WACCI 136 Index - Home Page www.wacci.org.uk

Ask the Internet

Help is just a few clicks of the mouse away. Brian Watson suggests several ports of call for the puzzled CPCer

Many CPC enthusiasts now have, at least, some access to the Internet even if they don�t have a PC or Mac of their own.
  With a choice of CPC-related magazines now hard to find, and bi-monthly issues of WACCI too infrequent to get a fast response to an urgent enquiry, the only option might seem to be the telephone. Well, yes, the telephone is a good option if you know who to call and the Help-liner list in each copy of WACCI is certainly the best place to start. But what if you need help at once? This is where the internet really comes into its own.
  Probably the best starting point is the FAQ (frequently asked questions) file that is maintained as a web page by Emmanuel Roussin, the creator of the comp.sys.amstrad.8bit newsgroup, of which more later...

Ceci n�est pas un PC

Anyway, as this is not a PC magazine, I�m assuming that if you have access to a PC you can get past the basic operations of it, such as how to switch it on and load up your web browser software. So, once you�ve done that, go to the following address: www.genesis8bit.com.
  Once there, and I am assuming you will click on the English union flag rather than the French tricolore, you will find that you are in the English language version of the site and that the counter says that about 18,000 visits to the page have been made before yours! As you see, it�s a popular site for CPC enthusiasts and a very good springboard for getting an immediate answer to your enquiry.
  Your first call should be to the index of options that is on the left of the screen. In it click on the word �FAQ�, for the �Frequently Asked Questions�, section. It is just that; a list of questions that have been frequently asked in the newsgroup and elsewhere together with the current answers as far as Emmanuel knows them. It is an amazing CPC compendium, with a wealth of information that may answer your enquiry at once, plus a list of links to people and organisations from the global community of CPC enthusiasts that may be a good second line of enquiry if you still haven�t found quite what you need.
  One of the links that will appear there soon (if it hasn�t already) is the one to WACCI�s own website at www.wacci.org.uk. It is hoped that it will bring its own strengths and distinctive voice to CPC user support including fuller contact details of those WACCI members who are prepared to offer Helpline support. To keep reprinting that in full in every issue of the magazine would be wasteful of the space, but in a website one can afford to �stretch out a little�.

This is the newwws

Another good source of help is the comp.sys.amstrad.8bit newsgroup (as previously mentioned). This is like a rolling noticeboard of headed conversations on (mostly!) Amstrad-related topics so you can post a message headed �Solution to The Bard wanted�, say, and the chances are someone will post a follow-up message telling you where to find a map, or perhaps even the full solution, to this once-popular adventure game.
  I�m amazed how many �lurkers� there are who read the amstrad.8bit newsgroup but don�t actually post messages to it. This became evident when I advertised that I was setting up an e-list for people who want to get or dispose of old computer kit. Within a day I had had nine people sign up for it. They were all interested in the CPC stuff I had to dispose of, and I had heard of none of them before!
  But note that you can�t just type this address into your web browser: you need to set up a �news-reading� program. You can use a dedicated piece of software, and most e-mail programs (such as Outlook Express) also provide this facility. Consult the help files, or ask your Internet Service Provider, if you�re not sure how to go about it.

Dial E for pizza

E-lists: now there�s another option for obtaining your CPC user support. To explain, it�s like signing up for a newsletter that then arrives in the e-mail inbox of all the subscribers to it. It costs nothing to join, you can post a message to it yourself (such as your hypothetical �Solution to The Bard wanted� request) and you can unsubscribe from the list whenever you choose to.
  The most obvious ones are the WACCI, CPC and 8bitkit e-lists, though there are many others for more specialist discussions. Did you know, for example, that some CPC hobbyists are designing and planning to build a new version of the CPC? There are three e-lists dealing with various aspects of that particular project. (And we�ll have an article on that very thing in a future issue. � Richard)
  So, there you are, a bit of CPC assistance at your fingertips when WACCI or the phone are just not quite enough.

Our dear Watson

If you would like further help with any of the sources of help mentioned in third article, please phone me one evening on 01353 777006, e-mail me at [email protected], or write to me at the Sutton address on the front page of this issue of WACCI.

WACCI 136 Index - Home Page www.wacci.org.uk