IIgs Buyers Guide 1988 Summer

e € eo .°¢ _ Special Creativity Issue: Making Music On The Apple IGS Art For Non-Artists Four All-American Games Compared. RAM Aerobics First Look At The ImageWriter LQ © Nearly 300 Apple IGS Product Descriptions NowApple speaks IBM. Three ee faster than IBM. Introducing PC Transporter." The Apple® I expansion board that lets you run MS®-DOS programs. Now your Apple II can run over 10,000 programs you could never use before. Like Lotus” 1-2-3 MultiMate® dBASE III ansporter, MS-DOS programs run on your Apple II like they do on IBM® PC's or compatibles. With one important difference. PC Transporter runs most of those programs three times faster than an IBM PC/XT® Plus, to speed through number- crunching tasks, you can use our optional 8087-2 math co- processor chip. It plugs into a socket on the PC Transporter. Less expensive than an IBM clone. Sure, a stripped-down IBM clone costs about the same as the PC Transporter. But the pe- ripherals it takes to get the clone up and running make the clone cost about three times what our American-made card costs. You don't have to buy new hardware to use PC Transporter. Works with the hardware you already own. With PC Transporter, MS-DOS programs see your Apple hard- ware as IBM hardware. You can use the same hardware you have now. With IBM software, your Apple hardware works just like IBM hardware. Including your drives, monitors, printers, printer cards, clock cards and serial clocks. <1 You can use your Ie® or Gs keyboard with IBM software. Or use our optional IBM-style key- board (required for the II Plus). You can use your Apple mouse. Or an IBM compatible serial mouse. Plenty of power. PC Transporter gives you as much as 640K of user RAM and 128K of system RAM in the IBM mode. PC Transporter also is an Apple sion card, adding up to 768K of extra RAM in the Apple mode. The Apple expansion alone is a $300 value. Easy to install. You can install PC Transporter in about 15 minutes, even if you've never added an expansion board. You don’t need special tools. Simply plug it into an Apple expansion slot (1 through 7 ex- cept 3), connect a few cables and a disk drive, and go! Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com ie PLS PC Transporter taps into the world’ largest software library: Now your Apple can run most of the IBM software you use at work. And it opens a new world of communications programs, games and bulletin boards. A universal disk drive controller. PC Transporter supports 3.5" and 5.25” MS-DOS and ProDOS formatted diskettes. You'll shift in- stantly between Apple ProDOS and IBM MS-DOS. You'll need our versatile 5.25" 360K drive system to run IBM applications from 5.25" floppy disks. Use your Apple 5.25” drive for Apple 5.25" disks. An Apple Disk 3.5 Drive will support the new 3.5"disks whether they're IBM MS-DOS formatted or Apple ProDOS for- matted. The PC Transporter acts like an Apple Disk 3.5 Drive disk controller for Gs, Ile, and IL Plus users. PC Transporter supports up to 5 drives in a number of combinations, For example, you can connect a 5.25 Applied Engineering 360K dual-drive system directly to the card. Then plug two daisy-chained Apple 3.5 Drives (not the Apple UniDisk 3.5) to the dual-drive system. For a fifth drive, use a ProDOS file as an IBM hard disk. PC Transporter controls Apple and IBM compatible disk drives. It supports 3.5" and 5.25” MS-DOS and ProDOS formatted diskettes. Versatile data storage. PC Transporter reads MS-DOS and translates it into Apple native ProDOS. You can store IBM pro- grams and data on any ProDOS storage device including the Apple 3.5 Drive, Apple UniDisk™ 3.5, Apple 5.25” drive, SCSI or ProDOS compatible hard drives. (You can use the Apple UniDisk 3.5 with its own controller card for storing programs and data, but not for directly booting an IBM formatted disk. ) You can even use our 360K PC compatible drive for ProDOS Make your Apple speak IBM. PC Transporter memory choices. RAM in RAM in Apple mode: IBM mode: Price: 384K 256K $489.00 512K 384K 539.00 640K 512K 589.00 768K 640K 639.00 Note: The IBM mode is 128K less because the PC Transporter uses 128K for system memory. lcs Installation Kit 49.00 He/l Plus Installation Kit 39.00 PC Transporter Accessories 5.25” IBM Format 360K Drive Systems Single-Drive System 269.00 Dual-Drive System 399.00 Half-Height Drive 135.00 (add to Single-Drive system to make Dual-Drive) IBM-Style 139.00 (required for Apple II Plus. ) IBM Cable 34.00 Sony RGB Monitor 499.00 Analog RGB Cable 39.00 (for use with Sony monitor) Digital RGB Cable 39.00 (for use with Sony monitor) Digital RGB Adapter 24.00 ColorSwitch 44.00 (included with Ics Installation Kit) 128K ZIP 50.00 PC Transporter per set Memory Expansion Chip Set 8087-2 Math Co-processor 229.00 Chip Heavy Duty 69.00 Power Supply (ile and II Plus only) See your dealer or call or send check or money order to Applied Engineering. MasterCard, VISA and COD welcome. Texas residents add 7% sales tax. Apple I Plus must be FCC Certified. IBM and POT are regstered trademarks of fntcenational Business Machin Tuaemaris of Aston te Ine MS and Fight Smulator are repstcred trademarks of Microsoft Apple lc 200 PruDOS. Se eps ees a 1-23 ae registered trader of Leas De ademas PC Transporter produces better IBM graphics than IBM. Analog is sharper than digital. So with an analog RGB monitor, PC Transporters CGA graphics and text are superior to IBMS digital display — even while running IBM software! ‘And, you can also use an Apple composite monitor in IBM text or graphics mode. storage and a 143K Apple 5.25" drive for MS-DOS storage. Created by Apple's original designers. The brains behind PC Trans- porter were also behind your Apple II. The PC Transporter design team includes the former project managers for the creation of the Apple Ile and llc. The co-designer of the Apple II disk controller. And the first full-time Apple hor of the ‘ans- porter and your Apple were made for each other. Support and service from the leader in Apple add-ons. Applied Engineering sells more Apple peripheral boards than any- one else — including Apple Computer. So you know we'll be around after the sale. PC Transporter comes with a 15-day money back guarantee. If you're not fully satisfied after using it, return it for a full refund. PC Transporter also comes with a l-year warranty. How to get your PC Transporter today. See your dealer. Or call Applied Engineering any day between 9 am. and 11 p.m. CST at 214-241-6060. -~ Applied Engineering The Apple enbancement experts. PO. Box 798, Carrollton, TX 75006 214-241-6060 {A Division of AE Research Corporation Reader Circle Number 1 evelopment Corporation MultiMate and ASE It PLL are registered Mond lice and tea are trademarks of Apple Computer Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com CONTENTS Editor's Window... IIGS Address .... ‘The editors of The Apple IIG! 6 uyer's Guide and Contributing Editor Philip Chien answer letters and questions from readers. Features 10 Making Music On The Apple IGS... ‘The potential for creating music is locked inside your Apple IIGS. Here's what it takes to get it out, Art For Non-Artists An Apple HGS can help transform anyone into a budding El Greco. | four all-American ball ° games for the Apple IGS. RAM Aerobics Not getting the most out of memory? these exercises to keep your RAM board healthy and strong. Product Reviews ImageWriter LQ 32 RamKeeper 33, APWC... 5 Calendar Crafte Diversi-Key..... ‘The Graphics Studio And Draw Plus List Plus. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing Postcards... ‘The TimeOut Series pple Ics Buyer's Guide Apple IGS Hardware And Software Directory Accessories a Switch boxes, cleaning kits, dust covers, mouse containers and more AppleWorks... Compatible programs for AppleWorks Books And Publications... eh Literature of interest to Apple IIGS users Business And Productivity Integrated software, accounting packages, vertical-market software, personal finance packages and more Creative... 52 Paint, draw, animation software and more Desk Accessories... Pop-up accessory software for home and business Desktop Communications .. Telecommunications programs for file transfers and more Desktop Publishing wi Combined graphics and text software for personal publishing projects Education..... — a Reading, writing, arithmetic and more Entertainment .. Basketball, simulations, adventures and more Hardware And Peripherals Extended memory boards, graphics products, synthetic speech acces- Sories, modems and more Musi m Training, writing and MIDI software for music Networking " Software and utilities for connecting to AppleTalk networks On-Line Datab: se Information utilities available on-line Programming And Utilities .......000 File recovery software, programming lan- guages and programmer utilities 74 Word Processing. aia aid Graphics and text-based word processing programs Indexes Advertiser's Index Product Index. Company Index....... Entire contents copyright 1988 by Redgate Communications Corporation. All ic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any rage independent journal; not affliated in any way with Apple Computer, Inc., but Apple Computer, Inc. has granted Redgate IGS Buyer's Guide. Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Cc Redgate Communications Corporation is not responsible tor the accuracy of the views held by Redgate Communications Corporation. Unsolicited manuscripts and other materials will be returned only i publisher is not responsible for unsolicited materials. Printed in the U.S. The Apple lIGS Boulevard, Vero Beach, FL 32963, 407-231-6904. Subscription rates: $8.95 Corporation also publishes The Macintosh Buyer's Guide, PAQ Review ‘agement, a series of computer books and other properties. The company also provides tion contact Ted Leonsis, Redgate Communications store Product listings and descrpt —The jent Magazine For. market ‘Communications Cor Inc. Apple lle, Apple lc and Apple lIGS are registered trademarks iptions. Some of the views expressed by contributors may not be representative of if accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The Buyer's Guide is published quarterly by Redgal pet year; Canada $14.95; foreign $29.9. All orders are payable only in U.S, funds, Redgate Communications ter Users, ing communications services to a wide range of high-technology clients. For more informa- rights reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by ary means, electron- ‘Of retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide is an ration the right to use the title, The Apple ‘Apple Computer, Inc., used by permission. ste Communications Corporation at 660 Beachland FYI — The Harris Magazine For Information Man- 2 Summer 1988 Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com For Those Who Want the Most. From Those Who Make the Best. GS-RAM*" Now expand the IIGS’ RAM and ROM with up to 8 MEG of “Instant On” memory with the allnew Gs-RAM! Gs-RAM has an all new design. A design that delivers higher performance including in- creased speed, greater expandability, and improved software. More Sophisticated, Yet Easier to Use GS-RAM works with all IIcs software. In fact any program that runs on Apple's smaller memory card runs on the Gs-RAM. But with Gs-RAM you can have more memory, im- proved performance, and almost unlimited expansion capabilities We've designed the new Gs-RAM to be easier to use toO—you. don’t have to adjust the size of your RAM. disk every time you use a DMA device. No other RAM card with more than 4 banks of memory installed can make the same claim. More than Just Hardware Each Gs-RAM and Gs-RAM Plus includes the most powerful set of IIcs software enhance- ments available anywhere. In fact, our nearest competitor offers only a fraction of the invaluable programs that we include with each Gs-RAM card. This software includes the most powerful disk-caching program available, the Gs-RAM Cache. The Cache will make most of your applications run up to 7 times faster Also induded is a diagnostic utility that lets you test your Gs-RAM by graphically showing the location of any bad or improperly installed RAM chips. And for AppleWorks users, we give you our exclusive Expander program that dramatically enhances both the capabilities and speed of AppleWorks. Making AppleWorks Even Better Applied Engineering’s Expander program eliminates AppleWorks intemal memory limits allowing it to recognize up to 8 megabytes of desktop workspace. You can increase the limits from only 7,250 lines to 22,600 lines in the word processor and from 6,350 records to 22,600 records in the database. The Expander allows all of AppleWorks, including print functions, to automatically load into RAM. The clipboard size will increase from 255 to 2,042 lines maximum. Gs-RAM will automatically segment larger files so you can save them onto multiple floppies. And Gs-RAM provides a built-in print buffer that allows you to continue working in Apple- Works while your printer is still processing text You can even load Pinpoint or Macro- Works and your favorite spelling checker into RAM for instant response. Grow by Kilobytes or Megabytes We offer Gs-RAM in two configurations so you can increase your memory 256K at a time (Gs-RAM) or a megabyte at a time (Gs-RAM Plus). Both are [Ics compatible and both come with our powerful enhancement software. Gs-RAM can hold up to 1.5 MEG of 256K chips and Gs-RAM Plus can hold up to 6 MEG using 1 MEG chips. And since both use standard RAM chips (not high-priced SIMM’s), you'll find expanding your Gs-RAM or Gs-RAM Plus easy, convenient, and very economical. For further expansion, you can plug a 2 MEG “piggyback” card into the Gs- RAMs expansion port for up to 3.5 MEG of total capacity. Or up to a whopping 8 MEG on Gs-RAM Plus. If a Gs-RAM owner outgrows 3.5 MEG, he can easily upgrade to Gs-RAM Plus for a nominal charge. Permanent Storage for an “Instant On” Apple With our RamKeeper™ back-up option, your Gs-RAM or GSRAM Plus will retain both programs and data while your IIcs is tumed off Now when you tum your IIcs back on, your favorite software is on your screen in under 4 seconds! With RamKeeper you can divide your Ics memory into part “electronic hard disk,” and part extended RAM. Even change the memory boundaries at any time—and in any way—you want Because “In quality, performance, compatibility, expandability and support, Applied Engineering's GSRAM and GsRAM Plus are number one,” 5 ol A, A, Steve Wozniak, the creator of Apple Computer Applied Engineering has the most experience in the industry with battery-backed memory for the Apple, you are assured of the most reliable memory back-up system available. And in the world of battery-backed memory, Reliability is everything. That's why Applied Engineeting uses state-of the-art “GEL-CELL’s” instead of Ni-Cad batteries (if Ni-Cads aren't discharged periodically, they lose much of their capacity). RamKeeper has about 6 hours of “total power failure” back-up time. ‘That's 6 times the amount of other systems. But with power from your wall outlet, RamKeeper will back-up Gs-RAM, Gs-RAM Plus, or most other IIcs memory cards indefinitely. Should you ever have a “total power failure,” RamKeeper switches to its 6-hour battery. When power retums, Ram- Keeper will automatically recharge the battery to full power. RamKeeper incorporates a dual-rate charger, status LE.D,’s, and ad- vanced power reducing circuitry. RamKeeper comes complete with battery, software, and documentation, GS-RAM’s Got it ALL! ¢ 5-year warranty — parts & labor © 6 RAM banks (most cards have 4) Memory expansion port e ROM expansion port e Ultra-fast disk caching on ProDOS 8 AND ProDOS 16. e Expands AppleWorks intemal limits ¢ Includes hi-res self test No soldered-in RAM chips * Expandable to 8 MEG e No configuration blocks to set ¢ RamKeeper back-up option allows permanent storage of programs & data 15-day money-back guarantee Proudly made in the USA GS-RAM with 256K $219 GS-RAM with 512K $339 GS-RAM with 1 MEG $579 GS-RAM with 1.5 MEG $819 Gs-RAM with 2.5 to 3.5 MEG CALL Gs-RAM Plus with 1-8 MEG =CALL RamKeeper Option $179 Order today! See your dealer or call Applied Engineering today, 9 am. to 11 p.m 7 days. Or send check or money order to Applied Engineering. MasterCard, VISA and C.O.D. welcome. Texas residents add 7% sales tax. Add $10.00 outside USA. AE APPLIED ENGINEERING” The Apple enhancement experts. (214) 241-6060 P.O. Box 5100, Carrollton, TX 75011 Prices subject to change without notice. Reader Circle Number 2 GSRAM, GSRAM Plus and RamKeeper are "PHOTONS OTT AWA BE LOTT CO Ee trademarks of their respective holders, The Apple IGS Buyer's Guide Publisher: Len Scaffidi Vice President/Editor-In-Chief: Paul Pinella Directory Editor: Paulette Siclari Production Manager: Carolyn D. Sizemore Assistant Directory Editor: Catherine L. Spencer Quality Control Manager: Ron Errett Proofreader: Linda W. Hill Staff Writer: Linda Topoleski Contributing Editors: le Chien; Carol S. Holzberg, Ph.D.; Ken Landis Other Editorial Management: Jordan Gold Assistant To The Publisher: Mary J. Spoto Vice President/Creative Director: Mark S. Ballard Senior Art Director: Patricia N. Walker Art Director: Bill Stahl Means Manager: Kathaleen S. Typesetting Opec Debra R. Siraco, Sharon L. Thomas; Vicki Rae Vadnais Circulation Manager; Sandra J. Byrd Single-Copy Sales Consultant: Joseph J. Sparano Single-Copy Sales Administrator: Maura Sheehan Subscription Processing Coordinator: Karen Lindsey Customer Service Representative: Yvette Lighty ‘Western Advertising Sales Director: ‘Chuck Abrams Redgate Communications Corporation, 185 Berry St., Ste. 5401, San Francisco, CA 94107, 415-777-3911 Eastern Advertising Sales Director: George Redgate Communications Corporation 24 New England Executive Park, Burlington, ‘MA 01803, 617-229-6500 Advertising Sales: Sandy Van Salisbury Redgate Communications Corporation, 660 Beachland Boulevard, Vero Beach, FL 32963, 407-231-6904 Response Services: Tammy Smith Redgate Communications ration President: Ted Leonsis Executive Vice President: Alfred J. Mandel Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer: Jeff Parsons Director Of Finance: Nancy A. Birt MIS/Facilities Manager: Tim Duncklee Accounts Payable Administrator: Brenda Simmons Finance Assistant: Cindy Schuster Assistant To The President: Donna M. Philo ‘Assistant To The CFO: Ursula Wallag Receptionist: Julie A. Van Gaasbeck Cover Illustration: Linda Nelson BPA Membership Applied For: November 1987 EDITOR'S WINDOW Package Imperfect lot of good software has been developed for the Apple IIGS, but you'd never know it from the packaging. Only a few vendors — perhaps the ones far removed from Madison Avenue — take the effort to clearly label packages with essential information needed by users. Sim- ple clues, such as operating system informa- tion, are often left off the boxes, as are details about copy protection, memory requirements, system requirements and so forth. Another telltale bit of information often omitted is whether a package is truly "IIGS specific." More than a few packages crossing my desk have left me puzzled. Is it or isn't iv A program doesn't have to be IIGS specif- ic to be great. AppleWorks is a good exam- ple. Sure, AppleWorks can take advantage of certain IIGS features, such as increased speed and memory capacity, but it also runs fine on earlier Apples. New packages, such as Springboard Publisher, show there's still room to be innovative in the Apple II world without being IGS specific. Nevertheless, nobody buys an Apple IIGS unless they intend to use all those nifty fea- tures that dazzle the computer store crowds, including clever use of color, speed and (if the budget allows) stereo sound. In my book, the only kind of program that can do these things is written under ProDOS 16, understands memory management, nurtures the Finder and fully supports the Apple interface. Not all programs that cling to this recipe will be superstars, of course, Under certain circumstances, such as telecommunications, following the IGS formula can be more a hindrance than help. Even so, many poten- tial buyers want features that best support their ITGS investment. How can they know come to market with fuzzy credentials. For example, products that boast in big bold let- ters that they "Run On The Apple IIGS," but never say whether they come with a 3.5-inch disk or take advantage of any IIGS features. Another class of fuzzy product made even fuzzier by packaging involves a few games, educational packages and similar programs. Yes, they are IGS specific. That is, they demand up to a megabyte of memory, access the sound chip and run only ona IIGS, But they may not necessarily follow Apple's guidelines. In fact, they may not even be written under a standard operating system. If your only intent is to boot these pro- grams and run, fear not. But don't try load- ing them onto a hard disk or using desk accessories at the same time. Vendors have a right not to follow Apple's standards for whatever reason. Potential buyers of their products have an equal right to know exactly what they are getting. At the moment, the buyers are not getting the information they need from packaging. Perhaps the marketing moguls on Madi- son Avenue should set aside three square inches of space on every software package. Let the programmers describe here, in their own words, what makes up their creations. The copy may not win yards, but it certainly will be read. ll — Paul Pinella, Editor-In-Chief 4 Summer 1988 Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com EPIC 2400CLASSIC" The World’s only 2400 Baud Internal Modem for the Apple’ II Family EPIC 2400CLASSIC With Talk Back™ Communications Package © 2400, 1200, 300 Baud rates (CCITT V.22 (bis), V.22, Bell 212A, 103) Auto dial/answer © Auto Baud capability © Complete “AT” Command set (Recognize lower case “at”) ¢ DTMF/pulse or mixed dialing Call progress detection ¢ Audio monitor 1-800-634-9992 © 415-683-0932 Redialing on busy © Data to voice switching Apple Il is a registered trademark of Apple Computer Inc. . it mot Self test modes Epic, the Epic logo, and Epic 2400Classic™ are © Full 5 year warranty trademarks of Epic Technology, Inc. © Made in USA Talk Back™ is a registered trademark of RUSS Systems. Reader Circle Number 3 Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com IIGS ADDRESS Address all inquiries to "IGS Address," c/o The Apple IGS Buyer's Guide, Redgate Communications Corp., 660 Beachland Blvd., Vero Beach, FL 32963. Questions may also be sent via electronic mail on The Source (CPA211) or Compuserve (71625,567). Individual responses can- not be guaranteed, 1) I'm moving to Europe in a couple of months and I'd like to take my Apple with me. The power I'm going to be using is 220 volts (v)/50 hertz (hz) AC, as Opy to the 120v/60hz AC in the Unit- ed States. What problems can I expect? Ihave no need for multi- color printing. Will my present ImageWriter I printer work properly with an Apple IGS? IfI get an Apple IGS, will its built-in serial printer interface let me use my present Super Seri- al card for communication with a 1,200-baud external _| modem? Finally, do you know of any IGS telecommunica- tions program that works with the Kermit file trans- fer protocol and emulates a VT100 terminal? Mark Harris San Diego First, let's get our terms straight. ROM stands for read- only memory. The ESP board Gerard Mollet Fort Rucker, Alabama Most, although not all, Apple peripherals will work fine with a step-down transformer. Make sure you are using a fully isolated, grounded, three-prong step-down trans- former, not a little $9.95 model designed for use with an electric shaver. Frequency is another problem. U.S cur- rent works at 60hz, but most European nations use 50hz. Do nof try to use a Laser- Writer, ImageWriter II, ImageWriter LQ, Scribe or Apple Color Plotter at 50hz; you will probably damage the printer. The ImageWriter I works fine at 50hz, although there may be spacing problems between characters. Also, remember that U.S. Apple comput- ers produce NTSC video. If you try to hook up your computer to a PAL or SECAM moni- tor (two video standards used in Europe), you won't get correct results. Make sure you use an NTSC monitor on your Apple, even while in Europe. Apple's Monitor II, Monitor Ic and Monitor III should work fine at 50hz, although there may be a slight on-screen flicker. Given the above limitations and a good step-down transformer, the following Apple brand-name accessories will work fine at 120v/S0hz: Apple II, Ile, IIc, IGS, ImageWriter I printer, Monitor II, IIc and II. Many third-party products will also work, but make sure the ULL. listing says 50/60hz. The editors of The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide and Contributing Editor Philip Chien answer letters and questions from readers. Don't forget that your warranty is only valid in the country where you purchased your Apple, and international dealers might not have the parts or capabilities to service your machine. If they do offer to service your Apple, expect to pay’extra for the privilege. By the way, you can easily reset the char- acter set and keyboard map on an Apple IGS for a variety of different languages. Just go into the Control Panel and choose Options. Apple ImageWriter and ImageWriter II printers both include built-in foreign charac- ter sets that can easily be accessed through software. Plus, many software publishers now produce foreign language versions of their programs with the manuals and on- screen displays re-written in a variety of languages. 2) AGS function that would be ideal for me would be if somehow the combina- tion of OctoRAM ESP and SoftSwitch would allow me to load my database program, a word processor and some- thing similar to Printrix into ROM, then let me select which one would start run- ning at power up. Is that possible? Also, do you know of anything that will scan text into a word processor file? Such a tool would be great for inputting programs from magazines or books. acts like both a RAM and ROM board. Like a ROM board, it holds its memory when a IIGS' power is turned off. Like a RAM board, the memory can be modified as needed. The technical term is battery-backed static RAM, and a small bat- tery is used to keep the memory powered while a IIGS is turned off. The OctoRAM ESP board has the advan- tages of both RAM and ROM. The ESP board "looks" like a disk drive to a IGS and holds up to 512K of RAM. In fact, you can set up a IIGS to automatically run a program on the ESP board when you turn on the computer. All you have to do is initialize the ESP board and put your programs into its memory. The major limiting factor is that an ESP board can only hold about 75 percent of the capacity of a 3.5-inch disk. You should be able to fit a small database program, a word processor and Printrix without any prob- lems. You may not have enough space to also fit SoftSwitch within the 512K confines, however. If you require more than 512K of pro- grams, Checkmate Technology's Memo- rySaver or Applied Engineering's RamKeeper can convert the memory on your present IIGS RAM expansion board into a ROM disk. A variety of different ProDOS program selec- tor programs can be used for a menu selec- tor to choose which program you want when you turn on your computer. Incidentally, if you already have an Apple Ie and don't need the music or sound capa- 6 Summer 1988 Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com AT LAST... Data, Pictures & Sound, All In One Database Didn’t you buy your Apple IIGS for its incredible inte- Of course, SoftWood GS File doesn’t just store the in- gration of data, pictures and sound? SoftWood GS File is formation. It lets you manage it. Calculations, multilevel the only database manager on the Apple IGS which can sorting, searching by example or range, simple lists, manage all that information together! detailed reports, mailing labels, and conversion from AppleWorks files. It’s ohh. . .so simple. View a file like a spreadsheet with rows and columns or customize your own format. You can even present information in a Think about the possibilities—membership rosters with pictures, real estate listings with house plans, record collections with digitized music = and sounds, recipes with color- slideshow, showing pictures and playing sounds by: ful photos, pictorial vocabulary simultaneously! lessons, foreign language pro- You treated yourself to an Apple IIGS. Now treat nunciation, and much more. yourself to SoftWood GS File. See your local dealer or call: SOFTWOOD Incredibly priced at: Brown-Wagh GS FILE N-Wag VERSION 2.0 ¢ 99 95| Publishing 512K Required; 1-800-451-0900 2 Drives Recommended : ¢ 1-408-395-3838 (in calijornia) Educational Discounts 16795 Lark Ave., Suite 210, Los Gatos, CA 95030 Downloaded from www.Apple2@itite.com Reader Circle Number 4 IIGS ADDRESS bilities of an Apple IGS, using SoftSwitch with the ROM disk applications is still an excellent reason to upgrade to an Apple IIGS. Scanning graphics into a computer is rela- tively easy. Scanning text requires an intelli- gent program that can recognize characters. In addition, different character fonts are dif- ficult to tell apart. It's quite easy for a human to recognize thousands of different fonts, not so for a computer, Handwritten charac- ters are even more difficult to tell apart. Even with all the limitations, there have been a couple of optical character readers released. One product is Omni-Reader. It looks like a copy stand and includes a read- er that you move across a page with your hand. Data is transmitted as text to your computer's RS-232 interface. That's the good news. The bad news is that Omni-Reader is only about 95 percent accurate, and that's only with relatively standard text fonts. The other bad news is, the company that made it went out of business. Mail order firms are now selling Omni- Reader for under $200. You might want to check with California Digital (800-421-5041) to see if they have any left in stock. Apple has informed us that most IIGS programs that use the standard Apple printer routines will work with the ImageWriter I as well as the ImageWriter II. For the most part, programmers design programs to be com- patible with as many users as possible, and programs designed for the ImageWriter I work just as well on the ImageWriter II. Consequently, most graphics programs are designed to work with the ImageWriter I. These programs occasionally have extra fea- tures (e.g., color) available as options in case you have an ImageWriter II. You will need a new cable to attach an ImageWriter I to a IIGS, because the IGS uses the new sub-8 connector and your cur- rent Super Serial card uses the older DB-25 connector. The cable is available from your Apple dealer or through a variety of mail order firms. Even if you don't need color printing, you may still want to consider purchasing an ImageWriter II. It is twice as fast as an ImageWriter I and includes an excellent high-quality text mode. Best of all, your cur- rent ImageWriter I ribbons and software will work with an ImageWriter II. An Apple IGS includes two built-in serial ports, traditionally referred to as the printer and modem ports, although you can use any two serial devices you want. When you pur- chase a IIGS, you won't need your Super Serial card, unless you want a third serial port or your software specifically requires a Super Serial card. You can easily hook up your present ImageWriter I to a IIGS' printer port via a new cable. You can also use either your Micromodem II or an internal or external 1,200-baud modem with the IIGS' second serial port (the modem port). This will only work if your programs are compatible with a IIGS' serial ports. Many older programs require either the Super Seri- al card or the Micromodem II card. They won't work with the IIGS serial interface. According to Checkmate Technology, Pro- term version 2.0 is supposed to handle VT100 emulation, Kermit and Xmodem transfer protocols, and a lot more. Yes, it will work with your Micromodem II, Super Serial card or IIGS serial port. You can even attach your Apple directly to your DEC mainframe for ultrahigh-speed communications. 3) I recently purchased the game Hacker II for my UGS. I was unable to boot the program on my computer and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I called Activision's support department, and they said they were aware of the prob- Jem. The support person explained the difficulty was because of the upgraded ROM in my IGS and that the company was working on a revised version of the game. I believe Activision should recall all existing copies of this software from its distributors so these copies don't pose any inconvenience or frustration to potential consumers. Jane Santo Scarsdale, New York ‘We agree with you in principle. Compa- nies should not sell software that doesn't work with current computers. However, the situation is more complicated than you might expect. When Activision first released Hacker II, it worked fine with the Apple IIGS. That's because all users had the same original sys- tem ROM. After a computer has been in the field for some time, documented bugs begin to appear. Customers, especially software companies, ask the manufacturer to fix the problems and to add newer features. Apple responded to these requests with the updated system ROM in your computer. Naturally, software developers, who also receive these updated ROMs for their machines, check all of their programs for compatibility. The trouble is, by the time most software developers receive their new ROMs, the newest Apple IIGS's off the assembly line also have the new ROMs, and current users are starting to get the updated ROMs through their dealers. Itis in Activision's highest interest to get its products updated as fast as possible and to upgrade customers who already have copies of Hacker Il. The trouble is, what do you do about the hundreds or even thou- sands — in the case of a large company such as Activision — of copies that have been sent through distributors, mail order firms and retail dealers? Most companies will offer free or low- cost (typically $5 to $10) upgrades for their customers when a product doesn't work properly because of a program revision. Occasionally, a company will let you upgrade through a local dealer, but most upgrades are performed directly by the manufacturer. Upgrades are a hassle everybody has to deal with. The alternative — not to ever upgrade or improve the Apple IIGS world — is a hundred times worse. What should you do? Ask your software dealer what his policy is concerning refunds or credit for software that doesn't operate on your computer. Unfortunately, dealers have to be wary. ‘There are people who will purchase soft- ware, copy it illegally and then return the original copies to the dealers claiming they're defective or they don't operate on their machines. Most knowledgeable dealers, however, should be able to confirm whether a specific program works on your machine. Always check this out. 4) Do you have any information on future AppleFest shows? Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the show in San Francisco last September. From your description in the Winter 1988 issue, it sounded fascinating. Wendell Harness Riverside, California ‘The next AppleFest will be held in Boston on May 20 to 22. After that, the next show is scheduled for fall in San Francisco. Call 1-800-262-FEST or 617-860-7100 in Massachusetts for details. Il 8 Summer 1988 Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com Pyware’ Music Writer Designed Exclusively For The APPLE IIGs From Beginner To Professional Composer The Pyware™ Music Writer is the perfect music notation and composition tool for any composer at any level. With the Music Writer you can play in your music with a synthesizer, see it displayed on the screen, play it back through your synthesizer or Apple IIGS sound chip and print the music on your ImageWriterII ready to be published. The Pyware™ Music Writer supports the beginning music hobbyist or student with a step by step guide to basic music theory and composition. If you know how to write music and are searching for a music program that will utilize all the features of the Apple IIGS and allow you to quickly input and edit your music, you have found that tool. Input and editing which are the most time con- suming parts of music writing are a breeze. The Music Writer offers automated error checking, lyrics, extensive use of the Apple IIGS sound chip, MIDI input and output, and that is just the beginning. The program provides easy editing through copy, cut, paste, invert and transpose. A quality print out of parts, range of parts, or score formats are just as easy to produce. With all this power, the Music Writer is still very simple to use because of the Apple IIGS user interface, pull down menus and icons. For More information or ordering call Pygraphics at 1-800-222-7536 (in Texas 817-481-7536) or write: P.O. Box 639, Grapevine, TX 76051. As mentioned, the Music Writer is the perfect music tool for any composer at any level. Three levels of the Music Writer are available for the Apple IIGS. Two are available for the Apple Ile. LEVEL 1 - (LIMITED EDITION) - Designed for the beginning music student or music hobbyist. It is limited to 3 staves and is great for single part writing. It contains a music theory guide along with the manual so that you may learn basic music theory, notation and composition. Available only on the Apple IIGS ........ $119.00 LEVEL 2- (SPECIAL EDITION) - Designed for the serious music hobbyist or music teacher who is primarily interested in part writing or producing medium sized scores. Up to 6 staves are available and can be printed in score format. Available on the Apple IIGS or Ile....... $295.00 LEVEL 3 - (PROFESSIONAL EDITION) - De- signed for the professional arranger or composer who is interested in full scores. It allows up to 32 staves and contains many automatic features for easy input and editing. The most powerful notation and composing program on the market. Available on the Apple IIGs, Ile......... $595.00 MUSIC Maki 9 Music On The Apple IIGS A year ago, we took an early look at music appli- cations on the IIGS. Since then there have been a'variety of improve- ments in the Apple music field. Both hardware and software products have gotten better, and in many ways the IGS is becoming the computer of choice for musicians everywhere. In previous issues, we've reviewed the Music Construction Set and Instant Music from Electronic Arts, the FutureSound stereo output/digitizer board from Applied Visions and other music products. Since those reviews were printed, a popular music generator program has been enhanced and other hardware and software products have been released by a variety of companies. The potential for creating music is locked inside your Apple IIGS. Here's what it takes to get it out. In The Studio Activision's Music Studio, a case in point, has evolved into a choice product for ama- teur and professional musicians. It supports up to 16 instruments, prints out music scores on an ImageWriter printer and lets you con- nect your IIGS to other electronic musical instruments. The original Music Studio version had sev- eral limitations. The tones it produced, while adequate, always sounded computer generat- ed, All note stems faced the same direction, producing confusing printouts, and the mouse input did not allow for easy input of complicated chords. Perhaps the most glaring oversight, how- ever, was the user interface. Music Studio looked like an Atari or Amiga program — not a Macintosh/IIGS program! The program menus operated identically to their prede- cessors on other machines, but differently than the menus IGS users had grown accustomed to. 10 Summer 1988 Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com MUSIC We reviewed a beta copy of the new Music Studio that corrects all these problems and adds some excellent enhancements. Most importantly, Music Studio 2.0 now uses the Apple standard interface. Your mouse and screen controls will act the way you expect them to, which is similar to other Macintosh/IIGS programs. While this is a vast improvement over the older Amiga-style interface, Activision still needs to correct some minor inconsistencies. For example, the printout screen should have a Chooser command added for LaserWriter support, and only sound files should be displayed when you want to load a sound file. Also, the trash can should be replaced with a standard close box for song files. These are minor quibbles, but if you're going to use a standard, you should use that standard correctly. Other program bugs have also been addressed. Stems can now be reversed sim- ply by pressing the space bar before drop- ping notes. You can attach a keyboard for music input, if you like, and the audio quality has been greatly improved. Other new fea- tures include the capability to insert measure bars; change key signature, tempo or volume in the middle of a song; merge songs; change all of the notes of a specific duration to a different duration; and automatic measure bar numbering. ‘The new version of the pro- gram is copyable and can be transferred to a hard drive or backed up with standard copy utilities. Better Sounds One of the surprising features of the original Music Studio was that it didn't use a IIGS' special sound capa- bilities. Each instrument that came with the program was based on a computerized algo- rithm, including Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release (ADSR). These four parameters create synthesized music. While adequate for computerized music and sufficient to fool many people, generated waveforms do not produce the complicated waveforms created by true musical instruments. The new version of Music Studio changes that. Besides its standard set of computer- generated instruments, the program includes a separate disk filled with digitized sounds. The instruments represented were created using the IIGS' Ensoniq sound chip, the same chip used in the Mirage professional music keyboard. A musical instrument's voice is digitized by the Ensoniq chip in much the same fashion a compact disc (CD) recording is made. Because the actual recording has already been done, all you have to do to get concert-hall sound is select a digitized instrument and play it back. Fortunately, Music Studio now supports * piano keyboard notes through its which stands for] Interface — is a standard for musical instru- inputting of IDI interface. MIDI — Music Instrument Digital universal communications computerized ments. All musical "talk" to transfer (sounds) back and forth. With each other and data now available from Apple and other companies, Music Studio can communicate with music synthesizers and receive ‘data from them. If you attach a MIDI-equipped keyboard — via the MIDI output — to the MIDI input on a IIGS-compatible inter- face, you can play music on the keyboard, which Music Studio will convert to music notation on your computer screen, Naturally, any mistakes you make will also be converted. The music read routine isn't perfect. For example, it doesn't get the timing or tempo down properly. But those are fairly easy things to adjust from within Music Studio. The most important factor is that you can use a keyboard to input notes and chords in a conventional manner, instead of using a mouse or typing in the notes by hand. Current Music Studio owners can upgrade to the new version for $13.50. Send page one of your manual and a check for $13.50 (California residents add 6.5 percent sales tax; international customers contact Activision for details) to: Music Update; Activision, Inc.; PO Box T; Gilroy, CA 95021-2249. Although the original version of Music Studio had problems with the upgraded System ROM, version 2.0 guaranteed to work with original and upgraded IGS has been both the ROMs. Digitizer Fall '87 issue of The Apple Buyer's Guide, we reviewed MDIdeas Supersonic stereo board and its Digitizer board. The Supersonic board converts a IIGS' audio output into stereo, and the Digitizer converts audio sounds into computer- readable form. It's basically a digital tape recorder. The major disadvantage of the Digitizer is that it can only record mono sounds, If you want to record a stereo sound track, you have to record it twice — once for each channel — and hope you get the synchronization correct. You can also tweak it through the software, which is inconvenient at best. MDIdeas, which promised an upgrade for the Digitizer, showed a prototype at last year's AppleFest show in San Francisco. Well, the new Digitizer Professional now exists, although what we tested is a proto- type board. By the time this article is printed, though, off-the-shelf units should be available. A Better In the IGS Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide 11 Andevery other subject. In short, the [lcs runs programs that cover every area of human endeavor from writing a school paper to planning a company budget. Kids can study anything from ABCs to SATS. And anyone can learn to paint like Monet or compose like Mozart? All this on one of the easiest subjects in the world to master—the Apple IIcs. Interested? Then why not pursue this subject with your nearest authorized Apple dealer. You'll find that once your family sees and hears what the Apple Ics can do, the idea of owning any other kind of personal computer will be, well, history # ‘The powerto be your best’ of Apple Computer inc. Apple IIGS and “The power to be your best” are trademarks of Apple Computer inc. For an authorized Apple dealer near you, call 800-538-9696, ex. 600 pple2 The most powerful Apple! in history @ File Edit Pict Mode Brush Color Fon’ : Dorie Order a THE PARTHENON §& ICTINUS & CALLICRATES 448-452 BC. Acropolis, athens. FB Plan of The Parthenon fe Ifthe idea of getting a computer for the family intrigues you, then theres one subject you'd do well to study The Apple Ics’ There are more Apple’ Ils in more schools than any other personal computer, And the Ilcs is at the head of the class. Which is not surprising, After all, it has enough power to run virtually all 10000 Apple II programs. Up to three times faster than they've ever run before. What's more, Apple IIcs graphics programs let you use over 4,000 colors with near photographic realism. And its music programs let you simulate anything from a human voice to a symphony orchestra. “Anyone that is, who’ an artistic genius. But take heart, all the colors and all the notes are there. ©1987 Apple Computer Inc. Apple and the Apple logo are registered trademarks MUSIC le Goodies Uptions Sounds Add Note sharp Complicated waveforms help generate quality musical sound in this update of Music Studio. The latest version supports 16 instruments, prints out music scores and provides a link to electronic musical instruments. Digitizer Professional occupies its own slot ina IIGS. The software is configured for slot 6, the same slot as a 5.25-inch disk drive. If you do plug Digitizer Professional into slot 6, you won't be able to use your 5.25-inch drive when you want to use Digitizer Professional and vice versa. The best thing to do is find an unused slot on your IGS that's set aside for a function you don't need (e.g,, slot 7 if you aren't using AppleTalk, slot 2 if you don't have a modem or MIDI port, slot 1 if you're using an AppleTalk printer and don't need the stan- dard printer port, etc.). Plug the Digitizer Professional into that slot and activate the Digitizer's slot through the software menu. Once plugged in, Digitizer Professional is fairly easy to operate. MDIdeas added a bonus for Digitizer Professional owners: a Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) circuit. (Actually, the term "Digital" here is' redundant, because all sounds created by computers are digital, However, DNR is a standard audio term.) ‘The DNR circuit attaches between a Supersonic board and your speakers or amplifier. While the DNR circuit has nothing to do with the Digitizer Professional's record- ing capabilities, it produces a noticeable improvement for all stereo output from your IIGS — not just digitized sounds. Besides cables for the DNR circuit, Digitizer Professional has an on-board mini stereo jack (Walkman-style) that is used for audio input. Our board came with an adapter cable that we connected to two phono jacks attached to our stereo's audio output. You can use any stereo adapter cable you wish to plug into the Digitizer Professional’ mini stereo plug, however. Using the Digitizer Professional to record sounds is simple. Just boot up the supplied software disk, specify the slot where the Digitizer Professional is located, adjust the sound level, start your audio source and begin recording. Once recorded, sounds can be edited for waveform, played back or saved to disk for use with another application. Because the Digitizer Professional saves files in standard Apple format, a properly written program can use these sounds for special enhancements. Many games pro- duced by PBI Software, MDIdeas' sister company for software products, have been enhanced with digitized sounds. To be can- | did, it sounds realistic when a computerized commander "barks" orders at you while you're in the middle of a game! Currently, only one practical application is available for using sounds created with Digitizer Professional. That's SoundKeys, which comes on the Digitizer Professional's utility disk. SoundKeys lets you load a variety of sounds you've recorded and assign keys on your IIGS keyboard to these sounds. You can specify left or right speaker, or even different sounds for each speaker for the same key. Once you've defined your keys, your ITGS keyboard becomes a sound-effects machine. One key can produce a telephone ring, a busy signal, a doorbell, a synthesized voice that says "come in," etc. Recorded sounds can be loaded into SoundKeys up to the memory limitations of your IGS. Unfortunately, you cannot use your newly created sounds from within other commercial programs. These details are being worked on. by several companies. Soon you should be ; able to record a sound (a musical instrument, your voice, a rocket taking off, etc.) and con- vert it into a musical instrument for use with- ina music program. ' ‘That's where IIGS music stands today, which isn't to say it's standing still. New music writing programs are being produced by several small companies, including those listed in the back of this publication. Electronic Arts is supposed to release Deluxe Music Construction Set later this year, and new hardware and software utilities are being developed by a variety of sources. With all of these new products though, why would anybody be interested in older products or new products that use yesterday's technology? Read on. The Sounds Of Yesterday With all the advanced features of an Apple IGS and Ensoniq chip, why would anybody want to pay extra for five-year-old sound and music generating capabilities? The answer is software compatibility. While a IGS can per- form many tasks with software that used to require hardware, there are thousands of pro- grams available that work on a IIGS only if it's equipped with a sound board designed for earlier Apples. 14 Summer 1988 Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com MUSIC Note that, if you're interested in software originally intended for use on earlier Apples, the driver utilities for most boards are sup- plied on 5.25-inch disks. Generally, these boards support DOS 3.3 (an older Apple operating system before ProDOS), and most of the available applications are distributed on 5.25-inch disks. In the Spring '8) ie we looked at the Phasor board from Applied Engineering, which combined speech, music and sound- effects capabilities. Here are two more sound generators. Echo IIb The Echo Ib, by Street Electronics, is an electronic voice synthesizer based on the Texas Instruments speech chip used in the "Speak and Spell" toy. (The toy was promi- nently featured in the film "E.T."). The Echo IIb board requires plenty of software to make it operational. All this software takes up about 9K of program space. Drivers are supplied for the ProDOS 8 and DOS 3.3 operating systems Don't expect a ProDOS 16 (a IIGS' main operating system) driver to be released soon. Remember, it's easier to produce sounds through software on a IGS than it is to add an extra hardware board. The Echo IIb is generally designed for users who want access to programs that already exist, not new programs. The patched copies of ProDOS 8 and DOS 3.3 supplied with the Echo IIb are relatively easy to use and required if you want to use the board. Most copy protected or stand-alone programs are not compatible with the Echo IIb. It's fair- ly easy to modify simple BASIC programs to use the Echo's speech capabilities, however. What applications are suitable for the Echo Ib? Educational programs, especially for preschoolers, for demonstration purposes and applications for the handicapped, are the primary places where speech can be an asset. Several years ago, we designed a custom Apple Ile system for a blind friend with a similar speech board. The computer would speak to her and respond to her voice. It could dial phone numbers, answer the phone, turn on and off a tape recorder, tell her the time and even unlock the front door. Play it again, ma'm. Using a proprietary speech chip, the Echo IIb board can enbance computer usage for preschoolers as well as the handicapped. Commercially available applications for the Echo IIb and handicapped users include modem programs for communicating with other computer users over phone lines, word processors, a text reader for Apple magazines available on disk, standard business pro- grams and a variety of games. RAMTalker Plus RAMTalker Plus by Electronic Learning Systems is a board that combines several dif- ferent functions. It includes 256K of battery- backed RAM, a real-time clock and a digital- to-analog converter. Depending on how it's addressed, the board can look like a disk drive, a clock or a printer interface. The digital-to-analog converter is used by RAMTalker Plus as a speech synthesis circuit. Unlike Echo Ib, RAMTalker Plus doesn't use a chip designed s ‘ally for speech genera- tion. Rather, it uses a sophisticated software routine to generate sounds. Software-generated speech isn't a new idea. The first speech program for the Apple was a digitized voice recorder written by Bob Bishop in 1978. Since then, software generators have come a long way from using an Apple's cassette input port as an audio input source. Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide 15 MUSIC Today's software generators produce speech nearly as good as, or in some cases better than, that produced by synthesized speech generators. TML Pascal (reviewed in the Winter '88 issue) has a Speech Toolkit available as an option that is actually a software speech generator. Software-generated speech doesn't sound as realistic as digitized speech, but it is much more flexible. With digitized speech you can only play back what was previously spoken in and saved. Software generators, on the other hand, can pronounce any word in com- puter-generated text. Software generators are not without draw- backs. Pronunciation continues to be a prob- Jem. English-to-text converters can not tell the difference between "polish" and "Polish" or "read" and "reed." When you first configure RAMTalker Plus, you load the software driver routines into part of the device's memory. Once done, RAMTalker Plus "looks' like a printer interface to a IGS. As a result, your "printout" will be produced as English speech through the speaker instead of printed text on paper. This flexibility makes RAMTalker Plus compatible with thousands of programs never intended for speech. If your adventure game has a printer function that lets you print out your progress, tell the game to print to the RAMTalker Plus slot, You'll have your computer saying commands to you instead of printing them, Besides speaking, RAMTalker Plus has other functions. If you're using RAMTalker Plus on an Apple II+ or Ile, you can use the real-time clock from ProDOS. (Remember, the Apple IIGS already has a built-in clock.) When you run the patch program on your ProDOS boot disks, ProDOS automatically reads in the correct time and date from the board. If you don't have a clock board, this extra function can save you the additional cost of a clock. The extra RAMTalker Plus memory not used by the speech routines can be used as a pseudo disk drive. As with other RAM disks, RAMTalker Plus is lightning fast. Its RAM is also backed up by a battery, so it won't lose its memory when turned off. Again, RAMTalker Plus falls into the same "last generation hardware" category as Echo Ilb. You can produce better quality speech on an Apple IGS by using the same techniques and a program such as TML Pascal. But TML Pascal will let you produce speech only if you know how to program in Pascal, and only from within a Pascal pro- gram. RAMTalker Plus lets you use existing programs and it works from any language. Is it worth it to purchase yesterday's tech- nology? In time, many of the programs that require additional hardware with earlier Apple Ils will be replaced by software that uses the Ensoniq sound chip, which is built into an Apple IGS. The only questions are how long will it take and how much will it cost? Purchasing a board originally designed for use with older programs may seem like a step backward. But when the software is available and working, that may be the right way to go. fil — Philip Chien, contributing editor What is MIDI and what does it do? MIDI (Music Instrument Digital Interface) defines a standardized connector and communications protocol that allows different computerized sound generators to talk to each other. Because everyone in the music world uses the same standard, MIDI allows for linking different brands of equipment together. It can also be used to connect a music synthesizer or keyboard to a com- puter equipped with a MIDI port and running the correct software. ore On MIDI Passport Designs has offered a MIDI board for the Apple II for quite some time. The unit, which sells quite well, plugs into an empty slot and includes the standard MIDI jacks. For a long time, many considered MIDI and computerized music as a vertical mar- ket application confined to the education- al and professional music fields. Last fall, however, Apple Computer, Inc. decided the market had grown enough to support a MIDI box for both the Macintosh and Apple IIGS. This Apple product plugs into the IIGS modem connector and includes standard MIDI input and output jacks. The device's entire user manual is six pages long, including the Macintosh and Apple IIGS instructions and illustrations. At $99.95, expect Apple to sell many of these MIDI boxes. ‘There's an important feature to note before you purchase a MIDI port: By itself, a MIDI port is useless. Unless you have the proper software and a MIDI instrument, a MIDI box won't do anything. 16 Summer 1988 Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com Mon, thru Fri, Zam - 6m. ORDERS ONLY 1-800-248-0363 ee) §6=COLEM! | COMPUTERS P.O. 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ONLY 4-800-248-0363 << CREATIVITY For Non-Artists An Apple IIGS can help transform anyone into a budding El Greco. hen we try to define artistic talent, most of us think of.someone with the skills and eye/hand coordination of a painter, sculptor or illustrator. The designer is, unfor- tunately, relegated to a sub- servient role. Yet both kinds of artists are highly talented. The line between an artist and non-artist is almost as thin.. The difference has more to do with a lack of self-confidence or initiative than a lack of talent. Ihave been teaching computer graphics to college-level advertising design students for more than five years. They currently use Apple IIGS computers to create business presentations, camera cards, forms, illustra- tions and color separations. The courses that I teach include desktop publishing, TV graphics, computer illustration and computer animation. It is extremely rare to have a student who excels as both an illustrator and a designer. The computer acts as an equalizer. Those students who had been overshadowed by illustrators are now on an equal footing. Call On Creativity What usually stands in the way of creativi- ty (artist and non-artist alike) is making that first mark on a piece of paper or canvas. A computer helps to remove that fear, because all images are soft images. We don't have to worry about failure or wasted materials. Changes made to an image that has been saved don't affect-the original. This opens the way for experimentation and variety, two cornerstones of creativity. Many people state that they can't even draw a straight line. With all the automatic tools available, we don't have to worry about drawing lines or other objects, includ- ing rectangles, circles or ovals, anymore. ‘The truly innovative programs even offer automatic gradient fill and perspective. With the kinds of tools that are featured within most graphics programs, the necessity of eye/hand coordination has been removed, as have most of the excuses that can keep many individuals from experienc- ing the enjoyment of creating art. Software Choices Choosing the correct software can make the difference between success or failure. If you feel hesitant, then select one of the spe- cialty programs that can produce posters, 18 Summer 1988 Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com Hownloadedtro mw Appis2O Mitte cont CREATIVITY banners, greeting cards or awards. This kind of program makes most compositional choices for you and produces more predictable results. If you feel more daring, the greatest free- dom of expression is offered by drawing and painting programs. They do not restrict your creative choices. Programs such as The Print Shop IIGS, Certificate Maker and Newsroom operate within carefully controlled and closed environments. They help organize the creative process. The artistic part of using such a program is one of selection rather than manipulation. Closed environments depend heavily on collections of images called clip art. The subject matter of these images can cover a broad range — from business, holi birthdays, sports and awards to phra: vehicles, borders and people. These images can be chosen and used directly or modified. Constantly working in a closed environ- ment can lead to frustration, especially as you begin to feel more confident and desire greater flexibility and creative freedom. The most creative license is provided by an open-ended environment. The results are less predictable but — when successful — infinitely more satisfying. Of the open-ended environments avail- able, paint programs will probably feel the most natural because most of them try to emulate traditional artists’ tools. Even some- ‘one who can't use a real brush can under- stand the concept of a brush. The only eye/hand coordination needed is the same as that used to pull down and select menu items, If you can use a mouse, you can paint electronic pictures with an Apple IGS. When selecting a paint program, you should determine the kinds of features you will need. If you are new to graphics, it might be best to stick with programs that are not overly complex to reduce your frustration level. File Compatibility And Clip Art Three different file types are used today for super-high-resolution pictures on an Apple IGS, and not all paint pro- grams will recognize all three. One rea- son for the differences among the three file types is the method used to com- press files on disk. The easiest file type to understand is a binary file. This kind of file is an exact memory dump of the super-high-resolu- tion page. Binary picture files are always the same length, because the image is recorded pixel by pixel and the number of pixels never varies. The other two file types try to save space on disk by compressing the pic- ture. Basically, the program examines each scan line of a picture to discover how many pixels appearing next to one another are of the same color. Both kinds of compressed formats record files that are of varying lengths. We will refer to the compressed file types as either paint or Apple preferred (the format Apple Computer, Inc. recommends). Paintworks Plus 1.2 and Paintworks Gold offer the most versatility, because both can load and save all three file types. 816/Paint can load all three file types, but it only saves Apple-preferred and binary files. DeluxePaint II will load Apple-preferred and binary file types, but it can only save Apple-preferred files. As powerful as it is, DeluxePaint II cannot load files created for Paintworks Plus or Paintworks Gold. You should make sure that the clip art you purchase will be recognized by your particular paint program. Paintworks Plus 1.2, Paintworks Gold and 816/Paint can all load files from the Art Parts disks created for DeluxePaint II, but Deluxe- Paint II cannot load any files created for Paintworks Plus or Paintworks Gold. Actual- ly, there is a way to get these images into DeluxePaint I, but the method requires that you own both DeluxePaint I and either 816/Paint, Paintworks Plus 1.2 or Paintworks Gold. First, load a file into any of these pro- grams; then save the file in Apple-preferred format under a different name. DeluxePaint II will be able to load the file. To use the Art Parts disks, a paint pro- gram should have a spare page that can be used to assemble a picture. A spare page is like a separate window. It is pos- sible to work on two different pictures at the same time — one picture on a regu- lar page — the other picture on the spare page. You just toggle between them; you don't constantly load and reload files. Both DeluxePaint II and Paintworks Gold have spare pages, but Paintworks Plus and 816/Paint don't support this fea- ture. Without a spare page, the proce- dure for using the Art Parts disks becomes time consuming and frustrating. Another problem between file types has to do with the number of vertical pixels saved, Fortunately, the size of a screen is the same no matter the paint program. The size of a program's page is anoth- er matter. A page is usually two screens, ‘one on top of the other. This would make the page 320 by 400 pixels. But not all programs produce pages that are this size. Don't be surprised if the last few scan lines of a page are missing when you load a file that was created by a different program. If there is any crucial information in this area it would not be visible. 20. Summer 1988 Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com CREATIVITY In The Paint Bucket 816/Paint from Baudville, Inc. is an excel- lent program that offers a great deal of power without being overwhelming. Not only does it offer most standard tools, such as straight lines, boxes, ovals, color fill, spray paint, text and zoom; it also has curved lines, French curves and color cycling. The program's spread feature for editing palettes is one of the best. You can spread between two colors on a single palette or spread between two colors on up to eight palettes. The original Paintworks Plus from Activi- sion, Inc. offers standard painting tools as well as cell animation that is more like the traditional way animation is produced. A separate picture is created for each frame of a sequence. The pictures are then rapidly flashed one right after the other to produce the illusion of motion. Cell animation requires more work than color cycling, but it offers greater variety and control. If you want to really stretch the graphics capabilities of your IIGS, then try out a full- featured drawing program such as Electronic Arts! DeluxePaint II. Not only does it have all the standard tools, DeluxePaint II has an array of powerful new tools consisting of gradient fill, automatic perspective, locked background, locked foreground and stencil. You can create a brush out of anything on screen. The brush mode is dynamic and includes smooth, blend, smear and cycle. The advanced features in DeluxePaint II allow graphic novices to create images they might never have been able to create other- wise. For instance, users don't have to understand the rules of scientific perspective to use the program's automatic perspective feature. Nor must they have experience mix- ing paint to soften edges or blend colors. Activision recently released Paintworks Gold, which compares favorably with DeluxePaint II. In fact, Paintworks Gold has many new advanced features, and it should be considered a completely different pro- gram from Paintworks Plus. This newest incarnation of Paintworks adds cycle anima- tion, automatic perspective, user-selectable brushes, resize, bend, distort and gradient fill to all the tools and features of its predecessor. Unfortunately, we didn't have any docu- mentation to go along with the version we tested, so we couldn't quite figure out how to use a few of the new features, such as Slippy and Transparent colors. Even though we had problems with a few features, the facility. This latest version compares favorably with DeluxePaint II. interface used by Paintworks Gold follows Apple IIGS standards and is friendly and intuitive. You should expect to refer to a manual when using a program this powerful. Clip Art Once you have chosen a paint program, you will find there are shortcuts you can take to create images. For instance, clip art disks and video digitizers can help you achieve your creative visions. Clip Art Gallery, produced for Paintworks Plus and Paintworks Gold, falls admirably into the category of traditional clip art. This disk contains more than 600 pieces of clip art organized into 24 categories. These images are intended to be printed in either color or black and white. The image styles vary from realistic to cartoonish. Even though this collection is useful, it is related to the kinds of clip art used within a closed environment. The images are com- plete and decorative. There is little need to change them. At most, you might want to change the direction a figure is pointing or combine different pieces of clip art to create a new image. Again, the creative process becomes one of selection rather than manipulation. Of course, the images can be combined in a wider variety of ways than specialty pro- grams allow. It is possible to change the direction in which a clip art figure is pointing or to combine images to create new images. Electronic Arts has produced non-tradi- tional clip art that opens up creative vistas. The Art Parts disks within the Deluxe Library series make it possible to create realistic scenes that do more than decorate a page with border designs or individual images. The pictures on disk are deliberately unfin- ished. Users must add the creative spark that makes them complete. Among the Arts Parts I images are back- ground pictures. You can place a variety of animals or trees on these backgrounds to create your own complete pictures. This same disk includes a section that is best described as an "electronic Mr. Potato Head." Realistically rendered eyes, nose, mouth and ears can be placed on a blank face. Assembling these images into composite art is fun. We applaud Electronic Arts for extending the boundaries of clip art. Digitizers Another kind of shortcut is to use a video digitizer or scanner. The ThunderScan by Thunderware is a scanning device that requires the help of an ImageWriter printer to capture an image. Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com The Apple IGS Buyer's Guide 21 CREATIVITY VisionPlus and a camera captured this video image of the author's computer. Once in digital form, any image can be stored or used in a paint program. There are also two different video digitiz- ers on the market that require a video signal from either a camera or VCR. One of them is ComputerEyes GS by Digital Vision and the other is VisionPlus, a digitizing board from AST Research, Inc. Although the latter is no longer marketed, it is still available from AST in Irvine, California. We use VisionPlus with an inexpensive color video camera. With this system, it's possible to capture any video image in color or black and white. The source for the video image can be a video camera, camcorder or VCR that generates an NTSC video signal, the video standard for most video equip- ment sold in the United States VisionPlus accepts an RCA plug. If your equipment uses a BNC or F-Type coaxial plug, you will need an adaptor. The images themselves, which are saved as binary files, can be used in any of the paint programs mentioned in this article. It is possible to create your own collections of images, similar to those found on the Art Parts disks. Merely digitize your favorite pic- tures of landscapes, seascapes, people or animals; load them into a paint program; clean up the edges; and save them to disk. You can then retrieve them and create new combinations and compositions. What is needed here is not so much artis- tic talent but a familiarity with how comput- ers manipulate images and manage files. Most paint programs feature some form of magnification and it is extremely easy for anyone to blow up an image and retouch it. Tt is also possible to digitize designs and clip art originally intended for print. Even live subjects and three-dimensional objects can be captured with a video camera. Familiarity with bow computers manipulate images is the sole requirement for being a digital designer. The image above was out- put on a LaserWriter printer. The AST VisionEffects software that accompanies the VisionPlus board is easy to use. Merely focus on the object you want to capture, pull down the Mode menu and select Digitize. The mouse is used to adjust brightness and contrast, then click the mouse to freeze the image. Although digitizing in color requires a few more steps, it only needs to be done once per session — unless lighting conditions are changed. After freezing an image, it is po: ble to tint the entire screen, change individu- al colors, change the palette, zoom in, zoom out and stretch the image. Changing colors is a little tricky because the process involves moving and dragging the mouse in various combinations. Every- thing considered, the VisionPlus board produces excellent results Unfortunately, dot matrix printers are not capable of reproducing the vividness nor variety of color that is seen on screen. If you want to save your creations for posterity, we recommend taking photographs of the screen. The simple process requires the use of a tripod, because the exposure should be taken at a quarter of a second for optimum results. Also, make sure your computer monitor is the only light source in the room to avoid reflections on the screen. Turn off all lights, focus on the screen, set the speed to one- quarter (1/4) second, set the aperture according to the corresponding light reading and shoot the picture. LaserWriter Output Connecting a LaserWriter to an Apple IIGS is easy. You merely connect the AppleTalk connectors to one another then plug them into each device. Make sure you get the appropriate connectors for a LaserWriter and an Apple IIGS, however. Unfortunately, all of the features of the LaserWriter and LaserWriter Plus are not available to a IIGS. Many of the typefaces that are built into the LaserWriter will not print. A LaserWriter is capable of producing printouts with a resolution of 300 dots per inch. The resolution of a super-high-resolu- tion picture is either 320 by 200 dots or 640 by 200 dots for an entire screen. If you print a picture created with a paint program on a LaserWriter, you will get a black and white version of exactly what you see on the mon- itor. The laser printer reproduces the image pixel by pixel and does not improve on the screen resolution. But all is not lost. Sty Top Draw program can be used to electronically trace any super-high-resolution picture and to cre- ate a line drawing at the LaserWriter's maxi- mum resolution, which is higher than the resolution of the screen. Top Draw will accept clip art from disks created by Electronic Arts or Activision. Even digitized images are acceptable. The only problem we encountered with loading files had to do with full pages. The bottom half of a page from Activision's Clip Art Gallery is ignored by Top Draw. To trace an image with Top Draw, you must first load the picture. Top Draw will treat the picture as if it were an object. Therefore, you can enlarge or reduce the picture from within the program. 22 Summer 1988 Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com We recommend you lock a picture to the page before you begin tracing. If you don't, it's easy to accidentally pick up the picture and move it out from underneath the trac- ing. Putting the picture back in place can be tedious. Locking the picture prevents it from being moved until you unlock it. The next step is to choose the line widths and drawing tools that will best reproduce the original. A simple line drawing is the easiest to create, and it is also possible to reproduce values and textures. Never Give Up If you don't succeed the first few times you try to use your IIGS to create pictures, don't give up. Practice does help. Make sure you have a clear goal in mind before you start trying to create anything. Try making a few sketches on paper first. These sketches can be little more than doodles or scribbles. Their only purpose is to help you organize your thoughts before you begin to create. Many manuals for paint programs contain exercises designed to improve your skill level. Don't bypass these exercises. Many of us pride ourselves on being able to use a program without even picking up the manu- al. If you are feeling frustrated, these exer- cises can help. They are designed to make you aware of features you might otherwise overlook. The students in my classroom learn the most when they are forced to follow rigor- ous exercises that outline in detail what they are supposed to do. If you need more help, community col- leges in your area might offer courses in computer graphics. Be careful — many com- puter graphics courses teach programming, not the use of programs. Look toward the art department rather than the computer science department. You don't have to be an artist to create pictures on a IIGS. The automatic features of paint programs and the shortcuts afforded by clip art and digitizers make it possible for anyone to create art, regardless of their skill level with traditional media. Pursue your interests. Take a chance. ll — Gary J. Ramey The author teaches art and design at the National Education Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Advertisers’ Index Reader Service # Advertiser Page Number 14 Diversified Software Research, Inc... AO endacen Educational Resources... Ate, 5 Pygraphics..... Styleware, Inc...... Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com ‘The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide 23 S ooking at this season's crop of new software, you might think that "GS" stands for games and sports. The four titles we review here use the color graphics and digitized sound capabilities of the Apple IIGS to good advantage. All are conversions or adaptations of games originally developed for other computers. Mean 18 Mean 18 is a simulation of golf, a sport Calvin Coolidge once defined as "a game in which one endeavors to control a ball with implements ill adapted for the purpose." For a programmer, golf is a matter of precision ballistics — calculating flight paths and figur- ing circular-error probabilities. For the play- er, golf is a leisurely game that emphasizes judgment and fine motor coordination, rather than feats of strength and endurance. These aspects can be simulated neatly with the mouse. The heart of Mean 18 is its Power Gauge, a bar graph that models the force and timing of a golf swing. You click once to start your backswing, and an indicator rises on the gauge. A second click starts the downswing and sets a tick mark for your reference. The third and final mouse click "snaps your wrists" at the bottom of the swing. An early snap hooks the ball to the left, a late snap slices the ball to the right. The game provides a rich array of options. Up to four players can take part and you can select stroke, match or team scoring. There are also beginner and experi- enced difficulty levels — beginners get perfect aim and their caddies make club- selection recommendations for each stroke. Downloaded from.-www Apple2Online.com Ball A look at four All-American ball games for the Apple IGS. Icons along the bottom of the screen allow you to select a golf club, view a map of each hole, look at the current scorecard and shift you aiming point left or right. When your ball finally reaches the putting green, the screen shifts to a. magnified view and includes an indicator that lets you aim your putts more precisely. The program disk includes three famous golf courses: St. Andrews (Scotland), Pebble Beach (California) and Augusta National (Georgia). A Course Architect option lets you design and save your own golf course. ‘Additional golf course volumes are sold separately. Sound effects enhance the enjoyment of _ the game. The solid thwack of club against ball, the hushed murmur of the crowd when you miss a putt and the cheerful clatter when the ball drops into the cup are excellent features. Downloaded-from www:Apple2Gnlifie:con But Mean 18's graphics are quite blocky —a tree, for example, appears as a pattern of green and brown squares. In compensa- tion, the screens are drawn and redrawn very fast, including a dramatic effect of opening curtains. The flight of the ball shadow on the fairw s modeled. An illustrated 10-page leaflet explains the game's many options and offers playing tips and pointers. Most players will be able to get started with only the briefest glance at the documentation. If you have an ImageWriter printer, you can print out scorecard at the end of such statistics as longest drive and numb of drives that landed in the fairways. Any IIGS owner with the slightes in golf should enjoy Mean 18. GAMES World Tour Golf Electronic Arts likes to describe its games as "fast, hot and deep." Fast, because a beginner can learn a game quickly. Hot, because the games intensely involve a player's eyes, ears and hands, Deep, because the games offer challenging puz- zles and unfolding layers of complexity. On all three counts, World Tour Golf scores points. The game is significantly more challenging than Mean 18. On equivalent courses, we averaged three or four strokes more on every hole. Graphically, World Tour Golf is a more ambitious production. The screen is split between an overhead view of the current hole and a player's view down the fairway. Strokes are controlled by mouse clicks on a small, pop-up circular gauge. This method was not as easy to use as the bar graph in Mean 18, by the way. World Tour Golf draws a landscape as a series of colored polygons. Trees and other features are pulled in from a library of shapes. The overall effect is handsome, but each screen takes a few seconds to draw. Because the screen is redrawn for every shot and whenever you change your point of aim, the delays mount up. Unlike Mean 18, World Tour Golf requires players to consider wind effects. An indica- tor shows the wind speed and direction for every shot, which fluctuates during a round. When you reach the green, World Tour Golf handles the aiming of your putts less precisely (and less conveniently) than Mean 18. Because of the split-screen effect, the graphic representation of the green is too small and too crowded. You aim your putts by moving an aim point via the mouse. This method is less intuitive than the linear pointer in Mean 18. ‘The program's documentation includes a detailed 12-page manual and a quick refer- ence card. You'll need the manual right away, because the program displays a small overhead view of a golf course after the opening screen and insists you identify it. Unless you type in the name of the course (by referring to illustrations in the manual), you cannot play. Publishers using this irritating method to discourage piracy should consider dropping copy protection by way of compensation. Ina remarkable feat of data compression, Electronic Arts has packed 24 different golf courses on the program disk. Six of these are fictional, but the real ones include Augusta National (Georgia); Champions (Houston); Cypress Point (California); Hirono (Japan); Incline (Nevada); Indian Val- ley (California); Kiahuna (Hawaii); Montreal (Canada); National (New York); Oakmont (Pennsylvania); Olympic (San Francisco); Pebble Beach (California); Princeville (Hawaii); Seminole (Florida); Shinnecock (New York); St. Andrews (Scotland); St. Georges (England); and Winged Foot (New York). A complete graphic tool kit for construct- ing your own golf course is also provided. As with many Electronic Arts titles, World Tour Golf reflects a sense of humor. Mes- sages such as "Blast!," "Aargh!" and "Why ME?" appear frequently in balloons above the animated player figure. While serious golfers are likely to prefer Mean 18, World Tour Golf is a good entertainment value. Where else can you bash your way through 18 holes in less than an hour? How They Score Title Mean 18 World Tour Golf Hardball! GBA Basketball Publisher Accolade Electronic Arts Accolade Gamestar List price $44.95 $39.95 $44.95 $44.95 Memory 512K 512K 512K 512K Interface mouse mouse, keyboard mouse, keyboard keyboard joystick joystick Player options 1to 4 players 1to 4 players lor2 lor2 Save game? yes no no no Operating system P16 (v.1.2) P16 DOS 3.3 P8 (v.1.1.1) Copy protected? yes yes yes yes Toggle sound? no no no yes Practice? yes yes no yes Ratings Graphics good excellent very good very good Sound & music excellent excellent excellent excellent Ease of learning easy easy hard easy Difficulty moderate challenging challenging challenging Staying power good very good good good Documentation good very good poor good Overall excellent excellent fair good 26 Summer 1988 - Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com GAMES Hardball! It's difficult to grow up in America with- out learning at least the rudiments of base- ball, but that doesn't mean we have to like the game. Baseball simulations tend to be even more boring than the game itself. And, if you play at home on a computer, you can usually get better-quality hot dogs. Hardball!, designed by Bob Whitehead and adapted for the IIGS by Dan Thompson, is a difficult arcade/action game with realistic strategy elements. ‘The designer of a baseball simulation has an almost impossible task. He has to model several radically different variables simulta- neously: the athletic performances of throw- ing, running, batting and catching; the immediate tactical decisions of pitchers, hit- ters and base runners; and the strategic plan- ning by coaches and managers. Because baseball is a sport obsessed with the collection and worship of statistics, a designer can simply program historical teams and let them slug it out probabilisti- cally. But this doesn't leave much for a user to do, except press a joystick button occasionally. Hardball! takes a different approach. The teams in the game are fictional, but the play options are authentic. One such option is using a designated hitter (someone who bats in place of the pitcher). The computer can play either side, or two players can compete by using various combinations of the key- board, joystick and mouse. A game begins with a manager's decision screen, which displays the lineup for each team. A manager can substitute players, exchange positions, shift the outfield and issue other orders. Play begins with the pitcher's screen, an impressive animation of the pitcher, batter, umpire and catch- er, viewed from a point behind and to the right of ‘\. the pitcher. The simula- AW tion is very much a pitcher's game, with eight types of pitches altogether. An individual pitcher can throw only four differ- ent pitches. The batter's options include deciding when and where to swing at a pitch, bunting and stealing bases. When the ball is hit, the display changes to an animated view of the outfield (left or right). As the runner goes tearing around the bases, you must use the mouse or joystick to move a receiving fielder (whose symbol is blinking) to catch or pick up the ball. Once the fielder has the ball, you must tell him where to throw it. Be careful, things happen fast. ‘The umpire's digitized voice announces every strike. The other sound effects are equally sharp, and you can adjust the vol- ume by repeatedly pressing the "+" and "-" keys on the numeric keypad. A nine-page leaflet describes all options and functions, but doesn't pro- vide many hints or tips on how to play the game. It assumes a player already knows a good deal about baseball. We found it extraordinarily difficult to hit the ball and quite difficult to catch it. The computer, when controlling the opposing team, finds it quite easy: Therefore, playing against the computer is rather frustrating. You can expect to be slaughtered. Overall, Hardball! earns high marks for its sound and graphics, but low marks for fun. We feel the game was programmed for the more powerful 68000 microprocessor and for computers, such as the Amiga and Atari ST, that have hardware support for sprites (animated graphics). The IIGS conversion doesn't make enough allowances for the limitations of the system. A truly dedicated baseball fan might feel differently, though. GBA Championship Basketball To simulate the full kinetic frenzy of a basketball game you would need the power of a Cray super-computer, a legion of pro- grammers and a budget of Pentagon propor- tions. But by confining the scope of the game to GBA Championship Basketball: Two-on-Two, everything fits neatly into an Apple IIGS. GBA, by the way, stands for the "Gamestar Basketball Association." The program is carefully designed and well organized, so you are never over- whelmed with too many options. An initial Chalkboard screen lets you select Demo, Game or Practice modes. In Demo mode, the computer controls all four players. In Practice mode, you can have two human-controlled players or one player on the court by himself. There is a wide range of player options in the Game mode. You and a computer-controlled teammate can take on a computer team, or two users can team up and play against the computer. The animated figures on the court are drawn from a roster of 10 players, loosely based on real-life basketball stars. Although the figures are quite small, the quality of the animation is superb. All players are numeri- cally rated for shooting accuracy (inside and outside the key), dribbling, stealing, quick- ness and jumping ability. Within limits, you can change these values to emphasize certain styles of play. You can even change the skin color of your players (black or white). You use the joystick or keyboard to control moving, passing and shooting. A quick tap on the joystick but- ton (or Option key) initiates a pass or requests one from your teammate. To attempt a shot, you press and hold the mouse button. Your player/figure begins the shot by jumping and releases the ball when you release the button. Under the right conditions, hook shoots, slam dunks, tip-ins and rebounds are all possible. Only half the court is actually shown on screen at a time. The display flip-flops when the ball handler crosses the center line. This causes some confusion and disorientation until you get used to it. The game keeps track of the rather intri- cate rules of basketball — for example, it manages the clock and calls fouls. The clock runs in real time, and a complete game takes four six-minute quarters. When there is a change of possession (of the ball), you have the option to call a play by choosing an offensive and defensive alignment. This tells your computer team- mate what to do. The play-calling screen replaces the scoreboard for a few seconds while the players run down the court. Two-On-Two requires a IIGS with the "revised" ROM chip (version 01). This requirement is clearly marked on the outside of the package. You need a color monitor and at least 512K of RAM. A 30-page illustrated manual provides clear, detailed explanations that assume no previous knowledge of the game. We appre- ciated that. Although we never liked basket- ball much, we like this game a lot. — Mike Markowitz ‘The Apple lIGS Buyer's Guide 27 Downloaded from www.Apple2Online.com Not getting the most out of memory? Try __ these exercises to emember your first Apple II+ and how its whopping 48K of memory made you feel like k