|||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| || || ||| || || || || ||| |||| |||||| || |||| Your || || || || ||| || || |||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GEnieLamp Apple II || |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable || || || ||| ||| || || || |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE! || || || || || || || ||||| || || || || || ~ APRIL FUN & GAMES! ~ ~ ANNOUNCING THE BANANA PC ~ ~ BASIC SHAREWARE ETIQUETTE ~ ~ DIGITAL DIVERSIONS: OUT OF THIS WORLD ~ ~ UNLOCKING THE MYSTIQUE OF THE REAL TIME CONFERENCE ~ ~ HOT FILES, HOT MESSAGES, HOT REVIEWS ~ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// GEnieLamp A2 ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.2, Issue 13 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Publisher.......................................T/TalkNET Publishing Editor-In-Chief........................................John Peters Editor.............................................Darrel Raines ~ GEnieLamp IBM ~ GEnieLamp [PR]/TX2 ~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp A2 ~ ~ GEnieLamp MacPRO ~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~ ~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~ ////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ >>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE II ROUNDTABLE? <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ April 1, 1993 ~ FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] APPLE_TALK .............. [TAL] Notes From The Editor. Apple II Corner. HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] Is That A Letter For Me? By Any Other Name... REFLECTIONS ............. [REF] CowTOONS! ............... [MOO] Basic Shareware Etiquette. Great Cows Of Literature. NIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE [RTC] TELETALK ONLINE ......... [TEL] RTC Happenings. Online Communications. THE MIGHT QUINN ......... [QUI] DIGITAL DIVERSIONS ...... [DIG] Random Access. It's Out Of This World! PROFILES ................ [PRO] THE ONLINE LIBRARY ...... [LIB] Who's Who On GEnie. Yours For The Downloading. ONLINE FUN .............. [FUN] APPLE II ................ [AII] Search-ME! Apple II History, Part 11. GEnie ONLINE ............ [GEN] LOG OFF ................. [LOG] GEnie's Internet Gateway. 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 costs only $4.95 a month for unlimited evening and """"""""""" weekend access to more than 100 services including electronic mail, online encyclopedia, shopping, news, entertainment, single-player games, multi-player chess and bulletin boards on leisure and professional subjects. With many other services, including the largest collection of files to download and the best online games, for only $6 per hour (non-prime-time/2400 baud). To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH. Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: 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. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "Leave it Sheldon to figure out how to get the necessities: / / Heat and GEnie. It is amazing how used to things you become / / and how much you miss them even if it is for only 3-? days." / /////////////////////////////////////////////// C.ALLEN17 //// [EOA] [FRM]////////////////////////////// FROM MY DESKTOP / ///////////////////////////////// Notes From The Editor """"""""""""""""""""" By John Peters [GENIELAMP] FROM MY DESKTOP When I typed in the characters ATDT and the the number of """"""""""""""" a local bulletin board for the very first time, I was completely and utterly awed. No longer was I alone in my computing pursuits. At the touch of a key, I could call out to practically any place in the world and make friends with people that I would have never had the chance to do so with otherwise. The modem had broken my computing isolation from the rest of the world. Ten years later, I'm still awed by it all, but now, even more so. I keep in touch with friends via GE Mail, I stay on top of what's happening in the news with Newbytes and I can get answers to just about any question I can think of - many times within hours of posting it. I can share my knowledge with others and more importantly, I can learn from their experiences as well. I can download pictures, sounds and books to read and I can even play a friendly game of backgammon or chess with someone in Boston, or Miami, or Japan. Amazing. But it can be frustrating too... When you think about it, we "onliners" represent a very small segment of the overall population. Surprisingly, there are many people who own computers are unaware of what's available to them online. They use the computer to type in an occasional school report or (more likely) play games on it. That's okay as eventually many of these people will find their way online by way of a friend, an article they read or because they are just plain curious (like I was). The point is, we've only just begun. Think about it...we are in the infancy of telecommunications. In a way, I'm sorry I won't be around a hundred years from now to see where all of this is heading. On the other hand, I am thrilled to be among the online pioneers of this _new_ and exciting technology. Welcome aboard, friend, and I'll see you online! GEnie Elsewhere Did you know that the Public Forum RoundTable (M545) is """"""""""""""" archiving all of the official White House Electronic Press Releases issued by the new White House E-Mail Communications Office? The files are available in the PF Library in the format WHPRxxx.TXT, and there are currently 177 of these files available. The files include press releases, official announcements, transcripts of press conferences & other official White House communiques. Interesting stuff here - well worth checking out! For more info., contact GRAFFITI, the PF SysOp. NEW 800 SERVICE Some GEnie access numbers incur a $2.00 per connect hour """"""""""""""" communications surcharge. This surcharge applies to all GEnie usage, including GEnie*Basic services. Surcharged access numbers are noted with a dollar-sign ($) and the amount of the hourly communications surcharge (i.e., $2.00/hr). To retrieve local access numbers, please type *PHONE or PHONE at any main menu prompt. When accessing GEnie via 800-Service (available only in the US), you will incur a $6.00 per connect hour communications surcharge, for 300, 1200 and 2400 baud access. This surcharge applies to all usage, including GEnie*Basic services. 9600 baud access is also available via 800-Service. When using 9600 baud via the 800-Service, you will be charged $18.00 per connect hour during non-prime time and $24.50 per connect hour during prime time. LOCATION BAUD RATE SURCHARGE NETWORK ACCESS NUMBER --------------- -------------- --------- --------- ------------- United States 300/1200/2400 $6.00/hr GEnie 800-362-1296 United States 9600 $12.00/hr GEnie 800-847-5260 When accessing GEnie via SprintNet, you will incur a $2.00 per connect hour communications surcharge. This surcharge applies to all GEnie usage, including GEnie*Basic services. Surcharged access numbers are noted with a dollar-sign ($) and the amount of the hourly communications surcharge (i.e. $2.00/hr). To retrieve local access numbers, please type *PHONE or PHONE at any main menu prompt. PLEASE NOTE If you are dialing long-distance to access GEnie, we do not """"""""""" recommend dialing a surcharged access number, as you will incur the $2.00 connect hour surcharge in addition to long-distance charges. Also note that interstate long-distance calls are usually less expensive than intrastate long-distance calls. Please be sure to verify the long-distance charges with your local telephone company. [*][*][*] GEnieLamp FUN AND GAMES This is one big issue so I'm going to keep my """"""""""""""""""""""" desktop notes short this time around. One word of caution when reading this month's issue: Don't forget, it's April! Until next month... John Peters [GENIELAMP] /////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "In my previous post, please take the 'h' out of 'wharehouse' / / and put it into 'psycology' where it belongs. Thanks. :)" / ///////////////////////////////////////////////// SAM-RAPP //// [EOA] [TAL]////////////////////////////// APPLE_TALK / ///////////////////////////////// Apple II Corner """"""""""""""" By Darrel Raines [D.RAINES] April Fool's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. It's not a holiday, you say. Well don't try and tell me that. I love good-humered pranks and practical jokes. My only rule is that they cannot be mean-spirited. No one gains by hurting others. On the other hand, this issue of GEnieLamp may not be as serious as the rest of the year's offering. [*][*][*] A few years ago, many of the major publications for the Apple II computer started to disappear. I was convinced that there were soon going to be no sources of information for my favorite hobby. I am happy to say that I was mistaken in a big way. We are starting to see just the opposite effect recently. "Major" Apple II publications of which I am aware: II-Alive, A+/Incider (with Mac cove rage), A2-Central (and their associated publications), GS+, Softdisk, Softdisk GS, and GEnieLamp. :) [*][*][*] A few years ago, I was also starting to get unhappy with the amount of computer software that was available for the Apple II. I have mumbled in this forum a number of times about the great share ware that is available for the Apple computer. This has been a banner month with no less than four major software releases as shareware or freeware: DuelTris, Pente, Bouncin' Ferno 2, and Spy Hunter. Oh, did I mention that this list just covers games. The May issue of GEnieLamp may never get edited. [*][*][*] On the other hand, I have discovered a way to make everything old, new again. It seems that if I put a commercial game on the shelf for about a year, I can get it back out again for a few weeks a nd enjoy it as if it were new. Sports simulations are my favorite for this trick. Two-on-two basketball was dusted off recently in honor of the NCAA men's basketball playoffs. Watch out Michigan, I can dunk with the best of them. [*][*][*] I just have to sit down with my programming tools at hand one day soon. I have been doing a lot of thinking about a IIgs version of Eamon. Or, at least, a Eamon-like gaming system. My idea is that most people can no longer program on the IIgs. The gaming system would run on database structures that define the dungeon to be explored, the denizons in the dungeon, how the various characters can interact, and other information on this type. I need to sit down and write some of this down. Perhaps I should contact Tom Zuchowski with some of these ideas. Why put it here? Public humiliation if I don't carry through with something! Enjoy this month's issue. /////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "Why would anybody need a computer with more than 64K of memory?" / / " / /////////////////////////////////////////////////// Kenne@SFRT //// [EOA] [HEY]////////////////////////////// HEY MISTER POSTMAN / ///////////////////////////////// Is That A Letter For Me? """""""""""""""""""""""" By Darrel Raines [D.RAINES] o APPLE II ODDS & ENDS o WHAT'S NEW? o THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE... o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT >>> BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" [*] CAT2, TOP4 ...............Cries for help - hard to place questions [*] CAT2, TOP5 ...............Beyond the Apple II: Your next computer [*] CAT29, TOP9 ..............GEM: Getting started [*] CAT33, TOP2 ..............GS+: Letters to the Editor [*] CAT41, TOP5 ..............PRIME Help and bug reports >>> A2 ODDS & ENDS <<< """""""""""""""""""""" GEnieLamp PT Script Anyone who wanted the PT3 GEnieLamp script: """"""""""""""""""" This is a copy of GEM.PT.Usr to grab a copy of the A2 GEnieLamp. You need to run it manually (answer Y to "execute user script after logon?") and have the file f.lamp present in your main GEM directory for it to work. It saves the file as lamp.MMM.YY (mmm is the three letter month), an AWP file. --------------------- Cut Here ------------------------ set &0=,3> set &1=+"lamp."++"."+ if ($a) { do "rec:asc","[]" } if (exist +"f.lamp") { do "rec:asc","<%s> [] save: copy:2 sup:1 [] [Append]",&1 pr #4,"^l" window 20,8,42,3 pr #2,"Getting Current Apple II GEnie Lamp..." pr #1,"m645;7^m" wt 5,"P 645>" do "rec:asc","[]" delete +"f.lamp" } chain +"pt.scripts/gem.pt.main",%12 -------------------- Cut Here ------------------------- Let me know if there are any problems with this script; I'll do what I can to fix them. (D.BROWN109, CAT29, TOP17, MSG:47/M645;1) ZIP TIPS I downloaded UnZip.IIe a short time ago, and in the process of """""""" using it found that I could View a certain .ZIP file which I had downloaded, but I kept getting an "invalid pathname error" when trying to unZIP the file to disk. To make a long story short, using Block Warden I found that the filename was embedded in ASCII in the zipped file and contained a hyphen, and I got it to unZIP to disk properly by changing the hyphen to a period in the zipped file. Unless I'm doing something wrong, the program has no option to specify the filename of the new file - if UnZip.IIe had this option it would be much more convenient to use. It works very well, and I like the Shrinkit-type user interface, but unfortunately zipped files don't always conform to ProDOS pathname conventions..... (STARRIDER, CAT3, TOP4, MSG:119/M645;1) Concerning Script-Central Larry has once again brought up a very """"""""""""""""""""""""" important point, BTW. If you _don't_ ask for features, you can pretty much guarantee you won't get it. On the other hand, if you do ask you may very well get it. In general if I can do "it" and it doesn't go against the way I think things should work, you can probably expect to see it ...ASK! In this particular case I never even thought of such an option. I thought I had covered all the cool things. Please don't think that it's a waste of time to offer opinions/comments/ideas-for-features. (A2.HANGTIME, CAT23, TOP8, MSG:178/M645;1) WHICH SYSTEM? I strongly recommend those with less than 2MB of RAM, or no """"""""""""" hard drive, to stick with System 5.0.4. A Hard Drive =and= at least 2MB are needed to effectively use System 6.0. (Having said that, =I= did get System 6.0 running with only 1.75MB of RAM when my memory card died and I had to fall back to my old GS-RAM card. But I also had a hard drive, and I couldn't do anything fancy, and it had already been installed, and it was temporary.) We keep System 5.0.4 around just because of the myriad of underpowered systems out there. The best solution is to get a hard drive and more memory. (A2.TIM, CAT2, TOP4, MSG:162/M645;1) HP DESKJET 500 HOMEBREW REFILL KIT I just put together a homebrew refill """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" kit this afternoon, and thought I'd relate my experiences. First off, it worked fine, and it was cheap. That's the whole point, right? Bill of Materials: Item Cost 12 cc Syringe $0.40 20g 1.5" Needle $0.18 Jet Black Sheaffer Skrip Ink (2 oz.) $3.50 CA State Extortion $0.31 ------------------------------------------- GRAND TOTAL: $4.39 I purchased the needle and syringe at a local veterinary supply store. When the saleslady asked what I was administering with the needle, I told her "ink." She looked a bit confused, but was quick to make the 62-cent sale. I needed to fill out a form with my name, address, size of syringe and needle, use, and signature. Apparently, the state of California expects that you'll actually write "IV Drugs" if that's what you're going to use it for... In a post up-topic, someone suggested a 25-gauge, 1.5" long needle. This shop had a 5/8" 25g needle, or a 1 1/2" 20g needle. Figuring that length was more important than the diameter, I purchased the 20-gauge. When I got it home, I had some trouble filling the BubbleJet 10 cartridge, so I figured that the previous poster had a reason for specifying a 25-gauge needle (for another 19 cents, including tax). I went back out, got the smaller needle, and tried again. It didn't work-- ink seems to go _very_ slowly through such a small needle, so I tried once again with the 20g needle. This time, when I encountered resistance at the bottom of the refill hole, I pressed harder and punctured something. After that, I had no trouble injecting about 12 ml of ink into the cartridge, and the self-test printed fine. By far, the greatest cost in this project was the ink. The bottle contains 60 ml of ink, which will run 5 refills, at a cost of just under 90 cents each. The syringe and needle are both marked "USE ONCE AND DESTROY", but I figured that sterility was not a crucial factor in this application, so I plan on using them for quite a while. (D.BROWN109, CAT12, TOP8, MSG:121/M645;1) LIBRARY LISTINGS You can make your own AW DB listings of GEnie """""""""""""""" libraries. All you have to do is list the libraries you are interested in and capture the text to disk. There are two programs in the A2 library that can generate DB files from these text captures: 17042 GECONVRT3.2.BXY 17468 TO.GE.CONV.BXY I don't normally load TimeOut with Appleworks, so I use GECONVRT. It is a very easy program to use. You don't even have to clean the list headers off the capture or anything. (T.ZUCHOWSKI, CAT17, TOP4, MSG:95/M645;1) MOUSE TROUBLES... Schools are having problems w/students removing the """"""""""""""""" balls from the mouses and using them as superballs. Apple had BETTER start selling replacement parts. (R.WAGONER4, CAT2, TOP4, MSG:84/M645;1) MDG Extends International ProLine Support SAN DIEGO, California--March """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 15, 1993--To further support international ProLine BBS owners, the Morgan Davis Group has developed an enhanced AddUser module that offers flexible account registration for non-U.S. systems. The new module offers relaxed verification of input to accommodate a variety of address formats used world-wide. Found in eleven countries, including Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the United States, ProLine systems share information over the ProLine network, established in 1985, and the Internet. In addition to international support, AddUser can also enforce rigorous input verification now available for U.S. systems. Such verification involves recognizing invalid street addresses, ZIP codes, and phone numbers with non-standard area codes or repeating digits. Part of the ProLine software package, AddUser allows callers to sign up for their own accounts for immediate validation. This optional feature spares the system administrator from manual account validation. Users can begin to take full advantage of the system's services without having to wait for their accounts to become operational. The updated module is available free upon request for all international, registered ProLine owners. For more details, contact MDG International Services at +1 619 670 0563 (Monday through Friday, 9AM to 5PM Pacific Time), FAX +1 619 670 9643, BBS +1 619 670 5379, or via Internet e-mail addressed to mdavis@mdg.cts.com. ProLine is a trademark of Morgan Davis Group. (MORGAN-DAVIS, CAT27, TOP3, MSG:182/M645;1) Upgrading to Twilight II from Signature GS and Desktop Enhancer """""""""""""""""""""""" Thanks for your interest in Twilight II! Owners of Signature GS and Desktop Enhancer can upgrade to Twilight II v1.1 for $25 ($24 plus $1 S&H). Twilight II v1.1 we hope to have shipping in about two weeks. (It includes many more features than v1.0.1, or v1.0) It is fully compatible with The Manager from Seven Hills! If you would like to take advantage of this upgrade offer, send us your _original_ manual cover from Signature GS or Desktop Enhancer, along with a check or money order for $25 (made payable to DigiSoft Innovations). Alternatively you can also pay via MasterCard or Visa. If you choose to pay via credit card, email us your credit card number, expiration date, card type, etc. Your card will not be billed or your check cashed until Twilight II v1.1 is shipping, in approximately two weeks. We will immediately ship you a copy at that time. If you haven't already heard, Twilight II v1.1 also runs all Phantasm effects! If you have any additional questions or complaints, let me know. Thanks again for your interest! Jim Maricondo DigiSoft Innovations P.O. Box 380 Trumbull, CT 06611 Phone - 203.375.0837 (DYA, CAT13, TOP30, MSG:109/M645;1) THEY'RE DOING IT AGAIN! By now, many of you now know of the """"""""""""""""""""""" collaboration between Sequential Systems and Procyon Enterprises in producing Switch-It!, the Apple IIGS application switcher. I'm pleased to announce another collaboration - the combination of Sequential's great Apple II hardware products with Procyon's on-line support expertise. I (Jawaid Bazyar, email address PROCYON.INC) will be maintaining this new Sequential Systems category. If you have any questions about Sequential products, post them here! (Also, if you've heard any rumors lately, let us know too, so we can dispel them or set them straight, as the case may be). Both Sequential and Procyon are dedicated to supporting the Apple II - and this is we hope a great example of what we mean by support. (PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP1, MSG:1/M645;1 >>> WHAT'S NEW <<< """""""""""""""""" >> I'm looking for a copy of " The Hitchers Guide to the Galaxy " That was a Infocom 8 bit text interface adventure game program. It may be in the "The Lost Treasures of Infocom" package that Big Red just released as a set of _20_ 16 bit GS specific, GS/OS compatible, hard drive installable programs. Call them at (402) 379-4680. It's product BR93 and costs $59.95 ( for 20 games, that is a cost of $3.00 _per_game_!) BTW, every Apple II owner needs to join BRCC! They have some real deals on classic software (and members save at least a third of the cost on all but the new stuff), plus lots of great PD; shareware; freeware; etc. (M.MURLEY3, CAT4, TOP5, MSG:55/M645;1) LAWRENCE PRODUCTIONS UNLEASHES THE LOST TRIBE FOR THE APPLE IIGS GALESBURG, Michigan -- February 23, """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 1993 -- Lawrence Productions announces the release of their latest software creation, The Lost Tribe, a unique strategy game set in prehistoric times. The Lost Tribe takes you back before recorded history where the eruption of Belchfire Mountain destroys your primitive village. You survive the disaster but the villages' ruler and his elite hunting party are killed. The elders choose you to lead the homeless tribe away from danger to an ancient homeland known only from legend. Your perilous journey will require strong leadership, strategy, and sound decision making. Recommended for use at home and in social studies classes, children may work individually or in small groups. They must interpret ancient maps to plot their course, make judgment decisions of when and what to hunt, determine how often to rest and feed the tribe, and resolve the many conflicts that arise among the people. Researching information from an on-screen encyclopedia, children can explore everything from the personalities of individual tribe members, the qualities of a successful leader to prehistoric animals, and much more. The Lost Tribe has six challenging scenarios loaded with random events, over 80 photographs (using the 256 color mode of the GS), digitized music, cartoon animation, and an on-screen Prehistoric Guide to Survival with 100 entries. For ages 8 and older, The Lost Tribe is distributed by Davidson & Associates and is also available direct from Lawrence Productions. System Requirements: Apple IIGS w/ a minimum of 1 MB of memory, System 5.0.4 or above, one 3.5" disk drive. One of the following is recommended for ease of use: Hard drive or AppleShare Network. 2 MB's of memory. Additional 3.5" drive. CONTACT: Renee West Lawrence Productions, Inc. (800) 421-4157 (P.LAWRENCE5, CAT2, TOP27, MSG:3/M645;1) ___ ERGONOMIC MOUSE & KEYBOARD |he new Ergonomic Mouse and Keyboards will """""""""""""""""""""""""" work just fine on a IIgs, though the Ergonomic Keyboard has a bunch of buttons on it that have no use to a IIgs user. ]['ve had an Ergonomic Mouse attached to the IIgs on my desk at work for about two weeks. My reactions to it are mixed. It's very usable, but I don't care much for the way the big button comes down along the sides a little bit. It makes it a bit awkward to pick up the mouse and reposition it while holding down the button. It may be because I have large hands, though. I normally grab the mouse on either side of the button while lifting it up, but this isn't feasible with the new mouse. It does fit very well in the hand, though. When doing fine detail work (like editing icons :) with the new mouse, you have to move the whole thing since the ball is now forward of the center, instead of near the back. This makes the position of the cursor on the screen and the position of the mouse on your desk correspond better to each other. With the old mouse doing detail work you could hold down the front of the mouse and twist the back around for fine left-right movements. You'd often get a little bit of up and down movement, as well, though. So, it's a tradeoff with the new mouse vs. the old one, overall. At home, I'm just going to stick with my old mouse, since that's what I'm used to. _ /-\t the opening of the new Apple Company Store on Wednesday I got a look and feel at the new Ergonomic Keyboard. This one I'll definitely pass on. It was awkward for me to type on, since with my long nails I don't actually feel the keys, and have to depend on their positions relative to each other. With the keyboard opening up and being variable it really threw me off. It also takes up a lot of desk space, even without the snap on palm rests, because when you open it up it makes an arc. With the palm rests it can end up taking up a square of desk space about one and a half feet on a side when opened up, NOT including the detached keypad. \/\/e've got a single LC III in the lab. I'll see if I can throw in one of the IIe Cards I've got lying around into it on Monday, to see if it's any faster in IIe mode than the LC and LC II. I really hope so, because I also have an LC II on my desk, next to the GS (I've got a Mac IIci on the other side of it), with a IIe Card in it and it is dog slow. Seeing the IIgs running next to the LC II... well.... Let's just say that if the dealers had actually had IIgs's in the same configuration (memory, hard disk, monitor, etc.) next to LC IIs with IIe Cards in them on display, they would've sold a lot fewer Mac LC/LC IIs. P.S. Has it been mentioned in here that the new Color Classic has the same slot in it as an LC/LC II, and can use the IIe Card, as well? (A2.LUNATIC, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:46/M645;1) 5th Annual KansasFest Apple II's Sweet Sixteen Last year's conference was such a rousing """""""""""""""""""""""" success that it made sense to continue the celebration this year with a Sweet Sixteen party. In the past, attendees have raved over the sessions but were equally (or even more) enthused over the prospect of staying up all night in the dormitory, partying and hacking around with their online buddies and/or Apple II hotshots. More details will follow next month, but right now we can tell you that KansasFest will take place on Thursday and Friday, July 22-23. In an attempt to simplify our lives, we are returning to our original two-day format. Sessions should run the gamut from general information to high tech programming stuph. Call Resource Central [1 (913) 469-6502] to make advanced reservations. Mark your calendars now and get ready to celebrate! (A2.HANGTIME, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:50/M645;1) Symbolix "1.8" Interim Release Shipping An updated version (interim """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" release) of Symbolix is now available on request. Registered v1.7 owners can order this improved version from the address above. Because this is an undocumented release, THE UPGRADE COSTS ONLY US$5.00 INCL. POSTAGE (surface mail, registered). That's almost free of charge! Users of v1.7 will be able to use v1.8 right out of the box. It offers: - true multitasking support (symbolic commands, 2D/3D graphs, recurrence formulae) with The Manager - Floating Point Engine support (superfast, direct 68881 access) for real functions - redesigned desktop interface - new, modeless online help (more than 50kB of text) - improved 2D module (selectable resolution, true proportion graphs) Multitasking Symbolix 1.8 supports the recently introduced program """""""""""" switcher/ multifinder "The Manager" from Seven Hills/BrainStorm. Symbolix is the first, fully multitasking compatible commercial product (No Henrik, that was my ShadowDial! :). All time consuming tasks (symbolic and graphic commands) can be interrupted at virtually any time. While you're switching and work with other programs, Symbolix continues processing a command. Symbolix plays a sample when a background task is complete. Since Symbolix uses only 3kB of zero page space, it is a very Manager-friendly application and compatible with virtually all programs that run under The Manager. To save even more memory, the help function has been rewritten (now modeless) and is completely disk-based. More strictly speaking, true multitasking is possible with the following commands: - 3D graphs - 2D graphs - Expand - Collect - Simplify - Evaluate (recurrence formulae) Two check boxes enable you to control Symbolix's behavior in a multitasking environment. You can turn off multitasking which accelerates the above commands whether it is running under The Manager or not. You can also specify how "intensively" (slow/fast) the six commands in question will be processed when operating in the background. Floating Point Engine Speeds up real functions by ca. 60%-90% (real """"""""""""""""""""" functions only). You will notice that 2D graphs appear much faster than before (sine: 4 seconds instead of 15s). Disclaimer: because Innovative Systems is out of business, a technical problem could not be further tracked down. We have modified the code so that FPE-generated synch problems will be fixed on the fly. However, we cannot guarantee for obvious reasons that our patches will work on all possible configurations. Desktop Interface See articles in the Symbolix Newsletters volume 2 and """"""""""""""""" 3. Changes involve "3D buttons", new window positions/colors, new online help, etc. The desktop has been redesigned by a Symbolix user who works with this program almost daily. You'll notice that all windows are there were you need them! Symbolix even closes and opens windows automatically in some situations. This limited offer for registered customers underlines Bright Software's non- profit philosophy. Ordering your own copy is one of the best _and_ smallest investments. Please forward your original program disk and enclose US$5.00 - that's all there is to it. ATTENTION: - Don't forget to make a backup copy of version 1.7 before mailing the disk! We'll delete all v1.7 files! - This interim release is available from Bright Software Switzerland ONLY. Customers who already sent us their disk will receive v1.8 automatically. -Your Symbolix guys ** Specifications are subject to change without notice. ** The Manager is a trademark of Seven Hills Software Corp. MultiFinder is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Finder is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Floating Point Engine, FPE, Innovative Systems are trademarks of a company that has gone and gave us a wonderful product that works only sporadically. (A.HORSTMANN, CAT13, TOP13, MSG:28/M645;1) >>> THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE... <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" From Barney Stone Yo! (As we say here in Philly.) I'm still around, and """"""""""""""""" so are DB Master Professional, and Stone Edge Technologies. Here's what's happening: The shareware version of DB Master is no longer available from Stone Edge, simply because I ran out of manuals, and don't get enough requests to justify re-printing them. I still have about 50 copies of DB Master Professional, and I'm selling them for $100 (+$5 shipping) while they last (a few more months at the rate they are crawling out the door). Stone Edge (that is, me, since I'm the only one left, and yes, that had to be me on the phone, unless my wife picked it up by accident) is keeping the doors open by doing general computer consulting - PC, Mac, Filemaker, MS Acces, DB Master Pro, Advanced DB Master (the MS-DOS version), file conversions, Lantastic networks, etc. - whatever I can pick up. I can be reached at (215) 641-1825 for any of the above purposes. Oh, yes - I still check in here every week or so for messages. PS - If you call and get my answering machine, please include what you are calling about (ordering, tech support, consulting, etc.) in your message, and note that I only return tech support calls if you say I can call collect - an unfortunate by-product of current business conditions. (DBM.BARNEY, CAT8, TOP2, MSG:38/M645;1) PROTERM V3.0 News Release from the maker of ProTerm V3.0 -- Effective """""""""""" Immediately: Because of potential tradename conflicts, the name of InSync Software, Inc. has been changed to InTrec Software, Inc.. All references to "InSync Software, Inc." will now be assumed to be a reference to "InTrec Software, Inc." Only the name is changed. The corporation, the ownership, the location and the way business has been conducted as InSync Software, Inc. remains the same. Jerry Cline, President Greg Schaefer, V President InTrec Software, Inc Formerly - InSync Software, Inc. (INSYNC.SW, CAT24, TOP1, MSG:2/M645;1) \_/ IIGS A MISTAKE? |ou people ought to see the reactions I've been getting """"""""""""""" from people at Apple by having a couple dozen Apple IIGS's on racks running PaintWorks animations while idle. They run along the lines of "I didn't know a IIGS could do that!" "The animation is so smooth! How does it do that?" "Is that QuickTime?" "I didn't think the GS' resolution was that good." "Boy, they really missed out on a big opportunity by discontinuing that." "Can you use those on a Mac?" and the old favourite "What kind of Mac is that?" (: _ /-\nd then having a Mac LC II with a IIe Card in it next to a IIGS really shows you how awkward and slow the Mac's emulation of a IIe is. You can say that they should have come out with the Mac LC instead of the IIGS, but it really wasn't possible back then. Even now, at best, the LC's emulation of a IIe is awkward. Looking at it another way: the Mac LC/LC II with a IIe Card emulates about the average Apple IIe in 1986, when the IIGS came out. |\/|aybe the IIGS was a mistake. Maybe they should have just stopped the line with the IIe. But think of how much fun and use we've gotten out of our IIGS's over the years! I've had enough that my IIGS has more than paid for itself since I bought it -- $1000 for the CPU alone in October, 1986, one month after its release. (A2.LUNATIC, CAT2, TOP5, MSG:173/M645;1) >>> HOT TOPICS <<< """""""""""""""""" WHAT IF... If Apple had released a IIe-compatible color Mac INSTEAD of """""""""" the IIGS, there would have been a true upgrade path to the Mac. Now, instead, we have the IIGS, which looks a little bit like a Mac but isn't, and we have a Mac IIe card which does not give IIGS owners a real upgrade path. Apple no doubt found the IIGS extremely difficult to market. Obviously, their future plans all hinged on the Macintosh, yet with the release of the IIGS they found themselves saying, no, wait, the Macintosh is NOT our sole future direction. The machine had a split personality (classic Apple II mode and a not-quite-Mac Desktop mode) -- like the Commodore 128 only mo' better and more seamlessly integrated. In demos, it LOOKED like it was a Macintosh (in fact, the case and keyboard even resembled a small Mac II), yet, for years, it thought Mac disks were blank. I maintain that if Apple had released a Mac that could run Apple II software INSTEAD OF the IIGS, they wouldn't have the problem they have now. That problem is a commitment to support a machine that does not, and never did, have a place in their grand design. The problem is 1.5 million users who demand this support and are p*ssed off at Apple for "abandoning" the machine. The problem, in short, is a non-Mac computer that Apple started producing long after they had decided that the Mac was their future. It's a pretty decent machine, and it's a lot of fun, but I can hardly blame Apple for their confusion about what they should do with it. (And their confusion is obvious. They never advertised the machine, yet they spent huge amounts of efforts on things like System 6. One action seems virtually "evil," the other is clearly "good.") I think Apple's continuing support for the machine is astonishing, frankly. If Apple had never made the IIGS and had instead focused on a low-cost Mac that could run IIe software, most of you IIGS users would be using Macs RIGHT NOW. And most would like the Mac as much as they like the IIGS. (QC, CAT2, TOP5, MSG:182/M645;1) >>>>> Wellllll, I don't know about that. I didn't upgrade from the II+ """"" to the IIe. I waited around until I saw something that made it worth my while to upgrade. The superior (to my existing II+) graphics and especially the sound of the IIgs turned my head. I wanted color graphics and stereo sound long before the Mac's ever offered either. Think back to the days of the IIgs introduction. There was nary a color Mac to be found. And to this day, no personal computer under $3000 offers better stereo sound out of the box. Add to this the fact that I was not too much taken with the desktop metaphor until much later, and I come to the conclusion that _I_ would not have purchased a low-end Mac instead of the IIgs. I still enjoy a text-only interface at times (ProSel is my startup program) and I like my home computer to be as cheap as possible. This saves more money for productivity software, games and magazines. :) I know that some of us have seen this type of argument and griping over and over again. However, many GEnie subscribers have never had the chance to express themselves in this type of forum before. I fully support the right of anyone to "wail at the wall" for awhile. It sometimes helps to just get things off of your chest. Most Apple II owners have felt like the earlier posting by J.AMBURGEY at one time or other. By all means, release a little frustration in this forum if it makes you feel better. Speaking for myself, I have given up feeling angry at Apple computer. (It never did any good anyway.) As a matter of fact, I have even managed to generate a little good will toward them with the continued support of Apple II system software such as GS/OS version 6.x . (D.RAINES, CAT2, TOP5, MSG:45/M645;1) >>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""" Category 11, Topic 16 Message 246 Tue Mar 16, 1993 A2.LUNATIC [Lunatic] at 06:13 EST ][ think we need to get a few things cleared up, here. There are three categories of terms we are using, and it's easy to start getting them confused. They break down like this: A) Double Density, High Density, Floptical (Very High Density?), etc. B) GCR, MFM, and RLL (Floptical) C) ProDOS, HFS, MS-DOS, etc. _ |_ |_ach one of these categories is completely separate from the others. A formatted 3.5" disk has one attribute from each category. _ (_ategory A is the type of diskette (media). Category B is the type of LOW-LEVEL format. Category C is the type os HIGH-LEVEL format. Any one of the options in each category has the ability to be mixed with any of the options from the other categories. Some of the combinations you will simply never see, though. Here are some of the most common combinations, and what you get as a result: 1) Double Density + GCR + ProDOS = 800K disk 2) Double Density + GCR + HFS = 800K disk 3) Double Density + MFM + MS-DOS = 720K disk 4) High Density + GCR + ProDOS = 1600K disk (old AE HD drives ONLY) 5) High Density + MFM + ProDOS = 1400K disk 6) High Density + MFM + HFS = 1400K disk 7) High Density + MFM + MS-DOS = 1400K disk 8) Floptical + RLL + ProDOS = 21 MB disk 9) Floptical + RLL + HFS = 21 MB disk 10) Floptical + RLL + MS-DOS = 21 MB disk |\|ow, a regular Apple 3.5 drive can handle 1 and 2 only (unless it's hooked up to a PCT, but that's another story...). The Apple 3.5 drive is Double Density only, and GCR only. _ /-\n Apple SuperDrive + SuperDrive Controller Card can handle 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7. The Apple SuperDrive is Double Density _or_ High Density, and GCR _or_ MFM compatible. In High Density mode it only supports MFM, though. _ /-\ Floptical drive is supposed to support Double Density, High Density, and Floptical media, in MFM and Floptical formats only. Looking at the list, this means it supports 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. In addition, a Floptical drive supports Double Density + MFM + ProDOS or HFS, which should give you: 11) Double Density + MFM + ProDOS = 720K disk (apparently only 668K) 12) Double Density + MFM + HFS = 720K disk (true size: ?) I suspect that when the RamFAST was used to (low-level) format the Double Density disks in J-Bird's tests, it put a SCSI partition map on the disks, which ate up some K, only giving him 668K of free space. J-Bird, what version of the RamFAST ROM do you have? Later versions (3.00j and up) are supposed to correct this. \_/ |es, from the numbers above you might guess that you could do Double Density + GCR + MS-DOS to give you an 800K MS-DOS disk. Well, technically it's possible, yes. Unless the PCT can do it, though, I don't know of any drive/software combination that will give you a disk like that. There would be little point, though, since the whole MS-DOS world uses MFM. _ (_)h yeah, one more format I haven't mentioned, which isn't really relevant here since I've never seen any Apple equipment support it, is Extra High Density, or ED/EHD. These disks are capable of double the storage of High Density, which would most commonly be 2.8 MB. \/\/hile I'm at it, I'll mention that it is generally regarded as a mistake that Apple chose GCR for its Double Density 3.5" drives/disks, instead of MFM. While GCR stores a bit more information than standard MFM, it's also considerably less reliable, and tends to give mass disk duplicators headaches. _ |_ |inally, (am I _ever_ going to stop?? :) the Amiga uses a non-standard type of MFM which gives it 880K per disk. I've heard that they have a considerable number of reliability problems with that format, though. (If someone tells you that the Amiga simply uses unformatted diskettes to get so much space, don't believe them. A totally unformatted Double Density disk should actually store as much as 1 MB.) [*][*][*] 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 AII, 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. /////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "Don't be a stranger, John! (feel free to continue to be / / strange, just don't be a stranger!)" / ///////////////////////////////////////////// T.MCCOMB //// [EOA] [HUM]////////////////////////////// HUMOR ONLINE / ///////////////////////////////// GEnie Fun And Games """"""""""""""""""" By Darrel Raines [D.Raines] >>> APRIL 1ST COLUMN <<< """""""""""""""""""""""" (a new annual event) ANNOUNCING THE BANANA PC In a new product announcement made to an """""""""""""""""""""""" audience of PC industry pundits that were waiting with baited breath, the Banana PC was introduced with a host of novel features and a price tag that will get some attention. The projected price of the new computer: $1.59 per pound! This new PC has a number of unique features that will put in on the top of every Christmas shoppers list. The Banana PC is scheduled for volume production starting in October. Its leading feature is the bright yellow color of the exterior plastic. The small, infrequent black spots do a lot to make the PC resemble its namesake in the fruit world. In addition to its sporty new color, this computer comes complete with the new and improved Banana Operating System Software (BOSS). With the BOSS installed in your new computer, you can realize some new generation commands that have never been available on a personal computer before. For example, the new command CONF will cause the PC to tie up your phone line and be unavailable for about two hours time (this feature requires an optional phone connection). Many users will enjoy the new "Aroma feature". Scratching the plastic case of the keyboard will produce the smell of ripening bananas for the enjoyment of the happy typist. Something completely new with this computer is the addition of robotics in the form of legs and feet. This new feature allows the computer to serve in a useful capacity as waiter when the aspiring programmer would like a beer or Mountain Dew from the refrigerator. However, the manufacturer does not warrant possible damage or loss from the computer drinking said beverage. Another key feature for this product is the removal of annoying peripherals from the system. Never again will a user have to worry about noisy printers, clunky disk drives or space-consuming hard drives. The Banana PC eschews such nonsensical devices and any perceived benefits from them. An opening in the front of the computer, resembling an old style floppy drive, is just an esthetic feature to make users of older systems feel at home. It also serves as theexhaust vent for the new "Aroma feature" and the enhanced voice synthesis hardware. Not to be outdone by older technology computers made by other "fruit" companies, the Banana PC has the latest advances in voice synthesis and recognition. Short training sessions with a microphone, yourself and a loved one will have the new computer ready to go. At this point, it will recognize your voice, ignore your verbal commands, and insult you in a voice that you are used to hearing every day. BOSS OPERATING SYSTEM FEATURES With the advent of fifth generation """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" software for your home computer, the newest system software will have many new features never found on computers before. A new filing system makes its debut with the Banana PC: Magical Envelope Storage System (MESS). With this filing system, every file created will be instantly lost in the mass storage area. You will never have to worry about where you put a file again. No longer will you have to dig through layer after layer of file folders. With MESS, you start out with lost files. Industry experts are amazed at this time-saving new feature. Another break-through in computer power is the built-in software contained on the Banana PC. An integrated Word Processing Suite is available in ROM (Read-Only Memory). 15 different Word Processors are available at the touch of a key. Each of the Word Processors is able to exchange data with the others (common clipboard). You can even load files directly into any of the 15 different programs without converting file formats. Use the Programmer's WP for those coding tasks. Then switch over to the Document WP for the instructions that go with your code. Finally, jump to the Note WP to write down those ideas that come to you while working. You may never need to buy another Word Processor again! Editor's note: We were unable to run more than one of the Word Processors at a time without expanding the 64 Meg memory of the base system. Our best recommendation is to go ahead and get about 1 Gig of memory to start with. That should last you at least a year, until lazy software manufacturers catch up with that memory standard. [other editor's note: What?] Parent Company and Availability Banana Computer, Ink. was formed to """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" develop and market this new computer in 1990. S. Sboj and S. Kainzow are the founders of the company. The initial stock offering for Banana Computer, amazingly enough, coincided with the announcement of the new PC. Stock prices have been soaring with the initial market acceptance and advance orders. Most corporate buyers of computers are concerned about purchasing computers that are not at the leading edge of market technology. These same buyers can purchase the Banana PC with confidence. It is guaranteed to be old technology by the time it actually shows up at your office. Banana Computer is firmly committed to making product announcements so far in advance of delivery, that they will have announced the successor to a computer BEFORE the computer itself is ever rolled off the assembly line. One inside source at Banana Computer has been identified and asked to comment on the mighty feature list indicated earlier in this story. "Yeah, right", the engineer exclaimed. While asking for anonymity, the source went on to say that "it would be nice if we could get the darn thing to power on without burning out chips before the announced delivery date". However, this newsletter is not trying to cast a disparaging light on official company spokesmen. [Heh, heh. Oops.] Banana PC's will be distributed through Sears stores nation-wide. You can place advance orders by sending a certified check directly to any Sears store or the computer manufacturer. When asked about Sears participation in home computer sales, a local store official remarked: "Why not, nothing else is selling in here." ///////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "I really enjoy CardFile 4. I use it to dial the phone mostly. / / I no longer remember any of my friends' phone numbers." / /////////////////////////////////////////////////////// MUSE //// [EOA] [REF]////////////////////////////// REFLECTIONS / ///////////////////////////////// Basic Shareware Etiquette """"""""""""""""""""""""" By Phil Shapiro [P.SHAPIRO1] As shareware becomes an increasingly popular channel for software distribution, it seems fitting and appropriate at this time to review some of the basics of shareware etiquette. As your mother so often told you as a child, the rules of shareware etiquette apply equally to both shareware users and shareware creators. Good manners and thoughtful behavior have a uniquely wonderful reciprocalness to them. Shareware etiquette starts with the shareware creator. Creators have the obligation of politely informing shareware users that the software they are using is being distributed on a try-before-you-buy basis. Shareware notices should be concise and pleasantly phrased. It's entirely appropriate to give tactful hints that further goodies await the kind souls who send in the requested shareware fee. Please note that "starving college student" humor can be acceptable if it's truthful, sincere, and tasteful. Brevity, as always, is a must. On the other side of the table, shareware users have the duty of pleasantly reading the pleasantly phrased shareware notice. They have the further duty of pleasantly understanding what the tactful and thoughtful shareware message is saying. Customarily, shareware users are granted two weeks to try out shareware programs. If, after that time, they find the particular shareware program does not meet their current needs, they have the duty of pleasantly and thoughtfully formatting the floppy disk containing the shareware. In the case of hard drive users, they have the duty of removing the shareware entirely from their hard drive system. Should they decide to keep, cherish, and foster the shareware, they have the duty of sending in the shareware fee along with a suitably brief but heartfelt expression of their gratitude and appreciation. When sending in the requested shareware fee, shareware users are given generous opportunities to earn extra-credit etiquette points. Extra-credit etiquette points can be earned by including: 1) Suggested enhancements for possible future versions of the shareware; 2) Ideas for new shareware disks, and, 3) A self-address stamped envelope. To earn admiration far and beyond the call of standard shareware etiquette, a stamped, self-addressed floppy mailer might be included. Kindly take note that shareware etiquette does not end with the shareware fee being sent. Far from it. Upon receipt of the shareware fee, the shareware creator has the duty of sending a timely, appropriately phrased expression of gratitude. This expression of thanks need not exceed two typed paragraphs. But at least two to three sentences must address the particular comments included in the shareware user's letters. Shareware etiquette frowns seriously upon the unchivalrous sending of mail-merged form letters. It's appropriate for shareware creators to express in their own words how meaningful it is to them to have their faith in humanity renewed by the kind and thoughtful sending of the requested shareware fee. Please - - - no gushing sentiments, though. The sending of extra software goodies to the shareware user is entirely within the impeccable discretion of the shareware creator. But here again, extra-credit etiquette points can be earned by going above and beyond the call of duty. By sending extra software goodies, shareware creators can help perpetuate a spiral of goodwill resonating out in ever widening circles of trust and charity. Please be aware that special etiquette rules apply to educational shareware programs. If such shareware is being used primarily by children, then the rules of shareware etiquette dictate that the children themselves should write the thank-you letter accompanying the requested shareware fee. Handwritten letters carry far more meaning than typed letters in these circumstances. As usual, the expressions of gratitude needs to be both heartfelt and brief. Handwriting, as usual, should be the child's very best. Black or blue-black ink on white lined paper, thank you. The rules of shareware etiquette have not fully developed to address the question of what happens if the shareware fee letter is returned as being undeliverable. We live in such a mobile society that such eventualities happen far too often. In such cases, the kind and considerate shareware user has an obligation to make reasonable efforts to track down the shareware creator. Polite inquiries directed to one's local users group, or on the national information services, are entirely appropriate. If reasonable efforts are unable to reveal the current address of the shareware creator, a fitting course of action is to donate the money from the returned shareware fee to a deserving local charity. In that way the goodwill generated by the initial shareware creator continues to live on in some other form. By following the basic rules of shareware etiquette yourself, you can feel enobled by your own role in carrying on a tradition that has served computer users for several hundred years. How very fortunate we all are for the shareware traditions our forefathers and foremothers passed along to us in the early days of microcomputers. -Phil Shapiro [*][*][*] [The author takes an interest in the social dimensions of communication technology. He can be reached on GEnie at: p.shapiro1; on America Online at: pshapiro; and on Internet at:pshapiro@pro-novapple.cts.com] [EOA] [MOO]////////////////////////////// CowTOONS! / ///////////////////////////////// Cows from Literature, History, and the Arts """"""""""""""""""""" Volume I, Number 2 (__) (Oo) /~\ By Mike White \/-/ \-\ [M.WHITE25] || | \ ||----|| * ~~ ~~ Cowsimoodo The Hunchcow of Notre Dame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by Victor Moogo, 1831 (__) . (oo) . . /-------\/ . /^ / | || <*> /^ ) ( ^\ * ||----|| (;) (^ ( ) ) ~~ ~~ ~~~ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ Mrs. O'Leary's Cow started the Chicowgo Fire ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ October 8, 1871 _____ __|___|__ (o o) Watch for another thunderin' herd of /(.) Moo Fun from Mike White in the next | ~_/~~~~~~~~~ issue of GEnieLamp. |\ | ( " | \ \ || \\ || // ~~ ~~ Moorice Chevalier 1888 - 1972 "Thank heaven for little cows." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (____) ( oo ) { CowTOONS? Les Blatt took us up _/_______{ on our offer and sent in this month's /~~/\/~\ CowTOONS cowtribution. | / | | / | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Noel Cow-ard 1899 - 1973 Bon vivant/playwright/songwriter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Works include: Mad Cows and Englishmen If you have an idea for a CowTOON, we A Room With a Moo would like to see it. And, if we pick I'll See Ewe Again your CowTOON for publishing in GEnieLamp Blithe Heifer we will credit your account with 2 hours Mooed With Violin of GEnie non-prime time! By Les Blatt [L.BLATT] ///////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "Personally, everything I do is just to use up time until Biker / / Mice From Mars premires this fall." / ///////////////////////////////////////////////// R.MARTIN22 //// [EOA] [RTC]////////////////////////////// NIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE / ///////////////////////////////// RTC Happenings """""""""""""" By Gina Saikin [G.Saikin] >>> UNLOCKING THE MYSTIQUE OF THE REAL TIME CONFERENCE <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Ever wanted to talk to your favorite software author, or visit with gurus in your area of interest? Ever wanted to chat with your fellow Apple, IBM, or Atari users, or with people that share your interest in the environment, family matters, government interests or any other interest you can dream of? On GEnie's Real Time Conferences (RTC) these wishes can come true. Nearly every special interest area within GEnie has their own Real Time Conferences. What is a RTC? Well, imagine anywhere from 2 to 102 people sitting at separate computers in cities and towns all across the country. At exactly 7:30 EST, they all logon to GEnie and go to an electronic "conference room". In this conference room, every message that they type on their computer keyboards is instantaneously transmitted to every other person in the room. Conversations turn this way and that as the various individuals add their ideas and thoughts to the discussion at hand. This free-wheeling exchange of ideas is an RTC. There are so many advantages to online RTC's, it'll be hard to list them here. For instance you don't have to travel halfway around the world to talk to a special speaker in Tim Buk Tu: you don't even have to dress up (that is, until we get "computervision" ). You won't have to buck Mother Nature or the traffic to get in touch with your favorite software guru, either. We have lots of fun in the RTC's. Generally almost anything goes - discussions that may start about a hard drive might end up debating the pros and cons of crime and punishment. A spiel on AppleWorks might wind up ending in a discussion of governmental ills. Actually, craziness is NOT a detriment to an RTC. It is encouraged. In our A2 RTC's, we've managed at some time or other to solve the problems of crime and punishment, ruminate the philosophy of good and evil, and extol the benefits of national health care. We've even managed to sandwich in discussions about Appleworks, recalcitrant hard drives, GEM, and other knotty technical problems. Shy? Don't be. One of the beauties of the RTC is that no one can see you. This can also be a drawback, for no one can read your body language. However, this barrier has been overcome with an ingenious series of expressions. Below are just a few to help you get started: :), :-) or variations indicate a smile :( says you're sad or unhappy :P is sticking out your tongue at someone :/ is puzzled X-) indicated "crossed eyes" You can be as creative as you want. I've only mentioned a mere few of the expressions you can use to indicate your mood. Also, there are several shorthand expressions that we use: IMHO = for In My Humble Opinion BTW = By The Way ROFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing LOL = Laughing Out Loud Again, these are just a few of the shorthands that RTC'ers use to make typing easier and faster. You've read all about RTC's, and want to participate in an RTC? It's simple. From the main menu, when you first come into GEnie, type either mXXX;2, with XXX being the page number of the areas main menu (i.e., for A2, you'd type m645;2), or type the keyword (i.e., A2) followed by selecting menu choice number 2, and you will shortly see this: GEnie Page 645;2 Apple II Real-Time Conference Version 3.12 (In this space will either be a message indicating no users in the RTC or one indicating a room number(s) with the number of users in the room(s)) Address of will be used. What ROOM (1-3), or uit> If you get the message "No users in RTC," that means that no one is here yet, or there is no conference being held. However, if you get the message indicating a room number and number of users in it, a conference is in session. Then, you choose the number of the room with people in it, by typing 1,2 or 3 at the prompt. Afterwards, you'll see this message: Room 1, The General Club room. ** is here. Ok, now you've managed to get into the conference room. Suddenly, you not only find that you may not be able to see what you're typing, but people seem to type right over you. This is a common event in every newcomer's premier appearance in an RTC. Don't dismay. This can be simply remedied by putting your comm program in either full duplex AND chat mode or at the very least, half-duplex and chat mode. Then, you'll not only see what YOU are typing, but you'll be able to sort out your typing from the other guy's, because your typing will show up below a dotted or solid line. Easy, wasn't it? Each comm program has their on special terminology and ways of setting for split-screen chat, and if you don't know how to set your comm program, ask when you get into the RTC. Someone will likely be able to help you. We can't forget your name. Nicknames can be as simple as your first name, or as creative as S.O.F.H. (Sysops from Hell), or my favorite, Binary Bear. To identify yourself to your fellow RTC'ers, simply type /NAME XXXX, with XXXX being your name or nickname. Many RTC'ers change their nicknames throughout the conference to echo their current mood (for instance, one night we were talking about the fate of Apple, and a disgruntled RTC'er called himself "FireScully") Now, you're really into the flow of the conversation, and someone you know pops in. You want to talk to him, but you don't want everyone else to hear the latest gossip you want to tell him. This is simple. First of all, type /USERS to list the job numbers of every person. Now type /SEND XX, with XX being your friend's job number. At this point, only your friend will see what you're saying. If it's going to be a long and involved conversation; and your friend doesn't mind getting dragged away from the mainstream, you can meet him in private, by typing /PRI XX, with XX being his job number. Most of the time, an RTC is a study in organized confusion and you can just pop in with your ideas, your philosophies, and of course, your jokes, for what would an RTC be without laughter? In the more formal conferences which normally have formal guest speakers, the RTC host will probably put the room into a listen only mode - that means you have to remember back to your school days, and /RAISE your hand (by typing /RAISE) to be called upon. (BTW, you don't have to raise your hand to be excused from the room - just simply type AFK for Away From Keyboard, but remember to type BAK when you return, so we know your back.) Below is a schedule of the A2 RTC's. As mentioned below, there is a theme for each night, but don't let that sway you. Come on in anyway - even if you come in on Wednesday, where we discuss Hypermedia stuff, and have a question about GEM, you'll more than likely find someone that will be able to solve your problem. The only night where there may be some formality is on Tuesday nights. However, don't be shy to pop in anyway - if there is no special speaker, the RTC will be open to any discussions. A2 Weekly Schedule ------------------ Sun 1200 ET Kids RTC Host: Gena Saikin Sun 2130 ET II Speak Host: Don Arrowsmith Mon 2130 ET New Users Host: Tara Dillinger Tue 2130 ET Formal Guest Host: Susan Wed 2130 ET Hypermedia Host: HangTime Thu 2130 ET TBC Forum Host: Mike Garvey Fri 2130 ET Telecommunications Host: Jim Zajkowski Sat 2130 ET Games Host: Dave Ciotti Formal Conferences: (Tuesdays, 2130 EDT, 1830 PDT, Room 3) IMHO, I think I've pretty much covered the basics. Oops, I forgot to tell you how to get out of the RTC at the end (or when you decide your bill has reached it's limit - or your mom or spouse has threatened to hang you up if you don't get out). Type /EXIT to leave the room and go into other areas of GEnie. There are, however, other ways of leaving the RTC area. You can type /BYE, and that will log you off GEnie, just like in any other area. You can even move to another room (/ROO X, with X being the room number). You can also move to another page or area (/MOVe 200;9 or /MOV CHAT). Remember, in the RTC, to move to another area, exit or say bye, you'll have to use the first three letters of the command (EXI, MOV, BYE) with a forward slash before it (/). This is true of most RTC commands. Hopefully, this article has eased the nervousness that most first-time users experience with a RTC. I didn't want to be too technical in this first article, but wanted to give just a thumbnail sketch to get you started in the wonderful world of Real Time Conferencing. Don't be shy, jump in. We will be looking for you soon. P.S. I snuck a few shorthands in the last part of this article to see if you could remember what they meant. How did you do? You must be ready for an A2 RTC. ////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "Yep! I use to think I 'knew' a little something about 'puters, / / that was until I met some of the folks here on GEnie... Wow!! :) / /////////////////////////////////////////////////// T.EVANS21 //// [EOA] [TEL]////////////////////////////// TELETALK ONLINE / ///////////////////////////////// Online Communications """"""""""""""""""""" By Al Fasoldt [A.FASOLDT] >>> THE SECRET SESSION OF THE ISO <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ Copyright 1993 by Al Fasoldt. All rights reserved ~ Every year at this time, I report on the activities of a group that has been shamelessly ignored by the mass media. It's the International Substandards Organization, which has been setting substandards for consumer electronics in all member countries for decades. The ISO is a powerful organization, and its decisions affect all of us. It was the ISO, for example, that ordered Sony and JVC to manufacture two competing vide-recording methods, Beta and VHS, and the ISO was also behind the unsuccessful marketing of four-channel sound on LP records in the 1970s. (A proposed ISO slogan, "Bad Sound All Around," never made it into print, however.) This year's ISO conference was held, as usual, in secret, but I have obtained minutes of the session from an American delegate. The full conference report was to be made public on the first day of April, but the inevitable delays of translating from Sanskrit to other languages may keep the report from public view again this year. So here is an exclusive account. According to documents left on one of the coffee tables at the conference, chief among the concerns of ISO members from the United States and Japan is the need to secure faster computing speed in the latest generation of personal computers. Early personal computers worked at what by current standards could be called a slow "clock rate." Computer designers worked hard to speed up the "clock" in these computers, and were quite successful. But as computing speed increased, it became increasingly clear that computer chips could not be speeded up past a certain point -- that point being, as all school children know, the speed of light. In their debate over this issue, delegates from ISO's member nations said design engineers had reached the limits of their know-how, and one delegate told the group "it was time nature did something to help us out for a change." The delegate then proposed changing the speed of light to a more useful figure, and his motion was approved without dissent. The change is to take place immediately. The ISO then renamed the existing units for measuring the speed of light, and came up with these terms instead: Present speed of light: 55 megaphotons per candlestick. Proposed speed of light: 65 megaphotons per candlestick. My source said many delegates had refused to approve the higher limit until they were assured that it was to be allowed only in those chips that were uncongested. Chips used in urban computers will continue to follow the older limit. He added that the first computers designed to use the higher "natural" clock speed should appear this fall. Intel, maker of most of the chips used in IBM-compatible PCs, is expected to market the new design under the "Pent Up" trade name. On another topic, a proposal to ban black-and-white televisions from the market was narrowly defeated after complaints from manufacturers of pocket sets, who said color models that will replace the tiny B/W sets are not yet readily available. The ISO is expected to vote again on the ban next year. The ISO's opposition to B/W sets is based on medical evidence that deprivation of color leads to deep-seated ambivalence. ISO members have been of two minds about the issue for some time. Another change that the ISO turned down would have allowed sales personnel at hi-fi shops to implant newly developed bone-conduction headphones on customers. ISO members said most hi-fi store employees do not have the experience needed to perform the implantation, in which a tiny loudspeaker is sutured under the skin behind each ear. "The sales people at the store I go to can't even find a 6- by 9-inch speaker in a box full of parts," one ISO delegate reportedly said. "How am I supposed to trust them with a surgeon's knife alongside some customer's head?" The issue will come up again next year. Health authorities in some countries have already said they are opposed to the implants, unless they are performed by doctors who know something about hi-fi. Otherwise, the ISO's yearly meeting was dull and routine. Members voted to ban "boom boxes" from all public streets in affiliated countries, and a measure to require copy-protection devices on the liner notes of recordings was approved unanimously; apparently, a strontium-90 insert at the edge of each record jacket and CD liner card will disable Xerox-type copiers permanently. That's my report on the ISO's annual session. Please do not ask me for more information, as I have told you more than I know already. [*][*][*] Al Fasoldt writes about computers and consumer electronics from Syracuse, N.Y., where he is a newspaper editor and programmer. /////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "[Aladdin] allows me to participate in this message base, where / / I would not be able to afford it if I had to do my typing online, / / and gives me time to spend downloading the files I want." / ///////////////////////////////////////////////////// NTACTONE //// [EOA] [QUI]////////////////////////////// THE MIGHTY QUINN / ///////////////////////////////// Random Access """"""""""""" By Mark Quinn [NEWSIE] "A Whole Buncha Milliseconds with Mark" by Mark Quinn, DOA GEnie address: NEWSIE Ah, the life of the modern American man. We're sent out on midnight missions to Blockbuster Video for the latest 'Schwarzeneggar flambes Rambo' movie. We lie there in our robes and wife's/girlfriend's bunny slippers, the remote control territorially perched on our bellies. I'm not sitting down at this word processor to condemn the above lifestyle. Everyone deserves time to kick back in front of the tube after a hard day's work making large piles of paper into small ones. It is all too easy to lob brickbats at the 'establishment'. Which reminds me of the time (hyuck) I stood behind a car in the parking lot of _my_ local BlockBuster Video store staring agape at a bumper sticker that read "Shoot Your TV". I heard no weapons discharging close by. Maybe the joke was on me, and the TV killers were carrying compound bows. By now, you have probably sensed that I _like_ these toys. I do. I drooled over the Apple, the Atari 800, and the Macintosh fruitlessly; I was unable to Koff up the Kash for any of the three. I ended up with a 4K Color Computer that was soon upgraded to 32K. (Yawn. Yes, we all remember the time when we saw the potential of the PC, and that little red LED flashed above our heads and sent out its evil, MasterCard- melting rays. And from that point on, we were happily-ensnared techno drones, or we were The Liberated -- I guess your outlook determines which category you fall into.) I've seen too many examples (in the media and in real life) of technology helping the handicapped, mentally dysfunctional, etc., etc., to join the "Shoot Your Wang" crowd. True, we're just scratching the surface of the virtual pond, but the years ahead should be exciting ones. No, that last sentence should read "will be exciting ones". So, crank up the Sound Blaster and the surround sound, but not too high: save your ears and eyes and mind for the ride ahead. ////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "...a pessimist will always be rewarded with pleasant surprises. / / The best an optimist can expect is for his expectations to be / / met - everything else will be disappointing. " / ///////////////////////////////////////////////// J.EIDSVOOG1 //// [EOA] [DIG]////////////////////////////// DIGITAL DIVERSIONS / ///////////////////////////////// Out Of This World -- A Review """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" By Darrel Raines [D.RAINES] "Out of This World" draws its name from the extraterrestrial setting of this action/adventure game. The cinematic quality of this particular game makes it much more of a science fiction movie th an any of the productions by the now defunct CinemaWare Inc. You can best describe the long introduction and even the events that follow in the game itself to be equal to about an hours worth of entertainment at the theater. However, you don't think that you will get to just sit there and enjoy the computer making pretty pictures do you? You were hoping not, right? Good, because you are up to your elbows in tough problems with this nifty game. Life starts off pretty much as normal for you, an average, run-of-the-mill, physicist working one night with the particle accelerator. The new computer system that the boss installed a week ago makes running new experiments as easy as programming. You are about to start a new set of accelerator runs, when something bad happens. Lightning is good for more than just making Frankenstein's creature into a monster: it can also have dire effects on certain particles during extreme acceleration. You may have discovered anti-matter before there are containment fields for it! Big problem. There's really no time to worry about anti-matter right now, though. Because you have been sent spinning "out of this world". It would be nice to just sit around and look at the new alien lands cape for a while. But the local flora and fauna have other things in mind. This game will have you racing from one screen full of problems to the next while trying to figure out action puzzles along the way. You will not have time to sit back and enjoy the dazzling graphics, since to do so will ensure almost instant death for your character. Time out for observations. This game, for me, was an immediate throw-back to one of its recent ancestors in the Apple IIgs software market: The Immortal. The Immortal introduced action gaming to the IIgs world in much the same fashion as the video arcade game "Dragon's Lair". For each of the games in the lineage, the main objective is for the player to make a series of correct choices with a joystick and buttons. These decisions are in the form of paths to take, jumps to make (and when to make them), sword swings, lever presses, and many other actions. The main character in the story will take these actions, at your command, and the story will illustrate the effects on the main character, his surroundings, and the other characters. In a video game, the player loses his chance to play when we makes too many wrong decisions and loses his last "life". If a new coin is placed in the slot in the allotted time, then the player is allowed to continue from the last successful choice made in the game. The computer game equivalent of this feature is the "passcode". At certain points in the game, passcodes are given out to let you know that you have completed certain obstacles. Then, when you lose your characters "life" later in the game, you can start over at the last point indicated by your best passcode. This same feature allows you to start the next day at the same place, without having to complete everything done correctly to this point. As I stated earlier, all of these games have very common features concerning game play and passcodes. However, there is one feature that distinguishes "Out of This World" from any other computer game that I have ever played: Graphics. The graphic's style used in this game is called polygon-fill. The idea is that the shape of an object is mapped to the screen coordinates and filled in to form visually "solid" objects. Bit-map, size-specific, graphics (like the ones used in "The Immortal") can render more detailed objects than are usually obtainable with polygon-fill graphic techniques. And the graphics in this game are definitely less detailed than those in "The Immortal". However, the big strength of polygon-fill graphic techniques are used for some nice effects in this game. You see, the mapping process can let you vary the size of the objects that are being drawn. Therefore, you can vary the size of the "picture screen" that you are using for the "science fiction movie" to be anywhere from full monitor to quarter monitor in height and width. This variance in screen size can be used to good effect when you have a game as complex as this one. The various sizes can be used depending on how much acceleration that your computer has. A d istaste on the part of the player for slow computer response to commands would be a major reason for choosing a smaller screen size. Whatever your reason for choosing, the choice exists at all, only because of the technology behind the graphic techniques. I believe that you will enjoy the results. Above all, the graphic style probably aids in the overall effect that is maintained of an "other-worldly" experience. Back to our story. This game sets new standards for action games in that you do not simply kill everything in sight to win. Certain characters in the story will help you. Of course, most of the other characters are out to get your hide, but still, some of them are willing to be buddies. There are many puzzles in this game. Most of them will require some amount of joystick jockeying. Some will require a bit of cerebral exercise. Some will require a little bit of luck. A very few are ridiculously hard. I had less trouble with this game than some of the others that I have tried in this vein. I figured out most of the puzzles without any help. However, I recommend a cheat sheet, a friend who has completed this game, or an online service to help you keep your sanity. After trying 50 different approaches to a problem and feeling certain that I have tried every angle, it is better to have some help on the problem than it would be to set the game aside unfinished. So you will want help available without having to go too far for it. I will offer one small hint. You will not get very far in this game unless you learn how to use a gun very well. Hint: The gun will perform different functions depending on how long you hold the trigger! It is time for our assessment. I found this game very engrossing. It has a very original idea that is presented in a fresh style. The polygon-fill graphics are a leading edge technology that push your IIgs to new limits for a computer game. The storyline kept me guessing and wanting more. Even after the final credits, you will be wanting more and more from this fascinating plot. Highest ratings go for this facet of the game. One of the drawbacks to paying a lot of money for a game like this one will be its long term playability. I finished the game in about a week. I spent probably about 30-40 hours actual play time. Once you have watched a movie, you are not likely to want to see it again anytime soon. The same holds true for this game. I will pull it out a few more times to relive the experience, but I will not get a lot more value from my investment. This is simply something to be aware of with any action/adventure game. I have not played Wizardry I since the first time I finished it, and will in all probability never get it out again. Such is the nature of the experience. This is not an unexpected detriment for a game of this genre. I simply mention it for completeness in this review. The puzzles in this game are fairly difficult. The puzzles are actually not quite as hard as some I have seen in similar games. The joystick maneuvering is more difficult than what I have seen in similar games. Therefore, the average couch potato will have some difficulty in getting past some of the obstacles. This will be a serious impediment to a few game players. If you are a below average joystick jockey, then you may be very frustrated with this game. The manuals (if you can call them that) are extremely minimal. However, this is not a bad thing. The minimum of instructions that are printed in the introduction material is sufficient to get y ou started. The rest of the information that you need will be learned along the way. Therefore, I would rate the documentation as adequate and appropriate for the type of game. This game is also addicting. I had to keep playing the week that I purchased it, until I had finally won the game. I warn first-time players: make sure that you have some free time coming up. You may be tempted to drop everything else for a while after you start playing this game. Nit-picking point: Some of the passcode points are far between in the game. You may have to complete a number of perfectly timed jumps, a few well placed shots from your gun, and a few other gyrations with the joystick to reach the next checkpoint. Any slight mistake in this sequence will mean that you have to start from the last passcode point. Again. Frustration will build in a situation like this and you will still be unable to proceed in the game. The only solution is to take a break and try again at a later time. Overall evaluation: This game is "Out of This World". Specifications: "Out of This World" Produced by Interplay System Requirements: Apple IIgs with at least 1 Meg of memory One 3.5" disk drive GSOS version 5.0.4 or later Recommended: Hard drive (installable) Accelerator card Distributed by Big Red Apple Computer Club Suggested price: $49.95 ///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "A prediction: In nine months or less there will a plastic / / version of the popsicle stick idea, called something like / / "DeskAlign", selling for $14.95 or more. Just watch the / / back pages of MacWorld and see. It'll be somewhere near / / the refill kits. :-)" / //////////////////////////////////////////////// GRMEYER //// [EOA] [PRO]////////////////////////////// PROFILES / ///////////////////////////////// Who's Who In Apple II """"""""""""""""""""" >>> WHO'S WHO <<< """"""""""""""""" ~ Introducing the GEnieLamp A2 Staff ~ In lieu of an interview this month, we turn our microphones off and give you a little background information on the various staff members that write each month's articles for this newsletter. You pro bably don't know too much about us, so we thought that we would take this opportunity to introduce ourselves. Hopefully, this will provide our readers with some additional insight into the editors and writers that bring you monthly information on GEnie. Darrel Raines - Editor for A2 edition of GEnieLamp """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I have been using Apple II personal computers for over 11 years now. It all began back in my first job out of college. I graduated Texas A&M with an Electrical Engineering degree in 1982. We used Apples around the workplace for various tasks, including pressure chamber control and temperature measurement. I liked what I saw with the Apple II and bought one for use in the home. My wife wrote her master's thesis on the II+ using AppleWriter. I skipped the IIe and IIc with my jump to the Apple IIgs computer in early 1987 (income tax refund). Since the company I was working for at the time did not use Apple II's, I began to write shareware, freeware, and commercial software for the Apple II line of computers. Once conflict of interest was removed as a possibility, I have run a small business on my home computers for over 4 years. I write custom software, consult for other business computer users, create and build custom hardware, and write articles for various publications. Did I mention that I gather great enjoyment from my hobby/business? In mid-1989, I was hired by CAE-Link to work in Houston, Texas, on the Space Station Freedom (SSF) simulation project. (Actually, I spent more than a year working on F-16 simulators before I moved over to the space side of business.) I am currently a contractor working for NASA on this wonderful project. Write your congressional representative early and often to endorse the money that the United States spends on research projects like the Space Station. This is one of the few government projects that actually ends up saving taxpayer money over the long haul. Since moving to Houston, I have been a regular GEnie user. I started writing articles for GEnieLamp early in 1992. When Tom Schmitz (my predecessor) was forced to resign his position due to job pressures, I was selected to serve as editor of the A2 edition. I have enjoyed writing articles and other text, as an alternative to writing Apple II software. I STILL enjoy my Apple II computer, and editing the A2 version of GEnieLamp helps me explore new possibilities for my talents. It also keeps me abreast of the latest Apple II news. As I have mentioned in a recent editorial, please feel free to give us feedback on the A2 version of GEnieLamp. We are always searching for ways to better meet the needs of our readers. Let us know what you think. Phil Shapiro - Assistant Editor for A2 edition of GEnieLamp I first became enchanted """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" with the Apple II in 1987 when testing out some educational software I wrote for my fourth grade students. The kids got all excited about playing a simple geography game I made up. When a few of them asked to stay late after class to finish playing the game, I knew I wanted to get more involved in educational software development. So then I taught computers in elementary school for about four years before quitting to start my own software publishing company, Balloons Software. I miss the interaction with kids in the class room sometimes, but stay in touch with a dozen or so kids by giving private computer lessons. Locally, I stay active in the local Apple user group, the Washington Apple Pi, a cozy little group with about 4000 members. For the past three years I've served as the chairperson of the club's e ducation special interest group. Our meetings often run late into the night because there's so much interesting Apple II educational software to talk about. One teacher in our group uses Apple II's w ith her mentally retarded middle school students, and her experiences in the classroom are always fascinating to hear about. I signed up for GEnie the day after their flat-rate structure went into effect. I've grown tremendously in my Apple II knowledge since that day. Mel Fowler - Staff writer for the GEnieLamp A2 I was born on a small farm about 5 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" miles outside Vernonia, Oregon in 1939. We moved to northern California shortly after my dad returned from WWII and settled in Yurika. Oops, he did say a short biography, didn't he. Well maybe I should tell you that I am a retired Navy Senior Chief Radioman with 30 years in the of service. I served from Guatanimo Bay, Cuba, to the aircraft carrier USS America, USS Oklahoma City on the Commander 7th Fleet Staff, were I was the Chief of Satellite Communications. Then my last twelve years were with the Defense Communications Agency with tours in Hawaii, Korea, and Japan. I am married to my final wife Hui Tae (Hee Tay) and live in Mililani, Hawaii. Currently I manage a 40 unit townhouse project here in Mililani. The first computer in my experience with computers was purchased in 1982, while stationed at the DCA, Field Office Korea and was a Korean clone of the Apple ][+. We called them "Krapples." It was a 32K model with a cassette I/O, with my television set serving as a monitor. Pretty basic by today's standards. Next, came an upgraded Krapple with two slim line drives, IBM type keyboard, with programmable function keys. It was equipped with a CP/M card, Grapple+, Language Card, 1 MEG ram card, and an No-Name DP-80 printer. All this was Korean made, as this was all we could get then. WordStar v1.01P and DBase II v1.1 were the programs we used the most, typing up reports and developing data bases on all the DCS stations in Korea. We used it at the office and became one of the first DCA offices to become computerized. Later, I again upgraded to an Apple IIc, a real Apple this time, also equipped with a CP/M card, and 1Meg RAM card so that I could use it in the office. It also had an Apple Color Monitor, with an Epson FX-80 attached. When I saw Steve Wozniak on the front cover of InCider introducing the "It's Amazing," "The new IIGS," I just had to have one. I was stationed at Yokota, AB, Japan at the time. About six months later I was able to get one at the base exchange. It was love at first sight. I had to upgrade my IIGS to ROM 01 and get a new VGC chip which were supplied by an Apple representative that was sent to Japan for that reason. Currently it contains a 4 Meg OctaRAM card, Sound Blaster stereo card, TransWarp GS, Vulcan 40 Meg internal hard drive, with an ImageWriter II and LaserJet IIp printers. I have been on GEnie for just over a year and was lucky enough to become a GEnieLamp staff writer. Primarily I write reviews of current uploads to the A2 Library. I am active with the local user's group, the Honolulu Apple User's Society, being the Apple IIGS Special Interest Group (SIG) chairman, a director on the Board of Directors, Staff writer for the IIGS section of "SIGNAL" our club journal, and even bulk mail the journal each month. I have even been known to sweep the floors and take out the garbage occasionally, but I do not do windows. If you are curious about my handle "MelSoft" it came from some software that I had developed in my early days with a "MelSoftware" moniker. There was a home inventory program and a label maker that were mostly used in the Korea, and Japan user groups and bulletin boards. Anyway, the MelSoft part of the name has stuck and I have used it on BBS and articles ever since. ///////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "But where the heck are my issue's going?? I live in Pennsylvania.. / / About a hour and half drive from East Stroudsburg.. How about if I / / go pick my issue up, and save you guys a buck?? :)" / ////////////////////////////////////////////////////// T.EVANS21 //// [EOA] [LIB]////////////////////////////// THE ONLINE LIBRARY / ///////////////////////////////// Yours For The Downloading """"""""""""""""""""""""" By Mel Fowler [MELSOFT] o HyperStudio presentations HYPERSTUDIO, FROM ROGER WAGNER PUBLISHING has been the most popular """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" multimedia program for the Apple IIGS since it was released. It allows the capability to merge graphics, sounds, music, and animation into a presentation of cards (screens) organized into stacks. With the rapid display of cards you can create animation. Nearly any subject can be presented using HyperStudio. Stacks are fun and easy to create. Schools throughout the U.S. have used HyperStudio as class projects creating innovative programs which cover everything from volcanos to stars. Some talented shareware and freeware authors have uploaded a large collection of HyperStudio presentations into the A2 library on GEnie. This month's article will try to highlight the best of the A2 collection. Let us start with a tour of the Apple IIGS. Stephen L. Brown from Ontario, Canada, has created a shareware program entitled "Steve's Tour Of The Apple IIGS." It is divided into two sections: 1. Looking Inside The Apple IIGS and, 2. Looking Outside The Apple IIGS. The inside tour shows you a graphic of the Apple IIGS mother board with various parts and components displayed in their relative locations. By clicking on a part or component you turn on a text window which explains what the part does. The outside tour displays the front and back of the AppleColor RGB monitor and the Apple IIGS computer. You can get explanations of all the major components, back panel controls, connectors, and ports. This is an excellent tour of the IIgs for beginners and is fun and easy to use. Shareware fee $15.00 U.S. [*][*][*] 13694 TOUR.GS.BXY "The Middle East" by Jan K. France is another tour but """"""""""""""""" this time it covers the middle eastern countries. The first card is a map of the world and the stack asks you to try and find middle east. Once you have completed this task you are presented with a map showing the countries and main seas, gulfs, and oceans of the region. When you click on a country, the country's name is spoken, then you are presented with a map of the individual country. A large text window is supplied which includes interesting information about the country. By clicking on "Flag" you are presented with a full screen graphics of the country's flag. There is also a "History" section included with presents a histogram of events from 3500 BC to 1990 AD. If you are interested in learning more about this little known region of the world, this is the program for you. Freeware. 13604 MIDEAST.BXY "Meet the Orchestra" is a four (4) disk presentation """"""""""""""""" created by Karl Ivers which introduces you to the instruments of the Symphonic Orchestra. There are four sections to the program reflecting the sections of the orchestra, Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, and Percussion. You choose which section to use and then which instrument to learn about. There is a short text window that gives some background information on each instrument. When you click on the instrument itself, it will play a song for you. Pop quiz: In what section of the orchestra do you believe the piano would be in, Strings or Percussion? What is the difference between a Harp and a Harpsichord? Which sounds lower, a Clarinet or an Oboe? The four disks must have specific volume names, "ORCHESTRA, ORCHESTRA1, WOODWINDS, and PERC.BRASS." Meet the Orchestra is extremely will done, easy to use, and most educational. Freeware. 10149 MEET.ORCHES.BXY 10150 STRINGS.ORC.BXY 10151 WOODWND.ORC.BXY 10152 PERCUS.ORC.BXY One of the premier HyperStudio authors is Joel """""""""""""""""""" Helton who has created some of the best multimedia presentations. "Interesting and Little Known Facts About Our Presidents" is, I think, his best. You can learn about all the presidents from George Washington to Ronald Reagon. Each presentation shows you a picture of the president and a text window full of "Interesting and Little Know Facts." Version 2 of the program added voice recordings to some presidents starting with Theodore Roosevelt. You will learn for example: What James Monroe had to do with the death of George Washington; why Mary Todd Lincoln was accused by the press of being a Confederate spy; and what the "S" represents in Harry S. Truman. This is an entertaining and informative program which is essential for hypermedia fans. A companion three disk set entitled "Presidential Quiz" is also available which will quiz you on your knowledge of what the presidents look like. You will be asked to choose a president from four pictures. Both these programs are Freeware. 13363 PRES1.V.2.BXY 16016 PRES.QUIZ.01.BXY 13493 PRES2.V.2.BXY 16030 PRES.QUIZ.2.BXY 13866 PRES.3.BXY V.2.0 16045 PRESQUIZ.03.BXY """""""""""""""""""""" """""""""""""""""""""" Another name you run across frequently while looking at HyperStudio programs is Jim Hirsch. One of his best is about the ongoing Galileo mission to Jupiter. Launched in 1989 from the Shuttle Atlantis, the Galileo space craft first made a trip to Venus in February of 1990, then around the sun and back to Earth where it made two loops, the last of which was in December of last year. All this maneuvering is so the spacecraft will gain enough speed to get to Jupiter which is scheduled to be in December of 1995. This excellent hypermedia program tells you about the mission, what experiments are planned, about the space craft, the orbiter, the Jupiter probe and more. Freeware. 10171 HS.SHUTTLE.BXY Jim Hirsch and Diana Hewitt have created another """""""""""""""""""" excellent program entitled "HyperMoney." You can use it to teach your young children all about U.S. coins from a half dollar to a penny. You are first presented with a coin, and then asked to name it. The graphics are super and this is a well organized, easy to use program. Freeware. 10226 HYPERMONEY1.BXY 10227 HYPERMONEY2.BXY "Hyper.AWGS.WP" is another excellent Jim Hirsch """"""""""""""""""""" offering. This is an easy way to learn how to use the word processor module in AppleWorks GS. You are presented with a graphics of the word processor screen. Various parts of the ruler can be selected and a text window will appear to explain what each item means. You can also choose any of the pull down menu items to learn what they do and how to use them. Also, Freeware. 10285 HYPER.AWGS.BXY There are two outstanding multimedia programs that """""""""""""""""""" teaches you about the states. State.Stack by Bob Vawter and HyperState by Marty Knight. HyperState is the more elaborate presentation supplying two different maps of the U.S., one showing "Political" boundaries and the other showing "Regional" boundaries. From the Regional map you can choose a region of interest and you are presented with a regional map. From either the Political U.S. map or any of the regional maps you can pick a state and are supplied with a state map with a text window with information about the state. The text information includes the states' region, capital, nickname, chief industry, and the date when the state joined the Union. Also included is a State Quiz stack. With this stack a map of the U.S. is displayed and by clicking on a state the states' name and capital are shown. State.Stack also displays a map of the U.S. and when a state is chosen switches to a text window screen. State.Stack is simpler in nature but does provide addition information which includes the state motto, area in square miles, population since the 1986 census, racking among the states regarding area and population, and the state flower, bird, tree, and song. Impress your friends and family by learning all the state capitals. 10099 HYPERSTATES.BXY 17370 H.STATES.BXY "HyperBrain" by Jim November uses a main menu which """""""""""""""""" is a graphics of the human brain. Numbers identify various regions of the brain. Each card also has several hidden buttons to move to other regions. The graphics are well done and make exploring the human brain a real adventure. Find out where your Hypothalamus and your Medulla Oblongata are and what they do. 8835 HYPERBRAIN.BXY V.2.0 If you want to learn more about how to animate """"""""""""""""""""""""" Hyperstudio stacks then I would recommend several programs by Bill Lynn. You can learn such interesting animation as watching your flowers grow or flooding your living room with "Animation School." Shareware $5.00. Learn how to animate your buttons with "Stupid Button Tricks," "More Stupid Button Tricks," and "Button School." These three stacks give you great examples of how you can liven up your stacks. Rotate a fan, smash a lady bug, eat the screen, or see your name in lights. These are fun and show a great sense of humor. 15560 SBT.ANIM1.BXY 15640 SBT.ANIM2.BXY 17302 BUTN.SCHOOL.BXY There are far more HyperStudio offering within the """"""""""""""""""""" A2 library than could be highlighted here. You will find stacks that help young people with their math and reading skills. A large collection of sound and clip art files. There is even a seven (7) disk series on Star Trek the next Generation. But, we do not have the room to include everything. I hope we have keyed your interest in exploring the vast collection of Apple II hypermedia software available. [*][*][*] [Note: You can quickly navigate to the A2 Library on GEnie by typing M645;3 at any standard GEnie prompt. The letter "m" stands for the command "move." The number 645 refers to the "page" on GEnie where the A2 Roundtable is located. And the semi-colon 3 refers to the A2 file library, as opposed to the message areas of the A2 Roundtable. To navigate directly to the message areas (bulletin boards) of the A2 Roundtable, type: M645;1 at any standard GEnie prompt.] [EAO] [FUN]////////////////////////////// ONLINE FUN / ///////////////////////////////// Search-ME! """""""""" By Scott Garrigus [S.GARRIGUS] WELL, HERE WE ARE It's April and Spring is upon us, finally. I'm really """"""""""""""""" getting sick of all the snow up here in good ol' Derry, NH. Soon it'll be Easter and the Easter bunny will be bringing all you good boys and girls his Easter eggs. But before that, we have the inevitable April Fools Day. But I'll say right now that I'm not going to stoop so low as try and fool all you good folks out there. So on to this month's RoundTable... All you ladies out there are going to love this one... this month I visited GEnie's famous Hairdressing Roundtable. Oh, you didn't know we had a special place for hairdressers here? Well, surprise, surprise! Here you can get expert advise on all the lastest styles and techniques. Learn how to do it yourself and get first hand instruction in this wonderful field. Yes, you too can have the greatest looking hair in town. Visit GEnie's Hairdressing Roundtable today! To get there just type JUSTALITTLEOFFTHETOPPLEASE or find it on page 1234567. But before you rush over there to get the lastest haircutting advice, be sure and solve this month's puzzle. It's sure to keep you a cut above the rest! :-) Ta, Ta! And Happy Easter! >>> HAIRDRESSING ROUNDTABLE <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" [JUSTALITTLEOFFTHETOPPLEASE] R T R O H S T U C I L L N U J S J O U Q U J K B Z R R Y N R V N D H B S L J A E D E Y Z O X W Z W X H W H Q D L T S N C G S N L W M P S U D A W A A O O P M A H S K I M S M H C T M A E F R S G Z V U C T B R S R E N O I T I D N O C H E N H H X B G Z R E H O A F O C V N Z U A Z Q O N W T J G K M A S N Z P A N O P Z Z K S Z L B A R B E R J S I S H K R G C V L Q Y V B E X Q T E T E E T K D E Q I W N R B K O D U R N Z C A T Z A Y Q L S R X A N S J M H R J D U L R Z D Z I L C F J D D X J B D Y H I M H N S D B X Q C I V G R C A N Q I C O D E J R O G H A P E F S M S M U O T T D V P E R M I V Q O X B H O T W E I R J M X S P X O O Y A P L A O S V P R E L R U C O B M T S G R R H D E V C J M E Z M D S S Y J G S T G O V N U X H Q M T E A U Y V F W I N Z O P S A P D I U Y I B J D L O W P G N P W M U W Q P I Y M O O O F A U U Y H Z C R A G O S Y D P J Z C L J K A M E M V T L A N U V I B N Y K M H S S S T O N I C M B S H V BARBER BRAIDS BRUSH COMB CONDITIONER CURLER CUT DRESSER DRIER HAIR LONG MOOSE PERM SASSOON SCISSORS SHAMPOO SHORT STYLE STYLIST TONIC WASH [*][*][*] GIVE UP? You will find the answers in the LOG OFF column at the end of """""""" the magazine. This column was created with a program called SEARCH ME, an Atari ST program by David Becker. ////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "Correction!!! I was supposed to make a NOTE not a NOT. / / Looked real confusing didn't it? :>" / ////////////////////////////////////////////// P.VARN //// [EOA] [AII]////////////////////////////// APPLE II / ///////////////////////////////// Apple II History, Part 11 """"""""""""""""""""""""" By Steven Weyhrich [S.WEYHRICH] >>> APPLE II HISTORY <<< """""""""""""""""""""""" Compiled and written by Steven Weyhrich (C) Copyright 1993, Zonker Software (PART 11 -- THE APPLE IIGS, CONT.) [v1.1 :: 05 Mar 93] INTRODUCTION This segment of the Apple II History continues with the """""""""""" description of the IIGS, the 16-bit version of Steve Wozniak's legacy. It continues discussion of its hardware, firmware, and system software, enhancements, as well as the product introduction. Finally, some of the later parts of the IIGS story that have not yet appeared in previous releases of this segment of the history are included. [*][*][*] THE APPLE IIGS: MISCELLANEOUS HARDWARE Other features Apple engineers """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" added to make the Apple IIGS a next generation computer included a built-in clock, slot space for internal expansion cards, and the electronic equivalents of seven more expansion cards.<1> Taking the cue from their experience with the Apple IIc, they included as built-in features the peripherals that most users would want to use. They allocated serial ports to slots 1 and 2, the classic 80-column firmware to slot 3, the mouse controller to slot 4, a Smartport controller to slot 5, a 5.25 inch disk controller to slot 6, and AppleTalk capability to slot 7. (AppleTalk was Apple's network protocol that had been designed originally for use with the Macintosh). Because the engineers wanted to make the IIGS capable of connecting to the AppleTalk network, the serial ports they planned were based on a different communications controller chip than was used in the older Super Serial Card and the Apple IIc serial controller. Although the new controller chips were more capable than the older ones used on the 8-bit Apple II's, telecommunications programs written for those older Apple's wouldn't work. This was because most terminal programs, for the sake of speed, were written to directly control the old Super Serial Card (rather than going through the slower, built-in firmware commands). The controlling commands necessary to manage the newer chip were very different, and so caused such software to "break".<2> The case and motherboard used in the Apple IIGS was made smaller than that found in the IIe, both in order to make a smaller "footprint" on a desktop, and also to make it easier to make an upgrade available for IIe owners. They had wanted to make it possible even for Apple II and II Plus owners to upgrade, but in the end it turned out to be just too expensive and difficult to execute.<2> The Macintosh engineering group was at this time designing a protocol for interfacing standard input devices, such as keyboards, mice, and graphics tablets. This protocol, called the "Apple Desktop Bus", was first implemented on the Apple IIGS. It made possible the interchangeability of hardware devices between the Macintosh and Apple II lines, allowing Apple to sell a common set of peripherals that both computers could use.<2> THE APPLE IIGS: FIRMWARE Firmware, you may recall, is that layer of """""""""""""""""""""""" controlling programs in ROM on a computer that sits between an application program and the hardware it is trying to control. On the IIGS, the firmware was designed after the hardware was finalized. Unlike the older ROM that Wozniak included with the original Apple II, the IIGS software engineers tried to make it more than just a set of addresses to call to carry out a function (such as clearing the screen). Rather, they wanted to make a more comprehensive system (called a "toolbox") which could be more flexible for future enhancements of the hardware and firmware. In particular, they didn't want to have the addresses for carrying out certain functions to be fixed in a single location as on the older Apples. This toolbox would have a single address to call, and a specific command would be passed on through that address. Set up like this, it would allow Apple's firmware programmers to modify the ROM in the future without having to take trouble to make multiple addresses in the ROM "line up" properly. Additionally, they made it easy to "patch" the toolbox code in the ROM using code loaded from disk, allowing programmers to fix errors that were later found without having to replace the physical ROM chips. At first, they were given 64K of space for the ROM, over four times as much as was available on the original Apple II. Later, they had to go back and ask for 128K of ROM, because of the many things that they needed and wanted to do. Of course, Applesoft had to be present in ROM in order to maintain compatibility with the older Apple II software. Additionally, they also put all of the mouse-handling tools into the ROM (unlike the II, II Plus, and IIe, which had to have the mouse firmware on a card in a peripheral slot).<1> A boost to the firmware design of the IIGS came, unexpectedly, as a result of the merger between the Apple II and Macintosh divisions. This merger came as part of the reorganization that coincided with the departure of Steve Jobs from Apple. Since the Macintosh team was now working in the same place as the IIGS designers, they were available to offer help and ideas. Bill Atkinson, the programming wizard who wrote MacPaint and many of the mouse tools for the Macintosh, helped in the creation of the mouse tools and QuickDraw II for the IIGS. (This was the name given to the ROM tools used to draw on the super hi-res screen, and was borrowed from the older QuickDraw routines on the original Macintosh).<1> To allow the user to easily configure certain features of the IIGS to their own tastes, a "control panel" was designed (another idea borrowed from the Macintosh). It was used to set the clock, the system speed (between a "normal" 1 MHz and a "fast" 2.8 MHz), change the standard text display from 40 to 80 columns, set colors for the text screen, set sensitivity of the mouse and keyboard, and make the standard settings for the printer and modem ports. These preferences were saved in a special battery-powered RAM that would survive even when the system power was turned off.<1> THE APPLE IIGS: SYSTEM SOFTWARE ProDOS needed to be updated to better """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" take advantage of the additional memory on the IIGS, as well as the larger storage devices that were not very available when ProDOS was originally written. Back then, five megabytes was felt to be quite a large disk size. By the time the IIGS was designed, 40 megabytes was becoming a common standard. The new IIGS-specific version, called "ProDOS 16", would also be able to handle any number of open files at the same time (the older version of ProDOS was limited to eight files open simultaneously).<1> The first version of ProDOS 16 was more limited than Apple's designers wanted it to be, but they didn't want to hold up the new IIGS until a better version was ready. The version of ProDOS that would run 8-bit Apple II software (on the IIGS or older Apple II's) was renamed "ProDOS 8". That version was modified to handle system interrupts better, which was important on the IIGS because of the control panel feature and the way in which the Apple Desktop Bus worked. (An interrupt refers to a special signal that is sent to the microprocessor by a hardware device. This signal "interrupts" what the processor is doing, redirects it to do something else, and then returns the processor to what it was previously doing. The mouse on the IIc and the mouse card for the other Apple II's use interrupts to handle movements of the mouse).<2> (Further details about ProDOS 16 and its later replacement system, GS/OS, will be found in an upcoming part of the Apple II History). IIGS PROJECT CODE NAMES AND TEAM MEMBERS The earliest name used """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" internally at Apple for the IIGS project was Phoenix (as mentioned earlier). It was also known as "Rambo" (when the design team was fighting for final approval from the executive staff), "Gumby" (from an impersonation done at Apple's Halloween-day parade), and "Cortland".<1>,<3> Some of the members of the design team not yet mentioned here include Nancy Stark (an early and energetic champion for the IIGS project); Curtis Sasaki (IIGS product manager); Ed Colby (CPU product manager); Jim Jatczynski (Operating System group manager); Fern Bachman (who worked to ensure compatibility with existing Apple II software); Gus Andrate (who developed the sound tools and the unified drive firmware); and Peter Baum, Rich Williams, Eagle I. Berns, John Worthington, and Steven Glass, who each developed part of the IIGS system software and firmware.<4> THE APPLE IIGS: PRODUCT INTRODUCTION In September of 1986, Apple """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" introduced the new Apple IIGS, bundled with an Apple 3.5 drive, for $999 (not including a monitor). Apple management, somewhat surprised by the response that occurred in their "Apple II Forever" event two years earlier, made the decision to heavily promote this new Apple II. Why they came to this change of heart was unclear. Although they showed no slowing in their plans for the Macintosh (which was making steady progress in gaining acceptability in the business world), a multi-million dollar marketing and media blitz was arranged to promote the new IIGS as the ultimate home and recreational use computer. Even employees at Apple who had worked on the IIGS project were startled (but pleased) at the marketing intensity that was begun, and the order for this came directly from the top. John Sculley himself had insisted that the Apple IIGS be given highest priority. (Apple's CEO since 1983, he had just a year earlier ousted founder Steve Jobs from day to day responsibilities at Apple). Rumors flew, but were never confirmed, about a shaken Sculley who had come to an executive staff meeting in July of 1986 with stories of strange things he had experienced. He had supposedly received a frightening nighttime visit from a yellow-garbed alien who called himself "Darth Vader" from the planet Vulcan. "He told me that he would meld my brain if I didn't put all I could into marketing the Apple IIGS! I have to do it!!", he was reported to have said, white-fisted and pale, at that meeting. Despite the obvious references to science-fiction movies and television of the 1960's and late 1970's, the executive staff bowed to his requests (which were no less firm after Sculley had taken a Valium and had a couple of Diet Pepsi's. After all, he WAS the boss). Of course, the IIGS was received by the Apple II community with enthusiasm. After initial sales broke all previous records, including those for the Macintosh, Apple re-doubled its efforts to promote this as the computer for nearly everyone. After all, it had ties into the past (compatible with Steve Wozniak's 4K Integer BASIC Apple II at its core), and ties into the future (with the 16-bit technology and expanded memory). Within a year it was outselling the Macintosh (which had also received a boost in sales, thought to be benefiting from the wave of IIGS sales). By 1988, a significantly enhanced Apple IIGS was released, with more advanced system software (which worked more like the easy-to-use Macintosh interface) and higher density graphics (the cost of better color monitors had come down considerably since the initial design of the IIGS back in 1985). Apple even decided to take the unprecedented move of licensing the Apple II technology to a couple of other companies, who worked on producing IIGS emulators for other computers, including IBM and its clones! Software and hardware sales hit a spiraling upward curve, which stimulated more sales of computers from Apple, which increased software and hardware sales further. Apple even produced a IIGS emulator of its own for the Macintosh and Macintosh II series of computers. Eventually... (Hold it. Something just doesn't seem right. I don't recall things going NEARLY that well for the IIGS. Computer! APPLE II: [ Tweedlesquirge ] State request, please. AUTHOR: Compare time events just outlined in previous section with known events in database notes. APPLE II: Working... [ Blinkitydinkitydinkityzeerp ] Events just described are from a parallel timeline, which diverged from our own timeline in July 1986. AUTHOR: Hmmm. Any way of moving into that timeline? APPLE II: Negative. Insufficient energy available in power supply to actually make changes necessary to alter the events in our timeline to allow the above scenario to actually occur. AUTHOR: Then HOW did we come across that information in the first place? APPLE II: Flux capacitor was affected by a momentary surge in power lines due to a nearby thunderstorm. AUTHOR: Interesting. Well, maybe someday I'll have to beef up this power supply a bit and have a talk with Mr. Sculley if I can find my yellow radiation suit... So how do we get back to the correct information? APPLE II: You could effect a complete shutdown and memory purge, then reload correct data from protected archives. AUTHOR: Very well. Make it so. APPLE II: Working... [ Blinkitydinkitydinkityzeerpity... ] PROOFREADER: Your Apple TALKS??? AUTHOR: What? Yes, well I had a CPU conversion done in the early 24th century... APPLE II: Data reload completed. You may proceed when ready. AUTHOR: Now, let's see if we can get it right this time...) THE APPLE IIGS: PRODUCT INTRODUCTION (Take 2) In September of 1986, Apple """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" introduced the new Apple IIGS, bundled with an Apple 3.5 drive, for $999 (not including a monitor). The Apple II community was excited about the new computer, and inCider magazine featured a exuberant Steve Wozniak on the cover of its October 1986 issue with the caption, "It's Amazing!" Apple, for its part, did do some advertising for the new computer in the pages of current Apple II publications of the time. However, there was no major push for the new computer, and again it seemed destined to be dwarfed by Apple's preoccupation with the Macintosh. Though announced in September, the IIGS was not widely available until November. Early production models of the IIGS had some problems; one of the new chips did not work properly, and necessary changes to fix them caused a delay. The upgrade that would turn an Apple IIe into a IIGS was also delayed until early 1987.<5> THE APPLE IIGS: ENHANCEMENTS In September 1987 Apple made an incremental """""""""""""""""""""""""""" improvement to the IIGS with the release of a new ROM. The ROM 01 revision made a few changes in the original IIGS ROMs and included an improved video controller chip. Bugs in the ROM code were fixed, and a problem with a "pink fringe" effect with certain graphics displays was fixed. The new ROMs were not compatible with any IIGS System Disks earlier than version 2.0. The new ROM was identified by a message at the bottom of the screen when booting the IIGS that said "ROM Version 01". The original IIGS had no message in this location.<6> The next change came with the release of the ROM 03 version of the IIGS in August of 1989. This new IIGS computer came standard with 1 meg of RAM on the motherboard, and twice as much ROM (256K versus 128K on the older IIGS). This allowed more of the operating system to be in ROM, rather than having to be loaded from disk when booting. Additionally, fixes were made to known bugs in the ROM 01 firmware. (The latest version of the IIGS system software made patches to ROM 01 to fix those bugs, but these patches still had to be loaded from disk, which slowed startup time. Having the latest new tools and fixed new ones already in ROM made booting the version 03 IIGS a bit quicker). The new Apple IIGS also had the capability of using both the internal slot firmware as well as using a peripheral card plugged into a slot. The ROM 01 IIGS could, of course, use cards plugged into the slots, but only at the expense of being unable to use the internal firmware for that slot. With so much useful system firmware built-in, a ROM 01 user who wanted, for example, to add a controller card for a hard disk would have to give up either AppleTalk in slot 7 or use of 5.25 disks in slot 6. Almost everything else had to be set in the control panel to the internal firmware. The ROM 03 IIGS also included enhancements for disabled users. A feature called "sticky keys" made it possible to do multiple keypresses. (To execute an "Option-Control-X" sequence, for example, required pressing three keys at once. This was something that a paralyzed user with a mouth-stick to press keys could not previously do). Also, more things that had required a mouse now had keyboard equivalents (using the keypad). The new IIGS also had somewhat "cleaner" sound and graphics. However, because the improvements made were minimal compared to the cost of providing upgrades to previous owners, no upgrade program was announced by Apple. In any case, many of the new features could be obtained on older IIGS's by upgrading the memory to at least one megabyte and using GS/OS System Software 5.0.2 or greater.<7> A feature that was added to the ROM 03 firmware that was entirely fun, instead of functional, was accessed by a specific key-sequence. If the computer was booted with no disk in the drive, a message that said "Check startup device" appeared, with an apple symbol sliding back and forth. At that point, if the user pressed the keys "Ctrl", "Open Apple", "Option", and "N" simultaneously, the digitized voices of the Apple IIGS design team could be heard shouting "Apple II!" Also, the names of those people would be displayed on the screen. If running any version of GS/OS System 5.0, the user would have to hold down the "Option" and "Shift" keys, then pull down the "About" menu in the Finder. It would then say "About the System". Using the mouse to click on that title would cause the names to be displayed and the audio message to be heard. THE APPLE IIGS: THE FAT LADY SINGS? Unfortunately for the IIGS and its """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" loyal users, decisions were made at Apple during the late 1980's that dictated that the future of the company would be in the Macintosh computer, and in other entirely new platforms they would create after Macintosh. The view by Apple's management, and even by some of the engineers that had worked on the IIGS, was that it was simply underpowered when compared to the 68000 series Motorola processors that were used by the Macintosh. As I've mentioned before, the backward compatibility with the 8-bit Apple II was one of the greatest strengths of the Apple IIGS; however, this was also one of its greatest weaknesses, as it compromised from the start some of the decisions made in its design. It could be compared to creating a brand new type of automobile, one that had the capability of doing things that owners of earlier cars couldn't even imagine, but insisting that it MUST run on gasoline and use a 12 volt battery. If it could be allowed to run EXCLUSIVELY on a specialized new fuel and a more comprehensive power plant, the new car could perform considerably better -- but it needed to be backward compatible with previous releases of the car. In terms of the IIGS, it was given the power to be very much like a Macintosh, with its ease of use and graphic interface. But with all this power came the connections to its 8-bit past, and this complicated things for designers as well as programmers. Another problem for the IIGS was that no one at Apple was in a position of power to champion the machine and push for full support and promotion by the company. After its product introduction, which involved a couple of television and magazine ads, Apple turned its attention to other concerns and left the Apple IIGS to sell itself. What promotion was done for the IIGS or products associated with it was done with all the fervor Apple had applied to the Apple II line since the Apple III had been designed (in other words, very little). The IIGS still had people within the company that poured out their hearts in making changes to improve the computer, both in software and hardware. Their advances in system software managed to make the computer faster without requiring any changes in hardware, and also made it possible to take advantage of new peripherals as they became available. On the hardware side, rumors flew for years after the release of the ROM 03 IIGS about an updated IIGS that was in the works, one with the capability of higher quality graphics, a faster processor, the capability for larger memory sizes, and even the possibility of a more advanced processor, the 65832. But no one in Apple's administration would give approval for these dreams to get off the ground. Even at the last minute, just before the first Apple User Group television satellite broadcast in October 1991, a ROM 04 IIGS that was to have been announced along with several new Macintosh models was pulled from the program and disappeared. This new IIGS would have included 2 MB of memory, a built-in hard drive (becoming almost a necessity to run the sophisticated GS/OS software that was available), and possibly a built-in SuperDrive (which would be capable of reading and writing 3.5 disks created by MS-DOS computers). But the future was Macintosh, and releasing another advancement to what Apple considered to be a dead-end platform was not considered to be good business sense. It was the termination the ROM 04 IIGS that reportedly contributed to the delay in the introduction of GS/OS System 6.0, which finally arrived in April 1992. (The tools that were part of System 6.0 would have been in the ROM of the new IIGS, and made as patches to the ROM 01 and 03 machines; things had to be changed when it turned out that there was to BE no new IIGS). The final blow to the IIGS was, of course, economic. The IIGS had been selling itself nearly from the beginning, and Apple had begun to push the Macintosh as a computer for schools to use. This had been traditionally the stronghouse of the Apple II, back from its earliest days. As school sales fell, and the computer public, unaware of the capabilities of the IIGS, bought Macs and IBM-compatibles, Apple dealers found it less profitable to carry the Apple IIGS. Lower sales also translated into fewer new software titles to run on the computer, which further depressed the market. The end of the production run of the Apple IIGS came in December 1993, when it was finally removed from the price lists Apple provided to dealers. The Apple IIe was still selling well enough (primarily to the education market) that it was left on the price lists for the time being, but the Apple IIGS was relegated to sales through the used or resellers market. Although Apple pledged to continue software support for the machine (with at least two enhancements to System 6.0 planned), there would clearly be no new IIGS, ever. [*][*][*] NEXT INSTALLMENT Peripherals & the Apple II Abroad """""""""""""""" NOTES """"" <1> Duprau, Jeanne, and Tyson, Molly. "The Making Of The Apple IIGS", A+ MAGAZINE, Nov 1986, pp. 57-74. <2> Pinella, Paul. "In The Beginning: An Interview With Harvey Lehtman", APPLE IIGS: GRAPHICS AND SOUND, Fall/Winter 1986, pp. 38-44. <3> Hogan, Thom. "Apple: The First Ten Years", A+ MAGAZINE, Jan 1987, p. 45. <4> Szetela, David. "The New II", NIBBLE, Oct 1986, pp. 5-6. <5> Weishaar, Tom. "Miscellanea", OPEN-APPLE, Nov 1986, p. 2.74. <6> Platt, Robert, and Field, Bruce. "A.P.P.L.E. Doctor", CALL-A.P.P.L.E., Nov 1987, p. 58. <7> Doms, Dennis. "Apple upgrades IIGS hardware", OPEN-APPLE, Sep 1989, p. 5.57. /////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "(Topic cops forward at will..:>)" / ///////////////////////////////////////////// VANDENHEUVEL //// [EOA] [GEO]////////////////////////////// GEnie ONLINE / ///////////////////////////////// Using GEnie's Internet GateWay """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" By Bill Garrett [BILL.GARRETT] >>> ACCESSING THE WORLDWIDE INTERNET THROUGH GEnie <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" INTERNET GATEWAY GEnie's Internet gateway offers access to the largest """""""""""""""" communications network in the world. GEnie users can send and receive Internet mail,subscribe to newsgroups, and even request files to be downloaded from the Internet to GEnie (see services offered by the Unix RT, below). Following are some answers to commonly asked questions, as found in the Unix RT Bulletin Board on page 160;1. While researching this article, I found the Unix Rt to be the best place on GEnie to get information about the Internet gateway. Most of the info provided here comes from Andy Finkenstadt (ANDY), Unix RT SysOp, by way of the messages in Category 12 of the Unix RT Blletin Board. Library file references are to files in the Unix RT Library on page 160;3. [*][*][*] >>>>> HOW DO I SEND MESSAGES TO PEOPLE IN INTERNET? """"" There are two ways - one works from page 207, and one works at any place you can send a mail item - with the SEND command, or at the Mail Command Mode (200;9 or 8004;9). On page 207, there is an option for "Send an Internet Mail" or words to that effect. It guides you through the process, and merely asks for the internet address of the person you want to send to, allows you to CC any addresses, asks for the subject, and then puts you in the 1> 2> line editor. .*S at the end and you've sent your first piece of mail. In mail command mode (ENTER) or with the SEND command, at the To: or Cc: prompts, or with the .*TO .*ATO .*CC and .*ACC commands you address your letter to the person plus the special string @INET# For example: To: andy@vistachrome.com@INET# Cc: S.POPKES Sub: Testing 1> Hi there! Just testing a letter to Andy's work account. 2> .*S Now GEnie will respond with three messages - the item creation message, the "queued for INET#" message, and the item sent message. Now your item has been sent. If there are problems you will receive a return mail from the gateway machine or a machine along the way that discovered the problem or error. Typically these come from MAILER-DAEMON or POSTMASTER or other addresses that don't contain real people's names. Just like with FAX# delivery you can check on the status of an Internet mail item that you sent with the "DIS" command in mail command mode. Record the 7 digit item number referred to in the "queued for INET#" message and type at the Command? prompt: Command? DIS 1234567 It will tell you the current status of the item. >>>>> HOW DO I GET MESSAGES BACK? """"" Typically if you have sent a message, your correspondent will be able to merely use the "reply" command on their mailer. Your address is S.POPKES@GEnie.geis.com (you can use upper or lower case, it won't matter) so you can tell people to write you back at that address easily enough. >>>>> HOW IS THE GATEWAY TO BE BILLED? """"" On page 207 there is a "Rates" menu item. The following prices went into effect on Nov. 1, 1992: $2.00 registration fee - this will be a one time charge for all new users signing up for the service. However, if a user cancels and signs up another $2.00 charge will be incurred. $.30 for each 5000 bytes or portion thereof for incoming or outgoing messages. For example: A 10000 byte message would cost $.60 A 20000 byte message would cost $1.20 A 5000 byte message would cost $.30 A 12000 byte message would cost $.90 (If you read mail during the day, you'll be charged the standard GEnie connect rates since the Genie.*Basic pricing plan is only in effect weekends and undays during the week. Also, at 9600 baud special charges apply for all GEnie access, night or day.) >>>>> THERE ARE SEVERAL CONFERENCES ON THE INTERNET. """"" HOW ARE THESE ACCESSED? The files "MAILING-LISTS.TXT" and "INTEREST-GROUPS.TXT" (and the corresponding compressed files ending in .Z) show a list of about 300 to 400 special interest groups and mailing lists available on the Internet. For example, to join the "Christianity Mailing List" sponsored by Liz Allen, you send mail to mailjc-request@grian.cps.com or to mailjc-request@grian.altadena.ca.us and ask to be added. You might re-affirm your mail address as USER.NAME@genie.geis.com just in case something gets mangled by a piece of software between GEnie and there. Then the moderator of the mailing list (or his/her duly authorized program ) sends you back a welcome message, and explains the exact procedure for posting to the group. In the case of the foregoing example, it's sending mail to mailjc@grian.cps.com or mailjc@grian.altadena.ca.us For an explanation of how domain names (the @somewhere.site.com) works, the file DOMAIN.INF is available that explains it in rather basic untechnical language. Additionally there are over 3000 newsgroups (3572 in my newsgroups file at work) of which approximately 700 to 800 are active. Getting on a mail feed of that list requires a bit more patience. Sometimes a friendly System administrator can be convinced to set up a mail- based feed of a couple newsgroups to a specific address - as part of the testing I did this to see what kinds of things would happen. Reading newsgroups via mail is quite a trip though .. a real time-sucker-downer. :) CAVEAT: You may want to be aware that at 30 cents per item per 5000 characters, an active mailing list can easily cost a small fortune per month. >>>>> CAN I SEND MESSAGES FROM GEnie TO FRIENDS ON """"" COMPUSERVE AND VICE VERSA? Yes, easily. From GEnie do this: To: 76334.641@compuserve.com@inet# {useriud} CIS internet mailbag You can leave off the @INET# =if= you are using the form on page 207. Your friend can send from Compuserve to you with this: To: >internet:ark.royal@genie.geis.com >>>>> ARE THERE GATEWAYS TO OTHER NET SERVICES AS WELL? SUCH AS DELPHI """"" AND PRODIGY? If you mean can you connect with the Delphi or Prodigy services and use them as if you had called them directly, No. You can send mail to subscribers on Delphi ( username@delphi.com ), and Prodigy has plans to have an Internet gateway for extra cost this year or next. >>Can I use GEnie's special mail commands such as .*ATO, .*ACC and BLIND >>with Internet addresses? Yes, when we were testing, the BLIND,address@site@inet# worked fine. (The only reason you use BLIND, I assume, is to avoid the potentially 60 lines of headers at the beginning of the letter, right?) ...you can optimize your ATO commands like this: .*ATO,BLIND,address1,address2,address3,address4, <-- note trailing comma address5,address6,address7,address8@inet#, address9@inet# And so on... It's actually a bit faster that way. >>>>> IS THERE A WAY TO JOIN USENET GROUPS VIA GENIE'S INTERNET GATEWAY? """"" At present, Usenet access is not available on GEnie. There are several lists posted in the Unix RT Library of newsgroups and their counterpart mailing lists. If you can't find information on the newsgroup you're looking for, post it on the Unix RT or drop a note to UNIX$ and we'll see if we can find out for you. [*][*][*] Several files in the Unix library are great starting places for information about the Internet and GEnie's part in it. As a convenience to the Unix RT participants we have made these available in 3 different forms: Text form, Unix Compress form, and ZIP form. The file names and numbers are listed below: Description Name Text ZIP Unix ------------------------------------ ------ ------ ------ ------ How to find College E-Mail addresses 3625 4361 3512 Bibliography of Internet Info FYI 3 4365 4364 3529 New Internet User Questions FYI 4 4366 4367 3530 Experienced Internet Questions FYI 7 4368 4369 3533 Who's Who on the Internet FYI 9 4370 4371 3535 Gold in the Internet FYI10 4363 4362 3536 ZEN and the Art of the Internet ZEN 3624 3623 3321 (The Unix compressed version of ZEN requires a PostScript printer.) Other files about the Internet can be found by searching for "INTERNET" while in the Unix libraries on page 160. [*][*][*] Services offered by the Unix RT As mentioned above, the Unix RT is a """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" great place to get more info on the Internet and the gateway here on Genie. Here are some of the services offered by the Unix RT sysops, and where to find more information: .* Many Frequently Asked Questions archived from the Internet. Search on "FAQ" in the software library. .* Up to date Usenet UUCP Maps in library #15. Start with file #2551 README.MAP for interpretations. .* FTP Request Service. If you can't find it elsewhere on a GEnie RoundTable, ask us to find it for you. See bulletin board category #1, topic #8. Library #41 for listings, #42 for files. Real Time Conference: Sunday: 8:00p-10:00p Unix & Internet Help Desk in Chat Lines INTERNET Support in category 12 of the bulletin board. Informational files in the software library #33 or search for "INTERNET". Chief Sysop: ANDY Andy Finkenstadt Assistants: MIKE.NOLAN Michael Nolan GARS Gary Smith LRARK Rick Mobley DELPHI Brian Riley ////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "I dragged Aladdin to the trash 3 times before getting it / / figured out. Now I can't imagine using GEnie without it..." / //////////////////////////////////////////////// NTACTONE //// [EOA] [LOG]////////////////////////////// LOG OFF / ///////////////////////////////// GEnieLamp Information """"""""""""""""""""" o COMMENTS: Contacting GEnieLamp o GEnieLamp STAFF: Who Are We? o GET_THE_LAMP Scripts & Macros o SEARCH-ME! Answers GEnieLamp GEnieLamp is monthly online magazine published in the """"""""" GEnieLamp RoundTable on page 515. You can also find GEnieLamp in the ST (475), the Macintosh (605), the IBM (615) Apple II (645), A2Pro (530), Unix (160), Mac Pro (480), Geoworks (1050), BBS (610), CE Software (1005) and the Mini/Mainframe (1145) RoundTables. GEnieLamp can also be found on CrossNet, Internet, America Online and many public and commercial BBS systems worldwide. 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