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Silicon Times Report Issue 0942
SILICON TIMES REPORT
====================
INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
=============================
from
STR Electronic Publishing Inc.
October 15, 1993 No. 9.42
======================================================================
Silicon Times Report
International Online Magazine
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155
R.F. Mariano
Publisher - Editor
-----------------------------------------
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EST
STR Publishing Support BBS Network System
* THE BOUNTY BBS *
FIDO 1:112/35 ~ ITCNet 85:881/253 ~ FNET 350 ~ Nest 90:21/350
904-786-4176 USR/HST 24hrs - 7 days
2400 - 38.4 bps V.32 - 42 bis 16.8 Dual Standard
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EST
-----------------------------------------
Fido 1:112/35 The Bounty STR Support Central 1-904-786-4176
FNET. 620 : Leif's World ................1-904-573-0734
FNET. 690 : PASTE BBS....................1-206-284-8493
FNET. 460 : The Atari ST Connection......1-209-436-8156
FNET. 489 : Steal Your Face BBS..........1-908-920-7981
______________________________________________________________________
> 10/15/93 STR 942 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
""""""""""""""""
- CPU REPORT - QMS Color Laser - RAM Costs DROP!
- Atari Stock UP - Dell ReCall - Isgur Speaks Up!
- Seagate HD 9.1gb! - MasterCook II - HP & Video Printing
- Apple's Puette Resigns - Club KidSoft - STR Confidential!
-* WORD PERFECT WINDOWS 6.0 SHIPS! *-
-* WP & BITSTREAM! *-
-* US NEWS & World Report on CIS! *-
======================================================================
STReport International Online Magazine
The Original * Independent * Online Magazine
-* FEATURING WEEKLY *-
"Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
======================================================================
STReport's BBS, The Bounty, invites BBS systems, worldwide, to
participate in the Fido/PROWL/ITC/USENET/NEST/F-Net Mail Networks. You
may also Phone The Bounty BBS direct @ 904-786-4176. Enjoy the wonder and
excitement of exchanging all types of information relative to computers,
worldwide, through the use of excellent International Networking Systems.
SysOps, worldwide, are welcome to join the STReport International
Conferences. The Fido Node is 1:112/35, ITC Node is 85:881/253 Crossnet
Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is #620. All platform's BBS systems
are welcome and invited to participate. Support your favorite computer
Today!
======================================================================
CIS ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ NVN ~ FIDO ~ PROWL ~ ITC ~ NEST ~ EURONET
USENET ~ CIX ~ CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET ~ FNET ~ GEnie
======================================================================
COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME
to the Readers of;
STREPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY!
CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198
You will receive your complimentary time
and
be online in no time at all!
"ENJOY CompuServe's FORUMS WHERE Information comes first!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""
The computing worlds are moving right along... Word Perfect is
shipping its new version 6 for Windows now... and the procession of new
products in that platform, simply put, is fantastic. With that in mind,
would you believe an individual on another platform, while busily
justifying the failure of the computer company to properly support that
platform, stated the PC platform has too much to choose from? That has
to be the all-time example of an exercise in "joshing one's self" to very
bitter end. One has to genuinely feel sorry for someone who would do
this to themselves and amazingly, attempt to convince others that this
premise makes good sense. Oh well, so much for those that fantasize...
On another very exciting front, Word Perfect Corporation has gone
and done it again on a grand scale. They've released Word Perfect 6.0
for Windows. Folks, this is not an upgrade "affair". This is a complete
re-write with the user in mind. Elsewhere in this issue, is a complete
breakdown of the new program's features. It is superb in fact, FORGET
about the "competition" to this effort. There is NONE. This version has
power, eye appeal, ease of use, flexibility and compatibility completely
covered. Check it out, stop by any neighborhood dealer for a demo of
what has to be the most powerful and easy to use Word
Processing/Graphics/DTP system to hit the market yet.
STReport is undergoing rapid and hopefully great changes for the
better. Beginning November first, we will adopt the RTF, Rich Text
Format, which will guarantee total cross platform compatibility. MS
Word, Atari Works, Word Perfect and most all word processors and quality
text readers released in the last twenty four months read RTF with ease.
It is the only format that allows completely formatted text to travel
from platform to platform.
Additionally, we are very pleased to announce that Dana P. Jacobson
will assume the editorial duties for our Atari division at the same time.
Dana has been a member of the Atari scene for what seems like forever.
If anybody can keep the interest level up and the action going in an
extremely small marketplace its Dana. Of course he'll have the expert
assistance of our entire staff when needed. In another area, we have
managed to entice Lloyd E. Pulley back into the fold. He's taken over as
our Current Affairs Editor.
Our NEW and quite capable MAC editor, Randy Noak, has shown great
talents in providing our compatriots on the MAC platform with excellent
reviews and views. Randy a long time member of another declining
platform, has truly "found a home" in the MAC arena. The entire staff
has nothing but praise for his efforts. We all expect great things from
him in the future. Drop Randy a line or two and let him know what you'd
like to see covered in the MAC area.
Most of you know Joe Mirando, he's our "quiet, mild mannered"
reporter who seems to be "everywhere" so.... in the future you can expect
him to pop up just about anywhere with his "People" observations. He's
done such a great job with "People Talking" that we now have requests he
"visit" certain areas and give them a little 'action'. Therefore, as of
November first also, Joe will take over as the managing editor of our
cross-platform correspondence department. STReport is growing along with
the areas of the computing community that are forging ahead with great
vigor. Expect to see more changes as we move right along.
I cannot begin to express my sincere thanks to all of you who took
the time to write in making suggestions about which direction the
magazine should go and the coverage we should emphasize on. Most of the
suggestions will most definitely be put to use. Thank you one and all.
There simply isn't enough room in the issue to thank each of you
individually.
Sincerely,
Ralph......
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
** STReport International Online Magazine **
NOW! AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD IN THE
MAC RT ON GENIE!
STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
""""""""""""""""
Publisher - Editor
""""""""""""""""""
Ralph F. Mariano
Lloyd E. Pulley, Editor, Current Affairs
Section Editors
"""""""""""""""
PC SECTION AMIGA SECTION MAC SECTION ATARI SECTION
---------- ------------- ----------- -------------
R.D. Stevens R. Glover R. Noak D. P. Jacobson
STReport Staff Editors:
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Dana P. Jacobson Michael Arthur John Deegan
Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Judith Hamner
John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando
Steve Spivey Doyle C. Helms
Contributing Correspondents:
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Michael Lee Richard Covert Scott Birch
Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Tim Holt
Andrew Learner Norman Boucher Harry Steele
Clemens Chin 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
Delphi......................... RMARIANO
BIX............................ RMARIANO
FIDONET........................ 1:112/35
FNET........................... NODE 350
ITC NET...................... 85:881/253
NEST........................ 90:21/350.0
GEnie......................... ST-REPORT
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
"""""""""""""""""
Computer Products Update - CPU Report
------------------------ ----------
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Issue #42
By: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
******* General Computer News *******
** Hitachi to Market Re-Writable Optical Drives **
According to Hitachi Ltd., the company later this year will begin
selling 2-gig re-writable 5.25-inch optical disk drives. Hitachi said
the re-writable optical disk can store 50% more data than products of
other makers available on the same size of disk.
** U.S. News & World Report to Join CIS **
U.S. News & World Report will become the first national weekly news
magazine to join CompuServe, offering news stories and other information
selected from the magazine as part of CompuServe's basic services.
U.S. News reports will be available online the weekend before the
printed magazine reaches its subscribers in the mail. Called U.S. News
Online, it is expected to debut by year's end.
** Multimedia Expo - Analyzing The Games Industry **
At the "Analyzing the Games Industry - Investment and Return" session
at the Multimedia Expo in San Jose, one of the featured speakers was
Volpe Welty's Lee Isgur.
Isgur identified Nintendo as the dominant player in the video game
industry in terms of installed base and hardware. However, he said that
in terms of sales, the "8-bit machine is faltering very badly," but the
"16-bit will do better in sales than last year." He also said that,
"Game-Boy is, at the moment, the leading portable platform."
He predicated that there would be 83 million units of software sales
domestically this year.
He noted that Sega has been outselling Nintendo in the last few weeks
in the US, in terms of new hardware and software sales. However, he said
he did not know if that would continue into the Christmas season.
He identified CD's as becoming the dominant factor in the industry in
terms of software during the 1995-1997 period.
Interestingly, he said that which media the game industry uses will
dictate where it goes. He maintained that the current cartridge industry
is fairly expensive, and expects a shift to something else - such as
flash cards or CD-ROMs. He also said that the current hardware "is
lousy," with no flat screens, no great colors.
**IBM Microelectronics Has Faster PowerPC Chip **
IBM Microelectronics has announced a new version of the PowerPC 601
microprocessor that runs at 80 MHz. Previous versions operated at 50 and
66 MHz. Company officials said the new chip would make possible desktop
computers faster than any based on existing processors.
The PowerPC line of chips resulted from an alliance of IBM, Apple
Computer Inc., and Motorola. The 601 is the first of four planned Power-
PC parts. The PowerPC 603 is a power-saving version aimed at laptop,
portable, and low-end desktop computers. The PowerPC 604 is meant for
higher-performance desktop PCs and workstations. The PowerPC 620 will be
the top of the line, meant for high-performance workstations and
servers. IBM plans to begin making these chips in 1994 and 1995, Smith
said.
The 601 chip has 2.8 million transistors, in a package about four
tenths of an inch per side. It includes the Motorola 88110 bus, which
provides an advanced interface that supports a range of computer
systems, including personal computers, workstations, and multiprocessing
systems, the companies said.
** Hewlett-Packard Announces Video Printing System **
Hewlett-Packard Co. this week announced the HP VidJet Pro, a product
that allows video images from a wide range of sources to be printed on
plain paper using most HP printers.
Designed for professional video production, the HP VidJet Pro has an
easy-to-use interface that is also expected to attract advanced home
hobbyists. Users connect the HP VidJet Pro to any video source, such as
a videotape player, television, camcorder, photo CD or laser-disc
player. They also connect the system to an HP DeskJet or LaserJet
printer or HP DesignJet plotter. Images are stored as individual frames,
sequences of frames or in pre-designated special formats, such as the
first frame of every scene change.
HP-authorized video dealers are scheduled to begin taking orders for
the VidJet Pro in December. Prices will vary depending upon options,
starting at about $3,500.
** QMS Unveils Color Laser Printer **
QMS Inc this week announced that it has begun quantity shipments of
its ColorScript Laser 1000 Print System, it first desktop color laser
printer. The QMS ColorScript Laser 1000 produces color and monochrome
documents on a variety of paper stocks, including plain office paper.
The unit offers an output resolution of 300 dots per inch. Four self-
contained toner cartridges containing cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow
and black toner, supply the basic colors used to create a palette of
millions of colors.
The QMS ColorScript Laser 1000 is compatible with most computer
systems, networks and mixed computing environments. Its resident
emulations include PostScript Level 2 and Level 1, HP PCL 5C with GL/2
(which supports color) and an optional DEC LN03 Plus emulation. Standard
interfaces include parallel, serial and LocalTalk ports.
The QMS ColorScript Laser 1000 is available now and is priced at
$12,499.
** Seagate Intros New High-Capacity Drives **
Seagate Technology has announced 13 new hard disk systems, with
storage capacity ranging from 214 megabytes (MB) to 9.1 gigabytes (GB).
Included in the new lines is the ST410800 Elite 9, a 9.1 gigabyte
unit in a 5.25 inch full-height form factor. Seagate says that the unit
is designed for hierarchical storage and large file plus database appli-
cations.
The ST15150 Barracuda 4 is a 4.1 GB 3.5 inch half-height drive for
super servers, super computers, and high performance storage systems.
The ST12450 Barracuda 2 is a 3.5 inch half-height drive that can
store up to 1.78 GB of data.
The Hawk family comes in 2.14 GB, 1.7 GB and 1.05 GB versions,
designed for advanced workstations and super servers. Hawk comes in Fast
SCSI-2 and Fast//Wide SCSI-2 versions in either single-ended or dif-
ferential configurations.
In the under one GB category, Seagate is introducing the ST5660,
ST3491 and ST9550 families. The 5660 is available with AT or Fast SCSI-2
interfaces, has a 12 millisecond seek time. OEM pricing is $495 for the
AT/IDE model and $545 for the Fast SCSI-2 version. The 9550 was designed
for use in portable computing units and can withstand shocks up to 100
Gs and uses a disc substrate material called MemCor. The glass-ceramic
canasite-based media was developed jointly by Corning Glass Works and
Seagate. MemCor substrates can be manufactured much thinner than other
media and still retain rigidity. The ST9559 has a 16 millisecond average
seek time.
** Hayes Launches New Fax-Modem, Cuts Prices **
Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc. announced a new fax board which can
work on two separate phone lines, the JT Fax 144B Dual, and cut prices
on its older 9600 bits per second (bps) product by over 35%, to $369.
The new fax-modem is more than just a fax answering machine. It eli-
minates the need for an additional voice card and provides voice
announcement and prompting, voice record and playback, and the ability
to enter commands through a touch-tone phone. It also off-loads the con-
version of files to the fax format from the main computer, and enables
routine multi-board installations in a single computer, limited only by
the number of available slots.
The modem will be available November 1 in North America, Latin
America, and Hong Kong, with a further world-wide rollout following
shortly thereafter.
** U.S. Robotics Sells Subsidiary **
Modem maker U.S. Robotics Inc. has sold Communications Research
Group, the subsidiary responsible for making and selling the BLAST com-
munications software product line, to Blast Inc., a North Carolina cor-
poration. U.S. Robotics said that it retained an equity interest in the
new entity and "will work closely with Blast Inc. to ensure the needs of
new and existing BLAST customers are met."
Robotics Vice President Ross Manire said, "As we evaluated our core
business, we recognized that CRG was not a strategic fit going forward.
(This sale) allows for more focus on what is a very support-intensive
communications software line."
** Motorola Announces a New Integrated Processor **
Motorola's High Performance Microprocessor Division this week an-
nounced the 68307, a highly integrated processor ideal for a variety of
portable, low-power applications such as digital cordless telephones,
portable measuring equipment and point-of-sale terminals. The 63807 was
originally designed for the digital cordless phone products of a major
European telecommunications company. The newest member of the 68300
Family of Integrated Processors, the 68307 features a static 68EC000
core processor with multiple bus interfaces. It is the second processor
designed using Motorola's standard cell design methodology.
"The 68307's high level of functional integration results in reduc-
tions in power consumption, board space and system cost demanded by
today's portable devices," said Jim Reinhart, Motorola's manager, M68000
marketing and applications. "The 68307 is the only member of the 68300
Family of Integrated Processors that incorporates several bus
interfaces, providing glueless connections to a wide variety of common
system peripherals and memory."
** RAM Prices Falling **
On the July 4th weekend, the Sumitomo Chemical plant in Japan exper-
ienced an explosion that shut it down. Since Sumitomo produces 60% of
the world's high-quality epoxy resin, the explosion resulted in sky-
rocketing RAM prices. Some suppliers reported RAM costs jumping 200-300%
since the explosion. Sumitomo announced this week that it will be back
in production in December. This announcement has resulted in some com-
pany's RAM prices dropping 10-20%, with larger price reductions due in
December or January.
Epoxy resin may seem far removed from RAM chips, but the substance is
critical to about 80% of the computer chips made today. Alvin Despain,
Ph.D., an expert on computer architecture at the University of Southern
California, said the resin protects the surface of the integrated
circuit (IC), has some thermal properties that help get heat out, and is
the "glue" to hold down the silicon in the chips.
** Chip Rate Drops in September **
The chip industry's key book to bill ratio took a dive last month to
1.01, down from 1.08 in August, possibly indicating a much softer market
for semiconductors than had been forecast.
The ratio means that for every $100 worth of products shipped in Sep-
tember (billed), manufacturers received $101 worth of new orders
(bookings).
** Online Service for Women Formed **
An online service devoted to women, called WIRE (the Women's Infor-
mation & Resource Exchange) has been created in San Francisco.
The service, created by two computerists who are women, offers news,
entertainment, bulletin board conversations and electronic messaging.
Subscribers pay $15 a month for two hours of use, with additional time
billed at $2.50 an hour.
Sources say that "in the 'virtual community' formed by computer
online services, women represent 10% to 15% of online users. They often
are made to feel unwelcome by men who dominate online conversations and
make sexually harassing comments."
WIRE officials said men are welcome, but said unruly subscribers
could be expelled from the system.
******* IBM PC/Clone News *******
** Recall of Faulty Dell Notebook PCs **
Dell Computer Corporation has announced the recall of 17,000 dis-
continued 320SLi and 325SLi notebook computers because of a faulty part
that, under certain circumstances, could cause a fire.
Dell said its engineers has determined that a capacitor on the mother-
board of both models might crack under physical stress. If that happens,
the capacitor might overheat and cause a fire.
A Dell spokesperson said he only knows of the problem happening on
three machines, and the company has been unable to replicate the problem
in the lab. However, due to the safety aspect the problem Dell is
immediately recalling both models. Registered owners are being notified
by registered mail.
Owners of either model should return their machines to Dell so repairs
can be made. Turnaround time will depend on how many owners return their
units. To return one of the computers owners should contact Dell on
their toll free number between the hours of 8AM and 6PM CDT. Special
customer services representatives are available to arrange the returns
and answer questions.
** Flying Toasters Arrive For DOS Users **
Berkeley Systems has started shipping its DOS version of After Dark
screen saver.
Screen savers, apart from looking good on screen, protect the computer
monitor from phosphor burn-in -- which is a problem when monitors are
left on but inactive. The company says that After Dark can also increase
privacy -- to block access to a user's files, the program features a
screen-locking security system that is deactivated only by a user-
selected password.
After Dark for DOS also offers optional digitized sound effects, run
through the internal PC speaker or through Sound Blaster or Ad Lib com-
patible sound cards.
The package requires DOS 3.3 or higher, a VGA or SVGA display, 640k of
RAM, and a hard drive. The product is priced at $49.95.
** Mastercook II For PC Debuts **
Spinnaker Software has introduced its Mastercook II, a Windows-based
cookbook software package that contains more than 1,000 recipes and
allows the user to enter and store their own culinary masterpieces.
In addition to being a collection of recipes - 100 of them are from
what Arion calls "the great chefs of America" - Mastercook II can select
recipes that use on-hand ingredients meeting the user's personal
nutritional objectives. It can also print shopping lists, recipe cards,
menus, meal plans, or a complete customized cookbook.
Mastercook II requires a 286-based PC or higher running Windows 3.1 or
higher, 2 megabytes (MB) of system memory, and 2.5MB of free hard disk
space. Spinnaker says it will have a street price of under $30.
** Fujitsu Announces Latest Pen-Based System **
Fujitsu has announced the PadPlus RF, a pen-based computer with wire-
less communications built-in. Fijitsu previous pen-based systems had
carried the Poqet name.
The PadPlus RF incorporates the Proxim RangeLAN wireless adapter and
radio inside the computer, with a retractable antenna in the upper left
corner. The PadPlus RF can send data up to 300 feet using what's called
spread spectrum technology, which sends data over a wide spectrum of
frequencies to minimize interference. The PadPlus RF has a maximum burst
rate of 242,000 bits/second on three channels. The system includes error
correcting hardware and firmware designed to retransmit undelivered
data.
The pocket PC weighs about two pounds, and can run for between two and
four hours on a set of rechargeable batteries. It also features a PCMCIA
expansion slot, a serial connector, an infrared link, and a keyboard. It
can work with Novell Netware and Netware Lite, with preliminary pricing
set at $2,449.
** Intel Earnings Up 143% **
Intel Corp. this week reported third quarter earnings of $584 million
(or $1.33 a share), up 143% from earnings of $241 million (or 56 cents a
share) for the same period a year ago.
Analysts believe Intel will continue to dominate the computer chip
industry for some time, especially with recent releases of the state-of-
the-art 486 and Pentium chips that have pushed the company ahead of its
rivals technologically and in terms of revenues and profits.
Sources say that Intel is on track to ship hundreds of thousands of
Pentium processors in 1993 and millions in 1994.
** Lotus Income Up 151% **
Lotus Development Corp. has reported net income of $18.3 million, or
41 cents per share, for its third quarter ended Oct. 2. This is up 151%
from $7.3 million, or 17 cents per share, before a stock-sale gain in
last year's third quarter. Lotus' third-quarter revenue was $240.1 mil-
lion, up 16% from $206.7 million in the same period last year.
** Ares Software Announces Font Workshop **
Ares Software Corp. this week announced Font Workshop, a value-packed
bundle containing FontMonger, FontMinder 2.0 and FontFiddler, three
essential font applications for Windows-based computers.
Ares Font Workshop will ship on Oct. 15, 1993 and have a suggested re-
tail price of $249.95. Now Windows users will have all the tools they
need to convert, modify, create and manage their fonts in one economical
package.
FontMonge converts fonts between all major formats and enables cross-
platform conversion of fonts between Macintosh and PC computers. Fonts
can be modified or even created in a flash with FontMonger's simple,
elegant interface. FontMonger has a suggested retail price of $149.95.
FontMinder 2.0 will manage fonts in Windows 3.1. FontMinder stream-
lines the installation and de-installation of PostScript and TrueType
fonts. FontMinder has a suggested retail price of $79.95.
FontFiddler is a kerning editor for TrueType and PostScript fonts.
FontFiddler has a suggested retail price of $99.95.
** Peachtree Accounting for Windows Release 2.0 **
Peachtree Software announces that its best-selling Windows accounting
package, Peachtree Accounting for Windows Release 2.0, has surpassed all
sales projections and is outselling its previous version and the
competition three-to-one as of September 1993.
A PC Research Survey reveals Peachtree Accounting for Windows Release
2.0 is outselling Microsoft Profit and MYOB by a significant margin.
In addition to enhancements like graphical guides and on-line
tutorials, Peachtree Accounting for Windows Release 2.0 now reads files
created in Intuit's Quicken for DOS and Quicken for Windows.
Peachtree Accounting for Windows Release 2.0 is fully networkable out
of the box and sells for a suggested retail price of $169.
** New Ace Board **
Best Data Products Inc. is rolling out the ACE Advanced Communication
Enhancement system, a breakthrough internal board for IBM-compatible PCs
that will change the way small companies and at-home workers use
computers.
Developed in cooperation with IBM's Microelectronics division, ACE
merges fax, modem, sound, telephone answering capabilities and CD Rom
interface onto a single card--a first-time feat made possible by a new
digital signal processing (DSP) technology from IBM called Mwave. One
ACE board can take the place of four separate cards, saving valuable
space in the motherboard for other applications.
In addition, ACE defies obsolescence because it is fully software-
upgradeable, making it easy and inexpensive to add new applications such
as V.FAST, color faxing and video teleconferencing as they become
available. ACE also reduces downtime because it permits simultaneous
tasking, enabling a user to continue working at the computer screen
while a fax is being sent or a phone message is being taken. Both of
these important features were made possible by the Mwave technology.
The ACE system comes with a 14,400 bps modem, a 9,600 bps fax with fax
back and fax forward features, and a 16-bit audio board with wave table
synthesis. It requires a 386SX MHZ processor with a 4 MB RAM and is
designed to operate with Windows and OS/2. Suggested list price is $259.
******* Apple/MAC News *******
** Apple USA Head Resigns Effective Tomorrow **
According to Apple Computer, Apple USA president and general manager,
Robert Puette, will be resigning effective October 15. His replacement
is expected to be his boss, Ian Diery, executive vice president of
Apple's Personal Computer Division.
Puette has been at Apple since 1990. Apple officials said the USA
general manager is leaving to pursue other interests. However there are
speculations that Puette's resignation could be the result of Apple's
restructuring. Sources at Apple did say that the resignation has nothing
to do with rumors that Apple USA might wholly move to Austin, Texas.
** Apple Sets up a "Try Before You Buy" Software Division **
Joining IBM and Gateway, Apple Computer has announced a new CD-ROM
delivery system for its software. The initial offering will consist of
80 software programs and will be handled by a new division called Soft-
ware Dispatch.
Apple's Software Dispatch division will handle 800 number calls from
users who, after providing a credit card number to purchase the soft-
ware, can unlock applications on the Software Dispatch CD-ROM disc via a
key given over the phone.
A Quicktime movie tutorial will be supplied to explain the 'Try it
first' purchase process. Interactive tours, limited trial versions, and
product information sheets will be available for each software
application on the CD. Customers may select the software by clicking on
a button that adds the title to an electronic order form.
The electronic key will allow installation from the CD to a hard disk
of the software purchased. At the same time, the customer can also get a
full set of product documentation that is identical to the print version
that users would normally get in traditional packaging. Hard copies of
the documentation can also be ordered.
Over 80 applications will be on the first CD, featuring productivity,
utilities, education, games, fonts, clip art and other applications from
Symantec, Claris, Computer Associates, Intuit, Vividus, Spinnaker, and
Lotus.
The CDs will be distributed free by mail beginning in November 1993 to
Macintosh CD-ROM owners and in early 1994 to Windows CD-ROM owners. The
cost of the software will be about the same as users can expect to pay
in software stores.
** Pastel ships DayMaker Organizer 3.0 **
This week Pastel will start shipping the new version of its best-
selling personal organizer for the Mac, DayMaker Organizer 3.0. Version
3.0 was inspired by feedback from many of the nearly 50,000 users of
DayMaker.
"The key to DayMaker Organizer's superiority is the natural integra-
tion of contact and phone-call management to the most usable calendar
and to-do list program," said Hank Williams, president of Pastel. He
added "DayMaker Organizer 3.0 offers a complete solution for personal
organization by providing a tightly integrated product that gives users
immediate access to their important information and is easily
customized."
Special introductory pricing of $129.95 is being offered through Nov-
ember 30, 1993. After that DayMaker Organizer 3.0 will list for $149.95.
A competitive trade-up is available for $49.95 from Pastel and leading
catalogs. Current DayMaker users can upgrade for $29.95 plus $5.00 for
shipping and handling. After December 31, the upgrade price will be
$39.95.
To order an upgrade, DayMaker users should send a check plus a copy of
their sales receipt or the cover of their DayMaker manual to: Pastel
Development, 113 Spring Street, New York, NY, 10012, or order by calling
Pastel's order department at: 800/249-8316. About Pastel Development
________________________________________________________
IBM/POWER-PC/PC SECTION (I)
===========================
> WPWIN60 STR FOCUS! "GREAT STUFF!"
""""""""""""""""""
WORDPERFECT CORPORATION ANNOUNCES WORDPERFECT v6.0 FOR WINDOWS
==============================================================
EXPECTED TO BE ON DEALER'S SHELVES BY 10/19/93
WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows offers everything needed to create
professional-looking documents: powerful word processing, drawing,
charting, spreadsheet functionality within tables, and direct integration
with other Windows applications.
"WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows has been completely rewritten to give
users the best in Windows word processing," said Alan Ashton, president
and CEO of WordPerfect Corporation. "Virtually every feature in the
product has been improved or enhanced in some way. These improvements
are the result of thousands of user requests, feedback from focus groups,
and extensive usability testing."
WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows is designed to give users complete
customization, the easiest transition to Windows, and a product that
makes the most of the Windows environment.
COMPLETE CUSTOMIZATION
----------------------
Interface
---------
WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows is fully customizable so users can
personalize their word processor for any environment or task. Virtually
all aspects of the interface can be customized: Button Bar, Power Bar,
Ruler Bar, status bar, keyboards and menus. Users can also select Hide
Bars for a clean screen, but still have access to the main menus when
placing the mouse pointer at the top of the screen.
Button Bar
----------
The Button Bar is the most versatile interface tool, giving users
access to any WordPerfect feature or macro with a click of a button. The
Button Bar can be placed anywhere on the screen or as a floating palette.
Users can display buttons with icons, text, or both, and can create their
own icons and text. Users can create as many Button Bars as they like and
display up to three rows of buttons. The product ships with sample
Button Bars for specific tasks such as graphics, tables, outlines and
page layout, as well as context-sensitive bars that will change according
to task.
Power Bar
---------
The Power Bar contains icons for quick access to the most common
formatting tasks. The Power Bar remains at the top of the screen and
users can customize the bar by selecting from 81 options. When placing
the mouse pointer over any Power Bar icon, help prompts appear at the top
of the screen to explain the icon's function.
Templates
---------
Templates revolutionize word processing by giving users a quick and
easy way to create professional-looking documents. WordPerfect v6.0 will
ship with ExpressDocs, more than 45 predefined templates for fax forms,
memos, newsletters, and more. ExpressDocs are more than customized
documents they are interactive and can prompt users for information such
as the name and fax number on a fax cover sheet. Users can edit these
templates, or create their own with customized menus, styles, Button
Bars, keyboards, abbreviations and macros.
"Customization of the interface and templates gives users enormous
control of their working environment, letting them personalize
WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows to work the way they want to work," said
Todd Titensor, product marketing director of WordPerfect for Windows.
"Corporate users will benefit by being able to create standard interfaces
and documents to automate company tasks and maintain consistency."
EASIEST TRANSITION TO WINDOWS
-----------------------------
Easiest Transition for WordPerfect DOS users. WordPerfect v6.0 for
Windows gives WordPerfect DOS users the easiest transition to Windows
with feature and file compatibility, as well as macro conversions. Users
can write macros that will work in both WordPerfect v6.0 for DOS and
WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows. WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows also includes
a WPDOS keyboard layout.
"No other word processor makes it easier for WordPerfect DOS users
to make the move to Windows," said Titensor. "No other product offers
better compatibility with existing WordPerfect files and macros, or
better cross-platform compatibility."
Coaches
-------
Like a personal instructor, a Coach prompts a user through a variety
of common tasks with step-by-step instructions. Because Coaches are
written with WordPerfect's macro language, users can write their own to
add to the Help menu.
QuickMenus
----------
Working in Windows is easier with context-sensitive QuickMenus that
are accessed by clicking the right mouse button virtually anywhere in
WordPerfect. For example, clicking the right mouse button anywhere in a
document presents a QuickMenu to change fonts, spell check, or center
text, while clicking the left margin presents a menu to select text,
change margins, or add comments to a document.
Preview Windows
---------------
Preview windows in dialog boxes let users see how changes in a
document--such as columns, margins and line spacing--will look before
making them.
MAKING THE MOST OF WINDOWS
--------------------------
Program Launching
-----------------
Any Windows program or file can be placed on a Button Bar for quick
access from within WordPerfect. For example, a user could drag the
program file for Quattro Pro from the Windows File Manager to a Button
Bar and then be able to launch Quattro Pro while working in WordPerfect.
Or a user could place a Microsoft Excel file on a Button Bar and with a
click of a button launch Excel and load the file.
Direct Spreadsheet and Database Import
--------------------------------------
Spreadsheet and database information can be linked via Dynamic Data
Exchange (DDE) or Object Linking and Embedding (OLE), and can also be
directly imported into WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows. All leading
spreadsheet formats and a variety of database formats such as Paradox,
dBase, Oracle, and popular SQL servers are supported. Users can perform
queries on database files to extract only the needed information.
File Management
---------------
The powerful functionality of the WordPerfect File Manager is now
included in the Open File dialog box. With the File Options button,
users can copy, move, rename, delete, print, and change file attributes,
as well as create and rename directories. Files can be displayed and
sorted by filename, extension, size, date/time, and descriptive name and
type.
WordPerfect Draw
----------------
WordPerfect Draw contains the sophisticated drawing and charting
tools from WordPerfect Presentations including Bezier curves and the
ability to contour text on a curve. The charting module lets users turn
tables and spreadsheet data into a variety of charts: 3-D, bar, line,
area, hi-lo, pie, and exploded pie charts. WordPerfect Draw works
through OLE and is easily accessed by double-clicking any chart or
graphic image. WordPerfect Draw also supports the TWAIN standard for
direct access to scanners.
OTHER NEW FEATURES
------------------
Spreadsheet in Tables
---------------------
WordPerfect is the only Windows word processor to include advanced
spreadsheet capabilities. The Tables feature contains nearly 100
built-in formulas, numerical cell formatting, automatic calculation, data
fills, and named ranges.
QuickFormat
-----------
QuickFormat lets users extract formatting or styles from text and
quickly apply it to other text in a document. The mouse pointer changes
to a paint roller and lets users "paint" the formatting to selected text.
Bullets and Numbering
---------------------
From the new Insert menu, users can select from predefined bullets
and numbering styles or create their own. Numbered items are
automatically renumbered if moved.
Abbreviations
-------------
The Abbreviations features will replace an abbreviation in a
document with a longer piece of information that can include text,
graphics, formatting--anything that can be placed in a document.
Borders
-------
A wide variety of borders and fill patterns can be used for
paragraphs, pages, columns, tables, table cells, and graphic images.
IMPROVED FEATURES
-----------------
Simplified Mail Merge
---------------------
WordPerfect's powerful Merge feature has been enhanced with an
easy-to-use interface. The introductory Merge dialog box includes the
three elements of a merge--data file, form file, and merge--with
corresponding preview windows. Creating and editing data files is easy
using the Quick Data Entry dialog box. WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows can
directly use data files in other formats such as spreadsheets, database,
SQL, or ASCII text files. Users can also select specific records to
merge using a query by example interface. Corresponding envelopes can
automatically be created and appended to a merge file.
Document Management
-------------------
The QuickFinder rivals stand-alone packages with some of the fastest
indexing and text retrieval in the industry. Users can index directories
or groups of files and perform nearly instantaneous searches. The
QuickFinder dialog box has been improved to include access to Boolean
operators, document components (such as first page only), case
sensitivity and word proximity.
Document Summary
----------------
Document Summary has been improved to include more than 50 document
summary fields such as author, subject, date and abstract. QuickFinder
can be used to search any of these summary fields. Document Comments can
now include name, initials, date stamps and time stamps, and be
represented by a colored icon in the left margin. Users can have
specific colors so the document can be circulated for editing. Document
Compare has been improved to compare by word, as well as by phrase,
sentence and paragraph.
Graphics Editing
----------------
An Image Tools palette offers in-place graphics manipulation to
move, rotate, crop and size a graphic image. Users can wrap text on both
sides of a graphic image or contour text around irregularly shaped
objects.
Styles
------
In addition to character and document styles, version 6.0 will
include paragraph styles so users can click anywhere in a paragraph and
select a style to affect the entire paragraph. Users can also create
styles by clicking anywhere in formatted text, then clicking the Styles
field on the Power Bar to give it a name.
PRICING AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
-------------------------------
The suggested retail price of WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows will be
$495. Upgrades from any DOS, Windows or OS/2 version of WordPerfect will
be available for $129. A competitive upgrade will also be available for
$149 from any word processor with a suggested retail price of at least
$395. WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows will require a 386 machine or
higher, at least 4M (preferably 6M) RAM and Microsoft Windows 3.1.
WORDPERFECT CORPORATION LICENSES BITSTREAM TECHNOLOGY
WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows will incorporates TextArt, a
mini-application that lets users instantly create special effects with
type using shapes, colors, fills and shadows. TextArt was jointly
developed by WordPerfect Corporation and Bitstream Inc. WordPerfect v6.0
for Windows will also ship with 25 TrueType fonts from Bitstream Inc., a
leader in font technology. WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows, the next
release of WordPerfect Corporation's best-selling word processor, is
scheduled to ship fourth quarter 1993.
"After evaluating several developers, we chose to co-develop TextArt
with Bitstream because we saw the opportunity to offer the greatest
functionality in the smallest package," said Todd Titensor, product
marketing director for WordPerfect for Windows at WordPerfect
Corporation. "Word processors are primarily used for text manipulation
and we wanted to give our users a creative tool to manipulate text
quickly and easily."
TextArt lets users change their text by choosing from 40 different
shapes. The text will automatically mold to any of these shapes and
users can add colors, fills and shadows. TextArt is an OLE (Object
Linking and Embedding) applet and will be available from the default
Button Bar of WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows.
WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows will also ship with 25 high-quality
TrueType fonts from Bitstream including Bitstream Arrus, Humanist 521,
Bernhard Modern and a variety of display fonts. These fonts can be used
in any other Windows application.
"We are extremely pleased that WordPerfect Corporation elected to
feature fonts from the Bitstream library of more than 1,000 typefaces in
the next release of WordPerfect for Windows," said Ray Boelig, chief
operating offer at Bitstream. "With the introduction of the Windows
operating environment, the demand for TrueType fonts and technology has
exploded, and we believe users of WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows are going
to find the selection of 25 text and headline faces a welcome complement
to the power and sophistication of their word processor."
"The majority of WordPerfect users have been introduced to the power
of using type by using Bitstream typefaces," said Jim Welch, director of
Strategic Marketing at Bitstream. "We expect that WordPerfect v6.0 users
will be pleased with the selection of typefaces and the consistent
quality they have come to expect from the Bitstream Typeface Library."
Bitstream will also ship the WordPerfect v6.0 for Windows Font Pack,
a collection of 100 high-quality True Type fonts with a retail price of
$29.95. These fonts complement the fonts bundled with WordPerfect v6.0
for Windows. For information about this font pack, users can call (800)
522-FONT.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
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 Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
___ ___ _____ _______
/___| /___| /_____| /_______/ The Macintosh RoundTable
/____|/____| /__/|__| /__/ ________________________
/_____|_____|/__/_|__|/__/
/__/|____/|__|________|__/
/__/ |___/ |__|_/ |__|_<____ Managed by SyndiComm
/__/ |__/ |__|/ |__|______/
An Official Forum of the International Computer Users Group
.____________________________________________________________________.
| Help Desk - Having a problem with your Mac? Stop by the HD for the |
| answers! In the RTC from 9pm to 12pm EDT in ROOM 1........ (605;2) |
!____________________________________________________________________!
.____________________________________________________________________.
| A SyndiComm Round Table |
| (Tom Weishaar & Kent Filmore) |
|____________________________________________________________________|
| |
| Hosted by: |
| Chief SysOp: (Unk) DAVE.REID |
| |
| - - SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - - | - - SOFTWARE LIBRARY - - |
| Education ....... (Rob) R.WHITELOCK | Chief Librarian: RANDY.SIMON |
| Mac Hardware ..... (Nick) N.PASSINO | Asst Librarians: |
| (J) W.GLENN1 | (Steve) S.MACK |
| Games ............ (Bart) MAC.GAMES | (Anne) ANNE-INDA |
| Telecommunity ........ (Kent) DRACO | (Phil) P.VALIQUETTE |
| PowerBooks...... (Doc) D.E.JOHNSTON | |
|_____________________________________!______________________________|
| - - - Weekly RTC Schedule - - - | - - Help Desk Schedule - - |
| (All Times Eastern) |
| Educational Mac Mon 9:45pm Rm 3 | Mon-Fri 9:00pm-12:00am Rm 1 |
| About PowerBooks Tue 9:45pm Rm 2 | Sunday 10:30pm-12:00am Rm 1 |
| Telecommunity Wed 9:45pm Rm 2 | ___________________________ |
| Macintosh Games Wed10:30pm Rm 3 | To enter GE-MUG RTC, type.. |
| Macintosh Hardware Thr 9:45pm Rm 2 | MOVE 605;2 and choose room # |
| Sunday Night Fight Sun 9:00pm Rm 3 |______________________________|
|_____________________________________!______________________________|
| **** IMPORTANT INFORMATION **** |
| For COMPLETE information and TIPS on downloading, be sure |
| to read item # 4 on page 605 - "About The RoundTable" |
!____________________________________________________________________!
MAC/APPLE SECTION (II)
======================
/--------------------------------------------------------------------\
| * GEnie-MUG NEWS * for the week of 10/11/93 - issue 31 |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| What's Hot and Happening This Week In GEnie's Macintosh User Group |
\--------------------------------------------------------------------/
GEnie-MUG News Editor: Eric Mueller (DLAND.ERIC)
entire contents copyright 1993 by Eric C. Mueller
WELCOME to the GEnie-MUG RoundTable newsletter! This quick bulletin gives
you an idea of what's cooking in the GEnie Macintosh User Group
(GEnie-MUG). I'm Eric Mueller, and I write this file every week so that
you can find the action in GEnie-MUG: the latest controversy in the
bulletin board, the hottest files in the library, and the hippest chats
in the RTC rooms. I'm always interested in your comments on this file,
and would love to hear them.
If you're new to GEnie or GEnie-MUG, you can read about GEnie-MUG
(including information on what GEnie-MUG has to offer and the layout of
the system) by typing "M 605;4". Additionally, the GEnie-MUG help desk (a
live hotline) is available six days a week in the GEnie-MUG RTC (type "M
605;2" then choose room 1). For more information and a schedule of times,
type "M 605;4".
THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT THIS WEEK is the new boss-types of the GEnie-MUG
roundtable. Syndicomm, an outfit run by Kent Fillmore (DRACO) and Tom
Weishaar (TOM.W), now runs the A2, A2Pro, Macintosh, Macintosh Pro, Power
PC and Power PC Pro RoundTables on GEnie! What does this mean for us? It
means that Kent has so many new responsibilities that he has had to step
down as the head of GEnie-MUG. Now, the new boss in GEnie-MUG is
DAVE.REID, affectionately known as 'Unk.' As Unk said in the bulletin
board, "'Great!', you may say, 'but what's ol' Unk gonna be doin'?' I
will still manage the BB and continue to be the chief topic cop, and will
generally be the leader of the cheering section for staff." For more
information (and to send your congratulations), see category 1 ("Welcome
to GEnie-MUG"), topic 9 ("GEnie-MUG News Desk"), messages 4 through the
end of the topic.
TIRED OF REACHING AROUND BACK (or to the side) of your Macintosh,
slamming that interrupt button when you Mac crashes? Can't remember the
gibberish you have to type to return to the Finder successfully? Don't
even have an interrupt button? Now, when your Mac crashes, you don't
need to scramble for the programmer's interrupt button, or deal with an
obnoxious dialog box. Simply install the Interrupt Button Init and when
you press the programmer's interrupt button, you'll be graciously
returned to the Finder with no muss or fuss. Sounds nice, doesn't it?
(Your interrupt button still works fine, by the way.) The shareware fee
is only $15 for this time-saver, one that is certain to pay for itself in
just one or two system crashes. If you'd like a copy of the Interrupt
Button Init, download file #30373 in the GEnie-MUG libraries now!
GETTING STARTED WITH MODEMS AND THE MACINTOSH? There's a lot of stuff out
in "cyberspace," all of the networks available to you through your
modem---and a lot to be confused about. Even the basics, like the
difference between shareware and freeware, aren't always clear. Luckily,
GEnie-MUGgers are a helpful crew (despite the threatening moniker), and
can give you some guidance. In the bulletin board this week,
GEnie-MUGger RJ Roehner offers some helpful advice and tips for getting
set up with a modem. He suggests what tools you'll need as a beginning
modemer, and what to do about sorting through the plethora of shareware.
Interested? See all this fascinating info in category 28 ("MACINTOSH:
General Questions"), topic 1 ("About MACINTOSH: General Questions"),
messagesJ75 through the end of the topic.
EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE (IF MORBID) PENCIL game is now on the Macintosh:
Hangman, the popular word-guessing game featuring the alphabet and a
corpse swinging in the wind, is now available for your favorite computer!
This new version features sounds and animation---just the ticket if you
like Hangman and want it to be particularly special. See GEnie-MUG
library file #30375, the $10 shareware HANGMAN.SIT 3.0, and enjoy.
DOC JOHNSTON IS AT IT AGAIN with a new PowerBook conference on Tuesday
night: Care and Maintenance. To give your PowerBook the TLC it deserves,
you owe it to yourself to attend this live conference and find out the
right way to take care of that expensive investment. Wondering if it's
safe to bring the Duo through your local car wash? Find out at the
conference! Can't decide to use Endust or Lemon-Fresh Pledge on the
keyboard? Find out at the conference! Heard that dipping the battery in
rubbing alcohol makes it last longer? Find out at the conference! All
this and more can be found out this Tuesday night, 10/12, at 9:45pm EST
in the GEnie-MUG conference rooms. (Visit the conference rooms by typing
"m605;2".)
KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PICT, TIFF, and PAINT? GEnie-MUGger DRMIKE
[Michael] didn't, so he check in with theJgang in the bulletin board and
found it out. Turns out that PICT is often just as fabulous as
TIFF---except for one important case, when you want to be using TIFF.
Curious about that case? Want more details on the whole thing? See the
messages in GEnie-MUG bulletin board category 3 ("SOFTWARE: Graphics &
CAD/CAM"), topic 4 ("Mac Graphics Category"), messages 119Jthrough the
end of the topic.
APPLE COMPUTER WANTS TO FIX EVERYBODY'S COMPUTER, the software way.
They've released the latest version of the System Hardware Update, a disk
that holds a potpourri of enhancements for the Mac, including fixes for
the system software, enhancements to Disk First Aid, and more. Pretty
much everyone with a Mac should get this file---it's big but it's
important (just like Roseanne!). Jog to the GEnie-MUG libraries and see
file #30361, System Update 2.0.1, as soon as you can. (If you want more
details about what exactly this thing will do for you, investigate file
#30363, a short text file listing all of the exciting e
nhancements the
update will give.)
THAT'S ALL for this week. Until next week, continue to explore the
horizons of your imagination with Macintosh!
> MAC REPORT
""""""""""
by Randy Noak, Editor STR MAC Division
Mail Call, Part II
==================
Besides the stuff I had left over from last week, a bunch more stuff
came in this week. My wife's pointed glances at the ever-growing pile of
mail are becoming sharper with each passing day, so I'll try and finish
Mail Call for this month so that we can move on to other things and I can
stay out of the doghouse. Also, I'm going to intersperse the Mail Call
stuff with a few press releases that fit right in with some of our Mail
Call subjects, so don't think we're at the end of the column just because
you see a press release. In fact, be sure to read the whole column
because there is at least one FREEBIE in there! Let's get started!
Oops! Before we do though, the standard warning is in effect. Atari
users may want to consult a physician before reading this column. The
sight of toll-free numbers, new software, software upgrades, and
full-color glossy catalogs and magazines may induce an overwhelming case
of MacEnvy. More sensitive Atari users may wish to skip reading this
column altogether.
Adobe sends notice that the new version of their auto-trace program,
Streamline 3.0 is out. Lots of new features, including pre and
post-processing tools. This is good news. While previously, you had to
bring the traced image into an illustration program for editing, now it
looks like Streamline will allow you to skip that step. Also, according
to the flier, you can now scan directly into Streamline and edit the bit-
maps! A big time-saver. I ordered it, and it should be here in a week or
two. When it arrives, I'll report my impressions. Until December 31 the
upgrade is only $49. Call Adobe at 1-800-642-3623.
The new MacUser came in today. Lists the top 50 CD-ROMS, a big
section on removable drives, an article on databases, and all the usual
good stuff. MacUser is around 300 pages, glossy, full-color. Well worth
the subscription prices just for all the software tips it features each
month. Call 1-800-627-2247.
Yet another catalog house, Mac's Place, sends a catalog. Full-color,
etc., etc..Some prices are better than some other mail-order places, some
worse. It pays to shop around. I've ordered from here before and it seems
like they never have what I've ordered in stock. No problems in receiving
the merchandise, it's just taken longer than some other mail-order
houses. They say they've revamped their warehouse procedures, so waits
may be a thing of the past. If the price on the item you want is good,
and you don't mind waiting a couple of extra days, I recommend Mac's
Place. Call for a catalog. 1-800-814-0009.
Broderbund software sends notice that Print Shop Deluxe is available
to "loyal Broderbund customers" for only $39.95. Thrown in is a free
Celebrations Folio with 100 graphics featuring holiday and celebration
themes. Even though I have PageMaker and Adobe Illustrator 5.0 here, this
looks interesting. I figure my 6 year old daughter could use Print Shop
Deluxe to design her own posters and not bug me to do it for her. I'll
put this in the "maybe" category. Call 1-800-423-9999.
Well, how about that? American Express is offering me a Platinum
Card! Only $300 per year. Sorry guys. Please let me know when you offer a
Cubic Zirconia card though. Maybe I can afford that.
I'm really excited about CD-ROM. I think that CD-ROM, or something
like it, is the wave of the future. It looks like Apple agrees with me,
since they've announced Software Dispatch. Software Dispatch promises to
do for software what Adobe's Type on Call has done for fonts; offer
nearly instant gratification. You want software? Insert the CD-ROM, try
the demo, check out the interactive video that showcases the software's
features, call a toll-free number and get the unlocking code that will
install the software on your hard drive. Simple and easy. Here's Apple's
press release (courtesy GEnie's GE-MUG Roundtable) announcing Software
Dispatch which should answer any questions you might have about this new
way to order software, then we'll get back to Mail Call with a new
magazine that takes the same approach.
MOVED OVER PR NEWSWIRE AT 8:31 AM, EDT, MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1993.
Apple Launches Software Dispatch
New 24-Hour Software Delivery System Lets Windows and Macintosh Customers
Choose From More Than 80 Popular Software Applications on CD-ROM
SANTA CLARA, California
-----------------------
October 11, 1993--Apple Computer, Inc. today introduced an extremely
convenient way for people to explore and purchase software for Macintosh
and Windows personal computers. Software Dispatch--a CD-ROM delivery
system as well as a new business unit at Apple--allows customers to try,
compare and buy popular software applications 24-hours a day, seven days
a week, in the comfort and convenience of their home or office. When
customers call the Software Dispatch 1-800 number to order, they receive
an unlocking key upon telephone purchase that lets them immediately
install and use their software. Software Dispatch CD-ROM discs are
scheduled to be distributed by mail, free of charge beginning November
1993 to Macintosh CD-ROM owners and early 1994 to Windows CD-ROM owners.
The first Software Dispatch CD-ROM disk features more than 80
applications, including a broad offering of productivity, utilities,
education, games, fonts, clip art and other applications. Software
vendors with products featured on Software Dispatch CDs include Symantec,
Claris, Computer Associates, Intuit, Lotus, Spinnaker and Vividus. (See
attachment for a complete listing.) "We're committed to providing
superior software solutions to both Macintosh and Windows customers,"
said David Nagel, senior vice president and general manager of the
AppleSoft division at Apple Computer, Inc. "Software Dispatch is more
than a new business for Apple--it's a whole new way for the industry to
bring solutions to a broad reach of target customers." With Software
Dispatch, customers can now compare applications on their desktop, as
well as order and install software immediately without waiting for
overnight delivery. Technical support for purchased products can be
easily referenced via a consolidated list of vendors and telephone
support lines on the disk.
The Shopping Experience When a Windows or Macintosh customer first
explores the Software Dispatch CD-ROM disk, a QuickTime movie tutorial is
available to explain the trial and purchase process. Customers can then
interactively discover the features and benefits of specific software via
guided tours, limited trial versions and product information sheets.
Once a selection has been made, the customer clicks an order button that
automatically adds the software to an electronic order form. When
customers are ready to buy, they call the Software Dispatch 800 number to
receive a key that unlocks the software allowing them to immediately
install the application directly from the CD onto their hard disk. The
unlocking mechanism also gives customers access to on-line product
documentation that is identical in content to the print version
traditionally delivered in a software box.
"The time has come for electronic distribution of software," said
Scott Schnell, general manager of Software Dispatch at Apple Computer,
Inc." And, Software Dispatch sets the standard for convenience, breadth
and affordability. We believe that our electronic superstore--with its
easy to use, well organized information--will appeal to both current and
new users of personal computers and applications software."
Leading-Edge On-Line Documentation Software Dispatch takes full
advantage of CD-ROM storage capability by providing more than 12,000
pages of on-line documentation. Manuals for each purchased product are
presented on the desktop using Apple's DocViewer technology for the
Macintosh version of Software Dispatch and Acrobat Reader technology for
Windows from Adobe Systems Incorporated for the Windows version. Both
provide navigational tools that let readers quickly search through
documentation to find the answers that they need. The Software Dispatch
documentation preserves fonts, layouts, photos and other visual graphic
features and lets users move through pages instantly using bookmarks,
hypertext links and keyword search functions. Users may also print any
or all manual pages for deskside reference. Hard copy documentation will
also be available from Software Dispatch upon order.
"CD-ROM-based software distribution is rapidly gaining momentum in
the marketplace," said David Pratt, senior vice president and general
manager for Adobe's Application Products Division. "What distinguishes
Software Dispatch as a software shopper's resource is not only its array
of available applications, but advanced electronic documentation readers
such as Acrobat, that make the customer's experience easier and more
consistent." As part of its offer to software vendors, Software Dispatch
assumes responsibility for producing and distributing the CD-ROMs, giving
vendors a low risk means of directly reaching customers in their home or
office. For both large and small developers, Software Dispatch is a
powerful venue for getting their product onto a customer's desktop. "By
allowing customers to try before they buy, Software Dispatch helps the
customer make a more informed decision when purchasing an application
like Quicken," said Eric Tilenius, Product Manager at Intuit, Inc. "By
actually using Quicken in the convenience of their home or office, they
find out just how fast and easy financial work can be and as a result,
can act on their discovery by making an immediate purchase."
Availability Software Dispatch for Macintosh is planned for
availability November 1993 and Software Dispatch for Windows is planned
for availability the first quarter of Calendar Year 1994. Software
Dispatch is planned for availability in other selected markets worldwide
beginning the first quarter of Calendar Year 1994. In November 1993,
Software Dispatch plans a direct mail campaign and direct response
advertising. To receive a free Software Dispatch CD-ROM, call
1-800-937-2828, ext-600.
Software Dispatch is a business unit of Apple Computer, Inc.
Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Apple develops, manufactures and
markets personal computer, server, and personal interactive electronic
systems for use in business, education, the home, science, engineering,
and government. A recognized pioneer and innovator in the personal
computer industry, Apple does business in more than 120 countries.
Neat, huh? Well, Club KidSoft has the same idea. They just sent me
"the first and only, only-for-kids software magazine and multimedia kid's
store." KidSoft is a tabloid sized, full-color, glossy combination
magazine/catalog. The idea is that kids can check out demo versions of
software on the KidSoft CD-ROM and then get Mom and Dad to order the
software. Well, I've bought my daughter software based on the description
on the box at the software store and have been disappointed when my
daughter didn't like the software after she got it home, so this might be
a great way for her to actually try the software before I spend my money.
I'm going to subscribe to this for $9.95 for 4 issues, complete with
CD-ROM. If you have kids, you might want to check this out. Call
1-800-354-6150.
HOT TIP!!! If you have a CD-ROM player, call Nautilus at
1-800-448-2323 and ask them to send you a FREE introductory issue their
Nautilus CD Multimedia Magazine. That's right, FREE. No shipping, no
handling. FREE. Nautilus is an interactive magazine with QuickTime
videos, demos, etc.. Anyhow, get the free CD-ROM and check it out.
While we're talking CD-ROM, Now What Software publishes a CD-ROM
atlas that is a little bit different from your average atlas. Small Blue
Planet features views of the earth taken by satellites. Looks real nifty
and rated very highly by all the big, print magazines. Call Now What
Software at 1-800-322- 1954. The CD-ROM is $59.00.
Tiger Software has a new catalog out with a special CD-ROM section.
One of the featured products is an NEC CDR-25 CD-ROM reader for $199.
Even though the CDR-25 is a single-session drive (I think), at that
price, I don't see how you could go wrong. Call Tiger Software at
1-800-666-2562 for a catalog.
Another catalog with a bunch of CD-ROM stuff is the Mac Zone
catalog. This catalog also has a 14.4/14.4 fax modem for only $144.98!
Sheesh! I paid more than that for this 2400 baud modem a few years ago.
Looks like I've about run out of excuses and can start planning on
retiring my ancient modem real soon. $144.98! Progress. Call Mac Zone at
1-800-248-0800 and ask for a catalog.
Graph Expo returns to Chicago in 1993 and Mac Report will be there.
Graph Expo is a trade show for the printing industry. Huge 6-color
presses set up and running, giant binding machines, paper of every type,
ink, and enough assorted supplies and equipment to fill McCormick Place.
The last time I went, it was impressive. I'll be going again and will do
a little mini-report on the Mac parts of the show. For more info call
1-703-264-7208.
Here's a flier from Bitstream's Lil Bits fonts. I know you've seen
these. Star Trek fonts. Jetsons fonts, Looney Tunes fonts, and more.
$13.95 each. Call Bitstream at 1-800-522-FONT.
Coming in December, "The Ultimate Macintosh Learning Experience." At
least that's what this flier from MacAcademy states. They are presenting
a 2 day workshop featuring Claris Works, PageMaker, Word, Excel
Filemaker, and more. Price? $279. Class sites are in Indianapolis and
Cleveland, but I imagine that they give these classes elsewhere also.
Call MacAcademy at 1-800-527-1914.
More font news from Jonathan Macagba, an independent type foundry.
He's offering some real nice display fonts for $35 per package. They all
are available for Windows too and both True Type and Type 1's are
included. If type is your thing, call 1-800-248-3668 and ask for a flier.
As I said, "...real nice...".
If you are involved with desktop publishing or any type of graphic
design, you've got to get a subscription to Before & After. Before &
After is subtitled, "How to design cool stuff", and they aren't kidding.
If you ever wanted to know how to design ads that leap off the page,
illustrations that scream, "Pro!", and all the neat stuff that you've
seen in magazines , this is the magazine for you. In my opinion, this
magazine is essential. Subscriptions are $35 per year and worth it. Write
to Before & After, 1830 Sierra Gardens Drive, Suite 30, Roseville, CA
95661-2912.
That's it for this week, and I still have bunch more mail to go
through. For some reason, it just keeps coming. Next week we'll try once
again to finish the mail and maybe do a mini-review of BBEdit, a text
editing program. Of course, we'll also feature any news that we pick up
off the nets. As always, please feel free to send your comments or
questions to:
Compuserve: 70323,1031
GEnie: R.NOAK
America OnLine: RandyNoak
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
STReport International Online Magazine is available every week in
the ST Advantage on DELPHI. STReport readers are invited to join DELPHI
and become a part of a friendly community of enthusiastic computer users
there.
SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
======================
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For a limited time, you can become a trial member of DELPHI, and
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But hurry, this special trial offer will expire soon! To take advantage
of this limited offer, use your modem to dial 1-800-365-4636. Press
<RET> once or twice. When you get the Password: prompt, type IP26 and
press <RET> again. Then, just answer the questions and within a day or
two, you'll officially be a member of DELPHI!
TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (10/13/93)
(1) STREPORT 9.41
(2) AEO NEWS! ISSUE 1
(3) TWO TOUGHIES!
(4) MAZE
(5) GREAT GAMES...
(6) WINX 2.1/GEMRAM
(7) PUZZLE TIL IT HURTS!
(8) DATELINE ATARI 13
(9) GLENDALE RTC
(10) MICRODOS CLI
All of the above files can be found in the RECENT ARRIVALS database for
at least one week after the posting of this list. Please note that, for
all files, a submission is eligible for the Top 10 list for only four
weeks after its original uploading. The exceptions are on-line
magazines, which are eligible for only one week, and press releases and
other commercially oriented files, which are ineligible.
DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!
**********************************************************************
ATARI/JAG SECTION (III)
=======================
WHAT'S NEW IN COMPUSERVE'S ATARI FORUMS (October 15)
====================================================
CODEHEAD ANNOUNCES NEW VERSION OF WARP 9
Codehead Technologies announces a new version of their fabulous WARP 9,
now compatible with the Falcon030. Read message #32158 in the Atari
Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN) for details and upgrade info.
COMPUTER VERSION OF RISK FOR ATARI ST
Download file BATRIS.ARC from LIBRARY 1 of the Atari Arts Forum (GO
ATARIARTS) for BATRISK -- a computer version of the board game RISK.
REMOTE OPERATION
Download file LOGIN.LZH from LIBRARY 2 of the Atari Productivity Forum
(GO ATARIPRO) for a remote log-in program for the ST. Primarily useful
for MiNT/MultiTOS users who want to be able to call their systems from
elsewhere.
PC-COMPATIBLE ADDRESS BOOK FOR ATARI PORTFOLIO
Download file ADR_BO.ZIP from LIBRARY 6 of the Atari Portfolio Forum (GO
APORTFOLIO) for version 1.10 of ADR_BASE; a database for PCs which shares
Portfolio Address Book Files. Includes improved editing fields. Uploaded
by author. Fully functional except SAVE feature; implemented by EZ
shareware registration.
TAX CALCULATOR
Download file TAXBAS.ZIP from LIBRARY 7 of the Atari Portfolio Forum (GO
APORTFOLIO) for taxcalc. This version supports both French and English.
For use with PBASIC, the Taxcalc calculates the cost of purchase with the
sales tax added or calculates how much tax you paid on a purchase. Also
calculates Canadian GST
and PST taxes.
COMPUSERVE INTRODUCES 14.4 SUPPORT FOR THE PRICE OF 9600 BAUD!
14,400 BPS INTRODUCED IN 10 CITIES
CompuServe now offers 14,400-bps access capability in ten U.S. cities:
Cambridge, Mass.; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Los Angeles; New York; Newport
Beach, Calif.; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Rochelle Park, N.J.; and
Santa Clara, Calif. This service will be offered in other U.S. locations
within the next year, and will eventually be extended to Europe. Pricing
for 14,400-bps access is the same as for 9,600 bps: $16 per hour for
Standard Pricing Plan members, and $22.80 per hour for Alternative
Pricing Plan members.
The 14,400 bps service supports V.42 error correction and requires a
V.32bis modem. To log on at 14,400 bps using the CompuServe Information
Manager, enter the Session Settings and change the bps rate to either
14,400 or 19,200. If you have problems logging on, change the modem type
to the Hayes Compatible (default) setting.
For more information about using 14,400 bps, GO FEEDBACK or visit
CompuServe's software support forums (GO CISSOFT). To obtain the 14,400
local access numbers, GO PHONES. To read more about CompuServe's pricing
plans, GO CHOICES. The information areas are all included in CompuServe's
basic services.
______________________________________
> ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
=====================
On CompuServe
-------------
compiled by Joe Mirando
Hidi ho good neighbors. Its time once again to take a leisurely stroll
through the Atari forums here on CompuServe where you can always find
information on the latest and greatest products for your dear old ST.
This week's column is going to be a little shorter than normal because
I've been shuttling back and forth between home and hospital to see my
grandmother who has recently had a heart attack and several very nasty
infections. Hopefully this situation will ease up for me shortly, so
look for this column to again swell to its normal size.
Well, let's get on with the good stuff...
From the Atari Productivity forum
=================================
Mary Slate tells us:
"I could really use help here. Instead of "appending to" I "saved to"
a text file that I simply can't lose. Is there a program anywhere
that I could use to get some of the data back? I know about undeletes
but that doesn't seem to be the problem here. Major sick feeling in
stomach is also a problem."
Albert Dayes, that all-knowing, all-seeing guy from Atari Explorer
Magazine, tells Mary:
"It sounds like you just lost everything you saved previously. Unless
your program automatically creates a backup of the file everytime it
saves that would be your only hope. The only other suggestion would
be if the file you saved was bigger than the one just saved (but
should have appended). One could search the disk looking at all
sectors that have ascii text/word processor text and see if you can
find any remnants of the file. This is also assuming that you have
not saved anything to the disk yet. If its a floppy it shouldn't be
too bad. But hard disk it might take a long time.
Also if you have an old backups you could use the old backup plus the
remnants plus the new file to attempt to recreate the file you had
originally."
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Mary:
"As Albert mentioned, recovering your file will be very difficult if
you've saved anything else to the disk since accidentally doing that
"Save" instead of an "Append".
However, if you HAVEN'T put anything else on the disk since then,
there MAY be hope of recovering some or even most of your file.
(One question.. is the file on a floppy or hard disk..?)
When you overwrite a file, my understanding of how the process works
is that the computer will FIRST write the new version of the file to
unused sectors on the disk, and THEN mark the original file's sectors
as unused (this prevents losing the original file in case of a system
crash or loss of power while it's saving the file).
What that means is that your original file should still be there, but
its sectors have been marked as unused, so the next time you save
something, it could use those sectors and permanently destroy them.
That's why you shouldn't save ANYTHING to the disk until you've
recovered all you can.
Now.. since your file is text, it makes the operation a lot easier,
since you can actually read the data and determine what order the
sectors should be in. (It also helps a lot if the disk wasn't
fragmented when the original file was saved, so the sectors will all
be in order).
Here's the tricky part... there IS a program specially designed to
recover lost files just like yours.. in fact, I believe its name is
"RECOVER"..
The problem will be finding a copy of the program for you. I'm not
sure if we have it in our library here or not.. (I do know that I
should have it here at home somewhere, but my ST is not working at the
moment, so I can't search my disks.. :(
This program will let you look at the sectors on a disk, one by one,
and decide whether it's a part of your original file.. if it is, it
will copy the sector into a buffer, and when you've found all you can,
it will write the buffer back to a disk as a new file. It can be a
long, painful process, but it CAN recover most, or all, of a lost file
like yours.
I'll see if I can locate the program for you...
Another thing that might be useful to check into is using a
commercially available disk utility program like Diamond Edge to try
to recover the sectors of your file. I don't know if this is
specifically among its capabilities, but it would be worth looking
into.
A number of our members use Diamond Edge, and can probably tell us if
it would help you get your file back.
The good news is that I've done exactly the same thing myself, more
than once.. (!), and have managed to get most of my work back this
way."
Carl Barron chimes in and posts:
"I dl'ed a bunch of 'file recovery' routines the other day, after
finding that a file that I just wrote contained a bad sector. These
include dcsalvage.arc, recover.arc, salvage.arc, disksave.arc If these
are not here [they were downloaded from the 'competition'] holler....
diamond edge has a 'simple' recover deleted file function, as well as
its 'mirror' file recovery system. This function assumes the media
is perfect...."
Bob Retelle tells Carl:
"I did find the RECOVER program that I was thinking of in the library
here.. I was hoping that maybe Diamond Edge, or another commercial
program might have a similar function as it might be easier to use or
maybe more well documented for someone who's not really familiar with
the internal structure of a disk...
Thanks for the offer of the other programs too.. if RECOVER doesn't
work for Mary's problem, maybe we could try some of those...
Mary,
I found the utility I'd mentioned here in our Software Library #4...
it's name is RECOVR.ARC
It may be a long shot, but it might help you get some of your file
back."
Mary tells Bob and Albert:
"I thank you kindly. It was a hard disk, and I haven not saved
anything to that sector since the stupidity ensued. Time and effort
are not an issue if I can save anything, and I'm very grateful for the
advice. Very. I've been meaning to get a Diamond Utility, but, well,
you know, put it off... I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks
again."
Albert asks Mary:
"How big is the partition that the file is in? If you have Supra hard
disk utilities like SUP EDIT you can view each sector in a GEM window.
If you don't have it you can download a copy of the SUPRA hard disk
utilities in the (GO ATARIVEN). You can then write down all the
sectors that have information that looks like part of your file."
Jonnie Santos asks:
"Would anyone happen to know what the folder limit is for TOS 1.62
(Rainbow TOS) for the STe?
I'm wondering if I should continue to use FOLDRXXX.PRG or the extra
folder switch that comes with the ICD utilities.
Inquiring minds would love to know... <grin>"
Albert Dayes tells Jonnie:
"I don't think it matters which one you use ICD's or FOLDERXXX.PRG.
They both do the same thing. Just make sure you are using one or the
other all the time."
Sysop Bob Retelle adds:
"The program code in the newer versions of TOS are a lot better at
freeing up the memory pool used by directories and folders, but since
that memory is used by a lot of things, it's still safer if you use a
utility like FOLDERXXX to expand the amount of memory available for
folders.
If you have a lot of memory in your STe, it makes good sense to use a
little of it as "insurance"."
Henri Tremblay asks:
"Does Atari Works really require 2 megs of RAM? I suppose you need
that space to use Speedo GDOS. Too bad I only have an old 1040.
Atari should offer an ST-to-Falcon exchange because I miss the extra
RAM when looking at new software."
Brian Gockley of ST Informer tells Henri:
"I think you could run it _without- Speedo on a 1040? But you couldn't
print."
Sysop Jeff Kovach adds:
"I believe that Atari Works also requires a hard drive. I've heard
that it creates a CLIPBRD folder on the C: drive, and bombs if the C:
drive doesn't exist. If this is true, one might be able to get around
it by creating a C: ramdisk."
Brian tells Jeff:
"Yeah, a hard drive is really a necessity for _a lot_ of programs
nowadays."
Jonnie Santos asks for help:
"My old Supra used to make this god awful whirring noise when it got
hot. I ended up putting an even noisier fan in it to help the whine.
Supra explained it as some type of grounding strap.
Well folks, my new Quantum drive is just starting to do this
intermittently. I tell you it's unnerving and since you don't know when
the noise will start it can really stifle one's creativity.
Any suggestions out there, please?"
Mike Mortilla tells Jonnie:
"I've been using a Quantum 85 for a couple of months now and don't
notice any noise. Could the drive be defective? I have a low profile
model and don't think it has a fan (it doesn't seem to need one!)
If the drive doesn't get hot (or the power supply) maybe the fan can
be disconnected? I also use 44 Syquests and they are noisy as heck!
But I don't use them for music applications (ie-on my sampler or Stacy
(it has a quiet Connor drive)."
Kris Gasteiger tells Jonnie:
"The info about the grounding strap was correct. As I understand it,
there is a copper strap that is held in contact with the spindle of
your hard drive to dissipate static build up. Friction is the cause of
the noise. The fixes I've heard about tend to be temporary.
One fix, is to put an extremely tiny drop of oil on the end of the
spindle contacted by the ground strap. Oil attracts dirt, so the less
oil, the better.
The other fix involves loosening the strap.
I've even heard recommendations to throw it out all together.
Any of these "fixes" are temporary at best, and you are probably
better off backing up the drive, and replacing it. (expensive, I know,
but what's your data worth?) Then again, maybe you could stuff the
drive into a down pillow..."
John Daniano of Transierra has a cute suggestion:
"Why not completely soak the outside of the disk drive with oil. That
way all dirt would be attracted to the outside of the drive and none
would reach the vital interior mechanisms. Sort of like a foam
motorcycle air filter."
Jonnie joins in the fun and tells John:
"No, no, no... I'm building an oil bath and will run the drive fully
submerged.
Seriously though - mechanical devices have too much personality.
There's always something to watch out for or rather wait for to happen
to. Oh well, such is life."
Kris Gasteiger tells John (Damiano):
"Only one problem I can think of... the spindle, it breaches the case,
the spindle bearing is the seal, and the oil would probably seep in,
causing head crashes. (Talk about headaches...<G>).
Now, if the whole thing were sealed in a filtered oil bath, things
might never squeal, but I imagine the drive would have problems due to
the viscosity of the oil (it would slow down the seek rate, platter,
and probably the heads would float A LOT higher off the platter
surface. There may even be a cavitation problem... Nasty that, can eat
poorly designed bridge abutments in no time, probably could chew up
drive heads as easily.).
I look forward to multi-megabyte, solid state, non volatile storage.
It can't be to far in the future."
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Kris:
"Coincidentally I was just reading an article about high-capacity hard
drives, and liquid filled drives are one of the things that the
manufacturers are looking into..
Apparently the liquid would allow the heads to float much closer to
the disk platters, allowing a higher signal strength, and thus higher
recording density.
One problem they still haven't solved is centrifugal force tending to
throw the liquid off of the platters to the outside edge.
They need to work out a circulation system that can compensate for
that..
Interesting concept... I wonder if you'd have to change the oil
after every 6 million seeks...?"
John Damiano adds:
"Yeah...STP for your Connor drive. Slick 50 for the old Rodime."
Bob tells John:
"Heh... I've got a couple of good old Rodimes that could use a shot of
Slick 50..!
They sound like my Toyota's front wheel bearings..."
Jonnie Santos tells us more about his hard drive problem:
"It's a brand new drive and I'm thinking maybe it's just going through
a break-in period.
Why? Because my old Supra behaved that way when it was used for
prolonged periods of time (it didn't have a fan in it until I got
CREATIVE).
And this drive has made the noise very briefly - maybe 6 times since
I've had it. All the times it's done it is within the first few hours
of operation. I let the thing run all weekend and no problem at all.
I've got Diamond Back II and will back up everything this evening. If
it makes the noise again I will ship it back. I talked to them on
their BBS and in person and both times they have been very nice and
very professional and have told me I can send it back and they'll
check it out.
My concern sending it back with an intermittent problem is that it's
been my experience in the past that intermittent problems drive
technicians absolutely up the wall. They're very hard to detect and
very hard to get the problem to demonstrate itself upon command. The
tech ends up thinking you're looney-tunes and you end up angry. I've
been through these type of issues with Hi-Fi equipment and Cars and
until the problem is blatantly obviously it's a headache trying to get
it serviced.
Your input is graciously accepted. At least you didn't tell me I
should of saved my money and bought Big Blue! <grin> ...I hear
enough of that at work any time I buy something for my STe!"
John tells us about one innovative "fix" for these hard drives:
"Dave Small (of Gadgets by Small) said he used to shoot his bad HD's.
He said he powered them up and shot them with an assault rifle of some
sort. He also said they put on a good show after you did that."
From the Atari ST Arts Forum
============================
Greg Wageman tells Sysop-meister, Ron Luks:
"Some time ago you asked for comments about the use of company vs.
individual names within the forums. I've given this issue some
thought, and here are my comments.
As far back as I can remember, these forums have had a policy against
the use of "handles" or nicknames for individuals, requesting that we
instead use our full names. Never having gotten into "handles"
(except for a brief stint on CB radio [the real thing, not the
simulation :-) ]) I have never had any objection to this policy, and
in fact I support it.
It seems to me that when individuals are posting their personal
opinions about matters completely unrelated to product support, they
ought to be posting under their own names. Posting personal diatribes
under "Computer Merkin Inc." in my opinion violates the restriction on
handles. If Joe Righteous is posting his opinions, he should do it as
Joe Righteous.
It is particularly annoying to me, when as many as three or four
individuals are posting from the same account; it makes it
particularly difficult to engage in a coherent discussion when the
"face" behind the name keeps changing.
Of course these comments do NOT extend to customer support issues,
which I feel ARE best served by an official company account regardless
of how many people use it. I am only concerned with people posting
individual opinions under the masthead of a company identity.
I will make it my personal policy to assume that anything posted
under an a company's name can be taken to be the official position of
that company, just as I bear the responsibility for postings bearing
my name and PPN."
Mike Mortilla tells Greg:
"I recently commented on the following handle:
-User Name- [Atari]
I was convinced that the guy represented Atari. I guess it indicates
he is *USING* an Atari, but he speaks with a certain "authority" and
many (myself included) have asked ???s related to Atari practices,
availability, etc., and he answered as straight as an Atari rep might.
I don't know the history of this type of handle usage, but it would
seem that it is misleading in the current situation. I won't log a
complaint (I really don't care) but I will be sure to ask in the
future, if someone is an "official" rep for company or not.
BTW, if you're interested in the thread, it's in the MIDI Users forum,
atari section under the thread: In a Huff, Over Puff.'
Albert Dayes of At... oh heck, if you don't know who Albert is by
now, you're in bad shape... anyway, Albert tells Mike:
"I thought some of the [NAME] indicates what forum someone is from. I
know some sysops use that method around Compuserve when they are in a
different forum other than their own."
Ron Luks tells Greg:
"I agree that personal diatribes under corporate accounts are often and
correctly taken as corporate statements. This rarely happens outside
of the Atari forums (in my experience) but when it does, it should
CLEARLY state that this is a personal opinion and not a corporate
statement.
We are working towards clarification along the lines you suggested.
Thanks for the feedback."
Bob Ledbetter asks:
"Would someone please tell me the differences between EditTrack II,
EditTrack Gold, and EditTrack Platinum?"
Mike Mortilla tells Bob:
"They're all different releases of the same program. Editrack II is
fairly outdated. Editrack Gold was the release just before platinum
and while the program works quite well, it is not the currently
distributed version. Platinum geos for about $199 list. Gold was about
$100 and I think II was about $60.
If you starting out and can get a used or "left over inventory" of
Gold you'll be a happy camper. But you'll probably want to upgrade for
all the cool features in Platinum. I think there is a demo version in
the MIDIAVEN forum (Barefoot) which is fully functional except for the
SAVE feature. I can't think of a better way of finding out if you want
to buy it! And the author is the section SYSOP (Stefan Daystrom) so
any ???s can go directly to the guy who would know <g>.
BTW, why didn't you use the MIDI/Music area of the Atariarts forum?
It sure gets lonely over there."
Lee Seiler at Lexicor Software tells us:
"Just as a matter of interest Atari will be featured as part of a
counter point to Microsoft NT, in an up coming PBS program. It is
Computer Chronicles seen here in the SF Bay Area on Friday and
Saturday.
So there are some Atari developers who have managed to demonstrate
that the ATARI can hold it's own, In fact now that I think about
it...it's sorta interesting that Atari would be considered a competitive
point for NT.
I would think that if Developers can generate National and
international exposure like this then the Platform can not be all that
dead?"
From the Atari Vendors Forum
============================
Donny Leggett asks:
"Can anyone give me the address and or phone # of a vendor that can
repair a MEGA2 for a reasonable cost and/or sell me a TT030 for a good
price..."
Ron Luks asks Donny:
"Where (geographically) are you located? (East coast, west coast,
etc....)
Also-- what's wrong with the Mega2? It may or may not be worth
repairing depending on the problem."
Donny tells Ron:
"I'm located in Yuma, Arizona....i know the floppy is fried.. but I
tried the floppy in my ST, no good..didn't work.. and the guy that
gave me the Mega said the GLU chip would freak out every now and then..
but now its just dead..but then again..his wife threw the Mega2 across
a room before he gave it to me(LONGGG story..) Any help u can give me
would be great...."
Ron tells Donny:
"Sysop*Jeff Kovach in Atari8 and Atariarts is located in Arizona. Drop
him a note and I'm sure he can point you in the right direction. (I'm
on the east coast and can't help much)"
Donny adds:
"I'm interested in buying a TT030. The problem is I've never read a
review or even heard that much about the machine, only that it exits..
If anyone out there can give me some tech specs or even give me your
review of the machine would be great.. Also i've heard of the STBook,
i'd like info on this also..if u have it.. And also if anyone has a
phone# to a vendor that sell either of the two,so much the better...
Thanx....Once again..."
Ron tells Donny:
"The STBook was never sold in the USA. It was sold briefly in Europe
before it was cancelled totally. I'd suggest avoiding it like the
plague.
The TT is now being used as the development machine for the upcoming
Jaguar game unit. When it was first introduced, it received a lot of
criticism for its lack of compatibility with existing ST/STe software.
It was effective 'cancelled' by Atari Corp and only got a second life
as the Jaguar development machine. I don't have a TT but a few of our
members did purchase one. I'll let them tell you its good points.
Personally, I can't think of any myself."
John Trautschold of Missionware Software tells Ron:
"You can't think of any good points about the TT??? My oh My...
True, there were a lot of compatibility problems between game software
and the TT, but then the TT wasn't designed to run games. It was
designed to run professional, business software, and for that it
succeeds tremendously.
The TT is fast - amazingly fast, and even faster if you add in a
screen accelerator program like Warp 9.
Have you ever seen the TT drive a large monitor like the TTM195?
That's 1280 x 960 resolution, and for programs like PageStream,
Calamus, DynaCADD, Flash II, Lattice C, and on and on and on, it
really smokes. I would never want to go back again to a straight 8 MHz
ST for running those programs again. The TT runs at 33 MHz using a
68030 processor. For its price, it beats any other Atari computer
hands-down. Heck, it even beats most DOS machines running Windows
(and I'm talking 486 DX - 33MHz machines).
I run AutoCAD a lot at work on my 486DX-33MHz PC. Yea, it's ok, but
it doesn't even compare to DynaCADD on the TT. Not even close.
Try redrawing a screen in MS Word for Windows. Time the speed of the
redraw. Then time the speed of a redraw under PageStream with Warp 9
running in the background. There's no comparison.
Ever try changing a HD in a clone? After disassembling the entire
box and taking apart a myriad of wires, you finally get to the HD.
Fine. Put the new one in and try setting it up. After fooling around
for maybe a half hour to and hour (if you know what you're doing)
fiddling with CMOS setup, etc, you may get it all to work. On the TT
all you need to do is remove one screw. The entire HD bay pops out.
Disconnect the cables, put the new HD in and reconnect the cables.
Put the HD bay back in and screw it down. Power the machine up and it
*automatically* recognizes the new drive, size and type. That's nice -
and we can thank SCSI for that.
Oh, I could go on and on, but I won't. :-) Obviously you've never
had a chance to play with a TT. That's too bad because you don't know
what you're missing. Sheldon Winick, owner of Computer Studio in
Asheville, NC, sold (and still sells) a lot of TTs. Why, because they
are the best darn computer Atari ever made. We all wish Atari had
marketed it better, but then again the same could be said for all of
their products. If you can get your hands on a TT - DO IT! It's well
worth the investment."
From the Atari Portfolio Forum
==============================
The Big Cahoona himself, Master Sysop Ron Luks posts:
"It's time to make some changes in the online support for our favorite
Atari Portfolio palmtop computer.
Although we have long maintained Portfolio support in a stand alone
forum, I no longer think that this policy is in the best interest of
Portfolio owners and CompuServe customers.
Henceforth, we will be closing down the Atari Portfolio Forum and
merging its activity into the more generic Palmtop Forum in the next
few weeks. (Target date for the merger is October 22nd or shortly
thereafter.)
I consider this a 'win-win' situation for Portfolio owners. There
will be a distinct message section and library for The Atari
Portfolio. All our current Portfolio files will be transferred to the
new forum. (Unfortunately, there is no way to move the existing
message threads, so we'll have to begin them anew.)
Your favorite sysops (BJ, Marty and Judy) will be available in the
Palmtop forum to help with your Portfolio questions and you will also
have access to the largest universe of palmtop computer enthusiasts
available on any online service. Don Thomas from Atari Corp has
indicated that he will be happy to "move over" to our new support area
and continue his participation.
During the "moving period" you will see some consolidation and "dust
flying" in this forum. We regret this, but there is no other way to
facilitate the move process.
If you have any questions, please send them to me and I will promise
you a prompt reply."
Ken Lepper tells us:
"OK....I've been away from the forums for a while. What's a Jaguar?
(Besides a very big and fast cat that can have a nasty temper and bite
your head off for breakfast)..."
Ron Luks fills Ken in:
"Jaguar is the name of Atari Corps new videogame console. Its a
64-bit RISC chip unit that is rumored to have outstanding graphics at
a $200 price tag.
Of course, software is the key element in this picture. The
competition is a 3DO unit at $700 and a unit from Silicon
Graphics/Nintendo with a price of around $250. (just announced)
Atari is in partnership with IBM who will actually manufacture the
game unit. That's the good news.
Atari will be in control of the sales and marketing and software
support for the unit. That's the "other" news.
Jaguar discussions take place in the JAGUAR section of the Atari8
Forum (soon to be renamed ATARIGAMES FORUM)."
Ken thanks Ron and asks the sixty-four thousand dollar question:
"Thank you. What is Atari's direction these days? I still have an 8
year old 520ST jammed with 4 meg of memory and lots of extras that I
use, although I spend most of my time in the PC world now due to its
success and my business requirements. I also continue to use my
Portfolio. I am trying out a Psion3a which has a better display and
some nice scheduling functions, but I don't think that it is any more
functional overall than the Port."
Ron tells Ken:
"It *looks* like they are going into videogames almost exclusively,
but you never know what they are really doing........"
Neil Gaiman tells us:
"It's been ages since I've done anything exciting with my Portfolio, and
have decided that it's time to get another card. The current one is
128K and it's just too small. What size, how much and what's the
easiest place to get them, should I want to upgrade...?"
Ron tells Neil:
"Currently, the 128k card is still the biggest SRAM card available for
the Portfolio. There is a bigger FLASH RAM card (512k) from Optrol
but it has some peculiarities attached to it...
FLASH RAM does not work the same as SRAM. (i.e.- when you delete a
file, you don't get the space back. You have to run a compression
utility to get back the space from deleted files.) peculiarities.
We've heard no problems about reliability so far and FLASH RAM cards
are appearing for other palmtop units (the Newton, the Psions)."
Mark Reeves posts:
"The OPTROL Flash cards are back at the end of this month, yes that's
right 1M, 2M, and even the elusive 4M card.. More details forth
coming..."
Miles Taub asks:
"Does anyone know of a utility that will convert an .ADR file to a
file that can be read by Commence 2.0?"
JF Davington tells Miles:
"I am not familiar with Commence but if it recognizes comma delimited
fields there are three or four utilities up in the libs that will make
a comma delimited format file from an .ADR file. I wrote two of them.
Check out CSVCVRT.ZIP, it offers 4 different field patterns and works
both on the Port and a PC."
Well folks, that's it for this week...hmmmm, about 29k long this week?!?
Well, I guess that when you've got good material, its hard to stop. At
any rate, that's it for this week. Be sure to stop by again and have a
heapin' helpin' of their hospitality (can you tell that I'm a product of
the TV age?) And always remember to listen to what they are saying
when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
______________________________________________
> FRONT & CENTER STR Feature Takin' a look!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
What's Happening at Atari?
==========================
By Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
Editor, Current Events
A compilation of some of the more interesting questions and answers from
the 10/1/93 "Dateline Atari! with Bob Brodie" conference on the GEnie
ST RT. Captures of the conference were furnished to STReport by one of
our readers.
The main thrust of Bob's introductory comments were devoted to the Jag-
uar. Programmers, game testers, artists, and musicians are all working
hard to get the Jaguar ready for its first deliveries next month.
Bob mentioned that the Jaguar had a full four color page layout in the
Cutting Edge feature of the October issue of Game Pro magazine. Also,
The Die Hard Game Fan magazine, as of issue #11, will be beginning a new
section called "Jaguar's Domain". Bob said, "The Jaguar's Domain also
features a four page, full color layout of screen shots from Jaguar tit-
les including Raiden, Tiny Toons, Crescent Galaxy, Club Drive, Cyber-
morph, and more."
While many of the gamers magazines seem to be excited about the Jaguar,
one, EGM, seems to be biased against Atari. Bob said he's talked with
the people at EGM and hope that things get better. He feels that part of
the problem "might be that there are a number of people there that are
former employees of Atari, including the publisher." But with EGM's sis-
ter publication attacking the president of Atari, Bob doesn't think that
he has a lot of leverage to change things though.
Bob was asked about when the Jaguars will be shipping and where they'll
be shipped to and if there will be a 800 line available (like the LYNX
had) for people to order who don't live in the initial test markets.
When asked if Dallas might be a third test market for the Jaguar, Bob
did not reply. But he did say that there hasn't been any consumer runs
produced yet, only a pilot production run. However, there are now enough
units available to send to current and potential developers to use and/
or evaluate. He wouldn't say when the first consumer run will be made
but felt the system will be available for purchase the weekend after
Thanksgiving. Atari feels they can sell at least 50,000 Jaguar units be-
fore the holiday season ends.
The retailers don't want the Jaguar to sell via a 800 line - at least,
not at first. But there will be a help line "to give out hints, tips,
and easter eggs."
When asked about the rumors that some mail order houses are currently
taking orders for the Jaguar, Bob said that Atari will not be selling to
any of the mail order firms this year. However, there is a chance that
some units might be sold via the mail order route. And there's a possib-
ility "that at least one of the retailers will, over our objections, try
to go national with their units. Bob also said that he felt the rumor
that Atari had purchased a display section at Toys 'R Us wasn't true.
What about censoring violent or sexually orientated games? Bob replied
that while there are no current plans to censor any titles, so far there
are no titles that might cause censorship problems.
What's the price of the Jaguar going to be? How about the rumor floating
around one of the mags that say the 'JagCD' might cost $350? According
to Bob, Atari doesn't expect that the Jaguar's CD units to cost $350 but
he wouldn't say what prices that the Jaguar (with and without CD units)
would be selling for.
Are there any advanced controllers in the Jaguars future? While Bob was
not aware of Atari planning any such controller, one game developer he's
spoke to plans on selling a new controller along with his fighting game
- a game that competes with Street Fighter II.
- Now for some Falcon030 and general information -
How about a CD Rom for the Falcon that would be evolved from the low-
cost Jaguar CD Rom? How about the SCSI to DMA board so SLM owners can
use their laser printers on the Falcon? Is Atari developing CD's for the
STe and/or Falcon?
According to Bob, "the interface for the Jaguar CD ROM is different from
the Falcons, so I don't see that as a common project." The Falcon030 can
use industry standard CD ROMs _right now_ via the SCSI port. Also, while
Atari is creating a developer CD for the Falcon, he doesn't feel that
Atari has enough manpower to do other types of CD's, he says there are
developers with CD ROM products for the Atari Falcon030. After speaking
with Bill Rehbock, he feels that a solution to the SCSI/DMA problem is
close to being solved.
Will TOS 5.0 be only for the Falcon or will it be for general use like
TOS 2.06? Bob wasn't positive what will happen but he doesn't expect it
to be in EPROM or ROM form, and does expect it to be "Multi-TOS" like.
As far as price cuts for the Falcon030, Bob doesn't feel that there are
any current plans to do so.
Will Atari have a booth at CES? According to Bob, Terry Valeski, the re-
cently hired marketing director, "is hard at work on a number of things,
including the CES Show. I don't know where our booth will be, but I'm
sure we will have a very big presence at the show. We really want to
show the Jaguar off in a big way at this show."
____________________________________________________
> Atari Classics STR InfoFile
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
ATARI CLASSICS UPDATE
=====================
OCTOBER, 1993
Hello peoples, just thought I'd say a few things about ATARI CLASSICS
Magazine.
First, the February '93 Back Issue of AC is sold out. Sorry, no more
left, do not order them. Back Issue sales generally have tended to keep
pace with the growth of the magazine, which as of today stands at about
530 paid subscribers. I still have a goodly supply of all other Back
Issues of the magazine, but Back Issues of the AC Software Disks are now
running low.
Despite severe problems/delays caused by this nasty flu thing that's
going around (it hit both me & our Publisher at about the same time, not
fun!), the October AC is pretty much on track. It is presently at the
printer, & we expect the press run to be released about Oct. 18. Our
mailer will likely have it posted by Oct. 20, which means 90% of readers
will probably have it in their hands by Oct. 30. A tad later than I'd
like, but not too bad considering the recent ravages of Nature.
The October AC contains a few new directions I hope readers will like,
including two interesting photo-essay articles, a new Columnist, & last
but not least the triumphant return of The 8-Bit Alchemist with a neat
little audio hack for the XL/XE.
About 70% of our total subscription base expires this month. Nearly 400
renewal notices were sent out to those folks during the last week of
September. I am pleased to say that as of this date roughly 40% of our
original core subscribers have renewed. Renewal orders are coming in
quite a bit faster than I anticipated, which I hope means our readers are
satisfied with the value of the publication. Some of the little notes of
praise & encouragement penned in the margins of the subscription forms
are very heartwarming. Many former subscribers who did not take our Disk
are now adding the Disk to their renewal-- most gratifying. We are
looking for a 90% renewal rate by December 1 to keep the mag going on a
sound financial basis. If the present trend of renewals continues I
think we will have no problem!
The October AC Software Disk was mailed out Oct.8-9. I anticipate the
Disk will be 95% delivered by October 16. As of this date AC has
approximately 325 Disk subscribers.
I am now commencing production on the December AC. This will be a very
special issue. Bob Woolley & I began laying plans for this issue nearly
a year ago. The major focus will be on 8-bit video. Those of you who
liked my SuperVideo 2.0 in Current Notes a few years will *LOVE* the
December AC! Would you believe, SuperVideo 2.1XL? Yep, I improved it.
And transplanted it to the 600XL & the 1200XL. You XE people, never
fear, Charles Cole will present Super Video for the XE. Bob Woolley will
blow your mind with a wonderful article on how to hook up BOTH your XEP80
AND your 40-column output to a TTL monitor, for ALL the 8-bit machines.
Jeff Potter has contributed a really neat little BASIC prg that lets you
properly adjust your color pot, & I'll be following that up with a
hardware tutorial on how the color circuit works. To round things out we
have a Contributing Author who describes how he got his 8-bit to work
with a multi-sync monitor, & I'll present REV 2.0 of my infamous
80-Column Switcher. And finally it is rumored that our mysterious
Fitting Room columnist will have something to blend with our December
video theme.
What with all the photographs, schematics, & circuit board diagrams, the
editing job facing me in the next 4 weeks is staggering. I will do my
best to present this material on time, & with the best possible graphics.
With the December issue of AC it is our intention to write the final
chapter on video hardware in our Classic machines. Stuff that has been
competently tested, & WORKS. You hackers out there will have enough
material in the December AC to burn out several soldering irons during
the coming winter.
Ahhh... but if you don't renew-- or you don't subscribe at all-- you will
miss the boat.
BEN POEHLAND
The 8-Bit Alchemist & Managing Editor,
ATARI CLASSICS Magazine
179 Sproul Road/Rt. 352
Frazer, PA 19355-1958 USA
poehland@smithkline.com
or
poehland%phvax.dnet@smithkline.com
______________________________________________________
> EASY UPGRADE STR InfoFil
e Upgrade Warp 9 "The Easy Way"
-------------------------
For immediate release
CodeHeadQuarters
Friday, October 7, 1993
--------------------------
.......................................
: :
: CodeHead Technologies announces :
: A New Update Policy for Warp 9 :
: :
:.....................................:
You asked and we listened!
Many of our customers have asked for an easier way to obtain their Warp 9
upgrades. Until now, we've required the return of your original disk in
order to receive most upgrades.
Effective immediately, CodeHead Technologies will accept upgrade orders
from registered owners of Warp 9 without the return of your original disk.
Upgrade orders may be placed in E-Mail on GEnie, Compuserve, Delphi, our
own BBS, by phone, FAX, or mail. All that is required is that we have
proof of your ownership of Warp 9 by one of the following means:
1. Inclusion in our database from your registration card.
2. Direct purchase with an invoice from CodeHead.
3. Return of original disk.
4. Receipt from a dealer showing Warp 9 purchase.
If you have any questions, give us a call. We value our customers'
satisfaction and listen to your suggestions. The Warp 9 v3.80 upgrade is
$25 plus $3 shipping ($4 Canada, $6 overseas). It comes on two disks,
includes dozens of interesting and entertaining screensaver modules, and
now has Falcon and SpeedoGDOS compatibility. For more information about
the features of Warp 9 v3.80, read the online press release that was
issued as W9UPDATE.TXT on September 17, 1993.
For more information, contact:
CodeHead Technologies
PO Box 74090
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Tel (213) 386-5735 Mon-Fri 9AM-1PM
Fax (213) 386-5789
BBS (213) 461-2095
GEnie: J.EIDSVOOG1
Compuserve: 76004,2232
Delphi: EIDSVOOG
_________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"
"""""""""""""""""""""
- New York City, NY ATARI STOCK GOES CRAZY!
-----------------
*--* 10-15-93 - 10:25:39am *--*
atc 7.250 + 0.500 at 10:12 on 619600 shares
While finishing the day's trading at a over twice the number of
shares indicated and at least close to two million shares by the time the
bell rang, observers could only guess at the causes of the action. The
major speculation is twofold. One is a major bond issue, and the second
and far more believable is that there may be a much anticipated and
overdue announcement forthcoming relative to the control of the company.
Many insiders have indicated "it was time for a change" and some
have stated the company and its developed technology was indeed for sale.
Meanwhile, it was also rumored that, incredibly, Atari would not be
attending Comdex Fall'93 in Vegas. Of course, that can change but for
the time being, this seems to be the case.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> A "Quotable Quote" "Christmas '93 will tell the tale!"
"""""""""""""""""
"....about product acceptance, THE HOLIDAY SALES"
ARE the TALE OF THE TAPE!"
..from "Tracking TOP Sales Records"
====**====
Q: What's the difference between Jurassic Park and IBM?
A: One is a complex and expensive theme park, filled with dinosaurs and
unreliable equipment... and the other is a Steven Spielberg movie...
.....(Stolen by) Nadine
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> DEALER CLASSIFIED LIST STR InfoFile * Dealer Listings *
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ---------------
ABCO COMPUTER INC.
==================
P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155
Est. 1985
1-904-783-3319
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
MAIL ORDER SERVICE WORLDWIDE
IBM/MSDOS-PC-CLONES-MAC-AMIGA-ATARI
CUSTOM, MADE TO ORDER HARDWARE
SOFTWARE, SUPPLIES & INSTRUCTION
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
COMPUTER STUDIO
===============
WESTGATE SHOPPING CENTER
40 Westgate Parkway - Suite D
Asheville, NC 28806
1-800-253-0201
Orders Only
1-704-251-0201
Information
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
EAST HARTFORD COMPUTER
======================
202 Roberts St.
East Hartford CT. 06108
1-203-528-4448
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
MEGABYTE COMPUTERS
==================
907 Mebourne
Hurst, TX 76053
1-817-589-2950
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
SAN JOSE COMPUTER
=================
1278 Alma Court
San Jose, CA. 95112
1-408-995-5080
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
CompuSeller West
================
220-1/2 W. Main St.
St. Charles, IL., 60174
Ph. (708) 513-5220
FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(DEALERS; to be listed here, please drop us a line.)
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport International Online Magazine
-* [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport *-
AVAILABLE ON OVER 20,000 PRIVATE BBS SYSTEMS
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STR Online! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" October 15, 1993
Since 1987 copyright (c) 1987-93 All Rights Reserved No.9.42
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
All Items quoted, in whole or in part, are done so under the provisions
of The Fair Use Law of The Copyright Laws of the U.S.A. Views, Opinions
and Editorial Articles presented herein are not necessarily those of the
editors/staff of STReport International Online Magazine. Permission to
reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Reprints
must, without exception, include the name of the publication, date, issue
number and the author's name. STR, STReport and/or portions therein may
not be edited in any way without prior written permission. STR, STReport,
at the time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate. STR,
STReport, its staff and contributors are not and cannot be held
responsible in any way for the use or misuse of information contained
herein or the results obtained therefrom.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
