DSEAH@WPI.BITNET (04/12/88)
A Number from BCIT has sent me an index of Apple2-L files. My directory hurts. Thanks, dude! GEOS: A friend of mine has GEOS 128 for his (gasp!) Commodore 128. It kind of sucks, but is pretty good for a Commodore application. Has anybody purchased it yet? I am interested in hearing how it is on the II. CP/M: The same friend is sorely lacking in CP/M software. Is it possible to transfer CP/M stuff from the Apple? Stupid me, of course it is possible! With Apple, anything can be made possible, if slowly. Alright, how do you do it? GAMES: Has Firepower or Alien Mind been released yet? I would really like to hear about these games. Or is there a Computer Games list somewhere around? +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Dave Seah --- Worcester Polytechnic Institute | +-----------------------------------------------+--------------------------+ | Bitnet: DSeah@WPI.Bitnet | We can't receive files! | | Internet: DSeah%WPI.Bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU | EMAIL only! | +-----------------------------------------------+--------------------------+
akuo@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Augie Kuo) (04/16/88)
In article <8804121515.AA05003@wpi.local> DSEAH@WPI.BITNET writes: >GEOS: >A friend of mine has GEOS 128 for his (gasp!) Commodore 128. It kind of >sucks, but is pretty good for a Commodore application. Has anybody >purchased it yet? I am interested in hearing how it is on the II. > As a GEOS developer, I guess if you thought the 128 version sucked, then the Apple version may impress you just as much. However, it does support ProDOS so it has a hierarchical file structure, but since it has about the same reso- lution graphics as the 128 and only running at 1Mhz (vs 2 on the 128) it's rather slow. { For those of you who don't know what GEOS is, it's basically a macintosh-like operating system on the //e and //c. Unlike the Catalyst program, GEOS has num- erous applications already on the market, 5 of them being included in the base GEOS package (three disks total with an interrupt management card for people without mice) - a paint program, a word processor, a spelling checker, a merge utility, and a text grabber for other word processors. We are currently working on porting a desktop publishing program, a spreadsheet (like EXCEL) and a data base program which should be released by summer. } Of course, I think that the novice user (ie kids in school, teachers, etc.) will find GEOS a lot easier and better than the original APPLESOFT operating system ever was. geoWrite (a WYSIWYG word processor like MacWrite) is easier to use and learn than APPLEWORKS, and since it can read APPLEWORKS files, there's no reason not to use it. True, it may be slow, but I think it's advantages - being able to "paste" in pictures from PrintShop, NewsRoom, etc., change styles and fonts (exactly like mac fonts - not weird looking ones from MultiScribe) "paste" text from other files - outweigh the fact that text word processors blitz when displaying text compared to geoWrite. Other than that, go see the program for yourself and decide whether or not you really like it. Looking at something like GEOS really gives you mac envy... ______________________________________________________________ ARPA: akuo@cory.berkeley.edu UUCP: {ihnp4!crash, hplabs!hp-sdd!crash}!gryphon!pnet02!akuo INET: akuo@pnet02.CTS.COM
jetzer@studsys.mu.edu (jetzer) (04/19/88)
In article <8804121515.AA05003@wpi.local>, DSEAH@WPI.BITNET writes: > GEOS: > A friend of mine has GEOS 128 for his (gasp!) Commodore 128. It kind of > sucks, but is pretty good for a Commodore application. Has anybody > purchased it yet? I am interested in hearing how it is on the II. This information is strictly from reading an article about it, so ..... Apple GEOS only supports 4 ProDOS devices. This may not be a problem for everyone, but I've got 5 devices right now, and hope it add another (second UniDisk 3.5). The word processor's "integrated" spell checker only has 28,000 words. This is quite wimpy, when one considers the 80,000 dictionary in TimeOut QuickSpell, or the 114,000 dictionary in Webster's New World Checker. The draw program allows you to use a variety of shades, but no color. The reviewer made some comment to the effect that it was slow and diskbased, but downplayed this aspect. I suspect that it will be painfully slow, unless you use a RAMdisk (my definition of painfully slow: AppleWorks using a 5.25" drive). -- Mike Jetzer "If you can't be right, be forceful"