Text File | 1990-01-28 | 5.8 KB | 99 lines | [50] Apple IIgs Word Processing (0x5445)
G-ESSENCE
by Tom Hall
Once again, I delve deep into matters concerning GS users.
JOKIN╒ AND COUGHIN╒
They didn╒t want to use this at the end of Softdisk 8-bit, so here it is:
What happens when the whole programming staff gets the flu?
They just sit around coughing and hacking.
Well, maybe they were right.
CABLE ENCOURAGEMENT
I was watching Showtime, and they had their ╥Byline Showtime╙ series on modern authors. Alfred Uhry was featured. I sat there, hoping Steven Banks╒ Home Entertainment Center was on. Mr. Uhry was walking around in a Georgia Tech Yellowjackets sweatshirt, petting his dog and cat, eating Chinese food, ╥trying to get his characters to talk to him.╙ Then they showed him working on one of his stories╤╤he was typing on a GS! All right! (Admittedly, he was using a 5.25" drive, but still . . .)
FAREWELL, FRIEND TO THE APPLE USER
Call -A.P.P.L.E.╒s last issue arrived. They really put out a great issue. What a classy move! The lead article is on the Art of IIgs Animation, and it is very impressive. It is written by Brian Greenstone of Pangea Software, who, along with his artist friend Dave Triplett, have put out a ton of great IIgs shareware arcade games. Those guys know what they are doing. And it was the presentation of important technical information by those on the leading edge that made Call -A.P.P.L.E. so special. Now another of our circle of friends has fallen. I hope that our numbers do not dwindle further, or pretty soon the circle of friends will be an octagon, then a hexagon, then a triangle, and then you and me. Ah, well. The newly formed 8/16 has stated their intention of filling in the void made by the loss of our friend. At least all our memories were good ones.
By the way, Brian and Dave made the game XENOCIDE, which is an impressive feat of IIgs programming. (If you want it, write to: Programs Plus, 75 Research Drive, Stratford, CT, 06497, or call 1-800-832-3201. They sell it for $30.) Brian╒s motto: ╥Programming is an art form.╙ I heartily agree.
BEFORE THE REVELATION
By the time you read this, Apple has made its tremendous announcement at the end of February. What was it? Here are all the rumors I had heard, with the very likely ones in red, sorta likely in blue, and really not likely in black:
Ñ New update for GS/OS (v6.0)
Ñ Apple Computer is divesting itself of the Apple II and:
Ñ selling it to Claris
Ñ selling it to Applied Engineering
Ñ making a separate company headed by Steve Wozniak
(the dream of all true Apple II fans)
Ñ flushing it and all Apple II users down the tubes
Ñ Announcing HyperCard for the IIgs (most likely for February)
Ñ Softdisk to be released in 200K, 8-inch disk format.
Ñ Reports of seeds of a new GS╤╤a 5.8 Megahertz chip with magic that runs
at 7 Megahertz , won╒t work with TransWarp GS. Confirmed NDA╒s
(non-disclosure agreements) have been signed. 640 by 400 graphics, a
graphics co-processor, 4.0 ROMs.
Ñ New SCSI DMA (Direct Memory Access) Card. Will be built into new GS, and
available for sale, $129. Also rumors of new drivers for Apple Scanner,
Tape Backup, and LaserWriter IIntx.
Ñ Announcing ╥Golden Gate╙: a machine that runs Apple IIgs and low╨end
Macintosh software. Was test marketed and died.
Ñ Apple is hiring me to be Head of Educational Computing
(OK, so I started this one).
And the winner is . . .
You have found the second secret message on G╨S #6.
Some industry news:
Ñ A former Applied Ingenuity partner released a 400-dpi (dots per inch)
Hand Scanner.
Ñ BUG in 5.0, 5.0.2 SCSI Driver. It happens on third party drives when
using the Finder. Comfirmed by Apple and Claris.
Ñ Jean╨Louis Gassee (president of Apple Products) is resigning that
position. Apple USA President Allan Loren resigned, replaced by
Michael Spindler. Spindler, some say, was solely responsible for the
death of the Apple II in Europe. Hello, sunshine.
Ñ AppleFest will now be CompuFest, open to all computer types.
Expect harassment of non-II sellers by disgruntled Apple users.
(Blame Cambridge Marketing for this one╤╤they run the show.)
Ñ A new version HyperStudio is coming out.
Rumor o╒ the month:
Ñ Is A2-Central trying to buy inCider/A+?
FLASH IN THE PANTHEON
Beagle Bros. have always been considered one of the Apple II gods, releasing incredible TimeOut applications, handy tips for programmers and so on. Now they have released ╥Flash╙ for the Mac. It is a file transfer program that works over an AppleTalk network. What does this mean? It means all your computers can save data to the same hard drive, send messages to other computers on the network, and generally quickly exchange information. This used to require a dedicated computer just for file serving.
We were excited! We could all work on the same issue without passing multiple copies, we could share a costly hard drive, and even look for an AppleTalk version of MazeWar! We called up the Beagles and asked them when a IIgs version might be out.
They replied, ╥Uh, well, we╒re thinking about doing a PC version, but . . . ╙
Our hearts skipped a beat. Beagle was not considering an Apple version. Other companies abandoning the Apple line was disheartening. But this is shattering. Not that they have said they are leaving us . . . but they seem to have taken a big step away. And now they have allowed others to write TimeOut applications. We hope we don╒t have to wave bye╨bye to the Beagles.
DID YOU KNOW?
The word palindrome spelled backwards is ╥emordnilap,╙ which translates from Old Latin as ╥and death, no pencil.╙ No one knows what this means.
WRITE AWAY!
Any comments? Jokes? Reflexology tips? Here╒s the address:
