[HEA] _____________________ ___ _ |___ ______________| | | | | | | _ | | | | | || | | | | | | || | | | | | | || | | | ____ _ _ _ _ ______ | | | || | | | / __ \ | | / \_/ \ | ___ \ | | | || |__ ____ | | / / \ | | /\ /\ \ | | \ \ | | | || _ \ | _ \ | | \ \__/ | | | |_|| | | |__/ / | | | || | | || |_|| | | \___/|_| |_| |_| | ____/ |_| | || | | || |__ | |____________________ | | _ |__||_| |_|\____/ |________________________| | | |_| | | Lighting Your Apple II Path | | |_| ----------------------------------- >>> WELCOME TO THE LAMP! <<< ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE BEST OF THE A2 BULLETIN BOARD ON Syndicomm.com AND THE BEST OF THE DELPHI A2 AND A2PRO MESSAGE BOARDS "Teaching the Apple II user how to fish since 1998" :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The Lamp! An Onipa'a Software Production Vol. 4, No. 4 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Publisher................................Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. Editor.....................................................Lyle Syverson Internet Email, Publisher.........................thelamp@sheppyware.net Internet Email, Editor................................lyle@FoxValley.net :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: TABLE OF CONTENTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ April 15, 2001 HIGH ABOVE THE ROCK RIVER---------------------------------------------[OPN] Bridges A New Fairy Tale A New Land A2 FORUM AT Syndicomm.com (A2Central.com) DISTILLATIONS The A2 Forum - Syndicomm.com's A2 Community----------------------[ABB] First Full Time Employee at Syndicomm----------------------------[FFT] SSL-Capable Version of Lynx Added for Enhanced Accounts----------[LNX] Change in Addresses for Mail and Web Sites-----------------------[CMW] Syndicomm Web Site Revamped--------------------------------------[SWR] New Way to Pay Your Syndicomm Bill-------------------------------[NPB] What is SSL Support?---------------------------------------------[SSL] Free Unix Shell Accounts-----------------------------------------[FSA] Your Own Unix Shell----------------------------------------------[YOS] Can PrintShop GS be run From a Hard Drive?-----------------------[PSG] System 6.01 Via "Net Install"------------------------------------[SNI] Diversi-Cache With 3.5 Drives on IIgs----------------------------[DCG] Font Editor for the IIgs-----------------------------------------[FEG] What is Your Favorite Apple II Word Processor?-------------------[FWP] Printing Appleworks GS Spreadsheets------------------------------[PAS] Faster Modem for the IIgs?---------------------------------------[FMF] Anyone Tried the "Links" Text Browser?---------------------------[TLB] What is Your Favorite Search Site?-------------------------------[FSS] Viewing JPG on the IIgs------------------------------------------[JPG] The No Slot Clock------------------------------------------------[NSC] Favorite Ram Cards for the Apple II------------------------------[FRC] Your First Monitor for the Apple II------------------------------[YFM] File Name Restrictions for ISO 9660------------------------------[FNR] Telnet NDA by Kim Howe-------------------------------------------[TNK] New Web Site for Apple Blossom-----------------------------------[NWS] New Disk Images Tool for Windows Available-----------------------[DIT] DiskChanger for Use with KEGS32 Available------------------------[DCK] DiskChanger... What Else Have You Written?-----------------------[WEW] Comments on KEGS IIgs Emulator-----------------------------------[COK] Delete and Backspace Preferences for ProTERM Mac-----------------[DBP] Programing with PERL---------------------------------------------[PWP] DELPHI A2 DISTILLATIONS Likes New Features of Silvern Castle v7.2------------------------[LNF] Recording Email Address------------------------------------------[REA] Using HD Disks as DD Disks---------------------------------------[UHD] Preserving Remains of Delphi A2 Forum----------------------------[PRD] LETTERS TO THE EDITOR No Letters to the Editor This Month------------------------------[NLE] An Invitation----------------------------------------------------[LTE] KFEST 2001 K-Fest Early Bird Registration Deadline Extended to May 1--------[KFE] K-Fest Registration Information----------------------------------[KFR] More Reasons to Attend K-Fest------------------------------------[RAK] Friends For Life CD Will be Updated for K-Fest-------------------[FFL] EXTRA INNINGS About The Lamp! ------------------------------------------------ [INN] [*] [*] [*] READING THE LAMP! The index system used by The Lamp! is designed to make """"""""""""""""" your reading easier. To use this system, load this issue into any word processor or text editor. In the index you will find something like: EXTRA INNINGS About The Lamp! ------------------------------------------------ [INN] To read this article, simply use your search or find command to locate [INN]. There is a similar tag at the end of each article: [EOA]. [OPN]------------------------------- HIGH ABOVE THE ROCK RIVER | ------------------------------------ From The Editor """"""""""""""" by Lyle Syverson Bridges ~~~~~~~ From High Above The Rock River you will see several bridges... one a toll bridge. Some people will go out of their way to avoid paying the small fee for using the toll bridge. A New Fairy Tale ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once upon a time there was a land called Information. This land was on an island. Access was by way of a toll bridge. After paying the modest toll you could talk to the other visitors. You could post questions and comments in the forum. You could bring home with you chunks of wisdom others had left. And people were happy with their visits to this land called Information. Then one day the people who lived in Information announced that they were building another bridge... using this bridge would be free! Those coming by way of the toll bridge would have a few more privileges... but using this new bridge would be _free_. There were many curves and intersections on this new bridge. There were signs and billboards on the left, on the right, and overhead. Some of the signs had flashing lights. There were even great signs that hung over the road like a curtain... you had to locate and push a button on those curtain signs to get them out of your way! There were people who still preferred to come by way of the toll bridge. Traffic moved quickly. They could take care of their business and go home. Then one day the people who ran this land called Information announced that no new customers would be allowed on the toll bridge. Then tolls would no longer be collected... but no more money would be spent maintaining that bridge. Then... you can no longer talk to the people while on Information if they came by way of the free bridge. Then a date was announced when the old bridge would be closed completely. A New Land ~~~~~~~~~~ Syndicomm.com provides "a new land" where people can talk and exchange information. The Apple II area is thriving. Other areas are in the planning stage. Check the DISTILLATIONS section of this issue for announcements from Syndicomm.com (A2Central.com) to get a feel for the growth of the organization. [EOA] ASCII ART BEGINS _________ _ _ _ |__ __| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |___ ____ | | _____ __ ___ _ _ _____ | | | | | ___ \ / __ \ | | /____ \ | v v | | v ___ \ | | | | | | | | | /__\ \ | | ____| | | /\ /\ | | / \ \ | | | | | | | | | _____| | | / ___ | | || || | | | | | |_| | | | | | | | |_____ | |____ | |__| | | || || | | \___/ / _ |_| |_| |_| \______| |______| \____^_| |_||_||_| | |\____/ |_| | | | | |_| ASCII ART ENDS [EOA] --------------------------------------------------- DISTILLATIONS FROM The A2 FORUM at Syndicomm.com | (A2Central.com) | --------------------------------------------------- by Lyle Syverson [ABB] THE A2 FORUM - Syndicomm.com's A2 COMMUNITY """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Effective immediately, you can access our service by telnetting to syndicomm.com. You should use this domain name preferentially over a2central.com henceforth, since the latter will stop working sometime in the future as we continue to build toward opening more forums on our service. Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 28, Msg 14) [EOA] [FFT] FIRST FULL TIME EMPLOYEE AT SNDICOMM """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" We've hired our first full-time employee. Dave Miller, who's been doing most of the programming for our services, will start with us full-time effective April 2. He'll be able to put all his time and effort into building our system up. Once Dave's on full time, expect to start seeing some fairly significant changes to things, starting with our menus, which will be totally reworked to make it easier to add more forums, which we hope to start doing this spring. Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 28, Msg 14) [EOA] [LNX] SSL-CAPABLE VERSION OF LYNX ADDED FOR ENHANCED ACCOUNTS """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" For those of you that haven't noticed, we now offer access to an SSL-capable version of Lynx to our Enhanced account members, by pressing "L" at the main menu. If you would like to upgrade to an Enhanced account (which costs $15 per month or $35 per quarter), simply go to the Preferences menu by pressing "9", then choose option 3 on the following menu. We expect the coming weeks to show a huge improvement in the services we offer, and we're very excited about the future! Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 28, Msg 14) [EOA] [CMW] CHANGE IN ADDRESSES FOR MAIL AND WEB SITES """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Effective now, all A2Central.com members can use username@syndicomm.com as their email address, and, if they have a web site, http://www.syndicomm.com/~username for that. Your old a2people.com address still works (it's a second name for the old account). Future accounts will be syndicomm.com addresses only. Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 28, Msg 15) [EOA] [SWR] SYNDICOMM WEB SITE REVAMPED """""""""""""""""""""""""" The Syndicomm web site has been revamped. Joining Syndicomm Online now requires a swing by http://www.syndicomm.com/join.html -- people will be taken there when they try to join A2Central.com. We call this "Adding Value." Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 28, Msg 16) [EOA] [NPB] NEW WAY TO PAY YOUR SYNDICOMM BILL """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" We can now accept credit cards directly, billing your card automatically each time a payment is due. This is a huge time savings for you, and makes our life easier as well. :) We accept VISA and Mastercard. If you would like to do this, print out the form at http://www.syndicomm.com/cardauth.html and fill it out, printing neatly. Be sure to sign it. Then put it in an envelope and mail it to the address on the form. Once we have your card number on file, we will bill it automatically each time you owe payment for service. You will continue to receive an invoice by email as usual, for your records. If you have questions about any billing matters, including our new credit card support, please email billing@syndicomm.com. Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 28, Msg 17) >>>>> """"" If you're interested in having your credit card automatically billed each time a payment is due, you can get the form from http://www.syndicomm.com/cardauth.html. That's not news. What's news is that if you prefer, you can fax it to (520) 244-6350. :) Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 28, Msg 19) [EOA] [SSL] WHAT IS SSL SUPPORT """"""""""""""""""" Sheppy, I read your announcement about Lynx with SSL support. What is SSL support? MT Steve (S.BERNBAUM, Cat 11, Top 13, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" Support for going to secure web pages (pages that use https://etc instead of http://etc). This means you can do stuff like online banking or whatever if you want to. Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 11, Top 13, Msg 2) [EOA] [FSA] FREE UNIX SHELL ACCOUNTS """""""""""""""""""""""" If people really want telnettable (and also dialup) unix shells. nyx.net offers free ones. The are based in CO and don't have local dialups, but you can telnet in from anywhere. Just my .02 (WAYNER, Cat 2, Top 3, Msg 76) [EOA] [YOS] YOUR OWN UNIX SHELL """"""""""""""""""" I've been of the opinion for some time that if people really want UNIX shells, they can just get an old 486 box for next to nothing and run Linux or a competitor on it. It's what I do. :) Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 2, Top 3, Msg 77) [EOA] [PSG] CAN PrintShop GS BE RUN FROM A HARD DRIVE? """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Can PrintShop GS be installed on a hard drive and run under System 6.0.1? Is there any copy protection that requires the original disk to be inserted or somesuch? -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 3, Top 36, Msg 3) >>>>> """"" Print shop is copy protected. It uses p8 for an OS, though, and boots fairly fast on a 1-floppy stock gs, though, and uses its own custom fonts, so the only advantage of having it on a hard drive is convenience. (KWS, Cat 3, Top 36, Msg 4) >>>>> """"" Copy the 3.5 disk to the partition you want it installed on. (finder sets up a folder with the same name as the disk). Delete ProDos from that folder. Double click on the .SYSTEM file and away you go. At first they sold a version that you required you to insert the original 3.5 disk at startup... it immediately spit the disk out of the drive and let you run. Many people deprotected it so they didn't have to insert the original. Later they sold a version that did not require inserting the original. Lyle Syverson Editor, _The Lamp!_, published monthly (LYLE, Cat 3, Top 36, Msg 7) [EOA] [SNI] SYSTEM 6.01 VIA "NET INSTALL" """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" I've for years been considering trying to put together a "Net Install" type of System 6 package where you just download one large NuFX archive rather than 6 or 7 disks. Anyone think this is an idea worth spending time on? Ryan Chief Sysop (A2.RYAN, Cat 7, Top 7, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" I think it's an excellent idea; and in fact we already have Apple's permission to distribute such a beast. Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 7, Top 7, Msg 2) >>>>> """"" I'll move it up my project list. Maybe I can make that a KFest project. I don't want to suck. :) Ryan Head Geek, Chief Sysop, KFest bound again (A2.RYAN, Cat 7, Top 7, Msg 3) >>>>> """"" Excellent idea. You would only need to rework the Install scripts to do this, and then combine everything into the one file. Those using Bernie or Ernie can of course get 6.0.1 pre-installed on the Starter Kit CD-ROM, but for the others, it would be so much easier than having to mount all those disks. Ewen Wannop - Speccie - Thu 5 Apr 2001 - 111 days till KFest '01 Delivered without using a IIgs by Spectrum v2.5.2 & SOAR 1.0b1 Setup: Bernie ][ the Rescue 3.0 and a Blue & White G3/350 http://www.ewannop.btinternet.co.uk/ (CONDUCTOR, Cat 7, Top 7, Msg 4) [EOA] [DCG] DIVERSI-CACHE WITH 3.5 DRIVES ON IIgs """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Anyone still using Apple IIgs computers only with 3.5" drives and GS/OS? Well I participated in the Mar 17 Wisconsin Apple Rescue operation, and picked up half dozen GS systems with only 3.5" drives. After testing to make sure they all worked, I messed around using them without hard drives. What a nightmare! Swapping disks up to a dozen times is no fun. The person with all the computers said we could come back the next day, so I did, just to get 2 disk drives per computer to end the maddening disk swapping. Since my personal computer is a souped-up 7mhz ROM1 with multi-hard drives, I have found that the pokey 2.8mhz speed of a basic GS is not the bottleneck-it's the 3.5" drive. Anyway, I installed Diversi-Cache on a 3.5" disk with Silvern Castle and found it to be almost as fast as my hard drive! Unfortunately, GS/OS does not like Diversi-Cache. Anyone know of a work around? Jeff Fink (FINKSTERJ, Cat 8, Top 8, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" I haven't used Diversi-Cache, so I can't help you there, but it might be faster to get an old Mac set up for LocalTalk Appleshare for the data rather than using floppies. Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (RSUENAGA, Cat 8, Top 8, Msg 2) >>>>> """"" The only way I've done that successfully is using Flashboot, from Quality Computers. If you have 8 meg of ram, and make a 5 meg ramdisk, it actually works fairly well. The trick is to make several Flashboot sets, one for each major application you want to use. Of course, Jeff the computers you got there probably didn't have 8 meg of ram, eh? _________ | homas (TCOMPTER, Cat 8, Top 8, Msg 3) >>>>> """"" For good 'ol ProDOS 8 stuff, Diversi-Cache makes 3.5" disks extremely fast. Long before hard drives, cheap RAM, and functional GS operating systems (remember P16?), Diversi-Cache made 8bit 3.5" disk access fly. So for anyone with stock GS systems running as fast Apple IIe's, Diversi-Cache makes the GS seem faster than it really is. Compared to its 2.8mhz speed, the normal 3.5" floppy drive speed is SLOW. Jeff Fink (FINKSTERJ, Cat 8, Top 8, Msg 4) [EOA] [FEG] FONT EDITOR FOR THE IIgs """""""""""""""""""""""" Does anyone know of a good Font Editor for the GS? (Preferably one I can locate somewhere.) I'm thinking of creating a custom font as part of the interface for a FTP NDA. Kim Howe RTC Host (KIMHOWE, Cat 8, Top 18, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" Try FontAsm. It's freeware or shareware, should be on TIAB or download sites. I'm sure we'll have it in our library here soon enough. :) Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 8, Top 18, Msg 2) >>>>> """"" The only font editor for the IIgs I've used is Font Factory GS by Seven Hills Software. Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 8, Top 18, Msg 3) [EOA] [FWP] WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE Apple II WORD PROCESSOR? """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" What's your favorite Apple II word processor? I was raised on DOS 3.3 AppleWriter but eventually moved on to Appleworks and still use Appleworks 5.1 for heavy duty writing. Ryan Chief Sysop (A2.RYAN, Cat 8, Top 29, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" We started out with AppleWriter on the Apple II+. When I got the IIgs, I began using the GUI products as they became available -- EgoEd and Hermes were my favorite. Cindy (CINDYADAMS, Cat 8, Top 29, Msg 2) >>>>> """"" My favorite Apple II word processor is probably AppleWorks GS. A tad flaky but I prefer the GUI world, and Hermes and EGOEd aren't really word processors, just glorified text editors. :) Eric Shepherd Owner, Syndicomm sheppy@syndicomm.com (SYNDICOMM, Cat 8, Top 29, Msg 3) >>>>> """"" I like Appleworks 5.1 because the spellchecker and grammar checker are so easy to customize. As far as I've seen, Appleworks Mac doesn't come with a grammar checker, and Microsoft Word's is horrendous. For quick jobs, I use Spectrum or Shadowrite (never upgraded to Hermes). I picked up Appleworks GS at KFest last year, but haven't played around with it. I think I prefer a GUI-less environment, or at least it's what I'm more accustomed to by now. -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 8, Top 29, Msg 4) >>>>> """"" I started with Applewriter 1.1 on my Apple II plus with an old Epson 9 pin dot matrix printer. I knew when I saw this program that wordprocessing on the personal computer would revolutionize the business office environment. Today it is not very often that i do wordprocessing on my Apple II's but when I do my usual choice is Appleworks 3.0. The best bang for the byte wordprocessing program ever written. Mark. RTC Host "Midweek Madness" every Wednesday Night! 7:00 - 9:00 PST (MARK, Cat 8, Top 29, Msg 5) >>>>> """"" I started with "Magic Window" which did horizontal scrolling to give more than 40 columns on a 40 column screen. I moved on to Letter Perfect, from LJK and finally, to AppleWorks 3.0. After that, I kept up with the changes, and now use AppleWorks 5.1, but also use EGOed, WordWorks, and GraphicWriter. Each has it's strengths, and has a use. My Main reason for continuing to use AppleWorks is it's integration with the spreadsheet and database. I have nothing on the Mac that does that, yet. I'm in no hurry to replace it. Carl Knoblock - Telephone Tech - Sun 25 Mar 01 9:26:31 pm cknoblo@home.com - Via Spectrum v2.5.1 & SOAR v1.0b2 2001: A KFest Odyssey, July 25-29, 2001 - 122 days till KFest On cable via LANceGS & Marinetti 2.0.1 - Thank you, Richard. A2 RTC Staff - Saturday Night House Party - carlk@syndicomm.com (CARLK, Cat 8, Top 29, Msg 6) >>>>> """"" Back awhile (like in the early 80's), people commonly were "married" to a word processor, because the commands and interface from program to program were so different, once you got used to one it was really difficult to change. I'm not sure I prefer Appleworks 5.1 because it's GUI less as much as because I want to keep my hands on the keyboards as much as possible for writing. Anytime I have to use a mouse, it breaks the rhythm. Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 8, Top 29, Msg 7) >>>>> """"" I really quite enjoy using AppleworksGS. I sometimes wish it had a few more features, but the things it doesn't do can be done in the page layout module anyway. Kim Howe RTC Host (KIMHOWE, Cat 8, Top 29, Msg 8) >>>>> """"" I like to use classic AppleWorks to enter text since its fast (unlike GUI editors) and has never crashed while simply typing (unlike AppleWorks GS), than use AppleWorks GS for formatting and Pointless truetype fonts for printing. If it wasn't for Graphic Writer III's limitation of 32K per story and difficulty setting up multi-page 2 column frames, it would make the premium word processor (for quick & dirty 2 column printouts, I use AppleWorks GS, but it crashes every few minutes or corrupts the text). Note: I wish we had a feature like MircoSoft Word has, namely an option to enter how many columns you want and automatically apply it to an entire document. Wordworks Pro from Softdisk is great, it also has top/bottom margins and headers/footers. But it has the same problem most all word processors and GS text editors have: no page break indication (except for GWIII and AWKS GS). Jeff Fink (FINKSTERJ, Cat 8, Top 29, Msg 9) >>>>> """"" I started with a program called Word Handler and resisted moving from it for some time. Then a friend got me to try AppleWorks Classic. I've been a fan since version 2.0, and the bells, whistles and macros that are available with 5.1 make it extremely easy to use. As far as output goes, I can print to a variety of fonts on my laserprinter, so that's not a problem. (Yes, there's an article I did on this for NAUG, and I'll be getting it to Sheppy soon--I just found where I had stored it after all these years. :) ) Of course these days, posting to A2Central.com, I find myself using the PICO editor a lot...... :) Later............Howard (A2.HOWARD, Cat 8, Top 29, Msg 10) >>>>> """"" My first Apple II wordprocessor was SuperText, for the Apple II Plus. It had a 40 column, all uppercase display, with caps shown in inverse. I soon found that intolerable and got a replacement character chip with lowercase capability. To enable it, there was a one-wire shift key mod. That was pretty good. If I recall correctly, I was still using that when I got a Videx card and entered the broad vista of 80 column display. Eventually I got AppleWorks and some of the Beagle addons. Never felt the need to upgrade past version 3.x. My kids really liked its ease of use. Bill Dooley BB Assistant (A2.BILL, Cat 8, Top 29, Msg 11) >>>>> """"" I used to love a word processor but I really don't' remember it's name now. It was a P8 based apple the ran off a 2 sided disk. Or maybe two disks, but I copied them both onto one. It was a WYSIWYG program with a bunch of fonts, (bunch for the apple at that time). One of the things that I love about it was when you printed you could do a quality where the Imagewriter went over the same spot 4 or 5 times. The type came out looking as good as an inkjet. If anyone remembers the name of this WP from my detail, that would be great. Wayne (WAYNER, Cat 8, Top 29, Msg 12) [EOA] [PAS] PRINTING APPLEWORKS GS SPREADSHEETS """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Hi Gang I quite like using the Appleworks GS Spreadsheet for simple work, because it has a nice uncluttered interface. The only problem I have is printing from it. It would seem you have no choice other than Shaston for the font, which prints very poorly from my HP DeskJet 670C (I have Harmony and Pointless installed.) I can get a better text representation by using the external rendering option in Harmony, but it only prints the selection, and columns don't line up. Anyone know any good tricks to get good printed results out of it? Kim Howe RTC Host (KIMHOWE, Ca 9, Top 31, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" Kim, You certainly can change the font used in the database to one which is much better for printing, such as Times or Courier. You can do so by pulling down the Template menu and selecting "Choose Font I do this a lot when I print out database info, since Shaston is not a very attractive font for printing. Also, for general use, I tend to use either Courier or Copilot font in my databases, since they are mono-spaced fonts. Monaco is also pretty good. If you'd been present at my AWGS Database session during KFest '99, you would already know how to do all this. ;) Stan Marks (SWMARKS, Cat 9, Top 31, Msg 3) [EOA] [FMF] FASTER MODEM FOR THE IIgs? """""""""""""""""""""""""" To get a speed above 2400 bps, the only choice is an external modem. Mine, an AT&T Paradyne DataPort 14.4/FAX, works fine. Would a faster modem make any noticeable difference for me using the modem port on a modestly accelerated IIGS? I have one of the early TransWarps that putters along at something less than 7 MHz. Bill (A2.BILL, Cat 10, Top 2, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" I went from a 14.4 to a Cardinal 33.6 V.34/V.FC with a IIgs with a 9 MHz ZipGS. Using Spectrum... Downloads, capturing messages, Lynx pages, etc. move much faster. Lyle Syverson Editor, _The Lamp!_, published monthly (LYLE, Cat 10, Top 2, Msg 3) [EOA] [TLB] ANYONE TRIED THE "LINKS" TEXT BROWSER? """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" BTW- Has anyone else been using the "links" text browser. It doesn't support SSL like lynx currently does, but it dows render tables and frames correctly. It even can render wider than the physical screen (use '[',']' to scroll). I've been running it for about 2 weeks and I don't think I'll ever go back to lynx. -Lucas (LSCHAREN, Cat 11, Top 16, Msg 2) >>>>> """"" I've never heard of this one. What platform does it run on, and where can I find more information? Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 11, Top 16, Msg 3) >>>>> """"" For info on links, check out these sites: http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/ http://links.sourceforge.net/ It's a pretty darned cool browser. It compiled on our FreeBSD 4 system with a simple ./configure make, and it's supposed to do the same on Linux and several other operating systems. It does look like you can compile in SSL if you want, though I haven't tried it yet. - Tony (A2.TONY, Cat 11, Top 16, Msg 4) >>>>> """"" Okay, Links compiled on the 486, and runs acceptably. The big advantage I see over Lynx is that it displays pages much more closely to how Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator would. I'll continue to play with it. If it looks good, maybe we could look at setting up a telnet accessbile site with it or something. Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 11, Top 16, Msg 6) [EOA] [FSS] WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEARCH SITE? """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" My favorite search site is www.google.com. What's yours? Bill Dooley BB Assistant (A2.BILL, Cat 11, Top 28, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" I usually use altavista.com, especially for graphics. But for fun before I replied, I tried google. I found some hits on something I've been looking for. Thanks for the googles. :) Cindy (CINDYADAMS, Cat 11, Top 28, Msg 2) >>>>> """"" http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj The Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. Mark RTC Host (MARK, Cat 11, Top 28, Msg 3) >>>>> """"" I use Altavista as my main search engine. Instead of going to altavista.com, I find I can set the language option to default to English by using this URL: http://www.altavista.com/cgi-bin/query?kl=en Google does have its merits, though. Imagine my surprise when a Windows friend of mine told me how he found and read A2Central.com's report on my demonstration of Maxster. :) -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 11, Top 28, Msg 4) >>>>> """"" Nowadays, it's also google. I used askjeeves for a long time, but google really seems to be the best at this point. Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 11, Top 28, Msg 5) >>>>> """"" I also like google, but I prefer the power control of www.alltheweb.com - it allows exact phrase, all word, or any word searches. I do lots of searches for 2-3 word phrases, and being able to match the exact phrase is invaluable. (KWS, Cat 11, Top 28, Msg 6) >>>>> """"" The exact phrase capability of www.alltheweb.com looks good. It will be interesting to do the same search there and on Google and compare the results. Both sites have very clean home pages that load very quickly. Here's another question: how does one go about searching for special purpose search sites? From time to time I have questions about chemistry or toxicology, and the general search sites retrieve nothing or thousands of irrelevant hits. I'd like to find a specialized site that can retrieve readable but accurate information (free, of course). We certainly can't rely on the evening news to present anything but sensationalist hype on such subjects. Bill Dooley BB Assistant (A2.BILL, Cat 11, Top 28, Msg 7) >>>>> """"" > www.alltheweb.com I just tried that site, and I like it too. I think I have 2 new search sites now. :) Cindy (CINDYADAMS, Cat 11, Top 28, Msg 8) >>>>> """"" Exact phrases can usually be searched for by putting the phrase in quotes. I do this all the time on AltaVista. I use Sherlock a lot, but it cannot do the specialized or advanced searches that many search engines provide. - Tony (A2.TONY, Cat 11, Top 28, Msg 10) >>>>> """"" hotbot.com can also do the "exact match" type searching, but I dislike its way too gaudy even for me interface. Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 11, Top 28, Msg 11) >>>>> """"" >> My favorite search site is www.google.com. << I second that. For me, I found Silvern Castle references on the web that I didn't even know about. None of the other dozen I've tried have come close to reporting as many real hits. Actually, google found more A2Central Silvern references than did the A2Central search engine! Jeff Fink (FINKSTERJ, Cat 11, Top 28, Msg 12) >>>>> """"" We're using a third-party search service that's free of charge but only for a limited number of pages. It's possible we've exceeded the page limit, which would mean some pages don't get indexed. Sometime in the future we'll have our own in-house search feature, but right now the online service portion of our business is taking priority. Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 11, Top 28, Msg 13) [EOA] [JPG] VIEWING JPG ON THE IIgs """"""""""""""""""""""" Aside from SuperConvert 4, any suggestions for JPG viewers for the IIgs? Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 12, Top 4, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" Rather than trying to view JPEGs on my IIgs, I almost always convert them to GIFs first. The loss in quality is acceptable, especially considering the limited screen resolution on a standard (ie. non-Second Sight) IIgs, and the load time for a GIF is an order of magnitude faster than a JPEG, which can take forever to decompress even on an accelerated IIgs. The only real downside is that the converted GIF files are much larger than the JPEGs. For the conversion I use the Unix djpeg utility, which is part of the Independent JPEG Group (IJG) JPEG package. On a reasonably fast Unix box the conversion takes just a few seconds. You can even adjust the size of the picture, reducing it if necessary to fit on the IIgs monitor. Djpeg has also been compiled to run on a IIgs (via GNO/ME), but it's slow as molasses. If you don't have access to a Unix box on which to install your own utilities, you're stuck doing the conversion on the IIgs, either with djpeg or SuperConvert. It works, but it's certainly not speedy. - Tony (A2.TONY, Cat 12, Top 4, Msg 2) >>>>> """"" >> For the conversion I use the Unix djpeg utility, which is part of the Independent JPEG Group (IJG) JPEG package. << Where do I get the source or binary? Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 12, Top 4, Msg 3) >>>>> """"" The official website is http://www.ijg.org You will find JPEG.6.SRC.BXY on TIAB, and shortly here in our own library. That's the official IJG source code that should compile on most any Unix system. There's also JPEG.V6.BXY, which is a binary that works on the IIgs with GNO/ME and ORCA. Other (older) versions exist for the IIgs but v6 works best. - Tony (A2.TONY, Cat 12, Top 4, Msg 4) [EOA] [NSC] THE NO SLOT CLOCK """"""""""""""""" For those who don't know, the No Slot Clock is known as the Dallas Semiconductor Smartwatch. I can't recall which number it is, but it's still available for those of you with 8-bit IIs to use. FWIW, I have a IIc clock on my IIc Plus, the external that AE made, and it works great, aside from the software having a Y2K problem. Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 17, Top 6, Msg 1) [EOA] [FRC] FAVORITE RAM CARDS FOR THE Apple II """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Anyone have any particular favorite RAM cards for the Apple II series? My personal favorite is the CV Tech with the sidecar for the Apple IIgs. I still have two of those. Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 17, Top 24, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" I'm personally quite happy with the GS-RAM Plus from Applied Engineering I have in my ROM 01, but the Sequential RAM-GS at 4 MB is good too, I have two of those. My ROM 01 has 6 MB, I packed that sucker. :) Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 17, Top 24, Msg 2) >>>>> """"" I'm also very happy with my AE GS-RAM Plus with 6 megs. I've never had a problem with it. - Tony (A2.TONY, Cat 17, Top 24, Msg 3) >>>>> """"" I have several RAM cards and the one I like the best was the "SIMM" board from Scantron "Quality Computers". This board had FOUR one meg boards and was the smallest memory board for the Apple ][GS that I have seen. Mack (MACKDUNCAN, Cat 17, Top 24, Msg 4) >>>>> """"" Is the Sirius the last IIgs RAM card available new? I suspect so, but wonder. So, any votes for favorite IIe RAM card? Mine has a Q RAM IIe from Quality Computers; not necessarily my favorite, but it was free. :) Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 17, Top 24, Msg 5) >>>>> """"" Slinky or aux slot? :) I have a RamFactor here I'm planning to put in my IIe along with the RamWorks II with RGB option I have. Mmm... 2 MB //e. :) Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 17, Top 24, Msg 6) >>>>> """"" RamWorks III for my //e. I've got the 2 meg expander and the colorlink option cards piggybacked to it, so I can have both 3 meg of memory as well as use an RGB monitor on my computer. I use the extra memory a lot when using AppleWorks, including auto-setup of a small ramdisk to hold the dictionaries for spellchecking (really flies this way), as well as a large ramdisk for file transfers to and from my shell account. Really speeds things up all the way around. I'd feel cramped if I had to go back to 1 meg! :) Later........Howard (A2.HOWARD, Cat 17, Top 24, Msg 8) [EOA] [YFM] YOUR FIRST MONITOR FOR THE Apple II """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" My first Apple monitor was an Apple /// white on black. I was once told that it was unusual, that most /// monitors were green on black. I liked the white on black because it didn't smear when I scrolled like the green monitors. Bill Dooley BB Assistant (A2.BILL, Cat 18, Top 16, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" I also have never heard of a Monitor /// with white. I had one that was green. . . still do, somewhere. Love that long persistence phosphor ;-) Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 18, Top 16, Msg 3) >>>>> """"" My first was a Sony TV, using a Sup'r'Mod modulator with my Apple II. My first real monitor was a green Monitor /// that I got when they were being cleared out, after the Apple /// died. It had that long-persistence phosphor that caused that smearing you mentioned. When I bought my //e, I bought a Monitor // with it. It got sold with the //e. I got a GS monitor with the GS, and when it went bad, I got a Sony KV-1311CR that had an RGB connector. When that started acting up, I got a Second Sight card and a Sony 15" SVGA monitor. That died just over a year later, so I bought a used 17" monitor that is still going strong today. I've picked up a couple of Monitor //s since I sold the first one, and I got a //c monitor with the //c I was given. I have my wife's old 15" monitor as a spare, since she got a 17". Carl Knoblock - Telephone Tech - Thu 29 Mar 01 9:54:46 pm cknoblo@home.com - Via Spectrum v2.5.1 & SOAR v1.0b2 2001: A KFest Odyssey, July 25-29, 2001 - 118 days till KFest On cable via LANceGS & Marinetti 2.0.1 - Thank you, Richard. A2 RTC Staff - Saturday Night House Party - carlk@syndicomm.com (CARLK, Cat 18, Top 16, Msg 6) >>>>> """"" I have a few Apple brand monitors going strong, particularly my 9 inch IIc ET style monitor and IIc LCD that are on the IIc Plus. I have been wanting but not getting a 19 inch Viewsonic PF790 for use between several of my boxes for about two years. Still waiting. :) Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 18, Top 16, Msg 8) >>>>> """"" My GS is on its second Apple brand monitor. The first developed a shrinking image problem that couldn't be cured with an adjustment. Rather than fuss with soldering, I gave it to a friend and picked up a used replacement. The usable image on the screen is so small compared even with the 14" Sony monitor on the PC. Even allowing for the border, Sweet16 on the PC gives me a much more pleasant screen to look at than the real IIGS. Still, it's fun to run the old Woz and see how much it can still do. :) Bill Dooley BB Assistant (A2.BILL, Cat 18, Top 16, Msg 9) [EOA] [FNR] FILE NAME RESTRICTIONS FOR ISO 9660 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Does anybody know what are the file name restrictions for ISO 9660? I burned a CD today and have found the filenames don't come out right and some of the folders return "The filename "xxxxx" is unacceptable to the destination file system." when I attempt to open them. Mark RTC Host "Midweek Madness" every Wednesday Night! (MARK, Cat 19, Top 22, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" Mark: Two characters I know ISO 9660 doesn't like are the question mark (?) and the slash (/). There are probably others, these are just the ones across which I've run. -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 19, Top 22, Msg 2) >>>>> """"" I'm not sure this is 100% accurate (hey, this is the Internet :) but try: http://www.isomedia.net/cd-rom_iso9660.htm Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 19, Top 22, Msg 3) >>>>> """"" >> http://www.isomedia.net/cd-rom_iso9660.htm << Those are correct guidelines for ISO 9660 Level 1. But as you can see, it's incredibly restrictive. I recommend formatting for Joliet, a variation of ISO 9660. I've been able to read Joliet CD's on Mac, PC, and Apple II without a problem. There is also an improved Joliet driver for Mac: http://www.versiontracker.com/moreinfo.fcgi?id=8017 -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 19, Top 22, Msg 4) >>>>> """"" Wow. Very restrictive. Basically you are limited to pre Win-95 DOS limitations. Volume names : 11 alphanumeric characters (including underscore). Directory names : Maximum of 8 characters (no extension). You can nest directories 8 deep (including root directory). File names : Maximum of eight characters, a dot and a three character extension. Ick. ;) We need a Joliet FST for GSOS. Of course since there is no documentation on how to create a FST we are SOL. :( Mark RTC Host "Midweek Madness" every Wednesday Night! (MARK, Cat 19, Top 22, MSG 5) >>>>> """"" Well, as usual, I just suggest using HFS for CDs. :) Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 19, Top 22, Msg 6) >>>>> """"" Mark, >> We need a Joliet FST for GSOS. << The GS/OS High Sierra FST (HS.FST) reads Joliet volumes. The Finder window will list it as ISO 9660, and an Info window will list it as High Sierra 3.5 inch disk. The Mac Finder identifies it as ISO 9660 Lvl 3 + Joliet. Unfortunately, the filenames are truncated to ISO 9660 Lvl 1 format, meaning for examples, "Chronomantique" becomes "CHRONOMA.NTI" and "03. Night in Alexandira" becomes "03.NIG". -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 19, Top 22, Msg 8) >>>>> """"" >> There is also an improved Joliet driver for Mac: http://www.versiontracker.com/moreinfo.fcgi?id=8017 << I tried this out on my Macintosh LC 475 with MacOS 7.5.5 and it works great! Thanks. This is exactly what we need for GSOS. Mark RTC Host "Midweek Madness" Every Wednesday Night! (MARK, Cat 19, Top 22, Msg 9) [EOA] [TNK] TELNET NDA BY KIM HOWE """""""""""""""""""""" For those of you who haven't already found out, I have release a new Telnet NDA. (New Desk Accessory) It's primarily designed to be a nice way to use the chat rooms on a2central.com, but it can read the bulletin board too. (Currently it doesn't support VT100 so you can't post with it, or use Lynx under it.) You can download it from ftp://ftp.a2central.com/pub/gsos/telecom/telnetnda.bxy Also I have just finished updating my Apple II Web site at: http://www.a2central.com/~kimhowe This has links to all of my Apple II programs. I hope you all enjoy them. Kim Howe RTC Host (KIMHOWE, Cat 20, Top 10, Msg 21) [EOA] [NWS] NEW WEB SITE FOR APPLE BLOSSOM """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" The Apple Blossom, the newsletter put out by Steve Cavanaugh, has a new web site: http://www.appleblossom.net There are some software reviews, as well as a comprehensive Apple II vendor index, last updated 1-Sep-00, though there's still some outdated information (there are plenty of GEnie email links - including intrec@genie.com - as well as some outdated WWW links). -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 20, Top 15, Msg 8) [EOA] [DIT] NEW DISK IMAGES TOOL FOR WINDOWS AVAILABLE """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" A new disk images tool for Windows people is now available. FishWings - by Charlie Danemark Freeware available for download from: http://www3.bboard.com/charlied/fishwings.htm Mark RTC Host (MARK, Cat 29, Top 5, Msg 9) [EOA] [DCK] DiskChanger FOR USE WITH KEGS32 AVAILABLE """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" For those that may be using KEGS32; an Announcement: DiskChanger A KEGS32 Disk mounting utility by Thomas A. Compter (Copyright 2001) KEGS is an Apple IIGS emulator for X-windows by Kent Dickey (kentd@cup.hp.com). KEGS32 is a Win32 port of KEGS by A. Kilgard(akilgard@yahoo.com). That worthy program normally requires that the user manually edit the "Kegs_conf" file to swap disks, etc. Because the Kegs_conf file has no file extension (.txt, etc), one must manually choose the application to open it every time one wants to edit the file. That's a pain. I've written a simple little utility designed to serve as a GUI based disk mounter for KEGS32. I've uploaded it to Trenco, but don't know if it's available yet. If you don't have ftp access, you can email me at tcompter@gdarm.com and I'll be glad to email you a copy of it. _________ | homas (TCOMPTER, Cat 29, Top 11, Msg 19) [EOA] [WEW] DiskChanger... WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU WRITTEN? """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Thomas, I see that your utility is now available at A2Central.com. Do you have a web page with various information about software you've written? I don't see you listed on A2-Web! -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 29, Top 11, Msg 20) >>>>> """"" You know, I really ought to do that. I'm sort of experimenting with ISPs right now, and don't have a really permanent website at the moment. I hope to have that resolved within a few months. Meanwhile, here's a breakdown of what I've written, in no particular order: For the Mac: ============= Foot/Inch Calc; a simple RPN calculator that does math in feet and inches; IOW, you would add 2' 3" to 4' 11" as 2.3 4.11 <+> and it will correctly report 7' 2" This was my first Realbasic Project. Far Street Bottles; a RealBasic port of the Visual Basic program described below. For Windows: ============ Far Street Bottles; There is a super cool board game called Star Fleet Battles which simulates Space Combat as seen on Star Trek (The Original Series) It is, unfortunately, VERY paperwork-intensive, and this utility just helps keep track of movement and combat, easing that burden a little. SIDE NOTE: They finally got permission from Paramount to port this way cool game to the computer. It is available as Star Fleet Command, and Star Fleet Command, Version 2. If you are a Trekker (as opposed to a Trekkie) you need to get this game. Unfortunately, it is only available for the PC. DiskChanger; A disk-mounter utility for KEGS 32, featured this week on A2Central.com (gee thanks, Sheppy, I didn't expect to get front-page coverage :) FootInch Calc; As described above, compiled for Windows from RealBasic at no additional charge ;) For the Apple ][+ ================= StrikeForce: an Applesoft basic wargame centered on the Fulda Gap scenario in West Germany which I was living and breathing at the time I wrote this. This was my first major programming project, and could be used as a text-book example of horrendous spaghetti-code. The User interface is too ugly to contemplate. I used 3 of the Beagle Bros utilities in its creation (ProntoDOS, Shape Mechanic, Flex-Text). For the IIGS: ============= Sadly, nothing. But I'm working on a port of Far Street Bottles and a GS-specific version of Hammurabi. Ultimately, I'd like to create a more elegant version of Strikeforce, which I think I would call Panzer GeneralS :) For the Web: ============ Hammurabi; written with Macromedia's Authorware, this version of the venerable game is playable over the web. Currently unavailable. When I get my web page set back up, I'll have this one back up. ShellShock; A java version of the old artillery duel game, done as a senior team project in my Software Engineering Class. Of course, the version we built, for some reason would not display correctly on Apple's MRJ, so I'm working on re-vamping it as I find time (which ain't often). _________ | homas (TCOMPTER, Cat 29, Top 11, Msg 21) [EOA] [COK] COMMENTS ON KEGS IIgs EMULATOR """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" KEGS works extremely well when you compare to the only other IIgs emulator for UNIX, XGS. KEGS is several hundred percent faster and much more capable. Changes I had suggested to the documentation and to the code had made it into the distribution. One bug had crept in dealing with daylight savings running on Solaris. Sound is supposed to work with Linux--I had shared memory problems trying to compile the code on Solaris. One day, when I get some time, I'll look into it. KEGS works better if you have a faster system. You get around 30MHz or so IIgs with a 700mH PC. Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 5) >>>>> """"" In my limited Windows tests on an Intel Pentium III 733 MHz system, I got around 33 MHz, so it looks like as far as raw speed (or at least its report of such :) the performance is similar. What's not quite up to what I like is. . . oh, you'll have to wait for a certain Apple IIgs magazine to show up on your doorstep ;-) Ryan Chief Sysop and Head Geek (A2.RYAN, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 6) [EOA] [DBP] DELETE AND BACKSPACE PREFERENCES FOR ProTERM MAC """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" In ProTERM Mac's online settings for A2Central.com, what should the "Delete Key" and "Backspace" preferences be set to? Send DEL, Send BS, or Default? Thanks, -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 2, Top 3, Msg 59) >>>>> """"" "Emulate" for both is what I'm using, works fine. Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 3, Msg 60) [EOA] [PWP] PROGRAMING WITH PERL """""""""""""""""""" Anyone know where to get a good, really easy to read tutorial or guide on building regexps for manipulating and grabbing fields out of strings in Perl? Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 55, Top 5, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" Sheppy, I would go straight to the O'Reilly books. They have tons of Perl books, but here are some examples: Learning Perl Programming Perl Advanced Perl Programming Mastering Regular Expressions The last one is getting a bit outdated (published in 1997) but regexps haven't changed that much over the years. It's not a beginner's guide though, so make sure you know your Perl (or buy one of the other books.) I have also heard good things about the Sams "Teach Yourself" series, but I have never read them. From what I've heard these are definitely more geared toward beginners. - Tony (A2.TONY, Cat 55, Top 5, Msg 2) >>>>> """"" >> Programming Perl << I have this. It's a very large book written as if it's for someone that already knows Perl. I powerfully dislike it. It reads just like it was written by the typical open source nut. The biggest problem is that it's horribly badly organized, with an index that's just shy of useless out of its sheer noninclusion of almost everything I want to look up. Its discussions of regexps are the reason I'm asking here for someone to steer me toward some material; I can't read them at all. :) Eric 'Sheppy' Shepherd Owner Syndicomm Building communities bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 55, Top 5, Msg 3) >>>>> """"" Funny you should say that about Programming Perl. It was coauthored by Larry Wall, the guy who created Perl . I have Learning Perl and it's much easier to get through. It has a chapter on regexps, but it's really only an introduction. Larry Wall only wrote the forward, but the other two authors are the same guys who coauthored Programming Perl so maybe this one's not for you either. :) Mastering Regular Expressions was written by someone else entirely, but maybe the Sams book would be a better beginner's guide. My guess is that they're closer to Dummy or Idiot's guides than the more technical O'Reilly books. - Tony (A2.TONY, Cat 55, Top 5, Msg 4) [EOA] ------------------------------------ DISTILLATIONS FROM DELPHI A2 | ------------------------------------ by Lyle Syverson [LNF] LIKES NEW FEATURES OF SILVERN CASTLE v7.2 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I found silvern castle 7.2 over on A2Central website when messing at work. I downloaded it and used MSdosCopy to get it to my //gs where I opened it. I like some new features. I can now buy enhancements for my armor and weapons. What a new feature? I've never seem that on other games. It must exit somewhere I've just never seen it. So I can buy glove, helmet, shield enhancements fairly cheaply (hey my guys have been around and have a lot of gold pieces) and get then more easily to the LO armor rating. Very nice. There was at least one other option at the store to make getting around easier. I haven't' played the game since it moved up. Are there any more scenarios yet? I guess I'm about the only one to finish the last scenario, I think I have done them all and been just about everywhere on the map. Just wondering. (I know read the documents.) Bruce (BRB, 35419, GO COM A2) [EOA] [REA] RECORDING EMAIL ADDRESS """"""""""""""""""""""" I think the best way for your email address to be recorded is to add it to the A2-Web! See the listing at http://www.wbwip.com/a2web/a2hmpgs.html, and email David Kerwood to be included. Whenever I need to email an Apple II user whose name isn't in my address book, that's where I turn. -Ken (KEN_GAGNE, 35424, GO COM A2) [EOA] [UHD] USING HD DISKS AS DD DISKS """""""""""""""""""""""""" I'm curious, what are people's opinion here on using 1.44MB (high density) floppy disks in an Apple 3.5 drive, covering the extra hole and formatting them as 800K? (double density) I've always been of the belief that while they *appear* to format successfully and store data just fine initially, that data *will* degrade quickly over time leaving them unsafe for permanent storage. Recently, I find myself beginning to question that. Last night I dug up a couple of HD disks I formatted as 800K years ago and they not only contain all the data and read fine still, doing a surface and file by file verification report they're 100% intact. And I created these disks over _7 years_ ago! Is the magnetic coating on the surface of HD disks truly any different from DD disks? As it stands I have several hundred 1.44MB floppies on hand, but only a dozen or os blank 800/720K disks. I'm tempted to use them at this point, but wondering what other people's experiences have been... Mitchell Spector a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca (SPECTOR1, 3414.1, Delphi A2 web side) >>>>> """"" I think your luck with using HD floppies as 800k will depend a lot on your particular floppy drive and the brand or batch of floppies. Years ago I used them on my own system and had pretty good luck. Then I became our User Groups IIgs PD software librarian. (that is Public Domain, not Pirated Disk:-) When people wanted a copy of something they would bring their own disk, often a HD one and we would make a copy on whichever IIgs was handy. I noticed that almost all the disks that became unreadable later were HD and disks copied on some machines seemed to have a much higher failure rate than others. Also some batches of HD disks were much worse than others. Overall the failure rate wasn't all that high but would be a cause for concern if the data was particularly valuable. We did have one spectacular and amusing failure though. One fellow stated that HD and DD disks were the same except for the hole and copied a dozen disks from our library. Next day he phoned me and said they all died within 24 hours and he only managed to copy half or them before they became unreadable. Of course that isn't a typical situation. I generally suggest formatting only DD disks as 800k if at all possible. However if you are stuck you use what you have available. In which case if the data is important make a couple or more copies. Wayne (WAYNEJ, 3414.3, Delphi A2 web side) >>>>> """"" I'm converted. Prior to purchasing some DD floppies from Howard, I had asked the same question here, but not before trying some brand-new HD disks first. I tried them on various Apple 3.5 drives that I had, but the outcome was that reliability was poor. Some disks failed straight away, others lasted 1 night, some have lasted months, and some have not failed yet (and may not). The HD disks I used were all the same cheap un-branded type, possibly not that good anyway, but they do work on the Mac as HD quite OK. Bottom line is, if you have a backup on CD or other medium then it doesn't matter what your using, HD or DD. But I would use DD for data I've created and HD for application disks (if I didn't have any DD's left). Mark (LUKE65816, 3414.5, Delphi A2 web side) [EOA] [PRD] PRESERVING REMAINS OF DELPHI A2 FORUM """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" With the text-side all but gone (just a little over a month remains before it ceases to exist) and activity on the webside having dropped to near-zero activity as of late, it's become apparent Delphi's A2 Forum is now on its death bed. That has me wondering, has, or is anyone planning to, archive and preserve the A2 message forums here on Delphi? I don't know how far they go back, but according to the Apple II History files Delphi's had an Apple II presence since 1985 (the web side seems to only go back as far as 1997 or so for old messages, though perhaps its a different story on the text side?). It'd be neat to have something along the lines of "Time in a Bottle" CD which preserved much of GEnie. It might be wise to move fast on this as Delphi's future existence as a whole (not just the A2 Forum) seems questionable. Last I heard at least the file library here is being preserved and moved over to A2Central at least... Mitchell Spector a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca (SPECTOR1, 3415.1, Delphi A2 web side) >>>>> """"" In addition to saving the A2 Forum library files, we have also preserved the bulletin board messages. They'll probably show up in some sort of archived format on A2Central.com. This forum has only been on Delphi since 1997 (or 1996, I forget.) Any previous Apple II presence here was not run by Syndicomm and we don't have an archive of their contents. Tony Ward, A2Central.com Chief Librarian (TONYW1, 3415.6, Delphi A2 web side) [EOA] ------------------------------------ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR | ------------------------------------ [NLE] NO LETTERS TO THE EDITOR THIS MONTH """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" The mail box for Letters to the Editor remained empty this month. [EOA] [LTE] AN INVITATION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Express your opinions about the comings and goings in the world of the Apple II computers. Send your comments to Lyle Syverson, Editor The Editor reserves the right to edit any material submitted. The Editor reserves the right to reject any material he considers unsuitable for publication in _The Lamp!_. [EOA] [KFT]------------------------------ KFest 2001 | ----------------------------------- [KFE] K FEST EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MAY 1 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" (April 2, 2001) KFEST REGISTRATION UPDATE: +++ Deadline Extension: To allow everyone the opportunity to attend this exciting event, the (early bird registration) deadline has been extended to MAY 1st! +++ Please note: You MUST send the NEW registration form below (via postal mail) when you register. (KFESTSTEVE, Cat 5, Top 3, Msg 77) [EOA] [KFR] K FEST REGISTRATION INFORMATION """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" KFest 2001 Registration Info... meet old A2 friends... meet new friends... """""""""""""""""""""""""""" Help usher in the new millennium with the Apple II!! When: July 25-29, 2001 Where: Avila College, Kansas City, Missouri The most important Apple II event of the year, KFest 2001, is on our calendar again, and it's never too early to make sure it has a place on your calendar, too. Better yet, KFest is back with the same great prices as last year! Check these rates, which include room and meals from Wednesday evening (dinner) on July 25, through Sunday morning (breakfast) on July 29. (Saturday evening dinner not included. That's KFesters' Night Out On The Town!) KFest 2001 Registration Form View and print this document using 9-point Monaco or Courier font (the default of most monospaced font applications such as ProTERM & Spectrum). Registering for KFest 2001: NOTE: - The information requested in the KFest Registration Form below must be sent even though the information is called in. - If a member of the family accompanies you to KFest, please send a separate registration form for each person. <> Fax or email KFest Registration Form using a credit card number: - Complete the form below and send the KFest Registration Form; (EMAIL IS NOT SECURE). <> By postal mail: Credit card, check, Purchase Order or money order: - Print and fill out the KFest Registration Form. - Send the form with the payment to: InTrec Software, Inc. Attn: KFest Registration Voc: 602/992-1345 3035 E Topaz Cir Fax: 602/992-0232 Phoenix, Az 85028-4423 Discover, Visa, Mastercard or AmEx accepted. Checks & money orders must be payable to InTrec Software, and must be in US dollars from a US bank. ---[ The Form ]------------[ Cut Here ]----------[ Print Clearly ]--- =>___ =>___ First Name Last Name =>___ Organization (if applicable to KFest) =>___ Shipping Address =>___ City =>___ State/Province Zip+4 or Postal Code =>___ =>___ Day Phone Eve Phone =>___ Internet Mail Address =>___ =>___ Credit Card Number (Mastercard-Visa-Discovery-AmEx) Expiration Date =>___ Name on Card (please print clearly) =>___ Authorized Signature (If printed, and mailed or faxed.) If you feel that using a credit card number via email may not be secure, consider mailing via postal service, fax, or call voice to give the card number. Checks and money orders must be on a USA bank and USA compatible funds. Registration Cost Check Applicable ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 [ ] Early Arrival Double room ............................ 25.00 2 [ ] Early Arrival Single room ............................ 33.00 +++ Early Bird rates (Register BEFORE May 1) +++ 7 [ ] Double Room before 5/1 ............................... 225.00 8 [ ] Single Room before 5/1 ............................... 275.00 9 [ ] Spouse or child before 5/1 ........................... 175.00 10 [ ] Registration only (no room or meals) before 5/1 ...... 175.00 +++ Regular Attendee rates (Register AFTER May 1) +++ Rates (after May 1 and at the door): 11 [ ] Double Room after 5/1 ................................ 275.00 12 [ ] Single Room after 5/1 ................................ 325.00 13 [ ] Spouse or child after 5/1 ............................ 225.00 14 [ ] Registration only (no room or meals) after 5/1 ....... 225.00 T-Shirts must be ordered in advance 15 [ ] T-Shirt softwear Small ............................... 15.00 16 [ ] T-Shirt softwear Medium .............................. 15.00 17 [ ] T-Shirt softwear Large ............................... 15.00 18 [ ] T-Shirt softwear X-Large ............................. 15.00 19 [ ] T-Shirt softwear XX-Large ............................ 15.00 20 [ ] T-Shirt softwear XXX-Large ........................... 15.00 May we send your registration confirmation via e-mail? [ ]Yes [ ]No [ ] As a PDF (Acrobat Reader) file (preferred) [ ] As a TEXT file mailed to the listed address Roommate preference: =>___ Prefer smoking/non-smoking roommate: [ ] Smoke [ ] Non-smoke Today's Date: _=>___ / / 1- Registration fee (see above dates & fees) ......... =>__ 2- Registration fee for spouse if applicable ......... =>__ 3- T-Shirts Quantity [ ] @ $15.00 ea) ................ =>__ 4- Sub-total of lines 1-3: ........................... =>__ 5- Arizona residents only add 7.5% tax: .............. =>__ 6- Total cost (total of lines 4-5): .................. =>__ For attendees planning to arrive at the normal time on Wednesday, check-in will be from 1-4 pm. Check-out will be from 11 am-1 pm on Sunday. Current plans call for formal KFest 2001 sessions to begin with dinner in the Avila cafeteria on Wednesday evening (time to be announced), followed by the traditional opening event, the Keynote Address. We've got some great plans again for that opening night activity. Stay tuned!! Computer sessions will be conducted on Thursday and Friday. Software and hardware demos are scheduled for Saturday morning, with a vendor fair slated for Saturday afternoon. Reminder: Meals included in the registration price are Wednesday dinner through Sunday breakfast, with the exception of Saturday dinner. On Saturday night, attendees can dine on their own at one of the many fine restaurants near the Avila campus, or join groups of KFesters at a local favorite selected by the Roastee. All children under 18 years must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. *** KFest 2001 is again being sponsored by InTrec Software, Inc., makers of ProTERM telecommunications software for the Apple II and Macintosh. If you have questions about KFest, or wish to make suggestions, you can find answers via the Internet. Just send an email message to: kfest-help@kfest.org ... or visit the KFest World Wide Web page: If you're thinking about attending KFest, you'll enjoy the KFest Internet e-mail chat: To subscribe to the KFest Information Mailing List, send email to: . Place the following text in the BODY of the message: subscribe kfest You will receive a confirmation e-mail. To be signed up for the list, you will have to respond to this confirmation as the instructions dictate, and then you will then be able send and read messages on the mailing list. Sponsored by: InTrec Software, Inc. 3035 E Topaz Circle Phoenix, AZ 85028-4423 Voc:602/992-1345 Fax:602/992-0232 (KFESTSTEVE, Cat 5, Top 3, Msg 77) [EOA] [RAK] MORE REASONS TO ATTEND K-FEST """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" If you haven't yet registered for KFest 2001 here are two more compelling reasons you should do so immediately: 1. Our KEYNOTE SPEAKER this year will be ERIC (Sheppy) SHEPHERD! A cornerstone of the Apple II community, Sheppy continuously strives to make contributions that support and strengthen our computing experiences. 2. The dubious honor of ROASTEE belongs to MAX JONES, editor and publisher of Juiced.GS. Being the thoughtful, considerate person he is, Max has already provided us with 5 years worth of published material and attendance at KFest to fuel the fires during the Roast:) Thanks to both for helping to make this year's KFest the best ever! Your "Grand Gouda", Steve (KFESTSTEVE, Cat 5, Top 3, Msg 67) [EOA] [FFL] FRIENDS FOR LIFE CD WILL BE UPDATED FOR K-FEST """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Juiced.GS has released Shareware Spotlight disks since Friends for Life was originally released at Y][KFest. Will the FFL CD be updated with that material for KansasFest 2001? -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 23, Top 4, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" Ken, There you go, reading my mind again. :-) If all goes well, I plan to have a new CD --Sort of an FFL Volume 2 -- available for KFest 2001. But there's a lot of work to be done on it, so at this point it's merely in the planning stage. Plus, I probably need to buy a CD burner for my iMac so I can burn them myself. I think I've just about worn out my original CD supplier (he goes by the name of Ryan Suenaga), mainly because the original FFL was so incredibly successful. As they say, "Business is Good!" Max (JUICEDGS, Cat 23, Top 4, Msg 2) [EOA] [INN]------------------------------ EXTRA INNINGS | ----------------------------------- About The Lamp! The Lamp! is published on the fifteenth of every month in """"""""""""""" the Database of the II Scribe Forum on the Delphi online service (GO CUS 11). This publication produced entirely with real or emulated Apple II computers using Appleworks 5.1 and Hermes. Apple II Forever! * The Lamp! is (c) copyright 2001 by Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W. All rights reserved. * To reach The Lamp! on Internet email send mail to thelamp@sheppyware.net * Back issues of The Lamp! are available in the II Scribe Forum on Delphi as well as The Lamp! Home Page, http://lamp.sheppyware.net. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of A2Central.com, Delphi Online Services, Syndicomm, Ryan M. Suenaga, or Lyle Syverson. Forum messages are reprinted verbatim and are included in this publication with permission from the individual authors. A2Central.com, Delphi Online Services, Syndicomm, Ryan M. Suenaga, and Lyle Syverson do not guarantee the accuracy or suitability of any information included herein. We reserve the right to edit all letters and copy. Material published in this edition may not be reprinted without the expressed written consent of the publisher. Registered computer user groups, not for profit publications , and other interested parties may write the publisher to apply for permission to reprint any or all material. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< [EOF]