Loadstar 128 28/q28.d81/t.another world

Text File | 2022-08-28 | 10KB | 180 lines

                       DAVE'S TERM --- ANOTHER WORLD

                               by Don Graham


     Even though I've only been a 128 user for about a year, I have an
appreciation for the complexity and power of the machine.  I always said
that I just didn't NEED a 128, since the C64 did everything I needed to do.
It covered music, word processing, limited telecommunications, and I had
very little time or inclination for any other activities.  Besides, it's
been good enough for me for the past 10 or so years.  So I reasoned that if
I owned a 128 it would be in 64 mode most of the time anyway, so why
bother?  But then I bought a 128 system (because I couldn't pass up the
deal) and began to find some things that couldn't be done on a C-64.

     I discovered a program called DISKSERVANT on LOADSTAR 128 #21 and was
pretty impressed with this powerful disk manipulator, especially using my
1581 drive.  Then I started cyber-surfing again and actually enjoyed using
the 128, only switching over to the C64 when I wanted to do stereo music,
since it has the second SID chip built into it.  Then an amazing thing
happened.  DAVE'S TERM showed up at my door disguised as the entire back
side of my LOADSTAR128 #26 disk!!!  DAVE'S TERM, written by Dave Jansen,
is a modular program, which means it has a main program component, and
loads in other modules (mods) as needed by the user.  My life hasn't been
the same since it arrived.

     After a few hours of playing with this terminal program I was truly
impressed with the flexibility and power it had to offer.  It didn't happen
immediately, you understand, because you just can't appreciate this program
until you've spent some quality time with it.  And then you have to
experiment with it, too.  It is truly a marvel of programming prowess and
computer manipulation, and I tip my hat to Dave Jansen for doing such a
remarkable job.  What other program would allow you to download a
compressed file, dissolve it, read it, print it, and then return you to the
main menu, without ever having left the program?  What other program would
allow you to download a KOALA picture (standard, GG or crunched format),
view it, save it as a GIF file, and return you to the main menu, without
ever having left the program?

     So I promptly called The LOADSTAR Tower to ask some questions about
DAVE'S TERM and Fender passed along the balance of the modules to me so
that I could work with them and maybe even write an article.  You see, it
really DOES help to have connections in high places!  The only things that
I don't like about this program I'll tell you right now.  It doesn't
support any expansion memory, and it doesn't make coffee.  Beyond that it's
as complete a program as I could ask for.  After I spoke with the author,
Dave Jansen, I'm not surprised why the RAM expanders were not supported...
there's no room in the main program for the code to access and control
expansion memory!


 FOR BEGINNERS
 -------------

     When you first start with this program, you're just going to have to
block out some time so you can concentrate, because you'll need to study
and practice at first.  There's a lot to get familiar with, including the
very powerful buffer and its full featured word processor, the terminal and
its innovative use of the ALT key, the DOS wedge menu, and the powerful
phone directory.  (I'm not trying to scare you, just make you realize that
there is a LOT of power in this program, hence you have to learn how to use
it.)  These are the main parts of the first installment of DAVE'S TERM, and
I strongly urge that you print out the comprehensive documentation and keep
it nearby.  The documentation will not only teach you about the program,
but also about the 128 and telecommunications.  There are help screens that
load into the module buffer area which you can access from the term or
buffer or phone directory, but it'll be much easier to work through program
modules with the complete docs at your side.  Printing out the Docs is no
small task by itself, if you print all of the 130-140 pages on both sides
of 65-70 sheets of paper.  Keep a highliter handy to mark the different
sections too.  It'll pay off later on.  Use the buffer in DAVE'S TERM to
read, edit if you care to, and print the docs.  It'll also help to
familiarize you with how powerful that buffer is.

NOTE: The docs on the LOADSTAR 128 #28 5.25 inch disk are compressed with
DT128's LZH compressor and become PETASCII files when unLZHed.

     Once you have the documentation finished, I think it'll be very
helpful if you make what I'll call "work disks" of DAVE'S TERM.  A "work
disk" should contain all files related to this program EXCEPT docs files.
This program will boot and run from any drive (1541, 1571, 1581) but will
run the fastest on a 1581 drive or FD drive (1581 boots in 35 seconds.)  If
you don't have one of these wonderful 3-1/2" drives I highly recommend that
you get one.  It's faster than the 1571 in most activities, and you can
store over four 1541 disk sides on one 1581 disk.  It also allows
partitions (aka subdirectories), but that's another whole article by
itself.  If you know how to make a disk autoboot (use DISKSERVANT mentioned
above), do it.  Make a bootable disk for every drive type that you own.
The main program along with the modules take up almost 1200 blocks, so
you'll need both sides of a 5-1/4 disk, and I recommend putting all the
archive modules on the back side to begin with.  You can always change the
layout later on, as long as you have the most frequently called mods on the
front of the disk.  Write protect these disks and only use them for loading
the program, modules and phone directories.  You'll do best to keep this in
the main drive and do your uploading and downloading with another drive.
Put all of the docs on one disk, in case you need to go back to them, it'll
be tidier.  Before you start actually using this program, customize the
screen colors, etc., into a configure file which will always boot up into
your favorite display parameters.  You can change this later too, if you
want to.

    My final recommendation for beginners is a simple flow chart...

       A. PRINT THE DOCS

       B. READ THE DOCS

       C. EXPLORE THE PROGRAM

       D. GO TO B

   ..do this loop for a while and you'll learn by exposure.


 AN INVITATION TO POWER USERS
 ----------------------------

     As you spend more time with DAVE'S TERM you'll see that it can be
thought of as an operating system, because you'll find that you have just
about everything you need right there on the disk.  You can use the 46
commands in the "script" module to create your own customized routines
right in the buffer to perform those tasks that YOU want, right in DAVE'S
TERM.  Look back at the file on the first installment called
"autoexec.src".  Load it into the buffer and look it over.  It's the little
routine that you saw when the program first booted, asking you if you
wanted to set the clock or go to the 1541 fast routines.  You can make your
own routines (maybe even sell them to Fender), doing all the writing,
compiling, and executing right inside of DAVE'S TERM.

     Some other power user features include the support of 4 drives, single
or dual drive units, the ability to manipulate graphics (SAVE in 18
different formats), a comprehensive DOS menu, and copiers and editors.  And
if you use the 1581 or FD2000 drives your drive bottleneck will disappear!
There is a "scroll back" module that allows you to have 425 lines of on-
line text captured in the buffer.  That means you can go backwards while
online up to 19 screens to see what you just did.  A BBS mode called
"remote" allows you to call, upload, download, look at directories, etc.,
from another computer.  It's not real fancy but you can establish security
levels and create your own intro screens among other things.  You can
create macros for logon sequences, terminal macros, and buffer macros.
Your logon macros can include conditional testing, answering specific
prompts without touching keys, and more.

    The buffer is an awesome tool.  It includes a full featured word
processor with macros a