[HEA]
    _____________________   ___                                   _
    |___   ______________| |   |                                 | |
        |  | _             |   |                                 | |
        |  || |            |   |                                 | |
        |  || |            |   |                                 | |
        |  || |            |   |   ____ _   _ _   _   ______     | |
        |  || |            |   |  / __ \ | | / \_/ \  | ___ \    | |
        |  || |__   ____   |   | / /  \  | |  /\ /\ \ | |  \ \   | |
        |  ||  _ \ |  _ \  |   | \ \__/  | | | |_|| | | |__/ /   | |
        |  || | | || |_||  |   |  \___/|_| |_|    |_| | ____/    |_|
        |  || | | || |__   |   |____________________  | |         _
        |__||_| |_|\____/  |________________________| | |        |_|
                                                      | |
         Lighting Your Apple II Path                  | |
                                                      |_|

-----------------------------------


                       >>> WELCOME TO THE LAMP! <<<
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


            THE BEST OF THE A2 BULLETIN BOARD ON Syndicomm.com
          AND THE BEST OF THE DELPHI A2 AND A2PRO MESSAGE BOARDS
           "Teaching the Apple II user how to fish since 1998"


 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 The Lamp!            An Onipa'a Software Production       Vol. 4, No. 11
 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 Publisher................................Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W.
 Editor.....................................................Lyle Syverson
 Internet Email, Publisher.........................thelamp@sheppyware.net
 Internet Email, Editor................................lyle@FoxValley.net
 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

                            TABLE OF CONTENTS
                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            November 15, 2001

HIGH ABOVE THE ROCK RIVER---------------------------------------------[OPN]
     The Fork in the Road

A2 FORUM AT Syndicomm Online (A2Central.com) DISTILLATIONS
     New Bulletin Board Software in Use in A2 Forum-------------------[NBS]
     Web Access to the A2 Bulletin Board------------------------------[WAB]
     Snack Arrangements for K-Fest 2002-------------------------------[SKF]
     New Version of SOAR Will be Required-----------------------------[NSR]
     Gopher and Other Internet Tools----------------------------------[GIT]
     The Future of Apple II GIF Viewing Programs----------------------[FGV]
     MIDI Keyboard Interface to the IIgs------------------------------[MKI]
     Space Invaders for the Apple II----------------------------------[SIA]
     How do You Pronounce Eamon?--------------------------------------[PNE]
     Silvern Castle v7.3 Delayed--------------------------------------[SCD]
     Uninterruptible Power Supplies With the IIgs---------------------[UPS]
     Bret Victor's Web Sites------------------------------------------[VWS]
     Ping for the IIgs------------------------------------------------[PGS]
     APDA Products Being Added to Syndicomm Online Store--------------[APA]
     Latest on Bernie II the Rescue-----------------------------------[LBR]
     Apple II Forever Projects----------------------------------------[AFP]
     Apple II Documentation Project-----------------------------------[ADP]
     IPC Spy CDA------------------------------------------------------[ISC]
     FREDA CDA Debugger-----------------------------------------------[FCD]
     Pixie Debugging Tool for the Apple IIgs--------------------------[PDT]
     GS/OS Serial Drivers Adequate for APP?---------------------------[GSD]
     Apple II FileType for PDF Files----------------------------------[AFP]
     What do You Think of the iPod?-----------------------------------[TIP]
     It, The Invention------------------------------------------------[ITI]
     The Myth Series by Asprin----------------------------------------[MSA]

ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SYNDICOMM
     Webside Bulletin Boards Open in Several Forums-------------------[WBB]
     Prolifif Quill Forum Now Open------------------------------------[PQF]
     Like to Play Dungeons & Dragons?---------------------------------[DAD]
     Sign up for Syndicomm Online-------------------------------------[SSO]

DELPHI A2 DISTILLATIONS
     What do You Use Your Apple II For?-------------------------------[UYA]

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
     Apple II Documentation Project-----------------------------------[ATP]
     An Invitation----------------------------------------------------[LTE]

KFEST 2002
     Plan Ahead for K-Fest 2002---------------------------------------[PAK]

EXTRA INNINGS
     About The Lamp! ------------------------------------------------ [INN]


                                [*] [*] [*]

READING THE LAMP!   The index system used by The Lamp! is designed to make
"""""""""""""""""   your reading easier.  To use this system, load this
issue into any word processor or text editor.  In the index you will find
something like:

EXTRA INNINGS
     About The Lamp! ------------------------------------------------ [INN]

To read this article, simply use your search or find command to locate
[INN].  There is a similar tag at the end of each article: [EOA].



[OPN]-------------------------------
         HIGH ABOVE THE ROCK RIVER |
------------------------------------
From The Editor
"""""""""""""""
by Lyle Syverson <lyle@FoxValley.net>

                           The Fork in the Road
                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     From High Above The Rock River the calm water and clear blue sky
beckon us to go for a walk along the river.

     The dry, crisp leaves crunch beneath our feet.  The blue sky, and its
reflection in the water, provide an awe inspiring background for the white
bark of the birch trees.  On the other side of a group of leafless trees in
the distance we see a road that was hidden from view during the summer.  A
fork in this road leads to another road that disappears behind a rise in
the land.

     The path one's life takes is based on which forks in the road were
taken.  All of us have a common interest in our journey... the Apple II
computers.

     There is a new group of people who are interested the Apple II.  They
have acquired an A2 at a garage sale... or had one given to them... etc.
These people are eager to learn what these computers can do and where to
get software.

     To learn how you can help, see "Letters to the Editor" [ATP], Apple II
FOREVER PROJECTS [AFP], and Apple II DOCUMENTATION PROJECT [ADP] in this
issue.

     A fork in the road has led many Apple II users to yet another
experience... K-Fest.  You have never been to K-Fest?  You really ought to
try it.  Can't find the fork in the road leading to K-Fest?  See the
section on K-Fest in this issue.

[EOA]



ASCII ART BEGINS
_________  _                     _                                      _
|__   __| | |                   | |                                    | |
   | |    | |                   | |                                    | |
   | |    | |___     ____       | |       _____   __ ___ _   _ _____   | |
   | |    | ___ \   / __ \      | |      /____ \  | v   v | | v ___ \  | |
   | |    | |  | | | /__\ \     | |       ____| | | /\ /\ | |  /   \ \ | |
   | |    | |  | | | _____|     | |      / ___  | | || || | | |    | | |_|
   | |    | |  | | | |_____     | |____  | |__| | | || || | |  \___/ /  _
   |_|    |_|  |_| \______|     |______| \____^_| |_||_||_| | |\____/  |_|
                                                            | |
                                                            | |
                                                            |_|

ASCII ART ENDS
[EOA]

---------------------------------------------------
DISTILLATIONS FROM The A2 FORUM at Syndicomm.com  |
                                  (A2Central.com) |
---------------------------------------------------

by Lyle Syverson <lyle@foxvalley.net>

[NBS]
NEW BULLETIN BOARD SOFTWARE IN USE IN A2 FORUM
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
A2 is now running the new bulletin board software; things should be much,
much faster here now, and we have a webside board as well.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 1, Msg 13)
[EOA]


[WAB]
WEB ACCESS TO THE A2 BULLETIN BOARD
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
If you have Web access (yes, Lynx and Links both count, haven't checked SIS
yet), accessing the A2 Bulletin Board just got lots easier.

Point your browser to http://www.syndicomm.com/communities/a2/messages and
you can access our board via the Web.  You will need your password and
username, of course.  You will also have to enable Cookies in your browser.

Give it a try and see how you like it.

Ryan
A2 Chief Sysop and Head Geek

(A2.RYAN, Cat 2, Top 5, Msg 1)
[EOA}


[SKF]
SNACK ARRANGEMENTS FOR K-Fest 2002
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(Posted via the web, partially as a test):

As long as I'm at KFest 2002 (I plan to be, just a little less sure than
usual), I'll be buying the same 6 dozen or so Krispy Kreme donuts I did
this year.

Someone else will have to get the milk ;-)

Ryan

(A2.RYAN, Cat 5, Top 3, Msg 193)

>>>>>
"""""
I'll take care of the Milk.  I figure I might as well contribute something.

Dain Neater
Keeper of the Boards

(A2.DAIN, Cat 5, Top 3, Msg 194)
[EOA]


[NSR]
NEW VERSION OF SOAR WILL BE REQUIRED
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The recent changes in the Forum software will require an update to SOAR.
You may find in the meantime that SOAR sticks or ceases to work for some
functions.

I am away from home for the rest of this week, and will not get a chance to
work on the scripts till I get home. I shall post an updated SOAR on my web
site as soon as I can get the scripts worked out. Please be patient till
then...

 Ewen Wannop - Speccie - Tue 30 Oct 2001 - 266 days till KFest '02
 Delivered without using a IIgs by Spectrum v2.5.2 & SOAR 1.0b5
 Setup: Bernie ][ the Rescue 3.0 and a dual G4/800Mhz GeForce3
 http://www.ewannop.btinternet.co.uk/

(CONDUCTOR, Cat 10, Top 59, Msg 226)
[EOA]


[GIT]
GOPHER AND OTHER INTERNET TOOLS
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The latest set of Web Browsers, Netscape 6 and Explorer 6, have dropped
their support for Gopher.  That spells doom for the remaining gopher sites
that are still up.  A quick check on gopher in the last year resulted in
alot of dead links and nothing interesting to see.

Gopher has served its purpose and was not as easily expandable as what the
Web has grown into.  It was nice in its time when there was no Web to look
for information.

The concept of its use was simple.  Everything was indexed-based.  Your
home index had links to sub-indexes and/or files and through some path of
links, a link to a master index by country, state, site.  Each item in an
index pointed to another index or to a file, ftp file or directory, telnet
server, or web page.  Files linked from an index followed a certain set of
types as specified in the RFCs.  This was pretty much limited to text,
"binary", sound, graphic, animation, and "unknown" files.

By the way, there was also a Jughead.  Jughead was a serch tool for a set
of servers (instead of all of them).  Jughead only worked if there was a
jughead server set up on the gopher sites.  It is my understanding that it
was difficult to set up a jughead server and not well maintained.

Also, for more information about Code Red and Nimda, take a look at these
links:

http://www.incidents.org/react/nimda.pdf
http://www.incidents.org/react/code_redII.php

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 11, Top 11, Msg 38)
[EOA]


[FGV]
THE FUTURE OF Apple II GIF VIEWING PROGRAMS
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Does the Unisys patent spell the end for Apple II GIF viewing programs?
Will anyone write a new or updated GIF viewer?

Ryan

(A2.RYAN, Cat 12, Top 3, Msg 6)

>>>>>
"""""
The gif/lzw patent is #4,558,302 if anyone wants to check it out at the US
patent office homepage: uspto.gov.

It was filed december 10, 1985, which means it expires December 10, 2005
(20 years).  They also have separate patents for UK and Japan - they may
expire at some other time.

I think a more serious obstacle than unisys in the development of new gif
tools is the dirth of programmers and programmers with time, though :(

(KWS, Cat 12, Top 3, Msg 7)

>>>>>
"""""
Yeah, this is a bigger problem.  But the Unisys thing still sucks.  Four
more years. :)

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 12, Top 3, Msg 8)
[EOA]


[MKI]
MIDI KEYBOARD INTERFACE TO THE IIgs
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Hi all.

I recently bought a midi keyboard, and I'm now keen to try connecting it to
my GS. I have downloaded a couple of designs for midi interfaces from
Harmony Central. These are for serial port Macs, so I presume they would
work with the GS too. I'm planning to construct one of these and try
connecting my keyboard (a Casio CT-670).

Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing?

What software can I use? Any of it freely available? What can the GS do
when interfaced to a midi keyboard?

Always fun to explore a new area of our old friend :)

Kim Howe
Newton Forum Host

(KIMHOWE, Cat 12, Top 12, Msg 3)

>>>>>
"""""
IIRC, there were 2 ways of getting MIDI data into the IIgs...

AE had a midi card Apple (and maybe others) had the external midi->serial
port converter, which worked the same for the macintosh & IIgs, so
presumably the device you build would work with IIgs midi port driver.

If it works, I'd like to see a tutorial on building one :)

(KWS, Cat 12, Top 12, Msg 6)

>>>>>
"""""
I bought Pyware's Music writer just before I got married.  I have Apple's
midi interface.  It worked; you could play on the keyboard, and the notes
would appear on the screen, but of course if your rhythm was off even a
little, the notes wouldn't come out the way you expected.

Naturally, priorities changed significantly with the addition of the gold
ring, so that was the last I ever really played with it.  Someday,
though....   :)

_________
  | homas

(TCOMPTER, Cat 12, Top 12, Msg 7)
[EOA]


[SIA]
SPACE INVADERS FOR THE APPLE II
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I'm finding a lot of great classic games that were on the 8 bit Apple II
now on the Palm platform.

The primary one I'm thinking of is Space Invaders.

Is there a publicly available Space Invaders for the Apple II or IIgs?

Ryan

(A2.RYAN, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 46)

>>>>>
"""""
Here's a Space Invaders game for the GS, Ryan:

ftp://ftp.syndicomm.com/pub/members-only/a2/games/arcade/16-bit/spaceinv.gs
.bxy

There are also be a few such games under different names; I think Solarian
might be one.  It's in the same directory as above.

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 47)

>>>>>
"""""
I remember the original "Super Invader" which was distributed by Creative
Computing back in 1978.  I received this from the computer store that sold
me my first Disk ][ back then.  In those days computer stores were not
interested in selling software, only hardware.  Thus I was able to copy it
for free.  It was probably legal to do that back then since software wasn't
subject to Canadian copyright laws at the time.  (They fixed that!)

The only IIGS specific version I am aware of is the version done by David
Ong Tat-Wee.  GS Invaders is available from a lot of places including
David's home page at http://myhome.asia1.com/home/d/dotw/iigs_software.html
.
Mark Percival - Syndicomm.com Apple II RTC Host
"Midweek Madness!" every Wednesday night.
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM PDT

(MARK, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 48)
[EOA]


[PNE]
HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE EAMON?
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Last night I met a young man by the name of Eamon, which leads me to two
questions:

1) How is the name of the classic Apple II adventure game pronounced?
   Is the 'E' silent, as this gentleman's name was?

2) Was the computer game named after someone?

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 50)

>>>>>
"""""
I would assume it is pronounced the same way as the common Irish first name
Eamon. 'E' as the 'ay' of 'hay', 'a' as 'Ah', and 'mon' as 'Montreal'.

 Ewen Wannop - Speccie - Mon 12 Nov 2001 - 253 days till KFest '02
 Delivered without using a IIgs by Spectrum v2.5.2 & SOAR 1.0b5
 Setup: Bernie ][ the Rescue 3.0 and a dual G4/800Mhz GeForce3
 http://www.ewannop.btinternet.co.uk/

(CONDUCTOR, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 51)
[EOA]


[SCD]
SILVERN CASTLE v7.3 DELAYED
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Sorry, the Silvern Castle v7.3 release has been delayed due to a recent
change of address.  Can you believe that I now reside at Sylvan Way?

Anyway, the new release will be available shortly.

Jeff Fink

(FINKSTERJ, Cat 14, Top 7, Msg 83)
[EOA]


[UPS]
UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLIES WITH THE IIgs
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Is there any software for the IIgs to let it receive notifications from
UPSes?

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 17, Top 16, Msg 1)

>>>>>
"""""
Not that I'm aware of.  I've looked in to this ever since I got an APC
Backups Pro 420 four years ago.  The documentation for APC's "Powerchute"
program shows that the UPS communicates via a RC-232c interface.  A script
for Spectrum could communicate with and control it. (Spectrum already does
that?) :-)  The problem is deciphering the control codes.  I've never had
the time to sit down and do that.

 Roger A. Schnorenberg - Roger
 Delivered by Spectrum v2.5.2 & SOAR v1.0b6

(SCHNORENBERG, Cat 17, Top 16, Msg 2)

>>>>>
"""""
You can probably determine the control sequences by looking at the code for
the UPS daemon for Linux; the source is of course freely available.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 17, Top 16, Msg 3)
[EOA]


[VWS]
BRET VICTOR'S WEB SITES
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Bret's main web site can be found here:

http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~bret/

His extensive collection of Apple IIgs tables is listed and available at
this page:

http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~bret/create_software_iigs.html

(KGAGNE, Cat 20, Top 12, Msg 1)
[EOA]


[PGS]
PING FOR THE IIgs
"""""""""""""""""
I didn't even know there were new messages here until I looked at the
latest "The Lamp".

Ping for the Apple IIgs does not do anything more than make sure that the
ICMP echo is successful to a remote machine.  Unlike ping for many other
operating systems, it will not display sequence numbers, packet times, data
content, or anything else beyond what is seen when it runs.

It was modeled after an early Microsoft version of ping and Cisco's IOS
ping.  Packet times are mostly useless since the IIgs can't track time less
than 1/60th of a second (and even that time scale is not guaranteed).
Tracking sequence numbers would have meant I had to develop a queuing
system which goes beyond a simple ping tool.  Anything else is gravy for a
ping utility.

I didn't know ping would work under Prosel since I don't have that.  It is
nice to see that more people can use ping if they have Prosel.

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 20, Top 13, Msg 45)
[EOA]


[APA]
APDA PRODUCTS BEING ADDED TO SYNDICOMM ONLINE STORE
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
We've started gradually adding APDA products to our online store!  We
finally finished the paperwork involved in transferring these products to
Syndicomm, so over the next couple of weeks you'll see our online store
grow to cover the entire APDA product line, from the AppleTalk Programmers
Guide to X-Ref. :)

Eric Shepherd
Owner
Syndicomm

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 24, Top 1, Msg 32)
[EOA]


[LBR]
LATEST ON Bernie II the Rescue
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Just curious, but has anyone heard anything from the Bernie Boys in a
while?  I used to catch Henrik in chat every now and then, but I am not
sure I have heard much from him since Kfest 2000.

Dain Neater
Keeper of the Boards
Self-Title Worst Diablo player ever

(A2.DAIN, Cat 29, Top 21, Msg 89)

>>>>>
"""""
I haven't heard much from him either.  Answers to emails I send him are
pretty much limited to a word or two.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 29, Top 21, Msg 90)

>>>>>
"""""
Not in awhile, I know he's busy, and so am I.

However, I would not be surprised to find a new beta in my mailbox in a
minute.

I would be equally unsurprised to find it in my mailbox in three years.

Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. - rsuenaga@apple2.org - A2's Head Geek
Alpha Testing CoPilot v2.55 and ProTERM 3.1
Offline Syndicomm.com Message Manager

(A2.RYAN, Cat 29, Top 21, Msg 91)
[EOA]


[AFP]
Apple II FOREVER PROJECTS
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
The "Apple II Forever Projects" are a group of projects initiated at
KansasFest 2001 to bring new life to the Apple II family of computers.
This category is devoted to these projects and the work involved in
operating them.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 30, Top 1, Msg 1)
[EOA]


[ADP]
Apple II DOCUMENTATION PROJECT
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The Apple II Documentation Project is our new effort to write and
distribute free documentation for Apple II computers, operating systems,
and software, in order to aid newcomers to the community as well as people
that buy software without manuals.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 30, Top 3, Msg 1)

>>>>>
"""""
Let's talk about what sort of documentation we think the community most
needs, and start sorting out who can work on what.

I think the first priority would be a "setting up your Apple II" type of
manual, one for the IIgs, one for the IIc and IIc+ and one for the others.
Something like that, anyway.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 30, Top 4, Msg 1)

>>>>>
"""""
I think it's a great idea, but I don't have any time to donate to it (trust
me, I've tried :)

Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. - rsuenaga@apple2.org - A2's Head Geek
Alpha Testing CoPilot v2.55 and ProTERM 3.1
Offline Syndicomm.com Message Manager

(A2.RYAN, Cat 30, Top 4, Msg 20)

>>>>>
"""""
I know.  My goal here is to get people that aren't already heavily engaged
in Apple II projects to get involved in the A2DP.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 30, Top 4, Msg 3)
[EOA]


[ISC]
IPC Spy CDA
"""""""""""
IPC Spy is a CDA for monitoring Apple IIgs IPC messages as they wizz around
the system.

The first version, written by Richard Bennett include formatting of known
messages, making it easy to view messages structure with their data types
and field descriptions.

The second version was written by Joe Wankerl for GS+ magazine, and
included plugins so you can stick your own message definitions into it. Not
sure whether Joe's version was based on the version one code (fading
memory), but GS+ certainly asked for permission and worked together on
features to include.

Version 1 was freeware. Version 2 came on GS+, so I'm not sure what the
licensing was.

Regards,
 Richard

(RICHARDB, Cat 54, Top 6, Msg 1)
[EOA]


[FCD]
FREDA CDA DEBUGGER
""""""""""""""""""
FREDA is CDA debugger used for situations where GSBug use was not
available, such as in interrupting code sequences, 8 bit code, and where
IIgs memory integrity wasn't guaranteed such as in the middle of GS/OS
drivers, interrupt routines and P8 code which messed with IIgs memory
(which happened more so in the early days of the Apple IIgs).

FREDA worked by putting in a COP instruction into your code, and following
it with a string, exactly the same way GSBug handles embedded strings.
However in FREDA's case, this triggers a break point which puts a dialog on
the screen displaying all registers and a number of other variables. Key
commands display various display screens, and optionally enter Pixie if
necessary, maintaining absolute system state due to interrupts being
disabled. As more and more system functions required interrupt support, the
situations where you could use FREDA became less and less, and GSBug
obtained a lot more features as Dave took over the project inside Apple.

Anyway, FREDA still has it's specific uses, particularly on projects I tend
to work on which seem to be more often system level functionality where
interrupts are involved. The display is neat, because from memory it uses
multiple text colours using scan lines, which is fine because interrupts
are disabled.

Regards,
 Richard

(RICHARDB, Cat 54, Top 43, Msg 4)
[EOA]


[PDT]
Pixie DEBUGGING TOOL FOR THE Apple IIgs
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Pixie is a debugging tool for the Apple IIgs, which never really took off
in the U.S.

Pixie took the tried and true route of looking like a disk zap utility
(like Bag of Trix Zap or similar), which at the time was the preferred way
of looking at memory on most computing platforms. Unfortunately for Pixie,
Dave Lyons' Nifty List gains a firm footing in the U.S. around the same
time, mostly due I suspect to his contacts with the developer community
(this was before he joined Apple from memory). I don't like shell based
debuggers, never have, never will, and I was amazed that many Apple IIgs
developers did.

Pixie displayed $100 bytes of memory at a time, in hex and ASCII, with many
functions for navigation, searching and displaying memory. It could dump
all the toolbox and system memory structures which Nifty List eventually
supported, but also included descriptions of each field, and the ability to
follow links between data structures, follow handles with a single key
press, following memory links, display memory handles, show loaded files
their names and locations, jump up and down between memory allocations and
a heap of other stuff I can't even remember.

It supported editable data structure templates, so you could add your own
on top of all the toolbox and system ones, it supported it's own COP ala
FREDA for interrupt sensitive environments, drop to monitor (while disabled
if you wished), print a complete map of memory with legend for every handle
and who owns it and their pathname. You can display all handles owned by an
app or some other userid, the list goes on...

For me Nifty List involved too much typing. With Pixie, simple key presses
allowed you to bounce in display what you need and bounce back out. The COP
support also allowed you to preempt the memory address to display, couple
this with appropriate assembly macros and the options are quite extensive.

Then again, if you'd never used a disk editor or a memory zap utility on
another platform, you'd probably find Pixie difficult to use. For my liking
however, it was a better metaphor for debugging memory than Nifty List.
GSBug did stepping and tracing just fine, so it's the missing features that
programmers should have been looking at, and that's why it looked and
behaved the way it did.

<takes a breath>

Does that make sense? :-)

Regards,
 Richard

(RICHARDB, Cat 54, Top 43, Msg 5)

>>>>>
"""""
Pixie sounds pretty cool.  I might have to give that a try.  I never liked
the shell-like interface of Nifty List. :)

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 54, Top 43, Msg 6)
[EOA]


[GSD]
GS/OS SERIAL DRIVERS ADEQUATE FOR APP?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Are the GS/OS serial drivers adequate for writing an app that does serial
communication?  Doesn't need to be lightning fast, just reasonably reliable
and easier to use than talking directly to the firmware.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 57, Top 12, Msg 6)

>>>>>
"""""
I think TML Pascal (Complete pascal) included a sample modem program that
used the GS/OS serial drivers.  And InCider had a review of it that
seriously bashed the sample app.  I'm not sure if it was because TML Pascal
sucked or because the serial drivers sucked.  That was a while back.  The
drivers might have improved since then.

Jawaid Bazyar wrote a modem user tool (used by Telecom GS), and I've seen
documentation for it.  I never had any problems with TelecomGS dropping
characters, etc.  GNO/ME also includes serial drivers, and I can't recall
too many problems using them, even with multiple processes running.

(KWS, Cat 57, Top 12, Msg 7)
[EOA]


[AFP]
Apple II FileType FOR PDF FILES
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Are PDF files assigned an Apple II filetype?  I'm wondering if we ought to
do so at this point.

Ryan

(RSUENAGA, Cat 60, Top 3, Msg 6)

>>>>>
"""""
They aren't, but perhaps they should be.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 60, Top 3, Msg 7)

>>>>>
"""""
Since there is an Apple II program that can create them, I'd say so.  :)

That brings up an interesting question, though.  It's obvious (it IS
obvious, isn't it?) that the file type "short form" for this file type
should be pdf.

I know that there is a list in one or more of my programming references
(although I can't remember which one) of selected file types with their
long and short names.  It's not as extensive as the one here on A2Central,
but it does have the short names. (AWP,ASP,ADB, etc)

But what is the relationship between the short name and the hex name of the
file type?  Or is the short form connected to the aux type?  Are they
hard-wired into the ROM somehow?  (In which case we couldn't add a new
one?)

_________
  | homas

(TCOMPTER, Cat 60, Top 3, Msg 8)

>>>>>
"""""
The relationship is one of a lookup table, basically.

The File Type Descriptor (FTD) files in your Icons folders contain lookup
tables that map filetype/auxtype pairs to the appropriate type name and
three-character abbreviation.  Adding more is simply a matter of adding
more FTD files.

The Finder opens these files and reads in the lists of
type/auxtype->description mappings when it starts up.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 60, Top 3, Msg 9)

>>>>>
"""""
So what's the process of applying for a filetype, since we need one here?

Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. - rsuenaga@apple2.org - A2's Head Geek
Alpha Testing CoPilot v2.55 and ProTERM 3.1
Offline Syndicomm.com Message Manager

(A2.RYAN, Cat 60, Top 3, Msg 10)

>>>>>
"""""
The filetype form hasn't been set up yet on the A2Central.com site... hm.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com
                     Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 60, Top 3, Msg 11)
[EOA]


[TIP]
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE iPod?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Any opinions on the iPod?

Ryan

(A2.RYAN, Cat 4, Top 2, Msg 27)

>>>>>
"""""
I think it's a great looking device. I'd love to be able to afford one. If
I could I'd rig up some sort of holder and connection in the car and use it
as a car stereo too.

They aren't available in Australia yet, but I hear they're going to be
$A850. Hmm wonder if they'll be cheaper education...

Kim Howe
Newton Forum Host

(KIMHOWE, Cat 4, Top 2, Msg 28)

>>>>>
"""""
I think the iPod looks great.  I'd love to have one.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                        sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                          http://www.syndicomm.com
                Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 4, Top 2, Msg 29)

>>>>>
"""""
I want one! The cassette player in my car has ceased to play properly, but
it will still handle one of those dummy cassettes that you can plug into
the earphone socket of any Walkman, Diskman etc. The iPod makes a perfect
companion to that device, and would bring back music of my choice to car
journeys.

The iPodt is also much more practical than lugging a Diskman and a folder
of CDs around when you go travelling. But the price is high over here in
the UK, we are being asked to pay $520 for one!

 Ewen Wannop - Speccie - Mon 12 Nov 2001 - 253 days till KFest '02
 Delivered without using a IIgs by Spectrum v2.5.2 & SOAR 1.0b5
 Setup: Bernie ][ the Rescue 3.0 and a dual G4/800Mhz GeForce3
 http://www.ewannop.btinternet.co.uk/

(CONDUCTOR, Cat 4, Top 2, Msg 30)

>>>>>
"""""
I agree with Ewen on the price.  If it was 1/2 the price, I'd have ordered
one the day it came out.  Of course, with that unusual size of hard drive,
I'm not surprised it's expensive.

Ryan

(A2.RYAN, Cat 4, Top 2, Msg 31)

>>>>>
"""""
The unusual hard drive form factor is part of the reason the iPod is so
tiny.  :)

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                         sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                           http://www.syndicomm.com
                Building communities, bit by bit.

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 4, Top 2, Msg 32)
[EOA]


[ITI]
IT, THE INVENTION
"""""""""""""""""
Hello,

My aunt has asked me what "it" is about.  She says there is some known
inventor who promises to unveil something in 2002 that will "revolutionize
society more than computers."  This invention is simply being called "it"
in the meantime.

She's the only person from whom I've heard about this.  Any idea what or
who she's talking about?

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 233)

>>>>>
"""""
Speculation is it's some kind of scooter.

Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. - rsuenaga@apple2.org - A2's Head Geek
Alpha Testing CoPilot v2.55 and ProTERM 3.1
Offline Syndicomm.com Message Manager

(A2.RYAN, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 234)

>>>>>
"""""
Dean Kamen is a new hampshire inventor, who reportedly invented a
"revolutionary" invention.  So revolutionary, he got a contract to write a
book about it without the publisher knowing what it is.  This was "news" a
year or so ago.

As the story goes, Steve Jobs and Jeff "Amazon.com" Bezos have seen it and
are providing some venture capital.  I think Jobs was quoted as saying
something like "Cities will be built around it".  I think if I invented
something  revolutionary, showing it to Jeff Bezos wouldn't be on my list
of things to do, but I digress.

The inventor (under his company's name DeKa) has invented a wheel-chairy
device that can climb stairs, and has filed patents for a
gyroscopic-one-wheeled device, so it/ginger might be a one-wheeled, self
balancing, electric/gas powered scooter.  Sort of like a pogo stick with a
wheel, that doesn't tip over.

(KWS, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 236)
[EOA]


[MSA]
THE MYTH SERIES BY ASPRIN
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
For those of your who are familiar with the Myth series by Robert Asprin,
he's released a new story.  In the forward he says that this one fits
between the 3rd and 4th of the series, and was written to get him back used
to writing about Skeeve and Aahz.  Trade size, it retails for $14.00.

Later...........Howard

(A2.HOWARD, Cat 2, Top 34, Msg 61)

>>>>>
"""""
I usually wait until it comes out in mass-market paperback, but my son may
buy it sooner. :) Been waiting a long time for this.

In the mean time, I have enjoyed his "Phule" series and his "Time Scout"
series with Linda Evans.

 Carl Knoblock - Telephone Tech - Mon  22 Oct 01  7:24:59 pm
 cknoblo@home.com - Via Spectrum v2.5.2 & SOAR v1.0b6
 KFest 2002, July 23-28, 2002 - 274 days till KFest
 On cable via LANceGS & Marinetti 2.0.1 - Thank you, Richard.
 A2 RTC Staff - Saturday Night House Party - carlk@syndicomm.com

(CARLK, Cat 2, Top 34, Msg 62)
[EOA]



------------------------------------
      ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SYNDICOMM |
------------------------------------

by Lyle Syverson <lyle@foxvalley.net>

[WBB]
WEBSIDE BULLETIN BOARDS OPEN IN SEVERAL FORUMS
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The following forums now have webside bulletin boards open:

Page  Keyword     Name
----  ----------  -------------------------------------------
 150  HELPDESK    Syndicomm Online HelpDesk
 590  PALM        Palm OS Forum
 605  MAC         Macintosh Forum
 645  A2          Apple II Community
 850  GAMEBITS    Gamebits Forum
 990  WRITING     The Prolific Quill
1600  WTC         The WTC/Pentagon Support & Discussion Forum

The rest of our forums will move over in the next couple of weeks, we
expect.  Also, the web board software will continue to receive upgrades
over the coming weeks and months as we strive to improve our services for
you.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                         sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                           http://www.syndicomm.com
                 Building communities, bit by bit.

SYNDICOMM, HelpDesk Forum, Cat 4, Top 6, Msg 2)
[EOA]


[PQF]
PROLIFIC QUILL FORUM NOW OPEN
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
If you know how to read and write, then you have something to discuss in
the Prolific Quill Forum at page 990, keyword WRITING.  The Prolific Quill
is a forum for writers, both professional and casual, to exchange ideas and
techniques, as well as to share samples of their work.  We also provide a
place for avid readers to discuss their current and favorite books.
Whether you're reading or writing fiction or non-fiction, in print or
online, Prolific Quill has a place for you!

Prolific Quill is also available from your web browser at this URL:

<http://www.syndicomm.com/communities/writing/messages>

-Ken Gagne
PQ Chief Sysop

(KGAGNE, HelpDesk Forum, Cat 3, Top 11, Msg 9)
[EOA]


[DAD]
LIKE TO PLAY DUNGEONS & DRAGONS?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Like to play Dungeons & Dragons but can't find a campaign near you?  Join
us in the Live Games Forum at Page 810, keyword LIVEGAMES, category 8,
topic 1, where a hardy band of adventurers is gearing up for a foray into
the Caves of Shadow!

(Login Banner, Syndicomm Online)
[EOA]


[SSO]
SIGN UP FOR SYNDICOMM ONLINE
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Since Syndicomm message boards are available via both web and telnet, can
one sign up for Syndicomm membership either way?

I don't know if there are people with access to telnet but not the web;
they're the only ones I could think of who would benefit from having both
choices.

-Ken

KGAGNE, HelpDesk, Cat 4, Top 3, Msg 4)

>>>>>
"""""
Someday there will be a telnet-based signup capability, but I don't know
when.  However, our new user signup forms should work fine in text-only
browsers, such as Lynx.

Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                        sheppy@syndicomm.com
Owner, Syndicomm                          http://www.syndicomm.com
                Building communities, bit by bit.

SYNDICOMM, HelpDesk, Cat 4, Top 3, Msg 5)

>>>>>
"""""
That's great!  Is Lynx still available via telnet?  I remember people doing
so years ago, on CompuServe and GEnie, though I forget which server they
were telnetting to - somewhere in California, I think.

-Ken

(KGAGNE, HelpDesk, Cat 4, Top 3, Msg 6)

>>>>>
"""""
> ... Is Lynx still available via telnet? ...

From: http://www.trill-home.com/lynx/public_lynx.html

            Public Lynx access
There are a number of sites that will permit public Lynx access via
telnet and a guest account. Web masters can also use web based
services to see how their pages will appear in Lynx.
  * Public Lynx at lynx.bob.bofh.org (supply your e-mail address at
    the prompt) ver 2.8.1rel2
  * Public Lynx at sailor.lib.md.us (login as 'guest') ver. 2.7.1
  * Public Lynx at public.sunsite.unc.edu (login as 'lynx') ver. 2.6
  * Public Lynx at lynx.cc.ukans.edu (login as 'lynx') ver. 2.5
  * Lynx View mirror in Japan (support for Japanese charsets)

Lyle Syverson <lyle@FoxValley.net>   Editor, _The Lamp!_
published monthly on the WEB at: <http://lamp.a2central.com/>

(LYLE, HelpDesk, Cat 4, Top 3, Msg 8)

>>>>>
"""""
There are versions of Lynx for many operating systems, including Mac OS.

You can also run Lynx on your own UNIX (or similar) boxes, which is what
I do.

Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. - rsuenaga@apple2.org
Chief Sysop and Head Geek, A2
Brought to you by alpha CoPilot v2.55 and ProTERM 3.1
Offline Syndicomm.com Message Manager

(A2.RYAN, HelpDesk, Cat 4, Top 3, Msg 10)
(EOA)



------------------------------------
      DISTILLATIONS FROM DELPHI A2 |
------------------------------------

by Lyle Syverson <lyle@foxvalley.net>

[UYA]
WHAT DO YOU USE YOUR Apple II FOR?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Hey everyone,

I come here almost every weekday and see so few posts. I understand a lot
of folks have migrated to A2 Central's boards, but I also notice quite a
few visits throughout the day from lurkers (like myself).

I use my Apple about every other day on average for games and fiddling in
Applesoft and ML. I have a IIc in sweet condition and quite a few boxed
games that I've amassed from eBay and local sources. Lately, I've been
tinkering with sound and graphics in ML, but am still rather novice at it.
I wrote tiny ML routines "back in the day," but nothing serious. I started
programming in Applesoft in '80, so I'm comfortable with programming
principles, I'm picking up assembly for the Apple to sort of fill in the
blanks on my knowledge of this amazing machine... it's incredibly
nostalgic. I've been doing a lot of assembly coding directly in monitor,
but I do have Merlin... I'm just not very used to it and it's easier for me
to boot up into Applesoft and tinker. But since I'm starting to dabble in
graphics, I have a feeling I'll be re-acquainting myself with Merlin real
soon. :)

I'd like to know what others are doing with their Apples. I have mine
connected to my PC via serial cable and use ADT to transfer disk images,
but I haven't done any other networking with it (yet). I'm curious if
others are using their Apples for e-mail or even browsing. I'll be
receiving a modem soon and I own ProTerm 3.0, so I may see if there are
local BBS's to mess with (not necessarily Apple-related, but dialing up to
a BBS in general would also be terribly nostalgic).

Anyway, please share your experiences with this classic machine! I'd love
to read them!

-Lee

(THELBANE1, 3530.1, Delphi A2 web side)

>>>>>
"""""
I still come here often. I'm not much of a poster though. B-{) Most of my
time is on A2Central's RTC. We have a nice bunch of folks who love to chat
there.

Programming is a blast. I haven't done any for quite a while lately, but in
the early days, I really enjoyed doing it. It stretches those old brain
cells. B-{)

I use my GS daily. It has a LANceGS ethernet card in it, and I share my
cable modem connection with it and 5 other computers here at home. I really
love this LANce! I have a Linux account at school I telnet into to use my
GS to browse using lynx and links. And Spectrum works great for that. I use
TelnetNDA for my chatting on A2Central. Kim did great work on this!

Well, since I've been involved with Apples since 1981, I'd go into
withdrawal symptoms if I didn't have one in front of me. That's why I have
8 spare GS's, 6 //e's, and one ][+. B-{)

Kirk

(KMITCHEL, 3530.2, Delphi A2 web side)

>>>>>
"""""
I use my IIgs every day.

I have a dialup shell account which gives me email, telnet, FTP, and Lynx.

Many places on the web are Lynx friendly including A2Central.com. I also
access Delphi via Lynx.

I access Syndicomm Online via telnet.

And, of course, _The Lamp!_ is produced using my IIgs.

Lyle Syverson <lyle@FoxValley.net> Editor, _The Lamp!_
published monthly on the WEB at: <http://lamp.a2central.com/>

(LYLE837, 3530.3, Delphi A2 web side)

>>>>>
"""""
I used to come here at least once a day back when there was text access.
When text access was dropped, it was at least 4 months before I came back
for another look. I now try to stop by for a look every weekend but
sometimes forget and go two weeks without stopping by.

I try to keep up on what's going on in the Apple II area of syndicomm.com
but I'm going to have to start from scratch once I get myself set up to
deal with messages there easier. I'm also back to reading the apple2 usenet
newsgroups after not having read a single message there in three months or
so.

I would love to use my IIgs, which is set up beside my PC, every day but
unfortunately I don't always get the chance. I still use my IIgs for
programming, gaming and communications. I also use my IIgs for those rare
times when I actually have to print something as I own better word
processing and desktop publishing software for it than I have for my PC. :)

I'm getting a rather large collection of stuff now and I really need to
organize all this stuff one of these days. That is something that I'm
looking forward to as I'm sure I'll come across some great stuff that I've
forgotten about.

Jeff Blakeney

(JBLAKENEY, 3530.7, Delphi A2 web side)
[EOA]



------------------------------------
             LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
------------------------------------

[ATP]
Apple II DOCUMENTATION PROJECT
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 17:10:58 -0800
From: Eric Shepherd <sheppy@syndicomm.com>
To: lyle@syndicomm.com
Subject: Letter to the editor

Hi, Lyle.  You've been doing a great job with The Lamp! and I thought I'd
drop you a line and say so, as well as point out that I'm trying to
organize an effort to create real documentation for Apple II computers and
software that can be distributed freely to people that get their Apple IIs
at garage sales and the like.

If anyone would like to pitch in, we have a few topics set up for the Apple
II Documentation Project in the A2 bulletin board on Syndicomm Online.

Eric Shepherd
Owner, Syndicomm
http://www.syndicomm.com
Building communities, bit by bit.
[EOA]


[LTE]
AN INVITATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Express your opinions about the comings and goings in the world of the
Apple II computers.

Send your comments to Lyle Syverson, Editor <lyle@FoxValley.net>

The Editor reserves the right to edit any material submitted.

The Editor reserves the right to reject any material he considers
unsuitable for publication in _The Lamp!_.
[EOA]



[KFT]------------------------------
                       KFest 2002 |
-----------------------------------

[PAK]
PLAN AHEAD FOR K-Fest 2002
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
KansasFest 2002 is scheduled for July 23 through 28 of 2002.  Plan ahead.
Mark your calendar.  Start saving your money.  Join us for K-Fest 2002!

For additional information visit the K-Fest Home Page at:
                http://www.kfest.org/
[EOA]



[INN]------------------------------
                     EXTRA INNINGS |
-----------------------------------
About The Lamp!   The Lamp! is published on the fifteenth of every month on
"""""""""""""""   the WEB at:   http://lamp.a2central.com/

This publication produced entirely with real or emulated Apple II computers
using Appleworks 5.1 and Hermes.  Apple II Forever!

     * The Lamp! is (c) copyright 2001 by Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W.  All
       rights reserved.

     * To reach The Lamp! on Internet email send mail to
       thelamp@sheppyware.net

     * All issues of The Lamp! are available at The Lamp! Home Page,
       http://lamp.a2central.com/

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors, and do not
necessarily represent the opinions of A2Central.com, Delphi Online
Services, Syndicomm, Ryan M. Suenaga, or Lyle Syverson.  Forum messages are
reprinted verbatim and are included in this publication with permission
from the individual authors.  A2Central.com, Delphi Online Services,
Syndicomm, Ryan M. Suenaga, and Lyle Syverson do not guarantee the accuracy
or suitability of any information included herein.  We reserve the right to
edit all letters and copy.

Material published in this edition may not be reprinted without the
expressed written consent of the  publisher.   Registered computer user
groups, not for profit publications , and other interested parties may
write the publisher to apply for permission to reprint any or all material.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<



[EOF]
