December 1990 MCU Magazine

General Information

MCUC

This newsletter is published monthly for distribution to members of the Memphis Commodore Users Club. It is in no way connected with the Commodore Business Machine Ltd. or Commodore Inc. and Commodore products (CBM, PET, C64, C128, VIC20, Amiga) are registered trademarks of Commodore Inc. The MCUC is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is the free exchange of information & knowledge about the use of Commodore computer systems. Memberships are open to anyone; ownership of a computer is not required. Monthly meetings are open to the public & visitors are welcome.

Dues are broken down into three categories. Membership dues may be paid quarterly (3 months) at $6.00 or annually at $20.00. An associate membership is offered for those living outside a 45 mile radius of Memphis at $10 per year. All memberships are Family Memberships. Dues are not refundable.

Contribution to the MCUC magazine may be in any word processor. You may submit articles on disk, or a hardcopy, or upload to the MCUC BBS (362-0632). Other User Groups are welcome to reprint material from this magazine; we ask only that you give credit to the author and source.

The editor reserves the right to reject material submitted relating to illegal services, products or unethical practices. All material submitted becomes the property of MCUC. The 12th of each month is the DEADLINE FOR ARTICLES.

Meetings

General Membership Meeting - First Tuesday of each month, 7:00 PM in the new building Auditorium, State Technical Institute.

Beginner's Class - First Saturday after the first Tuesday. 1:00 PM Location to be announced each month.

Board of Director's Meeting - Monday after General Meeting. 7:30 PM State Tech, Rm 1106A in new building (near cafeteria).

128,CP/M,MS-DOS Sig Classes - Now meeting with the Memphis FOG group and Home Users Group. 4th Tuesday of each month at the Whitestation Library. Copy Session at 6 PM, Meeting starts as 7:00 PM.

Officers

Advertising Rates

Classified to Members FREE
All ads must be in by the 12th.
CIRCULATION: 300 copies

President's Ponderings Member's Challenge!

by Bob Nunn

Our meeting will be held December 4th in the rubble that was once the New Auditorium out at State Tech. (Actually, the meeting will be held in the old cafeteria due to the Board of Regent's meeting.) Well, the 4th is the day after the big EARTHQUAKE prediction. Either way, if there is an electrical plug there, we'll manage to get a 64 up and running so I guess I'll see you.

This meeting has a bit of club business to take care of, and an important one at that. We will be nominating the officers for the club. This is a key meeting, as well as the January election meeting, so you'll want to make and extra effort to be at both.

At this time there are still no firm commitments from anyone on several of the offices. I want to warn you that both my wife and I have given 3 years to the club in offices and will not continue under any circumstances. We will spend time assisting the new officers as long as they require, and will still be active members. Some of the other officers are not re-running as well. I know they will be glad to lend assitance to the new officers as well.

If you are on the fence I want to encourage you to jump in and do it. Nobody is born with the knowledge of how to run a club or take care of any part of it. It is a learned function and you pick up as you go. My wife had never done a newsletter and I had only held office in High School Clubs. Hardly what you would call experience. Time is not a factor because everyone is always busy and many of our officers are volunteers in other clubs or active in the guard etc. It really is just a matter of being responsible and coordinating things. Most of you are responsible and with a little effort can coordinate the activities of a club like MCUC. It's up to YOU.

I do want to share one thing with you I wouldn't trade the last 3 years for anything. It has helped me both personally and professionally. I have learned more, had more fun doing this than about anything in my life. I think that if you'll take the plunge, you will find that you get back at least as much as you put in, plus interest. With today's economy that ain't bad deal is it?

Nominating Committee Report

The nominating committee is finalizing the list of nominees for office for next year. They will present their recommendations at the December meeting. We encourage all members to make a special effort to attend this meeting. Nominations from the floor will be taken.

The elections will be held in January. Due to the fact that the first Tuesday is January 1, the meeting will be held January 2, a Wednesday. We realize this is a chruch night for many members, but we urge you to make a special effort to attend this meeting. Due to the holiday, and the availability of meeting space at State Tech, we had no choice but to set the meeting for January 2.

Be sure to attend the December and January meetings for the nomination and election of new officers.

December Special MCUC Custom Notebooks $5.00 ea.

Comes with specially printed inserts for the sleeves on the outside of the notebooks. The insert for the back of the notebook features commonly used commands for easy reference.

Put your Members Packet, to be released this month, in a notebook with the disks. Keep everything in one handy place.

Secretary's Notes

The official board was called to order at 7:30 P.M. by Bob Nunn, President.

Officers present
Wayne Moore, Treasurer
Ron Montgomary, Ed. Coordinator
Bob Nunn, President
Cheryn Nunn, Newsletter Editor
Jim West, Librarian
Richard Coffman, Secretary

The Chairman of the nomination committee has been ill. Committee will elect a new chairman.

December Demos- Desterm and DigiPlayer by Mark Dickinson of Stereo Sid Player fame.

Library selections for December will be lots of good programs. Check December newsletter for programs. Good stocking stuffers.

The Christmas party is December 8, 1990. Bring snacks for your group. Club will furnish drinks. Door prizes will be given, Santa may visit. Bring a gift to exchange. Girl for girl, boy for boy. Please label boy or girl gift. $5.00 limit on gifts. 7:00 to 9:00 PM. Place to be announced in newsletter and on BBS.

Income tax disk will be available at Jan. meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.

Respectively submitted,

Richard Coffman, Secretary

Treasurer's Report

TREASURER'S REPORT 11-15-90

WAYNE MOORE TREASURER

Software Source

Compsult, in California, lists many titles of C64/128 software at closeout prices. They primarily handle software which has been closed out, liquidated, discontinued, abandoned or otherwise has become difficult to find. Call 1-805-676-6616 and ask for a catalog. They also carry titles for other computers.

Bob's Wish List

by Cheryn Nunn

Bob thinks he has a computer wish list this year, but... If he could have a wish list this year, this is what would be on it. The following items also happen to be the latest software and upgrades items to hit the shelves for the Commodore. All the information has been taken from catalogs and we have not personally seen these things, so take that into consideration when thinking about a purchase.

Super Snapshot Cartridge

This item is not new, but it's still a great little item to have. It has been on the market for several years, and has been steadily upgraded. Software Support Int'l still has the V4, in limited quantities, for $34.95. Includes a whole disk and file copiers, built-in DOS wedge, fast load feature, screen capture, plus many other features. If you want to spring the money, V5 goes for $64.95. The new features include compatibility with REU's, a utility to archive any memory resident program into a single file, a terminal program, enhanced screen copy features, more DOS commands and a sequential file reader, among others. We've got Jiffy Dos V6 our equipment and still use our SnapShot ALOT! There are other features and options you can get with these cartridges so call Software Support for a catalog, 1-800-356-1179.

C-128 Video Ram Upgrades

The C-128D comes with 64K of video RAM. Programs like Maverick, FasTrac/128, I-Paint, BASIC 8 and others, make use of the 64K. If you have a plain 'ole 128, you may want to consider upgrading from the 16K you have to a full 64K. Again, Software Support Int'l sells a plug-in upgrade for $49.95, no soldering required. If you're squemish about opening up your computer to do it yourself, Data Tech Services will upgrade it for $59.95.

(When Bob was at the World of Commodore show, the guy from Berkeley Softworks had upgraded his video RAM to 256K. The chips for this upgrade are not that much more expensive and he can't see any reason why it wouldn't work. Remember, however, that just like REU's, you may not can take full advantage of the extra memory unless the software is written to access it. But who knows what the future may bring?)

FasTrac/128

by Mike J. Henry of FastHack'em fame. This program is touted as the ultimate 128 utility system. Major features include:

Disk Copy-single/dual drive, with/without verify, 1541, 1581 or true 1571 formats, supports 1764-1750 REU and 64K video RAM

File Copy-single/dual drive, copies between any two C= Drives including SFD-1001, MSD's, hard drives and others, 1541/true 1571 formats, 1581 partition support, REU and video RAM support.

128 M/L Monitor-go anywhere in memory full scrolling both directions, plus other features.

128 Directory Editor-edit and organize any standard directory, 1541/true 1571/1581 partition support

128 IBM MFM Disk Copier-copies standard IBM formatted 360K 5.25" disks with your 1571 drive, REU/video RAM support.

128 1581 Duplicator-single/dual drive, REU/video RAM support, the fastest 1581 to 1581 copier EVER!

Most of the features make use of the 128's extra memory.

Registered Maverick owners may purchase one copy of FasTrac/128 for only $20.00, offer valid only through Software Support.

I-Paint

This program allows you to work on a full 640x400 pixel image ON SCREEN! (same resolution as an Amiga or IBM VGA mode) The entire image is displayed at once. Supports all C= disk drives, the CMD hard drive, 1750/1764/1750 clone REU's. Requires a mouse and a C128D or 64K video RAM enhanced C128. Create pictures that will absolutely stun your friends!

Pictionary

Play your favorite board game on the computer. Uses mouse, joystick or keyboard. Play against each other or against the computer. Broderbund. $23.95 from Tenex.

Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?

They say "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" is great for teaching geography. Where is Time is Carmen Sandiego will teach history as well as geography. Covers time from A.D. 400 to the 1950's. Broderbund. $29.95 from Tenex.

The Keys to Maramon

You are hired by the town council of the Island of maramon to rid it of the monsters that terrorize them every night. Mindcraft Software. $24.95 from Tenex.

Buck Rogers

You are Buck Rogers in the 25th century and with your New Earth Organization Team, face all kinds of challenges. Electronic Arts. $32.95 from Tenex.

Dragon Strike

Fly missions on the back of a fire-breathing dragon. Non-stop action and intense challenges in the skies of Krynn. Electronic Arts. $ 32.95 from Tenex

B.A.T.

Prevent a great disaster to the Universe in Earth's 22nd century. As a member of the Bureau of Astral Troubleshooters, you must eliminate an evil genius and restore peace to the Universe. Electronic Arts. $32.95 from Tenex.

Empire

Command invasion forces in a full-scale planetary war. Explore uncharted worlds, capture hostile cities and battle the enemy on land and sea. From one to three players. Interstel. $37.95 from Tenex.

TV Sports Football

With "television style" action, fantastic graphics and pleasing sound and music, this one is realistic and fun. Includes an entire season of football. Electronic Arts. $23.95 from Tenex.

Wings of Fury

You're in the cockpit of the U.S. Navy's F6F Hellcat. Grab the stick and prepare for action. Dogfights, and search and destroy missions will test your "cool" against enemy destroyers. $22.95 from Tenex.

Blockout

Tetris-like, fit together three-dimensional blocks a they fall toward a grid. Uses a mouse and keyboard or keyboard only. California Games. $24.95 from Tenex.

The Untouchables

Six exciting action sequances based on Elliot Ness's elite squad of mafia busters and you are in the middle of all the action. Ocean. $24.95 from Tenex.

Shadow of the Beast

This game confronts you with 132 different and vicious monsters, all arcade-quality, fully-animated sprites. The action is fast and furious. Psygnosis. $29.95 from Tenex.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Join the wacky time travellers as they pose puzzles to Socrates, jam with Beethoven, and visit other famous figures from history. Recreates all the fun of the hit movie. Capstone. $23.95 from Tenex.

Fisher-Price Combo Pack Volume 1

For the little ones, this includes My Grand Piano, Little People Bowling Alley, and Firehouse Rescue. $23.95 from Tenex.

Blades Of Steel

The speed, fore-checking, passing and goal scoring of real-life hockey are included in this arcade-style action game. Choose your favorite team. Konami/Ultra Software. $23.95 from Tenex.

The President is Missing

It's your job to find the terrorist who have taken the President of the United States hostage. Control the central computer at the Counter Terrorist branch of the C.I.A. to help you identify suspects. Includes a 30-minute audio cassette with kidnapper's demands and clues. $7.95 from Tenex.

Dungeon Master Assistant

Volume 1: Encounters

This utility program is designed to help Dungeon Masters generate encounters for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons campaigns quickly and easily.

Volume 2: Characters and Treasures

Generate up to 12 single-class and 13 multi-class character types as well as generate and modify random treasure, magic items and jewelry.

Both from Strategic Simulations, Inc. $23.95 from Tenex.

USED SOFTWARE BLOWOUT!

Software Support Int'l lists over 400 titles of used C64/128 software, prices from $4.95 to $14.95. Make great stocking stuffers.

BRAND NEW SOFTWARE at BLOWOUT PRICES!

Software Support Int'l also lists over 180 titles of new software at prices from $4.95 to $19.95. These won't last long so order quickly!!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

by Charlie Wirth and Mike Frances

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
the only thing stirring was my computer with its 1351 mouse.

It sat in the corner with its screen all aglow,
patiently waiting for someone we all know.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of new computer games danced in their heads.

With Mom in her Q-Link nightshirt and I in my Compuserve cap,
We had just settled down for a long winter's nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
it sounded to me like the noise of a 1541 head chatter.

So I sprang from my waterbed to check out the drive,
Because the noise that I heard appeared to be live.

I pulled back the drapes and threw up the sash,
which is apparently what caused my bulletin board to crash.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver so lively and quick,
it reminded me of my printer, but I knew it must be St. Nick.

With the speed of the burst mode his coursers they came
and he whistled and shouted and called them by name.

There was Basic and Seven, Fortran and Dos, --
Cobal, Paschal, CP/M and even Z-DOS.

So up to the housetop the reindeers soon flew,
with a sleigh full of PC's and St. Nicholas too.

And then in a twinkling I heard on the roof
the hacking and cracking of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head and was turning around,
down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot,
it was then that he noticed the board was kaput.

With stockings to fill and no time to waste,
he re-booted the system at a megahertz pace.

Now seeing the equipment was old and quite worn,
he reached in his bag and a new one was born.

There were thousands of disks, a hard drive and more,
A shiny new monitor with graphics galore.

He spoke not a word while completing his work.
He filled all the stockings and turned with a jerk.

With the touch of a finger to the side of his face,
in only an instant he Aborted this place.

He sprang to his sleigh, to the reigns gave a slap.
It was now on to Syntax, MCUC and Headgap.

From there to the Flagship is the way he would travel,
For he had heard all these boards were worn to a frazzle.

But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT!

Disks of the Month

Digi-Player 64

We have an exciting lineup for this month. The first disk is Digiplayer v3.0 by Mark Dickenson. Mark, you may remember, is the author of the stereosidplayer. This is a SHAREWARE program and we want to encourage you to send money to Mark if you like and use the proram. Digiplayer v3 is a stereo version and plays digitized samples not only from 64/128 machines but from Amiga (IFF) and from MacIntosh, and MS/DOS machines. The disk contains some creative samples. Thanks to Donald Buchanan, Kevin Dunn, and Kevin Ralls for rounding up the programs and samples for us.

Games 64

Disk two is a games disk that contains several games. The asteroids game is as good as any arcade version I have played. What is really exceptional on this disk however is Tetrix. This pd game is better than the commercial game and allows head to head plays! Thanks to CLIC in New York, and C-West.

War Games

Disk 3 contains Wargames that is exceptionally well done. Remember the password is Joshua. This one even talks to you. Thanks to C-West in San Francisco.

December 128

        MCUC DECEMBER 128 DISK

MANDLEBROT 128.MAKE MANDLEBROT SCREENS
SCREEN CHG 40/80......................
MODE MENU.128.........................
TEXTREADER128/80..READ SEQ FILES 80COL
C128 WEST....DEMO FROM GROUP EXCHANGES
BURGERWHOP.128........................
TEASER128.............................
DISK INSPECT/128......................
FLASHCARDS 128.............EDUCATIONAL
1581BOOT PROTECT.......SAVE VALIDATION
ESCAPING1.128/80......................
CODE DECODE/128.......................
MARQUEE/128...........SCROLLING SCREEN

 USE CURSORS TO SELECT, THEN <RETURN>

Disk 4 for the 128 has a Mandelbrot Generator on it along with other programs of interest. Thanks to CLIC and C128 West. There is also a credit program on the disk from C128 West, who have been responsible for providing some of the programs on our disks in the past.

Highlighting MCUC BBS!

If you get that modem you've been wanting for Christmas, then give the MCUC BBS a call at 901-362-0632. With a 40 meg hard drive online, much of the MCUC Public Domain Library is available for downloading. The sub-boards contain continuing discussions on many subjects, as well as helpful hints and tips for working with your Commodore.

Got a specific problem? Pose a question in the appropriate sub-board area, and you're liable to get the answer you've been looking for.

The BBS is also a great way to make new friends. Many of the people Bob and I first met when we moved to Memphis, we met through the BBS first. There have even been romances which started through a BBS, so you never know, you may find the love of your life!

Recovering Disks

by Bob Nunn

Have you ever quick newed a disk and realized you had cleared the wrong disk? Have you ever scratched a file and wished you hadn't? Well, I used to tell people to just forget about it. If you were familiar with Disk Dr. or some other sector editor then you could recover a scratched file if you knew what to do.

RECOVER A WHOLE DISK

We had a lady that had her store's inventory on a disk and she accidently gave a new command. The directory showed 664 blks. free. I pulled out my trusty Maverick 5.0 Goodies Disk and ran the program DISK DIR RECOVERY. Within minutes we had a new directory. It renames the files f1, f2, etc., through whatever amount of files, and makes them all prg files but then gives you the option to change them to sequential. At this point we stopped and ran each program to identify what files were what and which one needed to be sequential files. After renaming them, we loaded up the DISK DIR RECOVERY and toggled the filetypes on the seq files. Completely restored and it took no more than an hour.

HOW TO RECOVER A SCRATCHED FILE

To recover a scratched file? Look no further than your Members Packet Disk. Load Disk Controler v3.0 and get an extended directory. Write down the scratched file name and then select the @ from the main menu, enter the file name. You now have a recovered file!

Keep in mind that you cannot recover a file or files from a disk that has been completely formatted. However, most other file losses can be recovered using this method.

HARD SECTOR ERRORS

I am no expert when it comes to programming or even completely understanding most things that go on with a computer. I have learned a trick or two and really don't completely understand why they work. If you get a disk with a head clattering error on it, just make a full disk copy with Maverick or Fast Hackem. Make sure you don't use a Nibbler as this copies the errors, but the regular whole disk copiers don't copy errors and many times you can recover a disk. Hope this helps!

Nov. Beginner's Class

I haven't had so much fun without laughing out loud. I hope all of you did too. Special thanks to Donald Buchanan and all the attendants of the class.

Best of the Best (in my opinion)

by Cheryn Nunn

This month's newsletter will try to focus on the software for your C64/128, since last month we showed you all the hardware. You'll see many software products listed in this issue, but I thought I would give you my personal favorites in the productivity area.

Word Processor

The Write Stuff, of course. This is the best of the best in my book. Intuitive, easy-to-use, yet packed with features of the more expensive and harder to use word processors. Allows you to customize printer codes for your brand of printer, so theoretically, it should work with ANY printer you can hook to a Commodore. Retail prices start at $22 for the 64 with speller version plus $4.50 shipping, so MCUC's prices of $18 for the 64 set and $28 for the 128 set are a bargain.

Spreadsheet

I am almost afraid to state my favorite here, since I've run down GEOS so much, but GEOCALC is the winner. It's easy to use if you can overcome the general problems with GEOS. To be honest, I've not tried many other spreadsheets, but those I've seen are difficult to navigate in and hard to figure out how to use.

Database

I always liked Michael Konshak's DFile 64, but I've been using Fleet Filer a lot lately, and find it is very full featured. Strictly speaking, a database is a filing system, much like a file cabinet. And you don't expect your file cabinet to do calculations for you. However, in a limited way. Fleet Filer will do calculations. It's easy to use and the instructions are concise and clear. Also includes a tutorial that is very helpful in learning certain features.

Desktop Publishing

In producing the newsletter, we don't use a total desktop publishing program. We've tried nearly every one that is on the market for the 64/128 and have found none that work quickly enough to satisfy us. When producing a newsletter of more than 2 to 4 pages, I feel the cut and paste method is going to be faster than anything else. If you do want to use a desktop publisher, geoPublish is probably your best bet. It will let you import text and graphics from the other GEOS programs. (Entering text within the publisher itself is very laborious, something that other publishers feature. In other words, you can't import text from a word processor.) GEOS also has the best selection of fonts, with many more in the public domain area. The selection of a good clean font is critical in making your material easily readable.

If publishing a good size piece, as I stated above, the cut and paste method will be faster. We use The Write Stuff for all normal text. It will print in double columns in one pass so this will save a lot of your pasting time. We use geoWrite for the headlines, footers, and other large print we need. Again, due to the selection of fonts, we get a cleaner, easier to read print. GEOS also has double strike and quad strike printer drivers that will darken your printing quite a bit, better for reproduction at the print shop.

Fun Desktop Publishing

I made this a separate group because that's what it is; fun! This would include making signs, banners, calenders, and greeting cards. There are two good ones here; Print Shop and Print Master. There are hunders, if not thousands, of graphics available. There are font editors available that will let you create your own font, or modify an existing one. Bob and I did our own Christmas cards one year. It was a lot of fun.

There are other, more sophisticated programs to do accounting, inventory keeping, and vary sophisticated databases. But for most average jobs, the programs I've reviewed above will take care of you. None cost over $55 (mail order). Public Domain is great, but sometimes you've just got to lay out some bucks to get the job done right.

Dungeons & Dragons

You've heard of the Dungeons and Dragons games. These games are role playing type games, as opposed to arcade-style games.

Some of the software titles included in this group are:

from the Dragonlance Series-
War of the Lance
Dragons of Flame
Heroes of the Lance
Champions of Krynn: A Dragonlance
Fantasy Role-Playing Epic, Vol 1

from the Forgotton Realms Series-
Pool of Radiance
Hillsfar
Curse of the Azure Bonds

The New Headgap

by Bob Nunn

Most of you know that I have been running a bbs for some time. I recently changed bbs programs to enable me to offer more from my 100+ Megabyte CMD Hard Drive. It was a hard decision to change from the Ivory system. Bill Jackson had done a great job with the program over the years. Ivory is easy for the novice BBS operator to set up, very reliable, and extremely easy for a new modem user to learn to navigate. It has to be the best BBS program around to support new C64/128 users. It was like losing an old friend.

If you haven't been on in a while, why not get out the old modem and log on. It is still fairly simple to operate but some of the menu commands are different.

The new bbs program I am running is DMBBS V5.0 from Artisoft, and I purchased it after meeting the authors at the World of Commodore. It came complete with source code and Artisoft offers 24 hour online support as well as a business hours helpline. The bbs now has a large library and many articles and information files are available. Add a lively message base, movies, graphic files, online games, and a transfer area with some of the best programs available and that stacks up to the all NEW OPERATOR HEADGAP! It still offers 3/12/2400 baud, and Color Graphics. Call (901)-365-1583. Memphis' Oldest continously running Commodore BBS!

Index