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Silicon Times Report Issue 0811
*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
from
STR Publishing
""""""""""""""
March 13, 1992 No.8.11
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____________________________________________________________________
> 03/13/92: STReport #8.11 "The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!"
-------------------------
- The Editor's Desk - CPU REPORT - HYPERLIST!
- 68030 Explained - MULTIPLAY - FLASH II Update
- FAST TECH CONF. - KIDPUB 6.4 - MEGAPAINT 4 Review
- CODEHEAD NEWS! - ISD BONUS POINTS - STR Confidential
-* CEBIT PRELIMINARY REPORT! *-
-* NYC PALM/LAPTOP EXPO REPORT!*-
-* FAST TECH TURBO 030 DETAILED! *-
==========================================================================
ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
The _Number One_ & Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine
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Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (March 13)
**** CONFERENCE WITH JOHN JAINSCHIGG/ATARI EXPLORER ****
Please join us on Thursday, March 19th, in the Atari Arts Forum (GO
ATARIARTS) for a special conference with guest speaker John Jainschigg,
publisher of Atari Explorer magazine. Atari Explorer covers all the
Atari products, and is published six times a year. John will be
available to answer your questions and listen to your comments. The
conference begins at 10:00 PM Eastern Time.
ISD MARKETING ANNOUNCES...
ISD Marketing announces the details of the TinyTurbo030 board from
Fast Technology. See messages 24879-24882 in sec. 17 of the Atari
Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN).
MACDONALD ASSOCIATES JOINS ATARI VENDORS FORUM!
Please join us in welcoming MacDonald Associates to the Atari Vendors
Forum! MacDonald Associates publishes ST INFORMER Magazine, and are the
publishers of UNIVERSAL ITEM SELECTOR and UNIVERSAL NETWORK.
Message Section 5 and Library 5 have been established for their use.
Please feel free to send them a message at User ID number 75300,2514.
MacDonald Associates has also uploaded a patch to update version 3.3
of their Universal Item Selector to version 3.32. Get UIS332.ARC from
Library 5, MacDonald Assoc.
PATCH FROM GRIBNIF FOR STTALKER
Download file STKR01.LZH from Gribnif's Library in the Atari Vendors
Forum (GO ATARIVEN) for a patch to upgrade STalker version 3.00 to version
3.01.
NEW IN PORTFOLIO FORUM
Thanks to Phil Payzant, we now have the public domain version of the
Original Adventure (Colossal Cave) available for downloading in Library 4.
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 #11
Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
-- Microsoft Predicts 1 Million Windows 3.1 Sales in First Month
Windows 3.1, an updated version of Microsoft Corp.'s graphical user en-
vironment, is expected to begin shipping in April. Microsoft predicts
it will sell more than one million copies of Windows 3.1 in the first
month of sales. Windows 3.1 will be released in seven languages inter-
nationally.
Microsoft has sold some nine million copies of Windows since it was
introduced two years ago.
-- AT&T Unveils Modem Chip Set
AT&T has unveiled its LapTop Complete Modem Chip set, which it says en-
ables modem makers to build a high-speed, battery-powered pocket modem
or notebook PC modem.
Computergram International says devices made with the chip set can oper-
ate "at a striking 38.4Kbps for data -- 9,600 bps with data compression
-- as well as the usual 9,600 bps for facsimile."
The newsletter quotes AT&T officials as saying the chip set implements
modems "that typically draw no more than 800mW when working -- AT&T
claims that is about the same as many 2,400bps modems -- and takes only
15mW in built-in sleep mode."
Included in the chip set are DSP16A, T7525 Codec and V32INTFC, which
implement the data-pump function including CCITT modulations specified
in V.32, V.22bis, V.22, V.23, V.21, Bell212A, Bell103 for data communi-
cations and V.29, V.27ter and V.21(ch2) for send-and-receive facsimile
communications and echo cancellation.
Also included is the LMC Laptop Modem Controller, a microprocessor that
supports the AT Command Set, V.42/V.42bis and MNP4 and MNP5 compression
protocols and EIA/TIA 578 Class I AT Command Extensions.
-- $399 v.32BIS Modem Soon Available
CompuCom Corp. says its new SpeedModem Star, a v.32BIS high-speed modem,
supports the highest industry-standard speed, CCITT'S v.32.BIS at 14,400
bps. The new modem will be available for an introductory price of $399
through May 31, which CompuCom says is the lowest price on the market.
The price rises to $539 June 1. The company promises to add voice mail
and fax as low-cost field upgrades.
CompuCom says in a statement the new modem incorporates two separate
digital signal processors with a combined operating speed of more than
100 million mathematical calculations per second, "twice the raw signal
processing power of general-use modems that rely on common third-party
chipsets."
-- Three Japanese Companies to get California Technology
Rambus Inc. is licensing its design for a new type of computer memory
chip to three Japanese electronics giants. Rambus officials say the
technology boosts the speed of the chip ten times and can display PC
graphics 3-5 times faster.
Geoff Tate, chief executive officer of Rambus, told AP he thinks system
designers will use the new chips to design "video computers" that will
allow users to hold video conversations on one part of a PC screen,
while watching television or doing spreadsheet calculations at the same
time.
In fact, the system will be able to handle digital video data at such a
fast pace, the user could participate in the video conference dressed in
blue jeans while the system drew a suit on him.
Tate boasted that his company has solved the problem of memory not
keeping pace with the speed of microprocessors. Rambus' solution allows
chips to transfer data at 500 megabytes per second, which is ten times
faster than DRAMs.
Rambus predicts the new chip will be all that is needed to run a PC,
making a typical workstation installed with the chip costing about
$1,000 less than current models.
The three Japanese companes, NEC Ltd., Toshiba Ltd., and Fujitsu Ltd.
expect to make the chips later this year.
-- IBM to Unveil New Notebook Computer
According to PC Week, IBM is scheduled on March 24 to unveil a new 16MHz
386SLC- based notebook computer.
The machine is expected to list for about $4,000, would join IBM's 16MHz
386SX-based N51 SX notebook, a 20MHz 386SX- based CL57 SX color laptop
and an upgraded L40 SX laptop also slated for release on that date. The
SLC-based notebook will offer about an 80 percent performance boost over
the N51 SX.
-- SIA Reports Record Chip Orders
The Semiconductor Industry Association says domestic orders of semi-
conductors set an all-time record last month at $1.52 billion, an
increase of 4.9 percent from January.
The February bookings (orders based on a three-month average) are re-
ported to be up 12.5 percent from the $1.35 billion of bookings in
February 1991.
-- SPA Wins Again
The Software Publishers Association has won a $30,000 settlement from
the Denver-based Melco Industries Inc. in a copyright infringement suit.
The software trade group says the products involved were made by
Microsoft Corp, Lotus Development Corp., AutoDesk Inc. and WordPerfect
Corp.
-- Chips & Tech Gets Go-Ahead in Court
According to Chips & Technologies Inc., the judge in US District Court
in San Jose, Calif. has denied Intel's request that Chips be restrained
from transferring its technologies to other companies, thus giving the
company a a go-ahead to continue producing microprocessors compatible
with Intel Corp.'s 386 chips.
Chips introduced the family of 386-compatible microprocessors last fall,
claiming it spent three years and $50 million engineering its chips
specifically to avoid infringing Intel's patents. This came after Intel
filed suit last month against Chips despite being in private settlement
negotiations.
-- Michelangelo Might Have Been Taiwanese!
While experts have said last week's Michelangelo virus was discovered in
the Netherlands, Dutch police now say they've learned the rogue program
actually was unwittingly spread round the world by a single Taiwanese
software copying house.
Computer fraud expert Loek Weerd in Amsterdam said, "Taiwan is the
source of the mass distribution of the virus. The Taiwanese authorities
have not so far given us the name of the software copy house." He noted
that, since copy houses legitimately copy software for customers, this
one probably mass-produced the virus when a customer gave the firm an
infected disk.
***********************************************************************
: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 Announcements (FREE)
1. RTC 3/15 - Get Answers to Your Income Tax Questions Online...HOSB
2. MAC users get support from A.R.T. Software in................ASTROLOGY
3. Choose from 2 CALLER ID products at..........................SEARS
4. Take A COURSE Online This SPRING.............................CALC
5. Special SELF-PUBLISHING RTC. Is it for you - find out in.....WRITERS
6. Shareware Depot: FREE BONUS with ANY Purchase NOW............SHAREWARE
7. ELECTION COVERAGE - Special broadcast journalism RTC 3/15 in..RADIO
8. Hall of Fame Songwriter Mickey Newbury LIVE from............CALIFORNIA
9. Make friends in the adult space fantasy.......................FED
10. Mark Twain and that "AWFUL GERMAN LANGUAGE"...................GERMANY
11. STREET.$$$ reflects Compaq/Toshiba lowered prices & more on...LAPTOPS
12. Before you move, get your FREE copy of Homes & Land...........HOME
13. Prizes........................................................BORLAND
14. Shareware Authors:Get Your Products Listed...................DIRECTORY
15. Art Contest--Spaceport Door Cover Art Contest: More info in...SPACE
Welcome ****** ******** ** ** **
To the ** ** ** ** **
GEnie ****** ** ST ** ** **
ATARI ** ** Roundtable ** ** **
****** ** ** ** **
*** ** ***
The Official Online Resource of Atari Corporation *** ** ***
*********************************************************************
Regular Open Conference every Wednesday night, 10PM EDT, 7PM PDT
DTP conference every Monday at 10PM eastern in room 3.
Atari Roundtable Weekly News
============================
= Realtime Conference Change =
The RTC with Joppa Software and Leonard Tramiel have been changed and
should read: Joppa Software on the 18th of March and Ask Tramiel on the
25th of March. Mark your calenders and see you there!
Contact: JEFF.W, RTC Guests
= ISD/Calumus SL Realtime Conference =
Atari ST Roundtable wishes to thank ISD and Nathen Potechin for the
informative and entertaining Realtime Conference. ISD and Nathan also gave
away prizes and We wish to congratulate Steve Gold [S.GOLD6] who won a
$500 CG Font Package and Randy Noak [R.NOAK] who won a free upgrade to
Calumus SL ($230 value). The transcript of the Realtime Conference is
available in Library 13, File 23031 CALM_SL.ARC. Contact: ISD, JEFF.W,
DARLAH, Winners
= ASK LEONARD TRAMIEL! =
Atari's Vice-President of Software, Leonard Tramiel, will be answering
questions from Atari users in the Bulletin Board and the Software Library,
and then on March 25th join Us in a Realtime Conference. See Category 14,
Topic 25 for details on how to "Ask Leonard." Type m475;7 or address Email
to LEONARD$ to ask your questions.
GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
***********************************************************************
> The Flip Side STR Feature "....a different viewpoint..."
=========================
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT
==================================
by Michael Lee
----------------
From John Townsend (Atari) - Cat. 14, Topic 8, Msg. 256 - from the ST
Roundtable on Genie...
...TOS 2.06 can format HD disks. I believe the system does them in the
same Twister "style" format that the previous versions of TOS use. As
for whether or not you can get 10 Sectors and 84 tracks out of an HD
drive.. I have no idea. So far, I think the Desktop is one of the few
"programs" that is able to format 1.44 Meg Floppies and it doesn't do
"extended" formats.
----------------
From Tom Zenthoefe - Cat. 8, Topic 4, Msg. 117 - from the ST Roundtable
on Genie...
...if you think that you can hold on for a couple of months, Supra
will be releasing two new modems for less than $400. The less
expensive of the two is 9600 bps and the $400 one is 14400 bps.
Also from what I have seen, other companies are also getting ready to
release some new high speed modems in the next couple of months.
----------------
From Jim Ness - Cat. 8, Topic 4, Msg. 115 - from the ST Roundtable on
Genie...
Supra has admitted elsewhere that it jumped the gun a bit with its
product announcement. It will be a few more weeks before it or any
other modem manufacturer can begin shipping the new cheaper modems.
----------------
From Cat. 14, Topic 40, Msgs 49-50 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
Question from S.Standiford...
Star Raiders doesn't run on an STE? I could have sworn that it worked
on mine... I'm going to try it out.
Answer from K.Schafer...
It's only the MegaSTE that it dies on, something to do with the way
floppy access is handled that is different from earlier versions.
----------------
From Holobyte - Cat. 9, Topic 34, Msg. 115 - from the ST Roundtable on
Genie...
Unfortunately, none of our products (including FALCON, the FALCON
Mission Disks or FOTI) is compatible with the newer TOS versions in
the Mega STE and TT.
Based on sales of Atari ST products in the last 2 years, there just
isn't enough financial incentive for our developer to fix this
compatibility problem, alas :-(
----------------
From Cat. 4, Topic 39, Msgs 159-161 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
Question from Rich Thurow...
Now with Atari's new HDX5 software, can I replace the old and tired
Seagate with ANY SCSI drive in my Megafile 30 without buying a new
host adaptor? I want to put a quantum 105 meg in (and kill the fan, I
hear the quantums run cool enough). Am I kidding myself? Please help!
Answer from DOUG.W...
The MegaFile 30 does not have a SCSI hard drive in it. It has an RLL
drive (and a dual-purpose host adapter/SCSI interface (Adaptec)).
You'll need to find an RLL drive for a simple plug-in replacement.
Answer from Tom (ICD)...
Or hack a SCSI host adapter into the case.
----------------
From Dave Small - Cat. 4, Topic 44, Msg. 89...
Sandy wanted me to post this online.
There's a chip from Motorola called the 68EC030.
It's a 68030 without the MMU. (I don't know if it's 68030's whose
MMU's don't work or don't have them designed in, but it doesn't
matter.)
The 68EC030 costs less than a full 68030, so we've gotten calls and
FAX's (one fella FAXed us all the tech docs ... talk about paper!)
about whether or not it will work with the SST.
The 68EC030 will not work with the SST properly. It will probably
cause you hard disk read/write errors and lose you data, or possibly
your whole hard disk if it wipes clean a directory. We had Beta
Testers lose data on hard disks because of a bug similar to what the
68EC030 would cause, but fortunately our Beta Testers are long used to
backing up EVERYTHING before trying a Beta ANYTHING. DO NOT USE A
68EC030 ON THE SST!
(We specify a 68030 as required for the "SST" if you get a bare board,
not a 68EC030, but wanted to be real clear on this.)
If you're interested:
First, they made the 68000, and It Was Good.
Then, they made the 68010, and it handled Virtual Memory (minor
upgrade).
Then, they made the 68020, and it powered the Mac II and many things.
Then, they made the 68851 Paged Memory Management Unit chip, and it
made memory management -- say, moving virtual memory around -- real
spiffy.
THEN, they MERGED the 68020 and 68851, and we got the 68030. It is
only minus a few 68851 things I don't consider that important and
barely different from the 68020 in 68020 things.
Then, they made the 68881/68882 Floating Point Chip.
THEN, they MERGED the 68030 with the 68882, a heck of a job, and made
the 68040. Again, they eliminated a few FPU instructions, but no
biggie.
The 68020, 68030, and 68040 are available in the Real Thing packages,
or in the EC packages, which aren't the full chip -- pieces is
missing. I guess Motorola things "EC" means "Embedded Controller" and
thinks embedded controllers don't need MMU's. Whew; I've worked at a
shop that made remote sensors and VM would have helped them a lot.
Without the MMU, which is a 68EC030, it probably cannot be done
without massive external hardware (oh, fun).
But the *cost* of the EC series is much lower, so people are naturally
checking into them. Don't do it, folks -- if you EVER want the MMU to
do nice things to your ST, like what I'm writing (MMU's are software
programmmable memory thingos of awesome power!) then PLEASE don't go
EC now, save a few bucks, and lose bigtime later.
An SST with an EC in it might switch on ... I don't believe its SST
RAM could even initialize, and other programs would blow up, too. I
didn't design it for chips that were half there.
If somehow you bring it up, you positively WILL have DMA troubles to
floppy and hard disk, and heaven knows what else.
-- If you get weird problems, it never hurts to turn off the blitter.
The blitter flops around awhile when done and while that doesn't
worry a slow 8 MHz CPU, it definitely worries a 33 MHz CPU!
-- ICD's new 5.5 software *may* not be working right with SST; we
don't know for sure, but have had reports both ways. I know that
5.4.2, the last version I had, works fine.
-- If you have a Moniterm board, the power supply load of both SST and
the Moniterm will overload your ST supply. You will need George's
new supply, which is nice and overkill and runs cool.
-- If you have a Moniterm, you will want George to massage it slightly
so that it doesn't develop "glitches" (black lines on screen) as
you kick into warp drive. George originally developed this fix for
the bridge monitor of the Enterprise; above Warp 8, black glitches
would show up. No more! [grin]
There are variations on Moniterm boards; some work better than others.
Some glitch at 8 MHz, for instance. I found the GROUND cable to be
essential.
This is just a summary of the important stuff from the Gadgets RT.
System 7 is currently under heavy artillery attack and bugs are
dropping away under the Zax. I'm trying, folks.
(Oh, yes -- DO NOT try to run Spectre in SST RAM until > 3.0 ! it will
fail.)
----------------
Misc. comments about the SLM-804 - Cat. 14, Topic 11, Msgs. 36-40 - from
the ST Roundtable on Genie...
Question from Philip Nereo...
I have a problem with a used SLM-804. I call it the 'phantom paper
jam'. Can anyone shed any light on this? Every time I power up the
machine, (which has Phantom of the laser installed), the first 5 or 6
sheets of paper I try to run thru set off the paper jam indicators.
This happens whether trying to print a document or just running the
test program. Then it works fine. It also works fine, right from the
start, if I set it for manual feed. Any suggestions or similar
experiences that could shed light would be appreciated!
Suggestions from Gregg Anderson...
Just a couple of suggestions.... make sure the paper guides are tight
and lined up.... and check the rubber rollers & pawls that pull the
paper from the tray. If the rollers/pawls have hardened they might not
be getting a good grip on the paper until everything warms up from
use. Also check the rubber bands that drive the rollers.... though I
doubt if they will be the problem since it goes away after warming up
(unless one of them is slipping on a pulley. Clean everything you can
reach with a Q-Tip and alchol.... nothing stronger! I had similar
problems for a while, the cleaning & a re-allignment of the paper
guides fixed it.... A good outfit with experience fixing SLMs is XANTH
up in Washington State.....
Warning from G.E.M....
Warning!!!
Do NOT clean rubber rollers and belts with alcohol, it will cause them
to harden. Instead dampen a CLOTH rag with Simple Green diluted about
15 to 1. I have been servicing photocopiers and related equipment for
15 years and know from where I speak, alcohol will cause more problems
that it solves. Also Q- tips tend to shed fibers which work their way
into clutches and bushings and attract dirt and other abrasive
substances, so always use a cloth rag to clean inside the machine.
Question from Sandy Wilson (Sysop)...
What the heck is Simple Green?
Answer from G.E.M....
It's the brand name of a non-toxic, organic, all purpose cleaner that
should be available everywhere. It can be used on virtually every-
thing. The only place that it cannot be used is on the drum, it will
strip off the organic photoconductor material.
----------------
Update on Third Reich - From Ted Evans - Cat. 9, Topic 4, Msg. 18 - from
the ST Roundtable on Genie...
I don't remember who made the post here last week, about getting Third
Reich to work on his STe using MAKE1MEG.TOS.....
** IT DOES WORK ** !!!!
I have a 4 meg STe with TOS 1.62 and I have played/saved and re-played
the game several times...
So Avalon Hill is wrong...The problem is not the higher TOS's, it's
the more than a 1 meg thing again..
So go buy the game... Avalon Hill's toll free number is 1-800-999-
3222. $39.95 + 3.00 shipping... It is a neat war game...
----------------
About a virus on Deuteros - Cat. 9, Topic 14, Msgs. 44-45 - from the ST
Roundtable on Genie...
From A.Bitton...
ATTENTION-ATTENTION!!!
There is a virus on disk 2 of Deuteros (the data disk)!!
The virus is of the Signum BPL type. It's waiting for another virus to
come along to trigger it. This virus copies itself to other disks. If
you always turn off your ST after playing Deuteros, you're safe. You
would have to boot your ST with disk 2 in the drive for the virus to
spread itself!
It's safe to kill the virus, the game will run fine. But don't do
anything to disk 1!! Virus killers can't really tell viruses from
special game disks!
From J.BUDIL...
Electronic Arts is quite good about exchanging old Populous disks for
newer, STE-compatible ones. I sent them my old disk with a short
explanatory note, and they sent me a new disk, as well as a new box
and new instructions. The box looked nicer than my old one. I was
quite pleased.
----------------
From John Trautschol about the new Flash II - Cat. 8, Topic 2, Msg. 122
- from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
Well, maybe it's time to post a list of Flash II features. We're
within a month of release now. The plans are to offer it for sale for
the first time at the Toronto Atari Show, April 4 & 5th. Quite
honestly, we've been so busy getting everything ready, I haven't had
the time to put together a list of Flash II's features. So, here we
go. Mind you, this isn't an official press release (that'll come
later). Here we go...
* DO scripts are enhanced. Old script files continue to work with new
features added for support of Flash II's new features.
* DO scripts are no longer needed, however, for automating your logon
process. All board parameters are now set via dialogs. These para-
meters are saved in the board configuration file and automatically
configure Flash II when the board is activated.
* Now permits the use of up to 30 function key macros. 10 macros are
considered global, and are accessed by holding down the Control key
and F1 thru F10 keys. The other 20 macros can be programmed separately
for each board and are accessed with the unshifted and shifted
function keys. The macros automatically load when the board is
activated.
* Flash II can be used to display, either on- or off-line RLE and GIF
pictures. (Particularly handy on CIS which permits the use of online
graphics viewing.)
* Includes a new Review Mode. Save your online session to disk and
later review it as if you were online!
* Supports the following terminal emulations: TTY, VIDTEX, VT52, ANSI,
VT100, VT101, VT102, VT200, VT300 & Prestel.
* Supports ST, IBM and DEC characters sets.
* Flash II is designed to work on any ST or TT, in any resolution,
from 80 to 132 columns, and 24, 29 or 48 lines.
* A new type ahead buffer is included. It supports up to three lines
of text which is fully editable using the cursor, delete and backspace
keys. The [Return] key and [Enter] key perform different functions,
depending on the configuration. One can be used to enter forced
carriage returns into your message, the other is used to send the
message.
* You can configure the amount of memory you wish Flash II to grab at
startup. Older versions of Flash grabbed everything available. With
multitasking on the horizon, you don't necessarily want to do that.
You can continue to <Free> unwanted memory once in the program.
* Includes command support for an automatic answer mode.
* New, full-featured GEM text editor with more flexible block commands
(you can now start and end blocks anywhere in a line), cut & paste
commands, search & replace function, paragraph reformatting, user tab
settings and page widths, automatic word wrap & text wrap modes, and
much more.
* The editor now permits you to select the type of display mode
desired. Whereas older version of Flash always displayed carriage
returns, you can now turn those on or off, as well as all other
control characters.
* Almost all menu functions have keyboard equivalents, such as Alt-L
to "Load" a file. Where appropriate, these keyboard equivalents match
the terminal mode keyboard equivalents.
* Includes Silent Line, a new background file transfer program
(replaces "Shadow").
* Internally supports the following protocols: ASCII, Xmodem, Ymodem,
Ymodem-G, Zmodem, Modem7, WXModem, CIS B+, Kermit, SEAlink, and
Telesoftware (for Discovery/Prestel systems).
* Includes a new "Statistics" feature. Keeps track of all of your
online time and upload/download information, and calculates your fees
based on the BBS' rates.
* Includes built-in timing functions. Flash II will autostart an
online session using this timer.
* Includes a totally rewritten, 226 page manual, fully indexed along
with a table on contents. The manual includes a tutorial, detailed
section on all functions of the program, and a 50-page section
explaining (with examples) the DO script language.
There are a bunch more features too, but this highlights the majority
of them. The program will be sold for the introductory price of
$49.95. (It'll probably go up to $59.95 four to six months later.)
We also plan on offering upgrades to existing owners. The price will
be $30 to upgrade, and you'll have to send in your original Flash disk
in order to qualify. The upgrade offer will last for a limited time
only, and although that period hasn't been set yet, it'll probably be
about 3 months after the official release. Naturally, as upgrades to
Flash II become available, we'll make those available to all
registered users at greatly reduced prices.
Hope that covers it all. (I'm sure this will generate a whole *slew*
of new questions now! :-)
----------------
Announcement from C.F. Johnson (Codehead Technologies) - Cat. 11, Topic
6, Msg. 99 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
Well, it looks like the Toronto show is going to mark the public debut
of ....
CodeHead Technologies' new version of Quick ST!!!
We'll have more details soon. For now, I'll just say that Quick ST has
become the most compatible, the fastest, and the most feature-packed
screen accelerator for the Atari line of computers. _ALL_ known bugs
have been fixed, and many new features have been added. It's fully
compatible with FSM GDOS, and with the TT030. (In fact, a TT just
SCREAMS with the new Quick ST installed.)
And by the way...it's also going to be sporting a new name. So folks,
be SURE to bring your Quick ST disks to the TAF show. The upgrade fee
for the new version will be $20, which will include the new manual.
Don't wait 'til the second day either...we anticipate that our stock
of upgrades will go FAST. (Like Quick ST itself.)
----------------
Until next week.....
__________________________________________________________________
> FAST TECH '030' CONF. STR FOCUS "ITS FASTER THAN A TT!"
===============================
FAST TECHNOLOGY ONLINE CONFERENCE
=================================
March 11, 1992
GEnie RTC
<[Sysop] JEFF.W>
On behalf of the Atari ST Roundtable, I welcome all of you to the Fast
Technology RealTime Conference. Before getting started, some business
about h ow an RTC works.
While the RTC room is in Listen-Only mode, you can only address our guest
when I let you talk.
To get my attention, just /RAIse your hand. Just enter this from your
keyboard: /rai
I'll acknowledge your raised hand as soon as I can, but please be patient.
I -WILL- let you know when your turn is coming up.
Some other RTC commands are:
? - Lists all RTC commands.
/sta - Status (list) of everyone in
the RTC room.
/exi - Exit the RTC, but you remain
logged onto GEnie.
/bye - Log off of GEnie directly from
the RTC.
/rai - Raise your hand. Lets me know
you wish to address our guest.
And now, let's get started.
Fast Technology's Jim Allen was the first to break the 8 MHz speed barrier
on the Atari ST with the commercial release of Turbo16.
Since that time, Jim has been wringing more and more speed out of the ST
with products like Turbo20 and Turbo25. But there's only so much you can
expect from a 68000 so Jim has added the 68030 to the Atari arsenal with
the much anticipated Turbo030 and the recently announced TinyTurbo030.
If you folks haven't done so already, check out Category 4, Topic 11
starting with message 82 for more specifics about TinyTurbo030.
But in the meantime, we have Jim Allen here to tell us more about the Fast
Technology product lineup and to answer your questions.
Jim, thank you very much for joining us this evening. Do you have any
opening remarks to make before I start taking questions from the floor?
(You folks can start /RAIsing your hands now.)
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Hi Folks!!!! Thanks for coming...
Fast Technology is about to start shipping the latest in a long line of
great accelerator cards.
I'll list what is available and for how much:
Turbo20 a 20Mhz 68000 card....$329
Turbo25 a 25Mhz 68000 card....$379
STE adapter for these...$49
And now TinyTurbo030 a 40+Mhz very tiny 68030 card....$999
As an introductory price, the TinyTurbo030 will be available at the
fantastic price of $599!!!!
This addition to the lineup gives you a choice of speeds ranging from 2
TIMES faster all the way up to 6-7 TIMES faster than the stock ST!!!
The TinyTurbo030 is a real breakthrough product, putting more power in a
smaller volume than any accelerator maker has done before!!
The TinyTurbo030 includes a 40Mhz 030 at its heart, with a 32K 20ns static
ram cache, and Atari's TOS 206 operating system.
A stock 68000 chip is also onboard, so at the flick of a switch you can go
back in time and technology, and enjoy your favorite older software, or
run time critical music software.
The TinyTurbo030 comes in two different configurations, one for the STs,
which looks like a larger Turbo25 and another designed specifically for
STE/MegaSTE computers which is a simple plug in, only a screw driver and
pliers are needed!!
Two options are available, a super fast math co-processor, the 68882 50Mhz
model, which we run at 40, 50, or 60Mhz!!!
And our own customized Virtual Memory software, which eats up 512K to 1Meg
of your ST ram, but lets the system "think" it has up to 128 Megabytes of
TT ram...even in your old trusty 1985 520ST!!!!
All of this is made possible by the great folks at Atari Corporation, who
have created one heck of a nice new TOS....TOS 2.06!!!!
So Fast Technology has a speed choice for everyone, and a price to match
every budget!!!
To take advantage of the super introductory price on the TinyTurbo030,
simply place and advance order before April 30th, 1992, and include a
deposit of 50%...so we know you're a serious customer!!! THe TinyTurbo030
is such a nice product, so well polished, that it comes with a 30day
moneyback guarantee!!!!
The Math coprocessor option is only $299, and for Dynacadd and Lexicor
customers, it offers a 30-50 TIMES increase in rendering speed...well
worth the price. Only a $50 deposit is required with the order.
The Virtual Memory option is also $299, which we pass on to the inventor,
and includes an upgrade to a 50Mhz 68030 chip...great price for 50Mhz and
128Megabytes of ram!!! The deposit is only $50 also.
That's it, let me take questions, and pass on what information I can.....
<[Sysop] JEFF.W>
Thanks, Jim.
I have a question or two and then we'll take more from the floor. What
are the functional differences between Turbo030 and TinyTurbo030? Are
there any compromises needed to fit it into so small a package?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
The Turbo030 is a full size...5.5"x5.5"...board for MegaST computers only,
it has a sram cache to speed up motherboard activities...just like the
TinyTurbo030 (coincidence?) and also has 4or16 Megabytes of real 32bit
super fast Fast Ram. We'll be releasing it in a week or two, and do
another RTC on it....it's also $1495 ;-)
<[Steve] S.GOLD6>
Jim, Hi. Why would I purchase your board over the competition.
<[Sysop] JEFF.W>
At the offset, I'd like to keep comparisons to competitor products to a
minimum. Jim can fairly represent his products, but he's not an expert on
competitors' products.
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Depends on what you need and what you want to spend. The TinyTurbo030 is
one MIGHTY fast little power house. It fits ALL ST or STE computers,
includes a stock 68000 to insure TOTAL compatibility. It only costs $599
complete, including the speed ;-) The Tiny030 is aimed at the "low end"
of the competition, it BLOWS AWAY the ProVME board in Germany, and gives
your ST/STE the feel and speed of a TT...for $599.
<[Steve] S.GOLD6>
Would VM software slow down a system. Also when is projected delivery on
the Tiny Turbo boards.
Thanks Jeff and Jim.
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
The Virtual software does slow things down a bit...compared to running
flat out on the 030, but not enough to be a pain. Anyone exposed to SUN
3/60 Unix workstations knows about how much things will bog down, but the
benefits outweigh the speed hit BIG TIME.
I'd HIGHLY recommend dedicating at least a piece of a fast Quantum hard
disk for use with the VM, it will require a piece of your hard disk equal
to the amount of "RAM" you're adding to the system as VM. The faster the
disk the better...dedicating a $250 LPS52 is not unreasonable if you have
older slow disks.
The PCBoards are being designed in New Hampshire now, then they'll go to
Taiwan to be made, then back here to be stuffed (surface mount parts) and
then shipped!!!
This process will require 8-10 weeks. I wish I didn't have to go to
Taiwan, but I've had nothing but trouble with local PCBoard manufacturers,
quality is definitely not job one...bummer.
<[Dave] D.SHORR>
Hi Jim, can your TT030 use an ST's existing memory as 32-bit RAM, or is
the Virtual Memory option intended for this purpose?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Dave, the VM software uses a piece of ST ram, and "pretends" that it is
official TT ram. So the control panel CPX says....128Meg of TT ram!!! ;-)
While the rest of your ST ram is left available for use, like for video
and SLM printers, etc.
<[Dave] D.HAEFNER>
Can a MEGA bus be added to a stock ST via your card? (To allow use of
expanded video,etc) Or is this now obsolete, unused, impossible,
whatever? And have you tested Spectre GCR compatibility?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Dave, JRI makes a nice FPU adapter card that includes a Mega bus addon.
The FPU part can be left un populated, and you can use this in your ST,
now, and after TinyTurbo030 ;-)
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
It lets you use a Moniterm, etc. But you'll need to do something cabinet-
wise, otherwise you'll have a big board hanging out on your desk...not a
good thing to do ;-)
<[Dave] D.HAEFNER>
Case is not a problem... What about Spectre?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
The TnyTurbo030 works just fine on Spectre 3.0 now, but Dave will be
coming out with a version 3.1 down the road that should be a little more
"030" aware. There are some potential problems with critical timing
areas, but I've used it and had little if any trouble as-is.
<[Dave] D.HAEFNER>
Thanks Jim!
<R.GUADAGNO1>
Jim, Hello, Congrats' on the TURBO030!! I have two questions...
The First, have you heard of any problems with the CodeHead TEC board when
using the TURBO-16 or ICD AdSpeed (in 16MHz mode) on a MEGA ST? It's
"off-topic", but I need to know!
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
I have heard a couple complaints re: Turbo20/25 in Germany, but nothing on
T16. The Codeheads have T16s and have tested them...it's a GO!!! If you
do experience and thing, we'll fix whatever is needed to make it work, not
to worry!!
<R.GUADAGNO1>
THANK YOU!
Second, My friend Mark (M.SANTORA2) won a TURBO-25 at the WAACE show and
would like to know when they will be back in stock?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Marks unit, along with another persons, went out days ago, the T25s took
some time to polish 100% but now, they're golden!!!
<R.GUADAGNO1>
Ok, I'll let him know! Thank you (again).
<[Joe] J.MIRANDO1>
Will the 68000 on the Tiny 030 be 8mhz, or will Fast Tech be using a
faster, speed-switchable, 68K? Is there any need or use for an
accelerated "alternate" processor in a product like this?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
The 68000 SOCKET is a raw 8Mhz, we plug a stock 68000 in it, but you can
plug anything you want into it. It's made to support the Leonardo card
when it's released in MegaSTs, and you can stick a T25, an ATSpeed, or
whatever in the socket.
<[Joe] J.MIRANDO1>
Sounds like a killer item! Thanks, no more questions.
<[Sysop] JEFF.W>
Is this a regular 68030 in the TinyTurbo030 or one of the 68EC030s?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Depends purely on what is cheapest at purchasing time, we've been getting
real 40Mhz units for LESS than our Motorola rep can quote an EC for!!! ;-)
<[Sysop] JEFF.W>
Are there any performance differences between them?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Nope, only the MMU portion missing on the EC, otherwise they're the same.
In fact, I've done some surgery on one, opened it up, and altered the
connection of the MMUDIS signal inside...using the RP package (plastic pin
grid) the chip is actually glued to a PCboard, with a small aluminum cover
on it, you can pull it off and mess with the insides!!! The MMU seemed to
work just fine...neat. You can see this opened package by looking at a
DOVE computer add in MacUser, they show pictures of their accelerators
with this funny "chip" on it, looks like a PCBoard with a goop of glue in
the middle...the 030 is under the glue ;-)
<[John@Atari] TOWNS>
Thanks, Jeff..
Hi Jim. Just wanted to ask about Compatibility. Have you had the chance
to do some compatibility testing and how does it fair? Is it more
compatible than a TT? What kinds of things have you done to make sure
that your product is as compatible as possible?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
I'd say it's a "little" more compatible...at speed...since it is always
24bit addressing mode. For instance, TEMPUS 1 and 2 work OK, in fact all
the big productivity stuff does...except Timeworks DTP 1.
The key compatibility modes are, the roms answer at $FC as well as $Ex,
the unit is 24bit rather than 32bit as far as address map is concerned.
We've patched in all the TT equivalent MMU and cache controlling code,
cold booting, etc. And above all we've kept the 68000 chip available, so
you can switch back, and the TOS can be set to be OFF in 68000 mode, so
the motherboard roms will work...TOS 1.0/1.2, etc.
<[John@Atari] TOWNS>
Great! Best of Luck with your product, Jim. As Sig would have said, I
hope you sell "jillions." <grin>
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Thanks John, and NICE JOB on TOS 2.06, real NICE!!!!
<T.REYES>
Thanks, Jeff. Q-1, Jim. If I compile with the 030 mode in Turbo C will
your accelerator run the "030" code?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Yes it will, and if at all possible I'd make your SW detect the CPU type
and run 68000 code if no 030 is found, but yes, the 030 will definitely
run 030 instructions. The OS has lots of them in it. BTW, Turbo C works
too, the debugger needs a little tweaking though ;-)
<T.REYES>
You mentioned that it uses 24bit addressing and that concerned me that if
the Turbo C compiler is doing 32 bit it would crash.
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
By 24bit addressing I mean the upper 8 address pins on the 030 chip itself
are not connected to anything. So it doesn't matter what is contained up
there for information in an address...just like now with a 68000 chip...
ignored. It will matter only when running the Virtual Memory SW. This
was important for programs like Tempus and some GFA Basic programs which
used the upper bits for flags in the code.
<[Sysop] JEFF.W>
Anything else, Tim? [By the way, folks, Tim is the author of SILHOUETTE,
the auto-tracing program from Maxwell CPU.]
<T.REYES>
Q-2: How much RAM can you put on your board and with what type of SIMM
chips are needed (size, speed)?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
The board doesn't have provisions for any "ram", that takes too much
space, it will speed up whatever ram you have in your system already. We
chose the VM route as the cheapest and smallest method of adding ram.
Not to mention VM doesn't use any more juice from the power supply!!
<T.REYES>
OK, so the VM software manages strictly hard drive memory as virtual RAM?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Yes, it uses hard drive ram and makes it "look" like TT Fast ram. In
doing this it eats up 512K to 1Meg of your ST ram, leaving you with 3Meg
of ST ram.
<T.REYES>
Can one increase the amount of SRAM cache RAM on your board?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
No, we did extensive research in cache ram size over the years, and 16K of
data space is really quite sufficient. Any larger becomes inconvenient
physically and too costly. Motorola has found that 8K is actually the
best speed/cost trade off.
<P.MARTZ>
How do you get 16 Bit Ram to act like 32 Bit Ram? Sounds like a pretty
good option for those how don't want to buy a new machine.
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
The application doesn't know what the ram is actually, it only runs and
accesses certain address ranges, the VM software just fakes out the OS
into thinking there is actually a bunch of real chips out there, when
there aren't any ;-)
<P.MARTZ>
Thanks, Good luck!
<[Dave] D.SHORR>
Now that we have the power<ahem>, can we expect to see switcher or
multi-tasking type software that will allow us to load all of our favorite
ST programs into memory at once?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Dave, beats me ;-) I know Atari is cooking up something really really
NICE!! But I don't know what will happen with regards to the
TinyTurbo030, 030's in general, and in fact all the older ST/STE units?
We'll see. If TOS 2.06 is any indication, we've got some great stuff to
look forward to!!!
<[Dave] D.SHORR>
Thank you Jim.
<[Nathan] ISD>
I just wanted to state that I have been lucky enough to have one of Jim's
68030's in my Mega ST4. I use it daily with Calamus SL, Flash and, Calamus
v1.09N. Its fast and it flawless.
In fact, its faster than my TT and that's a fact in real life. I never
could read all the index numbers everyone seems to have but I can tell
when Calamus runs faster than normal!! I have a 24" monitor that would
not have plugged into the TT so I now have the best of both worlds. So,
this card is a reality. it works and I love it!! :-)
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Thanks Nathan!! Nothing like good endorsements...just ask Gov. Clinton
;-)
<[Nathan] ISD>
:-)
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
You may order any Fast Technology products through either Fast Technology,
or through ISD Marketing, J.ALLEN27 or ISD Email here on GEnie!!
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Once you put in some real speed...REAL SPEED...and the new TOS 206, you
will have a completely new computer, the difference is AMAZING!!!!
<[Joe] J.MIRANDO1>
Jim, in your press release you made mention of a few enhancements to TOS
2.06 for the '030 boards. Are these enhancements of use only to '030
users, or are they things that T16/20/25 users could benefit from?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
We've put in a couple neat things. If you have a real time clock, we put
the bootup delay into the unused alarm ram space, which lets you have a
real user selectable boot delay...but also user settable ;-)
There's other things we do the same with, but it's too early to talked
about them. These all DO work for 68030 and 68000 ;-)
<[Joe] J.MIRANDO1>
Sounds like you've been thinking these thing out well! When will this be
available to the public?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
The TinyTurbo030 will be about 10 weeks away, the Turbo030 is only a few
days away, and we have units in stock, with 4 Megs of ram, and one HECK of
a speed boost...like nothing you can imagine ;-)
<S.EAKINS>
Jim, How is the board designed for future expansion? The 040, will you be
able to upgrade at a later date to take it past the present 25 mhz? Also,
what is your policy on buying a "used" board. IE Support.
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
We've always had a "he who owns it is THE customer" on our products, so
whether it's a used board or a new one, you get total support!!!!
<S.EAKINS>
Thanks Jim, Helps me make a decision as to who's board to buy, YOURS!!
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
It's unlikely the 040 will be usable in the ST architecture, without even
more MAJOR work. Nothings impossible, but it's not even on my list of
"it'd be nice" things ;-)
<[Steamy Wreck] MYECK.WATERS>
I don't _normally_ believe in omens, but your special price announcement
arrived here on the very day I received the check from refinancing my
house - how'd you manage that one?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Good planning!!!! ;-)
<[Steamy Wreck] MYECK.WATERS>
I have a UK keyboard - any chance of getting a UK TOS on this thing!
<smirk>?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
No sweat, just specify it with the order, I have US UK and German
versions!!!
<[Steamy Wreck] MYECK.WATERS>
Cool! Thanks! Nathan, you can _keep_ yer US keyboard! I'm done.
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT>
I wanted to jump in for a moment and say that I too am using an 030 setup
in my Mega4/DTP system with an Image systems 24" and an SM147 mono
monitor. The increase in performance over the T16 is outstanding... more
than one can possibly imagine!
Its fully like as if I got a brand spanking NEW Computer. Jim left out
only one small item and that's the Air Bag for the sudden stops when the
work is done. Everything is hyper-fast.
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
Thanks Ralph, another example of a satisfied customer. The Turbo030
family is the result of a year's worth of research. The buggies have long
since been excised, and I look forward to pure bliss, with no problems
when you receive your new Turbo030 product.
<[Sysop] JEFF.W>
Anything else, Ralph?
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT>
I am done and ready for bed.
<T.REYES>
Jim, I have been salivating over just your 20Mhz board. Can I say what
this new 030 board does to me, i.e. can't say :-). Will your board be
able to handle the TT uxix? Thanks.
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
That's a real tough one, it's possible with enough ST targeted device
drivers, the TT Unix will be able to run on an ST030, but it's going to
take some effort. I'm kind of hoping a Unix guru who is also an ST user
will jump in and try to make this happen. We haven't spoken to Atari
about it, we'll see what happens after the Unix hits the streets!!
<[Sysop] JEFF.W>
Anything else, Tim?
<T.REYES>
That's all here.
<[Sysop] JEFF.W>
With that, we'll bring this show to a close. Thank you, Jim, for spending
your evening with us. Do you have any closing statements?
<[Jim@FASTTECH] J.ALLEN27>
I'd just like to close by saying THANK YOU for stopping by, and thank you
to all Fast Tech's customers for your patronage, you have made all this
possible. You can order any of our products from Fast Technology direct,
or from ISD Marketing, and see us in CAT 4 TOP 11 for more information and
continued support. Thanks!!!
<[Sysop] JEFF.W>
My thanks to all of you who came and participated as well!
NEXT WEEK: Joppa Software and their Straight FAX send/receive software!
=========================================================================
(C) 1992 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May be
reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie
are *official* information services of Atari Corporation.
=========================================================================
> FAST TECH 030 STR Review "Only thing missing is the Air Bag!"
========================
FAST TECHNOLOGY TURBO 030
=========================
by Ralph F. Mariano
Fed Ex arrived on Saturday morning two weeks ago. As the driver
walked to the door, I mentioned to my son Victor that "this must be from
Jim Allen". After all he said he was gonna use FedEx. Allen's got real
class. As I opened the cardboard box, my heart sank! I could hear
"rattling" inside. No.... it wasn't a snake! I removed the remainder of
tape on the cardboard box and finally got inside where I found another
box. This one was a special, "electronics shipping container" one corner
was crunched, (the front left), a piece was broken off both the top and
the bottom in that corner.
Once the tape was removed from the rigid box, I opened it too. In it
was found a very well cushioned PCB whose design was, IMHO, gorgeous.
When held up to a bright light, it became evident that this board was of
the highest quality and deeply multi-layered. Light simply would not
pass through where the layering was.
The Board had the 68030 and its companion math co-processor installed.
The appearance of the board and its layout is very impressive. Every inch
of available space is put to good use. Ok, so much for the good looks of
this zoomer, let's get to the good stuff. The actual installation took
all of 2 minutes! It took 15 minutes to remove and replace the cabinet
screws. <sigh> The sweet aspect is there were NO ancillary programs to
run, no software patches for the auto folder and absolutely no initial
bootup problems. The board arrived with a disk and very simple, easy to
follow, installation instructions. On the disk were the normal TOS 2.06
files, cpx files and a few normal files like Pinhead, etc..
Almost every major software package in my library was checked with
Fast Tech's 030 40 Mhz Zoomer. The moment the system was turned on, the
change was more than evident. Bootup speed was lightning fast and of
course the new TOS 2.06 was dynamite. The entire system responded
beautifully to the 030. Everything was "smiling". Now for a closer look.
Let's consider Pagestream's print speed for a normal file with two images
in it, (8 secs), everyone, myself included, makes noises about how slow it
is when printing. Imagine.. Pagestream running as fast, if not slightly
faster than Calamus 1.09. Better yet, NOW imagine my pure amazement when
I ran Calamus and printed a similar file. (4.5 secs) It printed so fast,
that the "print screen" hardly had time to arrive!! The screen redraws on
both of these programs where a sheer _delight_ to watch. Jim Allen has
certainly outdone himself with this 'rocket' design. Pagestream has all
the fast bits set for fast loading (including the drivers & importers) but
I've never seen it load in 3 seconds. Almost "eyeblink fast". Calamus
ran like the thoroughbred it is. It "seemed to sense" the increased speed
and zipped right along effortlessly in every function I tried. During our
Usergroup Meeting, one of our members, Scott Lemmon, tried the system and
remarked at fasssst the scrol
ling moved in the desktop's windows.
Moving right along, I booted Touch-Up and proceeded to load in my
favorite image file. The Enterprise was drawn in a moment or two, the
real speed increase was also incredible with the re-draws. MegaPaint was
absolutely divine at this speed. "Eyeblink fast" is an extremely
conservative description of the performance the 40Mhz 030 gave my DTP
system. Mind you now, this was all on a 24" monitor, you know the ones
that everyone says "take longer to do their thing because of their size"?
Let me tell you this the Image Systems monitor was "rockin 'n' rolling
right along." It was as fast, if not faster still, than my SM147 at 16Mhz
doing normal everyday things.
Now comes the moment of truth. I mean... what program do I use the
most? Hard to say, but between the Archivers and Word Perfect it runs
about equal. Which means to say I have plenty of experience with both.
Now that I've established that, let's look at LZH. Coming from a quick
16Mhz Mega4 system (T16), to the 030's 40Mhz certainly removed ALL "the
wait" out of LZHing or UNLZHing a file. The hash marks dropped in 1/4
sec. increments. Very Impressive. ARC 602 threw smoke the first time I
ran it went so fast. 40 Mhz is quick ...really.. VERY quick.
Word Perfect 4.1 (April 18, 1991) was about to get a double dose of
hyper-adrenalin. If WP's people could see this baby smokin' along they'd
probably re-think their position on upgrades. I use WP every day and most
all day on Fridays.. <grin> The Spell Checker is slooow or should I say
is usually slow, with Mr. 030 in the Mega4, the Spell Checker did a 160k
file in a matter of seconds. Next the Ascii Printer would taste the
effects of the 030. Every week, STReport is printed to disk as a
formatted ascii file. Every week, like clockwork, I can take a short hike
as this event takes place. For two weeks though, the time to print the
entire issue to disk was almost momentary when compared to the usual 10 to
12 minutes it normally takes. The longest it took with the 030 installed
was 2 3/4 minute for a 160k file. I can remember a while back when I was
on the phone with one of the support people at WP, I asked about the
Dictionary Optimizer, he said it takes forever but he said it too late. I
had already booted it. It was running under the T16 and was completed in
less than a minute and a half. The support person was astounded. Can you
imagine the surprise they'd get now when they saw the Spell Optimizer
complete its task in 54 seconds? It normally takes well over 3 minutes to
do a well used dictionary.
In closing, if you are contemplating the addition of this fine upgrade
to your system, don't hesitate go for it! The remarkable improvement is
more like installing a new computer instead of an internal upgrade. The
installation, once again, requires absolutely no soldering or the use of
_any_ special bootup or patch programs. This unit is well worth the
investment. Its design is truly professional in every sense of the word.
______________________________________________________
> CEBIT - EARLY REPORTS! STR SHOW NEWS "Falcons & Sparrows"
====================================
PRELIMINARY NEWS FROM CEBIT
===========================
FROM GEnie
Topic 33 Fri Mar 13, 1992
F.BELL1 [Frank @ Home] at 14:49 EST
Sub: The Falcon
The Falcon has been announced at CeBit
I can't beleave it. Rumors flying around like mad. Everbody and his
mother-in-law have their own opinion as to what Falcon is or should be or
whatever. But when its announced nobody says anything. Not even Atari.
:-(
Anyway, although I wasn't at the CeBit I do have some first, second, and
third hand information.
First of all - the machine was only shown to a closed group of people,
mostly dealers. IT WASN'T SHOWN ON THE FLOOR OF CEBIT.
- The Falcon 030 is considered a follow-up machine to the 1040s, its
contained in a 1040 case (or at least very similar), and black ala
NeXT.
- 68030 CPU running at 33Mhz, I beleave the whole machine runs at 33 Mhz
or at least most of it.
- DSP 56001 Signalprocessor (NeXT).
- Up to 14MB RAM in simms.
- Screen sizes, all ST/STE/TT resolutions except 1280*960, plus
640x480x65535 (out of 256000 colors), plus some other stuff which I
forgot (ah, ability to connect to external signal source).
- Built-it 2.5" SCSI harddisk (this may still be rumor).
- All normal MegaSTE/TT connectors, ST and STE joy stick ports (4 in
all), plus a built-in LAN connector and other toys (remember that
signal processor).
- Multi TOS, ya, real live Multi TOS, NOW!. Thanks guys. Multi TOS
alone is worth dumping my expanded MegaST for a Falcon.
- Delivery before September (this year).
- I heard the Falcon should cost less than $1200.00, but with exchange
rates the way they are and my bad ears, I may have heard the wrong
price.
Anyway, its plain to see that Atari has a new and wants a new 'low end'
machine (or a super game machine - the choise is up to you) which isn't
designed to replace the MegaTT, but designed for the masses and which can
be sold to the masses.
Rumor has it that the Falcon 040, the 'high end' machine, is almost ready,
it didn't make it to CeBit by just a few days, and will be announced in
September. Atari didn't say one word about the '040' - the rumor came
from other sources.
Great going Atari, meaning everybody who worked on getting the Falcon out.
I wish you my best.
Now lets hear for Bob and John and...
Frank...
------------
Editor Note;
STReport has representation at CeBit, and as soon as the stories are
filed with us, we'll present anything NEW and different immediately.
Otherwise, expect a full report from our represetatives in next week's
issue. Remember where you heard about "Falcon" first. Now we shall see
what the Sparrow is.. if its not the toned down Falcon. Our information
has it that the Sparrow is the toned down Falcon. In fact, the 2.5 inch
hard disk is also rumored to be paired with a 1/3 height 1.44mb floppy
drive. We have been told of both the "1040 style" case and a trimmed down
"Wedding Cake" style case for the Sparrow.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
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
--------------------
Beginning September 1, 1990, DELPHI will begin offering a new plan
that will save you money! The new plan is called the 20/20 Advantage
Plan 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
restrictions may apply. But this is still an amazing deal!
For more information, contact DELPHI at 1-800-544-4005 and ask for
Member Services.
DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> MEGAPAINT 4.0 STR Review ".. powerful features found only..."
========================
MEGAPAINT 4.0
=============
CODEHEAD TECHNOLOGIES
=====================
by Doyle C. Helms
STaff Editor @ STReport
In the last installment I covered some of the functions that included,
in case some of you missed it, the system set-up. This is where the user
can configure the MegaPaint to their own particular needs. Loading and
saving of the various file types was covered. Using external modules, one
very powerful feature that allows external programs configured as
"MODULES" to enable MegaPaint to perform many functions not found in the
original version. Printing to various devices were explained and also the
ability to create your own printer driver. The block menu options, sheer,
rotate, cut, copy, paste, move, invert, lasso and more were covered. Most
all of the options are shared with the vector "part" of MegaPaint and are
identical in function and use. I will not cover these functions for the
vector portion again because it would be ever so redundant to do so.
I admit that I may have gone into a little to much detail covering
some of the tools functions in the last installment. I will try to be a
little more concise (at the cost of finer details) and combine the tools
functions of both "parts" (Vector/Raster) into a more readable format that
is less time consuming for both you and I.
Let's take a look at the OBJECT commands of MegaPaint. Remember that
these descriptions will apply to both the Vector and Raster portions of
MegaPaint. I will note any differences in use or command and point out to
which the difference will apply.
Where else would you find point, line, polyline, triangle, rectangle,
rhomboid, parallelogram, polygon, circle, and ellipse together in one
program? Let me not forget that the CIRCLE option also includes CIRCLE
ARC, CIRCLE SECTOR, CIRCLE RING and CIRCLE RING SECTOR! The ELLIPSE option
includes ELLIPSE, ELLIPSE ARC, ELLIPSE SECTOR, ELLIPSE RING and ELLIPSE
RING SECTOR.
Many of the above mentioned tools can be accessed in several ways.
One is via the drop down menu, another is a keyboard command or through
the previously mentioned POP-UP MENU (user definable). A difference
should be noted here in the raster choices and the vector functions. Once
a RASTER object is placed(pasted down), it is there permanently, like any
other "paint" program. A "VECTOR" object can be moved, re-sized etc. much
like you would find in EasyDraw GEM objects. Let me also note that
objects can be placed via an x/y coordinate input.
The user will also find the standard "painting" tools such as FILLS,
AIR BRUSH and PAINTBRUSH options. Of course ALL of the choices are
user-definable/adjustable. The fill patterns included with MegaPaint,
approximately 6 sets of 32 fills in each set, are selectable for different
printer set-ups(either pin or laser).
Let's move onto some of the TEXT handling features of MegaPaint. One
of the first drawbacks I found with this powerful program is the native
TEXT format. SIGNUM fonts. The availability of SIGNUM fonts in this
country (U.S.A./North America) is dismal. From all that I have heard and
read about SIGNUM in Europe is that it is a excellent TEXT processing
program. Luckily, the CODEHEAD TECHNOLOGY folks have released a MODULE
that allow the use of CALAMUS fonts to be loaded in as SYMBOLS. MegaPaint
allows TEXT to be entered as an ASCII file or through its own text editor.
If you choose to LOAD a text file, the user must define a TEXT area via
the mouse. If the loaded text exceeds the defined area, the text will be
cut. The user must then redefine the text area and try again. The text
editor has standard editing capabilities, cursor control etc. Once the
user "pastes" the text down, that is it. The text cannot be move or
redefined. Upon "pasting" the text the user is given the option of
selecting the text to JUSTIFIED, CENTERED (LEFT or RIGHT) or CANCEL. One
small feature of the TEXT function allows the creation of TEXT FIELDS for
database information. I have not tried the feature called "SERIES
LETTERS" from within MegaPaint, but the manual states that the TEXT FIELDS
can be used to produce flyers etc. and use the TEXT FIELDS to
automatically insert pertinent information within the information such as
personalized names and information.
The VECTOR portion of MegaPaint allows the importation of a raster
image so that the user can trace the object. The raster image is loaded
in at either 25%,50% or 75% so the user can easily see contrast between
the "background" image and the trace lines. The tracing of objects is NOT
automatic like Avant Vektor or Silhouette, but is manually done by the
user. the tracing option allows use of Bezier curves and or polylines.
Well I believe you have some indication now of the power and ease of
use that MegaPaint offers the user in production of professional graphics.
CODEHEAD TECHNOLOGIES is continually adding to the MODULE library for
further power increases and the support offered by CODEHEAD TECHNOLOGY is
unsurpassed by any other software distribution company in the North
American continent. If you need or want a professional graphic/DTP
editing package for the ST/STe/TT then this product is definitely worth
the price (well below $200.00 US Retail). The combination of features
found in this one program are without equal on any platform for the price.
CODEHEAD/MegaPaint brings new life to the old saying, "POWER WITHOUT THE
PRICE"...
CODEHEAD TECHNOLOGIES
P.O. Box 74090
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(213) 386-5735
_______________________________________________________
> DATABASE? STR FOCUS "...another use for single line catalogs"
===================
WHERE DID I PUT THAT DARN THING!
================================
What file, What BBS or Service?
Do I have it already?
What's in those ARC or LZH files?
Did they test OK?
Part III
by Bruno D. Puglia
DATABASE, part 3 brings us to another use for single line catalogs. I
call them SLB_cats - Single line BBS catalogs. These single line catalogs
change the BBS's file listings into a common format. The volume name
reference is filled with various coded information like file numbers, BBS
or Service name like GEnie, Sig or LIB numbers or other coded information.
BBS and services like BB/ST, Express, Forem, GEnie, Michtron and
STadel (among others) can all be converted into the single line catalog
format. I assume most BBS listings can be converted into a SLB_Cat. In a
few cases, user opts to convert either a BBS's short form or the long form
file listings into a SLB_cat.
Listed below are some catalogs to show how the volume name position is
converted to handle important BBS information. I have chopped off a few
of the letters on the right side of these lists for this article but
normally they are cut off at 80 characters.
Below is an example of a converted GEnie service "GEN" file listing.
GEnie uses both a file number and a library number.
Numb Lib BBS
10EMPMAP.ARC 6528 12/25/91 22036_08.GEN 10 EMPIRE MAPS, NEW & DIFF
1857SRC_.ZOO 448512 12/23/91 22017_03.GEN Sources for the ST port of
2COL103 .LZH 11776 11/30/91 21758_02.GEN 2 column text printout pro
2DESTINY.LZH 19968 12/31/91 22086_17.GEN Companion file to "ATTACK!
91_TOP10.AR 6272 01/01/92 22111_21.GEN Top 100 Access Minus Mags
ADDAMS_F.LZH 5760 12/02/91 21784_30.GEN The Addams Family- Font -C
ARCSHL30.ARC 55424^12/08/91 21852_02.GEN Version 3.0 of CFJ's ARC S
ARCSHL31.ARC 59776^12/12/91 21893_02.GEN Version 3.1 of CFJ's ARC S
ZSTONER1.LZH 47744 12/13/91 21902_17.GEN The Zoso-Stoner! Hilarious
||||| || ^^^-GEnie
File Number Lib.
In this listing, the volume name position carries GEnie's file number,
Library number and "GEN" for GEnie.
Below is an example of an EXPRESS BBS (ICD). Express does not use file
numbers, so just sigs are shown - 12,11,10, and 09:
Sig BBS
ADSCSI .CPX 11044 02/05/92 [12] .ICD ICD's new Control Panel!
WHEREIS .TOS 25694~02/05/92 [12] .ICD This is an ICD version of
UARJ210A.LZH 39808 01/21/92 [11] .ICD to unpack .ARJ files Vers
MSTESET .LZH 9984 01/26/92 [11] .ICD Mega STe util pack. 4 pr
XTIME2 .ARC 17267 11/02/91 [10] .ICD This is a handy little de
XYZ .ARC 30720 11/02/91 [10] .ICD x/y/zmodem protocols. Thi
XYZ2 .ARC 47104 11/02/91 [10] .ICD XYZ v2.0 - Upload/Downloa
TXTPRO .TXT 2887 11/02/91 [09] .ICD This little text file con
UPGRADES.ARC 9818 11/02/91 [09] .ICD This is an arc file conta
WOA .ARC 6294 11/02/91 [09] .ICD My personal views and obs
|| |||
Sig BBS
Since Express does not have file numbers, only the sig and BBS code of
"ICD" are used in the listing.
Below is an example of TOAD HALL, a Michtron 3.0 BBS "TH_" The file
number and sig are listed in the cat:
Numb sig BBS
1CLIPART.ARC 13952 05/13/88 691d13.TH_ CLIP ART FOR PUBLISHING PA
38WILLY2.ARC 29696 01/02/88 130pc9.TH_ IBM game (MS-DOS)
3D_DEMOS.ARC 19200 03/06/88 510gr4.TH_ DEMO AND PROGRAM FOR DRAW
VIRUSHLP.TXT 1408 01/02/89 1340p10.TH_ How to help prevent it.
VOLUME .ARC 2944~05/13/88 683ut5.TH_ Change floppy disk volume
VTEST10 .ARC 5248 03/31/88 599st2.TH_ virus test - detects "boo
WHEEL_9 .ARC 58286 12/19/87 99ga6.TH_ Wheel of Fortune
ZOO .ARC 71552 04/23/89 1604ut5.TH_ New .ZOO archiver now ava
ZXYM .ARC 23552 07/02/88 880ga6.TH_ Xevious-like game
\|||/||| |||
File# Sig BBS
The coded sig labels are embedded in the listing: st2 = ST, gr4 =
Graphics, ut5 = Utils , pc9 = PC, p10 = Programming, D13 = DTP etc.
Important items like Filenames, size, date, file number, Sig or LIB, and
first part of the file description is listed. The first 8 places of volume
name reference will vary as required to carry the data such as file
number, sig or Library. The last 3 digits is always the BBS or service
which the file is located. Merging, sorting or comparing of the SLB_cats
is possible since all catalogs are ASCII, column-aligned and dates which
are 0 filled are all the same format.
Here are some comments about related BBS items. One problem file
up_loaders should not is that the descriptions are cut off short in
SL_cats and many times 'important' file information does not appear in
the SLB_cat's description. Uploaders writing file descriptions should
put important file description information in the first 30-35 characters
and drop less important data in the first part of the description string.
Up_loaders should note that a user may elect to use the 'short' form BBS
file listings and the descriptions are cut short in normal BBS short form
listings. Important information is lost. Stay away from poor descriptions
like:
"This is the latest version of..."
"This is an arc file containing..."
| | | |
111111111122222222223>>>>>
123456789012345678901234567890
Re-sorts of SL_cats can present a problem when filenames are unrelated
to the program. "READ_ME's" are the worst because there is no excuse to
use READ_ME type names in the first place when one considers sorting file
names. You can could have 100's of READ_ME's in a sorted list. Here is
an example where read_me is not used.
SL_CAT.PRG
SL_CAT.RSC
SL_CAT.MAN, .DOC, .REA etc., or .TXT to indicate it's an ASCII file,
but not an unrelated sort name like "READ_ME".
While using SLB_cat BBS lists, I have noted that some Atarians have,
without thinking about it much, alter the original file name, and/or
remove parts of the original ARCed or LZHed file and reupload it on a BBS.
This creates confusion and many times extra downloads are made and the
downloader finds they already downloaded the same file earlier; or user
gets a file/s where some of the original files are missing! Think twice
before changing a filename or deleting file/s from are existing ARC, LZH
etc.
Getting back to SLB_cats, once the SLB_cats are made, they can be compared
to other single line catalogs and various output lists can be created.
Files that exist on both files (dupes) or files that exist 'only' on list
1 or list 2 can be generated. Other options for compares can be made with
user-defined limits such as 1st 8 (or #) characters of the file name or
include byte size comparisons. Even with size + - limits such as 1024
bytes.
Another part of a total single line catalog system is SLV_cats
(verbose type) which could be made with a recursive non_stop auto - de_arc
and de_lzhers that would do drive/s, floppy/s and makes use of multi
wildcard options to provide verbose type listing in a single line format.
An option to do a "true test" of the LZH or ARC file would be a nice
feature. You might want to make these test lists when you are sound
asleep because they can take hours to do. The errors could be listed in
the catalog. Below is what a SLV_cat/Test would look like. I did not
have an .ARC file in this listing below, but if I had, the program would
have switched to de_arc routines and the data would appear in the format
as the LZH data shown below. This cat does not have embedded folder LZH
files but this can be handled with a "\s".
Verbose SLV_CAT
filename bytes date bytes err File \Folders
ANTIBOMB.DOC 7678 07/12/89 3126. ANTIBOMB.LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
ANTIBOMB.PRG 12620 07/12/89 5953. ANTIBOMB.LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
EXCEPTIO.PRG 7214 07/12/89 3762. ANTIBOMB.LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
BLITMODE.DOC 3328 06/28/87 1003. BLITTER .LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
BLITTER .MAN 53804 11/20/85 14762. BLITTER .LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
CACHE .TTP 1051 08/04/89 769. CACHENNN.LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
CACHENNN.REA 6488 08/04/89 3041. CACHENNN.LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
ELECTR_1.TNY 6014 11/20/85 2818. CLIPSYMB.LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
ELECTR_2.TNY 5048 11/20/85 2237. CLIPSYMB.LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
HOUSE_1 .TNY 4407 11/20/85 2532. CLIPSYMB.LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
HOUSE_2 .TNY 5078 11/20/85 2774. CLIPSYMB.LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
S_CLIP_3.TNY 13419 11/20/85 9167. CLIPSYMB.LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
CONTROL .ACC 20096 08/27/88 8151. CONTROL .LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
CONTROL .ACC 15449 09/03/86 6460. CONTROL2.LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
CONTROL2.ACC 15616 09/03/86 6469. CONTROL2.LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
CPANEL .ACC 52909d03/26/89 23723. CPANEL .LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
CPANEL .ACC 52909d11/20/85 23723. CPANEL0 .LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
CPANEL .DOC 1365 03/10/89 783. CPANEL0 .LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
CPANEL .SET 180 03/10/89 129. CPANEL0 .LZH\_TOS_D__.820\
DISNEY1 .TNY 12776 06/24/87 8127. DISNEYCA.LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
DISNEY2 .TNY 13600 06/24/87 9009. DISNEYCA.LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
HOLIDY12.TNY 10532 08/19/87 7131. HOLIDAY3.LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
HOLIDY13.TNY 13950 08/19/87 11155. HOLIDAY3.LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
HOLIDY14.TNY 17419 08/19/87 14348. HOLIDAY3.LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
HOLIDY15.TNY 17054 08/19/87 14038. HOLIDAY3.LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
TESLA .SEQ 80568 04/22/87 38697. TESLA .LZH\_3D2_D__.200\
APE .TN1 9538 09/27/91 3661. TINYS .LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
WOLF .TN1 4411 09/27/91 1667. TINYS .LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
YOGI .TN1 5784 09/27/91 2194. TINYS .LZH\_TNY_D__.320\
STARTREK.3D2 43806e06/19/87 29574.crc TREK3D .LZH\_3D2_D__.200\
STARTREK.CTL 635 06/19/87 438. TREK3D .LZH\_3D2_D__.200\
STARTREK.DOC 3096e06/19/87 1559.crc TREK3D .LZH\_3D2_D__.200\
STARTREK.PI1 32066e06/19/87 3703.end TREK3D .LZH\_3D2_D__.200\
STARWARS.3D2 38812 06/30/87 22973. X_WING .LZH\_3D2_D__.200\
STARWARS.CTL 10076 06/30/87 2449. X_WING .LZH\_3D2_D__.200\
STARWARS.PI1 32066 06/30/87 1976. X_WING .LZH\_3D2_D__.200\
STARWARS.TXT 5685 06/30/87 2509. X_WING .LZH\_3D2_D__.200\
file____.___& folder>>>>>>s
Goodies can be included within a catalog. You might have already
noted characters and letters instead of normal spaces. "<" for a bad date,
"+" from ICD tape, "d" for dupe file, "~" is a downloaded file, "^" go
download this file, etc. In the case of the GEnie listing above, the
program looks for any characters put at the end of the first line and
simply copies that character into the catalog if the option to include
flag characters into the catalog is turned on.
Single line catalogs generally are smaller the the original file
listings. Examples of reduction for an ICD tape catalog are :
ICD SLT_cat
------------
416k > 229k
144k > 90k
395k > 237k
In an ICD tape SLT_cat, the size of the catalog is much smaller than
the normal catalog, yet, it has all the information of the original
information, plus 'each' file line carries 'full' tape information on tape
and part (plus more) in the volume name reference area. In addition, the
catalogs have advantages of single line catalog systems like merging,
sorting, searching, comparing, finding dupes and killing them before
taping a new tape part/partition.
In case you missed it, you may want to go back read the information on
single line cataloging in Database, Part 2 that appeared in last week's
STReport. Much of that information, advantages and disadvantages, does
apply to the catalogs above. As I said in Part 2, much of what you see
here is from my live notebook, "SL_plus.prg". I don't plan on releasing
it as a program. Besides being poorly written, it's almost impossible to
keep the program current since any slight change made in an original file
listing format will generally render the scan section of the program for
the file useless. As an example, one company decided to add one
"return/line feed" in their listing. That addition totally wiped out the
conversion scan I used. I did a fix of that section so it does work
again. This is one of the reasons I refer to SL_plus as a live notebook
rather than a program. It's better to write your own scanners so you
keep it current.
The catalogs and program can be expanded to cover items like archive
bit control/changes, date/time compares and changes which could be used as
a simple backup system. More then simple dates can provide a GOOD backup
system. There is a lot of power in date and archive bit file handling.
Other crazy ideas like a "Kill" dupes mode (manual and auto modes) also do
have merit. Items like multi-wildcarding (not 'fully' covered here) lead
to many other options for super programming. I will leave real programs
to real programmers but, any and all algorithms that have been presented
can be used by anyone.
Once again, I wish to thank STReport and Mr. Helms for opening up the
platform on "DATABASE" with a special thanks to the STR Editor.
___________________________________________________________
> D.A.BRUMLEVE - NEW GOODIES! STR InfoFile "..absolutely new product.."
========================================
compiled from:
GEnie ST RT
D.A. Brumleve will debut a completely, absolutely new product at the Atari
Canadian Exposition on April 4th and 5th:
MULTIPLAY
"""""""""
MATH EXPLORATION, DISCOVERY, AND PRACTICE
MULTIPLAY is a math program
for all children ages 5-11
Multiplay is designed to help children commit basic addition and
multiplication equations to memory and to offer opportunities for the
discovery of math patterns. Among the multitude of basic math drill
programs, Multiplay is unique in the freedom of choice extended to both
the child users and their parents or teachers, in its open-endedness, and
in the opportunity for creative thinking and expression.
The program consists of a Main Screen and three play screens: the
Pattern Screen, the Puzzle Screen, and the Make Puzzle Screen. Each
screen's primary component is a grid. The x and y axes form the elements
in an equation and the grid square at which they converge is the solution
to the problem, the "answer square". The parent or teacher can choose
whether the grid deals with the elements 0-9, 0-19, or 0-29 (limited to
0-19 on a 520ST). There is also a choice of whether the program will
offer multiplication or addition or both.
On the Pattern Screen, the child clicks on a square and sees the full
equation, answer and all. The answers remain highlighted (until the child
turns them off), so the child can go clicking about the grid, guessing at
each answer before it is shown -- and using neighboring answers as an aid
to the guess. The patterns involved in the concepts of multiplication and
addition and the relationships between neighboring and analogous equations
can thus be discovered and internalized. A TEST option facilitates the
play of various games and helps children keep track of their progress; the
test option can also be used to assist children in the discovery of
patterns.
The Puzzle Screen offers a game for one or two players. Children can
play the built-in puzzles or the ones they have made themselves on the
Make Puzzle Screen. Players take turns clicking on squares and then
typing the answer to the problem displayed. The score is the sum of the
player's correct answers. Thus, children who choose to tackle 29 x 29 --
and do so successfully -- will have a much higher score than if they had
chosen easier problems. Each successful answer causes the computer to
fill in all the puzzle squares which have the same color as the answer
square. As the squares are filled with color, a picture is revealed.
The Make Puzzle Screen allows the child to make and save his own
puzzles. Puzzle design is a challenging undertaking in and of itself. An
separate editor program allows parents and teachers (and older children)
to delete unwanted puzzles.
Multiplay, like all commercial kidprgs, is accompanied by an
installation program which allows the parent or teacher to configure the
child's disk to suit his/her needs and interests. The adult can pick and
choose the options which will be available to the child and rerun the
installation program to add options as the child's skills increase. This
"grow as you grow" approach allows Multiplay to appeal to children
throughout a wide age range. In fact, Multiplay appeals to beginners and
math wizards alike!
The Multiplay package contains two green single-sided disks, a 28-page
manual, a one-sheet children's manual, and extra labels for your child's
copies. The recommended retail price is US $40.
The program will be available on or before March 15, 1992. We do
accept MasterCard and VISA; please include your expiration date.
Personal checks in US$ should include $3 for postage.
/////\\\\\
Additionally;
D.A. Brumleve is very pleased to announce a major upgrade to:
KIDPUBLISHER PROFESSIONAL VERSION 6.4
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
A Desktop Publishing Program
for Young Writers ages 5-11
Kidpublisher Professional is a desktop publishing program for
children. Most children use the program to write and illustrate stories
and reports, but it can be used to print any kind of document requiring
both text and graphics (posters, personal letters, etc.). It includes a
WYSIWYG word processor and drawing screen. Printouts have a picture on
the top half of the page with 7 lines (32 columns) of text at the bottom.
Four font styles are built into the program, and a teacher or parent may
design an additional font using any DEGAS-compatible drawing program.
The previous version (6.2) worked quite well, so this upgrade (6.4)
involves added features rather than bug fixes, though we have also worked
on memory conservation and other improvements which will be invisible to
the user. The new features include the following:
Kidpublisher Professional now contains a built-in coded font set. The
child types a message in a normal font and then can convert the text to
code by simply selecting the coded font set from the FONT dialog. A
decoder card is included in the package. The code used is self-decoding:
a child who receives a message written in the coded font set can type that
message into his own computer and then load the coded font set to _read_
the deciphered message as well! Kids really enjoy this feature.
Children who use both our Kidpainter and Kidpublisher Professional
have asked us time and time again to add the MIRROR option to
Kidpublisher, so we have. The drawing portion of the program will now
automatically create mirror-images (horizontal, vertical, or both) as the
child draws with the FREEHAND, LINE, BOX, and CIRCLE drawing tools.
Children can use Kidpublisher Professional to print a title page
without graphics. The title and author's and illustrator's names are
automatically centered, and the title itself is underlined. Teachers have
asked for a date on the title page, and we've added this facility. The
date is derived from the system clock and presented to the child for
editing as part of the TITLE option sequence of dialogs.
Using the included Installation Program, parents and teachers can
choose whether or not to allow each of these new features. If the TITLE
option is permitted, parents and teachers can choose whether the date will
be presented in European (5 March 1992) or US (March 5, 1992) format.
The package contains a red disk, a 28-page parent/teacher manual, a
one-sheet children's manual, extra labels, and a decoder card.
These enhancements make Kidpublisher Professional more powerful and
more stimulating than ever before. Registered users may upgrade their
copies for just US $5 (plus $1 shipping). The list price for the new
version is US$ 40.
This upgrade will be ready to ship on or before March 15. An
announcement is on its way to registered users. We do accept MasterCard
and VISA; please include your expiration date. Personal checks in US $
should include $3 for postage.
[Please note that version 6.4 is available in the English language
only. The current Dutch, Icelandic, and German versions are 6.3.]
We'll be offering our complete line of commercial programs with a
special discount for purchasers of 2 or more items. All kidprgs require
any color ST/STe. We've learned how to cope with cross- the-border
MasterCard and VISA charges, so you can use that plastic with confidence!
We're out to show North America that the ST is *the* computer of
choice for use with young children! The Atari Canadian Exposition is the
computer show of choice for kids, too! *Don't* leave those young'uns at
home!
For more information contact:
D.A. Brumleve
P.O. Box 4195
Urbana, IL 61801-8820 USA
VOICE: 217 337 1937
FAX: 217 367 9084
GEnie: D.A.BRUMLEVE CIS: 71451,1141
Delphi: DABRUMLEVE
____________________________________________
> ISD BONUS POINTS! STR FOCUS BONUS POINTS FOR DISCOUNTS!
===========================
TO ALL REGISTERED USERS OF CALAMUS SL
=====================================
Ctsy GEnie
USER TO USER - SL Tips and Tricks
In this TOPic, SL users share tips and tricks they have learned. We will
support this forum in a material way. Users will be credited with points
for the information they provide. These points will be converted to
monetary discounts on ISD products.
Four levels of projects will earn compensation for their authors. Each has
a designated point range which may, at the project administrator's
discretion, be exceeded for outstanding work.
Level 1 - 10 to 25 points
An ASCII file describing a problem and solution OR providing additional
information to clarify an existing solution or explanation. This file will
follow the project guidelines described below.
Level 2 - 10 to 50 points
An ASCII file describing and solving (or supplying a workaround) for a
problem not described in the manual. This file will follow the project
guidelines described below.
Level 3 - 25 to 75 points
A CDK file which describes a problem and solution, or an improvement on a
given explanation, or an improved workaround on an existing procedure.
This file will follow the project guidelines described below.
Level 4 - 25 to 100 points
A Level 3 CDK project which is enhanced by the inclusion of cleanly
presented graphics in the same style and quality as provided in the
manual. A Level 4 project must follow the guidelines described below.
BONUSES
For Joint Projects The cooperative venture of two or more users will
accrue a bonus of 10% for approved projects.
For Tested Projects Users who submit a project that has been tested and
verified by at least three other users will earn a bonus of 10%
APPLICATION of POINTS
The administrator will record the points earned and notify the author(s)
and ISD.
Each point earned will be applied as a $1.00 US discount against any ISD
product to a maximum of 50% of the MSRP of the product. The list of
available products and their respective prices are subject to change
without notice.
PROJECT GUIDELINES
All project proposals can be submitted either by email to the TOPic
administrator or uploaded to a private library established for this
purpose. The project administrator will give approval to the project
proposal based on need and applicability.
Approved projects will then be eligible for project compensation. The
administrator will designate the project level and compensation range
based on the submitted proposal. The decision of the administrator is
final.
All projects submitted to the administrator will be checked for accuracy
and clarity by a validation team before project points are awarded.
*** NOTE:
A special arrangement has been made to allow you to upload your projects
into Library #43 where they will be accessed by the Project Administrator.
Once they have been checked and verified, they will be released into the
ISD Library #30.
****
A list of suggested titles/topics will be posted for user reference.
All approved and credited projects will become the property of ISD
Marketing.
PUBLISHING GUIDELINES
Title/Synopsis
Detailed Statement of Problem or Procedure
Identification of module, command group and command icons
Appropriate manual references
Bulleted sequence of steps
Use of 2 fonts in 12 pt size
The preferred fonts are CG Times and CG Triumvirate
GEnie address of author(s) and tester(s)
SAMPLES
A sample ASCII project has been uploaded to provide a model for Level 1. A
Level 2 project file will be uploaded soon.
A sample CDK project will be uploaded to provide a model for Level 3 and
Level 4 projects.
A template CDK with the required text style list and master page will be
uploaded for authors to use.
Note: Files have already been uploaded into our ISD Library #30. Please do
a search by USER to USER TIPS Forum for an up to date list.
PROJECT CONTACTS
ISD [Nathan Potechin]
L.ROCHA1 [Administrator]
____________________________________________________________
> STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date...
================================
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
=========================
On CompuServe
by Judith Hamner 72257,271
Don Thomas of Atari announced this week that Hyperlist is finally
shipping. Hyperlist is an outliner program which will run on the Port or
on an IBM compatible PC. See HYPERL.TXT for the press release. In
celebration of the big event Don has also created one of his famous
animations. HYPER.COM is an animation of the Hyperlist logo in a
standalone format.
If you are travelling with your Portfolio you'll appreciate another
upload from Don Thomas. NODES.ZIP contains a listing of the CompuServe
nodes in address book format. You could add the phone numbers of the
nodes for places you intend to visit.
A new paint program is available for the Portfolio. SPAINT.ZIP is a
shareware paint and drawing program for the Portfolio. It has drawing
tools including lines, circles and boxes.
CABLE.TXT has directions for building your own serial and parallel
cables for the Port.
Phil Payzant has good news for adventure game fans. ADVPLA.ARC
contains the public domain version of Colossal Cave, the original
adventure game. It requires a 128k card to run.
Don Thomas and Artisan Software have a new batch of graphics screens.
FBI.COM is an animation of the FBI warning screen. It will run standalone.
WTRVL.ZIP is an animation for a hypothetical world travel program.
Forum members have been lobbying for such a program. Perhaps Don's
creation will inspire them. ASPIRA.COM is an animation of the logo for
Aspira foster family services. BELL.PGC is a graphics screen for the Bell
telephone logo. This one requires PGSHOW which is available in the
library.
PRTAMI.ZIP is a tool for Windows users. It is a macro for AmiPro which
will access PortCard. PortCard is also available in the forum library and
converts .adr files to Windows cardfile format. This macro allows access
to your Port .adr files from within AmiPro. Mike Delugg uploaded the NY
Expo report on Palm/Laptops.
_______________________________________________________________
> PALMTOP EXPO! STR SHOW NEWS "..you already own the best...."
===========================
NYC LAP/PALMTOP EXPO
====================
CTSY CIS
by Mike Delugg
Report from the show:
Well, I've got to say it's a bit disappointing. I mean, I figured by
now that someone would have come up with a system to make this lil ol
PORTFOLIO user really uncomfortable. I was ready to get clammy, and feel
my blood pressure rise at the low prices of high power productivity that
would also let me type at least as easily as I can on my PORTFOLIO. I
expected to see at least ONE 286-based sub-notebook, but alas. At least
for my first go-round, the Laptop/Palmtop Expo, currently running at the
Sheraton New York, is not the glitter & romance I was hoping for.
Now don't get me wrong. I love my PORTFOLIO! I'm working on the
documentation for an application I've written for the PORTFOLIO. I think
the PORTFOLIO is the best platform for the application I've written, and I
hope to have it out soon. But I'm a gadget freak, and I'm always looking
for something to drool over. (I get a bit sloppy around new technology
;)
I've read a lot about the PSION Series 3, and I've wanted to play with
one for a while now. I stopped by the PSION booth. Nice little machine
they have there, but for me it's not nearly as usable as the PORTFOLIO. I
do a good amount of note-taking, to-do lists, and such. The PORTFOLIO is
actually not difficult to touch type on, and I like the machine: It does
everything I need it to do. As for the Series 3, IMHO, it gets a bit
confusing to see sooooo mannnny dialog boxes and buttons on a miniature
form-factor. I know all this stuff is there just to guide the user,
especially the new user, to quick (instant?) productivity. But I question
its value in this arena. (I ran a MACINTOSH exclusively for a number of
years, and love the machine -- so you know I don't just inherently dislike
icons.) I'm also happy with plain old DOS. I just feel that trying to put
so many little clues (icons, membrane app keys...) on a little teeny-tiny
machine leaves me with not enough room for real work, and clutters up a
small machine. (The screen and keyboard are both too small.) I feel a
better way of accessing internal apps is the way ATARI has chosen:
Combining the /|\ key with (ie) "D" for Diary, or "A" for Address. It's
easy enough for most people to remember, and obviates the need for special
dedicated keys for internal applications (as on the PSION).
OK, I'm not here to bash the PSION, but I was expecting something more
usable, and I think, judging from this show, our little giant, the ATARI
PORTFOLIO has no competition. I haven't even TRIED typing on the HP95LX,
but if I found the PSION difficult, the HP can only be nearly impossible.
I did not see an HP booth, altho some VARs are running their wares on the
HP, so I haven't gotten a chance to try it out. I'll try and get a couple
of minutes on it tomorrow and let you all know what I think <chuckle>.
(Who me biased?, well, yes -- just a bit.) I couldn't get near the few
POQETs on display at that booth, but I'm sure, from what I've seen and
heard so far, that this machine will impress me. That's on tomorrow's
agenda.
So what was good? The APPLE MACINTOSH Powerbooks are definitely good.
There's APPLE, at one stall, showing off THE DEFINITIVE GUI on a notebook
size machine. I'm sorry DOS users, but if you want a MAC interface, as
the song says, "Ain't nothin' like the real thing baby." (I run straight
DOS applications on DOS machines, it works for me. It's real fast that
way too <grin>.) Is Apple too pricey? Well, just a bit, but they (APPLE)
are finally seeing the light, and the prices keep getting reasonabler and
reasonabler. Right next to them was a round table with APPLE software
publishers strutting their stuff. And they were some really nice people
with INSANELY GREAT software (sorry). In fact, everyone at the show is
nice, low-key, and easy to talk to. The economy is in such bad shape,
nobody's pushing anybody.
All was not lost, however. I saw a "notepad" computer I want! The
company is WEN TECHNOLOGY CORP. They have 2 nice machines. One is your
standard 386SL "notebook" (INTEL's new 25mhz chip for portables). At
$1995, it's one of the best notebook values I've seen. It's nice and a
bit slimmer than most machines I've seen with these features. It's also
light (6 lbs with HD & battery & floppy!). (I am a bit concerned about
the hinge on this one, tho.) But the machine I want is their smaller (and
=lighter=) "notepad." That's got AMD's 386sx-type 20mhz brain. OK, it's
5mhz slower (give a guy a break, huh?!?) On this machine they've also
adopted John Dvorak's philosophy (which I agree with, in this case), and
bundled the 3.5" floppy external, instead of weighing down the machine
with an internal floppy that *I* don't really need to use outside of my
office or home. The "WenPad" is only $1495 with 2meg ram and 20mb HD.
(Hmmm, they might be offering a bonus during the show, like a larger HD?)
And both machines have some nice options. For one, they both output SVGA.
Their internal displays are paper-white VGA, and quite handsome. The
PAD's display isn't quite as impressive as its big brother, but it's damn
good. It has 32 gray shades, and the BOOK has 64. Numeric keypad is
available, etc, etc. I'm falling asleep, so that's all for now, folks.
___________________________________________________________
> HYPERLIST! STR InfoFile "...a unique filing system.."
=======================
P R E S S R E L E A S E
For Immediate Release
Contact: Don Mandell Don Thomas
Phone: (408) 745-2000 OR (408) 745-2000
Fax : (408) 745-2088 (408) 745-2088
ATARI RELEASES HYPERLIST
DATABASE FOR PALMTOP DOS PC
SUNNYVALE, CA (March, 1992)
Atari Computer Corporation has released a new software application for
thePortfolio handheld computer. Hyperlist is a unique filing system which
revolutionizes the way data may be organized inthe Portfolio. Often
described as an "outliner" or"database", Hyperlist provides the
opportunity to createextensive lists, then attach "child" lists to each
item inthe "parent" list. On paper, the data flow resembles
anorganizational or flow chart.
"This new system on the Portfolio opens many doors of opportunity",
states Donald A. Thomas, Jr., Marketing Manager at Atari Computer
Corp. "The software is easy to use, powerful and flexible; all at the
same time."
Hyperlist has been in development for almost an entire year. A hand
picked team of BETA testers worked with early versions to assure that a
wide variety of uses could be applied by using the finished product.
Specific target markets include education, sales, medicine, law and
general purpose.
Students and educators enjoy Hyperlist for the ability to easily
establish timelines. Each entry at the top reveals expounded details as it
is selected. Class schedules and assignments can be arranged by due date,
instructor or course study. Research materials can be collected in an
impressively organized manner with references to sources, authors, dates
or topics.
Salespeople depend on Hyperlist to sort through parts by category,
region or client. Established price lists and component specifications are
instantly recalled by use of logical prompts created by entries on each
level of the list.
The Medical Community benefits by creating functional patient
reference logs or developing custom reference notes on medicines, dosages
and drug interactions. Attorneys find refuge in Hyperlist by recording
step by step case procedures logical notation. HomeMakers store recipes,
home businesses log business contacts, big businesses create departmental
reporting plans... Hyperlist seems to do it all.
Hyperlist is one of many optional applications developed specifically
for the Portfolio computer by Atari. The Portfolio computer is about the
size of a videocassette and weighs less than one pound. Often regarded as
the ultimate organizer due to five powerful built-in programs, the
Portfolio rivals the productivity of other palmtops or notebooks for a
fractional price (299.95 MSRP). Other optional software titles for the
Portfolio include Finance, Dos Utilities, Chess, Instant Spell, PowerBASIC
and more. Over 700 files exist in the public domain for the Portfolio and
are accessible on CompuServe and GEnie on line services.
Hyperlist is value priced at only $49.95 manufacturer's suggested
retail price and is available from Portfolio resellers. Portfolio is
available from better computer dealers throughout the world. Most dealers
will be happy to order it if they are out of stock.
For more information on the Portfolio and its applications, contact:
Don Thomas
Portfolio Marketing Manager
1196 Borregas Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94088
(408) 745-2000.
Atari is a registered trademark; Portfolio and ST are trademarks of Atari
Computer Corporation.
Other products are trademarks of their manufacturers
_______________________________________________________
> CODEHEAD NEWS! STR InfoFile Special TRADE-IN deal for MEGAPAINT!
===========================
For immediate release
CodeHeadQuarters
Friday, March 13, 1992
----------------------
SPECIAL TRADE-IN DISCOUNT FOR MEGAPAINT FROM CODEHEAD TECHNOLOGIES
------------------------------------------------------------------
We'd like to put the power of MegaPaint Professional into your hands
today. As an incentive, we're offering a special trade-in discount to
owners of Touch-Up, Easy Draw, or Degas Elite -- just send us your master
disk for any one of these three programs and you'll get a $35.00 discount
off of MegaPaint's normal price of $175.
That's right, you'll get MegaPaint Professional 4.0 for $140 !!
For a price that's less than either Easy Draw or Touch-Up alone, you'll
get the power of both plus a whole lot more. MegaPaint is a
full-featured vector and bit-mapped (raster) graphics program with an
incredible array of features. We don't have time to list all of its
options here (the manual is over 400 pages long), but if you'd like more
information, there's a detailed description in a previous press release
from the same source as you've obtained this one.
Here's what reviewers have been saying about MegaPaint so far:
ST Informer:
------------
"All in all, MegaPaint Professional is a powerful and welcome addition
to the monochromatic artist's arsenal of tools at an excellent price."
"The more I've used the program, the deeper I get into it, and the more
impressed I am by its multitude of features."
STReport:
---------
"If you are considering the purchase of MegaPaint, don't wait...call
CodeHead Technologies NOW!"
"I can comfortably recommend the purchase of this excellent program..."
The Beauty of MegaPaint
-----------------------
One of the most powerful features of MegaPaint is its support for
external modules. Many other European software imports are closed
systems. Adding requested features to them is difficult, if not
impossible, due to geographical and language barriers. But MegaPaint is
open-ended and allows us to easily enhance it by using our own
programming skills to provide the features our customers request.
External modules appear directly in MegaPaint's drop-down menus, making
them as easy to use as any of the internal features. We've already
written modules to allow importing of Degas Elite and Tiny pictures, the
loading of Calamus outline fonts, vector graphics, and page images, and
instant access to CodeHead's own MaxiFile III. Another module allows you
to scan images directly into MegaPaint with any of the scanners supported
by ScanLite, an accessory available from WizWorks. (ScanLite interfaces
with Migraph, Golden Image, Geniscan, and DaataScan scanners.)
But we won't stop there. We're currently planning additional modules for
EPS output, and the loading and saving of GEM, GEM3, GIF, TIFF, IFF, and
PNT files as well as GDOS and FSM fonts! And all of these modules are
absolutely free with your purchase of MegaPaint. It's a program that will
never become obsolete.
Time is Money
-------------
What good are fancy features and expandability, though, if you spend most
of your time waiting for your graphics program to catch up with your
creativity? Well, this will never be an issue with MegaPaint, because in
addition to all its power, it's also lightning fast -- both in the loading
of files and the manipulation of graphics data within the program. Some
operations are over 50 times faster than the competition! MegaPaint can
rotate even very large blocks in just seconds, while other programs can
take up to ten minutes or more.
Here are some test results:
Rotating a medium-sized Loading a
block by 47 degrees 284K .IMG file
--------------------------------------------------------
MegaPaint 2.37 seconds 3.69 seconds
Touch-Up 140.06 seconds 75.06 seconds
Vector file with Re-display
6765 objects Loading Saving on screen
----------------------------------------------------------------
MegaPaint 1.20 seconds 1.26 seconds 8.48 seconds
Easy-Draw 60.87 seconds 98.01 seconds 15.37 seconds
Can you really afford to waste your time using an inefficient graphics
program? Send us your Touch-Up, Easy Draw, or Degas Elite disk today and
start enjoying tomorrow's graphics progam now.
---------------
MegaPaint Professional 4.0 runs on any Atari ST/STe/TT computer with at
least one megabyte of memory and a monochrome monitor. MegaPaint demo
disks are available from CodeHead for $10, and this charge will be
credited toward the purchase of MegaPaint. Only one $35 discount is
allowed per customer. This offer is good while supplies last. The
shipping charge is $4 in the US and $5 to Canada. Visa, Mastercard, and
American Express are accepted. For more information, or to place an
order, contact:
CodeHead Technologies
P.O. Box 74090
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Tel: 213-386-5735 (Mon-Fri 9A-1P Pacific Time)
Fax 213-386-5789
Migraph, Easy Draw, and Touch-Up are trademarks of Migraph, Inc.
Degas Elite is a trademark of Electronic Arts. ScanLite is a
tradename of Dr. Bobware.
_____________________________________________________________
> STReport & FNET STR InfoFile Reaching out to people......
============================
Below, is a listing of the private BBS systems participating in the
STReport Crossnet on a daily basis. The current messages range from the
future of Atari to enthusiastic dialog pertaining to the NEW TOS releases.
The active participation of these BBS systems is greatly appreciated and
we felt giving them a "thank you" in our issue was appropriate.
*** CrossNet Conference Node Listing - as of 03/12/92 at 09:05 AM ***
Conference: "STReport Online" (34813)
Generated From "Lead" Node: 350 - * THE BOUNTY ST BBS *
Last Node List generated on: 03/12/92
18 - ///Turbo Board Support 19 - Autoboss/Atari Elite BBS
46 - Cheyenne Mountain 75 - Bloom County BBS
78 - The Stun Bolt! 80 - Bit Heaven
99 - The Time Warp BBS 135 - Batcave BBS
266 - The Patch House 287 - Starlight BBS
299 - Critical Mass 307 - PayBax BBS
321 - microTalk 322 - ACEY BBS
345 - RAM Wasteland 350 - * THE BOUNTY ST BBS *
363 - ComNet Luxembourg 378 - Little Lulu's Playground
410 - ACE Information Service 422 - Virtual Reality (PRIVATE)
429 - MASATEK 440 - {{{{ Realm of Chaos }}}}
442 - CMFM Blaster-Mix BBs 462 - The Atari ST Connection
469 - The Outer Region BBS 475 - Top Gun Systems #1-Las Vegas,
478 - Spectr
um Atari Group of Erie 484 - microTalk II
489 - STeal Your Face 504 - Media 2000
508 - The SenTinel BBS 512 - The Asylum BBS
513 - The Forgotten Realms 532 - Bill's BBS
546 - Bear Swamp BBS 548 - The Metal Shop
555 - The Grid BBS 556 - Thieves Guild
557 - The Software Syndicate 591 - The Melting Pot
595 - Temple of Doom 602 - Cartoon Haven BBS - FNET 602
610 - The Songwriter's Den BBS 618 - The Sword's Blade
620 - Leif's World 625 - Phil's Hangout
633 - The Dark STar BBS 637 - The Source Machine BBS
639 - The Million Dollar Saloon 642 - Hero's Haven
643 - The Ringworld 647 - E.H.C.R.
648 - The Mosh Bit 657 - The Round Table BBS
668 - ARGONAUT'S BBS 669 - Dateline: Atari BBS
675 - Motherboard 678 - A.C.O.R.N.
680 - The Revolution 687 - R.A.T. III
689 - Speedy's Raceway 690 - Progressive Atari ST Enthusia
701 - The Conqueror Connection 702 - The Mother of All BBSs
707 - RevelSTone BBS 712 - H. B. Smog
715 - //The Fast ST Connection\\ 716 - The STronghold
731 - The Gamers Guild 1010 - Micro-Mola
1027 - Track 83 1028 - STealth BBS
1029 - System X BBS 1031 - <<<InterNet>>>
1042 - The Tavern 1047 - -[> T.G.M <]-
1049 - < Fortress BBS > 1054 - STatic BBS
______________________________________________________
> STReport's Editorial Page "Saying it like it is."
From the Editor's Desk
----------------------
Some folks in the Atari community have passed rather acidic remarks
about our expression of "saying it like it is".... Its sad to see this
happening as that is the assurance that we plan to make every effort to
bring to our readers the WHOLE story, not just the "teasers" or only those
parts of stories others may feel sound "right". As editor, I take a great
deal of pride in knowing the very best effort possible is being made to
bring you, the reader, ALL the news, views, and rumors. After all, that's
what the expression; "Saying it like it is" is all about. STReport is for
the users, because we too, are users.
Atari is still our computer by our choice and with all the news coming
in, its likely to be our computer of choice for a long, long time to come.
Thank you for the strong support!
Ralph.............
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STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
----------------
Publisher - Editor
------------------
Ralph F. Mariano
PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION
----------- -------------- ------------
Roger D. Stevens Charles Hill R. ALBRITTON
STReport Staff Editors:
-----------------------
Lloyd E. Pulley Sr. Dana P. Jacobson Michael Arthur
Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Judith Hamner
John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando
Steve Spivey Doyle C. Helms
Contributing Correspondents:
----------------------------
Michael Lee Richard Covert John Deegan
Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Tim Holt
Andrew Learner Norman Boucher Harry Steele
Ben Hamilton Neil Bradley Eric Jerue
Ron Deal Robert Dean Ed Westhusing
James Nolan Vernon W. Smith Bruno Puglia
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
____________________________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"
=====================
- London, UK CONDOR PHONES NOT WORKING
----------
A few reports are trickling in from the UK that Condor Trading's
telephones are not being answered. Also, from those who have friends who
'worked' for Condor, they are reporting to they have gone without
paychecks and have subsequently quit.
- Orlando, FL. DEALERS HEAR STORIES THAT ARE TOO GOOD!
------------
Seems a rather over exhuberant rep for Atari has made mention of the
the new, trimmed down version of the Falcon may be shipping by "April 1st"
and that the unit will be in a 1040st type cabinet. Time will tell.
- San Francisco, CA. MAJOR ATARI DISTRIBUTOR UPSET!
------------------
This particular distributor reports that they are backordered rather
deeply in the SM147 and feel the current ongoing "price wars" on the East
Coast are not in Atari's best interests. They feel the depth of the
backorders may be dramatically trimmed until such time as the lowballing
price war is brought under control.
- Pittsburgh, PA. TOS 2.06 DOING GREAT!
---------------
According to sources located in this area, they've received
considerably large numbers of positive reports from all over the nation
about how the users are excited about TOS 2.06 and its "marvelous"
features. According to the reports, the Codehead Package (TEC) is doing
much better than ever expected.
____________________________________________________
> A "Quotable Quote" "....a sign of the times"
==================
"HE WHO IS FOREVER BAITING SOON BECOMES
A SERIOUS MASTER BAITER!"
....JOCKO BURNUP
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> ABCO SPECIALS! STR InfoFile * NEW 1992 Prices! MORE Products! *
=========================== --------------------------------
****** TAX TIME SPECIAL!! TAKE 10% OFF _ANY_ PACKAGE!! *****
** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! **
NOTICE: ABCO will BEAT OR MATCH * ANY *
Advertised or Invoiced price * WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD!
ABCO COMPUTER CONSULTANTS
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)
(all cables and connectors installed)
- Available for all Platforms -
* ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
* ICD ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED *
* SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS *
* MAXTOR - SEAGATE - QUANTUM *
WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE!!! >UPS!<
(Cont. USA)
Deluxe 2 bay Cabinet w/65w auto-switching PS
TIME PROVEN to be the most reliable!
Model Description Autopark Price
==================================================
SGN4951 51Mb 3.5" Y 439.00
SGN6277 65Mb 5.25" Y 469.00
SGN1096 85Mb 5.25" Y 549.00
SQN1055 105mb 3.5" Y 599.95
SQN2055 170Mb 3.5" Y 689.00
SQN3055 240Mb 3.5" Y 939.00
SQN4055 426Mb 3.5" Y 1610.00
==================================================
FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00
ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250+w PS
EXOTIC TOWER CABINETS AVAILABLE Call for Info!
PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only!
FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00
ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250+w PS
EXOTIC TOWER CABINETS AVAILABLE Call for Info!
PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only!
FAST TECHNOLOGY ACCELERATOR UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED
*****
>> ABCO proudly offers the fabulous 1040 & MEGA STe Computers <<
Call for ABCO's * VERY SPECIAL * Introductory prices!
ATARI COMPUTERS * STILL THE BEST VALUE!
*****
If you don't see what you want listed here, call us.
Odds are, we either have it or, can get it for you!
* GUARANTEED * AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE!
** 800-562-4037 **
"WE SERVICE WHAT WE SELL"
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
* SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCOFILE "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *
- SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADSCSI PLUS H/A
- ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable
- Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply
(1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.
--->> SPECIAL! NOW ONLY __$ 645.00__ <<---
**** SCSI UNITS -> ONLY $549.00 ****
WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE! >UPS!<
(Cont. USA)
COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN!
Cart and Utility Software Included!
EXTRA CARTS: $ 69.50
DRIVE MECH ONLY: $ 339.95
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
* TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
SPECIALLY PRICED ** $995.95.00 **
Includes: * TWO * cartridges!
* SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
- Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -
** 50mb SQG51S $789.00 105mb SQG105S $989.00 **
Or, YOUR choice of Hard Disk Mechanism!
LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE
** ANNOUNCING THE NEW! -> ABCO CD-ROM! **
:Special Introductory offer:
ABCO CD-ROM $389.95 (limited time only)
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)
* IBM - MSDOS - AMIGA - ATARI - APPLE - MACINTOSH *
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 -
Atari SLM 804, SLM 804PCV Laser Toner Kits
Memorex 2108, 5287
Oasys Laserpro 5287, 5308, Express 830, Express Series II
Silver Express, Gold Express
** $41.95 shipping Included **
Atari SLM 605 Laser Toner Kits
AT&T 593, CAF Laser, DSI Laser, DTP Systems, Epson EPL-6000
Facit P6060, Fontx Syslaser, Harris3M 2006, M-Tally MT905
Microtek Turbo PS, OAS Laserpro Executive, Packard Bell 9500
TEC LB 1305, Toshiba PageLaser 6
** $41.95 shipping included **
(TWO Toner Carts Incl.)
Panasonic Laser Toner Kits
Panasonic KX -P 400 series, Panafax UF-750 Facsimile
** $41.95 shipping included **
-- ALL TONER KITS * IN STOCK * --
* Toner Starter Kits-$62.95 *
* Replacement (804) Drums-$186.95 *
ABCO is PROUD to announce the acquisition of
the exclusive U.S.A. distribution rights for
** Bitblit Software's; ///Turbo Board BBS. **
This fine Atari ST BBS system software and
user support is available through ABCO to all
Turbo customers in the USA. Call for current
pricing.
>> MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED <<
ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED
-* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
(A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)
WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE! >UPS!<
(Cont. USA)
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!
SEND FOR YOUR NEW ABCO CATALOG TODAY!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport International Online Magazine
Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" March 13, 1992
16/32bit Magazine copyright 1987-92 No.8.11
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
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 STR
editors, contributors and or staff are not responsible for the use or
misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
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