Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Silicon Times Report Issue 0099
*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original Online ST Magazine"
_______________________________
August 04, 1989 Vol III No.99
=======================================================================
ST Report Online Magazine¿
__________________________
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida
32236 ~ 6672
R.F. Mariano
Publisher - Editor
_________________________________________
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT
BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EDT
_________________________________________
** F-NET NODE 350 ** FIDOMAIL NODE 1:363/37 **
Our support BBS carries ALL issues of STReport
and
An International list of private BBS systems
carrying STReport for their users enjoyment
__________________________________________________________________
> Issue: #99 STReport¿ The Online Magazine of Choice!
-------------------
- The Editors' Podium - CPU REPORT
- WOA - San Jose, CANCELLED!! - GLENDALE ATARIFEST OFF!!
- STAG VIRUS DISCOVERED - Populous, In Depth Review
- Developers SEE 68030! - ST PLUS a MODULAR ST?
- HOLOBYTE MESS WORSENS! - Revolving Door Active
- Price Club 520ST Sales - ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL
--== GADGETS BY SMALL COUNTER-SUES HAPPY COMPUTERS ==--
=======================================================================
AVAILABLE ON: COMP-U-SERVE ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX
=======================================================================
> The Editor's Podium¿
The MEGA ST, is it destined to become another in the long line of
"almosts" in the Atari stable of really excellent computers? Certainly
we, at STReport, hope the Mega is around for a very long time. (We own
two!)
Many folks say the Mega never lived up to the expectations of Atari as
far as penetrating the business marketplace. Actually, the penetration by
the Mega into the US business marketplace would have been excellent if
only Atari had advertised as they said they would last year and perhaps
changed the name on the Mega. The Atari name was, as it is today, too
closely associated to the "game machine" image and thus, gives credibility
to the business marketplace being somewhat uneasy as far as investing in
the Atari Mega ST as a serious business oriented computer.
Atari is, "according to certain inside sources", planning to release
some tumultuous, earth shattering news very shortly. These revelations
are alleged to be extremely good news concerning the new line(s) of Atari
Computers and the directions in which Atari will be going. Considering
all the whispers of the those who would like us to believe they "know"
what's happening, to those at Atari who have nothing to say in response to
questions from almost all areas, the level of expectation has never been
higher. Alas, as always with this type of suspense, come those who are
convinced that there is really nothing happening and thus the silence.
They also eagerly point out the TOS 1.4 situation grinning as they say
"it's consistent alright, consistently late"!
Once again, we say the time is coming close for all to pay strict
attention to the happenings at Atari, things are beginning to fall in
place as Atari begins to take it's rightful place in the U.S. Marketplace.
The Company as a whole, despite itself and certain folks still there, is
about to begin a massive effort as far as the US market is concerned and
will certainly make it's presence known and felt nationwide.
There has been, of late, accusations levied at STReport of having gone
to bed with Atari! HAH! Nothing could be farther from the truth. The
bottom line is we are digging deeply and we find that the positives
outweigh the negatives. Some of the same old unsolved problems are
seemingly "never ending" but they too are slowly fading into the sunset.
Thankfully, at this time the positives outweigh the headaches.
We will, in future editions, be covering some of the old, unresolved
problems in the userbase. Like the old Chinon drive thing, (you know, the
refresh problem?) they are still popping up but; "all of a sudden" some
"public relations expert" at Atari has decided to no longer honor the
Chinon swap-out! Good Thinking! Give that guy in Michigan the benefit of
the doubt, it's the right thing to do! Also, covered elsewhere in this
issue, the Price Club/Dealers thing ....nothing like pouring salt in old,
unhealed wounds...So you added some dealers, wanna loose 'em just as quick
as you put 'em on?
To our readers; thanks again for your support,
Ralph.....
"ATARI IS BACK!"
***********************************************************************
NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE
FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY
COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME
to the Readers
ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE
The Online Magazine of Choice!
NEW USERS SIGN UP TODAY!
Call any of the St Report Official BBS numbers
(Listed at the top of ST REPORT)
or
Leave E-mail to St Report - R.Mariano
Be sure to include your full mailing address so your
Compuserve kit can be immediately mailed to you!
NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE
***********************************************************************
EDITOR NOTICE:
Michael Arthur is on vacation.. The Regular CPU Report will return next
week. In the meantime, Mike left this passage for folks to ponder.
The Staff of CPU Report believes that the Transputer-based computer that
Atari licensed from Perihelion Inc. in England should NOT be named the
ATW, or Atari Transputer Workstation, for two simple reasons:
1) Contrary to opinions of a few, the name "Atari", at least in the
US, is commonly associated with Game/Entertainment/Arcade Machines. It is
NOT associated with sophisticated, powerful computers having some of the
best capabilities in the industry.
Since we are owners of Atari ST's, we in the Atari ST community
recognize Atari as being makers of quality computer products. But the
general US population, and ESPECIALLY the serious workstation/business
computer Industry, does NOT hold as high a regard for "Atari" computers as
Atari ST owners do....
As such, naming Atari's Transputer-based workstation the "Atari
Transputer Workstation" would CRIPPLE its chances of ever becoming half as
popular in the US as the Atari ST, simply because its potential buyers
would see that it was another "Atari", and simply shrug it off as a toy,
or an odd curiosity. The Transputer would NOT be considered on the basis
of its EXCELLENT and SUPERB capabilities, but on the past reputation of
Atari, its manufacturer. Many potential Transputer Customers would then
refuse to buy the ATW, instead turning to Sun, who has a superb RISC-based
machine in the SPARCStation 1, because of Sun's better reputation in the
workstation industry....
2) According to industry sources, the reason Atari did not use the name
"Abaq Transputer" as the name for its Transputer-based machine is that the
name "Abaq" was already licensed by a Belgian Firm, and Atari didn't want
to pay to license it.
Given that Apple licensed the name "Macintosh", and given that it
would probably not have cost Atari 67.3 Million Dollars (the price Atari
paid for Federated) to license the name Abaq, why did Atari choose instead
to give it a name which is not only simplistic, but actually would repulse
many potential customers from purchasing it, because of their opinions
about what Atari makes?
One of the main reasons that Commodore has sold so many Amigas is
because they did not name it the "Commodore Plus" or the C-1000. The name
Amiga helped to differentiate the Amiga computer from the other products
made by Commodore. Apple did the same with the Macintosh....
Since the ATW is so very different from the rest of Atari's product
line, wouldn't it make more sense to give it a name that would
differentiate it from Atari's product line? Consumers would STILL
recognize that it was an Atari computer, so the ATW would help to boost
Atari's image in the US, and would help "cure" the belief that the only
thing that Atari makes is game Machines.
BUT the main result of Atari naming their Transputer-based machine
something that didn't directly associate it with Atari itself, would be
that potential ATW customers would not immediately shrink away from buying
it because of Atari's "Game Machine" image, but would approach the ATW,
maybe at a SIGGRAPH or a COMDEX, see its capabilities, and then....
After they were hopelessly hooked on its capabilities, the business
company would see the Fuji symbol, realize that they liked the "Atari" so
much, and want to buy it ANYWAY, regardless of their past misconceptions
about Atari products....
Also, the name, "Atari Transputer Workstation" sounds TOO MUCH like....
"Nintendo Transputer Workstation"....
____________________________________________________________________
> POPULOUS STR Review¿ Bill takes a long hard look at this goodie!
===================
Populous--From Bullfrog and Electronic Arts
===========================================
by William Y. Baugh
Have you ever wanted to play god? To be in total control of your
believers lives? Ever been mad and wanted to take it out by, say,
flooding the place (sound familiar?)? Well, in Populous, a new game from
EA (yes, you read right), you have the chance to live your dream. You are
a deity, either good or bad, and you have total control over your people,
land and nature. The game, simply put, is, one of numbers. The more
followers you have, the more power you have to totally wipe out the other
deity who would dare live on the same world as you.
The game comes on a highly protected disk (no hard drive use) and once
loaded, has a great title screen with one flaw...it seems Bullfrog wanted
to make it hard on you to make your selection with the mouse. You see,
the three selections are at the lower right corner, the mouse initializes
in the upper left corner and if you wait to long or miss on your click,
the game goes into an interesting demo, but not one that you want to see
everytime you play. The three selections are Tutorial, Conquest and
Custom. The Tutorial is just as it says; you have a set game with set
moves from the manual to help you pick up on the game. Custom I'll get to
in a while, we're more interested in Conquest from the review point of
view.
Once selected, you are transported to Genesis, the first of 500 worlds in
Populous. On screen is a menu describing the parameters of this world and
the abilities of each god. The information tells you what the terrain is
(grass, desert, rock and ice), how you may build your land (up and down,
only in one direction or not at all and also on what you may build; people
or towns), whether water is deadly or not (helpful when/and if you are
flooded), the number of followers that both sides start with and the
computer (or other opponents) overall ability. The computer is always the
evil deity and starts out very weak. As the game progresses and your
experience grows, so does the computers. How hard or easy a level will be
is determined by the computers abilities (aggression and the rate at which
its followers will settle) and the number of "special effects" it has. On
Genesis, you start out with all of the effects (starting from the lowest
in power consumption to the highest); build up-down, move papal icon,
earthquake, swamp, knight, volcano, flood and armageddon. The computer
starts out with none. So, the early levels are pushovers, but as you
continually progress forward, more special effects are taken from you and
the computer gains more and also improves on his abilities. Even though
this sounds like a lot of information to swallow before you even start the
game, you ain't seen nothing yet! But not to worry, most of this info
becomes second hand and you'll only be glancing at the menu to see what
the terrain is and what effects you have for that world.
Once you press start, the fun begins! You are taken to the closeup map
and generally you are in the vicinity of your followers. If not, there is
the Book of Worlds; an overview map that shows the Good followers as blue
dots and the Evil ones as red. Just locate the group of dots and click on
them. Another way to find them and also an extremely useful function are
the View Icons. You have one for the papal magnet (your cross; which is
located near your followers at the beginning), one for your knights and
one for battles (if any are occurring). These will take you instantly to
whichever one you choose, so you don't have to "hunt and peck." The first
thing you'll see when you get to your followers are the structures they
live in. These may range from a simple Tee-pee, to grass huts, to large
castles depending upon the area of flat land available when your follower
(also called 'Walker') settled. You can tell the settlements apart by
the flag flying in front of them. If it's blue, it's good; if red, evil.
This is where all the fun and strategy starts. For your followers to
reproduce, they must be in settlements. Once a settlement is full, a
walker emerges and will walk until he finds a suitable spot to settle or
dies (this depends on a lot of factors; covered later). Now, the smaller
the settlement, the faster a walker will be ousted, but its defense is
weaker when attacked. But the larger the settlement, say a castle, the
slower it is filled (populated), but its defense is MUCH better and your
overall population will grow faster in castles rather than in smaller
settlements. So at the beginning of the game, you must gauge the sizes of
your settlements to the number of followers that you have so that you will
grow faster than the evil steadily building larger and larger land areas
for your followers to populate. Your followers are controlled by the
Influence Behavior Icons. These icons, in conjunction with your leader
(the guy walking around with the miniature papal magnet), tell your
followers what to do. These icons are; go to papal magnet, settle, gather
together and fight. Each one covers a number of crucial aspects that are
critical for winning the game.
Information on how the game is progressing is displayed in the upper right
area of the screen. There is a shield, made up of four quadrants, with
two long, rectangular bars situated to the left and right. The bars show
the manna of good (left) and evil (right). The manna is a direct
correlation of the size of your population (remember, the more followers,
the more power you have). The shield is actually a blown up version of
the Query Icon that you may place on settlements or people (good or evil).
In the quadrants they show what it's attached to, their strength or how
populated a settlement is, and technology level. This comes in handy when
your wanting to keep tabs on a particular person when you are not in his
area or if your just interested in how evil is coming along.
As your strength grows, you will notice the arrow on the bar that runs
diagonally on the right will steadily move up to the right. Displayed on
the bar are all of the special effects. The effects you may use are under
the arrow and to the left. You control these effects by the Divine
Intervention Icons which line the left of your control screen. Each one
requires the use an amount of manna; the amount gets larger as you go to
the right on the bar. You can cause some serious damage with these icons.
The earthquake effect will cause a shake-up to occur in the area you have
chosen. This will affect all buildings in this area along with drowning
people if water is fatal. Swamping will create swamps in any flat area,
in the location that you have chosen. Swamps may either be shallow or
bottomless; meaning that you may remove a shallow one by just raising or
lower the land on top of it. The bottomless kind you must build all the
way down to the water to get rid of... a large waste of manna and land
area. Knight...think of the terminator wearing old English armor and you
have your knight. He will systematically go from enemy settlement to
settlement and kill the occupants, then torch the place (nice digitized
sound there). But, he is only as strong as you can make him. This is
where the Influence Behavior Icons play a prominent role. When you
knight, you make your leader the knight. So to make your leader stronger,
you click on the "go to papal magnet" icon, there your leader will walk
back and forth bumping in to the followers coming to the icon. Everytime
he bumps into a person, that person becomes part of the leader, adding
strength to the leader. After a few minutes of this, you have the
superman of knights (he's practically indestructible). The next icon is
Volcano which actually builds a very large mountain destroying all
buildings in the area you select, with stones thrown in. Stones can only
be removed if you dig down to the water. To get rid of a volcano requires
much manna and it also ruins a large chunk of land. Flooding will lower
the land one level, over the entire screen! So be careful when choosing
this effect in that you will also flood yourself. This is very dangerous
weapon in the early levels when you are able to build up multiple levels
and the computer is only one up from the water. The last effect is
Armageddon. This is the final match; when this is selected, you can only
sit back and watch. All of your buildings disappear and only your
followers remain. They converge on your leader, creating a tremendously
strong person. This person will then battle the evil leader, the victor
will then win that level. Once the game is won, depending upon your score
will dictate how far you will advance to your next level (ala Sentinel).
As you play and gain experience, you will learn the role that terrain
plays in each level. You normally cycle through the terrains as follows:
Grass, desert, snow and ice, rock and stone. Grass level is the easiest
in that your walkers can walk for quite a while without dying. In the
desert and ice, there is a very limited range that your walkers may travel
before they buy the farm. Rock is a bit more difficult than grass, but
having all the stones laying around makes up for its better climate.
This is a very tight, complete and graphically pleasing game. All aspects
of the game are covered, right down to your walker tapping his foot while
he waits for you to build land or if you accidentally trash his house.
The game has a Custom creator that will allow you to design your own
levels and you may even play over the modem! (It plays great a 2400!)
Take my word for it, if your looking for a fun, strategy game, get
Populous...you'll love it!
Next week, some helpful hints on playing Populous.
_______________________________________________________________________
> VIRUS STR Spotlight¿ Certain disks from Dearborn found infected.
===================
This article first appeared in the August NEO STAG news and may be
reprinted so long as it is not modified in any way and this preface is
included in the reproduction.
NEO STAG STRUCK BY VIRUS!
=========================
Origin unknown ... members seek help
Copyright ½ 1989 W.D. Parks and Chet Walters
There's a trojan afoot in the Atari community! Beware! Write protect
all your diskettes NOW! This trojan 'virus' spreads without any ill
effects, unbeknownst to you or anyone who comes in contact with you, until
it's too late! You can spread it as innocently as giving your friend a
disk full of pics to look at. We have found this beastie on commercial
disks, magazine disks, club disks, and many more. No disk is safe. Check
all your disks!
What first alerted the Wiz to the fact that all was not right with the
world' was when I wrote an executable boot sector to the floppy in drive
A: with DC Formatter. The boot sector was to bypass the hard drive auto
boot and execute the auto folder on the floppy instead of the one on the
hard drive. I copied a few files to the disk and rebooted the machine.
Alas! The executable boot did not work as advertised. So, I wrote the
boot sector again. Again it did not work. Hmmmmm.... it always worked
before. Let's get DiskDoctor to take a look.
Ok, the $60 BRAnch looks alright. The $38 offset looks ok. Let's see
what's there. Yikes! This ain't no bypass! And why does the 'Dclick'
that DC formatter always writes to the disk now say "00 00 00 00 c k"????
Hmmmm..... So, just for a lark, I ran a virus detector program and checked
the disk. LO! A virus! Type 1. Known! Yikes again! There was
something there overwriting the boot sector and spoiling the hard drive
bypass routine. What?
In closer examination, we found a routine that is explained in greater
detail later in this article. However, we must first emphasize that the
programs mentioned above had absolutely NOTHING to do with the virus.
They were as innocent as we. They were victims. This trojan is all too
easily passed around. All one needs do is boot with a disk infected with
this virus and any disk placed in the drive thereafter will become
infected whether it is read or written to and disks that need their own
boot sector to work properly will be destroyed. If the drive motor spins
for any reason -- ESC pressed to update the window, a file copied to or
from it, a program calls up the file selector, just open the window -- it
gets infected. This trojan can spread rather quickly throughout your
system, your club, your community in this way.
The virus itself seems only floppy oriented, infecting only floppy
disks, but the KEY DISK might just do more harm to a hard drive than
anything else.
I discovered the culprit late Wednesday night (7-26-89) but was very
occupied Thursday getting ready for a short vacation so I had little time
for an extensive investigation. I did, however, sound the alarm to the
other members of the club. In the limited time I did have, I found that
nearly 50 of my disks were infected. Others of our club found more than
that in their library, others not so many, but one fact is clear -- it
seems that EVERYONE in NEO STAG is infected. I spoke to a friend in
Cleveland and mentioned it. He called me back an hour later and said he'd
found numerous disks in his library infected as well.
A friend of his had two disks from the WOA show in Michigan that were
infected and the man insisted that he had not written nor read the disks
without the write protect tab in place which means that the disks came
from the show in their present ill condition. This little beastie may
well be very wide spread and a real threat to the entire Atari community.
Whether this trojan is an old one that has resurfaced, or a new one
that's newly circulated we can't tell. In perusing the reports from
various members of our group, we seem to think that we first got infected
here in early spring 1989. Judging from the disks infected and scouring
our memory, it seems disks not placed in the drive since March or April
are 'clean,' but many of those used after that time are dirty. This is a
standard trojan that spreads silently and waits for a key disk to set it
off. We haven't found the key disk. We want you to help. Here's all the
information we care to release about this little beastie (if we give out
any more there may be some unscrupulous individuals at large who could
create and spread their own variety of key disk for this trojan).
The lion's share of the digging was done by Dr. Bob. Because of his
unique investigative skills and the fact that I was leaving for a four day
hiatus at Virginia Beach, I turned the 'dirty work' over to him. This
Trojan program seems to have come into it's 'hazardous' phase. Dr. Bob
calls this a trojan because that is what it is. It is not a virus. In Dr.
Bob's inimitable style of phrase: "A virus is a glorified term given to
personify and to create a mystique for a simple off-color, fornicating
device; to wit: a program that will damage your diskettes. These kinds of
programs do not deserve ANY public relations other than jail sentences. So
let's snip the 'hero cult' where it can't have any offspring! (preferably
with something rusty!)"
Dr. Bob's findings:
The Trojan program that we have here is sometimes called TYPE 1.
IDENTIFIABLE CHARACTERISTICS:
At the very beginning of the boot sector the first 6 bytes are hex codes:
$60,$38,$00,$00,$00,$00
the $60 ........ BRAnch instruction of self booting disk (normal)
the $38 ........ tells offset to which to BRAnch (normal)
the 4 zeroes.... There should usually be something! (abnormal)
NOTE:
Many self booting disks or disks with executable boot routines built into
them have the $60 $nn sequence as the first word of the boot sector. The
$60 is a flag which tells TOS to execute the routine at the $nn offset in
the buffer. Disks with these codes are not always trojanized, they are
simply boot-disks. Indeed, these are the very codes that alerted the Wiz
to the trojan since the second byte had been modified so the 'bypass HD'
boot routine wasn't executing. The two trailing zero words (4 zero bytes)
are the quick identifier of the trojan in this case.
IMMEDIATE SYMPTOMS:
Few to speak of, other than all floppies get this auto boot sector written
to them if the trojan is hooked into the system. It's a sneaky one,
writing itself to all disks accessed in either floppy drive while you are
unaware except that you might notice a slowdown in floppy access time.
PURPOSE OF TROJAN:
To duplicate itself on all diskettes and to wait for a key disk.
DAY IN THE LIFE:
This trojan is started by placing a diskette that contains the viral boot
sector on it into drive A: and booting the machine which causes the trojan
to wedge itself into the operating system's HDV_BPB vector... pointing
that vector to itself. Hence forth, any calls to read a new floppy will
pass through this new vector. Hard drive owners are not immune since the
ST always reads the boot sector in floppy drive A: first and executes a
'flagged' boot sector that starts with the BRAnch instruction.
After it's 'hooked in', the trojan first calls the old vector then, before
returning to say... the desktop or PageStream or whatever program accessed
the disk, it will sneak a peek at the boot sector. If it doesn't find a
$60 $38 as the first two bytes it then knows there's a clean disk in the
drive and proceeds to copy itself to that diskette's boot sector. This is
done before the diskette has stopped spinning from the initial valid call
so no one's any the wiser. It then simply falls through to the calling
program which first accessed the diskette and all proceeds as normal. But
the work is done! If the diskette accessed wasn't write-protected it will
now have the trojan on it!
That's what it does if it finds no $60 $38 as the first word. However, if
it FINDS the $60 $38 already there THEN we got some action going. It will
check the diskette's 'identity' at offset 2 and later at 4 looking for the
code $10 $xx (again, we won't tell you exactly what this 'ID number' is so
there won't be anyone else making KEY DISKS for this trojan other than the
original SOB that started it) immediately following the $60 $38. If it
finds the $10 $xx it knows that:
THIS IS THE KEY DISK!
It then goes through a little song and dance that can only be explained as
"The Trojan's Author's need to check to make sure his routine worked." It
checks the next two bytes also and compares them with itself. If the
keydisk's number is larger than itself it acts!
Now.... remember the identifying marks?
60 38 00 00 00 00?
EVERYTHING is going to be bigger than 0000! Right? So why bother
checking? I told you why! The programmer wanted to test it and not write
over his own key-disk by accident....
What does it do now? That is a very good question. It does whatever the
key-disk tells it to do since the key disk has an entirely different
routine residing at the offset BRAnched to and THAT is where this little
trojan jumps to when it finds the key-disk. It RUNS the key disk program
(which appears to anyone viewing the diskette as though it were just
another auto boot program; but now we know better!) It could do something
as innocuous as print a "hello world" message on the screen and return
your system to you. It could also do something as harmful as zeroing all
the directories on your hard drive!
So that's the key-disk to look for. It will have $10 $xx at the 3rd & 4th
bytes in the boot sector (offset 2,3) right where the first two zeroes are
on the trojan. It would look like:
$60 $38 $10 $xx $nn $nn
If the "$nn $nn" also contain zeroes then the key disk will be dormant....
maybe............
If you encounter the key disk, DO NOT erase it! Send us a copy so we can
dig in there and find out first: what this sucker is supposed to do when
it executes and second: identify the SOB that started this thing
circulating! Send to
NEO STAG
PO Box 45
Girard, OH 44420.
You will be rewarded.
So, what do you do to prevent this virus spreading if you have it?
You can, of course, get hold of a virus detector/killer program and
examine all of your disks. We can't recommend a particular program for
you because our bylaws forbid it. You see, the members of NEO STAG will
not purchase, donate for, publish the name of, nor support in any way any
single virus detector/killer program on the premise that the author of
such a program is not above first releasing the virus eradicator then
subsequently releasing the actual virus the program is designed to detect
and kill thereby creating a demand for the original virus detector/killer
program. That's that, though we can say that there are some out there
that will detect and kill this trojan effectively. We can recommend you
use a simple sector editor and look for the patterns described in this
article. If you find the pattern, you can kill the trojan by writing a
single zero byte to the very first byte of the boot sector. However!
Don't overwrite ALL disks that have the $60 as the first byte. If it's a
known boot disk (game, executable boot, etc.) then DON'T overwrite that
$60 or the disk will be destroyed. Look for the trailing zero bytes like
you see in the illustration, then you can feel comfortable killing the
virus with the zero byte. The best way to prevent yourself from getting a
virus is to always keep the write protect tab in the open position and
always boot with a disk you know is clean. Again, if you find a disk with
the `KEY' sequence, make a copy and send it to us. We want to see it!
___________________________________________________________________
> HOLOBYTE - MESS?? STR FOCUS¿ When is SH going to clean up it's mess?
===========================
AS THE WORM TURNS
=================
by Peter Szymonik
Back when XORG and STReport said that Gilamn Louie's 'slander letter'
would hurt the ST more than anyone cared to realize, most folks seemed to
turn a deaf ear to the entire matter, like they were yearning it would go
away! Well, the whole "schmear" is back! Right smack in ALL our faces!!
Below, we humbly present just two of what we are sure is just the
surface of this quagmire generated by Mr. Louie's smear campaign against
the Atari ST and it's userbase in < the computer and gaming press. >
By the way...
We never did see that retract that was promised in the CO with Gilman and
...we have looked everywhere...
Exhibit A:
---------
CHESS LIFE
August 1989 issue
United States Chess Federation
186 Route 9W
New Windsor, New York 12550
Page 23, Article: What's New in Chess Software
by Eric Schiller
"CHESSBASE II IS HERE AT LAST!
ChessBase is at work on a Mac version - though it probably will not be
ready for a long time, and it seems they have finally realized the truth
about the Atari. So (at present) - go with MS-DOS for that program. I am
sure that they will continue to support the Atari, but slumping sales of
that machine are not likely to produce major improvements. In any event,
MS-DOS is the best operating system of the three for portable machines,
and it is clearly useful to be able to take the program along when playing
in major events."
Background:
ChessBase is one of the most powerful chess programs and databases.
Mr Schiller obviously shows up his pro-MS-DOS bias and has apparently
never heard of the Stacy given his portability comments. Not only that,
but Mr Schiller also apparently has access to Atari sales records that no
one else has seemed to be able to get a hold of!
I would like to know where Mr Schiller gets his information that sales
of the ST are 'slumping', in New York there are selling ST systems as fast
as they arrive. Not only that, but ChessBase is also widely used by many
GrandMasters - who use the program on the ST in Europe - where it was
first introduced. In fact Gary Kasparov, the current World Champion, uses
a Mega 4 for his Chess data storage and has pushed for the sale of Atari
computers in the Soviet Union to further chess in that country!
Exhibit B:
---------
The Wargamer Magazine
July-August 1989 issue
Vol. 2 Number 14
Wargamer & Moves Magazines
P.O. Box 1289
Salinas, CA 1289
Page 62, Article: The Not-So-Jolly Roger
by Dick and Lisa Volher
An article on software piracy and its effects....
"The problem results from people who abuse their rights to [sic] by
making a copy for somebody else, somebody who didn't buy the game. Lost
sales due to piracy are a major problem in all segments of the software
industry. Indeed, piracy appears to be the primary factor in the demise
of the Atari ST." ======
Huh??? OUR machines are 'demised? Atari is 'demised'?? Due to piracy??
Wonder where these people could possibly have gotten this information
from? Mr Louie?? Any guesses on this one???
These are extracts from only two magazines out of HUNDREDS that are
out there.... In leaving you to make your own assumptions, the addresses
of both magazines aren't listed there for idle exercise.....<<hint>>
-------------------------------------------------------------------
NOW, a copy of my reply to the Wargamer article...
I'd like to address a comment made in your "Inside Perspective"
article in issue nr. 14. The article addresses software piracy, and while
Dick and Lisa Volhers do a good job of addressing the issue, I must
challenge their comment that "... piracy appears to be a primary factor in
the demise of the Atari ST."
Not only is this statement untrue, but I challenge the Volhers to back
up their claim that the Atari ST is a 'demised' computer! While IBM,
Apple, and Commodore have concentrated solely on the American personal
computer market, Atari has targeted the global computer market and has
done extremely well. The Atari ST line happens to be THE best selling
computer in many European and Asian countries, outselling all others. In
the field of MIDI music applications, the Atari ST outsells the MacIntosh
by a factor of 3:1 according to MacUser magazine!
It is true that Atari has not marketed the ST aggressively in the
United States, but Atari has targeted this as the year they return to the
American personal computer market and already many print and television
ads for the ST are starting to appear on major cable and local
metropolitan television networks. Atari's goal for the end of 1989 is to
be selling over 60,000 computers per MONTH in the United States and if
sales in the New York Metropolitan region are any indication, Atari is
well on the way towards achieving that goal.
To highlight Atari's success, Atari stock has been steadily rising in
value since the Crash of 88 and Atari stock is consistently in the top ten
most active issues traded on the AMEX exchange. The Volhers would also be
interested to know that Atari has been listed in Fortune magazines top 500
companies for the past three years and currently sits at 400, up from 484
in the previous year - again, hardly a sign of 'demise.'
I kindly ask that you print this response in The Wargamer or ask the
Volhers to kindly provide their facts to back their claims. Unless they
can I'm afraid that their remarks are something short of slander against a
computer line which apparently they know little or nothing about.
Their comments serve only to anger ST owners in the United States who
decided to invest wisely in a machine that offers both color and
monochrome displays that pale standard MS-DOS and MacIntosh set-ups at a
fraction of the cost. Not to mention that with two very in-expensive
third-party hardware add-ons the ST can run BOTH MS-DOS *AND* MacIntosh
software (with Macintosh software actually running faster under Atari
emulation that on a real Mac Plus!)
Thank you,
Peter T. Szymonik
EDITOR NOTE:
Gilman Louie, CEO - Spectrum Holobyte, promised to all of us in attendance
during the last Online Conference with him and Spectrum Holobyte that they
would "indeed" send letters of a "different" nature to the same people who
had received their "hateful" accusation letter. FOR THIS WE WAIT.....AND
WAIT..... AND REMEMBER.
Plainly said, the Atari userbase is NOT to be taken lightly, SH threw mud
all over us, yes all of us, and now, SH must rectify this gross injustice
once and for all. Please bear in mind, that with the new products and
increased Atari visibility on the horizon, it would be a wise and prudent
decision to make every reasonable effort to nullify the bad name SH
bestowed upon the Atari ST users en masse.
_______________________________________________________________________
> PRICE CLUB DEAL STR FOCUS¿ A lesson in "how to irk dealers"!
==========================
PRODUCT BLOWOUT EFFORT BUNGLED!
===============================
by R. F. Mariano
It has been stated that it was ATARI's idea to call the 520ST that
Price Club is selling the 'ST Super Game Machine'. They even packaged 20
free game programs with the system. We (the userbase) spend years
convincing people that the ST is not a 'game' machine and Atari's
marketing "genius" destroyed those efforts in one fell swoop!
The real rub is the short shrift the dealers received as a result of
this factory dump through the Price Club. It appears the dealers (most)
are paying more money than the sales price over the counter at Price Club!
Price Club is selling the 520 ST w/D/S drive for 349.95!! The average
dealer is paying 400.00 for the same machine from Atari. Picture this if
you will, the dealers call their respective representatives and find that
they (the sales reps) are authorized to offer a 50.00 per machine, in
inventory or ordered, credit to "try and make amends".
Folks, this type of hindsight is a trademark of those who would
attempt to "right a serious wrong". It is insufficient! Consider this,
the dealer pays shipping, added to that the 350.00, (adjusted cost), and
once again the dealer is up over the SALE price of the 520ST at Price
Club.
Since the Price Club deal has all the earmarks of a factory dump,
there is a silver lining here -> the recognition factor. The sad part is,
"whatever good comes from this dump will be forever overshadowed by the
bungled "price protection" for Atari's loyal dealer base. No wonder many
past dealers use expletives aimed at the Sunnyvale Sales & Marketing
Comedy Shop. Actually, we are not against Atari using the "mass marketer"
to spread the "joy" around, we are dead set against the dealers being left
out in the cold!! They should have been offered this plum too!
Then there are those who will say the machine, (520STF), has
insufficient memory to be a serious machine and does not sell well. We
say they are talking through their hats, why? Well, most of this type of
"experts" look only at what they want to see and, most often, that's quite
limited. The 520 STF still is sold in respectable numbers on the east
coast. In fact, it is (was) a good income earner for dealer offered, in
the field upgrades. Again... Atari should have allowed it's dealers at
this trough ..and at the same pricing.
_____________________________________________________________________
> WAACE ATARI FEST STR NewsPlus¿ Usergroups helping Atari and the users.
=============================
Washington Area Atari Computer Enthusiasts (WAACE)
Fifth Annual Atarifest
Scheduled for October 7th and 8th, 1989
The Washington Area Atari Computer Enthusiasts (WAACE) has announced
that the fifth annual Washington D.C. area Atarifest will be held at
Fairfax High School, 3500 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, Virginia on Saturday
and Sunday, the 7th and 8th of October. Atarifest is a computing
exposition featuring the Atari line of personal and home computers, as
well as the complete line of entertainment systems. The show features
educational seminars covering nearly all areas of computing;
demonstrations of various applications of Atari computers, including MIDI
music, desktop publishing, and entertainment; and exhibits by software
publishers and hardware manufacturers showing the latest developments in
the Atari world. In the past, representatives from Atari Corporation have
been on hand to answer questions and provide assistance.
This year's theme is "The Atari Alternative," and the goal is to show
how Atari computers can be used in business and in the home. It will
include demonstrations of both eight-bit (400/800/XL/XE) and ST software
and hardware. Whether for creative endeavors, helping with some of the
household paperwork, or just to have fun, the organizers of Atarifest '89
intend to show how the "Atari Alternative" can meet and beat other
computer systems in its class, and why Atari Corporation's motto is "Power
Without the Price."
WAACE is a confederation of Atari user groups in the Maryland,
Virginia, and Washington, D.C. area, each dedicated to supporting the
Atari community in their respective areas. Atarifest is co-sponsored by
the Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools' Office of Adult and
Community Education, and the emphasis has always been on educating the
public about computers and their uses. The 1985 Washington Atarifest was
one of the first such shows, which are now held in more than 10 cities
across the nation.
Atarifest has grown in popularity, attracting thousands of attendees
each year. This year, organizers hope to attract over 5,000 people. The
show is open to all persons who have an interest in computing, and the
FREE ADMISSION and hourly door prizes (including an Atari hard disk drive)
encourage attendance by those who may not yet own an Atari computer. It
is especially designed to have something of interest for everyone, from
diehard Atarians to mainframe systems managers to computer neophytes.
Fairfax High School is located at 3500 Old Lee Highway, just off
routes 29 and 50 in Fairfax, Virginia. The school can conveniently be
reached from the Vienna Metro station (Orange line) by taking the Fairfax
Cue bus. Hours of the show are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, and
1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Most user group demonstrations will be
conducted on Saturday only. For further information, call John Barnes at
(301) 652-0667.
For further information contact:
Gary Purinton (703) 264-8826
John Barnes (301) 652-0667
Vendors should contact:
Johnna Ogden (703) 450-3992.
_____________________________________________________________________
> Becker CAD STR Review¿ Bill Pike does another fine review.
======================
Design it Yourself
==================
by Bill Pike (PAC)
This program is a fully implemented CAD (Computer Aided Design)
program. The original program is German and is a translation into
English. This comes to us from the good people at Abacus Software. The
suggested retail price for BeckerCAD is $395.00 and includes 5 libraries
of Symbols & Objects. If you were to purchase this type of program for
the IBM-PC or clone you would be paying from $800 to $2000 min. This is
another reason to buy Atari.
The program REQUIRES 1 MEG OF MEMORY and TOS IN ROM, 2 meg is needed
for larger/more complex drawings, it also REQUIRES A DOUBLE SIDED DISK
DRIVE, a hard disk is suggested but it is optional. Printers supported
are the Epson LQ, Epson FX, Atari SLM804, NEC P5/6/7, Apple Laser Writer,
HP-GL plotters, Epson HI-80 plotter, Post Script PS-A3 Driver for
typesetters. The program also uses GDOS so if you put it on a hard-disk
you will need to load the correct ASSIGN.SYS file, I would suggest the
program G+Plus from Codehead Software to do this task.
The BeckerCAD is mostly mouse and icon driven. The program supports
from 1 to 300 different transparent layers that can be overlapped, as you
wish, for the final printout. There are 2 sets of 20 drawing icons for a
total of 40 drawing icons including, but not limited to; various lines,
arcs, circles, elliptical arcs, ellipses, concentric circles, concentric
ellipses, parallel lines, rays, as well as freehand drawing. There are
several line sizes, pen sizes, and types of lines supported as well as
many textures, for filling in objects. The drop down menus as well as
hot-keys are included and greatly speed up your usage of the program.
There is also a MACRO LANGUAGE that can be programmed in and MACROS that
can be used to greatly speed up various drawing routines that are used
often. Four different lettering fonts are also supported.
You also have the option of snap to grid for your object/drawing
placement. The program comes with a library disk with 5 libraries of
objects, symbols, including; Electronic Components, Electrical Technology,
Electrical Installation, Hydraulic & Pneumatic, Architectural Symbols.
These libraries are normally sold separately, at a pretty fair price, as
an addition to most CAD Programs. You can also create and save your own
symbols/objects in your own symbol libraries.
If you have the idea that this program can do just about anything you
ask for it to do except make the pizza and popcorn you are right. I am
very impressed with this program, as if you haven't figured this out
already. The program can do anything from laying out a screwdriver design
to designing a house and landscaping. The output is a standard blueprint
including dimensioning and all other measurements including arc and angle
descriptions, the drawings are all to scale and you can select the scale.
As I said before, this system can output to dot-matrix printers, laser
printers, and plotters. It works with all standard size drawings,
including european sizes.
The program has many features that I just don't have room to write or
time to divulge at the present time. You really have to see this program
to believe it.
This is a rather expensive program to purchase unless you have a need
for it, ie: I wouldn't purchase it just to play around with it. However
it can really save you lots of time and lots of money if you have need of
it, no more erasing and redrawing just pick the layers you want to use on
the final drawing or make several drawings using different layers.
In other words don't expect it to do the same job a $25,000 to
$2,000,000 system can do but it sure beats the heck out of any other CAD
for a personal computer.
Editor Note:
The reviewer who wrote the above article has done a nice job of
describing Becker CAD and it's various features. There is, however,one
point to be made here, and that is; although he is quite enthusiastic
about this program, we find it hard to believe that he has performed in-
depth comparisons all the CAD programs available for the Atari ST computer
line.
For this reason , we announce that in the next few weeks we will
present a comprehensive review of ISD's DYNACADD. We feel, in so doing,
we present to the userbase the opportunity to observe the finer points of
a few of the many programs available for the ST.
______________________________________________________________________
> Atari Stock ~ STReport¿ Watching them go up and go down!
======================
THE TICKERTAPE
==============
by Glenn Gorman
Atari Stock dropped 1/4 of a point on Monday, up 1/8 on Tuesday and up
3/4 on Thursday. Finishing up the week at 8 3/4 points. Down 7/8 of a
point from last Friday.
Do to circumstances beyond my control, I did not get a report for
Wednesday, July 26.
Glenn Gorman
+---------------------+
| ATARI STOCK WATCH |
| Week 07-24 to 07-28 |
+=======+==========+===========+=============+============+=============+
| | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
+-------+----------+-----------+-------------+------------+-------------+
| Sales | 1024 | 748 | ---- | 4016 | 1139 |
+-------+----------+-----------+-------------+------------+-------------+
| Last | 7 5/8 | 7 3/4 | ----- | 8 3/4 | 8 3/4 |
+-------+----------+-----------+-------------+------------+-------------+
| Chg. | -1/4 | +1/8 | ---- | +3/4 | ---- |
+=======+==========+===========+=============+============+=============+
| From > THE CAVE ST BBS <> 609-882-9195 <> 300/14400 HST <> F-NET #351 |
+========================================================================
An analyst's viewpoint or a casual buyer??
A point or two to ponder concerning the STOCK MARKET AND ATARI......
Will the Time-Warner Merger affect ATARI stock?
Although Time and Life, Inc. has no relation to ATARI Computers, Inc.,
the merger between Warner Bros. and Time will affect the short-term value
of ATARI stock.
On the ABC show "Business World," shown Sunday July 30, it was
revealed that the CEOs at Time would have to raise capital by selling
their interests in: 1) Viacom ..the entertainment company 2) Hasbro ..the
toy manufacturing company 3) ATARI ..the home entertainment/computer
manufacturing company.
Although there is no proof of these predictions, it doesn't take a
genius to figure out what will most likely happen. Many of you are aware
that Warner Brothers was the company that Jack Tramiel bought ATARI from.
Most of the money "paid" by Jack was in the form of promissory notes and
stock options when he took the company public.
If the CEOs at Time/Life sell their interest in ATARI, that will
create a large float of ATARI stock in the market. Also, if Warner needs
additional cash to put the merger together, they will very likely sell
theirs as well.
If you also looked at ATARI's 1988 Annual Report, you will notice that
it is an undervalued company. Undervalued companies are takeover targets
in merger/acquisitions. What makes a company become a takeover target?
When there is unusual activity in their stock! Raiders have many
different "stock trading volume" alarms that they use to warn them about
potential profit opportunities.
Let's speculate about what might happen if a corporate raider finds
out about the unusual trading activity in ATARI stock. His alarm is
triggered and he starts asking "Why." He finds out that both Time/Life
and Warner Bros. are unloading their holdings in ATARI. At first, the
raider suspects that it's because some bad news about ATARI is about to be
made public. But, after checking into that possibility, he finds the
opposite to be true.
He finds that the only thing that made ATARI lose money last year was
their stupid investment in Federated, but ATARI is already trying to sell
off their mistake. After poking around some more, the raider finds out
that ATARI has a larger computer market presence in Europe than either IBM
or Apple.
"WAIT A MINUTE!" A larger computer market share than either IBM or
Apple in Europe? Europe is going to be the largest free market in the
world (over 350,000,000 consumers) when the European Common Market opens
in 1992! Now, if I buy ATARI and use it as a beachhead to get my
company's foot in the door...
A casual thought, wonder why Poppa Jack has been in New York's
financial district recently in conferences with the high dollar folks...
______________________________________________________________________
> PC DITTO II STReport InfoFile¿ Avant Garde; about PC Ditto II
==============================
KEEPING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
===========================
During a long telephone conversation, Computer Shopper's interview a
few months back (which they remarkably got very accurate), much
information was presented concerning the new PC Ditto, as a result, it can
become confusing when you mention updates about a product when even the
initial product has not been released.
The engineering effort has been over for some time. As for EGA, a dn
and other possible features, they will not be released with pc-ditto II
initially. We are maintaining our policy of free software updates to our
products. But, to clarify: pc-ditto II will be the same as
pc-ditto...just faster.
We are investigating several features, requested by our market. So
far, we are looking into: EGA (enhanced graphics adapter); EMS (extended
memory specification); Midi; and, Atari Laser printer support.
We have received a few (or in some cases, only one) request(s) for
other enhancements, such as: joystick (dual) support; task switching
(under Revolver, for example); multi-tasking (simultaneous execution of
GEM TOS and pc-ditto II); CD-ROM; and various hardware add-ons produced
for the ST (harddrives, tape backups, high-density floppy disks, LANs, and
A/D interfaces).
We are open to suggestion. We give priority to requests according to
the number of similar requests we receive, and the amount of work
involved.
That's the real scoop.
Thanks for the questions!
Avant Garde
__________________________________________________________________
> WOA DALLAS STR FOCUS¿
====================
WORLD OF ATARI SHOW -> DALLAS TEXAS
===================================
World of Atari
Dallas Texas
August 19, & 20 1989
WORLD OF ATARI will be held at the Holiday Inn Holidome, Irving Texas
on Aug. 19 and 20th. The hours of the show are 10 am till 6pm on
Saturday, the 19th and on Sunday; 10am till 5pm. Admission is 5.00 per
day or 7.00 for both days. Advance discount tickets are available
directly from ST World for User Groups. Usergroup member ticket prices
are 3.50 for a single day and 5.25 for both days of the show. The tickets
must be ordered no later than August 10, 1989. Admission at the door will
be at regular price with no discount.
Atari Corporation will feature their full line of products, from the
2600 game machine to the Mega Computer systems. In addition,the pc
Portfolio, the Lynx (New Handheld Game system), and the Stacy laptop.
Of course many of the companies we are all familiar with will be
displaying their latest products and some will be offering appreciable
discounts as introductory offers to the users. Prospero Software will be
offering a 25% discount as an introductory offer on their products.
Also scheduled are instruction seminars designed to appeal to the new,
as well as, the experienced user.
Companies we are all familiar with who will be there to answer your
questions and provide help.
Abacus Software Alpha Systems
Best Electronics Codehead Software
Double Click Software FAST TECHNOLOGY
ICD Inc. 8 & 16 bit Intersect Software
Imagen Corporation Megabyte Computers
Megamax Inc. MichTron Inc.
Micro Computers Migraph Inc.
Precision Software Prospero Software
Reeve Software Seymor/Radix
Softrek Marketing Wuztech Inc.
plus many more...
___________________________________________________________________
> ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿ Sayin' it like it is...
======================
- San Jose, CA. ****** WORLD OF ATARI SHOW CANCELLED!!! ******
-------------
Amidst controversy and apparent hard feelings over 'other matters'
which occured as a result of the Dearborn Show, the WOA folks have
announced the cancellation of their scheduled San Jose California show.
For further information, please call ST World Mag. at: 503-673-2259
- Glendale, CA. ***** TRADITIONAL GLENDALE SHOW NOT TO RUN! *****
-------------
According to J. Tarpinian, spokesman for the show, 'circumstances'
beyond their control have br
ought about the "postponement" of the Glendale
Show _until further notice_. Details are available, call 818-760-1831 the
official sponsors of the show H.A.C.K.S..
- Lansing, MI. ***** GAMES FOR LYNX MADE ON AN AMIGA! *****
------------
According to highly placed sources, the games programmed for the new
Atari hand held game machine are programmed on an AMIGA!! How's that for
a neat twist? "The Atari hand held runs programs made on an AMIGA..
sheesh!
- Sunnyvale, CA. ***** 68030 OUT TO DEVELOPERS *****
--------------
Developers are begining to receive the 68030 machines from our
favorite company, that is probably the singular most important signal of
"things to come" all year long. JRI has one at this time for development
purposes.
- Sunnyvale, CA. ***** A MODULAR ST? *****
--------------
The ST-Plus is due to appear after the TT. More than likely it will
be seen before the end of October. However, regarding the TT, it is
suggested you obtain the September issue of STart Magazine reportedly,
they will have an interview with Sam Tramiel (Atari Corp. President) about
the future of Atari, and the new machines scheduled for release. The TT
is guaranteed to appear before the end of the year. Atari is expected to
make some new announcements on August 25th, and the ST-Plus will probably
be part of them. Addittionaly, there is a dealer meeting scheduled for
the 15th of August. Perhaps, at that point we will know more about the
"modular ST". Oh! almost forgot, the Portfolio is now at the FCC Labs in
VA. being tested for certification. It won't be long now!
- Timonium, MD. ***** NEW GERMAN PACKER PROGRAM KILLS SPEED! *****
-------------
A highly experienced and well respected programmer reports, "the
packer processed programs boot appreciably slower than those which have
not been packed" therefore, it's use may not be to the advantage of the
users. To us, at STReport, this means that the efficiency of the fast
load features of TOS 1.4 and of course, "Pinhead", along with all earlier
versions of TOS are traded off for a relatively small savings in program
size.
In our humble opinion, that ...is _not_ an equitable trade-off.
- Sunnyvale, CA. ***** THE REVOLVING DOOR IS WORKING! *****
--------------
We see that the revolving door is engergized once again....there will
be a new usergroup co-ordinator and assistant sales manager shortly at
Atari, in unrelated occurances both C. Roberts and J. Mendolia are no
longer at Atari.
- Sunnyvale, CA. ***** ANOTHER STROKE OF GENIUS! *****
--------------
A few months ago, we praised the Atari exchange program as being one
of the very best in the entire computer industry. It had value, it was
realistic and it delivered a solid benefit to Atari's entire userbase.
Now, just a scant three months later, we are "hearing" that the cost to
the end user has become prohibitive and that certain of Atari's
spokespersons now know "nothing" about an exchange program. What is it
going to take to jog some memories? Copies of invoices, letters and
perhaps exchange cost lists from everyone who has enjoyed the benefits of
this excellent program?
Why do we feel Atari 'must' learn how to "keep track" of what the
right and the left hand are doing? Please don't munge up the exchange
program, it WORKS and the userbase is comfortable with it. Especially in
light of the; "overly generous and world famous", 90 day warranty.
The costs to the end user used to be realistic. They are, according
to what we are hearing, being raised! Why? Who caused this? Is this
another masterstroke of the sales dept.? This type of thinking; "Trap the
user into a sale", went out before Ralph Nader was born! Restore the
exchange program to it's workable form, honestly ...something that's not
broken need not be fixed! Hopefully, this is all a misunderstanding and
nothing has changed.
___________________________________________________________________
> GBS vs HAPPY STR NewsPlus¿ Dave Small counters Richard Adams' suit.
=========================
DISTRICT COURT, COUNTY OF DOUGLAS, STATE OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 89CV415, Division 2
___________________________________________________________________
DEFENDANTS' ANSWER TO AMENDED COMPLAINT
COUNTERCLAIMS AND THIRD PARTY COMPLAINT
___________________________________________________________________
That's how the legal docs appear at the title page, there are 11 pages of
documentation involved in this suit will basically submits to the courts a
denial of the allegations in the Happy suit and counter claims by GBS
against R. Adams and Happy Computers.
The denial and countersuit was filed and served Monday, July 24, 1989 by
Gadgets' attorney in Denver Co.
_________________________________________________________________
> DC-PORT STReport InfoFile¿ An inside look....
=========================
DC-PORT UPDATE INFORMATION
==========================
Here is the scoop on the DC-PORT. DC-PORT does allow for up to 38400 baud
thru DC-PORT, but alas, we do not support RTS/CTS at this time. I will
discuss the possibility of adding this with Gilbert (he is the hardware
wiz).
We had decided at the time that rts/cts was not used much, and to keep
size and cost down, we did not implement them.
On another note, 5-port versions are now available.
Previous question, we support the following lines:
send
receive
DCD - carrier detect
DTR - data terminal ready
ground
(unused pin) on rj12
We will post more info. It may be possible to make a special version
which does support rts/cts, but I can't say for sure until speaking with
gilbert.
Here is our document describing access to DC-PORT. Please note that the
document has changed slightly (shows rsconf for 38400) but I do not have
the updated doc on hand.
A five port version is available at this time.
Programs which currently support DC-PORT are MichTron BBS v 3.0.
Beckemeyer's MTC Shell is now having a device handler added to support
DC-PORT.
The upgrade to Flash (version 2.0) will have DC-PORT support.
FoReM possibly be released with support for DC-PORT (Matt is experiencing
various hardware failures preventing a port to the ST).
STalker terminal accessory.
Please direct all questions to us, we are more than happy to answer!
OVERVIEW
========
DC-PORT is a serial expansion cartridge for your Atari ST computer. With
DC-PORT you get two more RS232 serial ports. DC-PORT does not support the
CTS/RTS and RING DETECT lines. If you need these, use the main ST serial
port.
INSTALLATION
============
1) Turn off your computer.
NOTE:
Always turn the POWER switch OFF when inserting or removing DC-PORT.
This will protect the electronic components and prolong the life of
your ATARI ST computer.
2) Plug the edge connector of DC-PORT into the cartridge port.
3) Plug the cable, with female DB25 connector, coming from DC-PORT
into the ST's main serial port. The label on DC-PORT identifies this
cable as: To ST
4) Plug the 3 DC-PORT cables into DC-PORT using the end with RJ12
(phone)
NOTE:
DO NOT attempt to plug your telephone line directly into DC-PORT.
Doing so WILL damage DC-PORT, and void your warranty. DC-PORT is
designed to be used with an RS232 compatible device. The RJ12 connectors
are *NOT* designed for direct connection to the telephone line.
5) Connect the male DB25 connectors to any RS232 compatible device, such
as a modem, scanner, printer, another computer, etc.
SPECIFICATIONS
==============
DC-PORT supports the following RS232 lines:
(numbers indicate the RJ12 pin number)
TRANSMIT (1)
RECEIVE (2)
DATA TERMINAL READY [DTR] (3)
CARRIER DETECT (CD) (5)
GROUND (6)
USAGE
=====
To use DC-PORT, you must either be using a DC-PORT compatible program, or
you must have the DC-PORT device handler installed.
The program DCPORT.PRG adds devices to the ST's BIOS corresponding to the
two extra ports. Programming to communicate using DC-PORT is provided
through BIOS compatible calls. This section details use of these calls
for DC-PORT and the regular serial port.
----
BIOS
----
using the TRAP #13 call.
All examples are calling sequences from 'C'
Numbers in parenthesis indicate the function number
All the examples will use the following declarations:
#define AUX 0x0002 /* main ST serial port, DC-PORT 0 */
#define DCP0 0x8000 /* DC-PORT 0, main ST serial port */
#define DCP1 0x8100 /* DC-PORT 1 */
#define DCP2 0x8200 /* DC-PORT 2 */
#define DCP3 0x8300 /* DC-PORT 3 */
#define DCP4 0x8400 /* DC-PORT 4 */
char input; /* character input */
long status; /* status - where applicable */
int port; /* DC-PORT select */
port = DCP1;
FUNCTIONS
---------
int Bconstat(dev) (1)
Return character-device input status, D0.L will be 0x0000 if no
character is available, or 0xffff if (at least one) character is
available from the device.
Example:
if (Bconstat(port))
input = Bconin(port);
NOTE:
For ease of use, you can OR the value of the DC-PORT select with
the AUX: device number. We will use this syntax throughout
the
document.
Example (from above):
if (Bconstat(port|AUX))
input = Bconin(port|AUX);
int dev;
dev is the device number as defined above.
Does not return until a character has been input (busy-wait). It
returns the character value in D0.L, with the high word zero.
Example:
input = Bconin(port|AUX);
-------------------
void Bconout(dev,c) (3)
int dev, c;
dev is the device number as defined above.
Output character 'c' to the device. Does not return until the
character has been written.
Example:
-------------------
long Bcostat(dev) (8)
int dev;
dev is the device number as defined above.
Returns character output status:
-1 Device is ready to send (no waiting on next device-output
call).
0 Device is not ready to send.
Example:
status = Bcostat(port|AUX);
-----
XBIOS
-----
These subroutines are accessed using the TRAP #14 call.
All examples are calling sequences from 'C'
Numbers in parenthesis indicate the function number.
Examples are as above.
---------
long Iorec(devno) (14)
int devno;
Returns a pointer to a serial device's input buffer record. dev is
one of:
devno Device
----- ------
0x0000 RS232 (ST main serial port, DC-PORT 0)
0x8000 DCP0 (DC-PORT 0, ST main serial port)
0x8100 DCP1 (DC-PORT 1)
0x8200 DCP2 (DC-PORT 2)
0x8300 DCP3 (DC-PORT 3)
0x8400 DCP4 (DC-PORT 4)
The structure of the record is:
struct iorec {
long ibuf; /* pointer to buffer */
int ibufsiz; /* size of the buffer */
index */
int ibuftl; /* tail index */
int ibuflow; /* low-water mark */
int ibufhi; /* hi-water mark */
};
For RS232, an output buffer record immediately follows the input
buffer record. The format of the output buffer record is identical.
'ibuf' points to the device's buffer. 'ibufsiz' is the buffer's size.
'ibufhi' is the buffer's high-water mark. 'ibuflow' is the buffer's
low-water mark.
If flow control is enabled and the number of characters in the buffer
reaches the high-water mark, the ST requests (according to the flow
control protocol) the sender to stop sending characters. When the
number of characters in the buffer drops below the low-water mark, the
ST (106 left) More: (Enter) or (Y)es, (N)o, (F)lag, (NS)non-stop?
tells the sender to resume transmission.
The flow control operation is similar for the RS232 output record.
-------------------
long Rsconf(port|speed, flowctl, ucr, rsr, tsr, scr)
int speed, flowctl, ucr, rsr, tsr, scr;
This function initializes the rs232 port.
SPEED sets the baud rate for the RS232 port as follows:
SPEED BAUD RATE
----- ---------
0 19200
1 9600
2 4800
3 3600 *
4 2400
5 2000
6 1800
7 1200
8 600
10 200 *
11 150
12 134
13 110
14 75
15 50 *
FLOW sets the flow control as follows:
FLOW TYPE OF FLOW CONTROL
---- --------------------
0 No flow control (default value)
1 XON/XOFF
2 RTS/CTS *
3 Both XON/XOFF and RTS/CTS *
UCR, RSR, TSR, and SCR set the corresponding 68901 registers. A -1
for
any one of these parameters will not set the register:
Bit in UCR Meaning
---------- -------
0 Not used
1 Parity 1=even parity, 0=odd parity
2 Parity enable; 1=enabled
3,4 Start/Stop bits:
Bit 4 Bit 3 Start bits Stop bits
----- ----- ---------- ---------
0 Do not use
0 1 1 1
1 0 1 1.5
1 1 1 2
5,6 Work length:
Bit 6 Bit 5 Word length
----- ----- -----------
0 0 8 bits
0 1 7 bits
1 0 6 bits
1 1 5 bits
7 Must be set to 1
RSR, TSR, and SCR should be set to -1.
NOTE: Selections indicated with a * are only supported in DCPORT0.
-------------------
offgibit(port|mask) (29)
int mask;
This function sets the DTR line on one of the serial ports.
MASK has a value of $EF:
Offgibit(port|$EF)
-------------------
ongibit(port|mask) (30)
int mask;
This function drops the DTR line on one of the serial ports.
MASK has a value of $10:
Ongibit(port|$10)
------
GEMDOS
------
These subroutines are accessed using the TRAP #1 call.
All examples are calling sequences from 'C'
Numbers in parenthesis indicate the function number.
Examples are as above.
FUNCTIONS
Cauxin(dev) (3) NOTE: The standard GEMDOS call has no
parameters.
int dev;
dev is as defined above.
Return a character from the specified serial port (dev).
Example:
input = Cauxin(port);
-------------------
Cauxout(chr) (4)
int chr; NOTE: The standard GEMDOS call specifies a char
Write a character to the serial port defined in the upper byte of the
int 'chr.'
Example:
Cauxout(port|'A'); /* with port = 0x0000 it has no effect */
-------------------
long Cauxis() (18)
Returns -1 [nonzero] if char is available from the main ST serial
port;
0 otherwise.
-------------------
long Cauxos() (19)
Returns -1 [nonzero] if char is ready to receive a character, 0 if it
is unavailable (for the main ST serial port).
FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE
======================
If you require further assistance from us, give our support BBS a call.
We will be more than happy to help you with any difficulties which you
find.
WARRANTY
========
DC-PORT is guaranteed to be free from material defects for one year from
the date of purchase.
DC-PORT cables are guaranteed to be from material defects for 30 days from
the date of purchase.
Double Click Software will either replace or repair the defective unit, at
the discretion of Double Click Software.
Under no conditions will Double Click Software be responsible for damaged
caused due to neglect. If the seal on DC-PORT is broken, the warranty is
voided immediately.
Double Click Software is not be responsible for any damage to your
reputation, profit-making ability or mental or physical condition caused
by the use or misuse of our hardware and/or software.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
======================
Mailing address:
Double Click Software
P.O. Box 741206
Houston, Texas 77236-1206
Support BBS: (713)944-0108
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This manual and its contents are copyright (c) 1989 Double Click Software.
It may be distributed freely so long as it is not edited in any form.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
_____________________________________________________________________
> STReport InfoFile¿ High Quality, Custom constructed hard drives....
=================
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
* ADAPTEK 4000/4070/5500 CONTROLLERS *
* OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
42mb #SG44710 569.00 - (1) mech 65mb #SG60101 729.00 - (1) mech
85mb #SG840110 949.00 - (2) mech 132mb #SG3A1210 1149.00 - (2) mech
*** 264mb #SGT41776 1889.00 - (4) mech ***
The above are just a few of the types of systems available.
(over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)
* Embedded controller; ("N" type) drives - Special Order Only *
*** ALL Units: Average Access Time: 26ms - 30ms ***
ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> MAGIC SAC - PC-DITTO/II - SPECTRE/GCR
LARGER units are available - (special order only)
*** Available for ST - Amiga - IBM ***
LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
FAST Cabinets - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets
TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets
ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED
12 month FULL Guarantee
(A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)
WE SHIP WITH * FEDERAL EXPRESS * ONLY
_____________________________________
Personal Checks are accepted.
ORDER YOURS TODAY!
904-783-3319 9am - 8pm EDT
_______________________________________________________________________
> A "Quotable Quote"¿
=================
"THE PROMISES AND ASSURANCES OF A MAN ..ARE HIS BOND"
Time Eternal..
"ATARI IS BACK!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST-REPORT¿ Issue #99 "Your Independent News Source" August 04, 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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
