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Report
Silicon Times Report Issue 0050
ST REPORT WEEKLY ONLINE MAGAZINE
Monday, AUG.29, 1988
Vol II No. 50
===========
APEInc., P.O. BOX 74, Middlesex, N.J. 08846-0074
PUBLISHER MANAGING EDITOR
Ron Kovacs R.F.Mariano
=======================================================
ST REPORT EDITOR: Thomas Rex Reade
PO Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida. 32236
Headquarters Bulletin Boards
ST Report North ST Report South
201-343-1426 904-786-4176
------------------------------------
ST Report Central ST Report West
216-784-0574 916-962-2566
CONTENTS
========
> From the Editor's Desk..............> ST REPORT ART CONTEST RULES.......
> GFA Basic Version 3.................> ERGO STICK........................
> THE FEDERATED SAGA..................> ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL............
* A KEEN OBSERVATION...BOOTSTRAPPING ATARI *
=========================================================================
EXCLUSIVELY ON: COMP-U-SERVE ~ GENIE ~ DELPHI
=========================================================================
From the Editor's Desk:
Look at things in a positive frame of mind! How many times have we been
told this and tried like crazy to comply ....only to find we were actually
kidding ourselves?? Really, I believe Atari does this just before they
make a monumental decision like slowly absorb the dealer network so that
WE can be the next Radio Shack type Computer Chain Store System. It all
begins to make sense when you rethink the situation starting at poppa
Jack's statement that Atari wants a chain of good company store outlets
across the nation. Getting rid of Mail Order Sales makes the transition
much easier for Atari in 2 ways, first, no chance of massive product dumps
on the open market in an effort to destroy price credibility. Second, it
is a display of company policy towards a dealer network that "appears"
solid thereby giving store owners strong confidence in Atari so when they
are approached by Atari to become a "dedicated" store (absorbed) within
the Federated chain they are much more inclined to do so.
Many times I wonder and marvel at how in heaven's name a company can stay
in business with it's leadership so EMOTIONAL. THEY "SAY" the upper floor
at Atari is a war zone at times.....I still feel thay ought to appoint Sam
as the International Ambassador at Large and leave the mundane everyday
business to the "other" guys in Sunnyvale. Who knows, maybe Sam would
release another fluff letter to Atari's users and have Roman Trumpets
blasting at the same time....<grin>
In all fairness to ATARI, we must look past the current issues and peer
deeply into the future, there IS a very strong possiblity that we, the end
users will be overjoyed at the results. Consider this, local access to
the company through company stores in almost every neighborhood. Perhaps
all the training sessions being afforded to the Federated Stores (61) is
going bring an aire of professionalism to them. We shall see......
At this time, I would like to thank all the dealers for their super strong
response to our request for info on how they feel Atari treats them and we
are now trying to compile this info ....there is still time to send your
experiences either good or whatever, to us, send it to the Jacksonville PO
Box....address in this issue's header.
I sure HOPE ..A. Pratt takes a long hard look and makes sure the "new" TOS
handles MUCH more than 16mb per partition........
Rex.........
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE JUDGES LIST
===============
Service Name
------- ------------
CIS Ron Luks
CIS Dan Rhea
CIS Mike Schoenbach
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.
**************************************************************************
NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE
FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY
COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME
to the Readers
ST REPORT ONLINE ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE
NEW USERS SIGN UP TODAY!
Call any of the St Report Official BBS numbers
(Listed at the top of ST REPORT)
or
Leave E-mail to St Report, Ron Kovacs or Rex Reade
Be sure to include your full mailing address so your
Compuserve kit can be immediately mailed to you!
Expires 09-30-88
NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE
**************************************************************************
SPECIAL SUPRA MODEM OFFER!!!
============================
CompuServe's Atari Forums have made very special arrangements with
Paramount Products Inc. to offer the members of our forums the chance to
upgrade your system to 2400 baud service at a very special price.
For a limited time, CompuServe subscribers may purchase the
SUPRA CORP. 2400 baud Hayes-compatible modem
for the very **LOW** price of just $139.95 !!!!!
These are brand new, not reconditioned units, with the full SUPRA CORP.
warranty. The SUPRA MODEM uses the Hayes Smartmodem 'AT' command set and
operates at 300-1200-2400 baud. It's an outboard unit (not an internal
plug-in card) allowing ease of transfer to other computers.
Connection is thru the standard RS-232 interface. (Just plug it into the
back of your ATARI ST).
To take advantage of this special offer, Phone the 800 number
listed below or write to:
Paramount Products Inc.
1405 S.E. Pacific Blvd.
Albany, Oregon 97321
***** Phone orders: (800)444-4061 *****
Price: $139.95 + shipping
UPS ground: add $4.00
UPS Blue label: add $8.00
C.O.D.: add $2.25
MasterCard or VISA accepted Orders will be shipped the next business day
If you've been accessing CompuServe at 1200 baud, this is a great way
to lower your total online bill since CIS does *NOT* charge a premium for
2400 baud access. (You can get the same amount of information or download
the same amount of programs in approximately 1/2 the time as 1200 baud
users!) This modem will PAY FOR ITSELF in just a few sessions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
GFA BASIC 3.03 Corrections and Additions
=========================================
8/23/88
-------
Known Bugs:
----------
RINSTR does not recognize the first character instead the byte following
the string is evaluated.
OPEN "R" GET and PUT do not work correctly without a given type number.
SEEK When an unopened file name is specified, an address or bus error will
follow.
-x^y doesn't function.
EXP() the over flow check does not always function.
ON BREAK GOSUB x If these three keys are held for an extended period the
procedure will be called repeatedly. There are two possibilities to turn
this off:
1) ON BREAK GOSUB x
REPEAT
UNTIL MOUSEK
PROCEDURE x
~bios(11,-1) and &f1)
' THE REST AS IT WAS
RETURN
With this method the status of the shift key is directly changed.
2) ON BREAK GOSUB x
REPEAT
UNTIL MOUSEK
PROCEDURE x
ON BREAK CONT
' REST AS IT WAS
ON BREAK GOSUB x
RETURN
Here the break routine is turned off.
a=1E+100
FOR i=1 to 100
PRINT a^i,LOG(a^i)/LOG(10)
NEXT i
In this loop that numbers larger than 1E+308 are calculated correctly but
numbers larger than 1E+1000 are not correct. This is intentional.
KEYDEF
The scan code is simulated with the ESC and RETURN keys with defined
function keys so that ESC and RETURN can have the usual functions in GEM.
User Modifications to GFABASIC:
There is a small area within GFABASIC.PRG and the GFABASRO.PRG in which
default settings can be changed.
OPEN "U",#1,"GFABASIC.PRG" ! or "GFABASRO.PRG"
SEEK #1,31
PRINT #1,"E"; ! or "H";
CLOSE #1
'
'with E the screen is erased at program start
' with H the screen is not erased
OPEN "U",#1,"GFABASRO.PRG"
SEEK #1,32
PRINT #1,"TESTPROG.GFA";CHR$(0);
CLOSE #1
'
' If no file is specified when GFABASRO is started, then TESTPROG.GFA
' will be loaded and executed.
' This program name may be up to 63 characters in length, the null
' byte at te end is very important, if only a null byte is given then
' the original condition will be restored.
OPEN "U",#1,"GFABASIC.PRG"
SEEK #1,32
FOR i%=0 to 25
READ a%
OUT #1,a%
NEXT i%
CLOSE #1
'
' A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V X Y Z
DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
'
'If you change the values in the DATA line then the default type for the
'variable which begins with the letter above the number, will be changed.
' ONLY the following values are allowed:
' 0=DEFFLT 1=DEFSTR 2=DEFINT 3=DEFBIT
' 8=DEFWRD 9DEFBYT
OPEN "U",#1."GFABASIC.PRG"
SEEK #1,58
FOR i%=0 TO 3
READ a%
PRINT #1,MKI$(a%)
NEXT i%
CLOSE #1
'
DATA &0777,&0700,&0070,&0000
'
'Colors for the editor, :Inverse
' DATA &0000,&0700,&0070,&0777
OPEN "U",#1,"GFABASIC.PRG"
SEEK #1,80
PRINT #1,MKI$90); !PRESET DEFLIST
CLOSE #1
OPEN "U",#1,"GFABASIC.PRG" !LLIST PRESET
SEEK #1,82
PRINT #1,MKI$(pl); !.pl
PRINT #1,MKI$(pl-2); !.pl
SEEK #1,86
PRINT #1,MKI$(ll); !.ll
SEEK #1,88
PRINT #1,he$+chr$(13); !.he
SEEK #1,120
PRINT #1,fo$+chr$(13); !.fo
SEEK #1,152
PRINT #1,in$+chr$(13); !.in
SEEK #1,184
PRINT #1,ff$+chr$(13); !.ff
CLOSE #1
'
' he$, fo$, in$ And ff$ are default values for .he, .fo, .in and .ff
' with CHR$(0) (=default) no header or footer and
no initialization string
' will be output. (ff$) it is expected that the user can
' initiate a form feed with CHR$(12).
' The maximum line length for these strings including the necessary
' CHR$(13) is 32 characters.
New Commands:
.PA Executes a form feed
.P- point commands are not listed!
.P+ point commands are listed as normal.
.P+ and .P- apply to the entire listing (like .Nx),
the last setting will apply.
DUMP/DIR/FILES
The screen output of these commands can be influenced, as with TRON. With
CAPS LOCK the listing will be slow, the output can be stopped with the Right
Shift Key.
Translated by
Jeff Little
To our Current GFA BASIC Owners:
--------------------------------
Here is your update order form for GFA BASIC 3.0. As a registered
owner of GFA BASIC you will receive the completely new GFA BASIC 3.0
package, with over 300 new commands and the spiral bound 656 page manual
(suggested retail price is $99.95) for only $40.00. With your order for
the GFA BASIC 3.0 update we are also offering you; Programming with GFA
BASIC 3.0 book, GFA BASIC Programmers Reference Guide Volume I, GFA BASIC
Training Reboot Camp, and the GFA BASIC Reference Card, each at a special
discount price. Fill out the the order form and mail it to MichTron with
your original GFA BASIC disk and you'll be on your way to more powerful
computing.
GFA BASIC Update and Accessories Order Form
Name __________________________________________________________________
Address _______________________________________________________________
City ___________________State _______Zip ________ Phone( )___________
_____GFA BASIC 3.0 Update @ $40.00
_____Programming With GFA BASIC 3.0 @ 19.95 (Reg $24.95)
_____GFA BASIC Programmers Reference Guide, Vol. I @ $22.95 (Reg $29.95)
_____GFA BASIC Training Reboot Camp @ $16.45 (Reg. $19.95)
_____GFA BASIC 2.0 Reference Card @ $1.95 (Reg. $3.95)
(All commands work with 3.0)
_____Shipping (U.S. Orders $3.00 all others $5.00)
_____Total ($) Enclosed
* Select a method of payment from the following *
Check or Money Order (Payable to MichTron, Inc.)
Please charge my: Visa_______Mastercard _______
Card No._________________________________Exp. Date _________
Signature __________________________________________________
Mail to:
MichTron Inc.
GFA BASIC 3.0 Update
576 S. Telegraph
Pontiac, M I 48053
NOTE:
-----
It is strongly suggested that if you plan on doing much programming with
GFA BASIC, that you purchase the 3.0 book. It is very helpful. Full of
insights and shortcuts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Anatomy of the:
ERGOSTICK Joystick by WICO
==========================
A Hardware Review
-----------------
by Dave St. Martin
Most recreational computer enthusiasts have very definite
impressions of what a joystick should be. For example, I
absolutely love a joystick that has a relatively short "throw".
The short movement creates an extremely responsive joystick.
This adds up to a big plus when the competition is half my age with
razor sharp reflexes honed by hours of practice. The benefits of
a carefully selected joystick became clear to me during a recent
MIDI-MAZE competition. Not known as a game fanatic, no one could
figure out how I was beating every one to the punch. Many a
competitor would casually watch over my shoulder hoping to learn
"the technique". The untold secret was actually the edge given by
the joystick.
The particular joystick I was using was one selected after years
of picking up every joystick I ran across for a "cheap feel". So
rather than call this a review, it might be more appropriate to
call this report "The Quest for the Perfect Joystick".
The folks at WICO were kind enough to extend an offer to test
their latest creation - the ERGOSTICK. As long-time fan of WICO
joysticks I took them up on it. In less than a week the package
arrived and I tore into it.
- 'Outta the Box -
The ERGOSTICK appears to be very much like the EPYX 500XJ joystick
which I've used for some time. This new breed of joystick is form
fitting to the left hand. A silicone-rubber compound covers
the entire base. The trigger button is strategically positioned
under the tip of the left index finger and there's a comfortable
groove for the left thumb. The cord, at six feet in length, is
slightly longer than those found on other joysticks. The stick
itself is shaped somewhat like a bowling pin, with the topmost
portion be formed into a knob. A peek below the moulded handle
reveals what appears to be a hardened steel shaft of a reasonable
diameter. The whole unit appears quite sturdy.
- A Closer Look -
Many of the features of this joystick become evident the first
time it's placed in the hand. The compound covering the joystick
is slightly soft and has a sticky feel to it. The covering
results in a very positive and solid feel. Both the stick and
the trigger button feature tactile feedback in the form of a click
as they are moved. The clicks confirm microswitches have been
used rather than simple electrical contacts. Microswitches are
desirable because they wear better than simple contacts and extend
the life of the joystick. Microswitches are the clear mark of a
quality joystick.
Movement of the stick produced some notable findings regarding the
distances required to get a response. When the stick is moved to
the north, east, south, and west the distance, or "throw" is
relatively short. This was surprising to me because of the length
of the stick itself. Generally, the longer the stick the longer
the throw. When the stick is moved to the "quartering" positions
(northeast, southeast, etc...) it requires roughly twice the
travel distance. This is due to the fact that two microswitches
rather than one must be depressed to move in a quartering
direction. This becomes a factor when playing games that allow
diagonal movement. My feeling is that the throw on a joystick
should remain constant throughout all positions. This is a
tough requirement, but one that would enhance the ERGOSTICK's
performance.
The tactile feedback in this joystick is another function of the
microswitches. Initially it appears that the pressure required to
activate the switches is too high. This is particularly true if
you were to walk into a store and "check it out". I did not find
this to be a problem during the heat of battle however. With the
adrenalin flowing and heart pounding, it's easy to "over amp" and
the slightly high threshold pressure assures that activation only
occurs when you want it. Still, the trigger button specifically
might benefit from a decrease in threshold pressure or reduced
travel distance.
Perhaps the biggest plus for the ERGOSTICK can only be discovered
after extended play. I experienced a reduction in hand fatigue
following prolonged use. This can be attributed to a couple
factors. First, the covering compound feels more secure in your
hand than that of more traditional joysticks. I found that I
wasn't clutching the thing in death grip for fear of slippage any
longer. Secondly, the size of the joystick base is a plus. At
first it felt too large for me, and I should note that I have
larger than average hands. During long periods of use the size
became an advantage in that it again worked to prevent hand
fatigue. I would say hand fatigue ranks pretty high as a reason
most players pack it in when playing. Clearly, you can play
longer with this joystick.
- Knocking It -
There are some questions raised by the surface material on the
base. Will it deteriorate with time? I'd say probably not as the
material appears to be the same as that's used in mouse balls
<<grin>>. I've washed the ball from my mouse several times now with
plain bar soap and water and it's as good as new each time. Hands
dripping with potato chip or popcorn oils could only serve to
deteriorate the surface though and I would avoid it.
I prefer a slightly shorter stick or "bat". This is primarily due
to me desire for a "fast" response in a joystick. The shape of
stick on the ERGOSTICK allows me to take a comfortable pencil
style grab below the top knob. The knob prevents the loss of the
grip. While this is alright, I would prefer an interchangeable
stick as WICO once offered on their Red Ball and Bat Handle
joystick. Don't misunderstand, while the present one is okay, it
could be improved.
Also, the size of the base might be just too much for people with
small hands. If you have small paws check it out before you buy.
Also, you lefties are out of luck unless WICO comes out with a
left-handed model.
- The Polls are In! -
So... should you buy it? I tested the ERGOSTICK on a wide variety
of game software and I would place this stick in the top three
that I've owned (a box full!). Overall it was responsive and
comfortable. On a scale of 1 - 10 I'd give it an 8.5 - a very
good ranking in my book. The throw distances when quartering and
the stick characteristics are the primary reasons for this
ranking. I guess you must remember too, that most of us will
never be 100% happy with any joystick. That's why most gamers
will always continue to Quest for the perfect joystick.
(C)1988 David St. Martin. Permission to reproduce this material is hereby
granted to non-profit publications provided the credits and article remain
intact. All others should contact the author.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Federated Saga
==================
by Lloyd E. Pulley Sr.
About a year ago, Atari decided not to waste their money on
silly things like national advertising and increasing the
production facilities for the ST. Instead they bought a tried and
true profit maker called Federated. It was irrelevant that
Federated had lost money the last umpteen quarters, it was
irrelevant that no-one else wanted to buy Federated because of
it's debts and past financial record, what was relevant was that
Jack Tramiel knew that he could turn it around into a money making
proposition (NOTE: Federated is still loosing money every quarter
and by the most optimistic estimates, will continue to loose money
for another quarter or two.). It's also been suggested that Jack
Tramiel needed a wedding present for his son Garry but I'm pretty
sure that was just a rumor. Or, was it? (Isn't it nice that the
Tramiel family is so full of talented people? People that have
few, if any, qualifications for their positions but are talented
enough to overcome that.)
For you who have been in Outer Mongolia and don't know what
a 'Federated' is, I'll try to give you a brief background.
Federated is a group of company owned stores (in this case the
company is Atari) that specialize in electronic products. They
carry a wide variety of TV's, stereos, midi's, and related
electronic type items. Oh, I almost forgot, they also carry some
computer products (more on that later). Federated has most of
their stores on the west coast.....in California, Arizona, New
Mexico (and a couple other states that I can't remember right
now). Federated likes to run 'cheapy' ads, you know the ones that
advertise a low price on an item but if you buy the cheap product,
the salesman is in big trouble. (NOTE: I did NOT say or imply
that they run 'bait and switch' ads. They have the merchandise in
stock that they advertise for cheap prices, it's just sometimes
hard to buy.)
Jack Tramiel thought that the Federated stores would give him
a good base for selling Atari computers (like Radio Shack) but he
had some obstacles to overcome first. Before it's purchase by
Atari, Federated carried the Amiga, ST and several inexpensive 8-
bit computer lines. When you walked into the average Federated
store there were usually 2-3 game computers running, several
Amigas and way in the back of the store (usually not turned on)
the ST. After the purchase, things reversed. Now the 8-bit Atari
machines and the ST's are out in front with the Amiga's in the
back of the store. Needless to say, once Atari took over,
Federated started moving more Atari brand computers than they did
in the past.
Now that we have some background, we can carry on with the
Federated saga.
In most (if not all) of the towns where there were Federated
stores, there were also independent ST computer stores. The first
thing that Atari had to do was calm these dealers and to reassure
them that Federated wouldn't be giving them any unfair
competition. (After all, Atari still needed these dealers until
they got the Federated sales off the ground.)
So they went to the dealers and explained that Federated
would only be carrying the 520's and 1040's while these dealers
could carry the 'flagships' of the Atari line, the Mega ST's and
laser printers (it only cost the dealers $15,000+ to carry the
Mega line....but that's another horror story). This pacified many
of the independent dealers.....but more was to come.
After Atari got Federated established with the ST computer
line, strange things started happening. It seems that some
gremlins decided to attack Atari's shipping computer. And not
being satisfied with just messing up Atari's shipping computer,
the gremlins decided to play havoc with Atari's dealer
communications computer also. While the Federated stores were
always informed of anything new happening, somehow the
communications for the independent dealers manytimes got
misplaced. A few examples of 'gremlin attack'........
1) While the Federated stores had an over abundance of
520/1040's in stock, many of the independent dealers couldn't get
delivery for 2-3 months. And when they did get delivery, it was
only a partial order. Needless to say, Federated made quite a few
sales during this time that the independents normally would have
got. But we know this was not planned by Atari, it was a result
of those pesky gremlins.
2) Atari had a special on the new MegaFile 20 hard drives
this summer, but most independent dealers didn't know anything
about it. They found out by loosing customers to Federated. These
same customers were coming back to them and complaining about how
much cheaper Federated was than the independent dealer. After the
dealers complained to Atari, Atari admitted that there was a
special on the MegaFile 20's...but someone must have forgotten to
tell some (i.e. almost all) of the independent dealers about it.
Those pesky gremlins strike again.
3) The latest case of 'gremlin attack' happened when Atari
decided to have all 520 ST's carry double-sided drives instead of
the old single-sided ones. It seems that the shipping computer
sent all of the Federated stores the new double-sided 520 ST's and
the independent dealers the old single-sided 520 ST's. Naturally
when 'Joe Blow' buyer had a choice of a 520 ST with a single sided
drive and a 520 ST with a double sided drive for the same money
(and many times less money), he choose the double-sided 520 ST.
But we know that Atari wouldn't have done this on purpose, shipped
new product to Federated while dumping old product on the
unsuspecting independent dealers. This was another case of
blatant 'gremlin mania' attacking both the communications and
shipping computers. If it wasn't a communications breakdown, then
why would my local dealers Atari representative try to tell him
that Federated got these computers by mistake....that they were
meant for the European market?
NOTE: A couple of interesting sidenotes to this last
gremlin attack.......
A) Many of the Independent Dealer customers who did
buy single-sided 520 ST's during the 2-3 months that the Federated
stores were the only ones that had double-sided drives have been
complaining. They feel it isn't fair that they be penalized for
supporting their dealers by being stuck with single-sided 520's.
They feel that they should get upgraded to a double-sided drive
for a nominal (if not free) amount. But Atari doesn't agree. They
feel (according to Neil Harris) that this was like a model upgrade
on a new car. The people that bought 'last years models' are just
stuck. It doesn't matter that Federated had 'this years models' 2
months before the independent dealers. (NOTE: I've never seen a
car model upgrade where the company owned dealers (and their
customers) got free air conditioning, while the independent
dealers (and his customers) had to pay extra for the air
conditioning.)
B) Atari decided to allow the independent dealers to
upgrade their single-sided 520 ST's into double-sided units. All
they have to do is send all their units back to Atari (which then
leaves them no 520's to sell....but Federated still has them) and
Atari will upgrade them with double-sided drives and send them
back. But many of the dealers have been told it's a 2 for 1 deal.
They have to buy two new units to get each old unit upgraded (Neil
Harris calls this normal stock balancing). Think of the poor
independent dealer that normally stocks six 520 ST's. He received
six 'old' new 520's a couple of weeks ago.....to get them upgraded
for free, he now has to buy 12 more....for a total of 18. But
aren't the Federated stores lucky that the gremlins sent them all
new double-sided 520 ST's, so that they aren't stuck with this
'stock balancing'?
Oh well, back to the Federated saga (again).
But it has worked out well that Atari has independent dealers
in the same towns as the have Federated stores. Where else could
Federated's customers get support, service, upgrades? Federated
makes the sales (and the big bucks) and then sends the customer to
the independent dealer for support. The independent dealer gets
to spend 2-3 hours showing Federated's customer how to operate his
computer. And he gets the heat when the customer finds out that
the computer doesn't do everything that the Federated salesman
promised. But don't despair, this gives the independent dealer a
chance to sell some software (the small bucks) and on occassion a
hard drive or two (when Federated fails to sell them one).
I can't understand why so many independent dealers in towns
that also have Federated stores, feel that they now have to sell
other computers brands (like the Amiga) along with the
ST's...can't they live on their software sales?. I can't
understand why more new dealers aren't "beating down Atari's
doors" to get to compete with Federated. I can't understand why
so many of the independent dealers are thinking of dropping the
ST....or cutting their stock of ST's back radically. After all,
they get to carry the 'flagships' of the line...the Mega's and
laser printers. Oh?? I didn't tell you about the Federated
stores that are now carrying the 'flagships'? The gremlins must
have attacked my memory.
But thanks to Jack's foresight in buying Federated and turning
it into a 'company store', we ST owners don't only have to worry
about owning a 'fringe computer' anymore. We now get to wonder if
we're going to own a 'regional, fringe computer' also.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've owned a ST for almost three years now.
I've owned 520's, 1040's, Mega ST2 and currently a Mega ST4. I
love my ST/Mega and wouldn't trade it for anything (within reason
<grin>). And I do believe Atari is trying to change (and applaud
many of the changes made recently), but that doesn't mean that I
believe that all of Atari's changes are in the ST owners long term
interest. And this article is about one thing where I believe
Atari is hurting the ST users...in the long run.
EDITOR NOTE:
The above article is quite revealing and accurate...but it left out one
very important group of folks...THE USERS!.. We at ST Report suggest a 90
day indemnification period, where any person who purchased a 520stf with
the S/S drive, send in the machine and get a D/S drive in return at NO
CHARGE...WHY? because Federated had the D/S drives well before anybody
else ....that was a crummy way to do things and Atari ought to make it
right by all concerned...now, there's a piece of Evangelism for you Sam!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL
======================
Sunnyvale Federated Stores are here to stay. N. Harris is holding
--------- training sessions to enhance the abilities of the reps at
Federated. Also, Federated is aggressively obtaining
additional product lines.
Las Vegas When is a Laptop not a Laptop? Ans: When an unpredictable
--------- head man vacsillates like a bowl of jelly. Wanna buy a
duck?
Houston A certain hard disk specialty house is currently in a state
------- flux, many users advise, "do not prepay, go COD only"
Jacksonville Certain Authorized Atari Dealers have been found selling
------------ the early release version of the SC1224 for over 500.00!
What a wonderful way to build good customer relations.
These guys must use a .45 for a cash register!
Florida Why do we still hear the cries ...where is the Atari
------- Representative for the State of Florida? Has it come down
to people being vapor also?
New York Seems the legality of the Clones (ST) is in question, well
-------- the slick European Barristers have a loophole of sorts
seems some concessions were made a few years ago, that are
now going to haunt Atari....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A KEEN OBSERVATION....BOOTSTRAPPING ATARI
=========================================
by Michael Arthur
Any computer manufacturer, including IBM, is not perfect. They make
mistakes, wrong company policies, (PS/2, anyone?) and work with the wrong
people, occasionally missing what their focus on the computer market
should be. An example would be the Timex Sinclair Spectrum QL. IT WAS,
incredibly, a good design, which ran as fast as the Atari ST, and which
is the only portable Motorola based computer. (it used the 68008 chip, a
precursor to the 68000 that had 32 bit processing and could address 8 bits
at a time) Sir Clive Sinclair, though, missed certain aspects of the
market that caused his computer to become an orphan,like more RAM,not
having a dwarf's keyboard, etc. Apple is now doing this type of procedure
(which we will call, apologetically, a Timex Sinclair) with the Mac Plus
and Apple IIgs. The Macintosh Plus is, theoretically, a good candidate
for the sector of the market that the IIgs is being aimed at, especially
since the IIgs runs slower than a TI99/4A. But Apple has decided not to
sell a low-end MAC in fear of getting in the way of the IIgs's sales.
But Atari seems headed towards outdoing even these Timex Sinclairs.
Since one main way to prevent future mistakes is to examine the past, I
would like to give a chronology of events leading up to now, at least the
ones concerning this topic. If any of the information given is untrue,
please understand that I could find very few sources with which to verify
some of this.
Once upon a time, there was a survivor of a Nazi Concentration Camp that,
with VERY little founded an office machine company called Commodore. After
CP-M started the industry, many people started developing what would later
be known as personal computers. One of them was Nolan Bushnell, who began
discussing how personal computers would work. Steve Jobs then took Steve
Wozniak and left Atari to make his own company. Another one was this same
survivor. He started a "back-burner" project in the late 70's, headed by
a visionary named Shiraz Shivji, putting it aside while he made the Pet,
Vic-20, and then the C-64.
After making Commodore a success, it seems that somehow someone bought
enough stock in his company to have a controlling interest. Seeing that
he could not remain with his company, he broke away, taking many people
that used to work for him and restarting the project, which was to become
the ST, buying Atari in the process.
He went through many options in graphic interfaces, even considering
Microsoft Windows, but finally went with GEM.
It seems that Digital Research and Atari didn't get along too well in
making GEM for the 68000, mostly their fault, but that Jack was also penny
pinching back then.
But back then, he had a reason. He was running out of money to
revamp Atari. This is where the Amiga comes in.
Jack (or to be proper, Mr. Tramiel) was selling off everything
there was to sell off, trying to buy Warner AND a little company that
the OLD Atari was working with to make some graphics chips for a new
arcade machine.
The name of the company was Amiga Corp., formerly a joystick company,
but with Jay Miner's idea/concept, completely responsible for the Amiga.
He also designed the 8-bit Atari's graphics chips. It seems that while
the old Atari thought they were investing in an arcade machine, that Miner
and company were making an all-purpose computer. OLD Atari had given them
$500,000 dollars down and $500,000 upon completion, and they would receive
3 million in royalties. Amiga Corp. later refused the 500 thousand, saying
they couldn't make the chips. Then, while the Tramiels were trying to buy
Amiga outright, Amiga was dealing with Commodore, letting them buy it for
27 million dollars. Atari slapped a lawsuit against Commodore for a lot
of things, including infringements upon their patents. Tramiel was also
desperate for money to rebuild Atari, so a YEAR later they settled out of
court, Commodore giving Atari enough money so that he could rebuild Atari
but keeping the rights, patents, to the Amiga.
In the process of making the Amiga, they ran into a problem. This machine
needed a sizable amount of memory for the custom graphics/sound chips to
read/write to but they also wanted the same memory for the 68000 access.
To use the same memory for both screen RAM and the 68000, keep the amount
of screen RAM at a level usable for animation, and keep the MHZ speed fast
enough, they designed a system to make the custom hardware and 68000 share
processor time for the RAM. They went bankrupt in the process, partly
because of refusing Atari's money, but not before making the Amiga,and a
next generation chipset, which soon will be in the Amiga 3000. After Amiga
Corp got Commodore to take it, Commodore turned around and fired most of
the people who developed the Amiga, and moved the rest to West Chester,
Pennsylvania. (their headquarters) And then the ST/Amiga wars began.
(Contemplating on this Tragedy (at least for Atari) of Greek proportions,
I find myself somehow feeling sorry for Atari, seeing as how they were
tricked, but still wondering what would have happened if Atari had made
Commodore give up Amiga Corp., and used Amiga's efforts to help make the
ST....I know 20/20 hindsight is a finely honed skill, but Tramiel has also
had a record of great foresight, making the 64 the second best selling
computer in history, (we all know who the best selling one is) and if it
could have been done, maybe....)
But Jack got the ST's out, to a rave review by everybody. There were
a lot of product announcements by Atari then, including one of a device to
be available in the fall of 1985 called a CD-ROM. (This was in the 1985
Summer CES, for those unbelievers) Vapor, lasting much longer than the
current Atari PC, but not as old as the 8-voice AMY chip.
Which, hopefully, will be in the 68030 UNIX machine that Atari is making.
There was, of course, a great demand for the ST's. Especially in
Europe, which was not infected with the deadly disease "IBM'itis" (coined
by our good friend Leonard) and made the ST the top selling computer on
their shores.
Encouraged by the favorable response, Atari decided to embark on a
campaign of great proportions, intending to develop peripherals for their
computing wonder that would be the first in the computer world in price,
performance, and value.
Things didn't go as planned.
Their laser printer, CD-ROM, and MANY other products came out JUST
BARELY too late to grab the potential market share originally aimed for,
and "Atari Bashers" commented at the manufacturing, development problems
of the TERRIFIC TRAMIEL TRIO. Which helps to explain the Revolving Door
(Atari hirings and firings), and other Atari phenomena.
* But NOT the buying of Federated. *
The Federated stores, originally, were pricing aggressively, cutting
off a few of dealer sales. They were also going bankrupt.
SO, someone decides to get Jack to BUY them. At great expense, loss of
profits, and cutting off of project money (further helping to explain
the CD-ROM and SLM 804 being held back until they could not be of an
advantage) and upsetting the dealers.
SO, Atari decides to cut off the Mail order and VAR sales. Which had
been much larger than that of dealer sales. To appease the dealers, but
not doing anything about the piracy problem. While still giving Federated
stores preferential treatment in distribution of the STs and in dealer
support.
And about the piracy problem....
There has ALWAYS been in the history of the computer, rampant piracy.
The C-64 and IBM have enormous piracy problems (not that it matters with
the amount of users) and the MAC has an acute problem with pirates. (Word,
a Microsoft word processor for the MAC, was reportedly seen in pirate
BBS's a week or so after it was first shipped) The Amiga, reportedly, has
a piracy problem rivalling the ST's, (piracy's best condition is expensive
software, and the Amiga's is more costly than the ST's)!
And the band marches on....
Atari has just made a SPECIAL division for their ST computers. It is
called "Atari Computer". This name will be on ALL of Atari's products
from now on. Supposedly.
Can you say, "the Atari Computer ABAQ Transputer computer needs an Atari
Computer Mega 4 Sixteen-Thirty Two bit (yes, that is what ST stands for,
though "System Tramiel" still seems feasible) computer, and an Atari
Computer SLM 804 laser printer w/Postscript module is a useful accesory
for the Atari Computer ST computers?"
Atari has also had a less-than IBM developer support program. Which
has had the result of software companies not going over to the ST market,
and the ones who do having to fight it out alone.
While Commodore works avidly with developers, taking their ideas and
using them to improve the Amiga's operating system.
While Atari is repairing bugs in and improve TOS, but not expanding it
to support the 68020, 8 or more megs, or other major improvements, and
wanting to keep EVERYTHING standard. Including 16 out of 512 colors.
The REAL reason the ST has this shortcoming (which gave the Amiga its
first great boost) is because of our friends the Tramiels' unwillingness
to pay a few extra dineros to make the ST support 512 colors at the same
time while keeping its speed, even when they had the money. And now ALL
the new ST paint programs are using more than 16 colors.
A great example is Spectrum 512. While this shows 512 colors at one time,
it takes up 80-90% of the 68000 processor time to do it. Not good enough
for animations w/sound. Looks like the policy of spending just enough to
get profits, which (by the way Federated has gone) seems to not be used by
the Tramiels anymore, has adversely affected the ST owner.
The OTHER reason that the Amiga is still kicking is its multitasking
operating system. Even though it is not that good (it has no hardware
memory protection, which is the GURU reason, WorkBench is not as finished
as GEM or Mac Finder, and CLI is harder to learn than DOS, and you have to
use it a LOT) it still DOES HAVE ONE!!
One ironic thing about CLI and the ST is that a LOT of people like typing
in their commands DOS-style, and have either bought an Amiga to get more
options in their interface, or silently wished that the Tramiels hadn't
thought that a command line interpreter (being decent, complete, and that
featured extra functionality in itself) was unwanted by computer users.
Atari seems to continue to take vapor lessons from Los Angeles.
They have announced a 68030 computer (it has 4 megs of RAM on board, uses
a VME bus, supports the SUN Network File Structure, has SCSI/DMA ports,
uses XWINDOWS with UNIX Version 5.3, comes with an 80 Megabyte Hard disk,
supports 24 bitplanes, and initially will run at 16 MHZ, but later support
20-24 MHZ and up. I got this from an Atari R&D guy working on it by just
calling up Atari) a portable ST with hard drive, (more than you get with
current STs, and I hope they WON'T fit the Mega ST keyboard on it) a 44
megabyte hard drive with removable cartridges(GOOD, but will it be vapor?)
and an ST GAME system that is supposed to use cartridges.(Maybe Atari IS a
game machine company?)
All (except for the game system) going to Europe next year. And all while
third party developers (Like Charles Johnson (CFJ), and a few West German
companies) are doing Atari's job of a more FUNCTIONAL, useful GDOS.
And Atari might just use the German efforts.
Oh, well....
At least we know they WILL come out with these things next year, because
Europeans DON'T like vaporware AT ALL. If anyone keeps putting it out,
they write them off.
And now....
HOW ATARI CAN SAVE ITSELF
-------------------------
(Some USEFUL Suggestions)
To prevent Atari from doing a "Timex Sinclair", and to make the ST become
the next C-64 or IBM, they should:
1) MANUFACTURE MORE COMPUTERS, AND SUPPORT MAIL ORDER AND VAR SALES TO
SELL THEM, WHILE NOT PLAYING FAVORITES WITH FEDERATED
Atari needs to manufacture more computers, and to sell more of them
by distributing them to more places. When the Atari Factory, to be in
Houston, becomes fully operative, this will not be much of a problem (IF
they made their OWN RAM chips, they could make a fortune, not only because
they could use them in their OWN computers instead of having to buy them,
saving a bundle in ANY RAM chip market, but they would be integrating the
entire ST production process. IBM has employed THIS VERY strategy, and
there will be much said in the future about IBM's advantage because of it)
to supply the ST US MARKET, which is suffering because there aren't enough
ST's to go around.
Mail order and VAR sales were much larger than dealer sales, and many
potential customers are not near enough to dealers to buy ST's and mail
order/VAR's are the ONLY way sometimes for them to get ST's.
(Amiga 500's ARE available from Mail Order/VAR's, and THEY will be bought)
But when they ARE able to go to dealers, and they CAN'T get the ST that
they want at the right price, and when dealers can't get proper SUPPORT
from Atari, not even doing something about their complaints,how does Atari
expect businesses to buy ST's? And HOW does Atari expect home buyers to
KNOW about the ST when they aren't trying to get the attention of the home
market (which virtually everyone EXCEPT Atari agrees is the main market
for the ST's to sell) let alone ADVERTISE them as good computers that
provide "power without the price" for the home, as well as the educational
and small business markets, but are overemphasizing the Game Machines made
by Atari, adding to the already large "Atari Game Machine Company" belief,
which can only hurt Atari's ST sales in the long run....
Is THIS enough reason?
2) ADVERTISE TO GET THE ST'S NAME RECOGNIZED AND DO IT WISELY, IN A
BIG WAY, EDUCATING THE GENERAL PUBLIC ABOUT ITS ABILITIES
Don't advertise for business purposes during "Cosby Show", and don't
stress the home uses of the ST in PC Tech Journal.
Maybe advertise BIG during the Cosby Show (only advertising on cable, as
a recent Atari president stated, is futile. FOX is NOT a big network.)
or put out GOOD business ads in BYTE and other PC oriented magazines, but
go at it wisely, with well placed, smart, professional ads. Dealing with
the market aimed for, like magazines for the educational market and small,
large business publications, like Fortune, or at the general public, with
ads showing the ST's superiority to other computers costing the same.
Doug Williams has been hired by Atari to do their Game System ads. Good
idea, very open minded, but why not ALSO use other people for TV ST ADS?
Many people are not even aware that the ST exists, and do not think that
Atari is a viable option in the business, home, and educational markets.
Also, Mr. Tramiel should do like he did for the C-64 in 1983.
He put out some brilliant TV ads DIRECTED AT the home market, and the rest
is history.
Apple won the educational market by advertising to schools and colleges,
giving specials and discounts to them. No reason for the ST not to become
a similar success story, only in both areas.
3) DON'T ANNOUNCE STUFF UNTIL YOU ARE JUST ABOUT READY TO SHIP IT, AND
IF YOU HAVE TO, GIVE VAGUE DETAILS
IBM does it all the time, Commodore is starting to do it, and Apple
has been doing it. It works for them, and it is a smart idea. Smarter
than saying that a product is coming and having to make excuses for why it
isn't just yet. Microsoft did a variant of this technique with OS/2, which
they promised months and months before they came out with it. They did it
by having a reputation of coming through with products,and by giving vague
specs about it, even giving the date that they would give the date that
they would announce it, all at the RIGHT TIME, to build momentum.
If Atari is trying to do this, they are not doing a good job of it.
4) MAKE SURE THAT ST PERIPHERALS ARE ABLE TO BE MANUFACTURED SO AS
TO MEET DEMAND
This is one of those obvious things that can be easily done well, like
software documentation, but that can also be put back and develop into a
problem. After the Atari Factory becomes active, and if the ST becomes
popular (this would be WHEN, but the issues of how good advertisements for
the ST will be, the Amiga 500's price/graphics advantage, large software
developers' uneasiness about the ST market, and other software companies'
reactions to those fears keep US ST success from being a "sure thing".)
ST/Abaq Peripherals such as the CD-ROM, Transputer "Farm" Cards, SLM 804,
etc. will be in demand. If Atari cannot manufacture enough of them to meet
demand in a short time, the momentum that advertising and increased ST
production will bring might come to a QUICK and devastating halt,as people
would believe that Atari could not support the ST's further than selling
them. Which would mean Amiga domination.
I am sure that Atari will not let this happen, as meeting demand within a
reasonable amount of time is a given to experienced marketing and business
executives, but good software documentation is also a "given", and ALL
computer users have seen where that has been fouled up, either by not
giving it a high priority, or by not hiring the right people. Meeting
demand of products is a sign of whether quality is valued by companies,
and businesses, as well as home and educational users, like quality a LOT.
5) STANDARDIZE ON USING 1-MEGABIT SIMM CHIPS, DOUBLE SIDED DISKS IN ST'S,
AND IMPROVE THE DEFICIENCIES IN THE CURRENT ST'S ABILITIES AND DESIGNS
Standardizing on 1M-bit SIMMs for the 1040/Mega/Extended ST's would be
an advisable strategy, as these chips will eventually be less expensive,
since it only takes 9 for a Meg of memory, than using MANY more 256K-bit
chips for the same amount of memory,and as demand for these chips increase
supplies of 256K-bit chips will decrease, and their price will not be as
economical as 1M-bit SIMMs. Also, using 1M-bit chips would make for a
smaller motherboard, necessary if Atari is to make a Portable ST,and would
decrease the chip density on the motherboard, making it easier to keep the
system from overheating. It would seem that Atari IS using the higher
capacity 1M-bit SIMMs in the Mega 4, but it might be that they aren't used
in the Mega 2, and certainly NOT in the 1040.
The Macintosh has standardized on 800K formatted disks. The Amiga
uses (slow) 880K formatted disks. The IBM and ST are the ONLY computers
to use single sided disks, and OS/2 will use ONLY double sided disks.
The advantages to using double sided disks exclusively in computer systems
are MANY. Software companies don't have to use multiple disks for a
software package unless it is VERY big (WordPerfect), and they can stuff
more features into a program if they have the disk space to support it.
ST users would inherently have more disk space, causing them to buy less
disks, and ALL ST users could use the same disks. This would also enable
Atari to include the "Twister" format (made by Dave Small, which lets
Double Sided disks store 800K of data and access it at twice the speed of
Atari 720K format) in the TOS ROMs as a second option, so Atari format ST
disks could be used by IBM drives, while regular ST owners could use the
Twister format.
The problem is that single sided disk drives were sold with the 520 ST's.
Atari is preparing to put double sided drives in the 520 STFM's, but this
is too little, too late. The solution to this would be simple, direct, and
help find out HOW many 520's are out there. Atari should have a trade-in
policy so 520 owners could upgrade from a single sided drive to a double
sided one, BOTH informing the owners who sent in their warranty cards AND
those who did NOT register their 520's with Atari. The ONLY way for Atari
to be able to to get in touch with these owners is to ADVERTISE, primarily
in Atari-related magazines and online services, and to let dealers give
these upgrades (as well as sending SF 314's to 520 owners that mail their
SF 354's or 520 STFM's to Atari) for nominal fees.
It is rumored that Atari counts the number of US ST owners by the number
of warranty cards that they receive. IF this is true, then the number of
ST owners ought to be dramatically increased by this strategy. Even IF
Atari counts the number of ST owners by how many have ST's have been
shipped (the SMART way) this would aid the ST market VERY much, as the
entire ST line would have a better standard type of disk.
There are MANY ways that Atari could improve the ST's abilities while
keeping everything standard, but one main thing that Atari should do is
to SUPPORT and license an ST Multitasker, such as MT C-SHELL, if not for
the sake of businesses or ordinary users who WANT TO run more than one
program at a time (multitasking IS WANTED by more than a few sophisticated
computer users, which ST users MUST be) then just to legitimize the ST, as
EVERY personal computer worth mentioning has a multitasking OS, IBM with
OS/2, Macintosh, with Multifinder, and the Amiga, with Exec ROM Kernel,
because multitasking, contrary to beliefs of a few, has become a fact of
life for microcomputers.
Atari would HAVE to make the ST become a business-usable machine, by
supporting more than 4 megabytes, which is quite small when compared to
the IBM, which can have 8 Megs in extended memory for 8086 IBM's,and up to
16 Megs with OS/2, the Macintosh, which supports 8 Megs with a Mac II, and
the Amiga, which shows SUPERIORITY by supporting 9 Megs with a 68000, and
16 Megs with a 68020. This impediment in the ST will become one of the BIG
reasons it is not considered a good business machine, because even though
4 Megs is enough for most programs, many business uses (like sophisticated
CAD/CAM) make it not even a tidy sum, such as running HyperCard with Magic
Sac (at least the new Sac being developed by Dave Small called Spectre 128
that uses 128K MAC ROMs),let alone Multifinder, using Cyber Studio or
CyberPaint and NOT worrying about running out of memory attempting to do a
particularly big animation, then having to make it in parts, and merge
them on hard disk, hoping that the animation doesn't need editing, because
the computer can't support enough RAM to hold it all in memory so it can
be finished and edited seamlessly, let alone trying to make a BIG document
with Calamus or Publishing Partner Professional using a lot of GDOS fonts
and then running out of memory at a certain point, or when trying to print
it using a SLM 804.
The ancient belief that people don't need anymore than a certain amount of
memory is stupid, as shown by MS-DOS, which only supported 640K, with the
rationale that it was all that many computer owner needed. When that was
proven false, and computer owners started complaining to Microsoft, they
LISTENED, and as a result, all memory boards for IBM's support the LIM
Extended Memory Standard.
It would be even EASIER for the ST to be upgraded to the Amiga's level in
this regard. People at Atari say that it is the "MMU" chip inside the ST,
which actually just provides for memory interfacing that is the reason for
this handicap.
There is no reason why Atari could not come out with a Mega board with
the 68851 chip providing the functions of a TRUE MMU, such as memory
paging for virtual memory, (which would make TOS support of all the 68000
address space, 16 Megabytes, easier) selling it through DEALERS with new
TOS ROMs, and using the MMU chip for other purposes, maybe improving the
ST's capabilities in the process.
The only other options would be to improve the MMU chip itself to this
extent, and selling it separately, or making a new ST motherboard with the
68851 chip installed.
Supporting more colors at the same time with the current ST's wouldn't
be bad either. It should be easy to modify the ST's graphics, MMU chips to
support 512 colors at the same time in low resolution and 32 colors at the
same time in medium resolution, maybe from a palette of 4096. IF they
wanted to keep the current ST resolutions standard, they could just make
these graphics capabilities be part of an "extended resolution" mode, so
software compatibility would be maintained, while users and developers
wanting to use better graphics could just choose EXTENDED LOW or EXTENDED
MEDIUM resolution, with an EXTENDED HIGH resolution having 16 shade gray
scaling if possible. This would defeat the main reason that people buy
the Amiga.
If these things weren't done, I would merely ask for support of a 68020,
but Atari officials say that it would take LOTS of effort, and too much
money to improve the ST THAT much. Although they have 67.3 million dollars
to buy 65 SMALL stores in the U.S Southwest that will never be that big,
instead of making a sales contract with a chain like ComputerLand which is
much more recognizable than Federated, more respected,and which is larger,
(having 800 stores)to sell the 1040/Mega ST to businesses, not only making
the ST be considered in the eyes of business, but giving the ST a MUCH
larger GUARANTEED way to sell. Which would require little maintenanc
e
after paying enough money to convince a chain like that to sell Ataris.
Isn't this what they WANTED to do with Federated?
It seems that when they were designing the casing for the 1040 ST, that
they didn't realize that people do NOT want to have to lift their machines
every time they plug in a joystick. While Mouse Master, from Practical
Peripherals, takes care of that, it was a poor act. The Mega design IS
pretty good, but those same Atari designers put the warm reset button in
one of the worst possible places. The upcoming TOS revision will have the
Ctrl-Alt-Del key sequence cause a warm reset, and Ctrl-Alt-Right Shift-Del
sequence cause a cold reset. Neat, but....
One thing not obvious to Atari is that if you make a system open, you do
N*OT have a policy voiding the warranty if anyone OPENS up the system. The
Mega ST's are under the SAME policy as the 520/1040's, which are closed
systems, and when cards, internal hard disks, etc. are made for the Mega,
Atari will HAVE to change this policy. Apple made the VERY SAME mistake
with the Macintosh, but they changed to meet the NEEDS of the consumer. I
would hate to know that Atari didn't LEARN from other companies' mistakes.
6) SUPPORT AND BE INVOLVED IN GOING AFTER PIRATES, AND MAKE DEVELOPERS
NOT DESERTING THE ST BE AN INTEGRAL PART OF ST PROJECTS, PLANS
To make a show of force, Atari must go actively in trying to get rid
of pirates, if not to attract software companies to the ST, then JUST to
calm current developers' concerns that Atari is not concerned. Helping
developers, having a "hands-on", involved approach to software development
has been APPLE's strategy for the MAC,and developers can often do what the
company is thinking of doing, only for less R&D, marketing, etc., but for
less cost in public opinion in case it is vaporware for a long time. I
stress developers not diversifying in a hurry and a big way because they
do not deserve to be involved in this process. Michtron, for one, used to
make ST programs by the dozen, but have reduced to importing GFA programs,
releasing games with MicroDeal, coming out with Amiga versions of GFA
programs,and generally becoming involved with the Amiga like they were for
the ST. They have done this type of thing before, jumping from the TRS-80
to the IBM to the Sanyo 500 before becoming an ST, and slowly, an Amiga
developer. This is meant ONLY as an example, and IF Atari gets itself out
of its mess,renewed (and increased)commitments will be made by ST software
developers that had to go "elsewhere" to survive, IF they come back.
7) SPEND MONEY TO COMMIT TO A GOOD INTERNATIONAL GAME PLAN, SUPPORT BOTH
THE BUSINESS AND HOME MARKET WHILE NOT ABANDONING THE 8-BITS
To do this, analyze the market CLOSELY AND CAREFULLY, using what works
and improving on what doesn't, while using NEW methods and advantages, but
not cutting corners on what is needed, and LISTENING TO THE PUBLIC for
further direction. While this would seem obvious, the past actions, such
as the Federated dealings and ST US marketing would seem to indicate....
Fostering the "Atari Game Company" belief with stuff like the ST game
machine (Atari could use the extra single sided drives that would come in
as a result of the trade-in policy by building them into ST Game Machines
if they wanted to get rid of the resulting inventory. IF Atari does this,
by the way, what will happen to the XE GAME SYSTEM?) is not a good game
plan. In England, the ST is doing very well, but the 64 still rules the
home market, and the Amiga is becoming popular.
It is becoming more popular because STs cost MUCH more (around 1 1/2 times
the US price in Europe) in foreign markets than the Amiga 500, which is
almost the same there as here,apparently because EXTRA MONEY is trying to
be made there, and as Europeans see the price difference....
In France, IBM dominates, with little competition from anyone else. Jack
Tramiel, when he was president of Commodore, caused the 64's popularity
there, but when he went to Atari, the 64 declined. Recently, the MAC II
with A/UX (Apple's UNIX), combining the Mac interface with UNIX, has made
the MAC popular there. In West Germany, the Amiga has started to become
popular in the home market, and although the ST is far ahead of it,
Commodore still has a great part of the market there, including IBM-like
domination of the business and home markets. In the USSR, a great
potential market for 8-bits exist, with import restrictions banning all
computers more powerful than an IBM XT from going to communist nations.
They also need a LOT more computers than they have now, and since Atari
is making similar deals with Poland to sell 8-bit computers....Even in
Canada, the 64 is the most popular home computer, being the most used in
their schools, helping the Amiga to sell very well there, with IBM being
dominant in the business market, and the Macs becoming popular, but TOO
expensive to become an alternative.
Good game plans are being done, such as the steady development and plans
shown for the ABAQ Transputer (supposed to be out WITH SOFTWARE AVAILABLE
by Christmas), the CDROM's (late) arrival, having a COMPETENT President,
(A. Ligouri) and with the quick progress on the 68030 machine, Atari IS
making an effort. And making the transition that 8-bit owners will
eventually make to the ST of their OWN choice, NOT because they have
to, because the company is ignoring and not supporting them (which is
being done to 64 owners by Commodore) should be a high priority, and
keeping the 8-bit market healthy is a good company policy for those owning
8-bits (and who also make up a large part of US ST owners)which also
prevents them from feeling alienated and going over to the "other side"
when they decide to upgrade. Atari has been doing okay in this area,
coming out with the XF551 drive and XE Game System, but they could
improve, as ADOS (new DOS for the XF551) shouldn't become vapor just for
the sake of new ST plans, and 8-bit support SHOULD go beyond User Groups,
but with support of new products such as Diamond, a GEM-like Operating
System for the 8-bits that supports the ST mouse, they are doing better
than Warner. And other plans for NON-VAPORWARE (hopefully) products
serving home and business needs is vital for the ST computers' to beat
the competition, or at least to set a standard in the computer world.
EPILOGUE
--------
(Additional info on products, ideas previously mentioned)
The Amiga is stressed because it is the only viable alternative in this
part of the computer market (Except the MAC II, which is too expensive,
as well as not being powerful enough, except in the area of speed, and the
386 machines, which are not as good in the areas of interfaces, are
matched in multitasking OS's, but are better in the areas of speed and
available software, support), and the MAIN competition in the US home
market, being in comparisons by all potential (non-Commodore) customers.
The formula for determining the number of colors that a computer supports
from the number of bits per pixel it has is 2 to the power of the number
of bit planes. In the 68030 machine, for example, which has 24 bit planes,
the number of colors would be figured by calculating 2 to the power of 24,
getting over 16 million colors. Bits per pixel is another phrase for bit
planes, by the way.
MT C-SHELL is a program that, because of Atari's support,I doubt that half
of US ST users even KNOW about it, but that CAN multitask most ST programs
and has multiuser capabilties, and that, with VSH Manager, have a "Visual
Shell" GEM interface to make using it's features a lot easier. (Atari
could bundle this with the Mega 2 or 4 as an option) This has been out for
more than a YEAR, and doesn't have many bugs. It is made by Beckemeyer
Development,and if you want to get more info about MT C-SHELL($130 retail)
VSH Manager ($35 retail), or any other Beckemeyer's products, their number
is: (voice) 1-415-452-1129, or (BBS) 1-415-452-4792.
The Apple IIgs runs at 3 MHZ, the Amiga at 7.16 MHZ, and the ST at 8 MHZ,
with their processors. Apple is reportedly improving the Apple IIgs to be
able to run at 7-9 MHZ, the Amiga runs at 14.32 MHZ with a 16 MHZ 68020,
and, with an upcoming hardware add-on, using a 16 MHZ 68000, called Turbo
ST (made by Megabyte Inc., at 1-800-255-5786, for $250.00), the ST will be
able to run at 16 MHZ.
The REASON that the Amiga does not run at 16 MHZ when using a 68020 is
that when the processor speed has been doubled, the clock speed would be
doubled, NOT (as they claim) jump from 7.16 MHZ using an 8 MHZ chip, to
16 MHZ using a 16 MHZ chip. Since it does not run at the full speed of the
68000, it, logically, cannot run at the full speed of the 68020.
Only the Amiga 2000 is TRULY hardware expandable, with 8 expansion slots.
The Amiga 500 and 1000 only have 1 expansion slot, usually used for RAM
expansion, and Amiga 1000 slots aren't compatible with 2000 cards. The
Amiga 500 cannot use Amiga 2000 cards without a SubSystem 500, a hardware
add-on enabling the 500 to use 2 Amiga 2000 slots.
Megabyte Inc. is also making a hardware add-on (compatible with Turbo ST)
giving the 520/1040/Mega ST's 8 expansion slots. Both Turbo ST and the
expansion slot box will require motherboard modifications, so a good
dealer would be needed to install and support them in case of repairs.
The CD-ROM that Atari is JUST coming out with was first developed with the
Grolier Encyclopedia, in a project with a company called Activenture. Gary
Kildall, the founder of Digital Research, after starting GEM, began to
look into other storage technologies, particularly optical storage. He
then made a company, intending to develop using video disks. For a few
months he worked with Grolier on putting their Academic American
Encyclopedia, previously only on Compuserve, on a video disk, but while
he was finishing CD-ROMs came onto the scene. Having it already in a
database, he started to make a CD-ROM version of the encyclopedia with
Grolier and Atari, first naming his company Activenture, then
KnowledgeSet. Atari then announced its CD-ROM in 1985, at the Summer
CES. It WAS fairly experimental at the time, but Atari officials said
that it could be available as early as that fall.
The Grolier Encyclopedia was the FIRST commercial CD-ROM, with versions
out for both the IBM PC and the Atari ST, BUT Atari decided to pull outof
the deal as the price of CD-ROMs grew instead of decreasing. KnowledgeSet
then moved to more upscale markets, doing joint ventures with Sony, a
large CD-ROM supporter, and with multimedia companies involved with large
corporations where CD-ROM would be more popular.
Atari is not completely "in the muck", and they seem to be making some
good moves, such as sending a newsletter to every User Group with info on
upcoming Atari plans. The (late) arrival of MUCH Atari vaporware, such as
the CD-ROM, (while "waiting for the price of CD-ROM's to come down", they
provided support for most CD-ROM standards) and the ABAQ, promised by
Christmas. The 68030 machine, which was seen in Germany, will be publicly
announced this Winter Comdex, accounting for Atari's deadline self
imposed, just as with the original ST's for the "Extended ST", is proof of
this. Also proof of Atari's trying to do well is the upcoming SFP-004,a
Mega expansion board that has the Motorola 68881 chip, allowing for speed
increases 3-20 times normal for applications written to access it. Now if
Atari could do as well on the "home front"..
Commodore is aggressively approaching the educational market, establishing
regional sales offices to work with schools, a network of 150 educational
dealers, (many already Amiga dealers) and starting an advertising
campaign in educational magazines, publications, to sell the 64's to
schools that are budget-conscious, and their PC-10 series to MS-DOS based
schools. The Amiga is to be sold in science, music, and art/graphics
departments, and Commodore is working with software developers to make
products for specifically the K-12 grade area, many for the Amiga 500.
An INDEPENDENT research group came up with information showing that the
number of Atari ST users in the US is 425,000, instead of the 225,000 that
Atari said there was. To verify this, accounting for the sales of some ST
programs (FTL DungeonMaster) would prove that there are more than 225,000
ST users, if not 425,000....Atari tries to argue this by using the sales
figures for ST Writer..which is more popular folks, DM or a word
processor? Maybe they shoulda used Arakis as a barometric indicator ;-)!
And it seems that some European companies are importing ST Clones to the
US. I trust that Mr. Tramiel's lawyers will do their jobs to ensure that
these things never see the light of day in the US, as although clones
helped the IBM market, Atari doesn't have the name recognition of IBM, and
ST Clones would have the opposite effect on the ST US market.
By the way, I have tried VERY hard to make this not be another essay that
would be considered "Atari Bashing", so I would hope that this essay gets
seen by important people, both in Atari and in the ST software development
areas. I would request that anyone reading this document make a concerted
effort to spread it around to as many people as possible, especially those
who would be able to consider the concepts discussed here and to possibly
carry them out, with changes made to suit Atari, of course.
Zimmerman's Law of Complaints:
------------------------------
"Nobody notices when things go right...."
Editor Note:
Mr. Arthur has a very good compilation of the "Atari Story" most of which
has appeared in bits and pieces here in ST Report. Since He and the folks
at Grasp have put this information in one neat package, we have placed it
here for all to see...ESPECIALLY ATARI!
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ST-REPORT Issue #50 AUG.29, 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
herein are not necessarily those of ST-Report or of the Staff.
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