Bluenotes

^CI Hate These Meeces to Pieces!

Dear Editor:

I look forward to each issue of ^UODM^U with great anticipation, and
so far I have not been disappointed.  Your latest issue (#62)
finally came with the long-awaited mouse support for the menu
shell. Unfortunately there seems to be an incompatibility problem
with my Dell 316LT laptop computer.  For some unknown reason, I
can't get the mouse pointer to move to the lower half of the
screen, no matter how far I move the mouse physically.

^RBrian Conrad
^RHighland, CA

^P
Dear Brian:

The next time you boot your computer pay particular attention to
the mouse driver's copyright screen.  My bet is that you're using
an older mouse driver.  It's time to call the mouse manufacturer
for an upgrade if your mouse driver has a copyright of 1989 or
before.

^RJay

^P
^Fin reply...
Dear Jay:

It looks like you are probably right about my mouse driver being
outdated.  I've determined that the copyright date is 1988.  I
will take your suggestion and contact Logitech regarding an
upgrade.

^P
Dear Brian:

Please let me know how things turn out.

^RJay

^P
^Fin reply again...
Dear Jay:

I took your advice and I downloaded the latest mouse driver
(MOUSE600.COM) from the Logitech BBS.  Then I loaded the driver
into memory via the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and ran ^UODM #62^U.  Alas, I
still cannot move the pointer below the bottom half of the
screen.

^RBrian Conrad
^RHighland, CA

^P
Dear Brian:

We figured the problem out.  I downloaded Logitech's mouse
driver version 6.0 from one of the online services and played
with both the driver and our software's logic.  The problem is
in the logical order of events that mouse driver expects.  The
problem is also only in the Logitech mouse drivers--every other
mouse driver works fine.

I won't bore you to tears with the technical details of the
problem.  To fix all your back issues simply copy the file
ODM.EXE from disk one of this issue to disk one of the previous
three issues.

^RJay

^P
^CIt's All in the Timing

Dear ^UODM^U,

GeoTutor: Europe (^UODM #61^U) is a very interesting program.  In
fact, it came just in time for a history project our son is doing
for school.  However, you cannot make a print out of the country
you select, or at least I cannot figure out how to make it print.

^RBarry Pendleton
^RSanderson, TX

^P
Dear Barry:

The first version of GeoTutor (v1.01) cannot print...we simply
did not have time to add this feature.  The text is stored in the
ASCII file "Geo.Dat", and can be printed with your word
processor.  Most word processors will let you print a particular
block of text, and you can use this feature to print out the data
for one particular country.  Each country's data begins with a
line containing a special code (ASCII 131) and the country's
name.  If you wish to delete these lines, be sure to work only on
a ^Ucopy^U of "Geo.Dat". If you modify the actual "Geo.Dat" file in
any way, GeoTutor may no longer be able to read it!  By the way,
all later volumes of GeoTutor ^Udo^U support printing.

^RJay

^P
^CCan I Work in Your Marketing Department?

Dear ^UODM^U:

I recently received several volumes of utilities from ^UPC Magazine^U
that were loaded into a menu shell.  The disks also included
documentation and a compiler that enables users to use the menu
shell for other utilities or programs.

Suddenly an upstairs light blinked on.  I thought of that glitzy
new shell ^UODM^U introduced in their last issue.  Wouldn't it be
nice if ^UODM^U published a generic version that subscribers could
use to build libraries of their own favorite programs.

Even if subscribers used that impressive new ^UODM^U menu shell to
run software from other sources, the ^UODM^U logo would be on their
screens even more frequently.  Then, of course, their friends
would see that screen and ask where they got the nifty menu
program, and what that ^UODM^U logo represents.

The subscribers would have to pull out all those ^UODM^U back issues
and explain how for a few bucks each month, even less than the
cost of lunch in a fast food joint, users can get a great
computer magazine with all kinds of games and useful programs and
articles... I think you get the idea.

^RTom Tuell
^ROakland Park, FL

^P
Dear Tom,

At this time we have no plans to publish our shell as a file
launcher.  We're glad you like our new look so much, and we'll
keep your suggestion in mind.

^RJay

^P
^CSomeone Who Can Read the Small Print!

I just ran my ^UODM #61^U tonight.  What a pleasant surprise!  This
disk, from the packaging to the presentation, is a great
improvement.  The colors used are better choices than previous
disks; it seems much easier on the eyes and all the text is clear
and distinct.

I am very glad for the "kids-oriented" trend as I am going to
give a gift subscription to my son, whose daughter is five.
Again, I am most happy with your improvements.  Thank you.

^RSam Menefee
^RLeola, PA

^P
Thanks for the kudos, Sam.  You will see more improvements in the
near future.  We plan on using a wider, more defined font for our
high-resolution text presentation system.  This should make it
even easier on the eyes.

^RJay

^P
^CPyramid Solitaire is Great...But

The new ^UOn Disk Monthly^U format is fantastic.  I have ALL your
back issues and to go back and check out the first issue and
compare it with this month's issue really shows how far you've
come.

My only minor problem with this issue (#61) is with PYRAMID
SOLITAIRE.  I just can't seem to get my score high enough to get
on the high score board.

^RRon Hawkins

^P
Clearing the high score list is easy.  Simply delete the high
score file "PYRAMID.HGH" and the game will create a new blank
one.

^RJay

^P
^CAT&T: Stick to Phone Service

On Oct. 16, 1991, I received Issue #61 of ^UOn Disk Monthly^U.  I
went to my computer and put in disk #1, typed GO, and after a few
moments I was back at DOS.  I tried several more times with no
luck. I thought I had a bad disk (that happens from time to
time), so I called your 800# and through my conversation with
your Customer Service people told you that I had an AT&T 6300.
Customer Service informed me that you have made some changes to
the disk and it is no longer compatible with my machine.  I was
told that I could get a full refund on the remainder of my
subscription.

What a way for a subscriber to find out that he is no longer
needed or wanted.  That was hard to take, as I have been a
subscriber since issue #15.  The thing that gets me the most is
that you sit in your office and give your subscribers the shaft,
and the real workers who answer the phones get the flack.  No
wonder it's a great time to be alive.

^RLeo Jasko
^RGlenarm, IL

^P
Dear Leo:

We are working to make our system compatible with the AT&T 6300.
The problem is not with our shell--we develop our software on
100% compatibles and it runs on all true compatibles.  The
problem is the AT&T 6300 and its SUPER CGA card--it's not 100%
compatible.

Here's why: Way back when IBM introduced the CGA standard,
several other PC makers decided to one-up IBM.  AT&T released a
SUPER CGA card and touted it as being better than IBM's.  Indeed,
it was better: it could display 16 colors on the screen in
comparison to IBM's four.  Unfortunately, it was not totally
compatible with IBM's CGA standard and it never caught on with
consumers.

The card seems to have problems with all register level
operations (when attempts are made to bit twiddle the values in
the card's registers).  This only happens with the AT&T Super CGA
card, so we know it's not the software.

A short term "fix" is to use our shell to view all the articles
and run all the programs from DOS.

We are working on this problem, but are working in the dark.
AT&T does not sell this card anymore and we have not been able to
find one to purchase.  Eventually, an upcoming issue will include
a system that will work with the AT&T card.  Simply copy that
system onto all your old ^UODM^U issues and those older disks
will work as they do on all other PC's.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is more.  Upon
finding out about this AT&T 6300 problem, I began to scour the
information services for any problems with this machine.
Unfortunately, I found enough problem notes to keep me busily
reading for several hours.  Here are a few of the things that are
wrong with this "kind-of" compatible PC:

* You can never use a DOS other than AT&T's version of DOS.  DOS
5.0 upgrades will not be possible on this machine.

* Your system clock will not work into 1992 without special
software patches.

^P
Sorry, but it's not the software, it's the hardware.  We are
working on a fix for this weird configuration (unlike most
application developers  who just write the AT&T 6300 off).

^RJay