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     ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN MICROPENDIUM
     P.O. Box 1343  Round Rock TX 78680
     Phone [phone]
     Internet [e-mail]

    MICROREVIEWS for November 1994
    by Charles Good
       -----------------
    NEWSLETTER EDITOR AND FORMATTER by Bill Gaskill

       This software is used to create and print newsletters one page
    at a time.  Text is printed in two columns with optional right
    justification, and each page is numbered at the bottom.  Designated
    text lines can be printed double strike (or "emphasized") and thus
    made to stand out on the printed page, and you can have a full
    width enlarged centered headline printed at the top of any or all
    pages.  Each page, with all these features, is printed with a
    single pass through your printer.  You get good looking nicely
    formatted all text (no graphics) newsletter pages without cutting
    and pasting.

       NEF, as the author calls this software, has its own text editor.
    The software is written in extended basic, but because Brad Snyder's
    40 column assembly routines are used you get a 40 column screen in
    which to enter your text.  The actual text you enter and print is a
    maximum of 36 columns wide.  To put your text into memory for
    formatting and printing you can either press "L" to load in a text
    file you previously saved using NEF, import (press FCTN/I) a TI
    Writer file, or type in your text directly into NEF's very basic
    text editor.  Using the NEF editor you get word wrap and you can
    insert blank lines between or delete lines from existing text
    lines.  You can also insert or delete characters within a line, but
    unlike TI writer insertions and deletions within a line do not
    affect text in other lines of your document.

       If you don't like the limitations of the NEF text editor, you
    also have the option of importing text created with a word
    processor.  NEF imports word processor files, and saves text back
    to disk in DV80 format.  The only limitation to importing word
    processor files into NEF is that each imported DV80 file must be no
    more than 36 columns wide.  DV80 files greater than 114 lines must
    be broken down into several smaller 114 line files before the text
    can be loaded into NEF.  It is easy to break down such large text
    files using TI Writer type word processors.  When using NEF to
    print pages I prefer using the Funnelweb v5.01 word processor to
    create right justified newsletter articles prior to importing them
    into NEF for formatting and printing.  The Funnelweb v5.01 word
    processor lets you do right justification directly from the editor
    without having to use a separate formatter.  The main reasions I
    don't like using the NEF text editor are that NEF's text editor
    tends to lose a character at word wrap even with my moderate touch
    typing speed, and its full screen editor is rather slow to respond
    to up/down cursor movement.

         Whether entering an article using the NEF text editor or
    importing a disk or hard drive file, NEF handles a maximum of 114
    lines of text at a time.  This is exactly enough text to fill one
    double column page, with enough room left for a top of page
    headline and a bottom of page page number.  If you have less than
    114 text lines, the right column on the printed page will not be
    completely filled with test.  You load in or type in the text for
    one page, print that page, then load in and print the text for the
    next page, etc.  NEF creates newsletters one page at a time.  The
    results are quite impressive, and you can make them better.  NEF is
    set up to print normal (pica) text in your printer's "draft" font,
    sometimes using double strike to make selected lines appear darker.
    Since NEF is written in extended basic, you might be able to figure
    out how to alter the XB code so that NEF prints text in your
    printer's "NLQ" font instead of "draft" font for even better
    looking text.

       Once your text is typed into or loaded in from a file you get to
    decide which lines to right justify and which to print in double
    strike or "emphasized" for extra darkness on the printed page.  The
    cursor appears to the right of each line and you move down your
    document one line at a time marking lines for right justification,
    which you see immediately on screen, and extra dark.  There is no
    global right justification as there is in the TI Writer formatter.
    With NEF if you want right justification you must do this one line
    at a time.  You probably don't want to right justify the last line
    of a paragraph.  Blank lines, and text lines with only one word are
    automatically not right justified.

       There are two  software products in the TI world similar to NEF
    that will print two column newsletter pages with one pass through
    the printer.  Art Gibson has written one that allows you to mix
    graphics with text.  I have not used his program, but I understand
    from others that Art's program does not have a wysiwyg display and
    uses control codes in a TI Writer type of file to switch printer
    fonts and to mix graphics and text.  The results of Art's
    newsletter printing software that I have seen in the Knoxville and
    the Cleveland newsletters look really good.

       These days most TI user group newsletters that aren't made with
    cut and paste are created with Page Pro.  This software gives you
    approximately a what you see is what you get screen display,
    allows you to mix text and graphics, and lets you print a nice
    border all around the page.  My main complaint about Page Pro is
    that its text is printed using graphics mode.  There are lots of
    different Page Pro fonts, but on a 9 pin dot matrix printer they
    all look very grainy and many are difficult to read.  NEF doesn't
    allow "one pass through the printer" mixing of text and graphics,
    there is no wysiwyg display, and you don't get a fancy border.
    (NEF, by the way can be used create a disk file of text formatted
    in two columns which can be loaded into and printed with Page Pro.)
    Because NEF produces such good looking text hard copy I prefer NEF
    over Page Pro for creating columnized newsletter pages.

       Of course the ultimate in total control of what is on a printed
    page is a careful neat cut and paste job.  In creating a cut and
    paste master you should use "magic" (frosted) tape to secure all
    the edges of all smaller papers you secure to the surface of your
    master page.  Edges so taped will not be seen when the master page
    is copied on a xerox copier.  My user group's newsletter is created
    this way.

       Send $1 to me at P.O. Box 647, Venedocia OH 45894 and I'll send
    NEF to you on a SSSD disk to play with.  Bill Gaskill is asking a
    $15 fairware fee which includes a royalty payment to Brad Snyder
    for using his 40 column routines.
       ------------------------
       USVBA POWER VOLLEYBALL by Program Innovators

       This is an "arcade action" game written in assembly which can be
    loaded from extended basic.  It can be played one against the
    computer or as a two player game.  USVBA, of course, stands for
    United States Volley Ball Association.  Considering the possible
    complexities of emulating a fast action team game on a computer
    screen, Power Volleyball is really quite well done.

       On screen you see the net, the ball, and one player on each side
    of the net.  This is a one on one game.  These two on screen
    players are all you get.  Using the joystick(s) you move your
    player toward or away from the net and you make your player into
    either a server or any of three ball hitting modes.  A "bumper"
    takes the newly served ball and pops it up into the air.  A
    "setter" moves the ball in an arc somewhat foreward so that it can
    be clobbered by the "spiker" who jumps way up in the air and bangs
    the ball over the net.  You may switch your man between any or all
    of these modes, but the recommended method of dealing with a ball
    newly arrived on your side of the net is bump, set, spike.  I find
    it is fun to try and immediately spike from near the net a newly
    arrived ball.

       There are several levels of play characterized by faster ball
    movement.  They are all hard!  Even at the slowest level it is
    difficult to score points against the computer in a you against the
    computer game.  This is really my only complaint.  The computer is
    too good at this game!  The lowest skill level should let bimbo
    players such as myself win once and awhile, but I have yet to win a
    game against the computer even at the lowest level.  You need
    practice to figure out exactly how to position your player with
    respect to the incoming ball.  If your position isn't correctly
    judged you will miss hitting the ball, which will drop at your
    feet.  Spiking is particularly difficult.  The ball is coming down
    and your man on screen is going up.

       Power volleyball really is a game of skill.  The on screen
    action, even at slow speed, is fast and quite realistic.  I give it
    a thumbs up!  It comes on a DSSD disk with both on disk and hard
    copy documentation.  Cost is $10 including postage.  Send your
    order to Program Innovators, 4122 Glenway, Wauwatosa WI 53222.  Ask
    about their stock market analyst/advisor software and their other
    arcade action games.