READERS LETTERS, VIEWS, OPINIONS, MOANS, SUGGESTIONS   ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? Series on Art and Computers?  Dear Ed: Megadisc has been an invaluable resource as I have grappled with the problem of learning to use computers in general and my Amiga in particular. As a consequence, I have been thinking about how I might make a useful contribution to Megadisc. Given that my interest in the Amiga has grown out of my practice as a visual artist, it may be that I have something to offer skilled users of the Amiga who would like to explore the art-making potential of their machines but are uncertain about how one might deal with the issues pertaining to the making of fine art. I am concerned that many of the pictures made with the aid of computers are presented as art without any scrutiny relating to their rights to such a status. Knowing how to imitate the images found in photographs or magazine pictures, create special effects peculiar to computer technology for their own sake and simulate reality using ray tracing software is no criterion for art. Issues such as the relationship between form and content, the nature of visual language and appropriateness of medium can be discussed in a non-threatening way. Expressive artists and communication designers of substance have always had some knowledge and understanding of the above-mentioned matters. Skills, not to be confused with cleverness, are the means by which the artist utilises the knowledge and understanding for a specific purpose; the expressive artist may be intent on expressing some insight into the nature of the human condition or a particular perception of reality, whereas the communication designer - the maker of posters, signs, labels and such - will produce images to which the viewer is expected to respond in a particular way. To be informed is to be in a position to make a valuable contribution to the development of art practice and, ultimately, the quality of peoples' lives. Would you be interested in my writing what would probably be a series of illustrated articles in which I would attempt to grapple with the above-mentioned issues and provide some hard information relating to the grammar and syntax of the visual language? The major danger is that the subject would be seen by readers as being too esoteric and too much of a departure from the expected computer-specific content of Megadisc. You might like to put the question to the readers.  Ron Upton   17 Mooney Road  Yarrambat  Victoria  Australia 3091 Ed: I'd be very keen - if anyone else would like such a series, why not let Ron know?  ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿? The Commodore Hornsby User Group The Commodore Hornsby User Group supports Amiga and Commodore C=64 & C=128 users. Currently our membership is approximately 100 including some 80 Amiga owners. We meet twice monthly at St Leos College, Woolcott Avenue, Wahroonga, N.S.W. at 7:30pm. Workshops are held on the Second Wednesday of the month and the main meeting is held on the Fourth (not necessarily the last) Wednesday of the month, the main meeting usually features a demonstration of Amiga commercial software and/or hardware. We have various services available to members Including:- PD Libraries Bi-Monthly magazine (Peripheral) Magazine Libraries Beginners Classes Phone Help Club Shop We have recently made changes to our BBS service and now have a doorway on the "Three Amigas" Bulletin Board (02) 609-4458. The Three Amigas supports bps rates from 300 to 9600, settings are F8N1. Naturally, visitors are welcome at our meetings as are callers on the BBS. The Secretary can be contacted on (02) 487-1062 for more information.  ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿?  Dear ED! Sheesh, been a while since a last wrote a nice long letter hasn't it... So sorry I've been so lazy... Hmmm.... Anyway what have I got to say today? Speeling (Yeah I know... Glass houses and all ;-) It seems that a number of little spelling errors are creeping through (well, usually more typographical but still...) most of which could easily be fixed with a quick spell check... Hmmm, maybe the word processor as specified by Bill Harper will cure these woes... Anyway, that's my two bits worth ;-) While on the subject While talking about spelling checkers and the like, it appears to me that many of todays spell checkers are a little hard to use on their own, you still have to get a dictionary to see the suggested words' meanings if you're unsure. I personally would like to see a program which stored a dictionary (on hard drive, or alternatively CD ROM), preferably one of the more usual ones, for example Collins or Oxford, and looked it up to check words, with an added button entitled "Meaning"... You could also have an "improved" speech facility by keeping the usual pronunciation guide, as well as a grammar checker (most dictionaries include such information as whether its a noun or a verb)... Could make a very useful program... Anyway, I'd like to see how many CDs the complete Oxford dictionary takes up... (not these wimpy pocket ones, give me the multi-volume, 10 tonne heavyweight ;-)... DirOpus v4 What a brilliant program! If you're not already stuck on a DirUtil get this! It's absolutely brilliant! Request! Anyone got any interesting user-startups? DirOpus config files? Anything? There seems to be a slight lack of personalization tutorials recently... Sigh... Suggestion Would it be possible to make a disk, similar to MegaDOS, with all the stuff the manual doesn't tell you, such as making boot disks, using links (of the MakeLink variety, not those of PageStream), stuff like that? I dunno, may be interesting. It could be done with some sort of theme, such as writing a letter to a friend, showing how to use Ed or Memacs, how to print from Ed, and then for interest showing how to send it along nicely simply on a disk with all sorts of stuff. Something imaginative like that, with a number of suggested uses would be really interesting... REWARD! I asked you ages ago whether it would be possible to recieve some kind of Mail order discount in return for contributions instead of PD... As I remember you replied "still thinking..." so I'm wondering if you've come to a conclusion, or are continuing to espouse your sentiency... ;-) I'd imagine it would not be very large, but would be really useful when income's tight. Ed: I'd love to espouse my sentiency if only I knew where it was. But, ah, still thinking, Batman, because, quite simply, can't afford it! MD Install There ought to be an upgrade to this on this MD, so if you have a Hard drive or similar, give it a go, and please send in any comments... They'd be greatly appreciated... MD Helpers What happened to the Helpers list each issue? I thought there was to be one? Also, if anyone's having any problems in ARexx I'd be happy to help out if possible... Ed: Check the list to date in the Editorial this issue. Font editors In response to Leigh Murray's question about PD Font editors... As well as the 1.3 one, there is also a reasonable (2.0 based) Font editor on UT 286 going by the name of WBFEd as I remember. BIO Pics By the way, I must say I agree with Scott English about the bio-pic article... And the numerous other people who've been begging for a bio-pic of yourself and an article on the production of MD... ;-) See ya, ANT!   (Beware the little nipper!)  Anthony Towns Eight Mile Plains QLD  ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿? Over-zealous editing!  Dear Editor, I hope you get to read this letter. My previous efforts, also saved to the PD Catalogue Disk, seem to have passed without acknowledgement. OK, I know your function is to edit and some items require a complete cut from "Dear" to "yours" but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume no one noticed and copied the update without further ceremony. At my typing speed that was a few hours down the drain .. not to mention the gems contained therein They were the only copies. Any way whatever I wrote I've forgotten so lets start afresh. I thought I'd tell you a little about my setup and what I do with it as it is a bit different. The reason for this is that I have some PC Programs I prefer to use. Apart from wider compatibility the issue to me is knowing how to use the program and having invested that time and effort I prefer to get on with the application. The end result is I do far more work on my Amiga in PC Mode. Actually a little history first. I bought my Amiga at the same time as my work place put in PCs and was so computer illiterate that it never occurred to me(nor was I told) that they were as alike as chalk and cheese. And I really needed to bring work home and vice versa. For the next two years I persisted with "Transformer" which actually did the job and its speed wasn't an issue as my typing aint that fast anyway. PC programs that chugged along happily included MS Word,Lotus 123 and First Choice. Hey don't snigger .. I like First Choice. Then glory Halleluia? My dealer showed me the KCS Power Board. The price was outrageous $NZ1100 but I figured I couldn't fit two computers onto my desk. Mine must have been one of the first as it was Version 1 and it was now possible to run CGA and some graphics. Speed was much better so that recalculations on Lotus no longer took an eternity. In fact I was so pleased I went out and got me a 5¼ drive. It was Taiwanese and I don't really know why but it handles Amiga 880k and PC 360 without missing a beat .. no fiddling by me! I haven't seen it around since and anyway that particular dealer has gone the way of most Amiga Dealers .. out the door. Recently, to my surprise, the KCS people sent me an upgrade v4.5 (obviously there's been a bit happening) and although a few parts aren't working right for me it has certainly opened up even more aspects and programs. I can use my mouse, use EGA display and greater memory up to about 1 meg. Lotus really flies along! And finally Frame Work III works properly. So there you have it. A confirmed PC user happy on his Amiga. Plus all the bonuses of Amigas. They are more fun aren't they! In fact the only improvement I would like is to run each at the same time in a different window. Then I could play games on the side. I know it must be possible because KCS runs a separate Window for a popup calculator and it appears to be an Amiga Program. What I can do though is feed TV to my Amiga through a broken down video (all moving parts stuffed) and at the press of the RGB I can watch TV while printing takes place. Only one problem.. while the computer is on the screen rolls (slowly). An earthing problem I'm told but haven't quite figured what to connect to where. But it beats watching "Printing.. please wait". And it means there's an extra TV in the house. Brilliant reception. You use the video to select the channels. It does leave me in a bit of a time warp. The KCS Power Board won't fit in the new A600/1200s without an external adaptor so I'm still with my A500. An upgrade to the Amiga plus is one possiblity. There are a few still around. More fundemental is the operating system. I have a huge investment in 1.2 and 1.3 software and am not all that keen on "retooling" just for the sake of latest and greatest. So that's the setup, an A500, KCS Power Board, External 3½ and 5¼ drives, ancient Thorn VCR (only the V works) and assorted mice, joysticks and Steering Wheel. Storage is in Omo boxes and cut down wine casks(after consumption). Now I also said I would tell you what I did with my Amiga. The applications largely revolve around Word Processing although I also use Lotus a bit. I find PC Tools a marvelous way to tidy things ..I haven't located the same in Amiga although some Utilities cover similar ground. Let's start with the Amiga applications. For Education and entertainment I have the usual art,music and games programs. For serious I use Phasar for for personal finances and Softwood for keeping personal and club records. Any reports and Club Rosters generated and other Amiga documents that I want printed by Laser at the office are transferred through Crossdos as ascii files to a PC disk. I have MessyDos from you but it never worked despite much study so Crossdos has proved well worth the price of the Magazine it came with. I then reboot into PC Mode and load MS Word, edit and take to work to print. I am at home with MS Word, my copy is 4.0 and the office has 5.1, and it has more than enough extras for my needs. I have set up several macros for repetitive tasks such as formatting imports from other programs. I am studying so use the MS Word Outliner a lot for drafting assignments and making Course Notes. Lotus is also necessary for my course of study and I use it quite a bit for other accounting tasks, eg Sets of financial statements(you can enter trial balance figures,depreciation schedules etc etc) and tax returns. Yes I know that Prowrite and MaxiPlus do these things but there's far more instruction around for the PC programs. I have recently purchased (second hand) Lotus HAL and Frame Work III with the intention of further extension of work in these areas. As you can see these are not areas that most in the Amiga community are interested in but I am doing them on my A500! I would quite like to expand to a hard disk especially as I hear some have a switch enabling you to use both the new 2.0 OS and the earlier 1.2,1.3 OSs. Your comments on what's available in this area would be of interest. [Ed: We have a Kickstart switch for $50 which gives you both OSs, with the click of a mouse button. And a spare one with manual switch for $40 - one only.] I have no regrets buying the Amiga which was streets ahead of PCs in those days. I think it a mistake Commodore has not tried harder for compatibility or at least parallel running with PCs so that they had a wider market. Some of my associates make me spit. They used to sneer that Amiga users were illiterate and needed pictures to drive their computer! Now with windows on their behemoth 386s they are like bloody kids reinventing the wheel. Well for my part I'm quite happy using the best of each. And my machine is 6 years old. Show me a PC to match. And in conclusion many thanks for your splendid magazine. It has been a lifeline in keeping me up with developments and information on "how to". I think the new collections a good idea but as I already have all the Megadiscs I will just have to enjoy hunting through. The trouble is I'm easily distracted and finish up looking at something else .. but that's the way to learn new things. Best wishes  David Grant   New Zealand   ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿? Buyer Beware  Dear Tim, The unavailability of some Amiga software in Australia was the cause of a recent unpleasant experience for me, which I'd like to share with your readers. In last November's issue of 'Amiga Computing' from the U.K. I saw an ad for the SSI game "Buck Rogers (II)", the sequel to B.R.(I) which has been unavailable in Australia. So I sent them my money (about A$60) and heard no more for three months. Trying to find out if they'd got my order, I 'phoned the office of the software company concerned - 'Software Supreme' - in London and was told they didn't actually have the game and were having trouble getting it from the publishers. I waited until this April, then wrote them a letter saying that I wanted to change my order to another game, having heard rumours that SSI were not producing games for the Amiga any more. I asked for their free catalogue to make a choice. By June, there was still no reply. About mid-June I 'phoned up London again and received a recorded message, "Sorry, the company has gone into liquidation ... click!" Money gone. End of Story ! Moral: Be very careful when ordering by mail from overseas distributers...  Sarv Engelhardt   Hilton, W.A.  ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿? A Letter from Leigh QED: A WIMPY Text Editor Dave Hooton raised a query about text editors in MD34, looking for someone to write a wimpier one. I wonder if he has tried QED, a powerful and friendly text editor which is good for writing anything from letters and MegaDisc missives to program notes and doc. (I'm using QED to write this.) QED has two of the features on Dave's wish-list: it allows block mark with the mouse from anywhere within the line, and Right-Amiga keycodes. Even the demo (v0.17) which comes on the PD disk Amigan 23 has these features. But the version you get when you register (it costs $US 30 - you can register for it through the MD Shareware scheme) has many extra features, and is much nicer to use. For instance, I find the ability to set the left margin (as well as the right) exceptionally useful, and it is a rare feature in text editors. Also, column mark with cut and paste comes in very handy at times. And QED's search and replace routines are very fast. The QED version I use, 1.0e, works fine on Workbench 1.3 and 2.04. [Ed: See some ARexx routines for QED in this issue.] HD Heaven Also in MD34 FeedBack, Steven Ruttley mentioned that, like so many other Amiga users, he found the acquisition of a system with a hard disk and Workbench 2 boosted his computing pleasure greatly. The hard drive I bought for my Amiga 500 remains one of my all-time great purchases, and it's my best ever computer peripheral. Aussie Shareware Registrations I was delighted to read Steven's comments that he'd registered for DirWork and IE (both excellent programs, well supported by their programmers). His experience with these two programmers mirrors mine: prompt replies and helpful answers to queries. As he said: "Service like this and a great utility written by an Australian for this price deserves all the support we can give." I agree wholeheartedly. Another Aussie I've had good feedback from is Gary Smith, who wrote Deft, FontViewer and FindIt [Ed: on previous issues of MD]. By the way, a new version of IE, the icon editing program I use for all the icons I make, is about to be released. I've been testing it, and it really is very good, with many new or improved features. New features in version 4 of IE include AGA support, many configurable options (image size, screen resolution, number of colours), variable magnification, scaling of images, and very fast scrolling and colour swapping. It can only be used on Workbench 2 or higher. [Ed: See info in the Megabites on IE.] Eight Colour Icons I made the new IEv4 icons, and these were my first 8 colour icons (IE can now handle up to 256 colour icons, but I thought 8 would be enough to make the point!). I don't normally make 8 colour icons as I run a 4 colour Workbench (to conserve chip RAM for the myriad things I run at once - usually at least 8 applications). Also, many of the icons I make are for MegaDisc, and I have guessed that most MD readers run only a 4 colour Workbench. I fancy making an 8 colour main icon for MegaDisc one day, and I have my eye on just the thing - a half-completed fractal icon that should look pretty effective in eight colours. Whether I ever finish this icon depends on my getting Tim's editorial go-ahead for what would be a flashy icon requiring more blocks on the disks than a 4 colour icon. If you would be particularly interested in such an icon, perhaps you could let MegaDisc know. If you have any strong preferences in icons, please pass those on too - I'm always on the lookout for good ideas. Feedback The FeedBack section of MegaDisc is one of the first bits I read in each issue. It's always interesting, and it seems more informal and even friendlier than the rest of the magazine. It has something of the feel of a pen-friend group. I'd like to say "Thank You" to those MegaDisc readers who've commented on various articles, disks, icons etc that I've done. I really appreciate feedback, and I'm sure other MegaDisc contributors do too; it certainly helps inspire me to do more. And I'm always interested to see which other contributions are commented on. Sometimes it seems a shame that a terrific piece or series attracts little or no (written) attention. It's so easy to read something and think it's great, but not get around to telling the author. For instance, I don't remember much feedback about Ben Campbell's very good articles on Flight Sims. I think the series is excellent, yet I haven't found the time to say so before. I don't have a great penchant for Flight Sims (no flight simulator can compare with the joy of having an eagle cadge a lift on your wing while you're gliding), but I do think Ben has done a good job on those articles for the aeronautically disadvantaged. One of the things that impressed me when I was setting up the MD.Articles, MD.Hints&Tips disks etc, was the steady support that has been provided by quite a few contributors since the early MegaDisc days. People such as John Varcoe and Gunther Frick started contributing in the first few issues, and they are still writing excellent articles. Other slightly newer chums such as MegaDisc's Most Prolific Author, John Collett (ARexx, HyperBook etc), have made up for lost time with oodles of good stuff. And there are good new contributors with every issue. Keep up the good work everyone - together we can make a great magazine, can't we!  Regards to all MegaDisc readers, editors, contributors etc   Leigh Murray  Queanbeyan NSW  ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿? Animations for sale Dear Ed: Further to our conversation yesterday, I have pleasure in enclosing a 9 disk pack containing 44 animations suitable for use in weddings. Most of them are an appropriate background with a "flying logo" overlaid. There are, however, a number of true animations (see the Cupid, Cutting of the cake and Opening Doors). As I mentioned on the phone, I am charging $49.95 for the 44 animations which I send out on 9 disks.  Andy Kavanagh 12 Stretton Court  Alexandra Hills, QLD 4161 Ed: Write to Andy if you're interested in his animations.  ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿? Dopus not up to scratch Dear Ed: I purchased an upgrade when it was released of your friend Johnathan Potter's Directory Opus V 4 which I believe has additional features over earlier versions. However, I was disappointed that the Diskcopy and also Diskformat had been changed to single from multiple drives. A fault that I am encountering is after I have been using Opus and changing disks I find upon reverting to the main screen that I have a screen full of icons, another fault which I am experiencing is that at times there is a complete lockup. My other complaint is that we have to pay extra to import an Australian written program. Perhaps he should have found out if his mates at Phoenix were interested in marketing Opus for him.  G Warner   Batesford, VIC.  ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿? WoC Bargains Dear Ed: I've just got back from a quick trip to the World of Commodore laden down with several bargains and a High Density drive. Some of the special offers were pretty amazing. $199 for an A500 CD drive had me contemplating picking up a cheap 500. I was a bit annoyed that the High Density drive wouldn't work when I plugged it in, especially after being told by Sigmacom that they didn't have any left and didn't know when they would have any more. Being from Melbourne I wasn't too happy about having to send it back and waiting for a new one so I carefully opened it up and found the cables to be not completely plugged in. The drive works fine now. I hope nothing else goes wrong with it. I was also pleased that almost all the software worked on Kickstart 3.0. The only one that doesn't works with Relokick under 1.3. I was disappointed that you weren't at the show when I was. I was looking forward to having a chat. Oh well, I'll probably be going again nest year so I might catch up with you then.  Graeme Sayers   Armadale, VIC.  ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿? Letter from NZ Dear Ed: The latest AMSMAG contains an AREXX version of "World Times" updated with daylight saving information. This caused me to reinvestigate Arexx which I had previously discarded owing to the almost complete incomprehensibility of the WB 2 manual on the subject - I wonder if Commodore ever send their documentation out for beta testing and, if so, do they give it to non-programmers to check for readability and ease of use? As with other electronic gadgets like videorecorders a whole mass of essential information is omitted in the manual between advice to check that the machine needs to be plugged in and switched on (after checking that the power input is set correctly!) and cryptic terminology advising how to programme the machine by pressing buttons marked with symbols that may, or may not, bear a vague resemblance to the function that they are intended to perform. My first attempt to lad and run World Time from the startup produced - ZILCH! - and when I tried to close Workbench I was informed that I couldn't because I had 253 other applications running!!! I wonder why there weren't 255?!!! Needless to say I turned to MegaDisc for help and am a little wiser now. I still haven't discovered whether it is possible to start an Arexx program from the user startup and am hoping that one of the PD discs I am requesting in return for my last contributions will provide some more answers. Talking of which - I am sorry I did not include a short entry for use in the PD catalogue. I must admit that I hadn't read your request for theis - there is so much to absorb on each MegaDisc issue that I rarely get round to reading instructions and requests - mea culpa! It reminds me of the many times that there was a knock on the Surgery door which bore a large notice "Surgery closed for lunch. Reopens at 2 p.m. Please only knock in an emergency". NO ONE ever knocked in an emergency but they still knocked and asked "Is the surgery closed?" or some equally ridiculous question!  Don Stones   Auckland, NZ.  ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿? An Open Letter to Commodore Australia.  Dear Commodore,  Since you neglected to answer any of my letters previously, I can only hope you get the message this time. I ordered my A4000/030 in March, it took two weeks to arrive. This I can accept since the model had only just been released. However, I was disappointed to find that the machine failed within a day of installation. This I can accept since the fault had not been detected when the system had been tested at the shop. I had to return the machine and was informed that you would take up to three weeks for a repair/replacement due to a shortage of stocks. This I can only barely accept. I then have to wait two months until the machine was returned. During this time you claimed it would be returned "within 10 days". This I cannot accept. The shop is then informed that the return of the machine was rejected because "there was nothing wrong with it". You lied. There was nothing wrong with it AFTER you had replaced the hard drive and other components (still the same machine and serial number). I cannot accept that you took two months to return a machine that had "nothing wrong with it". I cannot accept that you could not find the time to return my letters and explain why you could not provide me with the computer I had paid for.  Tom Minchin  ¿? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿*? 35 ¿?