~ BAY AMIGA CLUB - Newsletter 2 - June, 1987.` Dear Members, Another good meeting - well attended by our little group. We didn't solve the "Whats-the-best-spreadsheet-for-the-Amiga" nor the intricacies of AmigaDOS in one session. However, we started on the uses of "assign" and ram. ~AmigaDOS:` Two developments in recent months have considerably lessened the need to know lots about DOS. After all, the Amiga is supposed to be "user-friendly" (?) (yes! if you stay in Workbench and Intuition) - no one has claimed that DOS is friendly : the screen editor is nowhere as good as the old 64, and the hierarchical levelling of directories creates another of those "learning curves" that many of us can do without. BUT: 1.) DirUtil 1.4.1 is an excellent programme to help you exchange disks/copy files/view files on the screen, etc., without those annoying Requesters for the boot disk. DirUtil XX is too long, too slow and too complicated - who wants another "learning curve" for Dirutil? Put DirUtil on all your main working disks. By the way, make an icon for it, get hold of iconexec, and run DirUtil from workbench. 2.) Intuition based programmes are now becoming the standard for software, even in the Public Domain, so that knowing about AmigaDOS will become less important for those of you who just enjoy running programs., rather than making them. So here is a "quick and dirty" way for new users to get started : (i) copy a Workbench disk via Workbench and trash unnecessary progs; (ii) reboot with this new copy of workbench; (iii) enter CLI; (iv) enter the following commands one at a time: makedir ram:c copy c/assign to ram: copy c/cd to ram: copy c/copy to ram: copy c/dir to ram: assign sys:c ram:c (this makes DOS look at ram:c for its commands instead of your boot disk) (v) insert PD (public domain) disk in order to examine the directories for programmes you might need; (vi) cd df0: (this makes the PD disk the default disk ie the first place to look for files) (vii) dir (and now you should see the directory of your PD disk. If DirUtil isn't there put another disk and repeat vi & vii (viii)copy DirUtil to ram: (or if DirUtil is listed as a directory copy DirUtil/DirUtil ram: ) (ix) put in your new workbench disk - the one at step (ii); (x) cd df0: (xi) copy ram:DirUtil to df0: (xii) now you can reboot if you like and then enter CLI and run DirUtil, and hopefully, not have to do this little exercise ever again! Or type "assign sys:c df0:c" to get commands back to disk. {There are now many other versions of DirUtil that already have Icons, so you can easily move them from the WorkBench -AJW} Once you are in DirUtil, you can swop disks and copy files into RAM and then back on to other disks. Choose "read.me" and "poster" files, and click on 'type' to see instructions of progs. ~Tips:` two useful progs to use in DOS - (i) popcli - which pops up a CLI when you need it (put PopCLI in your 'c' dir and run it in your startup-sequence) (ii) MyCLI - which gives you better screen editing, more commands in DOS, and defines function keys for you to use in a session. ~For Fun:` make icons for Melt, DK, Tilt, Flip, Flip, and lens. Then get a new user to click them - heart attacks for the unwary. ~Club Library :` You should al have, on disk, the listings of Fred Fish's Public Domain Disks, so that you can more efficiently plan your raids on our Chief Archivist, Ross Deeley.. The following are the disks available from our library, and Ross's hours: Fred Fish PD - 2,21,24,28,30,31,32,34,35,36,38,40,41,42,44,45 and 47 to 68 inclusive. NZAUG (Wgtn) NewsDisks 1-4; Amicus disks 6,9; Amigan disks 1 to 4 Digview demodisk, Graphics disk, FutureSound disk (Startrek etc), FAUG 11 (Mimetics Sound samples). If anyone has copies of the early or omitted PD disks please donate them to the club. {Why not ask that guy in Wellington for copies -AJW} Ross Deeley's hours 6.30 to 9.00pm (Mon-Fri) 1 to 6pm (Sat) 10am to 5pm (Sun) ~Memory Expansion:` A Comspec 2Meg demo was given at the last meeting. Most impressive, although I have a nasty feeling that computing is getting to be a bottomless pit to send money. {It always has been -AJW} However, Comspec boards are cheap {?!} and very effective, especially with the ASDG prog. in startup, so that you don't wipe RAM when you reboot! Very handy for developing "C" progs, and general workshop. Another cheap expansion unit is the "Insider" advertised in "Transactor" mag - 1 Meg inside on the 68000, autoconfig., with clock, allows passthrough for further ram (works with Comspec and Sidecar): Cost $350 (USA)! ~Disk Purchases:` Members can order bulk purchase disks for $5.83 each from the club, by ordering through Ross Deeley. The club will buy them in bulk orders of 100+. {The NZ group (both!) will always get better disks cheaper -AJW} ~Magazine Subscriptions:` To cut costs in magazine subs, we advise members to purchase subs in groups of 2 or 3 for popular computing mags. Get in touch with other members for subs to AmigaWorld and Amigan. Or for that matter, other clubs. Three of us in our area ordered AmigaWorld, which now accepts o'seas VISA. Phone me for the address of their subscription dept. As a long-standing member {can't they afford chairs} of TPUG (Toronto Pet Users' Group), I get "Transactor" - a Commodore programmers' mag. This mag. has up-to-date reviews, tips, software advice and progs, and it comes monthly. For instance, it was the first mag. to widely advertise Comspec boards, and to put me on to the Amigan Journal. It also has a regular C column which is for serious programmers. For instance, there is source code for "structure browsing" through Intuition routines, "tracing" which stops GURU occuring in faulty C progs, and "colours" for learning gadgets, menus, and RGB/raster routines in C. Furthermore, it says the "Word Perfect" - word processor for IBM - will now be ported over, but rebuilt from ground up for the Amiga {In which case it is not being "ported" at all - AJW}. Many software houses are only now tooling up for the Amiga, after seeing that the future looks bright for the Amiga. "Publisher!" (by the "Analyze!" co.) will soon be out - a professional desk-top publishing package, with all features (we hope?). ~DISK-2-DISK` I have lots of C64 word processing and datafiles, that are urgently needed on the Amy. I have "Disk-2-Disk" which will let me transfer 64 and 128 progs to the Amiga via the 1020 5" drive. BUT, I haven't a 1020, nor has anyone in the Bay. If any of those readers in other areas of NZ have access to a 1020 please let me knoe (help!). Will the Sidecar 5" drive act as a 1020?? ~Programming:` (a) AmigaBASIC - I am finding the lack of RAM a nuisance in C. C is powerful, yes, but I didn't get an Amiga to start another "lerning curve" but to be able to develop BASIC further than could be done on a 64. And I still am unsatisfied with the Amiga as a programming machine {Right, so where is Turbo Pascal - AJW} One step on the way, is the new Extras AmigaBASIC with conversion routines for picture files as could be loaded in ABasiC. Good, all we need now is a IFF sound to BitMap sound conversion for AmigaBASIC and life will get simpler. {BitMapped sound?, ummm.. -AJW} "Advanced AmigaBASIC" is recommended reading for BASIC programmers. (b) TrueBASIC - Has not been received well by NZers? No copies on sale in shops, nor info here about version 1.2, nor support by example in Public Domain or mags {Everyone but Beeb (BBC) owners knows that real programmers don't right programs in BASIC - AJW}. However, trusting in the excellent reviews it got in the Amigan, I hope to get version 2 when released this year. TrueBASIC supports compiling its own libraries, with C and assembler routines, sprites, menus, etc. I gather one can fully utilise the Amiga using this BASIC. Apparently, one has to have a huge manual with it. What puts people off is the concept of having to buy another BASIC, when we already have AmigaBASIC - which is clumsy as a BASIC {That describes ALL Microsoft BASICs, from TRS80 to Amiga - AJW} ~Club Name:` C'mon members. What is our name to be? Bay Amiga Club/group, Abacus, Bay Amusers? Please have a definite opinion by next meeting. ~Dealer News:` Enclosed with this letter, please find Datastream advertisement {No you won't! - AJW} ~NEXT MEETING:` Date - Wednesday, June 2. 7:30pm Venue - John Peters place Agenda - Business Session : 7:30 to 8:00 : minutes, reports from the Chair, Sec/Treas, Chief Archivist. AmigaDOS session : 8:00 to 8:30 Word Processing/Databases: to 9.00 (bring along your Textcraft/Scribble/Pagesetter, etc for reviewing, and comparisons)