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ST-REPORT 6 August 29, 1987 From Zmagazine Information Network
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In this edition:
<*> Overseas Newswire....................Whats happening in Europe with Atari?
<*> TOS ROMS Blitter Version.............From Atari Corporation
<*> Confrence on Dbasic..................From ST RT on GEnie Services
<*> GEnie Help...........................From ST RT on Genie Services
<*> VIP Professional.....................Update Text
<*> Product Review.......................Datatrieve By Bill Silverman
<*> Zmag Atari News Update...............Atari Purchases Federated
<*> CIS Bulletin.........................CO with Darek Mihocka
<*> ST Magazines Part 3..................ST Business Magazine
<*> ZMAG Special Report..................European Elect. Publishing Exposition
<*> Your ST Comes Alive..................By Richard L.
<*> PC Pursuit, More for free?...........By Mr. Goodprobe
<*> Garbage on the Line..................By Calamity Jane
_______________________________________________________________________________
ZMAG OVERSEAS NEWSWIRE ..Excerpts from Lennart Ollsson..
EasyPlex Date: 25-Aug-87 23:30 EDT From: Lennart Olsson Subj: Hello Again!
Hello Ron!
Long time since you heard from me? I think it's a little too long...
I now know where and when I will go to the U.S. The seminar will be in Dallas,
Texas. We will travel there via New York. We'll change plane there 13 and 17
september. I can give you more details if you want......
I got a glance at the Mega 4 ST and the laser printer last week. Seemed rather
nice. However, no laser printer drivers were available yet...Atari Corp.
Scandinavia will set up a meeting this fall with all user group officials,
sysops, etc. A brand new ST user group was formed in Stockholm during the
summer. I don't know anything more about it yet. Atari Corp. Scandinavia is
planning to set up an own BBS this fall.
Ok, that's it for this time. Perhaps we could meet in N.Y?
Have a nice time! Lennart
_______________________________________________________________________________
TOS ROMS -- BLITTER VERSION
The 1987 revision of TOS is scheduled for release in conjunction with the new
"blitter" chip. The new TOS has been upgraded to include support for the
hardware blit as well as retaining the software blit functions for full
compatibility with older software which relies on hardware timing (a definite
no-no).
Changes in the new ROMs are:
RS232: The RS232 handler has been completely rewritten. RTS/CTS handshaking
now works. Baud rates 50 and 75 now work.
CLOCK: Support is now included for the Mega ST's built-in, battery-backer-up
realtime clock. The realtime clock is automatically used by the
XBIOS gettime and settime functions for the IKBD. The GEMDOS clock
is reset from the realtime clock at the termination of every program.
STARTUP: Memory clear at system startup is much faster, improving performance
on multi-megabyte systems.
DESKTOP: The desktop now includes a control for deactivating/activating the
blitter chip. Also, the Save Desktop and Print Screen selections
will request confirmation. Spurious characters are no longer
written to the DESKTOP.INF file. Doing a PRINT or SHOW from the
desktop will now display characters with ASCII codes above 127. SHOW
and PRINT use a larger buffer now. Single drive copies now require
fewer disk swaps.
CART: Cartridge handling has been revides, eliminating the need for
"CARTSTART" code and allowing .TOS and .TTP programs. Lower case
letters will now be accepted and passed to an application from the
"Open Application ... Parameter" box.
AES: The AES will now send repeat clicks if the mouse button is held down
on the arrow or page controls of a window, which lets a window smooth
scroll. The AES underscore bug is now fixed. APPL_TPLAY and
APPL_TRECORD now work. The limit of 30 characters on a line in an
alert box is now rigidly enforced.
MOUSE: The mouse redraw can now be set to XOR mode. The system will return
after a single click if this is what was requested.
DMA: The DMA bus can now have more than one device attached at powerup
time, without any special software.
FLOPPY: The floppy read/write code checks for more errors now. In prior
versions, the system would not report a CRC error under certain
circumstances; now it will. This hurts some copy protection
schemes. The format of the floppy disk has been skewed from track to
track to improve disk speed; the XBIOS supports this by using-1 for
the skew value and placing a pointer to a one word per sector skew
table in the previously unused longword.
VDI: The VDI will now draw arcs with small angles.
BIOS: Character out routines are much faster.
BLITTER: Automatic blitter chip support is included in line-A and VDI calls.
The extended inquire will report a larger performance factor than
before, allowing applications to check for the presence of the
blitter. A new XBIOS call has been added to check for the blitter
and to activate or deactivate it. The blit is not reentrant --
line-A and VDI should not be called from within an interrupt.
REGISTER: The registers D0, D1, D2, A0, A1, A2 have always been forfeit when
a trap call was made. Now the demise of these occurs under more
conditions than before.
MEMORY: Slightly more RAM is used by the system. Programs that were close
to the edge on a 520ST may no longer fit.
VARIABLE: Most undocumented system variables have been moved. You were warned!
NOTES AND WARNINGS:
1. Some programs depend on the OS always being at $FC0000. This is *not* cast
in stone and will probably change soon. To find the OS header, use the
pointer "sysbase" as documented.
2. The 4 megabyte ST puts the screen near the end of accessible RAM. Sloppy
programs that have been writing past the end of the screen will give bus
errors if they do so on the 4 meg ST.
_______________________________________________________________________________
ST REALTIME CONFRENCE 0F 8/19/87 DBASIC, WITH DTACK GROUNDED
C) COPYRIGHT 1987 by ATARI CORPORATION AND THE ST ROUNDTABLE ON GENIE.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MAY BE REPRODUCED ONLY WITH THIS NOTICE INTACT.
To sign up for GEnie, call (with modem) 800-638-8369. Type HHH, and wait for
the prompt U#=. Type XJM11877,GEnie.
<[Neil] NHARRIS> Hello everyone. It's time to start tonight's formal
conference session. Our guest tonight is Hal Hardenbergh (hope I spelled that
right!) from DTACK. James Shaker may be at the terminal there, too.
<[Hal] DTACK> Hi, folks! Yes, James is standing by explaining how this stuff
works.
<[Neil] NHARRIS> Hal, tell us about Dtack Grounded, OK?
<[Hal] DTACK> DTACK GROUNDED is a name taken from a line of hardware, 68000
based, made by digital Acoustics for about 5 years. DTACK is pin 10, if you
ground it, the 68000 runs at maximum speed.
<[Neil] NHARRIS> Digital Acoustics was your last company before this one, and
if you were playing with 68000's 5 years ago, you're something of a pioneer.
Mind telling us about your background in the industry?
<[Hal] DTACK> Yes. We were a hardware company from 1981 to Jan of this year.
In 1981 we introducedd the first 68000-based hardware product for the personal
conmputer industry. It was an attached processor for the big PETs and the Apple
II. I understant that a company named Atari is now looking at similar products
based on the 68020 for the ST!
<[Neil] NHARRIS> How did you first get into computers?
<[Hal] DTACK> I was an electrical engineer involved in making test equipment
for inertial guidance systems. I bought a Wang 500 desktop computer in 1969,
repeat, 1969. In 1972 I had, at home, a personal computer with BASIC in ROM, a
CRT, and dual digital tape drives (that was before floppies!).
<[Neil] NHARRIS> So you remember the "good" old days of computers. And you got
into micros right from the start, too. Did this have an influence on the
design of DBASIC?
<[Hal] DTACK> Yes. The early personal computers had very slow CPUs compared to
the 68000. You had to work those CPUs as hard as you could. DBASIC does
exactly the same thing to the 68000, and that's why DBASIC is so bloody fast!!
<[Neil] NHARRIS> I guess that's why using DBASIC reminds me of using a
Commodore PET circa 1978, except, of course, for the speed. I'll let the rest
of the folks ask you more about the design of DBASIC. One more thing before we
start taking questions. You seem to have some unique ideas about how to market
DBASIC, want to talk about that a little? How do people get their hands on
DBASIC, and how do you expect to make your money from it?
<[Hal] DTACK> I don't think ANY BASIC is worth a damn unless lots of people use
it. By giving away 4,900 manuals, we wanted to have an 'instant installed
base'. We are giving away LOTS of free copyrighted labels, so folks can share
the DBASIC system disk without pirating it. Go to a user group, or one of the
160 stores we've seeded, or send a blank disk and a stamped mailer to ST WORLD
DTACK OFFER - 1385 Cleveland Loop Drive - Roseburg OR 97470 and they'll send
you the system disk. How's that for a deal? We plan to make money selling the
manual and the latest version of the disk for $43 by phone (505) 989 9576.
<[Neil] NHARRIS> We have some hands raised, so I'll open up the floor now.
<[John] JRWRIGHT> Ok... Is DBASIC more like the structured BASIC's or the
"STREET" Basics?
<[Hal] DTACK> The 'street' BASICs, I guess. Actually, it's a lot like the
BASICs on the old PETs and Apples.
<[John] JRWRIGHT> Thanks.
<[Julius] J.OKLAMCAK> Hal, why the single-mindedness <grin> in avoiding TOS
(GEMDOS) as the underlying OS for DBASIC? I would have prefered the raw speed
with some compatability with existing file systems.
<[Hal] DTACK> DBASIC is an all-out, no-compromise effort to get the fastest
possible ineractive BASIC consistent with accurate FP math. Repeat, all-out,
NO-compromise.
<[Mark] SUPRATECH> I have 2 questions: 1) I do not see how you are handling bad
sectors on the floppy and 2) Does it look like you will be able to use the hard
disk?
<[Hal] DTACK> On the extremely rare occasions that we encounter a bad sector
(once so far), we throw away the diskette. We do not support hard disks now or
next week. In six months?
<[Mark] SUPRATECH> Hummm....The reason I ask is that I had a bad sectored
floppy and using the diskdup the system used the disk, thus some of the
programs would not run.
<[Hal] DTACK> If you got a bad disk, it won't run all right. Maybe the reason
we have so few bad ones (James 1, me 0) is that we only put 5 sectors on a
track instead of 9 <smile>.
<[Neil] NHARRIS> 5 sectors that are twice the size of TOS sectors, right?
<[Hal] DTACK> Right.
<GRIFJOHN> I wonder why you guys chose to circumvent TOS & GEM, some of us
(most) like GEM.
<[Hal] DTACK> Like I said, no compromise. TOS is at least twice as slow as our
DOS, and GEM has some nice features - SLOOOW nice features.
<GRIFJOHN> Interesting non-compatible idea..
<SRMC> Hi hal, Steve Mcintosh here. Two quick questions - Any comeback for FNE,
and any ideas for the mega's slot??? - done.
<[Hal] DTACK> Hi, Steve. No comeback for FNE. The slot is interesting.
<[Neil] NHARRIS> What is FNE?
<[Hal] DTACK> Felgercarb Naysayer Eloi used to write a newsletter, like 1200
pages in 5 1/2 years, that we mailed out
<[Neil] NHARRIS> Aha, I remember the newsletter well. Interesting stuff if you
ever decide to get out of the technical side you have a future as a writer
<grin> The line of raised hands is short, if others have questions.
<[Julius] J.OKLAMCAK> Ok, here comes a question or two. Hal, a lot of people
are in the impression that DBASIC is an interpreter, when in fact, it is a
incremental compiler. Could you tell us how this differs from the traditional
methods?
<[Hal] DTACK> An incremental compiler has the advantages of interactivity but
without the hassles. Most folks think all interactive languages are
interpreters, but that's not so. Incremental compilers, like compilers, run
LOTS faster than interpreters. But, you can't have global optimization in an
incremental compiler, so a good compiler should be a tad faster than an
incremental compiler, but ONLY a tad faster for real-world programs.
<[Neil] NHARRIS> The difference between incremental compiling and tokenizing
is?
<[Hal] DTACK> Tokenizing is partway to incremental compiling, although most
folks call tokenizing BASICs such as the old PET and APPLE BASICs interpreters.
Tokenizing BASICs still interpret FP constants each time they are encountered;
our DBASIC already has them converted to binary (for instance). Also,
variables are already converted to address offsets.
<[Neil] NHARRIS> What features do you plan to add to DBASIC in the future, Hal?
<[Hal] DTACK> Right now, we're working on demo and applications programs. In a
year, undoubtably boolean functions and parameter passing but it took us a year
to do the 288-page manual, and we haven't started on the next manual yet.
<[Neil] NHARRIS> I guess that just about wraps it up. Hal, anything you want
to say before we open up the floor to informal conversation?
<[Hal] DTACK> Yes. In about a week we'll have a DTACK BBS for support and for
downloading demo programs. It's not on the air now, but the number will be
(505) 989-9578.
<[Neil] NHARRIS> Great! And there's a DBASIC topic in CAT 3 here as well.
Hal and James, thanks very much for joining us here this evening.
_______________________________________________________________________________
PRODUCT REVIEW Datatrieve by: Bill Silverman
CAPITOL DISTRICT ATARI COMPUTER ENTHUSIASTS AUGUST 1987 NEWSLETTER
P O BOX 511 DELMAR NEW YORK 12054 CDACE BBS (518) 237-1232
The search for good reliable serious software has had it's ups and downs in the
years that Atari has been making computers. The Atari 800 VisiCalc was not a
complete implementation of that old standby and it was not until the release of
Syn Calc that any Atari computer had a viable full featured serious software
product.
I am happy to say that Datatrieve from Abacus Software is another fine addition
to serious software for Atari computers - specifically the ST.
Datatrieve is not a relational database. It is, in fact something of a
relational database in reverse. In essence you design a large database and then
create custom report and screen formats to view those fields you wish to see.
With some programs designing screen 'masks' and report formats require
extensive knowledge of the program and perhaps a dash or two of macro mania,
thankfully Datatrieve is an intelligent implementation of GEM allowing
construction and selection fields, screens, reports, lists, labels, and even
full form letters with either icons or menus that are mouse selected or
keystroke commands. You can create some really fascinating formats for either
screen or paper with Datatrieve with very little effort and little reading of
the manual.
The program is basically a super index card filer which you can enter through
any custom designed door (screen or report) you like. Having used this program
since last January to keep track of 1100 children in a soccer club it's
strengths and weaknesses have become apparent. Without a doubt the strong
points of this program make it's drawbacks almost meaningless.
From that perspective we'll take those weak points first:
* you cannot move all types of data freely from one drive path to another. Some
you can some can't. Worse, the manual doesn't tell you what is allowed to be
moved and what is not. Learning what moves from a pathway and what does not
is strictly a trial and error experience.
* the program does not remember where it goes for some types of files and does
for some others. Therefore, a disproportionate share of the time you spend
transporting subfiles or records from one file to another is spent with a
mouse 'reminding' Datatrieve where you want the data to go. (On the other
hand it does this flawlessly)
* there is a DIF option that is somewhat misleading. In reality it is really a
mail merge option where you can customize field and record delimiters to
match up to the requirements of your word processor. (On the other hand it is
a great feature, Datatrieve and ST Writer are the equal of some software
packages that cost over $300 and they cost under $40.00 combined)
* you have the option of selecting fields you want to use when transporting to
and from files. When you save this field selection it becomes the default
standard for all future data transfers. (But you are always asked if you want
to save field selections and if you answer no then the current choice is only
temporary)
* you can only sort the main database on one field at a time.
* the program is copy protected and there is a hidden charge of $10.00 for a
backup copy.
Strong points:
* the program comes with ram disks ranging from 100k to 600k so you can fit
really large files into a ram disk.
* with a file on a ram disk and searching through an indexed field or multiple
fields record selection is functionally instantaneous.
* files can have unlimited numbers of subfiles. These subfiles can be sorted on
any number of fields (the first field sorted has the lowest priority the last
field sorted has the highest priority). (But you must do the sorts one at a
time - click the mouse at the field, select the sort subrange (file) menu
with a click, select the sort option from the dialog box, watch the little
clock 'fill' until the job is done. On the other hand a 200 to 300 record sub
file sorts in about 15 seconds including mousing around!)
* you can have up to four files open at the same time and effortlessly
transport records between them using what Datatrieve calls sequential records
(better be sure the databases are set for the same number of fields!!)
* a paper form can be literally duplicated on the screen.
* the user interface of this program is exceptionally easy. We have had dozens
of parents come over for a couple of hours each to help type in information.
The tutorial is a one record demo followed by two or so records of supervised
instruction. The menus, icons, and red stickers on three function keys really
make this a program a snap to learn. Within fifteen minutes of sitting down
with the program for the first time people are able to work quickly and
independently (NOTE: the biggest problem for an adult is coordinating mouse
movement to arrow movement on the screen - finally a functional reason for
adults to play arcade style
* most important - this program does not bomb out. When I've done something
stupid a dialog box pops up to tell me so. When the program hits a TOS error
a cryptic TOS error box appears and with a press return you regain control of
the computer so you can save your file(s) back to disk and then try to figure
out what went wrong.
Summary:
Datatrieve is a highly proficient database program. It is basically an index
card type database but has immense size (number of fields, number of records)
capabilities, extraordinary screen, report, list, and label capabilities, an
ingenious interface between the computer and user offering the choice of icons,
drop down menus, or keystrokes for most operations. In short it is the most
useful ST program I have yet encountered.
Datatrieve by Abacus Software has a suggested retail price $49.95 (plus $10.00
extra for a backup copy of the program). It is available mail order for around
$35.00.
_______________________________________________________________________________
ST-Report is Edited and Published by Ron Kovacs.
Assistants are:
Susan Perry, Ken Kirchner, Rich Decowski. Some article appearing in this
publication are original text. You can reprint any article from this issue
unless otherwise noted. Please be sure to include ST-Report as the source
if you reprint any article.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Part Two--
_______________________________________________________________________________
THE GENIE ATARI ST ROUNDTABLE - AN OVERVIEW
The Roundtable is an area of GEnie specifically set aside for owners and users
of Atari ST computers, although all are welcome to participate.
There are three main sections to the Roundtable: the Bulletin Board, the
Software Library and the Real Time Conference area.
The Bulletin Board contains messages from Roundtable members on a variety of
Topics, organized under several Categories. These messages are all open and
available for all to read (GEnie Mail should be used for private messages). If
you have a question, comment, hot rumor or an answer to someone else's
question, the Bulletin Board is the place to share it.
The Software Library is where we keep the Public Domain software files that are
available to all Roundtable members. You can 'download' any of these files into
your own computer by using a Terminal Program which uses the 'XMODEM' file-
transfer method. You can also share your favorite Public Domain programs and
files with other Roundtable members by 'uploading' them to the Software
Library. Uploading on GEnie is FREE, so you are encouraged to participate and
help your Roundtable grow.
The Real Time Conference is an area where two or more Roundtable members may
get together and 'talk' in 'real-time'. You can participate in organized
conferences with special guests, drop in on our weekly Open COnference, or
simply join in on an impromptu chat session. Unlike posting messages or Mail
for other members to read at some later time, everyone in the Conference area
can see what you type immediately, and can respond to you right away, in an
'electronic conversation'.
Below is the Main Roundtable Menu, with these areas indicated:
GEnie ST Page 475
Atari ST RoundTable
Library: ALL Libraries
1. Atari ST Bulletin Board <-- Messages
2. Atari ST Real-Time Conference <-- Electronic Conversations
3. Atari ST RT Libraries <-- Software Library (Programs)
4. About the Roundtable
5. Roundtable News 870729
Enter #, <P>revious, or <H>elp?
GEnie uses 'Page Numbers' to indicate the menus for the different Roundtables
on the system. In this case, the Atari ST Roundtable is Page 475.
Menu selection #4, 'About the Roundtable' will contain information about the
purpose of the Roundtable, and the system operators, or SysOps. Choices #5 will
contain bulletins and information. You may want to Capture these and print them
out for reference.
At the menu prompt, you can type P to return to the previous Menu (in this
case, the GEnie Atari Roundtables Menu), or H for more Help, or simply type the
number of your choice from the menu.
_______________________________________________________________________________
VIP PROFESSIONAL UPDATE
Normally, VIP Professional will not print any character having an ASCII value
over $7F. So, for French Canadian like me which use a lot of accented
characters, we need to have the VIP Professional able to print these special
characters. Even with the use of a Keyboard Set Up Program, which make us able
to print at the screen any characters with a single keystroke, the VIP
Professional will replace them with a space when we print the spreadsheet.
After looking at the VIP Professional code with a Monitor Program written by my
friend Alain Birtz, I found the Hex string code which takes any byte over $7F
and changes it for a space ($20). The first part of the code is <0C6E 0080
0008> which means <CMPI.W #$80, $8(A6)>. After that, VIP Prof. will branch to a
sub-routine if the comparison is equal or higher. The sub-routine will then
replace the byte with $20. This explains why VIP Professional print a space
instead of a special character.
Now, in order to have the VIP Professional print any special character, we have
only to change the byte $80 in the Hex string code for $FE. I do not change for
$FF because I do not need the character $FF and I was afraid to use it. Maybe
the VIP Professional need it??
The change will make your VIP Professional able to print any special character:
French accented characters, German characters, Spanish..., if your printer will
accept them. If your printer does not accept directly them, like most daisy
wheel printers, you will have to "print" on disk, then retrieve your file with
a word processor like First Word which has a printer driver.
In order to make the change, I suggest you to use any Sector Editor prg like
<DISK DOCTOR> and search for the Hex string <0C6E0080>. When the string will be
located, change the byte $80 for $FE, then save. Work on a BACK-UP, to avoid
problem... I have use a modified VIP Professional since many months without any
problem.
One fun thing has happen when testing the modified version, and this is
valuable even for people who will not need the special characters. With the
proposed modification, you will be able to catch the user attention when using
the </XL> or the </XN> macros. The trick is to write at the end of your message
any special character. The special character will not be displayed but the VIP
Professional program will <BEEP> like when an error occurs. But this will not
affect your program, only a beep sound to catch the user attention.
Any feedback will be appreciated.
Raoul Charbonneau
3425 Des Cedres St
ST-Hyacinthe
PQ, Canada, J2T 4E8
User ID Number 73637, 431
_______________________________________________________________________________
ZMAG ATARI NEWS UPDATE ..From CIS Online Today/AP
August 24, ATARI CORP. wants to buy the Federated Group Inc.'s 65-store retail
electronics chain for $67.3 million. By this Friday, it will tender an offer
for the 10.7 million outstanding shares of Federated stock, seeking to gain
control of stores in California, Arizona, Texas and Kansas.
According to The Associated Press, Federated's seven-member board unanimously
approved the $6.25-a-share offer, noting the firm "has had trouble finding
retailers for its products. Among other things, the merger hinges on the
approval of Federated's lenders."
Federated lost $895,000 in the first quarter ended May 31, compared with a
profit of $662,000 for the same period last year, the wire service says. Sales
rose 2 percent to $91.1 million.
Atari's own financial picture has improved lately. In the latest quarter, its
profits were up 39.3 percent to $13.54 million, while revenue rose 16.4 percent
to $70.69 million.
August 25, ATARI's move this week to acquire a retail electronics chain is not
an isolated event. "If other transactions come along that fit into our business
plans, we'll do additional acquisitions," says Atari treasurer Steve Kawalick.
Atari Corp. wants to buy the Southern California-based Federated Group Inc.'s
67-store chain for $67.3 million, a move that would give it control of stores
in California, Arizona, Texas, Kansas and New Mexico.
The Associated Press reports that the deal, which is subject to approval by a
five-bank consortium that has extended Federated a $48 million line of credit,
was worked out with Federated founder/chief executive Wilfred Schwartz, who
will continue to run Atari's Federated subsidiary.
Schwartz told AP, "It's a marriage made in heaven. We felt we wanted to augment
our resources with the human and financial resources available through a union
with an extremely strong winner."
The wire service notes, "Most of Federated's stores cover half an acre and
boast a vast selection of electronic specialty merchandise, including Atari's
bottom-line personal computers."
Atari's Kawalick comments, "This particular acquisition gives us additional
distribution channels in certain parts of the country."
August 28, Atari Corp. Chairman Jack Tramiel says his firm's acquisition of the
67-store Federated Group electronics store chain will be a mighty tool against
Japanese competitors.
Tramiel told The Associated Press, "Our Japanese counterparts all have their
own stores in Japan. I like to copy success."
He also said that there are "no consumer electronics companies today in the
United States. We need to rebuild that and I think we can do it."
Atari revealed Monday that it is acquiring Federated, which has stores in five
Western states, for $67.3 million. AP quotes Tramiel as saying that Federated
was bought in order to reduce the time it takes for products to be accepted by
dealers. And "the move will also spread research and development costs over a
larger organization," the wire service said.
Federated has lost money recently to the tune of $5.2 million in the fiscal
year ending last February, but Tramiel says it will start making a profit now
"by slowing its recent expansion drive and gaining from more advertising and
the addition of new Atari products," AP reports. --Charles Bowen;Online Today
_______________________________________________________________________________
COMPUSERVE ATARI8/16 BULLETIN
Don't forget that Monday night at 9:00 PM Eastern time, we will be continuing
our series of ST Emulator COs in ATARI16. Our guest this time will be Darek
Mihocka. Darek is the author of the latest ST Emulator, ST-Transformer. It
emulates the 8-bit Atari 800. The emulator will be released to the Public
Domain in ST-Log (from Analog). All SIG*Atari members, and other intrested
parties are invited to attend.
[Ed. As many of our readers here might know, ZMAGAZINE and MICHIGAN ATARI
MAGAZINE's John Nagy, interviewed Darek a few months ago. At that time he
was getting resistance from Atari, Neil Harris, and others on his usage of
the 800 OS ROM. Well we are happy to see what has transpired to date. We will
be at the confrence and we hope you will be there too!]
Please join us in welcoming Keith Ledbetter back to the staff of the ATARI
8-Bit Forum. Keith needs little introduction to the Atari community, having
written some of the best and most popular programs available for the Atari
8-bit computers as well as being an active member of SIG*ATARI.
Keith will be available to help you with his programs, your Atari computer,
and CompuServe. SYSOP*Keith Ledbetter's new PPN is 76701,124. Feel free to
drop him a line in the Forum!
WEEKLY CONFERENCE: Every Sunday night at 9:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM PDT. Please join
us!
_______________________________________________________________________________
ST MAGAZINES PART 3 Copyright (C) 1987 by Garry Jones.
ST Business is a new magazine for the Atari ST, appearing bimonthly and
featuring articles related to business computing.
Subscriptions are $25 a year, available through Don and Carole Terp (the
editors and publishers), 5140 Appletree Drive, Roanoke VA 24019 - phone
(703)342-9599.
The magazine is quite appealing visually, with a full color photograph on the
cover and typeset text inside. The design of the body of the magazine is
simple and clean, with occasional use of halftoned photograhs and color
highlighting of text, and the entire magazine is printed on chrome coat stock.
Overall, the production quality of the magazine is first class.
As befits a magazine with the word "business" in its' title, the focus of the
editorial content in on business. In the December '86/January '87 issue, there
are feature articles on Atari's stock offering, their plans for selling to the
Fortune 1000, Comdex Fall '86, the San Jose Atarifest, and a brief description
of the forthcoming MegaST's.
There is also a review of Abacus Datatrieve, an article on uninterruptible
power supplies, and a report on Atari user group activities, as well as several
articles on business management, such as owning a small business, managing
personnel, and handling credit accounts.
Right now, ST Business is still developing. It is well produced and well
printed, but as a magazine devoted to the use of Atari ST computers in
business, the magazine needs to provide more coverage of the ST's business
applications. ST Business has, in time, the potential to fill a need for
information for the business user of the ST the other Atari magazines are
ignoring, but currently, it is still a bit light in that area.
-Garry Jones- Compuserve: 72030,273 Genie: GXRAY
_______________________________________________________________________________
ZMAG SPECIAL REPORT ...By Lennart Olsson...
European Corporate Electronic Publishing Exhibition, June 10-12
Introduction
June 10-12 there was an electronic publishing exhibition in Frankfurt am Main
in Germany. All three days there was also a conference going on in parallel.
The first conference day was dedicated to desktop publishing, the second to
workstation publishing, and the third to mainframe publishing. I will try to
give Zmag readers a short summary of what was said and shown during the first
day.
Well known companies expressed their views on electronic publishing. Some of
the more well known companies were:
- Rank Xerox (copiers etc)
- Aldus Corporation (PageMaker)
- Adobe Systems (PostScript)
- Interleaf Inc. (EP workstation s/w)
- Bitstream Inc. (fonts manufacturer)
- Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC)
- Intergraph Corp. (CAD systems)
- IBM (no explanation...)
- Apple Computer Inc. (Macintosh)
- Messerschmidt-Boelkow-Bluhm (aircraft)
- Volvo (excellent Swedish cars...)
Some really famous people attended the exhibition and conference:
- Paul Brainerd, president Aldus Corp.
- John Warnock, president Adobe Systems
- John Sculley, president Apple Computer Inc
Day 1: Desktop Publishing Systems
The first day was dominated by Macintosh ideas, software, use, etc. It was said
that Macintosh systems held about 80% of the DTP market.
Rank Xerox Ltd.
Roland Magnin - Managing Director & CEO of Rank Xerox Limited in UK - said that
paper should be used only for distributing information, not for storing it.
There is a huge demand for cunning storage systems, and Xerox is working on it.
The use of artificial intelligence systems will aid the user in finding the
requested information to prevent "information overload". Consider a complex
technical manual where phrases describing items must be correct. If a phrase
describing an item must be changed within a whole hierarchy of documents these
systems really would save some valuable user time. Artificial intelligence
systems can also be used for customizing complex manuals.
Xerox is also working on intelligent character recognition readers which will
recognize the most common fonts and formats, including proportionally spaced
fonts. Mr Magnin stated that automatic character reading is approximately 40
times faster than manual input.
There is still a long way to go to be able to scan ANY page including high
quality color pictures in combination with reading the text properly. HUGE
amounts of memory will be consumed. To accomplish the process reasonably fast
Xerox is investigating the use of optical fibre technology. Mr Magnin said that
a bandwidth of 100-200 megabits per second was required.
The Future of PageMaker
Paul Brainerd - president of Aldus Corp.- presented his company's best seller
PageMaker. For those of you who don't know PageMaker, it is the most sold page
make-up software. The marketing support is very professional with video aided
courses, training pamphlets, example pamphlets etc.
Mr Brainerd proudly stated that it was he who coined the "desktop publishing"
buzz word.
Aldus is now concentrating on developing its PageMaker to support work group
publishing and better image processing - including color. PageMaker will in the
future take better advantage of local area networks and exist in versions on:
the Mac family, IBM PC family, HP, Wang, DEC VAX, and IBM mainframes.
The Future of PostScript
John Warnock - president of Adobe Systems (the company which developed
PostScript)- hinted that PostScript will soon be an ANSI standard printer
control language without too many modifications.
Mr Warnock stated that the best programmers work with PCs now, not with
high-end workstations and mainframes.
Adobes efforts is now concentrated on: adapting PostScript better to network
use, E-mail, color printing, and non-roman alphabets.
The reason why the PostScript license is so expensive is that many
professionally designed fonts are included such as all fonts developed by
Bitstream and Lettraset. PostScript will support color separation in the end of
1987 making it possible to print color masks on a laser printer. Full color
laser printer support will come later on.
The key note for PostScript is device independence, i.e. any PostScript file
should be able to print on any PostScript printer. The maximum resolution
supported by PostScript today is 2540 dpi. Today there are 125 PostScript fonts
available. Mr Warnock predicted there should be about 600 fonts available next
year.
Software Trends
Michael von Babo - Software Trends Newsletter (Switzerland) - presented some
interesting desktop publishing thoughts.
1. Desktop publishing suits nearly all types of documents.
2. Currently Macintoshes are best suited for interactive use, while IBM PCs are
best suited for automatic batch processing.
3. 80% of all desktop publishing users find PageMaker (and other page make-up
s/w) incomplete missing for example style sheets. Style sheets are used when
for example defining the format of a certain type of paragraph.
4. Desk accessories are invaluable. There are desk accessories (on the Mac) for
picture libraries, text processing, document conversion between certain
formats etc.
5. Word 3.0 is the leading word processor at the moment.
6. PostScript is worth the money - scanning is not. The ability to send
PostScript files to many types of printing equipment is very good. Draft
copies can be printed on a laser printer, and originals on phototype
setters. Scanned images can currently not be handled sufficiently in the PC
world.
7. Screens must be large and with sharp contrast. Primary memory should not be
less than 1 Mbyte. Secondary memory (hard disk) should be at least 20 Mbyte,
but not more than 40 Mbyte for a single PC.
8. Desktop publishing can take advantage of software developed for other uses.
Documents can be planned in outline processors, charts drawn using
spreadsheets, etc.
9. Desktop publishing leads to desktop communications, i.e. common templates,
E-mail, tele publishing, etc.
10. Total control over a publication for one single user means that the user is
himself responsible for proofreading etc.
DTP Technical Illustrations
Reinhard Soernsen - RELOG GmbH in Kiel, W Germany - presented some FANTASTIC
technical illustrations made with MacPaint, MacDraw, and MacDraft. After his
presentation he was surrounded by a large crowd asking how RELOG had managed to
do those extremely detailed and crisp pictures. Mr Soernsen said that the few
limitations RELOG had experienced in MacPaint, MacDraw, and MacDraft was now
solved by a new illustration program from Adobe systems - ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR.
RELOG had experienced that the Macintosh software suited their needs. No other
computer could presently run the type of software RELOG required. Presently
they used Macintosh Pluses and Macintosh SEs. Macintosh IIs should replace the
old machines as soon as they became available. RELOG felt that the currently
small screen and keyboard was a real pain.
Apple's Gala Dinner
At Tuesday evening Apple Computer had invited all conference delegates to a
gala dinner. We saw the complete Macintosh family on display and could also
test some features. I was personally most interested in the color Mac II. An
Apple representative told me that they had grabbed the wrong video display card
in their offices and could therefore only display 16 colors maximum instead of
the 256 I had expected. A real disappointment!
Apple Computer Inc. president and CEO John Sculley spoke about the future of
desktop publishing and Apple's role in it.
Mr Sculley was very pleased that IBM finally had jumped on the graphics user
interface train. Now he didn't have to explain why IBM - as the worlds leading
computer manufacturer - hadn't adopted a graphics user interface if it really
was as good as Scully said.
Apple intends to keep the three year lead on IBM in this niche. Mr Sculley
expected IBM to be up to Macintosh standards in about three years. Meanwhile
Apple intended to further develop its software concepts, now when they have
opened up the hardware for third party developers. Improved networking, work
groups, standardized interfaces, etc were things of great interest.
Summing Up
It will be interesting to see what Atari Corp. will offer in an attempt to
match the others. I think Atari can satisfy the home, club, and small business
users. However, there is a very long way for Atari to go in order to satisfy
larger professional Desktop/Electronic Publishing users.
The other two days were not nearly as interesting, at least not for Zmag
readers I think. Tell Ron Kovacs if you think I'm wrong. In that case I may
submit a summary of the other two days too. Here follows some topics covered
during those two days:
Day 2: Electronic Publishing Workstations
* Quality Typography - Mike Parker, Founder Bitstream Inc.
* Integrated EP Systems - Howard Woolf,DEC
* CAD In Electronic Publishing - Mike Cunningham, Intergraph Corp.
* Standards for Document and Data Encoding - Peter Howgate, The Pindar Group UK
Day 3: Dedicated and Mainframe Electronic Publishing Systems
* The IBM Commitment - IBM Germany
* Dedicated EP Systems at Messerschmidt - Boelkow-Bluhm
* Future Color Publishing - James D. Salmon, Crossfield Electronics Ltd.
* IBM Mainframe Publishing - Hans Lackeus, AB Volvo Data
I can be reached on CIS (76254,467) or BIX (lolsson) if you want to discuss
something in particular.
_______________________________________________________________________________
YOUR ST COMES ALIVE!!! by Richard Leinecker Computer Spectrum Inc.
Droughts are amazing and yet painful things. A desert can go for years in some
cases without water and all for miles around will be dry and parched. Then when
the rains do finally make their appearance it seems it will never stop and
there are minor floods and washouts. I am using this analogy in reference to
the seeming drought of hardware project related publications for the Atari line
of computers. We have a good variety of manuals on programming, creation of
games, how-to-play, and almost any conceivable topic under the sun, EXCEPT
hardware construction publications!
I am pleased to announce that with the advent of "Your ST Comes Alive", and its
companion "The Scientific ST", the water shortage has ended!
After we read through some fundamentals of kit building, parts value
determination, basic logic gates and integrated circuit rudiments and a brief
expose' of the binary number system, we dive into a fascinating world where you
can control many facets of your surroundings right from your Atari ST
keyboard!
Along with four chapters that cover simple projects that enable you to build
experiments to interface with your parallel port, cartridge port, midi
interface and joystick/mouse port, you are briefed on how to write basic
routines that will read data to and from these various ports of your Atari ST.
The programs included that run these projects are well written, but are at the
same time admittedly "bare bones" and therefore will allow you to enhance,
configure and structure these useful routines to your own computing needs and
personal preferences.
Upon examination of the enclosed single sided 3 1/2 disk you will find a
multitude of programs written to be used with the projects described in the
book. One very important factor a potential possessor of this product should
not overlook is that all the programs contained on the disk are written both in
"C" and in basic so users can readily adapt these routines to their needs
whether they prefer the "easily computer transportable" versatility of "C", or
they use such excellent Basic languages as GFA and DTack.
As we delve further into this manual we then are pleasantly surprised as we
discover a chapter which covers information you need to construct the necessary
hardware to control several modems at the same time. I see numerous SYSOPs
perking up at this one!
And then if you should possibly have some free time as your multi-user bbs hums
along, why then you could construct a nice networking setup to handle data for
a large business or a small users group! While away on vacation, which you have
earned from your hard-working ST equipment, you determine that you really
should wash the dishes, and check your answering machine for messages. Believe
it or not, you will learn how these very things are done by constructing a
device found herein that will answer the phone and then proceed to respond to
different push buttons which have been depressed by the caller.
We also will uncover the mysteries of "event detectors" such as door alarms,
light detectors, infrared light receivers, touch switches, and even use these
principles to build a device which will judge distance! And although in this
manual alone there are enough experiments to keep the average project fanatic
happy for months to come...we aren't done yet!
In order to be able to communicate and control a wide variety of devices via
your Atari ST you are also instructed in the fundamentals and construction of
data encoders and decoders. You also are enlightened on how to whip up Analog
To Digital convertors, data selectors, a speech synthesizer and a very good
light pen! Now tell me this isn't the best bargain you have seen yet for your
Atari ST computer system! The price? At a mere $29.95 for this book/disc
combination I have a sneaking suspicion they will go through several printings
of this one!
At the end of the book is a listing of firms you can purchase the parts used in
these projects from, and also several pc board etching firms if you care to
pursue building these kits after this fashion. Oh yes, at Midtown we do carry a
special adapter that allows you to use standard spacing 44 perfboard instead of
that very expensive and hard to find cartridge board that you normally have to
sweat it out with. This $19.95 gem simply plugs into your cartridge port and
the perfboard plugs into it, and is reusable.
Exciting isn't it? Now get those solder stations fired up and lets get on with
some REAL fun!
-Mr. Goodprobe-
c/o Midtown TV
27 Midway Plaza
Tallmadge, Ohio 44278
(216)633-0997
Please send your hardware mods/fixes/upgrades/questions for the Atari 8 and 16
bit lines for inclusion in future issues of Zmag to the above address!
_______________________________________________________________________________
PCP PURSUIT--MORE FOR FREE ???
Recently there has been an influx of information regarding PC Pursuit that has
finally reached the Atari user. I wish to correct one common misconception I
have seen time and time again on bulletin boards across this fine land of ours
regarding this service, and then proceed to demonstrate how you can expand the
areas PC Pursuit presently covers legally and at absolutely NO extra cost!
Numerous messages I have seen, and even some out-dated text files which contain
information on the money saving network called PC Pursuit lead the user to
believe that there is in effect, a one hour time limit on phone calls made to
the area code of your choice. This is at present absolutely inaccurate, for the
only real time limit one has on this phenomenal service is the hours which are
from 6p-7a on the weekdays, and 24 hours on Saturday, Sunday and several
holidays.
I, as well as many other Atari/PCPursuit users can attest we enjoy on the
weekend seeing our timers that inform us of the length of our modem visits roll
over the 10 hour mark...imagine if we were using a normal long distance
service! And quite honestly, when you stop to think about it, the fact that the
charge for this service is only $25 a month means that the young "hackers" that
persist in using illegal codes and the like are not only committing a crime,
but also lacking sense as this is a very small charge to be legal and avoid the
severe penalties they could and will receive if they are ever caught. I would
urge them to consider the MANY benefits of PC Pursuit, and they may in turn be
surprised at how easy it is to convince their parents of the assets of
belonging to such a network!!!
Now, how a modem user can ever wear out 25 jam packed area codes I will never
know, but how would you like to be able to add 3 more heavily populated area
codes to your bulging list! Does the thought of 50 more Atari 8 and 16 bit
bulletin boards tickle your fancy?
Heres the scoop:
1. While in the 212 area code (NYC), you can access the 718 area code, which is
right next door by dialing as follows:
ATZ<cr>
<control-e><cr>
At the HELLO, I'M READY prompt type:
D<cr>
At the NUMBER? prompt type: 1 718 numbers
If you are fortunate the bulletin board you are calling will not be busy and
you will connect as usual. The reason you and I can do this is because of the
vast amount of people living in the New York City vicinity, the phone company
decided to break it into separate area codes to help with billing procedures.
Not all 718 area code numbers are available through this method, but a very
large portion are and stand awaiting your call!
Another fine area code is the Washington, D.C area code which is 202. Another
quirk allows you to be able to dial the 301 (Maryland) and 703 (Northern
Virginia) areas from this access port. You need to do nothing differently than
you are presently accustomed to in order to be able to dial the 301 and 703
area codes while connected to the 202 area code. Merely dial the BBS number of
your choice as if you were calling the 202 area code itself, and many more fine
bulletin boards will unfold before your awaiting eyes!
And please, while you are on these systems, make it your practice to leave a
message or two to help promote healthy discussions which are so vital to the
thriving and in fact survival of these fine computer bulletin board systems!
Enjoy! And don't stay up to late calling all these new boards!
-Mr. Goodprobe-
_______________________________________________________________________________
GARBAGE ON THE LINE BY: CALAMITY JANE
[Ed. This week CJ sent it this article, Humor by Scott Andersen...]
At first it was just rumors. I'm sure you've heard some of them. Mergers and/or
joint ventures. Atari and AT&T. Atari and Teledyne. Atari and whomever. But
this one is confirmed. I saw the proof at last months outdoors exposition.
Atari is involved in a joint venture with Coleman Western, the outdoor products
giant. The offspring of this marriage is the Coleman Camp Computer, hereafter
known as the CCC.
It was on display in one corner of the Coleman booth at the outdoor show, with
an Atari rep in attendance to demo the machine. It is quite a machine. Its most
impressive feature is its ability to function without a power supply; the CCC
uses white gas (Coleman Fuel) like so many other Coleman appliances. After
filling the tank with fuel and pressurizing the system by hand pumping, you
start up by firing the pilot/burner. The gas flame heats a sealed fluid system
which powers a micro turbine generator. This in conjunction with a regulator
provides all the voltage you need to power the CCC and all of its peripherals.
The CCC is a 128K machine that utilizes the 6502 processor.
It has a new O.S. that is completely compatible with all Atari and third party
software. Two built-in languages are switched on or off via a three way rocker
switch, they are Basic (of course) and Action. Atari apparently had a large
quantity of 400 keyboards that they decided to use up on the CCC. While being a
pain to type on, the use of the membrane keyboard is understandable on a
product that can be left out in the rain. Yes, the CCC is completely
weatherproof. Rubber doors cover the 4 joystick ports, the I/O port, the
serial/expansion bus, and the built-in disk drive and modem. The disk drive is
a half height 5-1/4" that uses single or enhanced density. The modem is
something completely different. It is said to be almost Hayes compatible, the
exception being that it can't answer. This is understandable, you have no phone
number. At the end of the 25 foot modem cable is a special induction device
that you merely clamp over any phone cable. No pins, no plugs, no muss, no
fuss. The device can only originate calls, but it can do it anywhere there is a
telephone line, be it the backwoods or your back yard.
All this and 1200 Baud too. When you lift the cover on the CCC you'll see the
best feature of all. The 9" Hi-Res LCD color monitor has a true 80 column
screen that is compatible with most available software. If not, a rubber toggle
switch will get you back to 40 column at any time. In either mode the
characters are sharp and crisp and easy to read. All this and only 14.4 pounds.
But if that seems too heavy for you backpackers, the fuel tank/pump/burner/
stand assembly can be detached.
The remaining unit, at 8.3 pounds, can be used at any campsite simply by
setting it on the campfire. Included in the $450 price are three new pieces of
software.
The first, "Campcalc", is a wilderness management program. The second,
"Camp-Talk", synthesizes bird and animal calls. The third is a graphics
masterpiece. It is a Conestoga Wagon simulator called "Yerass". No more boring
evenings around the campfire.
Coleman Camping Computer Update
Yes, since announced in the June 1986 issue of Mile High Magazine, Coleman
products, has barely been able to keep up with the orders for the Coleman
Camping Computer, let alone develop any new enhancements for the popular
system. Due to some heat disipation problems, the Camp Fire power system, has
been dropped, in favor of a new system using 3 6foot solar panels, generating
enough heat to move a small turbin, which in turn is hooked to a generator.
This seems to be a much safer system, then the camp fire unit, and is ready to
ship as of this writing. Estimated cost is a reasonable $1250 plus shipping.
Shipping due to size, must be arranged by the purchaser, with local contacts
for hauling, setup and crane services. Estimated weight is 2200 pounds.
Third Party Support!
Yes, with a great product like the CCC, there is undoubtedly going to be some
inovative third party support. DuckPuck Direct, Wholesalers for Idaho has
jumped on the CCC bandwagon with a couple of new products. Their feature
product is a small nuclear power supply, much smaller in size and weight then
Colemans Solar system. This amazing power source will be very popular with the
"way back in" campers. True, a waste water source of 200 cubic feet per minute
is neccessary to prevent core meltdown. And true, plutonium is some what of a
rare item,(though DuckPuck has plutonium available in their new catalog, and is
rumored to be working on a reactor that will be fueled by, what else
'DuckPuck').
Side advantages of the Alternate power source is that you can recover some of
the cost of the plutonium by selling the additional unused mega-watts to the
local power company. The large amount of heat generated is a definate plus,for
the Artic Campers. Included is your very own lead lined camping attire,
sleeping bag, and water purification system to assure that you are not
contamenated by the waste. ALL in ALL an exciting package for the CCC.
DuckPuck has also announced some other enhancements for the Coleman system.
These include: For the Camp Talk Synthsis System.
Domestic Animal Data Disk! Wouldn't Old McDonald be envious. For those of you
that live on a farm and would like to have exciting conversations with your
horses, cows, pigs and chickens. Requires version 26 of ODS (Out Door Operating
system.)
Exotic Bird Data Disk. Another fine data disk for the Camp Talk Module, This is
for those of you planing a trip down the Amazon and would like to keep in touch
with the local wildlife. Another useful product from DuckPuck.
Also distributed by the amazing DuckPuck Folks is Apuck74! Those of you familar
with the popular Amodem 74 by our own Trent Dudley, will feel right at home
with Apuck74. As usual Mr. Dudley did a fine job of porting the powerful
program over to ODS. One nice enhancement added to this version is optional
core temp monitoring with the DuckPuck Nuclear power system.
Rumor has it that DuckPuck is working on a Code name 'P' power enhancement for
the Backpacking users. An Inside informer,claims the P stands for potatoe, and
is the main component used in the new device.
For more Information on these, and other outstanding CCC products contact:
DuckPuck Direct
The Software Wholesalers for Idaho
P.U. Box 3 Duckpuck
Idaho
Thanks to The Puget Sound Atari Users for Inspiration in creating this article.
Scott Anderson is the current President of STARFLEET Atari User Group of
Denver, Colorado. This was first printed in the MILE HIGH Atari Magazine and I
down loaded it from SKYLINE BBS. <Both of Denver>
Permission is granted to reprint, IF proper credit is given to the above.
-=-CJ-=- (Calamity Jane)
_______________________________________________________________________________
ST-REPORT 6 August 29, 1987 (c)Syndicate Services 1987
Any article may be re-printed as along as the following appears at the top
of the article.
Taken from ST-REPORT #6, Publication of Zmagazine (c)1987
Thanks for reading and supporting ST-Report. Next issue: 9/12/87
_______________________________________________________________________________
