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Silicon Times Report Issue 0642
*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
_____________________________________
from
STR Publishing Inc.
""""""""""""""""""
October 19, 1990 No.6.42
=======================================================================
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 USR/HST DUAL STANDARD
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
__________________________________________________________________
> 10/19/90: STReport¿ #6.42 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
-------------------------
- The Editor's Desk - CPU Report - CPU MacNews
- CLASSIC ON SALE! - NEWDESK TOS! - The Flip Side!
- NE FEST UPDATES! - LCACE AtariFest - STR CONFIDENTIAL
* ELIE KENAN & ATARI TO RENEGOTIATE!! *
* IN-DEPTH REVIEW OF NEODESK 3.01 *
* LEXICOR ONLINE CONFERENCE *
==========================================================================
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, call Node 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.
All SysOps in the F-Net are welcome to join the STR Crossnet Conference
the conference code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is #350. Join Today!
==========================================================================
AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH: GENIE ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ F-NET
==========================================================================
> The Editor's Podium¿
The OFFICIAL version of Aladdin for the ST written by Tim Purves, of
Griffin High Tech Software, for GEnie is now available on page 1000 of
GEnie. After having the had the opportunity to try the new program and
interface, it reveals itself as a full featured terminal program that
offers many benefits to the ST user. The description of Aladdin simply
put, "its an automatic communications tool designed to provide the user
with the most efficient use of the features and services of Genie." Alad-
din is FREE! All one need do is access page 1001 and download STALAD.ARC
from GEnie. Aladdin is designed to be used on all Atari ST, STe, Mega and
TT computers. Over the next few weeks STReport will provide a series of
articles about Aladdin and all its money saving features.
The NEW ENGLAND ATARIFEST is on for this coming weekend, once again
the Atari faithful will band together and celebrate the joy of using one
of the best home computers available today. Elsewhere in this issue is a
complete listing of those who will be in attendance at this fest to offer
support and information. Also, many NEW products will be available for
sale too. GEnie's head sysop, Darlah will be on hand providing copies of
Aladdin and answering questions about GEnie. Of course, that's after the
informative seminar about GEnie she has scheduled for Sat. morning.
Atari, its users, developers and dealers are looking forward to the
rebirth of the Atari 'surge' that's expected to be generated by the rel-
ease of the TT and other new products at Comdex. Atari's display of its
new products will be in the NEW Sands Hotel display center along with
other notables like Commodore and Poquet.
STReport, the original ST online magazine, will continue doing its
very best to bring you a well rounded, informative issue each and every
week. It is our goal to make absolutely sure you have the very best we
can do week after week. STReport take great pride in reporting the news
and not trying to make the news.
As always, thank you for your strong support!
Ralph....
"SEE YOU IN BOSTON AT THE NEW ENGLAND ATARI FEST!!"
***********************************************************************
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: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198
You will receive your complimentary time
and
be online in no time at all!
WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (Oct. 19)
ATARI DEVELOPER NEWSLETTERS AVAILABLE IN ATARIPRO
Atari Corp. uploaded copies of their developer newsletters from Decem-
ber, 1989 thru June, 1990. All are available in LIBRARY 7 of the Atari
Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO).
If you are a registered Atari developer and do not currently have
access to LIBRARY 7 in the Atari Productivity Forum, please send a Com-
puServe Mail message (GO MAIL) requesting access to User ID number
70007,1072.
LEXICOR CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
The transcript from the Lexicor conference held on October 18 is now
available in this week's issue of STReport; # STR642.ARC and in LIBRARY 1
of the Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) as LEXCO.ARC.
LEXICOR ONLINE
Please join us in welcoming LEXICOR Software to the Atari Forums on
CompuServe. LEXICOR will be joining the Atari Vendors Forum very shortly
to provide official online customer support. Until their debut in the
Vendors Forum, we've opened up Message Section 11 and LIBRARY 11 in the
Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) for messages and files relating to LEXI-
COR.
The following files are currently available in LIBRARY 11:
LEXLST.TXT - ASCII Catalog of LEXICOR's Products
BTRFLY.LZH - Butterfly animation by Lee Seilor
NET.LZH - Ball and Net animation by Lee Seilor
SPIDER.LZH - Spider animation by Lee Seilor
Lee Seilor [76106,3024], Robert Birmingham [73637,1120], and David
Ramsden [76703,4224] will be answering messages for LEXICOR.
TRADE SHOWS MESSAGE AREA
We've established Message Section 12 in the Atari Arts Forum (GO
ATARIARTS) for "Trade Shows." You'll find news and conversation relating
to upcoming Atarifests and computer industry trade shows in this new
message section.
ST REPORT MOVES TO SECTION 14
Our ST REPORT Message Section in the Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS)
has moved to Section 14.
______________________________________________________
> LEXICORE CONFERENCE STR Spotlight¿ Lee Seiler Online!
=================================
CIS ONLINE CONFERENCE
with
LEXICOR & LEE SEILER
PATTIE)
Please, join me in welcoming LEE Seiler of Lexicor Software to the
first of many AtariArts Thursday night conferences with developers here on
CompuServe.
Lexicor has recently joined the AtariArts Forum with their own message
and download areas (Section 11). Currently, Robert Birmingham, David
Ramsden, Mark Kimball and Paul Dana are helping LEE provide official
online customer support, and this will continue when Lexicor joins the
Atari Vendors Forum soon. Lexicor has some "animating" ideas for their
area when they do join the Vendor Forum.
Lexicor has some exciting new products for the ST including their
Phase-4 and Prism series. I'll let LEE tell you about them, but before we
get started, let me ask the CO-ers to not type while LEE is talking.
Also, if you'd like to ask a question, please /sen me a message, and I'll
take the questions in the order received. To /send a message, type /sen 1
PATTIE, I have a question for Lexicor. To start off ... LEE, can you tell
us more about your products and Lexicor itself!
LEE)
Yes...First let me warn all that I am an artist and take comfort in
the idea that all of you can spell! I can't...with that said.. Lexicor
is, in fact, the product of Antic's decision to stop supporting the Cyber
line of products. All of us save Robert Birmingham stem from this source.
We are a group of developers that formed a corporation for developers to
have a safe place to work from and create new software.
The products really speak for themselves, they were designed by some
of the best programmers in the Atari computer field. At this point in
time, their programs have been impressive enough that no less than three
(3) international ATARI corporations have requested that we supply our
programs for bundling with ATARI computers.
Our products are designed to allow the ATARI computer owner to use his
machine as a true "Off-Line" graphics workstation. The first of these
products is PHASE-1, called Rosetta-3D. This program is the link or
linchpin to the "outside world." With it, the user can import and export
CAD objects for use as animation subjects. Written by and the Brain
child of David Ramsden, this program is truly one of the fastest interac-
tive programs ever written for the ATARI.
This program does much more than just translate. It is more properly
a library and housekeeping program that provides an uninterrupted platform
to begin serious animations. In addition to all this, Dave's program is a
remarkable "Draft Animation Tool." I have done some seemingly impossible
animations already, and in the hands of a dedicated animator, I suspect it
could do commercial animations.
PATTIE)
Shawn Gordon has a question for you...Shawn, GO ahead!
SHAWN GORDON)
LEE, is the Nov. 1 release date a go?
LEE)
Yes and NO...we have confirmation on hardware deliveries for the 1st
and 15th of November, which means that I will release to our USA and
European Distributors, from there it may take up to three weeks for them
to process and ship product. We are all working 'round the clock on the
documentation and final feature or two. So, barring some disaster, we
hope to make our deadline.
SHAWN GORDON)
So the hang up would be with the hardware protection key? I did want
to say that I DL'd all the stuff in the Lexicor library and it is amazing.
PATTIE)
Bill, you have a question for LEE?
Bill Rayl/AIM)
LEE, I understand Lexicor is officially coming online with an area in
AtariVen. What kind of things can we expect to see there? PATTIE's opener
hinted at something special?
LEE)
Yes there is something special coming, but first let me comment that I
missed Shawn's question about the safe key. We have had some serious
problems in that area, but this should not delay release??? We hope....
Something special indeed. We will be offering to any interested user
a one-year-long tutorial on computer graphics and computer animations.
This course will consist of monthly topics with weekly lectures, files for
downloading and homework assignments. We will be covering many aspects of
contemporary computer graphic applications. "THIS" means that it will not
be an ongoing sales pitch for our products. We will be demonstrating many
other products and teaching the user how to combine an assortment of
applications to create both desktop graphics and animations.....rest time.
Harjinder Nagra)
Could you give us an overview of the 16 million colour board for the
ST?
LEE)
The 16 million color board is a true 24-bit board which will be usable
with any ST and SC1224 color monitor. At this point it is designed for
fast animation graphics. It will have two resolutions, 1) 256X256 and 2)
512 X 512 when installed with a "pixel stretcher board." This is a new
device just incorporated to support NTSC and PAL full screen on the ATARI-
!!!
PATTIE)
LEE, that's great news! Let's move on to JR Wenzel....
J R Wenzel)
LEE, I have 2 questions and a followup comment...
1) To what extent will the Phase 4 products support the special
features and added resolutions of the TT?
LEE)
Pattie if you don't mind, I would Like Paul Dana to address this ques-
tion??
Paul)
The Phase 4 products support all of the new TT resolutions for starte-
rs! Prism Paint is a beautifully device-independent program. It will
configure itself to the number of colors and the current screen resolut-
ion. It also does not require "double buffering" techniques and will
therefore also run on a Moniterm and an ISAC high res 16 color. Rosetta-3D
also supports the high-res ISAC board and makes beautiful depth cued
images on it. It can also run in the 640x480 TT mode which is another
nice high-res 16 color resolution.
Chronos, the Key Frame Animator, is also device independent and will
make use of however many colors your computer has. It makes use of all of
the new TT resolutions and also runs on the ISAC 16-color board.
Also I should mention that Rosetta-3D and Chronos both make use of the
new TT system calls to use TT "Fast" RAM to speed up handling data.
J R Wenzel)
2) There was some mention of a service being offered by
Lexicor to produce hard copy of graphics produced by your
products...could you expand on this?
LEE)
At this point there are only two possible approaches, The 1st is using
an "AIR" interface to get the image on any other medium than Disk.
The 2nd is through file translation. I have not addressed this, but if
any of my LEXICOR team has a comment as to PageStream or other desktop
publishing format....comment...
J R Wenzel)
Comment - Thank you for your answers to my ?s ... I would just like to
express my best wishes for Lexicor in its endeavors.
PATTIE)
We'll let Rob R. ask LEE his question!
Rob R.)
Is the Phase series mainly an improvement on Cyber? Is this a
replacement for Cyber?
LEE)
Yes in a way it is...but not directly.... Phase-4 really picks up
where the Cyber series left off. The biggest problem with the Cyber
Studio for the non-computer artist was the requirement of a "scripting"
language.
What we have done is build on the solid foundation of the Cyber prog-
rams and provided tools that allow "anyone" to do animations without the
requirement of programing or artistic skills. Although both of these
skills can only help the aspiring computer animator.
Rob R.)
Thanks LEE.
PATTIE)
Harjinder has another question, LEE...
Harjinder Nagra)
Going back to the colour board. Does it have overscan? Will it work
in a TT? How difficult is the installation? And finally, when can I buy
this baby?
LEE)
Overscan is really an misnomer these days. The Atari just does not
have the right frame around the screen? Seriously, the color board and a
little adjustment of the sc1224 will create a "full screen" of 512x512.
The screen ratio will never match commercial film or TV, so the animator
must plan his "actual screen" size based on the intended end use.
So far as I can tell there are an assortment of screen shapes for dif-
ferent end use. I understand what you are asking and, in comparison to say
the Amiga screen, "No." This means you will see some borders depending on
how you use the palette.
As to when it will be ready, that is uncertain at this point. Mark is
doing our engineering and as soon as we can finish the prototypes and
software they will be made available. Mark, this is really your area...if
you wish to clarify or correct my understanding of our board please do
so...
MARK KIMBALL)
I got in late, so I can't comment on specifics. But the timeframe is
right.
PATTIE) Is the board TT Compatible?
LEE) Mark we have never discussed this, but I think NOT?
MARK KIMBALL)
The board right now occupies only about 16 bytes of memory space. That
memory can be mapped anywhere, so it can be MADE compatible, since it's
not a part of the TT OS. The actual graphics are handled by the graphics
coprocessor...so the display in itself is independent of what kind of
680x0 it runs on.
PATTIE)
We have time for only a few more questions ... Jim...
Jim Ness)
LEE, it sounds as though you have a solid and complete package co-
ming...I am wondering how reasonable it would be for a young artist/anima-
tor (a Birmingham wanna-be) to try and get into this with just a base ST
system. No extra hardware, just software. How decent a piece of work
could he do?
LEE)
Well in fact R.B. is going to be doing just that in our LEXICOR ON-
LINE. Very professional results can be had with the stock ATARI. If you
look at our Butterfly demo you will see an example of pure vanilla 520ST
animation using all three Phase-4 programs...
Jim Ness)
Okay, thanks. Gotta d/l that stuff.
PATTIE)
If Jim is done... Keith had a question!
keith)
LEE, I heard somewhere that the 24-bit board would allow for RAM
expansion beyond the current 4 meg limit of the ST/Mega/STe series...is
this true or wishful thinking?
LEE)
You almost heard right, We are also developing a 15-bit true color
capture board that will have 3.5 MEGs of RAM... Dave, you were in on the
technical development. Could you field this last one...PLLLLLLEEEEAAAAAS-
SSSEEEE...
David R.)
Sure...
The 24-bit graphics board (this includes our own board and the Parsec
24-bit board, by the way) has its own internal memory; however, in its
current form (unless it changes), this memory is not directly addressable
by the 68000 on an Atari ST. Theoretically, you could use the memory on
the board for other purposes, but it would just be for temporary storage
(you could possibly use it as a giant RAMdisk...a slow one, that is.)
If a special TT/VME-bus version of the board is created then you
_could_ address the memory on the board from a TT since VME RAM is acces-
sible by the 68030.
keith)
Dave, I thought it was too good :-) Thanks!
PATTIE)
Thank you Keith, Jim, Harjinder and JR for your questions ...
LEE)
Thanks....PATTIE I would like to make a few closing comments to all?
PATTIE)
Go ahead, please!
LEE)
Thanks again, and thank you all for joining us this evening. I would
like to let all of you know that we have some very good news for all Atari
users and that we hope we will be able to not only sell our programs but
begin to share the vast body of our joint experience with the general
Atari user. We are the future of the ATARI.. that is the users and
developers... Everyone else is just along for the ride... TTFN.
PATTIE)
Thank you all for participating, and thanks to the staff of Lexicor
(Dave, Mark, Paul and Robert) and LEE Seiler for being here with us tonig-
ht! Join the crew of Double Click Software on Thursday, Nov. 1st here in
AtariArts!
Editor;
Lexicore holds a great deal of promise for the future of Atari and the
Atari userbase. Their R&D represents the attitude of the developemnt
community for the Atari platform; they want to push envelope at all times
in an ongoing effort to produce superior programming and hardware. Bar
none!
Last, as of two days ago, Lee Seiler informed us that even though he
and his crew of developers have all paid their developer fees, they have
yet to gain access to the developer area on GEnie, this stems from the
time A. Salerno decided, for whatever reason, to have everyone locked out
and force them them re-apply. Seiler said. Also, he affirmed that he was
assured by Leonard that the problem would be corrected. It has not been
as of yet, he sadly added.
____________________________________________________
> CPU REPORT¿ "The Finest Overall Coverage of Computers"
==========
Issue # 87
by Michael Arthur
CPU INSIGHTS¿
============
NEXT COMPUTERS, SPREADSHEETS, AND STEVE JOBS' NEXT ATTEMPT
----------------------------------------------------------
Part II
With the introduction of their NeXTstation systems, NeXT Inc. hoped to
eliminate the reasons that its original NeXT Computer had fared poorly in
the computer industry. While the NeXTstation addressed the flaws in the
NeXT Computer's hardware, it had to have much more support from Software
Developers than the old NeXT Computer. Now, several software companies
have introduced products for the NeXTstation line, including:
NeXT machines. Designed specifically for the NeXT platform using
NeXT's Interface Builder, PowerStep includes such features as 3-D graph-
ics, voice annotations, spreadsheet publishing capabilities and an in-
tuitive, easy-to-use graphical user interface.
PowerStep is in beta test now; availability and pricing were not announ-
ced.
1) Ashton Tate, who has announced a spreadsheet package called
PowerStep. Designed using NeXT's Interface Builder utility, Powerstep
features:
- A 16,384 X 16,384 cell matrix, for the largest of spreadsheet
needs. One can install financial, math, and string functions into
each cell. It also can read/write Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet files.
- Presentation Graphics features, allowing users to place charts,
text, and graphics on a page that has spreadsheet data. PowerSTep
also uses NeXTstep's support for "voice annotation", allowing
users to insert voice messages into a spreadsheet.
- PowerStep automatically updates all graphs and charts as
spreadsheet data changes. Also, several spreadsheets can easily
be merged (or consolidated) into one.
- Over 13 types of graphs and charts, including pie, bar, line,
scatter, and 3D-surface graphs. PowerSTep users can also adjust
the rotation, elevation, and perspective of 3D graphs as they are
found onscreen.
Ashton-Tate has also built a macro language, called WILMA, into Power-
Step. WILMA macros can be called from spreadsheet cells, and can be used
by software developers to develop modules for Powerstep. Currently,
Ashton-Tate is beta-testing PowerStep, and is reportedly porting dBASE IV
to the NeXT Computer....
Lotus Inc. has also introduced a spreadsheet for the NeXTstation line
called Lotus Improv. The result of three years of research, Lotus Improv
can import/export spreadsheet files made with Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3.0. It
has an online, context-sensitive Help System that is arranged with a table
of contents and an index, allowing users to look up the program's features
through a resizable window.
Like PowerStep, Lotus Improv allows users to create presentations
using spreadsheet data and text/graphics/sound elements, and has dynamic
"live links" between its 3D graphs and spreadsheet data. One can also
control the perspective and view of 3D bar/stack/area graphs, but Improv
also has built-in graphics utilities, allowing one to create pictures for
a presentation.
Improv also introduces a new concept called "Dynaview", which incor-
porates many aspects of financial modelling into a spreadsheet program.
Spreadsheet cells and formulas can be expressed using plain English phras-
es, instead of numbers and letters.
For example, a formula to calculate a company's Total Revenue could be
expressed by typing, "(Price * Quantity Sold)", instead of (A1 * B1). In
this way, the structure/logic of a spreadsheet can be understood much more
easily.
Dynaview can compare relationships between two sets of information
without having to recalculate or re-enter any data, macros, or formulas.
In addition, Improv allows users to display different views of a spread-
sheet by manipulating icons. For example, one could first view company
advertising expenses, and quickly switch to viewing the company's payroll.
Improv formulas can also be debugged more easily than with other spread-
sheets, and can be made to apply to all spreadsheet cells that need the
formula. This allows Improv spreadsheets to use far less formulas than
regular spreadsheets, and for those formulas to be reused more quickly.
Lotus says that DynaView could be useful in areas like market analysis
or sales forecasting, and claims that Improv is a revolution in spread-
sheet technology. Improv is now being beta-tested, and Lotus expects to
ship it in early 1991. Cost: $700.00.
WordPerfect Inc. has announced that Version 5.0 of WordPerfect will be
available for the NeXTstation during the first quarter of 1991. This port
will use the NextStep user interface to display documents in a WYSIWYG
fashion (unlike WP 5.0 for DOS), and allows picture images on a document
to be easily scaled, rotated, or moved.
> CPU STATUS REPORT¿ LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
=================
- West Chester, PA X/WINDOWS, 24-BIT COLOR CARD SHOWN FOR AMIGA
----------------
Commodore has announced that Amiga Unix (its port of AT&T Unix
System V Version 4.0) is being beta-tested in Universities worldwide, and
that X/Windows is being ported to both Amiga Unix and the AmigaDOS
operating system. Educational facilities in the US, Canada, and the
Netherlands are participating in this beta-test process.
Commodore has also shown the A2410 Graphics Card, which has a
1024*1024 resolution, and can display 256 colors out of a 16 million color
palette. It uses the Texas Instruments 34010 Graphics processor to speed
up its display, and supports a 800*800 resolution using Commodore's 1950
Multisync monitor. Both products will reportedly be introduced in the US
at next month's Fall Comdex trade show....
- Charlotte, NC VERBATIM SHIPS 4 MEG FLOPPY DISKS, 640 MEG OPTICALS
-------------
Verbatim Corp. has introduced one of the first 3.5-inch floppy disks
on the market that is capable of storing up to 4 Megs of Data. Called the
DataLife ED, they will be sold for $15.00 EACH, or $150.00 for a box of
10 disks. They are also shipping a line of 5-1/4 inch optical cartridges,
which are capable of storing up to 640 Megabytes of data. Designed to be
used in magneto-optical disk drives (like the type used by the NeXT
Computer), these cartridges can store data for over 10 years. This is
far longer than hard or floppy disks are capable of. Cost: $353.00.
- Sunnyvale, CA AMD WINS RIGHT TO SELL CLONES OF 80386 CHIPS
-------------
In an arbitration hearing between AMD and Intel, Judge J. B. Phelps
recently ruled that AMD has the right to produce clones of the Intel 80386
chip and the 8087 floating point chip. AMD is now asking for Intel's
80386 microcode, as well as $500 million dollars in damages. It appears
that Intel "decided" in 1984 to breach the terms of a 1982 Technology
Agreement made between the two companies.
Judge Phelps ruled that the Intel/AMD Agreement allowed AMD to use
Intel's microcode in making an 80386 chip. Interestingly, he commented
that Intel's attempts to stop AMD were "a classic example of....preaching
good faith but practicing duplicity." Under the agreement, the Judge
ruled that Intel may have to transfer its designs and microcode for the
80386 and 8087 chips to AMD. AMD also presented evidence that Intel's
withholding the 8087 design kept it from entering the math coprocessor
market until Intel had cornered the market.
In this dispute, Judge Phelps also ruled that Intel committed
several "breaches of the agreement" when it DID send AMD its plans for the
80286 microprocessor. Apparently, the information sent to AMD was
"deliberately incomplete, deliberately indecipherable, and deliberately
unusable by AMD engineers...." Because of this, AMD had to reverse-
engineer the 80286 design in order to correct the information sent by
Intel.
________________________________________________________
> KENAN IRKED? STR Spotlight¿ ELIE KENAN & ATARI RE-NEGOTIATE
==========================
10/16/90 ORIGINALLY POSTED to GEnie...
========
TO ALL CONCERNED ATARI USERS;
If..... Elie is truly gone, it is encumbent upon all of us to wait for
a realistic explanation of what actually happened. Speculation and sup-
position will get accomplish absolutely nothing.
No, I am not becoming an apologist, just a realist. There is a very
real reason why Elie is not part of the program, we simply must look to
Sunnyvale for a very truthful, straight forward, answer detailing what is
actually happening. There is too much involved in the entire Atari USA
marketplace to allow confusion through hysterical supposition to cloud the
real issues. Too many third party folks and users have small fortunes tied
up in the Atari marketplace, it would be a gross injustice to them if we
allowed confusion and double talk to cloud or mask the truth.
Therefore, it would be wise and prudent to * steadfastly wait * for a
true and complete accounting of what is actually going on.
How about it Atari? It's ONLY the right thing to do.
I AM INCLINED to * VERY MUCH * believe that Elie is history. It is
rumored that the man was very unhappy with the prospect of bringing his
family here from France. (family ties, culture, schools etc.)
Be advised, Sam is travelling with Elie to back to France for a major
Atari show. You can be sure that the efforts to convince Elie to go on
with the original plan will be diligently pursued by not only Atari but by
all of the US developers in attendance at the French Atari show. Most of
all, please keep the faith, I am sure Elie will have a very strong hand in
the future affairs of Atari in any case.
Ralph......
There are many things to take into consideration when something of
this percieved magnitude occurs:
- What will the overall effect be?
- Will the users accept this, the latest setback they must face?
- How should the coverage be approached?
- Should these issues be covered at all?
- Should speculation and alleged educated guesses be part of the coverage?
The answers are not easy to come by. But the bottom line for the
press presents only one major question:
Will the press present this situation in an objective manner where the
probabilities of creating a negative stir are nil or will they blast
ahead and present the "grandiose grandstand shot" of the month?
In all fairness to Atari, we must find the time to temper our approach
primarily for the benefit of the users and the future of Atari. Most will
agree that Atari must make the turn around and begin to realize that the
customer is ALWAYS right, regardless of the situation. Elie Kenan, has
the right stuff all set to go. He maintaines that the input users provide
to the company reflecting what THEY want is THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT
RESOURCE ATARI HAS for the future. Also, he acknowledges that THE FUTURE
IS COMPLETELY IN THE HANDS OF THE USERS AND DEVELOPERS.
Atari merely provides the tools, ie; computers etc.. the users and
developers absolutely breathe LIFE into the hardware Atari designs, for
without the users (paying customers) and developers (catalytic agents who
bring it all together) there can be NO future for Atari or any company for
that matter. Elie Kenan realizes this fact and will act upon it positive-
ly.
The userbase is advised, in any case, to remember the overall strength
of Atari and its new product lineup. Comdex promises to re-kindle the
bursting pride we have all enjoyed at one time or another while using
these superb products.
***********************************************************************
: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.
-> NOW! GENIE STAR SERVICE IS IN EFFECT!! <-
***********************************************************************
> NEODESK 3.01 STR Review¿ In-Depth review of NEODESK 3.01
=======================
NEODESK 3.01
GRIBNIF'S PERFECT DESKTOP
by Erik Williams
FNET: SunFox @304 {The Twilight Zone}
We have all seen the press releases in ST-Report and elsewhere about
Gribnif's new version of NeoDesk. Well, last Wednesday I took the plunge
and ordered a copy directly from Gribnif (at this writing, NeoDesk is
still waiting for bulk shipments of manuals so they can start delivering
to the distributors).
I couldn't wait for the UPS man to knock on my door, and unfortunately
I had to go to class to drop off an assignment. Yes, I got the yellow
slip telling me that I had missed him and that they would be delivering it
tomorrow. WRONG!
I tracked down that UPS truck! I caught him in a cul-de-sac where he
couldn't escape. I finally had my precious copy of NeoDesk 3.01. Let me
tell you, this program is well worth the wait (as well as the multiple
traffic tickets I received after that hairy pursuit, but that's another
story...)!
Naturally, with a program like this, you don't immediately open the
package. You just kind of look at it, savoring the moment. This is the
time for the doubts to come in: "maybe they sent me the wrong version" or
"the disk may be defective" etc. That lasted for about three seconds!
WHAT YOU GET FOR YOUR DOUGH...
NeoDesk comes in a very professional looking box with a beautiful 140-
page manual (completely typeset in Calamus and printed on a SLM 804,
extremely nice output which will show the world the true capabilities of a
ST), a warranty card, and two NeoDesk disks (one a Master disk, the other
with extra programs for use with NeoDesk).
INSTALLING THIS PUPPY...
The introducing of NeoDesk 3.01 to my hard disk was simple and pain-
less. Gribnif has come up with a novel way of protecting their hard work
from being put up for download on every pirate BBS.
You must first run a program that registers your copy of NeoDesk, thus
binding you to the licensing agreement. Once it has been registered, then
you can copy it all over the place, but it will have your name and serial
number plastered all over the place which makes it easy to track the
original pirate and nail him to the wall.
Registering is simple, but Gribnif advises you to make sure that the
warranty card and the information you give REGISTER.PRG are one and the
same. Once you have given Register all the information it needs, it
proceeds to activate your copy of NeoDesk. When this is done, back up
your disks (I suggest putting them on a double-sided disk (both the Master
Disk and the Extras Disk will fit in a 9/80 formatted double-sided disk).
Put your originals in a safe place.
Now that you have registered the program and copied it to a backup,
now comes the installation to your hard disk (if you do not have a hard
disk, you may skip this section...better yet, run out and get one...you'll
never go back to just floppies!).
First copy over the NEODESK3 folder to your boot disk (for hard dri-
ves, this is usually Drive C). Then copy all of the other folders and
files into the NEODESK3 folder.
Now look in NEODESK3 for NEOLOAD.PRG. This is the program that ac-
tually loads NeoDesk. It waits for all other programs and desk acces-
sories to finish loading before executing NeoDesk (to eliminate conflicts
between programs). If you have a program like Superboot that autoboots
applications, then stick a copy of NEOLOAD.PRG in your boot disk's AUTO
folder.
NEOLOAD must be run at least once before NeoDesk can load (with an
autoboot setup, you end up running it from the AUTO folder, it stays
resident until everyone else has finished loading, and then executes
NeoDesk).
NEOLOAD will also work with StartGem, HeadStart, Hotwire (my current
setup, to get around a bug in TOS 1.4), or any similar program.
You will also need to copy the NeoDesk accessories and the NeoDesk
Trashcan to the boot disk's root directory in order to use these wonderful
programs (more on them later).
You are now ready to take NeoDesk out for a spin!
RUNNING NEODESK FOR THE FIRST TIME...
I am going to detail using NeoDesk in high resolution monochrome, but
using NeoDesk in the other resolutions is a similar process (NeoDesk now
supports ST Low Resolution as well as the new TT modes except TT Low).
When you first run NeoDesk, you will be confronted with a message that
tells you that there is no information file for this resolution and it
will use the built in defaults. Getting past that dialog, you will see
the NeoDesk desktop with all of your available drives, a trashcan, a
clipboard, and a printer icon.
If you have been using NeoDesk 2.02 or greater, then you have a facil-
ity that will convert your current NeoDesk desktops to the new version
rather painlessly. Run INF_CONV.NPG (a NeoDesk program that will run only
under NeoDesk) and just select what .INF file you want to convert to the
resolution that YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN and then select the items that it
will convert. Once it is done converting the information, it will redisp-
lay the NeoDesk desktop.
It hasn't updated your actual .INF file, though, just set up your
desktop with those parameters. Customize the desktop as you want it and
then choose SAVE CONFIGURATION under the Options Menu and select the
appropriate choice (it should be the default choice, so usually you can
just click on OK).
If this is your first version of NeoDesk, then you will have to manua-
lly arrange your desktop icons, change their descriptors using the INSTALL
DESKTOP ICON command under the Options Menu, add icons for a RAMdisk if
you choose (though NeoDesk virtually eliminates the need for one with the
file clipboard).
Once you have the desktop as you want it, SAVE CONFIGURATION will set
the default startup file for that resolution to your current desktop.
Setting up NeoDesk is rather painless. It's a lot like setting up the
DESKTOP.INF file with GEM, it's something you do once and then forget it
(I still have yet to update my original desktop's .INF files to remove
extra drives that I haven't had for the last year or so!).
WHAT'S THAT PROGRAM DOING ON THE DESKTOP?
This is one of the neatest features of NeoDesk, and the one that
really sold me on the program.
You can pull a program icon out onto the desktop, put him in any
convenient place, and execute that program just by clicking on that icon.
No more searching through the hard disk trying to find an application!
Just find the application, and pull the icon to the desktop. Once you
have the icon out there where you want it, then SAVE CONFIGURATION.
You can execute the program directly, or you can drag a file or set of
files to it as "parameters" if your program supports an "Install Applicat-
ion" facility. I did this with WordPerfect by dragging this article's
file to the WordPerfect icon and voila! I am editing my file again (this
is one neat little feature).
The Install Application also works as well, and a whole lot better
than the built in desktop's! One of the things you have to be careful
about is where you set the directory upon execution. NeoDesk allows you
to set the directory to the program's or the datafile's directory upon
execution. You have to be very careful with this one as some programs are
picky about which directory will allow the program to work (WordPerfect
wants it's directory to be pointing to the program's directory, but the
data file will still be pointing at it's correct directory). Experiment
to see which directory works best for your application.
PROGRAMS ON THE DESKTOP, BUT FOLDERS?
You heard me right. Folders on the desktop, finally! Just drag out
the folder icon in a similar fashion to a program icon and SAVE CONFIGURA-
TION.
Clicking on the icon will take you directly to that folder which is
great if you have those couple of folders that you are constantly going to
for data and programs.
AS IF FOLDERS WEREN'T ENOUGH, DESKTOP NOTES!
Just double click anywhere on the desktop and you can scribble some
notes to yourself (like if you are on the phone and the nearest thing is
the computer). To make the notes permanent, just SAVE CONFIGURATION and
choose Notes.
THE FILE CLIPBOARD...TRASH THAT RAMDISK!
One of NeoDesk's most innovative features is the file clipboard. The
manual describes it as a "automatically expanding and shrinking RAMDisk"
which is an apt description. You can use the clipboard in much the same
way as a RAMDisk, just drag your files to the clipboard. One essential
difference is that the clipboard uses all of the available memory in your
machine (which on a Mega4 translates to about 3.5 megs, the actual size
depends on what machine you are running with what accessories).
You can open the clipboard, rearrange files in the clipboard, do a
SHOW INFORMATION, essentially anything that you can do to a RAMDisk, you
can do to the clipboard.
The clipboard is especially useful for those of us with removable
media drives such as the Syquest 555 (in my system, the Syquest is the
only drive). I used the clipboard to move about 660K worth of Spectrum
pictures from my main cartridge to my graphics/demos cartridge (I will
admit that I saved all of those Spectrums just to test this feature!). I
copied everything to the clipboard, rearranged the files to my liking,
switched cartridges, and then copied everything to the new cartridge.
With a hard disk, you will not notice any decrease in speed dumping
the files from the clipboard to the disk. Floppies are another story...it
seemed to me that the clipboard wasn't doing the copy in the same way that
NeoDesk normally does (read in all of the files to all of the available
memory). Hopefully, the copy routines can be optimized by temporarily
freeing the memory not used by the clipboard to speed copying. This is a
minor caveat considering the usefulness of this feature.
One interesting little quirk of the clipboard is that it will dump all
of it's contents when you go to execute a program (to free up all of the
memory to the new applications). However, it does warn you before dumping
the clipboard to give the user a chicken exit.
USING THIS SUPER DESKTOP...
Using NeoDesk is quite similar to using your regular desktop. You can
still Shift-click items for multiple file manipulations (in NeoDesk, you
can even click on the scroll bar while still holding the Shift key to
select items that aren't visible in the window while still keeping the
other items selected).
NeoDesk gives you an option of moving or copying files (or it will ask
you which operation you wish to perform on particular copies/moves). The
same rules apply, select the items you want to move or copy and drag them
to their destination icon/window.
The directory windows have a lot more features built into them. These
windows still have the old familiar close box, full box, resizing box,
scroll bars, and the vertical scrolling arrows. However, the new windows
have even more than that!
Clicking on the "x2" box will give you a duplicate menu of the same
directory that you are in. This is useful if you are dealing with several
folders and you are either combining items or segregating them.
The horizontal scrolling arrows allows you to scroll the information
bar. This information bar will tell you how many items and the total size
of the files in the directory you are looking at. When you select a file,
the bar will tell you the information on that one file, including the
read/write/archive bit status and whether it has an executable boot sector
or not (useful for detecting viruses).
To the immediate left of the full box is a "<<" button which will send
the current window to the back of a stack of windows and activate the next
window in line.
Just below the information bar is a double-line. Click and drag this
bar down into the directory window itself and you have just split the
window! This is extremely useful for those directories with a ton of
items in it and you have a need to see two different locations of files.
Two buttons in the bottom left corner are the Icon/Text toggle and the
Select-All button. The Icon/Text toggle will switch between icon and text
displays (different windows can have different displays, it is no longer
an all-icon or all-text option). The Select-All button does just that, it
selects all the items in the directory (for those mass-moves or mass-
deletes).
Between the Select-All button and the resizing box is a bar that tells
you the volume name of the disk you are looking at. NeoDesk allows you to
give your disks custom names (i.e. my data partition is labeled the "Anxi-
ety Closet" for all you Bloom County fans out there). It saves this
volume name in a 21-byte hidden file named NEODESK.DAT in the root direc-
tory of that particular drive.
NeoDesk is getting to be like using the Universal Item Selector with
all of the features available on the directory window!
NOT YOUR USUAL COMPUTER MANUAL!
In the words of Monty Python: "And now for something completely
different!" No review of this program would be complete without a discus-
sion of the manual.
As alluded to earlier, NeoDesk's manual is an 140-page marvel that was
typeset using Calamus and output for the publishers on an Atari SLM 804.
It is a truly professional looking manual.
But the most important part of that manual is the fact that the wri-
ting is very clear and concise. This is one of the few manuals that I
have ever read that doesn't qualify for "obtuse" or "confusing".
It's written in a rather conversational style that isn't too formal
nor is it too cutesy. Rick Flashman has exploited that happy medium in
technical writing that is so hard to find.
CONCLUSIONS
It should be very obvious that I am very impressed with this program.
Try as I might, I could not crash NeoDesk no matter what I did. Dan,
you've written some very solid and bulletproof code here that makes Neo-
Desk 3.01 worth the price of admission.
Also, some users who already have NeoDesk may notice that this review
is rather incomplete. That's because you can't do justice to a program
like this in just one review. I plan on following up this review with a
couple of articles detailing the NeoDesk accessories, the NeoDesk support
programs, and possibly the most important one, the new NeoDesk Icon Editor
(which will be a big review in itself). Stay tuned for these follow-up
articles!
________________________________________________________________
> AUA AT WAACE STR SHOW NEWS¿ AUA sez WAACE a BIG SUCCESS!
==========================
AUA EXPRESSES GRATITUDE
=======================
by Derek C. Signorini
AUA Coordinator
To say that the WAACE show this past weekend was a complete success
for our organization is an understatement. Reston, Virginia was the sight
of the 1990 AtariFest and from all of people we spoke with at the show and
after, the general consensus is that the people of WAACE have been pulled
of another fantastic show. Tony Parry, Rob Maretsky and myself manned the
AUA booth at the show, and we spoke with many enthusiastic people while we
distributed samples of the AUA NewsBriefs Newsletter, NewsBriefs Disk
Magazine, and flyers.
Going into the show, we jotted down some goals we hoped to meet while
at the show, and I am happy to say that we met each and every goal we set.
Our membership grew by over 250 individual members this past weekend, we
had close to a dozen user groups affiliate with the AUA under the User
Group Affiliation Program, and last but not least, we made the AUA acronym
known to many people. Unfortunately, none of us were able to get away
from our booth to enjoy the other booths at the show, since the AUA booth
was packed all weekend long and we barely had time to grab a bite to eat.
We are projecting that once all of the necessary paper work is completed
for the User Groups who joined our UGAP program, AUA membership will be
well close to 1500 members. We will have to wait until all of our data
arrives before we can report an exact count, however, without taking into
consideration the UGAP members, total AUA membership has climbed above the
1000 mark making our organization and our efforts unprecedented.
The people of WAACE, and the users of the DC-VA-MD-PA area are
responsible for the great turnout. WAACE provided the AUA the opportunity
to work in a very professional setting where we were in turn, able to
portray our organization in the same manor. I can not say enough about
the great efforts that WAACE has put forth to present the community with a
fantastic show. Job well done! I hope that next year's show will top
this one!
I am happy to announce that Tony has won this year's first annual
donut rolling contest, and that Rob has won the Iron Man Competition in
the Marathon category. To say the least, we had fun. None of us were
happy with the 4 hour drive from PA, but the ride home was an exciting
one, since we were all 'pumped' up with adrenalin because of the turnout.
All of us would like to thank everyone we spoke to this weekend for taking
the time out to first, come to the show and showing their support for
Atari, and secondly, for stopping by the AUA booth to hear what we had to
say. The reception AUA received at WAACE made our trip very worth while,
and in doing so, have made the possiblity of future show appearances a
must on our schedule.
__________________________________________________________________
> The Flip Side STR Feature¿ "...A different veiwpoint"
=========================
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT
by Michael Lee
Wow!! This has been an exciting time for the ST community. The WAACE
show was a wild success (as you've probably already read), there have
been TWO 68030 boards introduced for the ST, a new multi-tasking
desktop and so many other new products that I can't keep up with them
(but I'm sure that Ralph will keep you filled in). Atari has shown
how they're committed to the ST in the USA and ST developers for the
first time in months are starting to smile again. I think the next 12
months are going to see some exciting things happening in ST
community!
----------------
I just stumbled over the following advertisement in another Germany
Atari Magazine:
SM 124 Multisynch II - 1 monitor, 3 resolutions
100% software compatible, help programs on disk
After a proper installation your SM 124 is capable of working in
all three resolutions. Colors will be displayed as shades of grey.
The high resolution does not loose its brilliance. Software
compatibility is 100% since the modification is a hardware solution.
Besides listing an in-house modification of DM 250,- the company also
offers 2 kinds of kits to do it yourself:
1. completed board (together with GERMAN installation manual) for
DM 149
2. 'empty' board together with all parts (still to be soldered on
board - also with GERMAN manual) for DM 129.
Here is the address:
IKS,
In der Au 22 7516 Karlsbad 4 / GERMANY
Telephone: 01149-7202-7687
(From Mike Schuetz on GEnie)
----------------
Have you wondered why some folks don't have any problems with their
PC's reading ST disks and others do? Here's a tip from Rick Flashman
(Gribnif Software) on GEnie:
Here's the scoop, according to a friend in the industry:
MS-DOS 3.21 or above can read any standard type of 3.5" disk
regardless of fat size. They just check for the MS-DOS boot sector.
Disks formatted with TOS 1.4, NeoDesk, etc. will read fine under MS-
DOS 3.21 or later.
Older versions of MS-DOS cannot read a 3.5" disk. If you find one that
can, it is because the manufacturer has "patched" it to do so.
Therefore those earlier versions may be MUCH more pickier on the
requirements of their 3.5" disks.
For example, my Toshiba 1000 which runs MS-DOS 2.11 will only read
3.5" disks that have the words MS-DOS in the boot sector, something
that legally only a true copy of MS-DOS can put on the disk. But if I
boot up MS-DOS 3.3 on the same Toshiba, it has no problem reading any
TOS 1.4, NeoDEsk 3.5" disk.
Does that make sense? If I somehow happen to be incorrect, please let
me know. As I said, this comes to me from an 'industry expert'.
Therefore MicroSoft only "officially" recommends using MS-DOS 3.21 or
above to read a 3.5" disk...
----------------
Are you needing a good hard drive optimizer (keeping your hard drive
optimized, can keep the system running at it's maximum speed). Here's
what Dave Beckemeyer (BDT Products) has to say about his product:
....but way back, someone asked if HD SENTRY (the Beckemeyer disk
test/repair/optimize utility) could handle >16MB partitions. The
answer is YES!
...running out of disk space on the hard drive...Sentry takes this
into consideration and it won't hurt anything even if you only have
one block free (it won't be able to do anything if you don't have some
free space).
Sentry is very careful to make sure that it's steps are simple and
safe with very brief periods of "file structure state
inconsistencies". Even if the ST crashes in the middle of optimization
(not a really good thing to have happen), you will usually find that
the Disk is mostly okay and with a little repair work by Sentry is
fine again. This means Sentry takes a little longer to de-fragment,
but it is much safer than some other programs because it always keeps
the disk in a "real" state. It's kind of hard to describe and I can
tell I'm doing poorly at it, so I'll just leave it at that.
The disk de-frag program is called HARD DISK SENTRY and it retails for
$49.95. The package actually includes a file system checker, an
optimizer and a separate program for testing disks for low-level I/O
problems (disk sector test and markbad).
Any BDT product can be ordered directly from our offices in Oakland,
CA:
PO Box 21575
Oakland, CA 94620
(415) 530-9637
We accept checks, COD, or MC/VISA. Thanks for asking.
----------------
Until next week.....
___________________________________________________________________
> NEW ENGLAND ATARIFEST '90 STR SHOW NEWS¿ IT'S SHOWTIME!
=======================================
//////NEW ENGLAND ATARIFEST '90\\\\\\
STATUS REPORT
18-Oct-90
Things are getting down to the wire, so everything should be pretty
much in place. Unless anything changes drastically, this will be the final
update. New England AtariFest '90 will be held 27 October 1990 at the
University of Massachusetts at Boston - Harbor Campus.
DOORS OPEN AT 9:00AM.
The following will be represented at New England AtariFest '90. Ent-
ries marked with a (*) indicate exhibitors, while those marked with a (o)
indicate alternative participation.
* Asgard Productions o ISD Marketing, Inc.
* Atari Computer (U.S.) * Joppa Computer Products
* Atari UG of Greater Hartford * Chor-Ming Lung
* BCS/Atari * Micro National
* Beta-Cad * Nashoba Valley Atari Users Soc.
* Bit Bucket Computer Store * N. Attleboro Atari Computer Club
* CodeHead Software * On-Line Computers
* Computer Bug * Dennis Palumbo
* Computers, Etc. * Rhode Island ACE
* Computer Zone * South Shore Atari Group
* Dr. T's Music Software * ST Atari Road Runners
* Duggan DeZign/Hawkware o STReport Online Magazine
* ERM Electronic Liquidators * Step Ahead Software
* Fast Technology * Syntronics Computer Center
o GEnie Information Service * Taylor Ridge Books
* Granite Computers * TidBit Software Engineering
* Gribnif Software * Valley Atari ST
* GT Software * WizWorks!
* ICD, Inc.
THE SEMINAR SCHEDULE IS AS FOLLOWS:
0915 Darlah Pine "GEnie STAR*SERVICES"
1000 Nevin Shalit "COLOR DTP WITH PAGESTREAM"
"TRACKER/ST"
1100 Nathan Potechin "CALAMUS AND OUTLINE ART"
1200 Ralph Mariano "STREPORT & THE CHANGING TIMES"
(This promises to be lively)
1300 Rick Flashman "NEODESK 3: THE ULTIMATE DESKTOP"
1400 Jim Allen "WHATEVER COMES TO MIND"
1500 Bob Brodie "ATARI SPEAKS"
1600 Tyson Gill "DATA MANIPULATION WITH DATAKEN"
GETTING TO THE SHOW:
-------------------
UMass/Boston's Harbor Campus is easily accessible from I-93 (south-
bound, take exit 15; northbound, exit 14, and follow the signs to "U. of
Mass./JFK Library"). Parking is free.
By public transportation (MBTA), take the Red Line outbound to the JFK/UM-
ASS stop.
The show is in McCormack Hall, on the 3rd floor.
______________________________________________________________
> Stock Market ~ STReport¿ IBM STOCK PLUMMETS!
=======================
THE TICKERTAPE
==============
by Michael Arthur
The price of Atari stock went up 1/8 of a point on Monday, but was
down 1/4 of a point on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it was down 1/8 of a point,
and stayed the same price on Thursday. On Friday, the price of Atari
stock went up 1/4 of a point. Finishing up the week at $2.625 a share,
the pr
ice of Atari's stock stayed at the same price since October 5, 1990.
Apple Stock was up 1/4 of a point from Friday, October 5, 1990.
Commodore Stock was up 7/8 of a point from 10/5/90.
IBM Stock was down EIGHT points from 10/5/90.
Stock Report for Week of 10/8/90 to 10/12/90
_________________________________________________________________________
STock| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
Reprt|Last Chg.|Last Chg.|Last Chg.|Last Chg.|Last Chg.|
-----|------------|---------------|-------------|-----------|------------|
Atari|2 3/4 + 1/8|2 1/2 - 1/4|2 3/8 - 1/8|2 3/8 ----|2 5/8 + 1/4|
| | | | | 63,400 Sls |
-----|------------+---------------+-------------+-----------+------------|
CBM | 6 + 3/8|5 3/4 - 1/4|6 1/4 + 1/2| 6 - 1/4|6 1/2 + 1/2|
| | | | |100,700 Sls |
-----|------------+---------------+-------------+-----------+------------|
Apple|29 1/2 | 28 - 1 1/2|26 1/2 -1 1/2|27 3/4 |28 1/4 +1/2|
| +1 1/2| 1,076,600 Sls | | +1 1/4|2,041,500 # |
-----|------------+---------------+-------------+-----------+------------|
IBM |109 1/2 |105 3/8 -4 1/8|103 1/2 |101 -2 1/2|100 1/4 -3/4|
| +1 1/4| 1,418,600 Sls | -1 7/8| |2,308,100 # |
-----'-------------------------------------------------------------------'
'#' and 'Sls' refer to the # of stock shares that were traded that day.
'CBM' refers to Commodore Corporation.
_____________________________________________________________
> NEWDESK STR Spotlight¿ USER INPUT IS ATARI'S FUTURE!
=====================
CODEHEAD SOFTWARE SPEAKS OUT ABOUT THE NEW TT DESKTOP
-----------------------------------------------------
Atari's new TT computer has many new features not found on the ST.
One of the most profound and unique changes is immediately apparent when
you first boot up the TT...a greatly enhanced desktop.
The TT's new desktop is truly exciting, with many of the features that
users have been wanting and seeking elsewhere since the ST first appeared
in 1985. These include everything from custom icons for different files
and folders to loading desktop setups from disk.
In fact, Atari has a version of the new desktop which loads from disk
and runs on the ST. Unfortunately, they have announced that it is their
decision not to release the disk-loaded version of the new desktop for
the ST, stating as their reason that they don't wish to put those
companies who make alternative desktops out of business.
This puts us at CodeHead Software in a rather awkward position. As
one of the companies which markets an alternative desktop for the ST, we
feel partially responsible for Atari's position regarding the new desktop.
In deference to their rationale, we'd like to go on record as being stron-
gly in favor of their releasing a disk version of the new desktop. We
feel it should be packaged with every ST/STe sold by Atari in the US and
Canada.
Such a release could be a real boon to the ST, spawning a rebirth of a
dying computer...something that could only benefit us all. When Atari
released the ST in 1985 there was an excitement that flowed even into the
PC and Macintosh arenas. Now after five years of stagnation, the ST
could proudly display a new facelift and walk hand in hand with the TT
back into the public eye. This resurgence would mean new buyers of Atari
computers and new potential customers for _all_ software developers.
We certainly don't want it on our conscience that the progress and
possible rebirth of the ST was held back because of the two of us.
Furthermore, an illegal and buggy version of the new desktop has begun to
circulate through pirate channels. Atari, please don't allow the pirates
to be the only ones using the new desktop. Release it to the public so
that we may all benefit. We want our new ST desktop.
John Eidsvoog
Charles F. Johnson
CodeHead Software
---***===***---
Category 14, Topic 40
Message 153 Wed Oct 17, 1990
W.PARKS3 [Dr. Bob] at 20:06 EDT
It certainly sounds nice that Leonard made such a statement (ie not
wanting to compete with existing alternative desktop developers) but was
this just a boardroom decision? Did management ask for any input from the
"alt-desktop developers" ? Or does management simply discard "external"
input as an annoyance?
With all the ups and downs, rumors, hype and bad/good mouthing that
has been in this arena.... the only people who listen to the users are
those who have little control over decision making... and it has ALWAYS
been the decision making that has lacked true insight.
I'm glad we have such good guys here on GEnie, but it must get really
tough on them sometimes, having to listen to all of our whining. They act
as buffers- sometimes the big guy(s) get some comment that trickles thr-
ough but for the most part, I don't really feel that we get very far- and
that is just what reinforces our whinings. How long has it been since the
"problem" with the STE and the HARD-Drive... not much of an official
announcement has been made- Bob Brodie has said all that he can say- it's
once again up to the big boys to "authorize" any further mention...
So... I ask... "can we petition the lord with prayer?"
I hope so... as I live and breathe, I hope so-
Atari has made a fine machine, well... the technical people _MADE_ it,
It's been upper level management that I feel (IMHO) that has constantly
dropped the ball- What does one do when the team manager bats .050 ?
When the quarterback keeps fumbling the ball- ?
So... "Now I lay me down to sleep.... Jack"
Bye: Dr. Bob
Category 14, Topic 34
Message 26 Thu Oct 18, 1990
W.PARKS3 [Dr. Bob] at 19:08 EDT
If it matters at all what I think, then, "I think: It wouldn't be a
bad idea to release the new desktop. We know, of course, that it may
compete in some manner with the 'alternate-desktops' and that it wouldn't
be taken as a good gesture to simply throw it out onto the market and let
the 'other-desktop' makers simply discover that they're suddenly knocked
down a peg or two or three...whatever. A little advance notice, perhaps,
to them stating Atari's yet-pending decision, mayhaps a voice phone call-
I think it would really boost Atari's reputation if they actually called
the 'now targeted' devs and asked for input... <eg "Look, we're thinking
of releasing this new desktop for the ST/STe. We feel it'll be a real
boost for machine... but we also understand that it'll compete with your
product so we're wondering (in advance) what we may be able to do to
maintain an amicable relationship..." or something like that-something
that shows some sincerity>
I'm certain that the new desktop isn't going to be an end-all desktop.
There's always _more_ that can be done- --
I don't want to go on record saying that we should simply ignore the
alternate- desktop makers and toss (no pun intended) this on the market.
Ask their ideas- or simply state your intentions to them- don't leave
them in the cold if the decision is already made- give them a little
lead-time- they do help machine sales- don't cut them off.
... dare I mention it ? I've been trying not to;) Give those devs (at
least) tech info on the new desktop so they can provide future enhancemen-
ts... Hey- what do I know about cooperation? I'm just a programmer;)
The big boys are supposed to be good at management, no? They know what
needs to be done with me telling them;) So... I guess my vote is a (soft-
ly spoken) Yes, release it.
ps: I hope that vacations are in store for the 'front-line' troops here
after the big show at comdex. (the Bahamas are always nice;) Ahhhhh a
week or two basking in the sun....)
Bye: Dr. Bob
------------
Category 14, Topic 34
Message 27 Thu Oct 18, 1990
TIMPURVES at 20:00 EDT
The existing Desktops should be able to "hold their own" against the TT
desktop. Releasing the new desktop could be the "shot in the arm" Atari
needs NOW!. Not a year from now.
------------
Category 14, Topic 34
Message 28 Fri Oct 19, 1990
DOUG.W at 04:48 EDT
I agree with Tim. After seeing the TT desktop, I still prefer NeoDesk 3.0
by a LONG shot.
--Doug
------------
Editor:
-------
While there are now many "yes votes" being cast from many different
directions, Atari would be well advised to note that many users are very
well aware of this situation and are getting involved by casting their
votes. Most users spoken to say they are becoming involved for two major
reasons, first; is to show they want this disk based version released and
second; to show a sort of 'vote of confidence and continued support' to
Atari. STReport finds this revelation to be a fine example of the faith
the users still have in the ability of Atari to continue forward with the
TT and other new innovative products while facing uncertainties.
A number of methods are being used to facilitate their being heard,
for example, they may write to Atari to cast their vote or cast their vote
online in the appropriate areas of CIS, GEnie, UseNet, Delphi, Bix and all
other networks where it is known Atari company folks frequent.
To all Atari users, let Atari know you want this disk based version relea-
sed, let them know by your response that your support and enthusiasm is
still there, let them know that you care enough to respond. In our humble
opinion, posting online for all to see is among the very best ways to cast
your vote.
STReport supports this premise of allowing the entire userbase an
excellent opportunity to use the NEWDESK desktop in a reliable form, such
as the disk based form, as suggested. Since there are a number of varia-
tions already in circulation, it would most definitely be in Atari's and
the user's best interests to have Atari release this disk based version.
What better way, that's obviously cost effective, could there possibly
be to propel the elegance of the TT to within reach of each and every
user? So, please vote! Allow Atari the opportunity to actually see how
many users really care and are enthusiastically looking forward to the
future for both Atari and themselves.
______________________________________________________
> LCAC V 2.0 STR SHOW NEWS¿ Chicago AtariFest V2.0
=========================
**** Chicago AtariFest V2.0 ****
Lake County Atari Computer Enthusiasts are proud to present "Chicago
AtariFest" to be held November 11th (Sunday) 1990 at the American Legion
Gurnee Post located at W. Grand and Il. Rt. 21 (just 1 mile east of I-94
and the "Great America" theme park). The show will open to the public at
10:00 AM and will run until 4:00 PM. General admission will be $2.00 in
advance, $3.00 at the door. Children under 6 will be admitted free with a
paying adult.
All paid admissions will have a chance at one of several valuable door
prizes to be awarded at various times during the day. For more
information on advance ticket sales and general show information, please
contact LCACE at P.O. Box 8788, Waukegan, IL 60079-8788. A special show
message base is available on the Python BBS, (708) 680-5105 300/1200/2400
24hrs.
------ Exhibitors/Developers --------
CodeHead Software DataQue Products
P.O. Box 74090 P.O. Box 134
Los Angeles, CA 90004 Ontario, OH 44862
John Eidsvoog Chuck Steinman
Brumleve Software M-S Designs
P.O. Box 4195 611 W. Illinois
Urbana, IL 61801-8820 Urbana, IL
D.A. Brumleve Carl Stanford
Reeve Software Atari Interface Magazine
29 Old Farm Lane 3487 Braeburn Cir.
Warrenville, IL 60555 Ann Arbor, MI
Alan Reeve Bill and Pattie Rayl
Atari Portable Ent. Magazine ICD, Inc.
2104 Kostner 1220 Rock Street
Chicago, IL 60639 Rockford, IL
Clinton Smith Tom Harker
Compuserve Information Service WizWorks!
P.O. Box 20212 P.O. Box 45
Columbus, OH 43220-0212 Girard, OH 44420
R. Retelle Chet Walters
GEnie Information Services
Rockville, Maryland
Jeff Williams
------- Vendors/Dealers ----------
Mars Merchandising Computer Cellar
15 W. 615 Diversey 220 1/2 W. Main Street
Elmhurst, IL 60126 St Charles, IL 60174
Paper Express H and H Computer Supplies
P.O. Box 1036 824 Grafield Ave.
Moline, IL 61265-1036 Aurora, IL 60506
Kolputer Systems CSA Limited
18 Burgess Dr. P.O. Box 567530
Glendale Hgts, IL Harwood Heights, IL 60656
Apple Annie ReCharge It
1005 S. Hamlin 866 Tower Rd.
Park Ridge, IL 60068 Mundelien, IL 60060
-------- User Groups ---------
L.C.A.C.E. S.C.A.T.
Lake County Atari Computer Enthusiasts Suburban Chicago ATari
P.O. Box 8788 8702 Osceola
Waukegan, IL 60079-8788 Niles, IL 60648
MilAtari M.A.S.T.
Milwaukee Atari Users Group Milwaukee Atari ST
P.O. Box 14038 P.O. Box 25679
West Allis, WI 53214 Milwaukee, WI 53225
G.C.A.C.E. R.A.C.C.
Chicago Atari Comp. Enthusiasts Rockford Atari Computer Club
P.O. Box 6706 4658 Black Oak Tr.
Chicago, IL 60614-6706 Rockford, IL 61103
L.A.U.G. T.U.G.
Local Atari Users Group The Users Group
1N361 Ridgeland Av. P.O. Box 66583
W. Chicago, Il 60185 AMF O'Hare. IL 60666
______________________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL¿ "ATARI NEWS, ALWAYS FIRST!"
=====================
- SAN RAFAEL, CA NEW LUCASFILM GAMES!
--------------
Lucasfilm Games, a long-time supporter of Atari computers, has
recently released THEIR FINEST HOUR: THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN. The new game
is similar to BATTLEHAWKS 1942 and, in fact, is authored by the same
programmer. THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN is an action/simulation which allows
players to fly German and British missions in historic confrontations. As
evidenced by the many messages on the online services, this new air combat
simulator has been long anticipated by many users. And best of all,
according to Brandy Wilson, of Lucasfilm Games, a third game in the series
titled SECTRET WEAPONS OF THE LUFTWAFFE will most likely be available by
the end of this year (the IBM version is tentatively scheduled for release
on October 15, 1990).
- Alameda, CA FALCON MISSION DISK II -> AMIGA & ATARI ST
-----------
Spectrum HoloByte today announced the release of OPERATION: FIREFIGH-
T, the FALCON MISSION DISK II, for Commodore Amiga and Atari ST computers.
Like its predecessor, OPERATION: COUNTERSTRIKE, the program works with
the company's award-winning F-16 fighter simulation, FALCON, expanding it
to a full campaign with non-stop action.
Twelve new, never before seen, missions comprise the game's overall
campaign and present the player with all new challenges, strategy and
adventure. The missions are designed for successive play with the overall
objective to defend the player's home territory against ongoing land and
air invasion and to gain numerical superiority of tanks over the enemy.
The original Mission Disk is an offensive attack on the enemy's bat-
tlefield with primarily air-to-ground combat. In contrast, the enemy in
Mission Disk II invades the player's territory and ignites fierce air-to--
air fighting. Both programs present different challenges and combat
situations and add new dimensions to the popular FALCON fighter simulat-
ion.
A deadlier breed of air combat enemy confronts the pilot in OPERATION:
FIREFIGHT. Enemy forces include three types of air opposition--MiG-21
Fishbed, MiG-27 Flogger, and Mi-24 Hind helicopter and the ever-menacing
T-80 tanks. Players will find the new Hind helicopter quick, elusive and
challenging one-on-one. For even greater competition, selecting the
"Extra Aircraft" option will prompt the enemy to send out a second set of
aircraft for the pilot to contend with.
While defending the Headquarters sector and his plane against assault
from threatening MiGs and Hind helicopters, the fighter pilot is asked to
fly missions to destroy the enemy's pontoon bridges, vital supply lines
and T-80 tanks. Timing and strategy are essential as each mission mounts
an increased challenge. For example, as enemy planes approach Headquarte-
rs, the pilot can concentrate on fending them off, knowing that no hostile
tanks can enter the territory because the pontoon bridge was destroyed in
a previous mission. The player's F-16 is loaded with today's state-of-t-
he-art weapon systems. Two new missiles have been added: the AMRAAM
(Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) for long range attacks and the
HARM (High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile) for accuracy and power against
SAM sites. Another effective defense is the ASPJ (Advanced Self-Protec-
tion Jammer) which emits signals that jam the enemy's radar.
Just as in the original FALCON, every enemy target destroyed contribu-
tes toward success, but points are awarded for destroying specific targets
depending on which mission has been selected. Five levels of difficulty,
designated by rank from 1st Lieutenant through Colonel, are the same as in
the original FALCON. Also retained is the awards system. Pilots who
display sufficient merit may be decorated with one of five medals from the
Purple Heart to the Medal of Honor. The Medal of Honor is awarded only for
achieving numerical superiority of tanks while flying at Major rank or
higher (top three levels).
The original FALCON has won numerous awards, including three awards
from the Software Publishers Association--Best Simulation, Best Action/St-
rategy Game, and Best Technical Achievement.
OPERATION: FIREFIGHT, for the Atari ST and the Commodore Amiga are
available through regular retail channels.
The original FALCON program is required to run the new programs.
512K RAM is needed for basic features and one megabyte RAM for
enhanced sound and graphics.
Category: Flight Simulation Suggested Retail Price: $29.95
- New York City, NY APPLE'S "SECRET" WEAPON ON SALE!
-----------------
Reports from NYC state that the "CLASSIC" machines are already in
distribution and for sale. Apple dealers are selling the MAC Classic for
$759.95 after rebate. Last tuesday's issue of the NY Times carried
advertisements to this effect. The Classic machines from Apple are rum-
ored to be Apple's answer to Atari and Amiga.
- New York City, NY PAYNE WEBBER RELEASES LEE ISGUR
-----------------
According to sources close to Wall Street's Payne Webber Lee Isgur,
long famous for promoting Atari and having software named for him, "Isgur
Portfolio", is no longer associated with Payne Webber as of this week.
Coming at a time when ATC stock is hovering at the 2.00 mark, one can't
help but wonder if the events are related. Isgur could not be reached
directly for comment. An associate of STReport did however, confirm the
release.
___________________________________________________________
> Hard Disks STR InfoFile¿ Affordable Mass Storage....
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==================================================
WE HAVE A COMPLETE LINE OF 3.5 LOW PROFILE HARD DRIVES
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LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
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____________________________________________________________
> A "Quotable Quote"¿
=================
"A pea-brain is one who feels....
...they are a legend in their own mind!"
...Ziggy's Zercons
"NO GREATER EVIL IN THE UNIVERSE RIVALS..
....QUISLING-LIKE BEHAVIOR IN HUMANS!"
.... The "Observant Few"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
STReport¿ "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" October 19, 1990
16/32bit Magazine copyright ½ 1990 No.6.42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
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