.IF DSK1.C3 ^^^^^^TEXTWARE, SOFTWARE, and ELSEWHERE ^^^^^^^^^99er Happenings ^^^^^^^^by Jack Sughrue ^^^^THE PROPHETS AND PROFITS OF DOOM! The two books considered in this monologue are THE LAST WHOLE TI99/4A BOOK: Programs and Possibilities (by Paul Garrison, 1984, Wiley Press, a division of John Wiley and Sons Inc., 605 Third Ave., NY, NY, 10158; $12.95) and THE LAST WORD ON THE TI-99/4A (by Linda M. and Allen R. Schreiber, 1984, TAB Books Inc., Blue Ridge Summit, PA, 17214; $11.50). They are as different as night and day. Or at least as evening and afternoon. They are both in the 9x7-inch range and are printed in paperback on reasonalbly cheap paper. Not newsprint, but greyish stock. The Schreiber programs are computer printouts, which are usually more accurate but harder to read. In this case the type is considerably larger for the actual program listings than the Garrison typeset listings. Neither is ring-bound, so they don't lie flat while you try to type in the programs. Both have very clear and logical tables of contents, but only the Garrison book provides appendices with the quick reference stuff (ASCII codes, speech words, glossary, resources). There is something I want to say about these two books that just is not getting through to my left brain this morning. I think I'll stop, get a cup of coffee, go out on the deck to watch the nuthatches and chickadees and sparrows at the feeder, and see if it all comes through. ********************** Ah, nothing like dawn and coffee to clear the muddle from the brain. A squirrel gave me the clue. This is a particular brand of pig-squirrel. He had constantly devoured every sunflower seed I had been putting in the feeder all spring. Elaine, my wife, was getting frustrated daily by this creature: cute but unlovable. We tried moving the feeder, tried the rounded metal squirrel foils (Ha!), tried everything. But The Pig (as he is affectionately known in our house) managed to climb or leap onto the feeder no matter where we put it in our little yard. A few weeks ago my daughter Suzi and I were playing horseshoes. She accidently threw one that hit a branch almost above her. Later that day I took a horshoe and some thin, nylon cord, tied the cord to the shoe and hurled it over a high branch which jutted alone into an empty area of our side yard, not too far from the deck. And tied the feeder on. For days The Pig would come around, angrily chattering and beating that tail in frustration. Then he did the unexpected. He got on a higher branch on an adjoining spruce and leaped/fell over 20 feet onto the metal squirrel foil protecting the feeder. It must have hurt a bit when he hit, as he belly-flopped onto the thing with a very loud thud. After about 10 near wins, The Pig finally hung by one paw to the cord without falling. And worked his way to the sunflower seeds below before I shooed him away. But an attempt had succeeded, and I knew I would have no peace and the birds would have no food unless I could thwart the little bugger before he had another success. (Pavlov came in handy. Repeated failure is what The Pig needed.) I smeared the rounded foil with petroleum jelly. And watched. During the next four days and at least twenty attempts, The Pig leaped, hit, and shot off into the air for another 10 feet. It became longer between attempts, as he spent more and more time chattering and scouting for other possibilities. Now he has disappeared from our yard, and the birds have all returned, and life is beautiful once again. All of which brings me back to the idea of computering and word-processing (and any creative thing). Problem-solving is what it is all about. Problem-solving by being open the unexpected and using the unconventional method. Some times the tried-and-true is really just the tired. It's important to build on what you know, but it is equally important to take the step beyond. To risk. Risk. That's the difference between creative and dull. And creativity is always coupled with a strong sense of humor. (Imagination doesn't exist without humor.) And there lies the real differenes between these books. The Schreiber book is devoid of humor; the Garrison book is charged with it. The Schreiber book is careful, exact, textbookish; the Garrison book is eclectic and electric and reads as if he were talking to you. The Schreibers talk at you and explain and explain and explain. Each of their programs accompanies a flowchart (not the other way around). Very much ado is made about very little. Garrison, meanwhile, figures you have some basic intelligence, maybe some BASIC intelligence, and makes very little fuss about some profound computer thinking. He's so reasonable! Take the titles: they really tell you more than the authors probably intended. Garrison: THE LAST WHOLE TI99/4A BOOK: Programs and Possibilities. Schreibers: THE LAST WORD ON THE TI-99/4A. I got the distinct feeling after reading through both books that the Garrison book had been in the process of being written long before TI withdrew from the home computer market and that the Schreiber book was written after in order to make the last textware dollar in the "dying" TI marketplace. Linda Schreiber's Atari books are certainly better than this collaboration, which has certainly proved NOT to be the last word on the TI. The Schreibers obviously know a lot about computers and how they work. Garrison does, too. But Garrison knows a lot about how the TI works in ways that only a person who has owned, operated, and loved this machine can. I think if I had my first encounter with the TI through The Last Word I would probably own another machine (or no computer at all). Its 246 pages are filled with wasted space (mostly flowcharts). In Possibilities (I prefer this last word of Garrison's subtitle as the reference name in this article.) there is no wasted space (and no flowcharts). The type is smaller and the 460 pages somewhat larger than Last Word. They both provide a basic introduction to computers and the specifics of the TI. Both provide lin-by-line analyses of each program. However, there are three times as many programs in Possibilities, which also provides tutorials and programs or files for Logo, TI Writer, Personal Record Keeping, Speech Synthesizer, and more. I've had the books for some time now and have learned many things from both of them. Right now the Last Word is collecting dust. Possibilities is full of dog-eared pages and losing Megabuck tickets (perfect write-on book marks). I have gone back to Possibilities many times; not just to type in programs, but to reread sections or to look for good examples of specific applications. If you are striving for a complete TI library (as I am), I would recommend getting both books. If you are looking for real 99er value for your money, invest in Garrison's excellent book. And, despite the doom prophesy of titles which say The Last Of..., the 99 is far from dead. The textware has diminished to a trickle, but the software and peripherals and hardware seem to be approaching deluge level. Maybe the textware trickle will begin to swell during this downpour. [Jack Sughrue, Box 459, E.Douglas, MA 01516] *************** If any newsletter editor prints these articles, please put me on your mailing list. Thanks - JS Հ