EnigmA Amiga Run 1995 November/EnigmA AMIGA RUN 02 (1995)(G.R. Edizioni)(IT)[!][issue 1995-11][Skylink CD].iso/earcd/misc/noahsarc.lha/Noahs.Arc/Part8

Text File | 1995-09-29 | 19KB | 352 lines

  Odds 'n Ends:

  - I applaud Commodore's efforts to update their computer with the "shell"
command, and you may very well find all kinds of valuable uses for it
someday.  But like the advanced DOS commands, the thing to do is to have a
need for them, then be overjoyed they exist, rather than having them around
and trying to invent excuses to use them.  Something like that.

  - The reason I like ProWrite is because you can actually take IFF pics and
load them onto a page.  A feature that few, if any, of the competition can
offer.  It also just works damn well, except for it not saving in text
correctly.  I have to admit, I've never called their technical support group,
you never can tell, there might be an answer.  Their Interlace version is
great, with the Shift-Help key combination to "quiet" the screen down.

  - Update Note:  So I'm sittin' here today about ready to write a letter
to my buddy Paul, up in Oregon, when I think, heck, why not spice up the
letter a bit?  So I fire up the paint kit, load up an IFF pic of this lovely
<blush!> girl, put a word balloon coming out of her mouth with a real nice,
personal <double-blush!!> message for Paul, save that honey, pop up ProWrite,
load the picture at the top of the page, print it in color, and now Paul has
a truly fun, personalized letter.  Ho hum.  Just another day in the life of
the Amiga owner. <yawn>

  - UpdateUpdate Note:  I was speaking of the old 1.2 version of ProWrite,
I don't like the new 3.x version at all, just for the record.

  - For a treat, pick up an optical mouse..very nice!  Mine's a "BoingMouse",
three-button type, which I've come to like.  If you're serious at all about
artwork, games or precision, an optical mouse is a must.

  The one hassle I found with it is that the edge of the mouse pad is kind
of sharp, and I ended up getting a nasty callous on my wrist.  I solved it
by gluing a small strip of furry cloth to the bottom of the mouse pad and
wrapping it around the edge of the computer bench, tacking it from below.
Hey, be the first one on your block to have a fur-lined mouse pad!

  - There are programs out there that allow you to perform various functions
from the (appropriately named) Function Keys, the F1 - F10 keys.

  - You probably won't be using too many of the c command options, but there
are a few that can be handy to know, such as "Dir dirs" will only show you
the dirs and "Dir files" only shows you files.  The books are reasonably
clear, assuming you're fluent in Template.  The template is seen by typing a
question mark after the command, like "Assign ?".  A lot of BBS programs,
possibly the majority, give you the proper layout if you type just the
program's name without any particulars, or maybe a -?, -h or -help.

  - The guys down at HT are just in love with this big commercial DU called
DiskMaster and wanted me to tell you all about it at the beginning of the
tutorial.  But, as you can see now, it would have severely stunted your
computer evolution if I'd made a big deal over some DU and you started
thinking that using the DU was "the way" to operate a computer.  As you know
now, if you want to be on equal footing with the computer, you have to stand
in DOS and speak its language.  My dumping you into DOS from the beginning
was really what gave you the confidence you have today.  'Nuff said.

  - I don't claim to be a "virus expert", but I'll tell ya what I do know:

  First off, the ol' "virus-inside-of-a-program-set-to-go-off-like-a-time-
bomb" isn't the kind of thing we're concerned about.  We're mainly worried
about "boot blocks"; the little part of the disk that the Install program
writes to, to make the disk bootable.  That's usually where the little
rascals hang out.  And they move from there into Ram and hang out there,
even though you reboot.  Then they move back to the boot block of the next
unsuspecting disk you put into one or both of the drives, and the circle
grows.  That's the basic rundown on your average garden variety virus..some
embed themselves in ROM, some get into the hard drive, etc, etc.  The docs
that come with the virus programs are, obviously, laden with information.

  A cold boot, that is, turning off the power for half a minute, will zap
any virus residing in Ram..but that won't help the boot block.  For that,
you use a virus tool, such as VirusX or Virus_Checker, both PD.

  There are basically three ways you can come into contact with foreign
boot blocks.  First, of course, are disks that just kinda drift on in,
either from a friend, club, mail order, store..just suddenly, there they
are.  The prudent thing to do with any such disk would be to slap it into
df1 and fire up the latest virus checkers to check it.

  Another way to catch a virus would be to slap one of your own disks into a
strange computer somewhere and voila!, instant system buddy.

  Lastly, you can get them from any compressed file that contains a boot
sector, such as any "warped" file.  Warped filenames end with the tag of the
warp type of compressor: .wrp for the original Warp, .lhw for the LHWarp
format, and .dms for the DMS commpression method.

  Follow all the above and you most likely won't ever have a problem.  If
you need further help, there are always a few boards around that specialize
in virus control.

  - Rumors to the contrary, there actually IS one official bug in the Amiga
operating system.  Go ahead, I'll give you a few minutes to gather your
strength.  Yes, it's pretty serious.  It's the...Tool Types box of a Project
icon.  It doesn't always save correctly.

  Keep trying and eventually it will.  Hope I didn't worry you, but I had to
be honest.

  - Y'know, I haven't said anything about the importance of constantly
backing up various things, but perhaps now might be a good time to dwell on
it.  If you haven't accidentally deleted some 10,000-byte textfile you've
thrown your heart into, and you're wondering if "crushing" is the word that
befits the occasion, you have only to wait.  The laws of Inverse Proportion
and Biometaphysical Recourse decree that eventually it'll happen.  And then
the only question SHOULD be: "How many small changes have I lost?"  Well, the
few changes you made in the last 5/10/? minutes.  When you're doing important
work, meaning your own stuff, stay on top of the backups.  Most text editors
have a way you can save the text without actually quitting the program, and
some ask you every so-many-minutes if you want it backed up.

  - When you Delete a file it doesn't really delete the material, it just
erases its "file markers" or whatever.  That's why DiskDoctor or a BBS
prog called UnDelete work.  You can actually delete everything on a disk,
make a regular copy of it with a diskcopier and STILL DiskDoctor the files
off the copied disk!  They're only gone for good if you write over them or
re-format the disk.  That's why a formatted disk writes so smooth and a
completely deleted disk scratches all over the place, because even though it
looks empty, the computer still knows there's stuff on there.

  - Did you check out the difference between the CLI and NewCLI commands?
NewCLI runs and returns the cursor to you.  OR, ahem, allows the script-
file to continue.  CLI acts more in the traditional manner of tools,
freezing, double-ahem, the scriptfile until it's closed.  You'll use both
in your scriptfiles for various purposes.

  - I like file-zapping programs, as I mentioned.  Sometimes it's the little
changes that make for that truly customized feel.  I didn't like the "RAM
DISK" name in all caps, so I file-zapped the Ram-handler in the l dir and
changed it to "Ram Disk".  Got a new game the other day, and when I Quit the
program, it pops up a requester asking "Save this game?", with the two
options being SAVE and CANCEL.  I see that CANCEL and I start thinking "Now
is that Cancel the Save, or Cancel the Quit, or Cancel the Quit but not the
Save, or...", so I file-zapped the sucker to read NO and it works just fine.

  - I really don't have anything to say about this ENVS: and CLIPS: business.
"Clutter" is what I'd call them.  You find a reason for them, lemme know.
"Speed", I'd imagine. <yawn>

  - Here's a fun prank to play on your buddy's Amiga, assuming you have
private access to it.  Open up FED, the font editor, and turn just ONE letter
around! :)  Or, you could also, slowly, over the weeks, remove tiny pieces
from a few fonts here and there.  Time for glasses!  If he's ALREADY wearing
glasses, he'll think his fonts are breaking and it's time to use FixFonts!
When FixFonts doesn't work, suggest it's his monitor! ;>

  - Make sure to use the Capture Buffer when you're on a BBS to capture all
the file descriptions so you can review them at your leisure, as well as
have them for reference.  Have a little space ready, though.  My buffer for
JC-BBS's Utilities is 92,217 bytes.  My buffers from GEnie total 300K+.

  - Give the computer a little slack.  Multitasking means two programs can
run concurrently, not that you can wantonly overlap functions like crazy.
When you close a program, give the computer a few seconds to recover itself,
ditto opening windows, hitting a DU button, etc.

                                       *

  Of the c commands we left on the master Workbench, probably the next ones
you'll want to try will be Skip, Lab and Ask.  Skip and Lab are if you
want to skip over or down to a certain part of a scriptfile, and Ask gets
input from you (yes/no) before continuing on with the scriptfile.  Skip and
Lab are very straightforward; put a "Skip xx" in the scriptfile and when the
computer gets to that command it will skip down the scriptfile 'til it gets
to the command "Lab xx".  Skip now has an option, "back", that skips back
through the the scriptfile to the previous Execute command.  All things
considered, this skip-back feature may be the most important upgrade on the
1.3 disk.  It means if you want to write a semi-elaborate scriptfile, you
don't have to learn Basic to do it.  Any 100-byte upgrade that saves you
thousands of dollars and a year of school gets my vote.

  Ask works fairly easily.  If you want the scriptfile to do something
when you answer "y" (yes), the format is:

                       Ask "Do you want the clock?"
                       If warn
                       df0:Clock
                       Else
                       Echo "Maybe next time!"
                       EndIf

  If you want to NOT do something unless you answer "n", add a "not" after
the word "warn".  When you see the word "warn", think "yes" and it'll make
semi-sense.

  Here are three ways I use Ask:

  > Asking me if I want to "Delete stuff in Ram?" before running the paint
kit.  Usually I do (for the memory), but now and then I've got something
stored in there temporarily and want it to stay there.

  > Some games, like Gunship, actually have the audacity to assume that when
you die, you're dead, costing you all the points you've so very painstakingly
accumulated so far (if that isn't the tackiest thing you've ever heard of!).
In my Gunship scriptfile, I first copy the game's saved scores to a backup
file, then after the game's through, I ask me if I want to save the game, and
if I died and answer "no", it copies the backup file over to the saved
scores file and it's as if the whole, ugly encounter never took place.

  > In certain cases, I like asking me if I want to see a program's docs, or
my own notes, before loading it up.  Sometimes it's just a little reminder
how to quit the program or whatever, like something in a Demos or MiscGames
drawer that you don't run very often.

  - Another command you might be interested in is ChangeTaskPri; it can be
really handy at times.  First, rename it to "Task", for convenience.  What it
does is change the "priority" of a CLI window, meaning, if you increase the
priority of a CLI, like with a "Task 1", whatever command/program you run
from that CLI will do it's thing first, overriding any other tasks that are
currently going on.  A standard CLI has a priority of zero.  It also works in
reverse, if you enter a "Task -1".  Here are some examples of how you might
use it:

  Let's say you have a big 500k animation in Ram you want to compress.  In
your CD Ram: CLI window, first type "Task -1".  Then "LHA a <newfilename> *"
to start the compression.  Normally, if you then went off to do something
in another CLI window while the anim was compressing, things would be kind
of sluggish, due to the multitasking.  With the priority for the LHA
process lowered to minus-one, it takes the back seat to anything else you're
doing, so if you go to edit a textfile or something, there's no slowdown.
The LHA task only does it's thing when you're not doing anything else with
the computer, it just sits there and works in the background.

  Conversely, if you're in the middle of compressing some huge anim, and
suddenly you want to quickly edit a textfile, just enter "Task 1" in a CLI
and now that CLI window, and anything you do from it, is "boss" and overrides
any other program going on in the background, with the default priority of
zero or less.  Get that?  If you wanted to compress three huge anims, but
didn't want them getting in each others way, you could open three CLI windows
and "Task 1" and "Task 2" in two of them (the third would be zero by
default), then run the three compression tasks.  The "Task 2" window would
work first, then when done the "Task 1" would take over, then finally the
default "Task 0" would do its thing.

                                       *

- Other BBS programs I like:

SnoopDOS - shows what libs/devs/etc a program is seeking
ShoWiz - displays pics in fun ways
Slideshow - ditto
MakeAnim - the next step after LMV; makes both IFF and HAM animations
Friends - cute pointer hack
Target - ditto
VacBench - want to remove a window or icon?  This is the tool for you
BenchQuake - a classic, right up there with Melt
RainBench - some people might vote this Best Hack
Random - runs random tool or scriptfile
Dissolve - nice pic displayer
Sand - I don't know why I like this little fella so much
Startle - Honorable Mention for hack of the year
Trails - your pointer's broken!
WaveBench - another good hack
Zonx - a mini-PacMan, kind of fun
Cycles - arcade game like in the movie Tron
Icefont - definitely font of the year, for paint & processor
AreaCode - gives you location of area code
Keylock - locks up your keyboard and mouse until you type in your secret
          word.  I protect my nude pics with it, just for fun
FM - File allocation map, shows where the file bytes are on the disk.  No
          real practical use for us, but fun to pretend
IFF2PCS - Makes a puzzle out of your IFF pics..very creative
Tetrix - Extremely addictive.  I've seen many variations, take your pick
EVO - a graphic portrayal of how the skull has evolved over the ages
Earth - shows Earth orbiting on any axis, x, y and z
DrawMap - the next step after Earth
Tank - mentioned above.  Simple, but the play is excellent
TrainKit - make your own train track layouts, lets you operate two huffing,
           puffing trains, switch tracks, etc
FishTank - simulates a live aquarium..absolutely terrific animation.  As an
           added bonus, you can draw up new fish and tank backgrounds if you
           have a paint kit that'll take HAM pics
Killer - the best of the Ami vs. them animations..really well done

  Update Note:  If you like Tetrix, you've GOT to get Obsess-o-Matic.  Abso-
lutely top honors for Adaptation of the Year.  I mean, Tertis was cute, and
Tetrix was a panic, but THIS is just nuts!

  And talk about customizing your system..how about letting the computer do
it for you?  The first project I had for FutureSound was to make recordings
of me saying just all kinds of terrible things for when I made an error,
so now, in my st-seq, Random picks out one of the messages for PlayBeep to
use.  I also let it pick a pointer out for me.  I haven't put Random through
its paces, but I bet some real crazy stuff could be done with it...like used
in conjunction with If, Ask, Skip and Say.  If you do something really neat,
definitely upload it to the boards (with the Random program)..I think people
would get a kick out of it.

                                       *

  I urge you to support the ShareWare concept, and don't forget the BBSs;
they're doing a lot for us with no thought of compensation.  If they ask for
a little something, it would be considerate to give.

  Also, the software most BBSs use don't like it if people just hang up
without exiting the BBS properly, so we should be courteous enough to follow
proper protocol and take the few extra seconds to do it right.

                                       *

  What to try if you're getting a lot of corrupt downloads:  My own
experience says phone line interference is a major culprit, and this can
be an old phone cord that suddenly gets moved a little bit, something elec-
trical getting turned on or off, maybe a slight power surge, and even good
ol' out-of-your-control interference, what we used to call "static".  Try
replacing the phone cord, and if you're serious, wire up the modem directly
to the house's main junction box with twisted, solid-core wire.  There might
also be the occasional thing you do with the computer while downloading that
your terminal program finds slightly disagreeable.  I have to admit, though,
I've put this thing through some real loops while downloading (usually
because I forgot I was online at the time, heh heh..) and don't remember a
program not de-arc'ing properly because of it.  I GURU'D a few times while
downloading, but that's different.

  That isn't to say that just because a file is corrupt, it's your fault.
The above is for a bunch of corrupt downloads, maybe from different boards.
If you suddenly get just one, most likely it's the board's fault.  If it's
"your" board, call it back up, download it again, and notify the SysOp if the
second download is corrupt, too.

                                       *

  Now the answer for the great Ram icon poser:  First take the icon you
want for Ram and change it to a Disk icon with IconLab or IconEd.  Next copy
it to df1, named "disk.info".  Pop out df1, re-insert it and you should see
your Ram icon.  Pop open the DU, move the icon in between the windows and
Snapshot the sucker.  Open its window, get it configured where you want the
Ram window to be and Snapshot.  Close the window, remove and re-insert the
disk and make sure everything works correctly.  Copy the icon to some private
drawer, like MyFiles, naming it "Ramicon.info".  In your st-seq, BEFORE
LoadWb, put in the command

                Copy MyFiles/Ramicon.info Ram:disk.info

  That copies it to Ram and renames it "disk.info".  A few commands AFTER
LoadWb, put in the command "Delete Ram:disk.info".  After LoadWb does its
thing, the Ram icon is "set" so the disk.info file can then be deleted,
leaving things neat and tidy.  As you can tell, I DID have Mrs. Stolberg for
fourth grade English.

                                       *

  - If you like Noah's.arc, and think it could benefit others, please feel
free to upload it far and wide.  If I missed something vital, made a terrible
error, please feel obligated to change or add to it.  This is an evolution,
not a process.

                                       *