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Silicon Times Report Issue 0111
*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original Online ST Magazine"
_______________________________
October 27, 1989 Vol III No.111
=======================================================================
ST Report Online Magazine¿
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Jacksonville, Florida
32205 ~ 6672
R.F. Mariano
Publisher - Editor
_________________________________________
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> Issue: #111 STReport¿ The Online Magazine of Choice!
--------------------
- The Editors' Podium - CPU REPORT
- COMDEX/Fall 1989 - La Revolution
- ICD, A Success Story - GCR, On the March!
- HOTZ BOX Overview - ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL
---====**** PC DITTO II SHIPS TO PRESS! ****====---
----====*** ATARI TO "WOW" 'EM AT COMDEX! ***====----
---===**** ELECTRONIC ARTS SHIPS VIRUS IN STAR COMMAND! ****===---
=======================================================================
AVAILABLE ON: COMP-U-SERVE ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX
=======================================================================
> The Editor's Podium¿
Well..... Comdex is right around the corner! And as we, you and I,
are 'anxiously awaiting' the "grand revelations" from that first rate,
ultra dynamic, home computer source, Atari Corp... We find, according to
informed sources, we will see the "NEW PRODUCTS" in all their glory.
Along with the new faces Atari is appointing to the new..
"TEAM ATARI".
Many times in the past we have taken Atari to task for one mystifying
move or another, again.. those days are gone forever... We believe that
"actions speak louder than words". As a result, we will instead, allow
Atari's "actions" to speak louder than our words... We feel this is a
fair and unbiased method to employ in trying to help "TEAM ATARI" achieve
its goals and of course, allow Atari to show us the long awaited "Year of
Atari". Meanwhile, we fervently hope that the NEW PRODUCTS, (can't say
more now about those), to be displayed at Comdex along with the NEW
procedures and USERBASE/PRODUCT SUPPORT will drop 'em all to their knees
(grin) in sheer amazement and satisfaction. Atari will "LEAD THE WAY" in
1990.
More than likely, we should stop and take a long hard look at what is
actually happening in the home computer industry. It is changing, perhaps
maturing is a more appropriate word. And when it is in this state of
affairs, it can become quite difficult to understand, both by us and
Atari. This may be where; a) the difficulties arose and b) became
compounded by a severe lack of adequate communications. Those shortfalls
are in the process of being overcome at this time and will soon be a thing
of the past. The best part is the future actually appears better than it
has in many months past.
Thanks again for your support,
Ralph.......
"ATARI IS COMING BACK!"
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> CPU REPORT¿
==========
Issue # 38
----------
by Michael Arthur
Remember When....
David H. Ahl, in 1974, founded what was to become Creative Computing
magazine, with John J. Anderson, Dave Small, Ted Nelson, and others
writing for it until it folded in 1985, and when John Anderson went on to
write for Computer Shopper, help rebuild Atari Explorer Magazine, and, in
1988, for MacUser Magazine?
And remember last week, when after visiting Macromind Inc. in San
Francisco, John J. Anderson and another MacUser editor were killed by part
of a collapsing building, during the recent earthquake? There will always
be a fond place in the archives of STReport for these fine gentlemen of
the press.
CPU Systems Roundup XIII¿
=========================
Hisoft C Interpreter: BASIC Necessities with the Luxury of C
-------------------------------------------------------------
Part I
In traditional C programming, the normal cycle is to buy a C Compiler
package, which may or may not come with a separate editor. However, these
editors are usually mediocre, resulting in a ceaseless search for a quick,
yet powerful text editor. After finding this, a program or two is
written, and sent to the compiler in order to run it. However, the
necessary header, include, and other files must be linked to the file, in
order to produce a program. There are procedural errors. After doing
all this, one finds that the program doesn't run properly. After
searching for what seems like an eternity through the program, one finds
that there is a misspelled command. After going through the process of
compiling the program AGAIN, one finds that the program activates certain
odd-looking bombs across the screen. After going out and getting a
debugger, and working with it a while, one finds that a bad pointer, or
some other error, caused the program to fail. One then searches through
the program, eventually finding the error, and then....
As a solution to these problems, Michtron is now selling a program
called the Hisoft C Interpreter. Developed by Loriciels, a French ST
Software company, Hisoft C 2.0 provides many virtues of BASIC programming
to the C Language. Instead of having to link/compile a program to run it,
Hisoft C lets you just run it in the same manner BASIC Interpreters allow
you to run BASIC programs without compiling them. Hisoft C can also trap
Syntax and Semantic errors found in C programs, as well as Cherry Bombs
caused by more disastrous programming flaws. When this happens, it
displays a Dialog Box with a description of the error, and an error number
so you can get a more detailed explanation in the Hisoft C Manual. It
then positions the cursor at the line the error occurred, so you can fix
it easily.
But while Hisoft C has many benefits of BASIC, it still provides the
full power of the C Language. Hisoft C has a library of 460 functions,
supporting the standard Kerningham & Ritchie (K&R) implementation of C,
the standard Unix C Library, and GEM's AES/VDI libraries. Hisoft C also
supports some of the functions shown in the draft ANSI C Standard. Since
the ANSI C Standard will soon be completed, full ANSI C Support will be
found in a future update of Hisoft C.
Also, Hisoft C has very useful debugging facilities, including Trace
Mode (allowing you to single-step through a program, seeing what a routine
actually does when it is executed in a program), variable following
(which, when used with Trace Mode, lets you display the values of
variables in your program at any time), and pointer tests. One of the
obstacles in programming is that if you assign a bad value to a pointer,
that it can crash your system. Hisoft C can test the values of pointers
while it runs a program, and display an error message if an bad pointer
value is assigned. This could make Hisoft C invaluable for many C
programmers, who would otherwise not recognize this fact. Hisoft C also
supports Variable Dumps (which gives you information about all variables
in a program), Memory Dumps (letting you examine a segment of system
memory), and Stack Displays, which allows you to look at the segment of
memory used by the interpreter. Also, an ASCII Code Table is available,
and while many of these tools may not be immediately usable by novice C
programmers, intermediate or expert level coders may find them invaluable.
Hisoft C's environment is based on Modules, or separated areas where
you can load, edit, and work on a file. Hisoft C supports up to 8 Modules,
which are organized through a Module List. This dialog box allows you to
switch between modules easily, and to transfer a marked block of text from
one module to another. Also, these Modules can be Linked at Runtime, so
as to support C's style of modular programming while seamlessly replacing
the old Link & Compile "thing". Hisoft C also allows you to use assembly
language routines or executable files with your program, by organizing
them into a file called a Project, which is a collection of files which
make up a program. You can pass parameters to Projects, and their
respective segments, and obtain values from them. Hisoft C also supports
command tails, so you can test .TTP programs (like ARC.TTP and WXYTR.TTP)
by passing parameters to them. Hisoft C also comes with several nifty
features, such as automatic print spooling when printing a file, an RPN
(Reverse Polish Notation) calculator (although a scientific calculator
would also be nice), and a Help facility which is accessed via a dialog
box, which you simply type in the name of what you want info about....
However, while Hisoft C 2.0's capabilities are very good, perhaps the
BEST feature of this program is its Text Editor. Hisoft C's GEM-based
Text Editor is, in 2 words, blazingly fast. It makes WordWriter ST and
Microsoft Write look like they are playing dead, and rivals Tempus II in
brute speed. In fact, judging from its speed on a 1040 ST with TOS 1.0,
Hisoft C's Text Editor would FLY with TOS 1.4, and would be fast enough
for even the impulsive power user's needs with SofTrek's Turbo ST, not to
mention its speed with FAST Technology's Turbo 16 Accelerator. You can
move/copy/delete/hide any defined block of text, or save it to disk, as
well as using its Goto Block Start feature. However, the lack of a Goto
Block Finish feature is an inconvenience. Also, another irritating faux
pas is Hisoft C's naming of the Hide Block feature, which actually clears
the marks that define the current marked block of text, so you can define
another block of text. Renaming the Hide Block feature to "Clear Block"
or "De-select Block" will probably be in the next update....
Hisoft C's Text Editor, while it is made to edit Hisoft C files, can
also be used to edit normal text. This makes its extensive Search and
Replace facilities eminently usable. Hisoft C supports the standard
Find/Replace String operations found in most word processors, but has a
special option called Magic Mode. With Magic Mode, you can use special
characters (such as wildcards or question marks) to provide a powerful
tool for searching for many diverse combinations of text. Also, Hisoft C
can search for a string in a file that is on a disk, giving you a dialog
box telling what line (if any) the string is found. Interestingly, if
Loriciels or Michtron were to take Hisoft C's search/replace routines and
place them in a Desk Accessory (adding extra functionality in the process,
of course) the resulting product would be the moral equivalent of
Microlytics' Gofer (a Mac/IBM file/string search program) or Unix's GREP
facility for the Atari ST....
Disk Utilities, Super Manuals, and Praise Unending
--------------------------------------------------
One of Hisoft C's more interesting abilities is the Disk Utility,
which is a separate TSR (or Terminate-Stay-Resident) program that is
loaded and accessed through Hisoft C 2.0. After clicking on the Menu
Selection, a new menu pops up, with a Format option, and a File Selector
choice. The Format option allows you to format single/double-sided disks
with 80 or 81 tracks, and 9 - 10 sectors. The Disk Utility File Selector,
reminiscient of NeXTstep's File Browser in design, though more like the
Universal Item Selector II (a replacement file selector for the ST) in
implementation, allows you to Copy, Move, Delete, and Rename multiple
amounts of files, as well as Creating Folders. With TOS 1.4 out, Renaming
and Moving Folders will hopefully be added....
Hisoft C 2.0 comes with a 330 page spiral-bound manual, which includes
both sections on Using Hisoft C itself, and a 260 page Introduction to C.
This manual is an excellent guide to Hisoft C, describing its functions
and abilities in a concise and simple (not to mention nicely typeset)
manner. It is a superb translation of Loriciels' original French manual,
and is a superlative example of what ST software manuals SHOULD be
like....
While Hisoft C can fit in 512K of RAM, at least 1 Meg of RAM is
required to get any substantial programming done. It runs on all ST's,
and can run with either Color or Monochrome. Hisoft C 2.0 is suited for
many levels of C programming: One, as a comfortable tool for learning the
C Language, which shields beginners from some of the harshness of C so
they can explore the world of C without some trepidation. Now, not even
Hisoft C can completely shield beginners from the Realities of C, but it
can stave off most of the obstacles which send many programmers running
back to BASIC or Pascal. It can also serve as a more efficient software
development environment for expert programmers, as it provides many of the
comforts of a C Compiler package without many of the difficulties. ST C
Programmers could write their software programs in Hisoft C, and then
port/compile it with any C Compiler. Hisoft C 2.0 has MUCH potential, as
it fixes many of the dire needs in C Programming, and as it forfills the
capabilities expected of such a revolutionary concept....
In Part I of this review, Hisoft C's features and capabilities have
been described, in order to take a closer look at Michtron's innovaive new
software development tool. Part II will be an in-depth look at the C
Tutorial found in the Hisoft C Manual, which will not only judge its
quality and usefulness in learning C, but will give a fuller evaluation of
the versatility and ease-of-use of Hisoft C's environment....
But ponder, if you will, these questions:
1) Given that Atari said there were 250,000 ST's in the US in 1987, and
that an independent research firm estimated that there were 400,000
ST's in the US in 1988, how many ST's are there REALLY in the US in
1989?
2) Are TV/Print advertising campaigns really directed towards selling
products themselves, or are they meant to heighten knowledge about the
given product?
3) Given its effect on the success of companies like WordPerfect, is
"word of mouth" advertising a major factor in selling products?
CPU REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿
=======================
Cupertino, CA Apple earned $1.384 billion dollars in revenue for the
------------- last fiscal quarter of 1989, resulting in total sales
of $5.3 billion dollars in the 1989 fiscal year. This
is over 1 billion dollars more than Apple earned last
year.
Interestingly, Apple points to the drop in the cost of
DRAM in 1989 as a major factor, as well as the great
sales of the Macintosh SE/30 and Mac IIcx....
Cape Canaveral, FL A computer "worm" recently infected part of NASA's
------------------ Space Physics Analysis Network (SPAN), which connects
the Department of Energy's High Energy Physics Labs,
and part of the entire DECnet/Internet network. It
was only designed to damage DECnet Systems running
the VAX/VMS operating system, and NASA says that the
40 nodes that were affected were infected because of
poor password security, which made it easier for the
worm to get into the systems by figuring out people's
passwords. This new worm was created by a group
calling itself WANK, who protested the launch of the
Galileo Jupiter Probe, which is nuclear-powered....
Ironically, the agency who detected this harmful worm,
CERT, was created by DARPA after Robert Morris's
worm accidentally crippled the Arpanet system of
networks. After the ARPANet incident, the Security
Manager for SPAN said that while an attack on the VMS
Network was possible, that it wouldn't happen for a
long time....
Redwood City, CA NeXT Inc. is selling a version of the NeXT computer
---------------- that, instead of having the 256 Meg Magneto-Optical
Drive, features a 40 Meg Accelerator Hard Drive. This
Hard Drive, with a 19 ms seek time, can perform
virtual memory operations (swapping segments of RAM to
and from a hard drive) twice as fast as the NeXT's
256 Meg Optical Drive. NeXT Inc. is also giving this
hard drive to current NeXT computer Owners for
FREE....
This version of the NeXT is for use as an intelligent
terminal on a Network of NeXT's. Cost: $8000.00 in
the US. Also, NeXT Inc. is selling 4 Meg RAM Modules
for the NeXT system for $1300.00.
Argonne, IL A Japanese Research Team working on MITI's Fifth
----------- Generation Project, aimed at developing a new
Artificial Intelligence System, has shown a prototype
of a new parallel processing architecture designed for
it. Currently running with 16 processors, MITI hopes
to develop a 1,024 processor version by 1992. This
architecture is specifically designed for Prolog, the
AI Language used in the Fifth Generation Project.
Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry,
or MITI, the government agency responsible for Japan's
industrial revolution, started the Fifth Generation
Project in 1982, with the objective of developing new
parallel processing and artificial intelligence
technologies for this system by 1992. This effort was
funded by MITI as a large R&D project, in order to
stimulate Japanese technology and design. While this,
like similar efforts in the past, won't reap benefits
for Japan for 10 - 15 years, it seems that by the time
it occurs, if the US hasn't developed superior
technologies in the computer industry....
______________________________________________________________
> RED STORM RISING II STR Review¿ Ongoing in-depth review of RSR
==============================
RED STORM RISING pt II
======================
by Ron Brunk
Red Storm Rising is the best naval wargame I've yet seen for a
computer. The degree of reality and ease of play (not necessarily win) is
outstanding. Although the book that the game is based on deals with all
phases of a possible WWIII, RSR deals solely with the naval aspects of the
war. The author of the book, Tom Clancy, is an expert in military
technology and is listed as a consultant on the game along with his
research assistant for the book, Larry Bond.
Documentation is complete, from a full explanation of background
factors of ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) to player controls. A 100 page
soft bound book covers the strategy of the US Navy (keep the Russians
behind the G-I-UK (Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom) gap) and that of
the Soviet Navy (interrupt convoys resupplying NATO forces in Europe with
troops, supplies, etc). It also thoroughly covers the environmental
factors that affect the sensors (and therefore tactics) of submarine
warfare, a concept that dominates gameplay and will be discussed later.
As you boot up (from floppy or harddrive) the program checks for the
original disk in drive A; this is the only time it is checked, avoiding
the annoying habit that some games have of periodically halting the game
while it checks for the keydisk. You are then given the option of using a
mouse or joystick, which is used to select options in the game and to aim
torpedoes. You then have the option to load and continue an old game, or
start a new one, in which case you are prompted to identify a silhouette
from the manual. You will then choose the time frame for the game which
determines the state of technology for both sides:
1984 US- Harpoon and Mk48 torpedo
USSR- limited technology
1988 US- Mk48 ADCAP (advanced capability)
Tomahawk (longer range, larger warhead)
USSR- New Sierra and Kilo submarines
Begins implementing stolen technology as a result of
the Toshiba scandal and Walker spy ring
1992 US- Sea Lance (torpedo on a missile)
Stinger SAM (Surface to Air Missile against helos)
USSR- Nuclear aircraft carriers
Older vessels being upgraded with new technology
1996 US- New Seawolf submarines
Mk48 silent launch torpedo (Seawolf only)
USSR- Larger fleet
All vessels upgraded
Once the time period is set, you can either choose the class of ship
you wish to captain or allow MilPersComm assign you to one. The next
choice is the level of realism, either Introductory (very easy), Normal,
Serious (fully realistic), and Ultimate (suicidal- one hit you're dead,
indecisive sonar operators force you to ID all contacts). You then select
a scenario:
Training Action - one on one with another sub or a destroyer (his
weapons do no damage)
Battle Simulations- 8 to choose from (or random) which are similar to
those you will be assigned to in the campaign i.e. against a submarine
wolfpack, and ASW group, carrier task force, etc.
Campaign- The real game starts and you are assigned missions similar
to the battle simulations until the war is over.
The first two of these options are the best way to become familiarized
with the controls, most of which control is via keyboard (course/speed/
depth/rudder etc.) with the mouse used to place the weapon PAP (Pre-
planned Activation Point). The screen is divided into 5 subscreens; the
Primary display takes up 3/4 of the screen, with the Secondary and
Navigation display on the bottom and top left respectively, the sensors
functioning and acoustic volume are squeezed between the two, and verbal
reports are displayed below the primary display.
The secondary screen has five different displays for information on:
Contacts- range, bearing, course, speed, ID, etc.
Weapons- loaded tubes and reserve ammo available
Torpedoes- status of active torpedoes- time to run, wire status, etc.
Threats- range and bearing to enemy torpedoes
Damage- status of sonars, tubes, and propellers
The navigation display always shows your own course, speed, depth,
ordered rudder and planes, whether you are cavitating (noisy propeller),
and whether you are above or below the "layer".
The acoustic volume display shows how much noise you are making, and
the sensors functioning display shows which sensors are being used to
track the current target selected on the secondary display.
The verbal reports are typed in to give you input from crewmembers
i.e. contacts lost, gained, enemy torpedoes approaching, etc.
The primary screen is the tactical display used to track enemy
vessels. Contacts are color coded to show information reliability (bright
red for positive information, cooling to dark red, then blue, then grey
for old/projected positions). A grey "track" shows all past movements of
each contact or torpedo. Unfortunately this track is cleared each time
you zoom in or out on the tactical screen. Even sonobuoys from helos are
represented in white. The screen can be overlayed to show dirty water and
ice floes in deep water or depth in hundreds of feet in shallow water.
The primary screen can also display: a defense screen to avoid enemy
torpedoes; the water profile (discussed later); a relative comparison of
sonar capability of an identified target (whether he can sense you yet);
enemy ship database (weapons, sensors, etc.); an acoustic signature
library for identifying contacts when playing at the ultimate level; a
weapons control screen (see below). All the primary screens are available
at the stroke of a function key.
Once you are positioned to launch you prepare a weapon to be fired by
selecting the weapon (torpedo, stinger, harpoon, or tomahawk) and placing
the crosshairs on the PAP (the point on the screen where you wish it to
begin actively seeking a target) and pressing the fire button. The weapon
will go straight to that point and then continue in a straight line until
it acquires a target and homes in for the kill. An advantage of torpedoes
is that as long as the wire (for guidance) is intact you can control up to
four torpedoes and reposition the PAPs. This is used if; the target moves
or is destroyed, you wish to change targets, or you plan for the torpedo
to approach from a different direction so that it does not reveal your
position. You can also set the torpedo to seek shallow or deep, and to
search in a circle to the right or left if it loses it's target. You can
also manually guide a torpedo (left or right) once it is active as long as
the wire is intact. There is a weapons control screen that will zoom in
on a torpedo for close-in work, but since it jumps around each time you
shift to a different torpedo, it is only useful with one or two active
torpedoes.
Self-defense is every bit as important as attack in this game. An
audible ping accompanied by a verbal report will warn of approaching
torpedo. Pressing F3 immediately zooms in to a close-up around your ship
and any torpedoes pursuing you. Your various defenses are a noisemaker
(left behind your ship), a decoy (launched forward at 20 kts) or leaving a
knuckle in the water behind you by making a sharp turn at high speed
(guaranteed to sever any wires). As long as any of these are between you
and the enemy torpedo it will (probably) be decoyed and go into a circular
search pattern until it finds you again or it dies.
The most impressive part of RSR is how closely it approaches reality
using all of the above information. Contrary to Hollywood, submarines do
not sneak up on ships with periscopes out of the water, visually "lead"
their targets, and fire torpedoes in the direction that they're looking.
In RST (and real life) sonar is used exclusively to find and track
targets, but not with the "PING" that is shown in movies. Instead,
passive sonar "listens" for contacts. Although this only yields the
bearing to targets, the use of TMA (target motion analysis) over an
extended period of time will generate a contact's position, course, and
speed. Analysis of the frequencies of the sounds emanating from a target
will reveal exactly what type/class of ship/submarine it is. Although
water is an excellent conductor of sound and (most) ships are very noisy,
sensing has to occur over distances of miles to be of any tactical value,
which leads us to the affect of environmental factors on gameplay.
Sound does strange things underwater, and all of these factors are
taken into account in the game and explained in detail in the book. A
thermal layer of warm water exists above the deeper, colder water, and the
separation creates a boundary that reflects sound (how much depends on the
sharpness of the separation). This boundary layer also causes a "ducting"
affect as sound bounces between the surface and the boundary, resulting in
extended sensor range. This means that vessels on opposite sides of the
barrier are partially screened from each other. This results in the
ability of the submarine to track and identify noisy surface ships up to
20 miles away. Another oddity of water is how sound is bent down as
temperature drops, and is bent up as pressure increases. As the sound
from a target goes deeper, it gets bent down as the temperature drops,
then when the temperature has become constant it is bent back up by the
pressure increase until it reaches the surface again. If conditions are
right, the sound may reflect off the surface the process is repeated. The
concentric circles that mark where the sound reaches the surface are known
as convergence zones. This results in contacts that seem to pop up at
long distances and then disappear as you travel through the convergence
zone. Another factor taken into account in determining the distance sound
travels is dirty water (poor transmission) that can hide a contact (or
you).
Passive sonar consists of a hull mounted sonar and towed arrays (a
series of hydrophones towed behind the submarine/ship which usually lies
below the layer) which are most accurate at slow speed. Active sonar can
be used if your passive systems are destroyed or if you are maneuvering so
violently that you cannot sense your opponents (due to water rushing over
your sonar, facing the wrong way, etc.). Unfortunately these maneuvers
will broadcast your position to enemy ships dur to your racing engines and
noisy turn. Active sonar is not recommended for stalking because the
vessel you are stalking can hear you, and others outside your active
sensing range will hear and zero in on you. As a last resort you can rise
above 55 feet depth to track surface targets with the passive or active
radar on your mast. The same arguments apply here as active radar will
announce your presence further than your sensing range. Your very last
resort would be to use the periscope for a visual look, but chances are
you would be sunk by the time you lost all other senses.
Once you have mastered the battle commands, you are ready to play a
full campaign. A series of animations will show you the background of the
game; an isolated terrorist action in the middle east cripples soviet oil
supplies causing them to panic and stage an aggressive act blamed on NATO
giving them and excuse to begin WWIII before they are left helpless by
energy enemy shortages. Similar animations are interspersed throughout
the campaign which, while nice the first time or two, get old after
awhile, especially during battle. Fortunately the battle animations can
be turned off. While the sound in these animations is very disappointing
(plink-plunk) it doesn't detract from the game; it just doesn't enhance
it.
The campaign starts off with a message informing you of your first
mission and then the import options to adjust your weapons loadout and
repair damage (unnecessary at this point). When you get underway you are
shown a map of the north sea complete with SOSUS lines (underwater
listening devices on the ocean floor) and satellites and P3 Orion
(surveillance) aircraft passing overhead revealing groups of enemy ships.
These contacts are displayed as diamonds (with a dot in the middle for
surface ships) color coded (same as above) to show reliability of
information. It is best to pause at this time to load your tubes so that
you don't start battle with empty tubes. You can then move around the map
to accomplish your mission by placing the cursor where you want to go and
pressing the mouse button (left for slow, right for fast, none to stay
where you are). The speed you are going when you intercept your target is
the speed you will start the battle at, so it is advantageous to place
yourself accordingly i.e. in front or to the side and stopped or slow.
Courses and speeds and relative positions are retained when going from the
strategic map to the tactical display, so if you overtake him on the
strategic map, you'll start off behind him in the battle. Try not to
approach enemy subs at full speed as they will probably already know you
are there as the battle starts, putting you at a severe disadvantage.
Once the battle is complete you will be able to see a replay showing
all ships and weapons fired as well as the tracks each took. You will
then be congratulated (if you won), or told it was the wrong target, or
wake up in the hospital (if you lost). You will also be shown an
animation reporting the results of your battle. For example, if you
failed to destroy a wolfpack of enemy attack subs it will show a carrier
being sunk, and a newswoman reporting the story of NATO losing control of
the area. A bar of blue and red showing relative strengths will be
updated showing the current status of the war. Resupply and repairs can
be attempted between missions, but often time is a factor and you
sometimes must leave major time-consuming repairs until a mission takes
you close to home. The only time I've been ordered to go home was with a
Permit class sub. It is extremely frustrating to be sent after a guided
missile sub being escorted by super quiet diesel subs with no torpedoes
onboard and maximum damage to your ship and then run out of time to
complete your mission while you are limping home for repairs/weapons.
Eventually the war ends one way or the other. If you win, final
promotion depends on your efficiency rating (based on the outcomes and
difficulties of your missions) and awards, possible even as a celebrated
war hero. If you lose, you are sent to a Russian gulag with a final rank
of Tov(arich).
The only problem I've noticed with the program is that it seems to be
unable to save more than one game at a time despite the option to load
from a selection of saves. The only time I'd see this as a problem,
though, is if more than one person wanted to play off the same harddrive.
Overall, this is the best tactical naval wargame I've ever seen, and the
only game that has kept me interested for more than 3 week continuously
except for Empire, Dungeonmaster, Red Lightning and possibly the new
cybertank game Omega (but that's another review).
__________________________________________________________________
> HOTZ BOX STR FOCUS¿ Ask... and ye shall recieve!
===================
A DIFFERENT LOOK AT THE HOTZ BOX
================================
ctsy GEnie RT
Editor Note:
We kept the entire subject matter intact to show that Mr. Eidsvoog was
answering a request for information relating to the status and
availability of the Hotz Box.
Category 14, Topic 16
Message 63 Thu Oct 26, 1989
J.EIDSVOOG1 at 13:45 PDT
WARNING: This message is 100 lines long!
Well, I tried to tell myself not to comment in this topic but I just
noticed that the topic summary states, "Feel Free to jump in and get
involved!" and I'm afraid that I find myself doing just that.
First, I will attempt an unbiased description of the Hotz box based on
attending two live presentations (with Mr. Hotz at the helm) and
discussions with a musician who has tried it and the programmer who wrote
the driver software. The box is just that, a metal box about 36"x18"x3".
On the top surface are rows of rectangular areas with membrane switches
under them (like the DX7 program change buttons) approximately 1"x2". The
layout of the buttons may have changed since I saw it close up last
January but at that time there were basically two long rows running the
length of the box. Another smaller group or two of buttons are arranged
above the main rows. There is no resemblance to a piano keyboard (no
interspersed black keys). The box is a MIDI controller only; it produces
no audio sound, only MIDI events.
The idea is that the buttons are assigned (through the software) to a
predetermined matrix of MIDI notes such that the player can bang away at
the buttons and not hit any "wrong" notes. The button assignments can be
changed (I think through a MIDI program change command) so that as the
harmonic structure of the music changes, the player's inability to hit a
"wrong" note remains intact. Presumably, the smaller groups of buttons
might be assigned to notes that are more "blue" or less "right" than the
main buttons. The assignment of the notes would be programmed by someone
with a "musical mind" rather than the inept player who can only hammer
away at the box. Oops, I've stopped being objective...it's time to enter
editorial mode.
The rest of this message is MY PERSONAL OPINION.
I think this thing is a joke, a piece of junk! Whatever money Atari
has spent so far on this project should be written off and the project
should be scrapped. If Atari thinks that the Hotz box is a worthwhile
venture, then they have been conned, if not, then they intend to con the
public.
Although I've not heard an official suggested price, the price I did
hear mentioned was $10,000 !!! This is absurd. That price would put this
device in the category of extremely high-end professional gear which it is
definitely NOT. I've been a professional musician for over 20 years, have
a master's degree from New England Conservatory, and have done touring
with name acts and extensive studio work in TV, film, and commercials. I
say this not to brag but to give some credence to the statement that I
cannot think of any musician I've ever met who would be both musically
unsophisticated enough to want to use a Hotz box AND able to pay $10,000
for one.
If production does proceed on this project, it would be overpriced at
anything more that $199.95 (at which price they could still make a tidy
profit, assuming they haven't paid Jimmy Hotz _too_ much for his
"concept"). The whole idea of the Hotz box is to offer a way for a
non-musical person to "play" music, similar to the home chord organ
concept. Someone's got their wires crossed if they think that a real
musician will seriously consider this device. It's like asking an artist
to paint-by-numbers.
Besides all this, how could this concept even work? Mr. Hotz says
that before long all CDs will be encoded with "Hotz" code. Dream on.
This would mean that for every song released (record companies might not
be as easily sold on this idea as Atari was), someone would sit down and
figure out these "templates" of notes, one for each different chord
change. These would have to be dumped into the Hotz box (presumably with
a SYS EX dump at the beginning of the song) and then a program change
would be imbedded in the music at every chord change, switching between
the note assignments. Any volunteers? The demo I heard was produced by a
sequencer playing a bunch of MIDI gear. This works quite well, but of
course still requires that someone with musical knowledge predetermine
what notes are allowed at any one time. The program changes were recorded
in the sequence so that the Hotz box was always "in tune" with the music
being played. This allowed Jimmy Hotz, Mick Fleetwood, and two volunteers
from the audience to all bang on the Hotz box at the same time, producing
a barrage of sound and notes that was being passed off as amazing
(actually I was quite amazed, but not in the same sense). Even if we were
to put taste aside and enjoy listening to this sterile musical
environment, we are quickly reminded of the fact that the Hotz box cannot
correct a player's rhythm.
I _want_ "wrong" notes (passing tones, substitute changes, grace
notes, extended harmonics, etc.) in my music. I don't want to play within
the confines of what someone else has determined are the "acceptable
notes", it's too fascist. It boggles the mind to think that someone who
_does_ want these capabilities/restrictions would be willing to pay
$10,000 for them!
I'm sorry to be long-winded and if any of my factual, non-opinionated
statements are in error, I welcome correction. Once again all opinions
stated are my own personal ones and do not necessarily represent the
opinions of CodeHead Software.
John Eidsvoog
P.S. While this message was not intended to plug our software, I'd like
to mention that this entire concept can be accomplished with CodeHead's
MIDIMAX software (list price - $49.95), an ST, and a MIDI keyboard,
although it would be a waste of most of MIDIMAX's power to limit its use
to this one "HOT(Z)" function. This capability was not deliberately
included, but rather exists within MIDIMAX's flexible ability to
manipulate MIDI in real time.
____________________________________________________________
> COMDEX/Fall 89 STR Spotlight¿ THE SHOW OF SHOWS!
============================
COMDEX!!
========
by R.F. Mariano
The microcomputer industry will close out the eighties with a bang in
a few short weeks, when COMDEX/Fall 1989 saturates Las Vegas. During the
week of Nov. 13-17, more than seventeen hundred exhibitors will display
their products to an estimated 110,00 plus attendees visiting ten exhibit
sites:
Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall
Bally's Casino Resort Cashman Field Center
Caesar's Palace Caesar's Sports Pavilion
Las Vegas Hilton Riviera Hotel
Sahara Hotel Tropicana Hotel
It is worth noting that of those 1700 companies, less than 1/3 have
booths or rooms in the large halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Despite the attention focused upon the many companies in the LVCC with
booths the size of Rhode Island or even slightly bigger, COMDEX can be
said to have become a predominantly "beyond the Convention Center" trade
show. It is expected that the numbers of both exhibitors and attendees
will prove to be COMDEX records, actually continuing a trend in the show's
growth that has, aside from 2 years, been steadily growing throughout the
1980s.
In our opinion, After 10 years of explosive growth the computer
industry has seemingly matured. In fact, the major shakeouts are all but
finished for this and the coming decade. Now, NEW strategies and
marketing principles must come into play to continue the strong upward
growth patterns we have become accustomed to. Fortunately for all, even
as mature as the computer business may become, there still burns the
embers of strong excitement over new and innovative products in both the
software and hardware fields. A new product, be it solid and ingenious,
will strike up a wave of excitement usually seen only in new industry.
For those who will be attending COMDEX/Fall 1989, be sure to check out
the first implementations of EISA,
(EXTENDED INDUSTRY STANDARD ARCHITECTURE),
and the 'hot' juice of the new Intel 80486 chip. And of course, you must
be prepared for Unix to present itself in all its glory with software and
server introductions. Who is a Unix? COMDEX/Fall '89 promises to be the
"SHOW OF SHOWS" bidding adieu to the eighties while ushering in the
nineties!
___________________________________________________________
> CHAOS STRIKES BACK! STReport InfoFile¿ News of the Dungeon Master Sequel
=====================================
PANTS DOWN & NAKED!
===================
ctsy CIS
by Paul Close
I just got back from the local S.D.A.C.E meeting where our featured
guest was Russ Boelhauf (marketing whiz) from FTL. He had many
interesting things to say about Chaos Strikes Back (the official title of
the long-awaited "sequel" to Dungeon Master.) This is a stand-alone game.
Despite what the box says, it does not require Dungeon Master at all.
This decision was reached after the artwork went out for the box.
o There are around 13 NEW MONSTERS! The playtesters were unanimous:
more monsters!!! So they had to move away from the "expansion set"
approach they had been following, and move to a stand-alone game.
o No news on spells. No one asked, and he didn't volunteer. Sorry!
o Shipping between November 6 and November 15!!! (Yes, that's this
year :-) Suggested retail $39.95. Just like DM.
o Chaos is not a sequential games as was DM. You can apparently
wander around and solve the various "predicaments" piece by piece.
So, you can concentrate on one part of the dungeon and then go back
later and work on another part.
Some of the goodies in Chaos Strikes Back are:
o A character editor. Now you can draw or edit your characters just
the way you like! Included are artistic renditions of the way your
favorite characters would look after years of adventuring. (Russ'
favorite addition was a pair of sunglasses to protect from that
fireball glare :-) You can save your artwork, and trade with your
friends!
o You can use old characters off of a Dungeon Master save disk, or
build a new party out of characters they provide. You should have
made it through at least half of Dungeon Master for your characters
to survive more than 30 seconds :-) They will enter the world
naked! (No firestaff or armor :-)
o A hint "oracle". You insert your saved disk, and get context-
sensitive help. That way there are no "spoilers". For
completeness, I will mention the animated "cartoon" sequence you can
optionally view.
o Some really mean situations. Russ normally gets blown away in about
sixty seconds! You enter the dungeon "naked and with your pants
down" as Russ says :-) (How can you have pants if you're naked? :-)
He says the monsters are *mean*! When you open the door, you'd
better be ready!
Some neat points, ideas, etc.:
o The copy protection on Dungeon Master has been patented! They are
"thinking" about having some means of individually registering a
copy and at the same time, removing the copy protection. The idea
is that if they see pirated copies, they will know where it came
from.
o Other ideas for other games from FTL include a sci-fi adventure, a
Stephen King style horror, and a haunted house, all first person-
style adventures a la DM. Don't hold your breath! These are just
"ideas"!
o He felt that he experienced less piracy on the ST than any other
machine. Gillman Louie take note!
o 2/3 of the total sales of DM were in Europe, which he considers to
be a much more "boom and bust" market. Most of the european sales
were in a very short period of time immediately after announcement.
Note: Russ gave us permission to post whatever he said on CIS, GEnie, etc.
Thanks to FTL for giving us the info we've been waiting for! Thanks
to our club newsletter editor for the coup!
Paul Close paul@cacilj.CTS.COMY...!{uunet, ucsd, crash}!cacilj!paul
_______________________________________________________________
> LA REVOLUTION! STR FOCUS¿ A view from a different balcony...
=========================
IS THERE ANYTHING REVOLUTIONARY IN 'THE REVOLUTION'?
or
WHAT IF SOMEONE THREW A WAR AND NO-ONE CAME?
by L.E. Pulley
Imagine my amazement when I learned recently that there was a war going
on and I was part of it. Had someone declared a war and I hadn't heard
a thing about it? Who are we at war with? Had some atheistic,
communist-pinko country decided to invade my God-fearing, apple-pie
loving US of A? No, wait a minute. They wanted me to join 'The
Revolution'. You don't revolt against foreign invaders, you revolt
against your own country. Hmmm, it is time to investigate this
'Revolution' and war further.
Ah, there it is!! The introduction to 'The Revolution' in ST Report.
Now I see, since I'm an Atari computer owner I'm at war (hmmm, my bill
of sale didn't say anything about a war...it said I was buying a
computer and peripherals...must be in the fine print I didn't read).
When was this war declared? Hmmm...it doesn't tell me that. Who am I
at war with? Hmmm...it's a little vague on that one. I can't figure
out whether I'm at war with Atari or "the universe of IBM, Amiga and
Macintosh proponents" (IR) or the whole world.
Well, let's dig a little further (if I'm going to be in a revolution, I
want to know all about it). It does look as if I have some allies in
this 'Revolution'. "The allies are the manufacturers, publishers and
users of Atari computers." (IR) Since Atari Corp. is the manufacturer
of my computer, they must be one of my main allies....right? No, it
doesn't look that way. According to 'The Revolution' "Atari cannot get
a fix on what needs to be done for the US (market)" and "we have to do
it ourselves....Atari Corp and third party developers are simply profit
machines". (IR) Wow!! That means the manufacturers aren't my allies...
unless they can make a profit on 'The Revolution'. So that just leaves
'me' (i.e. the users) and the publishers (I'm beginning to feel a
little deserted on this battle-field).
Let's read a little further....mumble, mumble, read, read...Ah! Jack
Tramiel declared the war. Then why isn't Atari in the forefront of
'The Revolution'?? Mumble, read, read....Ah, here's something
confusing. "Portfolio...as a result (of it's success), an increasing
PC consumer base will be supporting the Atari name which will drown out
our cries for support with our XL, XE, ST and Mega machines." (IR)
Wait a minute! Didn't he tell us that "if you are an Atari computer
user, you are part of the war"? (IR) Now it seems that there are
differences between the Atari computer users. The ones that buy
Portfolios aren't our allies either (how will I be able to tell a
'good' Atari computer owner from the enemy?). But aren't they also
helping to eliminate "the ridicule from the universe of...." (IR)?
So far, I haven't been able to figure out when we went to war, who
really declared the war, who we are at war with, and who are our allies
in this war. Well, at least I will be able to find out what we're
fighting for. Maybe we're fighting to change Atari's advertising and
sales practices? Nope! 'The Revolutions' leader admitted on GEnie (ST
sig, Cat 18, Topic 4, Message 65) that "I don't care if Atari folds".
So obviously we're not fighting to stop a "shrinking userbase" (IR)
(besides that, the Atari computer owner user base won't be shrinking if
the Portfolio is as popular as 'The Revolutions' leader thinks that it
will be). There it is!! In the last paragraph of the introduction.
We're fighting for....
1) You will see Atari users band together as a nation for the very
first time. (IR) Great!! But not all 'Atari users' are equal in this
'Revolution'. And what do we accomplish by banding together?
2) You will witness significant news coverage and experience the
growth of new companies emerging to support your systems. (IR) We
might get some news coverage (when the news is slow, the Flat Earthers
get news coverage) but what new companies will be emerging to support
our systems because of 'The Revolution'? If Atari folds or doesn't
increase it's support and marketing of it's computer line, no one is
going to support a dead system.
3) You will also discover it increasingly easier to find friends and
colleagues using the Atari computer. (IR) I'm going to 'war' to find
new friends? I can write some letters to the ST magazines or on-line
services if I want more Atari computer friends.
But 'The Revolutions' leader did say on GEnie (Cat. 18, Topic 4, messg
#52) that "The philosophy of The REVOLUTION is to take that time (i.e.
talking about what we already know about), money and energy and expand
the exposure of the computers (i.e. Atari computer...but not the
Portfolio) outside of our 'Little' universe." So that's the main
purpose of this war. (But isn't that Atari's job?) And while that is
a very commendable idea, what good is it going to do _me_ (i.e. Atari
computer users)? If Atari won't market their computers properly, if
Atari won't support their computers properly, all of the exposure in
the world isn't going to help the Atari computer owners one iota.
I don't know, but I think this is one war where I'm going to have to be
a conscientious objector. I don't mind fighting a battle, but I would
like to have a chance of winning. In my opinion, 'The Revolution' is
going after the symptoms of the disease instead of the cause (i.e.
Atari). It's offering it's 'warriors' a placebo (i.e. "Best of all,
you will have fun." (IR)) instead of a possible cure. I have better
ways to spend my $6. Oh, did I forget to tell you about the $6 that it
costs to join 'The Revolution'? (Hmmm....10,000 Revolution members
times $6 each....that's a lot of money. And 100,000 Revolution members
times $6 each....that's a _whole_ lot of money.)
NOTE: (IR) refers to the Introduction to the Revolution that was
published in last weeks ST Report
_______________________________________________________________
> ICD - A SUCCESS STORY STR Spotlight¿ Super Sport Speed & High Quality
===================================
HARD DRIVE PERFORMANCE
======================
by R.F. Mariano
As the sun sends it's glorious rays bursting above the horizon,
heralding it's arrival or, as it gloriously sets in the west bidding us a
fond farewell, there is someone booting a computer and using the new ICD
Hard Disk Utilities. Looks like the sun will never set on the pride of
ICD.
It becomes almost automatic with most of us and we don't actually pay
that much attention to what is happening when we boot up. We decided to
stop, reboot and actually watch what was going on. We found that going
from the 3.41 software to the new 4.2.0 (sheesh 4.2 sounds and looks
better), was like... Slipping behind the wheel of a sleek, snazzy new
sports car, as its fired up. After hitting the power switch on the mega,
there were two quick blinks on each of the four hard disks in the system
then, in an instant, the booter setup appeared and the boot continued,
blip, blip, and the desktop was in front of me.. ready to go....
The new ICD booter (4.2) is the epitome of software technology for
hard disk efficiency at this time. In fact, for those who do not have an
accelerator, this is as good as it gets when coupled with Soft Trek's
Turbo ST. Of course, running the same system WITH Fast Technology's T-16
borders on supersonic speeds.
ICD has, in the past year, led the way in software development for
hard disk management. In fact, nothing even comes close. ICD software
has the handle on easy user interfacing, this means that the software may
be practically used straight 'out of the box' and the docs used only as a
reference. The formatting software is, by far, the best once again it is
easy to understand and implement. Many times the message strings on the
various nets try to compare other hardisk software to ICD's. The bottom
line is simple ICD is light years ahead of all other ST hard disk
software and by their current performance, exhibit a desire to remain on
the cutting edge of new hardware and software technology.
In brief, here are a few things you SHOULD know about this software:
This current release includes full support for Omti 3520/3527(a)
SCSI controllers and drives connected to them, most embedded SCSI
drives, and support for Adaptec 4000(a)/4070 SCSI controllers
(only high level defect mapping is supported with Adaptecs).
SASI controllers are no longer supported. Use our older version
software for use with SASI or else purchase a new Omti
controller. It will be much faster than SASI.
Many new features were incorporated into this release of our
software. The version 4.x.x booter includes read/write caching,
DOS buffers, and an additional folder fix memory pool, all of
which are adjustable with the new HDUTIL! Write verify and
status messages have also become optional. If you have trouble
booting with our new ICDBOOT.PRG, press the <ESC> key during the
initial boot process. This will disable the cache, buffers,
verify, etc. and install a minimal configuration booter. You can
then use HDUTIL to configure the booter to work with your setup.
The read/write cache is now an integral part of our booter and
much faster than any other available cache program! The variable
DOS buffers will also speed up your floppy access times.
The Hard drive handler (ICDBOOT.PRG) optionally verifies after
write. You will notice about a 20% decrease in speed with verify
enabled. If a write failure does occur, a little '<Write Fail
#xxxx>' will appear in the lower right hand corner of your
screen, if you do not get an Alert box, then it was able to
recover and everything is secure. This usually indicates a
hardware failure (bad cable, connection, etc.).
Most people are NOT aware that NO OTHER HANDLER does write
verify! This really is not too startling since hard drives are
so reliable, BUT, that data is going through an 18" cable (Supra
and Atari drives) at a very fast rate (from 300 to over 1000 K
bytes per second) with no checksums whatsoever. Why do you think
they don't use longer cables?
It certainly would be more
convenient! We ship 36" cables with our ST drives, but that
extra length is acceptable due to the ICD ST Host Adapter's
design... it is highly resistent to cable noise. With the write
verify in the software, this practically guarantees an error-free
system (assuming, of course, computer, drive, controller, etc.
are in good operating order).
ICD, Inc.
1220 Rock Street
Rockford, IL 61101
Voice: 815-968-2228
BBS: 815-968-2229
FAX: 815-968-6888
The ICD BBS always has the latest versions of the ICD ST Host
Adapter software, as well as various handy utilities, etc., all
yours for the downloading. Our BBS goes to 9600 baud (US
Robotics), and is usually up 24 hours a day. Support and updated
files are also available on GEnie (ICDINC) and CompuServe
(76004,1600).
______________________________________________________________
> GCR On The March! STReport OnLine¿ Gadgets by Small has a BIG winner!
=================================
GCR - Walkin' Tall!
===================
ctsy CIS
#: 12096 S14/Gadgets By Small
22-Oct-89 04:19:13
Sb: #GCR- AN ACID TEST!
Fm: Kris Cruz 76060,1702
To: Dave and Sandy Small 76004,2136
I have had my GCR since the 19th now and feel qualified to give you a
report. First, let me give you some background on myself. I attend /work
for Eastern Washington University. I work as a computer consultant. We
have three computer labs-VAX,IBM and MAC. I work in the MAC lab (where
else?). It consists of one Mac Plus as a server,using a 40 Meg HD and 530
Meg CD ROM. There are 10 more Mac Plus's on the Appleshare network as
well as two imagewriters and a laserwriter plus. They are available for
student use.
The GCR comes in a molded plastic case, whose colors and dimensions
have been revealed elsewhere in this section. It does beat the paper bag.
The manual is an 8.5 X 11' affair shrinkwrapped together. It contains a
potpourri of items from the original Spectre manual (namely the
interludes) as well as GCR specific items. I did enjoy the interludes and
tales of Small, but some more new ones would have been nice. I also would
not have complained if they did include a vinyl binder for the manual, of
course with the Gadgets Logo emblazoned on it. Perhaps Dave can make some
up and sell them, I know I would buy one. The information, is as always,
complete and this time it even included Appendices and an index- really
professional. As soon as I got the manual, I sat down to read it, not your
typical Christmas morning reaction, I know. But I figured that if I had
wrecked it, the waiting to get another would have driven me to my death.
Anyway, I plugged in the ROMS and brought it up. I already had my
hard drive set up for Spectre in HFS, so there was no need for me to
change anything. It booted up just fine, but then the 1.9f software also
worked fine. I put in a GCR encoded Mac disk I just happened to have, and
it work! I should not be surprised, after all, Dave has always delivered
what he promised (sometimes after he promises, but Murphy is after all his
grandfather). I had been waiting frantically for the GCR, so I could use
my $600 Pagemaker 3.0 without having to transmit everything via null modem
cables. I am sure I made an impression on both Dave and Sandy with my
letter I wrote them threatening/begging for my GCR.
I have used Dave Small products since he was into the 8 bit LE stuff
and even remember when he wrote for Creative Computing. I bought Magic
Sac when it came out, then Spectre and now GCR. Needless to say, I would
expect and only accept quality work from David Small when it comes to my
money. I had previously tried a friends Happy cartridge. Needless to say
I was far from Happy. I needed a RELIABLE way to read GCR encoded mac
disks on my ST. Why? Well, I actually USE the Spectre for real tasks. I
depend on it. I program in Turbo PASCAL and DTP in Pagemaker. It is nice
to show the thing off to MAC owners (my cousin for instance), but I am
somewhat practical in my approach. I wanted to do REAL mac stuff. That
meant reading the disks.
Thus, I got my GCR and tried a few disks. This is all well and fine,
but does it meet my criteria for my use? Well, I had to know BEFORE I
trusted it with my valuable data. So I brought up the GCR and formatted
ten disks from the MAC desktop. This works exactly as it does on the MAC.
I then transferred some files on to each disk to see if they would read
correctly at work. I tried each of the ten disks on each of the ten user
stations on the MAC network. Each has an external drive, which was also
used. So, there were 200 disk insertions/ejections done to see if the MACs
were reading the GCR formatted disks. Not a single one of them had trouble
reading the disks. Consider also that these computers are used for at
least 8 hours each day and that the GCR format must be pretty tolerant
(ie, it writes em like a *REAL* MAC!).
Stage two involved the MAC to ST Acid Test. I decided to fill the ten
disks up with as much of the 530 MEG CD ROM Educorp Collection as I could
get. When I got home, I tried each disk to see if any would give me
trouble. Every disk worked just fine. Since that test, I have been using
the GCR daily. I have yet to get a problem reading/writing a MAC disk.
Please note that if GCR had not worked with at least a 95% success rate, I
would have sent it back. I would like to take the time now, to tell
everyone who was wondering if the GCR does work and work RELIABLY. You
can bet your data on it. What else do you need to know? Dave Small has set
a standard of doing the impossible (he has an agreement, he does the
impossible, GOD does the miracles!) and this time he has outdone himself.
GCR was worth the wait, although I did go crazy while waiting. It
definitely is worth the bucks. Consider not only are you getting a MAc
emulator, but a way to transfer MAC data to IBM, IBM to Mac. If you don't
think that is a value, call up an APPLE dealer sometime, tell him you have
a MAC plus and want to read IBM disks on it. Then tell me GCR costs too
much. There are other cheap imitators out there none of them read MAC
disks in a reliable manner. Get, support, get service, ..get smart and
get a GCR! Thanks Dave!
---==***==---
#: 12112 S14/Gadgets By Small
22-Oct-89 21:59:00
Sb: #12080-Spectre GCR has arrived!
Fm: Peter Szymonik 72637,2272
To: Dave and Sandy Small 76004,2136
Thanks go to you Dave and Sandy! Sometimes, people whine about delays
so much that they miss the big picture and never realize what they are
getting!
A recent event at my dealer was lots of fun. Many of the people there
heard about Mac emulation or had seen Magic Sac, but apparently few had
tried Spectre. A few people milled around as I pulled out the GCR box and
rigged it up my dealer's machine.
When I asked for a Mac disk, heads turned and a crowd gathered. My
dealer didn't have any Mac disks, but gladly opened a telecom program
called InTalk and handed me the disks. The place was so quiet you'd think
I was about to perform major surgery! I popped the disk in, ran GCR, and
there it was - a happy Mac face! Everyone was floored!
For the next half hour I was bombarded with questions about
availability and cost. You don't know how many times I heard: "$300? and
$150 for ROM chips? That's it?" <grin> I think I sold about 20 GCR's
right there! Its almost enough to make me want to become an Atari dealer
:-]!
Pete
________________________________________________________________
> QUICK ST 1.6 STReport InfoFile¿
==============================
Press release for immediate distribution to all Atari ST Users in the
United States and Canada.
Friday, October 27, 1989
Quick ST 1.6 -- Shareware by Darek Mihocka and Ignac A. Kolenko
TOS 1.4 is now available. TOS 1.4 is great for speeding up file operations
on hard disks, but compared to earlier versions of TOS it does very little
to speed up screen operations. Regardless of which TOS you have, the
program Quick ST 1.6 is for you.
Quick ST 1.6 increases the speed at which the ST performs screen
operations, such as printing text to the screen, scrolling the screen,
drawing windows and dialog boxes, and reducing the overhead of other
graphics operations, such as desktop redraws.
Printing of text strings to the screen is sped up by 1510% in medium
resolution and 1240% in monochrome. Character by character printing is
three times faster. Screen scrolling is at blitter chip speeds. This all
means that your .TOS and .TTP programs will run faster. Line drawing is
twice as fast, which makes zoom boxes and windows draw much faster.
Graphical text is printed much faster, which means that your desktop
windows will update faster and your GEM programs will operate faster.
The result is that your Atari ST appears to run faster and smoother than
before. You spend less time waiting for the screen to scroll or redraw.
Quick ST 1.6 does not physically make your ST any faster. It simply makes
TOS more efficient at manipulating the screen display. In some cases, it
will make your ST perform better than an equivalent ST equipped with
hardware enhancements like a blitter chip, 16 MHz board, or even TOS 1.4.
And all this is done in software, so installation is as simple as copying
a file.
Quick ST 1.6 runs from the AUTO folder and so does not use the already
overcrowded desk accessory menu, or require interaction with the user. It
is completely transparent to most applications. It uses under 20K of RAM,
and automatically installs either the color or monochrome version and
throws away initialization code to save memory.
Quick ST 1.6 runs on any Atari ST or Mega ST using a standard SC1224 color
or SM124 monochrome monitor. A blitter chip is optional, as is an
accelerator board. All official releases of TOS are supported.
The following screen resolutions are supported:
- 320x200 low resolution
- 640x200 medium resolution
- 640x400 monochrome
Here are some benchmark results using the Quick Index 1.6 program, running
on a TOS 1.4 1040ST, in monochrome, with no blitter chip:
BIOS text 325%
BIOS string 1240%
BIOS scroll 134%
GEM draw 193%
These numbers are greater than those obtained for an ST not using Quick ST
1.6, but equipped with TOS 1.4, blitter chip and 16MHz board. When used
with Quick ST 1.6, such a system is amazingly fast.
In another benchmark, the entire Quick ST source code (9000 lines of 68000
assembly language) was loaded into ST Writer 3.4 and scrolled from top to
bottom. Without Quick ST, this takes 90 seconds. With Quick ST, this takes
49 seconds, almost 100% faster. And ST Writer can keep up with your typing
now when used with Quick ST.
Using the ZOOMTEST program supplied with Codehead's G+PLUS program, 50
repetitions take only 10 seconds in monochrome and 15 seconds in medium
resolution, twice as fast as normal!
But don't take our word for it. Try Quick ST 1.6 for yourself...
Quick ST is shareware, and is NOT public domain. It is available for a $15
shareware registration, far less than the cost of a hardware upgrade, or
even the TOS 1.4 upgrade. Because we believe strongly in the shareware
concept, which allows users to freely distribute and copy software so that
it may be tried out on the user's own system, we have made available a
demo version of Quick ST 1.6. It can be found in the Atari ST libraries of
Compuserve, GEnie, Delphi, BIX, and is currently also available on Usenet
in comp.sys.atari.st.
If after trying the Quick ST 1.6 demo, you feel that it is of no benefit
to you, simply delete the files and forget about it. If you do appreciate
the benefits of using Quick ST 1.6, simply send in your shareware
registration fee (made payable to Darek Mihocka) and an updated disk
contaning the full version of Quick ST 1.6 will me mailed to you. Quick ST
1.6 is not copy protected and installs on any standard boot disk.
Because we believe in and support user groups, we are offering Quick ST to
all full time members of Atari ST user groups for only $12. We ask that at
least 5 people from the same user group register, and you must provide
proof of membership (i.e. photocopy of membership card, official member
list, etc). There is no time limit on this, so please take the time to
demo Quick ST at your user group so that every member can try it.
If you are already a registered user of the Quick Utilities or Quick ST
(version 1.5 or earlier), simply mail your disk back along with $3, and
the updated Quick ST 1.6 disk will me mailed to you. Do not bother to
download the demo.
Our mailing address for shareware registrations, questions, comments,
demos and updates is:
PO Box 2624, Station B
Kitchener, Ontario N2H 6N2
CANADA
Phone (in Canada): (519)-747-9452.
If you prefer to contact us by email, we can be reached at the following:
Compuserve: 73657,2714
BIX, Delphi, GEnie: DAREKM
UNIX: uunet!electro!ignac
If you are unable to obtain the Quick ST 1.6 demo by modem, simply mail us
a blank disk and $3 (or no disk and $5) and we'll send you the demo disk.
This shareware offer is valid until the next Quick ST update.
______________________________________________________________
> CODEHEAD!! STR Spotlight¿ Top notch goodies from Codehead!
========================
SOME LIKE IT HOT!
Announcing HotWire 1.4....plus MaxiFile!
-----=====**=====-----
"When the START editorial staff first saw HotWire, our collective
reaction was 'Wow!"
"If you don't have a hard drive, HotWire is still useful. Have all your
programs in a .HOT file, and when the menu comes up, just put the
necessary floppy disk in the drive and then press the Hot Key. ..."
"Overall, I find HotWire amazingly convenient. ... The 'one keypress'
environment is very, very satisfying."
-- START magazine October 1989 issue
-----=======***=======-----
Well, now we've made HotWire even BETTER! And look what's happened to
MultiFile!!!
CodeHead Software would like to announce the impending release of a
major upgrade for HotWire (our innovative desktop/shell program)! At the
same time, we are releasing a new product, MaxiFile...a _greatly_ enhanced
version of MultiFile from the CodeHead Utilities disk.
MaxiFile and HotWire will be bundled together and sold as HotWire
Plus. Both products will continue to be sold separately as well.
The new HotWire 1.4 includes a direct interface to MaxiFile, letting
you enjoy MaxiFile's flexible file manipulation abilities without having
to exit HotWire. MaxiFile can be run as either a desk accessory _or_ an
ordinary GEM program, letting you configure your system for your own
memory needs.
HotWire Plus with MaxiFile can be used as a COMPLETE replacement for
the GEM desktop. Both programs work in all resolutions. And MaxiFile
includes many advanced file-handling features previously only seen on
those "other" computers.
Both HotWire and MaxiFile are written in 100% assembly language, so
you know they're as compact and fast as possible.
(And by the way, both programs will also still continue to be sold
separately as well.)
Here's what HotWire 1.4 and MaxiFile can do for you:
HOTWIRE 1.4 by Charles F. Johnson and John Eidsvoog
-----------------------------------------------------
o HotWire lets you set up an infinite series of program menus and
instantly run any program, no matter where it's located on your
system! You can run any program either from the HotWire Menu or FROM
THE GEM DESKTOP simply by pressing a hot key... that YOU assign to
each program!
o Summon up the HotWire Menu any time you're at the GEM
desktop...simply by clicking the right mouse button (or by typing a
special "Hot Key".)
o HotWire runs as either an ordinary ST program, or as a "resident"
program that's always at your beck and call!
o HotWire can AUTORUN GEM applications, on all versions of TOS in ROM.
(In fact, HotWire's autorun feature works better than TOS 1.4's...)
o Program menus (.HOT files) can be entered into the HotWire Menu, and
given descriptive titles. You can load a completely new menu just by
clicking its title, or typing its hot key!
o Up to 54 programs can be entered into each HotWire Menu. You can use
"headings" to customize the look of each menu to your own taste.
o Programs can be given 20-char titles which describe their purposes,or
include their full names. For example, you can name PUBLISH.APP by
its real name..."TimeWorks Desktop Publisher".
o Documents can be linked with their respective applications, and
entered into the HotWire Menu. So you can click on "Great American
Novel" and instantly run Word Perfect, which will automatically load
your Great American Novel. With one click, you're ready to start
working!
o HotWire 1.4 now has an advanced "Ledger" function, which keeps track
of all programs you run, showing the Start, End, and Elapsed time of
each program. It also keeps track of the total time elapsed since you
began working. If you started an application by passing it a document
(as mentioned above) the name of the document you worked on is also
shown in the ledger. In addition, each program in the HotWire Menu
can be either included in or excluded from the Ledger record, as you
choose. This feature is INVALUABLE for people who do work for hire on
their STs. Now you can keep accurate records of all your computer
usage with no effort whatsoever. Just click the button labelled
"Ledger"!
o HotWire also now includes a resident corner clock, which shows you the
time of day in the upper right corner of the screen...even when you
run other programs! You can even set each program in the HotWire Menu
to turn off the corner clock when it runs, in case the clock
interferes with any program's display.
o HotWire works correctly with all the programs that give other shells
fits! Programs like CAD-3D 2.02, Cyber Control, Easy Draw/OUTPRINT,
Antic's Base Two, SuperBase, and many others which don't work 100% (if
at all) with other shells, work EXACTLY as they do from the desktop
when you run them through HotWire!
o HotWire has many powerful and advanced features designed to aid
software developers in the process of compiling and/or assembling. If
you're not a programmer, we won't smother you in layers of complexity;
but if you are, you'll find that HotWire has all the power you need in
a developer's shell. Up to 12 environment parameters may be passed to
any program in the HotWire Menu, and the command line handling is way
beyond that offered by any comparable shell. We've been using HotWire
as a shell to develop _itself_ (using the Mad Mac assembler from
Atari) ever since version 1.0.
o For added security, HotWire 1.4 now has an exclusive "password"
feature, which lets you assign a separate 8-character password to each
program in the menu. Every time you run a program which has a
password, HotWire will ask you to type the password before it lets the
program continue. (Your input is NOT echoed to the screen as you
enter the password, of course.) You must also type the existing
password before HotWire will let you change it.
o HotWire is unbelievably easy to set up and use! An intuitive GEM
interface lets you enter new programs in the menu, move existing
entries around, and edit their parameters with simple point-and-click
operations.
o HotWire 1.4 is compatible with all current versions of TOS in ROM,
including the recently-released "Rainbow TOS" (TOS 1.4).
o You want desk accessories? HotWire lets you access CodeHead's
MultiDesk accessory loader/unloader, giving you access to more DAs
than you could ever possibly use.
o HotWire 1.4 allows you direct access to MaxiFile (when MaxiFile is
installed as a desk accessory), either by clicking on the MaxiFile
icon or by typing function key F10!
o ...and there are MANY more features not mentioned here, designed to
make your computing life as easy as possible. HotWire is ADDICTIVE;
but has been certified by the Surgeon General to have no ill effects
whatsoever. :) Be prepared to become happily dependent on it!
MAXIFILE 2.0 by Charles F. Johnson
------------------------------------
o MaxiFile is a multi-featured file-handling utility, similar to the
"DOS Shells" available on other computers, but GEM-based.
o MaxiFile runs as either a desk accessory or an ordinary GEM program.
If memory is tight, just run MaxiFile as a program. If you run
MaxiFile as a desk accessory, you can use it in any ST application
which employs the GEM menu bar. You'll never have to quit a program
just to copy a disk or rename a file again!
o MaxiFile lets you move/copy/delete/rename/touch any combination of
files and/or folders. You can see up to 80 items at once in the
MaxiFile "control panel" display.
o All parameters of MaxiFile's configuration can be saved, so that
everything comes up set the way you want it, every time.
o An intelligent disk copying routine lets you copy any type of floppy
disk (except copy-protected ones) automatically! You can even use a
blank unformatted disk for the destination if you like; MaxiFile will
automatically format it to match the source disk.
o MaxiFile can be switched between an 80-name display, showing just the
filenames in a directory, and a 48-column display which shows the file
sizes, times or dates.
o MaxiFile works in all three resolutions, and also works with
"big-screen" monitors.
o Format disks single or double sided, with 9 or 10 sectors per track,
80 or 82 tracks per disk. If you have TOS 1.2 or greater, you can use
the "Sector Skewing" option (also known as "Twister Format".)
o Enter COMMENTS for any file or folder, similar to the Macintosh
Finder's "Show Info" function. MaxiFile allows up to three lines of
information about each file or folder. Every time you 'Show Info' on
a file/folder, MaxiFile displays the comment and lets you change it if
you wish. You can tell MaxiFile where to save the comments.
(Comments are not physically attached to the files.)
o Select MULTIPLE TEMPLATES to show files with several different
extensions at the same time. For example, you can show all files with
.ARC, .LZH, and .TXT extensions. You can also choose whether to
INCLUDE or EXCLUDE files that match the extension templates. There
are 16 editable extensions, which can be saved with all the rest of
the configured data.
o Up to 20 paths can be instantly selected with a single keypress, for
either the source or destination. (Of course, the paths are editable,
and saved with the configuration.)
o Create new folders.
o Show or print files.
o Change a file's attributes; MaxiFile lets you lock, unlock, hide, and
unhide files.
o If you have TOS 1.4, you can enable (or disable) the "fastload"
feature for any executable program.
o Rename folders in all versions of TOS!
o "Disk Info" shows all pertinent statistics about a disk; the number of
files and folders it contains, the number of tracks and sectors per
track, and even the location of the first directory sector. (Don't
ask. <grin>) You can also edit and change volume names (disk names)
in all versions of TOS.
o Print directory information in two ways: showing only the files, or
with a full listing including the size, time, and date of every file
in the directory.
o Almost all functions of MaxiFile can be operated with either the mouse
or the keyboard. "Power users" can get their file maintenance chores
done faster than ever, while novices can take things at their own
speed.
o Set the double-click rate you wish to use while in MaxiFile.
o Sort by Name, Size, Extension, or Date, or display files in their
true, unsorted form. (In other words, exactly as they appear in a
disk's directory.)
o Up to 10 levels of warnings (for things like deleting files,
formatting disks, overwriting files, printing directories, etc.) can
be turned on and off, letting you use MaxiFile exactly how you want!
If you like to live dangerously you can even turn off ALL warnings,
and let the chips fall where they may. (Some of our customers are
real daredevils.)
o Instantly select or deselect ALL files/folders in a directory.
o Instantly select/deselect all files/folders with the same extension,
or with the same pre-extension name.
o Optimized mouse routines for smooth, FAST operation.
o When MaxiFile is called directly from HotWire, you can double-click
FILES AND DOCUMENTS to launch them, just as if you were in a window on
the GEM desktop. Anything you run in this way will be recorded in the
HotWire ledger, just as if you had run it from HotWire.
o If installed as a desk accessory, MaxiFile can also be called directly
from Charles F. Johnson's shareware "Little Green Selector," a
complete replacement for the GEM file selector (with MANY extended
features) that is included with MaxiFile. This lets you use any or
all of MaxiFile's advanced file-handling functions in any program that
uses the GEM item selector! (The Little Green Selector is also
available on the major info services, and probably at a BBS near you.)
o Believe it or not, there are many more features in MaxiFile as well!
MaxiFile will take care of all your file-handling needs.
UPGRADE POLICY
==============
Since MaxiFile started life as MultiFile, part of the CodeHead
Utilities disk, we decided to allow current Utilities owners an upgrade
"path" to purchase MaxiFile for a considerable discount over MaxiFile's
retail price.
Current owners of CodeHead Utilities (release 1 or 2) may update to
the latest version (release 3) of CodeHead Utilities for $5 (plus the
original master disk) as per our usual update policy. We'll have more
info soon; many of the programs on the Utilities disk have also been
significantly improved. Current owners of CodeHead Utilities may also
purchase MaxiFile for a special price of $15, direct from CodeHead
Software only. (The retail price of MaxiFile is set at $24.95.)
Current owners of HotWire version 1.0 through 1.3 may upgrade to the
latest version (1.4) for $5 plus the original master disk, as per our
usual update policy. Registered HotWire owners may also purchase both
HotWire 1.4 and MaxiFile for a combined price of $15, which includes the
HotWire update.
The suggested retail price for the HotWire Plus package (which
contains MaxiFile) is $49.95. Look for this package at your local Atari
ST dealer, or (to be first on your block) order it directly from CodeHead
Software at:
CodeHead Software
P.O. Box 74090
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Tel (213) 386-5735
Over the phone, we accept Visa,Mastercard and COD orders. If you order by
mail, please include $2shipping/handling (Canada $3, Europe $5).
California residents please add 6.5% sales tax. Release date for Hotwire
1.4 and MaxiFile2.0 is set for the second week in November.
Charles F. Johnson, CodeHead Software
Editor Note:
Congraulations are in order to Charles he is in Hawaii getting MARRIED!
Lotsa Luck and Love to the NEW Johnson family.
________________________________________________________________
> ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿ Sayin' it like it is...
======================
- Sunnyvale, CA. ****** SIG HARTMANN RETIREMENT A GALA EVENT ******
--------------
Amid all the festivities stood a rather nifty card that showed the
admiration the folks at Atari have for Sig.... A card that is unique and
absolutely original. !ZORRO HARTMANN....! Without a doubt, the people at
Atari will miss Sig.. As will the userbase in general. We hope he, at
least, stays on with Atari in an advisory capacity. Or, as Atari's
Goodwill Ambassador. ....After all, he is regarded as "Mr. Atari" by most
all the users.... ps; Mel did a great job on the card.
- New York City, N.Y. **** PC DITTO II SHIPS TO PRESS! ****
-------------------
Nevin has his... and according to reports that are trickling in, it
has been seen in the New England area and the midwest... (eek, sounds like
UFO reports!) Nevin reports that he is having all sorts of fits over the
"Mickey Mouse" daughter board sitting on top of the 68000 in his Mega. At
last report, he was trying desperately to get it set in his 1040 which has
an unobstructed 68000. Since Nevin is NOT a hardware Guru, we are
energetically cheering for him!!
- Chicago, IL. **** SEARS CATALOG PRESENTS LYNX FOR SALE! ****
After verifying with the Sears Catalog people, customers can call and
order the Lynx from Sears. The phone number is 1 - 800 - 366 - 3000 and
the item # is 49-TD-75425 for $159.00. Sears selling the Lynx should be a
great deal for Atari and their customers as Sears fully services what they
sell and will not allow companies who's products they sell avoid servicing
them. Additionally, Sears has their 'Satisfaction Guaranteed Or Your
Money Back' policy. Sears does not have Lynx at this time, but Atari has
promised to deliver by 11/18 at the latest. hmmmmm...
- San Francisco, CA. ***** WELL KNOWN MAG EDITOR MAY JOIN ATARI *****
------------------
In what could only be termed a bizarre turn of events, a well known
hard copy magazine editor has been approached by Atari Corp. to be an
"assistant" to an assistant. We have purposely kept the person's name
confidential, but we can tell you this; Atari propositioned this gentleman
just prior to the killer quake. As part of his duties, this gent would
assume a very 'major' presence in the online community.
- New York City, NY *** COMPUTER SHOPPER -> PORTFOLIO TO SAVE ATARI! ***
-----------------
Anyone see the review of the Portfolio in the Nov. Computer Shopper?
Did you also see the front cover blurb? It says "Portfolio - Can an MS-
DOS handheld save Atari Corp.?" I didn't realize the future of Atari
depended upon the Portfolio.
Editor Note.
Amazing simply amazing. Comdex will change many things.... who is serving
the crow?
- San Matteo, CA. ***** ELECTRONIC ARTS SHIPS VIRUS! *****
---------------
STAR COMMAND for the Atari ST has a software virus present in the
code. We have recalled this product . . . Please contact Electronic Arts
at 1-800-448-8822 for assistance in returning this product for version
1.1. If you have a virus "stamper" you may prefer to run the disks
through it . . . If you have any questions please call Electronic Arts at
the number above or SSI at 408-737-6800 and ask for Customer Support.
Carole A. Johnson Manager, Customer Support
Hey Trip... you still gettin' even?
- Washington, DC ***** TOS 1.6 & THE COOKIE JAR ARE REAL! *****
--------------
TOS 1.6 is the version of the Operating System for the STE. It
contains support for the STE SHIFTER, PCM 8-bit Stereo Sound, Fine
Scrolling in the SHIFTER, The new Cookie Jar (a place to store "cookies"
for TSRs), and a few minor changes..
John
EDITOR NOTE:
Let's remove the mystery over this TOS 1.6 and the fabled cookie jar
written by A. Pratt... it and the docs for both the TOS 1.6 version and
the cookie jar are in widespread circulation throughout Europe. That
means we will have it in the States in a matter of days. If it is not
here already. $5a0 ....
- Chicago, IL. ***** NEW UPDATED DIABLO DYING IN A DESK! *****
------------
From better than reliable sources we hear that the new rebuilt Diablo
Emulator has been done for months. But it appears to have fallen in a
crack at Atari.... all we know about the crack is to say; "Ask the Chef."
- Tualatin, OR. ***** CMI HAS NEW ANSWERING SERVICE! ******
-------------
The best answering service in the world is in effect at the published
number for CMI in the November Issue of STart; 503-691-2552, I guess this
was the customer service line..... Try it, you'll like it. Guess nobody
can now take advantage of the "TWO FER ONE SALE"!
_______________________________________________________________
> Hard Drive Info STReport InfoFile¿ Affordable Mass Storage
=================================
NEW PRICES! & MORE MODELS!!
============================
ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC.
P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
Est. 1985
_________________________________________
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT
BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 PM - 6 AM EDT
_________________________________________
HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET
_____________________________________
All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST
are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s).
ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE
(you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!)
(all cables and connectors installed)
SEAGATE HARD DISK MECHANISMS ONLY!
ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED
EXCLUSIVELY
* OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
32mb #SG32238 549.00 42mb #SG44710 619.00
51mb #SGN4951 639.00 65mb #SG60101 689.00
80mb #SGN296 729.00 100mb #SG84011D 969.00
130mb #SG1244D 1099.00 145mb #SG3A4210 989.00
170mb #SGT41776 1389.00 260mb #SG1244Q 2169.00
320mb #SGN7788Q 3295.00
Listed above are a sampling of the systems available.
Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations
(over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)
*** ALL Units: Average Access Time: 24ms - 34ms ***
ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> MAGIC SAC - PC-DITTO/II - SPECTRE/GCR
LARGER units are available - (special order only)
* Removable Media Devices Available (44mb) Syquest 555 *
* SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICES *
*** Available for ST - Amiga - IBM ***
LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
- Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets -
TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets
ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED
12 month FULL Guarantee
(A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)
Quantity & Usergroup Discounts Available!
_________________________________________
DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!
Personal Checks are accepted.
ORDER YOURS TODAY!
904-783-3319 9am - 8pm EDT
_______________________________________________________________
> A "Quotable Quote"¿
=================
One brilliant Executive whispers to the other...
"Hey, this new glue for my TOUPEE is SUPER! ..Want a sniff?"
...Blatherblop's Fables
"ATARI IS BACK!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST-REPORT¿ Issue #111 "Your Independent News Source" October 27, 1989
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ½ copyright 1989
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors, staff, ST Report¿ or CPU Report¿. Reprint permission is
hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. All reprints must include ST
Report or CPU Report and the author's name. All information presented
herein is believed correct, STReport or CPU Report, it's editors and staff
are not responsible for any use or misuse of information contained herein.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
