[HEA]    _____________________   ___                                   _    |___   ______________| |   |                                 | |        |  | _             |   |                                 | |        |  || |            |   |                                 | |        |  || |            |   |                                 | |        |  || |            |   |   ____ _   _ _   _   ______     | |        |  || |            |   |  / __ \ | | / \_/ \  | ___ \    | |        |  || |__   ____   |   | / /  \  | |  /\ /\ \ | |  \ \   | |        |  ||  _ \ |  _ \  |   | \ \__/  | | | |_|| | | |__/ /   | |        |  || | | || |_||  |   |  \___/|_| |_|    |_| | ____/    |_|        |  || | | || |__   |   |____________________  | |         _        |__||_| |_|\____/  |________________________| | |        |_|                                                      | |         Lighting Your Apple II Path                  | |                                                      |_|-----------------------------------                       >>> WELCOME TO THE LAMP! <<<                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~            THE BEST OF THE A2 BULLETIN BOARD ON Syndicomm.com          AND THE BEST OF THE DELPHI A2 AND A2PRO MESSAGE BOARDS           "Teaching the Apple II user how to fish since 1998" :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The Lamp!            An Onipa'a Software Production       Vol. 4, No. 11 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Publisher................................Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. Editor.....................................................Lyle Syverson Internet Email, Publisher.........................thelamp@sheppyware.net Internet Email, Editor................................lyle@FoxValley.net ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::                            TABLE OF CONTENTS                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                            November 15, 2001HIGH ABOVE THE ROCK RIVER---------------------------------------------[OPN]     The Fork in the RoadA2 FORUM AT Syndicomm Online (A2Central.com) DISTILLATIONS     New Bulletin Board Software in Use in A2 Forum-------------------[NBS]     Web Access to the A2 Bulletin Board------------------------------[WAB]     Snack Arrangements for K-Fest 2002-------------------------------[SKF]     New Version of SOAR Will be Required-----------------------------[NSR]     Gopher and Other Internet Tools----------------------------------[GIT]     The Future of Apple II GIF Viewing Programs----------------------[FGV]     MIDI Keyboard Interface to the IIgs------------------------------[MKI]     Space Invaders for the Apple II----------------------------------[SIA]     How do You Pronounce Eamon?--------------------------------------[PNE]     Silvern Castle v7.3 Delayed--------------------------------------[SCD]     Uninterruptible Power Supplies With the IIgs---------------------[UPS]     Bret Victor's Web Sites------------------------------------------[VWS]     Ping for the IIgs------------------------------------------------[PGS]     APDA Products Being Added to Syndicomm Online Store--------------[APA]     Latest on Bernie II the Rescue-----------------------------------[LBR]     Apple II Forever Projects----------------------------------------[AFP]     Apple II Documentation Project-----------------------------------[ADP]     IPC Spy CDA------------------------------------------------------[ISC]     FREDA CDA Debugger-----------------------------------------------[FCD]     Pixie Debugging Tool for the Apple IIgs--------------------------[PDT]     GS/OS Serial Drivers Adequate for APP?---------------------------[GSD]     Apple II FileType for PDF Files----------------------------------[AFP]     What do You Think of the iPod?-----------------------------------[TIP]     It, The Invention------------------------------------------------[ITI]     The Myth Series by Asprin----------------------------------------[MSA]ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SYNDICOMM     Webside Bulletin Boards Open in Several Forums-------------------[WBB]     Prolifif Quill Forum Now Open------------------------------------[PQF]     Like to Play Dungeons & Dragons?---------------------------------[DAD]     Sign up for Syndicomm Online-------------------------------------[SSO]DELPHI A2 DISTILLATIONS     What do You Use Your Apple II For?-------------------------------[UYA]LETTERS TO THE EDITOR     Apple II Documentation Project-----------------------------------[ATP]     An Invitation----------------------------------------------------[LTE]KFEST 2002     Plan Ahead for K-Fest 2002---------------------------------------[PAK]EXTRA INNINGS     About The Lamp! ------------------------------------------------ [INN]                                [*] [*] [*]READING THE LAMP!   The index system used by The Lamp! is designed to make"""""""""""""""""   your reading easier.  To use this system, load thisissue into any word processor or text editor.  In the index you will findsomething like:EXTRA INNINGS     About The Lamp! ------------------------------------------------ [INN]To read this article, simply use your search or find command to locate[INN].  There is a similar tag at the end of each article: [EOA].[OPN]-------------------------------         HIGH ABOVE THE ROCK RIVER |------------------------------------From The Editor"""""""""""""""by Lyle Syverson <lyle@FoxValley.net>                           The Fork in the Road                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     From High Above The Rock River the calm water and clear blue skybeckon us to go for a walk along the river.     The dry, crisp leaves crunch beneath our feet.  The blue sky, and itsreflection in the water, provide an awe inspiring background for the whitebark of the birch trees.  On the other side of a group of leafless trees inthe distance we see a road that was hidden from view during the summer.  Afork in this road leads to another road that disappears behind a rise inthe land.     The path one's life takes is based on which forks in the road weretaken.  All of us have a common interest in our journey... the Apple IIcomputers.     There is a new group of people who are interested the Apple II.  Theyhave acquired an A2 at a garage sale... or had one given to them... etc.These people are eager to learn what these computers can do and where toget software.     To learn how you can help, see "Letters to the Editor" [ATP], Apple IIFOREVER PROJECTS [AFP], and Apple II DOCUMENTATION PROJECT [ADP] in thisissue.     A fork in the road has led many Apple II users to yet anotherexperience... K-Fest.  You have never been to K-Fest?  You really ought totry it.  Can't find the fork in the road leading to K-Fest?  See thesection on K-Fest in this issue.[EOA]ASCII ART BEGINS_________  _                     _                                      _|__   __| | |                   | |                                    | |   | |    | |                   | |                                    | |   | |    | |___     ____       | |       _____   __ ___ _   _ _____   | |   | |    | ___ \   / __ \      | |      /____ \  | v   v | | v ___ \  | |   | |    | |  | | | /__\ \     | |       ____| | | /\ /\ | |  /   \ \ | |   | |    | |  | | | _____|     | |      / ___  | | || || | | |    | | |_|   | |    | |  | | | |_____     | |____  | |__| | | || || | |  \___/ /  _   |_|    |_|  |_| \______|     |______| \____^_| |_||_||_| | |\____/  |_|                                                            | |                                                            | |                                                            |_|ASCII ART ENDS[EOA]---------------------------------------------------DISTILLATIONS FROM The A2 FORUM at Syndicomm.com  |                                  (A2Central.com) |---------------------------------------------------by Lyle Syverson <lyle@foxvalley.net>[NBS]NEW BULLETIN BOARD SOFTWARE IN USE IN A2 FORUM""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""A2 is now running the new bulletin board software; things should be much,much faster here now, and we have a webside board as well.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 1, Msg 13)[EOA][WAB]WEB ACCESS TO THE A2 BULLETIN BOARD"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""If you have Web access (yes, Lynx and Links both count, haven't checked SISyet), accessing the A2 Bulletin Board just got lots easier.Point your browser to http://www.syndicomm.com/communities/a2/messages andyou can access our board via the Web.  You will need your password andusername, of course.  You will also have to enable Cookies in your browser.Give it a try and see how you like it.RyanA2 Chief Sysop and Head Geek(A2.RYAN, Cat 2, Top 5, Msg 1)[EOA}[SKF]SNACK ARRANGEMENTS FOR K-Fest 2002""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""(Posted via the web, partially as a test):As long as I'm at KFest 2002 (I plan to be, just a little less sure thanusual), I'll be buying the same 6 dozen or so Krispy Kreme donuts I didthis year.Someone else will have to get the milk ;-)Ryan(A2.RYAN, Cat 5, Top 3, Msg 193)>>>>>"""""I'll take care of the Milk.  I figure I might as well contribute something.Dain NeaterKeeper of the Boards(A2.DAIN, Cat 5, Top 3, Msg 194)[EOA][NSR]NEW VERSION OF SOAR WILL BE REQUIRED""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""The recent changes in the Forum software will require an update to SOAR.You may find in the meantime that SOAR sticks or ceases to work for somefunctions.I am away from home for the rest of this week, and will not get a chance towork on the scripts till I get home. I shall post an updated SOAR on my website as soon as I can get the scripts worked out. Please be patient tillthen... Ewen Wannop - Speccie - Tue 30 Oct 2001 - 266 days till KFest '02 Delivered without using a IIgs by Spectrum v2.5.2 & SOAR 1.0b5 Setup: Bernie ][ the Rescue 3.0 and a dual G4/800Mhz GeForce3 http://www.ewannop.btinternet.co.uk/(CONDUCTOR, Cat 10, Top 59, Msg 226)[EOA][GIT]GOPHER AND OTHER INTERNET TOOLS"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""The latest set of Web Browsers, Netscape 6 and Explorer 6, have droppedtheir support for Gopher.  That spells doom for the remaining gopher sitesthat are still up.  A quick check on gopher in the last year resulted inalot of dead links and nothing interesting to see.Gopher has served its purpose and was not as easily expandable as what theWeb has grown into.  It was nice in its time when there was no Web to lookfor information.The concept of its use was simple.  Everything was indexed-based.  Yourhome index had links to sub-indexes and/or files and through some path oflinks, a link to a master index by country, state, site.  Each item in anindex pointed to another index or to a file, ftp file or directory, telnetserver, or web page.  Files linked from an index followed a certain set oftypes as specified in the RFCs.  This was pretty much limited to text,"binary", sound, graphic, animation, and "unknown" files.By the way, there was also a Jughead.  Jughead was a serch tool for a setof servers (instead of all of them).  Jughead only worked if there was ajughead server set up on the gopher sites.  It is my understanding that itwas difficult to set up a jughead server and not well maintained.Also, for more information about Code Red and Nimda, take a look at theselinks:http://www.incidents.org/react/nimda.pdfhttp://www.incidents.org/react/code_redII.phpGeoff(GEOFF, Cat 11, Top 11, Msg 38)[EOA][FGV]THE FUTURE OF Apple II GIF VIEWING PROGRAMS"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Does the Unisys patent spell the end for Apple II GIF viewing programs?Will anyone write a new or updated GIF viewer?Ryan(A2.RYAN, Cat 12, Top 3, Msg 6)>>>>>"""""The gif/lzw patent is #4,558,302 if anyone wants to check it out at the USpatent office homepage: uspto.gov.It was filed december 10, 1985, which means it expires December 10, 2005(20 years).  They also have separate patents for UK and Japan - they mayexpire at some other time.I think a more serious obstacle than unisys in the development of new giftools is the dirth of programmers and programmers with time, though :((KWS, Cat 12, Top 3, Msg 7)>>>>>"""""Yeah, this is a bigger problem.  But the Unisys thing still sucks.  Fourmore years. :)Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 12, Top 3, Msg 8)[EOA][MKI]MIDI KEYBOARD INTERFACE TO THE IIgs""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Hi all.I recently bought a midi keyboard, and I'm now keen to try connecting it tomy GS. I have downloaded a couple of designs for midi interfaces fromHarmony Central. These are for serial port Macs, so I presume they wouldwork with the GS too. I'm planning to construct one of these and tryconnecting my keyboard (a Casio CT-670).Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing?What software can I use? Any of it freely available? What can the GS dowhen interfaced to a midi keyboard?Always fun to explore a new area of our old friend :)Kim HoweNewton Forum Host(KIMHOWE, Cat 12, Top 12, Msg 3)>>>>>"""""IIRC, there were 2 ways of getting MIDI data into the IIgs...AE had a midi card Apple (and maybe others) had the external midi->serialport converter, which worked the same for the macintosh & IIgs, sopresumably the device you build would work with IIgs midi port driver.If it works, I'd like to see a tutorial on building one :)(KWS, Cat 12, Top 12, Msg 6)>>>>>"""""I bought Pyware's Music writer just before I got married.  I have Apple'smidi interface.  It worked; you could play on the keyboard, and the noteswould appear on the screen, but of course if your rhythm was off even alittle, the notes wouldn't come out the way you expected.Naturally, priorities changed significantly with the addition of the goldring, so that was the last I ever really played with it.  Someday,though....   :)_________  | homas(TCOMPTER, Cat 12, Top 12, Msg 7)[EOA][SIA]SPACE INVADERS FOR THE APPLE II"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""I'm finding a lot of great classic games that were on the 8 bit Apple IInow on the Palm platform.The primary one I'm thinking of is Space Invaders.Is there a publicly available Space Invaders for the Apple II or IIgs?Ryan(A2.RYAN, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 46)>>>>>"""""Here's a Space Invaders game for the GS, Ryan:ftp://ftp.syndicomm.com/pub/members-only/a2/games/arcade/16-bit/spaceinv.gs.bxyThere are also be a few such games under different names; I think Solarianmight be one.  It's in the same directory as above.-Ken(KGAGNE, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 47)>>>>>"""""I remember the original "Super Invader" which was distributed by CreativeComputing back in 1978.  I received this from the computer store that soldme my first Disk ][ back then.  In those days computer stores were notinterested in selling software, only hardware.  Thus I was able to copy itfor free.  It was probably legal to do that back then since software wasn'tsubject to Canadian copyright laws at the time.  (They fixed that!)The only IIGS specific version I am aware of is the version done by DavidOng Tat-Wee.  GS Invaders is available from a lot of places includingDavid's home page at http://myhome.asia1.com/home/d/dotw/iigs_software.html.Mark Percival - Syndicomm.com Apple II RTC Host"Midweek Madness!" every Wednesday night.7:00 PM - 9:00 PM PDT(MARK, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 48)[EOA][PNE]HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE EAMON?"""""""""""""""""""""""""""Last night I met a young man by the name of Eamon, which leads me to twoquestions:1) How is the name of the classic Apple II adventure game pronounced?   Is the 'E' silent, as this gentleman's name was?2) Was the computer game named after someone?-Ken(KGAGNE, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 50)>>>>>"""""I would assume it is pronounced the same way as the common Irish first nameEamon. 'E' as the 'ay' of 'hay', 'a' as 'Ah', and 'mon' as 'Montreal'. Ewen Wannop - Speccie - Mon 12 Nov 2001 - 253 days till KFest '02 Delivered without using a IIgs by Spectrum v2.5.2 & SOAR 1.0b5 Setup: Bernie ][ the Rescue 3.0 and a dual G4/800Mhz GeForce3 http://www.ewannop.btinternet.co.uk/(CONDUCTOR, Cat 14, Top 1, Msg 51)[EOA][SCD]SILVERN CASTLE v7.3 DELAYED"""""""""""""""""""""""""""Sorry, the Silvern Castle v7.3 release has been delayed due to a recentchange of address.  Can you believe that I now reside at Sylvan Way?Anyway, the new release will be available shortly.Jeff Fink(FINKSTERJ, Cat 14, Top 7, Msg 83)[EOA][UPS]UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLIES WITH THE IIgs""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Is there any software for the IIgs to let it receive notifications fromUPSes?Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 17, Top 16, Msg 1)>>>>>"""""Not that I'm aware of.  I've looked in to this ever since I got an APCBackups Pro 420 four years ago.  The documentation for APC's "Powerchute"program shows that the UPS communicates via a RC-232c interface.  A scriptfor Spectrum could communicate with and control it. (Spectrum already doesthat?) :-)  The problem is deciphering the control codes.  I've never hadthe time to sit down and do that. Roger A. Schnorenberg - Roger Delivered by Spectrum v2.5.2 & SOAR v1.0b6(SCHNORENBERG, Cat 17, Top 16, Msg 2)>>>>>"""""You can probably determine the control sequences by looking at the code forthe UPS daemon for Linux; the source is of course freely available.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 17, Top 16, Msg 3)[EOA][VWS]BRET VICTOR'S WEB SITES"""""""""""""""""""""""Bret's main web site can be found here:http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~bret/His extensive collection of Apple IIgs tables is listed and available atthis page:http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~bret/create_software_iigs.html(KGAGNE, Cat 20, Top 12, Msg 1)[EOA][PGS]PING FOR THE IIgs"""""""""""""""""I didn't even know there were new messages here until I looked at thelatest "The Lamp".Ping for the Apple IIgs does not do anything more than make sure that theICMP echo is successful to a remote machine.  Unlike ping for many otheroperating systems, it will not display sequence numbers, packet times, datacontent, or anything else beyond what is seen when it runs.It was modeled after an early Microsoft version of ping and Cisco's IOSping.  Packet times are mostly useless since the IIgs can't track time lessthan 1/60th of a second (and even that time scale is not guaranteed).Tracking sequence numbers would have meant I had to develop a queuingsystem which goes beyond a simple ping tool.  Anything else is gravy for aping utility.I didn't know ping would work under Prosel since I don't have that.  It isnice to see that more people can use ping if they have Prosel.Geoff(GEOFF, Cat 20, Top 13, Msg 45)[EOA][APA]APDA PRODUCTS BEING ADDED TO SYNDICOMM ONLINE STORE"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""We've started gradually adding APDA products to our online store!  Wefinally finished the paperwork involved in transferring these products toSyndicomm, so over the next couple of weeks you'll see our online storegrow to cover the entire APDA product line, from the AppleTalk ProgrammersGuide to X-Ref. :)Eric ShepherdOwnerSyndicomm(SYNDICOMM, Cat 24, Top 1, Msg 32)[EOA][LBR]LATEST ON Bernie II the Rescue""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Just curious, but has anyone heard anything from the Bernie Boys in awhile?  I used to catch Henrik in chat every now and then, but I am notsure I have heard much from him since Kfest 2000.Dain NeaterKeeper of the BoardsSelf-Title Worst Diablo player ever(A2.DAIN, Cat 29, Top 21, Msg 89)>>>>>"""""I haven't heard much from him either.  Answers to emails I send him arepretty much limited to a word or two.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 29, Top 21, Msg 90)>>>>>"""""Not in awhile, I know he's busy, and so am I.However, I would not be surprised to find a new beta in my mailbox in aminute.I would be equally unsurprised to find it in my mailbox in three years.Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. - rsuenaga@apple2.org - A2's Head GeekAlpha Testing CoPilot v2.55 and ProTERM 3.1Offline Syndicomm.com Message Manager(A2.RYAN, Cat 29, Top 21, Msg 91)[EOA][AFP]Apple II FOREVER PROJECTS"""""""""""""""""""""""""The "Apple II Forever Projects" are a group of projects initiated atKansasFest 2001 to bring new life to the Apple II family of computers.This category is devoted to these projects and the work involved inoperating them.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 30, Top 1, Msg 1)[EOA][ADP]Apple II DOCUMENTATION PROJECT""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""The Apple II Documentation Project is our new effort to write anddistribute free documentation for Apple II computers, operating systems,and software, in order to aid newcomers to the community as well as peoplethat buy software without manuals.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 30, Top 3, Msg 1)>>>>>"""""Let's talk about what sort of documentation we think the community mostneeds, and start sorting out who can work on what.I think the first priority would be a "setting up your Apple II" type ofmanual, one for the IIgs, one for the IIc and IIc+ and one for the others.Something like that, anyway.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 30, Top 4, Msg 1)>>>>>"""""I think it's a great idea, but I don't have any time to donate to it (trustme, I've tried :)Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. - rsuenaga@apple2.org - A2's Head GeekAlpha Testing CoPilot v2.55 and ProTERM 3.1Offline Syndicomm.com Message Manager(A2.RYAN, Cat 30, Top 4, Msg 20)>>>>>"""""I know.  My goal here is to get people that aren't already heavily engagedin Apple II projects to get involved in the A2DP.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 30, Top 4, Msg 3)[EOA][ISC]IPC Spy CDA"""""""""""IPC Spy is a CDA for monitoring Apple IIgs IPC messages as they wizz aroundthe system.The first version, written by Richard Bennett include formatting of knownmessages, making it easy to view messages structure with their data typesand field descriptions.The second version was written by Joe Wankerl for GS+ magazine, andincluded plugins so you can stick your own message definitions into it. Notsure whether Joe's version was based on the version one code (fadingmemory), but GS+ certainly asked for permission and worked together onfeatures to include.Version 1 was freeware. Version 2 came on GS+, so I'm not sure what thelicensing was.Regards, Richard(RICHARDB, Cat 54, Top 6, Msg 1)[EOA][FCD]FREDA CDA DEBUGGER""""""""""""""""""FREDA is CDA debugger used for situations where GSBug use was notavailable, such as in interrupting code sequences, 8 bit code, and whereIIgs memory integrity wasn't guaranteed such as in the middle of GS/OSdrivers, interrupt routines and P8 code which messed with IIgs memory(which happened more so in the early days of the Apple IIgs).FREDA worked by putting in a COP instruction into your code, and followingit with a string, exactly the same way GSBug handles embedded strings.However in FREDA's case, this triggers a break point which puts a dialog onthe screen displaying all registers and a number of other variables. Keycommands display various display screens, and optionally enter Pixie ifnecessary, maintaining absolute system state due to interrupts beingdisabled. As more and more system functions required interrupt support, thesituations where you could use FREDA became less and less, and GSBugobtained a lot more features as Dave took over the project inside Apple.Anyway, FREDA still has it's specific uses, particularly on projects I tendto work on which seem to be more often system level functionality whereinterrupts are involved. The display is neat, because from memory it usesmultiple text colours using scan lines, which is fine because interruptsare disabled.Regards, Richard(RICHARDB, Cat 54, Top 43, Msg 4)[EOA][PDT]Pixie DEBUGGING TOOL FOR THE Apple IIgs"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Pixie is a debugging tool for the Apple IIgs, which never really took offin the U.S.Pixie took the tried and true route of looking like a disk zap utility(like Bag of Trix Zap or similar), which at the time was the preferred wayof looking at memory on most computing platforms. Unfortunately for Pixie,Dave Lyons' Nifty List gains a firm footing in the U.S. around the sametime, mostly due I suspect to his contacts with the developer community(this was before he joined Apple from memory). I don't like shell baseddebuggers, never have, never will, and I was amazed that many Apple IIgsdevelopers did.Pixie displayed $100 bytes of memory at a time, in hex and ASCII, with manyfunctions for navigation, searching and displaying memory. It could dumpall the toolbox and system memory structures which Nifty List eventuallysupported, but also included descriptions of each field, and the ability tofollow links between data structures, follow handles with a single keypress, following memory links, display memory handles, show loaded filestheir names and locations, jump up and down between memory allocations anda heap of other stuff I can't even remember.It supported editable data structure templates, so you could add your ownon top of all the toolbox and system ones, it supported it's own COP alaFREDA for interrupt sensitive environments, drop to monitor (while disabledif you wished), print a complete map of memory with legend for every handleand who owns it and their pathname. You can display all handles owned by anapp or some other userid, the list goes on...For me Nifty List involved too much typing. With Pixie, simple key pressesallowed you to bounce in display what you need and bounce back out. The COPsupport also allowed you to preempt the memory address to display, couplethis with appropriate assembly macros and the options are quite extensive.Then again, if you'd never used a disk editor or a memory zap utility onanother platform, you'd probably find Pixie difficult to use. For my likinghowever, it was a better metaphor for debugging memory than Nifty List.GSBug did stepping and tracing just fine, so it's the missing features thatprogrammers should have been looking at, and that's why it looked andbehaved the way it did.<takes a breath>Does that make sense? :-)Regards, Richard(RICHARDB, Cat 54, Top 43, Msg 5)>>>>>"""""Pixie sounds pretty cool.  I might have to give that a try.  I never likedthe shell-like interface of Nifty List. :)Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 54, Top 43, Msg 6)[EOA][GSD]GS/OS SERIAL DRIVERS ADEQUATE FOR APP?""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Are the GS/OS serial drivers adequate for writing an app that does serialcommunication?  Doesn't need to be lightning fast, just reasonably reliableand easier to use than talking directly to the firmware.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 57, Top 12, Msg 6)>>>>>"""""I think TML Pascal (Complete pascal) included a sample modem program thatused the GS/OS serial drivers.  And InCider had a review of it thatseriously bashed the sample app.  I'm not sure if it was because TML Pascalsucked or because the serial drivers sucked.  That was a while back.  Thedrivers might have improved since then.Jawaid Bazyar wrote a modem user tool (used by Telecom GS), and I've seendocumentation for it.  I never had any problems with TelecomGS droppingcharacters, etc.  GNO/ME also includes serial drivers, and I can't recalltoo many problems using them, even with multiple processes running.(KWS, Cat 57, Top 12, Msg 7)[EOA][AFP]Apple II FileType FOR PDF FILES"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Are PDF files assigned an Apple II filetype?  I'm wondering if we ought todo so at this point.Ryan(RSUENAGA, Cat 60, Top 3, Msg 6)>>>>>"""""They aren't, but perhaps they should be.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 60, Top 3, Msg 7)>>>>>"""""Since there is an Apple II program that can create them, I'd say so.  :)That brings up an interesting question, though.  It's obvious (it ISobvious, isn't it?) that the file type "short form" for this file typeshould be pdf.I know that there is a list in one or more of my programming references(although I can't remember which one) of selected file types with theirlong and short names.  It's not as extensive as the one here on A2Central,but it does have the short names. (AWP,ASP,ADB, etc)But what is the relationship between the short name and the hex name of thefile type?  Or is the short form connected to the aux type?  Are theyhard-wired into the ROM somehow?  (In which case we couldn't add a newone?)_________  | homas(TCOMPTER, Cat 60, Top 3, Msg 8)>>>>>"""""The relationship is one of a lookup table, basically.The File Type Descriptor (FTD) files in your Icons folders contain lookuptables that map filetype/auxtype pairs to the appropriate type name andthree-character abbreviation.  Adding more is simply a matter of addingmore FTD files.The Finder opens these files and reads in the lists oftype/auxtype->description mappings when it starts up.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 60, Top 3, Msg 9)>>>>>"""""So what's the process of applying for a filetype, since we need one here?Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. - rsuenaga@apple2.org - A2's Head GeekAlpha Testing CoPilot v2.55 and ProTERM 3.1Offline Syndicomm.com Message Manager(A2.RYAN, Cat 60, Top 3, Msg 10)>>>>>"""""The filetype form hasn't been set up yet on the A2Central.com site... hm.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 60, Top 3, Msg 11)[EOA][TIP]WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE iPod?""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Any opinions on the iPod?Ryan(A2.RYAN, Cat 4, Top 2, Msg 27)>>>>>"""""I think it's a great looking device. I'd love to be able to afford one. IfI could I'd rig up some sort of holder and connection in the car and use itas a car stereo too.They aren't available in Australia yet, but I hear they're going to be$A850. Hmm wonder if they'll be cheaper education...Kim HoweNewton Forum Host(KIMHOWE, Cat 4, Top 2, Msg 28)>>>>>"""""I think the iPod looks great.  I'd love to have one.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                        sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                          http://www.syndicomm.com                Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 4, Top 2, Msg 29)>>>>>"""""I want one! The cassette player in my car has ceased to play properly, butit will still handle one of those dummy cassettes that you can plug intothe earphone socket of any Walkman, Diskman etc. The iPod makes a perfectcompanion to that device, and would bring back music of my choice to carjourneys.The iPodt is also much more practical than lugging a Diskman and a folderof CDs around when you go travelling. But the price is high over here inthe UK, we are being asked to pay $520 for one! Ewen Wannop - Speccie - Mon 12 Nov 2001 - 253 days till KFest '02 Delivered without using a IIgs by Spectrum v2.5.2 & SOAR 1.0b5 Setup: Bernie ][ the Rescue 3.0 and a dual G4/800Mhz GeForce3 http://www.ewannop.btinternet.co.uk/(CONDUCTOR, Cat 4, Top 2, Msg 30)>>>>>"""""I agree with Ewen on the price.  If it was 1/2 the price, I'd have orderedone the day it came out.  Of course, with that unusual size of hard drive,I'm not surprised it's expensive.Ryan(A2.RYAN, Cat 4, Top 2, Msg 31)>>>>>"""""The unusual hard drive form factor is part of the reason the iPod is sotiny.  :)Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                         sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                           http://www.syndicomm.com                Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 4, Top 2, Msg 32)[EOA][ITI]IT, THE INVENTION"""""""""""""""""Hello,My aunt has asked me what "it" is about.  She says there is some knowninventor who promises to unveil something in 2002 that will "revolutionizesociety more than computers."  This invention is simply being called "it"in the meantime.She's the only person from whom I've heard about this.  Any idea what orwho she's talking about?-Ken(KGAGNE, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 233)>>>>>"""""Speculation is it's some kind of scooter.Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. - rsuenaga@apple2.org - A2's Head GeekAlpha Testing CoPilot v2.55 and ProTERM 3.1Offline Syndicomm.com Message Manager(A2.RYAN, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 234)>>>>>"""""Dean Kamen is a new hampshire inventor, who reportedly invented a"revolutionary" invention.  So revolutionary, he got a contract to write abook about it without the publisher knowing what it is.  This was "news" ayear or so ago.As the story goes, Steve Jobs and Jeff "Amazon.com" Bezos have seen it andare providing some venture capital.  I think Jobs was quoted as sayingsomething like "Cities will be built around it".  I think if I inventedsomething  revolutionary, showing it to Jeff Bezos wouldn't be on my listof things to do, but I digress.The inventor (under his company's name DeKa) has invented a wheel-chairydevice that can climb stairs, and has filed patents for agyroscopic-one-wheeled device, so it/ginger might be a one-wheeled, selfbalancing, electric/gas powered scooter.  Sort of like a pogo stick with awheel, that doesn't tip over.(KWS, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 236)[EOA][MSA]THE MYTH SERIES BY ASPRIN"""""""""""""""""""""""""For those of your who are familiar with the Myth series by Robert Asprin,he's released a new story.  In the forward he says that this one fitsbetween the 3rd and 4th of the series, and was written to get him back usedto writing about Skeeve and Aahz.  Trade size, it retails for $14.00.Later...........Howard(A2.HOWARD, Cat 2, Top 34, Msg 61)>>>>>"""""I usually wait until it comes out in mass-market paperback, but my son maybuy it sooner. :) Been waiting a long time for this.In the mean time, I have enjoyed his "Phule" series and his "Time Scout"series with Linda Evans. Carl Knoblock - Telephone Tech - Mon  22 Oct 01  7:24:59 pm cknoblo@home.com - Via Spectrum v2.5.2 & SOAR v1.0b6 KFest 2002, July 23-28, 2002 - 274 days till KFest On cable via LANceGS & Marinetti 2.0.1 - Thank you, Richard. A2 RTC Staff - Saturday Night House Party - carlk@syndicomm.com(CARLK, Cat 2, Top 34, Msg 62)[EOA]------------------------------------      ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SYNDICOMM |------------------------------------by Lyle Syverson <lyle@foxvalley.net>[WBB]WEBSIDE BULLETIN BOARDS OPEN IN SEVERAL FORUMS""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""The following forums now have webside bulletin boards open:Page  Keyword     Name----  ----------  ------------------------------------------- 150  HELPDESK    Syndicomm Online HelpDesk 590  PALM        Palm OS Forum 605  MAC         Macintosh Forum 645  A2          Apple II Community 850  GAMEBITS    Gamebits Forum 990  WRITING     The Prolific Quill1600  WTC         The WTC/Pentagon Support & Discussion ForumThe rest of our forums will move over in the next couple of weeks, weexpect.  Also, the web board software will continue to receive upgradesover the coming weeks and months as we strive to improve our services foryou.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                         sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                           http://www.syndicomm.com                 Building communities, bit by bit.SYNDICOMM, HelpDesk Forum, Cat 4, Top 6, Msg 2)[EOA][PQF]PROLIFIC QUILL FORUM NOW OPEN"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""If you know how to read and write, then you have something to discuss inthe Prolific Quill Forum at page 990, keyword WRITING.  The Prolific Quillis a forum for writers, both professional and casual, to exchange ideas andtechniques, as well as to share samples of their work.  We also provide aplace for avid readers to discuss their current and favorite books.Whether you're reading or writing fiction or non-fiction, in print oronline, Prolific Quill has a place for you!Prolific Quill is also available from your web browser at this URL:<http://www.syndicomm.com/communities/writing/messages>-Ken GagnePQ Chief Sysop(KGAGNE, HelpDesk Forum, Cat 3, Top 11, Msg 9)[EOA][DAD]LIKE TO PLAY DUNGEONS & DRAGONS?""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Like to play Dungeons & Dragons but can't find a campaign near you?  Joinus in the Live Games Forum at Page 810, keyword LIVEGAMES, category 8,topic 1, where a hardy band of adventurers is gearing up for a foray intothe Caves of Shadow!(Login Banner, Syndicomm Online)[EOA][SSO]SIGN UP FOR SYNDICOMM ONLINE""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Since Syndicomm message boards are available via both web and telnet, canone sign up for Syndicomm membership either way?I don't know if there are people with access to telnet but not the web;they're the only ones I could think of who would benefit from having bothchoices.-KenKGAGNE, HelpDesk, Cat 4, Top 3, Msg 4)>>>>>"""""Someday there will be a telnet-based signup capability, but I don't knowwhen.  However, our new user signup forms should work fine in text-onlybrowsers, such as Lynx.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                        sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                          http://www.syndicomm.com                Building communities, bit by bit.SYNDICOMM, HelpDesk, Cat 4, Top 3, Msg 5)>>>>>"""""That's great!  Is Lynx still available via telnet?  I remember people doingso years ago, on CompuServe and GEnie, though I forget which server theywere telnetting to - somewhere in California, I think.-Ken(KGAGNE, HelpDesk, Cat 4, Top 3, Msg 6)>>>>>"""""> ... Is Lynx still available via telnet? ...From: http://www.trill-home.com/lynx/public_lynx.html            Public Lynx accessThere are a number of sites that will permit public Lynx access viatelnet and a guest account. Web masters can also use web basedservices to see how their pages will appear in Lynx.  * Public Lynx at lynx.bob.bofh.org (supply your e-mail address at    the prompt) ver 2.8.1rel2  * Public Lynx at sailor.lib.md.us (login as 'guest') ver. 2.7.1  * Public Lynx at public.sunsite.unc.edu (login as 'lynx') ver. 2.6  * Public Lynx at lynx.cc.ukans.edu (login as 'lynx') ver. 2.5  * Lynx View mirror in Japan (support for Japanese charsets)Lyle Syverson <lyle@FoxValley.net>   Editor, _The Lamp!_published monthly on the WEB at: <http://lamp.a2central.com/>(LYLE, HelpDesk, Cat 4, Top 3, Msg 8)>>>>>"""""There are versions of Lynx for many operating systems, including Mac OS.You can also run Lynx on your own UNIX (or similar) boxes, which is whatI do.Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. - rsuenaga@apple2.orgChief Sysop and Head Geek, A2Brought to you by alpha CoPilot v2.55 and ProTERM 3.1Offline Syndicomm.com Message Manager(A2.RYAN, HelpDesk, Cat 4, Top 3, Msg 10)(EOA)------------------------------------      DISTILLATIONS FROM DELPHI A2 |------------------------------------by Lyle Syverson <lyle@foxvalley.net>[UYA]WHAT DO YOU USE YOUR Apple II FOR?""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Hey everyone,I come here almost every weekday and see so few posts. I understand a lotof folks have migrated to A2 Central's boards, but I also notice quite afew visits throughout the day from lurkers (like myself).I use my Apple about every other day on average for games and fiddling inApplesoft and ML. I have a IIc in sweet condition and quite a few boxedgames that I've amassed from eBay and local sources. Lately, I've beentinkering with sound and graphics in ML, but am still rather novice at it.I wrote tiny ML routines "back in the day," but nothing serious. I startedprogramming in Applesoft in '80, so I'm comfortable with programmingprinciples, I'm picking up assembly for the Apple to sort of fill in theblanks on my knowledge of this amazing machine... it's incrediblynostalgic. I've been doing a lot of assembly coding directly in monitor,but I do have Merlin... I'm just not very used to it and it's easier for meto boot up into Applesoft and tinker. But since I'm starting to dabble ingraphics, I have a feeling I'll be re-acquainting myself with Merlin realsoon. :)I'd like to know what others are doing with their Apples. I have mineconnected to my PC via serial cable and use ADT to transfer disk images,but I haven't done any other networking with it (yet). I'm curious ifothers are using their Apples for e-mail or even browsing. I'll bereceiving a modem soon and I own ProTerm 3.0, so I may see if there arelocal BBS's to mess with (not necessarily Apple-related, but dialing up toa BBS in general would also be terribly nostalgic).Anyway, please share your experiences with this classic machine! I'd loveto read them!-Lee(THELBANE1, 3530.1, Delphi A2 web side)>>>>>"""""I still come here often. I'm not much of a poster though. B-{) Most of mytime is on A2Central's RTC. We have a nice bunch of folks who love to chatthere.Programming is a blast. I haven't done any for quite a while lately, but inthe early days, I really enjoyed doing it. It stretches those old braincells. B-{)I use my GS daily. It has a LANceGS ethernet card in it, and I share mycable modem connection with it and 5 other computers here at home. I reallylove this LANce! I have a Linux account at school I telnet into to use myGS to browse using lynx and links. And Spectrum works great for that. I useTelnetNDA for my chatting on A2Central. Kim did great work on this!Well, since I've been involved with Apples since 1981, I'd go intowithdrawal symptoms if I didn't have one in front of me. That's why I have8 spare GS's, 6 //e's, and one ][+. B-{)Kirk(KMITCHEL, 3530.2, Delphi A2 web side)>>>>>"""""I use my IIgs every day.I have a dialup shell account which gives me email, telnet, FTP, and Lynx.Many places on the web are Lynx friendly including A2Central.com. I alsoaccess Delphi via Lynx.I access Syndicomm Online via telnet.And, of course, _The Lamp!_ is produced using my IIgs.Lyle Syverson <lyle@FoxValley.net> Editor, _The Lamp!_published monthly on the WEB at: <http://lamp.a2central.com/>(LYLE837, 3530.3, Delphi A2 web side)>>>>>"""""I used to come here at least once a day back when there was text access.When text access was dropped, it was at least 4 months before I came backfor another look. I now try to stop by for a look every weekend butsometimes forget and go two weeks without stopping by.I try to keep up on what's going on in the Apple II area of syndicomm.combut I'm going to have to start from scratch once I get myself set up todeal with messages there easier. I'm also back to reading the apple2 usenetnewsgroups after not having read a single message there in three months orso.I would love to use my IIgs, which is set up beside my PC, every day butunfortunately I don't always get the chance. I still use my IIgs forprogramming, gaming and communications. I also use my IIgs for those raretimes when I actually have to print something as I own better wordprocessing and desktop publishing software for it than I have for my PC. :)I'm getting a rather large collection of stuff now and I really need toorganize all this stuff one of these days. That is something that I'mlooking forward to as I'm sure I'll come across some great stuff that I'veforgotten about.Jeff Blakeney(JBLAKENEY, 3530.7, Delphi A2 web side)[EOA]------------------------------------             LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |------------------------------------[ATP]Apple II DOCUMENTATION PROJECT""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 17:10:58 -0800From: Eric Shepherd <sheppy@syndicomm.com>To: lyle@syndicomm.comSubject: Letter to the editorHi, Lyle.  You've been doing a great job with The Lamp! and I thought I'ddrop you a line and say so, as well as point out that I'm trying toorganize an effort to create real documentation for Apple II computers andsoftware that can be distributed freely to people that get their Apple IIsat garage sales and the like.If anyone would like to pitch in, we have a few topics set up for the AppleII Documentation Project in the A2 bulletin board on Syndicomm Online.Eric ShepherdOwner, Syndicommhttp://www.syndicomm.comBuilding communities, bit by bit.[EOA][LTE]AN INVITATION~~~~~~~~~~~~~Express your opinions about the comings and goings in the world of theApple II computers.Send your comments to Lyle Syverson, Editor <lyle@FoxValley.net>The Editor reserves the right to edit any material submitted.The Editor reserves the right to reject any material he considersunsuitable for publication in _The Lamp!_.[EOA][KFT]------------------------------                       KFest 2002 |-----------------------------------[PAK]PLAN AHEAD FOR K-Fest 2002""""""""""""""""""""""""""KansasFest 2002 is scheduled for July 23 through 28 of 2002.  Plan ahead.Mark your calendar.  Start saving your money.  Join us for K-Fest 2002!For additional information visit the K-Fest Home Page at:                http://www.kfest.org/[EOA][INN]------------------------------                     EXTRA INNINGS |-----------------------------------About The Lamp!   The Lamp! is published on the fifteenth of every month on"""""""""""""""   the WEB at:   http://lamp.a2central.com/This publication produced entirely with real or emulated Apple II computersusing Appleworks 5.1 and Hermes.  Apple II Forever!     * The Lamp! is (c) copyright 2001 by Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W.  All       rights reserved.     * To reach The Lamp! on Internet email send mail to       thelamp@sheppyware.net     * All issues of The Lamp! are available at The Lamp! Home Page,       http://lamp.a2central.com/>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors, and do notnecessarily represent the opinions of A2Central.com, Delphi OnlineServices, Syndicomm, Ryan M. Suenaga, or Lyle Syverson.  Forum messages arereprinted verbatim and are included in this publication with permissionfrom the individual authors.  A2Central.com, Delphi Online Services,Syndicomm, Ryan M. Suenaga, and Lyle Syverson do not guarantee the accuracyor suitability of any information included herein.  We reserve the right toedit all letters and copy.Material published in this edition may not be reprinted without theexpressed written consent of the  publisher.   Registered computer usergroups, not for profit publications , and other interested parties maywrite the publisher to apply for permission to reprint any or all material.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<[EOF]
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