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Silicon Times Report Issue 0077
*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original Online ST Magazine"
-------------------------------
March 03, 1989 Volume III No.77
==========================================================================
ST Report Online Magazine ½
------------------------------
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida
32236 ~ 6672
R.F. Mariano
Publisher - Editor
_________________________________________
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EST
BBS: 904-786-4176 ~ 12-24-96 HST
_________________________________________
** F-NET/FIDOMAIL NODE 350 **
Our support BBS carries ALL issues of STReport¿
and
An International list of private BBS systems
carrying STReport¿ for their users enjoyment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Highlights
----------
~ The Podium ~ CPU Report
~ S.T.O.S. The Game Creator ~ GEOGRAPHY - ASDE
~ ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL ~ GALAXY NETWORK "For Real?"
***** REPORTS OF TOS 1.5 FALSE! *****
*** IS ALTERNATE REALITY FOR ST DEAD? ***
***** FATAL ERROR FOUND IN TOS 1.4! *****
...and much more...
========================================================================
AVAILABLE ON: COMP-U-SERVE ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ THE SOURCE
========================================================================
> The Podium¿
----------
It never ceases to amaze me.. to see a couple of people begin a
message string on the services and private BBS systems that seem to be
completely negative about Atari. The bad part is this these folks are
sadly misinformed or angry with Atari. The shame is those who chime in
with these doomsayers fall into three groups; sour grapes, ex-atarians and
dissatisfied users. We found that getting angry with Atari Corp. is
foolish. Instead, we attempted to correct the problems we saw. Instead
of fighting a problem, SOLVE IT!
A "HALF TRUTH" is probably more ridiculous than all the falsehoods
and errors in reporting rolled into one neat package. Those individuals
who engage in half truth reporting can create more hardship and problems
for readers who come to trust what they have to say by not "saying it
like it is". Be sure to read all the info we have here for you pertaining
to Starlight/Galaxy.
The worst to come down the pike in the last few days is truly sad.
Reportedly, an individual is doing a "Henny Penny" about Atari dropping
TOS 1.4 in "favor" of a TOS 1.5. After exhaustive investigative efforts
on our part, we found this "truthful story" to be totally FALSE ..without
any substance what-so-ever.
For those of you who requested a few 'features' be added to our
reader program; "Your wish is our command". Uploaded at the same time as
this issue, as a separate file, is the updated version of the STReader.
It has a fully functional table of contents, a quick scan, multiple string
search, better screen fonts and more forgiving margins. Best of all, this
version of the STReport Reader will read * ANY * text file. We hope you
enjoy using this excellent utility.
(STR3READ.PRG)
------------
Ralph.....
"1989 - ATARI'S QUEST!"
**************************************************************************
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 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 - R.Mariano
Be sure to include your full mailing address so your
Compuserve kit can be immediately mailed to you!
NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE
**************************************************************************
> CPU REPORT¿
----------
Issue 11
By Michael Arthur
Remember When....
In August 1985, Microsoft and IBM signed a long-term agreement for
joint development of IBM's operating systems and peripherals, which was a
sign to IBM Clones that IBM wouldn't attempt to make a new, proprietary
operating system that would cut them out of market share?
CPU INSIGHTS¿
=============
Implications of Super Conductivity
---------------------------------
Electricity is a vital part of our lives. It powers our cities,
runs our industries, and our needs for transportation could not be met
without it. Indeed, without electricity, civilization as we know it would
come to a grinding halt. But even as electricity plays a needed role in
today's world, we must recognize that since mankind cannot, at the present
time, produce an infinite amount of electricity, ways must be found to
make technology utilize it efficiently. Recently, a phenomenon called
super conductivity has received great notice as a way of actually doing
this. But in order to understand how super conductivity will affect our
lives, we must first understand how it functions.
Conductivity is defined as the ability to transmit electrical
current. This occurs when a stream of negatively charged electrons is
funneled through a conductor, leading them to positively charged protons,
so their interaction will cause electricity.
In ordinary conducting materials, such as iron, copper, and other
metallic substances, electrons are loosely funneled through the conductor.
This results in the conductors having some resistance to this electrical
current. As electrons are sent through a conductor, some of the electrons
slip through the conductor's loose control and crash into adjoining
electrons, causing energy to be generated as heat which would otherwise
have created electricity.
In comparison, super conductive materials tightly control the
electrons, so none of them break away and crash into other electrons. This
results in all of the electrons being used to create electricity, and that
none of the potential energy is lost as heat energy. An added advantage
to super conductive materials is that they generate far more intense
magnetic fields than ordinary conductors.
But ever since it was discovered in 1911, super conductivity was only
achieved at temperatures approaching absolute zero, the temperature
designated as 0 Kelvin, at which substances have no molecular motion,
resulting in the total absence of heat. This meant that super conductors
could not be practical for any use, since the price of maintaining such
cold temperatures, in terms of both the cost of liquid helium, the only
substance capable of being that cold, and the inconvenience of the big and
bulky equipment required to handle it, would be prohibitive.
This has recently started to change. In 1986, scientists at IBM's
Zurich Research Labs used a class of metallic oxides known as ceramics as
super conductive material. This substance was able to maintain super
conductivity at the temperature of 35 Kelvin, far above absolute zero.
Over the past three years, the scientific community has further developed
this class of ceramic compounds so they remain super conducting at
temperatures up to 98 Kelvin, or Minus 283 Degrees Fahrenheit.
While this might also seem prohibitively cold, it is well above
the temperature at which liquid nitrogen can be used as a coolant. Liquid
nitrogen is inexpensive and relatively easy to handle. This means that
super conductivity could soon be in common use, and that its implications
could be fully seen for the first time.
One of the most obvious benefits of super conductivity is in the
production and transmission of electricity. Electrical generators make
electricity by a spinning turbine which rotates a magnet in a magnetic
field. If super conductors were used, not only would more electricity be
made, as it could be a more powerful magnet, but none of the potential
energy would be lost as heat. Also, current metallic wire in use as
electrical lines can lose 5-8 percent of the electricity they transmit
from power stations. If super conducting material were used in its place,
no electricity would be lost, and millions of dollars in the area of
energy production would be saved. Changes in developments of
super conductive material are necessary before this occurs, however....
Magnetically levitated trains, or maglevs, are another development
which stands to benefit from super conductivity. These trains can run
up to 250 miles per hour because unlike ordinary trains, they levitate on
a bed of magnetic fields, generated by powerful magnets positioned on the
ground, and are propelled by other magnets located on both sides of the
train. It is a very promising technology, as there is no danger of going
off the track in a derailment, and its blazing speeds are unhindered
by friction caused by the train coming in actual contact with the ground.
Super conducting magnets can now be used to generate more powerful
magnetic fields, so the trains can go a lot faster than now possible.
Japanese maglevs currently use super conducting magnets because of this,
but the equipment needed to store the liquid helium they required was very
expensive. Liquid nitrogen can more easily maintain the smaller, more
powerful super conducting magnets that will probably be used in maglevs.
Super conductivity can even help the medical field. Magnetic
resonance imagers (like CAT Scanners), which are used to take detailed
pictures of human tissue, operate by using super conducting magnets.
These devices have cost in upwards of a million dollars before, mainly
because of the equipment needed to store the liquid helium. Now, liquid
nitrogen can replace liquid helium, and with much less required to store
it, the price of these lifesaving devices will drop dramatically.
But even though super conductivity will quickly benefit parts of our
lives, its implications will not truly be seen until materials that
maintain their super conductivity at room temperature are developed. Even
though the present developments in super conductivity stand to benefit
mankind greatly, the fact is that it wouldn't be feasible, or efficient to
force the vast majority of our technology to add on equipment to store
liquid nitrogen so it will work. Electrical lines, for example, cannot
use current super conductive material, however, room temperature super
conductors would be optimal.
One very important area that would benefit from room temperature
super conductors is computers. The IC's in today's computers generate a
great amount of heat, with the result that most computers today require
fans to keep them operational. Room temperature super conductors not only
would allow them to be very compact, but could allow for much faster
designs, especially in super computers. Mainframe-speed computers could
be the size of laptops, as super conductors allow systems to be designed
with extreme chip density, as there would be no worry of overheating, and
super conductivity would allow integrated circuitry to function far more
efficiently. And as computers themselves are attaining a continuously
greater role in civilization, the benefits of super conductivity multiply.
Eventually, room temperature super conductors will improve our lives
in the future. Space technology will vastly improve, as more powerful and
efficient satellites help our technological civilization collect and
transfer information, space stations become more versatile, and the
prospects for colonizing the stars loom over the horizon. It will, in
all certainty, be used in weapons of war, as fighters and bombers become
more sophisticated, using better stealth technologies to evade and destroy
the enemy. But while super conductivity is still relatively new in the
research lab, its implications are infinitely vast, and at the rate of
development, one cannot doubt that within the next decade, those
implications, both the ones mentioned here, and those yet to be imagined,
will advance our civilization into the twenty-first century....
But ponder, if you will, these questions:
1) Even though prospects for a new technology are always great, how long
does it usually take to implement them?
2) How quickly does the computer industry change?
CPU Systems Roundup III: Amiga Multiuser BBS Forthcoming
---------------------------------------------------------
John Radoff, of Inner Circle Technologies, is readying to introduce
Paragon BBS, a multiline BBS program for the Amiga. It supports XModem,
YModem, and SEAlink internally, but external protocols can be used. Full
remote Sysop operations (such as DOS Access, user verification, etc.) are
available, as well as a full implementation of FidoNet.
It supports ANSI and ASCII terminals, and Sysops can configure up to
4 additional graphics modes. ARC and ZOO viewing, as well as batch
downloading is supported in the file areas. Future versions of Paragon
will support Arexx as well....
Paragon BBS will require an Amiga with 1 Meg of RAM and at least two
disk drives (a hard disk is needed to run FidoNet). Paragon requires a
multi-serial Zorro II (A2000) card for multiline operations, and any Amiga
500/1000/2000 with a Bus Expander will be able to use one to run Paragon
as a Multiline BBS.
Paragon BBS will be shipping at around Spring Comdex. The single
User version of Paragon will cost $100, with the multiuser version going
for $150.00. For more information on this, call Inner Circle BBS at
1-508-393-3875....
John Radoff, who previously made such Online BBS Games for the ST as
Space Empire and Final Frontier, also said that he will not be doing any
more ST programming, due to the present situation of the ST Market, and
Atari's unenviable Developer Support system....
Quote: "It (the Atari ST) is a dead pool in my opinion, and not much will
be happening with it in over a year from now"....
-------========***========-------
CPU REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿
=======================
Cupertino, CA Apple has plans to ship a version of X/Windows, the
------------- standard windowing system for Unix, for A/UX, their
version of Unix designed for the Mac II.
As A/UX already has a Toolbox similar to the Mac's
Toolbox, this seems to be the first step in both
merging the Mac's graphical user interface with the
Unix operating system, and in letting A/UX run Mac
software....
West Chester, PA Commodore is developing a new Graphics Card for the
---------------- Amiga 2000. This board reportedly has a top
resolution of 1280*960 w/256 colors at the same time,
and is capable of using over 16 million colors at the
same time. It will be out near the Fourth Quarter of
1989.
Cupertino, CA Apple is considering allowing upgrades from the Mac
------------- Plus to the Mac SE later this year. For an upgraded
Mac Plus, you would get a Mac SE with a 20 Megabyte
Hard disk, and 2 Megs of RAM. Cost: Around 750-1000
dollars....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> STOS STReview¿
=============
STOS--The Game Creator
======================
By William Y. Baugh
STOS is an amazing new BASIC program from Mandarin Software which
offers the user a large variety of commands (320 to be exact) to
write game programs very simply and easily. Other programs may
be written with STOS, but it is geared primarily for the
production of fast, uncompiled games.
STOS comes on three unprotected disks which allows you to place
them on a hard drive or make back-ups. Since so much material is
packed onto the disks, most of the files are ARCed. These files
mainly consist of differing accessories, written in STOS, that
make your programming life much simpler. STOS will also run on
any ST or Mega, but as you well know, the less memory available
means less flexibility with the program.
Once loaded, STOS immediately shows off one of its many
astonishing features; the ability to take a DEGAS picture and
compact it (using the accessory) and uncompact it when needed.
This is what occurs while the program is loading. From there,
you are taken directly to the programming editor. The first
thing you'll notice is that there is an odd, box type menu
running the top part of the screen and secondly, that the mouse
pointer has changed. Well, the answer to both oddities is that
STOS runs GEM independent and that Mandarin has written their own
source to handle menu, window, file selector and mouse
operations. The box menu is made up of two command lines, the
bottom ones change if either the right button is pressed or the
shift key is pressed. These commands may be selected by either
using the function keys or by clicking the mouse on the desired
command. There are a wide variety of control+X keys which allow
various cursor movements and deletions. The editor may be
configured by running the enclosed "CONFIG.BAS" program. This
allows you to set screen colors, choose which language you would
like (English or French), define the function keys and what
accessories you want automatically loaded. Since there is no
drop down menus in the editor, all accessories are activated by
first pressing the Help key and then choosing the accessory by
pressing the corresponding function key. Also from the help
menu, the status of your memory is given, plus how much memory
the current program is taking up and in what window it is
residing. (There are four windows to work with.) The editor is
interactive just like in Atari BASIC, it gives error messages
after you have entered the current line. The only annoying part
of the editor is every time a key is pressed, a note is played.
This much different from the standard key click. Also, a
different note is played if you hit the backspace, delete or the
return keys.
Now, onto the language itself. STOS is a line interpreted
language. Which means you must have line numbers before each
statement. This, to me, is the biggest downfall of the program.
Being used to GFA, and ACTION! on the 8-bit, it is so much nicer
and easier to design the program if you can use procedures rather
than GOTO's and GOSUB's. But, I think this complaint pales
compared to the huge array of commands available with the
program. The authors have spared no expense in arming the
programmer with every conceivable graphic and graphic oriented
functions.
Probably the most helpful function are the accessories. You have
a font editor, music editor, icon editor, sprite editor (low-res
and medium-res), screen compactor, a maze game creator (which
allows you to create the platform, ladders and walled areas found
in Rogue, Gauntlet or the Temple of Apshai trilogy.) Each
editor runs as a separate program with drop down menus,help
screens and all. The most impressive and functional is the low-
rez sprite editor. I have seen worse drawing programs for sale
than compared to the sprite editor. You have a full array of
tools to use, plus differing features which allow you to create
and test your sprites with ease. You may also animate a series
of sprites and "grab" the sprites from one of your favorite
store-bought programs. After the sprite is created, you may then
quit and grab the sprite or sprites, and insert them directly
into your program. No more tedious plotting on graph paper and
long typing commands. You just draw then grab. Simple. Also a
sprite may be up to 16 colors selected from a palette of 512
colors.
Included with the program are three games written by the author
of STOS. The first, BULLET.BAS demos the speed in which STOS
handles horizontal scrolling (which it handles VERY well). The
second is a Breakout type game that rivals Arkanoid, especially
since it is not compiled. If these two games were compiled as
they are, they would be unplayable. Timing loops would have to
be inserted to slow the down the games. The third game is
Zoltar, a Galaxian type game that is purposefully left half
finished for the user to use. All three games come with
fantastic editors to create additional levels. These games are
well thought out and show exact programming of STOS BASIC.
One problem with STOS is that to make, say, one of these games a
stand-alone program, you must include the entire STOS language
with it. The authors included a protection program which will
not allow anyone to enter the editor or stop the program from
running. The only problem is that it adds huge amounts of space
to your file. Hopefully a compiler will be released soon.
Also included is the best surprise of all...a manual that is
large (283 pages), comprehensive and well written (are you
listening GFA?). After delving through GFA 3.0 manual, it was
like a breath of fresh air reading the STOS manual. The manual
is written for the expert programmer as well as the novice.
Overall, I highly rate STOS for anyone who is interested in game
programming only. It is very easy to manipulate the windows,
file selectors and menus; but they do look sort of odd. That is
to say, in an application program, I don't recommend their
functions. But for superb gaming and speed, this program has it
wrapped up.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
> SPECTRUM HOLOBYTE¿
Spectrum HoloByte - A Reply
============================
Compiled by The Staff of STReport
SH reply letter downloaded from CIS
I have read Mr. Bennett's article "CEO BAD-MOUTHS ST Users" and noted
with much interest his viewpoint. In reference to my original letter, I
feel a more appropriate title would have been CEO bad mouths PIRATES.
Before going any further, I would like to quote from my first letter: It's
a shame that a FEW USERS can hurt a market as badly as the ST pirates can
and deprive THOUSANDS OF GOOD ST USERS of the product support that other
machines receive.S
My intent in writing the letter was never to disparage the ST community
but rather the pirates. I have been (starting in the Atari 400/800 days
with a pre-release version of De Re Atari) and always shall be an Atari
supporter. I was simply trying to raise the consciousness of the ST
community and help users understand the cost of developing and publishing
software for the ST. I'm also naturally sympathetic to the needs of
programmers since I started as a developer before taking over Sphere, Inc.
(Spectrum HoloByte) as CEO.
I first want to deal with several points Mr. Bennett raised in his
article. He states that 70% of the 47 dealers he called said they were
backordered. Since late December, we have NO orders on backorder. If
stores truly are having problems getting products from their distributors
they should call directly to our office (415) 522-0107.
As far as sales figures are concerned, I did not use "averaging". All of
our sales figures are audited both by a Big Eight accounting firm and by
the Software Publishers Association. Actual sales for ST Falcon (which
normally are not published) are as follows: 764 units in November, 2,974
in December, 1,530 in January, and 968 in February for a total of 6,236
units through 2/21/89. Our break even for ST Falcon is approximately
12,000 units. Even though Amiga Falcon came out a month later than ST
Falcon, total sales of the Amiga are almost double that of ST Falcon,
totaling 12,532 units sold through 2/21/89.
While some people will point out that the Amiga market is larger than that
of the ST, I must state that the cost and effort of developing a product
is about the same. As I said in my first letter, "Many ST owners argue
that the ST has no more pirates than IBM or Mac. Many of us at Spectrum
HoloByte believe this to be true. The problem is that the number of
installed STs is considerably smaller than that of the IBM or Macintosh,
thus increasing the impact of piracy on sales."
Being an ST user, I am very concerned (as are many other ST users) with
getting more publishers to support the machine. I feel that Mr. Bennett
should direct his anger not at publishers who are supporting the ST but
towards those pirates who ruin it for the rest of us. Mr. Bennett is
angry and says that most ST owners are sick and tired of hearing this old,
worn-out cry. I guess we could have done what other large game publishers
have done--say nothing and instead just stop publishing ST software. I
care about the ST market and want to support the machine. I cannot stand
by and watch it fall apart.
- STR
---
It seems, it would have been easier to write the article about how
the ST community is about to be deluged with software from Europe, but
instead the attempt was made to point out the need for the software
publishers and the userbase to get along and learn from each other's
experiences not that we advocate decline and failure of the market. In
fact, we wish quite the opposite. Still, the martyrdom syndrome seems
to a front runner. If there are any martyrs to be seen let's look to the
good users who will be "Left Out in the Cold".
Piracy is a lot like the drug problem. One may live in a community where
9 out of 10 families are fine upstanding citizens. Yet on the corner, there
is one crack house peddling drugs. The community has two choices: ignore
the problem and pretend it doesn't exist or face up to the dealers, stop
taking their drugs and run them out of town. One company can't solve the
piracy problem. One user cannot stop the problem. Only a community,
working together to solve the problem, can make the difference. Closing
our eyes to the problem isn't going to make it go away.
- STR
---
How absolutely eloquent to compare a software thief to a CRACK HOUSE
full of felons or a DRUG SHOOTING GALLERY. Why not say it like it is???
Most of the software houses are afraid of the "Big BAD Guy" image they
feel they would be branded with if they nail a few thieves solidly.
Complacency on the part of the guys with the most to loose is a big part
of the problem. MichTron did it and they are still in business.
We need to shut down the software rental business and the piracy bulletin
boards. Some pirates want to show off that they can break the copy
protection and send it via modem to hundreds of other pirates. First of
all, it doesn't take a genius to break copy protection. In fact, all copy
protection does is discourage the occasional copier and the reduce the
impulse for making a quick copy. It isn't any fun to walk into a computer
store to find nobody supporting your machine or that the quality of
software support is not what other formats get.
- STR
---
It is a proven fact by statistics that the casual copier does more
damage to the software industry than most "clandestine, cloistered pirate
groups could ever come close to doing. The reason given is "the majority
of the casual copiers feel they have done nothing wrong". Bulletin Boards
and Usergroups that thrive on software theft are few and far between. The
"friendly exchange" of software with the "try before you buy" theme is the
real culprit. Lastly, the dealer who allows copyright software to be
traded in at .50 on the dollar against more software or rents software is,
in our opinion, the biggest and most blatant thief possible.
So what can an average computer user do? If you like a title, buy it
instead of getting a copy from a friend. Buying software sends a message
to both the publisher and the programmer that a machine is worth
supporting because the user community is willing to support the
developers. Don't rent software. In all cases, renting software (unlike
the video tape rental business) does not produce royalties or licensing
income to either the publishers or developers.
Why all of this fuss about making money? Who cares about the publishers
and developers? Publishers and developers make their living doing software.
As I stated in my first letter, it costs the publisher anywhere between
$250,000 and $500,000 to introduce a new product. Developers spend
anywhere from 8-18 man-months to develop a good title that takes advantage
of a machine's hardware capability. The bottom line is this: if it is
not profitable to publish titles for a machine, publishers and developers
will stop.
We are a community. Publishers, developers, and consumers depend on each
other. We, as a community, determine and are responsible for our own
future. Mr. Bennett states, "You can't help but wonder what they will cry
when Atari has 500,000 - 750,000 machines in use in the USA. Mr. Bennett
fails to realize that it isn't the number of machine sold that publishers
and developers look at but rather how much software is purchased. It's
also a fact that people buy the machines that have the most software
support. If we cannot convince publishers to support the machine then the
machine will die, depriving the thousands of good ST users the support
they deserve.
- STR
---
The amount of new software absorbed by a given userbase is directly
proportional to the number of machines in use and will increase in
conjunction with the level of penetration in that particular market
(New Users). The bottom line is production and sales on the part of Atari
and this is where the the solution is quietly residing. At this time in
the USA, there are roughly three Amiga computers to every ST, that sir, is
the problem. Falcon is excellent but you cannot expect the honest ST
users to each buy two copies to keep sales up with the Amiga. However,
according to our latest informal poll, "A great majority of the Modem/BBS
Pirates have abandoned the ST in favor of the Amiga.
It is understandable that the subject of piracy angers Mr. Bennett, but
the anger should be directed at the pirates not us. After all, we support
the ST in the best possible way, we bring out our best products on the
machine and spend the time to take full advantage of the machine.
- STR
---
Strange, you equate our becoming upset as anger, for in reality we
were mildly amused and let down to find an old line Atarian, who had
been there since day one, find it so easy to take for granted that
* every * Atari ST owner wants to 'zoom' right out and fly a Jet fighter
plane. Truth is, the Atari ST userbase is maturing and looking more to
creativity and productivity. Since you elect to compare Amiga and ST, by
all standards we have come to know, the Amiga is a prime game machine and
the Atari ST is evolving as the serious application and productivity
computer. Atarians still enjoy a good game ie; Dungeon Master,
(perhaps the greatest in all time), and have purchased Falcon.
Unfortunately not enough to satisfy 'projections, estimates, penetration
studies and plain hopes. Maybe, just maybe the "pro's" and their
demographics can be wrong. After all, we are talking about people, not
math calculations and 'guesstimates'. You most certainly have seen the
effects of theft, rentals and casual copying. The fact remains that we,
as a userbase, have done an excellent job in minimizing software theft.
Most of the letters and comments about my original letter have been wholly
supportive. I spoke to Mr. Bennett's editor at ST Report, and he agrees
that something has to be done about the piracy issue. The intent of my
first letter was not to lump the majority of ST users into the bigger than
life pirate category. It was to help users understand the economics of
development and publishing from a software company's point of view and to
illustrate the harm that can be done by even 20% of a user base.
I hope Mr. Bennett and ST Report will work with us in dealing with this
serious issue. I know they want to stop piracy as much as we do.
Gilman Louie, Sphere Inc./Spectrum HoloByte CEO
- STR
---
Mr Louie, We, at STReport, are highly supportive of your intentions
and do indeed wish to see software theft eliminated or at least minimized
in all it's nefarious forms ..especially software rentals. Oh! ..almost
forgot! I still dust my leather bound edition of DE RE ATARI.
R.F. Mariano
Editor, STReport
------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ADSE Inc - STR Focus¿
====================
A S D E Inc.
151 rue Jolicoeur
Hull, Qubec
CANADA, J8Z 1C8
PROGRAMS BY ASDE INC
GEOGRAPHY TUTOR¿
---------------
The author has created an educational and fun Geography
program called GEOGRAPHY TUTOR. Glenn Brown in the NCAUG Ottawa
Newsletter has said it is one of the best educational program he has seen.
Writing in RESET (Vol 1 Issue #3 P14-15) Bob Thompson gave a very good
review and pointed out in particular the "excellent user interface".
NOTE: As of January 31 1989 version 2.0 of the program is current
-The shareware version of this program only provides the
data base for Europe. All other continents and countries
are available by request to the author at a cost of $15.00
You will receive a double sided disk containing all other
continental files, and a complete operation manual.
If you prefer 2 single sided disks please add $2.00 (total
$17.00)
This program provides ATARI ST owners with an electronic atlas
of the world. You can have access to maps of:
THE WORLD Mollweide Projection
THE WORLD Mercator Projection
NORTH AMERICA Cylindrical Projection
SOUTH AMERICA Cylindrical Projection
EUROPE Cylindrical Projection
AFRICA Cylindrical Projection
STATES/ PROV. N.A. Cylindrical Projection
For any of these maps you have access to a range of functions which are
only possible using the rapid analysis and graphic power of a computer such
as the ATARI ST. You can learn about all the countries in the world. Not
only are there maps available, but there is also a full data base of useful
facts concerning each country. There are 20 items of standard information
from the United Nations office of statistics.
You will find facts on:
MAJOR RELIGIONS
MAJOR LANGUAGES
NAME OF CAPITAL
POPULATION
GROWTH RATES OF POPULATION
LIFE EXPECTANCY (men and women)
DOCTORS PER CAPITA
LITERACY RATES (men and women)
LAND BASE
CROP LAND
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
GNP
MILITARY SPENDING PER CAPITA
etc...
Not only can you view these facts, but you can plot them on the maps.
You can also compare countries, search facts to be plotted, order lists
alphabetically or by size etc..
All the facts can be displayed on the screen and compared or rank ordered
between countries.
You can update facts or insert new information in free fields. You can
also create your own data base without affecting the standard base provided
with the program.
Geography Tutor also offers you a Learning mode. In it, you are asked to
point and click to find countries or capitals (at your choice).
This note and the manual will explain some of the features of Geography
Tutor. Feel free to experiment with the numerous options offered in the
Main Menu. That is the best way to learn.
GEOGRAPHY TUTOR OPERATIONS
-Geography Tutor will work on all ST and MEGA models in
Monochrome of Medium Resolution color modes.
Operations:
-When you are asked to choose which continent you wish to
study a standard files select box will appear on screen. If
the continent you are looking for (from the list on page 1)
does not appear ,switch to the other disk, and click on the
file refresh bar. (The other disk is available from the
author)
-The main program disks offers a choice among the
following:
WHOLE WORLD
AFRICA
STATES(U.S.A) AND PROVINCES (CANADA)
EUROPE (including European S.S.R.)
NORTH AMERICA (including Central America and The Carribean)
SOUTH AMERICA (including Central America
ASIA
-The Mouse is used extensively and the functions of each
button (or both buttons together) are indicated at the
bottom right hand corner of every screen. In general the
left mouse button is indicated as <L>, the right as <R>
and both as <L+R>. The Escape key <Esc> can always be used
to return to the main menu.
SPANISH VERB TUTOR¿
------------------
Published by Artworx, Inc. Penfield N.Y.
This program is designed to help the user learn, revise or check the
proper conjugation of all Spanish verbs. The author believes that learning
with your computer should be made as easy and enjoyable as possible.
The program is initialized to communicate its instructions to you in
English. If you prefer to communicate in French, Spanish or German you can
do so by choosing that language on the first screen presented to you. You
can also choose to change the language of communication from the Main Menu
at any time.
ALL THE SPANISH VERBS
* 1,250,000 DIFFERENT WORDS
* 16 LEARNING LEVELS
* 75 CLEAR LESSONS
* 12,000 DIFFERENT VERBS
* ALL MODES
* ALL TENSES
* ALL PERSONS
* QUIZZES AND FULL TABLES
* BEGINNING * INTERMEDIATE
* ADVANCED * PROFESSIONAL
* INTERACTS WITH THE USER IN SPANISH, FRENCH, ENGLISH
OR GERMAN.
This program is designed to help both the beginning student and the
fluent speaker in the use of all Spanish verbs.
For the beginning and intermediate student the program permits
gradual learning and practice of all Spanish modes, tenses and persons of
all regular verbs as well as a few of the most frequently used irregular
verbs. This is done through 75 lessons in 16 levels of learning. The
lessons review increasingly complex verb forms. Each is followed by a
practice quiz which is graded and referenced for future reference.
For the intermediate and advanced student the program permits graded
drills through any of 12000 verbs in any mode or tense at the student's
choice.
For advanced students as well as teachers and native Spanish
speakers and writers, the program makes all the exact forms of more than
12000 verbs instantaneously available. Thus the user gets immediate access
to the correct spelling AND correct accents of more than 1,250,000
different words.
The program works on ATARI 520ST OR 1040ST, in monochrome or medium
resolution color modes. Comes packaged on single sided diskette and is not
copy protected.
FRENCH VERB TUTOR¿
-----------------
To be published by Artworx
Available directly from the author now.
All the notes from the SPANISH VERBS program apply to this program
about FRENCH VERBS.
GFA_BILD PROGRAM¿
----------------
This program (GFA_BILD) is designed to help the GFA BASIC programmer
save a great amount of time and effort in building sophisticated mouse
driven programs. All code developed by GFA_BILD (except the author boxes)
will work equally on color (medium resolution) and monochrome monitors.
The program assumes that the user is thoroughly familiar with GFA_BASIC
and has some experience in programming. One need not however be an expert
to use this program it was developed to permit relatively inexperienced
programmers to prepare sophisticated applications and advanced programmers
to save time. Every part of GFA_BILD was used in the construction of
GFA_BILD itself. A boot strap program as it were.
Though GFA_BILD is self contained, its output can only be used in
conjunction with your GFA BASIC interpreter. GFA_BILD will create ascii
files which you can then incorporate into your programs through the MERGE
function of GFA BASIC.
ORDERING ANY OF THE PROGRAMS
----------------------------
GEOGRAPHY TUTOR $29.95
GFA_BILD $19.95
SPANISH VERB TUTOR $49.95
FRENCH VERB TUTOR $49.95
To order by mail send cheque or money order to:
ASDE INC.
151 rue Jolicoeur
Hull, Qubec
J8Z 1C8
TEL (819)770-7681
CREDIT CARDS
------------
To order by phone (AMX,VISA,MASTERCARD):
CHIANG COMPUTERS LTD.
1054 BANK ST.
Ottawa, Ont. CANADA
TEL:(613)230-4101 (613)230-2854
------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿
======================
- Sunnyvale, CA. ****** FINISHING TOUCHES PUT ON TOS 1.4 ******
------------- *--== Developer Notice ==--*
Prompted by a "disappearing FAT" in his hard disk, Leonard Tramiel,
aided by Ken Badertscher, tracked down an obscure and potentially very
dangerous, quirk in the latest TOS revision. Once corrected, TOS 1.4
continues to become one of the showcase items of Atari's elevated efforts
in the USA. Therefore, it is advised that, ALL previous versions of
TOS 1.4 are superseded by the FEBRUARY 24, 1989 version.
- Chatsworth, CA. **** KILLER BLOW FOR ALTERNATE REALITY! ****
----------------
Do you play Alternate Reality? If so, would you like to see the
ATARI ST version of the Dungeon and Arena? DATASOFT was recently
purchased by SOFTWARE TOOLWORKS...and SOFTWARE TOOLWORKS has discontinued
the, (almost finished), Dungeon and Arena segments of A.R.! A true to
life "Alternate Reality Challenge" is now before us, please call these
folks and deliver all the kind words of encouragement you can muster. We
must ALL help in the cause of keeping Alternate Reality alive and well.
CALL 1-818-885-9000 or MAIL TO: SOFTWARE TOOLWORKS
------------------- 19808 NORDHOFF PLACE
CHATSWORTH CA 91311
- Houston, TX ***** DEALERS CHOKED ON "DEALS"? *****
-----------
From the very early days out west, every pioneer knew one thing that
meant survival and that was; "Don't overwork a good horse!" Perhaps, the
'sales and marketing' department of Atari would be well advised to pay
a little attention to this thought. Folks all over the country thought
that when they heard about the 'sales promo' on 1040s Atari was really on
the move. Now, on the surface, it looks like another paper Tiger. Why
pound the dealer network with pocket emptying promotions like "You buy 24
1040s to qualify for the new promotional deal. It's scary, this type of
deal should be part of a nationwide blanket offering to the public, thus
showing a real intent to penetrate the US market in a timely manner.
- Washington, D.C. **** DEALERS HAVE "MIXED" FEELINGS ****
---------------
Atari has got to stop playing favorites. Surprisingly, we hear this
complaint more often than not. It appears that either Atari or it's reps
are giving the impression that they favor certain dealers in given areas
over other dealers. This may be a system of 'rewards' but to neglect
dealers who have hung 'tuff' through the tight times because they may not
buy 24 or 48 machines at a time is sad. Monolithic price fixing dealers
who manage to eradicate competition will eventually eradicate the whole
picture. Without competition, there is no momentum. For Atari the
healthiest business condition for them right now, is to be in competition
with themselves.
THE ABOVE IS FROM A LETTER WE RECEIVED FROM A DEALER IN THE DC AREA.
- New York City, N.Y. **** MAJOR ATARI DISCOUNTER CUT-OFF! ****
------------------
Rumor has it that after receiving a number of complaints, Atari Corp.
has denied shipments of the Mega Series Computers to a New York City Music
dealer who reportedly was deep discounting the Mega Line. Perhaps the
little guy is remembered after all. Atari is at last...keeping it's word
and cleaning up the price bashing!
- Orange Park, FL. ***** ATARI 286/386 TO SHIP BY LATE FALL '89 *****
---------------
According to reliable inside information, Atari fully expects to have
the 286 - 386 machine in full national shipping by late fall 1989. Atari
has a number of the brightest minds available in marketing at Sunnyvale at
this time. They are showing remarkable abilities in producing positive
results.
- Sunnyvale, CA. ***** ATARI FLOORS PLANS TO QUALIFIED DEALERS *****
-------------
Atari Corp. will provide either in house or independent floor plan
agencies to assist it's dealers build the necessary inventory to provide
the userbase with a steady flow of product. Also Atari will allow creative
sales by it's outside sales force. By that we mean if it takes a 'group'
order in a given area it is ok.
- New York City, N.Y. ***** 520/1040 for MASS MERCHANTS *****
-------------------
The mass distribution of the 520 and the 1040 is rumored to be in the
planning stages for late 1989, the place formerly occupied in the Atari
Dealer line up by these two workhorses will be supplanted by the
standardizing of the Mega line and the addition of the promised new
hardware releases. ( STACY - 68030 - TT - ATW )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> DC PORT - STR Focus¿
===================
DC PORT from DOUBLE CLICK!
==========================
Double Click Software is proud to announce a new hardware product for the
ATARI ST computer line.
DC-PORT: serial expansion cartridge.
What does DC-PORT have to offer?
- Expands your Atari ST serial interface to 3 totally independent ports
- Plugs into the cartridge slot
- Gets *ALL* power from the cartridge slot
- Completely interrupt driven serial ports
- Small footprint (about the size of the Magic Sac¿
- MichTron Multi-User BBS 3.0¿ completely supports DC-PORT for a true
multi-line multi-user BBS
- Affordable
- Works with existing software
- More
If you would like to see how well MichTron BBS 3.0 and DC-PORT work..,
Call:
---- The Houston Atari ST Enthusiasts (HASTE) BBS
713-973-6555 or 713-973-6665.
We are online and waiting to answer your questions.
ps, let 'em know you saw it here!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
> NEW BBSs - STR InfoFile¿
=======================
STReport PROUDLY welcomes the following BBS's to our system.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Coast BBS 415-538-5438 California
ST Place BBS 512-653-1248 Texas
TNT BBS 301-871-2552 Maryland
The Golden Gate 817-547-1734 Texas
STing BBS 616-891-8740 Michigan
Dragon Keep 904-375-3500 Florida
EastSide BBS 618-254-6077 Illinois
Flash BBS 314-275-2040 Missouri
_ZoSo BBS 303-733-8433 Colorado
Atari Apex 619-451-7505 Australia
As we receive the listings from the sysops we will post them here to allow
everyone to update their STReport BBS list and keep it current.
Please help us keep this list up to date, it will be made available on a
regular basis for verification. If you have any additions or deletions to
make, please let us know at the BOUNTY 904-786-4176 or, in E-Mail to
STReport on any of the major services.
Thank you for your continued support!
Ralph......
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> GALAXY STR Focus¿
=================
GALAXY INFORMATION NETWORK NEWS
===============================
by Tom Scott
Entire article captured from the Galaxy BBS System.
GALAXY NOW OFFERS GALAXY HEADLINE NEWS TO SYSOPS
Galaxy Information Network now has Daily In-Depth News on line
from the wires of UPI and other news services. These features
are available in the Gateway. News is updated Monday-Saturday at
2AM plus periodic updates during the day as the news stories
break. Galaxy offers this news service to the operators of other
BBSes along with a condensed version called "Headline News". The
cost varies from $10 to $50 per month depending on where the BBS
is located and how many lines it has. Sysops desiring to carry
either feature should contact Galaxy for details.
GALAXY NOW REACHABLE THROUGH STARLINK
Galaxy is presently reachable through Tymnet node 6986 (Norfolk,
VA). Starlink users should respond to the Tymnet "Please Log In"
message with 'Username:6986;password'. At the connected prompt
you should enter 'D 495-4636'. Later in the month, Galaxy will be
directly reachable by simply entering 'Username;Password'.
ANNOUNCING: GALAXY STARLINK
What is it?
Galaxy STARLINK is an asynchronous outdial service that permits you to make
off-peak calls to thousands of Bulletin Board Systems in 91 cities in 28
states for only $1.50 per hour of connect time.
When will it be available?
It is available right now! Users may sign up by modem for the service.
Who operates it?
STARLINK is a service of Galaxy Telecomm Division, GTC, Inc., the
publishers of BBS Telecomputing News, Galaxy Magazine and other electronic
publications, located in Virginia Beach, VA.
Why is this service available?
GTC purchases large blocks of time from Tymnet,the national packet
switching network, for the users of Galaxy Information Network, and makes
these connect hours available to anyone wishing to avail themselves of the
service. Galaxy Information Network is GTC's multiuser online information
and "Chat" system. In addition to connecting with Galaxy, STARLINK members
may use the Tymnet Outdial service to place calls to thousands of other
systems and receive one bill each month from GTC for the connect charges.
How much does it cost? What do I get for my money?
There is a one time sign up charge of $50.00 and a monthly service charge
of $10.00 to cover administration and billing services. Each member
receives two hours of free system time on Galaxy Information Network each
month (exclusive of connect charges). All network connect charges are
billed at the end of each month for actual time used at $1.50 per hour. All
online system time in excess of two hours per month is billed at $2.00 per
hour.
Example:
Member calls Galaxy Information Network for five hours during the month
using GTC's STARLINK service through the Tymnet system and makes twenty
hours of calls to other systems through Tymnet:
Monthly Service charge $10.00 $10.00
First two hours free $ .00
Excess hours $ 6.00
------
Total system charges 6.00 $ 6.00
STARLINK charges
(5 hours calling Galaxy) $ 7.50
(20 hours calling elsewhere) $30.00
------
$37.50 $37.50
Total Charges $53.50
(each additional hour of STARLINK connect time would
add $1.50 to this bill)
There is no requirement to use the Galaxy Information Network. The two
free hours are included as this is where billing invoices are left for the
members. Galaxy is, however, a fun system to use with on-line live
chatting, live interactive games, up-to-the-minute national news and many
other services. Members may simply use the STARLINK service to access
other systems.
Is there a limit to how much I can use?
No, you can use as much time as you wish each month.
Can I get a discount for higher volume usage?
YES! You may elect to pay $25 per month plus $1.00 per hour if
you plan to use the service more often.
What payment methods do you have?
You may charge your monthly bill to Visa, Mastercharge, or sign up for our
checkfree automatic bank debit. You will be notified of charges by us
leaving an e-mail message to you on Galaxy.
What do I do to sign up?
Have your computer call 804-495-INFO. Have credit card number ready if
you are charging account to Visa or Mastercard. If you are planning to
use Checkfree, have a check ready to get information from. After you have
answered a few questions and your account has been established, you will be
mailed a member's agreement with your STARLINK username and password along
with your local access telephone number. When we receive your signed
agreement, your Username and password will be activated and you will be
able to start making calls. If you sign up before February 15th,
as an added bonus, you will receive a $25 credit on your first
Starlink Bill.
Can I call by voice?
YES! Call us at 804-467-4887!
RATES AND CHARGES -----------------
The charge for using Galaxy is a low $3.50 per hour when connection is
made through the Tymenet network. The charge for calling through the local
Virginia Beach, Virginia telephone exchange is $2.00 per hour. Compared to
GEnie ($5.00) , Compuserve ($12.50), The Source ($15.00), this is a real
bargain. There are also no additional charges for 1200 or 2400 Baud use.
There is no additional registration fee for Starlink Subscribers. Access
to Galaxy is included in Starlink Registration. For those users not
subscribing to Starlink, there is a $50 registration fee and a minimum
purchase of 25 hours of credits. Credits may only be purchased by having a
Credit Card number on file and preauthorizing all charges to the card
number.
Credit card purchases may be made in the "P"... Pay for Time selection of
the main menu.
THE FOLLOWING APPLIES TO NON-STARLINK USERS ONLY......
USERS MUST CALL GALAXY TO HAVE THEIR ACCOUNT ACTIVATED Local users call
804-467-4887 -- Out-of-staters call 800-321-0156.
Checks for registration and initial credits may be sent to:
Galaxy Information Network
Post Office Box 9455
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
The minimum acceptable check amount that will be accepted is $100 for
sign up fee plus 25 hours connection time.
Write your Handle and Password on your check!
Additional credits will be automatically posted in blocks of 25 hours when
a users credits fall below 10,000 and a $50.00 charge to the charge card
will be made at the time the credits are posted. No credits will be posted
to users accounts paid by check until the check is received AND CLEARED.
THE FOLLOWING APPLIES TO STARLINK USERS ONLY.......
STARLINK subscribers who are issued a Starlink Username and password will
have 1,000,800 credits posted to their accounts on the first day of each
month. There is no charge for the first two hours of SYSTEM time used each
month as this is where E-Mail and charges to your account are posted. At
the end of each month, the system time that has been used is computed, two
free hours are deducted and the charge is posted to your credit card or
Checkfree account along with your Starlink Network charges.
ALL REGISTRATIONS, EITHER BY CREDIT CARD OR CHECK ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.
NOTE ...the above is an actual capture form the Starlink BBS instead
of a partial presentation....
------========****========------
NOTICE:
-------
*** STARLINK DATA TRANSFER RATES ADDED TO REGULAR BILLS ***
---------------------------------------------------
Reportedly, once a user exceeds 100k (2 issues of STReport) of
data transferred per billing period, there is an extra charge for each
additional increment of 1k data blocks sent or received, (1.5 cents per
1k). 10mb would equal $150.00 on top of the regular monthly charges.
Remember, one floppy is capable of 800k these days and that would equal
$12.00 in extra fees. Although we have been told that the charges are
averaged monthly, the numbers can climb very quickly! Especially if one
were to consider the regular charges for "normal" use and then the Data
Rates on top of that figure.
Possibly, Starlink can be a viable replacement for PC Pursuit as
long as an individual does not do very many file transfers. Clearly, this
can become a severe limitation that needs the attention of the management
of the Starlink - Galaxy. We are sure it will be re-thought. Bear in
mind, that there is NO "Free Lunch" whether it is PCP or Starlink. The
individual user must, at this point, decide if messages and an occasional
file is adequate or not. If not, then this service could easily not be
the right choice.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
> STARLINK - STR Focus¿
====================
Star Light, Star Bright, No Starlink For Me Tonight!
=====================================================
Starlink has what appears to be 'hidden charges'!
Or
****** How Starlink Really can Cost $46.50 Per Hour ******
by Richard Covert
This article will prove that the new Starlink data service offered by
Galaxy Information Network(GIN) is too expensive for the home hobbyist to
use. GIN fails to tell prospective customers of the REAL, hidden, costs
of their new service. This can only be attributed to ruthless marketing in
an attempt to capture former Telenet PC Pursuit customers..
This article starts one evening when I read a message on a bbs describing
a great new data service called STARLINK. Being unhappy with Telenet's
proposed price increase, I naturally called. The number I was given was for
a BBS. I logged in and screen captured a message detailing the costs for
Starlink. Basically, it would be a usage charge of $1.50 per hour to any one
of 91 cities in the continental United States. Sounds great, I says to
myself. Why not call voice and sign up for Starlink.
So, I call GIN and ask for more information. The operator there describes
how wonderful Starlink is and says 'Yes, the fee is $1.50 per hour'. He
also says that 91 citi
es are STARLINKable at 2400 baud and that 10 cities
can be called at 9600 baud. Now, I don't own a 9600 baud modem, but it would
definitely pay to get one seeing as how I could transfer files and messages
four times as fast, and thus save on my connect time (at only $1.50 per
hour, remember). So, I ask for an enrollment packet and decide to pay via
the CHECKFREE option. I sure didn't want to give out a credit charge number
without more information then I had already..
So, a few days pass and I receive a letter from GIN. Ho boy, am I excited.
The envelope contained three pages, all with a nice letterhead by GIN in
Virginia Beach VA. As I eagerly read thru the letters I came across the
worm in the apple.. And boy was it a biggie.. It turns out that Starlink
has some serious hidden charges which GIN doesn't tell you over the phone.
******They are as follows:
===================
(1)
There is a minimum connect time of FIVE minutes once you connect to a
STARLINK city. This means that if you only want to call one BBS in that
city, and that BBS is busy, you will be charged FIVE minutes if you
disconnect from that city to try another city. Given as how so many BBSes
are busy so often it would be a frequent occurrence. So, be prepared to
spend at least FIVE minutes in each Starlink city, because you are going
to be billed for it anyway..
(2)
The much touted BBS that GIN is really used to notify you of your bills.
It turns out that if you elect to use the CHECKFREE option to have your
monthly charges deducted automatically from a checking account, GIN
notifies you via email on their BBS. This sounds great until you read the
fine print. GIN will submit the payment to your checking account FIVE
days after notifying you of the charge. So, you had better have an extra
couple hundred dollars laying around in your checking account or you could
has some bouncing ball type checks.. Since GIN only gives you FIVE days
notice, you will have to call their BBS almost daily to determine your
bill. And then you will only have FIVE days to get the cash together to
pay it. Oh, by the way, GIN will be nice enough to charge you $20 if their
payment fails due to non-sufficient funds in your checking account..
(3)
You still have to connect to a local STARLINK modem, and then call thru
it to connect to the STARLINK modem in one of the 91 cities. This is just
as bad as PCP.
(4)
You are responsible for ALL local connect charges to the BBS on the remote
end. Say, you call Tampa Florida and want to connect to a BBS in Largo.
Now Largo is just across the Bay from Tampa so you call your BBS. But,
Largo is an In-State Long Distance call from Tampa, so GIN is going to
gladly charge you for the call between Tampa and Largo. In-State Long
Distance calls are more expensive then Out Of State Long Distance calls.
So, be prepared for more dollars leaving your wallet.
(5)
The BBS is billed NOT at the $2.00 an hour described over the phone but
you also have to pay the $1.50 an hour connect charge. Therefore, using
their BBS costs you $3.50 per hour. And you have to use their BBS to get
your notification of your current bill..
(6)
There is a one time $50 sign up charge.. Even PCP didn't have the nerve
to charge $50 just to sign up.. This is higher then any other computer
service..
(7)
There is a $10 per month maintenance and administration fee. But this
entitles you to TWO free hours on their BBS. Better not use up that two
free hours early because you have to call the BBS to be notified of your
bill...
(8)
I saved the worst for last.. Even with all of the above "cute" charges,
Starlink might still be acceptable. IF it were not for the fact that
GIN charges you a DATA TRANSFER FEE. You get to transfer 100 kilobytes
per hour for free, and anything after that is charged at 1.5 cents per
kilobyte... That's right friends, you had better stop chatting after those
first 100 Kbytes because they start costing you from then. So, you go out
and buy that fancy new 9600 baud, which only set you back $500 because you
bought it from US ROBOTICS under their SYSOP purchase plan, and now you
can transfer THREE megabytes of data per hour.. So, that three megs of
files is going to cost you $45. (BAD NEWS!) That makes your total cost
to use Starlink $46.50 per hour plus any charges for local calls on the
remote end..
So, to summarize, Starlink can really cost you over $46.50 per hour if
you call at 9600 baud. You only get five days notification before your
checking account is billed. You are billed for any phones charge incurred in
completing your call on the remote end. You get to pay a fifty dollar sign up
fee, and you are billed $10 per month maintenance. All calls to a Starlink
city are billed a minimum of five minutes. So, I say BUNK to Starlink.. If
you want to call and ask GIN to answer these questions here is a TOLL FREE
number that GIN can be reached at:
800-321-0156.....
So, Please check out Starlink carefully before you sign..
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ST WORLD - STR InfoFile¿
=======================
ST World
==========
presents
WORLD OF ATARI
APRIL 22-23, 1989
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA
DISNEYLAND HOTEL
o Atari Game Machines o Atari 8-bit systems
o ST and Mega Systems o Seminars
o Workshops o Thousands of Super Sales.
Airfare, car rentals and lodging discounts available to
exhibitors and attenders. Discount tickets to user groups.
Call (503) 673 - 2259 for additional information.
*** Show area has been increased to 28,000 SQUARE FEET.
Fourteen times bigger than Atari's area at Comdex.
*** PC DITTO II will be shown for the FIRST TIME at the
show. Avant-Garde will be revealing the "secrets" of PC
Ditto II, a 4.77MHz IBM emulator for the ST, there.
*** GADGETS BY SMALL will introduce SPECTRE GCR - no
need for the Translator anymore. Use Macintosh software
straight from the box.
*** ATARI, CORP. is behind the show 100% and will be
showing their new MIDI synthesizer, GENLOCK, and the new
ATARI ULTRASCRIPT LASER PRINTER.
*** FLEETWOOD MAC will be entertaining the spectators
with a concert.
*** WASTECH will be demonstrating their new monitor,
which will allow ALL THREE RESOLUTIONS to be shown on a
single monitor.
*** INTERLINK will be unveiling MASTERLINK, the new,
improved telecommunications software package.
*** HAPPY COMPUTERS will be there with their DISCOVERY
Cartridge, the program that will copy ANY program on
just about ANY format.
*** MIGRAPH will be demonstrating TOUCHUP, a graphics
package to aid in Desktop Publishing.
*** MEGAMAX will be showing LASER C, a very fast C
compiler.
*** GRIBNIF Software will be there with NEODESK 2.0.
*** ANTIC (START magazine) and ST-LOG will be there.
Possibly even MORE magazines.
ALSO, World of Atari will be at Dearborn, Michigan June
24-25, 1989 at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn. 18,000 square feet
of space. Make your plans early to attend this great event
for Atari users. (All of the events mentioned for the
Anaheim, CA show may not necessarily appear at the Dearborn,
MI show).
AND, since you were nice enough to read the WHOLE
advertisement, STReport has been authorized by ST World to
let you in on a * SUPER DEAL * ... Just mention STReport
to ST World Magazine and receive ST World for ONLY $12.00
for a FULL YEAR'S SUBSCRIPTION. That's 12 issues for $12.00,
1/3 OFF the regular subscription price of $18. This offer
applies to both new subscribers and those who wish to renew.
Just think of it, the latest reviews, news, and just about
everything happening that involves Atari for just $1.00 PER
MONTH. Hurry though, the offer expires April 3, 1989 so be
sure not to miss out on this GREAT deal.
Send check or money order for $12.00 to:
ST World
1385 Cleveland Loop Drive
Roseburg, OR 97470-9622
Or, call (503) 673 - 2259 and charge it to your American
Express card.
*** REMEMBER *** You MUST mention STReport Online Magazine to
get in on this terrific offer. Hope you have a great time at
the show.
permissions: Richard Tsukiji, ST World Magazine.
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> MACE - STR InfoFile¿
===================
Michigan Atari Expo Update --> Michigan Atari Computer Enthusiasts
PO Box 2785, Southfield, MI 48037
Michigan Atari Computer Expo is scheduled for May 6&7, at the
Detroit Metro Airport Hilton, located in Romulus. Show times are 10a.m.
to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The Exhibitor Kits were mailed on February 1, and we already have
half our booths committed for by large and small developers. Some names
you may recognize are ICD, Migraph, Alpha Systems, Innovative Concepts,
SofTrek, USA Media, CodeHead Software, Gribnif Software, BEST Electronics,
ST Informer, Index Legalis, Mars Merchandising, Total Control Systems and
others. Local dealers coming to the Expo include Rite Way, Computer
Concepts, Joppa Computers and Basic Bits 'N' Bytes, just to name a few.
The list of names increases weekly from "maybes" to "YES, I'll be there."
USERGROUPS
==========
User Groups will be able to obtain booths free of charge at the show by
simply reserving a table with MACE. User Groups in the Midwest region
should be receiving information packets on the show in the next week or two,
but they may wish to contact us to make sure a kit is sent. The kit will
also contain information on how they can participate in advance ticket sales
and make some money for their club's treasury. User Group booths will be
placed near the ticket sales for maximum benefit to the clubs, as many
attendees will want to take advantage of the User Group Discount Program
mentioned below.
User Group members will be able to obtain discounts from vendors
participating in the User Group Discount program. This discount would be
above and beyond any special show prices.
For more information concerning the show, or to request a User Group Kit
for your club, please contact:
Pattie Rayl
MACE Convention Coordinator
at
(313) 973-8825
or, write to
MACE Expo.
3487 Braeburn Circle
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
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> A "QUOTABLE QUOTE"¿
==================
Fagin's Fabled Follie
=====================
"Once you open a can of worms ..the only way to
re-can them is to use a LARGER CAN."
"1989 - ATARI'S QUEST"
Next Week!:
----------
An In-Depth Overview/Review of the PRINCETON ULTRASYNC MONITOR
Monitor by Princeton Graphic Systems - Multi-Rez
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ST-REPORT¿Issue #77 "Your Independent News Source" March 03, 1989
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ½ copyright 1989
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Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those
of ST Report¿ or CPU Report¿. Reprint permission granted, unless noted
otherwise. All reprints must include ST Report or CPU Report and the
author's name. All information presented herein is believed correct, ST
Report or CPU Report, it's editors and staff are not responsible for
any use or misuse of information contained in this publication.
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