Re: DOC-RAM swapping with MIDI seqs (was 2 questions...)

[spector@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article yoshi@CSOS.ORST.EDU (Yoshi) writes...
> 
>	Because this machine has a *TON* of limitations *I'M* sick
>	of. It's a personal problem; it's Yoshi vs. his GS. Guess
>	what though: I'll win, and i'll always win. I control the
>	computer, though during debugging sessions it seems quite
>	the opposite.

	There's only three major limitations that I'm sick of:

1) Speed
2) Graphics
3) Limited Ensoniq DOC-RAM

	I could live with those, if not for the biggest limitation of 
all -- *software support*! Every month less and less software is becoming 
available, it's sad to think the only new programs I can look forward
to are a port of Wolfenstein 3-D and a FAX program. :/ Even shareware
and public-domain support has dropped to nill, expect for the occational
GNO utility posted to the Binaries. Still, I can't see myself leaving the 
IIgs world anytime soon. I like the system too much and I'm not exactly 
thrilled with the other platform alternatives out there. I'm probably one
of the few left that still continues to use an Apple IIgs as a main system. :)

	Think of the analogy of a ship: The GS has started to sink and the
only other ships nearby and afloat are the SS IBM and SS Mac. The SS Mac looks
very new and luxurious, but once you step on-board the crew shoves you below 
deck and won't say what's happening or where your going, they'll be in charge. 
The crew are of the former SS Apple II, who suddenly abaddonned ship and went to
the SS Mac -- and before doing so made the "hole" that caused the ship to 
start sinking in the first place. Next we have the SS IBM, an old rusty barge
that's been refit with dozens of modifications to keep it afloat. You can't
see this right away as on top is a plastic hull to make it appear as luxurious
as the SS Mac. All sorts of new technology is onboard the old barge, though it
has problems existing with the old. There's basically no crew, once you get on
board you have steer and control the old ship yourself. Meanwhile, both the SS 
Mac and SS IBM are heading towards a large iceberg ahead and don't seem to 
really care, believing they're invincisible! As for myself, rather than abaddon 
ship, I think I'll stay aboard the SS Apple II longer with the help of some 
water pumping devices (ZipGS, RF SCSI, HD, RAM, Second Sight/TurboRez) and try 
and make it to the rescue ship ahead just beyond that iceberg. Why pay passage 
fare aboard the other two ships if they're probably going to sink and I don't 
like their passenger quarters anyways? :-)

>	I could send you my 'for.the.iigs.world' file, and then you'd
>	probably stop asking me why I put the machine down: ever
>	since I found out that full 256-colour GIFs couldn't really
>	be viewed on the GS as they were "supposed to be", I sort-of
>	gave up on the machine. This happened, oh, probably 4 or 5
>	years ago (i've had my GS for, well, January will make 8 years).

	Once it's available, the Second Sight (or TR) will make this
point irrevelant to those that can afford it. Coincidentally, this
January I'll have owned a IIgs for 7 years...hard to believe it! 

>	My software is pretty shitty, to tell you the truth. See, the
>	only piece of software i've written which I feel GOOD about is
>	QuickPort II, and even then I get flamed for "not even being

 	Your greatly underestimating yourself! Much of your software
just about reached the same level of quality as FTA. 

>	original enough to come up with my own ideas." Quite sad. Most
>	things i've written haven't been released; point here being
>	i'm AFRAID to release them because i'm scared of getting the
>	Nasty Scary Evil EMail saying how much someone DISLIKES my

	I can understand how discouraging this is, but there is a
large majority of users out there that *greatly admired* what you wrote!
It's too bad most of them have been silent and only the negative users
made themselves vocal to you. :|

>	software. Hell, I was starting the process of writing a Game-
>	Boy (Z80) emulator for the IIGS, but since i've gotten no
>	real moral support (not financial, mind you. I don't want $ for
>	my software; just nice comments) in the past for *ANYTHING* i've
>	written, therefore I don't see the benefits. I can just imagine
>	posting it to cba2, going to bed, then waking up in the morning
>	to find my mailbox flooded with "This thing SUCKS!"

	A Game Boy emulator would be very interesting to see! And based on
the work you've done in the past (even if that only includes two CDAs and
a demo) I feel you'd have the potential to pull this off. 

>	I'm not perfect, nor is my software. I've never been one to go
>	around bragging about just how "awesome" my software is. It's
>	not awesome; it's terrible, if anything. I know that, as does the
>	rest of the IIGS community. (shrugs) There's nothing I can do
>	about that. It's my problem, once again.

	Sorry to disagree with your beliefs, but the words "terrible", 
"awful" or even "this is average" ever crossed my mind when first viewing 
your software. I feel "awesome" better described most of it. 

>	P.S. - Sorry to tell ya, Matt, but I AM leaving the IIGS world.
>	       I don't think this'll "sadden" you one bit though; if it
>	       does, you'll get over it. You're not losing much, trust
>	       me on that one. I'm sure you'll learn to program and
>	       write cool stuff. I'm not anything important; i'm a no
>	       one, so replacing me isn't too difficult.

	It certainly disappoints me. There are (and have been) many mediocre
IIgs programmers around, you've _not_ been one of them. And unlike them when
they disappear, you'll be leaving a void behind. Can't beg you to stay, it's
your choice, but if you are truely leaving, don't go thinking you were a bad
programmer or that your existing software wasn't appreciated -- it WAS!
	
>--
>|       Jeremy 'Yoshi' Chadwick        |  ______  ___   ___   ___  ______  |
>|         yoshi@CSOS.ORST.EDU          | |:     \|   | |:  | |:  |/      | |
>|                                      | |           | |   | |           | |
>|   HTTP://www.csos.orst.edu/~yoshi    | |___|\______| |___| |______/|___| |
>|          E22!C86YN;W0@;&5A=F4@=&AI<R!H871R960@8F5H:6YD+BXN"@`!           |

Mitchell Spector
m_spect@pavo.concordia.ca / spector@vax2.concordia.ca