3]WHAT IS PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE ? It is generally accepted that it is software that has been passed to the public arena by the author. There are no guarantees that the software will function correctly or that it will do what you expect, nor is there any way of reporting problems and obtaining explanations apart from contacting the author whose name and address will generally accompany the software. That's the bad part.... Now for the good part.... 3]IT'S CHEAP !!!! P.D. software provides an inexpensive way of obtaining software without paying the price of commercial programs. A LOT (and I mean a real lot) of P.D. programs are equal to commercial programs. Some are even better. We have thousands of programs which are all listed on this disk covering games, databases, spreadsheet, communication programs, utilities, demos and lots more. At LEEJAN ENTERPRISES we believe the Amiga is the best computer yet produced for either Business or Home use. Its capabilities are only now starting to be discovered. Unfortunately a great deal of the software being produced, while it is of a high quality is priced outside the range of many people. This is where Public Domain Programs come in. The amazing graphic and sound capabilities of the Amiga makes many Amiga owners want to learn more and more about this machine, and in the meantime they produce some very good programs. One of the pioneers of Amiga P.D. software is Fred Fish in the U.S.A., who produces the FISH DISKS. Amiga users from all over the world send him their programs and he, in turn, distributes them throughout the world. We, at LEEJAN ENTERPRISES have one of the largest and best documented ranges of P.D. software in Australia, including the 3]FISH DISKS ....... from Fred Fish. 3]F.A.U.G. DISKS ... from the First Amiga User Group in New York. 3]T-BAG DISKS ...... from the Tampa Bay Amiga User Group. 3]AMIGAN DISKS ..... from the Amigan Apprentice and Journeyman. 3]TOPIC DISKS ...... from Robert Lang. 3]AMICUS DISKS 3]ALPHA DISKS ...... from Leejan Enterprises. 3[LATENIGHTERS ..... from Leejan Enterprises The Alpha Disks are a series of P.D. disks produced by us. We also produce a range of P.D. disks called the BEST OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. These are highly specialised disks, unlike most other P.D. disks these are all SELF BOOTING, with comprehensive instructions and icons. 3]A PLEA !!! The 1000,s of people who write all of the public domain programs do it because they enjoy it. They do not usually receive any renumeration (money) for their hard work, they generally only ask two things ... 4] 1 ... That their program is not used for any commercial purpose. 4] Meaning that no-one else makes a profit at their expense. 4] 2 ... Their program may be freely available to everyone providing the 4] authors name etc accompanies it. Some may ask for a small donation if you find their program useful. (meaning, if you keep on using it). This is called a SHAREWARE program. If you find his program useful then it would be appreciated if you would send him a few roubles or shekels or whatever you use for money. If the Taxman's taken all of your money then just send the guy a postcard or a letter, and tell him that you like his program. If these people do receive some renumeration then they'll produce more software. If you have any views or ideas concerning any programs then let the author of that particular program know, they are quite happy to get some feedback. 3]GUARANTEES ... WHAT DO YOU GET You have access to a constantly expanding range of inexpensive programs for your Amiga. These programs come from all around the world. The author's name, address and sometimes, phone number usually accompanies the program. You can contact these people direct if you wish. We guarantee our disks to be error free. If you should receive a disk that is faulty or that develops a READ/WRITE error, or if you receive any disks from us that have been damaged in the post you may return them to us at ANY time and we will replace them. The disks MUST have our original disk labels on. We despatch ALL orders the day after we receive them. All orders are sent by normal post, so you should usually receive your order within 5-6 working days after you mail it. All of our disks are VIRUS FREE. If at any time you find you have a nasty little virus on any of your disks please look elsewhere. You will probably find that it came from a disk that someone else loaned you. 3]WHAT ABOUT US We don't do this so that we can go on a holiday to Bali each Christmas (it would be nice though). We do it for the same reasons that a lot of people spend 100's of hours to produce a Public Domain program and then not get paid for it. We do it because we like it. Other people produce the programs and we spread them around. The amount you pay for the disks covers the cost of our office (at home), furniture, disks, photocopying, envelopes, postage, our computers, bank charges, electricity, stationery and there's lots more. So when you send in an order PLEASE make sure you've included the correct amount otherwise it comes out of our pocket. 3]A COUPLE OF DO NOTS 1 .. We do not guarantee any of the P.D. software in any way, shape or form. What you are paying for is the disk, packaging, postage and wear and tear on our Amigas. 2 .. We do not answer questions about particular P.D. programs. We havn't even seen most them except for the descriptions. If you need to know something about a program, try experimenting, or if you can't work it out then contact the author. 3]PIRACY For anyone not sure what it is. Piracy in the Computer Software Industry is the illegal copying of Commercial or Copyrighted programs, which is the same as stealing. (This is also how viruses (virii ??) are spread. The same people who 'crack' programs are also the ones who make the viruses.) The moral to this is if you don't pirate software then you don't get any viruses. 4] LEEJAN ENTERPRISES 4] P.O. Box 66. 4] Happy Valley. 4] South Australia. 5159. 4] Tel. (08) 3223392 Or visit our only Retail Outlet. One of Adelaide's oldest Commodore Dealers. 4] DISKTRONICS 4] 8 Roberts Road, 4] Hackham West. 4] South Australia. 5163 4] Tel. (08) 382 5740 All disks are duplicated using the Public Domain program TURBOBACKUP, which verifies both the SOURCE and DESTINATION disks. We make every effort to ensure all disks are error free. However, if for any reason you receive a faulty Public Domain disk please return it to us and we will immediately replace it. 4] --------------------------- 4] | | 4] | A SHORT INTRO | 4] | | 4] | TO THE AMIGA. | 4] | | 4] --------------------------- 3] So you've finally gone and done it !! 3] You've got yourself an Amiga. If you're like most "normal" people with a new toy you probably got home, unpacked the computer and put it together as best you could and you may even have managed to get it right. Most probably there's no sound or no picture or both or you've got a picture on the screen but don't know what to do next. Well ... That's why you're reading this. 4]FACT 1 ... Computers are DUMB machines. 4]FACT 2 ... Computers cannot think for themselves. 4]FACT 3 ... Computers are only as good as the person using them. O.K. Now that we've told the computer off and it knows it's place let's get down to the nitty gritty. What you've just spent your next months house payment on is the most advanced computer on the market and the enjoyment and satisfaction you get from it is in direct proportion to the amount of time that you spend in using and trying to understand it. Computers are NOT difficult to understand, just different. You wouldn't expect to learn a language overnight, so don't expect to learn all about an Amiga overnight. O.K. Now that I've told you off and you know your place we can start. 4] -------------------------------------------- 3] WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT MEANS and WHAT IT DOES. 4] -------------------------------------------- 3]Your Amiga has 512K of memory. 1K = 1024 bytes (One byte = one character (letter, number. dot etc)). Hands up if you know the answer? Easy isn't it. Your computer stores 512,000 characters. 3]Floppy Disk No, it's not what you get with a crook back! These store information, either in the form of a PROGRAM (Games etc) or DATA (info that you put on the disk through a program). Amiga disks store up to 880K per disk. 3]External Drive The same as the drive inside the Amiga except this one's outside. 3]Hard Drive Similar to a floppy disk drive in that you access information from a disk. Except that this unit has a disk PERMANENTLY in it which stores a minimum of 20 Megabytes (one million bytes) and is veeerry faaast!!! 3]Multitasking Exclusive to the Amiga. This means you can have more than one program working at the same time. 3]CLI (Command Line Interface) A fancy term for using the keyboard to work the Amiga insted of the mouse. 4] ----------------------- 3] WHAT DO I DO FIRST ??. 4] ----------------------- We'll assume that you've read the instruction books included with the Amiga and you have it connected up correctly and have a picture on the screen of a hand holding a disk. If you haven't, then start from square one again and follow the instruction book. If it doesn't work this time go and get a cup of coffee, a beer or a coke and sit down, take your time and give it one more try. If you still can't do it then you have to swallow your pride, take the computer back to where you purchased it and say "Pretty Please, could you show me how to connect it up" The hand holding the disk on the screen means the computer is waiting for you to insert a disk. The disks boot (load) automatically on being inserted and it is normal to hear the drive clicking if there isn't a disk in. Insert a disk (we'll assume you have either our Tutorial or Games Disks) and after the introductory sequence has finished, a picture will appear on the screen. This is called an ICON, which represents the disk. Use the mouse to move the pointer over the icon and then click twice quickly with the left mouse button. This will open a WINDOW on the screen with more ICONS (pictures), these represent PROGRAMS on the disk. Clicking on these twice with the left mouse button will load the selected program. And that's it !! Easy aint it !!! The instruction book supplied with the Amiga will go into more detail on using the mouse etc. The only time you switch the Amiga off at the power switch is when you've finished using it. If you've finished playing a game, using a program or if you've just got the screen into a hopeless mess then press the following three keys Ctrl (Control key) A (Left Amiga Key.. next to Alt key) A (Right Amiga Key.. next to Alt key) Press the three keys together, hold them down for a half a second, let go and the Amiga will do a "Software reset". Which means it will reset to the same way it was when you turned it on. 4] --------------------------------- 4] CONGRATS !! You're now a Junior WhizzKid grade 1.5 of the Alterian 4] Academy of Unified Synthesisation for SubMicroMolecula Computer 4] understanding. 4] -------------------------- 3] WHAT'S ON A DIRECTORY ??. 4] -------------------------- The Amiga does not have any operating system in the form of commands inbuilt, they all must be loaded in from a disk as required. This is what's on the WORKBENCH disk. When you purchase a program on disk, (game etc) the disk will have all of the neccessary files to operate that particular program correctly. What this means is that you can customise any disk to any way you like. You can boot up with different screen or text colours, alter the design of the mouse pointer, load two or more programs at the same time, load to Workbench or CLI or both and lots more. This lends itself to lots of versatility. You can have heaps of enjoyment making up your own disks while learning at the same time. How can I learn to do this, I hear you saying. Read on. Amiga disks are made up of DIRECTORIES in which are stored programs. These DIRECTORIES can have SUB-DIRECTORIES within them and the SUB-DIRECTORIES can have their own SUB-DIRECTORIES etc. Don't give up yet. Read on. Think of it as boxes, open a shoe box and there are two smaller boxes inside. Open one smaller box and there are two more inside that one. Each box has information in it which is completely separate from all the other boxes. Here's an example... 4] DISK SOLO | | | -------------------------------------- | | | | | | 4] Dir A Dir B Dir C | | | | | | ------------ ------------- -------------- | | | | | | 4] RED BLUE RED BLUE RED BLUE | | -------- -------- | | | | 4] PINK GREY PINK GREY DISK SOLO is the disk name. Dir A, B and C are DIRECTORIES. Directory A has two sub directories RED and BLUE. Directory RED has two sub directories PINK and GREY. Directory BLUE has two sub directories PINK and GREY. You could have a program called Jones in directory A/RED and one called Jones in directory A/BLUE/GREY as well. The Amiga would know they were different because you would tell it the PATH name.(The PATH to that particular program). To find program Jones in A/BLUE/GREY you would tell it to load A/BLUE/GREY JONES. The same could apply with directories B and C. 4] --------------------- 3] WHAT'S ON A DISK ??. 4] --------------------- Disks are made up of certain directories and programs which are neccessary for it to function. The more important ones are... 3]S DIRECTORY Has the text file STARTUP-SEQUENCE. The Amiga looks for this one first as this tells it which programs to load, how to load them and in what order. 3]C DIRECTORY This is where the computer looks to find any commands to load and run programs, read text files, load workbench etc. 3]DEVS DIRECTORY This is mainly for any info relating to the printer you're using and the SYSTEM CONFIGURATION file, which stores info on the screen colours, mouse pointer, printer setup, screen size etc. 3]LIBS DIRECTORY All libraries are stored here. Different ones are required for different programs. 3]L DIRECTORY The one important file in here is the DISK VALIDATOR. When a disk is inserted the Amiga checks to see if it is SELF BOOTING (INSTALLED) and then reads the S/Startup-Sequence file to find out what to load etc and Hey Presto !! It loads. 4] ----------------------------------- One very important point. If you want to experiment with a disk, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES interfere with a commercial disk because there's a very good chance that you'll ruin it. Copy the Workbench disk or a Public Domain disk and experiment with the copy, NOT THE ORIGINAL. If you have found this interesting and would like to learn about the Amiga then try some Public Domain programs. They won't break your bankbook and you can have a lot of fun while learning. 3]Remember the old Chinese Proverb.... 3]WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, READ THE BOOK.