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The I BM Personal Computer Newsletter
For Internal Business Computing
IBM Internal Use Only
Document Number PCN8206
June 16, 1982
Entry Systems
IBM Corporation
219 j 227-2
P.O. Box 1328
Boca Raton F1 33432
VM(BCRVM1jPCNEWS)
ITPS(ABCB)
IBM Internal Use Only
I BM I nternal Use Only
PREFACE
This document is a publication of the Entry Systems (ES) organization at Boca
Raton, Florida. It is classified IBM INTERNAL USE ONLY and is not to be
distributed outside of IBM. It may be freely copied or transmitted within IBM
for business use.
Articles to be considered for publication and subscription requests for this do-
cument should be addressed to:
Newsletter Editor -or- VMCBCRVMl/PCNEWS)
2L9 / 227-2
P.O.Box 1328
Boca Raton, FL 33432
The editor prefers to receive articles in machine-readable form, sent to
VM(BCRVM1/PCNEWS). Specifically, articles should be sent as FILES, via either
DISK DUMP or XMIT.
If it is not possible to send machine-readable articles, then hard-copy articles
will be accepted.
As used within this document:
PC refers to the IBM Personal Computer.
UCSD p-System and UCSD Pascal are trademarks of the Regents of the Universi-
ty of California.
VisiCalc is a registered trademark of VisiCorp, Inc.
EasyWriter is a trademark of Information Unlimited Software, Inc.
Preface ii
IBM Internal Use Only
FACT TRACK is a trademark of Science Research Associates, Inc.
CPjM-86 is a trademark of Digital Research, Inc.
Time Manager is a trademark of the Image Producers, Inc.
DOW JONES is a trademark of Dow Jones, Inc.
Preface iii
IBM Internal Use Only
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Ed itoria I Section 1
From the Entry Systems Chief Programmer 3
Internal Business Section 5
Reminder: PC Symposium Abstract Deadline is June 30 5
Letters to the Editor ........ . 6
8206-01 Hore Kudos ... ..... . 6
8206-02 Letter: Correction to BASIC Tips 6
8206-03 Letter: A Tip from Emily Post 6
8206-04 Letter: Printing Suggestions 7
Reader Contributions 8
8206-05 Query for a Hardware Simulation Program for the IBH PC 8
8206-06 'SOURCE' Discount for IBM Employees .... 8
8206-07 16K Buffer for IBM 80 CPS Matrix Printer 8
8206-08 Technique to Control DOS Functions from BASIC 9
8206-09 VisiCalc Problem ............. . 10
8206-10 BASIC Question .......... .... . 11
8206-11 Cautions Regarding Write-Protected Diskettes 11
8206-12 SERIDA Program Version 0.5 Now Available 12
8206-13 Query for Deaf TTY Attachment to IBM Personal Computer 12
8206-14 Volume Serial File for 'A' Disk 13
8206-15 Query for 8-Inch Diskette on PC 13
8206-16 Question on Co-Processor Socket 13
8206-17 Avoiding Seed Number Prompt 14
8206-18 Printing the PC Newsletter on HONE 14
8206-19 Courseware on the IBH Personal Computer 14
8206-20 LIST Command in a BASIC Program 15
8206-21 PC - EDX Communication ....... . 15
8206-22 DOS Interrupt 27H ......... ... . 17
8206-23 Visisum Program Sums Multiple VisiCalc Spreadsheets 17
8206-24 PC 3277jANR Card Ordering Update 18
8206-25 Color Graphics Card in Slot 2 ... ..... . 18
8206-26 CHSj370 on the IBM Personal Computer .... . 19
8206-27 Problems with Color Graphics Composite Output 20
8206-28 Incorrect Print Result .... 21
8206-29 BASIC Memory Dump Program 21
8206-30 Printing in Foreign Countries 22
8206-31 Graphic Standards Note 23
8206-32 Taking 35HM Slides of Display Screens 23
General I nformation Section 25
Product Announcement, June 10, 1982 25
EasyWriter Version 1.1 (6024005) 25
EasyWriter Version 1.1 Program Highlights 25
EasyWriter Exchange Highlights ..... 25
Appendix A. IBM Personal Computer Employee Purchase Update .... 27
Hay 17 Price Reductions Now Effective as of Pickup Date 27
Clarification of Employee Purchase Plan Pickup Locations 27
Price Reduction for Existing Employee Orders for 48KB System Unit 27
Table of Contents iv
I Bfv1 I nternal Use Only
EDITORIAL SECTION
In PCN8205 I mentioned that we would try to return to a regular publication
schedule beginning with PCN8207. However, we have changed our thinking.
As you are well aware, Entry Systems is a dynamic environment, with frequent de-
velopments. We would like to be able to bring you these new developments as soon
as possible. Accordingly we will publish when circumstances warrant, but at
least once in every month.
I realize this causes uncertainty among readers who have been asking what our
publication schedule is. On the other hand, you can now be pleasantly surprised
whenever an issue of the PC Newsletter arrives. You should also be pleased that
you will have the latest information soon after announcement.
Daily I receive many requests for subscriptions, and I'm pleased that so many
people want to receive this newsletter. To assist me in processing subscription
requests, I ask that you send me your request in either of two ways: (1) over
the Corporate Job Network, sent to me at VM(BCRVM1/PCNEWS), and (2) by mail,
sent to me at 219/227-2, Boca Raton F1 (external address: 219/227-2, P.O. Box
1328, Boca Raton FL 33432). Please do not call me for a subscription.
You may request to receive this newsletter in either of two ways: soft copy via
the internal Corporate Job Network (CJN) , and hard copy via mail. For soft
copy, please give me your node and userid. For hard copy, please give me your
IBM mailing address, whether internal or external mail.
We are able to send out soft copy as fast as the network can handle our traffic.
However, we are experiencing delays in printing and addressing hard copies. (Of
course this is a reflection of the newsletter's popularity.)
If you currently receive hard copy, and if you have access to the Corporate Job
Network, I encourage you to change your subscription to soft copy, by sending me
at VM(BCRVMl/PCNEWS) notice that you would like to change from hard copy to soft
copy, and specifying your node and userid.
We are attempting to reduce the amount of network traffic we generate, as well
as the number of hard copies we print, by establishing distributors of the PC
Newsletter at major network nodes. Our distributors are volunteers who have
graciously offered to receive soft copy PC Newsletters, and to make them avail-
able to others at their sites for copying and distribution.
Occasionally we receive requests for soft copy subscriptions from people at
nodes where we have already established distributors. In such cases our re-
sponse to these potential subscribers is to refer them to their local distribu-
tors. We hope you understand our reasons for this action.
As time progresses, a few of our distributors may change jobs and may no longer
act as distributors. We would very much appreciate being notified when this
happens. If you are a distributor and contemplate being unable to continue, at
the very least please tell us. Better yet, try to find a replacement, and give
us that person's name.
At the risk of being inundated with offers, I request that those people inter-
ested in becoming distributors of the PC Newsletter at their network node should
indicate their interest to me. If we already have a distributor at your node,
Editorial Section 1
IBM Internal Use Only
I'll tell you. But if we don't, we'll welcome you into the fold, because it will
help us greatly in alleviating our distribution load.
Thank you.
Hike Enge lberg
Editorial Section 2
IBM Internal Use Only
FROM THE ENTRY SYSTEMS CHIEF PROGRAMMER
Continuing my column that began in PCN8204, here are some additional
video/graphics tips and techniques.
160 X 100, 16 Color Graphics
This mode is essentially 80-column color. We split each character in half using
character number 222 (left half has all dots off, right half has all dots on).
The color of the left half of the character is set using the background color,
and the right half by the foreground color. This gives us 80 x 2 = 160. By
filling the entire 16KB video buffer and only taking 2 scan lines from each
character (instead of the normal 8), we wind up with 160 x 100, where each
"pixel" is 4 dots wide (half a character), and 2 dots high. Unfortunately, the
colors displayed will only be accurate on RGB monitors.
Example:
10 DEFINT A-Z
20 SCREEN 0: WIDTH 80
30 OUT &H3D8,9 'enable 16 background colors
40 DEF SEG=&HB800 'address video buffer
50 FOR OFS=O TO 16191 STEP 2 'fill buffer with character
60 POKE OFS,222 ' #222 and set all color
70 POKE OFS+1,0 color attributes to black
80 NEXT
90 OL~ 980,4: OUT 981,124 'vertical total = 124
100 OUT 980,6: OUT 981,100 'vertical display = 100 lines
110 OUT 980,7: OUT 981,112 'vertical synch = 112
120 OUT 980,9: OUT 981,1 '2 scan lines (0 and 1)
130 REN To draw a blue line from 0,20 to 159,20
140 OFS = (20-1) * 160
150 FOR I = OFS+1 TO OFS+159 STEP 2 'attribute bytes
160 POKE I,&Hl1 'set both foreground and background
170 NEXT ' to blue (color 1)
80 X 100, 16 Colors, 2 Pages
This is similar to 160 x 100, except that you use 40-column mode and only half
the buffer. That way you can have 2 pages of 80 x 100 in the video buffer. Use
the information on hardware scrolling from the April 23 (PCN8204) issue to
switch pages. You will want to set registers 12,13 to 0 to address the first
page, and 4000 decimal to address the second page. This mode works fine on com-
posite video monitors and TV's.
From the Entry Systems Chief Programmer 3
IBM Internal Use Only
Two New Palettes in Graphics Mode
To switch palette 0 (green, red, brown) to high intensity (light green, light
red, yellow), do the following:
OUT &H3D9,&HIX (where X is background color)
To switch palette 1 (cyan, magenta, white) to high intensity, do:
OUT &H3D9,&H3X (where X is background color)
You will find that these high-intensity versions of the two palettes are much
more viewable, and that text superimposed on graphics is a lot clearer on TV's
or on composite monitors.
Hel Hallerman
ES Programming and Publishing
From the Entry Systems Chief Programmer 4
IBM Internal Use Only
INTERNAL BUSINESS SECTION
The articles in this section were submitted by individuals outside of the Entry
Systems organization. These articles have not been reviewed by Entry Systems
for accuracy, and are not official statements of either Entry Systems or the IBM
Corporation.
IBM PC programs described in this section were developed using IBM resources and
are the property of IBM. These programs are provided to improve the capability
and productivity of IBM employees on the job. They are not be be discussed with
non-IBM employees. There is no commitment to release as IBM products any pro-
grams described in this section.
Articles for this section can be submitted by anyone within IBM. Articles
should be brief, not more than two pages in length. The author must be identi-
fied, and the article cannot be confidential. Responsibility for clearance of
material submitted is the responsibility of the author.
Articles should address one of the following areas: