Telecommunications

Take some of the confusion Out, of choosing modems, interface and) on-line services

Graphics way

Copyrights 22222522

Plain talk about the legal issues | f of copyrights and fair lise

EC ixialh, |

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ISSUE 4 .

COMMODORE

‘THE NEWS MAGAZINE FOR COMMODORE 64 & 126 USE!

General Manacer Charles R. Christianson ° Error Doug Cotton ° TecHnicat Eoitor Mark Fellows ° Aoverrisinc Sates Charles A, Christianson 413-525-0023 ° Grapnic Arts Doug Cotton .4 Evectronic Pre-Press & PRINTING Mansir/Holden, Inc.

° On THe Cover Commodore 64¢, Boca 144EW modem, SwiftLink RS-232 Interface, Cover art by Doug Cotton

Commodoro World is in no way affiliated with Commodoro Business Machines, Inc, Commodore World is publishod 8 times annually by Creative Micro Designs, Inc., 15 Benton Drive, East Longmeadow MA 01028-0646. Second-Class Postago Pald at East Longmeadow MA. Application to mail at Socond:-Class postago ratos is ponding at East Longmeadow, MA. Annual subscription rate is US$29.95 for U.S. addresses, US$35,95 for Canada or Mexico, USS45.95 for all EC Countrios, ‘and US$57..95 to all other addresses worldwide. Allsubscription payments must bo provided in U.S. Dollars. Mail subscriptions to CW Subscriptions, c/o Creative Micro Designs, Inc., P.O. Box 646, East Longmeadow MA 01028-0646,

contents copyright © 1994 by Creative Micro Inc., unless otherwise noted. No part of this ‘may bo printed or otherwise reproduced by any moans without prior written consent from the publisher, All programs publishod in this publication are for the porsonal uso ‘of the reador, and may not be copied or in any way distributed. Allrights rasorved. Programming examples and routines in this Issue which are presented for educational purposes may be Usedin the creation of programs by the purchaser of this ofthis magazine, provided credit for the routines is clearly presented in elthar the program documentation, or the program itso. Groative Micro Designs, Inc., assumes no responsibilty for errors or omissions in editorial, program listings or advertising content, Creative Micro Designs, Inc., doos not assumo any liability tor advortisors' claims,

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: CW Addross Changes, c/o Creative Micro Designs, Inc... P.O, Box 646, East Longmeadow MA 01028-0646.

VOLUME 1 .

Features

18 23 25 30 31

TELECOMMUNICATIONS by Gaelyne Moranec Get the big picture on modems, RS-232 interfaces, BBS's and networks,

A Glossary OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS TERMS by Gaelyne Moranec

What's a baud? Find out this and more in our extensive glossary of Telecom terms.

Bap Fite NAMES by Jim Butterfield

The Commodore guru gives advice on what to do about those annoying comma files,

Coprrichts: WHo Owns THe Richt To Copy? py Jeg’ Jones

Copyright information that every computer owner should know about.

Haro Tips: Buito A Simpte RS-232 INTERFACE by Doug Cotton

Connect standard RS-232 modems using this interface that you can build yourself.

Reviews

32 34 36 37

Sortware: Fun GRapHics MACHINE by Steve Vander Ark

Steve talks about the sofoware that put fun into working with graphies and text.

Games: MINIVIEWS by Sherry Freedline

Menace, The Amazing Spiderman, Marble Madni ‘ate or Die, and Laser Squad.

Harpware: Boca 144EW Fax/Data Monet py Brian Bell

How well does Boca's 14,400 bps modem perform with a Commodore?

Haroware: BocaMonem 2400 by tes Songa

A quick look at Boca's 2400 baud modem.

CoLumns

14 16 38 40 42 48 50 54

Just For STARTERS by Steve Vander Ark

Some general information about software and your computer,

ForeiGn EXCHANGE by Joseph Gaudt

Flash 8, the 8 MHz accellerator for the 64, finally comes to market, GRAPHIC INTERPRETATION py Steve Vander Ark

Steve begins a mini-series on importing and exporting graphics. GEOPROGRAMMIST by Maurice Randall

Macros play an important role in programming GEOS, and Maurice telly why. Basic INSTINCTS by Gene Barker

The Alliance strikes back with added weapons and cloaking in STARSHIP COMBAT. ADVANCED TECHNIQUES by Gene Barker

Learn to auto-boot programs with AUTOBOOT 64.

PERIPHERAL VISION by Mark Fellows

SCSI Magic continues with an in-depth look at detecting SCSI errors.

Carrick DETECT ny Off-line Mail Reader:

DEPARTMENTS 2 From tHe Eoiror 10 THe Connection See Our 4 BackTaLK 12. Top Tips 4 Error Correction 26 Conmmopore Trivia CHK-LIST 6 Just AsKinG 56 Apverniser’s INDEX Utility 8 On THe Horizon 56 Cuassiried Aos On Page 53 9 User Group Connection

NUMBER 4

From THe Epiror..:

The ongoing march of the computer industry never fails to amaze, and in many instances, amuse me. Take the recent cover of Computer Shopper, which proclaimed that the Intel-based 486 computers are now obsolete. Ironically, the previous issue of Computer Shopper was urging anyone looking for a new PC’ to buy one of the new AS6DX4-based machines, But with the advent of ‘cheap’ Pentium-based machines just one month later, if you took the advice to get a 486DX4 then you were already stuck with an ‘obsolete’ computer. Absolutely amazing.

Meanwhile, I've noticed alot of Amiga owners on the networks who are now running out to buy MS-DOS machines, and in some cases, Macintosh computers. Apparently they can't deal with being ‘orphaned’ by Commodore, It seems odd to see that one of the largest discussions in the Amiga area on G Amiga aspect, but on what operating system to use on their newly purchased MS-DOS machine to get the closest possible AmigaDOS look and feel.

The operating system confusion continues, Apple started shipping System 7.5 for the Macintosh, but folks are reporting some problems, That's standard fare for a new Mac System release, and Apple will probably issue a tune-up before long. Chicago, the great new Windows version slated for release in late ‘94 has been renamed “Windows ‘95", no doubt to reflect when it will really ship. Leave it to Bill Gates to turn a project delay into a marketing opportunity. IBM's new ‘personal’ version of OS/2, now called “Warp”, has just released, beating Windows to market; yet IBM is still sitting on a warehouse fuullof PowerPC-based machines, afraid to release them until they have an operating system of their own to ship with them— they sure don't want to give Microsoft more market power by shipping these machines with Windows NT.

Amidstallof this, itseems odd that everyone is fighting so fiercly over the $1000.00 and up market, while everyone ignores the under $1000.00 market that our trusty old Commodore 64’s and 128's have had to fill for so many years. This seems even more strange when you look beyond the ‘home’ market, and consider just how few computers there are to go around in school classrooms. Has everyone forgotten what Apple proved in the ‘80s with the Apple IT? That if you put a lot of inexpensive computers in classrooms, that the home market will be buying them up so that their kids can havea compatible machine to work on when they're not in class? Apparently so.

Well, before I get too carried away on this line of thought, perhaps I should get back on track and tell you about this issue of Commodore World. We've got a pretty packed issue this time, and it took some work to make everythingfit. Sadly, wehad to drop Over the Edge for this issue; rest assured, it will be back next issue with some interesting commentary on Graphical User Interfaces,

The issue's feature; Gaelyne Moranecdid an outstanding job in trying to capsulize her wealth of telecommunications knowledge into this article and the glossary of terms which follows it. Jeff Jones penned an interesting piece on the subject of copyrights that presents some information which every computer user should be made aware of. We've also tacked in a small article from Jim field on what to do about bad file names. Jim will be joining our staff of regular columnists next issue when he takes over our Peripheral Vision column, Speaking of that, Mark Fellows, President of CMD and designer of the CMD HD Hard Drives, has prepared the current column on SCSI device errors that you'll find in this issue's Peripheral Visions. We'll continue the SCSI Magic series next issue, but we'll have to move it to a new column.

There's more trivia from Jim Brain in this issue, and the latest upgrade to Starship Combat; you'll also see a machine Language autoboot utility, and a schematic for building an RS-232 interface. News of the Flash 8 accelerator shows up in this issue's Foreign Exchange, and some general info about software comes from Steve Vander Ark in Just for Starters, Si also begins an excursion into the land of importing and exporting in his Graphic Interpretation column, plus provide with areview on Fun Graphics Machine. We ve got hardware reviews on Boca modems, and more miniviews on some games that are still around, As I said, it's a pretty packed issue, so don't stop here—dig in!

Cotton

modore World Editor

’s a lot of great information on modems, modem interfaces, and on-line services located in thi

COMMODORE WORLD 2 Issue 4

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‘No walting for your orders to ship. Orders in by 2PM go out the same day. Second Day & Overnight shipping Is available, International orders are Shipped by Alr Parcel Post, UPS or DHL. Domestic orders are shipped UPS. ‘+All orders are subject to credit card verification + +All pices subject to change *

Supplies are limited and on a first-come tirst-sorve basis. We accept Visa, Master Card, and Discover. Wo also ship COD, accepting Cash, Certified Check, of Money Order, Software and accessories sipping fs $0.00. Hardware shipping Is $6.00 for small items. Call for larger items (le. Computers). COD add $5.00. Minimum COD order Is $50.00. Canadian, APO, & Intemational orders are welcome. We will bill only tor actual shipping charges & insurance at time of order. 15% re-stocking fee on all returns not { exchanged. Shipping is NOT refundable.

(© Copyight 1994, techWnlers Inc. AI Rin Reserved

Volume 1, Number 4 3 COMMODORE WORLD

GJACKTALK

COMMODORE WORLD READERS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS

It Just Keeps Getting Better

To Whom It May Concern:

Just got my third issue of your magazine and wanted to express to you how much | enjoyed it. I thought the first two issues were excellent but thislastissue blew them both away. ItwasGREAT!

I really enjoy your keeping us abreast of the things going on with Commodore and all and really look forward to reviews on products. One of the things I enjoy the most is the articles on “Hard Tips”. This was one of the things I enjoyed the most with the now defunct Commodore Magazine. I also enjoy the Foreign Exchange section as well as all the other articles.

Congratulations on this fine publication and please keep up the good work.

Sincerely, Dan Koleski

Bad Internet Connections

Dear Sirs:

Thavejust received my first issue ofCommodore World magazine and it is wonderful. Of course, you guys (and gals) knew thatalready, sol'll get to the details.

I wanted to offer some insights and critiques on various articles throughout the magazine, while offering some of my own tips. I've enclosed my direct responses to various columns in here; 1 hope they will be forwarded to the correct departments.

One critique that doesn’t look like it belongs under any of the individual sections has to do with the feature article on Internet. The author, while providinga list ofthe various on-line services that feature access in varying degrees to Internet, fails to mention that both America On-Line and Prodigy are for the MS-DOS/Windows and Macintosh computer platforms only and require specialized software for each machine similar to the way Q-Link is set up for the Commodore machines. Therefore, until either orboth services have their programmers write special term

COMMODORE WORLD

software for our Commodore machines (which | don’t see happening anytime soon unless the Government intervenes), both are useless for Commodore 64/128 owners (unless they also own one of the above mentioned computers).

Anyway, keep up the great work on CW, and am looking forward to being a long-time subscriber.

Sincerely yours, Ray Paternostro, Jr.

Sorry forthe oversight. Luckily, wegot asecond chance, since this Issue's feature talks about on-line services as well, And yes, we remembered.

A Vander Ark Fan?

Dear Commodore World,

Just a short note to say THANKS for a great magazine. Commodore World is the best Commodore specific magazine available today. I've been a long time 128 user, and really enjoy computing on my 128 with GEOS 2.0. I've read Steve Vander Ark’s GEOS columns in both RUN and COMPUTE GAZE his Graphic Interpretation column in Commodore World.

E, and was glad to see

Sincerely, Russ Tahsler

Forget Beginners? NEVER!

First, I want to say how much I admire you folks for embarking on a venture like Commodore World. On the basis of your “Printers” article in the first issue, I purchased an Epson Stylus 800 inkjet printerandam very pleased withtheresults. I'm anxiously awaiting delivery of Perfect Print and Geocable so I can really put it through its paces. Thanks for helping me keep this machine alive and kickin’.

Finally, several of your readers have made a pitch to gear Commodore World primarily tothe

experienced user/programmer—since there n’tany new users of the old machines. Please! Don'tdoit!| got my C128 fromaworkmate who'd had it in storage for years. | can’t be the only one. I find the machine to be perfect for my simple needs—but I'm learning more about it all the time, and having a great time doing so. Pleas don’t assume that your readers all have 10 or xperience with Commodore. That's all, but thanks again for giving me something that | really look forward to every 6 weeks or so. Keep up the good work.

Sincerely, John P. LaDez

Nottoworry, John, We regularly get letters and phone calls from users just getting started on Commodores, Whether they got their machine from a friend, bought it at a yard sale or flea market, or just finally got around to pulling it out of the attic, there seems to be no shortage of new users, And because our market no longer has the luxury of dozens of books on using and programming the 64/128, there's a definite need for magazines such as ours to provideinformation geared to them,

“I §)

= RR o F CORRECTION

InCommodore World Issue 3, wesomehow managed to omit some information about Digimaster in the review. The missing information was the info paragraph which normally appears just before the review text itself. Here's the text that should have appeared:

Digimaster, written by Chris Brenner; $34.95; published by Autumn Technologies and distributed through Creative Micro Designs, Inc., P.O. Box 646, East Longmeadow MA 01028, (413) 525-0023.

Issue 4

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Volume 1, Number 4 5 COMMODORE WORLD

Just ASKING

THE COMMODORE WORLD STAFF LOOKS FOR ANSWERS TO USERS’ QUESTIONS

I need assistance hooking up a CBM model 8032p printer that was used with the old PET computers. Also, is there any way to use this printer with GEOS? Brian Ardoin DieHard Commodore User

To attach a CBM 8032 model printer toa Commodore 64 or 128 you'll need an IEEE-488 parallel interface. According to the most recent information I have, the following are still available new from Skyles Electric Works, ( IEEE Flash! [C-64] ($79.00) and Quicksilver 128 [C-128] ($99.00). I'm not aware of any dr

sforG

touse these printers. Considering the high cost of

the interface you'll need, the inability to use the printer with GEOS, and the overall print qu and age of the 8032 printers, I'd consider picking up a low-cost 9-pin printer instead.

I use my C-64 a lot for applications Lalso love to play games on . However, after using the joystick for a a while, my hand and wrist start hurting. Do you know of a Nintendo-type controller that can be used on the C-64? No joystick, just buttons to press.

David Martinez

Well, the short answer to that is yes and no. I noticed a tip in a game magazine a few months back that mentioned youcan use joysticks for Commodore computers on Sega Genesis game machines. This made me wonder if the reverse was also true. Now, the standard Genesis controller pad has three more buttons than a Commodore joystick, and this fact is what made me wonder if the controller would be a problem to use on a Commodore. Deciding that the worst I could do was blow a fuse, I borrowed a Genesis controller pad and gave ita shot. It did in fact work—the directional buttons all

corresponded correctly, and the B button was

COMMODORE WORLD

equivalent to the standard joystick fire button. But I did notice a problem: part of the keyboard nolonger worked when thecontrollerwas plugged into joystick port 1. This means that some of the extra function: the pad are interfering with other lines, and this might cause eventual failure of the 1/0 chip that controls the keyboard and joystick port.

At this point, I wouldn't suggest using such a controller. However, since controllers like this are relatively cheap and easily available locally, we'll present simple modifications toadapt these for use ona Commodore in next issue's Hard Tips column.

Tuse G 128 v2.0 for my business.

GeoCale, geoFile and geoWrite are

really great programs for what I need.

However, In

[128] that will allow multiple printouts. 1

understand that Perfect Print by CMD does

multiple printouts, but only in High Quality

mode. I need this for Draft or NLQ modes. There

is a program called “WRITEPATCH” on GEnie,

butitonly workson geoWrite 64. Doyouknow of a program or patch that could help?

Russ Tahsler

rogram or patch for geoWrite

[believe that there is a desk accessory for printing called TEXTPRINT that will do what you're looking for. You

can find the latest version of this on GEnie, file number 14110, filename TEXTPRNTV2.SDA, Since it sounds like you're a GEnie member already, you might ask S.EYRSE who uploaded this file for details, Steve is very knowledgable about GEOS and printers, so he may have other suggestions or recommendations.

Ihave been workingin CP/M forsome years and own a C128D with PPI RAMDrive and CMD FD-2000, plus two 1571 drives, In the manual for the FD-2000, itstates, “CMDis currently looking fora driver or patch that willenablethe useof 1.6MBand3.2MB disks under CP/M.” You can of course do this on aCMD HD drive but I was not aware of thisat the time or] would have purchased an HD (the price was over [Australian] $1000 at the time). know howto patch CP/M with SID or Edfil so if | was given the patch information and full details of where to install same I could hand the job. Any help you can give me would be very welcome.

Alastair Hay

Unfortunately, there isn'tany solution

in sight. CP/M programmers are even

more rare than CP/M users, and CMD. hasn't located any third party capable of and willing to create the necessary patches.

»

JUST ASK!

Having trouble getting your system to do what you want it to, or think you've got something wrong with your hardware? Just Asking may be able to help find a solution, or get you pointed in the right direction, Send your questions to:

CW Just Asking

c/o Creative Micro Designs, Inc. P.O. Box 646

East Longmeadow, MA 01028-0646

Issue 4

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. baud rate: The Phoenix Network * Some of the Best & Brightest members of Pen ia sfotunissD =ratins: P.O. Box 30757 Q-Link! Maybe even someone you know: 2400 baud: @D <return> Flagstaff, AZ 86003-0757 Sholom Cicada Snickers/CatsO 3. At Terminal = type: D1

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800-869-1168 Fax Mystique LtWorf Julia a: Fai ei ai =a S>. Plus many many more! Join us! Meet some f Shaw. ee thetho en KO i old friends and make new ones too! lonacesssilo The Phoenix, Volume 1, Number 4 bd COMMODORE WORLD

Din

COMMODORE AND Compu

CBM Liquidation Still Unsettled A full five months after assets remains unsettled, It does appear that the end of the s the field of choices has been narrowed

Commodore's

waiting periodisin sight, howev toCommodoreU.K.,and CEI (a Florida-based company). A third company, based in Europe, is reportedly looking into placing a bid, but has not yet done so. At press time, new rumors indicated that the previously private

bidding process was now to become public, with one last round of bids to begin immediately, Our sources, however, indicate that this is not the case. Otheraspects ofthe liquidation have also come to light in the past few days, so Commodore World will be providing a more in-depth update in our next issue. And, who knows? Maybe we'll even have some clue as to who the next

company to ignore us 8-bitters will be.

Grapevine Ceases Operation The Grapevine Group, well known in Commodore circles as a suppli

both new and refurbished Commodore equipment and parts, recently transferredall remaining inventory toanew corporation, Global Upgrade Ine, The new company will focus on repairs and upgrades, and also plans to serve as a distributor of parts to other existing dealer facilities, Dealers and other interested parties are urged to contact Global Upgrades forinformation concerningavailability and pricingofequipment and parts. Global Upgrades, Inc,, 121 West Nyack Road, Suite 6, Nanuet NY 10954. (914) 624-3200, (914) 624-3239 (fax).

and repair

CMD Releases geoCable II

The new geoCable II has recently started shipping from CMD. It connects printers equipped with a standard Centronics port to the Commodore 64/128 User port for high-speed parallel printing with GEOS andothergeoCable- compatible softy version of the geoCable provide through port that allow you to keep another User port device (such asa modem) attached atall times. The switch toggles the User port output between the printer port and add to the versatility of this device cable, which attaches to a DB-2 circuit board. The standa

re. This

ass-through port. To standard ‘PC’ parallel printer oCable IL rd unit comes supplied with a 6 fi. printer cable

it uses

connector located on the ¢

adisk contain 'OS printer drivers, and an installation/user's n for $29.00, A version supplied with a 15 ft. printer cable sells for $34.00. Creative Micro Designs, Inc,, P.O, Box 646, East Longmeadow MA 010 : (413). 525-0023 (information), (800) 638-3263 (orders), (413) 0147 (fax),

COMMODORE WORLD

announcing liquidation, the disposition of

er of

R INDUSTRY News

GEnie’s Commodore RT Makes Special Offer The Commodore RT on GEnie is offering $50.00 worth of free services during the first month tonew members, Inaddition to this special offer, the Commodore RT is also sponsoring an upload contest from October 16 through December 31, 1994. The contest offers numerous weekly prizes of free time for weekly winners, plus hundreds of dollars worth of free time and gift certificates to be awarded to the top five uploaders over the length of the entire contest, GEnie is the official support network for CMD, GEOS, Color 64 BBS, Parsee, plus other companies, software and shareware authors. The

Commodore RoundTable provides a vast resource of public domain software, with over 16,000 files uploaded for the Commodore 64, 128, and even the Plus/4. In addition to the file libraries, Commodore users can participate in nightly Real Time Conferences (RTCs), multi-player games, an active message area, special conferences with exciting guests, games, and more. Enjoy the entire breadth and wealth of personal computing with all the news, features, games, information and other special interests available on GEnie.

Founded in 1985, GEnie is an on-line information service consisting of hundreds of RoundTables (Ri le around the world, Each RoundTable is focused on a specific area of interest such as Commodore computers, IBM computers, cars, movies, family issues, medical, law, military and banking ete.

The monthly subscription fee i: four hours of standard connect time us: additional hour is only $3.00 per hour.

For more information concerning rates, local access numbers (including 800 numbers forthosein rural areas), additional servicesand other charges, and to join GEnie, refer to the information below, or nie Client Services toll-free at: 1-800-6:

5 per month which includes up to ¢ at 300-1200-2400 baud, Each

GEnie Sign-up Procedure: 1. Set your terminal program for half-duplex (local echo) at 2400 baud. Recommended communications parameters: 8 bits, no parity stop bit (8-N-1). . With your modem, dial toll-free in the U. Canada at 1-800-387-8330, . Upon connection, type HHH At the U#= prompt, type JOINGENIE and press <RETURN> At the offer code prompt enter DHE524 to get this special offer. 5. Have a major credit card ready. In the U.S, you mi checking account number. There is a $2.00 monthly fe accounts. In Canada, VISA and MasterCard only. 7. Instant computerized verification will get you on GEnie without waiting. Type COMMODORE at any GEnie menu to move directly to the Commodore RT.

w

ilso use your for all checking

Issue 4

User Group CONNECTION

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL USER GROUP

IOWA

Commodore User's Group, Ames Region PO Box 2302

Ames, IA 50010-2302

LOUISIANA

Acadiana Commodore Computer Club 416 Dale Street

Lafeyette, LA 70501

New Orleans Commodore Klub (N.0.C.K.) P.O. Box 850306 New Orleans, LA 70185-0306

MICHIGAN

Down River Commodore Group PO Box 1277

Southgate, MI 48195

OF SOFTWARE 64/128

NEW JERSEY Rancocas Valley Users Group 806 Windsor Drive Cinnaminson, NJ 08077-3717

NEW YORK

Brentwood Commodore Computer Club c/o Public Library

2nd&d4th St.

Brentwood, NY 11711

Hudson Valley Commodore Club

c/o G.T. Gallagher

620 Plainfield St.

Kingston, NY 12401

TEXAS

Metroplex Commodore Comp. Grp. P.O. Box 813

Bedford, TX 76095

; FREE SOFTWARE nd you a FREE issue of

WASHINGTON University of Washington CCUG P.O. Box 25878

Seattle, WA 98125

Attention User Groups!

Send us your group's name, contact person’s name and phone number, when and where you meet, number of members, andan address where users can write to you. Please send your group info to:

CW UG Connection

c/o Creative Micro Designs, Inc. P.O, Box 646

East Longmeadow, MA 01028-0646

No kidding. Call 1-800-831-2694 now or mail your valuable FREE SOFT- WARE CERTIFICATE, and we'll send you a FREE issue of LOADSTAR , the Commodore” software subscription, That way, you can explore our revolutionary “subseribe-to-a-disk-of-software” concept for yourself!

Each monthly issue contains 7-10 programs and features on two 5.25" disks or one 3.5" disk. Imagine getting features like these on every issue:

* Utilities *Puzzles *Games

“Applications *Tutorials *Graphies

*Music *Reviews and more! coo} 2/94

Volume 1, Number 4

318-221-8718 test service!

an complete

State/Province:

Zip/Mail Code:

fer available in U. S. and Canada

International-call for information. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

COMMODORE WORLD

FOADSTAR

Compression is the encoding of text

or da

so that it takes up less room in memory, or even in telecommunications. Less space usu

on di

lly equals less money. Anyone who has spent time on-line knows: the smaller the file, the cheaper it is to download. If you spend 8 cents per minute, you want to download the compressed version in ten instead of — the uncompressed version in) 25 minutes, Thi why we ARC, ZIP archive files and

minutes

groups of file

Advances in both the electronics and compression industries have opened whole new industries,

bee

of compression. Your television set “downloads” data from the air and shows it on the fly. It could download a sharper, ¢ picture, but because of limitations such as bandwidth (and that your TV is designed for a decades old

signal) television won't get any clearer without new standards of compression and decompression. Right now some digital cable boxes download, decompress and route hundreds of channels to homes, mainly because ofnew SOFTWARE, not new hardware,

In layman's terms, compression will fit two or more channels worth ofvideoandsoundinto one channel. This means your local cable delivery system can deliver more product— and charg

youmore. As wemove to

COMMODORE WORLD

THE CONNECTION

NeEws FROM COMMODORE-RELATED VENDORS AND PUBLISHERS

high definition television, the high number of channels available may decrease sin

high definition means high information.

Frost & Sullivan project that the need to compress motion video is what will spur the expansion of the data compression market to si . The market is projected to grow from $101 million in 1993 to 1999 levels of $667 million, ata compound rate 5 percent, That growth will ion's

times its current size by 19

of

accelerate because of compre key role in emerging applications such as video conferencing, digital television, electronic identification systems, desktop publishin, cellular, and digital answering machines. Compression squeezes the enormous amounts of data involved in digital transmission down so it will fit through current delivery channels.

Commodore compression is just

video

as valuable to its users and developers. LOADSTAR is joining the compression craze. Though we're not using anything as ted as MPE nd JPE we're compressing our programs as wellas our text, As LOADSTAR has. grown, so have the programs— there's often no room for everything we want on a particular issue. We began compressing programs long ago, and we're in search of better and faster program crunchers that are transparent to the C-64/128 operating system, Now we've added text to the ranks of the compressed. We can save 35% of the disk sp used by documentation and editorials, and route that space to

sophisti 3

ace

either more text or more programs.

A few issues ago we discussed adding a third double-sided disk to the magazine, which would have been expensive, causing not only

production costs to go up, but shipping. With the monthly newsletter we're right on the weight limit now. One more tenth of an ounce and our shipping costs skyrocket,

So beginning with issue #124, we went compressed, Our new presenter will read text from the dis and decompress it on the fly, tot:

ly transparent to the user, We thank Gene Barker of Madman Software

for the compression scheme.

If any amming wizard out there can create an executable header that could be attached to the beginning of ARC and/or.LZH files that will self dissolve and RUN programs packed with ARC250, please create it and submit it to LOADSTAR; we'll pay you for it. This product would be essentially an SDA module that writes to memory instead of disk, then RUNs the program. The module should

pros

NOT useimportant vectorsand zero page locations, leaving the OS quirky and buggy. If it does use zero page extensively, it should repair it afterwards. We'd also be interested ina BLOAD tool that would LOAD individually ARCed files into

memory and decompress them to

otherareasofmemory. These would be extremely valuable tools for

programmers—and LOADSTAR.

- Jeff Jones Associate Editor, LoadStar

10

—CEE-64

In the last month or so, I've been takingalookatthesupportavailable for our Commodores, and in all honesty, I'm overwhelmed, When companies such as Creative Micro 64 Alive!, Loadstar, ., have employees that

Designs, C dieHard, e

ic put in well over 12 to 14 hour days working strictly on -- products, it's a good sign that our computers are doing well, and in fact, thriving.

Last night, I spent two or three hours attending a conference on GEnie with Doug Cotton and Mark Fellows as the guests. | logged off sometime around one o'clock in the morning, andalthough Iwork “third shift” on CEE-64 Alivel, I had to wonder how Mark and Doug (who. had already put in very full days at CMD) could manage to stay awake and alert after such a long day. The questions asked of them weren't necessarily easy ones to answer, either. I found that even I w: out afterwards!

I've just finished putting the final touches on CEE-64 Alivel’s latest issue, and I'm still on the natural “high" [get when | finish an i it seems the perfect time to writemy column for Commodore World. Actually, that’sthe excuse. The truth is, this columnis the last item on my “Get This Done or ELSE” list, and soon as I have this slashed off, I can go play. [have great plans to load up The Fun Graphics Machine and createa

worn

sue, SO

masterpieces, Once these are done I'll load up my term

Issue 4

program and go check out my favorite bulletin boards.

This is yet another thing I find amazing about those of us who spend our “working days” using our Commodores—we rarely seem to tire of them, and when not doing something that could be called “work”, we're often times found “playing” using thesame computers! Then again, if caught doing something “fun”, T can always use the excuse that I'm checking it out for the magazine. Sometimes, leven get away with i

Goodies packed into Issue #4 includea shareware program on our newsletter disk called E: whichn loading program from any disk drive or other device very easy, a demo of a new game, Phil Heberer's soon to be famous GEOS Cheesecake, and Jack Vander White has resumed his popular BASIC programming column again. Oh, and of course we have a ton of information in our littlebits and otherbits columns this timearound.

Loader,

- Gaelyne Moranec Editor, CEE-64 Alive!

ieHar

Hi, I'm Jerry Hill and you've never heard of me. I'm the new Associate Editor here at dieHard. That means I get to do all the stuff Brian doesn't want to. That also means I get tolet you know a little bit about the October issue of dieHard as well as let a few of my personal skeletons out of the closet, The October dieHard is a caldron bubbling over with programming spells like Popcorn 64, an interesting little bite of high-tech HIRES, and Random Musicforthe VIC 20, suretogenerate a few shrieks and wails (probably from your family)! Ourfeaturespells thismonth deal with “Grappling the Great Gooey”, an in depth series on GEOS for beginners, and “Exterminating the 1541/71 Relative File Bug”. Throw all of our regular features into the brew and

Volume 1, Number 4

you've got the makings of a fine Halloweentreat. Topthewholething off with some great digitized Halloween graphics and a handful of Print Shop graphics and commodore just might come back from the grave to see what we've done with their machine! Some of you may know me a little from Q-Link (RIP!) or GEnie as Animal6 or Animal. Maybe not. Most of my BBSing done locally in the Tacoma/Seattle area until Brian lured me to Boise with the promise of getting paid to play with commodores. I hope to be spending alot moretimeonGEnieand Delphi so I can stay in constant touch with the telltale heartbeat of the commodore nation. [bought my first commodore 64 in 1988, hooked it up to my little black-and-white TV, and started using GEOS with one disk drive! I bought a printer for our second wedding anniversary. My wife still hasn't forgiven me for that, even though the printer helped her through college. I've had just about any job a guy could have and I must say I never dreamed I would get to turn my hobby intoa publishingjob. I suppose that’s enough about me. Maybel'll be backagain next month (if Brian lets me out of my cage!). Until then, never let the monsters gain onyouandalwaysbea diellard!

Jerry Hill Associate Editor, dieHard

FUN GRAPHICS

MACHINE

Last month we jumped into FGM's LINKED SCREENS. You can work on and print two or three screen: across/down without linking, but it’s a whole lot easier if you link the screens and use them that way. Linking the screens is provided to make FGMing easier, not to complicate it.

When screens are linked two- across the third screen in memory is availabletouseasa workspace, oras a backup/oops screen. You can COPY (pg. 18) one of the linked

screen areas to the third screen, safely make changes toi there, then COPY or TRANSFER it back to the linked screen area. Or, you could load an s. screen file to the third n (perhaps fonts or graphi To COPY a linked screen area to the third screen, use this process:

1, Press SHIFT X to go to the third screen, Clear the third screen (SH CTRL £). “OPY must find a clearscreen area to copy to. NOTE: Ifany other screen isalsoclear place anxorsomething onit, else COPY may place the copy there instead. . Press x to go back to the linked screens. Continue pressing x until the linked screen area you want to COPY is visible. 4, Pressc. Thescreenshouldreverse/ unreverse to indicate that the screen has been copied. Press SHIFT X to go back to the third screen.

w

To COPY the third screen back to the linked screen area, clear the linked screen area where you want the third screen to go, then goto the third screen and press C. Or, use GRAB (pg. 23), TRANSFER (pg. 44), or ADJUST’s CAPTURE (pg. 41) to move selected areas of the third screen to the other screen area

Now let's touch on down-linking the the screens you'll have three single stacked” oneovertheother. Marginand wordwrapareavailable. One important use for this would be if you wanted to do a column for a newsletter. When you save down- linked screens FGM uses the third ter in the filename as a key to its location (see pgs. 13-14). If you give a filename of “s.al cats”, when you go to save down-linked screens the prog screen screen

OK, let's say we want to do two columns, each three screens down. When you go to save the second column of screens, use a starting filename of “s.a2 cats” and the the three screens

creens. When you down-link

screen!

n will save the second “s.b1 cats”, and the third

program will s

an

2 cats”, “s.b2 cats”, and “s.c2 cats”. Now, remember back to last month; the fourth character is the key for across-linked screens, Not only have we saved two sets of three down-linked screens, but we have named in a way that they're also across-linked; ifyou press / and link the screens two-across you can load the two top columns by giving a filename of “sal cats”; ; will also be loaded. The above could beextended forthree columns starting filename of the third column of down-linked screens,

NOTE: When doing columns be sure to set the margins (pgs. 32,50) so there's some space between each column, else they'll run together. If you want lines between columns. place them outside the margins.

What if you wanted four screens down

2 ca

hree screens down will only print 8.3" down a sheet of paper (three screens equals 75 rows, most printers print 9 rows per inch, so 75/9=8.3"). Ninety rows will print ten inches down. For that you'donly use fifteen rows of the fourth screen (90-75=15). To figure how many rows for a given length simply

s X nine. Divide the result by 25 for how many screens you'll need.

‘There are several ways to do the fourth screen, My recommendation would be to down-link the screens. (so you have margins and wordwrap), do the single screen, then save the screen UNLINKED, When you go to save you're prompted SAVE LINKED YES/NO. if screens are linked. If you answer NOthen you'll be prompted te the one screen you want to save, that, then enter a filename of" cats” for the first (left), “s.d2 forthecenter (second), or“s.d3 cats for the third (right) column,

Next issue we'll get into whatever area of FGM I get the most requests for. Until then, Happy Computing...

lect

- Ron C. Hackley Co-Owner, FGM Connection 9

COMMODORE WORLD

Top Tips

THREE HELPFUL TIPS FROM A COMMODORE WORLD SUBSCRIBER

Leave the Switches Alone. It seems that a lot of Commodore owners who own non-Commodore printers with interfaces in the middle tend to set their dip switches to the transparent mode for printing from commercial

programs, and switching them back to CBM emulation for printing from BASIC and small ML programs, Since most good programs allow the users to select a secondary address, and all interfaces have one or two secondary addresses for transparent mode, changingthe switches back and forth is totally unnecessary. Simply put the interface into CBM emulation mode and on the commercial programs, select the secondary address for transparent mode (4 in most cases). While GEOS does not allow the user this option, it uses secondary address #5 (transparent no added linefeeds) which is compatible with most printer interfaces (except the Tymac Connection).

~ Ray Paternostro, Jr.

Printer Interface Power Tip

Most interfaces have an extra wire going to the cassette port for the +5V they need to function. On many printers, this power is also offered on pin#18, soitis possible to modify the interfa draw its power from the printer ins the computer. Simply solder a small wire on the interface circuit board connecting the pin #18 point with the point that the cassette wire goes to. (For interfaces that have a cable going to the printer connector, a continuity testerisextremely

J of from

We Need Your Top Tips!

Each issue we'll print the very best tips we receive from our readers, Send your using and programming your Commodore 64 or 128 to:

CW Top Tips

c/o Creative Micro Designs, Inc, P.O. Box 646

East Longmeadow, MA 01028-0646

COMMODORE WORLD

helpful.) Sincenotall printers supply this voltage it would be helpful to determine if the voltage is present on the printer connector before attempting this modification. To do this, turn the printer on and *very carefully* use a multimeter set for DC volts on pins #18 (positive) and #16 (signal ground) for +5V. Be VERY careful not to touch the probes on the adjoining pins! Ifyouare not comfortable with this type of work or don't access to the equipment mentioned, someonein yourlocal users group probably does, that printers by § Micronics and Panasonic do have the necessary power on the printer connector. When this is done and the printeris working, the cassette wire can be removed from the serial connector.

~ Ray Paternostro, Jr.

have ea

Also, 1 know for cert

[Editor's Addendum: If you own a Micrographics MW-350printer interface, italready has thisfunction built-in. Also, years back, after writing a review for the (at that time) new Cardco G-Wiz printer interface and rec ‘ommendinga similar modification, I received They warned that some printers that supplied power on pin 18 of

a letter from Cardco concerning this,

the Centronics port may not have ample reserves to power Commodore printer interfaces, since the interfaces themselves generally do not use low power circuitry. We feel obliged to pass on this warning, even though we've never encountered a problem with

this ourselves.)

12

Better Video Tip Commodore 64 and 128 computer all have what is referred to as the composite video connector on the back which is used to connect a video monitor. However, many 64/128 owners who are using a Commodore monitor are not getting the best picture possible if they have an aftermarket video cable going from the computer to the monitor. The video connector offers both composite video on one pin, and the Chroma and Lumasignals(referredtoasseparated/LCA video) on two other pins. Every aftermarket cable I've seen only has a five-pin DIN connector which utilizes the composite pin, sometimes the Luma Sync pin (which gives a black and white picture hooked up to [the] composite video jack on a monitor/VCR), but never the Chroma pin. Compounding the problem is [the fact] that the eight pin DINjackused for composite videoisnot astandard jack; the top two pinsarespaced farther apart, preventing a normal eight pin DIN plug (Radio Shack #274-026) from fitting it. The solution is to cut off/pop out the top two pins since they are not used and after removing the five pin DIN plug from your video cable, solder the wires into the appropriate pins. The diagram, below is from the C128 System Guide.

+ Ray Paternostro, Jr.

C128 Composite Video Port (as seen from rear of computer)

Definition

Lum/Sync Output Ground

Audio Out

Composite Video Out Audio In

Chroma (color) Output Not Used

Not Used

OY HDH OMA

Issue 4

CK ISSUES

For years, RUN Magazine provided Commodore Users with a great source of information, and now CMD has given you Commodore World. Don't let this valuable information slip away—fill in the voids in your library now!

RUN Magazine Back Issues Any 3 issues for $12.00, any 6 for $18.00, or any 12 for only $24.00

RMJAN88 January 1988 RMOCT89 October 1989 RMFEB88 February 1988 RMSP89 Special Issue 1989 RMMAR88 March 1988 RMJAN90 January 1990 RMAPR88 April 1988 RMMAYS90 May 1990. RMMAY88 May 1988 RMJUNSO June/July 1990 RMJUN88 June 1988 RMDEC90 December 1990 RMJUL88 July 1988 RMJAN91 Jan/Feb 1991 RMFEB89 February 1989 RMJAN92 Jan/Feb 1992 RMMAY89 May 1989 RMMAR92 March/April 1992 RMJUN89 June 1989 RMMAY92 May/June 1992 RMJUL89 July 1989 RMJUL92 July/August 1992 RMAUG89 August 1989 RMSEP92 Sep/October 1992 RMSEP89 September 1989 RMNOV92 Nov/December 1992

Shipping: 3 or 6 issues - U.S. $3.00, Canada $5.00, Foreign $15.00; 12 issues U.S. $5.00; Canada $7.00; Foreign $20.00.

Commodore World Back Issues $4.95 each, or any 3 for only $12.00

cwi-1 Volume 1, Number 1 CW1-3 Volume 1, Number 3 Cw1-2 Volume 1, Number 2 CW1-4 Volume 1, Number 4

Shipping: U.S. and Canada $2.00 per issue; Foreign $5.00 per issue. TO ORDER CALL 1-800-638-3263

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Recipient of the dleHard magazine Seal of Approval.

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Send check of money order for $19.99

Volume 1, Number 4

Dependable Service for your Commodore! C64, 1541, C128, or 1571: $15.00 PLUS PARTS

Send computer (& powor supply) or disk drive with name, address, phone, & describe problem. We'll call with parts estimate. Repaired unit is returned to you via UPS. Payment can be COD, VISA, M/C, or DISCOVER.. Minimum charge for estimate only is $10.00.

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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PREHISTORIC MAN

tth your host, Salishury Smythe, of Publte Hettwork Telewtston COMMODORE 64/128 IN 64 MODE

A new Public Network Television documentary describes a typical day in the life of a prehistoric man! Collect bones, save your mate, dodge dinos, and find diamonds as you spend your day as a caveman!

Send check or money order for $19.95 to: CREATIVE PIXELS P.O. Box 592 Library, PA 15129

(Copyright 1994

JC Hilty Productions

COMMODORE WORLD

Just For Starters

by Steve Vander Ark

7,

SOFTWARE: WHAT YOU BOUGHT YOUR COMPUTER TO USE

Last issue we talked about disk drives. | said then that you would more than likely want a disk drive because virtually all Commodore software comes on disks, Ifyou want to run any software, then, you need a disk drive, There are exceptions own a few games on cartridges, for example— but these are rare. As I described the way a disk drive works, T talked about a certain type of program calledaword processor. A word processor is one type of software program you can bu

‘There are many other types, and in this issue I'll mention some of the most common and tell a little bit about what they do.

Before | do that, however, let me define a few terms. One that I have alr around quite a bit is software. Software is a fancy name for a program that you run on your computer; the word usually refers in general to the program, the disk it comes on, and any paperwork that also comes in the package. If someone says that they're using GEOS software, for example, that means they bought and are using the package called GEOS, which includes several disks and a hefty manual in a box. The program itself, (a program, as | mentioned last issue, is a list of instructions for the computer to do a particular job), is recorded on the disks. In the case of the GEOS software, there are many more than one single program, and that’s often the case, The word software refers to the whole business, Software is the opposite of hardware, which is a general term for all the equipment you are using. The monitor is hardware, in other words, as are the keyboard and the disk drive. When you use a computer, you'll be using both hardware and software,

ady been bouncing

COMMODORE WORLD

There is a word for all the paperwork that comes with a software package, whether that’s a large manual such as the one that comes with S ora single Xeroxed page, asis the case with The Blues Brothers game. This is called documentation, and good documentation is important for anyone who is planning to use any particular software package, That's because the documentation tells the user how to work the program: how to start it going, how to make

various things happen, how to save any data the program tes, and so on, Obviously, the documentation can make a big difference in how nt a software package is to use.

There are basically two types of software for St type is entertainment software (games, in other words) and the other is

easy and pleass

computers. The f

productivity software. When you bought your computer, you probably had in mind one or the other of these types of software, You wanted to play someexciting computer games, for example, or you wanted to use a spreadsheet to help

14

organize your finances. Chances are you will actually do some of both, but deep down your real reason for needing the computer was either to be entertained or to do work, Now you need to consider what kinds ofsofiwareto buy toget your computer doing what you want it to do.

Game softwareis a general description for alot of types of computerized entertainment. Which kind you buy will depend on what you like. I ard’s

happen to like role-playing games like the Tale series or the AD&D games from SSI Inc. My daughter, on the other hand, prefers arcade games like the Blues Brothers game | mentioned a minute ago, My wife is a fan of strategy games like Quink or Swap, or word games. There are a lot of games which call themselves educational, and that usually means that they drill the player onsome kind of factual knowledge or skillas part e; they can be arcade games,

of the role-playing games, or strategy games, Whatever your preferences, you'll find a game or two to keep you happily glued to the monitor sereen. Here are a few more things you should know

about game software:

- Alot of games require a joystick, especially the arcade titles. You can usea joystick from an old Atari video game, if you have one, or buy one from a mail order firm. Make sure you get a Commodore-compatible joystick. A mouse can be used in joystick mode, although many games don’t play very well that way.

- Some games, particularly the role-playing games, ask for a blank disk to store game information on. That way youcan starta game

Issue 4

“PLAN ON KEEPING A SET OF DISKS TO HOLD THESE FILES AND ORGANIZE RIGHT OFF THE BAT”

from where you left off or go back and start from the last time you saved the game ifyou get crunched (a nice feature for lame gamers like me). They may want you to have the disk already formatted, which is something I'll talk more about next issue.

- Generally speaking, you shouldn't remove a disk from the disk drive unless told to by the program. Most games use files from the disk every so often and ifyou've removed the disk, the game will not be able to keep working.

Fora lot of people, myselfincluded, games take a back seat to productivity software. Productivity software includesalot of different packages which are tools to get work done. The word processor is a good example of a common productivity software title. With a word processor, you can create any kind of text, form a short note toa long, article or book, entirely on the computer screen. Only when the text on the screen is edited and correct do you print the whole thing out on a printer. Word processors are probably the most popular productivity programs around,

The database is another example of productivity software. With a database program, you collect pieces of information, such as names and addresses, in a form that the computer can look through easily. You might put those names and addresses into a database, then use the computer to look through the list for a specific name. The big advantage of this instead over, say, an address book, is that the computer can look things up very quickly and efficiently. You could ask the computer to look up someone with the first name of Mark, for example, and it would do that even though the database kept the information in alphabetical order by last name. You could also ask the computer to look up two things at once, such as finding anyone named Mark who also happens to live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Volume 1, Number 4

Athird common type of productivity software is the spreadsheet. A spreadsheet is kind of like a fancy calculator. The display of a spreadsheet looks like a bunch of boxes or a grid. You type words or numbers into the spaces, then tell the computer to fillin another space with the results of some math function using the other numbers. If that was too confusing, try this example. Ifyou wanted to keep track of expenses for your computers) [sheet program with spaces for all your different purchase spaces for things you haven't bought yet. As you spend your money, you enter the amount spent into these somewhere on the spreadsheet you'd set aside a space to show the running total of all the spaces. This number will change as you add or adjust thenumbersin theotherspaces. Youcould even create a space to subtract that total from a preset amount that you've budgeted for your computer, thereby letting the spreadsheet tell you how much you have left to spend.

Part of the power of a spreadsheet is that you can use it to try out various options or “what if” scenarios. In yourcomputer budget spreadsheet, for instance, you could enter various prices for monitors, comparing the grand totals for each one, to help you make a decision about which to buy. This kind of power makes a spreadsheet a must for anyone who works with numbers. Here's a few more things worth noting about productivity software:

ystem, you could set up aspi

You can even

- Whereas most games use the joystick, most productivity software uses the keyboard or (even better) a mouse.

Most productivity sofiware is going to create data: word processing documents, databases, spreadsheets, and so on. Plan on keeping a set of disks to hold these files and organize right off the bat. It's much easier to save thingstothe right disks now than to sort them all later.

15

- Make sure you know what you hope to accomplish before you buy the software. A great-sounding software package might not really be able to do what you need it to.

- Back up your data often, This means that you should make copies of your data disks regularly, Next issue we'll be talking more about the disk commands that will help you

manage your collection.

Sofiware for the Commodore is not always easy to come by. There are some excellent companies out there still carrying software titles in all these categories, however. Commodore-specific magazines like Compute’s Gazette and RUN have published a lot of great programs over the years in all categories. You can even get programs for practically nothing from on-line services such as GEnie. Before you buy a program, though, try to getan opinion from another Commodore user. A wonderful place for that kind of interaction is a Commodore user group, which is what computer clubs are inform:

‘alled. Check a local computer store for ion about any local groups that support the Commodore computers,

Next issue, as | said, I'll discuss some of the most often used disk commands you'll need to handle your collection of disks and the files on them. Until then, have fun with your Commodore. If you'd like to reach me, write to for a quicker response, you can email me on GEnie by sending mail to S.VANDERARK or on the Internet by sending your mail to:

me in care of this magazine;

S.VANDERARK@GENI

S.COM Email letters will get answered immediately,

while the Post Awful, er, U.S. Mail variety might languish for a few months.

A)

COMMODORE WORLD

Foreign Exchange

By Joseph Gaudl

SD

FLASH 8: GERMAN HI-TECH FOR THE COMMODORE 64

Weshouldall beshouting FLASH 8 miracle module has arrived!” Surely something as spectacular as a piece of hardware guaranteed to pump your C-64 up to8 Megahertz should demand front page status. | write this

Stop the pres:

month's Foreign Exchange, however, with a bit of

hesitancy. It's not due to the fact that the thing doesn’t work. It doeswork, and workrathernicely at that. It’s just that FLASH 8 had been hyped for so long over here in Europe, then trashed, then hyped again; shortly after that it disappeared F the bankruptey, then resurfaced with another

again when manufacture declared company and on and on and on. Many of us snickered when 64/er magazine announced a FLASH 8 test report in their July 1994 issue, The testresultswere very good, and wewere pleasantly surprised! Before I give you a rundown on what FLASH 8 can and cannot do, though, let me give you some background information on the development of the card.

The German based hardware company, Rofmiiller Handshake, was rather active in the Commodore 64 market before leaving for the then lucrative Amiga market in 1992. Rofmiiller was later approached by the editors of 64 er magazineandaskedifthe company coulddevelop a card for the C-64 which would increase it’s processing speed. Ro&miiller agreed to give it a shot, and got back into the C-64 hardware business. In the late summer of th; first prototype was sent to 64 er. The card showed great promise, but had many flaws, When the editors questioned RoRmiillerabout these flaws, they were told that it would only takea few weeks to resolve them. Rofmiiller then started a very expensive advertising campaign of full page ads in German computer magazines, which abruptly

ameyearthe

COMMODORE WORLD

came to an end in February 1993. While all of Europe waited for “The Card”, Ro&miiller was y stalling for time and apparently having serious financial problems. The company was

obvious

bombarded with letters and calls from user groups, individuals, and software and hardware companies who wanted or needed information on FLASIL 8's progress. Some poor souls had even ordered and paidin advance to insure getting a card once production started.

In June of 1

Rofkmiiller threw in the towel and declared bankruptey. The editors of 64'er showed no mercy on the company, and in their July issue called FLASH 8 “a junk pile” and questioned the ethies of the company's owner, FLASH 8 was written off as a failure, and the project was dead. RIP. Yeah, right,

Like an old Christopher Lee vampire movie, Rofmiiller received new blood ($)andnew life. A new company ¥ ASH 8 was resurrected and presented asa nearly completed product at the Hobbytronic show in Dortmund, Germany in February.

That's the background, Let’s get down to the specs. Just what can FLASH 8 do and not do’ the bad news. C-128 owners can forget FLASH 8; it just won't work with your computer—not even in C-64 mode. The card itself is currently being sold, but the software and firmware is still a bit “buggy”. Each card must be adjusted to the C-64

‘as formed, and

16

it's attached to. This is a trial and error process which can take a bit of time, FLASH 8 is not yet fully compatible with CMD devices, and cannot beused with Commodore REUs. GEOS users will have to install patches that change the GEOS Kernal, CONFIGURE file, and even the 1351 mouse driver files permanently. Disk access is not accelerated and from ten tested games, only one worked with the FLASH 8. This is due to the fast loaders built in to most ofthe modern games.

Not all the news is bad, though. FLASH 8 is a computer in itself. The heart of the unit isa 16-bit 65C8 16 processor which can emulatea 6502. The card is sold in two versions: one with 256 KB of RAM, the other with a full Megabyte. Both have a27C512 EPROM which contains the operating system. Programs which do run with the card, run fast! Working and scrolling in a geoPaint document is really impressive. Vizawrite, Printfox, StarPainter, xterand Hillddi are some of the programs that have been tested over here and work extremely well with the FLASH 8. Programmers will have a ball writing games and otherapplications forthe card, Included with the product is a CP/M emulator, a macro library of the new processor instructions, and a patch for S. There are also instructions for using a parallel hookup to a 1541 drive with the card.

My opinion of FLASH 8 can be summed up in the following sentences: It has great potential and expectations are running very high. If Rofmiiller can deliver complete compatibility with proven devices and software, FLASH 8 will sell and sell big. Commodore World will present test reports in an upcoming issues, so stay tuned. Foreign Exchange will keep you posted on thisand other C-64/128 developments overseas,

9

Issue 4

STOP THE

PRESS!

shown here CRUISE SHIP rage tem bo Tramporaon | gop

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Thats ight Paget, the protescnal This tk b catapread 1 more tan 1 you are sarouny ito unig you Conmodere ‘ually rage celecton for GEOS hes Aery ht (48) overt catogron syptom (ard F you read tis ragazre you are, ray nae cw 25 rag d te gTG bar Tretorn a ie, You cent tod ret af a ctr rape farsi to Sti saan ot 1d reas Boros 26, Teed Gacy, OUD B you sobre coke! Payaan pan ene prodead fx Conmatre Spore, Mak an at fet, ard runs byes) m8 you fe aby b paces at, profeoral peas rows, yrs a cect al pes This collection includes How to Order 40 page manual titled Send 19.95 plus *How to Desktop Publish’, 3.00 shipping & a complete compendium handling of tips and tricks. It also 22.95 includes selected illustra- tions of the disk images To: Pageant boumd in a loose leaf P.O Box 670431 manner. bcd Dallas, Texas 75367 check or money order

Copyright © 93 by PAGES SOFTWARE GROUP PO. Box 670431 Dakas,TX 75367 21 480 0765 Al Rights Reserved.

Volume 1, Number 4 17 COMMODORE WORLD

TELECOMM

igR Eat

Pia

MODEMS, INTERFACES, &

Sone of my dearest friends are those I've never met, but have shared conversations with via my Commodore and modem, It’s always interesting to load up my term program and find out what others have had to say ad about new happeningsin the Commodore world, and inthe remainder of the world at large. If I've been away fromit for awhile, I tend to find myselfhumming theCheersthemesongas! prepareto calla favorite bulletin board to pick up my mai able to “go” someplace where everyone there

; it’s nice to be

knows me and we each share common interests, That I can do this without leaving the comfort of my computer room is nicer still.

So how does one go about getting started with telecommunicating? Entire books have been written on the subject; but within the confines of thisarticle, I'll domy best to help you get started, I'll discuss some of the things you can enjo yourmodem, and then! ll talkaboutthe setting up a modem and term program,

via

What is Telecommunications? It's a long word, but essentially it means using your phone lines to communicate, usually via

COMMODORE WORLD

modem and computer. I personally prefer the term “BBS'in, ‘sshorterand closertowhatIactuallydowhenlusemy modem,

”, notonly becaus

butitalsoseemsmore personal. Theterm BBS'ing fits, as I call Bulletin Board Systems (BBS for short), and on-line services to read messages,

(ch up on the national news, and keep in touch.

aword for an activity that has far more “people” interaction involved in it than the computer equipment interaction used to accomplish it,

Staying in touch. Ihave a sister who lives in another state whom I

rarely talk to these days; yet, we're probably more aware ofwhat each has goingonnow than weever have been in the past. We communicate very often with each other by sending short messages

viamodem. Weeach call thesameon-lineserv: and by sending each other messages we stay in touch with each other; we've also reduced our previousphonebillsby morethan half. lalsostay in touch with friends and relatives in other countriesusing a variety ofdifferent mail services.

18

ONLINE NETWORKS

On-line services and Bulletin Boards have thatallow users to leave private public messages in a variety of different ways. There are many different names for doing these same things, depending on the system you happen to call, Some Bulletin Boards re“networked”, sothatwhen youleaveamessage pecificarea, yourmessage will appear on all the other bulletin boards which are connected to the same network. This allows people from all over the count ideas and enjoy a common bond. BBS's that are

sage systems

ges OF pa

and indeed the world, to share

networked carry individual areas, also called conferences or echoes, covering various topics. This helps to avoid clutter, and allows you to

participate in only those message conversations that interest you. For instance, if you enjoy gardening, you can find a conference (or two or three) devoted to just this topic.

Using on-lineservices and bulletin boards, you can find support for nearly any hobby (such as gardening, car racing, music, art, computers, astronomy, needle point, etc.), for most professions (medical, computer, technical, restaurants, etc), and for just about any kind of

Issue 4

UNICATIONS

Le ioe Le

selfhelp group alcoholism, diabetes, alzheimers, carpal tunnel syndrome, to name just a few). There's even support for those addicted to their computers. [Perhaps we need this? -Ed)

Access to Software

‘There's more to the world of telecommunication than messages, There domain and shareware programs to be had, If you've ever wanted a program to do something specific for you, but didn't know where to find it, chances are you can locate it on-line. And ifyou still can‘tfind it, youca nask aboutitin one ofthe many Commodore support message areas, It’s illegal for any BBS or on-line service to carry | software; so you won't find, for instance, Superbase... butyou will be able to find variety ofpublicdomain databases, one ofwhich just might be exactly what you're looking for. Sharewareisat in which if you use the program on a regular basis, you are expected to send the author payment for the program. You name the kind of software you're looking for, and you can likely find it on-line somewhere, Just a small list of the kind of things you can find for your computer online include graphic files such as geoPaint files, Doodle! graphics, Print Shop graphies and fonts; text files aboutjustabout any topicyoucan

also a wealth of public

commerci:

beforeyoubuy kind of software,

think of, including some very informative Commodore specific files; disk related prog suchascopiers, formatters, and directory editor: base programs, business programs, and of course

ms

text and sequential file editors, data

telecommuni: programs and off-line mail readers, Oh, and

tions type files such as term.

games! There are probably thousands of Commodore games available for the download.

On-Line Games

Did J mention games? Both on-line services and Bulletin Boards offer games for their users that you play on-line, and depending on the game, you either compete with another user who is ame time you are, or the system

on-line at th: saves your score along with the scores of other players and keeps

ck of your winnings. [know

Volume 1, Number 4

of one BBS that offers a computerized race track derby, gives you “BBS” money to gamble, and then lets youspend yourwinningson otherthings the board offers for auction. I recently “purchased” a box ofreal fudge this way—and it Was delivered tome personally by the people who run the bulletin board. Other BBS's ly offe or games, There are numerous solitaire type card games which can be played, dozens ofpokerstyle games, and heaps of role-playing games ranging from space adventures to dungeon type adventures. There are both bulletin boards and rvices which spe

ind serv

ust

free time on-line or other prizes

onlin

izeinon-linegames.

Research

Getting serious, there’salsoagreatdealofresearch, that can be done via modem with your Commodore. Some of the terms in the telecommunications glossary accompanying this article are from research 1 did in the process of

preparing to write this article. know, the word, can be a four letter word spelled

ch”

it's much e

“work”;

but seriously, er to use the modem to call an on-line service or BBS to find information than itis to getinthe car, drive to the library and search for what you're looking for, nd then punch it ly any kind of information you find via modem has the major

copy it down, return home,

into the computer, Gene

adv: lasttimeIwentto the library, mostofmy research accomplished by using their computer system; | discovered, after the fact, it was

connected to the rest of the world’s libraries (or so it seemed) through the Internet. | could have omplished thesame thing without everleaving

ntage of already being a computerfile, The

wi

home. Researching from home with a modem has the advantage of timeliness, too. I've found reference material that was made available just thedaybefore! wentlookingforthe information! Almost all of the major on-line services have encyclopediason-line, andnowmany ofthelarger bulletin boards also haye this facility available. The encyclopedias are especially useful if you happen tohaveachildathomeworkingonschool 8 also have databases, which

reports. The servi

19

usually cost more to use, but also offer “search” abilities so that you can search for whatever topic you're looking for and generally find it.

Classified Ads. I'vefoundsomerealba

Electronic Style gainsin used Commodore equipmentand software via modem, Many ofthe Commodore support areas offer either separate message areas with “For Sale/Wanted" type messages, or allow such messages in with the regular flow of Commodore support conversations. Naturally, once an item has been purchased, itmust be paid forandsentusually by postal mail, unless the other person happens to live nearby. Some of us live in places where we'd never beableto find that special computer device we've been looking for, but because the messages in the support areas are either national or international, itean make finding anything quite a bit easier. The same holds true for selling equipment, too. This isn’t limited to just Commodore equipment, either. Take a look at the types of things normally sold in your local newspaper's classified ads, and you will good idea ofthe variety ofmiscellaneousstuffyou can either buy or sell via modem.

ave a

What You'll Need

Now that you have an idea of the kind of things you can do witha modem, it’s time to take a look at whatit takes to connectto the rest ofthe world out there in cyberspace. Although it may seem like alot, and it may seem a little complicated, it really is just a matter of mind-set. If you can remember when you learned to tide a bike or drive a car, you'll know that you didn't learn everything you needed to know all at once. But after a time, these things became much easier, and now they're probably things you don’t even think about at all. Modeming is much the same way. Don't expect to learn everything all it once. It really is a learning process and you can take pride in each step along the way. 1 remember feeling quite proud of myself when I first downloaded a file without a hitch—after many unsuccessful tries—because | hadn't quite grasped the concept of how to goaboutit. Now I

e

COMMODORE WORLD

do this ona daily basis, and it really is something like putting the car into gear—l really don’t give it much thought any more. In other words, the first thing you need is patience with yourself, your equipment, and your software,

T'llassume you already have a Commodore 64

or 128 and jump to other equipment you'll need, Naturally, you'll needa modem. Physically, there are two different types of modems that we Commodore u an use, The first is one which will connect directly into the user port the C-64 or 128. The e Commodore specific modems, such as Commodore's 1670 modem, or an Aprotek MinimodemC orC-24. Theotherkindof modem we can use are generally any external

Telecommuni

modems designed and sold for other platform computers. “Internal” modems for other computer platforms will not work for us, but the externalsworkjust fine, and offer the convenience of being able to use it with any other computers we happen to own,

If you're going to hook up an external modem designed for other computer platforms to your Commodore, you'llneedsomething to gobetween the modem and the computer to translate the signals for you. This is called an “RS-232 interface”. There are two different types of interfaces; one which plugs into your User port, and another which plugs into the cartridge port. Which kind you need really depends on what

cation Speeds

A COMPARISON OF TRANSFER SPEEDS OF POPULAR TERMINAL PROGRAMS

I've often been asked, “What's the best terminal program?” This isn'tan easy question to answer, ‘since many terminal programs contain similar in features. And while the communication speed of ‘one program may be better than another, it may not offer you a feature that the other one does, or may have a more awkward user interface. It's important to note that the speed comparisons presented here do not tell the whole story, but

Recieve Speed (download)

they at least give you an indication of what to expect when communicating at various rates. All test results were achieved via direct null-modem connection, using text-based test files the size of which was calculated using connection speed x 12, Each program was tested forthe best possible speed by using RAM devices for transfers. Transfers using mechanical (disk) devices will be slower, especially at higher connection rates.

Program Storage Dev. Int. Handshake 2400 4800 9600 1920038400 Novaterm REU (RAMDOS) UP XON/XOFF 192 --- --- --- --- Novaterm REU (RAMDOS) SL RTS/CT. 192 339 526 7 857 Novaterm RAMLink UP XON/XOFF 200 --- --- --- Novaterm RAMLink SL RTS/CTS 200 359 593 985 Dialogue 128 REU (RAMDOS) UP XON/XOFF 200 366 - Dialogue 128 REU (RAMDOS) 200 376 608 915 Dialogue 128 RAMLink 205 371 --- --- --- Dialogue 128 RAMLink 216 391 638 1056 1120 Fritzterm RAMLink 413 734 1155 1625 REU (direct) F Say) Osi leet, Fr 2 REU (direct) SL XON/XO! 434 803 1431 Fritzterm RAMLink UP XON/XO) Desterm REU (direct) UP XON/XOFF Desterm REU (direct) SL None Transmit Speed (upload) Program Storage Dev. Int. Handshk. Novaterm REU (RAMDOS) UP XON/XOF Novaterm RAMLink UP XON/XOFF Novaterm REU (RAMDOS) SL RTS/CTS Novaterm RAMLink SL RTS/CTS Dialogue 128 REU (RAMDOS) UP XON/XOFF Dialogue 128 REU (RAMDOS) SL RTS/CTS Fritzterm RAMLink UP XON/XOFF Dialogue 128 RAMLink UP XON Dialogue 128 RAMLink SL REU (direct) UP RAMLink SL

Fritzterm

Fri x Desterm Desterm

m

x REU

(direct) SL

COMMODORE WORLD

None

ON /XOFF

kind of external modem you are going to use. If you have a 1200 or 2400 baud modem (9600 for C-128 owners), you can get away with the User port style. Some of these are still commercially available, but are becoming more rare with time. Some of the names you can look for on the used marketandin catalogs for companies which carry Commodore equipment include Aprotek, Omnitronix and Peak Peripherals. The names will usually be followed by “RS-232 Interface”. Faster modems, suchas 9600 baud (C-64 owners) and beyond require the use of a Cartridge port These can handle the faster speeds

interfi because they contain a hardware UART chip. ‘There are three of these available, two of which are available in the commercial market: CMD’s SwiftLink, and the HART Cart; the third interface is one you can make yourself or have someone a Pump. For just about any of the Interfaces mentioned, you will also need a cable, generally called a DB-25 cable (although the SwiftLink requires a DB-25 to DB-9 cable). These, luckily, are very easy to find—just about any store which carries computer equipment has them available.

I know that I just tossed a lot of unfamiliar terms at you, but you can look most of these up in the glossary provided in this issue to find out their meanings and uses.

Slowing the pace a bit, now that I've described the equipment, lets coversomeotherinformation regarding the modems and interfaces that you will need to know before deciding which will work best for you.

Some term programs (which | will discuss shortly) work better with some modems and/or interfaces than others, Most of the Commodore 1200 baud and Aprotek Commodore-ready modems will work with just about any term program available, but have the disadvantage of being slow. The modems which require an interface willalso generally work with almostany term program currently available, but not with some of the older programs such as CCGMS or QcLink’s terminal software, SwiftLink has the advantage of being readily available commercially, and both SwiftLink and the Hart Cart offer vast improvements in speed over other interfaces, But because these are relatively newer devices, there are fewer term programs which support them. On the flip side, the software that supports the SwiftLink and Hart Cart are also fairly current. The final choice in which modem and interface (if required) to purchase depends on what your own needs are, and what you want to spend on equipment.

As I've mentioned, you'll also need software called a term program, terminal program, or

make for you, called

Issue 4

sometimes called communications program. I'll stickwith term orterm program tomakeit easier. This is a program which “talks” to your modem, and allows you to do many different things once you are on-line. It tells your modem how to send information, and it interprets how the information received through the modem looks. on your screen. Because many of the best term programs offer a variety of choices on many different things, they can be very confusing at first. This other area where patience really comes into play, and reading (rereading if necessary) the documentation that comes with it is very important. Some of the term programs which are readily blecommercially, through usergroups, or via BBS's and other on-lineservices include Novaterm and Fritzterm for the 64, and Desterm and Dialogue 128 for the 128.

‘Terminal emulationissomething that the program handles for you, and it’s well worth mentioning, as many Bulletin Board systems which are run using MS-DOS style computers use what is called ANSI graphics. In fact, several ANSI graphics now, too, My very first modem call was to one of these boards, and my sereen looked very odd indeed, asIdidn'tknowanythingabout ANSI at thetime. Ifyoucalla bulletin board, and see number codes inside brackets alongside the words, you can be fairly sure that youneed to set yourterm program for ANSLemulation. Once you'vedone this, things should look far more “normal”, When calling an on-line service, however, you should probably set the emulation for “ASCII”, “Standa VP-100. Ifyou know that you're calling a BBS run on a Commodore 64 or 128, you can try C/G or ColorGraphicsemulation. Atthispoint wouldn't worry much about what each of these mean, but by experimentation, you'll find which terminal emulation works foreach system you call. Luckily, you can save your configurations within the term program, so these are not things you have to remember each time you use your modem. Usually this information is saved along with the (electronic) phone book the term program stores for you.

Commodore BBS'salso of

Places to Go!

I've mentioned the words Bulletin Board, BBS and on-line service several times, and now it’s time to talk about exactly what these are, their similarities and differences, and what each has to offer. The terms Bulletin Board and BBS are interchangeable and mean the same thing. Bulletin Boards are generally smaller systems which are run on home computers and have a little less to offer than the major on-line services which catertoa larger “audience”. Isay generally,

Volume 1, Number 4

Signing Up with On-line Service Providers

CompuServe Voice Assistance 1-800-848-8990

Terminal Program Configuration: 300/1200/2400 Baud Terminal Emulation: ASCII Full Duplex. Local Echo OFF. 71E (7 data bits, 1 stop bit, EVEN parity)

Dial (voice) 1-800-848-8199 to receive INFO such as temporary User |D numbers, temporary password, and your local access phone number for CompuServe.

Dial CompuServes local access number.

Prompt Expected Response CONNECT <RETURN>

HOST NAME: CIS <RETURN> User ID: [per supplied INFO] Password: [per supplied INFO}

Agreement Number: [per supplied INFO) Serial Number: [per supplied INFO}

Answer questions and follow the on-line instructions to complete initial sign-on.

The Phoenix Network Voice Assistance 1-800-869-1155

Terminal Program Configuration: 300/1200/2400 or 9600 baud Terminal Emulation: ANSI or ASCII Local Echo OFF 8N1 (8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit)

Call the voice support line to obtain a SprintNet access phone number for your area, To sign on, call the SprintNet number provided.

If calling at 300-1200 baud:

Prompt Expected Response CONNECT <RETURN>D<RETURN> TERMINAL= D1 <RETURN>

@ 61260433 <RETURN>

If calling at 2400 or 9600 baud:

Prompt Expected Response CONNECT @D <RETURN> TERMINAL= D1 <RETURN>

@ 61260433 <RETURN>

Answer questions and follow the on-line instructions to complete initial sign-on.

21

Terminal Program Configuration: 1200/2400/9600 baud or 14.4K bps Terminal Emulation: ANSI or ASCII Local Echo OFF 8N1 (8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit)

Phone (416) 213-6002 or (416) 213-6003

Answer questions and follow the on-line instructions to complete initial sign-on.

New Users have 1 hour to check out the system. No downloads are allowed until membershipis paid, execept for utility files, bulletins about the system, user guides and conference lists.

Voice Assistance 1-800-695-4005

Terminal Program Configuration: 300/1200/2400/9600 baud or 14.4K BPS Terminal Emulation: ASCII Full Duplex Local Echo OFF 8N1 (8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit)

Dial: 1-800-695-4002

Prompt Expected Response CONNECT <RETURN> - several times Password: FREE

Answer questions and follow the on-line instructions to complete initial sign-on.

Voice Assistance 1-800-638-9636

Terminal Program Configuration: 300/1200/2400 baud Terminal Emulation: ASCII or VT100 Half Duplex Local Echo ON 8N1 (8 data bits, 1 stop bit, NO Parity)

Dial 1-800-638-8369

Prompt Expected Response CONNECT HHHHH U#t= SIGNUP <RETURN>

Answer questions and follow the on-line instructions to complete initial sign-on. -GM

COMMODORE WORLD

On-line Shortcuts to Commodore Support

GEnie M625 CompuServe GO CBMSERVICE To find other CBM areas FIND COMMODORE Delphi GO COM COM The Phoenix Network /GO COMFORUM CRS Online J13

because there are some very major BBS's that carry almostas much ormorein the way of se

than the on-line services do, Most BBS's

ices

are free, in the sense that if you dial a local phone number to reach it, there are no charges to use it. The

exception of course, are the larger ones which offer more services. These BBS's usually are “subscription” boards, which give users who

subscribe fora period of time (usually six months

toayear) extra services or time on-line, The costs can range from as little as $10 to $100 or more. It depends entirely on what the SysOp (the person who runs the BBS) decides to charge.

On-line services the larger services which offer 8 to Data and encyclopedias, GEnie, Delphi, CompuServe, and even the soon-to-be shut down Q-Link are examples of on-line services. Usually the services charge a monthly fee which is charged to your

everything from Internet ser

credit card account whether or not you use the service for that month, and allow a specific amount of time on-line before adding more charges to your credit card. Some of the features of an on-line service may cost extra regardless of when you use the feature, Most of the services also charge a lot extra when you call during the daytime rather than during the hours between 6 PN A,

Sometimes the distinction between BBS's and on-line services get blurred. For example, services that run using BBS software, but which use extra

and

equipment to allow access toa larger number of

users than a standard BBS could normally allow, and/or offer far more in the way of features than a standard Bulletin Board. CRS and Phoenix are two such services which fall into this category. There ARE on-line services which are not

and 128 users

accessible to Commodore 6: because they require the use of specially designed MS-DOS or Macintosh software which functions only for their services; these include Prodigy, AOL (America On-Line), and Imagine!

The Big “I”

The Internet is neither here nor there. It belongs, seemingly, to no-one, and is run, seemingly, by no-one and everyone at the same time. It is the largest “network” of computer s} world, and is becoming larger every minute (literally), It's available in one form or another to almost any on-line service member, and increasingly to those who subscribe to BBS's which offersome ofthe Internet's features as part of their services. Not all on-line services provide full access to the Internet, although most offer at

stems in the

On-line Service Fees

Service GEnie

Fees $8.95/month $3.00/hr addt'l. $12.50/hr addt'l. $8.95/month $4.80/hr adat'l. $9.60/hr addt'l. $10.00/month $4.00/hr addt'l. $20.00/month $1.80/hr addt’l. $9.00/hr addt'l. No Monthly Fee $4.50/hr $6.50/hr $8.00/hr $10.00/hr

CDN$125.00/yr.

CompuServe

Delphi

Phoenix Network

CRS Online

COMMODORE WORLD

Fee Coverage Includes 4 hrs/month (non-prime)

Additional hours (Evenings & Weekends)

Daytime access surcharge

Unlimited Basic Services

Extended Services 1200-2400 baud Extended Services 9600-14,400 baud Includes 4 hrs/month (10/4 Plan) Additional hours (10/4 Plan)

Includes 20 hrs/month (20/20 Plan) Additional hours (20/20 Plan) Daytime Sprintnet access surcharge N/A

the very least “E-Mail” service. Internet E-Mail allows you to send messages anywhere in the world, and have it usually arrive at it’s intended location within just a couple of minutes, or at mostafew hours. Entire“conversations” ofseveral messages can be had with people in distant n 24 hours. It really is quite also many services which can

countries in less t amazing. There are be received through just Internet E-Mail alone, but most of these services are also available in other formats too. Newsgroups are the Internet equivalent to topic specific message bases such as

I’ve mentioned above, One such group is the COMP.SYS.CBM Usenet newsgroup which carries international conversations about Commodore computers.

Wrap Up

A modem and term program allow you to reach out and bea part of global community, whether you're communicating with a friend down the street, or with friends halfway around the world. Hopefully this article has helped you to learn What telecommunicating has to offer you, what you need in the way of both hardware and software, and about some of the places you can “visit” while in the comfort of your home with your Commodore. I hope to see you “on-line” soon!

»

Gaelyne R, Moranee writes a monthly column for Commodore users in BBS Magazine, and is Co-Sysop of Ancient Heart BBS in w, MI. n be reached via Internet ail at

gaelyne.moranec@wolverine.com.

Internet Services & Fees E-mail; Sysops will locate and upload files from FTP sites. Full access planned for ‘95. E-mail ($.15/message)

Telnet (Extended Service)

E-mail, Usenet Newsgroups (no charge). FTP, Gopher, Telnet ($3.00/month addt'l.).

None

300-2400 baud, M-F 6PM-7AM, Sat & Sun

9600 baud, M-F 6PM-7AM, Sat & Sun 300-2400 baud, Weekdays 7AM-6PM 9600 baud, Weekdays 7AM-6PM

2 hrs/day online, 2 MB/day download limit

22

None

Issue 4

103 - Officially, ‘Bell 103' whichis the standard Controlling transmission at 300 bps in the United States,

212A - Officially, ‘Bell 212A’ which is the standard controlling transmission at 1200 bps in the United States,

aljas-Aname that users canuse onabulletin board thatis nottheir own. (Also calledhandle],

ANSlemulation - The ability tosend, receive, and display ANSI graphics,

ANSI graphics -A setofcursorcontrol codes whichoriginatedon the VT100smartterminal,

answer mode - When a modem is ready to pick up the phone when it rings. After picking up the phone, the modem will attempt to make a connection with another modem. All BBS's are in answer mode.

ASCII - An acronym for American Standard Code of Information Interchange. MS-DOS style computers use this, while Commodore computers use PETASCIl. MostCBMterminal programs can translate text files between the two formats.

auto-answer-Whenamodemhasthe ability to automatically pick up the phone when the phone rings and then attempt to connect with ‘another computer.

auto-baud detect - The ability of amodem to ‘change to a lower bps rate if the computer it is calling is unable to communicate at the requested speed.

auto-download - The feature of some protocols where the BBS can automatically make your communications program start a download or upload. Novaterm’s Z-Modem download has this ability.

auto-reliable - The ability of a modem to be able to communicate both with modems that do have error-control and/or data compression, and those that do not.

batch file transfer - This is when more than one file is sent at a time by a file transfer protocol.

baud - A term referring to the speed at which modems communicate. Technically, it is the number of changes in an electronic signal per second, Since the number of changes used to be the same as the number of bits sent or received per second, bps and baud are often used interchangeably.

BBS- Anacronym for Bulletin Board System. Usually it is a home computer that has a modem attached and is waiting for calls from other computers. BBS can also be expanded more simply to ‘bulletin board’ or ‘board’.

Volume 1, Number 4

A Glossary of

Telecommunications Terms compiled by Gaalyne Moranee

block - A group of data bytes. For example, when downloading a program, block sizes of 128 or 1024 characters are common.

block size - This term, when used with either error control or data compression protocols, refers to the number of characters to be sent atone time. If error control is used, the codes are sent immediately following this block.

bps - Bits Per Second. The transmission speed of most modems is measured in baud or bps. Bpsis literally the number of bits sent by the modem every second.

buffer -To save all incoming data in memory. Most term programs have buffers. Usually what is saved to buffer is then manually saved to disk by the user.

bulletin - A special message posted on a BBS, usually written by the SysOp.

capture - To ‘catch’ text that is being sent to your computer from a BBS and put it in a buffer or a file.

capture buffer - The area in a computer's memory where a communications program stores incoming data that is to be saved.

carrier -The tone that the modem sends over the phone lines. Data is modulated onto this tone, so it is referred to as the carrier tone.

carrier detect - when the modem senses a carrier, you are connected toa BBS or online service. [Abbreviated as CD].

characters per second - The number of bytes or characters sent over the phone lines in 1 second. [Abbreviated as CPS).

chat mode - A terminal program mode used to“chat" with someone on the other end of the line. Only after the return key is hit will the line of text be sent to the modem,

checksum - Commonly used when downloading a program, and in error control protocols. The checksum is the result of a ‘mathematical equation.

Co-SysOp - Person who assists the Sysop of a BBS and has a little more access than regular users.

conference - A group of related messages ‘on a BBS. Often, many BBS's are linked together for a conference so that users on all the BBS's can see and reply to the messages,

connect speed - The speed, generally stated in bits per second, which your modem uses when it connects with another.

connection -The actual contact with another computer.

control character - Any of the 32 ASCII characters that do not print on your screen or printer, These characters are usually used to control your computer.

CRC - Stands for Cyclic Redundancy Check. CRC is a system to make sure that a block of data is as free from error as possible.

CTS - Clear To Send. This is when the modem lets the other computer know that it can send information to the other computer.

CTSIRTS - The method of flow control that uses the CTS and RTS signals on an RS-232 connection, This is a form of hardware handshaking, enabling connected systems to determine when data can be transferred.

data bits - [1] The number of bits that the ‘modem uses to represent one byte, This is usually 8, though itcan be 7, since ASCII text characters need only 7 of the 8 bits. [2] The actual data bits within a byte being sent through the phone lines.

data compression-Usingdatacompression, a modem can send information faster. Both sending and receiving modems must have this ability to use it. Itdoes not compress files which are already compressed, however.

data modem - A modem that does not have the ability to sendor receive faxtransmissions.

DB-25 - The 25 pin plug that connects an RS-232C cable to the RS-232 port. Modems generally use this connector.

DB-9 - The 9 pin plug that connects an RS-232C cable to the RS-232 port.

DCD - Data Carrier Detect. This tells the computer whether or not the modem is ‘connected to another modem.

DCE - Data Communications Equipment. These are computer peripherals that communicate. A modem is a DCE.

dialout facility - A service which you dial a local number which connects you to other computer systems. Telenet is an example.

disconnect - To hang up the phone and cause the connection between your modem and another computer to be stopped.

door - An extemal program of the BBS. Usually either games or offline mail facilities are doors.

download - To receive a computer file from a bulletin board,

DSR- Data Set Ready. Thisindicates thatthe modem is on, and ready to accept input from the computer.

23

DTE - Data Terminal Equipment. This is computer equipment which is not directly responsible for communicating, for example, the computer itself and printers,

OTR - Data Terminal Ready. The DTR signal {s sent from the computer to the modem, tolet the modem know that the computer is ready to communicate,

E-mail - Electronic mail. Messages that are sent to individual people. Through networks, its possible to send mail to anyone on any BBS in the network.

E-mail address - Similar to a postal mailing address, an address lets people know how you can be reached on a network. It may Consist of numbers and/or words.

‘echo-Areferencetoanechomailconference. For example, “This echo has too many messages.” Also used to decribe when a bulletin boardor your terminal program sends back the characters that you type.

echomail-Many BBS'shavemessagebases that are shared with other BBS's. Sometimes ‘echomail can extend across the world,

effective transfer rate - This is the rate at Which data canbesentafterdata compression has been accounted for.

error control - The ability of a modem to notice errors in trans-mission, and have any incorrect data re-sent.

escape sequence -Asequence of characters (usually +++) that teli the modem to change from data mode to command mode.

factory configuration - The way that your modem was set up when it left the factory. Typing AT&F normally returns your modem to this setting,

fall-back - The ability of amodem to change to a lower speed when there is a problem ‘communicating at the higher speed,

fall-forward - This is when a modem will change to a faster speed if line conditions improve after a fall-back occurs.

faxmodem - A modem that can send and receive faxes.

feature negotiation - Part of hand-shaking, where a modem determines the best speed, error control, and data compression protocols for connecting to another modem.

feed - Connection between a BBS and a message network.

feedback - A message that is sent by a user to the SysOp of a bulletin board,

COMMODORE WORLD

FidoNet - A public network connecting thousands of BBS’s around the world,

flow control - A method of controlling when information is or is not sent.

freq - Short for "File REQuest.” It is used to get program(s) from a BBS, without logging ‘on. Only Sysops can FREQ files from other Sysops. Users generally ask the Sysop to FREQ file(s) for them.

FIP - File Transfer Protocol. This is the method of transfering files on internet.

full duplex - The ablity to simultaneously transmit and receive data,

half duplex - Mode which allows only one modem at a time to transmit information.

hand-shaking- Generaltermforthe methods two communications devices use to synchronize with each other,

Hayos AT command set - This is the set of commands usedto operate Hayes and Hayes- compatible modems,

Hayes-compatible - Modem which supports the Hayes AT command set.

initialization string - A series of commands sent by your terminal program to configure your modem, usually when the program is started or when auto-dialing pre-defined communications service telephone numbers.

internet - This is the largest network of inked computers, Originally started by the U.S, Government.

internetaddress- This is an address usedto feach someone on the internet,

internet relay chat - On the intemet, 2 or more users to talk (type) to each other in “semi-real time". Messages may take awhile to reach each other, but quick enough that they can wait for replys and “chat.” [Same as

Kermit protocol - An almost error-free file transferprotocol usually usedfortexttransfers,

LAPM - Link Access Procedure for Modems, Atype of errorcontrolused by some modems. It Is NOT a compression method, though some modem manufacturers have incorrectly advertised it as such.

line noise - This is interference on the telephone lines, It causes garbage to appear on your screen,

local echo - This is when a communications program will send information (either that you type or from a file) to your screen, as well as to the other modem.

logoff - To leave a BBS, and disconnect the phone line. [Same as exit, quit, goodbye}.

logon - The process of connecting to a BBS, “Logon” can include the process of entering your name and password.

mailer- A program used by BBS's that allows other BBS's to call, so that mail and/or files can be transfered automatically between the two,

COMMODORE WORLD

message base - A group of messages on a BBS pertaining to a certain topic...

MNP- Microcom Networking Protocol. A type oferrorcontrol anddatacompression, created by Microcom, that many newer modems use. Wis built into the modem, unlike software error correction in file transfer protocols. There are different MNP levels, Levels 1-4 are error control protocols, and level 5 is a data compression protocol thatcan compress data to about 50% of its original size. A modem with MNP-5 alsohas MNP-4, MNP 1-4 is also included in the CCITT V.42 error correction system,

modem - MODulator/DEModulator, The device used for computers to communicate over telephone lines.

moderator - The person who is in charge of a conference. This person usually has the task of making sure that users of the conference follow the conference rules,

netmail - Messages that are sent over networks of BBS's to specific people, Similar to Internet E-mail,

network - A group of BBS's that are “linked” together. This means that the BBS's share messages and sometimes files,

non-volatile memory - This is memory that many modems have which is not destroyed when the power is turned off.

‘null modem - A connection between two ‘computers locally, causing the computers to act as if connected via a modem. Generally used to transfer data from one machine to another.

off-line - When your computer is not connected to another BBS.

off-line mail reader - A program that allows you to read messages and reply to them after you call a BBS.

‘on-line - When your computer is connected toa BBS.

on-line conference- This is when a group of people “gat together" and have a conference using their computers. Major on-line services have this feature. [also called “real-time conference’],

on-line games - Any game that is played on a BBS.

on-line service- usually means a pay service such as Compuserve or GEnie,

packer - A BBS program which packs new messages together to be sent out by a mailer or download by a user for offline mail reading.

padding - This happens when a file that is being transferred ends in the middle of a block of data. The communications program must add blank data to fill up the block. Some term programs will ‘strip" this before saving the file to disk.

password - A special code that only you know which the BBS asks for each time you logon. Passwords should be changed frequently and should be something you can remember but that others won't guess,

post - To save a message that you have written on a BBS so that other people can see it

protocol - Amethodof sending and receiving @ program. There are many methods available, each with differentadvantages and disadvantages. Also used to describe the way that hardware error control is managed.

QWK - A type of mail packet

RD - Receive Data. This is the wire inan RS- 232C cable that receives data,

RJ-11 - Thisis anormal phone jack. Modems usually have 2 jacks like this, one to connect to the phone line, and the other to connect to a telephone to use when the modem isn't in use.

RS-232 Interface - device which allows Commodore 64 and 128 computers to use common external modems designed for other platforms,

RS-232C - The name of a standard (created by the Electronics Industry Association) for communication between a computer and a serial device.

RTS - Request To Send, The computer tells the modem it wants to send information to the other computer. Only used in half duplex mode.

script language -Many term programs allow the user to write a program, or script, which allows them to use the program without actually typing anything,

‘SIG - Special Interest Group. Thisis similarto ‘amessage base, but it may also contain files.

‘Sysop -Shortfor SYStems OPerator. Person whoisin charge of a BBS. Usually the person who paid for the BBS equipment and pays for the phone line,

tagline - Offline mail readers allow you to havea “tagline” at the end of your messages, This is often a funny saying or a quote.

terminal emulation - When a term program imitates a certain brand of terminal, such as ANSI, VT100, etc,

terminal program - A program that controls a modem, and has features that allow the user to do such things as upload, down-load, etc. Also called communications program or term program,

thread - A group of related messages on a BBS, within the same message base.

transfer - To send a computer program from ‘one computer to anoth-er. “xfer” is an abbreviated way to say the same thing,

upload - To send a program from your computer to a BBS.

V.17 - The CCITT standard for fax transmission at 14,400bps.

V.21 - The Intemational standard, controls transmission at 300bps.

V.22 - The international standard for transmission at 1200bps.

24

\V.22bIs - The intemational standard, controls data transmission at 2400bps.

V.23-The CCITT protocol for transmission of 1200bps one way, 75bps the other way.

V.24- This, combined with V,28 is the CCITT standard equivalent to EIA's RS-232C standard,

V.28 - Part of V.24.

V.29-The CCITT standard for 9600bps half- duplex communications.

V.32 - The international standard controlling transmission at 9600bps.

V.32bis - The international standard for 14,400 bps modems.

V.42 - A standard error control system that includes LAPM, as well as MNP 2-4.

V.42.compatible - Modem that follows allthe V.42 specifications, except for LAPM error control (uses MNP instead),

V.42 compliant - Modem which follows all the V.42 specifications, and uses LAPM error control or MNP error control,

V.42bis - A CCITT standard for data compression. Itcan compress data with about 43:1 compression ratio, 4:1 under the right conditions. Any modem with V, 42bis also has. V.42 error control,

V.Fast - The proposed CCITT standard for communications at up to 28,800bps,

Xmodem - A file transfer protocol developed by Ward Christensen. Slow by today's ‘standards, but almost every communications program offers this protocol. [Same as Christensen protocol.

Xmodem-1K - Similar to Xmodem/CRC, but uses blocks of 1024 bytes, rather than 128. Faster than Xmodem, since it makes fewer error checks,

XmodemVCRC - The same as Xmodem, but more reliable as it catches more errors,

Xoff - The CTAL-S character, This is often used to pause information that is being sent. The information will be continued when an CTAL-Q is received.

Xon - The CTRL-Q character. Continues paused information,

Xon/Xoft - The flow control method using the Xon and Xoff characters. This is a form of software handshaking, used to determine when data can be sent and/or recieved,

Ymodem - Protocol which transfers more than one file at a time. It can use both 1024 byte blocks and 128 byte blocks.

Ymodem-g - Ymodem, but changed to provide best results with error-correcting modems, Not widely available for Commodore terminal programs, although included in at least one CBM 128 BBS package.

Zmodem - Protocol known for its speed, auto-download, andbatch downloadfeatures.

Issue 4

Bad File Names dy fie Bucttrfield

Caution: the following discussion of file names and how to fix them is meant for non-Geos disks, Disks containing Geos files are complex, and you should never use the Validate/Collect disk command with such disks.

Two annoying problems can crop up on Commodore disk files that are easy to fix if you know how: “splat” files, and “comma” files.

Splat files have an asterisk (that’s the “splat”) next to the file type. That means that the file was never closed properly, so it is probably incomplete. Comma files have a name tl imply ",” a single comma, Incidentally, you can have duplicate filenames here: many files on a disk can all have the comma name.

The best way to get rid of splat files is not to make them in the first place. at file is incomplete, that is, the program that wrote it never the file, you can often catch this problem in the making.

Here's how it can happen, You are running a program, and it stops for some reason. Perhaps it had an error, or perhaps you stopped it with the Run/Stop key. No matter. The program is stopped, and the disk lightis still on. Ifyou don’t do something, the files that are being written will end up as “splat” files, ACTION: type

S.

CLOSE 15: OPEN 15,8,15: CLOSE 15

‘The disk light will go out, and all files are now closed. [The trick: closing the “command channel” automatically closes all active files on the disk).

Ifyou didn't do this during the file-writing cycle, you're stuck with a splat file and you must take special action to remove it, DO NOT SCRATCH A SPLAT FILE; IT’S DANGEROUS. Instead, “Validate” or “Collect” the disk. Ona 128 or Plus/4, command COLLECT DO, On earlier machines, use the sequence:

OPEN 15,8,1 PRINT#15, "VO" CLOSE 15

ck: scratching a file is dangerous, since the file is not closed and the might have a loose end, But the Validate/Collect action dumps the splat files and then does a general disk tidying job].

Desperation measure: Ifyou need to data from a splat file, even though you know it's incomplete, you can try. You'll need some programming skills, and must keep in mind that you likely won't receive a normal end-of- file indication, The trick is to open the file with mode ‘M’, thus:

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8,8,8, "BADFIL

s,M"

About those comma files. Somehow, a program tried to write a file that has noname, Maybe it asked you fora filename and you just pressed RETURN. Maybe the program tried to calculatea nameand fouled up. Inany case, the program has done something like OPEN 8,8,8,",5,W”, and the file with no name turns intoacomma file. And now do anything with it.

Unless you have skills in disk sector editing, you can't do too much with the data on these files. But you can get rid of them, Here’s how,

Takea directory ofall the files on disk that havea one-character name. To do this command:

ems as if you can't serateh itor

DIRECTORY

(128 or Plus/4 style) (other computers)

LI

If you get only the comma files, you're ready to scratch all files with one- character names. If you get other files, rename them and go for the directory again (you can always restore the original names when the operation is complete).

‘To dump all files whose names are only one character long, command SCRATCH “?” on the 128-style machines, or:

General note: Any time youhave had misbehaving files ona di idea to copy all your good files over to a fresh disk and leave your old troubles behind.

it'sagood

Va

GEOCABLE Il Parallel Print Cable

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* Switchable Pass-thru Includes GEOS drivers plus Allows connection of printer and useful GEOS utilites like other userportperipherals such MacAttack II, WronglsWrite, and as modems without conflicts. GEOS CONVERT.

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Creative Micro Designs, Inc. Cha P.O. Box 646 Orders: 800-638-3263 East Longmeadow, MA 01028 Info: 413-525-0023

Volume 1, Number 4

25

COMMODORE WORLD

‘These trivia questions are my gift to the Commodore Communityatlarge; while other parts of thismagazine maynotbe reproduced without the consent of Creative Micro Designs, Inc., these questionsare publiedomain, Laskonly that thearticleremainsintact andunchanged, and that my information appears somewhere so users,

can contact me, These questions form a contest that I run on the Internet, so you may feel free to contact me for all the relevant information. If you do use them, I always welcome a postcard detailing where they were used, Ifyouhavea question, please sendit (with answer) as well.

joy!

| RIVIA

Jim Brain (Internet; brain@mail, msen.com) Brain Innovations, Inc.

2306B Hartland Road

Hartland, MI 48353

20 Whatdotheletters IEEE in IEEE-488 stand for? $021 What was the logo of Batteries Included?

2 The Commodore VIC-20, 64, and 128 computers emulate in software a very important integrated circuit, What is number, and why is it important? Commodore watches play a beautiful song for the alarm, What is the song's title?

4 The C2N style Commodore tape decks are impressivein handlingerrors, Howmany times is a single program stored onto tape?

What is a jifly?

$025

)26 What is the screen resolution of the Commodore VIC-20?

$027 Why is the VIC-20 named the VC

a

German $028 Why was early Commodore equipment built into such heavy enclosures?

$029 What two BASIC 2.0 commands might still work ifmispelled?

2A What does CIA stand for? (not the U.S. CIA!)

2B (hard one) Whatis the one key VIC capability. that makes full-screen hires graphics possible on the _VIC-20_?

COMMODORE TRIVIA #3 QUESTIONS

C How many cassette ports does the CBM 8032 computer have?

D What 5 bytesmustappearinevery Commodore 64 autostart cartrdge and what location in memory must they be place

$02E Whatisthecorrect Commodoretechnicalterm

for “Sprites”?

(Vhreeparter, all parts must becorrect) “Push-

wrap-crash” isa nickname fora condition that

can lock up an old-style C-64, What causes it?

How can it be avoided (besides not doing it)?

What is the only way out once it has occured

(besides rebooting)?

COMMODORE TRIVIA #2 ANSWERS

$00A Lorraine. Amiga was the company name. When Commodore bought the company, they serapped the model name and used the old company name. Richard Garriott. Scott Statton has met him nd says that he is son of astronaut Owen Garriott. 59458. It is in the 6522 Versatile Interface Adapter. No, [won't tell you what to poke into it, but Iwill tell you that itisnot the only wayto frya PET. Here’sadescription from none other than Jim Butter The poke shownaboveis correct. Its intention was to speed up early model PETs by masking the RETRACE line (by switchingit to output)... however, Commodore subsequently REDESIGNED the interface in such a way that making the VIA pin an output caused (now) two outputs to fight each other... result, VIA and/or video circuitry burnt out, LATER (Days of"fat 40" and80-column PETS), the new CRT controller chip could be fiddled with POKES so that it generated scan rates completely out of the capacity of the CRT deflection circuits. Result: burnt out deflection circuitry... and that was no YOKE!” Richard Bradley says that 59595 is the second poke that Jim is referring to, Talso have it on word from Ethan Dicks that 59409isanother infamouspoke, butI wouldn't try any of these! ‘ext Editing Device, It did not have as many capabilities as the VIC II.

$008

$00c

$00D

COMMODORE WORLD

S00 The Commodore DPS 1101. The CBM 6400 was another earlier attempt at a daisy-wheel printer, but it had an IEEE-488 interfa

SOOF 2.

$010 3.5.

Daphne/Denise, Agnes/Agnus, and Paula/

Portia, or Huey, Duey, and Louie. Denise,

Agnes, and Paula were the American names,

but the the others crept in from somwhere.

The ducks were alwaysajoke, but caught on as

alternate names.

‘The Educator 64. It was model number CBM

4064, and it was also called the PET64. Note

that this version of the 64 was the second

attempt. Commodore first tried to sell the

lucator 64" to schools in the regular 64 case, but administrators and teachers disliked the “homey” look. ‘Thus, it was squeezed into a PET case and sold better, although Tdon'tthink it was ever a killer seller,

3 The Commodore SED 1001, It was actually

halfofan CBM 8250 LP with a slightly revised

ROM.

Group Code Recording.

‘TheCBM 1551. wasthenew, high-performance

drive that was designed specifically for the

Commodore Plus/4 and C-16, The 1542 was,

actually just a repackaged 1541 in a grey case

that was made available for people who didn't

want to spend the extra money for the 1551.

‘The extra cost resulted from the 1551 sporting

anew, parallel transfer method that increased

transfer rates 400%,

$012

26

$016 Sound Interface Device Keyboard Entry Read, Network, AndLink. This is most likely another “words after the letters” acronym, along the lines of the PET acronym. 3.0 Igot morethan [bargained for on this question, since there are four drives which have the same DOS version that | feel are adequate responses to this question, (1) The CBM D9060 and. D9090, although I doubt the code is the same. The D series were hard drives, (2) The 8280 Dual 8" Floppy Drive. (3)'The 1570, which was asingle sided version of the 1571 ina 1541 case painted to match the 128. The ROM is slightly different, enough to makeit unrecognizable as either a 1541 or a 1571 in some cases. (4) The 1571 land the 1571D, which is the drive in the D, also have this DOS revision, but that standstoreason, since they areinthe 157 line, IMA in both modes. lam surprised Commodore didn’t add a track or put another directory on the back, 144, > Calculators. They also made office equipment, watches, adding machines, and thermostats, hence the name “Commodore Business Machines”. 01D The Commodore 1520, It used 4 inch wide paper and could use 4 colors. Modified Frequency Modulation RREG reads the internal registers after a SYS command, OFF gives an unimplemented command error. QUIT does too,

»

Issue 4

NEW! Commodore «=» IBM MS-DOS

File Transfer Service. Now Available. Don't have a 1571, 1581, or FD-2000 drive? We can transfer most word processing files for you, Price starts at $20 for one disk {includes return shipping and disk.) Please, call or write for details,

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Bible Search 3.2

Entire Old & New Testament text, plus an Exhaustive English Concordance on 7-1541/71 disks or 4-1581 disks; 700,000+ references. Includes: C64 & C128 programs, Incredible five (5) second look-up time, per/word, per/disk. KJV $39 | NIV $49 | KJV & NIV $75 = Call or write for more information.

Also available Online Bible Search for |BM & Amiga!

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“obscure ten-dollar spelling of "complete,"

Volume 1, Number 4 27

COMMODORE WORLD

CMD ~ HARDWARE

HD-40, 42 MB (Limited Supply) HD-40, 85 MB (Limited Supply) HD-100, 170 MB (Special Edition) HO-200, 270 MB (Special Edition) 10-500 / 1000

FD Series 315" Floppy Disk Drives:

FD-2000 (800K and 1.6 MB) $179.95 FD-4000 (800K, 1.6 MB and 3,2 MB) $249.95 FO Rleal-Time-Clock Option $20.00 Box of 10, High Density Disks (1.6MB) $14.95

Box of 1

{Specity computor and drive JitlyDOS C64/SX-64 System JiyOOS C-128/128-D System ‘Additional Orive ROM's

$59.95 $24.95

Miscellaneous Hardware:

GeoCable Il Print Cable GI./15ft sn $29.00 / $34.00 MW.350 Printer Intorface (OKIBK Butter) $49,00/$60.00 Aprotek 3-Way Usor Port Expander $30.00 Aprotok User Port Extension Cable .. $19.00 CMD's 1351 Compatible Trackball $69.95 CMD's C-1351 Compatible SmartMOUs0 ..... $49.95 Mouse Pad $2.95 Samsung SP-2412 24-pin Epson-comp, Printor $199.00 Samsung SP-0912 9-pin Epson-comp. Printer $149,00 C+128D Computer (C=Refurt, WIDOS) 0...» $199.00 C-64/64-C Computers (CMD Refurb, w/ JOOS) $75.00 1541 Disk Drivos (CMD Rofurb,whJDOS) ss...» $75.00 1541-11 Disk Drivo (roturb, w/Power Supply ... $109.00

C-64, C-64G Powor Supply (Roopairable) $39.00 -128 Power Supply (Repairable) $49.00 CMO Utities $24.05, “ityMON-64 (ML Monitor) $19.95 Big Bluo Reader v4.10 (SOGWAP) $39,00 Tho Compression Kit (Mad Man)... +. $39,00 GEOS 64 v2.0 $44.00, GEOS 128 v2.0 $49.00 g00Cale 64 oF gooFilo 64 a $40,00 gooCalc 128 or gooFilo 128 $45.00 (qooProgrammor $45.00 gooPublish $40.00 gooChart i $29.00 Desk Pack Plus : $29.00 FONTPACK $2500 Intemational FONTPACK $25.00 gooBASIC . $20,00 RUN GEOS Companion $20,00 RUN GEOS Powor Pak | or Il (Spocity) $20,00 gatoWay/64 or 128 (Specify Vorsion) $29.95 Collatte Utitios (Handy Geos Utities) $19.95 Perfoct Print LO for GEOS (Lasior-ike output... $49.05 QooMakeBoot (Makes Bootable copies) $12.95 ‘geoSholl V2.2 (CL! for GEOS) $24.95

Dwooziis Greatost Hits (NowTools2 Stamp, Labe!126) $30.00 Books:

Anatomy of tho 1541

Basle Compiler Design for the C-64.. C64 Science & Enginoering C128 Computor Aided Design €128 BASIC Training Guldo.... Cassette Book for C-64 and Vic 20 .. Commodore 64 Tricks and Tips

GEOS Programmers Reference Guide .. Graphics Book for the C-64

Hitchhikers Guide to GEOS .nssnsnen {Ideas tor Use on Your C-64 $12,00 Printor Book tor the C84 $12.00

Simplo Internet ‘Suporbase - Tho Book Mi Sonus 64 Sequen 0, Cables .. $99.00 Sonus 128 Sequencer, MIDI Interface, Cables $99.00 x $34.95

P.O. Box 646

COMMODORE WORLD

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

ORDERS: 4 RAMLIink Power-Backed RAM Disk

RRAMLink Base Modol (0K, No RAMCard) ...... $149.95, RAMLink with 1 MB RAMCard $229.95

RAMLink with 4 MB RAMCard $349.95 Real-Timo-Clock for RAMCard (Optional) $20.00 RAMLink Battery Back-up (Optional) $24.95 Parallel Cablo (RAMLInk to HO) $14.95

BASIC 64 Compiler (Abacus) $17.00 BASIC 128 Compiler (Abacus) $25.00 Biitz! 64 Compiler (Skylos) $30.00 Bitz! 128 Compiler (Skyles) $30.00

Cobol 64 (Abacus) $17.00 Fortean 64 (Abacus) Pascal 64 (Abacus)

Tax Perfect 64 (Free ‘94 Upgrade) Tax Pertect 128 (Free 94 Upgrado) : Outrageous Pages (Batteries Included) ..

PaperClip 3

Pocket Writer 2 (64) (Digtal Sol.) $65.00 Pockat Whiter 3 (64 or 128) (Digital Sol) $70.00 Pockot Plannor 2 or Pockot Filer 2(Digital Sol.) .. $35.00 ‘SuporScript 64 (Precision) $15.00 SuperScript 128 (Precision) $20.00 DAta Manager 2 (Timeworks) $16.00 Suberbaso 64 Version 4.01 (Procision).. $35.00 ‘Suporbaso 128 Version 3.01 (Procision) $35.00

PowerPian 64 (Abacus) ‘SwiftCale 64 (Timeworks) z Personal Portfolio Manager (Abacus) SEC Check Register 128 Cadpak 64 (Abacus) Cadpak 128 (Abacus) Chartpak 64 (Abacus) Chartpak 128 (Abacus)

$25,00

| Paint v1.5 (128, 6001, 68k VOC) (Living Proof) $39.00 | Port v1.54 (128, #001, 64K voc) (Living Proof) $29.00 FUN Productivity Pak I, I, or Ill (Spocity) $15.00 RUN Supor Starter Pak 1541 or 1581 $20.00 RUN Works $20.00 Telecommunication Dialoguo 128... $29,00 SpoodTorm (ABACUS) «5:04: $KOO Swink 15-232 Cartridge (Up to 38.4K baud) .. $39.95 SwittLink Modem Cablo (DB9-DB25) $9.95 ‘BOCA 2400 Baud Modem $69,00 BOCA 2400 w/SwiltLink and Cab...» $9900

BOCA 14.4K Baud Modem... $159,00 BOCA 14.4K w/SwiftLink & Cablo $189.00 ‘Aprotek MiniModem C-24 (C= ready, 2400 baud) $69.00 Aprotek MiniModem C (Cs ready, 1200 baud)... $50.00 Aprotek Modem adaptor (Cs to Ext. PC Modem) $20.00

‘Aprotok Convert-a-Com(C= Modem-PC adaptor) $29.00 Acrodot $12.00 ‘Atomino $17.00 Ballistix $13.00 Blood Monoy $15,00 Chomp! $10.00 Contlict in Vietnam asso $1600

F-15 Stnko Eagle Project Stealth Fighter

16,00 $20.00

Lasor Squad $13.00 Last Ninja tl .., : $15,00 Mainframe $13,00 Marble Madness, $13.00 Menaco $15.00 Navy Seal $10.00 Red Storm Rising $16.00

Rings of Medusa $16.00

RUN C128 Funpak $15.00 RUN C64 Gamopak $15.00 Skate or Dio sens $1800 The Amazing Spidor-Man $15.00 Tho Prosident Is Missing! $10.00 Tho Throe Stooges $10.00, Tie Groak Tennis : son, $16.00 Total Eclipse $10.00 Utima V $17.00

Creative Micro Designs, Inc.

Info: (413) 525-0023 Fax: (413) 525-0147

28

800-6

CM

3263 SOFTWARE

JittyDOS

Increase Speed Up to 1500% while retaining 100% compatibility

* Speeds up Loading, Saving, Verifying, Formatting and Reading/ Writing of Program, Sequential, User and Relative files unlike cartridges which only speed up Loading and Saving of PRG files

* Built-in DOS Wedge plus 17 additional features including file copier, text dump, printer toggle, and redefinable function keys make using your computer easier and more convenient

* ROMupgrade installs easily into most computers and disk drives. Supports C-64, 64C, SX-64, C-128, 128-D, 1541, 1541C, 1541- 11,1571, 1581 and more.

EDSeries

3,2 and 1.6 MB 3.5" Floppy Drives The FD-2000 and FD-4000 disk drives utilize today’s latest 3.5 inch disk drive technology.

FD-2000's support 800K (1581 style) and

1.6 MB (High Density) formats, while the

FD-4000 also offers support for the 3.2 MB (Enhanced Density) disk format. Fast and reliable, they support 1541, 1571 and 1581 style partitions, Native Mode partitioning and can actually read and write 1581 disks. FD's feature built-in JiffyOOS, SWAP button and optional Real Time Clock. High capacity, speed and compatibility make the FD right for every application, including GEOS,

Power-Backed Expandable REU The fastest possible form of storage, RAMLink provides instant access to files and retains data while your computer is turned off. Easy to use and expandable up to 16 MB, RAMLInk utilizes the same powerful operating system found in CMD Hard Drives. Unlike Commodore REU's which are compatible with less than 1% of commercial software, RAMLink supports more than 80% of the commercial titles. RAMLink also offers built-in JiffyOOS Kernal, SWAP feature, reset button, enable/ disable switch, pass-thru port and RAM port for REU/GEORAM use. RAMLink offers maximum speed, expandability and compatibility with all types of software and hardware including GEOS.

HDSeries

SCSI Hard Drive for the C-64/128 HD Series Hard Drives are available in capacities up to 1 GB, are fully partitionable, and can emulate 1541, 1571, & 1581 disks while Native partitions utilize MSDOS-style subdirectories, HD's connect easily to the serial bus or parallel via RAMLink. Includes built-in JiffyDOS, SWAP feature and RTC. HD's offer superior compatibility with most commercial software including BBS, Productivity and GEOS, And with new pricing, HD Series drives offer the lowest cost per megabyte of any C64/128 storage device.

Shipping and Handling Charges

Use the chart below to match your order subtotal with your shipping zona and method

SS

United States ‘Next

Order Subtotal Day _| Day _| HLPR [Canada |Foreton $01-$19.90 i700 | siz00 | S00 | st500 Er) sia00 | $1400 [ s700 | $2000 moms $2000 | sis00 | #900 | $2500 3 wos 00 sam | $1000 | i200 | sasc0 $180 00-5209 08 2700 | $21.00 | $2000 | ss0.00 $000 00.5700 08 ‘ssuo0 | s2700 | s2500 | $55.00

3500 | se000

Payment and Delivery: CMO accepts MC, Visa, Money Orders, COD and Personal Checks. Personal Checks are held for up to3 weeks, Most items are stock, contact CMD for current dolivery schedules, Returns for merchandise credit only within 30 days with prior authorizations, All prices and specifications are subject to change without notice,

Issue 4

$69.°°

martMouse and SmartTrack

Need Input? It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This... $49.95

For years, Commodore set the standard with the 1351 Mouse. Sure, it was vastly superior to using the old digital input devices like the 1350 mouse, joysticks or imitation trackballs, But everything can be improved. Guaranteed 100% 1351-compatible, SmartMouse and SmartTrack do everything the C-1351 does and more! These highly intelligent, three-button input devices include a built-in battery-backed Real-Time Clock, along with double-click and Turbo features for GEOS, Plus, they come with a complete set of utilities for using the clock in GEOS and BASIC applications. Modern ergonomic designs make these devices smooth operators that are a pleasure to use. So, if you're tired of the slow, erratic movement of your current input device, make the intelligent choice and pick up a SmartMouse or SmartTrack today!

the Best C-64/128 Input Devices Ever!

* Three buttons means convenience! If you're a GEOS user, the left «+

button is configured as single click, the right as a handy double click and the center button is the TURBO button. When depressed, it doubles the speed at which the pointer moves across the screen. Additionally, programmers can assign their own functions to all three of the buttons.

* Unlike other third party mice or trackballs, the CMD SmartMouse and SmartTrack trackball use the same custom gate array chip as the Commodore C-1351 mouse. This guarantees 100% compatibility.

+ Switches easily into joystick emulation mode on power-up by

SmartMouse/SmartTrack utilize the same advanced technology used

in today's powerful 486 and Pentium PC's, providing you with

unparalleled accuracy and smoothness.

* Built-in battery-backed Real-Time Clock automatically sets the GEOS clock, displays time and can be used in your own programs.

* Includes utilities disk and detailed manual explaining the utilities and programming information,

* Attention Lefties! SmartMouse can be alterred for left handed use.

* Don't be fooled by the old style digital "trackballs". These only

perform as well as a joystick. SmartTrack uses analog inputs for

holding down the right button.

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Volume 1, Number 4

greater accuracy.

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29

COPYRIGHTS

WHO OWNS THE RIGHT TO COPY?

As early as 1710 the British recognized the need forauthors tobe protected from those who would misuse theirwork. Today theconceptofcopyright has been expanded, giving any author automatic ownership of anything he creates until well after his death. Anything you create (as long as no one elsecreatedan identical work before you} and only you have the right to reproduce are rarely tough luck stories about the author who forgot to register his work. If the author can prove that he created a disputed work, or that the defendant hadaccess to the author's work, they've won the case.

LOADSTAR buys thousands of dollars worth of software every month. This means that we deal with many authors. Occasionally we'll come acer author who so fears that we'll steal his program that he’s too much trouble to deal with. It is generally agreed that established reputable companies don't steal work. The reason is most companies would rather pay the author than live foreverin fear ofa lawsuit. Thesoftware company, whether it wins or not, will end up paying more than what the product was worth in the first place—and watch its reputation suffer.

For works created on or after January 1, 1978, the 1976 Copyright Act defines the term of copyright by the life of the author(s) plus 50 years—instead of the previous term of 28 years (renewable for another 28)—measured usually from the date of first publication. A good example oftheold copyrightis the movie“It’sa Wonderful Life” whose owners failed to renew the copyright, leaving the movie to the public domain after a dismal box office showing. Because it’s free “PD TV", alla television station has to dois get a good print of it and they can show (upload) the movie forever without having to pay anyone. This couldn't happen today unless the owner willfully released the work into the public domain. Even then the owner has every right to release the title with conditionsattached, asis donein shareware.

Since your work is not tangible, and many copies may bemade ofan original, thecopyrighted property of the author is said to be “intellectual property,” and the author has the exclusive right tocopy and sell his work. Usually the author sells

COMMODORE WORLD

By Jely Jones

or gives other parties the right to reproduc sell his work. Anauthor will often forfeit the ri to sell the work on his own for an agreed period. In this case an author could be sued for pirating his own work ifhe were to distribute it to anyone.

Various industries have a history of irrational fear of counterfeiters. When VCRs firstappeared, therewasindustry-wide paranoia of pirates taping TheSix Million Dollar Manand somehow finding customers. As a matter of principle, the movie makers felt that no one had the right to record their work and they fought it for years. Now that thenetworks know that VCRs mean higher rating (because people can watch two things instead of one), there's no problem. Movie makers can almost guarantee a break-even movie because they eventually make up their box office losses in rental receipts.

Software manufacturers, however, have a real reason to be paranoid. People copy programs and share them. I don’t know a single person who hasn’thad access toat least one pirated work. My first copy of LOADSTAR was a pirated copy. Even people who don’t consider themselves pirates probably haveat least one illegal program that they found on a disk and failed to destroy.

You can't copy and sell a Stephen King novel withouta$500,000 printing press—noonewould want your low-quality copy. But with an $80 drive you can make perfect digital copies of programs and sell them.

Because every computer can digitally copy software, computer copyright laws seem more stringent. The law tries to understand that users haye a right to back up software, but the letter of the law remains a bit too strict. For instance, “tough” legislation (law 102-561) signed by President Bush in late 1992 says you can be considered a pirate if you have ten copies of one software package in your possession. That's reasonable. But you can also be thought a pirate if you have one copy of ten different software packages! If the value ofyour backed up software adds up to more than $2500, an overzealous or truly computerilliterate prosecutor canrunaway with it. Couple that with up to 4 years in prison and $250,000in fines. Unreasonable, particularly

30

when most software packages make the effort to tell users to back up the software to preserve the original. Youcan only hope that ifyou'rearrested, the policeman is computer literate.

The processof manufacturing and distributing a product without the permission of the owner is called pirating. Some people feel thatifthey don't make a profit, they are not morally challenged. These peopledon't realize that when they become so excited about a product that they copy and share it, that they are preventing a sale and damaging the author or publisher.

At 65 percent, the US has highest rate of legal software use, according to the Business Software Alliance (BSA). Because our market is so larg the US is also the leader in losses due to pir: estimated at $2.3 billion for 1993. Europe has a 61% piracy rate, followed by 11 countries in the Middle East, Africa, India and Pakistan region (85%), Latin America (83%), and Asia (79%).

In everyday situations, copyright cannot be argued. If a someone hands a friend a disk of copyrighted material, and the friend accepts it, they're both committing a crime. It's perfectly legal to sell and trade software—as long as the software isoriginal, andall backupsare destroyed,

If the author didn’t release the work to the public domain, it is not in the public domain. It doesn’t matter how many bulletin boards the program appears on, and it doesn’t matter that there's no copyright message. Leaving the message off doesn’t prevent the author from suing, although he may not be entitled to court costs because of it. In certain limited cases, use of acopyrighted workis allowed without perm ofthe copyright owner under the doctrine of use” aswellas numerous other exceptions dealing generally with nonprofit, charitable, or educational uses of copyrighted works.

Since the demise of Commodore, rumors have abounded. Voices have declared—in error—that since Commodore is to liquidate, its intellectual 'y (software and technology) is “up for grabs.” | hate to use stock phrases, but nothing could be farther from the truth. It’s a common misconception thata defunct company’s products aresuddenly publicdomain. Thisnotion iswholly

Issue 4

wrong, tantamount to saying that the property ofan evicted tenant, set out on the street by the landlord, is “free pickings” to any passerby. Sure, people do it, but it’s still illegal. I've witnessed people take property this way, but never while the sheriffis on the premises. Orion pictures has closed its doors, but RoboCop isa commodity that’s still bought and sold— making money. Someone still owns it.

Beyond the fair use doctrines, many authors and publishers will allow reproductions of portions of their work for news and review. ‘Though thecover ofamagazineis copyrighted, the publisher wantsall the publicity he can get. Ifyou reproduce that cover in your newsletter, he'll probably appreciate it, fair use or not. What that publisher won't like is for you to reproduce his cover without his logo for your own purposes. More that, the photographer who owns the picture on the cover might just send you a bill.

Publishers have copyright battles. Apple sued Microsoft for billions over Windows. ‘Thereare other battles: Lotus/Borland, Apple/ Microsoft/Hewlett-Packard, Sega/Accolade, OnOctober8, 1992, theSupreme Court upheld the decisions of two federal courts, the last being the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, that Symantec’s Grandview did not violate copyrights on Brown Bag’s PC-Outline package. Symantec's Attorney Mitchell Zimmerman said: “The Brown Bag decision is part of an important emerging trend, limiting the scope of copyright protection for computer programs. The decision makes it easier for defendants to dispose of baseless ‘look and feel’ infringement claims.”

In recent years “reverse engineering” has been challenged. Reverse engineering is the act of examining an operating system or a device, and then figuring tocreateoriginal products for it. In August 1992, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dissolved an injunction by the Federal District Court that game producer Accolade could not sell or develop new game titles for the Sega Genesis game system. The extensive paperwork in this landmark decision outlining the reasoning of the court has yet to be released.

Sometimes the owner ofa workcan overstep the bounds of reason in protecting his product. One thing is very reasonable: if there is a price on a software package, that price should be paidtothe owner oranauthorized distributor, Furthermore, ifa program isn’tclearly marked in some way to indicate that it is freely distributable, the only legal way to add it to your collection is to buy it. ©

than

Volume 1, Number 4

HARD Tips

BUILD A SIMPLE RS-232C INTERFACE

By Doug Cotton

Commodore users today often find themselves trying to adapt our vintage machines to current standards. And while there have been many RS-232 interfaces available in the past, the selection is dwindling quickly. In fact, there are only two choices commercially available these days to fill this void: Aprotek’s COM-MODEM. Adapter and CMD's SwiftLink, Each of these are quite usable formodem connection, but only the COM-MODEM Adapter will operate with older software written only forthe User port (SwiftLink attaches to the Expansion port, and requires compatible software), The problem with the COM-MODEM Adapteris that it won't work for null-modem transfers to other computers because itdoesn't use the +/-12 Volt standard, Hardware ‘hackers’ should appreciate that the circuitin this issue will provide the correct voltages for null-modem connections. While I intended on including a circuit diagram for making a null-modem adapter, it costs less to buy than to build using Radio Shack parts, If you need the

River Falls, Minnesota (1-800-344-4539). Their part number is EDC305240-ND, and the cost is $2.14 in single quantities. This connector can be soldered to the recommended perfboard, If you plan to order from them, they also stock most of the other parts, generally for a much lower cost.

You can also substitute for the connector and wire I chose for this project—I selected ribbon cable and an insulation displacement connector for ease of assembly. You could just as easily use round cable with at least 9 conductors, and a solder-cup DB-25 male connector (RS#276-1547 @ $1.49). You should naturally purchase a suitable hood for this connector as well (RS# 276-1549 @ $1.19 s will reduce the overall cost of the project as well.

Finally, you'll need all the usual ‘hacker’ goodies, like hookup wire, soldering iron, solder, wire cutters and wire strippers. And be sure to watch polarity on the capacitors and diodes!

RS-232 Interface Parts List

A Qty. Description RS Part # Price Total adapter, just pick up RS# 26-1496 for $4.99, 1 DB-25 Male Connector 276-1659 $3.99 $3.99 Whileall the electronics partsshownareeasily 4 25 Cond. Ribbon Cable 278-772 3.59 3.59 available from a local Radio Shack, there isone 1 — MC1488 Line Driver I 276-2520 1.28 1.29 item you'llneed that youmay have some trouble 1 MC1489 Line Revr. IG 276-2621 1.28 1.20 locating: a 12 position/24 contact card edge 8 — 1N4001 Diode 276-1101 49 1.47 connector compatible with the User port. These 4 100)4/85V Elect. Cap. aa he 2s are available from Digi-Key Corporation in Thief Tai Riogete Rerfocaes is 278: i! USER PORT 1s DB-25M (cola Mle Si ' 1x0 b+ 205 1 DTR earn 4'o | ATS 14 cote ' PGND ye T , S.GND ot ot 246 | RxD 84 | psR Si \cts a ' Deb '

31

COMMODORE WORLD

0) THe NEW Graphies rlhince

Fun Graphics Machine, by Ron

Hackley; $24.95 plus $3.50 S&H (clip art, font disks and keyboard overlays also available); The FGM Connection, P.O. Box 2206, Roseburg, OR 97470.

It's been a long time since the March/April 1992 issue of RUN magazine. In that issue | reviewed Fun Graphics Machine. Since then, Thave to admit, I've pretty much left all my graphics and desktop publishing chores to GEOS, since as most of you know by now, I'm a confirmed GEOS-aholic; | stayed with what I knew and was comfortable with.

Sowhen theeditorofCommodore World asked me to write a review of FGM, [had to doa little searching, I still had the disks, of course, (and even knew where they were, pretty much), so in that way it was no trouble. | remembered some ofwhat I'd done with the program all those years ago, and even remembered Where the box with the keyboard overlays and printouts was. When | found the manual (spiral bound to lay flat, by the way), I wandered through it foranhourorsotoremind myself of some of the finer points, ‘Then I booted up the program and

COMMODORE WORLD

started to play around little, and it didn’t take long for things to come back to me. It also didn’t take long for me to arrive at some of the same conclusions | had arrived at a few years ago.

Beforel jabber on about the little details, though, I think I'd better get the number one question settled. What exactly does the Fun Graphics, Machine do, anyway? If you ask an FGM fan that question, you'll probably hear the answer “Everything!” Inasensethey'reright, although that isn’t really very informative. The ads for FGM that it will create everything from business cards to video titles, but even that only gives a general impression of what the program itself does. Yes, it can be used to do desktop publishing. Yes, it is amazingly versatile. But what the heck does it actually do?

FGM is first and foremost a high- resolution graphics editor that allows users to put existing elements—text and graphics— wherever they want to for the creation a screeen image. In other words, if you want the screen to say “Welcome to our home” witha little pictureofahousein thecorner, FGM will let you do that. If you want the house to be a different size or the text to be written with hollowed out letters, FGM will let you do that too. FunGraphics Machine lets you place textandgraphicsanywhere you want on the screen and then gives you tools to modify, adjust, distort, and alterthem tocreateexactly thescreen

design you're looking for. Then, FGM will print that screen out. So far so good. But let me not few things about what | just said, that will help explain exactly what FGM is and does. First of all, note that you need to have the graphics you want to use before you get going with FGM. Fun Graphics Machine is not a paint or a draw program. Secondly, FGM does printing. That's important; it’s where alot ofthe power of FGM lies. Let's look at that first point a little closer. FGM takes exisistingartwork and puts it to use in new ways. You can import graphic images from quite a few sources, including Print Shop graphics, high-resolution bitmaps, and even multi-color screens, and place them on the sereen, Once there, those graphics can be smoothed, distorted, and changed into the image you really want. This is a lot like what Print Shop does—taking artwork and placing it on the screen—but with a much, much larger selection of tools. Also, FGM no pre-set places where the graphics have togo, which means you are limited only by your own creativity, The graphics tools include smoothing and slanting of any size area of the scre The second point, the printing, comes into play once you've created a screen or series of screens. Here M behaves a lot like Newsroom, g the screens you create

pu together on a page. Unlike Newsroom, however, you have complete control overthe placement

32

of the various screens and even over the resolution ofthe printout ofeach one (which affects the area that screen takes up ona page). You can, forexample, printa page made up of three screens stacked one on top of the other. You could also print a page consisting of eight screens printed in two columns of four, rather like Newsroom does. The printer drivers in FGM are superb, offering pretty much any resolution your printer can manage. Each different resolution, in other words each different number of dots per inch, results in a different sized printout, so you can fine tune your final document by adjusting the resolution of the various sections.

Fun Graphics Machine, then, is similar in m any ways to Print Shop and Newsroom. Itallows you to take graphics and text and use them to create a printed document, The variety of options, however, for graphics manipulation and for printing, leave those other programs in the dust. Fun Graphics Machine willlet you do pretty much anything you can imagine with graphics on a page.

I called Ron Hackley, the author of the program, and found out that there have been no major upgrades since the last copy I received, so | booted up the disk I hadanddovein, When I started working with FGM againafterafewyears, Ifound myself impressed all over again. Fun Graphics Machine is an incredibly powerful program. There are options for smoothing that even

Issue 4

GEOS can'tmatch. FGM can import a multicolor screen better than any high-resolution program I've ever seen, And the options for printing are astounding. I was pleased with FGM back then, and Istillam today.

All my impressions weren't rosey before, though, andas I workedwith the program | realized that | still have the same concerns now that I had a few years ago, FGM is a very complicated program to use. There are several different modes of operation with almost identical functions. I assume that memory constraints were the reason for this, but that doesn’t make it any less confusing. The entire program keyboard

operates using combinations, often involving three keys at a time. These are not particularly intuitive in many cases; I found myself constantly groping for the manual or poring over my keyboard overlay. Granted, it didn’t take me long to memorize the ba commands, but I didn'twanttolimit myself just to the basics. A set of onscreen drop-down menus or a movable toolbox would go a long way toward makingthesystem easier

ic

touse, as well as making some of the more esoteric functions more accessable and easier to try out. The joystick is used to place graphics, butit isn’t used to select areas of the page to manipulate, which would seem a logical job for the joystick to do. Fir

, the manual, while chock

full of excellent information, is daunting indeed. The introduction suggests that you use the manual as reference, reading the sections that you find youneed, but sincemany of FGM'sfunctionsare hard toimagine untilyou try them, 'mnot sure what

will induce someone to find out about them.

Now I'm sure some of you will accuse me of being biased in what I'm saying. I stated right up front that (OS fan, and many of my com! 4 sound like | SEOS, with its intuitive interface and less-cluttered documentation. It’s true, I do find GEOS far more intuitive and user-friendly. But Fun Graphics

Volume 1, Number 4

Machine isn’t GEOS any more than it is Print Shop or Newsroom. It shares some of the characteristics of each of those other programs, true, butitismore powerful in some ways than any of them. What is unfortunate is that it's interface is difficult enough that all that power is likely to go to waste, and it’s not just my GEOS addiction talking when I say that.

I asked Ron about some of this and he explained to me that he preferred to use the limited memory space of the 64 to add more features and capabilities to the program instead ofsuchnicetiesasan intuitive interface. He does have a point and FGM certainly has enormous capabilities. I'm just afraid that in this day and age when computer programs are expected to be user- friendly and intuitive as well as powerful, F will be abandoned by users who don't care to dig through the manual every time they want to desktop publish something.

But the fact of the matter is, you

can do amazing things with Fun

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Graphics Machine, and once you get over the initial learning curve, you'll find yourself having a ball. The keyboard overlays are a great help, -flat manual does have plenty ofillustrations and examples

and the

as well as a multi-page summary of all the functions and their i commands and a comprehensive

index. You can import a great many types of graphics into the prog) and thereisevenafantasticselection of clip art disks available in FGM format. The priceis very reasonable, when compared to the

am

especially priceofaGEOSsystem with thesame capabilities. On top of all that, Ron provides excellent customer support and honestly usesandenjoyshisown program. Whenitall comesdown to it, then, | can sincerely say that | recommend Fun Graphics Machine highly. Buy it. it. But keep in mind that it may take some time to get really going with FGM. Give it the chance, though; it's worth it.

+ Steve Vander Ark

33

Cw & RUN BACK ISSUES

For years, RUN Magazine provided Commodore Users with a great source of information, and now CMD has

given you Commodore World.

or any 12 for only $24.00

RMJAN88 January 1988 RMOCT89 October 1989 RMFEB88 February 1988 RMSP89 Special Issue 1989 RMMAR88 March 1988 RMJANSO January 1990 RMAPR88 April 1988 RMMAYS90 May 1990 RMMAY88 May 1988 RMJUN9O June/July 1990 RMJUN88 June 1988 RMDEC90 December 1990 RMJUL88 July 1988 RMJAN91 Jan/Feb 1991 RMFEB89 February 1989 RMJAN92 Jan/Feb 1992 RMMAY89 May 1989 RMMAR92 March/April 1992 RMJUN89 June 1989 RMMAY92 May/June 1992 RMJUL89 July 1989 RMJUL92 July/August 1992 RMAUG89 August 1989 RMSEP92 Sep/October 1992 RMSEP89 September 1989 RMNOV92 Nov/December 1992

Shipping: 3 or 6 issues - U.S. $3.00, Canada $5.00, Foreign $15.00; 12 issues U.S. $5.00; Canada $7.00; Foreign $20.00.

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Volume 1, Number 3 Volume 1, Number 4

COMMODORE WORLD

EE SENET tent ! t )

ny %i i) "

Menace Psygnosis Available from CMD

Menaceisashoot-em up space game from Psygnosis, the creators of the infamous Lemmings game. Your mission, should youbebraveenough to accept it, is to destroy the planet Draconia, At the beginning of game play you may choose between a normal game or an expert game. In the expert mode, collisions with the scenery will reduce your ship's protective shield, There's even a feature which toggles between relaxing space-cruising music and weapon sound effects. Menace entices you to conquer each ofit’s six levels for the reward of viewing the

unique new graphics and aliens of

thenextlevel. Todo so, you must try todefeat the waves ofspace creatures and kill the guardian which awaits you at the end of each level. As you travel through the game you colle

weapons by defeating an attack wave. The last alien to be destroyed in the wave will turn into a bonus. icon which depicts either a feature or a weapon. The features and weapons range from a 1000 point bonus to lasers and cannons to the very hard to receive full shield recovery. The graphics, music/ sound effects, and unique looking creatures make Menace enjoyable! Menace is not as easy as most space games. 'veplayedit quitea fewtimes while preparing this review and I

COMMODORE WORLD

still haven’tconquered thefirst level. But, Iwill because Ijust have to get to the next level to greet the next wave of awesome aliens!

- Sherry Freedline

n0s76

ES

The Amazing Spider. Paragon Available from SSI and CMD

The Amazing Spider-Man from Paragon Software Corporation requires the best of your problem solving skills to rescue Mary Jane from Mysterio. Mysterio has taken Mary Jane, wife of Parker, hostage. Parkeris, of course, Spider-Man. All that's been left behind is a note directing Parker tomeet Mysterioat the old Rockwell Studios. Once there, Mi unconscious with a jet of gas Spider-Man is awakened by Mysterio's voice daring him to find his way through the studio to his secret inner sanctum where he is holding Mary Jane captive. Failure to do so will result in Mary Jane's death. And the game begins! Spidey must make his way through the studio’s rooms which are divided into film sets. These film sets have ly designed by Mysterio ‘ssearcha challenge. The sets contain robots, electrified floors, fake doors, chemically coated walls, and upside-down and sideways gravity. Spidey’s webs are useless on the walls which have been chemically coated. Spidey must

terio renders Spider-Man

Later,

beenspe

climbwallsand ceilings, walk, crawl, and shoot and swing from his webs onhissearch for Mary also use his best Spider sense to master the series of switches that control Mysterio's tricks. Althought the game contains 250 screens, the graphics and sound were average. But, the game play is challenging and thought provoking. Themanual is very detailed and helpful. If you enjoyagood puzzle, you'll enjoy The Amazing Spider-Man.

- Sherry Freedline

ne. Hemust

Marble Madness Electronic Arts Available fron S'

and CMD

Marble Madness is a maddeningly de gameforoneortwo players from Will Harvey and Electronic Arts. The object of the toroll the marble to the goal line. Sounds simple, right? Well, it’s far from it! Ifyou are playing the one player version, you must compete against a clock. Complete a level before time runs out and the remaining time is added to the time in the next level. In the two player version, the game becomes a race to the goal line between you and your opponent. Throw in a 3-D terrain with marble-hating creatures such as Steelies, Pounding Hammers, and Marble Munchers and you've got quite a challenge on your hands. Steering the rollingmarble downhill in a straight and narrow path is by

34

no means an easy task. Gravity adds to the difficulty of the game. It influences the marble’s movements. just as it would in real life. The game can be played with either a joystick ortrackball, Andaftera brainstorm, 1 found it even works with CMD's newSmartMouse! TheSmartMouse provided extrasteering flexibility for all those close corners in the game. Marble Madness contains six different levels each containing their own musical score. The colorful graphicsare, ofcourse, excellentjust as we've come to expect from Electronic Arts. The manual consists of a small sheet of paper with the necessary loading information. But then, that'sallyou'll needastherul and object of the game are quite simple. Now, there’s only one remaining question... Can you complete this game with all YOUR marbles intact?

Skate or Die Electronic Arts Available from SS and CMD

Skate or Die: It's “RAD”...it's “BAD”...it'samust-have classicfrom Electronic Arts! This is by far one of themost enjoyable games!'ve played yy the folks at Electronic Arts, What makes this game so fun? Well, to begin with, the colorful graphiesand musicare fantastic! The punkrocker characters of Poseur Pet, Aggro Eddie, and Lester provide various

Issue 4

levels of challenge as opponents on thoselonely days. But, for those days when you havea full house, Skate or Die can accommodate up to eight players! Skate or Die features five far-out events for you to show off such skateboard feats as Kickturns, Rock-n-Rolls, Footplants, Ollie Ai and Aerials. What? You don’t know how to do these stunts? Never fear, detailed instructions are provided

in the rad manual, You can choose to practice or compete with these skills in the Pool Joust, Downhill Race, Freestyle Ramp, Highjump Ramp, or a Downhill Jam. This article is way to brief to go into the all the different available events so I'll just tell you about my favorite one. The Downhill Race is the best event to start out in. There is no competition buta clock. The goal of this event is to complete the course within one and half minutes. Extra points are awarded for skating over, under, and through the different obstacles along the course. If you've

got the courage you can attempt to skate through a pipe, jump grates and wooden horses, or even take a leap from a ramp and attempt to landinanupright position. But, even if my favorite event doesn't seem to interest you, there are still four more events to choose from. One of them is sure to leave youas punk as Lester and his friends!

- Sherry Freeilline

Laser Squad Microlllusions Available from SSI and CMD

Microillusions' Laser Squad isa one or two player action/strategy game.

The Laser Squad is a team of the galaxies’ best fighters specializingin weapons, and infiltration. They exist solely tosolve themostimpossibleofmissions! The game is played by you and an opponent, computer or friend,

maneuvers

taking turns controlling your unit of

humans, droids or other creatures, Each member of your unit is allocated a numberof Action Points,

The number of Action Points determine the amount of activity a unit member may perform during a turn, Activities may include movement, combat actions, and object manipulation, Each action decreases the number of Action Points. The player ends his turn when all the Action Points for each unit member have been used. The other player then takes his turn which is hidden from his opponent. If a friend is your opponent, the sereen must be hidden from the other player during each turn. The first side to acquire 100 Victory

Points wins the game, These points are won in various ways depending on the scenario you are playing. Eliminating enemy units or destroying certain installations are r 's to obtain Victory Points. Microillusions has packed the game with five different scenarios. Besides a unique new cause to fight for, each

s ios contain excellent ying skill levels and require different time frames to complete. Fortunately, games in progress may be saved to disk for completion at a later date. Las Squad is not a game to be pl right out of the package. Reading the detailed manual is imperative along with a few practice games. But the rewards are rich. Innotimeatall you'll be so deeply engrossed in planning your strategic moves that you'll find yourself losing track of the time and day.

- Sherry Freedline

1)

NEW GAME! Join Denny in his search for the evil Ghost, in: DENNY'S QUEST 1

Adults and children alike will enjoy this game!

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Volume 1, Number 4

35

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COMMODORE WORLD

Boca 144EW Fax/Data Modem

Product: Boca Research M144EW 14.4Kbps Fax/Data Modem Firmware: —v1.410-AS29 (ati3)

Data Pump: 144DPi Rev CA (ati6)

Primary Features

FAX: GroupIII, Class 1&2, V.17, V.27ter, V.29 and V.21 modes (14,400 to 300bps) DATA:V.32bis (14,400bps), V.32 (9600bps), V.22, V.22bis (1200/2400bps), Bell 212A (1200bps), Bell 103 (300bps).

ERROR CORRECTION: V.42 and MNP2-4 DATA COMPRESSION: bis and MNP5 for up to 57,600bps throughput.

Boca modems are made in the U.' covered by a 5 year warranty.

. and are

Appearance & Package Contents ‘The modem is housed in an attractive, low profile, anodized texture type case (7.5" x 5.5" x The front panel has an array of eight LED indicators which show the status of the following lines and conditions:

TM - Test Mode AA- Auto Answer HS - High Speed

OH - Off Hook

SD - Send Data

RD - Received Data ‘TR- Terminal Ready CD - Carrier Detect

The rear panel has two RJ-L1 phonejacks,a power switch, and a 25 pin RS-232 port. The modem is securely packaged ina 16.5" x 4"'x 6.5" boxalong with a 78 page manual, an RJ-11 phone cable, the AC poweradapter,a9-pin to 25-pin cable,a9-pin to 25-pin adapter (allows use on both 25 and 9 pin RS-232 ports), and an IBM MS-DOS and Windows FAX program on 3.5" HD disks. Introductory software for commercial on-line services is also included.

COMMODORE WORLD

Equipment Used for Testing Computers: Commodore 128 with SwiftLink-232 high speed serial cartridge interface, Commodore 128 with an Omnitronix RS-232 interface, Commodore Amiga 1200, Atari 800 XL, and an IBM PS/1,

Other modems used: Universal Data Systems 1200, U.S. Robotics Sportster 14.4Kbps, Telebit PEP 2400, Supra 2400, SupraFAXmodem 9600Kbps, SupraFAXmodem 14.4Kbps, USR Dual Standard HST.

Software used: Omnil28 BBS, Desterm 128 v2.0, Dialogue 128 on the C-128, JrComm 1.02, GPFax on the Amiga, Bobterm for Atari 800x1, QModem Pro for the IBM PS/1.

Operating Tests ith great anticipation that | connected the 4 tomy 128/SwiftLink setup, as Ineeded to find the correct modem settings for use with my BBS software (other sysops also were ing for the proper setup). First, 1 put the modem online in a simple terminal and reset the modem to it’s defaults via at &f&el &d2 &r1. Then, Isent some commands which are used toset upa Supra modem (another Rockwell technology modem) for my software. 1“called” the Boca from another computerand terminal using all the standard baud rates and error correction and compression modes to see what kind of responses it gave. All responses matched those shown in the manual, similar to the SupraFAXmodem, so I se try running my BBS with it.

On the first attempt at calling the BBS, something was obviously wrong. | made it back into the BBS terminal mode to check the modem. The “at&v" command revealed some registers had changed. lattributed this to the initial power upcycle. Afterrestoring the modem toits defaults via at&fand setting a few of the other registers to emulate the Supra’s programmed responses, | wasin business! From that point, wasabletotest drive the modem on my BBS for several weeks, and also develop some other strings for use in the

anxiously wai

ind were about to

36

network section. Operation as the BBS host modem was very reliable, and better than the Supra ina few ways:

~ Connecttimesfor"direct” modes (such as 2400

direct) were between 5 and 7 seconds faster

(than my SupraFAX 9600). This includes 4800

and 9600 direct.

‘The modem runs very cool to touch. Even in

80° F ambient temperature, the modem was

barely lukewarm, sure signs of a low-power consumption chipsetand long-term reliability.

- Download transfer times at 14.4Kbps were often over 100 CPS (characters per second) faster than my U.S.R. Sportster, Downloading from my BBS using Ymodem-g yielded 1389 CPS, and from high speed Amiga systems, up to 1650 CPS!

- Some modem types, such as one of the two UDS 1200's which would not connect to the Supra at all, had no problem linking up with the Boca MI44EW.

Error Correction & Compression Error correction protocols were designed to capture and eliminate interference present on the phone line. In the Boca, those used are MNP 2 through 4, and V.42. Their operation is generally transparent to the user.

Compression protocols are quite different, and were designed to increase the throughput between the computer and modem at either end of the line. The Boca supports MNP-5, and V.42biscompression. MNP-5is the lesser used of the two, and has the potential to double throughput on textand similarun-crunched data, but will actually slow down a transfer if compressed files are sent. V.42bis, on the other hand, is intelligent enough to disable it's compression mode if dense data is encountered, and turn it back on when appropriate. Many modem manuals recommend not using error correction or compression unless a streaming protocol such as Zmodem or Ymodem-G is to be used—the reason being that it would be

Issue 4

redundant to error check the same data twice. Of course, the Boca modem provides several ways to disable such connection types (Note: Error correction and compression can also adversely effect the handshaking methods of some protocols; Punter isa prime example, which may or may not synehronize with V.42bis or MNP-5 depending on the baud rate, phone company packeting system, or other arcane factors), In practice, you will get the fastest transfer rates with direct, or “normal” connectionsat any baud rate, unless you are transferring text.

Conclusions ‘The Boca 14.4Kbpsisa well engineered unit, with enough configuration possibilities to fulfill any requirements from the simplest of terminals to advanced customized BBS's, Although I could not test the FAX options with my SupraFAX software, | have no reason to doubt it works with thesupplied programsunder DOS and Windows. - Brian Bell

Speed Tests

Though the results can vary widely depending on line conditions, computer type, drive type, software, and interface type, these tests should help give youan idea of what to expect when using the Boca as a host modem.

C-128 w/SwiftLink-232, running Omni128 BBS. Amiga 1200, JRComm 1.02 : Text.txt (76,800 bytes)

Downloading at 14.4Kbps

V.42bis Direct Protocol cPS cPS Ymodem-g 1386 n/r Ymodem-1k+pre-ack” 1385, 1381 Ymodem-1k+plain ack 1070 875

Downloading at 2400bps

Direct

Protocol cPS Ymodem-g nr Ymodem-1k+pre-ack” 240 Ymodem-1k+plain ack 216 Punter 163 - 170 Xmodem Checksum 187+ Xmodem CRC 182

“Note: pre-ack is a custom type of X or Ymodem handshake which is fast, but it cannot recover if an error occurs, similar to Ymodem-g.

Volume 1, Number 4

The Boca 2400

Easy and Reliable Telecommunications

Writing there's

boutsomething complicated is easy— a lot to write about. Not so with something that just plugs in and is easy to use! The Bocamodem 2400 (Boca 2400 from here on)issturdy, compact, and ideal asa first modem orasan upgrade from 300/1200 baud modems,

Hardware Connections

First, lets deal with the only “difficult” part— that of connecting the modem to the computer. ‘The Boca is designed for use with all computers, and as such, Commodore 64 or 128 users will 32 interface (such as the Aprotek Com-Modem adapter, or a SwiftLink cartridge). The interface allows the computer and modem to communicate with each other correctly. Actually the interface is the hardest part towrite about, though not because they are

need either an RS~

complicated—far from it. Youjust plug one end. into the User Port and the other end connects to the modem with a cable (usually a DB-25 pin serial cable). The cable doesn’t come with the modem, and usually doesn’t come with the interface, either, so you will have to buy separately. The hard part is finding an RS-2: interface—most I've found have been used! ‘Taking a quick look at various catalogs, the Aprotek adapters are available commercially and ofcourse the SwiftLink cartridge isavailable from CMD. While I don’t want it to appear that I'm promoting Creative Micro Designs products in their own magazine, there is some logic to using a SwiftLink—even with a 2400 baud modem. You see, SwiftLink is easy to find commercially, and you don't need a science degree to use it; and if you later decide to buy a fastermodem, you'llalready havewhat youneed he cable needed for

one

2

There! The hump is over—the modem is connected to either an R: SwiftLink cartridge, which is connected to the computer. Taking a look at a pamphlet for PC users that comes with the Boca 2400, however, ciate that we Commodore

2 interface or a

makes meappre have it easy when it comes to modems, In big bold letters the pamphlet states: “READ ME FIRST!";itthen explainsin detail how to connect the modem to the PC, which sounds much more difficult than finding an interface and plugging it into our Commodore 64 or 128 computers.

ers

37

Connecting to the World

Once I had the Boca 2400 plugged in and ready tobeused, [loadedmy term program and found that the term thought the modem was already online, as if | had connected to a BBS already. This is fairly common with new modems, so it didn’t phase me. Some come pre-set at the factory configured in a certain way, on of which isthe exact opposite for what we needed. | simply used the standard Hayes AT commands and while in terminal mode typed: AT &C1 &D2 <RETURN> which caused my term program to

realize | wasn’t on-line, So I wouldn't have to deal with this again, | typed AT &W, which saved my changes to the modem's memory. This was as “technical” as I had to get with the Boca 2400, as I simply set my term program to dial at 2400 baud, dialed, connected, and

checked out what was new on the various bulletin boards with it, Regardless of which term program [usedor what bulletin boardsor online services I dialed, I had the same results: fast, easy connections, and reliable data transmissions. Aside from changing the Data Carrier Detect (AT &C1) and the Data Terminal Ready (AT &D2), [didn't have to change any of the other AT or S-Register settings which are listed in the back of the manual.

One ofthe things that genuinely surprised me about the Boca 2400 is its size. I have a Hayes Smartmodem which is about 9 1/2 inches long. The Boca 2400isabouthalfthatlength, although it’s the same width and height as the Hayes. The Boca 2400 comes with a phone cable, an AC Power adapter, a small but informative and well laid out manual, and a 5 year warranty. Also included are two 3.5 inch disks for PC users, one

toconnect to America Online, and the other one

isaterminal program for PC users. Ifyou happen to have a 1581 or an FD disk drive, these can be formatted and used for your own purposes, A couple of special offers also come with the Boca, with information on joining GEnie and

CompuServe, both of which have Commodore

support areas, The special offers are something thatseem tobe packaged with every new modem regardless of modem brand, however, so I wouldn't let this affect my decision in

a modem.

certain buyin,

The advertising on the box and manual proclaim, “High Quality, Affordable Communications”, On this, | tend to agree. Whether you're looking for a modem to begin exploring the world of telecommunications, or want tostep up from 300 or 1200 baud, the Boca 2400 is an excellent choice.

+ Les Songa

9)

COMMODORE WORLD

Graphic Interpretation

by Stoue Vander Ark

IMPORTING & EXPORTING GRAPHICS WITH GEOS

I spend a lot of time with GEOS. You might say at I'ma GEOS addict. I certainly don’tleave the S environment without an awfully good on, and thanks to all the wonderful applications and add-on utilities available for the system, I don't usually have to. I have a word processor that has as many features as any other I might find, a paint program that can’t be beat, and a fairly good term program (well, okay, so that’s the weak link; but hey, it works!). Anyone reading my columns the last few years is bound to have noticed that I'm a graphics and desktop publishing fan. And let's face it S is the way to go when it comes to those kinds of projects.

Irealize, of course, that there are other types of programs out there that people are using every day, and there are plenty of decent Commodore programs to create graphics. Programs like RUN Paint and Koala Painter actually use a different graphics mode to allow for very rich multi-color graphics. For shear ease of use, the Print Shop program, along with Print Shop clones like The Flintstones Print Kit, offer quick and easy desktop publishing as well. Computer bulletin boards holdlots of graphicsin Print Shop mode, available for the price of the download.

A lot of folks are also using computers like the Amiga, the Macintosh, or the IBM-clone. There are plenty of wonderful graphics programs for those machines too, programs with immense power. They use graphics in many forms, and those graphics arealso available for downloading.

I still use GEOS, though—both on my Commodore and on my IBM clone. One of the reasons that GEOS can serve my needs so well is

COMMODORE WORLD

that, if | want to, I can tap into a lot of those graphics out there that are intended for all those

that keeps GEOS going in this era of machines and multimedia. This capability to import so many other graphic formats didn’t come built into GEOS, however. You have to pay alittle extra here and there. Butit sureis worth it. Over thenext two columns, I'll talkaboutsome of these graphic modes and formats. Then I'll talk about some of the conversion programs you'll need to import those images into your GEOS environment. Thisissue I'll cover graphics created for and by other Commodore programs; next issue I'll take a look at some of the other graphic formats you're likely to encounter, and tell you what you'll need to bring them into GEOS. Tused to say that there were essentially three graphics modes forthe Commodore, but with the advent of BASIC 8 and I-Paint, that statement is

38

abitout of date. For starters, though, let's go back to the basic three modes. The first is text mode, which is the way your Commodore boots up. What you see on the screen is essentially pre- defined charactersin theshapeofletters, numbers and symbols. Each shape comes out of the computer's permanent memory and is therefore drawn very quickly. It’s possible to divert the computer’sattention toa set of shapes you define yourself, but the basic dimensions of each shape arealways the same. Things look pretty blocky in this mode, but since it's most often used for text or simple lines, that’s okay. Text mode is often referred to as “low resolution” mode.

The second graphics mode, referred to as “medium resolution” or “multi-color” mode, offers a little bit more in the way of color. Its screen resolution suffersa little, but thislimi is offset by its more powerful color capabilities. Some of the finest artwork ever done on a Commodore computer were done in multi-color mode. The KoalaPad graphics tablet used this mode forts excellent paint program, KoalaPaint, Multi-color images are commonly stored in KoalaPaint format, sometimescompressed, Ifthe filename begins with an inverted spade symbol, the image is in Koala format; if it begins with “GG" the image is in compressed Koala format.

The third graphics mode is called “high resolution” andit allows the finest detail ofall but at the cost of some limits on colors. Many programs operate in high-res mode, including GEOS, Print Shop, and Doodle. Doodle format is something of a standard for high-res images. A file with a name beginning with “DD” isa Doodle

Issue 4

file, while one with a filename beginning with “IJ” isin compressed Doodle format. Print Shop, Print Master, and Newsroom each have their own formats for storing high-resolution clip art images.

‘The graphics you might want to use in GEOS, then, have to be in a high- resolution format to be used directly by geoPaint. Ifthey aren't already in high-resolution format they'll have to be converted. Here's a list of the programs that will do the work for you:

Graphics Grabber (on the Deskpack Plus disk from Creative Micro Designs) This is the “official” graphics conversion program for GEOS. It will import graphics in the formats used by Print Shop, Print Master, and Newsroom. Theinterfaceisve ialog box with a double click instead of having to select and then go find an “open” button. Ifyou have Print Shop graphics t u would love to use, this is the easiest way to import them into GEOS. Graphics Grabber works fine in 40- or 80-column modes, too.

touse;itevenallowsyoutoselect froma:

Import Runner by Joe Buckley (on the RUN Power Pack II disk distributed by Creative Micro Designs) Import Runner will capture the following types of Commodoreimages:standardbitmaps, images, and standard and compressed Koala multi-color images. Since the colorinformation in multi-colorimagesisincompatible with GEOS format, Import Runner substitutes GEOS patterns for the colors to create a monochrome version of the picture. Each conversion can be done into a photo scrap or into a geoPaint file.

dardandcompressed Doodle

Graphic Storm by Joe Buckley (available as sharew 00) Graphic Storm is similar to Import Runner, probably since it was written by the same guy. It works pretty much the same, although it handles a somewhat

COLOR 64 BBS

THE COLOR 64 BBS SYSTEM, one of the most sophisticated BBS systems for the Commodore 64 computer, has always been built to be functional when first installed yet completely modifyable by the SYSOP. Now we are proud to announce the release of version 8.0, the latest form of the BBS system that is popular with both beginner and advanced Sysops.

In its stock form Color 64 supports: 300 to 2400 BPS; up to 38,400 BPS with CMD's SwiftLink; Hayes compatible modems; Commo- dore or compatible disk drives; CMD HD Series, Lt. Kernal and ICT hard drives; IEEE drives; Commodore REU's up to 2 MB; CMD's RAMLink and MORE. A minimum of 1300 blocks of disk space is recommended as well as some form of disk drive speed enhance- ment such as CMD's JiffyDOS, Skyles Flash Interface or fastloader.

Color 64 also features: upload and download directories; Punter and Xmodem protocols; an advanced public message system; a full featured message editor; built-in MCI commands for message formatting; 40 and 80 column support; an automatic page pauser; Commodore graphics and color; ANSI graphics and color; Built-in terminal program with phone book; Built-in networking with net- worked mail, public messages, and file transfers.

More information about Color 64 BBS can be obtained by contacting the SYSOP of the Sonic Temple BBS at 410-285-0428. You can also send GEnie mail to F.OGLE, Inet/Usenet mail to F.OGLE@GENIE.GEIS.COM or U.S. Mail to Fred Ogle, P.O. Box 35427, Dundalk, MD 21222-7427. Send all orders via Mail,

Pricing for Color 64 Version 8.0, a four disk set with documentation: the cost is $65.00. Postage/handling charges: US Mail 3rd Class add $2.00 (Surface), US Mail 1st class(Air) add $3.00, Priority Mail (2nd Day) add $4.00, Express Mail (Next Day) add $15.00. U.S. funds only, checks or money orders accepted. Canadian orders add $5.00. Prices and features