CFOG's PIP, June 1986, Volume 4 No. 8, Whole No. 44, page 1
On June 22, 1986, CFOG held its monthly meeting at Triton College. Subject: 'Long Range Planning -- What do you, the members, need/want from your user group in the future?'
Despite the poor turnout (18 persons, 4 of whom sit on the Board of Directors, and 3 of whom are not members), we held the meeting and had an excellent discussion of the issues that we must face if we are to continue to function as a viable user group. A similar discussion has been going on on RCP/M #2 for a couple of months now, and a few members have called me at home to put their two cents in. A synopsis of these discussions follows.
THE PROBLEMWe have 271 paid members for 1986. That figure is down from 417 in 1985, and down from over 500 in 1984. That represents a 35% decrease this year.
Income from dues in 1986 is $4379. That's down from an average of $7892.25 per year for the previous 4 years (1981-85).
Income from advertising in PIP in 1986 has been $250. That's down from an average of $1861.41 per year for the previous 4 years.
Total of all income for 1986: $ 5,383.37
Total of average income for previous 4 years: $10,218.85
That represents a 47.32% decrease in revenues.
Our average expenses over the past 4 years have been $7192.56 per year. That figure includes such items as depreciation of equipment. When adjusted to our real operating expenses, our actual cash outlay was an average of $6,319.93 per year.
As of today, our projected operating expenses for 1986 are within a few hundred dollars of our projected income. Assuming that we can regain some of our advertising dollars from PIP with our new editor, we will break even with zero growth.
If we do nothing, and membership continues to drop off, we will begin depleting our reserve funds in 1987, and we will eventually go broke.
THE NEWS ISN'T ALL BAD...Fortunately, some of us have been working on this for a while. We now have an editor who is committed to whatever amount of work it takes to get PIP caught up, and thereby woo our advertisers and some members back into the fold.
We have a new 35 megabyte RCP/M on line, that is aimed primarily at bringing in new users. After 4 months on-line, it has taken over 2000 calls and logged nearly 1000 messages. It has already generated a few new members, with more users expressing interest in joining all the time. We've also expanded RCP/M #1 from 10 to 35 megabytes.
In light of the problems that other CP/M user groups, including FOG, are having, CFOG is in an excellent position to move into the future as a healthy, strong user group if we are able and willing to adapt to the changing needs of a the microcomputer community.
THE NEEDSOne of the sentiments that I have heard expressed over and over recently is that those of us who continue to use Osbornes (I'm writing this on my original O-1 right now) need a user group that will continue to pursue new avenues of usefulness for our beloved old workhorses. But Osborne users are not alone in this need, as an Epson QX-10 user, a Kaypro user, and a Morrow user all pointed out at the June meeting. We need a strong support base for CP/M users as long as there are those of us who continue to use and enjoy CP/M based systems.
Another voice also seems to be emerging as a clear spokesman. We can no longer ignore other popular operating systems, such as MS-DOS and PC-DOS. Many of our members either use PC-DOS exclusively, or use it at work and still have CP/M machines at home. In reality, there is not a great deal of difference between operating under CP/M or MS-DOS, particularly for the user who is mainly interested in learning how to master WordStar, SuperCalc, DBase, or any of the other good applications packages that have 16-bit as well as 8-bit versions.
The bottom line, as I see it, goes beyond the types of computers that our members use and the programs that they run, and focuses on the users themselves. I believe that to maintain an organization such as ours we need users who are excited about their computers, and are anxious to learn more by sharing what they have already learned. The main threat to our survival is in the complacent attitudes of those who are willing to stay exactly where they are, learning nothing new, except as necessity demands. I'm not suggesting that users of this type are not valuable to CFOG, but I am making the point that we must have innovators and contributors or there will be no reason for anyone to be a member. Moreover, if we fail to provide an interesting atmosphere in which curious 'computer addicts' can explore their potential, then we will have failed our purpose and will suffer the fate that many user groups have already succumbed to.
The discussion remains open. Those of you who have not responded may still do so. I strongly urge you to jot down your thoughts on the subject and send them to:
CFOG FUTURE
PO BOX 1678
Chicago, Il 60690
Or, if you have a modem, get involved in the discussion on RCP/M #2 at (312) 235-7902.
CFOG's PIP, June 1986, Volume 4 No. 8, Whole No. 44, page 2
On occasion I've had to teach large sections (i.e., 150+ students) of "Intro to American Government" at Cal State, L.A., and have to resort to multiple- choice exams. I needed some kind of statistical program to help a little in trying to convert raw scores into percentages for grading purposes.
(There's a "Mean, Variance, and Standard Deviation" model in Robert H. Flast's 54 Supercalc Models [Osborne/McGraw-Hill], but it will accept only 52 entries, and the model listing takes up 4 pages of the text.) This is a short program, and will, take 201 entries (which could be enlarged by increasing the DIM). Only problem with it is that if you make a mistake in entering a score, you have to restart, listing each one from the beginning.
1 '******************************
2 '******************************
3 '
5 'filename "MEAN-SD.BAS" to compute
6 'THE MEAN AND STANDARD DEVIATION
7 'from Tom McEnroe, OKOK, with thanks
to Tony Horaites,
8 'Student Asst., CSLA. 1984, 1986.
10 DIM X(200)
20 INPUT "HOW MANY CASES";N
30 INPUT "WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE
VARIABLE";A$
40 PRINT "ENTER EACH VALUE ONE AT A
TIME"
45 '
50 FOR I = 1 TO N
60 INPUT X(I)
70 SM=SM+X(I)
80 NEXT I
90 MN=SM/N
100 FOR I = 1 TO N
110 Y=(X(I)-MN)^2
120 SS=SS+Y
130 NEXT I
140 SD=SQR(SS/N)
150 PRINT "FOR THE VARIABLE ";A$
160 PRINT "THE MEAN IS ";MN; "THE
STANDARD DEVIATION IS";SD
170 END
CFOG's PIP, June 1986, Volume 4 No. 8, Whole No. 44, page 4
by: Benjamin H. Cohen
[This series started running some time ago and hasn't appeared in about a year. If you don't have the back issues of PIP with the previous parts of the series, they are available at meetings. We're picking up where we left off. NSWP version 2.07 is still current, though Dave Rand is said to be working on a version 2.09. There was a rogue version 2.08 -- if you should happen to see a copy, do your best to kill it!
This installment starts off with a little review for those who haven't seen the first batch of installments. - bhc 7-86]
When NSWP is loaded into memory from the disk, by your typing the name you store it under and hitting the <cr>, you'll get a list of the files on the logged drive, in alphabetical order, with the size of the file in K bytes displayed, and a block or underscore to mark the cursor. To get help, push on the "?" key and you'll get this menu:
A - Retag files
B - Back one file
C - Copy file
D - Delete file
E - Erase T/U files
F - Find file
L - Log new disk/user
M - Mass file copy
P - Print file
X - Exit to CP/MQ - Squeeze/Unsqueeze tagg
R - Rename file(s)
S - Check remaining space
T - Tag file for mass
U - Untag file
V - View file
W - Wildeard tag of files
Y - Set file status
? - Display this help
cr, sp - Forward one file
[Actually, the menu comes up in two columns, but the width of a column in PIP doesn't allow me to display it that way. -bhc]
This installment will cover the "V" or "View File" command. To view a file, you press the letter "v" [NSWP commands can be upper or lower case doesn't matter], and NSWP will display the text of the first part of the file on the screen. Normally this will show 24 lines of text. If you press "L", the text will scroll up one line at a time. The space bar, <cr>, or most any other key will scroll up a full screenload at a time -- there's no overlap at all, usually. This depends on the number of lines your screen displays.
Unfortunately, NSWP won't let you scroll backwards, or move to a particular section of the file, or search for something.
In spite of its limtations, the view a file command is one of NSWP's most useful commands. You can step through the list of files, view a few lines of each one to verify that it's what you think it is, and THEN make the decision to copy to a particular location or to delete the file.
CFOG's PIP, June 1986, Volume 4 No. 8, Whole No. 44, page 5
The following figures were provided by CFOG's Treasurer, Tom Ferguson. Keep in mind that the 1986 figures will include significant charges for depreciation on CFOG's hard assets. The following notes also apply: (1) books are kept on cash basis, so any bill not paid is not reflected in the books; (2) many paid 1985 dues in 1984, but 1986 dues bills did not go out until 1986 so all 1986 dues were paid in 1986. Please also see the President's Message on page 1 for an analysis of these figures.
Year Ending 12-31-85
Income Statement
-------------------------------------------
Income
Dues $5,904.00
Advertising $1,220.00
FOG Rebates $636.00
Back Issues $63.00
Interest $461.31
Total $8,284.31
Expense
PIP - Printing and Postage $3,398.11
Meetings $1,536.38
New Member Costs $430.98
Disk Library - RCPM $582.59
Depreciation $1,958.94
Other $238.25
Total $8,145.25
-------------------------------------------
Net Income $139.06
Balance Sheet
Assets
Cash $8,340.14
WestWind 35MB Hard Disk $1,200.00
2 - Osborne 1s $600.00
1 - Osborne Executive $600.00
Design One 10 MB Hard Disk $500.00
USR Password 1200 bps modem $125.00
2 - USR Courier 2400 modems $700.00
Hayes 1200 Smartmodem $250.00
Total Assets $12,315.14
Liabilities & Capital
Compumat Prepaid Advertising $210.00
Prior Period Retained Earnings $11,966.08
Current Year's Income $139.06
Total Liabilities & Capital $12,315.14
===========================================
Period 1-1 to 7-20 1986
Income Statement
-------------------------------------------
Income
Dues $4,812.00
Advertising $250.00
FOG Rebates $672.00
Back Issues $.00
Interest $140.08
Total $5,874.08
Expense
PIP - Printing and Postage $1,398.19
Meetings $603.77
New Member Costs $82.44
Disk Library - RCPM $496.23
Depreciation (done 12-31) $.00
Other $225.13
Total $2,805.76
-------------------------------------------
Net Income $3,068.32
Balance Sheet
Assets
Cash $10,033.46
2 - WestWind 35MB Hard Disks $2,575.00
2 - Osborne 1s $600.00
1 - Osborne Executive $600.00
Design One 10 MB Hard Disk $500.00
USR Password 1200 bps modem $125.00
2 - USR Courier 2400 modems $700.00
Hayes 1200 Smartmodem $250.00
Total Assets $15,383.46
Liabilities & Capital
Compumat Prepaid Advertising $210.00
Prior Period Retained Earnings $12,105.14
Current Year's Income $3,068.32
Total Liabilities & Capital $15,383.46
CFOG's PIP, June 1986, Volume 4 No. 8, Whole No. 44, page 6
[Here are some WordStar tips that I've obtained from various sources. I hope I've gotten the sources right. I've appended some comments my own in some instances -- bhc]
[Taken from KBYTE - June 1985]
Wordstar Tip -- When you use the Global Reformatting Command, CTRL QQB, you can control the speed of formatting between paragraphs by adding a number, 1 through 9. 1 is the fastest. Also add a CTRL OH. This will prevent hyphen-help from stopping the reformatting for hyphenation. You can patch your working copies to Hyphen Help OFF to avoid this problem.
[Comment: He means turn hyphen-help off before you hit the ^Q^Q^B1. -- bhc]
Wordstar Find and Replace Commands -- It took me about three months to discover the Find and Find & Replace commands. After my discovery, I was astounded to find out that several people with Kaypros and WordStar, who process words professionally and have been doing so longer than I, didn't know about ^QF and ^QA. I do a lot of list work (mailing labels, basically), and those two commands have saved me untold hours of tedious labor. Now, instead of typing "Nashville, TN 37205" about 800 times, I just type something like "Na", then type a ^QA with the G, N, and W options, which tells WordStar to find "Na" and replace it with "Nashville, TN 37205" in the whole file, looking for whole words only, and do it all, without asking. Magic!
[Comment: Add an ESCape after the <CR>. It makes WS do the search and replace operation in background, i.e., without updating the screen. It's much faster. -- bhc]
Wordstar Page Numbering -- How can you omit the page number on page 1, but continue on subsequent pages? Simply type ".op" at the beginning of the text, which eliminates page numbering. Then, when you see the dashed line indicating page 2, type ".pn" which restores page numbering at page 2. This technique is also handy for continuing the page numbering if you have a file that is on more than one disk. In this case, use ".pn N", where N is the next page number.
Hard Carriage Returns -- Several people have been concerned about how to eliminate hard carriage returns when they are placed at the end of every line of a document. With WordStar, use the search and replace procedure by using a CTRL QA. When the program asks you what to find, type CRTL-P CTRL-M followed by a carriage return. The program will then ask you what to replace. Respond by pressing the SPACE BAR and a carriage return. When the machine asks you for options, type the letter G and then press the carriage return. The program will find each hard carriage return and ask you if you want to replace it. Type Y (or y) for yes, except at the end of paragraphs.
[Comment: Really? This is slow torture. If there's an extra line between paragraphs you can replace all the double carriage returns (search ^P^M^P^M) with some unique string, say %%%. Then globally delete the carriage returns, i.e., replace them with nothing by hitting the <cr> when WS asks you what to replace it with. Now, replace the %%% string with double carriage returns (^P^M^P^M again). Last, reformat.
Of course, you could always just get out Hardsoft.com and let software do it for you.
Better yet, switch to VDE version 2.1, which doesn't recognize the hard carriage returns, so it reformats the text without any of these fancy time-consuming routines. Edit, reformat, then use WordStar or NewWord to print for fancy formatting features. If you want to use WordStar or NewWord to justify the text later you can run Hardsoft then. -- bhc]
Multiple Copies In WordStar -- "WordStar is the most powerful wordprocessor ever developed for CP/M computers. It's hard to learn, though, because you have to memorize so many multiple-keystroke commands. In addition, it lacks two of Perfect Writer's capabilities: (1) blockdeletes can't be 'yanked back': once you delete something from WordStar it's gone forever; and (2) WordStar can't print multiple copies."
If you can't find at least five errors in that statement, you're not trying. The multiple-copy canard, for example, is so often repeated that you'd think nobody had ever seen MailMerge. If you've seen it (as a file on your WordStar disk that's called MAILMRGE.OVR), then all you have to do to print multiple copies is type M (instead of P) followed by a <CR> when you return to the Opening Menu to print your file. You will be presented with a dialogue that's exactly like the customary printing dialogue, except for the fourth question, "Number of copies."
And if you don't have MailMerge? In that case, the only program you'll really need is an interactive batchprocessor like EX.COM, a public-domain utility that's available from the SoInKUG library. Copy it to your WordStar disk, put that disk in Drive A and the file you want to print in Drive B, and bring up CP/Ms A> prompt. Then turn your printer on and type the following, substituting the actual name of your file for Filename.ext:
EX <CR>
WS <CR>
P B:Filename.ext <ESC> <CR>
P B:Filename.ext <ESC> <CR>
X <CR>
<CR>
That will print two copies of Filename.ext. If you want three copies, add another repetition of P B:Filename.ext <ESC> <CR>. And so on.
[Comment: Well, if you've got an Osborne or Kaypro that came bundled with WordStar and MailMerge, you may not be aware that WordStar doesn't always come with MailMerge. So the first canard is in fact true -- WordStar won't print multiple copies. You have to buy MailMerge to do that. The fact that you can use EX or some other program to get WordStar to print multiple copies doesn't change the fact that WordStar by itself can't. By the way, if you don't need WordStar's formatting, Mprint.com will neatly print multiple copies of your file. -- bhc]
The Wordstar Yankback -- To be able to recover from a bungled block-delete in WordStar you must make it a habit always to save your text (<CTRL>-K S) before issuing the block-delete command (<CTRL>-K Y). Then if you find that you've deleted something you wanted to keep, all you have to do is abandon the file (<CTRL>-K Q), which will return you to the Opening Menu, from which you can then call the file back exactly as it was the moment before you carried out your ill-fated deletion.
That's all well and good, but of course the very absent-mindedness that led you to mark the wrong passage for deletion in the first place, is just as likely to make you forget to save the file before doing a block-delete. That's why you'd be better off using a key-definition package like SmartKey or Backgrounder to automate the whole process, by defining two special keys as follows:
(1) BLOCK-DELETE
<CTRL>-K S
<CTRL>-Q P
<CTRL>-K Y
(2) UNDO
<CTRL>-K Q
Y
D
<CTRL>-R
<CR>
Mark the block in the usual way, but execute the actual deletion by pressing your new Block-Delete key. If the results distress you, press the new Undo key immediately and the missing text will be yanked back, almost as if you were using Perfect Writer.
A word of caution, however: be sure to locate your Undo key someplace where you'll be unlikely to strike it by accident. You can recover from a block-delete now, but a careless yankback can still do you in.
[Comment: Here's an example of a perfectly dumb way to accomplish something. What the author of this tip says is that you should save the file before you delete, then abandon and reload in order to get the deleted block back. Suppose the file is 26K bytes long and you're working in a floppy disk system. Can you imagine how long that takes? Even on a RAM disk that's the slow way to do it. So much for the assertion that WordStar can yank back a deleted block. I won't suggest that you switch to NewWord simply to get its UNDO command, though that's not a bad idea.
If you're simply desparate for an undelete feature in WS, why not write the block to a file. Then you can read it back into the working file if you want it. A function key to write the block to a file would read:
^K^K^K^Wdeleted.txt<cr>Y^K^Y
The "y" after the filename is required to overwrite the previous deleted.txt file. You should save a file under that name before you use the function key the first time. The function key to retrieve the block is:
^K^Rdeleted.txt<cr>
Voila! But it's still not WordStar that is "undeleting" a deleted block -- you have to have function keys or a "keys" program like the commercial Smartkey and Xtrakey or the public domain Quikkey. -- bhc]
Really? -- Asked why he was now using an IBM PC, the legendary Ward Christensen (the Shakespeare of CP/M) replied, in an interview quoted in the Jul-Sep 1985 Peopletalk Quarterly, "One day I decided I wanted to use a slow computer with a lousy keyboard."
[I know that's not a WordStar tip, but it was in the file and I couldn't resist. -- bhc]
Wordstar Tip
by Herschel E. Davidson II
[Article from the Alamo KUG Journal, August 1985]
How can you avoid losing your file when WordStar comes up with ERROR #12, DISK FULL, message when you are in the edit mode?
Prevention is the best cure. When you revise a text, remember that WordStar needs room for its "BAK" files: if there is not enough room for your disk for both the revised file and its 'BAK' file, make room before you edit. If, however, you get caught in edit with ERROR# 12, DISK FULL message, all is not necessarily lost. Press the ESCAPE key, as WordStar directs. Unless you get another ERROR #12 message, you can possibly save your file. Type "^KF" to bring up the disk directory. To make additional space on your disk, delete any f ile you can spare by typing a '^KJ filename.ext.' If you still need more space, use ^KO to copy files to another drive, then delete them from the full disk. If you have a full WordStar disk to one drive and a full disk of text files in the other, note that you can make some space on the WordStar disk by deleting WINSTALL.COM, WS.INS, WSMSGS, assuming of course, that you have backup copies (of these programs). Since '^KF' is a toggle, you can remove the disk directory from the screen by typing it once again when you have cleared enough space on your disk.
[Comment: There are lots of other things you can do. Some depend on what you've done since the last save. If you've added some text, mark it as a block, write it to disk -- maybe on the other drive, then abandon the edit. Or delete the BAK file.
Sorry, the NewWord option won't help here, NewWord needs even more disk space than WordStar because it won't delete the BAK file before performing the save, something WS will do. You can manually delete the BAK file. Or you can patch NewWord to eliminate the making of BAK files. But you still need space for the temporary files that NewWord and WS both make while editing because they are disk bound, part of the file being on disk and part being in memory as you edit.
Or do what I do -- use VDE version 2.1 for text editing, WordStar for text printing. VDE edits totally in memory, so if you run out of space on the disk, simply insert a new disk with more space. You do keep extra formatted disks around, don't you? -- bhc]
CFOG's PIP, June 1986, Volume 4 No. 8, Whole No. 44, page 8
The Sunday August 24 meeting will be on "Text Processing Without WordStar". We'll introduce, demonstrate, praise and damn such commercial alternatives as NewWord, and public domain editors and word processors such as VDO and VDE in various versions. When and why to use WordStar and when and why to utilize alternative programs. Since everyone who uses WordStar necessarily must have a love-hate relationship with it, here's a chance to learn alternatives to psychological hang-ups.
"By popular demand", as the saying goes, our Sunday September 28 meeting will be devoted to a discussion modems, modem software, and using RCPMs. We hope to have a "live" demonstration with opportunity to observe and participate.
The so-called Downtown SIG, will resume its meetings on the third Tuesday of September, the 16th. These are informal get-togethers with no scheduled program. Those present attempt to answer any questions that others may have. In some instances a summary of the previous month's Sunday meeting program may be given. These meetings start with pizza served at 6:00 p.m. ($6.50 for the pizza -- please leave a message on the answering machine at 726-3569 if you're coming so we'll have enough) and those who don't want to eat are invited to arrive at any time since the discussion starts as soon as there are two people present!
CFOG's PIP, June 1986, Volume 4 No. 8, Whole No. 44, page 9
by Benjamin H. Cohen
We get this question all the time. How do I get the files out of a LBR file? Here's the short simple answer, again.
Whenever you have a file whose name ends with the extension "LBR" you have a "library" file. It was created to save space and to group together a bunch of files that are related in one way or another. You need a "library utility" to get the "member files" out of the LBR. If you're using NULU, be sure you have verson 1.1 at least, and preferably version 1.51.
Nulu has a "filesweep" mode, similar to Newsweep, so if you're comfortable with Newsweep, you can invoke that from the command line at the A> prompt by entering "Nulu -f<cr>". If you're using Nulu 1.51, you'll get the menu, similar to the Newsweep menu, as an opening display. For earlier versions, hit the "?" for the menu. To use it, just remember that you have to "open" a library to get to the list of files. Run it like Newsweep.
If you just want to get all the files out of a new LBR file that you got from our disk library, here's the simple step-by-step way:
Put NULU and the LBR files you want to get files from an a disk in drive B. Put an empty disk in drive A. I say an empty disk, but you really only need enough room to put about 10% more than the size of the LBR files that you're going to be extracting from. But disks are so cheap today, take an empty one and clean it up later. Log on drive A. At the A> prompt enter:
b:nulu -o b:<filename> -c *.* -x<cr>
This extracts all of the files from <filename.lbr> to drive A. Note you will not enter the <> brackets nor the .LBR extension.
If there's more than one LBR file on the disk in drive B, you can string the commands along. If you have FILE1.LBR, FILE2.LBR, etc.:
b:nulu -o b:file1 -e *.*
-o b:file2 -e *.*
-o b:file3 -e *.*
-o b:file4 -e *.* -x<cr>
Of course you will put all this on one line -- PIP's column format prevents me from doing it here, but you can put up to 128 characters on the line.
Explanation:
CFOG's PIP, June 1986, Volume 4 No. 8, Whole No. 44, page 10
by Benjamin H. Cohen
In a recent issue of the monthly RCPM list I noted an entry "GEnie CP/M Roundtable" with the information that a CP/M Round Table has been established on GEnie. According to the listing, you could call 800-638-8369, typc HHH when you get the carrier, then when you see "U#=" <for User Number Equals?"> type ^R5JM11995,GENIE<cr> where ^R is a control-R <which tells the local node to echo> and <cr> is a carriage return. You could then run a demo, the notice said, and sign up if you wanted to. Sysops for the CP/M Round Table are Keith Peterson and Ken Stritzel. Stritzel is the Sysop of the Sun Valley RCPM in Lisle, 105 MB of free software, now running here after seven years in New Jersey. Unfortunately, by the time I called in July that offer had expired, and the sign-up fee is $18.00, but I was able to do was get the following information, which I have edited to conserve space:
The General Electric
Network for Information Exchange
The sign-up fee for GEnie is $18.00 and includes:
Genie service availability:
GEnie is available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, with occasional scheduled outages for routine maintenance. You may use any modem speed up to 1200 baud for the same basic rate. 2400 baud service, available in some cities, is $10.00 an hour extra.
Basic connect rate:
Non-prime time: $ 5.00 per hour
Prime time: $35.00 per hour
Non-prime time is between 6 PM and 8 AM local time weekdays, all day weekends, and on all U.S. national holidays. Prime time is between 8 AM and 6 PM local time weekdays. Local time zones are assigned by state, with Alaska and Hawaii being assigned to Pacific time.
Communications surcharges:
Low density access areas pay a telecommunications surcharge of $2.00 per hour (prime or non-prime time). 2400 baud access, where available, is surcharged $10.00 per hour (prime or non-prime time).
Free uploading:
Uploading to the RoundTable (tm) libraries is free at 300 and 1200 baud during non-prime time.
Processing fees:
Certain special services requiring manual processing are available at the fees listed below:
Change GE Mail Address $10.00
Change GE Mail Name no charge
Paymentmethods:
All Billing for GEnie services is done through Visa, Mastercard, or direct debiting from your checking account via Checkfree. Your payments will be made for the exact amount billed for the GEnie service, according to the following schedule:
Sign-up fee: the day you sign up
GEnie Service: billed monthly or whenever your GEnie usage exceeds $50.00, whichever occurs first. If your monthly bill is less than $5.00 for a given month, you will not be billed until the following month.
GEnieAgreement:
[Major portions omitted]
2. Access to the GEnie Service
You are responsible for the confidentiality and the use of your User ID and Password, for all charges to your account, and for any violation of this Agreement by anyone using your account.
The Company provides other computer services to subscribers to its MARK III Service using the same resources and equipment as it utilizes in providing access to the GEnie Service. Access may be terminated by Company in preference to the availability of uninterrupted, efficient and high quality computer serviecs to MARK III Service clients.
3. Proprietary Rights
All of the information, material and software available for access through the GEnie Service is the property of the Company or of its information providers. You agree not to copy, publish, commercially exploit, sell, transmit or otherwise reproduce that information, material or software, except as may be expressly permitted by the Company or the information provider at the time access is made available to you, and then only on condition that you reproduce and include therein any copyright notice or other proprietary legend contained in the information, material or software at the time of access. You acknowledge that any violation of this restriction is an infringement of copyright or other proprietary rights.
4. Conditions of Use and Access;
Disclaimer of Warranties;
Limitation of Liability
[Very broad disclaimers.]
7. General
b) The Company reserves the right to monitor access to the GEnie Service by its subscribers and to remove, at its sole discretion, without notice, any information, material or software which it believes to be unlawful or objectionable.
Phone numbers for 312 are:
Phone no. Speed Status City
--------- -------- ------ ----
259-5890 300/1200 S Rolling Meadows
346-2868 2400 T Chicago
529-6284 300/1200 S Schaumburg
662-4171 300/1200 S Waukegan
726-0350 300/1200 Chicago
750-0501 300 Chicago
931-4550 300/1200 Elgin
945-5730 300/1200 S Deerfield
983-9444 2400 T Naperville
"S" means a $2 per hour surcharge for non-dense areas, and "T" indicates 2400 baud surcharge of $10 per hour. [Phone numbers
for other area codes are also available.]
If you have any questions about GEnie, you can contact GEnie Customer Assistance at 800-638-9636, extension 21. To sign up on line and try it out, call the number in the first paragraph.
CFOG's PIP, June 1986, Volume 4 No. 8, Whole No. 44, page 11
by Jim Holmes
Most of us who use a computer on a frequent basis feel we've "mastered" the software we use regularly, yet every time I have a talk with other frequent users I come away with a few new tips. Many of these "new" tips are things I once had used, but had forgotten. To stay fully "on top of" such powerful, sophisticated programs as WordStar, dBASE or SuperCalc is beyond most everyone, except the few who teach these programs on a daily basis. To the new user, these programs (and others) may be overwhelming. User groups were formed to help the members share experience and skills. Many books (some good, some bad) have been written to aid users with their applications software though "full instructions" were provided with the program.
All this is good. I have recommended several fine books here in past issues. I've also bought several "stiff plastic" keyboard templates for my Osborne, (steep at $20 each, but worthwhile). In a "fixed" system these make better sense, but when you're on the road, you invariably leave the books & templates behind.
Not any more! A firm called Educational Systems, Inc. (1000 Skokie Blvd., Wilmette, IL 60091) has come up with MicroRefs and Keyboard Templates, better organized and easier to use than any I have seen before... and they TRAVEL!
I have two (for WordStar & SuperCalc) MicroRefs, which came with Keyboard Templates as well (the Templates are also available separately). They're available for Multimate, Multiplan, Visicalc and Lotus 1-2-3 as well., and the Templates include dBase III plus PC/MS-DOS, WordPerfect, DisplayWrite 3, Sidekick/SuperKey and two re-usable "Write Your Own" formats (vertical/horizontal Function Keys). They also have a template that's a Word Processing Ruler.
The Templates are quite easy to transport. They "fold" to a dime-thin 2 1/4" x 6". Unfolded, they easily attach (with clips provided) to keyboard or computer. Although small, the Templates are VERY useful. The Wordstar Template, for example, lists every Special Print Effects, all the Block features, Cursor commands, File Management and Print commands, etc., AND shows samples of the Keyboard and Special Function Keys for Wordstar controls. There's even a sample Merge Print File, illustration of the Ruler line & Text Format commands.
What else is there? The MicroRef (with Glossary, Index AND a Summary of Commands) details the step-by-step (stroke-for-stroke) procedures for nearly any application. They only promise "...the most often used procedures... ", in practice I've found whatever I've needed has been there when I "looked it up".
The MicroRefs are also compact (4 1/2" x 8 1/2", about 1/4" thick); one slips inside a jacket pocket, two fit side-by-side in a notepad folder. They have a built-in easel so they're easy to read, standing up beside the keyboard on a desk or table. They're clearly written too, and the twocolor, half-tone printing on the Templates and MicroRefs make finding your place easy should have to look away, then back.
The WordStar MicroRef (with Keyboard Template) is $19.95. No template came with my Supercalc MicroRef, but it's only $9.95. To order just the Keyboard Templates (listed above), pick any three for $14.95, any 5 for $19.95 (mix or match). Illinois residents must add 7% sales tax, and EVERYONE must add $2.00 shipping (for a single "item"; $3 for 2 or more items). You may order by phone toll-free. The number is 1-800/323-6043 (IL 1-800/942-6077); VISA and MasterCard are accepted.
Best of all, when you mention your user group affiliation you may take a 10% discount on your order (not including shipping charges). My thanks to Howard Parks, President of ESI, both for a fine line of products and for supporting the user group community.