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~ WELCOME TO THE NEW A2Pro GENIELAMP! ~
~ LATEST NEWS FROM THE A2PRO ONLINE DEVELOPERS ~
~ NEW ORCA/C 2.0 FEATURES DISCUSSED ~
~ A2U BEGINS SPRING SESSION WITH RESOURCE CLASS ~
~ HOT NEWS ~ HOT MESSAGES ~ HOT VIEWS ~
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
GEnie Lamp A2Pro ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.1, Issue 01
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Publisher.................................GEnie Information Services
Editor-In-Chief........................................John Peters
Editor.................................................Jim Couch
~ GEnieLamp IBM ~ GEnieLamp [PR]/TX2 ~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp A2 ~
~ GEnieLamp MacPRO ~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~
~ Member Of The Disktop Publishing Association ~
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
>>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE A2Pro ROUNDTABLE? <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ February 1, 1993 ~
FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] A2PRO ROUNDTABLE STAFF . [DIR]
Notes From The Editor. Directory.
HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] DEVELOPER'S CORNER ...... [DEV]
Is That A Letter For Me? News from A2Pro Developers.
ORCA/C 2.0 RTC........... [ORC] A2U CAMPUS CHAT ......... [A2U]
New ORCA/C 2.0 Discussed. A2 University:Learning Online.
ONLINE LIBRARY .......... [LIB] LOG OFF ................. [LOG]
HOT Files You Can Download. 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/M530)
_____________| _____|__ _|___ |____ |_____________
|Name of sender CATegory TOPic Msg.# Page number|
In this example, to respond to Smith's message, log on to page
475 enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1.
A message number that is surrounded by brackets indicates that this
message is a "target" message and is referring to a "chain" of two
or more messages that are following the same topic. For example: {58}.
ABOUT GEnie GEnie costs only $4.95 a month for unlimited evening and
""""""""""" weekend access to more than 100 services including
electronic mail, online encyclopedia, shopping, news, entertainment,
single-player games, multi-player chess and bulletin boards on leisure
and professional subjects. With many other services, including the
largest collection of files to download and the best online games, for
only $6 per hour (non-prime-time/2400 baud). To sign up for GEnie
service, call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH.
Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XTX99368,GENIE and hit RETURN. The system
will then prompt you for your information.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "The best way to sum it up would be: /
/ $1CFA,$1C5A,$4310,$717E,$19FA,$09D2,$4620,$61F6 /
/ $12FA,$10D2,$4D20,$61F6,$0772,$105A,$58A8,$60F6 /
/ $9019,$7FF7,$7FF7,$0010,$71F7,$F22F,$4FF2,$1301 /
/ $A245,$54FB,$7DFB,$7DFB,$0FF0,$5300,$0630,$0110 /
/ $2FEE,$258E,$7F74,$40F2,$31EE,$2086,$7F74,$43F2 /
/ $3EEE,$2086,$7F74,$4012,$3DEE,$218E,$7E74,$40FA /
/ $3BE6,$2206,$7C7C,$40FA,$36EE,$2686,$7974,$43F2 /
/ $2F0E,$2916,$7074,$41F2,$31EE,$388E,$6074,$48FA" /
/////////////////////////////////////////////// D.ENGEL ////
[EOA]
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
FROM MY DESKTOP /
/////////////////////////////////
Notes From The Editor
"""""""""""""""""""""
By John Peters
[GENIELAMP]
FROM MY DISKTOP When chatting online or when leaving messages to other
""""""""""""""" RoundTable members, sometimes problems, misunder-
standings or downright angry confrontations are created simply because the
other person doesn't understand what you're _really_ trying to say. If
you're not careful in how you convey your thoughts via the keyboard, what
you meant as a joke or wrote in jest, can sometimes be taken the wrong way
or blown entirely out of context.
The problem is it's not _what_ you say that creates this situation,
but it is _how_ you say it. For instance, a sentence said with a smile can
take on a whole new meaning than if it was said with a frown or angry look.
Facial movements and voice inflections are difficult to interject into your
writing, especially when you're writing on the fly as in an informal
RoundTable Conference or when writing a message or reply online. Since the
reader can't see your face or body-language, he or she may not know that
you're making a joke or that you are teasing.
There is a solution. Over the years a "modem-language" has developed
to help take care of this predicament. By interjecting a smiley face, " :)
" within your message or a descriptive word in brackets, such as [grin] or
[laugh], you can tell the other person, "Hey, don't take this seriously,
I'm just having fun." A well placed [grin] can go a long way to help stop
a misunderstanding.
Another reason this modem-language developed is to help minimize the
amount of typing it takes to convey a message to someone else while online.
For example, it is much quicker to type, "BTW" then to type, "By The Way"
or "IMHO" instead of "In My Humble Opinion."
Confusing? Not really. As you become more familiar with the lingo,
the strange characters and funny faces will be easier to figure out. If
you do come across an unusual cluster of letters and you don't understand
what they mean, by all means ask the person who sent them. To help you get
started, here's a partial list of some of the more popular modem-phrases
being used today on GEnie. (Note: The following has been collected from
online posts, unofficial dictionaries and other sources.)
>>> THE UNOFFICIAL GEnieLamp ONLINE DICTIONARY <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
b4 - before BCNU - Be See 'N You
brb - be right back BTW - By the way
chuckle - something was kinda channel hoppers - someone who
funny jumps from one channel to
another
c u l8tr - see you later go pri - go into private
GR8 - that's great grin - something was humorous
groan - I can't believe you hahaha - something was funny
said that
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA - something was MORF - Male or Female
REALLY funny
OIC - Oh, I see re - about (as in re last night)
rehi - hi again TTFN - Ta Ta For Now
turbo sta - doing a /sta * to get UR- you are
a list of all Chat Lines users
wave - to someone monitoring yawn - I've heard that before
(like "Waving at Fuzzball on
channel 15)
???? - I don't understand... [] = hugs
or What?
:) - a sideways smiley face ;) - a winking smiley face
:P - a smiley face sticking :( - a sad face
tongue out
:/ - frustrated/perturbed =:0 - surprise
:-I - Indifferent smilie. :-> - User made a really biting
Better than a Frowning sarcastic remark. Worse
smilie but not quite as then a :)
good as a happy smilie
>:-> User just made a really >;-> Winky and devil combined.
devilish remark. A lewed remark was made.
[SMILE] [LAUGH]
LOL - Laughing Out Loud ROFL - Rolling On the Floor
Laughing
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion WTG - Way To Go!
Think about what you're typing. Does what you write really say what
you mean?
[*][*][*]
PARTING SHOTS GEnieLamp Script users take note! The GEnieLamp RoundTable
""""""""""""" (M515) is undergoing some major menu changes.
Unfortunately, this means that your script files will no longer work. Once
the changes are in place we will be uploading new scripts to the GEnieLamp
Library. We're sorry for the inconvenience, but we think you'll like the
new menus. (Hint: Lots of new goodies in store! :)
NEW BBS ONLINE NEWSLETTER February 1, 1993 marks the start of a new
""""""""""""""""""""""""" online newsletter for members of the BBS
RoundTable. How the newsletter will be distributed is still undecided.
For more information, drop by the BBS RoundTable on page 610.
(Keyword: BBS)
ASK DOCTOR BOB Do you have a question about operating systems, GEnie or
"""""""""""""" anything concerning computers? If so, you can get your
questions answered here in GEnieLamp by Doctor Bob. Any question is fair
game...and if the good Doctor Bob doesn't know the answer, he'll find
someone who does. Stop wandering around in the dark, send your question
via GE Mail to GENIELAMP.
Until next month...
John Peters
[GENIELAMP]
[EOA]
[DIR]//////////////////////////////
A2PRO ROUNDTABLE STAFF /
/////////////////////////////////
By Jim B. Couch
[J.COUCH2]
____________________________________________
A2 PROGRAMMERS & DEVELOPERS ROUNDTABLE STAFF
_____ ______ ____________________________________________
/_____|/______\
/__/|__| ___|__| Head Sysop: Matt Deatherage (M.DEATHERAGE)
/__/_|__| /_____/ Assistants: Steve Gunn (A2PRO.STEVE)
/________|/__/ __ __ __ Jim Murphy (A2PRO.JIM)
/__/ |__|__/______ /_//_// / Greg Da Costa (A2PRO.GREG)
/__/ |__|________// / \/_/ Todd P. Whitesel (A2PRO.TODDPW)
INTRODUCING THE A2PRO STAFF Over the next few issues we will be
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" introducing the excellent staff members that
make A2Pro possible. A2Pro is blessed with a very talented and helpful
staff. The A2Pro GEnieLamp will give you a chance to get to know them.
As Head SysOp Matt Deatherage (M.DEATHERAGE) administrates A2Pro.
There are 4 A2Pro assistants who help him. These folks are: Steve Gunn
(A2PRO.STEVE), Jim Murphy (A2PRO.JIM), Greg Da Costa (A2PRO.GREG), and
Todd P. Whitesel (A2PRO.TODDPW). You will meet all of these folks in the
near future. For this month we will introduce you to Steve Gunn.
ALSO PRESENTING STEVE GUNN [A2PRO.STEVE] Well, I'm by no means
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Mr. Deatherage. For those of you
who know me in person you know me to be about 1/2 of Matt. :-)
I got started in computers back in 1984 when my Parents bought me an
Apple IIe for Christmas. Actually, it was for the family, but I was the
only person who ever used it. I started out just playing games, and using
the software that people (that I now know) pirated for me. Soon I became
interested in programming, and began learning Applesoft Basic.
Then a little later, I delved into Apple Pascal 1.1 but I just didn't
like it compared to basic. It was too complicated, and took too long to
compile. Plus I couldn't use any of my old programs or disks.
I continued with basic, and started to supplement its weaknesses with
simple assembly language routines that I finally convinced my parents to
spend the money for Merlin 8/16. I slowly learned assembly language with
the help of several people who used to frequent A2PRO. I was just getting
started online with a borrowed modem, and the likes of Eric Mueller, and
Shawn Quick always cheered me up, and squashed my bugs.
Two and a half years ago, I finally had my dream come true. I won a
bet with my father on academic performance, and he had to buy me a IIgs...
and boy did I soak him. (If you are a teenager and want tips on this,
please go ahead and ask.. If you are a parent and want to avoid this..
TOUGH!)
I jumped right in with ORCA/M 1.1 and started writing little programs
and desk-accessories that mostly have never seen the light of day. Most of
them are dead (R.I.P.) on my deceased AI Overdrive 40. I continued to
program and learn, with the help of people here around A2PRO.
About 15 months ago, I somehow caught Chet Day (Head SysOp at the
time) and Tom Stechow (A2PRO Head SysOp) entirely off guard in some kind of
a zen- induced euphoria and talked them into letting me teach a course on
Apple IIgs Assembly Language Programming. Boy was that a lot of fun, and
boy did I sure learn a lot in the process. When I finished the course, I
was asked to join the new staff with Matt Deatherage, and Jim Murphy to run
A2PRO after the old staff resigned (Coincidentally all at once...)
That brings us to where I am today. Today I am 18 years old, and a
Freshman in Computer and Electrical Engineering at Purdue University, in
West Lafayette, Indiana. Someday I hope to get a job out as Bryan Zak says
"getting paid for what I love to do." and I also want to see the entire
world accept Ren and Stimpy for the masterpiece that it is. :-) -Steve
(A2PRO.STEVE, CAT1, TOP2, MSG:71/M530)
[EOA]
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
/////////////////////////////////
Is That A Letter For Me?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Jim B Couch
[J.COUCH2]
o BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS
o A2PRO ODDS & ENDS
o WHAT'S NEW?
o THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
o PROGRAMMER'S CORNER
o HOT TOPICS
o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT
>>>BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
[*] CAT1, TOP15, MSG{21}........GEnieLamp A2 & A2PRO Office
[*] CAT16, TOP4, MSG{1}.........Do we need more FileTypes?
[*] CAT22, TOP22, MSG{1}.........Ultra 4 -- To the MAX!
[*] CAT35, TOP17, MSG{1}.........Edit-16 Discussion
[*] CAT36, TOP11, MSG{28}........ORCA/C
[*] CAT36, TOP16, MSG{29}........The ORCA Shell
>>> A2PRO ODDS & ENDS <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
WELCOME TO THE FIRST A2PRO GENIELAMP! Yes folks it is true! There is
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" now a GEnieLamp newsletter
dedicated to the A2Pro RoundTable and you are reading it! There is a lot
going on in A2Pro and we want you to be a part of it. This issue of
GEnieLamp is only a taste of what is in store for you in the RoundTable, be
sure to stop by and check ALL of it out. There are all sorts of things you
won't want to miss.
A2Pro is NOT just for professional software developers. A2Pro
provides support to programmers and Apple II users of all abilities. Even
non-programmers can find a lot of useful information in A2Pro. The A2Pro
RoundTable is not just for programmers, it is for ANYBODY who wants to know
more about how their Apple II computer works!
We would like your help in making the A2Pro GEnieLamp useful to you.
Let us know what kinds of things you would like to see in the Lamp. You can
post your suggestions in CAT1, TOP15 (the GEnieLamp A2Pro office) or send
them directly to me at GE Mail address J.COUCH2. We need your feedback and
suggestions on how we can make the A2Pro GEnieLamp Lamp useful to you.
WRITERS - A2PRO WANTS YOU! We are looking for writers! We need people who
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" can write and are interested in Apple II
programming to contribute articles, reviews, and columns to the A2Pro Lamp.
We have need of both staff writers and occasional contributors. In return
we offer the chance to astound the GEnie world with your knowledge, become
famous, (well sort of) and free online time. If you are interested in
contributing to the A2Pro GEnieLamp send your resume to me at GE Mail
address J.COUCH2. Please carbon copy (CC) to GENIELAMP and M.DEATHERAGE as
well. We look forward to hearing from you.
[*][*][*]
WIN BIG IN REAL TIME CONFERENCES You know, just tonight in the A2Pro
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" real-time conference Todd Myers
(T.MYERS4) won a $6 GEnie credit for correctly answering a question from
the January GEnieLamp.
It's a rare week that we don't give something away in our RTC, because
we're such decent folks, and Todd's won many times before -- several free
hour credits and even a complete set of Technical Notes on paper back in
July when we did that promotion.
If it makes you jealous that Todd wins all this stuff, you should
consider that if _you_ came to the conferences you might win stuff as well.
Of course, you probably want to come to the conference to talk to
Apple II programmers, including the A2Pro staff and the online support
folks like Bryan Pietrzak, Marc Wolfgram and others. You want to get your
questions answered and ask questions of the folks who can help you get your
programs written.
You don't want to come _just_ to win the prizes. They're just a nice
side effect.
The regular weekly conference is Sunday night at 8:30 PM ET. You
can't win something if you don't show up.
--Matt (I speak for myself, not for Apple)
(M.DEATHERAGE, CAT1, TOP17, MSG:60/M530)
THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT Just a brief note of thanks to all who
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" answered my question. And I must say the
I'm impressed at how many answers and suggestions I got. Thank you all,
and until the next question, happy programming. -Jason
(J.WALASEK, CAT4, TOP16, MSG:19/M530)
USER DEFINED RESOURCE CLEARINGHOUSE After a long and serious discussion
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" with a certain support person at
Apple Computer we have decided to discontinue the original Resource
Clearinghouse concept.
For those of you that actually read this topic before, the
Clearinghouse was going to be an attempt by us to help you manage the use
of "User Defined" resource types... the bottom line: It can't, and
shouldn't, be done... That's what user defined really means folks.
Apple has provided an alternative which you, as programmers, may find
more appealing: Reserved User Resource Types! Note the first word... what
this boils down to is quite simple:
If you need/want/desire a resource type for a specific data structure
(like a word array, or a packed picture format, or a custom data structure
for use by a User Tool you're developing, or whatever), then all you need
to do is provide a description in the form used in Apple's "IIGS Tech Note
#76 - Miscellaneous Resource Formats" (Available in the A2Pro Library.)
Send the request to Lunar Productions (mail "M.Wolfgram2").
We will submit the request to Apple for review because they may want
to incorporate the submittal as a new standard resource type. If they
don't, we will assign a reserved user resource type number to you. The
entire process will take about 2-3 weeks.
NOTE - The reserved range is just that... an assignment
above $8000 in the infamous "Reserved by Apple"
range. Don't decide to use a reserved type for
your own structure unless one has been assigned
to you.
If you've got any questions on this subject, please post them here.
Thank you... -Marc Wolfgram Lunar Productions
(M.WOLFGRAM2, CAT35, TOP4, MSG:32/M530;1)
DO WE NEED MORE FILETYPES? You know I was thinking (yeah, yeah, save the
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" jokes) wouldn't it be a Good Idea for Apple to
define filetypes for things like JPEG documents, Rich Text Format (RTF)
documents, Stuffit archives, ZIP archives, .LHA, .ARC and so on?
Now, since you'll probably be reading this Matt what is your opinion
on this?
It seems that with the possibility of a full r/w MS-DOS FST in the
future combined with the HFS FST we already have that we'd want things to
be as transparent as possible for users. Having "official", defined
filetypes, with support for their translation in the OS (type translation,
ala ASCII Text files for example) would be a Good Thing.
It also seems that this should be done sooner rather than later, in
order to avoid problems like we have with GIF files (many viewers expect
them to be BIN filetypes). Having them as BIN or typeless file defeats
the whole purposes of filetypes! -Bryan
(SOFTDISK.INC, CAT16, TOP4, MSG:1/M530)
SOME THINK NOT! >>> SOFTDISK.INC [Zak]
""""""""""""""" > Having "official", defined filetypes, with support for
> their translation in the OS (type translation, ala
> ASCII Text files for example) would be a Good Thing.
Not! Files (such as GIF or ZIP) which are not native to the Apple II
shouldn't have a filetype. Programs that work with those files should match
them by extension--the same way that DOS, UNIX, and all the other systems
out there match files. Granted, Apple has already created a GIF filetype, a
filetype that is, for the most part, ignored. They've already made one
mistake; let's not have them compound the mistake by creating more
inappropriate filetypes. -Scott Alfter
(S.ALFTER, CAT16, TOP4, MSG:21/M530)
SOME THINK NOT PART TWO Long ago, someone inside Apple proposed that we
""""""""""""""""""""""" do something like this for common HFS
file/creator types -- map them all into given auxiliary types. The problem
then, and the problem now, is that no one will ever be able to keep up.
There are well over ten _thousand_ assigned Macintosh creator types and
probably many more unregistered ones.
If someone requests an assignment for a legitimate reason (like when
someone finally requested a GIF type), Apple will most likely fill it
without too much hassle. Apple's _not_ about to go assigning auxiliary
types to every file you might possibly want to see.
Not only would Apple have to publish new lists all the time (and you'd
still never be able to keep up), there would always be more to do.
This is why GS/OS lets you access native file system features (like
HFS file and creator types) in the option_list -- so everything _doesn't_
have to be "translated" to some intermediate format.
Apple's willing to listen to anyone who wants a "standard" file format
assigned a ProDOS auxiliary type on a case-by-case basis. Doing everything
just so it's done is not a goal.
--Matt (I speak for myself, not for Apple)
(M.DEATHERAGE, CAT16, TOP4, MSG:3/M530)
OTHER OPINIONS I can see assigning Apple II type/auxtype combinations to
"""""""""""""" platform-independent file formats (GIF, JPEG, RTF, etc.)
but you might simply have one for all MS-DOS word processor documents, all
MS-DOS spreadsheets, etc. (And of course one for MS-DOS applications.)
That would at least let people find out, generically, what those weird
files are in the Finder. I do NOT think we need an Apple II filetype for
all MS- DOS file formats.
(QC, CAT16, TOP4, MSG:2/M530)
MORE DIFFERING OPINIONS My own personal feeling is that if the file
""""""""""""""""""""""" format is used on the Apple II it should have a
filetype assigned.
Regarding foreign file formats, I have mixed feelings. For PC-only
files, I would say ignore them. By definition, all PC files are identified
by extension. The filename gives you all the info you need, or can expect
to get, about a file. Adding a filetype would just complicate things.
For Mac-only files, things are different. Files are typed there, and
it doesn't matter (usually) what the name is. Seeing a Mac file under GS
Finder is confusing. I have no way to tell what the file is. The name gives
no clue, and I cannot, as a user, access the filetype and creator ID. I
believe that some 'standard' filetype translation should occur, or that
there should be an update to the appropriate calls which would give the
types in a Get Info and give the capability to change them. If Apple won't
do this it should be a neat Finder Extension, or INIT or DA or whatever. My
main complaint is having all these Unknown files and knowing if it is a
text file, MacPaint, MacDraw, etc. file, or if it is from Microsoft Word,
is it a straight TEXT file or a normal file?
Even allowing a user defined mapping a la DOS Mounter would be useful.
Using the automatic filetype mapping would be nice, but at least the user
should have an easy way to identify and correct Mac filetypes. It should
use a user- defined database kept on the user's boot disk. Heck, make it an
Appleworks Classics ADB file and you can build it yourself from scratch.
Just my two cents.
-Tim Tobin (A2 Head Librarian)
(A2.TIM, CAT16, TOP4, MSG:60/M530)
EVEN MORE OPINIONS! A couple things seem to be lost in the quagmire
""""""""""""""""""" this topic has become.
1) Why is it assumed that more filetypes means more work for the Finder?
2) I would have thought that the main reason for the use/existence of
filetypes is so that Applications can find their files.
It always seems to come back to:
1.) (eg. Finder description file would be really long. Finder would
have to search thru so many entries.
2.) FTN's (and the work involved for updating them), would strain
the support system, (Matt in this case)).
As Tim said DOS/Unix use the name for the most part. One scenario
would put the responsibility on the user for upkeep of .EXT's which would
spare the Finder from displaying anything.
I would opt for a more thorough method myself as filetyping allows for
a very easy method of providing a file list under SFOpen.
Personally, if I were Matt, and an MS-DOS FST existed for copying
files to ProDOS media, I'd assign one filetype for MS-DOS origin files and
start pounding through the extensions one by one until I had the major
ones. Isn't there room for 65535 auxtypes? That would seem to go a long
way, (26 letters + digits + a few special chars cubed is still < 65535).
There is little need for printed notes, (short of an index), as people who
would wish to write applications should know or be able to obtain the
internals from the DOS world.
The Finder, (in a comical vein), could merely display, "MS-DOS file
Look at the Filename" but the user could still set the type so that the
file would appear under his favorite "Importer" app.
Don't get me wrong, I like FTN's but for external formats it seems too
accommodating to go to the trouble for formally including them.
As for the Finder, despite the onslaught of some fine extensions, I'd
rather not consider it an 'application' and have it stand in the way of a
sensible solution. The Finder is the nexus of the IIGS but if you're
spending all you time in it, you're not getting a lot done. (IMHO) -Frank
(P.LAWRENCE5, CAT16, TOP4, MSG:65/M530)
MATT DEATHERAGE REPLIES -- SPEAKING FOR APPLE THIS TIME! Frank, assuming
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" one can create
an entry for a new auxiliary type in ten seconds, doing 65536 of them would
take 4.5 months. Please excuse me if I find better things to do with my
time.
The file type scheme has file types for major kinds of files, like
word processing, object code, spreadsheets, etc. This is used for
identification -- you don't need to know the thing came from an MS-DOS disk
because either a) it's still there or b) it's not relevant because it's not
there.
Again, I'm asking that you guys _please_ spend your online time asking
questions that will help your programs. There isn't going to be anything
like what you're suggesting in system software because, contrary to what
you may think, the five of you proposing translating all file formats to
Apple II file types are the only ones who would find any use for it.
It's too much work for little or no benefit and it's _not_ going to
happen.
--Matt (I speak for Apple this time only)
(M.DEATHERAGE, CAT16, TOP4, MSG:68/M530)
OF COURSE WE COULD TRY THIS :) Hey, I have an idea. Let's just grab
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" filetypes at random. Take what we want!
Show Apple that it can't tell us what to do!
LET'S TEAR THE WALLS DOWN AND STOMP THE BRICKS INTO DUST!!
(ahem)
I've been spending FAR too much time cooped up in front of a
terminal... -Andy (FADDEN, CAT16, TOP4, MSG:54/M530)
>>> WHAT'S NEW? <<<
"""""""""""""""""""
RADE: POISON FOR YOUR BASIC PEST Our mailbox has been overflowing with
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" letters of inquiry about RADE, mentioned
in inCider/A+ in October. Research done earlier this year indicated that
thousands of Apple II users actively program in Applesoft today. With all
the aids and utilities for entering and creating programs, RADE provides an
important function vital the development of BASIC programs that has long
been ignored: debugging. C and Pascal programmers enjoy source-level
debuggers, and assembly language programmers rely on GSBug. But until now,
BASIC programmers were left to debug their work with inadequate tools (or
worse, no tools at all).
As this has been the norm for quite some time, many programmers we've
spoken to were not aware of how useful a BASIC debugger can be. After only
a few minutes of using the RADE demo (available here in the A2Pro software
library), they realized this glaring omission from their software toolbox.
One RADE customer said, after trying the demo he downloaded from the
Internet's comp.binaries.apple2 group, wrote, "This is exactly what I
wanted and more!"
(MORGAN-DAVIS, CAT32, TOP8, MSG:18/M530)
ORCA/C 2.0 SHIPS For those of you who are keeping track, ORCA/C 2.0 is
"""""""""""""""" shipping. It's going to take a while to get caught up
with all of the backlog, but some lucky people probably have theirs by now.
Our best guess is that orders placed now will be shipped the last week of
January or the first week of February. I expect it to be mid February
before we get caught up to the point that we can ship an order more or less
when you place it.
Even at that, the product is a bit ahead of the marketing, which will
probably catch up around mid-February, too. :) Among other things, I'll
be uploading some press releases and detailed lists of features in a few
days. Stay tuned... -Mike Westerfield
(BYTEWORKS, CAT36, TOP11, MSG:28/M530)
LUNAR TO RELEASE NEW EDIT-16 On March 1st, Lunar Productions will be
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" bringing an all new version of one of the
best programming editors back to the GS community - Bill Tudor's Edit- 16.
This is an open discussion of Edit-16... drop in and join in!
-Marc Wolfgram Lunar Productions
(M.WOLFGRAM2, CAT35, TOP5, MSG:1/M530)
>>>>> Really! This is GREAT!!!!!!!!! I am VERY glad to hear this as
""""" EdIt-16 is my favorite editor and I use it about 50 hours a week :)
Do you want suggestions for improvements?
One I would like to see is having it remember that last position in a
source file. I think this could be done by saving the position in a
resource and (a resource in the source file itself) and just not choking if
the resource isn't present. -Bryan
(SOFTDISK.INC, CAT35, TOP5, MSG:2/M530)
LUNAR IS ALSO RELEASING NAMEOBJ MARCH 1ST! Andy Wells has written NameOBJ
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" for publication by Lunar
Productions, and we will be releasing it March 1st! If you program in ANY
ORCA or APW language (yes, assembly too!) and you find yourself walking
your code at all in GSBug or figuring out what's where with Dave Lyons'
Nifty List, then you'll find NameOBJ to be an invaluable tool to add to
your collections.
If you would like GSBug to show you this:
1C/4578: 22 B1 67 1C JSL 'FooBar'
instead of this:
1C/4578: 22 B1 67 1C JSL 1C67B1
it's as easy as having this line between your compile and link:
#nameobj mycode.a
NameOBJ is fast, and the modified object file it creates does not
require ANY other debugging tool to run. The debugging names follow Apple's
standard as documented in GS Technical Note 103, and is 100% non-intrusive!
If your programming language generates standard OMF 1 or OMF 2 object
files NameOBJ will process it!
As an added bonus, NameOBJ is provided with the latest version of Dave
Lyons' incredibly useful Nifty List CDA, and Apple's very own GSBug!
As I said, we're shipping this product March 1 at the very reasonable
price of $39.95... (ShareWare fee to Dave Lyons included!) NameOBJ's
manual covers NameOBJ, Nifty List and GSBug - three great tools in one nice
bundle! -Marc Wolfgram Lunar Productions
(M.WOLFGRAM2, CAT35, TOP6, MSG:1/M530)
MORE INFORMATION ON NAMEOBJ For the rest of the crowd, I had a chance to
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" clarify the way NameOBJ works with Bryan and
it appears that this wasn't made clear here before, so I'll share it with
you...
The NameOBJ utility has several variations on two forms. The simplest
use is "nameobj =.a" in which ALL ".a" files in the current directory will
be read, modified to include inline procedure names, and overwritten. This
is the form I use most often, and it's pretty brainless in operation.
There is another call format which I didn't cover, or cover well. It
is a bit more powerful... nameobj [-param] input output [name1 ... namex]
and it allows, among other things, the input file to be left untouched.
What this means is that the build can be handled by a make script that
creates a secondary object file with names, preserving the original object
created by the compiler. When you want to do a final build, you simply
relink using the compiler output rather than the NameOBJ output.
Clear as mud, eh?
-Marc Wolfgram Lunar Productions
(M.WOLFGRAM2, CAT35, TOP6, MSG:17/M530)
BRYAN PIETRZAK GIVES US INFO ON THOSE HFS FILES For what it's worth, I
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" just uploaded a Finder
Extension called GetFileInfo that displays the HFS creator/filetype, as
well as the Finder Kind and GS/OS file and auxtypes. -Bryan
(SOFTDISK.INC, CAT16, TOP4, MSG:69/M530)
AND ALREADY SOMEBODY WANTS MORE! Yowza! Talk about service! I gotta go
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" get that one. Does it let you modify
them? - I know, I know, I could download it to find out. :)
No more Unknown files!
-Tim Tobin (A2 Head Librarian)
(A2.TIM, CAT16, TOP4, MSG:70/M530)
NO MODIFICATION ALLOWED, YET! No, it doesn't allow modification -- but
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" that's mostly because GFI was a 45 minute
hack for something I needed (in fact, this whole topic was created
partially because of that need!).
If there is interest though, I could probably change it easily enough
to be modifiable... -Bryan
(SOFTDISK.INC, CAT16, TOP4, MSG:71/M530)
>>> THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
ULTRA 4.1 MATHTOOLS HAS SOME PROBLEMS I have been struggling with the
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" lesson on the MathTools commands.
They were written by Mark Munz, who is no longer available for help, since
he doesn't even own an Apple II anymore. The docs (you may have noticed)
are sparse, and there are still bugs in that group of dot commands. Randy
has been working steadily on resolving the problems, and just uploaded to
me a much cleaner copy of MathTools. However, in straightening it all out,
he (wisely, I think) changed many of the command names, and made slight
changes to a few of the functions. Now what do I write about?! Old commands
(that you have) that don't work well? Or new commands (that you don't have)
that work properly?
I think I may just shelve the lesson for now until the dust settles,
then rewrite it. They'll probably let me add a lesson to the library down
the road a bit (3-4 weeks), don't you think? -Will
(W.NELKEN1, CAT22, TOP22, MSG:271/M530)
RANDY BRANDT WORKING HARD TO FIX BUGGY INIT Well, Randy is working
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" very hard on major bug fixes
in the MathTools init, and has, as a result, renamed several of the
commands, added a new one, dropped an old one, and revised others. Major
overhaul!
Thanks, Randy...(clap, clap, clap, clap, clap)
At his suggestion, I will revise my MathTools lesson in accordance
with the new command structure and upload it ASAP. As soon as the new init
is more fully tested and debugged, he will upload it to the JEM Software
Library for you all to download (within a week or so). We'll notify you
when that happens. Got that? -Will
(W.NELKEN1, CAT22, TOP22, MSG:273/M530)
MATHTOOLS LESSON AVAILABLE NOW. FIXED INIT COMING SOON Lesson Fourteen,
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "All You Ever
Wanted To Know About Extended MathTools... but were afraid to ask", should
shortly be released as file # 3074.
It's written for the new MathTools init, which should be uploaded to
the JEM Software Library (#34) in 1-2 weeks. I'll let you know here as soon
as Randy uploads it. -Will
(W.NELKEN1, CAT22, TOP22, MSG:275/M530)
NOT EVERYONE IS HAPPY WITH ORCA C UPGRADE Well, today I had to upgrade to
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ORCA 2.0 finally; and now I am
very sad. What a step backwards from ORCA 1.x.
The first thing that is driving me nuts is this stupid spinning
cursor. It's bad enough that it is even there, but the fact that it drops
portions of itself all the time is driving me up the wall. Very ugly and
useless.
The next thing that really bothers me is the prefix usage. I have (for
years) used prefixes 13..31 for various project folders, libraries and just
general miscellaneous stuff. Now, not only does ORCA use 1-7, it now uses
1- 18, sheesh, that's pretty bad.
A much better solution would have been to go to variables. There could
be a {languages}, {libraries}, {utilities} and a {shell} variable that
dealt with long pathnames, while leaving 1-7 as they used to be (if the
pathnames fit, if not tough, let programmers update their utilities to
support the variables instead of hardcoded prefix numbers. This really
bugs me.
Then the bugs...this is the worst...I simply don't have the time to
deal with tracking down bugs in my development environment -- I have to be
able to depend on it and I just can't. This is not a good thing.
o the patching of the SetPrefixGS call doesn't allow -1 for
the prefix number which is how the user prefix can be set.
My prefix command (PFX) supports a command like "PFX @ 0"
(makes the user directory the same as the current prefix
under ORCA 1.x). Well, this doesn't work under 2.0.
o the alias command screws up. For each of my projects I have
a "local login" file called "setup". I have the statement
"alias se execute setup" in my ORCA login. The first line of
my setup file is usually PFX @ 0. When ORCA hits this, it
craps out and the se variable no longer contains "execute
setup", it now contains "65535".
o single character commands aren't recorded in the history.
This gets to be quite a pain after a while.
o can scripts run any slower? I thought they were slow under
1.x, they seem to be even slower under 2.0.
o linker scripts can't deal with libraries. I have a link
script which looks like this:
-x
object/a
object/b
object/...
object/n
13:Zak:GSLib
13:ORCAPascal:PasLibPlus
13:ORCAPascal:PasLib
13:SysLib
keep=myprog
Whenever it hits the 13:Zak:GSLib, it craps out with the error "can't
find :Jupiter:ORCA:Libraries:Zak:GSLib.root". No kidding, it's a library
file. So, I try to play with the libraries variable, and if I even have it
set to anything, doing an "assemble linkit" results in an error (can't run
two scripts or something like that).
I will NOT simply put all my libraries in prefix 13 -- I don't want to
play the sorting game to ensure that things are linked in the correct
order. I just want my development environment to work.
So far, in about 15 minutes of use, this is what I have come up with.
And, I'm not even using the ORCA editor.
[*][*][*]
Mike, what really bothers me about this is that I reported most of
these problems about 9 months ago, and in all cases you either couldn't
reproduce the bugs (which means they don't exist as far as you are
concerned) or you weren't interested in changing them. I am a professional
programmer and I DEPEND on you and ORCA. Because of the problems and lack
of support from you on them you have pushed me (and countless others -- I
wonder, 4,5 years ago, if ORCA/M were even half the speed of Merlin how
many people would have bought Merlin instead of ORCA/M?!?) to MPW.
Unfortunately, I can't make the switch overnight -- I still have dozens of
megabytes of source code that runs under ORCA. I surely hope that you don't
plan to leave me hanging.... -Bryan
(BRYAN.ZAK, CAT36, TOP16, MSG:29/M530)
BYTEWORKS' MIKE WESTERFIELD REPLIES Bryan, I never know quite how to
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" respond to your "bug reports." You
rarely report anything with enough detail that I can figure out what
happened. When I ask for details, you can't be bothered. I can understand
that, to a point, but then you come back later and broadside me for not
fixing the bugs. Finally, you expect the product features of MicroSoft,
the customer support of DTS, and the pricing of Byte Works, all in a market
that is too small to support a single full time programmer, and act like
I'm a creep for not getting it all done.
I refuse to apologize for not doing more than is humanly possible.
I get things done as fast as I can. Over the last year I've released
System 6.0 updates, Toolbox Programming for System 6.0, Toolbox Programming
in Pascal, Toolbox Programming in C, ORCA/C 2.0, and ORCA/Debugger. Did I
leave anything out? Maybe. I've also fixed many bugs, sending disks with
bug fixes or e-mail files to the people who reported the bug to me with
enough information to duplicate the problem, assuming the bug was something
that they could not work around (and sometimes even when they could work
around the bug). I've answered bug reports by mail, e-mail, and phone.
You haven't gotten a reply from me. That may be because I haven't had time
to work on the shell, yet, and I'm just starting the Pascal compiler, but a
lot of it is because you don't give me anything but gripes when you report
a bug.
I'm still trying to make a go of publishing languages on the Apple
IIGS, but to make that work, I can't drop what I'm doing to satisfy you.
I'm trying very hard to keep quality languages and tools on the Apple IIGS
in a shrinking market, and it's tough. In all of this time, I've gotten
several comments from you, some public and some private. All are negative.
If you think someone else can do a better job, say so. So far, I
would stack what we have up against _anything_ done by a company with five
times our resources. If you want more, I understand, but unless you're
willing to write a check, there isn't a lot I can do about it. It takes
money to do bug fixes within a few days (which is what I would like to do)
and to rewrite assemblers for speed (so jerks don't make absurd claims that
the _can't_ reassemble something to take out debug names) and to add more
new products than we do (like C++ and BASIC, to name just two that I've
wanted to see for years). If I ever get enough money to support those
efforts, I will.
I am doing all I can in the existing market, which only promises to
get smaller, which will of course mean I can do less. If that means that
you and a few other people choose to move to other machines, I'm sorry, but
I refuse to accept that as something I personally did wrong.
As for the VAST majority of people who are pleased with what we do, we
will keep doing it, Bryan or no Bryan. For the many of you reading this
who like our products, there will be more. The more you buy, the more
there will be. :) And, while I don't like to bring it up much, there are
actually more people who have commented that they wish ORCA was on the PC
or Mac than people like Bryan who blast us and say they are moving to other
machines because they find ORCA inadequate -- lots more. To those of you
who have given me encouragement over the years, thanks. It's a lot of what
has kept me going.
Back to the topic of the bug report, I am working on Pascal, now. Any
of the bug reports that apply to Pascal will be answered soon. Depending
on the outcome of some talks regarding some other work I may have to do to
pay the bills, the shell, which is the biggest thing you were complaining
about, will get worked on either in February or April, and you'll get a
personal fix by e-mail for any bug that I can actually duplicate. If you
want to take the time to report more, I'll make sure you get the version
that fixes those, too. I really do hope that is a help to you. And,
though it may surprise you, I really do regret that I can't do bug fixes
faster. But, unlike other competitors who have fled the market rather than
stay and fix minor (or major) problems, I'll be here to fix them, no matter
how long it takes. Count on it.
I'm just more cheerful about it when personal attacks and threats are
left out of the bug report. :} -Mike Westerfield
(BYTEWORKS, CAT36, TOP16, MSG:32/M530)
>>> PROGRAMMER'S CORNER <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
WELCOME TO PROGRAMMER'S CORNER! This issue in the Programmer's corner we
are presenting some news and
tips related to JEM software's Ultra 4. For those who haven't yet heard
Ultra 4 is a VERY powerful upgrade to the Ultramacros programming language
for Appleworks. Check out the information here and then head over to the
roundtable for MUCH more! In addition to JEM's online support area in
Category 34 there is a wealth of information in A2U's Ultra 4 --- to the
Max course. Course lesson's can be downloaded from the library and
discussion continues in Category 22, Topic 22. See you there!
[*][*][*]
QUESTION ON USING AW.INITS WITH ULTRA 4.1 Randy, This excerpt is from the
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "INIT DOCS" file on the Timeout
Central vol 13 disk:
> Hold down both apple keys on bootup to skip installing any inits.
> Hold down the solid apple (Option) key on bootup to choose the inits you
> wish to install. Each init will be listed on screen (with its version
> number) and you'll be asked if you wish to install that init.
> Hold down the open apple (Command) key on bootup to configure any inits
> which allow the user to make changes. If you held down the solid apple
> for individual installation, but still want to configure an init you're
> installing, press Open-Apple-Return with "Yes" highlighted when choosing
> the init.
Does this information still apply?
When I hold down either or both the option and oa keys and boot
AppleWorks, it just zings right on by the init installation; no stopping
what-so-ever.
Has something changed with Ultra 4.1's Init Manager to make this
action no longer possible or do I need to look elsewhere? I have very few
patches in Appleworks, the Yes/No swap and arrow for <CR>, etc.
I have not tried re-installing everything on a fresh copy yet. This
was something I was going to do this weekend but never got around to.
Other than this, does anyone have any suggestions?
-Jim Brandt (J.BRANDT1, CAT34, TOP4, MSG:101/M530)
RANDY BRANDT REPLIES Jim, The init manager installation and configuration
"""""""""""""""""""" keys haven't been changed in any way. I wouldn't
suspect a patch conflict, since the init manager is self- contained in
SEG.IM and checks the keyboard directly for the keys. What you've described
sounds impossible, provided that your keyboard works properly and you
indeed were holding down the keys. If you let go of the keys too soon, the
init manager would never know about them. Make sure you press them until
the init manager screen appears.
(BRANDT, CAT34, TOP4, MSG:102/M530)
LORNE WALTON'S ULTRA 4 CALENDAR A HIT! Great job on the Calendar!!!! Not
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" only does it do what it is suppose
to do, it's visually entertaining too. Love the blinking "apples" and the
way the "help" windows appear and disappear. Great job! I wish I was just
half that creative! -Sully ====Cape Coral, Fl======/
(T.SULLIVAN19, CAT22, TOP22, MSG:291/M530)
....AND WINS THE ULTRA 4 MENU CONTEST! Yep...CLAP, CLAP, CLAP for Lorne's
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" calendar. If you haven't downloaded
our contest winner (file # 3089) yet, do it tonight! Then tell that man
what you think about it. (We'll see if we can get him so swelled up he
bursts that nice new t-shirt! :)) -Will
(W.NELKEN1, CAT22, TOP22, MSG:294/M530)
>>> HOT TOPICS <<<
""""""""""""""""""
PLAYING BY THE RULES Frank, I have to disagree with you -- no need to
"""""""""""""""""""" break standards that work because of a few bad
app(le)s (I couldn't resist!) that refuse to follow the rules
A perfect example is ProSel-16. I wonder just how well it works with
AutoArk and the forth-coming HardPressed -- all because its author thought
he had a better solution. <sigh> -Bryan
(SOFTDISK.INC, CAT16,TOP4, MSG:31/M530)
THAT'S EASY FOR YOU TO SAY OTOH, it's easy to talk now about how foolish
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" it was for an author to do things his own way.
Back when ProSel-16 was created, there wasn't even a GS/OS. And at the
time, I recall at least one prominent DTS person (can't remember offhand)
saying that if you just had to break the rules to get acceptable
performance, or to get something to work at all, then you should do it, and
just be prepared for the consequences if it breaks later.
I suspect that if we were still in the ProDOS 16 days certain folks
wouldn't be quite so rabid about doing absolutely everything by the book.
There was a time when the only way to get certain types of software to work
acceptably well was to go your own way. It really wasn't that long ago.
Now that we have the wonders of GS/OS, and a fast and wonderfully
powerful toolbox, it's much easier to play by the rules and still write
decent software, no?
(Remember when it would take about ten minutes to scroll through a 30K
document? Brr!) -Dean Esmay
(A2.DEAN, CAT16,TOP4, MSG:32/M530)
>>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
Mike Westerfield of ByteWorks was recently asked how long it would
take to complete one of their learning to program courses in C. His reply
went well beyond answering the basic question, providing some good advice
for those who are wondering what high level language to get into.
Category 36, Topic 23
Message 3 Mon Jan 18, 1993
BYTEWORKS at 11:49 EST
How long you take to finish a course depends on a lot on you and how
much time you have. If I were teaching the courses in a college format,
I'd probably want a little more than one 3 semester hour course for the
first, and nearly two 2 semester hour courses for the second -- say, 9
semester hours for the pair. Most people on GEnie would find the pace a
little slow at that rate, but a true beginner would have to work a little
to keep up.
If your only programming experience before this is BASIC and a little
assembly, I would strongly recommend that you think about Pascal rather
than C. It's up to you; the courses are the same, but you'll crash less
often in Pascal. Because you've had some assembly background, though, C is
probably within your reach.
As for how readable C is, I can suggest two things: First, as with
most languages, it will look pretty strange until you get used to it, then
you will wonder why everyone else is having trouble. Second, C is a
language that was designed for people who are perfect. As such, it has a
major design flaw, since there are no perfect people using it. One of the
places this design issue comes up is with code readability. It's just as
hard to write readable code in C as it is to write readable prose in
English, and that's coupled with the fact that most programmers don't care
a whole lot whether someone else can read their code, and the ones that do
generally weren't trained by C programmers -- they were trained by Algol,
Pascal, or Ada programmers. The result is that the vast majority of C
programs are so difficult to read that it's often easier to write a
subroutine from scratch than to understand what the other guy wrote, and
you won't learn how to do better from most C programmers. That,
incidentally, is one of the main reasons I recommend Pascal before C: each
language has a community behind it. Pascal programmers are, as a group,
more concerned with structure, design, and readability than C programmers,
and you need to learn those ideas well, and preferably early. C
programmers, as a group, are concerned with efficiency and portability. You
need to learn that, too, so I recommend that anyone who's serious enough
about programming to learn more than one language learn C, too, but if
you're only going to learn one set of those lessons, the lessons the Pascal
crowd will teach you are the most important ones.
And, contrary to popular opinion, I like C. It's useful. A 30-6
rifle is also useful, especially in the badlands of New Mexico, but I still
don't recommend it for the casual apartment dweller in Albuquerque. There
are appropriate tools for each job, and for the beginner and for toolbox
programming, Pascal is a more appropriate choice than C.
-Mike Westerfield
[*][*][*]
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 A2, the GEnie Lamp 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]
[DEV]//////////////////////////////
DEVELOPER'S CORNER /
/////////////////////////////////
News from the A2Pro Online Developers
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Jim B.Couch
[J.COUCH2]
>>> ONLINE SUPPORT IN A2PRO <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
HELP IS JUST A MODEM CALL AWAY Most of you who are reading this already
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" know about what a great resource the A2Pro
RoundTable is. What you may not be aware of is the many companies that
provide online support to their customers via A2Pro. A number of companies
that provide tools or support to Apple II programmers have online support
areas in the A2Pro RoundTable. These areas are a great way for you to get
speedy assistance when you are having a problem. Most of these developers
are online nearly everyday and many times you can get an answer from the
very person who wrote the software development tool you are using! The
online support categories are also a great place to suggest changes or new
features you would like added to a product. The following companies are
providing formal support via A2Pro categories. Be sure to check them out
and take advantage of one of the finest features A2Pro has to offer!
CAT COMPANY
=== =======
30 Procyon, Inc.
31 Softdisk Publishing
32 Morgan Davis Group (MDG)
33 GS+ Magazine
34 JEM Software
35 Lunar Productions
36 The Byte Works
Each month this column feature highlights and news from various
developers who provide support via A2Pro:
>>> NEWS FROM SOFTDISK PUBLISHING <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
EXPERIENCED PROGRAMMERS WANTED to fill positions in the Apple Development
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Group at Softdisk Publishing. If you are
proficient in Apple II (8-bit) assembly or the Apple IIGS desktop
environment, you've got the right stuff. Proficiency in more than one
environment (or in Macintosh programming) is a definite plus. You must be
willing to relocate. Send your resume, including a list of the environments
and languages you know, to the following address:
Softdisk Publishing
ATTN: Lee Golden
PO Box 30008
Shreveport, LA 71130-0008
Fax resume to: 318-424-0174
America Online: Bryan Zak
AppleLink: SOFTDISK
GEnie: SOFTDISK.INC
Internet: softdisk@applelink.apple.com
I was asked by Jim Couch to come up with something for GEnieLamp (and
he gave me less than 24 hours to do so -- thanks Jim :). Since the big news
around our office is the fact that management has given us the green light
to hire some more programmers, I thought that I'd relate some of the pros
and cons of working at Softdisk Publishing:
PRO You get to (almost) work your own hours.
"""
CON Shreveport is hot in the summertime.
"""
PRO We have about 200 very hip CDs in the office.
"""
CON We can't crank the stereo up to 10 (the IBM guys next door
""" complain).
PRO Pizza for lunch every Friday.
"""
CON The company only pays for the pizza every other week.
"""
PRO Brainstorming with the other Apple II programmers.
"""
CON Shreveport is hot in the summertime.
"""
PRO Manager who lets us take "movie breaks" (unless a deadline is
""" looming).
CON Seems like deadlines are always looming. <grin>
"""
PRO Wide variety of programming projects.
"""
CON Very few long term projects (that's a pro to some people).
"""
PRO Health, dental insurance, 401Ks, vacations, and all that stuff.
"""
CON Shreveport is hot in the summertime.
"""
PRO Rubber band wars (when we can find where our manager hid the
""" ammunition).
CON Manager hides ammunition quite well.
"""
PRO Popcorn is free.
"""
CON Pop is not (costs a quarter).
"""
PRO Shreveport is only three hours from Dallas.
"""
CON Dallas is three hours away from Shreveport.
"""
PRO Apple office has more posters per square inch than all other
""" offices.
Of course, the biggest "pro" of all is that you actually get paid real
money to program the Apple II computer!
One of our "regular" submitters recently asked me what we are looking
for and the answer was quite simple:
GAMES!
Right now the need for games is more than it's ever been on Softdisk
G-S. Everything from little mind-benders, to full scale action games are
hot on our want list!
-Bryan Pietrzak
[SOFTDISK.INC]
>>> MORGAN DAVIS GROUP HISTORY BUFFER <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
FAMOUS INDUSTRY MOGUL MISSING Authorities Fear Foul Play!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" San Diego -- Law enforcement agencies, the
FBI, CIA, and SPA, have been circulating a bulletin regarding the
whereabouts of MDG company president, Morgan Davis, who has not been seen
since last month. "I've seen him go into the bathroom with a Computer
Shopper and not emerge for days, but this has me worried" recalls Dawn
Davis, his wife. "The last time I saw him was December 5. He seemed quite
upset, mumbling incomprehensibly about broken handles, crooked pointers,
corrupted resources . . . stuff like that. He grabbed his brief case and
took off into the night. I haven't seen him since."
Davis's five-year-old daughter, Kristi, explained, "I called Daddy's
office, but I only got the answering machine. I always get the answering
machine. But when I wait for the beep, I say, 'Daddy it's me, not a
customer' and he always answers. I've called a whole bunch of times, but
he doesn't answer. I know he's not there."
When asked how he was coping with his father's disappearance, Davis's
two-year-old son, Morgan Ryan, inquired, "Where Daddy go? Daddy all gone.
Why?" The young boy, obviously wrought with despair, lapsed into an
annoying loop, repeating the word "why" endlessly.
Industry sources allege that Davis's last appearance coincided with
the beta testing of MD-BASIC 2.0, an explanation that has shaken and
divided the computer industry over the mysterious disappearance. "So
what's the big deal?" countered Microsoft president and CEO, Bill Gates.
"I know how beta testing goes. After we released Windows 1.0 in 1985, we
confined all the programmers to their cubicles until Apple finished System
7. When our guys released Windows 3.0, we let them go outside once.
That's how you do it. It's a long process because you're constantly
waiting on your competition to think up all your great ideas."
Apple Computer's John Sculley differs in sentiment. "Something is
seriously wrong and there is cause for great concern! I don't give this
beta testing theory any credibility. Everyone knows that beta testing
takes just a few hours, and then you release a product. Why, we've done it
like this for years through APDA! Had [Davis] been working for us, MD-BASIC
2.0 would have been released last August with a series of 'Tune Up'
extensions in the days and months following."
"I don't know where he is, but he's got a modem," said Matt
Deatherage, Developer Technical Support representative at Apple. "He
requested some file types for MD-BASIC from DTS on AppleLink earlier this
month. It's about time! MD-BASIC has been out since 1990! I hate it when
developers do that!"
A San Diego County Police department spokesman reported that they
received an anonymous phone call from a man, identifying himself as John
Qwerty, who said he kidnapped Davis, demanded a large sum of cash and a
ticket to Apple Expo West in exchange for Davis's return. The spokesman
explained that they could not take the caller seriously and did not
investigate. Authorities continue their search, claiming that foul play
may be a possibility in Davis's unexplained absence.
>>> THIS MONTH'S APPLE II JOKE <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Knock knock. Who's there? (Long, three hour pause). Archiver.
[*][*][*]
HISTORY BUFFER (C) Copyright 1992 by Morgan Davis Group. Portions may
be reproduced with permission.
Morgan Davis Group
10079 Nuerto Lane
Rancho San Diego
CA 91977-7132 USA
619/670-0563
619/670-9643 (FAX)
619/670-5379 (BBS)
Internet: mdavis@mdg.cts.com
Morgan Davis [MORGAN-DAVIS]
[EOA]
[ORC]//////////////////////////////
ORCA/C REAL TIME CONFERENCE /
/////////////////////////////////
ORCA/C 2.0 Discussed One of the biggest pieces of news to hit A2Pro
"""""""""""""""""""" recently is the release of ORCA/C V2.0. On December
13th 1992 Mike Westerfield of The Byte Works, Inc. joined a group of A2Pro
members for a real time conference to discuss this new version. This is an
abridged transcript of the RTC. The complete transcript is available in the
A2Pro library.
Copyright (c) 1992 by the Apple II Programmers RoundTable of GEnie.
All rights reserved.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<M.DEATHERAGE> Our guest tonight is Mike Westerfield of The Byte Works,
who's here to talk about ORCA/C 2.0, the big new upgrade
coming in mere days.
<BYTEWORKS> Hi folks! I thought I would start off by answering the
obvious questions: when and how much! First, when I
scheduled this conference last month, I thought we would be
shipping by now. Well, we all know what software schedules
are like. I'm putting the finishing touches on it now, and
expect the product to actually ship late next week (i.e.,
right around Christmas time.) As for how much, well, that
depends. The retail price has not changed, so if you don't
have ORCA/C yet, the price for buying it won't go up. If
you're upgrading, the price depends on when you purchased.
If you bought before Sep. 1, the price is $50; otherwise
it's $25. After Feb 28th, then the update offer expires,
all updates will be $60.
What you get is basically a whole new package. ORCA/C 2.0
comes with all of the old stuff, with all of the pieces at
the 2.0 level -- including Prizm. You also get Rez, DeRez,
and a few other utilities. Let me hit the high points of the
new release, then I'll let you ask questions about the
details so we spend time on the stuff that interests you.
o Code generation is vastly improved.
o The compiler supports HyperStudio NBAs and HyperCard
XCMDs directly.
o The search path mechanism for #include is improved
o Precompiled headers
o vprintf() and it's cousins are present
o Prototyped tool header files
o Prizm has been completely revamped for System 6.0
o The debugger can display structs, unions, pointers,
arrays, and virtually any combination of these.
<W.TUDOR> My question is about the precompiled headers...(BTW, I am
glad to hear that is in there!!!) How much compile time
speed improvement is there from this?
<BYTEWORKS> It depends a lot on what kind of program you are compiling.
The biggest savings are for toolbox programs, which have
lots of headers. Obviously, the more headers there are
compared to code, the bigger the savings. As one example,
though, the compile time for the Minicad.cc program from the
ORCA/C samples disk dropped to 45% of the time required by
the 1.3 compiler, and that should be about typical.
<W.TUDOR> A typical main source file of mine can have 15-20 tool
header files included so I am happy. Thanks.
<THE.VAGRANT> Mike, you mentioned improvements to the debugger. Is that
part of 2.0 or a separate upgrade?
<BYTEWORKS> The debugger in Prizm is part of C 2.0. ORCA/Debugger
hasn't been upgraded, yet, but will be early next year. That
upgrade will not be free.
<A2.LUNATIC> Does the new Prizm support file names passed to it on the
command line, or file names passed through Message Center?
<BYTEWORKS> No...I ran out of time. Message Center support was,
frankly, at about the top of what was left of the wish list
for Prizm 2.0, and will probably be added someday... but it
won't be in Prizm 2.0.
<J.BURKE26> Mike, just got the flyer yesterday, looks GREAT! Will the
old ORCA products, like Pascal 1.4 run with the new Prizm?
<BYTEWORKS> Yes.
<BYTEWORKS> ...here's some comparison times for execution of the
benchmarks that come with ORCA/C 1.3. You can check the
source out to see what's happening. All times are on an
8MHz GS:
Gamm 16.20 14.97
Fib 11.62 11.55
Float 39.50 23.01
IMath 22.38 0.24
Prime 33.76 26.32
Quick 16.40 14.72
Savage 32.76 32.47
And for compile times, here's the raw times for compiling
Minicad.cc, again in seconds, under C 1.3 and C 2.0:
Minicad.cc Compile 45.07 19.43
<M.DEATHERAGE> Mike, could you repeat the Integer Math benchmark? It came
out saying the new compiler takes "0.24 seconds" to execute
the code. Is that right?
<BYTEWORKS> Yup. Although, in truth, the compiler ran the code faster
-- I just couldn't stop the stopwatch any quicker. :)
<M.DEATHERAGE> Mike, what compiler change accounts for the Integer Math
program going from 22.38 seconds to less than a
quarter-second?
<BYTEWORKS> Loop invariant removal and common sub-expression
elimination.
<BYTEWORKS> Matt -- incidentally, integer math is faster, too, but the
IMath benchmark doesn't get to show that. :)
<P.BENSON1> Mike: is that compile time the first compile or subsequent?
<BYTEWORKS> The compile time is for a second compile -- the first takes
about the same as 1.3, since that's when the symbol file is
actually built. Let me explain how that works. The main
problem with precompiled headers in C is that you can change
the headers with #defines before the #includes. There are a
lot of ways to deal with that, but since our main audience
is hobbyists, I wanted a way that was 100% transparent. The
compiler builds a .sym file in the first compile, then reads
it on subsequent compiles. If you change something that
effects the .sym file, the compiler is smart enough to see
the change and rebuild the .sym file automatically.
<W.TUDOR> After all this talk tonight a question comes to mind...Do
_you_ program all this stuff yourself?
<BYTEWORKS> Yes. Every iota.
<W.TUDOR> Nice job.
<T.MYERS4> Hi, Mike I was having a problem with PRIZM ignoring tool
start-up's that weren't desktop related. I was wondering if
PRIZM in C/2.0 was changed to let these pass to the system?
(ie. Note Synthesizer in particular)
<BYTEWORKS> Yes. I did look at your bug report, and the bug is fixed.
<M.HAMNER1> Okay, mine is fairly simple...I was looking for a basic
description of the setup and operation of the new system...
(i.e. how easy it is to use) I'm getting into C now :) and
need to pick my software.
<BYTEWORKS> If you're using floppies, setup is very simple: make a
working copy of the program disk. If you're installing
ORCA/C on a hard disk, things are more complicated. You
have to decide which way you want to install the system,
then run Apple's installer, click on the right script, and
click on Install. :)
There are two ways to use the system, from the text or
desktop mode. The manual assumes you will be using the
desktop system, which is very straight-forward. It's just a
standard desktop program. The text system is harder to use,
but it is smaller and faster. It also gives you the option
of picking from several different commercial and PD editors,
utilities, and even a compatible shell, now.
<M.HAMNER1> Hmm, from the desktop mode, can you select files using
windows? I guess that's presumed? How much memory would I
need MINIMUM to be most efficient?
<BYTEWORKS> Yes, the desktop system gives you a window-based editor, as
well as window-based text output. As for memory, it
depends... For short, text programs, it's still _possible_
to use 1.25M. I'd recommend more, and more is required if
you're doing desktop programming. I'd say a minimum of 2M
for effective use of Prizm for desktop programming, and more
will make things go faster.
<SOFTDISK.INC> A quick, useless question: Does C 2.0 support C++ style
comments?
<BYTEWORKS> No. And there was a very interesting discussion about that
among the beta testers, one of whom served on the ANSI C
committee. The initial reaction was "we want them" to "well,
why not?" By the end, there were still two hold outs who
wanted // comments, but the rest of the beta group seemed
convinced that // comments would actually be a very bad
thing.
<W.TUDOR> I would have voted for them. Every C compiler I use now
supports that.
<BYTEWORKS> ...Begging your pardon, that's not true. If a compiler
supports them, it's NOT an ANSI C compiler, and that's the
problem.
<W.TUDOR> They have directives to turn the feature on/off.
<BYTEWORKS> Understood. And I considered that. I just didn't do it.
The feeling was "all of C++ or none of C++," and I agreed
with it.
<A2PRO.TODDPW> Will C 2.0 support setting the optimize pragma from the
command line? Editing the source file to change the
optimization level all the time gets pretty tedious,
especially if I have a directory of 1000 files that I want
to blast test the compiler on. Please consider it.
<BYTEWORKS> No. (By the way, I _am_ keeping track of the things you ask
for that didn't make it. :)
<THE.VAGRANT> In regard to a command line switch for optimization... I
would like it expanded to all appropriate pragmas (ie
stacksize, memorymodel, etc)
<BYTEWORKS> I doubt I will ever do that, but from a script file you can
do effectively the same thing. Do a #include for a single
"options" file from each program, and create the options
file in your script. Works great...
<A2PRO.TODDPW> Could you elaborate on the #include of the "options" file
idea? That should solve my immediate problem, but I'm not
sure what you mean. I already have a script for
compiling/linking/running and so on; what do I add and
where? I.e. I thought we could change the #include paths but
not actually sneak in an include file...
<BYTEWORKS> Let's say you just want to handle the optimize pragma. At
the start of your script, put this:
#pragma optimize -1 >options.h
Then, in each source file, put:
#include "options.h"
<A2PRO.TODDPW> Ah. I still have to modify every source file though. That's
what I wanted to avoid.
<BYTEWORKS> You can add as many lines as you want, just use >> instead
of > on all but the first. You might also want to add:
"change options.h cc" just to make sure the language stamp
is correct.
<T.MYERS4> Mike, you said that PRIZM would display structures, would
that include Ptr's to structures. (ie. like in linked-lists)
<BYTEWORKS> Absolutely. Go wild. Something like foo->bar[6].rec1 is
perfectly legal. The restrictions: You must use constant
array subscripts, and you must use ^ for pointers, not *.
<T.MYERS4> OK, and it displays _real_ data not hex . :)
<P.BENSON1> In Prizm, can you create unions? i.e. look at a char
string as a long int?
<BYTEWORKS> No. You can change the data type in ORCA/Debugger, but in
Prizm, you get the display type you used in the source. You
can look at individual characters, as in str[4], though.
<P.BENSON1> Okay, I assume char strings are supported as 'special
cases'?
<BYTEWORKS> Sort of. A string is, after all, an array of characters,
too.
<P.BENSON1> Okay, thanks.
<A2PRO.TODDPW> Exactly what has changed in the way standard I/O. channels
are handled from shell 2.0 and C 2.0? I.e. in terms of
system calls and patching and so on.
<BYTEWORKS> A lot. .CONSOLE is used exclusively. When you run a C
program, it first looks to see if the standard I/O channels
are already open (as they would be for an EXE file), using
the existing channels if they are. Otherwise it opens 10,
11, & 12, uses these for standard and error I/O, and closes
the files when complete.
<A2PRO.TODDPW> Ok, to get a bit deeper, what is the difference between
shell 2.0 & C 1.3 and both 2.0 ?
<BYTEWORKS> For text I/O, the difference is that the output doesn't go
first to the Text Tools, which are patched by the shell, and
then have the shell write the chars to .CONSOLE. Instead,
the characters get sent right to .CONSOLE to start with.
(Or whatever file is open.)
<A2PRO.TODDPW> I suppose WriteGS was used in both cases (i.e. not DWrite)?
<BYTEWORKS> True.
<M.DEATHERAGE> Todd: You can't DWrite to a path, like a reference number.
Only to a device, and then it would have to "know" it was a
device, which won't always be the case.
<P.BENSON1> How long is the upgrade offer in effect? Thanks.
<BYTEWORKS> Until Feb 28th, 1993. After that, you can still upgrade,
but the price is $60.
<M.DEATHERAGE> There certainly is a lot of interest in this upgrade, Mike!
<BYTEWORKS> Good. I need it. :)
<M.DEATHERAGE> Anyone who has other questions can ask them in the Byte
Works category, #36 in the A2Pro bulletin board. :)
<BYTEWORKS> Thanks for having me tonight, folks. If anything else
comes up, feel free to ask in Category 36.
[EOA]
[A2U]//////////////////////////////
A2U CAMPUS CHAT /
/////////////////////////////////
A2 University; Learning Online
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Matt Deatherage
[M.DEATHERAGE]
>>> A2U SPRING TERM WARMING UP WITH BEGINNING RESOURCE COURSE <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
A2U'S FALL TERM A BIG SUCCESS Will Nelken's "Ultra 4 -- to the MAX!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" course has completed and is now available
in its entirety in the A2Pro libraries, and Andy McFadden's "Hacking Data
Compression" has taken us from simple early compression ideas through the
methods used in ShrinkIt, and will complete with a lesson on writing
HardPressed modules as soon as HardPressed ships.
SPRING TERM KICKS OFF FEBRUARY 15 Now the spring term is starting, and it
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" kicks off February 15th with a
beginner's level course on resources taught by no less a luminary than Marc
Wolfgram, co-author of Foundation!
Marc is teaching two courses on resources -- the first one starts
February 15th and is suitable if you have no idea what a resource is at
all. It starts with explanations of what resources are and how they work,
proceeds through explanations of how resource files differ from regular
files and concludes just six fact-packed lessons later with elementary
Resource Manager calls.
When that course completes, Marc will start a second course, based
partially on your feedback, detailing how to use resources in your programs
like an expert. Issues like managing multiple resource files, using Rez or
other tools to create your resources, formats of common resources and why
they work, Resource Manager data structures that are important to debugging
and more besides!
This second more-intense course will start sometime in April, but if
you're not ready for it now or if you need a resource refresher, the short
course may be just up your alley! Since A2U lessons don't cost any more
than normal GEnie connect time, feel free to check them all out any time
you're ready.
A2U OFFERS A WHOLE LOT OF LEARNING! In addition to Will Nelken's and
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Andy McFadden's courses in the A2Pro
library, you'll find past courses on Apple IIgs Assembly Programming (by
Steve Gunn), using Block Warden, programming in C and Pascal, The Art of
Disassembly and more! Check out Category #22 in the A2Pro bulletin board
and A2Pro library #16 for a whole lot of learning!
[EOA]
[LIB]//////////////////////////////
ONLINE LIBRARY /
/////////////////////////////////
HOT Files You Can Download
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
3106 CALENDAR NDA V1.2 Source code for Calendar NDA
3104 IMPORTREZ.BXY Import data forks into resources
3103 ONLINE.BXY V2.2B7 ZakPak 2.0: Online (display/query)
3101 U4111.BXY Upgrades Ultra 4.1 to v1.1
3098 MEMORY.BXY V1.2B7 ZakPak 2.0: memory/purge/clrff util
3091 A2U.ULTRA15.BXY A2U Ultra 4 Course, Lesson #15
3089 MACRO.MENU.BXY Ultra 4 Contest Winner by L.WALTON
3087 A2U.COMP.11.BXY Hacking Data Compression Lesson 11
3082 CMPLXLIB.BXY Func's for Complex (a+jb) math.
3075 EYEPRO.CC.BXY Computer Eyes GS raw -> 3200 convert
3071 A2NDX9301TX.BXY A2 Cat/Top Index - Jan '93 (TXT)
3070 A2NDX9301DB.BXY A2 Cat/Top Index - Jan '93 (ADB)
3068 GIF89A.BXY GIF89a spec in TXT format
3067 LZWGIF87A.BXY LZW explanation and GIF87a specs
3065 A2U.COMP.9.BXY Hacking Data Compression Lesson 9
3064 GETFILEINFO.BXY V1.0D1 Sample Finder Extension
3063 RTF.BXY Description of Rich Text Format
[EOA]
[LOG]//////////////////////////////
LOG OFF /
/////////////////////////////////
GEnieLamp Information
"""""""""""""""""""""
o COMMENTS: Contacting GEnieLamp
o GEnieLamp STAFF: Who Are We?
o GET_THE_LAMP Scripts & Macros
o SEARCH-ME! Answers
GEnieLamp GEnieLamp is monthly online magazine published in the
""""""""" GEnieLamp RoundTable on page 515. You can also find
GEnieLamp in the ST (475), the Macintosh (605), the IBM (615) Apple II
(645), A2Pro (530), Unix (160), Mac Pro (480), Geoworks (1050), BBS
(610), CE Software (1005) and the Mini/Mainframe (1145) RoundTables.
GEnieLamp can also be found on CrossNet, Internet, America Online and
many public and commercial BBS systems worldwide.
We welcome and respond to all GEmail.To leave messages, suggestions
or just to say hi, you can contact us in the GEnieLamp RoundTable (515)
or send GE Mail to John Peters at [GENIELAMP] on page 200.
U.S. MAIL
"""""""""
GEnieLamp Online Magazine
Atten: John Peters
5102 Galley Rd. Suite 115/B
Colorado Springs, CO 80915
>>> GEnieLamp STAFF <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""
GEnieLamp o John Peters [GENIELAMP] Editor-In-Chief
"""""""""
ATARI ST o John Gniewkowski [J.GNIEWKOWSK] Editor
"""""""" o Mel Motogawa [M.MOTOGAWA] ST Staff Writer
o Terry Quinn [TQUINN] ST Staff Writer
o Sheldon Winick [S.WINICK] ST Staff Writer
o Richard Brown [R.BROWN30] ST Staff Writer
o John Hoffman [JLHOFFMAN] ST Staff Writer
ATARI TX2 o David Holmes [D.HOLMES14] TX2 Editor
"""""""""
ATARI [PR] o Fred Koch [F.KOCH] Editor
""""""""""
IBM o Robert M. Connors [R.CONNORS2] Editor
""" o Peter Bogert [P.BOGERT1] IBM Staff Writer
o Brad Biondo [B.BIONDO] IBM Staff Writer
o Tippy Martinez [TIPPY.ONE] IBM Staff Writer
MACINTOSH o James Flanagan [JFLANAGAN] Editor
""""""""" o Richard Vega [R.VEGA] Mac Co-Editor
o Tom Trinko [T.TRINKO] Mac Staff Writer
o Bret Fledderjohn [FLEDDERJOHN] Mac Staff Writer
o Bill Garrett [BILL.GARRETT] Mac Staff Writer
MacPRO o James Flanagan [JFLANAGAN] Editor
"""""" o Erik C. Thauvin [MACSPECT] Supervising Editor
o Chris Innanen [C.INNANEN] MacPRO Staff Writer
o Paul Collins [P.COLLINS] MacPRO Staff Writer
APPLE II o Darrel Raines [D.RAINES] Editor
"""""""" o Phil Shapiro [P.SHAPIRO1] A2 Co-Editor
o Mel Fowler [MELSOFT] A2 Staff Writer
A2Pro o Jim B. Couch [J.COUCH2] Editor
"""""
INTERNET o Jim Lubin [JIM.LUBIN] GEnieLamp IBM
""""""""
ETC. o Jim Lubin [JIM.LUBIN] Add Aladdin
"""" o Scott Garrigus [S.GARRIGUS] Search-ME!
o Bruce Faulkner [R.FAULKNER4] CrossNET Support
o Mike White [M.WHITE25] Cowlumnist (CowTOONS!)
GEnieLamp CONTRIBUTORS
""""""""""""""""""""""
o Steven Weyhrich [S.WEYHRICH]
o Dan "Remo" Barter [D.BARTER]
o Jeffrey O. Panosian, M.D. [J.O.P.]
o Stephen Litwin [S.LITWIN2]
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
Material published in this edition may be reprinted under the
following terms only. All articles must remain unedited and
include the issue number and author at the top of each article
reprinted. Reprint permission granted, unless otherwise noted, to
registered computer user groups and not for profit publications.
Opinions present herein are those of the individual authors and
does not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or staff of
GEnieLamp. We reserve the right to edit all letters and copy.
Include the following at the end of every reprint:
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
(c) Copyright 1993 T/TalkNET Online Publishing and GEnie. To join
GEnie, set your modem to 2400 baud (or less) and half duplex
(local echo). Have the modem dial 1-800-638-8369. When you get a
CONNECT message, type HHH. At the U#= prompt, type: XTX99368,GENIE
and hit the return key. The system will then ask you for your
information. Call (voice)1-800-638-9636 for more information about
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\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
[EOF]