|||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| || || ||| || || || || ||| |||| |||||| || |||| Your || || || || ||| || || |||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GenieLamp Computing || |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable || || || ||| ||| || || || |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE! || || || || || || || ||||| || || || || || ~ WELCOME TO GENIELAMP APPLE II! ~ """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ PROFILE: Steve Cavanaugh, Publisher of _The Apple Blossom_ ~ ~ APPLEWORKS ANNEX: The AppleWorks Gazette--Issue #1 ~ ~ FILE BANDWAGON: Top 10 Files for January 1996 ~ ~ HOT NEWS, HOT FILES, HOT MESSAGES ~ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// GenieLamp Apple II ~ A T/TalkNET Publication ~ Vol.5, Issue 48 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Publisher................................................John F. Peters Editor...................................................Douglas Cuff \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// ~ GenieLamp IBM ~ GenieLamp ST ~ GenieLamp PowerPC ~ ~ GenieLamp A2Pro ~ GenieLamp Macintosh ~ GenieLamp TX2 ~ ~ GenieLamp Windows ~ GenieLamp A2 ~ LiveWire (ASCII) ~ ~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~ Genie Mail: GENIELAMP Internet: genielamp@genie.com ////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ >>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE II ROUNDTABLE? <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ March 1, 1996 ~ FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] FROM MY MAILBOX ......... [MAI] Notes From The Editor. Letters To The Editor. HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] Is That A Letter For Me? Apple II Brainwash Test. REFLECTIONS ............. [REF] APPLEWORKS ANNEX ........ [AWX] Nursing Homes on the Internet? The AppleWorks Gazette. FILE BANDWAGON .......... [BAN] THE ONLINE LIBRARY ...... [LIB] Top 10 Files for January. January Arrivals on Genie. PROFILES ................ [PRO] LOG OFF ................. [LOG] Steve Cavanaugh, Apple Blossom. 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 reprinted """""""""""" here in GenieLamp, you will find all the information you need immediately following the message. For example: (SMITH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M475) _____________| _____|__ _|___ |____ |_____________ |Name of sender CATegory TOPic Msg.# Page number| In this example, to respond to Smith's message, log on to page 475 enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1. A message number that is surrounded by brackets indicates that this message is a "target" message and is referring to a "chain" of two or more messages that are following the same topic. For example: {58}. ABOUT Genie Genie's monthly fee is $23.95 which gives you up to nine """"""""""" hours of non-prime time access to most Genie services, such as software downloads, bulletin boards, Genie Mail, an Internet mail gateway, and chat lines. Genie's non-prime time connect rate is $2.75. To sign up for Genie service, call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369 in the USA or 1-800-387-8330 in Canada. Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: JOINGENIE and hit RETURN. When you get the prompt asking for the signup/offer code, type: DSD524 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. GET GENIELAMP ON THE NET! Now you can get your GenieLamp issues from """"""""""""""""""""""""" the Internet. If you use a web browser, connect to "gopher://gopher.genie.com/11/magazines". When using a gopher program, connect to "gopher.genie.com" and then choose item 7 (Magazines and Newsletters from Genie's RoundTables). *** GET INTO THE LAMP! *** """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" //////////////////////////////////////// Genie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / I do the audio sampling for part of my living. People / / are not only amazed, but astounded, that I'm using a / / 9-year-old computer to do the things that they only / / recently have been able to do... and then, they have to / / pay hundreds of dollars just for the software to do it / / properly. / ////////////////////////////////////////////// LUMITECH //// [EOA] [FRM]////////////////////////////// FROM MY DESKTOP / ///////////////////////////////// Notes From The Editor """"""""""""""""""""" by Douglas Cuff [EDITOR.A2] >>> SPARED CHANGE <<< """"""""""""""""""""" Since we were last together, GEnie has shed its upper case E and transformed into Genie. General Electric Information Services, Inc. sold our host online service to Yovelle Renaissance Corp. (whoever they may be when they're at home). So GEnieLamp A2 has become GenieLamp A2, much to the relief of hundreds of readers who hated that upper case E in the first place. There have been other changes at Genie. An immediate change that has caused many a voice to rise and many a door to be slammed is the new fee structure. The monthly minimum of $8.95 has been replaced by $18.95... and that's just for old-timers. New Genie customers are charged $23.95/month. The number of free non-prime time hours has increased from 4 to 9, and extra non-prime time hours cost $2.75, not $3.00. GenieLamp exists to promote Genie. Nevertheless, I have to report that the new rates have meant several departures, from the A2 RoundTable and elsewhere, because customers cannot afford the $120/year increase. I can't blame them, and I doubt that the majority will ever be back. ("You want to come back? Sure. That'll be an extra $5/month for the rest of your stay on Genie.") Winning back a disgruntled customer is harder even than finding new customers. This immediate change in the rates has rankled, but if the new management can be persuaded to offer a more affordable option, then the new changes will be the saving--or perhaps making--of Genie. Genie is a great service, and is still _the_ place to be if you own an Apple II. Nevertheless, before the sale of Genie, some of us were worried about its future. Genie was maintaining where it needed to grow. Now, Yovelle plans to carry Genie into the future. That's fantastic news. If Genie is allowed to continue--if it doesn't suffer a mass exodus in protest at new, higher minimum fee--it will be an industry leader again. To achieve that, however, it must find a way of keeping its old users and attracting new ones. The current fee structure is not a way of doing either. Let's hope the new management realizes it, and implements a new fee structure before it's too late. If it doesn't, I may end up writing next month's editorial for an audience of two. [*][*][*] As always, my timing is impeccable--impeccably dreadful, that is. Last month, I urged you to write for GenieLamp A2, and dangled free Genie credits in front of your eyes. One of the results of the management changeover is that credits are suspended until further notice. I'm still eager for contributions; I simply can't pay for them, that's all. Two closing statements: The PAUG Newsletter has not yet returned. I don't know why (as I hoped I would when I wrote last month's editorial). -- Doug Cuff Genie Mail: EDITOR.A2 Internet: editor.a2@genie.com __________________________________________________________ | | | REPRINTING GENIELAMP | | | | If you want to reprint any part of GenieLamp, or | | post it to a bulletin board, please see the very end | | of this file for instructions and limitations. | |__________________________________________________________| ASCII ART BEGINS _____ _ _ ___ ___ / ____| (_) | | / _ \|__ \ | | __ ___ _ __ _ ___| | __ _ _ __ ___ _ __ | |_| | ) | | | |_ |/ _ \ '_ \| |/ _ \ | / _` | '_ ` _ \| '_ \ | _ | / / | |__| | __/ | | | | __/ |___| (_| | | | | | | |_) | | | | |/ /_ \_____|\___|_| |_|_|\___|______\__,_|_| |_| |_| .__/ |_| |_|____| | | |_| ASCII ART ENDS This issue of GenieLamp A2 is dedicated with affection and respect to absent friends. [EOA] [MAI]////////////////////////////// FROM MY MAILBOX / ///////////////////////////////// Letters To The Editor """"""""""""""""""""" MEGADEMO FOLLOW-UP #1 You said in your February editorial: """"""""""""""""""""" "So what's a major gaffe? Assuming that Canadians and Americans are 'the same thing'. Assuming that Austrians and Germans are the same. Assuming that New Zealanders and Australians are the same. And not knowing the difference between a gaffe and a faux pas. " I sometimes wish that Austrians and German were the same... Schwarzenegger being an Austrian is a major blow to my nationalist pride ;-). As for Kiwis and Aussies: They talk the same, don't they, and anyway, where's the difference, save a few thousand miles. *ahem* Anyway, the reason to write (apart from sending silly comments about Austrian hollywood stars) is your mini-flame-fest with NinjaForce. IMVHO, that piece was just a tad too long. The original letter by NinjaForce, your original reply, and then maybe a short paragraph mentioning that it developed into a sneering match that you'll spare the reader would have been quite enough, I think. Maybe I'm oversensitive due to bad experiences on the Internet newsgroup csa2. Anything that even hints at a flame gets me a bit jumpy. I can ignore it on csa2, it's part of the game there, but GEnie was always the "kinder, gentler" online service, and I would hate to see that attitude being undermined. Not that your piece did a lot of mining, mind you, but it kind of nibbled at the edges, I think. Cheers Soenke Behrens sbehrens@contech.demon.co.uk Yes, possibly I overreacted slightly. I have a pronounced dislike both of being told what/how I think and of being unjustly accused. My apologies to those who would rather have not witnessed the exchange.--DGC MEGADEMO FOLLOW-UP #2 I haven't finished reading the latest GEnieLamp """"""""""""""""""""" yet, but want to respond to the issue of the MegaDemo. I agree with you wholeheartedly! :) The funny thing is that a while back I got involved in a conversation about this w/the author(s) on csa2. I forget how it started, but it came down to me voicing my opinion that while demos are OK the first time around, they just aren't that useful. I was attacked by "NinjaForce" much the same way you were. Just thought I'd give you a little moral support. :) Wily P.CREAGER Thanks for the support, Wily. I got letters from both sides on the MegaDemo question. That's better than apathy, as I've said before. Still, let's hope it doesn't develop into a schism.--DGC POSSIBLE NEW APPLE II PUBLICATION Hello World! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Well yes, there is another Apple II publication around. It is called "Dark Castle Magazine" and is published quarterly. We wanted to tell about our magazine during the fall of 1995, but it just didn't happen :-). Maybe we should tell something about DDC Magazine. In the beginning we started a bulletin board system (a BBS) with the name "Deep Dark Castle", but we finally left "Deep" away. It runs METAL/ FutureVision and joins the Futurenet network. After a few months we realized that not every Apple II owner has a modem and could join our BBS and participate in any discussion or read about 'things going on in Apple II-land'. So we started publishing a disk with software that had been uploaded to the BBS or had been sent in by mail. We found that this wasn't enough, so we started publishing a magazine AND a disk. So far so good, but this was all in Dutch and we got requests from foreign people to send them a copy. Because of several people there was no reason to switch to the English language, but more requests started coming in. This made us think. Why not publish in English? GS+ had gone, Softdisk Apple II and others also. But, we weren't the only ones who thought this: Juiced-GS, The AppleWorks Gazette and Apple Blossom hit the scene. This made us think again: is it needed to bring another publication? Well, we finally made up our decision: it is up to you. Would YOU like to see another publication for the Apple II only? Would YOU like to subscribe? Maybe some information about Dark Castle Magazine will interest you. Dark Castle Magazine Published quarterly, currently in Dutch. If enough '''''''''''''''''''' requests come in, the June '96 issue will be published in English (and the next ones too, of course). What is covered in each issue depends on what is sent in, or what we wrote during the last quarter. However, in each issue we discuss a column called 'modem talk'. It contains information about the use of modems and telecommunication on your Apple II. A pending item is the Video Grabber. This is a new card for the Apple IIgs that will grab video frames in real time (in the background) while running GS/OS. On the disk you will find self written programs, self made sounds, midi files, pictures and other (interesting) software. These disks are available on the ftp site Caltech (ftp.cco.caltech.edu) in the pub/apple2/incoming directory. [Editor's note: This address was accurate when this letter was written, but may not be accurate by the time you read this.] The files are called ddc01.shk through ddc05.shk. DDC06 will be put online at the end of March 1996 when it's finished. So you can check them out yourself. Of course we can send you one or more disks by mail, but you pay the shipping :-) There is a lot more to tell you about, but we have no international information sheet ready yet. It will soon be requestable by email. If YOU are interested, please email us! We will mail you more information back including subscription ratings (including shipping). When we switch to English, the disks won't be put on Caltech anymore because they are part of the magazine. We can be reached at: BBS : +31-314-365145 Internet : dboomsma@sci.kun.nl dark_dude@darkcastle.euro.fnet.org HTML : http://www.wco.com/~gbmaidsf/db/ (under construction) Snail mail: Dark Castle Magazine (Doede Boomsma a.k.a Dark Dude) Wolborgenmate 72 7006 DK Doetinchem The Netherlands [EOA] [HEY]////////////////////////////// HEY MISTER POSTMAN / ///////////////////////////////// Is That A Letter For Me? """""""""""""""""""""""" by Douglas Cuff [EDITOR.A2] o A2 POT-POURRI o HOT TOPICS o WHAT'S NEW o THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT >>> A2 POT-POURRI <<< """"""""""""""""""""" APPLECOLOR RGB MONITOR FIXES Several Quick and Simple fixes for """""""""""""""""""""""""""" AppleColor RGB monitor problems Notice: All of these repairs require removing the back case of the monitor, and some amount of soldering. If you are not confident of your abilities to handle this enviroment have someone else who is confident and qualified perform the needed repairs. There are potentially lethal shock hazards exposed during these procedures, as well as CRT implosion hazards. Proper safety procedures should be followed. These instructions are presented here as reference materials for properly qualified service technicians to make use of. I shall NOT, in ANY MANER, be liable, or held liable, for any injuries, to anyone, or any piece of equipment, occuring while following these directions. ========================================================================== Symptom: The entire screen lights up with one color. Fix: Obtain three 10uh (10 micro henry) inductors (Radio Shack often has these available, usually less than $5.00 for all three). Use these to replace L6R2, L6G2, and L6B2, all three of which are found on the PC board that is mounted to the neck of the CRT. (No adjustments of anything should be required) All three should be replaced at the same time, as field reports indicate that once one has burned out, the other two aren't far behind. Note: These three inductors are used in series with the collector load resistor on the three gun driver output transistors, they simply perform power supply decoupling between the colors. When one of these inductors opens up, the collector of the associated gun driver transistor is no longer connected to it's source of power, causing the transistor's bias to go nuts (due to electron impingment on the grid) This causes the one color that has to open inductor to become biased full-on. This CAN CAUSE PERMENENT DAMAGE the CRT, do NOT leave the power on for longer than needed to observe the symptom. Also note that it is normal for the PC board near these inductors to be somewhat discolored from heat (being dissipated by the noted collector load resistors) =============== Symptom: The entire screen slowly fades to black, sometimes comes back (full or partially) when the case is slapped. [In some cases the screen may never show anything at all, but if one checks with the back of the hand it will be noted that there is a considerable static charge on the face of the CRT] Fix #1: After unplugging the PC board from the neck of the CRT (slicing thru the blob of silicone rubber if present) clean the pins of the CRT with a tarnish removal chemical such as Tarn-X. Reassemble and test after drying. Note #1: While I have not seen this procedure needed on the AppleColor RGB monitor, I have done this to fix several "fishtank" style Macs as well as televisions. It's a cheap longshot that can save a LOT of time and effort when it does work. Call it Majik and bill accordingly ;-) Fix #2: After unplugging the PC board from the neck of the CRT (slicing thru the blob of silicone rubber if present) inspect and resolder every pin on the CRT socket where it connects to the PC board, also resolder both ends of R636. DO NOT try resoldering these connections with the board still plugged onto the CRT as the heat conducted into the CRT along the pins may cause it to implode, causing severe injury! Note#2: The solder joints on the pins of the CRT socket sometimes crack, causing poor / intermitent contact and operation. Usually caused by blocked cooling and excessive operating temperature Fix#3: After unplugging the PC board from the neck of the CRT (slicing thru the blob of silicone rubber if present) test R636 with an ohm meter. This is a 1.2 ohm, 2 watt ceramic / sand resistor, which is in series with the CRT's filiment. If it is open, replace it with a like part. Be certain to mount the replacement away from the board, for proper heat disipation. Note#3: This resistor fails due to excessive heat, and normal thermal cycling over a long period of time (many on/off cycles) Fix #4: Locate the horizontal output transformer (flyback) and resolder all of it's pins on the bottom of the lower PC board, paying particular attention to pins 6 and 9 (these provide filiment voltage to the CRT) Note#4: The solder joints on the pins of the horizontal output transformer sometimes crack, causing poor / intermitent contact and operation. Usually caused by blocked cooling and excessive operating temperature, but can also be agravated by magneticly induced motion (on a micro scale) which is directly related to the horizontal output frequency of 15.750Khz. This problem is also prevalent on many other monitors, TV sets, and in particular, the older "fishtank style" Macs. Overall Note: If you sliced thru the blob of silicone rubber that keeps the board attached to the CRT, it is a good idea to re-glue things with a fresh blob of silicone rubber, as was done originally. This will keep the board in place when the monitor is moved or shipped. (A good grade of RTV or 100% silicone rubber bathtub caulk is desirable) =========== Symptom: Monitor appears to be totally dead. No power light, no "thump" at turn-on, no static charge noted on face of CRT. Caution: This procedure involves working in an area of the monitor that is NOT isolated from the power line. Be CERTAIN to unplug the monitor EVERY time prior to putting even one hand into these areas! Fix: Check the internally mounted power line fuse located on the lower board near where the power cord enters. If it is bad try a replacement of the same current and voltage ratings. If the replacement fuse blows almost immediately: a) Locate the connector for the auto degausing coil (near front edge of lower board, same side as fuse) and unplug it. Retest with a new fuse. If all is now well the degausing coil should be replaced as it's shorted. b) Desolder and remove RP901 (near front of monitor, same side as fuse), and retest with a new fuse installed. If all is now well, RP901 needs to be replaced (it's a glowbar / thermistor which controls current thru the automatic CRT degausing coil at turn on, these are rather generic and readily available at many TV repair shops) If removal of RP901 did not eliminate fuse blowing, then reinstall it, as it's probably Ok. The problems lie elsewhere and will require further diagnostic skills on your part. (Checking all components in the power supply, especially electrolytic capacitors will likely reveal the problem. Also check the horizontal output transistor for shorts) ========== Symptom: Single horizontal or vertical line line on screen Fix #1: Check the connector between the deflection yoke and the lower PC board. Also check the bottom of the board around this connector for cracked solder joints, resoldering as needed. Fix#2: If the line is horizontal, and you have been working inside the monitor, check the Service Switch, which is located on the PC board on the neck of the CRT, middle of the edge directly over the power cord. It is very easy to bump this switch accidentally. This is a three position switch, it should be in the middle position for normal use. -Harold Resident Solder Slinger (HAROLD.H, CAT12, TOP25, MSG:32/M645;1) [EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first installment of what is expected to be a multi-installment series.] THIS TIME, WE REALLY MEAN IT! Found out that AOL is closing down what is """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" left of the Apple II forum in a couple of weeks. Apparently, the Apple II libraries will still be available. Rick (R.BARD5, CAT2, TOP7, MSG:239/M645;1) FREEWARE/SHAREWARE CATALOG Well, in a very round about way, I've just had """""""""""""""""""""""""" a solution of sorts handed to me concerning SSII's lack of having any sort of printed catalog of freeware/shareware software. SSII is going to take over the entire BRCC library of freeware/shareware. For years, BRCC has had a real nice looking catalog of those library disks. So, BRCC is also planning to send me a printed master of that catalog, with all references about BRCC removed. I'll be able to add a new cover with SSII ordering info, and presto...SSII will have a massive freeware/ shareware printed catalog. Although it's certainly not going to be a complete catalog of disks available from SSII, it'll be a heckuva good start. I like word-around solutions . Hmmm...this is a work-around shareware solution. That has a certain ring to it... Joe (JOE.KOHN, CAT28, TOP4, MSG:230/M645;1) NEW EGO SYSTEMS CATALOG I'm very pleased to announce that the new EGO """"""""""""""""""""""" Systems catalog finally shipped on Monday, February 5th, 1996. If you were a GS+ Magazine subscriber at any time during the last year, your copy of the catalog is on it's way to you. If you weren't a GS+ Magazine subscriber, but you'd like a copy of the catalog (which has thirteen pages of IIGS stuff, two pages of Apple II->Mac bridge products and one 'editorial' page), send me your complete snail mail address (via e-mail) and I'll get a copy of the catalog out to you. If you are a user group officer and you would like multiple copies of the catalog to hand out at your next meeting, just let me know how many you want! Diz EGO Systems (DIZ, CAT33, TOP2, MSG:11/M645;1) STAR TREK RSOUNDS UPDATE Someone recently reported here that EGO Systems """""""""""""""""""""""" had published information on where to get some "Star Trek" rsounds. I followed the information, and here is the latest... Sound Source Interactive 2985 E. Hillcrest Dr. Suite A Westlake Village, CA 91362 Sales (800) 877-4778 FAX (805) 495-0016 Firstly, they no longer offer the Star Trek sounds for the GS _or_ the MAC...only for Windows. This is due to the 'rights' having been pulled from them. This won't prevent one from buying the Windows version and having someone with Windows to run the dedicated application that uncompresses them to a .BMP format, and then bringing them over to the GS. Secondly, they have _lots_ of stuff, both for the MAC and Windows. The sound oriented stuff includes... Star Trek "Virtual Reality" Audioclips Star Trek Motion Picture Audioclips Star Trek: TNG "Virtual Reality" Audioclips Star Wars audioclips Empire Strikes Back audioclips Return of the Jedi audioclips Terminator 2 audioclips Total Recall audioclips Thought you'd like to know. Jeff Carr (LUMITECH, CAT6, TOP7, MSG:228/M645;1) APPLE II CODENAME HISTORY LESSON Actually, Cortland was the code name, or """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" internal name, for the Apple IIGS. It was one of many (like Gumby, for example). It was imortalized by the simple coincidence that it was the code name when some enterprising person at Apple decided to have some labels made up to replace the standard "Apple" name that appears imbedded in the lid of an Apple //e. These labels were used on the covers for the very early prototype Apple IIGS computers that were mounted in Apple //e case tops--the back and bottom was changed. Later prototype models used a standard Apple //e lid, going back to the original top label for security reasons. After all, when it's off, an Apple IIGS motherboard mounted in an Apple //e case looks just like an Apple //e-- from the front, at least. Perhaps because of it's ensrinement in hardware, Cortlan stuck around for a long time as a code name. The original versions of ORCA for the Apple IIGS that Apple published under their label were known as CPW, for Cortland Programmer's Workshop. There was a bitter debate at Apple before the final name was changed to APW. Why? Cortland fanatics, you suppose? Nope. The MPW team (Macintosh Programmer's Workshop) didn't want an Apple ][ product to carry the "company" name! Sensibility and the fact that the _computer_ was called Apple won the day. :) By the time the Apple IIGS was in an Apple IIGS, the name Apple IIGS was decided for sure. The initial ROM 00 Apple IIGS computers were not called Cortland, which, after all, was never intended to be anything but a code name. As an aside, though, Macintosh was also a code name. The name stuck (along with the mispelling) because so much had leaked about the new "Macintosh" computer that Apple didn't want to loose the name recognition! Mike Westerfield (BYTEWORKS, CAT28, TOP4, MSG:251/M645;1) WIN A FOCUS HARD CARD! Ever since the first issue, Shareware Solutions II """""""""""""""""""""" has been proclaiming: "Support Those Who Support The Apple II." The time has come for Shareware Solutions II to offer thanks to the folks who continue to support Shareware Solutions II. On February 29, 1996, Shareware Solutions II is going to be giving away an 80 megabyte Focus Hard Drive. That's right; we're giving it away! A Focus hard drive is a speedy Internal hard drive that works on either a IIe or IIGS. It is completely self-contained, meaning that no additional interface card is required. Just plug it in, and away you go. On February 29th, Shareware Solutions II will be giving that hard drive away to some lucky Shareware Solutions II subscriber. If your subscription is current on that date, you could be the winner. Joe Kohn Publisher, Shareware Solutions II (JOE.KOHN, CAT28, TOP4, MSG:269/M645;1) <<<<< In the latest issue of Shareware Solutions II (v2, #6) it was """"" announced that some lucky and current Shareware Solutions II subscriber would be chosen on February 29, 1996 to receive an 80 Megabyte Focus Hard Drive. What wasn't described was the method that Shareware Solutions II planned to use to choose that lucky subscriber. Please sit down before reading further... On the morning of February 29th, Shareware Solutions II will have AppleWorks Classic generate a list of the names of all current subscribers as of that date. That listing will be in ASCII format so that it can be easily transmitted via modem to the gentleman who has agreed to choose the recipient of "The Shareware Solutions II Hard Drive Give Away." And who might that gentleman be, you wonder? The winner will be chosen by none other than Steve Wozniak, the inventor of the Apple II computer! Joe Kohn Publisher, Shareware Solutions II (JOE.KOHN, CAT28, TOP4, MSG:284/M645;1) RAMFAST IIe I've had my RamFAST IIe for several weeks now. Here are a """"""""""" few observations. 1. It works well in a ROM3 GS. 2. It works well in an enhanced //e _without_ a ZIP8. 3. It doesn't work in an enhanced //e with a ZIP8. Yup, I've tried five different //e's (various vintages) and five different Zips (various vintages). If the Zip is in the machine (fast or slow) the system hangs. And it hangs well, too. Even if you reset out of the hang, and attempt to boot from a floppy, it crashes to the monitor. Take out the Zip, and all is well. Number 3 is especially disappointing, as I have several Zipped II'e at work that could really use a RamFAST. SS told me they thought it would work. They have been aware of the problem for about 3 weeks, but I'm beginning to believe that they aren't going to be able to fix it. I even offered to send them one of my spare Zip Chips. Oh well. I'm sure glad it works in a GS, albeit at slightly higher power consumption. BTW, you guys were right. The difference between the HS SCSI and the RamFAST, especially under P8, is amazing. Really amazing. Hugh... (H.HOOD, CAT20, TOP13, MSG:335/M645;1) RETURN OF THE CALTECH APPLE II ARCHIVE Found this on """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Usenet.comp.sys.apple2 today: Sat Feb 24 09:10:18 1996 Message : #39728534 From: Daniel Zimmerman Address : dmz@cco.caltech.edu Group : Usenet.comp.sys.apple2 Subject : Return of the Caltech Apple II Archive! Msg-ID: Posted: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 02:50:57 -0800 Org. : California Institute of Technology, Pasadena The Caltech Apple II Archive is back! I have taken the archive and given it a new home on my own machine, with the help of EGO Systems (who graciously donated a copy of their "Shrink II" Macintosh application so I could use it for file validation and maintenance)... Space on the archive is no longer at a premium, so the submission rules have changed somewhat (they're in README.UPLOADS)... Also, a couple of niceties have been added (one of them being that the server will warn you if it thinks you uploading _or_ downloading in the wrong transfer mode)... The archive's new address is "apple2.caltech.edu" (this is an alias which currently points to my machine, but which will, in the future, follow the archive around). I am running both an ftp and a gopher server, so either can be used to access the archive (I don't expect a whole lot of gopher users, but I figured, hey, it's no extra work on my part :)... WWW access to the archive may also be available in the future. Currently, there is a limit of 15 simultaneous users on the server. This is because, in addition to serving the Apple II Archive, my machine is also serving RealAudio for the Roxette Home Page, and I want to go easy at first to see how it handles the extra load. I will increase the limit if I see that it isn't a problem. Thanks to everybody who sent me e-mail asking for the archive's return - that's the main thing that finally convinced me to do it... :) Enjoy, and please e-mail any comments/questions/problems to me... Dan Zimmerman Caltech Apple II Archive Administrator -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daniel Zimmerman Caltech Apple II Archive Admin/Official Roxette WWW Admin MSC #1023, CaltechWWW: http://www.cacr.caltech.edu/~dmz/ Pasadena, California 91126-0001 USA Internet: dmz@cco.caltech.edu (M.EWEN, CAT35, TOP29, MSG:32/M645;1) IN THE BACK ROW-O-O-OH... Speaking of flashbacks, the Sci-Fi Channel is """"""""""""""""""""""""" currently showing "Automan", a TV show which ran from late '83 to mid '84. Automan, an anthropomorphic computer generation ala TRON, was being asked about his astrological sign by an interested young lady. Puzzled, he asked his programmer/creator how he should answer. The reply? "Tell her you're an Apple II." Cosmic! ;-) :froggie (FROG.MAN, CAT2, TOP7, MSG:64/M645;1) >>> HOT TOPICS <<< """""""""""""""""" NEW GENIE RATES I had a conversation with one of my regular e-mail """"""""""""""" friends tonight. He has canceled his GEnie account and had a difficult time doing it too. He only used his GEnie account for a few hours a month, never quite going over his allotted free time and he doesn't see ever using nine hours a month. He called GEnie client services and was told that this month the cost would go up to $18.95/month, then in March it would go up to about $29/month. This would be with the nine hours free time. But for a user that only needed a few hours a month, this is no longer a good deal, and my friend and many other GEnie users, from what he was told by the gentleman taking the calls from Rochester, NY, are canceling their accounts. My friend liked GEnie because he wasn't forced to use a graphic interface, the reason was simple, my friend is visually impaired, and he can format his text display to suit his visual needs, he cannot use the typical graphical interface used for a lot of internet access because it isn't scalable like his text screen, he also can't track an arrow to point and click on a menu that is spread around various points on the screen. He can still use a lot of local BBSs, but they don't have the mail capabilities that GEnie had, which was his primary use. He can get local unlimited Internet access for a little as 10/month here, he doesn't want to since he can't see the screens well enough to make good use of them, but GEnie's restructuring of their prices has forced him off the system. We also discussed the new Telecommunications bill and our increasing cable rates (with decreasing service)........but I won't go into that...:) Fortunately I use enough GEnie time to make the price hike less painful than it will be for a lot of folks, so it's not going to change my use much. But then, I just bought a Mac LC used (as a peripheral for my //gs and Newton ;) TRON - [effaced] (T.R.ONAN, CAT2, TOP7, MSG:214/M645;1) >>>>> I've read a lot of the grumbling about the price increase and the """"" decisions of some to leave Genie. But no one yet has expressed my reason for staying: it's insurance. Some folks buy AppleCare to keep their system running; I have Genie. If it costs more than AppleCare, so what, it's more fun than JUST an insurance policy. Where else, even with Apple (Macintosh) dealers, can you get the free expert advice cheerfully and patiently given, the software, the directions to sources and anything else needed to keep your Apple running? And you don't even have to leave home to get it! Marie Barry (M.BARRY2, CAT2, TOP4, MSG:72/M645;1) PREMIERE ISSUE OF JUICED.GS I am pleased to announce that the premier """"""""""""""""""""""""""" issue of Juiced.GS was mailed to subscribers early Monday afternoon. It will soon be arriving in a mail box near you. I encountered a production delay late last week when Murphy's Law kicked in. First, the FedEx overnight package from Lincoln, Nebraska, containing the master pages took three days to arrive. :( Heavy fog in the Midwest apparently kept air-cargo planes from making their appointed rounds. When the package finally arrived, I discovered that the HP DeskWriter 550C on which the master pages were created performed some unforeseen modifications to the text. The biggest problems occurred with formatted text (bold face, italics, centering, right justification, etc). It took some tedious cutting and pasting to correct the more obvious flaws. Now I'm ready to forget all that, and I hope the first issue of Juiced.GS meets with everyone's satisfaction. :) I'll be looking forward to lots and lots of feedback. Let me know what you think, what's good, what's not, and what you'd like to see covered in future issues. For those who have not yet subscribed but would like to, I remind you that a special charter subscription rate of $12 in the U.S. and Canada and $18 elsewhere for the four 1996 issues is available to Genie A2 members until March 15. After that, the regular subscription rate of $14 ($20 overseas) will be in effect. If you'd prefer a single copy rather than a subscription, it is available for $4 in the U.S. and Canada, $6 elsewhere. Thanks again to all here in A2 who have provided assistance, encouragement and subscription orders. Because of you, Juiced.GS is off to a fast start. Apple II Forever, Max Jones Editor and Publisher Juiced.GS M.JONES145 (M.JONES145, CAT13, TOP43, MSG:84/M645;1) >>>>> Juiced.GS arrived here today. : """"" For those of you who haven't entered a subscription yet, it's clearly worth the subscription cost. Max has included an informative lead article on the 1995 events in our Apple II world. While most of us are familiar with these, it does put things in perspective. Also included are the results of a survey of opinions about the past year. There is a nice article about the "Mark Twain" with comments from Joe Walters and Mike Westerfield. Max did a review of DiscQuest Encyclopedia v2.0 that will certainly help anyone who is thinking of order it. Tim Kellers did a nice job with his review of PMPFax. The shareware spotlight was focused on three sound programs: rSounder v3.0, MegaBox v2.0.1, and SoundIt! 1.0. Interesting reviews. Max has a column called DumplinGS that contains news from the Apple II world. I won't steal his thunder by sharing the news, but at least some of it was stuff that I didn't know. :) Finally, Ryan Suenaga wrote a nice piece about attitudes toward the Apple II; he presented a refreshing point of view. All in all, Max has done a good job with this. :) Charlie (A2.CHARLIE, CAT13, TOP43, MSG:88/M645;1) ...AND PREMIERE ISSUE OF APPLE BLOSSOM TOO! Well, I finished up this """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" issue of Apple Blossom late last night (2 am!) and got it printed today. Tomorrow I'll go in search of a post office with self-adhesive stamps (I tried today and was told that branch didn't carry them! "How can I help you sir?" "By carrying the products you have a monopoly on!!!" --OK, I'm better now, rant mode off.) Anyway, I should be able to put this issue into the mail on Thursday and Friday, as soon as I get the Vendor's List printed out to go along as the perk for the "charter" subscribers. Steve the very tired desktop publisher :^{| zzzzzzzzz (S.CAVANAUGH1, CAT13, TOP17, MSG:252/M645;1) >>> WHAT'S NEW <<< """""""""""""""""" GRAPHICWRITER III V2.0 NOW SHIPPING! Last Wednesday Earl began shipping """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" version 2.0, in "first-come, first-served" order. He expects to continuing filling the backorders through the middle of next week. If you pre-ordered, you do not have to re-order; it will be coming soon! :) If you already own GraphicWriter III version 1.0 or 1.1, you can order the update to version 2.0 for just $25.00 plus $3.50 s&h! If you don't own GraphicWriter III yet, please take advantage of our special (good through 2/29/96): purchase version 2.0 for just $65.00! You'll find more information about the update in the following message. We hope you like it! --Dave (SEVENHILLS, CAT43, TOP6, MSG:93/M645;1) <<<<< Following is a detailed list of the differences between """"" GraphicWriter III version 1.1 and version 2.0. General GraphicWriter III version 2.0 requires System 6. ''''''' The GraphicWriter III application icon is now contains everything you need--the separate "GW.Resources" file can be deleted. Most of GraphicWriter III's dialog boxes are now "moveable, modal" dialog boxes, meaning you can move them around the screen. Dialog boxes can be navigated using the keyboard. Return or Enter is a shortcut for clicking the button with the extra ring around it. Escape or Command-Period is a shortcut for clicking the Cancel button. The horizontal and vertical rulers now show marks every 1/16th inch instead of every 1/10th inch. Dragging out a new guide while the screen is updating used to cause the guide to be offset from the mouse position; now it stays under the mouse. Select portions of code were re-written or optimized, squeaking out some extra speed for certain operations. Much of GraphicWriter III was rewritten to use newer System features (such as the Resource Manager), resulting in a smaller program on disk. When you double-click a GraphicWriter III document in the Finder, GraphicWriter III is launched and the document is opened. Apple Menu '''''''''' -=> Help New feature! Choosing Help from the Apple menu opens a window that displays help topics for GraphicWriter III. Select a topic from the popup menu to read more about that topic. File Menu ''''''''' -=> Close This menu item now responds to the standard Command-W shortcut key (previously Command-W changed the View to Fit In Window...now use Command-0 (zero) to choose Fit In Window). The "save changes" dialog box is redesigned. -=> Export / Import When beginning an export or import, GraphicWriter III plays the sound associated with the "beginning long operation" event. When the process is complete the "operation complete" event sound is played. -=> Print You are now notified if an error occurs while printing. While printing, GraphicWriter III tells Twilight II to use background (i.e. friendly) blanking if it decides to blank. Edit Menu The standard system clipboard is now supported, so you can Copy ''''''''' and Paste text and graphics between GraphicWriter III and other applications or desk accessories! -=> Paste If the system clipboard contains text, Paste lets you paste that text into any typing frame (just as if you had copied the text from within GraphicWriter III). If the system clipboard contains a IIGS PICTure (e.g. while in Platinum Paint you copied an image to the clipboard, then you launched GraphicWriter III) Paste inserts a new "picture" object into the document. This picture object can be resized without losing any of its original quality. TIP: After copying a picture in Platinum Paint, paste it into GraphicWriter III. While the new picture object is selected choose Object Specs from the Object menu, then click the 1/2 or 1/4 button to reduce the picture to exactly 1/2 or 1/4 its original size. This will yield exceptional print quality from high quality printers. Currently there is no way to directly create or import a Picture object in GraphicWriter III. To create a picture object you must copy a picture from Platinum Paint, then Paste that picture into GraphicWriter III. -=> Spelling The dialog box has been changed to provide a much larger area in which to display the context of the spelling error. Most of the spelling code has been rewritten, and we believe the infamous "Possible Choices" bug has finally been squashed! Curly apostrophes are handled correctly. Previously don't (with a straight apostrophe) would not be shown as a suspect word, but don't (with a curly apostrophe) would be. The spell checker recognizes foreign characters and special symbols correctly. -=> Preferences The "Show Frames" option (checked by default) now shows dotted lines around painting frames, as well as typing frames. With this change, new painting frames now start with the Pen color set to None (i.e. no border will be visible unless you select the Arrow tool, click on the painting frame, then choose a Pen color). Preferences are now stored in the "*:System:Preferences:" folder, or in the user's folder if using AppleShare. Font Menu The Font menu is now "standard" so it will work with utilities ''''''''' such as our nifty "Super Menu Pack"! All the fonts available in your system are listed alphabetically on the Font menu. The menu will be scrollable if you have more fonts than will fit on the screen. -=> Choose Font This option presents the standard Choose Font dialog box, where you can select a Font, Style, and Size all in one step! Object Menu ''''''''''' -=> Object Specs This new feature lets you position and size an object by exact numbers! Common reductions (1/2 and 1/4) and common enlargements (2x and 4x) are provided just by clicking a button. Page Menu ''''''''' -=> Snap To Guides The snapping code was greatly improved so that objects will snap to the same position even if they are slightly left/right or above/below the guide being snapped to. -=> Insert Pages In the document window, clicking "+" in the "- Page +" area moves to the next page (as it did before). What's new: If the last page of the document is currently being shown, the "Insert Pages" dialog box appears automatically so you can insert new pages. -=> Copy Master Guides This new feature erases all the guides on the current page, and replaces them with an exact copy of all the guides from the appropriate master page (see Master Pages in the original manual's index). Extras Menu This menu is new, and only appears if there are GraphicWriter ''''''''''' III extras installed that ask to be added to this menu. Currently there are no extras available, but the capability now exists to extend GraphicWriter III's functionality without having to release a whole new version. (SEVENHILLS, CAT43, TOP6, MSG:94/M645;1) NEW TRANSWARP GS 32K CACHE AVAILABLE As you can see, we are still alive. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" And this is not our last project for the Apple II. This is true as long as we can reach the Apple II community in this way. By the way, _all_ products (supported in this area) coming from ///SHH Systeme are alive and available. If have a Transwarp GS and your cache size is still 8K, you can use our TWGS 32K cache board to speedup your card. For detailed information, please download the info file and the GIF picture available in the A2 library (should be available soon). The file name is TWGSCACHE32.BXY for the info file (#26585), and TWGSCACHE32.GIF for the picture (#26584). If you don't know your TWGS' cache size, just go to the TWGS CDA and select "Speed". This sub-menu should display a "8K" or "32K". Well, this is the topic for discussion and support of our TWGS 32K cache. Please be sure to read the info file before placing any questions. Joachim (J.LANGE7, CAT46, TOP14, MSG:1/M645;1) APPLE COMPUTER ON RECENT MEDIA REPORTS AND SECOND-QUARTER OUTLOOK """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CUPERTINO, California--February 8, 1996--In response to recent media reports, Apple Computer, Inc. today stated that it is not currently in merger discussions with any party. The company stated: "It has been our long-standing policy not to comment on rumor and speculation, and that continues to be the case. Because of the destabilizing effect recent rumors and speculation have had on our business and our organization, we have decided in this one instance, however, to make an exception to our policy." Apple reported that as a result of the adverse impact of such rumors and speculation on customer buying decisions, as well as other market factors, the company expects to report an operating loss for its second quarter that will significantly exceed its first-quarter operating loss of $69 million. In addition, the company stated that it expects to record certain second-quarter charges related to its previously announced business restructuring program, and other charges related to inventory adjustments, as it continues to take the steps necessary to position itself for a return to profitability and for long-term business success. Dr. Gilbert F. Amelio, Apple chairman and chief executive officer, said: "I want to emphasize my strong belief, despite the obvious disappointment of our performance in the first and second quarters, that the foundations of our business are sound, and that Apple Computer has the ability, determination and staying power to deal with current challenges and to move forward with confidence into the future. "In order to remain competitive at all levels while retaining our ability to develop and bring to market leading-edge technologies, particularly in the areas of multimedia, Internet, graphics and ease-of-use, we will continue building our strengths in the education, home, business, and other market segments. "I am confident that the actions we will be taking in the weeks and months ahead will result in increasing profitability in those markets where we already excel, and significantly improve our overall business proposition going forward. I fully expect that our customers' grandchildren will be buying Apple products," Amelio said. Last Friday, Apple announced that its Board of Directors had put in place new management leadership, appointing Dr. Amelio, an Apple board member and previously chairman, president and chief executive officer of National Semiconductor Corporation, as chairman and chief executive officer of Apple. The statements herein concerning second-quarter results are preliminary and are based on partial information and management assumptions. The company will announce its actual results for the second quarter in April. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Potential risks and uncertainties include without limitation continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the effect any reaction to such competitive pressures has on inventory valuations; the effect of any further adverse publicity; and the need for and any effect of any business restructuring actions. Further information on potential factors that could affect the company's financial results will be included in the company's Form 10-Q for its 1996 first quarter, to be filed with the SEC. Apple Computer, Inc., a recognized innovator in the information industry and leader in multimedia technologies, creates powerful solutions based on easy-to-use personal computers, servers, peripherals, software, online services, and personal digital assistants. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) develops, manufactures, licenses and markets solutions, products, technologies and services for business, education, consumer, entertainment, scientific & engineering and government customers in more than 140 countries. NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in receiving Apple press releases by fax, call 1-800-AAPL-FAX (1-800-227-5329) and enter your PIN number. If you do not have a PIN, please call the Public Relations Hotline at (408) 974-2042. Press Contacts: Pam Miracle Apple Computer, Inc. (408) 974-0688 Lynne Keast Apple Computer, Inc. (408) 974-5431 Investor Relations: Debbie Vanolst-Robinson Apple Computer, Inc. (408) 862-5590 Apple's home page on the World Wide Web: http://www.apple.com/ >>> THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" SPECTRUM AND GENIE LYNX Richard Bennett updated his ANSI display to use """"""""""""""""""""""" the Second Sight card. He also added the GEnie Lynx display to the bundled package. This display was never officially released to the GEnie libraries. It was only made available to the beta testers and those who specifically asked SevenHills for it. However if Richard is now happy with the current version, I think we can get SevenHills to release it very soon. Ewen (Speccie) Delivered by: CoPilot v2.5.5 and Spectrum 2.0 (E.WANNOP, CAT43, TOP15, MSG:222/M645;1) DRAG DROPPED My drag&drop manager for the IIgs is on hold at the moment """""""""""" due to way too much to do. :) I DO intend to resume work on it, but it could be some time yet. :) Sheppy [Team PPCPro] (SHEPPY, CAT28, TOP4, MSG:224/M645;1) WEB BROWSER FOR THE IIGS I got to talking with Derek Tauber today on the """""""""""""""""""""""" undernet irc, and he asked me to 'publicize' the following on GEnie. I decided to post here first...1) to see what topic would best to post in and 2) to make sure it's ok with the 'higherups' to post this in a public area. To: a2.gena@genie.geis.com Subject: GS/TCP web pages Reply-To: taubert@uiuc.edu If you could spread this around genie, I'd be most thankful! --------8<--------8<--------8<-------- Very good news for those interested in TCP/IP access for the Apple IIgs. I have just completed an initial port of CERN's LineMode Web Browser to the IIgs, and it is functional! The LineMode Browser is a simple text based browser based on CERN's WWW Library. Using the LineMode browser, information can be retrieved via many protocols such as http, ftp, gopher, and nntp. My port of the WWW Library (almost 40,000 lines of C code) in cooperation with GS/TCP and GNO will make it feasible for a graphical based web browser to be written for the Apple IIgs. In addition, I have also completed an initial port of the public PPP package to run under GS/TCP. It is still in the testing phase, but I have been able to establish a connection and use GS/TCP utilities such as ftp over the connection. I apologize that the work I have done is not yet available to the public. I am very busy finishing up my Master's degree, and will work on GS/TCP whenever I get a chance. I am very close! All of this information and links at: http://www.winternet.com/~taubert/gstcp.html I urge you to check it out! Derek Taubert | Ask me about TCP/IP for the Apple IIgs! taubert@uiuc.edu | Really, I'm serious! http://slab.isdn.uiuc.edu/~derek | Or check it out yourself at: FAX:(217) 359-0010 | http://www.winternet.com/~taubert/gstcp.html (A2.GENA, CAT48, TOP43, MSG:38/M645;1) WEB BROWSER FOR 8-BIT APPLES? Well, actually, I AM working on getting a """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" text based web browser for the IIe. (Anything that runs a 6502, actually.) I say "working on getting" because _I_ (obviously :) am not the one doing it, and, further, it is being developed by someone outside the Apple II community. I'm being mysterious here, and I hate it when other people do that, but in this case, I don't have any real choice. I'm not exactly sworn to secrecy, but I don't actually HAVE details. I was approached by someone that I know and trust to see if there would be sufficient interest to justify a port. I responded enthusiastically. I was advised that I would be told more when it was appropriate to let me know. BUT, this is definitely in the works at this time. If I understand it correctly, this will be 6502 machine code that handles TCP/IP protocols. Again, we're talking text mode only. Gary R. Utter (GARY.UTTER, CAT2, TOP3, MSG:333/M645;1) BRUTAL DELUXE ON THE MOVE For those of you who prefer to do your Internet """"""""""""""""""""""""" downloading using lynx...I've just updated my homepage links so you can now download from the new caltech archive. http://www.crl.com/~joko On another subject, Olivier Zardini of Brutal Deluxe will be arriving at the Shareware Solutions II Worldwide Headquarters sometime on Thursday. Since he does not have access to GEnie from France, the first thing I'd like to do with him is set up a time for an RTC. I've already spoke to A2.Gena about it, and she says that the more notice I can give, the better it will be. So on Thursday, I hope to nail down a convenient time with Olivier and will immediately contact A2.Gena so she can set up the appropriate banners. In any case, whether it's a "formal" RTC, or an impromptu one, Brutal Deluxe will be here on A2 to chat with you sometime during the next 2 weeks. FYI, Brutal Deluxe has just released a brand new Apple IIGS CD-ROM, which is currently for sale only in France, as all the information on it is in French. We'll be discussing the best way to make that CD available to people outside of France. Additionally, I look forward to seeing their latest game, which is nearing completion. Joe (Brutal Deluxe's American Business Agent) Kohn (JOE.KOHN, CAT28, TOP4, MSG:356/M645;1) MORE INTERNATIONAL RUMOURS [Olivier Zardini]'ll be in the San Francisco """""""""""""""""""""""""" Bay Area for about 2 weeks. But, the details that came through in e-mail were just a little sketchy. I believe he'll be here until March 10th. So if anyone has any technical questions about Convert 3200, or about the source code, or about Brutal Deluxe's new CD-ROM, now would be a great time to ask them. Speaking of International Apple II news, I received some outstanding news today. MS-DOS Utilities will be available in a few months as a New Desk Accessory. Joe (JOE.KOHN, CAT28, TOP4, MSG:59/M645;1) BALLOON UPDATE? OK, I spent a couple of hours today looking into the """"""""""""""" possibility of a Balloon update. Joe had already been working on this when the end came, and it's actually in pretty good shape. He had fixed a couple of bugs, and added one or two small new features, and I just fixed another bug myself.... So, what I'm getting at is: Should I release just this bug fix version, or should I spend a couple of weeks putting in some new features? Either way, I'll have to charge for it. If it's just the bug fix, it'll be less than $10 but if I put in the new features, it'll be at least $10 for the update. Specifically, the new features I want to put in are: 1) Encode/Decode BinSCII 2) Support for Disk Archives 3) Support for other Apple II archive formats Basically, I want to bring the feature set up to par with the features in Shrink II.... (minus the apple events of course :-) ) Oh, yeah, someone once reported a problem with scripting Balloon from Spectrum (I THINK it was a problem with Adding files to archives via a script), but I've lost the bug report. If you've had this problem, or you're the person that reported it, PLEASE send me details so that I can investigate and hopefully fix it. Diz EGO Systems (DIZ, CAT33, TOP9, MSG:64/M645;1) >>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""" Category 2, Topic 7 Message 275 Sun Feb 04, 1996 M.WADE7 [Mark] at 13:31 EST I acquired my first computer, an unenhanced Apple //e, in August, 1992. 128k, 80 columns, 2 Disk II drives, and an Apple DMP printer, with a box of diskettes, all pirated. The disk drives had a problem and erased most of those disks (poetic justice I guess). I had a local Apple dealer repair the drive to the tune of about $300 for what I think was just a bad cable, cause when they demoed the repair it erased his disk :) They then replaced the ribbon cable for a mere $40. Thus the beginning of my computer learning experience. I took out what the library had to offer, took a subscription to Incider/A+, and found a fairly local user group that I joined. I found an ad in Incider/A+ for Resource Central offering books so I bought the 8 bit ref. manuals and subscribed to A2 Central and bought all their back issues. There I learned of GEnie's A2 RT and was told that was where I should be, so I bought a Super Serial Card clone and a refurbished 2400 baud modem from Alltech and signed on somewhere around December, 1992. I have learned more from the A2 RT than any other source that I dug, scratched and clawed for these past 3+ years ( I can't believe it's been that long). I can't imagine using my II's without the A2 RT. When I first signed on here, with the old pricing structure and a 2400 baud modem, my bills were typically between $25 and $35. More recently, with the previous pricing and a 14.4k modem, I vary from about $10 to about $15. The savings were nice but I'm certainly not going to drop my account because things are back to where they were a year or so ago, and believe me, my finances right now are pretty p*ss poor. Where would I go? CSA2 ? Please, that's an added distraction but certainly would never replace GEnie's A2 RT. BTW I've bought new from vendors where possible and used here from GEnie and the //e is now enhanced with 1mb Qram, Grappler+, Super Serial Card, Seq Sys bit mouse, Vtech Universal Disk Controller, Apple HS SCSI connected to a CMS 20mb hard drive, and a 20mb Focus IDE Hard Card along with a fairly impressive bit of software I think, and, oh yeah, an 8mhz Zip Chip. :) But my real prize is a Rom 1 IIgs with 12/64 ZipGSX, Grappler+, AST VisionPlus, Quickie scanner, Audio Animator, RamFAST, 8mb RAM, 170mb LaCie, Apple CD150, and an Iomega Zip100, oh yeah, and an Apple MIDI interface. Of course all my clothes have holes in them but I have to keep my priorities straight :) I have a complete set of reference manuals, 2 assemblers and a C compiler and as long I can keep it all running I'll be hobbying with it. I can't think of a better place to help me do that than here. P.S. Froggie, I quit smoking cigarettes years ago. Please don't say I have to cut back on the beer. NAHH! Mark Wade [*][*][*] While on GEnie, do you spend most of your time downloading files? If so, you may be missing out some excellent information in the Bulletin Board area. The messages listed above only scratch the surface of what's available and waiting for you in the bulletin board area. If you are serious about your Apple II, the GEnieLamp staff strongly urge you to give the bulletin board area a try. There are literally thousands of messages posted from people like you from all over the world. [EOA] [HUM]////////////////////////////// HUMOR ONLINE / ///////////////////////////////// Deprogramming: Start Here """""""""""""""""""""""""" from the rec.humor newsgroup >>> UNOFFICIAL APPLE II BRAINWASH TEST <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Have you been brainwashed by your past experience as an Apple ][ hacker? Here is a test you can take to find out. 1. What is /r$ ? a) "slash r string" b) "slash r dollar sign" c) a subdirectory of the root directory d) Rich Salz 2. Do people wonder why you keep using "Applesoft" as a synonym for BASIC? 3. Do you despise assemblers, preferring instead to code your programs byte by byte in machine language with a debugger? 4. Do you only use three registers when programming because "if A, X, and Y are good enough for the 6502, then by golly they're good enough for me"? 5. Do you still have floppies that have write-protect holes on both sides, but are labeled "single sided"? 6. Are you uncomfortable with the words "interrupt," "timer," or "multitasking"? 7. Do you have "Beneath Apple DOS"? 8. Do you wonder why any Gentleman would need more than 64K? 9. Are you distrustful of lowercase? 10. Do you have "alias CATALOG ls" in your .login? 11. Do you despise anything that is not overtly user-hostile? 12. Wonder why & doesn't do the same thing in UNIX? 13. Think ^D in UNIX is a DOS command? [EOA] [REF]////////////////////////////// REFLECTIONS / ///////////////////////////////// Thinking About Online Communications """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" by Phil Shapiro [pshapiro@aol.com] >>> INCLUDING NURSING HOMES IN THE NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Last weekend I went to visit my aunt who lives in a nursing home about 120 miles from me. I went to sing songs with her because music is the one thing she still takes a great deal of joy in. At the age of 65, ten years ago, she took up the guitar and became a real fan of 1960s folk songs. She learned almost every Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Malvina Reynolds song ever written. She sang them all with great gusto at family gatherings. Now her Alzheimer's leaves her too frail to pick up a guitar, yet she sings along with the same enthusiasm when I sit beside her and strum. I thought that an hour's worth of singing might be too much for her, so I regularly asked her if she was feeling too tired. "Not too tired," she would faintly reply each time I asked her. I looked over at her tired visage to check to see that she wasn't just being polite. Assured that I wasn't taxing her energies too much, I continued on through the song book. After an hour and a half of singing we reached the African spiritual "Kumbaya." We started singing the song together, but I noticed that her voice trailed off with each passing chorus. By the end of the song I looked over at her and noticed she was sleeping. As the rest of the country focuses its energies on hooking up schools and libraries to the Internet, I do hope that decision makers consider the importance of hooking up nursing homes, too. What does it mean for a nursing home to have a high-speed Internet connection? It means that a nephew in Washington DC can sing songs to an aunt in Philadelphia via a videoconference connection. It means that a day filled with loneliness and boredom is filled with less loneliness and less boredom. Currently I visit my aunt no more than two or three times per year. If I could, I would visit with her two or three times per week. As inexpensive videoconferencing become more and more affordable, the latter option becomes more and more feasible. But in our rush to wire schools and libraries, our society may be overlooking a segment of the population that stands to benefit immeasurably by a high-speed Internet connection. I'm not only talking about the residents of nursing home. I'm talking about their families and friends and the courageous workers at nursing homes and anyone else who takes an interest in the well-being of the frail elderly. This is not to say that a videoconferenced visit offers as much joy and emotional-nourishment as an in-person visit. But videoconferencing offers the hope of more frequent visits, and the frequency of visits is emotional currency to people in nursing homes. With my aunt sleeping peacefully in her bed I leaned her guitar against the wall at the foot of her bed, put on my jacket, and quietly closed the door behind me. Walking down the hallway outside her room the melody of Kumbaya circled around in my head. And so did the thought that in wiring our country we need to do far more to take the lyrics of this song to heart. "Come by here, my lord. Come by here." Phil Shapiro [*][*][*] This essay is one of thirty one essays in the series, "Thinking About Online Communications." Excerpts from these essays can be found on the author's home page at http://users.aol.com/pshapiro/ Feedback is invited at: pshapiro@aol.com [EOA] [AWX]////////////////////////////// APPLEWORKS ANNEX / ///////////////////////////////// Premiere Issue of The AppleWorks Gazette """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" by Douglas Cuff [EDITOR.A2] Christian Serreau of France and Howard Katz of Illinois, U.S.A. have launched _The AppleWorks Gazette_, an AppleWorks magazine on disk. The premiere issue appeared in January 1996. Last year was not a great year for AppleWorks newsletters. Both _TimeOut-Central_ and the National AppleWorks User Group's _AppleWorks Forum_ ceased publication in 1995. Serreau and Katz are doing their part to make 1996 look brighter. There are three parts to the first issue of the Gazette: the newsletter itself, software, and data. You can easily read the newsletter--which is, naturally, an AppleWorks word processor file--either with AppleWorks 5.x or with the enclosed QuickView program. If you choose to read the file from within AppleWorks 5.x, there's a browser that you can launch from your TimeOut menu. NEWSLETTER Here are the contents of the first issue: """""""""" 1. Welcome to the AppleWorks Gazette! [introduction to the magazine] 2. The Main Menu [introduction to the disk and its contents] 3. The NewsReel 4. Duplicate Zapping Made Easy: a Review of TO.DupeFinder 5. Software Preview: Deja ][ 6. Twelve Features I Wish I Had in AppleWorks 5.1 7. Two CD ROMS for the Apple II 8. How to reach us 9. Subscription information My favorite article is Serreau's wish list of features for AppleWorks. It required some thought on the part of the author, and it's something you won't find in every other Apple II journal. I also admired the preview of Deja ][ for its in-depth, nuts-and-bolt approach. The NewsReel presents news from the Apple II world, with the AppleWorks-related news given prominence. This item and the review of the Digisoft Golden Orchard CD-ROM and AUGE CD #1 bored me just a little, since I'd already gone into most of this information elsewhere. The Gazette is clearly aimed at the up-to-date and fairly knowledgeable AppleWorks user. The word processor file will load into AppleWorks 3.0 and 4.3, but not without a few cosmetic glitches. Serreau and Katz use inverse in their titles--to good effect!--but the upper case inverse characters won't look nice unless you're using AppleWorks 5.x. If you're not up to date with AppleWorks, you show use the supplied QuickView program instead. The supplied browser also assumes AppleWorks 5.x. It won't crash if you try to use it with AppleWorks 4.x--for which the editors are to be commended--but it won't work, either. If you don't have MouseText in your Apple IIe, you won't find the Gazette attractive. Now that it's easy to use inverse and MouseText characters in AppleWorks word processor documents, one can design documents to look more attractive than was previously possible. Serreau and Katz have done so here. They're obviously assuming that readers will read the Gazette onscreen, and not want to print them out. The newsletter was cut shorter than the editors meant in this first issue, as there was a need to include certain tools on the first issue. I look forward to the editors having more room to move next time out! ON THE DISK The software on the first issue actually has a slightly """"""""""" sparse feel, due to the necessity to supply the AppleWorks 5.1 update on the first issue. (The editors not only believe it is the reader's duty to keep up to date, but it is the Gazette's duty to help the reader stay current!) The 5.1 update consumes also 40% of the disk space. Presumably later issues, freed from this restriction, will be meatier. The software contents break down as follows: 1. The official AppleWorks 5.1 update 2. Macros from Roy Barrows 3. DupeFinder, the macro reviewed in the newsletter 4. An unofficial upgrade for TimeOut DirecTree 5. 19 new dot-commands for UltraMacros programmers 6. ShrinkIt 3.4 (necessary to unpack the software) The 5.1 update and ShrinkIt are unexciting, but the editors were duty-bound to include them. DupeFinder, reviewed in the newsletter, is hardly an exclusive either, but it's well worth a look. Don't confuse it with DuplicateFinder, included with AppleWorks 5.x--Joe Walters' DupeFinder is more flexible and useful. The macro and macro-writing tools--about 25 of 'em--from Roy Barrows are useful, but not polished. I get the impression that they're more geared toward to AppleWorks programmer than the AppleWorks user. Still, there are some gems here that you'll clasp to your bosom, even if you never program. The upgrade for TimeOut DirecTree is exciting, since it expands on the capabilities of DirecTree--with this patch, DirecTree lists text files as being AppleWorks compatible, and can load them. You'll need to own DirecTree (available as part of TimeOut DeskTools IV) in order to apply the patches. Even more exciting are the 19 dot commands: .Accent, .ChngChar, .FillBlock, .FillStrng, .FindChar, .FlipChar, .FlipStrng, .SC, .SCPrompt, .Sub, .Super, .StoreChar, .TabFill, .ZapCR, .GetLine, .PutLine, .Write, .PickStrng, and .PutStrng. (These have also appeared on Texas II.) The commands are all intended for use in the word processor, and make life easier for the UltraMacros programmer who wants to manipulate word processor files. DATA Also on the Gazette disk is the complete text--in AppleWorks word """" processor format, natch--of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novel, _The Sign of Four_. (Conan Doyle's copyright has lapsed, and this work is now in the public domain.) Each of the 12 chapters is in its own word processor file. The file have all been compacted with ShrinkIt. Personally, I found the inclusion of this item a little odd--your mileage may vary. I like Sherlock Holmes stories, but I don't like reading books with my computer. I'm all for having certain books on disk so that I can use the computer to search them, but not Conan Doyle's work. Getting an entire book on a disk is a nice little treat, but somehow it feels out of place to me on an AppleWorks disk--almost like filler. Perhaps if it hadn't happened on a month when the editors were cutting back their newsletter--? I'm always more interested in original material than reprints. I'd like to underline that this is a personal, subjective reaction. It left me cold, but you may be delighted to with the lagniappe. It's certainly an excellent book! SUMMARY There's room for improvement here, but the glitches are all """"""" minor. The supplied browser provided no way of quitting, and have any labels in the macro menu. Once or twice the formatting goes slightly awry, and since English is not his _langue de preference_, Serreau should consider asking Katz to edit his pieces for an English-speaking audience. The editors have had the good sense not to use ShrinkIt to compress the newsletter itself. Presumably owners of TimeOut ShrinkIt will get the most out of the Gazette, since they can unpack the software and data without leaving AppleWorks. (I predict the Gazette will help sell copies of TimeOut ShrinkIt, in fact.) The AppleWorks Gazette will be published bi-monthly, six times a year, and costs $35 for a one-year, six-issue subscription. You should subscribe from the editor nearest you: Christian Serreau Howard Katz 12, rue de la Censerie 1104 Lorlyn Circle #2D 49100 Angers Batavia, IL 60510 France U.S.A. 100316.14@compuserve.com h.katz@genie.com At approximately $5.80 a disk, the Gazette seems to me a fair enough deal as it is. If subsequent issues give more space to original material, then Serreau and Katz will have a winner here. [EOA] [BAN]////////////////////////////// FILE BANDWAGON / ///////////////////////////////// Top 10 Files for January """""""""""""""""""""""" by Douglas Cuff [EDITOR.A2] This feature lists the ten most popular files for the month. To give files a chance to seek their own levels, no files will be added to the list until they've been in place at least a month. This month, we look at the files uploaded 1-31 January 1996. This isn't the Academy Awards ceremony, folks; it's more like the People's Choice Awards (both of which are trademarked, by the way). The Top 10 doesn't necessarily tell you what's new and interesting--what files _you_ might find interesting--it simply tells you what files have been downloaded a lot--what other people found interesting! File # Filename Bytes DLs Short description ------ --------------- ------ --- ------------------------------------- 26448 A2.DOM.9601.BXY 424804 269 A2 Disk of the Month, January 1996 26424 ROM4SHR.BXY 284288 140 ROM 4 GS, a folder of SHR graphics! 26435 ROM4PICS.TXT 9932 119 Descriptions of the ROM 4 pictures 26452 DESKPLAY201.BXY 40704 116 Deskplay 2.01 plays Amiga MOD songs 26453 DOS33.LNCHR.BXY 42752 112 Run DOS 3.3 progs from a hard drive 26429 TWAINHR3.GIF 970512 89 ROM 4 GS; High res GIF #3 26426 GS.PLUS.ADB.BXY 5120 88 database of GS+ Magazine programs 26306 CALENDAR96.BXY 54784 86 1996 AWGS calendar 26464 GLAMPA29602.BXY 118400 82 GEnieLamp A2, Feb. 1996 (AppleWorks) 26308 AW1040.95.BXY 29056 81 1995 individual income tax preparer A2.DOM.9601.BXY The A2 RoundTable Disk of the Month continues to be a """"""""""""""" favorite download. It contains two newsletters-- GEnieLamp A2 and one edition of the weekly II Something--plus a collection of simple but entertaining BASIC games from Charlie Hartley. For IIgs users, there are a set of SHR calendars for 1996, Jawaid Bazyar's HFS Patch, which fixes a bug in the HFS.FST partition, so that you can use Macintosh partitions and disks without fear, the prototype edition of Max Jones' Juiced.GS (requires AppleWorks GS), John Wrenholt's Print 3200 and an index of ShareWare Solutions II in a New Desk Accessory. ROM4SHR.BXY This collection of 14 SuperHiRes graphics of the fabled ROM 4 """"""""""" IIgs were taken by Joe Walters at a Apple user's group meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico on 6 January 1996. See Jim Pittman and Byte Works' Mike Westerfield puzzle over the intricacies of this thought-to-be-legendary machine, code-named "Mark Twain". ROM4PICS.TXT This text file explains just what the heck is going on not """""""""""" only in the 14 SHR graphics in ROM4SHR.BXY (above), but three hi-resolution GIF files too (TWAINHR1.GIF, TWAINHR2.GIF, and TWAINHR3.GIF). The GIF files are available for download separately in the A2 RoundTable library. DESKPLAY201.BXY DeskPlay is really two programs in one, designed to play """"""""""""""" MOD sound/music files. The archive contains ShellPlay by Brian C. Bening, which allows MODs to be play from a shell environment such as GNO/ME. For those intimidated by shells, or who just like New Desk Accessories, Ninjaforce had written DeskPlay, which interfaces seamlessly with ShellPlay. Install both utilities and you'll be able to play MODs as you work on the IIgs desktop. DeskPlay has a very attractive interface--if you can operate a CD player, you'll love it--but ShellPlay crashes when you try to run 8-bit applications. DOS33.LNCHR.BXY This program lets you install DOS 3.3 programs--or entire """"""""""""""" disks--on your ProDOS hard disk or on 3.5-inch disks. You can then launch these DOS 3.3 programs via your favourite program launcher. This unofficial release (v2.1) supposedly supports networks. Daniel Pfarrer assembled this version from the remains of the source code on programmer John MacLean's hard disk. TWAINHR3.GIF This high-resolution (1520x756x256) GIF format graphic shows """""""""""" an overhead view of the motherboard of the "Mark Twain" ROM 4 IIgs. Visible are two SIMM slots, the battery, the sound transducer, the five slots, and various other details. This is GIF89a format graphic, and some GIF viewers may not be able to handle it. ShowMe! is one program that definitely can handle it. GS.PLUS.ADB.BXY An AppleWorks 3.0 database file of the programs that """"""""""""""" appeared in _GS+ Magazine_ over the years. Handy--since back issues are still available from EGO Systems!--for exploring what programs are available and for checking that you have the most recent version. This file lists the first appearance of a program, the last appearance, and the current version number. CALENDAR96.BXY A 1996 calendar in AppleWorks GS format, from Max Jones. """""""""""""" Customizable. Includes bitmap and TrueType versions of the New York font. (Sorry, folks--this description is brief because I don't own AppleWorks GS and therefore can't examine the file.) GLAMPA29602.BXY The February 1996 issue of GEnieLamp A2, the only """"""""""""""" remaining monthly Apple II publication. Highlights of this issue include a profile of Max Jones, publisher of _Juiced.GS_, three different views on the educational game "Where In Hell Is Carmen Santiago?", and Jay Curtis' look at the speed of Deja II (AppleWorks 5 on the Mac). If you're a regular reader of GEnieLamp A2, you won't be surprised to learn that it's one of the top 10 download, but you might be surprised to find the February issue listed as a top download for January! The explanation is simple: GEnieLamp A2 is usually uploaded on the last day of the previous month. AW1040.95.BXY An Appleworks 3.0 spreadsheet template of form 1040 to do """"""""""""" your 1995 U.S. income tax. Selects tax tables or tax schedule as appropriate. Uses lower alternative capital gains rate if applicable. Calculates limitations on exemptions and deductions for high income people. Does form 2210 penalty and alternative minimum tax if applicable. From Maxwell Campbell. [EOA] [LIB]////////////////////////////// THE ONLINE LIBRARY / ///////////////////////////////// January Arrivals """""""""""""""" by Douglas Cuff [EDITOR.A2] This month, I'd like to list all the files that have been uploaded to the A2 RoundTable libraries during January. Since there are so many--127!--I can't examine them in detail, but the short description provided should give you an idea of what the file is all about. Let's dive right in, shall we? >>> PROGRAMS <<< """""""""""""""" File # Filename Bytes Short description ------ --------------- ------ --------------------------------------- 26373 SCRNPRTNDA.BXY 4992 NDA prints SHR screen/saves to disk 26320 SCRNSAVENDA.BXY 4736 Screen Saver NDA 26452 DESKPLAY201.BXY 40704 Deskplay 2.01 plays Amiga MOD songs 26453 DOS33.LNCHR.BXY 42752 Run DOS 3.3 progs from a hard drive 26444 INSTALL.MD.BXY 10720 Installs Megademo onto hard drive 26299 QSL.V1.0B1.BXY 104320 Ham Callsign Database Program 26318 M68000.BXY 302976 m68000 Simulator and Assembler >>> GAMES <<< """"""""""""" File # Filename Bytes Short description ------ --------------- ------ --------------------------------------- 26363 EAMON.237.BXY 54512 40/80-col. P8 "Fiends of Eamon" 26335 EAMON.DOS05.BXY 781792 Eamon Collection: DOS 3.3 Disk 5 26407 EAMON.DOS06.BXY 795092 Eamon Collection: DOS 3.3 Disk 6 26454 EAMON.DOS07.BXY 752452 Eamon Collection: DOS 3.3 Disk 7 26463 EAMON.DOS08.BXY 747916 Eamon Collection: DOS 3.3 Disk 8 26430 EAMON.REV4.BXY 55612 Reviews of Eamon Adventures 26455 TUFFENUFF.BXY 38556 New course for Mean 18. 26392 TREASURE.BXY 3456 Find the hidden treasures! >>> HYPERMEDIA <<< """""""""""""""""" File # Filename Bytes Short description ------ --------------- ------ --------------------------------------- 26394 ANIMATE1.5.BXY 14912 256 color Animation in Hypercard! 26404 FONT.LIST.BXY 8160 HC command to list fonts in a stack 26345 ARCALC.BXY 16256 Very Powerful, SMALL HS Calculator 26344 MW.BXY 7168 MicroWord HyperStudio WordProcessor 26434 REFERENCE.BXY 18048 HyperStudio Reference Book >>> APPLEWORKS (CLASSIC AND GS) <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" File # Filename Bytes Short description ------ --------------- ------ --------------------------------------- 26308 AW1040.95.BXY 29056 1995 individual income tax preparer 26307 AWGS1040.95.BXY 33792 1995 individual income tax preparer 26306 CALENDAR96.BXY 54784 1996 AWGS calendar 26391 A2OD.IDXA.BXY 29568 Partial Index to A2 On Disk 26426 GS.PLUS.ADB.BXY 5120 database of GS+ Magazine programs >>> PERIODICALS <<< """"""""""""""""""" File # Filename Bytes Short description ------ --------------- ------ --------------------------------------- 26448 A2.DOM.9601.BXY 424804 A2 Disk of the Month, January 1996 26334 GLAMPA29601.BXY 67712 GEnieLamp A2, Jan. 1996 (AppleWorks) 26464 GLAMPA29602.BXY 118400 GEnieLamp A2, Feb. 1996 (AppleWorks) 26338 IIS.960107.BXY 22144 II Something - Issue 11 - Jan 07 96 26393 IIS.960114.BXY 16640 II Something - Issue 12 - Jan 14 96 26446 IIS.960121.BXY 24960 II Something - Issue 13 - Jan 21 96 26450 IIS.960128.BXY 27904 II Something - Issue 14 - Jan 28 96 >>> GENIE A2 ROUNDTABLE TOOLS AND FILES <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" File # Filename Bytes Short description ------ --------------- ------ --------------------------------------- 26331 A2.DEC.ADB.BXY 7540 ADB Update of A2 Library Index - DEC 26330 A2.DEC.TXT.BXY 7392 TXT Update of A2 Library Index - DEC 26329 A2.NOV.ADB.BXY 6956 ADB Update of A2 Library Index - NOV 26328 A2.NOV.TXT.BXY 6880 TXT Update of A2 Library Index - NOV 26415 A2NDX.MAKER.BXY 8740 Apple II BB Index Maker >>> SOUNDS <<< """""""""""""" File # Filename Bytes Short description ------ --------------- ------ --------------------------------------- 26372 MUSIC.BXY 95872 Five Songs Completely Copyright free >>> FONTS <<< """"""""""""" File # Filename Bytes Short description ------ --------------- ------ --------------------------------------- 26374 BLACKHWK.T1.BXY 59688 Old Western Type 1 PostScript font 26375 BLACKHWK.TT.BXY 36984 Old West TrueType font for Pointless 26336 BODIDLY.T1.BXY 40844 T1 PostScript bold display font 26431 CHENEAU.T1.BXY 33148 T1 PostScript classic Roman typeface 26432 GADZOOX.T1.BXY 38288 T1 PostScript zany UC display font 26442 GADZOOX.TT.BXY 13056 Gadzoox a 60 character TT font 26337 LINTSEC.T1.BXY 43632 T1 PostScript stencil display font 26443 LINTSEC.TT.BXY 22784 Lintsec, a stencil TT font 26438 TOONZSCR.T1.BXY 28664 T1 cartoon font for PostScript 26439 UPPERWES.T1.BXY 88060 T1 NewYorker Mag. font for PostScrip >>> MOVIES <<< """""""""""""" File # Filename Bytes Short description ------ --------------- ------ --------------------------------------- 26326 LASSENMORPH.BXY 770816 Mt Lassen blows its top! >>> GRAPHICS <<< """""""""""""""" File # Filename Bytes Short description ------ --------------- ------ --------------------------------------- 26397 BEETLE.GIF 4644 Color GIF of a bug 26396 BLCKRCK.GIF 16364 Color GIF of a house at sunrise 26398 CACTUSPOT.GIF 10552 Color GIF of a cactus in a pot. 26300 CALEN96BW.BXY 68836 Calendar/desktop clipart for 1996. 26321 CHAMPS.GIF 22484 Fiesta Bowl trophy graphic. 26327 CORNHSKDESK.BXY 116812 Desktop INIs. Nebraska Fiesta Bowl. 26350 CUPID.GIF 9324 Color GIF of Cupid 26386 CUPID2.GIF 7388 B&W GIF of Cupid 26387 CUPID3.GIF 7404 B&W Cupid GIF 26371 DEMO.PICS.BXY 188544 10 awsome pics from Bloofadoofa 26341 DESERT.SCEN.GIF 23952 Color GIF of a desert scene 26400 DRUMS.GIF 21776 Color GIF of drums 26389 E.BASKET.GIF 8208 Color GIF of an Easter basket 26449 FEB96.DESK.BXY 373120 Desktop backgrounds for Feb. 96. 26339 GEISHA.GIF 15668 Color GIF of a Geisha 26348 GRHOG.GIF 20552 GIF of a groundhog in gray shades 26349 GRNHOG.GIF 5504 Color GIF of a groundhog 26347 GWASHINGTON.GIF 46200 Color GIF of Washington painting 26351 HISTORY.GIF 31232 B&W clipart of historical things 26340 IRIS.GIF 7140 Color GIF of an iris 26342 LAKE.GIF 23804 Color GIF of a lake 26413 LOVE.GIF 12444 Color GIF for Valentine's Day 26422 MLKING.GIF 3312 GIF of Martin Luther King 26412 NEWYEAR.GIF 1072 Color GIF for New Year's Day 26411 PUNXS.GIF 10148 B&W GIF for Groundhog's Day 26435 ROM4PICS.TXT 9932 Descriptions of the ROM 4 pictures 26424 ROM4SHR.BXY 284288 ROM 4 GS, a folder of SHR graphics! 26414 SB.XXX.DESK.BXY 217000 Super Bowl XXX desktop backgrounds. 26451 SPAM.DESK.BXY 81352 Desktop backgrounds. Email Spam. 26436 STS72.BXY 54476 3 APF conversions of Endeavor 26427 TWAINHR1.GIF 756364 ROM 4 GS; High res GIF #1 26428 TWAINHR2.GIF 846780 ROM 4 GS; High res GIF #2 26429 TWAINHR3.GIF 970512 ROM 4 GS; High res GIF #3 26384 VALEN1.GIF 10404 Color Valentine GIF 26385 VALEN2.GIF 12440 Color Valentine GIF 26409 VALEN3.GIF 20032 Color GIF for Valentine's Day 26417 VALEN4.GIF 2776 Color GIF for Valentine's Day 26418 VALEN5.GIF 4264 Color GIF for Valentine's Day 26419 VALEN6.GIF 65012 Color GIF for Valentine's Day 26420 VALEN7.GIF 8868 B&W Valentine GIF 26421 VALEN8.GIF 2776 Color GIF for Valentine's Day 26325 VALENT.DAY.GIF 2776 Color GIF for Valentine's Day 26410 VALENTIN2.GIF 13592 Color GIF for Valentine's Day 26324 VALENTINE.GIF 4264 Color GIF of a Valentine heart 26408 WASHING.GIF 7752 Color GIF of George Washington 26388 ZEBRA.GIF 412208 Color GIF of a zebra 26399 ZOZOBRA.GIF 132608 Color GIF from Santa Fe Online >>> MESSAGE ARCHIVES <<< """""""""""""""""""""""" Did you know that Genie's A2 RoundTable takes an archival approach? The library doesn't just contain the favorite files nor the recent ones, the way sound services do--it prides itself on its archival library. The same is true of the A2 Bulletin Board--the messages don't just scroll off into the ether, like on other Computer Services; they are archived and kept in the file library. File # Filename Bytes Short description ------ --------------- ------ --------------------------------------- 26309 GSPLUS07.BXY 43852 Old Msg:Letters to the GS+ Editor 26310 GSPLUS08.BXY 40268 Old Msg:Letters to the GS+ Editor 26311 GSPLUSFAR01.BXY 17764 Old Msg:GS+ Magazine - Feature Art. 26312 GSPLUSPRE01.BXY 44120 Old Msg:GS+ Magazine - Prod.Rev. 26313 GSPLUSPRO03.BXY 34024 Old Msg:GS+ Disk - Programs 26314 GSPLUSWLT01.BXY 46196 Old Msg:GS+ Wish List 26315 GSPLUSWLT02.BXY 42632 Old Msg:GS+ Wish List 26358 HDHDWR10.BXY 38836 Old Msg:Hrd Dsk Hardware/SCSI Woes 26359 HDHDWR11.BXY 38380 Old Msg:Hrd Dsk Hardware/SCSI Woes 26360 HDHDWR12.BXY 38652 Old Msg:Hrd Dsk Hardware/SCSI Woes 26361 HDHDWR13.BXY 31712 Old Msg:Hrd Dsk Hardware/SCSI Woes 26356 INTRO06.BXY 44496 Old Msg:Introduce Yourself! 26357 INTRO07.BXY 40428 Old Msg:Introduce Yourself! 26376 IOMEGAZIP06.BXY 40372 Old Msg:Iomega ZIP Drives 26377 IOMEGAZIP07.BXY 40044 Old Msg:Iomega ZIP Drives 26378 IOMEGAZIP08.BXY 35008 Old Msg:Iomega ZIP Drives 26364 LASERPTRS12.BXY 50048 Old Msg:HP LaserJet and Other Laser 26365 LASERPTRS13.BXY 49064 Old Msg:HP LaserJet and Other Laser 26366 LASERPTRS14.BXY 44508 Old Msg:HP LaserJet and Other Laser 26353 ORCHARD31.BXY 46756 Old Msg:The Orchard Lounge 26354 ORCHARD32.BXY 47216 Old Msg:The Orchard Lounge 26355 ORCHARD33.BXY 41080 Old Msg:The Orchard Lounge 26382 PMPFAX01.BXY 47632 Old Msg:PMPFax Facsimile Software 26383 PMPFAX02.BXY 42892 Old Msg:PMPFax Facsimile Software 26401 PWRGUIDCF01.BXY 44296 Old Msg:Config. & Using PowerGuide 26402 PWRGUIDCF02.BXY 45116 Old Msg:Config. & Using PowerGuide 26403 PWRGUIDCF03.BXY 39992 Old Msg:Config. & Using PowerGuide 26367 RDRNNRALF01.BXY 39348 Old Msg:RoadRunner/AppleLeaf HD 26368 RDRNNRALF02.BXY 40244 Old Msg:RoadRunner/AppleLeaf HD 26369 RDRNNRALF03.BXY 38624 Old Msg:RoadRunner/AppleLeaf HD 26370 RDRNNRALF04.BXY 31480 Old Msg:RoadRunner/AppleLeaf HD If you liked this column, please let me know. Same deal if you didn't like it. If you'd rather I spent more time reviewing the uploads, I'm interested in hearing about that too. Until next month! [EOA] [PRO]////////////////////////////// PROFILES / ///////////////////////////////// Who's Who In Apple II """"""""""""""""""""" >>> WHO'S WHO <<< """"""""""""""""" ~ Steve Cavanaugh, publisher of _The Apple Blossom_ ~ Steve Cavanaugh had been providing his newsletter _The Apple Blossom_, absolutely free, to anyone who cared to download it and print a copy. It was well received right from the start, and "subscribers" began to tell Steve that he should be charging for such a quality publication. That's the kind of advice you'd be foolish to ignore, so Steve Cavanaugh took it. The first subscription issue of _The Apple Blossom_ was posted just before GenieLamp A2 went to press. We managed to buttonhole the exhausted publisher/editor for this month's profile.... [*][*][*] GenieLamp> Are computers a part of your daytime job? Please tell us a """"""""" little about what you do between 9 and 5. Steve> Computers _are_ my daytime job. Since last June I've been working """"" for Mosby-Year Book, a medical publisher. I use a PowerMac to layout books in Quark XPress, doing manuscript corrections and coding in ClarisWorks and occasionally WordPerfect Mac. I also have the unofficial position of office geek, and all the questions about PCs or Macs usually come to me. For the three years before that I was a computer teacher in an elementary parochial school. GenieLamp> How and why did you begin _The Apple Blossom_ as a free """"""""" electronically-distributed but paper-based publication? Steve> When I was teaching I used to host a monthly get-together for the """"" other computer teachers in the diocese to pass along shareware and system updates and to discuss teaching strategies and field how-to questions. The newsletter was originally conceived as a way of sharing that info with teachers who couldn't make the meetings. Then I decided to upload it to Genie in case anyone else was interested, and it kind of took on a life of its own from that point. GenieLamp> What problems arose with this method of distribution? """"""""" Did any of them influence your decision to go commercial? Steve> The only real problem was that some folks had trouble printing the """"" copies I uploaded. That ended up being a real education about the differences in the way the page setup for a Harmonie-driven DeskJet and a LaserWriter do their work. (However, as a side bonus, I learned how to get a DeskWriter 310 working with a IIgs, so I can occasionally print out some very nice graphics.) It also pointed out how different versions of the same font can have very different effects. Trying to make it as easy for other folks to print and get at led me to upload 4 different versions of the last [freeware] edition. GenieLamp> Please tell us about what your decision to go commercial """"""""" was based on, and how you arrived at it. Steve> Basically, the newsletter had gotten so popular that I couldn't """"" afford to do it out-of-pocket any longer. I distribute it via AOL and my Web page, as well as on Genie and through mailings, and the total distribution had reached about 450. The last issue cost me around $200, and I can't keep that kind of spending up. GenieLamp> How often will you publish? """"""""" Steve> Last year I published 4 issues. This year I plan on publishing 6 """"" issues (every 2 months). If a lot of people subscribe, to the point where it is feasible to have other people working on the newsletter part-time, then more frequent publication is possible. But I don't foresee that for this year. GenieLamp> How much will a subscription be? """"""""" Steve> $12 per year. I plan on a subscription plan like Joe Kohn uses """"" for Shareware Solutions II. If someone subscribes after two issues have already gone out, then I'll send the new subscriber the first two issues as well. I think that was a great concept that Joe came up with. And since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery... GenieLamp> Would you tell us how you first became interested in the """"""""" Apple II? Was it your first computer? Steve> Actually, no, the first computer we had was a TRS-80. It was a """"" hand-me-down from my younger brother. We got it so that my son, who was two years old at the time, could practice writing. He knew his letters, but didn't have the hand coordination to write them out. He took to the computer like he was born for it. By the way, the first word he could spell was "RUN" (for BASIC). I was actually very hesitant to get a computer. My one and only computer class in college was a dismal failure. After 4 weeks of trying to get 4 lines to print out using a COBOL program I decided to drop the course and avoid computers. I even quit one job in part because it was being computerized. However, when I went back to school to get my teaching credentials, word processing was required. I started out on a Zenith PC, but once I learned how to use an Apple IIgs at a school I worked at, I decided that I preferred Apples to IBM clones. GenieLamp> At what point did you realize that your casual hobby (of """"""""" computing) had evolved into something more than a "casual hobby"? Steve> That would probably be when I started staying at school until """"" 1 a.m. muttering about Autoexec.bat files and trying to make backups of copy protected software with Copy II Plus. GenieLamp> What do you see as the focus of _The Apple Blossom_? """"""""" Steve> Last year it was mostly reviews and announcements. This year I'd """"" like to shift the focus more to "how to" articles. The HyperCard, AppleWorks and Cross-Platform departments will focus on that type of article. But reviews (more in-depth, I'm planning) will continue, as will announcements. GenieLamp> What hardware and software are you using to produce the """"""""" newsletter? How about the printer you intend to use to create the master? Steve> I write most of the articles in Hermes/ShadowWrite or in """"" Clarisworks on my PowerBook while I'm taking the train back and forth to work in Philadelphia. I lay out the articles in GraphicWriter III, and use SuperConvert, Prism, Convert 3200 and DreamGraphix to work on graphics. I purchased an Apple LaserWriter Select 360 last year and I use that to create the masters. GenieLamp> Is _The Apple Blossom_ going to be a one-man operation? """"""""" Steve> For the time being. I am printing articles written by other """"" folks, however. I'm hoping to have someone else write articles on AppleWorks and telecommunications, as those aren't areas I can write about with a great deal of expertise. But I plan on writing the articles on HyperCard, reviews, etc. And of course, keeping records, doing promotions, "constructing" the Web site, etc. GenieLamp> Do you think the Apple II world is still large enough to """"""""" support competing magazines and newsletters? Steve> Well, the Apple II world probably has 20 million or more users if """"" you think of all the school kids using them. There ought to be enough room for several newsletters. One thing that I'm planning in the second edition this year is a two page insert aimed especially at kids. I'm hoping that that will eventually become a disk-based subscription, with art, templates, simple BASIC programs, tutorials and writing and artwork by kids. My own three kids are pretty eager to help with this. GenieLamp> What do you consider your most proud accomplishment? """"""""" Steve> Kind of a tricky question... sometimes I wonder if I've """"" accomplished anything.... The thing I'm most glad about is marrying the girl I did... It took eight years to get my wife to agree to marry me, and I'm glad I didn't lose heart. GenieLamp> Who do you look up to as your mentors? """"""""" Steve> In computers? Well, I've been really inspired by Auri """"" Rahimzadeh's PowerGS--that was an excellent magazine, and I hope he gets to return to it. In the wider realm, I used to think my Dad's emphasis on getting everything perfect was excessive--but as I get older I'm coming to appreciate the craftsmanship he was able to bring to things like carpentry, building fishing rods, etc. GenieLamp> Where do you see the future of telecommunications moving in """"""""" the next five to ten years? Steve> I'm afraid that it's heading toward distributed computing. Sort """"" of like the dumb terminals that were used to connect to mainframes back in the late 60s and early 70s. Of course, the programs will be a heck of a lot more interesting and colorful than the command lines of that time, but the control will be in network admin hands, not in the hands of the user. I'm not very happy about this trend at all. It's as though we have found that it's difficult to teach people how to use computers, and difficult to create software that doesn't require a college degree to operate, and we're just giving up and feeding the public pretty pictures and sounds, but taking the control away. I hope that I'm wrong. GenieLamp> What sorts of things do you like to do for fun (i.e. """"""""" non-computer hobbies)? Steve> What do you mean, non-computer? Is that a trick question? """"" Seriously, I've been very focused on stack writing and writing _The Apple Blossom_ for the past 6 months. However, for those few minutes per day when I'm not using a computer, I strum the guitar, bake bread or pizza, read sci-fi, or read with my kids. GenieLamp> How did you get involved in telecommunications? """"""""" Steve> In Vermont, where I began teaching, we had a statewide BBS for the """"" schools called Winternet. I used that and the Fidonet forums it carried to communicate with folks throughout the state and world. I was hooked at once! GenieLamp> How long have you been a member of Genie? What new """"""""" services do you think Genie should provide its subscribers? Steve> I joined GEnie in March 1993... but I found the interface so """"" daunting that I logged on very seldom. There were a couple of months when I didn't even log a single call into GEnie. It wasn't until America Online gave Apple II users the boot and folks started talking about the great Apple II forums on GEnie that I really gave it a good try. Now I log on every day. As far as new services, I'm somewhat concerned about the new directions that Genie is taking under its new ownership. However, I can see the value of having a faster connection that can be accessed from anywhere in the country, via Genie. I just hope that the jump in price doesn't cause too many people to leave. GenieLamp> What one piece of advice would you pass along to a new """"""""" Apple II telecommunications enthusiast? Steve> ...Visit my website? """"" Really, though, the best advice for anyone just beginning to use a modem is to get the advice of someone with experience. I found telecommunications software pretty difficult to understand when I first started out, having a non-technical background. Being able to ask questions of folks who knew more was the best thing to help me out. [*][*][*] If you'd like information on how to subscribe to _The Apple Blossom_, send E-mail to S.CAVANAUGH1 or contact him by writing: Steve Cavanaugh The Apple Blossom 1117 Maple Street Wilmington, DE 19805 USA //////////////////////////////////////// Genie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "...what programs should we be looking at, for the future" / / / / "Windows 2000... :)" / / / / "...which, using today's nomenclature, would be / / dubbed 'Windows 00'. At last... truth in / / advertising! :-)" / ////////////////////// W.ELLIS5, KEN.GAGNE and BARNABAS //// [EOA] [LOG]////////////////////////////// LOG OFF / ///////////////////////////////// GenieLamp Information """"""""""""""""""""" o COMMENTS: Contacting GenieLamp o GENIELAMP STAFF: Who Are We? GenieLamp Information GenieLamp is published on the 1st of every month """"""""""""""""""""" on Genie page 515. You can also find GenieLamp on the main menus in the following computing RoundTables. RoundTable Keyword Genie Page RoundTable Keyword Genie Page """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" DigiPub DIGIPUB 1395 Atari ST ST 475 Macintosh MAC 605 IBM PC IBMPC 615 Apple II A2 645 Apple II Dev. A2PRO 530 Macintosh Dev. MACPRO 480 Geoworks GEOWORKS 1050 BBS BBS 610 CE Software CESOFTWARE 1005 Programming PROGRAMMING 1445 Data Comm. DATACOMM 1450 IBM PC Prog IBMPCPRO 617 PowerPC PPC 1435 PowerPCProg PPCPRO 1440 GenieLamp is also distributed on CrossNet and many public and commercial BBS systems worldwide. o To reach GenieLamp on Internet send mail to genielamp@genie.com o Back issues of GenieLamp are available in the DigiPub RoundTable Library #2 on page 1395 (M1395;3). o We welcome and respond to all E-Mail. 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Hebert [ST.PAPA] Atari Staff Writer IBM o Sharon La Gue [SHARON.LAMP] IBM EDITOR ~~~ MACINTOSH o Richard Vega [GELAMP.MAC] MACINTOSH EDITOR """"""""" o Tom Trinko [T.TRINKO] Mac Staff Writer o Robert Goff [R.GOFF] Mac Staff Writer POWER PC o Ben Soulon [BEN.GELAMP] POWER PC EDITOR """""""" o Eric Shepherd [SHEPPY] Power PC Staff Writer ETC. o Jim Lubin [J.LUBIN] Add Aladdin Scripts """" o Mike White [MWHITE] (oo) / DigiPub SysOp o John Peters [GENIELAMP] DigiPub SysOp o Sanford E. Wolf [S.WOLF4] Contributing Columnist \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// Opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Genie Online Services, Yovelle Renaissance Corp., GenieLamp Online Magazines, or T/TalkNet Online Publishing. Bulletin board messages are reprinted verbatim and are included in this publication with permission from Genie Online Services and the source RoundTable. Genie Online Services, GenieLamp Online Magazines, and T/TalkNet Publishing do not guarantee the accuracy or suitability of any information included herein. We reserve the right to edit all letters and copy. Material published in this edition may be reprinted under the fol- lowing terms only. Reprint permission granted, unless otherwise noted, to registered computer user groups and not for profit publications. All articles must remain unedited and include the issue number and author at the top of each article reprinted. Please include the fol- lowing at the end of all reprints: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/////////////////////////////////// The preceeding article is reprinted courtesy of GenieLamp Online Magazine. (c) Copyright 1996 T/TalkNET Publishing and Genie Online Services. To join Genie, set your modem to half duplex (local echo). Have your modem dial 1-800-638-8369 in the United States or 1-800-387-8330 in Canada. When you get a CONNECT message, wait for the U#= prompt, type: JOINGENIE and hit the RETURN key. Genie will then prompt you for your signup information. If the signup server is unavailable, call (voice) 1-800-638-9636 for more information. ////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ [EOF] ÿ