15. User Groups 16. Sales and Service 16.1. Where do I purchase Commodore Equipment and Software? 16.2. Where do I get equipment serviced? 16.3. How do I know who to buy from or request service from? 17. Miscellaneous 17.1. How fast does a Commodore 64 run? 17.2. How can a turn my NTSC-M 64 into a PAL-B 64 or vice versa? 17.3. What does this IC number mean? + 17.4. What are the differences between C64 ROM Revisions? 18. Credits -----------------------------------------------------------------------= ---- 1. Introduction Welcome to the comp.sys.cbm "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) file. Many news groups maintain a FAQ file which is posted monthly, and is a repository for general interest and common information that many readers of the news group, or new readers of the news group, might be interested in. 1.1. What is a FAQ FAQ is an acronym that stands for "Frequently Asked Questions". Shortl= y after the introduction of USENET, many people noticed that certain questions were repeatedly asked in newsgroups. To minimize the posting= of answers to already answered questions, USENET developed the idea of FAQ files. After a question has been asked a number of times in the USENET newsgroup, it is added to the list of answered questions in the FAQ. Then, readers are encouraged to read the FAQ to cut down on posts of repeated questions. A FAQ file is not solely for newcomers. Experienced users are encourag= ed to glance over the FAQ every so often to check for errors and add items. Also, it seems that everyone gets a question answered by reading the FA= Q, new user or not. 1.2. What topics does this FAQ cover? This FAQ answers questions on just about any topic concerning Commodore computers. Obviously, given the nature of the FAQ file, it is impossib= le to answer every question here, and some topics are too broad for discus= sion in the FAQ. However, when the FAQ cannot adequately answer a question,= it does provide pointers to relevant people or materials. Even though a large number of people use their Commodore computer to program, the topic is much too broad for adequate coverage in the FAQ. = For those interested in programming, however, please see Section 14, "Programming". 1.3. Who decides what goes in the FAQ? Typically, a FAQ file is editted by a single person or small group of people. These editors decide what should go into the FAQ. Obviously, for the FAQ to fulfill its intended purpose, any question that has been asked repeatedly should be included, as should updates to any questions already in the FAQ. The FAQ maintainer should try to provide as up-to-date information as possible in the FAQ. Above that, the FAQ maintainer can include any other information he or she deems or interes= t or value to the readers. For this FAQ, the FAQ maintainer is Jim Brain, brain@mail.msen.com, j.brain@ieee.org, or brain@acm.org. If you have information that you feel should be included, please mail it to Jim. Please be aware that it does take time to include new information. 1.4. How do I retrieve updates to the FAQ? | The FAQ is posted on the 20th of the month to the USENET newsgroup | comp.sys.cbm. It is automatically archived on the FTP site | rtfm.mit.edu and automatically archived on Jim Brain's mailserver. Most Bulletin Board Systems and User Groups have a recent copy of the FAQ, and numerous magazines and other publications have included parts or all of the FAQ on disk or in print in recent months. This FAQ is called the "COMP.SYS.CBM General Frequently Asked Questions List". The latest version of this file may be obtained from the following plac= es: ftp sites: ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/comp.sys.cbm/cbm-main-faq.3.1 ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/faq/cbm-main-faq.3.1.gz ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part* ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/commodore/main-faq/part* ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.answers/commodore/main-faq/part* ftp://bbs.cc.uniud.it/pub/c64/comp.sys.cbm/faq.zip ftp://ftp.armory.com/pub/user/spectre/TEXT-ARCHIVE/comp.sys.cbm.faq.3= .1.gz World Wide Web sites: http://www.msen.com/~brain/faqhome.html Bulletin Board Systems: | COMMODORE CEE BBS (916) 339-3403, FIDONET address: 1:20= 3/999 | VGA Cologne BBS +49-221-9808007 (19.2 ZyXel/ISDN) | -9808008 (28.8 V.FC/ISDN) | FidoNET address 2:245= 0/140 Mailservers: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu. First nine lines of message: send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part1 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part2 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part3 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part4 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part5 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part6 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part7 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part8 send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part9 brain@mail.msen.com (Jim Brain's Mailserver - always has latest copy) Subject: MAILSERV send faq.p* Mailing List To receive any major updates to the FAQ, mail: To: brain@mail.msen.com Subject: MAILSERV Body: subscribe cbm-main-faq Firstname Lastname quit See Section 6 for directions on how to use these services to retrieve t= he FAQ. 2. Overview Obviously, we must walk before we run, and this principle applies to FAQ files as well. Here are some general questions we often receive in the Commodore community. 2.1. Do people still use Commodore 8-bit machines? Yes, people still do. Newer machines may have appeared and taken over = the corporate world, but the Commodore 8-bit machines live on. 2.2. How many Commodore machines are there? If you are asking the quantity of Commodore machines sold, the simple t= ruth is that we do not know. Commodore never officially released any such numbers for all models. It has been estimated that Commodore sold over 10 million Commodore 64 machines, but that has not been proven, as= far as I know. So, if you ever determine exactly what quantity of each mod= el was produced, please pass the information along. If you are asking the number of different models Commodore sold, we hav= e a slightly better idea. Jim Brain has compiled a list of all known CBM products, marketed or not, into the "Canonical List of Commodore Produc= ts". This include all of the Commodore line, including the PCs and the Amiga systems. As it is much too large to fit in the FAQ, it can be requeste= d from Jim Brain's mailserver as file cbmmodel.txt (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on how to access the mailserver). Alternately, the file is posted to the USENET newsgroup comp.sys.cbm on a periodic basis. 2.3. What do people do with Commodore 8-bit machines? People use their machines for very different purposes: Game Console. Home Computer. Experimentor's machine. Small Business Computer. No matter what purpose they use them for, they use them because there i= s a wealth of programs available for the Commodore computer systems. The Commodore line of computers has a seemingly endless supply of quality programs available for it, and more are being created daily. 2.4. What Commodore 8-bit machines are most widely used? Well, it is a fact that all types of Commodore 8-bit computers are s= till in use, but the following machines get the most use: Commodore 64 (include SX64, DX64, and PET64) Commodore 128 (includes 128D and Euro 128D) The following systems manufactured by Commodore still have a devout following: Commodore VIC-20 Commodore PET series Commodore B series Commodore Plus 4 and 16 Commodore C65 + The Commodore 65 (64DX) The Commodore 65 is a recent addition and is the result of a liquidatio= n of some ALPHA stage test machines. A number of people have purchased thes= e test units, and they have a FAQ devoted just to this machine. Much information on this machine is available at ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/c65 In spite of rumors, No company is considering manufacturing the C65. | If you own a Commodore C65, the following people are compiling lists of people who own them. Robin Harbon 542 West Donald Street. Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7E 5Y6 Canada + Gary Pearson + gpearson@mistral.co.uk + The Commodore PET Series If you currently use a PET series Commodore computer or just want to kn= ow more about them, one person is trying to start a magazine devoted to th= ese machine. For more information or to submit articles for the magazine, please get in touch with: Mark J. Kingsbury 25 Latta Battle Creek, MI 49017 Mark_J_Kingsbury@fc1.glfn.org + If you own a Commodore VIC-2 the following individual is planning to + create a list of owners: + Jeff's Ink Press & Deli + P.O. Box 477493 + Chicago IL 60647 2.5. What is the economic status of Commodore? On April 29, 1994, Commodore International announced that it had been u= nable to renegotiate terms of outstanding loans and were closing down the business. In the months that followed, the liquidation process dragged= on, owing to the large far-reaching size of the corporation. In addition, = the fact that the company was incorporated in the Bahamas while a large sha= re of the creditors were from the US made legal proceeding tense and drawn= out. On April 20th, 1995, almost a full year later, Commodore was sold to a German company called ESCOM for approximately 10 to 12.5 million doll= ars. + In early 1996, ESCOM announced plans to sell the Amiga technology to a + U.S. company called VISCorp, while reatining the Commodore name. Then,= in + July 1996, ESCOM announced that its was filing for bankruptcy protectio= n + as it undergoes a reorganization process. At present, the holder of th= e + CBM 8-bit technologies is unknown. Of course, since Commodore hasn't served the Commodore 8-bit community for quite some time, most Commodore owners are only interested in what will happen to Commodore Semiconductor Group (CSG), the fabricator for many of the special ICs in the Commodore 8-bit line. Below is the curr= ent status of CSG as of April 6, 1995: Commodore Semiconductor Group liquidated in December, 1994. The vast majority of the operational material and the real estate was purchased = by GMT Electronics, a company formed by CSG's management. GMT has paid th= e $1 million lien that the EPA had levied against CSG, and is now operati= ng as a for-hire chip production plant. CSG/GMT is holding approximately $5 million in Commodore parts. 3. The BASICs These are some questions we receive about "BASIC", the built-in programming language in all 8-bit Commodore computers, and the "basics= " of using the machine. 3.1. How do I format a Commodore disk? To format a disk in drive 0 (older PET drives had drive 0 and 1) on dis= k device #8, you issue the following command from BASIC: open1,8,15,"n0:16char_name,12":close1 | The name can be 16 characters in length, and the disk id (12 in this example) can be any two alphanumeric characters. For more information on how to use the 1541 disk drive or compatibles, a complete manual is available at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/documents. (See Section 6.9 for direction on how to use ftp.) 3.2. How do I transform a BASIC program to a text file? As you may know, Commodore BASIC stores programs in "tokenized" format, so they are unreadable from a standard text editor. To fix that, load = up you BASIC program, and then type the following in direct mode: open1,8,2,"listing,s,w":cmd1:list The text listing will be placed on drive 8 in a file called listing. A= fter the listing is finished, your cursor should return. Type the following in: print#1:close1 You now have an un-"tokenized" copy of your program, which you can edit= with any text editor. 3.3. How do I transform a text file into a BASIC program? Since Commodore BASIC stores its programs in "tokenized" format, one cannot simply load text files containing BASIC statements and run the f= ile directly. However, there is a solution. In direct mode, type in the following: C64: open1,8,2,"filename":poke781,1:poke812,73:sys 65478 C128: open1,8,2,"filename":sys 65478,,1 This will read in each line of the text file and try to execute it (or store it if the line is preceded by a number). The screen will go blan= k (scroll upwards) while the file is retrieved and will likely end up printing an error message, which is normal. When the last line of the program is entered, hit RUN/STOP-RESTORE, and type in the following= : close1 The file will now be loaded into memory. Immediately save the file to disk as a BASIC program. If the above sounds too complicated for you, check out the seq-to-basic program that is posted to comp.binaries.cbm every month. It will perfo= rm the translation for you, after you answer a few simple prompts. 3.4. How can I change my drive device number through software? To change the device number on Commodore drives, follow these steps: In the following examples, 'olddn' is the drive's current device number= , and 'newdn' is the new number you wish to change it to. 1) Turn off all drives except one you wish to change device number o= f. 2) Type the following in, depending on drive type: 1540/41/42/4040/Most Compatibles: open 15,olddn,15 print#15,"m-w"chr$(119)chr$(0)chr$(2)chr$(32+newdn)chr$(64+newdn) close 15 MSD SD-1 (Old ROM): open 15,olddn,15 print#15,"m-w"chr$(117)chr$(0)chr$(2)chr$(32+newdn)chr$(64+newdn) close 15 1551/70/71/81 open 15,olddn,15 print#15,"u0>"+chr$(newdn) close 15 3) Turn back on other drives. The change is only temporary. It will revert back if the drive is turn= ed off. 3.5. Can I get my 1581 drive to change its device number on startup? When the 1581 is initialized, as well as checking the boot sector of th= e disk, it also looks for a file "copyright cbm 86". This file, if found= , can specify a device number for the 1581 disk. Whenever the 1581 is bo= oted or initialized with this disk inserted, its device number will be chang= ed to the specified number. The utility 1581-auto-dev by David W. Tamkin (can be found on ccnga.uwaterloo.ca in the utilities directory) will cr= eate this file. It can also do other stuff, so check it out. =0C -- Jim Brain, Embedded System Designer, Brain Innovations, Inc. (BII)(offlin= e sig) j.brain@ieee.org "Above views DO reflect my employer, since I'm my empl= oyer" Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, VR, Old CBM computers, and Good Times!= -Me- Jim Brain: BII, VR, and CBM info #! rnews 22418 Path: pravda.aa.msen.com!conch.aa.msen.com!not-for-mail From: brain@mail.msen.com (Jim Brain) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.1 Part 2/9 Supersedes: Followup-To: comp.sys.cbm Date: 13 Aug 1996 00:31:38 -0400 Organization: Brain Innovations, Inc. Lines: 606 Sender: brain@msen.com Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Expires: 05 Sep 1996 Message-ID: Reply-To: brain@mail.msen.com NNTP-Posting-Host: conch.aa.msen.com Summary: This posting contains answers to questions that commonly surface= in comp.sys.cbm. This posting will tell you enough to get your computer connected to a network, fixed, and/or enhanced. This f= ile should be read by new users of comp.sys.cbm before posting to th= e group. It should also be proofread by users who are currently active in comp.sys.cbm. Keywords: CBM FAQ Help List C64 C128 VIC Modem X-URL: http://www.msen.com/~brain/ X-Posted-By: YPost, version 0.08 Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.1.p2 Comp-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part2 News-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part2 Comp-sys-cbm-archive-name: main-faq/part2 Version: 3.1 Last-modified: 1996/08/12 =09 -----------------------------------------------------------------------= ---- Table of Contents (for this file) --------------------------------- 4. Publications 4.1. What paper publications are available? 4.2. What paper publications have disappeared? 4.3. What is a Disk Magazine? Where do I find them? 4.4. What is an Online Magazine? Where do I find them? 4.5. Are there other publications I should be aware of? 4.6. How do I know which magazines to subscribe to? -----------------------------------------------------------------------= ---- 4. Publications Commodore users are always wanting more information about their computer. They want to see articles about how to use it, program it, care for it, and expand it. Some use publications to gain knowledge, = while others use them to find other people who have knowledge. 4.1. What paper publications are available? | The Underground + (see LOADSTAR LETTER) Commodore World Creative Micro Designs, Inc. P.O. Box 646 East Longmeadow, MA 01028 (800) 638-3263 (Credit Card Orders) cmd.sales@the-spa.com (Information and Pricing) cmd.cw@the-spa.com (Questions or Comments) cmd.cac@the-spa.com (Charles Chistianson - Marketing) doug.cotton@the-spa.com (Doug Cotton - Editor) This is a new magazine that supersedes the RUN magazine. It is packed with info about Commodore computers. Subscription rates: Type of Subscription US Canada/ EC All Others Mexico one year subscription (8 issues) $29.96 $35.95 $45.95 $57.97 sample issue + shipping $6.95 $6.95 $8.95 $8.95 Twin Cities 128/64 (TC128/64) Twin Cities 128/64 (TC128) Parsec, Incorporated P.O. Box 111 Salem, MA 01970-0111 (508) 745-5855 Twin Cities 128 is (as of issue #29) published by Parsec, Inc. It feat= ures Commodore 128 iand 64 specific information, and attempts to cater to re= aders at all levels of experience, not just novices. Additionally, starting = with Issue #31(February/March 1991), Twin Cities 128 comes with a companion = disk. Subscription rates: (All checks or money order in US funds) Type of Subscription US Canada/ International Mexico one year subscription with disks $24.00 $24.00 $36.00 Commodore Network Commodore Network Magazine Warren Naismith 9 Wadeson St Cobram Victoria Australia 3150 In U.S.: COMMODORE CEE | 5443 College Oak Drive #26 | Sacramento, CA 95841 Jack Vanderwhite@cee-64.wmeonlin.sacbbx.com (Contact) ceejack@crl.com (Contact) Jack Vanderwhite, editor. Fidonet: 1:203/999 | (916) 339-3403 (Bulletin Board System) Starting 1/95 subscriptions will be available in the U.S. from Jack Vander White at $40.00 per 12 issues. This is the same as the local price in Australia. Back issues and Compendium volumes will be advertised in the near future for U.S. subscribers. Subscription rates: (From Jack Vander White) Type of Subscription US one year subscription (12 issues) $40.00 64'er (German) 64'er Magna Media Post Fatch 1304 D-85531 Haar bei Munich Germany +49 89 4613192 (Voice) +49 89 46135001 (Fascimile) mmatting@cube.net (E-mail Address) +49 89 4613266 (Bulletin Board System) Subscription rates: Type of Subscription Germany/ Others Austria/ Switzerland one year subscription DM105.00 DM129.00 (12 issues @ 64 p each, 12 disks) Atta Bitar (8-Bit) SUBSCRIPTIONS ]tta Bitar (]=3DÅ) c/o Anders Reutersw{rd ({ =3D ä) Runsav{gen 44 S-161 53 BROMMA Sweden andersr@dmz.medstroms.se (Internet Contact) EDITOR ]tta Bitar c/o Erik Paulson (Editor and Contact) \stantorp Fridhem (\ =3D Ö) S-590 90 ANKARSRUM Sweden http://www.mds.mdh.se/~dat95pkn/8bitar/ (WWW URL) This is a Swedish magazine that caters to Commodore 64 and 128 users. Subscription rates: (Subscriptions fees should be payed to postal giro account no. 82 66 75= -1) Type of Subscription Sweden Scandinavia one year subscription (6 issues) 75.00sek 100.00sek The Commodore GEOS Publication The Commodore GEOS Publication 713 East Main Street Independence, KS 67301-3726 User oriented magazine. The Commodore 128/64 Power User Newsletter Power User GosserGamesLtd. Incorporated c/o Thomas Gosser P.O. Box 1817 Shelton, WA 98584 (360) 426-0750 (Subscriptions and Information) (360) 426-2406 (Bulletin Board System) 128POWERUSER@delphi.com (Email Contact) http://www.msen.com/~brain/guest/GGL/cpu.html (WWW URL) The Power User newlsetter is a small format (8.5" x 5.5") publication t= hat contains Commodore 128 and 64 pertinent information. + Subscription rates: + Type of Subscription US + one year subscription (6 issues) $15.00 + bulk 1 year sub. (6 issues) $10.00 + LOADSTAR Letter + SOFTDISK PUBLISHING + P.O. BOX 30008 + SHREVEPORT, LA 71130-00008 + Jeff Jones (Associate Editor) + EMAIL: loadstar@softdisk.com (Internet Contact) + (800) 831-2694 (Phone) + (318) 221-8870 (Fascimile) + (318) 425-4382 (Bulletin Board System) + Formerly the printed 8 page insert bundled with every copy of LOADSTAR + and LOADSTAR 128, this small magazine is now offered as a separate prod= uct. + Editted by Scott Egglestone and Jeff Jones,the ads will be replaced + with Commodore information. + Subscription rates: + Type of Subscription US + LOADSTAR Letter $ 12.00 4.2. What paper publications have disappeared? Although the following magazines are no longer in print, most of the information is still timely. Some of these publications, such as Transactor, are highly sought after for their technical content. Since some programs and information is not republished in newer magazines, th= ese old magazines might have the only article about a given topic or proble= m. Ahoy! RUN Creative Micro Designs, Inc. P.O. Box 646 East Longmeadow, MA 01028 (800) 638-3263 (Credit Card Orders) ISSN: 0741-4285 Jan 1984 - Nov/Dec 1992 Creative Micro Designs offers back issues of RUN magazine. Commodore Microcomputing-Power/Play GeoVISISON The Transactor Transactor Publications ISSN: 0827-2530 (or 0838-0163?) Apr 1978 - 1989 Sure, it's dead, and has been for a few years, but this one was a class= ic. Calling itself the magazine for Commodore programmers, this magazine wa= s enough to make any C64/C128 programmer drool. Featuring in-depth techn= ical information and programming tutorials, as well as "out-of-the-way" topi= cs (things along the line of Richard Curcio's 256K and 512K articles that appeared in TC128). If you are a programmer and can get your hands on back issues of this magazine, do so. + An HTML index of Transactor issue is at: + http://vanbc.wimsey.com/~danf/cbm/transactor.idx Micro-Bytes (Original) + Paul McAleer, editor + hijinx@xnet.com (Internet Contact) + This is the original Micro-Bytes, as published by Paul McAleer. + Copies of all issues are available from Paul for the cost of shipping. + CHeck out the following URL for more information: + http://www.xnet.com/~hijinx/news/mb.htm + Micro-Bytes (Greg Noggle's Version) Parsec, Incorporated P.O. Box 111 Salem, MA 01970-0111 (508) 745-5855 As of 25-May-1992, Parsec, Inc. has taken over the distribution of MB products, and back issues. More information about MB can be found in t= he /pub/cbm/micro-bytes directory on ccnga.uwaterloo.ca. COMPUTE'S Gazette COMPUTE'S Gazette P.O. BOX 3244 HARLAN, IA 51593-2424 (800) 727-6937 (Subscription Number) tomnetsel@aol.com (Gazette Editor, Tom Netsel) ISSN: 0737-3716 Jul 1983 - Feb 1995 Yes, the Gazette is finally shutting down. They are trying to clear ou= t old inventory, so give them a call for back issues. GEOJOURNAL COMMODORE CEE Publications | 5443 College Oak Drive #26 | Sacramento, CA 95841 EMAIL Jack Vanderwhite@cee-64.wmeonlin.sacbbx.com (Contact) Jack Vanderwhite, editor. Fidonet: 1:203/999 | (916) 339-3403 (Bulletin Board System) COMMODORE CEE has taken over publication of back issues of GEOJOURNAL. dieHard dieHard subscriptions P.O. Box 392 Boise, ID 83701-0392 (208) 383-0300 (Information) Magazine devoted to all 8-bit Commodore computers. After the October, = 1994 issue was published, LynnCarthy Industries has not produced another iss= ue. The latest information, asz per a press release issued to many of the competing magazine, indiciates that the decision to cease publication i= s effective October 4, 1994. More information can be read in the actual press release, commented by Jack Vanderwhite of Commodore CEE Magazine,= on Jim Brain's MAILSERV server. The file is named dieHard_Press_Release.t= xt. COMPUTE! COMPUTE! Publications ISSN: 0194-357X TPUG (Toronto PET User Group) Magazine TPUG Publications ISSN: 0825-0367 Info 64 The Northwest User's Guide Commander Optimizer 64 + Illegal + In the June issue 1988 of Britain's largest Commodore magazine "Commodo= re + User", Mike Pattenden wrote about "Illegal": "Basically it revels in it= s + downright naughtiness, b at the same time it reaffirms the reasoning + behind hacking". "Illegal" was beyond reasonabldoubt the most popula= r + underground European "cracker" fanzine of the 80's, and a cornerstone o= f + European outlaw hacking. Editor Jeff Smart was busted in 1989 and was= told + never to publish a cracker fanzine again. Some may think this was just = as + good, others may call it violation of the freedom of press. You can jud= ge + for yourself by browsing the back issues at: + The Triad "Illegal" archives: + http://www.df.lth.se/~triad/Illegal_Archives.html + The Electronic Frontier Foundation Computer underground Digest: + http://www.eff.org/pub/Publications/CuD/Illegal/ + ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/Publications/CuD/Illegal/ | Random (64/128 Magazine) | Random | 7161 North Maine | Clovis, CA 93611-8200 | random-mag@genie.geis.com (Contact) | random-mag@delphi.com (Contact) | random-mag (GEnie Contact) | (209) 323-7841 (VoiceMail/Fascimilie) + The Underground + The Underground + 4574 Via Santa Maria + Santa Maria, CA 93455 + egglest1@cougarnet.byu.edu (Contact) + Scott Eggleston (Editor) + Effective August 11, 1996, The Underground will merge with the newly + announced LOADSTAR LETTER. All remaining subscriptions to The Undergro= und + will be fulfilled with LL subscriptions. Scott will still offer back + issues for $2.50, and Tom Adams (tom.adams@neteast.com) will copy + back issues of the "Underware" disk. + The Underground was a publication which covered all sorts of Commodore + topics. Each issue usually had two feature articles and two reviews, + as well as regular columns on GEOS, telecommunications, programming, ne= ws, + commentary, and Public Domain and Shareware. One unique feature to + the Underground was "Underware", which was all the PD/SW software + mentioned in each issue The Underground was produced using geoPublish + and a TI Laser printer, and reproduced on a high-quality copy machine. 4.3. What is a Disk Magazine? Where do I find them? A disk magazine is a publication that comes out as a text file(s) on a diskette. You load the reader program on a computer and view the magaz= ine on the computer screen. COMMODORE CEE (was CEE-64 Alive!) COMMODORE CEE | 5443 College Oak Drive #26 | Sacramento, CA 95841 Jack Vanderwhite@cee-64.wmeonlin.sacbbx.com (Contact) Jack Vanderwhite, editor. Fidonet: 1:203/999 | (916) 339-3403 (Bulletin Board System) The magazine covers all the Commodore computer systems Also, a distibu= tor of both PD and original software in a catalog with magazines and demo i= ssue. Distributes the Australian Commodore Network magazine. The magazine operates a Bulletin Board for subscribers. However, anyon= e can log on or download on first access. Speeds range from 300-14400 bp= s. the bulletin board maintains over 2000 files for the C64 and C128. Subscription rates: Type of Subscription US Europe Australia one year subscription (6 issues) $36.00 $48.00US Order from Commodor= e (18 disks) Network demo issue $ 3.00 $--.-- Back Issue Information: Volume 1/1992 5 issues $20.00 Volume 2/1993 6 issues $25.00 Volume 3/1994 6 issues (15 disks) $30.00 LOADSTAR 64 Monthly and LOADSTAR 128 Quarterly SOFTDISK PUBLISHING P.O. BOX 30008 SHREVEPORT, LA 71130-00008 Jeff Jones (Associate Editor) EMAIL: loadstar@softdisk.com (Internet Contact) (800) 831-2694 (Phone) (318) 221-8870 (Fascimile) (318) 425-4382 (Bulletin Board System) Two disk magazines that feature C64/C128 programs, articles, news, musi= c, and graphics. Available on 3.5" and 5.25" disks. The 64 magazine is currently offering a risk-free issue. Just call and sign up. Cancel i= f you are not satisfied. LOADSTAR pays a premium price for programs and is looking for good C64 and 128 programmers. LOADSTAR also pays for articles. Call for a risk= -free issue. Each issue contains programmer's guidelines in a file called LOADSTAR BRIEFS. Subscription rates: Type of Subscription US Other | LOADSTAR 64 (12 issues) $ 69.95 $ 89.95 | LOADSTAR 128 (4 issues) $ 39.95 $ 49.95 | LOADSTAR 64 and 128 $ 99.95 $129.95 Driven Driven Steve Akers, steve@uunet.uu.net (Editor) Roger W. Lueck, coolhand@kaiwan.com (Editor) Driven is a publication in a single disk file that can be downloaded and run on a Commodore 64. The aim of each issue is to strengthen and = unite the North American (NTSC) demo scene through dissemination of informati= on about the scene, its participants, and the demos they make. The overall= goal is to add yet another means of keeping the C64 alive as a whole. Each issue contains news about the demo scene (including what demos, utilities, etc. get released), contact information for scene members, interviews with demo authors, and demo reviews. In addition, the magazine offers general interest articles describing C64 resources available on Internet, commercial products, online services, and software developers. Driven is FREE. Distribution is unlimited and encouraged. It can be f= ound at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/c64/magazines/ and on IRC channel #c-64 o= n one of the many bots. In addition, the magazine can be retrieved from Corr= osion of Conformity at (905) 385-8014. The editors can also uuencode and ema= il each issue to you if wanted. As a last resort for people unable to fin= d Driven by one of these preferred free routes, you can "subscribe" for $2 an issue (maximum of 3 issues at a time, please). Send subscrip= tion requests to: Threshold Productions 17730 15th Ave. NE Suite #229 Seattle, WA. 98155 (Each disk will include a few demos and Threshold Production new game previews along with each issue on one disk) Vision Rick Mosdell, rick.mosdell@canrem.com (Editor) Saul Bottcher (Editor) Founded in the summer of 1993, Visions is an all-original and constantl= y improving magazine including not only articles, but also graphics of high, medium, and low resolution, as well as fonts and music of all styles. A wide variety of information comes on every issue, ranging from high-level technical research to social commentary to poetry. The grap= hics and music in each issue are high quality original work, with the occasi= onal classic picture or song. The musical varieties available in the magazi= ne range from classicla to contemporary, including the Vision theme song. All these elements are packed into a compact, efficent, and fast reader program. Each issue's articles, music, and graphics are tweaked to provide as much effect as possible. Vision accepts nearly any subject matter, making it an open forum for writers and reporters of all styles and genres. Vision is FREE and can be acquired locally in the Toronto Ontario Canad= a area on Electric City at 905-793-9699 (C/G board at 1200 8/N/1) or on the Internet at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/c64/magazines/Vision/ + The Commodore Zone + Binary Zone PD + 34 portland Road + Droitwich + Worcestershire, + WR9 7QW + England Subscription rates: Type of Subscription All 5.25" Disk Issue UK$3.00 Tape Issue UK$3.00 4.4. What is an Online Magazine? Where do I find them? An online magazine is one which exists in a text file format and can be downloaded like a regular file off the network by the user for browsing and/or printing. | Commodore Hacking Electronic Magazine (E-Zine) An on-line magazine written by denizens of comp.sys.cbm, this features in-depth technical programming information on C64 and C128 computers. The creator and editor of the first 10 issues was Craig Taylor (duck@nando.net), and the new editor is Jim Brain (brain@mail.msen.com). The issues of C=3D Hacking can be found on ccnga.uwaterloo.ca in the directory /pub/cbm/hacking.mag. Back issues can be retrieved from Jim Brain's mail server (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on how to use the mail server). If you have World Wide Web access, C=3DHacking is at: http://www.msen.com/~brain/chacking/ http://www.hut.fi/~msmakela/cbm/hacking/ http://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/~csbruce/HACKING/Hacking.html http://www.saturn.uaamath.alaska.edu/~adersoc/c-hacking/ 4.5. Are there other publications I should be aware of? No library of publications is complete without some reference materials= , like programmer reference guides, user's guides, machine language tutor= ials, and BASIC tutorials. Also, don't overlook the many fine Commodore User's Groups in the world. These groups typically publish newsletters with timely information and help for troubled machines or users. See Section 15 for a list of Comm= odore User's Groups. + Although not a monthly magazine, Donald Ayers publishes GRASSROOTS #1, = a + 2 sided 5.25" disk compendium of history, help, tips, and information. = The disk + costs $3.00 and is available from: + GRASSROOTS #1 + c/o Donald Ayers + 75 State Road 270W + Sturgis, KY 42459 The following publications are not "Commodore" publications, but do contain Commodore information periodically. Historically Brewed Historical Computer Society 2962 Park Street #1 Jacksonville, FL 32205 "Historically Brewed" is the magazine put out by the Historical Compute= r Society. From time to time, they have articles on Commodore equipment. Subscription rates: Type of Subscription US one year subscription (6 issues) $18.00 demo issue $ 2.00 BBS Magazine Caller's Digest, Inc. 701 Stokes Road Medford, Nj 08055 (800) 822-0437 (Orders - 8am to 4pm EST - VISA/MC) This magazine, while not wholly Commodore oriented, covers all issues o= f BBSing and includes the "Commodore Connections" column by Gaelyne Moran= ec. Subscription rates: Type of Subscription US Canada/Mexico one year subscription (12 issues) $ 30.95 $50.00 two year subscription (24 issues) $ 50.95 $90.00