Newsfront

Matthew Desmond, the author of Desterm, has recently resurfaced and states that he is once again working on something. Although Commodore Hacking discourages hoards from emailing him to ask about Desterm progress, Matt's email address is mdesmond@ionline.net, for those who wish to register Desterm or express their support.
Speaking of email addresses, LOADSTAR will be changing theirs. As the online service Genie has recently been purchased and new fares have been put in place, LOADSTAR finds its monthly bill rising too high for pleasure. As of March, 1996, the Internet address for LOADSTAR will be loadstar@softdisk.com.
While we're on the subject of email addresses, CMD has expanded their set of Internet email address contacts in order to better support its online users. The following addresses are now valid:
cmd.sales@the-spa.com
Questions relating to product prices, catalog requests, ordering information
cmd.support@the-spa.com
Technical questions concerning CMD products.
cmd.cw@the-spa.com
Questions or comments relating to Commodore World magazine.
doug.cotton@the-spa.com
Superceded the cmd-doug@genie.geis.com address previously used for all CMD inquires. Should be used for items not applicable to the above addresses.
cmd.cac@the-spa.com
Direct link to Charles A. Christianson, VP of Sales and Marketing. Again, shuld be used for items not applicable to above email addresses.
We're not done yet, as COMMODORE CEE has recently moved its office and is now at:

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)
The Commodore Zone. No, it's not an alternate universe, but a magazine for the Commodore gamer and/or demo fan. Each issue's 40 pages is full of reviews, interviews with top programmers, and an exclusive comic strip done by Alf Yngve. Accompanying each issue is a 5.25" disk or tape containing game demos, demos, and full games. Free software is often included.
More information can be obtained through:

Commodore Zone
34 Portland Road
Droitwich
Worcestershire
WR9 7QW
England

Copies are available for UK3.00. Make checks payable to Binary Zone PD.
Also in the magazine front, Computer Workshops, Inc. is planning a World Wide Web magazine to feature gaming. The blurb follows:
CWI is working on a new Web magazine to feature the newest and hottest in C64/128 Gaming. But, before we can do that, we need your help. Send us what you're working on, or, if you're a programmer with something for review, send us that too! Also, if you've got a product you'd like to advertise, we'd like to hear that too (a la Yahoo).
Send it to either, or both:
spectre@deepthought.armory.com

Computer Workshops/Cameron Kaiser
ATTN: Commodore Gamer
3612 Birdie Drive
La Mesa, CA 91941-8044

(Please don't send binaries to the spectre@ address.)
Thanks for your support, and barring any unforseen difficulties, Commodore Gamer should be ready to premiere in about two months.
Cameron Kaiser
The December 10, 1995 edition of the Waco Tribune Herald put one of our own in the spotlight. The headline read "'Antique' PCs have loyal fans here, elsewhere." and was written by Sherry W. Evans, Tribune-Herald staff writer. The Commodore user taking the spotlight was Karen Allison, known on the FIDO network. Sharing the spotlight with Karen was Brad Jackson, of Commodore Country, who said that a C64 was raced against an Intel 386 using identical programs, and the 64 won. Allison claims in the article that "the challenge is finding creative ways to solve problems since Commies have had no ... support..." Allison indirectly mentioned GeoFAX, the GEOS Fax program, and a low cost Tax program she uses to pay the IRS every year. Allison, a diehard "Commie", explained in the article that "(People who use IBMs) all think my Commodore can't do much and is just a toy. But for a toy, this computer does pretty good."
For those good with an assembler and the VIC/SID registers, Driven Magazine is sponsoring a 4K Demo competition. The deadline is July 1st 1996. Although the program must run on an NTSC 64, PAL programmers are encouraged to enter. The entries will be released as a group at the close of the contest, and entrants can re-use their entries. The complete rules follow:
4k Demo Contest Rules
- 1 file only (no secondary loading)
- max file size is $1000 bytes
- must be started with BASIC 'run'
- 1 demo per coder; multiple entries per group are allowed.
- Multiple coders can collaborate on a single demo, so long as there remains only 1 demo per coder.
- Credits for all parts of an entry must be given at time of entry; if a particular credit is unknown, mark it as "unknown."
Demos will be evaluated on NTSC c64.
Anything not specifically denied above is allowed; e.g. packing + crunching, use or non-use of music or graphics, entries by PAL sceners, etc.
Deadline = July 1.
Entries need to go to coolhand:
coolhand@kaiwan.com
or postal mail to:

Bill Lueck
17411 Mayor Lane
Huntington Beach, California, 92647
USA

Evaluators will be selected shortly, but will include Coolhand and 2-3 other non-demomaking NTSC demo enthusiasts.
There will be categories for evaluation, but there will not be separate winners - the scores from the categories will be added together. The categories will be announced after the evaluation team is established, but they will include design, originality, technical difficulty, artistic impact, and best overall impact, etc. (All tentative at this time.)
Bo Zimmerman has put his Commodore 128 on the net. No, he didn't log into some Internet service from his 128, he actually PUT it on the 'Net. Running the BBS program called "Zelch", the machine can be accessed by telnetting to 147.26.162.107 and giving "zelch" as the login. Bo warns that the system is running off a single 1571 at 2400 bps, so don't hog the system, OK.
For the technical types, the 128 is connected to the serial port of a Linux PC hooked up the Internet. Nonetheless, we're getting closer to the standalone CBM Internet server.
In the March 1996 issue of Next Generation magazine, on pages 31 and 32, NG published a very unflattering definition of the Commodore 64 as part of their: "The Next Generation 1996 Lexicon A to Z: A definitive guide to gaming terminology." Among other things, the definition's writer confused the Apple II with the Commodore 64 and stated that the C64 could not display lowercase, a common problem on early Apples. The writer was biased in favor of the Apple II line, but evidently had never used a C64 or never owned an early Apple II. In either case, the fervor caused by the definition sparked an outrage in the USENET newsgroup comp.sys.cbm. See UseNuggets for the scoop.
If you would like to write to Next Generation, even though the article claimed no comments would be heard on the subject, or to request a copy of the article, their address is:
Editorial:
Email: ngonline@imagine-inc.com
Fax: (415) 696-1678
Phone: (415) 696-1688
Subscriptions:
Email: ngsubs@aol.com
Phone: (415) 696-1661
Post Office Mail:
Next Generation
Imagine Publishing, Inc.
1350 Old Bayshore Highway, Suite 210
Burlingame, CA 94010

Document Revision A
- Initial Document created on 1996-03-15 by Jim Brain
- Update of document on 1996-05-20 by Julie Brain