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

                       >>> WELCOME TO THE LAMP! <<<
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
            HARDWORKING HARDWARE: Castlewood Systems Orb Drive
                   THINKING KFEST: There's Nothing Finer
              AND THE BEST OF THE A2 AND A2PRO MESSAGE BOARDS
            "Teaching the Apple II user how to fish since 1998"

 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 The Lamp!            An Onipa'a Software Production        Vol. 2, No. 8
 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 Publisher & Editor.......................Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W.
 Internet Email....................................thelamp@sheppyware.net
 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

                             TABLE OF CONTENTS
                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                              August 15, 1999


OPENING PITCH
     Show Me Some Secrets For Making The Time Stand Still ----------- [OPN]

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED                                                [FOR]
     The Heat Is On ------------------------------------------------- [HET]
     Miscellanea                                                      [MSC]
     Rumor Mill ----------------------------------------------------- [RMR]
     Public Postings                                                  [PUB]
     Best Of The Best ----------------------------------------------- [BOB]

A2Pro_DUCTIVITY
     Checking out A2PRO on Delphi ----------------------------------- [A2P]

HARDWORKING HARDWARE
     Castlewood Systems Orb Drive ----------------------------------- [HWH]

THINKING KFEST
     There's Nothing Finer ------------------------------------------ [KFE]

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].


         :: DISCUSSED ON DELPHI ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
         :                                                       :
         :        Avoid Computer virus--practice safe hex        :
         :                                                       :
         :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: TONYW1 :::::::::::::


[EOA]
[OPN]------------------------------
                     OPENING PITCH |
-----------------------------------
From The Editor
"""""""""""""""
by Ryan M. Suenaga, B.A., M.S.W., L.S.W.
                [thelamp@sheppyware.net]

           SHOW ME SOME SECRETS FOR MAKING THE TIME STAND STILL
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     For a week every July, the clock is turned back to 1986, and time is
suspended on the campus of a small college in Kansas City, Missouri.  And
the Apple II faithful couldn't be happier.

     For the eleventh straight year, the steadfast supporters of the
computer that started it all gathered to celebrate at Avila College in the
heat of the Kansas City summer.  KansasFest 1999 is over and I'm as tired
as I've been since, well, KansasFest 1998.  At the same time, I'm
refreshed, excited, and ecstatic.

     KansasFest 1997 was revolutionary, with the introduction of
_Marinetti_ taking the Apple II places it had never been before; KansasFest
1998 was evolutionary, with more new and updated products than you could
shake a stick at.  KansasFest 1999, on the other hand, could best be
described as contemplative.  Yes, there were new products announced, but
not like the blockbuster year of 1998.  Yes, there were new discoveries,
but not like the phenomenon that is known as _Marinetti_.

     KansasFest 1999 was a place to make new friendships and renew old
ones; a time to celebrate and meditate.  Another chance to stay up all
night and recharge for another year.

     And a chance to go back to a time when everything was new.

                                [*] [*] [*]

     We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again Department: Last month we saw
the final pre-KFest '99 Blatant Plug.  This month we see the first KFest
2000 Blatant Plug.

     KansasFest 2000 is scheduled for July 26-30, 2000, again with special
early arrival events on the 25th.  It'll once again be held on the campus
of Avila College in Kansas City, Missouri.

     Turn back the clock again.

Ryan
thelamp@sheppyware.net

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

ASCII ART ENDS


[EOA]
[OPN]------------------------------
     A FUNNY THING HAPPENED. . . . |
-----------------------------------
Checking out A2 on Delphi
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
by Ryan M. Suenaga, B.A., M.S.W., L.S.W.
                [thelamp@sheppyware.net]

       * The Heat Is On

              * Miscellanea

                     * Rumor Mill

                            * Public Postings

                                        * Best Of The Best

                              THE HEAT IS ON
                              """"""""""""""

     [*] User Groups & Publications  ....... Marinetti Future
     [*] General Chatter             ....... How Dead Is Dead?
     [*] Vendors & Tech Support      ....... Be Takes On The Mainstream
     [*] The Apple II Legacy         ....... KFest!  KFest!  KFest!



                                MISCELLANEA
                                """""""""""

ASCII ACCESS ENDS ON CSI   The last three ASCII forums on CompuServe were
""""""""""""""""""""""""   closed at approximately 4:00 am EDT on July 1st,
1999.

And such perfect timing: I just got an email that Ziplink, my ISP, will no
longer be offering shell service.

-Ken
                       (KEN_GAGNE, 24064, GO COM A2)


CHEAP HIGH QUALITY PRINTING VIA DOLLS?   When I conducted my research on
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   the Apollo printer, it really
struck me that something was odd. Not with the printer, but with the
companies involved.

It just didn't make any sense to me why Hewlett-Packard was going so out of
its way to distance itself from one of its wholly owned subsidiaries. Or,
why it was so hard to pry, from an Apollo rep, the connection between
Apollo and HP.

But, thanks to Lyle Syverson's eagle eye, it now all makes perfect sense.
Well, sort of. In a very strange and bizarre sort of way ;-)

Lyle sent me two newspaper clipping. One was a news item:

Color Printer Joins Barbie Line

"Mattel and Apollo are targeting young girls with a Barbie ink jet printer.
 The printer, which has glitter-pink accents and can be decorated with
 decals, uses Hewlett-Packard inkjet cartridges and includes the Barbie
 Magic Hair Styler CD-ROM. Expected to sell for $79, the printer initially
 will be sold at Best Buy."

The second clipping was a color ad from Best Buy.

After a rebate, the DeskJet 420c, whoops, I mean the Apollo 1200, whoops, I
mean the shocking-pink Barbie Doll printer costs $59.

Without a doubt, it's the ugliest looking printer I've ever seen. It's
pink, and it has decals of a Barbie Doll all over it. It's so hideously
ugly that the tears of laughter were rolling down my face just by looking
at the ad.

It's so absurd, I think I want to purchase one to use on my IIGS ;-)

That said, I just don't think I can bring myself to add the Barbie printer
to the list of printers supported by Harmonie. That would be just a little
too embarrassing ;-)

Joe Kohn
                       (JOE_KOHN, 24190, GO COM A2)


SSII GETS OUT THE DOOR BEFORE JOE HEADS OVER TO KANSAS CITY   In about an
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   hour or two,
I'll be paying a visit to my printer. At that time, I'll either be picking
up the completed Shareware Solutions II, Volume 4, Issue 4, or listening to
a darn good excuse ;-)

In any case, I have a weekend mailing party planned, and I have a feeling
that by the time I arrive at Kfest on Tuesday, I'll be well practiced in
the fine art of sleep deprivation ;-)

After all, no matter when I pick up the completed newsletters, the mail
party will be completed by Monday. It has to be, as I do plan to catch my
early morning flight on Tuesday.

Kfest '99, here I come!

Joe Kohn
                       (JOE_KOHN, 24310, GO COM A2)


HELP UNCLE SAM--BUY A IIGS   If you think that is interesting, go take a
""""""""""""""""""""""""""   look at this pallet load of used GSs being
sold by the government...

http://www.drms.dla.mil/htbin/show_pictxt.pl?ric=SQMA&dtid=HE446190673016

(I'm pretty sure that is an overseas phone #.)

Gary R. Utter
                         (UTTER, 24185, GO COM A2)


DOES THE BINHQX XCMD IN SPECTRUM HANDLE FORKED FILES PROPERLY?   What do
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   you mean
by properly?

If you mean, does it produce a file according to the BinHex 4.0 specs, with
both forks encoded, so a Mac can unpackage the file, and the forks are
preserved, and the filetype/auxtype are preserved as the correct
filetype/creator, then yes it does...

The only formats in the BinHQX XCMD that do not handle forks are BinSCII
and UUencode. Both BinHex and Base 64 fully support forks, and Base 64 even
supports filetype/creator for those unpacking utilities that support
X-creator...

 Ewen Wannop - Speccie - Sun 4 Jul 1999 - 17 days till KFest '99
 Delivered without using a IIgs by Spectrum 2.2 & Crock O' Gold 3.0
 Bernie ][ the Rescue 2.0 woofing at 55Mhz on a G3/350
 http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ewannop/
                        (EWANNOP, 24119, GO COM A2)


NOT ALL PROCESSORS ARE CREATED EQUAL   There were a number of variations on
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   the 6502, which is the chip used in
the Apple ][,early Apple //e and Apple /// computers. One was, if memory
serves, the Rockwell version that added several commands that ended up in
the 65c02, and a couple that did not. The 65c02 itself was a variant on the
6502. And, without stretching the point at all, the 65802 (the version of
the 65816 that is pin compatible with the 6502) is also a variant on the
6502.

I think there were a few other variations, but these are the ones that were
distributed widely enough that I ran across them. Of these, the Rockwell
chip and the 65802 are the only ones that were never used in an Apple II
(by Apple, anyway). The 65c02 was used in the Apple //c and later Apple //e
computers, and the 65816 was used in the Apple IIGS.

Mike Westerfield
                       (BYTEWORKS, 24101, GO COM A2)


MORE ABOUT APPLE II SERIAL CABLES THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW   Here's one
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   for you
cabling Geeks. . . .

Over the last few days I've been doing some experimenting with null modem
cables going from the IIgs (mini din 8 male) to a x86 Linux machine (DB 25
female) as some of my other posts have shown (still seeking help with that
Linux login too, btw).

In any case, dealing with the diagrams I've found in various manuals (with
the original hardware handshaking modem cable coming from the original
ProTERM 3.1 manual), I've come up with the two different hardware
handshaking null modem cables:

DTR           1 <-------------------->  5          CTS
                          L__________>  6          DSR
DSR           2 <-------------------->  4          RTS
TXD           3 <-------------------->  3          RXD
SG         -> 4 <-------------------->  7          SG
RXD -     |   5 <-------------------->  2          TXD
DCD       |   7 <-------------------->  8          DCD
RXD +      -> 8

or, this configuration

DTR           1 <---------------------------|
DSR           2 <---------------------------|
TXD           3 <-------------------->  3   |      RXD
SG         -> 4 <-------------------->  7   |      SG
RXD -     |   5 <-------------------->  2   |      TXD
DCD       |   7 <-------------------->  8 <-|      DCD
RXD +      -> 8                         6 <-|      DSR
                                       20 <-|      DTR

I have made both and the simpler cable (the first one) appears to work at
higher speeds more reliably than the first.

Can anyone give some insight into what's going on here?  RS 232 cabling is
not my strongest suit.  Thanks. . .

-
 Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W.  --  rsuenaga@apple2.org
 Editor and Publisher, _The Lamp!_, published monthly on Delphi
 Posted by PTMM v2.5 - The integrated information solution
                       (RSUENAGA, 24143, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   Sorry this took so long. Greg Schaefer has been on a project and
"""""   just got to this. I hope it is still of some interest and help.

From the diagram, I have a little trouble understanding the connections on
cable number 2 (are //gs DTR, DSR and linux DCD, DSR, DTR all tied
together?). In any case, though the poster categorizes number 1 as simpler,
it is indeed the correct one. With respect to high speed communications,
the issue is the /gs DTR/CTS pin. The //gs provides only a single non-data
output pin. It can be used either as CTS or as DTR, but not as both. In
high-speed communications, CTS is a much more important function than DTR.
It allows the software to temporarily stop the flow of incoming data from
the external device. DTR on the other hand is just used to terminate
connections.

In the first cable, //gs DTR/CTS is connected to the CTS pin on the linux
box. This gives ProTERM the ability to temporarily throttle incoming data
when it needs to. In the second cable, the //gs DTR/CTS is connected to the
linux DTR pin and ProTERM has no ability to slow down the linux box when it
sends data too quickly. That is why there is more data loss with the second
cable than the first. If you use the first cable as a reasonable bps rate
(19200-38400) you should encounter little if any data loss. At 57600, the
data comes in so quickly, ProTERM is sometimes unable to change CTS fast
enough to ovoid overflow.

Greg Schaefer @ InTrec Software, Inc. [Delivered by ProTERM Mac Messenger]

via Jerry Cline
                        (INTREC, 24330, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   This may be splitting hairs, but in my understanding, ANSITerm was
"""""   designed to emulate a PC/ANSI telecom program. It is therefore
logical to me that ANSITerm uses settings that are more PC standard than
Mac standard. In other words - If your modem has stored settings for PC and
for Mac, the PC settings are more likely to match ANSITerm's needs.

FWIW - the major difference between the settings required by ANSITerm and
those required by Spectrum and some other programs is that ANSITerm issues
its hangup command by dropping DTR, whereas Spectrum forces the modem in
command mode, and hangs up via the 'ATH' command. Both are standard, and
both are correct - but they require different settings for how DTR is
handled.

 "But, there are two different ways to wire a hardware handshaking cable
  for the IIgs and Mac."

Well, more than two - The typical hardware handshake cable works through
the DSR line on the GS Port, and will either have the carrier detect line
from the modem connected to the GPI/DCD pin on the GS modem port, or not.

Lady Technophobe's GS is currently using a cable that handshakes through
the GPI/DCD pin and uses the DSR pin for carrier detect. The nice thing
about this cable is that it works not only with the ANSITerm driver
provided for it, but it also works quite nicely with programs that use the
modem port firmware - e.g. Snowterm. It also works quite nicely with
Marinetti.

I'm still trying to figure out the best compromise for running Bernie via
the PC Card modem in my PowerBook. It doesn't appear to support Carrier
Detect at all - not even in the couple of Mac programs that I have tried
that support CD...

Don V. Zahniser (IronTooth)
Woofed to you by OLRight! scripts for ANSITerm via Bernie ][ the Rescue!
                       (DZAHNISER, 24109, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   I'm pretty sure that the standard hardware handshaking cable used
"""""   by ANSITerm is the same that Proterm and Spectrum use. At least
I've used the same cable for both ANSITerm and Spectrum on high speed
connections with no problems.

Don V. Zahniser (IronTooth)
Woofed to you by OLRight! scripts for ANSITerm via Bernie ][ the Rescue!
                       (DZAHNISER, 24110, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   The main layout for a hardware handshaking cable in the ANSITerm
"""""   manual is different than the layout in the Spectrum manual.

However, the layout for a hardware handshaking cable in the Spectrum manual
will work just fine with ANSITerm.

(BTW... the layout for a hardware handshaking cable in the TIC v4 manual is
identical to that in the Spectrum manual.)

Lyle Syverson
                        (LYLE837, 24122, GO COM A2)


WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE GS CLOCK ROLLS OVER?   You will need to patch GS/OS,
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   just as ProDOS has to be
patched.

But as by then, we shall probably all be running Bernie ][ The Rescue
version 65.8.16 on our 100Ghz PowerMacs, Henrik will have emulated a clock
that avoids the problem...

 Ewen Wannop - Speccie - Sun 4 Jul 1999 - 17 days till KFest '99
 Delivered without using a IIgs by Spectrum 2.2 & Crock O' Gold 3.0
 Bernie ][ the Rescue 2.0 woofing at 55Mhz on a G3/350
 http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ewannop/
                        (EWANNOP, 24120, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   Sometime in February 2039, the GS' time will drastically change to
"""""   January 1, 1900. The GS' clock is based on a 32-bit integer
counting seconds from January 1, 1900. The 32-bit integer will overflow in
2039.

It won't be too hard to patch the toolbox time calls to support time after
the cut-off date, but any programs accessing the clock directly will still
get an incorrect time.

Seriously, who will be using a GS in 40 years for this to be a real
concern?
                       (SISGEOFF, 24129, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   The rollover actually will occur February 6, 2040, after 6:28 a.m.
"""""   At which time it will revert to January 1, 1904.
                       (REEVESST, 24132, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   Won't that meteor that is due to hit the earth not have flattened
"""""   all the remaining IIgs by then?

But I would guess it will be those running Macintosh 68K emulators that
might have to worry...

 Ewen Wannop - Speccie - Mon 5 Jul 1999 - 16 days till KFest '99
 Delivered without using a IIgs by Spectrum 2.2 & Crock O' Gold 3.0
 Bernie ][ the Rescue 2.0 woofing at 55Mhz on a G3/350
 http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ewannop/
                        (EWANNOP, 24135, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   Hmm, we have 40 years left for rewriting AppleWorks Classic.  That
"""""   should be sufficient if everyone is taking the finger out of the
nose. :)

Henrik Woof Gudat
                        (GUDATH, 24137, GO COM A2)


INFO ON BE AND ERNIE VERSUS BERNIE   You can get information on the BeOS at
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   {<http://www.be.com>
http://www.be.com.}

Sweet16's only significant advantage over Bernie is that you can run it on
PCs.

The only other advantage is that if your computer has multiple processors,
Sweet16 will use them -- Bernie doesn't.

---
Eric (Sheppy) Shepherd
sheppy@sheppyware.net
http://www.sheppyware.net
                        (SHEPPY, 24162, GO COM A2)


SWEET16 1.0 APPROACHES   The release of Sweet16 version 1.0 is imminent! To
""""""""""""""""""""""   commemorate this occasion, I've finally
established the Sweet16 mailing list for talking about, getting help with,
and giving high praise ;) to Sweet16.

To subscribe, send email to {<mailto:majordomo@sheppyware.net>
majordomo@sheppyware.net} with the text "subscribe sweet16-list" in the
body of the message.

---
Eric (Sheppy) Shepherd
sheppy@sheppyware.net
http://www.sheppyware.net
                        (SHEPPY, 24346, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   The C emulator core in the Intel version of Sweet16 does have a few
"""""   bugs in it, but by and large it works quite well (especially in the
upcoming 1.0 release). There are one or two known problems that I'm
actively engaged in tracking down and hope to have fixed this week.

It's true that the Intel version of Sweet16 is comparatively slow. My
Pentium II 333 MHz system emulates about a 6.5 MHz IIgs, which isn't awful
but is nothing like the 50 or 60 MHz you'd get on a comparable-speed
Macintosh running the PPC version of Sweet16.

I'm actively looking for a good Intel assembly language programmer to write
the x86 assembly core for Sweet16. If you know someone who might be able to
do this, please let me know!

---
Eric (Sheppy) Shepherd
sheppy@sheppyware.net
http://www.sheppyware.net
                        (SHEPPY, 24248, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   A few things:
"""""
1. Sweet16 for BeOS Intel will become faster over time. There are
   optimizations ongoing, and eventually we will find someone to do the
   assembly code for it.

2. Sweet16 for BeOS Intel is still much faster than XGS is, by a
   substantial factor.

3. As for the whole Windows thing -- developing a Windows version wouldn't
   be sinful; it's just that BeOS is a better place for emulation. The
   PowerPC processor is designed with emulation in mind, which gives it an
   inherent advantage -- there will never be an x86 Apple II emulator that
   can compete with a comparably well-written emulator on an equivalent
   PowerPC chip; the architecture of x86 processors isn't up to the
   challenge.

The Windows operating system adds another layer of slowness to things; it's
not a well-designed system internally and isn't very efficient. BeOS, on
the other hand, performs quite spectacularly (with very low latencies on
audio and video presentation, a fraction that of either Mac OS or Windows),
and is easily and inexpensively scaled onto multiprocessor systems.

You can buy a dual-processor Pentium II system for under $2000 and
substantially improve Sweet16's performance. You can't do that under
Windows.

The point is that BeOS just makes more sense as an OS for emulation than
Windows does. The goal of Sweet16 is to create emulation that's compatible
and fast, and to do that on Intel processors, in my opinion, Windows isn't
a reasonable way to go. BeOS isn't expensive, it installs easily and
cleanly, and can sit next to Windows on the same hard disk.

A 200 MHz Pentium II can run Sweet16 at around 3 or 4 MHz, roughly. That's
faster than the 1.5 to 2 MHz or so I get running XGS on my 200 MHz Pentium
II at work.

Also note that XGS development has apparently stalled, and hasn't as far as
I can tell been updated in over a year. Sweet16 development is
accelerating; my goal is to meet or exceed Bernie's features within a year.
Much to Henrik's chagrin. :)

---
Eric (Sheppy) Shepherd
sheppy@sheppyware.net
http://www.sheppyware.net
                        (SHEPPY, 24267, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   By the way, Sweet16 1.0 is now available for download -- you can
"""""   read the manual online (and download the PPC and Intel versions) at
{<http://www.sheppyware.net/software/sweet16_be/>
http://www.sheppyware.net/software/sweet16_be/}

Enjoy!

Sheppy

---
Eric (Sheppy) Shepherd
sheppy@sheppyware.net
http://www.sheppyware.net
                        (SHEPPY, 24522, GO COM A2)


MY ESOURCE REWARDS TARDINESS   I forgot to mention: Seven Hills is having a
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   sale on IIGS software through the end of
July. Here's your chance to get Spectrum 2.2 for $50, $35 off! Other
titles, such as The Manager, are half off. Free shipping if you buy two
titles.

I love it when procrastination pays off. :)

     http://www.myesource.com/sevenhills/applesoftware/index.htm

Bill Dooley
                         (WMD01, 24290, GO COM A2)


NEED SOME DSDD 3.5 INCH FLOPPIES?   At yesterday's computershow here in the
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   Chicago area where my UG staffs an info
table, I talked to a dealer who specializes in recordable media. She will
be selling to me her remaining stock of DS/DD 3.5" disks.

These disks are used - they were set up for training for corporations, and
come 150/box. I've used several of these boxes in the past, and have had
maybe 3 failures out of the entire lot.

The boxes cost $12.50 each. I'm offering them to everyone here at cost plus
shipping. There's 36 boxes total.

Let me know via email if you're interested, and let me know your mailing
address, so I can get shipping charges figured out (probably UPS unless you
prefer snail-mail).

(BTW--the "3 failures" mentioned above were individual disks, not entire
boxes. :) )

Later............Howard
                         (HKATZ, 24536, GO COM A2)


COOLING A GS WITHOUT A GS FAN   I have not been able to come up with a
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   GS-specific fan so I solved the problem by
taking a //e-style fan, which normally latches onto the side of a //e, and
making it work with my GS by:

1. cutting an approx 7 cm x 5 cm hole in my GS' lid on the left side.
2. taking off the part of the //e fan that clips into the //e case, which
   allows it to fit snugly up against the GS case where the cut hole is.
3. Using generous amounts of hot glue to hold the sucker to the side of the
   GS lid.

The advantage to this method is that //e fans are plentiful and it works
well. The disadvantage is you have to cut your GS case and the //e fan. But
GSes also seem to be plentiful, esp after what I saw in Sean Fahey's garage
:) so cutting the case is no biggie for me. Just don't cut a Woz case. :)

Shawn Beattie
                       (STBEATTIE, 24661, GO COM A2)


KFEST BEFORE   This is the KFest Taxi list so far. If you need a ride from
""""""""""""   and/or to the airport at Kansas City, now is the time to
ask.

                                    Arrivals

Name                     Airline      Flight Arrive        Terminal Driver
Ryan Suenaga             United       1406   7/20 12:29 pm C        CarlK
Pat Kern                 American     507    7/20 1:01 pm  A        CarlK

Joe Kohn                 America West 2592   7/20 4:23 pm  A        CarlK?

Giselle Schnaubelt       Northwest    1855   7/20 8:05 pm  C        CarlK?

Ken Gagne                US Airways   1576   7/21 12:11 am A        Geoff
Margaret Anderson        ?????        215K   7/21 12:39 pm          Geoff
Jerry Cline              America West 2590   7/21 1:25 pm  A        Geoff
Geoff Weiss (Renting)    SouthWest    215    7/21 1:35 pm  B        Geoff

Dean Nichols (Fivecents) Southwest    566    7/21 3:50 pm  B        Sheppy
Eric & Sarah Shepherd    Southwest    524    7/21 4:40 pm  B        Sheppy

                                   Departures

Jerry Cline              America West 2831   7/25 6:00 am  A
Ewen Wannop              America West HP2806 7/25 8:50 am  A
Joe Kohn                 America West HP2806 7/25 8:50 am  A

Ken Gagne                US Airways   1575   7/25 11:05 am A        CarlK?
Eric & Sarah Shepherd    Southwest    1533   7/25 12:15 pm B        Sheppy
Dean Nichols (Fivecents) Southwest    1533   7/25 12:15 pm B        Sheppy

Geoff Weiss              SouthWest           7/25 1:00 pm  B        Geoff
Pat Kern                 American     1094   7/25 1:57 pm  A        Geoff
Giselle Schnaubelt       Northwest    212    7/25 2:10 pm  C        Geoff

Ryan Suenaga             United       1663   7/25 6:25 pm  C        Cindy

As you can see, there is still room for more drivers, as well as riders.

  --
 Carl Knoblock - Telephone Tech - Thu 15 Jul 99 9:37:33 pm
 cknoblo@novia.net - Via Spectrum v2.2 & Crock O' Gold v3.1
 Running on a PowerBook G3 With Bernie at 266MHZ
 KansasFest 11, July 21-25, 1999 - 6 days till KFest
 Using Marinetti 2.0.1 - Thank you, Richard.
                        (CKNOBLO, 24303, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   I'm getting a pre-KFest taxi ride from Sheppy tomorrow morning. See
"""""   ya next from Tracy, CA.

-
 Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. -- rsuenaga@apple2.org
 Editor and Publisher, _The Lamp!_, published monthly on Delphi
 Posted by PTMM v2.5 - The integrated information solution
                       (RSUENAGA, 24351, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   I shall be on vacation for the next month, and shall not be reading
"""""   my email or Delphi Forums till I get back.

If in the meantime you need any help with COG or Spectrum, get yourself to
Kansas City next week, and I shall deal with it in person...

 Ewen Wannop - Speccie - Thu 15 Jul 1999 - 6 days till KFest '99
 Delivered without using a IIgs by Spectrum 2.2 & Crock O' Gold 3.0
 Bernie ][ the Rescue 2.0 woofing at 55Mhz on a G3/350
 http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ewannop/
                        (EWANNOP, 24285, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   Don't forget your crazy tie for the "Roger Wagner Crazy Tie"
"""""   contest at the roast. It seems like an appropriate way to "honor"
Sir Ewen. :)

Momma Cheese
                      (CINDYADAMS, 24314, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   I'll be transient all day; Sheppy's dropping me off at San
"""""   Francisco International in a few hours, and I'll be KFest bound
from there. Have fun. I will. Sleep well. I won't.

-
 Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. -- rsuenaga@apple2.org
 Editor and Publisher, _The Lamp!_, published monthly on Delphi
 Posted by PTMM v2.5 - The integrated information solution
                       (RSUENAGA, 24378, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   I'll be watching for your arrival at Avila.
"""""
Even the locals are saying it's humid, so this just be a fun week.

Sleep? No way!

Cindy
                      (CINDYADAMS, 24379, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   I'm packing as we speak. Our door sign is made, Sarah's GS is
"""""   packed, clothes are in the washer, and I've got most of my other
stuff gathered and ready to pack up.

We're heading for a motel tonight nearer the airport, so we don't have to
contend with traffic early tomorrow.

---
Eric (Sheppy) Shepherd
sheppy@sheppyware.net
http://www.sheppyware.net
                        (SHEPPY, 24386, GO COM A2)


KFEST DURING   KFest 1999 has begun!!
""""""""""""
There are already about 10 people here.
Computers are plugged in and working.
Ethernet is being used to access each other's hard drives.
A load has gone to Hardee's for lunch.
I had the first door sign up - Cheese!
Loren has a different haircut.
Jeff Blakeney is the first 1999 "newbie" to arrive.

That's all I can think of after being here 1 hour.

Momma Cheese
                      (CINDYADAMS, 24383, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   It's now 3:00 KST (KFest Standard Time)
"""""
The Binary Bus with the Ciotti's and Ewen has arrived.
Dave Miller has been printing KFest since using the Avila ethernet network.
(He used my computer and his printer.)
It's still HUMID.
Hot Pepper Dave still hasn't put up any signs yet.

Momma Cheese

PS Carl, Ryan, and Pat just walked in!!
                      (CINDYADAMS, 24384, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   It's almost 6:00 KST
"""""
The dorm is filling up.
People are meeting the newbies.
Dave Carey finally has a door sign, done with Print Shop GS, of course.
It's still HUMID.
We'll be leaving for KC Masterpiece shortly. Can you smell the BBQ?

Momma Cheese
                      (CINDYADAMS, 24385, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   We are now about to begin our second day of KFest. The sun is up
"""""   and shining brightly. We can probably expect another humid day here
in KC,MO.

KFest officially started last night with an inspiring, and somewhat
embarrassing, keynote address by the "World Famous Apple IIgs Newsletter
Editor" Max Jones. After this session, JuicedGS hosted a reception.

So far, I think I can report that everyone is having a great time!

Now I'm off to breakfast in the Avila cafeteria, and then will learn more
about Spectrum scripting than I thought possible.

The Big Cheese

PS This is being posted from the web because Delphi's text side seems to
gone on vacation during KFest.
                      (CINDYADAMS, 24418, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   We just had a great session on PrintShop GS Companion taught by Hot
"""""   Pepper Dave! He can really push that program to it's limit!

The Big Cheese

PS It would be great if everyone else here would start posting. :)
                      (CINDYADAMS, 24421, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   Friday Morning --
"""""
Craig Foos from Apple thought he was coming to talk to some mild-mannered
people about the latest Quicktime stuff.

But then he met us!

Stan Marks taught us new things about the "old" AWGS database. He really
does some cool stuff with it. Unfortunately, he didn't end his session soon
enough, and made the mistake of showing a birthday card he had created.

Lunch, and this afternoon we will have to choose between the following:

    Joe Kohn, Storyteller

    Toolbox Programming in GSoft Basic with Sheppy

Tonight is the banquet and Roast of Ewen Wannop.

Momma Cheese
                      (CINDYADAMS, 24445, GO COM A2)


KFEST AFTER   I didn't get my usual post-KFest report typed while I waited
"""""""""""   for my plane this year, because Ryan was there to keep me
company. It was really nice to have someone to talk to that understood the
emotional high and fuzzy brain that I was experiencing.

As far as I am concerned, I think this was the best KFest ever! (At least
until Y][Kfest.) Lots of old friends, some new ones, great sessions, pretty
good food, an inspiring Keynote address, an enjoyable roast, as well as
many other things were just a few of the things that I enjoyed.

Since I've kinda been posting here during my "spare" minutes, I'm going to
let everyone else make their reports, and I'm just going to take this time
to thank some people. I'll probably miss some really important ones, just
like I missed some great door signs, but forgive me as I'm still on my
KFest High!! (That is even more true since I'm cruising at about 30,000
feet altitude towards Arizona.)

The committee is my main support for all of this. Jerry (who takes care of
registration), Steve (who does all of the handouts and scheduling), Max
(who does publicity and lots of other stuff), Stan, and Allen (who are both
there to offer a hand to help whenever it's needed).

Thanks to "Sir" Ewen Wannop for designing the KFest '99 logo. He also has
already started on the one for Y][Kfest, so be watching the webpage for
that. I also want to thank him for graciously agreeing to be roasted and
his gentle encouragement for me to pursue my scripting career.

Thanks to Devin for hosting the KFest mailing list. This is a great help
and communication tool for getting important information out to everyone.

Another thanks to David Kerwood for maintaining the KFest website.

Shawn Beattie helped to make all of the sessions more "viewable" for
everyone thanks to his projector. Thanks Shawn!

Thanks to Erick Wagner (and everyone else) for the wonderful birthday card.
It's such a pleasure for me to read all of the nice things that everyone
wrote to "A2 Mum". (Stan, you aren't off the hook yet!)

Carl Knoblock, the official KFest Taxi Dispatcher, and his helper Allen
Moore, did a wonderful job of getting people to and from the airport, even
at some really nasty hours. Thanks guys!

I'm sure there are many other people that need to be thanked, and I could
easily sit here and go down the list of everyone that was at KFest and
realize that I need to thank you for something you did, but for now, I'll
just make it a big KFest '99 thanks, and say I'll see you ALL next year!

July 26 - 30, 2000

The Big Cheese
                      (CINDYADAMS, 24523, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   Thanks to Wal-Mart's one hour developing, a scanner, and my son
"""""   that knows what he is doing, we have pictures ready for public
viewing.

        www.primenet.com/~adams/kfest99

The Big Cheese
                      (CINDYADAMS, 24553, GO COM A2)


MORE KFEST--THE HACKFEST REPORT   I was the first entrant, and only after
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   Max Jones gave me an idea for a program.
(my imagination tapped, I had not planned on entering.) It's actually a
semi-useful tool that I may upload once I get it full-featured - and
working! <g> I'm telling folks here what I'm writing, but only because
they're going to see it. If I say something online, then I'll have to
finish it. <g>

Jeff Blakeney is writing something in assembly, Richard Bennett has
entered, and a mysterious fourth participant is to TBA.

-Ken
                       (KEN_GAGNE, 24470, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   Fifth place went to Cindy Adams, who wrote a Spectrum script...
"""""   because she could. :)

Fourth was Jeff Blakeney's GSoft Basic program to strip the Binary II
headers off a directory of ShrinkIt archives, and update their auxtypes
accordingly.

Third was Richard Bennett, who wrote an app that makes a IIgs mouse emulate
an iMac mouse. Must be seen. :)

Shawn Beattie was second, who wrote a Y2KFest countdown program with
scrolling text and a moving icon. Cool!

My half-finished but functional Spectrum database program came in first. It
allows you to maintain records of 1-8 fields each from within Spectrum. You
can also import any Appleworks Database file (after saving it as a text
file).

This was a much cooler HackFest than last year, with more participants,
more prizes, and more working code. (all participants this year finished
their programs to one extent or another, whereas last year I think most
programs were still in their planning stages).

-Ken
                       (KEN_GAGNE, 24486, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   BTW, I already have a couple of ideas for next year's HackFest. ;-)
"""""
The reason I thought of the idea of Spectrum script-based database is
because I often get questions asked via e-mail by subscribers about the
status of their subscriptions. To get the info, I have to quit Spectrum and
launch AppleWorks GS, then go back to Spectrum with my answer. By
converting my AWGS database and importing into a Spectrum database script,
I could have access to the info from right there within Speccie. I would
like that a lot. It would also be nice to have other databases available as
well, or to create them within Spectrum.

Ken did a nice job with the scripting program and I certainly hope he
completes it. :-) I also hope everyone gets access to Shawn Beattie's GSoft
BASIC "Countdown to Y][Kest" program. That was cool, too!

Eric Shepherd was the HackFest director and did a great job. I think he has
succeeded in producing an event that is in the process of becoming yet
another grand Kfest tradition.

Did we mention that there were several hundred dollars worth of prizes?
Nice incentive for the contest, eh?

Max
                       (JUICEDGS, 24541, GO COM A2)



                                RUMOR MILL
                                """"""""""

MICROSOFT AND AOL CLASH; GSAIM ENDANGERED?   Microsoft released on Thursday
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   "MSN Messenger," an AIM clone
of their own that promotes their services (HotMail, etc). AOL responded by
adding code to the AIM servers to lock out MSN Messenger.

I believe this has rendered gsAIM useless, but I haven't had time to check
it yet. Ordinarily I'd alter gsAIM to get around AOL's changes, but
Microsoft is doing the same thing, and AOL is countering by changing their
code further each time.

Clearly that puts me in a situation where if it's true that gsAIM is broken
by AOL's changes, there's little sense in my trying to fix the problem
until AOL and Microsoft get over their little tiff.

This pretty much sucks for all of us. If I confirm that gsAIM has been
broken by this, I don't know for sure right now what I'll do.

---
Eric (Sheppy) Shepherd
sheppy@sheppyware.net
http://www.sheppyware.net
                        (SHEPPY, 24577, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   FYI, this isn't just a gsAIM problem. All the "unsanctioned" AIM
"""""   clones on all the other platforms are affected as well.

--
Steve Reeves
                       (REEVESST, 24594, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   Just to let you know, I tried gsAIM tonight and got the following
"""""   results.

After checking e-mail and doing some COG stuff, I quit to the Finder and
tried gsAIM. It connected but my system crashed when the buddies online
window appeared.

I rebooted and tried gsAIM again. The first four or five attempts resulted
in parsing or login errors.

However, the last attempt worked and I was able to send and receive
messages.

Unfortunately, a short while later moving my mouse cursor started erasing
section of my screen and the system stopped responding so I had to reboot
again.

The point here being that it might still be working, you just need to be
persistent. I know that when I first installed gsAIM I could rarely get it
to work but then I disabled some add-ons (inits, DAs, etc.) and it started
working much more reliably for me. It may be touchy but is pretty handy
when it works.  :)

 Jeff Blakeney |      Dean of the Apple II University in A2Pro      |
 --------------+----------------------------------------------------+
   sent via    |   HyperCard IIgs Course   |   GSoft BASIC Course   |
   COG v3.1    |      now in session       |     now in session     |
                       (JBLAKENEY, 24629, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   If it worked once, then it's not a network problem (except that
"""""   Marinetti is crashing possibly :). Which means that AOL's
anti-Microsoft patches aren't affecting gsAIM after all and people are just
having a run of bad luck trying to connect.

Whew. :)

---
Eric (Sheppy) Shepherd
sheppy@sheppyware.net
http://www.sheppyware.net
                        (SHEPPY, 24630, GO COM A2)


WILL MY ESOURCE PROVIDE COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE VIA EMAIL?   They won't do
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   that, but I think
they will provide it through online ordering and download from their web
site some time in the future. Send them email that you want to do that.

SIS is already for purchase in this way--which is cool since I don't use
floppy disks any more (another great innovation by Apple for being the
first to offer a major consumer machine with no floppy). I downloaded the
.shk file, ran to_pro to put the file on a disk image, started up my
emulator, and went from there to unshrink the .shk file from the emulator.
I didn't bother installing it since I already had a copy of SIS on my
emulator :)

It is great to see Seven Hills be the first Apple II company to provide
software completely by the Internet.

Geoff
                       (SISGEOFF, 24327, GO COM A2)


WHAT WAS THE LAST COPY II PLUS?   The last official version of Copy II+
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   from Central Point Software was 9.1.
There are a few pirated versions out there that have version numbers
higher, but I don't know what they're supposed to do.

The difference between 9.0 and 9.1 was a fix of the directory sort
function; in 9.0 if you used that function, you would end up with a trashed
directory, though all of the other functions worked well.

If memory serves, you could use C2plus to work with 3.5" disks (at least as
far as the utilities goes, not sure about software duplication that came on
3.5" disks) from at least version 7 on. Since it was a ProDOS program, it
would recognize any 3.5" drive hooked to your computer.

Later............Howard
                         (HKATZ, 24617, GO COM A2)

>>>>>   The problem with C2+ is that they released a version 9.1 with a bug
"""""   that would eat block 1 of a hard drive, making it vanish. They
fixed this bug quickly, and replaced the buggy v9.1 with, (drumroll), v9.1.

So there are versions of 9.1 out there that will trash your hard drive in
certain, not really well defined, circumstances.

Gary R. Utter
                         (UTTER, 24631, GO COM A2)



                              PUBLIC POSTINGS
                              """""""""""""""

FROM THE SOUTH SANDWICH ISLES--EMULATE.GS   Superior Apple IIgs Emulation
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   Finds a Home

The best Apple IIgs emulation on the planet has a new home on the Internet.
The new emulate.gs Web site is the central hub for the Bernie ][ The Rescue
and Sweet16 Apple IIgs emulators.

Bernie ][ The Rescue is the ultimate Apple IIgs emulator for Power
Macintosh computers running Mac OS(R). Bernie is the most-compatible, most
fully-featured Apple IIgs emulator ever created, and its performance is
unequaled among single-processor computers.

Sweet16 is the rising star in the Apple II emulation world, bringing
high-performance Apple IIgs emulation to computers running the Be operating
system, BeOS. With support for the advanced features of the BeOS, including
multiprocessing support, Sweet16 rivals Bernie ][ The Rescue in performance
on single-processor systems; add a second (or fourth, or eighth!) processor
and watch the IIgs fly like you could never have believed!

And now you can get information on them from a new central hub. Direct your
web browser to {<http://www.emulate.gs> http://www.emulate.gs} -- the new
home for superior Apple II emulation.

SheppyWare & F.E.Systems
                        (GUDATH, 24152, GO COM A2)


MORE KFEST PIX FROM PAT
"""""""""""""""""""""""
          =====================
          KFEST GRAPHICS ALERT!
          =====================

   ===>>> NEW FILES ADDED <<<===

 Who would be interested in the following
   awesome collection of Kfest graphics
     THAT WILL AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
       AT THE KFEST '99 VENDOR FAIR

 Reserve your copy in advance to be certain
 to have one ready for you at Kfest '99

              Kfest Stuff #1
           --->>> CD Rom <<<---

 at a nominal cost to cover the expenses of production?

 C O N T E N T S
 KfestStuff#1 CD

 There's about ===>>> 140 <<<=== megs total.

 Kfest 94 JPGs 106 files 4.15 MG > All edited, cropped, resized,
 Kfest 95 JPGs 199 files 6.12 MB > retouched, cleaned up
 Kfest 96 JPGs 307 files 9.82 MB > and/or
 Kfest 97 JPGs 410 files 19.90 MB > "embellished"
 Kfest 98 JPGs 340 files 10.90 MB > by Patz Pix

 Yearbook 95 Keepsakes of Kfest 36 files 1009x1320 JPGs 20.9 MG
 Prints out to 36 pages of photos and text or can be viewed on the monitor.

 Yearbook 96 Keepsakes of Kfest 28 files 1009x1320 JPGs 18.7 MG
 Prints out to 28 pages of photos and text or can be viewed on the monitor.

 Yearbook 97 Keepsakes of Kfest 24 files 1009x1320 JPGs 16.2 MG
 Prints out to 24 pages of photos and text or can be viewed on the monitor.

 ===>>> NEW & JUST ADDED
 Yearbook 98 Keepsakes of Kfest 28 files 1009x1320 JPGs 6.45 MB
 Prints out to 28 pages of photos and text or can be viewed on the monitor.

 KeepCvr.jpg Cover Keepsakes of Kfest 1009x1320 JPG
 To print out or view.

 95 Logo JPGs 35 files 1.33 MG
 96 Logo JPGs 27 files 1.14 MG
 97 Logo JPGs 29 files 1.42 MG
 98 Logo JPGs 36 files 1.41 MG
 99 Logo JPGs 60 files 2.31 MG These are the ones on the Kfest Web page.

 More Kfest Stuff JPGs 26 files 985 KB Mostly JPGs, a few GIFs.

 A2 User Pics 11 jpgs. 248 KB

 Animated GIFs 34 files 15.1 MG

 Kansas City MIDI Music file 53.8 KB
 Masterpiece MIDI Music file 7.9 KB
 Genie Ad WAV Sound file 1.23 MG
 Bite WAV Sound file 171 KB

 Tape1.exe 914 KB
 Video only runs on PCs, I think.

 Pat Kern
 <You can never be too rich or have too many graphics>.
                       (PATZ_PIX, 24286, GO COM A2)


SILVERN CASTLE DEBUTS AT KFEST 1999   Hi all,
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Last week at KFest, Max Jones of Juiced.GS demonstrated Silvern Castle, a
new game for the 8-bit Apple II, written entirely in Applesoft BASIC. I've
been playing it a bit and it seems like a great game - definitely
commercial quality (I've paid for games just like it) - and so am starting
this thread. First message here I'd like to post some excerpts from the
docs:

-----

SILVERN CASTLE: The Lost Crystal Orb
Program Author - Jeff Fink

Version 1.0 - July, 1999
Shareware fees: $15

Jeff Fink
432 Eureka St., Apt. 210
Ripon, WI 54971

What is it?
'''''''''''
Silvern Castle is a fantasy role-playing game. You will be able to create
up to 20 characters and take 6 of them on an adventure into the unknown
depths of a multi-level 3-D maze. It won't be easy. Traps of all kinds
abound, as well as hundreds of monsters. Will you be able to fulfill your
quest and retrieve the lost Crystal Orb from the evil Wizard Drachma?

Version 1.0
'''''''''''
Silvern Castle was developed after the authors of Wizardry bragged that it
was "...a game that simply could not have been written in BASIC."^1 Silvern
Castle was purchased by Softdisk in 1988, but was never published. After
the demise of Softdisk, I requested and obtained written acknowledgement
that the rights to Silvern Castle shall revert back to me. Although I have
greatly modified and improved upon the original Silvern Castle, it has
until now never been seen, hence the version 1 moniker (although since
1988, it's probably up to version 20!). So, here for the greater Apple II
community for the very first time is version 1.0 of Silvern Castle, a
complete fantasy role-playing game written in Applesoft BASIC!

^1 Wizardry: Proving Grounds Manual, pg 1.

Introduction to Silvern Castle
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Welcome to a new computer role-playing experience. At first glance, Silvern
Castle may appear to be a Wizardry clone. However, other than its outward
appearance, it outperforms Wizardry in scope and complexity.

For instance, you get 250+ monsters (including wandering monsters, NPC
parties, dragon lairs, snake pits, and humanoid dens, to name a few), 400+
items (mundane, magical, enchanted and cursed), special goodies, a
multi-level 27x27 maze, rich spellbook system for magic-users, traps, magic
fountains, computer-generated mazes and monster species, 100+ spells (of
which many can be cast reversed), sub-plots and quests, and much more...
                       (KEN_GAGNE, 24558, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   When my half-hour layover in DC yesterday extended to five hours, I
"""""   had a great opportunity to wear out the battery on my PowerBook
playing Silvern Castle. I'd like to offer some pointers to people just
starting:

- Think about what races to use in your party. Demihumans get much higher
stats than humans, but require twice the experience to advance each of the
first four levels. It just gets worse after that. Try a mixed party. I'm
using one with a demihuman fighter and mage, and a human fighter, mage,
cleric, and thief. Don't take my word for it, though. I've tried human
parties, demihuman parties, and mixed parties, and had them all
slaughtered. (if you see priestesses or pixies - RUN! or fall back to your
last save)

- Like I said, this game is tough. :) The only way I can see surviving:
cheat. Create five dummy characters (fastest way is human male fighters of
strength 14; I named them A-E) and create a party of those five and one of
your real characters. Send the keeper to Quillion's Trading Post to Buy,
and Pool your gold. Then delete the five fake characters, and repeat. After
a few minutes of this, you should have enough gold to outfit all your
characters with decent weaponry & armour.

- Mages and clerics are useless without spells. Buy scrolls at Quillion's
then Add them to your spellbooks. Don't count on finding scrolls as random
treasure in the dungeon (castle?).

-Ken
                       (KEN_GAGNE, 24559, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   Silvern Castle is $15 shareware. Payment earns you the unlocking
"""""   code necessary to enter the final room on the final level to beat
the game. Also, a random maze generator is unlocked, for infinite play.

-Ken
                       (KEN_GAGNE, 24560, GO COM A2)

<<<<<   Apple IIgs users with a Second Sight card may experience technical
"""""   difficulties when playing Silvern Castle. My recommendation: don't
enter the control panel.

-Ken
                       (KEN_GAGNE, 24580, GO COM A2)



                             BEST OF THE BEST
                             """"""""""""""""


24242 12-JUL 14:28 General Chatter
     It's Alive!!
     From: WMD01        To: ALL

For the last several years (!), my Woz IIGS has been getting less and less
stable, and this week it became unusable. I was afraid it was on its last
legs, but finally worked up the energy and the nerve to pull the whole
thing apart. I reseated every connector and socketed chip on the MB and
every card, including the chips on the back of the TWGS daughterboard.

Doing the VGC on the MB and the 65816 on the TWGS were a bit intimidating.
I wouldn't touch the VGC again without a more suitable tool than a bent
paperclip; I had to straighten out a few skewed pins. However, I got it all
put back together and the system has been running for 2 1/2 days without a
hiccup. It's like new. I hadn't realized how much my nervousness at the
machine's instability took away from my enjoyment of it even when it was
behaving itself.

To celebrate, I've ordered a copy of Spectrum. :)

Bill Dooley




[EOA]
[A2P]------------------------------
                   A2Pro_DUCTIVITY |
-----------------------------------
Checking out A2PRO on Delphi
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
by Ryan M. Suenaga, B.A., M.S.W., L.S.W.
                [thelamp@sheppyware.net]


GSOFT SESSION HITS KFEST   We had a very nice session at KFest on GSoft
""""""""""""""""""""""""   Toolbox programming. I think it went fairly well
considering I covered a lot of material in just an hour and a half or so.

I'm curious what the attendees thought of it, and if there was any actual
retention. ;)

---
Eric (Sheppy) Shepherd
sheppy@sheppyware.net
http://www.sheppyware.net
                       (SHEPPY, 2736, GO COM A2PRO)

>>>>>   Right now I can't remember to sleep :)
"""""
Aside from that, it was way cool. And you've already sold at least one copy
of the Toolbox Programming in GSoft BASIC book when it's ready.

-
 Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. -- rsuenaga@apple2.org
 Editor and Publisher, _The Lamp!_, published monthly on Delphi
 Posted by PTMM v2.5 - The integrated information solution
                      (RSUENAGA, 2737, GO COM A2PRO)


WHERE'S BRUTAL DELUXE'S PATCHED TEXTEDIT TOOL?   What ever happened to this
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   patch? I went to the web
site and I got an error. Is there a new pointer?

Regards,

Chris
                      (CVAVRUSKA, 2705, GO COM A2PRO)

>>>>>   I personally don't trust this patch, I've heard of people having
"""""   problems with it.

---
Eric (Sheppy) Shepherd
sheppy@sheppyware.net
http://www.sheppyware.net
                       (SHEPPY, 2709, GO COM A2PRO)

>>>>>   It looks like Brutal Deluxe's FTP space has been removed (looks
"""""   like all clients on that FTP server no longer has FTP space). I'm
sure you can find a copy on ground or caltech.

Geoff
                      (SISGEOFF, 2712, GO COM A2PRO)

>>>>>   I haven't heard of anyone having any problems with it and I've also
"""""   had it installed on my machine since they released it and can't
attribute any problems to it.

 Jeff Blakeney |      Dean of the Apple II University in A2Pro      |
 --------------+----------------------------------------------------+
   sent via    |   HyperCard IIgs Course   |   GSoft BASIC Course   |
   COG v3.1    |      now in session       |     now in session     |
                      (JBLAKENEY, 2713, GO COM A2PRO)

>>>>>   Although it does fix the problem they tackled, TextEdit still has
"""""   the inherent bugs that it always had. The only cure for those is to
have lots of memory available for TextEdit to work in.

This really applies to programs like SIS, which uses TextEdit to its
limits. If you have limited memory, keep the system as clean as possible of
anything that hogs memory. With SIS, keep the Spectrum capture buffers
small to free as much memory as possible.

I used to get those random hangs on my real IIgs, but under the 14Mb
emulated IIgs, Textedit almost never hangs...

 Ewen Wannop - Speccie - Thu 8 Jul 1999 - 13 days till KFest '99
 Delivered without using a IIgs by Spectrum 2.2 & Crock O' Gold 3.0
 Bernie ][ the Rescue 2.0 woofing at 55Mhz on a G3/350
 http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ewannop/
                       (EWANNOP, 2714, GO COM A2PRO)

>>>>>   I have had the same chance of TextEdit hanging my emulated GS if I
"""""   have 4 megs or 8 megs. This means that it isn't the amount of RAM,
but what is in it when bad pointers are being passed around.

But I have had no problems directly relating to the patched Tool34. SIS 1.1
does take advantage of the bug fixes in it by proving better caching.

Geoff
                      (SISGEOFF, 2715, GO COM A2PRO)

>>>>>   It fixes one of the bugs in the TextEdit toolset that causes your
"""""   computer to hang (or crash, I can't remember now) if you try to
have a TextEdit control display more than 1023 style changes. A style
change is when you change the font, font style (plain, bold, italic, etc.),
font size, tabs, margin, indent or justification (I think that covers them
all :)

This isn't a big problem for what TextEdit is usually used for by most
people but it can bite you sometimes.  Especially when using SIS.

 Jeff Blakeney |      Dean of the Apple II University in A2Pro      |
 --------------+----------------------------------------------------+
   sent via    |   HyperCard IIgs Course   |   GSoft BASIC Course   |
   COG v3.1    |      now in session       |     now in session     |
                      (JBLAKENEY, 2720, GO COM A2PRO)


WHAT CENTURY DOES YOUR IIGS THINK IT IS?   Anyone know where the century is
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   stored on the GS? All references
to time are the year only. Is it something I am going to have to fake?
(>85=19 <86=20)? GSOS does it so I would like to do it the right way.

Regards,

Chris
                      (CVAVRUSKA, 2706, GO COM A2PRO)

>>>>>   Use _ReadTimeHex. If CurYear is < 100, it is the 20th century,
"""""   otherwise it is the 21st century. Due to the GS clock limit, this
call will never return a year higher than 140 (or year 2040--thanks for the
correction as seen in another thread).

P.S. You can now subscribe with your new address to the Marinetti
     development mailing list. The problem was corrected before another
     subscriber joined.

Geoff
                      (SISGEOFF, 2711, GO COM A2PRO)


HOW DO I GET STARTED WITH IIGS PROGRAMMING?   If you really want to do IIgs
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""   programming you should get
the Toolbox Reference Volumes 1, 2, and 3, and the Programmer's Reference
for System 6, and possibly the GS/OS Reference.

You can get started with the Toolbox Programming in C course, but that only
gets you so far. The books are critical to really get into it.

---
Eric (Sheppy) Shepherd
sheppy@sheppyware.net
http://www.sheppyware.net
                       (SHEPPY, 2741, GO COM A2PRO)

>>>>>   While I basically agree with Eric, I'd also point out that you
"""""   don't need more than ORCA/C and Toolbox Programming in ORCA/C to
get _started_. You'll want to add all those books in the long run, but
Toolbox Programming in ORCA/C comes with an abridged version of these books
that covers everything you need for the course itself, and the course does
a pretty good job of covering the most commonly used toolbox features.

In the long run, you will probably want some sort of design tool like
DesignMaster, and possibly the ORCA/M assembler.

Mike Westerfield
                      (BYTEWORKS, 2742, GO COM A2PRO)



[EOA]
[HWH]------------------------------
              HARDWORKING HARDWARE |
-----------------------------------
CASTLEWOOD SYSTEMS ORB DRIVE
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
by Ryan M. Suenaga, B.A., M.S.W., L.S.W.
                    [thelamp@delphi.com]

                       CASTLEWOOD SYSTEMS ORB DRIVE
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          Product Name:       Castlewood Systems Orb 2.2 GB Mac Ultra SCSI
                              Portable Drive
                              (aka The Orb Drive)
          Distribution:       $199.99
                              Castlewood Systems, Inc.
                              7133 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 200
                              Pleasanton, CA  94566
                              email: help@castlewood.com
                              World Wide Web: http://www.castlewood.com
                              phones: 925-461-5500 (voice)
                                      925-461-5501 (fax)
                                      +31 20 581 93 02 (Europe)
          Tested on:          Apple IIgs with RamFAST SCSI and Apple
                              Revision C SCSI Card, ROM_3, ZipGSX 8/16, 5  
     megabytes RAM.


     A few years ago, Iomega's Zip Drive exploded onto the computing scene
as an inexpensive (then $199) removable hard drive that attached to a SCSI
chain and provided 100 megs of reasonably fast, relatively inexpensive
storage with the convenience of a floppy disk.  Today, after waiting more
than a year since its announcement, Castlewood Systems tries to one up--or
rather, 22 up--the original Zip Drive with its Orb Drive.  There are
several incarnations of the Orb; the one we're looking at is a $199
removable hard drive that attaches to a SCSI chain and provides 2.2
_gigabytes_ of very fast, very inexpensive storage with the convenience of
a floppy disk.

     The Orb Drive comes with Macintosh software on a CD ROM, an owner's
guide, one 2.2 gig cartridge (cartridges are available for $30 each), a
power supply ("wall wart" style), and a DB 25 to HDB 50 SCSI cable.  The
drive itself is black in color, compact (listed in the specifications as
being 6.5 x 1.5 x 5.25 inches) and light (1.19 pounds)--it looks like a
portable CD player.

     The Orb Drive has many features we've come to expect in SCSI removable
hard drives.  It has an eject button, two scsi ports, built-in termination,
an LED to indicate power and disk activity, and a SCSI ID selection switch.
In many ways, it is similar to the Zip Drive, although it improves on it in
several areas.  Like the Zip Drive, the Orb Drive has an eject button and
two SCSI ports but does not have an on/off switch.  Unlike the Zip, the
SCSI ports are the HDB 50 type, not widely used in the Apple II world.
Also, unlike the Zip Drive, there is a disk eject hole through which you
can stick a paper clip in an emergency, and you can choose from more than
two SCSI IDs (although the IDs are still limited to numbers 0, 4, 5, and
6).  Like the Zip, the Orb has built-in termination; unlike the Zip, the
termination is automatic and active, meaning if the drive senses it is the
last thing in the chain, it will turn termination on, and if it senses it
is not the last thing in the chain, it will turn termination off.  Also,
like the Zip, when you insert a disk cartridge, the disk partitions appear
on your desktop within seconds, and when you drag the disk partitions to
the trash under Finder, the cartridge ejects itself from the drive.  Like
the Zip, there is one LED which indicates power and disk activity.  And
also like the Zip, if the drive is not used for a time, it goes into a
power conserving "sleep" mode.

     When attached to an Apple Rev. C SCSI Card in a IIgs, the Orb Drive
works like a huge hard drive.  The Orb I have even provides term power to
the SCSI chain.  Using the drive required one condition be met: the drive
must have its power applied and the LED must be a solid green (instead of
the blinking red) before the power switch on the IIgs is turned on.
_Chinook SCSI Utilities_ did not recognize the drive, but Apple's _Advanced
Disk Utilities_ did, and partitioned the cartridge readily.  After that,
the Orb acted just like, well, a 2.2 gig hard drive.  It's more space than
you will probably ever need with an Apple II.

     Unfortunately, I could not get the RamFAST SCSI Card to recognize the
Orb, which is disappointing.  I do not have an Apple High Speed SCSI card
available to test the drive with, however, I would guess it would act
similarly to with the Rev. C SCSI Card, just a bit faster if DMA is on.

     I would suspect (but have not experienced yet) that the Orb Drive's
"sleep" mode may have similar problems to what Zip Drive owners have
experienced with the Apple SCSI Cards.  These were addressed by using the
Tulin SCSI drivers in combination with the Apple SCSI Cards.

     If you are an Apple Rev. C SCSI Card user (or an Apple High Speed SCSI
Card user who likes to experiment), I would highly recommend the Orb Drive
if you're in the market for a new hard drive.  It's exceedingly fast,
economical, and portable.  It appears set to be the next "big thing" in
removable storage.  Move over, Iomega!



[EOA]
[KFE]------------------------------
                    THINKING KFEST |
-----------------------------------
THERE'S NOTHING FINER THAN KANSAS CITY IN JULY
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
by Ryan M. Suenaga, B.A., M.S.W., L.S.W.
                    [thelamp@delphi.com]


                           KFEST XI: THE REUNION
                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Once a year, the Apple II faithful return from all corners of the
globe to their Mecca.  A small college in Kansas City, Missouri, less than
a mile from the Kansas border.  They return to see old friends and make new
ones; to honor the past and plan the future; and to stay up all night and
have fun all day.  They came, once again, for KansasFest.

     KFest 1999 was like every other KFest, yet unlike every other KFest.
Like KFests past, we saw new products and made new discoveries.  Unlike
KFests past, we finally saw the transition of the Apple II--from the
venerable Apple IIgs to the world of emulation.

     So for those of you who weren't able to make it in person, here is our
look at the virtual KFest 1999:

DAY -4   Like I did in 1998, I decided to fly into California instead of
""""""   straight to Kansas City so I could visit with some friends and get
some shopping done before KFest.  I'd again be staying with the Sheppys,
aka Eric and Sarah Shepherd.  I got home, finished packing, and waited
impatiently for my sister to get home so she could drop me off at the
airport.

     I travelled a little lighter this year than usual.  For the first time
since my first KFest, no Apple II--at least not a physical one.  My virtual
Apple II, in the form of the renown emulator _Bernie ][ The Rescue_, was
packed away on my PowerBook.  I checked into the airport with two bags, a
backpack, and a small box; all of my Apple II hopes and dreams packed away
in my heart.  I was leaving home, but going home.

     Here we come, Avila.

DAY -3   I'm not sure when Day -4 ended and Day -3 began, but it was
""""""   somewhere over the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a change in
time zones on a five and a half hour flight.  I tried to get as much sleep
as I could on the plane, knowing that I probably wouldn't get much sleep at
the Sheppys and I'd get almost none at KFest.  When I got off the plane,
Sheppy was waiting for me.  It was before 6 a.m.--again.  Somehow, I never
end up at the airport at a reasonable hour in San Francisco.  We talked a
bit about KFests past and KFest future--there were no blockbuster
announcements coming this year, at least none we knew about.
Announcements, yes; blockbusters, no.  Still, we looked forward to seeing
old friends and making new ones in the heat of the Kansas City summer.

     We stopped for breakfast at an IHOP (International House Of Pancakes,
for the uninitiated--although I've never been sure what's so international
about pancakes, especially the ones they serve there) on the way to the new
House Of Sheppy in Tracy, CA.  Eric and Sarah had moved here recently and
the home turned out to be an absolutely lovely place.

     I spent a lot of the day trying to relax.  I was exhausted from the
travel and the weeks leading up to it.  Working two jobs and putting out my
Apple II writing had begun to take a toll--as much as I don't like to admit
it, I needed a vacation, badly.  I was only too happy to be away from
responsibility.

     It was also a great day to go to Fry's Electronics.  Fry's is a large
regional electronics shop that has some great prices (and probably just as
many that aren't as great).  I walked around for awhile, picking up a few
cables and odds and ends that I couldn't get nearly as cheaply at home,
then stumbled on something I've been looking for for over a year: a
Castlewood Systems Orb Drive external SCSI version (see the review
elsewhere in this issue).  I approached the register where I'd end up
spending about $300 and was greeted by the cashier asking,

     "Are you Hawaiian?"

     Maybe the shorts gave me away.

DAY -2:   Day -2 was almost my ideal vacation day.  I did nothing other
"""""""   than sleep, fool around online, and burn a few CD ROMs.  I
considered doing a little packing (as my stuff was overflowing in the
Sheppys' guest room) but that seemed too close to work to seriously
consider.  Sheppy was busy working on _Sweet16_, the IIgs emulator for the
_BeOS_, and showing off the Weird Al Yankovic DVD he had picked up at
Fry's.  We also considered the post-KFest PizzaFest that the Sheppys were
hosting at their house--SheppyFest, where some KFesters and some missing
friends would be hanging out in about a week.  Sent some email to my
friends at work.  "Miss you, wish you were here, glad you are not."  Ha ha.
This vacation stuff is great!

DAY -1   Day -1 was the real pre-KFest training.  Unlike the Sheppys, I'd
""""""   be leaving for KFest to arrive on Day 0.  In fact, I'd be leaving
so early that we decided to just stay up all night and drop me off at the
airport about 4 am.  Well, I wasn't planning much sleep anyway, right?

     No sleep is better when you're KFest bound.

DAY 0   It's hard to figure out just when Day 0 began.  If tomorrow doesn't
"""""   come until you fall asleep, I guess it came when I was in the plane
from San Francisco to Denver, but before the plane from Denver to K.C.  I
was tired enough to sleep, although not well, on both flights.

     When I got off the plane and into the terminal of MCI, famillar after
five years, I was fortunate to quickly get my luggage.  I headed for the
restroom, and who should appear but my ride to Avila, the KFest Taxi
Dispatcher, Carl Knoblock.  It was great to see a familiar face.  I was
home again.

     Carl had his wife's car--his van had picked an unfortunate time to
break down.  Fortunately, I travelled light, and so did he--instead of
bringing his IIgs, as he had every year in the past, his computing
equipment consisted of his new PowerBook G3, in a theme that would repeat
itself over and over this KFest.  We had another person to pick up--Pat
Kern, who was flying in this year, instead of coming by land as she had in
the past.  Between Pat, Carl, and I, we ended up having just enough luggage
to pack Carl's wife's car, no more, no less.  At least we did once we could
find his car again.  We ran to Wal-Mart before getting to Avila to pick up
a few essentials (including a Diet Coke at McDonald's), and after about an
hour of driving, we reached Avila.  Home again.

     We checked in and got our keys, committed the numerical code for
Ridgway access to memory (or something), and started to settle in.  We
weren't the first arrivals--those seemed to be the land travelling trio of
Gina Saikin, Dave Miller, and Jeff Blakeney, who showed up at around 6 in
the morning in a van with a sign indicating they were KFest bound in a rear
window.  Some people just can't wait to get KFesting.

     I arrived earlier than my roommate, Kirk Mitchell, a Kansan who had to
drive across the state to get to KFest, so I grabbed "the good bed."  After
five KFests, I still don't know what "the good bed" means.  I was in the
midst of setting up when my roommate showed up.  We spent the day
exchanging insults (my initial opening being, "Do you need help moving your
stuff in?  If you do, you better find someone who cares.") and setting up
Power Macs--his beige G3 minitower, and my Duo 2300c.

     Friends were already there and arriving by the bucketful--Russ Alman
and Mike Wallace of Apple II license plate fame, senior KFester Ephraim
Wall and Joyce Sullivan from Oklahoma, Ray Merlin and Erick Wagner from
Texas, the Binary Bus with Da Bears (Dave and Ahren Ciotti) and Honorary
Bear Ewen Wannop, newsletter publishers Max Jones and Joe Kohn, newbies
Luke Weerts and Richard Hansen, and of course, The Big Cheese herself,
Cindy Adams.  KFest was happening.  It was like Christmas.

     Aside from the usual cruising of the halls to see who was there and
make fun of Max Jones' recycled door sign, the rest of the night was spent
hanging out and having dinner over at K.C. Masterpiece restaurant.  If
nothing else, the food was definitely an upgrade from the Avila cafeteria.

DAY 1:   Since this year's KFest had early arrivals on Tuesday, Wednesday
""""""   was a less hectic day than in KFests past.  More KFesters arrived
on Wednesday as well, including _Spectrum Internet Suite_ author Geoff
Weiss and InTrec Software's Jerry Cline.  It was so much less hectic, in
fact, I even got up early enough to do a little shopping.  One of the nice
things about KFest is that things are near enough that if you forget
something (in our case, a long telephone cord), it's easy enough to run out
and get.  There's Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, CompUSA, and Best Buy all close
enough to get stuff, and if you're not into Avila cuisine, there's
restaurants close enough to get prepared food as well.  I usually just go
for a few boxes of cookies and a few 12 packs of soda.

     The first official KFest event was dinner, which was predictably
Avila-like.  Following that we were addressed by KFest organizer Cindy
Adams, aka The Big Cheese, then we were onto the big show, the keynote
address given by my Friend For Life Max Jones, publisher of _Juiced.GS_.
Max honored several KFest attendees who came from long distances away and
announced that _Juiced.GS_ will continue to be published in 2000.  He also
announced the first new product of KFest 1999, unfortunately one that was
not yet ready for release--the _Juiced.GS_ CD, appropriately titled
"Friends For Life".  Following the address, _Juiced.GS_ sponsored a
reception in the Avila dorm (contrary to rumors, you did not need to have a
_Juiced.GS_ tattoo in order to get the first drink free).

     After a long, long night, sleep finally showed up at 3 a.m. or so.

DAY 2   Day 2 began with a trip to the cafeteria for KFest breakfast.
"""""   I don't think I ever made a KFest breakfast in the first three
years I attended, but over the last two, I've made quite a few.  Exactly
why I've attended those, I'm not sure, but I have and I'll continue to.  I
mean, cereal, milk, and Diet Pepsi are pretty much the same no matter where
you are, and the company at KFest's better than the company at Pete's
Pancakes.

     Although that was how Day 2 began for me, Day 2 for KFest really began
with the opening of HackFest at 7 a.m.  Organized by Sheppy, HackFest, in
its second year, is a KFest programming contest.  Come up with something
new Apple II, work on it during HackFest, and maybe win a prize.  There
were cash prizes, software, and books available for the participants.
Anyone could enter, and anyone could win.

     Day 2, like the other days coming, presented a KFest tradition and a
KFest rarity.  The tradition as expected was dealing with tough
choices--for instance, do you see Sheppy's "ToolBox Programming in _GSoft
BASIC_" or Joe Kohn's storytelling?  The rarity was that since there were
fewer sessions than usual, there were fewer times when we needed to choose.

     I started my KFest sessions by seeing Ewen Wannop explain the anatomy
of _Crock O' Gold_, the sophisticated set of _Spectrum_ scripts that make
up the powerful Delphi offline reader.  Ewen showed how nearly anything
could be done with scripts--evidence that _Spectrum_ could do everything.
Evidence that would be important later.

     Following Ewen, Sheppy presented some perspective and history on
things he's programmed as well as his style.  Sheppy discussed some of his
history of programming with the Apple IIgs and went over the development of
the brilliant _Shifty List_ program, and how he thought it was, at best, a
neat hack.  _Shifty List_ has gone onto be an award-winning utility.
Sheppy's use of _Shifty List_ as an example allowed him to discuss some of
the relationship between beta testers and programmers and how testers can
have influence on what the final product looks like.

     After a mostly forgettable lunch, "Hot Pepper" Dave Carey showed us
all how to use the venerable _Print Shop GS_ and _Print Shop Companion_ to
do things that most of us couldn't even imagine doing.  Dave's KFest door
was filled with posters created with these well-used programs, and Dave is
well known for his unmatched prowess in creating beautiful art work.  Dave
showed how even the rank novice can create something beautiful.  After this
came a true Geek's session.  Australian Richard Bennett, possibly best
known as author of _Marinetti_, showed off how to use the long time yet
mysterious programmer's debugging tool _GSBug_.  Very few people, including
the programmers attending, knew how to use _GSBug_ the way Richard does.
Richard gave a rundown of functions and commands as well as real-world
examples of how to use _GSBug_ to best effect.

     Here, Tony Diaz of Alltech Electronics showed off his new product--a
CDROM collection called _A2-ROMulan_, including some rare things not seen
in years.  The CD would be available for sale for the first time at the
vendor fair on Saturday.

     Later that night was dinner and a ride out to Sean Fahey's place.
Sean is an avid Apple II user and collector who often gets calls from
people who are ready to dispose of some Apple iI equipment.  Sean opened up
his garage to let us in and we saw what must have been more than a hundred
Apple II's of every vintage, as well as associated equipment.  Sean was
mostly wanting to simply clear space out in the garage so he could fit his
new car in, and was not asking for money, but would take donations to give
to the women's shelter his wife volunteers at.  Sean's act of kindness and
goodwill is exactly what KFest is about.

     Late night KFest activities included the usual--movies, hanging out,
checking out other people's computers.  For the first time, it appeared
that virtual Apple II's have eclipsed physical ones at KFest--I counted
more Power Macs running _Bernie_ than I did Apple IIgs boxes.

DAY 3:   I was still able to wake up early enough for KFest breakfast.
""""""   That wouldn't last, of course, but the fact that I could still do
it on a Friday was nothing short of amazing.  For my efforts I won a bet
with Max Jones--his roommate was now enslaved to me.  I think Ewen was less
than amused with the news.

     Apple Computer's Craig Foos came to show us some new software,
including QuickTime 4 and some video editing software, followed by Stan
Marks discussing the _AppleWorks GS_ database and Gina Saikin giving
technical tips.  Stan impressed the Avila crowd with his mastery of the
database module, which led The Big Cheese herself to challenge the KFest
crowd to come up with their own topic to present at KFest 2000.  It seems
Stan only decided to do his session after a lot of badgering by Mrs. Adams,
as he didn't think he had a lot to offer to the KFest crowd.  It turns out,
of course, he did.

     Following lunch we saw a difficult choice: Joe Kohn's storytelling or
Sheppy's ToolBox programming in _GSoft BASIC_.  I split time between the
two, hearing some of Joe's early years with BIg Red Computer Club and The
Source, and seeing how easy it was to create an authentic SYS16 program
with _GSoft BASIC_.  That session has sold me on the power that Mike
Westerfield put into the hands of the people last year.  This was followed
by a session on user groups and Sheppy presenting the _BeOS_.  As a _Be_
user, I stayed and watched jaws drop as they oohed and aahed over the
multimedia operating system.  Sheppy also showed off two _BeOS_ programs by
Kelvin Sherlock which were ported over from the IIgs--_BeShisen_ and _Be
FlameStation_.  Way to go Kelvin!

     The KFest banquet was held next, with the presentation of
awards--winners this year included Giselle Schnaubelt, Dave and Ahren
Ciotti, Ken Gagne, and others.  Congratulations to all our KFest contest
winners.

     Before the big reason we were at the banquet came to pass, The Big
Cheese announced that yes, there would be a KFest 2000!  Ewen Wannop will
be working on the new logo design once he returns to England and recovers
from the main event, which came next.

     As the victim of honor, Ewen Wannop endured slings from Joe Kohn, Max
Jones, Geoff Weiss, Richard Bennett, and myself.  From sheep jokes to page
three girls to jabs about England's police system ("Stop!  Stop!  Or I'll
yell 'Stop!' again!") to knightings, Ewen was thoroughly roasted.  He even
had a song about _Spectrum_ sung to him and faced the dual questions of
what parts of _Spectrum_ he actually wrote and what can anyone else write
when _Spectrum_ already does everything.  Ewen took it all in fun and
dished it out in return, and got a standing ovation for his part.

     The rest of Friday night was spent talking shop and hanging out.
Sleep was mostly unknown, but the extra day at KFest was having an effect.
The length of KFest would be about perfect--one more day and people would
be falling asleep during meals, not just during sessions.

DAY 4   Saturday morning saw new product demonstrations and the
"""""   announcement of HackFest winners.  Starting with fifth place, the
HackFest winners were:

     Cindy Adams (using a _Spectrum_ script) to prove she could;

     Jeff Blakeney (using _GSoft BASIC) creating a Binary II wrapper
stripper;

     Richard Bennett (using, of course, assembly) making an iMac mouse
emulator for the IIgs;

     Shawn Beattie (using _GSoft BASIC_) with his Y][KFest countdown;

     and Ken Gagne (using a _Spectrum_ script) for a database inspired by
Max Jones.

     It didn't hurt that Max was one of the judges, I guess.

     The products shown off included the shareware products _Silvern
Castle_, an 8-bit game written in Applesoft BASIC by Jeff Fink and
_SpeedReadPlus_, an upgrade of a IIgs program by Terry Morris, both shown
by Max Jones; _Sweet16 1.0_, the IIgs emulator for the _BeOS_ originally by
F.E. Systems and now maintained by Eric Shepherd; the official _Bernie ][
the Rescue Starter Kit_ by Ewen Wannop (distributed by Shareware Solutions
II) and the _Marinetti MacIP Link Layer Module_ from Richard Bennett.  This
was followed by the vendor fair, where the hardcore Apple II fanatics could
get hardware and software at bargain prices.

     That night was the informal jaunt out.  I went to Jess & Jim's with a
bunch of KFesters and had more meat than I've had since last KFest.  KFest
was ending again, sadly, but there was one more KFest miracle this year.
As we left Jess & Jim's, we spotted a personalized license plate from
Missouri.  The word on it?

     BERNIE

DAY 5:   Time to go.  Again.  For a few days in the heat of the July
""""""   summer, my heart is nowhere else.  I gathered up my things and
caught a ride with The Big Cheese herself; we got some lunch and some
shopping done, then got to the airport.  I ran into Steve Gozdziewski by
surprise there; his flight had been delayed home.

     I could stay up all night and day thinking of folks to thank, but I
guess the ultimate thanks is to everyone.

     Let's do it again next year.

     Make time stand still.







         :: DISCUSSED ON DELPHI ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
         :                                                       :
         :   What can you do at 3 AM? Psssttt - got a modem??    :
         :                                                       :
         ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: LUMITECH ::::::



[EOA]
[INN]------------------------------
                     EXTRA INNINGS |
-----------------------------------
About The Lamp!   The Lamp! is published on the fifteenth of every month in
"""""""""""""""   the Database of the II Scribe Forum on the Delphi online
service (GO CUS 11).

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 1999 by Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W.  All
       rights reserved.

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

     * Back issues of The Lamp! are available in the II Scribe Forum on
       Delphi as well as The Lamp! Home Page,
       http://lamp.sheppyware.net.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Opinions expressed herein are those of  the individual authors, and do  not
necessarily  represent  the  opinions   of  the  Delphi  Online   Services,
Syndicomm, Inc.,  or  Ryan M.  Suenaga.     Forum  messages  are  reprinted
verbatim and  are included  in this  publication with  permission from  the
individual authors.   Delphi Online Services,  Syndicomm, Inc. and  Ryan M.
Suenaga  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.
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