^C^1Blue Notes

Just a personal note:

Love your "new" format -- finally, a ^1good^0 monthly disk for us IBM diehards.
Get 10^^26 (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,etc.) kudos.  ^1Thanks^0.

^RJerry W. Sutton
^RMcClellan AFB, CA

> You're welcome.

Dear Big Blue:

I just got a modem.  I heard you were running a Bulletin Board System, but I
seem to have forgotten the number.  Can you give it again?

^RKimberly Jackson
^RGary, IN

> Glad to.  Our system, SOFT FIDO, is reachable at (318) 222-3503, 24 hours a
> day.  You can use a 300 or 1200 baud modem to access it.  It features message
> areas on 14 different topics, a variety of download files, and online games
> for users to play.  It's also reachable by FidoNet for message and file
> transfers, as node 380/2.  Be sure to check it out.

Dear Sir,

Congratulations!  Your BIG BLUE DISK is the first piece of software that I
have that will not work on my IBM PCjr.  When I try to start the program I
receive a message that it cannot run because I do not have a CGA adapter.  For
a magazine that claimes to be aimed at the hacker and entertainment market to
miss the PCjr is a crime.  By the way please add this disclaimer to your
package.  I have 384K and the PCjr built in graphic adapter.  I run both PC-
DOS 2.1 and 3.1.  Nothing on the package led me to worry about running the
system.  I find it interesting that yours is the only program that I have had
any problem with.  It is also very interesting that all of the programs on the
disk work fine.  I was able to read your articles using my word processor.

I have looked at the different on-disk magazines for quite some time.  I was
very excited when BIG BLUE DISK appeared at the bookstore.  After looking at
the first issue I was very discouraged.  I found most of your articles to be
much too short and of little interest.  In a print form they may have made a
nice short newsletter.  The programs are nice.  The adventure game looks like
fun.  String-Art is a very nice demo but after the first couple of tries it
loses all interest.  These and the other programs just do not justify the
$9.95 cost of the magazine.  When I contrast what I get in magazines like Byte
or PC Magazine there is no comparison.

I am sorry that this letter is so negative but I was looking forward to the
possibilities of your magazine and feel that I was taken.  I do hope that as
you continue you will be able to add more items to your service.  Until then I
wish you well.

^RRandolph M. Cox
^RNormal, IL

>Thanks for responding.  As you know, the issue of Big Blue you purchased was
>the premier issue.  We certainly don't pretend it's perfect, but just watch
>our dust as we continue to enhance it.
>
>When you compare the price of Big Blue to that of a print magazine, it is
>the old apples and oranges story.  For a magazine like Byte or PC Magazine, we
>agree that $9.95 would be way overpriced, but the point that you missed is
>that where else could you find good SOFTWARE (not in the public domain) for
>about $2.00 per copy.  Big Blue is meant to do what the print media can not: to
>offer programs that do not need to be typed in or debugged, along with such
>things as animated illustrations.  (See our tornado feature in this issue.) If,
>as you said, the adventure game looks like fun, then wouldn't it alone be worth
>the price?
>
>Tackling the PCjr caused a number of subtle compatibility problems.
>Initially we suspected the failure of BIG BLUE DISK to run on a Jr. was due
>to differing memory management, but it turned out to be even simpler than
>that; our subroutine which determines what kind of display adapter you have
>did not give the correct result when you are in 40-column mode, the default
>for the PCjr.  We have fixed this, so issues of BIG BLUE DISK starting with
>this one should boot up fine on your Jr. whether you start in 40 or 80 column
>mode.  If you wish to run the first two issues, however, you will need to get
>into 80-column mode with MODE CO80 first.

Ladies & Gentlemen:

I bought your "magazine" in a local bookstore and have enjoyed the parts I can
read.  I have an IBM PCjr with a Quadram Quadjr expansion chassis giving me 2
drives and 512K.  I have a toggle switch which lets me boot for PC or JR
dedicated software.  Your disk boots fine and I can get through most of the
items on your menu except once in a while my screen stops showing text and
displays weird symbols.  I have printed a couple of pages for you.  My printer
(proprinter) did not print all of the characters on the screen.  If I keep
scrolling I eventually get the last sentence or so and the end of the item.

Is it my machine or is it the disk?  If you can help me I would appreciate it
as I would very much like to subscribe to your "magazine".  However, if I
cannot get decent text (or all of the text) I cannot see spending the money to
get only a portion of what you have to offer.
^RDonald L. Novak
^RHudson Falls, NY

>We cannot explain the "junk" characters you described.  Our own PCjr does not
>do that, but on the other hand we have not yet tested it on a system with the
>Quadram expansion chassis.  Our files do not contain any special or control
>characters.   Let us know if this issue has the same problem for you; we're
>always striving to achieve fuller compatibility with all system configurations.

All-

I don't really want to complain, but as the owner of a 256K PCjr, I thought I
might qualify as a "compatible".  Which I did-- except for your 'pasrun' com.
file and its chains, and having only B&W graphics for the stringart.
Actually, my family has spent several hours with your very nice "hangman"
versions.
^RWinn F. Wikoff
^ROneida, IL

Dear Mr. Golding:

Thank you for the complimentary copy of Big Blue Disk.  Since you invited
comments, here are a few:

    1)  The basic style of the disk (main menu, presentation of text files,
        etc.) is great.  The colors available for IBM's text take away the
        monotony of reading instructions and descriptions on the screen.

    2)  Being forced to switch between an MS-DOS disk and Big Blue Disk each
        time you use a program is extremely annoying.  I realize that DOS
        takes up a large chunk of disk space, but the sacrifice of several
        programs (or the addition of another disk) might be worth it.  In
        fact, a friend who was watching me use Big Blue Disk said he would
        NOT get one for this very reason.

    3)  I was unable to get a listing of any program.  Is this because they
        have been compiled?  Compilation certainly speeds up the programs
        (though this is not always an advantage) but it takes away the ability
        to see-- and learn from-- other programmers' techniques.  That is what
        I like best about the Apple Softdisk.  Don't lose it on Big Blue Disk.

^RChris Benoit
^RWilliamstown, MA

>Thanks for the kudos.  If you are swapping disks constantly, we wonder if
>you have only one drive, in which case it is unavoidable.  For all other
>systems, printed instructions are packed with each issue and no swapping is
>necessary.
>
>Yes, the BASIC programs are compiled because there is simply no space on Big
>Blue Disk for a BASIC interpreter.  There are also problems of compatibility
>with interpreted BASIC programs on various PC "clones," some models of which
>do not even come with a BASIC interpreter.  That does present a problem for
>those who wish to see the listings, and it is something we intend to address
>in some manner.
