|Dͻ
|D |5Diskussion |D
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^C|Eͻ
^C|E |9Blue|E Notes 
^C|Eͼ

Dear |9~3Big Blue^N,
 
     This is my second issue of the disk magazine.  I purchased the first off 
the shelf and subsequently subscribed for a year. I am impressed with the 
quality approach you have undertaken for this magazine.  As some of the 
constructive criticism has suggested in previous letters, room for improvement 
is there.  I think the text articles are great, but more programs should 
balance the content of the magazine.  I think since you are addressing the IBM 
PC audience you'll find that most "readers" would prefer: utilities, 
applications, integrated systems, and other serious software.  Of course don't 
discount our interest in valid and interesting games.  However, with the 
presence of the thousands of public domain games software through a variety of 
sources I would like to see less of these in your magazine and more of the kind 
I mentioned.  I am very pleased to see a section of your magazine devoted to 
graphics.  I am anxious to explore the graphics capabilities of my PC (EGA 
adapter and monitor) and this section seems to be a good way to do that.  It 
seems as though very few programs take advantage of the graphics features of 
this setup. 

    The main reason I am writing this note is to ask a question. I have an IBM 
PC-AT with the (infamous!) 20 Mb hard disk (which by the way is the third one 
for this machine) and one 1.2 Mb floppy drive.  I have noticed all the 
complaints about disk swapping in your diskussion section.  I realize that a 
1.2 Mb floppy disk format option for subscribers is a little much to ask, but 
is it possible for you to make an option on the magazine for installation of 
the magazine to the hard disk?  I have tried to copy the disks onto my hardisk, 
but every time I try to access programs on the second disk it looks at the 
floppy drive and tells me that the second disk is not present.  This would be a 
small project and would save some of the complaints about diskswapping.  Thank 
you, I'll be looking for this option in the future. 
     Keep up the good work at |9~3Big Blue^N.

^RDavid Reiling
^RBossier City, LA

P.S. I suggest that you make disk mailers (stiff cardboard jackets) available
as a product along with blank disks.  This would encourage people to send
comments by disk.

^1> A method to copy multi-disk issues to a hard disk has been outlined in past
^1> issues.  To recap, copy all files from both disks into one subdirectory of
^1> your hard disk, then edit the file STATUS.DAT (on your hard disk; DON'T change
^1> the original copy!) using any text editor such as |E~1BlueLine^1.  Look for the
^1> line following the one with the date (e.g., May, 1987); it should have a 1
^1> or a 2.  Change this digit to a zero (0).  Now |9~3Big Blue Disk^1 should run on
^1> your hard disk with no problems.
|5

Dear Sir;

  I am very happy with your publication.

  I have a suggestion: in one of your publications why not include a RAM-disk 
like program, to work on DOS 2.0 or higher.  I'll bet you will sell many more 
copies.  Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. 

^RJames Sullivan
^RBoca Raton, FL

^1> A public domain RAMdisk program called |E~1MemBrain^1 is available for download
^1> on Soft Fido, our bulletin board system.  You can call it at (318) 636-4402
^1> at any time of the day and night; there is no charge for access other than
^1> your long-distance telephone bill.
|5

Dear |9~3Big Blue^N, 

I like your disk magazine, especially the Cross programs. I was unable to run 
your magazine from a RAM disk on my 640k single drive PCjr and running the 
program in the single drive mode is the pits. 

One way to solve this problem is to copy the necessary DOS files to a RAM disk 
(drive C on my computer), tell the computer that drive A is now drive C (use 
the DOS assign command), change to drive B, insert the |9~3Big Blue^N disk and 
type "GO".  The program runs from drive B and its DOS calls to drive A are 
transferred to drive C where you have copies of the DOS files.  I assumed that 
the only DOS files your program would use are command.com, graphics.com and 
ansi.sys.  This may not always be true, but if necessary I will just copy all 
the DOS files to the RAM disk and then I've got you! This strategy should work 
on other single drive systems with enough memory for a RAM disk. If you write 
your own batch file to do this make sure it is copied to the RAM disk along 
with the DOS files. 

Below is the batch file I use to run ^9Big Blue^N on my system. This batch file must 
be named GOBLUE.BAT and be on the DOS disk. I boot up my system with a 360k RAM 
disk, type GOBLUE and follow the prompts in the batch file. After you exit 
|9~3Big Blue^N you should type ASSIGN then enter to regain access to drive A. I 
usually forget to do this until I try to access drive A and find that I have 
been transferred into drive C. 

^C~B|0                                         ^0
^C~B|0   ECHO OFF                              ^0
^C~B|0   COPY A:COMMAND.COM C:                 ^0
^C~B|0   COPY A:ASSIGN.COM C:                  ^0
^C~B|0   COPY A:GOBLUE.BAT C:                  ^0
^C~B|0   ECHO ON                               ^0
^C~B|0   rem INSERT BIG BLUE DISK 1 IN DRIVE   ^0
^C~B|0   rem PRESS ENTER                       ^0
^C~B|0   ECHO OFF                              ^0
^C~B|0   ASSIGN A=C                            ^0
^C~B|0   B:                                    ^0
^C~B|0   GO                                    ^0
^C~B|0                                         ^0

( Note to the editor: This batch file is on this diskette. It would be very
helpful to single drive readers if you could put it on your magazine disk.
Typing a program from a magazine is also the pits!)

^1> Thanks, Dennis, the batch file is on this disk under the name GOBLUE.BAT.
^1> Note that |9~3Big Blue Disk^1 does not require either GRAPHICS.COM or ANSI.SYS.

I would like to see your magazine add a PCjr section to aid jr owners who
are upgrading their systems or just trying to get the most out of what they
have. There is a real need for this service as the rest of the computer
press has abandoned the jr in spite of the large number of active users.
From reading your magazine it seems that about half your letters are from
jr owners. Good idea? Well maybe yes, maybe no, maybe maybe, let's do it.

^1> At this point, the author included his column, The PCjr Sector.  We liked
^1> it so much, we decided to include The PCjr Sector elsewhere in this issue 
^1> as an article. 

^RDennis Wodtli
^RPortland, OR

^1> The method outlined above for copying |9~3Big Blue Disk^1 to a hard disk should
^1> work for RAMdisks as well.  However, copying the entire contents of an
^1> issue onto a RAMdisk every time you wish to use it is rather time-consuming,
^1> so it sounds like your own idea of putting the DOS system files on the 
^1> RAMdisk is really the way to go.
|5

Editor:

I just finished going through issue #4 and was impressed with the content.  I 
have a subscription to another disk magazine in Shreveport and was curious if 
this one is from the same company.  I have been disappointed in the quality 
and content of the other one.  I have purchased the first 4 issues from a 
newsstand, but now I have enough confidence to try a subscription of |9~3Big 
|9~3Blue^N. 

There are a few items I would seek improvement in.  First why can't |E~1BlueLine 
editor be compiled?  It would seem to me that having a compiled version would 
be a lot more portable, especially to those that have only one drive.  And 
also, it would be nice to have word wrap.  It would then be a good ASCII 
editor and a mini-word processor.  Second, I don't believe it would have to be 
included in every issue.  It takes up valuable space that could be, say, used 
to enlarge Bits and PC's.  Maybe include it every fourth issue.  Third, I wish 
you could limit games to a maximum of one an issue.  I really don't believe 
that there is a large amount of MS-DOS users interested in games.  I did enjoy 
'Watergate' even though I have been reminded of it often enough by the news 
media as of lately.  More utilities etc. and less games would probably make 
more people happy.  Third, that was a very nice touch, including a full blown 
program along with a discount to register it.  I believe a lot of Freeware 
authors could benefit by your continuing that practice.  I'm also confident 
you would increase your subscriber base considerably.  I also believe there 
are enough small independent software firms that could issue a program for 
distribution through your disk in an abbreviated form that could still be used 
and a coupon or some other incentive to order the complete program. 

That's enough rambling for now.  I still believe you have the best disk 
magazine going.  I also believe Mr. Hood was overly critical.  If you didn't 
change anything, you would still be leagues ahead of the competition.  So, 
keep up the good work and keep producing quality merchandise.  I am including 
a check for a subscription. 

^RJerry Dumer
^RAmarillo, TX

P.S.: I also enjoy wordy software reviews, as long as they are of good quality 
software and are not just a plug for the item, but a good review listing pros 
and cons.

^1> The only other disk magazines that we publish are |9~3Softdisk^1 for the Apple II
^1> series and |9~3Loadstar^1 for the Commodore 64 or 128.  The magazine on disk you
^1> have is probably I.B.Magazette, which is also published in Shreveport.
^1> They are a completely different company, with no connection to |9~3Big Blue Disk^1.
^1>
^1> The |E~1BlueLine^1 editor ^0is^1 compiled.  It is written in Turbo Pascal.
^1>
^1> The problem with not including |E~1BlueLine^1 in every issue is that every issue
^1> is the first issue for many of our readers.  We want all our readers to be
^1> able to participate in this discussion right away, instead of having to wait
^1> months for us to run the |E~1BlueLine^1 editor again.
^1>
^1> Since ^EBlueLine^1 does run every month, we keep the disk space it uses down to
^1> a minimum by keeping the program simple.  If you want word wraps and other
^1> such features, use a full-featured word processor, such as |E~1PC-Write^1, which
^1> was included as our Blue Plate Special on issue 4.  We also conserve disk
^1> space by compiling |E~1BlueLine^1, and other Turbo Pascal programs, as chain files
^1> which need the runtime routines in PASRUN.COM to run.  Thus, you must invoke
^1> it by typing PASRUN BLUELINE, which may have been what misled you into
^1> thinking some kind of interpreter was involved.
^1>
^1> We attempt to strike a balance between different kinds of software in our
^1> magazette.  Whatever mix we use is bound to please some more than others.
^1> Serious, useful programs are a major part of this mix; you will find these
^1> in the "Helpware" section every month.  However, fun and games are also
^1> important.  The concept that "MS-DOS users aren't interested in games" may
^1> be conventional wisdom, but we believe there is a large market out there
^1> which does care about such things, particularly now with the availability of
^1> cheap "clones" which are penetrating the home market.  This market is not
^1> adequately serviced by the conventional publishers, who seem to assume that
^1> all IBM PC's are in a corporate environment.  Hence, we have many features
^1> of interest to those who want to have some fun.
|5

Dear |9~3Big Blue^N:

I just bought #4 and it is a danged sight better than #1.  Thanks for the good 
work and keep it up.  I have sent in my subscription card today. 

^RBrian Murrey
^RIndianapolis, IN
|5

Hi...!

The Hurricane Tracker and associated "Weather" programs are GREAT...!

I have a group of retirees here in Florida - The "Bingo" caller will help 
them.

Where in blazes is the "BLUE-LINE" to use a disk?  (Step by step)

The disks you sent me (4) have the ^1BEST^0 graphics I have yet seen.  Even 
the Color Brown is present!  3 are useful -- I have NO games until this (5 
years on APPLE /// Computer.) 

I have the updated Cat-Writer (I do not like their codes!)  I am very used to 
APPLEWRITER 2.0 and AppleSpeller ///.  A list of repeat words is AUTOMATIC 
with that!

Word 3.0; WORDSTAR (that's crazy!) Leading Edge -- NONE are as comfortable as 
AppleWriter /// $700.00 + and the Writer in SYMPHONY has ^1NO^0 Word Count or 
Repeat List.  I have been taken!

Compaq DeskPro uses MS-DOS -- IT'S NOT FINISHED!  (18 Mos. on that; 640K and 
Amdek Color -- Looks GREAT!)

Where can an AUTOEXEC.BAT be found that will allow MS-DOS the EFFICIENCY of 
SOS...?

I did not get any "Glasses" in the second package.

My billing lines are all black.  I am not able to stop the cursor there.

^RRobert Scattergood
^RSt. Petersburg, FL

^1> The |E~1BlueLine^1 editor can be run by selecting its entry on our menu.  
^1> Positioning the cursor and pressing RETURN should run it.
^1>
^1> Black lines on the menu are just headers; they do not have any program or
^1> text associated with them, so you cannot select them.  Thus, the menu cursor
^1> skips over these lines.
^1>
^1> An AUTOEXEC.BAT file can be set up to automatically run whatever program
^1> you want by simply appending lines containing the commands as you would
^1> enter them from the keyboard.  This can be used to mimic the action of
^1> Apple SOS and other operating systems which can boot straight into a
^1> program.
|5

Dear Sirs,

I would like to put AFRICA.EXE on my GAMES disk, but find that it requires 
BRUN20.EXE also on the disk.  Since BRUN20 eats up so much disk space, it's 
impractical to put it on the disk also.

Can you please tell me how to get AFRICA.EXE to stand alone?

^RJohn A. Gill
^RSeabrook, TX

^1> There is no way to make AFRICA.EXE work as a standalone program without
^1> re-compiling it, which requires the source code (which we don't supply on
^1> our disk) and the QuickBASIC compiler from Microsoft.
^1>
^1> Doing so won't really save you much disk space, anyway, since a standalone
^1> version is longer, and if you have several such programs on a disk, the extra
^1> size will add up to more than BRUN20.EXE takes up.  That is why we compile
^1> BASIC programs so they require the separate runtime file; just like the use
^1> of PASRUN.COM for Turbo Pascal programs mentioned above, it is the most
^1> efficient way to store programs on our disk to give you the most for your
^1> money.
^1> 
^1> Best bet: start a second GAMES disk; blank disks are cheap.  See the flyer 
^1> enclosed with this issue for details on how to order diskettes from us. 
|5 

Dear Sir:

It was with high anticipation that I purchased |9~3Big Blue^N No. 3.

With a PCjr with 256K memory, I was beginning to give up hope of finding a 
magazine that came out on disk.  Commodore and Atari all have appeared in such 
a format, but this was the first one for a PCjr that I have been able to find.

All went well as I was browsing through the text articles.  Then I tried to 
run the Africa game.  All I received was an error message, Program Too Large.  
That did not bother me too much since maybe it was very involved and might 
have demanded a little more than my PC had in it.  So I went on and tried 
several other programs.  Same result.  My next step was to pull a short 
program XREF off the disk and try to run it by itself.  This also produced a 
"Program Too Large" error notice.

The disks came with small tags with them labeled Issue 3 Disk 1 and Issue 3 
Disk 2.  Is there a possibility that there is an error in RETURN or BRUN that 
is causing this error message?  Is this a problem that is unique to my machine 
or is there a quick fix available?  It is a 256K PCjr that operates on 2.1 
DOS.  I appreciate any help that you can give me.

^RC. E. Stevenson
^RSyracuse, NY

^1> We've had several other PCjr users with the same problem.  It seems that
^1> some of the memory expansion units for the jr are not properly recognized
^1> by MS-DOS or other programs.  To see how much memory your system thinks it
^1> has, type the command ^0CHKDSK^1 while your DOS system disk is in your drive.
^1> One of the statistics it will show is your size; if it is given as 131072, 
^1> then your system does not recognize the extra memory, and thus |9~3Big Blue 
^1> |9~3Disk^1 will not run properly.  In this case, consult the manual for your 
^1> memory expansion unit, or discuss the problem with your dealer.
^1>
^1> If your memory size is shown as 256K or more, then the problem might be that
^1> the free memory is not contiguous (all together in one block).  Some PCjr
^1> expansion units do not relocate video RAM, which normally resides at the end 
^1> of the first 128K of memory.  This will not provide a large enough contiguous 
^1> space for a compiled BASIC program (such as African Desert Campaign or XREF
^1> to load. 
^1>
^1> Yet another cause would be if you have installed a RAMdisk or a memory- 
^1> resident program.  These take up memory, and might not leave enough room to 
^1> run programs on |9~3Big Blue Disk^1.  We suggest you don't use memory-resident 
^1> items on a 256K system when you are running |9~3Big Blue Disk^1.
