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Silicon Times Report Issue 0040
ST REPORT WEEKLY ONLINE MAGAZINE
Monday, JUNE 20, 1988
Vol I No. 40
===========
APEInc., P.O. BOX 74, Middlesex, N.J. 08846-0074
PUBLISHER MANAGING EDITOR
Ron Kovacs R.F.Mariano
=======================================================
ST REPORT EDITOR: Thomas Rex Reade
Headquarters Bulletin Boards
ST Report North ST Report Central ST Report South
201-968-8148 216-784-0574 904-786-4176
------------------------------------
CONTENTS
========
* From the Editor....................* Wholly Macro..a review..........
* GEnie MAGIC SAC CONFERENCE.........* ARC Ver.5.21 NOTES/COMMENTS.....
* ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL.............* Atari SUICIDE?..................
* C Programming Language.............* Getting Started with MAGIC SAC..
=========================================================================
Serving you on: Comp-u-serve - Delphi - GEnie
=========================================================================
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK:
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
-------------------
This Father's Day has been one to remember for me! My family presented
me with a sparkling new Mega4 ST ...I am still in seventh heaven.
Atari has certainly outdone themselves this time. The Mega4 surpasses any
expectations I had about the machine and certainly does not exhibit any of
the early quirks we have all heard about (some I wrote about).
The Blitter chip WAS in the machine and it's operation is exquisitely
impeccable in my opinion. Sure, I have found a few OLD programs that
misbehave, I blame the programmer there for using memory addresses they
were TOLD NOT to use in their developer's kits. The keyboard is superior
to any keyboard Atari has issued yet except, perhaps, the keyboard in the
original 800.
I can only marvel at the wisdom of keeping such a fine design so secret
here in the USA. The ENTIRE computing community needs to know about the
MEGA ST line. To say it again, where does one find a single computer that
will run IBM software (PC - DITTO) and MacIntosh software ( MAGIC SAC ) in
addition to it's own very large and continually growing selection of fine
software in the entertainment, application and particularly in the Desktop
Publishing area. Desktop Publishing with the MEGA4 ST is, without a
doubt, the smoothest and sweetest exhibition of computer power and ease
to be seen yet. The Blitter Chip makes it so fast compared to the 1040ST
I was accustomed to using. Between the MEGA4 and Timeworks Desktop
Publisher, as the saying goes, "YOU AIN'T SEEN NUTHIN' YET"!
After seeing the umpteenth showing of Computer Chronicles on PBS, I wonder
when THAT show and or it's SPONSORS will holler for a little fair play and
start to show the awesome power of say, TOM HUDSON'S CAD 3D SERIES-CYBER
GOODIES and have the ST Computer there for more than 10 minutes and NOT
demonstrate a game! I am really getting tired of all the Apple hype being
pushed out by that show. Those folks need to be made aware of the power
of the ST. Actually, if all the ST owners would write just one letter to
the PBS station they watch Chronicles on and asked that the letter be
forwarded to the show's producers it may bring about a very positive
response. (Unless Apple has an interest in the show)
Atari will be, in my opinion, be around for quite some time and will
eventually realize that the US market is where it's true bread and butter
is.....or, have most of us missed the strategy of crafty J.T.????
Look at things this way for moment.....
A spear head marketing strategy to wrap up the European market thus,
virtually guaranteeing a sufficient flow of new software for the ST.
After all, didn't Atari and it's users have to put up with and withstand
the domestic software scene that developers and programmers created in
the 8 bit US market, (remember the broad accusation and reckless
abandonments made?), thereby forcing Atari to go the cartridge route with
the 8 bit machine and revitalize a marketplace? The BIG picture looks
quite interesting from this reporter's viewpoint. Atari has in place
a decent source flow of software and can now approach the US market with
a vengeance. It has already started with ATARI'S CHALLENGE directed at
the desktop publishing marketplace...the least expensive and the most
powerful...has truly come to pass. Now, Let's tell the entire country
about the ST.
T."REX" READE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE JUDGES LIST
===============
Service Name
------- ------------
CIS Ron Luks
CIS Dan Rhea
CIS Mike Schoenbach
Delphi Clayton Walnum
Delphi Charles Bachand
Delphi Maurice Molineux
GEnie Darlah Hudson
GEnie Fred Beckman
GEnie Sandy Wilson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST-Report Official Contest Rules
================================
No purchase necessary.
Deadline for consideration in this contest is midnight August 31, 1988.
Winners will be announced in ST-Report on September 12, 1988. We
guarantee to award all prizes. The prize list will be announced during
the contest.
All readers are eligible to enter except employees of APEInc.
Publishing, CompuServe, GEnie, Delphi and their immediate families.
This contest void where prohibited or restricted by law. We are not
responsible for lost, mis-marked, or delayed art/work.
All submissions must be drawn with any Atari ST drawing program.
All submissions must be drawn by the original artist. Copyrighted art work
will not be accepted.
All submissions become the property of APEInc.
All submissions must be uploaded to specified BBS systems by the deadline
date. All systems have time and date stamping capability. Any entry dated
after 8/31/88 will be void from the contest.
Art Work Requirements
---------------------
All art work considered for this contest must be drawn with any Atari ST
drawing program.
Any person submitting art work must leave an address, telephone number,
and drawing program used.
Artwork must contain the following:
ST-REPORT
The winning entry will be used at a later date for a newsletter or
magazine cover.
Where to Send
-------------
All art work may be uploaded to the following systems.
Syndicate BBS (201) 968-8148
Bounty ST BBS (904) 786-4176
Entries by mail are also permitted. Be sure to use a 3.5 floppy S/S!
You may send to:
ST-Report Logo Contest
Post Office Box 74
Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0074
(Please include your name, address and telephone number)
Updates
-------
This contest will update uploading areas every two weeks. Contest rules
will not be changed, but judges may be added during the run of the
contest.
Current judge listing will be published next week.
This contest commences May 2, 1988 and will end Midnight August 31, 1988.
If you have any questions, Please leave email on the services at the
following addresses:
CompuServe: 71777,2140
GEnie : ST-REPORT
: R.KOVACS
DELPHI : RONKOVACS
The Source: BDG793
Rules and Regulations:
1). Use any full color program written exclusively for the ST to draw
your own personal design of an ST-Report logo.
2). Art work ported over from any other computer is void.
3). No X-rated art work will be accepted.
4). Winners will be announced by mail, email, phone call or equivalent
on or before September 12, 1988.
5). Judges decisions are final.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHOLLY MACRO!
=============
By: Ron Robinson
Computers can be very powerful tools for helping you get a job
accomplished. They are also very stupid and can be more than a
little frustrating to use. Exact spelling and punctuation is
often required to tell a computer what to do, or very repetitive
keystrokes are required to get a job done. Programmers often
setup programs using combinations of keys for activating functions
that make no sense to you. Luckily, there are programs, known as
keyboard macro programs, that help save you work, and allow you to
customize the software used on your computer.
Wholly Macro!, by Sedroc Software, is a desk accessory keyboard
macro program for the Atari ST. It allows you to reduce most
combinations of key presses to a single key or combination of keys
pressed at once. For example, in this review, every time I press:
[ALT] [LEFT SHIFT] [W]
a Wholly Macro! appears on the screen of my word processor with bold text
attributes. This may not seem like much at first glance, but it replaces
18 keystrokes with one, and is spelled correctly (or at least the same)
each time.
Wholly Macro! includes a setup program that allows you to configure
the program the way you want. From within this program, you can select;
the key sequence (hotkey) that turns Wholly Macro! on and off, the amount
of memory Wholly Macro! reserves for macros, a default folder to place
your macro files and the resource file (very handy for hard drive users),
and if Wholly Macro! is active after the computer is started.
Once setup, Wholly Macro! is loaded as an accessory when you turn on
your computer. A small bar appears in the upper left corner of the
screen when the program is active. Pressing the hotkey combination
selected in the setup program enables/disables the program, and makes the
bar turn on and off.
You can access Wholly Macro!'s editing features from any GEM
application by selecting the accessory. A dialog box will appear with a
macro edit box on the left side of the screen and a function selection
box on the right side. Editing a macro may be a confusing at first.
There is some duplication of functions between the edit window and the
function selector box. After a few minutes of experimentation, things
become very logical and easy to use.
From within the accessory you can: select a macro to edit, create a
new macro, delete a macro, save a set of macros, load a set of macros,
and obtain information about program status. A capture mode allows you
to type from within your application and automatically add the keystrokes
to a macro. The status indicator rapidly blinks while in capture mode.
You can create macros than can use other macros. Looping macros allow
you to further automate you ST to perform repetive functions
automatically.
Macros can be identified with any one of over 1200 keystroke
combinations. These combinations can consist of any combination of the
[Left Shift] [Right Shift] [Alternate] and [Control] keys pressed before
any other key. You can also use the function keys and the numeric keypad
keys are considered different from the numeric keys on the main keyboard.
Key combinations reserved by the system, such as [Alt] [Help]
(screen dump), will not work. It is also a good idea to avoid key
combinations used by other programs, especially [Alt] [Key] combinations.
Wholly Macro! can tell the difference between the right and left shift
keys. I usually include one of the shift keys in the macros I create to
avoid conflicts with other programs.
Wholly Macro! is a very professional well thought out utility for
your ST. It is a powerful tool for making your computer easier to use.
The beta copy upon which this review is based, works fine with well
behaved GEM applications but may have problems with programs that do not
use GEM such as WordPerfect. Wholly Macro! can make life easier when
using: Telecommunication programs, wordprocessors, databases, CADD
programs, text editors, desktop publishing, or any other application that
requires repetitive sequences of keystrokes. A demo version of Wholly
Macro! is available on GEnie for those who would like to try before
they buy.
Distributed by Sedroc Software
3815 Greengrass
St. Louis, Missouri 63033
($39.95 + $2.00 S&H)
************************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
---------------------------------
To sign up for GEnie service: Call: (with modem)
800-638-8369.
Upon connection, type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type XJM11877,GEnie and hit RETURN.
The system will prompt you for your information.
************************************************************************
GENIE CONFERENCE ON MAGIC SAC
=============================
with DAVID SMALL
05/16/88
ATTENDEES:
----------
[Doug] D.N.WHEELER [ST REPORT] REX.READE [Dave] D.MEILE1
[Henry] HTCOLONNA DARLAH <Moderator> K.BARRY2
M.MARKOWITZ DAVESMALL [Ken] SYNERGIST
JOHN-CARTER S.SANTAANA1 [Fred] FB
T.FAUST [Magic Mark] STACE J.MANCINI
N JOELSIR SANDY.W [BRYAN @ CRU] BDHALL
J.ANHALT1 [Harry] H.CALLESIS D.SAMAHA
[Rich & Angie] R.LAWRENCE4 [Tom] T.MILLER7 JOE.WATERS
F.NAGLE C.DAVIS D.ZIZZA
RPATT-CORNER S.LOWE N.DAVID
JEFFWILLIAMS [L. Ron] MJANSEN DR.TOM
PBANK J.KINGSMORE1 [Holly] HS
P.VERMEULEN D.FAIRWEATH1 DERRICK
G.MOSHER T.MCCARLEY V.BUI
A.LABROSSE D.A.BRUMLEVE
<DARLAH> I want to welcome Dave Small to the St Rt to discuss the
*possible* 6.0 version of the Magic Software and a *possible* 128K Rom
version of the Magic Sac Cartridge. After an opening statement from Dave
Small, we will need all of you that are interested in asking questions,
to please use the /rai command. You will be taken in order recieved.
<DARLAH> Dave:
<DAVESMALL> Hi; since leaving Data Pacific in March there's been all
sorts of rumours floating around about Magic Sac, dP, etc. I thought I'd
be here tonight to answer questions and such. Also, I need to announce
Magic Sac 6.0, and talk about whether or not to do a 128K Magic Sac
(still to be decided). Over to you, Darlah ..
<DARLAH> Rex
<[ST REPORT] REX.READE> Dave how do you feel about the Discovery
cart and the release statements made comparing the dp cart and it.
<DAVESMALL> Darlah -- should I give quick summary of D. Cart for
those who haven't heard of it?
<DARLAH> Yes, Please do!
<DAVESMALL> It's a cartridge put out by Happy Computing to enable
you to bit-copy nearly anything. It also "features' the ability to read
Mac disks and transfer them to Magic format, although I've not heard of
anyone seeing it actually work. It can't work as the Translator does
(online with the Magic Sac), but it might help get data
<DAVESMALL> from a Mac disk to a Magic Disk. Apparently Happy
Computing put out a flyer putting down the Translator in favor of their
cart. Also, Happy is adding ROM slots to the Discovery Cart to enable
you to plug in 64K Roms, and thus use a cracked version of Magic Sac.
How do I feel? Well, Happy shipped ver. 7 of the 8-bit copy board, what,
1-2 years late; they promised the D. cart back in January, and started
taking money in November. I still haven't heard of any being shipped. They
will have a heck of a job decoding Mac format; I'm not sure they're not
trying to raise money now to build a run of boards for first customers,
etc.
<[ST REPORT] REX.READE> they insinuated that the user must still use
your software, do you agree with this?
<DAVESMALL> Our software absolutely will not work with the D. Cart
unless it's been cracked. (Legacy of the Best Electronics cart -- run it
with our software, it reformats your disk).But, there are many
"crack" programs around these days. So, my basic attitude is, right now,
they'd better deliver on 6 mos. worth of promises; they were a year late
last time they promised something. Anyone else remember Happy Rev 7?)
<[ST REPORT] REX.READE> Oh Boy! That throws the whole matter in a
different light! thanks, Dave.
<[Leader]> DARLAH> Henry:
<[Henry] HTCOLONNA> Hi - I was disappointed to hear about the technical
problems with Amiga Magic Sac. When the 1 meg chip ram comes out...
supposedly by the end of the year, will it be attempted again?
(I remember happy rev 7, grin)
<DAVESMALL> Yes; it's on hold until the 1 meg chips are widely
available. Right now, it only emulates a 256K Mac (just like a 512K ST
does).
<[Leader] DARLAH> Frank:
<F.NAGLE> Is the ability to handle the "NEW" Hypercard. Whether it can
handle all of the new 128 or not is not the main issue. Comments?
<DAVESMALL> New Hypercard as in 1.03 ? (the most recent patched one).
<F.NAGLE> Essentially any version that works 8-)
<DAVESMALL> My only concern with Hypercard is that it requires 1 meg of
memory. Magic Sac presently takes up about 192 of system RAM to run; that
drops a 1040 to 832K of user memory. Might not be enough. But I'd
patch it to run Hypercard -- hypercard is a primary reason to do 128's.
Me, I've a 4-meg ST; I want to turn MultiFinder and Hypercard loose on
it, and hook it to the LaserWriter I got (today). All those require
128's.
<F.NAGLE> Thanks Dave, Darlah, I'm through
<[Leader] DARLAH> Rich and Angie:
<[Rich & Angie] R.LAWRENCE4> Thanks Darlah. Dave, stop turning us blue
with your equip..... Anyway, I have some technical questions about the
possible sound support in version 6.0. How well do you think this will
work? i'v done some mac programming myself, and I've found that MOST
software violates legal OS calls (even compilers like Lightspeed)to get
it's sound. Do you think Sac will handle it, at speed?
<DAVESMALL> That's difficult to say. I haven't got it working yet, so I
hate to promise anything. Yet, in the spirit of sticking my foot in my
mouth, here goes ...1) video RAM and sound RAM collide -- that's why
little boxes appear onscreen on some programs. So I'm going to move video
RAM a little bit. 2) Mac sound is basically an 8-bit digitized sound being
replayed each scan line. I believe I can simulate this with ST-replay'ish
code, using an interrupt timer.But, it may cut into the processor some;
I just don't know yet.One partial solution would be to hard code 'MacBeep'
into the program, if I can't get regular sound working. However, Mark
insists on full sound for a favorite program of his.
<[Leader]DARLAH> T.FAUST:
<T.FAUST> Dave, I vote for the 128k Sac I will stand behind you
in any endeavor ga
<DAVESMALL> Just for curiousity -- why do you want the 128? What would
you use it for? (thank you!)
<[Leader] DARLAH> T.Faust??
<T.FAUST> I I want I want to Yea, sorry but this is my first conf.
I want the 128K for Hypercard. Also, Multifinder would be great ga
<DAVESMALL> I agree -- both are very useful.
<[Leader] DARLAH> Mark:
<[Magic Mark] STACE> OK..thanks! Dave, I believe Happy's
newletter mentioned the fact that..the D. Cart *will* work with your
software as shipped...they say they have tested it...but can't say that
it will...always work. They have a clock in it that is exactly like the
Sac clock. Comments???
<DAVESMALL> That's interesting. Ver 5.9 looks for either the clock or a
hardware patch .. oho! So they borrowed, err, our clock design. Gee, when
we borrowed it, we at least paid for the design..(if anyone remembers the
Logikhron clock card we licensed the design from the makers..
<[Magic Mark] STACE> Dave...they specifically say that to use the Sac
software...you MUST order the D.Cart with the "Clock Option"
<DAVESMALL> hehehehee Welp, you get what you pay for. I know it
took us 6 months to get the kinks out of the Translator. I also know a lot
about the D. Cart that they're not making public. They are
going to have the exact same troubles with ring and
kickback we had with the Translator. Hope they enjoy the returns.
<[Magic Mark] STACE> My other question was regarding sound...
that has been....answered! <big grin>!Please get that sucker runnin'!!
<DAVESMALL> On the other hand -- only 8-bit Atari companies left,
it seems, are ones that do copy programs (and it's big on the ST market).
Makes you wonder.
<[Leader] DARLAH> Mike:
<M.MARKOWITZ> Will a 128k Sac make the curser keys operative?
<DAVESMALL> I am debating another product -- an ultra copier
hardware product, retail for about $50, that would back up anything.
Currently discussing it with potential manufacturers. I'd do it just
to hack off Happy. Cursor keys will come up with 128K roms with no
problems.ga
<M.MARKOWITZ> Thanks .
<[Leader] DARLAH> Robert:
<RPATT-CORNER> Thanks Some questions on the 128K ROMS...
1. How comfortable are you with the availability of the ROMS
should you do the hack?
2. The 64K version went through quite a improvement stage to reach
current stability. Do you think 128 version would
suffer a similar curve, or begin near as sta
<DAVESMALL> (I mean, if Happy's going to borrow my hardware and ideas,
I might as well undercut them by 1/3 and do a better job. My, they'd be happy.
I could call it the 'Hoyful Copuier'.)
<RPATT-CORNER> Whups... Go for it! I'll resort to english...
<RPATT-CORNER> On he 128's ...
<DAVESMALL> 1. There seems to be plenty of 128K Roms available .. how,
I don't know, but they're being advertised.
<DAVESMALL> 2. Agreed -- I had lots to learn about bugs in Mac
software. I'm sure there would be bugs .. there always are .. but not of the
same sort as on the 64's. I've learned my lessons about zerostore, etc.
so it'd probably be more fine tuning than preventing crashes.
<DAVESMALL> (Sorry I interrupted you).
<RPATT-CORNER> 1. No, just confusion. Please continue...
<DAVESMALL> My guess would be the 128's are from board swaps of Mac
computers, used equipment, etc .
<RPATT-CORNER> OKOK ... you mentioned laser, etc. Are you doing
SCSI or serial? Serial .. to a PostScript laser printer.
<DAVESMALL> I know a way to do Atari's printer,
but it would take some pretty hefty work.
<RPATT-CORNER> Chips'n all? Thank you.
<DAVESMALL> rpc: chips'n'all? I don't understand..
BTW, Deskjet gives you laser quality now with available
drivers.
<RPATT-CORNER> Serial to a postscript Laser implies serial chip
access on mac, yes?
<DAVESMALL> oh, I see.. Welp, I'm cheating on it; not actually doing
serial chip through Mac OS, but through mine. But it works, so who
cares .. ? (Typical hacker attitude).
<RPATT-CORNER> What works, works. Thanks
<DAVESMALL> Alladin seems to have serial hip conquered; I'm tempted
to tear into their cartridge and figger out how. Bet they're patching the
programs.
<[Leader] DARLAH> Ken:
<[Ken] SYNERGIST> Thanx...Two bits: 1) aside from the obvious
differences in ROM decoding and hardware, what kind of
software headaches do you expect from a 128k version?
<DAVESMALL> It's mostly a matter of adapting the present 64K
version to the 128 addresses. The 128's are the 64's with a bunch of new
stuff that used to be on disk put into ROM, and a few loops unrolled in
Quickdraw ..nothing special. Oh, and the SCSI driver, but I can't use
that anyway. So, it'll be the usual 3" high disassembly to work from...
probably take 1-3 months to get it working.
<[Ken] SYNERGIST> 2) It seems that disk copying seems to come up when
you're around.... I'd love to see that kind of disk copier
(believe it or not) it would effectively kill off harmful bizarre
disk-based copy protect schemes.
<DAVESMALL> Well, in 1982, I ran a company called LE Systems that made
an 8-bit disk drive and copier. We found a way to do copies of (anything)
real fast -- I recall we could produce 7 copies of a disk, across 7
drives, in 17 sec. All I want to do is apply the LE Systems technology,
which is proven, to the ST. Synapse, Broderbund, Origin Systems copied
their disks using my copier, so it's pretty well proven stuff. It'd
tickle me to death to undercut Happy and do a better job, if they're
putting ROM slots and clock design on their cart. Now, if I could only
zap Best Electronics..excuse me. Cough.
<[Leader] DARLAH> Bryan and Cru:
<[BRYAN @ CRU] BDHALL> Dave, It sure would be great if the 128K Roms
and the 6.0 software could support the new page display ISD is marketting! Someday, I want
to bring the local Apple dealer in for a show! Let me see... hypercard
and Multifinder on a full page display... WOW. ga
<DAVESMALL> That must be the color display I saw at Comdex .. it
really was neat. If they'll tell me how to handle their hardware, I can
do it; the Mac OS is very flexible. Bear in mind, though, I'm doing 6.0
for a flat fee, and I can't exactly patch the software "free will"
anymore; it's dP's product. The 128 version, however, would be entirely
mine; dP's agreed to bow out of that one.
<[BRYAN @ CRU] BDHALL> Great.
<DAVESMALL> So I could do it there, certainly. (checked out 'Stepping
out' yet? Software version of big screen.
<[Leader] DARLAH> Jeff:
<JEFFWILLIAMS> Thank you. Dave, will you summarize the improvements
you see in 6.0 over 5.9x?(BTW..I always enjoy your Current Notes columns).
<DAVESMALL> Appreciate it ..Primary purpose of 6.0 is to make me
some money..whups, let me start over. 6.0 is a speed up version of 5.9,
primarily. Hard disk speeds up about 2-8X, depending on operation.
Floppy is sped up about 2-10X on writes, which are especially slow.
Sound and stuff like that are "extras"; I'm taking suggestions now for
fixes to put it. But the primary idea is to turbo the system's disk
access. Just tested a disk copy with 6.0; it went from 48 sec to 8
sec. Nice, eh?
<JEFFWILLIAMS> Great. Thanks.
<DAVESMALL> I'm going to *try* for sound but don't know yet, and other
fixes if I can figger out how to do them. Dan wrote a great deal of that code,
and he's up at AT&T nowadays.
<[Leader] DARLAH> Joe:
<JOE.WATERS> Thanks Let's get back to 128K cart. As I see it,
the 64K cart is a dead end with all the newstuff..coming out that wants
128K roms.
<DAVESMALL> Apple wants people to buy 128 computers, of course,
or get upgrades. So the new MacPaint etc. all require 128's. I agree,
the market for 64K's is closing slowly. I have to wonder how much is
legit need for 128's, and how much is marketing ... why would macpaint
need 128's?, for, instance. However, I think the 128 is an important
step in Magic Sac. What would happen, if it happens, is dP will sell 64K
carts and Translators, and I'd handle the 128's. I would expect that 6.0
is the last 64K update, although, "never say never". I'm cheap, honest.
Well, okay, cheap. -- *grin*.
<JOE.WATERS> I talked to friend today who called the place that
advertised in computer shopper and they said that they have a couple
hundred 128K roms and are getting 'more every day
<DAVESMALL> Gee, I'd hate for them to be stuck with an inventory.
<[Leader] DARLAH> Dr.Tom:
<DR.TOM> the translator ad from dp promised 128 and 256k rom
support in software...but now you are talking about having to buy 128k
roms. we bought the product...
<DAVESMALL> Dr. Tom, I took a line hit there on first line, but go
ahead anyway ..
<DR.TOM> based on the fact that it would be and now find out that
Aldus freehand and pagemaker 3.0 won't run.
<[Magic Mark] STACE> Excuse please...
<DAVESMALL> go ahead Mark
<[Magic Mark] STACE> Dr.Tom...I don't remember any promise from dP
that we would have 128K ROM support in software???? When did you
see this???
<DR.TOM> I was sent a flyer from dp last fall with that line in a
section... about the 64k vs 128k vs 256k rom issue
<DAVESMALL> Hmmmmm. Welp, let me give it a try. 64K roms = original Mac.
<[Magic Mark] STACE> Ok..sorry...
<DAVESMALL> 128K Roms = Mac Plus. 256K Roms = Mac II, essentially.
Forget about the 256k's; there's no way we can emulate a 68020 and such.
(Hence, I don't think we ever promised 256's at dP). Perhaps the 128
thing related to double sided disk drives and HFS; there was something
about "providing support for 128 functionality in software". This
caused a lot of confusion; what we were trying to do was talk about HD-20
(and HFS support0 in non technical terms.
<DR.TOM> I see...
<DAVESMALL> I left dP in March, along with Dan and Barb (3/5 of
company), and don't know about anything since then. If I do the 128's,
it'll be without dP. Lots of people on Usent were confused about that
line as well.
<DR.TOM> how much for the 128k roms?
<DAVESMALL> The prices I've been told of range around $100.
It would also require a new cartridge; the ROMS won't work in the old
cart. See, in the old cart, of the 128K you can *have* in a cart, 64K
went to the ROM chips, and 64K went to the clock circuit. Don't know if
I can do a 128K version with a clock without fancy bankswitch stuff.
Anyhow, so it won't simply be a matter of swapping chips; I wish it could
be.
<DR.TOM> projected price of 128k sac?
<DAVESMALL> I haven't even decided to *do* it yet .. *grin* .. I
don't know I just got okay from dP not to hassle me about it legally
last Saturday (3 days ago)
<DR.TOM> we ended up with an SE to run Aldus Freehand and
Pagemaker 3.0 anyway... My wife, the traitor!
<DAVESMALL> In your application, perhaps that's best;
you probably need the direct hookup to the LaserWriter and such.
<DR.TOM> Ok, thanks for a great product anyway. We are using the
Mac to get 2450 dot per inch linotronic output and it is beautiful.
<DAVESMALL> Whewl; that would be beautiful. I did version 6.0 in
exchange for a LaserWriter (truth!) .. it's worth it. Needed one anyway; I
imagine my editors are sick of MX-80 typed manuscripts.
(Right, Joe? *grin*)
<[Leader] Darlah> Dave:
<D.MEILE1> Thanks ... Dave-- I wanted to find out what the real
"scoop" on you leaving dP is (rumor isn't my favorite way of getting
information), and to encourage you to work on the 128K thing ...
hope working with the kids is ok too.
<DAVESMALL> hehehe.. the kids part is easy .. (ho-ho)
Okay, well, this may be a little long. True Confessions. It's a little
like a divorce story. Everyone has a different perception of what went
on. But..Last December, we shipped the Translator. There were 5
people at dP -- me and Dan (programming staff), Barb (shipping), Susan
(xlator repair), and Joel (boss).
It was a real burnout situation; lots of 2-3AM nights. Comes March, and
Barb had had enough of the stress; she left. Dan got a job offer from
AT&T for a high salary. Dan has -no- college degree, and it is
extremely unusual for AT&T to make such an offer to someone with no
degree. (They are going to put him through college, I understand). I
advised him to go .. offers like that happen once in a lifetime. As for
me, I wasn't at all happy with the way things were going at dP, and yet
I wanted to remain friends with Joel, we go way back, to high school; he
was the best man at my wedding.
I theoretically owned half of dP (it wasn't reality, as it turned out);
so,I went in to Joel, gave him the whole company, and left back in March
sometime. It sure beats trying to split the company in two and all the
bad feelings that come from that. I retained ownership of Magic Sac, dP
retained license to sell 64K ROM version. I planned to do Amiga version,
but tech details stopped me. I can, however, do the 128K version. dP did
some controversial stuff, and I wasn't in the decision making loop
anymore; one example that comes to mind is that all Translators sent to
Canada had no disk software included -- you had to send in a warranty
card to get the disk. I strongly opposed that, got a promise it wouldn't
happen, and it did.
So, after some things like that, it was time to go. But like I say, ask
dP, you'll get a different side to the story, I'm sure.. like any sort of
divorce. It's 3 years of my life; it's hard to see perspective. (dP told
everyone I was "on vacation" until about end April, fearing lost sales..
Genie was only place truth was being told, and they were mighty upset
over the Genie RT.) So that's the quick summary..
Anyone still awake? *grin*
<D.MEILE1> Thanks Dave. I'm glad to get the more-or-less straight
story on it.By the way -- DO keep writing articles and stuff! .
<DAVESMALL> you're welcome .. for awhile, dP almost dropped Magic Sac,
but they've decided to keep it to pay present staff until they find a new
project to do, then it's over. (The various flip-flops on this were
documented over in the dP RT, causing mass confusion..)
<[Leader] DARLAH> Rich & Angie:
<[Rich & Angie] R.LAWRENCE4> Thanks. Dave, regarding 6.0 <again>
..a couple of pointswill we have to reformat <aaaaaaaaaargh!>
<DAVESMALL> No.
<[Rich & Angie] R.LAWRENCE4> 2) is it possible that this would cause
problems for the D cart people ? <grin>
<DAVESMALL> (Look, George, a 1-word sentence from Dave "pay by the
word" Small!")2. I'll sure try. Excuse me, did I say that?
<[Rich & Angie] R.LAWRENCE4> also, I understand that the Atari cart
port only has pathways for
<[Rich & Angie] R.LAWRENCE4> 128K roms .. so, are we gonna loose the
clock ? <sob, sob>
<DAVESMALL> That's a toughie .. Theoretically I need all 128K just
to access the ROMs, which leaves no room for the clock. I could add logic
to bankswitch and keep it, but believe me, the clock is a pain to buy
parts for, etc. Think it's necessary? What's your opinion?
<[Rich & Angie] R.LAWRENCE4> Not vital. Most mac applications....
could care less what time it is. It *is* nice to have though.
Not worth delaying release for? <grin> one last thing....
<DAVESMALL> Yep, it uses whatever time the ST thinks it is..
<[Rich & Angie] R.LAWRENCE4> About the 6.0 release...how soon, and how
much?
<DAVESMALL> I'm doing 6.0 for dP in exchange for equipment; they will
set price and availability. It will probably go into Beta test (the usual
crew of masochists) this week. But, adding things to it could take longer.
dP says July-ish.
<[Rich & Angie] R.LAWRENCE4> Good luck with everything, and whatever
it is you end up working on .... I'll buy it! <grin> .
<DAVESMALL> Thank you ..
(By the way, only reason I'm considering doing the 128's is
the support here on Genie .. didn't know there was such demand for them.)
<[Leader] DARLAH> go ahead P.COFFEY:
<P.COFFEY> Would it be possible towould it be possible to get a
program like the script manager to run in a way similar to hd20?
<DAVESMALL> I don't know what the script manager is, alas..
(sorry about that) About HD-20 .. the 128's have support for HFS built in,
no more of this HD-20 pre-boot nonsense.
<P.COFFEY> Script manager allows you to change fonts on the pull
down menus
<DAVESMALL> It ought to work, then, provided they followed the
rules; with the Mac II, people are getting afraid to break the rules.
Heck, MacWrite 4.5, Excel 1.03, and Word 3.0 didn't work on the Mac II !
Does that answer your question?
<P.COFFEY> and other system things... i'm not sure about exactly what
it does. I have some programs that need to replace the standard character
set with Japanese. I understand it uses the 128 roms.
<DAVESMALL>Oh, I see.. well, I can't guarentee it in advance, but
it's pretty likely. Fair enough .. so the answer is, "probably".
[Leader] <DARLAH> Dot:
<D.A.BRUMLEVE> I have two questions. First, am I correct in
assuming that you'll design the 128K version to use the translator?
(Job 8)<DAVESMALL> Yes.
<D.A.BRUMLEVE> Also, we've talked about a program I am just dying
to use...It requires 128k roms, and runs on a 2-meg Mac or Mac II.
I'm worried about all this talk about memory.
<DAVESMALL> Welp, you'll probably need a Mega-2 if it requires 2 meg ..
<D.A.BRUMLEVE> I have a Mega 4 and I want to use your proposed
emulator for that programm...
<DAVESMALL> Other than that, I think there will be enough 'slop' to make
it work okay.
<D.A.BRUMLEVE> Thanks. I sure do want it to work.
<DAVESMALL> Should work okay.
<[Leader] DARLAH> Harry:
<[Harry] H.CALLESIS> Thanks. A couple of things, Dave. First,
could you elaborate ...On your Desk Jet comment a while back? ( I just
got one) ...Then, assuming you do the 128, what's the likely upgrade
path ...for 64 owners? ( there's more but later ).
<[Magic Mark] STACE> Excuse....please. Am I still here?
<DAVESMALL> Nope. The Big Earthquake has struck, Mark .. you're in
heaven now. Mark B. can elaborate on the deskjet..
<[Magic Mark] STACE> Thanks Dave...The DeskJet printer uses basically the
same command language as a LaserJet Plus. There is already a LaserJet
Plus driver available for the Mac called JetStart. (same company as
Epstart). The JetStart Driver works perfectly with the Magic Sac and
the DeskJet Printer....
<DAVESMALL> I'm pretty sure Epstart will remain compatible with the
128's ..
<[Magic Mark] STACE> Not PostScript quality but MUCH MUCH better than Dot
Matrix!! Very nice output indeed!
<DAVESMALL> (Mark is buying a Deskjet). <-- Editorial comment.
<[Magic Mark] STACE> My DeskJet will be here on Tuesday! <grin>
Thanks.
<[Harry] H.CALLESIS> Thanks. I'll talk to them soon about the driver.
How about the ..upgrade question?
<DAVESMALL> Oh, the software to work the Deskjet will work on the
128 or the 64K rom versions; you shouldn't need to upgrade at all.
<[Harry] H.CALLESIS> If I want to go from 64 to 128, what's it
likely to involve?
<DAVESMALL> New circuit board to go inside your Magic Sac case
(from me); 128K ROMS (from whereever); new disk of software (from me).
That'd be about it .. I don't think I can trade in the 64K
boards; I'm not sure you're allowed to take tradeins and re-sell them.
Remember, I'm not at dP anymore .. so, I don't think so. dP
has license to sell the 64K version, not me .. alas ..
<[Harry] H.CALLESIS> Next, could the 128 clock problem be solved
by a pass-through ...for existing clock cartridges ( DeskCart, Etc )?
<DAVESMALL> Nope; there would be addressing conflicts. 128K roms
will eat up ALL the cart memory space.
<[Harry] H.CALLESIS> Oh, well. Finally, could you elaborate on the
types of Mac->Sac..
<DAVESMALL> I don't know if the clock is worth keeping for the price and
hassle it'll be; there's only myself and my wife in on this project
(plus three little, errrrrrrrr, helpers).
<[Harry] H.CALLESIS> OK, I'm asking about the transfers by DisCart.
<DAVESMALL> Well, I have yet to see the DCart work, so I don't
know. It won't work online, like the Translator will, which makes it
marginally useful at best. It takes 100K and 1.5 sec to read in ONE track
and heaven knows how much more to decode it to real characters.
Like I say, it took me 6 months to get the Translator to do
it .. I don't know if Happy is just advertising and will ship "a later
upgrade", but I do know it's darned hard to read Mac format and decode
it. It isn't just bytes on the desk -- there's a complex encode/decode
algorithm involved. So, I just don't know.
<[Harry] H.CALLESIS> I was curious. I use the Sac, but not enough
to warrant a whole..'nother drive on my desk<grin>. OK, I'm done.
<DAVESMALL> Your best bet for the Mac OS on any hardware is a hard
disk anyhow .
[Leader] <DARLAH> Doug:
<[Doug] D.N.WHEELER> First a question, then a comment: Do you have any
plans for a faster Translator (DMA, etc.)? (or just send data over
disk lines instead of MIDI)?
<DAVESMALL> Doug > The Translator is dP's product; I've discussed
adding a SCSI port to it for much faster speed, but they're not
interested. I could do it, certainly, .. probably contract it to Supra or
somesuch. But you have to understand, dP is Joel's company ; he wants to
get into IBM's and local area networks, not Atari's. So I don't think the
Translator will be upgraded. As for disk lines, that's a valid idea.
Hmmmm.
<[Doug] D.N.WHEELER> Also, would it be possible to actually use the
68000 in the ST to do the data conversion instead of the external "Z-80"?
<DAVESMALL> Have to think on that for awhile. Hard to know if I
could generate data that fast. Well, the reason the Z80 is out there is
that data comes in off the drive at one byte every 32 microseconds;
something has to give it undivided attention. No way to do it on the ST
except through cartridge port, which was already used.. *grin*. So we went
with MIDI as a low cost alternative. The Translator *already* costs over
$100 to build, in parts and stuff .. the CPU is $14, I believe ..
and at a $279 retail, that is one lousy hardware product from a sales
point of view.
<[Doug] D.N.WHEELER> OK, tnx. As for my comment/suggestion, the
Navarone clock cart.*should* work OK, as it steals the entire address
space, and after setting the time, becomes invisible. (also has
pass-through connector)
<DAVESMALL> True .. or the Microtime clock-in-the-chip thing that
plugs under the ROMs. The thing is, I'm going to have to spend a lot of
time on software, and as little as possible on the hardware, to get this
done, since it's a low manpower effort. (people power). however, the
original Magic Sac took from Nov. 1985 to Feb. 1986 to bring up, and I was
flying blind back then. So that's only 3 months.. I could see this one
flying much faster. If I have to design a "clever' cart, it'll take
longer; if I can buy one at, let's say, Best Electronics (that was
sarcasm), the project will be much easier.
[Leader] <DARLAH> Rex:
<[ST REPORT] REX.READE> 1st, I am glad you are still behind the MAGIC
SAC and second, I am sure 90% of the folks who are owners of the 64k
version will most certainly become owners of the 128k version.....you have
my order right now!
<DAVESMALL> thank you .. I won't hope for 90%, because the 64K
cart is pretty darned functional for most purposes, but even a quarter
would be fine..Also, the European market has been completely ignored
(another dP fiasco), I could give it a shot. Does anyone know if the
Aladin people ever did the 128's?
<[ST REPORT] REX.READE> knowing the folks in this area that use the
cart you will have a much higher response than that....about
Europe I have heard that a group in UK is trying to come out with one...
<DAVESMALL> They keep trying, Apple keeps suing..
<[ST REPORT] REX.READE> I dont know how far they have progressed but
I can keep you posted....
<DAVESMALL> I'd appreciate that .. I never will be able to sell the
ROMs, I would guess..there's legal issues involved I sure don't want to
tangle with. Apple is also in a suing mood, as they've proven, with the
Microsoft thing,and certainly the Magic Sac, err, approaches their look
and feel. It had better. So, it'll be like the present Magic Sac --
acquire your own. (I wish there was another way, but there isn't. I ran
into a pirate version of Magic Sac the other day that put the ROMs on
disk, and claimed the cartridge wasn't necessary at all, just a marketing
plot to make money .. alas, they hadn't talked with Apple's legal eagles
as much as dP did.. After dP, I had thought of doing a PC product called
HyperWeb (and probably still will), but the interest in the 128K product
here has really forced me to rethink that.
<[Leader] DARLAH> M.MARKOWITZ:
<M.MARKOWITZ> I use my Sac quite a bit and definitly would purchase a
128k version. Keep up the great work! Thanks! .
<DAVESMALL> Thank you ..
<[Leader] DARLAH> D.ZIZZA:
<D.ZIZZA> Okay, Thanks, Darlah.
<D.ZIZZA> Dave:
A couple of questions. Define a "crack" program.
<DAVESMALL> It's a program that reads in a Magic Sac disk then peels the
protection out of the code, which checks for the ROMS and clock on the
cartridge -- thus, the program can be run without a cartridge. It usually
puts the Apple ROMs on disk. Get caught with one, you're in big trouble .
Copyright Enforcement by Apple is Fierce!
<D.ZIZZA> Yow!
<DAVESMALL> There was a story in Infoworld of a Cincinnati BBS shut
down by Apple when caught with a copy of the ROMs online; Apple has a
private investigator that does nothing but hunt BBS's all day .. same guy
that Atari had back in '82 or so. Anyway, the operator is in big
trouble.. massive lawsuit. Magnum would NEVER do such a thing... We
finally found the clot who's been cracking my stuff ("Dr. Typo" and
'Captain Wizard"), and I'm trying to think of what to do to him ..
probably an ad in Soldier of Fortune. (just kidding <-- legal disclaimer)
<[Leader] DARLAH> Apostle:
<[Apostle] APOSTLE> Ok, I suppose I may be way outa line, seeing as how
the most Magic Sac I've seen was a 20 second demo, But is it at all
possible to center the screen?
<DAVESMALL> Most Mac programs allow you to; a few old ones (MacPaint)
don't. It's a holdover of bad programming practice; the screen tends to
left-center.
<[Apostle] APOSTLE> ok, And this is off the subject, but someone asked
once, if using a ATR8000, could you access the buffer in a printer and use
it for a Ramdisk? Someone told me to ask you.
<DAVESMALL> Yes, but it wouldn't be worthwhile. (Not fast enough to be a
real Ramdisk -- a RAMBO XL is a better idea).
<[Apostle] APOSTLE> I see. So then the screen can't be centered? I just
don't like the "Welcome to MAC off to one side, though it's no really big
deal.
<DAVESMALL> Oh, that.. it could be centered.. I believe that was done by
Aladin's cartridge. It's just no big deal -- the software after that
point auto-centers (desktop, etc).
<[Apostle] APOSTLE> I see. The guy must not *sigh* I'm done...
<[Leader] DARLAH> D.ZIZZA:
<D.ZIZZA> Hello, again, Dave. I just wanted to add a quick comment here.
I am a professional graphic designer who uses a Mac II at work, at I have
the Sac on my Atari at home... And if I could run those big PostScript
programs like Xpress and Illustrator, I would (and I'm sure many other
professionals would) buy it up in a second. There is a serious need for
a low cost alternative to the Mac that can run Mac programs.
<DAVESMALL> Fair enough .. although I imagine graphic designers are
in a minority of my potential users .. still, it's a valid point. Xpress
is good stuff, as is Freehand / Illustrator.
<D.ZIZZA> HyperCard and MultiFinder are nice, but there are better
data management programs that already work on the Sac and MultiFinder is
nice, but doesn't work with all programs.
<DAVESAMALL> True, but it will become The standard as Apple forces
people to use it, something like the 128 ROMS. Thanks for your comments,
though.
<[Leader] DARLAH> Ken:
<[Ken] SYNERGIST> Tanx...Dave, you've mumbled a few times about HyperWeb,
and I've probably asked you about it before, but perhaps you could
expound a bit on it? Is it just a glimmer in your demented hacker mind,
or...?
<DAVESMALL> Well, errrr, I'm not sure how much to say .. might want to
sell it to Atari some day (grin) .. however, it's basically meant
to create a new niche for PC's in the way that SideKick
did. Probably best if I shut up about it, though, for once .. *heh*
<[Ken] SYNERGIST> Fair 'nuff. And luck...
<DAVESMALL> Well, it's definitely needed by the market in about a year's
time; I sure want to do it.
<[Leader] DARLAH> A.SCHWARZ1:
<A.SCHWARZ1> Thanks and good evening, all. I have a few cents to
drop...Dave, forget the clock. I quit using it after the first
week and rely on the clock in the Mega... keeps better time and I didn't
have to maintain the software ga
<DAVESMALL> hehehehe .. don't apologize to me for dP..*grin*
It'll depend on how much time I have.
<A.SCHWARZ1> Thankee. I ordered my 128K ROMS from a local Apple
dealer today and was quoted a price of $45! I believe the ROMS will
become as plentiful in time as the 64K ROMS are today sioncence migration
to 264K ROMS is inevitable.
<DAVESMALL> By the way, I don't think Mac motherboards easily
accept 256K ROMS.. not sure, but the pinouts aren't correct. 64->128,
yes, but not 128-> 256.
<A.SCHWARZ1> Not yet. Sorry I am not familiar with the protocol, this
is my first time in real-time. Yes, thatwhat the lady said. Guess time
will tell, thanks
<DAVESMALL> thank you..
<A.SCHWARZ1> Re the HP Deskjatet, Sofstyle told me the product to get
is called Printworks for the Mac, Laser version. Sells for about $125.
<DAVESMALL> This is true; there's also a product called the Grappler.
Mark Booth knows about them.. *grin* (Job 14)<[Magic Mark] STACE> Thanks..
<DAVESMALL> Poor old Denver is getting a thunderstorm & tornados, and
I'm getting a lot of line hits.
<[Magic Mark] STACE> RE: Printworks...This is NOT the recommended package
for DeskJet (for Sac use)..you need either JETSTART (older product) or
MACENHANCER...both of these products are also from SoftStyle...
Printworks doesn't work with the Magic Sac...OK...now for my comment and
question. First of all, I would like to mention for the benefit of the
NON-Sac owners in the CO (and reading this later) that even if the Magic
Sac never improved beyond the point that it is at now it is WELL worth
the $$$!!! It is one of the greatest "hacks" of all time and my hat is
off to Dave Small! Great job son! Dave, A question....Any idea how many
Magic Sacs have been sold at this point?? (or can you say?)
<DAVESMALL> Can't say .. comes under info that I learned while at dP..
Definitely more than five.
<[Leader] DARLAH> tee hee
<[Magic Mark] STACE> snicker! Well...other than that..
<DAVESMALL> Well, at least I'm honest..
<[Magic Mark] STACE> I would like to remind everyone that there *is* a
support area for the Magic Sac here on GEnie!! <grin> The Data Pacific
roundtable is at page 445! Thanks much for the CO tonight Darlah
<[Magic Mark] STACE> and Dave. Enjoyed it much!
<DARLAH> Thank you both.....next John:
<[John] TOWNS> OK. thanks.
<DAVESMALL> Hi John!
<[John] TOWNS> Dave, just wanted to say hi to you and the family and
wish you the best of luck on all of your projects...
<DAVESMALL> Thanks ...
<[John] TOWNS> as well as ask you the question, I want to know...
Where is my Ammo! <grin>
(Job 5)<[Leader] DARLAH> REX:
<[ST REPORT] REX.READE> It sure will be nice not to have that @#%* 1mb
partition on my hard disk any longer.....thanks a bunch for your
continued support and good luck!
<DAVESMALL> Thanks Rex; hang in there..
<[Leader] DARLAH> BRYAN:
<[BRYAN @ CRU] BDHALL> So, are we going to call it the Dave Small
Inc. Roundtable? ;-(#)
<DAVESMALL> Naw, I'm only here once a week... Darlah does this daily!
<DAVESMALL> BTW, many thanks to Darlah for hosting this (running
late) conference!
<[Leader] DARLAH> Thank you Dave for making this conference so
informative and enjoyable. I truly appreciate the time and effort. Thank
you....truly!! I really mean it.....such a long co :-)
<DAVESMALL> You bet .. appreciate the chance to blab at so many captive
souls.. *grin*
<{Leader] DARLAH> Thank you folks for being patient, Opening it up for gab
<[Leader] DARLAH> Room is now in the talk mode.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARC version 5.21
================
by Charles F. Johnson
To everyone who has downloaded ARC521...
Why would You want a new version of ARC?
Because it:
a) created and/or extracted files faster.
b) was more efficient
Well, ARC521 fails on both these counts...it seems to be _no_
faster than the original ARC, and it almost always results in LARGER
archives, not smaller -- even with the new 'squashing' compression
method enabled.
ARC creates a lot of temporary 'work' files when adding files to
an archive. The original ARC.TTP was smart about where it put the
temporary files....it put them in the same directory as the
archive. The new ARC521 always puts temporary files in the
directory it ran from....which can result in LOTS of unnecessary
disk access, especially if your archive is on a ramdisk but you
run ARC from a floppy.
Charles F. Johnson
EDITOR NOTE: Charles F. Johnson has the * NEW ARCSHELL VERSION 1.95 *
available on the 3 major online services. This version is totally
compatible with ARC ver. 5.21. Being the very capable programmer that he
is, Mr. CFJ has done it again! Another fine program for the ST..Which,
by the way, greatly enhances the user's flexibility in using ARC......
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN VERSION 5.21
=======================
The following changes have been made in ARC version 5.21, but have not
yet been included in the manual:
When adding files to an archive, ARC now shows the stowage facter
achieved on each file.
A bug was found that would keep an archive entry from being
encrypted if it was stored without compression. This has now been fixed.
If changes are made to a corrupted archive, the corrupted entries
are discarded. This makes it possible to lose data accidentally. ARC
will now only make changes to a corrupted archive if the W (suppress
Warnings) option has been given.
The N (suppress Notes) option now suppresses the "Creating archive"
note when a new archive is being created.
The N (suppress Notes) option formerly did nothing useful when used
with the L (List files) command. It now causes a terse listing of
filenames only, suitable for use with pipes and redirection.
The list of filenames given to ARC may now include indirect
references. If a filename begins with an "at sign" ("@"), it is taken to
be the name of a file which contains a list of file names. The list of
file names may include further indirection. If no extension is given,
".CMD" is assumed. For example, the command:
arc a waste junk.txt @trash
would cause ARC to add JUNK.TXT plus all files listed in the file
TRASH.CMD to an archive named WASTE.ARC. If no file is specified, then
the list is read from standard input. For example, the command:
arc ln waste | arc a trash @
would cause ARC to add files to TRASH.ARC based on the names of the
files stored in WASTE.ARC. It is probably a good idea to give the O
(Overwrite) option if you are extracting files this way.
ARC also performs Huffman Squeezing on data. The Huffman Squeeze
algorithm was removed from MSDOS ARC after version 5.12. It turns out to
be more efficient than Lempel-Ziv style compression when compressing
graphic images. Squeeze analysis is always done now, and the best of
packing, squeezing, or crunching is used.
Compresses and extracts Squashed files. "Squashing" was created
by Phil Katz in his PKxxx series of ARC utility programs for MSDOS. Dan
Lanciani wrote the original modifications to ARC's Crunch code to handle
Squashing. I've made minor changes since then, mostly to reduce the
amount of memory required. The "q" option flag must be specified to
Squash files. The Squashing algorithm will be used instead of the usual
Crunch algorithm, and will be compared against packing and squeezing,
as before.
System specific notes:
On MTS, an additional option flag, "i" for "image mode," was used. ARC
assumes files are text, by default, and will translate MTS files from
EBCDIC to ASCII before storing in an archive, and translates from ASCII
to EBCDIC upon extraction. Specifying the "i" flag will inhibit this
translation. This would most commonly be used when shipping binary images
such as TeX DVI files, other .ARC files stored within an archive, etc...
The "r" (run) command is omitted. It just doesn't seem very useful. Also,
ARC cannot restore MTS files with their original time stamps. (Maybe in a
future release...)
On Unix(tm) systems, the "i" flag is also present. Unix ARC also
assumes a text file, by default, but here the only translation involved
is in end-of-line processing. When storing files, ARC will change "\n" to
"\r\n", and does the opposite when extracting files. Carriage returns in
any other location are preserved when extracting. Again, specifying the
"i" option inhibits this translation.
On the Atari ST, the "h" (for "hold screen") option is present, which
simply delays exiting the program. This is typically used when executing
ARC from the desktop, to allow reading all of ARC's output before the
screen is cleared and the desktop is redrawn. The program will prompt and
wait for a keypress before exiting. Note that since there are no
"options" for the MARC program, the "hold screen" option is always
active for MARC.
On both Unix and Atari systems, ARC & MARC will search for an
environment variable named "ARCTEMP" or "TMPDIR." If present, any
temporary files will be created in the specified directory. This is
probably insignificant for Unix users, but can be handy on the Atari,
in combination with a RAMdisk. Highly recommended for floppy users.
(Unfortunately, you can only take advantage of this when running some
form of command shell that allows setting environment variables. Thus,
you won't see any speed gains when running from the desktop.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL
======================
Two BROOKLYN BOYS MAKE GOOD! Augie Ligouri and Mel Stevens welcome added
responsibilities....ATARI promotes from within..this is a convincing
affirmative sign that Atari is very sincere about growth and sales in the
US. These gentlemen are now both Vice Presidents in their respective
areas of expertise. We might add, they are more than capable to deal
with anything that comes their way. We extend Best Wishes to both.
Atari settles it's D-RAM suit...Rumor has it, the settlement was MORE than
advantageous to Atari, We may see the so-called shortage (1040) dissipate
quite rapidly.
Seems there are three SOFTWARE RENTAL STORES that have been properly
served "solicitations" to discuss the legality of their services in front
of an arbitrator.......
To Clarify a Question....Atari has, in the past, stated through it's
Service Department that they could NOT guarantee you would receive the
SAME version of machine you sent in under the exchange program. Unless,
of course, they have CHANGED their position on this matter since our
last article.
Having been involved in the business world for almost 35 years, I still
find it difficult to accept that the warehouse was fully shutdown simply
for an inventory. I would believe though, this was also needed to make
sure the warehouse was reorganized and made more efficient by Mr. Ligouri.
Hopefully, this helps the confused.........
Could Atari be looking for a massive warehouse in Texas or, is this the
beginning of the search for a first class US production facility? We will
let you know as we find more info on this good news....word has it, Now
that the DRAM situation for Atari has eased, things have perked up quite a
bit.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Atari Suicide
=============
by Gregg B. Anderson
I've been an Atari fan and supporter for a number of years now and have,
for the most part, understood their reasons for doing what they did.
Until now.
It seems that Atari is deterimined to destroy its existing dealer network
and insure that no one will ever attempt to startup a new Atari
dealership.
They are now, according to my nameless sources, embarking on a campaign
that will require ANY new dealer to purchase over $10,000 worth of
material to even qualify for an order, install full time (24 hour round-
the-clock) service people, sell nothing but Atari items, sell Megas ONLY
with laser printers (or at least buy them that way), and more....
In short, Their new guidelines are harder than anything even Apple uses,
and is sure to destroy ANY chance of an Atari shop surviving or opening
in anything less than an area the size of New York or LA.....
A friend of mine was going to open an Atari dealership here in Rapid City
(we just los
t the last one and the local music shop selling STs may not
keep the line when it hears of some of the new requirements) but had to
drop the plan when he last spoke to Atari when they explained the new
guidelines/requirements on him.
I hope I'm wrong, in fact I pray I'm wrong...... but I doubt it........
Atari lives and dies by it's dealerships, and while the big ones in the
big cities may be flashy it's the mom & pop shops here in the boonies
that keep them in sales... And it's these shops that Atari seems
determined to destroy. Add their "destroy all mail orders" decision and I
see disaster in the offing. I fully understand keeping the
Mega/Laser/ABAQ/EST/TT out of mailorder, but NOT the 520/1040/drives/
printers/ect....... pulling them from mailorder is not only stabbing in
the back the outfits that kept Atari going over the thin years it's also
telling the rural XE/ST buyer to "get lost" because he or she doesn't
live within a few hundred miles of a dealer with the thousands of dollars
Atari demands to represent them.......
Sorry to be so long winded, but I like my Atari and hate to see it
destroyed by marketing plans that promise only ruin and destruction.
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"C" Programming Language
========================
by T."Rex" Reade
Article II
C is a general purpose programming language. It has been closely
associated with the UNIX system where it was developed, since both the
system and most of the programs that are run on it are written in C. The
language, however, is not tied to any one operating system or machine; and
although it has been called a "system programming language" because it is
useful for writing compilers and operating systems, it has been used
equally well to write major programs in many different domains.
Many of the important ideas of C stem from the language BCPL, developed by
Martin Richards. The influence of BCPL on C proceeded indirectly through
the language B, which was written by Ken Thompson in 1970 for the first
UNIX system on the DECEMBER PDP-7.
BCPL and B are "type less" languages. By contrast, C provides a variety of
data types. The fundamental typos are characters, integers and floating
point numbers of several sizes. In addition, there is a hierarchy of
derived data types created with pointers, arrays, structures and unions.
Expressions are formed from operators and operands. Any expression,
including an assignment or a function call, can be a statement. Pointers
provide for machine - independent address arithmetic.
C provides the fundamental control - flow constructions required for well
structured programs, statement grouping, decision making (if-else),
selecting one of a set of possible causes (switch), looping with the
termination test at the top (while-for), or at the bottom (do) and early
loop exit (break).
Functions may return values of basic types, structures, unions or
pointers. Any function may be called recursively. Local variables are
typically "automatic" or created new with each invocation. Function
definitions may not be nested but variables may be declared in a block
structured fashion. The functions of a C program may exist in separate
source files that are compiled separately. Variables may be internal to a
function, external but known only within a single source file or visible
to the entire program.
Although C matches the capabilities of many computers, it is independent
of any particular machine architecture. With a little care, it is easy to
write portable programs, ie., programs that can be run without change on a
variety of hardware. The standard makes portability issues explicit and
prescribes a set of constants that characterize the machine on which the
program is run.
'Til next time.........Rex
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Getting Started With Magic Sac
==============================
by Chuck Trier
What exactly is Magic Sac?
Magic Sac is a cartridge containing two Apple Mac chips that plugs into
the ST cartridge port. It can be left there permanently and will not
interfere with the operation of the ST in any way. ST software can be
run or Mac software can be run after the 1Magic program is run. It's
really like having two computers in one, an ST and a Mac.
How long has Magic Sac been on the market?
MAGIC SAC has been on the market two years. Data Pacific is one of the
most responsive companies around for ST users. Write or call them for a
complete brochure on their products.
I've heard that the Apple chips do not come with the Magic Sac, where
do you get them?
While it is true that the two Mac Rom chips do not come with the Magic
Sac, they can be obtained through companies that advertise in the
Computer Shopper magazine. They take about five minutes to install
(just try not to bend the pins). If you are a little squeamish
regarding things electronic, ask a friend or Computer store person to
help.
OK, so I buy the cartridge and have the chips put in, what else do I have
to do to run Macintosh programs?
Just as there is preparation in running ST programs, there is preparation
in running Mac programs. Disks need to be formatted for Mac programs
using MacFormat.prg or DCFormat.prg. Mac programs need to be put on
those Magic-formatted disks, and then the programs can be used.
Why can't I just go out and buy the Mac programs at my local Apple dealer
and run them with the cartridge?
To stay low-cost, use the Magic Sac cartridge and magic formatted disks.
To run Mac disks directly, the Translator One device is required (also
from Data Pacific). The ST disk drive is plugged into Translator One and
it enables the ST to read and write exact Mac disks. Like the cartridge,
it does not interfere with the ST in any way (unless the Midi port is
needed - Translator One has a cable that uses this). ST programs can be
run and when a Mac disk is needed, the Translator One is ready to go to
work.
If I decide to use just the cartridge, how do I get Mac programs?
One method is to use a cable between the Mac and the ST. Another method
is to download Mac programs from bulletin boards with a modem. ST users
familiar with Flash, 220-ST, Interlink, or Uniterm programs can use them
to download Mac programs to their ST-formatted disks.
How do I get the Mac programs from the ST disks to the Magic disks?
After a Mac program is down loaded, install a Ram-disk in memory with
designation drive D and put the Mac program in it. There is a an
ingenious little program called TV310.prg (or Trnsv29a.prg) by Doug
Wheeler that will transfer programs from an ST-formatted disk to a Magic
Sac formatted disk. Run this program next. Under the drive menu, select
drive D for the ST. Under the file menu, select ST>Magic Sac. Insert
the magic-formatted disk and transfer the Mac program. A little practice
with this program and you will be quite pleased with the results.
I'm sorry, but all of this is starting to sound a little complicated.
One way to keep the ST side of things simple is to put on your boot disk
(the one you use when you turn on the ST):
1) Ram disk program
2) Modem communications program
3) MacFormat.prg or DCFormatter: this will format either ST or Magic disks
4) 1Magic.prg and Driver.prg: these are the programs that come with the
cartridge to turn the ST into a Mac.
This way you have one disk with everything that is needed to format disks,
download programs, transfer programs between ST and Magic disks and run
either ST or start running Mac software.
Ok. I get the idea that certain programs should be on the ST disk, what
has to be on the Magic disk?
After the 1Magic program is run, it asks for the Magic disk to get the
Mac-mode going. In order to do this, we need the recommended System 3.2
and Finder 4.1 on that disk. Part of the Mac system is in the 2 chips in
the cartridge, but the rest is in these two programs. System contains
the fonts and desk accessories and Finder keeps track of what appears on
the desktop. Other programs should be on that Magic disk, but let's
first start with these two programs.
What should I see after I put in this magic disk?
You should get a Happy Mac Icon. After a short time a message saying,
"Welcome to Macintosh," will appear. Then the Menu bar at the top of the
screen with the Apple logo, File, Edit, View, and Special in the top menu
bar. You should also get a disk icon in the top right of your screen.
The top right disk icon represents where the current system and finder
files are that are currently being used. (As an aside, if you want to
use a system-finder combo on another disk or in Ram-disk, just open the
disk and hold down the control and alternate keys while you double-click
on that finder.) If none of the above happens, reseat the cartridge and
try again.
The desktop reminds me of the ST. Is it really that easy? That is
what is useful in running Mac software, there are a lot of similarities.
A couple of details are new and should be noted, however.
First, is that all disks should be named. To name a disk, just click on
the bar under the icon and type in a new name and hit Return.
Secondly, get in the habit of hitting Control e before you eject a disk.
You will see a flashing "A" at the top of the screen and that means that
it is safe to eject that disk. It is a nuisance once a person is used to
the ST way of ejecting disks at any time, but hitting, "Control E" before
ejecting a disk in the Mac-mode won't take long to learn. It is very
important since information is updated to the disk at that time!
Thirdly, once the pull-down menu is used, the item is highlighted and
selected when you let go of the mouse button! One final note in this
regard. In the Mac, many options are not made available, unless they are
highlighted. If you find that a program (an "application" in Mac
language) won't work or parts of it don't seem to work, try highlighting
the application or feature and see if that doesn't make other options
available.
This is kind of fun! Noticing when I go to download Mac files (programs),
a lot of them have .sit or .pit endings. What do I do about that?
Just like .arc in the ST and MS-Dos world, the Mac also has file
compression programs. What is recommended is a program called Stuffit
1.40. This is also available as a desk accessory. It will unstuff and
also unpit those compressed files. It is handy to have on the first
magic disk.
How about Ram-disks for the "Mac?"
There is a very good one called Ram-Plus 2.0. Double-click on its icon
to install it. When you see the bottom size bar, click on this to shift
the size of the ram-disk up or down. It will then finish installing the
ram-disk and save this as the size that is wanted for the next time the
Ram-disk is installed. It will also load into ram-disk any programs that
are in the same folder as Ram-Plus. Excellent feature! Many programs for
the Mac also offer the feature of selecting the drive (A, B, Ram-drive,
etc.) to get a file for use with an application.
With so many desk accessories and fonts available, how do you move them
into and out of the system file and other programs such as MacWrite or
Ready, Set, Go?
This brings us to the final file which really is a should-be on the first
magic disk and that is Font D/A mover. This very nice application moves
fonts and desk accessories in and out of system and other applications in
a swift and efficient manner.
Anything else? I'm ready to go exploring! One thing that might throw
you is moving things into and out of folders on the "Mac." In the ST, the
same program can exist inside and outside of a folder. On the Mac using
its usual filing system (MFS) and not the newer version (HFS - which is
more like the ST-GEM method), the folders are an illusion. Once a file
is moved, or copied, it is moved! Using Mac programs on the ST with
Magic Sac opens up a new dimension for us St users.
There's really a lot to explore!
- = * = -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST-REPORT Issue #40 June 20, 1988 (c)'88 APEInc.
All Rights Reserved. Reprint permission granted except where noted in
the article. Any reprint must include ST-Report and the author in the
credits. Views Presented here are not necessarily those of ST-Report or
of the Staff.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
