Hi-Lites of The Commodore MaiLink for July, 1996. These are all the articles of general interest from "The Commodore MaiLink", newsletter of "Meeting 64/128 Users Through the Mail". Permission is given to reprint if credit is given to the newsletter and the group. For further information about the group, write or send E-Mail to the president, Tom Adams, 4427 39th St., Brentwood, MD, 20722-1022. (tom.adams@neteast.com) Phone. 927-8826. The Commodore MaiLink comes out every other month. In addition to articles, it contains group business, the president's colunm, an editor's column, a "Questions" column, a "Buy/Sell/Trade" column, and information about new members. A NEW PC Steve Barcena I have been using a C128 for some time now. I use it to write letters, pay my bills, write checks, keep track of our finances and our budget, make cards for our four children, their spouses and our seven grandchildren and to play and collect games for the grandchildren to play. Stevie, the only boy among the seven, now almost eight and very precocious, first saw and used a computer at my house, and to this day calls a computer a "Gramputer". He is now very comfortable with any computer. I retired in 1992 and worked at occasional one-or-two day a week jobs as well as doing volunteer work. A year ago I started working Fridays for my son-in-law. One day he told me a customer was selling his business and had a PC for sale cheap. I decided I wanted to learn a little about computers other than the lowly Commodore, so I bought the PC, a 286 upgraded to 386, with a number of programs and a pretty good color monitor. A friend had an almost new Star NX 2450 color printer he did not like so I bought that as well. My son gave me a number of programs including Windows 3.1, so for about $400 I was in business. I got my brother's Family Tree program, far superior to what I had found for the Commodore, and entered all my family files into it. I loved the graphics and the greeting cards I could make, though perhaps the 24 pin printer as opposed to my 9 pin NX1000C Rainbow had a lot to do with it. I make a lot of cards though and I really enjoy using the PC for that purpose. After designing the card though, while waiting for it to print, I would turn to my right, turn on the C128, and work with that for the next 20 minutes or so. Pretty soon I began to run into some problems having to do with speed of operation. My son said the 4 megs of RAM were not enough. I learned how to add more RAM and installed 4 megs more myself, which added another $135 to my cost. There was a marked difference, but that is when I learned that RAM and storage capacity are not enough. I had all the programs small enough to go on a 3-1/2" HD disk off the hard drive, but 203 megs of storage were still not enough. Then I started reading about "Doublespace". Doublespace is a DOS program that compresses all the files on the hard drive and can effectively double your storage capacity. Great. I did it. It worked fine and I had oodles of new space for more programs. I bought a Paint program that looked good for $5, reduced from $29.95, and installed it. I learned a few more things about computers. There are two kinds of PC users- those that have crashed and wiped out their hard drives, and those that will. I now belong to the former group. Crash? Lose all your programs? In eight or nine years of using a Commodore I had never lost a program and only rarely lost a file. Back ups? Why should I make a lot of backups? Oh, I see, because I might lose all the letters I had written on the PC in the last three months, and all the cards I had made for future birthdays. Why should that happen? I don't know. But they are gone. And I keep seeing something about a "D" drive, host for "C", which is where the compressed files went, but which I still do not understand. Well, after four days of fighting and trying to re-install my programs, which I was partiallly able to do because a friend had showed me how, and insisted, I make a "Bootable" disk, I gave up and took it into a shop where they again breathed life into this suitcase size hunk of hardware. I still use it and enjoy it, but I made some smart decisions, to wit: Any letter of importance is done in TWS on my C128. Even when my working disk of TWS got screwed up somehow, I never lost a letter. I just pulled out my original disk, made a new work copy and transferred my files to it. I had been looking for a good database to transfer my budget files to and a financial planner for our investments. Forget it. They are safe and happy in my Commodore files. When I am working out in my studio I can listen to some pretty good music on the C64 I keep out there. Unless I want to spend another four or five hundred dollars for the PC it can't come close to what the old Commodore does for the original 12 bucks I paid for it. I have yet to find a WP for the PC comparable to TWS 128 at a comparable price, though there may be one. There is no paint program below $50 as good as Advanced OCP Art Studio. And what compares with the Fun Graphics Machine? If one has to use a computer in business I am sure the IBM or compatible can not be beaten. But for me, for home use, it is fun and a learning tool, but Commodore is still Number One. LARGE PRINT FOR WORD PROCESSORS "Oley" Olson The Star NX1000 printers show QUAD size print in their printer manuals. It is about 1/2" in size. I use TWS as my word processor and can print this quad size print by using imbeded commands. The first step is to go to the printer index and find quadruple size. Check and write down the decimal #. In my case it was 27,104,2. Note that 27,104,0 turns it off. Now using your BACK UP COPY of TWS go up to the menu bar and choose x-it. (Yes, I know that there are shorter ways to get there). When the exit menu comes up choose "printer customizer". From the next menu choose "toggles". What you will see are the imbeded commands that you use to turn on and off the special effects that you use in TWS. Note the user defined spaces that are empty. I choose t (I think type) and in the on space I type 27,104,2 to turn it on. Cursor over to the OFF side and type 27,104,0 to turn it off. Print yourself a copy then save the defaults. Now if you go back to the TWS screen and hit CTL 1 t you will get a reversed t. Type QUAD. Hit CTL 1 t to turn it off. The preview will not show the size but if you print it you should have the word QUAD in large type. It will not work on imported fonts like those used from Super Graphix, but it will work with the fonts from the front selected on the printer. Your next line below will have to be 3 return marks below your QUAD line in order to keep from typing over your QUAD. Hints: If this works for you, go back to the toggle menu. If you have a rainbow color printer and a color ribbon, check you printer index for colour printing commands. I have a rev g to turn on 27,114,6 and 27,114,0 turns off green. Use your imagination. If you have never been into this part of TWS before, look around. Check misc. (TWO DRIVES ?). Check out drives. IF you have TWS on a 3 1/2 disk it is convenient to have all the dictionaries on #8 and all your files on #9. Note: an easy way to change drives in TWS 128 is to hold the commodore key and press z, the bottom of the screen will show you where you are. WHOSE SOFTWARE? Maurice Jones When I got Ramlink and an FD drive, I received a disk containing utilities with each. I assume that Creative Micro Designs supplies such a disk with all of its devices. One of the programs on these disks was Jerome Yoner's DEDIT, a directory editor that works on all the Commodore drives and on the CMD devices as well. I know of no other such complete editor. The rest of the programs are copyrighted by CMD. I suspect that nearly everyone who uses CMD devices uses DEDIT occasionally. I also guess that very few such users sent Jerome the five dollar shareware fee. And there is a real problem. Surely it is worth five dollars to have use of the program. So why don't people pay? Are they basically dishonest? Are they just cheap? I really don't know, though I suspect that most think that because the program came on a disk that they paid for that they are entitled to it. Of course, this is NOT true. In case anyone does not know, there are three classes of software when it comes to copyright questions; shareware, public domain, and copyrighted material. Everyone knows that PD material can be used, copied, and distributed in any way. There seems to be many views on the other two types. I have heard the argument that if software weren't so expensive, it would not be stolen. People making this argument usually are equal opportunity thieves whose collection of stolen software includes the whole price range. The price does not alter the fact that the material is copyrighted and that copying or distributing it is Dishonest ( that's dishonest with a capital "d."). So what about shareware? It is generally produced by individuals who do not choose to program full time, and who do it more for satisfaction than for profit. In my opinion, the quality of shareware programs for Commodore machines compares well with commercial programs. I am told that only a few people have made any money from shareware and that those who did were the ones whose programs need lots of documentation. This was probably part of the reason for Eric Lee's success. The other part was his idea of using groups like ours to distribute TWS. We are allowed, even encouraged, to distribute shareware. We are just not supposed to keep it and use it unless we pay the fee. Keeping it and using it is Dishonest. So much for the ethical and legal sides of the issue. Is there a practical side? For us CBM users there sure is. The commercial producers, except for Loadstar, no longer know we exist, though there are thousands upon thousands of us. Our only sources of new software are Loadstar, PD, shareware, and an occasional new, usually short lived venture like DieHard, which belied its name in a big way. There is a real curiosity there. Thousands sent their money to DieHard on the promise of software, yet many of them use shareware which they have not paid for. If we want a continued supply, we have to pay for it. I believe that there are many more illegal copies of Loadstar made each month than there are legal copies. Less than half of us pull our own weight. When I have considered releasing some of my solitaire games as shareware, I was told that there would be no return. I am sure other programmers have withheld software for the same reason. If everyone who should would sent Jerome his five bucks, maybe he would spread the news and other programmers would be persuaded to produce some new stuff. It's worth a try. By the way, Jerome, if this works, I expect a commission! PD OR NOT PD Roger Detaille Although this sounds Shakespearean, it deals with a different subject: Copyright. In those hectic days when the C-64 hit the marketplace with a very noticeable bang, there were a lot of enterprises marketing games and productivity software. Almost all are gone by now and their wares are no longer available. But, new Commodore users would like to get their hands on some of those no longer available software titles. Someone once proposed that if a company no longer exists, their software titles become public domain. Not so! Even if the publisher has gone out of business, someone still owns the copyright. Companies even refused to have their programs licensed out to a third company for production and distribution rights only. Berkeley Softworks and CMD have such an agreement for GEOS. Why not others? So what to do? Find a copy, that's what people do. However, this is illegal. Commodore users were notorious copiers, at least most of them. Some teenagers used to have hundreds of games, and not one original. What's more, those so-called pirates introduced 'cracked' versions of games and even had nice intros instead of those 'darn' copyright notices. They even added trainers to the game so you could get proficient at it, instead of seeing GAME OVER after about a minute and half. Which was a point in their favour, in many a user's eyes. Producers want you to buy a back-up copy of their product and even remind you that it is illegal to make a copy. It's a way of making money. However, the copyright law states that you have the right to make a backup copy for your own purposes. Some producers went so far as to prohibit you from selling the software package you purchased to a third party. Licensing is another way of circumventing the copyright law. Another thing that burns me up is the shrink-wrap. On the outside of the package it states that by opening the package you agree to all their stipulations hidden inside the sealed package. Let's say you produced a piece of software, an article or a great graphic. So far, so good. What happens when you send your masterpiece to a publication? You either get a rejection slip or a contract. You transfer all rights to the publication for a certain sum. In other words, they bought your work. What about public domain? After receiving a rejection slip from a publisher, you decide it isn't really worth while and you put the program into public domain. You still own the copyright. Suppose, this same publication which had rejected your masterpiece earlier on, now uses it in its publication. When looking at the fine print, usually to be found in the first couple pages, you notice that their publication is copyrighted and no part may be reproduced in any way or form whatsoever. Is this a violation of your copyright? When you send an article for publication and it is not purchased by the publication, but printed anyway, what rights are being violated? Now we come to the part that really fans the angry flames. Suppose you design a graphic or a font and place it into public domain. Somehow it gets to a publication and they decide to publish it and, what's even more insulting, copyright your public domain work and claim it as their own! It would be considered highly unethical and possibly a few other things, as well. It's not very encouraging being ripped off this way, and not being able to do much about it. The only thing you can do is to avoid sending material to such publications. Don't deal with people who 'greedily' accept anything, don't buy your stuff, but publish it anyway and slap a copyright on it! All my work is done using GEOS, mainly graphics and fonts. Although GEOS does not allow an author's name in documents, I have none-the-less included my name or logo in graphic and font files. This way I can easily identify my work, should I see it where it doesn't belong. I am interested in your views, and especially the views of someone more versed in the copyright laws than I, especially as far as PD is concerned, if it finds its way into a publication and then copyrighted by some unscrupulous people. 1581 UTILITIES "Oley" Olson When it comes to utilities for the 1581 I started out using the 1581 demo disk, but I found most of the programs slow. "Super 81 Utilities" came on the market and I got it. Great menus and choices, but still slow. "Maverick" was faster but had the drawback of being 64 oriented and is on a 5 1/4. Sometimes getting the 2 1581s activated for a copy is a problem. I copied just the 1581 copy program to a 3 1/2 and it worked, but I had to shut down the system to get back to "Maverick". I have recently started using "The 1581 Toolkit". This appears to be the Maverick program (by Krackerjack) on a 3 1/2. While it is still 64 oriented I find that if I switch just the monitor to 40 col and then load it, it internally switches to 64 and works. My full data disks back up in about 2 minutes. (the demo disk often takes as much as 8 minutes.) In addition the disk allows me to use the Directory Editor. I especially like this on my "TWS" file disk. I can back up the disk and then with the Directory Editor I can alphabetize or rearrange the disk as I want and then write it to the back up. While still in the program, I have it read the master data disk and make it the same as the backup. This sure helps when you are trying to find a file on the TWS load screen. CMD'S FD-4000 DISK DRIVE Brian Vaughan I noted in issue #12 of the C= World magazine that the CMD ad was carrying only the FD-2000 drive. I called CMD and they confirmed it is most likely forever out of stock. They relied on the extended density drive makers for the mechanisms needed in the 4000 and production was discontinued due to a lack of interest in the overall market for this drive mechanism which includes the MS/DOS group. I would recommend FD-4000 owners buy an FD-2000 drive for 3.5" backup and then move the data from any 3.2 Meg. disks from the 4000 onto 1.6 Meg. disks. The 4000 & 2000 could then be used for backup exclusively in the 1.6 Meg. or less modes. Since FD-4000 owners now own an orphan, perhaps some members would consider unloading their 4000 drives to acquire the 2000 drives which are still available. I would be willing to pay an owner of a 4000 drive the cost of a new 2000 drive to give me 3.2 Meg. backup and just take my chances on the drives continuing to function. Other 4000 owners may wish to make similar offers. A Piece of STR$ - What to do with all those 3 1/2" disks from various places wanting you to sign up for their communication software? Reformat and use them on your C-1581 or FD disk drive!!! MESMERIZED BY MAIL ORDER Donald Ayers Okay, we need mail order! It is our shopping mall. But, let's eye some of the misadventures of yesteryear: The Case of the Vanishing Octobus is pulled from the files of the early 80's. The Octobus was an early interface permitting linkage with Pet devices and multiple peripherals. Its primary defect was that it fried your computer. When this was pointed out to the manufacturer, it vanished, only to reappear as the Giant Squid in Benchley's The Beast, years later. The Case of the Poseidon Adventure involves an outfit offering a catalog for CP/M software in Ahoy ads. You just had to send in a couple of dollars. This was merely a sideline to an ongoing business. And what a sideline--no one got a catalog. The Case of the Running Rogues is more recent. Run magazine listed its advertisers of the past who had displayed difficulty in filling orders. --Ahem. You were to contact Run before further business dealings with such. I always wondered if Run offered a hug if you contacted them. The Case of the 8 Bit Bite involved the public domain seller, 8 Bit, which appeared in the 90's. It offered packs of the PD Select collection, nice items. After some success, it vanished, leaving some orders unfilled and money unremitted. The Case of the Squashed Grape brings us to the bankrupcy of Grapevine. Former associates of Grapevine appear scattered among Paxtron and Unique Services. However, rots of ruck prying goods or moneys sent to Grapevine, from either source. The Case of Zines Anonymous is nearly unsolveable. Most publishers aren't fiends; operators simply run out of money sufficient to get the zine out. We may need to set up a charitable foundation for performance of a group exorcism, for as a group, they are likely to have endured many curses. This is why outfits that take on old obligations deserve a lot of respect and support. Fender Tucker and Jeff Jones have addresses reserved for them in Heaven's Memory Bank for such deeds. I've always had good dealings with Centsible Software, in terms of used wares. I'd be aghast if anyone at Harvey and Associates or Kasara ever didn't give you your due. For that matter, Software Support International has delivered, although I recall waiting interminably for a SuperSnapshot, once. I'll clue you in to one thing about buying used hardware by mail, you better be darned sure what you will accept in terms of missing accessory items such as instructions, cabling, software, or dongles before consumating the deal. I'm reserving judgment on J P PBM. I've sent for a catalog three times. Yes, money, stamps, even an Internation Reply Coupon has flown that way. Nary a reply has come across in 6 months. Yet, the ad flies in Commodore World and Loadstar. And J. P. appears to have been on the Board of Directors of TPUG. Maybe a postal worker in Chicago is ripping me off? I also wonder why J. P.'s ad offers neither a locale nor phone number. I think I'm buying someone Diet Pepsi's. Let's put it this way. International Mail isn't all its cracked up to be. But, my losses are trivial. Consider the guys who put down big bucks and don't get products or service. Does it happen? Hoo boy! Knock on wood. Moving Businesses often have long delays before responding. Other times, they vanish. It is not easy to get the scoop on what happened. You sure won't get the unbiased facts from the competition. I wish them all well. How steady are any new enterprises supporting our wares? The 64 was said to be dead in '84! Mine doesn't look like a zombie to me. Still, use reasonable precautions in your ventures, if you can. A sale of a thousand commercial items of any sort is a big sale now in our realm, domestically, I suspect. Will activity ever heat up? This summer may yet offer the diehard Commodore user a new tan as CMD products launch. NINE AND FIVE W. R. Kennedy What's wrong when your monitor screen is all black? Monitor is bad, right? Let me tell you about it. I hooked everything up to a T.V. set I had and it still didn't work. (Does that tell you something)? Then I called a man in our local C= club. (They have been trying to get me in the club for some time, but they meet on Sunday- a bad day for me). He told me about a man who might be able to fix it for me. I took the monitor, and my spare 128. He kept it a couple of days and his wife called and said she had her C= 64 hooked up to the monitor and it was working fine. He had checked it out with some of his frequency generators, etc. and could find nothing wrong with it. He hooked my spare 128 up to it and it wouldn't work either. Well, I had another 128 and took it over there. He hooked it up and it wouldn't work either. Then he measured the power at the plug of the power supply and the 9 volts was there but not the 5 volts. He tried my other power supply and the 5 volts was missing on it too. Well, he opened up one supply and it had a blown fuse. He replaced the fuse and that made everything work great. He opened the other power supply and it was different! He couldn't find any fuses blown in it. When he put it back together, it started working again: both 9 and 5 volts were there. When we hooked it up to the computer, everything worked again. So, my trouble was not the monitor, but a power supply problem. My guess is that when the monitor goes, the screen will be black, not white! I can also tell you the light on the computer which shows it being "on", does not come from the 5 volt supply, but from the 9 volt supply. Now the nice thing about all this is that the repairman wouldn't let me pay him for all his trouble. He said he was just glad he could help! You don't find those kind very much any more. Well, I kept blowing fuses in the 128 power supply. I finally cured the problem with 2A SLO-BLO fuses from Radio Shack (box of 4 for $2.00). I was so afraid that I was going to need another monitor, that I called our member Estelle Heron in Lake Michigan and bargained with her for all she had, including the monitor. I was most happy to get another monitor and she had a lot of other goodies she wanted to get rid of. She was happy too. She had placed an ad in the January issue which I saw. She is a nice lady. One of the goodies she had was an Xetec Gold. It is the cats pajamas!! I'll tell you this, I will probably not ever cancel my membership in the club: WE NEED EACH OTHER. From what I've read, I don't need a PC (maybe a "MAC", but not a PC)! Remember that sometimes what looks to be the trouble-ain't! IS DOT-MATRIX DYING? Gary Noakes After many years of hard use, I decided that the time had finally come to replace my ancient workhorse Panasonic KX-P1091 printer. It's still functioning pretty well and is by all means the best money I've ever spent for computer equipment, but it's just too limited, both in speed and resolution, for business use. It's also pretty old, since I bought it nearly eleven years ago; the thought of it breaking down frightened me. Since I've used their printers for years (I've also owned KX-P1080, KX-P1180 and KX-P1091ii models), Panasonic was definitely at the top of my short list of printers to consider. I've also owned Star Micronics (an ancient Gemini 10X) and have had some good experiences with their NX-series of printers (I've never owned one), so they were on the list too. Since Epson is considered a standard, I decided to at least look at their current crop of printers, even though I was pretty certain they would be too expensive for my needs. So, armed with a list of printers to look at, and after checking the phone book (let your fingers do the walking) for all of the local electronics discount stores, I decided it was time to go shopping. Several weeks before, l had seen Panasonic printers (KX-P2023 at $179; KX-P2135 at $199) on display at Best Buys, a home appliances discount chain. These were the only dot-matrix printers they carried but at the time, there were none in stock. When I called, they still didn't have any in stock and I was told that they would not be getting any more in. So I called three other area stores in the chain; they were also out of the Panasonic models and couldn't tell me for certain if they would be getting any more in. My next call was to Staples, The Office Superstore. I had seen the Panasonic KX-P2135 ($239 the last time I checked), the only dot-matrix printer they carried, on display there many times in the past. When I called, I was told in no uncertain terms "We no longer carry any dot-matrix printers." I then called two other area stores and both told me the same thing. The third call I made was to the neighborhood Office Depot and I hit paydirt. They carried both the Panasonic KX-P1150 (9-pin at $149) and KX-P2130 (24-pin at $199) printers. They also carried the Epson LQ+570+ (24-pin at $249) printer. At least I knew that dot-matrix printers were still available, just not as readily available as I had expected. My next step was to get in the car and drive. There are two computer superstores in neighboring Virginia that I like to explore, Micro Center and Computer City. They are about forty miles away from me and within five miles of each other. If any other stores in the Washington, D.C. area carried dot-matrix printers, it would be these two. Since they are long-distance phone calls and I needed to get cables and switchboxes and some other stuff anyway, I hopped in the car. What I found at Micro Center was surprising, in both good and bad ways. Okidata and Epson models were on display. Panasonic, although two models were listed in their in-store catalog (KX-P2135 at $259; KX-P3626 at $449), was nowhere to be seen, either on display or stacked in boxes in the aisles, as volume discounters are prone to do. Of the two Epson models available, both were 24-pin (LQ-570+ at $269; LQ-1070+ at $419). There were five Okidata printers on display; three 9-pin models (ML 320 at $359; ML 520 at $429; ML 321 at $499) and two 24-pin models (ML 590 at $499; ML 3954 at $1149). Dot-matrix seemed to be alive and well at Micro Center, as long as you wanted Epson or Okidata and were willing to pay a little more (Epson) or a lot more (Okidata). Of the seven printers I saw there, I could probably justify paying the price of the Epson LQ-570+, but the Okidata printers were obviously priced for commercial business users. Panasonic was looking better and better costwise. It was time I headed for Computer City. Once there, I began to get a sinking feeling in my stomach. Two models of Epson. Period. One 9-pin (LX-300 at $190) and one 24-pin (LQ-570+ at $270). I did, however, finally see the Star Micronics label; it was on a fax machine. It was time to go home. On the way, I stopped by Office Depot and bought a Panasonic KX-P2130 for $199 and tax. I wasn't completely done with my shopping, however. I was still curious about the lack of selection of dot-matrix printers, and the seemingly total disappearance of Star Micronics printers. Checking the last issue of Computer Shopper I had (March 1996), I looked up Star Micronics under Printers, Dot-Matrix; Star had four listings in 700-odd pages. Looking up Panasonic, I found 21 listings; Epson, 28 listings; Okidata had 27. The prices that I found for printers available by mailorder were usually within $20 (usually lower, but not always) of what I had seen in the stores. Here's a list of the inexpensive 9-pin and 24-pin printers from the four manufacturers I checked. The prices given are about average from a discounter: Star Micronics: 9-pin NX-1010 $115 24-pin NX-2460 $170 Panasonic: 9-pin KX-P1150 $130 24-pin KX-P2030 $175 Epson: 9-pin LX-300 $170 24-pin LQ-570+ $250 Okidata: 9-pin ML-320 $360 24-pin ML-590 $440 So, are dot-matrix printers really being phased out of the marketplace? I hope not, but I can't be sure. As long as businesses have a need to print multi-part forms, I think that dot-matrix printers will remain with us, but probably only at commercial business (at, or close to, full retail) prices. As far as the discount houses are concerned, I think the answer is most definitely yes. In a world of cheap inkjet and inexpensive laser printers, the dot-matrix is a dinosaur. Discounters simply can't sell the quantities of dot-matrix printers they once did to the average home user, the driving force behind the chain discounters in the first place. What does this mean to Commodore users? If you are thinking about upgrading or replacing your present dot-matrix printer with a newer model, do it soon. Not many of the current inkjet printers are compatible, at least that I'm aware of, with Commodore, and those that are may need special drivers to work with older software. Laser printers, while considerably cheaper now than in the past, are still a bit pricey for the average Commodore user. The market seems to be in a shake-out phase, with some of the old reliables (like Star) leaving the field altogether and others (like Epson and Panasonic) offering more printer for the money than ever before in order to keep market share. If you wait, your selection may shrink and the price you pay may rise. DISKS FOR COMMODORE USERS "Oley" Olson Thanks to Dick Headly for his article on 5 1/4" disks. The problem is indeed one of concern. The problem is also true of 3 1/2" disks. And I may look into a bulk eraser, especially since I have been told that it will erase audio and video tapes also. But I would like to suggest that before you do that you try two other sources. First I suggest you check S.S.I. Our friends up in Vancouver Washington often have very good sales on disks. And if you can buy in bulk they can be a real bargain. By bulk I mean at least 100. And second, check out 3M disks at your local shop. I recently went to Office Depot because they advertised 3 1/2 disks on sale. I purchased 4 boxes of ten disks each for $5.99 per box. All DSDD. The cashier gave me a rebate offer from 3M. But when I read it, it was for IBM formatted disks only. I called 3M at 1-800-723-1471 and explained the situation. They asked how many disks and the UPC # from the package. They asked me to send the rebate offer and copies of the cash register receipt and the UPC #s to an address in Minnesota. About a month later I received a rebate check for $12.00. That brought my cost per disk down from $.60 ea to $.30 ea. THE PANASONIC KX-P2130 PRINTER IN REVIEW Gary Noakes The Panasonic KX-P2130 is a solidly built printer, weighing in at about 20 pounds. All functions are accessed either from the front panel or through software; there are no DIP switches to fool with. A combination of solid and/or blinking LEDs indicates which of the front panel functions are currently active. The KX-P2130 emulates the Epson LQ-860 and the IBM Proprinter X24E. With the optional color kit, the KX-P2130 essentially becomes a KX-P2135 and emulates the Epson LQ-860, LQ-2500 and LQ-2550 color printer modes. The draft fonts include Pica (10 cpi), Elite (12 cpi) and Micron (15 cpi); the Letter Quality fonts include Courier, Prestige, Bold PS, Script, Roman, Sans Serif and OCR-B. Printing speed is 250 (Micron), 200 (Elite) and 167 (Pica) characters per second in draft mode and 83 (Micron), 67 (Elite) and 56 (Pica) characters per second in LQ mode. The maximum bit-mapped graphics density is 360 x 360 dots-per-inch. The KX-P2130 also has a built-in sheet feeder, useful for letterheads, stationary and envelopes. In a brief session with the KX-P2130 (about half an hour), I explored the more obvious capabilities: the draft Pica and LQ fonts and the Load/Park, Tear-Off and Super-Quiet features. I tested the printer by first loading the paper and printing several lines of text (using a quick n' dirty Basic program to send the information), using different fonts selected from the front panel. Once I'd seen what the fonts looked like, I hit Tear-Off; the printer advanced the paper perforation to the tearbar, where it was torn off; hitting Tear-Off again reversed the paper feed, backing it up to the first line (top-of-form). This is a very impressive feature and can really save on paper. I then hit the Load/Park button and watched as the paper backed up, ready for single sheet feed, at which point I wrote a little Basic program, set up the sheet feed, inserted a single #10 envelope and printed main and return addresses on it. I removed the envelope, folded down the sheet feeder, hit Load/Park and my paper was again moved forward to top-of-form. These features may be old news to those of you with newer printers, but compared to my ancient KX-P1091i, these features seem nothing short of miraculous. The KX-P2130 is billed as a "quiet" printer and it is, being padded in several strategic places (inside the hinged cover and on the bottom) with soft foam. When I first began using it, seated two feet away in a noisy room (the stereo was on and up), I wasn't even sure it was operating until I saw the printhead moving. However, if you are willing to sacrifice some printing speed, the KX-P2130 has a "super quiet" mode which reduces the remaining noise to a whisper-soft purr. No figures were given in the manual as to how much speed is actually lost, but it is considerable, perhaps reducing the speed by as much as 50%, depending on the print mode in use. My next experiment, when I had a little more time to spend, was to test the KX-P2130 with Geos128 and a parallel connection (GeoCable). Using Perfect Print, I used the trail-and-error method until I found a driver and printer adaptation file that worked ("HQ24 med EpN GC" (double-pass) and "HQ24 high EpN GC" (quad-pass) for the drivers and "LQA NEW Epson Q" for the adaptation file were finally selected). The X-Y Print Density settings within Perfect Print were set to the recommended 4/1 (180 x 180 dpi). Using the "med" driver, the print quality was very good and extremely fast (nearly as fast as using a draft-quality printer driver). Using the "high" driver, the print quality was excellent and the speed was only slightly diminished. Changing the X-Y Print Density settings to 6/2 (360 x 360 dpi, the maximum possible resolution) and using the "med" driver, the print quality improved even more (better than the "high" driver at 180 x 180) but the speed was cut by about 50%. Given the drastic speed tradeoff, I didn't attempt to print using the "high" driver at the 360 x 360 density. Overall, I was impressed with the printer and what I was able to do in a short time and with the limitations of the manual. And the manual that comes packed in the box is certainly a limitation. I was disturbed to find a skimpy 82-page manual and a 3-1/2" DS-DD setup disk, IBM-formatted of course. A considerable portion of the printed manual is devoted to explaining how to use the disk to set up the printer from within DOS or Windows 3.1. After reading this section, I have no doubt whatsoever that the average ten-year-old could successfully set up the KX-P2130 to work with his system, as long as that system was a PC clone. Having seen and studied the manuals for the KX-P1091i and KX-P2124 printers, I have always been impressed by the great amount of detail that the Panasonic manuals present and how well they are organized. I was dumbfounded at the complete lack of information provided about the printer's operating codes, especially frustrating for so advanced a printer. I was so disturbed, in fact, that I didn't want to believe it was true, so I loaded up Big Blue Reader 128, inserted the Panasonic setup disk into my 1581 and checked out the directory. Bingo! There it was, the Rosetta stone, a file entitled "ref2130.txt" and it was huge. Using the Copy feature of Big Blue Reader with standard ASCII to PetASCII translation, I transferred the file from the MS-DOS disk to a RAMlink partition. After exiting BBR, I checked the RAMLink directory and found a 419-block(!) sequential file explaining everything that the KX-P2130 can do, and how to do it. With this manual (I printed it, of course), I can now do everything but make this puppy bark! This is the manual I expected from Panasonic in the first place, full of details and very well organized. But there are still two flaws--no Table of Contents and no Index! Still, it's better than the alternative. Overall, I am quite pleased with this printer, both with the functionality and the price. Given the takes-a-lickin'-and-keeps-on-tickin' attitude of my KX-P1091, the KX-P2130 should last well into the next century. (If anyone has purchased this printer and does not have the means to transfer the "ref2130.txt" file to a Commodore disk (you need either Big Blue Reader or Little Red Reader and either a 1581 or CMD FD-series drive), send a 1541-formatted disk and a self-addressed, stamped (78 cents) disk mailer to me and I will send you a copy of the file. Or, you can send your name and address and $1.50 to cover expenses and I'll send you a disk with the file.) TOP MODEM SPEEDS FOR THE 64/128 - 9600 or38400? [Answer to Ed Harler's question (May 1996 MaiLink)- Gary Noakes On a stock machine, the top modem speed for the C-64 and the C-128 used to be 2400. This was due to the fact that Commodore did not use a hardware UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) for the RS-232 port but tried to mimic it (sort of) in software (it's built into ROM, CIA#2). Unfortunately, at speeds over 1200 baud (for either the C-64 or C-128), the RS-232 servicing routines became unreliable. This occured for two reasons: 1) the RS-232 routines were poorly coded; they waste so many clock cycles servicing unnecessary interrupts, there's not much time left to actually service the RS-232 port. At 1MHz, continous 2400 baud flow requires 55% (66% for the 128) of the available clock cycles just to service the NMIs (Non-Maskable Interrupts). 2) There are hardware glitches in most (about 2/3) of the CIA chips themselves. In 1989, George Hug published an article in Transactor magazine (Volume 9, Issue 3) which explained these problems in detail and presented the solutions: new software routines that could be incorporated into BBS or terminal software that would bypass the poor Commodore code. It was after this article appeared that Commodore telecommunications at 2400 baud and higher finally became reliable. The next wall that was hit was the 1MHz speed of the C-64 (2MHz of the 128 in 80-column fast mode); even in machine language, the computer itself is too slow to top 4800 (9600 for the 128 in 80-column fast mode), so these became the new upper limits for a user with an RS-232 interface (like those made by Supra, Peak Peripherals and Aprotek) and a 9600 baud modem. The only choice left was to factor out the non-standard Commodore RS-232 port altogether, bypassing the software UART which caused the bottleneck, and go straight to a hardware solution: a real, honest-to-God RS-232 port. Hence, the SwiftLink cartridge (CMD), the Hart-Cart (Performance Peripherals) and the DataPump (a do-it-yourself project). Because each of these devices incorporates a true UART chip (the R6551 ACIA (Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter)) and plugs into the expansion (cartridge) port, the old maxims no longer apply. Speeds up to 38,400 (and maybe higher with a little additional hardware hacking) are now possible on either the C-64 or the C-128. The only limitation at this point is with the available software. Novaterm, FritzTerm, Desterm and Dialogue (SwiftLink version) all support the higher modem speeds available through the UART cartridges. However, to use V42/V.42bis/MNP error correction and data compression, and to reliably connect with all BBS modems, the terminal program should support RTS/CTS flow control in addition to XON/XOFF. At this time, only Novaterm and Dialogue support both (possibly FritzTerm too); Desterm supports only XON/XOFF but is currently being upgraded (by Matt Desmond) to support RTS/CTS. I am currently using a SwiftLink with a Zoom 14.4EX modem attached to a C-128 and running Dialogue v2.2SL. I keep my flow control set to RTS/CTS and set my connection rate to 38,400 baud. I know that sounds weird since it's only a 14,400 baud modem, but a setting this high allows the sending and receiving modems to negotiate their own speed, based on the current line conditions. This won't work if you're calling a BBS with a Commodore 1670 or similar modem attached, of course, but works great when calling a BBS with a high-speed modem. This is a buffer dump of the modem settings I use: ACTIVE PROFILE: B1 E1 L1 M1 N1 Q0 T V1 W0 X4 Y0 &C1 &D2 &G0 &J0 &K3 &Q6 &R0 &S0 &T4 &X0 &Y0 S00:001 S01:000 S02:064 S03:013 S04:010 S05:008 S06:002 S07:050 S08:002 S09:006 S10:014 S11:050 S12:050 S18:000 S25:005 S26:001 S36:007 S37:000 S38:020 S44:020 S46:000 S48:007 S95:000 If anyone would like a copy of the DataPump information (it's two pages of geoWrite text and a one page geoPaint graphic), send a stamped, self-addressed business-size envelope and I will send you a printout. SPEEDSCRIPT PAGE NUMBERING Brian Vaughan As resource person for SPEEDSCRIPT, Brian Vaughan supplied the following information to member Teresa Gagnon who passed it on for inclusion in MaiLink for SPEEDSCRIPT users: I know that you are familiar with entering Control characters using the CONTROL-3 combo keys. When I put characters in brackets like "[ ]" , you know to use CONTROL-3 followed by the character within the brackets [ ]. When I want page numbering, I like to start numbering at Page 1 and continue to the end of the file. I also prefer that the number appear at the top-right of each page and be enclosed in parentheses "( )". To do this, you should do the following: Anywhere on the very first (top) line of your file where you are now placing format commands, enter the following: [h][e]([#]) There are no spaces between these entries and please note that the parentheses ( ) are typed directly without using CONTROL-3. I like to save this top line plus name & address info to files which I refer to as macros so they don't have to be typed each time a letter is written. The [h] command establishes the Header for each page, the [e] command causes the Header to be to the Right Edge, and the parentheses enclose the Page number which is produced by the [#] command. If you prefer the Page number not be in parentheses, simply omit them from the top line command. If you want the Page number at the top center of each page, simply omit the [e] command. I have never used it, but I know that the same instructions would apply if you wanted the Page number to appear at the bottom of each page. To do this, simply replace the [h] Header command with the [f] Footer command and all the other ideas above would also apply. REPAIR PARTS J.H.L. Garrison In May I wanted a Star Micronics NX1001 print head. Jean Nance sent me a phone number and I obtained the desired part over night. The NATIONAL PARTS DEPOT, 31 Elkay Drive, Chester, New York 10918, stocks numerous computer and printer parts. Phone numbers: 914-469-4800 or 800-524-8338. FAX 914-469-4855 or 800-331-4829. WEB address http://www.megasoft.com/npd/ Parts for these computers or printers are stocked: ACER, APPLE, AST COMPUTER, AT&T, BROTHER, CANON, CIE AMERICA INC., CITIZEN, C.ITOH, C-TECH ELECTRONICS, COMPAQ, DATAPRODUCTS, DIGITAL, EPSON, FUJITSU, GENICOM, HEWLETT PACKARD, IBM, LEXMARK, MINOLTA, NEC, OKIDATA, OUTPUT TECHNOLOGY, PANASONIC, QMS, RICOH, SEIKOSHA, SHARP, SILICON GRAPHICS COMPUTERS, STAR MICRONICS, TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, AND TOSHIBA. COMMODORE PRODUCTS SOURCE LIST Roger Long, disk librarian of the "Twin City Commodore Computer Club", (TC-Cubed) of College Place, Washington, puts out a 26 page resource list. This nationwide list includes dealers in hardware, software and supplies, repair, on-line telecommunications services, publications, and some user groups, updated yearly. It is available in hard copy or on disk, from: Commodore Products Source List. Roger Long, 320 NE C. St., Apt A College Place, Washington, 99324-2125. Enclose $2, and indicate whether you want hard copy or disk. Anything over cost will be donated to "TC Cubed" user group. We suggest sending more than $2 if you are able. Editor's note: I have a copy of this and if you want anything in the Commodore world, this is the place to find it. A Piece of STR$ - The editor recently discovered that the owner of a building materials store in a nearby town keeps his records on a C-64. Imagine HOME DEPOT doing that?!#%&$. THE END OF THE LINE Dick Headley SOLD AGAIN - The final resting place for Commodore and Amiga. Hoppenheim, Germany and Chicago, Il, April 12, 1996: ESCOM AG, a German computer manufacturer and reseller, and Visual Information Services Corp. (NASDAQ:VICP), a developer of interactive TV (ITV) set-top-boxes to enhance television use and viewing by providing Internet access and electronic communications function, today jointly announced that a binding letter of understanding has been signed between the companies. The letter states that Chicago-based VIScorp would aquire Amiga Technologies, including the intellectual properties of the former Commodore Business Machines, excepted Commodore trademarks. The transaction value is approximately US $40 million. Terms were not disclosed, and the pending acquisition would be subject to approval by both boards of directors. The article goes on to detail the intended use of these Amiga-based properties for their set-top unit. They do state that they will license the Amiga technology to other manufacturers for use in new computer products but would not enter the computer market themselves. Their sole interest is the set-top Internet market. So we say "Good Bye" to Commodore and Amiga. But the memory lingers on... Editor's note: And so does Commodore with thousands of faithful users. A Piece of STR$ - CMD announced that as of June 11, 1996, they (CMD) will assume the Commodore Roundtable from GENIE. So CMD reaches out farther for Commodore users. RAMLINK NEWS Brian Vaughan Original owners of RAMLink received a manual which stated only 30 pin "x8" SIMMs could be used with it. CMD now confirms what the latest manuals now state that the readily available 30 pin "x9" SIMMs also can be used and can be mixed with the "x8" SIMMs of the same capacity. I found low prices on SIMMs at First Source Int'l., 1-800-860-9866. They are selling the 1x9, 1MB SIMM for $28 Ea., and the 4x9, 4MB SIMM for $69 Ea. These SIMMs run at 70ns which is faster than the 100ns minimum required by RAMLink. Their UPS shipping charge is $6 on any order up to 3 pounds.