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Table of contents: |
| COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE Issue #50 | Home | Index | Magazine | ||||||
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| Articles in section: ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE |
| "ABOUT
CFDM" ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE |
| Back to top |
"ABOUT CFDM" COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE is dedicated to those who still enjoy running under RS DOS. It will deal with that format exclusively. A primary goal is to keep the COCO community strong. By providing a unique means of communication, maybe old fires will be rekindled as you and I share our knowledge and experiences! The success of this effort depends on each one who becomes a subscriber. Everyone must contribute his/ her two cents in the form of articles, programs, opinions, experiences, etc. If this happens we will all look forward to the next issue. (Check out the manual with your starter kit for details on how to submit material.) Now let's have some fun!!! =* |
ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE is the creation and property of Rick Cooper. It is distributed solely by RICK'S COMPUTER ENTERPRISE. The material which makes up each issue remains the property of the author(s) or contributor(s) unless an agreement has been made otherwise. COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE is dedicated exclusively to those who enjoy the COCO3 operating under RS DOS. It is hoped that this publication will encourage the continued usage of our favorite computer. Neither CFDM nor RICK'S COMPUTER ENTERPRISE will be responsible for the submission or publication of any material that does not belong to the submitter. WE DO NOT ADVOCATE OR SUPPORT PIRACY! =* |
| Articles in section: ABOUT THIS ISSUE |
| CONTENTS...PART
1 (i50) CONTENTS...PART 2 (i50) PROGRAM DIRECTORY (i50) THIS MONTH'S COVER |
| Back to top |
ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE (2)
1 "ABOUT CFDM"
2 ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE
ABOUT THIS ISSUE (4)
1 CONTENTS...PART 1 (i50)
2 CONTENTS...PART 2 (i50)
3 PROGRAM DIRECTORY (i50)
4 THIS MONTH'S COVER
ACTIVE COCO (4)
1 COCO REGISTRY..NOT YET!
2 FIFTH ANNUAL "LAST" CHICAGO FEST
3 JETSON by Harold Moenich <g>
4 THE NEW PCFDM!!
=>
____________________________________________________
ADVERTISEMENTS (7)
1 ADVENTURE GROUP
2 CFDM SUBSCRIPTION
3 FLIPPIE DISKS
4 IBM & COCO3,2 STUFF FOR SALE
5 PC FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE
6 Public Domain/Shareware Games.
7 SOME COCO ITEMS FOR SALE!
ARTICLES OF THE MONTH (7)
1 COCO CHRONICLES INTRODUCTION
2 COCO CHRONICLES PART 2
3 COCO CHRONICLES PART 3
4 COCO CHRONICLES PART 4
5 SOME EMULATOR INSTRUCTIONS
6 SOME EMULATOR INSTRUCTIONS PART 2 =>
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7 SOME EMULATOR INSTRUCTIONS PART 3
COCO FRIENDS ART GALLERY (7)
1 DOTTIE'S LAST PICTURES
2 My Other Hobby
3 Space 2
4 The Return of Mr. Art
5 VIEWING THE CFDM ART GALLERY
6 WINTER MORN
7 WINTER NIGHT
FAMILY TREE (1)
1 FAMILY COCO
=*
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FORUM (4)
1 CONTEST..by Ben Walker <g>
2 ORPHANWARE..WHAT DO YOU THINK?
3 THE ORPHANWARE QUESTION
4 WHEN DOES THE 21ST CENTURY BEGIN
FROM THE EDITOR (3)
1 BUSY..BUSy..BUsy..Busy..busy!
2 KUDOS FOR #50'S CONTRIBUTORS!!
3 THIS MONTH'S HOLY SCRIPTURE
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (9)
1 * RICK'S PICNIC II *
2 ENJOYING CFDM IN CANADA!!
3 EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS!
4 HAWKSOFT SWITCH =>
____________________________________________________
5 KEEP UP THE MUSIC!!
6 Renewal time
7 THANKS FOR YOUR RESPONSE!
8 THOSE PC MEN (and WOMEN)!
9 Thank You Barry Miller
POTPOURRI (4)
1 Creating a new letter font
2 KING OF THE ROAD
3 Television Advertisements
4 Television Advertisements 2.
PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH (7)
1 COCO 3 LAYOUT
2 COCO 3 LAYOUT Part 2
3 MULTIPLY...A math drill =>
____________________________________________________
4 PERMCASE.BAS - Fiction!
5 READING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
6 READING IMPROVEMENT (Continued)
7 Revised SONGBOOK Program
REVIEWS (1)
1 Build A Home PC - I did!
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (3)
1 EXCERPTED QUESTIONS
2 HARDCOPY
3 Photon Hints?
=*
|
Here's a description of the files on the PROGRAM/
SIDE. File names preceded by an asterisk are data
files and not to be RUN or EXECed!
NAME.........COMMAND..SECTION OR DESCRIPTION......
* GOLDFINH.NIB........ART GALLERY
* GYPSYRVR.BIN........Data file for SONGBOOK.BAS
* GYPSYRVR.TXT........Data file for SONGBOOK.BAS
* H4FONT .BIN........Data file for TD.BAS
* INTRO .QZF........Data file for TD.BAS
* INTRO .TXT........Data file for TD.BAS
LAYOUT .BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
MR ART .BAS..RUN...ART GALLERY
* MR ART .HVC........Data file for "MR ART.BAS"
* NIBLOADR.BIN........NIB picture loader utility
* NIBSAVER.BIN........NIB picture saver utility =>
____________________________________________________
NIBSHOW .BAS..RUN...ART GALLERY
PERMCASE.BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* PERMCASE.TXT........Data file for PERMCASE.BAS
* PIXMOVER.BIN........Picture mover utility
* SNTLUCIA.BIN........Data file for SONGBOOK.BAS
* SNTLUCIA.TXT........Data file for SONGBOOK.BAS
SONGBOOK.BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* SPACE2 .NIB........ART GALLERY
SR .BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
TD .BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* VOLKS .NIB........ART GALLERY
* WEGATHER.BIN........Data file for SONGBOOK.BAS
* WEGATHER.TXT........Data file for SONGBOOK.BAS
* WINTMORN.NIB........ART GALLERY
* WNTRNITE.NIB........ART GALLERY
* WORDLIST.DAT........Data file for SR.BAS =>
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* Note three programs is on the Magazine Side.
KINGROAD.BAS..RUN...POTPOURRI
* KINGROAD.BIN........Data file for KINGROAD.BAS
MULTIPLY.BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
=*
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Moonrise This is really a very simple picture to do.
It really is beautiful at night when there is a
full moon first rising. It won't be too much
longer and we'll be able to stand outside again
to watch it rise night after night. I hope this
finds all well and we'll see you again next time.
....... Jim Gibbons
=*
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| Articles in section: ACTIVE COCO |
| COCO
REGISTRY..NOT YET! FIFTH ANNUAL "LAST" CHICAGO FEST JETSON by Harold Moenich <g> THE NEW PCFDM!! |
| Back to top |
COCO REGISTRY..NOT YET! A couple of months ago we made a concerted effort
to reach the 500 member mark for the CoCo Registry.
In the next issue I announced that it should be
filled by Feburary..but...about 20 new members came
in, but we needed about 40.
I could go ahead and make what we have available,
but that would be a little wasteful on my time and
your money. Let's just wait a little while and see
if those other members will show up.
IF YOU HAVEN'T REGISTERED FOR THE COCO REGISTRY,
PLEASE SEND FOR A DATA FORM. IT COSTS NOTHING TO
JOIN AND IT'S A GREAT WAY OF SAYING, "YES I BELONG
TO THE COCO COMMUNITY!!"
=*
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FIFTH ANNUAL "LAST"
CHICAGO FEST The Glenside Color Computer Club of Illinois is
already announcing their Fifth Annual "Last" Chicago
CoCoFEST. The event will be held on April 13th and
14th. On Saturday the hours will be from 10 am to
5 pm. On Sunday from 10 am to 3:30 pm.
The location is the same as last year, that's the
Holiday Inn Elgin located at 345 W. River Road in
Elgin, Illinois. That's a city block from I-90 and
IL-31. Overnight room rate is $57 (plus 10% tax).
Call 1-708-695-5000 for reservations. Ask for the
"Glenside" or "CoCoFEST!" rate.
The cost for non-members is $10 for the whole show
and $5 for 1996 members. (Send SASE or $.50 to cover
postage and handling.) =>
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Children 10 and under are FREE.
For Glenside membership ($15) and advance ticket
sales contact: George Schneeweiss, Treasurer
Glenside Color Computer Club
RR #2 Box 67
( or 13450 N 2700 E Road)
Forrest, IL 61741-9629
For further information, general or exhibitor,
contact:
Tony Podraza, VP Eddie Kuns, Pres.
708-428-3576 (voice) 708-820-3943 (voice)
708-428-0436 (bbs)
=*
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THE NEW PCFDM!! As you have read in recent issues of CFDM, in the latter part of 1995, I attempted to start a new PC disk magazine. Due to a number of factors I have decided to turn the emphasis of that project, PCFDM, to the CoCo3. It will be more in line with where my real interests have always been and it will allow us to bring some unification to the CoCo Community. Here's what I'm proposing to do. The first issue of the NEW PCFDM is currently progressing very nicely. Using the same drivers that Jeff Vavasour wrote for me, we will now produce a quarterly PC disk magazine that will include information from each known source of CoCo material. L. E. Padgett has already agreed to let me publish the entire contents of Adventure Surivivors!! The Glenside Club has been => ____________________________________________________ approached with the same request. They will consider the question at their next meeting. Frank Swygert's 68'micros and Terry Simons of MI&CC's UPGRADE have been invited to display selections from their publications in PCFDM. I hope to have a DELPHI REPORT section and I'm asking Jeff Vavasour for input for a Emulator section. There will also be a little PC material. In addition to all of this, each disk will include Emulator .DSK files of a current CFDM issue!! Sounds great doesn't it?? For those with a PC, PCFDM will be a wonderful "window" (no pun intended) to the CoCo Community! And for the CFDM Friends there will be reports in CFDM as to the material in PCFDM! This project really has possibilities!! => ____________________________________________________ If you have a PC or would like a copy of the first "sample" issue, just send me a few dollars to cover the disk, mailer, and shipping and handling. I want you to help me make this PCFDM a success. We won't have to have hundreds of subscibers to be viable. By the way the NEW PCFDM will be a quarterly and the cost will be $30 per year. Each issue will be sent the month following the regular quarterly CFDM disk. So please help support the new effort at keeping the CoCo alive....join and tell others about CFDM and the NEW PCFDM!!! (NOW AVAILABLE! SEE ADS FOR DETAILS.) =* |
ADVENTURE GROUP Have a little extra time on your hands?..Why not get
involved in a new CoCo pasttime..CoCo Adventures. A
great way to get introduced to adventure gaming is
with L. E. Padgett's informative Adventure Survivors
group. For only $7 per year you'll receive 6 issues
of the Adventure Survivor newsletter. L. E. does a
wonderful job of describing a CoCo adventure and
letting you in on the solutions he has found. You'll
get the maps too! (And what a job they must be to
prepare!) You'll also find that L. E. has a number
of classical CoCo text and graphic adventures at
very low prices.
Get a hobby...Get involved with Adventure Survivors!
=>
____________________________________________________
Adventure Survivors
24 Perthshire Drive
Peachtree City, GA 30269
Tel: 770 487-8461
=*
|
CFDM SUBSCRIPTION Is your subscription running out? Here's how to check: On your mailing label next to your name is a number. The number after the last dash (-) is the last issue on your present subscription. Please don't let your subscription expire. WHEN YOU RESUBSCRIBE PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR ENTIRE SUBSCRIPTION NUMBER. THIS HELPS ME LOCATE YOU IN MY DATABASE! A single issue of CFDM is $6. Or get 3 issues for only $16. A 6 issue subscription is only $30 (a savings of 6$). Back issues are available at the same rates. COCOs FOREVER!! =* |
FLIPPIE DISKS Due to the rise in manufactor's prices it was
necessary to raise the price of our popular flippie
diskettes. Prices have fallen a little now but the
colored flippies are not presently available.
------------------------------------------------
* 25 flippies with sleeves........$13.00 *
* (US residents add $2 s/h..others add $4 s/h) *
* *
* 100 flippies with sleeves........$45.00 *
* (US residents add $4 s/h..others add $9 s/h) *
------------------------------------------------
The price above is for black flippies. Watch
this section for colored flippy availability.
Colored flippies are a little higher!
P.O. Box 276 Liberty, KY 42539 =*
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IBM & COCO3,2 STUFF FOR SALE Various IBM & COCO3,2 stuff for sale. Black & White
camera & tv monitor system,books,software,assemblers
coco2,3, disassembler(RS-DOS), some OS-9 software.If
interested, send long business SASE to:
Larry Stevens
235 Ridgeview Dr.
Clarksville, IN.
47129
=*
|
PC FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE NOW AVAILABLE..SAMPLE ISSUE OF
THE NEW PCFDM
PC Friends Disk Magazine
from
Rick's Computer Enterprise
----------------------------------------------------
We love doing disk magazines based on friendship and
sharing. PC Friends Disk Magazine requires a PC
compatible computer. 90-95% of the material is CoCo!
Send $2 for this sample issue (available March 15th)
and then decide to subscribe to this quarterly disk
for only $30 per year. You'll love it!! =*
|
Public Domain/Shareware Games. #GA001-CC3D : ONE DISK @$3.00.
COSMIC AMBUSH, plus DigiScan Slideshow, Shareware
disk version 1.0,------------>by: Nickolas Marentes.
Requires: 128K+ CoCo 3, Disk Drive and Joystick.
#GA001-CC3P : Printed documentation @$1.00.
----------------------------------------------------
#GA002-CC3D : ONE DISK @$3.00.
PACDUDE, version 1.0,----------->by: Brian O'Neill,
LOGIC, LOGIC2 and LOGIC3,------->by: Raymond Berney.
Requires: 128K+ CoCo 3, Disk Drive and Joystick. An
RGB Monitor is recommended for proper color display.
#GA002-CC3P : Printed documentation @$1.00.
----------------------------------------------------
=>
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#GA003-CC3D : TWO DISKS @$5.00.
THE DUNGEON DEPTHS, version 1.5,-->by: Floyd Resler.
Features realistic digitized sound and voice!
Requires: 512K+ CoCo 3, Disk Drive and Joystick.
#GA003-CC3P : Printed documentation @$1.00.
----------------------------------------------------
#GA004-CC3D : ONE DISK @$3.00.
THE J-MASTER GAMES SYSTEM (14 games),----------->by:
Joel Mathew Hegberg. Requires: 128K+ CoCo 3, Disk
Drive and Joystick (optional to some games.)
#GA004-CC3P : Printed documentation @$1.00.
----------------------------------------------------
=>
____________________________________________________
SPECIAL DEAL: All 5 of the above disks for only
$12.00. Price includes shipping in the continental
(48) United States. Please add an additional $2.00
per order for delivery elsewhere. Payment must be in
U.S. Funds, payable to:-------->Robert Allen Turner.
Mail your order to:
Binary Systems,
PO Box 396,
Double Springs, AL 35553-0396 U.S.A.
All Disks Are In Stock For Immediate Dispatch.
T H A N K T H A N K T H A N K T H A N K
Y O U Y O U Y O U Y O U
! ! ! !
=*
|
SOME COCO ITEMS FOR SALE! I would like to let the CFDM world know of the
availability of some pieces of equipment that I'm
wanting to sell. The items I have are:
Hardware -
1 CoCo 2, 64K (with video monitor adaptor)
1 CoCo 3, 128K
1 RGB Color Monitor for CoCo 3
1 B/W Monochrome Monitor
2 Vertical Disk Drives w/one Controller Card
1 Horizontal Disk Drive w/ Controller Card
Software -
TW-64 & 128 Original Disks
Various Game Rom Packs
=>
____________________________________________________
I'm not sure what this equipment sells for today,
but I really don't want it to sit in my closet if
someone could use it. Please make an offer. I would
expect the person desiring the equipment to pay
shipping costs.
- Carl Sayles
2525 L Street No. 102
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 763-3208
=*
|
COCO CHRONICLES..INTRODUCTION Rick: Here's a very informative series of articles
on the history of the CoCo by Alfredo Santos. I
recently acquired these chronicles from our friend
Arthur Hallock. After reading them, I immediately
set out to locate Alfredo and ask permission to
reprint them for our friends. Al quickly replied,
"Okay." So here you'll find the Table of Contents
and intro to the CoCo Chronicles. We'll continue
with the first year next month. Enjoy!
----------------------------------------------------
The CoCo Chronicles
by alfredo(!)
date started: August 20th, 1984
last update: July 24, 1991
=>
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The COCO CHRONICLES Table of Contents
Open Year
Jan '81 - Feb '81 The Micro Works
Computerware, Spectral Associates
Mar '81 - May '81 Connection-80 BBS
What's Inside The CoCo/BYTE, 68 Micro Journal,
Color Computer News
May '81 - Jun '81 Microsoft's Bill Gates
Year 2: Jul '81 - Jul '81 Chromasette, The Rainbow
Jul '81 - Aug '81 Sep '81 - Oct '81
Telewriter, Colorcom/E
Nov '81 - Dec '81 Jan '82 - Feb '82
The CoCo is Dead, 32K for Free
Mar '82 - May '82 Data Comp, Flex
May '82 - Jun '82 =>
____________________________________________________
Year 3: Jul '82 - Aug '82
Aug '82 - Nov '82
Nov '82 - Jan '83 Donkey King
Jan '83 - Jun '83 Color Computer Magazine
Rainbowfest #1, Hot CoCo Magazine
Year 4: Jul '83 - Sep '83 Enter the Dragon
Sep '83 - Feb '84 Color Expo '83, Graphicom 128K
Feb '84 - Jun '84 Hard Disk
Year 5: Jul '84 - Jan '85 CoCo Max
Feb '85 - Jun '85 EARS
Year 6: Jul '85 - Jun '86
Year 7: Jul '86 - Jun '87 CoCo III
Close
Library
CoCo Prices
Rainbowfests =*
|
COCO CHRONICLES PART 2 CoCo/Dragon Suppliers
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things
Last Update: Aug. 21, 1990
----------------------------------------------------
THE "COCO" CHRONICLES by: alfredo(!)
PROLOGUE
While skimming through the pages of a popular Color
Computer magazine recently, my thoughts traveled
back through the 12 years of Color Computer history.
Back to a time when there was NOTHING.
I recalled the events leading up to my introduction
to this wonderful machine. It seems like only =>
____________________________________________________
yesterday...
Christmas morning 1980: Pam, my wife, must've known
that I was very interested in getting a computer
because, there, under the tree was the new Mattell
Intellivision!? Pam bought that machine due, in part
to the computer capabilities the unit would have
with a keyboard console, scheduled for release in
the spring.
After several days of gunning down waves of aliens,
we both suffered from blurred eye sight, blistered
fingers, lack of sleep, and video game burn out.
Spring seemed so far away.
A couple weeks after Christmas, I came across an =>
____________________________________________________
ad in the New York Daily News for a new Radio Shack
computer which, like the Intellevision, had game
cartridge capabilities, an important feature because
if I didn't like computing, I could always go back
to cleaning up the galaxy. For the refund price of
the Intellevision (sorry Pam) plus another $150, I
had enough money to purchase the new TRS-80 Color
Computer.
I celebrated the arrival of an early "spring". It
was January 9th, 1981. It seems like only yesterday.
----------------------------------------------------
(See Part 3.)
=*
|
COCO CHRONICLES PART 3 GETTING STARTED
This project was, to say the least, a labor of love.
Every attempt was made to ensure an accurate account
of the Color Computer's evolution. Extensive use of
various computer magazine articles and ads were used
as the basis for "dating" events. This "dating"
method was used because most of us probably heard
about various developments through these sources.
Keep in mind, however, that sometimes ads can
precede product availability by as much as a month
or more. Those of you who ordered the very first
"Super 'Color' Writer" program from Nelson Software
know what I mean. Other information sources included
printouts and files from old bulletin board =>
____________________________________________________
sessions, telephone interviews and correspondence
with various users.
Before starting, let me just say that, while looking
through the numerous back issues of Color Computer
information, a strange thing started happening.
Remember that frustrated feeling, of the early years
when YOU looked for Color Computer information an
none could be found? It all started coming back to
me......
From what I was able to piece together, here,
roughly, is how the CoCo came into existence:
The initial Tandy/Motorola connection occured some-
time in the mid-70s when the two join forces =>
____________________________________________________
in developing a "weather radio" system.
In 1977, a year after starting talks with Motorola
about the possibility of designing a low-cost home
computer that could be hooked up to a regular TV
set, Tandy is invited to participate in an agri-
cultural experiment.
Project "Green Thumb", as it was called, would
employ information retrieval to give farmers data,
updated hourly by computer. Terminals used in this
project are developed by Radio Shack in conjunction
with Motorola.
(See Part 4.)
=*
|
COCO CHRONICLES PART 4 By late 1977, Motorola's MC6847 Video Display
Generator chip is developed. Although it's unclear
if the VDG came about because of project "Green
Thumb" or Tandy's search for the "low-cost" home
computer, in 1978, when it is married to the MC6808
CPU, the Color Computer is born.
THE TRS-90
The "prehistoric" Color Computer, however, contains
too many chips to make it affordable for Tandy's
anticipated target market. Motorola solves this
problem in late 1978 by replacing the network of
chips which makes up the memory management circuits
with its newly developed MC6883 Synchronous Address
Multiplexer (SAM) chip. =>
____________________________________________________
In December of 1979, about a year after production
began on the MC6809 microprocessor, reports
circulated that it would be Microsoft, and not
Motorola, that will write the Basic interpreter for
the new TRS-90.
The name TRS-90 is eventually dropped in favor of a
much more "colorful" name.
-----
More next month!!
=*
|
SOME EMULATOR INSTRUCTIONS I received a letter from our friend Ed Wolak today.
Ed had a request for some instructions on how to get
started with his new CoCo 3 Emulator. Okay Ed, I'll
give it a go.
To get up and running with the emulator you should
first make a directory on your PC hard drive to hold
your emulator and all the files that came with it
plus the hundreds of files you are likely to add to
it. At the DOS C: prompt type: MD COCO3 and press
the Enter key. MD stands for "Make a directory". In
this case the directory's name will be COCO3. Next
you must get into that directory. You do this by
typing CD COCO3. CD means "Change directory to:".
Now we will copy your emulator disk to your new =>
____________________________________________________
COCO3 directory. Simply place the emulator disk in
your disk drive. For this exercise we'll assume it's
drive A. Then type COPY A:*.* and press the Enter
key. This will copy all the files on the disk in
drive A to your COCO3 directory.
The next step is to "get" a copy of your real CoCo3
ROM onto a disk so that we can transfer it to your
emulator directory. Jeff has made it a little bit
difficult to carry out this operation for a reason.
He wants you to learn how to use the PORT program
and the DSKINI and RETRIEVE commands. Since you'll
probably be using these features quite often, his
approach makes sense. Let's go thru the steps:
First we'll use the PORT program to get the PC =>
____________________________________________________
file GET3ROM.BAS. This is the program we will put on
a real CoCo disk and RUN in our real CoCo 3 to make
a copy of the ROMs. So...you are in the COCO3
directory and you type PORT and press the ENTER key.
Now to put the GET3ROM.BAS program on a "virtual
disk" is our objective. Notice the blinking cursor
in the top middle of the screen. We will now create
a virtual disk to put GET3ROM.BAS on. Type the
following: GET3ROM and press the Enter key. A red
warning box will be displayed. It says, "GET3ROM
virtual disk does not exist! Create it now?". At
this time you will press the "Y" key and create the
disk.
(See Part 2 for more emulator instructions.)
=*
|
SOME EMULATOR INSTRUCTIONS Part2 Now please note the OPTIONS box on the left-hand side of the screen. If the prompt beside option F2 does not say, "Move from MS-DOS to CoCo", then press the F2 key until it does. Next, press the down-arrow until you highlight the PC file named "GET3ROM.BAS". Press enter TWICE to put it in your virtual disk. Now press the Escape key to quit the PORT program. You have successfully placed the GET3ROM.BAS program on a virtual disk. Now you are back at the DOS C: prompt. Place a fresh 5 1/4" CoCo disk in your 5 1/4" PC disk drive. Let's assume that the drive is drive B. Now we will use Jeff's DSKINI command to transfer your virtual disk onto a "real" CoCo disk. => ____________________________________________________ Type the following: DSKINI B: GET3ROM and press the Enter key.(Please note that there is a space between the B: and the filename GET3ROM. This is very important!) You will note that the drive light comes on and your virtual disk is being transferred to the CoCo diskette. When the above process finishes, take the 5 1/4" disk out of the PC drive and place it in your real CoCo 3 drive. Now RUN "GET3ROM.BAS". After a few minutes, the program will be finished copying the roms from your CoCo 3. There are actually two files created. Do a DIR and you'll see: COCO3.ROM and DISK.ROM. These are the two files the CoCo3 emulator needs to work properly. => ____________________________________________________ Now place the 5 1/4" disk back in your PC drive and type RETRIEVE B: GET3ROM and press the Enter key. This process puts the GET3ROM virtual disk back in your PC and now with the needed ROM files intact. The last process is to use the PORT program to move the ROM files back to MS DOS type files. Here's how: Type from the C: prompt in your COCO3 directory: PORT and press the Enter key. Now type GET3ROM at the blinking cursor. Now press the F2 key until it says, "Move from CoCo to MS-DOS". Next use the down arrow to highlight COCO3.ROM in the middle box. Now press the Enter key. Next use the down arrow to highlight DISK.ROM in the middle box. Now press the Enter key again. (See Part 3.) =* |
SOME EMULATOR INSTRUCTIONS PART3 The above process has moved the CoCo ROM files to
the COCO3 directory as PC files. You have completed
the process of securing your CoCo's ROMs for your
Emulator!!!!
Now press the Escape key to exit to MS DOS. At the
prompt type COCO3 and press the Enter key. You are
now in the COCO3 Emulator. There will be a green
or blue box on the screen at startup. If it's green,
you have a 512K CoCo; it it's blue you have a 128K
CoCo. (The size of your PC's RAM determines whether
you have a 512K or 128K emulator.)
Press any key and you will be greeted by a most
familiar sight!...the CoCo 3 startup screen.
=>
____________________________________________________
From this point you will want to "copy" some of your
"real" CoCo disks to the PC. Use the same process
I described above for moving the disks....
WAIT!!! IT'S NOT THAT HARD!! Let's walk thru it:
Place a CoCo disk (with CFDM on it, :) of course) in
your PC's drive A. Now type RETRIEVE B: CFDMDISK
and press the Enter key. When the drive stops
running, you have completed the process!! Just get
back into the Emulator by typing COCO3 and pressing
the Enter key.
The next step is learning to place the virtual disks
into the Emulator's disk drives (software drives,
not "real" hardware drives). Here's how we would
access the CFDMDISK we worked with above: =>
____________________________________________________
Press the F2 key while in the Emulator. The Virtual
Disk Menu will appear. Press the "0" key until a
block cursor appears beside it. Now use your down
arrow to highlight the filename CFDMDISK in the box
on the righthand side of the screen. Press the
Enter key twice and you will have successfully put
the disk in the Emulator's drive 0. Now press the
Escape key to get back to the CoCo 3 screen. Type
DIR and press the Enter key, JUST LIKE YOU DO ON THE
REAL COCO3. The directory of files will appear and
you can RUN, LOAD, SAVE, COPY, etc. JUST LIKE YOU
HAVE ALWAYS DONE ON YOUR REAL COCO 3.
Well Ed, this has been rather long, but if you will
follow these instructions, you will be ready to use
your CoCo 3 Emulator!! =*
|
| Articles in section: COCO FRIENDS ART GALLERY |
| DOTTIE'S
LAST PICTURES My Other Hobby Space 2 The Return of Mr. Art VIEWING THE CFDM ART GALLERY WINTER MORN WINTER NIGHT |
| Back to top |
DOTTIE'S LAST PICTURES
As recently reported, our friend Dottie Funk has passed away. Dottie was well-known for her very well-done CoCo 3 graphics. Her work has graced our disk many times. Now Rolland has submitted a disk of her last work for our enjoyment. On this disk you'll find one sample, GOLDFINH.NIB. Use the NIBSHOW to view this colorful wildlife scene. Then...on next month's bonus disk you'll find ten more great pictures from Dottie. Thank you Rolland for sending this collection! I know you are missing your friend more than we can understand, and please know that you are in our prayers. - Rick =* |
My Other Hobby
Maybe it's a coincidence, but my two major hobbies
are manufactured no longer and yet are enjoyed by
many enthusiasts. They are Cocos and Volkswagons.
Pretty cosmic, huh.
(RUN NIBSHOW.BAS to view Dan's VOLKS.NIB)
=*
|
Space 2
Hello everyone,
This is another stab in the dark with NASA finally
realizing the full power of the Coco.
(RUN NIBSHOW.BAS to view Dan's SPACE2.NIB.)
=*
|
The Return of Mr. Art
A regular feature of "Jumpin' Jim's Art Disk" was a
little guy named Mr. Art. He was a whimsical anima-
ted character who would paint artistic messages
right before your eyes.
It has been a long time since Mr. Art has put in an
appearance and he was just "itching" to delight the
CFDM friends with a timely artistic message.
I hope you get a chuckle, or at least a smile out of
this presentation. Just RUN "MR ART". The program
uses "NIBLOADR.BIN" and also loads "MR ART/NIB" (the
title screen) and "MR ART/HVC".
=***
|
VIEWING THE CFDM ART GALLERY Please use NIBSHOW to view the .NIB pictures on this
month's disk. As you recall, NIBSHOW was featured
in issue #18 and a more complete documentation can
be found there. NIBSHOW is the contribution of our
Friend Stuart Wyss-Gallifent. Thanks Stuart!
After RUNning NIBSHOW, press D for a directory of
the NIB pictures on the disk. Use the arrow keys to
choose a picture and press the spacebar to view it.
Press BREAK to leave the picture. Press X at the
MAIN MENU to exit NIBSHOW.
=*
|
WINTER MORN
Actually, I started this picture well before the
"Blizzard of '96", but it gave me the incentive to
finish. The source was a calendar photo.
Fresh snowfall can be very beautiful -- to look
at, not to shovel. Officially, we had about 24", but
my driveway was covered with at least 30". It took
me two days to get out to the street.
Norm Barson
7 Ridge Court
East Brunswick, NJ 08816
=*
|
WINTER NIGHT
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Rick,
I'm sending one more picture that you can use if
you like. It's probably the last one I did. I
didn't send it before because it was the wrong
format. Allen Curtis told me how to convert it to
a CM3 that you can use. It started out as a plain
winter scene. Then I decided to see if it wouldn't
be more interesting as a night scene. So I darkened
the sky and made some firelight coming from the
cabin and the little man carrying wood from the wood
pile.
I called it "Winter Night" but it wouldn't fit =>
____________________________________________________
in eight letters!
Thank you for the card. I hope you all had a good
Christmas. I still can't write so will have to
sign this on the computer.
Best of wishes to all.
Dorothea Clement
-----
Rick: Thanks for the lovely picture Dorothea! It
certainly turned out great.
=*
|
| Articles in section: FAMILY TREE |
| FAMILY
COCO |
| Back to top |
FAMILY COCO I was born in Indianapolis, Indiana; but lived
most of my life in Louisville, Ky. I served in the
AIR-FORCE in 1967 during the Vietnam conflict. I
have a wife and two children 4 & 20. I'm over the
hill, but I still think and act like a teenager any-
way.
I bought my first COCO in '89 and am converting
it in to a 2MEG COCO. I now have a 2MEG IBM-XT I
intent to convert it into a COCO3-XT, if and when
Jeff includes a port in his COCO3 EMULATOR for the
XT 8088 microprocessor. I think that this would real
ly be super, imagine buying a COCO3-XT for $100. And
running your COCO software & your MS-DOS software at
the same time.
OH! WELL anyway I now live in Clarksville, IND.
Have a daytime job and work on my computers when =>
____________________________________________________
the better half is reading and watching tv.
=*
|
| Articles in section: FORUM |
| CONTEST..by
Ben Walker <g> ORPHANWARE..WHAT DO YOU THINK? THE ORPHANWARE QUESTION WHEN DOES THE 21ST CENTURY BEGIN |
| Back to top |
ORPHANWARE..WHAT DO YOU THINK? About a month ago during a lull on the CoCo Sig of Delphi, I decided to visit the OS9 Sig. Now I had never made a habit of visiting this sig but I was a little bored and thought I'd check out the forum. I started reading some of the posts that were a couple of weeks old meaning to work my way up to the most current. What I saw was very interesting... It seems I had dropped back far enough through the posts to pick up on a battle that had evidently just recently started. The subject was Orphanware? and the practice of a certain CoCo Club that had been going on for quite a long time. It seems that a member of the club had questioned one of the members of the OS9 Sig about a program he had written for Rainbow (some time in the past). The WRITER => ____________________________________________________ (club member) charged that the PROGRAMMER (OS9er) broke copyright law by using the word "Scrabble" in his program. The PROGRAMMER had replied that the only use of the word "Scrabble" had been in an email transmission that he had made to the WRITER....and the purpose was to make it clear that the program resembled the well-known SCRABBLE board game by Milton Bradley (I believe). It didn't take long for a majority of the OS9 Sig membership to "jump" the WRITER and attempt to convince him that no copyright law had been broken. When the logic of their words failed to impact the WRITER, they began questioning him about his club's practice of selling Orphanware. This, they said, was definitely an illegal activity and should => ____________________________________________________ be quit immediately. The conversation continued with requests for a list of the Orphanware being offered and with requests by certain of the PROGRAMMERS that the club cease to offer software that had been written by the PRO- GRAMMERS and which they had not released for the club to sell. Neither request was met. This "conversation" continued for about a month with things getting very nasty! Names were called and charges were laid by both sides. With no one seeming to take sides with the WRITER, he eventually tried to change the subject and quit the conversation. The last few posts stated that many legal avenues were being pursued to close and punish the club. =* |
THE ORPHANWARE QUESTION If you've read the introductory article on the big
"Orphanware Battle" (see article in this section),
then you may be interested in this entry.
One of our well-known fellow CoCoist and his club
have practiced the offering, at a price, of some of
the very good CoCo software of the past. These soft-
ware packages have been called "Orphanware", a term
which refers to the fact that they are no longer
offered by the originating programmer nor the last
known advertising company. While it has been
"convenient" for those of us who still love the CoCo
to be able to obtain these excellent programs; is it
in fact legal for them to be treated in this manner?
Let me make clear my position at this time. It =>
____________________________________________________
is the same opinion I have had from Day 1, but I
have not stated it for obvious reasons..i.e. I am
not in the practice of trying to tear down any CoCo
enterprise. (A very well-put quote is, "Forbid him
not: for he that is not against us is for us." -
St. Luke 9:50. But I have not purchased any of the
"Orphanware". I do know what my feelings would be
if I left the CoCo Community, for whatever reason,
and then found out that someone was selling what I
had spent many hours writing or what I had spent
much of my personal capital to acquire. It's not
that arrangements could not be made to keep it
available, but to market it without my knowledge or
permission would be highly offensive to me.
Now that I have offered my opinion on the issue, =>
____________________________________________________
would you care to offer yours? Please keep in mind
that no one is being accused of being unlawful if
they have purchased "Orphanware"...I believe many,
many of our acquaintances have...and without an
impure thought when doing so! How would one know
that this might not be a legal proposition? The
answer is, "One could not know unless one went to
some lengths to investigate."
Here for the first time in the CFDM forum is a truly
highly-sensitive issue. My intention here is not to
cast stones or to harm anyone....but it is a topic
that is current...volatile...and could possibly
cause some changes in the community. What's your
opinion?
=*
|
WHEN DOES THE 21ST CENTURY BEGIN In response to the recently stated objective of
taking the CoCo and CFDM into the 21st century, I
received this comment from our friend, H Allen
Curtis:
"I admire your continued enthusiam and your setting
a goal of taking CFDM into the 21st century. I'm
with you on that goal but that is almost 5 years
from now instead of 4. At least, according to the
TV program, JEOPARDY, the 21st century will begin
on January 1, 2001." - H Allen Curtis
Great info Allen...I was actually talking about the
year 2000, but "what's another year amongst a bunch
of friends!" :)
=>
____________________________________________________
And...you will remember that I did put in a couple
of qualifiers. I said, "If the Lord wills it" and
"If I live that long." I was serious on all counts!
Many Christians believe the Lord could come back at
any time, and I believe that too. But that doesn't
mean we can't continue our work and plans; we can if
we understand they may be cut short!
Also, one never knows how long one will live. I,
for one, don't wish to know. It might scare me to
death!
But very seriously, I do intend to try to reach our
goal whether it be 2000 or 2001. And I really feel
it can be done and I'm expecting many of our Friends
to be right there when it does happen!! =*
|
| Articles in section: FROM THE EDITOR |
| BUSY..BUSy..BUsy..Busy..busy! KUDOS FOR #50'S CONTRIBUTORS!! THIS MONTH'S HOLY SCRIPTURE |
| Back to top |
BUSY..BUSy..BUsy..Busy..busy! Yes, I've been busy lately! With a new computer lab
at school, a CFDM issue to prepare, a PCFDM sample
issue to prepare, and a new programming project (see
the Daily Oral Language entry next issue), you may
see that I've had a lot to do.
Actually the new computer lab has about gotten the
best of me. About the middle of January we received
12 new 486 PCs. Mrs. Jennifer Godbey and I spent
about 4 hours setting them up the afternoon they
arrived. (If you were at Rick's Picnic you'll recall
Mrs. Godbey, Jennifer, as one of my teachers who ran
one of the video cameras.) Next came the job of
making a schedule for the 10 classrooms at my school
and trying to come up with appropriate software for
students in the age range of 5 to 13. But.... =>
____________________________________________________
even after that seemed to be accomplished I found
that I had to spend a good deal of my time running
into the computer lab either getting things set up
for the next class or rebooting a program that some
"little fingers" had somehow caused to leave or
worse still, crash. Next week I'm hiring some sub-
stitute teachers to come in while I attempt to train
my teachers on how to use the chosen software. Then
maybe I can be "Principal" again!!
If you get this issue of CFDM on time, you will then
know that I somehow managed to get it finished! We
are running short of certain entries. PLEASE HELP
US NOW...IT WON'T BE SO CRITICAL WHEN WE REACH THE
QUARTERLY PHASE...BUT NOW WE NEED: Programs - long
ones and short ones, Articles - technical and =>
____________________________________________________
otherwise, Family Trees - new ones and updated ones,
Reviews, graphics, and just about anything you can
send. Let's keep CFDM interesting!
Also, the sample issue of PCFDM should be ready long
before you read this. You can get a copy by sending
a formatted 3 1/2", 1.44 meg disk along with a self-
addressed stamped envelope OR send $2 and I'll buy
the disk and pay the postage. If you have access to
a PC, don't miss the "NEW" PCFDM...it's at least 95%
CoCo oriented. You'll find news from Jeff Vavasour
on the Emulator front, Marty Goodman from Delphi,
L. E. Padgett from Adventure Survivors, the Glenside
Club, and more. It's pretty neat!
=*
|
KUDOS FOR #50'S CONTRIBUTORS!! This great issue is brought to you by the following
CFDM Friends:
John Anderson, Norm Barson, Jim Bennett, Pete
Blackwell, Lyone Boult, Dorothea Clement, H Allen
Curtis, Frances Farr, Herb Forger, Rolland & Dottie
Funk, Herman Fynke, Glenside CoCo Club, Jim Gibbons,
Mike Gross, Bill Hood, Tom Huber, Dan Maguire, Barry
Miller, Harold Moenich, Godfrey Moll, Vic Neufeldt,
Bob Nicholson, Dave Otis, L. E. Padgett, Alfredo
Santos, Carl Sayles, Larry Stevens, Robert A Turner,
J. R. Waggoner, Ben Walker, Paul Wolf, and Stuart
Wyss-Gallifent.
THANKS FRIENDS!!!!!
=*
|
THIS MONTH'S HOLY SCRIPTURE This month's scripture comes from the gospels and
specifically from Luke. The subject is Jesus before
Pilate. To me, this study reminds us of the decision
that every person must make in their life...and that
is, "What will I do with Christ?" Pilate, governor
of Jerusalem, was faced with this question. And if
you will study the situation closely, you will see
that while Pilate "could find not fault in him",
attempted a number of times to avoid the decision to
reject him (put him to death), and was being advised
on all quarters (in various ways), still Pilate was
forced to make a decision. Even after making the
final decision he attempted to "wash his hands of
this innocent man's blood."
I have always felt sympathy for Pilate. Mostly =>
____________________________________________________
because he was a man faced with a great decision and
like all men, at times, the cost of making the right
decision was more than he cared to pay. Please read
the following excerpts from Luke 23 and consider
them carefully.
(Beginning with Luke 23:1-4) And the whole multitude
of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. And they
began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow
perverting the nation, and forbidding to give
tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ
a King. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the
King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou
sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief priests and
to the people, I find no fault in this man.
=>
____________________________________________________
(Verses 13 - 14) And Pilate, when he had called
together the chief priests and the rulers and the
people, Said unto them, Ye have brought this man
unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and,
behold, I having examined him before you, have found
no fault in this man touching those things whereof
ye accuse him.
(Verses 20-24) Pilate therefore, willing to release
Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying,
Crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the
third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have
found no cause of death in him: I will therefore
chastise him, and let him go. And they were instant
with loud voices, requiring that he might be
crucified....And Pilate gave sentence that it should
be as they required. =*
|
* RICK'S PICNIC II * MURIEL & I are looking forward to attending an-
other RICK'S PICNIC at LIBERTY, KY in JULY! YES I
did take NOTES at the FIRST PICNIC and made good use
of them this WINTER in creating MAX-10 CLIPART, Let-
ters, Notes and Cards for my FRIENDS. I learned a
lot from all of the Sessions that we had and hope to
even learn more this next time.
By July I should have a PC with EMULATOR capab-
ilities, and will have many more Questions about how
to make all the GOOD THINGS happen on it -- CFDM on
it!!! Could use an INSTRUCTION COURSE!?
I wrote to JEFF about the possiblity of a HIRES
Joystick driver in the EMULATOR as I do enjoy CoCo-
MAX III and MAX-10?
It would be GREAT to meet a few more CFDM Fri-
ends!!! CoCoNut Godfrey ==*
|
ENJOYING CFDM IN CANADA!! Enclosed is an International Money Order to continue
my subscription to CFDM and HARDCOPY. I enjoy
HARDCOPY and the disks. My Magnavox shows such
wonderful colors!
Because of family occurences continually last year
(with grand and great- children) such as worries,
retiring, universities, travelling, and even illness
more annoying than grave, I have had to let my CoCo
sleep more often than I liked..and age sort of plays
havoc with memory and strength...meaning slowing
down. But I'm still trying to get my "Family Tree"
built up. It's coming!
Thank you for the work you are doing to keep the
CoCo alive. I love mine and am not looking =>
____________________________________________________
forward to getting into the complicated new machines
- the young people seem to be born with technology
in their brains!
Looking forward to the next copies of HARDCOPY and
disk and good wishes to everyone over there!
- Lyone Boult
Ottawa, ONT
-----
RICK: Thanks for your great letter Lyone! We are
looking forward to your Family Tree and always
enjoy hearing from you!
=*
|
EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS! (Vic recently purchased a new Star NX2480.)
..I've not yet figured out the printer codes too use
in my "Simply Better" configurations (some work --
some don't). Then I tried Max 3 --- it worked, but
with Max 10 problems with the configuration.
I finally replaced the chip for 40 tracks with the
original for 35 tracks, formatted disks, made
backups, and replaced that chip for 40 tracks again.
This time it works -- that configuration with "40
track" was my problem. Wonder how others overcome
it? Next I'll try your "Color Printing," and if
finished before this mailing, I'll include a copy.
I'll really feel I'm getting somewhere -- may even
try some drawing.
- Vic Neufeldt Beaverton, OR =>
____________________________________________________
-----
RICK: Great Vic! Sounds like you've nearly got it
under control! You know, many folks have spent lots
of time studying printers and writing programs for
them. I've never been that interested and usually
just use some "quick & dirty" fix to get my work
completed on printers...but...I do believe that
printers have much more to offer than I ever really
considered. Some have so many "tricks" and options
that they are nearly as complex as computers!
----------------------------------------------------
Dear Rick, Enclosed is my check for the next six
issues. Thanks so much. I really enjoy your CFDM.
- Bill Hood, Dallas, TX =>
____________________________________________________
----------------------------------------------------
Hi Rick,
Hey, thought I'd better get my renewal sent in
before it runs out. Don't want to miss any issues.
...I sure will miss not receiving CFDM every month,
but I think you are doing the right thing. You
should spend as much time as you can with your wife
and daughters. I'm glad I didn't put my job first
before I retired. I felt my family was first, and
I'm glad I did. So good luck to you, your wife and
daughters in the future.
- John W. Anderson, Washington CH, OH
----
RICK: Thanks for your sentiments John!!! =*
|
HAWKSOFT SWITCH RICK:
I finally purchased a HI-RES SWITCH from one of
CFDM's advertizers -- HAWKSOFT. What a saving in
time, when you're going back and forth between CM3 &
MAX-10 and the other programs that use the regular
JOYSTCK! I'm sure it saves wear-and-tear on the plug
and socket on the Joystick and Computer.
We certainly picked a good WINTER to be here in
the Panhandle of Florida! We've had some COLD Nights
and then nice SUNNY Days. The COLDest night was on
SUNDAY February 4th -- got down to 18 degrees.
One of the UNITS under construction at our HOME
in Springfield, Missouri burned to the ground -- not
near our APT 1001. We'll be heading HOME on the 23rd
of March as planned. Looking forward to CFDM ISSUE
#49 !! Your CoCo Friend, GODFREY =*
|
KEEP UP THE MUSIC!! R. A. Turner's new MUSPLAYER.BAS program, in CFDM
#48, is great and performs beautifully. I had
several disks of his MUS music files that I had
never been able to play and now I can, with great
pleasure.
I hope Herb Schuler and Roy Atkins will submit more
MUSIC3 BIN files sometime. I have always enjoyed
their transcriptions.
Keep up the good work, Rick, when you can. I'm sure
that all the CoCo Friends appreciate your efforts,
as I do. But your own life and family (and your
full-time profession!) have to come first!
CoCo's Forever!
Dave Otis =>
____________________________________________________
----
RICK: Thanks for all the kudos Dave! I too enjoy
all the great music from our Friends! Your music
has given me a little motivation to try my hand at
George's MUSIC3 program....but don't expect anything
as good as you've been hearing!
=*
|
Renewal time Rick, enclosed please find my renewal up to the
new format. You can count on my continued support at
that time. I understand your need for family time,
and thank you for all of the good things you have
brought us in years past. Incidentally we sometimes
forget the other people who have a hand in turning
out the magazine, so a big thank-you to all of them
also. My best to you and your family.
Sincerely
BoB Nicholson
-----
RICK: Thanks Bob! ....and you are so correct! CFDM
would be nothing without our GREAT contributors! =*
|
THANKS FOR YOUR RESPONSE! Dear Rick,
I want to thank you for placing my ad in CFDM. The
response was so great that I sold everything I
wanted to sell with the exception of the Rainbow
Magazines.
I had so many phone calls and letters that I felt
bad about disappointing so many of our friends when
I did not have the items they wanted.
I want to thank all who bought from me, and all who
responded to my ad.
Sincerely,
Paul =*
|
THOSE PC MEN (and WOMEN)! Dear Rick,
Ii would really like to see what went on at the
Picnic! Enclosed is my check for the "Picnic Tape."
My nephew (20 years of age) and I are very close and
spend a lot of time together, but when he sees the
CFDM in the mailbox, he makes plans to hang out with
his buddies for at least that day!
He is always puzzled as to why I spend so much time
with my "Dinosaur and disk magazine." After all he
is a "P.C. Man"! Imagine, calling my CoCo a
dinosaur!
=>
____________________________________________________
Anyway, in order to show him how anyone can wait on
pins and needles for their next issue of their disk
magazine, I would like to buy him his first issue of
PCFDM.
I'm sure that after he tries it, I'll be the one
making plans to go out with friends when his disk
magazine comes in the mail!
With CoCo keyboard numbed fingers,
Herman Fynke
-----
RICK: Thanks for your delightful letter Herman!! I
got a kick out of it. I hope Andrew enjoyed the
first issue of PCFDM and now that our plans are =>
____________________________________________________
to make a CoCo disk magazine on the PC out of PCFDM,
he may be a little more interested in your dinosaur!
=*
|
Thank You Barry Miller Back in CFDM issue #48 I had an article about "Left Handed Helpers". I asked if anyone knew of a company that had a catalog of tools or gadgets for people who were left handed. Well, I received a letter from CFDM friend Barry Miller who provided me with the name of such an organization. It is: Left Handers International, Box 8249, Topeka KS 66608; Telephone (913) 234-2177. I have sent them a letter in hopes that they can help me. But the main point of this is to say a big THANK YOU to Barry, who called up his sister in Missouri to get the address of this group. I submit this in case there are others out there that may benefit from the information. Herb Forger Sr 88 Dry Hill Rd Norwalk, Ct 06851-3127 Tel: (203) 847-4282 =* |
| Articles in section: POTPOURRI |
| Creating
a new letter font KING OF THE ROAD Television Advertisements Television Advertisements 2. |
| Back to top |
Creating a new letter font I was almost born and raised in a sign shop,so
I'd like to pass along some hints if you are creat-
ing new letters or a sign for a garage sale etc.
If you look at a "print" style you will notice
that all the lower case letters are the same height.
If you look at a sign that has been done by a
professional you will notice that all round letters
are slightly larger. That is, a six inch "O" will be
six and three eighths in height, as will C,G,Q,S. U
and J will extend "below" a straight line. This is
because the eye sees a 6" O as being smaller than a
6" M for example. In print there is a variety in
"spacing" i.e. distance between letters, in signwork
the rule is "the area of SPACE between the letters
should be the same. Example - 2 "O"s together should
almost touch, 2 "M"s together would be farther =>
____________________________________________________
apart.
=*
|
KING OF THE ROAD Run KINGROAD to play one of Roger Miller's most
popular songs, "King of the Road". I hope you enjoy
listening to this selection as much as I enjoy
transcribing it for all of you (or y'all as they
say in my native born state of Virginia)!
;-) wink
-----
RICK: Great job Mike! And again let me encourage
everyone to hook up to their stereos for Great
sound!
=*
|
Television Advertisements. Have you ever noticed that most of those television
ads don't give you enough time to write down the
addresses? What follows is courtesy of my VCR's
PAUSE button. All of the music ads have CD's listed,
but they are also available on cassette tape at a
lower price, and some are available on LP's. Write
or call the respective advertisers for information.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
01] JACK VAN IMPE MINISTRIES, 1-800-344-8900, PO BOX
7004, TROY, MI 48007. "666 THE UNITED STATES OF
EUROPE AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER." ONE VIDEOTAPE
@$24.95 PLUS $3.00 SHIPPING AND HANDLING.
02] FREE COPY "THE BOOK OF MORMONS," 1-800-438-9339.
03] INSTRUMENTAL MAGIC, 1-800-257-8700, PO BOX
1144-zz, MONUMENT, CO 80132. 2 CD's @$24.95 PLUS
$4.50 SHIPPING AND HANDLING. =>
____________________________________________________
04] COOL ROCK, 1-800-972-2800, PO BOX 50003-WW,
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80949. 2 CD's @$24.95
PLUS $4.50 SHIPPING AND HANDLING.
05] GOOD TIMES, PO BOX 1144-ZZ, MONUMENT, CO 80132.
2 CD's @$24.95 PLUS $4.50 SHIPPING & HANDLING.
06] FOREVER 80s, 1-800-799-3366, PO BOX 4444-TY,
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80934. 2 CD's @$26.95 PLUS
$4.95 SHIPPING AND HANDLING.
07] LIVING IN THE 90's, 1-800-247-5867, PO BOX
3000-CN, COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80934.
2 CD's @$26.95 PLUS $4.95 SHIPPING & HANDLING.
08] TOTALLY 80'S, PO BOX 4444-TY, COLORADO SPRINGS,
CO 80934. 2 CD's @$24.99 PLUS $4.95 S & H.
09] AWESOME 80'S, PO BOX 4444-TX, COLORADO SPRINGS,
CO 80934. 2 CD's @$26.99 PLUS $4.95 S & H.
10] ANDY GRIFFITH, "PRECIOUS MEMORIES.", 320 MAIN =>
____________________________________________________
STREET, DEPARTMENT 27, NORTHPORT, NY 11768.
ONE LONG PLAY CD @$16.98 PLUS $2.00 S & H.
11] SOUNDS OF THE 70'S, DEPT. 2, RICHMOND, VA 23280,
1-800-613-9911. FREE 10 DAY TRIAL. SIX DOUBLE-
LENGTH CD's @FOUR INSTALLMENTS OF $24.99 PLUS
$6.00 SHIPPING AND HANDLING. BONUS - FREE ALBUM:
"LATE 70'S CLASSICS." FREE WITH ORDER!
12] GETTIN' STUPID, PO BOX 7400, DEPT E,
LIBERTYVILLE, IL 60048-9429. ONE CD @$16.98 PLUS
$4.00 SHIPPING AND HANDLING.
13] THE CROW CLUB, 320 RIVERSIDE DRIVE, NORTHAMPTON,
MA 01060. FREE CATALOG: "THE CROW" MERCHANDISE.
14] AMERICA ONLINE, 8619 WESTWOOD CENTER DRIVE,
VIENNA, VA 22182-2285, 1-800-827-6364. "FREE
'AMERICA ONLINE' SOFTWARE." SPECIFY: MAC, DOS,
OR WINDOWS. =*
|
Television Advertisements 2. Since I typed the original "Television
Advertisements" entry, I have gathered a couple
more addresses. I would like to ask that anyone
who has other such addresses, please submit them.
One that I would like to see is for the three
cassette series (now available on CD) entitled:
"SECRET LOVE". I can't find that address anywhere!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
15] Making Money, PO Box 37157, Phoenix, AZ 85069.
$39.95 plus $6.35 S & H. (Probably a get-rich-
quick scheme, but who knows?)
16] Country Love, PO Box 1569, Dept G, Lawndale,
CA 90260. 2 CD's @$26.98 plus $4.50 S & H.
17] Dark Shadows Fan Club, PO Box 92, Maplewood,
NJ 07040-0092. A club for fans of the old AND
new (circa 1990?) Dark Shadows series! =*
|
COCO 3 LAYOUT Last month I promised to include my "CoCo Layout"
program for making simple diagrams. This is really
just a simple graphics processor which one should be
careful not to compare to CoCo Max 3, ColorMax, or
any of the other great CoCo graphic editors.
But if you don't mind using the keyboard for drawing
your diagrams or simple pictures, then "CoCo Layout"
will work fine.
Here's how to use "CoCo Layout". Before you begin,
I would advise putting these three programs on a new
disk. They are LAYOUT.BAS, NIBSAVER.BIN, and
NIBLOADR.BIN. From this new disk RUN "LAYOUT.BAS".
You will see a tiny dot in the middle of the =>
____________________________________________________
screen. This is the cursor. Use the arrow keys to
move the cursor. If you wish to "DRAW" just press
the "D" key and the cursor will leave a trail of the
current color. To stop DRAWing, just press the "D"
key again.
To change the active color press the "P" key. You
will see eight colored boxes in the lower left of
the screen. (Actually you can't see the leftmost box
because it is black, the same color as I used for
the background.) Use your arrow keys to select your
desired color, then press the Enter key.
You can also make Boxes, Filled Boxes, Circles, and
Lines with this program. To make a box or filled
box, place your cursor at one of the corner =>
____________________________________________________
locations of your desired box. Press "B" for Box or
"F" for Filled Box, then move the cursor to the
opposite corner. Then press Enter to complete it.
To make a Circle, move the cursor to the middle of
your planned circle, press C, then move the cursor
to the edge of your planned circle; now press Enter.
To make a Line, move the cursor to your beginning
position, press L, then move to the ending position
and press Enter.
To clear the screen to a specific color, make that
color active by using the "P" function, then press
the F1 key.
(See LAYOUT Part 2) =*
|
COCO 3 LAYOUT Part 2 You can also Type on the screen by pressing the "T"
key. Let me also warn you that you CANNOT backspace
after you have typed!! But you can erase or correct
you typing errors by using this process. First,
change the palette to the background color. Second,
enter the "T" routine again and type over your first
attempt. This will type over your previous work with
the background color, thus erasing it. Primitive
but it does work.
Another neat feature of "CoCo Layout" is the ability
to change Screens. Your choices are HSCREEN2 or
HSCREEN4. Use the "H" key to toggle between the two
choices. A little advice here: Sometimes it is
necessary to have small type to label something in
a small area. Your original work is done on =>
____________________________________________________
HSCREEN2, but you wish to make your label in the
smaller type of HSCREEN4. Use "H" to toggle to
HSCREEN4, do your typing, then use "H" again to
return to HSCREEN2. You will readily notice that the
small type does not look as well on HSCREEN2 as it
did on HSCREEN4. Don't despair....if you really
need that small type just use your "D" (drawing)
command and your "P" (palette) command to doctor the
small type.
Finally, you can NIBSAVE your picture by pressing
the "S" key. Just press "S" and enter your picture
name. Keep in mind that you will have to reload
your saved picture if you want to continue working
on it. You can reload by using the "N" (NIBLOAD)
routine. WARNING: Sometimes using NIBSAVE and =>
____________________________________________________
NIBLOAD back to back will cause a crash. If this
happens, just turn CoCo off for a few seconds, then
back on. Reload your picture and continue your
work.
IF YOU "BREAK OUT" OR "CRASH OUT" OF YOUR PICTURE
ACCIDENTLY, JUST TYPE "RUN" AND YOUR PICTURE SHOULD
STILL BE INTACT. I have used the "no-erase" poke to
keep the picture from being erased when the HSCREEN
command is invoked.
Finally, I realize that this program is not fine-
tuned, professional, nor bug free, but it does work
and allows one to create simple diagrams or drawings
with a minimum of pizzaz!!
=*
|
MULTIPLY...A math drill Here's a short program that proves that it doesn't take a lot of fancy programming to do something useful! MULTIPLY.BAS was first written for Kristin, my eldest daughter, to practice her multiplication facts. This was a few years ago. Last year Kasey, my middle daughter, began learning her facts in the third grade. The teacher, Ms. Ellis, gave 2 minute tests to the students. On day 1 every student had two minutes to answer the 12 facts on multiplying by 1. On the second day each student who made 100% on the ones test, would try the two's facts while those who didn't make 100% on the ones would continue with that test. Kasey did very well and went thru all the facts including the twelves. => ____________________________________________________ This year Kayla is in the second grade and her teacher, Mrs. Sheene, is giving the same tests. On day one Kayla completed her ones and that night she used this program to practice her twos. The next day she passed her twos and that night practiced her threes. The following day she passed her threes and that night practiced her fours. And she passed her fours and is now practicing her fives for Monday. She enjoys using this program because it's quick and gives her feedback at the end of each round. Here's how to use the program. If your child has not been introduced to a certain table, it is always best to verbally and visually walk thru that table before using the computer and this program. => ____________________________________________________ Next, RUN "MULTIPLY.BAS" and at the prompt input the number you wish to work on. For example, Kayla is on her fives, so she would type the number 5 at the prompt. Now as quickly as possible the student will type in the answer to the 12 problems that will appear on the screen. If you get a problem correct, the computer will take about a second to tell you it is correct. If not you will get a low sound from the computer and a message that your answer was not correct. This message disappears and you must type in a new answer. This continues until you have given all twelve correct answers. At the end of the test you will be told how long it took you to complete the test. I hope this program will be useful to your students!! =* |
PERMCASE.BAS - Fiction! View text file associated with this article Last year, I wrote a mini-mystery involving
Sherlock Holmes, called The Case of the Missing Key.
I have just now finished a second mini-mystery...
The Case of the Puzzling Permutations!
Just RUN"PERMCASE" to view the file.
These mini-stories give me a great opportunity
to get a little silly in writing. I know I giggle
to myself several times as I read the Missing Key
and the Puzzling Permutations. I hope you do, too!
-*
|
READING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM View text file associated with this article I have been so busy at school this year that it has been a while since I have been able to put together an entry for CFDM. However, a major project that I have been working on is a reading program that runs on the CoCo. Some of the CFDM friends might be in- terested in seeing this program. The objective of this program is to help a student increase his or her reading speed and comprehension. It has been well received by my students. The program has two parts: a speed reading exercise which trains you to read numbers, words, and phrases at increasing speeds. The second part displays text, calculates your reading speed (in words per minute), and tests you on your comprehension. ==> ____________________________________________________ A 512k CoCo is required to run the text display part of the program. Also, you should copy the two pro- grams and the disk files they use to a separate disk before you try to run them. The speed reading exercise is titled "SR.BAS" and it uses a data file titled "WORDLIST.DAT". In addi- tion, it creates a file titled "RECORD.DAT" which is a record of which lesson you are on and your reading speed. When you copy "SR.BAS" to another disk, you must also copy "WORDLIST.DAT" onto the disk too. When you RUN "SR" you will first be asked to enter your name. Your first name will do. The program will keep track of everyone who uses it. To begin, you will go through a warm-up sequence of 20 numbers. => ____________________________________________________ You will see a window displayed in the middle of your screen. While staring at the window, you press a key (space bar) and a number will flash on inside the window. Then you type the number you saw and the program will tell you whether or not you got it cor- rect. On the first lesson, the numbers will stay on the screen for a fairly long time. However, the time will be decreased everytime you get 3 or more in a row correct. The time will be increased if you miss two or more in a row. The numbers will increase from two digits to five digits. After the numbers, a list of 20 words and phrases will be loaded from disk and displayed in the same manner. Each list will be done for two lessons. For example, lesson 1 & 2 will show the same words. Lesson 3 & 4 will use another list and so on. (Continued on the next entry) =* |
READING PROGRAM (Continued) There are a total of 30 lessons that can be done on
the "Speed Reader" part of the program.
The second part of the program is titled "TD.BAS".
The following files also need to be on the disk with
it: "H4FONT.BIN", "PIXMOVER.BIN", "INTRO.TXT", and
"INTRO.QZF".
Please remember that "TD.BAS" requires 512k of mem-
ory. It uses PIXMOVER written by Rick Cooper to
store HSCREEN 4 screens in memory. It will not work
on a 128K CoCo.
RUN "TD" and wait while the text is loaded. Then
press a key to see the first page of text. When you
finish reading that page, press a key and the ==>
____________________________________________________
next page will be displayed. When you get to the end
press a key and the program will give you your read-
ing speed in words per minute (WPM). Then you can
press a key and the program will load and display a
short comprehension quiz. In taking the quiz, it is
necessary to type just T or F for true/false ques-
tions and just one word for short answer questions.
When you have completed the quiz, your score will be
displayed and the program will return to the reading
part. If you want to BREAK out of the program, you
must use SHIFT/BREAK. The BREAK key alone is disabl-
ed as is the CLEAR key.
There is just one text file (the intoduction to the
program) included here. If anyone is interested =>
____________________________________________________
in having a copy of the 20 short text files that I
use in my class, just send me a formatted disk in a
disk mailer. Please include a return mailing label
and enough stamps for the return postage. I will
also include a chart that my students use for plot-
ting their reading speed and comprehension progress.
I should probably mention that, although this pro-
gram does help improve reading skills, we do not re-
ly on it totally. We also have a traditional reading
book. There is traditional classroom instruction in
improving reading skills. Nevertheless, the computer
program has really motivated my students to achieve
high goals in their reading.
My address: 118 Corlies Ave.; Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
***
|
Revised SONGBOOK Program View text file associated with this article My revised SONGBOOK program presents a disk
directory, then allows you to select a song to play
by pressing P (for Play). The program then LOADMs
the BIN music file selected and then reads the TXT
file with the same name into memory. It plays the
music and displays the text, one verse at a time.
The music files were created using George Quell-
horst's great MUSIC3+ program. The text files can
be created with any word processor. To make it more
convenient I used a stripped-down version of my
TYPALINE 80 program, called TL80GEN (for Generic) as
it doesn't have most of the features my regular
TYPALINE programs have. A more complete description
of TL80GEN and the text files for SONGBOOK is pro-
vided elsewhere.
=>
____________________________________________________
-----
RICK: Although Dave's SONGBOOK was published in
CFDM, issue #47, through my misplacing of Dave's
accompanying disk of songs, we now present it again
with some of the great music from that disk.
The songs I have included (from about 40 on the
disk) are "We Gather Together to Ask the Lord's
Blessings", "The Gypsy Rover", and "Saint Lucia".
Now let me tell you of a little experience I had as
I listened to the songs. I had never heard "The
Gypsy Rover" and as I played it and sang the words
I really fell in love with the song. I called Donna
down to listen to it and as I reached the last
chorus, I was moved to tears and had to stop my =>
____________________________________________________
singing. There are a few songs that touch me in
this manner. I hope you'll enjoy it too.
By the way, if you've never tried running a cable
from the CoCo audio output port to your stereo
system to listen to the music, you don't know what
you're missing! Give it a try.
=*
|
| Articles in section: REVIEWS |
| Build
A Home PC - I did! |
| Back to top |
Build A Home PC - I did! Well, I didn't actually solder all the bits but when my 386 crashed one day, I decided to buy a new computer piece by piece. I had 72 pin SIMMs from the old 386, so the motherboard had to accept them. Most motherboards don't, so I had to look hard, and they cost more. I got a board with a ZIF socket for Pentium Overdrive, two 72 pin SIMMs, four 36 pin SIMMs, a 256k cache, keyboard connector, 1 8-bit, 3 16-bit, and 3 local-bus slots. My brother got me a case and power supply, and I had to replace the fan in the supply with a new one from Radio Shack. The CPU I ordered separately, settling on a Cyrix 486DX- 40 chip, and I ordered a second 72 pin SIMM for 8 megs of RAM. The hard drive I already had (240 meg) from the 386, so I mounted that. The monitor I also had, plus the keyboard, mouse, and printer. -> ____________________________________________________ To use the hard drive, plus the two floppies, which I had to buy, I needed an I/O card. The one I got is local-bus, and can control 2 floppies, 2 hard drives, 2 printers, and 2 serial ports. I also had to get a local-bus video card to run the monitor. I got a Trident 1 meg SVGA card, which runs Windows in 800 x 600 x 65,000 colors, or 1024 x 768 x 256. Since I wasn't going to run Windows primarily, I did not get a Windows Accelerated video card. I got a SoundBlaster Pro, and later a CD-ROM to add to it. Annoyingly, you can only add SoundBlaster CD-ROM drives to SoundBlaster cards. Other sound cards can accept generic CD-ROM drives, but not SoundBlaster. The pieces all came in separately, the main CPU being last. So there I was, I mounted the mother- board, plugged in the power supply, and then -> ____________________________________________________ plugged in the I/O card, video card, SoundBlaster, and 14,400 modem. I connected all the cables inside together, and inserted the SIMMs. I waited for the CPU to arrive, which it did finally. Sadly, the motherboard and CPU never got along well, and I had to return the motherboard and get a different one. I think the problem was with the BIOS chips. Then came the day to turn it on, which I did, and it did work! I still use it a lot, but as with anything that you buy, within two months you can get more for less. I don't doubt it, but I got myself a nice machine for under $1,000 new, but then I had a lot of pieces already. The last thing I did was buy and mount a small fan on top of the CPU. I didn't get an official CPU cooler, just a Radio Shack 12v mini- fan and I tapped the disk drive power cables. -* |
| Articles in section: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS |
| EXCERPTED
QUESTIONS HARDCOPY Photon Hints? |
| Back to top |
EXCERPTED QUESTIONS Pete Blackwell is looking for someone who can repair
his J & M disk drive controller. If you can do this
kind of work, PLEASE contact Pete.
Pete Blackwell
1408 1/2 McFadden St
Paris, TN 38242
----------------------------------------------------
Frances Farr is interested in beginning to use her
CoCo for BBSing. Frances would like some information
on what hardware and software she will need and some
good simple advice on getting started. Can you help
Frances get into the Super Highway Fast Lane?
Frances Farr
425 Road of Remembrance
Jackson, MS 39209 =>
____________________________________________________
----------------------------------------------------
J. R. Waggoner is interested in getting a complete
copy of OS9 Level 2, manuals and software. May also
be interested in a copy of MULTIVIEW. If you have
either of these products for sale, please contact
J. R.
J. R. Waggoner
911 North Grand Avenue
Stuttgart, AR 72160
----------------------------------------------------
Tom Huber writes that he is having trouble RUNning
CoCoPro! Solitaire. I'll refer Tom to articles
written by Don Good (CFDM #25, "Letters to the
Editor section) and Loyal B. Gaskin (CFDM #27, in
the "Q & A" section). If anyone else has advice for
Tom on this situation please respond to: =>
____________________________________________________
Tom Huber
867 N. Lamb Blvd. Spc 48
Las Vegas, NV 89110
----------------------------------------------------
Vic Neufeldt writes that "When we heard someone in
Kentucky had won the 'Power Ball'(lottery), our
first thought was, 'Hope it was Rick!'"
-----
RICK: No such luck Vic!!! But thanks for your good
wishes! I believe that jackpot was about $82
million.
Finally, I must say that my chances of winning the
lottery are less than most...I don't participate!!
=*
|
HARDCOPY Rick..Just finished #47 and realized I haven't
subscribed to HARDCOPY because I'm one of those who
"just hasn't got around to it.! Enclosed is payment
for a years subscription. I would like to order a
copy of "DATA MERGER" and am looking for a copy of
TANDY'S "OS9 PROFILE". TANDY'S software is still
available through RADIO SHACK and can be ordered
from the warehouse while quantities still last. So
check out their catalogue!! (OS9 PROFILE is no
longer available).
Barry T. Miller
5321W 8000S RD
Chebanse IL 60922
----RICK: Thanks for ordering HARDCOPY Barry! And..
I'll bet someone has an extra OS9 PROFILE! =*
|
Photon Hints? In issue #45, friend Henry Kszepka asked for
hints on how I got to level 51. As Rick suggested,
it is not necessary to kill all the Droids,
sometimes you use more energy to get them than you
get back. Also in some levels its better to head for
the exit, maybe take a little damage, but get out!
It seems that by moving certain squares at a certain
time, you gain points, but I haven't explored the
many possibilities. Pay attention to the clues - in
13, I tried to break out, always took damage, and
then one day, read the "jump 8 times" heading, did
just that, & got out of that level without damage.
You can kill Dupes (the balls) sometimes, by
trapping them with a Droid. I won't give many more
clues, because the best part of the game is that it
makes you think. When going to a level for the =>
____________________________________________________
first time, it's a good idea to hit the break key
when the picture first appears, because a droid may
be almost on top of you and coming fast. How about
some more hints from Mr. Cho, he got to level 51
long before anyone, if I remember. Anyway it's a
great game, except for the side effect......
(brain spunge).
=*
|
