'. ,.- e. o • ow The Monthly Newsletter of the TechAlliance Computer Co-operative

September 93 Vo13,Nr 8

Contents Co-op Comments

The TechAUiDnce BBS crash of 8/9 August took a serious toll on our library. TA BBS: ...... 3 Basically, everything uploaded during 1992 and 93 was lost - something like 300 megabytes in all. There's no getting around it - this was a heavy blow to us and it will ~ New Users Guide: Part I be awhile before we are reasonably recovered. S till, we are moving ahead with our plans ~t'hic~ e'.'~ be!ore the C!!Sh~ '~e e~pected u,'et!!~ ;-retty !!!U~~ r~m!ke t.~e BES .- C!!.!r.. or no crash. Steve Cavanaugh, our fearless Sysop, has already added another 85+ new Apple IIGS: ...... 5 fido echoes (public mail conferences) and he's created a new me backbone (a library ~ GNO/ME 2.0 P.R. and Specs whose mes are automatically uploaded by other Fido sites) with plans to add several more mebones soon. Thanks too to not just a few of our more loyal BBS callers, we've seen many of the most critical utilities and applications (particularly those relating to : ...... 6 telecommunications) re-uploaded. This means that our callers can once again anticipate ~ Centris 660AV and Quadra 840AV being able to download the latest electronic tools needed to enjoy their online time. Further down the reconstruction path our sysops plan to add improvements to our user interface to include easier access to Internet email. So hang in there and enjoy the metamorphosis of one of the oldest BBS sites in the country -some of you old timers IBM/PC: ...... 7 do remember calling into the A.P.P.L.E. Crate, right? ~ Byte Notes (Upgrading Correctly) I guess the other significant news is the announcement that I' 11 be giving up the Co­ op Spirit Newsleuer in its present hardcopy form with the January 94 issue. Again, not : ...... 8 to fear, the news that's inside these pages and truly much, much more, will continue to ~ Amiga CD32 Press Release be readily available from the BBS in electronic form. The basic plan is to convert the Newsletter into a User's Guide fornavigating the T echAUiDnce bulletin board. As such, it will be mailed out to new members and renewing members only. For those who 'don't yet have aBBS account, we will be offering machine specific terminal software and other related utilities on disks for a very nominal postage+shipping fee. As much as I've Renewal Form ...... 9 enjoyed learning the basics of PageMaker, the work involved in transforming "ragged ASCn" Internet text into Times Roman with full justification along with the time and money spent in assembling and mailing each newsletter each month has become more SIG Meeting Information ...... 9 of a chore than I can afford. So I feel the time has come to save a few trees and give in to the power of the electronic press. I doubt anyone will be long disappointed with this decision. If I'm wrong, hey, have I got a deal for you ... ! SIG Meeting Locator Maps ...... 10 John Keithly President. TechAUiance People Helping People with Computing Technolgy TechAliiance Voice/Fax (Help Line) ...•.•••••..•.•.••••.....••...•••••..•...•..•.•...••..••• (206) 870·1556 PO Box 3308 BBS (North Seattle call forward) ••.•••••.••••••••••••.••••••...••••..•. (206) 281·8298 Kent, WA TA BBS (300,1200,2400,9600 baud) •••••••.••••••••••••••••••.••••••• (206) 277·6070 98032-0206 TA BBS (300,1200,2400,9600, 14.4K baud) ...... (206) 277·6052

Fidonet Node 1:343/133 Internet Address: [email protected]..org

Vol. 3, Nr. 8 September 1993 fonnat. Alternatively, articles may also be uploaded to the the The Co-op Spirit is the newsletter of TechAlliance, a non­ TechAlliance BBS and placed in the TechAlliance Library profit computer co-operati ve committed to providing members NewsArticles section. TechAlliance reserves the right to re­ wi th resources that increase their understanding and enjoyment view, edit. and refuse articles at its discretion. of personal computers. TechAlliance supports members with Special Interest Group equipment for the Apple ll/llGS, the Permission to Reprint Macintosh. IBM/PCs, and the Amiga; both beginning and Unless specified otherwise, orginally published articles origi­ advanced assistance are provided at our meetings. This nally appearing in the Co-op Spirit may be reprinted by other newsletter is sent monthly to every member. It consists primarily non-profit user groups, provided proper credit is given in the of reprints from electronic text found on Usenet public con­ byline to both the author(s), and to TechAlliance. ferences; we also welcome original contributions from our members. For those members with telecomputing hardware TechAlllance Board of Directors and software, all of the information printed in the Co-op Spirit John Keithly President Norm Dodge V. President (and much more) can be downloaded from the News Articles Dave DeGroot Treasurer Unassigned Secretary and Educator library sections of our BBS. Rober Huelsdonk Director James Walley Director Steve Cavanaugh Director

Memberships SIG SIG Leader BBS SIGop You may join TochA!li-ance asa ne,,! member cr renew your Apple II Phil Lindberg Richard Hall existing membership by filling out the fonn on the inside back AppleIIGS Phil Lindberg Gerry Drake cover of this newsletter and mailing it. along with your annual Macintosh Dale Beasley Tom Loomis dues to TechAlliance. Annual membership dues are $30.00 for Mac Programmers Lloyd Ollman Tom Loomis Washington S tate King and Pierce County residents, $25.00 for ffiM/PC Paul Stout Bob Caldwell AmigAlliance James Walley John Keithly other US memberships, and $35.00 for foreign memberships. Amiga Developers Syd Schofield Vacant

Disclaimer BBS System Operators Steve Cavanaugh Opinions presented e.g., in the fonn of reviews and particularly Paul Stout in the evaluation of products, are not necessarily endorsed by Editor & DTP John Keithly TechAlliance. Rather, the views expressed in this newsletter are those of the individual contributors.

Meeting Schedule Renewing and New Members Please see the back cover of this newsletter for meeting dates, times, and locations. Please call the TechAlliance Help Line or WT Brerlehoft Maple Valley. WA II IIGS check the TechAlliance monthly SIG schedule posted on the W Thomas Cook Columbia,MD II IIGS T A BBS for the latest infonnation regarding SIG meeting AnhurDieli H. Harbor. NY II IIGS Mac IBM/PC Kelly Doser M. Terrace. WA Unit topics. James Freeburg Port Orchard. W A II IIGS Mark James C. Springs. CO IIGS Mac IBM/PC SubmiSSions Roger Jones Fulton. MO IIGS Mac IBM/PC The deadline for submitting articles, news, and meeting an­ Roger Mcintosh Boulder,CO IIIBM/PC nouncements is the 15th day of the month preceding publica­ Gail Schell Seattle. WA Mac tion. For example, submissions for the March Co-op Spirit David Weeks W. Seattle. WA II IIGS Ray Youngblood Houston. TX II IIGS IBM/PC should be received prior to February 16th. We accept article submissions on 3.5 inch or 5.25 disk in ASCII (plain text)

2 CO·OP SPl'Rj'I TABBS New User's Guide to the TechAlliance BBS: Part I The Main Menu, & Getting TelCom Software Introduction: This is the first part of what is being planned onference: This is not a likely place to be going as a to eventually be a five part series on how to get around new bulletin board user. Nonetheless it is an option worth efficiently on the TechAlliance BBS. This first article will be knowing about. Ifyou want to talk to someone else who is online a fairly broad brush treatment that will cover Main Menu at the same time as you are and "chat" about a topic of mutual choices, and will identify software available for interfacing interest, you must frrst enter this menu selection. Since my space with the TechAlliance BBS. Future articles will be devoted to is tight for this article, I won't say much more about "realtime" such topics as: (1) Using the online email editor, (2) How to conferencing. The best way to learn more if you're in a hurry to make use of Offline Mail readers, (3) Downloading and learn about this option is to check out the appropriate help file uploading files, and (4) Using Net Mail to send private mail to (see above). Fidonet and Internet addressees. Hopefully, I will adequately explain whatever technical terminology that happens to comes iles: Okay, we are homing in one some goodies now. up. But just in case, I also plan to add a glossary of terms to This selection will take you to our libraries of computer specific my final article so that if you don't understand some of the files; this is where you can download files and use them as phraseology this first time around, you'll have a second utilities, applications, etc., on your home computer. There are chance later on. also newsworthy articles available here which can usually be downloaded as text files. The art of file downloading is fairly Where to go from the Main Menu: After frrst logging on complex, however. So, I'm going to put off explaining this menu to the TechAlliance BBS, you will be asked a series of maybe option until a later issue of the Co-op Spirit. Again, if you want half a dozen questions -the frrst of which are designed to information on this right now, my advice for the time being would make your computer terminal display "look good". Follow­ be to check out the help files pertaining to this topic. It's time ing the questions, you will arrive at the Main Menu and then instead to cover the vertically listed menu items. you'll need to decide, "What do I do now?" Depending on your User Status, there areat least eight choices (menu selec­ Vertical Main Menu Menu Options tions) you can make. I will review here your options - starting with the row of 5 menu options that stretch across the I. Info, Stats, Bulletins: Selecting this menu option gives top of the screen. you access to a cornucopia of choices. Probably the most valuable items worth looking into are: (1) the bulletins (these Horizontal Main Menu Menu Options deal with the latest changes made to the BBS), (2) the monthly TechAlliance schedule of meetings, and (3) the master catalog oodbye (the quick escape): Hey, you just logged list of all files which you may download. Downloading the on! Still, we all have those days .... master file list is an especially prudent action since it makes possible for you to identify and jot down those files that you ser Settings: Let's say at this point your terminal might have an interest in downloading on subsequent calls. display doesn't look so nice after all. Maybe you can't see all of the main menu; perhaps there are a lot of strange characters The remaining vertically listed letter selections on the Main mixed in with text. There could be other problems too. The Menu deal with electronic mail. These are the entry points for place to go to correct what isn't right would be "User Set­ the caller who wants to read (and perhaps also respond to) what tings". To be sure, "User Settings" is a good place to check people are saying on just about any topic. To be sure, our BBS into every few months or so - to change your password, to try is currently subscribed to over 160 public file conferences. So out different configurations, and to verify something hasn't there's a true abundance of information to read and talk about. been changed without your knowing about it J. Combined Message Menus (Only available now to elp: This is another good spot to check into now and SysOps and SigOps): Jumping to the Combined Message Menu then. Unfortunately, the names given to some of the help files allowed you, the BBS user, to read a lot of messages at a given are often nearly impossible to figure out My solution here has time from anyone of 14 general topic areas. Actually, I think been to download all of the help files and then put each one in most people who tried this option actually used their telecommu­ a simple to remember folder with a name that makes sense to nication software's screen capture buffer to store combined me. That way, if I'm having problems with figuring out some message traffic that they could then look at later offline. (This is menu options, and I don't want to use up my online time a very fast method for reading mail even if you can't immediately figuring things out, I can look through my collection of help reply to any given message.) But connecting to the TBBS 2.2 files offline and usually decipher what I am wanting to know. software which is the BBS software installed on the TechAlliance board has a few quirky limitations. For example, you can't just CO·OF SPI'lU'f 3 TA BBS non stop scroll midway through part of a combined topic area S. Staff Messages: (Only available to the SysOps & So. if you pick an area with say 2000+ messages and your buffer SigOps). Since most people can't see this menu, why do I even fills up by message 752. or after 156 messages you decide you mention it? If you want to talk to the "locals" (including the really didn't want to read this message area after all, you may not SysOps and the computer SigOps) look for and use the local be pleased with the fact that what you are seeing is not what you mail topics which can be found in both of the public email wanted to get. gateways viz., the Topic Based Message, and the Offline Mail topic selection lists. If you want to find out who the SysOps and M. (Topic Based) Message Menu: This is where I'd SigOps are, check into the Info, Stats, and Bulletins Menu. normally recommend new users start out with reading the electronic mail public forums. Instead of dealing with large Proposed TA Disks for Initial Telcom Users: In the message areas in the combined area, you will have lots and lots limited space I have left, I'd like to announce that I have made of relatively "small" topic based message areas to look at and up five telecommunications disk packages - one package choose from. Of the 150+ fidonettopic areas presently available each for users of Apple II, Apple llGS, Mac, IBM/PC, and on the TechAliiance BBS,any or all can be individually selected Amigacomputers. The idea here is to give every TechAlIiance by using the Topic Based Message Menu whereas, as stated, in member the best possible opportunity to join us online with our the Combined area all the topics have been pre-clumped together newly expanded BBS services The packages contain terminal into 14 categories and the smallest selection would be to view emulation and file transfer software, compression! decompres­ one of the 14 categories. Another advantage over using the sion utilities, virus checkers (except for the Apple II and IIG S). Combined Message Menu is that in the Topic Based Message and offline mail reader software (except for the Apple II). All Menu you select what you want to read not what you don't want of the software is freeware, . or demoware. If you are to read; this tends to be easier to accomplish. Plus, you have two a TechAlIiance member and would like to have one or more of ways in which to select individual topics. One method is to use these packages, get in touch with me, John Keithly, either by the "UNIX" option. This choice allows you pick a sequence of calling me at (206) 870-1556. by sending a request via postage topics that will be read in succession each time you call. The mail to: TechAlliance, PO Box 3308. Kent, WA, 98032. or by other method uses the "Standard" approach. Picking the Stan­ contacting me on the BBS (assuming e.g .• you already have dard option will allow you to choose any given topic to read in software for one computer type but would like to try software any order you want - but you will need to reselect your topics for another machine). I anticipate charging $10.00 for each each time you call. Of course you could even choose to use both two disk package. All software will be mailed on 3 1/2 inch the UNIX and the Standard options during a single call. Finally, disks except for the Apple II software which will be mailed on keep in mind that it's in the Topic Based Message Menu that you 5 1/4 inch disks. I am listing below the software that I'll be will find your access to private Net Mail (I'll talk about Net Mail sending out for each computer. In the upcoming issue I'll also in a future article), and to your Cubby messages - Cubby try to provide as much pricing info as I can find re: modems. messages are those you choose to save on the BBS hard drive Unfortunately. I am not in a position to sell modems myself rather than transfer immediately to your home computer. but I will try to give you a good sampling of modem prices and mail order vendors that I have literature for. O. OmineMail Reader: Ideally, I imagine most people would choose to look at their electronic mail using an offline mail reader in that it provides an automated way to download all Telecommunication Files Available on Disk for your message traffic so that you can read it offline (like using the TechAliiance Members now defunct Combined Message Menu) and then respond offline as well. Once you have written your responses, you can use your Apple II: ZLink; Proterm (demo); Shrinkit/UnShrinkit; offline reader software to combine the responses together into a BinSci; T A BBS Help Files single packet and upload them back to the TA BBS where they Apple IIGS: Proterm (demo); AnsiTerm (demo); GSHK; will be detached and sent out to the recipients you have specified. BinSci; IIQWK; PMPUnZip; TA BBS Help Files Then you can download another batch of new mail to repeat the Macintosh: ZTerm; Expander, ; Disinfectant; cycle. Unfortunately, setting up your computer specific soft­ Freddie; ZipIt; TA BBS Help Files ware to interact with the TechAliiance offline software (known IBM/PC: Telix; PKZip; AT780E; McAfee Utilities; Blue as QSO) is not normall y a trivial pursuit. So, I'll need to beg your Wave; T A BBS Help Files indulgence to await a future newsletter article so that I can more Amiga: Terminus; VirusChecker; LhaSFX; OMS; Q­ fully explain the workings of .QWK file processing and ! Blue; InfoZipI; TA BBS Help Files UnZip file compression and decompression. Yes, there is a lengthy help file available on this subject should you become (Please note that some of these files may be replaced by other impatient and want to try out this approach right away anyway. utilities/applications depending on member inputs.)

4 CO-OF SPl'R],r Apple IIGS

{Downloaded from comp.sys.apple2.gno ---jlk} messages, and ports). - Named Prefix support. No matter what your hard drive partitions are GNO/ME 2.0 Press Release named, every GNO system has a /bin, /usr, /dev ,Ietc, and other standard and Upgrade Information UNIX partition names. - The serial drivers were completely rewritten to allow high-speed From: [email protected] (Jawald Bazyar) throughput, up to 38400 baud, and hardware and software (XON/ August 8, 1993 (Littleton, CO) XOFF) flowcontrol. They also implement the complete set of BSD Procyon Enterprises announced today that they are now accept­ control functions that are applicable on a nGs. ing orders for the new version of their GNO/ME UNIX system for the - Pipes are up to 30 times faster than in 1.0! Apple lIGS. - Compatible with System 6.0.1 features and applications - all standard Jawa id Bazyar, Vice President of Procyon and head engineer of System Software utilities (such as ) now run in GNO. the GNO project, said "GNO/ME 2.0 represents a substantial im­ - Compatible with all of the ORCA 2.0 version languages, including provement over the original, which was in its own right a ground­ ORCAIC and ORCA/Pascal. breaking work. In the past year since the original release, we've - New fork20 call makes it easy to fine-tune parameters of a new listened to customer's concerns and addressed most of them. We process. brought ev en more UNIX power to the lIGS by implementing the most -Console drivernow maps arrows and OA-sequences to ESC code that powerful inter-process communication system available for the lIGS". can be read through the GS/OS read call. UNIX is quickly becoming the de-facto standard among operating - GNO now sends SendRequestcodes to indicate GNO start up and shut systems. Even operating systems which never claimed to be UNIX down. compatible are rushing to provide POSIX compliance interfaces for - Removed limit on number of user semaphores (screate) their systems. (POSIX is the International Standards Organization's - Code optimization means all these new features only take up 20K UNIX standard). more of memory! "This release reaffirms our committment to the Apple nGS, a - Support for TCP/IP and sockets is implemented internal to the kernel very capable computer that many developers abandoned", said Matt Shell Gudermuth, President of Procyon. "Some people ask if the nGS is - Directory stacks save typing when moving among many directories. powerful enough to run UNIX, and many used to answer with a - Complete command, filename, and variable-name expansion -just hit resounding NO! . We answer these people by pointing out that the first TAB to have the shell fmish typing for you. mainframe computers that ran UNIX were far less powerful than the - Better support for running scripts in the background Apple lIGS. The nGS is here to stay, and we're going to keep - Command-line editor is now completely user-configurable. Don't supporting it with our powerful system software." like the standard editing keys? Change them! GNO provides UNIX features in an application environment that - More environment variables for customizing the operation of the runs "on top of' GS/OS, so that the lIGS software everyone enjoys is shell. More options in the PROMPT variable. actually enhancc.d by ush.g GNO. Included as standard with the GNO - New buill-ins show ail accesslbie commands. system are almost one hundred standard UNIX utilites and some nGS­ - Can now invoke gsh with arguments to execute scripts and commands specific ones such as print spooling from text or desktop applications (for use inside other programs). and a "shell-in-a-window" New Desk Accessory. Full support for - More built-ins can have output redirected or piped. remote access to a lIGS via a modem, and built-in ultra high speed Environment serial communications means that GNO is the perfect system for - New installer automatically sets up a GNO system on any computer, writing communications programs. and creates default configuration files. No more fussing with "rc" files "Communications is one of GNO's strong points," remarks to get GNO up and running. Derek Taubert, the individual responsible for the upcoming Internet - Complete docs for programming the kernel, shell and programmer's access software for GNO. "Because GNO does all the low-level work libraries; and documentation for the standard UNIX utilities. The for me, and gives me a simple interface to access it, I can concentrate documentation is now indexed. on the task at hand instead of worrying about writing things like - All applicable utilities now use the termcap library for flawless interrupt handlers ". remote-access support. gsb, vi, less, more, etc. all use termcap. GNO comes with comprehensive documentation covering all - Print spooling utilities for both text files and GUI programs (like aspects of the system, including programming the kernel, the shell, the AppleWorks GS). C and assembly libraries, and utilities. - gsi - Graphical Shell Interface NDA allows you to run a shell in a For more information, including information on upgrade pricing, window while in a desktop program contact Procyon at: - Suspend NDA allows the user to suspend a desktop application and Procyon Enterprises Incorporated return to the shell. 'fg' resumes the desktop program. Apple IIGS Software Publishing and Development - rz/sz. - Utilities for sending and receiving flies via X,Y, and ZModem P.O. Box 620334 protocols; these all work in the background! Littleton, CO 80162-0334 USA - copycat - a dumb terminal with some not-so-dumb features for quick (303) 781 -3273 modem use. - Password-protected logins with multiple user accounts, and library New GNOIME Purchases routines to help programmers access user information. If you don't currently own GNO, you can purchase it from Resource - 'Is' utility is restartable and much faster. Central for $89. RC's phone number is (913) 469-6502. - 'launch' command allows you to run a ProDOS 8 (or other incom- GNO 2.0 New Feature List patible) program and return directly to GND without going through This is not a complete list - there were obviously bugs corrected, but another program launcher. we didn' t feel it was important to list them here. Questions about fixed - GNO Snooper CDA can now kill processes. bugs are welome. - Replacement ORCALIB C library that better works with GNO. Kernel - Even better HFS and AppleShare support. - Now provides six Inter-Process Communication methods for un­ - More than twice as many standard utilities as version 1.0. precedented power (signals, semaphores, pipes, pseudo-terminals, CO-OF SPI'l?]rJ 5 Macintosh .. [Downloaded/rom Usenet sumex-aim.stan/ord.edu ---jlk] The AVs come wired so you can speak to them, as in, Two New Macs: "Computer, Control Panel. Computer, Memory." You can A Quick Trip Around the AV Room create complex voice macros using QuicKeys or AppleScript (a special version of QuicKeys ships with the computer). To help the Mac pay attention to you, you preface every command TidBITS#190/23-Aug-93 with a keyword (like Computer in the example above) and the by Tonya Engst, TidBITS Editor AV s come with a special microphone. Note that the micro­ phone and PlainTalk ship with Macs sold in the U.S. and Apple's newest are fast machines with new Canada, but everyone else has to buy them separately. I wonder video and sound capabilities. To review, the new Centris if this will change when PlainTalk can recognize more voice 66OAV, formerly known as the Cyclone, uses a Centris 610 types. case; likewise, the new Quadra 840, once known as the Tem­ pest, lives in a Quadra 800 case. As usual, Apple's naming Sound Manager 3.0 comes as part of the System Enabler, scheme comes from marketing folks who think it's funny that so you can play with sounds, distorting or enhancing them, and people try to memorize this stuff (especially considering that the you don't have to buy any third-party software to at least have latest rumors have Apple ditching the Centris name entirely and some basic fun. calling all of the old Centris machines Quadras). At least AV seems to stand for audio-visual. Introductions aside, what's the Conclusions deal with these Macs and should you buy one? The AV Macs seem like a grand experiment What features will prove popular? Which ones will be ignored? At If you don't care about audio-visual applications, you this time, it's unclear if developers will write software and might buy an AV Mac for the 68040 chip, faster NuBus 90 continue to write and support software that takes advantage of architecture, and SCSI DMA (). If you these Macs, or if developers will focus on the larger PowerPC care about sound, video, or telephony, then the AV Macs may market. be the place to be, since they sport a DSP chip (similar to the one used in the now-obsolete NeXT machines) to keep these capa­ These Macs could be sensational fun. Not that the capa­ bilities humming along. A few of quirks worth noting: AV bilities can't be created on other Macs with the right hardware Macs don't support NUX, they only support 32-bit addressing, and software, but that Apple has put a lot of possibilities and the has an extra pin. Although the port works with together in one package, so you get a blazingly fast Mac along the usual8-pin cables, the new ninth pin carries power to a pod with software to play with. Not only can you create and view (more on pods below), and lets you turn on your Mac by calling movies, but you talk and listen to the Mac. I wouldn't buy a it on the phone. Video Spigot board and alJ the trappings, because I don't know enough about video to justify the purchase, but if I had an AV If it all works as described, you can use the new DA V Mac, I'd explore all of its capabilities. Whether the new (Digital Audio Visual) port to bring in video from VCRs and abilities are up to reliable business uses, intelligent educational video cameras. You can play the video on the screen in the applications, or great works of art remains to be seen, but if they provided Video Monitor program, convert it to a QuickTime don't measure up, Apple is bound to improve them next time movie, convert video frames to PICT images, play around in the around. included VideoFusion Fusion Recorder, and output video to VCR tape or an attached TV screen. TidBITS#191130-Aug-93 The DSP chip works with Apple's new and still-unfolding •• AV Corrections·· - First, we accidently flipped the code GeoPort architecture to provide the capabilities of a modem, fax names. The Centris 660A V was originally known as the Tem­ board, speakerphone, answering machine, or even an Ethernet­ pest, and the Quadra 840A V was known as the Cyclone. The or ISDN- based videophone. The videophone gives 15 frames GeoPort Telecom adapter isn't bundled, costs about $130, and per second in a small window, so we're not talking about putting based on early reports, hasn't appeared on shelves quite yet. someone onscreen as in Star Trek. Each AV machine comes Second, although the GeoPort architecture will handle ISDN, with an adapter box, known as a pod, that attaches the Mac to the modems, and other "telecom" type things, it isn't how the Mac phone system. This is so Apple can make different pods for will connect to Ethernet networks, as we implied. The DA V phone systems in different countries, not to mention ISDN and (Digital Audio Video) connector is an internal connector much digital PBX, which should all be available sooner or later. likeaNuBus slot. It's designed not to connect directly to VCRs and video cameras (which attach via standard composite and S­ The AV Macs also include Plain Talk - formerly known by Video input and output jacks on the back panel) but to NuBus the code name Casper - software that works with the DSP chip cards so that a card can tap into the audio and video data streams to tum speech into computer commands and text into speech, of within the machine. Uses for this might include JPEG com­ sorts. I've heard a PlainTalk version of a paragraph from pression hardware. Finally, Michael Shannon clarifiesthemethodofrecordingfrom an AV Mac. every word. Evidently, there are a few different voices to pick "Actually, you MUST have a TV connected to do any kind of from. Currently the speech-recognition works for adult, English­ composite or S-video recording. The built-in video can only speaking, North American voices, but more options should drive one display at a time. Therefore, to record video you must come soon. hook the A V to a VCR and then the VCR to a TV. There is no way to watch the display on the computer's monitor while recording."

6 CO-OP SPJPJT IBM/PC

[Downloadedfrom the TA BBS ---jlk] old CGA color monitor, even though it looks quite crude compared with the current VGA units. The first real problem ByteNotes: was, the old XT had the video interface built into the PC Upgrade - The Right Way motherboard. Luckily (?) we found a used CG A card that we bought for ten dollars. The only problem was the video card by William Cowell (206-242-3692) wasn't compatible with the BIOS in the new machine. What we I know of a few people, including myself, who have should have done right from the first was to go with a complete upgraded a computer by replacing the motherboard. The more new machine. Then the old machine could be held until a I learn the more I strongly recommend that you DON'T GO useable used drive could be found. He would then have two THAT ROUTE. My first experience was with an XT. Ireplaced machines, and the older could be given to his kids, or sold as a the motherboard with a 286 motherboard. As many who have complete system. tried, the first thing you is that the new board doesn't quite fit in the old case. The next problem was the keyboard. An A lot of people are now upgrading their systems to handle XT keyboard wouldn't work with a 286. So I had to replace the the large software programs that run under Windows. This keyboard. I finally got the system up and working, but the end means old hard drives are being replaced with larger and faster product was a barely adequate 286 machine. I was left with an units. This means used 40MB IDE units can often be had for assortment of left over parts of little value. Even worse, the about $60. The XT IDE interface is about $40. With a hard eventual cost wasn't enough less than a new system to really be drive, an old XT provides a good, inexpensive system for worth all the trouble. I strongly recommend that if you want an children, or as a word processing system. A new SX, while no upgrade, you start with at least a new bare bones system (Case, speed burner, is still four to eight times faster than an old XT. power supply and motherboard). To this you can add some of An SX can even be used as a basic Windows machine, if you the better components from your old machine. Try to end up don't t ry to use it for multitasking. The bottom line is: TO GET with two useable systems. The old system is much more sellable THE MAXIMUM BENEAT OF AN UPGRADE; START if it is a complete and working system. Sale of the old system WITH ANEW BARE BONES SYSTEM, USE A MINIMUM should provide a little cash for purchase of improved components OF COMPONENTS FROM THE OLD SYSTEM. PLAN ON for the new system. ENDING UP WITH lWO SYSTEMS AND SELL THE OLD ONE, IF rOU NEED CASH TO BUY COMPONENTS FOR I recently had another upgrade situation which just proved THE NEW SYSTEM UPGRADE OPTION. again, that the clean start is the best way to go. In this particular case the old system had a CGA video system that the owner There is one possible exception to the above recommen­ wanted to salvage. The user was quite happy with his old XT. dation. That is a CPU chip upgrade module. This assumes that He only used it for word processing (Word Perfect 4.2), and you have at least a 286 machine, and are on a very tight budget. home accounting using an old version of Quicken. The only In the past, these upgrade modules were only marginally reason he considered upgrading, was due to problems he was acceptable, and were so expensive that they didn't make sense. starting to have with his hard drive. Naturally the old drive was They are now quite reasonable (less than $150 to upgrade to a an MFM unit. These are essentially no longer available. This 386, less than $300 tojump from a 286 to a 486). Probablyeven meant that a replacement hard drive would have to be an IDE more important. they have pretty well solved the compatibility unit with a special smart interface card that would permit use of problems the earlier units were plagued with. I know of two an IDE in an XT computer. I finally convinced him that the way company's that provide these upgrade modules. One is Ever­ to go was with a new 386SX bare bones system that required green Technologies, which is represented by DataLinkNorth­ only an inexpensive IDE super I/O card to go with a new hard west in the Seattle area (800-544-1720). The other company is drive. The cost of the smaller capacity IDE drives is quite ImprovelTTechnologies of Provo, Utah (801-224-0088). Both reasonable now. I settled on a 120 MB unit, because it was less companies have extensive lists of systems that their units are than $15 dollars more than an 80MB unit. Forty MB units are com patible with. These units make even more sense if you have still available from Seagate, but these aren't much cheaper than already upgraded to a larger and faster hard drive, or the old the 80MB units. We originally planned to move his existing drive is truly large enough for your current and planned 360k floppy drive to the new unit We finally decided against software applications. I recently replaced my older 28ms hard this, and added a new 1.2 floppy drive to the new system. We drive with a new 14ms average access time unit. It speeded up were lucky in that the old keyboard was switchable so it could operations on my 386/33 computer to the point I am no longer be used with the new system. We really started to run into in a panic to get one of the current crop of 486' s. problems when we got to the video. He was satisfied with his

CO-OP SPI'R.,rr 7 Amiga ..

[Downloaded from Usenet comp.sys.amiga.misc -jlkJ Second, consumers do want more on games. We will make no mistake-this machine will be sold as a game machine. The Press Release for the Amiga CD32 aspect of a multimedia player comes next"

Here's a little more on Amiga CD32 from a Stateside mag .. Commodore would not disclose how many CDTV's have Source: Electronic Engineering Times been sold to date, but the company claimed it has sold 4.4 COMMODORE'S VIDEO PLAY ... shouts the headline .... million units of Amiga computers worldwide. "It demonstrates an established history of Amiga and Amiga's stable operating Commodore Intemationallast week upped the ante in the system, well-supported by tools to write software and a wide battle for the advanced video game market by unveiling a 32- range of programs made available for its home computer/game bit, CD-based machine that it said is designed to compete head­ platform," Porter said. In time for Christmas, 70 titles will be to-head against products from , , and 3DO Co. launched for Amiga CD32, he pointed out

Dubbed Amiga CD32, the system uses a Motorolla 14- The core technology of the Amiga CD32 lies in its custom MHZ 68EC020 and Commodore's custom Advanced Graphic Amiga chip set. Composed of two video chips ("Alice" and Architecture (AGA) chip set. The Amiga CD32 can reproduce "Lisa") and one audio chip ("Paula"), the set was mainly arcade-quality videogames, displaying 256,000 colors on designed for the company's 32-bit real-time multitasking op­ screen, with a total pallete of 16.8 million colors, said Lewis erating-system computer. "We have really pushed the technol­ Eggebrecht, vice president of engineering at Commodore. ogyenvelope, further to migrate the same chip set to different Included are 2 MBytes of DRAM and a double-speed CD­ price points-now down to a $400 machine," Porter said. ROM drive. Curiously, the basic architectures of the Amiga CD32 and "By using a cost-effective CPU in addition to custom the 300 machine are strikingly similar. Both use a pair of hardware for audio and video subsystems, Amiga CD32 is graphics engines and an audio subsystem, assisted by hardware priced at about $400, cutting the expected price of ARM's 32- accelerators. This helps take the load off the CPU, simplifying bit RISC processor based 300 machines almost by half," said the software's task and enhancing performance. Jeffrey Porter, director of product development for Commodore's Technology Group. The system's debut is All this is not a coincidence. Porter explained that the scheduled for August in , where Commodore derives 90 original Amiga was designed by such Commodore engineers percent of its revenue. The U.S. laUriC:' is planncct for later this ae RJ .. Mi,;al, David Needle, Jay Mine; and Glenn Keller-many year. of whom later left the company and became architects for 3DO.

The machine will serve as a multiple player, playing music, Commodore holds three major patents in the basic Amiga movies and electronic videogames on CDs-similiar to 3OO's system: Video subsystem architecture, direct memory access Interactive Multiplayer (see May 31, page I). This fall, Com­ (DMA) techniques, and cursor controller user-interface sys­ modore also will provide an optional MPEG module that tem. contains an MPEG-I video decoder chip from C-Cube Microsys­ terns and an audio chip from LSI Logic Corp. The module will The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer's graphics-animation allow Amiga CD32 to play back 74 minutes of audio and full­ engines, however, do offer more processing power than the motion video recorded on 5-inch CDs based on a worldwide Amiga CD32. The former renders 64 million pixels/second; standard for linear full-motion video. The standard, now called The Amiga CD32 provides 7 million pixels/so "Video CD," is formally designated "Karaoke CD Specifi­ cation Version 1.0" The chip also can synchronize Amiga's Yet, Porter stress that "with 7 million pixels/s, the Amiga graphics with MPEG images. CD32 does provide end users with truly frame-accurate anima­ tion." According to Porter, so long as graphic data is updated By adding a computer module, which comes in a stacking at a frame-accuracy rate through a graphics engine, a real "mini-component" styling, the Amiga CD32 can also become bottleneck in speed lies in CD-ROM performance. "With our an Amiga computer. CDTV experience, we believe we have the best understanding on CD technology," he said. Commodore has incorporated Nevertheless, Commodore said it is committed to promot­ custom designed electronics and microcodes into a double­ ing the Amiga CD32 as a videogame machine. The company speed CD-ROM drive, to improve access time and caching has more than two and a half years of experience selling its performance. CDTV -one of the first CD-based multimedia machines to be launched. Amiga CD32 players are made at Commodore's plant in the Phillipines. "We've learned a lot of valuable lessons," said Eggebrecht. "First, any machines over $800- that falls into CDTV's price Accompanying the article was a full color diagram of the range -or anything priced at even $600 or above, is hard to sell. CD32 system including the new custom processor. It's name is "Akiko" and it is a 160-pin FQFP gate array.

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