GSPLUS magazine - A review
By Chris Birch
Copyright (c) 1990 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.
When people talk about the "demise" of the Apple II they often point to the number of Apple publications to have fallen by the way-side. "Call-A.P.P.L.E." and "A+" are just two recent examples.
You could be forgiven perhaps for thinking the opposite to be true with the recent launching of several Apple II publications. "GS+ Magazine" is one such venture, now into its 5th edition and boasting that it's "The First Apple IIgs Magazine + Disk Publication!"
"GS+" has no pretensions to filling the shoes of "A+" in relation to its overall glossy, multicolour, newsstand orientated production. In fact "GS+" is much like our own "Applecations" in that if it were placed on a newsstand it would surely be overlooked in favour of magazines such as "InCider".
As a mailorder publication, "GS+" has already been sold to the subscriber and as such there is no need for attention seeking on the cover or gratuitous full page graphics and colour on the inside.
The downside is that "GS+" certainly relies on the quality of its articles to sustain subscriber interest and to generate recommendations. So how does it rate?
I've just received the May-June 1990 issue, Volume 1, Number 5. All 42 pages are competently and pleasantly laid out with nothing particularly noteworthy save for the obvious lack of those little filler items to cover the small, irregular, white spaces on some of the pages.
They say they used AppleWorksGS and my reply to that is that I wouldn't have thought it possible!
"GS+" tries to cover all angles of interest, with an even mix of programming, software and hardware reviews and how to get value out of your IIgs. (I guess I should use the "value" buzz word somewhere in this review!).
All the articles are written in a responsible and caring way. They could perhaps tighten up somewhat but I assume that the word length of the articles is not a problem due to what I suspect is a lack of copy. With articles dealing with how to use or understand the IIgs, I would think that the extra verbosity would be a boon to the novice owner.
The reviews are certainly thorough. If you are sick of the "A+"/"InCider" style of review articles which "beat up" the usefulness and functionality of any product for the IIgs then you will be pleased with the general tone of these reviews. As well as being thorough, "GS+"'s other strength is the honesty with which the reviews are written.
One such review (for GraphicWriter III) consisted of detailed descriptions of bugs in the shipping version of the product. They then informed the reader as to how to get around the bug for the time being and what the publisher was doing to rectify the bug.
Come to think of it, EVERY review article in this edition of "GS+" exposed bugs or serious design flaws in the product. This is not to imply that the general tone of "GS+" is petulant or negative. They remain very positive and enthusiastic throughout. They just simply state what SHOULD be said about a product.
The programming side of things again sets "GS+" apart from the "other" magazines. My only disappointment here is that the feature article in this edition was only of use IF YOU HAD ALSO SUBSCRIBED TO THE GS+ DISK. This contrasts with "A2-Central" where even the explanations accompanying the disk software are kept on the disk.
To be fair though, the printed article explaining the disk software went into great detail to explain the principles behind the software (GS/OS's 32 prefixes). While not emphasising specific CODE techniques, the program DESIGN and other considerations were covered with clarity.
The programming articles are basically orientated towards GAINING AN UNDERSTANDING of the IIgs internals. If you are already proficient with the IIgs in this respect then you would find more value (there's that word again!) in a specialist programming magazine. The toolbox was scarcely mentioned in this edition, save for an article on IIgs boot disks.
On thing which irked me was the full page given to promoting the "GS+" disk. Titled "HOW TO USE THE GS+ DISK" it is functionally similar to the "THIS MONTHS DISK" in the "A2-Central" publication. The difference is that this information is once again provided only on the disk with the "A2-Central" publication. This is where it belongs.
Reading through the list of the disk contents (I don't have one of these disks) I noticed that more than the executable file is provided. One of the programs in particular has made extensive use of resources and not only are all the necessary REZ language and source files provided, but several EXEC language files which automate the compilation and linking are also provided. This would be very instructive to the novice programmer.
The editors of "GS+" make the assertion that the contents of the disk are NOT shareware or public domain. I cannot comment as to whether any implied stamp of QUALITY is justified, although the software in question is a GS/OS prefix manager (implemented as a CDev) and an NDA text editor and printer which handled ASCII and AppleWorks Classic formats. With all the necessary source code and documentation provided, this sounds pretty good.
One folder on the disk is of particular relevance to another of the articles in the printed magazine. This was a review of "Visionary GS", an NTSC video digitiser. The "GS+" editors decided to throw onto the disk some examples of the output, in Apple Preferred Format, of the digitiser. This is an excellent use of the disk in assisting the reader in evaluating the worth of the product.
The feature article in the review edition was a report on the New Jersey AppleFest. The front cover of "GS+" set the tone for the report. In 36pt type "APPLEFEST?" appeared and underneath the heading was a photo of a man standing with his back to the camera, scratching his head and looking up towards the ceiling. On the ceiling, in all its glory, was a banner proclaiming "Commodore".
The report was constructively critical of Apple Computer Inc, Applied Engineering and others who did not attend and publicised positive aspects of the show, including new products and a list of companies who DID attend.
In conclusion, if you take out a subscription to "GS+" you MUST also subscribe to the disk as well. The two are inseparable, as the printed "GS+" made clear. If you want a magazine which is forthright and thorough, which covers all aspects of the IIgs in an easily understandable manner then "GS+" may be for you. If you need "creatively" written, sugary reviews with multi-colour graphics to capture your attention and sustain your interest then look elsewhere.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: 6 issues per year. US$8.00 for one issue, printed & disk or US$3.00 without the disk. Alternatively, US$36.00 for 6 issues, printed and disk or US$15.00 without the disk. Add US$5.00 for surface mail or US$25.00 for air. Cheque, money order, Mastercard or Visa accepted (state the number, expiry date and SIGN your subscription request).
ADDRESS: GS+ Subscription Services, c/o EGO Systems, PO Box 15366, Chattanooga, TN 37415-0366, USA. Alternatively, phone: 0011, 1- (615) 870-4960. As this is a Tennessee number, phone at breakfast time, rather than after the late news.

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