::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||| Volume 1, Number 36 September 1, 1989 ||||||| |||||||---------------------------------------------------------||||||| ||||||| ST*ZMagazine - Weekly Atari Online Magazine ||||||| |||||||---------------------------------------------------------||||||| ||||||| Publisher/Editor: Ron Kovacs ||||||| |||||||---------------------------------------------------------||||||| ||||||| Copyright (c)1989, Rovac Industries, Incorporated ||||||| |||||||---------------------------------------------------------||||||| ||||||| Post Office Box 59, Middlesex, NJ 08846-0059 ||||||| |||||||---------------------------------------------------------||||||| ||||||| CompuServe: 71777,2140 GEnie: ZMAGAZINE ||||||| |||||||---------------------------------------------------------||||||| ||||||| ZMag, ST*ZMag, ZNet (201) 968-8148 ||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: TABLE OF CONTENTS ================= Issue #36 <*> ZNet Newswire....................................... <*> Sam Tramiel in Conference........................... <*> Announcements, Press Releases, User Group Update.... <*> Public Domain Shelf......................Alice Amore <*> 130XE Upgraded...........................Mark Elliot <*> Monochrome and More.......................Mark Quinn <*> Online Update.............................Ron Kovacs <*> User Commentary......................Richard Larsson ZNET NEWSWIRE ------------- from combined Staff reports ~ Baseball Commissioner A Bartlett Giamatti died September 1, 1989 at 5pm EDT of a massive heart attack at his vacation home at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. Although this story is not Atari news related, it is of interest to baseball fans. Giamatti recently banned Pete Rose from baseball for life, exactly 8 days ago. Giamatti was formerly the National League President and former President of Yale University. Giamatti was 51 years old. ~ Avante-Garde has sent out notices to registered owners of PC Ditto. PC Ditto II will allow the ST owner to run IBM software at AT speeds, and offer EGA emulation, in addition to MGA, HGA and CGA graphics modes. This coupon offers PC Ditto II to owners of the current software version of PC Ditto for 50% what will be the normal resale price of $300. The purchasers are asked to send in $150, along with $4 for shipping via UPS Air, and if a Florida resident, an additional $7.50 for sales tax. This offer expires Oct. 15th and to allow 4 to 6 weeks for shipping. ~ The Spectre GCR has been undergoing beta test for quite some time now, and now the "Gamma" units have been shipped to test locations across the country. The GCR allows the ST owner to emulate a Mac Plus, and now can directly read a Mac disk in your ST disk drive. Numerous enhancements and fixes have taken place in the Spectre software that will be shipped with each unit, and offered separately for those who wish to stick with the cartridge based emulator, the Spectre 128. The GCR can be used in conjunction with current ST accelerators. ~ Apple Computer and Gannett Co. Inc. have combined forced to create an electronic news service for college newspapers. The system, called USA Today/Apple College Information Network, will be launched sometime next month. ** ZMAG NEWSWIRE ARCHIVE ** ~ (September 1988) - Diamond shown at Glendale AtariFest, Oasis IV to be released, Team Software releases "A Day At The Races", Word Perfect offers User Group Special, ST Xformer uses Atari 810 and 1050 disk drives, Atari cancels appearance at Detroit's MAGIC Show. ~ (September 1987) - SLM804 announced for September release along with the MEGA ST4, Sandy Austin and Neil Harris appear at the MAGIC Show, Atari CDROM announced for fall shipment, Atari SX212 and XEP80 first shipment arrives at Atari warehouse, WhiteHouse COmputer files for bankruptcy, Atari XE Game System on it's way to toy stores. ~ (September 1986 -> Present) - 9/18/86, Atari announces public offering of stock at $13.00, Atari net worth valued at 350 million dollars, 9/4/87, Jack Tramiel states," Atari is ready to become America's Consumer Electronics Supplier", after announcement of plans to buy out the 67 store Federated Group retail electronics store. 5/31/89, Atari reports 100 million dollar loss because of Federated and reports a net worth of 82 million dollars. SAM TRAMIEL IN CONFERENCE ========================= Re-Edited by Ron Kovacs The following transcript of the Sam Tramiel conference took place August 30, 1989. There were over 100 people attending the conference, but very few questions were discussed. Jeff.W ------ Good evening. Welcome to the GEnie Atari ST Roundtable's real time conference featuring Sam Tramiel, president of Atari Corporation. Mr. Tramiel has just returned from Germany where Atari made some announcements and displayed, among other things, the Atari TT, a 68030- based system. He is with us tonight to discuss these announcements and to answer as many of your questions as time permits. During the formal part of the RTC, only those I've selected will be able to "talk". Let me know you have a question or comment for Mr. Tramiel by entering the /RAI command to raise your hand. I'll let you know when it's your turn. If you don't have any questions or comments, you might like to move over into Room 2 (use the /ROO 2 command) where you can monitor this conference ( /MON 1 ) and/or you may chat freely with others in that room. If you need to leave the conference before it's over, use the /EXI command. If you need help with any of the RTC commands, just remember the /HELP command. In order to allow as many of you the chance to get in your questions and comments, I'll be rather insistent that everyone limit their turn to one question. You may /RAIse your hand for another turn afterward, but only one question for each time at bat. It's the only fair way to get to as many people as possible in the time we have. I'll also insist that you keep your comments brief and to-the-point. If you won't make your point or ask your question in a reasonable amount of words (or time), then I'll have to move along to the next person. It will help if you can buffer up your question/comment before your turn comes up (if your terminal software allows it). I thank all of you for your cooperation. That takes care of the preliminaries! I am very happy to welcome you, Sam, to the ST Roundtable this evening! Thank you for taking the time to be here with us. Before we start taking questions, would you care to make any opening remarks? Perhaps you can also give us some of the highlights of the announcements and products that were unveiled in Germany this past weekend. Sam Tramiel ----------- As you all know, we just got back from Dusseldorf. There, we introduced the STE, TT030/2, and we showed the Lynx game machine. There were 35,000 attendees at the three day Atari Fair. There were 145 third party software and hardware suppliers there as well. It was one hell of a show. The next challenge is to get the US market up to the same level of support. We plan to ship the TT in 4th quarter, 1989. We are shipping STE to Europe in September. The US should see STE's in October. R.Johnson22 ----------- The STacy received some good press in the music industry, especially the Sept issue of Keyboard. Do you plan to follow that up with advertising, especially in light of the new Yamaha midi computer? Sam Tramiel ----------- We will be shipping Stacy by October, in the US also, pending FCC bureaucracy. We will advertise in the appropriate magazines as we have all along. Nevin-S ------- Thank you. Mr. Tramiel, I wonder if you could tell us what you (Atari) learned from the Federated experience. Where do you think Atari would be today if you had spent $200-300 million not on Federated, but on advertising, production capacity, and hardware research and development? Sam Tramiel ----------- Thank you for your support. We made a very, very costly mistake. It only really cost us $100 million, but we can not look backwards, only learn from the mistake, and not do it again. We are computer/consumer electronics people, not retailers. In the future, we will stay in our field only. Incidentally, I'd just like to say that TOS 1.4 ROMs are now available to your dealers. If you would like the upgrade, go to your dealer and request it. If he doesn't have it in stock, he can get it from Atari. Cost for the upgrade is up to the dealer; suggested retail for parts is $100. Jeff.W ------ 2 and 6 chip sets, Sam? Will users be able to order direct from Atari? Sam Tramiel ----------- Currently only 6 chip sets. 6 chip sets can be installed in any board we have released (by your dealers). Users should get the upgrade from their dealers. J.Hileman1 ---------- Hello Mr. Tramiel. I'd like to ask about the STE that you mentioned in your opening remarks. Could you please tell more about this? Sam Tramiel ----------- The machine is a 1040 STE, it has a palette of 4096 colors, 8 bit PCM stereo sound, and hardware fine screen scrolling, and support for light guns, paddles, and extra controllers. Also Genlock is supported without the need for internal modification. NHarris ------- Sam, thanks for being with us tonight! A new record in the ST area here... The buzz going around the industry is that you could sell a TON of STACY's if you bundle it with the GCR from Gadgets by Small, because it would be about half the price of a portable Mac from Apple. In fact, less than the price of the cheapest Mac. So... Will you? Sam Tramiel ----------- We will sell Stacy, and I hope that David Small will be successful with his products. You are right on all accounts. M.Vederman2 ----------- Thank you. Thanks for being here tonight to field our Q's. I am representing the Houston Atari ST Enthusiasts on this question. Our users' group started in 1985 and is the first and only group for only ST users. At first, our meetings were very strong, mainly because the machine was new, and people were quite enthused. Last year, we saw our membership dwindle to about 60 people, and the meetings were pathetically only about 8-12 people each month. Since January, I've taken over as the club membership chairman, and have seen the membership more than double, and the meetings rise to 40-50. My question is two- fold: 1) Members seem apathetic now, not enthusiastic. We offer give-aways at the meetings which draws them in. Why do you feel the people have become apathetic about the ST machine? (This doesn't seem to be a localized phenomenon - as I have discussed this with other user group coordinators, et. al. and they express the same.) 2) If it weren't for the give-aways, I don't believe the people would be interested in coming to the meetings, even tho we have a defined topic for every meeting (this month is shareware/pd ware). What do you think the people out there are buying the machines for, so we can offer them interesting topics? (Could they be seeing it as a game machine?) NOTE: Since the STE seems to reinforcing this idea, will we be forced to upgrade to the TT if we wish to make a living selling real software? Sam Tramiel ----------- As most of you know, we had a tremendous DRAM shortage in the years of 1987 and 1988. We made a tactical decision to support Europe and keep our market there very strong. Very sorry to our loyal US supporters, but it was a necessity. Now the DRAM situation has reversed. Does anyone out there want DRAM? But seriously, it's now time to re-enter the US. We are actively looking for a new US sales team, and plan to launch the Portfolio with direct response big advertising in mid-September, and to use this machine to attract dealers for the ST line as well. At the Dusseldorf fair, we saw a lot of serious software, particularly graphics software. This runs on all ST products today. There is no question that in the personal computer market, games are very important. The better they are on your machine, the more you sell. The STE definitely can be used for great games and other serious graphic applications. News flash from Europe: Luckily no one was injured, but Atari France burned to the ground in a huge fire that was caused by our neighbor. Insurance covers all costs, but poor Atari France has to regroup, and is doing so gallantly. RCarter ------- Welcome Sam... First, I would like to thank you again for allowing company ( COMPUTER AVENUE ) to be at the SPRING COMDEX. I have been hearing lots of negative response to the replacement program cost increases. Any comments? Sam Tramiel ----------- I didn't know about the exact cost increases, but I will look into that. Antic ----- Thank you. I am interested in your compact disk player. Back when it was first shown, the Grolier Encyclopedia was working on it. When will the US public see the player and will the encyclopedia possibly be bundled with it? Sam Tramiel ----------- I was personally very turned on by the CD ROM three years ago, and still am today. The big problem we have is the lack of a consumer software library on any system. We are working with a number of developers around the world to try to alleviate this, but it really is a chicken and egg problem. Developers can buy CD ROMs from us today. I unfortunately can not predict when we will ship to the general market. S.Johnson10 ----------- Should we call you Mr. Tramiel or Sam...or Mr. President? The STE has a 4096 color palette, but is it still limited to 16 in low rez, 4 in med rez and 2 in high rez? Also, are the new sound chips in the TT and STE 8 channel? Sam Tramiel ----------- Sam is fine, Steve. You are right about the STE color palette. The sound in STE and TT are 8 bit stereo PCM. The number of channels depends on the software. Salvius ------- Mr. Tramiel, my question is when Atari is going to lower their dealer standards so that more dealers can sell STs in the US...too many people have never heard of the ST here, and fewer dealers can carry it. Do you have any plans to encourage the ST in the business world? With Spectre GCR and PC DITTO II it has become a very powerful tool, if only someone would have heard of it! Sam Tramiel ----------- Our standards for dealers are basically the same as the industry's. We are not hard to deal with. We are focusing our efforts in the small business and general computer market. We are not going after the Fortune 500 types. I agree with you that the ST is tremendous, and, in the US, is a well-kept secret. But for reasons I mentioned before, we have not really launched in the US, but plan to starting in mid- September. As our distribution increases, so will our advertising. J.Allen27 --------- Hi SAM, great show, this shows the ST is hardly in decline!!! I have 3 questions, will Atari: A...Release developer info on the TT now? B...Allow general sales of the Blitter? C...Allow licensing of the TOS roms for high speed copies? Sam Tramiel ----------- A. We will be releasing developer docs for TT in the near future. B. Please call us to discuss BLiTTER chip sales. It will be done on a case by case basis. C. See B. R.Floydd.III ------------ Thanks. Sam, It's all well and good to encourage owners to work through dealer channels. However, I live in a metropolitan area of almost 1 million population and no dealer within 100 miles. How do I upgrade my ROMs or consider buying a better system? Sam Tramiel ----------- The answer is that we must find dealers ASAP. In the meantime, we will try to set up a service that we will upgrade the machine for you. We will come back on GEnie before the end of the week with an announcement how this will be done. K.Brick ------- Mr. Tramiel, is the STE a 16MHZ Machine with improved resolution or the same as now and will there be any upgrade path (special deal) for upgrading a 1040 ST to STE? Sam Tramiel ----------- The STE runs at the same speed as the ST. The upgrade path is to buy an STE. We do not find it economical for us or for you to charge a fortune for upgrade boards, like some other "A" companies I know of. R.Glover3 --------- According to the translated brochure by Ms. Brumleve, the TT has only one VME slot, and pretty poor graphics (640x480 in 16 colors), compared to the Amiga (640x400 in 4096 colors), and Mac II (640x480 in 256 or up to 800,000 colors depending on video card). Why only one slot and no easy upgrade path for better graphics? Sam Tramiel ----------- The information on the nets is not altogether correct. Seems that some mistakes were made in translation in Dusseldorf. Comparing the 640x400 Amiga mode to the 640x480 TT mode is misleading. To get 4096 colors on the Amiga, you need to use HAM mode. The equivalent can be done in software on the TT. Plus, that one slot you mentioned can take a video card. R.Glover3 --------- Anyway, why not have an internal STE upgrade for the Mega owners, rather than buying a new machine...? It couldn't be that expensive. Sam Tramiel ----------- The TT has six built in graphics modes: the three ST modes, with 4096 colors, and three new modes: 640x480 16 colors, and 320x480 256 colors, both using the 4096 color palette, as well as a very high 1280x960 monochrome resolution. As well, in the VME slot, we will have future video boards which will knock your socks off. BdHall ------ Sam, thanks for staying on for more than 30 minutes! First, why isn't Atari pursuing advanced dealers for the ATW line in the US? I have been told that it is not going to be pushed at all here. This is a mistake, as it could easily compete with other units from Sun, etc. The TT is nice, but it is a bit slow (a 50Mhz version would be nice though) for high end applications. A good first big contract would be with NASA's AIMS Research Center. In place of multi-user Cray systems, each user could have a 150 MIPS ATW. Second, what Chips (UARTS) are you using for the TT's serial ports? They do support speeds greater than 19.2 Kbaud don't they? (As you may know the New USR Dual Standard modems need buffered I/O and 38.4Kbaud ports). However, if it were faster, very low cost long-distance networks could be put together. Sam Tramiel ----------- Regarding the ATW, we have shipped the first 300 machines to Europe, and plan to bring this machine into the US some time before the end of the year. I also think it is a great product, but we must focus on getting the ST going in the US, and if we do too many things at one time, we will not succeed. The TT has three chips for serial IO. Two 68901's, and an SCC, which can go much faster than the 68901. McCann2 ------- Can you give any more final details on Stacy, as in, does it have a blitter? Sam Tramiel ----------- Stacy does not have a BLiTTER. It is an ST with a 640x400 backlit LCD display, with a built-in upside-down mouse (Trakball(tm)) in the lower right hand corner of the keyboard. Many have said that it looks beautiful. P.McCullough ------------ Sam, will the user be able to install TOS 1.4 himself without having to pay for the labor costs of installation? Sam Tramiel ----------- Users should go to their dealers for TOS 1.4 upgrades. People who do not have a dealer near by will learn later this week how they can upgrade. R.Johnson22 ----------- I'm with the DC Fest committee (WAACE) and would like to thank Atari for supporting us again this year. My question is on another tack... We heard a lot earlier this year about the Hotz box. How's it coming, and when will it be available, if at all? Sam Tramiel ----------- We are working on the Hotz box as we speak. I do not want to announce a delivery date that we can not meet, but we are supporting the product and will announce delivery soon. Thank you all very much for joining us tonight. Let's do this again real soon! ======================================================================= (C) 1989 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie are *official* information services of Atari Corporation. To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt. Type XJM11877, GEnie and hit RETURN. The system will prompt you for your information. ======================================================================= ANNOUNCEMENTS - PRESS RELEASES - ATARIFEST UPDATE ------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON DC ATARIFEST UPDATE ------------------------------ by Robert Johnson WAACE Publicity co-Chairman The 1989 edition of the WAACE DC AtariFest is in the final planning stages now, and every indication is that we are going to have a super show for you folks. Just to wet your appetites, here is a list of who's coming to date... more are being negotiated: Atari Corp. Alpha Systems ST Informer MichTron GEnie Gribnif Software Gadgets by Small Word Perfect Accusoft ICD Best Electronics Orion Microsystems Toad Computers The Electronic Clinic WinterTech First Stop Computers Softrek ASDE Inc/ST PLUG Double-click Software Codehead Software Seymour-Radix Cal-Com Joppa Computers Current Notes And there's more where this came from, we're just awaiting more firm confirmations by the parties involved. Also, we are conducting a large number of seminars and demo's, and some of the topics covered will be: Desktop Publishing, Telecommunications, Graphics and Animation, IBM and Mac Emulation, Entertainment, Business Applications, Education, and more. Atari representatives will be speaking on the future of Atari, and a Banquet is planned for Saturday night. The DC AtariFest 89 is taking place the 7th and 8th of October, with the hours on Saturday running from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and on Sunday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Admission is free, and we will also be giving away hourly door prizes, which will range from 8-bit and ST Software on up to a complete 520ST system, with a LOT of nice prizes in between (anyone for a hard disk?). The location is the same as in past years, at the Fairfax High School, in Fairfax, Virginia. This is shaping up to be perhaps the BEST DC 'Fest yet, and we are expecting to exceed last years total attendance by a good margin. If you have any questions or need more information, contact John Barnes at 301-652-0667. USER GROUP UPDATE: NEW JERSEY ----------------------------- by Robert Brodie, Atari To all Jersey area Atari users: On Saturday, September 9th, I will be attending a meeting of the Jersey Atari Computer Group. The members of the Jersey Atari Computer Group have scheduled appearances from A.N.A.L.O.G. and Atari Explorer magazine as well. Scheduled to appear from A.N.A.L.O.G. is Arthur Leyenberger, and from the Atari Explorer either Elizabeth Staples or John Jainschigg. I would like to encourage all Atari users in the area to attend this meeting. David Noyes of the Jersey Atari Computer Group has already contacted a number of other groups, including the Jersey Atari Computer Enthusiasts, ABE's ACES, Lehigh Valley Atari Users Group, Brooklyn Atari Society of Information and Communication, and the Ol' Hackers. The meeting will be held at the Bell Labs Auditorium on Mountain Ave, in Murray Hill, New Jersey at 9:00AM. For further information or directions to the meeting, please contact Dave Noyes, at 201-852-3165 evening, or 201-953-7977 daytime. IEEE SYMPOSIUM -------------- EVENT: IEEE COMPUTER SOCIETY WORKSTATION SYMPOSIUM & TUTORIALS (TECHNICAL -- MANAGEMENT -- PERSONAL APPLICATIONS) DATE: OCTOBER 24-26 1989 LOCATION: JOHNS HOPKINS APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY, LAUREL, MD TECHNICAL PROGRAM: TUTORIALS, STATE-OF-THE-ART SURVEYS & TECHNICAL SESSIONS, PANELS, HANDS-ON EXHIBITS AND POSTERS: INCLUDING IBM NEW "OFFICE VISION" SYSTEM, CAE, DBMS, CASE, EXPERT SYSTEMS, OFFICE AUTOMATION, INFORMATION UTILITIES & MUCH MORE..! FOR MORE INFORMATION: GIVE ME YOUR NAME, ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER OR CALL CAROL DALY AT 301-953-5365 PUBLIC DOMAIN SHELF ------------------- by Alice Amore ARCSHL20 ~~~~~~~~ This is version 2.0 of ARCSHELL. (Version 1.99 was reviewed in Issue #22). Charles Johnson has further enhanced his excellent archiving utility to work with LHARC, a newer ARCing format. Although not all LHARC functions will work with ARCSHELL at this point, it's a simple matter to set up ARCSHELL to work with both ARC and LHARC, choosing the one you need when you need it. BOWL_3 ~~~~~~ This is the Bowling League Secretary by Robert Johnson. It will keep scores for up to a 60-week season involving up to 40 teams, including as many as 200 substitutes. The program will also handle blind games, postponed games, forfeited games, delete players/subs, recover players/ subs, position nights, player swaps, extra players, and different handicaps for men and women. Hotkeys and print-outs are supported. CV2IMG09 ~~~~~~~~ If you collect a large number of .IMG files to use with your favorite DTP package, you can use this program to make your collection grow by leaps and bounds. CV2IMG09 ("Convert to .IMG"), by Craig W. Daymon, will convert any D.E.G.A.S. picture file (.PI1, .PI2, .PI3, .PC1, .PC2, .PC3), Neochrome or TINY picture, Spectrum file (.SPU, .SPC) or MacPaint picture (.MAC) to a high resolution .IMG file. (Not all these formats are supported in this version, but should be in later versions.) The program itself will run with either a color or monochrome monitor. On mono systems, the new .IMG file will be displayed as it converts. If you are using a color system, use any .IMG viewer (such as IMGSHOW) to see the converted picture. CV2UNG09 includes a compact tutorial on the .IMG format. The programmer would like feedback from users, including suggestions for improvements and enhancements. DIAMOND ~~~~~~~ "Diamond Back" is a commercially available "back-up and restore" program distributed by Data Innovations, Inc. DIAMOND is the demo version. Although all the features are functional, only the first backed-up disk will contain the FAT and directory information. Still, you can get a good idea of the program's capabilities by experimenting with this demo version and reading the documentation. ICDBOOT ~~~~~~~ The new version of ICD's FA-ST hard disk booter (4.0) will be released very, very soon. To keep those who can't wait happy, ICD has posted a beta version of 4.0. The new booter increases speed quite a bit, includes an intelligent caching scheme, plus other improvements. It supports AHDI 3.0x and removable media. PRTIMG2 ~~~~~~~ This desk accessory does a nice job sending .IMG files to your printer without a lot of fussing. Simply pull down the accessory, click on a filename, and the printing will start. Unfortunately, if your printer won't cooperate with this program "out of the box", you must find other ways to configure your printer, since this program doesn't supply any such frills. RFTTOWW ~~~~~~~ This Hisoft-BASIC program converts a DCA/RFT-format word processing document to a Timeworks WordWriter ST document. If you use the DCA/RFT format at work (with programs such as DisplayWrite), you can now take your work home with you and continue working on your ST all night (you lucky thing, you). Shareware from Mike Saeger. TAC_CAT ~~~~~~~ Most user groups have software libraries. And most of these libraries are maintained by honorable "librarians" who spend a great deal of time classifying, sorting, copying, and otherwise keeping tabs on hundreds, or perhaps even thousands of ST files. TAC_CAT is a program to warm a librarian's heart, and make the task of organizing a large PD/shareware library a little less likely to bring on a stroke. TAC_CAT can: + Create multiple catalog files of up to 500 disk descriptions in each file. + Specify pricing for both single- and double-sided disks. + Allow optional price reductions for multiple disk purchases and/or for user group members. + Allow setting of shipping costs. + Include disk title, code, format, and description for each disk listed in catalog. + Allow various billing options. + Configuration for any fairly standard printer including LaserJet. This is only a partial list, and planned enhancements are many. TAC_CAT was written using GFA BASIC 2.02, and is shareware from Sanford M. Furrow, IV, who wrote the program for the Tucson, Arizona Atari ST Users' Group (TAC). 130XE UPGRADED -------------- Mark Elliott, Innovative Concepts The following changes have been incorporated in the 130XE computer. In case there are people reading and shaking their heads, the 130XE is Atari's 8-bit computer (Parent of the ST). 1) RAMs used (4), are the 41464 (4464) types. (compared to 16 - 4164, on old) 2) The O.S. has minor changes like; A) The MEMORY TEST (from SELF TESTS) tests the extra 64K now! (in 4 squares) B) Also, the MEMORY TEST checks the first 48K over TWICE as fast as before! C) The KEYBOARD TEST has the F1-F4 keys missing on top. (function keys), although the code that interprets them is prob. there. (like XEGS) D) Also, it types out "COPYRIGHT 1985 ATARI" at the keyboard test, when all tests are done. (compared to COPYRIGHT 1983 ATARI, before) E) And, the O.S. chip itself, is on a 27256 EPROM, but only half of it is used! (compared to the original, which was on a 16K x 8 ROM, 27128 comp. 3). Finally, the PIA is a completely different chip! Being a 68B21. (compared to the 6520/6520A on all other Atari 8-bits. 4) Last, but not least, the Owner's Manual (Rev. D), is now paper- bound, compared to spiral-bound on the original. Hmmm, at least Atari went to the bother of updating the new machine. (prob. will save them money, being more reliable with less chips.) MONOCHROME AND MORE ------------------- by Mark Quinn (The following program runs in monochrome ONLY.) Filename: MVG_DEMO.ARC Program Name: Dr. Bob's Multi-Viewer Graphica Programmed by: W. David Parks This demo version of MVG provides a 'handy dandy' (as advertised) means of viewing your favorite monochrome picture files. (Files cannot be saved, edited, or printed, however. The frustrated among us can make a contribution to Dr. Bob and get the real thing.) Five types of files can be viewed: "IMG", "D.E.G.A.S" format (both types: compressed and uncompressed), "MAC" and "WAC". It IS possible to load low resolution "NEO" files, but 'editing' them on a high resolution screen is at best a doubtful proposition. Once the image is loaded, it can be rotated in ninety-degree steps, flipped horizontally or vertically, and shown in inverse 'colors'. The program allows a work area much larger than the image itself, which should be a boon to those among us who can't get our creations right the first time. The monophile who just wants to view a file can use the "Qwik View" function. ST monochrome owners who have encountered any of the file formats mentioned above on their favorite information service or BBS should take note, and take a copy of this program. They will not be disappointed. Interested parties contact: W. David Parks 180 N. Hazeltine Avenue Campbell, OH 44405-1024 ONLINE UPDATE: COMPUSERVE ------------------------- Compiled by Ron Kovacs, Ctsy CIS Atari Forums (Editors Note: This new column will contain messages of interest from the online services. These messages are Copyrighted material from CompuServe. Used by permission.) #: 13295 S8/Hot Topics 25-Aug-89 11:48:28 Sb: #Where's STacy? Fm: Frank Cohen [Regent S/W] 76004,1573 To: All The following is from Macintosh News, a weekly magazine for Mac integrators (dealers) and developers: "Apple Computer Inc.'s much anticipated Macintosh Portable will feature a new 32-bit wide peripheral slot, engineers close to the company said. The emergence of the portable, expected to be introduced September 20, will bring to four the number of different electronic card slot designs venders must manufacture for Macintosh SE and II systems." September 20! That is in less than 30 days. So what happened to the Atari Transportable (STacy)? I could have sworn at the Spring Comdex show in Chicago (April) Sam Tramiel promised delivery of all the items shown by the end of the summer. This list includes: Desk Set 2, Transportable, Portfolio, Removable-Platter Hard Disk Drive, and Word Flair. -Frank Cohen #: 13300 S9/News/Product Info 25-Aug-89 12:26:21 Sb: #New Functionz D/Ls Fm: Frank Cohen [Regent S/W] 76004,1573 To: All WOW! Look at all the great programs that work with Functionz. Now available in the Regent download library of the Atari Vendors Forum is the Functionz Label-Maker program. Just type GO ATARIVEN, then DL 6, then DOWNLOAD FUNCTZ.ARC. In less than five minutes of on-line time you will have the Functionz program! The only thing missing for the download file is the SAVE command. Functionz is a functionz key labeling system for all Atari ST computers. The kit comes with 6 specially engineered plastic label stands, Label- Maker program disk, and complete instructions for only $24.95. We designed a system of plastic label stands that plug into your ST keyboard right behind the function keys. It works much like the Word Perfect template, but our label stands are made of clear plastic. The Label-Maker program brings unusual sophistication to an otherwise inexpensive computer accessory. The program is a GEM application with all the usual Windowing and Drop-Down menu bells and whistles. But we've also include a special Clipboard for text cut, copy, and paste functions using the mouse (ala the Macintosh), On-Line HELP, and a large library of prewritten label files. Now in the data libraries are the following label files, ready for you to download and use with the Functionz program: CMPBSB.FNZ Championship Baseball Game CRYSTA.FNZ Crystal Castles Game DATAMG.FNZ Data Manager ST DBMAN.FNZ dBMan Database DEGAS.FNZ DEGAS Elite DONDUC.FNZ Donald Duck Game DTMANS.FNZ Data Manager ST FUNCTZ.ARC Functionz, it even labels itself! FUNCZ.FNZ Second idea GFA3.FNZ GFA BASIC 3.x INTRLN.FNZ Interlink Communications Software LDWPWR.FNZ LDW Power Spreadsheet LOSTDM.FNZ Lost Dutchman's Mine Game MICKEY.FNZ Mickey Mouse Game PHASAR.FNZ Phasar Checkbook Program POOH.FNZ Winnie The Pooh PRO.FNZ Procopy Disk Utilities PROCOP.FNZ Second Idea RB2FRM.FNZ Regent Base 2, Forms Editor Template RB2SQL.FNZ Regent Base 2, SQL Processor Template RGNTBS.FNZ Combined Regent Base 2 RGNTWR.FNZ Regent Word 2, Student Edition STBASI.FNZ ST BASIC Language STOS.FNZ STOS Game Creation Language SWIFTC.FNZ Swift Calc Spreadsheet TYPHOO.FNZ Typhoon Thompsen Game VIP.FNZ VIP Professional Spreadsheet WP.FNZ Word Perfect WRDWRT.FNZ Timeworks Word Writer Bon Appitite! All these files are considered public domain, user groups and other BBS operators may download the Functionz demonstration program (FUNCTZ.ARC) and these Functionz label files onto other BBS systems and Public Domain disks. -Frank Cohen, Regent Software (Editors Note: The above list in also available on GEnie) #: 13256 S8/Hot Topics 24-Aug-89 19:49:56 Sb: #TV Sports Football News Fm: Randy Magruder 73007,1227 To: [F] All I spoke with Cust Serv at Cinemaware today and found out a few things. Here are the main points of conversation: 1) It was indicated to me that Cinemaware basically marketed TVSF for the European market, and not for the American market. This is because of high interest in American football in Europe. So they decided that Europeans would not be interested in the statistical part of the game as much as just a football arcade game. Mirrorsoft in England requested this game and had it on back order. 2) Because of this back order, they shipped the game out in the Amiga packaging. The guy I spoke to was against this, but the company line was basically "Who cares?" 3) According to this rep, the best selling ST packages sell only a tenth as well as the Amiga's worst-sellers. 4) The Atari ST market in the U.S. is not big enough that even if we all pitched in, we could not make a significant contribution to any company, and furthermore, no company would survive solely by writing software for the ST. 5) He claimed to have spoken with Gilman Louie on Genie, and was told that the only reason Falcon was made for the ST was by British requests for it, and we got it simply because it was out, and what the heck, we'll sell it for the ST in the U.S. So the general gist is that we St owners in the U.S. don't count. There are too few of us, and no one cares what we think. He said the only thing to do was to write in like crazy, because Cinemaware does not listen to phone call opinions. His idea: Send in a mountain of letters...its our only hope. USER COMMENTARY --------------- by Richard Larsson, STARBASE (Comments stated with in this article are those of the author and do not represent the comments of STZMAG.) Picture this, a favorite company is about to release this spectacular new program for "many computers", let's say it's the best new game, and has the best graphics and sound people have seen in a long time. Sounds like something you and I might want to get for our ST, right? Three months later the PC compatible and Commodore 64 versions are out, but no ST version to speak of. This company is very reputable with the ST industry so you figure "they just have to port this program over", so you give them another three months for the programming procedure. Still, no luck. What gives? Has this company dropped the ST completely? Does this mean no more great software? This is a real-life scenario. There are software companies that are excluding the ST from their marketing strategy. Not because of poor ST sales, but because of poor ST software sales. Let's examine this a little closer. Anonymous ST user (we'll call him Bob from now on), anxiously awaits this program from his local rental shop. Upon its arrival, he pays a measly $5.00, takes the program home, copies it, and returns it. Bob has successfully taken the first step in demolishing the authors of ST programs. Bob contacts some fellow computing buddies, gives them each a copy of the program, the manufacturer of this software will probably have lost $300-$1000 in sales by the time Bob is finished distributing this software himself. Now for the real killer. One of Bobs friends is a well-known software pirate, who prides himself in taking the copy protection out of programs and uploading them to bulletin board systems nationwide. Assuming he does this, Bob has lost the software company a virtually unspeakable sum, and next time around they will be a little more weary of what's going on. They will take into consideration that Atari has sold a certain amount of units. Then they will figure the percentage of ST owners that bought their software. When they discover this number is well below 1%, their profits on ST software have been poor, and one of the software authors calls up his local BBS, only to discover that his program is now available, and reads that the access count has been in the hundreds, this man will most likely never touch another programming language again, at least not on his ST anyway. Assuming he did, the software company that distributed his software will be less likely to market anything new that he manages to write. On the lighter side, do you ever wish you could get a little more time with a piece of software? Maybe get some time alone with the program, and without that endlessly talking salesman that will demo it in the store for you? This is about the only aspect of software rental, or preview, that would actually do someone good. Try before you buy. But when you come right down to it, most computer stores are smart enough to figure that you just might want to see what you are going to pay over $100 for. And if they are nice enough, a large percentage of them will let you have a look at it first (and generally, if they don't, they will accept the program in exchange for another one). Now your wondering, why is it the ST is the only machine having problems with this? It's not. The Amiga is having a difficult time with piracy, but mostly from different companies than the ST is. PC compatible and Commodore 64 software is virtually everywhere is huge quantities and the computer sales to software sales ratio is a lot better than those with the two newer machines, therefore it makes a lot more sense for software companies to create versions for the PC's and 64's first, and then wait and see what happens before immediately porting over to the ST and Amiga. This, of course, is just an opinion. Personally I've "previewed" about five or six programs in my time. And out of those, I have purchased two, the others I simply just took back, glad that I only lost $5.00 on the deal and not $40.00. But I think in the end, renting out software is going to hurt the industry a lot more than help the user. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- STZmagazine Issue #36 September 1, 1989 Copyright (C)1989, Rovac Industries, Inc. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- lib