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Silicon Times Report Issue 0113
*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original Online ST Magazine"
_______________________________
November 10, 1989 Vol III No.113
=======================================================================
ST Report Online Magazine¿
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Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida
32205 ~ 6672
R.F. Mariano
Publisher - Editor
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> Issue: #113 STReport¿ The Online Magazine of Choice!
--------------------
- The Editors' Podium - CPU REPORT
- The TT's GOALS - ST. LOUIS ATARIFAIR
- The AWESOME Revolving DOOR - KIDPRGS - DTP for KIDS!
- ANDY REESE AT AUTOCADD! - ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL
-==*** ATARI SET TO REVEAL "BIG PLANS" AT COMDEX! ***==-
--==* WORD FLAIR TO DEBUT AT COMDEX! *==--
-==** TT - STE - STACY - PORTFOLIO - LYNX: TO DEBUT AT COMDEX **==-
=======================================================================
AVAILABLE ON: COMP-U-SERVE ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX
=======================================================================
> The Editor's Podium¿
COMDEX!! Atari will be present and is reported to be loaded for bear!
We hear that they will showing the 'small' TT (6 of 'em, all hand made).
We wish all the success in the world to Atari and its especially neat
product lineup this fall. Comdex/Fall 1989 promises to bring out the
biggest turnout the semiannual function has seen to date. This can only
help Atari gain the exposure and prominence it deserves for providing the
home computer market with its excellent line of ST computers.
From the episode of the debut and premature announcement of TOS 1.4 by
Chris Roberts (formally of Atari) to the various current events we find
certain aspects of the human element present. Sometimes, the element is
ambition, other times, revenge and lastly and most seriously ...ego.
Unfortunately, there are still those at Atari who place their personal
ambitions and egos before the well being of the company. We see this all
too well in recent actions and decisions by the higher ups at Atari.
Thankfully, these events are now floating to the surface of the noise pool
and thus, will soon be seen by all. How refreshing to know that those
events we and many others in the press and developer community have known
about for a long time will be clearly seen by everyone.
For example, how smart is it for Atari to directly compete with those
who spend many thousands of dollars to support Atari? Considering we (the
Atari ST Userbase) have some of the very best printing, wordprocessing and
publishing programs the world has seen, we find it extremely difficult to
understand the logic behind their decision to tie up thousands of software
engineering hours in producing a program that makes a "feeble and vain
attempt at competing" with 'real' programs. This story will surface for
all to see within a matter of weeks.
Another prime example is the amount of time and energy that has been
spent in trying to undo the damage done to Atari's relations with
developers from every corner of the North American Continent. Atari's
public statements may reflect a wonderful and rosy atmosphere, but all it
takes is one or two interviews with various developers and a startling and
quite different situation other than Atari's representation will be very
apparent. One will hear of threats, intimidation, stonewalling and worst
of all, a severe lack of trust in the "word" of Atari's software people
from the very top on down. Thus, the AAD.
We ache for the day we too can hear the developers bragging about the
"wonderful" support Atari offers its developers instead of hearing of
developers being victimized and made examples of. For example, Atari's
informing the FBI of a developer vocalizing discontent. And of calling
the police when a certain developer was supposed to appear at Atari for a
sincere business oriented visit. Of having support developers work for
many months on projects at the insistence of Atari only to find the
project tabled for certain 'strange' reasons. How about trumping up
allegations against a developer that will not hold water in an attempt to
discredit the developer.. all done to "impress the boss". One has to sit
back and say all these developers can't possibly be "bad people". There
has to be some other common denominator.
Until now, the possibility of uncovering the underlying problem has
been remote. As stated before, the truth can only be stifled for so long.
Over the course of the next few weeks we, along with other members of the
press, will be closely examining the entire situation, interviews etc...in
an honest and straight forward attempt to bring only the truth to light.
Hopefully, Atari and developers will emerge from this expose.. healthier
and more productive.
In the meantime, again we wish Jack, Sam and Atari Corp. the best of
success at this fall's Comdex show.
Thanks for your support,
Ralph.....
"ATARI MUST ADVERTISE"
**********************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
To sign up for GEnie service: Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type XJM11877,GEnie and hit RETURN.
The system will prompt you for your information.
THE GENIE ATARI ST ROUNDTABLE - AN OVERVIEW
___________________________________________
The Roundtable is an area of GEnie specifically set aside for owners and
users of Atari ST computers, although all are welcome to participate.
There are three main sections to the Roundtable: the Bulletin Board, the
Software Library and the Real Time Conference area.
The Bulletin Board contains messages from Roundtable members on a variety
of Topics, organized under several Categories. These messages are all
Open and available for all to read (GEnie Mail should be used for private
messages).
If you have a question, comment, hot rumor or an answer to someone else's
question, the Bulletin Board is the place to share it.
The Software Library is where we keep the Public Domain software files
that are available to all Roundtable members. You can 'download' any of
these files to your own computer system by using a Terminal Program which
uses the 'XMODEM' file-transfer method. You can also share your favorite
Public Domain programs and files with other Roundtable members by
'uploading' them to the Software Library. Uploading on GEnie is FREE, so
you are encouraged to participate and help your Roundtable grow.
The Real Time Conference is an area where two or more Roundtable members
may get together and 'talk' in 'real-time'. You can participate in
organized conferences with special guests, drop in on our weekly Open
COnference, or simply join in on an impromptu chat session. Unlike
posting messages or Mail for other members to read at some later time,
everyone in the Conference area can see what you type immediately, and can¿
respond to you right away, in an 'electronic conversation'.
**********************************************************************
> CPU REPORT¿
==========
Issue # 40
----------
by Michael Arthur
Remember When....
Gilman Louie, CEO of Spectrum Holobyte, wrote a letter to all of the
major computer magazines saying that the Atari ST Userbase was riddled
with software pirates, implying that it was useless to write software for
the Atari ST, and later, when Spectrum Holobyte introduced several new
software products for the ST because Tetris and ST Falcon had become such
big bestsellers, and recently, when Gilman Louie made a cameo appearance
in Commodore's advertisements for the Amiga, which sanctioned it as THE
low-end computer?
CPU INSIGHTS¿
=============
RJ Mical, and the Rise and Fall of Amiga Computer Inc.
======================================================
Gary Oberbrunner recently provided a great source of knowledge about
this, by writing and posting this essay on the Amiga newsgroup (or message
base) of Usenet. It is a transcript of a talk given by R.J. Mical, the
programmer who designed and developed the Intuition graphical user
interface for the Amiga, before the Boston Computer Society in March,
concerning the history of both the Commodore Amiga itself, and Amiga Inc.,
the company who created it. Except for modifications in its formatting,
or presentation, and various notes placed in this text to provide more
information on certain subjects, the content of Gary Oberbrunner's text is
identical....
The Early Days, Game Boxes, and the Guru Meditation
---------------------------------------------------
On Monday March 2, 1989, RJ Mical (=RJ=) spoke at the Boston Computer
Society meeting in Cambridge. Fortunately I was momentarily possessed
with an organizational passion, and I took copious notes. I present them
here filtered only through my memory and my Ann Arbor. My comments are in
[square brackets]. What follows is a neutron-star condensed version of
about three and one half hours of completely uninterrupted discussion....
Amiga Computer Inc. had its beginnings, strangely enough, RJ
began, with the idea of three Florida doctors who had a spare $7
million to invest.
They thought of opening a department store franchise, but (as
RJ said) they wanted to try something a bit more exciting. So
they decided to start a computer company. "Yeah, that's it! A
computer company! That's the ticket! :-)"
They found Jay Miner, who was then at Atari, and Dave Morse, the
VP of sales (you can see their orientation right off..) they
lifted from Tonka Toys. The idea right from the start was to
make the most killer game box they could. That was it, and
nothing more. However Jay and the techies had other ideas.
Fortunately they concealed them well, so the upper management
types still thought they were just getting a great game machine.
Of course the market for machines like that was hot in
1982...
They got the name out of the thesaurus; they wanted to convey the
thought of friendliness, and Amiga was the first synonym in the
list. The fact that it came lexically before Apple didn't hurt
any either, said RJ.
However, before they could get a machine out the door, they
wanted to establish a "market presence" which would give them an
established name and some distribution channels - keep thinking
"game machine" - which they did by selling peripherals and
software that they bought the rights to from other vendors.
Principal among these was the Joyboard, a sort of joystick that
you stand on, and you sway and wiggle your hips to control the
switches under the base. They had a ski game of course, and some
track & field type games that they sold with this Joyboard. But
one game the folks at Amiga Inc. thought up themselves was the
Zen Meditation game, where you sat on the Joyboard and tried to
remain perfectly motionless.
This was perfect relaxation from product development, as well as
from the ski game. And in fact, this is where the term Guru
Meditation comes from; the only way to keep sane when your
machine crashes all the time is the ol' Joyboard. The execs
tried to get them to take out the Guru, but the early developers,
bless 'em, raised such a hue and cry they had to put it back in
right away.
(Note: Recently, Commodore announced that the Term, "Guru Meditation"
would not be in AmigaDOS 1.4....)
When RJ interviewed with Amiga Computer (he had been at Williams)
in July 1983, the retail price target for the Amiga was $400.
Perfect for a killer game machine. By the time he accepted three
weeks later, the target was up to $600 and rising fast. Partly
this was due to the bottom dropping completely out of the game
market; the doctors and the execs knew they had to have something
more than just another game box to survive. That's when the
techies' foresight in designing in everything from disk
controllers to keyboard (yes the original Amiga had NO
KEYBOARD), ports, and disk drives began to pay off.
The exciting part of the Amiga's development, in a way its
adolescence, that magical time of loss of innocence and exposure
to the beauties and cruelties of the real world, began as plans
were made to introduce it, secretly of course, at the Winter CES
on January 4th, 1984.
CES, the Amiga's Adolescence, and "Business is War"
---------------------------------------------------
The software was done ten days before the CES, and running fine on the
simulators. Unfortunately when the hardware was finally powered up
several days later, (surprise) it didn't match its simulations. This
hardware, of course, was still not in silicon. The custom chips were in
fact large breadboards, placed vertically around a central core and wired
together round the edges like a Cray. Each of the three custom 'chips'
had one of these towers, each one a mass of wires. According to RJ, the
path leading up to the first Amiga breadboard, with its roll-out
antistatic flooring, the antistatic walls just wide enough apart for one
person to fit through and all the signs saying Ground Thyself, made one
think of nothing so much as an altar to some technology god.
After working feverishly right up to the opening minutes of the CES,
including most everybody working on Christmas, they had a working Amiga,
still in breadboard, at the show in the booth in a special enclosed gray
room, so they could give private demos. Unfortunately if you rode up the
exhibit-hall escalator and craned your neck, you could see into the room
from the top.
The Amiga was, RJ reminisced, the hardest he or most anyone there had
ever worked. "We worked with a great passion...my most cherished memory
is how much we cared about what we were doing. We had something to
prove...a real love for it. We created our own sense of family out
there." RJ and Dale Luck were known as the "dancing fools" around the
office because they'd play really loud music and dance around during
compiles to stay awake.
After the first successful night of the CES, all the marketing guys
got dollar signs in their eyes because the Amiga made SUCH a splash even
though they were trying to keep it "secret." And so, they took out all
the technical staff for Italian food, everyone got drunk and then they
wandered back to the exhibit hall to work some more on demos, quick bug
fixes, features that didn't work, and so on. At CES everyone worked about
20 hours a day, when they weren't eating or sleeping.
Late that night, in their drunken stupor, Dale and RJ put the
finishing touches on what would become the canonical Amiga demo, Boing.
At last! ...The true story is told.
The Commodore Years: Amiga Futures, and Business as Usual
----------------------------------------------------------
After the CES, Amiga Inc. was very nearly broke and heavily in debt.
It had cost quite a bit more than the original $7 million to bring the
Amiga even that far, and lots more time and money were needed to bring it
to the market. Unfortunately the doctors wanted out, and wouldn't invest
any more. So outside funding was needed, and quick.
The VP of Finance balanced things for a little while, and even though
they were $11 million in the hole they managed to pay off the longest
standing debts and keep one step ahead of Chapter 11. After much
scrounging, they got enough money to take them to the June CES; for that
they had REAL WORKING SILICON. People kept peeking under the skirts of
the booth tables asking "Where's the REAL computer generating these
displays?"
Now money started flowing and interest was really being generated in
the media. And like most small companies, as soon as the money came in
the door it was spent. More people were added - hardware folks to
optimize and cost-reduce the design; software people to finish the OS.
Even the sudden influx of cash was only enough to keep them out of
bankruptcy, though; they were still broke and getting broker all the time.
How much WOULD have been enough? RJ said that if he were starting
over, he'd need about $49 million to take the machine from design idea to
market. Of course Amiga Inc. had nowhere near that much, and they were
feeling the crunch. Everybody tightened their belts and persevered
somehow. They actually were at one point so broke they couldn't meet
their payroll; Dave Morse, the VP of Sales, took out a second mortgage on
his house to help cover it, but it still wasn't enough.
They knew they were going under, and unless they could find someone
quick to buy them out they were going to be looking for jobs very shortly.
They talked to Sony, to Apple, to Phillips and HP, Silicon Graphics (who
just wanted the chips) and even Sears. Finally...they called Atari. (Boo!
Hiss! [literally - the audience hissed at Jack Tramiel's name!] Trying
to be discreet, RJ's only personal comment on Jack Tramiel was (and it
took him a while to formulate this sentence) "an interesting product of
the capitalist system." Ahem.
Apparently Tramiel has been quoted as saying "Business is War."
Tramiel had recently left Commodore in a huff and bought Atari
"undercover" so that by the time he left C= he was already CEO of Atari.
Realizing that Commodore was coming out with their own hot game machine,
Tramiel figured he'd revenge himself on them for dumping him by buying
Amiga Inc. and driving C= down the tubes with "his" superior product. So
Atari gave them half a million just for negotiating for a month; that
money was gone in a day.
Of course Tramiel saw that Amiga Inc. wasn't in a very good bargaining
position; basically unless they were bought they were on the street. So
he offered them 98 cents a share; Dave Morse held out for $2.00. But
instead of bargaining in good faith, every time Morse and Amiga tried to
meet them halfway their bid went down!
Amiga Inc.: "Okay, $1.50 a share."
Jack Tramiel: "No, we think we'll give you 80 cents."
Amiga Inc.: "How about $1.25?"
Jack Tramiel: "70 cents."
And so on...
Even Dave Morse, the staunchest believer in the concept that was the
Amiga, the guiding light who made everyone's hair stand on end when he
walked into the room, was getting depressed. Gloom set in. Things looked
grim.
Then, just three days before the month deadline was up, Commodore
called. Two days later they bought Amiga Inc. for $4.25 a share. They
offered them $4.00, but Dave Morse TURNED THEM DOWN saying it wasn't
acceptable to his employees; he was on the verge of walking out when they
offered $4.25. He signed right then and there.
Commodore gave them $27 million for development; they'd never seen
that much money in one place before. They went right out and bought a Sun
workstation for every software person, with Ethernet and disk servers and
everything. The excitement was back.
Commodore did many good things for the Amiga; not only did they
cost-reduce it without losing much functionality, they had this concept of
it as a business machine; this was a very different attitude from what
Amiga Inc. had been working with. Because of that philosophy, they
improved the keyboard [ha! - garyo] and made lots of other little
improvements that RJ didn't elaborate on.
What could Commodore have given them that they didn't? The one thing
RJ wanted most from them was an extra 18 months of development time.
Unfortunately Commodore wasn't exactly rich right then either, so they had
to bring out the product ASAP [and when is it ever any different?] Also,
he said, they could have MARKETED it. (applause!). If he'd had that
extra 18 months, he could have made Intuition a device rather than a
separate kind of thing; he could have released it much more bug-free.
The Future
----------
RJ's advice for A1000 owners: "Keep what you've got. It's not worth
it to trade up. The A1000 is really a better machine." This may be sour
grapes on RJ's part, since the Amiga 2000 was designed in Braunschweig,
West Germany, and the version of the A2000 being worked on in Los Gatos
was rejected in favor of the Braunschweig-Commodore version. However the
A1000 compares to the A2000, though, the Los Gatos 2000 would have
certainly been better than either machine. C= management vetoed it
because Braunschweig promised a faster design turnaround (and, to their
credit, were much faster in execution than the Los Gatos group would have
been) and more cost-reduction, which was their specialty. Los Gatos, on
the other hand, wanted a dream machine with vastly expanded capabilities
in every facet of the machine. The cruel financial facts forced C= to go
with the Business Computer Group, who did the Sidecar in Braunschweig as
well, and quickly and cheaply.
So they fired more than half the staff at the original Los Gatos
facility, one by one. That trauma was to some extent played out on the
net; no doubt many of you remember it as a very difficult and emotional
time. There are now only six people left in Los Gatos, and their lease
expired in March, so thus expires the original Amiga group.
And.. that's how RJ ended his talk; the rise and fall of Amiga
Computer Inc. The future of the Amiga is now in the hands of Westchester
and Braunschweig, and who knows what direction it will take?
Q & A Session: Boston Computer Society and RJ Mical
----------------------------------------------------
I'll just make this part a list of technical questions and
answers, since that was the format at the talk anyway. This part is part
technical inquiries and part total rumor mill; caveat emptor.
Questions are from the audience, Answers are =RJ=.
-----------------------------
Q: Can you do double buffering with Intuition?
A: Pop answer: No. Thought-out: well, yes, but it's not easy. Use
MenuVerify and don't change the display while menus are up. It's
pretty hairy.
Q: How big is intuition (source code)?
A: The listings (commented) are about a foot thick, 60 lpp, 1 inch
margins.
Q: Where did MetaComCo come into the Amiga story?
A: MCC's AmigaDOS was a backup plan; the original Los Gatos-written
AmigaDOS was done with some co-developers who dropped out due to
contract and money hassles when C= bought Amiga. Then MCC had to crank
EXTREMELY hard to get their BCPL DOS into the system at the last
possible minute.
Q: Why no MMU (support in the Amiga's Operating System)?
A: Several reasons. Obviously, cost was a factor. MMUs available at the
time the Amiga was designed also consumed system time [this is what he
said- I'm just the scribe]; although newer MMUs solve this problem they
were too late for the Amiga.
Second, the original goal of the Amiga was to be a killer game machine
with easy low-level access, and an MMU didn't seem necessary for a game
machine.
Third [get this!] with an MMU, message-passing becomes MUCH
hairier and slower, since in the Amiga messages are passed by just
passing a pointer to someone else's memory. With protection, either
public memory would need to be done and system calls issued to allocate
it, etc., or the entire message would have to be passed. Yecch. So
the lack of MMU actually speeds up the basic operation of the Amiga
several fold.
Q: Why no resource tracking?
A: The original AmigaDOS/Exec had resource tracking; it's a shame it died.
Q: How is your game coming? [??]
A: It's just now becoming a front-burner project. It's number crunch
intensive; hopefully it will even take over the PC part of the 2000 for
extra crunch. It's half action, half strategy; the 'creation' part is
done, only the playing part needs to be written. Next question. :-)
Q: Will there ever be an advanced version of the chip set?
A: Well, Jay Miner isn't working on anything right now... [RUMOR ALERT]
The chip folks left in Los Gatos who are losing their lease in March
were at one time thinking about 1k square 2meg chip space 128-color
graphics, although still with 4 bit color DACs though... and even stuff
like a blitter per plane (!!) They were supposed to be done now, in the
original plans; the chip designers will be gone in March, but the
design may (?) continue in West Chester. Maybe they'll be here two
years from now.
Q: What will happen to the unused Los Gatos A2000 design?
A: ??????
Note:
The Amiga 3000, which will be introduced in Fall Comdex, uses an
Enhanced version of the Amiga's Chip Set. It also uses a new design
architecture, with greatly advanced capabilities and features. Curiously,
due to Acorn, a British Computer maker, using the name '3000' in one of
their computer products, Commodore will reveal the NEW name for the Amiga
3000 at its Fall Comdex introduction....)
Q: Should I upgrade from my 1000 to a 2000?
A: Probably not. The 2000 isn't enough better to justify the cost.
Unless you need the PC compatibility, RJ advocated staying with the
1000. After all the 2000 doesn't have the nifty garage for the
keyboard...:-) The A1000 keyboard is better built; you can have
Kickstart on disk; it's smaller and a LOT quieter, [maybe not than the
old internal drives!!!] and uses less power; the 2000 has no composite
video out, plus the RGB quality is a tad worse. Composite video (PAL
or NTSC) is an extra-cost option with the 2000.
Q: Have you ever seen a working Amiga-Live!?
A: Yes, I've seen it taking 32-color images at 16fps, and HAM pictures at
something like half that. [!!] It's all done and working. I don't
know why it's not out. It sure beats Digiview at 8 seconds per image!
Q: What do you use for Amiga development tools?
A: DPaint and Infominder, Aztec C, Andy Finkel's Microemacs.
Q: What's the future of the A1000?
A: They aren't making any right now; they're just shipping from stock.
But they do claim that they intend to continue making them.
Note:
Shortly after RJ Mical's talk, news surfaced that Commodore had
decided to not make anymore Amiga 1000s, but to make a unified front with
the Amiga 2000....)
Q: Who is the competition for Amiga right now?
A: The new Macs are so expensive, they're not a threat to the 2000, much
less the 1000. Atari's new stuff "doesn't impress me." [that's all he
said.]
Q: Why are the pixels 10% higher than wide?
A: The hardware came out that way, and it would have been a pain to do it
any other way due to sync-rate-multiple timing constraints.
-----------------------------
In the history of human civilization, "origin epics", or tales of how
a certain people, place, or entity came into existence, have always been a
rich part of a society's cultural heritage. Only the most barbaric or
short-lived of cultures did not create such sagas, holding them in the
highest of regards. In the computer industry, this type of folklore
abounds, as the telling of tales like how the Apple II was made in Steve
Jobs' garage, Jack Tramiel leaving Commodore, the company he founded to
seize Atari from the jaws of bankruptcy, and other stories have become a
time-honored part of the computer industry. Of all the major
microcomputers, only the Amiga has maintained a shroud of secrecy
surrounding its creation, and eventual history. While some points, like
Jay Miner's involvement, are well-known, many of the other details
concerning the Amiga's history (especially after the time Commodore and
Atari tried to buy it, and the ensuing lawsuit) are virtually obscure in
the realm of public knowledge. Which, given the fact that, while many of
the tales about the computer industry's past are considered little more
than "war stories", the lessons that history teaches us through this form
of folklore has been vital to the advancement of human civilization, is
truly tragic indeed....
But ponder, if you will, these questions:
1) How would the computer industry be different today if Jack Tramiel had
either bought Amiga Computer Inc., or stopped Commodore from getting
the rights to the Amiga?
2) How important will the quality of the Presentation that Atari gives to
introduce the 68030 TT and STE at Comdex be to their success, given
the things Commodore is reportedly planning to introduce the Amiga
3000?
CPU REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿
=======================
London, England The Law Commission's report on Criminal Law and
--------------- Computer Misuse recently proposed several new laws
to Parliament, concerning illegal activities performed
via computer.
The laws cover using computers for unauthorized entry
into computer systems (which gets a 3 month sentence),
breaking into a computer system with the intent of
participating in serious crimes committed while
accessing the system (which gets a 5 year sentence),
and intentionally spreading computer viruses, which
will result in a 5 year jail sentence....
Interestingly enough, many barristers (lawyers) and
and industry experts in computer law are fighting the
measure, saying that it is both unenforceable (due to
the lack of people trained to combat computer crimes),
inadequate (given that international activities are
not covered), and that it may actually encourage some
to engage in these types of activities, as a show of
will or a desire to "beat the system"....
Cambridge, MA Lotus has introduced a version of Lotus 1-2-3 for
------------- Tandy's DeskMate Graphical Environment for DOS. While
it provides pull-down menus, dialog boxes, and other
versatility provided by GUI's, it is basically just a
new version of 1-2-3 Version 2.01. 1-2-3 for DeskMate
is expected to appeal to the home/small business
computer user.
Oddly, though, given that several major Software
companies, such as Lotus, WordPerfect and Ashton-Tate,
are reportedly not porting their software to run on
MS Windows because it would mainly benefit Microsoft
itself (who competes with them in many DOS software
arenas), and that many of these companies are porting
their products to OS/2 Presentation Manager, which is
sanctioned by IBM....
Mountain View, CA Texas Instruments has recently announced their new
----------------- Microlaser PS35 printer, which comes with 35 Adobe
Postscript fonts, 300 dpi with a Sharp engine, and
1 Meg of RAM. Cost: $3000.00
Interestingly enough, Adobe Systems worked with TI in
ensuring that Adobe Postscript was used for it. And
since Postscript is in the Public Domain, TI didn't
have to pay any licensing fees. Resulting in that the
Microlaser is the first Postscript printer in its
price range. Given the combination of Postscript's
PD status, and Adobe's actions to provide support for
it (and to guide its development)....
Cupertino, CA A U.S. Federal Court has ruled that Apple Shareholders
------------- can sue Apple, with the claim that Apple misled them
about the abilities and flaws of the "Twiggy"
high-density drive, which Apple planned to bundle with
the Lisa computer in 1982. It seems that, while Apple
Engineers warned about the Twiggy's reliability
problems, Apple company officials claimed that it was
more reliable than other high-density disk drives....
This episode brings up the following question: If the
Apple shareholders win this suit, showing that Apple's
misleading statements caused them to buy Apple stock,
would shareholders of Atari stock be able to sue Atari
for either vaporware such as the CD-ROM drive, or
problems with Atari products which were known, but not
fixed?
____________________________________________________________________
> The TT's Goals STR Spotlight¿ Where and Which Market?
============================
EMBERS OF FAITH..ETERNAL
========================
by R.F. Mariano
Atari could convincingly have a superb year in the offing, considering
the fact that they now have Richard Miller firmly entrenched in R&D.
Miller, formally of Perihelion of the UK, is responsible for the design
and production of such masterful accomplishments as the custom chips in
the Stacy, TT and STE. When working in the UK, he was assigned to the
team working on the ATW.
According to Atari UK, there are three markets available for the TT
they are: a) High level Education and Universities who seek a value packed
'030 based workstation. b) The repeat Atari customer (buyer) who seeks a
machine with real expansion capabilities and opportunities for solid
software and hardware development potentials. c) The omnipotent DTP, WP
marketplace, this has to be the 'giant' for Atari, the inroads and
opinions of those familiar with what Atari can offer and what is actually
available is a very strong opportunity for Atari. The Atari DTP - WP area
is, without a doubt, the most cost effective offering in existence,
moreover, the quality is virtually unbeatable.
The big question is will Atari accept the challenge and tackle this
marketing opportunity head on? Only time will tell. Honestly, we
(STReport) see where the TT has actually enhanced Atari's image in the
business and professional community. Again, Atari must take advantage of
the situation for it to produce any positive results. The main thrust is
of course, the narrowing of price differences in the overall market. The
Mega series will continue and eventually be replaced by the TT series of
'030 expandable computers... this simply has to occur. In the meantime
one can easily see where Atari seemingly has "all the bases covered". The
next logical step is to take advantage of the "edge".
We (STReport) would like to see the Mega style cabinets continue in
the US but, in the STE technology bracket. In other words, perpetuate the
comfortable Mega type - 2 piece design, but put the STE guts in the
cabinets. Atari would then be offering first class packages all the way
'round. The STE and the TT will definitely provide Atari with the "flying
V" needed to purposely penetrate the Home and Business computing
marketplace with a vengeance in the coming months. But, only if Atari
doesn't get cold feet. They must advertise first then look to cultivate
the distribution networks both for sales and service. Excuses will not
make it in 1990, the userbase and computer market have had all they can
tolerate. Posted results will be the only indicator of Atari's true
ambitions in the US marketplace.
The entry level TT is really a souped up ST, a faster processor,
better expansion capabilities, enhanced graphic modes and much improved
sound output potential. The internal memory can expanded to 8mb via plug
in SIMMs .. it is possible to expand the memory to 26mb with 4mbit simms
when they become cost effective.
A few other juicy tidbits include,
512k OS VME Expansion Bus network interface
two serial ports ASCI & SCSI ports 8bit Stereo PCM
4096 Color Palette
Graphics Modes:
320x200 / 320x480 with 256 colors
640x480 with 16 colors
1280x960 monochrome
640x400 Duochrome 2 colors
_________________________________________________________________
> ST Louis Atari Fair STR FOCUS¿ "ISS DAWT YOU???"
=============================
ctsy GEnie RT
ATARI SUPPORT ARRIVES IN ST. LOUIS
==================================
by MAT.RAT
At one time Atari was at least 5 dealers strong in the St. Louis area.
Now there is only one left, and we have fought hard to keep them in
business.
Bob Brodie, user group coordinator, is helping us with that. He has
come all the way from Sunnyvale California to attend the McDonnell Douglas
Recreational Computer Club fair tomorrow. He spent the evening with
officers of other local Atari computer clubs, listening to our gripes,
accumulating information, and making notes on what needs to be done to
improve Atari product availability and end user satisfaction. He's a
straight shooter. He doesn't make glib predictions about "future
products" or "definite delivery dates". He isn't afraid to say "I don't
know", and give the best answer he can. He admits Atari needs to go a
long way to win back Atari users and redevelop a strong base of Atari
dealers in the US. This is one important step, and we're very pleased with
Atari and Mr. Brodie for their efforts.
At our show Atari will demonstrate the Megafile 44, a 44MEG removable
cartridge hard drive for the ST. The Stacy with the Spectre GCR will be
demo'ed, to blow the minds of all the Macintosh users. The super duper
huge monochrome monitor for the Mega, a 1024 by 960 display device, is to
be demo'ed as well. And the Portfolio is here. This is one sexy machine.
All the connections are available to give it RS232, Parallel, or even a
hand held floppy disk drive. If Atari doesn't develop this latter product,
someone else will. It's one cool device, whose biggest drawback is the
smallness of the display. However, with all its built in software, it's
still quite functional.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE SHOW
=======================
by Ron Robinson
The McDonnell Douglas/St. Louis Computer Fair was held in Building 33
of the McDonnell Engineering Campus today. Several thousand people
enjoyed viewing a wide variety of computers ranging from the Timex
Sinclair to the NeXT.
Atari turned out to be the sunrise hit of the show thanks to the well
orchestrated displays and demonstrations of the entire range of Atari
hardware. Crowds around the Atari area were typically two to four times
larger than those observing the other computer families. I couldn't help
but grin as I heard "Atari makes computers too?" from folks strolling
through. The various local Users Groups, Randall's Computers, and Atari
all contributed to the Atari area at the show.
Items demonstrated at the Fair never before widely seen in St. Louis
included the Stacey, Spectre GCR, MegaFile 44 removable cartridge drive,
Moniterm Monitor, Atari Laser Printer, the T16 Accelerator board, PC
Speed, and the Portfolio.
This was my first opportunity to see the STacey. The machine at this
show was a production prototype that contained 4 meg of memory and a 40
meg hard drive. The blue backlighted LCD screen was sharp and easy to
read. The keyboard had a very nice feel with a positive click when
pressing a key. The trackball will take some getting used to. I though a
little extra friction on the ball would help keep the cursor from running
away. Bob Brodie indicated the machine did not have a Blitter or internal
modem in its current configuration. He also gave me the impression Atari
is as anxious to start shipping STacey as are those waiting. Atari is
currently working towards FCC approval of the machine. I hope so, Atari
will not have any trouble selling these guys.
Calamus occupied a Mega 4 connected to the Moniterm Monitor most of
the day printing documents to the Atari Laser Printer. The Moniterm is as
wonderful as every one has claimed, the Atari Laser is faster than I
imagined. The MegaFile 44 was also connected to this machine. Bob Brodie
indicated he thought the MegaFile 44 should be very close to release.
A VCR in the front rest area played ST generated video animations to
the enjoyment of those needing to rest their feet. Another ST displayed
animations real time. Sterling Webb, the author of Seurat (published in
the 3/89 issue of STart) demo'ed his latest creation that allowed full
screen manipulation of IMG files in color. He had not decide how to
sell/distribute the program at this time.
MIDI demo's made sure the entire hall knew where the ST area was
situated. Members of the MIDI Sig showed all the latest in MIDI hardware
and software. I noticed the Amiga Sig on the other end of the hall never
did get their MIDI hardware operational.
PC Speed performed flawlessly throughout the show. It also flawlessly
emulated how boring the PeeCee's really are ;-) The Portfolio generated a
lot of interest also. I wonder if Bob ever got a chance to show it off
over in the IBM end of the hall?
The Spectre GCR generated a great deal of interest from Atari and
Macintosh users alike (a Mac Portable was at the show also). Many of the
top Mac products were loaded into the machine and demonstrated. Operation
was so easy and straight forward most people didn't even notice the GCR.
Claude Bramwell of the MDC RCC Atari Sig was successful in getting Adobie
Type Manager operating under GCR with a Star printer during the show,
generating some very nice printed output.
Towards the end of the show, the Spectre GCR was moved to the Mega/T16
providing a pronounced performance increase. Several people who use the
Mac every day were noticeably impressed (me too).
A couple of Atari 8 bit machines faithfully demonstrated Atari's
roots. Matt Ratcliff had his latest software creation displaying full
resolution Degas pictures on a monochrome 130XE screen.
Local Atari users particularly appreciated the visit by Bob Brodie of
Atari and Jeff Williams of GEnie. Bob and Jeff kept busy answering the
same questions a thousand times while showing off the STacey and Portfolio
to all. After the show, members from the three local users groups
accompanied Bob and Jeff for supper before the area wide users group
meeting.
The Users Groups meeting was opened by Bob Brodie giving a little
history of how and why he came to Atari. Jeff Williams presented GEnie
and the services it offers (half those present have GEnie accounts). The
meeting then moved on to a very frank and open 2 1/2 hour discussion of
Atari and its future. The bottom line was the impression that Atari users
have a valuable resource in the form of Bob Brodie listening to their
needs within Atari. We, as Atari users, share responsibility in having
our needs met, by effectively communicating what we need from Atari.
________________________________________________________________
> The 'REVOLVING DOOR' STReport InfoFile¿ The "Beat goes On"....
======================================
Chronicles of the Revolving Door: From Babbitt to Sig Hartmann
---------------------------------------------------------------
May 9-16, 1988
- Chuck Babbit hired as President of Atari Computer (US Division)
- Tony Gould hired as VP of Sales
- new telemarketing group, newsletter person added
- Neil Harris made Director of Product Marketing for Atari Computer,
(oversaw efforts to send Federated staff thru training program)
June 6-13, 1988
- Chuck Babbitt "left" Atari.
- Richard Frick "left" Atari.
June 13-27, 1988
- Augie Ligouri, Mel Stevens become Vice Presidents at Atari.
- Tony Gould "left" Atari.
July 11-18, 1988
- Larry Samuels, of Atari Dealer support, left Atari.
August 15-29, 1988
- Garry Tramiel is made Vice President "in charge" of Federated
September 21 - October 3, 1988
- Neil Harris voluntarily resigns from Atari to work for the GEnie
Information Service.
- Alex Leavens was "encouraged" to leave Atari, for "spending too
much time online"....
- Landon Dyer, who wrote most of the ST's BIOS (GEMDOS), resurfaces
at Apple after leaving Atari.
February 10-17, 1989
- Frank Foster, formerly of Hybrid Arts, gets Michael Pender to
narrate 3 TV Commercials for the Atari ST, as one of his first
actions at Atari.
- Vincent Giammatteo emerges as the President of Atari Computers.
March 17-24, 1989
- Cindy Claveran, Usergroup and Developer Co-Ordinator at Atari,
resigns. She formerly replaced Sandy Austin, who "left" Atari
in Late 1988....
April 4-7, 1989
- Shiraz Shivji, the designer (or "Father") of the Atari ST, resigns
from Atari, amid rumors that he was fighting off a "power grab" by
another prominent Atari Executive...."The Chef"
April 1-14, 1989
- Vince Giammatteo "left" Atari.
- Sig Hartmann is given Mr. Giammatteo's duties, and is designated
as Executive Vice President of Atari Computer, and President of
Atari O.E.M. Sales.
- Antonio Salerno becomes Vice President of U.S. Software, in charge
of Technical and Developer Support, Equipment Sales, etc.
June 8-10, 1989
- Julius Oklamcak, once Head of Atari Canada, resigns from Atari
under amicable circumstances, and joins the top notch staff at ISD
Marketing.
June 30, 1989
- Chris Roberts becomes Atari's User Group Coordinator
August 11-18, 1989
- Mike Dendo, Vice President of Sales and Dealer Support, "left"
Atari amid many controversial rumors....
- Chris Roberts "left" Atari.
- Bob Brodie is appointed the new Usergroup Coordinator, assuming
Chris Roberts' duties. Is still working at Atari....
September 1-8, 1989
- Atari's entire marketing sales force is dismissed, and Atari
hires an outside company as their sales team.
- Augie Ligouri becomes Atari Computer's Vice President and General
Manager.
September 22-29, 1989
- H. Michael Morand becomes President of Atari Computer.
October 16, 1989
- Bill Crouch is hired as Atari's Vice President of Sales, by Mike
Morand.
October 27 - November 3, 1989
- Sig Hartmann ceremoniously retires, leaving Atari Corp. under very
amicable circumstances....
November 06, 1989
- Charles Cherry, formally of Antic software, joins Atari as A.
Salerno's assistant and online representative....
Editor Note:
The reason for the history lesson is "simple".... History is about to
repeat itself and we wanted to make sure everyone has a clear picture of
the cyclic rhythm so very much in evidence once every six months, soon
after or right before a Comdex show...
___________________________________________________________________
> ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿ Sayin' it like it is.....
======================
- Sunnyvale, CA ***** LAST MINUTE FIX ASSURES DEBUT OF MONITERM & TT ****
-------------
Amid a frenzied flurry of "must-do activity" the last minute quirks
were ironed out and now the TT readily recognizes the software calls
leading to a display on the mighty moniterm big screen monitor. All
involved breathed a huge sigh of relief when all ran well. Look for the 6
TTs to put on quite show at COMDEX..
- San Francisco, CA. **** ANDY REESE LEAVES START MAGAZINE ****
------------------
Andy Reese, popular Editor for Start magazine, has left the offices of
Start magazine. Reportedly, Andy left amid very good relations and left
to further his career. We wish Andy all luck and success at AutoCadd.
- Sunnyvale, CA. **** SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER! ****
--------------
At a time when Atari is professing to want excellent relationships
with its developer corp., and whilst certain of its executives were busy
mending "rough roads" last month at WAACE. One of its more "eager
beaver" types was busy HACKING off heads! As this story of treachery
unfolds, you will be kept abreast of each development. As of now, there
are those at Atari who have expressed that this act was, without a doubt,
the most ridiculous decision they had ever witnessed. To further compound
matters, when they saw the true chronological account of what occurred as
opposed to alleged accusations, immediately agreed that the decision was
indeed flawed. They did however, offer the thought that perhaps the
executive who made the decision had been grossly misled and mis-informed,
thus resulting in this totally avoidable situation.
- Miami, FL. *** Softlogik -> CHECK EARLY PAGESTREAM 1.8 RELEASE DISKS ***
----------
Soft Logic, through Jack Durre, this afternoon notified STReport of a
key virus being found on about 100-150 disks released by SL included in
the 10.00 upgrade package. Those persons who ordered the 25.00 upgrade
package need not be concerned with this notice as none of those upgrade
packages have been shipped yet and will be checked before being shipped.
Dealers carrying the upgrade package have been notified, and as of
this afternoon, none have reported the existence of the virus on any of
disks in the dealer packs.
Once again, this is the "Key Virus" and can be clobbered with any of
the virus vaccination programs. Be sure to do so as soon as possible.
STReport applauds Soft-Logic and Jack Durre for being straight forward
and candid in bringing this information to the users as FAST as
possible... We wish to express our thanks to them for having done so and
for showing all of us they have the best interests of the userbase at
heart.
- Washington, D.C. ***** DESKSET II - Room for Improvement *****
----------------
DeskSET II, the much heralded Page Design and Desk Top Publishing
system, may, when it's ready to be marketed, be a contender in the DTP
field, at this time though, since it's saddled with the handicap of being
able to output only to the SLM 804, is aimed at a very limited market.
It's back to the drawing boards time. Hopefully, when this is released it
will interface with and work with other printers. In our opinion, this
program is not finished, nor is it ready for release. In fact, Atari
would be well advised to stay with hardware and leave the software to the
developers who are in place at this time. The third party software in the
DTP - TYPO fields are among the BEST in the WORLD. The last thing we need
is to see Atari driving these developers away!
Also, Atari has reportedly sold a few thousand SLM804 laser printers.
If one considers the cost of developing DESKSET II, (approx 1-2 hundred
thousand dollars), coupled with the fact that this program only outputs to
a SLM804. Where is the profit in this endeavor considering the number of
SLM804 units in use?
- San Francisco ****** WORD FLAIR READY TO GO! ******
-------------
Lauren Sellers is elated! After having gone through the trials and
tribulations of bringing a program to market she can actually exclaim with
glee that she did it! WORD FLAIR, will offered directly by L. Sellers
until Jan. and at that time will be in the normal distribution channels.
As an inducement to acquaint Atari ST users with the program, Ms. Sellers
told us that there would be a Demo of the program made available through
the online services. Also, until January, Word Flair will be offered at a
special introductory price of $79.95. Word Flair approaches the field as
a fine document processing package. We wish Ms. Sellers super success in
marketing Word Flair. The program is reported to be excellent by "other
non-biased observers".
- St. Louis, MO. ****** ATARI'S NEW SECRET WEAPON!! ******
-------------- MORE KUDOS FOR BOB BRODIE!
There has been much praise of Atari's latest User Group Coordinator
Bob Brodie. I would like to take this opportunity to add my voice to the
throngs. In my recent dealings with Mr. Brodie I found him to be very
personable and helpful. In fact, I and several officers of our user group
are going to be in attendance at COMDEX as a direct result of Mr. Brodie's
efforts!
AN OPEN PLEA TO SAM TRAMIEL
===========================
Not able to comment on any of the other new appointees to the upper
management at Atari but in my encounter with Mr. Brodie as an active user
group member I feel he is definitely a gem in what, we hope, is quickly
becoming a glittering crown!
Obviously no one except you can make crucial personnel decisions but
please know that we, the users, think that Mr. Brodie is doing an
excellent job! It is our sincerest hopes and wishes that you KEEP BOB
BRODIE and stop or at least slow down the revolving door.
Editor Note:
The above note came to us via the FNET system and, at the time, there
must've been severe line noise. We will, when we identify the author,
make him known to the readers. We felt since Mr. Brodie is doing such a
wonderful job for Atari and its usergroups that this simply had to be
shown to all our readers. If you agree with this note (like we do) please
drop Sam Tramiel a card or Brodie email and let either of them know how
you feel.... Atari must hang on to the good ones.
________________________________________________________________
> Kiddie Publishing STReport InfoFile¿ High Quality DTP for youngsters!
===================================
For Immediate Release...
ANNOUNCING:
Kidpublisher Professional
A Desktop Publishing Program for Young Writers
a kidprg(tm) in GFA Basic 3.0
Copyright 1989,1990 by D.A. Brumleve
Programmers:
D.A. Brumleve, M.A.
T.R. Brumleve, Ph.D.
Educational Consultant:
M.L. Marks, M.Ed.
The new Kidpublisher Professional (6.0) features:
* an expanded, improved, and completely-rewritten version of
the freely-distributed careware program, Kidpublisher
* a faster word processor with word wrap and an underline
function
* an automatically-loaded user-definable font set (four sets
included)
* an expanded drawing program with features such as LINE, BOX,
CIRCLE, FILL, and the all-important UNDO
* autobooting disk for completely independent use by children
* extra labels for use on the child's disk copies
* automatic loading of any title, story, or picture previously
saved to disk
* movement of text cursor with mouse or arrow keys
* drawing with mouse or arrow keys
* controlled keyboard repeat rate to prevent accidental over-
deletion by heavy-handed young typists
* picture icons and color-coding to speed program learning
time
* familiar, consistent kidprg(tm) format
* a title-page option with automatic centering of title,
author, and illustrator
* limited alert boxes and options for ease of use
* (in contrast to children's desktop publishing programs
available for other computers) allows the child to
draw his own pictures, type his own words, express
his own creativity; no adult-drawn graphics are
provided to discourage personal expression!
Recommended for Ages 5-11
Minimum Requirements: Color 520ST with Single-Sided Drive
Printer Must Accept an ST Screen Dump
Program Not Copy-Protected
(In fact, owners are encouraged to make multiple copies
for all children in their same household or school building!)
Package includes:
* specially-labelled red original disk, with an icon denoting
this program
* extra labels for your child's own copies
* simplified child's manual
* full instructions for parents and teachers
To order, see your dealer or send a check for US $25.00 with
your name and address to:
D.A. BRUMLEVE
KIDPUBLISHER PROFESSIONAL
P.O. BOX 4195
URBANA, IL 61801-8820
Dealer inquiries welcome.
Special versions are available to meet
special needs. Contact the developer for information.
_________________________________________________________________
> 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)
RUGGED SEAGATE HARD DISK MECHANISMS
* ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
32mb #SG32238 549.00 42mb #SG44710 619.00
51mb #SGN4951 629.00 65mb #SG60101 689.00
80mb #SGN296 729.00 100mb #SG84011D 949.00
130mb #SG1244D 1099.00 145mb #SG3A421 1110.00
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)
--> CALL for Special Holiday Discounts <--
*** 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 NOW Available (44mb) Syquest 555 *
* SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICES *
EXTRA CARTRIDGES: 97.95 (anytime)
* SYQUEST 44MB (#555) REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *
- SYQUEST 44 MB removable media drive - ICD ST Host Adapter
- ICD Mass Storage Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable
- Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply
(1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.
Completely Assembled and READY TO RUN!
ONLY $869.00
We would offer floppy drives.. but Computer Shopper has 'em at the right
price. And.. you can plug 'em right into our cabinets and power supplies.
Low-Boy OR Standard Case (designed with room for another 3.5 OR 5.25"
drive) They're made for user expansion! TRUE UPGRADE-ABILITY!
* TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
SPECIALLY PRICED $1529.00
* SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
- Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -
50mb SQG51 $1299.00 30mb SQG38 $1219.00
65mb SQG09 $1339.00 85mb SQG96 $1399.00
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 and Company Checks are accepted.
ORDER YOURS TODAY!
904-783-3319 9am - 8pm EDT
_______________________________________________________________
> A "Quotable Quote"¿
=================
"1989 WILL BE A WONDERFUL YEAR, YOU WILL MAKE JILLIONS!"
...Zorro Hartmann
"ATARI IS BACK?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST-REPORT¿ Issue #113 "Your Independent News Source" November 10, 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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ffxf
