Shareware Solutions II Volume 2 Issue 6 1996 01 Kohn Joe US

Shareware Solutions II An Exciting Apple II Journey Into The Future Volume 2, Issue 6 Winter, 1996 From The Publisher’s Desktop The Shareware Solutions II Worldwide Headquarters has been a beehive of activity these past few months. A number of new Apple II oriented projects have been started, and sub- scribers will soon be benefiting from the incredible expansion of our Apple II operations. In this and in future issues, you will be reading about new Apple II products, and older Apple II products that have been rescued from obscurity. Much of the planning and negotiations that have taken place have been quite time consuming and have resulted in the delay of this issue. For that, I wish to apolo- gize. I do, however, think that you will be very pleased when you read what plans we have in store for you. In this our 12th issue, Cynthia Field and I are joined by a new staff member, Steve Disbrow, the former publisher of GS+ Magazine. Steve’s unique and sometimes irreverent perspec- tive on the Apple II will be found in this and in all future issues. Since the demise of GS+ Magazine came as such a shock to everyone, he offers us an ex- clusive explanation of what transpired and contributed to the demise of his excellent pub- lication, and he ties up some GS+ loose ends. Steve has brought along with him a number of former GS+ subscribers who are seeing this newsletter for the first time. I welcome you and hope that you appreciate our efforts. Your GS+ roll-over subscription will be ap- plied to this and future issues, but please note that our 11 back issues are still available. The cost of the back issue package is $30 for US or Canada delivery; $40 elsewhere. As this issue represents the final issue of Volume 2, for many of you this will be the last issue of your current subscrip- tion and you will have to renew if you wish to continue to receive Shareware Solutions II. Check your mailing label and if it says: “EXP:V2,#6” then your sub- scription has just lapsed. As an incentive for you to renew your subscription now, Alltech Electronics has graciously do- nated an 80 Megabyte internal Focus hard drive for use on either a Ile or IIGS. That Focus hard drive will be given away to a lucky subscriber who will be chosen on February 29, 1996. If your subscription is current as of that date, you could be the winner! If that isn’t incentive enough to renew your subscription, let’s take a look at some of the recent developments that have taken place at Shareware Solutions II along with a hint of what is to come in the future. Shareware Solutions II has been chosen by Brutal Deluxe to be the worldwide distributor for their brand new Convert 3200 graphics conversion program. Shareware Solutions II has also been chosen by the National AppleWorks User Group to be the exclusive distributor of the entire library of nearly 500 AppleWorks related resource disks that were developed by, and previously available from, that excellent yet recently de- ceased organization. Shareware Solutions II has also been chosen to be the exclusive distributor of Studio City, the HyperStudio-based publication that had been published by Resource-Central and ICON. Perhaps the most exciting devel- opment concerns the recently ac- quired IIGS prototype computer that was never released by Apple. The fabled Mark Twain prototype, dubbed by the Apple IIGS community as the ROM4 and GS+, is depicted on the back page of this issue and I plan to lift the lid on “the computer that could have changed the world” in the next issue. Shareware Solutions II is cur- rently negotiating with Big Red Computer Club to acquire all or part of their software inventory that remained unsold when Big Red officially closed their doors at the end of 1995. In 1993, when Shareware Solu- tions II was first published, you were promised an “exciting Apple II journey into the future.” These past 2.5 years have cer- tainly been exciting, and I hope that you will continue with us as we advance into the next millen- nium of Apple II computing! @ Shareware Solutions II 1 Shareware Solutions II Volume 2, Issue 6 Shareware Solutions II is pub- lished bi-monthly by Joe Kohn, 166 Alpine Street, San Rafael, CA 94901-1008. Publisher/Writer: Joe Kohn Roving Reporter: Cynthia Field Contrib. Writer: Steve Disbrow Proofreader: Jane Kos Entire contents of Shareware Solutions II copyright (©) 1996 by Joe Kohn. All rights are reserved. Nothing may be re- printed or reproduced, in whole or in part, in any media without the prior written consent of Joe ‘Kohn. Available by subscription only, several options are available: |A) The first 12 issues: $35 for US/Canada; $50 elsewhere. B) The first 18 issues: $55 for US/Canada; $75 elsewhere. C) The next 6 issues/Renewal: $25 for US/Canada; $40 else- where. Make all checks payable to Joe Kohn. US Funds Only. No charge cards, purchase orders or COD orders will be accepted. This newsletter was created entirely with an Apple IGS. All articles written in AppleWorks Classic. 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: CIS: 76702,565 GENIE: JOE.KOHN INTERNET: joko@crl.com 2 Shareware Solutions IT Grapevine KansasFest ’96 The same group of Apple II users that organized Kansas- Fest ’95 are busy finalizing plans for the 1996 edition of KansasFest, which is scheduled to be held, once again, at Avila College in Kansas City, MO in mid-July. Although absolutely no details are available at this early date, mark your calendars now for July 17-21, 1996. Although the actual dates of the conference will be July 18-20, the Avila dormitories will be open for our use the day before the confer- ence starts and the day after the conference ends. If you have never attended a KansasFest before, you ought to consider attending this year. It will be The Apple II Event Of The Year! For additional information, con- tact: KFest96 c/o Kellers PO Box 391 Brielle, NJ 08730 Or direct an e-mail to: timothyK@injersey.com Cindy.a@genie.com PPC. help@genie.com Convert 3200 In mid-December, 1995, Brutal Deluxe’s first commercial soft- ware product — Convert 3200 — started shipping. This program is the latest in a long line of TIGS graphics conversion pro- grams, and its release was received with great fanfare and rave reviews. The very first review of Convert 3200 that was posted online was written by II Alive’s Review Editor Jeff Hurlburt, and it concluded: “Over the years IIGS users have employed combina- tions of various pic converters and paint utilities to handle missions the Brutal Deluxe util- ity seems to perform effortless- ly. Add Convert 3200’s powerful new capabilities and there’s really no contest. For smooth, fast, high quality PC-GS con- versions, “Convert 3200” is THE way to go!” The primary purpose of Convert 3200 is to allow IIGS users to acquire a variety of high resolu- tion graphics that were created on other computer systems, and to convert them to a format that is best suited for viewing on the JIGS. Convert 3200 accom- plishes that by converting all graphics to the 320 * 200 Super Hi Res mode, and it can convert them as graphics that contain the standard 16 colors allowed in that mode, or it can save them with 256 colors or as 3200 color format graphics. Convert 3200 is a speed demon!! Generally, it can convert a for- eign format graphic in as little as 10 seconds. Convert 3200 also contains a unique “Convert All’ option that makes it possi- ble to quickly convert an entire subdirectory of graphics to IIGS format with just a single mouse click. As an experiment, I used Con- vert 3200’s “Convert All” option to convert 75 GIF format graph- ics to Apple Preferred Format, and actually used a stop-watch to time the conversion process. The results were astounding. The experiment actually con- sisted of three separately timed tests that loaded in the 75 GIF graphics, converted them, and then saved them back to disk as 16 color graphics, 256 color graphics and 3200 color format graphics. It took Convert 3200 only 8 minutes and 41 seconds to con- vert and save the 75 graphics as 16 color Apple Preferred Format 320 * 200 graphics! To load, convert and save them all as 256 color graphics took 9 min- utes and 52 seconds! To load, convert and save them all as 3200 color format graphics took 10 minutes and 55 seconds! Convert 3200 can load in and convert all the standard IIGS graphic formats and can work with such foreign format graph- ics as Windows BMP, GIF, Amiga IFF, PC LBM, Paint- brush PCX, Binary PC, and some TIFF graphics. In addition to having the ability to convert and save those graphics in the IGS standard Apple Preferred Format, it can also save graph- ics in Print Shop GS format, and in the following foreign for- mats: Windows BMP, Paint- brush PCX, TIFF, and Binary PC. Convert 3200 also distinguishes itself by being the lowest priced graphics conversion program ever released for the IIGS. Its cost is only $15, and that price includes shipping to anywhere in the world! Additionally, pro- grammers who purchase Con- vert 3200 can receive the Merlin 16+ Source Code for only $5. That is simply unprecedented! Convert 3200 requires a IIGS with at least 2 megabytes of RAM; 4 megabytes of RAM is recommended to convert large 1280 * 800 graphics. Convert 3200 has been tested and works with both Apple IIGS ROM 01 and ROM 03 versions, and it requires System 6.0.1. Although not required, a hard disk drive and an accelerator card are recommended. To purchase Convert 3200, send checks or money orders, in US Funds only, in the amount of $15 (or $20 for the program and the source code), to: Joe Kohn Shareware Solutions II 166 Alpine St San Rafael, CA 94901-1008 Sorry, but no credit cards or school purchase orders can be accepted. Please make all check payable to Joe Kohn. Share The Wealth Shareware Solutions II strongly believes in “supporting those who support the Apple II.” In the last issue, a pledge was made to share with the pro- grammers a portion of the pro- ceeds generated by the library sales of both Eric Shepherd’s SheppyWare ’95 and Bright Software’s Symbolix. In an effort to hopefully encour- age the further development of high quality Apple II and IIGS shareware, Shareware Solu- tions II is pleased to announce that $72 has been presented to Eric Shepherd and that Henrik Gudat has received $120 from Shareware Solutions II. Thank you all for making those endowments possible. Bright Software has been so pleased with its informal alli- ance with Shareware Solutions II that Henrik Gudat would like to extend yet another special and exclusive offer on Symbolix. The Shareware Solutions II li- brary currently offers the two disk Symbolix program and manual for $8. There is also the two disk Symbolix Demo pro- gram available for $8. Henrik Gudat has authorized Shareware Solutions II to offer readers a special “$25 Symbolix Shareware Bundle” that in- cludes the Symbolix program disk, the Symbolix manual disk, and the Symbolix demo disks. In addition to receiving the disks by mail, those who order this special bundle will also be auto- matically registered as having paid the $15 shareware regis- tration fee. Under this new arrangement, not only do you get to save some money, but since a large propor- tion of the proceeds of the bundle will be turned over to Bright Software, the author of Symbolix will also receive much more money for his efforts. Laureate Learning Systems Laureate Learning Systems spe- cializes in special education and early intervention linguistic software geared towards chil- dren and adults with disabili- ties. Laureate’s extensive collec- tion of award winning talking software titles for Apple Ile/IIc and IIGS systems help to teach critical language, reading and thinking skills. In 1994, Laureate started to offer all of their Ie/IIc software titles for an unprecedented 50% discount. They have just recently extended a similar 50% discount for all of their Apple IIGS soft- ware titles. If you are a parent or teacher of children with disabilities, con- tact Laureate to request their 42 page free catalog. Shareware Solutions IT 3 Laureate Learning Systems 110 East Spring St Winooski, VT 05404-1898 1-800-562-6801 802-655-4755 802-655-4757 (fax) Studio City Stack-Central, a HyperStudio- based magazine on disk, was first published by Resource- Central in February, 1990. After a change of Editors, it was re-named Studio City in Decem- ber, 1991 and it continued to be published bi-monthly until ICON, Resource-Central’s suc- cessor, went out of business in early 1995. There were a total of 30 issues, each comprised of two 3.5" disks, published during that time. Studio City remains to this day the premiere example of what can be created on a IIGS using Roger Wagner Publishing’s pop- ular HyperStudio program. HyperStudio is a multimedia construction kit that allows non-programmers to easily cre- ate non-linear interactive IIGS software that can contain any combination of text, digitized sounds, animations, or graphics. With just a little imagination and HyperStudio, even grade school children can create so- phisticated software. Yet, com- bine an Apple IIGS Hyper- Studio expert with a profes- sional artist, add the contri- butions of a myriad of IIGS hypermedia specialists, and you have the work of art that is Studio City. Each of the 30 issues of Studio City shows off the amazing capabilities of HyperStudio and they are filled with useful arti- cles about HyperStudio, sample stacks, tutorials, beautiful clip 4 Shareware Solutions IT art, amusing digitized sounds, custom XCMDs and much more. Each hypermedia stack in- cluded on Studio City includes detailed descriptions about how it was created, and each pro- vides information on how you can use similar techniques in your own HyperStudio projects. Although Studio City holds great interest to those who design their own HyperStudio stacks, there are a lot of won- derfully creative stacks included that will be of interest to teach- ers, students and even small children. In other words, you don’t need to be a hypermedia designer to appreciate Studio City. In my biased opinion, I feel that HyperStudio is just about the best program ever released for the IIGS, and that Studio City contains some of the very best HyperStudio proj- ects ever created. If you create HyperStudio stacks, Studio City will teach you how to “push the envelope.” If you enjoy using HyperStudio to sample other people’s work, some of the best examples ever are included on Studio City. If you’ve never seen an example of hypermedia on the IIGS, Studio City is bound to impress you. During its lifetime, I was a Stu- dio City subscriber and can eas- ily remember the excitement I felt whenever a new issue ar- rived; I dropped everything in order to spend an enjoyable hour or three going through each issue and discovering fun new uses for HyperStudio. I, like many other fans of Hyper- Studio, really miss Studio City. Shareware Solutions II was recently contacted by Bill Lynn, the final editor of Studio City and holder of the copyrights to Studio City. He wondered if Shareware Solutions II would be interested in distributing all of the back issues. I didn’t hesitate for even a second! Effective immediately, all 30 back issues of Studio City are available once again. If you’ve never experienced the wonders of HyperStudio or seen Studio City before, you'll be pleased to learn that Shareware Solutions II is offering a three disk Sampler Pack for only $6. During its lifetime, Studio City had three editors (Tom Baker, Dean Esmay and Bill Lynn), and each one offered a unique per- spective and different brand of wacky humor, and each trans- formed the look and feel of the publication to represent his own hypermedia vision. Each of the three Sampler disks was cre- ated by a different editor, and by experiencing all three, you can really sample all the wonders of Studio City. You do not even need to own the HyperStudio program to run the Sampler disks, as a Hyper- Studio “player” is included on all three disks. In addition to the Sampler Disks, Shareware Solutions II is making Studio City available as single issues or multiple issue sets. Following are all appli- cable pricing options: Single issues are available for $7 each. A six issue combo pack (choose any six issues) is available for $36. Shipping charges are $3 for US destinations or $5 else- where. You can purchase all 30 issues for $120. Due to the weight in- volved, shipping charges are $6 for US delivery, $10 for delivery to Canada and Mexico, and $20 for Air Mail anywhere else. Included with all orders is a one disk version of the HyperStudio “run-time module” that will allow you use Studio City, but in order to use HyperStudio to create your own stacks, you will need to purchase the complete HyperStudio program package from your friendly Apple II mail order vendor. Neither HyperStudio nor Studio City requires a hard drive or massive amounts of RAM. All that’s required to run Studio City is a IIGS with a single 3.5" disk drive, 1.125 megabytes of RAM, and System 5.0.2 or later. Note: Look for a detailed index, in the next issue, of all that Studio City has to offer. Two New Newsletters Two new subscription-based Apple II oriented newsletters are scheduled to debut in the very near future. The Apple Blossom plans to be a general interest Apple II newsletter while Juiced.GS will focus exclusively on the Apple IIGS. For the past year, Steve Cavanaugh has actually pub- lished a freeware version of The Apple Blossom which he has made available online for Apple II modem owners to download, and at his own expense, he has mailed out paper-based copies to hundreds of educators in his home state. A number of regular columns are slated to appear in The Apple Blossom, including one about HyperCard stack design and script writing, another one about AppleWorks and Apple- Works GS and one focusing on cross-platform computing. Also scheduled are articles about Apple II desktop publishing, in- terviews and product reviews. The cost of a subscription is $12/year for delivery to US or Canada; $18/year elsewhere. For additional information, con- tact: Steve Cavanaugh The Apple Blossom 1117 Maple St Wilmington, DE 19805 Juiced.GS will be published by Max Jones, the editorial page editor of the Terre Haute Trib- une-Star, who has 20+ years ex- perience in all phases of jour- nalism. Max had created a pro- totype version of Juiced.GS for submission to the Shareware Solutions II desktop publishing program, and I was stunned when I first laid eyes on the prototype. He had created it with AppleWorks GS. I took one look at Juiced.GS and thought to myself, “I didn’t know you could do that with AppleWorks GS.” As an AppleWorks GS desktop publisher myself, I was even a little envious of Max’s design abilities. This prototype issue is available for you to pre- view on the AppleWorks GS Desktop Publishing Disk, avail- able from the Shareware Solu- tions II library. Planned for Juiced.GS are col- umns and feature articles that tout the strengths of the IIGS and the software needed to push it to its limits. It will explore topics ranging from desktop publishing and graphics to systems management and tele- communications. Juiced.GS will also present reviews of new commercial software and hard- ware, features on existing com- mercial products, up-to-date reports from the software and hardware development front, and assessments on the latest shareware and freeware. Each quarterly issue of Juiced.GS will contain 20 pages and the first issue is scheduled for mid-February. Subscriptions cost $14/year for delivery to US or Canada; $20/year elsewhere. For additional information, con- tact: Max Jones Juiced.GS 2217 Lakeview Drive Sullivan, IN 47882 ZIP Drive Collections Soon after Iomega introduced the 100 megabyte removable Zip Drive storage system, Russell Nielson purchased one, and went on an Internet down- loading spree in an effort to fill up his 100 megabyte disks with IIGS music and graphics. Russ soon filled up three 100 mega- byte disks with MOD music files, and one disk with graphics. If you own a Zip Drive, you already know that blank disks cost $20, yet that is exactly what Russ is charging for each Zip disk which is already filled with files! Russ is obviously not offering this service to make money, so how can you possibly lose? For additional information, con- tact: Russell Nielson 2303 Greve Avenue Spring Lake Hts, NJ 07762 r.nielson1@genie.com @ Shareware Solutions II 5 Modem Madness Home Page Update If it’s been a while since you last visited the Shareware Solutions II home page on the World Wide Web, you might be surprised at what you see when you next point your favorite web browser at the following URL: http://www.crl.com/~joko For starters, you'll notice that the URL itself is shorter than it was and to access the site now requires typing fewer characters than before. Once you've arrived at Share- ware Solutions II online, you'll immediately notice that the home page has been greatly re- vamped and now contains much more information than ever be- fore. You'll also notice some up- dated and new Apple II oriented links to other sites. Now included on the home page are complete descriptions of all the various products available from Shareware Solutions II. Thanks to the efforts of sub- scriber Steve Cavanaugh, you'll find a new link that displays a complete catalog of Script-Cen- tral disks. Thanks to the efforts of subscriber Josh Calvin, you'll also find a complete catalog of every disk available from the Shareware Solutions II library. Now that I am finally comfort- able with creating and editing the basic building blocks that regulate and control what World Wide Web browsers see — html documents — look for many more changes and enhancements to come online in the coming weeks and months. Unfortunately, some people who use computers other than the venerable Apple II have re- 6 Shareware Solutions IT ported that they have been un- able to successfully enter the Shareware Solutions II site. If you are one of those who has had problems, please note that there is an alternate URL that you can use. That is: http://www.crl.net/~joko Help With HTML Documents I wish that I could take sole credit for getting the Shareware Solutions II home page up and running, but I received a lot of advice and assistance from a new breed of Internet-based automated computer programs know as html (hypertext mark- up language) validation check- ers. The best known validation checker is called Weblint and it is virtually guaranteed to help struggling home page designers and aspiring web masters to quickly locate any mistakes that they have made while cre- ating html documents. All html documents start out as standard ASCII text files. Once the text file contains the in- formation you want, it must then be translated into html format — a format that contains embedded commands that con- trol how the file will be dis- played on screen. When first dabbling in html, it can be quite confusing and dif- ficult to master, and that’s why Weblint can really help the nov- ice web master. Weblint is ac- cessed through the World Wide Web, and once you've gotten to the Weblint home page, you are prompted to enter the complete URL for the html document you want to validate. Type that in and within 30-60 seconds, Web- lint will read your html docu- ment, analyze it, and display on screen any syntax errors that it may contain. What is particu- larly useful is that Weblint will display the proper and correct syntax that is expected and required. So without even having to understand anything about html document creation, an in- dustrious web designer can sim- ply cut and paste Weblint’s sug- gested corrections into his or her own html documents. If you're an aspiring web site designer, visit the Weblint home page (which also includes links to many other html validation checkers) by pointing your favor- ite web browser at the following URL: http://www.khoral.com/staff/neilb Alta Vista Recent estimates indicate that there are now more than 16 mil- lion web pages on the World Wide Web. With so many differ- ent web sites available and with thousands of new ones coming online each and every day, it’s sometimes difficult to find the exact information on the web that you are seeking. Over the past two years, a num- ber of different World Wide Web “search engines” have been de- veloped that allow web users to search for information by en- tering keywords and/or keyword phrases. In a recent issue of this newsletter, one such search engine — WebCrawler — was described as being a hypertext- based database that would display a list of home pages that corresponded to your keyword and that would allow you easy access to any of those World Wide Web sites. WebCrawler, and most of the other World Wide Web based search engines are now obsolete, thanks to Alta Vista, a free service offered by Digital Equip- ment Corporation. It was intro- duced on December 15, 1995 and within only three weeks, Alta Vista was conducting over two million successful searches per day! Alta Vista is capable of quickly searching through all 8 billion words found in over 16 million web pages, and it can even conduct a full-text search of over 13,000 Usenet news groups. As an experiment to determine the usefulness of various web- based search engines, I chose a unique Apple II related word — KansasFest — and entered that as a keyword into three of the most popular World Wide Web search engines. WebCrawler found no references at all. Info- Seek found six references to KansasFest. Alta Vista quickly located 81 unique references. Whether you are looking for Apple II related information or old friends, you owe it to yourself to add Alta Vista to your Bookmark file. Just point your favorite web browser at the following URL: http://www.altavista.digital.com GEnie Launch Pad A growing number of Apple II users are now using the GEnie online network to access the World Wide Web. Until quite recently, Apple II users used lynx by visiting the general In- ternet access area (M5000), but now they no longer have to leave the comfortable confines of A2, thanks to the new Apple II Launch Pad menu option. To assist those in search of Apple II software and informa- tion, the staff of GEnie’s A2 RoundTable have gathered to- gether an indexed listing of Apple II related sites on the World Wide Web, and have made it available from A2’s main menu as item #14. When you choose that menu item, lynx will run and you'll be trans- ported to the Apple II Launch Pad. If you’re on GEnie and have an Apple II, you’re going to love the Apple II Launch Pad! @ Loose Ends By Steven W. Disbrow Tf you’ve read the last (and I do mean last) issue of GS+ Maga- zine, you've probably come to the conclusion that the decision to shut down GS+ Magazine was made at the last minute. After all, we announced a new contest (finish HyperReporter), we announced a new product (AutoArk v1.1) and we pub- lished several letters asking questions that I just didn’t know the answers to. So in this, my first article for Shareware Solutions II, I thought I should tie up some of those loose ends. (By the way, if you were a GS+ Magazine subscriber, and you don’t have a clue as to what ’'m talking about, pick your jaw up off the floor, go get your copy of GS+ V7.N1 and read the “Writer’s Block” article.) Yes, I Am Dirt First, let’s look at the “sudden- ness” of the decision to shut down GS+ Magazine. Actually, it wasn’t a sudden decision at all. I had been considering what Td have to do to close down the magazine almost from the day that I started it. (That's just smart business folks.) I’d also set some conditions that, when they were met, would force me to stop publication of the maga- zine. As you might expect, those conditions had a lot to do with how many subscribers GS+ Mag- azine had. The cut off number was 1,500 subscribers and after V7.N1 shipped, we dropped be- low it. During the entire run of GS+ Magazine, I was harping on the fact that there seemed to be more people reading borrowed copies of GS+ Magazine than there were subscribing to it, and that’s probably what finally killed us. (Trivia point: GS+ Magazine actually reached its peak number of subscribers [just above 2,100] about three years ago. It was all downhill after that.) Over the last year, the number of new subscriptions and renewals went way down. While V7.N1 was at the printer, I realized that if the trend con- tinued over the next two months, there was no way we'd be able to climb back up to 1,500 sub- scriptions after V7.N1 shipped. In fact, it looked like we’d be lucky if we brought in over $3,000 in renewals and new sub- scriptions. That money would have to pay for the production of the next year’s worth (six issues) of GS+ Magazine. While $3,000 sounds like a lot of money, it isn’t. In fact, it cost just under $4,000 to produce and mail each issue of GS+ Magazine. (And that cost doesn’t include the money I had to pay Joe or Rob.) So, I had to make a decision: Do Shareware Solutions IT 7 I send out renewal notices, and take money for six more issues that I know I won’t be able to print, or do I bow out now while I’ve still got a chance to stay in business and give folks their money’s worth? Frankly, while it was a painful decision to make, the only way I could go was to fold the magazine and try to give folks their money back in the form of back issues and merchandise credit. I would have liked to give all of the actu- al money back, but since I owed a total of almost $33,000 to everybody, it was a bit imprac- tical. (Tangential item: Since the de- mise of GS+ Magazine, I’ve come under attack for two things: Not raising the price of the magazine, and for mis- leading people at KansasFest. In the first place, we did raise the price of magazine-only subscriptions twice. The result? Magazine-only subscriptions went through the floor. [Actual- ly, we had lost so many mag- azine-only subscriptions, I had planned to discontinue them completely after V7.N2 was mailed.] This made me sort of reluctant to raise the price of the magazine and disk sub- scriptions. The sad fact is that very few Apple IIGS owners were willing to pay for GS+ Magazine at the $36 price point, and the evidence suggested that even fewer would pay for it at a higher price. As for KansasFest, all I can say is that I didn’t try to mislead anyone as to the future of GS+ Magazine. In fact, Tm pretty sure that I was a bit of a “downer” with all the folks who spoke with me about the magazine’s future. I’ve always said that GS+ Magazine would be published as long as I could afford to do so, and I don’t think I said anything different to 8 Shareware Solutions IT anyone at KansasFest. If I ap- peared upbeat at KansasFest, well, it’s kind of hard to act de- pressed when you're surrounded by such supportive people.) The bottom line is that the de- cision to end production of GS+ Magazine has allowed EGO Systems to stay in business and to continue to support the IIGS for a while to come. The alter- native was eventual personal bankruptcy which, if you'll for- give me for being selfish, I thought might not be in the best interest of myself or my family. (I apologize for the tiny amount of sarcasm, but I’ve recently been accused of killing the IIGS, and a few disgruntled readers have actually threatened me with legal action over this mess. So, I’ve had days where I’m just a tad bitter about everything. To be fair, these nut jobs have been few and far between, and 99.9% of former GS+ Magazine subscribers have been incred- ibly nice. But being threatened with a lawsuit over $36 [usually less] is a bit depressing.) OK, that’s enough of that. Let’s move on to something a bit more cheerful. Let’s move on to the... Unanswered Letters! In the last issue of GS+ Maga- zine, there were several letters that asked questions that I just didn’t know the answers to. Since that issue was published, I’ve received answers to almost all of those questions which I'll share with you now. TEXAS II First up is an answer to a ques- tion asked by Marc Eskenazi of Surrey, England. Mare wanted to know if I knew of any way to patch AppleWorks 5 so that it would use European-style A4 paper as its default paper size. I didn’t, but Bernard Huber of France did. Bernard informed me that a patch program called “Free Patcher” is available to folks who subscribe to the AppleWorks-oriented newsletter called Texas II. According to Bernard, Free Patcher allows you to change scads of settings in both AppleWorks 5 and 5.1. For more information on Free Patcher and Texas II, contact: Beverly Cadieux Kingwood Micro Software 2018 Oak Dew San Antonio, TX 78232-5471 Marc also asked if I knew of any way to up/download information to/from a Casio digital diary. I didn’t, but David Empson of New Zealand wrote to inform me that he had created “rudimen- tary” software for the IIGS that allows him to perform simple data backup and restoration for his Casio calculator. David isn’t sure that the data formats or protocols are similar, but if someone contacts him via e-mail at dempson@actrix.gen.nz he’s willing to look into it. AppleWorks GS Problem Another reader, Bill Abate, had written in to say that since he had installed System Software 6.0.1, he was having problems with AppleWorks GS not re- membering where to save his files. I replied that I thought that Softdisk G-S had published a patch program to fix this prob- lem, but that I couldn’t find any indication of which issue of Soft- disk G-S it appeared on. Fortu- nately, a vigilant reader named Rose Wall knew exactly which issue of Softdisk G-S this pro- gram was on — issue number 53. (Contact Softdisk Publishing at 800-831-2694 or 318-221-8718 to order this back issue.) Well, that about wraps up all of the unanswered letters from the last issue of GS+ Magazine. But, there have been a few other questions that have popped up... System 6.0.1? Lots of folks have asked if EGO Systems is still distributing IIGS System Software 6.0.1. Well, we do have to pay a li- censing fee to distribute parts of the System Software on our GS+ Magazine back issues, so I guess that we can still distrib- ute the entire five disk set to anyone buying GS+ Magazine back issues. But, you have to buy magazines and disks (not just magazines) for us to be able to send you the System Software. And you still need to send us five blank and for- matted disks for us to copy the System Software onto. (Don’t send those disks to Joe Kohn! Send them, along with your GS+ Magazine and disk back issue order, to EGO Systems, 7918 Cove Ridge Rd., Hixson, TN 37343.) Dr. Bazyar Rx Some folks have reported that after installing Dr. Bazyar (from GS+ V7.N1), it doesn’t work. (Dr. Bazyar is a tempo- rary Init that patches the Sys- tem 6.0.1 High Sierra FST so that it will recognize ISO 9660 CD-ROMs with illegal charac- ters in their volume and folder names.) The problem is that Dr. Bazyar only works with the High Sierra FST from System 6.0.1 and unbeknownst to all of these folks, they have the High Sierra FST from System 6.0 installed. The reason? In almost every case, these folks also own DiscQuest or the DiscQuest Encyclopedia. Apparently, when you install either of these prod- ucts, it installs a copy of the System 6.0 High Sierra FST on your boot disk. So, the solution is to simply reinstall the High Sierra FST from your System 6.0.1 master disks. Dr. Bazyar should then work as advertised. Boot Time Problems? Still other folks have reported that the Boot Time control pan- el (which tells you how long your TIGS was “up” and how many times it has crashed) was not working properly with the IIGS clock set to display 24-hour time. The author of Boot Time, Chris Vavruska, heard about this problem and promptly of- fered to write a patch program to fix it. At this point, the patch program is still undergoing testing, but when it’s ready, it’ll be available on all of the better online services. Misperception Correction Finally, I need to take a few sentences to set the record straight regarding compatibility between the program Animasia 3-D and the Second Sight video board. In a reply to a letter from Rodney Avilla, I pointed out that the Second Sight video card does not currently support the TIGS graphics mode known as “Fill Mode.” I also pointed out that Animasia 3-D uses this graphics mode in the creation of movies. What I neglected to point out is that Animasia 3-D allows you to turn this feature off, so that the movies you create with it will not use Fill Mode, and will therefore be completely compatible with the Second Sight video card. A Moving Experience Oh, one last thing, EGO Sys- tems has moved again, so I need to make sure that everyone out there knows our new contact information. So, here it is! EGO Systems 7918 Cove Ridge Rd. Hixson, TN 37343 Tech Support: 423-843-1775 FAX: 423-843-0661 Orders Only: 800-662-3634 (Note: If you have any trouble getting a FAX through, call the FAX number, let the phone ring four times, and then press #11*. That will activate the FAX ma- chine and your FAX should then go through.) And, of course, you can still contact us via e-mail at either of our addresses: Diz@genie.com or GSPlusDiz@aol.com. If you have access to the World Wide Web, you can also visit our web pages at http://www.hypermall.com Not the End! So, that about wraps up the burial shroud of GS+ Magazine. What’s next for me personally? Well, as I said earlier, EGO Sys- tems is still in business sup- porting the IIGS, and I plan on keeping it that way for as long as possible. I plan on publishing a catalog every couple of months, and mailing it out to all of the old GS+ Magazine subscribers, but that’s still in the planning stages. T’ve also got a standing offer from Joe Kohn to contribute something to each issue of Shareware Solutions II, so you'll be seeing more of me in these pages as well. (I hear that Joe’s also negotiating with Professor Shareware Solutions IT 9 G. S. Gumby to come up with some more rumors about the TIGS market...) Beyond that, ’'m going to be trying to make my mark as a freelance writer, edi- tor, programmer or comedian. Heck, if Jeff Foxworthy can get his own TV show, I should have my own cable network in the next five years or so! @ AppleWorks ’96 Long Live NAUG For more than a decade, Apple- Works has been meeting the in- creasingly sophisticated needs of Apple II users by providing an integrated environment that provides word processing, data- base and spreadsheet capabil- ities. As each new version of AppleWorks has been released, more and more capabilities have been added to the pro- gram, and more and more com- puting power has been bestowed upon Apple II users. For the past decade, the Nation- al AppleWorks User Group (NAUG) has been one of Apple- Works’ staunchest proponents by providing superb technical support for tens of thousands of loyal AppleWorks’ users. NAUG published an informative news- letter, maintained a huge li- brary of AppleWorks related materials, published books, op- erated a BBS, and maintained an active presence on all of the major online services. Throughout the past decade, NAUG has been a phenomenal source of AppleWorks support and an integral part of the Ap- ple II community. NAUG has educated AppleWorks users and taught them how to do what can’t be done with an Apple II. NAUG has helped users to push AppleWorks into performing tasks undreamed of by the au- thor of the program. Sadly, in November, 1995, the 10 Shareware Solutions IT dwindling number of NAUG members were informed that The National AppleWorks User Group would cease to exist after December 31, 1995. In the November, 1995 issue of the AppleWorks Forum, NAUG founder Warren Williams tried to ease the sense of loss felt by NAUG members. Regarding the voluminous amount of Apple- Works related disks that would no longer be available from NAUG, Warren Williams wrote: “We will archive and protect those disks in case they are of historical interest to future gen- erations. We will also try to identify a library or other insti- tution that will care for the disks and make them available to researchers and others with a legitimate interest in their contents.” Shareware Solutions II is proud to announce that it has been chosen by the National Apple- Works User Group as the offi- cial repository for the massive AppleWorks related NAUG li- brary. Shareware Solutions II will continue to distribute NAUG’s disk library and back issues of the disk-based elec- tronic edition of the Apple- Works Forum NAUG-On-Disk newsletter. NAUG Resources Although NAUG has already ceased to exist, its legacy will live on well into the next cen- tury, as the body of work that it has left behind is enormous. When NAUG went out of busi- ness, its AppleWorks related library disks numbered more than 400, and there were 65 complete issues of NAUG-On- Disk. Due to the enormity of the NAUG AppleWorks’ library, it’s simply impossible to even at- tempt to describe all those disks within the pages of this news- letter. Instead, Shareware Solutions II has acquired all of the re- maining catalogs that describe the hundreds of NAUG disks available. The catalog is more than 60 pages in length, yet it only goes to 1994. For that rea- son, we have created a supple- mental catalog on disk that con- tains information about the con- tents of all disks produced and/ or distributed by NAUG since then. Additionally, we have added an AppleWorks database to that disk which lists every article that ever appeared in the AppleWorks Forum newsletter, and have added a smaller data- base that describes all the arti- cles which appear on all 65 is- sues of NAUG-On-Disk. That catalog plus disk is currently available for $5, which includes postage. As you look through the NAUG- On-Disk database, keep in mind that not only do the disks con- tain the full text of all the arti- cles that appeared in the news- letter, but also the templates and TimeOut modules that were described in the newsletter and the latest AppleWorks library disks that were discussed in that issue. Shareware Solutions II will be making NAUG library disks available on both 5.25" and 3.5" disks. NAUG-On-Disk will only be available on 3.5" disks. All disks cost $5 which includes postage to anywhere in the world. Please order all disks by name, and specify which size disk you prefer. The AppleWorks Gazette Shareware Solutions II is not the only organization that is at- tempting to continue the fine tradition started by NAUG. In fact, two active and prolific NAUG contributors - Howard Katz and Christian Serreau - have just started publishing The AppleWorks Gazette, a new disk-based, bimonthly publica- tion devoted to AppleWorks. According to Howard, “typical columns will include news about the latest AppleWorks’ events, reviews of Apple II hardware, views of the program’s internal structure, tips and techniques in programming, and reports about possible uses of Apple- Works. A special column for newcomers in the Apple II and AppleWorks world, and letters from readers are available.” A one-year subscription to The AppleWorks Gazette will con- sist of six 3.5" disks and it costs $35, including air mail postage to anywhere in the world. European subscribers can send a check or money order, made payable to Christian Serreau, to: Christian Serreau 12, rue de la Censerie 49100 Angers, France North American subscribers can send a check or money order, made payable to Howard Katz, to: Howard Katz 1104 Lorlyn Cir #2D Batavia, IL 60510-1748 Marin MacroWorks Resource Central’s TimeOut- Central was an excellent disk- based AppleWorks publication that was co-edited by Apple- Works v4 and v5 author Randy Brandt and macro wizard Will Nelken. Will’s company — Marin MacroWorks — has recently ac- quired the rights to all 26 back issues of TimeOut-Central, and he is making those 800K disk magazines available to those who may have missed them the first time around. Each issue contains articles, hints and tips, techniques, tem- plates, tools, and programs for enhancing AppleWorks. The earlier issues deal with Apple- Works v3, while later issues focus on AppleWorks v4 and v5. If you order 1 to 5 issues, the cost is $4.95 per issue. If you order 6 or more disks, the price drops to $3.95 each per issue. The cost for the entire TimeOut- Central 26 disk collection is $85. Postage to US destinations is included. Postage to destina- tions outside the US is ad- ditional; please add $3 for 1-5 disks, $6 for 6-10 disks, $9 for 11-15 disks, $12 for 16-20 disks, or $15 for 21+ disks. As a friend (and close neighbor) of Shareware Solutions II, Mar- in MacroWorks wants to offer you a special deal. If you order before March 31, 1996 and the total comes to more than $25, please deduct 10% from the price. This special offer is good for any products offered by Mar- in MacroWorks. Will Nelken is not resting on his laurels as he continues to create new AppleWorks products and update older ones. Will was commissioned by Quality Com- puters to create the “One Touch Command” disk which was available as an AppleWorks v4 add-on. He has just released an updated “One Touch Command 5” disk which contains a collec- tion of 15 stellar TimeOut add- ons for AppleWorks v5. Among the add-ons are a typing speed test, an easy way to create boxes around text, a game of Hang Man, and a pop-up calculator. This disk costs $12.95. Outside the US, please add $3 postage. Also available is a second col- lection of TimeOut add-on for ei- ther AppleWorks v4 or 5. “Touch Two” provides a way to print multi-column word processing documents, word wrap in the SpreadSheet, a method to add columns of numbers in the word processor, a phone dialer for the database, and a way to recal- culate only specified rows in the SpreadSheet. This disk costs $12.95. Outside the US, please add $3 postage. To place an order, to request information or a catalog of avail- able products, contact: Will Nelken Marin MacroWorks 1675 Grand Avenue, Suite 1 San Rafael, CA 94901-2211 415-459-0845 wnelken1@genie.com AncestorWorks Other AppleWorks development work continues as well. Dr Bud Shareware Solutions IT i Simrin’s AncestorWorks has just been released, and it is the first genealogy program ever created that works from inside AppleWorks v5.1. AncestorWorks is a TimeOut application for AppleWorks v5.1 that provides file card menus to help you manage all of your ge- nealogical data. AncestorWorks utilizes 15 task files that work behind the scenes to carry out your menu choices. Included are four database templates to en- ter and track your data, pop-up help screens, and pop-up glossa- ries that permit you to see and enter information from the other databases without leaving your current database. Dr Sim- rin spent 4,000 hours devel- oping AncestorWorks, and it ap- pears that he has created an ex- tremely sophisticated, powerful and well designed program. Dr Simrin is so confident that you will like AncestorWorks that he is even offering it with a money back guarantee! The cost is only $30 plus $5 for shipping and handling. If you want to preview AncestorWorks, there is a demo disk available for only $7.50 and if you later decide to purchase the full pro- gram, the cost of the demo disk will be applied towards the full purchase price. For additional information, con- tact: Dr Bud Simrin 9901 Ivy Leaf Lane Drawer S Fort Worth, TX 76108-3821 817-246-0859 budman@flash.net @ PMPFax Nearly a year ago, Vitesse re- leased FAXination, a software package for the IIGS that al- lows owners of fax/modems to send and receive faxes from the IIGS Desktop. The initial re- lease proved to be quite prob- lematic, but after five revisions were released within a month or two, many IIGS owners — myself included — reported that FAXin- ation worked wonderfully while others reported that they were still unable to use the program dependably. Watching with great interest from the sidelines was Paul Parkhurst, the author of Ansi- Term. Paul had already started work on his own IIGS send and receive fax program. After he read many messages posted on- line about problems that IIGS owners had with FAXination, Paul was determined to release a program that would hopefully work for all IIGS owners, no matter which fax/modem they owned. To accomplish that goal, 12 Shareware Solutions IT Such A Deal! Paul recruited upwards of a dozen beta-testers, a number of whom were quite willing to lend Paul their fax/modems for com- patibility testing. Over the years, modem manu- facturers have flocked to the Hayes standards for trans- mitting data over the phone lines, but no one single stan- dard has yet to be adopted by manufacturers of fax/modems. In fact, several different “stan- dards” have been adopted. Paul learned from following the re- lease of FAXination that in or- der to assure that any particu- lar fax/modem conformed to at least one of those standards, it had to be tested thoroughly. Although Paul would have liked to release PMPFax as soon as possible after the release of FAXination, he took almost a full year to test it with as many different fax/modems as possi- ble, and Paul’s rigorous testing has paid off. Upon the recent release of PMPFax, the praises started to appear online. Some reported success without even having read the manual, while others proclaimed it to be the most dependable program they'd ever encountered. The truth of the matter is that PMPFax is a very well tested program that contains just a- bout every single fax-related bell and whistle imaginable. It is a very well thought out and de- signed program that provides JIGS owners of fax/modems with the ability to send or receive fax transmissions from the Finder or from within any standard GS/OS program. PMPFax is supplied on two 3.5" disks, and it comes with a thor- ough and excellent 100+ page manual that just so happens to have been designed and created with the page layout module of AppleWorks GS. PMPFax re- quires System 6.0.1 and a hard disk drive. Additionally, it re- quires that you have at least 1.5 megabytes of free and available RAM, and several megabytes of free space on your hard drive in order to store your incoming and outgoing faxes. PMPFax is quite easy to install on your hard drive. Simply in- sert Disk 1 into your disk drive, double click on the “PMPFax- Install” program, and all of the necessary files will be copied to your hard drive. Once you have successfully in- stalled PMPFax, it is critical that you first determine wheth- er your system has the neces- sary 1.5 megabytes of available RAM. To determine if you have enough free memory, just access the Apple Pull Down Menu and choose the “About This Apple IIgs” menu item; that will show you how much RAM is available Please be aware that even with a 4 megabyte RAM expansion card installed in your IIGS, if you have a lot of Desk Acces- sories and Inits installed, you may not have the needed 1.5 megabytes of available RAM. If you don’t, you may have to inac- tivate or remove some of your lesser used DAs or Inits in order to use PMPFax. Once PMPFax is installed, you'll control its operations through the PMPFax Center New Desk Accessory that can be called up from within any standard GS/OS program that displays the Apple Pull Down Menu. For those who don’t have quite enough available RAM to run the PMPFax Center NDA, a separate PMPFax application program is included that re- quires much less memory to op- erate. That program includes most of the features available in the NDA, with two notable exceptions; the program cannot operate from within other appli- cations like NDAs can, and be- cause of that, all automatic send and receive features will only operate while the applica- tion program is running. There- fore, the NDA version of PMP- Fax is much more versatile than the application version. Upon first opening the Fax Cen- ter, you'll want to enter a Sta- tion ID so that your name and fax phone number will appear on title pages and cover sheets. A number of other options can also be entered at this time, but are not required. So once the Station ID information is en- tered, you're ready to send or re- ceive your first fax. Using PMPFax is easier than you could possibly imagine. You simply create an out-going fax document using any GS/OS pro- gram of your choice; it could be created in a word processor, a paint program or a desktop pub- lishing program. Once you have created a document, just hold down your Option key and ac- cess the program’s Print com- mand and PMPFax will spring into action. You will be pres- ented with a dialog box that al- lows you to direct where the fax will be sent. Once that is done, PMPFax will then “translate” your text or graphic into a form that can be transmitted via your fax/modem, will dial the other fax machine or fax/mod- em, establish a connection and transmit the fax document. It’s as easy as that. Of course, there are many op- tions that can be set up. As an example, PMPFax allows you to set up phone books of frequently called numbers, and it even al- lows you to set up groupings of phone numbers that permit you to effortlessly send, with just one mouse click, the same fax to a number of different fax ma- chines. Other features and options a- bound in PMPFax. Built into the program is a module that re- sembles a desktop publishing program containing a mini-paint program that can be used for the creation of customized cover sheets. There are also options available that allow you to schedule the sending of faxes at a later date or time. There’s e- ven a forwarding feature that al- lows you to immediately forward incoming faxes to other people, or you can modify incoming faxes and then forward them. To receive faxes, you can set up PMPFax to automatically an- swer any incoming calls, or you can manually click on the “re ceive a fax” option when you hear the phone ring. If you use the PMPFax NDA version and have it set up to auto-receive incoming faxes, it will, in es- sence, turn your IIGS into a rela- tively full featured fax machine. You can even configure PMPFax to automatically print out a fax document upon receipt. In general, PMPFax provides JIGS owners of fax/modems with an integrated and elegant meth- od to send and receive fax docu- ments right from the IIGS desk- top. Unfortunately, not everyone will be able to use PMPFax since a hard drive is required and those without a 4 megabyte RAM expansion card just won't have enough available RAM to use PMPFax. Like many initial software re- leases, PMPFax v1.0 did have several slight problems. Within a week of its release several mi- nor “bugs” were discovered and corrected and a v1.0.1 update was released. Despite the minor problems experienced with PMPFax v1.0, I have been quite impressed with the program and Shareware Solutions IT 13 do consider it to be a useful ad- dition to my IIGS system. PMPFax is available directly from Parkhurst Micro Products for the list price of $89, plus $3 for shipping and handling. Until March 1, 1996, PMPFax is available for 50% off as a com- petitive upgrade for those who previously purchased FAXina- tion. If you own FAXination, you can purchase PMPFax for $45 plus $3 s/h. To take advantage of that special pricing, send a copy of the FAXination invoice or a copy of your FAXination disk along with the first page of your FAXination manual. If you do not own FAXination, you are eligible for a $20 dis- count on PMPFax because you are a subscriber to Shareware Solutions II. Just mention the magic words — Such A Deal — when you order PMPFax. Parkhurst Micro Products can accept payment by check, money order, Visa or MasterCard. For additional information, or to or- der PMPFax, contact: Parkhurst Micro Products 2491 San Ramon Valley Blvd Suite 1-317 San Ramon, CA, 94583 510-837-9098 pmp@genie.com pmp@delphi.com Seven Hills Software Until February 29, 1996, Seven Hills Software would like to of- fer you some special pricing on each and every Apple IIGS prod- uct in their large and diverse product line. As part of Seven Hills’ Such A Deal program, they are offering 14 Shareware Solutions IT two of their flagship products for 50% off, with the remainder of all their products available for the low price of $19.95! By the time you read this, the long awaited v2.0 update to GraphicWriter III should be shipping and that program is available for $65, plus s/h. That desktop publishing program was previewed at last summer’s KansasFest, and if it’s any indi- cation, I have already placed my order. Current owners of Graph- icWriter can purchase the up- date for only $25. Seven Hills is also offering their TIGS telecommunications pro- gram — Spectrum v2 — for $65, plus s/h. This feature laden pro- gram is the only GS/OS based modem software available that will let you connect with local BBSs, Delphi, GEnie, Compu- Serve or the Internet. All of the other products in Sev- en Hills’ massive product line are available for only $19.95, plus s/h. Those include: Drive Cleaner GS: A program and cleaning diskette that will clean your 3.5" disk drives’ read/ write head. Express: A utility that saves your printing jobs to your hard disk drive, then returns com- puter control over to you as it prints in the background. Font Factory GS: A font editor and font conversion program for bit-mapped fonts. Formulate: Allows you to add complex math formula symbols to any GS/OS document from pull down menus. Gate GS: A colorful and fast ac- tion arcade game that combines action, adventure and brain- teasing puzzles. Independence: A set of GS/OS printer drivers for Hewlett- Packard LaserJets and black and white DeskJets. Kangaroo: A must-have GS/OS utility that lets you conveniently open and/or save frequently used files from custom hierarchic menus. The Manager: Allows you to keep multiple GS/OS applica- tions open at the same time and instantly switch between them. ShoeBox GS: A complete set of HyperCard home organizing stacks. Includes HyperCard! Space Fox: A classic outer space fast action arcade shoot ’em up game. Super Menu Pack: Provides three useful utilities in one package. Font menus display fonts in their actual style. Con- trol Panels can be chosen from a hierarchic New Desk Accessory menu. Allows you to open a win- dow that displays all characters available in a font. SuperConvert: The classic IIGS graphics conversion program. TransProg III: Create a custom menu in your menu bar to easily launch your applications. Additional s/h fees are $3.50 per order (not per item). Florida res- idents must add 7% tax. Seven Hills will accept credit cards, personal checks, money orders, and even purchase orders from schools. For additional information, contact: Seven Hills Software 2310 Oxford Road Tallahassee, FL 32304-3930 904-575-0566 (voice) 904-575-2015 (fax) sevenhills@aol.com sevenhills@genie.com (Please note that after 2/29/96, both Gate and Space Fox will be available exclusively from Shareware Solutions II for $20, plus $3 per order for shipping and handling.) @ The Desktop Publishing Contest The Contest A decade ago, Broderbund Soft- ware released The Print Shop and instantly transformed every Apple II computer into a print- ing press capable of rendering beautiful looking greeting cards. We were thrilled with the power that The Print Shop offered us, and for years most of us felt like Gutenberg himself, able to cre- ate custom cards and stationery at will. And then Hewlett-Packard (HP) started building low cost, high quality inkjet and laser print- ers, and Apple II users discov- ered the wonders of those plug- and-print DeskJets and Laser- Jets. We could finally print out our work at 300 dots per inch, and many of us simply stopped using our trusty ImageWriters. We soon discovered that one thing was amiss. We could easi- ly print to our HP printers from such standard software pro- grams as AppleWorks Classic and AppleWorks GS, ProTerm and Platinum Paint, but we were aghast to learn that none of the versions of Print Shop worked with HP printers. What were we going to do? From the pages of inCider/A+, I issued a call for a letter writing campaign to Broderbund, and Apple II users pleaded with Broderbund, to no avail, for an update to The Print Shop. I then hired Bill Heineman to create a patch program for The Print Shop GS that would allow us to use that program with inkjet and laser printers. A year went by, and Bill was unable to deliv- er the goods. All hope seemed lost by Decem- ber, 1994, when two greeting cards, created by Bob Hewitt and Glenn Sapaden, arrived at Shareware Solutions II. They sure looked like Print Shop GS greeting cards, but they’d been printed on color HP DeskJets. These two cards had both been created with the Page Layout Module of AppleWorks GS, and a previously unexplored option turned out to be the keys to the kingdom! Using a desktop pub- lishing program with HP print- ers granted Apple II users even more printer magic than The Print Shop had bestowed on us. These cards led to an article within these pages that des- cribed how to create greeting cards within AppleWorks GS, and the flood gates of creativity were opened. The artistic juices of the Apple II community were flowing, and in an attempt to accumulate the collective crea- tivity of our community, a desk- top publishing contest was an- nounced. And, you responded fabulously. The Entries Steve Cavanaugh sent in some lovely looking greeting cards that had been created using GraphicWriter III. William Hall submitted cas- sette labels and cassette box in- serts that had been created in GraphicWriter III. He also sub- mitted a Time Tracker that had been created within the graphics module of AppleWorks GS. Max Jones sent in a beautiful 15 page newsletter — Juiced.GS — that had been designed using AppleWorks GS. He also sub- mitted AppleWorks GS gener- ated calendars, letterhead sta- tionery and a memo sheet. Neal Layton sent in a stunning looking informational flier that he’d created in AppleWorks GS for his local user group. Ed Lundberg submitted an in- formative and attractive user group newsletter that had been designed using GraphicWriter TI v2.0. Doris Regner submitted visually stunning stationery along with matching envelopes that had all been created in the AppleWorks GS graphics module. Perry Watson sent in several issues of a newsletter that had been created using Publishlt v4. William Yarroch created an ex- tremely sophisticated and use- ful mail order form using the AppleWorks GS Page Layout Module. Shareware Solutions II 15 And The Winners Are The panel of judges had a very difficult time choosing the best submissions because they were all very creative, ingenious, awe inspiring, and stunning. After much discussion, the panel of judges overcame their dilemma by declaring that every single entry was a winner! The corporate sponsors have been alerted, and prizes should soon be arriving. In addition, visionaries Glenn Sapaden and Bob Hewitt were also declared winners for planting the seeds of the contest. Thanks everyone for taking part; you have cre- ated quite a body of work that the rest of us can learn from and adapt for our own needs. The Contest Disks Shareware Solutions II has created a number of 3.5" disks that contain all of the winning entries, and then some. If you want to learn from the desktop publishing masters of the Apple II world, those disks are chock full with creative ideas and beautiful designs. There are two AppleWorks GS 3.5" disks available; the cost is $6 for both disks. There are two GraphicWriter III 3.5" disks available; the cost is $6 for both disks. There is one PublishIt 3.5" disk available; the cost is $4. @ Shareware Solutions [e/IIc/Igs A2 Disks Of The Month The October, 1995 issue of the GEnie A2 Disk of the Month in- cludes both issues of the GEnie- Lamp newsletter; one is geared towards programmers and the other is directed to end users. Software for the Ile/IIc on this disk includes a working demo of Charles Hartley's wonderful shareware touch-typing tutor — Computer Keyboarding 5. Software for the IIGS on the Oc- tober A2 DOM includes several of Brian Gillespie’s HyperCard IIGS Xcemds that will be of interest to graphic artists and designers; Animate allows both 320 and 640 mode animations to be displayed using simple scripting commands and Load- Pall converts HyperCard to a 320 multipalette program at will. Also of interest to Hyper- Card users is HyperTalkDA, a New Desk Accessory that fea- tures a short explanation and examples of most HyperTalk commands, properties and func- tions. Of interest to those who enjoy animations is ViewDL v2, a Second Sight compatible util- 16 Shareware Solutions IT ity that displays IBM PC based DL animation files. You'll also find ChaCha, a desktop based utility which allows you to eas- ily CHAnge CHAracters in any file, thereby permitting easy conversion of line feeds into car- riage returns or vice versa. There are two GS/OS enhance- ments from Bret Victor: Magic Mouse, which lets you use your arrow keys to move the mouse pointer around, and Horoscope, which displays Mad Libs style words of wisdom as GS/OS loads. There is also a T1 Post- Script font that looks like care- ful hand lettering, and lastly, there is TextSave, a Classic Desk Accessory that allows you to save any text screen to disk. The November, 1995 issue of the GEnie A2 Disk of the Month includes both the end user and programmer versions of the GE- nieLamp newsletter. Also in- cluded is II Something, a free- ware Apple II electronic news- letter. Software for the Ie/IIc on this disk includes a utility pro- gram that converts downloaded “gz format archives” to “zip for- mat archives.” Software for the IIGS on the November A2 DOM includes Geoff Weiss’ HyperCard IIGS based HTML Editor that will convert standard ASCII Text files into html format docu- ments that can be used to set up a home page on the Internet’s World Wide Web. You'll also find JoyMouse, a combination Driver/Init which gives your joy- stick the ability to perform mouse functions within GS/OS. There are also 17 Thanksgiving related Super Hi Res graphic files and four different Icons for the Iomega Zip Drive. Lastly, we have Lane Roath’s WriteAway, a GS/OS based mouse-driven word processing program which has just been reclassified as free- ware. The December, 1995 issue of the GEnie A2 Disk of the Month in- cludes both the end user and programmer editions of the GE- nieLamp newsletter. There’s a slew of Ile/IIc utility software contained on this disk, including ASCII Helper 8, a program that can remove line feeds, carriage returns and other control charac- ters from ASCII Text files. Also included is Faz II, an easy to use filetype changer, and File Chopper, a program that lets you chop large text files into smaller and more manageable 25K segments. You'll also find Sneeze, a fabulous program se- lector (menu program) that can also be used to read or print Text files or AppleWorks word processing documents and can even be used to view graphics. SMARTBOOT is a unique pro- gram that gives you just a bit more control over your Apple II computer and its accessories. Lastly, we have Where In Hades Is Carmen Santiago, a “game” that is loosely based on Dante’s Inferno. Software for the IIGS on the December A2 DOM includes ASCII Helper, a New Desk Ac- cessory version of the utility de- scribed above. There’s also Bram Slot, a utility for quickly saving and restoring battery RAM settings, and SpeedRead, a GS/OS desktop based Text File reader. Lastly, we have SpellBinder, a text-based ad- venture game that allows you to enter commands from pull down menus and dialogue boxes as you try to break the curse put on you by a powerful mage. The January, 1996 issue of the GEnie A2 Disk of the Month in- cludes both editions of the GE- nieLamp newsletter. Software for the Ie/IIc on this disk includes “a Ton Of Fun with Disk.O.Games.” Included in this collection are 9 fabulous games: Don’t Fence Me In, 3 versions of Tic Tac Toe, a Number Find puzzle, a Letter Find puzzle, a Sliding puzzle, Guillotine and Internamaze. Software for the IIGS on the December A2 DOM includes a Super Hi Res collection of 1996 monthly calendars. Also in- cluded is Print 3200, a program which allows you to print 3200 color graphics on an Image- Writer II. There’s a “bug fix” that corrects a problem with System 6.0.1’s HFS.FST and a New Desk Accessory that dis- plays an index of articles that appeared in the first 9 issues of Shareware Solutions II. Lastly, there is a prototype issue of Juiced.GS, a new newsletter that focuses on the Apple IIGS. All of the GEnie A2 DOM disks are supplied on 3.5" disk only, and are available for $5 each, or get all four issues described above for $15. Note for 5.25" disk drive own- ers: The Bag.O.Games disk de- scribed on the 1/96 DOM is available on 5.25" disk for $5. Best-Of-Eamon There are all sorts of adventure games available, from text ad- venture games where you enter two word commands (i.e., Go North; Get Sword) to highly intricate IIGS Super Hi Res mouse driven graphic based games. Some of the most popu- lar and enduring adventure games ever released are from the freeware Eamon series. Originally developed by Donald Brown in the early 1980s, there are now nearly 250 different text-based titles in this series of fantasy role playing games, and all Eamon games will run on any Apple II computer. The Eamon series has become so popular that there is even an international Eamon Ad- venturer’s Guild (EAG). Under the leadership of Tom Zuchow- ski, members of the Guild re- ceive a 10 page quarterly news- letter that includes news, ad- venture reviews, design tutori- als, bug fixes, and technical sup- port for Eamon players and authors. The Eamon Adventurer’s Guild has been instrumental in up- dating 60 of the best Eamon Ad- venture games so that they now operate under ProDOS and are displayed in 80 columns. EAG improvements to the Eamon Dungeon Designer now make it easier than ever for anyone with a little imagination to actually create his or her own Eamon ad- venture games. The Eamon Adventurer’s Guild has created a series of 3.5" disks that combine the 60 best Eamon games, the updated Eamon Master disks, the Eamon De- signer programs, and the Eamon Utilities, along with several dif- ferent kinds of Eamon lists, re- views and tutorials and Tom Zuchowski would like to make all of them available to Share- ware Solutions II subscribers. The Eamon Adventurer’s Guild’s Best-Of-Eamon series is avail- able from the Shareware Solu- tions II Library for $15. Please note that this Best-Of Eamon series is available on five 3.5" disks only, and that all of the various adventures and utilities have been compressed with ShrinkIt; all files must therefore be uncompressed with ShrinkIt (which is included) be- fore they can be run. If you do not have a 3.5" disk drive, do not want all of the up- dated 60 Eamon games, or if you are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with unpacking ShrinkIt com- pressed archives, Shareware So- lutions II is also offering a second, smaller Eamon collec- tion on 5.25" disks - The Eamon Shareware Solutions IT 7 Starter Kit - which includes the necessary Eamon Master Disk, a player’s manual, and several easy to solve Eamon games. The 5.25" Eamon Starter Kit collec- tion is available from Share- ware Solutions II for $7. If you are interested in joining the Eamon Adventurer’s Guild, a four issue membership sub- scription to the EAG newsletter costs $7 for US or Canada delivery; $12 elsewhere. You can also obtain a sample newsletter for $2 (US/Canada; $4 else- where). For additional informa- tion, contact: The Eamon Adventurer’s Guild Tom Zuchowski, Editor 7625 Hawkhaven Dr. Clemmons, NC 27012-9408 910-766-7490 Scavenger Hunt When Softdisk ceased publica- tion late last year, the rights to some of the programs that had been published by Softdisk re- verted back to the program’s au- thor. The Apple II community is very fortunate that Charles Hartley reacquired the rights to his Scavenger Hunt series, be- cause three of those educational games are now available as $10 shareware programs. Scavenger Hunt is a challenging yet fun trivia game that will test and increase your knowl- edge of geographic trivia as you follow clues to discover which state or country is being de- scribed. Scavenger Hunt is available in three variations: USA Edition, USA Junior Edi- tion and World Edition. The US series includes pertinent facts on all 50 states, and the world edition contains information on 150 countries, many of which didn’t even exist ten years ago. 18 Shareware Solutions IT As each game starts, the player is prompted to enter his or her name. This is ideal for class- room use as it allows players to continue a game in progress. A clue will then be displayed which identifies a person, place or thing that has significance to the country or state the player is seeking to name. After clues are displayed, the player will try to guess the correct state or country by scrolling through a list using the arrow keys. When an incorrect locale is entered, a fact about that country or state is divulged. It’s rare to discover an educa- tional game that is gratifying and challenging for both school children and adults, but Scaven- ger Hunt is one of those rarities that can be enjoyed by all age groups. Mr Hartley has even cre- ated an easier to solve variation of USA Scavenger Hunt which is just for kids, with clues geared towards them. Previously available only to subscribers of Softdisk, a collec- tion of all three editions of Scav- enger Hunt is now available from the Shareware Solutions II library for only $5. Please specify whether you want Scav- enger Hunt on 5.25" or 3.5" disk. Apple II Drive Tuner An article appeared in Volume 1, Issue 4 that described the innovative and ingenious uses of Apple II computers that Dr Stephen Buggie had employed with his college level Psychology students. In somewhat of a turn around, Dr Buggie is now util- izing his teaching skills to as- sist Apple II owners to fix their broken or faulty Apple brand Disk II 5.25" disk drives. Dr Buggie has been an avid collector of Apple II equipment, and he has discovered that 90% of the used 5.25" disk drives that are sold as faulty will work perfectly after just a few minor mechanical adjustments. Dr Buggie has prepared a two- sided 5.25" disk that can help almost anyone to repair a 5.25" disk drive. Side 1 of the disk contains an excellent article that describes all of the various models of 5.25" disk drives that work with different models of Apple II computers. He also dis- cusses in detail the three major symptoms that “broken” 5.25" disk drives exhibit and he de- scribes the adjustments that will restore 90% of those 5.25" drives to health. Those adjust- ments affect the rotational speed of the drive, the end-stop alignment and the center-track alignment. The second side of the disk con- tains DOS 3.3 based diagnostic software that will, among other things, test the speed and align- ment of 5.25" disk drives. If any adjustments are needed, you can then use Dr Buggie’s article as a guide to performing the repairs. The diagnostic software is named Aptest, and it was devel- oped and distributed by Call- Apple. Even though it dates back to 1980, I had never heard of Aptest before, and was pleased when I contacted the successor to Call-Apple — The Tech Alliance — and learned that Aptest is freeware. Dr Buggie’s Apple II Drive Tuner disk is available from the Shareware Solutions II library, on 5.25" disk only, for $5. For those of you who feel you lack the skills necessary to dis- assemble and repair 5.25" disk drives, you'll be pleased to learn that Dr Buggie is now offering an incredibly inexpensive repair service for Apple brand Disk II drives. Dr Buggie asks for only a $5 labor charge, plus shipping and handling, and states that the labor charge will be levied only if the repair is successful! He can also adjust other types of 5.25" drives, such as Disk IIc or half-height clone drives, pro- vided that the suspected fault is mechanical and not electrical. Electrical repairs can be per- formed on the Disk II and on full-height clones because the Integrated Circuits are sock- eted. Although rarely needed, Dr Buggie can replace faulty Inte- grated Circuits on the analog board for $1 each. Please note that it is more difficult to fix the analog board on newer 5.25" half-height drives because the Integrated Circuits on those are soldered. The shipping charges requested by Dr Buggie for shipment with- in the United States is $5 for 1 drive, $9 for 2 drives, $13 for 3 drives, $16 for 4 drives, $19 for 5 drives. If you send him more than 5 broken disk drives, send $19 plus an additional $3 per disk drive. If you have questions as to whether Dr Buggie can fix your particular brand of 5.25" disk drive, first contact him by mail or e-mail, describing in detail the symptoms your drive is exhibiting. Dr Stephen Buggie U of New Mexico-Gallup 200 College Rd. Gallup, NM 87301 buggie@unm.edu @ Shareware Solutions IIGS Flying Aces George T. Milonas retired from the US Air Force as a Lt Colo- nel and as a current member of the Air Force Association, he wanted to pay tribute to the Flying Aces who served in the US Air Force and its predeces- sor organizations. He chose HyperStudio as the ideal envi- ronment in which to create a historical visual database of those brave men. Colonel Milonas secured per- mission from Air Force Maga- zine to use the historical data which had previously been maintained by the Office of the Air Force Historian and had been compiled into four sepa- rate listings of Flying Aces from each of the major wars fought by the US in this century. Those four listings have been cor- rected, updated, and combined into one comprehensive free- ware HyperStudio stack that Colonel Milonas would like to share with his fellow IIGS avia- tion enthusiasts. Included on the Flying Aces disk is the HyperStudio run-time module. You therefore don’t even need to own HyperStudio to view Colonel Milonas’ tribute. Also included are a number of scanned historical photographs of US military aircraft. The Fly- ing Aces disk is available from the Shareware Solutions II li- brary for $5. RapidoGraf RapidoGraf is a new $25 share- ware program from France that quickly creates various types of charts from ASCII Text based SpreadSheet data files. RapidoGraf can generate seven different types of 2D graphs: scatter, line, high-low, area (simple or stacked), bar (simple or stacked), pies and multi-pies. 32 variables (rows) can be plotted simultaneously and the number of value points (col- umns) is only limited by the available memory. There are many options available, in- cluding the ability to use sym- bols, frames, background colors, grids, and choice of scale and reference values. The SpreadSheet module in AppleWorks GS allows you to save a SpreadSheet as an ASCII Text file with tab and carriage return delimiters, and it is those ASCII files that can be loaded into RapidoGraf. RapidoGraf is not a SpreadSheet program; in- stead, it is intended to be used as an adjunct to the AppleWorks GS SpreadSheet. Shareware Solutions II is authorized to distribute a demo version of RapidoGraf which is limited to loading in the sample ASCII Text files included on the demo disk. Upon payment of your $25 shareware fee directly to the author of the program, you will receive the complete Rapido- Graf program which can load in and chart AppleWorks GS SpreadSheets which have been saved as ASCII Text files. The RapidoGraf demo disk is available from the Shareware Solutions II library for $5. @ Shareware Solutions IT 19 Joe Kohn Shareware Solutions II 166 Alpine Street San Rafael, CA 94901-1008 FIRST CLASS - AIR MAIL If your mailing label shows EXP:V2,#6 then your subscription has expired and you must renew if you want to continue to receive Shareware Solutions II. 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