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Silicon Times Report Issue 0109
*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original Online ST Magazine"
_______________________________
October 13, 1989 Vol III No.109
=======================================================================
ST Report Online Magazine ½
__________________________
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida
32205 ~ 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
_________________________________________
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Our support BBS carries ALL issues of STReport
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__________________________________________________________________
> Issue: #109 STReport¿ The Online Magazine of Choice!
-------------------
- The Editors' Podium - CPU REPORT
- TT and Compatibility - Key Virus
- CBM plans Media Blitz - TOS 1.4 & You
---===*** WAACE A TRUE SUCCESS STORY ***===---
---====*** ATARI FIGUREHEAD TO RETIRE! ***====---
=======================================================================
AVAILABLE ON: COMP-U-SERVE ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX
=======================================================================
> The Editor's Podium¿
This WAACE show was outstanding. There was something for everyone.
It rapidly became the place to be for Atarians if only for a weekend.
Now, we simply must report that having had the opportunity to meet so many
of the faces behind the names/handles was a totally wonderful experience.
The highlight of the weekend was, of course, having the opportunity to
meet Sig Hartmann and Bob Brodie. Sig Hartmann must be Atari's secret
weapon, this man is clearly a delight to talk to and exchange ideas with.
If ever you have the opportunity please, make it your business to meet the
man, you will not be sorry. Once again, he is amazing.
Bob Brodie has to be Atari's foremost discovery in recent years, he
amplifies the attributes needed in a person serving in a laison capacity
between the users and Atari. Bob is more than proficient and in fact, as
more folks meet and greet him, we feel he will become much more visible
with added responsibilities in the future.
Full details concerning the show and the results of a number of casual
interviews are detailed later in this issue. Atari should be jealously
possesive of both Sig and Bob. They were, beyond a shadow of a doubt, an
outstanding credit to Atari at WAACE.
Ralph......
"ATARI IS BACK!"
***********************************************************************
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to the Readers
ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE
The Online Magazine of Choice!
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***********************************************************************
> CPU REPORT¿
==========
Issue # 36
by Michael Arthur
Remember When....
In 1946, the first truly digital computer, ENIAC, was built at the
University of Pennsylvania, and how, while it was high-tech, with 18,000
vacuum tubes and the ability to perform 500 operations per second, could
only perform specific calculations by modifying its hardware, and how John
Von Neumann built the IAS system, the first computer to store and run
programs in memory?
CPU Systems Roundup XII¿
========================
Dream Computer Systems IV: Is RISC worth the Reward?
-----------------------------------------------------
Part I
The Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) Chip, from being a
virtually unknown technology in the computer industry as late as 1987, has
now become the driving force for many of the low-end Unix workstations now
flooding the market. From Sun's SPARCstation to IBM's RT System to DEC's
new DECstation, RISC-based systems have now become commonplace in the
workstation market. However, there has been little standardization in the
RISC Industry, resulting in that a plethora of RISC Architectures, like
Sun's SPARC chipset, Intel's 80860 chip, and Motorola's 88000 chipset,
have also flooded the market. And given that most major RISC-based systems
use their own proprietary RISC chips, this flood has created much
confusion in this field. Since the main benefit of RISC chips is their
increased performance, many have wondered which RISC-based system (and
which RISC chip) is the best to use. Also, with microcomputers gaining
the performance of these low-end RISC workstations, the choice only
becomes more difficult....
In order to explore this situation in depth, while providing a greater
timespan in which to cover new developments, each "Dream Systems" series
will extend its timespan to appear once every 4 months, with both features
alternating in the same sequence as before, so a "Dream Systems" essay
will appear once every 7-8 issues. The "Dream Computer Systems" series
itself will also continue and expand its focus on workstation-class
capabilities. Furthermore, since Local Area Networks are a logical use
for these Dream Systems, Ethernet Networking will also be covered. This
will mostly focus on microcomputer systems, however, since the Unix
workstations have Ethernet ports as standard. To attempt to determine
which Dream System really IS the best, I have made a list of the most
powerful microcomputers on the market, comparing their features to make an
objective opinion.
I ignored variables like operating systems and software, and
concentrated on the actual computers' features and speed, the greatest
amount of mass storage you could attain, and the best graphics that system
could provide. While operating systems and software are a definite factor
in a computer, I wanted to aim for the best hardware itself, to which you
could add the other items. However, since many of the high-end
microcomputers featured here are beginning to rival workstations in both
performance and price, this series will now include some low-end
workstations in its analysis, in order to both study the state of high-end
microcomputers as compared to low-end workstations, and to see whether
these microcomputers outperform some workstations in certain aspects....
After doing some research, I found several configurations that could
truly claim to be "Dream Systems". Shown in no particular order, here is
my list:
(Warning!: Do not be surprised by the Retail Prices Shown.)
System #1
---------
- ALR PowerCache 4 -
Total Cost of System: $21,100.00 Dollars
This IBM Compatible is a 25 MHZ 80486 system with 8 Megabytes of RAM
onboard, a built-in Math chip and VGA support, 7 AT Expansion Slots, and a
built-in 130 Meg Hard Drive.
To further enhance this system, I would add a 1 Gigabyte Magneto
Optical Drive made by Maxtor using Removable Cartridges, a Dell GFX-1024
Graphics Performance Accelerator, with a TI 34010 Graphics Coprocessor,
and future support of the TIGA Display standard, a 3Com Etherlink Card
providing an Ethernet port, and an NEC Multisync 4D Monitor.
So with this system, you would have:
ALR PowerCache 4 w/25 MHZ 80486 chip (Cost: $10,000.00)
3 SIMM Memory Modules w/2 Megs of RAM Each (Cost: $1800.00)
Maxtor 1 Gigabyte Magneto-Optical Cartridge Drive (Cost: $7000.00)
3Com EtherLink Card (Cost: $300.00)
NEC Multisync 4D Monitor (Cost: $2000.00)
VGA Graphics Resolution: 320*200 with 256 Colors out of 256,000
640*480 with 16 Colors out of 256,000
Extended Mode has 640*480 with 256 Colors out of 256,000
800*600 with 16 Colors out of 256,000
800*600 with 256 Colors out of 256,000
1024*768 with 16 Colors out of 256,000
GPX - 1024 Resolution: 1024*768 with 256 Colors out of 16 Million
Faults with System: The ALR PowerCache 4's internal 130 Meg Hard Drive
is standard, but isn't too useful for anything
except as a boot disk, given the Magneto-Optical
Drive's abilities....
System #2
---------
- Macintosh IIci w/SuperMac Spectrum/24 Board -
Total Cost: $26,300.00
This Macintosh uses a 25 MHZ 68030 with a 25 MHZ 68882 Math Chip, Four
Megabytes of RAM, and 3 NuBus Expansion Slots. It also comes with a 1.44
Meg High Density Disk Drive, and uses the SWIM (Sander-Woz Integrated
Machine) Disk Controller chip to allow the Mac to read/write to MS-DOS and
OS/2 formatted disks.
To FURTHER enhance this system, I would add Pinnacle Micro's REO-650
Magneto-Optical Drive, which uses 650 Megabyte Removable Cartridges like
those found for the NeXT drive, two Mac IIci DRAM Expansion Kits from
Apple, with 4 Megs of RAM each, an Adaptec Nodem, which is an Ethernet LAN
Interface Unit that plugs into the SCSI slot, and a Taxan Ultravision 1000
Monitor to accompany a SuperMac Spectrum/24 Video Card, which lets the Mac
have a 1024*768 display with 16 Million colors at the same time.
So with this system you would have:
Macintosh IIci w/4 Megs of RAM (Cost: $7769.00)
One Apple Mac IIci 4 Meg DRAM Expansion Kit (Cost: $2000.00)
Three Mac IIci 1 Meg DRAM Expansion Kits (Cost: $1500.00 total)
Adaptec Nodem Ethernet Unit (Cost: $500.00)
REO-650 Magneto-Optical Cartridge Drive (Cost: $5995.00)
Spectrum/24 Video Board (Cost: $4000.00)
Taxan 980 20-Inch Monitor (Cost: $3700.00)
Macintosh II Resolution: 640*400 with 256 Colors out of 16 Million
With Spectrum/24 it has 1024*768 with 16 Million colors at the same time.
Faults with System: None whatsoever. A SUPERB Dream System....
System #3
---------
- SGI Personal Iris w/Geometry Engine -
Total System Cost: $25,500.00
This is a Silicon Personal Iris with a 20 MHZ R3000 RISC chip from
MIPS Computer Systems, a R3010 Math Chip, and SGI's Geometry Engine chip,
which does graphics coprocessing. It also has 8 Megs of RAM standard, a
170 Meg Hard Drive, a built-in Ethernet Port, and a color monitor....
So with this system you would have:
SGI Personal Iris system w/MIPS R3000 chip (Cost: $25,500.00 total)
SGI 170 Megabyte Hard Drive (Included in System)
Iris Resolution:
1024*768 with 16 million display colors at the same time
Faults with System: Hard Disk storage is mediocre, at best....
System #4
---------
- NeXT System w/670 Meg Hard Drive -
Total Cost of System: $17,000.00
The NeXT computer features a 25 MHZ 68030 w/68882 Math Coprocessor,
Eight Megs of RAM, 4 NuBus Expansion Slots, a built-in Ethernet port, and
a 256 Megabyte Canon Magneto-Optical Drive with Removable/Erasable
Cartridges.
To FURTHER enhance this system, I would add NeXT's 670 Megabyte Hard
Disk Drive. That's it....
So with this system you have:
NeXT Computer w/256 Meg Cartridge Drive (Cost: $10,000.00) 670 MB
Winchester Hard Drive (Cost: $7000.00)
(These are the prices BusinessLand, with sole rights to sell NeXT's to the
US computer market, charges for NeXT Peripherals)
NeXT Resolution: 1120*832 Pixel Display using Monochrome.
Faults of System: Canon makes 512 - 640 Meg versions of their drive using
Double-Sided cartridges. NeXT uses the Single-Sided, 256 Meg Drive. Color
display is not available at this time.
System #5
---------
- Sun SPARCStation 1 w/16 Megs of RAM -
Total System Cost: $26,500.00
This is a Sun SPARCStation 1 with a 20 MHZ SPARC chip running at 10 to
12 MIPS, a 20 MHZ Weitek 3167 Floating Point Math Chip, 8 Megs of RAM
onboard, 1 S-Bus Expansion Slot, Color Monitor, a 1.44 Meg Disk Drive, and
a built-in Ethernet port.
Along with this would be a Sun 650 Megabyte Hard Drive, and two Sun
Memory Expansion Kits, with 4 Megs of RAM each, for a total of 16 Megs of
System RAM.
So with this system you have:
Sun SPARCStation 1 w/Color Monitor (Cost: $12,500.00)
2 Sun Memory Expansion Kits w/4 Megs of RAM each (Cost: $4000.00)
Sun 650 Megabyte Hard Drive (Cost: $10,000.00)
SPARCStation Resolution: 1152*900 with 256 Colors out of 16 Million
Faults of System: A higher monochrome resolution should be developed, and
hard disk storage is far too expensive....
System #6
---------
- ATW (Abaq) Transputer w/320 Meg Hard Disk -
Total Cost of System: $30,800.00
This is an ATW Transputer with a 20 MHZ T800 Chip having a built-in
Math Coprocessor, 4 Megs of RAM, and 4 Expansion Slots. Along with this
would be two ATW M112 Expansion Cards, each having 4 T800 Chips and 4 Megs
of DRAM onboard, and one Abaq F104 Expansion Card, with 1 T800 chip and 1
Meg of RAM standard, for a total of 10 T800 chips and 13 Megs of System
RAM, and a Since Helios can read/write to MS-DOS disks, the ATW uses a
Mega ST Motherboard as an I/O processor, an ABCO 320 Megabyte Hard Drive
for the ST may also be used.
So with this system you have:
ATW Transputer w/4 Megs of RAM (Cost: $8000.00)
Two ATW M112 Expansion "Farm" Cards (Cost: $12,000.00 total)
ATW F104 Expansion "Farm" Card (Cost: $2000.00)
ATW X100 Ethernet Interface Card (Cost: $1100.00)
ABCO 320 Megabyte Hard Drive for the ST (Cost: $4000.00)
Taxan Ultravision 1000 Monitor (Cost: $3700.00)
ATW Resolutions: 1280*960 with 16 Colors out of 16 Million
1024*768 with 256 Colors out of 16 Million
640*480 w/256 Colors out of 16 Million (Double Buffered
screens for high speed animation)
512*480 with 16 Million Colors at the same time
Faults of System: Hard disk storage is adequate, but comparatively
limited. Also, it is the highest-costing system....
Notice; Not mentioned, were products that aren't shipping yet, like
the 68030 TT, or products which have not been fully announced, like
Commodore's new Amiga 3000....
---====***====---
In Part I of this series, a list of the best systems to be found
currently in the market was presented, and shown, were the individual
features which make these systems. In Part II these Dream Systems will be
compared to each other, in order to determine which is, relatively, the
"best" one.
But this issue alone indicates many changes in the structure of the
Dream Systems. The Mac II Dream System, once overpriced, has now kept
most of its speed while drastically lowering its cost. It is now a VERY
good contender, competing on a level with the other systems in both price
and capabilities. The IBM Dream System, which has always been a powerful
system, with steady and noteworthy increases in its capabilities, now uses
the Intel 80486 chip to rival the RISC Workstations in performance, while
keeping a relatively low cost. However, the NeXT System has now gained
the price/performance leadership for this list, and while its speed isn't
as good, its other features are excellent. The SPARCStation 1 is a VERY
well-balanced system with superb versatility, but the SGI Personal Iris,
with a stunning introduction, has stolen much of its thunder, with
graphics equalled only by the Mac and ATW systems, speed rivalling the IBM
Dream System, and a price that is moderate for this list. Now that it has
been fully introduced, we now see that the ATW, while being superior in
graphics and speed, is not only comparatively weak in some areas, but is
FAR more expensive than expected. Meaning that parallel processing may
not be enough to keep the ATW in First Place....
But ponder, if you will, these questions:
1) Given the great performance now found in RISC-based systems, what
criteria would make a RISC-based computer become popular, or a
particular RISC chip become the dominant RISC standard?
2) Commodore is coming out with a $20 million dollar Ad campaign, which
will be directed towards the home consumer market, and mainly carried
out through Television. But is TV really the best way to get the home
consumer market to buy low/middle-end computers, given Apple's
unsuccessful TV Ad efforts in 1989?
3) To counter the Amiga ad campaign by Christmas, where could Atari
optimally target any marketing efforts so as to best generate consumer
interest in the Atari ST, and provide a strategic avenue for the ST to
be readily accepted in areas which the ST is best suited for, such as
the DTP and educational markets?
---====***====---
CPU REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿
=======================
Redmond, WA The U.S Patent Office recently granted Microsoft Corp.
----------- Patent #4,866,602, which covers the technology of
connecting a mouse to a PC through a serial port
without the need for an external power supply. While
this won't affect the Mac, Atari ST, IBM PS/2, or
Amiga, which have different methods of hooking up a
mouse to the computer, it will shake up the market for
IBM PC Mice, which stand to benefit from Microsoft's
technology. Since hundreds of thousands of PC Mice
are sold each year, and given that Microsoft is now
licensing the technology (at reasonable fees, of
course) to other PC mouse vendors....
Glenview, IL Groupe Bull, a company owned by the French Government,
------------ has agreed to buy Zenith's Computer Division for
$635 million dollars by early 1990. Groupe Bull will
then become Europe's largest computer company, while
Zenith will be able to devote its full resources to
becoming dominant in the growing High Definition
Television (or HDTV) field, aimed at making TVs with a
better resolution.
Given that the US Government seems inclined towards
letting a US Company set the US HDTV standard, that
Zenith is the only US company that now makes TVs,
while having developed an HDTV system, and that the
company or group that establishes the US HDTV standard
will probably make billions of dollars from licensing
the technology alone....
Oddly, Groupe Bull's purchase may cripple Zenith's
Computer Division. It seems that, even though Zenith
Computers have won most major US military contracts
for the sale of PCs for years, Groupe Bull's ownership
of Zenith's Division makes the French Government a
major PC maker for the US Military. Resulting in that
the US Air Force is trying to transfer their PC Clone
Contracts to another US PC Maker, to protect national
security....
Tarrytown, NY Hitachi has extended its litigation against Motorola,
------------- by charging that the Motorola 88200 Memory Management
Unit (MMU), part of its 88000 RISC Architecture,
infringes on one of its US Patents for Hardware
Memory Management. Hitachi is also suing Motorola in
another lawsuit, saying the MMU in the 68030 chip
violates this patent....
Hopkins, MN Image Systems Corp., the same company who made the
----------- Video Board used in Moniterm's 1280*960 monochrome
monitor for the ST, has shown an Ultra-High Resolution
Color Board for the Mega ST, which will go in the
Mega ST Expansion Slot. It will provide a 1024*768
resolution in either monochrome, or 16 colors out of a
4096 color palette. Cost: $800.00....
In case you are interested in this board, which will
also have a socket for the Motorola 68881 math chip,
Image Systems' numbers are 1-800-462-4370, and
1-612-935-1171....
---====***====---
Errata: CPU Report Issue 34 stated that the Mac 512K ROMs contained in
======= Mac IIci included the Communications Toolbox, 32-bit Addressing,
Apple's Outline Font system, and many other features of Apple's
upcoming System 7.0 software. The Mac 512K ROMs will only contain
32-Bit Addressing with Virtual Memory, CL/1 Database Access
Support, 32-Bit QuickDraw, and the Communications Toolbox, in
addition to standard features....
_________________________________________________________________
> A KEY FIGURE STR Feature¿ Accomplishments which will never fade...
========================
"Old PR men never quit, they just fade away...."
================================================
by R.F.Mariano
Sig Hartmann, to many he is the stabilizing force at Atari, a man who
wears many hats and in fact, the most important hat of all is the smiling
face and the warm welcome accorded to those he comes in contact with. To
most of the folks in the Atari community, Sig has always made a streuous
attempt to help them through the difficult times and in many cases,
provided the correct solutions at just the right time.
For the biggest part of his career, Sig has been associated with the
Tramiels first at Commodore International and now at Atari. Many folks
are not aware of his deep involvement in high technology during his tenure
at TRW. His story has to be a story bordered on history itself for the
simple reason he has been involved with sophisticated technology since the
abacus was invented. At least it seems that way! No matter who one
speaks to, or where one mentions Sig's name in the computer electronics
field, he is well known and liked by all. In today's highly competitive
business world, this is no easy accomplishment.
When Sig first told us of his retirement plans, we were absolutely
devastated. In this man, we found a true stabilizing force in the stormy
relationship with Atari. He gladly provided an 'open door' and afforded
not only the STReport Staff, but most all the media folks an opportunity
to enjoy relatively stabilized relations with Atari Corp. With his
resignation and retirement, we doubt these conditions will prevail.
In discussing this retirement with other industry leaders they (almost
unanimously) felt that he would not be away from the 'business too long.
In fact, they were already wagering that he would be back almost
overnight.
For whatever may occur, we at STReport, have the warmest of regards
for Sig Hartmann and do extend our heartfelt desire for a healthy,
comfortable and successful retirement to Sig. We will certainly miss his
warm greetings when we would call Atari or meet him at the various shows.
We deeply hope that the powers to be at Atari find a niche at the
company for Sig, maybe a consultant or elder advisor. There is no doubt
his services are still sorely needed at Atari. The company must have his
stabilizing personality.
Good luck to you Sig, you'll not be forgotten....
______________________________________________________________
> TT - TT/X STR Tech Notes¿ BLOCK DIAGRAM - FUNCTIONS - FEATURES
========================
_____________ _______
| Midi in/out | mouse |
------------ | Joystk|
# -------
# #
__________ ___________ _____________ _________ _________
| MC 68030 | | ROM 512kb | | MC 1468 18a | |6850 ACIA| |6850 ACIA|
| 16mhz | | 4 x 1mbit | | | --------- ---------
---------- ----------- ------------- # #
# # # # #
######################################################################
# # _______________ ____________
____________ #####| Yamaha YM2149 |____| Centronics |
| MC 68881/2 | # | Sound Chip |__ | Parallel |
| 16 mhz | __________ # ---------------_ | ------------
------------ _| ST DMA | # __________________ | | ______________
___________ | | "ACSI" |## | Dual Purpose RAM || ----| Drive Select |
| ACSI port |- ---------- # | 2 mb 64 bits wide|| --------------
----------- | # ------------------ |
___________ _____________ # ______________ | _______________
| Flop port | | flop contrl |# | Memory Cntrl | | | Stereo Audio |
| 1mb - 2mb |-| WD 1772/2793|# -------------- | ---------------
----------- ------------- # ________ | | |
_________ ##| FUNNEL |--------| | _______________
| TT glue |######## --------|_ |_|_| Sound Shifter |
--------- # ________ | | ---------------
___________ ______ ##| FUNNEL |--------|___ _______ _______
| SCSI port | | SCSI | # -------- |-| VIDEO |-| Video |
| 25 pin "D"|###|Cntrol|###### ______________ |Shifter| | out |
----------- ------ ####| MCS 8901 MFP |__ ------- -------
# | 2.4576 mhz | | _______________
# -------------- |--| RS 232 Async. |
# | ---------------
# ______________ __| _______________
# | MCS 8901 MFP | |--| RS 232 Async. |
# | 2.4576 mhz | | ---------------
# -------------- | ________________
# |--|Ext. Interrupts |
# ----------------
_________ ______________ # _____________ __________________
| VME Bus | | VME - Bus | ##| NIBBLE Mode |#######| Sys. Ram Option |
| System |#| R32/D32 |## | Memory Cntr | | 4 - 16 mb Dram |
--------- | R24/D32 | # ------------- ------------------
| R24/D16 | #
-------------- #### _____________ ___________________
# | "A" Channel |-+-| RS 232 Serial 25p |
# |-------------| | |-------------------|
##|8530 SCC DMA | |_| LAN Systems |
|-------------| |-------------------|
| "B" Channel |---| RS 232 Async 9p |
------------- -------------------
- 16 Mhz Motorola 68030 full 32 bit microprocessor
- Optional math co-processor MC68881/68882 Floating Point.
- 2 mb or, 4 to 16mb of RAM
- 512 Kb of ROM in 4 1mb chips
- 1.44 Mb 3.5" floppy drive, will handle 2 drives
WD 1772/2793 controller.
- VME bus Eurocard expansion
[ TT ] - 1 single slot
[ TTX ] - 5 slots
- ACSI internal bus with external connector for expansion
- SCSI internal bus with external connector for expansion
- Serial ports:
------------
- 2 asynchronous RS-232 ports 68901 MFP
- 2 asynchronous/synchronous RS-232 ports (Appletalk or
PromiseLAN) Zilog 8530 SCC
- Parallel port Yamaha YM-2149
- MIDI in/out ports
- Keyboard port (including mouse and joystick)
- Digital 8 bit stereo sound
- Stereo audio output jack
Monitor output (6 modes): RGB and Monochrome
--------------------------------------------
VGA monitor for colour modes, special monochrome monitor
Video modes:
-----------
Resolution Colours Palette
========== ======= =======
320x200 16 4096
320x480 256 4096
640x200 4 4096
640x400 "Duochrome"
640x480 16 4096
1280x960 Monochrome
- Battery backed Time/Date clock and 50 byte RAM
- 145 watt power supply
- Desktop packaging
- Operating systems
- ST TOS - Unix V Release 3.1
Further, Atari added (verbally) that the co-processor was the 16 Mhz
68881 (just plug in the chip, for the small TT it is included in the TTX),
the digital sound was the same as that in the new 1040STE (enhanced 4096
colors etc.), and joystick ports would support current joysticks and the
new 15 pin analog joysticks (both machines). Also, expect to hear more
about "Demand Paging Memory Management" (Unix), GLS, X-Windows
BAD NEWS:
The monitors will be proprietry as the STs are.(ie NO EASY WAY TO HOOK
UP A MULTISYNC) although if you could get a cable/connector it should
be easy to setup.
TWO MODELS:
===========
TT
==
- A desktop version in an AT style case w/30mb Hard Disk (limited
expandability) 1 VME Bus slot A24/D16 Eurocard
- ABSOLUTELY NO UNIX ON THIS VERSION. This version will be
released first.... sometime around the end of October 1989 and
mid November.
TTX
===
- A Tower configuration w/60mb Hard Disk, Multiple hard drive -
floppy - optical drive bays (3+) Will support both TOS and Unix.
- 5 VME Bus expansion slots; A32/D32 - A24/D16 - A16/D16 Eurocard
- Unix will be a separate release Item (as per STart interview
with Sam T.)
- TTX Release dates not set but will be during 1990.
Nota Bene;
To be expected, there will be some unavoidable compatibility problems
but, Atari is taking all the neecessary steps to maintain an extremely
high level of downward compatibility with existing software.
_______________________________________________________________
> T16 by FAST TECH STR Spotlight¿ ZZZZZOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!
==============================
THIS IS IT, T16!
================
by R. F. Mariano
Not too long ago, the prototype of the T16 resided in my mega4, it
proved itself quite reliable at that time. And when it came time to allow
another developer the opportunity to test his products with this
magnificent device, the drop back to "stock" speed became painfully
unbearable.
That is all behind us now, as J. Allen has the T16 in full production
and the production model is now happily residing in my mega4 ..I do mean
happily too. This afternoon during a conversation with the Word Perfect
folks, the discussion evolved to the accellerator boards available and
which were preferred. To make a long story short, we compared speed by
using the Speller program's dictionary optimizer as a comparator. Under
normal operating standards ie; sans any acceleration, the average time
told to us by WP was twenty minutes. And, when done with the
accelerators was about 10 minutes or roughly half the normal time. Now
comes Mr. T16... how about 78 seconds? Thats right, 78 seconds to do the
very same thing.
By now, there are a number of very satisfied T16 owners and users.
Without any hesitation, we firmly believe this is the only accelerator to
own. When we a competitor jump up and savagely slash prices, we are left
with only one conclusion to draw, something is not quite right, there has
to be a solid reason behind trying to undermine and destroy the ST
accelerator market. We believe it is a last ditch effort of an "also-ran"
who lost and this price slash routine is a parting shot that will only
hurt the users who fall prey to such gimmicks. In most cases such as
this, the loser is about to abandon the market.. we could erred in our
view of this situation but in any case please if any of you are about to
buy the "cut rate" cheepie, think twice.
________________________________________________________________
> Virus Doctor STR Spotlight¿ Considering a key virus.
===========================
Wordup 2.0 Virus
================
by George R. Woodside
NEOCEPT has released an announcement regarding a virus on some copies
of their version 2.0 release disks, a portion of which is reproduced here:
"Neocept has discovered a HARMLESS virus on all of the WordUp v2.0
upgrades and new packages with serial numbers from WUP004000 to WUP004249.
This virus is completely harmless and does nothing more than copy itself
to the boot sector of all disks that are accessed. In fact, this virus
could arguably be called a "virus killer", since it wipes out any harmful
virus that may already occupy the boot sector. It is remotely possible
that this virus could be the "key" to activate some other virus, or that
this virus interacts to duplicate some other virus. However, Neocept has
already disassembled and looked closely at the virus, and can find no
indication of how it might act as a "key". To be safe, users should clear
out all but the first 32 bytes of the boot sectors of their WordUp disks,
using a disk editor or a virus killing program. ..."
I must raise some objection to portions of this announcement.
I will withhold comments about the responsibility of software
publishers regarding checking releases for viruses. I must, however, voice
strong protests at their attempts to downplay the significance of this
event.
While I have not yet received an exact copy of the virus, it has been
identified as the "KEY", "TYPE 1", or "SIGNUM BPL" virus, depending upon
the anti-virus software you favor.
There is no stretch of the imagination by which this virus could be
referred to as a "virus killer". It is a very real, fast spreading virus,
with dangerous side effects.
It WILL spread itself to the boot sector of any disk inserted into the
ST which the virus does not recognize as already containing a copy of the
virus. It will, therefore, overwrite the boot sector of a disk which must
be auto-booting, rendering the disk useless. It will spread throughout a
user's disk library quickly. It is already the most widespread virus in
the USA.
More dangerous than the spread of this virus, however, is the danger
it represents if it locates the "KEY" for which it is waiting. While the
virus must be on the boot sector of the disk in drive A during a power up
or reset to become activated, no such condition applies to the "KEY". If
the virus is active, and a disk bearing the "KEY" characteristics is
inserted into the ST, the virus will execute the code present on the "KEY"
disk as soon as that "KEY" disk is accessed. It does not require the ST to
be reset. As soon as the "KEY" disk is accessed, whatever code is
present on the "KEY" disk will be executed immediately. Of course, I will
not make public what that "KEY" is. All version of VKILLER will correctly
identify a "KEY" disk, should one emerge.
Let me make it perfectly clear that the virus on the WordUp v2.0 disks
is reported to NOT contain that "KEY". It will not harm systems, other
than to destroy boot sectors, as noted above. It will, however, cause a
system to fall victim to whatever code is present on a "KEY" disk, should
one be inserted into a system with this virus active. As of this writing,
neither I nor any of the other virus fighters I know have located a "KEY"
disk. No one, therefore, can warn you of what to expect if a "KEY" disk
turns up.
While I applaud NEOCEPT for going public with this warning, and
apparently stopping distribution of the virus quickly, I strongly disagree
with their attempts to lessen the gravity of the situation. This virus is
NOT "harmless", and is absolutely NOT a "virus killer". Viruses hurt
everyone in this industry, and must be fought at every opportunity.
_______________________________________________________________
> WAACE Comments STR Feature¿ "A great show and a terrific effort!"
==========================
by Ralph Mariano
We arrived at the Quality Inn friday evening and after taking care of
the normal formalities, we were actually in Fairfax ready for the Atari
fest. After a shower and a change of clothes, we planned to retreat to
the lounge, on the way, we met a statesman-like gent in the lobby whom I
immediately recognized as Sig Hartmann. After a short conversation, we
agreed to meet later for dinner. As he walked away, I turned and remarked
to Ron Deal, "he is quite a guy". Throughout the remainder of the weekend
I was to find myself repeatedly reminding myself of this fact.
While in the lounge I met Tom Harker and Craig Thom of ICD Inc.
accompanying them was John Eidsvoog of Codehead Software after the meeting
and greeting, I was then introduced to the young men from Doubleclick
Software. We remained in the lounge for a while, then as I looked up at
the fancy staircase I saw Sig descending to the lounge. He joined us,
(Ron Deal, Ron Brunk, Mike Vederman, Keith Gerdes and myself). After
ordering a Perrier and a twist, he began to tell us about Atari's future.
The only way to describe this mans ability, is compare his delivery to
that of most great politicians. Sig had the full attention of every
person in the party. After his short, but uplifting description of the
immediate future, we retired to the dining room where the hotel staff had
prepared a table for us.
Once we were settled in the dining room, Sig graciously accepted
questions from the fellows in our group. The answers were, to say the
least, quite straightforward and truthful. We were not quite ready for
such frankness, in fact, I will be the first to admit that Sig's outgoing
personality and truthfulness was the entire turning point for us. We saw
in him a trait and tactic we had not expected nor were we prepared for.
Never the less, it was most refreshing to find.
Bright and early Saturday morning found us at the Fairfax High School
watching all the hustle and bustle in setting up the various displays, Bob
Brodie was introduced to me by J. D. Barnes and shortly thereafter, Bob
asked if we would help in setting up the Atari booth, we were glad to help
and did so. I was fortunate to have a little 'quiet' time to look the
Portfolio over along with other goodies that were there. As I set up the
Megafile 60, a 60mb hard disk and the SLM 804, I couldn't help but notice
the speed of the new hard disk from Atari, then I set up the Megafile 44
and a mega 2. The '44' is very quiet and quite fast. As we were keying
in the last of the DTP system files, Sig arrived and saw we had indeed
setup the megas that were on display. He made a fuss over how he felt it
was a "true step in the right direction for both Atari and STReport".
(psst, I saw DesksetII and it looks very nice, the docs are extensive and
easy to follow. The effort placed in producing the program is more than
evident and it should become a winner for Atari.)
Sig's arrival on saturday morning would prove to become the simple
beginning to one of the most enjoyable days of my "Atari times". We spent
the morning meeting and greeting the vendors and developers throughout the
show and ..as time went on a very clear picture began to materialize.
A good percentage of all the folks we met with and discussed what they
thought needed improvement expressed almost the very same points. They
thought the equipment was excellent, they were concerned about the future
of the Mega, they had the utmost admiration for the machine and found
almost all the folks at Atari easy to deal with. With one nagging
exception, one individual's reputation and name kept creeping into the
conversations and everytime the name was mentioned a sad expression came
over Sig's face. He truly handled the continual flow of complaints about
this person better than any UN Ambassador could possibly have done. His
favorite expression concerning this individual was simple but very
eloquent, he said "give it time, all these things will correct themselves
with time, he will mature and then these problems will be no more." At
any rate, it certainly made sense to the folks and they seemed satisfied
with his response.
We accompanied Sig to the auditorium where he and Bob Brodie were to
hold the Atari seminar, the crowd was large and already assembled. The
seminar was quite candid and most of the folks seemed pleased with the
information Sig and Bob provided. In disagreement with some stories we
have seen on the networks there was no disrespect shown at any time. The
seminar itself was basically a question and answer session where the users
were given the opportunity to dispel any anxiety they harbored about
Atari's future.
Later in the day I met Sig once again at the STReport seminar. Most
attendees at the seminar expressed enjoying the exchange between myself
and Sig and remarked that they were impressed that the so-called friction
between STReport and Atari Corp. was non-existent. Many of the points
covered during the seminar boiled down to two major objectives. They were
a) "please communicate more openly with the userbase" and b) "Advertise,
please advertise."
All in all, the WAACE Atari fest was indeed a resounding success.
My Observations
===============
by Ron Brunk
I had the pleasure to attend the WAACE Atarifest in Washington DC, and
enjoyed every minute. Attendance was high by users (to judge from the
"depth" of crowds at every table), developers, and vendors, all of which
seemed enthusiastic about the whole affair.
Doubleclick software was there with their latest assortment of utility
software, DCSquish (compresses .prg/.acc/.ttp/.tos files), DCSea (self
extracting archiver), DCDeskorg (executable desktops), DCDeskey
(customized drop-down menus), DCExtract (an unarcing accessory as fast as
Dcopy) and DC Ramit (a super fast ramdisk).
CodeHead Software brought all of their software including G+Plus (the
only GDos to use), CodeHead Utilities (a very impressive array of programs
too numerous to go into here), and, of course, Multidesk (my personal
favorite).
SofTrek was there with TurboST 1.6, a utility that speeds up screen
output tremendously. They were even courteous enough to distribute their
beta version of 1.7 (an auto folder program this time) which is
significantly faster than 1.6.
A&D (Application and Design) was showing off UIS (Universal Item
Selector) III, although it was not yet ready for distribution. Upgrades
will be available for $7 plus the original disk. I've had this program so
long now I take it for granted. If you don't have it, check it out. It
replaces the normal item selector (appears when a file selection is
requested by a program) with a full featured file management utility.
Seymour-Radix had the latest version of IMG Scan (a poor mans scanner
which uses a dot matrix printer and fiber optic cable to scan images). I
was not impressed with the original version that I got a year ago, but the
demo being shown convinced me to send in my disk for the latest software,
as it looked very impressive.
Fast Technologies brought the Turbo16 accelerator (pant, pant!) which
speeds up the ST to a beefy 16 mhz for a mere $299.95. If I hadn't been
buying new software and updates right and left, I'd have gotten this
upgrade (sigh).
There were many other developers there I wish I'd spent more time with
dealing with MIDI and scanning software, but I wanted to avoid the
temptation (I spent my "budget" in the first hour there) so I regretfully
cannot accurately report on them (ICD belongs in this category). there
were also many commercial vendors, one of the most popular of which was
"1st Stop" who's two assistants (Ginger and Becky) drew a crowd all by
themselves.
There were many areas devoted to specific topics (like desktop
publishing, emulators, childrens software, and telecommunications) which
focused on demos of existing programs, and a miniature swapmeet of
software (which was actually just sales of used software).
I also had the pleasure of meeting a number of people from Genie whom
I've "read", but never met, the Williams (a delightful couple) and Darlah
(the Genie Sysop), all of whom I met briefly here and there at the 'fest
or the parties but was never able to spend any time with.
The real star of the whole affair was Sig Hartmann of Atari. Sig gave
a speech to the users explaining the recent happenings in Atari (assisted
by the new user group co-ordinator Bob Brodie who impressed me as a
positive addition to the Atari organization). Later in the day Sig
"attended" (read "participated in") the STReport forum (later referred to
as the "Sig and Ralph" show). Rumour has it an audio tape of the
conference exists, perhaps to be uploaded sometime in the future to our
favorite bulletin board/service.
I've tried to encapsulate an entire Atarifest into a few short
paragraphs, so I apologize to any developers/dealers/attendees who feel
"left out" of this report, but there was so much going on and I didn't
write anything down (except into my checkbook!). No, there was no TT or
ATW there and yes, there was "a" Stacey and Portfolio.
ctsy CIS
Date: 09-Oct-89 01:15 EDT
From: Bill Halvorsen [70347,1713]
Subj: Atarifest!!!
Ralph, it was a pleasure meeting you at the WAACE AtariFest over the
weekend. I really didn't have the chance to "set you straight" that I am
not the real driving force (more like menial worker) in the STatus disk
magazine pursuit; it's a joint effort by Charles Medley (who actually
wrote that reader shell in Assembly), Peter Liu, Alex Davis, and a few
contributing programmers/writers. My chores were writing 4 reviews and
doing a great deal of ASCII file fixing, disk duplication and similar
drudgery.
In other words, I'm not the brains behind the outfit, it's really
Charles Medley! There was a lot of interest shown, even quite a few
dealers out of state were interested in carrying future issues. Now as
you know, the challenge is to CREATE that next issue. I am being hounded
to write about the Ralph and Sig speeches and the overall Fest but right
now I AM BURNED OUT on the whole subject!!!!!
Anyway, good meeting you and again, I wanted to correct any
misconception I may have given you that I was a heavy in the magazine
thing. Naaaaah. Also, your speech was fantastic; and I must say Sig
seemed to acknowledge a lot that is going on, to the point of
acknowledging also that the struggle may seem very uphill at times....but
to keep on struggling. Very fine indeed. Yes, there is still a lunatic
fringe I hear that criticizes you 'cause you are not a "forgive all
loyalist", who will bow to whatever b.s. comes out of Sunnyvale. You are
right on the money - we love our ST's and we gotta kick the company into
continuing to make us like them!!!!!
Ctsy GEnie RT
Category 11, Topic 8
Message 250 Tue Oct 10, 1989
J.D.BARNES at 21:22 EDT
Important People from WAACE AtariFest '89
Over 125 people worked to make WAACE's AtariFest '89 the success that
it proved to be. At the risk of offending some people I want to point out
contributions by a small number of individuals who deserve special
recognition. If any one of these people had fallen asleep at the switch
Charles Smeton and I would have been at a complete loss to take up the
slack.
Bob Johnson:
-----------
Bob started early and energetically with the advertising campaign, which
he and Gary Purinton co-chaired. In the end he also took on the Desktop
Publishing demonstration room and organized a very informative series of
presentations. The Fest was always in the front of his mind and he pushed
it mercilessly on GENie and ARMUDIC and in personal phone calls.
Russell Brown:
-------------
In addition to his role as WAACE secretary, which he fulfilled very
effectively, Russ organized the banquet and the hotel accommodations. His
contributions in to sound, well- reasoned discussion throughout the
planning process were invaluable.
Gary Purinton:
--------------
In addition to his role as past chairman, in which he acted as a
storehouse of logistic knowledge, Gary provided a steadying influence as
co-chair of the advertising campaign. At the last minute he jumped in to
help out in the MS-Dos emulation room and he was one of the last to leave
when it came time to clean up.
Bill Brown:
-----------
As Site Manager Bill established an effective working relationship
with the school authorities and he used his engineering talents to ensure
a smooth fit of the Fest activities into the available space.
Steve Rudolph:
--------------
When, fairly late in the game, the organizers decided to put together
a printed program, Steve rose to the challenge. Within a space of three
weeks he had solicited over 120 vendors and had organized other diverse
sources of content into an attrac^S^Qtive and valuable publication.
Johnna Ogden:
------------
Johnna acted as mother hen to the many vendors who wanted to
participate in the Fest. She needed to constantly track their
requirements and to make sure that they lived up to their commitments.
She canvassed all corners of the Atari World to come up with an array of
interesting vendors and products. Dealing with these people required an
unusual amount of patience and perserverance.
How did we do?
I want to get my two cents in in time to help everyone keep a sound
perspective on our performance. While the bottom line, which I estimate
at 3000 visitors is not bad, it is also not the whole story.
The vendors to whom I talked were, for the most part, pleased. We
also had a better selection of vendors with innovative products. Time
will tell how well these catch on.
We also created an ambiance which attracted people from further away
than ever before. We also had more "celebrities", people like D. A.
Brumleve, Darlah, Ralph Mariano, Sig Hartmann, Bob Brodie, the Smalls,
etc.
Coverage from the Atari press, with;
ST Express, ST Informer, STReport, ZMag, and so on was virtually
unprecedented.
The seminars were generally well attended.
The ancillary events, like the developers' meeting and the user group
meeting seemed to be productive. If the initiatives undertaken in these
meetings take hold the Atari community will benefit for a long time to
come.
The partying was better than ever.
On the flip side we had some serious failures. The MS-DOS emulations
room suffered from a lack of support from the vendors as well as some
unforeseeable personnel problems. The hardware add-ons room likewise had
to be cancelled because of other demands on the personnel.
The person who was supposed to stage the MIDI demonstrations on Sunday
simply was not up to the task of doing that and operating a vendor booth
at the same time.
Several of the WAACE user groups simply did not muster the personnel
to present themselves effectively. The experiment with additional vendor
space was initially a failure because the space was too far removed from
the main flow.
The 8 bit folks who came did not find much to boost their spirits.
What about Next Year?
The WAACE folks have to sit down and analyze everything before we make
a commitment to an AtariFest '90. This show has clearly outgrown its
homespun roots. The costs and logistics of using hotel space, the
possibility of involving more outsiders, the role of the selling side of
the show, the need for an Atari-only event of some maginitude on the East
Coast. all of these have to be weighed against the resources we have
available.
___________________________________________________________
> MODEMIZING! STR FOCUS¿ Another noble purpose for using a modem.
=====================
MAXIMIZING MODEM FUN
====================
Now, challenge a modem opponent through game challenge forum
(Oct. 3)
When you think about playing a game, whether it's a good old fashioned
game of Monopoly or a high-tech power match of Flight Simulator 3, chances
are you play not only for the challenge but also for the interaction.
Although playing a game of solitaire has its time and place, there is
nothing quite like an exciting match that pits you against a living,
breathing opponent.
Interactive computer game aficionados who find themselves desperately
seeking opponents for modem-to-modem electronic games need look no
further. The Challenge Board working in tandem with the Game Challenge
Forum can serve as your electronic link to opponents the world over for
several high-tech games, including Falcon, Modem Wars, Flight Simulator 3,
Empire, 'Vette, 688 Attack Sub, Omega, Battle Chess, 3D Helicopter and
Micro Sports Football League.
To find an actual opponent for Falcon, Modem Wars, Flight Simulator 3,
Empire and 3-D Helicopter, visit The Challenge Board where you can list
your name and search the database by area code and state for other players
in your local dialing area. The Board also can be used to coordinate
nationwide tournaments.
Each of the five games has its own Challenge Board, containing news
announcements from the game publisher, a database of players and an
option for you to list your name, handle and telephone area code and
phone number for others to see.
The new Game Challenge Forum is an ideal place to not only get expert
and fast answers to your complex gaming questions, but it also serves as
an electronic gathering place for game lovers. Here you can share your
experiences and talk to your opponents in real time through the
conferencing areas. Players can also use the forum to discuss the outcome
of games and plan new strategies for future play.
In addition, players of modem games that are not represented on The
Challenge Board can use the forum to find opponents. "Playing a game
against another human being via modem, rather than against a machine, is
very challenging and can be extremely enjoyable," says Game Challenge
Forum Sysop Mike Schoenbach. "It also offers a different type of
satisfaction when you know there's someone else on the other end."
One unique game supported by the Game Challenge Forum is Micro Sports
Football League, a popular computer football simulation. A player uploads
the game strategy to an opponent in the forum, downloads the opponent's
strategy and then both play the game offline. MSFL is a fully animated,
fast- action football game that lasts nine to 20 minutes. Since the game
is not actually played modem-to-modem, opponents the world over can be
located through the forum for just the price of a few minutes on
CompuServe. MSFL is the only game in the forum to also offer a running
online game. For more information, check out section and Library 15 of the
forum.
In addition, the Game Challenge Forum offers two modem games from
PC-ARENA available for downloading. PC-CHESS is a modem chess game that
has been praised by reviewers for its excellent board design and play
options. The telegaming system contained in the program handles dialing,
connection and play and acts as the host in each inter- computer session
with a partner.
Also available is PC-OTHELLO, a modem-to-modem version of the popular
board game Othello. Communications, scoring, player prompting, move
judging and board setup are all managed by the program. Both games are in
Library 14.
Schoenbach says future plans for the new forum are the planning of
game tournaments. Anyone who is interested in participating in a modem to
modem game tournament should contact him at User ID 76703,4363.
For more information, consult the Game Challenge Forum (GO CHALFORUM)
and The Challenge Board (GO CHALLENGE).
-- Cathryn Conroy
________________________________________________________
> TOS 1.4 STILL? STReport OnLine¿ And still, mis-information thrives!
==============================
Category 14, Topic 32
Message 304 Wed Oct 11, 1989
M.ABREU at 23:46 EDT
I called Atari today to find out where I might get a TOS upgrade
installed in my system. "No dealers in North Carolina have ordered the
TOS upgrade yet. You might want to call back in a couple of weeks to see
if anyone has." I asked who my nearest dealers were anyway. Something I
thought would be nice to know. It turns out the closest dealer is only 50
miles away (surprise to me). I got their number.
I called the dealer and was told that he was aware that a new version
of TOS was available, but he was not ordering it for at least 6 months.
I asked why and he said, "well it's got a few bugs in it and it'll
probably take a few months to get them worked out." He did offer to order
one for me now, but he strongly urged me not t
o. He also asked me what
price was posted here on GEnie. I told him "$99.95 plus labor," and he
said he would probably install the upgrade for free.
First, I know that waiting 6 months isn't gonna get me a different,
better, fixed version of TOS. I know my dealer's off-base on this point.
No surprise considering the poor Atari --> Dealer communications I've read
about all too often here on GEnie. FYI, the dealer is SoftwarePlus in
Jacksonville, NC. Go easy on them if you call because I might need their
support someday.
Second, $100+ bucks is a lot to pay for an OS upgrade when you
consider that a MAC user can walk into an Apple dealership with floppies
in hand and walk out with an OS update for nothing (this is what I've
heard). I was waiting to see if there was ever gonna be a TOS upgrade
before I invested anymore $$$ in this system, but now I'm not sure I even
want to pay for the TOS upgrade.
Not getting full documentation for the upgrade is unbelievable, which
makes spending the $$$ that much harder.
Third, someone said earlier "you get what you pay for", and that's
certainly true with Atari. We shouldn't complain too much considering the
price we paid for the hardware. I'm not sorry I have this ST, but I'm not
foolish enough to believe it'll ever be in the same ballpark as a MAC.
Category 14, Topic 32
Message 305 Thu Oct 12, 1989
TOWNS at 02:32 EDT
It is up to you. If you feel the upgrade is worth your while, then
please purchase it. If you like your machine the way it is then don't
purchase it.
However, I would urge you to read some of the messages in this
category from people who have purchased it. It is a very big improvement.
I will attempt to contact your dealer about this problem and set him
straight. Don't worry, I am not going to hurt him! :-)
-- John
In light of the problems emanating from information obtained through
customer service folks, who seem hard pressed for real information or
perhaps it's the department heads who must satisfy ego appetites by
asserting themselves and injecting erroneous or flawed procedure into the
policy making process at Atari, we don't know ....yet. We do know that a
great many individuals are coming away from a telephone call to Atari
totally disillusioned by the "facts" they are getting from customer
service. We are sure this is not the same department supervised by Ms.
Diana Goralczynik as we have dealt with her on a number of occasion and
found her and her staff more than competent and eager to help and satisfy.
We do feel it is incumbent on Atari employees (all) to continually
preach the wonders of the product line and not project an attitude of
being aloof or behave as if they are on the outside acting as an
un-involved observer. It is easy to realize that the majority of the
'outspoken' Atari employees are young and perhaps in need of more
experience in the basic skills of 'dealing' with all kinds of people.
With this thought behind us, perhaps it is time for Atari to rethink
it's approach to the users entirely. By this we mean they should take the
blindly loyal and the intensely dissatisfied and look at both as a
possible source of problems among the 'masses'. Atari, to be fair has
never had to deal with a society as outspoken as the US social structure.
After all, in Europe, it is easy to see that the general public is still
under the direct influence of tradition and that dictates that the respect
be totally in place for authority, accomplishment and station. That just
isn't the case in the USA and as soon as they in Sunnyvale realize this
and begin to deal with this fact in a positive manner, attitudes will
rapidly change.
Atari, has never, in it's history in the states shown any real respect
toward it's dealers, large or small, the best we have heard is that to
some they never said you "will" do this or that, they asked. But on the
other hand to most they did make demands and got away with it. No doubt,
the two extremes in the customer base are indeed a source of unrest but it
must be pointed out that the situation is really caused by Atari itself.
And most directly by a severe lack of communication with the customer base
and most of all, a total lack of understanding the wants and needs of the
customer base.
Possibly, the best manuever on Atari's part now would be to provide
the dealers with an E-Prom burner kit for a fee, and allow the dealers to
burn the 'proms on site for their customers and of course, for a greatly
reduced amount of money. Additionally, a wise and prudent company would
also make every effort to ensure sure the 2 chip x 1mb ROM were made
available ASAP. The level of problems and difficulties arising from the
six chip set being forced (hacked) to operate in machines basically
designed to operate with the 2 chip is rising at an alarming rate. Must
this condition become another in the long line of obstinate and damaging
decisions made by the wigs at Atari? Or is it possible this issue can
become the turning point and solid foundation for the building of the 'New
Atari'? Only time will tell.
__________________________________________________________________
> ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿ Sayin' it like it is....
======================
- Westchester, PA. ***** COMMODORE TO SPEND MILLIONS FOR ADS *****
---------------
During the fourth quarter (1989) Commodore is planning to support the
Amiga with an aggressive multi - million dollar campaign designed to light
a fire under the holiday season sales. The campaign will include TV print
ads, direct mail and point of purchase materials. The highlight of the
plan is a series of memorable TV commercials produced by * Lucasfilm. *
It is estimated that between October and December 92% of all U.S.
Adults should see the Amiga commercials an average of 20 times. That
should really make all the loyal Atari ST users proud...(tongue in cheek)
Atari, in the meantime, finds itself quite comfortable in it's
grandiose and totally deficient reasoning, "we will not advertise because
we have little or no distribution channels". Last year it was no dram,
the year before it was a "small dealer base". We submit it is a double
edged catastrophe being thrust on the US market, the first being; totally
inept leadership who are incapable of grasping the enormity of the US
Market and the second a severe case of yellowstripe and the "cheaps".
Ever wonder why the European market thrives?? Easy, the Katzenjammer are
far enough away from it.. thus, unable to munge it up!
- San Francisco, CA. ***** SHIRAZ SHIVJI JOINS MOMENTA *****
------------------
Kahmran Elahian, a co-founder of Cirrus Logic, has attracted $5
million dollars in venture capital for a Milpitas-based startup group
called Momenta that plans to make easy-to-use portable computers. His
management team includes Shiraz Shivji, a veteran of Commodore
International and Atari Corp. who developed the Atari ST computer and is
widely known as the father of the ST. Shivji, who left Atari under a
cloud of double talk about his 'failing health' while the 'wigs' went to
Hanover, holds a superb track record as a 'can-do' individual. Congrats
to Shivji, and caveats to the chef....
- Washington, DC ***** STACY RELEASE MODEL SHOWN *****
--------------
On display at the WAACE Atarifest was the new and 'late on arrival'
Stacy, Atari's new portable CPU. It has all the earmarks of becoming a
blockbuster release. Once the FCC gets done protecting television sets
and finding ways to justify their leech-like existence, we may see the
Stacy gain type acceptance and become a player on the US market. One
can't help but wonder, at times, if the bureaucracy needs serious trimming
or at least retraining. TV receivers are quite a bit better built than
those at the time the FCC requirements and guidelines were written. Yet,
we find that other high tech products are forced into complying with
outdated and expensive filtration and emission specs. More than one
product has died a horrible and costly death because of the sham called
type acceptance. Ultimately, it costs the taxpayers heavily for this
debacle. You can bet that the losses incurred over rejected products by
the FCC are directly written off corporate taxes.
- New York City, NY ****** LYNX A WINNER, IF EVER RELEASED ******
-----------------
In a recent review of both the Game Boy and the Atari Lynx, it was
stated by the reviewer that; "If I hadn't seen the Atari Lynx, I'd say
that the Game Boy was a suitable portable machine. The Lynx, however, is,
by far, the better choice. Of course, it's also more expensive. My
recommendation, then, is to save your dollars and get the Lynx. But, if
you absolutely can't afford it, the Game Boy is still better than
nothing." The Lynx's pictures are in vivid color, while the Game Boy's
screen is monochrome and prone to image blurring. The Lynx review is
almost 100% positive, and they really praise the backlit color LCD screen
and the smooth scrolling. Now, if * only * Atari gets this thing to
market.
_______________________________________________________________
> HARD DISK SYSTEMS STReport InfoFile¿ The affordable alternatives...
===================================
NEW PRICES! & MORE MODELS!!
============================
ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC.
P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
Est. 1985
_________________________________________
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT
BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 PM - 6 AM EDT
_________________________________________
HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET
_____________________________________
All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST
are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s).
ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE
(you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!)
(all cables and connectors installed)
SEAGATE HARD DISK MECHANISMS ONLY!
ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED
EXCLUSIVELY
* OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
*** CALL FOR OUR SPECIAL PRE-HOLIDAY GIFT PRICES! ***
32mb #SG32238 539.00 42mb #SG44710 595.00
51mb #SGN4951 629.00 65mb #SG60101 679.00
80mb #SGN296 709.00 100mb #SG84011D 969.00
130mb #SG1244D 1099.00 145mb #SG3A4210 989.00
170mb #SGT41776 1389.00 260mb #SG1244Q 2169.00
320mb #SGN7788Q 3295.00
Listed above are a sampling of the systems available.
Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations
(over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)
*** ALL Units: Average Access Time: 24ms - 34ms ***
ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> MAGIC SAC - PC-DITTO/II - SPECTRE/GCR
LARGER units are available - (special order only)
* Removable Media Devices Available (44mb) Syquest 555 *
*** Available for ST - Amiga - IBM ***
LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
- Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets -
TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets
ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED
12 month FULL Guarantee
(A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)
Quantity & Usergroup Discounts Available!
_________________________________________
DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!
Personal and Company Checks are cheerfully accepted.
ORDER YOURS TODAY!
904-783-3319 9am - 8pm EDT
_____________________________________________________________________
> A "Quotable Quote"¿
=================
"To be consumed by hatred and vendetta.....
is to be nourishment for evil itself!"
"ATARI IS BACK!"
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ST-REPORT¿ Issue #109 "Your Independent News Source" October 13, 1989
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ½ copyright 1989
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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.
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