Big Blue Disk 20/bbd20.zip/BLUENOTE.TXT

Text File | 1988-03-28 | 10KB | 193 lines

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^C^1Blue Notes

   Hi!  I'm back, and you won.  I wasn't going to subscribe until I found out
how you resolved your problem with covers, but my husband and I both really
enjoyed the issue we bought, #13, so we bought a trial subscription.  Enclosed
you'll find a renewal.  I'm still hoping for covers, though!  Also, we can't run
PC-Draft on our Tandy 1000HX.  Is this because we have a defective disk?  Or,
does it require more than 256K (it states needing at least 256K)?

   My favorite section has been Blue Notes.  I turn there first with every
issue. Of course, I'm looking for the note I wrote earlier, but I love to read
other people's comments.  In issue #15, I completely agree with Rev. Dick
Lonsdale, who requested an article reviewing Desktop Publishers.  Tom requested
one for Christmas, so I've been trying to learn what I can about them.  By the
time you run an article, I'll probably own the wrong one, but I'd still
appreciate a review.

   My only complaint (besides missing covers) is Print Shop Images.  We own
Print Shop for our Atari, and it's a good program--I've gotten a lot of use and
enjoyment from it.  But, I didn't want to purchase duplicate software for the
Tandy. We saw an ad for SuperPrint from Scholastic, which sounded great, and at
a good price, too.  I've ordered it, not received it yet (I think it's available
after January).  So, my complaint about Print Shop Images is, what about the
rest of us?  Surely not EVERYONE owns Print Shop?

   Thank you for the Christmas wishes in Christmas Tree (issue #14), that was
nice.  I can hardly wait to get a bank statement so I can put Friendly Check-
book to use--it looks perfect.  Nations and Capitals is quite a challenge--I'm
still working on it.  Rock and Roll Quiz (issue #15) is more my speed.  I scored
pretty well, I think, though Tom scored higher.  A score range in the "Read It"
section would have been a nice addition.

   In issue #15, I beat the computer at Go-Mo-Ku!  What a great feeling!  Anna's
Gram was cute, too.  All-in-all, I agree with most of your readers--you're doing
an excellent job, appealing to all types of readers at different levels of know-
ledge and skill.  Thank you, and keep up the good work!

^RKathe Sexton-Deck
^RQuincy MI

^1>   We've recently begun including a miniature version of our retail cover in
^1>subscription mailings.  We hope this meets your needs by letting you see the
^1>artwork and program descriptions, in a format that can be mailed in envelopes
^1>which fit in ordinary mailboxes without being folded, spindled, and mutilated
^1>by your friendly neighborhood postman.
^1>   Because of the way Tandy models manage memory, allocating 16K of main memory
^1>for video display (unlike other PC models which have separate memory in the
^1>display adapter), some of our larger programs won't work in 256K Tandy systems.
^1>If you upgrade to 384K, they should run fine.
^1>   The Print Shop Utilities in issue #18 took care of some format conversions,
^1>such as from Apple Print Shop to IBM, and from PrintMaster to Print Shop.
^1>Perhaps we will take care of Scholastic SuperPrint format conversion sometime
^1>in the future.
^1>   Anyway, thanks for your comments.
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Dear BBD,

BOB IS WRONG
   I just have to respond to Bob Talley in issue 16.  Now, Bob said an awful
lot, but I was especially concerned with his lack of consideration for the mouse
and icon.

   "Dick Tracy Codes" are fine for you guys who can play these video games all
day.  They're ok if you can remember them.  But "MICE ARE FOR MANAGERS."  I find
PC's useful, when I can work on them (but that's not very often).  As a result,
I can hardly remember "cd\", let alone all the cutesy little "unwords"
programmers think should be English.

   With icons and a mouse (or at least icons), I can very quickly get back up to
my useful speed.  I think it would be best to have both available if possible.
The idea is to be able to function at some level even if you can't remember a
special code word.  Then, when you really are up to speed, you can use the
code words.  Just think back to the time you first started with computers.  The
most difficult thing with starting up a system for the first time is all the
unintelligible code words and set ups just to tell the box that the tube is mono
ttl, not CGA or EGA or, heaven forbid, VGA???  So how about a little slack for
us dumb managers, if you can have both code words and pictures it couldn't hurt.
Maybe we'll be so happy to be able to function better, we'll buy more PC's.

BOB IS RIGHT
  I have to admit you were right-on, Bob, when you looked at manuals.  There is
nothing worse than a useless stack of paper that can't even show a reasonable
index.  When you do finally find the data, its in DPA (DUMB PROGRAMMER
ACCRONYMS).

  If you needed to have built the program to understand the manual, then
you wouldn't need the manual.

SUGGESTIONS
   1. Give us a break!!!  Index it, cross index it and then call in help and
have your three-year-old guess some words and cross index those to the right
places.

   2. Write in English then give shorthand, but give both.  Provide quick
reference sections but show the full reference page number.

   3. Give every failure example you can think of, and some that are
unthinkable, and give the fix to get each one straightened out.  You will still
miss 75% of of the real problems, but at least it is an attempt.

THANKS TO BBD
   Thanks for a chance to speak up. Keep up the good work.  Issue 16 was very
interesting.  Please note that the HGCIBM CGA emulator locks up every time I get
to the end of a text section.  Maybe its one of those "vector 8h or 10h"
thingies but I thought you would like to know.  It still works well and displays
well compared to mono.  Thanks for making it available.

Thanks,

^RJim Stephenson
^RKalamazoo, MI

^1>   I'm not sure why HGCIBM does that.  Have you tried another emulator, such as
^1>SIMCGA?  Several of these are available for download on our BBS, publicly
^1>accessible at [phone], at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud.
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DEAR BIG BLUE DISK

   I would like to start by saying that the programs and other information on
BIG BLUE DISK are great.  In fact I am going to order a subscription very soon.
I do have an important question about issue 17, the labeler program.  Everything
on the disks works just fine, except for this one.  For some reason I always
receive a disk reading error message.  Perhaps you might have an answer to this
problem.

   The second reason for writing is that I feel that magazines on disk are one
of the best ways of receiving computer information and programs.  Your format is
very well done and I like the BLUE NOTES & EDITOR'S DESK section.  They can at
times help others with problems that they are having.  Oh, I almost forgot, the
system that I am using is a Tandy 1000 with MS-DOS 2.1. Could this be the cause
of the problem I described above?

^RR. Swanson
^RVisalia, CA

^1>   More likely, it's just a bad disk.  Such things creep through occasionally.
^1>Just write or call us, and we'll replace it with a new one at no charge.
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DEAR BIG BLUE DISK,

   First let me say I really think your magazine is great.  It doesn't always
hit the mark with me, but neither does any other magazine that I receive.  I
would like to see less public domain programs that fill an entire disk and more
of the small utility progams that you started with in your early issues.  I have
been very disappointed with issues 13 - 15.  You have lost the variety and scope
that you covered in your first year.  Maybe the accounting programs in issue 14
could have been split up in four issues to make room for other articles. The
same for issue 15.  You might also consider doing a short review of these
programs in the magazine then making it availible to subcribers for a nominal
fee 3 to 5 dollars.

   I'm the type of person that likes to tinker with things and when three of
Afredo's adventues would not run under my 3.2 dos operating system (it would run
under 3.1) I formated a disk with 3.2 then did a global file copy of Big Blue
Disk.  Alfredo would then run. I don't know exactly why. Another thing I have
done is to take the first five of Alfredo's adventures and put them on one disk
formated with the system files so it can be booted. Then I put the files
BRUN20.EXE & RETURN.EXE files on that disk. I followed that with an autoexec.bat
file created using copy con:

^FECHO OFF
^FLOSTCAUS
^FTRANPORT
^FLASERLAM
^FDIGESTIV
^FCURIOUS

these five adventures will run from one through five without stopping.

KEEP IT COMING

^RRussell Hedrick
^RAPO San Francisco

^1>   I'm not sure what the Alfredo problem is; any other users have similar
^1>experiences?
^1>   We're sorry you're disappointed in our second-disk specials over the last
^1>few months.  Our first disk always has a wide variety of programs, but we often
^1>use the second disk to focus on one item which would have been too large to
^1>include if we only had one disk per month like most other diskmagazines.  If we
^1>were to spread the accounting programs over several issues like you suggested,
^1>people who wanted them would have to wait months to complete their collection,
^1>and they'd probably complain.  We can't please everyone.  So what do other
^1>readers think; do you like us providing one large feature every month, or would
^1>you prefer to see more smaller programs of a wider variety?  Speak out!