home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Loadstar 10
/
010.d81
/
q & a
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
2022-08-26
|
5KB
|
249 lines
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
McFarland 90701
Please satisfy my curiosity and advise
of why a few of the PAYLOAD programs
are being repeated in different issues
of LOADSTAR. For example Spelling
Drill, Hangman, and Dabble have been
repeated two or three times already.
>If you look closely, you will see
that the programs you have mentioned
are not in the PAYLOAD section of
the magazine. These programs are
written in-house by our programming
staff and are included as an on-going
feature, just as regular paper
magazines have on-going features.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Owen 95338
You say you don't publish public
domain programs, yet in issue #3 there
was the 4 Min copy program. I believe
this was just a version of the one
from Germany. Was it acceptable
because it was modified?
>Well..Err..Uh... we made a mistake!
When we receive a program for PAYLOAD
publication, we do our best to insure
its originality. This one simply got
by us. Our policy still stands, we
do NOT (or try not to) publish public
domain programs, even if they have
been severely modified.
Another Question:
I modified Donna's Checkbook program
to function like I prefer it. If I
were to submit this modified verson,
would it possibly be used? What would
be the proper way to use Donna's
program (ie. give gredits, etc...)?
>We're glad you liked the program, and
we're glad you have modified the
program to suit your particular need.
If you have made substantial changes
to the program, just go ahead and
send it on in. If we feel that the
changes are generally wanted or
needed by the rest of our sub-
scribers, we will publish it again.
As to credits, etc..., all we ask is
that when using the program, give
credit where credit is due. Make
sure to show that Donna is the
original author. You may also
include your name as the 'modifier'
of the program.
And one more question,
I noted that many of the programs
sent in are modified, often by Donna.
Does that mean you accept first draft
programs and then you upgrade them? Or
is that simply a necessity to make
them connect properly to PAYLOAD? I
ask this because I have some programs
that work nicely, yet I would not
submit them because they have what I
consider improper or hard to read
programming lines.
>Most of the programs which Donna (or
anyone else on our staff) modifies,
are originally written for the
Apple computer. These programs have
been published on SOFTDISK, the
parent company of LOADSTAR. We felt
that the programs were good enough to
be converted from Apple to Commodore.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lieber 46032
I have just noticed your full-page ad
in the February/March issue of
'PowerPlay' magazine. Are the disks
spoken of in the ad the same disks as
I am now getting, or are they
something new? The ad may have been
clear to you about this, but not to
me!
>We have just recently become the
official disk companion to the
Commodore magazines PowerPlay and
Microcomputers. If you have a
subscription to LOADSTAR, you don't
have anything to worry about. You
will keep receiving your disk every
month. The only difference is that
now the listings from the most
current magazine (PowerPlay or
Microcomputers) will be included in
a special section. This can be
considered a special PAYLOAD section.
The best part is that you don't have
to type in those magazine listings;
we've already done it for you!!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Reuter 70501
I have a question about using the
double sided diskettes that you offer
for sale. I have read somewhere that
it is not a good idea to use the flip
side of a diskette on a single sided
disk drive like the 1541. When using
one side of the diskette it rotates in
one direction and any dust is caught
in the liner of the diskette jacket.
When the diskette is flipped over it
rotates in the opposite direction and
any dust caught in the liner would
tend to be pushed back the other way.
This dust could come in contact with
the read/write head and cause some
problems or the moving dust could
damage the diskette surface. My
question is whether this potential
dust contamination is really a problem
and are your double sided diskettes
constructed in such a way as to
minimize the problem?
>Well, first of all, our disks are not
protected from this potential danger.
Now the good news! We have been
using the double sided disks with the
1541 for over three years and have
not experienced any unusual dust
problems. Everything you point out
is true, but with properly buffed
disks (the disks we sell are properly
buffed) the amount of dust is
approximately NILL. If you pick up a
disk from a roadside park, it might
have enough dust in it to really clog
your drive. Jimmy has been using
double sided disks for over six years
and has not worn out his head yet!
---------- end of article ------------