|||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| || || ||| || || || || ||| |||| |||||| || |||| Your || || || || ||| || || |||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GEnieLamp Computing || |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable || || || ||| ||| || || || |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE! || || || || || || || ||||| || || || || || ~ WELCOME TO GEnieLamp APPLE II! ~ """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ PROFILES -- Who's Who In Apple II: Eric Shepherd ~ ~ SPECIAL NEEDS: Autism and Apple IIs ~ ~ DR'S EXAMINING TABLE: Fear and Loathing in the Computer Store ~ ~ HOT NEWS, HOT FILES, HOT MESSAGES ~ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// GEnieLamp Apple II ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.3, Issue 31 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Editor....................................................Douglas Cuff Publisher.............................................John F. Peters \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// ~ GEnieLamp IBM ~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp [PR] ~ GEnieLamp Windows ~ ~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~ GEnieLamp TX2 ~ ~ GEnieLamp A2 ~ LiveWire (ASCII) ~ GEnieLamp MacPRO ~ ~ Solid Windows ~ Config.sys ~ A2-Central ~ ~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~ GE Mail: GENIELAMP Internet: genielamp@genie.geis.com FTP: sosi.com ////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ >>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE II ROUNDTABLE? <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ October 1, 1994 ~ FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] Notes From The Editor. Is That A Letter For Me? HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] REFLECTIONS ............. [REF] Please Adjust Your Mindset. About Online Book Reviews. ASCII ART GALLERY ....... [ASA] SPECIAL NEEDS ........... [SPC] Hallowe'en Art. Autism and Apple IIs. DR'S EXAMINING TABLE ... [DRT] THE TREASURE HUNT ....... [HUN] Shopping Report. Yours For the Downloading. PROFILES ............... [PRO] GEnie TIPS & HINTS ...... [TIP] Who's Who: Eric Shepherd. Using the "SEArch" Command. LOG OFF ................. [LOG] GEnieLamp Information. [IDX]""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" READING GEnieLamp GEnieLamp has incorporated a unique indexing system """"""""""""""""" to help make reading the magazine easier. To utilize this system, load GEnieLamp into any ASCII word processor or text editor. In the index you will find the following example: HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] [*]GEnie Fun & Games. To read this article, set your find or search command to [HUM]. If you want to scan all of the articles, search for [EOA]. [EOF] will take you to the last page, whereas [IDX] will bring you back to the index. MESSAGE INFO To make it easy for you to respond to messages """""""""""" re-printed here in GEnieLamp, you will find all the information you need immediately following the message. For example: (SMITH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M475) _____________| _____|__ _|___ |____ |_____________ |Name of sender CATegory TOPic Msg.# Page number| In this example, to respond to Smith's message, log on to page 475 enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1. A message number that is surrounded by brackets indicates that this message is a "target" message and is referring to a "chain" of two or more messages that are following the same topic. For example: {58}. ABOUT GEnie GEnie's monthly fee is $8.95 for which gives you up to """"""""""" four hours of non-prime time access to most GEnie services, such as software downloads, bulletin boards, GE Mail, an Internet mail gateway, and chat lines, are allowed without charge. GEnie's non-prime time connect rate is $3.00. To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369 in the USA or 1-800-387-8330 in Canada. Upon connection type HHH. Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: JOINGENIE and hit RETURN. When you get the prompt asking for the signup/offer code, type: DSD524 and hit RETURN. The system will then prompt you for your information. Need more information? Call GEnie's customer service line (voice) at 1-800-638-9636. SPECIAL OFFER FOR GEnieLamp READERS! If you sign onto GEnie using the """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" method outlined above you will receive an *additional* six (6) free hours of standard connect time (for a total of 10) to be used in the first month. Want more? Your first month charge of $8.95 will be waived! Now there are no excuses! *** GET INTO THE LAMP! *** """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" //////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / / / "Politically correct" means "political," not "correct." / / / /////////////////////////////////////////// J.SCHONBLOM //// [EOA] [FRM]////////////////////////////// FROM MY DESKTOP / ///////////////////////////////// Notes From The Editor """"""""""""""""""""" by Douglas Cuff [EDITOR.A2] >>> PLEASE ADJUST YOUR MINDSET <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" In his book _The Dungeon Master: The Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III_ (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984), private investigator William Dear describes his hunt for a sixteen-year-old genius. One particularly gruelling stage of the investigation involved searching the service tunnels that ran underneath Michigan State University: The maintenance engineer and I were the last team out of the tunnels. We emerged at about 11 P.M., after four and a quarter hours underground, through unlocked double doors into the basement of Case Hall, where Dallas had lived.... What we did next was curious, and I can only call it the act of a compulsive person. WE SEARCHED THE BASEMENT. If we'd been in Mother Teresa's bedroom, we probably would have searched that. We'd grown accustomed to searching. I thought of that incident recently when a new piece of software arrived in my mailbox. I copied the program onto my hard drive, ran the program, and started trying every possible menu choice in an effort to find a bug. You see, I've been spending the last little while beta-testing software, the final stage before the software is released for sale. I've gotten used to looking for bugs, and gotten used to trying menu options that I wouldn't normally use. That in turn reminded me that my fellow beta testers and I have been falling on each new release, closeting ourselves with the latest version, and emerging hours later to point out new bugs, or crow that old ones haven't been fixed. Very rarely indeed did anyone rave about the features that had been added; our preoccupation was always the bugs that the new features caused. Okay, we WERE asked to be beta testers, not reviewers or advertising and promotion execs. Even so: What's beta-testing like for a programmer or programming team? For a programmer, beta-testing means the project is almost finished. What's it like to suddenly hear 80 fantasticajillion complaints, and no compliments? I don't know; I don't really program. I suspect it can be demoralizing. (Writing--code, prose, or poetry--is so solitary that it's often demoralizing anyway.) It's great (if not surprising) news that there are still companies publishing software for the Apple II. In the days ahead, we need to be particularly vigilant that we haven't become so hypnotized that we continue as we always have just because that's the way we've always done it. There are few knowledgeable companies publishing Apple II software these days. Without becoming pushovers for any sloppy piece of software that comes down the pike, we need to realize that the Apple IIs dominance of the marketplace. This economic reality means that it's a lot riskier for a publisher to invest in Apple II software. I'm not saying "Let's allow the remaining publishers to give us crummy support." (This hasn't exactly been a major worry of mine lately, anyway.) I am saying that we should remember to be polite. (Saying "please" and "thank you" might not make all the difference, but they do make some difference.) We should remember to be reasonable. (No more blowing up the first time a mistake is made, not even if you're having a rotten day.) We should remember that practically every new piece of Apple II software comes at a bargain price... compared to a similar piece of software on a Macintosh or IBM. (Sure, your computer budget is shrinking, but so is the publisher's.) To be honest, my advice is good advice even when all is smooth sailing. It's just crucial advice when things are not going so well. -- Doug Cuff GEnie Mail: EDITOR.A2 Internet: editor.a2@genie.geis.com __________________________________________________________ | | | REPRINTING GEnieLamp | | | | If you want to reprint any part of GEnieLamp, or | | post it to a bulletin board, please see the very end | | of this file for instructions and limitations. | |__________________________________________________________| ASCII ART BEGINS _____ ______ _ _ ___ ___ / ____| ____| (_) | | / _ \|__ \ | | __| |__ _ __ _ ___| | __ _ _ __ ___ _ __ | |_| | ) | | | |_ | __| | '_ \| |/ _ \ | / _` | '_ ` _ \| '_ \ | _ | / / | |__| | |____| | | | | __/ |___| (_| | | | | | | |_) | | | | |/ /_ \_____|______|_| |_|_|\___|______\__,_|_| |_| |_| .__/ |_| |_|____| | | |_| ASCII ART ENDS [EOA] [HEY]////////////////////////////// HEY MISTER POSTMAN / ///////////////////////////////// Is That A Letter For Me? """""""""""""""""""""""" by Douglas Cuff [EDITOR.A2] o A2 POT-POURRI o HOT TOPICS o WHAT'S NEW o THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT >>> A2 POT-POURRI <<< """"""""""""""""""""" "...FOR THEM, NOSTALGIA IS BREAKFAST..." As the VP of a local user group, """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I'm listed with Apple as a user group Ambassador. This morning, I got a call from someone at Apple's User Group Connection who was wanting information to update their data base. Her: Are you still using and supporting the Macintosh? Me: Arrrggghhh. I've never used or supported the Macintosh. Her: Have you switched to PC's. Me: No Her: Have you given up computers completely? Me: No. I'm involved with another computer that Apple produced for a number of years. Does that give you an idea? Her: No. I have absolutley no idea what computer you could be referring to. (JOE.KOHN, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:338/M645;1) AMERICA ONLINE KEEPS APPLE II AREAS Gayle Keresey is now AFL Gayle, and """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" will stay there managing the A2 forums along with AFL GaryJ. They may be discontinuing Apple II access, but they're not killing the forum. <<<<< May not sound logical, but that's the way it is.. They are paring """"" it down somewhat (conference rooms have now been cut down to two.. Apple II General and Apple II Technical).. Andy... (A.WELLS5, CAT5, TOP6, MSGS:281&283/M645;1) ___ EWORLD AND THE APPLE II |here's actually a very limited amount of """"""""""""""""""""""" support for the Apple II on Apple's own new service, eWorld. It consists of the Apple IIgs and IIe system software. Period. -= Lunatic (: (A2.LUNATIC, CAT5, TOP6, MSG:289/M645;1) BIG RED PHONE PROBLEMS? > Does anyone know (for sure) what the scoop on """"""""""""""""""""""" > BRCC is. I last spoke to John Wrenholt, BRCC's owner, a week or two ago. At that time, he said that he was finishing up a new issue of Scarlett. If I remember correctly, he said that he has 4 issues of Scarlett to complete, and he has every intention of doing so before Dec 31st. > nor have I been able to contact them. When I dialed 402-379-4680, I got through with no problems. Joe (JOE.KOHN, CAT2, TOP4, MSG:197/M645;1) QUICKPORT II CDA I saw this on comp.sys.apple2 """""""""""""""" > QuickPort II is a CDA that lets you set your printer and modem ports to > whatever speed you want all the way up to 57600 baud on the fly. Anyone familiar with this CDA? Would QuickPort II let me logon to GEnie at 2400bps and then, provided my particular modem connection supported the faster speed, switch to 9600bps for a download? I didn't think this was possible. Nez (L.JIMINEZ, CAT10, TOP2, MSG:408/M645;1) APPLEWORKS 4.3 MOUSETEXT DESKTOP INDEX The other day at a meeting someone """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" asked me about patching AppleWorks 4.3 to use mousetext in the oa-Q menu like Companion Plus. It's really very simple. Get in a block editor like Block Warden or Zap. Follow SEG.AW on your AppleWorks disk or in your AppleWorks directory. Change bytes +$14A through +$163 to the mousetext characters of your choice. These are the characters that appear on either side of "Desktop Index 1". To use the same characters as Companion Plus enter: D6 D7 D6 D7.... or for the solid apple symbol, enter C0 starting at +$14A through +$163, 26 bytes. Starting at byte +$22C4 enter DA DF CC. These are the mousetext characters used to draw the box. It's also very simple to move the oa-Q Menu to another position on the screen. If anyone wants to, yell and I'll post the information. Note these addresses are for AW4.3 ONLY as far as I know. I don't even have a copy of 4.1 or 4.2 anymore, so I have no way of checking. As always, don't patch original disks. Always use a backup. (S.BEVILLE, CAT17, TOP14, MSG:430/M645;1) RAMFAST PARTITION ONE BLOCK TOO LONG I have been using the RamFAST Rev D """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" to setup hard disk drives that will be using a RamFAST or ship with a RamFAST, all year now. Recently, I noticed that DiskTimer GS won't run on the 32 meg partition (boot partition) but didn't think much of it until I innocently ran ProSel-16, Volume Repair in the Main Directory and Fix Directory mode and learned that the partition was one block too long. ProSel-16 volume repair fixed that, and DiskTimer GS worked! So, now I check and fix all RamFAST created 32 meg partitions (that is partitions that the RamFAST utility software creates in 32,m 768k size). I recall and checked to verify, that the Chinook Hard Disk Drive Utility program always creats 32,767.5k partitions, which econfirms that the RamFAST 32,768k is one block too big, according to conventional software. In a future upgrade to the ROM software, would Sequential Systems please consider fixing this because I am now presently having to spend about 10 minutes resizing (correcting) the problem before shipping my Hard Diks (Disks) with RamFAST SCSI controllers. Thanks; Chuck Charlie's AppleSeeds (A2.CHUCK, CAT20, TOP13, MSG:412/M645;1) POSTSCRIPT ON AN APPLE IIGS? How would I use PostScript fonts from the """""""""""""""""""""""""""" GS? This is something I just don't know about. Mark (M.KLINE1, CAT37, TOP4, MSG:346/M645;1) >>>>> A recent issue of GS+ has a utility to allow downloading Postscript """"" fonts from a IIgs. Used in conjunction with Pointless, it should work well. You would need both a TrueType and Postscript version of the same font to have it work, though. -=Joat=- (A2.TIM, CAT37, TOP4, MSG:354/M645;1) BILL BASHAM SPOTTED strange you should ask. i just happened to meet bill """"""""""""""""""" basham a couple of months (and again weeks) ago. (he bought some stuff at radio shack & since we ask everyone name & address, i asked if he might be the same who wrote some apple software). didn't get into too deep a conversation (other customers waiting) but from what he said, i know he isn't doing anything on the ][ anymore. DID seem quite excited about the power pc's, though. (still, he did say that he enjoyed having done diversi-tune, so i'd assume support is still there if you need it). . jyri (J.KORK1, CAT2, TOP22, MSG:137/M645;1) SOMETHING YOU DON'T SEE EVERY DAY One of the most UNIQUE ways to use a """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" IIgs that I know of: As an Egg Sorting computer. One of the fellows on GEnie wrote a program for the GS that will read sensors on an machine which determines the size and grade of chicken eggs. As far as I know, it is still being sold, although he has had trouble getting the A/D cards necessary. Ken Lessing (K.LESSING, CAT6, TOP17, MSG:3/M645;1) SUPERDRIVE TIP Hugh Hood posted a really good tip in another CAT about """""""""""""" testing the Apple II Superdrive Card by entering Cn0AG from the monitor, where n = Slot number of the card. It's a neat test, and can even detect the presense of an old 400K Mac MFS diskette. A2FX and HFS conversion programs wont touch these, but MAC.TRANS.GS, in our A2 library, does the trick. Even though it says GS, it will also work fine on an enhanced //e, though, just to complicate things, will work with a UDC but not the Superdrive Card. David K. (D.KERWOOD, CAT8, TOP21, MSG:25/M645;1) II ALIVE SUBSCRIPTION E-MAIL If you are having problems with II Alive, """""""""""""""""""""""""""" please drop Internet e-mail to jmkomasa@qualitycomp.com From GEnie you will need to add @inet# to the end of that. That's Jeff Komasara, who is in charge of subscriptions for II Alive. I have been forwarding questions to him, but perhaps it will be easier for him to reply to direct Internet questions. (II.ALIVE, CAT42, TOP2, MSG:75/M645;1) ORDER NOW, AND GET 100 MEGS FREE? I recently ordered a 170 meg HD for my """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" daughters MAC from LaCie. I ordered it on a Thursday late in the day and they said they couldn't get it to Airborne that day so it would arrive Monday. The following Thursday rolled around and no drive. When I called back, they told me that they had a computer crash and lost a bushel of orders. They had reconstructed the orders but by this time they were out of 170meggers. No problem, they shipped a 270 meg for Saturday delivery with no shipping or handling. Shades of LL Bean. Good service, good price and, best of all, they care about their customers. (R.HOSKING, CAT2, TOP20, MSG:192/M645;1) SPECTRUM SLOWDOWN FIX BTW, the "big clipboard slowdown" actually is not """"""""""""""""""""" related to the clipboard's size. I believe the clipboard slowdown occurs if you copy ANYTHING to the clipboard while inside Spectrum using the Spectrum.8 font. If the clipboard contains copied text that references the Spectrum.8 font, the clipboard gets corrupted after you quit Spectrum (when the Spectrum.8 font is no longer resident in memory). When you OA-Copy something new to the clipboard, you're replacing the old (corrupted) contents with a valid clipboard, and launching Spectrum won't show a massive slowdown (caused by the Scrap Manager eating all available memory). The only solution we've come up with: Version 2.0 will ship with the Spectrum.8 font on disk and will install to the *:System:Fonts: folder, and the problem won't show up. (SEVENHILLS, CAT43, TOP15, MSG:321 [extract]/M645;1) >>> HOT TOPICS <<< """""""""""""""""" NEW TOPIC: SECOND SIGHT """""""""""""""""""""""" Topic 14 Tue Sep 13, 1994 PROCYON.INC [Switch-It!] at 15:51 EDT Sub: Second Sight VGA Card Discussion of the new Sequential Systems 'Second Sight' VGA card for the Apple II and IIGS! >>>>> I saw the ad for "Second Sight" in GS+, your ad forgot two """"" things... How much $$$? When can I get one??? Burger (BURGERBILL, CAT20, TOP2, MSG:208/M645;1) >>>>> And I'm waiting to see what it'll do for the //e! : """"" __!__ | Terrell Smith | tsmith@ivcfnsc.fullfeed.com (T.SMITH59, CAT20, TOP14, MSG:29/M645;1) <<<<< It _will_ work in a //e. I see no reason why an enterprising IIe """"" programmer couldn't write a quick-n-dirty GIF converter for the board. Even better, someone might write a GIF-convert code-module to run _on_ the board. Jawaid (PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP14, MSG:32/M645;1) >>>>> Well then, to add to the fun, how about a little believe or not. """"" Rumour has it that besides Jawaid, one of Sequential's main VGA card designers is none other than Mr.Ramfast (AV). ps. if this is true, you know it's going to be a helluva product. (J.FENSKE2, CAT20, TOP14, MSG:34/M645;1) >>>>> COME ON ALREADY """"" Yes, I realize Jawaid is a busy guy. But as we all sit here, the stock in Depends Adult Disposable Undergarments is going up because we're all p*ssing our pants waiting for a few details. Sure, maybe there is going to be some FANTASIC press release that is coming, but a few simple "it will support the following resolutions, and the following monitors, and the following colors" comments wouldn't have been so hard to come up with in the two weeks since this topic was created. Sheesh! Maybe they just don't want our money that quickly... :) [- Matthew Ryan, SysOp of Dreamscape 24-Line BBS - (818) 781-7529 -] (M-RYAN, CAT20, TOP14, MSG:46/M645;1) ULTIMA I CHARACTER EDITOR? I got Ultima I yesterday! Very cool!!!! Way """""""""""""""""""""""""" to go BurgerBill! The sounds are fantastic! I remember those character editors. I just used to keep a list of the byte offsets in the player file and a copy of Zap handy whenever I needed more food. :) I will play around with Ultima and let you know if the file is easily modifyable. Binary Bear the CoPilot (BINARY.BEAR, CAT40, TOP5, MSG:30/M645;1) >>>>> The 'word' from the Burger Meister is that he uses a very """"" different file format than the original DOS 3.3 version of Ultima, and that none of the old character editors will work on the new GS/OS version. (JOE.KOHN, CAT40, TOP5, MSG:31/M645;1) PMP FAX SOFTWARE REPORTS FROM THE FIELD Wheels do need re-inventing now """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" and again... :) Seriously, I want my software to work with ANY kind of fax modem. So, I'll have to get to Class 1 eventually, anyway, and since its the hardest to program for, I may as well get it over with. Also, if I can write fax software that will work with a Class 1 modem, I can write it to work with anything... Anyway, I guess everyone is happy about this software :) To keep you up to day, I've been converting more C code into assembly to try to speed things up. Right now, it takes about 30 seconds or so (I haven't actually timed it) to "print" an AWGS page layout document to a fax file. It then takes about 2 minutes or so to send it to the receiver. The more complicated the document being printed, the longer it tends to take. To speed things up, I'm going to have 2 quality settings. When you "print" (ie save to a fax file), you'll be given 3 quality settings (Fast, Standard, Best). When you send the fax, you'll be given 3 or 4 resolution settings. The quality setting tells PMPFax how big to make the graphic image. When printing text, the bigger the better, since an enlarged graphic image will use larger font sizes if you have them, which will improve the general quality of the fax. The resolution is basically a chunkiness setting. Normally, PMPFax uses a 16x16 pattern to print in grey scale. With the best resolution, 1 bit in the patter represents one fax pixel. With a resolution setting of 2, 1 bit represents 2 bits, etc. Its more complicated than that in real life, but the upshot is larger the setting, the chunkier the printout (and the lousier the quality) and the larger the setting, the faster it sends. As I mentioned before, I'm saving fax files into standard Apple Preferred format (saved with a custom block for the page information). This will allow PMPFax to send any AP graphic file, as well as a receive fax file. Someone mentioned that type $C0, aux $0007 is the official Group 3 T.4 raw image file, so I guess that's what I'll use for received faxes. So, here's the stuff that actually works: the CDev loads fine and patches the Print Manager. The patch code intercepts Print Manager calls to capture print jobs to fax files. And, a stand-alone (for now) program will take these files and send them out. In other words all the basics (except the receive) is finished. Receiving should be quite simple, since all the routines I'll need are already written for the send side. Converting received faxes will take a bit of time, but shouldn't cause too many sleepless nights (two weeks' worth tops ;-) So, there you have it. Keep suggesting things, and I'll keep working. Paul (PMP, CAT38, TOP15, MSG:54/M645;1) >>>>> There is an article in the October '94 issue of MacWorld comparing """"" Mac fax programs. In a sidebar, the author describes desirable features of such programs. It would be nice for a GS program to include as many of these as are feasible. To paraphrase the article: Common features are: scheduling of outgoing faxes, send and receive in the background, multiple phone books, export received faxes as graphics, send one fax to multiple people, send multiple documents as one fax, log all faxes, forward a received fax to another fax machine, flip a received fax upside down, magnify and reduce faxes on screen. More sophisticated features are: send gray-scale images (like photos), antialiased (gray-scale) viewing of received faxes, intelligently omit the local area code when dialing, turn received faxes into text (OCR), rotate a received fax 90 degrees, dial credit card dialing sequences, can switch to fax manually during a voice call, automatically print received faxes, import and export tab-delimited phone books, a program that lets you quickly whip up short typed faxes. (S.REEVES2, CAT38, TOP15, MSG:63/M645;1) <<<<< Well, first, I wasn't assuming everyone had AWGS :) Just that most """"" do, which is why it would have been nice to have the graphic file specs. However, I'm writing my own cover sheet program, so the point is moot. It will be a basic draw program. You'll have all the basic shapes (ovals, rects, round rects, lines), 16 colors and 16 patterns, text, and APF importation of bitmaps for backgrounds, etc. Also, of course, you'll have the predefined fax fields, such as page #, total pages, addresse, company, comments, etc. Short cover sheets won't be a problem. You could always just choose a short page size (such as envelope) and confine your sheet to that. Attaching a default cover sheet (or none at all) to a phone book entry is a good idea. I'll do something like that. Since the actual print jobs are going to be stored in APF format, you'll be able to choose from print jobs, APF, and coversheet formats for sending faxes. You'll also be able to send received faxes, or convert them over to APF format. I'll also include groups in the phone book so you can send faxes to a number of different people. Keep the suggestions coming! Paul (PMP, CAT38, TOP15, MSG:89/M645;1) <<<<< Well... I've changed how I'm going to do a few things. For the """"" actual saved fax file, I'll be using my own format instead of APF and do all of the translation at "print" time. This will greatly improve the speed at which the fax is actually transmitted (saving on phone bills). It will still be able to import APF files, but actual send jobs will be saved as a fax send file. Received images will be saved as raw T.4 fax data, with each page stored in a different file. When viewing these files, the raw information will be read in, translated to scanline/pixel information, and squeezed into whatever magnification level you've selected. When printing, I'll probably be stuck using whatever page size the printer driver is supporting. I bet, though, if you select Compressed and 50% or whatever with the Laserwriter, you'll actually get a nice printout. As to informing you of un-sent faxes... What I'm planning on doing is keeping a scheduled log that contains all send jobs that haven't been sent yet. Each of these jobs (which can include print jobs, coversheets, pages from other scheduled or received faxes, or PIC/APF files) will have a status and a time that they will be sent. Normally, you will send send jobs immediate when they are created. The job gets sent, then they are normally deleted (you'll have an option to retain sent jobs). However, you'll be able to sepecify a particular time to send a job. As long as you keep your computer in the desktop, the fax software will look at the time (as well as seeing if any calls are coming in) and when the time comes for a scheduled fax, it will attempt to send. If something goes wrong, the job will remain in the scheduled log, the status will be "Send Failed" or soemthing like that, and all the details will be in the main log for you to look at. At boot time next, you'll probably be able to hear nifty sounds for "Fax Waiting", "Fax Not Sent" and the like. Paul (PMP, CAT38, TOP15, MSG:106/M645;1) APPLEWORKS 4.3 AND TWILIGHT II Why doesn't Twilight II blank the screen """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" in AWKS 4.3 - has there something been changed inside AWKS 4.3?? Udo - ... just a IIGS freak - (U.HUTH, CAT17, TOP14, MSG:377/M645;1) >>>>> Jim M. gave me some code to turn off Twilight while AW is running, """"" thereby avoiding the crashes people have complained about. T2 hooks itself up again when you exit AW so it should keep working when you're back to GSOS. While in AW, you can use AfterWork. (BRANDT, CAT17, TOP14, MSG:378/M645;1) <<<<< Randy, please, put Twilight II support back into AW 5.0. Or make """"" it an option the user can toggle. I prefer to have Twilight II blank my screen, 'cause I own this and it behaves well on my system. I really don't wanna spend extra money on AfterWork. Udo - ... just a IIGS freak - (U.HUTH, CAT17, TOP14, MSG:403/M645;1) >>>>> Udo, the whole reason I added the code to deactivate Twilight was """"" because people said it conflicted with UltraMacros, resulting in a crash. I didn't realize it worked for anyone. To patch it out, you'll see there's a long jsr at offset +1611 of APLWORKS.SYSTEM in v4.3 (22 00 00 E1). Change that to EA EA EA EA and Twilight will no longer be deactivated. (BRANDT, CAT17, TOP14, MSG:404/M645;1) >>> WHAT'S NEW <<< """""""""""""""""" SYSTEM II BRINGS THE DESKTOP TO THE APPLE II Westerville, OH. Kitchen """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Sink Software is shipping a desktop system for the Apple II computer. The desktop brings the Apple II up to the same level as a MAC in user friendliness. IBM also has a desktop called Windows. Asked why the Apple II needs a desktop program, Kitchen Sink Software President Guy Forsythe said, "There are a lot of Apple II computers out there. Schools want students to see the up to date methods of doing things. Individuals are tired of hearing about how the Apple II is just too out of date and being outdone by the newer systems. But the Apple II can do the job!" The new desktop is called System II to keep in alignment with the MAC way of numbering their systems while at the same time making it evident that this is for the Apple II. The system will work on 5.25", 3.5" and hard disks. One place wanting a desktop is schools that have Mac LCs with the //e card. The system will work on any Apple II that can run ProDOS and has 128K of memory. Students will see System II and know how to use it because it is similar to the MAC system. System II brings the //e up to date. The desktop is similar to "At Ease" so it is not cluttered in appearance, but it has the capability to copy files and other desktop functions. Teachers will appreciate the ability to turn off the file manipulation capabilities. What makes System II different from //e desktop programs of the past is that System II is more than a desktop. It is a complete operating system. so teachers or developers who want to publish software that uses pull down menus, dialog boxes and all the other features that make the MAC and Windows interface so popular are available to everybody. The system works in both single and double hires in both color and mono- chrome modes. The System II Developer's Kit includes all the programs, routines and information you need to write fast running, professional looking programs in System II. Even things like a disk formatter are included. The licensing fee lets the developer make a profit before paying any fees! System II $39.95 with site licenses for $99.95 allowing you to put it on ''''''''' as many computers as you have in one building. This package includes: Easy II Desktop: a simplified desktop for use in classrooms or at home where you just want to run programs quickly from an easy to use desktop. Easy II allows you to boot from any disk including an internal hard disk or file server. You can run protected programs from a floppy disk as easily as any other program... all from a familiar desktop. Full II Desktop: when it is time to do some copying or desktop arranging, just switch to Full II (password protection built in) to get a fully functional desktop system. System II Developers Kit $69.95. This package inlcudes: '''''''''''''''''''''''' Easy II and Full II desktops. System II Complete User Interface. You get all the instructions and commands that allow you to write Applesoft programs with a complete graphical user interface for ProDOS and single or double hires graphics. This includes pull down menus, dialog boxes buttons, check boxes, cursor control, graphic drawing tools, etc. You can publish/distribute disks using all of our interface routines. You pay a $100 publishing license after you sell $1000 worth of your product. You can call and order either package from the continental US at: 1-800-235-5502 or International at: 614-891-2111. Or, you can order by mail at: Kitchen Sink Software, Inc., 903 Knebworth Ct., Westerville OH 43081. We take VISA/Master Card, school POs, and checks. We still take cash (if anyone still uses it) but it is risky sending cash through the mail so we discourage it. (KITCHEN.SINK, CAT25, TOP6, MSG:4/M645;1) CONTACTS GS RE-RELEASED (San Rafael, CA. September 14, 1994) Shareware """"""""""""""""""""""" Solutions II, a general interest bi-monthly newsletter that celebrates the magic that is the Apple II computer, is pleased to announce the re-release of Contacts GS and the release of TimeOut ContactsMover. Contacts GS is a convenient to use IIGS New Desk Accessory that provides a Rolodex-style name, address and telephone database program that can be accessed from within any standard GS/OS desktop application which displays the Apple Pull Down Menu, including HyperCard IIGS, AppleWorksGS, the Finder, HyperStudio, and Platinum Paint. Contacts GS provides the ability to enter information into a name and address database from within other GS/OS desktop programs, and it also allows users to quickly locate specific information using a fast Search function which is able to search all of the major data fields. Contacts GS, in conjunction with TimeOut Contactsmover, also provides a flexible and convenient method to enter and retrieve data from AppleWorks Classic database files. If you ever wanted to have a GS/OS based Super Hi Res AppleWorks' data entry and retrieval system, Contacts GS and TimeOut ContactsMover will provide exactly that for you. Contacts GS data can just as easily be imported into any Apple II word processor, and the Contacts GS data file is also 100% compatible with Addressed For Success and DB Master. The Contacts GS New Desk Accessory was written by Burger Bill Heineman. TimeOut ContactsMover was written by Will Nelken, the co-editor of TimeOut Central. The Contacts GS program manual was co-written by Joe Kohn, Publisher of Shareware Solutions II, and Will Nelken. Contacts GS requires an Apple IIGS that is running System 5.0.2 or later, although System 6.0 or 6.0.1 is recommended. It has no special memory requirements; if you have enough RAM to run the Finder, you can use Contacts GS. The Retail price of Contacts GS is $35, but as a special introductory offer, Contacts GS is available for $25 (with $3 s/h for US delivery; $5 s/h elsewhere). Upgrades from the version of Contacts GS that was previously available from Simplexity Software are available for only $10 (plus s/h, as above). Owners of Simplexity's version of Contacts GS must return their original disk to take advantage of this offer. Contacts GS is only available from Shareware Solutions II. To purchase Contacts GS, send a check or money order, made payable to Joe Kohn, to: Shareware Solutions II 166 Alpine Street San Rafael, CA 94901-1008 USA (Please note that the above pricing information is NOT applicable to subscribers of Shareware Solutions II. You've supported SSII during its first year of existence, and in return for that support, please look at SSII #6 for *your* special pricing offer.) (JOE.KOHN, CAT28, TOP5, MSG:73/M645;1) THE ?BAD APPLE NEWSLETTER The announcement below was sent to the Eamon """"""""""""""""""""""""" Adventurer's Guild by an Apple II enthusiast who asked me to spread the Word for him. I do not know this gentleman, nor can I vouch for his newsletter. You pays your money, and you takes your chances. However, I must say that he does seem to have scads of enthusiasm. - TomZ ----------- Announcing an Apple II bi-monthly newsletter, "The ?Bad Apple". $12.00 per year. Starts Dec '94, accepting orders now. Send order requests to: The ?Bad Apple c/o Edge Publications Attn: Edward J. Jonas 3321 Turnabout Loop Cibolo, TX 78108 Send inquiries to: The ?Bad Apple c/o Edward J. Jonas PSC 227 Box 212 APO, AP 96512 (T.ZUCHOWSKI, CAT31, TOP3, MSG:65/M645;1) RESOURCE CENTRAL CLOSES re: What happens on September 30? """"""""""""""""""""""" Resource Central go bye-bye. NOTE: This does not, I repeat NOT, mean that any of the -Central publications are gone. They are now owned by ICON, which is sticking around. It's just the mail-order firm that's closing. Doug Cuff, A2-Central (I'm not affiliated with Resource Central) (EDITOR.A2, CAT6, TOP3, MSG:396/M645;1) SOUNDMEISTER CARD NOW SHIPPING They are starting to trickle out the """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" door.. the waiting list is first and by the time the backorders are out they should be in ample supply.. The major hold up right this second is the company that I ordered the 1/8" panel mount phone jacks from sent me mono instead of stereo. When we recieve parts, they go into stock. They even looked like stereo so no one paid it any mind, but last Monday when I went to assemble a sample cable so they could build the rest, I discovered that. Thats the reason for the slowness at this point. If people want to build their own "patch board" for connections, they can get a card a bit sooner.. (T.DIAZ, CAT46, TOP7, MSG:112/M645;1) >>> THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" PRINT SHOP IIGS DESKJET DRIVER > Is the attempt to build a Printshop GS """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > Deskjet printer driver still alive? I really hate to say it, but at this point, I know as much about Burger Bill's progress as you do. I recently wrote to Bill, and told him that I'd like a statement from him; a statement for publication. I feel a need to convey a message or a progress report to all those people whose hopes were elevated by my promise of HP Print Shop drivers. Only Bill can provide that progress report. Unfortunately, I have not heard back from him. Joe (JOE.KOHN, CAT28, TOP4, MSG:408/M645;1) ECON ALIVE, BUT NO LONGER APPLE II I called ECON this morning, and """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" received the following information: ECON has discontinued their Apple II product line. They are trying to, but have not yet found a 'home' for UniverseMaster. When they do, the lists of registered users will be passed to the new 'owners'. Don (Sent via CoPilot 2.5, ANSITerm 2.12, and ANSITerm beta scripts) (D.ZAHNISER, CAT35, TOP7, MSG:95/M645;1) RUMOR: TIMEWORKS HAS FOLDED I get a lot of User Group newsletters in """""""""""""""""""""""""""" the mail, and recently received one from Illinois. It mentioned that same rumor, and said that one of the club members drove by the TimeWorks office to see if the rumor was true. Apparently, the officers were closed, and a note was on the door saying that TimeWorks had gone out of business. Joe (JOE.KOHN, CAT5, TOP3, MSG:651/M645;1) BRODERBUND TO PULL THE PLUG? BTW, if anyone has been thinking about """""""""""""""""""""""""""" purchasing the New Print Shop or any of the NPS Graphics Libraries, you may want to do so soon. Otherwise, you'll have to look for them on the used market. I recently spoke with a fellow at Broderbund and he informed me that they will be pulling the plug on the Apple II version of NPS. From what he said, it will happen sometime within the next couple of months. They will, however, continue to offer NPS technical support for another year yet. Abbey (K.BIRK, CAT6, TOP34, MSG:142/M645;1) >>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""" Category 17, Topic 18 Message 115 Fri Sep 09, 1994 T.SMITH59 [Terrell] at 23:54 EDT As a way of encouragement to Randy and Dan, yesterday I was at our national headquarters looking at the proofs of a magazine article which had been laid out on a very expensive IBM-type machine running windows, with comercial top-of-the-line desk-top publishing software. The Microsoft screen saver kicked in with it's normal screen saver. I moved the mouse and CRASH! An error message "A fatal error has occured." Someone yelled at me, "You can't touch the mouse without holding down the shift key!" I thought he was just kidding, but no, it's really true. With the screen saver on, one little bump on the mouse brings down the whole stack of cards requiring a re-startup - all work lost. (Fortunately, they had saved the magazine files earlier). What we have in the little bugs in AW are nothing compared to what people have to face everyday who use very expensive MS software! Thanks, Randy, Dan, Quality and many others, who give us programs which are stable! __!__ | Terrell Smith | tsmith@ivcfnsc.fullfeed.com [*][*][*] While on GEnie, do you spend most of your time downloading files? If so, you may be missing out some excellent information in the Bulletin Board area. The messages listed above only scratch the surface of what's available and waiting for you in the bulletin board area. If you are serious about your Apple II, the GEnieLamp staff strongly urge you to give the bulletin board area a try. There are literally thousands of messages posted from people like you from all over the world. //////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE //// / It's like trying to herd guppies... / //////////////////////////////////////////////// A2.BILL //// [EOA] [HUM]////////////////////////////// HUMOR ONLINE / ///////////////////////////////// Some of Our Vowels are Missing """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" by Phil Shapiro [P.SHAPIRO1] >>> F Y CN RD THS, Y CN GT A GD JB <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" A friend of mine recently bought a faster modem and hurriedly sent me a test E-mail message today. At the end of the message he anxiously added: "Please tell me if my message made it through to you intact." Feeling mischievous, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to play a simple prank. (In the best of the Wozniak tradition.) Here's a copy of the message I sent back to my friend. [*][*][*] Yr mssg md it to my mlbx, bt lmst all th vwls wr mssng. Myb yr nw mdm is drppng vwls? - Phil Only kidding. :-) [*][*][*] - Phil Shapiro [EOA] [REF]////////////////////////////// REFLECTIONS / ///////////////////////////////// Thinking About Online Communications """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" by Phil Shapiro [P.SHAPIRO1] >>> A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT ONLINE BOOK REVIEWS <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" As we walk through the portals of the information age, more and more books are being published on a variety of interesting topics. The reading public is eager to find out more about these books. Which books are mediocre? Which books are good? Which books are excellent? Online information services can provide a key role in helping readers separate the wheat from the chaff. By providing online book reviews shortly after the book has come to market, online services can promote the interests of the reading public as well as promote the interests of book publishers. The Key Advantages of Online Publishing Online publishing has three """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" distinct advantages over hardcopy publishing: 1) With online publishing the lead time between when the article is written and when it is published can be very short; and, 2) Online publishing does not face the rigorous space constraints that haunt hardcopy periodical publishers. 3) Online publishing offers the best hope of breaking away from the "literary" strangle-hold of the current book reviewing establishment. A closer look at each of the advantages of online book reviews follows. The Publishing "Lead Time" Lag These short lead times mean that any """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" article written for an online publication can be published literally minutes after the author has finished writing it. In comparison, hardcopy periodicals typically work on lead times of at least three months. When you add the two or three months a book reviewer usually takes to write a review, the published book review often appears six months or more after the book was released. This long "lead time" lag is detrimental to the reading public as well as to book publishers. Book reviews serve as one of the primary ways that people find out about new books. If the book review process is drawn out, then publishers have a lag in the return on their investment (one which could potentially cost them). Readers find it difficult to know which new books are worth buying. As a result, society's interests may suffer. By shortening the book review time cycle, online publishing can serve the interests of readers, publishers, and society at large. Hardcopy Periodical Space Constraints Many hardcopy book reviews are """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" condensed and read as if they are summaries of book reviews. Newspapers and magazines typically publish book reviews 400 to 600 words in length. These mini-reviews try to both describe and evaluate books in the span of three or four paragraphs. The emphasis of many of these short reviews tends to be on the reviewer's opinions of the book. Readers rarely get to draw their own conclusions about the book's strengths and weaknesses. Rare indeed are the times when readers finish reading a review with a good sense of the book's true content. In contrast, online book reviewers can write feature length book reviews: the type of book review that gives you a clear sense of what the reviewed book is all about. Reviews of non-fiction books can include a copy of the entire table of contents (where appropriate). Reviewers can quote from three, four, or five different passages in the book. And the quotes need not be single sentence "sound bite" quotes. With the book publisher's permission, an online book review could even include quoted segments of the book that were two or three paragraphs in length. In comparison with the current practice of annoyingly short "sound bite" quoted passages, quoted segments in online reviews would be more like "full sandwich" quotes -- far more fulfilling to both reader and book review author. Breaking the Current "Literary" Strangle-hold on Book Reviews Many """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" mainstream newspaper and magazine book review editors have a strong literary bent. Often publishers of these periodicals might hire these editors straight from academia. The result is that "literary" books make up a large proportion of books chosen for review. Many worthy, "non-literary" books are overlooked. Online publishing can help to break the stranglehold that the literary elite have on the book review publishing process. Without the space constraints of hardcopy publishing, online publishing can just as easily publish twenty book reviews per month as ten. No worthy book need ever be overlooked or brushed over. Forging New Links Between Book Review Authors and Book Publisher """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Online publishing of book reviews also opens up the possibility of forging new links between book review authors and book publishers. There is no reason why the book review process needs to start when the finished book has reached the shelves of book stores. Once the publisher has a rough draft of the finished book book reviewers can then be contacted to start work on their review. There is no reason why an online book review cannot be published concurrently, or even two weeks before, the release of a new book. As online book reviews become more commonplace, hardcopy book reviews will become less important. Online book reviews will become known for being "early and detailed." hardcopy book reviews will become known for being "late and short." Creating a New Type of Book Review Online book reviews also open up the """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" doorway for creating new types of book reviews. There is no reason why book publishers themselves could not be invited to write three or four paragraphs on whey they are publishing a book. Such a "publisher's statement" could be appended to the end of an online book review. Thoughtful publishers will use those few paragraphs to honestly describe their motivation for bringing the reviewed book to market. (Publishers's statements that sounded too much like a "sales pitch" would be quite naturally self-defeating.) Readers could then judge the book on yet one more criterion: how skilled is the publisher in describing the book it is publishing. It's a simple, yet radical, idea to let publishers describe why they wanted to publish a book. Yet this idea serves the interests of both readers and publishers. Online publishing makes the idea possible. Finding Suitable Book Reviewers Finding suitable book reviewers to write """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" online book reviews should not be difficult. Currently there are about ten million students in our nation's colleges and universities. Out of those ten million, it would not be difficult to locate fifty to one hundred skilled writers with an interest in writing for a national online service. Students might also be able to submit their written reviews for credit in their classes. Other than students, an additional fifty to one hundred reviewers could easily be found from the general population. These "non-student" reviewers could be pulled from the pool of freelance writers, published authors, librarians, and others with a general interest in books. Finding Suitable Books to Review Likewise, finding suitable books to """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" review ought not be difficult, either. Every two months a new edition of "Forthcoming Books" is published by R. R. Bowker. Listed in this reference book are the titles of thousands of books due to be published within the next six months. These "forthcoming books" are organized into subject categories. Book reviewers can zero in on their particular areas of interest to cover the new books coming out in that field of learning. Book Review Bottleneck Burdens Burgeoning Bibliophiles It is ironic that """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" at a time when bookstores seem to be prospering, when people are rediscovering reading and writing via online services, and when the need for information is great, that the publishing industry is held at bay by this tiny bottleneck known as the hardcopy book review. Online book reviews offer the best hope for liberating publishers, authors, and readers. The future of the written word looks promising, indeed. -Phil Shapiro [*][*][*] The author takes a keen interest in issues involving information access and dissemination. He can be reached on GEnie at: p.shapiro1; on the Internet at: pshapiro@aol.com [EOA] [ASA]////////////////////////////// ASCII ART GALLERY / ///////////////////////////////// Hallowe'en Art """""""""""""" by Susie Oviatt [SUSIE] ASCII ART BEGINS ........ ;::;;::;, ;::;;::;;, ;;:::;;::;;, .vnmmnv%vnmnv%,.;;;:::;;::;;, .,vnmnv%vnmnv, vnmmmnv%vnmmmnv%vnmmnv%;;;;;;;%nmmmnv%vnmmnv%vnmmnv vnmmnv%vnmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmnv%;:;%nmmmmmmnv%vnmmmnv%vnmmmnv vnmmnv%vnmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmmmnv%vnmmmnv%vnmmmnv vnmmnv%vnmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmmmmmnv%vnmmmnv%vnmmmnv vnmmnv%vnmmmmmnv%vnmm;mmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmmm;mmnv%vnmmmnv%vnmmmnv, vnmmnv%vnmmmmmnv%vnmm;' mmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmm;' mmnv%vnmmmnv%vnmmmnv vnmmnv%vnmmmmmnv%vn;; mmmmnv%vnmmmmmm;; nv%vnmmmmnv%vnmmmnv vnmmnv%vnmmmmmmnv%v;; mmmnv%vnmmmmm;; v%vnmmmmmnv%vnmmmnv vnmmnv%vnmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmmmm;; mmmmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmnv%vnmmmnv vnmmnv%vnmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmmmmm;; mmmmmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmnv%vnmmmnv vnmmnv%vnmmmmm nv%vnmmmmmmmmmmnv;, mmmmmmmmmmmmnv%vn;mmmmmnv%vnmmmnv vnmmnv%vnmmmmm nv%vnmmmmmmmmmnv%;nmmmmmmmmmmmnv%vn; mmmmmnv%vnmmmnv `vnmmnv%vnmmmm, v%vnmmmmmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmmmmmnv%v; mmmmnv%vnnmmnv' vnmmnv%vnmmmm;, %vnmmmmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmmmmnv%;' mmmnv%vnmmmmnv vnmmnv%vnmmmm;;, nmmm;' mmmm;;' mmmnv%vnmmmmnv' `vnmmnv%vnmmmmm;;,. mmnv%v;, mmmmnv%vnmmmmnv' `vnmmnv%vnmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmnv%vnmmmmnv' `vnmvn%vnmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmnv%vnmmmmmnv%vnmmmnv' `vn%vnmmmmmmn%:%vnmnmmmmnv%vnmmmnv%:%vnmmnv%vnmnv' "Jack." i i i III II III IIIII III \IIIIIIIII/ iIII)(IIIII)(IIIIII)(IIIIIIII)(IIIIII)(IIIII)(IIIi IIII)(IIIII)(IIIIII)(IIIIIIII)(IIIIII)(IIIII)(IIII IIIII)(IIIII)(IIIIII)(IIIIII)(IIIIII)(IIIII)(IIIII ;;;; IIIIII)(IIIII)%IIIIII)(IIII)(IIIIII)(IIIII)(IIIIII ;;;; ;;;;::iIIIIInnIIIInnnIIIII)(IIInnnnIIIInn(IIIInn(IIIIi::;;;; ;;;;:::vnIInnnIIInmmmIIIInnnnImmmmmmIImmmmmIInnnnIInv:::;;;; ;;;; vvnnImmnImmmnnnnnIImmmmnnnnnmmmmmnnnnInmmmmnInvv ;;;; vvnnnnnnnmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmnnnnnnnvv vvnnnnnmnv vv` 'vvvvvv` 'vv vnmnnnnnvv nmmmnn vvnnnnmnvvvv@ vvvvvv @vvvvnmnnnnvv nnmmmn nmm/vvnn vmnnnmnvvvv@@ @vvvv@ @@vvvvnmnnnmv nnvv\mmn nm/vvvvvvmmnnmmnvvv@@@@ @@vvvv@@ @@@@vvvvnmnnmmvvvvvv\mn nm(vvvvvvmmnnmmnvvv@@@@@aaaaa@@@vnnv@@@aaaaa@@@@@vvvnmmnnmmvvvvvv)mn nmm\vvvvvmmnnmmnvvv@@@@@@@@@@@@vvnnvv@@@@@@@@@@@@vvvnmnnnmmvvvvv/mmn nmm\vvvvmmnnmmmnnvv@@@@@@@@@@nv(mm)vn@@@@@@@@@@vvnnmmmnnmmvvv/mmnn nnnnnn vmnm%%%%%%%vvvvvvvvvvv(mmmm)vvvvvvvvvvv%%%%%%%nnmv nnnnnn vnn%%%%%%%%%nnnnvvv(mmnnmmnnmm)vvvnnnn%%%%%%%%%nnv vnmm%%%:%%%nnnnvvv(mmnnmmmmnnmm)vvvnnnn%%%:%%%mmnv vnmmmmm:vvvnnnvvv(mmnnmmmmmmnnmm)vvvnnnvvv:mmmmmnv vnmmmm:vvvnnvv(mmnnmmmmmmmvvmnnmm)vvnnvvv:mmmmnv vnmmmm:vvvnnvv(mmnnmmmmmvvvmmnnmm)vvnnvvv:mmmmnv vnmmm:vvvnnnvv(mmmmmmmvvvmmmmmm)vvnnnvvv:mmmnv vnmmmm:vvvnnnnvv%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%vvnnvvv:mmmmnv vnmmm:vvvvvnnnnnnnnnnnv:#####:vnnvvvvv:mmmnv vnmmmm:vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv:#####:vvvvvvv:mmmmnv vvnmmmm%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%:#####:%%%%%%mmmmmnvv vnmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmnv vvvnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnmmmmmmmmvvvnnnnnnnvvv vvvnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnmmmmvvvnnnnnnnnvvv vvvvnnnnnnnnnnnnmmmvvvvnnnnnnnvvvv "Good ol' Frankie." ASCII ART ENDS (For visually impaired users: The preceeding was an ASCII art rendition of two separate images: a carved jack o' lantern and a cartoon Frankenstein.) [EOA] [SPC]////////////////////////////// SPECIAL NEEDS / ///////////////////////////////// Autism and Apple IIs """""""""""""""""""" by Phil Shapiro [P.SHAPIRO1] The following two "sidebars" were written for inclusion in the recently published article in II ALIVE magazine, "Autism and Apple II's". Space constraints precluded them from being included with the published article. The sidebars are being included here in the GEnieLamp A2 for those who might be interested in further information on this subject. Sidebar: Online Resources for Parents of Autistic Children In doing """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" research for this article, I uncovered some dandy online resources for parents of aus the autism discussion newsgroup by first navigating to the newsgroups area of AOL. (Hint: Use the keyword: "newsgroups".) Then double-click on the icon titled: "Expert Add." When the dialog box appears on the screen, type in the name of the newsgroup: "bit.listserv.autism". AOL will confirm that this newsgroup has been added to the your list of newsgroups on AOL. To read the messages in this newsgroups, click on the icon titled: "Read my newsgroups." In browsing this newsgroup I encountered a wide range of messages on a diverse array of topics relating to autism. Some messages were even posted by persons overseas. And quite serendipitously I found out that an international conference about autism and computers will be taking place in the south of France in January 1995. The Internet has wondrous powers at connecting up persons with shared interests. Further information about America Online can be obtained by calling: 1-800-827-6364. To use America Online, you need to request a free copy of their custom telecommunications software. AOL currently has software for Macintosh, DOS, and Windows platforms. Sidebar: Independent Apple II Special Needs Software Developers """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Several independent software developers are working to produce Apple II special needs software. Perhaps the best known of the independent (read: one person company) special needs software developers is Bill Lynn, of SimTech, in Connecticut. Bill is a nationally recognized HyperStudio guru, and presents frequently at regional and national computer conferences. He has also written many articles on special needs computing subjects. In assembling information for this article, I sent Bill some questions via electronic mail on GEnie. Here is a copy of the answer he sent: From: BILL.LYNN Bill Lynn To: P.SHAPIRO1 Phil Shapiro > Bill, I'm looking forward to getting the info you're sending about the > creative stacks you've made. I dropped a brochure in the mail today, Phil. You should get it in a couple of days, depending on how many feet of snow fall between now and then. ;) > I imagine there might be info in the material you send on where parents/ > schools might buy an Apple II Switch Interface. No but plans for the A2 switch interface can be had pretty easily. Basically, you can adapt any joystick to be a switch interface by adding inputs to the fire buttons. The plans for the switch interface were also published in ][ Alive last summer (July/August issue, pages 49-51.) in my article entitled "Switched On HyperStudio." There are several sources for buying the interface commercially such as Don Johnston, Incorporated ($42.00, call 1-800-999-4660), AbleNet ($36.00, call 1-800-322-0956) and Toys for Special Children ($41.00 & $46.00, call 1-800-832-8697). Now that I think of it, Phil, I uploaded a HyperStudio stack to the A2 libraries here on GEnie several years ago, called SIMTECH.01.BXY. It's file #15531 and it includes plans on how to make the switch interface, a simple push switch and a call signal. The plans for the interface call for using the Apple II joystick extension cord which is no longer available from Radio Shack (America's Technology Store). Instead, any straight through DB9 cable with male plugs will substitute quite nicely. If you like, you can list my address and if people are interested in the plans I will send them a copy of the ][ Alive article (Jerry Kindall won't mind). > (Is this interface different from the Adaptive Firmware Card?) Very much so. It's a great deal less expensive, doesn't take up a slot and it's much easier to use. However, if people already have and use the AFC they needn't buy or make an additional switch interface since the AFC will accommodate two switches in precisely the same way the A2 switch interface does (i.e. emulating the joystick fire buttons or the