Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Path: news.weeg.uiowa.edu!news.uiowa.edu!hobbes.physics.uiowa.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!csus.edu!netcom.com!lunatic From: lunatic@netcom.com (Lunatic Johnathan Bruce E'Sex) Subject: GEnieLamp A2 July 1993 Message-ID: Summary: Online newsletter for all Apple II users from GEnie Keywords: GEnie, Lamp, GEnieLamp, A2 Organization: DOG San Francisco / LunaTechnology Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1993 23:54:44 GMT Lines: 4096 |||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| || || ||| || || || || ||| |||| |||||| || |||| Your || || || || ||| || || |||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GEnieLamp Apple II || |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable || || || ||| ||| || || || |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE! || || || || || || || ||||| || || || || || \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// GEnieLamp Apple II ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.2, Issue 16 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Publisher.......................................T/TalkNET Publishing Senior Editor..........................................John Peters Editor.............................................Darrel Raines \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// GEnieLamp AII STAFF: ~ Darrel Raines ~ Phil Shapiro ~ Mel Fowler ~ ~ GEnieLamp IBM ~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp [PR]/TX2 ~ GEnieLamp A2 ~ ~ GEnieLamp MacPRO ~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~ ~ GEnieLamp Newswire ~ LiveWire Online ~ ~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~ GE Mail: GENIELAMP Internet: GENIELAMP@GENIE.GEIS.COM ////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ >>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE II ROUNDTABLE? <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ July 1, 1993 ~ FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] GEnie ONLINE ............ [GEN] Notes From The Publisher. FareWars: Views & Information. HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] Is That A Letter For Me? GEnie Fun & Games. A2 HAPPENINGS ........... [ART] THE ONLINE LIBRARY ...... [LIB] A2 RoundTable News. Quick Takes. THE MIGHTY QUINN ........ [QUI] PROFILES ................ [PRO] Random Access. Who's Who In Apple II. CowTOONS! ............... [MOO] F.Y.I. .................. [FYI] Sportn' Cows. A2: Educational Computing. REFLECTIONS ............. [REF] CONNECTIONS ............. [CON] Thinking Communications. Online Thoughts. APPLE II ................ [AII] SEARCH_ME! .............. [FUN] Apple II History, Part 13. Online Puzzle Fun. PRINT ME ................ [PRT] LOG OFF ................. [LOG] A2 Categories & Topics. GEnieLamp Information. [IDX]""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" READING GEnieLamp GEnieLamp has incorporated a unique indexing """"""""""""""""" system to help make reading the magazine easier. To utilize this system, load GEnieLamp into any ASCII word processor or text editor. In the index you will find the following example: HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] [*]GEnie Fun & Games. To read this article, set your find or search command to [HUM]. If you want to scan all of the articles, search for [EOA]. [EOF] will take you to the last page, whereas [IDX] will bring you back to the index. MESSAGE INFO To make it easy for you to respond to messages re-printed """""""""""" here in GEnieLamp, you will find all the information you need immediately following the message. For example: (SMITH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M475) _____________| _____|__ _|___ |____ |_____________ |Name of sender CATegory TOPic Msg.# Page number| In this example, to respond to Smith's message, log on to page 475 enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1. A message number that is surrounded by brackets indicates that this message is a "target" message and is referring to a "chain" of two or more messages that are following the same topic. ABOUT GEnie Effective July 1, GEnie's non-prime time connect rate drops """"""""""" to $3.00 per hour, a reduction of 50% from the current rate. The monthly fee has been restructured, and moves from $4.95 to $8.95, for which up to four hours of non-prime time access to most GEnie services, such as software downloads, bulletin boards, GE Mail, an Internet gateway, multi-player games and chat lines, are allowed without charge. To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH. Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XTX99014,DIGIPUB and hit RETURN. The system will then prompt you for your information. Need more information? Call GEnie's customer service line (voice) at 1-800-638-9636. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / "Look what you've started Dean! Folks, for now and the / / forseeable future can we just forget Dean ever said any- / / thing about replacing ShrinkIt?!?" / ////////////////////////////////////////// SOFTDISK.INC //// [EOA] [FRM]////////////////////////////// FROM MY DESKTOP / ///////////////////////////////// Notes From The Publisher """""""""""""""""""""""" By John Peters [GENIELAMP] WOW! WHAT A MONTH!!!! First off, an apology is in order from me to you """""""""""""""""""""" for the mass confusion that was created by not releasing a mid-month GEnieLamp as we promised in the last issue. No excuses here. I simply took on too much, too soon. I did not fully realize the extra manpower and time it would take to do two separate issues for all the platforms we cover. Anyway, to make a long story short, we have gone back distributing GEnieLamp on a monthly basis. After we have had a chance to re-group we'll take another look at publishing a mid-month issue. WELL, IT'S JULY 1ST and the the "new" GEnie is now officially online! """"""""""""""""""" How does the new pricing structure affect GEnieLamp readers? Well, for one thing we are now offering GEnieLamp in compressed format from the menus. GEnieLamp IBM and ST will be in PK-Zip format, GEnieLamp Macintosh will be .SIT compressed and GEnieLamp A2 and A2Pro will be compressed in .BXY format. What does this mean to you? It means much less time spent in downloading the magazine - in some cases half the time it used to take. Also, GEnieLamp Macintosh and GEnieLamp A2/A2Pro is now "computer friendly." That is we have removed the linefeeds which mess up the formatting on Apple computers from the magazine. Of course, this means that other computers will now have to convert the Mac/A2 issues in order to read them on their systems. To solve this problem (and for those of you who prefer to read GEnieLamp online) there is a separate ASCII version of each issue available in the DigiPub Library located on page 1395. A nice plus to the "new" GEnie is everyone's account now has access to Internet with no sign-up fees or byte charges. I for one plan on exploring this new option asap. For those of you who read GEnieLamp via Internet, our Internet address is: GENIELAMP@GENIE.GEIS.COM Until next month... John Peters GEnieLamp/DigiPub RoundTable [EOA] [GEN]////////////////////////////// GEnie ONLINE / ///////////////////////////////// FareWars: Two Viewpoints """""""""""""""""""""""" o New GEnie Rates: A Clinton Tax Plan? o New GEnie Rates: FareWars! o GEnie Customers' Most-Asked Questions >>> A CLINTON TAX PLAN? <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""" By Tom Trinko [T.TRINKO] MIXED FEELINGS When I saw the new rates, I had mixed feelings. I spend a """""""""""""" lot of time in basic services -- the astronomy and military history areas -- and now I'd have to pay for it, so I was depressed. On the other hand, downloading astronomy files and checking out the latest war-gaming news, not to mention getting stuff from the Mac areas, would only cost half as much. If you use the computer bulletin board services your bill will go down by a factor of 2 -- a not negligible reduction. This assumes that you currently spend at least $8.95 a month on GEnie. But at current rates that's only an hour and a half a month, so I expect that most of you will see a net savings. You'll have to examine your usage habits, though, to insure that you get the most for your money. I used to download lots of info from NASA bulletin boards, most of which I just skimmed. I could do this because it was in the GEnie*Basic area. Now I'll just skip that, unless I hear that something interesting has happened from other sources. I still think GEnie made a mistake in the way they changed the rates. I think a GEnie*Basic area with reasonable limits, say 10 hours/month and 100 messages, would have prevented the "abuses" that have been mentioned without affecting most users. But "ONCE GEnie GETS THE INTERFACE I understand that GEnie has to PROGRAM OUT IT'LL BE stay competitive with America UNBEATABLE." Online, which is dropping its rates to $3.50 an hour. Unfortunately, since AOL's main strength is not its rates but its graphical interface, I'm not sure that the GEnie rate reduction will lure people from AOL or keep people from leaving GEnie. GEnie has got to get the GEnie equivalent of the CompuServe Navigator out the door, with some of the AOL interface's point-and-click features. We know they've been working on it, and a Windows version, but now, more than ever, services are being compared based upon how easy they are to use rather than how much they cost. I find I spend more time uploading messages on CompuServe than I do here, not because it's cheaper, but because it's easier to do. Once GEnie gets the interface program out it'll be unbeatable. Why so, you say? I regularly use AOL and CompuServe, so I can give you my reasons. I use CompuServe because the main support board for Frontier is there. Unfortunately, unless you log on to CompuServe every few days (at $8 an hour -- can you say $$$?), you can miss topics. Unlike GEnie, which keeps message threads around for years so you can find answers you need today which were posted months or even years ago, CompuServe purges the message bases on a very regular basis. Think of GEnie as a library and CompuServe as that pile of notes you have by the telephone. AOL keeps messages for a long time, but accessing them is slow and not automated. You can't automatically list all of the messages in a topic. You have to select one, then hit one of the arrow keys to read the next, and so on. While that takes less skill than typing in REA 7, it takes tons of time (can you say $$$?). Previously, AOL had a better selection of files than the Mac area of GEnie, but that has been changing thanks to the work of the new Mac area sysops. All in all, if I had to restrict myself to one service I'd pick GEnie hands down. With the new rates GEnie is even better if you're mostly interested in computer - or Mac- related items. I think this offsets the extra cost associated with non-computer areas such as the Astronomy and Military BBS. But this raises a question about who the new users are. Originally, only fairly hard-core hackers used computer services, but now more computer users, as opposed to computer fans, are coming online. They came to GEnie because of the low cost of the non-computer areas. It'll be interesting to see if they stay. One final note. We should all remember that GEnie is a business and has to make a profit, just like the companies we work for. I feel that I get my money's worth here, and I think the new rates are reasonable, even though they change the relative cost of the various services. If you play your cards right, this rate change could save you big money or allow you to do a lot more for the same money. (Everything in this article is my opinion, not that of GEnie management.) >>> FAIRWARS! <<< """"""""""""""""" By Mike White [MWHITE] REMEMBER WHEN? Remember the early 70's? The price of gasoline was """""""""""""" skyrocketing -- when you could find it -- and none of us were sure we could pay the rent or buy groceries because inflation was out of control. Putting politics aside, it was pretty clear that Americans were energy hogs: abusers. (This fact hasn't really changed much. We just got a little help because OPEC was unable to enforce limits on oil production. But that's another article altogether.) The ease with which we reached those depths of wastefulness was soon replaced by a general spirit of thrift and conservation. The economy had a stranglehold on our finances so we made and bought smaller cars. We turned back our thermostats and sacrificed some of our most favorite luxuries. Some of us made a few more dollars income while others used credit cards to continue living beyond our means. In short, our economy is a monopoly. We can't go down the street and join another country with an economy we prefer. Let's say,though, that we can. Where will we go when that country's economic cycle goes south? Eventually, another country around the corner will look better economically. Why not give it a try? You know that sooner or later the cycle will turn down and another attractive economy will pop up. Just switch your allegiance again. But by now you are a wayfarer, a gypsy, a nomad, and without a home to accept your allegiance. Opportunism has bought you a life without family or friends. After all, who is going to follow you all over the world while you search for the perfect country? It's not going to play well with your extended family and friends when you go bopping off to try out a new economy whenever the grass looks greener. They know your opportunistic habits quite well by now, and they just want to stay home where life is quite comfortable surrounded by familiar faces. In fact, by now you wish you had never left. It wasn't worth it. Every time you moved you left behind another group of good friends. Now you realize that if you had just "IN FACT, BY NOW YOU WISH YOU stayed put, adapted to the economy, HAD NEVER LEFT. IT WASN'T and kept in touch with your WORTH IT." long-time friends, you would be much happier and much less weary from the trek. You did it in the 70's, you can do it again in the 90's. Don't let the price wars between the consumer online networks get in the way of your long standing relationships with real people. Who can put a price on that? >>> GENIE CUSTOMERS' MOST-ASKED QUESTIONS <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ Pricing Changes ~ Q: Exactly how are GEnie's prices changing? A: GEnie has completely restructured its prices and services. Here's the new pricing structure: o The monthly subscription fee is $8.95 ($C10.95) o This includes a credit for the first four hours of standard hourly connect time in that month. o The standard hourly connect time is now just $3.00 an hour ($C4.00) - - lowest in the online community! o The hourly connect time rates apply to all GEnie's services, except our Premium Services which are still individually priced. (These services used to be called GEnie$Professional Services). o There are some surcharges. If they're applicable, they'll be charged in addition to other fees and on all usage hours, including your first four hours. The new structure goes into effect July 1, 1993. Q: What happened to GEnie*Basic and GEnie Value Services? A: These two tiers have been combined. All the services that were in those groups are now all treated equally and priced at $3.00 ($C4.00) an hour. Q: What are "surcharges"? A: Surcharges are any extra charges you might incur above and beyond the standard connect time rate of $3.00 ($C4.00) an hour. They include: o A surcharge of $9.50 ($C12.00) an hour for prime-time usage. o A surcharge of $6.00 ($C8.00) an hour for 9600 baud access. o An "800" service surcharge of $6.00 an hour - - for 300, 1200 and 2400 baud. (At 9600 baud, the "800" surcharge is dropped, but the 9600 surcharge still applies.) o And other communications surcharges. Extended Network ($2.00 an hour); SprintNet ($2.00 an hour); and Datapac ($C6. 00 an hour) are at the same rate as before. We hope you also notice that our 9600 baud rate has been significantly reduced. It's now just a $6.00 ($C8.00) an hour surcharge, plus your $3.00 an hour connect fee. So in non-prime time, you'll be paying just $9. 00 an hour for 9600 baud access - - 50% less than before! Effective rate for prime is unchanged at $18.50 ($C24.50). Q: What exactly does "a credit of up to four hours of $3.00 an hour connect time" mean? A: It means that each month, the standard hourly connect time charge for your first 4 hours online is credited. So - - let's say you spend 4 hours on GEnie one month. You will be credited the standard hourly connect time charge for those hours. If you spend 5 hours on GEnie the first four are credited, so you'll only pay for one hour at the standard hourly connect time charge. Now, let's say you only spend 3 hours on GEnie in a month. The charge for those hours will be credited, but you can't put the credit for the remaining hour over into next month, nor can you be reimbursed for it. One more note on this subject. If you incur any surcharges in your first 4 hours, you'll still be billed for those. For example, if one of your first 4 hours is in prime time at 2400 baud, your charge for that hour will be the prime-time surcharge of $9.50 (US). Only the standard connect time is credited. Q: Will my bill go up? A: That depends on how you're accustomed to using GEnie. For the majority of our active users - - about 85% - - your monthly bill will be about the same, or will go down. If you currently use a mix of GEnie*Basic and Value Services, you could see significant savings with this new pricing - - now that our hourly rate is half what you've been paying for Value Services. If you use less than 4 hours per month, you can still keep your bill down to your monthly subscription fee - - assuming no surcharges. And customers who use 9600 baud access will also see savings from the 50% lower rates. Under the new pricing plan, the customers who are most likely to see an increase are those who predominantly used GEnie*Basic Services. You can use the billing usage report on the *BILL page to review your pattern of usage and project your typical bill under the new pricing. Q: Is there anything that's "free" anymore? A: There are a few areas that are exempt from the hourly connect charge and prime-time surcharge. These "Administrative Areas" include: o GEnie Billing Information o Listing or downloading the GEnie Users Manual o Sending and receiving GEnie FEEDBACK through the FEEDBACK option o General GEnie help information o GEnie Index of Products and Services o GEnie Terminal Settings o Phone Access Directory o GEnie Policies and Guidelines o GEnie Rate Information o Logon Banners o LiveWire Magazine Online Also, remember, you get 4 hours every month without the standard hourly connect charge. And this time credit applies to almost every service on GEnie. So you can still watch your budget and take advantage of more of our services than ever! Please remember, if you incur any communications surcharges, you will be charged for them, even in these Administrative areas. Q: Will GEnie continue to waive the hourly rate for uploading files? A: Yes. In fact, starting July 1, 1993, we'll also waive the use of 9600 baud, "800" service and other communications surcharges during your upload. (In prime time, however, the prime-time surcharge will still apply.) We want to make it easier and even more convenient for you to share your software library files with your friends. Q: What about GE Mail? A: Sending and receiving GE Mail will be like the rest of our services. It will be charged at the standard hourly connect time charge of $3.00 ($C4.00), and your credit for your first four hours of standard connect time can apply to it. Q: Are the prices changing for Internet Mail? A: There's good news here for Internet users. Effective July 1, 1993, there are no extra charges for Internet. You will pay only the standard hourly connect time charge of $3.00 ($C4.00). Q: Will I have to pay extra for GE Mail to FAX service? A: Yes, GE Mail to FAX is still a Premium Service. When you use the service, you'll still pay a "per page" charge, along with standard hourly connect time charge. Q: How will the new pricing structure affect GEnie's Dow Jones service? A: It shouldn't have much effect at all. Dow Jones, a Premium Service on GEnie, will keep its present rate under the new pricing. And we will continue to waive the hourly connect time charges, while you are in the Dow Jones gateway. Communications surcharges may apply. Q: What about other GEnie$Professional Services? A: Not much will be changing. GEnie$Professional Services - - now called Premium Services - - have their own rate structures, which they'll keep under the new pricing system. However, most of these charges are in addition to GEnie's hourly connect charges. So our new lower hourly rate should mean that you'll see some extra savings. Q: What about GEnie's special clubs? A: Our special clubs - - RSCARDS Club, $30 Chat Club and $100 Chat Club - - are being discontinued after July 1, 1993. We believe there's very little need for the special pricing clubs now. Our hourly connect time will be $3.00 an hour, and your purchasing power will be twice what it used to be. Q: What's happening with LiveWire magazine? A: After the July/August issue, we're going to discontinue mailing LiveWire to our subscribers. However, it will be available to you every month online in our "Administrative area" - - which means that you'll still be able to enjoy all the valuable information that LiveWire provides, without incurring the hourly connect charge. Q: Will GEnie look different after July 1st? A: Yes, a few things will look different. There will be no asterisk (*) keywords and 8000 numbers. The menus will no longer have asterisks next to certain options to delineate them as GEnie*Basic Services. (However, GEnie Premium Services - - formerly GEnie$Professional Services - - will still be noted with a "$" to remind you that separate rates apply.) Finally, a new FEEDBACK option will allow you to send and receive FEEDBACK to GEnie without paying the $3.00 ($C4.00) an hour standard connect time charge. Q: There's no charge for FEEDBACK? A: Right. When you use the FEEDBACK option, sending and receiving FEEDBACK to and from GEnie will NOT incur the standard hourly connect charge. This is so you can correspond freely with GEnie Client Services and Billing on such matters as billing questions, personal account information and general questions or problems regarding GEnie Services. But remember, to avoid charges, you must use the FEEDBACK option available on the Administrative Menu, or use the keyword FEEDBACK. If you use GE Mail, you'll be charged the hourly rate. Q: Does this include FEEDBACK to the SysOps? A: No, we're treating that differently. Sending and receiving mail to and from the SysOps will now be called "Letters to the SysOps", and incur the standard hourly connect charge. We're including "Letters to the SysOps" among our $3.00 an hour services because it is technical product and RoundTable support provided by our resident experts -- the SysOps. Q: How are the keywords and page numbers changing? A: Only those used for GEnie*Basic Services are changing. As we've noted, after July 1,1993 there will be no asterisk (*) keywords or "8000" page numbers. If you're used to typing in keywords with an asterisk (*) preceeding them, in most cases you can just drop the asterisk. For example, instead of *PHOTO, you'll now just type PHOTO. This will also allow you to see ALL the related services in that area, not just the portions previously included in GEnie*Basic. After July 1, 1993, if GEnie doesn't recognize your keyword (minus the asterisk), type INDEX to get a list of all the current keywords. You might also want to check the INDEX now to find out what the non- asterisk keywords are. They'll still be in effect after July 1, 1993. Q: What about independently-developed front ends and scripts ... Will they be affected by GEnie's new structure? A: Some may be, if they used references to GEnie*Basic in their commands. If you have questions or problems, the best thing to do is contact the developer through the RT for your platform. Q: Is my GEnie user manual still good? A: Yes. Outside of a couple of sections relating to the GEnie*Basic and Value Services, the remainder of the manual still applies - - especially those parts which address general GEnie questions and commands. If you have any other questions regarding something specific in the GEnie User Manual that might have changed, write to FEEDBACK and we'll pass the question on to the right people. Or call GEnie Client Services at 1-800-638-9636. We're also in the process of updating our online User Manual, so you'll be able to order that soon. [EOA] [HEY]////////////////////////////// HEY MISTER POSTMAN / ///////////////////////////////// Is That A Letter For Me? """""""""""""""""""""""" By John Peters [GENIELAMP] o A2 POT-POURRI o HOT TOPICS o WHAT'S NEW o THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT >>> A2 POT-POURRI <<< """"""""""""""""""""" ~ This And That, APPLE! ~ THE AMAZING A2GS! Dennis, Join the club! ;-) My dealer doesn't even """"""""""""""""" know what a IIGS can do. When I took it over to there store after a computer club meeting one day, they were very amazed to see that the machine had a mouse and more the 64k. When they saw the boot screen and the finder they just about fell over. -Apple IIGS Ozoneman - IIGS Forever! (J.RASH4, CAT9, TOP6, MSG:30/M645) SHAREWARE SOLUTIONS II Although Shareware Solutions II will not carry """""""""""""""""""""" advertising, it will have the equivalent to inCider/A+'s "What's New" section. So, if there are any former inCider/A+ advertisers who would like to keep Shareware Solutions II subscribers up-to-date on their products, they can always send along press releases and/or sample products to the Shareware Solutions II worldwide headquarters. Joe Kohn Shareware Solutions II 166 Alpine Street San Rafael, CA 94901 (J.KOHN, CAT28, TOP4, MSG:52/M645) WORD TO THE WISE The new version _is_ final. We may have one or two """""""""""""""" small updates but they won't be anything major or really necessary for GEM to function properly (for example, we noticed after release that the dial entry for GEM under ProTerm is still numbered 4.20 even though it's 4.21, or Steve Weyhrich's name is spelled wrong in the docs - minor stuff like that). The old GEM WILL break within a few weeks. Most likely by July 1 at the latest, maybe sooner. You can stick with the old version if you want, but the day GEM breaks, you will have to log on manually to get the new version. You need GEM 4.21 to make sure your GEM is working. As long as your GEM is 4.21 you'll be fine. Don't worry if you got an early version of GEM version 4.21 where some of the screens still say "GEM 4.20." Just ignore that. We're putting up a new version fix that (cosmetic) problem, but otherwise, you won't need to update. If you're using anything EARLIER than GEM 4.21 though, your GEM will break by July 1, if it hasn't already. Just a warning to the wise. You can do what you want about it. ;-) -Dean Esmay (A2.DEAN, CAT29, TOP9, MSG:50/M645) _________ / . / THE DEAN'S LIST (A2 Menu Item 3 or Move 645;3) /___/____/ """"""""""""""" | A new selection of great downloads from the A2 libraries " +20978 GEM.4.21.BXY GEnie Master (GEM) offline message processor v4.21 A must-have for ALL Apple II owners! +20862 GEM.LAMP2.1.BXY Download GEnieLamp with GEM/TIC 20860 A2DOM.0693.BXY A2 Disk Of The Month for June, 1993 20852 PHAN.BLNK.BXY Collection of Phantasm screen blankers 20847 OPEN.ANY1.1.BXY Use those "Finder Extras" from outside Finder 20841 SENS.SOUNDS.BXY Apple IIgs System sounds that talk +20840 NEWS.9306.BXY A2 news digest for June, 1993 +20836 A2NDX9306TX.BXY Full category/topic list for A2, June, 1993 +20826 VIGOR.BXY Shoot-em-up arcade game for any Apple II + = Works on 8-bit Apples (A2.LUNATIC, CAT3, TOP31, MSG:5/M645) COLLEGIATE PARTNERSHIP PRICE LIST I got my higher education Collegiate """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Partnership packet today. The price list was the May 17 '93 version (and there is a newer one). No LC III's shown (only LC II's and I've ommitted those). No software is included on this price list. Some prices (it's two pages long... these are highlights) Model IPP 1 $ Suggested Retail PowerBook 160 4/80 2343.00 2789.00 PowerBook Duo 210 4/80 1377.00 1839.00 PowerBook Duo 230 4/120 w/ modem 2435.00 2899.00 Duo Dock (512k VRAM) 906.00 1079.00 Duo Dock (1 Mb VRAM) 230 HD & FPU 1659.00 1975.00 Duo MiniDock 495.00 589.00 Centris 610 (512k VRAM) 4/80 w/ ethernet 1435.00 1969.00 Centris 650 (1Mb VRAM) 8/230 w/ CD-ROM 3195.00 3939.00 Quadra 800 (1Mb VRAM) 8/500 w/ CD-ROM 4494.00 5829.00 Quadra 950 8/230 4762.00 6099.00 Keyboard II 90.30 105.00 Extended Keyboard II 160.30 185.00 Macintosh Color Display (14" Trinitron) 453.00 539.00 Macintosh 16" Color Display 1119.00 1459.00 Macintosh 21" Color Display 2775.00 3599.00 Macintosh Portrait Display 769.30 889.00 Apple CD 150 w/ cables (1st device) 475.00 563.00 LaserWriter Select 300 w/ accss. 705.00 839.00 LaserWriter Select 310 w/ accss. 923.00 1099.00 LaserWriter Pro 600 (8 Mb) w/toner cart. 1763.00 2099.00 LaserWriter Pro 630 (8 Mb) w/toner cart. 2124.00 2529.00 StyleWriter II w/ access. kit & 4 carts. 302.00 359.00 ImageWriter II w/ cable 413.00 459.00 All purchases are FOB Apple's standard shipping location. Prices include S.H.I.P. to US locations. $100 minimum order. Payment methods are MasterCard, Visa, Apple Credit, Apple Education Loan. I got a order blank. I assume I fill it in and mail it off like it says. 1-800-877-HIED is the _Collegiate Partnership_ number. -Mike ("Maj") Murley (M.MURLEY3, CAT17, TOP37, MSG:92/M645) GEM AND COPILOT UPDATE We certainly have been working overtime to get """""""""""""""""""""" GEM and CoPilot out the door and modified to fix all bugs. It's been very difficult for us because we're working with programs we didn't write, and there have been different problems not only with both programs, but with different versions of each program, i.e. there were changes to the ProTerm scripts that weren't the same as the changes to the TIC scripts and etc. Everything starts to blur together after a while. Regarding the complaints about all the different GEM versions - that's a wee bit unfair since we only publicly released one GEM version before the current one, which we told everyone was a beta and that they should only download it if they wanted to help us test it. The next version to go up had some extremely minor problems that we provided small and simple updates for. We've been working under the gun with all these upcoming GEnie changes, and trying to get things out before July 1 so people who use the former Basic Services RTs can save money under the new rates. It seemed like a good idea, anyway. :-) -Dean Esmay (A2.DEAN, CAT10, TOP11, MSG:190/M645) >>> HOT TOPICS <<< """""""""""""""""" ~ Too Hot To Handle, Almost ~ CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) -- Apple Computer Inc. announced today that chairman John Sculley is stepping down as chief executive so he can focus on pursuing business opportunities for the computer company. Sculley, who will remain chairman, will be suceeded as chief executive by Michael Spindler, Apple's president and chief operating officer. "My personal interests have long been in defining the opportunities and technologies for Apple in the convergence of computing, communications and content," Sculley said in a prepared statement. "There is so much to be done here, and now I will be able to concentrate fully on these activities while Michael runs the company," he said. Sculley, who has headed Apple for 10 years, said he initiated the move and had been discussing the change with the board of directors for two years. "We respect John's wishes and are very fortunate that he has agreed to continue as chairman and close adviser to Spindler," said A.C. "Mike" Markkula, Jr., Apple's co-founder and vice chairman. Spindler joined the company in 1980 as marketing manager for European operations. Since then, he has served in several capacities, including general manager for European operations, vice president and in international sales and marketing. (J.KOHN, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:136/M645) POWERPC MIGRATION A lot of people seem to be quoting the company line. """"""""""""""""" I'm not sure this is realistic.... (1) Software emulations have historically been poor in performance (can you say SoftPC?). Plus, even hardware-supported emulations often lose the character of the original platform (IIe Card in an LC; try filling the "virtual slots" the way _you_ want to). Until I see the PowerPC do the emulation right, I remain skeptical. (2) "We'll support the Mac." Uh, if _native_ products for the PowerPC show more potential for new sales, guess exactly how long Apple will stick with supporting the Mac emulation. They aren't bringing out new models of Macs every few months for the customer's health; they're doing it to move hardware (this month's _MacWorld_ is filled with letters from disgruntled IIvx purchasers; that machine had to be "planned obsolescence" as it was only on the market a few months, and the upgrade to the Centris is not cheap). When they are making money primarily on software, that will become their incentive. (This isn't knocking capitalism; I just hate to see people assume Apple will somehow become "noble" when their history is to seek bucks like any other company.) Remember Apple is the home of the "reality distortion field". If you look around and the world isn't the way they describe _today_ (do _you_ feel you've been told the truth historically on how you as an Apple II customer were being supported?), don't even think about believing what they predict it will be tomorrow. (I'm also waiting for "put-up-or-shut-up" on Windows NT, the Pentium, etc. :) (WIZARDS.MUSE, CAT5, TOP3, MSG:161/M645) >>>>> Agreed for most s/w emulations however, I _think_ the Mac <-> """"" PowerPC situation is somewhat different. First of all, most Mac applications make heavy use of the Toolbox. That gives Apple a much smaller and defined target to aim at, compared to emulating DOS and BIOS and whatever-else is needed for SoftPC. As well, Apple did a study of a number of Mac applications and found that a very high percentage of time (over 50%) was spent in only a few key Toolbox calls. They are re-writing those Toolbox calls in native PowerPC code to get the most bang for the buck. > Plus, even hardware-supported emulations often lose the character of the > original platform (IIe Card in an LC; try filling the "virtual slots" > the way _you_ want to). Another good point, however, the PowerPC upgrades will still have access to the original hardware Nubus slots, just as the 680x0 did. Not quite the same situation. > "We'll support the Mac." Uh, if _native_ products for the PowerPC show > more potential for new sales, guess exactly how long Apple will stick > with supporting the Mac emulation. A compiler producing native code that runs under the Mac O/S on a PowerPC would still produce Mac O/S applications. Application-specific code would run at native-code speed and Toolbox calls would run at emulation speed or native speed depending on which Toolbox calls Apple has ported. Now, if Pink ever sees the light of day, then yes, your Mac applications probably wouldn't run under it directly. > this month's _MacWorld_ is filled with letters from disgruntled IIvx > purchasers As a IIGS owner, I have no sympathy for them whatsoever. As a Mac IIvi owner, I don't understand what their problem is - the IIvi and IIvx are both on the short list of machines with scheduled PowerPC upgrades. That's one of the reasons that I sold my Mac IIcx and bought the IIvi. > do _you_ feel you've been told the truth historically on how you as an > Apple II customer were being supported? Well, I think that Apple has learned a lesson and will make every reasonable effort to provide Mac users with an upgrade path. And I am also quite satisfied at the current level of support that they give the Apple II, given the historical decisions that they made - not that I agree with the past decisions, just looking at it from where we are today, and the support that they continue to give today. -Allan (A.BELYEA, CAT5, TOP3, MSG:163/M645) _ >>>>> /-\pple talks about compilers being able to compile the same code """"" in both Mac and PowerPC specific versions. Obviously, though, the PowerPC is going to have a number of features that the Mac doesn't have. Otherwise, why not just continue using faster and faster 680x0 processors? So, as soon as some of those PowerPC specific features are used, the program will no longer be able to be compiled in a Mac version. Now, given the CHANCE at using some nifty new features, how many people do you think are still going to limit their programs to ONLY using features available to Macs, so that they can be easily compiled for both systems? It's going to be like when a new version of an operating system comes out. Sure, a FEW people will continue to make their programs compatible with the previous operating system, but the vast majority are going to JUMP at the chance to use the nifty new features available in the latest system software release. The number of people who are going to still limit themselves to the "smaller" feature set of the Mac may be a little bit higher in this case, but don't fool yourself that MOST people developing applications to run on the PowerPC are going to. ___ |he PowerPC Mac emulation is going to be like the Apple IIe Card in the Mac LC/etc. Has this card increased the market for new 8-bit Apple II software? No. People with IIe Cards are NOT buying new Apple II software, they're only using them to run existing Apple II software that they already own. With the PowerPC Macs, the cross compiling system is going to be used in a similar way: Existing applications are going to be recompiled for the PowerPC, and from there there's no looking back. You're going to be able to use the Mac stuff you have now with the PowerPC Macs, but the original Macs themselves are going to be left in the dust, just like the Apple II. \/\/hat it's most likely to look like is the relationship between the Apple IIgs and 8-bit Apple IIs. -= Lunatic (: (A2.LUNATIC, CAT5, TOP3, MSG:166/M645) "___ >>>>> |he PowerPC Mac emulation is going to be like the Apple IIe Card """"" in the Mac LC/etc. " I don't think you guys have the true picture here. The PowerPC is not just a faster processor and an extended feature set. It IS, literally, the next generation. As I said in an earlier post, the limit on software emulations in the past has been the power/speed of the processors on which the emulation was running. A friend of mine tells me that he read a report of someone who ran one of the standard Mac testing programs (Speedometer?) on a PowerPC doing it's Mac emulation. The testing gizmo thought it was running on a Quadra 850 at 400 mhz. I'm told that screen redraws are so fast that you can't see them happen, you can only see that they have changed. Comparisons with earlier emulations are invalid, this thing is just so fast it is beyond the comparisons entirely. >>"\/\/hat it's most likely to look like is the relationship between the Apple IIgs and 8-bit Apple IIs." That's about right, if the GS in question is running at 10-15mhz. :) That is, Mac applications will run so much faster that it will compare to a 1mhz, read a block at a time, P8 application running 1500% faster with a multiple block read SCSI card. However, the thing you can't ignore is that there is a HUGE installed base of Macs out there (as compared to the Apple II market, even at its peak). There IS money to be made for a developer who comes out with an app that runs on the older Macs. When you consider that that same app WILL run on the PowerPC (except it will be an order of magnitude faster), it'll be worth it. Also the technical advantages of the PowerPC are not radically different, in the way that going from a monochrome IIe to a IIgs are. The largest part of the difference is in extended capabilities like being able to multitask DOS and Mac applications at the same time, significantly better networking capabilities, etc. (And it is entirely possible to write a program for the old style Macs and then simply and quickly port it to PowerPC native mode code. This is SUPPOSED to be a trivial task. :) -Gary R. Utter (GARY.UTTER, CAT5, TOP3, MSG:167/,645) _ >>>>> (_,ary, I was trying to put it in easy to understand terms, and """"" you took those quotes out of context. Twice now in Apple's history they have already come out with a faster/better machine that had a HARDWARE emulation of a previous CPU (three times, if you count the Apple ///'s emulation of the original Apple II). In both cases, this new machine's emulation capability did NOT create a significant new market for software that still ran on the old machine, once equivalent new machine specific software was available. That doesn't mean that the old market disappeared, but it was greatly overshadowed. Now with the Power PC Macs, due to developer seeding, and to the initial source code compatibility, there should already be a significant amount of native Power PC software (at least Power PC specific VERSIONS) at or soon after its release. ___ |he 680x0 Mac market isn't going to disappear when the Power PC Macs come out, and it's not going to be an Apple II vs. Mac kind of controversy. What it will be more like is an Apple IIgs vs. 8-bit Apple II situation. You buy one machine, and you'll be able to run everything. The people with the older machines will be able to "upgrade" to the new machines and take all their software and hardware with them. But the people who don't upgrade are going to start wistfully looking at the neat new packages that won't run on their machines, and wonder why there's getting to be less and less development for their platform. -= Lunatic (: SYSTEM 6.0.1. & POINTLESS PROBLEMS? I got System 6.0.1 about a week ago """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" from Resource Central, and after getting it, called Apple's Software Licensing to inquire about making it available to members of my local user group. After getting the OK, it was passed out this past weekend. So far, I, and several other officers of the club, have been having major problems. We all have Pointless installed, and as soon as accessing a Choose Font menu from a GS/OS word processing program, the system freezes. I have tried re-installing 6.0.1 several times, trying everything from an Easy Update to a complete new "clean" install. Even with a minimum system, with nothing extra installed, Pointless and 6.0.1 do not seem to get along. Three of us have the exact same problem. As soon as the Choose Font dialog box appears, several dimmed numbers appear where point sizes should go. Some of those are three digit numbers. As soon as anything (point size, TT font) is clicked on with the mouse, the system freezes. That's happened to me with AppleWorks GS. I then did install one NDA, WriteIt, which has always been very well behaved with all versions of the GS System Disk, and it did the same thing. I have a ROM01 with a 4 meg Sequential Systems RAM card. I have a 100 meg Vulcan, and have a HP LJIIP Plus connected to an AE Parallel Pro and have Harmonie 2.0p. Is there a problem with 6.0.1, with Pointless, or...? TIA -Joe (J.KOHN, CAT9, TOP6, MSG:72/M645) WESTCODE RESPONDS Here is the "official" posting on the current """"""""""""""""" Pointless/System 6.01 problem: All - I was recently made aware of a conflict between System 6.01 and Pointless 2.0. PROBLEM If you select a TrueType font from the Choose Font dialog, your """"""" system will crash. CONDITIONS The problem only occurs with TrueType's. Yo may select """""""""" bitmapped fonts as before. ALSO, you may select a TrueType for which you've saved out a bitmapped size. In other words, if you go to select Geneva, and have saved out a Geneva.1 from the Pointless CDEV, your system will NOT crash. SOLUTION Either select your fonts from the Font menu proper, or (till """""""" the problem can be solved) save out a bitmap (1 pt will suffice) for each of your TrueType's. We will be looking in to what is causing the problem (System software or Pointless) and will be attempting to fix it (if possible) very shortly. Tony Gentile WestCode Software, Inc. (WESTCODE, CAT37, TOP4, MSG:181/M645) >>> WHAT'S NEW <<< """""""""""""""""" ~ New and Improved ~ SYSTEM 6.0.1. RELEASED For those of you who still don't know it, Apple's """""""""""""""""""""" new System 6.0.1 for the Apple IIgs is now availab, as is the new System 4.0.2 for the IIe and IIc. System 6.0.1 contains many enhancements and bug fixes, most notable probably being the (read-only) MS-DOS FST for high density drives, and aliasing & keyboard navigation in the new Finder. System 6.0.1 comes in two packages. The first is only $24, and includes all six new disks, as well as a 20 page set of release notes that describe the differences between System 6.0 and 6.0.1. There's a second package which includes a complete set of manuals for $39, but that package is not yet available. Plus all it includes is the same documentation that came with System 6.0, plus the 20 pages of release notes you'd get if you just bought the first package. ;-) You only need to order the second package if you don't already have the System 6.0 manuals. The new ProDOS 8 System Disk 4.0.2 for 8-bit Apple II systems, which contains the latest PRODOS and BASIC.SYSTEM, is available for $14.00. All prices include surface shipping anywhere in the world. Air mail is extra. To order, contact: Resource Central P.O. Box 11250 Overland Park, KS 66207 913-469-6502 Or, if you'd like to order it through GEnie, just send e-mail to A2-CENTRAL (that's A2-CENTRAL, not A2.CENTRAL or anything else - A2 dash Central) specifying what you want and giving your full name, address, credit card number, and expiration date. We only accept Visa and Mastercard. Just thought everyone would like to know. ;-) IIgs System 6.0.1 and the 8-bit System 4.0.2 will be available for downloading on GEnie at some point in the near future, but we are still waiting for clearance from Apple Licensing before we can make it available here. Let me say here that System 6.0.1 for the IIgs is wonderful! You should get it ASAP. :-) -Dean Esmay (A2.DEAN, CAT23, TOP4, MSG:148/M645) >>>>> This is the text of the "Whats.New" file from System 6.0.1. """"" What's new for System 6.0.1 This is a summary of the visible changes ''''''''''''''''''''''''''' since System 6.0 was released. There have been many bugs fixed and many features added that are not immediately visiblePthey will enable developers to create better future products. Be sure to also read the Shortcuts file on the SystemTools2 disk for more information. Finder (see also Finder Help) You can now click in Name, Size, Kind, or ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Last Modified at the top of a list- view window to change the view. To rename an icon, you must now click on its name rather than the icon. The "File Copy Alternatives" dialog has been removed. Holding down the Option key now always forces a copy rather than a move. Dragging certain system-related files to the System folder icon on the boot volume now does "magic routing" much like the Macintosh Finder. Note that this only works when using folder's icon; dragging into a window works as before. The kinds of files that are properly placed in their own folders within the System folder are: Control Panels, Desk Accessories, Drivers, FSTs, Tools, Fonts, Sounds, Inits, and Finder Extensions. Other files are just placed in the System folder. The Finder now creates the "FinderExtras" folder for you. If you open the Icon Info window on an Apple SCSI device, the SCSI ID number appears on the "Where" card. The Finder's Clipboard window handles text, pictures, and sounds. If you copy a sound to the clipboard (using the Sound control panel, for example), you can click on the Speaker icon on the clipboard to hear the sound. Teach has the same Clipboard window. Extensions EasyMount is not just for servers anymore. It now handles '''''''''' aliases to any disk, folder, or application. In other words, you don't need to drag the icon onto the desktop anymorePjust keep an alias of it on the desktop. Select the icon of the item you want to alias and choose "Make Alias" from the Extras menu. EasyMount will ask you where to save the alias. Later, double-clicking the alias opens the real itemPdisks and folders are opened, and applications (P8 or GS/OS) are launched. The Installer automatically installs EasyMount in your System.Setup folder. Control Panels DC Printer control panel This was a change in System 6.0 '''''''''''''' but not documented: The DC Printer will let you choose LaserWriter, which is potentially useful for "printing" to PostScript files. Monitor control panel The new checkbox "Smoother Mouse Cursor" sets a new Battery RAM location. It kills the cursor flicker that is especially noticeable with a Video Overlay card or an accelerator. SetStart control panel The new checkbox "Show icons during startup" provides a way to set the Battery RAM location that disables the display of the startup icons. The Battery RAM location has been there since System 6.0, but there was no Apple-provided way to change it. The new checkbox "Enable programmer CDAs" provides a way to set the Battery RAM location that allows Visit Monitor and Memory Peeker to show up in the CDA menu. Both ROM 1 and ROM 3 machines now check this location. This checkbox does not show up if the ROM 3 Control Panel disable jumper is present. Startup During startup, if you have a lot of icons, they no longer keep ''''''' recycling the bottom row of the screen. They now "wrap up" to the row above. If you use a Vulcan internal hard drive, you no longer need to copy the Vulcan driver onto the Install disk when installing new system software. The Vulcan driver should still to be used for enhanced performance, but you can successfully install without it. If your ROM 3 Apple IIgs has 8 Megabytes of RAM, the computer fails to create a RAM disk (RAM5) of any size. In this case, System 6.0.1 creates RAM5 and then restarts the system. When you turn on the computer, you will hear an extra beep at the "Apple IIgs ... ROM Version 3" screen. Drivers The RAM5 RAM disk has a new driver. The Installer automatically ''''''' installs it if you have the RAM disk enabled when you do an Easy Update. The driver greatly enhances the disk's performance. It also allows you to have a RAM5 disk in GS/OS (but not in ProDOS 8) even when slot 5 is switched to "Your card". On a ROM 1, you must have the Minimum and Maximum sizes set to the same value; otherwise you will see a message during startup and the new driver will not be used. The Apple II Memory Expansion Card has a new optional format. If you have a full megabyte of memory on the card, it lets you format it as either 1,024K or 800K. The 800K option blocks out the remaining 224K, but allows faster block copies to and from other 800K disks. File System Translators (FSTs) The MS-DOS FST is new. To use it, you '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' need a drive that can read MFM disks, such as the Apple SuperDrive with an Apple II SuperDrive Controller Card. This version is read-only - it doesn't let you make changes to MS-DOS disks. ProDOS 8 The Thunderclock year table in P8 has been updated for the '''''''' years 1993-1998. There is also a Clock.Patch file on the SystemTools2 disk that you may use to update P8 (renamed to ProDOS) to include future year groups. -= Lunatic (: (A2.LUNATIC, CAT9, TOP6, MSG:55/M645) NEW PRODUCTS FROM APPLE Apple has just announced three new computers and """"""""""""""""""""""" four printers. LC 520 The LC 520 is an "all in one" unit 25 mhz 68030 processor 'box' """""" with a built-in 1.44 Mb 3.5" floopy, a built-in 330i CD-ROM, either a 80 or 160 Mb hard drive, and a built-in 14" Macintosh Color Display (Trinitron tube). It comes with a minimum of 5 Mb RAM and 768k VRAM (32,768 colors). It also has one LC style processor direct slot and a math co-proccesor slot. So it's a LC III with a built-in CD-ROM, upgraded monitor, and one piece design. PowerBook 145B Also a 25 Mhz 68030 processor, 4 Mb RAM, supertwist """""""""""""" display. Now "the most affordable PowerBook". PowerBook 180c A color version of the 180 (256 colors, 640x480, 8.4") """""""""""""" running at 33 Mhz with a 68030 processor. Otherwise specs are as for the PB 180. Portable StyleWriter A portable StyleWriter! Weighs 4.5 lbs. """""""""""""""""""" Personal LaserWriter 300 300 dpi non-AppleTalk laser printer. Comes """""""""""""""""""""""" with GreyShare to use it across AppleTalk. Touted as as inexpensive as an ink-jet printer. LaserWriter Pro 800 _800_, 600, 400, or 300 dpi. PostScript level 2 and """"""""""""""""""" PCL 4+. 64 fonts. Serial, parallel, and AppleTalk. Sez's it works with MS-DOS, Windows, Unix, as well as a Mac. Also sez's it works over "many network operating systems concurrently via multiple protocols, including TCP/IP, EtherTalk, NetWare IPX, and Digital LAT. 15 pages per minute. LaserWriter Pro 810 A mo' betta 800. Does more networking tricks. 20 """"""""""""""""""" ppm. Internal send/recieve PostScript fax modem option. -Mike ("Maj") Murley (M.MURLEY3, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:132/M645) HARDPRESSED OUT! Got HardPressed today. Nice manual as always (that's """""""""""""""" really why I bought it ;). Hehe, seriously, though, I gotta read up on it first before installing it, but from what I've read so far it looks great (and very well documented :). More when I get it installed tomorrow. (A2PRO.GREG, CAT37, TOP3, MSG:90/M645) >>>>> I don't have the official final version yet, but as one of the """"" testers who has watched this program develop, I've got to say that it is the most transparent and easy to use auto-compressors that I've seen. It's also one of the quickest and most flexible to configure. I have several folders flagged for automatically compressing anything that enters the folder or is modified in the folder and I have often forgotten that something is being compressed/uncompressed until I see the cursor change. A lot of time and effort has gone into this product and it shows in the program. I can't say enough about it. It is one of the most useful pieces of software that I've used. My hat is off to everyone at Westcode and especially to Andy for all the effort that they have put into HardPressed. It is a real bargain that I recommend to everyone! -Greg (KMCCANN, CAT37, TOP3, MSG:91/M645) SHAREWARE SOLUTIONS II INFO Somewhere up-topic, I posted a press release. """"""""""""""""""""""""""" What it said is that Shareware Solutions II will be published every other month, with the eventual goal of "going monthly". Each issue will be at least 12 pages. Planned feature length articles for the first several issues will include an over view of Apple Expo West, with a detailed description of all new products released there, a very detailed article about The Internet, including a description of what it is, a hundred ways to access it for free, step-by-step Apple II oriented instructions that will assist the net newcomer (and more than a few old-times), and a mini-guided tour to Apple II and Educational offerings on the net. There will be a 'Shareware Solutions like' article about all the software created by the France based FTA, including several surprises. Grapevine: The Next Generation will continue to provide readers with fun Apple II Easter Eggs, money saving hints, and include Apple II news. Modem Madness is a telecom oriented column, with news of interest to Apple II users. Of course, every issue will contain lots of information about new and classic freeware, shareware and public domain, and all software written about will be made available to readers via the mail. The North American subscription rate is $25 (US Funds ONLY) for 12 issues (that's not a one year subscription; it's for 12 issues). Outside North America, the subscription rate is $40, and foreign readers will receive their copy by first class air mail. I am not set up, at this time, to accept school purchase orders or credit cards. Joe Kohn 166 Alpine Street San Rafael, CA 94901 (J.KOHN, CAT28, TOP4, MSG:54/M645) INTRODUCING: MEGABUFF MegaBuff is a 1 MegaByte buffer and LocalTalk """"""""""""""""""""" Option (LTO) board for the ImageWriter II printer. In serial mode, it supports data speeds up to 57600 baud. In network mode, up to four computers at once can be buffering data in MegaBuff. A special Macintosh printer driver is included that displays the amount of memory remaining in the buffer via a thermometer bar. As an example of our continuing support for Apple II users, MegaBuff now ships with an _exclusive_ high-speed 57600 baud Port Driver (for Apple IIGS). These port drivers directly access the serial chip in the Apple IIGS for TRUE 57600 baud access (no overhead). As an example of the benefit of this, a sample four-page AWGS word processor file printed in 1:30 seconds on an IW2 (w/MegaBuff) with Apple's standard port driver. With the MegaPort driver, the same file spooled to the printer in only 30 seconds! Even better, the MegaPort driver allows you to put an expansion card in slot 1, because MegaPort directly accesses the IIGS serial port. Don't wait! Get this powerful addition to your computer system today! -Jawaid @ Sequential (PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP10, MSG:2/M645) >>> THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ Rumors, Maybes and Mayhem ~ inCider/A+??? I was surprised the latest (and last?) issue of inCider/A+ """"""""""""" makes no mention of its future, or lack thereof. The only reference whatsoever is that Joe Kohn "is moving on;" it's not mentioned that everyone else is moving OUT. There's no editorial. There ARE reader-service cards that invite new subscriptions. Maybe the decision was made AFTER the issue went to bed? <<>> (L.DEVRIES, CAT28, TOP3, MSG:186/M645) >>>>> I was also surprised. For those who are not online, the sudden """"" disappearance of inCider is going to be more of a shock than it would have been with the inclusion of a "farewell" editorial. Harumph. Steve Weyhrich --< (S.WEYHRICH, CAT28, TOP3, MSG:187/M645) >>>>> LLoyd/Steve at al - When I talked to Paul Statt about it many """"" months ago, he told me that in general, when a magazine publishes its final issue, it doesn't mention that fact within the magazine itself, and that inCider wasn't going to say anything either. It was for that very reason that my column includes my farewell. The decision that the July issue would be the final issue was made long ago. It was only the details that were worked out in recent months. Despite the fact that A+ Publishing will be publishing Mac Computing, I am firmly committed to remaining with the Apple II, and made my decision to publish Shareware Solutions II after I learned of the eventual demise of inCider/A+. Believe me; the July issue of inCider is the last one you'll ever see. And, trust me also, when I say that the best of inCider/A+ will live on in Shareware Solutions II. -Joe Kohn GOOD NEWS... The next release of the Six Pack product will include an """""""""""" improved MoreInfo extension that includes "preferences", you can pick All, none, or whatever of those MoreInfo items you like to show up in the Extras menu. I like leaving Lock and Unlock there, but I have the others set not to show up. But that's not all :-) In the coming months (when its done!) you'll find that most of the existing programs have been improved and there will be a few new ones as well. When the new release is ready, either Jerry or myself will post here on GEnie and let everyone know! PS: Dont forget, with IR installed in your system (its on the ~~ Six Pack disk), you can put some of your less-often used extensions in a different folder and just double-click on them when you want to use them. This way, you won't have the giant Extras menu all the time. Also, you can create Worksets of groups of extensions to be installed with a single double-click (Isn't Six Pack a great pack of programs?) For the record, I LOVE having a MONSTER Extras menu! :-) Bill {W.TUDOR} (W.TUDOR, CAT42, TOP26, MSG:119/M645) EXPRESS V2.1 SOON We expect Express v2.1 will be available in a month or """"""""""""""""" so. It will also include the tweak to force T2 to do a friendly "background blank" so it won't keep Express from printing. Thanks, --Dave (SEVENHILLS, CAT43, TOP10, MSG:175/M645) LATEST ACCUDRAW AT KANSASFEST For those of you who will be attending """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" KansasFest this year, you will be able to see the latest version of AccuDraw. This is the most complete graphics design program ever written for the Apple II. With AccuDraw, you can even do complex features like Aldus Freehands tile fill. In AccuDraw, you can make any contents of the clipboard a fill pattern to be used. This is a tile fill. Are there any features you are looking for in a CAD program? If so, ask here. They may already be in AccuDraw. -Eric Bush, Kitchen Sink Software, Inc. (KITCHEN.SINK, CAT25, TOP11, MSG:79/M645) >>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""" ~ Listen Up! ~ Apple II RoundTable Category 5, Topic 2 Message 147 Mon Jun 21, 1993 SOFTDISK.INC [Bryan Zak] at 04:15 EDT Jawaid, I agree! (Isn't that amazing!??!) I too don't understand why Apple decided that the $1.5 billion that the Apple II was generating wasn't good enough. I guess they felt that every Apple II sold was one less Macintosh. And since they wanted to go with the Macintosh in the long run I guess they decided to just shoot the Apple II in the head. The shooting in the head is the part I don't get. I can understand a company deciding on long range goals (I guess 5 years is long range in the personal computer industry eh? :). I guess I was saying two things: One, I was giving that guy an example of a company that could stop pushing a money-making product and still survive. And two, I was trying to say that while I think pushing the Macintosh over the Apple II was in the best interests of Apple Computer in the long run I think they could have handled the installed base of Apple II users better. Bryan [*][*][*] Apple II RoundTable Category 5, Topic 2 Message 153 Tue Jun 22, 1993 W.ARCHER2 at 00:46 EDT Not all business decisions are made on the basis of logical course of action or financial evaluation. Looking back at the last few years I'd have to say that Apple abandoned the Apple II because a controlling group of management honestly think the Macintosh is a superior technology. Numbers can be moved around to support many different views of a given business strategy. Lost revenues due to non-pursuit of 6502 based technology aside, my impression is that most Apple employees are solidly behind the Mac and would prefer to use a Mac over any other personal computer available. Remember trying to convince a CP/M user that the Apple II was a worthwhile machine? Same thing trying to convince a Mac afficionado that the Apple II is still relevant. As for me... different tools for different jobs. I hope the Apple II will be around for years to come. Walker [*][*][*] 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 / ///////////////////////////////// GEnie Fun And Games """"""""""""""""""" [Author Unknown] >>> I HAD A DREAM <<< """"""""""""""""""""" Monday, 10 AM -- Chicago, Illinois -- Start-up software developer Cuisine International announced CUISINENET, the first internetworking program to seamlessly integrate word and food processing. Called a breakthrough for small restaurants and snack bars, Cuisine Chairman Mark Meigs confidently predicted sales of thousands of copies with shipments soon to begin. Monday, 4 PM -- New York -- Cuisine International shares closed sharply higher on announcement of new CUISINENET product. Tuesday, 9 AM -- Redmond, Washington -- Microsoft Chairman William H. Gates, III announced that Microsoft Food for Windows would soon enter beta testing. Gates described the product as the first of a projected family of products to include Food for Windows, designed for small commercial dining establishments; Personal Food for Windows, designed for home kitchens; Portable Food for Windows, designed for lunchboxes; and, of course, at the high end, Food for Windows NC (Nouvelle Cuisine) designed for large institutional dining rooms. Asked by a reporter about CUISINENET, Gates said that he had never heard of the product, but was not surprised by it, because the software business is highly competitive, and Microsoft has to compete on the merits with many strong competitors, as the FTC had recently concluded. Tuesday, 3 PM -- Chicago, Illinois -- An angry Mark Meigs showed reporters a copy of the nondisclosure agreement signed by Bill Gates, under which Cuisine International had informed Microsoft a year earlier about plans for CUISINENET. Meigs said that in hindsight, he should never have signed the agreement, as the only thing he learned from Microsoft was that Gates was considering making changes to Windows. Wednesday, 9 AM -- Redmond, Washington -- Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced that Microsoft would soon publish specifications for the Windows Open Kitchen Architecture (WOKA), a series of design specifications to permit manufacturers of toasters, ranges, and other kitchen appliances to integrate their products into the forthcoming Microsoft Food for Windows line. Asked about reports of a nondisclosure agreement with Cuisine International for a similar product, Gates said that the other product was really at most a niche product, and would probably have less functionality than the food-related features that Microsoft would be building into the new Unsaturated FAT File System which would be part of DOS 7.0. Gates said that he doubted there would be much interest in a dead-end solution that would not be able to keep up to date with advances in WOKA. Gates added that over 11,000 manufacturers of kitchen appliances were already having serious discussions with Microsoft about WOKA, and that he expected almost all important eaters of food to standardize on the WOKA environment. Wednesday, 10 AM -- Redmond, Washington -- Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced that he would be giving the keynote speech at the American Bakers annual convention on "Nutrition at Your Fingertips." Gates played down speculation that he would use the Bakers convention to introduce Microsoft Food for Windows, saying only that alpha testing was proceeding ahead of schedule, and the product would be shipped when it was ready. Wednesday, 11 AM -- Redmond, Washington -- Microsoft Corporation announced that its Chairman, William H. Gates, III, had made a donation of over $250 of personal funds to the Cordon Bleu to begin an endowment fund for the Bill Gates Professorship of Advanced Cookery. The famous French cooking school confirmed that it had agreed to be a beta site for the much discussed Food for Windows application sweet. Thursday, 9 AM -- New York -- PCWeek Magazine reported in a copyrighted story that it had obtained a copy of correspoence from Microsoft to Cuisine International, demanding that the small developer of kitchen software cease using the Cuisine name, as it infringes on the trademark for Microsoft Food for Windows NC. Microsoft added that Chairman Mark Meigs would also have to change his own name as Mark infringed a copyright on the Windows Edit menu, Meigs infringed the trademark on Meigs Field in Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Chairman infringed the trademark on Bill Gates's title which he had acquired with personal funds from Mao's estate. Also, Microsoft advised that while the company did not actually have to move out of Chicago, use of the name on press releases infringed a trademark on Windows 4.0 Thursday, 4 PM -- New York -- Cuisine International stock closed at 0-bid, 1/16-asked. Friday, 9 AM -- ? -- An anonymous spokesman for an unnamed Midwestern software developer announced the discontinuation of operations. Undescribed legal problems were cited as the reason. Others speculated that a failure to appreciate the competitive nature of the software business may have led to the company's sudden collapse. Monday, 9 AM -- Microsoft Internal Mail From: billg To: mikem Re: Food Program Please see if you can reassign one of the 3,000 engineers from the OS/2 virus development project to do a feasibility study on a food-related program. Not sure what it would do. Low priority. (J.ELKINS1, CAT21, TOP48, MSG:913/M615) [EOA] [ART]////////////////////////////// A2 HAPPENINGS / ///////////////////////////////// A2 Roundtable News """""""""""""""""" By Darrel Raines [D.RAINES] TAKE A LOOK! This new section of GEnieLamp will take a look at any """""""""""" upcoming events and other news dealing with the A2 Roundtable. Look here for information announcing changes to the A2 Roundtable on GEnie. ______ / __ \ BEWITCHED, BOTHERED, OR BEWILDERED BY GENIE? / / \ \ <__< | | Come by A2's Real Time Conference (RTC), every Sunday at / / 2 PM Eastern and we'll rub GEnie's "magic lamp" to unlock / / the secrets of the universe! Well, ok, we'll unlock the / / secrets of the universe known as GENIE! No question is |__| too simple, no klutz books are needed -- just hunt n' __ peck your way in and we'll take care of the rest. If (__) you feel like you're all thumbs, or have two left feet, then you've found just the right place! (Main Menu Item #2) Hey! Guess what? We're keeping the RTC open ALL DAY on Sunday's. We move it to Chat from 8-9:30PM, (M400;4) then we're back here for our regular Sunday RTC, II Speak! @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @ Real Time Conference Schedule @ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ A2 Weekly Schedule ------------------ Day Time Topic Host GE-Mail --- ------- ----------------------- --------------- ------------ Sun 1200 ET All Day Sunday RTC Gena Saikin G.SAIKIN Jeff Rash J.RASH4 Sun 2130 ET II Speak Don Arrowsmith D.ARROWSMIT1 Mon 2130 ET What's New & True in A2 Tara Dillinger TARA Tue 2130 ET Formal Guest Susan MacGregor A2.SUSAN Wed 2130 ET Hypermedia HangTime A2.HANGTIME Thu 2130 ET TBC Forum Mike Garvey TBC Fri 2130 ET Telecommunications Jim Zajkowski JIMZ Sat 2130 ET Games Dave Ciotti A2.BEAR Formal Conferences: (Tuesdays, 2130 EDT, 1830 PDT, Room 3) Conference Transcripts: ----------------------- For a complete list of all A2 conference transcripts, type M645;3 to move to the A2 software library. Select Option 8, Set Software Library. When prompted, enter library 17. Then select option 2, Directory of Files, to see a list of all transcripts. _ __ ___ __ _ /_/__/___\__\_\ LONG AWAITED GEM UPDATE NOW AVAILABLE! \ \ \ / / / \ \ \ / / / GEnie Master (GEM) v4.21, the premiere FREE Apple II off- \ \ / / line message and file management system is finally here in \_/ the A2 libraries as file #20978, GEM.4.21.BXY. This is a MUST-HAVE program for all Apple II users on GEnie! GEM (A2 Menu saves you time and money by automating all of your regular Item #3) online activities. It requires AppleWorks 3.0 and either Talk is Cheap, Point-to-Point, or ProTERM 3.0. This new version 4.21 includes a new easy to understand manual, automated new user sign ups, and lots of changes and fixes. *** WARNING! *** *** IMPORTANT! *** \-\________ o\__ \______________}I GEM v4.20 AND COPILOT v2.0.x OFFLINE NAV. USERS!!! ' O _ __ ___ __ _ Your copies of GEM and CoPilot will _BREAK_ between /_/__/___\__\_\ now and THIS WEDNESDAY, June 16th!! GEnie is making \ \ \ / / / structural changes to make it more responsive, but it \ \ \ / / / will break GEM and CoPilot. Version 4.21 of GEM and \ \ / / version 2.1 of CoPilot are already compatible with all \_/ new changes, INCLUDING JULY 1ST CHANGES, and they are available NOW in the A2 Library. GEM v4.21 is file (A2 Menu Item #3 #20978, GEM.4.21.BXY, and CoPilot v2.1 is file #20878, or COPILOT.2.1.BXY. If you don't have the latest GEM or Move 645;3) CoPilot already, please download these TODAY! Some copies of GEM are already broken, and ALL versions prior to GEM 4.21 and CoPilot 2.1.1 will be broken by Wednesday at the latest. Download these TODAY if you haven't already! You don't have much time left! ____________ | | | || \ NEW! A2'S DISK OF THE MONTH! | |____|_|| | | _________ | Now, every month, starting this month, download the best | | A2 DoM | | Apple II files collected together on a single disk in A2! | | May 93 | | We've got the files that you want, available as a single |=|_________|_| download, easily selectable simply by choosing menu item 7 on the main A2 menu. This disk is great for user (A2 Menu groups, and is specifically cleared for their use. If Item #7) you're only going to download one file a month, make it this one! [EOA] [LIB]////////////////////////////// ONLINE LIBRARY / ///////////////////////////////// A2 Library -- Quick Takes """"""""""""""""""""""""" By Darrel Raines [D.RAINES] This section of the monthly GEnieLamp will be devoted to a sampling of the many diverse files that are uploaded to the A2 library each and every month. Our feature article will focus on a specific type of file that can be found in the libraries. This area will only offer the name and a short description of the files that are new to the A2 library during the last month. The fact that a file is listed in the following lists is not necessarily a recommendation for the file. The attempt will be to show the diversity of files uploaded to Genie. Some selected files will have the long description directly after the file name for additional information. If you see a file that you are interested in, then write down the file number and go to the library area to download the file to your computer. Have fun! File# File Name Bytes Description ----- ----------------------- ------ -------------------------------------- 20904 APPLEII.MTS.BXY 13184 RTC with Dean Esmay, Meet The SysOps 20895 WORLD.WIZ.TXT 10752 News from Dr. Tom and Apple Expo Wes 20886 APPLE.RX.BXY 27264 Apple.Rx version 3.4 20885 REVISE.BXY 5888 ProSel-16 revision description 20884 PROSEL.BXY 199040 ProSel-16 version 8.84 Version 8.84 of ProSel 16, a minor revison. Main change is more virus support. This file is for ProSel-16 owners only and is encrypted. Copyright 1993 by Glen Bredon. 20883 PTP.IIE.SCR.BXY 4992 PTP download scripts for IIe 20882 KYBRD5.TM.BXY 40064 KEYBOARDING 5 TEACHER'S MANUAL 20881 KYBRD5.FIX3.BXY 6272 KEYBOARDING 5 BUG FIX 3 20978 GEM.4.21.BXY 218496 An amazing FREEWARE GEnie navigator! This is GEnie Master (GEM), version 4.21, by Tom Hoover. This program is FREEWARE. GEM requires Appleworks 3.0, a minimum of 512K of memory, and a copy of a recent version of ProTerm, Point To Point, or Talk Is Cheap. A hard drive is strongly recommended, but it will work if you have a 3.5 drive. GEnie Master will save you tons of connect time; it will log on at the speed of light, collect your mail, read new messages, check for new files... then you read and respond to the things it collects at your leisure, off-line! Next time it logs on, it will send all your replies and download files, and get back off, also at the speed of light! This is a MUST HAVE item - feel free to distribute copies to others! 20878 COPILOT.2.1.BXY 143616 FREEWARE off-line navigator for IIgs This is Ken Gluckman's GE CoPilot, the amazing FREEWARE GEnie navigator for the Apple IIgs! CoPilot will make GEnie easier to use than you ever dreamed, plus save you lots of money by letting you do most of your work off-line, without the GEnie clock running! CoPilot grabs your mail and messages at the speed of light, then shows them to you and lets you read and respond off-line, then CoPilot logs back on and sends your responses instantly! Specify files to download, it downloads them for you without you having to fumble to type things with the billing clock running! This is a MUST HAVE item for any IIgs user on GEnie! Requires System 6.0 or later and at least a megabyte of memory, plus a copy of Talk Is Cheap, Point To Point, or ProTerm. 20871 QUICKIE.CMP.BXY 93952 See the difference Quickie 3.1 makes 20869 GS.ENTERTAN.BXY 38528 IIGS Graphics & Sound jukebox 20867 SONATA.FNT.BXY 11904 FONT: Sonata Bitmap (33279) 20866 MONO.FNT.BXY 1408 FONT: Mono Bitmap (32905) 20862 GEM.LAMP2.1.BXY 12800 Download GEnie Lamp with GEM/TIC 20861 TICKERSYM.BXY 115200 2 db files for stock & fund symbols 20860 A2DOM.0693.BXY 450816 A2 DOM June 1993 issue 20859 JUNETLE.BXY 44672 Satellite Orbital Elements for June 20852 PHAN.BLNK.BXY 53376 Phantasm Screen Blankers 20851 LOGSHEET.BXY 4992 GW3 file of a columned sheet 20850 GEAR.RATIOS.BXY 36992 GW3 file for Dura Ace gear ratios 20847 OPEN.ANY1.1.BXY 5376 NDA - Opens files via Finder Exts. 20841 SENS.SOUNDS.BXY 195456 Sensible Sounds for System 6.0 IIGS 20840 NEWS.9306.BXY 34304 A2 News Digest 06/93 20837 EAMON.100.BXY 44288 80-col. P8 'Sorceror's Spire' 20829 RUSS.PROG.B.BXY 61184 Russell's Program Disk Side 2 20828 RUSS.PROG.A.BXY 60032 Russell's Program Disk Side 1 20827 ESCAPE.BXY 54656 Hi-Res Escape game 20826 VIGOR.BXY 19072 Vigor arcade game for the Apple II Vigor is a hires arcade game that's simple to play. You command a space craft on the left of the screen and obliterate the oncoming enemy ships. Once one of them reaches your side or you get hit by one of their bullets, you will lose a ship. Once you lose all 3 ships, game over! This was my very first arcade game that I wrote in assembly language therefore I am releasing it as Freeware! Enjoy! 20818 EMBOSS.HINT.TXT 1536 Hints for embossing 20817 FENCED.IN.BXY 13696 Fence building strategy game for 2 Don't Fence Me In! A game of strategy for two players. The object is to build a fence across the screen before your opponent does. See the READ.ME file and the online instructions for more details. Run FENCED.IN.1 to begin the game. FREEWARE, but copyrighted. 20804 HS.CHICAGO.BXY 528128 HyperStudio stack of Chicago info 20803 PS.RUSSIAN.BXY 6528 Russian font & keyboard layout 20802 W6.DOORLNCH.BXY 4608 Door Launcher for Warp Six BBS 20800 FILEPSG.2.0.BXY 121344 GS File Utility File Passage v2.0 File Passage 2.0 is a freeware file utility for the Apple IIGS. It implements file commands such as copy, backup, move, catalog, and delete, and lets you customize how each command works by the use of a great variety of options and filters. Detailed on-line descriptions of each command are provided, or you can send $10 to the author, Charles C. Bartley, 1310 Cholla Ct., Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403, for a nicely printed manual. Version 2.0 provides a cleaner interface and more functionality than previously released versions. 20795 QWKGS106.BXY 31488 Read QWK Packets on your GS 20794 GEMCFIG.SIG.BNY 13696 Article On Configuring Genie Master 20792 EASYOPEN1.4.BXY 9728 EasyOpen alias fext NEW VERSION! 20791 INVADERS.BXY 34688 Space Invaders type game This is a Space Invaders type game for the Apple IIGS. Supports mouse control. [Note: Accelerator users should slow down the speed before running this game. If you don't, you're in for quite a challenge.] 20788 BUDS.LAUNCH.BXY 9600 ProDOS 8/16 hot-key launcher 20787 TASKCARDS.BXY 76160 AppleWorks GS Classroom Task cards 20737 GRAFORTH.BXY 63104 GraFORTH by Paul Lutus, now Freeware This file contains GraFORTH, reference sheets for the GraFORTH commands, the Editor commands, and the Lost Classics Press Release. GraFORTH is a DOS 3.3 graphics-oriented FORTH compiler/interpreter. This should run on any Apple II with at least 48K RAM. Sample code is included. GraFORTH is a mid-level language with assembly level animation capabilities. Sound and music capabilities are built in. Paul Lutus has given permission for people to copy and distribute freely as long as no charge is levied for the program. Check out the GraFORTH.ReadMe file included for more information. ***REQUIRES DOS 3.3.*** Archived with ShrinkIt 3.4. Unpack the 'Disk' portion of the archive to a BLANK 5.25 disk. 20730 QIXCIRCUS.BXY 14464 Qix Circus graphics demo v1.1 20724 KAWAI1.BXY 23808 New Enya-like sythLAB song 20721 A2.DOM.MAY.BXY 464000 A2's Disk Of The Month, May '93 20714 POSTALCODE.BXY 103040 PostalCoder - AppleWorks GS barcodes The NAUG Library now includes PostalCoder GS, a set of professional-quality AppleWorks GS mail list management and postal bar code templates. PostalCoder GS maintains your mailing lists and addresses envelopes. Automatically prints the correct postal bar code for all records that contain a nine-digit Zip code. Documentation describes how to use the program with many printers. PostalCoder GS is shareware. You send the author, Ray Bailey, $10 ($5 if you are a NAUG member). Archived with ShrinkIt GS v.1.1 20711 TCX.DISK3.5.BXY 196352 TCXPress offline msg processor TCXpress is a freeware offline message processor that uses AppleWorks 3.0, TimeOut TeleComm and UltraMacros (3.1 or 4.x). Auto-captures mail and Roundtable messages, auto-sends mail and RT replies. Includes quote- back, mark and unmark topics, auto-save message files to disk. Menu driven. Works entirely within AppleWorks/TimeOut environment. Use ShrinkIt to unpack this file to a 3.5" disk. TCXpress is a product of Dan's Macro City. [Note: This contains BOTH versions of TCXPress. One for UltraMacros 3.1, and one for 4.x. The individual versions are also available nearby in the library. This is a full disk archive, and must be unpacked to a 3.5" disk.] 20708 EL.DUET.BXY 25856 Electric Duet, Musical Lost Classic 20707 APPLWRITER3.BXY V4 76544 Apple Writer for Apple III computers 20706 APPLWRITER2.BXY V2.1 93056 Apple Writer II v2.1, A Lost Classic As of 24 July 1992, Paul Lutus has allowed Apple Writer 2.1 to be classified as Freeware. Apple Writer 2.1 (NOT any other version!) may be freely copied and distributed. By agreement with Paul, NO ONE may sell it, or sell it on disks which contain other software. This is a file archive. This program will NOT print through the IIgs printer port as is. It requires a Super Serial Card. A patch to remedy this is included in this archive in a folder called /PATCHES. Packed with Shrinkit 3.4. If you have already downloaded Apple Writer in an earlier package, this program is the same. If you are distributing Apple Writer elsewhere, please delete all old copies and use this one. Previous versions did not include important copyright information. 20703 EAMON.016.BXY 36096 80-col. P8 'The Caves of Mondamen' 20695 BILLE.ART.BXY 329984 A NEW French game, by Brutal Deluxe 20694 ANSITERM.BXY V2.0 DEMO 136064 ANSITerm v2.0 Demo 510-837-9098 20690 DURDETRE.BXY 576512 A real huge and super-cool MOD :) 20689 NEWS.9305.BXY 23552 A2 News Digest 05/93 20687 BAD.BLOCK.BXY 7040 use disks with annoying bad blocks 20686 SHADOWWRITE.BXY V1.2 88832 New, improved ShadowWrite NDA! ShadowWrite v1.2 is completed !!! Improvements: On-screen ruler (measurement in pts, inches, cm); MultiGet Open dialog; Insert & Append text; Fast Find/Replace; new actions in Modify Text: ROT13 En-/Decrypt, Change Case (UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title); word count; Save as Source; AppleWorks support; Inter-Process Communication support; and more... Documentation and Update Notes included. Requires System 6.0. Archived with GS-ShrinkIt v1.1. 20683 LOTTO.BXY 11648 Lottery Program 20680 DOS33.LNCHR.BXY V2.0 40192 Run DOS 3.3 Pgms from a Hard Drive Version 2.0, now works with 8-bit Apple IIs! Also now allows saving to disk images, and making double-sided disk images on the Apple IIgs! This incredibly fantastic and useful utility allows you to store and run older DOS 3.3 software on your previously non-DOS 3.3 compatible ProDOS hard drive or 3.5" floppy drives. Written by the author of Roger Wagner's The Graphic Exchange, John MacLean, this is a $10 shareware utility. It's very easy to use, and it even has the ability to slow down your system to 1 Mhz when running DOS 3.3 software, but returns you to your launcher at full fast speed. Supports DOS 3.3 BIN files and single or double sided DOS 3.3 disks. 20674 JIMW1.BXY 14336 Jim's World, graphic humor 20671 SOLITAIRNDA.BXY 29568 Solitaire NDA by Bill Tudor 20670 PT3.1.INFO.BXY 12160 Info on ProTerm 3.1 from InTrec BBS 20669 MSDOS12.BXY 6656 Copy files from MSDOS disk to Prodos 20666 CHEERS.MOD.BXY 60672 MOD file: Theme to Cheers TV show 20665 SONIQTRK.63.BXY 73600 SoniqTracker v0.63. IIGS MOD player. 20664 BULLA.PLUS.BXY 280704 The FTA's original Bulla + lots MORE More great stuff from the FTA, including source code! This collection has eight great programs on it: "The-Scrolling-Bulla-Game," a Marios Bros. like game demo, "New Parametrix Animation," chaser balls in a figure eight, "New Real-Time Vector Balls," "Diagonal Scroll" (you gotta see it to believe it), "Psy Scroll," a funky text scroll, "Coke Animation," a spinning Coke(tm) can!, "Oscillo," music with four separate oscillators/meters, and "Pang," some bouncing balls over a detailed background. To make a self-booting disk from this archive, unpack these files to a disk that contains ProDOS (P8) and Basic.System. Packed with GSHK. Running directly from GS/OS may require a Shift-Boot. 20648 PRODESK3.01.BXY 74240 Full featured 8-bit selector/utility 20638 SNDEDITV1.2.BXY 52352 New Sound Editor--all Apple II's! You asked for it, and here it is--SOUND.EDITOR version 1.2--with a brand -new software DAC that provides 5-bit accuracy for GREAT sound and a 22 kHz. "carrier" for NO ANNOYING HIGH-PITCHED WHINE! The nwew DAC uses a carrier frequency which is inaudible to almost everyone, unlike prior software DACs, whose 11 kHz. carrier made an ear-splitting wtone to wake the dead! Packaged with a handy sound player-editor an, ssome asample sounds to get you started, and a history and theory of operation. Freeware. 20631 AUTOPILOT.BXY V0.7 154624 GEnie navigator for the GS beta REUP 20629 BOWL.GS.BXY 63872 Bowling game for IIGS 20623 BULLA.BXY 157184 2 stand-alone levels of FTA's Bulla 20604 FILMS.ADB.BXY 167552 Over 2400+ films in AppleWorks DB. 20602 FIN.DEMO.BXY 36224 Hartz Financial Templates Demo Disk 20601 DIF.CONV.BXY 30720 AppleWorks -> DIF file utility 20593 T2.V1.1.PR.TXT 6912 Twilight II v1.1 Press Release! 20591 SANE.PATCH.BXY 2688 SANE Tool Patch 20590 TM.COMPATIB.BXY 4/16 12800 The Manager Compatibility File 04/16 20586 EAMON.183.BXY 61056 80-col. P8 'The Boy and the Bard' [EOA] [QUI]////////////////////////////// THE MIGHTY QUINN / ///////////////////////////////// Random Access """"""""""""" By Mark Quinn [NEWSIE] "A Whole Buncha Milliseconds with Mark" by Mark Quinn, DOA [GEnie address: NEWSIE] >>> PENTIUMS FROM HEAVEN <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""" I'm a "technoholic". If there were a Technoholics Anonymous twelve- step program available for folks like me, even though I wouldn't attend the meetings, they'd do me good. My life has been changed by technology, and I have every reason to believe that my afterlife will be as well. I have very specific instructions for my funeral. When I die, I want to be taken to my grave site in a UPS van and buried in a vault full of styrofoam peanuts. I know that in heaven there's no credit limit, no restocking fee, and all deliveries are overnight at no extra charge. It's a little hard to imagine, but (as usual) I can try . . . St. Peter stands at the gate with a white UPC scanner, scanning the souls of those who enter. "You were a little overindulgent during your life, Mark. Still, you made it. Here's your Golden Card." "Do I get a PIN number?" St. Peter chuckles. "There are none here; no confusing numbers to remember. Just insert your card into the slot at the check-outs. We trust you." He chuckles again. "But what if I lose it?" He takes it from me and flings it quite a distance. It sprouts wings and flies back to my hand. I ask another question, but instead of answering it, he hands me a large white book with gold lettering. It almost looks like a wedding album. THE ZEN OF HEAVEN, it reads. My ageless body is whisked off to my spacious 'quarters'. I find that one could spend months just exploring the place -- it is a mansion. Rooms brim with gadgets and furniture that look like they came right out of THE SHARPER IMAGE catalog. I consult ZEN and bring out my Golden Card, which transforms itself into a remote control at my command. An expansive wall on the other side of the room becomes a view-screen. They have digital HDTV in heaven! Soon, I am watching a _new_ HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN episode (starring a white-robed Michael Landon), encoded with something called "MacroLogic Surround" (which reportedly won't be available on earth for many years), and enjoying every second of it. After the program ends, I consult the ZEN yellow pages for a local pizza joint. "Twenty seconds or your next one is on the house", the ad reads. There is a list of toppings right in the ad. I place the order, and moments later an angel appears at the door with the pizza. I am so overwhelmed by what I have seen that I begin to weep. My tears turn to jewels and fall tinkling to the ground. The angel hands me my pizza. "Wait," I plead. "Of course." "If this is heaven, then what is hell like?" "Everyone asks that. It's a madhouse full of punch cards, bulging file cabinets, dirty, sleazy motels, obnoxious music, factories understaffed by discontented workers, industrial waste, humidity, tenements with fifteen to a room -- you name the malady, it has it. "Just think," the angel continues, "here in heaven, you have everything a truly righteous technoholic could want, and all of eternity to experience it. Enjoy your pizza . . . pizza . . . pizza . . ." As I plunge (with just a little turbulence) back down to earth, I think of a TALKING HEADS song I once heard: "Heaven. Heaven is a place. A place where nothing -- Nothing ever happens." Not true: they have the best pizza there. [EOA] [PRO]////////////////////////////// PROFILES / ///////////////////////////////// Who's Who In Apple II """"""""""""""""""""" >>> WHO'S WHO <<< """"""""""""""""" ~ GEnieLamp Profile: Jerry Kindall, Editor, II Alive ~ GEnieLamp> How did you first come into contact with the Apple II? Was """"""""" it at home, at school, or at work? Jerry> It was a long time ago -- in eighth grade, I was selected for an """"" independent study program. It was so independent I even got to choose what I wanted to study. I was interested in writing and wanted to write a book, but my parents thought I should learn about computers. The high school had two Apple II+ computers (the middle school had none), so I began going there for one hour-long session each week. In between I'd read the manuals and try to figure out BASIC. After the independent study program was over, I kept reading and experimenting. I was the only student to skip the first two computer science classes and take the Advanced Placement course as a junior. When I got a summer job between my junior and senior years, I finally had the chance to get a computer of my own -- a IIc. GEnieLamp> Was your work for Kitchen Sink Software the first """"""""" professional programming work you did? What types of things did you do for Kitchen Sink? Jerry> Yes, that was the first time I got paid for playing with the """"" computer. I'd sent several programs to Nibble magazine, but they rejected all of it. Of course, I was still in high school during that time. I was in college when I started working for Kitchen Sink. I did a lot of 6502 assembly language stuff for them, including all the graphics routines for their new CAD program, AccuDraw, and MicroDot, which is a small program designed to replace BASIC.System. GEnieLamp> How did you come to meet up with Guy Forsythe, the founder of """"""""" Kitchen Sink Software? Jerry> I'd discovered Open-Apple (which later became A2-Central) and """"" began writing letters to Uncle DOS on a regular basis. Guy saw one of my letters, noticed that I was right across town, and called me. It was pretty good timing, because I needed a job to help with college expenses. GEnieLamp> After working for a while at Kitchen Sink, you took a job at """"""""" Quality Computers. How did this opportunity arise? Jerry> When I read that Open-Apple was taking over the Apple II """"" RoundTables on GEnie, I took that as a sign that it was time to buy a modem. After getting on GEnie, I eventually came in contact with Walker Archer, who is the tech support manager at Quality Computers. You could say that Tom Weishaar (Uncle DOS) was at least indirectly responsible for both of those jobs! Without Open-Apple and, later, the A2 RoundTable, I wouldn't have made the necessary contacts. In fact, I met Ross Lambert -- who was the publisher of The Sourceror's Apprentice, Reboot, and later 8/16, all of which I was involved with in some way -- on GEnie too. GEnieLamp> What sort of work have you done for Quality Computers over """"""""" the years? Can you briefly tell us about the commercial Apple II software products you've created or helped create? Jerry> I've done quite a bit of stuff at Quality, ranging from """"" programming (FlashBoot, Switch Hitter, the Q Drive configuration software, and the Q RAM memory test) to writing (manuals for the Q Drive, TimeOut Grammar, Signature, Six Pack, and of course the System 6 Book). I've put in a lot of time helping Joe Gleason, our president, turn his brainstorms into reality in various ways. For the first couple of years I was doing the creative stuff between phone calls, first in tech support and later in sales! But for the last year or so I've been able to concentrate on the projects without distractions. GEnieLamp> What are your current duties at Quality? """"""""" Jerry> My main job is as the editor of II Alive, our new Apple II """"" magazine. Between issues, I find time to squeeze in some of the other things I've been doing all along. I'm about to start working on a big project which I can't talk about yet. I've also been doing some work in our video facility, writing scripts for productions and also doing some computer graphics and animation on our Video Toaster. GEnieLamp> I understand you're planning to attend the A2-Central Summer """"""""" Conference, known as KansasFest, again this year. Do you have any amusing anecdotes to share about past conferences? Jerry> I'm most fond of the first one. I'd just become a sysop in A2, """"" and had been working for Kitchen Sink for several months. Ross Lambert asked me to be on his panel on 8-bit development environments to tell people about MicroDot. So there I was, sitting next to Alan Bird and Roger Wagner and a bunch of other Apple II demigods. And Alan Bird turned to me, looked at my name tag, and said, "Oh yeah, you're the guy who wrote MicroDot, right?" You can probably imagine my reaction. The guy who I've always considered to be one of the best programmers on the face of the planet recognized my program! Oh yes, I also managed to steal Randy Brandt's seat in the TimeOut session. And I got to talk to Roger Wagner and Bob Sander-Cederlof. On the van from the airport I sat next to Mike Westerfield and spend a lot of time looking at him and wondering, "Geez, am I really sitting next to THE Mike Westerfield?" It was really a lot of fun. The subsequent KansasFests have been just as good, but you can only attend your first KFest once! GEnieLamp> One of your big interests is telecommunications. What new """"""""" developments do you think might come online before the turn of the century? Do you think that people who are not online will be missing out? Jerry> Recently I've been seeing a lot of those AT&T ads promising that """"" they're going to bring you the ability to send a fax from the beach, choose to watch any movie anytime you want to, and all that. Most of the country already has the "video dial tone" capabilities in place which will enable the phone company to deliver these services. The phone company and the cable TV companies are going to be pretty stiff competitors in the information services market. We're going to see affordable pocket phones which you can take anywhere -- instead of having a phone number that reaches your house, you'll have a phone number which reaches you, wherever you are, if you took your phone. These new services will be primarily entertainment-driven, not service- driven. After all, most people don't come on GEnie and other online services to get information -- they come to have fun. Which is why Chat Lines is so popular. But once the cable TV people and the telephone company get into information services, they'll reach many more people than services like GEnie do now. You won't even need a computer -- all the necessary hardware and software will be build into your TV. Traditional text-based information services, chained as they are to personal computers and modems, will evolve or die. It's the services which will bring people online, which makes the second question almost moot. People will go online once it's affordable and offers things they're interested in. Right now, the fact that you have to have a computer throws a damper on things. GEnieLamp> What sorts of non-computer things do you like to do for fun? """"""""" Jerry> My other big interest is music. I have over 300 CDs right now, """"" and a room full of MIDI synthesizer equipment. Of course, that stuff is all hooked up to the computer, so maybe it doesn't count as a "non-computer" thing. I also like to read science fiction -- my current favorite writers are Orson Scott Card, Emma Bull, Isaac Asimov, and Ian McDonald. GEnieLamp> How can people reach you? Do you prefer electronic mail? """"""""" Jerry> I can be reached in my capacity as editor of II Alive at """"" 1-800-777- 3642, extension 839 (that's the II Alive voice mailbox). I also have two electronic mail accounts on GEnie (QC and UN-JERRY), and a ProLine account that's accessible from the Internet (jerry@pro-quality.cts.com). Electronic mail (including voice mail, really) is probably the greatest invention of the 20th century. It allows me to respond to people rapidly, without having to interrupt what I'm doing to take a phone call! [EOA] [MOO]////////////////////////////// CowTOONS / ///////////////////////////////// Sportin' Cows """"""""""""" (________) (________) By Mike White (xo) (o+) [MWHITE] /-------\/ \/-------\ / | || || | \ * ||----|| ||----|| * ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ Cowpunched Longhorns """""""""""""""""""" (___ ___) The National Bovine Association - It's MOOtastic! /___\ /___\ // \\// \\ by Patrick Hart (___) ~~====== \\_O_//\\_O_// [P.HART4] (o o) / \- - -/ \___/ \___/ \q/ / / \- -/ ____\ /____ __ / \__/ / === / (. .) \ / / / / ___ ~~~~ ___ \ \ \\ / / / \ / \ \ \ \\ / / / \____/ \ \ ~~ ==== ( \\ // ) | | \ \\ // / (__) | | \ \\ // / __(oo)__ ==== ~~~ ========== ~~~ / _ \/ _ \ / / \ \ | | / / \__/ \ \ / / | | | | ( \\ // ) / / / / ========== \ \\ // / ~~ ~~ | || | ~~ == ~~ | || | | | | || | == | || | |||| ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "MOOq" "MOOgsy" Bogues "MOO" Jordan (/\) CowTOONS? Patrick Hart took us up on (\/) our offer and sent in this month's /-------\/ =: NBA := CowTOONS selection. / \\ \\, * //----//' If you have an idea for a CowTOON, we ~~ ~~ would like to see it. And, if we pick your CowTOON for publishing in GEnieLamp Bull Ninja we will credit your account with 2 hours ~~~~~~~~~~ of GEnie non-prime time! [EOA] [FYI]////////////////////////////// F.Y.I. / ///////////////////////////////// A2: Educational Computing """"""""""""""""""""""""" By Adrian Vance [A.VANCE] >>> EDUCATIONAL COMPUTING AND THE SCHOOL MARKET <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" To understand the school market we need a compass to tell where we have been, where we're going and how the Apple II fits into the picture. To wit: Objectives ^ | Teaching <-- --> Technology | v History The next four posts will deal with these areas specifi- cally. Please respond specifically regarding: Objectives, History, Teaching or Technology. Objectives """""""""" "Give a man a fish and feed him today. Teach a man to fish and feed him for life." may well serve as a philosophy of education, but within that broad stroke lie all the nuances, opportunities and problems of the transmission of our culture, skills and values. From the time of the Pilgrims until very recently it was the objective of American education to teach "readin', writin' and rithmetic'," the three "R's." The real world of work, where heavy lifting was done, was outside the walls of the little red schoolhouse. While many smile at the crude beginnings of American education, it gave us the most successful, dynamic and capable culture on the planet in the least amount of time with less government, war and strife than any society in history. But now, this culture is one in question. (1) Can we, or should we, return to a simpler time? (2) What is the role of the computer in this dynamic? (3) What are the forces guiding our destiny? Do they include: (a) More government to solve our problems? (b) More individualism through technology? (c) The dissolution of federalism? As in the USSR. (d) More "Big Science" or new Edisons and Einsteins? Teaching """""""" The secret for success in classroom teaching is creat- ing many ways of saying the same thing many different ways. The role of supplemental materials producers in films, film- strips, audio tapes and computer disks has been to give the teacher additional tools for the job, not to find the "best way," but to supplement rather than supplant. Our experience has shown teachers will not create their own materials. They may organize and use materials very well, but there appears to be a barrier within them against producing books, films, filmstrips or computer programs. The questions for Apple II software are, "Where does it fit?" and "How can it be used?" in education. Consider that after a dozen years of the "Computer Revolution" there has yet to be one full-fledged program system to teach any subject from beginning to end. With our two million teachers, 100,000 authors and programmers, we have certainly had the facility for such development, but no product of this kind. This tells us the opportunities for software in education are many, but small, not few and large. This market has yet to be properly developed in view of its nature. Technology """""""""" Educational technology began in 1919 when The Society For Visual Education, SVE, was formed by five University of Chicago faculty members wanting to "Bring the world to the classroom." via educational filmstrips. That same year, the Eyegate Corporation formed for much the same, but plainly commercial purpose. Both enterprises were possible because of the 35 mm filmstrip projection system. Using single pictures on motion picture film stock, this technology was a by-product of the theatrical motion picture business. The computer killed the filmstrip in the early 80's, taking with it the 16mm film when nearly all audio-visual funding went to computers and software. The educational film and filmstrip companies scrambled "To be your software company," in the words of SVE, but this medium was soon dominated by small producers. Large publishers and hardware manufacturers are now trying to sell sophisticated CD ROM systems and the idea that teachers will develop their own programs on them. Two things are wrong with this idea: (1) Teachers won't develop their own software and (2) these systems are very expensive. But, they continue to attract attention in educational publications. Of the 82,297 public schools with computers, 74,014 (90%) are Apple IIs. Macintosh is in 16,237 (20%) schools and MS DOS are in 41,928, (50%), but are the fastest growing segment of the market. Ironically, the growth of MS DOS is attributable to John Sculley's determination to sell Macs to the schools and kill the Apple II. Unfortunately, for Apple the schools don't like the Mac's monochrome screen or price, but it would be a simple matter for Apple to recover the school market with a low price on the GS because it has a color screen, great sound, small keyboard, mouse and can run all the old Apple II software. Apple could corner the school market with a few strokes of a hard pencil. What is to be? History """"""" Education was originally reserved for royalty, then the rich and first in America, for all. America is the first place where there are "Careers open to competition." In antiquity the Greeks said, "The great man has no seed." but royalty dominated up to the French Revolution. Keeping education, and information, from the people has been the primary tool of repression, witness the Soviet Union where private ownership of computers and modems was prohibited. The Apple II has been the strongest force in education- al computing and the freedom of information it brings. The Apple II belongs in education because it is a high quality, dependable machine and thousands of programs exist for it. Unfortunately, the marketing of this machine has been mis- managed to the point of repression for profit and a lack of understanding the missions of American education: The teaching of basic skills and surveys of subject matter. (A.VANCE, CAT15, TOP1, MSG:3-4-5-6/M645) [EOA] [REF]////////////////////////////// REFLECTIONS / ///////////////////////////////// Thinking Communications """"""""""""""""""""""" By Phil Shapiro [P.SHAPIRO1] >>> ONLINE EDITING <<< """""""""""""""""""""" ~ Part II ~ In the years ahead it's likely that fee-based online editing services will become increasingly popular on the national information services. Yet as the fee-based online editing services establish themselves as being immensely useful, non fee-based "peer" editing will likely grab strong root, as well. Peer editing might be defined as any feedback given to professional colleagues or personal friends. The "editing" aspect of peer editing need not concern itself with the grammar or mechanics of the writing. Just as useful is feedback about the general tone. Also useful are subtle pointers and friendly suggestions. A good example of such peer editing crossed my desk just last week. A colleague of mine had written a business letter and wanted feedback as to its tone and phrasings. This "cold call" business letter was carefully crafted to establish first contact with potential customers. While the phrasing of the overall letter was generally warm, the lead sentence did not establish emotional contact with the reader of the letter. Reading the lead sentence on its own could leave a reader wondering what the purpose of the letter was all about. Once these subtleties were pointed out to the author of the letter, a quick and easy revision of the lead sentence was made. Had the author not sought the feedback of peer editors, it could have been possible that his letter would have missed its mark. How was this social gaffe overlooked by the author of the business letter? It had never occurred to the author to try reading the lead sentence of the letter in any way other than the way it was intended by him. But the underlying meaning of the sentence was not clearly implied in the chosen words of the sentence. The emotional tone of the lead sentence was flat and neutral - - - and therefore ambiguous. Rule number one of business letter writing: Never start a business letter with a flat and neutral sentence. Unless, that is, you're hoping to elicit a flat and neutral response. Another instance of peer editing crossed my desk a few months ago. In this instance an author of a magazine article made use of a peer editor to review an article written for a national computer publication. While scrutinizing the rough draft, the peer editor caught a stray remark that could possibly have harmed the article's chance of publication. A quick deletion of the stray remark saved the author's hide, now all the wiser for having sought feedback from a peer editor. The beauty of online peer editing is that it takes very little effort to courtesy copy two or more persons to elicit feedback on one's rough draft. If two or more peer editors make similar suggestions for changes in the rough draft, their concurrent opinions carry far more weight than each of their individual suggestions. When such concurrent suggestions from peer editors are independently offered to an author, the force of these suggestions carries all the weight of consensus opinion. Authors can then choose to act on the basis of this consensus opinion. Or they can choose to disregard consensus opinion - - - at their peril. In this Information Age, people with strong writing skills will have a marked professional advantage over those with less developed communication skills. And those persons with established peer editing networks of friends and colleagues will have a marked advantage over those without such networks. The good news is that online peer editing will result in a general raising of writing standards. This is not to say that shoddy and sloppy writing will never get published. But that with appropriate and effective peer editing, no person need fear putting a literary foot in the mouth. The moral of all this? The time is eminently ripe to start building a peer network of friends and colleagues. You'll be glad you did when you need to get quick feedback on an important piece of writing. The end result is that your own writing will combine the best ideas of three, six, or even twelve minds. Which is a powerful idea in its own right. How can I be so sure? Eleven other people told me so. [*][*][*] [The author takes a keen interest in the social dimensions of communications technology. He can be reached on GEnie at: P.SHAPIRO1; on America Online at: pshapiro] [EOA] [CON]////////////////////////////// CONNECTIONS / ///////////////////////////////// Online Thoughts """"""""""""""" By Al Fasoldt [A.FASOLDT] >>> The SUN Also Rises <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ Copyright 1993 by Al Fasoldt. All rights reserved ~ Computers come in all types and sizes. There are so-called IBM- compatibles and there are Apple's Macintoshes in the two main groups. And then there are the two other types of modern personal computer -- the many models in Commodore's Amiga line and the equally large number of models in the Atari line. Still is use are older home computers such as the Apple II, the Commodore C64 and 128, the Atari XL and XE, and computers from Texas Instruments and even Coleco. But one type of computer is usually left out of this kind of discussion, sometimes because typical PC users don't even know it exists. You won't find it in a store that sells PCs or Macs, but you could buy one if you tracked down a supplier. Businesses and universities buy them by the thousands. They're Unix computers. A modern Unix computer looks like a PC, in most respects. It has more keys on the keyboard and is usually sleeker on the outside, but otherwise no one would look twice at it if you placed a Unix computer in a row of PCs. Many companies make Unix computers, but the big guy in the Unix world is Sun Microsystems. Right now, Sun is in the position IBM was in the PC world five years ago -- the industry leader, but challenged by a lot of smaller companies that make clones (in this case, clones of Sun's popular Sparc line of Unix computers). Sun saw IBM's handwriting on the wall and decided to legitimize the clone makers. For a license fee, clone makers now sell what are called Sparc-alikes. They work like a Sun Sparcstation (the official Sun name for its Sparc computers), but they cost less. They used to cost a lot less. But then Sun realized that the best way to compete with the clone makers was to cut its Sparcstation prices, and the result has been a resurgence of interest in Suns, in its clones and in Unix in general. This is good news all around. Sparcs and their clones are immensely powerful computers, and they can perform hundreds of tasks at the same time. They are built for multitasking, and they do it amazingly well. But Unix, which gives Suns all this power, has a big problem. Regular Unix is a crazy operating system from the user's standpoint. It's user-hostile, the furthest thing from user-friendly. It has oddball commands and weird combinations of dumb letters that you have to type. (No, I'm not being harsh; I actually know how to use a Unix computer, and I wish I didn't.) Sun tried to get around the problem by selling a graphical user interface for its Suns called Open Look. It works a lot like the Macintosh system, using windows and icons and a mouse. You drag one thing and click another. Sun's competitors, however, had a better idea. They created a group called the Open Software Foundation and promoted another graphical user interface called Motif. In many ways, Motif is superior. (It's nicer looking, for one thing, and it works even better than the Mac's interface. PC users can get a good idea of Motif by trying out GeoWorks, which is based on Motif.) If you bought a Sun, you could always ditch Open Look and go with Motif. This was a lot of trouble, but Sun insisted that Open Look was here to stay. But in a surprise announcement a short while ago, Sun announced that it was shifting to Motif. This made no waves in the PC and Mac worlds, but it caught the Unix world with its oars out of the water, so to speak. All of a sudden, software companies that make programs that work with Open Look were left without a future, and companies that make Motif software were opening up new bank accounts. That's all fine, but what does it mean to you and me? It means Unix computers are going to be standardized in the next year or so. And it means that Unix computers running under Motif are going to show up in stores that also sell PCs. It means Sun clones will get even cheaper -- as will Suns themselves. The price war that hit the PC industry will knock down the cost of Unix computers, too. Before long, you'll be able to buy a powerful Sun clone for $2,000 or less. That's about 10 percent of what you might have paid three years ago. But why would you even want to buy a Sun clone? Because it is powerful, and because, under Motif, it is easy to use. And because there are already thousands of software applications that run under Motif. (Even WordPerfect has a Sun version.) And, best of all, because a Sun running Motif can do everything Windows 3.1 should do but doesn't. (Heck, Suns can even run Windows with the right software loaded up, and now they can even run Mac programs, too.) And that, friends, is what makes for headaches at Microsoft, the company responsible for Windows. Microsoft knows that its real competitor in the next few years will not be IBM, which is trying to compete against Windows with OS/2, but the entire Unix world. Many experienced users feel that Unix is already a better system, and when Unix computers are cheap and easily bought, Microsoft had better watch out. [EOA] [AII]////////////////////////////// APPLE II / ///////////////////////////////// Apple II History, Part 13 """"""""""""""""""""""""" By Steven Weyhrich [S.WEYHRICH] >>> APPLE II HISTORY <<< """""""""""""""""""""""" Compiled and written by Steven Weyhrich (C) Copyright 1993, Zonker Software (PART 13 -- PERIPHERALS, CONT) [v1.0 :: 31 Dec 91] INTRODUCTION Continuing the discussion of peripherals for the Apple II """""""""""" (in a historic sense), we now look at modems, various types of input devices, music and voice synthesizers, robotic control, some miscellaneous devices, and finally take a look at printers. [*][*][*] MODEMS A modem is a unique peripheral device, because it makes use of """""" two-way communication (both sending and receiving data to and from the computer). After the Apple Box sold by A.P.P.L.E., one of the first commercial modems available for the Apple II was the Micromodem II, made by D.C. Hayes in 1979. It sold for $379, and worked at the standard transmission speeds of the day, 110 and 300 baud. The Micromodem was also available for the S-100 (Altair) series of computers. Hayes' product was so popular that their command set has become a standard for modems as they have advanced over the years. By the mid-1980's Apple released two modems with their own name on them: The Apple Personal Modem 300 and Personal Modem 1200. Both were external modems, using a direct connection to the phone line (instead of the older acoustic coupler), but were more expensive than similar products of the time. By the later 1980's they were no longer in production. INPUT DEVICES The number one input device for the Apple II was, of course, """"""""""""" the keyboard. There were expanded keyboards available for the II and IIPlus, bypassing the uppercase-only limit. There was once even a keyboard that had plug-in modules that would redefine specialized function keys to make them specific for different programs. Another company sold pressure sensitive pads that were attached to the Apple II keyboard above the top row and could be programmed to generate series of keypresses. The original IIe had a socket or the addition of an external numeric keypad, and the IIGS and later versions of the IIe had this keypad built-in. Because of the detached keyboard in the IIGS it was possible to select between a couple of different versions of keyboards offered by Apple as well as from some third party companies. The next most commo