Editorial (Scene+ #06)

Editorial

SCENE+ is published by:
L.C.D.
Prager Str. 92/11/12
A-1210 Vienna, Austria
Tel: (02) 272 34 63 (from Austria) or +43 1 272 34 63 (outside Austria)

All classified ads and announcements are free of charge as long as they are related to the Spectrum or SAM, and can be submitted in any form: as text, screen, animation, etc.

As you can see, I have introduced something new in this issue. In response to a justified inquiry by J. W. Koning as to why the menu page was half in German and half in English, I had no good answer. He suggested I should choose one language. Think again! The menu can now be toggled between German and English; otherwise, many readers in England would kill me. Besides, it looks somewhat inappropriate to make a German magazine with an English table of contents. I had simply gotten a bit too used to my previous working style. Lords of Zer carries an English title too, after all.

There are several ambiguities regarding software. I am mainly concerned about certain unlicensed titles recently converted from the PC. If a program is unlicensed, it may at most be distributed as freeware. Due to this uncertainty, I decided not to distribute Defender of the Crown, Dizzy 7/8, and a few other programs just yet, until their legal status is clarified.

ATOMIX is another such case, though it puzzles me a bit: strictly speaking, it is also a conversion from the Amiga where it is doubtful whether the Spectrum coder held the license to convert it. If not, it should be PD; but since it is being sold by SUC, I am somewhat confused. Is it unlicensed or not? Perhaps Thomas Eberle can answer that. The exact same applies to other programs: ATOMIX II and AXONS (XENON II), to name just a few titles.

Several inquiries came in regarding PYRAMID PATIENCE: is it freeware or not? The definitive answer is: yes and no. PP was programmed by me for SCENE+, but for several months now it may also be passed on freely elsewhere, provided that the notice stating it was programmed for SCENE+ is not removed. Promotion has to be, after all.

This month a terrible misfortune happened to me — a real catastrophe. My monitor died! Do you actually know how hard it is to find a monitor that has a composite video input instead of a VGA connector? Now I'm using the SX64 monitor again, but it is not particularly well-suited for writing text in Tasword. Screw the whole PC industry! Now I'll have to buy a new television with a video input. I hope this won't mean the end of SCENE+.

The temperatures around here are phenomenal! I had no idea humans could even survive in this heat! Next year will surely not be any cooler. Because of the greenhouse effect, it is hardly bearable anymore. Unbelievable that some so-called vacationers travel to even hotter countries.

And now on to the news, which will be found in this section from now on. This simplifies the layout, and someone will finally read the editorial.

News

• Fountain PD customers have been receiving a newsletter for two months now; in terms of style, it is a magazine similar to Sinclair Classics, which was discontinued. It is divided into sections such as PD News, Editorial, Charts, and others. BUT IT IS NOT PD! Dave is using it to replace his printed newsletter, which wasn't exactly gentle on his printer, and he can finally use screenshots as well. By the way, the front cover of the second issue features an image from Not for Children.
• The latest Doctor Who film has already been broadcast on BBC, even though it was originally intended for the US market. I wonder when it will arrive in Germany.
• PD Power is being improved further; they are now working there with a 2MB Amiga. Meanwhile, the feud with Alchemist enters the next round: after discovering that Mr. Sherwood's club only has about 25 members, it turned out that Alchemist exaggerated a bit — instead of 600 users in his group, he has no more than the other groups, perhaps 1 to 99 readers.
• How about Not for Children II with even better pictures? After the success of the first part, I am wondering whether I should write a sequel. Of course, it's not that easy since I barely even have time to produce SCENE+.

Last Minute News

The co-author of SCORPIONS contacted me and gave permission to translate SCORPIONS into English — but ONLY into English. If there is enough demand, I would need someone to help me out with it, harasho? Who volunteers to speak exclusively Russian for the next few months? What? Nobody? Sabakas! Write to the club address or give me a call.

That's all for this month. I wish you lots of fun with the magazine, and for myself — more contributions to it.

— L.C.D.

P.S. Does really none of you have access to the Internet? I found some interesting stuff for the Spectrum there. Fire up Netscape and let the computer search for the term "Spectrum" — you'll be amazed at how much it turns up...