Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Silicon Times Report Issue 0049
ST REPORT WEEKLY ONLINE MAGAZINE
Monday, AUGUST. 22, 1988
Vol II No. 49
===========
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.......
> Late Breaking News..................> ArcShell Docs.....................
> Surgery is a Cure...................> The Twilight Zone.................
> Build a TrackBall...................> ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL............
==========================================================================
AVAILABLE ON: COMP-U-SERVE ~ GENIE ~ DELPHI
==========================================================================
From the Editor's Desk:
Many times we are told of change and really feel our hearts grow warm
with anticipation of fine things in the future. Over and over, through
the course of history, have we seen many toil, for what seemed to be an
eternity, only to have a newcomer appear on the scene and try to grace
himself with the plaudits of being a catalyst in bringing about that
change. I am so very thankful to have been fortunate enough to know the
real truth...otherwise I would be inclined to condemn the Atari Bashers
and "The Gang of Five". Instead, I praise them as I would those who fight
and scramble to bring out the truth and have things done the right way.
Garry Tramiel runs Federated Stores ..he received them as a wedding
present...Hopefully he wants to keep them and will make sure the
injustices being committed that involve Federated Stores will be corrected
and rectified. Atari cannot afford to loose any dealers especially those
who are respected and doing a good job.
St Report has in the past brought forward many items that the readers did
not believe or found too outrageous to believe well ....we certainly do
not make any of these items up. Case in point: the double sided drives in
520STFM units....we first told you about it right after Spring Comdex
along with the Chinon Drive matter....both have come right up front and
made their full presence known...We at ST Report make a solemn effort to
try and make sure each and every item we find out is fact...when we are
relatively sure, you will read about it.
As an individual, I have owned and enjoyed Atari computer products since
the early 800 models were released. There is no doubt that I am, what is
known as, a die hard Atarian and will be for quite some time to come.
I say this to make sure most folks are not misinformed by our detractors.
We do support the Atari product line and use our own units every day.
St Report is produced on a Mega4 ST and we use the editor (buffer) in
Flash for composition.
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.
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
LATE BREAKING NEWS ITEMS
------------------------
*** HAYES SYSOP SPECIAL (USA) ***
=========================
Sysops talk and Hayes Listens!
------------------------------
For a limited period of time, qualified Sysops can purchase up to 4 Hayes
V-series Smartmodem 9600s for a special Sysops price of US $400 each!
A 70% reduction from the estimated retail price of US $1,299.00.
Hayes V-series system products provide the features that BBS operators most
want - high speed (2400 bps and 9600 bps), error control, adaptive data
compression and automatic feature negotiation. And, now, you can buy them at a
special discount to use on your bulletin board.
Qualifying for SysOp Special Rates is easy.
You must demonstrate that:
--------------------------
> The bulletin board and operator are serving a specific user group.
> The bulletin board serves as an information center or center for
exchange of information between separate users' groups or computer
associated groups.
> The bulletin board has been in operation for at least six months and
receives a minimum of 50 calls per week or 200 calls per month.
**** If you want the SYSOP Information Packet, or have any questions,
give Hayes a call. They are eager to serve you.
NOTE: Sysops who have already purchased Hayes V-series Smartmodem 9600s
through the Hayes Sysop Purchase Plan will be offered an additional price
reduction of $250, (for each V-series 9600 previously purchased), towards
the purchase of additional V-series 9600s.
This means, if you have already purchased a Hayes V-series Smartmodem 9600
through the Sysop Purchase Plan, you can now order another V-series 9600
for $150. (1 for 1, 2 for 2, etc). Up to a maximum of 4 only.
FOR MORE INFO:
--------------
Call Hayes Customer Service at (404) 449-8791, 8:00am to 8:00pm Monday
through Friday. Ask for Mississippi. Lynn Caudwell. Be sure you mention you saw
this notice in ST REPORT.
Hayes, with this offer to the Sysops, continues to show the leadership
and responsibility that has and is the fine example to all the other
companies in the computing industry. Be sure to keep up with the ongoing
offer from Hayes as we expect updates from time to time.
U.S. Robotics has a similar offer, but they want 100.00 more for their HST
modem...495.00 with S&H etc...it'll be MORE than 500.00!
St Report will, in the next few weeks have a full tech report on the new
U.S. Robotics HST 96oo and the Hayes V-series 96oo.
NOTE: Modems from different manufacturers will NOT handshake at 9600bps
unless they are identical internally..ie, set up with CCITT V.42. They
will however, work at 24oo.....The power struggle is really over because
the International Agreement has been signed in Australia. It is now up
to the modem makers to get their act together.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST-TALK Professional
=====================
"Atari ST DeskTop Telecommunications"
-----------------------------------
(C)1988 QMI
by John DeMar
ST-Talk Pro.... The Most Powerful Terminal Program for the Atari ST!
----------------------------------------------------
Here's a list of some of ST-Talk Pro's features:
**********************************************
* Full GEM Operation
* Easy to learn and use
* Auto-Dialer Database
* Save and Load Options
* AutoPilot Script Language
* VT-200/VT-100/VT-52
* ANSI and Vidtex Graphics
* File Upload and Download
* Archive and Un-Archive
* Disk Utilities & Formatter
* 10-buffer Word Processor
* Capture while Editing
* Adjustable Word Wrap
* Search and Replace
* Multiple Selected Blocks
* Paragraph Reformatting
* Time and Cash Clocks
* Type ahead with 3 lines
* Activity Logging
* Unattended Auto Answer
* Programmable Functions
* Built-in Help Menus
* 128 Page Owners Guide!
* On-line support through Compuserve and QMI's 24-hour BBS.
************************************************************
Windows, Icons & Menus
======================
With drop-down menus and desktop icons, all of the features that you'll
need most often are as close as a click of the mouse. Or, let your fingers
take control through Alternate keystrokes and 40 programmable function
keys. ST-Talk Professional's fast text display uses custom screen fonts
for a full 80-columns within a GEM window. You get additional screen modes
including 140 columns by 48 lines in monochrome!
Editor with Multiple Buffers
============================
Edit mail messages and browse through information with ST-Talk Pro's
built-in wordprocessor. With up to ten buffers, you can edit several
unrelated messages and even capture incoming text all at the same time!
The Editor also helps you write AutoPilot functions to automate your
telecomm sessions. As you create auto-logon procedures and macros, the
commands are checked as you type them.
You'll find many powerful Editor features such as: word-wrap, paragraph
reformatting, search, replace, and block operations on multiple selected
areas.
Sending and Receiving
=====================
ST-Talk Pro lets you exchange information with many types of computers.
Choose from several types of file transfer methods including Xmodem, Ymodem
Batch, Compuserve-B and Kermit. With the Background file transfer accessory
(available to registered owners only!), you can use other programs while the
computer is busy transferring the file.
No matter where you call or which modem you own, ST-Talk Pro can save
whatever comes across your screen. You can edit and print text files and even
load them into your favorite word processor.
Emulation and Graphics
======================
To communicate with other computers, you need to talk their language.
ST-Talk Pro emulates several terminals and lets you select the options you
need to get connected. VT-200 and VT-100 with ANSI graphics and custom
character sets lets you access anything from mainframe computers to remote
bulletin board systems. VT-52 mode is popular with many systems including
Atari ST BBS's. VIDTEX graphics gives you online pictures through
Compuserve and QMI's BB/ST bulletin board software.
==========================================================================
Q M I
ST-Talk Professional $39.95 Quantum Microsystems Inc.
PO Box 179
Introductory price: $29.95 !!! Liverpool, NEW YORK 13088
(Until October. 1, 1988)
315-451-7747 *VOICE*
315-457-7216 *BBS*
==========================================================================
Next Week! ...a full review of ST TALK PROFESSIONAL....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARC Shell Documentation Version 1.97
====================================
By Charles F. Johnson
Last revision: August 14, 1988
Part One - Introduction
ARC Shell is a GEM program which is designed to work with the
popular ST archiving utility ARC.TTP. Essentially, ARC Shell adds a
GEM interface to the ARC program, letting you point and click to
select the various options instead of typing a command line. (I
don't know about you, but one of the main reasons I bought an ST was
to get away from all that MS-DOS/Unix command line silliness.)
ARC Shell also contains a complete GEM-based disk utilities
package, that lets you copy files (with wildcards and with query),
delete and rename files, create and delete folders, show the free
space on any connected drive, and even run other programs...all
without exiting to the desktop. ARC Shell's current configuration
can be saved at any point, so that the options and settings you use
most often will be selected when you run the program. In addition,
you can use the ST desktop's "Install Application" feature to set
things up so that ARC Shell will automatically run when you
double-click on a file with an extension of ARC.
This documentation will focus primarily on the operation of
ARC Shell; it's not intended to teach you how to use ARC. However,
I've included the manual for version 5.20 of ARC in the archive which
contains this file and the latest version of ARC Shell. Refer to
this manual if you have any questions about the ARC program itself,
such as "What's the difference between Updating and Freshening?" or
"What does Convert Archive do?" The original version of ARC for the
ST was version 5.12, ported by Harvey Johnson. The most recent
version is ARC 5.21, ported to the ST by Howard Chu. Version 5.21 is
available on Compuserve, Delphi, and GEnie, and on many local ST
BBSes.
Part Two - The Usual Shareware Plea
------------------------
Versions 1.95 and above of ARC Shell are "shareware," which
means that if you like and use my program I'd appreciate a
contribution of $15.00 ... or more if you happen to be struck by a
random philanthropic impulse. I've been continually updating and
improving ARC Shell since it was first written, and I think you'll be
pleased with the result; letters with checks in them would please me
equally! If you think ARC Shell is worth at least $15.00, send a
check to:
Charles F. Johnson (ARC Shell)
P.O. Box 1250
Pacific Palisades, CALIFORNIA 90272
And thanks for your support!
Part Three - Using ARC Shell
When you run ARC Shell, make sure you have the ARC program
(ARC.TTP) in the same directory with ARCSH197.PRG. The very first
thing ARC Shell does is look in the current directory for ARC.TTP.
If a file with this name cannot be found, ARC Shell will show you a
file selector asking, "Where is ARC.TTP?" and you will be able to
locate the ARC program with the file selector. When ARC Shell finds
the ARC program, it will then display a large dialog box, with
buttons representing the available options.
What you're looking at.
In the upper left of the main dialog box is a box containing
buttons labeled "ADD to Archive," "EXTRACT from Arc," etc. The
buttons in this box are the main ARC commands; you'll notice that the
default ARC command is "EXTRACT from Arc." Only one of these buttons
can be selected at a time - if you click on a button to select it,
the previously selected button will be turned "off." (These are
known as "radio buttons.")
To the right of the ARC command box is a box containing the
ARC "flags." The button labeled "Hold Screen" is selected by default
when you first run ARC Shell. The buttons in this box can be turned
off and on individually; unlike radio buttons, more than one can be
selected at a time. The button labeled "Encrypt/Decrypt" is a
special case; when you turn this button on, the code word entry line
beneath it becomes active and the edit cursor (the thin vertical
line) is placed on the entry line, allowing you to type in an
encryption keyword. The code word can be up to eight characters
long.
Directly underneath the ARC command box is a box containing
buttons to let you select the device which will be used for LIST and
VERBOSE LIST commands, and the drive for ARC and DATA files. The
drive buttons can be operated in two ways; you can either type in the
drive letter by hand, using the up and down arrows to move from one
button to another, or use the mouse to click on the button. If you
click the button, a box with 16 buttons representing the 16 possible
logical drives will pop up, allowing you to select the drive with the
mouse. Only active drives will be selectable in this box, and
hitting Return will exit without changing the current drive.
Finally, along the bottom of the main box are buttons labeled
"Info," "ARC," "Disk," "Config," and "Exit." The Info button will
display a copyright message, and a gentle reminder to send in your
shareware contribution.
OK, let's do something.
When you've set all the options in the ARC Shell dialog box
the way you want them, click on the "ARC" button to start things
going. NOTE: You may also double-click on any of the buttons in the
ARC command box (Extract, Add, List, etc.) to execute that command
immediately without the extra step of clicking the "ARC" button.
Depending on which ARC command you've selected, what happens
next will vary slightly. In all cases however, the first thing ARC
Shell will do is display a file selector to allow you to choose an
ARC file. If you're creating a new archive file with the ADD or MOVE
commands, simply type in a name for the new file on the file
selector's "Selection" line, and hit Return or click on OK. If
you're using any of the other commands (which all operate on
previously-created archive files), click on the name of the ARC file
you're working with and click OK. The file selector's "Cancel"
button always returns you to the main ARC Shell dialog box.
The LIST, VERBOSE LIST, or TEST commands only take one
parameter - the name of an ARC file - so they will be acted upon as
soon as you exit the file selector. Any of the other commands will
now require a second parameter, the name of the DATA files on which
you're operating.
If you're ADDing files to an archive and you leave the
"Selection" line in the DATA file selector blank, ARC Shell
interprets this as "all files," and passes a search spec of *.* to
the ARC program. If you type in a name on the selection line or
click on a filename, only that filename will be passed to ARC. Also,
when ADDing files, you will always return to the DATA file selector
when ARC is finished adding a file or files, so that you can choose
more files to add without having to select "ADD to Archive" every
time. You must click on the file selector's "Cancel" button to exit
back to the main dialog box.
If you leave the "Selection" line blank when you're EXTRACTing
files from an archive, you'll be faced with the following choices
about how to extract the files:
ALL - Extracts all files from the archive into the
specified directory.
To Folder - First creates a folder (a subdirectory)
with the same name as the archive file (minus the .ARC
extension) in the specified directory, then extracts all
files from the archive into the folder. When the
operation is complete, you'll be given the chance to
delete the original ARC file.
W/ Query - When you select the "Query" option, ARC Shell
reads through the entire ARC file and gets the name of
every file it contains, then displays all the names in a
large dialog box. There is room in the box for 80
filenames; if an archive contains more than 80 files a
page indicator will become visible in the lower left of
the box and you can page forward and back to see the rest
of the filenames. (The maximum is 720.) The Query box
lets you mark individual files or groups of files for
extraction by clicking on them with the mouse. You can
click and hold down the button while dragging the mouse to
select or deselect files, and double-click on any file to
select it in one step. (Note: if you double-click on a
file when other files are selected, it begins the
extraction process for the entire group of selected
files.) If you want to abort a multiple extraction after
the process has already started, press and hold down the
Alternate key. (Another note: the Query box is also
available for the "Delete from ARC" and "Copy to StdOut"
commands. Just choose "w/ Query from the alert box that
appears after selecting either of these commands.)
Cancel - Lets you change your mind and return to the
main ARC Shell dialog box.
The "COPY to StdOut" command can be used to view text files
contained within an archive without extracting them first. When this
command is selected, ARC Shell will display an alert box with the
choices "ALL" and "w/ Query." The Query option works in the same way
as with the EXTRACT command; the filenames will be read from the
archive, and you can choose which file(s) to view using the Query
dialog box. When you use "COPY to StdOut" to view text files, you
can pause the scrolling by typing Control-S and resume by typing
Control-Q. The COPY operation can also be aborted at any time by
typing Control-C.
The LIST and VERBOSE LIST commands are used to display the
files contained within an archive. You can direct the output from
the LIST commands to the screen, to the printer, or to an ASCII disk
file by clicking on the buttons labeled "List Device" in the main ARC
Shell dialog box.
There are two buttons in the ARC Shell dialog box which are
intended to be used only with ARC version 5.21; "Overwrite Existing
Files" and "Squash." Earlier versions of ARC will report an error if
either of these two buttons are selected. The buttons labeled
"Crunch" and "Squash" are used to choose between two different types
of data compression schemes used by ARC 5.21 -- only the "Crunch"
option is supported by earlier versions. So bear in mind that if you
use the "Squash" method, people who don't have ARC 5.21 will be
unable to extract those files.
Part Four - The ARC Shell Disk Utilities
To access the ARC Shell Disk Utilities, click on the button
labeled "Disk" at the bottom of the main ARC Shell dialog box. The
Disk Utilities are a complete GEM-based file maintenance system - you
won't have to exit ARC Shell to copy files, delete files, etc. You
can even use the ARC Shell Disk Utilities to run other programs.
When you click on the "Copy File(s)" button, a file selector
appears to let you choose the source file(s) for the copy. You can
use any combination of wildcards (? and *) on the 'Selection' line of
the file selector to specify groups of files to be copied. When you
click the file selector's OK button, another file selector will
appear to let you choose the destination directory for the copied
file(s). If the source filename contains no wildcards (in other
words, you're copying a single file) the file will be copied right
away. If there are wildcard characters in the source filename,
you'll be given a choice to copy "ALL" files or copy "w/ Query." The
Query option will prompt you whether or not to copy each file that
matches the wildcard specification. You can also delete groups of
files by using wildcards in the same way.
If the destination filename already exists when a copy
operation is being performed, a box will appear with the warning
"Name Conflict During Copy." You can either click OK to write over
the existing file or type in a new name for the copied file and hit
Return.
The "Run Program" command lets you execute a program from
within ARC Shell, and return to ARC Shell when the program
terminates. If the program you choose to run has the extension .TTP
(Tos Takes Parameters), a box will appear to let you enter a command
line to pass to the program.
The operation of the other disk commands should be fairly
self-explanatory. You can rename files, show the free space
remaining on a disk, create and delete folders, and format a floppy
disk. The format command lets you use drive A or B, and formats
either single or double sided. No fancy format options here - you
get the straight ahead standard format, 80 tracks, 9 sectors per
track.
At the bottom left of the Disk Utilities dialog is a box
titled "Copy/Delete Prompts" containing buttons labeled "On" and
"Off." When this option is set to "Off," you'll get no warning when
you delete a file or copy a file to an already existing name.
The Exit button returns you to the main ARC Shell dialog box.
Part Five - Configuring ARC Shell
Clicking on the button labeled "Config" at the bottom of the
ARC Shell dialog box will take you to the configuration screen. This
screen lets you specify a pathname for both a "default" ARC utility
and an "alternate" ARC utility, and also set the directory to which
ARC's numerous temporary files will be written (the latter option is
only valid when ARC Shell is used with ARC 5.21). You can save these
options, as well as every other ARC Shell setting, with the button
labeled "Save Configuration"; after you do this, ARC Shell will
remember the settings the next time you run it.
The default ARC utility is the one which will be searched for
when the program first runs. If you haven't specified a default ARC
utility, ARC Shell looks in the current directory for a file named
ARC.TTP (see above). However, using the Config option, you can set
it so that ARC.TTP can be located anywhere when you run ARC Shell.
Click on the button labeled "Locate Default ARC Program" and use the
file selector to specify a new file and pathname.
Next, you can select an alternate ARC utility which can be
enabled by clicking on the button labeled "Use Alternate." To
specify the pathname for the alternate ARC utility, click on the
button labeled "Locate Alternate ARC Program" and use the file
selector. The purpose of the "Alternate" option is to allow you to
switch easily between two different ARC programs; for example, some
people prefer to use a shareware program called DCOPY (by Ralph
Walden) to do their ARC operations because it's quite a bit faster
than ARC.TTP.
When ARC is adding files to an archive, it creates quite a few
temporary work files on the disk. With ARC Shell, you can choose to
have these files written to either the ARC drive or the DATA drive,
or to another directory altogether. (Hint: directing the temporary
files to a RAMdisk can really speed up ARC, especially if you have a
floppy-based system.) When you click on the button labeled "Set
Directory" a file selector lets you choose the directory for the
temporary files. (NOTE: this option is only valid when used with ARC
5.21.)
There is one small difference in the way the two versions of
ST ARC handle redirection to the printer. ARC 5.12 uses the device
name "PRT:" while ARC 5.21 uses "PRN:." If you're going to be
redirecting the output from the LIST commands to a printer, you
should choose the appropriate "Printer Device Name" at the lower left
of the Configuration box.
When you have ARC Shell set up the way you want it (including
all of the options in the main dialog box), you can click on the
"Save Configuration" button to make this arrangement your new
default....in other words, after saving your configuration, ARC Shell
will always start out with your settings when you run it.
Versions of ARC Shell prior to 1.96 saved their configuration
data in a separate file called ARCSHELL.CNF. This was changed in
version 1.96; the configuration is now saved directly into the ARC
Shell program file, which makes a separate data file unnecessary.
When you choose to "Save Configuration," ARC Shell will first look in
the directory from which it ran for a file called ARCSH197.PRG. If a
file by this name is found, ARC Shell will attempt to write the new
configuration data to this file. If for some reason, a file by this
name exists and is NOT the ARC Shell program, you will be warned and
the configuration save can be retried or aborted. If ARC Shell
cannot find a file named ARCSH197.PRG (perhaps you changed the
name?), you'll be given a chance to use a file selector to locate the
program file no matter which name you've given it.
Part Six - Installing ARC Shell as an Application
Using the desktop's "Install Application" feature, you can set
things up so that whenever you double-click on a file with the
extension .ARC, ARC Shell will automatically load and run. To do
this from the desktop, click once on ARCSH197.PRG to select it, then
move to the "Options" menu and select "Install Application." In the
box that appears, enter a document type of "ARC," and then click on
the button labeled "Install." (DON'T hit Return after entering the
document type....Return will exit without installing!) Now save your
desktop, so this setting will be remembered the next time you boot
up.
If you double-click on an ARC file after ARC Shell has been
"installed" in this way, a dialog box will appear showing the name of
the ARC file you selected. You can extract files from this archive,
do a verbose list of its contents, or cancel the operation by
clicking on one of the three buttons in the box. If you choose to
extract, you'll be given the same extract options as explained above
in the section titled "Using ARC Shell." When the extract or list
operation is complete, you can either enter ARC Shell (to do some
more archive maintenance) or quit back to the desktop.
CHARLES F. JOHNSON is one of the finest programmers we at ST Report have
seen...his work both in the Shareware and Commercial area is quite
superb.
Be sure to check out G+Plus by Codehead Software, another fine program!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SURGERY IS A CURE
=================
by T."Rex" Reade
I wonder how many folks out there remember the movie "V" that was on
national television in a three part run recently? For those who do not
here is a very brief idea about the picture......Aliens from another
universe come to earth with wonderful things ...cures for disease,
abundant crops etc....in other words, a promise of wonderful positive
things with no side effects. The majority of the earth's population get
completely sucked in by the aliens, the few skeptics soon find out that
the benign aliens are, in fact, LIZARDS in disguise who are actually
scouring the Universe in search of food! The humans are the excellent
food source!
In this reporter's eyes the ALIEN in OUR WORLD right now is FEDERATED
STORES.......sure, I am on the east coast and do not have to deal with
them but think of this...if they continue to conduct business in the
shabby manner that they are and keep eating Atari's lunch....I could be
on MARS and it will effect me. How? you say?...hah! easy, Atari is put
outta business by FEDERATED SLEEZE TACTICS!
Having had the opportunity to read the majority of the mail received in
the past few weeks from dealers the BIG STINK is loud and clear. Dealers
on the East Coast and in areas where they are not effected by a Federated
Store are genuinely concerned over the reputation of the product in
general. They say, If the dealers by Federated Stores start dropping the
line and it gets publicity, it is sure to place the Atari product line in
the same category as "when it breaks trash it" or, worse ...serious minded
computer enthusiasts will have NOTHING to do with it because of it's
instability.
The dealers have cited a number of sore points:
they are:
[a] Lackluster support [b] Anemic Warranty
[c] Favoritism Played [d] Always Backorders
Those are the generalized complaints, to be a bit more specific...
a - The single biggest complaint has been "Where the hell is my factory
REP???" Oh sure, Atari tells us we have the telemarketing crew (2 people)
for the entire US! When are they gonna get real out there? To get even
closer to a BIG problem, in the southwest and west there are the infamous
Federated Stores who by their actions seem to be hell bent on putting
Atari into chapter 11! For example:
Federated....
---------
First to be selling the 520 STF with a D/S drive! Atari originally
denied this and said it was a mistake, that the machines Federated
received were destined for European sales....{ INCREDIBLE!! }
has inventory of 1040s and Megas that would be the envy of ALL the
product and service starved Eastern Dealers.....
allows it's SALESPEOPLE to spread false stories about the Atari
Dealers in the vicinity.....
is STILL SELLING to the public at prices below the average Dealer's
factory cost....{TERRIFIC BUSINESS PRACTICE} a different price for all!
We at ST Report can understand why Federated would do all these neat
business and success building things, they have had a terrible growth
record and have, in fact, caused Atari to loose money this year. It is
perfectly understandable knowing these facts but, the one thing that is
nagging at us is ....how can Atari continue to allow this garbage to
occur?
FEDERATED IS A PROBLEM......
SOLVE IT OR TREAT IT LIKE A CANCER AND CUT IT OUT!
Dealers need SERVICE and ATTENTION...stop trying to devote 999% of your
time to recruiting NEW victims and take care of those you have!
Folks, believe this, Of the dealers who sent us mail about the way they
are treated by Atari, it would not take very much on the part of Atari to
get things turned around....a little TLC and a more positive response
towards the dealer's needs will get the job done. Can you imagine how a
dealer feels when he is signing a check for $26,000.00 worth of product
and he still gets large doses of the backorder blues or gets told we do
not sell the mouse cords separately, YOU HAVE TO BUY THE WHOLE MOUSE!
That is, in this reporter's opinion a perfect example of the "subtle
gouge". Who ultimately gets it in the neck?....THE USER!
Atari HAS, by it's performance, shown this country's userbase that it has
no idea how to run a National Organization, I hate to say this, but
perhaps those in SUNNYVALE should pay closer attention to the folks up
North. They have the respect of their dealers, users and third party
entities. WHY?....Sure, you can say the size difference is one factor
but I say it's the lack of expertise on the part of certain US execs who
continue to interfere and muck up the US operation. Many of the practices
of Atari US are backward and self defeating.
The bright side is that in the last few weeks Atari has been ultra
receptive and quite open to suggestions....let's see if, in fact, they
place any value on the grassroots attitudes towards the future.
**************************************************************************
NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE
FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY
COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME
to the Readers
ST REPORT ONLINE ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE
SIGN UP WITH CIS TODAY!
Call any of the St Report Official BBS numbers
(Listed at the top of ST REPORT)
or
Leave E-mail to St Report, Ron Kovacs or Rex Reade
Be sure to include your full mailing address so your
Compuserve kit can be immediately mailed to you!
Offer limited to NEW CIS applicants
Expires 09-30-88
NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE
**************************************************************************
A TIDBIT FROM THE "MADMODIFIER"
-------------------------------
:-) humor.
:-( sad.
:_) tongue in cheek
:-! foot in mouth
<:-) for dumb questions.
(:-) for messages dealing with bicycle helmets.
(8-) for messages dealing with owls.
d:-) for messages dealing with baseball.
d :-o hats off to your great idea
q:-) for those who wear their caps backwards.
@= for messages dealing with nuclear war.
o>-<|= for messages of interest only to women.
~= a candle, to annotate flaming messages.
oo for somebody's head-lights are on messages.
;-) say no more, nudge nudge.
:-$ put your money where your mouth is
>:-> leer
;-} leer? (terminal dependent)
|-<> kissy face
:-| man playing an harmonica
O:-) for those innocent souls
[:|] from a robot (or other appropriate AI project)
:>) from someone with a big nose
:<| from someone who attends an Ivy League school
:%)% from someone with acne
=:-) from a hosehead
:-(*) from someone who is about to vomit
:-)8 from someone who is well dressed
8:-) from a little girl
:-)-{8 from a big girl
#-) from someone who partied all night
%-\ from someone hungover
:-* from someone who just ate a sour pickle
-:-) from someone who sports a mohawk and admires Mr. T
:-'| from someone who has a cold
:-)' from somone who tends to drool
':-) from someone who accidentally shaved off one of his eyebrows
8:] from a gorilla
(:)-) from someone wearing scuba mask
P-) from someone getting fresh
|-) from someone who is falling asleep
.-) from someone with one eye
:=) from someone with two noses
:-D from someone who talks too much
Miscellaneous:
--------------
(-:|:-) Siamese twins
:~/ Really mixed up
the invisible man
{:\/ sounds like a duck
.\/ duck variation
___
/ \
| RIP |
|_____| from someone who is dead
-------
Normally, The Madmodifier is quite stable...I guess after what has
happened lately to his dealer we can forgive his moment of frivolity ;-)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
A LOOK INTO THE TWILIGHT ZONE
=============================
by Richard Kushner - JACG
EDITOR: I can't publish this article. It is much too outlandish for
anyone to believe.
AUTHOR: Well, how about if I make it sound like a fairy tale ?
EDITOR: We could try that. But, really, it's so far beyond belief,
that even as a fable it strains all credibility.
AUTHOR: Yeah, I know. Too bad it's all true.
This is a fantasy... Pure Fantasy!
----------------------------------
Once upon a time there was a widget maker named Nelson Brindell.
He loved to tinker and, from time to time, managed to invent
something that someone was interested in selling (and buying).
One day he invented a widget that hooked to the Video Box, so
that people could play games on the Box. And people liked it
very much, and made Nelson a wealthy man. So successful was Nel-
son that, as it often happens, a large company (in this case, the
Wilson Sisters company) offered him lots of money to buy his com-
pany. And he sold it and went off to invent more widgets (even-
tually producing ones that walked, talked, and even made pizza).
Now the Wilson Sisters had an idea that they could capitalize on
Nelson's work to make his widget into a product to compete with
the Avocado, a well known character manipulation device invented
by those famous brothers Stephen, Woz, and their other brother
Darrel. And they named their device Katanga, a Sanskrit word
having no English equivalent. And many grew to love and support
the Katanga and heap abuse upon the Avocado and its ilk. And
people liked the Katanga very much and all was well.
For a while, at least. For on the other side of town the Admiral
Tool and Die Company, headed by John Trample, thought it could
use its cunning methods for cutting corners to make an Admiral
device that would do everything the Katanga and Avocado could do,
but at half the price. And they proceeded to do just that, and
mayhem descended upon the world of widgets, with prices dropping
faster than... well, faster than just about anything you could
imagine. And many grew to love the Admiral and heap abuse upon
the Katanga (not to mention the Avocado).
Now pay attention, because the story gets very confusing at this
point. So confusing, that if this were a soap opera, the next
paragraph would take at least six months to tell. (Diagrams of
all the moves and counter moves are available upon written re-
quest and payment of a $5.00 handling fee).
Ray Major, who dreamed up the Katanga, left Wilson Sisters and
invented a better Katanga, which he called the Freundlich. While
he was doing this, John Trample left Admiral T&D (claiming that
the state of Pennsylvania was not big enough for all of his fami-
ly) and bought the Katanga from the Wilson Sisters... lock, stock
and barrel (a move applauded by the Wilson Sisters, who wanted to
get back to their first love, vaudeville). Hiring the designer
of the Admiral, Hashnish Shirka, (by luring him away from his
former company), Trample set out to build a better widget, the
Super Katanga. Not to be outdone, Admiral T&D hired good old Ray
Major and his Freundlich to do battle from their side of the
city.
And so you are faced with the totally implausible situation,
where lovers of the Katanga now support the Super Katanga, which
actually comes from the Admiral T&D Company, and the lovers of
the Admiral now gather around the Freundlich, even though it ac-
tually comes from the Katanga Company (by the way of the Wilson
Sisters, who, by the way, opened at the Atlantis Casino in early
March, to rave reviews). If you are still with me, I have a pro-
position for you, that concerns a certain bridge that is rumored
to be for sale...
EDITOR: I'm really sorry. I've read the article over and it stretches
logic too far.
AUTHOR: Gee, it is, after all, the August issue and maybe you can pass
it off as a spoof ?
EDITOR: As an Author, you know there must be an element of truth in
satire, or it fails.
AUTHOR: But Sir, the story is true, only the names have been changed to
protect the innocent.
EDITOR: Gimme a break. Do you think I was born yesterday? Why not
see if MAD Magazine is interested? Just go away and leave me
alone !
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
BUILD an ST TRACKBALL
=====================
by Don Neff
The Project
-----------
The Trackball, an old familiar peripheral in the Atari 8bit world, has
suddenly been discovered by ST and IBM users. Trackballs are generally
considered superior to their small cousin, the mouse, for CAD or fast
games.
First, the larger size of a trackball seems to permit finer control of the
cursor during the delicate moves often encountered in CAD. Second, the
stationary trackball can be used with wild abandon during a fast game,
without worry of running out of room on the desktop (how many times have
you slammed your mouse into the side of your computer at a crucial
moment?).
While the IBM world seems to be filled with suppliers of trackballs, ST
users must create their own. Most ST users create theirs by modifying an
8-bit trackball such as the WICO Command Control or the Atari CX22
Trackball. This article gives you the information needed to convert
either of these to ST mouse compatibility. The Atari CX22 conversion is
easier to do than the WICO conversion. There are major differences in
the two, so the modification process is covered here in several sections.
The first sections cover things common to both the WICO and Atari
trackballs. The next sections address the items which are specific to
each one of them. These modification sections are followed by brief
testing and trouble shooting sections.
8bit Compatibility
------------------
The WICO conversion eliminates any possibility of using the WICO on an
8bit machine again. The Atari conversion, however, retains the original
8bit compatibility while adding ST Mouse compatibility.
Caveat
------
Both of the conversions seem deceptively simple because you will be either
installing a single IC chip or adding a few new wires. However, every
component or connection is critical and any error will result in a useless
trackball (but no damage to your ST). Read and understand this entire
article before modifying your trackball. If you have doubts about your
understanding of any part of this article, get help before starting. The
troubleshooting sections at the end of the article address only the most
obvious problems. Also, be aware that the wire colors described from my
trackballs may not match what you find in yours. Or, even worse, the
colors match, but the wires are connected differently.
I am available at the WAUG and MACE meetings (or you can write to me
through Michigan Atari Magazine) if you have questions. I do not have
time to convert a trackball for you; you must do it yourself.
Buying the Trackball
--------------------
The Atari CX22 Trackball is still available from some stores who sell
Atari 2600/5200 game systems. I bought mine for $10 from the Kay Bee
Hobby and Toy store at 12 Oaks shopping mall in Novi, Michigan. They
still have dozens more they would like to part with.
Both the WICO and the Atari trackballs are frequently available (new and
used) at Computer/Ham Radio flea markets. These flea markets are also a
good source of other Atari parts, peripherals, books and software.
(I am always amazed at the number of Apple, Commodore and IBM pirates
openly selling pirated software complete with photo-copied documents at
these events and wonder why Atarians are blamed for all piracy!)
Preparing the Trackball
-----------------------
Cut the cable off near the case and discard it. Turn the case upside
down and remove the Phillips head screws which fasten the top and bottom
pieces together. Hold the top and bottom pieces together with your
fingers and turn the case right side up again. Gently ease the top of
the case off the bottom piece. The Atari trackball case will require
some serious prying during the first 1/4 inch of separation.
Remove the cue ball, the two roller axles, the single bearing, all
springs (if present) and put them in a safe place.
Preparing the New Cable
-----------------------
The new cable is made from a Radio Shack joystick extension cable (RS#
270-1705). Cut the male end (the DB9 plug with pins instead of holes)
off of the new cable and throw it away. Trim the outer insulation back
about six inches on the cut end of the cable to expose the nine individual
wires inside. Strip and tin about 1/4 inch of the ends of the nine wires.
Use your ohmmeter to identify which wire connects to each pin in the
female DB9 plug on the cable. Label each wire with a small numbered tag
(a friendly electrician can get wire labels for you) indicating the
appropriate pin number for easy identification in later assembly steps.
The wire from pin #5 can be cut short since we will not be using it at
all. Form a strain relief at the cut end of the cable by applying a ring
of epoxy around it. Atari CX22 owners should now skip to the section
titled "Atari CX22 Conversion." WICO owners should continue on with the
next section.
Building the WICO Circuit
-------------------------
Remove and discard the main circuit board from the WICO case, leaving the
two LED opto-interrupter mounting boards in place in the case. The
circuit described here will replace the original which you have discarded.
Figure 1 shows only one fourth of the necessary conversion circuit. The
other Three fourths are similar to this, but use different pins on IC1.
If you don't know how to expand Figure 1 into the full circuit, get help.
This step is the one most likely to cause serious problems for you.
***** Figure 1 *****
IC1, an LM339 (RS# 276-1712), is four LM311 comparators in a single case,
all sharing common power pins (#3 and 12). We will be using one
comparator each, for left, right, up and down signals. Figure 2 shows
the pin relationships for the inputs and outputs as we will be using them.
***** Figure 2 *****
Build the circuit on a small circuit board (RS# 276-148) using a socket
(RS# 276-1998) for IC1 (RS# 276-1712). C2 (RS# 272-1028) may be located
any place in the case, but C1 (RS# 272-131) should be as close to IC1 as
possible. The resistors (RS# 271-1317, 271-1328, 271-1335, 271-1347) may
be mounted in any convenient location on the circuit board.
After the circuit is built, connect the wire from pin #1 of the DB9 plug
on the new cable to pin #1 of IC1. Connect the wire from pin #2 of the
cable to pin #2 of IC1. Connect the wire from pin #3 of the cable to pin
#13 of IC1. Connect the wire from pin #4 of the cable to pin #14 of IC1.
Those are the up, down, left, and right signal paths to the mouse port.
Connect the wire from pin #7 of the DB9 plug on the new cable to pin #3
(V+) of IC1. Connect the wire from pin #8 of the new cable to pin #12
(ground) of IC1. These are the V+ and ground points for other parts of
the circuit too, so leave room to connect other wires at these points.
WICO Triggers
-------------
The WICO has only one trigger button, SW1, so you must add the second one,
SW2 (RS# 275-1566). Select a convenient spot on the top of the case where
the new switch will not interfere with anything inside the case. Drill a
3/8 inch hole in the chosen spot. Insert switch SW2 in the hole and
fasten it in place with the supplied retaining nut. Connect one terminal
of SW2 to any ground connection and connect the other terminal to the
wire going to pin #9 of the DB9 plug on the new cable.
Cut the 11-PIN plug off of the wires from the 2 LED opto-interrupter
circuit boards which remain in the case. Two of the wires (white in mine)
from this plug are for the original trigger switch, SW1. Connect one of
these white wires to any ground point, and connect the other to the wire
from pin #6 of the new cable. Figure 3 shows how the trigger button
connections relate to the DB9 plug.
***** Figure 3 *****
Each of the two LED opto-interrupter mounting boards has four wires coming
from it. Two of these wires (red and black in mine) are the power feeds
for the LEDs. Connect the two red wires to the V+ source (pin # 7 of the
new cable) and connect the two black wires to ground (pin #8 of the new
cable).
The remaining four wires (yellow, blue, violet, and green in mine) carry
the trigger signals to the four comparators. Connect the yellow wire to
pin #6 of IC1. Connect the green wire to pin #4 of IC1. Connect the
blue wire to pin #10 of IC1. Connect the violet wire to pin #8 of IC1.
Figure 2 shows the color and pin number relationship.
Before you place IC1 in its socket, plug the WICO trackball into your
mouse port and turn the ST on. Use a voltmeter to insure you have +5
volts at pin #3 and ground at pin #12 of the IC socket. Next, check both
of the opto-interrupter boards to insure you have +5 volts on their red
wires and ground on their black wires. Unplug the WICO trackball from
the ST and insert IC1 into its socket. Refer now to the section about
testing your modified trackball.
Atari CX22 Conversion
---------------------
Leave the original circuit board in the case; it already contains the
circuit which WICO owners must build. We will be adding a new computer
cable, one switch, and connecting several new wires to the original board.
Remove the remaining short piece of black insulation from the stub of the
original connector cable and separate the individual wires. Strip and
tin about 1/4 inch of the free end of each wire. Six of these wires are
attached to J1, the circuit board connector strip located in the rear left
corner of the circuit board. Four of the six wires from J1 will be
soldered to the new switch as shown in Figure 4. Connect the black wire
from pin 1 (ground) of J1 to the wire from pin 8 of the DB9 plug on the
new cable. Connect the orange wire from pin 2 (V+) of J1 to the wire from
pin 7 of the DB9 plug on the new cable.
***** Fig. 4 *****
The new switch is a four pole, double throw (4PDT) which is available from
most Ham Radio or electronics stores (but not Radio Shack). These
switches are often available for less than a dollar at the Computer/Ham
Radio flea markets mentioned earlier. Locate a convenient place for the
switch and drill a mounting hole in the case for it.
Figure 4 shows the wiring scheme of this switch which allows you to change
from 8-bit to ST compatibility. The ST signals are picked up at the four
points labeled TP1-4 in the front left corner of the circuit board. TP1
and TP2 are the left/right connections; TP3 and TP4 are the up/down
connections. Solder a 9-inch piece of wire to each of these 4 points.
Connect the wires from pins 3-6 of J1, the wires from pins 1-4 of the DB9
plug, and wires from TP1-4 to the 4PDT switch as shown in Figure 4. Now
mount the switch in the hole you drilled earlier, and fasten it in place
with the mounting nut.
Atari Trigger Buttons
---------------------
The Atari trackball already has two trigger buttons installed, but they
are connected together with two wires. One wire (black in mine) is
connected to ground through pin #1 of J1 and should not be cut. The
other wire (red in mine) should be cut near the terminal on the left
trigger button. Notice there are two red wires at this terminal; cut
only the one from the right trigger button. Connect the red wire from
the right button to the wire from pin #9 of the DB9 plug on the new cable.
Connect the red wire you left attached to the left trigger button, to the
wire from pin #6 of the new cable. Figure 3 shows how the trigger button
connections relate to the DB9 plug.
Plug the Atari trackball into your mouse port and turn the ST on. Use a
voltmeter to insure you have +5 volts at pin #3 and ground at pin #12 of
A1, the LM339 chip.
Testing Your Trackball
----------------------
Reinstall the springs, roller axles, single bearing and cue ball. Do not
put the top on the case yet. Plug the trackball into the mouse port
again and watch the action of the cursor as you move the cue ball. If
the cursor moves in the proper direction in relation to your movements on
the cue ball, you can go to the section titled "Finishing the Trackball."
If the cursor movements do not reflect your test movements of the cue
ball, write notes about which direction the cursor moves in relation to
left, right, up and down movements of the cue ball. Unplug the trackball
and compare your notes to the tips in the appropriate trouble shooting
section below.
WICO Troubleshooting
--------------------
This section is useful only if your finished WICO trackball is working,
but the cursor is moving in the wrong direction. If your finished
trackball is completely dead, check all of your wiring connections
against Figures 1, 2 and 3.
If your notes show the cursor moved left as you moved the cue ball to the
right, and vice versa, you should reverse the connections of the yellow
and green wires. Connect the yellow wire to pin #4 of IC1 and the green
wire to pin #6.
If your notes show the cursor moved up as you moved the cue ball down, and
vice versa, you should reverse the connections of the blue and violet
wires. Connect the blue wire to pin #8 of IC1 and the violet wire to
pin #10.
If your notes show the cursor moved up or down as you moved the cue ball
left or right, you should reverse the connections of the yellow/green
pair of wires with the blue/violet pair of wires. Connect the green wire
to pin #10, connect the blue wire to pin #4, connect the yellow wire to
pin #8, and connect the violet wire to pin #6 of IC1. Now return to the
trackball testing section above and perform the tests again. Keep in mind
that if the left/right movements are reversed, you must now swap the
connections of the blue and violet wires. Likewise, if the up/down
movements are reversed, you must now swap the yellow and green wire.
Atari CX22 Troubleshooting
--------------------------
This section is useful only if your finished Atari CX22 trackball is
working, but the cursor is moving in the wrong direction. If your
finished trackball is completely dead, set the new switch to its other
position and try again. If the trackball is dead in both switch
positions, check all of your wiring connections against Figures 3 and 4.
If your notes show the cursor moved left as you moved the cue ball to the
right, and vice versa, you should reverse the connections of the wires at
TP1 and TP2.
If your
notes show the cursor moved up as you moved the cue ball down, and
vice versa, you should reverse the connections at TP3 and TP4.
If your notes show the cursor moved left or right as you moved the ball up
or down, you should exchange the pair of wires at TP1 and TP2 with the
pair of wires at TP3 and TP4. Now return to the trackball testing
section and perform the tests again.
Finishing the Trackball
-----------------------
Unplug the trackball and prepare to install the top piece of the case.
Place the new cord in the cut-out at the back of the case. Make sure the
epoxy strain relief on the cable is on the inside of the case wall. Check
all wiring to make sure no wires can move close to the axles, wheels or
the cue ball. Loose wires should be secured to the case with a drop of
rubber adhesive or silicon sealant. When all wires are secured out of
the way, set the top in place and rotate the cue ball. If the ball
rotates freely, you can turn the case over and reinstall the screws to
hold the top and bottom pieces together.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL
======================
ATLANTA USA TODAY, The newspaper, had a gorgeous full 2 page spread
------- bought and paid for by Commodore, TELLING ALL THE NON-COMPUTER
TYPES ALL ABOUT THE 500 AND THE 1000... dated 08-19-88.
Get the MESSAGE Atari??
SUNNYVALE Atari is not sure about the 16 vs 32mb partition access nor
--------- are they sure about the 12 partition limit. They are sure
they will have "hooks" installed to be able to handle the
removable media drive that will work in conjunction with
the new software being written. But nothing positive about
the roms....sheeesh! This is the third quarter guys!!!
DENVER The issue of D/S DRIVES is heating up more and more,
------ especially since Atari has made NO official statement or
taken any official posture..We suggest they assign a ninety
day grace period during which any units purchased having S/S
drive be exchanged at no charge...all others wishing to make
the exchange can do so for a fee of 65.00. Any Takers?
HOUSTON One of the MAIN reasons Atari is here is because of the FREE
------- TRADE ZONE, it allows the manufacture of product, duty free,
for EXPORT ONLY..Duty is paid only on goods destined to be
sold in the US. "Read between the lines bunky"
HOLLYWOOD Seems a Usergroup President walked into a Federated Store
--------- with a Video Camera on his shoulder blazing away..the
management of the store went nuts demanding the tape ..I
wonder why??? Do you? More to come on this one!
SUNNYVALE Watchword on the Blvd. What is this new and strange creature
--------- called ST PLUS (laptop) also...what is a STACEY (colors and
sound) hmmm verry interrresting!
NEW YORK Atari stock is now at 7.00 after trading of roughly 100,000
-------- shares and they enjoy a position in the top 10.
TITUSVILLE COMPUTER SHOPPER SOLD! Ziff - Davis has acquired the favorite
---------- and world's largest computer magazine. Ziff Davis will not be
as liberal, NO reprints allowed anymore. What a nice bunch of
folks!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS WEEK'S QUOTE:
------------------
"Greed is usually behind ANY strange behavior in the business world!!"
-------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST-REPORT Issue #49 AUGUST. 22, 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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
