^C^1Blue Notes

Dear Sir:

I just purchased your disk magazine "Big Blue Disk" at the B. Dalton bookstore 
in Panama City, FL. while on a visit. 

Having a AT&T 6300 at work, which of course is an IBM compatible, causes me to
always be on the lookout for anything new that I can use, magazines, books, 
and now your great new disk mag. 

I am going to try out as many features and programs in your mag that I can, and
I am already waiting on your next issue. 

I have been working in Jacksonville, FL. for the last two months, and will try 
to get the local B. Daltons to order your mag. If I do not find one that 
carries it soon, I know they are always ready and willing to order anything a 
customer wants. 


^RKeith W. Cruce
^RTallahassee, FL

> Why not subscribe and save yourself some money?
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Dear Big Blue Disk,
     I really like the way you have presented your magazine in this form.
I usually print off one file and read it later. I have some suggestions which 
you may or may not be interested in. 
     What happened to the color of your disk?  I really liked having a
blue disk in the midst of all of my black ones.  It really stood out.  My
friends would say, "What's that?" and I would haul it out and boot it up.
If it didn't cost too much, why not do it again?
     In future issues, it would be very nice if you did popular software
reviews, as well as discount outlets of some mail ordering stores.  I must
admit I am an avid game player, but I do like program mechanics and other
such stuff.  You also might include a list of new software for the IBM,
who cares what the (Cr)apple does or who puts out software for it?  I
don't.
     I would like to take this opportunity to ask an off-the-wall question:
Is Plato available for the IBM?  I can't get anyone to tell me about it or
how to get it.  You guys might know something I don't.  You may or may not
have heard of David Small, but I was at an Atari meeting ages and ages ago
(when I had an Atari) and he showed everyone Plato, a very interesting
Copy of Compuserve, but centered on Educational and Recreational fields.
I didn't ask him about IBM compatibility then for obvious reasons, and I
would appreciate it if you could help me out.
     I wish your articles were a bit longer.  I went through the December
issue in two hours.  If you don't mind a bit critiqueing (that's probably
misspelled, but hey--it's 2 am!) I can see putting in Crapple articles if
you're desperate for material, but I'll bet you're not.  Not that I don't
mind seeing bad news for them, but I think it doesn't fit in an IBM mag.
If some company made an Apple emulator for under $500, I might consider,
but not on the pay of a waiter.
     You're probably asleep by now, and I have really nothing more to add.
This is a really responsive way to get to talk to you, and I am glad you
have taken the time to read this.  I like your mag and format a lot, and
if I had the money, I'd take a subsription.  But I will continue to scrape
up enough each month to buy it.   Please don't take offense at any of my
comments, they're just my lousy opinions.

^RBret Williams
^RAustin, TX

> You must have us confused with somebody else; we never used colored disks
> for any of our publications.  They cost more than the plain black kind, and
> we'd rather spend money improving our product than making the disk look
> cuter.  If prices for such things go down, however, we will consider making
> this truly a big |9BLUE^0 disk.
>
> Since this is a magazine on disk for IBM PC's and compatibles, most of the
> material will be specific to MS-DOS machines; people who want Apple-specific
> things can get our sister publication, SOFTDISK.  However, in sections like
> Ranndom Events which attempt to give a general overview of the computer
> field, we sometimes include accounts of the activities of Apple, Commodore,
> and other non-MS-DOS computer manufacturers.  This is intended to give
> readers of BIG BLUE DISK a well-rounded view of what this whole field is
> up to, rather than just presenting a narrow view.  Often developments in
> one area affect the whole computer world; for example, user interface
> elements first popularized in Apple's Macintosh are now showing up in
> products for the IBM PC.  Our text articles are short because we are not 
> trying to be a print magazine on disk, but are accenting features possible 
> only on disk media.
>
> I don't know anything about Plato... I've used several of the online
> services, but have not run into that one.  If you're looking for something
> to call with your modem, why not try our BBS, Soft Fido, accessible 24 hours
> a day to 300 or 1200 baud modems at (318) 636-4402.  It's free, except for
> Ma Bell's long distance charges.  If you're into E-Mail, you can send
> messages to us from any other FidoNet system worldwide; our node number is
> 380/2.
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Dear Big Blue:

     I love your magazine!  Both issues I have received have contained
programs of value to me, namely the amortization program and the Free Form
Data Base.  However, there are two problems.  At the office, I am working on
a Compaq Deskpro with a green screen monitor.  Although the programs can run
in color, many do not need color, such as the programs I mentioned.  The
problem arises from the fact that some of your color choices are hard to
read when using a monochrome monitor.  Can you make it easier for us?  The
second problem is that I would like to run the magazine at home on a
comparable Compaq Deskpro but one which uses a color monitor.  For some
reason, your menu won't load although I am able to run the programs using the
directory.  Will this problem be resolved soon?  Keep up the excellent work!

^RDiane Worley
^RReading, MA

> There were several compatibility problems with the first two issues on a
> number of systems.  Hopefully they have been cleared up by now; let us know
> if you still have any trouble getting BIG BLUE DISK to run.
>
> As for the color schemes, see the notes in the DISKOVERY section for some
> help on how to make BIG BLUE DISK look best on your monitor.
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Dear Val,

Thanks for the complimentary copy of Big Blue #3.  I'm amazed and very 
impressed that I received Big Blue #3 from you and your new magazette.  It 
speaks very highly of a commitment to the public who I'm sure welcome a new 
magazette.

Now I've got to tell you that after reading your letter I immediately went to 
my PCjr and fired it up.  I first read B.B. #3, then B.B. #1 which I had never 
read.  I spent more than two hours reading and enjoying your magazette.

Now as I had said in my first letter I have enclosed a subscription card for a 
year's subscription.

> Glad you like it.
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^RDave Timmerding

Dear Val Golding,

Thank you for your letter and the new issue of BIG BLUE DISK.  I have found
volume 3 to be a major improvement.  I am looking forward to future issues.

Your fix did correct the error with volume 1.  For your information I was
running from 80 column mode.  The difference seems to be between MODE 80 and
MODE CO80.

From the letter and your own instructions, I can see that many users of a 
single drive PCjr dislike having to insert their DOS disk after running a
program.  I have included a fix that I have found to work well.

You asked for information about your readers.  I am a senior programmer with
10+ years of COBOL experience.  I use my home PCjr for word processing, filing
and games.  I am interested in Turbo Pascal and the C language.  I am not
interested in what the latest super-charged machine will do.  The industry
magazines do a very good job of that.  I am interested in articles that take on
the older machines (pre-hard disk) and make the most of them.  Good tight
re-usable code in BASIC or Pascal would be of interest.  The BASIC utilities
in volume 3 fit this very well.

Again, thanks for the good work that you have done.  I am very impressed with 
the improvement in just a few issues.

^RRandolph M. Cox
^RNormal, IL

> Mr. Cox's fix, which involves use of a RAMdisk, is given in the DISKOVERY
> section along with some other tips on how to make the best use of BIG BLUE
> DISK.
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Dear Big Blue:

After receiving my subscription and reading Diskussion, I just wanted to let 
you know I appreciate your disks.  I have used many of the other magazines on 
disk and must say that I enjoy yours to the max.  The graphics and text are 
great compared to others that are mostly comprised of menu text.  In 
commenting to the people that complain about the price of the disk, I 
appreciate not having to look through pages and pages of advertising to find 
the article I want.

^RKeith A. Holder
^RCedar Creek, TX
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To Mr. Matt Kaufman:

So far my BIG BLUE DISK that I bought was fine, but I never knew how to play 
the game African Desert Campaign.  I didn't know how to attack, separate, or 
to reinforce.  Could you please send a letter telling how to do that.  Thank 
you.

^RFelix Yang
^RWillingboro, NJ

> All this information was given in the program's instructions, reachable
> by selecting the "Read It" option from the BIG BLUE DISK menu.
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Dear Sirs,

Yesterday, I purchased issue #3 of your magazine and tried it in my PCjr 
(640K, 1 disk drive).  I, needless to say, did a lot of disk switching as I 
explored the various items in the menu.

Surely, there must be a way to eliminate the need to keep switching back to 
DOS every time one starts a program, exits a program, or exits BIG BLUE.  For 
example, if I want to exit BIG BLUE, I change disks twice; once, to the DOS 
disk and then, back to the BIG BLUE DISK.  It's even more complex if I'm using 
disk #2.

Is the program looking for COMMAND.COM or something else?  If it's looking for 
COMMAND.COM, then the least you can do is leave space on the disk, so that the 
user can copy BIG BLUE onto a disk formatted with "/S".  In this way, one 
wouldn't need to switch disks.  Or am I oversimplifying?

One more complaint, the command screens are yellow!  These are very hard to 
read and will probably deliver eye strain.  Couldn't you use a color with more 
contrast, such as blue, red, or green?

In spite of my complaints, I did enjoy your magazine and hope you can make the 
needed improvements.

Since you asked, I am more interested in games, screen utilities and software 
reviews than in word processors and other "big ticket" items.  Also, I enjoyed 
your "newsy" editorials.

^RA.R. Wadum
^RSt. Louis, MO

> The reason for the swapping is to get COMMAND.COM.  We don't provide room
> to add this file to BIG BLUE DISK because we want to use all the available
> space to provide programs and other material.  See the DISKOVERY section 
> this issue for a method using a RAMdisk which might solve your swapping
> problem.
>
> Regarding the yellow screens, I'm not sure which screen you're referring
> to.  Can you be more specific?
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Gentlemen and/or Ladies:

Thank you for a computer magazine, (BIG-BLUE), that has most of the features 
that I have always wanted in a magazine.  Keep up the good work.

I would like to share some of my uses of the BASIC command "SHELL".  It is one 
of the least documented commands in any of the books that I have.

The Shell command can be entered from the keyboard or in a program.  Use ^1DEF 
^1SEG = &HB800^0 to hold BASIC's place in memory.  ^1SHELL "spooler /p"^0 to turn
print spooler on or off.  ^1DEF SEG^0 to return to normal.

"Shell" can be used in a BASIC program to control almost any other program.  I 
use it thus to control my Color Ink-Jet printer.

1 '*******Colchng.bas*******
2 'color changer for Desk-mate
3 'By Clayton Hess, Sycarmore, Ill
4 'colors-1,red;2,green;3,yellow;4,blue;5,magenta;6,violet;7,black;8,white.
5 'characters-9,3/4 line feed;10,normal lf;11,1 dot pitch;12,normal pitch;
6 '13,elongated characters;14,normal characters;15,end.
10 def seg=&Hb800 'or &h5c00
15 SHELL "B: 'Changes to drive B, then returns to line 20.
20 INPUT "NUMBER";N ' Enter a number, 1 to 15.
30 ON N GOSUB 100,200,300,400,500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100,1200,1300,1400,1500
100 LPRINT CHR$(27) CHR$(84) CHR$(50) 'Color red
125 SHELL "B:DESK" 'Goes to B and calls "DESKMATE"
150 RETURN 20 'From DESKMATE, go back to DOS.  Program will return to line
160 'following the shell call.  This returns to line 20, and asks for another
170 'instruction.
-
-
-
1500 SHELL "A:" 'Returns to DOS.

I use this method on "Print Master" and many other programs.

200 LPRINT CHR$(27)CHR$(84)CHR$(51) 'Color green.
225 SHELL "B:PM"
250 RETURN 20

If you can use any of this, you may do so.  (No payment, please.)  I use a 
color monitor, and a color printer, so I can print many of the graphic 
pictures in color.

I used the FREE FORM DATA BASE, for a phone file.  It is much handier than 
some of my big file programs.  I especially like the free form fields.

I am a 70 year old retiree, and your magazine certainly helps pass the time.

I thank you again.  I said to my wife a year ago, "that I wish someone would 
come out with a magazine on disk", and now you have it.

^RClayton G. Hess
^RSycamore, IL
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To: The Editor and Staff,

Thank you for the best Disk Magazine I have seen to date.  I do not want to 
commit myself and say I like it, but I picked up the Premier Issue at a book 
store and sent in for a Two (2) year subscription the following day.

I will not say you folks are on the ball but according to my computation my 
check could not have cleared unless you use electronic banking when I received 
issue number two.

Yesterday I received issue number three and I have just now finished scanning 
it.  No way can I say finished it as I will be going back to it again and 
again.  There is a lot of good "STUFF" in there and I have noticed each issue 
is improving over the previous issue.  Keep up the good work.

I have a Tandy 1000 w/two disk drives, 640K memory (compliments Zuckerboard) 
and a Mouse.  Query: Would it be possible in the future to have the menu and 
maybe a couple of programs Mouse addressable?  Oh! by the way I have had no 
trouble running any portion of your so well thought out Magazine.

I wish you well in this endeavor.  I hope you make it.  So many of the 
Computer Magazines have been going belly up as of late.  As one Salmon said to 
the other "if we make it I will see you up stream".

An Avid Computer Nut,

^RVictor A. Staverman
^RAltoona, FL
P.S.:  I wrote this with your Blue Line Editor.

> I'm not sure what brand of mouse you have, but most come with drivers that
> let them emulate keystrokes on a keyboard, such as the arrow keys; if you
> use such a driver, it should be possible to run our menu using a mouse.
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Dear Sir:

I'm really pleased with your magazine (issues 2 and 3.)  I'm sorry I missed 
the first issue.  All the programs have run without difficulty on my computer
(a Leading Edge with 640K and color graphics) with the exception of one.

The "Phone Words" will not run at all except for the "Read Instructions."  I 
have tried all possible key combinations, but the keyboard is completely 
locked out.  To regain control, I have to reset.  No - pressing F-4 does not 
help, although I have found it necessary on other programs of yours.  I would 
appreciate any help you can offer.

^RJudith R. Weaver
^RKey West, FL

> Your problem has us mystified; maybe you got a bad copy.  If the problem
> persists you can send the disk back, and we'll replace it; this might solve
> the problem if it is simply a bad disk.
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Dear Big Blue:

 I love this new idea of a magazine on diskette! It makes for better reading
and learning computers! To bad you couldn't include a sample of the programs
you are reviewing! That is a pretty good idea! It will give a person a chance
to see what a piece of software is like before they purchase it!
Anyways, I would like to tell you about a BBS I am running called:

             --=*)> S O F T W A R E  C O N N E C T I O N <(*=-

 This public bulletin board is for the IBM and COMPATIBLE machines. Right now
I only have 10 meg online, but there will be much more very soon! There are
many different features to this bulletin board!

 First feature is that it is run on one of the best BBS programs available!
That is RBBS. This program is public domain (available on my board for down-
loading) and is VERY much supported! The version is the latest, CPC14-1D!

 Second is that it has a very advanced DOORS system! There is available in
the DOORS:

         o A Bulletin Board listing that allows users to input
           information into the database and allow listings in
           just about ANY order (Phone #, Area code, State, Etc.)

         o A MULTI-USER CHESS game! There are 5 games available
           but there will be more in the future! It is the most
           popular section of the board!

         o ONLINE GAMES! This is the most fun section I have ever
           seen! Right now, I have 6 games online! They range from
           Text adventures to SI-FI game to a game called KILLER
           that lets you play "RAMBO" in New York City! Try to
           escape the killers! Or try to stop a madman in the game
           TIMEDOR! You have to stop him by going back and foward
           in time to change events! There are MANY MORE online!

 
  Third is there are 3 SIGS available! They are a SIG for the IBM, one for the 
TRS-80 Color Computer, and one that has not yet been decided yet! Help me 
decide what to put there! 

  Fourth, there are PLENTY of programs available to download! And more uploads 
are coming every day! There are games, like ZAXXON, QBERT, FROGGER! Utility 
programs like PCWINDOW and ARChiving programs! And communications stuff like 
PROCOMM 2.2.3, QMODEM 2.3, PCTALK III, and more! There are also MISC. programs 
like HEAVENS that is a great astronomy program, and the ENTIRE RBBS-PC program, 
including DOCUMENTATION, CONFIGURE program and MENUS! (Note, it will take 60 
mins 32 sec to download at 1200 baud!) 

                Plus Message base, E-MAIL, and MORE!

        Software Connection is located in Rhode Island and there are
        users as far away as California! The board runs 300-450-1200
        baud, and is online 24 hours a day! Give it a call and find
        out what Telecommunications are really like!

                              401-765-2890

   If you wish to write me, or care to run your own BBS, then please write to me  
              James Williams 
              351 Willow Street
              Woonsocket, R.I. 02895

                    Hope to hear from you soon!
^RJames Williams
^RWoonsocket, RI

> Sounds like a super BBS.  Readers interested in running a system should drop 
> Jim a note.
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