Subject: Re: ... MME and contributing to our Apple II archives
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From: Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>
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Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 11:58:25 -0600
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Charles A. Plater (ab3189@evomer.wayne.edu) writes ...
> 
> Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net> wrote:
> > andyb78@my-dejanews.com writes ...
> >> I am looking for the Music Theory programs.
> >      It's not an MECC program; but, an edu package named "Music Made
> > Easy" may get the job done. The compressed disk image file on the Asimov
> > archive site is music_made_easy.dsk.gz . You can find it at ...
> > ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/educational/
> 
> And it's there with the authors permission, right?  or is it just another
> illegal copy of a piece of copyrighted software being made available on
> asimov?
 ....

     Based upon past situations-- i.e. times when a copyright holder
expressed a wish that some product be removed from Asimov and it was--
we can be reasonably confident that the "Music Made Easy" copyright
holder has not expressed any objection.

     More likely than not, should the owner be contacted, he or she
would be pleased that, after all these years, the software is still of
interest to II users.

     Obviously, our properly constituted Law enforcement authorities are
satisfied with Asimov's performance.

     So, the presence of MME on Asimov is both correct and legal. And,
the MME file appears to be a good copy! Whoever uploaded MME to Asimov
has helped to make II computer use a bit more productive and fun.



     Since the subject of software on archives has been mentioned, it is
a good time to observe that sites like Apple2-Caltech, Asimov,
Asimov-GS, Ground, Uni-kl.de, ... depend upon user uploads to replace
files identified as faulty and for continued expansion of offerings. So,
here is a quickie Q&A summary of what a contributor needs to know ...



1. How do I do uploads?

     This is covered in more detail in the Csa2T1TCOM.txt file in the
newsgroup FAQs. The following example assumes you are using a PC or Mac
to connect to the net and want to upload a group of Apple IIgs files
required to play "NARFGAME":

o  On the GS, use GS-ShrinkIt to created a single compressed file
containing the NARFGAME files. The new .SHK file could be named
"NARFGAME.SHK".

o  Use Spectrum or some other A2 telecom program to NULL modem
NARFGAME.SHK to, say, the PC's C:\UPDOWN (or C:\Temp or whatever) folder
using Z-modem protocol.

o  If you have not already do so, dial up your ISP (internet service
provider).

o  If you are running Netscape or some similar browser, you can do the
upload very easily.

   Go to the site's upload URL-- e.g. you might type in
   ftp://apple.cabi.net/pub/applegs/ and open the Uploads
   folder-- the folder will generally be named "Upload" or "Uploads"
   or "Incoming". (You may not see any files listed when in a site's
   Uploads folder. This is normal.)

   Open a window for the folder (e.g. C:\UPDOWN) which has the file or
   files (like NARFGAME.SHK) to upload.

   Select NARFGAME.SHK and drag it onto the uploads page display. (You
   can select and drag more than one file at a time.)

   Click "Yes" when asked if you want to upload the file and
   NARFGAME.SHK will be uploaded.


     Some users like to employ an ftp program-- sometimes called an "ftp
client"-- for uploading and downloading. WS_FTP95 LE is a very good one.
You can get WS_FTP' and similar ftp programs from freeware/shareware
sites like Download.com at ... http://www.download.com/ .



2. Suppose I want to upload a whole DOS 3.3 or ProDOS disk?

     You can use 8-bit ShrinkIt (ShrinkIt v3.4) to create a whole-disk
archive file of a normal 5.25" or 3.5" disk which is not copy-protected.
(For 5.25" disks, each file is one side of the disk.)  Name the file so
that it ends in ".sdk" or ".shk", transfer it to you net computer, and
upload it.



3. How do I make a disk image (.dsk) file for uploading?

     You can use DSK2FILE or ASIMOV. DSK2FILE can run on a 128k Apple II
or on a IIgs. ASIMOV needs to run on a IIgs. The name of the disk image
file should end in ".dsk".



4. How do I let the site know what is in the file I upload?

     One way is to rename the file to a longer, more descriptive name
once it is transferred to your PC. For example, "NARFGAME.SHK" might
become "NarfQuest_Adventure.shk".

     Another way is to type out a brief description of the game, etc.
you are uploading on the net computer and save it as a .txt Text file in
the same folder as the file you plan to upload. For instance, you could
say that "NarfQuest is an Ultima-style adventure which can run on an
Apple IIe" in a text file named "NarfQuest_info.txt". When you upload
NarfQuest_Adventure.shk, you could also upload NarfQuest_info.txt .

     Uploading a Text description is not a requirement; but, if you've
downloaded stuff from archives, you know that it is nice to have a text
blurb which tells something about a file which looks interesting.



5. I've noticed that no site has playing hints for NarfQuest; so, I
wrote out some hints on my Apple II. How should I send my NarfQuest
hints to an archive site?

     The most nearly universal form for stuff you want users to be able
to read with minimum hassle is plain Text. So, if you want most users to
be able to view your hints on-line, they should be transferred as plain
text to your net computer-- usually, this is called an "ASCII" or "Text
File" transfer.

     Once you have the text file on your PC, you can do any final
editing using WordPad or a similar text editor and upload the file.

     You may want to transfer and upload text information to be read on
an Apple II only-- for example, you may want to send an Appleworks file
or a IIgs .tch file which includes colored text, etc.. If so, you can
shrink the the file and transfer it and upload it like any other .shk
file.
 


6. I'm using an ftp program for uploading. It has buttons for "Binary"
and "ASCII". Which is correct for which kinds of files?

     For nearly all uploads-- like .shk, .sdk, .zip, .gif, ... files--,
the correct button is "Binary". For .txt files, use "ASCII" (or "Text").



7. Where are the major Apple II archives?

     There is a listing along with URLs in the "Csa2Main" FAQs file.



8. Where are the FAQs?

     You can find the newsgroup FAQS at ...


Home site- for downloading or Viewing via an FTP program ...
  ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Faqs/
 
Mirrors- for on-line perusing via Netscape, etc. ...
  http://www.grin.net/~cturley/A2.FAQs.and.INFO/CSA2.FAQs/
  ftp://apple.cabi.net/pub/applegs/FAQs.and.INFO/A2.Csa2.FAQs/

There are, also, a couple in-progress HTML versions of the FAQs Q&A
files. Check them out and let the site manages know what you think ...

 http://members.xoom.com/apple_II/faqs.html
   email: ron@pacifier.com

 http://www.grin.net/~cturley/A2.FAQs.and.INFO/CSA2.FAQs.HTML.folder/
   email: cturley2@aol.com 



7. Where should I upload my stuff?

     One way to decide is to visit the archives and see what sorts of
software they maintain. Of course, you can always upload your
contributions to several sites.



Rubywand