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Abingdon Synthesis Projects (ASP) bursts onto the scene


The SCSI-Burster is a new product from this new company. It fits into a standard PC case of any normal configuration (Desktop, tower etc.) and allows an external SCSI aware machine, like the Atari ST fitted with an ACSI-SCSI converter, to use internal PC SCSI devices. Externally cased SCSI devices such as hard disks, tape streamers, CD-ROMs and removable media are more expensive than their internal equivalents. The SCSI-Burster range costs from £18 for the basic three internal connector/one external connector cable, so substantial savings are possible even for a minimal hard disk plus CD-ROM setup. The other advantage is a welcome reduction in the "Cable-Spaghetti" behind your machine because PC cases typically have a PSU through socket for connection to another mains powered device.

Telephone Abingdon Synthesis Projects (ASP) on +44 (0)1235 534152.

The Hades - an Atari Super Computer?

Brought into Britain by System Solutions, the Hades 040/060 is probably the fastest TOS-based computer on the face of the earth. Available in both 68040 and 68060 flavours (for £1995 and £2395 respectively), the Hades features a vast array of ports and interfaces that can take an overwhelming selection of input and output devices. The Hades is the first TOS compatible computer to possess 4 PCI slots, PCI being a exceptionally fast bus which enables input and output of data to and from devices, like graphics cards and SCSI ports. This means super-fast access to all of your peripherals. Whilst building the Hades, the designers have kept TOS/GEM compatibility very much in mind. The Hades features a VME bus, for example, and MIDI, modem, LAN, printer ports, etc. - everything you'd expect on a standard Atari (with the exception of a cartridge slot). The memory is another case in point. Although you can install up to 1 Gigabyte (yes, really!) every single byte is seen by the operating system (a modified TOS 3.06) as ST RAM - albeit, running at TT RAM speed! In pure speed terms, the 060 model is equivalent to a 200MHz Pentium! A truly professional system for the most demanding of Atarians. System Solutions tell us they are able to build Hades systems to the customers exact specifications. So, if you've got deep pockets then give them a call on +(0)181 693 3355. At the same time, could you lend us a tenner?

Technical Specs.
Internal:
4x PCI Bus 2x ISA Bus 1x VME Bus 1x EIDE (enhanced IDE) with a maximum 10Mb/s for two devices. 1x SCSI with a maximum 4Mb/s for 1-7 devices (TT compatible)
External:
Modem 1 (25 way D-Sub) with a maximum 19,200 baud. Modem 2 (9 way D-Sub) with a maximum 250,000 baud. Local talk (8 pin Mini DIN) with a maximum 250,000 baud. Printer (25 way D-Sub - Falcon/TT compatible) Midi In/Out PC Keyboard connection (standard) Mouse and Joystick (Atari compatible)

MagiC World

In a swathe of new releases this month, System Solutions have brought out several products for their flagship operating system, MagiC. Firstly we have an update to the current operating system, taking it to version 5. It offers (over version 4) increased compatibility, long filename support, multithreading, support for 128 concurrent programs or windows, support for DOS compatible partitions, an enhanced desktop and lots of smaller changes and updates. Upgrades available now for £19.95. MagiC PC is also now available. It's the MagiC operating system ported to IBM compatible computers - in less technical jargon "it lets you run Atari software on your PC". You'll need a fast PC to run MagiC PC on, of course, emulating 68000 code on an Intel processor takes a lot of grunt. System Solutions recommend a 486 DX4 100 as a minimum - but we suspect you only get the best from the emulator on a Pentium system. MagiC PC runs as a window inside the Windows 95 desktop and is fully multitasking. It offers resolutions in any sizes using up to 16 colours - for more you need NVDI PC. It gives you direct access to all your system peripherals but, like MagiCMac, as there's no cartridge port there's no way to run dongle protected software like Cubase! As mentioned above, NVDI PC is also available. This greatly enhances the display speed of MagiC PC, as well as giving access to vector font technology, GDOS printing, etc. It also enables MagiC PC to run in screen modes greater than 16 colour - 256, 16-bit and 24-bit colour are all possible. MagiC PC costs £149, with NVDI PC at £69.95. However, a bundle price is available for £199. There are also a range of different upgrades, cross-grades and bundle prices available - talk to System Solutions on +44 (0)181 693 3355.

Titan Announce Videlity

Extended Resolutions


Falcon with Nemesis at 24/48MHz - all are non-interlaced resolutions, 16-bit (65,536 colours per screen) on a standard 14" VGA non-multisync! With a half-decent multi-sync it can be expected that even higher resolutions can be seen!
CPU
Bus		CPUVideo
Bus		Refresh
(hz)
640x480 24 24 24 60
720x528 24 24 24 50
576x432 20 20 20 60

Titan recently sent us some mouth watering statistics, showing the TrueColor resolutions possible with their Falcon accelerator, the Nemesis. When used with their powerful image processing software the results must be pretty special! What makes this possible is the solid 24MHz bus performance of the Nemesis board - in the Falcon, the graphics performance is tied to the bus as it uses conventional memory for the screen. However, what makes this snippet of information even more interesting is the software that Titan used - and intend to sell - to generate these extended resolutions. It's called 'Videlity' and threatens to take the current duopoly of ScreenBlaster and BlowUP to task. Videlity was originally developed to support APEX Alpha for creating high resolution displays, and a portion of the code will be supplied with this program to form part of the complete software/hardware suite - APEX Alpha, Videlity and Nemesis. We also expect Videlity to become a "must have" option, particularly for Nemesis owners but also for users having a standard Falcon. Videlity provides extremely reliable resolution switching and fixes many bugs that are apparent in TOS, including some anomalies that seem to exist in NVDI. Rather than be constrained by fixed resolution settings which are apparent in other screen expanders, Videlity allows fast operation and complete flexibility in all operations. Price and availability are yet to be determined - but if you're a Falcon owner it's certainly one to look out for. Talk to Titan on +44 (0)121 993 6669

Inexpensive Dry Colour Printing on the Horizon.

The one thing that lets current inkjet based colour printers down is the fact that ink is wet, or rather, that the ink makes the paper wet, causing slight distortion and bleeding. The alternative, colour laser output is still horrendously expensive, and liable to stay that way at least into next year. With their interest in all things graphical, Titan Designs have been looking into the newest crop of "Micro Dry" printers. What they've told us is enough to make even the most monochrome of mouths drool. Colour printing at 600x600 dpi using this completely dry method gives photo-realistic output on standard paper and monochrome output (at a staggering 1200x600 dpi) is sharp and crisp. In addition the printer is able to output spot colours in a range of metallic inks. Gold, silver, cyan and magenta will be available initially for £9.95 a cartridge. CYMK cartridges (for standard colour printing) will be £7.95 each with the printer retailing for a reasonable £469. We will definitely be keeping an eye on this one!

HD-Driver v6

HD-Driver, now at version 6, has become the de-facto standard for hard disk driving on the Atari over the past few years. If you're an owner of HD-Driver then you'll be glad to know that System Solutions have just released v6. A range of inexpensive upgrade options are available - not that, at £29.95, HD Driver is particularly costly in the first place! Version 6 offers a much re-worked interface, easier to use and more intelligently grouped functions. There is now a highly configurable disk formatting mode - including support for media with different physical sector sizes, like magno-optical drives. The partitioning has also been revamped, enabling you to create DOS/Atari compatible partitions, delete individual partitions, repair partitions, etc. In addition there's a new Auto Configuration option, which automatically tells the driver which devices are connected to your computer. If you're upgrading from an earlier version of HD Driver there are even more new features to look for. The list is huge, far too big to list completely here, but here are just a few:-
  • Background DMA with MagiC 4 (or greater), which enables MagiC to go on multitasking during disk access.
  • Password protect Zip drives
  • Parity checks on TTs and Falcons
  • Partitions above 1Gb on the ACSI port (MagiC 4/5 required)
  • NEWMEDIA program simulates a media change for removable drives which do not properly tell your computer when you change disk.
  • CAF_FIX is included to fix a Falcon hardware bug which can cause problems with Cubase Audio.
  • Partition Assignment enables you to fix drive identifiers to ASCI, SCSI and IDE ids. 8. Enhanced support for removable media.
  • Support for Phasewriter Drives (PD)

The HD-Driver package remains at £29.95, with upgrades from v4 or 5 at £15 and from earlier versions at £20. The package includes a newly developed manual. Talk to System Solutions on +44 (0)181 693 3355.

Atari Friendly Scanning Service

Floppyshop have just announced a photo scanning service aimed at Atari owners without CD-ROMs.
They will take your photographs (3 minimum, up to 6"x4"), scan them into either GIF, TIFF, PNG or JPEG format and send them back to you.
The charge per scan is £2.50, with set postal fees of £1.25 in the UK, going up to £2.25 in Europe and £3.00 to the Rest of the World. Whilst this service is aimed fairly and squarely at home owners who want to view a few snaps on their Atari, Floppyshop meister, Steve Delaney is happy to talk to any interested graphics professionals with more demanding needs.
You can email him on: sdelaney@steil.wintermute.co.uk
or call him on +44 (0)1224 586208 Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday between 9am and 4pm.

STOP.PRESS.STOP.PRESS

Horrific Browser War to Develop on Atari?

***A new French browser - looks pretty slick, doesn't it? ***

Are we about to see a gargantuan Web browser war develop on the Atari, akin to that going on between Netscape and Microsoft on the PC? Well, probably not - Atari owners are more sensible, aren't they? But there's no denying that a new browser from France, is about to shake CAB's current monopoly on the Atari platform. We don't know too much about the program, as the screen grab was shoved under our noses less than 24 hours before we went to press - but we decided it was well worth including in this issues news. If you're an on-line Atarian (and if not, why not?) then we think you'll agree this is very good news for the future of the Atari Internet.

Papyrus v4 at last!

After what seems an age, Papyrus v4, the superb word-processing package, is now with us
- and we think you'll agree it's been worth the wait.
Almost re-written from scratch, this release builds on the fluid, most usable of interfaces to give a better look and even more functionality. The re-write has enabled the author to optimise the code further, providing greater speed and compatibility.
You know that everyone keeps on mentioning "well written GEM programs" with regard to new operating systems?
Well Papyrus is that program!
This version of Papyrus is also the first to offer full colour support, in any resolution and colour mode. This includes colour output - just in time to serve the needs of the new army of affordable, high quality, colour printer owners.
To complement this Technicolor dawn Hisoft have added their own EFMS system to Papyrus, enabling your to load in a wide range of graphics formats.
A number of annoying limitations have been removed - for example, there is now no (practical) limit to the number of vector fonts Papyrus can use. It is also much better, and faster, at handling long documents and the search speed has been greatly improved. In addition, all copies of Papyrus v4, including upgrades, come with a CD packed with 500 fonts. Far from being low standard public domain - or worse, incomplete shareware! - these fonts come directly from the BitStream type foundry and are of the highest quality.

Upgrades are available for £49.95 from Hisoft and other Atari dealers.
The full package costs £149.

SNIPPETS

Floppyshop -
Positive Image 1.12 now available, this release fixes a few bugs and adds loading of compressed BMP images and adds support for NOVA graphics cards.
In addition, all new versions come with a 68040 processor friendly version that takes advantage of special coding techniques for the new breed of Atari clone.

System Solutions
have a TOS extractor available, to enable you to use standard TOS under the MagiC PC emulator.
This gives even greater compatibility, so much so that some games are playable on the PC!
Naturally System Solutions will not be giving out versions of TOS on disk - you'll have to have your own Atari to rip it from.

Another new Atari clone will soon be available.
The Phoenix, from France, will sport either 68040 or 68060 processors and a DSP chip. Very little is known about the computer at this stage but it sounds pretty powerful and will be sold at a price comparable with other clones. ,br> We'll keep you posted!

Four play from 16/32
16/32 have recently signed deals to distribute Team from Impact Software, Substation and Obsession from Unique Developments and Multi Brick, a Breakout clone from France.
All four games run on STe/Falcon machines and are expected to retail for £19 each.
Contact 16/32 on +44 (0)1634 710788

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