
     |||||| |||||| ||  || |||||| ||||||
     ||     ||     ||| ||   ||   ||             
     || ||| ||||   ||||||   ||   ||||               Your
     ||  || ||     || |||   ||   ||            
     |||||| |||||| ||  || |||||| ||||||             GEnieLamp Apple II
                                     
     ||    |||||| ||    || ||||||                   RoundTable
     ||    ||  || |||  ||| ||  ||               
     ||    |||||| |||||||| ||||||                   RESOURCE!
     ||    ||  || || || || ||             
     ||||| ||  || ||    || ||         

                         ~ APRIL FUN & GAMES! ~
                      ~ ANNOUNCING THE BANANA PC ~
                     ~ BASIC SHAREWARE ETIQUETTE ~
               ~ DIGITAL DIVERSIONS: OUT OF THIS WORLD ~
         ~ UNLOCKING THE MYSTIQUE OF THE REAL TIME CONFERENCE ~
                ~ HOT FILES, HOT MESSAGES, HOT REVIEWS ~

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
 GEnieLamp A2     ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~    Vol.2, Issue 13
 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 
  Publisher.......................................T/TalkNET Publishing
   Editor-In-Chief........................................John Peters
    Editor.............................................Darrel Raines

  ~ GEnieLamp IBM ~ GEnieLamp [PR]/TX2 ~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp A2 ~
      ~ GEnieLamp MacPRO ~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~
            ~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

          >>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE II ROUNDTABLE? <<<
          """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                           ~ April 1, 1993 ~

 FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM]        APPLE_TALK .............. [TAL]
  Notes From The Editor.                 Apple II Corner.

 HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY]        HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM]
  Is That A Letter For Me?               By Any Other Name...

 REFLECTIONS ............. [REF]        CowTOONS! ............... [MOO]      

  Basic Shareware Etiquette.             Great Cows Of Literature.

 NIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE  [RTC]        TELETALK ONLINE ......... [TEL]
  RTC Happenings.                        Online Communications.              


 THE MIGHT QUINN ......... [QUI]        DIGITAL DIVERSIONS ...... [DIG]
  Random Access.                         It's Out Of This World!

 PROFILES ................ [PRO]        THE ONLINE LIBRARY ...... [LIB]
  Who's Who On GEnie.                    Yours For The Downloading.

 ONLINE FUN .............. [FUN]        APPLE II ................ [AII]
  Search-ME!                             Apple II History, Part 11.

 GEnie ONLINE ............ [GEN]        LOG OFF ................. [LOG]
  GEnie's Internet Gateway.              GEnieLamp Information.

[IDX]"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

READING GEnieLamp   GEnieLamp  has  incorporated  a  unique   indexing
"""""""""""""""""   system to help make  reading the  magazine easier.  
To  utilize this system, load GEnieLamp into any ASCII  word processor
or text  editor.  In the index  you will find the  following  example:

                   HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM]  
                    [*]GEnie Fun & Games.

   To read this  article, set your  find or search command to [HUM].  If  
you want to scan all of the articles, search for [EOA].  [EOF] will take  
you to  the last page,  whereas [IDX]  will bring you back to the index.

MESSAGE INFO   To make it easy for you to respond to messages re-printed  
""""""""""""   here in GEnieLamp, you will find all the information you  
need immediately following the message.  For example:

                    (SMITH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M475)
        _____________|   _____|__  _|___    |____ |_____________  
       |Name of sender   CATegory  TOPic    Msg.#   Page number|

    In this  example, to  respond to  Smith's  message, log  on to  page
475 enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1.

    A message number that is surrounded by brackets indicates  that this  
message  is a "target" message and is  referring  to  a "chain"  of  two   
or more  messages that are following the same topic.  For example: {58}.

ABOUT GEnie   GEnie costs only $4.95 a month for  unlimited evening  and
"""""""""""   weekend  access  to  more  than  100  services   including
electronic mail,  online encyclopedia,  shopping,  news,  entertainment,
single-player games,  multi-player chess and bulletin  boards on leisure
and  professional  subjects.   With  many other services,  including the
largest  collection of files  to download and the best online games, for
only  $6  per hour  (non-prime-time/2400  baud).   To sign up for  GEnie
service,  call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369.  Upon  connection  type HHH.
Wait for  the U#= prompt.  Type:  XTX99014,DIGIPUB  and hit RETURN.  The
system will then prompt you for your information. Need more information?
Call GEnie's customer service line (voice) at 1-800-638-9636.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 


       ////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
      / "Leave it Sheldon to figure out how to get the necessities:  /
     / Heat and GEnie.  It is amazing how used to things you become /
    / and how much you miss them even if it is for only 3-? days." /
   ///////////////////////////////////////////////  C.ALLEN17  ////



[EOA]
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
                 FROM MY DESKTOP /
/////////////////////////////////
Notes From The Editor
"""""""""""""""""""""
By John Peters
   [GENIELAMP]
                                                                             



FROM MY DESKTOP   When I typed in the characters ATDT and the the number of
"""""""""""""""   a local bulletin board for the very first time, I was
completely and utterly awed.  No longer was I alone in my computing
pursuits.  At the touch of a key, I could call out to practically any place
in the world and make friends with people that I would have never had the
chance to do so with otherwise.  The modem had broken my computing
isolation from the rest of the world.

     Ten years later, I'm still awed by it all, but now, even more so.  I
keep in touch with friends via GE Mail, I stay on top of what's happening
in the news with Newbytes and I can get answers to just about any question
I can think of - many times within hours of posting it.  I can share my
knowledge with others and more importantly, I can learn from their
experiences as well.  I can download pictures, sounds and books to read and
I can even play a friendly game of backgammon or chess with someone in
Boston, or Miami, or Japan.  Amazing.

     But it can be frustrating too...  When you think about it, we
"onliners" represent a very small segment of the overall population.
Surprisingly, there are many people who own computers are unaware of what's
available to them online.  They use the computer to type in an occasional
school report or (more likely) play games on it.  That's okay as eventually
many of these people will find their way online by way of a friend, an
article they read or because they are just plain curious (like I was).

     The point is, we've only just begun.  Think about it...we are in the
infancy of telecommunications.  In a way, I'm sorry I won't be around a
hundred years from now to see where all of this is heading.  On the other
hand, I am thrilled to be among the online pioneers of this _new_ and
exciting technology.  Welcome aboard, friend, and I'll see you online!


GEnie Elsewhere   Did you know that the Public Forum RoundTable (M545) is
"""""""""""""""   archiving all of the official White House Electronic
Press Releases issued by the new White House E-Mail Communications Office?
The files are available in the PF Library in the format WHPRxxx.TXT, and
there are currently 177 of these files available.  The files include press
releases, official announcements, transcripts of press conferences & other
official White House communiques.  Interesting stuff here - well worth
checking out!  For more info., contact GRAFFITI, the PF SysOp.

 
NEW 800 SERVICE   Some GEnie access numbers incur a $2.00 per connect hour
"""""""""""""""   communications surcharge.  This surcharge applies to all
GEnie usage, including GEnie*Basic services.  Surcharged access numbers are
noted with a dollar-sign ($) and the amount of the hourly communications
surcharge (i.e., $2.00/hr).  To retrieve local access numbers, please type
*PHONE or PHONE at any main menu prompt.

     When accessing GEnie via 800-Service (available only in the US), you
will incur a $6.00 per connect hour communications surcharge, for 300, 1200
and 2400 baud access.  This surcharge applies to all usage, including
GEnie*Basic services.

     9600 baud access is also available via 800-Service.  When using 9600
baud via the 800-Service, you will be charged $18.00 per connect hour
during non-prime time and $24.50 per connect hour during prime time.

 LOCATION            BAUD RATE       SURCHARGE    NETWORK    ACCESS NUMBER
---------------    --------------    ---------   ---------   -------------
United States       300/1200/2400      $6.00/hr    GEnie      800-362-1296
United States           9600          $12.00/hr    GEnie      800-847-5260

     When accessing GEnie via SprintNet, you will incur a $2.00 per connect
hour communications surcharge.  This surcharge applies to all GEnie usage,
including GEnie*Basic services.  Surcharged access numbers are noted with a
dollar-sign ($) and the amount of the hourly communications surcharge (i.e.
$2.00/hr).  To retrieve local access numbers, please type *PHONE or PHONE
at any main menu prompt.

PLEASE NOTE   If you are dialing long-distance to access GEnie, we do not
"""""""""""   recommend dialing a surcharged access number, as you will
incur the $2.00 connect hour surcharge in addition to long-distance
charges.  Also note that interstate long-distance calls are usually less
expensive than intrastate long-distance calls.  Please be sure to verify
the long-distance charges with your local telephone company.

                               [*][*][*]


GEnieLamp FUN AND GAMES   This is one big issue so I'm going to keep my
"""""""""""""""""""""""   desktop notes short this time around.  One word
of caution when reading this month's issue: Don't forget, it's April!
  
     Until next month...
                                                     John Peters
                                                     [GENIELAMP]

 
      /////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
     / "In my previous post, please take the 'h' out of 'wharehouse' /
    / and put it into 'psycology' where it belongs.  Thanks.  :)"   /
   /////////////////////////////////////////////////  SAM-RAPP  ////
 


[EOA]
[TAL]//////////////////////////////
                      APPLE_TALK /
/////////////////////////////////
Apple II Corner
"""""""""""""""
By Darrel Raines
      [D.RAINES]


     April Fool's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays.  It's
not a holiday, you say.  Well don't try and tell me that.  I love
good-humered pranks and practical jokes.  My only rule is that they cannot
be mean-spirited.  No one gains by hurting others.  On the other hand, this
issue of GEnieLamp may not be as serious as the rest of the year's
offering.

                               [*][*][*]


     A few years ago, many of the major publications for the Apple II
computer started to disappear.  I was convinced that there were soon going
to be no sources of information for my favorite hobby.  I am happy to say
that I was mistaken in a big way.  We are starting to see just the opposite
effect recently.  "Major" Apple II publications of which I am aware:
II-Alive, A+/Incider (with Mac cove rage), A2-Central (and their
associated publications), GS+, Softdisk, Softdisk GS, and GEnieLamp.  :)

                               [*][*][*]


     A few years ago, I was also starting to get unhappy with the amount
of computer software that was available for the Apple II.  I have mumbled
in this forum a number of times about the great share ware that is
available for the Apple computer.  This has been a banner month with no
less than four major software releases as shareware or freeware:
DuelTris, Pente, Bouncin' Ferno 2, and Spy Hunter.  Oh, did I mention that
this list just covers games.  The May issue of GEnieLamp may never get
edited.
                               [*][*][*]


     On the other hand, I have discovered a way to make everything old, new
again. It seems that if I put a commercial game on the shelf for about a
year, I can get it back out again for a few weeks a nd enjoy it as if it
were new.  Sports simulations are my favorite for this trick.  Two-on-two
basketball was dusted off recently in honor of the NCAA men's basketball
playoffs.  Watch out Michigan, I can dunk with the best of them.

                               [*][*][*]


     I just have to sit down with my programming tools at hand one day
soon.  I have been doing a lot of thinking about a IIgs version of Eamon.
Or, at least, a Eamon-like gaming system.  My idea is that most people can
no longer program on the IIgs.  The gaming system would run on database
structures that define the dungeon to be explored, the denizons in the
dungeon, how the various characters can interact, and other information on
this type.  I need to sit down and write some of this down.  Perhaps I
should contact Tom Zuchowski with some of these ideas.  Why put it here?
Public humiliation if I don't carry through with something!

     Enjoy this month's issue.


    /////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
   / "Why would anybody need a computer with more than 64K of memory?" /
  / <sigh>"                                                           /
 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////  Kenne@SFRT  ////



[EOA]
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
              HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
/////////////////////////////////
Is That A Letter For Me?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Darrel Raines  
      [D.RAINES]  


     o   APPLE II ODDS & ENDS

          o   WHAT'S NEW?

               o   THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE...

                    o  MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT

  
                    >>> BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS <<<
                    """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

    [*] CAT2, TOP4 ...............Cries for help - hard to place questions
    [*] CAT2, TOP5 ...............Beyond the Apple II:  Your next computer
    [*] CAT29, TOP9 ..............GEM:  Getting started
    [*] CAT33, TOP2 ..............GS+:  Letters to the Editor
    [*] CAT41, TOP5 ..............PRIME Help and bug reports



                         >>> A2 ODDS & ENDS <<<
                         """"""""""""""""""""""

GEnieLamp PT Script   Anyone who wanted the PT3 GEnieLamp script:
"""""""""""""""""""   This is a copy of GEM.PT.Usr to grab a copy of the
A2 GEnieLamp.  You need to run it manually (answer Y to "execute user
script after logon?") and have the file f.lamp present in your main GEM
directory for it to work. It saves the file as lamp.MMM.YY (mmm is the
three letter month), an AWP file.

  --------------------- Cut Here ------------------------
 set &0=<mid <date>,3>
 set &1=<path 4>+"lamp."+<left &0,3>+"."+<right &0,2>
 if ($a) { do "rec:asc","[]" }
 if (exist <path 4>+"f.lamp") {
  do "rec:asc","<%s> [] save:<awp> copy:2 sup:1 [] [Append]",&1
  pr #4,"^l"
  window 20,8,42,3
  pr #2,"Getting Current Apple II GEnie Lamp..."
  pr #1,"m645;7^m"
  wt 5,"P 645>"
  do "rec:asc","[]"
  delete <path 4>+"f.lamp"
 }
 chain <path 4> +"pt.scripts/gem.pt.main",%12
  -------------------- Cut Here -------------------------

     Let me know if there are any problems with this script; I'll do what I
can to fix them.
(D.BROWN109, CAT29, TOP17, MSG:47/M645;1)


ZIP TIPS   I downloaded UnZip.IIe a short time ago, and in the process of
""""""""   using it found that I could View a certain .ZIP file which I had
downloaded, but I kept getting an "invalid pathname error" when trying to
unZIP the file to disk.

     To make a long story short, using Block Warden I found that the
filename was embedded in ASCII in the zipped file and contained a hyphen,
and I got it to unZIP to disk properly by changing the hyphen to a period
in the zipped file.

     Unless I'm doing something wrong, the program has no option to
specify the filename of the new file - if UnZip.IIe had this option it
would be much more convenient to use. It works very well, and I like the
Shrinkit-type user interface, but unfortunately zipped files don't always
conform to ProDOS pathname conventions.....
                (STARRIDER, CAT3, TOP4, MSG:119/M645;1)


Concerning Script-Central   Larry has once again brought up a very
"""""""""""""""""""""""""   important point, BTW.  If you _don't_ ask for
features, you can pretty much guarantee you won't get it.  On the other
hand, if you do ask you may very well get it.  In general if I can do "it"
and it doesn't go against the way I think things should work, you can
probably expect to see it ...ASK!

     In this particular case I never even thought of such an option.  I
thought I had covered all the cool things.  Please don't think that it's a
waste of time to offer opinions/comments/ideas-for-features.
               (A2.HANGTIME, CAT23, TOP8, MSG:178/M645;1)


WHICH SYSTEM?   I strongly recommend those with less than 2MB of RAM, or no
"""""""""""""   hard drive, to stick with System 5.0.4. A Hard Drive =and=
at least 2MB are needed to effectively use System 6.0. (Having said that,
=I= did get System 6.0 running with only 1.75MB of RAM when my memory card
died and I had to fall back to my old GS-RAM card. But I also had a hard
drive, and I couldn't do anything fancy, and it had already been installed,
and it was temporary.)

     We keep System 5.0.4 around just because of the myriad of underpowered
systems out there.

     The best solution is to get a hard drive and more memory.
                  (A2.TIM, CAT2, TOP4, MSG:162/M645;1)


HP DESKJET 500 HOMEBREW REFILL KIT   I just put together a homebrew refill
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   kit this afternoon, and thought I'd
relate my experiences.  First off, it worked fine, and it was cheap.
That's the whole point, right?

     Bill of Materials:

 Item                                   Cost

 12 cc Syringe                          $0.40
 20g 1.5" Needle                        $0.18
 Jet Black Sheaffer Skrip Ink (2 oz.)   $3.50
 CA State Extortion                     $0.31
  -------------------------------------------
 GRAND TOTAL:                           $4.39

     I purchased the needle and syringe at a local veterinary supply store.
When the saleslady asked what I was administering with the needle, I told
her "ink."  She looked a bit confused, but was quick to make the 62-cent
sale.  I needed to fill out a form with my name, address, size of syringe
and needle, use, and signature.  Apparently, the state of California
expects that you'll actually write "IV Drugs" if that's what you're going
to use it for...

     In a post up-topic, someone suggested a 25-gauge, 1.5" long needle.
This shop had a 5/8" 25g needle, or a 1 1/2" 20g needle.  Figuring that
length was more important than the diameter, I purchased the 20-gauge. When
I got it home, I had some trouble filling the BubbleJet 10 cartridge, so I
figured that the previous poster had a reason for specifying a 25-gauge
needle (for another 19 cents, including tax).  I went back out, got the
smaller needle, and tried again.  It didn't work-- ink seems to go _very_
slowly through such a small needle, so I tried once again with the 20g
needle.  This time, when I encountered resistance at the bottom of the
refill hole, I pressed harder and punctured something.  After that, I had
no trouble injecting about 12 ml of ink into the cartridge, and the
self-test printed fine.

     By far, the greatest cost in this project was the ink.  The bottle
contains 60 ml of ink, which will run 5 refills, at a cost of just under 90
cents each.  The syringe and needle are both marked "USE ONCE AND DESTROY",
but I figured that sterility was not a crucial factor in this application,
so I plan on using them for quite a while.
               (D.BROWN109, CAT12, TOP8, MSG:121/M645;1)


LIBRARY LISTINGS   You can make your own AW DB listings of GEnie
""""""""""""""""   libraries. All you have to do is list the libraries you
are interested in and capture the text to disk.  There are two programs in
the A2 library that can generate DB files from these text captures:

 17042 GECONVRT3.2.BXY
 17468 TO.GE.CONV.BXY

     I don't normally load TimeOut with Appleworks, so I use GECONVRT. It
is a very easy program to use. You don't even have to clean the list
headers off the capture or anything.
               (T.ZUCHOWSKI, CAT17, TOP4, MSG:95/M645;1)

 
MOUSE TROUBLES...   Schools are having problems w/students removing the
"""""""""""""""""   balls from the mouses and using them as superballs.
Apple had BETTER start selling replacement parts.
                (R.WAGONER4, CAT2, TOP4, MSG:84/M645;1)


MDG Extends International ProLine Support   SAN DIEGO, California--March
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   15, 1993--To further support
international ProLine BBS owners, the Morgan Davis Group has developed an
enhanced AddUser module that offers flexible account registration for
non-U.S.  systems.  The new module offers relaxed verification of input to
accommodate a variety of address formats used world-wide.  Found in eleven
countries, including Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Japan,
Mexico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the United States, ProLine systems
share information over the ProLine network, established in 1985, and the
Internet.

     In addition to international support, AddUser can also enforce
rigorous input verification now available for U.S. systems.  Such
verification involves recognizing invalid street addresses, ZIP codes, and
phone numbers with non-standard area codes or repeating digits.

     Part of the ProLine software package, AddUser allows callers to sign
up for their own accounts for immediate validation.  This optional feature
spares the system administrator from manual account validation.  Users can
begin to take full advantage of the system's services without having to
wait for their accounts to become operational.

     The updated module is available free upon request for all
international, registered ProLine owners.  For more details, contact MDG
International Services at +1 619 670 0563 (Monday through Friday, 9AM to
5PM Pacific Time), FAX +1 619 670 9643, BBS +1 619 670 5379, or via
Internet e-mail addressed to mdavis@mdg.cts.com.

     ProLine is a trademark of Morgan Davis Group.
              (MORGAN-DAVIS, CAT27, TOP3, MSG:182/M645;1)
 

Upgrading to Twilight II   from Signature GS and Desktop Enhancer
""""""""""""""""""""""""   Thanks for your interest in Twilight II!
Owners of Signature GS and Desktop Enhancer can upgrade to Twilight II v1.1
for $25 ($24 plus $1 S&H).  Twilight II v1.1 we hope to have shipping in
about two weeks.  (It includes many more features than v1.0.1, or v1.0)  It
is fully compatible with The Manager from Seven Hills!

     If you would like to take advantage of this upgrade offer, send us
your _original_ manual cover from Signature GS or Desktop Enhancer, along
with a check or money order for $25 (made payable to DigiSoft Innovations).
Alternatively you can also pay via MasterCard or Visa.  If you choose to
pay via credit card, email us your credit card number, expiration date,
card type, etc.  Your card will not be billed or your check cashed until
Twilight II v1.1 is shipping, in approximately two weeks.  We will
immediately ship you a copy at that time.

     If you haven't already heard, Twilight II v1.1 also runs all Phantasm
effects!  If you have any additional questions or complaints, let me know.
Thanks again for your interest!

                             Jim Maricondo
                          DigiSoft Innovations
                              P.O. Box 380
                          Trumbull, CT  06611

                          Phone - 203.375.0837
                  (DYA, CAT13, TOP30, MSG:109/M645;1)


THEY'RE DOING IT AGAIN!   By now, many of you now know of the
"""""""""""""""""""""""   collaboration between Sequential Systems and
Procyon Enterprises in producing Switch-It!, the Apple IIGS application
switcher.  I'm pleased to announce another collaboration -  the combination
of Sequential's great Apple II hardware products with Procyon's on-line
support expertise.

     I (Jawaid Bazyar, email address PROCYON.INC) will be maintaining this
new Sequential Systems category.  If you have any questions about
Sequential products, post them here! (Also, if you've heard any rumors
lately, let us know too, so we can dispel them or set them straight, as the
case may be).

     Both Sequential and Procyon are dedicated to supporting the Apple II
- and this is we hope a great example of what we mean by support.
                (PROCYON.INC, CAT20, TOP1, MSG:1/M645;1



                           >>> WHAT'S NEW <<<
                           """"""""""""""""""

 >> I'm looking for a copy of " The Hitchers Guide to the Galaxy "

     That was a Infocom 8 bit text interface adventure game program.  It
may be in the "The Lost Treasures of Infocom" package that Big Red just
released as a set of _20_ 16 bit GS specific, GS/OS compatible, hard drive
installable programs.

     Call them at (402) 379-4680.  It's product BR93 and costs $59.95 (
for 20 games, that is a cost of $3.00 _per_game_!)

     BTW, every Apple II owner needs to join BRCC!  They have some real
deals on classic software (and members save at least a third of the cost on
all but the new stuff), plus lots of great PD; shareware; freeware; etc.
                 (M.MURLEY3, CAT4, TOP5, MSG:55/M645;1)


LAWRENCE PRODUCTIONS UNLEASHES
 THE LOST TRIBE FOR THE APPLE IIGS   GALESBURG, Michigan -- February 23,
 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   1993 -- Lawrence Productions
announces the release of their latest software creation, The Lost Tribe, a
unique strategy game set in prehistoric times.

     The Lost Tribe takes you back before recorded history where the
eruption of Belchfire Mountain destroys your primitive village.  You
survive the disaster but the villages' ruler and his elite hunting party
are killed.  The elders choose you to lead the homeless tribe away from
danger to an ancient homeland known only from legend.  Your perilous
journey will require strong leadership, strategy, and sound decision
making.

     Recommended for use at home and in social studies classes, children
may work individually or in small groups.  They must interpret ancient maps
to plot their course, make judgment decisions of when and what to hunt,
determine how often to rest and feed the tribe, and resolve the many
conflicts that arise among the people.

     Researching information from an on-screen encyclopedia, children can
explore everything from the personalities of individual tribe members, the
qualities of a successful leader to prehistoric animals, and much more.

     The Lost Tribe has six challenging scenarios loaded with random
events, over 80 photographs (using the 256 color mode of the GS), digitized
music, cartoon animation, and an on-screen Prehistoric Guide to Survival
with 100 entries.

     For ages 8 and older, The Lost Tribe is distributed by Davidson &
Associates and is also available direct from Lawrence Productions.

  System Requirements:
       Apple IIGS w/ a minimum of 1 MB of memory, System 5.0.4 or above, 
       one 3.5" disk drive.

       One of the following is recommended for ease of use:
           Hard drive or AppleShare Network.
           2 MB's of memory.
           Additional 3.5" drive.

  CONTACT: Renee West
           Lawrence Productions, Inc.
           (800) 421-4157

                (P.LAWRENCE5, CAT2, TOP27, MSG:3/M645;1)

                            ___
ERGONOMIC MOUSE & KEYBOARD   |he new Ergonomic Mouse and Keyboards will
""""""""""""""""""""""""""   work just fine on a IIgs, though the
 Ergonomic Keyboard has a bunch of buttons on it that have no use to a IIgs
 user.

     ]['ve had an Ergonomic Mouse attached to the IIgs on my desk at work
for about two weeks.  My reactions to it are mixed.  It's very usable, but
I don't care much for the way the big button comes down along the sides a
little bit.  It makes it a bit awkward to pick up the mouse and reposition
it while holding down the button.  It may be because I have large hands,
though.  I normally grab the mouse on either side of the button while
lifting it up, but this isn't feasible with the new mouse.  It does fit
very well in the hand, though.  When doing fine detail work (like editing
icons :) with the new mouse, you have to move the whole thing since the
ball is now forward of the center, instead of near the back.  This makes
the position of the cursor on the screen and the position of the mouse on
your desk correspond better to each other.  With the old mouse doing detail
work you could hold down the front of the mouse and twist the back around
for fine left-right movements.  You'd often get a little bit of up and down
movement, as well, though.  So, it's a tradeoff with the new mouse vs. the
old one, overall.  At home, I'm just going to stick with my old mouse,
since that's what I'm used to.  _ /-\t the opening of the new Apple Company
Store on Wednesday I got a look and feel at the new Ergonomic Keyboard.
This one I'll definitely pass on.  It was awkward for me to type on, since
with my long nails I don't actually feel the keys, and have to depend on
their positions relative to each other.  With the keyboard opening up and
being variable it really threw me off.  It also takes up a lot of desk
space, even without the snap on palm rests, because when you open it up it
makes an arc.  With the palm rests it can end up taking up a square of desk
space about one and a half feet on a side when opened up, NOT including the
detached keypad.

     \/\/e've got a single LC III in the lab.  I'll see if I can throw in
one of the IIe Cards I've got lying around into it on Monday, to see if
it's any faster in IIe mode than the LC and LC II.  I really hope so,
because I also have an LC II on my desk, next to the GS (I've got a Mac
IIci on the other side of it), with a IIe Card in it and it is dog slow.
Seeing the IIgs running next to the LC II... well....  Let's just say that
if the dealers had actually had IIgs's in the same configuration (memory,
hard disk, monitor, etc.) next to LC IIs with IIe Cards in them on display,
they would've sold a lot fewer Mac LC/LC IIs.

     P.S.  Has it been mentioned in here that the new Color Classic has
the same slot in it as an LC/LC II, and can use the IIe Card, as well?
                (A2.LUNATIC, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:46/M645;1)

 
5th Annual KansasFest 
  Apple II's Sweet Sixteen   Last year's conference was such a rousing
  """"""""""""""""""""""""   success that it made sense to continue the
celebration this year with a Sweet Sixteen party.  In the past, attendees
have raved over the sessions but were equally (or even more) enthused over
the prospect of staying up all night in the dormitory, partying and hacking
around with their online buddies and/or Apple II hotshots.

     More details will follow next month, but right now we can tell you
that KansasFest will take place on Thursday and Friday, July 22-23.  In an
attempt to simplify our lives, we are returning to our original two-day
format.  Sessions should run the gamut from general information to high
tech programming stuph.

     Call Resource Central [1 (913) 469-6502] to make advanced
reservations.  Mark your calendars now and get ready to celebrate!
                (A2.HANGTIME, CAT5, TOP2, MSG:50/M645;1)


Symbolix "1.8" Interim Release Shipping   An updated version (interim
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   release) of Symbolix is now
available on request. Registered v1.7 owners can order this improved
version from the address above. Because this is an undocumented release,
THE UPGRADE COSTS ONLY US$5.00 INCL. POSTAGE (surface mail, registered).
That's almost free of charge! Users of v1.7 will be able to use v1.8 right
out of the box. It offers:

     - true multitasking support (symbolic commands, 2D/3D graphs,
       recurrence formulae) with The Manager - Floating Point Engine
       support (superfast, direct 68881 access) for real functions -
       redesigned desktop interface - new, modeless online help (more than
       50kB of text) - improved 2D module (selectable resolution, true
       proportion graphs)

Multitasking   Symbolix 1.8 supports the recently introduced program
""""""""""""   switcher/ multifinder "The Manager" from Seven
Hills/BrainStorm. Symbolix is the first, fully multitasking compatible
commercial product (No Henrik, that was my ShadowDial! :). All time
consuming tasks (symbolic and graphic commands) can be interrupted at
virtually any time. While you're switching and work with other programs,
Symbolix continues processing a command.  Symbolix plays a sample when a
background task is complete. Since Symbolix uses only 3kB of zero page
space, it is a very Manager-friendly application and compatible with
virtually all programs that run under The Manager. To save even more
memory, the help function has been rewritten (now modeless) and is
completely disk-based. More strictly speaking, true multitasking is
possible with the following commands:

     - 3D graphs - 2D graphs - Expand - Collect - Simplify - Evaluate
       (recurrence formulae)

     Two check boxes enable you to control Symbolix's behavior in a
multitasking environment. You can turn off multitasking which accelerates
the above commands whether it is running under The Manager or not. You can
also specify how "intensively" (slow/fast) the six commands in question
will be processed when operating in the background.

Floating Point Engine   Speeds up real functions by ca. 60%-90% (real
"""""""""""""""""""""   functions only). You will notice that 2D graphs
appear much faster than before (sine: 4 seconds instead of 15s).
Disclaimer: because Innovative Systems is out of business, a technical
problem could not be further tracked down. We have modified the code so
that FPE-generated synch problems will be fixed on the fly. However, we
cannot guarantee for obvious reasons that our patches will work on all
possible configurations.

Desktop Interface   See articles in the Symbolix Newsletters volume 2 and
"""""""""""""""""   3. Changes involve "3D buttons", new window
positions/colors, new online help, etc. The desktop has been redesigned by
a Symbolix user who works with this program almost daily.  You'll notice
that all windows are there were you need them! Symbolix even closes and
opens windows automatically in some situations.

     This limited offer for registered customers underlines Bright
Software's non- profit philosophy. Ordering your own copy is one of the
best _and_ smallest investments. Please forward your original program disk
and enclose US$5.00 - that's all there is to it.

ATTENTION: - Don't forget to make a backup copy of version 1.7 before
             mailing the disk! We'll delete all v1.7 files!
           - This interim release is available from Bright Software
             Switzerland ONLY.

     Customers who already sent us their disk will receive v1.8
automatically.  -Your Symbolix guys

        ** Specifications are subject to change without notice. **


     The Manager is a trademark of Seven Hills Software Corp. MultiFinder
is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Finder is a registered trademark of
Apple Computer, Inc. Floating Point Engine, FPE, Innovative Systems are
trademarks of a company that has gone and gave us a wonderful product that
works only sporadically.
               (A.HORSTMANN, CAT13, TOP13, MSG:28/M645;1)

  

                    >>> THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE... <<<
                    """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

From Barney Stone   Yo! (As we say here in Philly.) I'm still around, and
"""""""""""""""""   so are DB Master Professional, and Stone Edge
Technologies. Here's what's happening:

     The shareware version of DB Master is no longer available from Stone
Edge, simply because I ran out of manuals, and don't get enough requests to
justify re-printing them.

     I still have about 50 copies of DB Master Professional, and I'm
selling  them for $100 (+$5 shipping) while they last (a few more months at
the rate they are crawling out the door).

     Stone Edge (that is, me, since I'm the only one left, and yes, that
had to be me on the phone, unless my wife picked it up by accident) is
keeping  the doors open by doing general computer consulting - PC, Mac,
Filemaker, MS Acces, DB Master Pro, Advanced DB Master (the MS-DOS
version), file conversions, Lantastic networks, etc. - whatever I can pick
up.

     I can be reached at (215) 641-1825 for any of the above purposes.

     Oh, yes - I still check in here every week or so for messages. 

     PS - If you call and get my answering machine, please include what
you are calling about (ordering, tech support, consulting, etc.) in your
message, and note that I only return tech support calls if you say I can
call collect - an unfortunate by-product of current business conditions.
                (DBM.BARNEY, CAT8, TOP2, MSG:38/M645;1)


PROTERM V3.0   News Release from the maker of ProTerm V3.0 -- Effective
""""""""""""   Immediately:

     Because of potential tradename conflicts, the name of InSync
Software, Inc.  has been changed to InTrec Software, Inc..

     All references to "InSync Software, Inc." will now be assumed to be a
reference to "InTrec Software, Inc."

     Only the name is changed.  The corporation, the ownership, the
location and the way business has been conducted as InSync Software, Inc.
remains the same.
                         Jerry Cline, President
                       Greg Schaefer, V President
                          InTrec Software, Inc
                               Formerly -
                         InSync Software, Inc.
                 (INSYNC.SW, CAT24, TOP1, MSG:2/M645;1)

 
                 \_/
IIGS A MISTAKE?   |ou people ought to see the reactions I've been getting
"""""""""""""""   from people at Apple by having a couple dozen Apple IIGS's
on racks running
PaintWorks animations while idle.  They run along the lines of "I didn't
know a IIGS could do that!"  "The animation is so smooth!  How does it do
that?"  "Is that QuickTime?"  "I didn't think the GS' resolution was that
good." "Boy, they really missed out on a big opportunity by discontinuing
that." "Can you use those on a Mac?" and the old favourite "What kind of
Mac is that?"  (:  _ /-\nd then having a Mac LC II with a IIe Card in it
next to a IIGS really shows you how awkward and slow the Mac's emulation of
a IIe is.  You can say that they should have come out with the Mac LC
instead of the IIGS, but it really wasn't possible back then.  Even now, at
best, the LC's emulation of a IIe is awkward.  Looking at it another way:
the Mac LC/LC II with a IIe Card emulates about the average Apple IIe in
1986, when the IIGS came out.

    |\/|aybe the IIGS was a mistake.  Maybe they should have just stopped
the line with the IIe.  But think of how much fun and use we've gotten out
of our IIGS's over the years!  I've had enough that my IIGS has more than
paid for itself since I bought it -- $1000 for the CPU alone in October,
1986, one month after its release.
                (A2.LUNATIC, CAT2, TOP5, MSG:173/M645;1)



                           >>> HOT TOPICS <<<
                           """"""""""""""""""

WHAT IF...   If Apple had released a IIe-compatible color Mac INSTEAD of
""""""""""   the IIGS, there would have been a true upgrade path to the
Mac.

     Now, instead, we have the IIGS, which looks a little bit like a Mac
but isn't, and we have a Mac IIe card which does not give IIGS owners a
real upgrade path.

     Apple no doubt found the IIGS extremely difficult to market.
Obviously, their future plans all hinged on the Macintosh, yet with the
release of the IIGS they found themselves saying, no, wait, the Macintosh
is NOT our sole future direction.  The machine had a split personality
(classic Apple II mode and a not-quite-Mac Desktop mode) -- like the
Commodore 128 only mo' better and more seamlessly integrated.  In demos, it
LOOKED like it was a Macintosh (in fact, the case and keyboard even
resembled a small Mac II), yet, for years, it thought Mac disks were blank.

     I maintain that if Apple had released a Mac that could run Apple II
software INSTEAD OF the IIGS, they wouldn't have the problem they have now.
That problem is a commitment to support a machine that does not, and never
did, have a place in their grand design.  The problem is 1.5 million users
who demand this support and are p*ssed off at Apple for "abandoning" the
machine.  The problem, in short, is a non-Mac computer that Apple started
producing long after they had decided that the Mac was their future.

     It's a pretty decent machine, and it's a lot of fun, but I can hardly
blame Apple for their confusion about what they should do with it.  (And
their confusion is obvious.  They never advertised the machine yet they
spent huge amounts of efforts on things like System 6.  One action seems
virtually "evil," the other is clearly "good.")  I think Apple's continuing
support for the machine is astonishing, frankly.

     If Apple had never made the IIGS and had instead focused on a
low-cost Mac that could run IIe software, most of you IIGS users would be
using Macs RIGHT NOW.  And most would like the Mac as much as they like the
IIGS.               (QC, CAT2, TOP5, MSG:182/M645;1)

>>>>>   Wellllll, I don't know about that.  I didn't upgrade from the II+
"""""   to the IIe.  I waited around until I saw something that made it
worth my while to upgrade.  The superior (to my existing II+) graphics and
especially the sound of the IIgs turned my head.  I wanted color graphics
and stereo sound long before the Mac's ever offered either.  Think back to
the days of the IIgs introduction.  There was nary a color Mac to be found.
And to this day, no personal computer under $3000 offers better stereo
sound out of the box.  Add to this the fact that I was not too much taken
with the desktop metaphor until much later, and I come to the conclusion
that _I_ would not have purchased a low-end Mac instead of the IIgs.

     I still enjoy a text-only interface at times (ProSel is my startup
program) and I like my home computer to be as cheap as possible.  This
saves more money for productivity software, games and magazines.  :)

     I know that some of us have seen this type of argument and griping
over and over again.  However, many GEnie subscribers have never had the
chance to express themselves in this type of forum before.  I fully support
the right of anyone to "wail at the wall" for awhile.  It sometimes helps
to just get things off of your chest.  Most Apple II owners have felt like
the earlier posting by J.AMBURGEY at one time or other.  By all means,
release a little frustration in this forum if it makes you feel better.

     Speaking for myself, I have given up feeling angry at Apple computer.
(It never did any good anyway.)  As a matter of fact, I have even managed
to generate a little good will toward them with the continued support of
Apple II system software such as GS/OS version 6.x .
                 (D.RAINES, CAT2, TOP5, MSG:45/M645;1)



                       >>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<<
                       """""""""""""""""""""""""

     Category 11,                                         Topic 16
     Message 246                                  Tue Mar 16, 1993
     A2.LUNATIC [Lunatic]                             at 06:13 EST
 
      ][ think we need to get a few things cleared up, here.  There are
three categories of terms we are using, and it's easy to start getting them
confused.  They break down like this:

      A) Double Density, High Density, Floptical (Very High Density?), etc.
      B) GCR, MFM, and RLL (Floptical)
      C) ProDOS, HFS, MS-DOS, etc.
     _
    |_
    |_ach one of these categories is completely separate from the others.
A formatted 3.5" disk has one attribute from each category.
     _
    (_ategory A is the type of diskette (media).  Category B is the type
of LOW-LEVEL format.  Category C is the type os HIGH-LEVEL format.  Any one
of the options in each category has the ability to be mixed with any of the
options from the other categories.  Some of the combinations you will
simply never see, though.  Here are some of the most common combinations,
and what you get as a result:

       1)  Double Density + GCR + ProDOS = 800K disk
       2)  Double Density + GCR + HFS    = 800K disk
       3)  Double Density + MFM + MS-DOS = 720K disk
       4)  High Density + GCR + ProDOS   = 1600K disk (old AE HD drives ONLY)
       5)  High Density + MFM + ProDOS   = 1400K disk
       6)  High Density + MFM + HFS      = 1400K disk
       7)  High Density + MFM + MS-DOS   = 1400K disk
       8)  Floptical + RLL + ProDOS      = 21 MB disk
       9)  Floptical + RLL + HFS         = 21 MB disk
      10)  Floptical + RLL + MS-DOS      = 21 MB disk

    |\|ow, a regular Apple 3.5 drive can handle 1 and 2 only (unless it's
hooked up to a PCT, but that's another story...).  The Apple 3.5 drive is
Double Density only, and GCR only.  _ /-\n Apple SuperDrive + SuperDrive
Controller Card can handle 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7.  The Apple SuperDrive is
Double Density _or_ High Density, and GCR _or_ MFM compatible.  In High
Density mode it only supports MFM, though.  _ /-\ Floptical drive is
supposed to support Double Density, High Density, and Floptical media, in
MFM and Floptical formats only.  Looking at the list, this means it
supports 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.  In addition, a Floptical drive supports
Double Density + MFM + ProDOS or HFS, which should give you:

      11)  Double Density + MFM + ProDOS = 720K disk (apparently only 668K)
      12)  Double Density + MFM + HFS    = 720K disk (true size: ?)

     I suspect that when the RamFAST was used to (low-level) format the
Double Density disks in J-Bird's tests, it put a SCSI partition map on the
disks, which ate up some K, only giving him 668K of free space.  J-Bird,
what version of the RamFAST ROM do you have?  Later versions (3.00j and up)
are supposed to correct this.

    \_/
     |es, from the numbers above you might guess that you could do
Double Density + GCR + MS-DOS to give you an 800K MS-DOS disk.  Well,
technically it's possible, yes.  Unless the PCT can do it, though, I don't
know of any drive/software combination that will give you a disk like that.
There would be little point, though, since the whole MS-DOS world uses MFM.
_ (_)h yeah, one more format I haven't mentioned, which isn't really
relevant here since I've never seen any Apple equipment support it, is
Extra High Density, or ED/EHD.  These disks are capable of double the
storage of High Density, which would most commonly be 2.8 MB.

    \/\/hile I'm at it, I'll mention that it is generally regarded as a
mistake that Apple chose GCR for its Double Density 3.5" drives/disks,
instead of MFM.  While GCR stores a bit more information than standard MFM,
it's also considerably less reliable, and tends to give mass disk
duplicators headaches.  _ |_ |inally, (am I _ever_ going to stop?? :)  the
Amiga uses a non-standard type of MFM which gives it 880K per disk.  I've
heard that they have a considerable number of reliability problems with
that format, though.  (If someone tells you that the Amiga simply uses
unformatted diskettes to get so much space, don't believe them.  A totally
unformatted Double Density disk should actually store as much as 1 MB.)
  
                              [*][*][*]

 
    While on GEnie,  do  you spend most of your time  downloading files? 
If so, you may be missing out some excellent information in the Bulletin 
Board  area.   The messages  listed above  only scratch  the surface  of  
what's available and waiting for you in the bulletin board area.

    If  you are  serious  about your AII, the GEnieLamp  staff  strongly 
urge  you to give the  bulletin board area a try.   There are  literally 
thousands  of messages  posted  from people  like you from  all over the  
world.


        /////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
       / "Don't be a stranger, John!  (feel free to continue to be /
      / strange, just don't be a stranger!)"                      /
     /////////////////////////////////////////////  T.MCCOMB  ////



[EOA]
[HUM]//////////////////////////////
                    HUMOR ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
GEnie Fun And Games
"""""""""""""""""""
By Darrel Raines
      [D.Raines]



                        >>> APRIL 1ST COLUMN <<<
                        """"""""""""""""""""""""
                          (a new annual event)

ANNOUNCING THE BANANA PC   In a new product announcement made to an
""""""""""""""""""""""""   audience of PC industry pundits that were
waiting with baited breath, the Banana PC was introduced with a host of
novel features and a price tag that will get some attention.  The projected
price of the new computer: $1.59 per pound!

     This new PC has a number of unique features that will put in on the
top of every Christmas shoppers list.  The Banana PC is scheduled for
volume production starting in October.  Its leading feature is the bright
yellow color of the exterior plastic.  The small, infrequent black spots do
a lot to make the PC resemble its namesake in the fruit world.

     In addition to its sporty new color, this computer comes complete with
the new and improved Banana Operating System Software (BOSS).  With the
BOSS installed in your new computer, you can realize some new generation
commands that have never been available on a personal computer before.  For
example, the new command CONF will cause the PC to tie up your phone line
and be unavailable for about two hours time (this feature requires an
optional phone connection).

     Many users will enjoy the new "Aroma feature".  Scratching the plastic
case of the keyboard will produce the smell of ripening bananas for the
enjoyment of the happy typist.

     Something completely new with this computer is the addition of
robotics in the form of legs and feet.  This new feature allows the
computer to serve in a useful capacity as waiter when the aspiring
programmer would like a beer or Mountain Dew from the refrigerator.
However, the manufacturer does not warrant possible damage or loss from the
computer drinking said beverage.

     Another key feature for this product is the removal of annoying
peripherals from the system.  Never again will a user have to worry about
noisy printers, clunky disk drives or space-consuming hard drives.  The
Banana PC eschews such nonsensical devices and any perceived benefits from
them.  An opening in the front of the computer, resembling an old style
floppy drive, is just an esthetic feature to make users of older systems
feel at home.  It also serves as theexhaust vent for the new "Aroma
feature" and the enhanced voice synthesis hardware.

     Not to be outdone by older technology computers made by other "fruit"
companies, the Banana PC has the latest advances in voice synthesis and
recognition.  Short training sessions with a microphone, yourself and a
loved one will have the new computer ready to go.  At this point, it will
recognize your voice, ignore your verbal commands, and insult you in a
voice that you are used to hearing every day. 


BOSS OPERATING SYSTEM FEATURES   With the advent of fifth generation
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   software for your home computer, the
newest system software will have many new features never found on
computers before.  A new filing system makes its debut with the Banana PC:
Magical Envelope Storage System (MESS).  With this filing system, every
file created will be instantly lost in the mass storage area.  You will
never have to worry about where you put a file again.  No longer will you
have to dig through layer after layer of file folders.  With MESS, you
start out with lost files.  Industry experts are amazed at this
time-saving new feature.

     Another break-through in computer power is the built-in software
contained on the Banana PC.  An integrated Word Processing Suite is
available in ROM (Read-Only Memory).  15 different Word Processors are
available at the touch of a key.  Each of the Word Processors is able to
exchange data with the others (common clipboard).  You can even load files
directly into any of the 15 different programs without converting file
formats.  Use the Programmer's WP for those coding tasks.  Then switch over
to the Document WP for the instructions that go with your code.  Finally,
jump to the Note WP to write down those ideas that come to you while
working.  You may never need to buy another Word Processor again!  Editor's
note:  We were unable to run more than one of the Word Processors at a time
without expanding the 64 Meg memory of the base system.  Our best
recommendation is to go ahead and get about 1 Gig of memory to start with.
That should last you at least a year, until lazy software manufacturers
catch up with that memory standard.  [other editor's note:  What?] 


Parent Company and Availability   Banana Computer, Ink. was formed to
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   develop and market this new computer in
1990.  S. Sboj and S. Kainzow are the founders of the company.  The initial
stock offering for Banana Computer, amazingly enough, coincided with the
announcement of the new PC.  Stock prices have been soaring with the
initial market acceptance and advance orders.

     Most corporate buyers of computers are concerned about purchasing
computers that are not at the leading edge of market technology.  These
same buyers can purchase the Banana PC with confidence.  It is guaranteed
to be old technology by the time it actually shows up at your office.
Banana Computer is firmly committed to making product announcements so far
in advance of delivery, that they will have announced the successor to a
computer BEFORE the computer itself is ever rolled off the assembly line.
One inside source at Banana Computer has been identified and asked to
comment on the mighty feature list indicated earlier in this story.  "Yeah,
right", the engineer exclaimed.  While asking for anonymity, the source
went on to say that "it would be nice if we could get the darn thing to
power on without burning out chips before the announced delivery date".
However, this newsletter is not trying to cast a disparaging light on
official company spokesmen.  [Heh, heh. Oops.]

     Banana PC's will be distributed through Sears stores nation-wide.  You
can place advance orders by sending a certified check directly to any
Sears store or the computer manufacturer.  When asked about Sears
participation in home computer sales, a local store official remarked:
"Why not, nothing else is selling in here."


      ///////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
     / "I really enjoy CardFile 4.  I use it to dial the phone mostly. /
    / I no longer remember any of my friends' phone numbers."         /
   ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////  MUSE  ////



[EOA]
[REF]//////////////////////////////
                     REFLECTIONS /
/////////////////////////////////
Basic Shareware Etiquette
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Phil Shapiro
   [P.SHAPIRO1] 
 

 
     As shareware becomes an increasingly popular channel for software
distribution, it seems fitting and appropriate at this time to review some
of the basics of shareware etiquette.  As your mother so often told you as
a child, the rules of shareware etiquette apply equally to both shareware
users and shareware creators.  Good manners and thoughtful behavior have a
uniquely wonderful reciprocalness to them.
 
     Shareware etiquette starts with the shareware creator.  Creators have
the obligation of politely informing shareware users that the software they
are using is being distributed on a try-before-you-buy basis.  Shareware
notices should be concise and pleasantly phrased.  It's entirely
appropriate to give tactful hints that further goodies await the kind souls
who send in the requested shareware fee.  Please note that "starving
college student" humor can be acceptable if it's truthful, sincere, and
tasteful.  Brevity, as always, is a must.
 
     On the other side of the table, shareware users have the duty of
pleasantly reading the pleasantly phrased shareware notice.  They have the
further duty of pleasantly understanding what the tactful and thoughtful
shareware message is saying.
 
     Customarily, shareware users are granted two weeks to try out
shareware programs.  If, after that time, they find the particular
shareware program does not meet their current needs, they have the duty of
pleasantly and thoughtfully formatting the floppy disk containing the
shareware.  In the case of hard drive users, they have the duty of removing
the shareware entirely from their hard drive system.
 
     Should they decide to keep, cherish, and foster the shareware, they
have the duty of sending in the shareware fee along with a suitably brief
but heartfelt expression of their gratitude and appreciation.
 
     When sending in the requested shareware fee, shareware users are given
generous opportunities to earn extra-credit etiquette points.  Extra-credit
etiquette points can be earned by including: 1) Suggested enhancements for
possible future versions of the shareware; 2) Ideas for new shareware
disks, and, 3) A self-address stamped envelope.  To earn admiration far and
beyond the call of standard shareware etiquette, a stamped, self-addressed
floppy mailer might be included.
 
     Kindly take note that shareware etiquette does not end with the
shareware fee being sent.  Far from it.  Upon receipt of the shareware fee,
the shareware creator has the duty of sending a timely, appropriately
phrased expression of gratitude.  This expression of thanks need not exceed
two typed paragraphs.  But at least two to three sentences must address the
particular comments included in the shareware user's letters.  Shareware
etiquette frowns seriously upon the unchivalrous sending of mail-merged
form letters.
 
     It's appropriate for shareware creators to express in their own words
how meaningful it is to them to have their faith in humanity renewed by the
kind and thoughtful sending of the requested shareware fee.  Please - - -
no gushing sentiments, though.
 
     The sending of extra software goodies to the shareware user is
entirely within the impeccable discretion of the shareware creator.  But
here again, extra-credit etiquette points can be earned by going above and
beyond the call of duty.  By sending extra software goodies, shareware
creators can help perpetuate a spiral of goodwill resonating out in ever
widening circles of trust and charity.
 
     Please be aware that special etiquette rules apply to educational
shareware programs.  If such shareware is being used primarily by children,
then the rules of shareware etiquette dictate that the children themselves
should write the thank-you letter accompanying the requested shareware fee.
Handwritten letters carry far more meaning than typed letters in these
circumstances.  As usual, the expressions of gratitude needs to be both
heartfelt and brief.  Handwriting, as usual, should be the child's very
best.  Black or blue-black ink on white lined paper, thank you.
 
     The rules of shareware etiquette have not fully developed to address
the question of what happens if the shareware fee letter is returned as
being undeliverable.  We live in such a mobile society that such
eventualities happen far too often.  In such cases, the kind and
considerate shareware user has an obligation to make reasonable efforts to
track down the shareware creator.  Polite inquiries directed to one's local
users group, or on the national information services, are entirely
appropriate.
 
     If reasonable efforts are unable to reveal the current address of the
shareware creator, a fitting course of action is to donate the money from
the returned shareware fee to a deserving local charity.  In that way the
goodwill generated by the initial shareware creator continues to live on in
some other form.
 
     By following the basic rules of shareware etiquette yourself, you can
feel enobled by your own role in carrying on a tradition that has served
computer users for several hundred years.  How very fortunate we all are
for the shareware traditions our forefathers and foremothers passed along
to us in the early days of microcomputers.
 
-Phil Shapiro
                               [*][*][*]

 
          [The author takes an interest in the social dimensions
           of communication technology.  He can be reached on
           GEnie at:  p.shapiro1; on America Online at:
           pshapiro; and on Internet at:pshapiro@pro-novapple.cts.com]



[EOA] 
[MOO]//////////////////////////////
                       CowTOONS! /
/////////////////////////////////
Cows from Literature,
History, and the Arts
"""""""""""""""""""""
Volume I, Number 2                        (__)    
                                          (Oo) /~\ 
By Mike White                              \/-/   \-\
  [M.WHITE25]                               ||     | \
                                            ||----||  *
                                            ~~    ~~ 
                                           Cowsimoodo
                    
                                   The Hunchcow of Notre Dame
                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                     by Victor Moogo, 1831
                    


                    (__)               .          
                    (oo)             .      .     
             /-------\/    .            /^        
            / |     ||    <*>       /^  )  (  ^\  
           *  ||----||    (;)      (^  (    )  )
              ~~    ~~    ~~~    ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^

                      Mrs. O'Leary's Cow
              
                  started the Chicowgo Fire 
                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       October 8, 1871


          _____                      
        __|___|__                    
          (o o)                     Watch for another thunderin' herd of
          /(.)                      Moo Fun from Mike White in the next
         |  ~_/~~~~~~~~~            issue of GEnieLamp.
         |\  |                       
         ( " |                      
          \  \                      
          || \\                     
          || //                     
          ~~ ~~                     

       Moorice Chevalier
          1888 - 1972

 "Thank heaven for little cows."
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     


             (____)
             ( oo )     {           CowTOONS?  Les Blatt took us up
              _/_______{            on our offer and sent in this month's
           /~~/\/~\                 CowTOONS cowtribution.
          |  /     |
          | /      |
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         Noel Cow-ard               
          1899 - 1973               

Bon vivant/playwright/songwriter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                                    
        Works include: 
   Mad Cows and Englishmen       If you have an idea for a CowTOON, we
         A Room With a Moo       would like to see it.  And, if we pick
        I'll See Ewe Again       your CowTOON for publishing in GEnieLamp
             Blithe Heifer       we will credit your account with 2 hours
         Mooed With Violin       of GEnie non-prime time!
           By Les Blatt 
            [L.BLATT]

 
     ///////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
    / "Personally, everything I do is just to use up time until Biker /
   / Mice From Mars premires this fall."                             /
  /////////////////////////////////////////////////  R.MARTIN22  ////



[EOA]
[RTC]//////////////////////////////
        NIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE /
/////////////////////////////////
RTC Happenings
""""""""""""""
By Gina Saikin
    [G.Saikin]



       >>> UNLOCKING THE MYSTIQUE OF THE REAL TIME CONFERENCE <<<
       """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

     Ever wanted to talk to your favorite software author, or visit with
gurus in your area of interest?  Ever wanted to chat with your fellow
Apple, IBM, or Atari users, or with people that share your interest in the
environment, family matters, government interests or any other interest you
can dream of?

     On GEnie's Real Time Conferences (RTC) these wishes can come true.
Nearly every special interest area within GEnie has their own Real Time
Conferences.

     What is a RTC?  Well, imagine anywhere from 2 to 102 people sitting at
separate computers in cities and towns all across the country.  At exactly
7:30 EST, they all logon to GEnie and go to an electronic "conference
room".  In this conference room, every message that they type on their
computer keyboards is instantaneously transmitted to every other person in
the room.  Conversations turn this way and that as the various individuals
add their ideas and thoughts to the discussion at hand.  This free-wheeling
exchange of ideas is an RTC.

     There are so many advantages to online RTC's, it'll be hard to list
them here.  For instance you don't have to travel halfway around the world
to talk to a special speaker in Tim Buk Tu:  you don't even have to dress
up (that is, until we get "computervision" <grin>).  You won't have to buck
Mother Nature or the traffic to get in touch with your favorite software
guru, either.

     We have lots of fun in the RTC's.  Generally almost anything goes -
discussions that may start about a hard drive might end up debating the
pros and cons of crime and punishment.  A spiel on AppleWorks might wind up
ending in a discussion of governmental ills.  Actually, craziness is NOT a
detriment to an RTC.  It is encouraged.

     In our A2 RTC's, we've managed at some time or other to solve the
problems of crime and punishment, ruminate the philosophy of good and evil,
and extol the benefits of national health care.  We've even managed to
sandwich in discussions about Appleworks, recalcitrant hard drives, GEM,
and other knotty technical problems.

     Shy?  Don't be.  One of the beauties of the RTC is that no one can see
you.  This can also be a drawback, for no one can read your body language.
However, this barrier has been overcome with an ingenious series of
expressions.  Below are just a few to help you get started:

     :), :-) or variations indicate a smile
     :( says you're sad or unhappy
     :P is sticking out your tongue at someone
     :/ is puzzled
     X-) indicated "crossed eyes"

     You can be as creative as you want.  I've only mentioned a mere few of
the expressions you can use to indicate your mood.  Also, there are several
shorthand expressions that we use:

     IMHO = for In My Humble Opinion
     BTW = By The Way
     ROFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing
     LOL = Laughing Out Loud

     Again, these are just a few of the shorthands that RTC'ers use to make
typing easier and faster.

     You've read all about RTC's, and want to participate in an RTC?  It's
simple.  From the main menu, when you first come into GEnie, type either
mXXX;2, with XXX being the page number of the areas main menu (i.e., for
A2, you'd type m645;2), or type the keyword (i.e., A2) followed by
selecting menu choice number 2, and you will shortly see this:

   GEnie                         Page 645;2
        Apple II Real-Time Conference
                 Version 3.12

   (In this space will either be a message indicating no
   users in the RTC or one indicating a room number(s) with
   the number of users in the room(s))

   Address of <G.SAIKIN> will be used.
   What ROOM (1-3), or <Q>uit>

     If you get the message "No users in RTC," that means that no one is
here yet, or there is no conference being held.  However, if you get the
message indicating a room number and number of users in it, a conference is
in session.  Then, you choose the number of the room with people in it, by
typing 1,2 or 3 at the prompt.  Afterwards, you'll see this message:


   Room 1, The General Club room.
   ** <G.SAIKIN> is here.

     Ok, now you've managed to get into the conference room.  Suddenly, you
not only find that you may not be able to see what you're typing, but
people seem to type right over you.  This is a common event in every
newcomer's premier appearance in an RTC.  Don't dismay.  This can be simply
remedied by putting your comm program in either full duplex AND chat mode
or at the very least, half-duplex and chat mode.  Then, you'll not only see
what YOU are typing, but you'll be able to sort out your typing from the
other guy's, because your typing will show up below a dotted or solid line.
Easy, wasn't it?  Each comm program has their on special terminology and
ways of setting for split-screen chat, and if you don't know how to set
your comm program, ask when you get into the RTC.  Someone will likely be
able to help you.

     We can't forget your name.  Nicknames can be as simple as your first
name, or as creative as S.O.F.H. (Sysops from Hell), or my favorite, Binary
Bear.  To identify yourself to your fellow RTC'ers, simply type   /NAME
XXXX, with XXXX being your name or nickname.  Many RTC'ers change their
nicknames throughout the conference to echo their current mood (for
instance, one night we were talking about the fate of Apple, and a
disgruntled RTC'er called himself "FireScully")

     Now, you're really into the flow of the conversation, and someone you
know pops in.  You want to talk to him, but you don't want everyone else to
hear the latest gossip you want to tell him.  This is simple.  First of
all, type /USERS to list the job numbers of every person.  Now type /SEND
XX, with XX being your friend's job number.  At this point, only your
friend will see what you're saying.  If it's going to be a long and
involved conversation; and your friend doesn't mind getting dragged away
from the mainstream, you can meet him in private, by typing /PRI XX, with
XX being his job number.

     Most of the time, an RTC is a study in organized confusion and you can
just pop in with your ideas, your philosophies, and of course, your jokes,
for what would an RTC be without laughter?  In the more formal conferences
which normally have formal guest speakers, the RTC host will probably put
the room into a listen only mode - that means you have to remember back to
your school days, and /RAISE your hand (by typing /RAISE) to be called
upon.  (BTW, you don't have to raise your hand to be excused from the room
- just simply type AFK for Away From Keyboard, but remember to type BAK
when you return, so we know your back.)

     Below is a schedule of the A2 RTC's.  As mentioned below, there is a
theme for each night, but don't let that sway you.  Come on in anyway -
even if you come in on Wednesday, where we discuss Hypermedia stuff, and
have a question about GEM, you'll more than likely find someone that will
be able to solve your problem.  The only night where there may be some
formality is on Tuesday nights.  However, don't be shy to pop in anyway -
if there is no special speaker, the RTC will be open to any discussions.

   A2 Weekly Schedule
   ------------------
   Sun  1200 ET   Kids RTC              Host: Gena Saikin

   Sun  2130 ET   II Speak              Host: Don Arrowsmith

   Mon  2130 ET   New Users             Host: Tara Dillinger

   Tue  2130 ET   Formal Guest          Host: Susan

   Wed  2130 ET   Hypermedia            Host: HangTime

   Thu  2130 ET   TBC Forum             Host: Mike Garvey

   Fri  2130 ET   Telecommunications    Host: Jim Zajkowski

   Sat  2130 ET   Games                 Host: Dave Ciotti

   Formal Conferences:
        (Tuesdays, 2130 EDT, 1830 PDT, Room 3)

     IMHO, I think I've pretty much covered the basics.  Oops, I forgot to
tell you how to get out of the RTC at the end (or when you decide your bill
has reached it's limit - or your mom or spouse has threatened to hang you
up if you don't get out).  Type /EXIT to leave the room and go into other
areas of GEnie.  There are, however, other ways of leaving the RTC area.
You can type /BYE, and that will log you off GEnie, just like in any other
area.  You can even move to another room (/ROO X, with X being the room
number).  You can also move to another page or area (/MOVe 200;9 or /MOV
CHAT).

     Remember, in the RTC, to move to another area, exit or say bye, you'll
have to use the first three letters of the command (EXI, MOV, BYE) with a
forward slash before it (/).  This is true of most RTC commands.

     Hopefully, this article has eased the nervousness that most first-time
users experience with a RTC.  I didn't want to be too technical in this
first article, but wanted to give just a thumbnail sketch to get you
started in the wonderful world of Real Time Conferencing.  Don't be shy,
jump in.  We will be looking for you soon.

     P.S.  I snuck a few shorthands in the last part of this article to see
if you could remember what they meant.  How did you do?  You must be ready
for an A2 RTC.


     ////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
    / "Yep! I use to think I 'knew' a little something about 'puters,  /
   / that was until I met some of the folks here on GEnie... Wow!! :) /
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////  T.EVANS21  ////



[EOA]  
[TEL]//////////////////////////////
                 TELETALK ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
Online Communications
"""""""""""""""""""""
By Al Fasoldt
  [A.FASOLDT]



                 >>> THE SECRET SESSION OF THE ISO <<<
                 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
         ~ Copyright 1993 by Al Fasoldt. All rights reserved ~

     Every year at this time, I report on the activities of a group that
has been shamelessly ignored by the mass media. It's the International
Substandards Organization, which has been setting substandards for consumer
electronics in all member countries for decades.

     The ISO is a powerful organization, and its decisions affect all of
us. It was the ISO, for example, that ordered Sony and JVC to manufacture
two competing vide-recording methods, Beta and VHS, and the ISO was also
behind the unsuccessful marketing of four-channel sound on LP records in
the 1970s. (A proposed ISO slogan, "Bad Sound All Around," never made it
into print, however.)

     This year's ISO conference was held, as usual, in secret, but I have
obtained minutes of the session from an American delegate. The full
conference report was to be made public on the first day of April, but the
inevitable delays of translating from Sanskrit to other languages may keep
the report from public view again this year. So here is an exclusive
account.

     According to documents left on one of the coffee tables at the
conference, chief among the concerns of ISO members from the United States
and Japan is the need to secure faster computing speed in the latest
generation of personal computers.

     Early personal computers worked at what by current standards could be
called a slow "clock rate." Computer designers worked hard to speed up the
"clock" in these computers, and were quite successful.

     But as computing speed increased, it became increasingly clear that
computer chips could not be speeded up past a certain point -- that point
being, as all school children know, the speed of light.

     In their debate over this issue, delegates from ISO's member nations
said design engineers had reached the limits of their know-how, and one
delegate told the group "it was time nature did something to help us out
for a change."

     The delegate then proposed changing the speed of light to a more
useful figure, and his motion was approved without dissent. The change is
to take place immediately. The ISO then renamed the existing units for
measuring the speed of light, and came up with these terms instead:

     Present speed of light: 55 megaphotons per candlestick.

     Proposed speed of light: 65 megaphotons per candlestick.

     My source said many delegates had refused to approve the higher limit
until they were assured that it was to be allowed only in those chips that
were uncongested. Chips used in urban computers will continue to follow the
older limit.

     He added that the first computers designed to use the higher "natural"
clock speed should appear this fall. Intel, maker of most of the chips used
in IBM-compatible PCs, is expected to market the new design under the "Pent
Up" trade name.

     On another topic, a proposal to ban black-and-white televisions from
the market was narrowly defeated after complaints from manufacturers of
pocket sets, who said color models that will replace the tiny B/W sets are
not yet readily available.

     The ISO is expected to vote again on the ban next year. The ISO's
opposition to B/W sets is based on medical evidence that deprivation of
color leads to deep-seated ambivalence. ISO members have been of two minds
about the issue for some time.

     Another change that the ISO turned down would have allowed sales
personnel at hi-fi shops to implant newly developed bone-conduction
headphones on customers. ISO members said most hi-fi store employees do not
have the experience needed to perform the implantation, in which a tiny
loudspeaker is sutured under the skin behind each ear.

     "The sales people at the store I go to can't even find a 6- by 9-inch
speaker in a box full of parts," one ISO delegate reportedly said. "How am
I supposed to trust them with a surgeon's knife alongside some customer's
head?"

     The issue will come up again next year. Health authorities in some
countries have already said they are opposed to the implants, unless they
are performed by doctors who know something about hi-fi.

     Otherwise, the ISO's yearly meeting was dull and routine.  Members
voted to ban "boom boxes" from all public streets in affiliated countries,
and a measure to require copy-protection devices on the liner notes of
recordings was approved unanimously; apparently, a strontium-90 insert at
the edge of each record jacket and CD liner card will disable Xerox-type
copiers permanently.

     That's my report on the ISO's annual session. Please do not ask me for
more information, as I have told you more than I know already.

                               [*][*][*]

  
     Al Fasoldt writes about computers and consumer electronics from
     Syracuse, N.Y., where he is a newspaper editor and programmer.

 
     /////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
    / "[Aladdin] allows me to participate in this message base, where   /
   / I would not be able to afford it if I had to do my typing online, /
  / and gives me time to spend downloading the files I want."         /
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////  NTACTONE  ////


  
[EOA]
[QUI]//////////////////////////////
                THE MIGHTY QUINN /
/////////////////////////////////
Random Access
"""""""""""""
By Mark Quinn
     [NEWSIE]



                "A Whole Buncha Milliseconds with Mark"
                           by Mark Quinn, DOA
                         GEnie address:  NEWSIE

     Ah, the life of the modern American man.  We're sent out on midnight
missions to Blockbuster Video for the latest 'Schwarzeneggar flambes Rambo'
movie.  We lie there in our robes and wife's/girlfriend's bunny slippers,
the remote control territorially perched on our bellies.

     I'm not sitting down at this word processor to condemn the above
lifestyle.  Everyone deserves time to kick back in front of the tube after
a hard day's work making large piles of paper into small ones.  It is all
too easy to lob brickbats at the 'establishment'.  Which reminds me of the
time (hyuck) I stood behind a car in the parking lot of _my_ local
BlockBuster Video store staring agape at a bumper sticker that read "Shoot
Your TV".  I heard no weapons discharging close by.  Maybe the joke was on
me, and the TV killers were carrying compound bows.

     By now, you have probably sensed that I _like_ these toys.  I do.  I
drooled over the Apple, the Atari 800, and the Macintosh fruitlessly; I was
unable to Koff up the Kash for any of the three.  I ended up with a 4K
Color Computer that was soon upgraded to 32K.  (Yawn.  Yes, we all remember
the time when we saw the potential of the PC, and that little red LED
flashed above our heads and sent out its evil, MasterCard- melting rays.
And from that point on, we were happily-ensnared techno drones, or we were
The Liberated -- I guess your outlook determines which category you fall
into.)

     I've seen too many examples (in the media and in real life) of
technology helping the handicapped, mentally dysfunctional, etc., etc., to
join the "Shoot Your Wang" crowd.  True, we're just scratching the surface
of the virtual pond, but the years ahead should be exciting ones.

     No, that last sentence should read "will be exciting ones".  So, crank
up the Sound Blaster and the surround sound, but not too high:  save your
ears and eyes and mind for the ride ahead.


      ////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
     / "...a pessimist will always be rewarded with pleasant surprises. /
    / The best an optimist can expect is for his expectations to be    /
   / met - everything else will be disappointing.  <grin>"            /
  /////////////////////////////////////////////////  J.EIDSVOOG1  ////



[EOA]
[DIG]//////////////////////////////
              DIGITAL DIVERSIONS /
/////////////////////////////////
Out Of This World -- A Review
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Darrel Raines
      [D.RAINES]



     "Out of This World" draws its name from the extraterrestrial setting
of this action/adventure game.  The cinematic quality of this particular
game makes it much more of a science fiction movie th an any of the
productions by the now defunct CinemaWare Inc.  You can best describe the
long introduction and even the events that follow in the game itself to be
equal to about an hours worth of entertainment at the theater.  However,
you don't think that you will get to just sit there and enjoy the computer
making pretty pictures do you?  You were hoping not, right?  Good, because
you are up to your elbows in tough problems with this nifty game.

     Life starts off pretty much as normal for you, an average,
run-of-the-mill, physicist working one night with the particle
accelerator.  The new computer system that the boss installed a week ago
makes running new experiments as easy as programming.  You are about to
start a new set of accelerator runs, when something bad happens.
Lightning is good for more than just making Frankenstein's creature into a
monster:  it can also have dire effects on certain particles during extreme
acceleration.  You may have discovered anti-matter before there are
containment fields for it!  Big problem.

     There's really no time to worry about anti-matter right now, though.
Because you have been sent spinning "out of this world".  It would be nice
to just sit around and look at the new alien lands cape for a while.  But
the local flora and fauna have other things in mind.  This game will have
you racing from one screen full of problems to the next while trying to
figure out action puzzles along the way.  You will not have time to sit
back and enjoy the dazzling graphics, since to do so will ensure almost
instant death for your character.

     Time out for observations.  This game, for me, was an immediate
throw-back to one of its recent ancestors in the Apple IIgs software
market:  The Immortal. The Immortal introduced action gaming to the IIgs
world in much the same fashion as the video arcade game "Dragon's Lair".
For each of the games in the lineage, the main objective is for the player
to make a series of correct choices with a joystick and buttons.  These
decisions are in the form of paths to take, jumps to make (and when to make
them), sword swings, lever presses, and many other actions.  The main
character in the story will take these actions, at your command, and the
story will illustrate the effects on the main character, his surroundings,
and the other characters.

     In a video game, the player loses his chance to play when we makes too
many wrong decisions and loses his last "life".  If a new coin is placed in
the slot in the allotted time, then the player is allowed to continue from
the last successful choice made in the game.  The computer game equivalent
of this feature is the "passcode".  At certain points in the game,
passcodes are given out to let you know that you have completed certain
obstacles.  Then, when you lose your characters "life" later in the game,
you can start over at the last point indicated by your best passcode.  This
same feature allows you to start the next day at the same place, without
having to complete everything done correctly to this point.

     As I stated earlier, all of these games have very common features
concerning game play and passcodes.  However, there is one feature that
distinguishes "Out of This World" from any other computer game that I have
ever played:  Graphics. The graphic's style used in this game is called
polygon-fill.  The idea is that the shape of an object is mapped to the
screen coordinates and filled in to form visually "solid" objects.
Bit-map, size-specific, graphics (like the ones usedin "The Immortal") can
render more detailed objects than are usually obtainable with polygon-fill
graphic techniques.

     And the graphics in this game are definitely less detailed than those
in "The Immortal".  However, the big strength of polygon-fill graphic
techniques are used for some nice effects in this game.  You see, the
mapping process can let you vary the size of the objects that are being
drawn.  Therefore, you can vary the size of the "picture screen" that you
are using for the "science fiction movie" to be anywhere from full monitor
to quarter monitor in height and width.

     This variance in screen size can be used to good effect when you have
a game as complex as this one.  The various sizes can be used depending on
how much acceleration that your computer has.  A d istaste on the part of
the player for slow computer response to commands would be a major reason
for choosing a smaller screen size.  Whatever your reason for choosing,
the choice exists at all, only because of the technology behind the
graphic techniques.  I believe that you will enjoy the results.  Above all,
the graphic style probably aids in the overall effect that is maintained of
an "other-worldly" experience.

     Back to our story.  This game sets new standards for action games in
that you do not simply kill everything in sight to win.  Certain characters
in the story will help you.  Of course, most of the other characters are
out to get your hide, but still, some of them are willing to be buddies.
There are many puzzles in this game.  Most of them will require some amount
of joystick jockeying.  Some will require a bit of cerebral exercise.
Some will require a little bit of luck.  A very few are ridiculously hard.

     I had less trouble with this game than some of the others that I have
tried in this vein.  I figured out most of the puzzles without any help.
However, I recommend a cheat sheet, a friend who has completed this game,
or an online service to help you keep your sanity.  After trying 50
different approaches to a problem and feeling certain that I have tried
every angle, it is better to have some help on the problem than it would
be to set the game aside unfinished.  So you will want help available
without having to go too far for it.  I will offer one small hint.  You
will not get very far in this game unless you learn how to use a gun very
well.  Hint:  The gun will perform different functions depending on how
long you hold the trigger!

     It is time for our assessment.  I found this game very engrossing.  It
has a very original idea that is presented in a fresh style.  The
polygon-fill graphics are a leading edge technology that push your IIgs to
new limits for a computer game.  The storyline kept me guessing and wanting
more.  Even after the final credits, you will be wanting more and more
from this fascinating plot. Highest ratings go for this facet of the game.

     One of the drawbacks to paying a lot of money for a game like this one
will be its long term playability.  I finished the game in about a week.  I
spent probably about 30-40 hours actual play time.  Once you have watched a
movie, you are not likely to want to see it again anytime soon.  The same
holds true for this game.  I will pull it out a few more times to relive
the experience, but I will not get a lot more value from my investment.
This is simply something to be aware of with any action/adventure game.  I
have not played Wizardry I since the first time I finished it, and will in
all probability never get it out again.  Such is the nature of the
experience.  This is not an unexpected detriment for a game of this genre.
I simply mention it for completeness in this review.

     The puzzles in this game are fairly difficult.  The puzzles are
actually not quite as hard as some I have seen in similar games.  The
joystick maneuvering is more difficult than what I have seen in similar
games.  Therefore, the average couch potato will have some difficulty in
getting past some of the obstacles. This will be a serious impediment to a
few game players.  If you are a below average joystick jockey, then you
may be very frustrated with this game.

     The manuals (if you can call them that) are extremely minimal.
However, this is not a bad thing.  The minimum of instructions that are
printed in the introduction material is sufficient to get y ou started.
The rest of the information that you need will be learned along the way.
Therefore, I would rate the documentation as adequate and appropriate for
the type of game.

     This game is also addicting.  I had to keep playing the week that I
purchased it, until I had finally won the game.  I warn first-time players:
make sure that you have some free time coming up.  You may be tempted to
drop everything else for a while after you start playing this game.

     Nit-picking point:  Some of the passcode points are far between in the
game. You may have to complete a number of perfectly timed jumps, a few
well placed shots from your gun, and a few other gyrations with the
joystick to reach the next checkpoint.  Any slight mistake in this sequence
will mean that you have to start from the last passcode point.  Again.
Frustration will build in a situation like this and you will still be
unable to proceed in the game.  The only solution is to take a break and
try again at a later time.

     Overall evaluation:  This game is "Out of This World".

     Specifications:
     "Out of This World"
     Produced by Interplay

     System Requirements:
       Apple IIgs with at least 1 Meg of memory
       One 3.5" disk drive
       GSOS version 5.0.4 or later

     Recommended:
       Hard drive (installable)
       Accelerator card

     Distributed by Big Red Apple Computer Club
     Suggested price:
  $49.95


         ///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
        / "A prediction:  In nine months or less there will a plastic /
       / version of the popsicle stick idea, called something like   /
      / "DeskAlign", selling for $14.95 or more.  Just watch the    /
     / back pages of MacWorld and see. It'll be somewhere near     /
    / the refill kits.  :-)"                                      /
   ////////////////////////////////////////////////  GRMEYER  ////



[EOA]
[PRO]//////////////////////////////
                        PROFILES /
/////////////////////////////////
Who's Who In Apple II
"""""""""""""""""""""



                           >>> WHO'S WHO <<<
                           """""""""""""""""
                 ~ Introducing the GEnieLamp A2 Staff ~

     In lieu of an interview this month, we turn our microphones off and
give you a little background information on the various staff members that
write each month's articles for this newsletter.  You pro bably don't know
too much about us, so we thought that we would take this opportunity to
introduce ourselves. Hopefully, this will provide our readers with some
additional insight into the editors and writers that bring you monthly
information on GEnie.


Darrel Raines
 - Editor for A2 edition of GEnieLamp
   """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   I have been using Apple II
personal computers for over 11 years now.  It all began back in my first
job out of college.  I graduated Texas A&M with an Electrical Engineering
degree in 1982.  We used Apples around the workplace for various tasks,
including pressure chamber control and temperature measurement. I liked
what I saw with the Apple II and bought one for use in the home.  My wife
wrote her master's thesis on the II+ using AppleWriter.

     I skipped the IIe and IIc with my jump to the Apple IIgs computer in
early 1987 (income tax refund).  Since the company I was working for at the
time did not use Apple II's, I began to write shareware, freeware, and
commercial software for the Apple II line of computers.  Once conflict of
interest was removed as a possibility, I have run a small business on my
home computers for over 4 years.  I write custom software, consult for
other business computer users, create and build custom hardware, and write
articles for various publications.  Did I mention that I gather great
enjoyment from my hobby/business?

     In mid-1989, I was hired by CAE-Link to work in Houston, Texas, on
the Space Station Freedom (SSF) simulation project.  (Actually, I spent
more than a year working on F-16 simulators before I moved over to the
space side of business.) I am currently a contractor working for NASA on
this wonderful project.  Write your congressional representative early and
often to endorse the money that the United States spends on research
projects like the Space Station.  This is one of the few government
projects that actually ends up saving taxpayer money over the long haul.

     Since moving to Houston, I have been a regular GEnie user.  I started
writing articles for GEnieLamp early in 1992.  When Tom Schmitz (my
predecessor) was forced to resign his position due to job pressures, I was
selected to serve as editor of the A2 edition.  I have enjoyed writing
articles and other text, as an alternative to writing Apple II software.  I
STILL enjoy my Apple II computer, and editing the A2 version of GEnieLamp
helps me explore new possibilities for my talents.  It also keeps me
abreast of the latest Apple II news.

     As I have mentioned in a recent editorial, please feel free to give us
feedback on the A2 version of GEnieLamp.  We are always searching for ways
to better meet the needs of our readers.  Let us know what you think.


Phil Shapiro
 - Assistant Editor for A2 edition of GEnieLamp   I first became enchanted
   """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   with the Apple II in
1987 when testing out some educational software I wrote for my fourth grade
students. The kids got all excited about playing a simple geography game I
made up.  When a few of them asked to stay late after class to finish
playing the game, I knew I wanted to get more involved in educational
software development.

     So then I taught computers in elementary school for about four years
before quitting to start my own software publishing company, Balloons
Software.  I miss the interaction with kids in the class room sometimes,
but stay in touch with a dozen or so kids by giving private computer
lessons.

     Locally, I stay active in the local Apple user group, the Washington
Apple Pi, a cozy little group with about 4000 members. For the past three
years I've served as the chairperson of the club's e ducation special
interest group.  Our meetings often run late into the night because there's
so much interesting Apple II educational software to talk about.  One
teacher in our group uses Apple II's w ith her mentally retarded middle
school students, and her experiences in the classroom are always
fascinating to hear about.

     I signed up for GEnie the day after their flat-rate structure went
into effect. I've grown tremendously in my Apple II knowledge since that
day.



Mel Fowler
 - Staff writer for the GEnieLamp A2   I was born on a small farm about 5
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   miles outside Vernonia, Oregon in
1939.  We moved to northern California shortly after my dad returned from
WWII and settled in Yurika.  Oops, he did say a short biography, didn't he.

     Well maybe I should tell you that I am a retired Navy Senior Chief
Radioman with 30 years in the of service.  I served from Guatanimo Bay,
Cuba, to the aircraft carrier USS America, USS Oklahoma City on the
Commander 7th Fleet Staff, were I was the Chief of Satellite
Communications. Then my last twelve years were with the Defense
Communications Agency with tours in Hawaii, Korea, and Japan.  I am married
to my final wife Hui Tae (Hee Tay) and live in Mililani, Hawaii.
Currently I manage a 40 unit townhouse project here in Mililani.

     The first computer in my experience with computers was purchased in
1982, while stationed at the DCA, Field Office Korea and was a Korean clone
of the Apple ][+.  We called them "Krapples."   It was a 32K model with a
cassette I/O, with my television set serving as a monitor.  Pretty basic by
today's standards. Next, came an upgraded Krapple with two slim line
drives, IBM type keyboard, with programmable function keys.  It was
equipped with a CP/M card, Grapple+, Language Card, 1 MEG ram card, and an
No-Name DP-80 printer.  All this was Korean made, as this was all we could
get then.  WordStar v1.01P and DBase II v1.1 were the programs we used the
most, typing up reports and developing data bases on all the DCS stations
in Korea.  We used it at the office and became one of the first DCA offices
to become computerized.

     Later, I again upgraded to an Apple IIc, a real Apple this time, also
equipped with a CP/M card, and 1Meg RAM card so that I could use it in the
office.  It also had an Apple Color Monitor, with an Epson FX-80 attached.

     When I saw Steve Wozniak on the front cover of InCider introducing the
"It's Amazing," "The new IIGS," I just had to have one.  I was stationed at
Yokota, AB, Japan at the time.  About six months later I was able to get
one at the base exchange.  It was love at first sight.  I had to upgrade my
IIGS to ROM 01 and get a new VGC chip which were supplied by an Apple
representative that was sent to Japan for that reason.  Currently it
contains a 4 Meg OctaRAM card, Sound Blaster stereo card, TransWarp GS,
Vulcan 40 Meg internal hard drive, with an ImageWriter II and LaserJet IIp
printers.

     I have been on GEnie for just over a year and was lucky enough to
become a GEnieLamp staff writer.  Primarily I write reviews of current
uploads to the A2 Library.  I am active with the local user's group, the
Honolulu Apple User's Society, being the Apple IIGS Special Interest Group
(SIG) chairman, a director on the Board of Directors, Staff writer for the
IIGS section of "SIGNAL" our club journal, and even bulk mail the journal
each month.  I have even been known to sweep the floors and take out the
garbage occasionally, but I do not do windows.

     If you are curious about my handle "MelSoft" it came from some
software that I had developed in my early days with a "MelSoftware"
moniker.  There was a home inventory program and a label maker that were
mostly used in the Korea, and Japan user groups and bulletin boards.
Anyway, the MelSoft part of the name has stuck and I have used it on BBS
and articles ever since.
 

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
   / "But where the heck are my issue's going?? I live in Pennsylvania.. /
  / About a hour and half drive from East Stroudsburg..  How about if I /
 / go pick my issue up, and save you guys a buck??   :)"               /
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////  T.EVANS21  ////



[EOA] 
[LIB]//////////////////////////////
              THE ONLINE LIBRARY /
/////////////////////////////////
Yours For The Downloading
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Mel Fowler
    [MELSOFT]

     o   HyperStudio presentations


HYPERSTUDIO, FROM ROGER WAGNER PUBLISHING   has been the most popular
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   multimedia program for the
Apple IIGS since it was released.  It allows the capability to merge
graphics, sounds, music, and animation into a presentation of cards
(screens) organized into stacks.  With the rapid display of cards you can
create animation.  Nearly any subject can be presented using HyperStudio.
Stacks are fun and easy to create.  Schools throughout the U.S. have used
HyperStudio as class projects creating innovative programs which cover
everything from volcanos to stars.

     Some talented shareware and freeware authors have uploaded a large
collection of HyperStudio presentations into the A2 library on GEnie.  This
month's article will try to highlight the best of the A2 collection.

     Let us start with a tour of the Apple IIGS.  Stephen L. Brown from
Ontario, Canada, has created a shareware program entitled "Steve's Tour Of
The Apple IIGS."  It is divided into two sections:

     1.  Looking Inside The Apple IIGS and,
     2. Looking Outside The Apple IIGS.

     The inside tour shows you a graphic of the Apple IIGS mother board
with various parts and components displayed in their relative locations.
By clicking on a part or component you turn on a text window which explains
what the part does.  The outside tour displays the front and back of the
AppleColor RGB monitor and the Apple IIGS computer.  You can get
explanations of all the major components, back panel controls, connectors,
and ports.  This is an excellent tour of the IIgs for beginners and is fun
and easy to use.  Shareware fee $15.00 U.S.

                               [*][*][*]
 

13694 TOUR.GS.BXY   "The Middle East" by Jan K. France is another tour but
"""""""""""""""""   this time it covers the middle eastern countries.  The
first card is a map of the world and the stack asks you to try and find
middle east.  Once you have completed this task you are presented with a
map showing the countries and main seas, gulfs, and oceans of the region.
When you click on a country, the country's name is spoken, then you are
presented with a map of the individual country.  A large text window is
supplied which includes interesting information about the country.  By
clicking on "Flag" you are presented with a full screen graphics of the
country's flag.  There is also a "History" section included with presents a
histogram of events from 3500 BC to 1990 AD. If you are interested in
learning more about this little known region of the world, this is the
program for you.  Freeware.


13604 MIDEAST.BXY   "Meet the Orchestra" is a four (4) disk presentation
"""""""""""""""""   created by Karl Ivers which introduces you to the
instruments of the Symphonic Orchestra. There are four sections to the
program reflecting the sections of the orchestra, Strings, Woodwinds,
Brass, and Percussion.  You choose which section to use and then which
instrument to learn about.  There is a short text window that gives some
background information on each instrument.  When you click on the
instrument itself, it will play a song for you. Pop quiz: In what section
of the orchestra do you believe the piano would be in, Strings or
Percussion?  What is the difference between a Harp and a Harpsichord? Which
sounds lower, a Clarinet or an Oboe?  The four disks must have specific
volume names, "ORCHESTRA, ORCHESTRA1, WOODWINDS, and PERC.BRASS." Meet the
Orchestra is  extremely will done, easy to use, and most educational.
Freeware.


10149 MEET.ORCHES.BXY
10150 STRINGS.ORC.BXY
10151 WOODWND.ORC.BXY
10152 PERCUS.ORC.BXY   One of the premier HyperStudio authors is Joel
""""""""""""""""""""   Helton who has created some of the best multimedia
presentations.  "Interesting and Little Known Facts About Our Presidents"
is, I think, his best.  You can learn about all the presidents from George
Washington to Ronald Reagon.  Each presentation shows you a picture of the
president and a text window full of "Interesting and Little Know Facts."
Version 2 of the program added voice recordings to some presidents starting
with Theodore Roosevelt.  You will learn for example: What James Monroe had
to do with the death of George Washington; why Mary Todd Lincoln was
accused by the press of being a Confederate spy; and what the "S"
represents in Harry S. Truman.  This is an entertaining and informative
program which is essential for hypermedia fans.  A companion three disk set
entitled "Presidential Quiz" is also available which will quiz you on your
knowledge of what the presidents look like.  You will be asked to choose a
president from four pictures.  Both these programs are Freeware.


13363 PRES1.V.2.BXY         16016 PRES.QUIZ.01.BXY
13493 PRES2.V.2.BXY         16030 PRES.QUIZ.2.BXY
13866 PRES.3.BXY V.2.0      16045 PRESQUIZ.03.BXY
""""""""""""""""""""""      """"""""""""""""""""""
     Another name you run across frequently while looking at HyperStudio
programs is Jim Hirsch.  One of his best is about the ongoing Galileo
mission to Jupiter.  Launched in 1989 from the Shuttle Atlantis, the
Galileo space craft first made a trip to Venus in February of 1990, then
around the sun and back to Earth where it made two loops, the last of which
was in December of last year.  All this maneuvering is so the spacecraft
will gain enough speed to get to Jupiter which is scheduled to be in
December of 1995.  This excellent hypermedia program tells you about the
mission, what experiments are planned, about the space craft, the orbiter,
the Jupiter probe and more.  Freeware.


10171 HS.SHUTTLE.BXY   Jim Hirsch and Diana Hewitt have created another
""""""""""""""""""""   excellent program entitled "HyperMoney." You can
use it to teach your young children all about U.S.  coins from a half
dollar to a penny.  You are first presented with a coin, and then asked to
name it. The graphics are super and this is a well organized, easy to use
program.  Freeware.


10226 HYPERMONEY1.BXY
10227 HYPERMONEY2.BXY   "Hyper.AWGS.WP" is another excellent Jim Hirsch
"""""""""""""""""""""   offering.  This is an easy way to learn how to use
the word processor module in AppleWorks GS. You are presented with a
graphics of the word processor screen.  Various parts of the ruler can be
selected and a text window will appear to explain what each item means.
You can also choose any of the pull down menu items to learn what they do
and how to use them.  Also, Freeware.


10285 HYPER.AWGS.BXY   There are two outstanding multimedia programs that
""""""""""""""""""""   teaches you about the states.  State.Stack by Bob
Vawter and HyperState by Marty Knight.  HyperState is the more elaborate
presentation supplying two different maps of the U.S., one showing
"Political" boundaries and the other showing "Regional" boundaries.  From
the Regional map you can choose a region of interest and you are presented
with a regional map.  From either the Political U.S. map or any of the
regional maps you can pick a state and are supplied with a state map with a
text window with information about the state.

     The text information includes the states' region, capital, nickname,
chief industry, and the date when the state joined the Union. Also included
is a State Quiz stack.  With this stack a map of the U.S.  is displayed and
by clicking on a state the states' name and capital are shown.  State.Stack
also displays a map of the U.S. and when a state is chosen switches to a
text window screen.  State.Stack is simpler in nature but does provide
addition information which includes the state motto, area in square miles,
population since the 1986 census, racking among the states regarding area
and population, and the state flower, bird, tree, and song.  Impress your
friends and family by learning all the state capitals.


10099 HYPERSTATES.BXY
   17370 H.STATES.BXY   "HyperBrain" by Jim November uses a main menu which
   """"""""""""""""""   is a graphics of the human brain.  Numbers
identify various regions of the brain.  Each card also has several hidden
buttons to move to other regions.  The graphics are well done and make
exploring the human brain a real adventure.  Find out where your
Hypothalamus and your Medulla Oblongata are and what they do.


8835 HYPERBRAIN.BXY V.2.0   If you want to learn more about how to animate
"""""""""""""""""""""""""   Hyperstudio stacks then I would recommend
several programs by Bill Lynn.  You can learn such interesting animation as
watching your flowers grow or flooding your living room with "Animation
School."  Shareware $5.00.  Learn how to animate your buttons with "Stupid
Button Tricks," "More Stupid Button Tricks," and "Button School." These
three stacks give you great examples of how you can liven up your stacks.
Rotate a fan, smash a lady bug, eat the screen, or see your name in lights.
These are fun and show a great sense of humor.


15560 SBT.ANIM1.BXY
15640 SBT.ANIM2.BXY
17302 BUTN.SCHOOL.BXY   There are far more HyperStudio offering within the
"""""""""""""""""""""   A2 library than could be highlighted here.  You
will find stacks that help young people with their math and reading skills.
A large collection of sound and clip art files.  There is even a seven (7)
disk series on Star Trek the next Generation.  But, we do not have the room
to include everything.  I hope we have keyed your interest in exploring the
vast collection of Apple II hypermedia software available.

                               [*][*][*]
 

 [Note: You can quickly navigate to the A2 Library on GEnie by typing
        M645;3 at any standard GEnie prompt.  The letter "m" stands for the
        command "move."  The number 645 refers to the "page" on GEnie where
        the A2 Roundtable is located. And the semi-colon 3 refers to the A2
        file library, as opposed to the message areas of the A2 Roundtable.
        To navigate directly to the message areas (bulletin boards) of the
        A2 Roundtable, type: M645;1 at any standard GEnie prompt.]

  
 
[EAO]
[FUN]//////////////////////////////
                      ONLINE FUN /
/////////////////////////////////
Search-ME!
""""""""""
By Scott Garrigus
     [S.GARRIGUS]



WELL, HERE WE ARE   It's April and Spring is upon us, finally.  I'm really
"""""""""""""""""   getting sick of all the snow up here in good ol'
Derry, NH.  Soon it'll be Easter and the Easter bunny will be bringing all
you good boys and girls his Easter eggs.  But before that, we have the
inevitable April Fools Day.

     But I'll say right now that I'm not going to stoop so low as try and
fool all you good folks out there.  So on to this month's RoundTable...

     All you ladies out there are going to love this one... this month I
visited GEnie's famous Hairdressing Roundtable.  Oh, you didn't know we had
a special place for hairdressers here?  Well, surprise, surprise!  Here you
can get expert advise on all the lastest styles and techniques.  Learn how
to do it yourself and get first hand instruction in this wonderful field.
Yes, you too can have the greatest looking hair in town.  Visit GEnie's
Hairdressing Roundtable today!

     To get there just type JUSTALITTLEOFFTHETOPPLEASE or find it on page
1234567.

     But before you rush over there to get the lastest haircutting advice,
be sure and solve this month's puzzle.  It's sure to keep you a cut above
the rest!  :-)  Ta, Ta!  And Happy Easter!



                    >>> HAIRDRESSING ROUNDTABLE <<<
                    """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                      [JUSTALITTLEOFFTHETOPPLEASE]
 
             R T R O H S T U C I L L N U J S J O U Q U J K 
             B Z R R Y N R V N D H B S L J A E D E Y Z O X 
             W Z W X H W H Q D L T S N C G S N L W M P S U 
             D A W A A O O P M A H S K I M S M H C T M A E 
             F R S G Z V U C T B R S R E N O I T I D N O C 
             H E N H H X B G Z R E H O A F O C V N Z U A Z 
             Q O N W T J G K M A S N Z P A N O P Z Z K S Z 
             L B A R B E R J S I S H K R G C V L Q Y V B E 
             X Q T E T E E T K D E Q I W N R B K O D U R N 
             Z C A T Z A Y Q L S R X A N S J M H R J D U L 
             R Z D Z I L C F J D D X J B D Y H I M H N S D 
             B X Q C I V G R C A N Q I C O D E J R O G H A 
             P E F S M S M U O T T D V P E R M I V Q O X B 
             H O T W E I R J M X S P X O O Y A P L A O S V 
             P R E L R U C O B M T S G R R H D E V C J M E 
             Z M D S S Y J G S T G O V N U X H Q M T E A U 
             Y V F W I N Z O P S A P D I U Y I B J D L O W 
             P G N P W M U W Q P I Y M O O O F A U U Y H Z 
             C R A G O S Y D P J Z C L J K A M E M V T L A 
             N U V I B N Y K M H S S S T O N I C M B S H V 

 
                BARBER          BRAIDS          BRUSH            

                COMB            CONDITIONER     CURLER           

                CUT             DRESSER         DRIER            

                HAIR            LONG            MOOSE            

                PERM            SASSOON         SCISSORS         

                SHAMPOO         SHORT           STYLE            

                STYLIST         TONIC           WASH             

 
                               [*][*][*]


GIVE UP?   You will find the answers in the LOG OFF column at the end of
""""""""   the magazine.  

           This column was created with a program called SEARCH ME,
           an Atari ST program by David Becker.

 
          ////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
         / "Correction!!!  I was supposed to make a NOTE not a NOT. /
        / Looked real confusing didn't it?  :>"                    /
       //////////////////////////////////////////////  P.VARN  ////



[EOA]
[AII]//////////////////////////////
                        APPLE II /
/////////////////////////////////
Apple II History, Part 11
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Steven Weyhrich
      [S.WEYHRICH]



                          >>> APPLE II HISTORY <<<
                          """"""""""""""""""""""""
                   Compiled and written by Steven Weyhrich
                     (C) Copyright 1993, Zonker Software
                      (PART 11 -- THE APPLE IIGS, CONT.)
                             [v1.1 :: 05 Mar 93]

INTRODUCTION   This segment of the Apple II History continues with the
""""""""""""   description of the IIGS, the 16-bit version of Steve
Wozniak's legacy.  It continues discussion of its hardware, firmware, and
system software, enhancements, as well as the product introduction.
Finally, some of the later parts of the IIGS story that have not yet
appeared in previous releases of this segment of the history are included.

                               [*][*][*]

 
THE APPLE IIGS: MISCELLANEOUS HARDWARE   Other features Apple engineers
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   added to make the Apple IIGS a
next generation computer included a built-in clock, slot space for internal
expansion cards, and the electronic equivalents of seven more expansion
cards.<1>  Taking the cue from their experience with the Apple IIc, they
included as built-in features the peripherals that most users would want to
use.  They allocated serial ports to slots 1 and 2, the classic 80-column
firmware to slot 3, the mouse controller to slot 4, a Smartport controller
to slot 5, a 5.25 inch disk controller to slot 6, and AppleTalk capability
to slot 7.  (AppleTalk was Apple's network protocol that had been designed
originally for use with the Macintosh).

     Because the engineers wanted to make the IIGS capable of connecting to
the AppleTalk network, the serial ports they planned were based on a
different communications controller chip than was used in the older Super
Serial Card and the Apple IIc serial controller.  Although the new
controller chips were more capable than the older ones used on the 8-bit
Apple II's, telecommunications programs written for those older Apple's
wouldn't work.  This was because most terminal programs, for the sake of
speed, were written to directly control the old Super Serial Card (rather
than going through the slower, built-in firmware commands).  The
controlling commands necessary to manage the newer chip were very
different, and so caused such software to "break".<2>

     The case and motherboard used in the Apple IIGS was made smaller than
that found in the IIe, both in order to make a smaller "footprint" on a
desktop, and also to make it easier to make an upgrade available for IIe
owners.  They had wanted to make it possible even for Apple II and II Plus
owners to upgrade, but in the end it turned out to be just too expensive
and difficult to execute.<2>

     The Macintosh engineering group was at this time designing a protocol
for interfacing standard input devices, such as keyboards, mice, and
graphics tablets.  This protocol, called the "Apple Desktop Bus", was first
implemented on the Apple IIGS.  It made possible the interchangeability of
hardware devices between the Macintosh and Apple II lines, allowing Apple
to sell a common set of peripherals that both computers could use.<2>


THE APPLE IIGS: FIRMWARE   Firmware, you may recall, is that layer of
""""""""""""""""""""""""   controlling programs in ROM on a computer that
sits between an application program and the hardware it is trying to
control.  On the IIGS, the firmware was designed after the hardware was
finalized.  Unlike the older ROM that Wozniak included with the original
Apple II, the IIGS software engineers tried to make it more than just a set
of addresses to call to carry out a function (such as clearing the screen).
Rather, they wanted to make a more comprehensive system (called a
"toolbox") which could be more flexible for future enhancements of the
hardware and firmware.  In particular, they didn't want to have the
addresses for carrying out certain functions to be fixed in a single
location as on the older Apples.  This toolbox would have a single address
to call, and a specific command would be passed on through that address.
Set up like this, it would allow Apple's firmware programmers to modify the
ROM in the future without having to take trouble to make multiple addresses
in the ROM "line up" properly.  Additionally, they made it easy to "patch"
the toolbox code in the ROM using code loaded from disk, allowing
programmers to fix errors that were later found without having to replace
the physical ROM chips.

     At first, they were given 64K of space for the ROM, over four times as
much as was available on the original Apple II.  Later, they had to go back
and ask for 128K of ROM, because of the many things that they needed and
wanted to do.  Of course, Applesoft had to be present in ROM in order to
maintain compatibility with the older Apple II software. Additionally, they
also put all of the mouse-handling tools into the ROM (unlike the II, II
Plus, and IIe, which had to have the mouse firmware on a card in a
peripheral slot).<1>

     A boost to the firmware design of the IIGS came, unexpectedly, as a
result of the merger between the Apple II and Macintosh divisions. This
merger came as part of the reorganization that coincided with the departure
of Steve Jobs from Apple.  Since the Macintosh team was now working in the
same place as the IIGS designers, they were available to offer help and
ideas.  Bill Atkinson, the programming wizard who wrote MacPaint and many
of the mouse tools for the Macintosh, helped in the creation of the mouse
tools and QuickDraw II for the IIGS.  (This was the name given to the ROM
tools used to draw on the super hi-res screen, and was borrowed from the
older QuickDraw routines on the original Macintosh).<1>

     To allow the user to easily configure certain features of the IIGS to
their own tastes, a "control panel" was designed (another idea borrowed
from the Macintosh).  It was used to set the clock, the system speed
(between a "normal" 1 MHz and a "fast" 2.8 MHz), change the standard text
display from 40 to 80 columns, set colors for the text screen, set
sensitivity of the mouse and keyboard, and make the standard settings for
the printer and modem ports.  These preferences were saved in a special
battery-powered RAM that would survive even when the system power was
turned off.<1>


THE APPLE IIGS: SYSTEM SOFTWARE   ProDOS needed to be updated to better
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   take advantage of the additional memory
on the IIGS, as well as the larger storage devices that were not very
available when ProDOS was originally written.  Back then, five megabytes
was felt to be quite a large disk size.  By the time the IIGS was designed,
40 megabytes was becoming a common standard.  The new IIGS-specific
version, called "ProDOS 16", would also be able to handle any number of
open files at the same time (the older version of ProDOS was limited to
eight files open simultaneously).<1>

     The first version of ProDOS 16 was more limited than Apple's designers
wanted it to be, but they didn't want to hold up the new IIGS until a
better version was ready.  The version of ProDOS that would run 8-bit Apple
II software (on the IIGS or older Apple II's) was renamed "ProDOS 8".  That
version was modified to handle system interrupts better, which was
important on the IIGS because of the control panel feature and the way in
which the Apple Desktop Bus worked.  (An interrupt refers to a special
signal that is sent to the microprocessor by a hardware device.  This
signal "interrupts" what the processor is doing, redirects it to do
something else, and then returns the processor to what it was previously
doing.  The mouse on the IIc and the mouse card for the other Apple II's
use interrupts to handle movements of the mouse).<2>

     (Further details about ProDOS 16 and its later replacement system,
GS/OS, will be found in an upcoming part of the Apple II History).


IIGS PROJECT CODE NAMES AND TEAM MEMBERS   The earliest name used
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   internally at Apple for the IIGS
project was Phoenix (as mentioned earlier).  It was also known as "Rambo"
(when the design team was fighting for final approval from the executive
staff), "Gumby" (from an impersonation done at Apple's Halloween-day
parade), and "Cortland".<1>,<3>

     Some of the members of the design team not yet mentioned here include
Nancy Stark (an early and energetic champion for the IIGS project); Curtis
Sasaki (IIGS product manager); Ed Colby (CPU product manager); Jim
Jatczynski (Operating System group manager); Fern Bachman (who worked to
ensure compatibility with existing Apple II software); Gus Andrate (who
developed the sound tools and the unified drive firmware); and Peter Baum,
Rich Williams, Eagle I. Berns, John Worthington, and Steven Glass, who each
developed part of the IIGS system software and firmware.<4>


THE APPLE IIGS: PRODUCT INTRODUCTION   In September of 1986, Apple
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   introduced the new Apple IIGS,
bundled with an Apple 3.5 drive, for $999 (not including a monitor). Apple
management, somewhat surprised by the response that occurred in their
"Apple II Forever" event two years earlier, made the decision to heavily
promote this new Apple II.  Why they came to this change of heart was
unclear.  Although they showed no slowing in their plans for the Macintosh
(which was making steady progress in gaining acceptability in the business
world), a multi-million dollar marketing and media blitz was arranged to
promote the new IIGS as the ultimate home and recreational use computer.
Even employees at Apple who had worked on the IIGS project were startled
(but pleased) at the marketing intensity that was begun, and the order for
this came directly from the top.  John Sculley himself had insisted that
the Apple IIGS be given highest priority.  (Apple's CEO since 1983, he had
just a year earlier ousted founder Steve Jobs from day to day
responsibilities at Apple).  Rumors flew, but were never confirmed, about a
shaken Sculley who had come to an executive staff meeting in July of 1986
with stories of strange things he had experienced.  He had supposedly
received a frightening nighttime visit from a yellow-garbed alien who
called himself "Darth Vader" from the planet Vulcan.  "He told me that he
would meld my brain if I didn't put all I could into marketing the Apple
IIGS!  I have to do it!!", he was reported to have said, white-fisted and
pale, at that meeting.  Despite the obvious references to science-fiction
movies and television of the 1960's and late 1970's, the executive staff
bowed to his requests (which were no less firm after Sculley had taken a
Valium and had a couple of Diet Pepsi's.  After all, he WAS the boss).

     Of course, the IIGS was received by the Apple II community with
enthusiasm.  After initial sales broke all previous records, including
those for the Macintosh, Apple re-doubled its efforts to promote this as
the computer for nearly everyone.  After all, it had ties into the past
(compatible with Steve Wozniak's 4K Integer BASIC Apple II at its core),
and ties into the future (with the 16-bit technology and expanded memory).
Within a year it was outselling the Macintosh (which had also received a
boost in sales, thought to be benefiting from the wave of IIGS sales).

     By 1988, a significantly enhanced Apple IIGS was released, with more
advanced system software (which worked more like the easy-to-use Macintosh
interface) and higher density graphics (the cost of better color monitors
had come down considerably since the initial design of the IIGS back in
1985).  Apple even decided to take the unprecedented move of licensing the
Apple II technology to a couple of other companies, who worked on producing
IIGS emulators for other computers, including IBM and its clones! Software
and hardware sales hit a spiraling upward curve, which stimulated more
sales of computers from Apple, which increased software and hardware sales
further.  Apple even produced a IIGS emulator of its own for the Macintosh
and Macintosh II series of computers.  Eventually...

      (Hold it.  Something just doesn't seem right.  I don't recall things
      going NEARLY that well for the IIGS.  Computer!

      APPLE II:     [ Tweedlesquirge ] State request, please.

      AUTHOR:       Compare time events just outlined in previous section
                    with known events in database notes.

      APPLE II:     Working... [ Blinkitydinkitydinkityzeerp ]  Events just
                    described are from a parallel timeline, which diverged
                    from our own timeline in July 1986.

      AUTHOR:       Hmmm.  Any way of moving into that timeline?

      APPLE II:     Negative.  Insufficient energy available in power
                    supply to actually make changes necessary to alter the
                    events in our timeline to allow the above scenario to
                    actually occur.

      AUTHOR:       Then HOW did we come across that information in the
                    first place?

      APPLE II:     Flux capacitor was affected by a momentary surge in
                    power lines due to a nearby thunderstorm.

      AUTHOR:       Interesting.  Well, maybe someday I'll have to beef up
                    this power supply a bit and have a talk with Mr.
                    Sculley if I can find my yellow radiation suit...  So
                    how do we get back to the correct information?

      APPLE II:     You could effect a complete shutdown and memory purge,
                    then reload correct data from protected archives.

      AUTHOR:       Very well.  Make it so.

      APPLE II:     Working... [ Blinkitydinkitydinkityzeerpity... ]

      PROOFREADER:  Your Apple TALKS???

      AUTHOR:       What?  Yes, well I had a CPU conversion done in the
                    early 24th century...

      APPLE II:     Data reload completed.  You may proceed when ready.

      AUTHOR:       Now, let's see if we can get it right this time...)



THE APPLE IIGS: PRODUCT INTRODUCTION (Take 2)   In September of 1986, Apple
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   introduced the new Apple
IIGS, bundled with an Apple 3.5 drive, for $999 (not including a monitor).
The Apple II community was excited about the new computer, and inCider
magazine featured a exuberant Steve Wozniak on the cover of its October
1986 issue with the caption, "It's Amazing!"

     Apple, for its part, did do some advertising for the new computer in
the pages of current Apple II publications of the time.  However, there was
no major push for the new computer, and again it seemed destined to be
dwarfed by Apple's preoccupation with the Macintosh.

     Though announced in September, the IIGS was not widely available until
November.  Early production models of the IIGS had some problems; one of
the new chips did not work properly, and necessary changes to fix them
caused a delay.  The upgrade that would turn an Apple IIe into a IIGS was
also delayed until early 1987.<5>


THE APPLE IIGS: ENHANCEMENTS   In September 1987 Apple made an incremental
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   improvement to the IIGS with the release of
a new ROM.  The ROM 01 revision made a few changes in the original IIGS
ROMs and included an improved video controller chip.  Bugs in the ROM code
were fixed, and a problem with a "pink fringe" effect with certain graphics
displays was fixed.  The new ROMs were not compatible with any IIGS System
Disks earlier than version 2.0.  The new ROM was identified by a message at
the bottom of the screen when booting the IGS that said "ROM Version 01".
The original IIGS had no message in this location.<6>

     The next change came with the release of the ROM 03 version of the
IIGS in August of 1989.  This new IIGS computer came standard with 1 meg of
RAM on the motherboard, and twice as much ROM (256K versus 128K on the
older IIGS).  This allowed more of the operating system to be in ROM,
rather than having to be loaded from disk when booting. Additionally, fixes
were made to known bugs in the ROM 01 firmware.  (The latest version of the
IIGS system software made patches to ROM 01 to fix those bugs, but these
patches still had to be loaded from disk, which slowed startup time.
Having the latest new tools and fixed new ones already in ROM made booting
the version 03 IIGS a bit quicker).   The new Apple IIGS also had the
capability of using both the internal slot firmware as well as using a
peripheral card plugged into a slot.  The ROM 01 IIGS could, of course, use
cards plugged into the slots, but only at the expense of being unable to
use the internal firmware for that slot.  With so much useful system
firmware built-in, a ROM 01 user who wanted, for example, to add a
controller card for a hard disk would have to give up either AppleTalk in
slot 7 or use of 5.25 disks in slot 6.  Almost everything else had to be
set in the control panel to the internal firmware.

     The ROM 03 IIGS also included enhancements for disabled users. A
feature called "sticky keys" made it possible to do multiple keypresses.
(To execute an "Option-Control-X" sequence, for example, required pressing
three keys at once.  This was something that a paralyzed user with a
mouth-stick to press keys could not previously do).  Also, more things that
had required a mouse now had keyboard equivalents (using the keypad). The
new IIGS also had somewhat "cleaner" sound and graphics.  However, because
the improvements made were minimal compared to the cost of providing
upgrades to previous owners, no upgrade program was announced by Apple.  In
any case, many of the new features could be obtained on older IIGS's by
upgrading the memory to at least one megabyte and using GS/OS System
Software 5.0.2 or greater.<7>

     A feature that was added to the ROM 03 firmware that was entirely fun,
instead of functional, was accessed by a specific key-sequence.  If the
computer was booted with no disk in the drive, a message that said "Check
startup device" appeared, with an apple symbol sliding back and forth.  At
that point, if the user pressed the keys "Ctrl", "Open Apple", "Option",
and "N" simultaneously, the digitized voices of the Apple IIGS design team
could be heard shouting "Apple II!"  Also, the names of those people would
be displayed on the screen.  If running any version of GS/OS System 5.0,
the user would have to hold down the "Option" and "Shift" keys, then pull
down the "About" menu in the Finder.  It would then say "About the System".
Using the mouse to click on that title would cause the names to be
displayed and the audio message to be heard.


THE APPLE IIGS: THE FAT LADY SINGS?   Unfortunately for the IIGS and its
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   loyal users, decisions were made at
Apple during the late 1980's that dictated that the future of the company
would be in the Macintosh computer, and in other entirely new platforms
they would create after Macintosh.  The view by Apple's management, and
even by some of the engineers that had worked on the IIGS, was that it was
simply underpowered when compared to the 68000 series Motorola processors
that were used by the Macintosh.  As I've mentioned before, the backward
compatibility with the 8-bit Apple II was one of the greatest strengths of
the Apple IIGS; however, this was also one of its greatest weaknesses, as
it compromised from the start some of the decisions made in its design.  It
could be compared to creating a brand new type of automobile, one that had
the capability of doing things that owners of earlier cars couldn't even
imagine, but insisting that it MUST run on gasoline and use a 12 volt
battery.  If it could be allowed to run EXCLUSIVELY on a specialized new
fuel and a more comprehensive power plant, the new car could perform
considerably better -- but it needed to be backward compatible with
previous releases of the car.  In terms of the IIGS, it was given the power
to be very much like a Macintosh, with its ease of use and graphic
interface.  But with all this power came the connections to its 8-bit past,
and this complicated things for designers as well as programmers.

     Another problem for the IIGS was that no one at Apple was in a
position of power to champion the machine and push for full support and
promotion by the company.  After its product introduction, which involved a
couple of television and magazine ads, Apple turned its attention to other
concerns and left the Apple IIGS to sell itself.  What promotion was done
for the IIGS or products associated with it was done with all the fervor
Apple had applied to the Apple II line since the Apple III had been
designed (in other words, very little).

     The IIGS still had people within the company that poured out their
hearts in making changes to improve the computer, both in software and
hardware.  Their advances in system software managed to make the computer
faster without requiring any changes in hardware, and also made it possible
to take advantage of new peripherals as they became available.  On the
hardware side, rumors flew for years after the release of the ROM 03 IIGS
about an updated IIGS that was in the works, one with the capability of
higher quality graphics, a faster processor, the capability for larger
memory sizes, and even the possibility of a more advanced processor, the
65832.  But no one in Apple's administration would give approval for these
dreams to get off the ground.  Even at the last minute, just before the
first Apple User Group television satellite broadcast in October 1991, a
ROM 04 IIGS that was to have been announced along with several new
Macintosh models was pulled from the program and disappeared.  This new
IIGS would have included 2 MB of memory, a built-in hard drive (becoming
almost a necessity to run the sophisticated GS/OS software that was
available), and possibly a built-in SuperDrive (which would be capable of
reading and writing 3.5 disks created by MS-DOS computers).  But the future
was Macintosh, and releasing another advancement to what Apple considered
to be a dead-end platform was not considered to be good business sense.

     It was the termination the ROM 04 IIGS that reportedly contributed to
the delay in the introduction of GS/OS System 6.0, which finally arrived in
April 1992.  (The tools that were part of System 6.0 would have been in the
ROM of the new IIGS, and made as patches to the ROM 01 and 03 machines;
things had to be changed when it turned out that there was to BE no new
IIGS).

     The final blow to the IIGS was, of course, economic.  The IIGS had
been selling itself nearly from the beginning, and Apple had begun to push
the Macintosh as a computer for schools to use.  This had been
traditionally the stronghouse of the Apple II, back from its earliest days.
As school sales fell, and the computer public, unaware of the capabilities
of the IIGS, bought Macs and IBM-compatibles, Apple dealers found it less
profitable to carry the Apple IIGS.  Lower sales also translated into fewer
new software titles to run on the computer, which further depressed the
market.  The end of the production run of the Apple IIGS came in December
1993, when it was finally removed from the price lists Apple provided to
dealers.  The Apple IIe was still selling well enough (primarily to the
education market) that it was left on the price lists for the time being,
but the Apple IIGS was relegated to sales through the used or resellers
market.  Although Apple pledged to continue software support for the
machine (with at least two enhancements to System 6.0 planned), there would
clearly be no new IIGS, ever.

                                  [*][*][*]


 NEXT INSTALLMENT  Peripherals & the Apple II Abroad
 """"""""""""""""

 NOTES
 """""
      <1> Duprau, Jeanne, and Tyson, Molly.  "The Making Of The Apple IIGS",
          A+ MAGAZINE, Nov 1986, pp. 57-74.

      <2> Pinella, Paul.  "In The Beginning: An Interview With Harvey
          Lehtman", APPLE IIGS: GRAPHICS AND SOUND, Fall/Winter 1986, pp.
          38-44.

      <3> Hogan, Thom.  "Apple: The First Ten Years", A+ MAGAZINE, Jan 1987,
          p. 45.

      <4> Szetela, David.  "The New II", NIBBLE, Oct 1986, pp. 5-6.

      <5> Weishaar, Tom.  "Miscellanea", OPEN-APPLE, Nov 1986, p. 2.74.

      <6> Platt, Robert, and Field, Bruce.  "A.P.P.L.E. Doctor",
          CALL-A.P.P.L.E., Nov 1987, p. 58.

      <7> Doms, Dennis.  "Apple upgrades IIGS hardware", OPEN-APPLE, Sep
          1989, p. 5.57.


      /////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
     /             "(Topic cops forward at will..:>)"                /
    /////////////////////////////////////////////  VANDENHEUVEL  ////



[EOA]
[GEO]//////////////////////////////
                    GEnie ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
Using GEnie's Internet GateWay
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Bill Garrett
 [BILL.GARRETT]



         >>> ACCESSING THE WORLDWIDE INTERNET THROUGH GEnie <<<
         """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

INTERNET GATEWAY   GEnie's Internet gateway offers access to the largest
""""""""""""""""   communications network in the world. GEnie users can
send and receive Internet mail,subscribe to newsgroups, and even request
files to be downloaded from the Internet to GEnie (see services offered by
the Unix RT, below).

     Following are some answers to commonly asked questions, as found in
the Unix RT Bulletin Board on page 160;1.  While researching this article,
I found the Unix Rt to be the best place on GEnie to get information about
the Internet gateway. Most of the info provided here comes from Andy
Finkenstadt (ANDY), Unix RT SysOp, by way of the messages in Category 12 of
the Unix RT Blletin Board. Library file references are to files in the Unix
RT Library on page 160;3.

                               [*][*][*]


>>>>>   HOW DO I SEND MESSAGES TO PEOPLE IN INTERNET?
"""""   There are two ways - one works from page 207, and one works at any
place you can send a mail item - with the SEND command, or at the Mail
Command Mode (200;9 or 8004;9).

     On page 207, there is an option for "Send an Internet Mail" or words
to that effect.  It guides you through the process, and merely asks for the
internet address of the person you want to send to, allows you to CC any
addresses, asks for the subject, and then puts you in the 1> 2> line
editor.  .*S at the end and you've sent your first piece of mail.

     In mail command mode (ENTER) or with the SEND command, at the To: or
Cc:  prompts, or with the .*TO .*ATO .*CC and .*ACC commands you address
your letter to the person plus the special string @INET#   For example:

  To:  andy@vistachrome.com@INET#
  Cc:  S.POPKES
  Sub: Testing
  1> Hi there!  Just testing a letter to Andy's work account.
  2> .*S

     Now GEnie will respond with three messages - the item creation message,
the "queued for INET#" message, and the item sent message. Now your item
has been sent.

     If there are problems you will receive a return mail from the gateway
machine or a machine along the way that discovered the problem or error.
Typically these come from MAILER-DAEMON or POSTMASTER or other addresses
that don't contain real people's names.

     Just like with FAX# delivery you can check on the status of an
Internet mail item that you sent with the "DIS" command in mail command
mode.  Record the 7 digit item number referred to in the "queued for INET#"
message and type at the Command? prompt:

  Command? DIS 1234567

     It will tell you the current status of the item.


>>>>>   HOW DO I GET MESSAGES BACK?
"""""   Typically if you have sent a message, your correspondent will be
able to merely use the "reply" command on their mailer.  Your address is
S.POPKES@GEnie.geis.com (you can use upper or lower case, it won't matter)
so you can tell people to write you back at that address easily enough.


>>>>>   HOW IS THE GATEWAY TO BE BILLED?
"""""   On page 207 there is a "Rates" menu item.  The following prices
went into effect on Nov. 1, 1992:

      $2.00 registration fee - this will be a one time charge
      for all new users signing up for the service.  However, if
      a user cancels and signs up another $2.00 charge will be
      incurred.

      $.30 for each 5000 bytes or portion thereof  for incoming
      or outgoing messages.  For example:

      A 10000 byte message would cost $.60 A 20000 byte message
      would cost $1.20 A 5000 byte message would cost $.30 A
      12000 byte message would cost $.90

     (If you read mail during the day, you'll be charged the standard GEnie
connect rates  since the Genie.*Basic pricing plan is only in effect
weekends and undays during the week.  Also, at 9600 baud special charges
apply for all GEnie access, night or day.)


>>>>>   THERE ARE SEVERAL CONFERENCES ON THE INTERNET.
"""""   HOW ARE THESE ACCESSED?
The files "MAILING-LISTS.TXT" and "INTEREST-GROUPS.TXT" (and the
corresponding compressed files ending in .Z) show a list of about 300 to
400 special interest groups and mailing lists available on the Internet.

     For example, to join the "Christianity Mailing List" sponsored by Liz
Allen, you send mail to

     mailjc-request@grian.cps.com
or to
     mailjc-request@grian.altadena.ca.us

and ask to be added.  You might re-affirm your mail address as
USER.NAME@genie.geis.com just in case something gets mangled by a piece of
software between GEnie and there.

     Then the moderator of the mailing list (or his/her duly authorized
program <grin>) sends you back a welcome message, and explains the exact
procedure for posting to the group.  In the case of the foregoing example,
it's sending mail to

  mailjc@grian.cps.com or
  mailjc@grian.altadena.ca.us

     For an explanation of how domain names (the @somewhere.site.com)
works, the file DOMAIN.INF is available that explains it in rather basic
untechnical language.

     Additionally there are over 3000 newsgroups (3572 in my newsgroups
file at work) of which approximately 700 to 800 are active.  Getting on a
mail feed of that list requires a bit more patience.

     Sometimes a friendly System administrator can be convinced to set up a
mail- based feed of a couple newsgroups to a specific address - as part of
the testing I did this to see what kinds of things would happen.  Reading
newsgroups via mail is quite a trip though .. a real time-sucker-downer. :)

     CAVEAT: You may want to be aware that at 30 cents per item per 5000
characters, an active mailing list can easily cost a small fortune per
month.


>>>>>   CAN I SEND MESSAGES FROM GEnie TO FRIENDS ON
"""""   COMPUSERVE AND VICE VERSA?
Yes, easily.  From GEnie do this:

    To:  76334.641@compuserve.com@inet#
         {useriud}  CIS           internet mailbag

     You can leave off the @INET# =if= you are using the form on page 207.

Your friend can send from Compuserve to you with this:
    To:  >internet:ark.royal@genie.geis.com


>>>>>   ARE THERE GATEWAYS TO OTHER NET SERVICES AS WELL?  SUCH AS DELPHI
"""""   AND PRODIGY?
If you mean can you connect with the Delphi or Prodigy services and use
them as if you had called them directly, No.

     You can send mail to subscribers on Delphi ( username@delphi.com ),
and Prodigy has plans to have an Internet gateway for extra cost this year
or next.


  >>Can I use GEnie's special mail commands such as .*ATO, .*ACC and BLIND
  >>with Internet addresses?


     Yes, when we were testing, the BLIND,address@site@inet# worked fine.
(The only reason you use BLIND, I assume, is to avoid the potentially 60
lines of headers at the beginning of the letter, right?)

...you can optimize your ATO commands like this:
  .*ATO,BLIND,address1,address2,address3,address4,    <-- note trailing comma
  address5,address6,address7,address8@inet#,
  address9@inet#

     And so on... It's actually a bit faster that way.


>>>>>   IS THERE A WAY TO JOIN USENET GROUPS VIA GENIE'S INTERNET GATEWAY?
"""""   At present, Usenet access is not available on GEnie.  There are
several lists posted in the Unix RT Library of newsgroups and their
counterpart mailing lists. If you can't find information on the newsgroup
you're looking for, post it on the Unix RT or drop a note to UNIX$ and
we'll see if we can find out for you.

                               [*][*][*]


     Several files in the Unix library are great starting places for
information about the Internet and GEnie's part in it.  As a convenience to
the Unix RT participants we have made these available in 3 different forms:
Text form, Unix Compress form, and ZIP form.  The file names and numbers
are listed below:

  Description                           Name    Text    ZIP   Unix
  ------------------------------------ ------  ------ ------ ------
  How to find College E-Mail addresses          3625   4361   3512
  Bibliography of Internet Info         FYI 3   4365   4364   3529
  New Internet User Questions           FYI 4   4366   4367   3530
  Experienced Internet Questions        FYI 7   4368   4369   3533
  Who's Who on the Internet             FYI 9   4370   4371   3535
  Gold in the Internet                  FYI10   4363   4362   3536
  ZEN and the Art of the Internet       ZEN     3624   3623   3321
  (The Unix compressed version of ZEN requires a PostScript printer.)

     Other files about the Internet can be found by searching for
"INTERNET" while in the Unix libraries on page 160.

                               [*][*][*]


Services offered by the Unix RT   As mentioned above, the Unix RT is a
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   great place to get more info on the
Internet and the gateway here on Genie.  Here are some of the services
offered by the Unix RT sysops, and where to find more information:

   .*  Many Frequently Asked Questions archived from the Internet.
      Search on "FAQ" in the software library.
   .*  Up to date Usenet UUCP Maps in library #15.
      Start with file #2551 README.MAP for interpretations.
   .*  FTP Request Service.  If you can't find it elsewhere on a GEnie
      RoundTable, ask us to find it for you.  See bulletin board
      category #1, topic #8.  Library #41 for listings, #42 for files.


Real Time Conference:

   Sunday:  8:00p-10:00p  Unix & Internet Help Desk in Chat Lines


     INTERNET Support in category 12 of the bulletin board. Informational
files in the software library #33 or search for "INTERNET".

Chief Sysop:   ANDY         Andy Finkenstadt
 Assistants:   MIKE.NOLAN   Michael Nolan
               GARS         Gary Smith
               LRARK        Rick Mobley
               DELPHI       Brian Riley


        ////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
       / "I dragged Aladdin to the trash 3 times before getting it    /
      / figured out.  Now I can't imagine using GEnie without it..." /
     ////////////////////////////////////////////////  NTACTONE  ////



[EOA]
[LOG]//////////////////////////////
                         LOG OFF /
/////////////////////////////////
GEnieLamp Information
"""""""""""""""""""""

    o   COMMENTS: Contacting GEnieLamp

         o   GEnieLamp STAFF: Who Are We?

              o   GET_THE_LAMP Scripts & Macros   

                    o   SEARCH-ME! Answers



GEnieLamp     GEnieLamp is monthly  online magazine  published  in  the
"""""""""     GEnieLamp  RoundTable  on page 515.   You can  also  find
GEnieLamp in the ST (475), the  Macintosh (605), the IBM (615) Apple II
(645),  A2Pro (530), Unix  (160),  Mac Pro (480), Geoworks (1050),  BBS
(610), CE Software  (1005) and  the  Mini/Mainframe (1145) RoundTables.
GEnieLamp can also be found on CrossNet,  Internet,  America Online and
many public and commercial BBS systems worldwide.

     We welcome and respond to all GEmail.To leave messages, suggestions
or just to say hi,  you can contact us in the GEnieLamp RoundTable (515)
or send GE Mail to John Peters at [GENIELAMP] on page 200.


U.S. MAIL
"""""""""
                       GEnieLamp Online Magazine
                           Atten: John Peters
                       5102 Galley Rd. Suite 115/B
                       Colorado Springs, CO  80915


                        >>> GEnieLamp STAFF <<<
                        """""""""""""""""""""""

  GEnieLamp    o John Peters        [GENIELAMP]    Editor-In-Chief 
  """""""""

   ATARI ST    o John Gniewkowski   [J.GNIEWKOWSK] Editor
   """"""""    o Mel Motogawa       [M.MOTOGAWA]   ST Staff Writer
               o Terry Quinn        [TQUINN]       ST Staff Writer
               o Sheldon Winick     [S.WINICK]     ST Staff Writer
               o Richard Brown      [R.BROWN30]    ST Staff Writer
               o John Hoffman       [JLHOFFMAN]    ST Staff Writer
               o Al Fasoldt         [A.FASOLDT]    ST Staff Writer
  
 ATARI ST/TX2  o Cliff Allen        [C.ALLEN17]    Editor/TX2
 """"""""""""
 ATARI [PR]    o Fred Koch          [F.KOCH]       Editor/PD_Q
 """"""""""
        IBM    o Robert M. Connors  [R.CONNORS2]   Editor
        """    o Peter Bogert       [P.BOGERT1]    IBM Staff Writer
               o Brad Biondo        [B.BIONDO]     IBM Staff Writer
               o Tippy Martinez     [TIPPY.ONE]    IBM Staff Writer
               o David Holmes       [D.HOLMES14]   IBM Staff Writer

  MACINTOSH    o James Flanagan     [JFLANAGAN]    Editor
  """""""""    o Richard Vega       [R.VEGA]       Mac Co-Editor
               o Dan "Remo" Barter  [D.BARTER]     Mac Staff Writer
               o Tom Trinko         [T.TRINKO]     Mac Staff Writer
               o Bret Fledderjohn   [FLEDDERJOHN]  Mac Staff Writer
               o Bill Garrett       [BILL.GARRETT] Mac Staff Writer
 
     MacPRO    o James Flanagan     [JFLANAGAN]    Editor
     """"""    o Erik C. Thauvin    [MACSPECT]     Supervising Editor
               o Chris Innanen      [C.INNANEN]    MacPRO Staff Writer
               o Paul Collins       [P.COLLINS]    MacPRO Staff Writer

   APPLE II    o Darrel Raines      [D.RAINES]     Editor
   """"""""    o Phil Shapiro       [P.SHAPIRO1]   A2 Co-Editor
               o Mel Fowler         [MELSOFT]      A2 Staff Writer

       A2Pro   o Jim B. Couch       [J.COUCH2]     Editor
       """""   o Nate C. Trost      [N.TROST]      A2Pro Staff Writer

    INTERNET   o Jim Lubin          [JIM.LUBIN]    GEnieLamp IBM
    """"""""

       ETC.    o Jim Lubin          [JIM.LUBIN]    Add Aladdin
       """"    o Scott Garrigus     [S.GARRIGUS]   Search-ME!
               o Bruce Faulkner     [R.FAULKNER4]  CrossNET Support
               o Mike White         [M.WHITE25]    Cowlumnist/Asst. SysOp


GEnieLamp CONTRIBUTORS
""""""""""""""""""""""

                   o Steven Weyhrich            [S.WEYHRICH]
                   o Gina Saikin                [G.SAIKIN]
                   o Paul Varn                  [P.VARN]
                   o Larry E. Elseman           [L.ELSEMAN1]
                   o Les Blatt                  [L.BLATT] 


                       >>> SEARCH-ME! ANSWERS <<<
                       """"""""""""""""""""""""""
 
             + T R O H S T U C + + + + + + S + + + + + + + 
             + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A + + + + + + + 
             W + + + + + + + + + + + + + + S + + + + + + + 
             + A + + + O O P M A H S + + + S + + + + + + + 
             + + S G + + + + + B R + R E N O I T I D N O C 
             + + N H + + + + + R E + + + + O + + + + + + + 
             + O + + + + + + + A S + + + + N + + + + + + + 
             L B A R B E R + S I S + + + + + + + + + + B + 
             + + + + + + + T + D E + + + + + + + + D + R + 
             + + + + + + Y + + S R + + + + + + + R + + U + 
             + + + + + L + + + + D + + + + + + I M + + S + 
             + + + + I + + + C + + + + + + + E + R O + H + 
             + + + S + S + + O + + + + P E R M I + + O + + 
             + + T + + + R + M + + + + + + + A + + + + S + 
             + R E L R U C O B + + + + + + H + + + + + + E 
             + + + + + + + + S + + + + + + + + + + + E + + 
             + + + + + + + + + S + + + + + + + + + + L + + 
             + + + + + + + + + + I + + + + + + + + + Y + + 
             + + + + + + + + + + + C + + + + + + + + T + + 
             + + + + + + + + + + + + S T O N I C + + S + + 

                BARBER          BRAIDS          BRUSH            

                COMB            CONDITIONER     CURLER           

                CUT             DRESSER         DRIER            

                HAIR            LONG            MOOSE            

                PERM            SASSOON         SCISSORS         

                SHAMPOO         SHORT           STYLE            

                STYLIST         TONIC           WASH             

 
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
   Material  published in this  edition may  be reprinted  under  the
   following  terms  only.   All articles  must remain  unedited  and
   include  the issue  number and author  at the top of  each article
   reprinted.  Reprint permission granted, unless otherwise noted, to
   registered  computer user groups and not  for profit publications.
   Opinions  present herein  are those of the  individual authors and
   does  not necessarily  reflect those of  the publisher or staff of
   GEnieLamp.   We reserve  the right  to edit all  letters and copy.
   Include the following at the end or the beginning of every reprint:
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
   (c) Copyright 1993 T/TalkNET Online Publishing and GEnie.  To join
   GEnie,  set  your modem  to 2400  baud  (or less)  and half duplex
   (local echo).  Have the modem dial 1-800-638-8369.  When you get a
   CONNECT message, type HHH. At the U#= prompt, type:
                            XTX99014,DIGIPUB
   and hit the [return] key.  The system  will then  ask you for your 
   information.   Call (voice) 1-800-638-9636 for  more  information.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
[EOF]

