[HEA] _____________________ ___ _ |___ ______________| | | | | | | _ | | | | | || | | | | | | || | | | | | | || | | | ____ _ _ _ _ ______ | | | || | | | / __ \ | | / \_/ \ | ___ \ | | | || |__ ____ | | / / \ | | /\ /\ \ | | \ \ | | | || _ \ | _ \ | | \ \__/ | | | |_|| | | |__/ / | | | || | | || |_|| | | \___/|_| |_| |_| | ____/ |_| | || | | || |__ | |____________________ | | _ |__||_| |_|\____/ |________________________| | | |_| | | Lighting Your Apple II Path | | |_| ----------------------------------- >>> WELCOME TO THE LAMP! <<< ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE BEST OF THE A2 BULLETIN BOARD ON Syndicomm Online 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. 7, No. 3 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ March 15, 2004 HIGH ABOVE THE ROCK RIVER---------------------------------------------[OPN] Going Out for Lunch Going Out to Dinner A2 FORUM AT Syndicomm Online (A2Central.com) DISTILLATIONS------------[DAS] Batch Deletion of Email in Pine----------------------------------[BDE] BoxWorld Available in Library------------------------------------[BWA] LocalTalk on the ROM 3 Apple IIgs--------------------------------[LGS] Managing Web Sites-----------------------------------------------[MWS] Port the SCI Engine to the IIgs?---------------------------------[SCI] Build Your Own Mach II OR Mach III Joystick----------------------[JSK] The Cheese Box - VGA Monitors on the Apple II--------------------[TCB] Recipe for Joystick----------------------------------------------[RJS] Dead Battery Harmful to IIgs?------------------------------------[DBH] Linux on a PC Transporter?---------------------------------------[LPT] Current Status of GW-FTP-----------------------------------------[CGF] Enhancement to Orca/Pascal---------------------------------------[EOP] 8-Bit Driver for the LANceGS Ethernet Card-----------------------[EBD] Backing up Bank Street Music Writer------------------------------[BMW] AppleWin Emulator------------------------------------------------[AWE] Another Challenge Using KEGS-------------------------------------[ACK] KEGS for UNIX With Solaris 9 Workstation-------------------------[KSW] ActiveGS Updated to v2.0-----------------------------------------[AGS] Developer Contact Information------------------------------------[DCI] Juiced.GS V9I1 on the Way----------------------------------------[OTW] ILLUMINATING THE LAMP-------------------------------------------------[ITL] An overview of GEnieLamp A2 and The Lamp! 2000 ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SYNDICOMM------------------------------------------[ANS] To Sign up for Syndicomm Online----------------------------------[TSU] LETTERS TO THE EDITOR-------------------------------------------------[LTE] No Letters to the Editor This Month An Invitation KFEST 2004------------------------------------------------------------[KFF] KansasFest 2004--------------------------------------------------[KF4] Registration is Now Open for KFest 2004--------------------------[KFR] 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 Going Out for Lunch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Early morning observation High Above The Rock River reveals a deep blue sky and budding of the trees... a promise that Spring will soon burst forth. A great day for a drive in the country with lunch at a favorite restaurant as a destination. Highway 2 meanders south along the Rock River. We stop every few miles at one of the turnoffs to get a close view of the river. A climb to the top of Castle Rock is especially inspiring. Twenty some miles to the south we stop at Maxon's Riverside Restaurant. John Maxon established Maxon's Manor in a beautiful old house fifty some years ago. The large enclosed porch, which faced the river, served as the dinning room. This afforded the diners a fabulous view. The centerpiece of the view was a statue of Chief Blackhawk standing on a cliff High Above The Rock River. By adding great food and great service to this atmosphere, he established a large and loyal base of customers. When Mr. Maxon reached retirement age he sold the restaurant. Business went well for the new owners. Then one night tragedy struck... the house which provided the special atmosphere of the restaurant burned to the ground. Eventually another building was built. It is a rustic building that goes well with the site. The dinning room is built on two levels, one about four feet above the other. The riverside wall is almost all glass. This takes full advantage of the same great view the original house provided. Add great food and great service to the present building and you have a winning combination. Going Out to Dinner ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ KFesters go out to dinner a couple of times during KFest. Dinner at the K.C. Masterpiece is quite enjoyable. They have an uncanny ability to provide seating at this busy restaurant for all of us Apple II enthusiasts. Seating is at tables of four to six. This provides a nice sized group of people for you to become better acquainted with. The food is great. Your glass of iced tea will never run dry. Come join us at KFest this year. Registration information is available now. Drop by the KFest Home Page at: http://www.kfest.org/ and follow the registration link. [EOA] ASCII ART BEGINS _________ _ _ _ |__ __| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |___ ____ | | _____ __ ___ _ _ _____ | | | | | ___ \ / __ \ | | /____ \ | v v | | v ___ \ | | | | | | | | | /__\ \ | | ____| | | /\ /\ | | / \ \ | | | | | | | | | _____| | | / ___ | | || || | | | | | |_| | | | | | | | |_____ | |____ | |__| | | || || | | \___/ / _ |_| |_| |_| \______| |______| \____^_| |_||_||_| | |\____/ |_| | | | | |_| ASCII ART ENDS [EOA] [DAS]---------------------------------------------- DISTILLATIONS FROM The A2 FORUM at Syndicomm.com | (A2Central.com) | --------------------------------------------------- by Lyle Syverson [BDE] BATCH DELETION OF EMAIL IN PINE """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I'm getting more spam every day! I was using Pine to delete all my email before Eudora downloaded it, but I finally just quit letting Eudora get my Syndicomm email. Is there any way to do a delete of all email, rather than deleting each individual email? (in Pine) Thanks, Cindy (CINDYADAMS, Cat 2, Top 3, Msg 134) >>>>> """"" From your Pine inbox index, type this string of commands to delete all messages: ;AADXY Translation: ; = select the following range A = all A = apply the following command D = delete X = expunge Y = yes -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 2, Top 3, Msg 137) >>>>> """"" >;AADXY Thank you!! Now I can keep my spambox empty! Cindy (CINDYADAMS, Cat 2, Top 3, Msg 138) [EOA] [BWA] BoxWorld AVAILABLE IN LIBRARY """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" There is a new upload in the games/strategy/prodos8 directory: File: boxworld.bxy Size: 27520 Date: Feb 26 BoxWorld is a puzzle game. You have to replace several boxes situated at various places in the world to complete each level. Freeware. Tony Ward, A2 Librarian (A2.TONY, Cat 2, Top 37, Msg 27) [EOA] [LGS] LOCALTALK ON THE ROM 3 Apple IIgs """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I thought I'd spend a few minutes here and talk about my recent adventure with Localtalk on my ROM 3 Apple IIgs. I have a LANceGS in my IIgs and have been using that for file transfers and it works pretty well. It is better now since Geoff has released GW-FTP v1.1b4 and also upgrading Spectrum to v2.5.3 so that I can run SAFE. However after reading Ryan's article in Juiced.GS V8I4 about setting up a Localtalk bridge on a Mac, I decided to try it out using a Macintosh 7200/90 as a Localtalk Bridge and a Windows 2000 Advanced Server for a file server that I'm using for a course I'm taking. Win2KAS has Macintosh File/Print Services available so I though that would give me a nice central place to store files that would be accessible by my entire home network. Setting up File/Print services was easy enough on the Win2KAS box. The only thing not obvious was how to set up a shareable folder for Appletalk. After poking around the help files, I found a CLI based utility called "Macfile" that was able to create a share for Appletalk. Initially I was pretty disappointed that there wasn't a GUI interface but I think I found a way to do that afterwards. The next step was setting up Localtalk Bridge on the Macintosh 7200/90. Re-reading Ryan's article made it real easy. I was also able to test that the Mac could see and mount the Win2KAS volumes so I knew that was working fine. The last step was setting up Appleshare on the Apple IIgs and it was here that I started to run into problems. On my ROM 3, setting slot 2 to Localtalk, installing the Appleshare software from System 6.0.1 and connecting the cable between the Mac and the IIgs was easy enough. Once that was done I was able to see the Mac with the IIgs's Chooser, but not the Win2KAS box. I thought this was strange since the Mac could see the Win2KAS box but for some reason wasn't passing that over the Localtalk Bridge. I had the feeling that I might be cooked. :/ Playing around with the Mac I found out that if I rebooted the Mac that the Win2KAS did show up in the IIgs's Chooser for a few seconds before disappearing. If I was quick I could select it and attempt to log in. However doing this resulted in a "unknown login sequence" error from the IIgs. This didn't look good so I decided to Google it and see if anyone else had similar problems. The best information I got was from Google's usenet archive. What I found out was that I actually had two problems not related to each other. 1) The Win2KAS box not showing up in Chooser. 2) The "unknown login sequence" error. The first item ended up pretty easily addressable. The problem was that Localtalk Bridge, for whatever reason, didn't pass Win2KAS servers properly. The work around for this was to configure Win2KAS to enable Appletalk routing and set up an Appletalk zone. Once I did this the Win2KAS server was able to be seen by the IIgs all the time. The second issue was a little more difficult to determine what to do. However after searching around I discovered that a lady named Marsha Jackson had run into the same problem accessing her Linux box running Netatalk. What she did, to my amazement, was to disassemble System 6.0.1's Appleshare CDEV and debug it. She identified the problem, fixed the CDEV and posted it on her website. I downloaded it and tried it out. Bingo! After all of this I can now use Windows 2000 Advanced Server as a central file repository accessible by everything. I'm so happy that I'm writing a big, long post to Syndicomm's BB for posterity. :) Mark Percival - Apprentice Delivered by Spectrum v2.5.3 & SOAR v1.0b11 The Apple ][ Fanatic and Wednesday Night RTC Host "Midweek Madness!" from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Pacific Time (MARK, Cat 10, Top 6, Msg 45) >>>>> """"" Very interesting Mark. I've put on my list setting something like that up, I just have never had all the correct hardware pieces. Does using Appletalk add much in the way of overhead to a system? Cause more crashes make things run more sluggishly etc? I've used LocalTalk before, I just haven't used it much. Thanks, Dain (A2.DAIN, Cat 10, Top 6, Msg 46) >>>>> """"" Appletalk is an interrupt based process so it does require a little bit of processing power when it is active. Under normal accelerated GS use such as the Finder, editing files, etc., there is no noticeable difference when it is running compared to when it is not. It is most noticeable when running another highly intensive interrupt based processes such as Marinetti. TCP/IP will slow down significantly, but still be usable. Running Appletalk software on the GS will not directly make it more unstable to use. If you are using buggy software that stomps on memory that it shouldn't, then having Appletalk around is another potential area that can get affected resulting in a system crash. Apple engineers were always running Appletalk so I would trust its overall stability. And for a network architecture that was built into the GS almost 18 years ago, it is cool to see that it not only works, but works great. Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 10, Top 6, Msg 47) [EOA] [MWS] MANAGING WEB SITES """""""""""""""""" As determined uptopic, the web server I employ supports ASP, but not PHP. I asked someone to write me a routine in ASP. He gave it to me in JavaScript. Are there any advantages or disadvantages to this method? If I decided to use the JavaScript version, is there a way to include the definition routine in the header of all my HTML files, without manually inserting it into each one? Can it perhaps be listed in a .css file which is already being called? Thanks, -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 11, Top 29, Msg 86) >>>>> """"" If ASP works like PHP, there should be an ASP command to include a file as part of your HTML. I don't know how CSS engines would like Javascript passed to them. What does the CSS documentation say? Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 11, Top 29, Msg 87) >>>>> """"" You can include a javascript file with standard html like this: where site.js is a file of javascript code. However, you will need to edit every file where you wish to include it. Javascript is run on the client machine, not the server machine, so if the user has javascript turned off, or a buggy browser, it might not work as expected. Kelvin (KWS, Cat 11, Top 29, Msg 88) >>>>> """"" Geoff & Kelvin, Thanks. As Tony showed me in message 10 of this topic, I've used statements before, and was wondering if something similar could be done with JavaScript. Ideally, I'd include the JavaScript file reference in a file already being included, but the only such file in my HTML header is a .css file, which probably won't accept JavaScript. To create the site.js file you suggested, Kelvin, I had to remove the first and last lines of the JavaScript routine, which were Now the script works - most of the time, in Safari. It always works in iCab and MSIE. Odd. I wonder if it is better to go with ASP. That's my main concern, before I figure out how to implement either version. -Ken (KGAGNE, Cat 11, Top 29, Msg 89) >>>>> """"" If there is a choice between letting the server do all the work or the client--always choose the server. Users with slow devices such as a modems, slower systems, etc. will see a decrement in page generation when it has to retrieve separate pieces. Web servers should be considered fast so they can do that processing much more quickly. As you noted already, the Javascript solution can be flaky--so if the information is important, you probably don't want to use the Javascript method. You can probably find the ASP solution that you are looking for by using google with a search of: "asp reference" "include file" Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 11, Top 29, Msg 90) [EOA] [SCI] PORT THE SCI ENGINE TO THE IIgs? """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I found an Open Source SCI engine at http://freesci.linuxgames.com/ . What is SCI you ask? It is the engine which the newer (1989 and later) Sierra Online adventure games used. Word was that Sierra was working on an engine for the IIgs at one time, but stopped development due to poor IIgs sales and that the IIgs hardware was not fast enough to run a common platform engine. Now that we have accelerators and emulators which speed up the IIgs, running the newer Sierra Online games should not be an issue. Are there any takers who would want to port the SCI engine to the IIgs? Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 14, Top 2, Msg 68) >>>>> """"" In the past, I have thought about attempting to port one of the SCI engines to the IIgs, or one of the AGI engines (AGI was used for KQ 1-4, SQ, goldrush, and other sierra games that were available on the IIgs). I think they had 2 generations of SCI. The first only allowed 16 colors, but the 2nd allowed more, so the IIgs experience would be diminished. I still think it would be neat to do. Kelvin (KWS, Cat 14, Top 2, Msg 69) >>>>> """"" I'd sure like to see that done, but I'm pretty swamped. :) Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 14, Top 2, Msg 70) [EOA] [JSK] BUILD YOUR OWN Mach II OR Mach III JOYSTICK """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" See my post in the Hardware forum under Joysticks. You can build your own brand-new, factory quality Mach II or Mach III using OEM components from CH Products. Cost is about $140, but we could make it considerably less by buying in bulk. (GPH_II, Cat 14, Top 3, Msg 16) >>>>> """"" I already have a CH Apple II joystick. It's the platinum model with the button on top of the stick. It's a really nice one, and building one would be a neat project. One thing I've wondered is if one could build an arcade quality stick. I know they were pretty much a different kind of stick though since the sticks that the Apple II used were more of an analog device and I think arcade sticks were more of a digital device (on/off) versus some range of values. Seeing Apple II stuff built is always fun:) Dain (A2.DAIN, Cat 14, Top 3, Msg 17) >>>>> """"" That wouldn't be too hard. Atari sticks worked the same way, and many Apple games (pre-GS, pre-Prodos) offered an "Atari Joystick" option. Not sure what the wiring was like; I assume that bottom-right made a PDL(0),PDL(1) value of 255,255, and top-left, 0,0. I've got a CH Products joystick too - a Mach I, and I love it. It was originally for PC, but I ripped out the PC cord and replaced it with the one from my previous Apple II stick, a nice 3-button Kraft that broke. I played several games of Archon II and BoulderDash 2 today with it :-) Actually, what inspired this project were two things. 1) a desire to play Apple II games on my PC emulator (since I've already got a Mach I on the ][e), and 2) a backup. Joysticks do wear out over time, and I don't want to be caught in a position where I can never use the type of joystick I grew with again. The Mach II is almost identical to the Mach I but with superior internal components (this from CH Products' Director of Sales and Marketing, who was good enough to e-mail answers to my questions today). If anyone else is interested (hint hint) we could order in bulk and get that $127 price way down. If you order 100 of them, it's only $43 per unit. Even 20 would provide a significant savings. Greg (GPH_II, Cat 14, Top 3, Msg 18) >>>>> """"" I'm curious to see how many people you could get in on this. The problem is that even at that quantity 100 level, it's awfully expensive for a joystick, and then there's the fact that they have to be assembled, which most people can't do, and would just jack up the price even more. Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 14, Top 3, Msg 19) >>>>> """"" Yes that's true. Sometimes being a diehard Apple II fanatic means you feel like you're being discriminated against. We pay many times what PC users pay for hard drives, Etherenet, etc. It might be best to have a queue of people needing new joysticks, and when it reaches a certain threshold, everyone sends their money to someone they trust (like you) who could do the ordering and then ship the pieces to the recipients. Just one idea. I could do the assembly for a nominal cost for anyone who didn't feel comfortable doing it themselves. (GPH_II, Cat 14, Top 3, Msg 20) >>>>> """"" I think it would be important first to find out what price point at which people become willing to buy one. Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 14, Top 3, Msg 21) [EOA] [TCB] THE Cheese Box - VGA MONITORS ON THE Apple II """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Doesn't anyone know about the Cheese Box? Used VGA monitors can be had for cheap, and you get all the benefits of color on any Apple II (IIe, IIc, IIgs) without the hassle of having to have special "Apple" hardware. Cheese Box sells for about $60, and worth every penny. Has switchable VGA/composite inputs. (GPH_II, Cat 17, Top 17, Msg 6) >>>>> """"" I do, I just didn't find the quality of the video acceptable when I have some fine working GS monitors as is. :) Ryan (A2.RYAN, Cat 17, Top 17, Msg 7) >>>>> """"" The Cheese Box doesn't look like you can plug it into the Apple IIgs RGB port, but only the composite port, which isn't as good. Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 17, Topic 17 >>>>> """"" This is absolutely correct, and is the one downside: I'm constantly switching in the control panel between color and monochrome. For my IIe, it's excellent. In our case it's a space issue. I've got four computers in this room where I work: Windows 2k Desktop PC Windows 95 PC (works great with ApplePC's Mockingboard emulation and sound) Apple IIGS Apple IIe. There are three VGA monitors. One is on the IIe, which is on the floor for access by our 1-year-old daughter. It's just a space issue. The perfect solution would of course be VGA output from the GS RGB, but there isn't anything that does this. I try to stay away from Apple's proprietary stuff like the monitor where possible, as I believe the Apple II's future will be with inexpensive PC hardware... (GPH_II, Cat 17, Top 17, Msg 11) >>>>> """"" How does it work with a IIe? (MARGARET, Cat 17, Top 17) >>>>> """"" I expect it would work great with a IIe. Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 17, Top 17, Msg 10) [EOA] [RJS] RECIPE FOR JOYSTICK """"""""""""""""""" (Posted on Applefritter.com, by yours truly.) RECIPE FOR A BRAND-NEW, FACTORY QUALITY, OLD-STYLE APPLE II JOYSTICK Remember your Apple II joystick? I am not talking about the huge toy luggers sold today, the ones that require you to use your whole arm to control them. Rather, Ibm talking about the old ones that offered high precision because the stick was small enough to control with the thumb and forefinger. The one you used playing Archon II, BoulderDash, and Stellar 7. The ones that haven't been sold for about a decade. Those joysticks. So, where are they today? Wanting to get a brand new backup to my aging Mach I (a 10-year old PC joystick converted to work on the Apple II), as well as a similar style joystick for the PC, I had to search long and hard. It turns out, all the parts for these old-school joysticks are still made, and in fairly large quantities. Nowadays, they are just used for high-end medical applications and to fly jet fighters. Imagine that! While kids are enjoying Combat Flight Simulator their toy "fighter sticks", many real jet fighters are using the same type of joystick many of us grew up with. (Personally, I prefer a yoke to a stick for PC flight sims, but that is another topic). Here is the poop: you can build your own Mach II or Mach III replica for the Apple II for about $140. The casing and assembly is still made, and available from CH Products. Together, they will cost you $127. Here is the recipe for a brand new Mach II: Ingredients: * 1 OEM component, part # C100B0J-CJ from CH Products. * 1 old serial cable with male (pins, not holes) connector. * Cord sheath OR hot glue gun. * Soldering iron w/ solder. * Volt Meter/Continuity tester. * Wire stripper, or sharp knife 1. Order a C100B0J-CJ from CH Products. You can visit their OEM website, and click the "Traditional" link at the left. You should see some familiar-looking sticks. This model will give you the assembly and housing for a Mach II. 2. Get yourself an old serial cable with a male connector (meaning with pins, not holes). You may want to try to get a base sheath to protect the rubber at the point it enters the joystick casing. Hot glue will work, but it can be messy. Apply the sheathing to the cord, leaving enough slack in the wiring to get to the various connector points. 3. This is the most effort-intensive step. You will need to strip and solder the appropriate wires to the correct terminals. At this point, it helps to have a reference Apple II joystick, as you can simply open it up and test continuity between the terminal pins that plug into the CPU and the various connection points on the joystick potentiometers and buttons. Wiring diagrams are also available on the web. 4. Put the housing back together. This should consist of tightening four screws. Voila! One brand new Apple II joystick, for years of enjoyment. As a variation, you should be able to build a Mach III replica exactly as above, with one extra button to connect. You would need to decide whether it is to be Button 0 or 1. If enough people were interested in this, we could order the CH Products parts in bulk and reduce costs considerably& (GPH_II, Cat 17, Top 20, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" Looks pretty cool, but which stick did you put in the housing? Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 17, Top 20, Msg 2) >>>>> """"" I did this years ago, when it was much cheaper. It's a Mach I, originally for the PC. It is still in service after all these years. (GPH_II, Cat 17, Top 20, Msg 3) [EOA] [DBH] DEAD BATTERY HARMFUL TO IIgs? """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" My ROM 01 GS has had a dead battery for four years now. I currently have no desire to replace it. Will there be any long term ill effects if I leave the dead battery in the system (i.e. battery corrosion, chemical fires, etc.). If I cut the battery out and leave it out, will any normal GS operations fail? The nice thing about having a dead battery is that I don't have to worry about the GS time rolling over in 2040 :) Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 17, Top 23, Msg 14) >>>>> """"" I don't think so, but I've not cut out any of the batteries before. You'd need to restore your clock and other settings, but that's not something that anyone who doesn't have a UNIX box with a dead battery (me) has to do when there's a power outage. Ryan (A2.RYAN, Cat 17, Top 23, Msg 15) [EOA] [LPT] LINUX ON A PC TRANSPORTER? """""""""""""""""""""""""" Has anybody installed Linux on a PC Transporter? Is it even possible? I think that would be really cool if that was accomplished. Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 17, Top 29, Msg 43) >>>>> """"" I assume Linux would require a machine that can support virtual memory. Can an 8086 PC do that? Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 17, Top 29, Msg 44) >>>>> """"" Everything I've ever seen indicates that Linux requires a 80386 32-bit processor. Of course you never know if small parts of it could be ported. (I know nothing about this, so I'll shut up now:) Beside..SCO would get you if you tried;) Dain (A2.DAIN, Cat 17, Top 29, Msg 45) >>>>> """"" The minimum specifications are a 386 proc for linux but the AT&T 6300+ http://www.trailingedge.com/~dlw/comp/texttemp.html?att6300p Could run Unix (TECHNERD, Cat 17, Top 29, Msg 46) >>>>> """"" Linux 2.6 (the recently released kernel) has microController support--allowing Linux to run on systems without MMU support. I thought I heard that there was 8086/80286 support with that, but I am unable to verify that now. I did find ELKS ( http://elks.sourceforge.net/ ) which is a ported version of Linux for the 8086/80286 processor level. Its FAQ even mentions that the NEC V20 should work with this kernel. Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 17, Top 29, Msg 47) >>>>> """"" I think the PC Transporter used the elusive 80186. Minix was designed for 8086 computers with 5.25" drives, so that might work better. Kelvin (KWS, Cat 17, Top 29, Msg 48) >>>>> """"" The PC Transporter used the NEC V20. Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 17, Top 29, Msg 49) >>>>> """"" The NEC V20 was made to be pin-compatible with the Intel 8088, the CPU found in the original IBM PC, XT, and other clones. The 8088 is an 8-bit bus version of the 8086, resulting in less efficient operation. The NEC V20 was 30% faster than the Intel counterpart due to its better designed microarchitecture. It does include additional instructions found in the 80186/80188. The V20 could also emulate the Intel 8080. That was probably more than you wanted to know :) Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 17, Top 29, Msg 50) [EOA] [CGF] CURRENT STATUS OF GW-FTP """""""""""""""""""""""" Geoff, What is the current status of GW-FTP? Like what is the latest version? What works and what doesn't? And of course, is it available for download anywhere currently? Thanks, Dain (A2.DAIN, Cat 20, Top 13, Msg 62) >>>>> """"" I'd like to make gwFTP Open Source, but it is a pain to do everything that is required: * modify source * add GPL notices * write documentation to assemble, install, and use * create a Web site * write a press release * etc. It is just much easier to hand it off "as-is" to be put on a disk. So it is more or less copyrighted freeware at the moment. And since it really is a beta releases (there are known crashing and hanging problems), I see no reason for a limited distribution method. All copies of gwfTP have been made available this way. It should be noted that none of proceeds of disk sales with gwFTP go to me. Version 1.1b4 was announced and released at KFest 2004. I gave a copy to Andrew to put on the Marinetti 3.0b1 CD, but I heard reports that it wasn't to be found. It is available on the Marinetti 3.0b1 disk that is sold by Syndicomm (and at $4.00, it is cheaper than the $5.00 disks sold by Shareware Solutions II and Juiced.GS). If gwFTP is used enough, memory gets all messed up resulting in a crash (at least on my system). Most of the code was written during a time when I had no idea what I was doing. gwFTP also doesn't handle error conditions well. It can do anything from ignoring them gracefully to hanging. gwFTP doesn't handle file globbing. I have no desire to write that code. gwFTP does do what it promises: uploads and download files by passive mode FTP as binary or text. It operates like the ftp program that you find on Windows, Mac, and UNIX systems. But unlike those, it doesn't handle stdin and stdout to be used within a script (again, that was because I didn't know what I was doing when I wrote it). Much of the code within gwFTP needs to be scrapped and rewritten (let's just say that it was a coincidence that earlier released versions actually worked for anybody). At some point, I'll probably put a copy up on to Syndicomm for download, but it would require a lot more work that just ftping a copy of itself. Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 20, Top 13, Msg 63) [EOA] [EOP] ENHANCEMENT TO Orca/Pascal """""""""""""""""""""""""" I've coded up an enhancement to Orca/Pascal others might be interested in. It's a patch to allow forward declaration of objects, eg: Type forwardObject = object; (* forward declaration *) myObject = object count: integer; procedure init; function createForwardObject: forwardObject; end; forwardObject = object (myObject) procedure init; override; procedure doThis; procedure doThat; end; This is the same syntax as delphi/turbo pascal for forward definitions (they use class instead of object, but they're otherwise equivalent). The code changes are available here: http://www.syndicomm.com/~kws/pascal/ Kelvin (KWS, Cat 22, Top 6, Msg 15) >>>>> """"" Kelvin, I'm going to try that, once I actually get back in coding shape. Ryan (A2.RYAN, Cat 22, Top 6, Msg 16) >>>>> """"" One of these days I'm going to have time to roll together these patches into something I can deliver somehow. Not sure how yet. :) Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 22, Top 6, Msg 17) [EOA] [EBD] 8-BIT DRIVER FOR THE LANceGS ETHERNET CARD """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" So, Some initial 8-bit work on the LANceGS card is being done. It would be kind of neat if there were some kind of text based AIM chat client for my IIe:) One can dream..... Dain (A2.DAIN, Cat 27, Top 2, Msg 67) >>>>> """"" A telnet client and a FTP client would do it for me :) Ryan (A2.RYAN, Cat 27, Top 2, Msg 68) >>>>> """"" Yeah... I'd sure like to see some software. I've got a request in to Joachim for a copy of the driver. I'm curious to see just how much stuff the developer will have to do to actually make it usable. I'm betting lots. Joachim says the driver's been done for "ages" and is surprised nobody asked for a copy before. I pointed out that it helps to tell people. :) Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 27, Top 2, Msg 69) >>>>> """"" I was wondering if anybody has seen the Prodos8 drivers for the lanceGS and if they could be adapted to be used in the Apple port of Contiki. (TECHNERD, Cat 27, Top 2, Msg 70) >>>>> """"" I've signed up to get them, but haven't yet. Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 27, Top 2, Msg 71) [EOA] [BMW] BACKING UP Bank Street Music Writer """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ImageMaker: I have a particular 140K disk called Bank Street Music Writer. There's an investment of hundreds of effort-hours of music I've composed using it. I've never been able to successfully back it up. Can Imagemaker make raw images of copy-protected 140k disks? How should I solve this problem? (GPH_II, Cat 29, Top 5, Msg 19) >>>>> """"" No, ImageMaker really isn't good for doing 140K images, although I plan to add that capability in the future. Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 29, Top 5, Msg 20) >>>>> """"" BSMW uses a proprietary OS and cannot be copied, even by Nibble copiers. It must be cracked. I'm working on this as time avails. It will end up being an entirely NEW program, runnable from ProDOS but necessitating a reboot when finished (because the crack involves overwriting all of lower 64k, incl. P8). It will still save to its proprietary format, so I'll need 140k disks. It would be nice to get it reclassified as Public Domain so everyone could have a copy. Then, it would be even nicer to add a "GS" option, whereby all of its songs could play on either Mockingboard or GS. Then, add a "wave maker" (similar to its existing "voice editor") to make a simple 256-byte looped-wave for each of the six voices in GS mode. You'd be amazed at the complexity that can be achieved with simple looping waves instead of huge one-shot samples. SynthLab is a prime example. It is probably the best music program I've used, and a great teaching tool as well. (GPH_II, Cat 29, Top 5, Msg 21) [EOA] [AWE] AppleWin EMULATOR """"""""""""""""" AppleWin 1.12.3 is quite nice. http://www.tomcharlesworth.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ Full source code is available. I fixed the Mockingboard tone and volume emulation (noise, envelope, and speech support are still not there). Ultima III, IV, and V music now sounds almost EXACTLY like it does on the Apple IIe, without the nasally SoundBlaster tone. This is a first on a Windows-based emulator. Sent the code to the (new) author, Tom Charlesworth. Hopefully, he'll incorporate it into the next release. Greg (GPH_II, Cat 29, Top 14, Msg 1) >>>>> """"" Are there screen captures of the Color TV emulation mode anywhere to be found? Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 29, Top 14, Msg 2) >>>>> """"" I can send you one, but it would be simpler to just try it (unless you don't have access to a PC). It does seem to work as advertised, as you see solid yellows and grays on standard HiRes displays. You can turn it off, too, for the old color-monitor look. (GPH_II, Cat 29, Top 14, Msg 3) [EOA] [ACK] ANOTHER CHALLENGE USING KEGS """""""""""""""""""""""""""" Thanks for the link! I now have KEGS running under FreeBSD 4.9-STABLE. The POOF1 HD I created won't let me install, though, GSOS says it's write-protected, but Unix says its chmod777 all the way. Are there any prebuilt (empty) ProDOS formatted 2MG harddrive files available? Or maybe I missed something... I did see some mention of write-protected volumes in another thread in another category, but I didn't find the original posts or replies. Tim Kellers (KELLERS, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 18) >>>>> """"" The A2Romulan CD has a bootable 32-meg system 6 image on it. I've used it with kegs and it works great. Kelvin (KWS, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 19) >>>>> """"" >> The POOF1 HD I created won't let me install, though, GSOS says it's write protected, but Unix says its chmod 777 all the way. << Don't run KEGS as root. I've never had to_pro produce a bad disk image. Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 20) >>>>> """"" UNIX shell commands to turn on and off write protection with KEGS disk images is easy. Write protection on: chmod u-w Write protection off: chmod u+w Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 21) >>>>> """"" >> Unix says its chmod 777 all the way << It's pretty hard to get more "write-enabled" than that! I don't suppose it's something silly like the permissions of one (or more) of the directories in the path? Peter peterw@syndicomm.com Palm OS Community Bulletin Board Manager (PETERW, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 22) [EOA] [KSW] KEGS for UNIX With Solaris 9 Workstation """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I built a new Solaris 9 workstation (Yay, finally get to use GNOME!). I copied my Solaris 7 binaries over and they worked fine (there is no native Solaris sound support with KEGS, but everything else was ok). KEGS was running around 28 MHz on a 750 MHz native host. I noticed that KEGS (and the system) would be intermittently sluggish so I decided to increase the RAM to 256k. The sluggishness went away and KEGS screamed along at 38 MHz. I think I was more surprised to see how much a little RAM would help with performance. Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 23) >>>>> """"" It turns out that there is some code available to have sound available in KEGS from Solaris. See http://groups.google.com/groups?q=kegs+solaris+sound&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=Pine.GSO.4.31.0104031022360.1252-100000%40sockmonkey.thoughtwave.net&rnum=2 Of course, I found that posting after I wrote similar code to do the same thing. A little modification to the provided code would also allow SunOS and *BSD systems to have sound as well. Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 24) >>>>> """"" Well, rolling your own code is more fun anyway. ;) Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 25 ) [EOA] [AGS] ActiveGS UPDATED TO v2.0 """""""""""""""""""""""" As posted on the a2central home page, ActiveGS has been updated to version 2.0. The new feature which I like in this version is the ability to show how fast the emulated megahertz that the GS is running at. To my surprise, I found that the ActiveGS 2.0 runs around 25% faster than KEGS 0.85. Running Platinum Paint, ActiveGS clocked in at 51 MHz which KEGS on the same machine ran at 41 MHz. This test was run on a 850 MHz Pentium III PC. I couldn't believe that ActiveGS was that more efficient than KEGS. I didn't spend too much time to determine all the difference between the two GS emulators, but I did notice that ActiveGS doesn't emulate border effects exactly the same way as KEGS. When ActiveGS runs the Split Demo as part of the Christmas Demo, an area in the lower border does not get drawn. KEGS reproduces the GS screen with accuracy. Are there any other obvious differences between KEGS and ActiveGS which explains the speed difference? Or is ActiveX just more efficient than applications (I Would have thought that ActiveX would be less efficient than applications). Geoff (GEOFF, Cat 29, Top 41, Msg 18) [EOA] [DCI] DEVELOPER CONTACT INFORMATION """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" Greg Hedger 1248 Cork Elm Dr. St. Louis, MO 63122 hedger@sbcglobal.net http://pages.sbcglobal.net/hedger Developed Adventure Alive, Artillery King, and working on AA2. (GPH_II, Cat 50, Top 1, Msg 5) [EOA] [OTW] Juiced.GS V9I1 ON THE WAY """"""""""""""""""""""""" Juiced.GS V9I1 mailed to US subscribers today. It should arrive over the next week or so. Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd sheppy@syndicomm.com Owner, Syndicomm http://www.syndicomm.com Building communities, bit by bit. (SYNDICOMM, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 527) [EOA] [ITL]------------------------ ILLUMINATING THE LAMP | ----------------------------- An overview of GEnieLamp A2 and The Lamp! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By Steven Weyhrich A WHOLE NEW WORLD Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was a prolific writer of non-fiction and science fiction during the 20th century. One of his most popular fiction series told stories of a galactic empire in the far distant future, one whose duration spanned many thousands of years. In a three-book set published in the early 1950's, "Foundation", "Foundation And Empire", and "Second Foundation", Asimov told of a time in which this empire was in decline, heading to an unstoppable regression into barbarism. A mathematician named Hari Seldon had devised the science of "psychohistory", a complex set of equations that helped him make this prediction of decline and fall. His equations furthermore forecast that it would take thirty THOUSAND years until things improved and a new galactic empire rose again. However, Seldon also found that by manipulating events in just a small fashion here or there it was possible to alter this impending disaster, much as making a slight adjustment in steering a car on a highway could minimize or avoid an accident. If he could arrange the right conditions, he found that it would be possible for the interregnum between the first and second galactic empires to be reduced to a mere ONE thousand years. He planned for a small group of scientists to be placed on a resource-poor world at the edge of the galaxy, isolated from most of the rest of the events happening at the central galactic capital world. As this center of power for millions of worlds deteriorated and fell to nothing, his Foundation would grow and flourish, the predetermined events pushing them along to the desired future. What I enjoyed about these stories was seeing how events would progress for the small group of people Seldon had placed on Terminus, the planet at the edge of the galaxy. Problems would arise, they would find their choices of action constricted to the point where only one possible path lay ahead of them, and that path pushed them along to the next step on the road back to that new galactic empire. And after the crisis would pass, a holographic recording of Seldon himself, made before the Foundation was established, would appear in the Time Vault he had placed on Terminus. His recording would tell them about the events that had just happened, events which he had already predicted many years earlier. It was satisfying seeing how events didn't just "happen", but happened in a way that Seldon already had known and anticipated. Although I do not have the use of Seldon's psychohistorical equations to predict a FUTURE Apple II historical path, I do have the benefit of reading the events of the PAST through the eyes of those who wrote about and recorded them in each issue of GEnieLamp A2 and The Lamp! And my reading tells me that there was just something about this year 2000 that seemed to be a turning point. It was a transition from the state of being moved here or there by powers over which we had no control (Apple Computer, GEnie/Genie, America Online, CompuServe, or even Delphi) to a state of taking control and determining the future ourselves. As with any event, it took the actions of leaders who had a vision, but also the cooperation of many others to make the vision a reality. And the reality was of a place where the creative minds that still guarded the legacy of the Apple II could meet and share ideas to keep the platform alive and functioning. But I am getting ahead of myself. As the new century opened on January 1, 2000, and the world was relieved to learn that all civilization had not come crashing down in flames due to the Y2K bug, the Apple II had continued to chug merrily along. It was not directly affected by the calendar change any more than it had been during the prior twenty-three years. Those who used AppleWorks for their word processing, ProTERM for telecommunications, or Print Shop for greeting cards and posters barely noticed the new millennium, at least as far as their computers were concerned. ROCKIN' PNEUMONIA AND THE BOOGIE WOOGIE FLU World events that shaped the year 2000 included the crash of the Concorde jet near Paris in July, killing 113 passengers. Yugoslavian president Slobodon Milosevic was ousted from power by a national uprising. Terrorists attacked the U.S. naval destroyer Cole while it was in Yemen. The stock market, after the boom of the 1990's, began to turn around and start a decline. The U.S. presidential election results were delayed for weeks, awaiting recounts done by hand in Dade County, Florida. Eventually George W. Bush was declared the winner, amid much controversy. America Online, riding high on the Internet boom, bought media giant Time-Warner for $165 billion, creating AOL Time-Warner. In the computer world, Bill Gates turned over his title of CEO to Microsoft president Steve Ballmer. Microsoft Windows 2000, a blend of their network and personal versions of the operating system, was released in February. Bill Clinton made the first-ever webcast of a presidential speech. The first 1 GHz AMD and Intel Pentium processors began to appear on the market. "Denial of service" attacks on major web sites begin to be a problem. Apple Computer's iCEO (interim CEO) Steve Jobs announces at the MacWorld Expo in January that he was taking on the job of CEO on a permanent basis. The "Pismo" PowerBook made its debut in 400 and 500 MHz versions, and was the first PowerBook to be released without a SCSI port. The Power Mac G4 Cube was released mid-year, and new dual processor Power Macintosh G4 desktop units became available. The iMac colors were changed to ruby, indigo, sage and snow, at similar 400 to 500 MHz processor speeds. The long-promised next generation operating system, Mac OS X, appeared in September in the form of a public beta. THE LAMP! INFO The year started with a new editor, Lyle Syverson, as mentioned in this article last time. Syverson was an Apple II veteran of over twelve years. He got his start with the Apple II through his position as a chemistry lab tech at Rock Valley College in the city of Rockford in north central Illinois. When he started there in 1987, one of his responsibilities was to manage an inventory of over seven hundred chemicals. This was done on an Apple IIe running AppleWorks 1.2. He liked using the program so well that he eventually purchased a Laser 128 for his own use at home. To supplement his knowledge of his new computer, Syverson started reading Apple II magazines. Their enthusiastic reports of the wonders of the online world prompted him to invest further in a 2400-baud modem, which he bought by mail order in 1993. It came "complete with cable and software", but refused to work properly for him. He decided to purchase Talk Is Cheap (TIC) by mail order, and was finally able to connect to a local bulletin board system. That was enough to hook him, and after one evening online, he sent in his shareware fee for TIC. He then tackled GEnie and learned of the significantly improved 4.0 version of TIC that was soon to be released. The author allowed him to apply the shareware fee to the updated version. GEnie was a fun experience for Syverson, further increasing his knowledge of the Apple II. He found it great to be able to post a question, then log back in an hour later and already find two or three answers. He found it somewhat of a challenge to keep up with the volume of traffic on the A2 Roundtable, and used to keep a pile of 5.25-inch disks on hand to use in saving the TIC message buffer when it got full. At the time of the release of System 6.0.1 on GEnie, he was able to upgrade to an Apple IIGS. With some effort, he downloaded the six disks (at 2400 baud, 75 minutes per disk image) one at a time to a RAM disk, which he then unpacked to a 3.5-inch disk. With the 1996 transition of GEnie to Genie, and its significant price increases, Syverson escaped to CompuServe's APPUSER forum, and was able to stay there until early 1999 when its text access was terminated. He then made the move to Delphi A2, where many Apple II faithful were migrating as the shakeouts in the online world continued. Though he had not previously had any experience with newsletters, Syverson had been a regular reader of GEnieLamp A2 and The Lamp! He had noticed Ryan Suenaga's request for an editor to take his place, and with his impending retirement in the summer of 1999, he wrote and asked to be considered for the job. Ryan accepted his offer, and with the January 2000 issue, the newsletter was Syverson's. He started his first issue with the same editorial column title "Opening Pitch" that Suenaga had used during his run as editor. By the second issue, however, Syverson settled on a more personal title. At the time, he was living in the Skyrise Apartments in Rockford, which was located on the west bank of the Rock River that ran through town. This inspired him to make his own editorial title, "High Above The Rock River". The new Lamp masthead read as: ________________________________________________________________________ | | |::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::| |The Lamp! An Onipa'a Software Production Vol. 3, No. 1| |::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::| |Publisher................................Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W.| |Editor.....................................................Lyle Syverson| |Internet Email, Publisher.........................thelamp@sheppyware.net| |Internet Mail, Editor.................................lyle837@delphi.com| |::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::| |________________________________________________________________________| By the end of the year, the only change of note in the masthead was Syverson's address change to "lyle@FoxValley.net", apparently to reduce dependence on Delphi for his e-mail. Starting as new editor of The Lamp!, Syverson took the opportunity to make some modifications to the format. Whereas Suenaga's layout had been a close copy of the classic GEnieLamp A2 format, renaming the columns, but otherwise using them the same way, Syverson made some further adjustments to suit his own style. Instead of "A Funny Thing Happened", where the messages from Delphi were reprinted, he chose to call this section first "The Innings" (staying with the baseball motif), and then in his second issue "A2 Distillations". Another change was a more frequent use of the three-letter index symbols. Where previous editors used these only for a specific article, and had only a single index code for ALL of the reprinted forum messages, Syverson made these codes more specific by assigning a different one to each individual topic, even in the A2 Distillations section. The advantage of this was the ability to specifically find an article by its index code (when in the future an index might finally be made). In August it was announced that The Lamp! back issues now had an additional home on a subdomain of the Sheppyware.net server. DELPHI A2 FORUM Joe Kohn continued his weekly Monday Night Chat events, sadly reduced in size from the multi-system events of past years. Delphi, the last of the old-style online services to still offer text-based access was making changes that it was hoping would help it survive in the Internet tidal wave that had swept away other services. In the new digital world where web access was THE way to do things online, Delphi had successfully been adding access to its forums via a web-based interface, attempting to modify itself to appeal to both the old and new online computer user. The management was trying various ways to maintain income, but was apparently finding it to be a struggle. They had a "Premium Plan", but it was no longer available beginning in May. Technical glitches were also becoming more of a problem, with the service being unable to consistently keep the text and web sides of the forums reliably in sync with each other. Finally, there was a good news/bad news announcement by Delphi management in August. The good news was that as of November 1, 2000 Delphi services would no longer be billed. The bad news was that after that date their "legacy services" (which included text-based access) would continue but would not be supported. For those who connected to Delphi by telnet, this meant that any day after the end of October the access to this latest A2 home could be threatened. GENIE INFO After January 1, 2000 arrived, the old text-based Genie was completely gone, and the "new" Genie was running. This new service was completely web-based. It still offered some dial-in options (though not to the extent that it had in the past), and that now at speeds up to 56K. According to a usenet post on alt.online-service.genie by Andy Finkenstadt (who had been with GEnie from the beginning), there were many problems with the new service. Any e-mail from the old system was completely gone; the content had been ported "imperfectly and haphazardly" to www.genie.com, and even then did not completely function there. Users who DID go to the web site did not see any announcement of the end of the old service, and found that some of the links (such as the one for e-mail) did not even work. Several people found themselves continuing to receive bills on their bank statements for Genie Online, even though they were not using (and could not use) the new service. One person who posted his story on the above-mentioned usenet newsgroup tried calling the customer service number. He was told that an e-mail had been sent in April 1998 (!!) and on December 27, 1999 telling about the changes in the service, and offered to get him a username and password for the new service. He had previously tried to send them e-mail at the end of December asking about the changes; the customer service representative told him that they would have to look for it before any of the new charges on his account could be refunded. Days passed without any contact from Genie about his question, and when he finally WAS able to talk to them again, he was told that since his e-mail did not specifically ask for cancellation of his account he would not be issued a refund. Although he finally DID cancel his membership, he was unable to get a refund on the charges that had been already been collected. A2CENTRAL.COM / SYNDICOMM Syndicomm had originally been founded by Tom Weishaar to manage the Apple II Roundtables on GEnie. Around 1992, when it began to branch out to some of the non-Apple II online areas (the Macintosh and PowerPC Roundtables), Weishaar sold the operation to Dean Esmay and Gary Utter. At its height, Syndicomm was responsible for the management of ten to twelve forums each on GEnie and Delphi, two on America Online, and had contracts to administrate online helpdesk services. Over the years, of course, the AOL and GEnie connection faltered and failed, and during 2000 Delphi was looking shaky as well. By this time, Esmay had not been active in the business for a while, and Utter was having health problems that limited his involvement. He was looking for an opportunity to get out of direct operation of Syndicomm. Delphi, which had been hailed as a safe haven from the long, slow death spiral of Genie, was itself showing disturbing signs of instability (as mentioned above). Its long-term plan was apparently to change from a service that itself hosted specific, moderated forums to one that was more member-based, where ANYBODY could start a forum if they wished. More importantly, the end of support for text-based access on November 1, 2000 had the potential to be a big problem for those Apple II users who still needed text access. In June of 2000, Eric Shepherd had started his own Apple II-related web site, www.A2Central.com. He had picked the name because of some other sites that he had seen on the Internet, such as MacCentral.com and BeOSCentral.com. It occurred to him that an A2Central.com web site was needed, and registered the domain as soon as he thought of it. It was not until later, when he was beta-testing the site that a comment came from someone on Delphi that it might be confused with the newsletter "A2-Central" started years earlier by Tom Weishaar. Regardless, Sheppy liked the name and decided to keep it. When Sheppy first started the A2Central.com web site, its purpose was to be a collection of articles, reviews, press releases, suggestions and tidbits of use to Apple II users. Within a month of the launch of the site, he was envisioning a broader role for it, including the addition of a message board, chat room, and an area for files accessible via FTP. While at KansasFest in July, Sheppy discussed the A2Central.com expansion in private with Gary Utter and Dave Miller. Utter enthusiastically supported his plans, and went so far as to ask Sheppy to take over Syndicomm. At that time, however, he declined the offer. After the event was over, and Sheppy was back home in California, he and Ryan Suenaga discussed Gary Utter's offer. As they considered the possibilities, he decided that it made sense to accept it. However, he realized that in order to make it work as a business it would be necessary to widen his vision beyond the Apple II. Out of this came the concept of hosting a variety of forums dedicated to several different computer platforms or topics -- in actuality, creating an online service that emulated the best of GEnie and Delphi at their prime. Making this work as a business would require a good business name; "Syndicomm" worked well, and had favorable recognition within the Apple II community. Additionally, it provided the benefits of an experienced and dedicated volunteer staff. Sheppy contacted Utter and Esmay and began to negotiate the purchase of Syndicomm. The deal was completed on November 1, 2000. Sheppy chose a DSL connection to the Internet for A2Central.com and Syndicomm.com, as it was less expensive than a T1 type of connection, and could have its bandwidth adjusted as the customer base changed. When he first started the A2Central.com web site in June, it ran on a BeBox Dual/66 computer, using the BeOS R3 operating system, on his own personal DSL connection. Within two weeks, the traffic had increased to the point where the hardware had to be upgraded to handle the load, so he changed to a refurbished Pentium 133, this time using Red Hat Linux 6.2 as its operating system. Another older PC functioned as a firewall. With further growth of the system and his Syndicomm expansion plans beginning to take shape, he moved the system to its own dedicated DSL connection by the fall of 2000. The design of the A2Central.com web site had been done entirely by Sheppy. In order to make an online service that would act like GEnie or Delphi a different approach was required . Dave Miller, using the Perl language and MySQL databases, designed a front end for the multi-forum Syndicomm.com site that would allow web access to forums, but would also have text-based telnet access to satisfy most Apple II users needs. In the first part of October, he designed chat rooms that worked like GEnie's "Real Time Conference" rooms. During the rest of October and into November, Miller worked on creating the bulletin boards (forums). All of this was happening behind the scenes. A press release in December finally announced the sale of Syndicomm to Sheppy, and further stated that Dean Esmay and Gary Utter planned to continue to be involved in the operations of the company under its new ownership. By December 8, 2000, the Syndicomm.com service was ready for an open beta test, which ran through the end of the month. The open-beta launch of the service was accompanied by "door prizes" for those who first entered some of the Real Time Conference rooms. After the start of the new year, membership would be priced at $15 per month, which included 10 megabytes of personal disk space on the Syndicomm server. A2Central.com continued to exist as the web-face of Syndicomm A2. During September, the cost of improvements to the web site was supplemented by income from an eBay auction of a never-used RamWorks III card. Sheppy also got the site officially licensed by Apple for distribution of Apple II system software, and was also authorized to make the software available in archive formats useful to Apple II users (not just the Macintosh Disk Copy format as it would be found on the Apple Computer FTP site). By November, the web site was offering Apple II system and starter kit disks, and had an online store that worked through the Kagi ordering system. Items sold initially were ComputerEyes GS video capture cards (still available today in 2004!), and the A2-Central Font Collection. As Syndicomm.com started operations, A2Central.com continued to exist as what it was originally designed to be -- a web site with articles, reviews, etc., while the real interactive experience was on the Syndicomm forums. HARDWARE NEWS Most of the hardware news that appeared in The Lamp! during 2000 involved re-education of new users about old hardware. o February saw discussion of available RGB monitors that could be used as replacements for the Apple IIGS monitors if they went bad. o March posts reviewed RamFAST cards and ways to get them updated. Various large-capacity floppy disk alternatives (floptical and magneto-optical drives) were also discussed, as was the Laser 128 and its various models. The care of cables for the ZipGSX was presented in the March issue. Also fielded were questions about the PC Transporter. o April saw Tony Ward explaining distinctions between and uses of the Apple II Super Serial Card and the Turbo ASB baud rate generator. Mitchell Spector described modifications that could be made to the Apple IIc. o In May, the hot topic of discussion was how to create a "SuperGS" computer, with the pros and cons debated back and forth. o June reviewed the Apple IIGS battery and its replacement. o August discussions involved the use of hard drives on an Apple II Plus, and available models of CD-ROM drives for the Apple IIGS. In addition, the No Slot Clock resurfaced as a topic (as it had previously in The Lamp! in 1998). o During September, Ryan Suenaga wrote an article that described the Apple IIc modem cable, and how to build one. The Forum discussed faster CD-ROM drives. o October's big news was the release of more information about a new piece of hardware. An Ethernet card for the Apple IIe and IIGS was released by ///SHH Systeme, the creators of the BlueDisk and TurboIDE cards. This Ethernet card, called "LANceGS", made it possible to connect an Apple IIe or IIGS to an Ethernet network. Full file-sharing in GS/OS was not possible with the card as was possible with an AppleTalk connection, since the operating system had not been designed to support it. However, file transfer could be done via FTP with terminal software, and connection to the Internet was possible using Marinetti. o November's messages highlighted various models of sound cards for the Apple IIGS. o And in December, Ryan Suenaga wrote a followup to his September article about modem cables. This time the topic featured the Apple IIe with a Super Serial Card. EMULATOR NEWS Sheppy updated the Sweet16 Apple IIGS emulator to v1.3, then quickly to 1.3.1 and 1.3.2. Version 1.5 was released in May, and 1.5.1 by September. F.E. Systems updated their Macintosh-based IIGS emulator Bernie ][ The Rescue to v2.6. This version added "CataDog", a Finder-like disk-cataloging feature that made it easier to browse ProDOS disks outside of the emulated computer. This was soon followed by a 2.5.9 version, as it had been discovered that v2.6 was not compatible with some older versions of the Mac operating system (those prior to Mac OS 8.5). At KansasFest 2000 an upgrade to v3.0 of Bernie ][ The Rescue was announced. SOFTWARE NEWS :: COLLECTIONS :: A common announcement to appear during 2000 was that of yet another collection on CD-ROM of Apple II software of one type or another. Ryan Suenaga announced at KansasFest a collection called "Time In A Bottle", a two-disc CD collection of Syndicomm's A2 and A2Pro libraries from the now-defunct Genie. Juiced.GS got into the act with a CD-ROM called "The Compleat Lamp!", which contained all issues of GEnieLamp A2, GEnieLamp A2Pro and The Lamp! in every format in which they had ever been released. Joe Kohn announced a two-CD-ROM collection from France, "DeluxeWare" and "Le CD-ROM", both from Brutal Deluxe. Mike Westerfield inquired as to whether or not there was sufficient interest in a CD-ROM containing all of The Byte Works products. Having received a positive response, he decided to move forward with the project. By December, "Opus ][" was ready to ship, containing every Apple II program ever released by The Byte Works, including sixteen never-released applications. The Lamp! that month included two long articles by Westerfield describing the collection. :: PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE :: Gareth Jones put together an FAQ (which is still available) about WordPerfect IIe and IIGS at http://www.intergate.ca/personal/gslj/wp.faq.html. Howard Katz as Lost Classics Project coordinator was busy during 2000. He was able to announce the release of Will Nelken's Marin MacroWorks products, as well as TimeOut Graph and other TimeOut products and the BeagleWrite word processor. Uploaded in June was Beagle Graphics, and in August extra graphic patterns for Beagle Graphics, and Diversified Accountant Job Cost System. ZBASIC, an 8-bit BASIC compiler for the Apple II, was also made available through this project. Geoff Weiss released another Spectrum script called SCAP ("Spectrum Create A PDF"), which converted AppleWorks Classic, Teach, Text, or Source files into PDF format files. :: TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE :: Crock 'O Gold was updated to v3.3. Don Elton released the source code for Talk Is Cheap on his FTP server; it was also posted on the Delphi A2 library. Kim Howe contributed a short article about Arachnid, his Apple IIGS web browser, and had his first preview release up in May. By August, Preview 2 was available for download. Spectrum was updated to v2.2, then to v2.3, and by November was up to v2.4 and was being sold through Shareware Solutions II. Ewen Wannop also introduced SAM (Spectrum Automated Mailer) in April. Requiring at least v2.3 of Spectrum and v2.0 of Marinetti, it was an e-mail message management program for the IIGS, using Internet protocols. Shareware Solutions II was chosen as the publisher of the program. Richard Bennett announced that Marinetti was changing to open source status as of August 2000, and further development by any interested parties was welcomed. :: UTILITY SOFTWARE :: The Lost Classics Project was also busy in this category. Diversi-DOS by Bill Basham and ProntoDOS by Tom Weishaar was released into freeware status, thanks to the efforts of Gareth Jones and Howard Katz. Also released were Beagle Compiler and Program Writer, as well as System.II from Kitchen Sink Software. Sheppy released ImageMaker 1.2, a bug fix revision, and then in September released v2.0. For those wishing to WRITE utility software routines, the tricks to reading multiple keys down on the Apple IIGS were explained by Sheppy in March. In August, one topic of discussion was the use of a Macintosh server and booting an Apple IIGS from that Mac. A related recurring theme was file transfer between Apple II and some other foreign computer. Accomplishing this between a IIGS and an IBM PC was discussed in March. :: GAMES :: Jeff Fink worked feverishly on his adventure game Silvern Castle during 2000. He first updated it to version 3.0, with an Expanded Scenario, and then to v4.0 and v4.1 by May. In August, v5.0 of the game was available, and some hints were posted as well. Along with some feature improvements, this new update included a new expert-level scenario "Time Master" for registered owners. A revision to v5.1 and v5.2 followed soon after, as did the announcement that Fink had decided to change the status of the game to freeware, as he had received only a measly NINE shareware registrations since he had released the game in July 1999. He hoped that making it a freeware product would increase the penetration of the game, and therefore the interest in it. Not willing yet to rest on his laurels, he released v6.0 by November. The changes in this revision were primarily a recoding to operate under MicroDot, which allowed the program to be more compact and to fit more game into the same amount of space. By December he announced yet another update, this time to v7.0. Other game-related events included: o Kim Howe released his first Apple IIGS game, Shipwrecked, which operated under HyperCard IIGS. o Joe Kohn arranged for the re-release of Ultima I IIGS. o NinjaForce updated their web site, and made a version of Defender Of The World in "2MG" format for use with emulators. o Tom Zuchowski released a CD filled with Eamon text adventure scenarios, suitable for use with an emulator or an Apple II with access to a CD-ROM drive. o At KansasFest, Sheppy released Lemonade Stand GS, an updated version of the classic Applesoft game. o An update of GShisen to v1.2.1 was uploaded in September. o Ancient Art Of War At Sea, DuelTris and Xenocide were again made available through the Lost Classics Project. INTERNET NEWS / NETWORKING June discussions included ways to use a PC running Linux to act as a server for an Apple IIGS, allowing an indirect connection to the Internet via a DSL or cable modem. (The web site referenced, www.linuxrouter.org, is still available, but no further development is being done with it). PUBLICATIONS Juiced.GS continued its run, concluding its fourth year and starting its fifth. Each issue was described in a post on the Delphi forum that outlined its table of contents. KANSASFEST Dubbed "Y][KFest", this 2000 edition of KFest was again held in late July at Avila College in Kansas City, Kansas. As early as January, a registration form for the event appeared in each issue of The Lamp!, up until the month before the event. Ryan Suenaga's "Y][KFest Compliant" KFest FAQ appeared in the March issue. KFest this year featured a keynote address by Ryan Suenaga, and a roast of Eric Shepherd. Those events and the regular sessions were available for the first time via web-cam. Sessions this year included "AppleWorks GS and MusicWriter" by Stan Marks; "ProTERM Mac Tips & Tricks" and "ProTERM Scripting" by Jerry Cline and Dave Miller; "Desktop Publishing" by Max Jones; "Lost Classics Update" by Howard Katz; and "Linux: The Apple II Cable Modem Adapter" by Ryan Suenaga and Kirk Mitchell. The one HackFest entry mentioned in The Lamp! (and not until November) was from Ken Gagne. His program, Maxster, was a hoax made to look like a Napster client for the Apple IIGS. It would APPEAR to search for, download, and play the first few seconds of MP3 audio files. It was uploaded in its 0.79 version during November. Editor Lyle Syverson had an opportunity to attend the event this year, and he gave his comments on his first KansasFest in an article in the August issue. REVIEWS Ryan Suenaga reviewed the book "APPLEDESIGN: The Work Of The Apple Industrial Design Group" in the February issue. Lyle Syverson reviewed the Time In A Bottle CD set in September, and Mike Thomas did his own review of it in November. WRITERS Ryan Suenaga again wrote "The Lamp Salutes" in January, presenting the Apple II Achievement Awards. Best Commercial Product was awarded to GSoft BASIC 1.2, with runner-up given to Spectrum Internet Suite 1.1. Best Shareware Product was awarded to Silvern Castle and ImageMaker. Best Freeware Product was given to the reclassified Modem MGR telecommunications program. Best World Wide Web Site was awarded to the Apple II Information Resource by Tony Diaz, and to David Kerwood's A2-Web. The Best Publication award went to Juiced.GS, with honorable mention to Shareware Solutions II. Outstanding Apple II-Related Development went to Bernie ][ The Rescue and Sweet16. Outstanding Individual Achievement went to Howard Katz. Suenaga also appeared again in August with "The Publisher Strikes Back", an article that announced the outcome of his project of several months of work, that being the production of the Time In A Bottle CD set. He also announced "A2 News And Notes", a short newsletter that he would write on a monthly basis to give headline-style updates of events in the Apple II world. Although it was not a major article, posts by Mark Percival (current host of the A2 "Midweek Madness" chat on Wednesday evenings) began to appear as quotes in The Lamp! during 2000. He joined in a spirited discussion on the preservation of Apple II software. MISCELLANEOUS FEATURES Editor Syverson wrote an article about his thoughts on a dream computer, an Apple II that would allow multitasking. A joint teleconference was held between the Aurora Area Apple Core of Aurora, Illinois, and the AppleByters of the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa, over one hundred miles apart. In August, it was announced that Glen Bredon had passed away. He was the prolific author of ProSel, the Merlin (and Big Mac) assembler, and numerous other utilities for the Apple II and IIGS over the years. As mentioned in the previous article in this series, the web site Bredon had put up posting pictures taken with his digital camera is still working (see the February 2004 "Illuminating The Lamp" article for details). STATS Here are statistics for the first nine years of GEnieLamp and The Lamp! The numbers refer to the size of each issue in "K" (kilobytes): Year Min Max Avg ---- ---- ---- ---- 1992 116K 212K 156K 1993 80K 256K 172K 1994 124K 216K 165K 1995 92K 176K 125K 1996 80K 192K 116K 1997 44K 124K 85K 1998 68K 156K 102K 1999 59K 120K 91K 2000 47K 81K 60K YOU MAKE ME FEEL BRAND NEW The Apple II world continued to contract during this year. However, despite the undeniable fact that the World Wide Web ruled the Internet at large, through Windows, Mac and Linux computers, there was still a ray of hope. This was thanks to the efforts of the busy people who spearheaded the effort to create a real home for the Apple II, one that was not dependent on those who barely knew what an Apple II was. The new year was bright in many ways, and continued to look better every day. Come back next month as we move closer to convergence with the present, and review the events of 2001. Steven Weyhrich a2history@syndicomm.com http://apple2history.org References: Computer History For The Year 2000 http://www.computerhope.com/history/2000.htm The History Of Computing Foundation http://www.thocp.net Information Please: 2000 http://infoplease.lycos.com/year/2000.html Macintosh History: 2000 http://www.lowendmac.com/history/2000.shtml [EOA] [ANS]------------------------------- ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SYNDICOMM | ------------------------------------ by Lyle Syverson [TSU] TO SIGN UP FOR SYNDICOMM ONLINE """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Please visit our web site at http://www.syndicomm.com for information or to sign up! (Logon message) [EOA] [LTE]------------------------------- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR | ------------------------------------ Enjoying the Monthly Column, "Illuminating The Lamp" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" The mail box for Letters to the Editor remained empty this month. [EOA] 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] [KFF]------------------------------ KFest 2004 | ----------------------------------- [KF4] KansasFest 2004 """"""""""""""" KansasFest 2004 is planned for July 20-25, 2004 at Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri. (Heading: Cat 5, Top 22) [EOA] [KFR] REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR KFest 2004 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Visit the KFest Home Page at: http://www.kfest.org/ and follow the registration link. [EOA] [INN]------------------------------ EXTRA INNINGS | ----------------------------------- About The Lamp! The Lamp! is published on the fifteenth of every month on """"""""""""""" the WEB at: http://lamp.a2central.com/ 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 2004 by Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W. All rights reserved. * To reach The Lamp! on Internet email send mail to thelamp@sheppyware.net * All issues of The Lamp! are available at The Lamp! Home Page, http://lamp.a2central.com/ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 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]