💾 Archived View for mirrors.apple2.org.za › archive › www.textfiles.com › apple › THELAMP › TLMP2004… captured on 2024-12-18 at 03:30:23.

View Raw

More Information

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[HEA]
    _____________________   ___                                   _
    |___   ______________| |   |                                 | |
        |  | _             |   |                                 | |
        |  || |            |   |                                 | |
        |  || |            |   |                                 | |
        |  || |            |   |   ____ _   _ _   _   ______     | |
        |  || |            |   |  / __ \ | | / \_/ \  | ___ \    | |
        |  || |__   ____   |   | / /  \  | |  /\ /\ \ | |  \ \   | |
        |  ||  _ \ |  _ \  |   | \ \__/  | | | |_|| | | |__/ /   | |
        |  || | | || |_||  |   |  \___/|_| |_|    |_| | ____/    |_|
        |  || | | || |__   |   |____________________  | |         _
        |__||_| |_|\____/  |________________________| | |        |_|
                                                      | |
         Lighting Your Apple II Path                  | |
                                                      |_|

-----------------------------------


                       >>> WELCOME TO THE LAMP! <<<
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


           THE BEST OF THE A2 BULLETIN BOARD ON Syndicomm Online
          AND THE BEST OF THE DELPHI A2 AND A2PRO MESSAGE BOARDS
           "Teaching the Apple II user how to fish since 1998"


 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 The Lamp!            An Onipa'a Software Production       Vol. 7, No. 12
 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 Publisher................................Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W.
 Editor.....................................................Lyle Syverson
 Internet Email, Publisher.........................thelamp@sheppyware.net
 Internet Email, Editor................................lyle@FoxValley.net
 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

                            TABLE OF CONTENTS
                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            December 15, 2004

HIGH ABOVE THE ROCK RIVER---------------------------------------------[OPN]
     Traditions
     A Change of Tradition

A2 FORUM AT Syndicomm Online (A2Central.com) DISTILLATIONS------------[DAS]
     Several New Uploads to the A2 Library----------------------------[SUL]
     Alternatives for WEB Site Hosting--------------------------------[AWH]
     Which ASCII Characters Translate Into Reserved Characters?-------[ACT]
     GNOME 2.8 Includes VNC Server------------------------------------[GVS]
     Silvern Castle v8.2----------------------------------------------[SCE]
     Kelvin Sherlock.Updates WEB Site---------------------------------[KSU]
     Ryan Suenaga Releases Updates------------------------------------[RRU]
     Softdisk Products - Buy Now--------------------------------------[SBN]
     Programming Help Requested---------------------------------------[PHR]
     Vol 9, Is 4 of Juiced.GS-----------------------------------------[JGS]
     Replacement Copy OF SideClick 1.0 Uploaded-----------------------[RCS]
     What is a "PapaSan"?---------------------------------------------[WPA]
     KEGS 0.91 Released-----------------------------------------------[KGR]
     Text Edit Tool Set-----------------------------------------------[TET]

ILLUMINATING THE LAMP-------------------------------------------------[ITL]
     An overview of GEnieLamp A2 and The Lamp!
          To be Continued

HCGS ANNOUNCEMENT-----------------------------------------------------[HCG]
     HyperCardIIgs Version of _The Lamp!_ Available

ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SYNDICOMM------------------------------------------[ANS]
     To Sign up for Syndicomm Online----------------------------------[TSU]
     December 2004 Issue of Syndicommotion Available------------------[DSA]

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR-------------------------------------------------[LTE]
     No Letters to the Editor This Month
     An Invitation

KFEST 2004------------------------------------------------------------[KF4]
     KFest 2004 DVD 2 Shipping----------------------------------------[KFD]

KFEST 2005------------------------------------------------------------[KF5]
     New Location for KansasFest 2005---------------------------------[NLK]
     Fabulous Opportunity to Acquire Apple II Equipment---------------[FOA]
     Planning for the KFest Movie Outing------------------------------[PMO]
     KansasFest 2005 to be Held July 19-24th--------------------------[TBH]
     KansasFest Website-----------------------------------------------[KFW]

EXTRA INNINGS
     About The Lamp! ------------------------------------------------ [INN]


                                [*] [*] [*]

READING THE LAMP!   The index system used by The Lamp! is designed to make
"""""""""""""""""   your reading easier.  To use this system, load this
issue into any word processor or text editor.  In the index you will find
something like:

EXTRA INNINGS
     About The Lamp! ------------------------------------------------ [INN]

To read this article, simply use your search or find command to locate
[INN].  There is a similar tag at the end of each article: [EOA].



[OPN]-------------------------------
         HIGH ABOVE THE ROCK RIVER |
------------------------------------
From The Editor
"""""""""""""""
by Lyle Syverson <lyle@FoxValley.net>

                                Traditions
                                ~~~~~~~~~~
     The nighttime view from High Above The Rock River is always enhanced
by the lighted hiking trail that runs parallel to the river.  Each
individual light is duplicated by its reflection on the water.  This time
of year the traditional "official" community Christmas tree is added to
this scene.  Hundreds of bulbs of many colors light the forty foot
evergreen tree.

     This winter scene brings to mind a tradition of some sixty years ago.
With no electricity on the farm, there was no way of storing frozen foods.
So we made Home Made Ice Cream in the Winter... when it was cold enough to
find plenty of ice outdoors.

     This was truly a do it yourself project.  The milk came fresh from the
cow.  Part of the milk was run through the hand cranked separator to get
the cream.  The fresh eggs came from the chicken coop.  The sugar, vanilla,
salt, and chocolate were purchased from the general store by trading eggs
or cream.

     The ice cream mix was prepared with care... heated on the cook stove
which was fired with corn cobs.

     Ice was placed in a gunny sack and pulverized by repeated pounding
with the side of an ax.

     The actual freezing of the ice cream was a job for my brother and I.
The mix was placed in the freezer can and the cranking mechanism put in
place.  Alternate layers of ice and salt were packed around the can.  Then
the steady cranking to keep it mixed during freezing.  Add more ice and
salt and crank.  Repeat until it became difficult to crank, indicating it
was frozen.

     Ah... the best ice cream you will ever eat.

                           A Change of Tradition
                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     From time to time it becomes necessary to change a tradition.
KansasFest will be held this year in a different location in Kansas City.
See the KFest section of this issue to find out why it was necessary to
change from the traditional location.

[EOA]



ASCII ART BEGINS
_________  _                     _                                      _
|__   __| | |                   | |                                    | |
   | |    | |                   | |                                    | |
   | |    | |___     ____       | |       _____   __ ___ _   _ _____   | |
   | |    | ___ \   / __ \      | |      /____ \  | v   v | | v ___ \  | |
   | |    | |  | | | /__\ \     | |       ____| | | /\ /\ | |  /   \ \ | |
   | |    | |  | | | _____|     | |      / ___  | | || || | | |    | | |_|
   | |    | |  | | | |_____     | |____  | |__| | | || || | |  \___/ /  _
   |_|    |_|  |_| \______|     |______| \____^_| |_||_||_| | |\____/  |_|
                                                            | |
                                                            | |
                                                            |_|

ASCII ART ENDS
[EOA]



[DAS]----------------------------------------------
DISTILLATIONS FROM The A2 FORUM at Syndicomm.com  |
                                  (A2Central.com) |
---------------------------------------------------

by Lyle Syverson <lyle@foxvalley.net>

[SUL]
SEVERAL NEW UPLOADS TO THE A2 LIBRARY
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
We have three new uploads in the
system_software/misc_16-bit/desk_accessories/nda directory:

File: MailChec1b2.BXY
Size: 14976
Date: Nov 14

This is a new public beta version of MailChecker.NDA, another New Desk
Accessory from Ryan Suenaga.  This NDA will check a POP3 email account and
report back to the user how many pieces of mail are in the mailbox.
Requires System 6.0.1 and a working TCP/IP connection using Marinetti 2.0.1
or later.  Fixes a potential bug in shutting down toolsets.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

File: MyIPNDA1b3.BXY
Size: 7424
Date: Nov 14

This is a new version of MyIPNDA, a simple New Desk Accessory for looking
up the IP address of the IIgs it runs on.  Fixes a potential bug in dealing
with shutting down toolsets.  Freeware by Ryan Suenaga.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

File: TheirIP1b4.BXY
Size: 8448
Date: Nov 14

This is a new version of TheirIPNDA, a simple New Desk Accessory for
looking up the IP address of computers on the Internet.  Fixes a potential
bug in dealing with shutting down toolsets.  Freeware by Ryan Suenaga.

Tony Ward, A2 Librarian

(A2.TONY, Cat 2, Top 37, Msg 46)

>>>>>
"""""
There is a new upload in the
system_software/misc_16-bit/desk_accessories/nda directory:

File: qserver10b.bxy
Size: 8704
Date: Nov 17

This is a "Quote Of The Day" server.  It uses Marinetti and the Twilight II
"Quotes" quote file to serve up random witticisms.

Uploaded by the author, Kelvin Sherlock.

Tony Ward, A2 Librarian

(A2.TONY, Cat 2, Top 37, Msg 47)

>>>>>
"""""
There is a new upload in the
system_software/misc_16-bit/inits_and_finder_extras/Misc directory:

File: SideClk10.bxy
Size: 48128
Date: Nov 26

SideClick 1.0 is a contextual menu manager for the Apple IIgs computer.
You may have experienced contextual menus on other systems, such as Mac OS
X or Windows, where right-clicking or holding down the control key and
clicking will pop up a menu with special commands depending on the context
in which you've clicked. SideClick brings this capability to the Apple
IIgs.

This package also includes developer documentation and source code.

Uploaded by the author, Eric Shepherd.

Tony Ward, A2 Librarian

(A2.TONY, Cat 2, Top 37, Msg 48)

>>>>>
"""""
There is a new upload in the games/adventure/prodos8 directory:

File: scupdv82.bxy
Size: 346880
Date: Dec 8

This is version 8.2 of the popular adventure/RPG game Silvern Castle. Here
is a list of some of the changes:

Improved Tome Reader is now 18 times faster; search all tomes at once, plus
Appleworks-like editing features for entering search strings.  Second-sight
card display bug involving GS control panel now made automatic (no more
manual CTRL-Z commands).  Updated LOCATE spell effect. Revised chance to
lose skills when gaining levels.  Second page of items shown with index
number inversed.  Optimized ML code.  Minor bug fixes and more.

Uploaded on behalf of the author, Jeff Fink.

Tony Ward, A2 Librarian

(A2.TONY, Cat 2, Top 37, Msg 49)
[EOA]


[AWH]
ALTERNATIVES FOR WEB SITE HOSTING
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I found out today that (of course) Costco and Sam's Club also offer Web
site hosting.

Whodathunkit?

Ryan
Chief Sysop and Head Elf

(A2.RYAN, Cat 11, Top 29, Msg 102)
[EOA]


[ACT]
WHICH ASCII CHARACTERS TRANSLATE INTO RESERVED CHARACTERS?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Is there a page that gives all the translations for what ASCII characters
translate into which reserved characters?  For example; quote symbols (")
are written as &quot; in HTML.  How do I write other characters, such as
bullets or ellipses?

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 11, Top 29, Msg 103)

>>>>>
"""""
Here's a few...

http://www.pageresource.com/html/speclist.htm
http://www.utoronto.ca/webdocs/HTMLdocs/NewHTML/en_test.html
http://www.ramsch.org/martin/uni/fmi-hp/iso8859-1.html
http://www.natural-innovations.com/wa/doc-charset.html
http://www.utexas.edu/learn/html/spchar.html
http://www.utoronto.ca/webdocs/HTMLdocs/NewHTML/en_test.html

This is more tutorial than table:
http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/html/chars.html

In fact, having looked for them, I think I'll add them to my own home page.
:)
_________
  | homas

(TCOMPTER, Cat 11, Top 29, Msg 104)

>>>>>
"""""
Thomas,

Thanks!  The ramsch page was exhaustive.  It took me awhile some time back
to find the translation for "small e, acute accent".

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 11, Top 29, Msg 105)
[EOA]


[GVS]
GNOME 2.8 INCLUDES VNC SERVER
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
For those who ready to jump the gun and update your desktop to GNOME 2.8,
this environment will now include a VNC server for easy access from a IIgs.
See  http://gnome.org/start/2.8/notes/rnwhatsnew.html for details.

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 11, Top 37, Msg 13)
[EOA]


[SCE]
Silvern Castle v8.2
"""""""""""""""""""
The Version 8.2 update is almost ready to release!

Bugs Fixed in v8.2:

o Fixed problem with camp minimum weapon damage function where selecting a
weapon after pressing <TAB> could accidentally abort or call the demihuman
equivalent human age function due to an uninitialized variable.

o Sound preferences are now honored in all Extra Menu functions.

o The random number seed is now randomized after decoding special goodies
messages to fix an age-old design flaw. (Decoding the text used to leave
the seed in a known sequence, which normally was not a problem as the next
keyboard input randomized the seed again, however in the case of random
item special goodies this is not true as the list of items are generated
before the next intervening keypress.)

o Breaking a key while the auto-unlock function is active now works
properly.

Stuff Changed in v8.2:

o The Tome Reader is now over 18 times faster!!!  The search speed is now
even faster than Dogpaw by a factor of 4!!! This has been accomplished by
partly coding the page display/search routines in assembly language.
However, the main program still is almost entirely AppleSoft BASIC.

o The tome viewer now has a fast input routine with full editing
capabilities.

o All library tomes are now in AppleWorks format.

o The CTRL-Z command has been removed.  Its function to restore the hires
screen after using the GS control panel to fix a Second Sight card anomaly
has now been made automatic.

o Assembly-language code optimized, saved over 150 bytes! The CODE, CODEQ,
and VAP/CODET object files have now been incorporated into a single new
object file: SC.OBJ!  In addition, this file is only loaded once,
speeding-up the time needed to reload the title page.

o The Quick Plot function has been changed to Full Plot so the ON/OFF
display is shown in positive logic.

o Since the automap function was added, the LOCATE spell has lost its
usefulness.  Now, when you invoke this spell, it gives you the teleport
coordinates needed to get to your current location from the stairs to the
market (or the spot the portals to the other scenarios take you).

o Lowered the chance to lose skills when gaining levels (however,
characters near their life expectancy may still expect to lose skills).  In
addition, your level now has more weight in determining whether skills are
gained-although age and vitality are still the main factors, the greater
your level the higher chance there is to gain skills (since higher levels
are more difficult to attain, the awards should be greater).

o The maze information window is no longer annoying redrawn after going
thru a locked door when the auto-unlock function is active.

New Stuff in v8.2:

o The Tome Reader now has an option to view the tomes as one continuous
document to allow you to browse/search all the tomes at once.  When viewing
all tomes, you can quickly jump to the previous/next tome by pressing the
open-apple key and the up/down arrow.  You can also view the tomes
separately as before

o The Tome Reader now displays the current tome number being viewed.

o To more easily ascertain which group of 8 items are being displayed, the
second page of items have their index numbers shown in inversed type.

(FINKSTERJ, Cat 14, Top 7, Msg 140)

>>>>>
"""""
For those of you updating from v7.0 to v8.2, don't use the Extra Menu View
Automaps option until after you run the update and exit to the title page,
otherwise you'll get a crash until you do so.

This is very minor and only affects v7.0.  Why?  Since I reassembled all
the ML code into one file in v8.2, the automap entry point was moved to a
location not valid for v7.0.  Because the ML code has grown a couple times
since the original version, LOMEM gets reset after the update; until the
update all ML code that will be run prior to the update must be below the
original LOMEM.

Since the automap didn't exist before v7.0, no problem.  And v7.1 had a
LOMEM increase above the relocated automap routine so versions after would
not cause an error either.

(FINKSTERJ, Cat 14, Top 7, Msg 141)
[EOA]


[KSU]
Kelvin Sherlock.UPDATES WEB SITE
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Sheppy isn't the only one who can redesign his website (or set one up for
that matter).

http://www.syndicomm.com/~kws/iigs/

I've stolen some IIgs icons and cornflower blue for that old time feeling.
I'm also in the process of sorting the random stuff on my hard drive, so
there's some goodies there (like a new version of the QServer NDA, which
should be in the ftp library soon) and source code (download or browse it
online).

Kelvin

(KWS, Cat 20, Top 11, Msg 14)

>>>>>
"""""
I'm curious -- how do you use the quote server? :)

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 20, Top 11, Msg 16)

>>>>>
"""""
On the IIgs side, open up the NDA and click the start button.

On your other computer, telnet to your IIgs, port #17.

I've never seen another quote-of-the-day server (not that I've looked), so
I don't know why you'd want to use it.  I mostly wrote it to test marinetti
server code :)

Kelvin

(KWS, Cat 20, Top 11, Msg 18)

>>>>>
"""""
Well, having done that much, it actually wouldn't be tons more work to turn
that NDA into a functional web server.  Web server programs can actually be
quite simple.

What we really need, though, is a good way to send files back and forth
between the GS and other machines.  At this point I'd even be satisfied
with a proprietary protocol. :)

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat0 20, Top 11, Msg 19)


[RRU]
Ryan Suenaga RELEASES UPDATES
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I just released new versions of MyIP.NDA, TheirIP.NDA, and MailChecker.NDA,
all with the same bug fix (there's a positive and negative of using the
same code over and over).  There'll be here in the library here but they're
also available on my incredibly lame software page at:
http://lamp.a2central.com/ryans_software/

Ryan
Chief Sysop and Head Geek

(A2.RYAN, Cat 20, Top 17, Msg 1)

>>>>>
"""""
For those who want a look at what I'm currently working on (it's getting
close), take a look at:

http://lamp.a2central.com/screen.gif

Ryan
Chief Sysop and Head Geek

(A2.RYAN, Cat 20, Top 17, Msg 2)

>>>>>
"""""
You're modifying the scrollbars so there are up and down arrows on both the
top and bottom of the scrollbars?

:)

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 20, Top 17, Msg 3)

>>>>>
"""""
If my memory serves me correctly, Softdisk GS published a Control Panel
which does that.

Kelvin

(KWS, Cat 20, Top 17, Msg 4)

>>>>>
"""""
II Scroll from Softdisk lets you do that on the GS; it's included on Simply
Softdisk G-S, which is still available from Syndicomm's online store.  You
can also buy the single disk that includes it, although I don't recall the
issue number offhand.

Only seven months left until Syndicomm stops selling Softdisk products...
buy now! :)

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 20, Top 17, Msg 6)

>>>>>
"""""
Modern GUIs now use the mouse's scrollwheel so you don't even have to move
the mouse over to the scrollbar.

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 20, Top 17, Msg 7)

>>>>>
"""""
I don't like scroll wheels; they're always too small and seem a little
jumpy to me; I'm much more comfortable with the scroll bar.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 20, Top 17, Msg 8)

>>>>>
"""""
I *LOVE* scroll-wheels! Whenever I use a computer with a traditional mouse
I feel like part of me has been amputated. You can get things done, it's
just clumsier and takes more time.

Disclaimer 1: Not all scroll-wheels are created equal! Personally I have a
lot of time for the Microsoft Intellimouse range.

Disclaimer 2: I use the mouse software to set the scroll wheel "button"
action to "Back", which works in Explorer (both the desktop and Internet
versions). This ability is definitely part of the attraction, although
obviously it's not specifically a scroll-wheel capability. It also allows
me to keep a straight face when I say I hate three-button mice!  :-)

Peter               peterw@syndicomm.com
Palm OS Community Bulletin Board Manager

(PETERW, Cat 20, Top 17, Msg 9)

>>>>>
"""""
I confess, I have come to like scroll wheels, but I still like to have the
scroll arrows available for line-by-line scrolling.

Besides, as long as not every computer has a scroll wheel, programs and
operating systems ought to allow the flexibility to fit the needs of all
users.
_________
  | homas

(TCOMPTER, Cat 20, Top 17, Msg 10)

>>>>>
"""""
I use scroll wheels when they are present - and I wish I wouldn't, because
they scroll so much more slowly than scroll bars.  It's easier to use a
scroll wheel than to move the cursor to a scroll bar, but I end up
expending more energy scrolling slowly with the wheel.

Speaking of which, I'm going to install a PowerBook utility called
SideTrack... it adds scroll wheel-like capabilities to a trackpad.

And now I've definitely gone off-topic. :)

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 20, Top 17, Msg 11)
[EOA]


[SBN]
Softdisk PRODUCTS - BUY NOW
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
In another cat/top, Sheppy warned:

>> Only seven months left until Syndicomm stops selling Softdisk
products... buy now! :) <<

What happens in seven months?  Will discussion of Softdisk products revert
to Category 16?

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 24, Top 33, Msg 29)

>>>>>
"""""
Syndicomm's license to distribute Softdisk, Softdisk G-S, and UpTime
expires on June 23, 2005.  After that, we won't be able to sell them
anymore.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 24, Top 33, Msg 30)

>>>>>
"""""
Oh, so Softdisk will then sell it themselves? Not likely...

Steven Weyhrich <IX0YE>--<
Apple II History
http://apple2history.org

(A2HISTORY, Cat 24, Top 33, Msg 31)

>>>>>
"""""
No, after June, if someone else approaches them asking for a license, they
might get one.  Certainly I *could* renew, but I don't plan to -- sales are
way too low to justify paying that much money again.

Most people don't realize that I'm not paying Softdisk a royalty.  I paid
them a sizable up-front fee to license their stuff.  I've made that money
back, but I wouldn't if I renewed the license.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 24, Top 33, Msg 32)

>>>>>
"""""
Sheppy,

I like to personally thank you for licensing the Softdisk software.  I
always wanted to have the 8 and 16 bit Softdisk issues and I know without
your endless support for the Apple II community, this never would have
happened.

Thanks!

 Mark Percival - Apprentice
 Delivered by Spectrum v2.5.3 & SOAR v1.0b11
 The Apple ][ Fanatic and Wednesday Night RTC Host
 "Midweek Madness!" from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Pacific Time

(MARK, Cat 24, Top 33, Msg 33)

>>>>>
"""""
I second that.  I have all but a couple of the 3.5" SDGS disks, but having
them on CDRom means I don't have to worry about bit-rot or transferring
them and burning a CD myself.  Considering the original subscription and
back-issue cost, the CDs are dirt cheap.

Kelvin

(KWS, Cat 24, Top 33, Msg 34)
[EOA]


[PHR]
PROGRAMMING HELP REQUESTED
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Okay, you'd think I would know this by now:

I need to get data out of a handle and into a pstring (in particular the
first three characters); I've been using HandtoPtr but it's pretty clear
I'd be better off doing this using dereferencing.  Any ideas on how to do
this?  I've tried a couple of things with no success so far.

Thanks.

Ryan
Chief Sysop

(A2.RYAN, Cat 22, Top 6, Msg 18)

>>>>>
"""""
A "Handle" is defined in the Common.pas interface file as a ^ptr (pointer
to a ptr).  In reality, it's a pointer to a pointer to... whatever data it
happens to be.  You can typecast the Handle to make working with it more
intuitive.

Presumably, your data is plain text, so we can treat it as a cString to
copy data over.

var
cstr: cStringPtr;
pstr: pString;
myHandle: Handle;

...

  HLock(myHandle);
  cstr := cStringPtr(myHandle^); {convert the handle to a pointer}

  pstr[0] = chr(3);  { set the string length }
  pstr[1] = cstr^[1];
  pstr[2] = cstr^[2];
  pstr[3] = cstr^[3];

  HUnlock(myHandle);

  ....
end;

Kelvin

(KWS, Cat 22, Top 6, Msg 19)

>>>>>
"""""
Thanks, Kelvin.

I was missing the part on declaring the pointer. D'oh!

One other question: can't (isn't it preferable) for the HUnlock to be right
after the cstr := cStringPtr(myHandle^); ?

Ryan
Chief Sysop and Head Elf

(A2.RYAN, Cat 22, Top 6, Msg 20)

>>>>>
"""""
Keep in mind:

Handle --> Pointer --> Data

Anytime you make a toolcall, the location of the data could change, which
would invalidate the Pointer.  Locking the handle guarantees the pointer
and the location of the data doesn't change.

Only after the Data is copied is it safe to unlock the handle.

Of course, in our example, there are no tools calls being made, so locking
isn't strictly necessary.  However, it is good programming practice.

Kelvin

(KWS, Cat 22, Top 6, Msg 21)
[EOA]


[JGS]
Vol 9, Is 4 of Juiced.GS
""""""""""""""""""""""""
I just declared Volume 9, Issue 4 of Juiced.GS final.

Please renew so we can all enjoy Volume 10 together too :-)

Ryan
Editor-in-Chief, Juiced.GS

(A2.RYAN, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 634)

>>>>>
"""""
I've delivered the master copy of Volume 9, Number 4 to the print shop for
the run.  I should be picking them up tomorrow or Friday.  I figure it'll
probably mail on Monday; it takes a while to get everything prepped to
mail.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 635)

>>>>>
"""""
I've picked up the issues and they look pretty good.  They'll get prepped
to mail over the weekend and go out on Monday.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 636)

>>>>>
"""""
Wooohooo!!!!

I can't wait to kick back and read my copy of Juiced.GS.  Thanks once again
for all the hard work and perseverance.

There is at least one Apple II user in Nebraska who really appreciates it.
I'm sure there is more:)

Dain Neater

(A2.DAIN, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 637)

>>>>>
"""""
The magazines are all prepped to mail and will go out tomorrow for sure.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 638)

>>>>>
"""""
Got mine yesterday! Loved it keep up the good work guys!

(TECHNERD, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 639)

>>>>>
"""""
The guys did a really great job this issue.  It's a great read.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 640)

>>>>>
"""""
Thanks for the kind words.  I hope it's reached everyone by now.  I like
this issue a bit more than Volume 9, Issue 3.  I'm hoping that we can keep
Volume 10 at least at the same high standard we've had in the past, which
would be a heckuva lot better than me being fully burnt out by the end of
the hurrah :)

Ryan
Chief Sysop and Head Elf
Editor-in-Chief, Juiced.GS

(A2.RYAN, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 641)
[EOA]


[RCS]
REPLACEMENT COPY OF SideClick 1.0 UPLOADED
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I've just uploaded a replacement copy of SideClick 1.0 both here and to the
Syndicomm site that adds the missing readme file and fixes some file types
and names.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 24, Top 21, Msg 25)
[EOA]


[WPA]
What is a "PapaSan"?
""""""""""""""""""""
What is a "PapaSan"?  I heard someone actually use the word in a sentence
the other day, but I forget the context.

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 24, Top 21, Msg 26)

>>>>>
"""""
I know a "papasan" is a type of chair.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 24, Top 21, Msg 27)

>>>>>
"""""
In HI (which has a large Japanese population of which I am, of course, one
:) "PapaSan" is a slang term that refers to a father (or more likely a
grandfather, or at least a male of that age).  More often (in HI, not just
among the Japanese population), though, an adult male is referred to as
"Uncle" and an adult male is referred to as "Auntie".  Nearly 40% of the
staff at work refer to me as "Uncle Ryan", which is different from "Uncle
Meng", which is what my niece refers to me as.

"MamaSan" is a slang term that can refer to the female version of above,
although "MamaSan" is more often used to refer to the manager of semi- or
non-legit establishments such as massage parlors or bars.  that is, of
course, a topic for another area :-)

Ryan
Chief Sysop and Head Elf

(A2.RYAN, Cat 24, Top 21, Msg 28)

>>>>>
"""""
>> In HI (which has a large Japanese population of which I am, of course,
one :) <<

Wow!  Ryan is singularly a large Japanese population.  I know he is a big
man in the Apple II community--this explains it all :)

>> More often (in HI, not just among the Japanese population), though, an
adult male is referred to as "Uncle" and an adult male is referred to as
"Auntie". <<

It also should be noted that Hawaii is the leading state of gender
confusion -- or maybe that is just Ryan, since he is a large Japanese
population :)

Actually, it is interesting to read about some of the culture in Hawaii--it
is much more than a bunch of volcanic islands.

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 24, Top 21, Msg 29)

>>>>>
"""""
Geoff,

>> Wow! Ryan is singularly a large Japanese population. I know he is a big
man in the Apple II community--this explains it all :) <<

Kinda ruins the "no man is an island" philosophy, if Ryan is Hawaii.

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 24, Top 21, Msg 30)
[EOA]


[KGR]
KEGS 0.91 RELEASED
""""""""""""""""""
KEGS 0.91 got released today.  Here is a list of changes to this version:

Changes in KEGS v0.91 since v0.90 (12/06/04)

- Fixed serious bug in engine_c.c that could cause Finder file copies to
silently corrupt data.

- Virtual Modem support--modem appears on serial port, allows outgoing and
incoming connections.

- Sockets (and Virtual Modem) supported on Windows.

- Fixed various reset bugs (where pressing Ctrl-Reset would cause infinite
beeps, etc).

- Allow user to select ROM file from config panel if not found.

- Improved Mac OS X interface: Full Screen support and error dialogs.

- Better floppy support by always having 5.25" read nearest track
regardless of head position (supports Last Gladiator game bad crack by
emulating other emulators).

It is highly recommend to replace any 0.90 with 0.91.  KEGS can be
downloaded from http://kegs.sourceforge.net

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 44)
[EOA]


[TET]
Text Edit Tool Set
""""""""""""""""""
I need some help with the TextEdit Tool Set.  I'm currently trying to use
TEInsert to display a handle in a TextEdit control, but I only need from
the fifth character on and I can't figure out how to display that in a
straightforward way.

Any help appreciated, thanks.

Ryan
Chief Sysop

(A2.RYAN, Cat 56, Top 34, Msg 7)

>>>>>
"""""
I'm looking at some sample code which works, not documentation, so the
first step may be unnecessary :)

Use TESetSelection to set choose where the new text will go.  If you want
to append text, use

TESetSelection(-1, -1, myTEHandle);

If you wanted it inserted at the start, it would be 0,0 for the selection
start/end.

To actually insert the text, you probably want to HLock your handle,
dereference it, and use pointer arithmetic to skip past the first 5
characters, and treat it as a text block.

HLock(theHandle);
TEInsert(teDataIsTextBlock, teTextRef(ord4(theHandle^) + 5),
    GetHandleSize(theHandle) - 5, nil, nil, myTEHandle);
HUnlock(theHandle);

That should work (assuming I haven't screwed up the pointer arithmetic too
much.

Kelvin

(KWS, Cat 56, Top 34, Msg 8)

>>>>>
"""""
Thanks, Kelvin.  I have never used type casting before, so that was a total
new one on me.  Nice to learn something once in awhile :)

Ryan
Chief Sysop

(A2.RYAN, Cat 56, Top 34, Msg 9)
[EOA]



[ITL]------------------------
      ILLUMINATING THE LAMP |
-----------------------------

An overview of GEnieLamp A2 and The Lamp!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To be Continued
"""""""""""""""
Note from October 2004 issue:

      I'll say goodbye for now, but I'm not fading away as I did in 1995.
I'll return some time next year to do another couple of Illuminating The
Lamp columns for 2003 and 2004.

Steven Weyhrich
a2history@syndicomm.com
http://apple2history.org
[EOA]



[HCG]------------------------
          HCGS ANNOUNCEMENT |
-----------------------------

HyperCard GS Version of _The Lamp!_ Available
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
This issue of _The Lamp!_ is available in a version for HCGS.
(HyperCard IIgs)

Look for it in the HyperCard_IIgs directory.

If you would like future issues of _The Lamp!_ available in the HCGS
version please email me at:

Lyle Syverson <lyle@FoxValley.net>
[EOA]



[ANS]-------------------------------
      ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SYNDICOMM |
------------------------------------

by Lyle Syverson <lyle@foxvalley.net>

[TSU]
TO SIGN UP FOR SYNDICOMM ONLINE
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Please visit our web site at http://www.syndicomm.com for information or to
sign up!

(Logon message)
[EOA]


[DSA]
December 2004 Issue of Syndicommotion Available
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The December 2004 (Volume 3, Number 12) issue of Syndicommotion has been
emailed to subscribers.  The HTML edition can be found online at the
following URL:

http://www.syndicomm.com/syndicommotion/v3n12.html

or by selecting menu option #1 from Page 155 on Syndicomm Online (type
"m155;1" without the quotes at any menu prompt).

Thanks for another great year!

-Ken

(KGAGNE, HelpDesk, Cat 5, Top 4, Msg 26)
[EOA]



[LTE]-------------------------------
             LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
------------------------------------

NO LETTERS TO THE EDITOR THIS MONTH
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The mail box for Letters to the Editor remained empty this month.
[EOA]


AN INVITATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Express your opinions about the comings and goings in the world of the
Apple II computers.

Send your comments to Lyle Syverson, Editor <lyle@FoxValley.net>

The Editor reserves the right to edit any material submitted.

The Editor reserves the right to reject any material he considers
unsuitable for publication in _The Lamp!_.
[EOA]



[KF4]------------------------------
                       KFest 2004 |
-----------------------------------

[KFD]
KFest 2004 DVD 2 Shipping
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
KFest 2004 DVD 2 has finally really started shipping, after a problem was
discovered with the first version of the disc.  Work is underway on disc 3,
which is around halfway finished at this point.  It will include the
keynote address, Greg Nelson's session on animation on the Apple IIgs, and
Hans Franke's AnyCard presentation, along with a few other tidbits.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 24, Top 19, Msg 9)
[EOA]



[KF5]------------------------------
                       KFest 2005 |
-----------------------------------

[NLK]
NEW LOCATION FOR KansasFest 2005
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
KFest 2005 Announcement: Big Changes in store for 2005!

Registration for KansasFest 2005 will open in January 2005. Stay tuned for
more information.  Tentative early registration rates are $285 for a double
room and $365 for a single room. Conference and evening activities only
will be $220.

KFest is 10 days worth of fun crammed into 5. A great way to wind up
Summer.

KFest is on the move. That's right -- KFest has moved to Rockhurst
University. Rockhurst is also located in Kansas City, on the Missouri side.
It's about 10 miles north of Avila University toward the city center. Avila
is located at 109th and Rockhurst is at 50th.

You may be wondering why the change ... ok, you are wondering.  Last
September I was informed by Avila that after some thought they decided that
they were no longer going to host outside organizations during the Summer
months, due to the growth of their own programs.

I'm very excited about the change to Rockhurst, see for yourself:
http://www.rockhurst.edu

(Tony Diaz, KFest Mailing List)
[EOA]


[FOA]
FABULOUS OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE Apple II EQUIPMENT
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Howdy - as many of you know, KFest 2005 is on for this year but the venue
changed from Avila to Rockhurst University. I'm local to the area and
personally, feel this is an upgrade.

In the past, I've opened up my garage full of Apple II parts to attendees
to get what they needed/wanted for free (except for one summer I accepted
donations for a charity). I plan to make the garage available again this
year.

In addition to that, I will be giving away 6 - 8 Apple //c Plus computers
that are in above average condition - these are from my personal
collection.  I mention it because several people have asked me for //c+
machines in the past. The KFest committee will determine how they'll be
given away - I have suggested a drawing in which only people who want one
are in the drawing.

There will be other goodies in the garage - misc floppy drives, Siders,
cards, and probably some useless stuff too but we'll see. I'm also giving
away some books I don't need anymore or have dupes of. Lots of things to
pick through.

You just have to be there.

(Sean Fahey, KFest Mailing List)
[EOA]


[PMO]
PLANNING FOR THE KFest MOVIE OUTING
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It is never too early to start planning for the big KFest movie outing.
Opening July 2005, comes a new film from the famed director of the 2001
hit, Planet of the Apes.  This is a remake of the 1971 classic and will be
called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  This is the film that has got to
be seen.  To whet the appetite of the movie-going public, the trailer has
been released:

http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1313540&sdm=web&qtw=640&qth=4
00

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 5, Top 7, Msg 11)

>>>>>
"""""
You're just making it harder on yourself, Geoff.

Here's a July 2005 release schedule:

http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/tickermaster/index.cfm?m=7&y=2005

Bewitched, Pink Panther, and The Fantastic Four are also candidates.
(We'll be just a week shy of Dukes of Hazzard.)

Gee - so many original properties! :\

Discuss them all in Showbits, Page 840. :)

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 5, Top 7, Msg 12)
[EOA]


[TBH]
KansasFest 2005 to be Held JULY 19-24th
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Mark your calendar and start saving some money.


[KFW]
KansasFest Website
""""""""""""""""""
Is located here:   http://www.kfest.org
[EOA]



[INN]------------------------------
                    EXTRA INNINGS |
-----------------------------------
About The Lamp!   The Lamp! is published on the fifteenth of every month on
"""""""""""""""   the WEB at:   http://lamp.a2central.com/

This publication produced entirely with real or emulated Apple II computers
using Appleworks 5.1 and Hermes.  Apple II Forever!

     * The Lamp! is (c) copyright 2004 by Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W.  All
       rights reserved.

     * To reach The Lamp! on Internet email send mail to
       thelamp@sheppyware.net

     * All issues of The Lamp! are available at The Lamp! Home Page,
       http://lamp.a2central.com/

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors, and do not
necessarily represent the opinions of A2Central.com, Delphi Online
Services, Syndicomm, Ryan M. Suenaga, or Lyle Syverson.  Forum messages are
reprinted verbatim and are included in this publication with permission
from the individual authors.  A2Central.com, Delphi Online Services,
Syndicomm, Ryan M. Suenaga, and Lyle Syverson do not guarantee the accuracy
or suitability of any information included herein.  We reserve the right to
edit all letters and copy.

Material published in this edition may not be reprinted without the
expressed written consent of the  publisher.   Registered computer user
groups, not for profit publications , and other interested parties may
write the publisher to apply for permission to reprint any or all material.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<



[EOF]