!pr0
Grappler Interfaces

There should be a leaflet included with this issue describing the Grappler printer interfaces.  We now have three of them "in the family" here, and have been very pleased with their performance.  Check the brochure for features, the ad on page three for our prices, and let us hear from you.


WICO Track Ball

Several of you have inquired about or ordered the WICO Track Ball that I reviewed a couple of months ago, so we've decided to carry them regularly.  WICO has since raised their price from $79.95 to $89.95, so we're going from $75 to $80.


Diskettes

There's getting to be a lot more competition in the diskette business, so prices are falling.  After seeing so many ads at such attractive prices, Bob called Verbatim and told them that we had to have a better price, or we would have to change brands.  That paid off, so we can now offer the same high- quality Verbatim Datalife diskettes at $45.00 for a package of 20.  That's $2.25 each for the best diskettes we've found.


Whatever You Want

If you're shopping for a new peripheral, accessory, or program, give us a call and ask for a quote.  We can get nearly anything you might want, and we'd love the chance to serve you.


Mailing AAL

Let's review how AAL is mailed, when you should expect to receive it, and what to do about it when you don't.  Most of you get your newletter by Bulk Mail, which is a little erratic.  You should receive your issue around the third week of each month, but don't start worrying until the end of the month.  If you haven't received an issue by the end of the month, call or write and we'll send a replacement.  Those of you who have First Class Mail subscriptions should receive your issue around the tenth of the month, and certainly before the twentieth.

The Post Office does not forward Bulk Mail, so make certain to tell us if you move.

The number in the upper right corner of your mailing label is the expiration date of your subscription.  If that number is 8308, you're holding your last issue and better renew now.  We send out postcards when your subscription is about to expire, and when it has expired.  All you have to do is send us a check, or phone with a charge card number, and we'll keep your AAL coming.


65C02

People who have started reading AAL since last December have asked what is all this 65C02 business, anyway?  Well the 65C02 is a new CMOS version of the 6502 microprocessor.  (CMOS stands for Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor.  That's a different way of making chips.  CMOS circuits are noted for extremely low power consumption and extremely high sensitivity to static electricity.)  To us Apple owners, the important thing is that the designers of the new chip corrected the bugs in the 6502 and added several new instructions and addressing modes.

The new instructions include PHX, PLX, PHY, and PLY (push and pull the X and Y registers from the stack), BRA (branch always), STZ (store zero), TSB and TRB (test and set or reset bits), and SMB, RMB, BBR and BBS (set, reset and branch on single bits).  The main new addressing mode is true indirect without indexing, LDA ($12).  This mode is now available for ORA, AND, EOR, ADC, STA, LDA, CMP, and SBC.  There are also new modes for the BIT and JMP instructions.  INC and DEC can now work on the A register.

There are some problems, though.  Rockwell, GTE, NCR, and Synertek (maybe) are manufacturing 65C02 processors, but they are not all the same.  The SMB, RMB, BBS, and BBR instructions are only available in the Rockwell chip.  The NCR chip works in the Apple //e, but not in older Apples.  The GTE processor does work in all Apples (this is being written on an Apple ][+ with a GTE 65C02).  I haven't yet received a sample of the Rockwell processor, so I don't personally know if it works in older Apples.  Some people say yes, others no.

That's a summary of what we know so far.  The confusion is beginning to clear up, but there are still questions about what will or won't work in which Apples, and why.  Stay tuned...
