September 1981 — Vol 3 No 8
Source
Open original PDF • September 1981 • Vol 3 No 8 • 46 pages
Overview
Editorial now signed RSW (Rich Wasserstrom) — the Urbans still on vacation. Hotline helpers launched — Boris Levine's July questionnaire produced a roster of members willing to answer questions by phone. Dr. Wo's promised PUFFIN (DOS-to-Pascal text-file conversion) arrives, the companion to Schwartz's HUFFIN ("Blaise Goes Both Ways" was suggested as a subtitle but "this is a family magazine"). Walton Francis writes a synopsis of all the published Apple word-processor reviews — possibly the most thorough WP comparison of the era. John Moon publishes "The Sysop Replies" — everything users want to know about the WAP ABBS (without revealing who holds the record for the most monumental crash). William Schultheis's Count Sectors from Applesoft is itself "a mini-tutorial in problem solving strategies and assembly language programming." Pi mailing address moved to Bethesda, MD 20817.
Table of contents
| Section | Page |
|---|---|
| Cover with highlights | 1 |
| Computerland display ad | 2 |
| Officers; Editorial; Event Queue; Classifieds | 3 |
| SIG News; SIGAME News — John Alden | 4 |
| HOTLINE | 5 |
| President's Corner — David Morganstein | 6 |
| Questions, Questions, Questions — Mark L. Crosby | 8 |
| A Page from the Stack — David Morganstein | 9 |
| The MTU Hat — Vance Giboney | 10 |
| Count Sectors from Applesoft — William Schultheis | 11 |
| Word Processing Software for the Apple: A Synopsis of the Published Reviews — Walton Francis | 16 |
| The Sysop Replies — John L. Moon | 22 |
| PUFFIN (DOS to Pascal Text File Conversion) — Dr. Wo | 25 |
| WAP Disk #29 Correction — Bob Schmidt | 31 |
| Hit Parade — John Alden | 32 |
Articles
Editorial (page 3) — Rich Wasserstrom (RSW)
"We received a raft of top-notch articles over the past several weeks." Highlights this month: PUFFIN (Dr. Wo's DOS→Pascal companion to HUFFIN), Walt Francis on WP reviews, Schultheis on counting sectors, Moon's ABBS sysop piece (which "did not, however, reveal the name of the well known WAP'er (!!!) who holds the all-time indoor and outdoor record for the most monumental ABBS system crash!").
October preview: Ed Knepley on a second HI-RES screen for Language Card / Pascal graphics tricks; Fred Schulz reports on two products that expand Apple II RAM beyond 64K (one to 1 megabyte!).
"Hotline Helpers" launched (page 5)
Boris Levine's July questionnaire produced a roster of volunteers willing to take member questions by phone — "no calls after 10:00 pm" recommended. Thanks Boris for "getting this important project moving."
"Count Sectors from Applesoft" (pages 11–15) — William Schultheis
Cover-highlight. Mini-tutorial in problem solving strategies + assembly language programming. Returns the number of free sectors from Applesoft via an ML routine.
"The MTU Hat" (page 10) — Vance Giboney
The MTU Hat (Microtechnology Unlimited) — a high-resolution graphics board for the Apple.
"Word Processing Software for the Apple: A Synopsis of the Published Reviews" (pages 16–21) — Walton Francis
Cover-highlight headline article. Francis's synthesis of all published WP reviews — possibly the most thorough WP coverage of 1981. RSW: "Take Walt's advice; 'try before you buy'." Builds on Francis's own February 1981 piece.
"The Sysop Replies" (pages 22–24) — John Moon
Cover-highlight. Moon's ABBS sysop perspective — everything members want to know about the WAP bulletin board: signing up, etiquette, posting rules, the people who keep it running, and stories from the trenches (sans names of crash-record-holder).
"PUFFIN (DOS to Pascal Text File Conversion)" (pages 25–30) — Dr. Wo (Tom Woteki)
Cover-highlight. Companion to Dana Schwartz's HUFFIN from July/August. Together they form a complete bidirectional bridge between the DOS and Pascal worlds — a major interop utility pair.
"WAP Disk #29 Correction" (page 31) — Bob Schmidt
Library correction.
"Hit Parade" (page 32) — John Alden
SIGAMES-related list ranking of popular Apple games at Pi.
Other content
- SIGAME News — John Alden (new SIGAMES columnist)
- Tutorial section
- Questions, Questions, Questions — Mark L. Crosby continues
Club news / events / announcements
- Mailing address moves: P.O. Box 34511, Bethesda MD 20817 (from Washington DC 20034)
- Hotline launched
- Sept Pi meeting: September 26
Notable advertisements
- Computerland Tysons Corner (page 2)
Key quotes
- "Dr. Wo suggested that we sub-title the article 'Blaise Goes Both Ways', but this is a family magazine!" — RSW (page 3)
- "John, ever the gentlemen, did not, however, reveal the name of the well known WAP'er (!!!) who holds the all-time indoor and outdoor record for the most monumental ABBS system crash!" — RSW (page 3)
Entities
People: David Morganstein, Mark L. Crosby, Dana Schwartz, Jesse Wagstaff, John Moon, Nancy Philipp, Rich Wasserstrom, Bernard Urban, Genevie Urban, Bob Peck, Dick Elkins, Howard Lefkowitz, Boris Levine, Hersch Pilloff, Sandy Greenfarb, Tom Woteki, Walton Francis, William Schultheis, Vance Giboney, Bob Schmidt, John Alden, Ed Knepley, Fred Schulz Topics: Hotline Helpers, ABBS Operations, Word Processor Synopsis, DOS-Pascal Bidirectional Conversion, Free Sector Counting, MTU Hat References: MTU Hat, Microtechnology Unlimited, PUFFIN, Apple II RAM Expansion
Connections to other issues
- PUFFIN companion to HUFFIN from 1981-07 — V03 N07
- Francis WP synopsis builds on his February 1981 (1981-02 — V03 N02) deep piece
- Hotline operationalizes a long-running need (Pilloff's "Another Opinion" from 1980-02 — V02 N02)
- ABBS coverage gets the sysop perspective to complement Genevie Urban's user view (1980-12 — V02 N12)
Open questions
- Apple II RAM beyond 64K — which products did Fred Schulz cover in October?
- Was the WAP'er crash-record holder ever publicly named?