info-mac@uw-beaver (06/10/85)
From: Moderator John Mark Agosta <INFO-MAC-REQUEST@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA>
INFO-MAC Digest Monday, 10 Jun 1985 Volume 3 : Issue 7
Today's Topics:
Mac LaserWriter header file (PostScript source)
MazeWars posting
Appletalk cable data
ROM policy (sigh...)
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Date: 7 Jun 1985 2324-PDT (Friday)
From: Brian Reid <reid@Glacier>
Subject: Mac LaserWriter header file (PostScript source)
!
Macintosh LaserWriter header file.
This is a file of PostScript definitions that can be affixed to the
front of the PostScript files generated by Macintosh applications in order
that they can be printed on a LaserWriter that has not been initialized
with the "LaserPrep" package. This situation will arise if you are
trying to share a LaserWriter between Macintosh users and non-Macintosh
users.
Macintosh applications do not normally generate straight PostScript.
They generate a file in PostScript format, but the contents of the file
is a series of calls on functions that are not part of the PostScript
language. This file defines those functions.
This is not the official Apple header file. It is neither endorsed nor
condemned by Apple. I suspect that it probably started out its life
as a bootleg copy of a version of the Apple header file. It has been
slightly modified by me and perhaps heavily modified by various other
people. I have substantially augmented the comments so that they explain
what I think the code is doing.
Brian Reid Reid@SU-Glacier.ARPA
Stanford {decwrl,hplabs,bellcore}!glacier!reid
WARNING: There is no guarantee that Apple will stick to this particular
set of definitions. This header file works with the applicati on software
that came with my LaserWriter; I make no promises that it will work with
the software on anybody else's LaserWriter.
[ This introduction, together with the full postscript source may be
found in:
LASERWRITE-HEADER.PS 26467(7) 9-June-85
This file may be used either as a header file or it may be downloaded
to the printer, so that it "interprets" each incoming file. -jma ]
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Date: Wed, 5 Jun 85 17:59:25 edt
From: roy@nlm-vax (Roy Standing)
Subject: MazeWars posting
Mazewars is a game several people can play over AppleTalk, in which
each player moves around a maze searching for 'enemies' and destroying
them, after which they are reincarnated in a randonmly chosen new
location. When you find an 'enemy' it appears as a huge eye which may
be looking at you, to either side, or away. If it is looking at you,
its owner is seeing you and will undoubtably fire on you if he/she
recovers from the sight of you before you fire. Points are awarded
for destroying an 'enemy', 1 or 2, depending on the conditions.
You see views of the maze on the screen, a bird's eye view and a rat's
eye view. You see your position in the bird's eye view as an arrow,
complete with direction. Enemies are diamond shapes. As you get
close to an enemy, the display of maze-tenants disappears so you HAVE
TO BE CAREFUL. Kindly, you are provided with two keys ('E' and 'T')
which let you peek around corners one poistion in front of you, 'E'
peeks left, 'T' peeks right. I specifically mention this because it
seemed to take an inordinately long time for me to figure out what the
peek commands were doing.
The initial screen tells you the active keyboard keys and their
function. There doesn't appear to be a quit so you'll have to reboot
your Mac when you want to leave the game.
To obtain and play MazeWars, Neil Groundwater's message of April 21,
1985 on net.micro.mac was correct but incomplete. He neglected to
mention that to connect to the AppleTalk network you must invoke the
'CHOOSE PRINTER' desk accessory and choose 'connect to AppleTalk'.
This seems obvious now but I wasted a lot of time thinking that my
system file, cable, or copy of MazeWars must be bad.
[ These are the Mazewars files:
DEMO-MAZEWARS.HQX.1 21891(7) 9-Jun-85
A fun way to test AppleTalk links. Originally
written for the Altos.
.TXT.1 3360(7) 9-Jun-85
roy@nlm-vax (Roy Standing), from Compuserve.
This includes Neil Groundwater's explanation
from Net.sources.mac
DEMO-MAZEWARS-EYEBALLS.HQX.1
23734(7) 9-Jun-85
"Eyeballs, screen and title" are MacPaint files
that Mazewars uses.
DEMO-MAZEWARS-SCREEN.HQX.1
32138(7) 9-Jun-85
DEMO-MAZEWARS-TITLE.HQX.1
17425(7) 9-Jun-85
This is the only "between Mac" application for AppleTalk I know,
Enjoy! -jma ]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jun 85 21:26:51 pdt
From: (Mike O'Dell[x-csam]) mo@lbl-csam
Subject: Appletalk cable data
The connectors are 3-pin miniature DIN connectors. Wiring is as
follows:
pins 1 and 2 are signal - connect them one-to-one, ie pin 1
at one end to pin 1 at the other end
Pin identification: look at the connector pins. They form a triangle
with one pin adjacent to the index notch on the shell. With the
notch UP, the uppermost pin is pin 3, with pins 1 and 2 being in
line horizontally. Got that?
Cable specs:
Conductors: 22 AWG stranded 17 ohms resistance / 300 meters
Sheild: 85% coverage braid
Impedance: 78 Ohms
Capacitance: 68pF per meter
Rise Time: 175 ns 0 to 50% at 300 meters (velocity spec)
Diameter: 4.7mm (0.185") max (for Apple connectors)
I can't find my Belden catalog at the moment, but that looks pretty
mundane. It was designed to be cheap.
This info taken from the Applebus Developer's Handbook.
-Mike O'Dell
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From: crash!bwebster@SDCSVAX.ARPA
Date: Sat, 8 Jun 85 11:40:18 PDT
Subject: ROM policy (sigh...)
> I begin to suspect that there is no policy in place at this time. It
> may be premature to gripe about a non-existent policy.
Sigh . . . I should probably let this drop, but I feel that (1) this
is too important an issue to ignore, and (2) my own integrity is
somehow being called into question. Let's review some of the facts.
(1) I have heard this information from at least *five* completely
separate and independent sources. (2) In three cases, the information
has been volunteered to me, i.e., people have told me about it without
me having asked any questions about it. (3) The sources include the
following:
(a) a large Apple dealer (rather smugly) told me about it when I
made some comment on the price of the Apple 512K upgrade vs.
3rd-party/DIY upgrades.
(b) a university professor had seen my earliest comments on INFO-MAC
and asked Haeberli about it while in a Consortium meeting. Said
professor (whom I didn't know and have never met) tracked *me* down
and told me about it over the phone. I'm not sure what motive the
professor would have for lying about it, since he/she did not want to
be identified. On the other hand, Haeberli would have a strong motive
for, er, equivocating when being asked point blank about it by someone
with no "need to know".
(c) a Mac hardware developer who originally criticized me for
"spreading an unfounded rumor" later sent me a message saying that I
was right, after all.
(d) two Mac software developers told me about hearing similar
information from members of the Mac development team (who have since
departed Apple).
(e) other journalists and Mac users have picked up matching
information.
I suspect that with Jobs being kicked "upstairs" and thus removed from
all Mac decision making, the policy may indeed be reconsidered and
altered. But given all the sources above, I can hardly characterize
the policy as "non-existent". And there is a very real reason for
"griping" about it before Apple officially announces it: once it is
announced, the odds for it being modified are slim to none. If it's
going to be changed, it has to be done *before* it is announced.
..bruce webster..
crash!bwebster@ucsd
{sdcsvax, noscvax,
ihnp4}!crash!bwebster [ These are, of course, my own opinions, etc.]
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End of INFO-MAC Digest
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