[HEA]    _____________________   ___                                   _    |___   ______________| |   |                                 | |        |  | _             |   |                                 | |        |  || |            |   |                                 | |        |  || |            |   |                                 | |        |  || |            |   |   ____ _   _ _   _   ______     | |        |  || |            |   |  / __ \ | | / \_/ \  | ___ \    | |        |  || |__   ____   |   | / /  \  | |  /\ /\ \ | |  \ \   | |        |  ||  _ \ |  _ \  |   | \ \__/  | | | |_|| | | |__/ /   | |        |  || | | || |_||  |   |  \___/|_| |_|    |_| | ____/    |_|        |  || | | || |__   |   |____________________  | |         _        |__||_| |_|\____/  |________________________| | |        |_|                                                      | |         Lighting Your Apple II Path                  | |                                                      |_|-----------------------------------                       >>> WELCOME TO THE LAMP! <<<                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~           THE BEST OF THE A2 BULLETIN BOARD ON Syndicomm Online           "Teaching the Apple II user how to fish since 1998" :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The Lamp!            An Onipa'a Software Production        Vol. 9, No. 9 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Publisher................................Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W., L.S.W. Editor.....................................................Lyle Syverson Internet Email, Publisher.........................thelamp@sheppyware.net Internet Email, Editor..................lutefisk4me at sbcglobal dot net ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::                            TABLE OF CONTENTS                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                            September 15, 2006HIGH ABOVE THE ROCK RIVER---------------------------------------------[OPN]     The Garage MysteryANNOUNCEMENTS FROM A2Central.com Management---------------------------[A2C]     A2Central.com Adding to Services Offered-------------------------[ATS]ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SYNDICOMM------------------------------------------[ANS]     Syndicomm to Refocus on Product Development and Sales------------[STR]A2 FORUM AT Syndicomm Online DISTILLATIONS----------------------------[DAS]     About the Two Announcements Above--------------------------------[ATA]     Apple II Mentioned-----------------------------------------------[ATM]     Driving Lessons ala KFest----------------------------------------[DLK]     Pilgrimage to Funspot--------------------------------------------[PFS]     ImageMaker Work on Protected Disks?------------------------------[IPD]     Sweet16 Versions 1.7, 1.7.1 and 1.7.2 Released-------------------[SSR]     Sweet16 1.7.2 User Comments--------------------------------------[SUR]     Sweet16 1.7.3 Released-------------------------------------------[SSU]     A2Unplugged Interviews Juiced.GS Editor-in-chief-----------------[AIE]LETTERS TO THE EDITOR-------------------------------------------------[LTE]     No Letters to the Editor This Month     An InvitationKFEST 2007------------------------------------------------------------[KF7]     KansasFest 2007--------------------------------------------------[KFS]EXTRA INNINGS     About The Lamp! ------------------------------------------------ [INN]                                [*] [*] [*]READING THE LAMP!   The index system used by The Lamp! is designed to make"""""""""""""""""   your reading easier.  To use this system, load 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  email:lutefisk4me at sbcglobal dot net                            The Garage Mystery                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     Not far from the patio High Above The Rock River there is an ordinarylooking house with a double attached garage.  Ordinary, that is, until youwalk down the alley behind this house and notice it has a quadruple garageaccessible from the alley.  Why do the people in this house need so muchgarage space?     Turns out that the man of the house has a collection of classic cars.He restores and tinkers with these cars.  Then, depending on his mood ofthe day, he picks a car and goes for a drive.  He likes to show them off inlocal car shows.  And participate in local parades.     Those of us restoring, tinkering with, and using classic computerssuch as the Apple II's are in good company.  Enjoy your Apple II(s).[EOA]ASCII ART BEGINS_________  _                     _                                      _|__   __| | |                   | |                                    | |   | |    | |                   | |                                    | |   | |    | |___     ____       | |       _____   __ ___ _   _ _____   | |   | |    | ___ \   / __ \      | |      /____ \  | v   v | | v ___ \  | |   | |    | |  | | | /__\ \     | |       ____| | | /\ /\ | |  /   \ \ | |   | |    | |  | | | _____|     | |      / ___  | | || || | | |    | | |_|   | |    | |  | | | |_____     | |____  | |__| | | || || | |  \___/ /  _   |_|    |_|  |_| \______|     |______| \____^_| |_||_||_| | |\____/  |_|                                                            | |                                                            | |                                                            |_|ASCII ART ENDS[EOA][A2C]----------------------------------------------      ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM A2Central.com Management |---------------------------------------------------[ATS]A2Central.com Adding to Services Offered""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Sean Fahey, operator of the popular A2Central.com Apple II portal,announced today that development efforts are underway to make significantadditions to the services offered."In order to make A2Central.com the ultimate resource for Apple II users itwas always meant to be, we'll be expanding our free services byimplementing a bulletin board system that will offer chat, messaging, andfile sections," Fahey said.  "These services will be available for accessboth using telnet and on the web, so we'll be keeping one foot squarely inthe past for our Apple II users, and our other foot forward for today'smodern platforms."The new system is expected be in testing during October and to launch byNovember of 2006.  Access to the new bulletin board features will be freeof charge.Fahey added, "We have plans for a few extra features that we think will bea lot of fun."(SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 2, Msg 9)[EOA][ANS]-------------------------------      ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM SYNDICOMM |------------------------------------[STR]SYNDICOMM TO REFOCUS ON PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND SALES"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""September 9, 2006--Syndicomm(tm) announced today, following A2Central.com'sannouncement that it would be opening free Apple II related forums, that itwill be closing the Syndicomm Online online service in order to focus itsefforts on product development and sales for Apple II and Macintoshcomputers.  The closure will take effect at midnight Eastern Standard Timeon December 1, 2006.Customers that have business web site accounts with Syndicomm will be ableto continue to have their sites hosted with Syndicomm.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd, the owner of Syndicomm, said, "With A2Central.comin Sean's capable hands, I feel confident that he can pick up the banner ofproviding the ultimate online home for Apple II users.  Since SyndicommOnline is almost all Apple II users anyway, I felt it was time to close theonline service so my time could be better used elsewhere."Shepherd added, "The online service has been being supported by the sale ofsoftware products since its inception, while at the same time keeping metoo busy to develop new products.  I feel that my best purpose in the AppleII world is to develop software, and closing the Syndicomm Online servicewill allow me to spend more time doing just that.""Sheppy and I realized that the best way to serve the Apple II world wasfor A2Central.com to provide chat, message boards, and similar services,and to let Sheppy -- that is, Syndicomm -- write code," Fahey said.  "Ilook forward to continuing the legacy of support, camaraderie, and exchangeof ideas and software that's always been the legacy of the Apple II forumsoperated by Syndicomm."PRESS CONTACTSEric Shepherd - sheppy@syndicomm.comSean Fahey - sfahey@a2central.comEric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 1, Msg 25)[EOA][DAS]----------------------------------------------DISTILLATIONS FROM The A2 FORUM at Syndicomm.com  |---------------------------------------------------by Lyle Syverson  email:lutefisk4me at sbcglobal dot net[ATA]About the Two Announcements Above"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""I just wanted to post a note about the two announcements you've probablyread already in topics 1 and 2 in this category.Sean and I have been working on this announcement for a few weeks now.It's a natural evolution, I think, from his assumption of the role ofoperator of A2Central.com, and, I think, will help A2Central become morelike what I originally hoped it would be.Moreover, it'll give me the chance to spend more time doing what I think Ido best in terms of contributing to the Apple II, which is writingsoftware.I hope this isn't too freaky. :)Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 651)>>>>>"""""It certainly is quiet in here.I have been contemplating what implications thesechanges have for the future of _The Lamp!_Lyle Syverson, Editor, _The Lamp!_published monthly at:   http://lamp.a2central.com/(LYLE, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 652)>>>>>"""""I'm hoping that this change will be really good for the community at large.I hope that The Lamp! will make the move one more time, to A2Central's newboard.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 653)>>>>>"""""My main concern here is off line readers. Will we still be able to useSOAR? Or any of the other OLRs? Carl Knoblock - Retired - Mon  11 Sep 06  10:06:14 pm cknoblo@cox.com - Via Spectrum v2.5.3 & SOAR v1.0b10 KFest 2007, July 17-22, 2007 - 309 days till KFest On cable via LANceGS & Marinetti 2.0.1 - Thank you, Richard. A2 RTC Staff - Sunday Night House Party - carlk@syndicomm.com(CARLK, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 654)>>>>>"""""IMHO:As a person who makes very certain that he captures to file every newmessage, just let me say... access via telnet is so incredibly simple thatI don't bother with an OLR.Lyle Syverson, Editor, _The Lamp!_published monthly at:   http://lamp.a2central.com/(LYLE, Cat 2, Top 8, Msg 655)[EOA][ATM]Apple II Mentioned""""""""""""""""""The Apple II is mentioned in conjunction with the release of the original"Star Wars" film in this event listing for 1977:http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/release/video/news20060821.html(KGAGNE, Cat 2, Top 6, Msg 143)[EOA][DLK]Driving Lessons ala KFest"""""""""""""""""""""""""Due to my car being in the shop today, the dealer had to lend me a rental.It was my first time behind the wheel of a PT Cruiser.  Fortunately,thanks, to KFest, I had good examples from which to learn - how NOT todrive.-Ken(KGAGNE, Cat 5, Top 8, Msg 34)>>>>>"""""So how do you have passengers test out the "oh (CENSORED)" handle?Geoff(GEOFF, Cat 5, Top 8, Msg 35)>>>>>"""""For those of you who remember the "Sam and Max" video games, here is anappropriate quote as found inhttp://lucasfic.mixnmojo.com/misc/snmquot.txt :Max: Mind if I drive?Sam: Not if you don't mind me clawing at the dash and shrieking like acheerleader.Geoff(GEOFF, Cat 5, Top 8, Msg 36)[EOA][PFS]Pilgrimage to Funspot"""""""""""""""""""""This past weekend, I made a pilgrimage to one of my favorite destinationson Earth: Funspot, located near Weirs Beach on Lake Winnipesaukee in NewHampshire, USA.  This place was a popular vacation spot for my family whenI was younger, but it didn't hold quite the same appeal then that it doesnow.  Indeed, Funspot got a lot of flack from 1988 to 1999 - but they knewthat, in time, sticking to their guns would produce for them a uniqueattraction.That attraction is a room filled with more than a hundred arcade games fromthe Seventies and Eighties.  Among that collection are many that arefamiliar to Apple II users, including Lode Runner, Qix, Arkanoid, Paperboy,and Frogger.This is the arcade where Billy Mitchell achieved a perfect score in Pac-Manon July 3rd, 1999.  He is one of many whose pictures are framed on the Wallof Fame, while nearby are hung original posters advertising new games suchas Dragon's Lair and Space Ace.  Along the perimeter of the main room aredozens of pinball machines, from Superman of 30 years ago to more recentdevices such as The Addams Family and Star Trek: The Next Generation.The games cost what they did back then: a quarter, unadjusted forinflation.  I went to Funspot with someone who had never been to an arcadebefore - in fact, before last month, she had never played any video gamewhatsoever.  We split $10 in tokens and squeezed out more than two hours ofentertainment.  We then played air hockey and skeeball, exchanging ourtickets from the latter for a Chinese finger trap and some Pixie sticks,before heading from the cold, dark hive of electronic activity out againinto the glaring sun of midday to take on Funspot's go-kart track.Throughout the weekend, I neither stepped foot onto Weirs Beach nor spentany moment of the fading hours of summer sunlight in the waters of NewHampshire's largest lake.  I am home again now, thinking to myself of allthat I've missed - not the natural wonders of New England, but the 20 yearsof arcades that have witnessed increased expense and decreased popularity.Fortunately, the fall of that empire can be, at least temporarily, reversedas decades past rise once again by this simple trek to Funspot - madepossible by the determination and passion of people such as manager GaryVincent, technician Randy Lawton, and donors like Curt Vendel, who detachedthemselves from their own precious gaming artifacts so that they could bemade available to all generations at this living museum.The website for Funspot, which catalogues their collection, is:http://www.funspotnh.com/gms-classic.htm(KGAGNE, Cat 14, Top 8, Msg 41)[EOA][IPD]ImageMaker Work on Protected Disks?"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Can I use ImageMaker to get a disk image of a protected disk?  I amespecially thinking of Wizardry (I) which I would like to re-play withoutthe hassle of all the disk access. :)  I thought that I had seen a diskimage online at one time, but last night I couldn't find it again.  Nowthat I have tried Sweet16 (with the help of a disk image I had used withBernie to the Rescue on an older Mac) and found that it works quite well, Iwould really like to enjoy Wizardry again.David R. Pierce(DAVIDP, Cat 24, Top 9, Msg 4)>>>>>"""""It depends on how the disk is protected.  In general, though, ImageMakerisn't really designed to deal with protected disks, so it may or may notwork.  Can't hurt to try though. :)Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 24, Top 9, Msg 5)[EOA][SSR]Sweet16 Versions 1.7, 1.7.1 and 1.7.2 Released""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""I've just released Sweet16 1.7, which you can find at:http://www.sheppyware.net/software-mac/sweet16/index.htmlThe new version has a bunch of changes, including fixes for some (butadmittedly not all) of the most-reported issues.  Performance on PowerPCsystems is also much improved.A complete list of the changes follows:1. Pathnames are now kept in UTF-8 format instead of in ASCII, whichimproves compatibility for non-English users.2. Added a preference to automatically cause the mouse to be disabled whenin text modes.3. Fixed the speed control checkbox so that toggling it takes effectimmediately instead of usually requiring you to quit and restart Sweet16.4. Optimized performance on PowerPC systems, improving speed by up to 30%.5. DiskCopy 4.2 images created and marked as being Mac format disks willnow work in Sweet16.6. Sound effects are now played when ejecting floppy disk images.7. The font in the disks window is now Lucida Grande.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 29, Top 39, Msg 6)>>>>>"""""I've just released Sweet16 1.7.1, the latest version of the Apple IIgsemulator for Mac OS X.  The new feature includes a couple of modest newfeatures and fixes a slough of bugs.You can get additional information or download the software at<http://www.sheppyware.net/software-mac/sweet16/index.html>.  Sweet16 isfreeware.Here's a list of everything that's changed:1. Holding down the option key while mounting 800K disk images now mountsthem as CleverPort devices instead of as IWM floppy disks; this lets youmount lots of 3.5" disk images at once, which makes installing the systemsoftware, for example, incredibly easy.2. Updated the URL in the documentation that's presented for where to go todownload system disks.3. Aliases to files now resolve correctly, so you can drop aliases to yourdisk images into the Disk Images folder, instead of moving the imagesthemselves.4. The Reset command in the Setup menu now works correctly.5. Optimized more PowerPC code, resulting in a small additional performanceboost over version 1.7.6. Fixed a bug that prevented Recent Disks from mounting.7. Items in the Eject submenu now display the name of the disk correctly;this broke in version 1.7 due to the UTF-8 change.8. Ejecting a disk then inserting a new one now properly redraws thecontents of the disks window if it's visible.  Previously, it was possiblefor the contents of the window to become somewhat confused in thissituation.9. Fixed a bug that caused the mouse cursor to bounce around the screenwhen Default Folder X is installed.  This also slightly improves theresponse performance of the mouse in Sweet16.10. Fixed a couple of problems that caused crashes when clicking in thedisks window under certain circumstances.11. The Control-Command-M keyboard combination now properly issues theMount Disk Image command.12. Fixed a memory leak when initializing the Recent Disks menu.13. Added a "Clear Recent Disks" command to the Recent Disks menu.  Thisempties the recent disks list.14. Fixed a bug that caused new DiskCopy 4.2 images to have invalid namesin their DiskCopy 4.2 headers.15. Fixed a bug that caused the progress window used when creating diskimages or calculating the checksum on a DiskCopy 4.2 image to crash.16. Fixed HTML markup problem in the documentation that made theinstructions on copying the ROM from a IIgs unreadable.17. Fixed the error dialog box that appears if you try to mount too manydisks (or too many of a given type) so it actually contains text.18. Fixed the "allow 14 MB" checkbox and the other controls in the Memorypanel in the Preferences window to stay in sync properly.19. Fixed the memory size preference so it resets to 8 MB if you turn offthe "allow 14 MB" checkbox with the memory size set above 8 MB.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 29, Top 39, Msg 7)>>>>>"""""I've just released Sweet16 1.7.2.  The new version fixes a bug thatprevented writing to 5.25&quot; disk images, and lets you mount multipledisks at a time by dragging a number of images at once into the Diskswindow.http://www.sheppyware.net/software-mac/sweet16/index.htmlEric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit(SYNDICOMM, Cat 29, Top 39, Msg 8)[EOA][SUR]Sweet16 1.7.2 User Comments"""""""""""""""""""""""""""I just installed Sweet16 1.7.2 for the first time. Everything seems to beworking fine except the mouse. It's not smooth. It kind of skips andstutters across the screen, and there is a slight delay between when I movethe mouse and when the pointer moves. This makes it a bit hard to use,especially when I need fine control of the pointer.I have tried various speed settings, with and without speed control andZipGS emulation. Actually, I'm not quite sure what the speed controlcheckbox is supposed to do, as the overall performance seems to be the sameregardless of this setting. But whatever settings I use, the mouseperformance is always the same.I'm using a Power Mac G4 1.4 GHz with 1 GB RAM running OS X 10.4.7.Other than this little glitch, Sweet16 is working great for me. Thanks,Sheppy!Tony Ward(A2.TONY, Cat 29, Top 39, Msg 9)>>>>>"""""The mouse sluggishness is due to the currently less than fabulous graphicscode.  Right now, it's basically using the "Use QuickDraw" mode fromBernie, which isn't exactly the speediest thing on Earth.I'm going to be rewriting the graphics code to use OpenGL for graphicssoon, hopefully for the next release, which is one of the reasons I don'texpect to release another build for some time.  It's going to be a big job.Eric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 29, Top 39, Msg 11)[EOA][SSU]Sweet16 1.7.3 Released""""""""""""""""""""""I've released Sweet16 1.7.3, which I expect to be the last update before amajor revision that will take some months to finish.This version fixes speed control to work correctly on PowerPC, fixes thetiming of certain interrupts (games that were playing at the wrong speedshould work better now), and now supports the Dvorak and French Canadiankeyboard layouts.http://www.sheppyware.net/software-mac/sweet16/index.htmlEric "Sheppy" Shepherd                                sheppy@syndicomm.comOwner, Syndicomm                                  http://www.syndicomm.com                     Building communities, bit by bit.(SYNDICOMM, Cat 29, Top 39, Msg, 12)[EOA][AIE]A2Unplugged Interviews Juiced.GS Editor-in-chief""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""The latest episode of Ryan Suenaga's biweekly Apple II podcast,A2Unplugged, features an interview with the editor-in-chief of Juiced.GS.Read more about it and download the MP3 at this page:http://a2unplugged.com/wordpress/?p=13(KGAGNE, Cat 23, Top 2, Msg 731)[EOA][LTE]-------------------------------             LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |------------------------------------NO LETTERS TO THE EDITOR THIS MONTH"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""The mail box for Letters to the Editor remained empty this month.[EOA]AN INVITATION~~~~~~~~~~~~~Express your opinions about the comings and goings in the world of theApple II computers.Send your comments to Lyle Syverson, lutefisk4me at sbcglobal dot netThe 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][KF7]------------------------------                       KFest 2007 |-----------------------------------[KFS]KansasFest 2007"""""""""""""""is scheduled for July 17-22, 2007.Go to <http://www.kfest.org> for details.[EOA][INN]------------------------------                    EXTRA INNINGS |-----------------------------------About The Lamp!   The Lamp! is published on the fifteenth of every month on"""""""""""""""   the WEB at:   http://lamp.a2central.com/This publication produced entirely with real or emulated Apple II computersusing Appleworks 5.1 and Hermes.  Apple II Forever!     * The Lamp! is (c) copyright 2006 by Ryan M. Suenaga, M.S.W.  All       rights reserved.     * To reach The Lamp! on Internet email send mail to       thelamp@sheppyware.net     * All issues of The Lamp! are available at The Lamp! Home Page,       http://lamp.a2central.com/>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors, and do 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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