NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #20

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Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Path: sparky!uunet!gatech!destroyer!ubc-cs!unixg.ubc.ca!kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca!ee.ualberta.ca!jpenne From: jpenne@ee.ualberta.ca (Jerry Penner) Subject: GEnieLamp Sept 1992 [4 parts] Message-ID: <jpenne.716322105@ee.ualberta.ca> Sender: news@kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca Nntp-Posting-Host: eigen.ee.ualberta.ca Organization: University Of Alberta, Edmonton Canada Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 18:21:45 GMT Lines: 1005 This is GEnieLamp, from the GEnie Information Service. It is being posted to the Internet by request from Tom Schmitz, one of the A2 editors of GEnieLamp. This is part 1 of 4 parts. ---8<------8<------8<------8<--- cut here ---8<------8<------8<------8<--- |||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| || || ||| || || || || ||| |||| |||||| || |||| Your || || || || ||| || || |||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GEnie Lamp A2/A2Pro || |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable || || || ||| ||| || || || |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE! || || || || || || || ||||| || || || || || ~ CHATTING WITH GARY UTTER ~ ~ GEnieLamp CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED! ~ ~ HOT MESSAGES - HOT FILES - HOT NEWS ~ ~ IT'S ONLY MONEY ISSUE ~ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// GEnie Lamp A2/A2Pro ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.1, Issue 6 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Publisher............................................Kent Fillmore Senior Editor........................................John Peters Editor (AII).......................................Tom Schmitz Co-Editor (AII).................................Phil Shapiro ~ GEnie Lamp MAC ~ ~ GEnie Lamp IBM ~ ~ GEnie Lamp ST ~ ~ GEnie Lamp Elsewhere ~ ~ GEnieLamp A2/A2Pro ~ ////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ >>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE II ROUNDTABLE? <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ September 1992 ~ FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] CONTEST WINNERS! ........ [WAR] Notes From The Editor. Pass The Envelope Please. HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] Is That A Letter for Me? Python Fever Spreads in STRT. PROGRAMMING CORNER ...... [PRO] ONLINE FUN .............. [FUN] Apple II and You. A2 Pro News & Features. WHO'S WHO ............... [WHO] FOCUS ON ................ [FOC] Who's Who In Apple II. Computers As Therapy. GAMES PEOPLE PLAY ....... [GAM] COWTOONS ................ [COW] Bouncin' Ferno. Mooooooo Fun! SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS ...... [SHA] APPLE II ................ [AII] It's Only Money. Apple II History, Part 4. THE ONLINE LIBRARY ...... [LIB] TELETALK ONLINE ......... [TEL] Yours For The Downloading. Doing It Online. LOG OFF ................. [LOG] GEnieLamp Information. [IDX] """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" READING GEnie Lamp GEnie Lamp has incorporated a unique indexing """""""""""""""""" system to help make reading the magazine easier. To utilize this system, load GEnie Lamp 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 GEnie Lamp, 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 costs only $4.95 a month for unlimited evening and """"""""""" weekend access to more than 100 services including electronic mail, online encyclopedia, shopping, news, entertainment, single-player games, multi-player chess and bulletin boards on leisure and professional subjects. With many other services, including the largest collection of files to download and the best online games, for only $6 per hour (non-prime-time/2400 baud). To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH. Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XTX99368,GENIE and hit RETURN. The system will then prompt you for your information. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" //////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "Haven't you heard "patience is a virtue" and "all good things / / to those who wait"? :^)" / / / / "Sure I have... But where's the update?? <Grin>..." / ////////////////////////////////////// D.SEBERG / T.EVANS21 //// [EOA] [FRM]////////////////////////////// FROM MY DESKTOP / ///////////////////////////////// Notes From The Editor """"""""""""""""""""" By John Peters [GENIELAMP] TOP OF THE PAGE The big news this month is the announcement of the """"""""""""""" GEnieLamp Computer Wars Contest winners. I am pleased to report that we received many entries from many different computer platforms. My thanks to everyone who participated in the contest. I was surprised at how few entries came in from the larger platforms and even more surprised at how many entries we received from the smaller systems. If we were handing out an award based on how many entries we received, the Apple II platform would easily take the prize. Strangely enough, the IBM and Macintosh would be dead last. Perplexing. You will find the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winning articles elsewhere in this issue. All other entries will be published in future issues of GEnieLamp. All-in-all, we had fun with the contest and we hope you did too. NEW ALADDIN COLUMN I am happy to announce that master script writer, Jim """""""""""""""""" Lubin has agreed to start a monthly column about Aladdin scripts. Each month in the IBM and ST Lamp there will be a "Cut & Paste" script that you can add to Aladdin. This month Jim makes it easy for you to check your GEnie Usage and Billing Data. With this script getting this information is now just a click away! ON A PERSONAL NOTE I received a somewhat frantic GE Mail message from """""""""""""""""" long-time GEnieLamp ST staff writer Richard Brown [R.BROWN30] who wrote, "The hurricane is 16 hours and only 1.5 degrees off making my house the bullseye. 2 hours sleep, massive adrenaline. You might need to edit a little, sorry, but I'm bugging out. Online again ASAP." Since then I've seen horrifying news reports of destruction and chaos from Florida. From all of us here at GEnieLamp, our thoughts are with you and your family, Richard. GOOD TO KNOW! I'm afraid I have to agree with you about working with """"""""""""" the phone company regarding line noise. I work for Michigan Bell as a cable splicer, and before then I was a repairman. For the past few years I've had a lot of battles with management about this topic. I got nowhere with them either. There are two problem areas. First, the vast majority of station repairman are not trained in repairing problems related with data lines. It requires some special equipment also. In our area, the only people with this knowledge and training are the Large Business Technicians. These are generally repairman/installers who do nothing but work for companies, and a lot of their work is on data lines. What you need to do is request (demand?) that the repair department send out one of these people instead of a regular repairman. If you don't get anywhere then demand to talk to a supervisor. If that doesn't help, start calling your local public service commission. Unfortunately, in most cases you have to make a lot of noise. Here is another fact. The phone company will tell you that there is nothing in the tariffs that say a "plain old telephone service" line will support data. This is true. But the tariffs and the FCC regulations require that the phone line come up to a certain requirements. If these requirements are met your phone line should easily handle 2400 baud service. When you run 9600 baud and higher you are at the very top of those limits and it's not reasonable for Bell to supply every customer with perfect lines. But there are ways to cure noise ratio and Db Loss problems very simply. But that gets back to my first comment...the repairmen are not properly trained to fix data lines. I have found a simple way to cure most problems with data lines. It doesn't solve them all but it's worked for me in 13 out of 15 attempts. Ask your repair department to install an RF filter to reduce radio noise coming through the phone lines, and also place a Db Pad (Bell calls them a "97A Jack"). The pad is especially important if you live near the central office (where the dialtone comes from). It may cost you a small installation fee. If you just ask the repairman to install them he may even do it just to get you off his back. Some day the government will ease off the phone company and we will start putting fiber optic cables directly to every home. Then you can enjoy super fast data without any noise at all. (G.CROSS, CAT8, TOP10, MSG:140/M474) Until next month... John Peters GEnieLamp E-Magazine /////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "I'm *sold* out & _all_ shipped out... Whew, 26 outa 32.. / / GEnie is a wonder!!!" / //////////////////////////////////////////// T.EVANS21 //// [EOA] [WAR]////////////////////////////// CONTEST WINNERS! / ///////////////////////////////// Pass The Envelope Please """""""""""""""""""""""" By John Peters [GENIELAMP] >>> THE ANNUAL GEnieLamp COMPUTER WAR CONTEST! <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ FIRST PLACE - $100.00 GEnie Online Credit ~ Brian McLean / [B.MCLEAN7] THE BEST COMPUTER? I once visited a grocers' distribution data """""""""""""""""" processing center and was intrigued with the number of silver disks hanging on the wall, appearing like trophies representing best-selling record albums gone platinum. Only these weren't platinum record albums encased in crystal, framed in silver: these were hard drives nailed in effigy to the wall. And the head programmer described with horror the sound of a hard-drive crashing, the sound of steel fingernails dragging down some electronic chalkboard, a sound he knew too well. There is no adequate answer to the question, which is the best computer. The truth is, none of us really likes computers. They perform stupid electronic tricks very quickly and with uncanny precision, as opposed to humans, who perform stupid tricks slowly and often inaccurately. The problem with computers lies in their ability to lull us into complacency. Just as they become some dependable and predictable friend in our lives, bringing order to chaos, they burn us by failing to save an important file, or by destroying the hard drive, or by catching on fire. Et tu R2D2. Computers conjure up unrealistic expectations. Some believe that computers are the harbinger of some 1984 Orwellian nightmare, and represent the ultimate instrument of oppression. Still others believe that computers will solve world hunger, bring world peace, or cure incurable diseases. The sad truth is that computers do only what humans tell them to do. Stupidly, quickly, and accurately. The question of which computer platform is the best, then, is really the wrong question. Computers in a vacuum, unplugged, are nothing at all. It is the user or programmer that defines the platform. The flawed question posed is analogous to asking which is the best musical instrument, while ignoring the great instrumentalists. To make the question interesting at all, one must answer it with a twist. Which is the best computer? My buddy Kevin thinks it's the Macintosh, which is arguably the coolest machine. Perhaps others would argue that the IBM or its "compatible" is the politically correct choice. Still others would embrace without question the innovative Cray. Or the vacuum-tubed Sperry-Univac, on nostalgic value alone. My little brother might convincingly argue Nintendo. But I think the proper answer to the question is the modem, that little cross-platform device with no moving parts and exaggerated warranties. The modem is the universal electronic medium. The modem educates, it informs, it amuses, it distinguishes not between seemingly incompatible platforms. The modem transfers and receives electronic mail and makes a large, detached, cold world, a little smaller, closer and warmer. The modem makes my IBM-compatible a universal platform. And I do not expect to be nailing my modem to the wall any time soon. At least not before the five-year warranty runs out. Brian McLean owns and operates an IBM-compatible ZEOS 386-25 with a relatively full 120 megabyte hard drive. Waiting to crash. >>> 2ND PLACE - $50.00 GEnie Online Credit <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ Paul Vega / [P.VEGA1] ~ THE HP-15C ADVANCED PROGRAMMABLE First, I want you to forget you saw """""""""" SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR that word, "calculator." It brings up """"""""""""""""""""" all sorts of bilious preconceptions of gawky LED displays, Chiclet-style keyboards, and puny processing power. Preconceptions are dangerous in a world groaning under the weight of nuclear bombs. So let us start anew, with fresh eyes, and examine this multi- functional device, this affable helper, my friend, the HP-15C. This machine has features which far outpace those of other members in its class. Check out that full-width, ten digit display! In power- conserving LCD, no less. This is sufficient for spelling out many words, such as "07734," in the popularly used DUS encryption format. (To read DUS ("Down, upside") encrypted code, turn the HP-15C upside-down.) The ergonomic keyboard boasts tactile feedback, and, in a bold move by H-P engineers, completely breaks from the QWERTY layout which has had such a stranglehold on the vast majority of typical personal computers, condemning users to a servitude of tangled fingers, endless typing lessons, and in some tragic cases, carpal tunnel syndrome. Indeed, by stripping the keyboard of all alphabetic characters, leaving only the numeric and mathematical/scientific function keys, H-P has virtually assured a new, refreshing brevity in any report or paper typed on this machine. I enthusiastically recommend that it be immediately installed in every legal office in the country! But let us not overlook the HP-15C's most obviously appealing attribute--its gloriously tiny size. At 3 x 5", and a smattering of ounces, the 15C was a palmtop before the word "palmtop" was invented! I could carry it to the South Pole, if indeed I were going anywhere near there in the foreseeable future. Along with its portability comes endurance. The HP-15C uses relatively ordinary alkaline batteries that make the nickel-cadmium ones, used in most laptops, seem like ponderous aircraft carriers. And what sort of life expectancy would you expect before the batteries powered down and had to be replaced? Two hours? Four hours? . . . How about _six months_?! Worries about whether one can continue working during that cross-country flight vanish, like so much blue water down a 747's toilet. Finally, let me describe a hidden, yet very special attribute of the HP-15C. It turns out that most people are so seduced by the slim shape of the 15C that they ask to borrow it--even to do rudimentary tasks, like adding up lists of numbers. At this, I smile and sweetly ask, "Do you know RPN?" When this elicits the puzzled, blank expression that it invariably does, I know that once again my 15C will remain, shadowed in the warmth of my breast pocket, safe from the barbarian hordes who don't even know how to add numbers in Reverse Polish Notation. The HP-15C. More than just a "calculator"--it's a great and good friend. Shouldn't you get one, too? >>> 3RD PLACE - $25.00 GEnie Online Credit <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ Eric Tremblay / E.TREMBLAY2 ~ THE NeXT COMPUTER The NeXT is the choice of the future. Why? First of """"""""""""""""" all for it's incredible software development tools. Interface Builder sets a precedent in developers tools for the whole software industry to follow. Object-oriented programming, now that's the future! Development time reduced by more the 75%. Then there's connectivity with thin and twisted-pair Ethernet ports which makes the NeXT AppleShare and Novell network ready. So now you can mix a NeXT with a PC or an Apple network without any problems. A user interface that sets the standard for all workstations and personnel computers of the future. Unix BSD which gives you multi-user and multi-tasking with many other advantages that a Unix system gives you. Then there's Display PostScript which makes the NeXT a truly "What you see is what you get" machine. Fax integration that will blow you away! Let's not forget the 68040 and the DSP from Motorola which also sets the standard in chip technology. The NeXT floppy disk supports DOS 720K, 1.44 and MacIntosh formatted disks, plus the new Extended Density 2.88 floppy disks. On the software side of things, all the major players are there. Lotus treated us with their incredible Improv spreadsheet and WordPerfect is there with their industry standard word processor. We also have other interesting software like the product called Simon Says which gives your NeXT voice recognition and many many more applications. If that not enough NeXT bundles a massive amount of software with each machine. These include Interface Builder, C compilers, Digital Webster (with full word definitions and pictures!), A text editor, Digital Librarian and a Mail application that can include voice attachments and document attachments (like a spreadsheet or graphics or ...) Which other vendors namely Sun are only now emulating. The future is bright for NeXT with it's multi-platform port of it's NeXTstep environment.. NeXTstep has already been ported to the 486 and ports to other platforms are planned for the near future. This gives the user a wider choice of hardware to choose from and at the same time the user is not at the mercy of a specific hardware or chip vendor. The NeXT also has an very large public domain software selection which is growing rapidly as each month passes, I'll also add that the pd software rivals some commercial applications found on other platforms, all of this due to the very advanced developers tools and a great programming community. All of that and more for a lot less then you think! I really love my NeXTstation, I would not trade it for any other computer and that includes a Sun workstation! //////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "Isn't it amazing how a $6 part can fix 100's of $$$ worth / / of equipment?" / /////////////////////////////////////////// D.GILLOGLY1 //// [EOA] [HEY]////////////////////////////// HEY MISTER POSTMAN / ///////////////////////////////// Is That A Letter For Me? """""""""""""""""""""""" By Thomas M. Schmitz [TOM.SCHMITZ] o Apple II ODDS & ENDS o WHAT'S NEW? o THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE o APPLE HEADS WANT TO KNOW o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT >>> Apple II ODDS & ENDS <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""" A2 UNIVERSITY PLANNED! The Apple II Roundtables (A2 and A2Pro) are """""""""""""""""""""" pleased to announce the fall term of A2 University, the GEnie classes you can take from your own home for just the cost of GEnie time. A2 University, abbreviated A2U, teaches courses of up to 12 weeks duration so that you can learn the programming you want to learn. And not just traditional programming either! A2U's fall term features classes on two of the Apple II's hottest topics by experts in their fields. The first course is "Ultra 4.0 to the Max!", taught by world-renowned Ultra MacroWorks expert Will Nelken (read his stuff in A+/inCider!). Will's got a 12-part course to show any AppleWorks user how to get the most out of JEM Software's brand-new Ultra 4.0 package. If you like squeezing more power out of AppleWorks 3.0, this course is for you! And starting in October, A2U presents Andy McFadden (author of NuLib and YankIt NuFX utilities) teaching a class on data compression. From the concepts of how data is compressed to the specifics of today's common compression standards, Andy's course can teach you how to make things smaller. For more information on signing up for either of these courses, see the new category 22 in the A2Pro Bulletin Board! Classes start soon, so prepare to expand your knowledge here with A2Pro -- teaching you what you want to know! --Matt (A2Pro Head Sysop) MORE K-FEST STUFF Well, everyone else has done a great job of summing up """"""""""""""""" Kfest to date. Nobody mentioned the guys trapped in the broken elevator, or the frisbee, or the SoftDisk pizza orgy (which included a session of SoftDisk's "Word Search" game elevated to a contact sport), the midnight runs of Bear's monster truck, or several other things that occurred in the dorms, but what the heck. The important point is that you people should come to Kansasfest even if you aren't commercial programmers. I'm just a IIe guy who programs mostly in Applesoft with the occasional small assembly extension. While I thoroughly enjoyed the conference sessions that I attended, I didn't come for the conference. I came for the chance to meet and talk with the movers and shakers of the Apple II world. They are all terrific people, and as Apple ramps down the GS program it seems to me that we are all growing closer. I hung out in Roger Wagner's dorm room while he gave demos of incredible prototypes of GS hardware (Roger has the neatest toys in the known universe). I went to dinner with a large group that included several Apple people, Roger Wagner, Uncle-DOS, and others, and spent much of the meal having a great conversation with Joe Kohn. Peter Walker, one of the Aussies, adopted some of us GEnie guys and it was neat learning what it's like to live and compute in Australia. I spent one break listening to Greg Branche (of Apple) tell stories about the life of a programmer at Apple, Inc. I got to meet Silas Warner, Alan Bird, and many others. And on, and on. My favorite conference sessions were the "Old Timers" series: o Tom Weishaar and Paul Statt ran an unstructured session that turned into the "story hour" as Tom, Paul, and the many old-timers in the audience took turns telling anecdotes about the old days. o Silas Warner's talk on the earliest days of Muse and the Apple II software was fascinating. It's a whole other world when you program for 4K and 16K Apples that don't have disk drives! Silas gave us some insights into the assembler that they invented that made code that was next to impossible to disassemble. o Alan Bird and Roger Wagner ran another unstructured session that was largely about Bert Kersey and about Roger's early days. Did you know that Bert's porch had a trap door in front of the door of his house? Roger mused about how he declined to publish Print Shop because he judged it a stupid idea that no one would buy. Roger told us that he originally was either going to buy a motorcycle, a stereo, or a computer. He settled on the computer because, "Once it's paid for, there's nothing else to buy." There was lots more. Roger is a riveting, hugely amusing speaker. Some people from my User Group here in NC came all the way to Kfest just for the Expo, and missed the conference. The Expo was swell, but it's the conference that has the real action. Don't miss it next year. -TomZ (T.ZUCHOWSKI, Cat. 44, Top. 7, Msg. 22, M645;1) AND MORE K-FEST! That Ozzie's name was Peter Weller, not Walker (if I'm """""""""""""""" not mistaken). ;-) Funny stories? How about Don "The Enforcer" Grimes hefting Roger Wagner likea sack of potatoes? Thought poor Roger would have a heart attack right then and there. My favorite bit was spending all night talking to Tammy Wolfgram because she was locked out of her husband's room. Her husband (Marc Wolfgram, the brains behind Foundation, the new IIgs resource editor and a VERY hot product for programmers that I'm sure will be talked about in detail over in A2Pro) was stone asleep. At some point I got tired of it so I just walked up to the door and began pounding a very fast 4/4 in triple-time patter, like a drummer, until a very astounded and confused-looking Marc opened his door. ;-) Ah, but wait, there's more. Can anyone forget the Australian gentleman (whose name was Cameron, I believe) who accidentally kicked a soccer ball into Matt Deatherage right in the dorm hallway? Matt let out a yelp (he'd been hit in a rather sensitive area) and proceeded to bellow and chase this poor Australian around the entire dorm. It may have been covered already, but it was surely amusing. One A2 sysop walked up to Matt after the fact and asked loudly if he was abusing the foreigners again. Everybody had a good laugh. Guess you had to be there. You people who didn't come missed a lot. I was way too busy myself during the conference to have near as much fun as I'd wanted to and I still had a blast. ;-) -Dean Esmay (A2.DEAN, Cat. 44, Top. 7, Msg. 24, M645;1) FAMOUS JOE AT K-FEST SPEAKS TOO! For me, the funniest thing that """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" happened at KansasFest happened when I was sitting at the inCider booth. Someone approached and said something like "Wow. You're Joe Kohn? You look different than I thought. Your writing style is so formal, I expected someone very conservative looking and I thought you'd be wearing a suit and tie". Another funny thing happened when I asked Steve Disbrow to do me a favor, and to sit in the inCider booth for a bit. He was most accommodating, and did as I asked. He also got Noreen to take a picture of him, wearing his GS+ t-shirt in front of the big inCider banner. If we're lucky, that picture will be on the front cover of the next GS+, with a huge banner announcing "GS+ Buys Out inCider". -Joe (J.KOHN, Cat. 44, Top. 7, Msg. 25, M645;1) Also a big thank you to Roger Wagner for all the good advice he provided to me (& many others) while at the Expo. Its really great to have such a cheerful person to talk for advice, always willing to share his experience with those in need. Its no wonder that this is the person who is almost single-handedly keeping a whole Apple product line alive. His helpfulness was exceeded only by his wonderful wife who actually handled my updates while answering a million questions from other attendees. Thanks, Pam! (R.CHEVRIER, Category 32, Topic 5, Message 100, M530;1) WHAT ABOUT THOSE YOUTHFUL PROGRAMMERS? I used to despair a lot about the """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" number of active younger programmers who seem to turn out miles of code. Then I realized that they have a rather protected environment, not having to maintain jobs to keep up house payments, support families, etc. :) It would be interesting to track the number of these folks that continue to crank out work when they enter the work force. Some, like Andy Nicholas, are good enough to go on to jobs where they can continue to use their skills. Many might not. Plus, sometimes it takes the discipline of a few years to come up with the insight for finishing really important programs (like Pointless, though Alan Bird isn't exactly an "old fogey"). The FTA wrote a lot of incredible demos, but very little of a productive nature, and productivity is the reason most people buy computers. Often age and cunning exceeds youthful exuberance... :) (A2-CENTRAL, Cat. 2, Top. 4, Msg. 64, M645;1) FEEL INTIMIDATED BY A2PRO? Our recent conversations with those of you """""""""""""""""""""""""" who could benefit a lot from the services A2Pro has to offer make us frown -- you tell us you're intimidated by A2Pro, that A2Pro is for the "elite" and the "hackers", and that regular home-type programmers are out of place there. We don't care if it's true or not -- we're going to wipe it out. One way we're starting is with an A2Pro Beginner's Night conference EACH AND EVERY WEEK. At this real time conference, no programming question is too silly, no development question is out of line and no questions about A2Pro are out of line. Period. We're going to hold these conferences every week on Thursday nights at 9:30 PM EDT (6:30 PM PDT, or 5:30 PM in Alaska) starting August 13th. And to put our money where our mouth is, we'll be giving out FREE GENIE TIME to random participants for the first four conferences. (M.DEATHERAGE, Category 1, Topic 17, Message 9, M530;1) A2PRO NEW USERS NIGHT CONTINUES ON 8/20 Our first new """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" users/beginners/folks-who-haven't- been-in-A2Pro-but-that's too-long-to-use-as-a-title night last Thursday was lots of fun -- people came, found out about what A2Pro has to offer, asked some programming questions they had stored up and two folks won FREE GEnie time. What could be better? Why, we're doing it again this Thursday night at 9:30 PM EDT, and folks will again win FREE GEnie time! The new users' RTC in A2Pro will happen every Thursday from now on, but only during the grand opening can you win GEnie time. Don't miss out on all the fun -- more GEnie users are having fun in A2Pro than ever before, and there's no reason you can't be one of them! (M.DEATHERAGE, Category 1, Topic 17, Message 15, M530;1) SO YOU FOUND A BUG BY APPLE? If you want to report the bug to _Apple_, """""""""""""""""""""""""""" no online service is the right place to do it. Apple's bug reporting center can be reached by internet Email (apple.bugs@applelink.apple.com), or you can US mail them at: Apple Bug Reporting Center Apple Computer, Inc. 20525 Mariani Ave., MS: 42-ES Cupertino, CA 95014 But I'd strongly encourage you to check out A2Pro. I don't know and can't change what your past experiences with A2Pro have been, but if A2Pro can't reasonably help you out with your problem, we'll fix it. That's all we can do. --Matt (I speak for myself, not for Apple) (M.DEATHERAGE, Cat. 9, Top. 6, Msg. 112, M645;1) >>> WHAT'S NEW <<< """""""""""""""""" A2 LOST CLASSICS GETS APPLE WRITER 2.1 It's now official. Applewriter // """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" by Paul Lutus is now available as Freeware in the A2 library (File # 19164). When I spoke with Paul, he agreed to allow distribution subject to a few restrictions. 1. Any and all people may copy Applewriter // version 2.1 ONLY. Other versions are not included in the Freeware statement. 2. No one shall sell Applewriter //. Nor shall anyone include it on a disk with other software which is being sold. 3. The documentation provided with the program was produced and is owned by Apple Computer Corp. The authority to distribute Applewriter does NOT include any copyrighted documentation. 4. The source code for Applewriter is still owned and retained by Paul Lutus. He is treating it as 'trade secrets' and therefore shall not disclose such source code. This situation is unlikely to change. 5. Paul is allowing Applewriter to be distributed as 'Freeware'. This means that the software is still copyrighted and still owned by him. It is within his rights to pull Applewriter out of circulation at any time he chooses. This also means that derivative works based on Applewriter code may be in a legal grey area. So tread carefully. :) (A2.TIM, Cat. 7, Top. 6, Msg. 2, M645;1) >>>>> I talked with Paul Lutus earlier this week and got a clarification """"" on the 'give away but do not sell' problem. Essentially, Paul has allowed Apple Writer to go Freeware, because he has made enough money from it, but does not want anyone else to make money from it at the expense of the users. TO this end, he wants it copied freely with no charge being made for the program. You may charge for the disk it is on, but this charge should be reasonable. For example, charging $10 for a disk with Apple Writer would be out of line, but charging $2 or $3 for a floppy is not. If a User's group routinely charges $3.95 for a filled floppy, including postage, then $3.95 for a disk with Apple Writer would be OK. But if they normally charge $3.95 and then charge $4.95 for Apple Writer, then it is NOT OK. Do you all see where I am going with this? :) Following this reasoning then, having Shareware Solutions include Apple Writer on its disk would not be in violation. Likewise the A2 on Disk could add Apple Writer safely, because the disk averages less than $4, and would be the same price whether or not AW were included. If you have any further questions, please ask. :) Hope this makes somebody happy. :) Tim Tobin A2 Head Librarian (A2.TIM, Cat. 7, Top. 6, Msg. 48, M645;1) SOUND ON YOUR II NON GS SoftDAC v2.0b1 is now available, pending release """"""""""""""""""""""" by the A2 sysops as file #19192. The new version offers improved sound quality--and it supports the RamWorks (and compatible memory expansion boards) to allow you to play really long sounds. For those of you who have never heard of SoftDAC, let me explain...in December 1990, I released a program for the 128K Apple IIe and IIc that allows these machines to play sampled sounds. Sampled sound was previously the exclusive domain of the Apple IIGS, Macintosh, and similar machines. SoftDAC allows you to play sampled sounds on the IIe and IIc without any extra hardware...and now it's even better, with RamWorks support. As usual, if you have questions regarding SoftDAC, you may (1) leave them in this topic or (2) send me email at S.ALFTER. Please note, however, that the Skunk Works BBS is temporarily offline, pending replacement of a dead power supply. _/_ / v \ (IIe ( Scott Alfter \_^_/ (S.ALFTER, Cat. 13, Top. 9, Msg. 2,M645;1) LISTEN UP! In recent issues, both A+/inCider and A2-Central printed """""""""" subscriber letters which state the HFS FST works fine under System Software 5.0.4. This is dangerously incorrect. While Apple tries to keep the internals of GS/OS fairly stable from release to release to minimize the opportunity for errors, GS/OS has always required substantial internal changes when new read/write file systems are added This was true in System Software 5.0 for AppleShare and is true in version 6.0 for HFS. The HFS FST may appear to work in normal circumstances (as the letters indicate), but the older versions of GS/OS do not meet the demands of the newer FST. The FST will almost certainly crash if you try to initialize any disks. Components from different system software versions do not mix and match -- do not use older system software files with newer system software versions GS/OS drivers are an exception -- they have a stable, documented interface and will work fine with any version of GS/OS later than the one for which they were designed, although some manufacturers may require newer features of newer drivers. (For example, the System Software 6.0 Apple 3.5" driver supports SuperDrives attached to an Apple II 3.5 Disk Controller Card -- while you can use the older version of the Apple 3.5 driver safely with System Software 6.0, you won't be able to use drives connected to an Apple 3.5 Disk Controller Card.) Mixing and matching system software in general is dangerous -- but using the HFS FST under 5.0.4 will eventually crash and it may trash your disks. Do not attempt this with any disks online that you want to keep. Matt Deatherage Apple Computer, Inc. (AIIDTS, CAT5, TOP5, MSG:1/M645;1) MS-DOS FST SOON TO BE A REALITY Apple publicly announces MS-DOS FST for """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Apple IIGS A2 CENTRAL SUMMER CONFERENCE 1992 ("KANSASFEST"), KANSAS CITY, MO., U.S.A., 1992 JUL 23 (A2 ON GENIE) -- Apple publicly announced today that they are working on an MS-DOS File System Translator (FST) for the Apple IIGS. Currently the FST is read-only, and writing ability is being worked on. It is not expected that the writing ability will be ready in time for its initial release. The MS-DOS FST is expected to ship with Apple IIGS System Software version 6.0.1. Apple IIGS System Software 6.0.1 is a maintenance release made necessary by the Apple II Ethernet Card. When the Apple II Ethernet Card ships, expected by the end of the year, System 6.0.1 will be made available. Besides bug fixes to System 6.0, the only other major change announced in System 6.0.1 is the addition of keyboard navigation to the Apple IIGS Finder. The MS-DOS FST will work on any MS-DOS volume that can be accessed by the Apple IIGS. Currently, the access of MS-DOS 3.5" disks is limited to 720K and 1.44M MS-DOS 3.5" disks read via an Apple SuperDrive or equivalent, connected to the Apple II SuperDrive Card (formerly known as the Apple II 3.5 Drive Card). Other known methods to access MS-DOS data on an Apple IIGS include MS-DOS formatted Syquest cartridges and MS-DOS 5.25" floppy disks read via an Applied Engineering Transdrive, connected to an Applied Engineering PC Transporter card. (Lunatic E'Sex, reporting for A2, the Apple II Roundtable on GEnie) -= Lunatic (: (LUNATIC, Cat. 9, Top. 7, Msg. 1, M645;1) MORE ON MS-DOS FST ][ talked to Greg Branche after the System 6.0 session """""""""""""""""" the following morning. It turns out that the MS-DOS FST is based largely on the ProDOS FST! Greg started work on the MS-DOS FST as a side project, after he had already transferred out of the Apple II division. Once he got it to a certain point, he turned over the code to Dave Lyons. They haven't even really started on the write portion, yet. The big problem with writing to MS-DOS disks is forked files. There are currently two or three completely different methods that are used to store Mac forked files on MS-DOS volumes, and they don't know if they want to choose one of those or try something else (there simply is no standard, and it doesn't look like there's going to _be_ one). Since the Atari ST uses a disk format almost identical to MS-DOS with a few variations, Greg said it's likely the MS-DOS FST could read Atari ST disks, as well, but he didn't have any ST disks to try out on it (if I can scare up some Atari disks I think I'll run over to Monroe 4 and see if Dave wants to try 'em out). I mentioned Amiga disks, but nothing conclusive was decided about them. |) |\ight now, the MS-DOS FST uses file name/file type translation that is identical to (and taken from) the High Sierra/ISO 9660 FST. For example, FILENAME.TXT is translated into a text file. I suggested assigning new aux types in the $E0 file type to certain common archive types, such as .ARC and .ZIP, but they said they didn't want to do anything with aux types, right now, just file types. Of course, anyone with the GS/OS Reference can look in the chapter on the High Sierra FST to get the data on Map Tables and create a new Map Table for the MS-DOS FST (like assigning .DOC files to text files, as well). -= Lunatic (: (LUNATIC, Cat. 9, Top. 7, Msg. 2, M645;1) GraFORTH IS A LOST CLASSIC! It's now official. GraFORTH by Paul Lutus """"""""""""""""""""""""""" is also now available as Freeware in the A2 library (File # 19206). When I spoke with Paul, he agreed to allow distribution subject to a few restrictions: 1. Any and all people may copy GraFORTH. 2. No one shall sell GraFORTH. Nor shall anyone include it on a disk with other software which is being sold. 3. The source code for GraFORTH is still owned and retained by Paul Lutus. He is treating it as 'trade secrets' and therefore shall not disclose such source code. This situation is unlikely to change. 4. Paul is allowing GraFORTH to be distributed as 'Freeware'. This means that the software is still copyrighted and still owned by him. It is within his rights to pull GraFORTH out of circulation at any time he chooses. This also means that derivative works based on GraFORTH code may be in a legal grey area. So tread carefully. :) Tim Tobin / Lost Classics Coordinator (A2.TIM, Cat. 7, Top. 6, Msg. 22, M645;1) BUT WHAT DOES IT DO? GraFORTH is a DOS 3.3 based graphical version of """""""""""""""""""" FORTH for the Apple II. It also has music and sound routines built in. Several demos are included as samples. These samples include animation routines, and music. I particularly like 'Die Fledermaus' which has a bat, with smoothly flapping wings, flying though the moonlit night sky. It is quite good, the only drawback being the fact that it is DOS 3.3. Anything in particular you would like to know? Tim Tobin / A2 Head Librarian (A2.TIM, Cat. 7, Top. 12, Msg. 4, M645,1) APPLENET ANNOUNCEMENTS Here are a couple of announcements concerning """""""""""""""""""""" AppleNET v2.0. First, thanks to Michel Donais, a friend of mine, and a "sometime" developer for AppleNET v2.0, we'll be using the auxiliary bank of Applesoft memory to store most system variables. That means, we'll have plenty more memory space for the overall system. The auxiliary memory partition, as it is now, will contain the menu and configurable BBS variables, as well as (perhaps) data on system events, accounting information, etc.. Once we're done with all the major stuff, I'll see if I can stuff the message editor variables in there for even greater memory space. But right now, the routine works like a charm! (It uses the same syntax as MW 3.0's & STORE command.) As well, unless any other suggestions are received for AppleNET 2.0's "new" name, most of the people up here have agreed on AppleNET Pro v2.0 as the program's "rebuilt" name. Didn't I say this was going to be a complete rewrite from the ground up, including its name? <g> And one more thing. If you are on Fidonet, I will soon be getting access to a Fidonet node, so you'll see me there once again. So, if you're an AppleNET sysop (or not!), feel free to drop me a line there once I do get my account. I'll be offering updates, news, and support on AppleNET Pro v2.0 and older versions of the BBS software. -Derek Fong (M.POTTER4, Cat. 41, Top. 3, Msg. 64, M645;1) BYTE WORKS RELEASES ORCA/C """" PROTOTYPED HEADERS (ALPHA VERSION) If you use ORCA/C and like the """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ANSI C features, you may have wished that the header files provided included function prototypes to help you with your programming. Well, wait no more! Mike Westerfield from the Byte Works has uploaded an ALPHA version of prototyped headers for ORCA/C. You can download and start using them now, and if you find any problems or have any suggestions, it's still well within time to make suggestions to Mike for inclusion in the final product. Note that since these are ALPHA releases, no one's promising they won't change before final, so if you use any in final software, be sure to keep a copy around so you can rebuild later. You can find the ORCA/C header files in A2Pro's library in file #2796, CHEADERS.BXY. Download them today and make ORCA/C work for _you!_ (M.DEATHERAGE, Category 1, Topic 17, Message 13, M530;1) NEW HUMAN INTERFACE CATEGORY DEBUTS A2Pro's bulletin board has a new """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" category -- "The Human Interface and You." This new category (#21) has room to discuss all the issues programmers face when trying to make people understand how to use their work. If you've ever had any questions or personal peeves you wanted to discuss, Cat 21 in the A2Pro bulletin board is for you. Check it out! (M.DEATHERAGE, Category 1, Topic 17, Message 14, M530;1) >>> THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" IBM-GS ??? We are not sure where this started, but some reliable sources """""""""" are talking about a IIGS on a card for the PC and its clones. Obviously such a development would make production of Avatar much easier and there has been some sketchy talk of a licensing deal between the developers. This has neither been confirmed nor denied by Bill Heineman, Avatar's would be creator, at the time of this writing. It should be noted that IIe's on a card already exist for the IBM PC. This author wonders, if software can emulate the Macintosh on an Amiga, why the same cannot be done for for the IIGS? And do not give the ancient Esoniq chip excuse. If the IIGS can play a Mod, the Amiga can easily play SoundSmith and other IIGS music systems. (Editor) MORE ON IIGS EMULATOR FOR 386/486 COMPUTERS """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Unfortunately, there's not a lot of info available, due (IMO) to Apple, Inc.'s propensity for spending tons of money on rabid lawyers to litigate the competition out of existence. As for what software will run on the emulator; it uses active translation at the ML level from 65816 code to 80386 code. The GS tools are fully translated to Windows API calls, so it will run ANY GS specific software that uses standard calls. Sorry, but I think that probably rules out FTA stuff and maybe even IIe/c software. But there are already Apple II emulators available. Speed-wise, it runs GS software on a 25 MHz 386 just a little faster than a standard (non-zipped) GS, so I'm sure an 8 Mhz GS will still blow it's doors off. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing the full product! (R.CLYDE4 [Niccolo], Cat. 1, Top. 4, Msg. 22, M530;1) WHAT'S THAT? I have heard that Ken Franklin is about to release another """""""""""" dynamite ReliefWare program. (A2.BEAR, Cat. 5, Top. 3, Msg. 36, M645;1) TECH TALK I recall reading that for QuickDraw II version 3.x, the screen """"""""" is guaranteed to be at E12000. I need to double check, but I read it in an article by Mike Westerfield on filling areas in Call-Apple very long ago. Depending on QDVersion, he either used QD calls or screen memory directly. Should CloseView alter the QD version in the chance that some apps will change from directly accessing memory to using QD calls? -Jay (J.KRELL1 [Jay], Category 15, Topic 4, Message 51, M530;1) >>> APPLE HEADS WANT TO KNOW <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" SOUND TALK |\|o, MODs are pretty sure to take the most processor time, """""""""" and SoundSmith songs the least. To play a MOD you usually have to do a lot of swapping of instruments in the DOC RAM, since MODs can have up to 128K instruments. The processor hit to play a MOD is probably 50-80% or even more. SoundSmith music playing takes very little extra processor time -- lots of games use SoundSmith music. From what I understand, you set everything up in the DOC RAM and then let a little interrupt driven routine do all the work for you, while you go off and do your animation/etc. MIDI Synth music has also been used in games (the only one that comes to mind right now is Dragon Wars GS; I think Bill Heineman wrote another one that uses MIDI Synth, too). Since it uses a tool that's built in to the system, it should also be pretty easy to use. That's not saying anything about getting the music INTO the software, though. I'd say use MIDI Synth if you can spare the little extra processor time, or SoundSmith if not. -= Lunatic (: (LUNATIC, Category 11, Topic 11, Message 10, 530;1) -- Jerry Penner jpenne@ee.ualberta.ca Try a 1-line .sig today.