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The power of creative association

The back page of the September issue featured a column about the power of creative association. Two recent books use that concept to scrutinize the question of where good ideas come from. The first, The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success, was released on Sep. 20 and examines how Steve Jobs conceives of and makes manifest the ideas that have made an innovative powerhouse of Apple Inc. An excerpt from that book makes apparent how this quality affected the Apple II:

While Wozniak was improving the internal circuitry and design of what would become the Apple II, Jobs concentrated on the case, which, in his opinion, had to appeal to non-hobbyists looking for a complete, ready-to-use computer. Otherwise it would not have the mass-market appeal that would be required to make the product, and the company, successful. Jobs envisioned the computer in the home, perhaps the kitchen, where the entire family would enjoy using it. Clearly the Apple II had to have a far more approachable look and feel than any computer existing at the time. It would have to be more like a kitchen appliance and less like something found in a hobbyist’s garage.

The other book, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation, released today, does not address technology specifically but is nonetheless relevant to anyone with the potential for The Next Big Thing. This four-minute video summarizes the author’s hypothesis:

The Apple II is the product of genius, and those who use it today exemplify creative computing and imaginative problem-solving. Though I’ve not yet had the opportunity to read either of these books, I suspect their messages will resonate with members of our community.

(Hat tip to Cory Doctorow)

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The September 2010 issue in-depth

Volume 15, Issue 3 (September 2010)

As announced earlier today, Juiced.GS Volume 15, Issue 3 (September 2010) has now shipped to all domestic and international subscribers and is available to all new subscribers as well.

As per Juiced.GS tradition, the cover story for our third issue of the year is KansasFest, the annual Apple II convention held in Kansas City, Missouri. Ken Gagne and Mike Maginnis provide a play-by-play report of the sessions and events from this perennial event. If you weren’t able to attend, our coverage should give you an idea of the value this conference offers Apple II users.

At this year’s KansasFest, Martin Haye won the programming contest. In this issue, he provides a brief look at how he crafted the winning entry, while HackFest judge Ivan Drucker gives official insight into what earned this submission first place.

Juiced.GS‘s five-part series on methods to transfer files from an Apple II to a more modern computer continues this issue as Tony Diaz and Ivan offer a thorough tutorial for setting up AppleShare networks. If you don’t know or can’t remember the difference between AppleTalk, LocalTalk, EtherTalk, and Netatalk, this article serves as a useful reference.

We also have reviews of Ewen Wannop’s SAM2 email client for the IIGS and Jason Scott’s Get Lamp text adventure documentary. Are these products worth your time or money? Read our critics’ recommendations.

The My Home Page editorial, the DumplinGS news roundup, and the back-page column round out this issue.

To find links to the online resources referenced in and related to this issue, please visit the issue links page. This issue is also indexed in our exhaustive online database and is catalogued on its own page.

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Enjoy Juiced.GS Volume 15, Issue 3 (September 2010)

Volume 15, Issue 3 (September 2010)
Volume 15, Issue 3 (September 2010)

This issue features complete KansasFest 2010 coverage; reviews of both Ewen Wannop’s SAM2 email client and Jason Scott’s Get Lamp documentary; a behind-the-scenes look at Martin Haye’s winning HackFest entry; and the third in a five-part series on transferring files between the Apple II and other computers, with Tony Diaz and Ivan Drucker detailing AppleShare networking options.

Check out this issue’s links to online resources for more related content.

Don’t be left out — sign up for a 2010 subscription!
Get the latest Apple II news, reviews, interviews, and how-tos,
delivered right to your mailbox.

Not sure what to think? Check out our sample content!

Buy the complete annual volumes at a discounted rate!

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Concentrate on your e-reader

The wonderful thing about standards is there are so many to choose from.

Apple iPadBefore and after publishing our first Juiced.GS Concentrate, we investigated also making these products available in the formats used by the iPad, Kindle, and other e-book reading devices. Our tests have suggested that the ePub format is best for plain text and not complex layouts or graphics, and that getting Juiced.GS to be both readable and recognizable as an ePub file would require an investment of time and effort that would detract from the print edition. This means you will not be finding or purchasing Juiced.GS in the iTunes or Amazon online stores anytime soon. (You can, however, subscribe to this blog with your Kindle.)

Fortunately, most e-book readers are quite accommodating of Concentrate in its native PDF format. As satisfied customer Wayne Arthurton wrote, “My goal is to put as much of my reference information on the iPad as possible. With that in mind, Concentrate is great.” As I don’t own any e-readers, I asked Ewen Wannop to provide some instructions for getting your purchased Concentrates onto an iOS device. Here’s the short version:

  1. Install iBooks on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad.
  2. In iTunes, select “Add to Library” from the File menu, then select the PDFs.

Ewen also offers these more detailed directions:

  1. The iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, must be running OS 3.2 or later.
  2. Install the free iBooks app from the iTunes Store.
  3. Open iTunes, select the “Books” item from the Library menu on the left, and drag-and-drop the Concentrate PDFs onto the window on the right.
  4. Alternatively, use “Add to Library” from the File menu, and select the PDFs in the usual way.
  5. Sync your device. While the device is connected, you can manage which of the books or PDFs are synced; by default, all new files will be synced.
  6. Open the iBooks app on your device and select the book to read.
  7. Double-tap to zoom the columns for easy reading.

For the Kindle, please consult Amazon.com’s online help regarding “Transferring, Downloading, and Sending Files to Kindle“.

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Concentrating on Concentrate

Magazine revenue

Last month, Gamebits made a big announcement: the availability of Juiced.GS in PDF format in a product separate from the quarterly print edition. The Concentrate line marks the first time ever that Juiced.GS content has been available as a commercial digital product. There were several motivations behind this launch, but I’ll start by eliminating two: money and necessity.

Other print publications have perforce moved online to follow their readers, their advertisers, or both. Juiced.GS has neither of these concerns. Our subscriber base is currently the largest it’s been in six years, representing a clear demand for a traditional print periodical.

As for advertisers, most magazines’ revenue sources break down like this:

Magazine revenue

By contrast and without exaggeration, Juiced.GS‘s P&L spreadsheet indicates these revenue sources:

Juiced.GS revenue

This dependency on subscriptions is akin to being a privately owned company: we can do what we need to to satisfy our customers, instead of following the dictates and interests of outside investors. It’s a wonderful freedom that has allowed Juiced.GS to achieve a longevity unprecedented in the Apple II’s history.

So we don’t have to move to a digital format — but do we want to?

Of course we do! There are obvious benefits to a PDF that we’re excited to offer our readers. And the more formats and features we offer, the more capable we are of getting Juiced.GS into hobbyists’ hands, where they can use that information to keep the Apple II alive. But there are also reasons for Juiced.GS remain in hardcopy. The challenge is to offer both editions without threatening each other.

At KansasFest, Rob Kenyon remarked that Juiced.GS Concentrate was a perfect solution. “It complements but does not compete with your flagship product,” he said. He’s right. Since the hardcopy Juiced.GS reports on what’s hot, regardless of the theme, the two product lines are not substitutes for each other. Concentrate saves readers time and money by eliminating the need to purchase and refer to multiple issues or volumes to find just the articles they want, while anyone who wants to receive a quarterly periodical with the latest news, reviews, and interviews from the Apple II world will find it in each issue of Juiced.GS.

The first three volumes of Concentrate are just the beginning. We’ve already updated the initial batch of PDFs in response to reader suggestions, making them easier to navigate, and are looking to add more titles to our catalog. After buying the “Back to BASICs” volume, Wayne Arthurton shared his appreciation that the Applesoft code could be easily copied and pasted into his own programs — a quality that could explain why this Concentrate is selling better than others. Knowing whether these products are being used as convenient leisure reading or as technical references helps us decide what themes to compile into future Concentrates.

Ironically, none of the customers (potential or otherwise) who have asked for a PDF edition of Juiced.GS have responded to this product announcement, either with feedback or purchase; all our initial comments and sales have come from the same readers who have asked us to remain in print. Whether Concentrate serves current readers or expands to new markets is secondary to it being found useful.

If you have any questions or suggestions for the future of either edition of Juiced.GS, please let us know!