.IF DSK1.C3 ^^^^^^^^^^^^TEXTWARE, SOFTWARE, and ELSEWHERE ^^^^^^^^^^^^^Articles and Reviews for TI Owners ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^by Jack Sughrue I really thought this review was going to be a snap. "So easy," I explained to Seumas (my poodle), "that we'll be out for our nightly walk in no time." (That was some time ago.) The problem is, I think, that I've talked about this book so often, and so many people have already bought it upon my very loud recommendation that I feel that there is very little NEW I can say about it. (Except, maybe, that all those people who have bought it have told me that they were very happy with it.) [Up to now you have probably noticed that I haven't mentioned the title of the book. As you already know I'm going to say the book is good, really good, so the suspense from this piece of writing is gone. I mean, why would you continue. It's like knowing the murderer on the first page of a Martha Grimes's mystery. So I won't mention the title until the end. I'll just tell you about the book and why it is a fine investment. I can tell the suspense is really mounting now, and you won't be able to keep your eyes from slipping to the end of this article to seek out the title. {-a little trick I learned in writing school-} But Restrain Yourself! Stay with it.] Patience is a virtue that never can hirtue. I will just mention that the book is published by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 07632, and cost me $14.95. No peeking, remember. And that it is written by Tony Fabbri (who also wrote other versions for other computers and entitled it similarly). (I should have been a mystery writer.) And now about the book itself. This book is just right. I wouldn't make any changes in it at all. It's extemely well-written. It is thoughtful, considerate, intelligent, is absolutely not overwhelming, is quite non-mathematical (that is, NON-MATHEMATICAL!) in its approach, is full of good humor, common sense, logic. It is the best book - bar none (and this includes the COMPUTE! and Datamost books I praise so highly) - for learning graphics. Everyone who has ever had the desire to program or to create on the computer, Tony Fabbri offers you the way. He takes you on a step-by-step tour of your computer through simple sample after simple sample after simple sample. You learn by doing and doing and doing. Every programmer or potential programmer should have reference guides and should have books of programs to emulate and should have some tutorial materials in text form. If this were the only text package of tutorial materials you owned, you wouldn't have to concern yourself. It IS a reference guide of sorts and a program book of sorts (over 100 mini programs to type in), too. But the thrust of this book is tutorial. Fabbri's purpose is to give you a thorough under- standing of your Wonderful Little Machine. This he does remarkably well. He wastes very little space talking about interfaces and CPUs and bits and bytes and modems. His book says, "Look. Would you like to skip all this jargon crap and get down to the nitty-gritty fun of computing? Well, you have the right computer to do it, so let's get going!" And he does, and you do. I can't imagine anyone taking the Fabbri trip and not coming out on the other side of Page 247 a more satisfied human being. If Fabbri writes any more books for the TI buy them as fast as you can. Meanwhile, get this one if you can find it anywhere. Most bookstores will order it for you. Or write to the company. But don't forget to mention the title: ANIMATION, GAMES, AND SOUND FOR THE TI99/4A. (Did you peek?) [Jack Sughrue, Box 459, E.Douglas, MA 01516] *********** If any newsletter editor prints these articles, please put me on your mailing list. - Thanks - JS €•€Â†‹•˜Ÿİ³½ĠĠĠĠĠĠĠ€˜