Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Silicon Times Report Issue 0733
*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
from
STR Publishing Inc.
""""""""""""""""""
August 16, 1991 No.7.33
==========================================================================
STReport International Online Magazine
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida
32205 ~ 6672
R.F. Mariano
Publisher - Editor
-----------------------------------------
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EST
BBS: 904-786-4176 USR/HST DUAL STANDARD
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EST
-----------------------------------------
STR East: FNET 350 - The Bounty ST BBS <Home of STR> 1-904-786-4176
STR West: FNET 075 - Bloom County BBS 1-415-965-9347
STR Canada: FNET 018 - ///Turbo Board Support 1-416-274-1225
STR Europe: FNET 1031 - <<<INTERNET>>> 011-44-296-395-935
__________________________________________________________________
> 08/16/91: STReport #7.33 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
-------------------------
- The Editor's Desk - CPU REPORT - CODEHEAD UPDATE
- Atariville!! - MEMORIES?? - Lightning!!
- PORTFOLIO NEWS - MIDISPY RSN - SUN UP 31%!
-* ATARI REPORTS PROFIT! *-
-* FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER! *-
-* MULTIDESK DELUXE! *-
==========================================================================
ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
The _Number One_ Online Magazine
-* FEATURING *-
"UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
Current Events, Original Articles, Hot Tips, and Information
Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
==========================================================================
STReport's support BBS, NODE 350, invites BBS systems, worldwide, to
participate in the Fido/F-Net Mail Network. Or, call Node 350 direct at
904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging information relative
to the Atari ST computer arena through an excellent International ST Mail
Network. All registered F-NET - Crossnet SysOps are welcome to join the
STReport Crossnet Conference. The Crossnet Conference Code is #34813, and
the "Lead Node" is # 350. All systems are welcome and invited to actively
participate. Support Atari Computers; Join Today!
==========================================================================
AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON: GENIE ~ CIS ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ F-NET
==========================================================================
> The Editor's Podium
The most amazing result to come out of the recent flurry of activity
concerning the reproduction of online messages from public message areas
of GEnie's ST RT and whether permission is granted to use these messages
is quite creative. You see, as editor, I have instructed the Staff of
STReport that; if in the event someone should completely deny the use of
messages they post in GEnie's ST RT, paraphrasing is the order of the day.
Creative license, in the world of publishing, is an absolute delight. As
for those from our favorite company who have denied the use of "their mes-
sages" so be it. But be prepared for some very eloquent paraphrasing. To
those very same "modern day, online mavins"... we say how very original,
"self imposed censorship". Another wonderful method of keeping Atari a
secret.
The times are changing... the fall season is right around the corner
and what do we find ... Once again Atari is ready for another landmark
sales season. After all, it was Atari who so confidently stated that we
should plan on the opening of the new school semesters as the real
marketing time of the year for computers. Well dear hearts, here we go
again... Will all the well-stocked dealers please step forward and be
counted among those dealers who are "oh.. so very excited". The dealers
are excited alright, almost to the level of civil riot! They have been
getting the old, familiar spiel.. "We will have plenty of product in two
to three weeks"... ALL spring and summer long.
Every year, the Atari community, dealers, developers and users, are
dealt a real first class kick in the teeth when they're forced to witness
Christmas season after Christmas season become a total and extraordinary
sales flop. Why? Because the executive group at Atari seems to be
incapable of delivering product at the proper times of the year and in the
quantities needed to sustain a respectable dealer corps. Sure, they can
"show" all sorts of great things at Comdex etc... But when it comes to
getting product to the dealers? Just in case somebody hasn't informed
them.. Christmas IS a BIG sales time of the year. Many of the dealers
listened to the Atari "wizards" and swallowed the "New school year"
premise only to find that there was NO PRODUCT at that time of the year
too. Yessir, it would certainly appear that the corporate heads out there
are in the same place as the product, nowhere to be found.
Recently, there has been a flurry of comments about how Atari didn't
intentionally do this or that. That's all well and good but eventually,
the "buck must stop somewhere". So WHERE is FSMGDOS? Where are all the
new STe and TT products? Why is Word Perfect looking away? Is it true
the 520STe has only two Simm sockets? Its a given that no-one at Atari is
doing any of these things "intentionally or on purpose" with some devious,
degenerate plan in mind. But one must admit, the entire picture screams
of sheer incompetence at the highest and most dangerous levels.
Atari must re-examine their priorities and hopefully, they will come
to the same conclusion most of us reached years ago. They MUST advertise.
They MUST keep the customer as their prime concern. Being witness to a
late night national TV commentary where Atari is proclaimed already dead
for some time is a bit much and its ALL because NOBODY BUT NOBODY except
its users KNOW THEY EXIST! I blame Atari for this tragedy completely.
Advertise! Then, "God willing" , this will give us all the joy of
watching the company go crazy trying to fill all its huge back-orders.
And by some quirk of destiny we will see Atari begin LISTENING to and
HEEDING its user's ADVICE for real.
By now, it should be no secret that Atari's current methods of doing
business are of little or no value and that the ultra "wuss-like" approach
to the US market has gained them no respect at all. The times are chan-
ging... can Atari change along with them? Only time will tell.
On a sad note, the head of Atari Australia has submitted his
resignation. Best of luck to him wherever he goes or undertakes.
The times and attitudes in the computer marketplace are indeed changing
worldwide. It appears that more than just those in Atari's US market are
becoming "sick and tired of being sick and tired".
Thanks for your continued support!!
Ralph......
(The "WOW, is My Face Red" Corner)
In our STR732 editorial we stated, "there's also going to be times when
we blow it, and we want our readers to let us know when that happens".
Well, it happened in that same editorial. We quoted a partial post from
the ST Report fnet from Bill Merick and then said,
The only comments that I made about either FSM GDOS or the XControl
Panel were in the following editorial comment:
"As another week goes by, while most folks anxiously await the
highly touted new "Standard" FSMGDOS. The XControl Panel is here
and it is everything we were told it would be and then some. We
have reported that B. Rehbock said FSM would be released August 1,
1991. We shall see."
Our memory and research were not good enough in this case. The STR730
editorial that we quoted from did have another paragraph that discussed
FSMGDOS.
I have heard rumors that many folks already have a copy of FSM and
that its in widespread circulation in many "closed circles". If
such is the case, then why must the loyal users wait and wait and
wait? Especially if they have BOUGHT programs that will perform
much with FSM in use? If for no other reason that to keep the
users informed, the least the powers that be could do is keep info
about the progress of this puppy at hand for all to see. Oh well,
nobody said things would be easy.
We want to thank one of our dedicated and long time readers, John Nagy,
for bringing this to our attention. For you who don't know Mr. Nagy, he
is the Editor-in-Chief of Atari User Magazine, and as a fellow editor,
he knows that mistakes can and do happen.
TODAY'S NEWS ..TODAY!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> STReport's Staff The regulars and this week's contributors!
================
Publisher - Editor
------------------
Ralph F. Mariano
PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION
----------- -------------- ------------
Robert Retelle Charles Hill R. ALBRITTON
STReport Staff Editors:
-----------------------
Michael Arthur Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. Dana P. Jacobson
Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Walter Daniel
Oscar Steele Robert Allbritton John Szczepanik
Dan Stidham
Contributing Correspondants:
----------------------------
Michael Lee Richard Covert Roger Stevens
Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Ed Krimen
Tim Holt Andrew Learner Norman Boucher
Ben Hamilton
IMPORTANT NOTICE
================
Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
via E-Mail to:
Compuserve.................... 70007,4454
GEnie......................... ST.REPORT
Delphi........................ RMARIANO
BIX........................... RMARIANO
FIDONET....................... 112/35
FNET.......................... NODE 350
NEST.......................... 90:19/350.0
"REPORTING ABOUT ATARI... NOT FOR THEM."
***********************************************************************
COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME
to the Readers of;
ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL 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 (August 16)
WIN $25 COMPUSERVE CONNECT-TIME CREDITS
Traditionally, summertime has been the slowest time of the year for
online activity in the Atari telecommunications community. The
CompuServe Atari Forums would like to help boost this activity with a
promotion that just about anybody can win!
We're looking for new and interesting files for the file libraries of
Atari ST Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) and the Atari ST Productivity Forum
(GO ATARIPRO). Twice each month, during the months of July, August, and
September, the sysops of the Atari Forums will award a $25 CompuServe con-
nect time credit to the individual who uploads the best new file to
Library 1 ("NEW UPLOADS"). This $25 credit can be applied to *ANY* ser-
vice on CompuServe, not just time spent inside the Atari Forums!
What defines the "best" new upload? Factors in judging will be
uniqueness, general interest (the number of downloads received), quality
of graphics (if applicable), usefulness or entertainment value.
All uploads to Library 1 ("NEW UPLOADS") will automatically be entered
into this promotion. Of course, uploads of files already existant in our
libraries do not count. (Although, new versions of previous entries are
eligible.) You do not need to be the author of the upload to win, but
you MUST have sufficient rights to the program to make it an acceptable
upload according to CompuServe operating rules (public domain and
shareware programs are acceptable, for example.)
In case of duplicate uploads of the exact same file, the sysops will
accept files based upon time of the first uploaded copy. The first
upload period will run from July 1st thru July 15th (inclusive). Judging
will be done by the sysop staff of the Atari Forums (influenced by
comments from the membership, so be sure to let us know which new files
you like and why!)
One credit will be awarded to the best new upload in ATARIARTS and
another for the best new upload in ATARIPRO. Please address any
questions to Ron Luks [76703,254] via CompuServe Mail (EMAIL) or a
message in any of the Atari Forums.
NEW PLAY-BY-MODEM GAMES IN ATARIARTS
The following files are now available in LIBRARY 1 ("New Uploads") of the
Atari ST Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) courtesy of Forum member David Becker:
BGAMMO.ARC - Online backgammon can be played over the phone lines with a
modem. Many options including the ability to play the computer make this a
fun and challenging monochrome game. Freeware.
PAIGOW.ARC - Las vegas style PaiGow poker. Play against the computer or
over the phone line with a friend! Monochrome freeware.
PROGRAM OF THE WEEK FROM DOUBLE CLICK
Download file DCMSAV.ARC from LIBRARY 13 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO
ATARIVEN) for Double Click Software's program of the week. DC Mouse Saver
will turn the mouse cursor off after a defined time of no mouse activity
and turn the mouse cursor back on with any mouse activity.
NEW IN ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
Download file APFCAT.ARC from LIBRARY 1 ("New Uploads") of the Atari
Portfolio Forum (GO APORTFOLIO) for a complete catalog of files available
for download for the Portfolio.
BJ Gleason has uploaded PBASIC version 4.7 as file PBAS47.ZIP in LIBRARY 1
of the Atari Portfolio Forum (GO APORTFOLIO). Many bug fixes and a few
new features included. Plus, a compression utility to reduce the size
PBASIC source code, and a menu driven sample program driver.
ANNOUNCING THE NEW COMPUSERVE PALMTOP FORUM
The CompuServe Palmtop Forum will cover all palmtop organizers and
computers other than the Portfolio, which will remain in its own forum.
Please drop by and take a look around. Type GO PALMTOP at any CompuServe
service prompt.
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE
HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN
OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION
"GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM"
***********************************************************************
> CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
=================
Issue #33
Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
--Sunnyvale, California ATARI SHOWS A PROFIT FOR 2ND QUARTER
---------------------
Atari Corp. today reported operating results for the 2nd quarter ended
June 30, 1991. Sales for the 2nd quarter of 1991 were $49.2 million as
compared to $84.9 million for 1990. During the quarter, sales were
adversely affected by the company's transition to subcontractors for
assembly operations, as well as poor economic conditions in Europe, and
the adverse effects of exchange rates.
Net income for the quarter was $30.4 million, or $.53 per share, as com-
pared to $1.5 million, or $.03 per share, for 1990. During the quarter,
the company sold the land and building of its Taiwan manufacturing
facility, which resulted in a gain of $40.9 million after deducting
certain expenses, including severance and land transfer tax, which were
directly associated with the closure of the facility. The income
generated by the sale of the facility is subject only to land transfer
tax.
As a result of adverse exchange rates during the quarter, the company
experienced a loss on exchange of $4.1 million as compared to an ex-
change gain of $1.7 million for the same quarter of 1990.
In the second quarter of 1991, interest expense net of interest income
was reduced to $0.8 million as compared to $1.2 million in 1990 as a
result of the company's repurchase of part of its 5 1/4 percent sub-
ordinated convertible debentures.
Since year end, the company has reduced inventories by $18 million,
eliminated all short-term debt, amounting to approximately $28 million
and has a current cash position of approximately $65 million. At June
30, 1991, the company's current ratio improved to 4-to-1, compared to 2-
to-1 in December 1990, and its debt to equity ratio improved to 0.8 as
compared to 1.7 at December 1990.
--New York, New York COMMODORE EARNINGS SOAR;
------------------ ALSO PLANS NEW PHILIPPINE PLANT
Bucking the recent computer industry trend to gloomy financial results,
Commodore International has reported a more than 30-fold increase in net
income for fiscal 1991. Commodore earned net income before extraordinary
items of $57.4 million in the year ended June 30, up from $1.5 million
last year.
An extraordinary charge of $9.2 million having to do with settlement of
a court case brought the final 1991 net income figure down to $48.2
million. Commodore's annual sales rose 18 percent, from $887.3 million
to $1.047.2 million.
For the fourth quarter, Commodore reported net income of $3.3 million on
sales of $216.5 million. The quarterly figure included a reduction in
income tax accruals no longer required. Before that reduction, Commodore
had a pre-tax quarterly loss of $4.3 million -- less than the previous
year's pre-tax fourth-quarter loss of $14 million.
Announcing the results, Irving Gould, Commodore's chairman and chief
executive, said the results reflect the company's strength in Europe,
which accounted for more than 85% of the company's total sales.
Commodore said sales of all its products grew in the fourth quarter of
fiscal 1991. Sales of the IBM-compatible line of PCs rose 35%, sales of
the venerable Commodore 64 increased 30% and those of the Amiga line
grew by 20%, the company said.
Commodore will invest at least $9.1 million to set up a plant in the
Philippines to assemble computers. Reporting from Manila, the French
Agence France-Presse International News service quotes a trade
department spokesman as saying the plant will be set up in an export
processing zone just outside Manila and will produce interface cards and
also will assemble hardware.
AFP says the company expects the plant to start commercial operations by
next June, with the bulk of its output to be exported to Europe. It will
be the first foreign firm to assemble computers in this country.
--Mountain View, California SUN MICROSYSTEMS EARNINGS GO
------------------------- THROUGH THE ROOF
Sun Microsystems' workstation market share continues to increase as does
its revenue -- a massive 31% increase in revenue for the fiscal year
1991 over 1990.
For fiscal year 1991, revenues were $3.221 billion, up 31% from the
$2.466 billion reported in fiscal year 1990. Net income for fiscal year
1991 increased more than 70% to $190.3 million, or $1.85 per share, from
the $111.2 million, or $1.21 per share, of fiscal year 1990.
Revenues for the fourth quarter were $942.5 million, a 35% increase over
the $700.1 million reported in the like period a year ago. Net income
for the quarter also increased 35% to $66.4 million, or 63 cents per
share, from the $49.1 million, or 51 cents per share, for the corres-
ponding period a year ago.
The company says that it shipped 49,000 units in the quarter, with the
SPARCstation 2 accounting for the most sales.
--New York, New York PC'S INCREASE, NOT DECREASE, WORK
------------------
According to a national poll conducted by The Wirthlin Group of 1,000
adults age 18 or over, 69% said that personal computers have not inc-
reased their leisure time. In fact, nearly 1/3rd think PCs actually
have increased their workloads, causing people to work longer hours.
The survey found that almost 40% of adult Americans use a personal
computer, with work being its primary use. Also, 79% use their
computers at work; 47% exclusively at work and 32% at work and home.
However, only 21% of PC users say that they use a personal computer
exclusively at home, indicating that the PC has not been adopted by
Americans as a purely recreational, educational or personal enrichment
aid.
--Seattlel, Washington 1,800 TO ATTEND MICROSOFT DEVELOPER'S
-------------------- CONFERENCE
Microsoft Corporation says that more than 1,800 software developers from
all over the world will attend a software developers conference which
starts this week. Attendees are expecting to get an early look at the
next version of Windows. Microsoft says that extraordinary interest on
the part of developers has jumped the attendance to three times what the
company originally estimated.
--Fort Collins, Colorado THE EARTH WILL TALK TO YOU FOR $2
---------------------- PER MINUTE
For $2 per minute, Mother Earth will tell you what you can do for her.
Environmation Group has created the service, which mixes humor and
simple hints to help the Earth recover from man's predation of her.
The number is 1-900-988-0023, ext. 409, and a portion of the charges go
to un-named national non-profit organizations involved in conservation.
Sample topics from the line include motor oil recycling, diaper
selection, cleaning products, water conservation and efficient lighting.
--Los Angeles, California PRODIGY "NO PEEKING" PRIVACY DISK
----------------------- OFFERED TO MEMBERS
The Prodigy Interactive Personal Service, an electronic, interactive
computer service, is offering a free software disk to fix member con-
cerns more than anything else. Prodigy is offering the disk to "...alay
concerns that it was invading the privacy of people who use its elec-
tronic information and shopping service," reported the Wall Street
Journal.
Prodigy users had discovered files created and accessed by Prodigy,
specifically STAGE.DAT and CACHE.DAT on their hard disks contained
information they had never offered Prodigy. Though the information was
in pieces, users became alarmed.
Prodigy says the problem is an unintentional one, and occurred because
of a fluke in the operating system IBM and compatible computers use, and
was not anything Prodigy had caused. The company vehemently denies it
did or ever had any intention of invading the privacy of users.
The free software disk is a program to erase any old personal infor-
mation that might be in Prodigy files and to prevent new information
from accumulating there, the company said.
The Wall Street Journal reported Prodigy as saying the accounting firm
of Coopers and Lybrand had audited the service, confirmed its privacy
safeguards and has provided a letter to that effect.
Prodigy said members can get information by calling Prodigy Membership
Services at (800) 284-5933, or while on Prodigy, jump to TECHTALK.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
As a reader of STReport International Online Magazine, you are entitled to
take advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer. For only $29.95 ($20
off the standard membership price!), you will receive a lifetime subscrip-
tion to DELPHI, a copy of the 500-page DELPHI: THE OFFICIAL GUIDE and over
$14 worth of free time.
NOTE: Special offers can be found in your favorite Atari magazines:
START CURRENT NOTES ST INFORMER
ATARI INTERFACE MAGAZINE
SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
======================
Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access
DELPHI services via a local phone call
JOIN -- DELPHI
--------------
1. Dial 617-576-0862 with any terminal or PC and modem (at 2400 bps,
dial 576-2981).
2. At the Username prompt, type JOINDELPHI.
3. At the Password prompt enter STREPORT.
For more information call:
DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005
or
at 617-491-3393 from within Massachusetts or from outside the U.S.
DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Mass.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
--------------------
The 20/20 Advantage Plan IS FANTASTIC! And it features 20 hours online
for just $20 a month! The $20 is a monthly fee that covers your first 20
hours online via direct dial into one of DELPHI's two direct-access lines,
or via a special Tymnet 20/20 Access code. It also gets you additional
hours at just $1.20 per hour. And you get free access to several services
on DELPHI as part of the Advantage Perks.
Other telecom services may have additional charges. Canadian Tymnet users
have an additional telecom charge. Office Time access (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.,
weekdays) may have an additional charge. And of course, other restric-
tions may apply. But this is still an amazing deal!
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
As a reader of STReport International Online Magazine, you are entitled to
take advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer. DELPHI has waived the
sign-up fee! For a limited time, you can join the World's Premier Online
Service for FREE! Members can access DELPHI worldwide through hundreds of
local access lines.
For more information please contact:
DELPHI at 1-800-544-4005 and ask for Member Services.
DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date...
================================
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
=========================
On CompuServe
by Judith Hamner 72257,271
The forum now has another new sysop. Sysop has been added to my tit-
le. I look forward to being of service to the members.
Sysop Mike Schoenbach has updated APFCAT.ARC to be current as of
August 15. This handy file contains a listing of all files in the
libraries, with the exception of library 1 (new uploads). B.J. Gleason
has released Pbasic 4.7. PBAS47.ZIP contains bug fixes and several new
features. One welcome goody is a utility to reduce the size of source
code.
T2.ARC reminds us again of the role of the Port in Terminator 2. This
file contains a listing in .adr format of the Terminator 2 collector's
cards. AP-ADR.ARC contains a very useful reference guide for the Port in
.adr format. Tips, product info, and sources are among the entries. This
one deserves a place on everyone's ram card. AP-PGC.ARC contains six .pgc
graphics screens. These are for use with PGSHOW which can be found in the
graphics library.
Don Thomas, Atari's Portfolio product manager has been a frequent
visitor to the forum. There have been some lively debates in Community
Square over the cost and feasibility of memory upgrades. The
possibilities for 512K ram cards were also discussed. Don also offered a
tip on how to add blank lines to an address book entry using the
clipboard. Do you want to know how to see the developer's names? John
Feagans tells how in Community Square.
Follow the "STbook" thread for some inside info on this new product.
Mark Henderson of Xoterix announced that the 512K ram expansion has been
withdrawn. That leaves Megabyte as the major source for memory upgrades.
Mark also indicated that the 20M hard drive has not gone into production
due to a lack of orders. Readers should note that all message references
are current at the time of writing. As a service I will insure that those
of continuing interest are archived to the forum libraries. Look for the
.THR extension in the library.
Editor Note:
Congratualtions!!
____________________________________________________________
> THE FLIP SIDE STR Feature ".. different viewpoint.."
=========================
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT
==================================
by Michael Lee
The ST Roundtable on Genie has recently had an interesting discussion
about surge protectors, lightning strikes and more. I hope you find it
as interesting as I did.
------------------
All Questions and Answers are from the ST Roundtable on Genie, Cat. 28,
Topic 12...
Message #1 - Question from Anthony Dipietro....
I'd like to know if the following is a good practice:
Since I use my computer almost every nite, I've decided to keep it
running continuously. I shut off the monitor when not in use to
reduce the heat. I shut down the whole system once a week to let it
"cool" down. Any things I should be looking for? Does the computer
attract more dust, etc. because it's on all the time? Should it be
cleaned etc, more often? Anything to look for due to heat build up
(ie, any chips that could fail faster due to being left on
continuously).
Message #2 - Question and answer from John Spande...
I suspect that the internal hard drive in particular would last
longer if you turned off the computer when it's not in use, however,
others who know more will hopefully give you a more definitive
answer.
I also have a question. I anticipate getting into a situation where I
will want to operate my system without benefit of connection to the
electric power company and would like to know if inverter (square
wave) power for extended periods will shorten the life of computer,
monitor, etc? Sine wave UPS's are available, but expensive.
Message #4 - From Mike Dorman...
Anthony--My 520 ST has been on constantly (i.e. down for periods of
no longer than, say, 2 weeks, and that maybe once a year, while I'm
home from school) for about the last two years. I haven't had any
problems.
I *do* shut it off during thunderstorms, however, and I have a hefty
power- strip/surge-suppressor.
Message #7 - From Jim Allen (Fast Tech)...
While I worked for a living, we had 12 HP9000 workstations, an HP3000
business system, various lab equipment...usually HP or TEK...and in
later years 10 Sun systems and a big server, and in 6 years we turned
then off for 2 hurricanes and one Tstorm. No HP ever failed, in
nearly 6 years of continuous operation.
I've been gone for two years, and its all still working ;-)
Guess I'd say leave it on.
Message #11 - From Kyle Cordes...
John, using square wave power (if it works, I haven't tried it) would
probably at most only shorten the life of your power supplies, which
can be replaced for much less than the cost of a whole computer. (Not
being an EE, I couldn't tell you whether it will affect the supplies)
Many many systems, St and otherwise, run continuously for years on
end; they're called BBSs.
Message #12 - From WAYNED...
RE: Thunderstorms.....
And I might add.... unplug......unplug......unplug.....
When our lines got zapped I lost my modem, printer, and about $200
internal damage to my Mega IV (Yamaha chip, IO drivers, 68000, trace
on motherboard, etc). I wasn't home, the machine wasn't on, but it
was plugged in. It also fried the 27" tv in the living room which
also wasn't on, but was plugged in.
Just an FYI for all of ya! Oh yeah, ALL the computer equipment was
plugged into surge protectors which don't do diddly in even of a
lightning strike. They're only for normal everyday voltage surges
which happen all the time on most power lines.
Message #13 - From Randy Walters...
Wayne, I have to disagree with the assessment on surge suppressors
not doing diddly for lightning. The type that I use not only protects
the power line but also the phone line. This company will also
GUARANTEE their suppressors and any equipment plugged into them from
power damage, Including Lightning. They will replace the suppressor
and pay for the repair of any of the attached equipment that is
damaged. (unlimited dollar amount on attached equipment) This unit is
an under the monitor type with a clock and several independent power
switches. That way you never have to reach for the back of a machine
again.
It cost about $170 but that is a small investment compared to the
damage that could be incurred using an inferior unit. If you would
like any other info. I would be very glad to mail it to you. I do
agree that there is a lot of garbage out there that is being sold and
people are finding out the hard way. All that I am really trying to
say is that "All surge suppressors are NOT created equal!"
Message #19 - From C.GRIMSBY...
Just a quick note here..."Surge suppressors" are not _designed_ to
handle lightning. That doesn't mean that having one on your system
won't protect the system from a strike only that they are not desig-
ned to do so. Something on the order of using the "claw" on a hammer
as a screwdriver. In _some_ cases it'll work.
To protect from lightning you need a "Transient Suppressor." Tran-
sient Suppressors cost significantly more than a surge suppressor,
but if you live in an area that has frequent thunderstorms, they're
worth the investment. It should be noted that Transient Suppressors
are not designed to stop small power surges that surge suppressors
are designed to to. You _need_ both if your equipment is in a
thunderstorm area, and there are voltage surges on the line from such
things as vacuum cleaners, intermittent fans, etc.
With the growth of the computer industry, a few devices have shown up
that are combinations of these two. So far, no name has 'worked it-
self out' yet so make sure before you buy what you are getting! In
terms of prices, Surge suppressors usually cost around $20, Transient
Suppressors around $100 and combined units around $150.
Recently, some articles have appeared questioning the ability of both
suppressors working after a period of time. Small 'hits' to the units
_tend_ to degrade the components that they use to protect your sys-
tem. (I'm talking of both Surge Suppressors and Transient Suppressors
here.) To date, the question still rages.
In the lab however, it's been shown that after 5 years of 'normal'
use, the units degrade to uselessness. In 'real life' experiences,
the units have been shown to still be effective after 10 years in
use. (One major strike will still take both units out however!) What
this means to the consumer is that you _may_ want to replace your
suppression units after 5 years, if you haven't suffered a strike,
and if you want to be sure. Or you may want to take your chances.
It's basically up to the user at this point. Personally, I've had
units function quite well after 10 years, and some that are useless
after a couple of months. I'm still not sure what to do myself...
Message #20 - From DARLAH (RT Sysop)...
I lost 2 modems to a surge of electricity. I was upset and the local
electricity company told me although these surges were higher than
usual, it was my problem that they bit the dust. I bought a better
surge protector and never a problem afterwards. We did have surges
after that but I didn't get the effect. Part of my problem was the
way my house was wired. (I have since moved). Some electricians
should be shot. They are as bad as some plumbers I know. <grin> Get
yourself protected. It is worth it.
Message #22 - From John Spande...
Anthony, thunderstorms are not the only source of line surges and
transients and your system is more vulnerable when turned on. If you
use it 8 hours a day but leave it on always you have increased your
chances 3X.
Suppose your unattended system developed a fault that caused a fire?
Extremely improbable yes, but not impossible and the consequences way
out of proportion to undemonstrated benefits.
Then there is the matter of energy stewardship. In the US we use much
more energy per person while maintaining a slightly lower standard of
living than western Europe and Japan. Conservation is vital and while
a few computers may not make a big difference we need to start
'sweating the small stuff' everywhere possible if we are to put our
environmental (and economic) house in order.
BTW, I think a hard drive will last longer running 8 hours (therefore
with one power up cycle per day) each day than running 24 hours (and
no power up cycle). You might want to check this with a manufacturer,
but remember they rate them in MTBF (Mean TIME Between Failures) not
mean number of power up/down cycles.
Message #27 - From Mike Jenkins...
Anthony, in my experience in the "mainframe" world (21+ years):
If the area in which the computer resides is relatively free of dust,
and has sufficient cooling (nothing sitting on the cooling vents),
and has sufficient power protection (surge protector and "clean"
electrical lines), has a low humidity (40%), then leave the machine
and disk drive on. However, if excess heating occurs, turn the unit
off.
The only caveat I had, was from a DEC engineer: "The room temperature
must be less than 85 degrees F with a humidity level less than 50%."
Apparently, at 85 degrees, the temperature inside the computer would
exceed 95 degrees and the components would begin to have problems. We
(my old company) placed PC's, Mac's, DEC MicroVAX's, and DEC PC/
Clones in the normal office environment for over 5 years. With the
above suggestion, we never had a failure (I'm talking about 30
MicroVAX's, several hundred (each) PC's, Clones, and Mac's!
Personally, I shutdown whenever I'm done. And that's because I don't
have an UPS, and living in one of the Midwest's "tornado alley"
areas, I don't trust Mother Nature (the last lightning strike hit the
Cable TV box--about 30 feet from my STe, which was off at the time. I
do have a Surge Protector for all of the computer peripherals, the
computer, and the phone lines. So far, no problem.
Message #29 - From Randy Walters...
Jonesy, I use the EFI EDP-2000 TLS Power Control Center. It has 6
power outlets on the rear panel along with the RJ11 phone plugs.
Thus, it protects the equipment from any spikes coming down the phone
line. It also has a mode light on the front which is a three way
indicator. If it is clear, then there is no power, if it is green
then you have power and suppression is working, if it is red then the
suppression is no longer working and you need to have the unit re-
paired. It has front panel switches to control the rear power plugs.
It also uses sine wave tracking and voltage smoothing to insure that
clamped spikes do not distort the sine wave. A minor point , it does
have a built in clock. Last of all is the warranty. They will
replace/repair the unit and any of its attached equipment at NO cost
to you.
If you don't need the Power Control Center, there are other units
which you can get. Those are power strips or wall units with just
power protection or with Phone line protection, or with Cable TV
protection, or with RS232 protection. They even have better diag-
nostic lights, besides the codes that I described above, they also
tell you whether your wall outlet is wired properly. i.e. inverse
polarity, no ground and a few others. I have been installing these
units now for 4 years and they have performed very well.
I do agree that the best defense for lightning is to have the
computer/cable tv/ phone lines all unplugged from every device!!!
BUT, if you're like most people who do not do that, buy an EFI. If
anyone would like pricing, I will post it. If anyone would like
brochures, e-mail your address to me and I will send them. If you
would like to buy one, I can help you with that too. I hesitated to
go into this detail before because I thought that people would think
that I'm just trying to sell the EFI. I am a CE, I have to fix the
equipment that is damaged due to power problems!! Thus, I only will
advise my customers to use things that will lessen their downtime.
(Their downtime = My downtime)
Message #31 - From Gary Gray...
I regularly see ST system boards that are damaged. Here in Texas
thunderstorms can occur for days in a row. I have only seen one ST
that wouldn't run after damage by an electrical storm. But its
failure mode was the same as all the others. They fail at the I/O
ports. What happens is the 1488,and 1489 serial drivers get knocked
out. Sometimes the MFP and sound chip also are damaged. Not in one
case had the power supply failed. The typical failure is at the
printer port card. We see these failure over and over. Lighting
strikes push current all around a room, the walls, the floor, the
desk, the air for that matter. Like Jim Allen said nothing you do if
you get a direct strike will make any difference.
Message #32 - From Mike Hill...
Darlah, don't forget that with modems the surge generally comes from
the phone lines and not the electrical lines. Everyone should get a
surge protector on the phone line too.
I have had three modems since my 8-bit days get shot by surges. And
not once did the phones in the house get damaged! One surge went
through the modem and into my Mega ST. Blew the MFP chip and the
RS232 drivers. Luckily I got an MFP sample from work and fixed all of
that.
Needless to say, I unplug the phone line from the modem whenever
storms are near and when I leave for a long period of time. Ohio has
some nasty storms this time of year. And they can come in very
unannounced!
----------------
Until next week.....
***********************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
To sign up for GEnie service:
Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo)
Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.
GEnie costs only $4.95 a month for unlimited evening and weekend access to
more than 100 services including electronic mail, online encyclopedia,
shopping, news, entertainment, single-player games, and bulletin boards on
leisure and professional subjects. With many other services, including
the biggest collection of files to download and the best online games, for
only $6 per hour.
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE! Any time during your first month of membership if
you are not completely satisfied, just ask for your $4.95 back.
GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
***********************************************************************
> MEMORIES STR FOCUS Ah yes.... from earlier this year...
==================
OF BROKEN PROMISES AND SHATTERED DREAMS
=======================================
As the room darkens and the thoughts of great things gets brighter and
brighter... The greatest feat of all.. the power of recall;
"Oh great power of recall for the Ages...
show the story for this year in stages..."
How many recall the words of Sam;
"... A kinder, gentler Atari."
-- First Quarter 1991: CIS Online Conference with Sam Tramiel
Encouraging quotes excerpted therefrom...
"I cannot exactly tell you when the TT030 will be available Class
B. My educated guess is sometime in March."
"Unix will be shown on March 13 at the Hanover faire in Germany.
It will be Unix System V.4, X-windows, Motif, and a front-end
named "Wish" and I'll ignore the "1991" comment."
"We think that we have a very clear marketing direction. We are
trying to sell personal computers to people at the best possible
price. Of course, we consider back-up and service by our
dealers, and we want to develop a good dealer network. We do
plan to sell customers like Circuit City [god willing]. We have
no plans at present to sell at K-Mart. The TT030 will definitely
be sold through qualified dealers who can explain advanced com-
puter use. I cannot make any projections on new product from a
hardware point of view, but we are definitely working on new por-
table machines. If I announce one now, and don't deliver on
time, you'll kill me in STReport."
"I assume that you are talking about Panther. This is a 68000
running at 16MHz game machine which we will probably ship in ear-
ly 1992. Software is now being written for the Panther. It will
even allow for Lynx to network with some games."
How many of the above have come to pass?????
After reading the most recent claims of profitability and "wonders of
expert business achievement" proffered to the world by Atari's; Augie
Ligouri..
The following statement seems quite appropriate. It would most cer-
tainly appear that the Tramiel heirs of Atari have made a most wonderful
discovery.....
THE ELUSIVE AND MYSTERIOUS......
"SECRET OF MAKING A SMALL FORTUNE"
in the highly competitive Wordwide Computer Business!
"Its EASILY done by STARTING with a LARGE FORTUNE!!!"
...from a group of long-time Atari Observers
____________________________________________________________
> FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER STR FOCUS "The 1972 Linebacker Campaign"
================================
FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER
======================
Spectrum Holobyte announced the release and availability of its new
very popular Flight of the Intruder for the Commodore Amiga and the Atari
ST computers. The game, featuring A-6 and F-4 planes, brings to the
computer Stephen Coonts' best selling novel by the same title, which is
based on his experiences as a Navy pilot in the Vietnam War.
Flight of the Intruder was also made into a major motion picture by
Paramount last year. The movie recently released on videocassette, stars
Brad Johnson, Danny Glover and William Dafoe.
Flying either an A-6 Intruder or F-4 Phantom in the computer simula-
tion, players are sent into combat from their base on the carrier USS
Shiloh. The action takes place during the 1972 Linebacker campaign over
North Vietnam.
Flight of the Intruder features multiple missions in which the pilot
is usually part of a larger operation undertaken by one of several
sections of aircraft. For example; a section of A-6 Intruders going on a
bombing mission would be joined by a section of F-4 Phantoms to protect
the bombers from enemy MiGs. In such a mission, players might be assigned
to fly either the bomber or the fighter jet.
Typical enemy targets of these daily harrowing bombing missions are
strategic bridges, power supply plants, docks and shipping facilities.
To be successful, players must be prepared to run the gauntlet of both air
and ground defenses. Enemy fighters fly MiG-17s, MiG-19s and MiG-21s
armed with cannon and Atoll heat seeking missiles. Major ground threats
are SAMS (Surface to Air Missiles) and Flak.
Players may also choose to take on the role of Mission Commander. In this
multiple stage planning role, players select primary and secondary
targets, choose weapons and other external stores, select waypoints for
setting up their desired route and decide aircraft departure times and
duties. The Mission Commander can fly any aircraft in the mission and
also switch aircraft mid-mission to keep up with the ever-changing action.
Flight of the Intruder features full color graphics and sound support
for both the ST and the Amiga. The ST version requires TOS version 1.6 or
earlier. Both formats are available for a suggested retail price of
$59.95.
______________________________________________
> ATARIVILLE STR Feature "...our little town is in trouble.."
======================
ATARIVILLE
==========
By FREDTUT (in the Delphi library)
My Hometown
I'd like to tell you about the little town I live in. It's called
Atariville. It's a nice, small community, out a ways from the better
known, and bigger, cities of Macopolis and Big Blue City. But it's a nice
little place, with quite a bit to offer its citizens. We have stores to
shop in, clubs to belong to, and even politics to get involved in, should
we be of that mind.
But, our little town is in trouble, folks, and I want to tell you
about it.
Our town fathers, who have run the place since it began, rule with an
iron fist. Well, they try to, anyways. They come up with all kinds of
particular ways to make the town into what they want it to be. But, being
independent sorts, someone always seems to come along and do it some other
way. We can feel the heat coming from town hall, and sometimes even hear
a cuss word or two, but folks here like to think that they have some
brains, too. And that just maybe, the town fathers don't always know
what's best for Atariville. And judging from the way our community has
diminished, that may not be wrong. I guess problems happen when you don't
listen enough to the citizens, and make up rules without regard to what
they want, or need.
I won't even go into the rest of the political situation. Like
anywhere, most of the politicians are in it for themselves, and rarely
represent the actual interests of the citizens. We got crusaders, out to
save us from ourselves. We got good ol' boys, set in their ways and not
about to change for nobody. We got sheep, who follow the town fathers
wherever they get led, even if it is to the slaughterhouse. But mostly,
we got a bunch of folks who just want to live their lives, the best they
can.
Now, if the community was strong, and healthy, we could withstand a
lot of that politics stuff. But that just isn't the case, and all that
politicin' just makes things worse, sometimes. If those folks'd spend a
little less time trying to get in good with the town fathers, and a little
more time trying to help the community, we'd be in a lot better shape. We
just can't afford any more petty bickering amongst ourselves. Atariville
is losing folks all the time to the lure of the big city, and our
storekeepers have been hurting for quite a while. We've lost too many of
the good shops already. And there just aren't that many left.
Now, I don't want to make it sound like our little downtown isn't
worth a visit now and then. We may not have as many stores as the cities,
but the ones we have sell pretty much everything we need. Oh, the selec-
tion isn't as varied, but what there is is well made, and lasting. The
kind of stuff folks used to call 'good value'. But that doesn't seem to
help sell enough to keep all the shops in business. You see, our local
shopkeepers need new blood in town, so they can do enough business to keep
their families fed.
Of course, the town fathers keep coming up with ideas to bring new
folks into town. And even their most vocal critics here in town have to
admit that some of those ideas are pretty good. But with the way they've
handled things in the past, it might be a good idea if they'd just let
someone who knows what they're doing implement the ideas. A while back,
for instance, they tried to get a bunch of musicians to move into town.
Quite a few did for a while, but the town fathers got rid of the guy who
was running the effort. And as a result, the influx had slowed down in
the last few months. Now, the town fathers are working on getting some
renewed interest from musicians. And, you know, I'll bet it works.
Here recently, their big push has been in trying to get a big printing
plant to move into town. Most of the printing plants are already in the
big cities, and it's going to take a lot to get them to move way out here
in the sticks. But a lot of folks agree with the town fathers that a
printing plant will help things out. And are working on making it happen.
If it all works out, it'll be nice. But that's a big if. There doesn't
seem to be a lot of energy left to work on other things that might help
our little community, so I hope things don't slip by because the town
fathers are too busy with this 'pet' project of theirs.
And then I wonder just how many folks a printing plant is going to
really bring into town. Sure, there'll be some, but I don't think it's
going to be enough to help our storekeepers. Some will do real well, but
the kind of folks that a printing plant will bring in are already used to
big city ways, and a lot of our smaller shops probably aren't going to see
much new business. It's too bad, because some of those small shops have
been among the strongest supporters our town has. It'd be a damn shame if
they don't get some benefits from all the effort the town fathers are put-
ting into that printing plant.
It's really a sad thing when our local stores close up. It means the
rest of us aren't going to be able to get the things we need. And some
are going to leave town, so they can find what they need in the big
cities. And our little community will be a little worse off. And a lit-
tle closer to dying out altogether.
But what really sticks in my craw, is that the town fathers don't seem
to want to do some really basic things that would bring folks into town.
We don't have enough lots for people to build their houses on. There are
folks out there, who would build homes, and nice homes, if they could only
get a lot to build it on. But, the town fathers just don't make the lots
available. There are some rumors that they own land in another county,
and are making lots available there, so they don't need to do that here.
That's just silly. It's two different places. Why does one have to grow
at the expense of the other? Why not help both of them grow?
Of course, there are all those empty homes that are left from folks
who've moved to the big cities. We could get people to move into them,
but that wouldn't help as much as getting a bunch of new houses built on
some new lots. When you're building a new house, you need to spend a lot
of money getting things comfortable. When someone buys an already exis-
ting house, there is only minor remodeling to do, and a lot less money
gets spent. And as bad as some of our shopkeepers are doing, the more
money that gets spent, the better.
Another thing that really gets me is how our town fathers change their
minds all the time. Just when something starts rolling, they decide to
concentrate on something else. I don't know why, and most of us in town
just sit here and scratch our heads in amazement. Is a little consistency
too much to ask for? One time, they even built a whole new building, a
beautiful place, and for some reason, couldn't get it to pass the building
inspection. Oh, some folks used it anyway, but now, the town fathers are
building another beautiful building, and aren't going to do anything about
getting the first one fixed. The old one is just going to sit there, and
eventually rot away. I sure hope the new one passes the inspection.
Before they change their minds again, and start another project!
Like I said, Atariville is hurting, like many other communities in
this great big land of ours. Others have done what they need to do to put
themselves back on the road to recovery. I hope the town fathers will
wake up to the facts, and get Atariville on that road. That's the kind of
thing that everybody in the community can get behind, and help make a
reality. But we'd better get on that road soon, or we're going to be so
far behind, that Atariville is going to just wither up and blow away.
_____________________________________________________
> MULTI-DESK DELUXE! STR InfoFile "A Sneak Preview From CodeHead!"
===============================
CodeHeadQuarters
Friday, August 16, 1991
-----------------------
#########################################################################
A Sneak Preview From CodeHead Software...the Rebirth of MultiDesk
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CodeHead Software will shortly be releasing an amazing, totally
revamped version of MultiDesk called:
************************
* *
* MultiDesk Deluxe!! *
* *
************************
We're not yet ready to present a full press release describing all of
MultiDesk Deluxe's features but we _can_ tell you a little bit about its
unique break-through in versatility, offering previously untapped
computing power.
MultiDesk Deluxe gives you the flexibility of Atari's XControl Panel, but
with the ability to reuse your current accessories rather than limiting
you to current CPX availability and feature limitations.
While it will retain the resident accessory loading features that have
always existed in MultiDesk, MultiDesk Deluxe will give you an additional
area for accessories to be loaded from disk whenever you need them. These
non-resident accessories will all share the same memory area, allowing it
to be reused without limit!
The final result of MultiDesk Deluxe is that you can now use LESS MEMORY,
boot up FASTER, and use MORE ACCESSORIES!
o No longer does your MultiDesk buffer need to be large enough to hold
those accessories which you seldom use.
o Non-resident accessories are only loaded when you need them so only
a split-second is required at bootup time for MultiDesk Deluxe to
read the names of the available accessories.
o MultiDesk Deluxe now lets you use up to * 96 * accessories while
consuming only a fraction of its former memory usage!
We're off to Germany to attend the Duesseldorf show, but we'll be back to
tell you all about MultiDesk Deluxe! Projected release date for MultiDesk
Deluxe is September 14th. You won't be disappointed.
#########################################################################
Dispelling a nasty rumor...
CodeHead Software *IS* Developing a New Product For Atari Computers
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The recent August issue of Atari Interface Magazine included feature ar-
ticles and reviews of many of our products. We'd like to thank Bill and
Pattie Rayl for a very well-done issue which accurately describes many of
the basic as well as the advanced features of our software. But as great
as this exposure was, it seems many people have focused an one small
paragraph in the is
sue.
"Now, the bad news." That's exactly how the paragraph in "Editorial
Ramblings" started out. This editorial went on to point out that the
CodeHeads are registered Macintosh developers and that "While the
CodeHeads will continue to support their current products in the Atari
market, they 'currently have no plans to release any new products for the
Atari market.'"
While these statements are true (or were true when they were made), they
have been grossly misinterpreted by many readers. We've had several com-
ments from people who say "I'm sorry to hear you're abandoning the Atari
market." Nothing could be further from the truth.
We'd like to make it clear that we in no way blame Bill and Pattie Rayl or
Atari Interface Magazine for this misunderstanding. They accurately
reported the quote as well as confirming with us on the phone before prin-
ting it.
We've made the statement about not planning any new products several times
and are only beginning to realize what a mistake it is to say this. It
just doesn't make good business sense for a number of reasons:
o There are probably only a few (if any) Atari developers who ARE
currently planning any new releases, but they don't publicize this
fact.
o We've always stated in the same breath that we will continue to
support our existing products as long as there are even a couple of
inches of the Atari ship above water, but this is usually ignored.
o We made the same statement (about no new products) before releasing
our CodeKeys program a year ago but it didn't stop us from writing
and releasing this useful tool.
o We ARE currently planning a new release for the Atari market!!!
We're not ready to present a full press release yet, but we are
developing a MIDI recorder called MIDI Spy. It is an accessory which
records and plays back MIDI data in the background. It's always
recording so you'll never lose another valuable musical idea. Full
details about MIDI Spy will be released in an upcoming press release.
This is something musicians have been waiting for!
#########################################################################
> Hard Disks STR InfoFile ***** ABCO SUMMER '91 SPECIALS! *****
=======================
** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! **
ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC.
P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
Est. 1985
_________________________________________
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT
BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 PM - 6 AM EDT
_________________________________________
HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET
_________________________________________
All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST
are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s).
*-ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE-*
(you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!)
(all cables and connectors installed)
* ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
* ICD ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED *
* SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS *
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
Deluxe 2 bay Cabinet w/65w auto-switching PS
TIME PROVEN to be the most reliable!
Model Description Autopark Price
==================================================
SGN4951 51Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 479.00
SGN1096 85Mb 24ms 5.25" Y 549.00
SGN2055 105mb 12ms 3.5" Y 649.00
SGN6277 120Mb 12ms 3.5" Y 789.00
SGN1296 170Mb 12ms 3.5" Y 1019.00
==================================================
FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00
ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250+w PS
EXOTIC TOWER CABINETS AVAIALABLE Call for Info!
PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only!
CPU ACCELERATOR & MEMORY UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED
>> ABCO is now taking orders for 1040 & MEGA STe Computers! <<
Call for VERY special Introductory prices!
ATARI COMPUTERS * STILL THE BEST VALUE!
If you don't see what you want listed here, call us.
Odds are we have it or, can get it for you!
AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE!
"We service what we sell. (IF necessary)"
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
* SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *
- SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADSCSI PLUS H/A
- ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable
- Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply
(1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.
--->> SPECIAL! NOW ONLY __$ 645.00__ <<---
**** SCSI UNITS -> ONLY $585.00 ****
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN!
Cart and Utility Software Included!
EXTRA CARTS: $ 74.50
DRIVE MECH ONLY: $ 349.95
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
* TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
SPECIALLY PRICED ** $1019.00 **
Includes TWO cartridges!
* SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
- Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -
50mb SQG51 $ 819.00 85mb SQG96 $ 1019.00
LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
Listed above are a sampling of the systems available.
Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations
(over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)
ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> SUPERCHARGER - AT/PC SPEED - GCR
LARGER units are available - (Custom Configurations)
*>> NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED! <<*
- Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets -
* SLM 804 Replacement Toner Cartridge Kits $42.95 *
* Toner Starter Kits $49.95 *
* Replacement Drums $183.95 *
>> MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED <<
ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED
-* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
(A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE!
_________________________________________
DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!
please, call for details
Personal and Company Checks are accepted.
ORDER YOUR NEW UNIT TODAY!
CALL: 1-800-562-4037 -=**=- CALL: 1-904-783-3319
Customer Orders ONLY Customer Service
9am - 8pm EDT
Tues thru Sat
ABCO is EXPANDING!! CALL FOR INFORMATION!
____________________________________________________________
> A "Quotable Quote" STReport's Editorial "Cartoon"
==================
"Atari Corp. is one of the largest companies in the world
manufacturing and marketing personal computers and video games
for the home, office and educational marketplaces."
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport International Online Magazine
Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" August 16, 1991
16/32bit Magazine copyright 1987-91 No.7.33
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors/staff, PCReport, STReport, AMReport, MCReport. 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 entire contents, at the
time of publication, are believed to be reasonably accurate. The editors,
contributors and/or staff are not responsible for the use/misuse of infor-
mation contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
