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|||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GEnieLamp Computing
|| |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable
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~ WELCOME TO GEnieLamp APPLE II! ~
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ POLISHING GREEN APPLES: Hooked on Classics, Part 2 ~
~ TECH TALK: Apple II Hybrids ~
~ PROFILES: Jim Royal, Author of Star Trek: First Contact ~
~ APPLE II HISTORY: Part 18 -- Software ~
~ HOT NEWS, HOT FILES, HOT MESSAGES ~
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
GEnieLamp Apple II ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.2, Issue 21
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Editor....................................................Douglas Cuff
Publisher.............................................John F. Peters
Copy-Editor...........................................Bruce Maples
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
~ GEnieLamp IBM ~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp [PR] ~
~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~ GEnieLamp TX2 ~
~ GEnieLamp A2 ~ A2-Central-On-Disk ~ LiveWire (ASCII) ~
~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~
GE Mail: GENIELAMP Internet: genielamp@genie.geis.com FTP: sosi.com
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
>>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE II ROUNDTABLE? <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ December 1, 1993 ~
FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY]
Notes From The Editor. Is That A Letter For Me?
HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] REFLECTIONS ............. [REF]
An Exception to Every Rule. Bringing Libraries Online.
BEGINNER'S CORNER ....... [BEG] TECH TALK ............... [TEC]
Polishing Green Apples, Part 5. Apple II Hybrids, Part 1.
CowTOONS! ............... [MOO] PD_QUICKVIEW ............ [PDQ]
From the GEnieLamp Elves. LaserJet Printer Drivers.
PROFILES ................ [PRO] HARDVIEW A2 ............. [HAR]
Who's Who: Jim Royal. Hot Hardware for the Apple II.
APPLE II ................ [AII] LOG OFF ................. [LOG]
Apple II History, Part 18. GEnieLamp Information.
[IDX]"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
READING GEnieLamp GEnieLamp has incorporated a unique indexing
""""""""""""""""" system to help make reading the magazine easier.
To utilize this system, load GEnieLamp 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 GEnieLamp, 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's monthly fee is $8.95 for which gives you up to four
""""""""""" hours of non-prime time access to most GEnie services, such
as software downloads, bulletin boards, GE Mail, an Internet gateway,
multi-player games and chat lines, are allowed without charge. GEnie's
non-prime time connect rate is $3.00. To sign up for GEnie service, call
(with modem) 1-800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH. Wait for the U#=
prompt. Type: XTX99014,DIGIPUB and hit RETURN. The system will then
prompt you for your information. Need more information? Call GEnie's
customer service line (voice) at 1-800-638-9636.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE STAFF OF GEnieLamp! ~
__
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/ | \ `&&&&&&&&&&&&'&&&&&&&&&&&S%%%%%%%%%%%%,
| `&&&&&&&&&,&&&&&&&&&&&&SS%%%%%%%%%%%%%
`~~~~~'~~ SSSSSSS%%%%%%%%%%%%%
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SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
ASCII Art by Susie Oviatt
[SUSIE]
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "o if you have a way to copy your own eproms, you can save /
/ a few bucks." /
/ /
/ "First I have to find out what an eprom is. Is that a /
/ repair I have to do in a rented tux <g>?" /
/////////////////////////// D.JOHNSON106 & M.STRAZNITSK ////
[EOA]
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
FROM MY DESKTOP /
/////////////////////////////////
Notes From The Editor
"""""""""""""""""""""
By Douglas Cuff
[EDITOR.A2]
MAKING READY FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON I love getting ready for the holiday
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" season, provided I'm allowed to do it
in my own time. By that I mean that I refuse to acknowledge the presence
of wrapping paper in the supermarket the day after Hallowe'en, and all the
other commercial exhortations to get in the holiday spirit several months
before the event. That way, I enjoy the holiday all the more when it does
finally arrive.
This year, my wife and I will be flying home for the holidays, which
is pretty much the nicest gift I can think of. Not only will we have the
chance to be with our families, who we've not seen since last year this
time, but both of us will get a short respite from our daily duties at
home. For instance, our hosts have no modem for their Apple IIgs, so I
shan't be able to work on GEnieLamp over the holidays. Heh heh heh.
Maybe your family isn't actually composed of blood relations, but I
do hope that you'll have a good holiday with them, whoever and wherever
they are.
WELCOMING A NEW MEMBER TO OUR FAMILY I'm thoroughly delighted to announce
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" that GEnieLamp A2 has added to its
staff the A2 Goddess, Tara Dillinger. Tara is the new assistant editor,
and will be in charge of our Apple II profiles -- the section of
GEnieLamp A2 that seems to draw the most praise and interest. Tara is by
now an old hand at interviews, as every Monday night she conducts a live
online talk show for the A2 RT: WOWS, A Walk on the Wild Side with Tara &
Co.!
As WOWS fans already know, Tara is endearingly loopy, which means she
should fit right in with the rest of the staff. Welcome, Tara! I'm so
delighted by your joining the staff that I feel as though I'm getting an
early present.
WELCOMING NEW WRITERS Just as exciting is the fact that submissions for
""""""""""""""""""""" GEnieLamp A2 keep pouring in. Old-time GEnieLamp
A2 contributor Larry Faust has returned with his take on an inexpensive
14,400 baud modem, and Jay Curtis begins a new series on Apple II hybrids.
What's more, a few readers write me each month -- I wish it were
more, but I mustn't be greedy -- to let me know how much they enjoy the
magazine, or to make suggestions for improvements, or for articles. It's
always great to hear from you!
We'll meet here again after the holidays. Just now, I have one or
two family traditions to carry on... and nothing could make me happier.
Happy holidays to all our readers!
-- Doug Cuff
GEnie Mail: EDITOR.A2 Internet: editor.a2@genie.geis.com
[EOA]
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
/////////////////////////////////
Is That A Letter For Me?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Douglas Cuff
[EDITOR.A2]
o BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS
o A2 POT-POURRI
o HOT TOPICS
o WHAT'S NEW
o THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT
>>> BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
[*] CAT2, TOP6 .............. Logging on from Sweden
[*] CAT2, TOP19 ............. Copy II+ on a hard drive?
[*] CAT5, TOP3 .............. Apple Inc no longer sells the II
[*] CAT13, TOP15 ............ Texas II patches AppleWorks 4
[*] CAT24, TOP2 ............. Hope for fax software?
[*] CAT41, TOP1 ............. Encrypting files
[*] CAT42, TOP29 ............ AppleWorks 4
[*] CAT44, TOP5 ............. Apple Inc auctions off inventory
>>> A2 POT-POURRI <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""
APPLE II USERS INDEPENDENT I think, to an extent, part of the
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" "self-reliance" of Apple II folks is that a
lot of us started when the _only_ way to get help was from someone else
floundering with their new toy. This counted even most computer store
operators.
In 1990-81, things started changing as the market started exploding.
Hacker types were phased out at computer stores and slick company-
"trained"-in-technology types took over. The solution became more "here's
what we can sell you to fix that" rather than "here's how to fix that".
In many cases, the former answer (_buying_ the solution) is actually
the proper one these days. But it isn't _always_ the right answer. I
think many of the Mac and PC folks have "grown up" with the "if it isn't
off the shelf, it can't work" mindset (many of the PC folks coming from the
mainframe environment where this seems to be _THE_ mindset, but my recent
experiences on this are another story :) and don't think well any other
way. Most of the Apple II users who have stuck it out are probably some of
the same hard-core [sorry] users who started back in the Olde Days, or know
some who did and cought the bug.
Under stress, people fall back on what they know. :)
(WIZARDS.MUSE, CAT11, TOP10, MSG:230/M645;1)
TWO PRINTERS ON A SWITCH BOX I'm having difficulty hooking up two
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" printers to my GS via a switch box.
Going from the printer port to an A-B switch box (mini-din 8 to
mini-din 8), then A to Imagewriter (md8-md8) and B to DeskJet 500 (md8-25).
What happens is NADA -- no response from either printer. Tested the
cables by hooking them up directly and they work. Using a switch box that
I have been using with my modem (with which it works just fine). So all
the individual components seem to be okay, but no printing.
What's the answer?
|
-(+)-
|
|
...Will (W.NELKEN1, CAT12, TOP17, MSG:163/M645;1)
>>>>> I had a similar problem, because I didn't know something very
""""" important about the cables. The standard GS to IW2 cable
"reverses" the connections between the two ends. Since I didn't know this,
I was trying to connect my GS to IW2 using two of these cables thru a
switch box, which "reversed" it one too many times.
The solution is to buy a "straight thru" cable (which unfortunately
looks just like a GS to IW2 cable) to go from your GS to switchbox. Then
connect your standard cables from the switch box to printers. My cable has
the following arrow symbol on it, which may be a standard (?):
<---
--->
If you tested ALL you cables separately and they all worked, this is
your problem, since one of them (the "straight thru") should not have
worked by itself.
I'm not sure why the modem works; maybe a modem is more flexible in
it's connections.
-=- Ken Watanabe -=-
(K.WATANABE5, CAT12, TOP17, MSG:168/M645;1)
APPLEWORKS DATABASE FIND AND REPLACE Does Appleworks 4.0 have any feature
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" that will replace all occurences of
a certain word in a certain field in all records of a database with another
word? For example, I have a Category in which I often entered "None". Now
I'd loke to go thru and change those 400 "None" 's to "N/A". Is this
possible with AW4, or even AW3?
(KEN.GAGNE, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:420/M645;1)
>>>>> Try putting this formula in the catagory. We'll assume the
""""" category is named socks.
@if([socks]="None","N/A",[socks])
Then OA-K the entire file
Quality Computers --- Power for performance
(W.CARVER1, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:431/M645;1)
>>>>> Nice trick, Bill -- wish I'd thought of that one. <g> Don't
""""" forget to remove the formula after recalcing the file.
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:434/M645;1)
PROGRAMMER LEAVES SOFTDISK I just wanted to say goodbye to everyone
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" before I get busy and drop out of sight. I'll
be around for the next week, but after that...
My last day at Softdisk is November 30. The next day I'll be heading
for Seattle and a job with Ariel Publishing.
I'll be keeping my PUNKWARE account so contacting me via e-mail will
still be possible, but after next week all Softdisk-related correspondence
should be addressed to Bryan.
It's not only been educational, but immense fun as well. Thanks for
everything.
Jay Jennings
Softdisk (PUNKWARE, CAT34, TOP2, MSG:23/M645;1)
REWARD FOR PRINT SHOP GS UTILITY > If the utility is freeware/shareware,
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > then people who don't own PSGS can
> also print out cards, banners, signs, etc. created by others. What a
> cool idea! Anyone want to give it a shot? ;-) I'll beta test. :)
And, Shareware Solutions II will offer a $100 cash reward to the
first person who completes a dependable and bug-free freeware or shareware
Apple IIGS utility program that will allow Print Shop GS greeting cards,
letterheads, etc to be printed to HP and HP compatible inkjet and laserjet
printers!
Joe Kohn
Publisher, Shareware Solutions II
(J.KOHN, CAT6, TOP5, MSG:133/M645;1)
MEMORY LANE: SPECIAL DELIVERY SOFTWARE Today I rescued an original copy
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" of the Apple Writer ][ Operating
Manual from the trash! Also Visicalc and PFS File, with original disks and
manuals.
Does anyone remember "Special Delivery Software?" It was a trademark
of Apple Computer, and Apple Writer ][ was published under this logo.
__!__
| Terrell Smith
| tsmith@ivcfnsc.fullfeed.com
(T.SMITH59, CAT7, TOP11, MSG:120/M645;1)
>>>>> I remember Special Delivery Software very well. Apple marketed an
""""" entire product line of sofware titles under that label. These
products were for both the Apple II and Apple /// machines. Apple II
products tended to be in grey packaging and Apple /// products were in
either black or blue packaging. It sure brings back some memories.
Tyler (A2.TYLER, CAT7, TOP11, MSG:121/M645;1)
APPLE II AND THE INTERNET
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
GET YOUR APPLE II
_ _ _
(_) ( )_ ( )_
| | ___ | ,_) __ _ __ ___ __ | ,_)
| |/' _ `\| | /'__`\( '__)/' _ `\ /'__`\| |
| || ( ) || |_ ( ___/| | | ( ) |( ___/| |_
(_)(_) (_)`\__)`\____)(_) (_) (_)`\____)`\__)
INFORMATION HERE!!!
Greetings, Apple II fans!
After much lurking about on A2 and A2Pro for the past few weeks, I
think I've finally worked up the confidence to tell you what I'm *really*
here for (besides bugging people in the RTC all night). ;-) I was
approached by Lunatic last month with an offer to become A2's and A2Pro's
official Internet Contact Person. My chief duties as the latest addition
to A2 staff will be to ensure that all Apple II-related files appearing on
the Internet are uploaded to the libraries on GEnie. As well, I am here to
answer any questions you have about the Internet as well as to provide
pointers on locating Apple II resources on the Internet.
A little personal background: I'm 22 years old (b. 1971) and in my
graduating year at the University of Toronto. My specialty lies in the
field of genetics and molecular biology. My future plans include graduate
studies or medical school, whichever I can get. ;-) My addiction with
personal computing started back in Grade 5 with a Commodore PET in the
classroom and BASIC programming. A friend down the street had a mondo cool
Apple ][+ with colour graphics -- that got me hooked on Apples. I *nearly*
bought an original Mac 128 back in 1984, but decided to hold off for
something with colour and a bigger screen. ;-) A few years later, in
Grade 10, the Apple IIGS appeared at a local dealer and I knew I *had* to
get one. Well, six years later, I'm still using the same machine. :)
My first contact with the Internet was with Usenet, a giant "BBS" with
several thousand "newsgroups" (like GEnie's RT's and categories) and over a
million readers worldwide. One kind soul on a local BBS uploaded messages
from comp.sys.apple2 (the main Apple II discussion area) once every couple
of days so the rest of us could see what was going on in the mystical
network. Like most people, my first hands-on experience was during my
freshman year at university. I gradually learned the unwritten
"netiquette" and at the same time discovered one of the great Apple II
resources.
Today, I am the administrator of an Apple II FTP site, an online
repository of files accessible by anyone in the world with FTP (File
Transfer Protocol) on their system. Files uploaded to these FTP sites
frequently do not find their way to GEnie. I intend to change that by
logging all new file uploads and transferring them to the libraries here,
confirming GEnie as the largest Apple II online resource.
The first thing I would like to do is set up a few topics specifically
about the Internet in general and as it relates to the Apple II. I'm not
sure where to start, so feel free to leave suggestions here for discussion.
I would like one just for general Internet questions, but more technical
matters would be best left to the Internet RT. Another topic could be
"News from comp.sys.apple2", featuring excerpts and compilations of
messages from Usenet. What does everyone think?
One last thing... I'd like to thank Lunatic and the rest of the
A2/A2Pro staff for a nice welcome, especially A2.GEna and A2.Susan who were
always helpful in the RTC with my "newbie" questions. :) I guess I'm not
really a stranger here, since there are many, many names I recognize from
my travels through the Internet. So before this turns into a total
mush-fest, I'll sign off for now. :)
- Brian <taob@io.org, 90taobri@wave.scar.utoronto.ca, b.tao@genie.geis.com>
(B.TAO, CAT2, TOP6, MSG:62/M645;1)
COMPUTER DAY CAMP NOTE: Don't worry. This isn't a request for money. I'm
""""""""""""""""" on to a good thing and want to share it.
For the last nine summers I have conducted a not-for-profit computer
day camp for children in an "economically deprived" community. A public
school is one of four major sponsors, and we use their facilities and three
or four of their Apple //e's. Ten other computers are scrounged, mostly
from the university where I teach. I donate my time, and another sponsor
-- a treatment center for disturbed kids -- pays minimum wages to a
recreation director and a crafts supervisor. This center also provides us
with a van. A local church lets us use a van as well.
We operate for eight to ten weeks each summer, depending upon how
long school is out. Sometimes we run concurrently with school summer
sessions. We bring children to the school from their homes each weekday for
two weeks, feed them a snack on arrival and a hot lunch later, given them
two hours in the computer room and another two hours at crafts and
recreation before we take them home in the evening.
For a two-week camp we ask a donation from parents of $10 for the
first child from a household and $5 each for any others, but jobs are
scarce here, and we take in less than $500 altogether from the 120 to 150
kids who attend.
Computers are inherently inclusive, so we were able to include in the
1994 camp two children wiyh severe visual hhandicaps, a boy in an
orthopedic brace, three children who are institutionalized for emotional
problems, and a mute autistic.
The four 2-week camps cost us less than $1000/week in out-of-pocket
expenses, and the kids, their parents, and all the sponsors are ready to do
it again in 1995.
My university has given me a one-year Sabbatical at half pay, and I
am writing a book to tell potential sponsors in other communities how cheap
and easy it is to run camps like this one.
I have my sponsors, and, as I said at te beginning, I'm not looking
for handouts. I _would_ appreciate comments from others out there who are
using computers to reach disadvantaged kids.
Thanks. Eric Schonblom
(J.SCHONBLOM, CAT15, TOP17, MSG:1/M645;1)
DESK ACCESSORIES WHEN SHIFT-BOOTING? How can I activate specific CDA's or
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" NDA's after shift-booting into the
system? -(Tim)-
(T.HOHS, CAT9, TOP5, MSG:234/M645;1)
>>>>> To activate (install) specific NDA's or CDA's, you need to have a
""""" program such as Softdisk GS's InstantDA. Sorry, I'm not sure which
issue(s) of Softdisk GS this is available on (I've seen it on several this
year) You could probably ask over in Softdisks area and Bryan (or Jay or
someone :) will let you know (yes, backissues are available:) There are
probably a few other programs like this floating around but I'm not
familiar with them.
-Harold
(Nope, IR (Init Reloader) won't work, it's an INIT and thus wouldn't
be loaded during a shift-boot sequence. I just know someone will mention
it:-)
(H.HISLOP, CAT9, TOP5, MSG:235/M645;1)
>>> HOT TOPICS <<<
""""""""""""""""""
APPLEWORKS 4.0 SHIPS Yes, it did begin shipping November 1. So far we've
"""""""""""""""""""" shipped about 3,000 copies. We tried to do it
starting from the first date but we ran out of 5.25" disks at one point (we
had plenty of NORMAL ones but for double-sided duplication our machines
need special disks with two index holes). Since many of the first orders
included both 5.25" disks and 3.5" disks, because we weren't asking which
disk size you needed at first, some of those are still backordered.
We also have a few hundred orders with accessory products which are
not yet available (but should be in a few days) -- the One-Touch Commands
Disk and the Exploring AppleWorks 4 video. If you ordered AW4 and one of
those two products, we are holding your order so it can all be shipped
together. The delay should be a week at most and you'll still receive
yours before the November 18 date stated in the last letter. (If you want
us to split the order and ship your AW4 now, just call us and we'll be
happy to do so, but it really won't be that much longer.)
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:307/M645;1)
...THEN APPLEWORKS 4.01 SHIPS We've temporarily halted shipping on AW4 to
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" fix a couple of minor bugs which early
recipients have found. We will resume shipping on Monday 11/8 with Version
4.0.1. If your copy of AW4 has already been shipped, we will be sending
you new disks on Monday.
Meanwhile, if you're having problems getting auto-save to work, hold
tight. <g> (QUALITY, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:329/M645;1)
>>>>> If you're having trouble with auto-save, just exit to Basic, set
""""" the prefix to your AppleWorks directory and type this in:
poke 768,118
bsave aplworks.system,TSYS,B$9A4,A768,L1
or with a disk editor, change +$9A4 in APLWORKS.SYSTEM from $56 to
$76.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:335/M645;1)
>>>>> Here is the status of 4.01. It is currently shipping out in all of
""""" the NEW packages of AppleWorks. Everyone who has already received
4.0 are on a list, and we even have mailing labels printed and ready to go.
However... our disk duplicators are running full speed 8 hours a day,
and even now we are having trouble keeping our assembly line stocked.
Fortunately, today we got a good start on making a literal mountain of
4.01 disks that should be a good start at filling all of the reshipments to
those who received 4.0.
What this all mean to you is... There is no need to call, if you got
AW 4.0 you will get 4.01 in the mail automatically. And, it should be
shipping from here sometime next week.
Walker (W.ARCHER2, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:343/M645;1)
HOW TO MANUALLY UPDATE AW 4.0 TO 4.01 Gary, if you're running AW 4 and
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" get AW 4.01, why use the installer?
Why not just use the built-in file copy function and copy the changed
files? (OA-A to arrange by date, grab the new ones and go.) You really
only need to copy APLWORKS.SYSTEM, SEG.DB, SEG.DR, SEG.SS and SEG.WP. Get
the MAIN.DICTIONARY now from AW 3 and you won't have to worry about it
later.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:306/M645;1)
<<<<< I forgot a couple of files. You should also copy SEG.AW and
""""" SEG.UM. Then if you have SideSpread, you should run the Updater on
that, and if you're using any of the TimeOut apps on the disk, get the
latest versions of those. Anyway, there's nothing magical about the
installation, so you can look at file dates and copy files manually.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:307/M645;1)
<<<<< re: Standard Settings
"""""
All info ever saved by AppleWorks is stored in SEG.ER. No other
files are ever changed. If you want, you can delete your current setup
after copying SEG.ER to a save place, reinstall AW4 using the installer,
then copy SEG.ER back and you're in business.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:349/M645;1)
AW 4 DESKJET GLITCH STOMPED Thanks entirely to Tom Smith (T.SMITH52),
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I've solved the DeskJet proportional problem
with clovers despite not having a DeskJet myself. Despite being unable to
test it, I guarantee this patch will solve the problem. From Basic, with
your Printers disk in the drive, type the following:
POKE 768,15
BSAVE SEG.PR,A768,B$F9E,L1
Now reinstall the DeskJet drivers so they get plugged into your
SEG.ER. BlockWarden and other disk edit folks can change offset +$F9E in
SEG.PR from $11 to $0F.
>>> JFK
I have nothing to do with ReportWriter, but I can tell you Dan
Verkade is working on it and hopes to have it ready by early December.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:400/M645;1)
SIDESPREAD BUG IN AW 4 Has anyone besides me encountered a Timout
"""""""""""""""""""""" SideSpread problem with AW4? I have installed TO
SS, updated it with Timeout Updater, and the following, limited problem
occurs. Everything works just fine when printing in Draft or Standard
quality, but when trying to print in High quality, it bombs out (to the
monitor) after printing just a few lines. High quality only, mind you. (I
need high quality, my eyes not being what they once were, you see. :))
Thanks for any comments or help.
*********
* Tom G *
********* (T.GROHNE1, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:150/M645;1)
>>>>> Tom, a similar problem with TO.SIDESPREAD was reported to Randy by
""""" me on 5 November. Randy says that Dan was able to duplicate that
problem. In my case, the SideSpread bombed out after printing one or two
columns, IN REDUCED PRINT MODE. Yesterday I noticed that the same problem
occurred when using High quality. (My eyes, too, ain't what they used ot
be :)).
I assume that AW4.0.1 will fix this problem, since Randy mentioned
last week that the Updater will need to be run again for SIDESPREAD when
4.0.1 is received; apparently something has been done to the updater...
You ain't alone -- it's just that not too many people seem to be
using SideSpread, or else they haven't been working it out with AW4.0. See
ya.
Dave Mattis (D.MATTIS@GEnie.geis.com) burping turkey in Florida
(D.MATTIS, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:151/M645;1)
>>>>> Dave and Tom G, I assume Dan's SideSpread repair in AW 4.01 solves
""""" the high quality as well as reduced mode problems, because they
both sound like the same problem. Now you just need 4.01 and you should be
set. (BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:152/M645;1)
BUG IN AW 4 DATABASE REPORTS To duplicate try this.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Set up a data base.
Set up a report with only two categories.
Put the cursor on the second category and hit OA-A to arrange.
With me the second category is not the one I"m asked if I want to
arrange on!
The work around is to have a blank category in the data base and then
choose sort on several categories. That way I can get the list of
categories and get it to work correctly.
(D.MCKEE3, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:412/M645;1)
>>>>> David, after a bit more checking, I found the problem only occurs
""""" on the last category in the file. The correct name shows up as the
default category any time you're not on the last category.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:415/M645;1)
HOW TO RECOMPILE AW 4 DEFAULT MACROS I'm having problems trying to
""""'""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" decompile the default macros for AW
4.0. The second macro, ba-[, decompiles in part to this:
BEGIN:
$1=.AWPath::
$1=left $1,65535+$ $117 :
left oa-tab>0<savescr:
IF Z=0 sa-_:
RPT ENDIF:
Obviously, this does not re-compile properly.
Can you post the actual source for that macro? I'd like to change
the message in this macro about "Default macros installed", but cannot do
so if it won't compile. Thanks!
Steve Weyhrich <IX0YE>--<
(S.WEYHRICH, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:218/M645;1)
>>>>> Steve, why don't you just get the source file for the default set
""""" from the sample files disk and compile that, instead of trying to
de-compile the default set?
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:219/M645;1)
AW 4 TRIPLE DESKTOPS How do I add files to the 2nd and 3rd desktop when
"""""""""""""""""""" the 1st desktop is full? All I get the message
"Desktop full" and I can't switch desktops in any way then. The manual
tells about that neither.
Udo - ... just a IIGS freak -
(U.HUTH, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:221/M645;1)
>>>>> The normal meaning for "desktop full" is that all memory has been
""""" used up. There's only one memory pool, so there's no way to use a
second desktop index in that case. If you are referring to the index being
full (that is, there are 12 files on the desktop), then you can use any of
the available commands to switch to another desktop index and add more
files.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:229/M645;1)
AW 4 DICTIONARY PROBLEM I'm experiencing a glitch with the AppleWorks 4
""""""""""""""""""""""" main dictionary: it doesn't seem to know words
occurring alphabetically between approximately fort and fossil. Can anyone
out there duplicate this? Please try "forte forth fortieth fortification
fortify fortissimo fortitude fortnight fortnightly Fortran fortress
fortuitous fortunate fortune forty forum forward". I can't get AW4 to
recognize any of these!
I'd simply replace the AppleWorks 3.0 MAIN.DICTIONARY file, but I
notice that the new version is some 7 blocks larger....
Doug Cuff
Editor, GEnieLamp A2
(EDITOR.A2, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:273/M645;1)
>>>>> Doug, there's no difference between AW 3 and AW 4 regarding spell
""""" checking. None of the code has been modified. The exact same
dictionary files were supposed to be used, but you're right about the
7-block difference. I have no idea what happened there, but there must
have been some sort of copy error, since there is no alternate dictionary
version. Copy your AW 3 main dictionary file and use it.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:274/M645;1)
>>>>> Was your AppleWorks 3.0 installed from 5.25" disks? If so, that's
""""" the reason the the AW4 dictionary is larger. The 5.25" version is
truncated to allow it to fit on a 5.25" disk.
Quality Computers --- Power for performance
(W.CARVER1, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:275/M645;1)
>>>>> Bill, the problem is that something went wrong when the 3.5" master
""""" was created. Was your malfunctioning drive involved by any chance?
Anyway, somehow the dictionary file was slightly damaged, somehow becoming
7 blocks longer, yet dropping words in the for* to fos* range. In any
case, the AW 3 MAIN.DICTIONARY file can be copied over and all is well.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:278/M645;1)
AW 4.0 TIMEOUT BUG FIXED IN 4.01 I have had AW4 about 3 weeks now and no
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" problems at all. Today I received the
"One Touch" disk and copied all the new TO Apps to my Timeout dir. That
gave me exactly 30 TO apps in it.
I booted AW4 and it loaded the TO apps O,K, apparently but put me in
the "Unable to find Timeout...." I hit "try again" and it appeared to load
O.K. but left me in the "add files " screen instead of the Main Menu. I
hit ESC and into the Main menu, then OA Esc to the Timeout menu and only 29
had loaded.
The computer would "crash" HARD if when I did the following: Hit TAB
for TO menu 2, when I used the TO calculator and hit the space bar to exit
and when I went into the TO Util and tried to change memory status. The
Calculator would work alright but crashed on space-bar exit.
If I reduced the number of TO apps to 28 everything works great, no
problems. The manual says you can have all the TO apps you want in the
TIMEOUT directory and AW4 would make more than 1 menu. It also says a
single menu would hold 30 applications.
I don't have a DeskJet printer so elimanated those 2 applications but
what happens when I add more from either your second disk or another disk?
See if you can duplicate this phenomenon! ;-)
S E L....... (S.EDDINGS1, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:322/M645;1)
>>>>> You've got an AW 4.0 problem. You should be using AW 4.01 instead.
""""" The problem is due to too much space used up by TimeOut application
names and file names. If you use the Rename files options and shorten the
names to "TO." names that are shorter, you should be able to fit all 30
applications even with the full length application names in the menus.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:328/M645;1)
SMALL BUG IN AW 4 SPREADSHEET I think I have found a bug in the spread
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" sheet. I have seen it a few times before
but I could not repeat it. I fond a way to repeat it.
1> Open a spreadsheet.
2> Set OA-V value format to DATE.
3> Put a number in a cell (Not todays date).
4> With the cursor on that cell type "@" and press an arrow -> key.
The value in the cell will not be changed. .
5> Move cursor to a blank cell.
6> Type "@" arrow-key. The value from the first cell is entered
here, not todays date.
There is no problem if you press ENTER then press the arrow-key to
move. Typing @ "RETURN" will always enter todays date.
Tom. (T.SMITH52, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:379/M645;1)
>>>>> Thanks for the SS bug report. Dan will look into it. Obviously
""""" it's not a high priority because entering "@ right arrow" is not a
normal sequence and is easily avoidable, but we'll try to fix it in v4.02
anyway.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:389/M645;1)
APPLEWORKS 4 ADD-ONS #1: ONE TOUCH COMMANDS > Will, how about a complete
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > list of what will be on
> those (One Touch Commands) disks? Thanks in advance.
If I've got my records straight, the first one from Quality includes:
DJ Two-Side -- Print a two-sided document on a DeskJet IW
Two-Side -- Print a two-sided document on an ImageWriter
OA-H Swap -- Swap OA-H printers on-the-fly
Print Label -- Print a single label from a data base file
PrintClip -- Print a clipping (selected portion) from a file
SaveClip -- Save a clipping from a file
FileFinder -- Search your drives for that missing file
HangMan -- The chalkboard game comes to life on the Apple II
Load Workset -- Load any of up to 99 groups of up to 36 related files
Pop-Up Calc -- Basic arithmetic calculations on-the-fly anywhere
Number2Words -- Enter a number, get it back in words, up to 99,999.99
Typing Speed -- Clock your typing speed (Zero to sixty in...)
Screen Color -- (IIgs only) Re-paint your screen on-the-fly
How it sells will determine if they do another one. But even if they
decide not to, there'll still be another one. :-) It's in the works, but
presently includes:
Multi-Column -- Print AWPs in 2, 3, or 4 columns
DB Hilighter -- Highlight individual categories onscreen
DB Dialer -- Highlight a phone number and dial it via modem
Bell Changer -- Set the AW bell tone the way YOU like it
Reverse Feed -- Trigger a reverse form feed on your ImageWriter
Batch Filer -- Process a batch of Desktop files at once
Box Tool -- Draw rectangular frames in an AWP
Got some ideas you'd like to see? Post them here.
|
-(+)-
|
|
...Will
(W.NELKEN1, CAT42, TOP24, MSG:44/M645;1)
APPLEWORKS 4 ADD-ONS #2: AFTERWORK SCREEN SAVER Here's some news from
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" tonight's RTC to make
your hearts beat faster:
<[Terrell] T.SMITH59> What can you tell us about "AfterWork"? How far
along is it?
<[Jerry] QUALITY> Should be shipping by the end of November. It's cool.
You'll have to see it to believe it. The first time I saw the AW screen
melting I couldn't believe my eyes. B) It'll be a lot like After Dark...
there will be various modules which you can set various options on.
Probably we'll release programming info for the modules eventually.
__!__ Terrell Smith
| tsmith@ivcfnsc.fullfeed.com
|
(T.SMITH59, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:285/M645;1)
PATCHING APPLEWORKS 4 I would much rather see future patches to AW4
""""""""""""""""""""" implemented as INITs rather than as actual patches
to the code. (Or add the POKEs to the startup macro, but that would
require UM.) This would make installing/removing the patches much easier
and possibly you'd also be able to hold down the Apple key at boot time to
determine exactly which patches were being installed.
Just a personal preference but I'd like to get out of supporting the
heavily-patched versions of AW as much as possible.
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:323/M645;1)
>>>>> Jerry, the problem with Inits for patches is that they then have to
be active, and if you hold down both-apple keys when booting up to save
time (when you don't need macros), suddenly you have a different version.
There are advantages to going the Init route, but it's a tough call. If
patches just change bytes, the AppleWorks memory map stays the same and
there's nothing extra involved in supporting such a version.
(BRANDT, CAT42, TOP29, MSG:326/M645;1)
MACRO PATCHES FOR APPLEWORKS 4 FROM TEXAS II Macro patches can be
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" applied as part of an
UltraMacros startup routine. No permanent changes are made to your
AppleWorks disk.
Hotkeys (no Return after pressing a number at menus) revert to normal
for the 1st character if the menu has over 9 items.
A:<all x=$1c55:poke x,$ad:poke x+1,$f2:poke x+2,$0e:
poke x+3,$c9:poke x+4,$0a:poke x+5,$90:
poke x+6,$25:poke x+7,$ea:poke x+8,$ea:
poke x+9,$ea:poke x+10,$ea:poke $1cca,$e4>! // Hotkey patch
Change the tone of the error bell by changing 180 or 50:
B:<all poke $1447,180:poke $1449,50: >! // Change error bell
T:<all bell>! // Test the bell
Change change the --> to a checkmark or to a MouseText arrow:
C:<all $1=" " + chr$ #"D":.pokestr $1,$0aea>!
<ctrl-C>:<all $1=" "+chr$ #"S"+chr$ #"U":.pokestr $1,$0aea>!
More startup macros change other characteristics:
D:<all poke $ab75,#'-'>! // Change Date separator to "-"
<ctrl-D>:<all poke $ab75,#'.'>! // Change Date separator to "."
F:<all poke $11ad,$0d>! // Disable OA-H formfeed
O:<all poke #socursor,1:ctrl-x>! // Activate overstrike cursor
V:<all poke $10ef,#'!'>! // Change vertical line in menus
Why anyone would want to do this, we don't know:
Y:<all poke $0f14,1>! // Cancel yes/no questions
On the other hand, Reversing Yes/No Questions is very popular:
\:<all $91=chr$ 141+chr$ 8+chr$ 192+chr$ 173+chr$ 149+
chr$ 208+chr$ 174+chr$ 153+chr$ 208+chr$ 141+chr$ 153+
chr$ 208+chr$ 142+chr$ 149+chr$ 208+chr$ 173+chr$ 150+
chr$ 208+chr$ 174+chr$ 154+chr$ 208+chr$ 141+chr$ 154+
chr$ 208+chr$ 142+chr$ 150+chr$ 208+chr$ 141+chr$ 9+
chr$ 192+chr$ 96:.pokestr $91,$800:poke $800,0: jsr $801>!
________________________________________________________________
TEXAS II on MACROS (c) 1993 Kingwood Micro Software, 2018 Oak Dew, San
Antonio, Texas 78232-5471. Macros by Beverly Cadieux, Wally Bradford,
and Nicholas Pyers. For clarity, the text of TEXAS II on MACROS is
printed on a Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 500 printer. If these macros
change for v4.0.1, we'll post them again.
If you like and use these patches, and would like to have more, it's
very simple. Subscribe.
[ TEXAS II (c) Kingwood Micro Software, 1993 isues, 6 for $12; 1994
issues (Jan-Jun), 6+3 for $15. TEXAS II is sold in 6-issue sets, not
by the year. 1994 subscribers will get 6 issues of TEX, and 3 issues
of TEX on MACROS. ]
(B.CADIEUX, CAT13, TOP15, MSG:1/M645;1)
<<<<< For those who missed it, here's the TEXAS II subscription info
""""" again.
A subscription includes 6 issues of TEXAS II (Appleworks ideas,
little-known features, undocumented commands, news and reviews of
independent add-ons, and lots of of good cheer). It also includes 3 issues
TEXAS II on MACROS, for a total of 9 newslsetters. An example of TEX on
MAC was posted in messages 1 and 4 (approx) above. These are PRINTED
newsletters which come in the US mail approximately every 6 weeks. TEXAS
II is sold in 6-issue sets, not by the year. We might do from 9 to 12
issues a year, whenever there is news. The price of the next six issues
(4.1 to 4.6) is $15 US and Canada, $18 overseas.
We also have disks which are sold individually or in sets of 3. They
are available on either 3.5" or 5.25" (3, 2-sided disks). Each disk
contains the text of the newsletters, plus about 700k of interesting
Macros, Font Lore, and regular AppleWorks files which do not require
macros. The current issues are TEXAS II on Disk vols. 5, 6 and 7 for
$24.00, or $8.50 each. Shipping is included on all, and Texas residents
please add 8.25%.
There is no combination rate for both newletters and disks. We
encourage you to subscribe to both, because if you don't, you miss out on
so much. About 80% of our subscribers get both the paper newsletter and
disks, and many of them contribute regularly to fill them with articles and
macros from all over the world.
For current subscribers, renewals are due now. TEXAS II v3.9 and
your renewal info will be mailed next week. Vol. 7 will ship shortly after
that, along with a year-end index and our annual "Best of 1993" report.
Vol. 7 will include the Block Warden info mentioned above, some early info
on AppleWorks 4.0 PEEKS, and something even more intreresting that you need
to know about -- POINTERS. It also includes the famous "Simple TimeOut
Calendars for 1994," (our _eighth_ year!) and lots of other goodies.
At some point, we do close subscriptions, and don't accept any more
until the next round of 6 is ready to start. So please do respond now if
you're interested. Thank you very much for all the e-mail.
Kingwood Micro Software, 2018 Oak Dew, San Antonio, Texas 78232-5471.
[ TEXAS II v3.9 ]
(B.CADIEUX, CAT13, TOP15, MSG:13/M645;1)
ALL APPLE II HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE GONE FROM PRICE LISTS Okay folks, I'm
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" not trying to
start a bunch of rantings and ravings, however, our district technology
coordinator informed all of our schools (there are over 50 of them) that
the Apple IIe has now been removed from the price list. I asked him about
it and he said that he got the word from the area Apple guy (can you tell I
can't remember his title) in Bellevue, Washington. These seem like pretty
reliable sources to me. Can anyone put this to rest or possibly confirm
it?
--Steve DePaul (S.DEPAUL3, CAT5, TOP3, MSG:68/M645;1)
>>>>> It's true. As of last week Apple is no longer selling anything for
""""" the Apple II. That includes peripherals, CPUs and software.
Bryan (SOFTDISK.INC, CAT5, TOP3, MSG:69/M645;1)
>>>>> I'm SURE that they will be selling off their inventory. They may
""""" sell it all to Sun Remarketing at a discount, but the on hand
inventory will go somewhere where we can buy stuff from it.
Just because it isn't on the price list, doesn't mean it doesn't
exist.
AND they will still be selling repair parts through the usual
channels.
Gary R. Utter (GARY.UTTER, CAT5, TOP3, MSG:73/M645;1)
APPLE INC AUCTIONS OFF REMAINING INVENTORY For what it's worth gang:
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Apple is holding an auction:
they are getting rid of the remaining inventory of a lot of their machines:
IIGSes included.
See the latest issue of MacWEEK for more details...
Bryan (SOFTDISK.INC, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:73/M645;1)
>>>>> There will be an auction of Apple stuff in three places around the
""""" country:
Chicago Nov 20
Framingham, MA Dec 4
Herndon, VA Dec 11
According to the brochure sent out (slick, glossy, heavy paper), it
includes powerbooks, Macs, IIGSs, speakers, monitors, printers, CD Roms,
scanners, Claris software. The fine print states "the auctioneer reserves
the right to group one or more items into one or more selling lots..." so
this may be a good opportunity for schools or dealers to scoop up a bunch
of stuff, but bad for individuals who want one piece.
__!__
| Terrell Smith
| tsmith@ivcfnsc.fullfeed.com
(T.SMITH59, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:80/M645;1)
>>> WHAT'S NEW <<<
""""""""""""""""""
HYPERLOGO GS SHIPS Scripting HyperStudio for the Apple IIGS just took a
"""""""""""""""""" giant leap forward! HyperLogo for HyperStudio GS is
now shipping.
If you've been waiting for this new product, wait no more! Add 3D
pictures and movies to your stacks. Use Logo's powerful artificial
intellegence features to control your stacks. With HyperLogo and Talking
Tools, you can even create stacks that can read what you type! It's all
here for the low introductory price of $50 plus shipping, or get HyperLogo
and 3D Logo, our stand-alone version, for just $85. These programs will
cost $95 each after the introductory special expires, so don't wait!
If you ordered HyperLogo when 3D Logo started to ship, your wait is
over. All backorders have been shipped, and all should arrive by 22
November.
If you would like more information about HyperLogo, just ask! Or, if
you prefer, send me your mailing address by e-mail or call (505) 898-8183
and we'll send an information package that tells about all of our Logo
products for the Apple IIGS.
Mike Westerfield
(BYTEWORKS, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:24/M645;1)
SEQUENTIAL INTRODUCES CD-ROM FOR RAMFAST Today, Sequential Systems is
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" proud to announce the
introduction of DiscQuest(tm) and DiscQuest GS(tm); a System of Hardware
and Software that will give today's Apple IIGS User access to the exploding
library of information available on CD-ROM.
DiscQuest(tm) utilizes standard SCSI CD-ROM drives and will support
currently available CD-ROM titles from leading Multi-Media publishers such
as Creative MultiMedia, Grolier, Compton's and more. DiscQuest(tm)
Software, developed by Sequential Systems, Inc and Procyon, Inc., provides
"text search", "still graphics display", and "audio" from
DiscQuest-supported titles. Bundled with Sequential Systems' RamFAST SCSI
Interface, search performance of the DiscQuest System(tm) using a
non-accelerated Apple IIGS is similar to that of a Macintosh LC.
DiscQuest GS(tm) Software (for Apple IIGS computers) will be made
available to resellers and end-users for use with other SCSI- type CD-ROM
drives and for dealer bundling. The software includes a copy of Creative
Multi-Media's popular title "The Family Doctor". DiscQuest(tm) Suggested
Retail: $99.95.
The DiscQuest GS System(tm) is a bundled product that includes
Sequential Systems' DiscQuest(tm) Software, an external CD-ROM drive with
cable and one disc caddy, a RamFASTe SCSI interface, and four (4) supported
CD-ROM titles. Suggested retail for the complete bundle will be around
$650.
Sequential Systems' and Procyon's on-going commitment to DiscQuest
(tm) and Apple II will produce new features and many new supported titles
that will result in a complete and powerful information-based CD-ROM
platform for Apple II.
We sincerely believe that your customers will find the DiscQuest
System to be a useful and exciting addition to their Apple IIGS system.
Dealers may call 800-759-4549 for dealer pricing.
>>>>> DISCQUEST COMPATIBILITY:
"""""
discQuest works with the following hardware:
Any Apple IIGS with 2MB of RAM or greater
RamFAST/SCSI with NEC, Sony, Apple, Sequential CD-ROM drives
Apple High Speed SCSI with Sony, Apple, and Sequential CD-ROM drives
If you have a RamFAST you need the very latest ROM revision, 3.01e.
>>>>> A SYNOPSIS OF DISCQUEST(TM) SUPPORTED TITLES
"""""
Darwin Multimedia CD-ROM
''''''''''''''''''''''''
o Charles Darwin's complete texts with original illustrations of the
final editions of: "The Voyage of the Beagle", "The Origin of Species",
"The Descent of Man"
o 1859 manuscript outlining the theory of evolution, by Darwin and Alfred
Russel Wallace
o "Triumph of the Darwinian Method", a guide to the study of Darwin, by
Michael T. Ghiselin
o The Darwin Timeline detailing significant events in his life
o A Darwin bibliography of over 1000 primary and secondary references
o Original maps from the voyages of HMS Beagle and HMS Adventure
o More than 650 color and black & white images
o Natural sound recordings from Cornell University Laboratory of
Ornithology
o Illustrations from "Zoology of the Voyage of the HMS Beagle"
o Plus never-before published material from other distinguished
naturalists
Monarch Notes(R) on CD-ROM
''''''''''''''''''''''''''
This Multimedia CD-ROM edition of Monarch Notes includes the complete
text of the entire collection! Each Monarch Note includes author
biographies, literary style overviews, relevant historical information,
story synopses, character analyses, critical commentaries, bibliographies,
and essay questions. This CD-ROM was given Byte Magazine's "Jerry
Pournelle's User's Choice Award" as "CD-ROM Of The Year". Hundreds of
authors and works are surveyed in this compendium that Computer Shopper
magazine calls "Mondo Cool".
Sherlock Holmes on disc!
''''''''''''''''''''''''
o The complete text of Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
o Linoleum block prints by Dr. George Wells accompany each story
o The Medical Casebook of Doctor Arthur Conan Doyle by Alvin E. Rodin and
Jack D. Key and Medical Poetry by Dr. George S. Bascom
o Complete text index and table of contents browsing
The Family Doctor
'''''''''''''''''
o Easy to understand advice to nearly 2,000 of the most commonly asked
health questions
o An illustrated human anatomy that lets you explore the body systems,
structures, and functions from head to toe
o Approximately 300 color illustrations to simplify explanations
o Comprehensive data on more than 1,600 prescription drugs
o Health update booklets, local and national resource listings, and a
glossary of over 100 medical terms
Shakespeare
'''''''''''
o The Complete Works of Shakespeare including plays, poems, and sonnets
in full text
o Both American and Queen's English versions
o A complete text index and table of contents browsing
Great Literature (Personal Library Series)
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
o Full text of over 500 literary classics with Illustrations, CD-Quality
voice-overs and music performances
o Famous narrations by Bob Saget, Dave Coulier, and George Kennedy
o Live (not synthesized) music performances
o Full search and browse ability - music and text
o Thousands of images
o A true multimedia experience!
o Everything from Alice in Wonderland to the Nixon Tapes to the
Declaration of Independence!
Parenting - Prenatal to Preschool
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
"Like having all the experts on call 24 hours a day"
This parenting tool is designed to provide immediate answers to the
millions of questions asked by parents and would-be parents. It covers
everything from fertility, problem pregnancies, and childbirth to the
milestones of child development from birth through age five. Compiled in
collaboration with a noted pediatrician and pediatric nurse practitioner,
this CD-ROM includes the complete text of Your Child: A Medical Guide, The
New Parent's Q&A Book, The Ultimate Baby Name Book, The Complete Pregnancy
& Baby Book, The Complete Pregnancy & Baby Book, The Miracle of Birth, and
The Couple's Guide to Fertility. It includes over 400 images. Audio clips
demonstrate the normal developmental stages of children's language.
Multimedia Audubon's Birds
''''''''''''''''''''''''''
o Complete text of the 1840 first edition "Octavo" set of John James
Audubon's Birds of America
o All plates, including 500 full color bird lithographs
o CD quality bird calls for many birds through the courtesy of Cornell
Laboratory of Ornithology
o Full text index and table of contents browsing
Multimedia Audubon's Mammals
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
o Complete text of the 1840 first edition "Octavo" set of John James
Audubon's Quadrupeds of North America
o Over 150 full color mammal lithographs
o CD quality sounds for many mammals through the courtesy of Cornell
Library of Natural Sounds
o Full text index and table of contents browsing
The Best of The Bureau
''''''''''''''''''''''
The Best of the Bureau is a distinguished collection of literature
and history, with hundreds of works culled from the best titles of the
Bureau Development. Just type in a word, phrase or subject and the
powerful search and retrieval capabilities put the information you want at
your fingertips - instantly. This is more than just thousands of pages of
text. It is a complete multimedia personal reference library - all on one
disc!
We have included the best of Dickens, the wit and humor of Twain,
riveting biographies of the famous and infamous, ancient and
up-to-the-moment histories of the cultures, lands and people of the world
and lots, lots more. It's the perfect way to start your Personal Reference
Library!
US History on CD-ROM
Countries of the World on CD-ROM
and
History of the World on CD-ROM
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Authoritative and diverse collections of articles, writings, and
images on history and culture.
Sequential Systems
1200 Diamond Circle
Lafayette, CO 80026
(303) 666-4549 Main switchboard
(800) 759-4549 Sales
(800) 999-1717 Technical Support
(303) 666-7797 BBS (v.32bis/v.42bis 300 - 14400 baud)
SEQUENTIAL GEnie Email
SEQUENTIAL@genie.geis.com Internet Email
(PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP12, MSG:4,5,6,7/M645;1)
lastPATCH PATCHES APPLEWORKS 4.01
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
About lastPATCH
'''''''''''''''
lastPATCH is my way of thanking everyone who has supported SuperPatch
over the past several years. I have appreciated your interest and
encouragement very much, so here is something back. Thanks. From the
bottom of my heart.
Just as the "About" message says in lastPATCH itself, you will not
find formal documentation here. However, most people will have little
trouble using lastPATCH, especially those who are familiar with SuperPatch.
lastPATCH is a leaner, more focused subset of SuperPatch. Aesthetically, I
prefer lastPATCH for that reason.
If you have problems using the package, please do not call Quality
Computers. Instead, ask a friend, or call the SuperStuff BBS (named
pro-xy) at 616/381-1726. My user name there is jlink. Leave me e-mail and
I will do my best to respond.
While SuperPatch will work with just a single 5.25 inch drive shared
between both itself and AppleWorks, lastPATCH does not support this rather
ineffective hardware setup. (The code to support such a situation was
quite cobby, and I really enjoyed deleting it from my source files as I
developed lastPATCH.) You must have two drives to make lastPATCH work, or
a hard disk, in which case you run lastPATCH from its own folder and point
it at AppleWorks in another.
If both your drives are of the 5.25 flavor, you must use a little
creativity to cope with the way AppleWorks 4.0 functions under this
limitation. Just copy the files Aplworks.System, Seg.Aw, Seg.00, Seg.Rm,
Seg.Xm, Seg.Am, and Seg.Wp onto a spare floppy. Do your patching as usual,
then copy the patched files back onto the disks where they belong.
lastPATCH 1.0 works with version 4.01 of AppleWorks. Earlier and
later versions can be expected to return "unknown" on any patch area that
has been moved from its location in version 4.01.
To get going with lastPATCH, copy all the files in the archive to a
disk or folder, along with BASIC.System and ProDOS, if you need them, and
launch Startup.
Copyright
'''''''''
lastPATCH is fully copyrighted. I retain all rights and ownership.
End users get a license to use it, at their own risk, naturally, but with
no obligation to pay for it.
Still, there are a few very clear restrictions that limit what you
can do with lastPATCH. They boil down to you can't make money from it.
With exception of distribution by NAUG and America Online, no one is
permitted to charge ANYTHING for lastPATCH, including the time it takes to
download or the disks it might reside on.
Thus, please do not upload it to Genie, CompuServe, Delphi, or other
commercial information services, or distribute it through the "disk of the
month" clubs that impose a "copy charge." Do, however, upload it to BBSes
that charge nothing for public access, copy it onto disks for your friends,
and so on. I believe this arrangement will provide lots of access to
anyone who wants to use it, while giving me some opportunity to look in on
how things are going. Besides, if I am not going to make money from it,
why should anyone else?
These privileges and restrictions seem simple enough to me, and I
hope they are honored. If you know of a circumstance in which they are
not, please let me know at my SuperStuff address above.
About the new AppleWorks
''''''''''''''''''''''''
AppleWorks 4.0 is quite an achievement. Its practical functionality
compares favorably to applications I use on Silicon Graphics workstations
that are many magnitudes more powerful than any Apple computer. For
instance, nothing available on any platform checks spelling as fast as the
spell checker built into AppleWorks. Nor does any platform support an app
that scrolls text faster than AppleWorks.
An art critic once suggested that good art can withstand any abuse or
misunderstanding by its audience. AppleWorks seems like it meets this same
test, given everything that has happened to it over the past decade.
Clearly, I must put myself at the top of any list of AppleWorks
abusers because of my incessant patching and tinkering. But there are lots
of others who fit this same shoe as much as I do. Version 4.0 reflects the
influences and richness of this somewhat rag tag group of "enhancers," from
the earliest efforts by programmers at Applied Engineering, to my own
SuperPatch. It seems like a scene from the Canterbury Tales, in which no
one is quite sure who is coming, who is going, who is leading, and who is
following. Nor do we need to know, to enjoy the process of travelling
together.
I wonder what Bob Lissner thinks of this new version (if he thinks of
it at all), and suspect that he might not approve of all the things that
have been done to his brain child. But I hope he understands that an
outcome like 4.0 was implicit in his initial decision to reveal the inner
workings of AppleWorks to the developer community at large. By doing more
things to his product, that community has enabled everyone to do more
things with it. Without hacks, inits, and add-ons, AppleWorks could not
have lasted like it has.
In any case, AppleWorks 4.0 still testifies to the strength of
Lissner's original conception and commitments. As the art critic said, if
it is good enough, it can stand up to anything (even a couple hundred
patches).
You need use 4.0 but a few hours to appreciate how much has been
added. Tom Weishaar once suggested that AppleWorks ought to become an
operating system for the Apple //. Version 4.0 responds to that request.
TimeOut in its multiple manifestations is now an official part of the
program, as are the AppleWorks inits, Double Data, Total Control, and the
playback portion of UltraMacros. Of course, lots of patches that users
applied to earlier versions are also part of the new release, including the
hack to customize the cursors, no less. lastPATCH offers 18 that were not
included so you can add them yourself, to continue this tradition of
unprecedented user customization and "abuse."
Most of what remains valuable about the Apple // is associated, in
one way or another, with AppleWorks 4.0. Take advantage of it.
John Link
________________________________________________________________________
Subj: LastPATCH Shk November 21, 1993
From: NAUG JoeC
File: LASTPATCH.SHK (25904 bytes)
DL time (2400 baud): < 3 minutes Download count: 52
AUTHOR: John Link
EQUIPMENT: Apple //
NEEDS: AppleWorks v4.01, Shrinkit
OS: ProDOS
================================
John Link has heard your comments and is responding with his NEW AppleWorks
v4.01 patching program
LastPATCH
This new FREEWARE program contain the following patches:
lastPATCH Specifications
Aplworks.System:
'''''''''''''''
1. No return after pressing number of menu selection (hot keys).
2. Defeat automatic form feed in Apple-H screen dumps.
3. Overstrike instead of insert cursor on boot-up.
4. Change error tone for any Apple //.
5. Change `Do you really etc' to `Really?'.
6. Change `Type entry etc' to `Enter any d*** thing you want'.
7. Change `Preloading AppleWorks' message to anything you want.
8. Move Apple-Q menu to upper right corner.
9. Mouse marks instead of text arrows in all menus.
Seg.Aw:
''''''
10. Change `Carefully saving' message to anything you want.
11. Change 'Path:' to mouse text.
12. Change 'Subdirectory:' to mouse text.
13. Change 'Disk:' to mouse text.
14. Change 'Disk volume' to moustext.
15. Change `More' to mouse text down arrows.
Seg.00/Rm/Xm/Am:
'''''''''''''''
16. Reverse all `No/Yes' queries to `Yes/No'.
Seg.Wp:
''''''
17. Change <cr> character to mouse text bent arrow.
18. Customize Page Break lines as mouse text.
PLEASE feel free to leave any comments about LastPATCH here in the NAUG
area
(M.FLYNT1, CAT17, TOP10, MSG:6/M645;1)
ANSITERM TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE FOR THE APPLE IIGS VERSION 2.1
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (c) 1993 by Parkhurst Micro Products. All Rights Reserved.
All mentioned products are trademarks of their manufacturers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ANSITerm Version 2.1 is the first upgrade to Parkhurst Micro Products'
popular ANSITerm Telecommunications Software, Version 2.0. Version 2.1
expands upon the features and design of 2.0 making ANSITerm even more
powerful and easy to use.
MACRO LANGUAGE ENHANCEMENTS:
Script Files
''''''''''''
A brand-new feature of ANSITerm Version 2.1 is the use of script
files. Script files are text files that contain ANSITerm macro language
commands. Script files are much more versitile and can perform much more
complicated tasks. Several sample script files are included with ANSITerm
Version 2.1.
Script file features include:
o Up to 255 Labels per script file
o No limit to the size of script files except memory
o New commands for procedure calls and label branching
o Different script files may be chained together
o Comments may be added to scripts to make them clear
New Macro Settings New IF Flags New IF Conditionals
'''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''
AScii OHour EDitor == or EQ
ATprefix OMinute KEy << or LT
BInaryii OSeconds MIsc >> or GT
BKspace OTime MOdem <= or LE
CApture Row SBack >= or GE
CFilter SEcond TErminal <> or NE
COlumn STop
DAte TIme
DDay WEekday
EWidth WWeekday
ERror XBytes
HCost XCps
HOur XErrors
MCost XFiles
MInute XTime
MMonth YYear
OCost
New Macro Commands
''''''''''''''''''
CHain <str> [<label>] NOte <str
EDitor <val> [<val>...] NUm <numvar> <str> [<num>]
EXit POp
FLock <str> PRocedure <macro/label>
FType <num> <numvar> PUsh <macro/label>
FUnlock <str> RAndom <numvar> [<num>]
GLobals <str> [<global macro>] RIght <strvar> <str> <num>
GMark <num> <numvar> SBack <strvar> <num>
KBoard <str> SCreen <strvar> [<num>]
LEft <strvar> <str> <num> SIze <numvar> <str>
LWer <strvar> STring <strvar> <num> [<num>]
MId <strvar> <str> <num1> <num2> UPper <strvar>
MOdem <numvar> WIndow <num> <num> <num> <num>
Other commands from Version 2.0 have been enhanced and new features
have been added, including full support for the new ASCII Receive method,
modifier key support for the KEy command, enhancements for the VIew
command, subdirectory access for the INput command (a parsed text string
will be returned for each file entry in the directory), and many more.
Number Size
'''''''''''
Number size has been increased to 2-bytes. This means ANSITerm
Version 2.1 will recognize numbers between 0 and 65535 instead of 0-255.
String Expressions
''''''''''''''''''
Strings may now be automatically concatenated within a string or
numeric paramater by using the "+" operator. For instance:
assign s0 "The time is "+time+"^M"
The entire expression will be seen as a single string to the command.
Numeric Expressions
'''''''''''''''''''
ANSITerm Version 2.1 supplies a collection of numeric operators that
may be used to evaluate numbers. Operators include:
Operator Function
'''''''' ''''''''
+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Division
% Modulus
& Bitwise AND
| Bitwise OR
^ Bitwise Exclusive OR
> Shift Right
< Shift Left
Multiple operators within a single expression will be evaluated left to
right and the result will be used for the parameter.
Numeric and String Settings
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Numeric and string settings may now be specified for any command that
requires a number or a string. For instance:
message "The time is " time "^M^J"
In addition, settings may also be used within string and numeric
expressions. They will be seen, in all respects, as numbers or strings.
Auto-Conversion of Strings and Numbers
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
ANSITerm Version 2.1 will automatically convert all string and numeric
parameters for macro commands into the proper type required for the
particular command. This means you can mix numbers and string
representations of numbers within the same parameter and the strings will
automatically be converted to their numeric values. Likewise, numeric
expressions within string parameters will be evaluated and then converted
to a string.
Global Macros
'''''''''''''
Global macros may now be used from just about anywhere in ANSITerm,
including the editor, scrollback, dialogs, and line edits. A new macro
command (KBoard) allows you to stuff keystrokes into ANSITerm's keyboard
buffer and can be used for performing commands, typing out line edits, or
anything else you might want to do.
Global Macro Editor Enhancements
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
ANSITerm Version 2.1 supports multiple sets of global macros. Instead
of the single set of 52 global macros that Version 2.0 supported, you may
now create any number of different sets of global macros. Global macro
sets may be loaded and created right in the Global Macro Editor, or they
may be loaded by using the macro language.
ANSITerm Version 2.1 now also supports auto-execution of global
macros at startup, shutdown, after file transfers, and after a disconnect.
This allows for custom scripting for features such as dial and transfer
logs, automatic execution of scripts when ANSITerm is started, and more.
EDITOR ENHANCEMENTS:
o New easy-to-use Preferences window
o Definable editor width from 20 to 80 characters
o Definable quote string, up to 15 characters
o The editor now supports the loading and saving of Appleworks(r)
Classic AWP files. You can use the editor to convert between
standard text, APW source, and Appleworks AWP files. Tab settings
from AWP files will be retrieved and used, and will be saved with
any AWP file.
o New command to remove control codes and convert Unix "newline"
characters to carriage returns.
o Send To Modem has been enhanced with the new ASCII Send features
(see below)
o You may specify a special group of global macros just for use in
the editor. This global macro set will be loaded in when you
enter the editor and the previous set will be reloaded when you
exit the editor.
o The cursor mode will be saved with your configuration.
SEND TO MODEM ENHANCEMENTS:
ANSITerm Version 2.1 adds more features to all "send to modem"
commands, including ASCII Text Send, OA-M in the editor, and Send to Modem
in scrollback.
o ASCII Text Send will now do intelligent word wrap.
o ASCII Text Send support for Appleworks Classic AWP files.
o New preference to add spaces to all lines in the send, or just
empty lines.
o New prompt character may be specified to aid in pacing of sent
text.
NEW PREFERENCES AND FEATURES:
o New easy-to-use Preferences window. Just use the arrow keys and
return to modify a setting!
o New Backspace mode will tell emulations how to handle a backspace
character.
o New online cost feature. You may now specify a per minute and per
hour cost for your online session. Cost may be displayed in the
status line, or can be accessed through macros.
o You can now have ANSITerm prompt you before you hang up on the
modem.
o You may now specify how you want ANSITerm to handle the
"scrollback full" condition. You can have it prompt you like
normal, or automatically clear or halve your scrollback.
o New Autosave Scrollback Feature: ANSITerm can now automatically
save your scrollback to a text file whenever you exit or when
scrollback is cleared or halved. This file can later be loaded
into the editor or Viewed in case you might have missed something
in your last ANSITerm session. ANSITerm can either overwrite or
append scrollback information to this file.
o New Screen Saver Feature: ANSITerm will now blank your screen for
you in order to protect your monitor. You may specify anwhere
from a 1 to 255 minute delay before the screen is blanked, or this
feature may be disabled.
o Capture to Editor Feature: ANSITerm can use the editor as a
capture buffer. All information you receive from your modem can
be automatically sent to the editor. You can also tell ANSITerm
to filter put any non-displayed characters, including ANSI and
VT-100 codes and control codes.
DIALING DIRECTORY ENHANCEMENTS:
o Directory has been expanded to 50 entries
o New housekeeping features include sorting, deletion of entries,
insertion of entries, and moving entries around.
o More information is now stored with each directory entry,
including:
- Delete key mode
- Backspace mode
- Number of lines to scroll
- Cost per minute online
- Cost per hour online
- All ASCII Text Send settings
- Default transfer protocol
- Send and receive Binary II flags
- MS-DOS file name setting
FILE TRANSFERS ENHANCEMENTS:
o The estimated time of completion for the file currently being
transferred now appears in the transfer dialog. This estimate is
recalculated after each packet of information is received, so it
gives you an up-to-the-second approximation of when the file
transfer will be completed.
o Up to 64 files may now be selected for a batch send from any
directory and volume.
o ASCII Text receive has been completely changed. All ANSITerm
commands and macros will work during an ASCII receive. ANSITerm
Version 2.1 will now just buffer any received text, filtering
control codes or not depending on your preference. You can pause,
cancel, or finish the receive at any time and save it to a text
file.
o ANSITerm can now automatically add a Binary II header onto any sent
file using xmodem or ymodem.
o Binary II extraction will now work with ymodem batch receives.
o ASCII Text send will now perform intelligent word wrap, depending
on the line size setting. See SEND TO MODEM, above for more
details and other new features.
OTHER ENHANCEMENTS AND NEW FEATURES:
o The Set File Attributes option in the Disk Utilities will now lock
and unlock files with a single keystroke.
o Up to 64 files may now be copied at one time using the Disk
Utilities.
o You can now enter a valid command while the Help Window is
displayed and go directly to that command.
o View command will now work with Appleworks Classic AWP files. You
may also specify virtual baud rate, CR mode, whether or not to
perform word wrap, and whether or not to add the viewed file to
scrollback.
o High-speed serial port drivers will now perform software
handshaking when their buffers are getting full. This prevents
character loss during high-speed message dumps.
o File Dialogs will now sort directories and display file names in
both upper and lower case. Selecting directories has been made
more convienient and saving files will now display a file dialog.
o ANSI emulation now fully supports the PC function keys and special
keypad functions, as well as arrow keys.
o New three-line chat duplex, usable with any emulation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Upgrades
''''''''
The ANSITerm Version 2.1 upgrade includes 60 pages of new
documentation and three new quick reference cards. Upgrade price for
current owners of ANSITerm Version 2.0 will be $20 within the US, $30
outside the US. Owners of ANSITerm Version 1.x can upgrade to Version 2.1
for only $40, $50 outside the US (includes the entire ANSITerm Version 2
manual and documentation). All prices include shipping.
Purchases
'''''''''
The intro price for ANSITerm Version 2.1 is still $69 direct from
Parkhurst Micro Products. This includes a high-quality 3-ring software
binder, over 240 pages of documentation, diskette and holder, four quick
reference cards, and 5 free hours of time on Delphi Online Services.
Please add $5 for shipping and handling within the US, $15 outside the US.
Information
'''''''''''
For more information, write to Parkhurst Micro Products, 2491 San
Ramon Valley Blvd, Suite 1-317, San Ramon, CA, 94583, or call (510)
837-9098. Email may be sent to PMP on either Delphi or GEnie, or to
pmp@delphi.com or pmp@genie.geis.com on the Internet. Parkhurst Micro
Products accepts checks, money orders, Visa, and MasterCard.
(PMP, CAT38, TOP4, MSG:51/M645;1)
>>> THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
POWERPC IIGS? Saw in Enhance that you are looking at providing software
""""""""""""" that would allow a PowerPC to emulate a II or IIGS. That
would be great!!! and would eventually mean that the first truly portable
II would be a PowerPC!
(R.FISCHER7, CAT42, TOP 29, MSG:66/M645;1)
SOUNDMEISTER PRO CANCELLED I'm going to post the official press release
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" about the cancellation of the Pro and then I'm
going to add a few comments afterwards.
Official Press Release Re: SoundMeister Pro
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Econ regrets to announce that due to a number of reasons the board of
directors has opted not to put the SoundMeister Pro into production. After
various delays, the design for the SoundMeister Pro was finally completed,
approximately 6 months behind schedule. During this time an insufficient
number of orders for the SoundMeister Pro were placed. Due to the high
initial costs of a first run of the SoundMiester Pro, coupled with a small
demand, the SoundMeister Pro has been deemed a very high-risk endeavor for
Econ and has therefore been cancelled. Advertising and design costs for
the SoundMeister Pro now run into the thousands, which Econ is forced to
absorb.
Econ will no longer design any new hardware projects due to the low
demand and very high costs and risk involved in these ventures. The
regular SoundMeister will continue to be produced and sold as long as
demand continues. Econ will be concentrating all future efforts into
software updates and new productivity developments.
We apologize for the inconvenience this causes the individuals who
have placed orders for the SoundMeister Pro and do thank them for the
interest they have shown in our product.
Sincerely,
Econ Management
(ECON, CAT35, TOP9, MSG:77/M645;1)
<<<<< I feel just as bad about the Pro being cancelled as everyone else.
""""" In particular, I had told you that the Pro "definately" would be
coming out at such and such a date and now it won't be. The decision was
made at the final hour because, like the press release said, the cost of
the initial run would be just too high compared with the number of
pre-orders we had received.
However, the original SoundMeister is still being sold, supported,
and produced here at Econ. The SoundMeister has sold very well and it is
still selling well. In fact, we have run out of our last batch of cards
and won't be able to fill new orders for about 4 weeks. Yes, four weeks
because of the ordering and building lag inherent with hardware.
We will be concentrating on productivity software in the future, like
Addressed For Success. There are many different types of software that
haven't been done for the GS, and those are the ones we'll be going after.
If you have any further questions, please ask.
Michael Lutynski
Econ Tech Support
(ECON, CAT35, TOP9, MSG:78/M645;1)
APPLEWORKS 4 ADD-ON UPDATE #1: OMNIPRINT Yes, we do plan to update
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" OmniPrint when the versions of
4.0 ship. They have had some "extra" development time involved with
getting AppleWorks 4.0 ready for release which has slowed our release of
the new version of OmniPrint.
When AppleWorks is complete, I look for the new release of OmniPrint
to follow within a month to 6 weeks.
Eric Kitchen Sink Software, Inc.
(KITCHEN.SINK, CAT25, TOP5, MSG:5/M645;1)
APPLEWORKS 4 ADD-ON UPDATE #2: BACKUP Good News! TO.Volume Backup works
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" with AWKs 4.0 without any
modifications. TO.File BackUp mustupdated for use with 4.0, but the new
version is already done. We will begin shipping as soon as necessary
in-house QC and beta-site testing is completed. Update will cost $10.00
for registered users of TO.Disk Tools, and should be shipping before X-mas.
(DGUM, CAT13, TOP7, MSG:38/M645;1)
THE APPLE FIXER We have just completed The Apple Fixer(tm), a combination
""""""""""""""" disk and booklet which will help you to maintain and
repair your old Apple II computers. The disk includes a drive cleaning
program, speed adjusting program and monitor test pattern as well as a disk
mapping program that can be helpful in improving drive alignment when used
with a system master disk as a standard. The package sells for $19.95, plus
$3.50 shipping and handling. It will be released in our "94 More" catalog
which will go the printer in mid-December Adrian Vance
(A.VANCE, CAT15, TOP10, MSG:3/M645;1)
SUPPORT FOR TURBO IDE CARD Welcome to the Turbo IDE Card area. This
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" topic is intended for technical support and
general discussion. Before we opended this topic, we gave support via
personal e-mail since september 1992. Any questions and comments
concerning the Turbo IDE Card should be placed in this topic from now on.
SHH Systeme from Germany is devoted to developing hardware (and its
associated firmware and software) for the Apple IIe and Apple IIGS. While
other companies are leaving the Apple II as if they had never been there,
we will continue to support the Apple II as long as GEnie will allow us to
do so. We definitively will remain loyal to the Apple II and NOT to any
other computer! (BTW, at this time SHH Systeme is the only company in
Germany that is developing hardware for the Apple II)
If you don't know anything abouth the Turbo IDE Card, first have a
look into the GEnie library. You will find a complete description about
the card and some notes about its performance. The files are named
TURBO.IDE.BXY and TURBO.NEWS.BXY. Also, some other bulletin board
categories carry comments about the Turbo IDE Card (for instance cat 21,
topic 6).
Needless to tell you (isn't it?) that:
o the Turbo IDE Card is the fastest IDE controller
available for the Apple II.
o the Turbo IDE Card is the ONLY REAL accelerator card
for Vulcan, Vulcan Gold and InnerDrive/ Overdrive hard
drive systems.
o the Turbo IDE Card is the fastest IDE controller
available for the Apple II.
o the Turbo IDE Card is as fast as (or faster than) any
SCSI controller on the Apple II market.
Encouraged by the Turbo IDE Card's feedback we felt we had to
continue our development efforts. So stay tuned to see a new piece of
hardware for the Apple II in the near future. Well, if there is somebody
who believes the Turbo IDE Card is vaporware, our next project also will be
vaporware to this person: don't stay tuned. Thanks to Jawaid Bazyar, David
Grenda, John Willett and some other nice guys, the Turbo IDE Card turned
from vaporware into real hardware! It's like magic! Thanks once again.
If there is anybody who would like to be a beta tester of new
hardware (ahem... vaporware!), let me know here.
Current pricing:
Turbo IDE Card (english manual, utilities disk, three feet cable)
US$ 139.00 plus $24 shipping/handling (air mail to the US). One year
limited warranty on parts and labour. Free support via GEnie bulletin
board.
SHH Systeme, Joachim Lange
(J.LANGE7, CAT13, TOP22, MSG:1/M645;1)
ANOTHER DTUILS UPDATE There has been a lot of talk concerning DTUtils
""""""""""""""""""""" here in the A2 category recently. I contacted one
of the authors (again) to get an update on their progress. Rob Mueller's
response to my letter and certain comments that have appeared here on GEnie
follows:
OK. Yes, things are going very slowly. Tony and I are both
studying quite hard for University work, we both consider our marks
quite important and are always trying to be straight A students (esp.
Tony since he is in his last year of Engineering), that is one of the
reasons things are going so slowly. Secondly, we originally intended
4.0 to just be 3.3 broken up. This has turned out not to be the
case. 4.0 is a virtual complete re-write with some REALLY amazing
module interface routines. Tony has written some of the most tight,
powerful and flexible code I have seen in a LONG time, he is a real
master at coding and will re-write lines of code if he can save 2
bytes. (probably a bit overboard, but you get the idea). At the
moment, the docs for writing modules alone is coming in at 100K of
text! So, the kernel is basically done, the NDA modules is basically
done, the Clock module is nearly done, the menubar manager is 3/4
done, the VDA manager is nearly done, but the rest is still in its
old form.
When it comes to replacing DTU with other programs, yes, that
may be so, but think about the following. How big is transprog III
in comparison to DTU3.3? Its probably bigger than all of DTU3.3
combined! And what about T2? How buggy is T2? OK, do the DTU3.3
screen blanker is "basic" but it works! What about the text clock
and the menubar clock? There are other programs, but again, how big
are they? The ability to add fonts/das/inits has been replaced by
IR, but can you add things using a CDA like DTU when you are in a
text enviroment or there is no NDA menu? (besides, the CDA interface
is HEAPS faster than the Standard File Dialog!) But then there is
the icing on the cake in my eyes. Virtual DAs! What other program
implements them as easily as DTU? And all these features (plus a
few) come in at about 35K! So not only do you save memory (smaller
program, and virtual DAs means you don't have to load any at boot
up), you're whole system boots much faster!
With regards to poorly programmed, I challenge him to prove
it! Tony has to be one of the finest programmers I have ever seen,
and if I might put aside modesty for a moment, I think my code is
pretty good as well! Fast, tight, and basically bug free (most of
the bugs that occur in DTU are due to system incompatiabilites
because DTU has to patch over quite a bit of the system).
Again, sorry for the long delays, but programming is a hobby,
not a job!
Rob
His comments are his to own...
Rick Adams
(R.ADAMS48, CAT2, TOP7, MSG:98/M645;1)
>>>>> I don't know, how buggy is Twilight II? Umm, like hardly at all?
""""" Hundreds of satisifed users can't be wrong; ask any of them if you
don't believe me. Who wants a boring, run-of-the-mill screen saver that
makes your computer look dull and bleh-like. I'd happily challenge Rob to
substantiate his claims before continuing to spread mis-information. Rob
is not a very honorable person. He tried to steal beta versions of
Twilight II (and Twilight II programming specs) from beta testers,
obviously afraid of it. Luckily the integrity of our beta testing team is
greater than that of Rob's.
<<Jim
(DYA, CAT2, TOP7, MSG:100/M645;1)
APPLEWORKS GS WORK CONTINUES Yep, in fact we had to do a complete build
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" of it to replace the Claris title screen
with one of our own. We do have a team working on it.
I'm not even going to guess a date, because the last time I did it
got reprinted in dozens of user group newsletters and somehow became an
official release date... even though I ended the post with "how does that
sound?"...
(QUALITY, CAT42, TOP32, MSG:233/M645;1)
>>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
Category 5, Topic 3
Message 89 Thu Nov 25, 1993
RON.ROYER at 00:26 EST
With the demise of the complete Apple II line, I would like to tell a
story about an incident that happened recently. I was at a party two
weeks ago and I got to talking about computers with a fellow GS enthusiast.
While we were talking, a few other people joined in. One person said that
after 11 years, she finally had a mouse and had to get used to it. She
said her family recently upgraded from a IIe to a Compaq Presario.
Because she didn't want to lose 11 years of data files, she had planned to
have her daughter spend time this summer keying in the files from the old
Apple IIe.
I told her about Crossworks and she was completely surprised that such
a thing even existed. Another person said that he had just purchased a new
Mac because he COULDN'T UPGRADE HIS GS with a hard drive. His Mac dealer
told him that the GS was no longer being manufactured and that peripherals
were no longer available for them! My friend and I told him not only about
the companies that sold hard drives for GS but that external drives sold
for the Mac could also be used for the GS and that with a Ramfast card
attached it would probably run as fast as the drive he has on his Mac. He
was quite surprised. He went on to say that the speed difference was
amazing. He hated waiting for his GS to load AppleWorks. When we told him
about ZipGS and TranswarpGS, he was really shocked. He never realized than
any such thing every existed! My friend also told me he had a neighbor who
had relegated his GS to his cellar where it is collecting dust while he
uses his new 486 PC.
Here are three former Apple II owners who no longer use their II's
because they were told lies or did not get the information the needed to
continue to get the most out of their GS's. I wonder how many other GS's
and IIe's are just collecting dust for the same reasons. It's a pretty
disgusting situation. It's really too bad that there aren't more cities
and towns that have the kind of support that A2.Susan gives. (I read about
this on the December A2 Central On Disk)
Ron
[*][*][*]
While on GEnie, do you spend most of your time downloading files?
If so, you may be missing out some excellent information in the Bulletin
Board area. The messages listed above only scratch the surface of
what's available and waiting for you in the bulletin board area.
If you are serious about your Apple II, the GEnieLamp staff strongly
urge you to give the bulletin board area a try. There are literally
thousands of messages posted from people like you from all over the
world.
[EOA]
[HUM]//////////////////////////////
HUMOR ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
An Exception To Every Rule
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ ODE TO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ~
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(T.S.W - only the initials of the author are known)
I take it you already know
of tough and bough and cough and though
Others may stumble, but not you,
On Hiccough, thorough, laugh, and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard, and sounds like bird.
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead...
For goodness' sake don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat.
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.)
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear.
And then there's dose and rose and lose --
Just look them up -- and goose and chews.
And cord and word and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword,
And sew and go and thwart and cart...
Come, come, I've hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive,
I'd mastered it when I was five.
Reprinted by Permission
Gravenstein Apple User Group (CSAUG)
October 1993 Newsletter
P.O. Box 964, Pataluma, CA 94953-0964
Membership open to anyone
BBS: (707) 585-0865
[EOA]
[REF]//////////////////////////////
REFLECTIONS /
/////////////////////////////////
Thinking About Online Communications
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Phil Shapiro
[P.SHAPIRO1]
>>> BRINGING LIBRARIES ONLINE <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
A few months ago, public television broadcast an intriguing
documentary about the Library of Congress. In that show, Steve Jobs made
a brief appearance, talking starry-eyed about digitizing the entire Library
of Congress -- making its contents available via high-speed modem lines to
anyone and everyone in the nation.
Jobs' comments got me thinking about just how valuable it might be to
have such vast information resources at one's fingertips. And my
conclusion is that it would be of little value to anyone.
Here is why I think so:
By definition, exhaustive information resources are exhausting to
search through. Ninety-five percent of the books and magazines stored in
the Library of Congress you'd never want to read anyway. Books and
magazines that are truly useful to people are stored in those endearing
institutions we call "neighborhood libraries".
The value of the Library of Congress is not so much derived from the
content of the information on the shelves, as it is in the skill and
wisdom of the research librarians that work there. It's the warm-blooded,
human intellectual capital working at the Library of Congress that gives
the institution its immense value.
When Congress needs answers to important questions, they send queries
over to the Congressional Research Service. Research librarians whose
work is worthy of basing national policy upon are dispatched to find and
report answers. In some ways these wise and knowledgeable library
professionals serve as the "learned minds" of our national legislature.
So what does this have to do with online communications? The point
being made is that the great hope of online communications is in bringing
a streamlined dissemination of knowledge to the public. If we followed
Steve Jobs' vision, we'd be successfully connecting a firehose of
information to each and every household in this country. This would do
little to advance the public good.
But if were to make more reference librarians available online, the
public good would be advanced immeasurably. Why is an online reference
librarian so immeasurably more valuable than a live, in-person reference
librarian?
I'll tell you why.
Walk into any city library in this country and spend a few minutes
observing the typical workday of reference librarians. The phone rings
off the hook from approximately opening time to closing time. Reference
librarians scamper this way and that, juggling the information requests of
phone patrons and walk-in patrons. Few patrons receive in-depth answers
to their questions. And the same questions could conceivably be answered
over and over again, year in and year out, with no one being the wiser.
Last month I had the chance of witnessing an exceedingly patient
librarian politely inform a walk-in patron that she would be right with
him -- just as soon as she attended to the two persons who were waiting on
hold. The patron became understandably impatient as the librarian made
valiant efforts to perform this superhuman juggling act.
Here is how online information technology could come into play to
further the interests of this patron, this librarian, and the public good:
If patrons posed their reference questions as public messages online,
librarians could spend more than sixty seconds providing them with
answers. Making use of online technology, reference librarians could have
the luxury of actually investigating reference question before supplying
answers. The result? Thoughtful answers to thoughtful questions.
But here's the kicker. Once the answer to a patron's question is
posted in a public message area, that particular question and answer join
the stockpile of public knowledge available to the entire nation. So when
queries are posed that have already been answered, librarians can simply
point back to the "frequently asked question" whose answer is already
accessible. Librarians need not spend time and effort answering the same
question twice. And the labor that is saved can be applied to more
thoroughly answer genuinely novel questions.
Is online library reference service another "Jobsian" pie-in-the-sky
dream? Hardly. Working models of this type of online service have been
sprouting up all over the country in the past few years. In Washington
DC, where I live, several generous community-minded librarians provide such
a service on "CapAccess," the new free community information service.
Similar "freenets" in other cities around the country are starting up
parallel online reference services. Countless small town libraries have
set up "Friends of the Library" bulletin board systems (BBS's) that could
be put to such use, as well.
The national information services could also provide leadership in
this exciting new field. It will be interesting to see which of the
information services is the first to provide online library reference
service. To my knowledge, no such service currently exists on GEnie,
America Online, CompuServe, Delphi, or Prodigy.
The magic of information technology can make grandiose "Jobsian"
schemes superficially appealing. We need to continuously ask ourselves
whether such schemes advance the public interest in a way that merits
grand-scale expenditures. Thoughtful people can tell you that great
social advancements can take place with the imaginative use of existing
information technologies. You don't have to be a reference librarian to
know that.
-Phil Shapiro
[*][*][*]
The author takes a keen interest in issues involving the
dissemination of knowledge and information. He can be
reached on GEnie at P.SHAPIRO1; on America Online
at pshapiro.
[EOA]
[BEG]//////////////////////////////
BEGINNER'S CORNER /
/////////////////////////////////
Polishing Green Apples
""""""""""""""""""""""
By Steve Weyhrich
[S.WEYHRICH]
>>> HOOKED ON CLASSICS (Part 2) <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
MORE CONTROL PANEL BASICS In the last edition of Polishing Green Apples,
""""""""""""""""""""""""" I began a discussion of the Control Panel
classic desk accessory on the Apple IIgs. We covered "Display", "Sound",
"System Speed", and "Clock" in more detail than you probably cared to
know. This time we skip on down past "Keyboard" (or "Options"), plunging
downward into the icy waters deeper in the menu, touching on "RAM Disk" and
"Slots".
RAM DISK Briefly, a RAM disk is a range of memory that has been
"""""""" designated to the computer as being a storage device.
"Solid-State Data Storage" would probably be a more appropriate name, but
the name was applied long ago and has stuck. RAM disks have been around
in the Apple II world as far back as the DOS 3.3 days. The 128K Apple IIe
could be convinced to make use of the second 64K bank of memory by
patching the disk operating system to pretend that there was a disk device
at Slot 3, Drive 2. (Since the firmware for the 80-column display on the
IIe was activated by accessing Slot 3 from Applesoft with a "PR#3" command,
it seemed proper to make that slot the one where this "disk" drive would
reside.) Later, with the introduction of ProDOS, it was fairly simple to
design a control program (called a "driver") to turn a segment of memory
into a storage device. In Gary Little's book, "Apple ProDOS: Advanced
Features For Programmers", he included a driver that used the upper part
of the main 64K memory on an Apple IIe or IIc as a very small RAM disk.
RAM disks have been popular, since they are fast (no moving parts!)
and quiet. Their drawback comes by their very nature; when the power is
turned off, your RAM disk and all the files stored on it are gone.
Consequently, a RAM disk must be used with caution.
On the IIgs, there are two ways in which a RAM disk may be used. One
would be through a card plugged into one of the seven expansion slots.
(This method will also work on a IIe or II Plus.) The other method, more
commonly used, would be to take some of the main memory for the IIgs and
designate it specifically for use as a RAM disk. That is where this
Control Panel device comes in to play.
Here is the appearance of the RAM Disk Control Panel:
ROM 03 ROM 01
Control Panel Control Panel
RAM Disk RAM Disk
Select RAM Disk Size: 800K Minimum RAM Disk Size: 800K
-Largest Selectable: 3968K Maximum RAM Disk Size: 800K
-Largest Selectable: 3968K
-RAM Status- -RAM Status-
RAM Disk Size: 800K RAM Disk Size: 800K
Total RAM In Use: 2592K Total RAM In Use: 2592K
Total Free RAM: 1694K Total Free RAM: 1694K
~ Resize After Reset: No
(These numbers would be more or less correct for an Apple IIgs with 4
meg of RAM.) What is common between these two is the ability to select
the size of a RAM disk by pressing the right and left arrow keys. The
amount of memory that can be used is limited only by what is free; however,
the memory used by the RAM disk is unavailable to the system, so an 800K
RAM disk on a IIgs with 1.25 megs of memory would significantly limit which
applications you could run. On a system that is large enough to allow it,
an 800K RAM disk is very nice, since it has the same storage size as a
3.5-inch disk, and makes it easier to duplicate one of those disks if you
have only one 3.5-inch drive.
Notice that the ROM 01 version had the option of choosing a minimum
and maximum size for the RAM disk. I've not been able to find anything
that explains to me exactly what this means, but I believe it was intended
to allow the IIgs memory manager to use some of the RAM disk space if it
was needed, to the point where it would encroach on the minimum size. My
understanding is that there were some bugs in the ROM code that was to
handle this, and so it has been recommended to always make those two sizes
the same.
On the ROM 03 version, there is also the option of making a change in
the RAM disk size take effect by simply pressing ctrl-RESET to reboot the
system (if set to "Yes"), or to make it necessary to shut the computer
completely off before such a change will take place. For those people who
set up a RAM disk size and never change it, this setting doesn't matter.
If you have a limited amount of memory, and only use a RAM disk under
certain circumstances (for copying 3.5 inch disks, for example), being
able to resize the disk without having to shut the power off may be a
useful feature.
SLOTS Moving back up in the Control Panel list, the Slots item is the key
""""" to configuring your Apple IIgs to be in tune with the different
peripherals that you have plugged into it. To review, the IIgs comes with
a number of functions built-in that most users need to get adequate use out
of it. With no extra cards plugged into any of the slots, you have two
serial cards (for printer and modem), the firmware needed to properly
manage 80-column text display for 8-bit programs, a controller for the
mouse for 8-bit programs, and firmware to handle 3.5 inch and 5.25 inch
disk drives (as well as some other disk devices that follow Apple's
protocol). Additionally, there is some firmware that makes it possible to
connect the IIgs to an AppleTalk network.
The normal settings for the Slots Control Panel appear as follows:
Control Panel
Slots
~ Slot 1: Printer
~ Slot 2: Modem
~ Slot 3: Built-In Text Display
~ Slot 4: Mouse Port
~ Slot 5: SmartPort
~ Slot 6: Disk Port
~ Slot 7: Your Card
Startup: Scan
Select <- -> V ^ Cancel: Esc Save <-|
Notice that the only slot that is not specifically assigned to
something else is Slot 7, "Your Card". This is free to plug in any other
type of device you would like, although most IIgs users prefer to put a
hard drive controller here. And that, as an example, is where
modification of the Slots Control Panel might be necessary. If you choose
to spring for a hard disk (which I would strongly recommend; it makes using
any computer MUCH easier, and prices are dropping to the point where it is
very affordable), you will need a SCSI controller card to allow the
computer to communicate with the hard drive properly. When the SCSI
controller is plugged into Slot 7, no changes are necessary to this Control
Panel; it is already set up to expect some sort of card to work here.
However, if you need to use AppleTalk, you may need to keep this slot free.
In that situation, you will need to put the SCSI card in some other slot.
(In a later segment of this column, I plan to discuss in greater detail the
ways in which a hard disk drive can be added to this computer.)
The Slots Control Panel is adjusted in the same way as the others.
Use the up and down arrow keys to select the slot you wish to change, and
then use the arrow keys to change the setting. Note that for Slots 3-6,
the only alternate setting available is "Your Card". So if, for example,
you wished to put a SCSI controller card in slot 4, you would need to
change the setting for that slot from "Mouse Port" to "Your Card" and then
reboot to make the settings take effect.
Slot 7 is unique in that it can be used for connection to an
AppleTalk network. If you choose to use it in that way, a ROM 01 IIgs will
require that you set Slot 1 to "Your Card". A ROM 03 IIgs will need to
have either Slot 1 or Slot 2 set to "AppleTalk".
In the ROM 03 version of the IIgs, Slot 1 and 2 can also be changed
from "Modem" to "Printer" to "Your Card" to "AppleTalk". Being able to
quickly change either of these slots to "Modem" or "Printer" is handy for
connecting two serial printers to the IIgs. Although two printers
certainly can be used on a ROM 01 machine, there are some settings that
would need to be manually changed in the Modem Port Control Panel (which
will be discussed in the next installment of this column).
Finally, there is the Startup setting. This is one place where the
IIgs particularly has a flexibility advantage over the Apple IIe or II
Plus. When booting up those older models, the firmware will begin looking
at Slot 7 for a valid disk controller card, and work its way down to Slot
1 until it finds one. The problem with the IIe is a hard drive MUST be
placed in Slot 7 if you want to boot from it; otherwise, a 5.25 inch drive
controller card in Slot 6 will be identified first, and the computer will
attempt to boot that disk drive. Certain types of speciality video cards
have to go in Slot 7 on the IIe and II Plus, and so trying to put a hard
disk controller in that slot may complicates things.
On the IIgs, you can make it boot from ANY slot you want, even Slot
1, by simply changing the setting on the Startup item in the Slots Control
Panel. "Scan" makes it work just as on the IIe and II Plus (starting at
Slot 7 and going down to Slot 1). Pressing the right or left arrow keys
with Startup highlighted will change to "Slot 1", "Slot 2", and so on up
through "Slot 7". It is also possible to set it to boot from "RAM Disk"
and "ROM Disk" (and "AppleTalk" in the ROM 03 IIgs). If you select any of
these settings, and a bootable device is NOT found, you will get the
screen with the sliding apple that tells you to check the startup device.
The "AppleTalk" setting makes it easy for a ROM 03 IIgs to boot from
the network. A ROM 01 can also boot AppleTalk, but the setting for Slot 7
would need to read "AppleTalk" and Startup would have to read "Slot 7".
When configured this way, a IIgs would not even need any disk drives; the
AppleTalk connection would provide file storage on the remote file server
(usually a Macintosh). The primary drawback would be speed of file
loading and saving (which would not be up to the speed of a fast SCSI hard
disk controller).
The "RAM Disk" setting can be useful if you have set up a RAM Disk
(via the RAM Disk Control Panel, discussed above) and have moved to it
files or a disk image that you want to boot. I have an 800K RAM disk on
my IIgs, and will sometimes move files from a 3.5 disk over to the RAM
disk, and then boot the RAM disk to get better speed in loading and saving
files. As mentioned before, it is essential to move over to a REAL disk
anything that you want to keep permanently.
The "ROM Disk" setting is somewhat archaic. It referred to a
particular place in the IIgs memory map where space had been set aside to
access files on a plug-in card. The difference between a RAM disk and a
ROM disk would be that when the computer is turned off, the data stored on
a RAM disk disappears. A ROM disk would not lose its contents, since it
was in non-erasable memory. No true ROM disk cards were ever released for
the IIgs, and so with one exception this feature was never used. That
exception was Applied Engineering's "RAM Keeper", which took some of the
memory on a RAM expansion card, kept it alive via an onboard battery, and
convinced the computer that it was a legal ROM disk. The advantage of
this approach was that most of the system files necessary to boot the IIgs
could be kept on this "ROM" disk, and when it was turned on, it would boot
quite rapidly. In the days when hard drives were quite expensive, this was
a more affordable approach to make the IIgs easier to use. Today, however,
this is not as flexible as using a fast hard disk controller, and so has
fallen by the wayside.
ESCAPE Let's back up out of this menu for another month. Join us next
"""""" time, same Bit-Time, same Bit-Channel, for more exciting
adventures in exploring some of the other options available on the Apple
IIgs Control Panel.
[*][*][*]
Steve Weyhrich is a family physician from Omaha, Nebraska.
He has been using Apple II computers since 1981, and writing
about them since 1990. He follows closely the events that
continue to shape the destiny of the legendary Apple II and
IIgs computers, and writes a monthly column called the
"A2 News Digest" for A2-Central disk magazine. He is also
the author of the "Apple II History", available on fine
BBSes everywhere. He requests that if it ever looks as
though he is taking himself too seriously, he be given
a swift kick.
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Well, the best peripheral I have are my Holstein cows! /
/ They have paid for all my Apple goodies...." /
///////////////////////////////////////////// K.LESSING ////
[EOA]
[TEC]//////////////////////////////
TECH TALK /
/////////////////////////////////
Apple II Hybrids
""""""""""""""""
By Jay Curtis
[J.CURTIS8]
>>> INTRODUCTION TO APPLE II HYBRIDS <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Although the Apple II appears to have reached an evolutionary dead
end, it still displays a remarkable ability to survive in its present
form(s). It's definitely a technological Rasputin; no matter how hard
they try to kill it, it just keeps coming back. Heck! The Apple II is a
lot like that annoying battery-powered bunny that keeps "going and going
and going" across our television screens. Just when we least expected it,
here comes AppleWorks 4.0! It's amazing!
I think that the Apple II will be around as long as there are
personal computers. It will continue to have its own devoted following in
spite of how Apple treats it, in spite of the indifference of so many other
kinds of computer owners, and in spite of the relentless growth of new
technology. One A2 GEnie user said that they would have to pry his IIgs
out of his "cold, stiff fingers" on his death bed to get it away from him.
I understand the sentiment. I think that I'll have my IIgs BURIED with me!
It's not just a computer; it's something special, and that's why I want to
talk about "Apple II hybrids".
So what is an "Apple II hybrid"? Well, it's NOT one of those
mysterious beasties that consist of a combination of analog and digital
systems (which have been around since the '60s). So relax.
Webster's dictionary offers the synonym "composite" for the word
"hybrid". It also says that a hybrid can be: "something (as a power
plant, vehicle, or electronic circuit) that has two different types of
components performing essentially the same function." Webster's also talks
about "persons" as hybrids. While computers are not persons, different
computers DO have different PERSONalities. This fits in nicely with
another of Webster's definitions of hybrid: "a person whose background is
a blend of two diverse cultures or traditions."
In the coming articles, we'll be looking at machines that combine the
Apple II architecture with some other computer architecture so that the
resulting computer is capable of processing software written for both the
Apple II and at least one other computer's operating system. That's our
definition of an Apple II hybrid.
Technically speaking, the Apple IIgs, all by itself, fits that
definition. In native mode, it runs 16-bit GS/OS software, while its IIe
mode is essentially an emulation mode which allows it to run 8-bit ProDOS
and DOS 3.3. Consequently, there are some among us who do not consider an
Apple IIgs to be a REAL Apple II. Just try telling that to a IIgs owner
who spends the lion's share of his time in AppleWorks classic and ProTerm,
however!
In coming articles, we'll focus principally upon the PC Transporter-
equipped IIgs and IIe computers and also upon the Macintosh LC and
Performa series computers that have been equipped with the IIe Card.
(Fortunately, I have both an LC/IIe hybrid at work and a GS/PC hybrid at
home, so I've got first-hand knowledge of both of them.) Along the way, we
may also talk a little about other Apple II hybrids, like the ones that use
Diamond Computer Systems "Trackstar" cards, and run 8-bit Apple II software
on PCs.
We'll also talk about the various schemes for encoding data on
magnetic disks and about the peripheral devices required to read from and
write to different filing systems on different computers. In particular,
we'll talk about Transdrives, Superdrives, and Floptical disk drives in
use with Apple II systems for reading and writing to ProDOS, HFS, and
MS-DOS. We'll also talk about file translation software that is currently
available or under development, and about how it contributes to the
integration of two different computer systems within one box. Ultimately,
we may take a stab at the question of whether the Apple II or IIgs stands
any chance of becoming a "personality" on a Power-PC RISC-based computer,
and we'll do this by soliciting the opinions of some of our more eminent A2
BBS members.
The evolution of Apple IIe and IIgs computers as machines that are
capable of processing MS-DOS has been an interesting thing to watch,
especially since the MS-DOS FST was introduced with the GS's System 6.0.1
software a few months ago. It is expected that new software innovations,
patches, and capabilities will become available for the GS/PC hybrid
before this series of articles on Apple II hybrids is complete.
Why investigate Apple II hybrids? First, the blending of computer
operating systems and software capabilities seems to be an inevitability.
It is probably just a matter of time before it will no longer matter what
kind of computer you use. If your software has been digitally encoded,
your new computer will process it, or at least it will be capable of
processing it with the right emulation software.
Second, one means of extending the useful life of an Apple II is by
extending its functional capabilities. Use of a PC Transporter card in an
Apple IIe or IIgs -- or System 6.0.1's HFS and MS-DOS FSTs -- or the IIe
card for the Macintosh -- will help to keep the Apple II alive as a
system. In doing this, new software (like AppleWorks 4.0) is created.
When people get used to using new, more powerful software, they then have a
need for continued sales of the hardware, and the cycle repeats itself.
Many Apple II watchers are betting that the current version of the
LC's IIe card may be the final incarnation of the Apple II. They may be
right. It's quite likely to be the last HARDWARE version of an Apple II,
but that doesn't preclude a SOFTWARE version of an Apple II running on a
RISC-based machine sometime in the future. In the preface to its 178-page
manual for the LC's IIe card, Apple notes that there are "more than 10,000
Apple IIe programs." Many of these programs are still popular in
countless schools throughout the U.S. They are also still popular with
countless independent users, and the demand for hardware or software
emulations to run these programs will exist for some time to come. Don't
hold your breath waiting for the death of the Apple II. It has many years
ahead of it in some form or other.
In the next two months, we'll look at how the PC Transporter
accomplishes its work inside of an Apple II, and at what kinds of
peripheral devices can best be used to support an Apple II that also
processes MS-DOS. We'll also take an in-depth look at the software that
helps to turn a IIgs into a highly integrated machine, capable of
manipulating MS-DOS files in both Apple and PC modes. We'll probably poke
a little fun at MS-DOS, comparing it with ProDOS as we examine some of its
strengths as well as its weaknesses. Later articles will focus upon the
IIe-equipped Macintosh LC III. The LC/IIe hybrid has some nice strengths
as a II, and it needs to be re-examined.
Until next month, it's okay; think "hybrid".
[EOA]
[MOO]//////////////////////////////
CowTOONS! /
/////////////////////////////////
From the GEnieLamp Elves
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/~\ /~\
(oo)`* (oo)`*
.--/~~\/~~\--/~~\/~~\--.
[ ^ ^^ ^ ]
\____________________/
[_____][_____][____]_]
[__][_____][_____][__]
[_____][_____][____]_]
[__][_____][_____][__]
____[_____][_____][____]_]_____
[__]____][_____][_____][____][__]
[_____][_____][_____][_____][_____]
[~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~]
~| Happy Holidays! |~
[_________________________________________]
[___|_] (oo) \ [_|___]
[_|___] \/ * [___|_]
[___|_] [_|___]
[_|___] /^ [___|_]
[___|_] /^ ) ( ^\ [_|___]
[_|___] (^ ( ) ) [___|_]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[EOA]
[PDQ]//////////////////////////////
PD_QUICKVIEW /
/////////////////////////////////
LaserJet Print Drivers
""""""""""""""""""""""
By Darrel Raines
[D.RAINES]
>>> THE EVOLUTION OF AN IDEA <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
BEFORE WE BEGIN... I must tell you that this article is a review for a
"""""""""""""""""" shareware program. I figure that if I do not tell
you early, you may lose sight of where we are headed. So remember, this is
going to be a software review. This is going to be a software review. Got
it? Good.
I want you to think back to the early days of Apple II hardware.
Think back all the way to the point that floppy drives were just becoming
standard equipment for computers. At that point, the well-heeled computer
owner was able to get output from his Apple II+ by installing an Apple
Parallel Portcard and some type of dot-matrix printer. The printer was
probably made by IDS (Paper Tiger) or Epson (MX-80). The output was
readable, but looked pretty bad after the ribbon started to get old.
Now jump forward to the early days of the 1990s. The well-heeled
Apple IIgs owner now has enhanced graphics modes, fantastic stereo sound
output, and faster number crunching. And what exactly does our intrepid
user have to print his lovely output files? Why, a direct descendant of
the dot matrix printers that were mentioned above. The only choice is
whether you have a 9-pin or 24-pin print head.
I reached the point, a few years ago, where I needed a new printer and
wanted the most professional output that I could afford. However, since I
was only pursuing part-time jobs on the Apple, I could not afford to spend
much money on a printer. Therefore, it was necessary that I consider the
benefit of purchasing a LaserJet-compatible printer instead of the popular
PostScript-compatible printers. The decision was very difficult to make.
PostScript printers were anywhere from $100 to $500 more than an equivalent
LaserJet printer. I finally decided to go the cheaper route.
Just after I purchased my new printer, a few good things started
happening that helped change the way that I used the LaserJet-compatible
printer. The first thing to happen was the release of an ink-jet version
of the common laser printer. This printer is called the DeskJet. The
ink-jet technology was much more affordable to the general public. Along
with that hardware advance came an interest by software makers in
supporting these less-expensive printers. Riding this wave of events, the
Harmonie and Independence print driver software was born. Apple IIgs
users were now able to get very high resolution graphics and text output
from their LaserJet-compatible printers.
This proved to be a good point in the evolution of the Apple IIgs
LaserJet print drivers. Two competing products were available that would
give you PostScript-quality output for a package cost that was still much
less than the cost of the PostScript laser printer. Life was good. But
there were problems... small, but irritating, problems.
The Harmonie print driver seems to handle graphics better than other
drivers, but is somewhat less adept at creating crisp text output. It
also suffers from a very severe problem that was not noticed by many early
reviewers. Harmonie would not print more than one page from any word
processing package other than AppleWorks GS.
The Independence print driver seems to handle text quite well, but is
not as smooth in the graphics department. Circles and other curves seem
to bring out the worst problems. Independence is not as exact in the area
of print size adjustment. The designers opted for an easy interface and
less complete control over the output sizing.
Both print drivers suffer from a few common problems. The first, and
biggest problem, is print speed. Both will take from 2 to 4 minutes per
page, depending upon how dense the text and graphics are. Another common
problem is that the programs use quadruple size fonts to build the bitmap
that they use for the output. These fonts are slightly bigger than the
aspect ratio needed for precise output scaling. Therefore, both drivers
end up printing accurately for the top, bottom, and left margins. The
right margin is always slightly longer (further to the right) than it
shows up in the WYSIWYG display.
One thing becomes apparent when you analyze these drivers. Both of
them depend upon a rasterized image being built to send to the printer.
Neither of them downloads a font to printer memory and then uses it from
there. I thought of this solution while I was first reviewing the
Harmonie and Independence packages. However, I was not able to start such
a project at that time. Then, a similar solution to this problem came
floating by in a partially-implemented form. An NDA was written that would
download any Apple IIgs font to the LaserJet II-series printer. This still
did not quite satisfy the requirements that I had in mind. A user could
not automatically use the downloaded fonts in his/her printout. This
turned out to be the next step in the evolutionary process.
Finally, another solution is available that solves more of the text
output speed problems and the exact sizing problems inherent with the
other drivers. Author Heath Wilkinson has released a $15 shareware package
that fills some of the gaps listed above. This print driver is for the
LaserJet IIP (although many other printers should also work). It downloads
the nearest font size match that it can calculate for the fonts that you
use in a document. The fonts are adjusted for the difference in aspect
ratio between the Apple IIgs and the LaserJet. Once the fonts are
downloaded to the printer, the process of printing a page becomes just like
printing simple text. The downloaded font is used to form the characters
sent.
There is one major advantage to this scheme: it is fast! The initial
setup time is required for each printout to download the necessary fonts.
The downloaded fonts are removed after each print. Therefore, the printer
memory will not become full after a number of different fonts are used.
The only disadvantage to the one-printout/one-set-of-fonts rule is that
multiple printouts with the same fonts will all require time for the fonts
to be sent to the printer. However, it should be noted that this same
scheme is used by the Microsoft Windows Print Manager to print to
LaserJets. No graphic support is provided in the current driver.
Therefore, you cannot expect to achieve satisfactory output from a paint
program. That is the wrong use for this driver. Use this driver only
when you want fast, accurate renderings of text using Apple IIgs and/or
TrueType fonts. It should be noted here that TrueType fonts are preferred,
since Pointless can generate any size font from the outline. Otherwise,
you will have to anticipate the correct size of fonts to have available in
your System/Fonts folder. The TrueType route is obviously easier.
The author claims that his driver software is much faster than either
Harmonie or Independence. He gives an example where a multiple-page
document is printed with both Harmonie and the LaserJet driver. The
LaserJet driver is much faster over the long haul. I tried my own tests
using my own target document files. The results show that the driver will
be about the same speed as any other for the first page. After that, the
LaserJet print driver can burn through the printing process and will
provide exceptional speed.
As I mentioned earlier in this article, the LaserJet print driver is
shareware, yet still does not support graphic output. Therefore, your
shareware payments should encourage the author of this program to finish
his work. In any case, the print driver is very functional right now when
it is used as a TrueType font/text printer. You can reach the author of
this program at the following address: H.Wilkinson2. You can find the
current version of the print driver by searching the A2 libraries using
the name H.Wilkinson2 as the uploader.
In summary, we can see that the LaserJet print drivers have gone
through an evolutionary process during the past four years. Different
techniques have been developed to make printing of Apple IIgs files both
smoother and faster. This process has benefited the end user by creating
ever better software to meet their needs. There is no reason to think
that the process is over yet. The world has still not seen the ultimate
mouse trap. Nor do we have the ultimate LaserJet print driver. Yet.
[*][*][*]
Darrel Raines is an electrical engineer who works during
the day as a contractor to NASA building simulations.
During the evenings, he plays with his Apple IIgs
computer and writes articles like this one.
[EOA]
[PRO]//////////////////////////////
PROFILES /
/////////////////////////////////
Who's Who In Apple II
"""""""""""""""""""""
>>> WHO'S WHO <<<
"""""""""""""""""
~ GEnieLamp Profile: Jim Royal, Author of Star Trek: First Contact ~
GEnieLamp> When did you first start using an Apple II?
"""""""""
Royal> I purchased my trusty Apple IIc in late 1984. Surprisingly
""""" enough, the Apple dealer is still in business and to this day
will happily service the machine. I bought the computer largely because...
it was cool. I hadn't a clear idea what I'd do with a computer, beyond a
little word processing, and even that was only a faintly conceived
expectation. But everyone was getting a computer, so I did.
Over the years, I've added extra memory, 5.25 and 3.5 disk drives, a
mouse, and most recently an accelerator. When I think back, the Apple
IIc's contemporaries in 1984 were the IBM PCjr, the Macintosh 512K, and
the Commodore 64. It looks like I made the best choice at the time.
GEnieLamp> When did you start programming your Apple IIc?
"""""""""
Royal> I began programming almost immediately, in Applesoft BASIC,
""""" following an introductory programming course in college. My first
major effort was the beginning of a game which actually contained the
conceptual nugget of Star Trek: First Contact. That program was
accidentally erased before it was anywhere near completion -- in wry
hindsight, probably an act of God taking revenge on what was likely a truly
wretched piece of code.
I think my biggest revelation in programming was learning Pascal.
After years of writing the most horrifying spaghetti code in BASIC
(producing results not entirely unlike those of someone trying to build a
road in a blizzard) I suddenly had a clear vision of how a computer program
SHOULD be written. Shortly thereafter, I went back and re-wrote all those
godawful little Applesoft menu programs and minor utilities I had created
over the years. To this day, I always recommend that beginner programmers
learn Pascal first and BASIC second, if at all.
GEnieLamp> Was there any one person who helped ignite your interest in
""""""""" computers?
Royal> No one person prompted me to take up computing -- it was the
""""" uniformly pro-computer environment of the early 1980s. All the
computer companies were delivering the hard sell. All the schools wanted
computer labs. All teenaged boys wanted a computer (if they didn't want a
car first). What sold me on the Apple II was an eight-page glossy
advertisement in Omni magazine which extolled the virtues of the Apple II
over the IBM PC. I still have that magazine. How times change.
GEnieLamp> Whose work in the Apple II field do you admire most, and why?
"""""""""
Royal> The one group of people who have contributed the most to the
""""" Apple II world would be Beagle Bros. They maintained a reputation
of high quality and good humour right up until their untimely demise at the
hands of the ruthless Macintosh marketplace.
GEnieLamp> Would you briefly describe your game, Star Trek: First Contact?
"""""""""
Royal> Star Trek: First Contact is a simulator which brings to the
""""" Apple II user the realistic experience of deep space exploration.
It combines elements of a strategy game and an arcade game to create an
authentic recreation of the Star Trek flavour and ideology.
Your mission: To explore forty unknown worlds and to seek out and
contact the inhabitants. But meanwhile, an alien Intruder is exploring
the same area of space. Its mission is unknown, but you must find it,
contact it, and deal with it. Will the mission end in a peaceful greeting
or will your ship and many inhabited worlds be destroyed? Only you can
decide.
Star Trek: First Contact will run on a basic 128K Apple II with one
5.25 disk drive. It fully supports large-capacity disks and expanded
memory. Version 2.1 offers many improvements over v1.0, including a new
save game feature, a wealth of detailed information on each planet, the
streamlining of many commands, and a sophisticated course-plotting
function.
GEnieLamp> What influenced you to write a Star Trek game?
"""""""""
Royal> Far too many of the commercial and public domain Star Trek games
""""" are all variations on the same theme... the Enterprise placed
against a zillion Klingons all lined up in a row to be shot at. I've
always felt that, aside from the limited intellectual scope of such games,
they never represented the thrill of deep space exploration. I wanted
something different. So I set out to create it myself.
I wanted a game which would accurately reflect the spirit of the show.
To explore... to encounter and discover... to occasionally get into a
phaser fight if the situation calls for it. I hadn't realized how tough
that would be.
Both the original Star Trek series and the Next Generation are
strongly character-oriented shows, and that's the source of the show's
dramatic power. But I didn't want to make a role-playing game. I wanted
to command a starship.
I ended up with a compromise. There's a very limited sort of
role-playing in the dealings with the Intruder vessel and with the Away
Team missions. With a more powerful computer (such as a IIgs or a Mac),
these elements could be expanded. And I managed to keep the
starship-commander aspect at the core of the game.
Finally, I shaped the game as a training simulator during the time
period of The Next Generation mainly for flavour and verisimilitude.
GEnieLamp> When did you release the first version?
"""""""""
Royal> Star Trek: First Contact 1.0 was release in June 1992. Version
""""" 2.0 came out in August 1993, and 2.1 was released in September
1993. To this date, I've received about a dozen mailed comments from
users who appreciate the game -- one from Helsinki, Finland.
GEnieLamp> Can you comment a bit on your ideas about shareware as a
""""""""" publishing channel?
Royal> The future of the Apple II will definitely involve shareware.
""""" While mail-order companies such as Quality Computers continue to
bring new software and hardware to the user, their range of suppliers is
getting smaller all the time. The Apple II is still a viable platform for
hundreds of thousands or even millions of people, and a broad show of
support for programmers will keep the machine alive for years to come.
I'm gratified that some of my users have been sufficiently impressed
by ST:FC to pay their ten-dollar donation in thanks for the game. Many
have not sent their cheques, however, and I have no idea if they enjoy the
program or not. Feedback is much more important to me than a shareware
fee. And it is only by thanking and encouraging shareware authors that
users will continue to benefit from new and exciting software. I want to
hear from the people who play my game. Their comments are valuable to me.
GEnieLamp> I like to pay for shareware the minute I've decided to keep
""""""""" the program. Being a Canadian, I find I can't pay U.S.
shareware authors without a trip to the post office or bank. Do you, as a
Canadian shareware author, have trouble with U.S. payment?
Royal> I have no problems cashing cheques from American banks -- which is
""""" fortunate, because all but three of my shareware donations have
come from American users.
GEnieLamp> Could you tell us a little about what language you used to
""""""""" program Star Trek: First Contact?
Royal> First Contact was written in ZBasic. It's a surprisingly flexible
""""" language. It allows the user to define long functions which work
exactly like Pascal procedures. It has up to 54-digit math. It supports
several different graphics modes on the Apple II, and it is a lot faster
than Apple Pascal.
There have been versions of this language created for IBM, Mac, Radio
Shack and Z-80 computers, so the source codes programmers produce are
ninety-nine per cent portable. Unfortunately, Zedcor's support for the
Apple II edition has almost disappeared.
GEnieLamp> Do you have any horror stories about stomping bugs in
""""""""" Star Trek: First Contact?
Royal> Bug stomping for ST:FC was an absolute nightmare. The program
""""" consists of eight semi-independent modules, which interact with
each other in many different ways. I'm quite sure if I had not spent six
months planning the design of the game on paper, the whole project would
have become completely unmanageable very quickly.
Not helping matters at all was the ZBasic compiler itself. It's a
very reliable piece of work until you start pushing at its memory limits.
Sometimes, adding a subroutine to the game would paradoxically result in
more free space. And removing a subroutine would occasionally produce an
Out of Memory error. To combat these electronic shenanigans, I would
revise and compress the code. And compress. And compress. Version 2.1's
source code is probably nearly twice as space-efficient as version 1.0. I
learned a great deal about programming efficiently, and I invented a whole
slew of memory-saving programming techniques.
IBM and Macintosh programmers, who have gobs and gobs of megabytes to
play with don't know what they're missing. I say you're not a real
programmer until you've tried fitting a complex game into 28K. (ZBasic
limits you to 28 kilobytes for code and 30 kilobytes for variables).
Probably the funniest bug the game had was the result of misplaced
equals sign. At one point, the Intruder would refuse to attack. He would
much rather buzz 'round and 'round the Federation starship and then
suddenly flee for no reason. Firing at him made no difference -- it would
make him run faster. Nothing could make him turn around and fight.
The design of the game allows a small number of "control" variables to
switch whole groups of behaviour patterns for the Intruder on and off. And
a single flag held the key to this problem. With it switched off, the
Intruder instantly reverted to his old belligerent self. It took a week
to do this, however.
GEnieLamp> What do you do for a living?
"""""""""
Royal> By training, I am a journalist. I write and announce the news on
""""" a pop music radio station in Montreal. Up until recently, I was
also the producer/host of a weekly newsmagazine show on an alternative
radio station. Right now, my nine-to-five job is a technical writer for
Eicon Technology. Eicon produce software and hardware for an endless
variety of computer connectivity needs -- all the way from LANs to
transparent X.25 packet-switching network interfaces. I help write their
manuals.
GEnieLamp> Besides programming, what other hobbies and interests do you
""""""""" have? What do you wish you could spend more time doing?
Royal> I collect music (among my favorites are Vangelis, Mozart and
""""" singer Sarah McLachlan) and I read science fiction (Ursula K.
LeGuin, Stanislaw Lem, Arthur C. Clarke). I am an avid cyclist -- I avoid
all motorized transportation in the summer except in the heaviest rain.
BBSing is becoming more and more my major past-time.
But I only wish I could spend more time on my true love -- broadcast
journalism. For those American readers out there... Peter Jennings, Jim
Lehrer, Shelia McVicar, Peter Kent... all are Canadian. But recessions do
have a way with the world.
GEnieLamp> How do you prefer people to contact you?
"""""""""
Royal> I'd love to hear from people any way which is convenient for them.
""""" Either by post or through E-Mail (GE Mail = J.ROYAL1; Internet =
j.royal1@genie.geis.com). Authors are always pathetically eager for
feedback. I'd like to know how people find the game, and if there are
problems, I'll gladly fix them.
[EOA]
[HAR]//////////////////////////////
HARDVIEW A2 /
/////////////////////////////////
Hot Hardware for Apple II
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Larry Faust
[L.FAUST2]
THE $99 LINELINK 14.4E MODEM AND THE APPLE II
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
A recent MacWarehouse catalog offered the Hayes-compatible, fax-
upgradeable LineLink 14.4e modem for the unbelievably low price of $99. A
cable, telecommunications software, and Accu-Weather (a Mac application)
were also included in the deal.
Wow, I thought. Up and running at hyper-speed for less than $100...
just plug and play. I was doubtful; this was a _Mac_ mail-order outfit,
after all. It just sounded too good to be true. But the price was just
too low to pass up. I had heard of Apple II's modeming at such speeds --
and higher! -- so I called their toll-free number, 1-800-255-6227, and
ordered one (product number BND0249). Although MacWarehouse gladly accepts
MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express, my mail-order method of
choice is COD. ($6.00 additional fee, but worth it to me). Credit card
orders are sent via Airborne Express next day, while COD orders go via
U.P.S. 2nd day.
Well, this whole LineLink thing had taken our friends at MacWarehouse
more than a little bit by surprise. At the time I called, they had sold
out and the back-order list was some _2,000_ names deep! But I was
assured that a new shipment would come in during the following week.
In the meantime, I scoured my online resources for information and
end-user experiences with the LineLink and the Apple II. The plethora of
posts on GEnie and the Internet revealed that this was indeed a popular
deal amongst the Apple II community.
Eventually, my patience was rewarded, and the modem arrived last week.
Despite its plastic case, the modem was more substantial that I thought it
might be; definitely not the shoddy product that its low price implied.
The LineLink is slightly larger than the Apple 5.25" disk drive, making an
attractive space-saving modem/5.25" drive/3.5" drive pyramid.
But functionality was the main concern of the users who put up all
those posts. One does not fork over $99 just to have a good looking box;
it's got to work too!!
And work it does; _at all speeds up to 14,400 baud_ (underlined
because some users were reporting that the max was 9600 baud)! Not only
that, but the Mac cable that came with the modem worked with my IIgs
_straight from the box_. Gone were my nightmares of hunting around to
find the special "hardware handshaking cable" that some were talking about
online!
The manual is brief (28 pages), but gives an adequate overview of the
LineLink. It states that the fax upgrade refers to the fact that Mac fax
software, not hardware, is necessary to use the modem's fax features.
It's fax-ready out of the box; all the Apple II user needs is someone to
release Apple II fax software (c'mon, Quality, Econ, and Intrec <g>).
Although it says "Technology Concepts, Inc." on the front, the
LineLink is manufactured by Prometheus Products, Inc., a major modem
manufacturer. It uses v.42/v.42bis/MNP-5 error correction and data
compression, and the manual states that "[p]eak data rates up to 57,600
bps may be attained using v.42bis."
As far as the Control Panel settings go, the IIgs's MODEM PORT must be
set to the following parameters and then rebooted:
Line Length: UNLIMITED
Delete Line Feed: NO
Echo: NO
Buffering: NO
Baud: 19200
Data/Stop bits: 8/1
Parity: NO
DCD Handshake: NO
DSR Handshake: NO
XON/XOFF Handshake: NO
On the software side, the Mac comm software and the Accu-Weather were
useless, but I recycled (reformatted) the disk. I use -- and highly
recommend -- ProTERM for all Apple II telecommunications. (Although I
used ProTERM to evaluate the LineLink, it implements the majority of the
industry-standard Hayes AT command set and should operate with every Apple
II telecom package on the market.)
In order to correctly initialize the modem under ProTERM, select
INSTALL under the MISC menu. Click the MODEM button, and select HAYES
SMARTMODEM v9600 (CTS/RTS). Click OK (No, the default Smartmodem init
string does NOT need to be "tweaked," but can be if desired). Remember to
change your BAUD selections on each entry of your dialing list to 19200
(the closest setting to 14400 on the list).
After playing with it for only one week, I gotta tell ya, this little
screamer is a GREAT value! Screens of text that used to spill onto my
screen at 2400 baud literally fly by, and off-line reading with the
ProTERM scrollback buffer is now a necessity instead of a convenience; I
can only imagine my long-distance savings. My only complaint so far is the
length of time that the modem takes to auto-baud when confronted with a
carrier slower than 14400 baud. I've logged onto several local and
national BBSes and, in some instances, have had to extend my default
connect time from 30 to 40 seconds.
At the last time I checked, MacWarehouse was still taking orders. My
recommendation to the Apple II user who is thinking about a high-speed
modem with fax capability is to call now and order a LineLink 14.4e -- ask
for it by name. Quick, while this offer lasts!
[EOA]
[AII]//////////////////////////////
APPLE II /
/////////////////////////////////
Apple II History, Part 18
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Steven Weyhrich
[S.WEYHRICH]
>>> APPLE II HISTORY <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""
Compiled and written by Steven Weyhrich
(C) Copyright 1992, Zonker Software
(PART 18 -- SOFTWARE)
[v1.2 :: 12 Nov 92]
INTRODUCTION In this part of the History, we will go into an overview of
"""""""""""" software that has been designed for the Apple II, and then
look further at two of the most influential programs ever written for this
computer, VisiCalc and Apple Writer.
"WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT AN APPLE CAN DO?" One of the most
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" important features to
a customer considering any computer is, "What can I do with it?" It might
be an attractive-looking box, with incredible features and potential, but
if all it can do is run demonstration programs, it won't be very useful.
In the early years of the microcomputer era, most users had to either write
their own software or use programs written by some other amateur.
"Commercial" software written by "professionals" was unavailable, except
possibly from the company that produced the computer. And unless the user
knew assembly language AND the internals of the computer intimately (which
depended on the willingness of the manufacturer to divulge those secrets),
the only application software available was likely to be written in BASIC.
Anyone who has used the versions of BASIC available at that time are well
aware of the quirks and limits placed on the programmer by that language
and by the small memory sizes available (see discussion in Parts 16 and
17).
As we have already seen, the Apple II came with few intentional
secrets; the primary limitation on information distributed with it was the
time required for Apple to produce a printed manual. When the first manual
finally did arrive, it included a commented source code listing for the
entire Monitor and all its supporting routines. This openness had a lot to
do with the early success of the Apple II. Other manufacturers, such as
Atari (with their models 400 and 800, based on the same 6502 as the Apple
II) and Texas Instruments (who made a 16-bit machine called the TI 99/4),
kept everything very secret and thus tried to maintain some control over
distribution of software. This MAY have been done to ensure that only high
quality programs were released, but more likely they were concerned about
controlling who received royalties on sales of the software. Unfortunately
for them, it choked the development of amateur software authors (who may
have later become professional authors).
As an example of this corporate secrecy, one early programmer named
John Harris wanted to write games for the Atari, but could not get the
company to release any information on how certain effects were achieved in
their commercially released games. He was bright enough to eventually
figure out the secrets himself, and became one of the wealthy software
"stars" of the late 1970's and early 1980's.<1> Computer producers of the
time did not yet grasp the principal of the software/hardware loop:
Available software stimulates sales of hardware (computers and
peripherals), which further enlarges the software market, which sells more
computers, and so on. The industry was too new to know how to do much more
than make and sell new computers.
SOFTWARE ON THE APPLE II In the Apple II part of the computer world, the
"""""""""""""""""""""""" first distribution of software came from home
authors. These people were usually first-time computer buyers who were
captivated by the excitement of owning their OWN computer, and then had to
sit down to actually find something useful or fun to DO with it. They
often brought their first programming efforts to show off at the computer
store where they had bought their machine. Since the store owners had very
little software to offer to their potential customers, some of these
authors ended up with the opportunity of having their programs duplicated
and made available for sale. Ken and Roberta Williams started their
company "On-Line Systems" (later Sierra On-Line) this way with a game
called Mystery House, one of the first adventure games featuring hi-res
graphics pictures.<2>
Other early software came from the first user groups. These usually
developed out of the gatherings that inevitably took place at the computer
stores, as mentioned above. Since the people who actually used these
computers day in and day out at home had a better grasp of how they worked
and what could be done to work around problems, the store owners often
ended up referring their new customers to these groups for the detailed
help they needed. Not only were there the older groups (like the Homebrew
Computer Club), but many newer, more machine-specific groups developed.
Names like A.P.P.L.E. (Apple PugetSound Program Library Exchange) and
International Apple Core became known well beyond their local beginnings as
they began to distribute their newsletters and magazines to a national
audience. Later, they became major sources of informational articles,
utilities, and application programs that were as yet unavailable anywhere
else.
Many of the programs sold by A.P.P.L.E. were popular with Apple II
owners. A.P.P.L.E. was designed as a club with dues to pay for the
collection of programs, all considered to be public domain, but sold to
members at a nominal price to cover the costs of duplication. A.P.P.L.E.'s
programs were written by amateur home users who had a unique idea, were
able to make it work, and found that they had a product that was useful to
others as well. Originally collected on cassettes, and later on disks,
some of the programs were eventually made available as commercial products
by authors that knew they had something unique that would be in demand by
Apple owners hungry for something to use on their computer. A.P.P.L.E.
sold many of these as GamePaks, which contained several games on the same
tape.<3>
Understanding that a large variety of available programs would help
encourage more sales for the Apple II, Apple took some steps to help
software authors get their programs on the market. In 1980 Apple employee
Mike Kane suggested that Apple help distribute programs that were good, but
whose authors couldn't get a publisher to distribute them or didn't have
access to computer stores that were willing to sell it for them. Kane
formed a division within Apple, called it "Special Delivery Software", and
promoted both third-party and Apple-sponsored programs under that label.
Between 1979 and 1981 a number of different programs were sold through
Special Delivery Software, sporting the Apple logo and displaying a
standardized appearance (packages, manuals, etc.), all listed in a catalog
that could be used by dealers for orders. Apple Writer was originally
distributed in this fashion, as were other less well-known programs such as
Tax Planner, Plan 80, Script II (for Pascal), and MBA (a spreadsheet).
Apple also established the Apple Software Bank and used it for special
programs through 1980. It was more clearly a set of Apple-sponsored
programs than were those sold through Special Delivery Software, and some
of them programs, such as Quick File and Apple Plot, achieved strong
popularity and were moved more into the mainstream of sales for
Apple.<4>,<5>
SOFTWARE EVOLUTION: THE COMMAND LINE INTERFACE Some of the earliest
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" programs available for the
Apple II had a user interface that was quite similar to the ones available
for use with time-sharing terminals on mainframe computers: A command was
typed on a line, and the computer would execute that command and return
with a prompt for the next command. This method was the necessary way of
doing things, because video displays were expensive and not in common use.
This was particularly true for those who used remote terminals, which
usually consisted of a paper-based glorified typewriter connected by a
phone line to a mainframe. This device was physically limited to allowing
commands to be entered one line at a time. The concept of displaying
things on the screen in any order desired, not necessarily going from top
to bottom (as would be necessary if it was being typed on a piece of paper
in an teletype) was difficult for many programmers of the time to grasp.
Moreover, for design purposes, the software code built-in to a computer
(like the Apple II) that handled a command line style of interface was much
simpler (and shorter) than what would be needed for a more complex
interface. With memory at a premium price, simple would have to do. Thus,
the Apple II used the command line interface in both the Monitor and in
Integer BASIC. These could be used as building blocks to create more
complicated software, once people figured out how to do it.
The command line interface, though simple to implement in a program,
had the disadvantage of requiring the user to know (and correctly type) the
names of the commands. For example, a word processing program might use
the command "LOAD" to get a text file into memory, the command "EDIT" to
begin to make changes to that file, and then the command "SAVE" to put a
copy of the completed work back onto tape or disk. "SORT", with various
pieces of modifying information called "parameters", might be the necessary
command to arrange the information in a database file into the desired
order. Other commands might be needed to search for a specific word,
replace a word, and move lines around. In fact, early word processors were
often quite similar to writing a program in BASIC: Each line had its own
line number, and inserting new lines often meant having to renumber the
lines to make a new line available between two existing ones. If extra
text had to be added to a line in the process of editing, making it too
long, the end of that line might have to be re-typed into the following
line and deleted from the current one.
More sophisticated text editing programs eventually began to appear
that took advantage of the fact that the user was not working with a
typewriter and paper, but with a video screen. These "full-screen editors"
would allow use of the arrow keys (or the IJKM "diamond" on the keyboard)
to move the cursor around on the entire screen, and it made text entry and
later editing easier. As they were further refined, these newer word
processors even allowed what had previously been impossible: Text could be
typed in the middle of a line, and the text to the right of the cursor
would be magically pushed to the right (even "wrapping around" to the next
line if needed) as things were typed. Deletions were just as easy. What
was still cumbersome was the need to have specialized commands, often
entered as combinations of the Control key and another letter, to carry out
some of the functions of search and replace, copy, and so on. Moreover,
these command keys were often different from one program to another, with
Ctrl-F in one program being used to begin a "find" process, and in another
program as a command to jump to the "first" line of the file. As the
full-screen method of text editing became more standard, the command-line
type of interface became less commonly used.
SOFTWARE EVOLUTION: MENUS As mentioned above, one of the problems with
""""""""""""""""""""""""" the command-line method was the requirement for
the user to have a good memory for the names of the various commands
necessary for the program to function. If the command name was typed
incorrectly, or if a specific parameter was omitted or given in the wrong
order, an error message would appear, causing great anxiety and
hand-wringing to those who were still trying to overcome their fear of
using a computer. As an alternative for certain functions in a program,
the concept of "menus" became more popular (and was actually used as early
as the Apple Color Demo program that came on cassette with the first
Apple II's). A menu was simply a list of possible functions a program
could carry out. It still often used a command style prompt ("Type
choice") to allow entry of the desired item on the menu, but gave a little
more ease-of-use since a specific command name did not have to be
memorized. A further enhancement of this style of program construction was
called a "magic menu", after a sample program written in BASIC and
distributed by Apple. In this type of menu, the user had the option of
typing the number of the desired menu entry at the prompt, OR he could use
the arrow keys to move a large inverse bar up and down the menu to that
item. After selecting the item with the arrow key, it was executed by
pressing the RETURN key. This came to be known as the "point and shoot"
method of command selection.
AppleWorks (which will be discussed in detail next month) took the
"magic menu" interface to its highest form, adding the metaphor of "file
cards". One menu appeared on the screen enclosed in a box, with a "tab" on
the top left of that box. This box resembled a 3x5 file card. When a
selection was made from the menu, another file card would appear on top of
the previous one, slightly down and to the right, leaving the tab on the
lower box still visible. This allowed stacking of menus, with a clear path
identifying which menu led to the current menu. The ESC (escape) key was
used to "back up" one level, erasing the menu card on top and re-drawing
the menu card underneath it. Also, prompts were displayed on the top line
of the screen that told where ESC would take you, and what function was
currently being executed. Part of the success of AppleWorks stemmed from
its ease of use in this respect. Not only were there no cryptic commands
that had to be remembered and typed, but the use of special command keys
was reserved for advanced use of the program. And when such special keys
were needed, a standard "help" screen was available for quick reference.
It was possible to do quite a bit in AppleWorks without the need of even
opening the instruction manual.
SOFTWARE EVOLUTION: GRAPHIC USER INTERFACES One thing necessary to make
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" computers easier for people
to use was to overcome both the fear problem and the frustration problem.
Those who were inexperienced in the use of computers were often afraid that
they would press a button that would cause something terrible to happen.
If they overcame the fear problem, they still had to face the frustration
of trying to decipher cryptic error messages ("*** TOO MANY PARENS" or "$27
Error"), or lack of success in getting the computer program to do what they
wanted it to do.
Adding familiar things to the screen, like the file card menus in
AppleWorks, made the fear factor diminish. Making the keys that controlled
certain features of that program work consistently from the word processor
to the database to the spreadsheet decreased the frustration factor even
further. But there were still barriers to overcome in making computers
easier to use.
When Lisa appeared on the scene in 1983, and Macintosh in 1984,
computer users were exposed to a radically new concept in computer
software. These computers lacked the previous standard of typed command
input to control programs. Instead, they used a bit-mapped graphics screen
to represent a desktop, with pictures (called "icons") that represented a
program to run or a file to load. It took the "point and shoot" interface
to the limit; you used the mouse to move a pointer on the screen onto an
icon representing that program, and then "click" on it to start the
program! For more complex control, the Mac used a variation on the "magic
menu" system: A "menu bar" at the top of the screen gave a list of command
words, arranged horizontally on the same line. Pointing to one of the
words and holding down the mouse button would cause a menu to "pull down"
like a window shade, displaying several further options available. The
desired choice on the menu could be highlighted by moving the mouse to that
item (such as "Delete") and the command would be executed. This approach
made use of the Lisa and Macintosh considerably easier for the novice
computer user, although some commands were also given keyboard equivalents
similar to the old "Ctrl" key commands, so a more experienced user could
execute some of them without having to take his hands off the keyboard. If
AppleWorks could be considered easy enough to use without opening the
reference book, this graphic user interface (GUI) was even more so. It
also provided a standard environment that all programs written for the Mac
could use, making it easier to learn how to use a new program.
Although the 6502 processor did not have the horsepower of the 68000
in the Mac, some programs began to appear for the Apple II that tried to
make use of the same concept of overlapping windows, pull-down menus, and a
mouse- (or joystick-) driven pointer. Quark released a program selector
called Catalyst that used a similar graphics-based desktop, icons for
files, and the point-and-click method of file execution. It was included
with some of the early UniDisk 3.5 drives, and on Quark's hard drives.
Another company, VersionSoft (from France) had a program called MouseDesk,
which was distributed in America by International Solutions. MouseDesk
worked just a bit better than Catalyst, but did not do very well as a
standalone product, especially with Catalyst being given away free with the
new UniDisk. Eventually, International Solutions made MouseDesk available
for only ten dollars via mail-order, hoping to get it into general enough
use that their other graphic- and mouse-based products would sell better.
Although that did not happen, International Solutions did eventually sell
the rights to distribution of MouseDesk over to Apple Computer. Apple then
modified the program and included it with as a rudimentary desktop (modeled
after the Macintosh Finder) for their first versions of ProDOS 16 System
software for the Apple IIgs.
With the release of the IIgs, it became possible for better GUI
software to be produced for the Apple II. The 65816 processor had a bit
more power, and the IIgs provided a better quality graphics environment
(via its super hi-res mode) and more available memory than was possible on
the older 8-bit Apple II's.
SOFTWARE: APPLE'S GREATEST HITS It is beyond the scope of this writing to
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" go into much detail about the many
programs released over the years, as the sheer volume of them since 1977 is
enormous. Even a brief mention of them all could become a book in its own
right, but Appendix A contains a listing (in moderate detail) of popular
software released over the years. In this segment here I will address in a
little more detail three programs that have been particularly influential
in the Apple II world: VisiCalc, Apple Writer, and AppleWorks.
By 1980, the Apple II software market had established itself fairly
well. This allowed users of the computer to no longer have to write
their own programs, but instead move on to simply being able to USE them.
Softalk magazine, which began in that year, had started nearly from the
beginning with an analysis of top selling software of the day. In their
second issue (October 1980) their bestseller list first appeared, with the
top thirty software programs ranked based on actual sales information
obtained by polling retailers across the country. In that first list the
top selling program was VisiCalc.
SOFTWARE: VISICALC A major part of the answer to the question, "What
"""""""""""""""""" can I do with this computer?" lies in whether or not
the software program in question is so important or useful that it
literally sells the computer. Robert X. Cringely, in his book "Accidental
Empires", put it this way: "VisiCalc was a compelling application -- an
application so important that it, alone justified the computer purchase.
Such an application was the last element required to turn the microcomputer
from a hobbyist's toy into a business machine. No matter how powerful and
brilliantly designed, no computer can be successful without a compelling
application. To the people who bought them, mainframes were really
inventory machines or accounting machines, and minicomputers were office
automation machines. The Apple II was a VisiCalc machine."<6>
VisiCalc offered a way of using a computer that no one had ever
thought of before, especially at the time when most computers were
mainframes with limited access to the "average" user. VisiCalc was written
by Dan Bricklin, a programmer that had decided to enter Harvard Business
School in the fall of 1977 and learn a second profession. Because of his
programming background, he saw ways in which some of his class work could
be simplified through the use of computers. He wrote programs in BASIC on
the college time-sharing system to do his financial calculations, but found
it tedious to have to re-write the program to deal with each new type of
problem.
In a class that dealt with business production, Bricklin learned that
some companies used long blackboards (sometimes stretching across several
rooms) that were divided into a matrix of rows and columns. Each row and
column had a specific definition, and calculations were made based on the
contents of each cell (the intersection of a row and a column). If the
value of one cell changed, the values of any cell that made use of the
first cell's value also had to be changed. Because this was all written on
a blackboard, the results had to be checked and re-checked to make sure
that something hadn't been missed when changes were made during a planning
session. Bricklin conceived of a computerized approach to this production
and planning matrix. Even though the computer could not display the entire
matrix at once, the video screen could be used as a window on a part of the
matrix, and this window could be moved at will to view any part of it.
Best of all, the computer could keep track of all the calculations between
the various cells, making sure that a change made in one place would be
properly reflected in the result of a calculation in another place.
Over a single weekend he wrote a program in BASIC that demonstrated
this concept. This demo program was rather slow and could only display a
single screen of cells, but it was enough to illustrate the concept.
Bricklin teamed up with a friend from MIT, Bob Frankston, and together they
looked for a publisher for the program. They found Dan Fylstra, who had
graduated from Harvard Business School a couple of years earlier and had
started a small software company called Personal Software, which he ran out
of his apartment. Fylstra's primary product at the time was a chess
program for the Apple II, and he was preparing to release the first
commercial version of the adventure game Zork. After he heard what
Bricklin and Frankston had in mind, he agreed to help them out. Fylstra
loaned an Apple II to them as a platform on which to develop a more
full-featured (and faster) machine language version of Bricklin's program.
During 1978 and 1979 they worked together, as time permitted, with Bricklin
doing the program design and Frankston writing the code. (One design
contribution made by Frankston was the idea of using "lookup" tables, which
he wanted so he could use the program to calculate his taxes.) They did
most of their development work on an Apple II emulator running on a
minicomputer (much as Apple itself had used a local time-sharing computer
for development of the original Apple II Monitor program). They named
their program "VisiCalc", and by October 1979 it was ready for release.
At first, VisiCalc was not a big hit. When most customers at computer
stores were shown what the program could do, they didn't really grasp the
concept behind it well enough to appreciate its possibilities. When
business customers who had some computer knowledge came in and saw the
program, however, they immediately saw that it could simplify much of what
they did. VisiCalc actually SOLD Apple II's to many customers, and these
businessmen managed to sneak the new computers onto their desks (despite
company policies that discouraged use of anything but the company's
mainframe). The combination of the Apple II's ability to expand its memory
up to 48K, and the new Disk II drive to use for quick and easy data storage
and retrieval, made VisiCalc an ideal program to sell potential users on
this new computer.
Although executives at Apple Computer had been shown a pre-release
version of VisiCalc, they also did not really understand the potential of
the program. Trip Hawkins, an Apple employee responsible for developing
plans to help sell computers to small businesses, could see that this could
become a major selling point for getting Apple II's into those businesses.
He negotiated with Dan Fylstra about the possibility of Apple purchasing
from Personal Software all rights to VisiCalc (thus locking up the market
in Apple's favor). However, Apple's president, Mike Markkula, felt that
the $1 million in Apple stock offered by Hawkins was too expensive and
cancelled the deal. If his decision had been otherwise, the future of the
microcomputer industry might have been quite different; however, Apple was
headlong in their push to create their next product, the Apple III, and a
million dollar investment in an untried program for this "aging" Apple II
was not in their agenda at the time.
Bricklin and Frankston had themselves formed a company called Software
Arts, and it was this company that had contracted with Fylstra's Personal
Software. As part of their arrangement, they were obligated to create
versions of VisiCalc for many other microcomputers, from the TRS-80 to the
Commodore PET and eventually to the IBM PC. As sales of VisiCalc grew by
leaps and bounds, Personal Software (and Software Arts) became quite
wealthy. To more closely identify his company with his flagship product,
Fylstra changed its name from Personal Software to VisiCorp. He also hired
other programmers to write companion software to extend the usefulness of
VisiCalc. These included VisiFile (a database system), VisiSchedule
(capable of creating critical path PERT schedules), VisiCalc Business
Forecasting Model (a set of business templates for VisiCalc), and
VisiTrend/VisiPlot (graphs, trend forecasting, and descriptive statistics).
But despite these additional products, VisiCalc continued to be
VisiCorp's cash cow. This, ironically, led to the company's biggest
problem, centering around a disagreement about money. VisiCorp's contract
with Software Arts guaranteed Bricklin and Frankston a hefty 37.5 percent
royalty on each copy of the program that VisiCorp sold. VisiCorp was
responsible for marketing and distribution of the program, but it was
Software Arts who owned the rights to it, and they had no motivation to
change their contract to decrease the royalty percent to a number that was
more typical for programmers.
The problem escalated when VisiCorp filed a lawsuit seeking damages
because Software Arts was supposedly late in providing them upgrades to
VisiCalc. Software Arts countersued, and demanded back the rights to
distribute the product themselves. Further complicating matters was the
fact that the name "VisiCalc" was a copyright of Software Arts, but a
TRADEMARK of VisiCorp.<7>
By early 1985, things had worn on to the point where Bricklin decided
to end the battle by selling the rights to VisiCalc -- but NOT to VisiCorp.
Instead, Mitch Kapor, who ran the Lotus Development Corporation, purchased
the program. Kapor had previously worked for VisiCorp, and had helped
write VisiTrend/VisiPlot. After he sold the rights for those programs to
VisiCorp, he began design on a spreadsheet program that would run
specifically on the IBM PC, with the additional features of limited word
processing and the ability to create graphs. His program, Lotus 1-2-3,
worked as well on the IBM PC as the original VisiCalc had on the Apple II
(the ports of VisiCalc to other machines had never been quite as good as
the original), and Lotus eventually captured the spreadsheet market on the
IBM. In fact, it became the "compelling application" that helped push that
computer platform into prominence. It had, however, made a significant
contribution to decreased sales of VisiCalc, and after Lotus succeeded in
purchasing it from Software Arts, VisiCalc quietly disappeared from
software store shelves.
SOFTWARE: APPLE WRITER This was certainly not the first word processor
"""""""""""""""""""""" for the Apple II, but it was one of the most
popular. During the four years that Softalk magazine was in print, Apple
Writer rarely (if ever) disappeared from their best selling software list.
Even if it was not in the Top Thirty, it usually held some spot on their
list of top Word Processors.
The original version was released in 1979. Apple Writer 1.0 had to
deal with the limitations of the Apple II in the form of its uppercase-only
keyboard and 40-column display. Clearly, a document produced on a computer
COULD be uppercase only, but it was more valuable if it could look more
like that produced on a typewriter. To achieve entry of upper AND
lowercase characters, Apple Writer used inverse text to display uppercase,
and normal text to display lowercase. When entering text, an uppercase
letter was entered by pressing the ESC key once. This changed the usual
cursor box to an inverse caret (^), and the next letter entered would be
uppercase (displayed in inverse). If the ESC key were pressed twice in a
row, the cursor changed into an inverse plus sign (+), and was now an
editing cursor that could be moved through the text.<8> The IJKM diamond
on the keyboard was used to move the cursor, just as it was used for moving
the cursor for editing lines of BASIC programs. Although the box cursor
used in Apple Writer looked just like the flashing box also used in Apple
BASIC, this cursor "floated" through the text instead of sitting on top of
a character. If you moved it through the word "AND", it would look like
this as it went from left to right: *AND A*ND AN*D AND*.
This original version of Apple Writer actually consisted of two
separate binary programs: TEDITOR and PRINTER. The first program was used
to actually edit the text, and the second one would print the files created
by the TEDITOR. In its first release, Apple Writer had two problems that
bothered some early users of the program. One was that the files created
by the program were Binary files (instead of Text files), apparently as a
means to speed saving and loading files under Apple DOS. Although it
worked fine for Apple Writer, the files could not be used by any other
program. The other problem had to do with the way in which it used (or
misused) the ASCII character set. The Apple II, you may recall, used the
upper half ($80-$FF) of the ASCII set for its screen display of "normal"
characters (much of the rest of the microcomputer world tended to use the
lower half), and used the lower half ($00-$7F) for flashing and inverse
characters. In the upper half, the characters from $80-$9F were designated
as control characters (generated by pressing the "Ctrl" key with a letter
key), $A0-$BF were special characters and numbers, $C0-$DF contained the
uppercase alphabet and a few more special characters, and $E0-$FF repeated
the characters from $A0-$BF (this is where the lowercase letters should
have been, according to the ASCII standards). Since the lowercase ASCII
characters were unavailable, the Apple II video routines translated any
characters in the $E0-$FF range into characters in the $C0-$DF range,
making them displayable on the uppercase-only screen. Apple Writer, for
some reason, used the $C0-$DF range internally for display of uppercase
letters (which WAS standard) and the $E0-$FF range for special characters
and numbers (instead of using the $A0-$BF range). When some users began
plugging different ROM characters chips (like the Paymar chip) into their
Apple II Plus computer, they found that Apple Writer wouldn't display text
properly. The number "3" appeared as a lowercase "s", and "%" as an "e".
A special patch was soon developed to intercept Apple Writer's text output
to the screen and make the correct translation to display lowercase AS
lowercase, and numbers and special characters where THEY were supposed to
be.<9>
Apple Writer 1.0 ran from 13-sector DOS 3.2 disks, and the binary
files it produced had names that began with the prefix "TEXT." (a file
named "LETTER" would appear on disk as "TEXT.LETTER"). Apple Writer 1.1
was released in 1980 when DOS 3.3 became available. It ran under the newer
16 sector format, and contained some minor bug fixes. This version also
had available a companion spell checker called Goodspell.
The next version released was called Apple Writer ][. This one came
out in 1981, was copy-protected, and still ran on an Apple II Plus under
DOS 3.3, but now produced standard Text files instead of the older Binary
files, and could properly display 40-column lowercase characters when the
character generator ROM was replaced. It also supported 80-column text if
a Sup-R-Term card was plugged into slot 3. In 40-column mode, words would
now "wrap" to the next line if they were too long to display on the current
line (the older versions of Apple Writer appeared to split the word and
continue it on the next line). The ESC key was still used as a pseudo
shift key (one press) and to enter editing mode (two presses, displayed as
an inverse "@" instead of the "+" in previous versions), but the keyboard
SHIFT key could be used to enter uppercase characters if the "shift key
mod" was performed (recall that this connected the shift key to the input
for button 3 on the game paddles). Other new features included a glossary
and the Word Processing Language (WPL). In modern terminology, WPL was a
macro or scripting language, making it possible to automate nearly
everything the program was capable of. A WPL program could create
templates like form letters, or could be used for entry of repetitious text
(such as your return name and address for correspondence).<8>
Apple Writer //e, also copy-protected, came next in 1983 with the
Apple IIe. This took advantage of the features of the new IIe (such as the
built-in 80 column display and full keyboard). It also included
improvements in tabbing (since a TAB key was now available on the
keyboard), could create larger text files (these could be larger than the
size of memory, by loading just a segment of the file into memory at one
time), could "print" text files to the disk, could directly connect the
keyboard to the printer (to use like a typewriter), and had improvements in
the WPL language. When the Apple IIc came out, users of this version of
Apple Writer had some problems, as the inverse status line at the top of
the screen displayed uppercase characters as MouseText; however, patches
quickly appeared to remedy this situation.<10>
The first version to run under the ProDOS operating system was called
Apple Writer 2.0. It came out in September 1984, was not copy-protected,
and it fixed the MouseText problem. It also allowed the user to set right
and left screen margins, giving a closer approximation of the final
appearance of the printed text. This version also had the capability of
connecting the keyboard directly to the printer OR to a modem, allowing it
to be used as a rudimentary terminal program. This version had some
problems with properly printing to certain third-party parallel printer
cards (such as the Grappler).<11>
One annoying "feature" that was added to this version (and was also
present in a couple of other Apple-distributed programs, AppleWorks 1.3 and
Instant Pascal) was that it did NOT follow Apple's published protocols in
properly handling slot 3 RAMdisks (or other disks). Since some programs
used all 128K memory that could be present in a IIe or IIc, Apple had given
guidelines in one of their Technotes on how to properly "disconnect" the
64K RAMdisk (which was designated as slot 3, drive 2) so all 128K would be
available to the program. Apple Writer and the other two programs
mentioned above had been written so that they disconnected ANY slot 3 disk
device, whether a RAMdisk, hard disk, or a genuine Apple disk. It is not
clear as to WHY this had been done, although it was suspected in
publications at the time that someone at Apple had done this so memory
cards not made by Apple would fail to work. Some of these memory cards had
been made to also work in slot 3 but to not interfere with the official
128K of program memory. Their manufacturers had worked to follow Apple's
published standards, and then had been bypassed by what appeared to be
programming arrogance. Patches to make these programs work properly
appeared when the problem was identified.<12>
Apple Writer 2.1 appeared in late 1985. It contained some minor bug
fixes, including the above-mentioned problem with some parallel printer
cards. The 2.0 version had printed characters as low-ASCII (values
$00-$7F), which caused a problem with some kinds of interface cards and
printers. Version 2.1 changed this so characters were printed as
high-ASCII ($80-$FF), although files printed to a disk file were saved in
the original low-ASCII format.<13> This version also was not
copy-protected, making it possible to easily install on a 3.5 disk or hard
disk.
When AppleWorks appeared on the scene, Apple Writer began to decrease
in popularity; however, old time users did not like AppleWorks as well as
Apple Writer, primarily because it put a layer of "protection" between the
user and the program. This made it easier for the computer novice to
immediately put the program to use, and less likely to do something that
would "mess up" his printer or interface card internal settings. That same
protection also made it harder to do specialized jobs. For example, where
Apple Writer would allow entry of control characters (which allowed very
specific control of printers and their interface cards), AppleWorks was
much more restrictive in this sense, handling more of the details of
printer control internally. Apple Writer's power made it possible to even
create documents on PostScript laser printers (as demonstrated by Don
Lancaster in his Computer Shopper column, "Ask The Guru"), something that
all the computer experts claimed was not possible on an Apple II. Where
Apple Writer allowed an experienced user to use all features on a printer
and interface card to the maximum, AppleWorks was more dependent on the
printer and card already knowing how to be cooperative with it. The same
thing that gave Apple Writer its power also made it harder to use for less
skilled users, who probably found intimidating its nearly-blank screen with
no prompts or instructions visible.
For several years, from around 1988 through 1992, Apple Writer was not
readily available except as a used program. The exact reason for this is
not clear. One reason probably had to do with the better-selling
AppleWorks, which had the additional features of a spreadsheet and
database. But with its Word Processing Language, Apple Writer was still
more suitable for certain jobs than was AppleWorks; and yet, Apple simply
stopped upgrading, distributing, and supporting it. But in the summer of
1992, one of the Sysops on GEnie's Apple (A2) Roundtable, Tim Tobin, was
successful in contacting Paul Lutus. Tobin was coordinating a project that
A2 had started to try to locate and revive the availability of "Lost
Classics", programs that had ceased publication (often because their
distributor had gone out of business), and recovering Apple Writer was high
on his list. Lutus agreed to make his program available on a "freeware"
basis: It could be copied freely and given away, but could not be sold for
a profit. (This arrangement was quite similar to an earlier program Lutus
had written, FreeWriter. He had released this program as freeware in 1984.
FreeWriter was very much like Apple Writer, except it did not have a
built-in ability to print the documents it created, and it did not have
WPL). This new, free distribution was possible because although Apple
Computer held the copyright on the Apple Writer documentation, Lutus had
retained the copyright on the program itself (Apple had held the copyright
on versions 1.0 and 1.1 of the program). Although the program is based on
older technology, and does not take advantage of the larger memory sizes
frequently available in the Apple II's of today, it still is powerful and
is a welcome addition to any software library.
[*][*][*]
NEXT INSTALLMENT: AppleWorks
""""""""""""""""
NOTES
"""""
<1> Levy, Steven. Dell Publishing Co., Inc, HACKERS: HEROES OF THE
COMPUTER REVOLUTION, New York, 1984, pp. 314-319.
<2> Levy, Steven. Dell Publishing Co., Inc, HACKERS: HEROES OF THE
COMPUTER REVOLUTION, New York, 1984, pp. 298-300.
<3> -----. "A.P.P.L.E. Co-op Celebrates A Decade of Service",
CALL-A.P.P.L.E., Feb 1988, pp. 12-27.
<4> Espinosa, Chris. (personal telephone call), Feb 4, 1992.
<5> Pohlman, Taylor. (personal telephone call), Feb 14, 1992.
<6> Cringely, Robert X.. Addison-Wesley, ACCIDENTAL EMPIRES, Reading,
Massachusetts, 1992, p. 64.
<7> Tommervik, Al. "The Double Hi-Res VisiSuit", SOFTALK, Apr 1984,
pp. 28-29.
<8> Dubnoff, Jerry. (personal mail), GEnie, E-MAIL, Aug 1992.
<9> Widnall, Sheila. "Lower Case For Apple Writer Using The Paymar
Chip", PEEKING AT CALL-A.P.P.L.E., VOL 3, 1980, pp. 264-266.
<10> Lancaster, Don. Howard W. Sams & Co, APPLE WRITER COOKBOOK,
1986, pp. 29-30.
<11> Lancaster, Don. pp. 102-103, 111-112.
<12> Weishaar, Tom. "Ask Uncle DOS", OPEN-APPLE, May 1987, p. 3.30.
<13> Weishaar, Tom. "Does Your Mother Love You?", OPEN-APPLE, Jan 86,
p. 1.97.
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