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^C^1Blue Notes

Dear Mr. &/or Ms. Disk,

   This is my first try at a letter to somebody named "Disk", but here goes. I
stumbled onto Issue 7 at Walden Books and took a stab at it with my wallet. It
was nice, until I found "Streets and Alleys" and then I was stuck. As an old-
time Solitaire player, (probably older than you are), I found it to be
interesting - at least until I found the way to beat it every time - but I'm
getting ahead of myself already - I'll tell you how later.

   Anyhow, at age 56, I found myself playing only the second Comp/game I ever
liked, so I tried Issue 8, found it to be fair, and then sent off for back
copies and subscribed for the next six months - what the hell - live a little.

   Streets & Alleys is buggier than a fire ant mound. The problem with the
swapping usually happens when you are making a bunch of fast moves.  Yesterday I
was moving slow and it swapped the Ace of Hearts for a second Ace of Diamonds
while I was moving. It does it while the card is "picked up" and thus invisible.
In order to beat it regularly, just play out a hand as far as you can, escape
and pick a 0 (zero) shuffle option, cut once and deal. After about 4 to 10 more
hands like that it can be beaten. After that, shuffle once only and cut once
only per hand. Its still tough as `ell, but if you play very slowly and
carefully, you can win about 95% of the time. It has replaced "SOPWITH" as my #1
fun game and there's only two that I really like anyhow.

   At work, I am stuck with a real p.o.s. called an IBM XT. I can usually 
calculate things in my head faster than it can.  I am also stuck with Chevron's 
LOUSY Fixed Disk Organizer, loaded with options I can't get or wouldn't want if 
I could.  Back in 1959, we were Gulf Oil and they sent me to the latest and the 
best IBM schools - for the "650" computer.  It was as big as a house and had 
almost as many features as the $1.95 calculators you buy at the Wal-Mart 
checkout counter.  Then, since I had made 99% in both courses, Gulf's infinite 
wisdom decreed that I never touch a computer again.  Finally, after all the 
others in my classes had either died or retired and Chevron took over, my new 
boss told me that this mysterious Symphony program that generates 84 graphs per 
week had died and I was elected to fix it - NOW!  I inherited the XT with only 
50K left on the 10M hard disk and a totally undocumented macro that went from A1 
to DX108.  He said that if it would be too hard to fix, I could "convert" it to 
1-2-3, since it was easier!  Translation:  he knew less about computers than I 
did.  After fixing the Symphony program and also writing a new 1-2-3 program to 
do the same thing, I fixed my boss - I erased the hard disk on his AT - and 
there was wailing and gnashing of teeth.  After cleaning up the junk files on 
the XT, I had 6.5 M left, but it was so fragmented it took 25 minutes to 
retrieve even a letter on Volks-Writer III.  SO, I turned to my handy-dandy copy 
of Fastback and it is everything you said about it and more. Since then, I have 
used Disk Optimizer with GREAT results, and then re-Fastbacked. 

   I really did cheat a little on my boss. Although I had had no more formal
computer training, my youngest had gone through a TI-99A, a CoCo2 and a Tandy 
1000A with 640K and dual floppies.  Since he moved out in April, I bought myself 
an Amstrad PC-1512SD with 640K, one floppy annd a 20M Hard-card. Also a Citizen 
MSP-20 printer. This is what I am now using - 2.1 DOS on Ole' Molasses at work 
and 3.2 DOS on Speedy (8Mhz) Ling-Chow at home. 

   I have lots of really GOOD recipes I can send you, but don't know the exact
procedure you want me to use. Let me know. I also have LOTS of good ethnic jokes
to tell you - down here, they're called Aggie Jokes, and no one gets mad. - -
What the hell, here's two quickies:  Do you know why all Aggies paste their
diplomas in the rear windows of their cars?  -  So they can park in the
handicapped parking places. Do you know what they call a skeleton in a closet at
Texas A & M?  - The winner in a game of Hide and Seek.

^CUntil next time,
^CKeep disking!

^RBob Talley
^RNederland, Tx

P.S. This here disk ain't but half full - I'll go ahead and give you a few.

^1> The recipes are in the next menu item.
|5

Dear Editor,

   Just a note to tell you how much I like your magazette.  I have not tried any
of the others on the market yet.  I usually read the contents carefully and
yours is the only one that appeals to me.  I have bought yours twice now, but it
is not available at the newstand here in Guerneville.  I would subscribe except
that it is a lot of money for me to spend in one lump.  So I'll keep buying the
issues I like.

   I have a new internal modem in my TANDY 1000SX which I have a lot of trouble
getting to work with DESKMATE II, which comes with the TANDY.  Trying the
PROCOMM program has been enlightening.  My modem obeys!  One goes on and on
trying a new piece of equipment and nothing happens.  But use the right
software, and bingo!  Success.  It's a great feeling.

   I am new to computers, only five months now, but I like my TANDY.  I have
tried IBMs and APPLES and a WANG.  I will happily put my 1000SX up to any of
them.  I enjoy your news, applications, computer ops.  I haven't had any luck
with utilities, probably because I don't know how to use them.  I have PC-FILE
from issue No. 7 which is a great program.  Unfortunately I really have no real
use for it.  Someday I may catalog my books, but that would take about six
months just to copy everything in.

   My principal interest is in learning new software.  I often buy programs just
to learn how to use them.  A feature I would like to see in the future is a
regular review of software.  Most of the computer magazines feature software
reviews as an ongoing department.  Usually they only review expensive,
commercial products.  It would be nice to read reviews of shareware.  Having
recently discovered this genre I am surprised that the regular magazines ignore
this entire market.  Perhaps it is because they do not have large advertising
budgets.  Your publishing of shareware is an excellent idea for you, for
shareware authors, and for me, the end user.

      Best regards,
^RJohn A. Nelson
^RGuerneville, CA

^1> We do publish occasional reviews, but we don't wish to fill too much of our
^1> disk space with straight text rather than interactive programs.
|5

Gentlemen,

   It was with great dismay that I opened my small brown mailer with Big Blue
Disk Issue #10 tucked inside. Conspicuously gone was the "Cover" and index that
has always accompanied the disk programs in the past.

   I enjoy your "Disk Magazine" and I save the covers with the disks in a three
ring notebook binder. I am sure that the disks you sell off the rack in places
like Waldenbooks still have a well designed cover. Why are you about to short-
change your faithful longterm subscribers! I also subscribe to PC Magazine. They
do not rip the cover off the magazine before they send it to me.

   If this is a change in your policy, it is the first change for the worse you
have made.  If the change is for economic reasons, raise your rates; don't lower
your standards.

^RGene Fox
^RSmyrna, DE

^1> Actually, the main reason for the change was because our packaging didn't
^1> fit in many people's mailboxes.  We're presently re-thinking our packaging,
^1> and will probably be making some changes in both our retail and our mail
^1> packaging within the next few months.
|5

Hi.

   How do I start the Family Tree program if I have copied all the related files
to a separate disk?

   The disk it comes on doesn't have any room to save my additions.

^RDonald Redding
^RCharlotte, NC

^1> Type PASRUN FAMILY.  From now on, we are including information on how to run
^1> each program in its "READ IT" file.
|5

Dear Sir,

   Do you have any advice, or know where I could obtain some, about transferring
files in TI 99/4a format to IBM-PC format?  About 15 months ago, a company
called Intelpro of Brossard, Quebec, Canada advertised a technique called PEP
(Printer Emulation Package), but I haven't received a reply to my recent
inquiries, so I suspect that they are no longer in business.  I don't have a
modem.

   I was very interested to read the results of your reader survey, and also 
surprised that the share of IBM owners wasn't larger, but then I was also not 
surprised.  I haven't yet bought my first PC.  Instead I am using the IBM at the 
office, while I save up and decide which PC to buy.  I was aiming for an IBM 
despite its cost, because I move around a lot, and therefore cannot cultivate a 
local clone dealer, and need assured availability of service.  Also, my employer 
is heavily IBM equipped.  However, when I wrote recently to IBM, I got a very 
much indifferent response.  I got the feeling that they were not very interested 
in the small individual.  If you are not a large corporate buyer, forget it.  I 
don't feel like paying a high price and then getting second rate service. 

^RJohn R. R. Bingham
^RStord, Norway

^1> Any readers know more about the TI-99/4a transfer situation?
|5

Dear Big Blue Disk:

   I have just finished a very enjoyable session with Big Blue Disk #9 and was 
very surprised with a letter from Judith R. Weaver.  I too had a Leading Edge 
Model D configured with 640K and the Magnavox model 8CM515.  I also experienced
the same problem with the screen going black when running certain programs.

   My first response was that the monitor was not completely compatible with 
the Leading Edge CGA.  So I returned the monitor and exchanged it for the 
Magnavox model CM8562.  Not only was the CM8562 $100 less expensive, but the 
black screen problem has vanished.

   Another problem I have encountered is with the Microsoft Mouse.  When I 
loaded the Mouse files I would receive the following error:

   Unexpected SW interrupt (33) at 57E2:26EB

   I placed a phone call to Leading Edge technical support and they told me 
there was a bug in the ROM BIOS version 2.01.  They have a patch available to 
correct this problem which worked fine.

   I am looking forward to many more issues of your magazine!!!

^RBarry L. Gray
^RNewcastle, CA
|5

Dear Editor,

Reader Mark B. Fineman, Ph.D from Hamden, CT asked in issue 11 if there is
a memory resident program to get back to the operating system after using
games that don't.  I, too, would like that one answered as I have several
games which have no way out except shut the PC off.

Also, when paging through the text and trying to go past the end, the screen
shifts back and forth and beeps, but when it settles back down the leftmost
characters are no longer visible.  This is annoying, and I have to leave the
program and re-enter to continue.

                                          Sincerely,
^RJohn T. Sargent
^RChattanooga, TN

^1> The problem you had with messed-up screens was due to an incompatibility
^1> between CGA and EGA boards.  We believe we've fixed it in recent issues by
^1> introducing a more reliable test for what kind of board you have.  If you
^1> still experience the problem, let us know what display adapter you use.
