========================================================================= (C) 1994 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 XTX99437,GENIE and press [RETURN]. The system will prompt you for your information. ========================================================================== ************ Topic 3 Tue Dec 22, 1992 BRIAN.H [ST~SysOp] (Forwarded) Sub: FALCON 030 - Help and Questions Ask here if you need help or have a technical question to ask about the FALCON 030 computer. This topic is designed to inform users about the FALCON and discuss it CURRENT details and characteristics. 203 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 1 Tue Jun 01, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] (Forwarded) Steffan, the Falcon's video output is as good as many $2000 JVC and Sony video titlers/sketch pads that I've seen. Cogswell College is doing some production work right now with a pair of Falcons at this time; I'll touch base with James Grunke and see if he can give us a report on how they're doing in a professional environment. -Bill ============= Falcon030 Bundled Software Bulletin =============== Falcon030's with Hard Drives are currently shipping with the following software: o MultiTOS o SpeedoGDOS o Landmines o Breakout o Calappt (Personal Time Manager, Telephone Book/Dialer) o ProCalc o Talking Clock They are supposed to have (many didn't because everyone was eager to get machines shipped to dealers quickly) a mail-in card that you mail to Atari to receive: o Atari Works (Personal Integrated Productivity Package) o System Audio Manager (Accompany System Keyclicks and Events with Digitized Sounds.) o Audio Fun Machine (8-band graphic equalizer and special effects processor.) o FalconD2D (Direct-to-Disk recording system with special effects and editing.) IMPORTANT: We know exactly which dealers received machines without the mail-in cards and they are being sent their cards this week. Users that purchased machines and did not receive these cards can contact the dealer in about one week to get their card. All you have to do is fill out the card (make sure you include your dealer's name and machine's serial number); keep the verification half, and mail the other half to Atari. Machines without Hard Drives will not be shipped with SpeedoGDOS, Atari Works, or FalconD2D. They will have everything else (including the hard disk utilities in case you have your own SCSI Hard Disk). The Atari Hard Disk upgrade kits will ship with Atari Works, SpeedoGDOS, FalconD2D, as well as MultiTOS, etc. on the Hard Disk. -Bill Rehbock, Atari Corp. ======================================================================= ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 2 Mon Jan 24, 1994 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 07:43 EST I wish Atari would advertise the Falcon, and let the world know they have DSP included, instead of waiting for the other computers to catch up. Of course, they may never include it. It may continue to be another expensive add-on board. Ken Van ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 3 Mon Jan 24, 1994 ATARI.BENLUX [W. Kilwinger] at 13:03 EST G.CHIU2 [Graham]: > >I recently asked about whether the Falcon has an autoswitching power supply. >The following answers my question: > >Atari Talk / Atari Explorer, #439 of 458 >Rec'd Date: 21 Jan 94 24:53:00 >From: Bob Brodie of 51:1/10 To: Steven Wells Subj: Falcon/Jaguar PSU > > In message 319/2/6323, Steven Wells writes: > > Does the Falcon and/or Jaguar have a universal Power-Supply/Video > > Output!? (e.g. it can handle 110V/240V and 50/60Hz, as well as > > PAL/NTSC output). > >The Falcon has a universal power supply. The Video output is either PAL or >NTSC, depending on what country it is destined for. Same with the Jaguar. >The Jaguar uses a different A/C adapter pending the country it's headed for. > No, this in NOT true. The Falcon has separate power pupplies for 110V and for 220V. For the 220V power supply we use here in europe I'm 100% sure that it WON'T work on 110V and if I look at the Bill of Material I see a different power supplies listed for 110V and 220V so I guess that the 110V unit isn't auto-switching either. P.S. Sorry Bob Brodie, but it is my job to know these hardware details. B.KANTOR [Bruce]: > >Thanks, CONFIG.APP did the trick. Any chance of getting CONFIG.APP modified >so it can work with all NVRAM settings? No, Atari will not do that. Actually I wrote it and I was not allowed to implement the other functions. I guess Atari will avoid problems that people can have when they change that. Regards, Wilfred ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 4 Mon Jan 24, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 14:02 EST Wilfred, is there any chance that Atari will add a flag in the NVRAM to turn off the builtin speaker upon turning the machine on? --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 5 Mon Jan 24, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 15:50 EST Kevin, That was discussed about 1 year ago in the original NVRAM debate. Guess who won by default? Wilfred, Some of the early Falcons had universal switchers. I have one but there are other problems with it. (Developer unit.) - TOM - ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 6 Mon Jan 24, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 19:44 EST Tom, That still doesn't mean it isn't a dumb idea to leave it _out_ of the NVRAM config. Ooooh! I luuuv the sound of that internal speaker distortion... :) --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 7 Tue Jan 25, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:53 EST PG.MUSIC - Well, there's the GENERAL.CPX module, plus the SPEAKOFF.PRG program. So far, I haven't run across anything that turns it back on. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 8 Tue Jan 25, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 08:08 EST But it should be in NVRAM. That way, I won't have to risk hearing an auto program or anything come out of that nasty little "Celestion Wannabe". --Kevin PS. I know about the CPX, and SPEAKOFF.PRG. That's how I do it now. :) ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 9 Tue Jan 25, 1994 HEAD.TRIP [Wayne] at 22:33 EST Bondservant, while in Los Angeles, go to The Computer Network in Glendale. (818) 500-3900 Talk to Tony or Mark there. Tony is working on a hardware fix for the Falcon problem you have. They are open Tuesday - Saturday 11-7. Tell them Wayne sent you from GEnie. I'm out there all the time (lately buying Jaguar stuff) and they'll get a laugh out of it I think. There other other Atari sources of Atari in Los Angeles, but those guys (all of 'em) at The Computer Network are great! They always take _very_ good care of me. If you have an 'Atari Emergency' call me @ (213) 530-0395 - my pager, and I'll try to help you out... (Leave message or enter # that you can be reached) Have a good trip! Kevin, Somehow I got my speaker to shut off at boot-up. I think I used a bootsector prg. I'll check it out. Wayne - Monday, January 24, 1994 - 10:15 p.m. PST ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 10 Tue Jan 25, 1994 BBRADLEY [HOT DOG] at 22:34 EST Sheldon, Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I have noticed that at times some programs would load slowly or that the Falcon would access the floppy drive when looking files on the hard drive. At times I would actually hear the hard drive spin up and wonder what was going on. The problem was especially bad when using Falcon Speed and Windozzz. I thought that it was just that the IDE drive was that much slower than the scuzzy (SCSI) drive on my TT. Now the drive screams right along. It's like having a whole new computer! Hot Dog ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 11 Wed Jan 26, 1994 BBRADLEY [HOT DOG] at 02:24 EST Sheldon, One more question... Now that I have the hard drive grounded properly, what if I decide to recase the computer in a desktop case? Should I run a ground wire from the drive to the case or motherboard or will it not need that since it will be using a PS/2 power supply. Hot Dog ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 12 Wed Jan 26, 1994 S.WINICK at 07:40 EST Brad, >> Now that I have the hard drive grounded properly, what if I >> decide to recase the computer in a desktop case? Should I run >> a ground wire from the drive to the case or motherboard... Most desktop cases are metal and grounded. As long as the case has an internal connection to the ground wire, everything you install should automatically also be grounded (as long as it is directly mounted to the metal mounting rails in the case). If you use a plastic mounting rail kit, then run a separate ground wire. Sheldon (Computer STudio - Asheville, NC) ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 14 Thu Jan 27, 1994 SAM-RAPP [<>] at 00:53 EST Does anyone know of a program that will let you play with a sample on a Falcon? Such as play it forward and backward, alter pitch, alter speed, etc...? Thanks!! ==========> Sam_030 ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 15 Thu Jan 27, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 06:20 EST SAM-RAPP - I'm looking for that too! There's a program called CLARITY coming out soon (it's like the Replay software, but it's for the Falcon). ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 16 Fri Jan 28, 1994 S.WINICK at 07:56 EST Just wanted to let y'all know that the long awaited Falcon composite video cables are finally available. Check with your favorite dealer if you're interested in getting one. Sheldon (Computer STudio - Asheville, NC) ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 17 Fri Jan 28, 1994 D.PHILLIPS24 [Darcy] at 23:21 EST Brad, >The noise floor is a bit high for the 2 channels, but I guess when I hear that it's digital, the least I expect is that it's noise floor will be be virtually inaudible. Doesn't appear to be so here. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 18 Sat Jan 29, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 06:28 EST S.WINICK - Are these JUST composite cables, or do they allowing having BOTH an ST RGB and composite output? By the way, when am I gonna get a Mac II emulator for my Falcon030 -- I NEED to run Peter Gabriel's XPLORA1 CD-ROM!!! Don't tell me I need to sell my Falcon030 and get a Mac! ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 19 Sat Jan 29, 1994 S.WINICK at 08:42 EST Steve, The Composite Video Cables have standard composite video connections; they are not for use with the ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 20 Sat Jan 29, 1994 S.WINICK at 09:51 EST Steve, The Composite Video cables output composite video only. They are not for connections for the Atari SC color monitors. Atari's regular monitor adapter is available in two versions, one for the Atari SM and SC monitors, and one for regular SVGA monitors. Sheldon (Computer STudio - Asheville, NC) ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 21 Sun Jan 30, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 05:41 EST S.WINICK - I know that -- what I MEANT was being able to hook up BOTH an SC RGB monitor AND have the composite out (so the display can be seen on both the monitor and TV simultaneously). I saw the cable today, though, so I know it doesn't do that. Do you (or anyone else) know if the SC/SM monitor adaptor has the composite signal coming through it? ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 22 Mon Jan 31, 1994 B.KOLINS1 [Brian] at 02:06 EST Steve-J, If you're not too critical of the quality, why not just have the SC1224 and the TV output next to it connected simultaneously? Well, on the other hand, I bought a switchbox from Toad a while back that does have the composite out. Thought I tried it out once on the Falcon, but can't remember for certain. Should work--pinouts sre the same. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 23 Mon Jan 31, 1994 B.SEMAAN [BOSEM] at 08:55 EST Man with 2 brains, Your best bet would be to make yourself a custom Y-type cable off the video port and not use any of the Atari adapters at all. If your interested, I could put the info in a text file for you. I can't say for sure how well using both composite and SC monitors at the same time would work but theoretically it should work. Bob ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 24 Wed Feb 02, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:43 EST By the way, are there any negatives to using the "AHDI-compatible partitions" option in the ICD SCSI Pro formatter? Other than losing one whole extra sector per partition, that is! ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 25 Wed Feb 02, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 09:07 EST Steve-J, NO there aren't negatives. I recommend using AHDI compatibility. - TOM - ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 26 Wed Feb 02, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 10:56 EST Steve-J, Since you are going to use the Falcon for hard disk recording, AND several HD recording programs seem to have glitches/problems with the ICD software, keep the AHDI compatible format. That way you can use AHDI (booted from an AUTO folder on a floppy) when you need to, but use ICD when you wanna really COOK! Tom, I noticed the other day that D2D Demo on the Falcon skips if I record at 50KHz to the internal IDE drive with ICDBOOT. This same program on an identically set up Falcon, except running AHDI doesn't skip. I also might add that the IDE drive in MY system with the ICD software is twice as fast as the IDE in the AHDI'ed system. Evidently, the programmers doing HD recording software are doing some shaky things? Can ICD shed some light on this? BTW, if anyone _needs_ to have the Falcon030 modified to remove bass boost, line level input, speaker gain reduction, and doesn't feel comfortable doing it themselves due to the surface mount technology... contact me thru GEmail. I've done the mods for a few of the local Falcon owners (Atlanta) and they are happy with the mods. --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 27 Wed Feb 02, 1994 R.SWANSON2 at 11:12 EST Hello Anyone. Is there a program around that will create a slide-show of GIF files???? Also, is there a FLI and/or IBM DL and/or Grasp GL animation player (for the Falcon)?? I have LIOC but the wiping effects take forever and don't know how to by-pass them... I am considering Falcon Speed or a PC clone for animation player purposes!! ANY HELP?? ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 28 Wed Feb 02, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 11:13 EST Kevin, What version ICD booter? It could be possible that since we are going faster, we are using more CPU time per second than AHDI. That might be a problem if D2D requires 99% of the CPU. I will run it by Howard. - TOM - ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 29 Wed Feb 02, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 11:27 EST Tom, It is the ICDPro version that was right before you started talking about 6.2.4. I can't be sure of the #'s until I get home this afternoon tho'. I had to kick D2D demo down to 25KHz to get it to stop skipping. Hmm... since the DMA Sound is (can be) done via interrupts and written to a sufficient RAM buffer (double buffered) until the main program can do an Fwrite() to dave the buffer, it would _SEEM_ like the D2D edit program should work _better_ with faster driver software. --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 30 Wed Feb 02, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 20:39 EST R. Swanson, You will be able to run a slideshow of GIFs quite easily soon. More, I cannot tell. No need to do anything so drastic as switch to a PC for animation. Trust me; you'll be knocked over by something coming your way before long. Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 31 Wed Feb 02, 1994 C.LABELLE [Tintin] at 21:10 EST R.SWANSON2 (please use a nickname), PLAY-FLI from Frederic Aloe is a postcardware FLI player for the Falcon, in 320*200 and 256 colors. It's very fast. In fact the next version will run up to 4 animations at once and run under MTOS. I've tried it with the SC1224, and the animations look better than on your average 486. It should be in the library. If not I can upload it. I don't know of a slide-show for GIFs. However if you can convert them to BMP format, Photo Show Pro ($59, from It's All Relative) excels. You can add a variety of effects and 50kHz stereo sound, control durations, etc. Tintin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 32 Wed Feb 02, 1994 C.LABELLE [Tintin] at 21:34 EST Al, Are you giving a new birth to the "secret device" rumour ? Or are you referring to the coming professional video packages from Wizztronics and Lexicor? Tintin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 33 Wed Feb 02, 1994 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 22:23 EST Awh Al... can't someone give us a hint? I have been waiting for a GIF SLIDE shower for so long it hurts :-) ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 34 Wed Feb 02, 1994 B.DEWITT [Perfesser] at 22:27 EST Hey, Atari, et al: I came across an intriguing ad the other day in a magazine called "Computer Games Strategy Plus," January issue, 1994. In a full-page , full-color ad featuring a close-up shot of the shiny, chrome grimace of the Terminator,the ad copy states: "When things get ugly on the other side of the screen.... ....You'd better have a Falcon on your side." It then goes on to tout the virtues of the 'Falcon Mach V: The Ultimate Gaming Machine' for only $2,499. No, this isn't our favorite machine being advertised in a mostly IBM-oriented computer gaming magazine. Instead it is a 486/66 machine with a bunch of goodies thrown in to turn it into "40+ VGA Frames Per Second, Serious Hardware for Serious Players." The question that immediately came to my mind was: "Is this legal?" Isn't calling a computer a 'Falcon Mach V' a bit too close to 'Falcon030' for Atari to allow this to happen? Just thought Atari might like to know. (By the way, the company was called 'Falcon Northwest Computer Systems' out of Coos Bay, Oregon. And don't forget to send me a 'finders fee' on the big bucks you get from a lawsuit, Atari..... ) Th'Perfesser ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 35 Wed Feb 02, 1994 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 22:27 EST Al, Another of your mysterious messages, eh? Ken Van ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 36 Wed Feb 02, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 23:19 EST Al has taken over the videophone torch? --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 37 Thu Feb 03, 1994 MUSE [Tomas] at 02:18 EST The next version of Imagecopy is expected to have a slideshow feature. Please...I can say no more... ===Tomas=== ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 38 Thu Feb 03, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:47 EST ICDINC - Okay, I DID use AHDI compatibility when I partitioned them -- I was just wondering if it would be at all advantageous to NOT use AHDI compatibility. Good! Now I don't have a reason to repartition my drives! PG.MUSIC - How many Falcon030 users ARE there in Atlanta? I know Rhythm City carried them before I left, but nobody seemed too interested in it whenever I went there. By the way, whereabouts in the area do you live? I used to live in Roswell (on the Marietta side right off Marietta Hwy./120). I was just wondering because around this time last year, I went to a bookstore in Marietta to buy Atari Explorer (RIP!) and the cashier who rang it up for me (and an Amiga owner) said another guy had come in earlier to buy a copy who was a Falcon developer. Anyway, do you have the skipping problem with external drives too? I'm using the ICD SCSI Pro booter and that works fine with Falcon-D2D at 50kHz. I'll try and find some space on my internal IDE to record something on to see if mine skips too. R.SWANSON2 - Surprisingly, there isn't! There's only one simple GIF viewer (that I know of) for the Falcon030 and it's kinda buggy and doesn't offer a slideshow mode. Actually, there IS a program that will convert GIFs to Lexicor's .FLM animation format, but that's a bit of a hassle. There IS a FLI player .ACC from Brainstorm called MOVIE.ACC that will play FLI animations in GEM windows. The only drawback is that you have to use it in 16- bit TC mode in order to get full 256-color (it doesn't change desktop colors, so in =<256-color modes, 256-color animations will be dithered. The dithering IS good, though, for non-Falcon users who want to play 256-color FLIs in 16- color mode. Another nice feature is that you can resize the playback windows and it will scale the pictures down. ASCII art found on Usenet: --______ _______ ______ _____ ______ ______-- --" -o_".___ / _____/\ / __ /\ /__ /\ / __ /\ ___."_o- "__ / /=__". / /\____\/ / /\/ / / \_/_/ / / /\/ / / ."__=\ \ / / /_---"-: / ___/\ / / / / / /_ \__/ / / / / / :-"---_\ \ \ / / / __-- / /\__\/ / /_/ / / __\/ /\ / /_/ / / --__ \ \ \ / /_-- /_/ / /_____/ / /____/ / /_____/ / --_\ \ _-- \_\/ \_____\/ \____\/ \_____\/ --_ ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 39 Thu Feb 03, 1994 G.CHIU2 [Graham] at 04:50 EST I tried running Notator SL ( I think ) from C-Lab on the Falcon and it crashed. Is there a new release that works with the Falcon? ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 40 Thu Feb 03, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 07:26 EST PG.MUSIC - Well, I just tried Falcon-D2D at 50kHz on the IDE (using ICD's booter) and it worked fine, though access did SEEM slower than on the external SCSI (RATEHD.PRG reports 675k/28ms for the IDE and 740k/18ms for the SCSI). You're not using it in True Color mode, are you? Or with MultiTOS? ICDINC - What do the drive ID #'s mean (the internal IDE is ID#16 and the external SCSI is ID#8)? When I had the SCSI drive on my STE, it was different. I was just wondering. By the way, has anyone else here had their Falcon's audio 'freeze up'? It's only done it with Falcon-D2D, but occasionally using the DSP effects in the program will cause the audio system in my F030 to freeze up (no output at all - - either playback from disk OR listening to the audio input). Once when this happened, I loaded up AFM and selected the Spectrum Analyser, which produced on odd display (all 'elements' were 'lit up' with a bunch of them flickering). Anyway, the only way I found to recover from this was to do a hardware coldboot (reset and software warmboots and coldboots won't work). From the reaction of AFM, I figured it was the DSP -- I just hope my DSP isn't flaky or somesuch! However, since it's only happened with Falcon-D2D (and not AFM or WinRec), it seems like it may only be a software problem. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 41 Thu Feb 03, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 08:30 EST Steve-J, I live in Smyrna off S. Cobb Dr. What bookstore did you visit? It could have been me since I don't know of any other devs in the area. :) The other Falcon owners don't live "in metro Atlanta". Most of those folx have to drive an 1.5 hours or so to get to me. I had another 2 or 3 Atari users call recently needing this that or the other. I d'loaded WinRec last night to play with. Kind of nice, but I can't really "DO ANYTHING" useful like editing. Maybe if I can dig up my Sound Designer file format and the other dig audio formats... I'll slap together a cool little editor. :) --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 42 Thu Feb 03, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 08:40 EST Tintin, Neither. Lou, Sorry! Can't say more. Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 43 Thu Feb 03, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 09:23 EST Steve-J, IDs 0-7 are used for host adapters (ACSI or whatever Atari calls it), IDs 8-15 are SCSI IDs 0-7 connand ID 16 is for IDE only. - TOM - ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 44 Fri Feb 04, 1994 B.KOLINS1 [Brian] at 00:56 EST Tintin, Nope, couldn't find PLAY-FLI. Could you u/l it? Thanks, BK ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 45 Fri Feb 04, 1994 A.FOSTER7 [Andre Foster] at 04:05 EST R.Swanson Check with Lexicor software they have an FLI player that lets you view animations in true color give them a call or leave them a msg. in the Graphics roundtable.... ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 46 Fri Feb 04, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:56 EST PG.MUSIC - It was BOOKSTAR. Yeah, WinRec was a bit of a let-down when I found out that it didn't allow overdubbing like Falcon-D2D and had pretty cruddy DSP effects modules. Of course, I was also a bit put-off when I found out that Falcon-D2D could only do overdubbing at up to 33kHz (AFTER I'd already recorded a 5-minute track at 49kHz. I also don't like it that Falcon-D2D doesn't offer some of the things that WinRec does, such as being able to alter the playback sample rate (though I could always alter the 91st and 92nd bytes of the .TRM file to change the sample rate!). B.KOLINS1 - I just uploaded MOVIE100.ZIP, so it SHOULD be cleared by a SysOp by tomorrow. It's 326k (about 25 minutes @ 2400bps) because it includes 3 .FLI files (the documentation says they HAVE to be included for distribution) - - the application itself is only about 16-18k. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 47 Fri Feb 04, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 08:17 EST Steve-J, Funny... I don't _REMEMBER_ ever going to a BookStar bookstore in Marietta. However, it is quite possible I did... Or... there is another Falcon Dev here in Atlanta (I figured that possibility would be next to 0.01e-999999999). Hmm.... --Kevin PS. It could've been my friend Darek (hasn't done any dev stuff in quite a while) that used to live right off the 120 loop. Strange. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 48 Fri Feb 04, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 12:25 EST I used to have play FLI until my HD got munged due to the spring/ground problem. --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 49 Fri Feb 04, 1994 J.BRENNER1 [See Flat] at 20:00 EST Andre Foster, FLI animations have a maximum of 256 colors. Not true color. The Lexicor player also can play FLC and FLX animations. The program is released as a beta version and is a temporary solution to help out Lexicor software users until a better and faster player is released. There have been statements made that a top notch software author is working on it at the present time. John B. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 50 Fri Feb 04, 1994 R.NELSON48 [Grouch (:{] at 23:28 EST PG-Kevin - Just a note to remind you to take the "WRECK" in winrec seriously. I understand it has a tendency to trash whatever HD partition you are running it from. Fills it up with its own files and overwrites yours without so much as a 'scusi'. (:{ Grouch. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 51 Sat Feb 05, 1994 M.WORLEY3 [Michael] at 00:54 EST Steve-J I am a one more Falcon owner who lives in the Atlanta area (Sandy Springs ) /\/\ichael \/\/orley ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 52 Sat Feb 05, 1994 B.KOLINS1 [Brian] at 01:08 EST Steve-J, Thanks for U/Ling Moive100--looking forward to catching yp on some reading during the D/L :( --Brian ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 53 Sat Feb 05, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 08:35 EST Michael, When did you move from the Stone Mtn area? You're now close to where I work. Come by sometime and see what the new BiaB6.0 looks like. Sneak pre- vue. Then make Steve-J feel bad for leaving his fellow Atari users in Atlanta. --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 54 Sun Feb 06, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:25 EST PG.MUSIC - There's NOTHING that can make me feel bad about leaving Atlanta (or Georgia, or the entire Southeast region for that matter)! By the way, on the FLI player I uploaded, I've found that it won't load some .FLI files (unfortunately). In fact, the only ones I've been able to get to work on it are the ones included! ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 55 Sun Feb 06, 1994 J.WILSON103 [J_Dub] at 20:12 EST This is a question for anyone who: a. Uses Aladdin on GENie b. Uses Flash II on their local BBS's c. Leaves their equipment on When I exit Aladdin after having used Flash II, I have what I consider a 'soft' crash, i.e. I get anywhere from 2-4 bombs, but still have access to the puter, can launch other programs etc. (I always do a cold boot when this happens). If however, Aladdin is used 'prior' to using Flash II, I 'never' get the bombs when exiting Aladdin. I am just wondering if anyone else has this happen. J_Dub ~~~~~ Sunday, February 6, 1994 10:40:08 am ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 56 Sun Feb 06, 1994 L.SQUIRE [Lance] at 20:14 EST DrHfuhruhurr & all MOVIE loaders: CPU.fli Is a good 256 colour Fli that works.(If you have enough ram) Will list others as I find them! Lance ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 57 Mon Feb 07, 1994 CBARRON at 01:42 EST J_Dub, I have gotten alladin 'crashes on exit' with and without using FII before alladin, since the last warm boot. I think the crashes are caused by alladin. Also its more than 4 bombs.... My experiences are on a TT030, but... ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 58 Mon Feb 07, 1994 B.KOLINS1 [Brian] at 02:36 EST A3DSDEMO.FLI also works with MOVIE100 (page 1415;3). On the other hand none of the flics I've done with Phoenix (et al) work. Missing the speed info in the file I think. Also, anyone been able to capture to Clipboard (Control-C). Bombs every time. --Brian ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 59 Mon Feb 07, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 05:55 EST According to someone on Usenet, Atari has announced that it will be shipping the following Falcon-specific games within a FEW WEEKS: Llamazap! Steel Talons Road Riot 4WD Humans (a.k.a. Dinolympics/Evolution: Dino-Dudes) Can someone verify this? I would've thought Bob Brodie would have mentioned it in the last Dateline Atari RTC (if he knew!). ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 60 Mon Feb 07, 1994 J.WILSON103 [J_Dub] at 08:21 EST > J_Dub, I have gotten alladin 'crashes on exit' with and without using FII >before alladin, since the last warm boot. I think the crashes are caused by >alladin. Also its more than 4 bombs.... > My experiences are on a TT030, but... > >---------- >CBARRON Interesting...I 'never' crash IF I have 'only' used Aladdin. I might add that I 'always' do a 'cold' boot after 'any' bombs appear. J_Dub ~~~~~ Monday, February 7, 1994 7:01:40 am ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 61 Mon Feb 07, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 08:35 EST JUST A WARNING TO EVERYONE HERE THAT MUST DEAL WITH AHDI/HDX!!!! I connected up my two SyQuests at the same time this weekend (switch settable SCSI ids to SCSI0 and SCSI1), termed only the last drive in the chain. Well... I had to format SCSI1 (the 105meg drive). No problem (altho' I STILL took the 88meg cart out. Just to be safe. Well... I had to use AHDI/HDX since I forgot to bring my ICD format/partition utils with me. Formatting went ok with HDX. But partitioning could've been a disaster! When I tried to partition SCSI1 , the SCSI0 (88meg) drive lights lit up and then HDX complained that the drive wouldn't respond. Of course it wouldn't I removed the 88meg cartrige. FOLX! HDX could've WIPED my entire 88meg drive when I was trying to partition the 105meg drive!!!!!!! I cannot stress strongly enough that Atari's hard drive utilities are CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP! DON'T USE THEM UNLESS YOU HAVE TO! I'd be really abusive to Atari if I had actually not had the forsight that Atari's utils are crap. Just a warning! Take it for WIW. --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 62 Mon Feb 07, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 17:38 EST Steve-J, I like the region ok. :) Its just a lot of the people. I know I'd never wanna live in Seattle tho. I think it rains more than enough in Atlanta. Guys... put up some good FLI stuff. I'd like to get some more to replace the ones I lost in the HD crash. :) --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 63 Mon Feb 07, 1994 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 22:51 EST I know that LlamaZap has been done for quite a while. From what I can tell, it is out in the UK already. Last summer, ST Format reviewed it... and the graphics looked really fantastic. Apparently, there is a version of LlamaTron built in to it. I even recall seeing a message or two somewhere about it -- that no one could play it because it needed the Jaguar controllers, and that controllers that would work weren't readily available. SOME sort of controllers were available, since ST Format obviosuly had to play it to do the review... right? ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 64 Mon Feb 07, 1994 C.LABELLE [Tintin] at 23:16 EST I've just downloaded PLAY_FLI. It's really great, better than Movie100. It runs in Full Screen 256-color mode, shows NO DITHERING (Movie100 is awful), is very fast, and runs all the FLIs I could find, including the Corel Draw ones. It is a TTP and runs on Falcon and TT. It should soon be cleared. Sorry I couldn't upload it this past weekend, my Falcon was busy beta-testing a new CD-ROM driver . Tintin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 65 Tue Feb 08, 1994 GREG at 00:49 EST C.LABELLE: How did your beta-testing on the driver go? What drive are you testing it with? ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 66 Tue Feb 08, 1994 R.SWANSON2 at 02:49 EST Hi all, Thanks for the help with the FLI info... One question, Where is PLAY_FLI? I could not find it. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 67 Tue Feb 08, 1994 S.WINICK at 03:27 EST Kevin, >> HDX could've WIPED my entire 88meg drive when I was trying to >> partition the 105meg drive!!!!!!! >> >> I cannot stress strongly enough that Atari's hard drive >> utilities are CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP! I believe that HDX was just polling the system to make sure everything was attached properly. In the case of Syquest removable platters, HDX requires that all mechanisms have a platter in place. I have multiple Syquests myself and have never had a problem with formatting or partitioning as long as there are no 'empty' drives online. If you want to be doubly careful not to accidentally format the wrong Syquest platter, merely flip the write protect tab on the cartridge you want to protect. You should also be using the latest versions of HDX which show the actual drive mechanisms in the listings, not just the SCSI device numbers. That also makes it easier to select the correct mechanism for formatting/partitioning and eliminate the possibility of costly mistakes. Sheldon (Computer STudio - Asheville, NC) ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 68 Tue Feb 08, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 03:29 EST Kevin, I had just that sort of thing happen to one of my systems a few years back. Unlike you, I *lost* 44 megabytes of data. And guess what? It was the cart that I had just created backups on, and I had just finished reformatting the original disk. So I lost all 44 megs. Since then I have always had TWO sets of backups, of everything. Right now I am backing up 256 megs onto floppies as another form of insurance. (Count them! Arghhhh!) Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 69 Tue Feb 08, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 05:06 EST PG.MUSIC - One thing I don't like about Portland over Roswell is that everything's more compacted due to the mountains. Every road you take here just doesn't have any 'character.' On the other hand, in the Atlanta suburban areas, there are nice, long, windy roads that go everywhere. After 8 months here, I'm still not used to the change in 'spacing.' C.LABELLE - You mean you UPLOADED the file, right? I don't think MOVIE.ACC is "awful" but it DOES, of course, have its drawbacks (e.g. for full, non- dithered, 256-color animations, you have to run it in True Color mode -- since it doesn't play with the desktop colors!; and it won't load quite a few .FLI files that people have tried -- what _I_ don't really like about it). However, it DOES allow viewing .FLI files (that work) in ANY resolution, and can play multiple animations simultaneously in their own windows, each of which can be resized. It would be GREAT if Brainstorm just fixed the few problems it does have (and made dithering optional -- i.e. gave it a switch that allowed animations to play with desktop colors or not). ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 70 Tue Feb 08, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 11:23 EST Sheldon, I have the latest version. I just always personally refer to them by SCSI ID #. Just in case I have two of the same drive hooked up. Regardless. Atari's software is still braindead. I'll remember my ICD disks next time. :) It is still good policy to remove the unused removeables when formatting another. Better safe than sorry. :) (See Al's post). --Kevin (PS. Unused means 'not meant to reformat'. NOT 'Isn't being used at all') ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 71 Tue Feb 08, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 19:39 EST Sheldon, That makes sense. HDX does behave that way. But it should not, and that's the problem. Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 72 Tue Feb 08, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 20:17 EST By the way, if you find a .FLI that doesn't work with MOVIE.ACC, try loading the animation file into a sector editor and changing the 15th byte to hex '03'. I don't know what the file format for the .FLI specification is (so I don't know what that byte is for), but after comparing working .FLIs to non- working ones, I found this difference between them. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 73 Tue Feb 08, 1994 C.LABELLE [Tintin] at 22:29 EST Greg, ExtenDOS from Roger Burrows work great on both the NEC-74 and Toshiba 3401, the drives I tested with Roger. Please see files #31878 and #31879, as well as message 190, topic 19, category 4. If I have a chance, I will test on the NEC 3xp this week. R.SWANSON2, I guess PLAY_FLI should be cleared shortly. STEVE-J, Ooops, I _did_ mean UPLOADED... I like the windowed animation in MOVIE, but not the full-screen in 256-color mode. Tintin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 74 Wed Feb 09, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 03:29 EST Here's an interesting message from Bob Brodie: Date: 02-07-94 (18:05) Message Number: 3661 (56 of 84) To: Vince Valenti Ref #: From: Bob Brodie Read: Public Subject: Falcon Conference: Atari Explore --------------------------------------------------------------------------- .FROM Bob Brodie @FIDO 51:1/10 In reply to: > Now that the Falcon is taking back seat, do you think it might be time > to allow the Falcon to be mail ordered. Maybe you can offer a $30 rebat We're giving that some very serious thought. However, we're trying to ensure that the dealers don't engage in the traditional mail order discount pricing, which would surely kill off the line. regards, Bob Brodie --------------------------------------------------------------------------- So mail ordering Falcon030s MAY be more widely available soon??? I hope Atari's also planning on reducing the price, though (besides the normal retail price of $1299, dealers pay $975 for the 4/80 model F030, which sounds like a bit much). It's odd that every now and then there's a slight hint that maybe Atari DOES know what they need to do. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 75 Wed Feb 09, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 08:20 EST Steve-J, Then WHY don't they do what they need to do, when it is still a good time to do it? --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 76 Wed Feb 09, 1994 DMJ [dmj] at 19:08 EST Dr. Hfuhruhurr, The 15th byte contains a couple of flags. In most animations, this byte should be $03 (for a looping animation) or $01 (for a non-looping animation). It's possible MOVIE.ACC is checking this value for some reason (search me what) but a simple player really shouldn't bother with this value. But hey, if it works, it works. ~dmj ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 77 Thu Feb 10, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 05:01 EST DMJ - Are $03 and $01 the ONLY flags the 15th byte should be (still wondering why several I ran across were $00)? One animation I have also says to play it at 200fps!!! BOB-BRODIE - Can you verify if LLAMAZAP!, STEEL TALONS, ROAD RIOT 4WD, and HUMANS are coming out very soon for the Falcon030, as has been 'reported'? ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 78 Thu Feb 10, 1994 AEO.7 [Gregg] at 20:40 EST And what ever happened to Space Junk? That one looked like the best of the entire lot for us simulator freaks. Gregg ]*s ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 79 Thu Feb 10, 1994 DMJ [dmj] at 23:23 EST Dr. Hfuhruhurr, According to the documentation I have, $00 should only be used for an incomplete animation. I do not know why a player would even check this value. You should experience no problems changing it to $01 or $03. ~dmj ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 80 Fri Feb 11, 1994 B.KOLINS1 [Brian] at 00:33 EST Steve-J, The 15th byte in the FLCs created with Lexicor's utility are set to $02. With all the fussing around, I still can't get these to work with Movie100... just Lexicor's player. --Brian ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 81 Fri Feb 11, 1994 M.TROUPE [Helium] at 04:16 EST dmj, I saw you were takling about the movie.acc. This is the one for .FLI right? If so and it refuses to run an IBM .FLI is there something I can do about it? Will it require an editor like Edhac if something can be done? ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 82 Fri Feb 11, 1994 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 07:57 EST Sounds like we need an FLC topic. :-) Ken Van ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 83 Fri Feb 11, 1994 J.BRENNER1 [See Flat] at 19:00 EST Ken Van, >Sounds like we need an FLC topic. :-) There is already one, it is Cat 7 topic 8. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 84 Sat Feb 12, 1994 DMJ [dmj] at 00:23 EST Helium, Yes, Steve-J suggested changing the 15th byte to 3. Try it and see if it works for you. ~dmj ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 85 Sat Feb 12, 1994 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 08:14 EST See Flat, Oh! There was so much FLC stuff here I didn't think there was. Hmm. Ken Van ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 86 Sat Feb 12, 1994 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 23:55 EST Does anyone know if there is a program that will easily allow you fiddle with/edit/setup/test NEWDESK.INF files? With TOS 4.04 the INF file seems to be an evergrowing juggernaut (change an icon here, change an icon there... and next thing you know, the file is five pages long!). If there isn't a program like this, er, well, _shouldn't_ there be? BTW, what exactly is it that compromises the integrity of a NEWDESK.INF file? I simply cannot edit one in ANY text editor without the desktop going haywire shortly thereafter. The only way I can get things the way I like is to use a sector editor. I already understand the criticality of spacing. But I never fiddle with spaces. I just added four lines (for the Revenge doc displayer {works great, BTW}) and they were identical except for document type. Then, of course, the desktop went mad. Anyway, I fixed everything, and it's all fine. I just don't want to have to waste two hours again sometime in the future. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 87 Sun Feb 13, 1994 B.SEMAAN [BOSEM] at 08:46 EST James, Which text editor(s) have you tried and had trouble with editing NEWDESK? I have had good luck with MicroEMACS. You need an editor that will not add or strip trailing spaces, or fiddle with eol's. A good test (though not perfect) is to load a copy of NEWDESK.INF, then save it without making any changes. (Make sure you save it to another directory or rename it.) Then compare the size with the original. If the newly saved file matches the original, the editor should be safe to use. Bob ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 88 Sun Feb 13, 1994 D.FREELAND [SAXMAN] at 10:18 EST James, I use Atari Works to modify my newdesk file. It seems to do a great job of importing aand exporting ASCII text. David ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 89 Sun Feb 13, 1994 DMJ [dmj] at 12:47 EST James, First of all, you _have_ a program that lets you edit the NEWDESK.INF. It's called the desktop. Atari has never documented this file, and refuses to do so. Fortunately, if you _must_ edit it, there are a few rules of thumb: 1. Make sure your word processor saves in ASCII format. If you save in your normal word processor format, the system will barf. 2. Make sure your word processor does NOT trim spaces from the ends of the lines. Most lines contain trailing spaces, and removing them can give your computer seizures, double vision, and headache. 3. Always make a backup before editing the file. It's really easy to screw this file up. ~dmj ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 90 Sun Feb 13, 1994 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 21:35 EST Thanks for the tips! I was using Storm to edit my NEWDESK.INF Problem is, for what I want, I have to ADD lines to the file. The only way I got this to work was to copy Revenge to six of my partitions, and then install each one with a different file type. Then, using MemFile, I changed the paths of these lines , (which is were Revenge is actually kept). It just seems to me that the NEWDESK.INF file really needs to be documented. Especially with all the data it now holds (icons, function keys, etc). I finally gave up altogether on icons. I've switched back to text only. Icons were fun for a while, though. BTW, in case you were curious, the most annoying symptom I was getting was that the new key assignments for desktop functions were changing themselves. For instance, I use 'I' to load a new NEWDESK.INF file. Just above it, I use 'V' to call the Set Video menu. After I closed a window, the key assignment would shift, either down or up. Set Video had become 'I' and often, the letters would simply disappear. That's how I knew my NEWDESK.INF file was wacky. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 91 Mon Feb 14, 1994 REALM [Joey] at 03:57 EST James, Just setup your desktop how you want it and hit SAVE DESKTOP. That will edit the NEWDESK.INF file for you. If your having problems throw away the old stuff and save it again. That usually fix's it. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 92 Tue Feb 15, 1994 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 01:32 EST Joey, just resaving the desktop is not the issue. It's how to install a lone application with multiple document types. It simply cannot be done easily. It is a necessity, therefore, to edit your NEWDESK.INF file which leads to wackiness, and which therefore suggests a need for a reliable NEWDESK.INF editor. Oh, well. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 93 Tue Feb 15, 1994 B.SEMAAN [BOSEM] at 06:53 EST James, Function keys getting screwed up is definitely a symptom of using the wrong editor to change NEWDESK.INF. Bob ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 94 Tue Feb 15, 1994 B.SUSLOVIC [Brad] at 23:40 EST james, i totally agree, i'm suprised there hasn't been one developed yet. did i read here that atari doesn't doc the info to dev. one? to bad! ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 95 Wed Feb 16, 1994 REALM [Joey] at 01:12 EST James, I didn't know you where digging that deep, I thought you where just trying to change your key combo's and save your layout. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 96 Wed Feb 16, 1994 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 01:33 EST Joey, yes, I guess you could say "deep" into the NEWDESK.INF... my original one was two and half pages long... all those icons assigned to everything... sheesh... Er, Brad: In section 9.4 of SDS's book Atari Compendium, there is some documentation, but it only goes for a page or two. Not very deep. All it really says is: "...or the system may behave strangely." An understatement, especially on a Falcon. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 97 Wed Feb 16, 1994 D.ALFONSO1 [D.ALFONSO] at 01:51 EST James, I've found that to set up an application with more than one ducument type, it is easier to use a program I believe is in the library to create an alias program which you can assign to a different extention. David ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 98 Mon Feb 21, 1994 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 20:35 EST Does anyone have docs for the "Submen Setup" CPX? Is this even Falcon- specific? (That's "Submenu" above) ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 99 Sat Feb 26, 1994 C.LABELLE [Tintin] at 21:23 EST I discovered a problem when running PLAY-FLI (flicks player) on a TV/monitor through the composite video output: the screen rolls. I remember having this problem with british games on the SC1224, and I adjusted the V-something button at the back. But there is no such button on my VCR. Anybody know a solution? Tintin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 100 Sun Feb 27, 1994 GREG at 00:26 EST C.LABELLE: In about a month we will have a FLI player that you will be able to use on a TV or record to VCR. The program will be available as an add-on callable from a Photo Show Pro script and also bundled with a CD of FLI files. In the mean time, I believe Lexicor has a player that loads very slowly, but does a great job on animations once it loads them. Our new FLI player is designed for the Falcon but will run on other Atari machines too. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 101 Sun Feb 27, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 07:30 EST C.LABELLE - PLAY-FLI runs in PAL (50Hz) mode only, so there's not much you can do about it. Another problem with it (for ME anyway) is that I get some weird stuff on a few vertical lines on the left side of the display. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 102 Sun Feb 27, 1994 C.LABELLE [Tintin] at 13:47 EST GREG: I'm looking forward to this new player. Does the Lexicor program allows editing; or is there any FLI editor available for the ST/Falcon? DrHfuhruhurr: You're right, there are two incorrect vertical lines on the far left of the screen. Tintin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 103 Sun Feb 27, 1994 K.OLSON10 [KenO.] at 13:53 EST Hi! It seems that I reached the limit on my F partition in terms of capacity. Now all I get is one of 2 msg "Not enough room on Drive F" or if I use Diamond Edge it says no boot sector for F. So now what can I do to recover what's on F? Or is all lost? Should I reformate or zero F? Any help would be appreciated. KenO. :) ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 104 Sun Feb 27, 1994 R.HOEKSTRA1 [RandyH] at 18:49 EST Can anyone suggest a simple drawing program for 16 or 256 color mode? Something along the lines of Neochrome that a 6-year-old would be able to doodle and draw with. Thanks, RandyH ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 105 Mon Feb 28, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 03:30 EST KenO, Can you access the files on F? Your post didn't make it clear. If so, back the stuff up and reformat. One possibility that needs to be mentioned is the problem all drives (floppy and hard) have with the number of files in the root directory (the main area or top area of the partition). The limit is probably 212 or 224 files and folders combined, so the drive will report that it is full if it has that many items in the root even if they are all 1-byte files. Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 106 Tue Mar 01, 1994 A.MCLAUGHLIN [DREW] at 08:29 EST Howdy folks- I'm a newcomer to GEnie (happily surprised the Atari support, or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof) and was just wondering on some stuff here. What I'm curious about is folks to talk about things like Transarctica (topic closed?), Atari (the truth) (...I'm typing this cha,5 on my 5th Atari, starting w/the 400 and the membrane spillproof keyboard ah those were the days anybody remember SmartDOS?), Interlink (anybody still use it?), True color on the Falcon (Does the FALCADAP file#29337 work? and where do ya get a DB19?????), what about the Genlock capability of the Falcon and can I hook up a Camcorder?, sampling sounds on a Falcon through the mike port?, Ultima VI (last Ultima for the Atari?), people that want to see games translated for Falcon (Wolfenstein 3D, anyone? Or has anyone seen "Doom" for IBM? BAD. IT'S BAD. Only way to describe it.) yada yada yada Let's chat folks how bout a late night Real time chat somewheres? I'm on GE occasionally often. A.MCLAUGHLIN I think. could be DREW. haven't figured that out yet. Drew ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 107 Tue Mar 01, 1994 O-ZONE [Flakes] at 19:20 EST Drew, You can sample using the software bundled with the Falcon. I have Cubase Audio Falcon for serious direct to disc recording but haven't got around to buying more storage yet. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 108 Tue Mar 01, 1994 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 21:52 EST Drew: RE: Transarctica Which version? Falcon or ST? I've got the Falcon version, but honestly, I am not that enthused about it... all those trains... still, looks great in 256 colors. RE: Atari Well, I certainly love my Falcon. Just got the Chaos AD demo, and it blew my socks off. Unbelievable graphics and CD quality sound. Stunning. RE: Interlink Is a dead product. Does not work at all on the Falcon. I suggest STorm v1.02. It is superb. Very versatile. Multi-tasking. Great. RE: Genlock I'm not sure what you're asking. I have a composite cable for my Falcon. I can record anything on my screen to video using it. No problems. Perfect picture. RE: Sampling Yes, that's what the input port is for on the Falcon. Also, using products like VideoMaster FALCON, you can record video and audio at the same time. RE: Ultima THe last Ultima on the Atari platform was Ultima 5 and it sucked. RE: Wolfenstein "Of Lasers and Men" was just released as Shareware. v1.0. It is a 3D texturemapped, blast'em up with thousands of colors and digital audio. I'm still trying to get a copy (it was JUST released). RE: Doom Doom looks good on a 486... anything less is a joke. Besides, I suspect the Jaguar version of Doom will look a lot better (and I am a proud Jaguar owner, so...) ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 109 Tue Mar 01, 1994 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 21:52 EST I tried to copy some stuff from a floppy to my Falcon hard drive today, and got something I've gotten before - a lot of "wheezing" from the hard drive with occasionally clicking, and after several minutes of that the message that it couldn't copy or access or something one of the folders. I can access it OK if I go directly to the floppy, but apparently the hard drive can't deal with it. Also, copying from floppy to hard drive seems to take a looooong time. Any ideas? Ken Van ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 110 Tue Mar 01, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 21:53 EST Drew, You need Aladdin. :) Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 111 Tue Mar 01, 1994 C.FLUEGEL [Curt] at 22:37 EST Drew : actually the last Ultima was VI (and it was CGA graphics but a great game..) KenO... check what version of AHDI you have.. I pray its not the bad one that shipped with original Falcons.. if it is you will wipe out thew next partition if you fill one (fill up E, wipes out F).. Curt Fluegel American Pro Audio (got a Falcon on my desk and I like it!) ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 112 Wed Mar 02, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:40 EST Is there a program other than 525.PRG that will convert 16-bit samples (stereo or mono) to 8-bit samples (stereo or mono)? 525.PRG does a horrible job of it. Also, LLAMAZAP!, EVOLUTION: DINO DUDES, STEEL TALONS, and ROAD RIOT 4WD for the Falcon HAVE been released in England. Anybody heard when they'll be released here? Maybe there's a question to ask Bob on Friday -- I have Friday night off, so I'm going to be here with a couple doozies for him! ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 113 Wed Mar 02, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 06:53 EST Ken, Maybe ... 1. The folder pool is used up. 2. The root is almost full (256 items, max). 3. The disk is very badly fragged. Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 114 Wed Mar 02, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 11:00 EST Steve are the samples raw data, WAV files, or what? --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 115 Thu Mar 03, 1994 R.NELSON48 [Grouch (:{] at 00:42 EST Drew: Re: Genlock on the Falcon, not all doom and gloom but the easy answer is not yet, maybe never without a big ($500 +) bankroll. See CAT 7 TOP 26 for more info. If all you want to do is digitize video then the picture is a little brighter. VideoMaster from OREGON RESEARCH will do the job as will some other up and coming products. You will likely get better answers if you break your questions up and ask them in the different catagories and topics specific to that question. If that doesn't suit you then address your post directly to A.FASOLDT who IS the GEnie in this ATARI bottle. (:{ Grouch. Ken Van - Sounds like you have a Falcon Specific problem, the factory installed 85 meg hard drive had a shield/ground installed backward. It is a warrenty repair and once this item is flipped around everything works swell --- hmmm, let me rephrase that, everything works very much better. How old is your Falcon? After a few months Atari caught on to this problem and began building them correctly. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 117 Thu Mar 03, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 05:38 EST PG.MUSIC - Using either raw data, .AVR, or .DVS. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 118 Thu Mar 03, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 07:49 EST Steve-J, Is it normalizing to do the conversion? Or just 'lopping off' data? It should normalize. --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 119 Thu Mar 03, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 18:58 EST Grouch, Knock it off. :) Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 120 Fri Mar 04, 1994 R.NELSON48 [Grouch (:{] at 01:47 EST Al - still the king of the one liners, I see. (:{ G. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 121 Fri Mar 04, 1994 B.KOLINS1 [Brian] at 03:42 EST Ken Van (and any one else as unfortunate, like myself)... According to the tech where I bought my 030, "Atari is aware they're having a problems with the hard drives". He mentioned 2 cases (in the NYC area) this year, and mine makes 3. Best I can tell from your descrition Ken, it's the same symptom I've been experiencing for 'bout 2 months. Now considerably worse. Data's getting corrupted at an alarming rate. (typed on my reliable, yet overstuffed 520) --Brian ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 122 Fri Mar 04, 1994 ATARI.BENLUX [W. Kilwinger] at 05:51 EST STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr]: > >Also, LLAMAZAP!, EVOLUTION: DINO DUDES, STEEL TALONS, and ROAD RIOT 4WD for >the Falcon HAVE been released in England. Anybody heard when they'll be >released here? Maybe there's a question to ask Bob on Friday -- I have Friday >night off, so I'm going to be here with a couple doozies for him! Although the magazines in the UK reported their releases several times during the last months they are still not available. Regards, Wilfred ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 123 Fri Mar 04, 1994 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 07:38 EST Brian, Thanks. This hard drive has worried me since I got it. I frequently get a pause and then a high-pitched but rather soft whine when I access the hard drive when doing certain operations. I think that occurs with copying, running programs (sometimes), and operations involving the floppy. For normal loading and saving operations it seems not to do it. My one-year warranty is half gone. I wonder if it's the hard drive or some sort of controller hardware. Someone said the hard drives are not a top brand. Ken Van ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 124 Fri Mar 04, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 07:46 EST PG.MUSIC - The more quiet sections of samples get VERY noisey after the conversion and the decay portions get somewhat distorted. It sounds MUCH worse than recording 8-bit to begin with. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 125 Fri Mar 04, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 07:54 EST ATARI.BENELUX - I wasn't actually referring to the UK magazines, which HAVE mentioned these games were out for a few months now, but someone in England called Atari UK and was told that these four games will be released within the next week or two (this was about 2-3 days ago). ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 126 Fri Mar 04, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 08:04 EST Ken, I'd hurry up & take the Falcon in for a checkup (for the grounding problem etc). There's nothing wrong with the conner HDs. --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 127 Fri Mar 04, 1994 J.KOLLER2 [Killer] at 23:32 EST I'm looking to buy a new monitor for my Falcon. Right now I'm using the Atari SC1224 monitor and I'll keep it for a back up and for True Color modes. My question is, what is a good brand of monitor for the Falcon. I have seen some posts mention CTX as a decent make. I'll take any input on this subject. Also, would it be to my advantage to get a 15" monitor? J.K. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 128 Fri Mar 04, 1994 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 23:44 EST Killer: You might spend a little extra, but I'd recommend a monitor with digital control and user selectable presets (for screen settings). On the Multiscan I have (the CTX cms1461) I have to constantly fiddle with the controls (expaning the borders, shifting the screen to the right and left) for different apps. If you've got a monitor that can store screen settings, you never have to fiddle with the screen. Don't get me wrong... this isn't a major hassle. Just over the long term, it gets slightly annoying. For instance, I use FalconScreen to do 768x576x16 (for Atari works and telecoms) and I am forced to recenter the screen image. To play Frontier (ELite 2) I have to expand the screen vertically, and recenter it. Then, to do any of the 256 color modes, I have to recenter, and adjust vertically again. Of course, I bought the monitor months before I had a Falcon (too good a deal to pass up... FastMicro was going out of business and PURGING everything at drastically low prices). BTW, this CTX monitor is fantastic otherwise. The image is superb. As far as I can tell CTX is a good brand. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 129 Sat Mar 05, 1994 B.KOLINS1 [Brian] at 00:31 EST Ken, What I might interpret as the soft whine, in my specific case, is that now when rendering an animation or loading an app the drive makes a "boing" and "clunk", shuts down then spins back up. Maybe more of a whirl than a whine. As it stands, after running HDX utils, the message "To Many Bad Sectors To List-- Backup And Reformat". Which I did and lost 122K on F partition. But I'm still getting errors. It's just during a 3 year period purchasing for a dealer, we had a higher percentage a defective Conners than other brands. The tech rather insisted we change manufacturers. --Brian ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 130 Sat Mar 05, 1994 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 01:08 EST Midwest Micro has a monitor that I believe would work great at a nice price. It is an Elite 15", .28 pitch, Non-Interlaced, 1280 x 1024, 28-64 khz horiz., 47-104 hz vertical, 3 year warranty for $325.00. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 131 Sat Mar 05, 1994 R.BROWN30 at 02:05 EST Is there any way to network a F030 and a TT with the Lan port or by other means? Thanks ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 132 Sat Mar 05, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 03:27 EST J.K., A flat-screen 15-inch is worth getting; the viewable area is about 30 percent greater than a typical 14-incher. I like the ADI and own one. The latest 15-inch FS ADI is about $430-$440. It has digital controls and memory, superb display. Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 133 Sat Mar 05, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:48 EST I'd asked this before, but didn't really get a response. Have other Falcon030 owners here had problems with their DSPs needed a cold reset (i.e. turning the computer off and then back on) to work right sometimes? Every now and then (usually while using a direct-to-disk recorder like Falcon-D2D or Winrec), the audio output will cease-up and then anything that uses the DSP won't work correctly until I turn off my Falcon030 and then turn it back on again (doing keyboard warm and cold boots don't work and neither will a hardware reset). Also, what's the scoop on the Falcon030 'timing' problem that's been mentioned in magazines and such (usually when used in conjunction with Cubase Audio Falcon, but Atari DID admit the problem was theirs and not Steinberg's)? ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 134 Sat Mar 05, 1994 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 08:58 EST Killer, I like the monitor I got. It's an NEC with built-in stereo speakers and no digital, although that was recommended. Digital might have been a little nicer, but the speakers and the price I got were a tradeoff. I don't think adjusting is a big inconvenience. Brian, I think my noise is the hard drive restarting somehow, which I don't understand, because there seems to be no reason for it to spin down while in use. It seems to run a while, stop, and then rev up. Since it often happens while copying from floppy I thought it might be waiting for a read of another section of the file on the floppy. I've been waiting for the new Diamond Back before backing up. Maybe I'm pushing my luck. I want to back up before taking the computer in to the dealer, in case the drive needs to be replaced. I hope it's just the ground problem. Steve, I can't answer your question, but the term you used is "seize up", as in your car brakes locking up or something like that, as in grabbing hold and not letting go. Ken Van ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 135 Sat Mar 05, 1994 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 11:45 EST Last night I asked Bob Brodie about the Falcon TOS memory leak problem. He responded that he'd never heard of it before. Am I losing my mind or didn't Bob Brodie leave a message here about two or three months ago that they were "aware of the problem and working on it" or something to that effect? Now three months later he's already forgotten about it. Sheesh. I don't have the time to search back through 3 months of messages, but if anyone here (Sysop maybe) could find Bob Brodie's earlier message to that effect, I would certainly like to E-mail him his own previous reply. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 136 Sat Mar 05, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 12:24 EST Richard, LittleNet is a freeware networking desk accessory. Look in the libraries here. There's an excellent "Secrets of LittleNet" distributed with the archive, too. LN will connect the Falcon and the TT fine, and do it in the background. Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 137 Sat Mar 05, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 13:03 EST Brian, Ken Van, Hello! McFly? Is anyone here? The spin down is due to the flaky ground wreaking havoc with the drive's powerdown mech (used to conserve batteries when used in laptops/notebooks). Take it to a dealer & let them fix it under warranty. In effect... the drive is getting turned on & off randomly. That causes the errors. It is an easy fix. And the only way to fix is to move that ground plate. I know. I've seen 4 falcons with this problem (I've personally fixed), and talked others thru the fix. And... those are the symptoms. David F., Just do a "REA all AUT=GEmail_id" for Bob's id. --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 138 Sat Mar 05, 1994 G.NORTON [Falcon Systm] at 13:49 EST Drew, Take a look at Videomaster for the Falcon. That along with the RGB splitter will allow you to digitize images from either a video cam or video deck. Doing stills it can do 15 bit colour, if you want to sample video it can handle 64 greyscale and has frame rates of up to 30. In addition it have sound digitizing software as well. Nice package! Oregon Research has the North American rights. Graham @ Falcon Systems ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 139 Sat Mar 05, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 14:40 EST Is there anything to network my Falcon030 to my Mac Quadra (to be bought next week). Yes, I know about the PPC, but the Quadra I'm getting is one that I _KNOW_ the PG Products currently work on. The PPC is up in the air. :) --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 140 Sat Mar 05, 1994 J.BRENNER1 [See Flat] at 15:02 EST David, just search the topic by AUT= since Bob isnt' here very much, it should be a quick search. However, Bob is usualy pretty good about these things. Perhaps someone else mentioned they new about it. John B. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 141 Sat Mar 05, 1994 O-ZONE [Flakes] at 16:32 EST R.BROWN30, Yes. You can get a program called Powernet and some hardware from View Touch Corperation, telephone #1-503-479-4278. It allows you to connect Atari Computers with the LAN ports and trade files between them. It also claims to let you use a printer connected to a remote computer but I have not been able to get this to work. ***WARNING*** It took this company several months and about 5 phone calls to ship my order. When I called I was given lame excuses and detected a decidedly unprofessional attitude and even suprise that I had discovered their existence at all. My deduction is that they are probably jumping ship on Atari and don't want to be bothered. The program sells for under $200.00. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 142 Sat Mar 05, 1994 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 20:41 EST My apologies to Bob Brodie. Back in December it was "Dan @ Atari" who stated in the TOS 4.0 that Atari was aware of the problem and was "looking into" it. Sorry Bob. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 143 Sat Mar 05, 1994 L.FULGENZI [Chas] at 22:15 EST Hi folks, I know this has been asked before, but I never thought I'd be buying a Falcon . What scan rates are required for a multi-sync that will support all the Falcon's resolutions. Including the old ST modes and true color in 80 columns? Thanks, -Chas ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 144 Sat Mar 05, 1994 AEO.MAG [!] FSU #1 [!] at 22:36 EST If you don't need Powernet now, wait. Chris Latham, the author of Powernet, just told me on the phone that as soon as he can change the docs and get everything squared away, he will start distributing Powernet as shareware. Chris is no longer associated with View Touch. Powernet still doesn't allow connections between Atari-and-non-Atari computers. --Travis ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 145 Sun Mar 06, 1994 COMPO at 03:13 EST Chas - The Falcon doesn't require a multisync. You'll get all standard resolutions (including standard ST resolutions) with a basic VGA (31KHz horizontal scanning frequency) monitor. The Falcon cannot product True Color in 80 columns. If you want to really beef up the resolutions, get a Screenblaster. If you're even considering it, then a multisync will come in handy. The higher the possible horizontal scanning frequency, the more you'll be able to get out of Screenblaster. Robert ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 146 Sun Mar 06, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:48 EST K.VANDELLEN - I feel silly for saying "cease up." I've been sick the past few days and haven't been thinking clearly (due to lack of sleep). It's pretty funny now, though. FAIRWEATHER - I remember SOMEONE from Atari saying that they were aware of the problem, but I'm not sure if it was Bob or not. Maybe Atari's suggestion for a 'fix' is to run MultiTOS (and slow your Falcon030 down to ST speed!)??? L.FULGENZI - In order to use ALL the resolutions the Falcon030 can do, you'll need a multiscan monitor capable of 15.75kHz-31.3kHz horizontal scan (and 60Hz vertical sync, but pretty much ALL monitors support at least a range of 50Hz- 70Hz). You will, of course, need the proper cables to hook up the monitor in 'TV' and 'VGA' modes. You can only do overscan/True Color 80-column/interlace in 'TV' mode (in 'VGA' mode, you can only get True Color in 320x480). ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 147 Sun Mar 06, 1994 B.KOLINS1 [Brian] at 04:51 EST Kevin, Yes, we're listening Ground problem? I've heard of this but I thought it only plagued early Falcons. Care to walk us victims throught the fix? I'm quite at home working on these with a 520 in a tower case with lots of trimmings and a 1040 assembled from a dealer parts kit I inherited. --Brian ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 148 Sun Mar 06, 1994 L.FULGENZI [Chas] at 10:21 EST Thanks Robert and Steve-J, I should have been a bit more specific about my monitor needs. I'd like to purchase a multi-sync that will handle the resolutions of the Falcon and with the appropriate cables can be used with my STacy in a pinch. If that changes anything, let me know. :) Thanks for the help, guys! -Chas ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 149 Sun Mar 06, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 13:08 EST Brian, just do a search on messages posted by me in the ICD roundtable. I even 'drew' a picture. ASCII art. :) I haven't posted TOO much in there, so it shouldn't take long to do a search. I didn't save the file, so I'd have to type it up again. :) However, seek in ICD, and ye shall find. --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 150 Sun Mar 06, 1994 V.VALENTI at 14:19 EST Chas, Try the NEC 3D monitor. It is a standard Multisync monitor that can handle the sync rate of your STacy, and also the VGA on your Falcon as well as the RGB modes of your Falcon. You can get the monitor for 359 at USA Flex. (Back of computer shopper) You will also need the Multisync Gizmo about $30. (I think its less) that will allow you to swich between RGB modes (with overscan and such) and VGA modes. You will also need a RGB to VGA adapter for your stacy. (I know it exists, but I dont know anything about it) Vince ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 151 Sun Mar 06, 1994 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 14:35 EST David, Thanks. I'm not sure I don't have a memory leak on my Mega STE, too. Sometimes a program won't run after another one, and I have to reboot. It's the same setup, just that the program doesn't want to follow the use of another. Richard, Be sure to note who the author of "Secrets..." is. ;-) Kevin, Thanks. I left the dealer E-mail this morning to say I was coming in. I also asked if they had Band in a Box. I have to do something with this CZ101. That sounds like a good application for it. Ken Van ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 152 Sun Mar 06, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 15:25 EST Vince, I am looking for a NEC 3D myself but USA Flex says they are out and won't be getting any more. NEC stopped making them a couple of years ago. - TOM - ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 153 Sun Mar 06, 1994 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 16:20 EST Steve, Glad you have a sense of humor. That was a little like a fellow who was telling friends that an acquaintance had acquired a "sexual" sofa. In retelling it, the friends remarked that that might be better than a "chaste" lounge. Ken Van ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 154 Sun Mar 06, 1994 DMJ [dmj] at 16:33 EST Robert, I could've sworn the Falcon would do true color in 80 columns; just not on a VGA monitor. That is, it would do 640x400x65K, on a TV or SC1224, but as an interlaced resolution. ~dmj ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 155 Sun Mar 06, 1994 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 17:47 EST Ken, I use a CZ101 with BIAB, but only as the keyboard controller for my MT-32. A CZ-101 alone really won't do BIAB justice as it won't be capable of playing the bass, drums and polynote piano simultaneously. If I was FORCED to use only a CZ-101 w/ BIAB, I would probably forego the bass and drums. But since bass lines are BIAB's forte, you'll really be doing the program a disservice if you run it that way. If you haven't done so already, you should visit the BIAB topic in the Midi RT. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 156 Sun Mar 06, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 19:10 EST DMJ, You are correct about the true color on the SC1224 and/or TV. Ken, Yep. And when BiaB6.0 is out you will be amazed. It is worlds different & better than version 5.2 (current release) which I didn't have any part of programming. :) You'll get an upgrade notice in the mail (for sure!) if you buy any PG product and register it. We also, mail new product announcements. I don't know how multitimbral the CZ101 is. BiaB does bass, drums, horns, strings, melody, etc... You may want to look into a BiaB and SoundCanvas SC-55 type of bundle. See the BiaB cat 40 topic 1 in the Midi RT (page 430) for more info on BiaB5.x and the Falcon. 5.x isn't fully Falcon compatible. Version 6.0 is. I've been working on taxes lately, but BiaB6 is still grinding along... Ya know... I have Quicken on my 486, but guess what I wound up using to prepare my info for my accountant this tax season? Atari Works. Heck, it only took me 15 minutes to figure out how to do what I needed & wanted with it. Quicken just had to dang many popups, 'help balloons', too many colors onscreen, etc. Drove me nuts. Atari Works is simple, yet quite effective. Now only if the SpeedoGDOS drivers for the HP LaserJet2 were faster like my Windoze drivers. --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 157 Sun Mar 06, 1994 COMPO at 20:09 EST DMJ - You're absolutely right - my mistake. Robert ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 158 Sun Mar 06, 1994 J.YEGERLEHNE at 20:49 EST I've just uploaded my freeware library for doing DSP-accelerated floating point multiplications, DSPMATH.ARC. My benchmarking shows anywhere from almost no speed-up for very small matrices, to 800 times speed-up for larger matrices. Matrix multiplication is used fairly generally in many compute-intensive applications. One that was discussed in this category was animation and raytracing-type stuff, like InShape. If there are other math functions that you would like to see supported for an application you have in mind, let me know. A couple requests: 1. Could someone with an FPU re-compile the example program for the speed benchmark cases in table in the readme.dsp file, and pass the numbers on to me? 2. If someone has Internet FTP access, could you post the archive to atari.archive.umich.edu? Thanks, Jim Y. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 159 Sun Mar 06, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 22:53 EST NEC had a warehouse full of 3D models, made in U.S.A., BTW. NEC may still have more in stock. Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 160 Sun Mar 06, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 23:37 EST I tried them as well Al. I have a feeling that USA Flex moved them all out in a few weeks time. - TOM - ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 161 Mon Mar 07, 1994 B.KOLINS1 [Brian] at 01:24 EST Kevin, Found your post in the ICD RT. Couldn't go wrong with your ASCII artwork. But, alas, F partition still sounds like grinding coffee beans. If I get up the nerve, I think I'll try sampling the effect. Combined with the jackhammer I sampled out the window one afternoon on my S612 should make for an interesting rhythm track :) --Brian ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 162 Mon Mar 07, 1994 W.HYNES at 02:54 EST Travis, Will POWER NET only work on the Falcon and TT? Can it be used STe's and ST's also? -Bill- ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 163 Mon Mar 07, 1994 D.ALFONSO1 [D.ALFONSO] at 02:59 EST Kevin, That's interesting about your taxes and Atari Works. If you've got a spreadsheet or database worked up for tax purposes, is there any chance you might upload it? David ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 164 Mon Mar 07, 1994 AEO.MAG [!] FSU #1 [!] at 03:03 EST Bill, PowerNet will network all TOS computers, but is incompatible with MultiTOS. I believe the Gribnifs were talking with Chris about making Geneva and PowerDOS (the heart of PowerNet) work together nicely, but I don't know how far along that has went. --Travis ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 165 Mon Mar 07, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 04:52 EST DMJ - It'll also do 640x200x16-bit (non-interlaced). ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 166 Mon Mar 07, 1994 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 07:55 EST David, Thanks for the info. A BIAB topic? Wow! I didn't think it would have that much of a following. I haven't gotten into MIDI much yet, but hope to. I don't really need to get into another topic, but... I'll have to see what the minimum decent synthesizer requirement would be for BIAB, and try to pick one up used. Kevin, I have the CZ-101 hooked to the Mega/STE right now, with no plans to use the Falcon for MIDI. (It's in my office at work.) Dunno what an SC-55 is. Will check into it. Thanks. Ken Van ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 167 Mon Mar 07, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 08:05 EST Ken Van, BiaB is sold worldwide. :) And is quite popular on the 3 platforms (Mac, Atari, & PC). I have my 'own' CAT #40 over in the MidiRT. The gang there can help more & more quickly than I can in most cases. :) David, I don't "do" my taxes with Atari Works... I just prep all of my info so I can take it to the accountant and not have to let _him_ or _her_ wade thru all of the receipts, figure out what was for what, etc. Everything is listed by category, with dates & prices & subtotals and totals. :) Oh... and sorted chronologically too. Brian, after fixing the ground plate, you _NEED_ to reformat the IDE drive and repartition it (with HDX5.05c). Sometimes just repartitioning the disk didn't fix the munge for the times I've dealt with this. That should do the trick. Remember, the format has been munged up. :) --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 168 Mon Mar 07, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 18:52 EST Thanks, Tom. The last fax I got from NEC showed them still in stock, but that was two months ago at least. Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 169 Mon Mar 07, 1994 B.KOLINS1 [Brian] at 20:51 EST Kevin, I know! I tried! It won't format. During the fomatting process I get an error that states it unable to do so. --Brian ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 170 Mon Mar 07, 1994 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 21:41 EST Oh, my. Blush! I had no idea. I wonder how the Atari version stacks up. Do I dare show my face over there among the Philistines? I may check it out. Ken Van ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 171 Tue Mar 08, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 01:14 EST Ken, You mean BiaB? Sure, go on over. :) IMO, the Atari 5.x version doesn't stack up to the Windoze version. The Mac version 5.x is comparable to the Atari version. However, the 6.0 Atari version blows away the Windows version. The same _will_ be true of the Mac 6.0 version when I finish it too. :) --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 172 Tue Mar 08, 1994 D.DINN [Scott D.] at 10:00 EST Has anyone else had this happen... When I cntl-alt-del reboot, sometimes the keyboard click acts like a key is stuck when the Atari symbol is displayed, and by the way it's loud! I just re- boot and most of the time it boots fine. Do I have a wounded bird?! Scott ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 173 Tue Mar 08, 1994 D.FREELAND [SAXMAN] at 13:41 EST Scott, I have had that key click problem as well but I don't think it is a problem. I think it has to do with your timing in pressing the keys as well as how long you hold them down. David ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 174 Tue Mar 08, 1994 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 21:00 EST Scott, that annoying key click noise is the DELETE key. For some weird reason, it just thinks you're pressing it. BTW, next time it does it, don't touch it, and press ALT and CTRL. This should do a warm boot, since the keyclick noise is the from the DELETE key itself. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 175 Tue Mar 08, 1994 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 22:07 EST Kevin, Thanks and go for it. I'm not sure I want to add another category. I'll cast about to find what the lowest priced synth might be that would fully support BiaB. Maybe someone would like to respond in E-mail instead of here. Ken Van ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 176 Tue Mar 08, 1994 D.DINN [Scott D.] at 22:35 EST Thanx for the suggestion...I'll try it next time...probably in a few minutes!! ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 177 Tue Mar 08, 1994 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 23:02 EST Alt-Control will do a reboot on the Falcon? Wow, think of all those hotkeys we could put together for fun and games! Is Atari fixing this? Al ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 178 Wed Mar 09, 1994 S.FARWIG [STAN] at 00:31 EST A REPORT: for anyone interested. Just had a "Mighty Sonic 32" accelerator/expansion board from GE-Soft Computersysteme, Germany put on my Falcon and this delivers full 32Mhz performance and may be populated with up to 32Mb of TT fast-ram (beyond the 14/16Mb top for the native Falcon...mine has only 4Mb TT fast). Because of the size of the board, it was necessary to convert the Falcon into a two piece casing with detachable keyboard. Because the board is activated through software, the Falcon can operate at its normal 16/32Mhz if necessary. The performance improvement is excellent: programs load faster, decompression of GIF speeds by (haven't tried the JPEG/DSP yet, but that should be really be something else...when will the DSP be used for other formats?), processing is speedier (i.e. as when editing parameters have been set in IMAGECOPY, which now loads the file in a single burst instead of in snippets), all functions in the unexcelled Calligrapher are FAST and printing time is reduced due to the decrease in time for font and page building. All in all, it is impressive. Now some bad news: Falcon Speed not only does not work, it has to be removed. Although the Mighty Sonic 32 has a pass-through, if Falcon Speed is left on board the results are lock-ups and screen rolls. Compo is aware of the problem and I'm sure they along with GE-Soft will have a solution...or it's bad news for both of them. ICD HD software also messes up, producing lock-ups with some configurations. I called them today, but no support on Tuesday (sigh). Atari's HD software works fine (but damn the 4 partition limitation...hate the thought of reformatting with Atari SW). The cost for the board, 4Mb TT fast-ram and the 2 piece housing came to $944 + tax. So, for all power hungry users...and especially those who kvetched and wailed about the Falcon not having full 32Mhz implementation, put down the bats, put the hankies away and grab your wallets, here's your golden opportunity. The unit (or a 32Mhz board, without expansion capability and which fits in the original housing, for around $450) is available at: ATY Computers 3727 13th Ave Oakland, CA 94610 Voice & Fax (510) 482-3775 my best wishes and hopes for lots of happy faces out there, Stan ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 179 Wed Mar 09, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 00:45 EST I wonder if Sega has heard about this? - TOM - ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 180 Wed Mar 09, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 01:08 EST Al, Alt-Ctrl doesn't reboot my Falcon. --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 181 Wed Mar 09, 1994 W.HYNES at 01:34 EST Travis, Which ports does PowerNet use? What kind of cables? Thanks, -Bill- ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 182 Wed Mar 09, 1994 AEO.MAG [!] FSU #1 [!] at 05:39 EST Bill, PowerNet uses MIDI or LanTech cartridges or the LocalTalk ports on MSTEs/ TT030s/Falcon030s. You can't mix types directly (i.e., you can't hook a MIDI port to a LanTech cartridge, or an LocalTalk to a MIDI), but you can use a machine to bridge between types. Let's say four Mega STs are hooked together via MIDI, and are connected (again, via MIDI) to a TT030 which is also connected via LocalTalk to 16 Falcons. One of the 520s could network directly to one of the Falcons by using the TT as a bridge. As for cables, typically plain old telephone wire works well. (Except for Lantech boxes, if memory serves me right.) You can build a MIDI--phone wire box for under 10 bucks, and you can buy what we called Farralon boxes to allow you to use phone wire to connect LocalTalk ports. --Travis ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 183 Wed Mar 09, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 05:42 EST I don't have a 'Delete' key problem on my Falcon030. S.FARWIG - Hahahahahaha! Sorry, I was thinking about the "Atari's HD software works fine" line! ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 184 Wed Mar 09, 1994 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 09:40 EST Scott, as far as I can tell, all Falcon's have your repeating keyclick reboot problem. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 185 Wed Mar 09, 1994 O-ZONE [Flakes] at 10:32 EST >I believe the Gribnifs were talking with Chris about making Geneva and PowerDOS >(the heart of PowerNet) work together nicely, but I don't know how far along >that has went. If that happens I may just change my mind about switching computer platforms. BTW, Travis do you use Powernet and if so are you able to print from a remote computer? ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 186 Wed Mar 09, 1994 AEO.MAG [!] FSU #1 [!] at 19:14 EST Flakes, I use PowerDOS, but I don't have a need to use Powernet. (The last time I used the network was to hook up directly with Chris' TT in Oregon, through his in- beta RS-232 accessory - it worked, I transferred files via my GEM desktop from his computer to mine and vice-versa.) One of the devices Powernet installs is a PRN: device, and there should be a print redirection utility that can allow some printing across a network. Direct DMA printing still doesn't work, I believe. (Though I may be wrong.) --Travis ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 187 Wed Mar 09, 1994 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 20:22 EST Perhaps this need some clarification... Alt and Control only reset the Falcon when the DELETE key is doing its wacky "repeating." This only occurs on keyboard warm boots. Cold boots are fine. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 188 Wed Mar 09, 1994 S.FARWIG [STAN] at 22:08 EST Further note on the Falcon 32Mhz accelerator/expansion board from Germany. I find use of the BRAINSTORM DSP JPeg Decompression Driver supplied with Studio Photo locks up when used with the 32Mhz board. While far from being tech knowledgeable, this causes me to wonder if this represents a simple conflict with the BRAINSTOR program or, much more seriously, if the 32 Mhz board is incompatible with the DSP chip. The BRAINSTORM program is the only one I have written to the DSP, so further testing is not possible. While we may be thankful for the vigor of the German and other foreign markets that results in support of and development for Atari machines, there is a great disadvantage in not having local representation to direct problems and inquiries to. And I have to discipline myself to stop needing to be the first kid on the block with the newest toy . Stan ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 189 Wed Mar 09, 1994 S.FARWIG [STAN] at 22:21 EST >STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] >S.FARWIG - Hahahahahaha! Sorry, I was thinking about the "Atari's HD software >works fine" line! Well, DrH, I have always used and admired ICD's software and much preferred it to Atari's, but it must be said in this circumstance, it's performance is superior, unless one gets a laugh out of not being able to boot the computer. And, since being forced to use Atari's, I must also say the computer hasn't hung once on a warm or cold boot as happened fairly regularly before, This is not to say I don't wish ICD's program was usuable. my best Stan ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 190 Wed Mar 09, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 23:25 EST Stan, Have you addressed this problem to ICD? (I may have missed it in my daily captures if you did.) Please explain again. At this time, CAF is the only program I know of that is not working with our software and that is to be repaired soon. - TOM - ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 191 Thu Mar 10, 1994 EXPLORER.1 [] Ron [] at 00:34 EST Flakes, I've used PowerNet to connect a TT, Falcon, MSTe and 520ST for a couple of years now and would find it hard to do without. The computers are spread across three floors in the house -- PowerNet beats the heck out of SneakerNet ;-) Yes, you can print to printers connected to the other computers. Standard Macintosh phone-net adaptors work fine on the TT/MSTe/Falcon. Ron @ AEO ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 192 Thu Mar 10, 1994 W.HYNES at 02:29 EST Travis, I'm using Little Net now. Slow but it works. If PowerNet uses cartridges in the MIDI ports that would be a problem because my primary use is music. I don't want to have to unplug anything to make it work. Does it require something of that sort? -Bill- ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 193 Thu Mar 10, 1994 STEVE-J [DrHfuhruhurr] at 05:34 EST S.FARWIG - It COULD be possible that the 'timing problem' in all Falcon030s made up until recently is messing that up (though I'd only heard before of that timing problem affecting digital audio applications). The Brainstorm DSP JPEG decompressor is quite impressive. By the way, it WAS on GEnie once before, but now I don't find any trace of it! (re: hard drive problems) Well, maybe if developers weren't making products that were incompatible with ICD's software (e.g. Cubase Audio Falcon, and now this accelerator) in the first place... ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 194 Thu Mar 10, 1994 PG.MUSIC [PG-Kevin] at 08:30 EST You know it is really interesting how only the Germans can do stuff which doesn't like ICD's software. I don't have ANY trouble doing stuff which works fine with ICD's software (even low level interrupt, DSP, SDMA, or trap vector stuff). Maybe it is because I _USE_ ICD's software all the time, so any bug in my stuff which breaks under ICD will be caught and squashed before the smoke clears from my assembler. :) Stan, Well... I would like to thank you for your reports on this accelerator. I have resisted the temptation (successfully SO _FAR_) to be the 1st kid on the tek-blok. :) Glad you couldn't resist. :) I hope these issues are resolved quickly. Please talk to Tom Harker @ ICD about your problem!!!! I need an accel soon. I also won't consider CAF until it works with ICD. --Kevin ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 195 Thu Mar 10, 1994 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 09:33 EST >At this time, CAF is the only program I know of that is not working with our software and that is to be repaired soon. How soon? 8-) The latest issue of AEO says that CAF 2.0 is rumoured to be in development, but they made it sound fairly far off, like maybe next Christmas. Do you think we'll see CAF working with ICD Utilities before then?? ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 196 Thu Mar 10, 1994 ICDINC [Tom] at 10:00 EST Thanks for the support guys. We are working around the CAF problem to make our next version CAF compatible. If any SCSI Pro owners would like to beta test it, please leave me EMAIL. I expect to be ready for test next week. Beta testing also requires that you back up your hard drives. (Because you never know...) - TOM - ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 197 Thu Mar 10, 1994 AEO.MAG [!] FSU #1 [!] at 16:38 EST //// Ron, Ah yes, good old SneakerNet. Did I ever tell you that sometimes Mike would speed up the transfer rate by using FlyingFloppyNet? :) //// Bill, You've got me there. I don't know if PowerNet can use regular MIDI cables or not. I seem to remember that it doesn't. Maybe Ron knows??? If not, I should be talking with Chris within a week or so, and I'll find out from him. --Travis ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 198 Thu Mar 10, 1994 O-ZONE [Flakes] at 18:51 EST Travis, I tried using the DA redirector but it doesn't work well. I think I got one thing to print out, it was using UIS III and printing the directory. Anything else I tried can't find the printer. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 199 Thu Mar 10, 1994 K.GERDES [TraceTech] at 19:32 EST The "TOS4 key repeat on reset" problem is easy to workaround. To do a 'warm' reset: 1) Hold Control & Alternate down. 2) _Tap_ the Delete key. 3) Then release Control & Alternate. Holding the Delete key down too long causes the key repeat routine to kick in. And when it kicks in, you're in a system reset condition, which causes something to go "haywire". If you want to do a 'cold' reset, add RightShift in steps 1) & 3). Most people who have a problem probably press all the keys in the Control+Alternate+Delete sequence at the same time. You can still do that, but you need to be quick on the timing and light on the Delete key. Now what's very strange is that _I_ never ran into this situation with _any_ TOS version prior to TOS4. Just another quirk? ;) - Keith [TraceTech] ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 200 Thu Mar 10, 1994 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 20:20 EST Keith: On my 4 meg 520STe, I had the DELETE repeat problem. So I know it has been in there since TOS 1.62... I remember when I first got my Falcon: when the repeating first happened, it slightly saddened me... like nothing had changed since TOS 1.62! :-) ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 201 Thu Mar 10, 1994 R.NELSON48 [Grouch (:{] at 21:33 EST STAN didn't mention it in his post on the 32Mhz board but he also picked up a some kind of keyboard extension deal at ATY Computer. Perhaps you could tell us how that works, Stan? Alex told me it is from the UK, costs $85.00 and works with both the ST line and the Falcon. I was unclear if you use your existing keyboard, or have an extra on a long lead that you plug into your main box. Discription? Satisfaction? Application? Tell us more. (:{ Grouch. ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 202 Thu Mar 10, 1994 S.FARWIG [STAN] at 23:14 EST Tom: I called ICD the day after I got set up (Tues) and learned from your electronic secretary that Atari support only happens on M-W-F. Yesterday I remembered at 12:05 Pacific; phoned fast and the Atari number didn't answer...sorry to be late. I will try tomorrow again. I didn't expect answers, since the board is so new, but maybe some ideas. And please understand, I don't interpet this as indicating that ICD software is at fault...the board may well be flakey (someone has to be a pioneer...but why me?) Here is what happened: At first the system froze on the loading of any program through X-Boot. Moving things around in the auto folder got Calligrapher to load all the way. But no matter how I shifted the auto folder around (within limitations imposed on loading by some programs), on going to CD-ROM graphics, it would boot through the intial loading of Speed of Light and freeze. I tried ICD Pro 6.4 and an old copy of 6.1. Sequence of programs in Auto (at last confiuration: X-Boot; MHZ32.PGR (to switch on 32 CPU, switch off 32/16 CPU); FAFA4.PRG (identifies presence of TT fast ram at 4M); NVDI; ScreenBlaster; ExenDOS: F2 Patch. I have delayed reformatting my six partition HD to satisfy Atari HD ideas, knowing all will be well with ICD (and happy I still have my Mega to access the two lost drives.) Dr.H I agree on the BRAINSTORM decompressor and was salivating to see what it would do at a full 32Mhz. Can't imagine why the DSP isn't more fully implemented after the BRAINSTORM demonstration. And I agree that programmers would do well to emulate ICD. PG~Kevin: Glad to be able to contribute something for a change. I'll continue to drop off notes as things develop. Aside from the two problems mentioned I am pleased with the performance, although, being a slow plodding tyoe, I have wondered if I should have spent that much for increased speed. Hi Grouch (:{]: The casing is designed to house the keyboard unit from ST- Falcon single piece design and an curly-cue lead is supplied to plug the old Falcon case (now a CPU unit) into the new keyboard. Alex says the lead stretches to 3 feet, if I remember rightly, but I haven't put it to the ultimate test. The keyboard housing isn't the last word in elegance for my tastes, but it's good. A piece of stout gray plexiglass covers the gaping hole where once the keyboard resided and looks good. I worried where I would put the two pieces (due to the slant on the Atari box, the CPU unit can't be used under a monitor) but I find the new keyboard hooks quite nicely to the top of the slanting plexiglass, is very stable and the angle is (for me) very comfortable for typing. Application? Well, I could never get very upset, as many other user did, that the Falcon isn't a two piece unit...so it didn't look like an IBM, that's all to the good as far as I'm concerned (although the mushy keyboard is inexcusable!!!) But there is a big advantage in terms of possible future expansion in having the additional space that separating the keyboard provides. Hope that all helps Stan ------------ Category 30, Topic 3 Message 203 Fri Mar 11, 1994 B.SEMAAN [BOSEM] at 03:55 EST I've been too lazy to reinstall AHDI to verify for certain that ICD's software is to blame but since I've been running ICD's 6.2.3 HD booter I often have to reboot my buzzard 2, 3, or more times to get the system up. Sometimes it hangs with the ICD logo onscreen and sometimes it just bypasses the HD and goes straight to a default desktop (low rez, drive A & B only). Sometimes it boots right up the first time. The dice are rollin'. This is on a F030/14/63 TOS 4.04. I've just learned to live with double and triple booting for the time being but one of these days I'm gonna reinstall Atari's HD booter and see if indeed I do see less hanging powerups/resets. Bob ------------