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MICROREVIEWS for September 1996 Micropendium
by Charles Good

This month some of my reviews will be updates of software I have previously
reviewed.  These updates were acquired during my visit to the Cleveland MUG
conference in May.  The Cleveland groups did a really great job organizing this
event.  Attendance was high and everything was free, including the food.  It is
a good thing we are not fans of the ADAM computer.  ADAM enthusiasts are having
a computer show in the Cleveland area in September.  The cost of admission to
this multi day event, which includes food and lodging, is well over $200.
Daily admission with no "free" food is $17.  I kid you not! We TIers are very
lucky to have groups willing to organize free or low cost TI computer shows.
----------------
LOAD MASTER updated to v2.1 by Mickey Cendrowski

My review of v1.2 a few months ago was kinda luke warm.  That is because at
that time the product didn't seem very special.  It would display a disk
directory, view text files from the displayed directory and run XB software
from the directory.  Now there is much more.

The new feature added to v2.1 that makes this a really useful product is file
identification.  No other 99/4A product does this so extensively.  When Load
Master reads a disk directory it compares the characteristics of each file to
its internal data base and makes a very good guess as to the specific nature of
the file.  Here are the file types recognized: Character file (as in CHARA1),
TIPS font, Infocom game, FORTH screens, e/a option 5, Artist border (refers to
TI Artist), Artist picture, Artist instance, Artist slide, Artist movie, Artist
vector, TI Base command, TI Base help, TI Base structure, XB merge type runable
program, E/A option 3, Archived file, Page Pro banner, Page Pro large font,
Page Pro small font, Page Pro line font, Adventure game file, TOD adventure
file, JP border (I am not sure what "JP" is), JP font, JP image, JP pattern,
Firstbase dictionary, Firstbase data, and Firstbase index.

The on screen disk directory reports a file type from the above list next to
each file name in addition to the usual type of file information (length, name,
etc).  You can print these directories in various ways.  For example, you can
make a disk jacket with all directory info including file type printed on the
jacket.  Or, you can print an insert designed to slip inside or be pasted on
the outside of a disk jacket.  You can also print directory labels or save
directory information to a disk file, all with file types.  Speaking of
printing, you can also print labels with four lines of user defined text, and
you can have the software control two printers. Load Master is designed to work
with a serial and a parallel printer, sending some output to one and some to
the other if you want.

Load Master is almost entirely written in extended basic and determines file
type by examining the kind of file (PROGRAM, DV80, IF128, etc), file name, and
file length.  It does not look at file headers, which can't be done from
straight extended basic, and thus has trouble identifying many types of
"program" files.  Most of these are identified as "XB-BAS-EA5-ADV" beacuse it
can't tell them apart.  If the file is program and 34 sectors long then "GROM"
replaces EA5 in the above list.  Thus, Load Master isn't perfect in its file
type identification.  It is, however, the only TI product currently available
that attempts such detailed file identification.  A much older software
product, IDENTAFILE, by J. P. Hoddie, was published before many of Load
Master's identifiable file types ever existed.  If you want to distinguish
between "program" files that are XB EA5 or neither then I recommend Funnelweb's
Disk Review.

Load Master is quite slow and thus probably not really suitable for a quick
disk catalog.  Error checking is supposed to be added to future versions.
Right now it is sometimes possible to crash the program.  The Load Master
author suggests that you run your entire disk collection through Load Master
and make disk inserts or jacksts.  I think this is a good idea, and the main
reason that most folks will have for using Load Master.  Load Master v2.1 is
"send the author what you think it is worth" sharware.  Send me $1 and I will
mail it to you to try out on a SSSD disk.
-----------------
EXTENDED BASIC updated to v2.4g, by Tony Kneer

I have previously reviewed v2.3 which is mainly for use by 99/4A systems that
have a gram device.  V2.4g is only for Geneve users.  This Geneve version has
everything found in version 2.3 plus some Geneve specific niceties.  These
include:

CALL HFDCON and CALL HFDCOF.  These turn on and off the HFDC eprom, or the
eprom in the CorComp and Myarc floppy disk controller.  This gives you access
to the CALL subprograms found in these eproms such as DIR, ILR, LLR, LR, FILES,
MDM, and DT in the HFDC eprom.

CALL SPEED1 and CALL SPEED5.  I really like these!  They let you set normal
99/4A speed (SPEED1) from within extended basic either in command mode or from
a running program.  You no longer have to exit XB and go to the Geneve's GPL
interface to set speed.  This is very useful for games.  The Geneve makes most
software run much faster then it would on a 99/4A.  For some games this is too
fast.  You can slow the game down to normal 99/4A speed with CALL SPEED1.

The BREAK (fctn/4) now works on the Geneve.  It also works in XB v2.3 and in
the latest version of RXB, but but doesn't work from the grom file version of
the official TI extended basic.

The following nice enhancements to regular extended basic carry over from v2.3:
--CALL CHARSET resets both upper AND lower case characters to original TI
characters and default foreground and background colors.
--CALL ALSET resets to original TI XB characters but not colors.
--CALL CHARA1 resets to v2.4g resident characters, with true lower case
characters.
--CALL LRGCLPS loads the large capital char set displayed on the TI title
screen.
--CALL BYE and CALL QUIT both exit to the title screen from within a running
program or command mode
--CALL HELP shows these enhanced commands on screen
--CALL CRASH, CALL NYANYA, CALL HONK, CALL CHIME, and CALL BEEP produce
sounds.
--CALL GPEEK reads grom memory.
--CALL MLOAD loads and optionally runs an EA5 program.
--CALL MOVE moves blocks of memory.
--CALL MSAVE saves a memory image block of memory to disk.
--CALL SPROF and CALL SPRON turn off and on sprite motion.
--CALL VPEEK and CALL VPOKE will read and write to VDP memory.
--CALL WAIT causes a user defined delay.
--CALL XB restarts extended basic and looks for DSK1.LOAD, which you can bypass
by holding down any key.

This software should be in the library of every Geneve owner.  If you have a
hard disk you should put it there and make it available as one of the several
flavors of extened basic now available to Geneve users.  The software is public
domain.  Send me $1 and I will mail it to you on a DSSD disk.
-----------------------
SPEAK DV80 assembly language version
by Tony Kneer and Charles Good

I have previously reviewed my DV80 file speaker.  Written in extended basic, it
loads TI's Text-to-speech, asks you for the name of a text file to read, and
then speaks the text file.  Tony made an assembly language version of my
program that is much faster in all respects but otherwise identical to my
orgiinal.

On my Geneve, from disk, my original takes 33 seconds to load itself and all
the Text-to-speech files.  Tony's version takes 9 seconds.  My original xb
version loads in a line of text and then pauses because the text has to be
converted to upper case so it can be spoken by text-to-speech.  These pauses
come at the end of each text line, which does not necessarily correspond to a
natural break in the middle or end of a sentence.  Thus, the pauses in speech
can be annoying.  There are similar pauses in Tony's version, but they don't
last nearly as long so the speech sounds more natural.

Send me $1 and I will send you Tony's very fast DV80 file speaker on a SSSD
disk.
-------------------------
ET AND HIS ADVENTURE ON LAND by Hank Mishkoff

This is a long lost piece of 99/4A command module software that existed only as
source code buried in the author's closet.  It has recently been assembled into
a more or less runable educational game.  In 1983 TI produced its own ET
frogger-like game and contracted with Looking Glass Software to produce a
series of educational command module cartridges based on the movie character
ET.  None of the TI or Looking Glass ET games were ever officially released.
Published references from that time refer to games called ET, ET at Sea, and ET
and His Adventure on Land.  The first two were finished and exist in user group
libraries as grom files playable with a gram device and as slightly buggy
assembly files playable from extended basic.  Until very recently, nobody had
ever seen the "on land" game and it was assumed to have been lost or never
completed.

One day last fall Hank Mishkoff logged onto the internet newsgroup comp.sys.ti
and indicated that he had been involved in software development for the 99/4a.
It turns out that he wrote several educational software command modules, and
wrote the music found in the music maker module.  We exchanged a number of
email messages which formed the basis of a really interesting interview
published in the November 1995 issue of the Lima newsletter.  As a result of
this exchange Hank dug into his closet and produced the original software
development disks and notebook for the ET and His Adventures On Land project,
long forgotten since 1983.  Hank wrote the game as an independent contractor
for with Looking Glass Software, but when TI quit the 99/4A Hank was not paid
for his efforts, so his disks went in the closet and were forgotten.  The disks
contain assembly source code and, as indicated in the Lima newsletter article,
Hank gave me permission to freely distribute the material.

This is an ecology/nature game.  The code is incomplete, not implementing all
the details described in the project development notebook, and there is no
sound.  (The notebook indicates that there was also going to be an "ET and His
Adventures in Air" game.)  ET wants to get picked up by his spaceship.  The
spaceship needs a place to land and there are several possible landing sites,
each occupied by animals.  ET has to move all the animals through a maze of
trails to their proper homes and give them some food.  The proper animal has to
go to the proper habitat and be given the correct kind of food before ET's
spaceship can land.  There are three habitats, forest jungle and desert.
Within each habitat a submenu asks you to 1-take the animals home, 2-feed the
animals, and 3-clear the forest.  You have to do all these things correctly in
at least one habitat before ET's spaceship can land and take him away to his
home planet.  There are three skill levels.  Some of the animals you encounter
include snake skunk frog spider lion giraffe fish parrot, elephant, and monkey.
As you move the animals with the arrow keys or joystick they make realistic
motions.  The frog hops for example.

Some of the details just arn't quite right, probably because the code isn't
complete.  The proper food for the frog, for example, sometimes seems to be a
rabbit.  I don't think so!  Some parts of the game just don't work at all.

On the title screen it says c1993 Texas Instruments.  This is not true.
Neither TI nor Looking Glass Software ever paid for the code, so it remains the
property of Hank Mishkoff, who has authorized its unrestricted distribution.
The code has been assembled into files that run as EA5.  Send me $1 and I will
send you these EA5 files along with the the Lima newsletter article on the
same SSSD disk that contains Archiver v4.0g.
---------------------
ARCHIVER updated to v4.0g by Tim Tesch

This is the same old Barry Boone archiver we all use and love, updated by Tim
Tesch to support long path names.  Contrary to what you might expect from the
suffex "g", this software is not Geneve specific.  It will work on a 99/4A or
Geneve system with or without hard drive.  It is, however, specifically useful
on systems with hard drives.  It works fine on my SCSI hard drive and Tim has
developed and tested it on a system with an HFDC hard drive controller.

The only parts of the new archiver that allow input of long path names are
"Extract Files" and "Catalog Ark File".  You are still limited to "DSKx" when
you want to pack an archive.  When you select "Extract Files" you are first
prompted for a path name of the file to unpack.  This means only the path that
contains the file, without the file name.  The second prompt asks you for the
file name.  This fooled me for awhile.  I kept getting errors when I gave the
complete path name at the first prompt.  The third prompt asks for the path
where you want to put the unarchived files.

Archiver was originally written by Barry Boone, and most of us have already
sent Barry a sharware donation.  Tim asks for a "whatever you think it is
worth" additional donation if you have already paid Barry Boone.  This software
should be in the hands of all hard drive users.  Send me $1 and I will mail it
for you to try out on a SSSD disk along with the ET game described above.
----------------------
TOUCHDOWN 96 by Gene Hitz

This is a really unusual software product.  I know of nothing similar.  If you
are lucky, the cost of this commercial software can be taken as an itemized
deduction on your income tax.  The previous sentence is literally true.

Touchdown 96 predicts the outcome of National Football League games week by
week, complete with point spread.  It will also give you a list of team ratings
based on past performance.  When you purchase the product the current season
game schedule and team ratings, correct to the week the software is mailed to
you, are already entered on your disk by the software author.  Each week you
update the program's data bank with the scores of the previous week's games.
This accumulating data allows the program to predict the outcome of the next
week's games.  The program can be used indefinately season after season.  The
previous season's ratings are used as a starting point for a new season.  For
1997 all you have to do to get started is input the 1997 week by week game
schedule when it becomes available.

In making its predictions the program uses win/loss records, point spread, home
versus away, and values which it calculates for itself called momentum and
rebound factors.  At any time you can get screen displays and printouts of
predictions for any week's games, the current team rankings as calculated by
the program, and the conference standings as determined by win loss and tie
records.  Predictions are most valid for the next week's games, but can be
extended to future weeks.

The program has a very professional on screen look.  It makes heavy use of John
Bull's XB windows routines and lots of spiffy looking overlapping windows pop
up all over the screen.  There is also a neat looking football shaped cursor.
There are on line help screens, which you really need sometimes.  I find the
documentation kind of confusing, perhaps because I am not much of a sports or
gambling fan.  On a 99/4A you have to press CTRL/I (control plus the letter i)
to exit some of the subwindows and return to the main menu.  This little fact
is mentioned in one of the on line help screens, but is not prominantly
discussed in program documentation and is not intuitive.  The TAB key on a
Geneve keyboard accomplishes the same thing.

Here is the sequence of program operation in order to generate a list of
predictions in case you can't figure it out from the docs.  Go to the Setup
window and Load data, then exit the setup window with Ctrl/I.  Goto the Files
window and Load file.  This is the schedule file.  Pick the season week number.
When the schedule for that week is loaded do Ctrl/I to get back to the main
menu.  Goto the Program Operations window and select Predicitions.  The
predictions will be displayed on screen and you will be given the opportunity
to make a hard copy.

How well does it work?  I don't know, but we will find out.  I am writing this
review at the end of July 1996.  Most of you will receive your Aug/Sept 1996
Micropendium magazines the last week of September.  Below is the predicted
outcome of the first week's NFL games, most of which will be played Sunday Sept
1, 1996.  These predictions are based completely on data from the 1995 season.
San Francisco by 7.83 over New Orleans.  Dallas by 7.63 over Chicago. Denver by
6.23 over New York.  Indianapolis by 4.86 over Arizona.  Pittsburgh by 4.8 over
Jacksonville.  Miami by 4.31 over New England.  Green Bay by 3.03 over Tampa
Bay.  San Diego by 2.94 over Seattle.  Kansas City by 1.25 over Houston.  New
York by 0.75 over Buffalo.  Baltimore by 0.6 over Oakland.  Minnesota by 0.58
over Detroit.  St. Louis by 0.42 over Cincinnati.  Washington by 0.37 over
Philadelphia.  Carolina by 0.01 over Atlanta.

Here are the predictions for week 2, most games played Sunday Sept 8.  These
predictions based only on last season's data would be more accurate if data
were available from the week 1 games, but that is not possible since I am
writing this in July.  San Francisco by 10.22 over St. Louis.  Green Bay by
10.19 over Philadelphia.  Detroit by 6.98 over Tampa.  Dallas by 6.64 over New
York.  Pittsburgh by 6.07 over Baltimore.  Kansas City by 5.02 over Oakland.
San Diego by 4.38 over Cincinnati.  Buffalo by 3.61 over New England.  New
Orleans by 3.19 over Carolina.  Miami by 1.94 over Arizona.  Houston by 1.89
over Jacksonville.  Indianapolis by 1.7 over New York.  Seattle by 1.36 over
Denver. Atlanta by 1.06 over Minnesota.  Washington by 0.49 over Chciago.

Touchdown 96 costs $10 which includes shipping and handling and the most recent
week's data entered on your SSSD disk.  Annual updates with any added or
improved options and containing current data are available for $5 to registered
owners.  The software is Geneve, 99/4A, and ramdisk compatible.  It is entirely
written in extended basic.

Oh yah.  About that income tax stuff.  The feds require that any net gambling
profits, even illegal gambling profits, be listed as miscellaneous income on
your federal income tax report.  However, any direct expenses incurred in
obtaining these winnings, such the purchase cost of Touchdown 96, can be
deducted from these winnings.
---------------------
ACCESS:

Tim Tesch (Archiver 4.0g), 1856 Dixie Rd., Port Washington WI  53074

Tony Kneer (XB v2.4g, Speak DV80 assembly version), 17 Marshall Circle,
Downington PA 19335.  Phone [phone]

Mickey Cendrowski (Load Master v2.1), 100 Pine St., Russellton PA 15076

Gene Hitz dba Program Innovators (Touchdown 96), 4122 W. Glenway, Wauwatosa WI
53222-1116

Charles Good (your humble reviewer and distributor of $1 disks), P.O. Box 447,
Venedocia OH 45894.  Phone [phone].  Preferred email address
[e-mail] (other previously published email addresses still work).