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

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


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


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


 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 The Lamp!            An Onipa'a Software Production       Vol. 9, No. 11
 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 Publisher................................Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W.
 Editor.....................................................Lyle Syverson
 Internet Email, Publisher.........................thelamp@sheppyware.net
 Internet Email, Editor...............lutefisk at grex.cyberspace dot org
 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

                            TABLE OF CONTENTS
                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            December 15, 2006

HIGH ABOVE THE ROCK RIVER---------------------------------------------[OPN]
     Change in the Weather
     Sure Things
     The Missing Issue
     Back Issues

A2 FORUM AT Syndicomm Online DISTILLATIONS----------------------------[DAS]
     A2Central.com Bulletin Board Now Open----------------------------[BBO]
     Steve Woz to be Interviewed--------------------------------------[SWI]
     Jason Scott Working Documentary About Text Adventures------------[DTA]
     Anyone Remember Microzine?---------------------------------------[ARM]
     Internet Now Has 100 Million Web Sites---------------------------[OHM]
     AOL Spam Filter--------------------------------------------------[ASF]
     Meeting Brian Moriarty-------------------------------------------[MBM]
     Derek Chester, Gamer Since the Apple IIe Days--------------------[CGA]
     Juiced.GS Sightings----------------------------------------------[JGS]

A2 BULLETIN BOARD at A2Central.com DISTILLATIONS----------------------[DAA]
     New Theme Tweak--------------------------------------------------[NTT]
     A2Central Work Appreciated---------------------------------------[AWA]
     Possible to Edit or Delete Messages?-----------------------------[EOD]
     Access to Chat From Web?-----------------------------------------[ACW]
     Rescanning Project-----------------------------------------------[RPJ]
     Bug in Orca Dumpobj----------------------------------------------[BOD]
     Apple II Music---------------------------------------------------[A2M]
     Apple II Game Music Remixes?-------------------------------------[GMR]
     Accessing A2Central Through Spectrum-----------------------------[ATS]
     Memory Chips for Apple III---------------------------------------[MC3]
     AIII problem?----------------------------------------------------[A3P]
     What Clone Did You Have?-----------------------------------------[WCY]

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

KFEST 2007------------------------------------------------------------[KF7]
     KansasFest 2007--------------------------------------------------[KFS]

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  email: lutefisk at grex.cyberspace dot org

                           Change in the Weather
                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     November was unusually warm... some days reaching into the 50s.  Then
in early December the weather suddenly turned colder... the interaction of
cold air and warm, moist air delivered 10.7 inches of wet, heavy snow to us
folks High Above The Rock River.  One sure thing about the weather...
"There will be changes."

                                Sure Things
                                ~~~~~~~~~~~
     It has been said that the only sure things in life are taxes and
death.  There is one other sure thing in life... "There will be changes."

     This issue of _The Lamp!_ deals with the transition via the closing of
the A2 Forum at Syndicomm Online and the opening of the A2 Bulletin Board
at A2Central.com.  Included are the last messages from Syndicomm and the
first messages from A2Central.

                             The Missing Issue
                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     You might be wondering where the November 2006 issue of _The Lamp!_
is... the November issue was never published... at publication time,
November 15, there was very little in the way of messages on Syndicomm...
seems people lost interest in a forum that would soon be closing and waited
breathlessly for the announcement of the opening of the A2C BB.

                                Back Issues
                                ~~~~~~~~~~~
     Back issues of _The Lamp!_ can be still be accessed at:
http://lamp.a2central.com/

[EOA]



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

ASCII ART ENDS
[EOA]



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

by Lyle Syverson  email: lutefisk at grex.cyberspace dot org

[BBO]
A2Central.com Bulletin Board Now Open
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The A2Central.com bulletin board is now open.

To participate... Telnet to a2central.com [OR]
Go to www.a2central.com and click on 'A2Central Bulletin Board System'

Lyle Syverson, Editor, _The Lamp!_
email:  lutefisk at grex.cyberspace dot org

(LYLE, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 693)
[EOA]


[SWI]
Steve Woz to be Interviewed
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Steve Woz will be interviewed online today (Tue Nov 21, 2006) by the
Washington Psst at 2:00 p.m. EST.  It looks like Steve will be promoting
his book iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon.  More information can be found
at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/11/17/DI200611
1700392.html .  This link also provides details on how to submit questions.
The Washington Post requires free registration to access its content.

Geoff

(GEOFF, Cat 2, Top 31, Msg 64)
[EOA]


[DTA]
Jason Scott Working Documentary About Text Adventures
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Jason Scott, who produced and published the BBS Documentary DVD set, is
working on another documentary about text adventures.  According to
<http://www.getlamp.com/aimfiz/>, he's looking for a couple of people he'd
like to interview for the project:

Frank Dacosta
Author, "Writing Basic Adventure Programs for the TRS-80", published by TAB
books in 1982.

Kim R. Schuette (or Kim Schuette)
Author of "The Book of Adventure Games", from Arrays, Inc. Published in the
early 1980s, with a "Book of Adventure Games II" and rumored "Book of
Adventure Games III" also published.

(KGAGNE, Cat 2, Top 31, Msg 65)
[EOA]


[ARM]
Anyone Remember Microzine?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Does anyone remember a Softdisk-like software subscription called
Microzine?  It was published by Scholastic, and each disk contained a
variety of games that were in some way educational.  The main feature of
each disk was a text-based adventure.  Some were choose-your-own-adventure
types, where a narrative was occasionally interrupted by a menu of action
the protagonist could chose among; one game about the Revolutionary War was
in this style.  Other games contained simple text parsers with a
non-interactive graphical component; a game where you're drawn into a
television and must navigate various "channels' before defeating the Ugly
Horrible Fiend (UHF) was such.

At Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_disk_magazines> lists
this magazine as "Microzine (Apple II, c. 1983; geared to pre-teens)".

Does anyone else have any experience with Microzine?  Any chance of getting
it re-released as  Lost Classic? (Probably not, since Scholastic is a
big-time publisher)

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 6, Top 17, Msg 17)

>>>>>
"""""
We subscribed to it for a while, and we probably still have the disks
around somewhere. I didn't play with it much, and my kids probably don't
remember it.

 Carl Knoblock - Retired - Thu  19 Oct 06  7:15:30 pm
 cknoblo@cox.net - Via Spectrum v2.5.3 & SOAR v1.0b10
 KFest 2007, July 17-22, 2007 - 271 days till KFest
 On cable via LANceGS & Marinetti 2.0.1 - Thank you, Richard.
 A2 RTC Staff - Sunday Night House Party - cknoblo@gmail.com

(CARLK, Cat 6, Top 17, Msg 18)

>>>>>
"""""
Yeah, I have a few trial issues of it.  As I remember it was fairly
high-quality stuff, but heavily copy-protected (even the included data
disks as I recall that allowed you to save stuff).

(FINKSTERJ, Cat 6, Top 17, Msg 19)
[EOA]


[OHM]
Internet Now Has 100 Million Web Sites
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The Internet now has 100 million web sites.  Read about its birth and
growth:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/11/01/100millionwebsites/index.html

(KGAGNE, Cat 11, Top 11, Msg 83)
[EOA]


[ASF]
AOL Spam Filter
"""""""""""""""
I email my brother at his gagne-enterprises.com forwarding alias, which
redirects to his AOL account.  He says all mail that is delivered to him by
this route is placed in his spam filter.  I'm unfamiliar with AOL software;
what can I tell him to do to train his filters to distinguish between good
email and spam?

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 11, Top 26, Msg 156)

>>>>>
"""""
You have to dig pretty deep into AOL's mail settings to find the specific
area to set the whitelist, but you can get there eventually.

I haven't touched the AOL interface in years, but on the web, it looks like
this:

Once he's signed into the mail area, he should go to

Settings  (in the upper right corner)

Spam Controls (in the left hand Nav Bar)

Additional Spam Filters: Control From Whom I get Email (below the
High/Medium/Low settings)

Then he has to choose a whitelist or blacklist.  I think the whitelist is
more effective, but it requires maintenance.  Add the domain from which he
wants to receive mail to the whitelist.  He can even specify exact email
addresses.  I do that to specify my brother's GMAIL address without letting
the whole world in.

Good luck!
_________
  | homas

(TCOMPTER, Cat 11, Top 26, Msg 157)

>>>>>
"""""
Thanks, Thomas!  I've forwarded these instructions to my brother; I hope he
knows what to do with them. :)

(KGAGNE, Cat 11, Top 26, Msg 158)
[EOA]


[MBM]
Meeting Brian Moriarty
""""""""""""""""""""""
As many of you know, I am active in community theater, performing about
five shows a year.

My current production runs every weekend this month, and I've been told
that among this coming weekend's audience will be Brian Moriarty, author of
Wishbringer, Trinity, and Beyond Zork:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Moriarty

Anyone want his autograph? :)

(KGAGNE, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 125)

>>>>>
"""""
Well, that was a disappointing, if honest, exchange: I told Mr. Moriarty
I'd never played an Infocom game, and he told me he'd never used an Apple
II. ;)

I thanked him for his work, though, and gave him the latest issue of
Juiced.GS.

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 126)
[EOA]


[CGA]
Derek Chester, Gamer Since the Apple IIe Days
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
In an interview with Derek Chester, co-writer for the upcoming games "Star
Trek: Legacy" and "Star Trek: Tactical Assault", Chester mentions having
been a gamer since the Apple IIe days:

http://pc.gamedaily.com/game/features/?gameid=4940&id=1154

(KGAGNE, Cat 14, Top 8, Msg 44)
[EOA]


[JGS]
Juiced.GS Sightings
"""""""""""""""""""
This topic is usually abundant with reports of Juiced.GS sightings around
the country and world.  But not for Volume 11, Issue 3.

There have been some changes and experiments to Juiced.GS this calendar
year.  Some letters to the editor would help us to know if we are on the
right track, and what we can or should change to meet your, our readers,
expectations.

Feel free to post here or drop a line to editor@juiced.gs with your
thoughts!

-Ken

(KGAGNE, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 733)

>>>>>
"""""
I read most of mine while waiting in the doctor's office for my stress
test. (I passed)

 Carl Knoblock - Retired - Mon  27 Nov 06  12:06:23 am
 cknoblo@cox.net - Via Spectrum v2.5.3 & SOAR v1.0b10
 KFest 2007, July 17-22, 2007 - 233 days till KFest
 On cable via LANceGS & Marinetti 2.0.1 - Thank you, Richard.
 A2 RTC Staff - Sunday Night House Party - cknoblo@gmail.com

(CARLK, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 735)
[EOA]



[DAA]-------------------------------------------------------
DISTILLATIONS FROM The A2 Bulletin Board at A2Central.com  |
------------------------------------------------------------

by Lyle Syverson  email: lutefisk at grex.cyberspace dot org

[NTT]
New Theme Tweak
"""""""""""""""
Thanks to Geoff Weiss, there is a theme tweak available for web side users.
It's called "Modern" and it changes the grey text on black background to
black text on white background. Messages with ANSI in them still look
weird... but for people who prefer contrast, this is an awesome
improvement.

Thanks Geoff!

(sfahey, a2c.system_announcements, Tue Dec 12 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
Thank you for being able to roll it into production.  This is a real
improvement when accessing a2central from my home system.   Just about
every modern GUI I use (GNOME, KDE, Aqua, and Mac OS X11 to name a few) use
black text on a white background as default.  But then I also tend to force
a monochromatic environment in my text windows since ANSI color often looks
bad.

Using a IIgs during the hey day of PC ANSI, I was always stuck in a
monochromatic VT100 so I never became ANSI-savvy.

Geoff

(geoff, a2c.system_announcements, Tue Dec 13 2006)
[EOA]


[AWA]
A2Central Work Appreciated
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Sean,

Just want to let you know how much we appreciate all you're doing here!

It's looking pretty darned slick!

Kirk

(Kirk Mitchell, a2c.general_chat, Nov 13 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
Thanks Kirk, still a work in progress.

(sfahey, a2c.general_chat, Nov 24 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
Seems to be coming along pretty nicely though.

Sheppy

(Eric Shepherd, a2c.general_chat, Nov 24 2006)
[EOA]


[EOD]
Possible to Edit or Delete Messages?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Is it possible to edit or delete messages?

Glenn (a2retro)

(a2retro, a2c.general_chat, Nov 29 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
From the Web side, press the delete button when you view your own message.
I have already taken advantage of this feature :)  There is no edit button
so the solution I found is to just delete what you wrote and post a new
message.

Geoff

(geoff, a2c.general_chat, Nov 29 2006)
[EOA]


[ACW]
Access to Chat From Web?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
I've noticed that there is some multi node chat capability with the BBS
software (as the "Who's Online" shows people in this mode), however I have
not seen any way to enter this mode from the web interface. Is it possible
to enter the chat from the web?

Is the chat functionality necessary given that there is now an irc server
dedicated for this activity?

Regards,
Andrew

(roughana, a2c.general_chat, Nov 30 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
I'm pretty sure I'll have time this weekend to install a Java-based IRC
client on the web site this weekend. Otherwise, you can telnet to here, use
option R in the Chat Menu, or use an IRC client to connect to
irc.a2central.com on port 6667.

(sfahey, a2c.general_chat, Nov 30 2006)
[EOA]


[RPJ]
Rescanning Project
""""""""""""""""""
I'm getting ready to start rescanning APDA books in order to produce
higher-quality printed manuals faster.  However, I don't particularly want
to tear apart my own personal copies of these books in order to do so.
Does anyone have extra copies of any of these they wouldn't mind donating
to the cause?

(Eric Shepherd, a2c.community, Oct 24 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
Do you have a list of books you currently need for the scanning project,
and are there any books that have previously not been offered in the
Syndicomm APDA area that we could scrounge up (ie. The Apple LaserWriter
Reference)?

(sfahey, a2c.community, Nov 24 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
I'll poke around and see if I can get a list of books I need.  Might not
happen until after Christmas though.  The next few weeks will be very busy!

Sheppy

(Eric Shepherd, a2c.community, Nov 24 2006)
[EOA]


[BOD]
Bug in Orca Dumpobj
"""""""""""""""""""
I found a bug with Orca's version of dumpobj (the Apple/APW version is not
affected).

If you try to use it on an object file with a fixed label length (ie,
anything linked with Merlin), it gets confused.

The fix:

Dumpobj.cc, line 449:

change:
len = fgetc(f);

to:
len = lablen ? lablen : fgetc(f);

(line number from the 2.0.2.1 beta version).

Kelvin.

(kws, a2c.a2pro_developers, Dec 10 2006)
[EOA]


[A2M]
Apple II Music
""""""""""""""
Good to see a board for music discussion here... hopefully I won't end up
talking to myself ;-)

Got quite a bit of new docs and software that I'm hoping to image/scan over
Xmas... I'll be posting things on my suite as progress is made.

www.8bitsoundandfury.ld8.org.

Great to see this BBS get off the ground. Hope it's a success!
-s

(Luddite, a2c.music_multimedia, Nov 25 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
I'll look forward to seeing your material. Music on the Apple II is one of
my closet interests.

(sfahey, a2c.music_multimedia, Nov 25 2006)
[EOA]


[GMR]
Apple II Game Music Remixes?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
On the subject of Apple II's and music, has anyone thought of composing
musical remixes of popular Apple II (and especially IIGS) games?

If you're uncertain what I'm referring to, go have a visit to the site
Overclocked Remix (http://www.ocremix.org). Talented composers have taken
musical themes from home computer games and--using either synthesizers or
traditional instruments--composed really cool musical tributes to old
games.  Styles range from jazz, classical, pop, rock, heavy metal...you
name it, but whatever style, you'll recognize the music themes and most are
really catchy!

Thing is I've seen music represented from Amiga, C64, Atari, Mac and game
consoles, but not a *single* Apple II game. And it's not like there wasn't
worthy music scores on the Apple II. I'm dying to see a Zany Golf remix. :)

(Mitchell Spector, a2c.music_multimedia, Dec 05 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
8-bit Weapon does a lot of game remixes, but I've never been a gamer so I
don't know if any are Apple II games... worth Googling for if you like
bleepy tunes.
._____.
|[LD8]! ====== 8-BIT SOUND & FURY ======
|  o. | APPLE ][ AUDIO & MUSIC RESOURCES
!__!__! http://8bitsoundandfury.ld8.org/

(Luddite, a2c.music_multimedia, Dec 09 2006)
[EOA]


[ATS]
Accessing A2Central Through Spectrum
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
With the turn off of the old A2Central Forums, SOAR is now officially dead!

However, if you have Spectrum 2.5.3 running on your IIgs, this script will
get you easily into the colourful new world of the Forums!

Copy or paste the following text into the Spectrum editor, then change
'Username' to your A2Central name, and 'Password' to your password. Save as
a script to the Spectrum.Script folder, and run it.

If you add it to your current Menu script, you can get at it easily.

Once you have the very colourful interface showing, go to the Default
configuration page, and change your screen length to 23.

I shall be posting a new version of SAFE2 very shortly, and this works just
fine with the new A2Central libraries, even though they are very empty at
the moment!

Ewen

# - Spectrum v2.5.3    Copyright 1991-2003 Ewen Wannop
# -  7/12/06  9:53:53 AM - Spectrum AutoLearn Script

# - OnlineDisplay Settings
Set OnlineDisplay "ANSI"
Set DeleteBack ON
Set Buffer MANUAL
Set LowASCII OFF
Set ScriptKeys ON
Set Sound ON

Clear Screen
Set Telnet Terminal "ANSI"

Set Flush OFF

TCPConnect
Open TCPSocket "www.a2central.com" 2 Socket

WaitFor String "NN: "
Transmit "Username^M"
WaitFor String "PW: "
Transmit "Password^M^J"

# -  7/12/06  9:55:00 AM - Spectrum AutoLearn Script

(Speccie, a2c.network_telecomm, Dec 07 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
Thanks for sharing that script, Ewen!

Sheppy

(Sheppy, a2c.network_telecomm, Dec 12 2006)
[EOA]


[MC3]
Memory Chips for Apple III
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Anyone have a good source for replacement memory chips on the AIII memory
board?  My III reports memory errors on power-up.  I'm hoping it's just a
simple chip-swapping operation.

- Mike

(Maginnis, a2c.apple_3, Dec 01 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
From what I recall, the memory daughterboard on the Apple III uses standard
64Kx1 DRAM chips (32 chips, a fully populated board, made up 256K RAM).
They're socketed so easily replaced but I don't know off hand where you
might find them these days, try searching on Google for online electronic
vendors.  Did you try running Confidence /// or the Apple III Diagnostics
to test the memory?
 
If you find a source for these chips I wouldn't mind ordering some, I have
a C64 in need of these same chips (at least I think so by the symptoms). I
think I once pulled some off some old ISA cards and put them aside, there's
another idea...

Mitch

(Mitchell Spector, a2c.apple_3, Dec 02 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
Wasn't the cure for that to drop the /// about 6" onto the table to reset
the chips.  They had a reputation for working out of the sockets.

(I think I have a couple of those in storage)

Dave

(Ducky, a2c.apple_3, Dec 10 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
That only applied to the original motherboard, as far as I recall. The
revised III had it's RAM on a raised memory daughterboard (what he
mentioned having in his set up) which for the most part, avoided the
overheating issue and the need for the infamous lift and drop. Mind you,
when my III was acting flaky I gave that a try just for the heck of it...
:)

Best to use one of the disk-based memory diagnostic tools I mentioned.

-Mitch

(Mitchell Spector, a2c.apple_3, Dec 12 2006)
[EOA]


[A3P]
AIII problem?
"""""""""""""
I have an Apple III that boots an Apple II emulator perfectly. But when I
boot in to SOS, it locks up on the startup screen. I have software that I
have bought and have downloaded SOS.dsk's off the web with an AIIe, neither
sets work. Ideas? Suggestions?

(James Littlejohn, a2c.apple_3, Dec 13 2006)
[EOA]


[WCY]
What Clone Did You Have?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
I thought it would be interesting to share what clones we've had over the
years, to see what the most unusual one might be.

Our first computer in my family when I was a kid was a Datamini I, an Apple
II/IIe clone with integrated Z-80 card and language card, lower-case
support, function keys (press Control+<key> to generate BASIC keywords),
and built-in numeric keypad.  We had two Datamini drives that looked
exactly like Disk ][ drives, a clone of a Saturn 128K memory card, a cloned
Videx 80-column card, and of course, a cloned Disk ][ card.

It worked great.  I still have it.  No idea if it still works, though.

(Sheppy, a2c.apple_clones, Dec 01 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
I never did have a clone, though I certainly saw plenty of them. I did buy
non-Apple floppy drives, though. I had Disk ][ clone that failed by having
the speed control go bad. I have 2 AE HD 3.5 inch drives. I saw a demo of
the Basis computer once, where the disk controller card was installed
backwards. You can't do that in a real Apple, but in the Basis, there was
enough room behind the motherboard to allow it. Blew the board, of course.

(CarlK, a2c.apple_clones, Dec 01 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
I was given a Golden ][ clone.  It is basically a 48K Apple ][ plus with a
lower-case chip.  I played with it a little when I received it but it has
been in storage for the last 10 years.  In my collection it is the only
clone machine I have.

-- Mark

(Mark Percival, a2c.apple_clones, Dec 04 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
My very first computer was an Apple clone, it was called the "Golden II".
It was essentially an Apple II Plus clone with several enhanced features
built-in (making it loosely comparable to the IIe in some ways; I believe I
had the final version of the Golden). Built-in it had 64K RAM, a lowercase
display with caps-lock key that doubled as a function-key for text macros
(of popular DOS and  Applesoft commands), an auto repeating keyboard and a
numeric keypad.  I still remember when booting up the splash screen would
say "GOLDEN64" at the top (instead of "Apple ]["), which prevented ProDOS
from working without a patch, but otherwise it was identical to an Apple
II.

I had a pair of Asuka Newtech 5.25 drives. These were slim-line drives, so
when stacked on top of each other they were still a lower profile than a
single Disk II drive! They were also virtually silent when loading, just
this faint humming sound. They attached to a clone of the Disk II
controller. I had a clone 80 columns card, and a clone Z80 card, plus a
Wizard IPI parallel card. For a display I had both a green Zenith
monochrome screen *and* a Zenith color screen, which at the time made me
the envy of all my friends. I also had a Roland DG-1011 printer and a funny
little joystick (metal box with tiny thumb stick and two small buttons. I
think it said "Computer Compatible Joystick" from what I recall). I still
have it today, minus the green monitor. It served me up until late 1987,
around the time I got my IIgs.

Another interested clone I happen to have I picked up about a decade
ago...it's a "Fugu Elite-5". It looks _nothing_ like a standard Apple II,
more like a desktop PC/XT, complete with detachable keyboard. The
motherboard only has 5 slots, has a built-in Z80 CPU (runs CP/M software
out of the box!), the main ROM firmware on a slot card, it has a male DE-9
port connector (not sure if it's for a joystick or something else) and even
a place for mounting internal 5.25 floppy drives. I was planning on getting
rid of it a few years ago but now it seems kind of unique and worth hanging
onto I suppose.

-Mitch

(Mitchell Spector, a2c.apple_clones, Dec 05 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
My first purchased computer was a Franklin Ace 100 or something like that.
It was really a pretty nice machine, with lower case and the addition of a
Color kit that added Color to it's normal B/W.  Odd feature that.

I played a lot of Castle Wolfenstein on that machine.

(Kirk Mitchell, a2c.apple_clones, Dec 05 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
My Datamini I says "COMPUTER" at the top when you turn it on.  Genericism.
:)

(Sheppy, a2c.apple_clones, Dec 06 2006)

>>>>>
"""""
My first computer was the Laser 128.  Ah... exploring GEnie A2 with a 2400
baud modem.  One 5 1/4 inch floppy didn't give you much storage... Talk Is
Cheap on a floppy and a pile of blank disks with the same name as the TIC
floppy.

1. Connect and move to A2.
2. Send the BRO NOR NOS command.
3. After the first buffer save change the floppy to a blank.
4. After three buffer saves change to the next blank.
5. Repeat 3. as needed.
6. Go offline and read it all.
7. Go back online with replies.

It got the job done... no way could you use an offline reader with that
computer.

Lyle Syverson, Editor, _The Lamp!_
email:  lutefisk at grex.cyberspace dot org

(Lyle, a2c.apple_clones, Dec 13 2006)
[EOA]



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

NO LETTERS TO THE EDITOR THIS MONTH
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
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, lutefisk at grex.cyberspace dot org

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]



[KF7]------------------------------
                       KFest 2007 |
-----------------------------------

[KFS]
KansasFest 2007
"""""""""""""""
is scheduled for July 17-22, 2007.

Go to <http://www.kfest.org> for details.
[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 2006 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]
