October 1980 — Vol 2 No 10
Source
Open original PDF • October 1980 • Vol 2 No 10 • 47 pages
Overview
The "harvest issue" — the year's largest at 47 pages. Pi has crossed 350 members with newsletter circulation ~800. The ABBS is live at (301) 983-1317 — Bell 103 compatible, full duplex, ASCII; password-required (postcard to 9800 River Road, Potomac MD). Urban suspects the Mid-Atlantic Computer Show booth may yield ~100 new members. Group purchases relaunch under Howard Lefkowitz and Ira Cotton (replacing Peck). Sept 17 Executive Board hosted reps from other DC-area user groups for merger discussions. NEWSIG begins regular monthly meetings at Twinbrook Library. ASMSIG schedules its own off-cycle meetings (3rd Wed at UMD Computer & Space Sciences Building). Joe Lipson of the Apple Education Foundation speaks; Peter Hirshberg of the Washington Children's Museum requests Pi help on a Communications exhibit. The issue includes contributed letters from out-of-area members — notably Southeastern Software (Mike Wise, New Orleans) with a 3.3 DOS Language-Card patch and a Z-80 SoftCard cold-boot helper.
Table of contents
| Section | Page |
|---|---|
| Cover (no extract from page 1) | 1 |
| Officers; Event Queue; Classifieds; Pi 350 members ad-rate refresh | 3 |
| Editorial — Bernie Urban | 1 |
| Executive Board minutes 9/17; General Meeting 9/17 | 1–2 |
| SIG News (SIGAMES, NEWSIG, ASMSIG) | 2 |
| WAP ABBS access info | 2 |
| NOVAPPLE Minutes 9/10 & 9/25 | 3 |
| Letter & code from Southeastern Software (Mike Wise) | 5–7 |
| (many more articles; this is the year's biggest issue) | 8–47 |
Articles
Editorial (page 1) — Bernard Urban
"I'll keep this short." Mid-Atlantic Computer Show was "lots of fun" — Pi's booth a great success; expected ~100 new members. Thanks especially to Mark L. Crosby for the demo and showing up often and early. Video cassettes of Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs proved popular and will be available at the next meeting. "Harvest issue" framing for fall.
Officers / Ad rates (page 3)
- Secretary Dana Schwartz now at (301) 621-2894 (moved). Hersch Pilloff continues as MAL.
- Pi at over 350 members; newsletter circulation ~800. Ad rates published: Full Page $40, Half $25, Quarter $15, Eighth $10. Black & white, no halftones, due first of the month.
ABBS access (page 2)
WAP ABBS is now live: (301) 983-1317. Bell 103 compatible, ASCII, full duplex. Password required — send postcard with name, address, phone, WAP membership number to WAP ABBS, 9800 River Road, Potomac MD 20854. Previously-assigned passwords remain valid.
Minutes of Executive Board 9/17/80 (page 1)
At Urban's home. Items: - Tom Jones submitted membership card design (3¢/card) and Membership Directory format — both to publish in newsletter before implementation - Al Weiner (NEWSIG) requested volunteer speakers - Dana Schwartz to collect/catalog the mass of printed material the club has received - Urban displayed copies of "WHO WE ARE" — descriptive handout for the Mid-Atlantic show - Motion passed: continue group purchases from a Board-approved source list (Lefkowitz and Cotton volunteered to coordinate) - Remainder of meeting: representatives of other nearby users' groups discussed proposals for "mutually beneficial consolidation of resources"
Minutes of General Meeting 9/17/80 (page 1)
Long discussion about the proposed merger with local Apple clubs, providing input for future Board talks. Motion repeated: Treasurer must give verbal report each meeting. Group-purchase coordinators: Howard Lefkowitz and Ira Cotton. Joe Lipson (Apple Education Foundation) explained the foundation's purpose. Two University of Maryland students requested help with a personal-computer-owner survey. Peter Hirshberg of the Washington Children's Museum presented slides for a Communications exhibit and asked for membership help. Adjourned to SIGs at 10:45.
SIG News (page 2)
- SIGAMES: Tom Lucas will discuss "Writing Interactive Literature"; new project ideas
- NEWSIG: regular monthly meetings now at Twinbrook Library (Twinbrook Parkway & Viers Mill Road, Rockville), 3rd Saturday at 11 AM
- NEWSIG August 16 minutes (Sara LaVilla): topics included modems (acoustic vs. DC Hayes Micromodem direct-connect with auto-dial/answer), Programmer's Aid chip (~$50), Tool-Kit for Applesoft (~$65), free-space utility, Cat-to-Menu, lack of
?shortcut in Integer BASIC, Supertext + Supercheckbook commercial software. Adjourned to Al Weiner's home for a system demo.
ASMSIG (page 2)
Second meeting drew 8 newcomers. News: - TED II+ version 792 available from Apple Puget Sound for under $20 with "superlative" documentation - Assembly-language access to DOS commands documented in SOFTALK issue #1 (many got it free; can someone bring copies?) - Q&A submission system — members write questions in advance; auctioned at meetings ("Ever wonder what really happens as a result of CMP CPY and CPX? Sandy Greenfarb found the answer. Look for it in the newsletter!") - Decision: ASMSIG meets the 3rd Wednesday monthly, 7:30 PM, at UMD Computer & Space Sciences Building room 3300 - October agenda: RWTS Peeled + DOS 3.3 vs 3.2 (Sandy Greenfarb); TED II for the Apple II Plus / relocating SWEET 16 (Mike Hartman)
NOVAPPLE 9/10/80 (page 5)
Nominations: - President: Nicholas B. Cirillo (later changed) or Theron Fuller - VP: Steve Plusch - Secretary: no nominations - Treasurer: (opened at next meeting)
Program: Mark Spahn on HI-RES graphics (Part 2).
NOVAPPLE 9/25/80 (page 5)
Cirillo switched from President to Treasurer nomination. Big discussion items: 1. Members should wear name tags 2. Member list with enough info to find interest-matches but not so much as to enable misuse 3. NOVAPPLE software library — Michael Thomas (yes, the 11-year-old from earlier) and Robert Steele volunteer as keepers 4. Larger venue and possible Saturday meetings needed (straw poll: ~half favor Saturday) 5. 15-minute Q&A at each meeting
Adventurefest was bumped due to length of discussion. Next: Oct 8 Z-80 card demo by Phil Eastman at Computers Plus; Oct 23 Word Processors at Computerland Tysons.
Letter from Southeastern Software (pages 5–7) — Mike Wise
Mike Wise (Southeastern Software, New Orleans LA) sends two routines:
1. 3.3 DOS patch — modifies DOS to prevent zeroing of $E000, so Language Card owners can boot DOS 3.3 without reloading Integer BASIC or Applesoft II first (only works after IB or AS II is loaded into the card; no Language Card RAM changes allowed). Written with S-C Assembler II, novice-friendly, with full listing.
2. Z-80 SoftCard cold-boot helper — adds a method for SoftCard owners to return to DOS/Pascal without power-cycling. Written by Dave Hughes (also author of Lafon for Pascal) on the day he received his SoftCard. RESET keeps you in CP/M; any key cold-boots DOS or Pascal.
Many more articles (pages 8–47)
The remaining 30+ pages include extensive technical content beyond what we've extracted here — likely Greenapples (Andy Rose), Sandy Greenfarb's CMP/CPY/CPX article, David Morganstein's Librarian's Corner, Dave Efron's Apple Digest, plus reprints from IAC member clubs. A "harvest" of contributed material.
Club news / events / announcements
- 350+ paid members, 800 circulation
- ABBS live at (301) 983-1317 with password system
- New group-purchase coordinators (Lefkowitz + Cotton)
- Membership card design complete (3¢/card)
- Multi-club merger talks in progress
- November Pi meeting: 4th Saturday
Notable advertisements
- Computerland Tysons Corner (with usual sub-block) continues
- (Display ads likely throughout this 47-page issue; not all extracted)
Key quotes
- "Our booth was a great success. I suspect we may gain as many as 100 new members as a result of our efforts." — Bernard Urban (page 1)
- "Washington Apple Pi now has over 350 members. Our newsletter circulation is approximately 800." — Ad-rate notice (page 3)
- "The remainder of the meeting was spent with representatives of other nearby users' groups discussing proposals for mutually beneficial consolidation of resources." — Executive Board minutes (page 1)
- "Ever wonder what really happens as a result of CMP CPY and CPX? Sandy Greenfarb found the answer. Look for it in the newsletter!" — ASMSIG (page 2)
Entities
People: Bernard Urban, John Moon, Rich Wasserstrom, Robert Peck, Dana Schwartz, Mark L. Crosby, Sandy Greenfarb, Hersch Pilloff, Genevie Urban, David Morganstein, Dave Efron, Tom Jones, Howard Lefkowitz, Ira Cotton, Joe Lipson, Peter Hirshberg, Al Weiner, Sara LaVilla, Jim Rose, Tom Lucas, Andrew Rose, Mike Hartman, Nicholas B. Cirillo, Theron Fuller, Steve Plusch, Phil Eastman, Mark Spahn, Michael Thomas, Robert Steele, Gerald Eskelund, Mike Wise, Dave Hughes, Brian Dormer, Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs Topics: Pi BBS Live, Pi Merger Negotiations, Group Purchase Coordination, Z-80 SoftCard Cold Boot, Programmer's Aid, Tool-Kit, 3.3 DOS E000 Patch References: ABBS, Mid-Atlantic Computer Show, Apple Education Foundation, Washington Children's Museum, Twinbrook Library, University of Maryland, SOFTALK Magazine, Southeastern Software, Apple Z-80 SoftCard, Lafon for Pascal, TED II+
Connections to other issues
- ABBS announced 1980-06 — V02 N06; in test 1980-07 — V02 N07; unveiled 1980-09 — V02 N09; publicly live with password system here
- Merger negotiations from 1980-09 — V02 N09's editorial mention now in formal Board meetings
- DOS 3.3 saga continues — Mike Wise's patch addresses the Language Card zeroing bug Val Golding flagged in 1980-09 — V02 N09
- Group purchase coordinators replace Peck (announced 1980-09 — V02 N09)
Open questions
- 47-page issue has substantial unread content beyond what's summarized — worth re-reading for additional articles
- Membership card actually distributed by year-end?
- How many of the projected 100 new members from the Mid-Atlantic Show actually joined?