Marvin Malkowski Jr.

Announced by Chris Torrence via Usenet Comp.Sys.Apple2

Assembly Lines: The Complete Book is now available! The book contains all 33 of Roger Wagner’s articles from Softalk magazine, as well as appendices on the 6502 instruction set, zero-page memory usage, and a beginner’s guide to using the Merlin Assembler. The book is currently available for 40% off on Lulu.com, and will be available at Amazon in a few weeks. Note: Roger Wagner has released the book under a Creative Commons NonCommercial-ShareAlike license, and I’m currently working on the eBook version.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/roger-wagner/assembly-lines-the-complete-book/hardcover/product-21959093.html

FYI, I uploaded disk images of the Assembly Lines programs to the Asimov website:

ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net//pub/apple_II/images/programming/assembler/AssemblyLinesWagnerDOS1.DSK
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net//pub/apple_II/images/programming/assembler/AssemblyLinesWagnerDOS2.DSK
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net//pub/apple_II/images/programming/assembler/AssemblyLinesWagnerProDOS1.DSK
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net//pub/apple_II/images/programming/assembler/AssemblyLinesWagnerProDOS2.DSK

There are DOS and ProDOS versions. Disk1 contains the programs from chapters 1-17, while Disk2 contains the remaining chapters. Note that a few of the programs (in the DOS chapter) will only work in DOS, not ProDOS.

You can download a copy of the Merlin assembler for DOS at:
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net//pub/apple_II/images/programming/assembler/merlin/Merlin-8 v2.48 (DOS 3.3).dsk

And for ProDOS:
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net//pub/apple_II/images/programming/assembler/merlin/Merlin-8 v2.58 (ProDOS) Disk 1-2.dsk

Brief Table of Contents:

Preface
Introduction
1. Apple’s Architecture
2. The Monitor
3. Assemblers
4. Loops and Counters
5. Loops, Branches, COUT, and Paddles
6. I/O Using Monitor and Keyboards
7. Addressing Modes
8. Sound Generation
9. The Stack
10. Addition and Subtraction
11. DOS and Disk Access
12. Shift Operators and Logical Operators
13. I/O Routines
14. Reading and Writing Files on Disk
15. Special Programming Techniques
16. Passing Data from Applesoft BASIC
17. More Applesoft Data Passing
18. Applesoft Hi-Res Graphics
19. Calling Hi-Res Graphics Routines
20. Structure of the Hi-Res Display Screen
21. Hi-Res Plotting in Assembly
22. Even Better Hi-Res Plotting
23. Hi-Res Graphics SCRN Function
24. The Collision Counter, DRAW, XDRAW
25. Explosions and Special Effects
26. Passing Floating-Point Data
27. Floating-Point Math Routines
28. The BCD, or Binary Coded Decimal
29. Intercepting Output
30. Intercepting Input
31. Hi-Res Character Generator
32. Hi-Res Character Editor
33. The 65C02
Appendix A: Contest
Appendix B: Assembly Commands
Appendix C: 6502 Instruction Set
Appendix D: Monitor Subroutines
Appendix E: ASCII and Screen Charts
Appendix F: Zero-Page Memory Usage
Appendix G: Beginner’s Guide to Merlin
List of Programs
Directory Listing for Program Disks
Index
Quick Reference

Hot on the heels of their new announcement, Hasbro is giving Transformers Fans, a fresh new Trailer for Transformers: Robots In Disguise.

The trailer features the voices of Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, Will Friedle as Bumblebee, Darren Criss as Sideswipe, Constance Zimmer as Strongarm, Mitchell Whitfield as Fixit and our first look at Ted McGinley as Grimlock.

Picking up where Transformers Prime left off… A Decepticon prison ship crash lands on Earth and Optimus Prime summons Bumblebee to lead a rag-tag team of Autobots – including a bad-boy rebel type, a by-the-book elite guard cadet, a loud-mouth Dinobot and a hyperactive Mini-con. The mission: capture an all new batch of escaped Decepticon villains and, of course, save humankind. The problem is Bumblebee must first learn how to lead! The new hero quickly realizes that chasing and catching the enemy is tough, but working with such an unusual team of characters may be even harder!

What do Pony necks taste like? Hasbro and Pez are teaming up to bring you the answer! Pez, the household name for plastic candy dispensers since your parents were kids, are set to make a series of My Little Pony Pez dispensers to give Pony fans everywhere that added sugar rush that they probably didn’t need. The first series of candy dispensers will be shown at Brand Licensing Europe this week and will feature the likenesses of fan and kid-favorites Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle.

Read on for the press release.

Hasbro and PEZ International Strike Sweet Global Licensing Deal for My Little Pony Branded PEZ Dispensers and Candy Line

MY LITTLE PONY BRANDED PEZ Line to Debut at Brand Licensing Europe

OLYMPIA, London–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Two classic brands collaborate to create the sweet taste of success. Hasbro, Inc. has signed a global licensing agreement with PEZ International to develop a MY LITTLE PONY-branded line of PEZ dispensers, PEZ dextrose fizzy candy, and fizzy rolls. Consumers will be able to unwrap the treats beginning in early 2015 in Germany, France and Austria followed by additional markets worldwide. The new dispensers and candy will be on display at Hasbro Booth #D020 at Brand Licensing Europe in Olympia, London on October 7-9.

The MY LITTLE PONY line of three PEZ dispensers will be based on PINKIE PIE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE and RAINBOW DASH and the assorted fruit candy range will include lemon, strawberry, orange and cherry flavors.

“This is a colorful pairing of two brands with strong pop culture followings,” said James Walker,Hasbro Vice President of Brand Licensing, Europe. “The MY LITTLE PONY property has grown to represent more than $650 million at retail supported by a global fanbase that is deeply drawn to the brand’s character-based stories of friendship and magic. PEZ represents an equally avid worldwide consumer base that craves continuous dispenser and candy innovation. We envision the MY LITTLE PONY PEZ line to be a big hit among consumers of all ages.”

“We are very excited to have the MY LITTLE PONY branded PEZ dispensers in our product range for 2015. The property is a classic, and growing. As PEZ always tries hard to meet the expectations of its young fans and consumers, the MY LITTLE PONY range is the perfect match”, says Gabriele Hofinger, Head of Marketing and Licensing at PEZ.

The MY LITTLE PONY branded PEZ dispensers and candy will be available at popular retail outlets worldwide.

About Pez

The PEZ Group is a globally operating enterprise. In addition to Europe and the USA, the brand’s key markets are Japan and Australia. PEZ products are available in over 80 countries. The company manufactures around 60 million dispensers and 4.6 billion candies every year and has 750 employees worldwide. Besides classic PEZ candies and dispensers, the PEZ range has featured a new product success since 2011: PEZ soft. The tasty fruit gums and action dispenser – the first fruit gum dispenser ever – are highly popular and help continue the brand’s decades of success. With PEZ Peppermint sugarfree candies, PEZ is once again targeting adults: the retro products conjure up memories of days gone by and are a stylish accessory. The product portfolio also includes various gift packs containing dispensers and candies, seasonal products (Easter, Christmas, Halloween, etc.), and licensed and unlicensed dextrose and fizzy candies. Please visit www.pez.at for more information.

About Hasbro

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company dedicated to fulfilling the fundamental need for play for children and families through the creative expression of the Company’s world class brand portfolio, including TRANSFORMERS, MONOPOLY, PLAY-DOH, MY LITTLE PONY, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, NERF and LITTLEST PET SHOP. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its global customers with innovative play and entertainment experiences, in a variety of forms and formats, anytime and anywhere. The Company’s Hasbro Studios is responsible for entertainment brand-driven storytelling around Hasbro brands across television, film, commercial productions and short-form. Through the company’s deep commitment to corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to build a safe and sustainable world for future generations and to positively impact the lives of millions of children and families every year. It has been recognized for its efforts by being named one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” and is ranked as one of Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s “100 Best Corporate Citizens.” Learn more at www.hasbro.com and follow us on Twitter (@HasbroNews).

HAS-LIC

Well as long as we’re having a slow news day, I’ll use the opportunity to share the latest bit of rubbish that I threw together… Before Halo, before Unreal, before Quake, before them all, there was DOOM – the first person shooter that started it all. DOOM is now more than 20 years old, and still going strong! This is my homage to game:

 

Click here for tons of close-up shots. Or if you’re in the Seattle area next weekend, come see it on display – alongside a million other incredible fan-built LEGO creations – at BrickCon. But if you can’t make BrickCon, don’t worry, I created a little “fly-through” video for you:

Those who thought Marvel was crazy for putting together a movie based on C (or even D) list characters have 94 million reasons to apologize. Guardians of the Galaxy ended up taking in $94 million over the weekend according to BOM, wiping away the previous record held by The Bourne Ultimatium which bowed at $69.3 in 2007.

The movie came in just barely under the opening weekend for Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($95 million) and above Thor: The Dark World ($85.7 million) which is pretty remarkable since both of those were sequels and the Guardians was filled with unknown characters.

Add in the international markets and the movie brought in $160.4 million world wide. Not bad for a movie with a talking raccoon and tree.

Guardians Shatters August Box Office With $94 Million