Welcome to the Apple Blossom ====================== This is our premier issue of the Apple Blossom, and it is being sent out to teachers because, as we all know, the Apple II series of computers has had a long and productive relationship with schools. Our hope with this periodical is to keep you informed about happenings in the Apple II world, and to let you realize that there is still a lot of life left in your computer. This premier issue has articles on AppleWorks 5, DiscQuest, Quick Click Calc and Apple II related periodicals, as well as a brief look at new products for the Apple II, some of which will be reviewed in future issues. If you have any questions, relating to the periodical, or of a technical nature, please send your questions to: Steve Cavanaugh, editor The Apple Blossom 26 Moulton St. Brockton, MA 02302 Quick Click Calc Say that 5 times fast! ===================== While you may not be able to say the name five times fast, this new spreadsheet, currently at version 1.2, from the ByteWorks, will be able to handle your data as quickly as you are able to input it. Quick Click Calc is a new spreadsheet for the IIGS, from the hands of Mike Westerfield, author of the ORCA programming series for the Apple II. It is a standard "desktop" application, and it brings one of the newest features of computing to the Apple IIGS‹Publish and Subscribe. If you haven't used this feature up until now, it is basically copy-and-paste on steroids. You can publish information from one document (say your computer lab budget) and subscribe to that information (which is stored in an "edition" file) in another file (perhaps the overall school budget). If changes are made to the original file, then the data will be automatically updated when you open the subscribing file. Quick Click Calc is also a full business graphics program, and can create colorful charts in 3 dimensions. The price for Quick Click Calc is a modest $60.00, and it is recommended that you have a harddrive and 2 MB of RAM for smoothest operation. You can order it direct from The ByteWorks at (505) 898-8183. If you have any questions, give them a call, or e -mail Mike Westerfield at mikew50@aol.com on AOL or byteworks@genie.com on GEnie. What's New for the Apple II? =========================== Although Apple Computer made the last Apple II in December of 1993, support for the Apple II has not ceased. Last year saw new software and hardware for the computer, and 1995 promises more of the same. In many ways, the platform is only now maturing, an d its capabilities are just being utilized. Some new products that became available in the last year are listed below, broken down into hardware and software. Products that are expected in the new year are listed afterwards. Software Publisher ============================================================= AppleWorks 5.0 (integrated) Quality Computers Quick Click Calc (spreadsheet) ByteWorks DiscQuest Encyclopedia Sequential Systems DiscQuest (CD-ROM for the GS) Sequential Systems Financial Genius (financial org.) shareware, Rick Adams SoundMeister (sound digitizer) Alltech Electronics Faxination (fax software) Vitesse, Inc. Hardware Manufacturer ============================================================= BlueDisk floppy controller ///SHH Systeme Quickie Color Scanner Vitesse, Inc. Products expected in 1995 Software Quick Click Word (advanced desktop word processor for the GS), Spectrum 2.0 (telecommunications), GraphicWriter III 2.0 (desktop publishing), Modzap 1.0 (MOD player for the GS), fax software from Paul Parkhurst, upgrade to DiscQuest Encyclopedia Hardware Second Sight VGA card for the IIGS & IIe, TurboRez GS (full color and animation on the IIGS screen...support for VGA monitors in 640 mode) Publications for the Apple II* ============================= There are at present three widely distributed print publications dealing with the Apple II, GS+ magazine, Shareware Solutions II, published by Joe Kohn (formerly of Incider/A+) and II Alive (published by Quality Computers). All three magazines are bi-monthly: GS+ deals exclusively with the IIGS computer, while Shareware Solutions II and II Alive treat the IIe through the IIGS. Recent articles in GS+ included: Programming the IIGS with the toolbox, a comparison of laser printers compatible with the Apple II, and reviews of Financial Genius and Quick Click Calc. II Alive has run a three part article on the Internet, how to maximize the power of the IIGS Finder, using a RAM disk on your Apple II, and the Lost Classics project on GEnie. GS+ also has an accompanying disk that contains original programming, along with source code. Shareware Solutions II subscribers often receive a good discount on software/hardware products. Contact GS+ at GS+ Magazine P.O. Box 15366 Chattanooga, TN 37415-0366. You can contact II Alive at II Alive 20200 Nine Mile Rd. St. Clair Shores, MI 48080. To get in touch with Joe Kohn, write to: Joe Kohn 166 Alpine St. San Rafael, CA 94901-1008. There are also several disk-based and electronic periodicals available for the Apple II. Softdisk and Softdisk GS are published monthly and include information, news, tech questions and answers, and original programming and graphics. The subscription price is under $9.00 per month. You can call them at 800-831-2694 to request a trial subscription. Resource Central (also known as ICON, the International Computer Owners Network) whom you can call at (913) 469-6502 publishes Stack Central (for HyperStudio), Script Central (for HyperCard) and others. Beverly Cadieux writes Texas II, a newsletter for users of AppleWorks. She can be reached at (210) 490-6373. * Since this article was written, GS+, SoftDisk, and Resource Central have all ceased publication (although SoftDisk GS is still publishing, and EGO Systems, the parent company of GS+ are still producing programs for the Apple IIGS. Quality Computers has announced that there will be only 5 more issues of II Alive before it ceases publications. Not mentioned in this article is the AppleWorks Forum, the bimonthly publication of the National AppleWorks Users Group, which will be published through December of this year. HyperCard GS released as FreeWare! ================================== Last summer Apple Computer reclassified HyperCard IIGS as System Software, meaning that it could now be distributed by anyone who has a license to distribute Apple Software, such as user groups and various online services such as America Online and GEnie. HyperCard IIGS is roughly equivalent to HyperCard 1.2.5 on the Macintosh, with the addition of color and some other capabilities. And now, you can get it for free. Not only does HyperCard GS work much like its Macintosh version, you can even exchange stacks between the two. With HyperMover, a pair of stacks for the GS and the Mac, a Stack can be disassembled on one platform, copied to disk, and then reassembled on the other. What can HyperCard GS do for you? Well, as one of the premier HyperMedia authoring tools available, you can create presentations, manage data, and even interface with CD-ROMs and LaserDisc players. And, because the IIGS has a composite video port, you can even record your stacks onto video tape, for a portable presentation. HyperCard comes on 6 disks (7 if you get HyperMover) and is available from local Apple II user groups, on GEnie, AOL, Compuserve and on the Internet at ftp.apple.com. It requires at least 2 3.5" disk drives, but is most easily used with a hard drive. Suggested minimum memory is 1.5 MB RAM, but larger stacks enjoy having more RAM. DiscQuest CD-ROM for the IIGS =================== While the Apple IIGS has had the capability to use a CD-ROM drive for quite a while, there has not been much produced for the Apple II on CD. In order to overcome that limitation, Sequential Systems has produced DiscQuest, software that allows you to use several off the shelf PC/Mac CD-ROMs with your IIGS. It does this by reading the "discpassage" data format that these CD-ROMs are produced with. There are a number of titles supported, including Audobon Mammals and Birds, Darwin Multi-Media CD, Monarch Notes, Sherlock Holmes, Parenting, the Family Doctor, and more. In addition, with a separate software package, DiscQuest Encyclopedia, you can use the Compton MultiMedia Encyclopedia CD-ROM, in either the Windows or Macintosh version, on your IIGS. The present software allows for viewing the title tree and articles, graphics and listening to sounds. A promised upgrade should allow access to the idea tree and seaching on topic words. Hypertext links to graphics, sound and other articles is supported. DiscQuest can run on a IIGS with 1.25 MB of RAM and one 3.5" drive, although a hard drive and 2 MB of RAM or more is recommended. The Graphics & Sound computer is still capable of multimedia, and can keep up with those other computers, so don't think that it's obsolete yet. DiscQuest is available from Quality Computers (800) 777-3642, Alltech Electronics (619) 724-2404 or direct from Sequential Systems (800) 999-1717. ------------ Note: discQuest Encyclopedia was upgraded in summer 1995, and the new version will work with the Windows Encyclopedia from 1994 or the Macintosh version of the Compton's Encyclopedia from 1995. New features include a topic search. The discQuest Encyclopedia software (original or updated) will not work with the 1995 Windows version of the Encyclopedia. For ugrades, contact Sequential Systems at 800-999-1717 or fax 303-665-0933 or visit their Web site at http://www.sequential.com:80/sequential/ AppleWorks 5.0 is Shipping ========================== Quality Computers began shipping AppleWorks 5.0 in early December of 1994. This latest version of AppleWorks is the most powerful yet, but it also demands the most computer resources. To run AppleWorks 5.0, a minimum of an enhanced IIe, IIc or IIGS with 256K of RAM and a 3.5" drive or hard drive are required. While you may have seen information saying that only 3.5" disks are available, you can obtain the program on 5.25" disks, but you must install it to a hard drive. The upgrade price is $59.00, while the price for a "competitive" upgrade from another word processor is $99.00. New installs are $169.95, or in a lab setting, $39/cpu. Among the enhancements of this new version are a built-in printer buffer, an expanded "desktop" that allows up to 36 files in memory at a time, a screen saver, an outliner, a macros player/recorder, the new ability to show pictures in single layout format in the database, sharing of data between databases and wordprocessors without the database needing to be opened and more. Complete information is available from Quality Computers, who took over responsibility for AppleWorks and AppleWorks GS from Claris in the Fall of 1992. Quality Computers is a major provider of educational technology, which publishes a free quarterly magazine devoted to educational computing called Enhance. Their number is: 1-800-777-3642. ==================== [edits made to mailing address and email address on Aug. 29, 2008.]