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

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


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


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


 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 The Lamp!            An Onipa'a Software Production        Vol. 7, No. 4
 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 Publisher................................Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W.
 Editor.....................................................Lyle Syverson
 Internet Email, Publisher.........................thelamp@sheppyware.net
 Internet Email, Editor................................lyle@FoxValley.net
 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

                            TABLE OF CONTENTS
                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                             April 15, 2004

HIGH ABOVE THE ROCK RIVER---------------------------------------------[OPN]
     Lively Discussions
     In the Future for the Apple II's

A2 FORUM AT Syndicomm Online (A2Central.com) DISTILLATIONS------------[DAS]
     What Would You Call a New Apple II Print Publication?------------[NAP]
     Morgan Davis Chat Very Successful--------------------------------[MDS]
     Morgan Davis Chat Transcript in A2 Library-----------------------[MDC]
     About the Acronym "URL"------------------------------------------[URL]
     About the Acronym "DVD"------------------------------------------[DVD]
     The Game "Archon"------------------------------------------------[TGA]
     Port These Game Engines to the IIgs?-----------------------------[PGE]
     Online Guides for Classic Apple Games----------------------------[OGA]
     Monitors With the Apple II's-------------------------------------[MA2]
     ifconfig Available-----------------------------------------------[ICA]
     Juiced.GS - The Movie :) ----------------------------------------[JTM]
     Pre-KansasFest Issue of Juiced.GS in Production------------------[PKJ]
     Individual Issues of Softdisk G-S Now Available------------------[SDG]
     The KEGS Emulator------------------------------------------------[TKE]

FEATURED THIS MONTH---------------------------------------------------[FTM]
     The Computer as an Object of Learning: Time for Something New
          By Greg Hedger

ILLUMINATING THE LAMP-------------------------------------------------[ITL]
     An overview of GEnieLamp A2 and The Lamp!
          This series will continue next month

ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SYNDICOMM------------------------------------------[ANS]
     To Sign up for Syndicomm Online----------------------------------[TSU]
     Announcement System Updated--------------------------------------[ASU]
     Syndicommotion for April 2004 released---------------------------[SAR]

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR-------------------------------------------------[LTE]
     No Letters to the Editor This Month
     An Invitation

KFEST 2004------------------------------------------------------------[KFF]
     KansasFest 2004--------------------------------------------------[KF4]
     Registration is Now Open for KFest 2004--------------------------[KFR]

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


                                [*] [*] [*]

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

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

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



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

                            Lively Discussions
                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     High Above The Rock River, the Community Room serves as a setting for
many meetings, both formal and informal.  When two or more people get
together there will be conversation... sometimes this leads to a lively
discussion.  Once in awhile someone will change or modify their opinion.
More often, all of the participants will maintain their opinions.  Yet,
there is a feeling of satisfaction at having been a part of the discussion.

     Would you like to have a chance to express your opinion on some aspect
of the past, present, or future of the Apple II computers?  Send a Letter
To The Editor of _The Lamp!_  See the LETTERS TO THE EDITOR section for
details.

     Would you like to have the chance to enter into Lively Discussions
face to face with other Apple II enthusiasts?  See the KFest section of
this issue to learn how you can arrange to attend KFest this year.

                     In the Future for the Apple II's
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     In this issue we feature an article by Greg Hedger.  He lives in St.
Louis.  He developed Adventure Alive, Artillery King, and is working on
AA2.  He tells us where he has been with the Apple II's and what he would
like to see in the future for the Apple II's.


[EOA]



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

ASCII ART ENDS
[EOA]



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

by Lyle Syverson <lyle@foxvalley.net>

[NAP]
WHAT WOULD YOU CALL A NEW Apple II PRINT PUBLICATION?
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
If you were starting a new Apple II print publication, what would you call
it?

(No use of the word "Apple" in the name, please)

Ryan
Chief Sysop

(A2.RYAN, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 479)

>>>>>
"""""
An 8-bit, 16-bit or both type of publication?

 Mark Percival - Apprentice
 Delivered by Spectrum v2.5.3 & SOAR v1.0b11
 The Apple ][ Fanatic and Wednesday Night RTC Host
 "Midweek Madness!" from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Pacific Time

(MARK, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 480)

>>>>>
"""""
Both 8-bit and 16-bit.

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

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 481)

>>>>>
"""""
How about "Return to Eden"

(MARGARET, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 483)

>>>>>
"""""
How about "Retro II"?

Kim

(KIMHOWE, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 484)

>>>>>
"""""
Hmmm, how about:

II the Future
Back II the Future
Harvest II

Andy

(AWMOLLOY, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 486)
[EOA]


[MDS]
Morgan Davis CHAT VERY SUCCESSFUL
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I wanted to thank Carl and Sheppy and the rest of the Chat crew for making
the Morgan Davis Chat so successful.

I'm heartbroken that I was unable to make it.  Warning:  Don't say "We're
having problems with our upstream provider" in my presence and you won't
feel my fingers around your throat.  B-{)

We have a transcript though, and while it's not the same as being there, it
makes for very interesting reading.  Editing looks to be minimal, so it
should be in our libraries soon.

I'm still trying to contact future guests with mixed results, but if you
have an Apple II celebrity you'd like to meet online, please feel free to
make suggestions.  Contact information is handy if you have it.  B-{)

Once again, thanks and see you in Chat!

Kirk
A2Central.com RTC Manager

(A2.KIRK, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 489)
[EOA]


[MDC]
Morgan Davis CHAT TRANSCRIPT IN A2 LIBRARY
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
We have a new upload in the a2central.com_archives/Chat_Transcripts
directory:

File: MorganDavis.03272004.txt
Size: 36037
Date: Apr 03

Enjoy an evening with Morgan Davis, programmer of such wonders as ProLine
BBS and MD-Basic.  One of Apple II's pioneers, Morgan introduced many Apple
II users to the Internet and Usenet through his BBS network and proves to
be an extraordinary chat!

Uploaded by Kirk Mitchell.

Tony Ward, A2 Librarian

(A2.TONY, Cat 2, Top 37, Msg 28)
[EOA]


[URL]
ABOUT THE ACRONYM "URL"
"""""""""""""""""""""""
I always thought URL was an acronym for Universal Resource Locator.  Today
I read that the 'U' stands for Uniform.  Have I been horribly misguided all
these years?

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 11, Top 11, Msg 73)

>>>>>
"""""
Ken,

I punched URL into OmniDictionary on the Powerbook and got the following...

From WordNet (r) 2.0:
URL

n : the address of a web page on the world wide web [syn: uniform resource
locator, universal resource locator]


From Jargon File (4.3.0, 30 APR 2001):
URL /U-R-L/ or /erl/ n. Uniform Resource Locator, an address widget that
identifies a document or resource on the World Wide Web. This entry is here
primarily to record the fact that the term is commonly pronounced both
/erl/, and /U-R-L/ (the latter predominates in more formal contexts).


From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03):
URL
Uniform Resource Locator


From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002):
URL
Uniform Resource Locator (WWW, RFC 1738)

It looks like there were more votes for "Uniform", but it seems more than
just you thought it was Universal.

Dain
With Help from OmniDictionary

(A2.DAIN, Cat 11, Top 11, Msg 74)

>>>>>
"""""
It is officially Uniform Resource Locator; this is the first time I've
heard anyone call it anything else. :)

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

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 11, Top 11, Msg 75)

>>>>>
"""""
I have alternatingly called them Uniform and Universal.  I think I once did
research for an article and found that it's supposed to be Uniform.

Ryan
Chief Sysop

(A2.RYAN, Cat 11, Top 11, Msg 76)

>>>>>
"""""
So essentially, URL is anything but uniform.

(KGAGNE, Cat 11, Top 11, Msg 77)
[EOA]


[DVD]
ABOUT THE ACRONYM "DVD"
"""""""""""""""""""""""
It's like the DVD acronym. It started out as Digital Versatile Disc, but
has come to be more widely known as Digital Video Disc because that's what
it's mostly used for.

Tony Ward

(A2.TONY, Cat 11, Top 11, Msg 78)

>>>>>
"""""
I thought it was originally Digital Video Disc, and some people tried to
change it to Digital Versatile Disc, but it didn't stick.

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

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 11, Top 11, Msg 79)

>>>>>
"""""
Do a Google search on "what does DVD stand for" and you'll find that every
reference says Digital Versatile Disc. It makes since, since the DVD format
is not limited to video storage.

Tony Ward

(A2.TONY, Cat 11, Top 11, Msg 80)
[EOA]


[TGA]
THE GAME "ARCHON"
"""""""""""""""""
Can anyone confirm for me that the old Apple game Archon, by Electronic
Arts, supposed modem play?  What about the Amiga or Commodore 64 versions?

Thanks,

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 104)

>>>>>
"""""
Ken,

I just pulled "Archon" off the shelf and booted it up, to check for you.
There is NO modem option.  The instructions also include boot up info for
Atari, Amiga, C64, IBM, and Mac.  None of them seem to support modems.
Considering that the copyright date is 1983 and 1984, that is not too
surprising.

Just for yucks, I also booted up "Archon II: Adept".  Also no modem. The
copyright date is 1985.

                           MT Steve

(S.BERNBAUM, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 105)

>>>>>
"""""
I'm pretty sure neither had a modem option; I certainly don't remember them
having such a thing.

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

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 106)
[EOA]


[PGE]
PORT THESE GAME ENGINES TO THE IIgs?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I ran across additional game engines for software that was never available
for the IIgs:

Nuvie - Ultima VI Engine.  http://nuvie.sourceforge.net/

SCUMMVM - Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion Virtum Machine.
http://www.scummvm.org/ .  For those who are unfamiliar with SCUMM, it was
used by many LucasArts games.

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 14, Top 2, Msg 72)

>>>>>
"""""
Porting some of these engines would be very cool.  The trick is whether the
engines can be rigged to cope with the lower screen resolution of the IIgs.

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

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 14, Top 2, Msg 73)

>>>>>
"""""
One solution would be to use a Second Sight display.  The SDL (Simple
DirectMedia Layer) Library could get ported to handle a cross platform API.
An Apple IIgs version of the SDL could also be modified to pretend that a
higher resolution (and color bit depth) exists and it could downgrade
graphics/colors for native GS resolutions.

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 14, Top 2, Msg 74)

>>>>>
"""""
Downgrading graphics on the fly would be computationally expensive and
would render just about any game unplayable, I would think.  You'd pretty
much have to do it ahead of time, which then means substantial changes to
the game engine's rendering code.

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

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 14, Top 2, Msg 75)

>>>>>
"""""
Requiring hyper accelerated speeds such as what is provided by emulators
would make the on-the-fly downgrading a moot point.

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 14, Top 2, Msg 76)

>>>>>
"""""
Requiring an emulator seems like cheating to me. :)

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

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 14, Top 2, Msg 77)

>>>>>
"""""
I hate to say it, but the number of people with an SS card is quite
limited. If a game is only playable on an emulator, you'd be better off
just playing ScummVM on your real computer with the correct graphics.
ScummVM already works for MacOS, Windows, XWindows, etc.

If there are any good tile-based games, it might be better to port them to
use the GTE engine.  That looks pretty interesting to me.

Kelvin

(KWS, Cat 14, Top 2, Msg 78)

>>>>>
"""""
Agreed.  There's not much point to developing something that requires an
emulator or Second Sight to play.  Not only is the Second Sight pretty
uncommon, but it's not very good, either.

Still, there are probably some open source type games that could be ported
and made to work reasonably well.

I, for one, would love an Apple II version of the old "Empire" conquest
game.  Even one that runs on the text screen the way they did in the old
days.

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

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 14, Top 2, Msg 79)
[EOA]


[OGA]
ONLINE GUIDES FOR CLASSIC Apple GAMES
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Online guides for a plethora of classic Apple games are provided by
enthusiast and writer Andrew Schultz.  His full catalogs is here:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/3574.html

(KGAGNE, Cat 14, Top 4, Msg 8)
[EOA]


[MA2]
MONITORS WITH THE Apple II's
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Since I have 3 Apples, 1 Amiga, and 1 X86 comp I want them to all work on
1 monitor. I have thought this out. my computers outputs are:
     //E Composite
     //C+ Composite
     //GS RGB
     Amiga 4000T RGB
     X86 VGA

So first I need:
     Composite Switch
     VGA Switch

Then I need to convert the signals to VGA:
     Composite to VGA + scandoubler?
     RGB to VGA + scandoubler
     Amiga Video card W/Scandoubler

Also cables so I can connect this mess.

I can get the amiga card a CybergraphiX 64/3d for about $200

Now Composite to VGA... this seems like it would work:
     http://www.spyhiddencamera.com/products/30/vga801c.htm $185.95 CND

RGB to VGA seems more difficult... I think this might work... (I would just
need to make my own adapter)...
     http://www.ihse.de/english/238-1f.htm

Does anybody have a IIgs video port pinouts?

(TECHNERD, Cat 17, Top 17, Msg 12)

>>>>>
"""""
OK I found the pinout for the apple III & IIgs:
     pin 1 Gnd Red
     pin 2 Red
     pin 5 Green
     pin 6 Groun Green
     Pin 9 Blue
     pin 13 Ground Blue

Now making that cable would be fun!! :-)

(TECHNERD, Cat 17, Top 17, Msg 13)

>>>>>
"""""
Now the VGA switcher is easy.  All I need is a 3:1 or 4:1 vga switcher...
something like this:
     http://www.knoxvideo.com/Products/kv_Pres_VGA.asp#enhanced

(TECHNERD, Cat 17, Top 17, Msg 14)

>>>>>
"""""
I have yet to find a cheap scan doubling solution that appears to work
well.  It's unfortunate, because if there was one, I'd probably buy two or
three.

Ryan

(A2.RYAN, Cat 17, Top 17, Msg 15)

>>>>>
"""""
Most of the ones I have seen have been $600 to $1000 dollars.... way too
much!!  But only if I could find one in a kit form!

(TECHNERD, Cat 17, Top 17, Msg 16)

>>>>>
"""""
I really would like to have a scan doubler that works well and isn't
absurdly expensive.  My last working GS monitor is starting to go now.

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

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

>>>>>
"""""
>> I think this might work... http://www.ihse.de/english/238-1f.htm <<

The description for says it does not convert any synchronization signal.
This means that the VGA monitor must support a horizontal sync rate of
15.75 kHz (which modern ones do not).  You would still need something like
a scan doubler in addition.

A solution that is guaranteed to work is to use a Second Sight video card
on the IIgs.

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 17, Top 17, Msg 18)

>>>>>
"""""
http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=243&products_id=3166&

This link looks promising but what is Component? I have heard of YUV, RGB,
Composite, & S-Video.

The other way to output the IIGS video is to buy a Multisync monitor that
can accept a 15khz sync signal ie a NEC Multisync 3d monitor would but
these monitors are getting hard to find.

This might work as well with a little creative rewiring to makeup for pin
differences and socket sizes.

These look good also:
http://www.ncsx.com/ncs1201/xrgb-1.htm
of course at 200 bucks a pop it is a little steep (Price found on Froogle)
http://www.amigastuff.co.uk/partnumber.asp?Code=scandub1&Page=type1

(TECHNERD, Cat 17, Top 17, Msg 19)
[EOA]


[ICA]
ifconfig AVAILABLE
""""""""""""""""""
I got my lanced gs working on my reconfigured network.  To celebrate, I'm
planning to migrate some of my partially finished projects from the
confines of my hard drives to the www.  Eventually :)

The first one is a commandline (gno/orca) utility to connect/disconnect
marinetti: ifconfig

usage:

ifconfig up -- tell marinetti to connect to the network
ifconfig down -- tell marinetti to disconnect from the network
ifconfig status -- ask marinetti if we're currently connected

Source included.  Get it while it's hot:
     http://www.syndicomm.com/~kws/iigs/

Kelvin

(KWS, Cat 20, Top 11, Msg 9)
[EOA]


[JTM]
Juiced.GS - THE MOVIE :)
""""""""""""""""""""""""
I came home this afternoon to find Juiced.GS in my mailbox. I was anxiously
awaiting to read the SIS review.  This would be the first time that SIS was
reviewed by someone who did not beta test it.  I think Ryan hit it right on
the money.

I also enjoyed the cover: the praise, the heartfelt love, the pure
enjoyment of it.  And the screams of agony.

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 537)

>>>>>
"""""
Makes me want to go and rent the movie...

Steven Weyhrich <IX0YE>--<
Apple II History
http://apple2history.org

(A2HISTORY, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 538)

>>>>>
"""""
Steve,

May I suggest something slightly better like....Dude, Where's My Car?  Or
Meatballs III.  :)

The worst part about getting a Juiced.GS issue is the inevitable wait for
the next issue.  Thanks for the hard work guys.

Dain

(A2.DAIN, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 539)

>>>>>
"""""
>> Thanks for the hard work guys. <<

You're welcome.

Hopefully we'll have something funnier on the next cover :-)

Ryan
Editor in Chief, Juiced.GS

(A2.RYAN, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 540)

>>>>>
"""""
>> I think Ryan hit it right on the money. <<

Wow.  To be told that by the programmer is pretty rare.  That's high
praise, Geoff, thanks.

>> I also enjoyed the cover: the praise, the heartfelt love, the pure
enjoyment of it.  And the screams of agony. <<

And the beatings.  Let's not forget the beatings.

Ryan
Editor in Chief, Juiced.GS

(A2.RYAN, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 541)

>>>>>
"""""
As a demo of SIS, it was OK, but it was only funny if you were there. :)

Mine finally arrived, by way of Alliance, NE, according to the postmark on
the back of the envelope. It must have stuck to someone else's copy.

 Carl Knoblock - Telephone Tech - Mon  15 Mar 04  7:20:35 pm
 cknoblo@cox.com - Via Spectrum v2.5.3 & SOAR v1.0b10
 KFest 2004, July 20-25, 2004 - 127 days till KFest
 On cable via LANceGS & Marinetti 2.0.1 - Thank you, Richard.
 A2 RTC Staff - Sunday Night House Party - carlk@syndicomm.com

(CARLK, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 542)

>>>>>
"""""
>> May I suggest something slightly better like....Dude, Where's My Car?
Or Meatballs III. <<

Juiced.GS: The Movie.

Ryan

(A2.RYAN, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 543)
[EOA]


[PKJ]
Pre-KansasFest ISSUE OF Juiced.GS IN PRODUCTION
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
We are currently in early production stage and plan to ship this issue in
May 2004. This is the annual pre-KansasFest issue, so we hope to have some
announcements and surprises for you as the event approaches.

Remember, last year we told you that Woz would be there. :)

Ryan
Editor-in-Chief, Juiced.GS

(RSUENAGA, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 554)

>>>>>
"""""
Dain responds....

I feel sorry for you if you have to compete with that announcement:)
Regardless, I look forward to your next issue.

I really appreciate all your hard work on the issues.  Sometimes I take for
granted that Juiced.GS shows up at my doorstep every couple of months.

It's been how many years since Apple killed the IIGS anyway?  Thanks to all
the people out there that will not let it die.

Dain

(A2.DAIN, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 545)
[EOA]


[SDG]
INDIVIDUAL ISSUES OF Softdisk G-S NOW AVAILABLE
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Individual issues of Softdisk G-S are now on sale for $5 apiece at
Syndicomm's online store.  <http://store.syndicomm.com>.

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

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 24, Top 33, Msg 28)
[EOA]


[TKE]
THE KEGS EMULATOR
"""""""""""""""""
KEGS has now been updated to 0.86.  Mouse operation is now very similar to
what was found in Bernie and GUS.  KEGS now works better than the mouse
implementation found in ActiveGS (you have to love feature-set wars ;)

It was the FTA who influenced me to make KEGS behave better.  My first
attempt at the mouse code emulated the FTA's work, but I wanted to see the
mouse integration be like Bernie/GUS.  My final implementation was much
more sophisticated than what is now found in KEGS (and arguably more
correct), but the mouse in KEGS seems to work fine, at least under SOLARIS
which is all that I have tested so far.

So that looks like another notch where KEGS meets or exceeds a feature in
Bernie.

Solaris users will probably want to add defined (SOLARIS) on line 48 in
sound.c so sound works by default.

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 26)

>>>>>
"""""
Geoff,

How can KEGS be compiled on my Mac? I've installed the Developer tools
(actually the Xcode thing that came with Panther). I downloaded the file
that VersionTracker pointed to, but the file that looks like the KEGS
application starts, makes an error noise, and then quits, no messages.

Steven Weyhrich <IX0YE>--<
Apple II History
http://apple2history.org

(A2HISTORY, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 27)

>>>>>
"""""
I don't have a Mac that can compile KEGS, so I don't really know.

If I was to proceed, I would dump the Cocoa (or Carbon or whatever the
right buzzword is) version and concentrate on the X version (now that a
decent version of Mac OS X has been released).

I would then unlink (or delete if there is no unlink) vars and symlink
vars_linuxppc to vars.  I would then make the result, fixing any problems
due to compilation (the gcc developer tools must be installed--you
installed everything from 10.3, right?). of course, it would be better to
not change vars_linuxppc, but to create a new file (something like
vars_macx11).

Once it compiles, you now have xkegs to run (use existing ROM and hard disk
images).  It should be noted that there is no Mac sound support in the
Xwindows version for the Mac.  Just copy the necessary lines form
macsnd_driver.c and put them into sound_driver.c.

So if a new feature gets implemented (say integrated cut and paste with the
host), UNIX and Mac users get the immediate benefit without needing
developers to port across different environments.

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 28)

>>>>>
"""""
Of course, a precompiled KEGS binary for the Mac is available too, so you
don't *have* to build it yourself.

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

(SYNDICOMM, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 29)

>>>>>
"""""
But it is the precompiled KEGS for Mac OS X that I'm having problems with.
That was why I was wondering about how to compile it.

Steven Weyhrich <IX0YE>--<
Apple II History
http://apple2history.org

(A2HISTORY, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 30)

>>>>>
"""""

Category 29,  Topic 31
Message 31         Sun Mar 28, 2004
A2.DAIN [Dain]               at 21:09 PDT

Steve,

What problem are you having?

Thanks,
Dain

(A2.DAIN, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 31)

>>>>>
"""""
When I start KEGSMAC it opens a window while the icon is bouncing, and then
just quits with no error message, no "This application unexpectedly quit"
or nothing.

Steven Weyhrich <IX0YE>--<
Apple II History
http://apple2history.org

(A2HISTORY, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 32)

>>>>>
"""""
Perhaps if you launch it from a terminal window, it will print an error
message (like unable to find the rom file)?

Kelvin

(KWS, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 33)

>>>>>
"""""
Steve,

I know this sounds pretty moronic to a Mac user.  (it does to me)   But you
have to follow these rules explicitly.

"Like most other KEGS versions, KEGSMAC is usually run from a Terminal
window.  Just type "./KEGSMAC.app/Contents/MacOS/KEGSMAC" in the directory
you installed/compiled it in.  You need to have a ROM file (named ROM,
ROM.01, or ROM.03) and a config.kegs in the same directory or in your home
directory (read the README--these files are searched for in various
places)."

There maybe a way to tie that knowledge to an icon to click on.  I'm just
not sure how.

Good Luck,
Dain

(A2.DAIN, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 34)

>>>>>
"""""
You should probably look at the documentation that comes with your terminal
program (does it have a man page?).  For example, xterm can launch a
program with the -e argument.

xterm -e xkegs

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 29, Top 31, Msg 35)
[EOA]



[FTM]------------------------
        FEATURED THIS MONTH |
-----------------------------

THE COMPUTER AS AN OBJECT OF LEARNING: TIME FOR SOMETHING NEW
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Greg Hedger
4 April 2004

This article is not about best practices for software development or
operating system engineering.  It is geared, rather, toward the computer's
role in individual learning.  It is not of the pedagogical kind of learning
fostered by its ability to connect to the Internet or run math drills that
I speak.  It is of the computer as the object of learning, as itself a
veritable fountain of knowledge.  We begin with the authors inspiration for
this topic of the computer as an object of learning, examine problems with
modern operating systems in an educational light, and conclude with a
vision and a hope for the future.

MY FIRST COMPUTER

In April, 1983, my parents bought an Apple IIe system for $2,300.  I didn't
think much of it at the time, being embroiled in music.  The oohs and ahs
subsided, and by May, I was the only one using this esoteric contraption.
My cousins came to Houston to spend that summer with us.  The computer
became a big hit with them.  One cousin and I teamed up on Bolo, with us
taking turns having one man the gun and the other drive, humming the theme
to Star Wars during the more intense moments while flying through the maze
being chased by angry enemies.  The oldest girl preferred more intellectual
pursuits and enjoyed spending time on Zork.  I was always attracted to the
graphical programs, however, and wanted to make my own early on.

One day in June, after some rough play with the kids outside, I came in to
work through the Applesoft Basic manual my dad and I had begun to study.  I
typed in one of the commands, GR, and the screen did something funny.
After some more reading, I had a colored brick on the screen!  That was an
extremely exciting moment for me.  Later, I ebulliently one-upped that
achievement and had a hires dot, and then a line.  Little did I know at the
time that my passion for programming, the fire ignited that hot Houston
summer, would be burning yet 21 years hence.  I became obsessed with that
machine and its inner workings to the point my mother had to hide the cord
to force me to go outside and play.  In fact, I managed to make a career of
programming (and later with much study and hard work, software engineering)
without ever taking a single formal course in Computer Science thanks in
large part to the open architecture and approachability of the Apple II.
The open architecture of the II invited discovery and encouraged learning
at an impressionable age...  a trait conspicuously absent from todays
platforms.  More properly, I owe any skill I may have acquired, my
interests, and my career to the man and men behind the Apple II, and
especially to my parents, who bought their product.

Fast forward 21 years: where do we stand today?  Are systems still as open
and approachable?

BOOT TIMES

As a lead-in to the topic of the computer's role as an object of education,
I'd like to make a few observations about the change in boot times as
microcomputers have evolved.  My Apple IIe boots a typical DOS 3.3  5.25"
floppy in approximately 10-15 seconds.  The Apple IIGS, after a brief delay
on power-up, boots a modest GSOS from hard disk in about 12 seconds.  A
Windows 95 machine running a Pentium II@266MHz drops the user in the
desktop after a 50 second wait.  Finally, my AMD Athlon XP1800 with striped
RAID-0 hard drives requires a whopping two minutes(!).

                                              Approx.
                             Speed   Bus    Processing
   Machine/OS        CPU     (MHz)  (bits)    Factor       Drive      Time
-----------------   -----    -----  ------  ----------  -----------  -----
Apple IIe/DOS 3.3   65C02      1       8        1X      5.25 Floppy  00:15*
Apple IIGS/GSOS     65816     7.5    8/16      12X       Hard Disk   00:12
Pentium II Win95    K6-II     266     32      1500X      Hard Disk   00:50
AMD Athlon Win2K     K7      1533     32     8000+X      RAID-0 HD   01:55
                                                                  *(varies)

Anyone old enough to remember Highlights Magazine inevitably recalls the
"What's wrong?" pictures.  Can you spot a problem with the picture above?
Do you see the abnormality: the faster machines become, the longer they
take to boot (and perform other things, but here we focus on boot times).

The first and most obvious answer is that the operating systems have grown
more complex over time.  Precisely.  And it is my contention we've reached
a point of critical mass beyond which this attribute becomes a deficit
rather than an asset.  Think about it:  Can modern operating systems, nay,
must modern operating systems require 67,000 times the boot time processing
of the humble Apple DOS 3.3?  A far more practical question is this:  Do
you, the user, get 67,000 times the value over your Apple II?  100 times?
Even 10 times (be honest, now)?  Whence arises this odd, inverse
relationship between processing power and boot times?  While a simple,
monolithic blanket answer will not suffice, we'll explore a few more
nuanced ones here.

DELINEATION OF PROBLEMS WITH MODERN OS'S AS PERTAINS TO DISCOVERY,
LEARNING, AND EXPLORATION
 
The following is by no means an exhaustive compilation of the problems that
plague modern computers, software, or users.  It is merely intended to give
the reader a flavor for attributes that serve as both weaknesses and
impediments to learning from the computer.  The real irony: Most of the
attributes listed are almost universally considered strengths of sound
design in both hardware and software.

Abstraction
First, it would not be unreasonable to surmise the high
processing-to-valuable-output ratio of modern machines has something to do
with layer piled upon layer of software abstraction to the hardware, with
more attention often paid to theory than to pragmatic engineering
solutions.  Evidence for this deduction can be found, for example, in the
wide array of graphics and sound cards available for the PC, to say nothing
of the many motherboards and other low-level hardware devices.  This brings
us to our second problem: modularity.

Modularity
modularity is usually spoken of in favorable terms in most pursuits, and
especially in computing disciplines.  Indeed, ask any maintenance
programmer and you'll find it can be a valuable trait to have in large
software systems.  However: _the need to support the many different
possible types of hardware implicit in a modular architecture has
necessitated an almost crippling level of abstraction and contingency code
in the operating systems of today!_  Have you ever heard of (so-called)
plug-and-play?  One concomitant of this complexity, when combined with
automated frameworks like plug-and-play intended to make the user's life
easier, is the unintentional installation of sometimes many drivers of
various flavors for the either the same or a different device.  For
example:  Billy goes over to Joe's house to play Quake.  He brings his
joystick along.  When he leaves, Joe has a new driver installed that he
will almost never use (except when Billy comes over).  Worse, he may even
have a deadweight background process hanging around at all times, eating up
RAM and CPU cycles.  Multiply cases like this, add in the enormous volume
of programmatic trash from Web installations, shake for one minute and stir
twice and you have a first-class mess on your hands.

Viewed in a purely hardware context, modular systems have the communal
property of each part being replaceable by a similar part with the same
inputs and outputs but with internal variations.  Such systems have the
economic advantage of fostering competition among hardware vendors while
maintaining the same software operation for a given type of unit regardless
of variant.  Overdone, however, modularity leads to brittleness: to make a
change to an interface to, say, a graphical device (VGA card in PC
parlance) means a host of changes to the interface abstraction's internals
are necessary to satisfy all the underlying hardware units.  Thus, you have
the highly-piled layering mentioned in Abstraction above and you end up
with an enormous amount of processing needed to perform a very simple task,
for example, plotting a dot to a screen - something a nine-year-old would
almost certainly find hopeless without the aid of a special, and expensive,
software development package.  You are talking about writing a certain byte
to a certain memory location: WHY SHOULD THAT COST 10s OR 100s OR DOLLARS?
Worse yet, having such a package impedes our 9-year-olds learning by hiding
from him the details - which concept, by the way, is very highly regarded
in the software world as a property of modularity.  Do you want your kid
remaining ignorant in the name of sound object-oriented or modular theory?
No!  There will be a time to learn about that.  However, childhood  when
creativity, enthusiasm, and the spirit of exploration is at an all time
high - is NOT that time.  Childhood is NOT the time to squash creativity in
the name of favor-of-the-week theories.

Today's machines are not only inefficient, but discourage learning and
discovery.  Some children  and adults - may not be satisfied with just the
Internet.  Some children may want to know a little about the machine
_enabling them to connect_ to the Internet.  And that is no longer
possible.

Modularity's opposite is organicity.  The adjective organic refers to the
living and implies the inseparability of parts from the whole.  In contrast
to modularity, organicity emphasizes wholeness and interconnectivity
between individual components, or organs.  The whole is the sum of the
parts, as one's arm is a part of the body and may not be switched and
swapped at will.  Each organic element has a very special design, related
to its role in the interconnected whole.  It is possible to think of an
organic system as a single large module, with each part knowing about the
others, instead of a collection thereof.  While organic systems may not be
picked apart piece by piece without disabling the function of the whole,
they do have the advantage of each part being able to make safe assumptions
about the others.  In a computing context, this means an altogether
elimination of the need for complex and expensive abstraction layers,
enabling software to go directly to the hardware. The Apple II is an
excellent example of an organic system:  The graphics were tied, for
example, to the memory refresh and saved cost on the original design.
Unfortunately, this also proved a weakness as technology advanced, but
certainly not an insurmountable one.  It allowed for the very openness on
the hardware level that set this legendary machine apart from all other
microcomputers built before or since, to this day.

Security
The realities of the connectivity afforded by the Internet in conjunction
with human nature necessitate the ability to secure one's private
information from prying eyes.  It is not, however, of this type of
peer-to-peer security that we speak.

Code-level security, in the form of page faulting and exception handling
producing the inability to look at arbitrary memory, has weakened users'
ability to learn about the computer, to debug programs (virtually unheard
of anymore, as we seem to insist on keeping users "in the dark"), or learn
how things work.  Insofar as most machines store their data on a single
centralized repository medium in the form of a hard drive, this is somewhat
justified, but not completely - there are other ways besides this to
protect persistent data.

Some vendors simply want to keep their code private.  But this, too, in an
age when open source solutions are gaining in popularity, rings hollow.
Moreover, if a dishonest (and competent) someone is determined to steal
code and is willing to expend the effort necessary to disassemble and
interpret it, this person will eventually achieve his or her goal.

System-level security is appropriate in some settings - banks, for example,
don't want tellers snooping customer ATM PIN numbers.  It is not
appropriate, however, in our context, in which we are evaluating the
computer as a learning tool.  That system must be kept as open as possible,
and invite prying eyes - not to pry account numbers, but knowledge that
will help them learn and grow and inspire them to become something other
than video-game addicted mind-numbed couch potatoes.  The Apple II does
precisely that: Call -151.

Quality
The final problem with today's machines is quality.  Herein lies a paradox
with cost - one of the modern PCs greatest strengths.  However, with
substandard hardware being produced in mass levels by underpaid laborers,
poor quality has irked almost every user of a modern computer system at
some point.

To its credit, one thing of which Apple, at least historically, may not be
accused is producing shoddy-quality products.  The author uses his Apple
IIGS daily and even still fires up the now 21-year-old Apple IIe on
occasion.  The only current problem is with the latter - an op-amp
complicity in joystick reads sits in a loose socket that will eventually
need to be desoldered and replaced.  The only other problems he has had is
when a 74F323 chip on the Disk II controller burned up 14 years ago, and
when a transistor array DIP in one of his Disk IIs went out, disabling the
drive's write capability - which happened twice.  That is about it - really
not bad for 21 years of sometimes extremely heavy use.

We could continue and discuss scope - trying to please everyone - and many
other causes of the apparent sloth of machines running with incredible
memory capacity processing capability, and throughput, to say nothing of
covering post-boot activities, but the point has been well established.

Other Peeves with MacWinUx
When the user says jump, you (the computer) don't say, just a minute, I'm
in the middle of something.   You don't even say, How high?.  You jump...
NOW!  Such was the Apple IIs Reset response.  Of course, without the
complexity of a huge and monolithic OS, its quite possible many of the
cases wherein you would NEED to forcibly hard-reset the machine would be
eliminated.  Likewise, when the user types three dots, you (the machine)
don't automatically convert them to another character: A) what purpose does
this serve?  B) If the user wants a specific character, she will specify
such.  When the user says to save a plain-jane document in its original,
plain-jane format, you (the OS) save it.  You DO NOT say, Are you sure?
You might lose italics! You might lose formatting!  A _good_ machine
behaves as a servant, faithfully obeying its masters commands.  It is not a
person.  It is a machine, a servant to the human operator.  It may even be
a friend, but it is a servant nonetheless.  The master will learn without
the servant talking back, second-guessing, or otherwise interpreting the
masters commands other than literally.

Beyond justified complaining about the latest and greatest, let us look
forward to an ideal machine, one conducive to learning and built with the
intelligence of the user assumed.

LOOKING FORWARD

What would the next Apple II be like?  Asked more boldly, what _will_ it
look like?  What follows is the author's own speculation and represents not
merely advancement in the computer world, but a Copernican shift, a
long-awaited convergence of the best of the latest technology with
old-world craftsmanship.

First, barring a miracle it won't bear the name "Apple".  Second, it will
not look like anything on the market today.  For now, we call it the
Hypothetical Learning Computer, or HLC.

On the outside, it will probably appear similar to a typical tower PC.  It
will have a high-quality VGA monitor, and perhaps even a radically new
input device  at least, new to the typical consumer.

When you turn it on, it will beep at you, and you might see a familiar
sight - a flashing white box cursor at the bottom of a screen.  (You will
not see a bunch of unsolicited counters or offers to press this key or that
to "enter BIOS settings"[whatever those are, </sarcasm>].)  Filling the
80x48 character text screen, arranged in a grid, are simple menu items.
Each menu item represents a program.

You "click" on one using the input device, and your web browser pops up
instantly.  You want to hear, say, the Seattle at Oakland game, so you poke
on over to the baseball site, start the stream, and hit a quick key
sequence to take you back to the start menu.  What you've really just done
is rebooted, but it occurred instantaneously - seamlessly - and did not
stop your stream.  You've told the machine to do in hardware what massive,
bloated Orwellian operating systems currently do in software.

It is now time to get some work done.  With the ball game on in the
background, you navigate to your development environment, or business
tools, or whatever suits your particular vocation, and jump right in.  No
delays, no second guessing, no hourglasses, and no Are you sure? dialogues.
No danger of crashing the hard disk either, as each context is managed at
the hardware level.

You hear an important play - Brett Boone just hit a triple with two men out
- and want to increase the volume.  You bring up the control panel with the
familiar Control-Alt-Delete key combo.  Instead of clearing the screen, the
options show up in text with a transparent background, leaving your program
visible behind, but dimmed.

A famous 1956 study by George A. Miller (Harvard University), first
published in Psychology Review, found that, generally speaking, people can
focus on a maximum of seven things at once.  Thus, a particular system
needn't offer the ability to hold over 1000 simultaneous process instances
- only seven.  Moreover, if each process has its own context space (memory,
hard drive), it should be able to implement its tasks in its own manner
best suited to its applications.  For example, while a web browser might be
considered one "thing" to the user, it may front seven or eight or fifteen
tasks internally to send and receive data, update animated graphics on the
page, and update the streaming sound for the ball game via a plug-in.  The
point is, each user-level program (e.g., the web browser, not the tasks
that comprise it) could run on its own processor, even sharing memory
(possibly) with three or seven other processors, and all sharing resources
such as the display and sound.  One program would have the focus, though
others may be shown "behind" it, perhaps through translucent windows.

Admittedly, this approach is a deviation from the Apple II's creator's
original genius of moving most functionality into software.  However, 2004
does not hold nearly the cost restrictions on hardware resources as those
present in 1977.  Thus, it may not be very costly after all, and it helps
maintain the openness of the system by keeping software complexity in
check.

The overriding concerns are in fact twofold: keep it open, as has been the
focus of this article on the value of computers in learning, and keep it
simple.  This latter point avoids the bloat and sloth we've all come to
experience as part of the warp and woof of modern computing.

Now, as far as making the Hypothetical Learning Computer the logical, if
not familial, heir of the Apple II, what can and can't its creators do?

65C02/65C816 emulation:
65C02/65C816 emulation would definitely loom large as an integral part of
the HLC, and in hardware emulation.  While the main processors would likely
be a RISC variant or FPGAs, a 65C02 or two would be very nice to have
around the house and would enable users to run a good deal of existing
Apple II software.  This latter ability is a key ingredient to HLCs
success, and _may_ antecede reclamation of the classroom  by a computer
built (fittingly) with learning and education at front-center.

Original Bank 0 Emulation:
Again, this would be necessary to execute existing software, and should not
present any legal hurdles.  It could be extended to provide support for
cutting edge graphics capabilities, and sound comparable to the IIGS, but
modernized to CD-quality levels while maintaining a large number of voices.

Original Apple II ROMS:
This is a no-no, and violates Apple's legal copyrights.  Legal precedent in
Apple vs. Franklin established this.  However, Laser produced similar ROMs
from scratch, which ROMs worked with most software; they withstood a
similar legal challenge.

Original Apple II font:
This may be the one area where interaction with Apple, Inc. becomes
necessary.  HLCs creators view it as the spiritual, if not ontological,
heir of the Apple II, and wish to retain every aspect of the flavor and
feel of that timeless and legendary computer.

Apple IIGS emulation:
While the Apple IIGS was and is a splendid machine, it represented, in the
author's opinion, a step in the wrong direction by introducing the
beginnings of a large, monolithic operating system.  Development on like
systems on other platforms has led to the very issues decried previously in
this article, namely: bloat, inapproachability, and inefficiency.
Moreover, the IIGS is heavily dependent upon its ROMs, whose size exceeds
that of the Apple Iie's many times over.  Any effort to clean room engineer
them could present a toilsome nightmare.  This effort is better spent
elsewhere.  Remember: you don't need a complex operating system to get the
benefits afforded thereby.  There are other ways to achieve multitasking
capability _and_ responsiveness.

Lots and Lots of RAM:
Engineers should have little trouble allowing for expansion to 1-2GB of RAM
on board should the owner desire it.  However, due to the simplicity of the
system and the lack of a memory-eating sow with twelve piglets sucking
resources, huge gobs of RAM may not be necessary for even the most stunning
and processor-intensive games.

Emulation of other systems:
We've been seeing Apple IIs on PCs and Macs for years now.  The task of
emulation of foreign systems should fall to software.  The huge amounts of
hard drive space necessary for, say, a major PC operating system that will
remain nameless, would be cordoned off (read: quarantined!) from the rest
of the programs on the system, and thus not a danger.  Again, this is
enforced at a very low firmware or even hardware level.

Fault Tolerance:
This one may shock you.  One of the keys to a successful hard disk-enabled
open system is protecting the data from unintentional destruction.  Dual
drives with a rollback feature would be part of the standard setup, and
reads could even be optimized for greater speed under this arrangement.
This is absolutely necessary to bring the same openness and flexibility of
the original Apple II (and its derivative) to a hard-drive-based system in
the Twenty-First Century.

Ethernet and other hardware peripherals:
Software is written to support networking or not, depending on its
function.  The hardware would include standard PCI slots for inexpensive PC
hardware, but would need to be programmed.  Fundamental hardware  defined
as hardware directly targeted to _one_ of the five human senses  would be
built in, and considerably endowed with formidable technology of the age.
This would include the sound (auditory sense), graphics (visual sense), and
keyboard (kinesthetic sense).

Display/Sound:
Insofar as seeing and hearing are fundamental to the human experience, HLCs
video and audio capabilities will be fixed in the system and part of the
HLC organic whole.  This approach brings low-level access to truly awesome
graphical and audio hardware to the masses, and it eliminates vendor
confusion over which peripherals to support:  There is one video mode, and
one sound card.  Also, it encourages developers to refocus energy otherwise
wasted on supporting a wide variety of hardware.  It lets them tap into the
hardware "goodies", the more specialized functions of the hardware that
might not be available on all units of a wide variety of display adapters.

TARGET MARKET

Anyone who loves computing but hates the hassle is a potential customer for
the Hypothetical Learning Computer.  Young boys are candidates who aspire
to be to video game development what Isaac Asimov was to science fiction.
Young ladies wanting to get ahead in school would find their computing
needs met.  Moms who want to organize their recipes, calendars, and cruise
the web without learning a massively complicated operating system would
find the HLC attractive as a family computer.  Dads updating their families
monthly budget and then learning BASIC with their sons and daughters
appreciate the HLCs simplicity and transparency.  And long-time Apple II
veterans and former users the world over are of course warmly invited to
partake of something they've not experienced since 1989: A new, highly
advanced and innovative model of the machine they grew to know, enjoy, and
learn from.

The HLC is just that.  It is not intended for business or commerce, but for
the purpose of restoring to the home user the joy of computing.

WHEN WILL THE HLC BECOME A REALITY?

It would take one person years in engineering effort and patience to build
such a machine.  Details would need to be worked out, debated, and
analyzed.  It would require a modest investment in equipment and software
(running, no doubt, on a bloated, crash-prone machine) but there's no good
reason why it could not one day come to fruition provided its creators
follow the all pertinent legalities.  Needless to say, positive
participation from Apple would be extremely well received, but, just as
Detroit Tiger fans should not expect a World Series Championship in 2004,
one had best not expect such positive participation from the Originators.
Jeri Ellsworth offers a unique inspiration, as through her and her team the
Commodore 64 is reborn.  The spirit of innovation and creativity, inspired
in many cases during a childhood influenced by such machines, dies hard.

The author realizes others with a similar dream for the Apple II have come
and gone.  Let the reader rest assured that _this_ dream will only die when
the author of this article dies, and hopefully (by that time) the dream
will have long since materialized and inspired millions who will be
carrying the personal computing torch for future generations.
-GH

Anyone interested in the contents of this article, or in participating in
the HLC project, should contact hedger@sbcglobal.net.



[ITL]------------------------
      ILLUMINATING THE LAMP |
-----------------------------

An overview of GEnieLamp A2 and The Lamp!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By Steven Weyhrich

The series ILLUMINATING THE LAMP will continue next month.

[EOA]



[ANS]-------------------------------
      ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SYNDICOMM |
------------------------------------

by Lyle Syverson <lyle@foxvalley.net>

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Announcement System Updated
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""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The April issue of Syndicommotion, our free newsletter covering the latest
events on Syndicomm Online, is now available.  If you don't subscribe, you
can read the issue at <http://www.syndicomm.com/syndicommotion/>.

(Login Announcement)
[EOA]



[LTE]-------------------------------
             LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
------------------------------------

Enjoying the Monthly Column, "Illuminating The Lamp"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The mail box for Letters to the Editor remained empty this month.
[EOA]


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

Send your comments to Lyle Syverson, Editor <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]



[KFF]------------------------------
                       KFest 2004 |
-----------------------------------

[KF4]
KansasFest 2004
"""""""""""""""
KansasFest 2004 is planned for July 20-25, 2004 at Avila University in
Kansas City, Missouri.

(Heading: Cat 5, Top 22)
[EOA]


[KFR]
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR KFest 2004
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Visit the KFest Home Page at:   http://www.kfest.org/
and follow the registration link.
[EOA]



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

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

     * The Lamp! is (c) copyright 2004 by Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W.  All
       rights reserved.

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

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

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

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



[EOF]
