September 1988 MAGazine Volume 4 Number 9

Calendar of Events for September

Saturday, September 10, 1988 - 1:00 PM - The general meeting will be held in Jenning's Hall in Room J-2 located on the campus of State Technical Institute of Memphis... SEE YOU THERE!!

THE PREZ SEZ

by Dr. Alan Schwartz

Our general membership meeting was held on Saturday, August 13, 1988, at the State Technical Institute of Memphis at 1 P.M. We were able to have the membership name badges for all new members ready for the meeting.

Don Lockard gave us a very good demonstration of how graphics are able to be created on the Amiga. It was very enlightening and showed more of the amazing power our computers have. Don certainly was well prepared with good information and was able to answer all questions.

We appreciate all the many times that Don has been ready and willing to help make the Memphis Amiga Group a good user group.

Commodore/Amiga sent us a fifteen minute video tape showing many of the capabilities of the Amiga 2000. They used real life situations to show how the Amiga can do functions that other computers cannot come close to. Also demonstrated were some of the ways that artists are creating not only faster, but better, graphics. Thanks again to Ed Bilson for bringing his VCR.

The Special Interest Groups (SIG's) were discussed by Todd Rooks in an attempt to develop more interest, both in projects and new members. Also, Todd shared with us information about having Memphis Amiga Group tee shirts made. A suggestion was made to check into sweat shirts as well. We hope to have all the information at the next meeting.

David Head brought us up to date on the library status. It is growing and getting better. The new voice program with the hardware and software was discussed. It will be available to members for rental of $1.00 a day for a maximum of seven days at a time.

Our member in charge of software demonstrations, Ric Johnson, did his usual fine job. He demonstrated two new programs: "Fire and Forget" and "Carrier Command." We appreciate the effort Ric puts out at every meeting to keep us up to date on new software.

We had our second of three monthly meeting drawings for free software. The winner this time was Sean Kiss. He choose the accounting package, "Nimbus." Sean agreed to demonstrate this program, either at the September or October meeting. Remember, we will have our third drawing at the next meeting and you have to be present to win.

MAGazine

MAGazine
Memphis Amiga Group
Box 381462
Memphis, TN 38183-1462

MAGazine is published monthly by the Memphis Amiga Group (MAG), a nonprofit organization offering assistance to fellow Amiga owners and those interested in the Amiga. Membership in the Memphis Amiga Group is available for an annual fee of $20 per family. Memphis Amiga Group Officers for 1988 are:

President
Dr. Alan Schwartz
(901) 755-6622

Vice President
Todd Rooks
(901) 373-0198

Secretary/Treasurer
Scott Hudson
(901) 794-8914

Librarian
David head
(901) 377-7568

MAGazine Editor
Edward Bilson
(901) 794-2936

WELCOME!

To our newest members.
RICHARD HARRUFF
TERRY A. CAMPBELL

Larrie

A Review by Ron McCalla

Actually, the name of this arcade-style action game from Constellation Software is "Larrie and the Robbery of the Ardies" but since I don't have the slightest idea what an Ardie is, and since one word is easier to type than seven, I'll just call it "Larrie".

"Larrie" is a game very similar to one I used to play back when you had to go down to the local arcade and pay a quarter a pop if you wanted to play a video game. The game was called "Mappy" (I think) and in it you played the part of a little mouse trying to gather up valuables and avoid several club-brandishing policemen who looked suspiciously like cats in Keystone Cop uniforms. If this were all there was to the game it would be like many other chase games, but what made Mappy a bit different from the rest was the way you would get from one floor on the playscreen to another. You, as Mappy, would bounce on a trampoline!

It has been quite a while since I've seen Mappy in the arcades. It never seemed all that popular. I think it was just coming in as the arcade craze was on its way out. Anyway, Larrie, as best I can remember, is a virtual clone of Mappy in terms of play, though not in terms of look. Here, you play the part of Larrie, a little flightless bird (he looks like Tweety Pie), and you are being chased by some hoppy, hapless blue things called Ardies.

When you boot up Larrie, you are presented with options which include number of players (1 or 2), which port or ports you will have your joystick(s) in, and whether you want to play the fast or slow version of the game. (I've tried both and I guess my reaction times aren't as quick as they should be, so I prefer the slow mode.) Then you are presented with a 10 x 5 matrix of trampolines that have numbers above them to select which level you wish to begin on. Make Larrie jump more than twice in succession on a trampoline and you've chosen on which of the ten screens you will start. Each screen looks very different. The first is supposedly the author's room and the objects scattered around for Larrie to gather are mostly computer parts, like a keyboard or monitor (which displays the familiar King Tut image from DPII). Later screens represent a street, a backyard, a park, a grocery store, etc. Having each screen look different is both good and bad. It shows the author put some work into the game but the first time you play a new screen you may not be able to tell what is an object to pick up and what is merely background. Beyond looking different as you increase your level, each screen may add a new gimmick to complicate play. In general, there are more floors to search in the later screens and the length of the floors between trampolines increases with each successive level. That's bad for Larrie. Larrie can get caught while running or standing on the floor. He can't get captured while bouncing on the trampolines, even if the Ardies are bouncing right along with him. But with each new level there is usually a new weapon added to help Larrie delay or destroy the Ardies. First there are doors which Larrie can slam in the Ardies' faces. This stuns them and Larrie is awarded some points for it too. Later there are microwave antennas which will "blow" oncoming Ardies down the corridor, but these can only be used once each. There are potions which will speed Larrie up or make him deadly to the Ardies for a short time. There are pizzas which let Larrie jump across the trampoline shafts while the Ardies must take time to jump down and bounce back up. There are a lot more gimmicks like these.

I don't recall all of these gimmicks being in the original Mappy and I do recall a bonus balloon-popping round which apparently isn't in Larrie, but still Larrie is a good rendition of one of my favorite arcade games. Although I've played all ten screens, I've not yet been able to complete all ten of the first set of screens using only the five alloted birds, and the rule book (one very small page) tells you next to nothing about the game so there may be more here than I have seen (perhaps even the balloon-popping round). I have played it enough though to find two small bugs and one very big one. The very first time I played it, I was able to make Larrie jump through the "roof" of the first screen and was unable to get Larrie back onto the true playfield; this hasn't happened again. On two other occasions, Larrie, normally yellow, was blue whenever he was on the upper half of the screen. And twice, the game just simply locked up; both times as the program was about to load another screen. I suspect there was a random disk error and the programmer never allowed for such a possibility. These two incidents were definitely due to program bugs. Nothing I could do would restart the program short of rebooting. But on an early tryout, right in the middle of play, I thought the program had crashed. I later discovered that I had accidentally paused the game by pushing the joystick's button while thrusting the joystick forward. To unpause it, I had merely to repeat the process.

Larrie lists for about $20, but I've seen it on sale for nearly half that. At the discounted price, Larrie is an arcade addict's bargain. Its heavily copy protected (boo, hiss!) and the game insists on writing to the program disk to save scores (double boo and hiss!!). I really dislike that "feature" but I still recommend Larrie for its fun play, good graphics, and excellent sound effects and music.

Deluxe PhotoLab Review

by David Head

Electronic Arts has added to it's Deluxe Productive series of software. Their latest release is "Deluxe PhotoLab" by Digital Creations, Inc.. I feel the name is a little misleading because this program is more versatile than the title sounds. Electronic Arts is trying to market this program so that it doesn't compete with it's best selling title "Deluxe Paint II" but compete it does, and does it very well indeed.

The "PhotoLab" is actually three separate programs. Paint, Colors, and Posters. I will describe each program as follows.

PAINT is just what it sounds like, a paint program. It has many things similar to "DPaintII" but this paint program works in all graphic modes including HAM, and Halfbrite and supports 4096 different colors. You can even work on several different screens in different display modes at the same time! Your pictures are not limited to 640X400 but can be as big as your memory will allow. With 2.5 megs you can have a screen oer 2000X1600 pixels. The program has extensive brush control including using a brush for a fill pattern and being able to pick up a brush with or without the background. Without background it uses color 0 which is transparent to the rest of the screen. This program alone is worth the price of the package, but there is a lot more.

COLORS is a graphics processor similar to "Butcher" and "Pixmate" but simpler and easier to use. You can use it to change from one graphic mode to another, size pictures, make color to B&W conversions, edit the color values, and do various dithering techniques.

POSTERS is a printing program that is similar to "Huge Print". It is very simple to use and uses WOrkbench 1.3 printer drivers. You can print pictures from postage size to 10 feet by 10 feet. It has a smoothing option to help get rid of the jaggies and you can print without the background color to save ink. This program is very easy to use, fast, and does a good job.

"Deluxe PhotoLab" is my favorite program at this time. It is better than "Deluxe Paint II" in many ways. It is like having "DPaintII", "DigiPaint", "Pixmate", and "Huge Print" all in one package. You can have all three programs running at the same time. "Deluxe PhotoLab" retails for $150.00 and if you like the graphic capabilities of the Amiga then you would do well with this program!

MAG Library

by David Head

This month marks the beginning of the "Disk of the Month" concept. I hope this will be of interest to more of our membership than the way we have been doing it. We are asking for a commitment from some of you in the way of a 6 month subscription. This way we will know how many are interested on a regular basis and make the project worth while. If it works out that there isn't enough participation then we will revert back to the old system. A subscription will be $10.00 for 6 Disks. That is a $2.00 incentive to subscribe instead of just waiting to pick up a copy at the meeting. I am going to start with this month and will bring all copies to the general meeting. If you subscribe at the meeting then that will be disk one of your six. If you just buy the disk it will cost the standard $2.00. Also, if you need your disk sent in the mail because you can't make the meetings then add $3.00 to your subscription for a total of $13.00. If you want you can subscribe this month and have until the October meeting to pay Scott Hudson for the subscription. This way we will see by this meeting if this is going to work.

We will always have the original MAG and Fish disks available and occasionally we will have extra MAG disks available. Since the "Disk of the Month" is going to have some dated material it probably won't be available after the month it is released. So if you want one get it at the meeting or subscribe ahead of time.

"September MAG Disk"

This months disk will have a very good rendition of the game of Battle Ship. This game is better than a lot of $30.00 to $50.00 commercial games. Also I will include QRT version 1.4. QRT is a Quick Ray Tracing program that has generated a lot of interest in the public domain. In addition to more utilities, games, song files, demos, and pictures, I will be including the latest version of one of the public domain Amiga Magazines available from GEnie and People Link as long as they are available. They have a pretty good track record and have some up-to-date info you can't get in the regular magazines before it is out of date.

We have some new Fred Fish disks this month thanks to Mike Wallace. The following is a list with a description of the main programs on each where available.

• FF132-Berserk Animation with source code.
• FF135-78 TeXFonts and conversion program.
• FF140-SBProlog volume 1 of Stony Brook Prolog vol.2.3.2.
• FF140-Volume 2 of above.
• FF142-Sciscr, Diff, Fracgen.
• FF143-RIM Relational Information Manager.
• FF144-Analyticalc V22-3D Powerful Spreadsheet program.
• FF146-Blanker2, MemoPad, DmeMacros, C-Light, CrcLists

Remember that Fred Fish disks are $3.00 each. Also don't forget our SoundScape Sound Digitizer for $1.00 a day and Digiview for $2.50 a day!

More Than Rumor

by The Unknown Amigoid

In case you've never heard of it, QuantumLink is a time-sharing service (like PLink or Compuserve) for C64 and other Commodore users. C64/128 owners who subscribe to QLink use software written especially for the C64 to view the colorful menus. Although its download areas are mostly filled with C64 and 128 stuff, Amiga files occasionally pop up. Now, there is AppleLink, a version of QLink especially for Apple users. Rumor has it that an IBM version will be out soo too. Meanwhile, Amiga owners have been waiting for their own version of QLink's software for two years.

IBM's new DOS 4.0 fixes some problems of the older versions of MS-DOS such as removing the 32 Meg limitation on hard disk partitions and they've added a DOS shell that offers pull-down menus to make things easier for those used to systems with more "intuitive" operating system. But all is not well in MS-DOS land. The new features have been reported not to work well with some of the most popular MS-DOS programs. DOS 4.0 is not completely compatible with: Norton Utilities, Mace Utilities, SideKick Plus, Ready, Paradox 386, Desqview, and Microsoft Windows/386, among others. A columnist for one of the major IBM oriented journals has called the new operating system "buggy."

There was a report in a recent Amiga World of a way out of one version of the viruses that are rampant in some areas of the country. I've yet to see one, so I can't check this out. Supposedly if the "Byte Bandit Virus" locks up your machine, strike the left-Alt key, then the left-Amiga key, then the space bar, then the right-Amiga key, and then the right-Alt key. Finish whatever you were doing and turn off the machine. Reboot with a disk you know is clean and use one of the public domain virus detectors to examine all of the disks that may have been in your machine since you acquired the infected disk. Use a virus killer program to repair the infected disks. The Byte Bandit Virus is reputedly immune to the CLI install command. This backdoor out of the virus supposedly came from the Byte Bandit himself, so beware of its validity and safety.

Lastly, here's a rumor that really sounds like a rumor; that is, it sounds totally unbelievable but since I haven't tested it myself, I'll just report it and let you try it out on your own: If you're as unhappy with EA's code wheel copy protection for F/A-18 Interceptor as others are, you might try a quick bombing run on the EA headquarters building in the game's simulated terrain. Author Moses Ma is supposedly spreading the rumor that if you wipe the EA building out, it removes the copy protection. Like I said, it just doesn't sound likely.

The MAG Trading Post

Hosted by Ed Bilson

If you've got a computer-related item to sell or if you're searching for something for your computer, send a description of what you want to sell or trade or buy to The MAG Trading Post c/o the club's post office box. Here are this month's offerings:

FOR SALE: ADC 300/1200 baud external modem, uses Hayes AT command set including S registers, internal clock gives time and date from AT command, internal speaker with volume control, status lights, $75. Call Ron @ (205) 822-0950.

FOR SALE: Squeeze RAM, internal memory board for the A1000, fully populated with 1 Megabyte of RAM, works with most Amiga software (e.g. DPaint, DMusic, Ports of Call, WordPerfect, etc), on/off switch lets you turn it off for those software titles (mostly older games)-that don't work well with extra memory, $300. Call Ron @ (205) 822-0950.

FOR SALE: UNIX PC (AT&T 7300), multi-tasking, multi-user, 20 M hard drive, 512 k floppy drive, 1 parallel and 2 serial ports, hi-resolution monitor, IBM/MS-DOS compatible (8086) card with hercules graphics emulator, 1200 baud modem (two phone lines), use windows/mouse or keyboard/command-line interfaces (like Amiga workbench and CLI), C compiler, utilities, word processor, other software, manuals, $2000. Call Audrey @ (205) 822-0950.

FOR SALE: MIDI interface, 2 outs, 1 thru, 2 ins, switch for pass thru to modem or printer, fits on serial port, works with Deluxe Music and Sonix or any sound/music program supporting standard MIDI protocol, $40. Call Tom @ (901) 353-2294 and specify A500, A1000, or A2000 model.

FOR SALE: Set of 2 remote (radio controlled) joysticks, $20. Call Jerry @ (901) 794-2224.

FOR SALE: Cables made to order. Call Tom @ (901) 353-2294.

Wanted: Weber, printronix P-600, P-300, or P-150 MVP printers for parts. Call Victor Karpov @ (901) 795-1637.

Sighted!

An Amiga 1000 appeared in the HBO movie, Into the Homeland. Although the computer's name plate was covered over, there was no mistaking the computer, its keyboard, outboard drive, and monitor. The computer was supposedly being used by a neo-Nazi organization to maintain a database.

An Amiga monitor combined with an IBM keyboard was used in a TV commercial to portray a computer system that was inferior to the MacIntosh. I guess that would be an inferior system! No CPU!

Both the Amiga and a LIVE! digitizer are featured in Timbuk 3's latest music video.

Membership list of the Memphis Amiga Group as of September 3, 1988

PLEASE PAY DUES BY THE SECOND SATURDAY OF THE MONTH ON OUR EXPIRE DATE**

MAG OFFICERS FOR 1988

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP CHAIRPERSONS

Memphis Amiga Group Balance Sheet

Yes, you too can be a member of the Memphis Amiga Group

A non-profit organization dedicated to serving the Memphis and Mid-South area Amiga community.

* Here's the sales pitch . . .

News, reviews, events and rumors appear in MAGazine, the club's monthly newsletter.

Over 120 disks of public domain software are available to the membership through the club literary. Another good source of public domain software is our bulletin board, open 24 hours daily, offering over 25 megabytes of games, utilities, program examples, and graphics and sound demos.

Members can rent, through our new lending library, special purpose hardware such as the Digi-View digitizer and camera.

* Here's where you decide . . .

Complete this form and mail to:

Memphis Amiga Group
Box 381462
Memphis, TN 38183-1462

Enclosed is my check for $20. Please enroll me in the Memphis Amiga Group

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NAME: ____________________________________________ DATE: ______________

ADDRESS:_______________________________________________________________

CITY: __________________________________ STATE: ________ ZIP: _________

PHONE: _________________________________

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(make checks payable to: Memphis Amiga Group)

           MEMPHIS AMIGA GROUP - PUBLIC DOMAIN DISK ORDER FORM

=======================================================================
Use this form (or a copy) when ordering MAG Library and Fred Fish disks
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NAME: ____________________________________________ DATE: ______________
ADDRESS:_______________________________________________________________
CITY: __________________________________ STATE: ________ ZIP: _________
PHONE: _________________________________

=======================================================================

     Disk(s) ordered
 MAG # __________  MAG # __________  MAG # __________  MAG # __________
 MAG # __________  MAG # __________  MAG # __________  MAG # __________

FISH # __________ FISH # __________ FISH # __________ FISH # __________
FISH # __________ FISH # __________ FISH # __________ FISH # __________

Number of MAG disks ordered _________ time $2.00 each  = $ ____________
Number of FISH disks ordered ________ time $3.00 each  = $_____________


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
_________  I will pick up my disks at our next general meeting.
_________  Please ship disks to me at above address.
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Shipping - TOTAL number of disks ordered times $.50 each  = $ _________

                                   TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED  = $ _________


Mail this form along with your check to: MAG Library
                                         2191 Longlane Dr.
                                         Memphis, TN 38134
                                         Attn: D.Head

Please make checks payable to MEMPHIS AMIGA GROUP.
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RENT THE CLUBS "DIGIVIEW KIT" ONLY $2.50 A DAY  IT'S EASY!! call David
Head at (901) 377-7568 to reserve.
***********************************************************************

WordPerfect Corporation Special User Group Purchase Agreement

WordPerfect Corporation is offering WordPerfect 4.1 for the Amiga to user group members at a special reduced price of $155.00. This special offer will only be available from July 15, 198 through September 15, 1988.

Please complete the information requested below and return this form to: WordPerfect Amiga Orders, 288 W. Center, Orem, UT 84057.

Name_____________________________________________

Street___________________________________________

City______________________State________Zip_______

Phone Number(______)_____________________________

Name of User Group______Memphis_Amiga_Group______

Sitnature of User Group officer or provide User
Group ID# __________________(Editor)_____________

Authorized WordPerfect Dealer (Name, Address,
City, State, Zip):_______________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

WordPerfect   Amiga  4.1 _$155.00__
Shipping:
F/X Overnight   ($18.12) __________
F/X 2nd Date    ($ 6.50) __________
UPS ground (no charge)   __________
Utah residents add 6.25%
sales tax                __________

                  TOTAL: __________
Payment:
___ VISA  ___ MC  ___ AM EXPRESS  ___ CHECK
Cardholder Name____________________________
Card No.___________________________________
Expiration Date____________________________
Check No.__________________________________

This certificate must accompany any request. Offer good only in the United States and for customers residing in the United States. Void where taxed, restricted, or prohibited by law. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery unless otherwise specified.

1555 N. Technology Way - Orem, Utah 84057 - (801) 225-5000 - Telex 820618 - FAX (801) 227-4477