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Silicon Times Report Issue 0008
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ST-REPORT #8 September 26, 1987 (c)1987 Ron Kovacs/Syndicate Services
Publisher/Editor: Ron Kovacs Assistants: Sue Perry, Rich Decowski
_____________________________________________________________________________
INDEX
<*> Atari News Update.....................................From GEnie Atari RT
<*> New Product Announcements............CHESS ST, WORDUP, GROUNDGLASS SYSTEM
<*> Reach For The Stars.........................................By Wilson Yip
<*> Zmag Newswire....................................WhiteHouse Computer Out!
<*> ZNews....................................................By Bruce Kennedy
<*> ST Technical Help........................................By Mr. Goodprobe
<*> User Group Focus...........................................By Peter Fazio
<*> ST-Report Advertising Debut.................................By Ron Kovacs
<*> TeleTalk Magazine Excerpts.................................From Issue #13
<*> The Megas Are Coming
_____________________________________________________________________________
ATARI NEWS UPDATE
The XEP80 80-column adapters are in the Atari warehouse in Sunnyvale and are
available for immediate shipment to dealers.
The XEP80 plugs into the 2nd joystick port of any Atari 8-bit computer. Any
video monitor can plug into the XEP80 and deliver true 80-column text. An
extra port on the XEP80 allows standard parallel printers (ST or IBM
compatible) to plug directly into the 8-bit Atari computers.
The driver program for the XEP80 lets it take the place of the E: device.
Software that is compatible with the E: device (such as Atari BASIC) will work
in 80 columns without modification. Other software that writes directly to
the screen (bypassing the OS) would need modification before working in 80
columns.
Atari is working on AtariWriter 80 and Silent Butler 80 to support the XEP80.
Delivery dates on these products are not yet set.
The XEP80 retails for $79.95.
The new XE Game System has also arrived in Sunnyvale and is on its way to toy
stores and other retailers in the USA.
The XE Game System retails for $149.95. It comes with a sophisticated
keyboard, a light gun, and three top games including Flight Simulator II,
Missile Command, and Bug Hunt.
_____________________________________________________________________________
NEW PRODUCTS
ChessBase - The world's first chess database that runs on a microcomputer.
"It is the most important development in chess study since the invention of
printing." Garry Kasparov - World Champion
What is ChessBase?
* ChessBase is a powerful database which displays, classifies, stores and
retrieves chess games. You can create your own games collections with up to
5000 games on one disk - just think, an entire chess library on a single disk!
* Superb chessboard graphics allow high speed replay of games, in front of
your very eyes - backwards and forwards!
* Powerful openings classification sorts games by openings - ECO, New in
Chess, or by your own criteria. Games can be retrieved by specifying player,
opening, date, etc., greatly reducing the time spent preparing for specific
opponents or searching for recent games by your favourite player.
* ChessBase runs on the Atari ST and IBM-compatible machines. It is extremely
user-friendly - you don't have to be a computer whizz to use it.
Who is ChessBase for?
* The World Champion - Garry Kasparov swears by it and has used it in
preparation for some notable victories: his 7-1 whitewash of the Hamburg chess
squad and his crushing victory against the Swiss Olympiad team.
* Chess professionals use it with devastating effect in preparation for
tournaments, for specific opponents or just general training. Miles used it to
come first in the Philadelphia Open (winning US$ 16,000) and Korchnoi won the
Zagreb Interzonal by a convincing margin and qualified for the Candidates
again, using ChessBase.
* Aspiring internationals cannot afford to be left behind. Opening theory is
advancing more rapidly than ever, and ChessBase will help you to keep abreast
with current developments. ChessBase has improved the results of many players
by 100 Elo points.
* Club players will get endless hours of pleasure from ChessBase. It has
never been easier to look at recent games, work on a new opening or store your
favorite games for reviewing at a later date. Use it to keep track of your
correspondence games and try out ideas and variations. Annotate games yourself
and swap them with friends.
* Keen amateurs - create databases on your favourite players, your most
memorable victories, games against your computer... The list is endless.
For further information please contact
Frederic Friedel
Hauptstrasse 28 B
2114 Hollenstedt West Germany
Tel.: (01149) 4165-8566
You may also drop an Email to Christian Schmitz-Moormann 73637,377 on
Compuserve and I will forward your request.
=============================================================================
Announcing WordUp, the new standard of word processing on the Atari ST.
WordUp is the first in a series of superior products that Neotron Engineering
(soon to be Neotron Inc.) will be bringing to the ST. WordUp reflects the
philosophy of a company committed to producing low cost applications that
utilize the potential of the ST to make high end tasks easier and more
efficient.
WordUp is a full GEM application with multiple windows, desk top icons and
all menu selections available from the keyboard (and yes it does work with
Thunder!-copyright 1986 Batteries Included-in its as you type mode). WordUp
supports any combination of character sizes, faces and styles on the same
line. WordUp automatically reformats after any action including automatically
spacing the line for font size changes, superscript, subscript and word wrap.
WordUp is the first ST word processor that allows a graphic image and text on
the same line. Additionally, text automatically flows around the image, and,
since the picture is anchored to the surrounding text, it will follow the text
during editing-unlike most page metaphoric desk top publishers. This brings up
a point as to why we choose to identify WordUp as a word processor even though
it possesses many of the features of a desk top publisher. Perhaps, we should
call it a document processor since it facilitates the composition and layout
of multiple page documents with it's powerful formatting capabilities while
not limiting the integration of images and quality of output inherent in desk
top publishing.
Through combination of access to the upper portion of the character sets
(which contain foreign, scientific and various symbols) and the variable
super/subscript feature, mathematical formatting is possible. Tables and
columns of text and graphics are easily set up and maintained with the left,
right, center and decimal tab ability. Another first, is user selected symbol
or automatically numbered footnotes that appear just as they will print at the
bottom of the page; thus allowing, as you might guess, full font and line
alignment capability (left, centered and justified) along with seeing the
relationship of the footnotes to the body text as you type.
WordUp uses GDOS to output to the printer and the screen. Thus, any third
party GDOS compatible printer drivers and/or fonts should work with WordUp.
WordUp will ship with, as a minimum, three faces (Swiss-serif type, Dutch-sans
serif type and Typewriter-monospaced courier type) in 10, 12, 18 and 24 point
for the proportional faces and Epson FX-80 compatible, Star Micronics NB24-10
compatible and Atari SM804 printer drivers. This should cover most popular
9-pin and 24-pin dot matrix printers; however, we are working on more fonts
(a font editor) and printer drivers-especially for laser printers. Don't
forget that Atari's soon to be released laser printer will run GDOS.
As you can probably gather, WordUp has far too many features to describe in
detail here. As a result, we will be sending demos to all dealers on our
mailing list in the second or third week of September. If your local dealer
does not have one at that time then have that dealer contact us. WordUp will
ship to dealers in the third week of October. More information can be
obtained directly from Neotron Engineering, 908 Camino dos Rios, Thousand
Oaks, CA 91360, USA or (805)498-3840.
-Shelby Moore 73637,1066 President-Neotron Engineering
=============================================================================
The Groundglass System is a software/hardware package for all professional
photographers. It is being offered as a complete package, including everything
needed to get up and running...the computer, the monitor (color or mono
available), mouse, high speed printer, clock card, paper,
disks...yes....everything needed! No extras!
The software can be purchased separately, if you have either an IBM or Atari
ST. Groundglass Systems recommends the ST due to its lower price, fast
operating speed, GEM desktop, and the availability of additional RAM. Current
RAM upgrades can increase internal memory as much as 3 MEG! This is perfect
for the Groundglass System, since it is a RAM based system, allowing fast
access to a great amount of data. Hard drives are, of course, supported....and
recommended for memory intensive applications, such as stock photo files. A 20
MEG hard drive can contain up to 200,000 stock photo files. (a concertive
estimate)
The Groundglass System is not one of those "command-oriented" or "window"
operated systems, but something unique...a new metaphor for the rest of us.
The commands are offered in an on screen menu, and can be activated by either
a click of the mouse, a function key, a keystroke, or a combination of all
three....it's almost impossible to get lost in this program. There are many
different approaches to on-screen help, also.
Output Forms and Macros
Groundglass has also included custom output forms, such as; invoices, past
due notices for assignments and stock usage, schedules, personal diary, form
letters (custom & user defined), inventory, price lists, production reports,
pre-production estimates, assignment estimates, stock photo shipping memos,
labels, envelopes, sales form letters, intro letters, and of course, many
types of accounting reports. The output forms are also stored on cards in
racks, like everything else in this program.
A Sense of "Place"
The racks and cards concept is truly a "real world" concept, unlike anything
you've seen on a computer's display. It gives you a real sense of "place"....
If you are on a card in your rolodex rack, calling a client, and he asks you
about a current job......click over to the "Jobfile" rack and simply "Zoom
in" on the card for his job....Done! You have a sense of having worked with
this system before, perhaps you have a rack hanging on your wall right now,
with jobfiles sitting in each slot...you simply reach out and pull a file (or
card) out of the rack! It's the same thing with this program. In fact,
Groundglass has discovered that when giving on-site demos of the system, the
photographers seem to understand the display in one or two minutes! In
essence, anything that you are doing in the "real world" with paper, pens,
calculators, typewriters, xerox machine......are done with the Groundglass
System!
Searching
The search functions are really fast....if you type in "Thanksg" in the
"event" field of the "Schedule" rack of cards, it will find the card that
contains "Thanksgiving" in LESS than a second! And that's without typing in
the whole word! You can search any field on any rack, whenever you wish. You
may also do a "Search-Lock". If, for instance, you need to send a party
invitation (as a form letter) to all of your clients, you would simply go to
the "Type" field on any Rolodex card, enter "Client" (or any other code word
you choose for "Clients") and press "F8" (do search). This will find the first
card it comes to with the word "Client" in the Type field. Then press, "SHIFT
F8" (search-lock), and you will have all of your clients cards listed,
separated from any other "Type" of rolodex cards.
_____________________________________________________________________________
REACHING FOR THE STARS
The following article was written for and posted on MUSKRAT'S DEN BBS, a 24
hr BBS in KAILUA [OAHU, HAWAII], 808-261-2184 (300/1200 Baud,Express).
Title: REACHING FOR THE STARS
By: Wilson Yip/Oracle! Date: August 28, 1987
Note: The materials presented herein were obtained from the 1st Annual Space
Education Conference held in Kona from August 20th thru the 22nd in 1987.
Information on attending one of these conferences is given below. Reproduction
of this report in any form is granted under the condition that none of the
contents are altered in any manner.
Space, majestic and awesome, has inspired mankind since the dawn of life. We
gaze up into the darkness, making vague patterns in the heavens in the hopes
of unlocking the secrets of our world and ourselves. However, the more we
begin to learn, the more we realize how little we really know. Are there other
solar systems similar to ours, teeming with life? Do the secrets of our world
lie outside our worldly boundaries? Do other intelligent beings bear these
very same questions? These questions and more must be answered. We want to
know. We must know. And someday we shall know.
The United States has certainly had a part in the exploration of space. In
merely twenty-five years, we have put a man on the moon and have sent vehicles
to the very limits of Neptune. But in less than five minutes, our visions of
discovery were plagued by darkness as the remnants of Challenger fell gently
back into the loving hands of Earth. Disunity, loss of purpose, fear, and
sadness engulfed our space program. Worse still, it shattered the dreams and
hopes of the next generation of explorers. If this situation persists, not
only will our insight of the universe be blurred today, it will also be
blurred tomorrow.
Mankind, however, has been known to be a versatile being. Though our efforts
fall short, we rise again with a clearer purpose and with renewed strength.
Efforts have begun to once again rebuild our space endeavors now and tomorrow.
You can make a major effort in this undertaking by considering a career in
space. What other job brings you the stars and takes you further? Although
being propelled into the atmosphere in a tiny craft may not be what you had in
mind, other opportunities exists. Perhaps it may be peering into a gigantic
telescope to find that comet to immortalize your name with or it may be
collecting materials to express our world to other beings. To gain a sharper
perception of what space has to offer you, I have compiled a brief list of
names and places which you can contact. The list is basically geared to
students, but some are applicable to adults.
SPACE EDUCATION CONFERENCE
State of Hawaii
Dept. Of Education
Office of Instructional Services
P.O. Box 2360
Honolulu, HI 96804
This event is for the purpose of exposing students to the opportunities in
space in the islands as well as on the mainland. The first conference was held
in August of 1987 in Kona and plans have begun to have a similar one in 1988.
The event is offered to all high school students and is absolutely free. Write
the State of Hawaii to make it a reality. This event is sponsored by the State
of Hawaii and the Planetary Society.
THE PLANETARY SOCIETY
The Planetary Society
65 North Catalina Ave.
Pasadena CA 91106
This organization headed by Dr.Carl Sagan is dedicated to exploring new
worlds and life and to communicate to all the nature and findings of space.
With advisors such as Sally Ride, Arthur C. Clark, and Isaac Asimov, the
organization can't help but to be professional in every manner. Members
receive a monthly magazine filled with the latest words and happenings in the
field. For background materials and information, this is the source.
U.S. SPACE CAMP AND ACADEMY
The Space and Rocket Center
1 Tranquility Base
Huntsville, Alabama 35807
Tel: 1-800-633-7280
or: 205-837-3400
The inspiration for the movie "Space Camp," this academy will let you have
the power of the space shuttle at your fingertips. Remember, being an
astronaut is not an easy business. You are immersed into zero-gravity
environments, learn about such things as rocket propulsion, and finally the
inner workings of the space shuttle itself. If you can afford it, the
excitement of being an astronaut can be yours.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
Ames Research Center
NASA
Attn: DI:204-7
Educational Programs Office
Moffett Field, CA 94035
NASA's Ames Research Center is responsible for providing informative
materials to schools as well as to the public. Its resources include films,
video tapes, slides, publications, and even school presentations. Write for a
listing of materials that are available. In addition, they have an extensive
library which houses rare and informative publications for research endeavors.
Others:
* UH Institute for Astronomy
* Hawaii Institute for Geophysics
* Del Rio Resources, Ltd.
* Department of Business & Economic Development
* Volcano National Park
I hope that this list will provide you with a few places to start with to
find your niche in space. Also, speak with your teachers and counselors for
direction and upcoming events. Remember, space is a vast pool waiting to be
tapped by young and hungry minds. Reach for the stars and complete man's
journey into the heavens.
_____________________________________________________________________________
ZMAG NEWSWIRE
From The Chicago Tribune/Courier News
The US government is accusing a 17 year old youth of breaking into AT&T
computers across the nation and stealing sophisticated software worth
thousands of dollars. We will supply more information should this develop.
Article supplied by Steve Godun.
Are you a customer of WHITEHOUSE COMPUTER?? Zmag reader Shawn Harmon
recently informed us about the rip-off of many by this firm. Current
information tells us that the firm has closed and filed bankruptcy.
In the letter received, there were over $200,000 in claims with only $20,000
in assets.
Whitehouse Computer is located in Williamsport, PA.
If you are one of the many waiting for goods or you have encountered a few
problems, here is what you can do to hopefully get your monies back!
contact:
Bureau of Consumer Protection 1-717-963-4913 Attn: Mr. McGowen
Better Business Bureau Scranton, PA
United States Postal Inspector
Please write a letter to the B.C.P with a copy to the US Postal Inspector and
the PA Better Business Bureau. Include your cancelled check with a full
explanation of what you have done to retrieve your goods.
Zmag will keep you informed as this story progresses.
_____________________________________________________________________________
NEWS FROM BRUCE KENNEDY
#: 196624 S13/Peripherals 22-Sep-87 Sb: ZNEWS
Fm: BRUCE KENNEDY 72327,1500 To: RON KOVACS 71777,2140 (X)
Here's the latest for US who know how to hack computers. Let's hear it from
our friends at CLAUG in Chicago According to Jon Berry in the September 21
issue of ADWEEK, the people from Microsoft have announced a joint partnership
with Amdek in Chicago. Amdek has a CD ROM laserdrive which reads a 550
megabyte capacity CD ROM which contains The American Heritage Dictionary, The
World Almanac, The Chicago Manual of Style, Roget's Thesaurus, Bartlett's
Quotations.
Now read that into your memory and smoke it! It's called Bookshelf, and is
the first major, widely distributed offering in the new technology. Hats off
again to Bill Gates, and the innovative people from Amdek.
Don't forget...Amdek were the people who brought Atari the first IBM type
plastic case diskettes. We didn't support them, so they soon liquidated a very
nice double drive for our machines. Let's look at this system as a hacking
community, come up with a way to use it, and support this fine partnership in
leading edge technology.
If it's good, the ST can use it!
Let's hear from you. Network and Report!
BEKennedy from RIACE for ZMAG
_____________________________________________________________________________
ST TECHNICAL HELP By: Mr. Goodprobe
U.A.C.B.
(Users Against Computer Brutality)
As we proceed into the first of hopefully many articles with hints, hardware
projects, and modifications for your Atari equipment, let me serve notice that
I need YOUR questions, advice, ideas, and projects in order to share them with
others. I am an electronics technician of 15 years experience, and a father of
three amongst other things. I am quick to reveal that fresh, new and exciting
ideas can not proceed with consistent regularity from any single human being,
no matter how intelligent, diligent, or perseverent! I need YOU so we can
together provide the hardware information that the Atari community has so
dearly lacked these past few years. I would encourage you to write up a short
text file with your project, hardware modification, upgrade, question, idea or
any related item, include your name and address so we can give proper credit,
and upload that text file to the Zmag Information Network which can be reached
at 201-968-9148 300/1200 baud 24 hours a day, or to my daily haunt at the
Stairway to Heaven bbs which can be reached at 216-784-0574 300/1200 baud 24
hours a day.
If call the Stairway, the fearless SYSOP, Angel, will allow you to post your
questions and the like in our hardware message base. If you are so kind as to
send a text file, please leave me a note and I will take it from there.
Another quick preliminary note, those who truly know me that I will never say
anything to intentionally raise the ire of another human being. But,
unfortunately, I am quite sure that this article may upset some computer
dealers, and even our beloved Atari corp. I only hope they understand that my
motive and intent here is not to defame anyone or anything, but rather solely
to forward the cause of the Atari St user, and prolong the life of that great,
great computer!
It has come to my attention, through coverage in BYTE Magazine, and on Atari
bulletin boards across this fine land of ours that there is a certain
questionable, to say the least, fix for some Atari ST's which come up with the
"won't boot the drive" symptom. Our one and only very own Calamity Jane
recently described to me her lamentable situation when upon receiving her new
ST computer in the mail, she proceeded to tickle our funny bones by recounting
the fact that when she turned it on, "the screen filled up with bombs, 100's
of them everywhere, down the side of her monitor, across the floor and out the
door! " She then wondered out loud if there was an entry in the Guiness Book
of World Records for the most bombs on an ST screen! When she bravely
disassembled her ST she found that the TOS roms were not seated properly in
their sockets, in fact were "barely" in the sockets provided for them to
occupy! She firmly pushed them down, and all was and is well to this day.
Now, this "fix" which I have mentioned, is supposedly the official Atari fix
which states that in the ST factory, if a computer displays this symptom, it
is raised 3 to 6 inches from a firm table top and dropped. The resultant
force reseats the chips who are the problem makers, and the unit is returned
to be boxed, shipped etc. Now I understand the why of this procedure, as there
would be not enough time for Atari to do this to each and every ST which comes
off the line, they would have to drastically raise the price of the ST
computer, and that is one thing they do not wish to do, and we don't want them
to! When dealing with such a large volume of a unit, sometimes harsh tactics
must be taken. BUT!!! This is not the case for the ST user, nor is it the
case for the truly caring Atari ST computer dealer and/or Atari ST repair
dealer. I personally feel that any dealer/repair establishment that takes this
shortcut is doing a great dis-service to his customer. Such tactics can only
REDUCE the life of the PC board that makes up the majority of your ST
computer, and can you imagine the wonder it does for the drive in the
1040ST?!?! The PC board in the ST is fragile enough as it is, and this would
further weaken it. And, the "fix" it provides is temporary at best, and will
need it repeated time and time again.
While using my PC Pursuit to its fullest, I can fully remember time and time
again seeing horror stories of unknowing users applying this "drop
technology", and as the symptom disappears with the first application, many
times it soon returns again and again, and the time interval is shorter and
shorter between each period of proper computer operation. Then the final blow
is dealt to the computer, and a great repair bill results, or a new CPU has to
be purchased.
Now that I have shared with you the IMPROPER method of curing this, let us
now enter in to a description of the PROPER method of curing this pesky
problem.
After placing your ST face down on a soft surface as a carpet sample, take
out--520ST-->6 screws holding the top on.
1040ST-->7 screws in the square holes holding the top on.
Turn the unit back over, and place the top back in a safe place. Remove the
keyboard by unpluging the cable extending from the right side of it that plugs
into the motherboard. Set this assembly with the top of your computer. On the
1040ST you will also need to unplug the power harness and drive cable from the
internal disk drive. Place this assembly aside, and then remove the 2 screws
from the front side of the internal power supply, unplug the cable and place
it aside.
Now remove the screws on the 520ST or 1040ST that holds the shield in place
and gently remove it. This completes your disassembly of your precious
computer...whew! The chips you are going to reseat are labeled U12 and U15.
These are the 2 square IC packages, and on the 520ST they are located at the
immediate left and upper left of the row of 16 256k rams. On the 1040ST they
are located at the right and upper right of the 2 rows of 32 256k ram chips.
Make sure you are properly grounded, and if there is a metal clip, sometimes
copper in color, remove it for the time being. If there are no clips, please
order 2 as they are under a dollar and can prevent this problem in the future.
Using a small, flat, jewelers screwdriver, locate the flat edge of the IC
socket. Insert your jewelers screwdriver between the socket and the IC and
gently pry the chip up and out of the socket. Then place it back in, push down
firmly, and replace the clip if there was one. Repeat this procedure with the
other IC.
Now locate the 6 TOS roms if you have them in your ST. The 520ST has them
located in a row from top to bottom at the far left side of the motherboard.
They are located directly below where the internal power supply was in the
1040ST. You do not need to remove these, but rather you merely need to give
them a firm push to make sure they are firmly seated in their sockets.
Reverse the procedure you observed when you disassembled your ST, and your
task will be completed.
Now, after having done that, can you see the point I was trying to make? It
was not really a hard job, but if multiplied several hundred thousand times
over I can see why Atari Corp uses the method they do. And, since the dealer
does not have to deal with near this type of volume (boy that would be every
dealers dream though!), and since they are the link between Atari Corp.and
you, they should endeavor to give you that personal touch and go that extra
mile. Sometimes it seems the only great service you can receive is that which
you provide for yourself!
The bottom line the is this, please, do not use this "official" fix you have
heard about, but rather give your pride and joy that extra special caring
touch that will hopefully allow it to provide you with many more years of
useful service and entertainment. Keep those Atari's hummin!
-Mr. Goodprobe-
(on lend from)
Midtown TV (216)633-0997 Atari 8/16 Repair/sales
_____________________________________________________________________________
USER GROUP FOCUS Brooklyn Atari Society for Information and Communication
(B.A.S.I.C.)
New York City's oldest Atari Computer User Group
President - Peter J. Fazio
Vice President - Larry Richards
Secretary/Treasurer - K. Edward Bienkowski
Newsletter Editors - Pete Fazio & Bill Kokoni
BBS Sysops - Pete Fazio
Larry Richards
Bill Kokoni
The Brooklyn Atari Society (B.A.S.I.C.) was founded in May of 1982 by a group
of Atari computer users who frequented a local computer store in Brooklyn. One
of the sales people at the store came up with the idea of forming a user group
and began to contact all the "regulars". All of us were very enthusiastic
about the idea and one of us, who ran a training school for electricians,
offered his classroom as a meeting place.
The first meeting of the new group was full of excitement, as the idea of a
user group was new to most people at that time. Just the idea of a whole room
full of people who were all interested in Atari computers was something
wonderful. The meeting lasted long into the night as we all compared notes and
got to know each other. This first meeting led to another and another and soon
we were meeting regularly. After a few months we decided to open membership in
the group to the public, but since the classroom we were meeting in was a
little on the small side, we decided to find another meeting place. Luckily,
one of the members belonged to the Knights of Columbus and arranged for us to
meet there.
After a meeting there to familiarize ourselves with the facilities, we held
our first public meeting. Thanks to the people at the computer store, who
publicized the group in the store, there were many new faces at the meeting
and the group began to grow. At this time, I was elected to be the first
president of the group, a position I continue to hold today (nobody else seems
to want to do it!). Unfortunately, after about a year the member who belonged
to the Knights of Columbus had to leave the group and we were once again
forced to find a new meeting place. This time another member stepped forward
and offered use of his company's meeting room and we once again had a new
home. At that time we began to consider publishing a newsletter. The major
problem with publishing a newsletter at that time was that we had no means of
having it printed. Then a couple of members came up with the idea of
publishing the newsletter on disk. Except for one commercial disk magazine,
a disk-based user group newsletter was a new idea. Thus "The B.A.S.I.C.
Bulletin" was born. The "Bulletin" grew in popularity and our subscription
list expanded to include subscribers in several countries and two continents.
Unfortunately, once again we were forced to find a new meeting place as the
company which had the meeting room we were using moved away. Luckily, we were
once again able to find a new location thanks to a couple of members who
belonged to a model railroad club and arranged for us to share their club
room. The new room was a little smaller than we would have liked, but we were
now in 1984 and a low point in the history of Atari (just before Jack Tramiel
bought the company from Warner Communications), so our membership was also at
a low point. We continued meeting and publishing our newsdisk, and in June
1985 the Dateline BBS, our new user group BBS, went online. Starting on an 800
with 2 810 drives running FoReM 26M software, it quickly added an ATR8000 and
grew to 4 double-sided, quad-density drives and BBCS software. About a month
after Dateline went online the first 520STs appeared in the stores and many
B.A.S.I.C. members, myself included, bought them. This posed a couple of
problems, along with a number of benefits for the group. Because the new
machines used a new and incompatible disk format we could no longer publish
one newsdisk for all our members, and we could not publish two separate disks.
Also, because the BBS quickly began to support the new machines, we found that
the once-huge storage capacity of the quad drives was suddenly filling with
the much larger ST files, and we were rapidly running out of disk space. The
ST also brought an influx of new members into the group, and while this was
great for the group, it caused our meeting room to become very cramped very
quickly.
The BBCS (Bulletin Board Construction Set) software that was in use on the
BBS at that time proved to be very buggy and was constantly the cause of
problems with the system, so we decided to replace it. Since the ST content of
the BBS had grown to the point where it was dominating the board, we decided
that it was time for the Dateline BBS to switch to ST hardware, and in June
1986, almost exactly one year after it first went online, we switched to a
520ST and MichTron 1.8 BBS software. Shortly after that an Atari SH204 20 meg
hard disk was added and the BBS really began to grow in both scope and
popularity. Now running MichTron 2.10 software and with 45 megs of online
storage (thanks to the recent addition of an ICD ST hard drive), Dateline is
one of the busiest (and best, in my humble opinion) Atari BBSs in the country
(and now accessible through PC-Pursuit). The number for Dateline is
718-648-0947 (300/1200/2400 baud, 24 hrs/7 days). For access through
PC-Pursuit, call the 212 area and use ATDT17186480947 to have the PCP modem
dial into the 718 area (the other half of New York City).
While the BBS was growing, our newsletter was not. After one last disk issue
(in which the newsdisk was retitled "Dateline: Atari" to match the BBS), we
had to suspend publication while we decided how to best support both Atari
computer lines. Membership in the group was becoming more and more ST
oriented, and the combination of a great desktop publishing program for the ST
(Publishing Partner) and a member who is a professional printer made the
choice very clear. The first printed issue of "Dateline: Atari" made its
appearance this spring, and more are now following on a bi-monthly schedule.
The influx of new members has once again caused us to find a new meeting
place, as the clubroom we shared with the model railroad club for the past
couple of years once again became too small. Once more a member stepped
forward and came to our rescue. This time a member who belongs to the Masonic
Club of Bay Ridge arranged for us to hold our meetings at that location, which
proved to be an excellent facility, and only a few blocks from our previous
meeting place. Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at 8:00
PM. The address of the Masonic Club of Bay Ridge is 7604 4th Avenue, Brooklyn,
NY 11209. Dues are $20 per year.
Thus with our successful BBS, our re-vitalized newsletter, and our excellent
new meeting facility, B.A.S.I.C. (now in our sixth year) continues to be a
leader on the New York City Atari user group scene.
Peter J. Fazio, President
For more information about B.A.S.I.C. contact:
Brooklyn Atari Society
c/o Peter J. Fazio
2724 East 23rd Street
Brooklyn, NY 11235
718-646-6384 (voice - evenings) 718-648-0947 (Dateline BBS)
_____________________________________________________________________________
ADVERTISING DEBUT
Starting October 1, 1987 we will be allowing our readers room for
advertising. Also, we will be looking for ads from Software producers,
computer distributors and the like.
Classified rates are as follows:
5 (79 Character lines) $10.00/week
No Atascii characters allowed.
These rates apply to ST-REPORT only!!
To enter an ad, You can upload direct to the Zmag BBS at (201) 968-8148. All
ads MUST be prepaid. Please state the amount of weeks you wish to run your
ad. We have made space for a specific number of ads. All ads will appear space
permitting. Special dated material will appear first. We also reserve the
right to refuse any article.
These rates are for classified ads only. If you are interested, send check
or money order with your ad to:
Zmagazine Classified-ST-REPORT
Post Office Box 74
Middlesex, NJ 08846-0074
_____________________________________________________________________________
TELETALK MAGAZINE EXCERPTS from ISSUE #13
NET EXCHANGE BBS
QUESTION: "Sometimes when I connect to a port, I get a message that says
'MANUAL ANSWER' and I can't do anything but disconnect."
ANSWER: Since the Racal-Vadic mode provides better diagnostics, many users
shift into it before dialing their BBS. If they terminate abnormally (that
is, if the session, not the user, terminates abnormally), the modem may be
left in Racal-Vadic mode.
For instance, User A uses Racal-Vadic mode to call a board. He then gets
bumped off the line (or perhaps hangs up before returning the modem to Hayes
emulation) and User B connects to the port before the modem has a chance to
reset (assuming it resets at all). The modem has sent the Racal-Vadic
prompt--an asterisk--to User A and is waiting for a command. User B sees no
response--the prompt has already been sent--so he assumes the modem is in
Hayes mode. He enters "ATZ" and waits for the "OK". (To make matters worse,
perhaps he is using a command script that needs to "see" an "OK" before
proceeding.)
The modem, currently ignorant of Hayes commands, interprets the "A" of the
"ATZ" as being the Racal-Vadic command to answer a call manually; that is, to
take the line off-hook and respond to the call. It does so, having first sent
the user the message "MANUAL ANSWER." Since people rarely dial *into* a PC
Pursuit line, nothing happens and the modem just sits.
To get the user out of this trap, enter carriage returns until the modem
drops the line and prompts you with another "*". At this prompt, enter "I".
This is a nonintuitive command--the "I" stands for "IDLE" --but it has the
happy result of returning the modem to Hayes mode.
<===================================>
<The NET EXCHANGE is a BBS that PC >
<Pursuit subscribers can contact for>
<tech support and to exchange >
<information and files with other PC>
<Pursuit users. To log on via PC-P,>
<type at the "@" prompt: >
< >
< C PURSUIT,MYID,MYPASSWORD<cr>. >
< >
<Non PC Pursuit subscribers may log >
<onto the NET EXCHANGE BBS by >
<dialing: 1-703-689-3561 >
<===================================>
CLOSE UP ................... [MAG]
A look at ZMAG - an online magazine for Atarians.
[MAG]*******************************
CLOSE UP *
************************************
A LOOK AT ZMAG
By John Peters
Meet Ron Kovacs, the publisher and editor of Zmagazine. Ron's online
publication, ZMAG is a public domain magazine aimed primarily at the Atari
user. ZMAG has gained popularity with both SysOps and BBSers and it can be
found on many boards here in the states and in Europe.
The strength of Zmag lies in two related areas. One is its emphasis on
bringing the reader up-to-the-minute news and the other being that it is
published on a weekly basis.
Ron is also the SysOp of ZMAGAZINE INFO NET BBS. Like ZMAG, the BBS also
stresses timely news and information. Besides offering Zmag, Ron also makes
available to his members the current issue of TeleTalk OnLine Magazine as well
as other fine online magazines. The board is currently undergoing some major
changes-one of which is that over 70% of the file section will consist of text
files and utilities.
By reading Zmag, you'll be kept up-to-date on what's happening in the Atari
world now -- not several weeks, (or months) later. If you own an Atari, then
you owe it to yourself to check out Zmag.
ZMAGAZINE INFORMATION NETWORK *(201)-968-8148
_____________________________________________________________________________
THE MEGAS ARE COMING
The Megas are coming The Megas ar coming The Megas are coming. Atari has
just sent us our first shipment of 4 Meg Mega St's. They should arrive on
Monday the 21st. They are for the Melbourne Florida Computer Show on Sept
25-27. As an authorized Atari dealer, we would like to thank ATARI for putting
us on the first shipment of these computers so it will be on time for our
Major Florida Computer Show.
THE MEGAS ARE COMING THE MEGAS ARE COMING THE MEGAS ARE COMING
The Irishman's Software, Inc.
1022 Highway A1A
Satellite Beach, Florida, 32937.
_____________________________________________________________________________
ST-REPORT #8 SEPTEMBER 26, 1987 (C)1987 SYNDICATE SERVICES
ZMAG INFORMATION NETWORK (201) 968-8148 300-1200 24 HOURS
_____________________________________________________________________________
