

     |||||| |||||| ||  || |||||| ||||||
     ||     ||     ||| ||   ||   ||
     || ||| ||||   ||||||   ||   ||||               Your
     ||  || ||     || |||   ||   ||
     |||||| |||||| ||  || |||||| ||||||             GenieLamp Computing

     ||    |||||| ||    || ||||||                   RoundTable
     ||    ||  || |||  ||| ||  ||
     ||    |||||| |||||||| ||||||                   RESOURCE!
     ||    ||  || || || || ||
     ||||| ||  || ||    || ||


                    ~ WELCOME TO GENIELAMP APPLE II! ~
                      """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                         ~ PD_QUICKVIEW: Marinetti
                 ~ FILE BANDWAGON: Top Ten Files for July
              ~ THE REAL WORLD APPLE: The Annunciators, Act 2
                   ~ HOT NEWS, HOT FILES, HOT MESSAGES ~

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
 GenieLamp Apple II     ~ A T/TalkNET Publication ~     Vol.6, Issue 67
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Editor...................................................Ryan M. Suenaga
Editor Emeritus................................................Doug Cuff
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
          ~ GenieLamp IBM ~ GenieLamp ST ~ GenieLamp PowerPC ~
        ~ GenieLamp A2Pro ~ GenieLamp Macintosh ~ GenieLamp TX2 ~
         ~ GenieLamp Windows ~ GenieLamp A2 ~ LiveWire (ASCII) ~
            ~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~
 GE Mail: GENIELAMP                       Internet: genielamp@genie.com
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

           >>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE II ROUNDTABLE? <<<
           """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                          ~ September 15, 1997 ~


 FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM]        HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY]
  Notes From The Editor.                 Is That A Letter For Me?

 PD_QUICKVIEW ............ [PDQ]        FILE BANDWAGON .......... [BAN]
  Marinetti.                             Top Ten Files For May and June.

 THE REAL WORLD APPLE .... [RWA]        LOG OFF ................. [LOG]
  The Annunciators, Act 2.               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 reprinted
""""""""""""   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 has pricing plans to fit almost any budget.  Genie's
"""""""""""   services include email, software downloads, bulletin boards,
chat lines, and an Internet gateway included at a non-prime time connect
rate of $2.75.  Some pricing plans include uncharged online connect time.
As always, prices are subject to change without notice.  To sign up for
Genie, call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369 in the USA or 1-800-387-8330 in
Canada.  Upon connection wait for the U#= prompt.  Type:  JOINGENIE 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.

GET GENIELAMP ON THE NET!   Now you can get your GenieLamp A2 issues from
"""""""""""""""""""""""""   the Internet.  If you use a web browser,
connect to "http://people.delphi.com/rsuenaga".

                        *** GET INTO THE LAMP! ***
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



        ///////////////////////////////////////// Genie_QWIK_QUOTE /////
       /    "Every one I know who has taken early retirement has      /
      /      said it was the best thing they ever did, and also      /
     /       they had never been busier."                           /
    /                                                              /
   /        "Gack. . . it gets busier???!!!"                      /
  ///////////////////////////////////////  E.WANNOP AND A2LAMP ///



[EOA]
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
                 FROM MY DESKTOP /
/////////////////////////////////
Notes From The Editor
"""""""""""""""""""""
by Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W.
                          [A2LAMP]



                        >>> GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS <<<
                        """""""""""""""""""""""""""

     I hate Pain, but I hate Giving Up even more.  Not a motto or a
catchphrase, but a philosophy on life.  I wrote it on my mirror, so I see
it every morning when I'm shaving.  I repeat it to myself when I'm working
my injured shoulder in physical therapy.  I chant it in my head when I'm
bicycling up some steep hill and cursing the extra weight I've become
saddled with as I've aged.

     I say it to myself as I run the morning's CoPilot pass through Genie's
A2 RoundTable.

     Ever since Uncle DOS himself, Tom Weishaar of the dear, departed,
_Open-Apple_, took the reins of the Apple II areas on the Genie (then
GEnie) online service, Genie's A2 and A2Pro have been _the_ place to be
online for Apple II support.  Even the coming of the Internet could not
slow down the dedicated staff and users of the A2 RoundTables.

     But Genie itself could.

     While General Electric was never the benevolent parent that would have
allowed GEnie to compete with the big boys of the online service world, the
service was small, but thriving, and alive with activity.  In fact, much of
its charm was the fact that it was small and unique and different from the
huge online services it competed with.  Just as using an Apple II is
esoteric now, using GEnie was esoteric then, and there is a certain appeal
in that.

     Then General Electric sold GEnie, and it became Genie.  The new owners
also chose to make it the most expensive online service in the world.  Many
chose to leave, many stayed, and few new users arrived.  Over time, many
more left than stayed.

     The A2 faithful did not take the situation lightly.  After all, Apple
II users are survivors if nothing else, and survivors find what they need
to survive.  A new home for the A2 faithful was sought--one that would work
faster, be cheaper, and more accessible to the world--and eventually found:
Delphi.

     Over time, Delphi A2 started catching up to Genie A2, both in terms of
quality and quantity of content.  In early August, Delphi A2, potentially
_the_ hotspot for Apple II activity, got so warm it exploded with activity.
The combination of the availability of two offline readers for the Apple
IIgs, KansasFest 1997, and free Delphi access via the World Wide Web made
for leaps and bounds of growth.

     At the same time, Genie's management management made it clear that
they're planning big changes for the online service.  In fact, they also
made it clear that these changes were coming September 1st (see last
month's _GenieLamp A2_ for details).  Unfortunately, they never made it
clear just what these changes would be (although it was clear that all
offline readers, which the production of _GenieLamp A2_ is dependent on,
would break and break spectacularly).  Fortunately (or not, depending on
your perspective), these changes have still not happened.

     The combination of Genie's announcements and Delphi's growth have led
to even more Genie A2 faithful moving to a new home on Delphi, and with
them has gone much of the activity of the A2 RoundTable on Genie.

     Seeing what's happened on Genie, my first-ever online service, has
been quite Painful.  Many friends I've known for years have left.  New
friends wandering in are rare.  I've thought about Giving Up, more than I'd
like to admit.

     I've made a decision.  The October 1997 issue of _GenieLamp A2_ will
be the last.  It's a difficult decision, and it feels like Giving Up, but
the Pain of seeing what's happened to Genie the last year and a half has
been too much.

     But this is not Giving Up.  What will be done to fill the void caused
by the end of the 'Lamp will be to start a similar publication on Delphi.
Check the II Scribe Forum on Delphi for further information.

     I'm not Giving Up because of the Pain; I'm moving on so I can still
see the light.

     Finally, a quick word about the future: KansasFest 1998 is scheduled
for July 22-26 1998 at Avila College in Kansas City, Missouri.

     Just because it wouldn't be a _GenieLamp A2_ editorial without a KFest
Blatant Plug.

-- Ryan

Genie Mail:  A2LAMP                           Internet:  a2lamp@genie.com




        __________________________________________________________
       |                                                          |
       |                   REPRINTING GENIELAMP                   |
       |                                                          |
       |   If you want to reprint any part of GenieLamp, or       |
       |   post it to a bulletin board, please see the very end   |
       |   of this file for instructions and limitations.         |
       |__________________________________________________________|



ASCII ART BEGINS

      _____            _      _                              ___  ___
     / ____|          (_)    | |                            / _ \|__ \
    | |  __  ___ _ __  _  ___| |     __ _ _ __ ___  _ __   | |_| |  ) |
    | | |_ |/ _ \ '_ \| |/ _ \ |    / _` | '_ ` _ \| '_ \  |  _  | / /
    | |__| |  __/ | | | |  __/ |___| (_| | | | | | | |_) | | | | |/ /_
     \_____|\___|_| |_|_|\___|______\__,_|_| |_| |_| .__/  |_| |_|____|
                                                   | |
                                                   |_|

ASCII ART ENDS


[EOA]
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
              HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
/////////////////////////////////
Is That A Letter For Me?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
by Ryan Suenaga
       [A2LAMP]

     o BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS

          o A2 POT-POURRI

                    o HOT TOPICS

                         o WHAT'S NEW

                              o THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE

                                   o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT



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

     [*] CAT  1, TOP 29 ....... The Other A2 Flies High
     [*] CAT  2, TOP  4 ....... High Anxiety over Genie Changes
     [*] CAT 12, TOP 13 ....... HP vs. Epson--For The II, No Contest
     [*] CAT 28, TOP 27 ....... Marinetti Hits The Streets


                           >>> A2 POT-POURRI <<<
                           """""""""""""""""""""

DAYS OF GENIE PAST?   This was the answer, when I asked Feedback how to
"""""""""""""""""""   access Genie after August 31st...

Hi Udo,

Thanks for your note.  I am not sure how/or when the changes will go into
effect.  I have sent your note to Genie Management, as soon as I hear from
them, I will write you back.

Regards,
Pat
Genie Client Services
                   (U.HUTH, CAT2, TOP4, MSG:119/M645;1)

<<<<<   This is the latest answer from FEEDBACK regarding the new Genie:
"""""
Dear Mr. Huth,

I receved the following note from Genie Managemet.  No dates for
implementation has been set.

You will still be able to access Genie, much as you do now.  We are
expanding the services capabilites, but are not cutting back on any access
methods.  We are keeping the service as similar as possible to what it
currently is so as to not present too great a culture shock as we move to
the new servers.  We will make the move in such as way as make everything
as easy as possible for you the user.

We don't do this every day, so a lot of things are very fluid from the
design and implementation viewpoints.

We are working on a general update letter to be sent soon, please look for
it.

Regards,
Pat
Genie Client Services


Udo
                   (U.HUTH, CAT2, TOP4, MSG:120/M645;1)

>>>>>   The upcoming Genie change is on a vastly greater scale than
"""""   previous changes to the Genie interface. I am not optimistic that
the Genie offline readers will be fixable after the changevoer. Hopefully I
am wrong, but it would be prudent for everyone to start hedging their bets
right now in case the OLR's prove to be difficult or impossible to fix.

With regard to joining Delphi:

The Apple II community there is growing slowly but visibly. With this
change in Genie, it may see a major growth spurt in the near future. My gut
feeling is that, because of the library and OLR situations, six months from
now the current roles and relative ranking of Delphi and Genie will be
reversed.

Right now the Delphi library only has a few hundred files in it, but plans
are afoot to automate a large-scale upload to make it into something to be
proud of like we have here on Genie. Failing that, if A2-Delphi did
something as simple as organize a hundred users into uploading a few of
their favorite files, things could start hopping overnight.

At this time file transfers on Delphi are reliable only if using Delphi's
direct-access membership option. Their "content" membership option gives
you access via your own internet dial-up through a telnet connection. To
say that file transfers via telnet are unreliable vastly understates the
case.

Having said that, There Are Rumors that Delphi has something in the works
to greatly improve file transfer capabilities, but I have no word on what
that might be or when it will surface.

In no way am I suggesting that people quit Genie and join Delphi. I myself
will be here on Genie until the bitter end, whenever that might be. But
Genie is becoming a terribly frayed basket to be keeping all of your eggs
in.

TomZ
                   (A2.TOMZ, CAT2, TOP7, MSG:191/M645;1)

>>>>>   We do indeed have the entire library backed up, but as Tom said it
"""""   might take quite a while to get it all uploaded elsewhere (ie.
Delphi.)

I think what Tim and Tom were referring to is during Genie's changeover the
files might be lost, here, at least temporarily.

- Tony (wiped out, but home from KFest!)
                   (A2.TONY, CAT2, TOP7, MSG:194/M645;1)

NETPRINTER OPTIONS   In the NetPrinter control panel I am presented with
""""""""""""""""""   three options

1.ImageWriter
2.ImageWriter LQ
3.LaserWriter

The drivers folder has a driver for the ImageWriter but none for the LQ nor
the LaserWriter.

Some questions...

What determines the options I have for choosing a network printer? Are
there third party drivers/options available for network printers? If so,
what are they?

Speedy rreedy@southeast.net
                   (R.REEDY, CAT8, TOP7, MSG:92/M645;1)

>>>>>   Indeed, Apple's Net Printer control panel only looks for those
"""""   three types of printers. As Steve mentioned, I once tried hacking
my copy (changing "ImageWriter" to "DeskWriter") and was able to see my
printer on the network, however, it confused the heck out of all my GS/OS
programs, so it wasn't really usable. :-(

However, my little experiment indicates to me that it is possible to get
non-Apple networked printers to work with the GS, but I need to look into
it further to see what needs to be done. As soon as I clear out some of
this backlog of projects, I'll try to get back to it. As I have no other
printer on my GS, and changing from AppleTalk to serial is to inconvenient
for me to bother (yes, I'm very lazy), I'm as anxious as anybody to get
this working.
                  (M.HACKETT, CAT8, TOP7, MSG:95/M645;1)


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

DELPHI NOW AND DELPHI FUTURE
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Delphi's A2 Forum is currently exploding with activity.

In the past three days alone, there have been more than 200 new messages
posted in the A2 forum.  In July, A2 jumped to the 30th position in the
rankings of top 100 most active forums.  If the traffic level stays
anywhere near what it has been this past week for the rest of this month,
it is quite possible that A2 will be very near the top of the heap.

If anyone hasn't checked out Delphi's A2 forum recently, I recommend it.


Although I'm sorry to see Genie struggling, and the A2 RT here vulnerable
to collapse when the new Genie takes root, I'm not a bit pessimistic.
Delphi's A2 Forum is growing by leaps and bounds, and promises to be a
wonderful on-line home for the future.

Max
                 (M.JONES145, CAT1, TOP29, MSG:385/M645;1)

>>>>>   If you haven't been on Delphi recently, you haven't really been on
"""""   Delphi. The message traffic in the A2 forum there is really
amazing.

A2 is #1 in the rankings of *Computing* forums, based upon numbers of
posts.  Not bad for a "legacy" computer.
                  (PATZ.PIX, CAT1, TOP29, MSG:387/M645;1)

>>>>>   Currently, there are no Delphi OLR's for the 8 bit Apple II.  I
"""""   know people are working on various forms of one for ProTERM 3.1,
including me, but my plate is pretty darned full as is, and ProTERM
scripting isn't my favorite thing to do.

As far as ProTERM Mac OLR's go, there's ProTERM Mac Messenger, which is
extremely well supported.

FWIW, navigating Delphi manually is much less painful than navigating
Compuserve, for instance, and for a new user, it may even be easier than
Genie.  It's not easier for me than Genie, but I've been on this system for
about ten years. . .

Ryan
http://www.keystroke.net/~rsuenaga
"There's no shortage of windmills to tilt at."--Logan
ANSITerm and CoPilot v2.55
                   (A2LAMP, CAT1, TOP29, MSG:411/M645;1)

>>>>>   FWIW, a couple of us are working on developing a simple GEM-like
"""""   OLR.  And I mean simple.  This  will use SNET access with both PT
scripts (for going online) and AWKS scripts (for offline work).
Eventually, this could be developed further.

I said simple, and I do mean that.  At this time, the emphasis is on
getting online, going to specific forums, posting messages, reading them,
posting email and reading it.  In the beginning, a lot of configuration
will have to be done by hand, but we will include instructions on how to
quickly modify things.

Because of a feeling of "lack of time" for some, we may or maynot get an UL
and DL module finished.  But, if one is used to using SNet, it would be
easy to work a simple logon script, then dropping to manual in the DAtabase
(library).

CHunk
                  (CHUNK.S, CAT1, TOP29, MSG:412/M645;1)

HP DESKJET BLATANT PLUG   I'm looking to upgrade from my ImageWriter II.
"""""""""""""""""""""""   From past inquiries to this BB, I've been told
the HP Deskjet 300 is a good investment.  My Apple dealer suggested the
Epson 500.  I have Apple II, IBM, and Mac hardware, and a shared printer
would do me a great service.   The Epson has both serial and parallel
interfaces, so I could have  two computers attached at once, as well as not
needing a converter  card for the Apple II.

Can anyone recommend to me one over the other?  Most, if not all, of my
printing is Appleworks-related; do I want a laser or inkjet printer?  What
is the difference, exactly?

-Ken
                  (KEN.GAGNE, CAT12, TOP13, MSG:9/M645;1)

>>>>>   If you have any intention whatsoever of printing from an Apple II
"""""   to this Epson printer without getting a parallel card, forget about
it.

I just checked out the specs on it and it's not an RS 232 compatible
serial, but an RS-422 compatible serial, and high speed only.  This means
that it might work via the 57600 printer port driver, but your chances of
getting it to work via the serial port in Prodos 8 are between slim and
none, and Slim just got on a bus out of town.  There are also no GS/OS
printer drivers available for it, so printing from the GS desktop is also a
no-go, even if you get a parallel card.

I have a Deskjet 310 (older model, been out of production for some time,
did a review of it for the final ::sigh:: edition of GS+, pretty similar to
the 300), and it works decently with a IIgs.  However, to get it to work
with a Mac, you'd need to get PowerPrint.

> Can anyone recommend to me one over the other?

How about a third recommendation: get a Deskjet 340 with Macintosh
adapter, a parallel card for your IIgs, and an ABCD auto switching parallel
switchbox.  This would let you print from MSDOS, OS/2, Windows 3.1X,
Windows NT, Windows 95, ProDOS 8, GS/OS, and the MacOS without changing a
single cable or flipping a single switch :)

> Most, if not all, of my printing is Appleworks-related; do I want a
> laser or inkjet printer?  What is the difference, exactly?

Laser printers are faster, print at higher qualities, and have more
expensive initial costs.  However, they don't do color.  Inkjets have
chaper startup costs, very good quality printers, and more expensive
continuing costs (i.e. per page, ink for the inkjets cost more than toner
for the lasers).  They're both pretty good.

Ryan
                   (A2LAMP, CAT12, TOP13, MSG:10/M645;1)

>>>>>   Actually, there are color laser printers but they aren't cheap. You
"""""   can get an Apple Color LaserWriter 12/660 for about $6000 (yep,
that's thousands, not hundreds.)

Laser printers are generally much faster than inkjets. I'd say 12 PPM
(pages per minute) is the average top speed with lasers, while 4-5 PPM is
the average with inkjets. Those are draft (low) quality speeds. Higher
quality settings and color will slow down the printing.

- Tony
                  (A2.TONY, CAT12, TOP13, MSG:11/M645;1)

<<<<<   Ryan, thanks for all the recommendations and info! I made two
"""""   mistakes in my post: first, that previous suggestions in this top
leaned toward the Deskjet 340, not 300; and also, my vendor was pushing me
toward the Epson 600, not 500. Now you'd mentioned the 500's RS interface
is almost entirely incompatible with the Apple II's. Does the same hold
true for the 600? Not needing a parallel card would certainly be a benefit.

-Ken
                 (KEN.GAGNE, CAT12, TOP13, MSG:12/M645;1)

>>>>>   > I made two mistakes in my post: first, that previous suggestions
"""""   > in this top leaned toward the Deskjet 340, not 300; and also, my
> vendor was pushing me toward the Epson 600, not 500.

Okay; those printers are currently available.

> Now you'd mentioned the 500's RS interface is almost entirely
> incompatible with the Apple II's. Does the same hold true for the 600?
> Not needing a parallel card would certainly be a benefit.

The Epson 600 is per their web site (gack; Epson's web site is one of the
most un-usable web sites in the history of the universe. . . ) using about
the same serial interface as the 500.

Bottom line: you'll need either a parallel card or a serial to parallel
interface to use it with an Apple IIgs, and even then, it won't do anything
but be a paperweight with a GS/OS application, unless someone's willing to
write drivers for it.

OTOH, the Deskjet 340 is portable, reasonably priced, small, will do color
and black and white, and is compatible with the Apple II, Macintosh, and
Intel-type machines right out of the box.  I recommended one of these to
Cindy Adams when she was looking for a portable printer for use with her
Powerbook sight unseen because I used one of its predecessors and found it
to be a fine printer.  I got a chance to use it at KFest this past summer
and found it =better= than I ever imagined.  I will buy one of these for my
own use soon, I was so impressed by it.

EVERYONE:

If you're going to buy an inkjet printer for use with the Apple IIgs, and
you buy anything -but- a Hewlett Packard inkjet, particularly ones listed
in the Deskjet stack as known to work with the Apple IIgs, you are setting
yourself up for a rather large amount of heartache.  We have two wonderful
sets of GS/OS drivers for use with these printers as well as a couple of
dedicated vendors that produce them, a freeware HyperStudio stack that
discusses setting them up, and a wealth of knowledge on how to use them.
If you buy an Epson Stylus or Apple Stylewriter (other than the original),
you'll be left with no GS/OS drivers and very few (if any) users who have
experience with interfacing them in terms of both hardware and software to
an Apple IIgs.  While Epson and Apple make excellent printers, HP printers
are at least as good.  I work in a company that exclusively uses HP
printers, and I have bought no printer for myself other than HP for the
past four years, with absolutely no complaints whatsoever.

The preceeding Blatant Plug was brought to you with no financial rewards at
stake whatsoever (no, I don't own HP stock, I just love the printers :)

Ryan
http://www.keystroke.net/~rsuenaga
"There's no shortage of windmills to tilt at."--Logan
ANSITerm and CoPilot v2.55
                   (A2LAMP, CAT12, TOP13, MSG:13/M645;1)


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

MARINETTI ARRIVES LATE, BUT READY   Just a quick update regarding the
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   release date of Marinetti. Rather than
make something up, I should just quote from the Marinetti Home Page at
http://www.zip.com.au/~kashum/marinetti/ as it should explain everything...

> 19th August 1997
>
> I was hoping to have Marinetti released a week or two after KFest '97
> but that hasn't turned out to be the case. Unfortunately, my main ISP,
> "Zip Internet Professionals" has been hit with a spate of denial of
> service attacks.
>
> Fortunately, a number of other ISPs and federal agencies are now
> involved, and are close to finding the culprit. There is a brief
> description of the problem at:
>
>    http://www.zip.com.au/announcements/attack.shtml
>
> A log of attacks can be found at:
>
>    http://www.zip.com.au/news/technews.shtml
>
> I have accounts with other ISPs, but I can't really afford their
> online charges for testing Marinetti, especially when it is freeware,
> so unfortunately we'll have to wait until the scumbag either gives
> up, is caught, or preferrably has his bollocks chopped off (appropriate
> wording changes if female).
>
> For this reason, I've also added a URL reminder service for when this
> page is updated. Feel free to subscribe at the bottom of this page.
>
> As far as project completion goes, the documentation and sample
> applications are all ready to go. The only thing left to do is add one
> particular feature to the TCP logic, and it's out the door. When Zip
> comes back online, I only need a few days to finish it up.

Regards,
Richard
                 (RICHARD.B, CAT28, TOP27, MSG:15/M645;1)

>>>>>   I talked to a techie at my ISP last night and he said that they do
"""""   SLIP, so I'm ready for TCP/IP.  It turns out that he used to have a
IIgs and was VERY amazed when I told him what I need SLIP for.  I also just
happened to mention SIS too. <g>

Apple II Forever!


Cindy
                  (CINDY.A, CAT28, TOP27, MSG:17/M645;1)

>>>>>   Out of curiosity, I looked in my dictionary to see if the word
"""""   "Marinetti" was in there, and it wasn't.

So, until I can check an encyclopedia, I'll just have to assume that it's
some sort of odd reference to where I live....Marin County, California ;-)

Or, if that assumption is incorrect and there's another explanation about
the name, I'd be interested in hearing it.

Oh...in light of this current discussion, the dictionary is the "American
Heritage Dictionary"...so that must explain it. Please enlighten us
backward Colonials about what the word means in the King's English.

Who knows? Maybe it's a British brand of frozen gourmet kidney pie, or some
type of Banger, or even a type of beer that's served at room temperature
;-)

Joe
                  (JOE.KOHN, CAT28, TOP27, MSG31/M645;1)

>>>>>   Webster defines Marinetti as an Italian poet, (Emilio) Filippo
"""""   Tommaso, 1876-1944.

- Tony
                  (A2.TONY, CAT28, TOP27, MSG:32/M645;1)

My gosh. I would have never ever imagined that Richard Bennett had an
interest in poetry.

But, in that case, let me dedicate a lamerick (as opposed to a real
limerick) to Richard...

There once was a man named Marinetti
who was honored at Kfest with confetti
he got us on the net
but I'll offer a bet
that Richard's TCP/IP isn't quite ready.
                  (JOE.KOHN, CAT28, TOP27, MSG:34/M645;1)

<<<<<   Well, you got the last line wrong Joe...
"""""
                 (RICHARD.B, CAT28, TOP27, MSG:38/M645;1)

>>>>>   If at first you don't succeed...
"""""
There once was a Cdev named Marinetti
that was released once it was ready.
It lets IIGSers surf the net
and I think it's a safe bet
that we'll be breaking out the confetti.
                  (JOE.KOHN, CAT28, TOP27, MSG:41/M645;1)

MIKE ON THE STATUS OF GSOFT  Just to fill in the gaps, here's the current
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""  status of GSoft:

Everything is done for the alpha software except parameter passing for
records and pointers, some clean-up for records and pointers, and the tool
interface (which requires support of record and pointer parameters.)

After that, I'll put together beta packages and brief documentation. Watch
for those here. I'll be beta testing as I finish the manuals (about 1000
pages all together, I expect) and will release once the manuals are done,
the bug reports become few or non-existant from beta testers, and I have a
chance to review the alpha version of the language for possible additions.

That's all going to take some time, and this isn't where my money comes
from. That's why it's hard to pin me down to a schedule. If I could work on
it full time, I'd say the end of September, but I can't. I'll probably just
spend weekends on it.

Mike Westerfield
                 (BYTEWORKS, CAT31, TOP19, MSG:29/M645;1)

>>>>>   Do we know how much GSoft will cost? I'd like to place my order
"""""   ASAP, so I won't forget to when it becomes available. :)

-Ken
                 (KEN.GAGNE, CAT31, TOP19, MSG:30/M645;1)

>>>>>   Mike's handout at KFest had it priced at $60
"""""
Also mentioned were:

Learn to Program in GSoft BASIC    $50
Toolbox Programming in GSoft BASIC $75

According to Mike, The Byte Works will not be taking any advance payment
for these items.  We will have to wait until they are ready for release.

Development of GSoft will take place as time permits.  Based on his other
work (HyperLogo support for HyperStudio Mac and Windows), it is likely that
GSoft would be released at the end of this year.  But of course, Mike has
the final say :)
                 (E.WAGNER10, CAT31, TOP19, MSG:31/M645;1)

<<<<<   First, let me point out that even pricing is not final. It won't be
"""""   until I've mastered the disks and have a final page count for the
manual. That said, the prices Erick posted are the ones that we've been
kicking around. I don't think they will be higher.

As Erick said, I'm not taking orders. I'm nervous enough about talking
about the product before it's finished; there's no way I'm going to start
taking orders before shipping is imminent.

I'll try and keep all of you informed, but I don't want to make things
sound more firm than they are at this point.

Mike Westerfield
                 (BYTEWORKS, CAT31, TOP19, MSG:32/M645;1)

GNO/ME: THE REBIRTH   The following message was posted on Delphi. It is
"""""""""""""""""""   being reposted here by request.


677  11-AUG 14:04 General Programming
RE: GNO/ME (Re: Msg 431)
From: GLYNREADE    To: ALL


X-Sender: bazyar@hypermall.com
Date:   Sun, 10 Aug 1997 20:55:17 -0600
To:     gdr@myrias.com
Subject: The End (and new Beginning) of GNO/ME


As the man behind Procyon Enterpsises Inc., a long-time Apple IIGS
developer and one of the last commercial developers for the platform, I
regret to announce the end to sales of my first product, the GNO
Multitasking Environment (GNO/ME).

With my last distributor, EGO Systems, closing its doors, I cannot justify
the time and expense of continuing to produce the software. I also didn't
feel it was fair to the customers to continue to charge them for the
product, when I would be unable to support them in the manner I would like,
due to my intense involvement in my new ISP business.

However, instead of simply stopping sales of GNO and letting the software
wander into oblivion, I am placing GNO into "freeware" status, and I am
also making available all source code to the 2.0.4 version to the public
and the development community.

I will still sell printed manuals to anyone who wants one, for $20 or so,
but this is just to cover printing and shipping costs. Purchasing a manual
will not entitle the buyer to support from me of GNO/ME.

Anyone who paid the normal $89 price to EGO Systems (or to me directly) for
GNO *will* continue to receive support from me, and I will rely partly on
the help of the "GNO-Devel" list for assistance in this support.

Speaking of that, the GNO-Devel list is headed by Devin Reade, and its
members are programmers who have the time and devotion to continuing to
develop the GNO system. To their capable hands I leave the sotware. The
first task of this group is to put together a GNO distribution based on the
latest ORCA/C and ORCA/C libraries. Devin will post followup info on csa2g
and any inquiries should be directred to him at <gdr@eddore.myrias.com> for
the moment.

Thank you all for your support in the past of my company and myself, and
best wishes to you all for the future!

Regards,

Jawaid Bazyar
President, Procyon Enterprises Inc.
President, Interlink Advertising Services Inc.


[I would appreciate it if someone would post this message to Genie. --
Devin]
                (A2.CHARLIE, CAT40, TOP12, MSG:100/M645;1)


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

KFEST '98 DATES   RE: KFest '98 dates (Everyone)
"""""""""""""""
Wow!! What a conference we had last night.  Thanks to Dave's simulbot, we
had KFesters in Genie's A2, Delphi A2, and Delphi A2Pro.

But just in case you were one of the few people that missed it, I announced
the dates for KFest '98 - Ten Years After. :)

And since I'm sometimes a nice person, I will share them here, although I'm
tempted to hold off another few days just to build up the tension. :)


July 22-26, 1998


Whew!! Now you know and you can start planning.  We will be giving out more
details as the time gets closer, but for now, mark your calendar, tell your
boss, tell your significant other, and plan on being there.


Cindy



cindyadams@delphi.com  - - - -  GO COM POW    or    GO COM A2
Posted by ProTERM Mac Messenger
                   (CINDY.A, CAT2, TOP46, MSG:7/M645;1)


                         >>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<<
                         """""""""""""""""""""""""
Category 28,  Topic 19
Message 315       Sat Aug 30, 1997
G.SCHREURS1 [Greg]           at 08:12 EDT

If you are having trouble with SPAM, try this URL:

http://www.iemmc.org/

This organzation claims to be the official organization of SPAMMERS who
want to be responsible.  They will put your name on some filter list that
seems to be used by the majority of the SPAM Kings.

THIS WORKED WONDERS FOR ME at the office.  My spam there dropped 80 to 90%.
I went from 10 or 15 per day down to one or two.

I was desperate so I tried this and it WORKED!

The only SPAM I have left at work is from the REAL slime balls of spam and
most of those are easily deleted now.

I still don't get any SPAM here on Genie or on Delphi and I have used both
those accounts for mail lists, internet mail and some very occasional
cruising.  I guess there is just no explaining SPAM.


-=+ Greg Schreurs +=-

                                 [*][*][*]


    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 Apple II, 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.



[EOA]
[PDQ]//////////////////////////////
                    PD_QUICKVIEW /
/////////////////////////////////
Yours For The Asking
""""""""""""""""""""
by Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W.
                          [A2LAMP]



          Program Name:      Marinetti
          Filename:          MARINETTI.BXY
          Program Number:    30633
          File Size:         44,800 bytes
          Program Type:      Control Panel (CDev)
          Authors:           Richard Bennett
          Version Reviewed:  1.0b1 (15 Sep 1997)
          File Type:         freeware with restrictions
          Requirements:      Apple IIgs runnning System 6.0.1; 50k of boot
                             volume disk space; 30K of free RAM; modem;
                             Internet Service Provider with SLIP dial-up
                             connection

AT LAST, THE FUTURE IS HERE   _Marinetti_ was the name of an Italian poet
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""   of the earlier part of this century, but it's
also the name of the most exciting piece of new software that's come to the
Apple IIgs in years: a Control Panel that will bring the venerable IIgs up
to speed with the rest of the computing world, providing TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol--say "Tee Sea Pea Eye
Pea") compatibility for the first time.

     Demonstrated to the public for the first time by its author,
Australian Richard Bennett, at KansasFest 1997, _Marinetti_ is available
now, in a public beta form, from Genie A2, Delphi A2, and the _Marinetti_
home page (http://www.zip.com.au/~kashum/_Marinetti_).  It is freeware, but
with certain restrictions regarding its distribution.  It also must be
registered with the author--in its unregistered form, a rather inconvenient
dialog box reminding the user of the need to register pops up on a very
frequent basis.

     The _Marinetti_ archive itself comes with the Control Panel, some
short but vital documentation, and _Telnet_, a simple telnet application
that will work in concert with _Marinetti_.  Also required are an Apple
IIgs running System 6.0.1, a rather small amount of free boot drive space
and RAM, a modem, and an account on an Internet Service Provider which
allows SLIP (Serial Line Interface Protocol) dial up connections.  Those of
you only with access to PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) dial up connections
will need to wait until Richard incorporates support for that into
_Marinetti_.

     Once the registration process is complete, the _Marinetti_ Control
Panel is simple but elegant in design.  In fact, it incorporates the
functions of two separate Control Panels on the Macintosh (_InterSlip_ and
_TCP/IP_) into one package.  The user needs to supply a set of instructions
(commonly called a "script") for starting and terminating a connection with
their ISP.  These scripts instruct _Marinetti_ to dial the phone number of
the ISP, transmit the user's username and password, and capture the IP
address assigned to the user. Unfortunately, unlike similar programs on the
Macintosh, _Marinetti_ does not have an "auto-record" mode (similar to that
used with _ProTERM_ or _Spectrum_ to have the program "learn" your logons),
but the scripting language is very simple and fully documented.

                                 [*][*][*]


                     .                       __
                    (^)        <^>         /~  ~\
                     \-=======_/"\_======-/     \)
PD_Q RATING          "\.        1       ./"
"""""""""""             "\._    _   _./"
 .                       __  (_____) .                       __
(^)        <^>         /~  ~\       (^)        <^>         /~  ~\
 \-=======_/"\_======-/     \)       \-=======_/"\_======-/     \)
 "\.        2       ./"              "\.        3       ./"
    "\._    _   _./"                    "\._    _   _./"
         (_____)                             (_____)
 .                       __          .                       __
(^)        <^>         /~  ~\       (^)        <^>         /~  ~\
 \-=======_/"\_======-/     \)       \-=======_/"\_======-/     \)
 "\.        4       ./"              "\.        5       ./"
    "\._    _   _./"                    "\._    _   _./"
         (_____)                             (_____)

                            FIVE LAMPS                       (1-5)


PD_Q COMMENTS   After figuring out and inputting my scripts, I moved the
"""""""""""""   cursor on the screen to the "Connect" button and clicked.
In a few moments I heard the customary screeching and whistling of my USR
Courier modem.  Shortly thereafter, I realized my Apple IIgs had
successfully connected to my ISP via a SLIP connection--finally, the
venerable Apple IIgs was directly connected to the Internet!  I started the
provided _Telnet_ application, supplied the IP address of Delphi, and soon
was in the A2 Forum Conference room, chatting with other Apple II fanatics.
They may not have realized it, but I was totally exhilarated--at long last,
an error-free TCP/IP connection had me chatting with my long-time friends
in a virtual conference room, but instead of using a Macintosh, I was using
an Apple IIgs.

     Marinetti did crash on me a number of times, but one must consider
that this is still pre-release software and the bugs are continuing to be
worked out.  Additionally, while using the supplied Telnet application, one
must enter the destination address in its numeric form (such as
199.93.4.68) instead of its alphanumeric alias (delphi.com)--obviously the
alphanumeric name is easier to remember.  There are currently just a few
applications available supporting _Marinetti_, the first of which is the
simple _Telnet_ program that came with the _Marinetti_ archive.  It works,
and offers the intriguing possibilities of multiple concurrent telnet
sessions, but offers no file transfer, chat line, or terminal emulation
capabilities.  It is a simple application meant to get us through the
period of time before the current trickle of _Marinetti_-savvy applications
becomes a flood.

     Already, Ewen Wannop, author of _Spectrum_, has produced an XCMD,
known as _TopCat_, which allows _Spectrum 2.1_ to serve as a telnet client
(although without support for file transfer or terminal emulation).  While
the _Spectrum Internet Suite_ World Wide Web browser does not currently
work with _Marinetti_, there is hope it will be modified to do such.  In
the meantime, _SIS_ author Geoff Weiss has kept himself busy offering
_Marinetti_-savvy applications that provide the Whois, Finger, and Ping
functions.  Many more applications are needed, including Internet Relay
Chat, File Transfer Protocol, and Electronic Mail clients.  Weekend
programmers experienced in Applesoft BASIC eagerly await the pending
release of _GSoft_ BASIC from Byteworks, which will provide a
simple-yet-powerful interface to _Marinetti_.

     While we await these applications--and others that only the
imagination limits--we can do so secure in the knowledge that the future
has arrived for users of the most powerful of the Apple II line.  The poet
_Marinetti_ may have died in 1944, but the Control Panel _Marinetti_ (and
its author, Richard Bennett) will make sure the Apple II stays alive well
into the next millennium.

RATING SYSTEM
"""""""""""""

          5 LAMPS.........What? You haven't downloaded this program YET?
          4 LAMPS.........Innovative or feature rich, take a look!
          3 LAMPS.........Good execution, stable program.
          2 LAMPS.........Gets the job done.
          1 LAMP..........A marginal download.
          0 ..............GenieLamp Turkey Award!



[EOA]
[BAN]//////////////////////////////
                  FILE BANDWAGON /
/////////////////////////////////
Top 10 Files for July
"""""""""""""""""""""
by Douglas Cuff
       [D.CUFF]



     This feature lists the ten most popular files for the month.  To give
files a chance to seek their own levels, no files will be added to the list
until they've been in place at least a month.  This month, we look at the
files uploaded 1-31 July 1997.

     This isn't the Academy Awards ceremony, folks; it's more like the
People's Choice Awards (both of which are trademarked, by the way).  The
Top 10 doesn't necessarily tell you what's new and interesting--what files
_you_ might find interesting--it simply tells you what files have been
downloaded a lot--what other people found interesting!

     This month, GenieLamp A2 occupies three spots on the list, but we're
just counting that one file.  Also, two different version of Crock O' Gold
count as just one file.  We hope this explains why there are 13 files on
the Top 10 list.

     Something else very interesting happened in July:  the A2Pro library
was merged with the A2Pro library--over 1700 files--and meant that some of
the "old" files were new to some people.  Two of the newly-merged A2Pro
files actually made it into the Top 10 for July!

File #  Filename          Bytes  DLs  Short description
------  ---------------  ------  ---  -------------------------------------
28883   HIERARCHIC.BXY    24192   92  Hierarchic 1.6.3 (official release)
30594   ALMP9707TXT.BXY   52096   45  GenieLamp A2 for July 1997 TXT
30596   SLXSECURITY.BXY   16572   43  SlixSecurity child-protection NDA
30190   COGV11.BXY       232320   42  Crock O' Gold - Delphi Messenger
30606   MARS.SUNSET.BXY    2560   38  A sunset on Mars
28882   CYRUSHIPC2.BXY  1153920   38  A fantastic Paintworks animation
30593   ALMP9707AWP.BXY   57856   37  GenieLamp A2 for July 1997 AWP
30607   COGV13.BXY       234240   35  Offline Reader for Spectrum/Delphi
30619   ANAGRAMHELP.BXY   11776   35  Anagram Helper v1.1
30397   MARCEL.BXY        47488   23  MIME parser, B64, BH4, QP decoder
29522   GSBUG.1.6.BXY    315008   17  GSBug v1.6 Final
30592   ALMP9707.ASC      97040   16  GenieLamp A2 for July 1997 ASCII
30615   EAMON.240.BXY     56744   15  40/80-col. P8 "The Heart of Gold"


HIERARCHIC.BXY   Hierarchic by Etienne Petitjean and Richard Bennett is a
""""""""""""""   CDev (formerly an Init) that allows your Apple IIgs to
have hierarchical menus.  In other words, when you pull down a menu, items
listed in that column can have sub-columns.  Under "Save As", you could
have a sub-menu that allows "Save As Text", "Save as AppleWorks WP", "Save
as Teach", and so on.  This is v1.6.3 of Hierarchic.  Freeware.

ALMP9707TXT.BXY, ALMP9707AWP.BXY, and ALMP9707.ASC   Three editions of the
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   July issue of
GenieLamp A2 (edited by Ryan Suenaga) grace our Top 10 list this
month--text file, AppleWorks word processor file, and plain, unpacked text
for other platforms.  All editions feature the same articles--a review of
Hyper Quarterly, and a focus on KansasFest in Hey Mister Postman and in the
second annual appearance of the Accidental Tourist at KansasFest.
Freeware.

SLXSECURITY.BXY   SlixSecurity by Bret "Slixter" Victor a desk
"""""""""""""""   accessory/Finder extension that allows you to protect
your Apple IIgs with a password and restricts unsuccessful users to one
subdirectory on your hard drive.  You can optionally prevent copying and
renaming within that subdirectory, control whether or not the trash can,
desk accessories, or Finder extras are available.  Great for parents whose
kids know not what they do when they select "Format".  Shareware ($10)

COGV11.BXY and COGV13.BXY   Crock O' Gold by Ewen Wannop (based on scripts
"""""""""""""""""""""""""   by Kit Graham and Gary Utter) is an offline
message reader for Spectrum v2.1 and Delphi.  (That's D-E-L-P-H-I, not
G-E-N-I-E.)  It collects messages, lets you read them, gives you a chance
to write replies, and handles posting the replies too.  It also allows
uploading and downloading of files.  (Note:  These file contains v1.1 and
v1.3; v1.4 was the most recent version at press time--file #30637,
COG14.BXY.  Also, v1.0 appeared in the Top 10 list for May/June.)
Freeware.

MARS.SUNSET.BXY   A 16-color APF format SHR graphic of a sunset as seen
"""""""""""""""   from the surface of Mars, provided by the Mars
Pathfinder.  Freeware.

CYRUSHIPC2.BXY   A detailed animation converted from a .FLI animation by
""""""""""""""   Cyrus Lee.  This large (1200K) file shows the cockpit
closing on a spaceship.  The point of view changes and the ship lifts off,
turns around, and rockets out of the hangar.  Freeware.

ANAGRAMHELP.BXY   Anagram Helper by Doug Cuff is a simple tool/game to help
"""""""""""""""   solve anagrams.  It comes with 20+ anagrams for you to
unscramble.  If you enjoy the syndicated "Jumble" puzzle or other word
games, you'll like this.  Freeware.

MARCEL.BXY   Marcel by Richard Bennett is an 8-bit application to decode
""""""""""   such schemes as BinHex and Mime.  Note that this is still in
beta form, which means unfinished and not fully tested.  This file recently
arrived in A2 from A2Pro.  Freeware.

GSBUG.1.6.BXY   GSBug v1.6 is a debugging tool in an Init, and it comes
"""""""""""""   with a tutorial to teach you how to use it.  This archive
contains other goodies such as five debugging Classic Desk Accessories and
Init Restarter v2.0.1, which is useful for non-programmers and programmers
alike.  This file recently arrived in A2 from A2Pro.  You can download and
use this archive freely, it's still copyrighted Apple Computer software and
you must not distribute it.

EAMON.240.BXY   Eamon is a text-adventure system, and this particular
"""""""""""""   module, "The Heart of Gold" by Frank Kunze is loosely based
on _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ by Douglas Adams.  Rated 6.5 out
of 10.  Freeware.



[EOA]
[RWA]//////////////////////////////
            THE REAL WORLD APPLE /
/////////////////////////////////
Connecting to the World Outside
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
by Peter C. Brickell
        [P.BRICKELL]



                 >>> PART 6: THE ANNUNCIATORS - ACT 2 <<<
                 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

SCALING UP   Last time we looked at the way the Apple II can send a tiny
""""""""""   signal out into the real world by means of the annunciator
lines on the 16-pin game port.  But before we use this small signal it must
be amplified to a useful level for operating an electrical device.  The
signal must also be electrically isolated from this device to protect the
computer and the user in case of a component failure.

     As I mentioned last time, I am going to describe how to build such an
isolating and amplifying circuit using a project from Vernier Software as a
basis.  Such a circuit can be found in the Optically Isolated Circuits
project in "How to Build a Better Mousetrap" or in the Smart Battery
Charger project in "Chaos in the Laboratory".  I have provided Vernier's
address at the end of this article for those who wish to get a copy of
these books.

     In this installment I will look in general at the components that are
needed and what they do in the interface circuit.  In the next article, I
will go into more detail on specific components and how to connect them.

OVERVIEW   The circuit that I am about to describe fulfills all the
""""""""   required functions of an interface circuit between the Apple
II's annunciator line signals, and the demands of a real world electrical
device.  However, this circuit can only operate devices which use fairly
low voltage direct current (DC).  It can not drive a household 120 VAC
device and should never be used for such directly.  In the next installment
I will discuss some additional interfacing devices which are required to
run high voltage AC devices.  For now, the limits of this circuit are
dictated by the rating of the transistors used in the circuit.   To be on
the safe side, one should not use it to operate anything using more than 12
volts DC.  This provides a good margin of safety for all the components.

     The circuit provides 3 levels of voltage and current amplification and
one stage of isolation.  The circuit is called an Optically Isolated
Switch.  The name comes from the fact that the transmission of the on/off
signal from the game port to the real world occurs by means of a beam of
light at one stage, with no direct electrical connection between the two
sides of the circuit (low power and high power).  The actual device for
this optical transmission is an optoisolator chip.  It is the optoisolator
which provides the electrical isolation of the circuit.  The amplification
is accomplished using one TTL chip and two transistors.  Let's see how this
is layed out.  Follow along with a Vernier book if you have one at hand.

THE NITTY-GRITTY OF AN OPTICALLY ISOLATED CIRCUIT   To start with, the
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   on/off signal from the
game port is fed to an inverter IC.  The function of this chip is to
provide enough current to operate the optoisolator.   The game port signal
should not even be used to run the tiny light emitting diode (LED) in the
optoisolator.   It is safer (for the computer at least) to use the inverter
between the two.  The inverter is capable of providing more current than
the game port itself.  When the game port annunciator turns on, it causes
the inverter to conduct electricity between two of its pins.  These pins
are wired in such a way as to complete the circuit to the optoisolator's
LED when the inverter is switched on.  Put simply, the annunciator turns on
the inverter, which in turn switches on the LED in the optoisolator.

     The optoisolator is simply an LED and a phototransistor assembled in
one chip.  When the LED lights up on one side of the circuit, it
illuminates a phototransistor on the other side.  The phototransistor will
only conduct electricity when light is striking it.  In this way it
functions as a remote on/off switch operated only by light.   There is no
electrical connection at all between the LED and the phototransistor - only
a beam of light connects them.  This is how the chip provides a very high
degree of electrical isolation between the low power and high power sides.

     The phototransistor in the optoisolator is still a very low power
device and so requires a lot of amplification before real work can be done
with its signal.  It is limited to a few milliamps of current at most.
When it turns on in response to light from the LED shining on it, this
small current is fed to the base connection of a small signal transistor.

     The signal transistor is similar to the phototransistor in the
optoisolator except that it is turned on by a small electrical signal at
its base connection, rather than by light shining on it.  When this small
electrical current is present at the base, the transistor conducts a larger
current between its two other connections (collector and emitter).  So in
this way, a small electrical current switches on a much larger electrical
current.  The signal transistor used in this circuit is capable of
switching currents of several hundred milliamps with only a few milliamps
being fed to its base from the phototransistor.  This few hundred milliamps
is still a relatively small current, but is enough to switch a full size
LED on and off or to turn on a much larger transistor - a power transistor.
This is what we do with it.

     The power transistor works in exactly the same way as the signal
transistor except that it requires a larger current at its base to switch
on.  This current comes from the output of the signal transistor.  The
power transistor can, in turn, conduct a much larger current between its
collector and emitter connections.  The one used in this circuit is rated
for up to 5 amps.  Now this is enough current to run some real world
devices.  For example a power transistor can be used to switch on a
mechanical relay switch, a DC motor, a horn, a DC light bulb, or an
electromagnet.  Now the possibilities for your Apple's tiny annunciator
output begin to open up!

     So to review, here is the sequence of events which occur at the speed
of light in our optically isolated switch.

     1) Your program turns on the Apple's annunciator output.
     2) The annunciator turns on the inverter chip.
     3) The inverter switches on the optoisolator's LED.
     4) The optoisolator's LED turns on the optoisolator's phototransistor.
     5) The phototransistor switches on the signal transistor.
     6) The signal transistor turns on the power transistor.
     7) The power transistor turns on a real world DC device of your
        choosing.

     .....and the hip bone is connected to the thigh bone and the .....
Oops, sorry I got carried away!

     Seriously, this rather lengthy series of steps allows your line of
programming to switch something in your world on or off.  Better yet, it
allows a few lines of your program to have the Apple decide for you when to
switch something on or off!  Now you have the basis of real computer
interfacing.

     All this is possible without the need for expensive cards or programs
for your Apple.  Even with new parts from a retail electronics store, an
optically isolated circuit can be built for under $20.  If you have access
to electronics discount, mail order, or surplus stores your optically
isolated circuit can be built for as little as $5.   By putting four
identical circuits on one circuit board, you can switch four DC devices on
and off simultaneously, since the Apple has four independent annunciator
lines.  Pretty impressive stuff!

     Once again though, please remember that this circuit is limited to low
voltage direct current systems.  Never connect this type of circuit
directly to 120 volt house alternating current.  Destruction of the circuit
and your computer (and possibly you!) would be the result.

     So now you have the secret of making your Apple do some real work for
you.  Next time I will be getting into some details of particular parts
that are used in the circuits and the crucial things you need to know for
wiring them up.

     For those who may be interested in the Vernier interfacing books that
I have frequently referred to, here is their information:

     Vernier Software
     8565 S.W. Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy.
     Portland, OR  97225-2429
     U.S.A.
     (503) 297-5317

     http://www.teleport.com/~vernier

     Until next time, here's wishing you more pleasant Apple interfacing
dreams!











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