EDITORIAL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MEGADISC NOTES Megadisc's sixth issue and still going strong! Subscriptions are increasing as are general sales, and people are making good use of the Public Domain library. All this is thanks to you good people buying the disk, sending in submissions, providing feedback and support in general. The quantity and quality of contributions keeps improving, and it's one of the pleasures of the day to go to the Post Office and find yet another disk full of programs, articles or whatever. Once again, thanks a lot and please keep them coming (check out CONTRIBUTIONS on this disk). Some people have suggested that MD is a bit too text-based, and they're right! The reasons are that your editor is a bit too text-based himself, but also that the main idea of MD is to explain and give information pointing to other sources - why put Public Domain programs on which can easily be got through the extensive library, which can be checked out through recommendations here, or by looking through the Catalogue-on-disk? On the other hand, we're very keen to include any locally produced programs which mightn't otherwise get wide distribution, such as Dutils on MD5. You'll find quite a few good PD programs on this disk, however, in the PROGRAMS drawer. The format is more streamlined this issue, mainly due to the use of Opher Kahane's PRINTEXT utility, an updated version of the one in the Fish List. It does just about everything, so have a look in the PROGRAMS drawer for a full explanation (and check out the menu bar now to see what's available). Some people got the impression that the flash boot-up title screen of MD5 was somehow connected with the dreaded Virus - NOT so, since the very existence of that boot-block screen meant that no virus could be living there (a good virus-checker, however, would report a "non-standard boot block" if checking MD5). So just to avoid any and all misunderstanding, it's been left off this issue, since most people already realise that they have to use their Workbench to access MD, and anyway, it is written on the package. VIRUSES Speaking of viruses, a subject currently creating a lot of real and imagined havoc on all types of computers, it's worth knowing that those viruses existing on the Amiga to date are not really very harmful. As far as is known, they are "boot-block" viruses and apart from the occasional annoying message, the worst they can do is write over the boot blocks of certain protected games disks which boot from those blocks. This is damaging, but you can guard against it happening by using the two Virus Utilities on this disk to check for their presence in any bootable disk that comes your way. The danger in this whole situation is that some irresponsible jerks will deliberately create a "worm" or "trojan horse" which can do serious damage to a computer system, such as wiping out the data on a hard disk, etc. The price of data integrity is eternal vigilance, and there are vigilantes watching for any developments. In the meantime, be careful - and go through all your disks with "Vaccine" and/or "VirusX". (And if you think the Amiga's got problems, give a thought for those poor people who run IBMs and the like! They've really got the full viral vexation.) MEGADISC PRICES - SHOPPING BY PHONE For those who like to shop via phone - we now have Bankcard and Mastercard facilities, either by phone or mail, for the convenience of those who prefer not to use the post (with good reason at times). Anyone who finds his or her order not filled within about 10 days should give us a call on (02) 9593692 - it may have got lost in the post, or somehow mislaid. And the current prices/offers are as you'll see on the insert in the Megadisc package, available to all, especially including subscribers whose subscriptions have expired - 6-issue subscription (any 6, start anywhere) with 4 free Public Domain disks, $90; - 3-issue subscription (again, any 3) with 2 free PD disks, $50; - all Public Domain disks cost $5.50 each which includes postage, packaging, disk, etc (the cheapest anywhere!). If there is any great impatience about receiving orders, a courier delivery can be arranged for about $10 in the Sydney metropolitan area, and according to the usual rates outside Sydney. And of course if you ever get a disk which has any kind of problem, just call or send it in and it'll be replaced immediately. Another point - if you should have received a subscription or know someone who should have, and it hasn't arrived, please get in touch - there was a hard disk crash and I think a couple of subscribers got lost in the resurrection (the hard disk also reads "Lazarus" after a rescue operation). Final note: would the person who ordered some disks with a cheque on the "Strickland Trust" please get in touch - you forgot to say who you were! GROWTH OF THE AMIGA Meanwhile, the Amiga is going from strength to strength. It's a machine which provokes great enthusiasm, and can be anything from a simple high-quality arcade games machine to a full fledged turbo developers' environment to a desktop video/publishing workstation. It seems that the Amiga is the biggest-selling computer in Australia at present, so the word is finally getting through. Improvements are on the way too, particularly with the approach of the 1.3 system software, now in the testing phase - check out the article on 1.3SOFTWARE for details, and "COMMODORE NEWS" in "Megabites". The arrival of 1.3 software along with the solution of the various hardware/software compatibility problems of the 500 & 2000 will make the Amiga a really mature machine with a deep user base. And the next generation of Amigas will be something to look forward to. OUR CONTRIBUTORS Special thanks go to our contributors who are proving that they can write and program with the best of them - there's a high level of quality in these contributions from people who are already very busy and do it to share whatever knowledge they have acquired with other users. In no special order, many thanks go to: Opher Kahane for "Printext" and "Shortcut" Terry Gintz for his shareware contributions Henk van der Graaf for graphics and "PaintHints" tutorial Greg Ford for his in-depth "HardDrive" review George Vokalek for info from Adelaide and Audio Digitiser Pete Goodeve for his support, especially with Xicon Rob Englander for submissions of graphics Peter Hanrahan for reviews and information Paul Chatfield for unstinting hardware and software support Gunther Frick for help in many ways, including title icon Richard Wynn for constant help and contributions Ross Kellaway for constant support and contributions Jim Bolf for his two reviews Tim Hogan-Doran for reviews and support Gary O'Connor for his quality disk submissions on programming Daniel Dacey for a couple of good reviews Chris Mountford for the same Mark Underwood for numerous reviews Andrew Draper for information about happenings in Queensland Tony Oxenham for his submission of "Cols" Anthony Layland for submissions of Basic programs Graeme Whybrow for general feedback and submissions Eric Holroyd for his submissions of "Sayings" and his databases Peter MacKellar for support with Megadisc's catalogue Ken White for his programming contributions (AbortCommand) Dave Waters for a variety of contributions Mike Hansell for software contribution of "Vaccine2.0" Martin Boyd for software contribution of "Vaccine2.0" Eddie Stevens for his "AceDrive" hardware hack Steve & Brian Parker for their hardware modifications and programs Justin Trevena for submissions of graphics and articles Guy Burkitt for regular feedback Carl Osterley for a disk full of contributions Other un-named people have given their support in various ways, also much appreciated. Megadisc was produced on an Amiga 1000 (version 1.3), using a 2-Megabyte Ram expansion board from Proton Microelectronics, Expansion Systems' X-1000 and 20-Meg hard drive, 3.5" and 5.25" disk drives by Paul Chatfield, and Bit Blitzer from Mike Boorne Electronics. Software used included "Professional Text Engine" by Zirkonics, TxED by MicroSmiths, SuperBase Professional by Precision Software, Deluxe Paint of course, and a great many excellent public domain utilities by numerous talented authors. DISCLAIMER: All Megadiscs are produced with as much care as possible and with the aim of spreading useful information through the Amiga community. All contents of Megadisc are checked thoroughly, but we hold no responsibility for use of programs or implementation of advice or modifications contained in Megadisc, which are the responsibility of the user. (This legalese can be countered by the fact that to date there has been no report of any mishap from use of Megadisc - on the contrary, all the feedback has been very supportive and positive, and thanks for that.) Should anyone receive a disk which does not perform as it should, please send it straight back and it will be immediately replaced - there are always a few dud disks in every bunch, which you'll recognise by "Read/Write Errors" or the disk icon showing as "DFx:BAD". Having said all that, we hope you enjoy Megadisc - if you do, why not write in and tell us, along with any suggestions you might for improving it? Megadisc can only keep going with your support. Tim Strachan Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ END OF EDITORIAL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~