referring to a "chain" of two
or more messages that are following the same topic. For example: {58}.
ABOUT GEnie GEnie's monthly fee is $8.95 for which gives you up to four
""""""""""" hours of non-prime time access to most GEnie services, such
as software downloads, bulletin boards, GE Mail, an Internet gateway,
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customer service line (voice) at 1-800-638-9636.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ >"Okay...wait! Can you slow it [Aladdin] down some? < /
/ >It's too fast to read. Make it go back." < /
/ /
/ "Maybe you can convince her to do an 'unattended' pass, /
/ say fix a sandwich, or something.. Grin. /
////////////////////////////////////////////// NTACTONE ////
[EOA]
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
FROM MY DESKTOP /
/////////////////////////////////
Notes From The Editor
"""""""""""""""""""""
By Douglas Cuff
[EDITOR.A2]
MOVERS AND SHAKERS Recently, my wife and I moved. Across the city. Not
"""""""""""""""""" a major drama, but still quite a lot of activity. By
the time we had settled into new quarters sufficiently for me to pay
attention to the outside world again, I noticed that there was moving and
shaking in the Apple II community.
For instance, Ellen Rosenberg, formerly editor of A2-Central, has
become managing editor of II Alive magazine. (Jerry Kindall continues on
as editor-in-chief.) Telecommunications being what they are, I doubt Ms
Rosenberg will have to pick up and move to Detroit, which is probably
something of a relief for her, as I seem to recall it's been less than a
year since she moved to Texas!
Then it transpired that Softdisk Publishing had persuaded Dean Esmay
to move to Louisiana -- physically, this time! -- and work for them. (This
does NOT, I repeat, NOT, mean that Dean is leaving as Head Sysop of A2.)
Meanwhile, Tom Weishaar (High Priest of the Apple II RoundTables) and
Kent Fillmore (Macintosh RoundTables) made their move by forming
Syndicomm, a company that will handle two Apple II RTs, three Mac RTs, and
two new Power-PC RTs!
FROM THE GENERAL TO THE PERSONAL If this much activity started my head
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" spinning, imagine how I felt when the
E-mail started pouring in to my account:
o Submissions for GEnieLamp A2! You'll find the first one
submitted in this issue, an almost unbelievable but true tale
about a disk drive that survived some of the roughest treatment
I've ever heard of. There are more to come in future issues.
(See how easy it is to earn yourself two hours' worth of non-prime
time credit?)
This month's submission for Across The Wires (GEnie Worldwide) is
particularly exciting. Check it for details about the formation
of World Wide User Group (WWUG). It's so encouraging when someone
attempts to help the disaffected and disenfranchised, no matter
where in the world they might be!
Also, this month's Apple II profile is a "live" interview,
direct from GEnie's Online Talk Show, "A Walk on the Wild Side
with Tara & Co.!"
o Applications for the post of assistant editor! I had hoped to be
able to make an announcement in this issue, but the decision has
proved so difficult that I'm holding off until next issue.
o Feedback on how we're doing here at GEnieLamp A2... from as far
away as Australia! Keep those cards and letters coming!
Finally, to make my head spin even more, I myself seem to have picked
up a new job as a contributor to II Alive!
Is this going to happen EVERY time we move? I'm not complaining --
rather the opposite -- I'd just like to know in advance. It's an awesome
responsibility. <grin>
-- Doug Cuff
GEnie Mail: EDITOR.A2 Internet: editor.a2@genie.geis.com
[EOA]
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
/////////////////////////////////
Is That A Letter For Me?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Douglas Cuff
[EDITOR.A2]
o A2 POT-POURRI
o HOT TOPICS
o WHAT'S NEW
o THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT
>>> A2 POT-POURRI <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""
THIS JUST IN: IIGS STILL DEAD > he said "Lady, don't you know, the IIGS
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > is dead???"
My reply to this salesman would have gone something like this:
"Oh really? My user group was going to purchase hundreds of floppy
disks, reams of paper and assorted disk cases for our 'dead' computer. I
guess we'll take our business elsewhere."
It probably wouldn't get much of a reaction from the salesman, but I
wouldn't know because I'd have hung up before he got a chance to reply.
Tony Ward [via GEM 4.21/PT 3.1]
(A2.TONY, CAT3, TOP34, MSG:21/M645;1)
EXPLORING THE MS-DOS FST Well, good news and bad news on the MS-DOS FST.
"""""""""""""""""""""""" It will work with a floptical but it will never
work with a large media device. The MS-DOS FST was designed for floppies
only and it will not support the directory structure of a large MSDOS
volume. The number of sectors/FAT will be 9 or the MSDOS FST will refuse
to recognize the volume. The MSDOS FST also refused to deal with a
partitioned media device. I got in a screwed around with the base blocks
and got it to recognize that the media was a dos volume but it didn't like
the size of the FAT tables from a big MSDOS volume. I put my Syquest onto
my Adaptec controller and formatted it for MS dos land and then moved it
over to my GS. From there I started poking around with the directory data
created by the MSDOS machine until the MSDOS.FST would recognize the media.
To get the MSDOS.FST to recog- nize the media I had to poke over the bytes
until the size of the FAT table was that of a floppy. So the bottom line
is that the MS-DOS FST will work with what it was intended to work with,
floppies. It will not work with a Syquest or a Bernoulli.
Drew (CV.TECH, CAT46, TOP2, MSG:67/M645;1)
>>>>> |)rew, it's interesting what you say concerning the MS-DOS FST not
""""" supporting SyQuests and other large media formatted as MS-DOS, when
the Apple guys specifically mentioned SyQuests "and any other MS-DOS media
you can get hooked up and have a driver for" (paraphrased) being supported,
when the MS-DOS FST was announced. (This was at KansasFest '92.) Maybe
they never actually TRIED using any large media with the MS-DOS FST, but
instead expected that it was generic enough to work?
\_/
|ou said:
> The number of sectors/FAT will be 9
> or the MSDOS FST will refuse to recognize the volume.
_
(_
__)o what is the maximum volume size for this sectors/FAT number? You
said it will work with Flopticals, so obviously it's larger than 20MB.
Might it be possible to format a SyQuest/Bernoulli/other large media with
one MS-DOS partition that is this maximum volume size, and then use the
rest as an HFS/whatever partition, and have it be recognized properly by
the MS- DOS FST (plus the others, for the other partition)?
-= Lunatic (:
(A2.LUNATIC, CAT46, TOP2, MSG:79/M645;1)
SSC BUG? "The 6551 chip in the Super Serial Card has a known bug - you
"""""""" lose the character "about to be sent" when the CTS line goes
low and then high. This is what's causing a couple of the PTSE screens to
look flaky, and it also messes up Zmodem file transfers (you will usually
lose the second packet, and never see the error.)"
The above statement was recieved from a Sysop of a local BBS. Does
anyone know about this problem with the Apple Super Serial Card? Could you
leave comments about this "problem"? Thanks
(B.PERCIVAL, CAT24, TOP5, MSG:156/M645;1)
>>>>> My second hand information confirms your statement.
"""""
The flaw in the original chip design, I am told, has been fixed, and
you can get the new improved chip to replace your original. Try the Harris
CDP65C51AE1.
I have not yet done this, but have been planning to for quite a
while. My ancient SSC is set up for RTS/CTS hardware handshaking at 19,200
baud, but it rarely gives me any problems, so perhaps I should leave it
alone.
You may go first. <g> If you do make the change, _please_ be sure to
post the results here.
Hugh...
BTW, this information was courtesy of the OGGNET.
(H.HOOD, CAT24, TOP5, MSG:157/M645;1)
PUBLISH IT AND LASERWRITER PLUS FONTS According to the PubIt manual, you
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" should set your serial port as on
page 5- 90 of the manual. There is also info there about a cable.
Select the IIgs Serial Port in the PubIt "Select Interface" setting.
In PubLishIt set the printer in "Select Printer" to LaserWriter Plus
and Font Widths to LaserWriter Plus. The HP 4 will emulate the LaserWriter
NT. This gives you the maximum number of fonts which will be used as
internal fonts. These are:
Westwood = ITC Bookman Light
Racine = Courier
Des Plains = Helvetica
Wilmette = New Century Schoolbook Roman
Deerfield = Times Roman
Ravinia, and = ITC Zapf Chancery Medium Italic
Barrington = Palatino
(undocumented, but it works. Barrington is on Font Pack 1).
__!__ Terrell Smith
| tsmith@ivcfnsc.fullfeed.com
|
(T.SMITH59, CAT12, TOP13, MSG:134/M645;1)
POSTSCRIPT THEORY SIMPLIFIED I haven't said anything all this time but I
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" have been following this string along in
different boards. . . to recap, it seems to me that you're wanting to
download some Postscript fonts from the GS to a Postscript printer, similar
to how the Mac can.
Based on what I've read and looked at around here, the problem seems
to be with the GS Laserwriter Driver. I've been taking a look at this
lately (I don't have a Postscript printer--YET--but I have been studying
the language because i intend to get one soon. . .), and what I was hoping
to do was port over part of the Mac's driver to the GS.
HOWEVER, looking at the GS driver, it seems to be partially Postscript
and partially something else (possibly 65816 machine code, possibly some
encrypted Postscript, possibly something else, who knows?)
In any case, my theory is that the flowchart for the part of the GS
driver that's not downloading the fonts looks something like this. . .
|
/\ ______________
/Font\ | Default to |
/present\ No | courier |
< in >------------| and print |
\printer/ |____________|
\ ? /
\ /
\ /
|
|Yes
|
______________
| Use it and |
| print |
|____________|
When what we are hoping for is
|
/\ / \ ______________
/Font\ /How \ | Default to |
/present\ No /about \ No | courier |
< in >-----------><in the >---->| and print |
\printer/ \compu-/ |____________|
\ ? / \ter?/
\ / \ /
\ / \/
| |
|Yes |Yes
| |
| ________\/________
| | |
| | Download it!!! |
| |________________|
| |
| |
| |
______\/______ |
| Use it and | |
| print |/_______________|
|____________|\
I'm hoping whoever wrote the driver can help us shed some light on it,
and I believe that person is Matt Deatharage. . . I seem to remember
reading in Genielamp A2Pro that he worked on the driver for 6.0.1. In any
case, I'll keep looking at it also. . . if I can find the right area of
code to tweak, I'm pretty sure we can work it out.
Ryan (R.SUENAGA1, CAT26, TOP12, MSG:168/M645;1)
NORTHGATE KEYBOARD REPORT As requested about 2 weeks ago, I am posting
""""""""""""""""""""""""" information on Northgate Keyboards. I have a
IBM-PC model, but the dipswitch settings are probably similar for the Mac
keyboards (for use on a IIgs).
The DIP switches are located under the Northgate logo plate on the
front of the keyboard. (Lift the plate with a fingernail.) The first
three dipswitch settings correspond to the type of computer to which the
keyboard will be connected. (Write down the original setting and try
various settings to see if any correct the improper reset problem.)
Switch 4 is for Novell networks (leave it alone). Switch 5 swaps the CAPS,
ALT, CTRL keys. (On a Mac keyboard, perhaps it just swaps CTRL & CAPS.)
Switch 6 swaps the "\" and "*" keys. Switch 7 enables the Dvorak layout
for the keyboard. Switch 8 enables a Sticky Keys feature. While all these
settings may not be appropriate for the Mac keyboard, you can always
experiment.
BTW, Northgate provides technical support for their products at
1-612-943-8346 and on Compu$erve (go northgate). They may be willing to
answer questions about the Mac keyboards even if they no longer sell them.
(They have an excellent reputation for technical support.) The manual for
the keyboard contains much additional useful information. If anyone has a
question, feel free to EMail.
David [Bird.Watcher]
(D.WALLIS2, CAT42, TOP10, MSG:133/M645;1)
SETTING THUNDERCLOCK Found my own solution to the setting of the Thunder
"""""""""""""""""""" Clock, re my message number 20. GEOS from Berkeley
Softworks (probably not available anymore anywhere) has drivers that let
you set the clock for the GS clock, NoSlot clock, Thunderclock, and
TimeMaster from AE. For your info.
(L.HORWATH, CAT12, TOP2, MSG:21/M645;1)
QUALITY COMPUTERS ASKED "WHY BUY FROM YOU?" I responded to a very similar
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" query about that from the
Internet a while back. In brief, our drive is THE easiest to set up
(includes a video to show you how), and is backed by the best support in
the industry. (Our technical support staff is five times larger than our
competitors' staffs combined.)
If you feel you don't need that support -- and many GEnie users don't;
after all, if you can figure out a modem and GEnie you can probably figure
out a hard drive! -- then by all means, shop for the best price. We've
always separated ourselves from the others by our level of support, but if
you don't need it, then why pay for it?
There have been times in our company's history when we've competed
solely on price. However, our customers just weren't satisfied with the
support that came with the lowest price. If we still competed solely on
price, there would be no II Alive; there would be no AppleWorks 4. We
wouldn't have the resources to take on such projects -- not enough
technical support staff, not enough of an advertising budget to get the
word out about these new developments, not enough clout to be taken
seriously by Claris.
We're dedicated to providing Apple II support in a BIG way. Not just
after the sale but in many, many other ways. People who buy from us know
what they're getting -- not just a good product, but a commitment to stand
behind them in the future, whatever computer they're using.
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP5, MSG:55/M645;1)
APPLEWORKS GS/HARDPRESSED CONFLICT SOLVED I'd be willing to bet that
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" today I'm the happiest Apple
IIGS user on the planet. I found the cause of the problem with AppleWorks
GS and HardPressed! And, Andy, you'll breath a sigh of relief because it
has absolutely nothing to do with HardPressed!
I got your disk with System 6.0.1 and HardPressed, and it still did
some strange things with AWGS on my system. So, I visited Will Nelken who
has both a ROM01 and a ROM3, and using that 6.0.1/HP/AWGS combo,
everything worked great on both his machines.
I went home and was ready to re-install my old 1.5 meg RAM card, when
I decided to sit down and think about the problem, and try to figure out
what was different between my system and Will's systems.
It didn't take long. I had had AppleWorksGS configured to pre-load
several of the modules. As soon as I re-configured AWGS to not pre-load any
of its modules, AWGS started acting perfectly behaved with HP installed. I
tried the Fit In Window option at least 50 times, and there wasn't even a
hint of problems.
So, all I can conclude is that AWGS has a bug in the pre-loading code
that prevents it from pre-loading 100% of what is needed.
Could someone else confirm this for me? If you have HardPressed and
AppleWorksGS and a desktop publishing document, could you set it up to
pre-load the PL module, and then after re-running AWGS, use the Fit In
Window option? Tell us what happens. It freezes, doesn't it?
Charles Garrett - Since you were able to duplicate this problem,
could you check your AWGS config options and see if you have some modules
set up to pre-load? I bet you do.
I'd really like to thank both Andy McFadden and WestCode for all the
assistance they have offered trying to track down this insidious bug. I
really think that Andy McFadden went above and beyond the call of duty in
helping track down this bug.
Now, I can finally say with conviction that "HardPressed is great!!!"
Joe Kohn (J.KOHN, CAT37, TOP3, MSG:69/M645;1)
<<<<< The first confirmation just came via telephone. One of the people
""""" at my local user group that could also recreate the HP/AWGS Fit In
Window conflict also had AWGS configured to pre-load the Page Layout
Module. As soon as he reconfigured it to not pre-load PL, everything worked
great!
There's a couple of real relieved HP owners here in California.
Joe Kohn (J.KOHN, CAT37, TOP3, MSG:70/M645;1)
>>>>> Yeah, well there's one MASSIVELY relieved HardPressed programmer!
""""" Okay, two possibilities. Either AWGS has whacked preload code, or
HardPressed isn't handling the preload stuff correctly. I'll see if I can
nail it down either way.
A big THANK YOU to you Joe... if anyone has gone beyond the call of
duty, it's you.
- Andy
(a happy camper again)
(FADDEN, CAT37, TOP3, MSG:71/M645;1)
FINDER EXTRAS AND ICONS Some discoveries.....
"""""""""""""""""""""""
I recently made a few discoveries about how the Finder Extras menu
displays its selections. This may have been covered before but it never
hurts to repeat interestng things.
The discoveries came after installing Six Pack modules. I have been
using Quick Launch for some time and had gotten used to having the Quick
Launch menu at the top of my Finder Extras pull down menu. After installing
the Six Pack modules I discovered that my Quick Launch menu was now
wayyyyyyy down at near the bottom and was a small pain to scroll down to.
So I started playing around with the order in which the PIF's appear in my
Finder Extras and System.Setup folders.
What I found was this....apparently any PIF's in the Finder Extras
folder that display a menu under the Extras header are added after those
PIF's that are in the System.Setup folder. They are stacked on top of each
other, which means that the last PIF in the Finder Extras folder will be
on top when you pull down the Extras menu. After a little playing around I
was able to get my Extras pull down menu to display the menu items in the
order I desired.
I used the SORT function of the ProSEL 16 file utilities module to
sort my System.Setup and Finder.Extras folders to get the exact order I
wanted. My Extras menu pulls down with Quick Launch on top, followed by
ProBOOT, followed by Six Pack's MoreInfo, followed by Six Pack's File
Peeker, etc. Well, you get the picture.
As a side note I found that Six Pack's modules don't display their
little bootup icons unless they are in the System.Setup folder. Is this
true of all PIF's/TIF's? I also seem to remember that PIF's in the
Finder.Extras folder don't load until Finder is active.
Sorry for the rather long post but I (maybe I'm the only one, though)
find this stuff very interesting. Running System 6.0.1 on 4mb and ROM 01.
(LKRUPP, CAT9, TOP5, MSG:189/M645;1)
>>>>> Boot icons don't show up for files in the Finder.Extras folder
""""" because the Finder is already active when these extras are
initialized.
Tyler (A2.TYLER, CAT9, TOP5, MSG:190/M645;1)
>>>>> It's true...the cute little boot icons don't show up for Finder
""""" Extras unless they are in the System.Setup folder. And by having
them located there, they take up memory even when you're NOT in Finder...
Could some bored programmer write an Init that serves no purpose other
than to display the boot icons of any active files in the FinderExtras
folder? That way, we can have the cute icons AND the saved memory when not
in Finder. Is it do-able?
-- Matthew Ryan |SysOp, Dreamscape 24-Line BBS |(818) 781-7529 --
(M-RYAN, CAT9, TOP5, MSG:192/M645;1)
IIGS GAMING ENVIRONMENT Well... Actually, I have seen a version of Eamon
""""""""""""""""""""""" converted for use in HyperCard GS. I cannot
remember the author. It was the equivalent of the master disk and the
beginner's cave. It also seemed to have a FEW problems.
And I might also add that I happen to know of one ongoing effort to
create an Eamon gaming system for the IIgs. The non-interactive demo
effort is essentially complete and should result in an upload within the
next few weeks. The system revolves around a database system and does not
require any programming skill to "write" new adventures. Therefore, all
that you have to do is script the adventure rooms, monsters, treasure and
other goodies. The system is a combination of color text and static (not
animated) graphics. The program is also the first software (that I am
aware of) to use both the 320 and 640 resolution graphics modes on the
same screen! A database editor (could be a text editor) and a graphics
program are all that is required to create an adventure.
It is true that this system is not a conversion of the original gaming
system. However, the original Eamon series is written in Applesoft basic
and there is no "Standard" version of the game program. Each adventure
uses a tailored version of the original software. I believe that Tom Z.
has stated before that he did not anticipate anyone ever converting each
individual game to Micol Basic GS or some equivalent. I happen to agree
that the effort would be too great for the gain.
You may wonder how I know so much about the Demo that has an impending
release? Well, I happen to be the author of the software in question. I
have long wanted to add something significant to the public domain for the
Apple IIgs. I hope that this game will be my lasting contribution.
I should add one warning: I am a bit slow about finishing something
like this. Drop me a line if you get antsy about seeing the demo.
Happy gaming, Darrel Raines
[D.Raines]
(D.RAINES, CAT16, TOP8, MSG:48/M645;1)
>>>>> Darrel, I know about the Hypercard version of the Eamon Main Hall.
""""" However, as you said, it has problems, and no one has seen fit to
fix them, so I don't count this as a serious "Eamon-GS" effort.
Your new gaming system sounds pretty exciting! What are you planning
to call it? How similar is it to 8-bit Eamon?
You seem to have some misunderstandings about Eamon. Eamon adventure
design does NOT require =any= program modification, but is database-based,
just like your system. In fact, the vast majority of Eamons use unmodified
programs. Where the conversion effort falls down is due to the fact that
there about a dozen different incremental versions of the program, as bugs
were fixed and enhancements were added. Also, most of the best Eamons =do=
have extensive program modifications, as the authors redesigned the system
to make it do what they wanted for each adventure.
If you are locking the authors out of program redesign and forcing
them to do everything the way that you have envisioned, then your system
will never see the rich diversity of play that Eamon has enjoyed. Indeed,
virtually all of the very best Eamons were hand-built by their authors. I
have always viewed Eamon's Applesoft base as a strength rather than a
weakness because it has permitted ordinary people to design extraordinary
adventures.
Heh. I'll be interested to see how many versions your system runs
through in the next few years, before you get it the way you want it. *8-)
TomZ (T.ZUCHOWSKI, CAT16, TOP8, MSG:49/M645;1)
<<<<< TomZ - You make a number of good points. I want to make it clear
""""" that I am intending to create a gaming system that is as flexible
as possible. I am also trying to stay true to the spirit of the original
Eamon games. Therefore, I want the system to be text based for the most
part. The graphics are meant to suppliment the text in much the same way
as the last Infocom games used graphics.
>If you are locking the authors out of program redesign and forcing them to
>do everything the way that you have envisioned, then your system will
>never see the rich diversity of play that Eamon has enjoyed.
Well, again, this is not my intent. However, the problem lies in the
fact that no standard programming language has been established on the
Apple IIgs that lets the average home user write his/her own programs. I
know that many people will disagree with this statement, but each of them
will probably argue for one of a number of different "languages":
HyperCard Script, HyperStudio Script, ORCA/Pascal, Micol Basic GS, etc.
The arguments themselves will serve to prove my point.
This leaves me with a difficult decision to make as a software author:
"How do I allow the users to create their own games without forcing them to
use the source language that is not a standard?" I have been leaning
toward providing a flexible system that uses flags in a database to
"script" the course of the adventure. This allows the adventure creator
the ability to produce a unique adventure within the predefined parameters
of the adventuring system. It does not allow the creator to make unique
effects that are not already available within the system. (Contrast this
technique to the vampire that walks around in the dungeon of the Haunted
House: a unique effect.)
>I have always viewed Eamon's Applesoft base as a strength rather than a
>weakness because it has permitted ordinary people to design extraordinary
>adventures.
I understand your point here. I don't know how to address it in light
of my earlier statements. It appears that the only alternative to a
strictly database approach is to release both the adventure authoring
system and the source code for the main program. My current language of
choice is ORCA/Pascal with some assembly language as needed. If I were to
go with this approach, I would not be able to control the direction of
program enhancements.
This last item is not an ego issue. I want you to think about the
state of Eamon on the Apple II before you began to work toward a "clean"
set of adventures. Most of the Eamon distribution houses were interested
in disk copy money only. Very few took the time to make sure that the
adventures ran correctly. Very few people took the time to fix problems
and collect a complete set of Eamon adventures. Your efforts have gone a
long way toward making the Eamon world a safe place for the novice
adventure gamer. If I release the code in source format, I run the risk
of incompatibility and loss of user confidence.
One alternative that I have considered is allowing programmers to
update the gaming system on an individual basis. If someone wants to add
a feature to the system, then I would give them the source code, and they
would produce the changes. This would allow me to enforce backward
compatibility and such. But this technique does not allow complete
freedom for the adventure game creator. I hope that this discussion makes
clear my dilemma.
In the mean time, I am sure that most people would rather see some
type of demonstration and subsequent game rather than nothing at all. In
light of that fact, I will continue to develop with my original design
goals and will entertain changes to the design goals after people can run
the demonstration.
Thank you for your feedback and ideas, Darrel Raines
[D.Raines]
(D.RAINES, CAT16, TOP8, MSG:55/M645;1)
WHEN MACSOUNDGRABBER DOESN'T WORK... MacSoundGrabber is a fine utility,
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" but it won't convert each and every
sound from the Macintosh. Especially Mac System Sounds are noticed by
MacSoundGrabber but not converted. Fear no more - there's a way to convert
those sounds. Just load the resource part of the Mac file into ShadowWrite
with the option "Load file(s) as raw data"; then save back to another disk
as TXT file. Load the file into SoundShop (from the HyperStudio package)
although it will complain. Load the file anyway. You have to tune the
replay frequence and have to edit out a bit of garbage at the beginning of
the sound, where the Mac file had a header. I converted two sounds already
by this procedure. The files contained but one sound, however. This
procedure should work with multiple sounds as well, but you probably will
have to edit the raw file a bit more.
Udo - ... just a IIGS freak -
(U.HUTH, CAT6, TOP7, MSG:19/M645;1)
BOTTOMLINE = ON BALANCE The reason BottomLine isn't hard-drive
""""""""""""""""""""""" installable is that it runs under a highly
customized version of DOS 3.3 and has its own file structures. (The
program is essentially Broderbund's On Balance, for those who remember
that. It's really quite a fast and usable little program despite the hard
drive thing.)
(QUALITY, CAT8, TOP10, MSG:41/M645;1)
DESKJET AND SERIAL VS PARALLEL > ..have a GS .. ImageWriter II .. Deskjet
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > 500 .. tips/suggestions?
Charlie, I have a similar setup, and quickly became disenchanted with
driving the DeskJet with the serial cable. My recommendation to you and
anyone else who's interested is this - buy a parallel card. You say you
have Harmonie so you should have a good selection of parallel card drivers
to choose from (for myself I chose AE's Parallel Pro, without the Buffer
Pro add-on card).
Stuff the parallel card into slot 1; leave it set to "Printer Port".
Hook up the parallel card to the DeskJet (standard parallel cabling,
available at Wal Mart, even). The beauty and elegance of this setup is
apparent when you drop out of a GS/OS program (say, AWGS) that you would
typically print to the DeskJet, and jump into an application like Printshop
GS that is practically hard-wired for the ImageWriter. You don't have to
change any settings, since slot 1 is already configured as the printer
port. When printing to the DeskJet in a GS/OS program, drivers supplied by
Harmonie are smart enough to recognize the parallel card in slot 1, even
though it is _not_ set to "Your Card". What you end up with, essentially,
is the IIGS automatically sending a print job to the printer appropriate
for the program you are using (automatic switching!). If you do have a
need to print to the Image- writer while in a GS/OS-aware application (say,
for printing labels in AWGS), then it is a simple matter of picking the
Imagewriter/printer port combination in the "DC Printer" control panel
device (CDEV).
I ran my DeskJet 500C for several months using the serial cable setup
you want to use, and the serious lack of printing speed drove me nuts.
Express (print spooler from Seven Hills) mitigated this somewhat, but it
was an imperfect solution, at least for my needs. When I went the
parallel route a few months ago it was a revelation, especially for color
printing. I would recommend this setup without reservation.
David ---> waiting for Spectrum, with the AWGS comm module <---
(D.KERWOOD, CAT12, TOP8, MSG:245/M645;1)
OLD APPLE II CARDS There is a place called Atlaz Computer Supply that is
"""""""""""""""""" offering an IIe enhancement kit for $45.00. For some
reason, I want to say that is less than what I have seen in other places.
Am I wrong.
This Atlaz Supply is pretty funky. They still offer a lot of Apple
II/II+ specific cards.
Atlaz Supply (516) 239-1854
Fax: (516) 239-1939
Pax! -=-Plato-=-
(A.HUTCHINSON, CAT12, TOP5, MSG:35/M645;1)
EDUCATIONAL CLEARING HOUSE One more feather in the cap of schools that
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" stick with Apple will be a great amount of
Apple II resource material available through the Eisenhower National
Clearhouse (ENC) destined to go online sometime in October or November.
This ENC will consist of a large database and library of educational
resource material for science and math, and I understand a smaller library
of other educational materials unrelated to science/math. Much work is
being done on this project by Eric Bush of Kitchen Sink Software.
As has been mentioned, there is SO MUCH more Apple II software
available for education in the lower grades, than the ms-dos platform. I
truly believe that schools that are going to switch to another platform,
are simply wanting to be on the "cutting edge" of technology and want to
"keep up with the Joneses" as it were. Unfortunately, it saddens me when
I see districts struggling just to keep a decent teaching staff onboard,
and then spending needless dollars for something they THINK will bring them
out of the "dark ages" - apparently persuaded by heaven knows who that the
Apple II platform IS in the dark ages...
SamIam: I think you should encourage holding out until the PowerPC's
come out. From what I've heard, they are really going to be great, and
WILL be able to handle two platforms.
But, it's hard trying to tell a district that is "wooed" by purveyors
of "cutting edge technology" that their "old trusty Apples" are just as
valuable and just as viable now as they were 10 years ago! - even more so!
It all comes down to the "Hatfield and McCoy" type feud that is going on
between computer platforms - none more prominant than that between IBM and
Apple II...
GEna (G.SAIKIN, CAT15, TOP11, MSG:142/M645;1)
SYNDICOMM APPLE II, MAC, AND POWER PC RTS > I also wish that Tom Weischar
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > would take over the MAC and
> IBM RTs!!!
Someone probably already posted this, but in essence, Tom Weishaar is
now one of the people overseeing A2, A2Pro, Mac, MacPro, and now PPC and
PPCPro(?). Syndicomm is the contracting organization over these RTs now.
And guess who is one of the major owners of Syndicomm? :)
I am sure he is sorry about not being able to swing the IBM areas,
but one can't have everything. :)
Tim 'The Joat' Tobin, Lost Classics & R C Font Clearinghouse
(A2.TIM, CAT12, TOP4, MSG:58/M645;1)
>>> HOT TOPICS <<<
""""""""""""""""""
MS-DOS READ AND WRITE UTILITY! I got this program on a disk from a local
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" friend who downloaded it from the
InterNet. It was uploaded by Peter Watson from Australia. I have had great
success transfering files back and forth to the transporter - much the same
as using the transporter transfer program. Very handy because it is not
necessary to startup the transporter as I can send the files to the C:
drive and then copy to floppies later for transfer to the 386. I understand
that it will work with any drive that the GSOS msdos FST recognizes. I
would be glad to upload the file if I was sure how to do it. I've never
uploaded a file to GENie and with my luck I'd probably crash GEnie :)
(J.BAUER4, CAT12, TOP6, MSG:111/M645;1)
>>>>> I've been trying out Peter Watson's MSDOS utilities. With them I
""""" was able to _write_ to a 1.44 meg MSDOS disk in my Floptical drive.
I copied a text file to the disk, renamed the file and even renamed the
volume label on the disk; popped the disk into my '486 notebook and read it
just fine.
My setup: Apple HS SCSI / Tulin Floptical / Tulin drivers / Sys
6.0.1 / MSDOS FST
Peter's utilities are pretty nice, and the Command.Com shell he
provides is easy to use and even allows Applesoft commands. I had Apple's
MSDOS FST installed and didn't see any conflicts. At $15, it's a bargin!
/\
//\\ rt
//~~\\........
(A.COUGHLIN, CAT11, TOP16, MSG:258/M645;1)
PAYING FOR AUSTRALIAN SHAREWARE > At $15, it's a bargain!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It sure is, but Peter Watson is having a difficult time cashing
American checks. In fact, he's not cashing them, because the service
charges that his bank imposes works out to a little more than $15.
So, he's going to send some of those checks to me.The same thing
happened a year or two back with the FTA, and I was able to get about $20
in cash for more than $250 that was mailed to France.(Part of that reason
is because the checks were out of date by the time I got them.)
If you're going to be sending shareware fees to Australia, please send
them in a form that is usable. That would be an International Money Order.
Or, if you trust the US and Australian postal systems, you can always wrap
$15 up in a well disguised envelope and tape it shut.
Sending a regular US check to Australia is not the best way to submit
your shareware fee.
Joe Kohn (J.KOHN, CAT11, TOP16, MSG:259/M645;1)
APPLEWORKS SITE LICENSES If schools don't buy AW4 after being bombarded
"""""""""""""""""""""""" with ads in Enhance and in direct mail, there's
probably not much we can do. After all, we can't FORCE anyone to upgrade.
Though it should be pointed out that we do expect the majority of AW4
business to be from schools. The key there, of course, is site licensing.
Even AW3, with no promotion, sold LOTS of site licenses (LOTS being a big
number which is classified <g>). We expect site licensed copies to outsell
single-user copies by at least 10:1.
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:323/M645;1)
APPLEWORKS 4 SHIPS WHEN??? AW 4 will _not_ ship Oct 1, especially since
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" it happens to be a Friday. I believe the
latest word is that the manuals won't be ready before Tuesday, but if all
goes well, I suppose shipping will commence Wednesday. I'm assembling the
master disk today.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:121/M645;1)
>>>>> Was told Tuesday by QC salesperson that Four isn't shipping now
""""" until the 12th.
<<<Lloyd>>> (L.DEVRIES, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:128/M645;1)
<<<<< Who'd a thunk I'd have to find this stuff out online...
"""""
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:131/M645;1)
>>>>> QC Official Announcement:
"""""
After many months of development and testing, AppleWorks 4.0 is
getting very near to completion. Our projected release date for this
major revision to the classic 8 bit Apple II program was October 1st. We
regret to announce that there will be a short delay.
AW 4 has been in beta testing for some time now, and although the
product seems very solid, and everyone involved with the testing is excited
about it, we still feel there are several issues that need to be resolved
before giving it our final stamp of approval.
Currently, Quality Computers has thousands of backorders on AppleWorks
4.0. Believe me, every day that we delay shipment breaks our hearts (after
all we don't get to charge you until they go out the door. :) ) Making
money is important to any company, however Quality is a concept we are far
more concerned with. We feel that the investment in extra time testing and
fixing the remaining bugs will far outweigh any inconvenience caused by
this short delay in releasing the product.
Our revised release date will be October 15th (2 weeks off schedule).
Walker (Quality Computers)
(W.ARCHER2, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:147/M645;1)
>>>>> According to the letter I received yesterday from Quality,
""""" AppleWorks will not start to ship until October 15. This is due to
some last minute brainstorming of features Randy and Dan are putting into
the program. Quality informs people who have ordered that pre-release
orders are in the thousands, and that they'll take until Oct 25 to get them
all shipped, so expect to receive AW 4.0 by ---> November 8.
__!__ Terrell Smith
| tsmith@ivcfnsc.fullfeed.com
|
(T.SMITH59, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:157/M645;1)
>>>>> At press time, Quality Computers announced that it will start
""""" shipping AppleWorks 4.0 on October 27. The company expects to ship
all back orders by October 30 and asks customers not to call about their
order unless it hasn't arrived by November 15.
(NAUG, CAT17, TOP37, MSG:125/M645;1)
>>>>> Quality says that the manuals will be back in and that shipping
""""" will start around the 29th of this month. It sounds like this will
PROBABLY occur since the manuals are all that they are waiting on. I don't
represent Quality, but I called them on another matter and thought that you
might want to know.
Darrel Raines (D.RAINES, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:248/M645;1)
APPLEWORKS GS UPDATE A MIGHTY UNDERTAKING Regardless of the specifics of
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" this case, most people in this
topic have no idea what they are asking of QC.
Updating/Upgrading AWGS is NOT like doing so for AppleWorks Classic.
Randy Brandy has been intimately involved with AW Classic for a number of
years. QC doesn't have anyone from the original AWGS team (and it's HIGHLY
unlikely that that will change.)
I'm completely guessing here, but I'm pretty sure that AWGS is mostly
65816 assembly (except for the spelling checker stuff I believe). If this
is true, I would say that there could be somewhere around 500,000 lines of
source.
This is NOT a trivial task for someone to undertake. Simply getting
to know the code so that simple bug fixes can be written is going to take
time. Complex bug fixes? Think in terms of months.
New features? Revamped modules? Think in terms of many, many months.
I would say that if QC does a decent bug fix/_VERY MINOR_ feature
addtion update that charging $25-$45 for it would NOT be unreasonable.
They'd have to do that just to recover their investment in programmer's
salary.
Now, please, don't take this the wrong way: I'm not saying that
updating AWGS is impossible. I'm just saying it's not going to be finished
next week. It is not a trivial undertaking.
Keep this in mind when asking the world of QC :)
Bryan (SOFTDISK.INC, CAT42, TOP32, MSG:103/M645;1)
>>>>> We are assembling a fighting force of extraordinary magnitude...
"""""
Oh. Sorry. What I mean is, we are even now in the process of
negotiating with a top-of-the-line project manager for AWGS, and we have
already been in contact with several highly-regarded programmers about
being part of the AWGS team.
If this goes through, perhaps "fighting force of extraordinary
magnitude" would be a good term.
While I'm sure it won't be a trivial undertaking, I'm certain that if
anyone can do it, these guys can. We sincerely hope to have a bug-fix
release by Christmas and a major upgrade by next June. We will probably
offer the bug- fix upgrade for free when you pre-order the major upgrade:
in other words, you'd place the order for the major upgrade, and would get
two upgrades for that price. The major upgrade next summer, and a bug-fix
upgrade in a couple months to tide you over. How does this plan sound to
everyone? B)
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP32, MSG:104/M645;1)
>>>>> I was talking to Quality Computers today and was told that the AWGS
""""" upgrade was coming around February and that there would be no
bug-fix before Christmas as reported here earlier.
Michael
Delivered by ProTerm and CoPilot
(M.EWEN, CAT42, TOP32, MSG:211/M645;1)
>>>>> Yes, we probably won't have anything before Christmas. When I
""""" posted that here I didn't intend for it to be an announcement but
rather a goal. It would have been nice. B)
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP32, MSG:213/M645;1)
APPLEWORKS 4/TIMEOUT BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY 1. AW4 will load all existing
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" AW files. This includes AW3
files with DoubleData and/or TotalControl, I believe. If it didn't, it
wouldn't be AppleWorks. B)
2. AW4 word processor files are exactly the same as AW3 WP files, so if
an app will load AW3 WP files it'll load AW4 WP files.
3. Most TimeOut applications will work with AW4 after an update. We are
including a patch program on the AW4 disk which will be able to update
most TO apps "on the fly" without you needing to order new disks.
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:93/M645;1)
>>>>> From the Updater file on the disk (and Randy's latest word):
"""""
These TimeOut applications are converted by TimeOut Updater:
------------------------------------------------------------
(minimum version numbers are shown)
Calculator
Grammar v1.02
Graph
Measurement Converter v2.0
Page Preview (any version)
SideSpread
SuperFonts v3.0 (no mail merge yet, but everything else works)
SuperForms
Thesaurus v2.0
Ultra Compiler v2.2
Ultra Options v3.0
Ultra Mac2Menu v1.1
These TimeOut applications work without any changes:
----------------------------------------------------
ASCII Values
BasicCat
Desktop Sorter
DHGR Viewer
Envelope Addresser
Notepad
Printer Manager
Puzzle
Screen Printer
any screens created by TimeOut Help Screens
We expect these TimeOut applications to be converted shortly:
-------------------------------------------------------------
Analyst (wp)
Analyzer (ss)
Area Codes
Block Copy (ss)
Calculator+
Copy Block (wp)
CR Stripper
DirecTree
File Librarian
Glossary
Help Screens
Indexer
Line Sorter
Measurements
MultiPrint
Program Selector
QuickStyles
QuickTabs
ReportWriter
Rows <--> Cols
Super Find
SuperFiller
Table of Contents
TeleComm
UltraLock
Word Count
These TimeOut applications are obsolete and won't be converted:
---------------------------------------------------------------
AWP to TXT
Bell Changer
Category Search
CelLink
Clipboard Viewer
Clock
Data Converter
Directory Manager
Disk Tester
Easy Launch
FileMaster
FormulaToValue
Mark Merge
MenuMaker
PathMaster
Pathologist
Print60
Publisher Menu
QuickColumns
QuickSpell
Screen Out
Task Launcher
TextLoader+
Triple Clipboard
Triple Desktop
UM Tokens
Vital Stats
We're not yet sure what will happen with these applications:
------------------------------------------------------------
Calendar
Case Converter
CellMover
Dialer
File Encrypter
File Search
File Status
FileLister
FileViewer
Stop Watches
|
-(+)-
|
|
...Will (W.NELKEN1, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:257/M645;1)
>>>>> Outliner will be updated when I have time. I expect it to be
""""" avilable in December.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:267/M645;1)
APPLEWORKS 4 GOODIES AND EXTRAS Here's what Quality lists in the
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "Enhancements Catalog," with over "$750
in savings" with purchase of AW 4.0 (actually, I noticed that the "retail"
has been raised, but the "special" price is lower than Quality's latest):
TO Grammer..........$39.95
TO Thesaurus........$24.95 These three together.......$89.95
TO Superfonts.......$34.95
TO Reportwriter.....$39.95
TO Graph............$39.95 These three together......$94.95
TO Sidespread.......$24.95
TO Superforms.......$34.95
TO Ultramacros 4.3..$39.95 (The order form lists it as $29.95)
TO Desktools IV.....$29.95 These three together......$89.95
TO ShrinkIt Plus....$29.95
AfterWork Screen Saver....$24.95
Q-RAM GS2..........$179.95
Q-RAM //e...........$89.95
32K Imagewriter Buffer...$24.95
One-touch commands disk for AW 4.0......$14.95
CheckWorks (Checkbook inside AW)........$29.95
Exploring AW 4.0: Tips from the experts (video)....$19.95
Each item is listed as "with purchase of AW 4.0."
__!__ Terrell Smith
| tsmith@ivcfnsc.fullfeed.com
|
(T.SMITH59, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:249/M645;1)
>>>>> TimeOut ShrinkIt Plus is a package that contains TimeOut ShrinkIt
""""" (which is NOT available online), and, as a bonus, also includes the
stand-alone ShrinkIt and ShrinkIt GS. TimeOut ShrinkIt can compress and
de-compress files directly to and from the Desktop.
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:198/M645;1)
>>>>> The only changes to TimeOut Graph are those required to make it
""""" compatible with AW 4. The "Coming soon" messages were only to
indicate that an AW 4- compatible version is not yet available, not that
new features are coming.
However, a TimeOut SuperGraph for the IIgs is planned for this year.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:109/M645;1)
>>>>> > TimeOut SuperGraph printing
"""""
SuperGraph will save SHR pix which can be loaded, tweaked and printed
with Platinum Paint.
> DeskTools IV
The name is basically just to link it with AW 4, and it's aimed at
folks who didn't buy the first two DeskTools. Our update program will
support the early faithful.
> AfterWork
All AfterWork modules are text or double hires, so they work on
anything that runs AW 4. If this disk is a success, we may do a IIgs
version with super hires screen savers for AW 4.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:223/M645;1)
APPLE COMPUTER EXECS "EXECUTED"? Some interesting Apple "chit-chat"...
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Last week, long time Apple Board of Directors member Alfred
Eisenstadt (sp??) was fired by the rest of the board. In response, he
filed a lawsuit, asking for damages for unlawful termination.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle (9/28/93), Eisenstadt
included documentation when filing the lawsuit that says that Sculley did
not resign but was fired.
(J.KOHN, CAT5, TOP3, MSG:188/M645;1)
>>>>> > If you're so inclined, head over to NEWSBYTES (m316;5) to read
""""" > about Bob Puette's resignation, effective October 15.
The heads are rolling at Apple. That's 3 down in just a few
months..Scully, Eisenstadt and Puette. And, according to information
supplied to the court by Eisenstadt, who is suing for wrongful termination,
"resignation" is Apple new-speak for being fired.
In a related Apple story, they just released sales figures after the
close of the stock market yesterday. Apple shareholder's made $.02/share,
down from $.81/share the previous quarter.
And, in an analysis in this week's InfoWorld, it was conjectured that
Apple is committing corporate suicide.
It sure is interesting times for us Apple watchers.
Joe Kohn (J.KOHN, CAT5, TOP3, MSG:228/M645;1)
>>>>> According to the AP, Sculley has been named chairman and CEO of
""""" Spectrum, located in N.Y. Spectrum is a one product company that
has lost money every year since 1988.
__!__ Terrell Smith
| tsmith@ivcfnsc.fullfeed.com
|
(T.SMITH59, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:66/M645;1)
>>>>> It was announced Monday that Sculley had landed on his feet,
""""" joining a telecommunications company named "Spectrum." Its stock
immediately rose 31%.
<<<Lloyd>>> (L.DEVRIES, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:65/M645;1)
>>>>> And then Spectrum gave back about half that gain today.
"""""
Apple's stock price also rose significantly during the last few days.
Was this in response to Sculley's departure or was there some other factor?
-=- Ken Watanabe -=-
(K.WATANABE5, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:67/M645;1)
>>>>> Last week, Apple announced their latest quarter's earning. On
""""" something like $2 billion in sales, Apple made a $2 million profit.
Apparently, many securities analysts had predicted that Apple would lose
money in the last quarter, so even though Apple made only $.02/share (down
from approx. $.90/share the year before) earnings exceeded expectations,
and thus the rise in the stock price.
At least, that's the way I understand it.
Joe Kohn (J.KOHN, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:68/M645;1)
>>> WHAT'S NEW <<<
""""""""""""""""""
MAGIC NEWS GROUP READER
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Because of the hundreds of messages contained in the various
news group feeds on the Internet/USENET (where message
numbers are preceded by - CS-ID:), many have found that it
just takes too long to read them 'on-line'. A bulk or group
capture is preferred and reading can then be accomplished at
a more leisurely rate -- not tying up the line more than
necessary.
This AppleWorks macro set will greatly facilitate the
reading of the news group messages by owners of AppleWorks
3.0 who are equipped with UltraMacros 3.1. When the messages
are captured, they can be saved as an AppleWorks file or a
text file that is later converted to an AppleWorks file.
Loading the captured news group file into AppleWorks and
activating this macro either with a compile and a SA-A
(OPTION-A) or launching it as a previously compiled task
file (SA-A is done automatically for you in this case) will
allow you to do some amazing things.
NOTE: this macro is designed to work in conjunction with
AppleWorks 3.0 and UltraMacros 3.1
=======================
MAGICAL FEATURES
of the
MAGIC NEWS GROUP READER
=======================
- "ONE LINE REMAINING" screen scrolls in either direction to
facilitate ease of reading of news group messages
- All new messages placed at TOP OF SCREEN
- Quick SKIP forward or backward from TOP OF MESSAGE to top
next or previous message
- Allows all messages with a common THREAD to be READ IN
SEQUENCE, temporarily skipping other messages
- Returns you to the STARTING POINT of the thread read
sequence after reading the thread, or even a partial
reading of the thread
- When asked, can display the NUMBER OF REMAINING MESSAGES
in the file relating to the current message
- PERCENTAGE progressed into file continuously displayed
- Has special CLIPPING FEATURE which allows you to quickly
clip messages or parts of messages and place them in a
NG.CLIPPINGS file on the desktop. Will automatically
establish the file if not on your desktop. Operates during
normal news group reading or thread searches.
- HELP SCREEN always available
- Can be used as a TASK file OR A MACRO file
- Original DEFAULT MACROS easily available
- SPEEDS your reading of news groups a trillion times
(only joking, but it feels like it)
- Works in combination with APPLEWORKS 3.0 AND
ULTRAMACROS
3.1
- Macro with CODE ANNOTATIONS and explanations included
- EXTRA SURPRISE demos and useful macros included on the
disk
DETAILS ON THE COMMANDS CONTAINED IN
THE MAGIC NEWS GROUP READER
BY
MAGICAL SOFTWARE
SA = THE OPTION KEY OR SOLID APPLE KEY
1) FORWARD A SCREEN OR TO THE MESSAGE [SA-RIGHT (Arrow)]: By
pressing this macro, a message will flow to the top of the
screen and stop. The next press of the same combination will
either scroll the message up 'almost' one screen or move the
next message to the top of the screen -- whichever comes
first. Note: 'almost' one screen places the bottom line of
the screen at the top of the screen so that you can have
continuity with your reading. This is different than an
AppleWorks OA-DOWN.
2) BACKWARD A SCREEN OR TO THE PREVIOUS MESSAGE [SA-LEFT
(Arrow)]: By pressing another macro, you can back up the
'almost' one screen or move to the previous message at the
top of the screen, whichever comes first. This is different
than an AppleWorks OA-UP.
3) MESSAGE TO MESSAGE - FORWARD [SA-DOWN (Arrow)]: A press
of a third macro will scroll from message to message in the
forward direction, skipping the contents. This is used when
you aren't interested in the Subject and want to move on to
the next message without performing the AppleWorks screen by
screen text scrolling. Subjects, when new messages appear at
the top of the screen, are always on the fourth line down.
This allows you to make instant decisions about the interest
of the message before reading or moving quickly to the next
message.
4) MESSAGE TO MESSAGE - BACKWARD [SA-UP (Arrow)]: Another
macro will do the above, but in reverse. Perhaps you would
like to re-read a previous message in the stack. This will
get you to the correct place quickly.
5) READING THREADS : A great feature of this macro is that
it will allow you to follow a Subject thread, reading only
those messages that are in the thread line, and when you are
finished, either by running out of thread messages or
selecting to stop reading the thread, returns you to the
starting point where you 'registered' the thread. This is
extremely handy when you have a subject of interest and
would like to follow that conversation without being
interrupted with other Subjects during your read.
==========
'SA-T' registers thread
'SA-N' moves to the next message containing the thread
'SA-E' exits the thread find feature and returns you to the
original message
==========
6) HOW MANY MORE MESSAGES IN THREAD? [BA-T]: From the news
group reader mode, this feature will count and display the
number of related messages remaining in the file. It may be
used to determine if you want to register and read the
'thread only' messages.
7) CLIPPING FEATURE [SA-C]: While either in the news group
mode or the thread search mode, you can quickly copy and
paste messages or parts of messages into a file named
NG.CLIPPINGS. If that file is not on the desktop, the
program will place it there automatically. If you change the
file name of NG.CLIPPINGS and desire this feature, a new
NG.CLIPPINGS will be established for you and will accept the
automatic deposits. [Note: in this case, when back at the
news group reader main macro, you must press SA-A to
re-initialize everything before a new clip is made - see
Hint below]
8) HELP SCREEN [SA-H] : You can call up a reminder Help
Screen.
9) WHERE ARE YOU?: As you use the macros, you will
automatically be told, on the message line, the approximate
PERCENTAGE you have progressed in the file.
10) ORIGINAL DEFAULTS [BA-L]: You can, at any time, get your
original default macros back so that you can use them, or
other task files to perform other activities on the news
group file collection. For the rapid launching of this macro
(news group reader) as a task file, it is suggested that you
place a macro in your default macros that will launch it.
Example: <token of choice>:<AWP LAUNCH "NG.READER.TASK">!
Of course, this assumes that you have compiled this macro
and 'Created a Task File' using Macro Options, naming it
'NG.READER.TASK'. [or used the task file already supplied on
the disk]
11) PRISTINE CONDITION DESIRED [SA-A]: This starts or
restarts the macro from the keyboard.
This macro is written using UltraMacros 3.1 (not Ultra4)
because the majority of macro users have not upgraded to
Ultra4 as yet and UltraMacros 3.1 has the greater audience
at this point in time. This does not leave Ultra4 users out
of the loop, for they can still use this macro, by launching
their ULTRA.SYSTEM to get into AppleWorks instead of
UM4.0.SYSTEM. Ultra4 is recognized as a much more powerful
program and it is hoped that it will attract a greater
audience in the future. Remember also, that the Newsgroup
Reader is presently designed to work with AppleWorks 3.0 and
UltraMacros 3.1.
HINTS:
While holding down the option key with your left index
finger, lightly rest your right index and middle fingers on
the right arrow and down arrow keys -- these are the most
used keys.
If you are doing 'clipping' and for some reason change the
name of the NG.CLIPPING file while it is still on the
desktop, it is recommended that you re-enter the original
file and 're-fresh' it by pressing [SA-A]. If you were in
the process of doing a 'thread read' then press [SA-E] first
(to get back to the start message and erase the file
marker), and then press [SA-A] (initializes variables and
prepares file and THE MAGIC NEWS GROUP READER for use.)
If you move (not copy) information out of the news group
file -- thus shortening it, your percentage readings will be
off. No problem, just do a [SA-A] when back in the reading
mode and everything will be reset correctly once you use the
macros again.
This program relies on normal USENET messages that commence
with:
'CS-ID: ', followed by a message number as well as the
requirement that the file is flush to the left margin. An
AppleWorks setting of LM-0 and RM-0 is recommended.
Order by mail from:
MAGICAL SOFTWARE
c/o GARY HAYMAN
8255 CANNING TERRACE
GREENBELT, MD 20770
PHONE: (301) 345-3230
InterNet: ghayman@cap.gwu.edu
GEnie: G.E.HAYMAN
Author: The Magic File Cabinet - the Data Base Enhancer
Magical Macros - The Abracadabra Collection
Price: $6.00 US (MD residents add $.30)
(PAY TO: Magical Software)
$7.00 FOREIGN ORDERS (in US$ only. US check or
international postal money order in US$
PAY TO: Gary Hayman. No checks from foreign
banks unless a (cooperative) US bank is also
imprinted on the check.)
Gary Hayman - Magical Software
(G.E.HAYMAN, CAT13, TOP5, MSG:52&53/M645;1)
SUPER MENU PACK FROM SEVEN HILLS Super Menu Pack is a nifty little
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" utility that does three things:
1) Turns the "Control Panels" menu item into a hierarchic item, so
you can directly choose a CDEV from the sub-menu that appears when you
highlight the Control Panels menu item.
2) If Westcode's TypeSet is not installed, the Font menu will show
the fonts in the actual font (e.g. Times is shown in Times; Helvetica in
Helvetica). This works in programs like Teach and AppleWorks GS (programs
that have a standard font menu).
3) The neatest thing (I think): Hold down the mouse at a certain spot
on the screen and a window pops open that displays all the characters in
the font you are currently using. Highlight a character and SMP tells you
what keystrokes you need to type that character, or just release the mouse
button and SMP will type the character for you!
Super Menu Pack is $29.95 plus $3.50 shipping and handling. If you
buy Westcode's TypeSet program, a special offer is included where you can
get Super Menu Pack at a discount (so if you plan to get TypeSet, buy it
first).
Thanks, --Dave (SEVENHILLS, CAT43, TOP6, MSG:122/M645;1)
NEW VERSION OF SIX PACK Guess what? Its here, now, and available from QC.
""""""""""""""""""""""" Give them a call and get an upgraded version of
Six Pack. A brief description follows:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Six Pack by Bill Tudor~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Six Pack release will include the following programs:
ButtonBar v1.0 *NEW*
LaunchList v1.0 *NEW*
SizeUp v1.0 *NEW*
XtraSounds v1.0 *NEW*
MoreInfo v2.1
FilePeeker v1.1
HotKeys v2.1
SuperDataPath v4.1
SelectIcons v1.1
Workset v1.1
CDev.Alias v2.1 (1)
Alarm Clock v3.1 (1)
(1) Already shipping
A very bried description of each follows...
ButtonBar - NEW program! Button Bar adds a "button bar" to the Finder
desktop. Buttons are provided for almost all of the Finder's
functions such as "Icon info", "Eject disk", "Shutdown",
and "Verify". In addition, buttons are provided to call on
other Six Pack modules, such as "More Icon Info" (MoreInfo)
and "Peek at File" (File Peeker). You can hide or show the
ButtonBar at any time, and you can even have the ButtonBar
open up automatically when the Finder launches.
LaunchList - NEW program! Allows you to keep a list of your favorite
applications in a window on the screen all the time. You
can even set the Launch List window to open up automatically.
Double click an application (or click the Launch button, or
press RETURN with the Launch List window in front) and your
off and running...
SizeUp - NEW program! SizeUp allows you to check on the size of a
selection. Just select some icons (including folders and
entire disks) and Choose "Selection Size..." from the Extras
menu. The files and/or folders in the selection are counted
and their size on disk reported. In addition, SizeUp will
check to make sure a selection will fit on the destination
disk when you perform a Finder copy.
XtraSounds - NEW program! XtraSounds adds extra sounds to the Finder! You
can assign any system sound (from the sounds folder) to
virtually all Finder functions (such as Copy, etc..).
MoreInfo - Includes a preferences dialog with options to use "SHIFT/
unshift" menu items, where items like "LOCK/unlock" can
be selected that will LOCK files if the shift key is down
and unlock them otherwise. In addition, you can specify
which (if any) menu items should appear in the Extras menu.
MoreInfo also can respond to other Finder extensions. For
example, FilePeeker and ButtonBar can "ask" MoreInfo to
do things (such as lock files) for them.
FilePeeker - Allows other Finder extensions to ask it to peek at a file
- Fixed a bug in the Hex/Ascii display
- Allows you to copy text to the clipboard in text displays
HotKeys - HotKeys now remain active even when another SixPack window
(such as the LaunchList window) is in front. Also added
HotKeys for: Peek At File, Show Launch List, Get Selection
Size, Open Filespec Window, Lock File(s), Unlock file(s),
Hide file(s), Unhide file(s), Activate file(s), Deactivate
file(s), Update created time, update modified time,
toggle button bar!, Close Finder Windows, and Show MoreInfo!
SuperDataPath - Works in Save dialogs!! (need I say more?)
SelectIcons- Works better with HotKeys. Responds to requests from other
system extensions.
Workset - Works with many more Applications. A bug was fixed that
sometimes prevented the data files from being loaded when
certain applications were run.
- You can now have INITS and Finder Extensions in worksets,
and they will be installed when the workset is "launched"
if you have IR installed in your system.
CDev.Alias - Note: Six Pack is already shipping with this new version.
- Works with System 6.0.1 (bug was fixed).
Alarm Clock- Note: Six Pack is already shipping with this new version.
- Works with System 6.0.1 (bug was fixed with the Settings
window). Note: Six Pack modules not mentioned above remain at
their current~~~ revision level.
Get'em today! And let mw know what you think. Post any questions here as
well!
Bill {W.TUDOR} (W.TUDOR, CAT42, TOP26, MSG:30/M645;1)
POINTLESS V2.0.3 Yes there is a Pointless v 2.0.3 that we are shipping
"""""""""""""""" now. There is a small problem in v2.0.2 that affects
printing TypeSet reports in some fonts. The special characters would print
out funny, well it's trtrue that they look funny anyway :), but seriously
they would overrun each other and such on the print-out. Alan fixed it
right quick I'll post more details on update policy when I get them. NOTE!
if you order an update or upgrade you will get v 2.0.3, very few versions
of 2.0.2 went out the door.
(WESTCODE, CAT37, TOP4, MSG:271/M645;1)
HARD DISK DRIVE PRICE BREAKTHROUGH External enclosures, better built
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" using an aluminum case, double sided
PC Board and through hole solder, better built power supply with
sophisticated ICs runs cooler and needs no fan, can fit in a briefcase.
The drive is about the size of an Apple 3.5 drive and the same color.
Powered by an inexpensive wall transformer; power and SCSI cables
included.... These drives use Quantum Drives, and carry a manufacturer's
two year renewable warranty. That is, if the drive fails in the first two
years, Quantum will replace the drive and your warranty starts over.
Charlie's AppleSeeds Prices (Good until January 1, 1994):
Drive Price Price with ProSel-16
42 meg ( ELS 42) $175 $225
127 meg (ELS 127) 249 299
170 meg (ELS 170) 289 339
240 meg (LPS 240) 375 425
520 meg (LPS 520) 799 849
ProSel-16 retails for $89.95; my price is $72 or $50 when installed
on a drive purchased from Charlie's AppleSeeds...
These drives will be formatted and partitioned, ready for use;
partitioned in 32 meg blocks unless the customer specifies differently,
prior to shipping. System 6.x.x will be installed, if the customer sends a
copy of his or her System disks with payment. I have one of these drives
on my system, and am satisfied that they are a good value.
Send a copy of this message and your bank certified check, if over
$500, or personal check under $500 plus $6 for postage and $3 for
insurance, to:
Charlie's AppleSeeds
9081 Hadley Place
San Diego, CA 92126-1523
619 566-1297
California residents add 7.75% for sales taxes; prices subject to
change without notice.
This drive requires an additional SCSI controller card, not presently
available from Charlie's AppleSeeds. However, if interested, I will
acquire and resell, at my cost, any SCSI controller the customer desires.
Chuck
Nearly forgot: Postage by US Priority Mail; add $6 for postage and
$3 for insurance, or UPS 3rd Day $15. (UPS 3rd day service is a new
offering by UPS, and rather less expensive than 2nd day air).....
Chuck Newby
Charlies AppleSeeds
(A2.CHUCK, CAT4, TOP8, MSG:144/M645;1)
PEDIGREE GENEALOGY SOFTWARE
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Contact:
Bright Software
P.O. Box 120
Exeter, ME 04435-0120
U.S.A.
larry@lablues.UUCP
Bright Software Switzerland
P.O. Box 18
4153 Reinach 2
Switzerland
e-mail gudat@avalon.unizh.ch
__________________________________________________________________
| |
| BRIGHT SOFTWARE INTRODUCES "PEDIGREE" 2.0 |
|___________________________________________________________________|
written by Volker Herrmann
Switzerland -- Bright Software (Gate, SpaceFox, Symbolix,
ShadowWrite, ShadowDial, Stammbaum) has finally released the American
version of the ultimate genealogy application for the Apple IIgs: Pedigree
II. PEDIGREE, the _only_ full-featured desktop application for genealogy
tracking, is now ready to ship. The German counterpart, "Stammbaum II", has
already been available for a few weeks.
__ FIND YOUR ROOTS! __
Just enter your ancestry and Pedigree will organize and succinctly
display it in whatever manner you would like. Pedigree is easy and
intuitive to use. Even photographs of your relatives are easily managed.
And, of course, the program handles the GEDCOM standard.
Whether a novice or a pro in genealogical research, Pedigree II and
your Apple IIgs answer your genealogy needs efficiently.
Once again, Bright Software has shown that the Apple IIgs is a solid,
powerful computer. Both Pedigree and Stammbaum use the full potential of
this extraordinary computer and are, without doubt, the most advanced
genealogy applications on the market for the Apple IIgs. They make your
computer more useful than ever!
more power - low price - best support
Pedigree's cost is only US$40.00/SFr.60,-/DM 70,-; far less than its
"genealogical" rivals! (We have special school prices and site licenses.
Please inquire.)
Demo versions are available directly from Bright Software (please
enclose US$3.00 in cash for air mail delivery and specify American or
German display language), and possibly soon on all major online services.
System requirements: Apple IIGS, 1.5 Mb RAM, one 3.5" disk drive.
Recommended: 2Mb or more, two drives or hard disk. Pedigree runs best under
system 6 and The Manager (multitasks while importing GEDCOM).
--
BRIGHT SOFTWARE * P.O.Box 18 * 4153 Reinach 2 * Switzerland
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
voice (0)61 2619454 NEW! gudat@avalon.unizh.ch Simple Solutions to
fax (0)61 7115263 gudath@ezinfo.vmsmail.ethz.ch Complex Problems.
(A.HORSTMANN, CAT13, TOP13, MSG:158/M645;1)
>>> THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PC APPLETALK? I talked with the Coactive folks again the other day (the
""""""""""""" ones who make the PC hardware/software version of
AppleTalk) and found out that they had a new beta coming out and wanted
testers. I gave them my name, Stowe Keller's name (he's the one working
on upgrading the II emulator), and Resource Central's address. They are
still _very interested in the Apple II market, and plan on enlisting these
as beta testers (so they said).
Bruce
---=== Get the Lamp! ===---
(B.MAPLES, CAT12, TOP6, MSG:109/M645;1)
GRAPHICWRITER III TEMPLATE CONTEST WINNERS Choosing the winners was
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" tough, partly because most of
the submissions weren't actually _templates_, but were _examples_ of things
that had been done. Realizing that a completed document could also be used
as a template (with a little work), and due to the low number of
participants, we decided to allow those "non template" entries in all but
the first category.
For "the largest collection of useful templates" category we
considered only the entries that were actually templates. The winner in
the group was Charles Szasz, who submitted certificate, brochure,
newsletter, and calendar templates.
The winner of "the most original template idea" is Jim Murphy. It
wasn't so much what he did in GWIII, but what he did to produce the
coupons. After printing the file onto NCR paper so a carbon copy is made,
he lightly glued the two copies together using glue stick. And for the
finishing touch he runs the sheets through a sewing machine with a needle
but no thread--effectively perforating the edges of each coupon so it could
be torn off easily!
The most useful template idea came from Daniel Sczygelski, who
designed a "key shortcut" template. His template includes instructions
right on the page, and all you must do is Select All, change the font, then
print! Super Menu Pack can't be beat for accessing special characters
on-the-fly, but this template is very useful for creating a printed font
reference.
The most sophisticated templates were submitted by Dean Taylor. In
addition to simple letterhead and signs, he included order forms and 3-
fold pamphlet/brochures.
Finally, an honorable mention goes to Joe Citro for his "bull
shooter's" certificate. We had categories for most original, most useful,
and most sophisticated, and this template made us realize we should've had
a "fun" category.
The following prizes are hereby awarded: Charles Szasz: $100 Jim
Murphy, Daniel Sczygelski, and Dean Taylor: 3 Seven Hills products Joe
Citro: 1 Seven Hills product
Thanks to all who participated in the contest!
Earl Childers President, Seven Hills Software
(SEVENHILLS, CAT43, TOP6, MSG:127/M645;1)
ZIP TECHNOLOGY -- WHERE AND WHO? I hunted down Zip Technology to the
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" number (310)568-2002. For anyone
outside of Southern Californa, you must understand, we have picked up 3 new
area codes in the past 5 years, in the Los Angeles/Orange/Riveride counties
alone, so phone number have been changing around.
Additionally, I have discovered that they are planning a name change.
I do not, however, know what the new name will be.
On the square,
James Hannum
(J.HANNUM, CAT2, TOP21, MSG:3/M645;1)
APPLE TO CHANGE DRIVE FORMAT? I could swear I heard a rumor somewhere
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" that Apple is indeed going to ditch GCR
compatible drives completely in the future. Dunno if that's reliable or
not, but I do remember hearing that.
(A2.HANGTIME, CAT12, TOP4, MSG:33/M645;1)
>>>>> Yes, Apple's hinted (very strongly) that they're scraping GCR and
""""" going with MFM for a variety of reasons (cheaper mechs, cheaper
parts, getting in bed with the rest of the industry...)
When I made my post before I was assuming a SuperDrive on the GS -- I
believe the 720K formatter ALWAYS uses MFM encoding.
Bryan (SOFTDISK.INC, CAT12, TOP4, MSG:34/M645;1)
NEW EDITOR AT STUDIO CITY In case you haven't yet heard, Dean Esmay has
""""""""""""""""""""""""" accepted an editorial position with SoftDisk
and will be leaving the staff of Studio City. Beginning with the next issue
I will assume the duties of managing editor (for both the GS and Mac
versions).
I am looking for quality stack submissions and/or ideas for future
issues. There is also a chance that in the not so distant future I will
require an assistant (although I think I'll be going it alone in the
beginning).
Cheers... Bill (BILL.LYNN, CAT13, TOP4, MSG:111/M645;1)
CIVIL WAR SOFTWARE We have a relatively new two-disk package on the Civil
"""""""""""""""""" War which includes one of our "AV DiskBook(tm)s" on
the Civil War and a second disk with quizzes and one out-and-out game; a
real "shoot'em up" with Civil War cannons, Union and "Johnny Reb" soldiers.
The set has sold well and I wondered whether or not we would get a lot of
flak on the gagame. What would be your guess? I would really be
interested to hear and after a dozen or so posts I will tell you what
happened. Adrian
(A.VANCE, CAT15, TOP8, MSG:1/M645;1)
IIGS FINANCIAL PROGRAM Due to the recent interest in the forthcoming
"""""""""""""""""""""" update to the financial program, Financial GeniuS,
I have opened this topic for discussion.
The program should be released soon, but due to the fact that it
hasn't been released yet, no official "press release" telling all the
features of the program is available. When the time comes, a full
description will be placed within this category and the demo file will be
available in the software library so that you can "try before you buy."
For now, suffice it to say that Financial GeniuS v 2.0 is a _full
fledged_ financial package with comparable features to any other financial
package you might buy for your GS. It allows budgeting, transaction entry,
cost analysis, check printing... Just about anything you might want!
The shareware fee for Financial GeniuS v 2.0 will be $35 ($15 if
updating from v 1.0).
Wait patiently for more info...
Rick Adams
author, Financial GeniuS
(R.ADAMS48, CAT8, TOP3, MSG:1/M645;1)
<<<<< > Does FG have a section for investments and insurance like MYM?
"""""
No, not like MYM. There are easy ways to track investments within
Financial GeniuS, but I believe the MYM keeps track of various and sundry
info (like Bank name, acct #, etc.) that FGS does not track. Insurance is
most likely something FGS will not support (unless I hear a big uproar).
> a shareware program?
Yes.
> will it print Quicken style checks?
Yes. It will print to any check you set it up to print to. The
"manufacturer's setting" for check layout is for a Quicken-style check. It
can use the Print Manager or ASCII text for prints.
> when is Financial Genius 2.0 going to be released?
I hope to have a demo available to upload by this weekend! Someone
is working on a demo account for me, and testers are making sure we get rid
of _all_ bugs (we've been testing since March- there were LOTS of bugs in
this HUGE program). When the program is released, I will start a BB topic
in an appropriate area so that we can discuss the Pros and Cons of the
program.
Until then...
Rick Adams
author, Financial GeniuS
(R.ADAMS48, CAT42, TOP32, MSG:207/M645;1)
SOUNDMEISTER PRO RUMORS Also, no, the SoundMeister Pro is not out.
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Michael
(ECON, CAT35, TOP9, MSG:72/M645;1)
>>>>> I heard somewhere that the SoundMeister Pro stereo sound card for
""""" the GS is NOT going to be manufactured. Darnit! I've been waiting
for it to come out so I could buy it. I have an AE Sonic Blaster stereo
card now. I just wanted something with excellent recording capabilities in
stereo. Oh well!
Maybe the Soundmeister will be just as good. As long as it sends its
output in stereo, I don't really care.
<< Russell Nielson >> _____________
|| Apple //c |
|| Lives |
`\::::::: : :::\
(R.NIELSON1, CAT35, TOP5, MSG:53/M645;1)
>>>>> I read about it not being manufactured in A2-Central On Disk. I am
""""" disappointed because I was looking forward to seeing what it could
really do. By the way, according to the article in A2-Central, ECON is
also discontinuing their hard drives. They will service what they have
sold but will no longer sell hardware but will concentrate on software.
Can anyone from ECON confirm this?
Ron (RON.ROYER, CAT35, TOP5, MSG:55/M645;1)
>>>>> I saw that there is still background noise even with the
""""" SoundMeister Pro, what about building a metal body shield for the
card. The shield could be ground (and, of course, cover with an insulating
material to prevent current shortage, which aren't reccomend for a
computer) to isolate the card from any main board noise. I'm not a
professionnal about that stuff, but I see the interior of my IIGS covered
with metal to reduce radio interference.
BTW, the background noise is a reason why I want to trow my SB in the
garbage. The problem is when I'm digitising, mainly. During a digitising
session, I record the motherboard in forground and my sample in background.
Not very usefull.:(
(G.BOURGETEL, CAT35, TOP5, MSG:48/M645;1)
>>>>> Where did you see this information? The SoundMeister Pro has not
""""" even been released for beta testing yet, so such claims can only be
hypothetical at best. I think we need to get some actual tests with the
board before such information can be taken seriously.
Tyler (A2.TYLER, CAT35, TOP5, MSG:49/M645;1)
SEQUENTIAL SYSTEM BUYS CV TECH > Will owners of CV Tech's memory card
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > still be able to get product support?
Yes.
>What about the lifetime warranty? (Just asking...I'm having no problems).
The lifetime warranty is now a six month warranty. I'm sure you'll
understand that we cannot honor a lifetime warranty on products we did not
make a profit on.
However, memory being what it is, I doubt you'll ever have any
problems with the CVTech ram card. :)
Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP2, MSG:4/M645;1)
>>>>> As long as the board can be checked if needed (at a fair price),
""""" I'm not too concerned about the warranty. I just don't want my CV
Tech ram card rendered unservicable due to this sale...
BTW: No, I don't understand that you cannot honor a lifetime warranty on
products you did not make a profit on. You took on all the obligations of
CV Tech when you purchased the A2 division.
(R.WAGONER4, CAT20, TOP2, MSG:5/M645;1)
>>>>> No, Richard that is not how it works in the business world. When
""""" you buy a company you usually only buy it's inventory and name. It
is then up to the new company whether they will honor any outstanding
"obligations". They are under no legal responsibility.
This is no reflection on CV but how can any company offer a
'lifetime' warranty? What is lifetime? If the product stops working is
that considered lifetime. It has out lived it life. Who can say?
Just my 2 cents worth.
(___)
|
Buzz \/\/. _|_ enjoy vino
(W.WALLING1, CAT20, TOP2, MSG:9/M645;1)
<<<<< Sequential did not purchase CV Tech; it purchased CV Tech's
""""" products. New sales have the standard Sequential 2-year warranty,
which includes toll-free phone support. If a product is under warranty
there is no charge for examining possibly defective boards. Existing
RamFasts boards have the same warranty except for the six-month term (if it
hasn't broken in 2 years it is unlikely to do so just because we bought the
products - unless you somehow manage to rig the SCSI cable into a 120V wall
socket).
Sequential will be manufacturing the RamFAST and the GS-RAM Plus
(formerly the CV-Ram 8MB memory board).
New drivers are a distinct possibility; if you have suggestions,
please feel free (no, actually, you're under compulsion, Bryan :-) to email
me regarding features along with any technical data you feel is relevant.
I.e., I have no idea what a "GS/OS Compatible Driver", so you'd better tell
me - and quick :) Particularly, we are investigating adding ISO 9660 CD
support to the RF driver (it doesn't work right now, for some unknown
reason - but then neither does the Trantor NEC CDROM driver).
It is highly unlikely that there will be further ROM revisions.
RamFAST programming specifications will be made available shortly; we
have not yet decided on the exact means this will be done.
Let's see, anything else.. nah. Basically, we're real nice people,
and we don't go out of our way to screw people.
Sequential currently has the RamFAST available for a special
introductory price of $139. A price has not yet been set on the GS-RAM
Plus.
Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP2, MSG:16/M645;1)
<<<<< >How long for the reintroduction special on the RamFast? How much?
"""""
A good long time, I imagine. :) $139.
Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP2, MSG:58/M645;1)
AUDIO/VIDEO FOR RAMFAST? > "The RamFAST will never play music or video".
"""""""""""""""""""""""" > ISO 9660 simply means support for the High
> Sierra file system, and has no implications
> for music or video.
Aside from the fact that the first quoted statement is incorrect,
what Dan said is true.
What I'll be working on shortly _is_ audio/video support for the
RamFAST.
Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP2, MSG:45/M645;1)
...AND A NEW PRODUCT? > Sounds like SS is really gonna try to maintain A2
""""""""""""""""""""" > support...Thanks.
As long as there is a market, there will be marketers :) Seriously,
we're going to be coming out with a brand-new, revolutionary Apple II
product soon. Keep watching this category...
Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP2, MSG:69/M645;1)
RAMFAST 3.01d LAST ROM? We thought that we were going to have to change
""""""""""""""""""""""" the roms for the MSDOS FST but it turned out that
that wasn't the case (see my post from last week). We did fix a minor bug
that has been in the rom since 3.01a. The bug caused removable media that
was physically write protected to show up on the desktop as non-write
protected and that would cause some grief. That is the only difference
between 3.01d and 3.01e, the physical write protect fix. The logical write
protect stuff wasn't effected. Hmmmm... hope everyone knows what I mean by
physical vs. logical write protection.. Maybe I should explain... By
physical write protection I mean the write protect notch on the disk. On a
Syquest it's the little red wheel that turns. On a flopical it is the
little black tab that moves back and forth. If a device reports that it is
physically write protected then the RF recognizes this and will not allow
you to change the partitioning or write to the media. You can also
"logically" write protect the media inside the RF utility program by going
into the "SCSI_Utils" and changing the write protect bit. This invokes a
software write protect inside the RF host interface code that will prevent
the OS from writing to the media. Hope this make sense....
Drew (CV.TECH, CAT46, TOP2, MSG:104/M645;1)
MORE VARIABLES FOR TALK IS CHEAP? If someone were to request it, I could
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" always add a couple more variables to
TIC. $0 and $9 would be easy to add, maybe $X, $Y, and $Z too. The only
restriction in the current syntax is that I can't start a variable with a
letter that matches that of the first character of one of the existing
pre-defined variables so $P would conflict with $Prefix for example.
Don Elton (DELTON, CAT29, TOP16, MSG:39/M645;1)
>>>>> More variables would ALWAYS be good, so let me request them right
""""" now. :)
Gary R. Utter (GARY.UTTER, CAT29, TOP16, MSG:40/M645;1)
II ALIVE DROPS AD INSERT... Well, we'd like to say that we got rid of the
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" QC insert because of popular demand, but the
truth is it was just too expensive. (You will notice some other
cost-cutting measures through the magazine -- two-color pages where once
there were four-color pages, etc.)
Before anyone asks, NO, II Alive is not in any kind of trouble; we
knew we were going to lose money on the inCider/A+ deal for a while. We
have just decided to minimize the loss. B)
Page count will remain the same, as will the editorial content.
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP10, MSG:140/M645;1)
....AND THEN ADDS STAFF! II Alive, Quality Computers' bi-monthly Apple II
""""""""""""""""""""""" publication, recently brought on some new people
who will make the magazine better than it's ever been before -- and allow
us to bring it to you on schedule once more. These new folks are:
Managing Editor: ELLEN ROSENBERG
Many of you know Ellen as the former editor of A2-Central -- not to
mention the primary organizer of recent KansasFests. Ellen will take on
most of the jobs I've been doing: polishing articles and coordinating
editorial content, along with an occasional article or two.
Contributing Editor: DOUG CUFF
We'll be counting on Doug, who's best-known on GEnie as the editor of
the A2 edition of GEnieLamp, to provide us with an article or two for every
issue, thereby freeing our staff writer Joseph Selur <grin> for other jobs.
Interview Editor: TARA DILLINGER
With Tara on our staff, we can lay claim to being the only computer
magazine with a Goddess -- an A2 Goddess, of coure. Tara's first
interview, with Byte Works president Mike Westerfield, will appear in our
next issue.
In addition to the people mentioned above, we've also still got Jeff
Hurlburt as Review Editor, and of course, yours truly as Editor-In-Chief.
Wow! A year ago I couldn't even spell "staff", and now I've got one!
B)
Please welcome our new staff members to the II Alive team!
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP10, MSG:185/M645;1)
>>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
Category 2, Topic 7
Message 58 Sat Oct 09, 1993
A.HUTCHINSON [Plato] at 03:01 EDT
I have a great one to share with you Apple II aficionados...
I had a lady contact me today - referred by my user group ( GSAUG:
Gravenstein... have you downloaded our HS stack?!?!?)
Anyway, she is a night custodian at Marine World, Africa USA in
Vallejo CA. In a dumpster there she found an enhanced Apple IIe w/128k,
duodisk, monitor, and Grappler Card. She had gone to the local Apple
shop, and the guy there said that she shouldn't expect the machine to do
much because it is an "obsolete" computer (Funny, I still thought Apple
made IIe's), but that he would give her the number of my user group.
She came over, and I ran AppleWorks, Quicken, and some games for her,
gave her a bunch of numbers for support, and sent her on her way with some
freeware stuff I had got from GEnie. She was happy as a clam.
Needless to say, I will now be checking the dumpsters at Marine World
on a daily basis.
Pax! -=-Plato-=-
[*][*][*]
While on GEnie, do you spend most of your time downloading files?
If so, you may be missing out some excellent information in the Bulletin
Board area. The messages listed above only scratch the surface of
what's available and waiting for you in the bulletin board area.
If you are serious about your Apple II, the GEnieLamp staff strongly
urge you to give the bulletin board area a try. There are literally
thousands of messages posted from people like you from all over the
world.
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Computer technicians who peel Teflon strips from mouse /
/ cadavers... on the next Geraldo!" /
/////////////////////////////////////////////// QUALITY ////
[EOA]
[HUM]//////////////////////////////
HUMOR ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
You Want What?
""""""""""""""
>>> A DAY OFF <<<
"""""""""""""""""
So you want a day off. Let's take a look at what you are asking
for......
There are 365 days per year available for work. There are 52 weeks
per Year in which you already have two days off per week, leaving 261 days
available for work.
Since you spend 16 hours each day away from work, you have used up
170 days leaving only 91 days available. You spend 30 minutes each day on
coffee break. That accounts for 23 days each year, leaving only 68 days
available.
With a one hour lunch break period each day, you have used another 46
days, leaving only 22 days available for work. You normally spend 2 days
per year on sick leave. This leaves you only 20 days available for work.
We are off for 5 holidays per year, so your available working time is down
to 15 days.
We generously give you 14 days vacation per year which leave only 1
day available for work and I'll be damned if you're going to take that day
off.
[*][*][*]
Our thanks to Jim Lubin for digging up this month's Humor Online article.
[EOA]
[REF]//////////////////////////////
REFLECTIONS /
/////////////////////////////////
Thinking About Online Communications
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Phil Shapiro
[P.SHAPIRO1]
>>> SOME THOUGHTS ON THE NATURE OF ELECTRONIC MAIL <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
About one year after I signed up for GEnie I persuaded my older
brother, Ian, to open an account as well. My brother lives over 400 miles
away so we don't get to see each other often. Both of our lives are busy,
leaving little time for leisurely long-distance phone calls.
I figured if we both had accounts on GEnie we could stay in touch via
electronic mail. Superficially, electronic mail appears to be a "cold"
form of communications. But, we've found just the opposite to be true.
E-mail binds us closer together than any voice communications could.
I haven't spoken with my brother by phone for almost two years. Yet
I feel closer to him than at any other time in our lives.
A typical week has us exchanging three or four short messages. The
brevity of the messages belies the quantity of communications taking place.
Many of our sentences have undertones and overtones that "speak" far more
than the bare words themselves.
Inside jokes. Family lore. Allusions to shared incidents in our
childhood. These make up the "messages behind the message."
No small part of our messages involve spoofing family members and
mocking our own idiosyncrasies. Wild exaggerations and wily
understatements further enliven these exchanges.
Sometimes the most humorous e-mail messages I've received from my
brother have been one-word sentences. If you choose just the right word it
can speak volumes of what's on your mind. Honest.
Speaking of humorous e-mail messages, one particularly creative
e-mail message had me rolling on the floor with laughter. One day, while I
was unsuspectingly reading my electronic mail, an e-mail message in Yiddish
pops up on my screen.
Neither I nor my brother speak or understand one word of Yiddish.
But we were brought up in a household where Yiddish was spoken quite
regularly at family gatherings.
In an inspired moment of creative mischief my brother had composed
nonsense sentences that sounded very much like Yiddish. After recovering
from the initial startle, it dawned on me that my brother was sending me a
complete e-mail message in Yiddish -- a language entirely foreign to both
of us.
In another incident, I needed to seek my brother's advice on an
engineering design project I was working on. While the questions
themselves were entirely serious, I thought it might be fun to couch the
questions in a little humor. Spoofing another "family team" of inventors,
it seemed only appropriate to address my e-mail message to: "Dear Orville,"
and sign off at the end of the message with, "Your devoted brother,
Wilbur."
My brother runs his own engineering consulting firm, and was quickly
able to supply me with answers to my questions. So pleased was I with the
response, I rushed off a short note saying: "Thanks. Received your
explanations. Buying a train ticket to Kill Devil Hills this afternoon."
Just as e-mail travels equally well in both directions, so too can
friendly assistance travel in both directions. A few months ago I had an
opportunity to reciprocate. One of my brother's corporate clients asked
for detailed statistics on imports and exports of engineering equipment.
The only library in the nation with a full collection of such statistics is
the Department of Commerce library, in Washington D.C..
I happen to live in Washington D.C., and the Department of Commerce
is just a short subway ride from my house. It took me no more than an hour
or two of research to track down the information he needed. How were the
results of this search reported? Via electronic mail, of course.
Lately I've been spending time thinking about the emotional bonds
that electronic mail seems to foster. What is it about this technology, so
superficially impersonal, that makes it more personal than even the sound
of the human voice? Why is it that the text from electronic mail messages
carries with it an emotional content far richer than that carried by
ordinary hard-copy text?
Strange as it may sound at first, no communications channel can
compare with the emotional warmth of ASCII text. Since the dawn of
language, no tool has been devised that is more powerful for transmitting
feelings and ideas.
With emerging new communications technologies just around the bend,
it behooves us to give serious thought to such subjects. Is it possible
that even a videophone would be less warm a communications channel than a
plain ASCII e-mail message? Perhaps.
After all, flickering images and sounds represent just the surface.
Words, by contrast, represent the soul of all emotions and ideas. My
brother told me so.
-Phil Shapiro
[*][*][*]
The author takes a keen interest in the social dimensions
of communications technology. He can be reached on GEnie
at P.SHAPIRO1; on Internet at: p.shapiro1.genie.geis.com;
on America Online at: pshapiro
[EOA]
[BEG]//////////////////////////////
BEGINNER'S CORNER /
/////////////////////////////////
Polishing Green Apples
""""""""""""""""""""""
By Steve Weyhrich
[S.WEYHRICH]
>>> HOOKED ON CLASSICS (Part 1) <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
LAST TIME OUR INTRODUCTION... to the AppleIIgs dealt with a description
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" of the IIgs hardware, particularly the
slot layout and what the various slots are used for in a standard IIgs
setup. We then turned to a way in which the characteristics of the
hardware could be adjusted, and I introduced you to the IIgs Classic Desk
Accessories. This month we will begin a look in detail at the Control
Panel, the most important of the CDAs built into the IIgs ROM.
GAINING CONTROL The Control Panel CDA is the major feature you will need
""""""""""""""" to learn in order to change your IIgs from its standard
settings to something more to your liking. This built-in program makes it
possible to alter the characteristics of the hardware that handles each of
the slots, as well as other features that are unique to the IIgs. These
custom settings are stored in a separate part of RAM on the IIgs that is
protected by a battery on the motherboard, and will not change even when
the power is turned off. (However, if the settings seem to be changing
randomly, that can be an indication that your battery is getting weak and
may need to be replaced). There is also a graphic-based Control Panel in
the New Desk Accessories that comes with the GS/OS system software; that
version is a bit more advanced, allowing changes to all of the battery RAM
settings possible in the CDA version, plus some other settings that the CDA
version will not alter. However, I have found it to be quicker to make the
most common changes using the CDA Control Panel.
As review, you can access the Classic Desk Accessories menu by
pressing Open-Apple, Control, and ESC at the same time (release the ESC key
first). When at the CDA menu, press RETURN while the inverse bar is on
"Control Panel" to enter that utility. What you see displayed will be
something like this (on a ROM 03 IIgs):
Control Panel
Display 06:53:59
Sound 8/ 9/93
System Speed
Clock
Keyboard
Slots
Printer Port
Modem Port
RAM Disk
Mouse
Quit
Select V ^ Open <-|
(where the "V" is actually a down arrow, the "^" is an up arrow, and the
"<-|" is the universal symbol for the RETURN key). On a ROM 01 IIgs, it
looks slightly different:
Control Panel
Display 06:53:59
Sound 8/ 9/93
System Speed
Clock
Options
Slots
Printer Port
Modem Port
RAM Disk
Quit
Select V ^ Open <-|
On the ROM 01 version, the keyboard and mouse controls were grouped
into a single category, "Options". The ROM 03 IIgs has the capability
under hardware control of letting the keypad act as a mouse controller
(for handicapped users), and so when the ROM was revised, the "Mouse"
controls were expanded and placed in a separate part of the control panel.
Don't worry; we'll deal with them both when the time comes.
Let's examine each of these items in detail.
DISPLAY This Control Panel item allows you to adjust various aspects of
""""""" the display of the IIgs screen. Instead of white text on a black
background that characterizes previous Apple II computers, the IIgs is
capable of doing limited display of colored text. By "limited", I mean
that you can designate a single color for the background, and a single
color for the text. The border can be given a unique color as well. This
is, in my opinion, a design decision that should have been made more
flexible. I find the multiple text colors possible on the IBM PC style
video controllers to be a better way to do things, particularly when it
comes to making text-only programs easier on the eyes. For example,
WordPerfect on the IBM PC will allow display of underlined text in one
specific (user defined) color, italicized text in another color, and so
on. In this regard, the IIgs text screen is not significantly more
advanced than that found in the original Apple II.
Selecting the Display entry in the Control Panel gives this result:
Control Panel
Display
~ Type: Color
~ Columns: 40
-Screen Colors-
~ Text: White
~ Background: Medium Blue
~ Border: Medium Blue
~ Standards: Yes
-Hertz: 60-
Select <- -> V ^ Cancel: Esc Save <-|
(The "~" represents the check mark you see when viewing this on the GS text
screen.)
The first Display item that is highlighted is "Type". Pressing the
left or right arrow keys will switch between "Color" or "Monochrome". Be
aware that if you are using an RGB color monitor, this setting only has an
effect on double hi-res graphics. Super hi-res graphics (which most of
the GS/OS-based programs use, will still appear in color even when this
options is set to "Monochrome". If you do not have an RGB monitor, setting
this to monochrome will allow you to view more easily the colors on super
hi-res screens as shades of grey (or green or amber, depending on the type
of monitor you are using).
I have an RGB monitor, and the only time that I have found it
necessary to change this setting was when trying out the Shareware game,
"Star Trek: First Contact", which makes extensive use of monochrome double
hi-res graphics. Viewed with the Type setting at "Color", the words are
unreadable, but changing it to "Monochrome" made it possible to play the
game.
The "Columns" selection refers primarily to whether the IIgs starts
out in 40 column mode for text-based applications (as was the case on the
older Apple II's), or in 80 column mode. Any program can override this
setting if it knows how; however, some older programs may not display
properly in 80 column mode and may not know how to change back to 40
columns. Those programs will primarily be those written before 80-column
hardware was universally available, pre-Apple IIe, and may send text to
the screen using tricks that work just fine on a 40 column screen, but look
strange in 80 columns. How you choose to set this option is largely
dependent on how many older programs you will be using, and on how you
want things to look when starting up.
Changing the settings for screen colors is primarily a matter of
preference. Old-timers, who are most comfortable with light colored text
on a dark background, will probably see no reason to change from the
default white text on blue background. But feel free to experiment, and
see what looks best to you. This display control panel program will not
let you select an option that completely impossible to read (i.e., pink
text on a pink background), but it may allow you to select some
possibilities that are hard to see (dark blue text on a black background).
There is a topic in the A2 Roundtable where users recently were
describing examples of text colors that they found appropriate for their
needs. Personally, I have become used to a dark colored text on a light
background, since that is more like what we are accustomed to read on
paper. I have varied between dark blue or black text on a white
background, to black text on a light blue background. Some users like
yellow text on brown, and others like white on dark grey. One user had
what he called a Halloween mode (black text on an orange background and
black border), and a "watermelon" mode (black text, pink background, green
border). Be creative, but select something that does not give you a
headache!
The "Standards" setting simply allows you to quickly change whatever
awful colors you have experimented with back to the standard white text on
blue background. The advantage is that this lets you change things
quickly back to something readable. The disadvantage is one slip of the
finger on that arrow key, and your carefully constructed color display is
history, so move the cursor bar down to this setting only if you REALLY
want to use it.
The "Hertz" entry at the bottom of the list is not really an option to
change, but rather a display of a setting that can only be adjusted through
a very specific operation. If your IIgs is running in a country that does
not use the U.S. standard AC (alternating current) frequency of 60 Hz
(cycles per second), you will not have a normal appearing screen display.
Changing this is done completely outside of any control panel, Classic or
otherwise. You must press Option-Shift-Control-RESET (four keys) to access
the menu that lets you change this frequency. If you have no need to make
such a change, don't bother; that menu also will let you change all of the
Control Panel settings back to their defaults (in case you REALLY mess them
up). Your IIgs owner's manual will have more discussion about this, and I
refer you there.
SOUND The Sound screen in the Control Panel looks something like this:
"""""
Control Panel
Sound
~ Volume |------*-------|
~ Pitch |----*---------|
Select <- -> V ^ Cancel: Esc Save <-|
This is a rather straight-forward option. Instead of the traditional
"beep" sound made by previous Apple II's, from the ][ up through the IIc
Plus, the IIgs will let you change the volume and pitch of the startup
sound. I call it a "bonk", rather than a "beep", and personally find the
pitch of the default sound to be rather annoying. This is also the sound
that will be made if some error condition occurs (and if you have not used
the Sound CDev in System 5 or 6 to assign another sound to an error
condition). If you also dislike the default settings and want something
different, just use the right and left arrow keys to move the "*" on the
pitch line to something more pleasant. My preference is to have the pitch
set all the way to the right line.
The volume can also be made louder or softer in the same way. Save
your settings by pressing RETURN.
SYSTEM SPEED Here is what this Control Panel looks like:
""""""""""""
Control Panel
System Speed
~ System Speed: Fast
Select <- -> V ^ Cancel: Esc Save <-|
This setting allows you to change from the typical, faster speed of
the IIgs microprocessor (2.8 MHz), to the "normal" 1 MHz speed of a 6502
processor used in the older models of the Apple II. For most purposes,
you will want to leave this set at the faster setting. However, some older
Apple II games or music programs will not operate properly at the fast
speed, and so it may be necessary to change it temporarily with this
Control Panel.
Speed control settings for the TransWarp and Zip GS accelerators are
done via a custom desk accessory loaded from disk, and so will not be
affected by the setting here.
As before, the setting can be changed by using the left or right arrow
keys, and saved by pressing RETURN.
CLOCK The built-in clock in the IIgs should be set to the correct time,
""""" for proper time/date stamping of files that you work on, and for
other programs that make use of the time or date. Here is what this
Control Panel looks like:
Control Panel
Clock
Month: 11
Day: 9
Year: 93
~ Format: MM/DD/YY
Hour: 10 PM
Minute: 1
Second: 23
~ Format: AM-PM
The two format settings are altered in the same way as usual, by using
the left and right arrow keys. The various date formats are entirely to
your preference; just be sure that you remember what you've set it to, as
MM/DD/YY (typically used in the U.S.) and DD/MM/YY (often used in Europe)
look very similar. Using the month, day, and year listed above, MM/DD/YY
is 11/9/93, but would be 9/11/93 using the DD/MM/YY setting. The time
format setting changes between AM-PM and 24 HOUR clock. The time above
would be 2201 in 24 hour (military) time, but 10:01 PM in AM-PM time.
To change the month, day, year, hour, minute, or second entries, put
the cursor bar over that item with the up and down arrow keys, and use the
left and right arrow keys to change it. Press RETURN to save the setting.
TAKE A BREAK We'll stop here, and continue on the Control Panel CDA next
"""""""""""" month, beginning with the Keyboard/Options setting. As
I've mentioned before, if you have any comments, criticisms, or
corrections, feel free to send them to me here at GEnie, S.WEYHRICH, or
s.weyhrich@genie.geis.com for those of you on the 'Net. And until next
time--please maintain your control, and don't RESET unless you have to.
[EOA]
[ANC]//////////////////////////////
APPLE ANECDOTES /
/////////////////////////////////
True Stories
""""""""""""
By TRON
[T.R.ONAN]
>>> TAKES A SHOOTING AND KEEPS ON BOOTING <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Several years ago I worked for a security company that required me to
be armed. The company, as well as the maker of the defective pistol they
provided, shall remain nameless.
During this same period, I was running a local BBS on my old Apple
][+ -- the system included two RANA 5.25 inch floppy disk drives and a
Applied Ingenuity Overdrive. The Overdrive took time to cycle up, and I
needed a BBS that would automatically reboot after a power failure, so I
wrote a custom startup program that delayed the computer's attempt to boot
the hard drive until after the drive had finished its warmup cycle.
(Remember, this was on a ][+, before interrupts!)
At any rate, the company I worked for required me to carry my weapon
at all times, loaded and ready to fire -- we would be inspected from time
to time just to check this. But I refuse to keep a loaded weapon in my
home, so before I would go out I would load my pistol. I kept the
ammunition separate from the pistol and usually placed it on top of my
computer desk.
One morning I was leaving and following my routine: I made sure that
the safety was on -- it was always on! -- grabbed the clip and loaded it,
pulled the receiver back and let go (to load the first round). At this
point the hammer fell and should have been stopped by the safety from
firing the pistol, but there was a problem and the gun fired.
People who aren't ready for a pistol shot sometimes don't realize that
it's gone off and, I admit, I didn't know that the gun had fired right
away, until I started wondering why there was smoke all around and a shell
casing spinning
around on top of the computer. Then I realized that the
gun had gone off, but where had the bullet gone?
My first rule on dealing with any weapon is always know where the
bullet is going to stop and how will it get there. The gun had been
pointed in the general direction of the computer, but I didn't see
anything like a hole there, so I looked behind the computer at the wall...
no hole. I couldn't find a hole anywhere. The BBS was running fine, and
calls were being answered. No hole. Just when I was going to give up and
leave for work, I saw it. Right in the bottom of the disk drive opening to
my boot drive, a 5.25 inch RANA brand disk drive.
I picked up the drive and just below the drive opening was a 38
caliber hole. I heard the sound of broken metal rolling around in the
drive unit. I pulled out the disk, and it looked okay, so I shut down the
BBS and ran Copy ][+ to do a check on the drive. I ran a verify on the
boot disk and everything checked out except for the last track on the
drive. I rebooted the system from the drive with the hole in it and
everything worked okay. I didn't have time to do anything else, so I left
it until after work.
I came back from work and checked the BBS. Still okay. I decided to
take the number two drive out and swap it with the boot drive so that I
could take a look at the damage. Once I got the case off of the boot
drive, I saw a LOT of damage. There was a large hole in the middle of the
frame and at the back of the frame, the front of the case was plastic and
the bullet was caught by the back of the case. (Of course, the frame was
pretty thick.) There were about twenty pieces of metal and the remains of
the bullet. There were a lot of wires hanging down in front and one of
the drive motors for the head positioner was bent. There was also some
foil that had peeled back from the bottom of the disk head where the wiring
hooked up to it.
I smoothed out the foil, and figured out that the wires weren't hooked
up to anything (they went to sensors that aren't required for Apple
drives). There was a small sliver of metal that was wedged in the band
that drove the head positioner and I removed that. I reassembled the
drive and put it back in service as my drive 2. I ran Copy ][+ on it and
did some diagnostics, everything still checked out okay.
That was about five years ago. The drive is now ten years old and I
still use it... not very often, but I still have it, and the Apple ][+
that it was on. I don't have the BBS anymore, but after 8 years it was
burnout time anyway. I've got a IIe and am now using a IIgs now, I'll be
using my Apple II's as long as they keep running, and I'm sure that I'll be
able to keep them running for a VERY long time to come.
-- TRON
[EOA]
[MOO]//////////////////////////////
CowTOONS! /
/////////////////////////////////
Thanksgiving on the Hoof _____________
"""""""""""""""""""""""" _,-'~ ~~ ~~~~~ ~~ ~'-,_
By Mike White /~ ~\
[MWHITE] ( )
\ (__) /
| (oo) |
| /-------\/ |
| / | || |
Milk Toast | * ||-w--|| |
~~~~~~~~~~ | ~~ ~~ |
| |
\_____________________/
__ __
||____||
__||_________| ||_________||__.
~~TT~~~~~~~~/-------/~~~~~~~~~TT~~|
|| /^ || |==
|| /^ ) ( ^\ ||
|| (^ ( ) ) ||
|| ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ||
~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~~
Beef Roast
~~~~~~~~~~
(___)
(o o)
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
Beef Stew [=| |=]
~~~~~~~~~ | |
\_________________/
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^
Watch for another thunderin' herd of
(__) Moo Fun from Mike White in the next
______(oo)_____ issue of GEnieLamp.
( _)_______(__) )
\ __________/ If you have an idea for a CowTOON, we
would like to see it. And, if we pick
Cow Pie your CowTOON for publishing in GEnieLamp
~~~~~~~ we will credit your account with 2 hours
of GEnie non-prime time!
[EOA]
[FYI]//////////////////////////////
F.Y.I. /
/////////////////////////////////
Adventure Game Contest
""""""""""""""""""""""
>>> SEVENTH ANNUAL ADVENTURE GAME WRITING CONTEST ANNOUNCED <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
October 18, 1993, MISSION SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA -- Softworks today
announced that it is sponsoring its seventh annual contest for the best
computer text adventure game developed using the Adventure Game Toolkit
(AGT).
The Adventure Game Toolkit is a computer program which allows MS-DOS,
Macintosh, Amiga, and Atari ST computer users to create their own
"interactive fiction" or text adventure games. Games developed on one of
these computers may be played on any of the other computers.
The Seventh Annual Adventure Game Toolkit Gamewriting Contest offers a
grand prize of $100 for the best game submitted. Additional prizes may be
added if the judges decide that more than one entry is outstanding.
Gamewriters, including contest winners, will also retain all rights to
their games.
"The main purpose of this contest is to encourage people to share the
games they've written using the Adventure Game Toolkit," said Mark Welch,
one of two co-authors of the AGT system.
"A lot of people start to write a game, and spend quite a few hours on
it, but stop before they really finished the game, or before it's really
playable," said Welch. "We are hoping that the contest will inspire people
to create full-featured, playable games that can be enjoyed by other
adventure game fans."
PREVIOUS CONTESTS Softworks has sponsored six prior adventure game
""""""""""""""""" writing contests. The winner of the first contest was
ALICE, written by Douglas Asherman of Oakland, California. ALICE put the
player in the role of Alice in Wonderland, meeting many of the same
characters described in Lewis Carroll's 19th-century book, while also
adding some humorous 20th-century perspective.
The 1988 contest winner was A DUDLEY DILEMMA, by Lane Barrow, a Ph.D.
candidate at Harvard. In this game, the player assumes the role of a
Harvard student in his/her quest for knowledge, adventure, and a diploma.
Along the way, the player experiences a student sit-in and meets
panhandlers, MIT students, and other bizarre characters roaming Harvard
Square.
SON OF STAGEFRIGHT, by Mike McCauley, was the 1989 winner. In this
game, you play the role of an actor (or actress) trying to get out of an
old, abandoned theater. This is an adventure game in three "Acts," where
each Act has a different theme and a different challenge. The game is
fun(ny), frightening, and very clever.
Patrick Farley wrote the 1990 contest winner, CRIME TO THE NINTH
POWER. This game features Cliff Diver, a private investigator living and
working in San Francisco. Cliff is cut from the same cloth as such famous
PI's as Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. In this game, you must help Cliff to
escape from the deadly milieu of the Zamboni crime family's secret
headquarters. Along the way, you and Cliff will face such challenges as
snarling Dobermans, bad booze, and a couple of Zamboni's goons (named Flash
and Bonzo), and have a brief encounter with the succulent Tatiana and her
three beautiful sisters.
In the 1991 contest, we had a tie for first place: COSMOSERVE - AN
ADVENTURE GAME FOR BBS-ENSLAVED by Judith Pintar, and THE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL
THIEF by Joel Finch.
COSMOSERVE - AN ADVENTURE GAME FOR BBS-ENSLAVED -- as might be guessed
from the title -- is an adventure that takes place inside a BBS or Bulletin
Board System (complete with sound effects for logging on, switching the
computer ON and OFF, etc.). COSMOSERVE is a very, very original,
innovative, and unusual game!
In the game THE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL THIEF, you play the role of a thief
faced with the challenge of rooms "borrowed" from other universes and
permeated with a number of useful items including the infamous "portable
hole." Filled with wonderful puzzles that will remind you of Infocom's
finest, THIEF is extremely well-written, clever, and very funny.
In the 1992 contest, we again had two winners: CLIFF DIVER:
INVESTIGATOR FOR HIRE -- PURCHASED SIGHT UNSEEN By Pat Farley and SHADES OF
GRAY -- AN ADVENTURE IN BLACK AND WHITE By Mark Baker, Steve Bauman,
Belisana, Mike Laskey, Judith Pintar, the Hercules/Assoc. SysOp, and Cindy
Yans.
Pat Farley's CLIFF DIVER: INVESTIGATOR FOR HIRE -- PURCHASED SIGHT
UNSEEN is the second in the series of adventures featuring the San
Francisco PI, Cliff Diver. In this adventure you and Cliff search for lost
paintings. This game really shines because Pat writes so well and his game
very faithfully recreates the sound and feel of the classic "hard-boiled"
detective stories of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.
SHADES OF GRAY -- AN ADVENTURE IN BLACK AND WHITE -- was conceived,
written, and coded by seven people: two from England, two from the East
Coast and three from the West. They have never met each other; never, in
fact, spoken to each other on the phone, nor even corresponded by mail. The
entire project was managed through E-Mail, from within a private CompuServe
Gamer's Forum. This marvelous, mammoth game is as innovative as Pintar's
previous winner, COSMOSERVE, which tied for first place in the 1991
contest.
CONTEST DETAILS To be eligible for the contest, entries must be designed
""""""""""""""" using the Adventure Game Toolkit and written during the
contest year. Contest entries must be postmarked by December 31st of the
contest year and received by Softworks no later than January 15 of the
following year. For example, the 1993 contest will consider games written
between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 1993 and received by Softworks no
later than January 15, 1994.
Judging begins approximately February 1st and the winner is announced
in the spring following the contest year. The judges consider each game's
originality, cleverness, fiendishness, humor, raw cunning, and
professionalism, in arriving at their decision about the contest's winner.
Entries must be submitted on disks for the IBM PC (or compatible
computer), the Apple Macintosh, Amiga, or the Atari ST computer. AGT source
code for the game must be provided, but will not be publicly disclosed
without the consent of the author. In addition to the AGT source code,
each entry must be accompanied by a game "walk-thru" or solution to be used
by the contest judges. A map of the game would also be very helpful, but
is not required.
No purchase or fee is required to enter. Game authors need not be
registered users of AGT to enter the contest. Gamewriters, including the
contest winner(s), will also retain all rights to their games -- including
the right to copyright and sell their games -- if they wish. However, it
is "customary" for the contest game authors to allow their games' source
code to be distributed (to registered AGT user only) -- if their games are
judged as one of the "Best of the Contest."
AGT DETAILS The Adventure Game Toolkit has been favorably reviewed in a
""""""""""" number of personal computer publications including "PC
Magazine", "Computer Gaming World", "Big Blue Disk", and "Public-Domain
Software & Shareware." According to those reviews, AGT "allows for creating
remarkably complex and sophisticated games in a fairly simple way," that
"anyone with an ounce of imagination can create adventure games...similar
in layout and sophistication to those from Infocom," and "the process is
easy...and you'll have hours of fun doing it." AGT was awarded the
Adventure & Strategy Club's "Golden Chalice Award" for 1992.
The Adventure Game Toolkit is distributed as shareware, so that
MS-DOS, Macintosh, Amiga, and Atari ST computer owners can try out the
program before buying it. Copies of the program disks may be obtained from
user groups, bulletin boards, and authorized disk vendors for a nominal
fee, or directly from Softworks. Included on the program disks are a dozen
sample adventure games with complete AGT source code. Registration is only
$20, or $40 including a printed copy of the 200 plus page manual, which can
also be purchased separately for $25. Registered users may also purchase
the Pascal source code for AGT for only $50.
For more information, contact Softworks, 43064 Via Moraga, Mission San
Jose, CA 94539. Telephone (510) 659-0533.
[EOA]
[WHO]//////////////////////////////
PROFILES /
/////////////////////////////////
Who's Who In Apple II
"""""""""""""""""""""
By Tara Dillinger
[TARA]
>>> WHO'S WHO <<<
"""""""""""""""""
~ GEnieLamp Profile: Roger Wagner, HyperStudio creator and proselytizer ~
[This month's interview comes to you "live" from "A Walk on the Wild Side
with Tara & Co.!", a new Online Talk Show on GEnie's A2.]
<TARA> Welcome to WOWS!
<TARA> Now we'll begin the formal part of the interview. I'll call Roger in
a minute...He's in our "Green Room" now.
<TARA> From 9:30-10:30 the room will be in listen only and from 10:30-11
there will be Q & A.
<TARA> Would anyone who doesn't have their first name up please set your
name out of courtesy to Roger?
Room is now in listen-only mode.
<TARA> Here he is! Yes you're here, Roger! :)
<ROGER.WAGNER> Hello! I guess I was dis-oriented by all these
stage-lights! Quite a setup you have here!
<TARA> Our Special Guest Star tonight is Roger Wagner who is not only well
known as the creator of HyperStudio, but also as a Hypermedia Evangelist
and as the Patron Saint of the IIGS. Welcome to "A Walk on the Wild
Side!", Roger. Thank you for coming.
<ROGER.WAGNER> Thank you! Great to be here! I LIKE wild places!
<TARA> Let's start from the beginning -- How did you first get involved
with computers.
<ROGER.WAGNER> A name mixup in the criminal justice system... but nothing
was ever proved...Actually, I was earning an honest living as a science
teacher, and heard about the Apple II... and soon discovered summer
vacations weren't enough time to do all the fun stuff!
Originally, I thought I would take the little guys (little guys = Apple
II's) door-to-door at businesses, and make zillions!
<ROGER.WAGNER> The only flaw in the plan was that I didn't know zip about
business OR computers! So......I found I had lots of time on my hands to
play at learning how to program in BASIC. I also discovered that people
would actually pay for programs written in BASIC! ('Course, that was at a
time when there was NO software for the computer at all!) :)
<TARA> What was your first product and how did that come about?
<ROGER.WAGNER> Well... the first was a program that re-numbered Applesoft
programs.. It was written in BASIC itself, so one of the tricks needed was
to figure out how to have two BASIC programs in the computer at once, with
one working on the other! I put it on cassettes (no disk drives then), and
hand-typed labels. Sold them for $10 each at the user group, and then
through small ads in magazines.
There was a little drawing program called "Roger's Easel" (lo-res), but our
"biggie" at the time was "Apple-Doc". It made a list of all the variables
in a program. Sold 100 copies a week for a while!
<TARA> Wow!
<ROGER.WAGNER> (that first program was called "Programmer's Utility Pack")
<TARA> And later came Hyperstudio, about 5 years ago, right? Briefly, what
is Hyperstudio?
<ROGER.WAGNER> I designed HyperStudio about 5 years ago, and found a team
of programmers to work on it with me. The idea originally was to have sort
of a "Print Shop version of HyperCard".
<TARA> What a novel idea! :)
<ROGER.WAGNER> It's changed over the years... but the basic idea is the
same.. make everything as simple & direct as possible. I wanted something
that a person's grandmother & nephew could play with at the holidays to
make a family tree or whatever.
<TARA> Hyperstudio has a reputation for being easy to learn. How quickly
can someone learn to work with the program and how easy is it to learn the
scripting language?
<ROGER.WAGNER> It takes only an hour or so to grasp the basics of the
program. The scripting language is TOTALLY optional. The secret behind
HyperStudio is to avoid having to do scripting. The scripting is there for
very specific applications where variables are required, but for most
users, it's not needed.
Today, the program has found a fantastic following in education, ranging
from Kindergarten classes up through university...and there are some
commercial projects using it as well.
<TARA> How did you assemble the team that worked on this project?
<ROGER.WAGNER> I checked out who was doing neat work on GEnie! Seriously,
I tell anyone looking for programmers to see what they can find online,
look at the work different people have done, and go from there. In the
case of HyperStudio, I found Eric Mueller (sysop for awhile here), Ken
Kashmarek, Michael O'Keefe, and Dave Klimas. They all lived in different
states (AK, IA, MA and CA), and we exchanged files via modem here along w/
email messages.
RWP is somewhat unique in fact, in that even today it is an "extended"
company, with people on-staff in Washington, California, Massachusetts, and
even Montreal!
<TARA> What have they done since? Do any of them still work with you?
<ROGER.WAGNER> Michael is on staff here. Eric went off to Hollywood to
make movies! Ken Kashmarek has a "real job" :) at John Deere running BIG
computers, and has been working on NBAs and other add-ons for HyperStudio.
<TARA> Apple later came out with it's own version of Hyperstudio --
HyperCard. How do these two programs compare?
<ROGER.WAGNER> Well, to be fair, HyperCard was out first (on the Mac).
Actually, Tutor-Tech from Techware in Florida was out on the Apple IIe
before either HS or HC!
<TARA> Really!
<ROGER.WAGNER> HyperCard was designed as one of the first applications for
the Mac at a time when there wasn't much software for the Mac. It serves a
dual purpose of being a general database, and also a less intimidating
programming environment for database-related applications. However,
multimedia aspects of HyperCard have been add-ons,and the program is still
intrinsically black & white, and script-driven unless you add additional
3rd party modules. At this point, I believe Apple is looking towards
entirely different software products to answer multimedia authoring, from
their perspective.
HyperStudio, on the other hand, was designed from the beginning to be a
simple and direct multimedia authoring system with full support of color,
sound, animation, etc. This was because at the time, the Apple II was the
ONLY computer in the U.S. that offered all the media elements with a large
installed base. Color Macs existed, but were expensive. The Amiga had the
price, but there were only about 100,000 units in the U.S. The GS was the
platform that fit the bill! (and still does!).
<TARA> Yes!
<TARA> This has become almost a movement. There's a Hyperstudio Festival
every year, there are disk based publications such as Studio City, there is
a Category right here in the A2 Bulletin Board all devoted to Hyperstudio.
Why the enthusiasm, and how do you feel about heading such a movement?
<ROGER.WAGNER> First, the "why"...I've felt from the beginning that the
secret of personal computers was personal expression and creativity.
Canned programs are ok, and balancing your checkbook might be interesting
for some, but it is the very personal nature of computers that has really
been at the heart of their success. Anyone who has really understood the
phenomenon has sensed this aspect of the technology.
HyperStudio is, by its very simplicity, a powerful tool for personal
creativity and expression, and the fun of the last few years has been
watching the incredibly diverse ways in which so many people have used it.
That's what also makes it such fun for HS users to all get together,
whether it's at our HyperStudio Festival this last summer, or here online!
<TARA> So How do you feel about heading this movement?
<ROGER.WAGNER> I love participating in the party! I can't say I'm the
"head" of the movement - just a noisy participant!
<TARA> On the lighter side Roger, you are well know for having an
overabundance of energy, to put it mildly. There were stories at
KansasFest about you concocting outrageous games and scaling building walls
as a few of your nocturnal activities. Is the "Hyper" in Hyperstudio
borrowed from a self description?
<ROGER.WAGNER> It *might* have been....but it wasn't! "Hyper" just means
"above & beyond"! :) When we were trying to find a name for this "thing",
we just thought about creative places, and most of them were called
studios! The Hyper ties in to both the "ultra-studio" theme, and also the
connection with "hypermedia", as coined by Ted Nelson.
<TARA> And of course..Your notorious ties..How did that get started?
<ROGER.WAGNER> Well... as I recall, there was a conference a ways back
where there were going to be a lot of official-looking computer people, and
there might even have been a request from the staff of some booth I was
going to be in to wear a tie. Well... I didn't want to be mistaken for a PC
salesman! So... I found a tie that reminded me of HyperStudio, with lots
of bright colors, and looking generally strange!
At the next show, someone asked me where my tie was, so I had to do it
again. THEN came the day when Steve Disbrow
<TARA> (Of GS+ Magazine?)
<ROGER.WAGNER> That's the one! (or his like!) said "We already saw THAT tie
last time!", and I had to start getting new ties for every single
conference!
<TARA> You also video tape virtually everything you see. Do you ever
watch all those tapes? Or do you just make ties out of them!
<ROGER.WAGNER> I don't watch ALL of them! :) but...
:) <ROGER.WAGNER> I DO keep some for investment value in case I need to
get 'Diz to "cooperate" some day!
<TARA> Blackmail material, eh?
<ROGER.WAGNER> (I also believe in the concept of video as being
"note-taking of the future" and the Printer of the present!)
<TARA> Ah yes..The VCR as a printer...Getting back to the nocturnal
antics...Whatever possessed you to play Spider Man?
<ROGER.WAGNER> As I recall, it was just late at night at K-Fest, and people
were just sort of hanging around...I was getting back from somewhere, and
instead of coming up the walkway, I decided to take a shortcut up a little
15' wall nearby! :) One thing led to another, and soon we were out looking
for parts of the Dorm there that we could climb! :)
In a former lifetime, before computers completely devoured my "real life",
I used to enjoy rock-climbing!
<TARA> Oh..hence the urge to scale a building!
<TARA> And you also have many electronic toys. What have you collected and
what's the fascination with these toys?
<ROGER.WAGNER> Well...One of the neat things about the Apple IIGS is its
ability to be connected to just about ANYTHING! Also, its very easy to
fiddle a bit, and program it up in HyperStudio to interact with these
things. Most of the "toys" are video-related because the GS is so
"video-friendly". Quite a bit ahead of its time in that way. It is only
VERY recently that the new Mac "AV" machines offer some of this, but still
nothing like what the GS offers.
I think it was K-Fest 2-3 years ago, when we announced HyperStudio 3.0,
that the introduction showed effects on the GS that are still for all
practical purposes out of reach on a Mac.
<TARA> Tell us a bit about Merlin, and where did you get that name?
<ROGER.WAGNER> "In the beginning".... two other successful programs for the
company were ASCII Express (a modem program), and Merlin,the assembler.
Merlin was originally named "Big Mac", but had a program called
"Sourceror" that generated source code from raw object code. I think the
Merlin name was inspired by that.
<TARA> I see you have a sense of humor Roger..:)
<ROGER.WAGNER> nah
<TARA> Getting back to Hyperstudio, you've ventured out into the world of
the Mac and I've heard your next area is for the PC. How is the expansion
into new areas going?
<ROGER.WAGNER> How things go in the PC world will have to be seen...I have
really no experience in that area, but I understand that there ARE a lot of
those machines out there! :) My real enjoyment comes from playing in the
area of personal creativity. HyperStudio is a tool for that, and the Mac
has been an easy extension to the GS software.
Many people don't realize how very similar the GS and Mac toolbox
programming (and user) environments are. If you know one, the transition
to the other is easier. I WAS surprised however to discover that the Mac
wasn't always "more powerful"! This isn't meant to be a pick-on-the-Mac
evening, but I think Apple II users should know that they CAN take pride in
their machine! For example, text fields on the Mac are 32K in size, and
can have one background color. The GS is 64K, and we easily mix different
background colors behind the text. The GS has something called
"TaskMaster" that handles all kinds of events for the programmer. On the
Mac this has to be re-created by each programmer. The GS text items have
lots of neat "automatic" features relating to the Apple & Option keys; the
Mac doesn't. It just is easy to forget that the GS OS was designed AFTER
the Mac, and many improvements in the operating system were made to make
life easier and more productive.
<TARA> What are your newest products and what response are they getting?
<ROGER.WAGNER> HyperStudio on the Mac came out last May, and has been doing
very well. We are also selling HyperStudio back to installations that
didn't know what their GS machines could do until they saw it on the Mac!
:) It has taken a lot of my energy to get this new product out, so some
other things are still in the "oven", but we've been working on some other
projects as well. Mainly in the area of things that tie into multimedia,
though. A "HyperStudio Companion" product. More Clip-Art volumes.
<TARA> Aren't you now working with one of your old competitors Mike
Westerfield? :)
<ROGER.WAGNER> That's true! I didn't think that there were competitors in
the Apple II world, just co-players! :)
<TARA> True enough!
<ROGER.WAGNER> Mike has developed HyperLogo for HyperStudio on the Mac, and
that's built into the software. It should please Apple II people, who
sometimes say things about the Apple II funding Mac stuff, that in THIS
case, HyperStudio Mac has funded the development of HyperLogo, which in
turn made possible 3D Logo for the GS! (Now available from Mike at
ByteWorks!).
<TARA> Great! And as I said earlier..Mike will be here on the Show Monday
Oct 25th!
Well, Roger this has been fun! In this part of the show we open up the
format for Questions & Answers from our "audience". But before we do that,
I'd like to introduce you to a group called the "HyperMediacs" and their
founder -- FernoGuy.
<ROGER.WAGNER> Hi, FernoGuy!
<TARA> Here's The founder of HyperMediacs...FernoGuy!
<[FernoGuy] B.DUNST> Roger, have you heard of the Hypermediacs before?
<ROGER.WAGNER> Tell me about it!
<[FernoGuy] B.DUNST> Basically, we are just a bunch of guys dedicated to
pushing HS3.1 to its limits. Just as the FTA pushed Merlin, we do the same
with HS. It's truly an awesome media, and allows us much flexiblity.
<TARA> Sounds exciting!
<[FernoGuy] B.DUNST> We are in Category 13, Topic 4. Could you dispel a
rumor for me?
<ROGER.WAGNER> I'm listening! :)
<[FernoGuy] B.DUNST> Are the rumors of Hyperstudio 4.0 true? Will we be
seeing it before the end of the year?
<ROGER.WAGNER> Sounds like a rumor we'd rather un-dispel!
<[FernoGuy] B.DUNST> ooooo k,
<ROGER.WAGNER> However, although we ARE working on further changes to
HyperStudio GS, just getting HS Mac 1.1 finished has kept me pretty busy!
We have a policy of sending a free update out about six months after an
initial product release, so that early buyers don't have to worry about
paying for updates that just fix bugs! As I mentioned, we do have a
HyperStudio Companion (GS) product in the works. I DO want to know more
about what you're doing, though! It sounds very interesting!
<[FernoGuy] B.DUNST> Well, thanks. I've just come to introduce the group.
Now I shall fade into the woodwork...
<TARA> Thanks FernoGuy! I'm taking the room out of listen only
now...Please be orderly in your questions..one at a time..:) Room is now in
the talk mode.
<TARA> Dean You wanted to say something?
<[Dean] A2.DEAN> Hey Roger, what's this rumor I hear about there being
HyperStudio books in the works? :-)
<ROGER.WAGNER> Hey Dean! :) That's no rumor!
<[Dean] A2.DEAN> Why, tell us about it! O:-)
<ROGER.WAGNER> LOTS of publishers are scrambling to cash in on the
HyperStudio BONANZA! :)
<TARA> Tim You had a question?
<[] >Tim pi< [] T.BUCHHEIM> I have several...first, what exactly is the HS
Companion?
<ROGER.WAGNER> HS Companion will be a collection of New Button Actions,
Extras, new Transitions, and maybe even some clip-art and clip-sounds to
add on to existing HyperStudio packages.
<TARA> Dean?
<[Dean] A2.DEAN> Will Addy the HyperDog be making an appearance on the
IIgs?
<ROGER.WAGNER> Addy the HyperDog made her first appearance "in person" at
the HyperFest in San Diego!
<[Too Obvious?] BILL.LYNN> You can get a HyperDog at Coney Island!
<[] >Tim pi< [] T.BUCHHEIM> Second, can I still upgrade my 3.01 to 3.1 for
free? I never got around to it... :)
<ROGER.WAGNER> (upgrades from 3.0 to 3.1 are free if you send back the
disks; $10 if you just call the 800# (800 421 6526) and ask us to send
them).
<TARA> Thanks Roger...:) Tony?
<[Tony] A2.TONY> I don't have a question, just a comment. Do you remember
the Applesoft Toolbox Series? Of course you do :) Well, I still have it,
and occasionally look at it.
<[Dean] A2.DEAN> I just wondered if you'd be using Addy on the IIgs as well
as on the Mac.
<ROGER.WAGNER> At some point, Addy may show up in the GS package. Depends
on when we reprint the manuals.
<[Dean] A2.DEAN> Thanks Roger. :-)
<TARA> Anyone else? Questions?
<TOM.W> yes
<TARA> OK, Tom.
<TOM.W> Roger, do you have a promo going out to people who have returned
their warranty cards soon?
<ROGER.WAGNER> For the Mac version, everyone who registered gets the 1.1
update for free. We will also be sending out a new StudioWare Catalog
sometime in the next few months (I hope!). HS Companion will be sometime
next year.
<[Dean] A2.DEAN> We ought to get you to carry back issues of Studio City in
your Neat HyperStuff catalog. :-)
<TOM.W> I see.
<TARA> Who else has a question?
<PROCYON.INC> Me :)
<TARA> OK, Jawaid...
<PROCYON.INC> Roger, do you need any more HS add-ons for the Companion? :)
<ROGER.WAGNER> Of course! I'm always looking for more! Anything worth
doing is worth over-doing! :)
<TOM.W> Essential Roger.
<PROCYON.INC> Anything in particular, or should I bug you in email? (:-)
<ROGER.WAGNER> Send me ideas e-mail. See the description of the HS
Companion above for general categories.
<[] >Tim pi< [] T.BUCHHEIM> I guess I should read up on the {$NBA}
directive in my Pascal manual....:) Maybe I could come up with
something..
<TARA> Roger is such a wonderful human being...
<ROGER.WAGNER> :)
<[] >Tim pi< [] T.BUCHHEIM> :)
<TARA> ...and I use that term loosely..:) -- that he has agreed to give
away a prize tonight! Right now my staff is checking who's eligible for
the prize...
<[Too Obvious?] BILL.LYNN> You have staff? Tom, how did she get staff?
<TARA> And as soon as I have that info, I'll announce the winner..
<[Real Thing] RC.ELLEN> Don't ask, Bill. You DON'T want to know. Believe
me.
<PROCYON.INC> Must be related to her Goddess powers.
<[] >Tim pi< [] T.BUCHHEIM> :)
<TARA> It seems that Tim is tonight's winner! Congrats! Tim!
<[] >Tim pi< [] T.BUCHHEIM> Yeah!
<[Tony] A2.TONY> Yay Tim!
<[] >Tim pi< [] T.BUCHHEIM> What do I win?
<A2.SUSAN> Great Tim.
<TARA> You win the RWP product of your choice!
<[] >Tim pi< [] T.BUCHHEIM> great!
<TARA> Just send your mailing address to Roger and he'll see you get it! :)
<[] >Tim pi< [] T.BUCHHEIM> okay!
<TARA> Well we're almost out of time...for tonight's show. Thank you for
being our guest on "A Walk on the Wild Side!", Roger! :)
<ROGER.WAGNER> I certainly want to say "thanks" for the invite!!!
<TARA> You're welcome!
<TARA> Thank all of you for being here. Thanks to Tony , Nate and Sloanie
for their segments.
<[Tony] A2.TONY> Any time Tara :)
<TARA> Be sure and join us next week when we help Jerry Kindall, editor of
II Alive celebrates his birthday, right here! 9 PM Eastern!
<TOM.W> Now that Nate's here, I gotta go. Nice tie, Roger.
<[] >Tim pi< [] T.BUCHHEIM> Thanks for such a great show!
<A2.SUSAN> Hey, you don't have to leave. We'll be returning to our regular
unstructured RTC's shortly, for another 2 hours yet.
<TARA> Yes anyone who cares to may stay and hang out..:)
<PROCYON.INC> How about a Roger Wagner ASCII Tie contest? :)
<TARA> Roger, we appreciate you taking the time to visit..we'd love to have
you stay if you could, and we understand if you need to run..:)
<PROCYON.INC> Indeed :)
<ROGER.WAGNER> I do have to go (dinner!) but thanks VERY much for the fun
tonight!
<A2.SUSAN> Stop in any time Roger.
<TARA> You're welcome..Come back and visit soon!
<ROGER.WAGNER> Thanks everyone! Bye for now!
[*][*][*]
Tara Dillinger (GE Mail: TARA) is the resident Goddess of
A2 and A2Pro. She hosts the only Apple II Online Talk Show
-- "A Walk on the Wild Side with Tara & Co!" Monday Nights
from 9-11 Eastern. She is also Interview Editor for II
Alive.
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "And don't forget 'FinderSaysINeedAPepsi', /
/ 'FinderSaysYourFlyIsDown', and 'YouDidntSayFinderSays'." /
//////////////////////////////////////////// S.WEYHRICH ////
[EOA]
[ATW]//////////////////////////////
ACROSS THE WIRES /
/////////////////////////////////
GEnie Worldwide!
""""""""""""""""
By Gina E. Saikin
[A2.GENA]
>>> WORLDWIDE APPLE II USER GROUP <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
THE WWUG IS THE BRAINCHILD OF... Lunatic E'Sex, conceived in a dorm room
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" at Kfest, nutured through the ensuing
months, and finally coming to term on October 17, 1993 -- our first
official meeting. GS.OZONEMAN and myself were volunteered for the task of
officiating at the meeting, as we were the hosts for Bewitched, Bothered &
Bewildered, which takes place on Sundays, a position we both consider an
honor.
The concept behind WWUG is simple: we in the Apple II (A2) area of
GEnie realize the desperate need for support, and are aware that such
support for the Apple II is waning. Alas, many Apple dealers when faced
with an Apple II problem, have very little to no knowledge of how to solve
it. Also, many folks have little to no access to user groups in their
community, and are left frantically searching for answers. I remember
when I first got my Apple in 1991, and I had a question about something
(can't remember what now) and called Apple's hotline, and virtually no one
knew anything about the IIe, and could offer me no assistance. The simple
fact that the Apple User Group Connection has been dropped by Apple, and
sent out a questionnaire disk in MAC format should speak volumes!
I'll have to add a little plus for Apple, Inc. in here -- their Apple
Library User Group newsletter valiantly attempts to feature Apple II items
of interest and software, even though it is fast becoming a MAC and MS-DOS
world out there.
Recently, Tom Weishaar and Kent Fillmore combined minds, hearts and
spirits together to create a corporation called Syndicomm, which will
manage seven RT's here on GEnie -- MAC, MACPro, MAC-PS, A2, A2Pro, PPC and
PPCpro, amongst other duties. An umbrella users group -- International
Computer Owners Network was created to provide an umbrella organization
for the users of the RT's, of which WWUG is a Special Interest Group (SIG).
The goal of the WWUG is to lend support in the Apple II community,
create a sense of continuity amongst Apple II owners; hold monthly
meetings where we will invite special speakers to tell us about important
happenings in the Apple II world, software experts who will give product
"demos" (explanations), and we may even be able to twist the arms of some
our favorite Software authors to make an appearance! There are also
long-range plans to create an online Consulting Network, via a topic in the
Bulletin Board, wherein there would be specialists "on call" to answer your
questions and help you initiate systems, set up a system and any other
help you may desire.
How does one demo a program online? Obviously, due to the fact that
we are online, and not in a meeting room, modifications have to be made.
Essentially, the demonstrator will describe the program, the pros, cons,
bugs and any other information deemed important, as well as explaining how
the program can be used in the every day life of the user... be it a game
or a productivity program.
What happens at a typical meeting? Usually, the meeting opens with
introducing WWUG, it's philosophy and goals, and we can also during this
time help any newcomer become at home in the RTC (get into split-screen
chat, master some simple commands, etc.).
Then we lead into what's new in the Apple II world, where
announcements of upcoming events are mentioned -- new products, new
software, upcoming conferences and so on.
After we hear what's new, we then introduce the speaker or
demonstrator, and afterwards, open the floor to questions about his/her
speech or demonstration.
When our speakers are finished, and everyone has satisfied their
curiosity about what was said, we open the floor to questions about
hardware and software. At the end, we announce any special happenings
here in A2 on GEnie.
We had our first formal meeting on Sunday, October 17, which was a
rousing success! We had not one, but two special speakers -- Tom
Weishaar, and Bryan Zak of Softdisk. Tom popped in just as I was
introducing the WWUG and Syndicomm -- poor guy, he didn't have a chance...
he was immediately pegged for an interview, and with his usual aplomb,
fielded all the questions thrown at him.
Bryan Zak then proceeded to tell us all about Softdisk -- a magazine
on disk that has all original programs; no public domain, shareware or
freeware there. He gave us information on how to sig nup and told us how
we could submit articles -- he didn't promise he'd accept them -- but
encouraged the attendees that they would be read and considered!
But, instead of just reading about the WWUG, why not come in some
Sunday at 2 p.m. eastern? I think you will find that it a valuable
experience, and well worth a two-hour chunk of your Sundays -- it's the
3rd Sunday of every month. Don't forget to stay online for the Bewitched,
Bothered and Bewildered RTC which will continue on until 8 p.m. eastern.
You as readers, can help in this endeavor. In Category 3 of the Apple
II Bulletin Board, is a new topic, #34, entitled "The World Wide User Group
Mtg." Please post in here any suggestions, ideas and even critiques!
Also, please post the following on your local BBSes!
[*][*][*]
You can attend the WorldWide Apple II User Group meeting,
every third Sunday from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM Eastern in the
Apple II area on GEnie (Keyword A2, Page 645).
To sign up for GEnie, follow these simple steps:
1. With your computer and modem, dial 1-800-638-8369.
In Canada, dial 1-800-387-8330.
2. When you connect, type HHH
3. The computer will respond with U#=
4. Type XTX99017,APPLE and press RETURN.
5. Now answer the questions and you will be able to use GEnie
the next working day. Be sure to have a credit card number
or, in the U.S., a checking account number, when you sign up.
[*][*][*]
We plan to continue to widen WWUG's scope and plans as time goes on.
We want to say to the world "The Apple II is not dead!". To paraphrase a
Mark Twain, "The demise of the Apple II is greatly exaggerated"
Watch for our newsletter from each meeting, which will be a part of
the GEnieLamp, starting with December's issue!
[EOA]
[COM]//////////////////////////////
COMMUNICATION /
/////////////////////////////////
Making Contact
""""""""""""""
By Darrel Raines
[D.RAINES]
>>> OLDER TECHNOLOGY COMPUTERS? (Part 2 of 2) <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
In the first installment of this article I discussed the fact that an
Apple II computer can do many of the things that the typical home user,
educational institution, or small business owner would want to perform
with his/her computer. We went over a number of examples of how "older
technology" computers are able to produce results that will meet the
requirements of most casual users. We also looked at a few examples of
how "cutting-edge technology" computers are required for some situations.
This month I intend to discuss the availability of programs in the
form of shareware, freeware, and do-it-yourself software. The usefulness
of this type of program will be examined. We will also discuss the
reasons why such software is more advanced on computer platforms that have
been around for awhile. The last topic we will touch on deals with where
to find all of this good software.
Is it Live or is it Memorex? One of the bad raps that has been handed
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" down about shareware and freeware programs
since their inception has been that you get what you pay for. Therefore,
the conventional wisdom states that the software available for free, or
nearly free, must be of poor quality and chock full of bugs. This is
occasionally true, but many good software products find their origin as a
package that was developed by an individual and distributed via shareware.
Many of the original ideas behind commercial products have found their
first expression in the form of a freeware program that was widely accepted
in the user community. There are many word processors, graphics packages,
games, utilities, fonts, and other goodies that have appeared in the
shareware market. In fact, many products would not be worth marketing by
themselves on a commercial basis. There is just not enough value in a
program to remind me of appointments that will cause me to spend money on
a commercial software package. A shareware version that does what I want
will easily garner a payment of $10 for the author.
Another advantage to shareware packages is the ability to try software
before you buy. People will likely take advantage of this feature by not
coughing up the payment asked for in the shareware banner. However, the
customers that do pay for a package are very likely to be happy customers
that will use word-of-mouth to advertise the shareware product. This type
of customer base is extremely important for a successful entry into the
crowded software market.
The fact that many shareware products are of such high quality
prompts the question, When should a person buy commercial software and when
should one buy a shareware package? The answer is simple: Look for
shareware first and then purchase commercial software that meets a special
need or has the support that you just cannot find in a shareware package.
Old Computer = Great Software The thing that is most interesting about
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" shareware and freeware is that the longer
a computer platform is around, the better this type of product becomes. In
other words, higher quality/low cost software abounds on the Apple II
computer mostly because of the fact that it has been on the market for 15
years. This fact is attributable to a number of factors: tools, example
code, and "weekend programmers".
One of the simple facts about computers is that complex software takes
quite a while to write and debug. It is not an overnight process to create
a development system that allows other software to be written in a timely
manner. The GS/OS operating system that makes the Apple IIgs perform much
like a Mac is not the product of a few weeks of effort. It is important to
realize the amount of time that was spent making this operating system
available.
In much the same sense you can look at the ORCA development
environment and see that it is a much more productive environment than the
alternatives preceding it. I can write, debug, and test a program much
faster than I ever could prior to obtaining this environment. The result
is more productive programmers and greater quality/quantity software
output.
The next piece in this puzzle involves the "weekend programmer". Many
people will sit down and use their computer with commercial software to
begin with. After awhile, they want a package that will do exactly what
they want it to do. They will scratch their heads and think, "Hey, didn't
I get an Applesoft manual with this computer?" The next thing that you
know, these people are joining the thousands before them who share their
software with the general public.
When you get a raft of "weekend programmers" started on their own
software and let them go at it for 15 years, the result is bound to be a
number of good programs that never get distributed commercially. Some of
this software is, nonetheless, quite good. The beneficiary of this logical
series of events is the general public (you and me) who will take these
packages and put them to good use on their personal computers.
Added to this generally encouraging environment is the availability of
example code. Very few people write a program from scratch. They are
much more likely to take code from other programs and put it together to
make a new and unique product. Therefore, it is important to have
example code lying around in archives for all of these hordes of
programmers to get ideas and answers.
An even better situation is the fact that Apple system software has a
great number of software toolsets available to programs running under
GS/OS. You can think of the toolsets as a group of subroutines that
perform most of the more difficult and tedious tasks in an efficient
manner. This makes life much easier for the novice programmer. All that
is necessary to create a fairly complete program is a set of calls to the
various toolsets from a master routine that performs the major functions.
If you want an example of the theory that I have expressed here in
action, then take a look at the IBM software market right after that
machine was introduced. For many years, Apple Computer crowed about the
fact that thousands of software titles existed for the Apple II computer.
They contrasted this fact with the dearth of software available for the
fledgling IBM computer. It took a number of years and a tremendous amount
of effort on the part of tool manufacturers and "weekend programmers"
before the IBM/clone shareware market surpassed that of the Apple II.
Finding Your Local Wine-cellar We now have enough information to answer
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" the riddle that I posed at the end of
last month's installation: "How is Apple II shareware like a fine wine?"
The answer is: "It gets better with age!" We have shown that many vital
links in the software development chain have been forged by Apple, Inc. and
various programmers in the past. Therefore, current Apple II owners
benefit by having a very mature base of free and nearly free software
available at their fingertips.
The question before us now is how to get that software for our own
use. There are a number of viable methods for obtaining freeware and
shareware. One of the easiest methods involves nothing more than a modem
and an account on GEnie. The GEnie system has one of the best (perhaps
THE best) software distribution and support networks for the Apple II
series of computers. You can use one of two automated front-end software
packages to access the system and download thousands of different programs
written specifically for your computer. GEM and Copilot, the front-end
software mentioned above, are even free of charge. GEnie tries to make
filling your hard drive with software as easy as possible.
There are other methods available for obtaining software. Local user
groups are a good choice since they also provide immediate support from
other computer users just like yourself. Public domain and shareware
distribution companies are another source of this type of software. They
provide disks full of software for a fee. The fee pays for material,
overhead and shipping. I do not usually recommend this method of
procuring software. I find that the fees are usually too high to justify
going this route. However, many individuals find one of these methods to
be right for them.
In any case, the most important thing is for each Apple II user to be
aware of the software that is available for the cost of a phone call, gas
to a user group meeting, or copy/distribution fee. There is literally a
world of material ready and waiting for you to tap into it. Don't be
discouraged that your Apple IIgs computer is no longer the latest and
greatest hardware technology. Instead, realize that the blessing in this
situation lies in the fact that so much software is available for your
use. New computers do not have this benefit. Only time can provide the
tools, examples, and effort necessary to amass this vast array of useful
software.
The next time that someone tells you that you are using a computer
that is based on outdated technology, simply smile and say, "Yes, and that
is what I like about my trusty Apple II computer."
[*][*][*]
Darrel Raines is an Electrical Engineer who works as a
contractor to NASA on the Space Station Freedom program.
He runs a small business on the side that deals in custom
computer systems and software. He is also an avid computer
hobbyist, programmer and writer. You may reach him on GEnie
at D.RAINES.
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "I called Merisel (4 billion in wholesales last year, and /
/ only number 2) and ordered an IDE 240 meg drive today; the /
/ sales lady sez, "let me see if we have any; we are /
/ discouraging small drives." I asked here what was /
/ considered a small drive; response: "Anything under 500." /
////////////////////////////////////////////// A2.CHUCK ////
[EOA]
[AII]//////////////////////////////
APPLE II /
/////////////////////////////////
Apple II History, Part 17
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Steven Weyhrich
[S.WEYHRICH]
_____________________________________________________________
| |
| ********* A PLEA FROM THE APPLE II HISTORIAN ********* |
| |
| I've been looking high and low for a copy of a particular |
| book that I WISH I'd bought years ago when it came out. |
| It is called _Fire In The Valley_ by Paul Freiberger, and |
| subtitled, "The making of the the personal computer. It |
| is copyright 1984, but is now out of print and so no |
| bookstores that _I've_ called can order it for me. |
| |
| Anyone who wants to sell me their copy of this book, |
| PLEASE contact me! On GEnie, you can reach me at |
| S.WEYHRICH, or via the Internet, at |
| s.weyhrich@genie.geis.com. Thank you! |
|_____________________________________________________________|
>>> APPLE II HISTORY <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""
Compiled and written by Steven Weyhrich
(C) Copyright 1991, Zonker Software
(PART 17 -- LANGUAGES, CONT.)
[v1.0 :: 22 Jan 92]
APPLE PASCAL Applesoft was easy to use because it was interactive. You
"""""""""""" entered a command, and could immediately try it out. The
disadvantage was a lack of more powerful commands, and it could be
difficult to create large and complex programs. Efforts were begun within
Apple to develop a more comprehensive language for the II, one that could
be updated and modified if necessary. Since Applesoft was in ROM, it was
more expensive and difficult for the end-user to install any upgrades to
that language.
In 1979 Apple Pascal and the Language System was released. It sold
for the steep price of $495, and came on four 5.25 floppy disks (all in the
format of the Pascal disk system, of course). It also included the ROMs to
change 13 sector disk controllers into 16 sector controllers, and the
Language Card to plug into slot 0. As discussed in previous segments of
this History, the Language Card was a 16K RAM card that made an Apple II
into a full 64K RAM computer. Because of the extra available RAM, the
Pascal system could load into memory without having to avoid the space used
by the Applesoft (or Integer BASIC) interpreter. And with some complicated
bank switching, even routines in the Monitor could be used if needed.
Apple chose to use the Pascal standard defined by the University of
California at San Diego (UCSD). To make portability between various
different computers possible, UCSD Pascal programs were compiled into a
specialized code called "P-code". This "P-code" program could then be
executed on any computer that had a proper interpreter. An Apple Pascal
program could, then, run a little faster than an Applesoft program (since
it WAS compiled), but not as fast as assembly language. The extra power it
provided made it an attractive choice for some programmers.
The earliest version of Apple Pascal got complaints from users because
it would not support lowercase (for those who had modified their Apple to
display lowercase), and it was so large that it was quite awkward to use by
those who owned only one disk drive.
Since the original UCSD Pascal language was designed to work with a
full 80 columns of text, this was somewhat of a problem for the 40-column
Apple II. For those Apple II's that did not have an 80-column card, Apple
Pascal would display half of the screen at a time. In the Pascal Editor,
entry of a line longer than 40 columns would cause the screen to scroll to
the left. Using the arrow keys to move back to the left would scroll the
screen back the other way. If needed, you could jump directly to the other
half of the screen by pressing Ctrl-A.<1>
The limitation of Apple Pascal came from the need for a user to own
the Language Card (or one of the later equivalent 16K RAM cards), and the
fact that it was incompatible with the large library of DOS 3.2 programs
and files that were already available. Eventually, with the proliferation
of the 64K Apple IIe and 128K Apple IIc, a platform for Pascal applications
was available. However, by that time the primary disk system being
promoted by Apple for the II was ProDOS, and Apple never officially
released a version of their original UCSD Pascal that would run under that
operating system.
The Apple Pascal system has evolved up to version 1.3, which will
support the more advanced features of the Apple IIe and IIc, but does not
work as well with the IIGS as some would like. Instead, IIGS programmers
now have versions of Pascal distributed by third party companies (like
ORCA/Pascal from ByteWorks) created to take full advantage of that machine
in 16-bit mode.
INSTANT PASCAL This version of Pascal was written by Think Technologies,
"""""""""""""" and Apple later bought the rights to sell it as a program
for teaching Pascal. It would run only on the Apple IIc or on a 128K IIe
because it used the double hi-res graphics mode, functioning much like a
Macintosh "desktop" with multiple resizable windows. It had a mouse-based
editor that checked program syntax as each line was entered (as did the
older Integer BASIC) and automatically indented lines and boldfaced Pascal
reserved words. Since it was intended for teaching, it also had a
single-step trace function and the ability to modify the contents of
variables while a program was running. Though good for learning the
language, it was quite slow because of the overhead needed to display
everything in graphics, and because it was an interpreted version of Pascal
(instead of a compiled version).
Fans of the original Apple Pascal complained loudly after Apple
introduced Instant Pascal. After this new Pascal came out, Apple didn't
seem motivated to make any further upgrades to the older Pascal, which
still used the original Pascal disk system format (Instant Pascal was made
to run directly under ProDOS).<2>
FORTRAN Released by Apple in 1980, Apple FORTRAN ran under the Pascal
""""""" operating system. It cost $200 (over and above the $495 needed
to get the Language System). Programs written in FORTRAN for other
computers could run with little modification under Apple FORTRAN (if a user
needed that ability). As a compiled language, it ran faster than
Applesoft, and probably also faster than Pascal, since FORTRAN wasn't
translated into an intermediate "P-code". Apple's FORTRAN had many bugs in
it, though, and since its introduction in 1980 it was never upgraded. By
September 1986 it had disappeared from their product catalogs.
Another way for an Apple II user to get FORTRAN was to buy the
Microsoft Z-80 Softcard for $345 and Microsoft FORTRAN for $200. This
version of FORTRAN was more full-featured than Apple's, and offered some
advantages in usability. It did NOT require changing to the 16 sector disk
controller ROMs (if you didn't want to). Also, standard Microsoft BASIC
(which was more advanced than Applesoft) was included in the Softcard
package.<3>
In June of 1987 Pecan Software released FORTRAN for the IIGS. It ran
under ProDOS 16 (GS/OS), but still used the UCSD format for its FORTRAN by
creating a ProDOS file that acted as a UCSD volume.<3>
OTHER LANGUAGES PILOT: Designed primarily for creating tutorial modules,
""""""""""""""" this language allowed educators to design interactive
programs to instruct students and test them on their responses during the
process. One early
version was written in Applesoft and was text-based.
Apple later released their own version that ran under the Pascal system for
$125.<4>
FORTH: This was a interesting language described as "extensible." It
had a number of built-in commands, and new ones could be added as easily as
typing its definition. These added commands could then be used in larger
programs. Two versions sold in the late 1970's were "Apple Forth 1.6"
(Cap'n Software) and "6502 Forth 1.2" (Programma International). Apple
Forth 1.6 was a good package, but it used a unique disk system that was not
compatible with DOS 3.2. Programma's Forth was more extensive, but also
more complicated.<5>,<6>
LOGO: Developed from LISP (LISt Processing) language to be an aid for
learning, Logo has been popular over the years in the school environment.
Apple's first version of Logo (which operated under the Pascal system)
could run on any 64K Apple II, while Apple Logo II (released in July 1984
for $100) ran under ProDOS on Apple II's with 128K memory.<7>
COBOL: This language has had limited availability for the Apple II.
The only version I am aware of was from Microsoft. It sold for $599 and
ran under the CP/M system with the Microsoft Z-80 Softcard.<8>
C: A language that is currently popular among "power" programmers.
It has some of the structure of Pascal, but also some of the low-level
power of assembly language.
ASSEMBLERS A large variety of Apple II assemblers have been available
""""""""""" over the years. The earliest one, of course, was the
mini-assembler that came with every Integer BASIC Apple II. That one was
only good for immediate entry of assembly code; if changes were needed,
much of the code would likely have to be re-entered from the beginning.
Some other assemblers available in the early days include:
TED/ASM: Developed at Apple and smuggled out the doors around May
1978, this assembler had memory conflicts with DOS, so they couldn't be
used together. The text editor module was written by Randy Wigginton, and
the assembler was written by Gary Shannon. In the early days, it was the
only assembler they had available that would run on an Apple II.<9>
RANDY'S WEEKEND ASSEMBLER: Also written by Randy Wigginton, this one
slipped out of Apple in September 1978. The text editor was written mostly
in SWEET-16 (Wozniak's 16-bit emulator in the Integer BASIC ROM), and was
therefore slow. Unfortunately, it had its own set of bugs.<9>
MICROPRODUCTS ASSEMBLER: The first commercially available assembler
for the Apple II, this was a "four character assembler", meaning that
labels (a designation identifying a line or variable) could only be four
characters long. Later it was expanded to work with six character labels.
Despite some annoying bugs, it was inexpensive at only $39.95.<10>
SC-ASSEMBLER II: Probably the second Apple II assembler that was
commercially distributed. Externally it was similar to the Microproducts
assembler, but was better supported and regularly upgraded. It was very
compact, and achieved that goal by making heavy use of SWEET-16 code.
Consequently, it was slow when assembling. The author, Bob
Sander-Cederlof, later started a popular newsletter called "Apple Assembly
Lines" to both support his product and to be an information center for 6502
assembly language tips and techniques.<10>
BIG MAC/MERLIN: Sold originally by A.P.P.L.E. as "Big Mac", and later
under the name "Merlin" by Southwestern Data Systems (later known as Roger
Wagner Publishing). This assembler has been well supported over the years
and has been extensively upgraded. It is one of the few remaining
assemblers that have moved on to the 65816 GS/OS world, while retaining
full compatibility with the previous 8-bit 6502 versions. Currently it is
sold as Merlin 816 (including an 8-bit version) and Merlin 16+. The
author, Glen Bredon, has also done many other programs and utilities for
the Apple II.
ORCA/M: Sold by the ByteWorks, the current version was chosen by
Apple Computer as the official assembler of the APW (Apple Programmer's
Workshop) programming environment on the IIGS. ByteWorks has since
expanded its product line to include versions of Pascal, C, BASIC, and
other IIGS languages.
APPLE EDASM: This was Apple's original "official" assembler for the
II Plus and later 8-bit Apple II's. Though no longer actively supported
(ORCA/M having supplanted it in the APW environment), the early versions
for DOS 3.3 were included on the Apple Toolkit disk, which also had a
hi-res character generator that could be interfaced into Applesoft
programs. The early ProDOS versions of EDASM were sold with a 65c02
debugger called BUGBYTER.
UCSD PASCAL ASSEMBLER: Part of the Apple Pascal package, it was
popular because it had macro capability, could do conditional assembly and
create relocatable code, and had a good text editor. However, programs
created with it could not be run on a standard (non-Language card) Apple,
because there was no utility available early on to transfer the files to
DOS 3.2. (Later, A.P.P.L.E. published transfer utilities called "HUFFIN"
and "PUFFIN" for movement to and from DOS 3.3, named affectionately after
Apple's "MUFFIN" utility for DOS 3.2 to 3.3 file transfers).
MISCELLANEOUS OTHER ASSEMBLERS: ASM/65, sold by Programma; "EAT" (Edit
and Assemble Text) sold by Software Concepts, and written in Integer BASIC;
and L.I.S.A., sold by Laser Systems.<10>
MACROS VS. SCRIPTS With the increase in complexity of applications
"""""""""""""""""" programs has also come a secondary level of
programming. This extension has been called a "macro," meaning that a
single step would accomplish several separate ones that would ordinarily
take more effort. Early examples of this were available in some DOS 3.3
utilities, where pressing Ctrl-C from the keyboard (for example) might
cause the word "CATALOG" to appear on the command line. In this example, a
macro was used to save keystrokes and speed up repetitive activities.
Similar macros were available for BASIC programmers, making a control key
sequence print many of the common BASIC keywords, speeding program entry.
(This type of macro was different from macros used in some assemblers, such
as Big Mac/Merlin and the Pascal assembler. Here a "macro" was a new
command that was defined to represent several standard assembly operation
codes. This did not shorten the final resulting program, but made it
possible to more easily enter repeated sequences of assembly codes).
Application programs began to take this concept and include a macro
capability (either offered with the program or as a third-party add-on
product). With time, some of these macro features have become so complex
that they have become programming languages in their own right. In fact,
many of them are being referred to as "scripting" languages, since they
"direct" the function of a program, as a director uses a script to film a
movie. This has been most popular with telecommunications programs, where
the process of logging on to a remote computer, downloading new messages,
and uploading replies is automated with a script that analyzes the
responses from the other computer and takes the appropriate action. It has
also been popular in programs like Applewriter (WPL, Word Processing
Language) and AppleWorks (UltraMacros), where each has had its own method
of automating repetitive tasks.
A LEAP IN COMPLEXITY The environment for writing, compiling, and
"""""""""""""""""""" debugging programs has evolved along with the
applications created by those programs. Originally, the Apple II and other
computers of the day were used in a "command-line interface" environment.
This means that each command was typed one at a time, and sometimes
"batched" together to simplify a repetitive process (as with EXEC files
under Apple DOS). An example of this command-line interface can be found
by starting up Applesoft (or by using MS-DOS on an IBM). Anything that is
to be done with this language has to be started by typing the proper
command from the keyboard. Misspell the word "LOAD", and an error message
is printed and it will stubbornly refuse to do what you wanted. The same
command line is used for entering the lines of a BASIC program, or RUNning
the program. This method was used because it was what programmers of the
day were accustomed to. Nearly every computer prior to the microcomputer
revolution worked in the same way, even if it was done using punched cards
instead of being typed at a keyboard.
Minor differences were used from time to time in different computer
languages, but none really took effect and changed the way in which people
used computers until the release of the Macintosh in 1984. Macintosh used
a radically different method of operating a computer. Instead of typing
each command, the user would point to something on the screen and "click"
on it using the mouse pointing device. Macintosh programmers extended this
concept to every application released with it. This different environment
has been called a "graphic user interface" (GUI), and uses the concept of
objects rather than typed commands. To delete a file, you don't type
"DELETE PROGRAM," but point to the picture (icon) representing the file and
drag it onto a picture of a trash can. This "desktop" includes more
complex commands chosen from menus that appear in boxes called "windows"
that pull down like a window shade from command category names on a "menu
bar."
As the command line disappeared, so did traditional methods of
handling program data. Words were still typed into a document on a word
processing program, but many of the features that set up margins, tabs, and
page breaks were translated into graphic icons selected with the mouse.
Eventually this progressed into the world of the programmer. The text of a
computer program was entered much like any word processor text, and the
command to compile it into an executable program was now selected from the
menu bar at the top of the screen.
A step further along this path is the concept of "object-oriented
programming" (OOP). In this method, the details of windows, menu bars,
buttons, and other GUI standards are used to create other programs that use
a consistent interface. Instead of having to laboriously define at the
byte level how to create a window box, the computer already knows how to do
this; the programmer just has to tell the computer how big it should be and
where to place it on the screen. OOP programming allows smaller modules
(called "objects") to be used to build a more complex final product. A
language that works in an OOP environment is finally available on an
Apple II, but before we get to it, a little more introduction is necessary.
HYPERTEXT "Hypertext" is a term created by COMPUTER LIB author Ted
""""""""" Nelson that refers to a method of allowing a user to move from
one concept to another in a text by linking the two concepts together.<11>
The first type of program that used "hypertext" was a simple text-based
one. Certain words in the text of a document being viewed were marked to
indicate that other information about that word was available elsewhere.
Moving a cursor to that word and pressing a key would jump to the
additional facts. For example, in an article about the history of music,
the word "sonata" might be highlighted. Selecting this word could jump to
another article that discusses sonatas in greater detail. When finished,
the user could jump back over this link to the place he left in the
original article.
"Tutor-Tech" was the first comprehensive hypertext system available
for the Apple II series. It worked on 8-bit Apple II's, and was designed
primarily for use in a classroom setting. Entirely graphics-based, it
defined certain parts of the screen as "buttons", and moving the pointer to
that area could allow the program to move to a different screen or cause
something else to happen. As with any graphic interface, icons that
represented certain functions were used to designate commands (i.e., to
exit the program, you pointed to a picture of door labeled "EXIT").
In 1986 a remarkable program became available on the Macintosh that
was, for a time, included with each Mac sold. "HyperCard" was a
comprehensive system that used the idea of hypertext, plus added a
programming language that consisted of words and phrases as close to
English as anything else previously available on a microcomputer. The
HyperCard system took care of the details of how to draw boxes and buttons,
and left it to the user to define where to put them and how to label them.
And because of the language (which Apple called "HyperTalk"), user actions
could do more than just move to a different picture (called a "card" by the
program). It was possible to design simple databases, games, and much more
using this system. Because it called a single part of an application a
"card", a collection of cards comprising an entire HyperCard application
was called a "stack".
With the release of the IIGS, the power was finally available in the
Apple II world to create a similar product. But it didn't come first from
Apple Computer; instead, Roger Wagner Publishing introduced a product
called "HyperStudio" in May of 1989. This program used the super hi-res
graphics modes accessible on the IIGS to create its own type of stacks.
Like HyperCard on the Macintosh, HyperStudio used buttons and objects on
the screen to direct movement through a stack application. It also
included a hardware card that made it possible to easily digitize sounds to
use in stacks. Though more extensive than Tutor-Tech, it was not quite as
flexible as HyperCard, since it lacked a true programming language.
In January 1991, Apple released HyperCard IIGS, a conversion of the
Macintosh product. This finally made a fully programmable hypermedia
environment possible on the IIGS. Later in the year Roger Wagner
Publishing responded with an updated version of HyperStudio that also
included a programming language similar to HyperText that afforded more
control over that stacks that were created. Although neither of these
products gives the user power over details of the computer system itself
(as does "C" or assembly), it does make it possible for a beginner to
create programs that have outstanding graphics and sound without having to
know exactly how the hardware produces these effects. This, along with the
flexibility possible with these products, has led Dennis Doms in an
A2-Central feature article to suggest that HyperCard IIGS (and now also
possibly HyperStudio) will become the "Applesoft" of the 1990's; that is,
an Apple IIGS user with HyperCard IIGS can create programs as easily as the
Applesoft programmer of 1980 could do, but with far more attractive
results.<11>
[*][*][*]
NEXT INSTALLMENT: Software
""""""""""""""""
NOTES
"""""
<1> Walls, Keith S. "The Fantastic New World Of Apple Pascal",
PEEKING AT CALL-A.P.P.L.E., VOL 3, 1980, p. 237.
<2> Howerton, Christopher, and Purvis, Lee. "The Apple IIGS Pascal
Revue", CALL-A.P.P.L.E., Apr 1988, pp. 12-17.
<3> Winston, Alan B. "The Multi Lingual Apple", PEEKING AT
CALL-A.P.P.L.E., VOL 3, 1980, pp. 222-224.
<4> Vanderpool, Tom. GEnie, A2 ROUNDTABLE, Mar & Aug 1991, Category
2, Topic 16.
<5> Winston, Alan B. "The Multi-Lingual Apple: Languages", PEEKING AT
CALL-A.P.P.L.E., VOL 2, 1979, pp. 183-190.
<6> Cap'n Software's version was written by John Draper, the legendary
phone phreaker "Cap'n Crunch" who had worked at Apple in its early
days. During his time at Apple he had designed one of the first
peripheral cards for the Apple II: A telephone controlling device
that also just happened to be capable of hacking into long
distance telephone switching systems, and was therefore quite
illegal.
<7> -----. Apple Computer, Inc., APPLE IIC MEMORY EXPANSION CARD
OWNER'S GUIDE, Singapore, 1986, pp. 2-4.
<8> -----. (ads), CALL-A.P.P.L.E. IN DEPTH #1, 1981, p. 106.
<9> Hertzfeld, Andy. "A Consumer's Guide To Apple II Assemblers",
PEEKING AT CALL-A.P.P.L.E., VOL 2, 1979, pp. 164-166.
<10> Hyde, Randall. "Assembler Maxi-Reviews", PEEKING AT
CALL-A.P.P.L.E., VOL 3, 1980, pp. 240-246.
<11> Doms, Dennis. "An Applesoft for the 1990's", A2-CENTRAL, Mar
1991, p. 7.09-7.13.
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