MAIN LINE COMPUTER USERS - AUGUST 1997 - ISSUE #183 **** AUGUST 1997 ********************************** ISSUE #183 **** VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY, ST. AUGUSTINE CENTER MEETING STARTS - 09:30 - AUG 09 !! NOTE: Second Saturday meeting date !! ---------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS CUPID Chooses! 2 Announcements 3 ! SPECIAL PRIZE ! 3 CMD New Product update 3 Internet Book offer 3 Trading Post 4 64/128 meeting minutes 4 MLCUG Word Processor? 5 AMIGA User Happenings 6 State of the AMIGA Market 8 MAP/Masthead/Meeting schedule 9 Membership Form/Dues 10 ---------------------------------------------------------------- MAIN LINE 64/128 USERS - Room 110 The survey at our July meeting (see item in this issue) turned up the fact that about half the attendees use THE WRITE STUFF as their primary 8-bit word processor. No other word processor got even 2 mentions! In the light of that surprise, we'll use this month to assess useage and problems that members (users) experience with this versatile program. Generally, we'll follow along the ideas covered in the TWS summary item on page 5. Members are urged to bring their problems and questions and experiences to share at the meeting. We are aiming to finish the main meeting by about 11:00, followed by a short break. Then, at about 11:15, we'll go to part 2 - see below. (continued on page 3) MAIN LINE AMIGA USERS - Room 210 With no definitive planned presentation in mind last month at the time the newsletter was written, when push came to shove we finally did have a formal presentation. Though it may not have met everyone's expectations, the main presentation focused on the club's BBS PD software package, Max's BBS. The main prelude to this presentation was, as in past months, a general discussion of the Amiga market. Following the meeting a couple of members stayed behind to resolve some specific problems they were having with their Amigas. One of the problems was unique enough to spur the concept for next month's meeting. The current plan is to cover in detail some of the various methods by (continued on page 6) ---------------------------------------------------------------- NEW SECTION? MEETING? HAVE YOU CHANGED? More than half our 8-bit users also use a PC at work or at home (or both). To see how we might help these folks, there will be a PC SIG session starting at 11:15 for a Q&A on PCs. If you use a PC, join us to help decide whether we should have a formal effort in the club. *************************** Are you thinking about buying into another computer platform? If so, you might want to review some of the thoughts that CUPID has gone thru! "CHOOSE THE PROPER PLATFORM" [by: Jack Blewitt] Before you select a new platform for computing you should really evaluate your present Commodore equipment and see if it just doesn't do everything you want to do with computers. Too often we get taken in with all the hype of new and exciting features only to find we have spent a bundle to do little more than we have been doing for the past ten years. I too have fallen for the mass hysteria and purchased an IBM clone. Here are some of my evaluations after four months. First, even if you purchase the state-of-the-art, best of breed, computer, it will be out of date in six months. Should you go the inexpensive route like myself, expect to go broke updating. Example: My computer came with a 820MB hard disk. With the pre-loaded software, Windows 95 and a bunch of reference material (and games), there was less than two megabytes of free space remaining the day it was booted. I added a number of programs I thought would be great. The hard disk was FULL after just six weeks of learning the system! After discovering my system did not have a word processor, I purchased Corel's Office Suite, at $100 with the student/senior discount. There was not enough space on the hard disk to install it! After deleting many programs I had previously added, custom installation accepted the word processor without spell checker and some other features. I still wind up back on the C-128 using "THE WRITE STUFF" whenever I need to write a letter. I can have the letter half written by the time it takes the IBM to go through it's extensive BOOT procedure. Then there is telecommunications. If you have an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that supports text only or low speed modems, you can move around just as fast with the C= and a 2400 baud modem as you can on the IBM and a 14,400 bps modem. True, graphics of the internet don't display, but most Web Pages are totally readable. You can even send Commodore programs via e-mail. Experiments with Attachments, UUencoding, and ASCII text insertions have all proven quite acceptable. Several cities have community ISPs where you can use the internet for FREE or minimal cost. Graphics and hardware are the exceptions. Mac and IBM systems have caught up and passed the one time leader, Commodore. You can purchase Scanners, Hard Drives, and Keyboards for a fraction of what the same hardware would cost for the C=. However, good software is MUCH more expensive. Graphics are beautiful but some are so space heavy you can not even place a 4x5 color photo onto a 1.44MB floppy. It took my IBM Clone computer two full hours just to rotate a single color picture 90 degrees. The Commodore is slow you say. Even temporary hard drive space fills so rapidly you are left with a locked keyboard. Now what do you do? Should you change platforms? I can't answer that as I do not know what you need from a computer. All I can say is if you do give in, purchase the best outfit you can afford and expect to spend a lot on extras. If using Windows 95, do not consider anything less than a 2.0GB hard drive with 16MB of working RAM memory. Check and see if the software you need is included or will cost extra. If you have trouble operating the Commodore, expect even more when using a new platform. There are thousands who own IBM's but few users have the ability help others troubleshoot. Finally, take time to stop and smell the roses! That antique machine that is sitting in front of you still has many byte years left in it. Learn all you can about that system before you even consider changing platforms. DIRECTIONS FOR ST. AUGUSTINE CENTER MEETING ROOMS For the next many months, we have shifted our monthly meetings from Mendel Hall to the St. Augustine Center at Villanova University. The 8-bit meeting will be in seminar room 110 and the AMIGA meeting in seminar room 210. Please be sure to enter the campus from the ITHAN AVENUE main gate, then proceed to the 2-level parking building adjacent to the St. Augustine Center, on the Ithan Avenue side. However, you may have to enter the building via the front door, as shown in the sketch below. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 64/128/Amiga Meetings 1997 Steering Committee Meetings August 09* August 13 September 06 September 10 October 04 October 08 * = second Saturday ** = third Wednesday ------------------------------------------------------------------ NEWSLETTER DEADLINE is August 21st !!! ********************************************************** EDITOR: Emil J. Volcheck, Jr. 1046 General Allen Lane West Chester, PA 19382-8030 (Produced with C-128, RAMlink, HD-40/85, 1571, FD-4000, THE WRITE STUFF 128, XETEC Super Grafix, Panasonic KX-P1123, Swiftlink RS-232 and Motorola 288 modem) MLCUG BBS: 610-828-1359 (300 --> 28800 bps), 24 hr/day ######################################## ANNOUNCEMENTS & SPECIALS ######################################## NEW MEMBER WELCOME! - while MLCUG has been showing annual shrinkage, we still are able to find and attract an occasional new member - which we feel fortunate about. In recent months we have had the following folks join our group: Walter Faust, Chris Kendra, Carlos Mason and John Murphy. A hearty welcome to them - and we look forward to their participating in our meetings!!! ! CONGRATULATIONS ! At the July meeting, our raffle winners were: Ed Cohen, Al Kase and John Murphy! There will be three (3) more winners in August, September, etc. (until the prizes run out)! Come on out and take the opportunity being offered! --------- INTERNET BOOK! - following the LAST CHANCE at the July meeting, we placed an order for fourteen copies of Gaelyn Gasson's book, "The Internet for Commodore Users". As soon as they arrive from Down Under, we'll let folks know about it. You can then retrieve your copy by forking over a check for $24 to our hard hearted treasurer, Stew! After we have had a chance to go thru the book, we will probably want to offer members a second order chance. Remembering that we need at least five orders to get the $24 price point (otherwise the tab is $41)! NOVATERM MAILING LIST - if you are a Novaterm user, and have internet email access, then you might be interested in joining the Novaterm mailing list cum discussion. You can subscribe by email to: novaterm- list-request@eskimo.com. In the subject line, put the word subscribe and send it off (no message is needed, tho you may have to put in a space or something so your email service thinks you have a message to send). Typically, there have been a few messages per day (but likely to increase if many folk get on the list). You'll definitely be on the cutting edge, as Nick Rossi reads all the stuff and responds appropriately. LUNCHEON INVITATION - following the regular meetings, several or our members regularly gather at the Villanova Diner to chew on lunch and other thoughts that may have come up at the meeting. No attempt is made to solve the world's problems, but it does offer yet another forum for folks to share interests and even solve some more problems. Why not join us? *************************** CMD PRODUCT UPDATES CMD 1750 & 1750XL REU's CMD recently announced two new RAM devices: the CMD 1750 and 1750XL RAM Expansion Units (REUs). Both models are currently in production, and should begin shipping in the next few days. As of July 1, 1997, all special promotion prices expired. Current pricing for these items is $99.00 for the CMD 1750 (512K), and $139.00 for the CMD 1750XL (2 MB). SuperRAM Card on Temporary Hold CMD has begun hardware production of the SuperRAM Card, a RAM expansion card for the CMD SuperCPU Accelerator line which can increase program memory by as much as 16 MB. However, shipments of this add-on have been delayed while work on a GEOS driver for the card is completed. Developers who wish to recieve the card prior to the full release should contact CMD Technical Support at (413) 525-0023. SuperCPU 128 in Alpha Alpha testing has started on the CMD SuperCPU 128 prototype. This phase of testing will determine whether the design of the hardware is sufficient to support the necessary firmware required to complete the project. Presently, a small glitch with the base Static RAM is being addressed; testing of the 64 mode is mostly completed, and testing of the 128 mode functions will begin shortly. Once the 128 functions have been verified, the board layout will be updated, beta boards will be produced, and beta testing will commence. Boca Modem Line Dropped CMD will no longer be offering the Boca modems, and plans to replace the line wih modems from Zoom Technology, a Massachusetts-based firm. The reason for that change is because Boca no longer supports the Class 2 fax protocol required by geoFAX, as a result of changes made by Boca in their latest redesign. Prices and specific Zoom models to be carried by CMD will be announced shortly. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $ TRADING POST $ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ FOR SALE: C-64, 1541 drive, MPS-801 & 1526 printers, Datasette, some software and manuals. If interested, make offer to Robert Langran, 610-519-4734. (2) FOR SALE: looking for a particular bit of software? "Crazy" Fender Tucker of LOADSTAR fame has a bunch of stuff he got by purchasing going out of business inventory. A copy of his list will be on hand at the meetings; so you can get a looksee - it may be there! (2) WANTED: the book "QUEST FOR CLUES 1" by Shay Adams, publ. by Origin Systems. If you have one to sell or know of one, call Dennis Krall at 215-340-0932. (3) FOR SALE: MLCUG has a lot of hardware that is available for purchase by MLCUG members at very attractive prices! 2 computer - C-64 w/PS $25 2 disk drive 1541 - clone $20 15 disk drive 1541 - various $20 1 disk drive 1541 - 8/9 sw. $25 1 disk drive 1541-II $30 1 interface - Cardco $ 5 1 interface - MSD $ 5 6 joystick $ 2 1 modem - Panasonic 1200 bps $10 1 monitor - amber - Panasonic $10 1 monitor - screen filter $ 5 1 plotter - Commodore 1520 $10 2 printer - Commodore 1525 $10 2 printer - Commodore 803 $10 2 printer - color - Okimate 10 $10 2 printer - Okimate 120 $20 1 printer - Star Gemini II $25 2 computer - VIC-20 TBD 1 64K RAM/video for VIC-20 TBD 1 computer - Plus4 $25 Also, we have quite a bit of software, for bargain prices (typically $2). You can contact Charles Curran to check on any items of interest (610-446-5239). *************************** 64/128 MEETING *************************** The main feature of the July meeting turned out to be a survey and discussion of member interests and uses. I started out to probe the "database" question - by surveying attendees (each attendee "had" to respond to each survey item!!) on what they CURRENTLY use for a: word processor, database, spreadsheet, terminal program, operating system and web browser. There were some real surprises in the responses (with a turnout of only 13 8-bitters, this may not be typical, but it is all we have!). Briefly, the findings were: WORD PROCESSOR - more than half use THE WRITE STUFF, the rest use a wp on a PC (mostly Word Perfect). DATABASE - almost everyone is using a different program! Flex File 128 had 3 users. All others had only 1-2 users - with about half using a PC for their primary database. SPREADSHEET - again almost everyone is using a different program. Only Swiftcalc 128 and Lotus had more than 1 user! About half the responders used a PC program. TERMINAL PROGRAM - only a few attendees were using ANYTHING! Novaterm (64) and Dialogue (128) were the mentioned C= uses. So, clearly, most members do NOT take advantage of the club's BBS! WEB BROWSER - two folks use Lynx on C= and five use Netscape on a PC. So, world wide web use is higher than local or on-line service use, it seems. OPERATING SYSTEM - because of the multiple computer use, the numbers below add up to well more than number of attendees - thusly: C-128 10 C-64 7 MS-DOS 6 Windows 95 6 Windows 3.1 4 Macintosh 2 CP/M 1 Amiga 1 Windows NT 1 Well more than half the attendees use at least one non-C= operating system. Hence, the Steering Committee decided to try some "SIG" sessions to better define member interest and/or needs for the PC/IBM compatible platform. ------------ Following the survey taking - and the extensive discussion about it - we took some time to go over the subject of databases. As can be seen from the survey, quite a few use them, but there is no commonality. As the discussion progressed, it became clear that only a few folks have a problem and we can probably assist outside the main program time. THE MLCUG WORD PROCESSOR? [by Emil Volcheck] For those of our members still using their 8-bit machines for word processing (they do a great job of this!), it appears that most are using THE WRITE STUFF (especially the 128ers). For a long time, MLCUG has supported this powerful program - as well as being a licensed seller of the product (tho admittedly, sales have been reeaally sloooow in the last few years!). So, it looks appropriate to pay some updated attention to it. If you already use TWS, or are considering doing so, I'd like to offer some suggestions on how you might proceed with it. NOTE: these are MY suggestions and I welcome feedback on them - so that we can usefully aid each other in getting maximum value for our continued use. So, with those introductory remarks behind us, let's take a look at those suggestions, beginning with: 1) make sure you are using version 2 of TWS. It comes on the back side of the BB SPELLER disk (many folks do not realize it is there!). Since v2 is the spell checker version, you'll likely want that feature vs. what you lose from v1 (mainly the word processor translations, which you rarely use). 2) in order of desirability, get and use the variant for: RAMlink CMD hard drive CMD FD floppy drive 1581 floppy drive 1571 floppy drive 1541 floppy drive NOTE: you will want to be using JiffyDOS in any of the these options to get some decent speed. This is particularly important when spell checking time comes!!! 3) customize the program, at least to: program start drive default data drive extra text area(s) print menu options drive set macros Once these are set, be sure to SAVE your DEFAULTS; so you do not lose your efforts! 4) optionally, customize for the host of other things TWS offers [e.g. colors, startup file(s), keyboard macros, printer macros, macro typing). If you set any of these, again remember to SAVE DEFAULTS to preserve your choices for future boot ups. If you have questions about these suggestions or IF YOU HAVE FAVORITES TO SUGGEST, bring them up at the next meeting, post them on the BBS, call, write, email or any/all of the above! ************************* AMIGA USER HAPPENINGS By John Deker, AMIGA SIG Leader [continued from p.1] which software can be started on the Amiga and some of the problems one might encounter along with some solutions and options. We'll talk about tooltypes, software and library versions, IconX and ECIconDos, and using the Amiga shell, Workbench GUI, and LazyBench. To aid in problem recognition, we'll take a long look at SnoopDos and how to use it to recognize problems. If you have problem software that fails to start and run for you, this might be an opportunity to get that problem solved. Remember though, that different Amigas and different operating systems respond differently to different software. So to be sure we find a solution for you, it would be best if you brought your computer and software with you. I realize this may pose a problem in terms of moving equipment. So I will say this, you can probably leave your monitor at home. This will at least save you the effort of moving one piece of equipment. THE MAIN PRESENTATION THE CLUB'S BBS SOFTWARE Though most of you, the Amiga SIG members, have used the BBS, very few of you have seen what it takes to setup a BBS. So I thought it would be a treat, or treatment depending on your disposition, to show everyone the other side of the worm hole, so to speak. It so happens that Emil Volcheck, our club president, has been running our old C128 EBBS system at the Mount Cuba Astronomical Observatory in the state of Delaware. This 8 bit computer system and software package is limited to 2400 bps modems. As a test, Emil and I had discussed using the club's A1200, Max BBS software, and a SupraFAX 14.4 modem to see if he could generate more BBS traffic. Having ported the basic configuration from our own A2000 based BBS, I had configured the A1200 and Max's BBS software with minor changes to suit Emil's needs. That was how I came by the opportunity to show the BBS at the meeting last month. I won't go into the details of the presentation here, but I will insert a little of the software's sale pitch and propaganda. Before I do, I would like to give it a little of my own promotion. Max's BBS is public domain and no longer under development by the original Australian author. It is a relatively simple system to setup and use. Enhancements and further developments have been done and continues to be done by a handfull of people world wide. With that said, here's a little overview of the software from the documentation. MAX's BBS -- INTRODUCTION Thank you for using MAX'S BBS! This program is the result of three year's worth of programming. It was developed due to the lack of true Amiga BBS programs, ie. not ported from the IBM. MAX's BBS is Copyright (c)1992 by Anthony Barrett. This program is now Public Domain and may be freely distributed. BBS stands for Bulletin Board Service. BBS's became popular when the first 300 bps modem became available at an affordable price. The first BBS I called was "The Omen" and I was an enthusiast from then on. I had a Dick Smith System-80 and a Dick Smith 300 bps manual modem. I think "The Omen" BBS is still running today. The BBS software back then was very basic with only the XModem checksum protocol available for file transfers. Since then, BBS software has become more advanced with the introduction of full screen editors, the ZModem file transfer protocol and FidoNet echo mail linking all the BBS systems together. This program was written for the Amiga, and makes use of the Amiga's graphical user interface called "Intuition". Some Amiga BBS programs which were ported from the IBM environment are menu driven, making them slow and awkward to use. The Amiga's audio channels are used to play sampled sounds for the Bell and the BBS menu function 3 - Chat call, so experiment and have some fun trying different sound samples. MAX's BBS has a built in FidoNet front end, message importer (or tosser) and FidoNet dialer. MAX's BBS can be easily configured as a FidoNet Hub because of it's easy to use "FidoNet mail distribution" window. Before MAX's BBS, BBS programs relied on separate FidoNet front end programs and message tosser programs to set up a FidoNet system, making them slow and difficult to configure. MAX's BBS has a custom print routine allowing speeds of over 9600 bps when printing/sending menus and text. The BBS program called "BBS- PC!" could connect at 9600 bps but the text printing speed would limit the sending of text to just over 2400 bps. The faster speed is achieved by printing a line at a time then sending that line to the serial port, rather than a print character then send character method (this will become noticeable when using speeds 1200 bps or less). MAX's BBS can be completely customized! Not only can you make your own menus but you can edit and change all the BBS text and colours using the built in text editor. You could even translate the English text into another language. You can insert the time, date or any one of the forty seven auto inserts anywhere in your text! You can hide all or parts of any text to users by specifying the minimum access level. MAX's BBS is a true ANSI BBS, ie. all the ANSI colour codes are supported and any interruptions to the printing/sending of menus (hot keys) and text files will force an ANSI colour code (line 36) before the text is printed/sent. When the BBS sends a message such as "Press to continue" (line 29) or warnings like "You have x mins remaining..." (line 23) while printing a text file, the foreground and background colour will be saved and restored before and after that message. This will stop any colour changes in text due to that BBS message. MAX's BBS is one single executable file. No messy separate configuration or FidoNet programs to worry about, it is all done with the one program! A powerful online user editor lets the local Sysop edit any part of the current online user, including the user's name! A message optimizer will remove all unused space in the message base files, this will save you precious disk space! MAX's BBS supports the following file transfer protocols: XModem XModem CRC XModem 1K YModem (batch) YModem-g ZModem All protocols have been written as close to specification as possible. The ZModem protocol is the latest revision available at the time of this release. MAX's BBS has been written in Assembler. Not only does this make it run faster but also makes the program size very small (about 173K bytes). Utilities and support programs are being written for MAX's BBS and are available from the "MAX's BBS support files" section on my BBS (see "Reporting bugs and ordering") or from the Author. FUTURE MEETINGS If you have either software or hardware for your Amiga that has taken your fancy, please bring it to our attention. I'm sure your specific interests will be of interest to others. Let me know if this is the case at the next meeting, or leave me email on our BBS. Remember, a user group is only as rewarding as the sum of the efforts of its individual members. ------------------------ THE STATE OF THE AMIGA MARKET ---------------------- NEWS ITEM -- CU Amiga Magazine Announces Release of TFX At last, TFX will be released! Not only will it be released but it will only cost Y5.99 (International prices will differ) and come with the World's best Amiga Magazine attached to it. Yes, it's true. TFX will be on the October CD-ROM issue of [http://www.cu-amiga.co.uk/] CU Amiga Magazine.There's no catch, no scam, the Amiga's legendary unreleased flight sim can be yours soon. As you'd expect, we've been bombarded by E-mail, letters and calls about this. Here's a mini TFX FAQ which should answer most of your questions. * Q. Will it be the full version? A. Yes, as far as was completed. 100% working although slightly buggy in places. It's a blinding game! * Q. Will TFX be on the floppy disks as well? A. At the moment, no. We are doing our best but don't hold your breath, it's quite large. * Q. What kind of machine does TFX need to run? A. Any AGA Amiga with the 2MB of Fast RAM and a hard drive though of course the faster the better. There are FPU and 68040 versions but it does not run on the 68060 at this time, we're working on fixing this. * Q. Why wasn't TFX released? A. At the time an (fast) AGA Amiga with a hard drive and Fast RAM was considered to be too small a market. These days this isn't a problem. * Q. Why are CU Amiga giving TFX away? A. Because we can, because we know you want it and because we're the Best Amiga Magazine in the World. * Q. Won't covermounting games harm the Amiga games industry? A. Yes, if we did. However we wont be covermounting commercial Amiga games. TFX the exception as it was never released. It does serve to prove what can be done on today's Amigas. TFX is the first of many spectacular events lined up for CU Amiga in the near future. As usual you'll find the highest quality commercial application software, unrivaled technical reviews, in-depth original features and much more besides. TFX, and the considerable effort CU Amiga expended in order to bring it fruition, demonstrates our continued commitment to the Amiga.Further information (and screen shots) can be found at [http://www.cu- amiga.co.uk/] CU Online. Tony Horgan tony.horgan@ecm.emap.com Editor of CU Amiga Magazine from Champaign-Urbana Computer Users Group / cucug@cucug.org