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|D |5Diskussion |D
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^C^1Blue Notes

GREETINGS to the staff of Big Blue Disk,

   I have been and still am a very loyal fan and subscriber to the very well
put together floppy mag. The programs are excellent and the utilities are
very helpful and useful. Also the "ShareWare", such as MAIL-OUTS and AUTOMENU
and the rest, are just fantabulous.

   Now for the kicker, what the heck happened to the MAGAZINE COVER type mail-
ing package that my Big Blue Disk USED to come in? I even made a special book-
rack to hold and DISPLAY those beautiful covers.  They also made a very good
impression on my friends, and I also think they made the floppy mag more of a 
collectible, and besides, those plain old disks sitting in a plain old plastic 
file just don't do justice to the Big Blue Disk floppy mag. 

^1> You're not the first to complain about the change in subscription packaging.
^1> However, before we made the change, many subscribers complained about how the
^1> larger packages didn't fit in their mailboxes, so they either had to pick them
^1> up at the post office, or else the postman would fold, spindle, and mutilate
^1> the disk while trying to shove the package in the box.  This is what prompted
^1> our change.  We will be rethinking our mailing policies within a few months,
^1> and may work out a system whereby subscribers can get the cover pages just
^1> like our retail customers. 

   Well, other than that "kicker," I don't have any more stuff to complain 
about, so keep up the good work and maybe I'll put a few lines on a floppy 
again, hope-fully thanking you for sending the SUPER Big Blue Disk in the 
manner to which I and the other subscribers are (were) so accustomed to. 

^RRon Hawkins
^RWhiting, Indiana

P.S. Can you tell me where Mr. G. Tobias is from? I once knew a fellow by that
same name when I lived in Hessville, (a suburb of Hammond Ind.) Thanks again.

^1> It's "D. Tobias," and I'm originally from New York.  I've never had any 
^1> relatives in Indiana, as far as I know.
|5 

Dear BIG BLUE DISK,

   I am an UMIMOR (Upper Middle Income Middle Of the Road) person. I have had 
the enjoyment of owning a computer, actually now three, PC, XT, and PS/2 Model 
50, for now 3 months.  It is now 11:00 P.M. and everyone is asleep, except 
myself. I phoned your office one week ago and ordered all 9 of the back issues 
that I had missed and I sit here endlessly at night using and working with 
them. It's fantastic, I love my computers and your BIG BLUE DISK. I wonder, 
can I use my Ansi.sys commands and put your magazine in colour in my letter? 
My typing skills appear to not have failed me since grade 9 (20 years ago). 

^1> Sorry, we don't use ANSI commands in BIG BLUE DISK since not every user can
^1> be counted on to have ANSI.SYS loaded.  We have our own imbedded color-change
^1> commands to use in text files, but their use is rather tricky, since there are
^1> numerous color combinations that don't show up on some kind of monitor or
^1> other, and hence must be avoided.  Perhaps sometime we'll explain how to use
^1> our embedded commands to "pep up" your comments, but that would take a whole
^1> article in itself.

   I hope not too many people at your shop are reading my letter, you know it
sounds kind of strange to me, but I like typing and the thought of writing to
you is neat. This is the first time that I have written to a magazine (disk)
ever.

   I'm a dentist in Canada, just outside of Toronto and was able to pick up
your BIG BLUE DISK from Vancouver when I was there 6 weeks ago. I find that for
myself it has items that are below me, right on target, and above myself.  So I
would say that you are putting out a fantastic magazine. I am happy with most of
the articles and have been spending hours going through my back issues.  Sorry
to hear that some people don't like the disks, but one must be flexible enough
when using a disk subscription.  Not always will everything be to ones' liking
but then when in life is anything like that?

   It is nice to see items like PC-Write, which if bought separately would
cost many more dollars. Some of the games are quite usable even to the likes of
my 4 and 7 year old sons, and some even tax my abilities (not hard!). All in
all I would say that you have accomplished what is difficult to do in trying to
accomodate the majority of your diskers.  (strange word? -- is that like 
subscribers?) 

   What I would like to know, with my limited knowledge, is how to be able to
run a listing of your programs.  I would like to be able to dissect the programs
in order to understand how they work, in order that I may be able to use expert
knowledge to supplement my miniscule amount of computerese. (Did that sound
sincere enough?)  From what I read in one of your readers letters you alluded to
how to be able to list the programs, but could you tell myself in plain English
how it is possible?

^1> Sorry, our programs are compiled, so there's no way to list them.

   All in all, I feel that for myself, you are the disk that I have been
waiting for, and all of you keep up the excellent work, for a good job well
done!

   Thanking you sincerely,

^RDr. Peter A. Lemiski (Dr. Pete)
^ROakville, Ontario, Canada

^1> You're welcome!
|5 

Dear Big Blue Editor:

   I have just finished volume 11 of the "Big Blue Disk".  I was so impressed 
with the first volume I read (#10), that I entered my subscription for two 
years.  I showed Big Blue Disk to my friends at work and they were equally 
impressed.  I agree with Robert Irons of Juliustown, NJ (volume 11).  A demo 
disk would definitely help introduce PC users to your magazine.  Most of the 
people that I showed your magazine to did not even know it existed on disk.  
Sounds like a great marketing move to me! 

   The program "Family Tree" in volume 10 was one of the features I liked best 
about that issue.  In trying to run that program outside of Blue Disk, you did 
not give the command to boot it up like you did with the other programs that 
were on the disk.  However, in copying the Blueline program, I realized what 
needed to be used.  [Type ^1PASRUN FAMILY^0.]

   One of your readers was complaining about reading articles off of the screen.
My answer to that is buy the hardcopy!

^1> Sorry, we don't sell any hardcopy version.  There is a function key option
^1> to make a printout of BIG BLUE DISK articles, though.

  The magazine is great as it is and I can see from the letters that many 
others agree with me.  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! 

^RSig Romeika
^RRoanoke, TX
|5 

Gentlemen:

   I was first aware of your magazine when I came across it in a bookstore and 
was very impressed.  Therefore, as a family, we subscribed to your magazine 
and have received issues from 7 thru 11.  We have all been satisfied with the 
magazine. 

   However, I am disappointed with the recent change in your mailers.  One of 
the most appealing features of your magazine was the unique packaging of the 
plastic holder for the "Big Blue Disk".  This made it very easy  to store and 
keep from being damaged.  Especially when some of your readers are children, 
which is the case in our family..... 

   We would like to see the packaging back on your old format which is what I 
feel we had signed for when subscribing to the magazine at $70 for the 
subscription. 

   Looking forward to receiving "Big Blue" the way I remember seeing it on the 
magazine rack. 

^RRafael Ramirez
^RHurst,Texas

^1> See our comments to Ron Hawkins above.
|5 

Dear BIG BLUE DISK,

   I have a Radio Shack 1000 EX IBM PC compatible.  I was making a copy of 
Willy the Worm [on BIG BLUE DISK #11], and interrupted the copy procedure.  
Now it will not reboot.

^RClifton G. Burns, Sr.
^RDearborn, MI

^1> We have replaced your disk with a new copy free of charge.
^1>
^1> We've been getting several complaints of files being wiped out after users
^1> run our "Copy It" command.  Apparently the system is attempting to copy files
^1> onto themselves.  A possible cause of this is if you enter an incorrect drive
^1> letter, or swap disks incorrectly on a single-drive system.  Never enter the
^1> same drive letter as you are running BIG BLUE DISK in; single-drive users
^1> should type B and swap disks when prompted: insert your own blank disk when
^1> asked for the disk for drive B, and the BIG BLUE DISK when asked for the disk
^1> for drive A.  Dual-drive users, or users copying to a hard disk, shouldn't
^1> have any problem if they correctly specify the drive and path to copy to.
^1> Please note that if a subdirectory is specified, it must already exist; the
^1> "Copy It" command won't create it.  Use the MD command while in DOS to set up
^1> a subdirectory.
^1>
^1> At any rate, fixes made to our system effective last issue should end the
^1> chance of destroying any files on your original BIG BLUE DISK even if you
^1> accidentally specify the wrong drive to copy to.  However, if you specify
^1> this correctly, and still fail to successfully copy the files, please let
^1> us know and tell us exactly what you did and what your system configuration
^1> is.  If there's really a bug in this command, we'd like to know!
|5 

Dear Dennis Wodtli,

   In your article on the PCjr in BIG BLUE DISK #7, you asked for comments 
regarding the Racore Drive 2 Plus unit.  I purchased the 20mb 512K conversion 
in August of 1986 and have used it nearly daily since.

   The bottom line opinion I have regarding this machine is that, on balance, 
it is a good-performing, valuable extension of the PCjr, as long as one does 
not expect IBM-level quality/reliability.  As with most compromises, there are 
a few problems that one learns to live with.

   Summarizing the best characteristics I found with the Racore unit:

     1. Good price/performance
     2. Excellent disk speed with cartridge Lotus 1-2-3, word processing,
        accounting/agricultural applications written in BASIC, games,
        macro assembler/linkage editor, CAD applications written in BASIC
        and assembler, file manipulation applications written in BASIC,
        and DOS 3.2.
     3. Adequate overall reliability (512K memory, DMA, clock/calendar,
        printer adapter have been flawless)
     4. Easy to install both hardware and support software
     5. Good documentation
     6. Compact unit, excellent appearance
     7. No "showstopper" incompatibilities

   Problem areas:

     1. Had to return unit to Racore to get the hard disk/controller to work
        adequately:
            a) Approximately 30-minute warmup was required,
            b) After 2-4 hours of operation, unit would begin failing with
               hard disk errors and file loss,
            c) Approximately 190K of bad tracks when formatted, while disk
               manufacturer's report claimed 12K of bad tracks,
            d) Occasional memory errors after 2-4 hours.
        Service was prompt and corrected most of the problems.

     2. Warmup still required on cool/humid days - usually around 30 minutes
        for reliable access to all files (large files and ones nearest the 
        outside are the last to be readable).

   Minor problems/incompatibilities:

     1. Cartridge BASIC - Racore recommends running only in 128K, no DMA, jr
        mode; however, all but medium and high density graphics seem okay in
        PC mode.

     2. If the system is reset after running for a while, you may get a "scary"
        Racore fixed disk error message.  Power off/on clears it.

     3. Some commands and programs throw peculiar graphics onto the screen in
        PC mode.  Example: COPY C:FILE D:FILE where D: is a vdisk and FILE is
        large.

     4. Hard disk bad tracks remain greater (30K) than manufacturer's track
        analysis claims (12K).

     5. No auto-park when powered down.

     6. It is (maybe was) hard to buy direct from Racore, their sales
        department ignores correspondence.

     7. There ^1may^0 be some compatibility problems with standalone programs
        in memory above 128K.  For example, Flight Simulator cannot use the
        extended memory and the joystick concurrently.

   Lest the above seem negative, let me restate: the bottom line opinion I 
have regarding this unit is that, on balance, it is a good-performing, valuable
extension of the IBM PCjr.  The only cautionary judgment I have is that it may 
best be purchased by experienced technocrats.

   Hope this is useful.
^RRay Aldair
^RNoel, MO

^1> Your comments have been forwarded to Mr. Wodtli.
|5 

Gentlemen and Ladies,

      Some people inherit items from those who precede them.  I inherit items 
from one of whom I precede, namely my son. 

     When he left for college, I inherited his Commodore.   Since he had 
purchased a Zenith z-150, he had no use for any of the software.  (I have more 
than two shoe boxes of disks, and assorted purchased software.) 

      Along with the disks were a variety of very techical books.  Since this 
were of no value to a neophyte, I quickly located two very simple, primer 
style books.  In no time, I learned how to list, gosub, send info to the 
screen and printer alternately, make programs for my younger son--why I could 
almost always understand my older son's first two sentences when he talked to 
his friends in computerese. 

     Now here I am trying to find the apostrophe on a different keyboard--took 
me a full minute the first time I typed on this keyboard. I now have my son's 
outgrown Z-150, with hardly any disks, and no commercial software. (He 
programs whatever he needs, when he needs it). !***this keyboard, I keep 
pushing return for shift, and can never find insert or delete. 

    Thanks to my recent subscription to Big Blue, I'm forcing myself to play 
around with this computer.  It's mind boggling to me, and the Lotus 1-2-3 book 
I purchased is not a 1-2-3, step by step primer as I was led to believe.  Not 
everyone who uses an IBM compatible is a programmer or systems analyst, and my 
son lives too far away to call for explanations. 

     By now, you probably expect me to beg for some information in bits and 
pc's custom-designed for people like me.  What I would like is for you to 
continue to produce a magazette that is varied in the range of subjects 
covered, with graduated levels of prior skills and knowledge assumed.  
Different issues appeal to different people with different needs. 

     From reader comments, it is obvious that different age ranges, some within 
the same family, benefit from your different issues. Don't change your concept 
of what a magazette should be.  At present you are brimful of innovative co-
workers.  Continue to encourage variety and imagination. Some issues may 
appeal to me, others may excite me, and others may bore me to tears.  You are 
trying to appeal to a wide variety of subscribers, and because of that 
variety, you will never produce an issue that appeals to everyone, unless it 
were the latest DOS.  Even then, that one per cent of your subscribers that 
had the latest DOS would feel you had cheated them this time. 

    Hold the line, there is one thing I would like you to do for me, tell me 
how you get those Kramden Utilities to run.  Later when I understand more, 
I'll probably want to use them. I started putting them on one disk as you 
suggested, along with this editor. 

                                 Sincerely,

^RLaura Johnson
^RHarrisburg.Pa

P.S.  This DOS doesn't have an auto.exe mentioned in the Kramden Utilities.
Is that a problem, and if so, how do you get that kind of file onto a disk?
We're talking about a person here who told her son about her new Sears
printer that was epsilon compatible, and as good as an okey dokey. After he
suppressed his laughter, he explained the names, and also told me to bring
back from the trash the printer he had previously given to me.

      Nobody told me some printers do not print graphics.

^1> If you mean 'AUTOEXEC.BAT', this is a file containing instructions that are
^1> invoked whenever you boot the computer.  If one does not already exist on the
^1> disk you usually boot, you can create one with any text editor.  It is a
^1> standard batch file; see the tutorial on batch files in BIG BLUE DISK #11 for
^1> help on creating it.
^1>
^1> To use the Kramden Utilities, read the instructions in their "Read It" files.
^1> They don't run from our menu, so you'll have to invoke them from DOS.
