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Silicon Times Report Issue 0628
*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
_____________________________________
from
STR Publishing Inc.
""""""""""""""""""
July 13, 1990 No.6.28
=======================================================================
STReport Online Magazine¿
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/14.4
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EDT
_________________________________________
** F-NET NODE 350 ** 500mb Online **
STR'S owned & operated support BBS
carries ALL issues of STReport Online Magazine
and
An International list of private BBS systems
carrying STReport Online Magazine for their users enjoyment
__________________________________________________________________
> 07/13/90: STReport¿ #6.28 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
-------------------------
- THE EDIIOR'S DESK - CPU REPORT - CPU STATUS REPORT
- WINDSOR ATARIFEST - WAACE Updates - KAYPRO BANKRUPT?
- FCC NAILS MA BELL - ROSETTA/CHRONOS - STR CONFIDENTIAL
* EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LEXICOR! *
* REVISED SOFTREK SUPER OFFER! *
* SPECIAL REPORT -> EXPLORER - WHERE?? *
==========================================================================
ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE¿
"Only UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
-* FEATURING *-
Current Events, Up to Date News, Hot Tips, and Information
Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
==========================================================================
STReport's support BBS, NODE # 350 invites systems using Forem ST BBS to
participate in Forem BBS's F-Net mail network. Or, Please call # 350
direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging ideas about
the Atari ST computers through an excellent International ST Mail Network.
==========================================================================
AVAILABLE ON: COMP-U-SERVE ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX
==========================================================================
> The Editor's Podium¿
In the last few weeks we have seen a number of relativly strong
opinions posted by 'well informed' online regulars concerning the
'negative' content of STReport and of course, the comments of its editor,
Who me? <grin>.
For the record, this editor is an absolute, diehard Atarian. In all
instances, the information was published or brought up in a sincere effort
of trying to ensure that re-occurances would not be the norm or, that the
Tramiel Bros. would be made aware. There were those who felt Sam, Leonard
and Garry were unfairly targeted. On that point I strongly agree, they
have been unfairly targeted. However, the cause for the most part, is
that they seemed to be out of touch with the wants, likes and dislikes of
the userbase. In fact, in the last three years, both singularly and
collectively, they may have given a whole new meaning to business
management and manufacturing. To be fair though, they are not solely
responsible, their advisors have most certainly dropped the ball on more
than one serious occasion. The target needs to be made much bigger.
As far as the Tramiel Bros. being unfairly held responsible, well now,
that's another story. The old tried and true adage by Pres. Harry Truman;
"The Buck Stops Here", fits ever so perfectly. If for example, something
is a grand success, they will bask in the comfortable limelight of
compliment and vis-a-vis, with the course of current events the way they
are at this time, they should justifiably bathe in the hot and revealing
lights of the user's interrogatories.
It is still STReport's main contention that there is a great deal of
'grass roots' information being re-directed away from the Tramiel Bros.
and therefore they are 'sheilded' from many of the everyday issues by
their "well-meaning" subordinates. That is, until the minor everyday
incidents blow up to such outrageous proportions that there is no hiding
them any longer. By that time, the userbase is usually vicitmized by the
subordinates as either "constantly complaining or overly reactive."
Times are changing though, with the Director of North America about to
take the reigns and now coupled with Bill Crouch planning a massive
marketing assault upon the USA market, we all can expect to see a brighter
future for our favorite machines.
With this year more than half over, nothing much has changed from last
year at this time except the TT is closer to a reality and we now see the
Lynx in full distribution. The US userbase's hopes are higher than now
than in recent months. Hang in there folks, no matter what happens in the
immediate future, we still have quite a machine to use on a daily basis.
Thanks for your support,
Ralph.......
"THE ONLINE MAGAZINE OF CHOICE!"
Often chosen more than once!
***********************************************************************
> CPU REPORT¿
==========
Issue # 75
----------
by Michael Arthur
Remember When....
In July 1976,Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak shipped the first Apple I,
which was sold in the form of a kit, or how in April 1977, the Apple II
was introduced (selling for $3000.00), which helped Apple become a Fortune
500 company?
Or when (in May 1980), the Apple III was introduced, which was so
buggy and incompatible that Apple eventually re-engineered it, helping the
IBM PC to become successful in the business markets which the Apple III
was aimed at?
CPU INSIGHTS
============
KAYPRO GOES CHAPTER 11, AS SEC INVESTIGATES FINANCIAL RECORDS
-------------------------------------------------------------
Kaypro Corp., which played a pioneering role in the microcomputer
industry, is now in a state of financial turmoil. They recently filed for
protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. At this time, Roy
Salisbury was serving as Kaypro's President, with members of the FCS
Consulting Group managing Kaypro. Andrew Kay (who is Founder, Chairman
of the Board, and controlling shareholder of Kaypro) was fired as CEO.
However, soon after this, Andrew Kay's attorneys obtained a court
order for a meeting of Kaypro's Board of Directors. In this meeting, Ray
Salisbury and other members of his consulting group were REMOVED from
Kaypro's management. Ben Fisher, a longtime Kaypro employee was appointed
by Kaypro's Board (which was dominated by Andrew Kay's supporters) as
Kaypro's President/CEO. However, this series of powerplays may have been
in vain, because of the company's current condition.
The SEC has also "told" Kaypro to produce financial records for 1988
and 1989. However, Kaypro has now lost their NASDAQ stock listing
precisely because they weren't able to file their annual financial report
for last year. Investigators auditing Kaypro have been unable to make a
report on the company's financial statements because of serious
"deficiencies" in Kaypro's accounting records. Meaning that they can't
determine Kaypro's finances for Fiscal Year 1989. Also, Kaypro's current
management can't even say whether its previous financial reports are
accurate or not, let alone its current financial records for 1990. As a
result, Kaypro has indicated that it is not wise to invest in the company
at this time....
Amid this scene of financial anarchy, Kaypro announced that it will
resume production in order to fill a $500,000 backlog in back orders for
Kaypro computers, and $1 million in orders received after Salisbury was
ousted from management. However, Kaypro CEO Ben Fisher has tried to
reassure the entire financial community by saying that Kaypro has "trimmed
expenses and expects to show profitability very soon".
CPU MacNews¿
===========
RADIUSTV, GENLOCKS, AND WATCHING TV WITH A COMPUTER
---------------------------------------------------
Radius Inc. has recently introduced RadiusTV, a NuBus Expansion
Board for the Mac II which uses genlocking technology to display TV/Video
images on a resizable Macintosh Window. It can digitize and display live
16-bit (65,536 color) video images in real-time (30 frames/second), and
allows these images to be saved onto the Mac Clipboard. Cost: $2800.00.
RadiusTV also integrates all of the elements of a TV signal into its
operation, meaning that you can do several things with it (like viewing
closed captions and adjusting calibration settings) that you can do with
a regular TV. As part of this, RadiusTV has a cable-ready TV tuning
system, and can display NTSC Video from many devices, including:
- TV/Cable Broadcasts - Video Cameras
- Laserdisc players - VCRs and video cassette players
With RadiusTV, one can also select and control several video
devices via software. Radius has also bundled a comprehensive set of
developer tools for RadiusTV, allowing multimedia (read: desktop video)
applications like MacroMind Director to utilize its features.
Interestingly enough, Radius is marketing RadiusTV as a "platform"
for "business television, image capture, interactive training, education,
and presentations".
> CPU STATUS REPORT¿ >>>> LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS! <<<<
=================
- Cambridge, MA LOTUS WINS CASE AGAINST 1-2-3 CLONES
-------------
Lotus Corp. recently won a copyright infringement case against
Paperback Software (maker of VP Planner) and Stephenson Software, who
makes a spreadsheet product called The Twin. The US District Court found
that the user interfaces of VP Planner and The Twin infringed on the
copyrighted Lotus 1-2-3 user interface. Lotus still has a similar case
pending against Mosaic Software, maker of another 1-2-3 "Clone"....
In the case, Judge Keeton stated that "the user interface of 1-2-3
is its most unique element", and is what made it so popular. Lotus has
said that this case reaffirms that copyrighted portions of software will
be protected under law. However, Paperback Software intends to appeal
the decision, and may be joined by other spreadsheet makers who are being
sued by Lotus.
However, this ruling says that a program's menu command structure is
an "original work", and can presumably be copyrighted. However, several
industry analysts say that Judge Keeton has wrongly maintained that a
program's user interface and command structure is more important than its
features or functionality. If so, then this ruling may have only confused
the issue....
- Washington, DC FCC ORDER SLASHES $1.1 BILLION FROM US PHONE BILLS
--------------
The Federal Communications Commission (or FCC) has ordered a series
of reductions in the fees charged by companies like Southwestern Bell for
local phone number service, which will result in a $1.1 billion dollar
break in consumers' phone bills.
Interestingly, the local phone companies themselves only proposed a
$400 million dollar cut. The FCC found that local phone companies made
inaccurate projections of cost and demand for such services (as well as
overestimating certain expenses), and used these projections to charge
excessive rates. Last year, the "baby Bells" gained $19 billion from
these fees....
The FCC has also found that several "baby Bells" (including NYNEX,
Southwestern Bell, BellSouth, and Ameritech) charged their political
lobbying costs to their operating expense accounts. MCI and Allnet have
asked the FCC to investigate whether the "baby Bells" are pushing the cost
of their political lobbying efforts to consumers....
- Mountain View, CA ADOBE TYPE MANAGER OUT FOR WINDOWS 3.0
-----------------
Adobe Systems has introduced a version of Adobe Type Manager(or ATM)
for Microsoft Windows 3.0. ATM will allow Windows 3.0 applications to
automatically display Postscript fonts (scaled to any size), and to print
them using ANY printer, Postscript or non-Postscript. It will be shipping
in September. Cost: $100.00.
ATM/Windows contains the Standard 13 set of Postscript fonts (Times,
Courier, Helvetica, and Symbol). However, most Postscript laser printers
use the Standard 35 set of Postscript fonts. Therefore, Adobe has also
announced that when ATM/Windows ships, that the Adobe Plus Pack (which
provides the 22 other fonts in the Standard 35 set) will also be
available. Cost: $200.00....
- Cambridge, MA LOTUS PUTS QUATTRO PRO, UNIX MAKER UNDER SIEGE
-------------
Only days after its lawsuit win, Lotus is suing Borland Inc. and the
Santa Cruz Operation (maker of SCO Xenix), charging that their spreadsheet
programs (Quattro Pro and SCO Professional, respectively) violate Lotus's
copyrights. Lotus alleges that the recent ruling indicates that 1-2-3's
command structure and user interface are copyrightable, and that both of
these spreadsheets have violated Lotus' copyrights.
However, Quattro Pro provides features and commands NOT found in
1-2-3, which may weaken Lotus' case. However, this case stands a good
chance of clarifying what parts of software programs cannot be imitated,
and may settle the issue over how important a program's "look and feel" is
to its sales and popularity.
Interestingly, the Software Publisher's Association recently found
that Quattro Pro now owns over 28 percent of the PC Spreadsheet market (up
from 5 percent from when it was introduced in 1989), and that Lotus hasn't
regained the market share it lost while developing 1-2-3 Version 3.0....
_______________________________________________________
> LEXICOR, ST's FUTURE! STR FOCUS¿ * EXCLUSIVE *, In-depth Interview!
================================
LEXICOR, in ST's FUTURE!
=======================
STR -- = STReport
Lee -- = Lee Seiler, Vice President
LEXICOR SOFTWARE CORP.
58 Redwood Road
Fairfax, Ca 94930
A candid interview with Lee M. Seiler of LEXICOR SOFTWARE CORPORATION.
STR -- Lee, I understand that LEXICOR is a brand new company devoted to
the Atari market and its software authors. Please, tell us a
little about LEXICOR?
Lee -- YES that's true...LEXICOR is actually a small corporation made
up of former ANTIC developers. Last year ANTIC lost interest in
further development of the CYBER series. We got together and
decided to form our own company and continue development on our
own work.
STR -- Can you tell us who some of these people are..?"
Lee -- YES...Paul Dana, Dave Ramsden, Mark Kimbel, including Jim Kent
who, while not actually doing any programming, has been a valued
adviser on some aspects of our work and Robert Birmingham who was
not with Antic but is an exceptional programer.
STR -- With the depression of the ATARI market and all the footdragging
from ATARI in addition to ATARI's lack of interest in the US
market, is seems that starting a new company to support ATARI
computers would be a bit risky?
Lee -- Not at all...in fact, the ATARI market could not be better...let
me explain...While everything you suggest is true to some extent
it does not naturally follow that the US Market place is to be
avoided. Your inference is right that many companies are no
longer producing products for the ATARI computer and some have
gone out of business. But this is due to their failure to
recognize the ATARI market for what it actually is in stead of
what they think it should be.
STR -- I'm not sure I understand what you mean??..could you be more
specific?
Lee -- OK, Take ANTIC for example,last year we were working on new
products as independent developers with the understanding that
ANTIC would buy the finished programs we were working on and add
them to the CYBER STUDIO series. But suddenly we discovered from
Jim Chapperal that ANTIC sales had fallen drastically and that
the ATARI market was not worth the cost of completing development
of our new software. This was about the time that Charles Cherry
went to ATARI.
STR -- I see, however, are you saying that the ATARI market has IMPROVED
since then?
Lee -- By no means, in fact it has gotten even worse, so much so that a
majority of the general users talking on Compuserve relates to
how bad the ATARI support is from both ATARI and second and third
party companies.
STR -- Well now I am really confused!...You seem to be saying that the
ATARI market is very good on one hand and contradicting yourself
on the other hand by admitting that the same market is worse than
ever?? Which is the case?
Lee -- Yes, it does seemingly appear to be contradictory, superficially
though. The reality here is in what shape the ATARI market
actually is in. Not how it appears at first glance. In the
first place, you must accept the fact that the US ATARI market
for ATARI CORP. is a secondary market. This is a fact evidenced
by their performance and is not likely to change anytime soon.
Next; this secondary market is a very limited market. It's
ability to support products, new or otherwise, are well defined.
To remain in business in this marketplace, the basic rules of
supply and demand must be strictly adhered to, violate these
rules and you are lost! This is exactly what has been happening.
A good example is ANTIC'S misconception of those rules and the
actual state of the market, this was demonstrated by their cut
back in Cyber support and the eventual dropping of all further
development of Cyber Studio Products.
STR -- I see and understand your points, Now, please can you give us an
example or two of your meaning?
Lee -- Of course, ANTIC found that their sales were dropping and wrongly
believed that the ATARI users were throwing their computers in to
the trash can and flocking to the MAC and AMIGA markets! They
also assumed (wrongly) that the solution was to chase after the
fleeing users. They seemed to think that it was necessary to, in
some way, get those users to switch from a MAC or AMIGA to the
ATARI computers and that this would only happen if ATARI Corp
built, advertised and sold more and better products in the US
with emphasis on heavy advertising. This was, of course, not at
all what was happening.
STR -- So you are saying that what really happened was that they just
sold out their limited market??
Lee -- That's right!
STR -- I see...you mean that a limited market will sell only limited
numbers and when it becomes saturated... sales drop off!
Lee -- Correct. And the only way a company can continue in this sort
of market, which is quite limited is to offer new material, built
on the existing foundation, which is what we are thoroughly
involved in.
STR -- Exactly what have you done along these lines....I have seen
your advertisement in various hardcopy publications and it
appears you are offering some extremely powerful programs?
Lee -- First we have created a new series of CAD3D programs which make
it possible for an ATARI owner to actually become an OFF-LINE
graphics work station. We call our program series " PHASE-"4".
This series consist of four parts...the first is ROSETTA3D which
is a super fast CAD object viewer and translation program. The
second is Chronos 3D which is a motion control module, Next is
Kinetic which consist of players and utility programs the last is
Prism which is our high-res rendering package which includes
prism AGE our High res graphics program. We have also gathered
the best hardware talent available to create more color at useful
resolutions for use in animation on the ATARI.
STR -- What do you mean by a "translation" program?
Lee -- You can import 8 different file formats and then view the object
and export back into any of the import formats you wish including
the P.I.X.R " RIB" file format. You can also do draft animation
sequences with ROSETTA in 1024X768 in 16 colors and save it as a
.DLT file which allows the user in a commercial environment to
create and show in real time first quality draft animations to
customers. You can also save out 1024X768 by 16 color files and
load them back into Cyberpaint for viewing at the 320X200
resolution. Also supported is the full 4096 color pallet.
STR -- What are some of the file formats ROSETTA will handle?
Lee -- .DXF, .DXB, .3D, .3D2, .3D4, .Swivel 3D, Renderman RIB, Amiga
sculpt 3D, Mack sculpt 3D ....
STR -- That's impressive.....I have seen some of your animations were
those made using ROSETTA?
Lee -- Yes and NO... The mermaid which is a 15K vertices object was done
in ROSETTA...it is a simple rotation about all three axis.. while
the shattering glass with reflections and reflection distortion
was done using Chronos3D. The eischer was done using both
programs.
STR -- Tell us a little about "Chronos"..?
Lee -- This program is the heart of "PHASE-"4".....it is a fully
featured object motion control program which requires no command
line operations.
STR -- .......You mean its mouse driven...?
Lee -- Yes, the only keyboard input is option imputes and file path
selection, everything else is mouse driven.
STR -- Your advertisement claims "..cut, copy and paste time itself...."
What exactly does that statement mean to the user?
Lee -- Please, allow me describe the new CYBER world as it now exists!
Our CYBER Universe is now 400 times bigger than the one
discovered by ANTIC, in this new universe you can have objects so
large, they can't possibly be created in CAD3D2 and are only
approached by Cyber sculpt. There is no limit to the number of
objects in this new Universe other than system memory. In this
new and wonderful Universe you can see both into the past and
into the future. You can do this from any point in both time and
space.
In this universe, which the user defines, you may cut, copy and
paste any object both where it exists and when it exists. So you
see, the user can both see the past he has created and the future
he wishes to create, the user may cut an object from their own
past and paste it into it's own future, the reverse is also true
as well. Objects can be transformed from one existence to
another. There is no longer any requirement for an object to
have a fixed number of faces and vertices.
STR -- wait a minute.....are you saying that you can change a 4 vert..
pyramid with 4 faces into ........
Lee -- .....Into say, an X-29 reversed wing fighter having thousands of
verts and faces. YES that exactly what can now be done!"
STR -- That sounds exciting.....but it sounds a little too good to be
true!!! How is this accomplished?"
Lee -- If I told you that, everyone would be writing our programs and we
would be on the beach...
STR -- What else can you do in Chronos?...
Lee -- I know this will sound boastful, but you will be able to do just
about anything you can imagine and much of which you thought to
be impossible on an ATARI ST.
STR -- Like what for instance...?
Lee -- As far as chronos goes..... or PHASE-"4" is concerned....?
STR -- An example of each will be just fine....
Lee -- The user will be able to display 16 million colors in 256 pixel
resolution on the standard SC1224, as well as 1024X768 depending
on the users system hardware.
STR -- Well that's great, but it sounds like the user may in store for
major hardware or equipment modifications. True?
Lee -- Yes, however it certainly won't be as difficult as one might
expect. Or for that matter, as expensive as imagined. We are
supporting the ISAC High Res color board made by J. Craswell at
IMAGE SYSTEMS for all those who want big screen word processors
and technical drawing such as is found in DYNA-CAD. We have also
developed our own TRUE 24-BIT color Board and are currently
negotiating the manufacturing arrangements with several high
quality hardware manufacturers.
STR -- Are you at liberty to disclose who these manufactures are..?"
Lee -- YES.....Practical Solutions and IMAGE SYSTEMS are currently
engaged in the manufacture of our hardware applications.
STR -- Sounds expensive. Any idea of the cost to the end user?
Lee -- Our entire software package will retail some where around
$300.00 however, however it is obtainable in modular form. The
most expensive module being approx. $100.00. The 24 BIT color
board which will drive any ATARI ST from the 520 to the MEGA4 and
it will be in the $300 to $500 range. Again these are only
estimates at this time. The company's intention is to offer a
full, offline work station package, ready to go, for anywhere
from $600.00 to $900.00. And this includes all hardware and
software excluding, of course, the computer and monitor(s),
Which, in most cases, the user will already possess.
STR -- Does this include the ISAC board...?"
Lee -- Unfortunately, no. If one desires both the ISAC and 24bit
installation, they would need a second computer because these two
systems share some common hard and software environments and
would interfere with each other. The Isac retails for around
$800.00. Now, if one purchases through our company, it is
possible to obtain the 1024X768 board and our entire software
package for less than the retail cost of the board.
STR -- That seem somewhat excessive, having to buy a second computer..!
Lee -- Not when you consider that a hard drive costs more than a 520 or
1040ST these days. and when you consider that the serious or
professional animator will want to be rendering animations and
creating new one at the same time, having more than one system on
a shared HD makes very good sense.
STR -- I would like to re-examine something you mentioned earlier about
the ATARI market....? You said that the ATARI market was very
good at this time in direct contradiction of the general opinion
of the userbase, what did you mean or how do you plane to take
advantage of the current ATARI market..?"
Lee -- As I see things now ATARI corporation is a profitable company
and will continue to produce computers for the foreseeable
future, whether they release the new TT or not makes no real
difference at all as far as the existing market is concerned. In
fact, if they never sold another computer ever it would not
really effect the existing market. I view Atari Corp. just as
I would any other equipment manufacturer, they make hardware
which I create and interface products for. This means that I am
interested in the "Installed User Base" and not the potential new
market that might exist if ATARI ran their manufacturing
operations to suite my taste, advertised like IBM and dumped lots
of cheap hardware on the market. The apparent notion that some
how if Atari competes in the open marketplace like IBM it will
some how make the computer better or improve the existing market
is incorrect in our opinion.
STR -- So what you are saying is that you believe the ATARI market is
healthy and you are going to be successful?
Lee -- Certainly, mainly because the problem now is not AN IMAGE problem
with ATARI but the need for software and hardware developers to
provide the tools which the manufacture has not provided. Who
cares if the Tramiel brothers do or don't get along or whether or
not they care for the American customers? I have been to ATARI
twice as a registered Developer and the place just looks and
sounds like any other corporation. I think to believe that these
people are some how out to punish customers is beyond any
reasonable possibility. I don't care if the manufacturers of the
HD we use, originally thought of the ATARI or not. In fact, they
did not. I have a host adaptor from a third party manufacturer
"ICD" who sees the market as I do, so now I play 44 Meg
animations in real time from a HD never originally intended for
this use. I am not complaining because ATARI doesn't make such a
device. What's the point.?"
STR -- That's an interesting point you make....so you feel that there is
a responsibility of some sort on the part of either the user or
developer to fill a void that the manufacturer obviously
doesn't..?
Lee -- Yes. That's exactly what I mean. Instead of complaining about
how mistreated they are, those doing the complaining should think
about how best to support and use the equipment they have. I was
a user who wanted to use the ATARI as an ART tool....it took a
while for me to see that the ATARI lacked resolution, colors and
software. Therefore, when I saw the opportunity to develop
products and overcome these deficiencies... I took it.
STR -- Why not just buy another computer like the MAC or AMIGA...?"
Lee -- Ease of use and Cyber Paint were the biggest reasons at first.
STR -- And now....
Lee -- Well as you know, by now the industry has caught up with the
advances ATARI made several years ago. But this only means that
the current owners of ATARI ST systems who are more than
comfortable with the GEM interface and its host of reliable and
diverse second and third party peripherals have become a waiting
market for reasonably priced powerful graphic tools and
commercial applications. We are talking about an easy 800
thousand users, all of whom like what they have and have not
really been offered anything new for quite some time.
STR -- ...and this is what you are attempting to do now...?"
Lee -- What we have done....so far.....We have created 4 new major
programs for the ATARI using 5 programmers and one artist. Most
of the software is written and being groomed for release soon.
All the hardware has been prototyped and works well.
STR -- Therefore most everything you have mentioned is basically done,
is that right.?"
Lee -- YES.... we will be releasing the first part of PHASE-"4" soon.
STR -- Do you have a release date yet..?"
Lee -- We have set AUGUST 15th as the big day, but we may be delayed by
some hardware deliveries. At this point we are only telling
retailers AUGUST as a first possible delivery date. We have
been getting four to five calls a day for the last three weeks
with from dealers and users asking us to reserve programs and
hardware.
STR -- Is there a way to get a preview of what your new programs will
do....?"
Lee -- YES.....We have uploaded several animations created with our
programs which demonstrate many of the features we mentioned here
today.
STR -- What about the 24-bit color..?"
Lee -- Unfortunately with out the color boards, there is no way to view
the picture files. We hope to be ready to ship boards in late
SEPT. When that happens we will start uploading 24 bit ATARI
color to the ATARI forum on Compuserve.
STR -- That brings up support, will you be offering support? ..it sure
sounds like you are opening up a whole new area in ATARI use..?"
Lee -- Yes we are.... and Yes we will be offering full support.
STR -- Will this include online support..?"
Lee -- Yes, we have already set up full LEXICOR online support in the
ATARI forum on Compuserve. We will be offering monthly tutorials
using both PHASE-"4" and (Cyber-related applications). We will
be offering a new library of object files for users to exchange
and .ANM files for motion control applications.
STR -- When will this support be available...?"
Lee -- People who have questions can send Email to us now. Our formal
support will begin when we begin shipping. Our arrangement with
Compuserve is predicated on product availability.
STR -- Earlier, you commented that you did not care if ATARI ever sold
another computer does this mean you won't be supporting the TT
when it is released.?"
Lee -- At this point, we have passed on supporting the TT. But if ATARI
does make it available to US developers and the US market, we
will reconsider supporting this computer. I have to mention
however that if even a small percentage of the existing installed
userbase wants our products we will be quite busy.
STR -- Do you feel the TT will be available this Year?"
Lee -- I have no idea what ATARI plans for the TT in the US but the
reality is that it takes time to develop and or port products
from one machine to another. Even if we did plan to support the
TT it would be next year before we could reasonably get a product
on the shelf.
Besides why spend a couple of grand on a new computer and all the
problems associated with that when for less than half that amount
you can upgrade your own trouble free system and get fully
functional 24-bit color, motion control and rendering....?
Remember that our software will allow the user to import and
export to most other popular graphic systems MAC, Amiga...etc
with the same or higher resolution.
STR -- I have just one more question, I understand that LEXICOR is
hiring programmers..are you and for how long?"
Lee -- Not exactly....The way we work is we offer author/developer
support based on an exclusive marketing agreement, we are a group
of software authors so our company is based on the idea that the
author comes first.
STR -- If someone was interested in finding out more how would they do
this..?"
Lee -- They can check the compuserve ATARI ARTS forum for our HELP
Wanted listing which has all the details.
__________________________________________________________
> SOFTREK OFFER! STR InfoFile¿ SUPER SAVINGS FOR EVERYBODY!
===========================
TRADE UP TO TURBO ST!
=====================
Until October 1st, 1990, owners of Quick ST may trade up to Turbo ST
for only $25 (shipping included). Now everyone can take advantage of the
only software accelerator that speeds up graphics. The 1.82 release of
Turbo ST that you will be shipped includes high speed routines to fill
polygons, and to draw diagonal lines, icons, and pixels. In addition, the
monochrome and Moniterm versions of Turbo ST include what may be the
worlds fastest circle drawing algorithm. Not only that, but Turbo ST is
the only software acclerator to speed up WordPerfect.
To take advantage of this offer, simply send the title page of your
Quick ST manual or your Quick ST purchase receipt to SofTrek, P.O. Box
5257, Winter Park, FL 32793 along with your personal check, money order,
VISA, or MasterCard number. If the only proof of purchase that you have
is your original Quick ST disk, you may send it in and it will be returned
to you unaltered with your Turbo ST order.
This offer supersedes the trade-in offer that appeared in ST Report,
issue #626. All users who responded to the previous trade-in offer will
be mailed back their original Quick ST disk along with $5 (the difference
in price between the new offer and the old offer). Should you have any
questions about this offer,
Or, call SofTrek at 1-800-749-7638.
SofTrek
P.O. Box 5257
Winter Park, FL 32793
_______________________________________
> STe - DMA STR FOCUS¿ Atari's R. Hain sez they're fine but.......
===================
RUSSIAN HARDRIVE ROULETTE
=========================
Its true, there seems to be a little or no problem with the DMA port
elsewhere in the world, why is it happening across the USA? Could it be
the circuit modifications done to gain acceptance by the FCC? Although
Atari's online wizards (who are usually quite outspoken) have really had
nothing to say relative to this and the 32Mhz TT030 news, there is talk of
a letter sent out by Atari making note that there may be about "10%" of
the shipped STe units in the USA that have problems with the DMA port.
Also, we include a few notes posted by folks who definitely have no axe to
grind and have experienced the DMA problem or have an active interest in
the situation.
There is no reason to elaborate on the matter as it screams loudly by
itself. The only answer is Atari must now do the right thing and get this
wrinkle ironed out completely to everyone's satisfaction.
Category 14, Topic 40
Message 213 Tue Jul 10, 1990
C.WALTERS1 [Chet] at 04:31 EDT
Well, it just goes along with all the rest. I bought a lawn mower
motor to replace one that died. Turns out I needed a step shaft and did
not know it. I took it back and ordered one with a step shaft. It came
in. I took it home without looking in the carton. Opened it. No step
shaft. Took it back. Got another and this time opened it at the shop.
No step shaft. Got another. Finally a step shaft. Four motors before I
could cut the grass (by then it looked like those "amber waves of grain"
you've all heard about).
Next I bought a photocopier for productivity. Brought it to the
office. It was DOA. Took it back. It was the last one so I chose another
model. Brought it home. DOA. Screw this! Got the money and bought a
Laser printer instead for productivity. Nice printer. KX - P4450 from
Panasonic. Set it up and printed fine for about 10 minutes. When the
fuser got hot the laser got out of the kitchen. Would not print even a
self test. Called in the techie to replace the laser unit. Worked fine
thereafter if you like the left side of the page to always print a quarter
of an inch above the right. The text lines looked remarkably like bezier
curves. Finally screamed my way into a replacement of the entire unit.
Now it's ok.
Next, I got an air conditioner so's I could work in the office during
the day without shorting the keyboard from perspiration (sweat, really)
dropping on it from my forehead. The AC unit worked ok, but the control
was shorted probably from the sweat of an assembler's forehead dropping on
it at the factory. Got another. It's ok now.
Got an STe from Atari last week. Works fine for games and such. Try
to plug a harddrive into it and bye bye HD. Total havoc. Called Atari.
"Well, a certain percentage of the first run of US STe's have weak DMA
chains. (About 10% it seems) Send it back."
Oh, well, does anything work first time out of the box anymore? Seems
not. Some of the fireworks I had for the fourth of July were duds too.
The ones that worked were spectacular though! That's sort of like Atari
computers. When they work there's nothing can touch them. To that I must
add that the STe was the first bad unit I ever got from Atari. Everything
else I ever got from them worked fine and forever. I sold my first beige
beast 800 to a person and it's still going strong after seven years. All
of the Megas purchased by WizWorks have performed flawlessly since they
were plugged in. Except for a surge that fried a monitor and power supply
once, they've just been great workhorses.
So, can I blame it on them? Not really. If you read the above, it's
just been my luck lately. Must be in the stars. I'll be sure to check
with Nancy's astrologer before I buy another big ticket item. Mebbe I'll
just have it shipped to a different address under an assumed name and have
my son pick it up for me. That might trick cloud I've been working under
lately.
Ralph - I will say this. They did not quibble at Atari at all. They
just said send it back. Not bad. They are getting better. Atari that
is. Lets not kick them while they're down. If there's a problem then
give 'em a chance. Saying they did this deliberately smacks of paranoia.
Sure, they've been lax in their duties, but hey, look at the above and see
who ain't been lately! The DEV program is getting really responsive and
responsible. Atari is on the way up. Keep your eye on it! Might be a
good time to invest in Atari stock now that it's rock bottom priced.
Dunno, I never was much good at that stock stuff. Ok, I promise _I_ won't
buy any. It'd be sure to dive if _I_ got some. That's the way it's been
for me lately.
_______Chet at \/\/iz\/\/orks :^{)
We will have to wait and see how the replacement performs. How's come
nobody mentioned this before? Am I just the first to have troubles or is
everyone scared to talk? Dunno, I ain't scared to tell the truth. I
don't give a squirt who gets pissed off. Just ask some who know. I may be
wrong sometimes, but it's what _I_ perceive as the truth at the time.
------------
Editor Note;
The entire STe "shortfall" matter was completely detailed in STReport
625 and 626, from the broken TOS 1.60 to the DMA choke. Atari has good
reason to be concerned, this is the year of the last hurrah, the STe and
of course, the ominous silence by the online wonderboy concerning the
16Mhz or is it 32Mhz TT030 gives the entire userbase all the confidence
needed...
Category 23, Topic 12
Message 96 Tue Jul 10, 1990
JEFF.W [RTC Sysop] at 22:53 EDT
What is the story with the STE's that Atari has been shipping in the
USA? I heard about a DMA problem on the motherboard some time ago, but
Randy Hain told me a few weeks ago that there is absolutely nothing
intrinsically wrong with the DMA on any of the STE's. Now, Chet Walters
is told by someone at Atari that 10% of the STE's shipped in the USA are
likely to have a DMA problem. That's a one in ten chance that any STE
will scramble someone's hard disk. Those are spooky odds.
Short of sacrificing hard disks drives to each STE a responsible
dealer receives from Atari, how can these STE's be identified? Will there
be a field upgrade issued to Atari's service dealers or do the defective
units have to be shipped back to Atari?
------------
*** Timely words Jeff, in fact you have said it all. Let's wait and
see if as sensible an answer is forthcoming.
_______________________________________________________________
> STE - 1990's BOOM or BUST STR Spotlight¿ What's up Doc???
=======================================
part II
THE STE, DOES IT WORK OR DOESN'T IT?
===================================
by Robert A. Dolson
Well, I got the ICD host adapter yesterday and completed putting the
new hard drive together today (at a friend's house, he was a big help in
mounting the host adapter inside the shoebox case). I had the STe with me
of course, and proceeded to hook it up to the hard drive using the ICD
supplied DMA cable. Got it formatted ok, and then started to copy some
files to the drive.
I turned on the write verify and status on the handler prior to
starting to write to the drive. It seemed to go fair at first with a few
write fails showing up, but rapidly got worse and it started to stop with
an alert box telling me that drive C: might be damaged! So, I packed
everything up and came back home to try it with the shorter 18 inch Atari
cable. I re-formatted the drive again using that cable and it seemed to
be a lot better, but still got quite a few write fails. Then I changed
back to the longer cable and it was pretty bad again. I then proceeded to
take the STe back to 1 meg. of memory (from the 4 that I had in it
earlier). It acted the same so I decided to try hooking it up to this old
ST to see how it would do......... DID I GET A SURPRISE!! The new drive
WOULD NOT BOOT USING THE ST!!! Not from floppy or autoboot!
In fact, it would give me two bombs on the screen and tell me the ICD
clock was not installed, and then if I had the ICD boot software in drive
A:, it would not give me a directory on drive A: but told me the data on
THAT drive was damaged! It would not tell me this if I booted without
the hard drive and looked at the disk.
I am totally DUMBFOUNDED!! I can't imagine why it won't work on the
regular ST! I even took it back and forth a couple of times and it still
works (with write fails) on the STe, but not on the ST!
The only thing I can figure is that the keyboard clock backup on the
ST is interfering in some way. Tomorrow, I hope to disconnect the
keyboard on the ST and thus do away with the clock possibility.
I will also be making a trip up to Computer Garden sometime during the
next few days to see if they can fathom any of this. It's got me
completely baffled.
By the way, the old ST still works flawlessly with this old 42 meg.
SH-204 ...with a 3 foot cable at that!
________________________________________________________________
> ONLY TRYING! STR FOCUS¿ Users trying to help Atari help itself.
======================
Ctsy Delphi
15660 9-JUL 01:59 General Information
RE: Yes, Virginia, There Is... (Re: Msg 15623)
From: NORMW To: ANDYPANDA67 (NR)
Andy, the criticism of Atari is said with the hope that it will
eventually get back to the ears of those who _can_ do something about
it....and maybe it has! This new man who is taking over Atari, North
America has a proven track record. And what I'm hearing, filtering out of
Sunnyvale is hopeful.
I'm sorry if you are disturbed by the criticisms, but they are well
deserved. Remember, I have a background in design and production of
commercial equipment, and the way the STe has been released in the US is
quite shoddy. And _they_ know it.
I was enthused with the idea of the "Jackintosh" when it was first
announced around '83 or '84. I want to continue that enthusiasm, in fact,
I want to design products for it. But that is pointless if Atari makes no
effort, what-so-ever to sell in this country. That has been very
frustrating. I have my fingers crossed in regards to the new man.
Norm
Norm, your enthusiasm has been absolutely unimpeachable for years, yet
many like yourself, have found themselves asking the very same questions
and holding up the same hopes.
The above message is almost a carbon copy of many we have received in
the last three weeks as a result of our recent series of Apocalypse
Articles, this one in particular is included to make an example of the
sincerity of all those folks who are trying in their own ways to help
Atari realize the userbase's general attitude these days. Never, in
Atari's history, have so many of its loyal followers been so outspoken,
both pro and con. All of us have a distinct and reasonable responsibility
to not mislead each other when it comes to our equipment. A basic
premise, as far as STR is concerned, is that the Atari hardware is still
outstanding even though the design is almost 5 years old.
We (the userbase) must not allow those who dislike the criticisms to
stampede those of us who are concerned into silence. In the past few
weeks there was an uproar over the 'negativisms' brought forward by
STReport so much so that there were 1-3:00am threatening phone calls (the
answering machine took some abuse) and online "gang bangs" by a select
few, (8-10 people), who, through an organized effort, made the entire
protest appear to be far greater and more reaching than it actually was.
Now, only a short while after the appearance of the articles, we are
virtually loaded down with hard copy mail and e-mail from those we like to
call the "lurkers" and of course, the users who do not use modems. It
even was mentioned by a particularly outspoken online Atari rep that
STReport is "not read to any extent at Atari". That was a bold
misrepresentation that typifies the gent's agile ability to try and
misinform the users for whatever maligned or misguided purposes. The
facts are quite different as has been proven time and time again.
The most important item on all our agendas must be the ultimate well
being of Atari, (if we are to protect our investments). To achieve this
end, it is clear that we all must pull together and support Atari where we
are able while still maintaining our own credibility, each and every one
of us. STR is well aware that the users have a very strong desire to see
Atari succeed. Some of us are a little overeager in our attempts to
persuade others to support Atari. These are the folks who have lost the
meaning of support and blindly follow the flag bearer in any direction.
STR will never propose that the Lemming Syndrome be adhered to, no matter
how comfy the feeling of security in numbers there may seem to be. The
bottom line is, there are far more users who are honestly concerned and
willing to do something more than attempt to stifle those who do not
blindly sing the swan song of lemmings.
Atari simply must succeed, there are far too many users out there who
are on limited budgets who need to have the ST continued to be supported.
There are far too many worldwide who are so deeply committed to the Atari
arena financially that they must urge Atari on any way they can to
persevere and prosper.
_____________________________________________________________
> SILLY SNIPES! STR Spotlight¿ Inept speculation is rampant!
===========================
POSITIVE PUBLIC RELATIONS?
==========================
By R. F. Mariano
As Atari matures, hopefully, its "main attraction" read > online
"personality" will also..or, go. In the meantime, the accusation made by
the highly imaginative and illustriously informed online rep; J. Townsend,
wherein a message he posted in a public area on GEnie, that the Phoney Fax
was originated by one of the online magazines truly demonstrates the need
for a more mature and responsible individual in so sensitive and
responsible a capacity.
Category 11, Topic 17
Message 47 Wed Jul 04, 1990
TOWNS [John @ Atari] at 12:36 EDT
Just a little piece of information. The FAX machines here at Atari are
programmed with ATARI CORP. at the top. At least the two that I use.
The one downstairs may be programmed for ATARI US CORP. But, as anyone
is this company can tell you.. Atari's US subsidiary is referred to as
Atari US Corp. on ATARI USA CORP. Looks to me like someone didn't do
their homework..
Hi Gordon! I am here... I stand here with you. Let 'em take their best
shots! We're used to it, right! <grin>
I wish I had a copy of the FAX.. I would be willing to bet it has a
certain Online Magazine's writing style! <grin>
------------
If this mode of "hysterical accusation" and supposition is permitted
to proceed unchecked then it becomes easy to compare these actions to
those of a bull loose in a fine china and crystal shop. The "goodwill"
generated by Townsend's remarks only amplify the dire need for closer
supervision in the "Day Care Center." After having discussed this young
man's actions with a few folks at Atari, the general consensus was to
overlook his behavior and blame it on his immaturity. That seems to be
the same reccomendation Sig Hartmann used to tell most all of us a year or
so ago concerning many of the incredible statements and policy making
decisions from Atari.
Speaking about the fax, one must ask who has the most to gain or,
better yet, who is the most threatened by the continued success of Bob
Brodie? Clearly, the FAX is a cheap shot at Bob. Online, Bob is highly
regarded as the spokesperson to listen to as he is seldom apt to resort to
emotional blathering and blatant displays of immaturity while wearing the
Atari "uniform". Throughout the USA and Canada Bob's appearances have
brought nothing but a solid, positive response from the users and press.
His crediblity is unimpeachable among most folks. When considering these
points, it now begins to indicate that the "fax" could possibly have been
uttered by anyone within Atari itself who feels threatened by Brodie's
continued success. Sure, the Fax may not have been sent from Atari's
facilities but that really doesn't prove anything except that the
deception was even more extensive than originally imagined and perped by
an individual with a good deal of experience in the use of fax facilities.
Since Townsend has made the accusatory remarks, perhaps he is busy trying
to confuse the issue?
Category 31, Topic 3
Message 27 Fri Jul 13, 1990
TOWNS [John @ Atari] at 02:52 EDT
Don't worry.. you'll get used to Ralph calling you up trying to
censor your opinions. In fact, he used to call me. Now he just
calls my boss.
-- John
------------
Dear John <snicker>,
The word censor is not in the STReport vocabulary, you will never and
have never experienced any person(s) from this publication attempting to
censor you or, anyone else for that matter. On more than one occasion,
STR has called you and many others in the Atari community attempting to
obtain further clarification of a topic(s), to discuss a subject in depth
and of course to obtain verification of certain bits of information. Or,
as was the case this week, to protest your wrongfully making atrocious
accusations. John, you have even called STR with tidbits when it was
"convenient" to serve your purposes.
John, in light of this most recent post, it becomes quite clear that
there are still those people at Atari who would rather play games than
take the future seriously and take a bold step in the right direction by
attempting to mend 'broken fences and further build the positive
reputation and future of the company. Its a very sorry situation to see
persist. Please John, keep up the good work. The fine examples set by
you and the goodwill generated by you alone is sure to do Atari a great
deal of good and lead to many years of continued success. <BIG GRIN>
____________________________________________________________________
> WAACE STR SHOW NEWS¿ THE PREMIER EAST COAST SHOW!
===================
To All...
HOTEL INFORMATION
The following information was taken from the Sheraton Reston Hotel
informational brochure.
The Sheraton Reston Hotel has 302 beautifully appointed guest rooms,
including 10 executive parlor suites (excellent for hospitality purposes).
The conference center and banquet rooms are all located on the ground
floor surrounding a large courtyard and outdoor swimming pool. Each
multi-purpose room is equipped with individual sound facilities,
individual temperature control and conference lighting systems, as well as
the capability for closed circuit television. A full line of audio-visual
equipment is available.
In addition, it provides complimentary shuttle van service to and from
Washington Dulles International Airport 24 hours a day , and has free
parking for over 900 cars.
At the end of a tiring day, enjoy a nice swim in the outdoor pool or a
fast game of tennis, volleyball, or basketball. Golf privileges are
available across the street adjacent to the Sheraton Reston Hotel.
Guests have access to a twin cinema, a full-service bank, and many small
shops and restaurants.
Scheduled and direct commercial limousine service to and from
Washington National Airport.
LOCATION:
--------
Situated in the heart of the Washington-Dulles corridor in Fairfax
County, Virginia, the Sheraton Reston Hotel is central to business,
cultural and tourist attractions.
Immediately adjacent to the Washington-Dulles Toll Road and 5 minutes
to Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts, the Sheraton is conveniently
located 20 minutes from downtown Washington via the Washington-Dulles Toll
Road or I-66.
Only minutes from Washington Dulles International Airport and the
corporate headquarters of major industries and businesses, the Sheraton
Reston Hotel is in the hub of Fairfax County's rapidly growing Hi-Tech
space-business community.
DINING & COCKTAILS:
------------------
Dine in the elegant Derby Restaurant and select from an extensive
American menu. For a more casual atmosphere, enjoy the Derby Lounge with
entertainment nightly.
TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
-----------------
Reservations can be made at the Sheraton Reston Hotel by calling voice
(703), 620- 9000 or by FAX (703), 860-1594. Remember to ask for the
AtariFest rates; $59.00 for a single/double or $66.00 with breakfast
buffet, and $66.00 for a triple or quad.
Vendor participation is getting very good.
Total of 32 of 60 booths have been committed to date.
Vendors with booths are:
Atari Corp
D.A.Brumleve + Debonair Software
Joppa Computers
Toad Services
Alpha Systems
Fast Technologies
Double Click
GEnie
Branch Always
Cal Com
Wizworks
Talon Technology
Goldleaf
L & Y Electronics
Strata Software
Best Electronics
Frontier Software
Diverse Data Produ
cts
Notice that the WAACE show is expanding its international character. In
addition to the wonderful folks from Canada, (Branch Always Software) we
have Frontier Software from the United Kingdom!!!
The deadline for the Hotel room and free fest ticket deal is rapidly
approaching. You must have your hotel reservations called into the hotel
by 5, Aug 1990 to get your free tickets.
PLEASE call the hotel, THE RESTON INN at 703-620-9000....
Ask for the AtariFest rates.....
single/double $59.00
Triple/quad $66.00
Thanks for all your support
Russ Brown WAACE Chairman
______________________________________
> STR SHOW NEWS¿ WINDSOR/DETROIT INTERNATIONAL ATARIFEST
=============
The Windsor Atari Users Group of Windsor, Ontario, Canada and the
Washtenaw Atari Users Group of Ann Arbor, MI will be hosting the:
Windsor/Detroit International AtariFest
SCHEDULED FOR: May 4-5, 1991
LOCATION:St. Clair College of Arts and Technology
Both Atari US and Atari Canada (as well as Rich Tsukigi of ST World)
have been notified via registered letter of these dates and the clubs have
recently received the green light from both Atari divisions. Although a
lot of things haven't been finalized for the show, the clubs felt it best
to announce what they can now, with updates in the future. So, here's
some info on the FIRST internationally sponsored Atarifest I'm aware of:
Show times are tentatively 10-5 on Saturday and 10-4 on Sunday. Ticket
prices have not been "cast in stone" yet, either, but $2.50 per day was
discussed favorably.
Vendor sign-up kits are being organized now and are scheduled to be
sent out on Oct. 1, 1990. These kits will contain a numbered booth layout,
seminar sign- up sheet, info on area hotels, information to help US
exhibitors get through Customs easily (and, from all indications,
cheaply!), and lots more. Any developers wishing to guarantee they
receive a kit, please post a message on GENIE or CIS. Or, leave email to
UNICORNPUB and we'll send your request to the proper people.
Tentatively, exhibitor booth prices are $300 Canadian (approx. $250
US) and this gets you a 10x10 booth with 8 ft. table and 1 electrical
outlet. The booths will be "piped and draped" and the tables will be
skirted. With over 11,000 sq. ft. in the exhibit hall, the show has plenty
of booths to choose from.
The clubs also plan to invite Atari user groups to have booths on the
main floor -- right along with the developers -- free of charge (or maybe
a little volunteer work). Kits will be sent out to user groups sometime
after the exhibitor kits are mailed.
________________________________________________________
> FLIP SIDE! STR Feature¿ Taking a look at the other side....
======================
A LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
=========================
By Michael Lee
Every week, I continue to hear people complain about no new products from
Atari, or about Atari being late with the products that it does release.
I think this is a case of "not seeing the trees because of the forest".
Let's take a closer look at some of the complaints.
If people think that Atari is the only company that is always late with
announced products, they are only fooling themselves. One big difference
is that many of these other companies don't announce, or hint at, new
products until it's close to the time for them to be released. Atari has
a habit of leaking the news about new products early, so it is natural
that they would get more heat about their products being late (some say
Atari does this so that they can get feedback from the users and adjust
their development accordingly).
Another well-worn complaint is the "Tramiel bashing". It seems to be the
rage currently to blame everything that is wrong with Atari on the three
Tramiel brothers. The folks doing this bashing conveniently forget that
it was these same three that brought out the STe, STacy, Portfolio, and
Lynx (just to name a few). It was these same three that keep the ST line
strong in the rest of the world. I admit that they have made mistakes in
the past, but name me one executive of a major corporation that hasn't
(can you say "Edsel"). When you are in a position to make the final
decisions, you are also in a position to make mistakes. I also wish they
would promote the ST line more in the US, but what good would it do to
spend millions promoting the ST in the US if it hurt the European market
and Atari Corp? It would be a case of the operation being successful but
the patient dying.
Let's take a brief look at what Atari has accomplished in the last year.
First there's the Portfolio and the Lynx. While it is true that neither
of them is a ST related product, both have been, and continue to be,
resounding success stories. Both keep the Atari name in front of the
American businessman and public. Plus both keep money coming into the
Atari coffers, money that can be spent to develop and promote the ST line
of products.
Second, we have the STacy's. This portable ST is so hot that Atari can't
keep up with the demand (however, several dealers have reported that they
are now receiving, or getting ready to receive, Stacy 1's and Stacy 4's
for normal stock). The STacy is driving the midi users and musicians
wild with its power, ease of handling and inexpensive price. Also, the
STacy, along with the Spectre128, makes a great, inexpensive portable MAC
clone. Price the STacy 4/40 (4-megs, 40-meg hard drive) and a Spectre128
- now go price a 4-meg Mac portable - you now see one big reason why the
STacy 4/40 with Spectre128 is so popular. (By the way, MultiByte makes a
battery pack/carrying case for the STacy 4/40 that makes it even easier
to own, carry and operate you STacy.)
Third, we have the STe's. The STe 1/2/4's (why by more than a 1-meg STe
when it's so easy and cheap to upgrade them to 4-megs) are the natural
upgrade to the ST's. More colors, more sound, more power, more speed,
more hardware ports, same low pricing.
Fourth, there is the new flagship of the ST line, the TT's. While they
are still not available for release in the US (but are promised for
release in the next few months), they have been released to the rest of
the world. Europe and New Zealand report that their TT's are coming with
a 32mhz 68030 chip installed (Atari won't confirm this for the US, but
it's doubtful they'd ship one type of TT to the rest of the world and a
16mhz TT to the US). I won't get into the exact technical descriptions
as they've been reported in depth everywhere else, but the TT looks to be
the low-cost machine to compete against the A-3000 and Mac II (for us who
can't afford $8-$10,000). It has a more open architecture, so it will be
more expandable than the current ST line.
There is also the new SLM-804 Laser printer that has been RUMORED to be
shipping in the near future. Lower priced than the current machine but
with today's technology.
I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound too bad for a company that
_supposedly_ is on it's last legs and many people already consider dead.
Till next week...hopefully.
_______________________________________________________
> ONLINE TODAY STR OnLine¿ The wires are hummin'!
========================
CIS IN DETAIL
=============
by Oscar Steele
Before I delve into the merits of either CompuServe, GEnie, or any of
the other services, I'd like to stress a point. Each system has its own
strengths and weaknesses. These are businesses that have been in
existence for a number of years, and offer something different to all.
Making a blanket statement such as this system is better than that one
doesn't suffice.
Message bases are social areas where you can have fun and occasionally
be antagonized (where else could I be heckled, by another online
magazine's staff, for asking a non-confrontational question). In
contrast, download bases are a more secluded area which are like a key to
a vast software library. It would be possible for a local BBS to have a
message base similar in size to CIS or GEnie (assuming there were enough
active users), but it would -in practice- be impossible for a BBS to have
anywhere near the number of downloadable files.
Both CIS and GEnie have a sizable download library. Most new uploads
appear on both systems; however, there are exceptions, which appear
exclusively on one system or another. Recently, I spent some time testing
the download capabilities of CIS.
1 x TIME = MONEY/1
Since time is money, the essence of downloading is to get online,
download a file (or files), and log off. Obviously, the quicker you do
this, the less money it costs you. Currently, CIS's rates are $12.50 for
1200/2400 baud, while GEnie's are $6 for 1200 and $10 for 2400. For 1200
baud transfers, GEnie is most cost effective. However, for 2400 baud
(which is preferred since it'll take you less time to get more), CIS edges
out GEnie, even though on the surface the rates appear higher.
To save the most time, it's best to capture a list of the available
files, select the ones you want, and log back on to download them. GEnie
has a good, but outdated, program called GSCAN, which will automate the
process. However, since GSCAN writes a script file for Flash 1.6, you'll
need Flash to download the files. CIS's equivalent, QuickCIS (latest
version 1.52a), is superior in terms of selecting files and downloading.
Files are captured with a full description (GSCAN only lists the file
names and a short blurb).
TRANSFER SPEED
A 2400 baud modem can in theory transmit 240 cps (characters per
second). In practice, it's generally less. I've had transmission speeds
as high as 226 cps on CIS (or 813,600 bytes per hour). The lowest speed
that I've experienced was 172 cps (with a somewhat noisy line).
Transferring with GEnie on a clean line, I've gotten a 167 cps speed (or
600,000 bytes per hour).
Cost per minute For file size
GEnie .16666 10000 bytes = .00001666 per byte
CIS .20833 13560 bytes = .000015363 per byte
Formula: .000015363 x 10000 bytes = .15363 per minute x 60 = 9.2178 =
$9.22 per hour.
As can be seen above, CIS's actual cost per hour is $9.22 per hour,
when considering the amount of information received. This is slightly
lower than GEnie's rate and varies according to the actual transmission
speed. It's safe to say that, in general, the costs are comparable.
What CIS has gained in speed, it has partially lost in
functionability. There is no batch download capability (not even Ymodem
Batch). This was my greatest surprise. In fact, I thought I simply was
not aware of the procedure until I asked Ron Luks, CIS's Chief SysOp. It
is a feature that will be implemented soon from what I gather. However,
there is a crude and fairly easy way to overcome this great oversight.
The answer is QuickCIS.
BATCH DOWNLOADING ON CIS
With QuickCIS, you can create a test file, entitled FILES.LST and
enter a list of files. QuickCIS will log on and download the files for
you. The format to enter the files to download is:
2 16 FILENAME.PRG
2 represents the section (i.e. AtariPro)
16 designates the category (i.e. Xformer II), and the last is the
program's name.
There are, however, a number of inconveniences using this method.
First, Shadow users will lose the true benefit of background downloading.
Shadow will still background download, but you will be unable to exit
QuickCIS. This means you can have a field day, reading and answering
messages and using most of QuickCIS's functions, but you can't leave.
It's like having all of East Germany's currency. You might feel rich, but
you're not.
Furthermore, since CIS has downloads with duplicate names, when
QuickCIS tries to download one of these, it gets confused. I've chanced
upon several files that had two different users upload them. QuickCIS
will call it quits and hang up. This brings us to the third problem.
If QuickCIS encounters a problem in downloading the file, it will
delete your entire FILES.LST. Therefore, it's a good idea to keep a
backup of your FILES.LST file. That way, you can check what files have
been downloaded, remove them from the file, and rewrite FILES.LST. Please
note, once CIS employs batch downloading, the aforementioned
inconveniences won't exist. Therefore, it's not really a problem with
QuickCIS, but rather with CIS itself.
I have yet to experience a hangup when downloading with CIS. With
GEnie, I've had numerous problems, of parts of a file being retransmitted
throughout a download. I must either wait for a short while, and the
transfer starts going through clearly, or it becomes a lost cause and I
have to redial GEnie. Furthermore, I've experienced times where GEnie
seems to lock up without initiating a transfer. CIS's retransmition rate
has been significantly smaller (however, this is not to say that this will
be the case for everyone - the phone company is a strange beast).
Locating files and setting up a transfer is very quick. In
comparison, locating and setting up a transfer on GEnie could easily take
up to half a minute longer.
SUMMATION
As I mentioned in the beginning, I believe both services offer unique
features. Currently, it does seem that GEnie has a significantly larger
amount of activity, which I see as being attributed to their lower rates
for 1200 baud usage (which for right now constitutes the larger amount of
users) and the appearance of lower rates for 2400 baud. Once CIS bears
to competitive pressure and reduces its rates, it should see more people
flock to their sigs....
_____________________________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL¿ "BLOCKBUSTER ATARI NEWS FIRST!"
=====================
SPECIAL EDITION
REPRINT
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
///// ////// /////// BULLETIN
// // // /// **
//// // ////// BULLETIN
// // // //
///// // // // March 24, 1990
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STR Publishing Inc.
03/24/90 Mendham, N.J. <STR> ATARI EXPLORER PUBLICATIONS CORP. is
reported to have ceased all operations and publication of the magazine
known as "THE ATARI EXPLORER". According to STReport's sources the
parent company, (alleged to be Atari) has been engaged in an attempt to
sell this operation for some time and because of the lack of buyers, has
in turn, ceased Atari Explorer's operations. Rumor has it that perhaps a
certain very recent "EDITORIAL" snapped a number of hatbands in Sunnyvale
and as a result, may have had "SOMETHING" to do with this CATASTROPHIC
EVENT.
Atari Explorer, long considered a standard bearer of Atari Corp.
will certainly be missed. The Atari Explorer, publicly termed the
"OFFICIAL ATARI JOURNAL" and its publisher, David H. Ahl have actually
become household 'friends' to most all Atari users. Attempts to reach a
responsible party at either Explorer or Atari Corp. willing to discuss
this latest of tragedies to clobber the USA Atari market have been
unsuccessful.
---====OOOOO====---
STReport will continue to bring you the latest news as soon as
possible ..ongoing coverage of this late breaking story will continue on
the feeds and will be presented as soon as we receive updates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsline "Your Independent News Source" March 24, 1990
Bulletin Service copyright 1990 No. 27
---------------------------------------------------------------------
*** REPRINT ***
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
************************************************************
March 28, 1990
For Additional Information, Contact: Jim Fisher
Atari Corporation
1196 Borregas Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
(408) 745-2010
************************************************************
ATARI EXPLORER MAGAZINE TO EXPAND COVERAGE
SUNNYVALE, CA- Atari Corporation announced today plans to
enhance the ATARI EXPLORER magazine. This announcement is
made formal following necessary actions taken to relocate the
operation closer to headquarters in Sunnyvale, California.
"We want to make notable changes in the production of Atari
Explorer magazine to include expanded editorial coverage of
additional products and enhance the environment for potential
advertisers", stated Mr. James Fisher, V. P. Marketing and
advertising. "The effort to present this news effectively
and more timely requires the magazine staff to have 'instant
access' to the technology and information available here."
Atari plans to complete the current issue which is still in
the hands of the printer and rush them to subscribers as soon
as possible. At the time of this release, no changes to
publication frequencies and subscriber fulfillment were
considered and Mr. Fisher stated that subscribers and
advertisers will always be the biggest priority. If
necessary, extensions will be made to accomodate subscription
commitments.
END
**********************************************************************
The following is an excerpt from the June 1990 issue of Atari Talk,
the official publication of the Atari ST Software Exchange. Although
the entire newsletter is available only to mebers of the Exchange,
this excerpt has been released to the public due to its nearly
universal appeal. Entire contents are Copyright (C) 1990 by the
Federation of Atari Computer Enthusiasts. No part of this file may be
modified under protection of federal copyright law.
**********************************************************************
ATARI CORP. MAKES GOOD ON ATARI EXPLORER SUBSCRIPTIONS?????????
---------------------------------------------------------------
In recent months, many people have become frustrated with Atari
Corporation's actions regarding its official magazine, Atari
Explorer.
According to the editors of Atari Explorer, Atari
Corporation gave other magazines such as STart priority over Atari
Explorer in the way of items to review and official announcements.
Atari Corp. then complained to the editors of Explorer for not being
first with the printing of this news.
Several similar problems have alledgedly occurred, such as
Explorer being reprimanded by Atari for reprinting some information
about the Portfolio from another atari magazine. In this instance,
Atari reportedly thought the information was incorrect and showed Atari
products in a bad light, but, according to a report in Z*Net online
magazine, this was the only way that the Explorer could get any
information because people at Atari Corp. refused to give them any of
the help given to other ST magazines.
Relations between Atari Corp. and Atari Explorer evidently
became strained to the point that when members of the Explorer Staff
wrote an outspoken editorial criticizing these actions, they were
promptly fired and all copies of Explorer that contained the editorial
were taken by Atari.
Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of discussion of
this subject on BBS systems and on the major information networks,
and nearly everyone seems to be upset at Atari. People have expressed
concerns that Explorer may fold and take all of its subscription
payments with it.
This concern seemed justified, since several atari magazines,
most notably A.N.A.L.O.G. and The Atarian, have closed over the past
six months, and several of these magazines, (again, most notably
A.N.A.L.O.G. and The Atarian,) have not refunded a single cent to
their subscribers.
Today, however, (May 12,) I received a copy of the latest
issue of Explorer. It was stamped "SPRING 1990," and was also marked
"Display Until June 1."
The magazine contains all the articles familiar to Explorer
readers, and gives the impression that the magazine is doing fine and
is in no danger from Atari Corp. or financial problems.
Looking closely, however, one must notice that the table of
contents lists an editorial by Elizabeth Staples entitled "Why a
Spring Issue?" No such editorial exists in the magzine, as it has
been replaced with an editorial called "The Atari Home Office
Revolution" by John Jainschigg.
For some time, various rumors have been circulating saying that
Atari will continue to publish the magazine, but will heavily
scrutinize all issues to make sure no "offensive" articles are
included in it. Evidently, Atari has removed the outspoken
editorial and wishes to put this matter behind it.
The magazine itself is of its usual high quality, as has been
stated before. Atari now faces the task of creating a new magazine
staff and distributing an entirely new issue of Explorer within three
weeks. Since the cover is marked to be removed from the shelves of
stores on June 1, this must mean that Atari believes it can get
another issue printed and mailed between now and then.
So far, Atari has managed to keep up the Explorer. The real
question is if it can continue to do so.
_______________________________________________
> HD Error Codes STR InfoFile¿ Back by popular demand!
===========================
HARD DRIVE AND CONTROLLER STATUS MESSAGES
$01 No index/sector signal.
$02 No seek complete.
$03 Write Fault. The operation was terminated with an
unrecovered error condition probably caused by a flaw
in the media. This indicates that there is a problem,
probably a bad sector.
$04 Drive Not Ready.
$05 Drive Not Selected.
$06 No Track Zero Found.
$10 ID or CRC Error.
$11 Unrecovered read error of data blocks.
$12 No address mark found in ID field.
$13 No address mark found in data field.
$14 No record found.
$15 Seek positioning error.
$17 Recovered read data with controller/drive READ retries.
$18 Recovered read data with controller/drive error
correction code.
$19 Defect list error.
$1A Parameter overrun.
$1C Primary defect lsit not found.
$1E Recovered ID with controller/drive ECC.
$20 Invalid command operation.
$21 Illegal logical block address (LBA). Address greater
than the LBA returned by the read capacity data with
PMI bit not set in CDB.
$22 Illegal function for device type.
$24 Illegal field in CDB.
$25 Invalid logical unit number (LUN).
$26 Invalid field in parameter list.
$27 Write protected.
$29 Power on or reset or bus device reset occurred.
$2A Mode select parameters changed.
$30 Incompatible cartridge.
$31 Medium format corrupted.
$32 No defect spare sector available.
$40 RAM failure.
$44 Internal controller error.
$45 Select/reselect failed.
$46 Unsuccessful soft reset.
$49 Inappropriate/illegal message.
***********************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
To sign up for GEnie service: Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.
**** SIGN UP FEE WAIVED ****
The system will now prompt you for your information.
***********************************************************************
> Hard Disks STR InfoFile¿ Affordable Mass Storage....
=======================
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Personal and Company Checks are accepted.
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***********************************************************************
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 of;
STREPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE
""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY!
Call any of the STReport Official BBS numbers
(Listed Above)
or
Leave E-mail to STReport - 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
***********************************************************************
> A "Quotable Quote"¿
=================
"SPOILED BRATS ALWAYS RUIN THE PARTY!"
...Alfred E. Newmann
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
STReport "Your Independent News Source" July 07, 1990
16/32bit Magazine copyright ½ 1990 No.6.28
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors, staff, STReport¿ CPU/STR¿ or ST Report¿. Permission to
reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Each reprint
must include the name of the publication, date, issue # and the author's
name. The entire publication and/or portions therein may not be edited in
any way without prior written permission. The contents, at the time of
publication, are believed to be reasonably accurate. The editors,
contributors and/or staff are not responsible for either the use/misuse
of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
