The time has come for me to announce the addition of a new team member. Greg Templeman started work at Softdisk Publishing about four weeks ago. He will mainly serve as a Softdisk G-S programmer with occasional forays into Softdisk 8-bit programming. I╒d like to take this time to introduce you to him as well as to welcome him to the staff of the Apple Development Group. Below Jay╒s section, you will find an introductory Diskovery section written by him. If you have any ideas you╒d like implemented, better write now before we fill his slate for the next decade!
Shareware Solutions II
Each month, Joe Kohn reports on the latest and greatest Apple II shareware, freeware and public domain software in his Shareware Solutions II newsletter.
The following is an excerpt from an online interview with Joe Kohn by GEnieLamp, a publication of the A2 section on GEnie.
GEnieLamp> Shareware Solutions was the name of your column, which of course focused on shareware, freeware, and public domain software. Does the newsletter only cover shareware, freeware, and PD?
Kohn> The title Shareware Solutions II is a misnomer, as in many ways it turned out to be more like inCider: The Next Generation. I chose the name for one reason and one reason only: name recognition. I figured that after having written a column with that title for 4-5 years, first in the Apple IIGS Buyer╒s Guide and then in inCider/A+, that it would be a recognizable name for a new publication.
Of course, Shareware Solutions II is about shareware, but it╒s also about solutions. Above all, it╒s about the Apple II.
Obviously, I╒m biased, so let me share with you a few letters I╒ve received from subscribers. They can tell you all about Shareware Solutions II.
David Kerwood writes: ╥I just received my copy of Shareware Solutions II, and I can tell you that I was very impressed with what you have done here. I suppose I have gotten most of the A2 newsletter-format publications that have ever been published since 1986 (when I first discovered the world of Apple II computing), and this has been the best premier publication in this genre that I have ever received.╙
William Scott writes: ╥Congratulations on the first issue of Shareware
Solutions II. It is more than I imagined. It is well written, informative, and contains information not found anywhere else. Thank you for taking the chance, and supporting those who support the Apple II.╙
Bill Ingraham writes: ╥Issue 1 of Shareware Solutions II is really great. I had envisioned it as being all about downloading, and maybe a little news. Instead, it is loaded with news of the II world.╙
And, if I remember correctly, the interviewer also had a few choice words to say about Shareware Solutions II. Your turn, Mr. Cuff.
GEnieLamp> Thanks for ruining any chance I had at presenting a semblance of journalistic impartiality! <laughs> I believe I said that it was value for money, which in my personal opinion it certainly is.
Kohn> You wrote: ╥My rating of Shareware Solutions II, overall, is ╘must-have╒. The content makes you feel you╒re really getting your money╒s worth.╙
GEnieLamp> You announced your decision to start Shareware Solutions II in what proved to be the final edition of inCider. Did you decide to start your own newsletter because you knew inCider╒s days were numbered?
Kohn> Yes. I knew of inCider╒s plans at least 6 months before readers did, yet I decided to stick it out to the very end. It was only after my final articles had been submitted to inCider/A+ that I went forward with my plans to self-publish my own Apple II-oriented newsletter. Shareware Solutions II was announced in the July 1993 issue of inCider/A+, as I knew that was to be the final issue.
As an aside, I╒d like to point out that I got in the last word. The last words on the last page of the last issue of inCider were supplied by me. Those magical words, of course, were ╥Apple II Forever.╙
GEnieLamp> This is your first venture as publisher and editor-in-chief. Do you find it a different experience from that of being a contributor to magazines such as inCider/A+ and The Apple IIGS Buyer╒s Guide?
Kohn> It╒s like night and day. As a Contributing Editor, I simply emailed my articles as ASCII text, and several months later, they appeared with art work and were polished products. Now, the text is just the first step of a long process. After writing each article, I have to lay it out, test print it many times to make sure everything fits and looks good, bring the completed newsletter to the printers, type mailing labels, lick stamps, and bring them to the post office.
GEnieLamp> What hardware and software are you using to produce the newsletter?
Kohn> I own an Apple IIGS, and I╒m writing all the articles with AppleWorks v3.0, beefed up with TimeOut Thesaurus and UltraMacros. I try to do as much editing and revising as I can with AppleWorks Classic. Then, I load the articles into AppleWorks GS╒s word processing module, where I╒ll use the Find and Replace function to add smart quotes, and then finally, copy each article into AppleWorks GS╒s Page Layout module, where all the layout and last-minute editing is done.
Then, it╒s a simple matter of printing it out on my Hewlett-Packard LaserJet IIP Plus¬ and then bringing my final copy to the printer for mass duplication.
GEnieLamp> The professional look of the first issue brings to mind the frequent cry ╥I didn╒t know you could do that on an Apple II!╙ Obviously it can be done... but is desktop publishing with a IIGS and a laser printer easy to set up and use? What has your experience been?
Kohn> Learning how to use a desktop publishing program is the easy part. Learning how to use that program to create a work of art is the difficult part.
GEnieLamp> Is Shareware Solutions II essentially a one-man operation?
Kohn> Not essentially. It _is_ a one-man operation. I do everything.
GEnieLamp> Then you also track the subscriptions using your Apple II?
Kohn> The AppleWorks v3.0 database is just ideal for keeping track of subscribers.
GEnieLamp> What do you enjoy doing other than writing? What do wish you had more time for?
Kohn> A couple of years ago, I looked down and saw what others refer to as ╥computer stomach,╙ and I didn╒t like what I saw, so I joined a local gym and now work out twice a week. I used to ski a lot, but have only gotten in one day a year on the slopes ever since I started working full-time with my Apple II. I╒d like to go skiing a little more. I also like to hike, and I love to go to the monthly star party held atop a local mountain. I like to go to the movies, and I like to go to my local library. I like to go see the Oakland A╒s play, but they╒ve been breaking my heart recently. I also like to listen to music, but find it too distracting when working.
I like to share my computer expertise, as a volunteer, to non-profit organizations, and through CompuMentor (a San Francisco-based non-profit organization) have helped more than 30 social service organizations and schools to use their Apple II╒s more efficiently. I also like to share my expertise with my neighbors, and am currently President of the GravenStein Apple IIGS User Group.
But, above all, I╒m going into my second decade of a love affair. I love the Apple II.
GEnieLamp> Shareware Solutions II is currently a bimonthly. Does this seem like a realistic schedule, or do you feel you╒ll be going monthly soon?
Kohn> As of today, I only have ╥one issue under my belt╙ so it╒s premature to say when Shareware Solutions II will become a monthly.
GEnieLamp> You╒ve recently acquired an Internet address. Internet mail and newsgroups seem to be very hot topics right now. Will you be addressing this in Shareware Solutions II?
Kohn> I╒ve been active on the Internet and Usenet for nearly 2 years, but it has only been during the past 6 months that it dawned on me that the Internet contains the entire accumulated knowledge of all mankind, and it╒s all just a keystroke or two away. The much-hyped ╥super data high
