[Coco] Would anyone like some snow?

[wdg3rd at comcast.net]

----- "Stephen Castello" <zootzoot at cfl.rr.com> wrote:

> On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:14:13 -0500 (EST), Steven Hirsch
> <snhirsch at gmail.com> had a flock of green cheek conures squawk out:
> 
> >On Wed, 10 Feb 2010, Gene Heskett wrote:
> >

>>> Aaron wrote:
> >>> On a coco-related note, what's the best word processor for the Coco 2?  VIP?  I was wondering if anything existed that was better.

> >> Whatever works, Aaron.  I used xed/xprint for a while, but I've been using the tsedit patch called vi for what seems like forever.  But with recent versions of nitros9 grabbing that as a device name, I've had to rename it, including internally, to "ed", so history has come full circle.
> >
> >On that subject, where can I find a reference for that patched tsedit?  It certainly understands a few vi commands, but there are many common ones that do not seem to be implemented.  For example:  scroll up or down one screen at a time - how?  Mark and cut a block of lines by marking them?
> >
> >Steve
> 
> T/S Edit and with Vi patch.
> 
> [shift][up arrow]  moves back one page
> [shift][down arrow] moves forward one page
> 
> mb mark beginning
> me mark end
> mm moves marked sectioni
> mP puts/copies marked area to current position
> dm deletes marked area
> -- 
> Stephen
> 
> Before Xerox, five carbons were the maximum extension of anybody's
> ego

Fourth and fifth carbons were effectively illegible without a Selectric or a hand heavy enough to trash a pure mechanical typer into scrap in less than a ream of first copies.  Which is why the ditto machine was invented, so the first carbon could be replicated many hundreds of times.  Ah, the memory of the aroma of the repro fluid back in my middle school "journalism" days.  I couldn't write a story for squat, but I was a demon at getting the papers printed and collated.  I was also the guy who made the runs of test papers for most of my teachers (as long as I took the test in advance, piece of cake).  No, I didn't take bribes (in a class of 30, being in the top 1st percent was a one-boy job) but I did get beat up a couple of times until I started rocking (with real rocks -- the guy's coming along the building planning to kill me, I was just round the corner with whatever I can fit my fingers around and it hits the side of his head -- no way I would throw a rock, I never had depth perception and I don't like to donate weapons to hostiles).

Whoa.  First couple beers this month (and several days short sleep) brings up too much.  All I can say is ditto fluid is much better than Ritalin if a kid is bored in class.  I assume it's now banned even if it wasn't obsolete.

Oh, my favorite Color Computer word processor?  I'll admit original cartridge Color Scripsit has its points (used it for wedding invitations back in 1982) but it's mostly crap.  I did a lot of text entry with TS-Edit (sufficient vi subset, and I'm still learning new tricks with vi et seq after over two decades - I was never involved with the vi/emacs debate, since I thought six-finger with one hand meta keys were a bit extreme), but for output I'd shove the text over to the Mod 4p and use AllWrite, or over to the Mod 16 and use Scripsit-16.  AllWrite (separate editor and output formatter, similar to Unix ms macros) and Scripsit-16 (integrated editor/formatter but not WYSITBYCG - 24x28 mono text screen).  I was at Radio Shack from 1980 to 1986 (while third-party products were discouraged, mostly, but we got samples, and I was for most of that time in downtown LA so Big-5 and a few other producers were local (hi, Steve)), I developed preferences.  (I might still have a couple of Bill Vergona's early items, since I joined the Shack in Las Vegas and remember his first 32k upgrade, but I doubt it -- three removes, as Poor Richard said).

If somebody can come up with an interface between the Tandy 2000 keyboard and the CoCo3 for a repack, I'd provide a quart of (it's won awards that actually paid money) chili every week for life (mine or yours whichever comes first, I can't compel my heirs, but yours might get a treat).

After an hour (taking a nap and then) reviewing this text, no, there no jokes, lies or misdirections in this text.  Sad to say, no exaggerations either.  Bummer.  (Fluff out the fir!  Look BIG!)
-- 
Ward Griffiths        wdg3rd at comcast.net

<home.comcast.net/~wdg3rd>