Author Archive

It's the last day of second quarter, which means if this news hasn't come out by now, it has to be today: the June 2010 issue of Juiced.GS is now shipping!

The cover story of this twenty-page issue is a review of the FC5025, a controller card that lets a 5.25" floppy disk be connected to a modern computer via a USB interface. Given that this storage medium was phased out around the same time USB was created (1996), it's amazing that it's only in 2010 that a commercial product bridging the two technologies has become available. Mike Maginnis looks at the strengths and weaknesses of this new device.

I didn't want to represent this story on our cover with a shot of the actual hardware, as we'd published a similar cover in March when Mike reviewed the iDisk. Mike and I both had some great and creative ideas for the cover, but life conspired against us. I think what we ended up using is pretty fun, though I'm wondering how many readers will notice the floating laptop.

Other stories in this issue include Martin Haye's tutorial for using his Super-Mon programming utility; Ivan Drucker's opinion piece on the growing divide between users and programmers of Apple products; and the second in a five-part series on transferring files between the Apple II and other computers. Our thanks to Cabel Sasser at Panic for letting us use a still from a cool video they shot last month. (Their FTP client is pretty sweet, too!)

Despite having only four feature articles, this issue's content was contributed by seven staff writers and seven readers — the latter in the form of letters to the editor. I can't remember the last time we had this much feedback to publish, which probably means it hasn't been during my four-year watch as editor. I've enjoyed getting to know Juiced.GS's readers more personally and hope to continue hearing from you, either on the blog, via mail or email, or next month at KansasFest.

Enjoy the issue, and check out the online issue links for related online content and resources!

Although Juiced.GS is the longest-running Apple II publication, it is by no means the only retrocomputing magazine out there. 300 Baud recently joined the scene, but we are both dwarfed in number of issues by Retro Gamer, a monthly, full-color, 100-page magazine.

Games are the genre of software that has possibly driven the most advances in technology. They are also the most prolific software on our hard drives, and that which we often remember as introducing us to computers. Retro Gamer not only reviews this seminal art form but also unearths untold stories, going back to the games' roots by talking to the designers, developers, and publishers of said software. Their multi-page spreads are riveting and capture the magic of the era, somehow making it seem more new than nostalgic.

As a UK-based publication, Retro Gamer has a love affair with the Sinclar ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, and other computers indigenous to the region. But a recent issue (#76) has an eight-page feature on the games of the Apple II, in which author Craig Grannell efficiently covers the origin, success, and abandonment of Apple Computer Inc.'s most successful game machine. The article includes a sidebar of four Web sites that comprise the modern Apple II community: A2Central.com, Apple2History.org, Virtualapple.org, and … Juiced.GS!

Despite the lead time on large-scale print publications, the article is surprisingly recent, as indicated by the brief writeup: "Juiced.GS is the last surviving Apple II publication, and, having recently celebrated its 15th anniversary, overtook Softdisk (1981–1995) as the longest-running Apple II periodical. It now has a quarterly schedule and back issues are available in annual 'volumes'." Juiced.GS celebrated its longest-running record less than two months ago, and the screen shot of our Web site that accompanies the writeup also reflects the site's current status (though I'm unsure why they didn't use blowup of the most recent issue's cover — seems like that would've been a more attractive and representative image than a picture of the Web site).

Although it's not unusual for the Apple II to be mentioned in the mainstream press, such usually occurs in a historical context and only in passing. Rarely does our favorite computer receive the attention it deserves, and rarer still does that publicity acknowledge that its community is alive and well. Our thanks and appreciation to Retro Gamer and Mr. Grannell for preserving our past and present, and for letting Juiced.GS be a part of it.

Like Juiced.GS, Retro Gamer is available in hardcopy only. Issue #76 can be bought at your local newsstand for $9.99 USD or online for £5.

After publishing our first issue of 2010, I received a surprising email from Sean Fahey, proprietor of A2Central.com. A regular subscriber and former contributor to Juiced.GS, Sean asked, "With volume 15, isn't Juiced.GS now the longest running printed Apple II publication (ever)?"

I wasn't sure how to answer. It was entirely possible we'd reached that milestone, though given that Juiced.GS was launched after the Apple II's heyday had already passed, it didn't seem likely that we had eclipsed one of the more prominent magazines, such as Nibble or inCider/A+. To determine Juiced.GS's historical status, I turned to Dr. Steve Weyhrich, Apple II historian extraordinaire, who in turn compiled this list:

• 14 years — Softdisk (1981–1995)
• 12 years — Call-A.P.P.L.E. (1978–1990)
• 12 years — Nibble (1980–1992)
• 10 years — inCider (1983–1993)
• 10 years — Open-Apple/A2-Central (1985–1995)
• 8 years — Apple Assembly Line (1980–1988)
• 8 years — Micro (1977–1985)
• 8 years — Softdisk G-S (1989–1997)
• 6 years — Softside (1978–1984)
• 6 years — A+ Magazine (1983–1989)
• 6 years — GS+ (1989–1995)
• 5 years — Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide (1985–1990)
• 4 years — Softalk (1980–1984)
• 4 years — Apple Orchard (1980–1984)
• 2 years — II Computing (1985–1987)

I was astonished. Ever since Max Jones founded Juiced.GS in 1996, we'd been quietly, steadily marching to the top of that list without even realizing it. With our heads down, so focused on putting out each next issue, we'd never stopped to look up and see where we were. Juiced.GS is now not only the only Apple II publication still in print; it is also the longest-running Apple II publication in print.

My thanks to every reader, subscriber, writer, and editor who has made each issue of Juiced.GS possible!

To commemorate the occasion, Steve and I have collaborated to detail the history of the publication. In Volume 10, Issue 1 of Juiced.GS, Max and his editorial successor, Ryan Suenaga, reflected on the first decade of the publication's history. That article is now available for free at Apple2History.org, with an update on the five years since then. With everyone's continued support, I hope Steve and I will be updating this history for many years to come.

In the meantime, how would you, our readers, like to see this milestone celebrated? Should we publish more historical articles? Have a sale? Issue limited edition products? Maybe a commemorative plate or two? Let's hear how Juiced.GS can continue to serve the Apple II community well into the future!

Shortly after Ivan Drucker joined the Juiced.GS staff last fall, he shared with me a concept he was working on: Structured Applesoft. It's a new way of programming in a familiar language that makes the programs easier to develop, read, and edit, all without requiring new software, routines, or patches.

Ivan started detailing the concepts of Structured Applesoft in the December 2009 issue and finished in March 2010. The limits of the print edition prevented him from fully outlining all the guidelines he'd devised, though, so we decided to save some of the more esoteric ideas for online, where interested parties could explore them without pushing out more general-interest topics from the print edition.

In the process of crafting this final installment, Ivan found an obscure error with some of the code that was printed in this week's issue of Juiced.GS. Though a correction will appear in the June issue, we decided to include this update with the other content that was already intended for our Web site.

The correction and two supplements are now available online. You can view the material as a Web page or as a Juiced.GS-style PDF. Ivan has also provided a sample program that demonstrates these Structured Applesoft concepts. Links to these pages have been added to the issue links for Volume 15, Issue 1.

We hope you find these files to be useful elaborations on this approach to BASIC programming. Thanks to Ivan for pursuing this topic so thoroughly!

It's nearly the end of the calendar year's first quarter, which can mean only one thing: another issue of Juiced.GS has shipped to all domestic and international subscribers!

The 24-page March issue features several in-depth articles, including Mike Maginnis' review of the iDisk card; the first of a four-part tutorial on transferring files to and from an Apple II; the conclusion to Ivan Drucker's guidelines for programming in Structured Applesoft; and more. There were more engrossing articles than could fit into our usual 20-page format; I hope nobody minds the extra content.

One of this issue's articles is a collaborative effort by members of the Apple II community who came together to commemorate Joe Kohn, who passed away earlier this year. If you're a subscriber who can't wait for your issue, this tribute is being offered as a free PDF download; if you aren't a subscriber, then I invite you to share these memories of Joe.

There will be additional online content posted soon, as Ivan's Structured Applesoft article touches upon some complex concepts that will be elaborated upon in bonus material he's crafting for our Web site. Look for his sample code to be listed in the issue links as soon as it's ready.

The Juiced.GS staff worked hard and had fun putting together this issue. I regret only that their hard work in helping ensure the issue is as accurate and polished as possible means they won't have the pleasure of reading it for the first time when it arrives in the mailboxes later this week. The least I can do is buy them a drink at KansasFest — though in the case of associate editor Andy Molloy, I'll pay that debt sooner than that. With our deadlines behind us, we can focus on having fun on the PAX show floor when we meet up in Boston tomorrow for a weekend of fun and games.

Enjoy the issue! Questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns? Please email us, or leave a comment on the blog!