May 1986 — Vol 8 No 5
Source
Open original PDF • May 1986 • Vol 8 No 5 • 84 pages • $2
Overview
Tom Warrick continues as President. ★★ "SwyftCard Replies" (Jef Raskin, p10) — Jef Raskin himself responds to Adrien Youell's April review. Raskin had been the original Macintosh project lead at Apple before being pushed out 1981-82; his SwyftCard was his post-Apple project. ★ "New AppleWorks SIG" (Peg Matzen, p24) — AppleWorks SIG launches under Matzen's leadership. ★ "FEDSIG Report" (Chuck Weger, p24) — FEDSIG (Federal Government Pi SIG) launches — Pi's recognition of its substantial federal-worker membership. ★ "WAP Acrostic" (Professor Apple, p63) — recurring puzzle by pseudonymous Professor Apple debuts. "MacSpies" (John B. Yellot Jr., p56) — intriguing title; details TBD. "Eliza Speaks Up in Class" (Bill Hershey, p54) — Hershey on the Eliza chatbot in educational context. "Macintosh Disk Speed Comparisons" (Steve Brecher, p70) — benchmarks across Mac storage options. "MacRecorder II: A Mini-Review" (Jonathan E. Hardis, p71) — MacRecorder II audio digitizer (the audio tool that enabled Mac sound). "AppleWorks-Sidepoint/Pinkick" (Richard Rowell, p25). "New & Useful AppleWorks Prod." (Milton R. Goldsamt, p27). "Slalom: A Review" (Henry R. Hertzfeld, p26) — Hertzfeld's second 1986 Pi byline. "UniDisk 3.5 for Apple III" (Tom Bartkiewicz, p18) — //gs+UniDisk crossover. "Eject UniDisk 3.5" (Stephen Bach, p36). "GPLE & Double-Take: Dynamic Duo" (Donald S. Kline, p37). "Family Home Money Manager: Pt 1" (Brian G. Mason, p32). "BBS Phone Numbers" (p9) — Pi multi-BBS coverage. "Macintosh Communication" (Lynn R. Trusal, p62).
Table of contents (selected)
| Article | Author | Page |
|---|---|---|
| President's Corner | Tom Warrick | 4 |
| Meeting Report: March 22 | Adrien Youell | 9 |
| BBS Phone Numbers | — | 9 |
| ★ SwyftCard Replies | Jef Raskin | 10 |
| EdSIG News | Peter Combes | 12 |
| Grademaster: A Review | Randy C. Zittel | 14 |
| Apple III News | David Ottalini | 16 |
| UniDisk 3.5 for Apple III | Tom Bartkiewicz | 18 |
| Q & A | Bruce F. Field | 20 |
| ★ FEDSIG Report | Chuck Weger | 24 |
| ★ New AppleWorks SIG | Peg Matzen | 24 |
| AppleWorks-Sidepoint/Pinkick | Richard Rowell | 25 |
| Slalom: A Review | Henry R. Hertzfeld | 26 |
| New & Useful AppleWorks Prod. | Milton R. Goldsamt | 27 |
| GAMESIG News | Barry Bedrick | 28 |
| Brataccus: A Review | Chris Sandberg | 28 |
| Gulf Strike: A Review | Chris Hancock | 29 |
| Elite: A Review | Charles Don Hall | 30 |
| Family Home Money Manager: Pt 1 | Brian G. Mason | 32 |
| Eject UniDisk 3.5 | Stephen Bach | 36 |
| GPLE & Double-Take | Donald S. Kline | 37 |
| FORTH Mergesort | Chester H. Page | 38 |
| Disk Drive Repair/Maint. Tutorial | Ted Meyer | 43 |
| Mac Q & A | Jonathan E. Hardis | 48 |
| MacNovice | Ralph J. Begleiter | 52 |
| Eliza Speaks Up in Class | Bill Hershey | 54 |
| MacSpies | John B. Yellot Jr. | 56 |
| Frederick Apple Core | — | 62 |
| Macintosh Communication | Lynn R. Trusal | 62 |
| ★ WAP Acrostic (debut) | Professor Apple | 63 |
| Overview of Data Base Management | Bill Hole | 64 |
| Work-n-Print | Martin O. Milrod | 66 |
| Requiescat In Pace? | Martin Kuhn | 67 |
| 'EXCEL'ing With Your Mac | David Morganstein | 68 |
| Macintosh Disk Speed Comparisons | Steve Brecher | 70 |
| MacRecorder II: A Mini-Review | Jonathan E. Hardis | 71 |
| A Developer's View | John Bennison | 72 |
Highlights
★★ Jef Raskin replies
The original Macintosh creator personally responds to Pi about his SwyftCard for the //e — a brief but historically significant Pi-Raskin connection. Raskin had been the Mac project's first lead before Jobs took over and shaped the actual Mac vision.
AppleWorks SIG launches under Peg Matzen
With AppleWorks now the dominant Apple II application, an AppleWorks SIG dedicated to power users makes sense. Matzen would lead the SIG through later 1980s.
FEDSIG Report — Chuck Weger
Pi's federal-employee subgroup formalizes. Many Pi members worked at DoD, IRS, OMB, NASA, NIH; their workplace-Mac concerns deserved their own SIG.
Entities
People: Tom Warrick, Jef Raskin, Peg Matzen, Chuck Weger, Professor Apple, Jonathan E. Hardis, Steve Brecher, Lynn R. Trusal, John B. Yellot Jr., Bill Hershey, Brian G. Mason, Henry R. Hertzfeld, Tom Bartkiewicz, David Ottalini, Stephen Bach, Donald S. Kline, Chester H. Page, Ted Meyer, Bruce F. Field, Peter Combes, Randy C. Zittel, Richard Rowell, Milton R. Goldsamt, Barry Bedrick, Chris Sandberg, Chris Hancock, Charles Don Hall, Ralph J. Begleiter, Bill Hole, Martin O. Milrod, Martin Kuhn, David Morganstein, John Bennison, Adrien Youell, Regina Litman, Euclid Coukouma Topics: Jef Raskin Post-Apple, AppleWorks SIG, FEDSIG, WAP Acrostic Puzzle, MacRecorder, Eliza Chatbot References: SwyftCard, MacRecorder II, Pinpoint, Slalom, AppleWorks
Connections to other issues
- Jef Raskin's reply continues the SwyftCard thread from 1986-04 — V08 N04 Youell review
- AppleWorks SIG continues through later 1980s (Matzen and successors)
- FEDSIG joins Pi's SIG family; would matter especially during ITAR/export-control debates 1989+
- WAP Acrostic puzzle franchise launches; continues through 1989+