My JavaScript Programming book

Back in the year 1997, a friend of mine who had written some booklets for the Peruvian publishing company Editora Palmir, E.I.R.L., which specialized on computer-related subjects, told me they were looking or someone who could write another one on the JavaScript language, which was still fairly new at the time, but I had already become quite proficient at it. So, I got on it, and, since I didn't own a PC at the time, I had to borrow my cousin's (who leaved nearby), and when nobody was at her home a couple of times, my uncle's, too, in order to be able to deliver the finished book at the agreed date. So, it was published under the title Manual de JavaScript (JavaScript Handbook), and I got a decent pay for it, as well as some copies to keep for myself or give away to  family and friends. I still have a single copy somewhere at home, but right now, I haven't been able to find it...

Then my friend told me I should expand it into a whole book and offer it to the company por publication. So, I started working on it, and by 1998 I had finished it, making a total of over 250 pages. I had titled it Programación en JavaScript 1.0 para Internet (JavaScript 1.0 Programming for the Internet). I had included, among others, an appendix listing the changes and innovations in the 1.1 version, and if the book sold well, I intended to follow it with further volumes dedicated to later versions as they got released. Unfortunately, the company said they weren't interested in publishing it (maybe because the previous booklet hadn't sold as well as they expected), so I tried to get my university's publications department interested in publishing it, but after several weeks dealing with them, I think there was a change of staff, and then they weren't interested in publishing it anymore, either. Some years later, I tried contacting another publishing company online, who also specialized in computer-related subjects, offering them my book for free (since by that time, the subject had already become outdated), but they told me they were more focused on business-oriented applications and asked me if it was possible to rewrite it with that in mind. In the end, by the year 2008 (that is, 10 years after I had originally written it), I decided to make an Adobe PDF file out of it, upload it and offer it as a free download.

Unfortunately, as it's happened many times, the server where my PDF file was hosted doesn't exist anymore, so I have decided to make it avialable here through my blog instead:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15RBcfxpXog6L5QBsAWcyIJe7gkdUhvx4/view?usp=sharing

So, there it is, my unpublished book, in all its glory. Of course, it's in Spanish and it's grossly outdated now, but I still trust you may find interesting to look at it and think about what might have been if it got published back then...

Atari Creativo and Informática Creativa magazines

Back in 1988, when I had already graduated from the Abitur and finally entered a local university after ditching my original plans since my dad had just lost his job and my mom lost her mother, a former classmate from high school who was studying computer sciences and had stayed in contact with me all that time let me know about this local computer magazine he found downtown titled Atari Creativo. It was printed on cheap paper and in varying tones of green ink, for some reason. Its price at the time was 30 Intis. Back in high school, my friend had owned an IBM PCjr, when I owned a Timex/Sinclair TS-1000 first and an Atari 800XL later, but later he had moved on to an Atari ST, and that's the reason he bought that magazine, since it contained articles both for the ST line and the 8-bit line. He let me borrow it from him later, as I couldn't find a copy anymore:

I couldn't find any further issues of that magazine, either.. since it never published any further issues other than this one (numbered as Issue 0).

Joystick miscellany

This is the second of my Usenet posts on comp.sys.atari.8bit from early 1996, in which I described some circuits and controllers I designed back then for use with the Atari 8-bit systems, complementing the information contained in my other post:

ATARI controllers notes

Back then in early 1996 I also made a couple of interesting posts on the comp.sys.atari.8bit newsgroup aside from my parody on rec.arts.startrek.misc around the same time, so I decided to also show them here. This is the first one. titled "ATARI controllers notes", where I described my finding from taking apart various Atari controlelrs to see how they were built internally and how they worked:

Science Fiction Library collection - Hyspamérica / Orbis

Back then when I was describing the Cousteau's Secrets of the Sea encyclopedia, I mentioned another collection which was distributed in Lima, Peru by Importaciones Riguse: "Biblioteca de Ciencia Ficción" ("Science fiction Library"). This one was a collection of 100 science fiction novels and anthologies published as softcover pocket books in Argentina by Hyspamérica between 1986 and 1988 for distribution throughout Latin America, while it had been originally published in Spain first by Orbis between 1985 and 1987. The collection had been curated by Spanish science fiction writer Domingo Santos, and included some volumes by Spanish and Latin American authors, included Santos himself. Both the Spanish and Argentine editions followed the same order up to volume 52, but from 53 on, the order was changed in Argentina, probably de to the popularity (or lack of) of Spanish language authors in Latin America compared to Spain, or the necessity to secure the publishing rights outside of Spain for those authors' works, which needed additional times. Anyway, the rest of the collection was reshuffled, and classical authors were printed first, while those ones were pushed further back in the collection. This collection has also been know as the "Blue series" ("Serie azul"), due to the front and back covers being colored blue, with the titles and authors in blue letters on a chrome background, and the collection's title and volume number in chrome characters at the top; additionally, the Argentine version featured Hyspamérica's name at the bottom in chrome characters, too. The spine was also colored blue, with the collection's title in chrome letters at the top, the publisher's logo in chrome at the bottom, and the author, book title and volume number in blue characters on a chrome background below the collection's title.

Here's the list of titles as they were published by Hyspamérica in Argentina:

1. The End of Eternity - Isaac Asimov
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke
3. Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein
4. Way Station - Clifford D. Simak
5. Ringworld - Larry Niven
6. Planet of the Apes - Pierre Boulle
7. The Naked Sun - Isaac Asimov
8. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
9. Martians, Go Home - Fredric Brown
10. Dangerous Visions #1 - Harlan Ellison (anthology)
11. Dangerous Visions #2 - Harlan Ellison (anthology)
12. Dangerous Visions #3 - Harlan Ellison (anthology)
13. The Caves of Steel - Isaac Asimov
14. A Case of Conscience - James Blish
15. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
16. The Embedding - Ian Watson
17. Ubik - Philip K. Dick
18. This Immortal - Roger Zelazny
19. Changewar - Fritz Leiber
20. The Lovers - Philip José Farmer
21. The World Inside - Robert Silverberg
22. Eye in the Sky - Philip K. Dick
23. Metropolis - Thea von Harbou
24. Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
25. Night Walk - Bob Shaw
26. The Persistence of Vision - John Varley
27. One Hundred Years of Science Fiction - Damon Knight (anthology)
28. Paradox Lost - Fredric Brown
29. The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories - Isaac Asimov
30. Darker than You Think - Jack Williamson
31. The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: A Special 25th Anniversary Anthology - Edward L. Ferman (anthology, part 1)
32. The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction. 20th Series - Edward L. Ferman (anthology, part 2)
33. The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction. 20th Series - Edward L. Ferman (anthology, part 3)
34. Strange Relations - Philip José Farmer
35. The Computer Connection - Alfred Bester
36. The Mote in God's Eye - Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven (part 1)
37. The Mote in God's Eye - Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven (part 2)
38. Venus Plus X - Theodore Sturgeon
39. Under the Shadow of the Barbarians - Eduardo Goligorsky
40. Guardians of Time - Poul Anderson
41. The Man Who Fell to Earth - Walter Tevis
42. Barefoot in the Head - Brian W. Aldiss
43. Make Room! Make Room! - Harry Harrison
44. Typescript of the Second Origin - Manuel de Pedrolo
45. Greener Than You Think - Ward Moore
46. Isaac Asimov Presents The Best Science Fiction of the 19th Century - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 1)
47. Isaac Asimov Presents The Best Science Fiction of the 19th Century - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 2)
48. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 1)
49. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 2)
50. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 3)
51. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (anthology, part 4)
52. The Puppet Masters - Robert A. Heinlein
53. The Rest of the Robots - Isaac Asimov
54. The Best of Soviet Science Fiction, Part 1 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 1)
55. The Best of Soviet Science Fiction, Part 2 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 2)
56. The Best of Soviet Science Fiction, Part 3 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 3)
57. Tears of Light - Rafael Marín Trechera
58. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein (part 1)
59. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein (part 2)
60. The Last Castle / The Dragon Masters - Jack Vance
61. Voyage to a Wu-Wei Planet, Part 1 - Gabriel Bermúdez Castillo (part 1)
62. Voyage to a Wu-Wei Planet, Part 2 - Gabriel Bermúdez Castillo (part 2)
63. The Inner Landscape - Michael Moorcock (anthology)
64. Candy Man - Vincent King
65. Space Chantey - R. A. Lafferty
66. Planet of Exile - Ursula K. Le Guin
67. The Legion of Space - Jack Williamson
68. Out of the Silent Planet - C. S. Lewis
69. Perelandra - C. S. Lewis
70. That Hideous Strength - C. S. Lewis (part 1)
71. That Hideous Strength - C. S. Lewis (part 2)
72. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
73. Not Far Away from Earth - Domingo Santos
74. What Mad Universe - Fredric Brown
75. Arrive at Easterwine - R. A. Lafferty
76. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Part 2 1936-1945 - Michael Ashley (anthology, part 1)
77. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Part 2 1936-1945 - Michael Ashley (anthology, part 2)
78. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Part 3 1946-1955 - Michael Ashley (anthology)
79. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Part 4 1956-1965 - Michael Ashley (anthology)
80. Nightwings - Robert Silverberg
81. Trafalgar - Angélica Gorodischer
82. The Best of Spanish Science Fiction - Domingo Santos (anthology)
83. The Best of Latin American Science Fiction - Bernard Goorden / A. E. van Vogt (anthology)
84. Master of the Wheel - Gabriel Bermúdez Castillo
85. The Serfs of ISSSCO - Guillermo Solana
86. Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny
87. The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein (part 1)
88. The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein (part 2)
89. The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein (part 3)
90. The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein (part 4)
91. The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick
92. The Science Fiction of H. G. Wells, Part 1 - H. G. Wells (anthology by Domingo Santos, part 1)
93. The Science Fiction of H. G. Wells, Part 2 - H. G. Wells (anthology by Domingo Santos, part 2)
94. The Science Fiction of Jules Verne - Jules Verne (anthology by Domingo Santos)
95. Anthology of Anticipation Novels, Part 1 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 1)
96. Anthology of Anticipation Novels, Part 2 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 2)
97. Anthology of Anticipation Novels, Part 3 - Domingo Santos (anthology, part 3)
98. Tiger! Tiger! - Alfred Bester
99. The Year of the Quiet Sun - Wilson Tucker
100. The Inferno - Fred Hoyle / Geoffrey Hoyle

Thrillers Collection - Montaña Mágica

By 1986, Oveja Negra from Colombia was already in financial troubles, so its parent company launched a new publishing house called La Montaña Mágica (a reference to Thomas Mann's novel "The Magic Mountain"), which again in partnership with R.B.A. from Spain, launched a third collection for Colombia and Latin America, titled "Novelas de Suspenso" ("Thrillers"). Although I didn't buy the first two volumes of this collection, thus lacking the corresponding brochure listing the titles, I remember finding a discarded one some time later (though I haven't been able to find it among my stuff), and I think originally it was also supposed to consist of 100 titles, but in the end they had to cut it at just 40, which were titles originally present in the Spanish collections released by Planeta and Forum but not included in the corresponding releases by Oveja Negra, mostly horror and detective novels, and spy thrillers, including more of Ian Fleming's original James Bond novels.. Here in Peru it arrived in 1987, and again, I acquired some issues at the Monterrey department store, and later a few more at second-hand bookstores.

The list of the 40 titles known to have been released is as follows:

• 1: The Exorcist – William Peter Blatty
• 2: Psycho – Robert Bloch
• 3: Papillon – Henri Charrière
• 4: The Moneychangers – Arthur Hailey
• 5: The Great Train Robbery – Michael Crichton
• 6: The Boys from Brazil – Ira Levin
• 7: Black Sunday – Thomas Harris
• 8: The Amityville Horror Part II / The Horror Returns to Amityville – Jay Anson
• 9: The Fall of the House of Usher – Edgar Allan Poe
• 10: The Poseidon Adventure – Paul Gallico
• 11: The Galton Case – Ross Macdonald
• 12: Sphinx – Robin Cook
• 13: To the Eagle's Nest – Joseph DiMona
• 14: Overload – Arthur Hailey
• 15: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus – Mary Shelley
• 16: A Private Venus / Death at the School – Giorgio Scerbanenco
• 17: Thunderball – Ian Fleming
• 18: The Bride Wore Black – William Irish
• 19: The Invisible Man – H. G. Wells
• 20: The Birds – Daphne du Maurier
• 21: The Return of Sherlock Holmes – Arthur Conan Doyle
• 22: The Looking Glass War – John le Carré
• 23: The Mugger – Ed McBain
• 24: The Asphalt Jungle – W. R. Burnett
• 25: The Sleeping Car Murders / The Compartment – Sébastien Japrisot
• 26: You Only Live Twice – Ian Fleming
• 27: The Murderer Lives at Number 21 – Stanislas-André Steeman
• 28: The Innocence of Father Brown – G. K. Chesterton
• 29: The Masque of the Red Death – Edgar Allan Poe
• 30: The Beast Must Die – Nicholas Blake
• 31: Little Caesar – W. R. Burnett
• 32: Frenzy / Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square – Arthur La Bern
• 33: The Goodbye Look – Ross Macdonald
• 34: Dark Duet / The Stars Are Dark – Peter Cheyney
• 35: Moonraker – Ian Fleming
• 36: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes – Arthur Conan Doyle
• 37: The Saint in New York – Leslie Charteris
• 38: I Am Legend – Richard Matheson
• 39: Rear Window – Cornell Woolrich
• 40: The Case of the Dangerous Dowager – Erle Stanley Gardner

Great Adventures collection - Oveja Negra

Then in 1984, in Spain, publishing company Ediciones Forum (also part of the larger Planeta Group) launched another collection of 100 novels in softcover pocket book format under the title "Grandes Aventuras" ("Great Adventures"), consisting mostly of classic novels, but also some of Ian Fleming's original James Bond novels. Then in 1985, Oveja Negra from Colombia, again in partnership with R.B.A. from Spain, launched a collection under the same name for Colombia and Latin America, also consisting of 100 titles, released betweeen 1985 and 1986, including most (but not all) of the ones from the Forum collection; unlike what happened with their Best Sellers collection, here some titles which were long and in the Forum collection had been split into two volumes, were instead presented in a single volume, sometimes using smaller typeface in order to keep the size of the book from becoming too bloated. The enclosed brochure which came with the first two titles upon their release listed them all. Here in Peru it arrived between 1985 and 1987, and again, I acquired the first two at the Monterrey department store, as well as a few more, while I got some other titles much later at second-hand bookstores.

Just as I did before with the Best Sellers one, I've scanned the original brochure in 16 parts, since it was as large as the previous one. First, the front page as it appeared when it was folded:

Now the back page:

The inside after opening it first:

And the complete listing, after finishing unfolding it: