Shareware Solutions II Volume 2 Issue 1 1994 09 Kohn Joe US

Shareware Solutions II An Exciting Apple II Journey Into The Future Volume 2, Issue 1 September/October, 1994 Heard It Through The Grapevine Contacts GS It was a long summer indeed, and the Contacts GS project was finally completed in mid- September. It took much much longer than anticipated, but the results are so astonishing that the long wait was well worth it. When I first approached the Associate Editor of Icon’s Time- Out Central publication, Will Nelken, about creating some type of AppleWorks based UltraMacros that would auto- mate the transfer of data back and forth between Contacts GS and AppleWorks Classic, I envisioned some rudimentary type of translator. What Will Nelken delivered far exceeded my expectations and hopes; his TimeOut ContactsMover mod- ules could very well revolu- tionize the way that Apple IIGS owners use the AppleWorks Classic data base. To re-cap, Contacts GS is a TIGS Rolodex-style New Desk Accessory (NDA) name and address data base. As an NDA, it can be used from within programs such as the Finder, AppleWorks GS, or any other GS/OS based application which displays the Apple Pull Down Menu. Contacts GS is a convenient to use program, but it’s not a full featured data base program. In fact, there’s not even an option to print Contacts data from within the NDA. Since Contacts GS stores its data on disk as a standard ASCII Text File that can be loaded into and printed by any word processing pro- gram, I envisioned something that would make it much more convenient to also load the data into the AppleWorks data base module. There are now three different versions of TimeOut Contacts- Mover. Although all versions perform the same functions, each one was designed to be used with a specific combina- tion of AppleWorks and Ultra- Macros. Two of the versions are for use with AppleWorks v3 and either UltraMacros v3.x or v4.x. The third version is for use with AppleWorks v4.0.2 or 4.3, but it doesn’t require that you own UltraMacros; it works with just AppleWorks v4.x built-in Ultra- Macros player. TimeOut ContactsMover allows users to automatically transfer Contacts GS data back and forth with AppleWorks. Because it transfers data in both direc- tions, different people will use ContactsMover in different ways. Some will continue to enter data base information using AppleWorks. After a ses- sion with AppleWorks, they can run ContactsMover to automati- cally transfer the data to Contacts GS, where the infor- mation can then be viewed from within most GS/OS application programs. Others will choose to use Contacts GS as their Apple- Works data base data entry system. Once the data is entered into Contacts GS, it’s fast and easy to add that Contacts GS data to a new or to an already existing AppleWorks data base. To make things real easy, if people are unfamiliar with setting up an AppleWorks name and address data base, they can just let TimeOut ContactsMover do it for them, automatically and effortlessly. The Contacts GS NDA worked well when it was submitted by Burger Bill Heineman. On the other hand, it took months of hard work to develop and fully test ContactsMover. It took real detective work and persistence to develop versions that would hopefully work on all systems, under all circumstances. As the chief beta tester for Contacts- Mover, I learned much more about the inner workings of AppleWorks and UltraMacros than I thought I’d ever need to; it was a real education. But, in the end, it all worked out. Td like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the Contacts GS team by thank- ing Bill Heineman for creating Contacts GS and Will Nelken for creating ContactsMover. I'd also like to thank Dan Crutcher and Steve Beville for their help and suggestions while beta testing ContactsMover. I’d also like to thank the programming genius that created AppleWorks v4.x — Randy Brandt — for an- swering my endless questions about AppleWorks and Ultra- Macros. Lastly, I’d like to thank Shareware Solutions II 1 Shareware Solutions II Volume 2, Issue 1 Shareware Solutions II is published bi-monthly by Joe Kohn, 166 Alpine Street, San Rafael, CA 94901-1008. Writer/Publisher: Joe Kohn Roving Reporter: Cynthia Field Proofreader: Jane Kos All contents of Shareware Solutions II copyright (©) 1994 by Joe Kohn. All rights reserved. Nothing may be reprinted or reproduced, in whole or in part, in any media without the prior written consent of Joe Kohn. Available by subscription only, the North American rate is $35 for a 12 issue subscription; for overseas air mail delivery, the cost for a subscription is $50. Shareware Solutions II comes with a pro-rated money back guarantee. Make all checks or money orders out to Joe Kohn. US Funds Only. Sorry, but no charge cards, purchase orders or COD orders will be accepted. This newsletter was created entirely with an Apple IIGS. All articles written in AppleWorks v3.0. Page Layout prepared in AppleWorks GS. Printing was done on a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet IIP Plus, connected to the IIGS courtesy of Vitesse’s Harmonie. The use of TrueType fonts is courtesy of WestCode Software’s Pointless. E-Mail Addresses: AOL: JOKO (until 11/1/94) CIS: 76702,565 GENIE: JOE.KOHN INTERNET: joko@crl.com 2 Shareware Solutions IT you for your support, patience and encouragement. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine a Super Hi Res data entry and retrieval system for AppleWorks Classic, but thanks to the above named people, that’s exactly what we now have. As a reminder, Contacts GS is available to subscribers for $20, plus $3 for Priority Mailing to US destinations, or $5 for Air Mail delivery anywhere else. Prices for non-subscribers are $5 higher. Ultima 1 The length of time it took for Contacts GS to be released was trivial compared to the amount of time it took Burger Bill Heineman to get his updated GS/OS version of “Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness” released; that project took 2.5 years. When originally released 10 years ago, Ultima 1 was a DOS 3.3 based fantasy role playing adventure game that worked in the single hi res graphic mode on an Apple II+. Ultima proved to be such a popular game for the Apple II that it went on to spawn a slew of sequels and was eventually ported to every conceivable computer platform on the market. In early 1992, Bill Heineman decided that he would take it upon himself to update the classic fantasy role playing game so that it would run un- der, and take advantage of, the GS/OS operating system. He convinced fellow Interplay em- ployee Scott Everts to add eye catching super hi res graphics, and he was able to get master musician Tony Gonzalez to com- pose a beautiful sounding synth- Lab based musical sound track. With all the improvements, the essential elements of game play on the GS/OS version of Ultima 1 remain remarkably true to the original game. Burger Bill’s updated Ultima 1 project was actually completed more than two years ago. What prevented it from being released at that time is that no Apple II software publishing company wanted to take the financial risk involved in licensing a program from another company. Finally, Vitesse stepped forward and accepted the challenge and took the risk. And the IIGS world is better for it. We now have a wonderful new version of a clas- sic game, complete with mazes and underground passages to navigate, enemies galore to do battle with, and countless treas- ures and magic spells to amass. Ultima 1 retails for $39.95 plus $6 for shipping and handling, and is available directly from Vitesse (PO Box 929, La Puente, CA 91747-0929. 818-813-1270 or 800-777-7344). According to Bill Heineman, if Vitesse is financially successful with Ultima 1, it’s possible that they would be willing to take additional risks in the future by licensing other games that Bill can port and update to work on the IIGS. The two titles being considered are SimCity and Wolfenstein 3-D. Maybe some day we will see IIGS versions of those games but then again, maybe we won't; time will tell. As a fascinating bit of Apple II trivia, the original Ultima 1 was programmed by Richard Garriot, son of former NASA Astronaut Owen Garriot. The elder Garriot flew in space twice; first in an Apollo capsule atop a Saturn 1B rocket as one of the Skylab 2 crew, and a decade later on the Space Shuttle's first Spacelab Mission. Impressive, isn’t it? Special Education Discounts Laureate Learning Systems (110 E Spring St, Winooski, VT 05404. 1-800-562-6801 or 802- 655-4755) specializes in special education and early interven- tion linguistic software geared towards children and adults with disabilities. Laureate’s extensive collection of software titles for Apple Ile/IIc and IIGS systems help to teach critical language, reading and thinking skills. Until December 31, 1994, Laur- eate is offering a 50% discount on all of their Ie/IIc software. If you are a parent or teacher of children with disabilities contact Laureate and request their 38 page catalog. Easter Eggs If you have AppleWorks GS v1.1, set the Finder’s Pull Down View Menu so that it displays files on the desktop by Large Icon. Included with AppleWorks GS v1.1 is a program named DBConvert. Just change that file name to DB.Convert and see what happens. Tim Buchheim made an inter- esting discovery with Hyper- Card IIGS. After launching HyperCard, Tim chose “About HyperCard JIGS” from the Apple Pull Down Menu. He found that if he did nothing, five screens of credits would be displayed. He also found that if he held down the Option key on that last screen of credits, a special screen would show up. On that special screen, there is a list of suspects, and your name is somehow displayed in that list. Tim reports that those who watched Twin Peaks on TV will especially enjoy the last screen. Late Breaking News Several Apple II related news- worthy items came to light just as we were going to press. On October 6, 1994, Hewlett- Packard (1-800-752-0900) made it more affordable than ever to print in color with the release of their new DeskJet 540. That color inkjet printer will be offered for half the price of the current crop of DeskJet color printers and will have a “street price” of less than $300! Details were sparse at press time, but a brief talk with Bill Heineman, the author of the Harmonie GS/OS print drivers, confirmed that the new DeskJet 540 will work just fine with the current versions of Harmonie. Similar to the older DeskJet 500c, the 540 uses two inter- changeable ink cartridges; one is for black ink, the other is for color ink. It is capable of print- ing color graphics at 300 Dots Per Inch. If you’ve been dream- ing of a new printer, visit your local HP printer dealer today. Your dreams will come true! Sequential Systems (1200 Diamond Circle, Lafayette, CO 80025. 303-666-4549 or 1-800- 759-4549) has announced Sec- ond Sight, an interface card for the IIe and IIGS that can be used in either of two config- urations to boost the graphic capabilities of the Apple II. Second Sight will allow the use of high resolution Super VGA monitors on a Ile or IIGS, or it can be used to improve the graphic display on the standard TIGS Apple RGB monitor. Second Sight will be bundled with an image viewer program that displays GIF, TIFF, RIX, and BMP format graphics at resolutions as high as 1024x768 and with the ability to display 256 colors. Also expected are updated versions of discQuest and discQuest Encyclopedia software that will improve the graphic displays of those Sequential products. Current software programs do not automatically use Second Sight’s special features, so 3rd party support for future soft- ware applications is being solicited. The special introductory price for Second Sight is $179.95. Contact Sequential for details. Newsletter Notes We'd like to remind everyone that 99% of all subscriptions run through Issue #12, and since that issue isn’t due to appear until mid-1995, it is much too early to send in subscription renewals. The remaining 1% of sub- scribers are those who recently took out a six issue, one year subscription. We feel that those new subscribers are missing out on a lot of great money saving deals that were offered to Charter Subscribers, and we’re concerned that newsletter new- comers are not even aware of all the great software previously offered to subscribers via the Shareware Solutions II Library. We'd therefore like to extend a special offer to recent one year subscribers. For $15, they can receive all the back issues that Shareware Solutions IT 3 they missed, and extend their subscription until issue #12. Corrections In the last issue, the mini headphone plug that is found on the back of the IIGS was inadvertently described as an RCA plug. In the special “Such A Deal” offer for Charlie’s AppleSeeds in Issue #6, we unintentionally listed the full retail price of $89.95 for ProSel-16. The correct special pricing of ProSel-16 for subscribers of Shareware Sol- utions II is only $60. @ Modem Madness America Online Apple II subscribers to the America Online information network were greeted with a rude surprise when they logged on after August 1, 1994. They were welcomed with a message that directed them to read the latest online communique from AOL’s CEO Steve Case. “The members of America Online Apple II edition are the foundation upon which the entire America Online service has been built. Starting out with the launch of the service as Applelink Personal Edition in 1988, you have helped build an online community that now numbers almost 1 million mem- bers. I want to thank each of you for your contribution, your support and your feedback over the years.” He then demonstrated to the Apple II community just how thankful America Online really is to us, and announced that effective November 1, 1994, America Online would no longer allow access to their system to those dialing in with Apple II computers. GEnie Even if America Online doesn’t want your business, the good people who run GEnie’s Apple II RoundTables want to welcome 4 Shareware Solutions IT former America Online sub- scribers with open arms. As an incentive, they have been able to secure several money saving offers geared towards AOL subscribers. Effective immediately, all form- er AOL Apple II subscribers can sign up for GEnie under a special deal provided by the Apple II RoundTable. That deal provides new GEnie subscribers with $50 worth of online credit during their first month online. All former AOL Apple II sub- scribers will also be eligible for a special deal for reduced prices on the three most popular Apple II terminal programs: Spectrum for $68.50, Talk is Cheap for $20, and ProTerm 3.1 for $50. Purchasers of ProTerm will also receive a free disk containing both Co-Pilot and GEM, the two most popular Apple II based GEnie offline managers. If you currently have an account only with America Online, and if AOL software is the only tele- communications software you own, you'll need to purchase general purpose telecommuni- cations software first, in order to dial up GEnie. Therefore, you can make arrangements now to receive the above discounted software deals if you send an e- mail message from America Online to Dean Esmay at syndicomm@genie.geis.com Upon receipt of your e-mail request, Syndicomm will con- tact the various companies on your behalf, and the companies themselves will contact you directly. It may take a while for your software to arrive, so don’t wait until October 31, 1994, before deciding you want to purchase that software. If you already own a telecommu- nications program, you can take advantage of the special GEnie “Apple II Forever” signup offer by taking the following steps: 1) Set your communications software for half-duplex (local echo) at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud, and set your telecommunica- tions parameters to 8N1. 2) Dial toll free in the US: 1-800- 638-8369 (or 1-800-387-8330 in Canada). Upon connection, type HHH (every time you use GEnie, you need to enter HHH upon connection). 3) At the U#= prompt, type JOINGENIE or IAMCOOL and press Return. 4) At the offer code prompt, enter DHG528 to get this special offer. 5) Have a major credit card ready. In the US you may also use your checking account number (for a $2/month fee). In Canada, VISA and MasterCard only. Apple II owners who sign up using this special offer will pay the standard $8.95/month fee which includes four hours of connect time. They will also receive an additional $50 credit which can be used anywhere and at any time on the GEnie online network. This special offer will expire on 12/31/94. CompuServe CompuServe would also like your business, and several re- cent enhancements might be of interest to you. CompuServe was the first of the commercial online networks to offer an Internet e-mail gate- way, and they are now expand- ing their connections to the Internet. They have recently extended the scope of Internet services available via their network, and CompuServe sub- scribers can now participate in thousands of Usenet news- groups. CompuServe plans to further increase the scope of Internet services, and by November, 1994, CompuServe subscribers from around the world will have full Internet dial up access, and with that will come the entire suite of Internet navigation, search and retrieval tools such as Gopher, Lynx, FTP, and Telnet. CompuServe plans to compete with the many Internet Service Providers that provide low cost unlimited Internet dial up access for $20 to $30 per month, although no pricing has been set yet. For those who currently have an account on both CompuServe and the Internet, you can already use Telnet to access CompuServe. When using Tel- net, open a connection to CIS, and then log on as usual. There are no limitations accessing CompuServe via Telnet, but in early tests it did seem to be about 25% slower than if dialing CompuServe directly. Of additional interest to Apple II owners who subscribe to CompuServe is the recently added Apple Computer Inc Technical Info Library. That online library is a searchable database which Apple pro- claims is “the same database that Apple employees use to answer questions to customers via the Apple Assistance Center at 1-800-SOS-APPL.” Interestingly enough, this is the same online database that was, at one time, available on America Online when AOL was co-produced by Apple Computer Inc and named AppleLink Personal Edition. A recent search of the Technical Info Library revealed 114 entries for Apple Ile related materials, 38 entries for Apple Ile related materials and 81 entries for Apple IIGS related materials. To access the online database, type GO APLTIL from any CompuServe prompt. For additional information, contact: CompuServe, PO Box 20212, Columbus, OH 43220. 1- 800-848-8199 or 614-457-8650. Telnet To GEnie When one commercial online service announces a new feature, the others rush to catch up. It is now also possible to access GEnie from the Internet. To log on to GEnie from a remote location on the Internet, issue the telnet command, and when prompted, open a connec- tion to hermes.merit.edu You will then be prompted to enter a host system. Enter sprintnet-313171 and then log on as usual. Be aware that there is a $2 per hour surcharge to access GEnie via telnet. Internet Information In Shareware Solutions II, Issue 6, readers were invited to dial up InterNIC’s toll free 800 number to find out about how they could secure a low cost Internet dial up connection. Due to unprecedented demand for information, InterNIC was forced to change their telephone number to 619-455-4600. After the phone change was implemented, demand for infor- mation still continued to over- load InterNIC’s resources, and they were once again forced to change the way they made information available to the public about local Internet Service Providers. InterNIC still does provide the latest and most up-to-date information about low cost Internet access, but they can now handle requests only via fax or electronic mail. For those interested in learning more about local Internet access, direct your e-mail to info@internic.nic or call the new Fax request line at 619-455- 4640. Include your name and address with your request for information about local Internet Service Providers. Are You Experienced? Newcomers to the Internet are jokingly referred to by long time denizens of the Internet as “net newbies.” Newbies are often in- Shareware Solutions II 5 timidated by the sheer volume of information available on “the net” and are often daunted by the complex nature of the Unix based global system. If youre a net newbie, you too can join the ranks of the Internet veterans with just a single e-mail message. Soon you too will be surfing the Internet and cruising the highways and byways of Cyberia; all it takes is for you to sign up for the Newbie Newz mailing list! Offered as a free service by Don ZBoray of Austin, Texas, the Newbie Newz originates from a computer system in Toronto, Canada. It is an e-mail based newsletter that is designed to assist newcomers to the net who need some advice and hand- holding as they climb the steep learning curve of the Internet. Although much of the Newbie Newz contains specific advice for those who dial up the Internet from MS-DOS based systems, there is enough information of general interest to make it a very worthwhile subscription for Apple II net newbies. Beginning in October, 1994, the Newbie Newz will also provide daily coverage of Roadmap, a free “Internet training workshop designed to teach both new and old Net travelers how to travel around the rapidly expanding and oftentimes confusing Infor- mation Superhighway without getting lost.” According to an online brochure describing Roadmap’s inter- active workshop, “Using the latest information available, coupled with guest lectures from some of today’s most respected Internet leaders, Roadmap 6 Shareware Solutions IT promises to be one of the most talked-about Internet training seminars in history!” To subscribe to Newbie Newz and Roadmap, just direct your Internet e-mail request to: Majordomo@pentagon.io.com with the following words in the body of the message: subscribe NewbieNewz <include your e- mail address here>. Talk Is Cheap Don Elton, the author and pub- lisher of the highly acclaimed Talk Is Cheap telecommuni- cations program, has recently moved. His new address is: Don Elton, 1029 Flat Chimney Loop, Columbia, SC 29209. His new BBS number is 803-776-5551; his new Fax number is 803-776- 0767. His e-mail address is: delton@pro-carolina.cts.com @ Apple II Product News By Cynthia £. Field, Ph.D. Summer is a just a memory and the Thanksgiving and Christ- mas holiday frenzy hasn’t yet begun. This in-between season is the perfect opportunity to catch up on your Apple II projects. It’s also a great time to take stock of new Apple II products. Our collection this issue includes several educa- tional programs, a new graph- ical Apple II Desktop, and a developer's kit for BASIC pro- grammers who want to incorpo- rate pull down menus and dialog boxes into their software. As a service provided by Share- ware Solutions II for its sub- scribers, Apple II Product News is for information purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement of any product. All prices are for single packages. Lab packs, network licenses, and site licenses may be avail- able. Contact the companies directly for free catalogs or to inquire about preview policies, money back guarantees, and other support services. Skills Bank Corporation SKILLS BANK 3 This is a newly enhanced ver- sion of the comprehensive basic skills package used by more than 10,000 educators through- out the U.S. The series includes individualized instruction in five critical areas: reading, language, mathematics, writing, and study skills. A free demo disk is available. $450 for each area, or $1595 all five areas. Skills Bank Corp 15 Governor's Court Baltimore, MD 21244-2791 1-800-84-SKILL 410-265-8874 (fax). Higher-Order Thinking Co. Thanks-for-Teaching Initiative: Vector Adventure and Dynamics in Space All science and math teachers in Grades 6 to 12 are eligible to take advantage of the company’s special pricing offer on Vector Adventure and Dynamics in Space. Vector Adventure is an educational game requiring the application of vectors and vector addition. In Dynamics in Space, students apply their knowledge of kinematics and dynamics. Vector Adventure $5. Vector Adventure and Dynamics in Space $29.95 Higher-Order Thinking Co 1733 NE Patterson Drive Lee’s Summit, MO 64086 816-524-2701 MECC Amazing Arithmetricks Set in a fun carnival atmos- phere, this program contains a variety of math puzzles includ- ing magic squares, number challenges, and math-o-grams. Students (Grades 5-12) are challenged to explore different approaches to finding solutions by using coins to buy clues. $59 Caravans to Timbuktu Students in Grades 4-9 are sent on a mission by a king who pro- vides them with a special gift to carry to Askia Muhammad Toure, emperor of Africa’s Song- hai people. To deliver the gift, students must traverse 16th century Africa and visit the famous city of Timbuktu, seek- ing information and making trades along the way. $59. Eerieville Library A chilly blast of air has hit the Eerieville Library and stories are scattered everywhere. Stu- dents (Grades 4-5) must make their way around the haunted library, collecting as many stories, fables, jokes, weather bulletins, journal entries, ad- vertisements, letters, and other documents as they can while avoiding ghosts and polter- geists. $59 Pet Shop Young students (K-2) explore the “who,” “what,” “when,” and “where” of story construction as they choose from a variety of playful pets, actions, and pet shop scenes to create their own stories. $59 Sum Stories This program for Grades K to 2 helps children visualize and explore numbers and number relationships. After visually exploring the whole numbers 0 through 20 as well as the processes of addition and sub- traction, students write about their experiences to help them create an understanding of mathematical concepts. $59 Word Builder Students build word recognition and strengthen their spelling skills. Words include two, three, and four letter words from standard K-Grade 2 word lists. Kids who choose the timer/score option have the opportunity to become members of the Master Builders Club. $59 All MECC products described require 128K and include 3.5" and 5.25" disks. MECC 6160 Summit Drive North Minneapolis, MN 55430-4003 1-800-685-MECC or 1-800-663-7731 (Canada) Didatech Software All the Right Type Student Disk Program Didatech brings the classroom home with this unique program designed to encourage students in Grades 4 to 12 to practice keyboarding skills at home. Schools or districts with site- network licenses to All the Right Type receive order forms to distribute to parents of students with Macintosh, Apple II, C64, or MS-DOS computers at home. $14.50 (Student Home Version) Didatech Software Ltd 720 Olive Way, Suite 930 Seattle, WA 98101-3874 1-800-665-0667 Kitchen Sink Software OmuniPrint for AppleWorks 4.0 This ImageWriter enhancement program has been updated to work with AppleWorks 4.0. OmniPrint enables you to print documents with multiple fonts, including Mouse Text and math symbols. You can also specify text comments that you do not want to appear in the printed version of a document. $49.95 System II and System II Developer's Kit If you are familiar with graph- ical desktops on IIGS, Mac or IBM-compatible computers, you already have a good idea of what System II looks like. This graphical desktop for your Apple II has pull down menus, folders, and even a Control Panel. You can run applications from the System II desktop, view the contents of folders (directories), and generally make things simpler in your classroom or at home. System II supports the keyboard, joystick, or mouse. You can also use the System II desktop and graphics routines in your own Applesoft BASIC programs by purchasing the System II Developer's Kit. $39.95 (System II) $69.95 (Developer's Kit) Kitchen Sink Software 903 Knebworth Ct Westerville, OH 43081 1-800-235-5502 / 614-891-2111 Please send announcements of new Apple II software and hard- ware to Dr Cynthia E Field, 60 Border Drive, Wakefield, RI 02879-3802. Internet e-mail to cefield@aol.com or fax product information to 401-782-0380. @ Shareware Solutions IT 7 KansasFest ’94 Going To Kansas City On July 20, 1994, while much of the rest of the world was celebrating the 25th anniversary of the first manned landing on the Moon, nearly 100 Apple II programmers, vendors, develop- ers and users from around the world were taking to the friendly skies — en route to Kansas City — for the 6th annual Apple II Summer Conference. At the conclusion of the 1993 Conference there were serious doubts as to whether another one would ever be held. In the intervening year the conference sponsor — Tom Weishaar’s Re- source Central — had undergone a downsizing, had a slight change of focus, and had a name change to Icon (International Computer Owners Network). The conference itself also had an official name change to reflect the changes of the sponsor, and was officially renamed ICON- Ference. But to all the Apple II developers, vendors, user group activists, power users and GEnie network sysops who attended, it was known by its long term unofficial moniker; it was and always will be Kansas- Fest. And just as it had been in previous years, KansasFest was the Apple II Event of the Year! The Festivities Begin With new attendees from Japan, Australia, Canada, Belize and Nigeria, we all stayed up half the night, passionately talking about our favorite subject, and had a very wild and crazy time. Apple II people sure like to devour pizza, drink beer, and laugh. If any one statement could best sum up KansasFest and its attendees, it would be the one issued by first time attendee Ephraim Wall, an 80 8 Shareware Solutions IT year old farmer from Oklahoma who clearly and dearly loves his Apple IIGS. At one point he jokingly proclaimed, “They’re all crazy. And, so am I.” Upon arrival at Avila College I had other things on my mind besides the Apple II computer. Td been dreaming of a return to one of Kansas City’s most famous restaurants — KC Mas- terpiece. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one thinking of food, and a small contingent of us drove the few miles to Overland Park and feasted. When we arrived back at the Avila College dormitory, it looked as if everyone else also decided to forego dinner at the cafeteria, as pizza boxes were everywhere. The talk, of course, was quite focused; everywhere one went the subject was the Apple II computer. That first night I got to spend some time talking with Lunatic, the man who serves as GEnie’s A2 Mar- keting Manager (yes, Lunatic is the name on his drivers license). After having read my “support those who support the Apple II” editorial in Issue #6, Lunatic was eager to discuss methods that Shareware Solutions II and A2 could employ to support and endorse each others’ efforts. As many of you know, GEnie’s A2 is the online hotbed for Apple II activity. A2 has more than 23,000 Apple II files and programs available in their download library, offers online technical support from most remaining Apple II related companies, has a knowledge- able staff, and has an incredibly friendly group of users. I confessed to Lunatic that the only way I could really help GEnie’s A2 RoundTable was by continuing to tell the truth. In my opinion, there’s simply no better place your modem can take you for Apple II infor- mation than Genie's A2. It seems we have a mutual respect for our respective roles in the on-going support of the Apple II, so Lunatic suggested a way for me to help promote A2’s good deeds, while at the same time helping out Shareware Solutions II subscribers. Each month, A2 creates a Disk Of The Month (DOM). Each A2 DOM includes two issues of GEnieLamp, as well as a collec- tion of the best IIe/IIc and IIGS software uploaded to the various A2 libraries during the month. GEnieLamp is a comprehensive Apple II oriented newsletter that contains articles, reviews, and messages culled from the A2 message base. Quite often GEnieLamp will run to over 50 pages if printed out. Only the most informative messages posted during the month are included, although quite often, the best jokes of the month will also be included. For those who already have GEnie access, GEnieLamp is a great way to get caught up with recent events, and for those who do not have an account on GEnie, it is an informative way to get a glimpse of what life is like online. The software included on each DOM contains a general mixture of Ie/IIc and IIGS programs uploaded during the month, and they represent “the best of the best” from the A2 Library. Since I always read GEnie- Lamp, and since I respect the judgment of those A2 staffers who are involved with the DOM and with GEnieLamp, I thought that it would be a great idea to make the DOM available to subscribers via the Shareware Solutions II library. It will also fill a desire of mine to have a general interest disk available in the library each issue. And, of course, you will benefit by having one more resource for Apple II information. The A2 and Shareware Solutions II alliance is a win-win situation. While wandering around the dorm that first night, I was privileged to see a demo of Albatross, a telecommunica- tions program that I'd first heard about 6 months ago. Albatross isn’t just any tele- comm program; it’s specifically for use with the GEnie online network. It is a IIGS program that is being written by Richard Bennett of Sydney, Australia. Unlike the current freeware GEM and Co-Pilot off-line read- ers that are presently available for use with GEnie, Albatross works in a manner similar to the America Online software. It’s much nicer, though. Albatross is considered to be a “front end” for GEnie. It will allow users to navigate around the system by using standard JIGS pull down menus. It will be a boon for new GEnie users, as it will take all the mystery out of using GEnie. Be aware that the version of Albatross shown at KansasFest was far from com- plete; it is a work in progress, with a release possible by next year. When it eventually is released, it will be freeware. After wandering the halls and talking with fellow Apple II enthusiasts from around the globe, I was dismayed when I finally looked at my watch and saw that it was 3:30 AM. I hadn’t been up that late since KansasFest 1993. Yet, I believe that I was one of the first to call it a night. After all, I had to be in tip-top shape, as I going to give a presentation the next day. Day 1 The actual conference took place this year on the Avila campus, just a few minutes’ walk from both the dorm and the cafeteria. Speaking of the cafeteria, the less said about the food, the better. Schedules were handed out upon arrival at the conference center lobby. We found out that there would be two concurrent ses- sions in different rooms during most hour long blocs. That, of course, made it impossible to attend all sessions. But, the sessions had been wisely scheduled, and there were only two or three instances where Apple II related presentations conflicted with each other. Unix and the Internet Although Randy Brandt had been scheduled to kick off the conference with his keynote speech, he was delayed a day, so there was some last minute schedule shuffling, and I at- tended Jim Maricondo’s kickoff session entitled “UNIX and the Internet.” I didn’t have a choice; both Jim and I had inadvertent- ly been scheduled to give a general interest talk about the Internet, and I needed to hear his talk so that I wouldn’t repeat everything he said. Several weeks before, Jim and I had been in contact via e-mail to discuss how exactly we could both cover the same subject, and not bore our audience. When I asked Jim what he planned to talk about, he responded that his plans included talking about Internet access, File Transfer Protocol, Usenet newsgroups, and several Unix-based utilities and programs. Although those were the exact same subject areas that I had planned to cover, I wrote back to Jim and said, “Great. You talk about all that, and I’ll talk about the Internet’s World Wide Web.” Jim Maricondo is the author of Twilight II, the acclaimed IIGS screen blanker, and is a college bound 17 year old. At first, he appeared to be very nervous, but within just a few minutes, he regained his composure and gave a most informative talk. He discussed the features of the Unix operating system and de- scribed how a single computer network can serve many users at the same time through multi- tasking. He admitted that Unix, while being powerful and flex- ible, has quite a steep “learning curve.” He also stressed the importance of learning Unix fundamentals in order to get started on the Internet. Jim then described the most common Internet search tools, including Veronica, Archie, and Gopher. He used a chalkboard to describe the steps that are needed in order to transfer files, via FTP, from a remote network to an Apple II computer. When Jim’s talk was over, I just didn’t have the heart to tell him that a lot of what he’d presented was quickly becoming obsolete, due to the meteoric growth of the Internet’s World Wide Web. After all, I’d have an entire hour the following day to impress all those in attendance. The Mensch Computer The following session was a Shareware Solutions IT 9 KansasFest first; the introduc- tion of a brand new computer system — the Mensch Computer. Two years ago, Bill Mensch gave a talk at KansasFest about some new ideas he had for the next generation of micro- computer. At that time, he stressed the concept of multi- processors residing within the same computer system, and he hinted that the forthcoming Mensch Computer might be able to run Apple II, IBM and Macintosh software. With great anticipation, we were eager to hear if he had accomplished his goals. For those not familiar with Bill Mensch, he is the engineer who owns the Western Design Cen- ter, the company that designed and created the microprocessor chips that are the heart and soul of all Apple II computers. Mensch designed the original 6502 microprocessor which was used on the Apple I and all Apple II systems, and the 65816 microprocessor used in the Apple IIGS. It was his company that sold Steve Wozniak his first 6502 chip, and had it not been for Bill Mensch, there would be no Apple II computer. Although the microprocessor that is the “brains” of the new Mensch Computer is a newer version of the same 65816 microprocessor used on the Apple IIGS, the two machines really share nothing else in common. At the conclusion of the talk, I asked the question that had been on everybody’s mind: “Will the Mensch Com- puter be able to run Apple Ile or IIGS software?” The long an- swer was, “The Mensch Com- puter looks forward, not back- wards.” The short answer was, “No.” 10 Shareware Solutions IT As disappointing as that was, Mensch had one anecdote that was quite fascinating. He told us that he had sent three faxes to Apple CEO’s John Sculley and Michael Spindler, request- ing information about how he could license the Apple II tech- nology. Sculley ignored the faxes. In March, 1994, Spindler responded by fax: “Sorry. The Apple II technology is not for sale. On the other hand, if you like Mac technology, that you can license.” And then he set the entire audience on its ear by an- nouncing that Western Design Center was working on a 20 Mhz 65816, and that they now had available a dependable 14 Mhz chip that could be used in a TransWarp GS or ZIP acceler- ator to boost the speed of the Apple IIGS. For the past several years, WDC has been selling a 14Mhz 65816-E; the “E” designation indicated that it was either, depending who you asked, an Engineering or an Experimental grade microprocessor. Available for $95, that E-grade chip has been used by many IIGS owners to boost the performance of their computers to 10Mhz, 12Mhz, and even 14Mhz. To get an idea how fast that is, a stock JIGS runs at 2.8Mhz. WDC has dropped the price of the 14 Mhz 65816 to less than $20 and has removed the “E” designation. Within 6 months, they expect to release a faster 20Mhz version of the chip. For additional information about the faster 65816, contact WDC at 2166 East Brown Road, Mesa, AZ. 85213. Or call them at 602-962-4545 or fax them at 602-835-6442. Computer Jeopardy For the past several years, Steve Disbrow of GS+ Magazine has coordinated all of the so-called “entertainment” offered during lunch and dinner. Just before KansasFest, Steve’s father suffered a heart attack, and he was unable to attend. In his place, first time attendee Doug Cuff, editor of A2-Central, was talked into providing the lunchtime entertainment. I have a sneaky suspicion that Doug regrets volunteering to be the master of ceremonies for a wild and crazy game of Computer Jeopardy. KansasFest Jeopardy just doesn’t resemble TV’s Jeopardy. The level of audience participation was probably a little more than Doug bargained for. Nonetheless, the audience had a grand old time, screaming out the answers, most of which were senseless, meaningless and silly. But it helped take our mind off the quality of the food. Afternoon Sessions Right after lunch, attendees got to choose between a session on Macintosh System 7.5 or on Development Tools for the Mensch Computer. I have a feeling that a lot of people took an afternoon nap; I attended the Mensch Computer session. Since the 65816 that resides in the IIGS is the same one found in the Mensch Computer, Mensch was hoping to attract experienced 65816 programmers to write serious applications for the Mensch Computer. He stressed that programmers could use Orca/M on a IIGS to design software for the Mensch computer. Much of the talk was of a technical nature that was too detailed to even try to recount. If you are a 65816 programmer looking to make some money, contact WDC at the above address and request their Developer Guide. Animasia With the choice of attending another UNIX session present- ed by Jim Maricondo or seeing a 3-Dimensional IIGS graphics program, I opted for fun over seriousness. Michael Lutynski, the author of Addressed For Success, has been working on Animasia 3-D for more than 3 years, and although I had seen Animasia at previous KansasFests, his session quite literally “knocked my socks off.” Animasia is an object oriented graphic animation system that can be used to produce flicker- free “movies.” It employs a point, click and drag method for placing objects on screen, and it allows for the creation of 2 or 3 dimensional shapes using oval, polygon, rectangular, cone lathe, torus and helix tools. It comes with alignment guides, and a multitude of tools that have never been seen before on a IIGS. It allows objects to wrap around the screen and offers hierarchical object relationships that allow designers to create sophisticated models of real world objects. Rather than employing the frame based method of animation that is so common in IIGS paint programs, Animasia allows for flexible time-based animations of any on-screen objects by simply moving the mouse. What was most impres- sive was Animasia’s feature which allows designers to add variable ambient lighting, permitting special effects like shadows to be cast from the sun. Michael proceeded to demon- strate some animations that were so beautiful and so breath- taking that he could have easily sold everybody in the room a copy of Animasia. Alas, the program wasn’t quite complete. He hopes to have it completed by the end of 1994 and he plans to self-publish it and market it himself for an estimated price of $99. When Animasia is completed, it will truly be a masterpiece. Control The World With the next hour long bloc, the choice of which session to attend was easy; a session on the PowerPC, or Erich Wagner's session entitled “Apple II Interfacing: How To Control Real World Objects.” In many ways, Erich’s session turned out to be the most creative one offered at KansasFest. Erich dazzled us with fascinat- ing demonstrations of projects that would be ideal to duplicate in a hobbyist’s workshop or a high school science lab. Most Apple II users have a joystick connected to their game port, but not Erich. He revealed the secrets of using that built-in game port to control such devices as temperature probes, sensors, stepper motors, and range finders. He showed us how, through the use of an analog to digital converter, it was possible to use the Apple II to control photosensitive and ultrasonic lenses. Many of the projects demon- strated by Erich can be controlled by software available from Vernier Software (2920 SW 89th St, Portland, OR 97225. 503-297-5317). Vernier sells books, hardware, software and cables that can be used for controlling real world devices, and many of the devices are available from Radio Shack. Looking Good In Print There are a number of different concepts and elements involved in looking good in print. During my session at KansasFest, four of those elements were dis- cussed. They included hardware, software, the concept of using a word processor as a thought processor, and general writing and desktop publishing hints. With recent advances in printer technology, it’s never been easier or more affordable for the home or hobbyist computer user to convert an Apple II into a low cost printing press, capable of producing professional looking desktop published brochures and newsletters, press releases and reports. The keyword to remember is Hewlett-Packard. Hewlett-Packard produces two different product lines of print- ers that, when used on an Apple II, can produce high resolution printing from AppleWorks GS, AppleWorks Classic, Platinum Paint, or HyperStudio. Hewlett- Packard’s low cost printers can recreate near photographic quality printouts from your Quickie scans, or can print professional looking newsletters using PublishIt4, AppleWorks GS, or GraphicWriter III. Hewlett-Packard printers are the key to affordable high quali- ty printing on the Apple II or IGS. Although high quality printers can be employed on either Ile/IIc or IIGS systems, they are much more versatile when used on the Shareware Solutions IT i IIGS. When used on the Ile, or with ProDOS-8 based software, there are certain limitations. In general, they only work with text based applications; Ile graphics based programs cannot output to HP brand printers. On the other hand, several IIe/IIc soft- ware programs, including Apple- Works, DB Master and Publish- It4, do provide printer drivers for HP DeskJet printers. Hewlett-Packard proclaims that they produce both Macintosh compatible and IBM compatible printers. Despite what you might initially conclude, it is the line of printers which is pur- portedly manufactured for use on IBM and PC clones that are the most compatible with the Apple II or IIGS. Those Hewlett- Packard printers essentially offer “plug and print” compati- bility with the Apple II family of computers. Hewlett-Packard has become the industry leader by offering superior products at affordable prices, and computer users have “beaten a path to their door;” Hewlett-Packard declared in mid-1994 that they had sold 10 million laser printers and 10 million inkjet printers. Hewlett-Packard offers two dif- ferent types of printer technol- ogy: laser printers and inkjet printers. Although the technol- ogies employed on the different printers are quite dissimilar, the output from these different types of printers look remark- ably similar. Laser printers operate by using heat to fuse toner to a page, while inkjet printers shoot out a fine spray of ink onto the page. Hewlett-Packard LaserJets are available starting at approx- imately $600, while Hewlett- 12 Shareware Solutions IT Packard DeskJet printers are available for about half of that amount. How can you decide which technology is best suited to your purposes? If price is the primary concern, then by all means, go out and purchase the black and white DeskJet 520 or the color Desk- Jet 560c (Please see Grapevine in this issue for updated Desk- Jet information). Either one of those printers will, with a mini- mal investment, get you started on the path to looking good in print. If price is not the primary con- cern, visiting different printer dealers is a mandatory exercise. HP LaserJet printers are so popular, a number of other manufacturers including Canon, IBM, NEC, Panasonic, Okidata, Brother, Texas Instruments, and Digital Equipment offer HP compatible laser printers. Some of the LaserJet clones are avail- able for less than $500. Some HP clones print at 4 pages per minute, and others at 6. Some come with Epson emulation built in that will allow you to print from any ProDOS-8 graph- ics based program, but most don’t. Some come with toner cartridges and others don’t. Some come with extended mem- ory and others don’t. Some come with a parallel interface, others come with a serial interface, and some are equipped with both. So, there are many options to choose from, and only you can decide which printer is best for you. It’s important, therefore, to spend time and effort com- paring the features and output from the various printers. Keep in mind that when com- pared to the output from an ImageWriter II, all laser and inkjet printers are going to look superior. For that reason, it is suggested that everyone take “the black page test.” That test, which is the ultimate printer test, is quite simple to perform. At printer dealers, the vast majority of printers are already connected to computers. Simply approach one of those com- puters, which invariably will be a PC clone running Windows, and start up whatever paint or graphics program is available. Using the fill tool, blacken the entire screen and then print out that page. Take your sample outside and look at it in sun- light. Do you like what you see? It was that test that convinced me to purchase a Hewlett- Packard LaserJet printer. I have not, for even a second, regretted my decision. Hopefully, taking “the black page test” will be as convincing for you as it was for me. Once the decision has been made, where to purchase the printer is another concern. “Computer Shopper,” a large consumer oriented computer magazine, is the best place to compare prices. It is not neces- sary for you to purchase your printer from a local dealer; tak- ing the mail order route could save you a lot of money. Many reputable mail order vendors offer savings amounting to hun- dreds of dollars. Once you've purchased an inkjet or laser printer, you'll need to connect it to your Apple II. If you purchased a DeskJet, you will not need any additional RAM. If you purchased a laser printer, you will need to have at least 2 megabytes of printer RAM. Prices for 2 megabytes of printer RAM can vary from $99 to $500. Consult Computer Shopper, and don’t concern yourself if you spot a great deal from a company you've never heard of before. As Yogi Berra would have said if he had been a computer user, “RAM chips is RAM chips.” In order to connect a printer to your Apple II, you'll need the appropriate cables and an inter- face card. For use on a Ile, you'll need either a parallel interface card or a serial interface card, depending of course on what the printer requires. When used with a IIGS, if the printer has a serial connection, just purchase a “Mac Plus to ImageWriter I” cable, and that’s all you'll need. If you use a Parallel printer on a TIGS, you'll need a parallel in- terface card. Keep in mind that a parallel connection is almost four times faster than a serial connection. Once the hardware is in place on a Ile, you can send text output as you always have. On a IIGS, you'll need a set of printer drivers. You have a choice of two packages: Independence from Seven Hills (2310 Oxford Road, Tallahassee, FL 32304. 904- 575-0566) or Harmonie from Vitesse. Independence provides drivers for black and white DeskJets and LaserJet II and IIp series printers. Harmonie provides drivers for all Desk- Jets, including the color ones, and all LaserJets. Once the drivers are installed, you'll almost be ready to look good in print. If you use a IIGS, you'll need Pointless from WestCode Soft- ware (15050 Ave of Science, Ste 112, San Diego, CA 92128. 619- 487-9200). Pointless allows the use of TrueType fonts on the IIGS. Those are fonts that look crisp and clear at any point size, and they never have a jagged look. Pointless will even make documents printed on an Image- Writer look good. If you own a IIGS without Pointless, it will be difficult to look your best in print. Of course, to look good in print, you have to have something you want to convey to others. It is suggested that using a com- puter to write is very different from using a pen or a type- writer. With a computer, spell- ing and grammar errors can be corrected by a spell checker or a grammar checker. Therefore, when you sit down to write, you need not concern yourself at first with proper syntax. It’s the thoughts that count. Before typ- ing a single key, know what you are going to write about. If nec- essary, develop an outline to or- ganize your thoughts. Then, use your favorite word processor to translate those thoughts into words. Once all those thoughts have been entered into the word pro- cessor, run the spell checker and the grammar checker. Read and re-read your words on screen. Make corrections as needed. When you are happy with your words, print them out. Quite often, you'll spot additional errors or changes to make when you read your words on paper. Make changes as needed. Your article or report is not complete until you are completely happy with what you read. Once you're content with your words, the final step to take is to load your words into a desk- top publishing program. If you have a Ile, use PublishIt4. If you have a IIGS, use either AppleWorks GS from Quality Computers (20200 Nine Mile Road, St Clair Shores, MI 48080. 810-774-7200 or 1-800- 777-3642) or GraphicWriter III from Seven Hills. Launch your favorite desktop publishing program, and create a new document. Before loading the text in, you'll want to start by setting up a Master Page where you can set the margins and the page size to your speci- fications, and use that Master Page to define how many col- umns per page you'll be print- ing. Once that master is set up, you can simply add the number of pages you think your docu- ment will take. Add too many pages, rather than too few; you can always delete a page after- wards. Save the document, and that will become your template for all future desktop publishing projects. Next, import your text file into the desktop publishing pro- gram. After all the text is in place, use your search and re- place function to replace quotes (") with curly quotes (“), and substitute apostrophes (') with curly apostrophes (’). Then, save your document and print it out. That will be your first of many drafts. Look through the document closely. Wherever you spot spac- ing problems, circle them with a pen. Go through the document completely, noting all places that need to be fixed. Whenever you make changes to a desktop publishing document, you must start at the beginning, and work your way through the document. Remember, changes you make to page 1 will effect how page 10 looks! Some spacing problems can be removed by substituting one long word with several smaller words. Other problems with spacing can only be fixed by add- ing hyphens. No Apple II desk- Shareware Solutions IT 13 top publishing programs provide automatic hyphenation, so this is a very tedious process, but it needs to be done. Get out your dictionary as you'll need it to know where to insert hyphens correctly. Go through your entire document, starting with page 1, adding hyphens as needed. Finally, print out your document again. Go over it very carefully. Check to see if there are any glaring errors. If possible, have someone else look at it. Only when you are proud of your cre- ation will others be impressed. The first time you meticulously create a desktop published docu- ment, it may feel like torture. It is not always pleasant and it requires a lot of attention to details. But just remember, the first time is the hardest. With the proper software and hardware, with ideas to convey, and with dedication, any Apple IL user can look good in print. The Annual Roast A KansasFest tradition is to “roast” the keynote speaker from the previous year. This year’s victim was Mike Wester- field of the Byte Works. Mike’s expertise is in creating program- ming languages and compilers, and until KansasFest, Byte Works produced only software for programmers. So, this year’s roast had pro- grammers dragging one of their own through the mud. Many jokes revolved around bugs found in Byte Works’ software, and a few were even directed at the names of Byte Works prod- ucts, many of which use the word Orca in their title. We heard every variation of whale joke ever invented. 14 Shareware Solutions IT The highlight of the evening came at the end of the roast, when Roger Wagner announced, “Pizza at midnight is on me.” The Dorm After the roast, most of us returned to the dorm and went from room to room, meeting new and old friends, and of course, talking about the Apple II. Tended up spending most of the evening in Jawaid Bazyar’s room. Jawaid works for Sequen- tial Systems, and he brought with him a CD-ROM player and all of the discQuest CD-ROM software. I became fascinated with the Compton’s 1994 New Century Encyclopedia. That CD-ROM based encyclope- dia contains 38,000 articles in 6,000 different categories and includes more than 7,000 graph- ics and hundreds of different digitized audio clips. The hours flew by as I clicked on every subject that struck my fancy. I learned about Ellis Island and Immigration policies, heard extracts from Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech and read about the history of computers. I was very very impressed with the technology that allowed a CD-ROM ency- clopedia to be used on an Apple IIGS, and I was even more impressed with the front end software that Jawaid had created. The discQuest Encyclo- pedia is the most compelling reason to consider purchasing a CD-ROM player. I personally believe that Jawaid’s accom- plishments will help to prolong the use of IIGS computers in schools for many years to come. Bite The Bag Midnight rolled around quickly, and the smell of pizza perme- ated the dorm. As I arrived in the common area, I immediate- ly struck up an animated con- versation with Mike Wester- field, and we barely noticed the Bite The Bag Olympics that were taking place mere inches from where we were sitting. Bite The Bag is a KansasFest tradition, and clearly the most ridiculous one. Imagine grown men standing on one foot, trying to pick up a paper bag with their teeth. Between bites of pizza I cringed, hoping that all the participants had dental in- surance. I had more important things on my mind; it’s not every day that I get to talk to the people who write the software and build the hardware for the Apple II. Eventually, after lots of yelling and screaming, Roger Wagner won the contest, and I was off to bed. It was another early night for me; it was only 3 AM when I climbed into bed. Day 2 The day started off with the de- layed keynote speech by Randy Brandt. He started talking about the mystique of the Apple II and offered parallels to both religion and sub-cultures. Then, he switched gears and starting talking about himself and how he became involved with the Apple II and how he has sur- vived as an Apple II program- mer. Randy credits his success to his ability to have found a niche and of course that niche is AppleWorks. He described moving from Canada, where he had been born and raised, to San Diego where he attended college. After college, he went to work as a teacher. He’d bought a IIc in the early 1980s and the first pro- gram he ever wrote was a grade- book tracker that sold all of 5 copies. When he bought the Merlin compiler, he was aghast at the amount of grammatical errors in the manual, and he decided he wanted to write soft- ware manuals for a living. He sent his resume to Beagle Bros and was surprised when he was actually hired. He went on to describe his first several programs for Beagle Bros, and how he created Macro- Works at just about the same time that Alan Bird created AutoWorks. Both programs pro- vided macro capabilities for AppleWorks, and Randy de- scribed what sounded like a friendly rivalry. He then created Super MacroWorks and in the spirit of one-upmanship, Alan Bird created an engine that became known as TimeOut. The rest, as they say, is history. Randy shared so many anec- dotes with us that Tom Weish- aar had to literally drag him away from the podium. As his last and most dramatic state- ment, as Tom was wrestling the microphone away from him, Randy announced that Apple- Works v5 would be released in early October, 1994. It was hard to concentrate after hearing Randy’s announcement, but I managed to go hear Nathaniel Sloan talk on “The Ins and Outs of Telecomm Scripting.” Sloanie used Pro- Term to illustrate how to create an on-screen digital display clock. He also fielded general questions about macros. Hyped On HyperStudio Lunch was uneventful, and fol- lowing that, Roger Wagner did his yearly session on Hyper- Studio. I’d attended his talks at previous KansasFests, and have owned and loved HyperStudio for many years, so I attended the session just to see a master of showmanship at work. Roger gets quite enthusiastic when talking about HyperStudio, and he always puts on a great show. He told us that when he first dreamed of a IIGS hypermedia program, he wanted to create one that was geared towards Second graders. He wanted it to be as easy to use as The Print Shop. Right in the middle of his speech, several people sneaked up the aisle and attacked Roger with Nerf Guns. Those guns shoot out round foam rubber balls, and everyone in the audi- ence, as well as Roger himself, went into hysterics. I thought to myself that this would never happen, except at KansasFest. It was hilarious, and Roger lost his composure for only a few seconds. He went on to demo some HyperStudio stacks and an- nounced that there would be a version available for the PC Windows’ environment in 1995. Quick Click Cale Following that session, Mike Westerfield of The Byte Works (4700 Irving Blvd NW, Suite 207, Albuquerque, NM 87114. 1- 505-898-8183) presented Quick Click Cale. That new IIGS SpreadSheet program adopts a brand new feature of System 6.0.1 which is called “publish and subscribe.” In essence, that feature provides Quick Click Cale with an incredible charac- teristic that allows changes in one spreadsheet to automati- cally update a second spread- sheet. That feature alone is a valuable welcome for anyone keeping several interrelated financial spreadsheets. He also dazzled us with the programs 3- D graphing capabilities. The retail price of Quick Click Calc is $60, plus $5 for shipping and handling. But, in a special “Such A Deal” offer, Mike has agreed to grant subscribers of Shareware Solutions II a 10% discount; just make sure to mention that you subscribe when you order Quick Click Calc. During the session, Mike also told us that Byte Works has taken over all of the technical materials that used to be avail- able from Resource Central. That includes all of the official Apple II programming books, technical notes, and software which were originally available from APDA. Along with their compilers and programming languages, Byte Works has just become the one stop shopping center for anyone interested in programming the Apple II. All About The Internet Since I had only an hour to share information about the Internet, I was concerned and nervous about how much detail I could convey. As I looked out at the large audience, I was aware that there were some people who had never accessed the Internet, and also some people who had been using the Internet for many years. My nervousness grew. As I looked at the audience, I spied Roger Wagner of Hyper- Studio fame, and I started out by saying, “Try to imagine what it would be like if you purchased HyperStudio, and it came with one million data disks filled with HyperMedia stacks. Try to further imagine that those mil- lions of stacks had been created Shareware Solutions II 15 by the foremost experts in their field, and that the Relativity stack had been authored by Einstein and the Apollo-11 stack had been authored by von Braun. That’s what you'll find on the Internet’s World Wide Web.” I was off and running and there was no stopping me now! A whole new world opens up when you access the Internet’s World Wide Web with Lynx. In many ways, Lynx liberates In- ternet users from the confusion of trying to find information on the system. Lynx allows people to freely roam through the corridors of the Smithsonian or the Library of Congress, to take a virtual guided tour of the Kremlin or the Louvre, and to see hundreds of digitized photos from the Clementine mission to the moon, from the Shoemaker- Levy 9 comet impact with Jupiter, and from the Hubble Space Telescope. Lynx provides a user friendly “front end” to all the wondrous glories that exist on the Inter- net. It provides everyone easy access, and allows even small children to roam the highways and byways of cyberspace, with no fear of ever getting lost. Lynx has turned many into a cyber- naut, by magically transporting them to a brave new world - a world filled with wonders unimaginable in the past! We read of the “information super highway” as being some super-network of the future, but with Lynx that highway has al- ready been paved, and it reaches the far corners of the globe. With Lynx, we can al- ready access the total accumu- lated knowledge of all mankind. With Lynx, we can customize the way we use the Internet. In 16 Shareware Solutions IT a sense, we have been given the skeleton keys to the world’s knowledge, and we’re free to use those keys to open up the previ- ously closed doors of museums and libraries, bookstores and galleries and even the hallowed halls of Congress. With Lynx, we can hypertext our way through academic treatises and partake in light hearted humor. We can read interactive books and become virtual tour- ists. We can visit large univer- sities as if we were visiting professors, and we can visit museums as visiting curators. We have been liberated from the Internet’s sometimes con- fusing UNIX command struc- ture. With Lynx, a first time computer user or a “net newbie” can experience the same awe that the Internet provides to the long time net veteran. The World Wide Web and the Lynx “Web Browser” are the most amazing things you'll ever see. In one shot, they make Archie and his friend Veronica obsolete, make ftp seem old fashioned, and give new mean- ing to telnet and gopher. Once you've used Lynx, your life will be forever changed. If you think back to when you first got your Apple II, and the excite- ment you felt then, you'll feel that same joy and elation on the World Wide Web! The WWW is the greatest achievement that has ever been implemented on the Internet. It gives the Internet a truly user- friendly face for the first time. If knowledge is indeed power, the World Wide Web makes us all kings and queens. It makes each of us the curator of all the world’s museums and the Chief Librarian of the Library of Congress. It puts us in control of what we want to learn. It’s the world’s greatest university, open to all. In fact, it’s all the univer- sities and museums and book- stores of the world. The World Wide Web is indeed the great- est educational tool that has ever been developed. Knowledge wants to be free, and with the World Wide Web, knowledge is freely available! The World Wide Web proves to us that the Cold War is over, and that the inhabitants of Earth are truly brothers and sisters in the current Infor- mation Age. With the click of an arrow key, we can visit World Wide Web “Home Pages” for Russia and the Ukraine. We can visit the Vatican, or open up NASA’s computers to learn about things we'll never see in the newspaper. We can read electronic magazines, and if we like archeology, history, movies, humor, Alice In Chains or Alice In Wonderland, it’s all there waiting to be discovered by us. The World Wide Web is the most phenomenal, exciting, in- formative medium that has ever existed! If you’ve never accessed the World Wide Web, it’s time to fasten your seat belt, and take an exciting journey into the future! Just turn on your com- puter, tune in to the Internet, and link up to the World Wide Web! If you already have an account on the Internet, there are currently several ways to access Lynx and the World Wide Web: If Lynx has already been install- ed on your Internet host comput- er, just type the word lynx from your shell, in the same way that you would type ftp or telnet. If your System Administrator is unaware of Lynx, have no fear. You can use Telnet to access it. Use Telnet to open a connection to hnsource.cc.ukans.edu and log in as www Once you take the above steps, your life will be forever changed! And with that, we blew away the smoke and dissolved the hype. We actually logged on to the World Wide Web and discovered the latest news being beamed down from Jupiter to Earth from the Hubble Space Telescope. We looked at the stunning graphics at the same moment that they became available to planetary scientists. We visited the Keck Observatory in Hawaii and saw what no one had ever seen before. We traveled with the European Space Agency to the Southern Hemisphere and peer- ed up at the clear skies to an object one billion miles away. And then, just as my excitement level reached a feverish pitch, Tom Weishaar announced that the session was over. As people streamed from the room, I urged everyone to visit the basement of the dormitory where later on, computers would be connected to the Internet and people could discover for themselves just how phenomenal the World Wide Web really is. And with that, the official part of KansasFest ended for me. The Bug Busting Room That evening, in the basement of the dormitory, there were a number of computers set up to access the Internet, courtesy of Mike Horwath (612-941-9177). Mike is an Internet Service Provider in the Twin Cities, MN area who provides access to area residents for $20/month. Since there are no local Internet Services Providers in Kansas City, a number of us chipped in some money so that we could call Mike’s system long dis- tance. And for the rest of the night, the assembled masses ooohed and aaahed. It was a lot of fun for me to let others see first hand all that I had talked about earlier. I’m sure that more than a few who gathered in the bug busting room that night are now Internet regulars. Saturday The last day of KansasFest was officially an unstructured day, so instead we held a mini Apple- Fest. Many of those who had given talks set up tables and sold their products to fellow attendees. At about 3 PM, I approached Tom Weishaar to ask if we were going to have our annual group dinner at KC Masterpiece. Obviously tired from having officiated over the past few days, Tom informed me that if I wanted to organize such a dinner, I was free to do so. Since I’d gotten to bed the night before at the respectable hour of 4 AM, I was well rested and ener- getic, and although I don’t know exactly how I did it, I managed to organize a sit down dinner for 40 people. Right after dinner people started leaving, but not before we heard Tom Weishaar say that there would indeed be a KansasFest in 1995. I hope to see each and every one of you there next year! @ Shareware Solutions He/IIc/IIgs A2 Disks of the Month All A2 DOM disks include two immense collections of text from both the User’s and Program- mer’s versions of the GEnie- Lamp newsletter. Software on the July DOM for the IIe/IIc includes Barrow’s Utilities 13 - a set of Ultra- Macro based utilities for both AppleWorks v3 and 4.x. There is also Print Shop Clipart — a pro- gram which converts Hi Res graphics to Print Shop format. Lastly, you'll find Guillotine - a word game based on Hangman. Software on the July DOM for the IIGS includes DocVu - a CDA that displays 32 oscillo- scopes that literally dance when music is played through the IIGS built-in Ensoniq sound chip. Also included is Cursor Magic - a utility which allows you to cus- tomize various IIGS cursors by using IIGS Finder Icons in place of the standard IIGS cursors. Software on the August DOM for the Ile/IIc includes AutoMaker — a programmer’s utility that con- verts Applesoft Basic programs to SYS files. Also included is InternaMaze — a sophisticated on-screen maze game. Software on the August DOM for the IIGS includes Nexus — the freeware HyperText system that was described in detail in Shareware Solutions II, Issue 6. Shareware Solutions IT 7 You will also find ConvertIt - a HyperCard IIGS stack that con- verts many common and several not so common measurements from one format to another. There’s also GenEx — a utility that provides a method to use a SCSI based hard drive on both IGS and Mac systems. Lastly, you'll find Outburst - an NDA that randomly plays outbursts of sounds. Due to the enormous sizes of the GEnieLamp files, the A2 Disks of the Month are provided on 3.5" disk only! The July and August disks are available for $5 per disk, or $8 for both. Night Fall John Graham’s Nightfall II v1.01 is a $10 shareware ($5 more for a school site license) planetarium program for 128K Enhanced Ile, IIc and IIGS computers. It is designed to quickly and easily display what the night sky will look like from your location. The display includes all of the major stars that you are likely to see, as well as the moon and planets. The view can be configured to show the entire sky overhead, or a view of the horizon from all of the major compass points. Any display can be saved to disk for editing and printing using a Double Hi Res paint program such as Dazzle Draw or Time- Out Paint. In addition to generating star maps of the sky, Nightfall II can also calculate the times that the sun, moon, and planets will rise and set. Nightfall II is available on a self-starting 5.25" or 3.5" disk (please specify) for $5. AppleWorks 4.3 Updater Although work on AppleWorks 18 Shareware Solutions IT v5 is proceeding at a steady pace, Randy Brandt has recent- ly completed and made avail- able an update to AppleWorks v4.0, 4.0.1 and 4.0.2 that fixes all known problems. To avoid confusion over version numbers, this final update for Apple- Works v4 has been designated v4.3. The AppleWorks v4.3 update is provided as a series of files that must be manually copied to a copy of your AppleWorks disk. For those using 3.5" disks or hard drives, it’s quite simple to copy all the files by following the supplied instructions. A new version of Randy’s Free Patch is provided with the update files. After copying all of the necessary files from the update disk to your AppleWorks disk, startup the update disk to apply Randy’s Patches. For those who use AppleWorks v4.x from 5.25" disk, the update requires copying more than 15 different files to specific Apple- Works disks. There is a lot of potential for mistakes to occur when copying that many files to multiple disks, so it is advised that if you use AppleWorks from 5.25" disks that you get the AppleWorks v4.3 program up- date from Quality Computers. The AppleWorks v4.3 updates are available on 3.5" disk only for $5. @ Shareware Solutions IIGS Brutal Deluxe Brutal Deluxe’s latest freeware game is Cogito, a strategy game that’s similar to an electronic Rubik’s Cube. Cogito was written by Atreid Concepts, and is available commercially for the Mac and IBM computer systems. Brutal Deluxe was able to convince his and our friends at Atreid Concepts to allow Brutal Deluxe to create a TIGS freeware version. Cogito contains 120 levels, and each one displays a 9 x 9 tiled grid. At the start of each level, those tiles are arranged in a pattern, and then the pattern is altered by shifting each row and column. The goal is to recreate the original pattern. On the lower levels, they are shifted symmetrically, one or two rows or columns over. But each suc- ceeding level becomes increas- ingly more difficult, and on the higher levels, the patterns are shifted asymmetrically, making for a very challenging game that requires thought, strategy and patience. Brutal Deluxe has also recently released Opale Demo, a work in progress that hopefully some day will become a full blown game. Opale in its current state is non-interactive; it is a beau- tiful 8 minute animated sneak peek of possible wonders to come. Opale evokes a dark and moody cinematic styled atmos- phere of a futuristic world run amok. Opale contains some of the most stunning and beautiful graphics ever created on an Apple IIGS, and therein lies a problem. The graphics were produced by an artist named Flatliner who no longer owns a IIGS. Brutal Deluxe, therefore, needs the help of a skilled artist. If one steps forward, the Opale Game will be finished. Even if the game itself is never completed, the Opale Demo is a work of sheer beauty. The Opale Demo and Cogito are available for $5 per title, or $8 for both. Symbolix The European office of Bright Software (c/o Henrik Gudat, Missionsstr. 38, 4055 Basel, Switzerland) has recently taken over worldwide distribution of a new version of Symbolix, the most sophisticated math pro- gram ever written for the Apple IGS, and to commemorate that release, they would like to offer you a special “Such A Deal” discount, and inform you that an amazing 2 disk interactive demo is available exclusively from Shareware Solutions II. Symbolix is a full-featured IIGS desktop application for complex numeric and symbolic math. Symbolix can calculate object- oriented 2-D and 3-D graphs with hidden surfaces. It offers commands for symbolic deriv- atives of any complex expres- sion and frees you from expanding, collecting, simpli- fying and rewriting real or complex expressions. Symbolix fully supports The Manager and the Floating Point Engine, although it requires neither. Symbolix differentiates 500 expressions and accepts any- thing you can type in. It also supports nested line integrals with any number of independent variables. Symbolix’s unique 3-D module is the most impressive graphing tool ever seen on a IIGS. You can rotate graphs, choose from among different color sets, and export them in various formats. There is a complete online help system, a complete collection of mathematical formulas and a summary of chemical elements. Symbolix requires 2 megabytes of RAM, two 3.5" disk drives or a hard disk, and System 6. Normally available for $70 plus $5 for shipping and handling, subscribers can purchase Symbolix until December 31, 1994 for $60 plus $5 shipping and handling. Bright Software accepts EuroChecks and checks or money orders in US currency. A 2 disk interactive demo that is reminiscent of FTA demos is available from the Shareware Solutions II Library for only $5. The demo requires a hard disk drive, but the actual Symbolix program does not. HST JPEGs For many years, computer users on different computer platforms have been able to share graphic files through the widespread use of the Graphic Interchange Format, commonly called GIF. A new standard has recently been introduced for graphics that are created from scanned photographs. This new standard is from the Joint Photographic Expert Group; the format is called Jpeg for short. The quality of Jpeg graphics is nothing short of dazzling! When viewed on the IIGS using the freeware Jpeg viewer created by Atsushi Ushiroda of Japan, the photographic details are quite stunning, despite the fact that the viewer is limited to dis- playing graphics in grayscale and it is not capable of saving the graphics in any IIGS format. To introduce you to Jpeg graphics, we have collected more than 20 scanned Jpeg photo- graphs from the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope. A variety of stellar objects are represented in the collection, including photos from the famed Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact with Jupiter. Also included are scanned photographs from far away constellations and gal- axies that are out of this world! The Jpeg viewer requires System 6.0 or later. The HST JPEG disk is available for $5. Thoughts For The Day 2.0 Pegasoft of Canada continues their tradition of releasing high quality shareware that is fun to use. Thoughts For The Day is their latest $15 shareware offering, and it is a Finder Extra for use with System 6 or 6.0.1. Thoughts For The Day can be spiritually uplifting, hilarious or useful. It can be used to remind you to back up your hard drive, or to provide you with some light-hearted amusement. Once installed, Thoughts For The Day presents an on-screen message when you first turn on your computer. There are 10 different categories of messages you can configure the program to display; those include passages from the Gospel of Matthew, jokes, trivia quizzes, and quotes. Some of the jokes are so hilarious that you'll often be pointing your mouse towards the Extras Pull Down Menu. Thoughts For The Day 2.0 is available from the Shareware Solutions II Library for $5. Of course, a $15 shareware fee is payable directly to Pegasoft if you decide that the program is of value to you. @ Shareware Solutions IT 19 _té File Edit Windows View Disk Special Color Extras ean | Contacts 65 ProDOS ne Entries: 9999 a Name Shareware Solutions II Address | 166 Alpine Street Shiva | |City, State San Rafael, ca 94901-1008 Phone # UTILS || Mise Available Now From Shareware Solutions I1 ry Last Nome (contacts GS: A 1165 Nome & Address NDA! tooheorks| * SI] Fist ome ATTA 2 AreaCode || (Modem) (Dial ) (Revert) 005.3.3 Kise 4 a a hse [Search)) (Yew) (Gelete) IMME Me MMMM MM MMMM MMMM ll | Joe Kohn Shareware Solutions II 166 Alpine Street San Rafael, CA 94901-1008 FIRST CLASS - AIR MAIL