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The Computist Project FAQ 1.0 Archived on ftp:// ================================ This FAQ and any related documentation are copyrighted. The files in this archive contain images of material copyrighted by Softkey Publishing. Softkey Publishing retains the legal copyright to this material. Unauthorized modification of this FAQ or the materials it refers to, including the material owned by Softkey Publishing is strictly prohibited. 02 Feb 1999 On to the FAQ... 1. Wow, that looks like a lot of material. Did it take you a long time to scan all that? About an hour per issue. Longer for the (forthcoming) tabloid-sized issues. You figure it out. 2. Why JPeg images and not a text version? A couple of reasons. Jpegs are known for their (relatively) compact size due to the compression used and are a fairly standard format. Once I've finished archiving and uploading the JPEG-version of the issues, I'll begin the text-only version. 3. Those are kinda big for JPegs aren't they? Admittedly, yes (the images are usually between 200K and 300K a piece). I don't know much about image formats or the mechanics of scanning and image manipulation, so this was the best I could do. I decided to trade off a small file-size for image clarity. The text should be readable when you view the image at 100% magnification, which is what I was going for. 4. If it took so much time, why did you bother in the first place. A couple of reasons. First, there seemed to be some interest in the Apple II-related newsgroups (mainly comp.sys.apple2) in a Computist archive. Second, I have no life whatsoever and this seemed to be something that would pass the time effectively. Third, for my own peace of mind. If anything should ever happen to my originals (god forbid), at least I know they're out there somewhere and I can get them again. 5. So how long before we see a text-only version? When I'm done with the JPeg version. I hope to finish about one issue per day. But don't hold me to that. See question #2. 6. When will that be? When I'm done. 7. What's with all the ads and the cover pictures? Isn't that a waste of space? I hope not. I included the ads and the covers for the sake of completeness. These scans are cover-to-cover, partially because I think it's cool to read the ads for products and services from 10 years ago (I'm kind of a history buff), and also because, with a complete scan, you could print out all the pages and make your own 'reprints', if you were so inclined. 8. Will the text-only version have the ads printed in text? God, no... The text version will contain only the articles & indices... the 'good stuff'. 9. So how did you do it? Exactly, I mean? The images were scanned with Photoshop 5.0 through HP's PrecisionScan Pro TWAIN32 interface from an HP ScanJet 4p on my PII-400 (which gets less use than my //e on a given day). The images are scanned in grayscale and I cleaned them up a little (removed the 'bleed-through' from the previous/ next page) with Photoshop. The JPegs are set to the lowest quality, which results in the smallest file size, however at 100%, the text should still be easily readable. The covers were scanned in RGB True Color and converted to CMYK to allow the files to be saved as JPegs. 10. Anything else I should know? You might want to read the issues.txt file included in this archive. It lists the issues and the major articles in each one. It also lists anything else of interest. It will be updated with each new upload to apple.cabi.net. One other thing of note, regarding the 'softkeys' listed in Computist. Many of them require a program called 'Super IOB' to run. This program is listed as a reprint in issue 32, pages 16-22. Make sure you grab these pages if you intend to do any 'softkeying'. 11. Oh yeah, which issues do you have? See issues.txt. If I have it, it's there (or will be shortly). If I don't, it won't be. 12. Would you be willing to part with an issue or two for a reasonable sum? Nope. Don't even ask. 13. Thanks You're welcome. Celt.....