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Silicon Times Report Issue 1024
SILICON TIMES REPORT
====================
INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
=============================
from
STR Electronic Publishing Inc.
June 10, 1994 No. 1024
======================================================================
Silicon Times Report
International Online Magazine
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155
R.F. Mariano
Publisher-Editor
-----------------------------------------
Voice: 1-904-783-3319 10am-4pm EST
STR Publishing Support BBS Network System
* THE BOUNTY BBS *
ITCNet 85:881/253 JAX HUB ~ FNET 350 ~ Nest 90:21/350
904-786-4176 MULTI-NODE 24hrs-7 days
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Hayes Optima V.FC Data/FAX
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FAX: 904-783-3319 12am-6am EST
-----------------------------------------
Fido 1:374/147.3 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
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MNET - Toad Hall BBS.....................1-617-567-8642
______________________________________________________________________
> 06/10/94 STR 1024 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
"""""""""""""""""
- CPU INDUSTRY REPORT - Influence Released - Word Perfect NEWS
- Fatty Bear Review - AMD Intros RISC Chip - DOS 6.22 Adds Comp.
- ZOOM CUTS PRICES! - CIS TOPS 2M Subs! - CN CutBacks!!
- COREL 5 Features! - People Talking - STR Confidential!
-* HP Unveils Large-Format COLOR Printer! *-
-* Apple Stock Rated 'AVOID'! *-
-* Gates to Give Away His Fortune! *-
======================================================================
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 BBS, invites all BBS systems, worldwide, to
participate in the ITC/PROWL/USENET/NEST/F-Net/Fido Mail Networks. You
may also call The Bounty BBS direct @ 1-904-786-4176. Enjoy the wonder
and excitement of exchanging all types of useful information relative to
all computers, worldwide, through the use of excellent International
Networking Systems. SysOps, worldwide, are welcome to join the STReport
International Conferences. ITC Node is 85:881/250, The Fido Node is
1:374/147.3, Crossnet Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is #620. All
computer platforms and BBS systems are welcome and invited to participate.
======================================================================
CIS ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX ~ PROWL ~ ITC ~ NEST ~ EURONET ~ CIX
USENET ~ USPOLNET ~ CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET ~ FNET ~ AOL
======================================================================
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 is at its very best!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""
Summer has certainly arrived around here, the Bar-B-Qs are going full
blast every weekend and the pool parties are splashin' away. Summer fun
is usually the most memorable fun so please, those of you with youngsters
when it comes to water sports and fun keep an "eye" on those young'uns.
The computing picture around the world is slowly turning to the
clone, Windows 4, Microsoft etc. The popular vote is really in. That
vote was cast by you, the paying consumer. As such, you forked over more
dough for the PC and its related products than any other platform. And I
might add, you did it with rather big numbers. Unless things change
dramatically, the five year stretch will show the final shakeout. That is
unless the holdouts for niche markets finally get with the program. Wall
Street is already making its feelings about the future computing marketplace
well known. Its mentioned elsewhere in this issue.
Companies are merging, buying each other out and joining forces.
This is great as far as the consumer is concerned. You'll soon be seeing
more products with greater power than you can imagine with better pricing.
Like the man says, hang in there you ain't seen nuthin' yet.
Ralph....
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
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. Niles J. Deegan D. P. Jacobson
STReport Staff Editors:
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Michael Arthur John Deegan Brad Martin
John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando
Doyle Helms Frank Sereno John Duckworth
Jeff Coe Steve Keipe Guillaume Brasseur
Melanie Bell Jay Levy Jeff Kovach
Marty Mankins Carl Prehn Paul Charchian
Contributing Correspondents:
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Tim Holt Norman Boucher Clemens Chin
Eric Jerue Ron Deal Mike Barnwell
Ed Westhusing Glenwood Drake Vernon W.Smith
Bruno Puglia Paul Haris Kevin Miller
Craig Harris Allen Chang Dominick J. Fontana
IMPORTANT NOTICE
""""""""""""""""
Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
via E-Mail to:
Compuserve................... 70007,4454
America Online..................STReport
Delphi......................... RMARIANO
BIX............................ RMARIANO
FIDONET..................... 1:347/147.3
FNET........................... NODE 350
ITC NET...................... 85:881/253
NEST........................ 90:21/350.0
GEnie......................... ST-REPORT
Internet.............RMARIANO@DELPHI.COM
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
"""""""""""""""""
IBM/POWER-PC/PC SECTION (I)
===========================
Computer Products Update - CPU Report
------------------------ ----------
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Issue #24
By: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
******* General Computer News *******
** 'Influence', the Influential Pen Now Available **
With so many controversial issues now being debated in Washington, more
Americans than ever want to participate in the decisions made on Capitol
Hill. Influence*, a new IBM compatible software program from Double
Diamond Technologies, Inc., assists concerned citizens and interest groups
in quickly and effectively lobbying their representatives at the federal,
state and local levels.
Influence includes a FREE Ready-lists* directory (regularly $29.95)
containing over six hundred names, Washington and local addresses, and
phone and fax numbers for Congress as well as the executive and judicial
branches of the federal government. In addition, users can create their
own directories or purchase any of the fifty Ready-lists state government
directories direct from Double Diamond. Updates for all directories are
available annually.
Influence is a powerful tool for managing address lists and conducting
effective lobbying campaigns. It is also great for personal
correspondence. The built-in word processor lets you easily write and
merge letters. Influence quickly prints standard and custom labels, phone
lists, and reports.
Influence regularly sells for $49.95. However, Influence and the FREE
Ready-lists directory will be available in January 1994 on the Softbank
On-Hand CD-ROM library at the special price of $39.95 (a $79.90 value).
Influence and the FREE Ready-lists directory are available now direct from
Double Diamond at 1-800-532-8788.
** Multimedia Music Company Formed **
Digital Entertainment, a new publisher of multimedia music CD-ROMs, has
been founded as a joint venture between Navarre Corp., a music software
distributor, and CD-ROM developer Digital Cafe Inc.
Digital Entertainment's first release will be Backstage With John Tesh,
a multimedia music CD-ROM featuring the star of Entertainment Tonight. The
disc, which will be formatted for both Macintosh and MPC systems, will be
distributed by Navarre.
The $40 title is scheduled to ship in September. It will contain
various music works by Tesh combined with video and interactive segments
featuring interviews, merchandising sales, sheet music and sound mixing
capabilities.
** Fujitsu Claims Faster DRAM Chip **
What is said to be the world's first 64-megabit synchronous DRAM chip
-- capable of transmitting data two to three times faster than ordinary
64-megabit DRAMs -- has been developed by Fujitsu Ltd.
A Fujitsu spokesman said the chip can transmit 100 megabytes of data a
second and will be used in workstations and mainframe computers.
** 17 Million Multimedia Units Predicted **
A new study, from SIMBA Information, called "Economics of Multimedia
Title Publishing", predicts more than 17 million multimedia-capable PCs
with CD-ROM drives will be installed by the end of 1995. The number of
such systems will increase by about 10 million over the next two years,
the study estimates.
The study also found:
-:- Multimedia PC (MPC) will be the dominant multimedia platform in
1995, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all multimedia-capable PCs.
-:- Macintosh will account for about 32% of the installed base in 1995.
-:- In addition to computers, more than 1.4 million CD- ROM-equipped
video game machines were in use by the end of last year, with the total
expected to increase to 4.9 million by the end of 1995.
The study says SegaCD will be the leading video game multimedia
platform, estimating about 4.9 million SegaCDs will be sold by the end of
1995.
** Book Becomes Magazine and Online Service **
The highly successful "Net Guide," Random House's guide to the features
of cyberspace, now is evolving into a monthly magazine and an online
service.
Rights to the database upon which the book was created have been sold
to CMP Publications Inc., which will use it as the basis for NetGuide
magazine, a monthly listing of the services and entertainment available
online.
The database also will be the center of a "point and click" front-end
to Internet when Michael Wolff & Co., the New York book packager that
created the book, launches its "Your Personal Network" online service this
month.
Net Guide, which was published in January, describes more than 4,000
online sites by address and description in some 400 subject areas. Company
president Michael Wolff said the database contains more than 10,000 sites
and continues to be updated on a daily basis.
CMP says the premier issue of NetGuide magazine will hit newsstands in
November with a December cover date with an estimated initial circulation
of 200,000.
** Firm Promises Online Video Games **
A new company called Catapult Entertainment -- backed by Blockbuster
Entertainment Corp. and Hollywood financiers Marvin and John Davis -- is
planning to enable video-game players to compete via modem.
Reports say the firm plans to sell the service later this year for a $5
to $10 monthly fee.
"Catapult's service would offer customers a chance to put a game in
their Sega or Nintendo game machine, dial into a central data system and
be matched with other customers who own the same game,". The system "will
allow video game enthusiasts to compete from different locations and is
designed to work with most games without modification."
"People have been talking about the potential which could result from
the marriage of Hollywood and Silicon Valley," Marvin Davis, one-time
owner of 20th Century Fox, said. "Catapult's new products, we believe,
demonstrate both the feasibility and the promise of this combination."
Reports say Catapult's modem will be sold to video stores and other
outlets this fall for $40 to $60. Meanwhile, Blockbuster video rental
outlets will sell and rent the modem as a way of encouraging traffic in
its selection of electronic game cartridges.
Catapult President Adam Grosser said the modem and service are expected
to be ready for sale in mid-November, adding the firm estimates average
consumers will pay between 20 and 30 cents per connection to the network,
not counting any long distance telephone tolls.
** HP Unveils Large-Format COLOR Printer **
Hewlett-Packard Co. has announced its first large - format color Adobe
PostScript printer for the graphic arts market -- the HP DesignJet
650C/PS.
The printer can produce full- color output in sizes up to 36 inches
wide by 9 feet long. It's available in two models: D-size (24 inches wide)
for $9,995 and E-size (36 inches wide) for $11,595.
Aimed at graphic designers in a variety of businesses, including
advertising, packaging, publishing and law offices, HP says the product
offers users greater control over artistic creations by allowing
largeformat comps, proofs and presentations to be produced in-house rather
than at a service bureau.
The DesignJet 650C/PS printer offers a 300 dots-per-inch resolution. A
new rendering method, called "scatter halftoning," helps the printer
create consistent area fills.
The printer comes with LocalTalk, EtherTalk, Novell Ethernet, TCP/IP,
Centronics parallel and RS-232-C serial connectivity. Other networks are
supported through HP JetDirect cards. The DesignJet 650C/PS printer
includes 4MB of memory, which can be expanded up to 68MB.
** Gates to Give Away His Fortune **
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, 38, says that when he is in his
50s he plans to start giving away 95% of his vast fortune, currently
estimated at $6.1 billion, to charities and scientific groups.
In an interview in the current issue of Playboy magazine, Gates said he
planned to leave maybe $10 million to his family.
He added, though, "Remember, I don't own dollars. I own Microsoft
stock. So it's only through multiplication that you convert what I own
into some scary number."
** Apple Stock Rated 'AVOID' **
Bear Stearns has downgraded the stock rating of Apple Computer Inc. to
"avoid" from "hold," citing slower demand for new products.
** AMD Introduces New RISC Chip **
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. this week introduced the AM29040 reduced
instruction set computer microprocessor, a chip the company said provides
a substantial increase in embedded system performance while reducing
system costs.
Reports the new microprocessor will be available in 33-megahertz, 40-
megahertz and 50-megahertz operating frequencies.
** New DOS 6.22 Adds Compression **
Another new version of MS-DOS -- this one with Microsoft Corp's own
disk compression technology, "DriveSpace" -- has been introduced by the
Redmond, Wash., software giant.
Two months ago, Microsoft begun shipping DOS 6.21, a product that
provided the same functionality as DOS 6.2 except without the
"DoubleSpace" disk compression utility.
In April, Microsoft included a coupon with DOS 6.21 for this updated
disk compression technology that was expected to be available this month,
following beta-testing.
Microsoft says the new DOS 6.22, with DriveSpace, is shipping to PC
manufacturers and is expected to be available in the channel by mid-month.
Says a company statement, "DriveSpace offers users benefits similar to
those of DoubleSpace, the compression technology that shipped in MS-DOS
versions 6.0 and 6.2. ScanDisk, a utility that detects, diagnoses and
repairs disk errors on uncompressed drives, has been updated to support
DriveSpace drives. DriveSpace also includes DoubleGuard, a feature that
automatically provides an extra layer of protection for users' data."
The upgrade is available for users of MS-DOS 2.11 and higher. The
company also is offering a "Step-Up" that allows current licensed users of
MS-DOS 6.0 and MS-DOS 6.2 to upgrade to MS-DOS 6.22.
** CompuServe Tops 2 Million Members **
CompuServe Inc. says its roster of active accounts has topped 2 million
worldwide, making it the largest active membership of any online service.
And the company says that on average more than 80,000 people join each
month.
** Zoom Drops Prices on 14.4K Modems **
Prices for two of Zoom Telephonics Inc.'s 14,400 bps internal fax
modems, models VFP V32bis and 14.4 PC, have been reduced.
Zoom officials said the new prices will allow many retailers to offer
at least one of the fax modems for $99.
The company also has established a factory upgrade program for its two
28,000 bps fax modems, the internal VFP 28.8 and external VFX 28.8. Zoom
said purchasers of these modems will be able to upgrade them to
incorporate the new V.34 international 28,800 bps data standard for $99
plus shipping and handling soon after the standard is adopted.
** Todd Rundgren Creates Music CD **
Electronic Arts has announced the release of No World Order, an
interactive music CD for the Apple Macintosh CD platform.
No World Order was created by rock musician Todd Rundgren. The software
allows listeners to participate in the creation of the music. The level of
interaction is up to the user, according to Electronic Arts. One can let
the disc play unmodified, occasionally change settings or continually
change parameters in real-time with the mouse.
The CD contains almost 1,000 digital audio musical events. An AI
engine, developed by Rundgren, interprets users' input to determine the
order in which the events are played. Depending on the choices made, the
CD could sound entirely different each time it is played.
"No World Order is an entirely new musical experience that, quite
honestly, could not have come from any musician but Todd Rundgren," says
Gary Gettys, an Electronic Arts product manager. "He's always pushed the
limits of music, technology and interactivity."
The No World Order Macintosh CD is scheduled to ship in late June, and
is also planned for release on PC CD and 3DO platforms this fall. No price
was announced.
** AT&T Supports Feds' 'Clipper Chip' **
AT&T Corp. has announced it will support the U.S. federal government's
development and use of the "clipper chip," a device that would enable the
government to eavesdrop with court authorization on personal electronic
communications.
In an official statement, AT&T said, "As we've said in the past, AT&T
supports the Government's encryption policy initiative, including the
prescribed use of the escrowed encryption standard, one application of
which is known as the Clipper chip."
The statement went on to explain that current applications of the
"clipper chip" would provide secure voice, fax and low-speed data
transmissions. (Big Brother will be watching & listening)
_______________________________________
> Corel 5.0 STR FOCUS! COREL 5.0 SUPER GOOD STUFF!
""""""""""""""""""""
50 Reasons to Buy CorelDRAW 5.0
===============================
Overall Improvements
--------------------
1. Over 22,000 clipart images and over 825 fonts (an increase of over
4000 CDRs and 75 fonts)
2. OLE 2 (drag and drop) capability
3. New color management system which calibrates scanners, monitors and
printers; displays colors on your monitor as they will appear on your
printer
4. Dozens of UI enhancements including new tabbed dialogs and standard
ribbon bar
DRAW
----
5. PostScript interpreter provides improved connectivity
6. Much faster text performance
7. Standard font downloading
8. Sixty new fractal textures
9. Exciting preset Effects
10. PowerClip, a powerful new clipping tool
11. Transparency of colors
12. Trim, a "cookie cutter" effect
13. Intersection object creation
14. Lenses which add special camera-like effects
15. More powerful Extrusions
16. Ability to copy and clone special Effects
17. PANOSE font substitution
18. Square fountain fills
19. New text formatting including strikeout and underline
20. Live dimensioning
21. Added convenience: Delete all guidelines, access to .ini settings
from the Preferences dialog
PHOTO-PAINT
-----------
22. Photoshop standard plug-in filters
23. Ability to convert to and edit in 32 bit CMYK format
24. Improved masking (load, save, node-edit, color shield)
25. Creation of objects which remain easy to edit
26. Easy manipulation of large files: open partial areas, crop or
resample upon opening
27. Mesh warp capability
28. New artistic filters
29. New text functionality: edit and format directly on-screen
MOVE
----
30. Morphing: blend one image into another
31. New import and export capabilities
VENTURA PUBLISHER
-----------------
32. Completely new user interface
33. Support for the full ANSI character set and all standard Windows text
editing conventions
34. Advanced color and prepress capabilities
35. New publication-wide lists eliminate the need to manually keep track
of cross-references, markers, index entries, variable definitions,
etc.
36. Improved import/export filters for text and graphics
37. Improved font and file management
38. Ability to wrap text around irregularly shaped objects
39. Arbitrary rotation of text and graphics in 0.1 degree increments
40. Built-in story editor
41. Precision sizing and placement controls
42. SGML and ODBC support
SHOW
----
43. Much faster performance
44. Create bullet slides directly in CorelSHOW
45. Print speaker notes
46. Improved and highly portable player to distribute shows
CHART
-----
47. Ten new chart types, including linked pie-bar, pseudo-3D, radar,
polar and bubble charts
48. New spreadsheet format
49. Over 250 new spreadsheet functions
50. Powerful utilities also included: Corel MOSAIC, CorelTRACE,
CorelQUERY, Corel CAPTURE, Zandar TagWrite, ARES Font Minder and
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
_____________________________________________
> TRADE UP! STR InfoFile Diamond offers a Jewel of a Deal!
""""""""""""""""""""""
DIAMOND COMPUTER SYSTEMS
Product Support Department
--------------------------
UPGRADE EXCHANGE PROGRAM
========================
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this program is:
---------
- To increase customer service by adding a customer requested
program.
- To offer an unique program which is state of the art.
- To convert users from competitor's product to Diamond 's
products.
PROGRAM OUTLINE:
---------------
- Customer's video board is exchanged for a current product at a
promotional price.
- All Diamond video boards are included in the program.
- All competitor's products are included in the program.
- The program will utilize the current RMA system.
- All boards will have the same exchange value.
- Contact Diamond Customer Service for procedures.
- This offer only applies to US and Canadian customers
PRICING STRUCTURE:
ISA VLB PCI
Stealth Pro/1mb $165.00 Viper VLB/2m $265.00 Viper PCI/2m $280.00
Stealth Pro/2mb $230.00 Stealth 64/2m $259.00 Stealth 64/2m $259.00
Stealth 24 $115.00 Stealth 64/4m $379.00 Stealth 64/4m $379.00
SpeedStar Pro $ 75.00 Stealth 32/1m $125.00 Stealth 32/1m $125.00
Stealth 32/2mb $165.00 Stealth 32/2m $165.00 Stealth Pro/1m $170.00
SpeedStar 64/1mb $105.00 Stealth Pro/2m $235.00 SpeedStar 64/2m $145.00
Stealth 24 $115.00
SpeedStar Pro $ 75.00
_________________________________________________
> Fatty Bear STR Review
"""""""""""""""""""""
Kids' Computing Corner
----------------------
FATTY BEAR'S FUNPACK
====================
by Frank Sereno
Fatty Bear's FUNPACK from Humongous Entertainment is a collection of
five learning games for children ages 3 to 8. Program requirements are a
12mhz 286 or higher CPU, 3 megs of free hard drive space, a sound card
with a DAC chip (Sound Blaster and compatibles), 550k of free memory and
VGA graphics. FUNPACK will use a mouse if it is installed. The version I
have came on a CD-rom but it is identical to the floppy disk version.
Fatty Bear's FUNPACK runs from DOS but it can be run under Windows using
the PIF file Humongous Entertainment provides. FUNPACK is also available
for Macintosh computers requiring an LC III or more powerful system with
256 color graphics, 3 megs of hard drive space and 2 megs of ram.
FUNPACK consists of five games. These are Reversi, Lines and Boxes
(called Dots here in the midwest), Go Fish, Tangrams and the Fatty Bear's
Paint Set. Four play levels are available for the first four games
listed. All games are single-player games in which one player will play
against the computer as represented by Fatty Bear.
Reversi is a nineteenth century game of logic. Playing on a grid,
the player tries to trap the tokens of the other player between two of his
tokens, thus changing the captured tokens' color. If a player cannot
capture any of his opponent's tokens, he passes his turn to the other
player. Legal moves are shown by the flashing of the square when the
cursor passes over it. The player who captures the most squares on the
game board wins. This is a good game for teaching strategy and logic. At
the higher difficulty levels, it can be quite challenging for adults.
Lines and Boxes is another strategy game. The players take turns
drawing lines either vertically or horizontally between dots on a large
grid. The object is to make complete boxes by drawing the fourth line.
The player gets another turn after every completed box. When the human
opponent completes a box, a stick figure graphic is drawn in the box.
When Fatty Bear completes a box, a picture of Fatty Bear is placed within.
The player who makes the most boxes wins the game. This game is very easy
to understand, but again the higher levels can be challenging for adults.
Go Fish is a classic children's card game. To begin, each player is
dealt several cards. Then the players take turns trying to "fish" or find
a card in the other player's hand matching one in his hand so he can
complete a set of four matching cards. If a player finds a match, he can
then select another card. If unsuccessful, he draws a card from the deck.
Strategy involves remembering which cards the opponent seeks from your
hand because if you get one of those cards, you can then steal those cards
from his hand. Again, this is a simple and fun game and it can be
challenging enough for adults on the higher levels.
Tangrams is a puzzle game invented in China hundreds of years ago.
In FUNPACK, an empty polygon will be shown on the upper half of the
screen. Below are several objects which will make that shape if properly
manipulated and then placed in the empty shell. Some pieces may need to
be rotated on the Rotate Icon before being dragged and dropped on the
shell. At the higher levels, some of the Tangrams may take many attempts
to solve.
Finally, Fatty Bear's Paint Set is a click and fill paint package.
The child may choose from 5 colors to fill shapes in the picture, or he
can mix is own colors by using a dropper cursor to draw paint from the
five original colors and place it one of 16 tins. He may then mix in
other colors with the dropper to create new and unique colors. An eraser
icon is used to remove all color from the picture and the "oh no" icon
will remove the last action that has been performed on the picture.
Unfortunately, Paint Set does not allow the saving of colored pictures
(except if the game is installed on the hard drive) or the printing of
either the completed pictures or the blank ones for use as coloring books.
The retail version of Fatty Bear's FUNPACK also includes a Junior
Adventurer's Handbook and crayons. Since I purchased an OEM or bundle
version from a computer show, I cannot say how much value this book may
have. Humongous Entertainment does offer to sell additional books and
crayon sets for $3.00 each by contacting them at:
Humongous Entertainment
Customer Service
13110 NE 177th Pl., #180
Woodinville, WA 98072-9965
Technical support is available from 9am to 5pm Pacific Standard time at
206-485-1212.
The sounds used in Fatty Bear's FUNPACK are good, but not
overwhelming. All voice tracks used are clear and distinct but more sound
and music should have been used. In the graphics department, the visuals
are very plain. Animation use is very limited. The interface allows the
use of a mouse or keyboard. No audible help files are used. Positive
encouragement is used but I feel there should be a greater variety of
expressions and intonations used. Children need more enthusiasm from
these programs. The games are fun but I'm not certain how long children
will continue to play them. These games are fine but there are more
attractive and interesting products on the market now. If you already
have one these on your system, your child may ignore Fatty Bear's FUNPACK.
Educational value is only average at best. Children will learn a bit
about using strategy and logic in games and about mixing colors to make
new ones. The program is advertised as a FUNPACK so it is more like a
Hoyle's Book of Games for children rather than a full-fledged educational
program. Overall value is only fair. I paid $17 for the package, but it
costs a bit more in the full retail package. I just can't be impressed
with a product on CD-rom which only uses about 3 megabytes of storage
capacity out of 680 megabytes.
Graphics 5.0
Sounds 6.5
Interface 5.0
Play Value 5.0
Ed. Value 5.0
Bang for the Buck 5.0
Average 5.25
As always, I thank you for reading!
_______________________________________
> WORD PERFECT SETS THE PACE! STR FOCUS!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Statement of Direction
----------------------
WORDPERFECT CORPORATION AND OS/2
================================
WordPerfect Corporation suspended development of a native 32-bit OS/2
version of WordPerfect in 1993 because projected revenue would not cover
the costs of developing, marketing and supporting the product. This was a
difficult decision, but we needed to concentrate our 32-bit development in
other strategic areas. However, WordPerfect Corporation continues to have
a strong relationship with IBM and will work closely with them on future
operating systems and other projects which we feel will benefit
WordPerfect customers.
We have developed excellent desktop integration tools for OS/2 users, and
we will continue to develop powerful native OS/2 message servers and
gateways. Our current OS/2 solutions include:
WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows Integration Tools Disk
---------------------------------------------------
An optional Workplace Shell (WPS) Integration Tools disk for WordPerfect
6.0a for Windows fully integrates the program with the OS/2. The WPS
Integration Tools disk allows WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows users to take
advantage of the object-oriented capabilities of OS/2 with
functionality that exceeds the Workplace Shell integration found in
WordPerfect 5.2 for OS/2 or any other Windows or OS/2 word processor. The
Automatic Document Detection (ADD) feature automatically registers
documents as objects so users can drag and drop to launch, open, insert,
link and print files.
WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows is free to registered WordPerfect 6.0 for
Windows users upon request; the OS/2 integration disk is available
separately for $4 by calling (800) 321-4566.
Current WordPerfect 5.2 for OS/2 users can receive the same materials for
WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows as they purchased for WordPerfect 5.2 for
OS/2 free of charge by calling Special Licensing at (800) 228-5040.
WordPerfect Office
------------------
WordPerfect Office 4.0a is an electronic messaging product that integrates
e-mail, calendaring, scheduling and task management in a single
application. An OS/2 version of the Office Server is available to move
messages from post offices to individual user mail boxes. WordPerfect
Office also includes several OS/2 gateways: OfficeVision/VM, X.400, X.25
and Pager.
The new Telephone Access Server (TAS) runs only on OS/2. Through TAS,
users can access their e-mail and calendars through the telephone. The
Pager Gateway also runs only on OS/2 and lets users send pages through
local, regional and national paging services from WP Office.
WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1, the upgrade to WordPerfect Office 4.0a, will
include improved performance under OS/2. The upgrade will also include an
OS/2 version of the Message Server; new gateways (Async, SNADS and API);
as well as support for native TCP/IP communications between OS/2 and Unix
versions of the servers.
WordPerfect Corporation recognizes the powerful technology available in
OS/2 and will continue to make it a strategic platform for its messaging
products.
WORDPERFECT CORPORATION NAMED
AN EQUIPMENT SUPPLIER TO WORLD CUP USA 1994TM
WordPerfect Corporation software and support connects organizing
committeeand aids journalists' reporting efforts at world s
premiere soccer event
OREM, Utah June 2, 1994 As part of its continuing mission to help the
world communicate, WordPerfect Corporation today announced it has supplied
World Cup USA 1994 with software to be used at all World Cup soccer venues
by the organizing committee and the international press representatives in
attendance.
WordPerfect 5.1 for UNIX will be used in the press and reporting
facilities at each of the nine World Cup `94 sites, as well as the event
headquarters. WordPerfect Office 4.0a for DOS and Windows, and WordPerfect
Office Remote (a complete e-mail, calendaring and scheduling solution)
will be used by staff members of World Cup USA 1994 to communicate
electronically between the various event locations, as well as to
communicate with other staff members while traveling.
"WordPerfect is a great solution for us," said Juan Jose (Cheche)
Vidal Noya, Vice President of Technology for World Cup USA 1994.
"WordPerfect develops their word processor in 28 different languages,
which allows us to offer exceptional facilities for international press
representatives to report the details of one of the world s largest
sporting events to their home countries in their native language."
According to Mark Calkins, vice president of product and strategic
marketing, WordPerfect Office products have been supplied to help the
members of the World Cup Organization communicate with each other.
"WordPerfect Office 4.0a and WordPerfect Office Remote combine to create a
unique communications package that is helping the World Cup organizing
committee stay connected through electronic mail, calendaring and
scheduling even though they are traveling between nine different locations
around the country," Calkins said.
WordPerfect Corporation is also providing the organizing committee
direct access to the company's highest-level support technicians 24-hours
a day for the duration of the event. This level of support is equivalent
to WordPerfect Corporation's Premium Service offering, which provides
large organizations with advanced technical support.
"Our corporate vision is to help the world communicate, said Brent
McKinley, director of UNIX marketing. By supplying software and services
to World Cup USA 1994, we literally accomplish that goal."
World Cup `94 takes place from June 17 to July 17 in Boston, Chicago,
Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, San Francisco,
and Washington D.C.
__________________________________________
> NDW Q&A STR Feature An In-Depth View
"""""""""""""""""""
Frequently Asked Questions for NDW
==================================
Section 1 - Install
-------------------
1.1 - Sharing Violation while copying last disk or while Creating Groups.
1.2 - Error expanding WIN.INI or SYSTEM.INI
1.3 - Install fails when trying to restart Windows
1.4 - After choosing the drive to install NDW on or after installing when
Windows is restarting, the install hangs.
1.5 - Windows indicates an error involving symunzip2.dll.
1.6 - Error when SHELL.DLL is being copied (approximately 3%).
Section 2 - Startup Errors
--------------------------
2.1 - Since upgrading to NDW 3, I frequently get thrown out of Windows to
a DOS prompt or a completely black screen. Is there anything I can
do to make NDW run on my system?
2.2 - Why do I get a Sharing Violation error message whenever I change
video modes and then restart Windows?
2.3 - Why can't NDW find its files? It reports about 7 missing ones
including NDWCFG.DLL, TREASURE.DLL, and NWIN2.DLL, ETC.
2.4 - Why does NDW say, "Can not start NDW as the Shell"?
2.5 - WHy does NDW say, "Error Loading PROGMAN.EXE"?
2.6 - Why do all the items in a group other than my StartUp group run when
I load NDW?
2.7 - Why does NDW say, "Unable to verify product registration" when I try
to run it?
2.8 - Why does NDW report a General Protection Fault at 0004:03FC? I'm
using NDW 2.0.
2.9 - Why does Windows say "VNDWD.386 not installed...."?
Section 3 - General GPFs
------------------------
3.1 - Why does NDW produce a General Protection Fault error when I try to
change the associations by choosing Associate in NDW?
3.2 - Why can't I use WIndows communications programs to transfer files
since installing NDW 3?
Section 4 - Layout and Tools
----------------------------
4.1 - How do I get rid of items added to the main menu and the drive
window menu's?
4.2 - Why does NDW show all of my icons as black and white blobs after I
have changed video drivers?
4.3 - I've reset my icons and many of them have switched to the generic
one. How do I get the correct icon back?
4.4 - Why does NDW change my icons when I add a new icon to a Norton Icon
Library?
4.5 - Why doesn't NDW keep the custom icon for DOS applications in the
Startup group?
4.6 - Why doesn't double-clicking the right mouse button on the desktop
bring up Quick Access? And why aren't the Quick Access groups listed
on the Window Window menu?
4.7 - How can I prevent NDW from realigning my drive icons whenever I
refresh a drive window?
4.8 - Why doesn't NDW align desktop buttons correctly? Particularly, I
can't put anything in the top-right corner.
4.9 - Why doesn't NDW save my configuration even though the check-box to
save on exit is on and I've tried saving manually?
4.10 - Why can't I get NDW to display my printer icon?
4.11 - Why can't I use all of the commands I've added to the Launch List?
4.12 - How can I reduce the size of buttons on the NDW toolbar?
4.13 - I tried to use SuperFind to find some files but it reported no such
files existed. I was certain I had the files so I searched with a
drive window and after checking several directories, I finally
found them. What's wrong with SuperFind?
4.14 - Sometimes, I will start NDW and a group that I normally don't have
open is opened. How do I keep NDW from changing my group setup?
4.15 - Why can't I use the Compare command on Desktop Editor's File menu?
4.16 - How do I get rid of the treasure chest buttons?
4.17 - When I start Windows, I get a picture of a computer and "The Norton
Desktop" while NDW loads. How do I stop this so I can see my
wallpaper?
4.18 - How do I prevent Sleeper from complaining that it can't update one
of
its modules configurations?
4.19 - How do I get Sleeper to show me all of my After Dark modules?
4.20 - I like File Assist but I can't get it to appear in all of my
Windows applications. How do I get it to appear if it doesn't
appear by default?
4.21 - Why doesn't File Assist appear when I use Word for Windows?
4.22 - I am using File Assist in Word for Windows and when I try to save
to an alternate format, I get the wrong file format. How do I get
File Assist to save to the correct format?
Section 5 - Problems Launching Applications
-------------------------------------------
5.1 - Why do all of my WIndows programs start minimized?
5.2 - Why has NDW suddenly started getting slower - particularly the
groups?
5.3 - How can I get NDW to recognize environment variables in the
Properties of an icon?
5.4 - Why can't I run any DOS applications - including Command.Com?
5.5 - Why does NetWare report that it is unable to load Unicodes? This
works fine with Program Manager as the shell.
5.6 - Why doesn't NDW keep the icon I have set for DOS applications in the
StartUp group?
Section 6 - Drive Windows
-------------------------
6.1 - Why won't the Disk Format in NDW make bootable diskettes?
6.2 - Why does opening a drive window on my Bernoulli drives cause them to
be dismounted? They are being mounted by DoubleSpace.
6.3 - Why don't my NDW 2.0 drive windows have a scroll bar?
6.4 - Why do I get the error message, "Not enough file handles" when
opening a drive window?
6.5 - Why don't any files appear in the drive windows? The directories
show up but every one shows "No Files Found"
6.6 - Why won't NDW show me drive icons for A: and/or B:?
6.7 - Why won't NDW show me a drive icon for my compressed drive?
6.8 - Why won't the drive windows show anything except the last 3 digits
of the file sizes?
6.9 - When I have two drive windows open, NDW crashes when I try to close
the second one. Sometimes, I can't even open the first one. How do
I get NDW to work with my drives?
6.10 - I have some File Manager extensions that appear in File Manager but
I cannot get them to show up in NDW? Will these work in NDW?
6.11 - Why does NDW exit out to DOS if I try to open a drive window with
an audio CD in my CDROM drive?
6.12 - How do I prevent NDW from deleting directories by accident? I've
used the right mouse button to select files which left directories
selected and NDW delete those too.
6.13 - How do I get the volume labels for floppy disks to appear in the
drive window? I get the drive labels to appear in the drive windows
for all my hard drives and network drives but not the floppy
drives. If I go to the Label Disk item under the Disk menu in NDW,
I can see the label.
Section 7 - System Information
------------------------------
7.1 - Why does System Information show a negative amount of RAM available?
7.2 - Why does System Information shows a very low benchmark when I have
what should be a very fast system?
7.3 - Why does System Information show me the incorrect system files?
Section 1 - Install
-------------------
1.1 - Sharing Violation while copying last disk or while Creating Groups.
There is a conflict between Share and SmartCan. Disable either of those
TSRs, set SHELL= to PROGMAN in SYSTEM.INI and rerun Install.
1.2 - Error expanding WIN.INI or SYSTEM.INI
Check the WIndows directory for SYSTEM.* WIN.* and NDW.*. Delete any file
with a $, ! or _ as the last Character. Example: NDW.IN$. Then Start
install again.
1.3 - Install fails when trying to restart Windows
Check the TEMP environment variable for a trailing backslash or space. You
can avoid future problems by editing AUTOEXEC.BAT and making sure the
backslash and/or space is removed from the SET TEMP line.
1.4 - After choosing the drive to install NDW on or after installing when
Windows is restarting, the install hangs.
Use the "ATTRIB -r" command to turn off the read only attribute on
autoexec.* and config.* in C:\ and system.*, win.* and ndw.* in the
Windows directory. Restart the install program.
1.5 - Windows indicates an error involving symunzip2.dll.
Copy disk 1 to a temporary subdirectory on the hard drive (but not the
directory where the TEMP environment variable is set. It may also be
necessary to use a stripped-down conffiguration by preparing a bootable
floppy with a config.sys that loads HIMEM.SYS and sets FILES=50. In
addition, the autoexec.bat for this disk should set TEMP to a directory on
an uncompressed drive(if possible) with at least 1MB free and a path to
Windows, DOS and NDW. If there is an error coping the diskette over in
preparation for this, the disk itself is proably bad. Contact Customer
Service for a new diskette.
1.6 - Error when SHELL.DLL is being copied (approximately 3%).
Make a copy of Disk #1 to either a directory on the hard drive or to
another floppy disk. Edit INSTALL.INF on that copy and search for
SHELL.DLL. This should show a line that reads:
SHELL.DLL, TARGET
Place a semicolon (;) at the beginning of the line and restart the
install from the copy of the first disk and use the remaining disks as
normal.
Section 2 - Startup Errors
--------------------------
2.1 - Since upgrading to NDW 3, I frequently get thrown out of Windows to
a DOS prompt or a completely black screen. Is there anything I can do to
make NDW run on my system?
There are several things to check here. First, if you use NAVTSR or
NAVTSRW, go into NAV in DOS and choose Options from the Tools menu. Choose
the AutoProtect category and click the Startup button. Under the group of
options labeled "Types of Memory to Use", turn off the option for
"Expanded Memory (EMS)". Click OK to get back to the main dialog and click
Options dialog and click the Advanced button. In the Check Floppies group,
turn off the checkbox for "Check Floppies For Boot Viruses Upon Access".
Click OK until you're back at the main NAV screen, exit NAV and reboot to
allow those changes to take effect.
Also, check CONFIG.SYS and make sure there is a FILES= setting and that
this is set to at least 50. Make sure there is a BUFFERS= setting and this
is usually best when set to a multiple of 8. 16 is normally sufficient
but, in some cases, 24 may be better.
More importantly, check the SHELL= setting and make sure the environment
size is set to at least 1024 and 2048 is recommended. If there is no
SHELL=setting, refer to your DOS manual on how to add this and add a
setting to specify the number of bytes reserved for environment variables.
One other thing you might want to try is adding the line
"EMMExclude=A000-FFFF" to the [386Enh] section of system.ini in the
Windows directory. This will keep Windows itself out of the upper memory
area and let the DOS memory manager control that region.
Finally, before attempting to restart Windows, go to the NDW directory and
delete ICOCACHE.DAT. It may be a simple matter of NDW trying to overwrite
this file and running into a problem with SHARE.EXE or VSHARE.386.
2.2 - Why do I get a Sharing Violation error message whenever I change
video modes and then restart Windows?
When you change video configuration, NDW will update some files when you
restart Windows and this can trigger a sharing violation. To prevent this,
delete the file ICOCACHE.DAT in the NDW directory before restarting
Windows with the new video driver. This means that you should not click
the Restart Windows button in the Windows Setup program since this will
not give you the chance to delete that file. Either use the DOS-based
Setup program in the Windows directory or exit Windows after changing
video drivers, delete the file and restart Windows.
2.3 - Why can't NDW find its files? It reports about 7 missing ones
including NDWCFG.DLL, TREASURE.DLL, and NWIN2.DLL, ETC.
Most often, this caused by NDW not being in the path. Check the
autoexec.bat for multiple path lines and make sure that all lines after
the 1st PATH setting refer to "%PATH%" so they will add to the path rather
than reset it.
If the NDW directory does appear in the path then check the path at a DOS
prompt with the SET command to ensure NDW is there. If the path is very
long, NDW may not fit since DOS limits the path to 127 characters.
If the path is correct check for a WIN.BAT or a WINSTART.BAT or a network
login batch file that changes the Path. If all else fails set the path to
C:\NDW;C:\WINDOWS;C:\DOS (i.e. just set the path to the NDW, WIndows and
DOS directories) so we are certain of the path when Windows starts.
2.4 - Why does NDW say, "Can not start NDW as the Shell"?
NDW is unable to load the .DLL files it needs to run as the shell. To
correct:
1) Try running PROGMAN as the shell, then running NDW as an app.
A. If this works, more than likely the path is incorrect. Check
for a path that is more then 127 Characters. If this is the
case, reduce the number of entries on the path.
2) If it will not run as an app, try the following:
A. Increase the environment space to at least 1024.
B. Increase the file handles to at least 60(3.0 requires 50
minimum).
C. Be sure there is enough XMS free with the MEM command NDW 2.x
will need 2MB while NDW 3 requires 4MB.
D. Delete the .EXE's and .DLL's from the NDW directory and
reinstall NDW. An individual .DLL may be damaged or missing and
it is normally faster than easier to reinstall than try to
determine which one(s) is(are) missing.
2.5 - WHy does NDW say, "Error Loading PROGMAN.EXE"?
This is usually caused by the Microsoft or Central Point Anti-Virus.
MSAV's default creates checksum files for all program files on disk during
a scan. If a program is updated or added after the initial scan, the
checksum file is not automatically updated. It is then allowed to
execute, but not to open any other files. The result is that NDW.EXE
executes as shell, can not run NDWMAIN, and cannot run PROGMAN,
resulting in the error.
To correct this, delete CHKLIST*.* from all directories or start MSAV,
choose Options, check Create New Checksums, and rescan each drive. Or
remove MSAV from WIN.INI and CONFIG.SYS.
Another possibility is that the shell= in the SYSTEM.INI is incorrect.
A failed install may leave the shell set to the install program or the
program name is incorrect or misspelled. Setting this to load NDW.EXE with
the full path to the NDW directory should correct this.
2.6 - Why do all the items in a group other than my StartUp group run when
I load NDW?
NDW has set the StartUp group incorrectly. To fix this, go to the Quick
Access settings in Control Center and click the AutoStart button. Make
sure the group you want selected has the checkmark next to it.
2.7 - Why does NDW say, "Unable to verify product registration" when I try
to run it?
This is most often caused by a failed install where the Windows shell is
still set to INSTALL.EXE. This occurs most often when chhosing the Reboot
option after installation and the disk cache does not have time to flush
completely. To correct this, change the shell= setting in SYSTEM.INI in
the Windows directory to NDW.EXE with the full path to the NDW directory
specified. Also, check in the [386Enh] section and verify that NDW has
added lines such as these:
device=symevnt.386
device=vfintd.386
device=vnss.386
2.8 - Why does NDW report a General Protection Fault at 0004:03FC? I'm
using NDW 2.0.
This is usually a problem in of NDW's group files and almost always in
QAMAIN.QAG. In the NDW directory, delete QAMAIN.QAG then try to start
Windows. Assuming Windows loads OK, open a drive window for the drive that
Windows is installed on and hit the Tab key to move to the file pane. Go
to the View menu, choose Filter, choose Custom and type "*.QAG". Click OK,
go to the File menu, choose Select, and choose All from the secondary
menu. All the files listed in the drive window should now be selected.
Position the drive window and the Quick Access window so that both can be
seen and then drag the files from the drive window to the Quick Access
window. Either all of them will become group icons in the Quick Access
window or you will get a GPF. If you get a GPF, reboot and restart
Windows. Then open a drive window for the Windows directory again but this
time, drag the QAG files to Quick Access one by one to determine which one
causes the crash. Once you have isolated this, you should be able to drag
all of the QAGs - except QAMAIN.QAG - in the NDW directory into Quick
Access. Once you have added all the groups back that you can, you can then
save your configuration.
If you don't get a GPF, select the NDW directory in the drive window and
drag each QAG - except QAMAIN.QAG - from the file pane to Quick Access
until you find the one that is corrupt. Again, restart Windows and
continue adding groups until you have recovered all of the groups except
the corrupted one.
2.9 - Why does Windows say "VNDWD.386 not installed...."?
Search all local hard drives for VNDWD.386 and be sure there is only one
occurrence, in the proper directory (\NDW for 2.2, \windows\system for
previous versions). Then check the date and be sure it is the same as the
NDW.DLLs. If it is search the entire drive for n*.DLL and be sure all
Desktop DLLs on the disk are the same date.
Section 3 - General GPFs
------------------------
3.1 - Why does NDW produce a General Protection Fault error when I try to
change the associations by choosing Associate in NDW? This works fine in
File Manager and I can edit these in WIN.INI.
Edit WIN.INI and check for two possible problems. First, do a search for
the word "extensions". If you find it anywhere beside the [Extensions]
section header, misspell the word (for example, remove the 1st "e".)
Second, put the cursor on the first line within the [Extensions] section
and hit the End key. If the cursor goes past the last character in the
line, backspace to remove any trailing spaces. hit the down arrow and the
End key to do the next line. Repeat this for each line in the [Extensions]
section. Also, check for invalid entries in the [Extensions] section of
the Win.ini - such as an entry that doesn't have an extension associated
to it. Once this is done, restart Windows and the Associate command
should work properly.
3.2 - Why can't I use WIndows communications programs to transfer files
since installing NDW 3? The transfer begins but then Windows crashes.
This is caused by a conflict between File Assist and the way some
communications programs open a file that is being received. Run your
telecommunications program and bring up the File Save As or File Open
dialog box (how to do this will depend on the application in question) and
click the "Config" button listed along the bottom of the dialog with the
File Assist extensions. Turn off the checkbox labeled "File Assist Enabled
For:" and File Assist will ignore that one application. If you use more
than one Windows communications program, you will need to do this for each
one individually.
Section 4 - Layout and Tools
----------------------------
4.1 - How do I get rid of items added to the main menu and the drive
window menu's?
Edit WINFILE.INI in the Windows directory and delete or comment out the
line for this File Manager add on from the [AddOns] section.
4.2 - Why does NDW show all of my icons as black and white blobs after I
have changed video drivers?
The icons are cached in a separate file so that NDW doesn't have to reread
these every time a group is opened. To rebuild this file with the new
settings, choose Customize from the Options menu, click Quick Access,
click Adavanced and click Reset Icons. Alternatively, go to the NDW
directory before starting Windows and delete ICOCACHE.DAT.
4.3 - I've reset my icons and many of them have switched to the generic
one How do I get the correct icon back?
Try Reset Icons as described in 4.2 but first verify that the FILES=
setting in CONFIG.SYS is at least 50. Also, make sure that the file that
the icon is supposed to come from still exists. If that file has been
moved or renamed, NDW will just use the generic icon rather than issue a
warning message.
4.4 - Why does NDW change my icons when I add a new icon to a Norton Icon
Library?
When adding new icons to a library, it is necessaery to append the new
icon to the end of library. NDW and Program Manager will keep a pointer to
indicate which icon to use when specifying a file with multiple icons and
inserting icons will throw the pointers off.
4.5 - Why doesn't NDW keep the custom icon for DOS applications in the
Startup group?
The ability to set an icon for a DOS application requires carrying on a
DDE conversation with the module in WIndows that actually handles the DOS
application. The code to handle this is not loaded until after the
processing of the StartUp group and so NDW does not respond when WINOLDAP
asks for this information. This yields a decrease in the time needed to
load Windows and NDW.
4.6 - Why doesn't double-clicking the right mouse button on the desktop
bring up Quick Access? And why aren't the Quick Access groups listed on
the Window Window menu?
Quick Access is not currently loaded. In NDW 2.x, go to Configure,
Preferences, Advanced and turn on Load Quick Access. In NDW 3, go to
Options, Defaults, Advanced and select Load Q
uick Access.
4.7 - How can I prevent NDW from realigning my drive icons whenever I
refresh a drive window?
Set AlignDrives=0 in [Defaults] section of NDW.INI.
4.8 - Why doesn't NDW align desktop buttons correctly? Particularly, I
can't put anything in the top-right corner.
To change how buttons realign, adjust SnapFactorX and SnapFactorY in
[Defaults] section of NDW.INI. In NDW 3, this can be modified in the
Desktop Layout section of Control Center. Making these values smaller
should help improve the ability to fine tune where buttons are placed.
4.9 - Why doesn't NDW save my configuration even though the check-box to
save on exit is on and I've tried saving manually?
This almost always indicates a problem updating NDW.BIN. Before starting
WIndows, go to the NDW directory and rename this file to something else
such as NDW.NIB. Start Windows, make some configuration changes, save the
configuration, exit and restart Windows. All the changes should still be
there. Unfortunately, most of the customization you have made previoulsy
will be lost in this process since NDW.BIN holds the bulk of the NDW
configuration but that should correct the problem you're seeing. After
verifying this has corrected the problem, delete the renamed NDW.BIN.
4.10 - Why can't I get NDW to display my printer icon?
If you have recently changed printers in Control Panel, reselect the
printer button in the Tool Icons section of Control Center. In NDW 2.2 and
earlier, this is in the Preferences - Printers dialog.
If the printer is selected properly, this may indicate a problem in
updating NDW.BIN. Follow the steps outlined in 4.9 above and that should
correct this.
4.11 - Why can't I use all of the commands I've added to the Launch List?
This menu is limited to 29 items - additional items are displayed, but do
not function.
4.12 - I am running my VGA in 1024x768 mode. When I installed NDW 3.0,
the icons on the toolbar were small and I assumed I could add a lot more.
When I changed the toolbar, the icons got bigger. How can I get them small
again?
The icons are all sized evenly and the size will be set so that the
longest label will fit. In the toolbar editing screen, look for the button
with the longest label, modify it and give it a shorter label. The icons
will then be resized to conform to whatever is the longest label at that
point. To get the absolute maximum number of buttons, turn off the text
altogether.
4.13 - I tried to use SuperFind to find some files but it reported no such
files existed. I was certain I had the files so I searched with a drive
window and after checking several directories, I finally found them.
What's wrong with SuperFind?
Open Superfind and press Alt-X to move to the With Text field. Hit Delete
to make sure there is nothing in that field. There may be either one or
more spaces there or some characters that don't display normally and so
the box appears empty. If SuperFind still won't find the required files,
check the Attributes settings and make sure the boxes for Read-Only,
Archive, System and Hidden are all greyed and the one for Directory is
clear.
4.14 - Sometimes, I will start NDW and a group that I normally don't have
open is opened. It seems to think that Save Configuration on exit is
turned on even though I have turned it off and saved the configuration.
How do I keep NDW from changing my group setup?
The original design in NDW 1 was that NDW would not save anything about
the configuration if you turned Save Configuration on Exit off. However,
we received numerous complaints from people who had this option turned
off, installed a new application that then required them to restart
Windows or at least exit to DOS and they would loose the group that had
just been created. This could also happen if they had been customizing the
groups and forgot to save before exiting. In NDW 2, we added a flag so NDW
will know if you do anything to your groups like adding or deleting an
item and the exit code checks that flag. If it is set, NDW saves the group
configuration so those group changes won't get lost. However, it seems
like NDW gets confused on just what exactly constitutes a group change and
may be setting this flag when you merely open a group that is normally
closed or move the group to a different position. With NDW 3, you can add
the line Autoclave=0 to the [Quick Access] section of NDW.INI in the
Windows directory. This will still keep the safety feature in place (there
is no way to completely disable it) but it should eliminate most of the
unwanted group configuration saves.
4.15 - Why can't I use the Compare command on Desktop Editor's File menu?
I click it but nothing happens even though it is enabled.
This will happen if NDW is not the shell and is not running. NDW must be
running for Compare to work.
4.16 - Now that I've installed NDW 3, I have little pictures of treasure
chests on the title bars of all my NDW windows. How do I get rid of them?
Run Desktop Editor or Notepad and open SYMCFG.INI in the Windows
directory. If this file does not exist, just use the editor to create a
new file. Add the following lines:
[Treasure]
Buried=1
and save it to your Windows directory as SYMCFG.INI. Exit and restart
Windows. The treasure chests will be gone from the title bars but
they'll remain in the dialog boxes.
4.17 - When I start Windows, I get a picture of a computer and "The Norton
Desktop" while NDW loads. How do I stop this so I can see my wallpaper?
First, edit NDW.INI in the Windows directory and add the line
NDWSplashScreen=0 to the [Defaults] section. Also, go to the NDW directory
and delete the file NDWSPLSH.BMP.
4.18 - When I start Windows, everything comes up fine except Sleeper which
tells me it is unable to update one of its modules configurations.
This happens when there is a problem updating NDW.BIN. See the answer to
4.9 above.
4.19 - Sleeper does not show me all of my After Dark modules even though I
have installed After Dark and I can see the modules in After Dark. How do
I get Sleeper to find these modules?
If you have After Dark 1.0, make sure you have an AD_PREFS.INI in the
Windows directory and that that file has an [After Dark] section and that
section has a Path= setting which points to the correct drive and
directory for After Dark.
If you have After Dark 2.0 or later, you'll also need to make sure you
have the ADRUNNER.NSS or AFTERDRK.NSS (there are two possible versions) in
the AD directory. If it still doesn't work, copy that module to the NDW
directory and rename it to anything that does NOT start with an "a" - for
example, B4DARK.NSS. Then start Sleeper and it should list the module
"After Dark Runner". Be sure not to select the module listed as "(MS)
After Dark Runner". This module is designed to be run from Windows itself
through Control Panel and having Sleeper use it to start After Dark can
cause Windows to hang.
4.20 - I like File Assist but I can't get it to appear in all of my
Windows applications. How do I get it to appear if it doesn't appear by
default?
File Assist can only link itself to applications that use the common
Windows 3.1 dialog boxes for File Open and File Save As. Unless an
applications uses those dialogs, it can not use File Assist.
4.21 - Why doesn't File Assist appear when I use Word for Windows?
The macros probably are not loaded. If you have installed the update for
NDW 3, run Word for Windows and open FASSIST.DOC from the NDW directory.
Double click the line of text in italics that reads:
-->Install FileAssist Macros<--
After that, File Assist should attach itself to the File Save As and File
Open dialogs in Word.
If you have not installed the NDW 3 update, do not install the File Assist
macros for Word until you have done so. The originaly macros will cause
some problems with the Word dialogs and should not be used.
4.22 - I am using File Assist in Word for Windows and when I try to save
to an alternate format, I get the wrong file format. How do I get File
Assist to save to the correct format?
Download NDW3UP.EXE from library 3 of the SYMUTIL forum or from the
Symantec BBS and use it to update the macros. This should correct the
problem. If it still fails, check WINWORD6.INI in the WINWORD directory
and make sure the following lines appear:
[MSWord Text Converters]
MS-DOS Text with Layout=MS-DOS Text with Layout,C:\WINWORD\TXTWLYT.CNV,
asc Text with Layout=Text with Layout, C:\WINWORD\TXTWLYT.CNV, ans
Make sure "C:\WINWORD" actually specifies the correct path to Word for
Windows. If there are any other lines in that section, delete them or
comment them out by placing a ";" at the very beginning of the extra
lines.
Section 5 - Problems Launching Applications
5.1 - Why do all of my WIndows programs start minimized?
Use SuperFind (or any such tool) to search for SHELL.DLL and delete any
copies not in the \windows\system directory dated 3-10-92 (if you are
using (WORKGROUPS 3.11 the date will be 11-1-93). If there is one in there
with a different date, reload the one from the Windows disks there. To
decompress this, copy the file SHELL.DL_ to the \windows\system directory
and enter:
expand shell.dl_ shell.dll
Then delete *.dl_. Start Windows and programs should run normally.
5.2 - Why has NDW suddenly started getting slower - particularly the
groups?
NDW keeps the icons for the group items in a cache file which normally
allow it to work much more quickly but as time goes by, this cache file
which become filled with obsolete information. Before starting Windows, go
to the NDW directory and delete ICOCACHE.DAT. NDW will rebuild the cache.
Note that it will be necessary for it to reread all of the icon files at
that time so if these files have been moved or deleted, the items they
were used for will resort to the generic icon.
5.3 - How can I get NDW to recognize environment variables in the
Properties of an icon?
A. For DOS apps, you can use a .PIF and specify the values there.
B. For Windows apps, create a script such as:
sub main
ChDrive Environ$("TEMP")
ChDir Environ$("TEMP")
tid = Shell("myapp")
end sub
5.4 - Why can't I run any DOS applications - including Command.Com?
There are several possible causes. First, check in CONFIG.SYS for two
things - make sure that the environment space is set to at least 1024
bytes and 2KB is even better and make sure that the FILES= statement is
set to at least 50. If they aren't change those settings and reboot and
see if that helps.
If those were OK or if changing them doesn't help, start Windows in
enhanced mode and run SysInfo. Click the 2nd button and look at how much
free disk space is available on the drive where your TEMP environment
variable is set. If this is less than 2MB, try freeing up some space on
that drive or set TEMP to a drive that does have 2MB or more available.
When checking TEMP, you might also want to determine what COMSPEC is set
to and make sure this is correct; NDW and/or Windows may be failing to
load the command processor if this is not set correctly.
In addition, you might want to check the Virtual Memory settings in
Control Panel in the 386 Enhanced section and make sure the swapfile is
not being created on a compressed drive.
Also, in the windows\system directory, use expand on commdlg.dll,
shell.dll, ver.dll, and toolhelp.dll. Then do a superfind on these files
and remove them from any other directory you find them in.
Finally, there's a couple of odd remedies that may or may not apply.
First, check if there is a MAXBPs= setting in the [386Enh] section of
SYSTEM.INI. If not, try adding:
MaxBPs=768
to that section and see if that helps.
The other one is to see if there is a TimerCriticalSection= setting in
SYSTEM.INI and, if there is, try commenting it out. Let me know how it
goes.
One last thing to check is a problem with the 386GRABBER. If you use the
WIndows Setup program to switch the video driver to any other driver and
then switch it back, this should update the driver. When switching away,
it doesn't matter if the other driver is already on the hard drive and
will actually make this process faster if it is. What is critical is that
when you reinstall the video driver and it reports there is currently a
copy of that on the hard drive, tell it to overwrite that driver so that
Windows will reload this from the floppies and overwrite the driver files.
5.5 - Why does NetWare report that it is unable to load Unicodes? This
works fine with Program Manager as the shell.
When NDW is the Windows shell and you are connected to NetWare 4.0x, you
must make sure that the directory that contains the Unicodes is in the
DOS PATH. Add this directory to the PATH and Windows and NDW will load
properly.
5.6 - Why doesn't NDW keep the icon I have set for DOS applications in the
StartUp group?
NDW does not maintain the custom icons of DOS applications in the StartUp
group and will sometimes not use custom icons for DOS applications that
are run normally. The 1st is a design decision; communicating that
information adds some overhead to NDW's load time and we try to minimize
that as much as possible. The failure to retain those icons at other times
is being looked into by the NDW development team.
Section 6 - Drive Windows
6.1 - Why won't the Disk Format in NDW make bootable diskettes?
This usually occurs when the boot drive has been swapped via Stacker,
DoubleSpace, or some othe disk compression program. The boot record from
the swapped drive is copied to the floppy, making it unbootable. You can
make the disk bootable later with the SYS command in DOS.
6.2 - Why does opening a drive window on my Bernoulli drives cause them to
be dismounted? They are being mounted by DoubleSpace.
This is a problem with the Bernoulli drives and DoubleSpace - Iomega is
working on a fix.
6.3 - Why don't my NDW 2.0 drive windows have a scroll bar?
That version of NDW would have this problem with custom drive windows. You
can use that version and avoid this problem if you use the Norton Desktop
Defualt setting for the drive windows.
6.4 - Why do I get the error message, "Not enough file handles" when
opening a drive window?
The files NDW uses to record the directory tree structure are damaged. Go
to the root directory of that drive and delete the TREEINFO.* files. Open
a drive window for the drive and rescan the drive.
6.5 - Why don't any files appear in the drive windows? The directories
show up but every one shows "No Files Found"
Under the View menu, choose Filter and verify that the check boxes for the
Archive and ReadOnly attributes are set to grey (the 3rd state in these 3
state checkboxes) and clear the boxes for Hidden and System. Then click
the Set Defaults button and the OK button.
6.6 - Why won't NDW show me drive icons for A: and/or B:?
There are two common causes for this - either DRIVER.SYS is being loaded
in CONFIG.SYS or there is disk compression software active and it is
AutoMounting compressed floppies. Remove DRIVER.SYS and/or disable
AutoMounting and the drives will be able to be displayed.
6.7 - Why won't NDW show me a drive icon for my compressed drive?
Make sure the drive is selected under Options/Configure/Drive Icons. If it
is selected and is not showing Click Refresh. Quit Windows and restart. If
the drive is gone again then there is a problem updating NDW's
configuration file. Open a drive window for the NDW directory and delete
NDW.BIN. Save the configuration to rewrite this file with the current
settings and then try configuring the drive icons again.
6.8 - Why won't the drive windows show anything except the last 3 digits
of the file sizes?
Go to Control Panel, International, and enter a Thousands Separator. If
this is set to nothing, this will occur; setting it to anything - even a
space - will avoid this.
6.9 - When I have two drive windows open, NDW crashes when I try to close
the second one. Sometimes, I can't even open the first one. How do I get
NDW to work with my drives?
NDW will load the File Manager add-ins that are listed in WINFILE.INI in
the Windows directory and some of these add-ins are not designed to have
more than one copy of themselves loaded. When the 2nd copy is unloaded,
this causes the system to crash. To correct this, exit Windows, go to the
Windows directory and edit NDW.INI. Go to the [Defaults] section and
change the MaxWinFileExtensions to 0. NDW will no longer try to load the
add-ins and won't run into problems with add-ins that don't want more than
one instance loaded.
6.10 - I have some File Manager extensions that appear in File Manager but
I cannot get them to show up in NDW? Will these work in NDW?
Before starting Windows, go to the Windows directory and edit NDW.INI. Go
to the [Defaults] section and change MaxWinFileExtensions=10 (or 0) to
MaxWinFileExtensions=100. Save that and start Windows and the add-ins
should come up fine. If they still don't appear, run NDW's Control Center,
choose the Defaults category and click the Advanced button. Turn on the
option for "File Manager Extensions on Main Desktop Menu" and they should
then appear on NDW's main menu.
6.11 - Why does NDW exit out to DOS if I try to open a drive window with
an audio CD in my CDROM drive?
The problem arises because the CDROM drivers do not provide a way to ask
about the status of the drive(s) it controls without it having to read
data from a disk. NDW polls all the installed devices whenever it needs to
know about the drives (mainly, to see if they're still active) and so it
gets the system error reading the CDROM. You might check to make sure you
have the latest versions of MSCDEX and whatever custom driver your CDROM
drive requires since newer drivers often do add this capability and can
prevent the error. If you do have the latest version of these drivers and
if you have SmartCan loaded, try disabling SmartCan in autoexec.bat as
SmartCan can sometimes cause this to happen also. Otherwise, the only
workaround is to keep a data CD in the drive.
6.12 - How do I prevent NDW from deleting directories by accident? I've
used the right mouse button to select files which left directories
selected and NDW delete those too.
The ability to extend file and directory selection with the right mouse
button without having to use ctrl and/or shift-click combinations is one
of the most powerful and most deadly of the NDW extensions.
There's two way to deal with this: (A) never forget to left click on the
first directory or file when making a selection and then use the right
mouse button to add files or, (B) go into NDW's Control Center and go to
the Drive Windows category. Click the Advanced button in set the options
for Right Mouse Button to Pop-up Menu. OK your way back out and then try a
right click on a file or directory. Instead of extending the selection,
you'll get a menu of commands from the File menu to act on the selected
items. This means you'll have to use Shift click to extend multiple files
in the selection and Ctrl-click to add entires one by one but it is much
safer.
6.13 - How do I get the volume labels for floppy disks to appear in the
drive window? I get the drive labels to appear in the drive windows for
all my hard drives and network drives but not the floppy drives. If I go
to the Label Disk item under the Disk menu in NDW, I can see the label.
The problem is that the entries in the drive list are updated every time
there is drive access. If we include the labels for floppies, this would
cause two problems: A) if there wasn't a disk in the drive, NDW would wait
for the timeout on the drive and B) if there was a disk in the drive,
you'd need to wait for NDW to read this information and that takes almost
as long as the timeout. So, we removed this early on in the NDW 1
development to speed things up with NDW's drive access. So, there is no
way to determine the label of a floppy disk in the drive window. You can
see the label in the Label Disk dialog.
Section 7 - System Information
7.1 - Why does System Information show a negative amount of RAM available?
SysInfo is limited to 32MB or RAM. With more than 32MB, SysInfo's internal
variable overflows and becomes negative.
7.2 - Why does System Information shows a very low benchmark when I have
what should be a very fast system?
This can happen with a disk cache over 1.5 MB. Check also Stealth mode
(QEMM) or other Programs that might slow the system down (screen savers,
schedulers, etc. Part of the problem is that the benchmark doesn't have
complete control of the CPU and can be interrupted during the test.
7.3 - Why does System Information show me the incorrect system files?
There is a chance that SysInfo is looking at the Host drive instead of the
boot drive. To correct this, add StartupDrive=<drive letter> in the
[System Information] section of the NDW.INI where "<drive letter>" is the
correct letter of the boot drive.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
: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
*** STReport available in MAC RT ***
ASCII TEXT
for ALL GEnie users!
MAC/APPLE SECTION (II)
======================
John Deegan, Editor (Temp)
> Matt Deatherage Update STR FOCUS!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
UPDATE ON MATT DEATHERAGE
Friday, June 3, 1994
As you may have read in the initial document on Matt Deatherage (which we
distributed to all of the major online services and the Internet at the
end of April, 1994), he was incarcerated in March on three charges related
to having sex with a minor. The original document goes into much greater
detail about the charges, Matt's plea of no contest on all counts, the
D.A.'s version of what happened, and Matt's version of what
happened---including information directly from Matt. If you have not read
that file yet, we urge you to examine it closely so you can understand the
entire situation. (If you don't have a copy, please send a request to
dland@netcom.com and we'll email it back to you.)
The original document refers to a deadline of April 28th for letters to be
received. For various reasons, Matt's sentencing has been delayed until
late June. As a result, the deadline for letters is now June 21st.
As we explained clearly and at length in the original document, we are
urging letters in support of Matt---NOT in support of his actions and what
he did (Matt himself does not support that and says now that he clearly
made a horrible mistake). These letters are in support of Matt and who he
is, and should be written out of a desire to see a fair portrayal and
treatment of someone we know and respect as a part of our online
community.
In a recent news story about Matt, the District Attorney responded to the
suggestion that Matt is not some kind of sexual predator by saying, "He's
an absolutely sex-craved maniac. It seems that's the only thing he thinks
about." We find this amazing and ridiculous not only based on what we know
of Matt, but because the D.A. said this to the press in spite of never
having spoken to Matt, or to any of Matt's friends---in fact, Matt
believes the D.A. has not even spoken to the young man Matt had sex with!
The D.A. doesn't even KNOW Matt! Despite this, that has not stopped the
D.A. from calling Matt a "maniac" and _telling the press_ what Matt
constantly thinks about. We point this out not only because it's
inaccurate but also because we find it extremely unethical for the D.A. to
be speaking to the media about a man he knows practically nothing about.
We are also concerned because extreme pressures from the media and the
D.A. have already had a strong influence on the case and they may
influence the judge. The D.A. has made no effort to _ascertain the truth
for himself!_
The point is that events are already occurring (such as Matt being fired
from Apple Computer) which have nothing to do with the case itself but
rather happened because of the media hype surrounding the D.A.'s fictious
version of the situation. We emphasize that Matt is NOT a predator and as
very close friends of his for all of his professional life, we absoutely
do not agree that Matt is a "sex-craved maniac" or that it's "the only
thing he thinks about." We find these statements extremely offensive and
as far from the truth as possible.
Unless we write to the judge with our _true feelings_ about Matt and the
situation, the D.A. and the media's version of the story will be accepted
as truth.
It's occurred to us that some of you are thinking you have to write and
say a lot. Or you're having second thoughts about what Matt's done and
how you feel about it. But we'd like to encourage you to write anyway,
because you _really_ don't have to say much. You don't have to commit
yourself to anything much more than a paragraph or two saying who you are,
how you know Matt, and how you feel about the situation.
The letter should give your full name and address, and should say a bit
about yourself -- who are you, what you do, how old you are, and how you
know Matt (that's all very important). It should also state that you are
aware that he is being sentenced on a number of felonies relating to
sexual misconduct with a minor. And it should give your opinion of Matt
Deatherage; essentially, how you feel about him as an individual, and what
you feel about the idea that he is some sort of dangerous, malicious
person given to preying upon young boys sexually.
You might say other good things about him, such as that it's clear that
he's a knowledgeable, productive member of society. (We've spoken to
people at Apple who work with Matt who wanted us to say he is well liked
there and did good work for the company.) You could mention that the
knowledge he gained through his job allowed him to do many helpful things
for people online in his spare time. You might mention that he's never
seemed to you to be a disturbing sort of person prone to talking about
sexual matters with you online (i.e. he never seemed sleazy or
disgusting).
You might also want to keep in mind the following things when writing to
the judge:
- Matt is extremely penitent.
- He admits his crime and has done so from the start. He has never
attempted to lie about this thing.
- It is his first crime.
- We believe he will not repeat his crime; he's sworn that he will not.
- Just by the news exposure he's getting, he's already begun to pay,
and will almost certainly be paying for the rest of his life. Matt
has already lost his job and there are real concerns that he may never
work at Apple Computer again if he goes to prison.
- He'd likely be harmed in prison. (Matt is a large man, but anyone who
knows him personally knows that he is very unthreatening in personality
and probably easy to victimize physically.)
- Justice would probably be better served by work-release probation
and some sort of treatment that would give him a chance to put his life
back together after all of this.
What you write is up to you. You should NOT send form letters or simply
copy and paste the things in this document. Most important of all, you
should not make things up or say things that you couldn't possibly know
about Matt. Just be honest and write what you feel, in your own words.
The judge isn't going to check your spelling and grammar, he just needs to
know how you feel. ;-)
We must emphasize again that these are not letters asking you whether or
not you are "friends" with Matt. The question is how ANY of you who have
watched or seen or encountered Matt, whose lives online have been affected
by this man, feel about what the prosecution is saying... and if you can
somehow help him by sending a letter.
Letters should be mailed as quickly as possible to:
The Honorable Judge Charles Gordon
Judge of the Superior Court of Santa Clara County
c/o Dennis Lempert
100 Saratoga Avenue
Santa Clara, CA 95051-7305
It will help an individual who could use your letter more than anything
else right now, and it won't take much of your time. Please take a minute
to send a letter on Matt's behalf.
Thank you.
Some of you have also written to us, asking how to write to Matt. Matt
has asked that his mail address be publicized; he's lonely and would like
to hear from his friends. Since the email connection in his jail cell
isn't quite working yet, you'll can send a note to:
D.M. Deatherage
P.O. Box 360910
Milpitas, CA 95036-0910
On the front of the envelope, in the lower-left hand corner, you need to
write "Donald Matthew Deatherage #9411580". Additionally, the envelope
and the letter you mail to him needs to have your name and address.
Please do not send any staples or paperclips; they'll be removed before
they get to him. Other restrictions on mail are as follows: no more than
five photos (and the photos can not be cut open or tampered with), no more
than five newspaper or magazine clippings, no blank stationery, envelopes,
stamps, or cards, no violent, racial, obscene, or gang-related material,
no stickers, tape, paste or glue, or surfaces covered with any of those
objects (this includes labels, so your envelope should have your return
address hand-written), no "questionable substances or stains" (don't ask
us, we don't know), no oversized envelopes (no larger than a standard
large manila envelope), no laminated or glued-together greeting cards, and
no packages.
Thank you again for your time in reading this and please find in your
heart to send a letter.
Sincerely,
Many friends of Matt
(who may be reached at dland@netcom.com)
___________________________________________
> OPEN LETTER FROM ORIGIN STR Spotlight
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
An Open Letter to...
PACIFIC STRIKE OWNERS
FROM
ORIGIN
Each time ORIGIN releases a major, new product, we try to raise the
standard in terms of technology, graphics, sound and music-every aspect of
the gaming experience. In turn, you have come to expect more and more from
ORIGIN with each subsequent release. During the past few weeks, it's
become apparent that we've fallen short of some of your expectations with
Pacific Strike. When we shipped the game worldwide, we felt it was a
strong addition to our product line. In retrospect, we may have jumped
the gun. Since ORIGIN has always valued its one-on-one relationship with
its cutomers, we want to make sure that we address the problems up front
and offer some solutions.
Pacific Strike was originally scheduled for Christmas of 1993. As that
date drew closer and we discovered the game would not be ready in time, we
made a conscious decision not to rush it out and to put more polish into
it to make it a quality title. Many retail outlets "drop-ship" our games,
meaning they have them shipped overnight from our manufacturing center
just as soon as they are ready. When a new release date seemed achievable
in March, we sent the Speech Accessory Pack ahead to retail stores so it
would already be there when the game arrived. What followed was another
unforeseen delay that left the Speech Pack stranded alone on the shelves.
We have learned from that mistake and won't let it happen again. Still,
some of you bought the Speech Pack early and held on, past the point where
the retail store would take it back. We don't want you to feel stuck; if
you're not happy with the Speech Pack, you can return it to ORIGIN
Customer Service. Send the full product, along with proof of purchase
dated before May 1, 1994, to:
ORIGIN Customer Service
attn: Pacific Strike Credit Department
12940 Research Blvd.
Austin, TX 78750
Some players have expressed problems with Pacific Strike's frame rate.
ORIGIN has always developed games to exploit the full capabilities of
high-end computers, but we also understand that anything less than a
perfectly fluid frame rate can lead to frustration. Others have
registered complaints about sound pauses and joystick jerkiness. To that
end, we are working on patches that will be available for downloading
through online services where ORIGIN provides product support:
CompuServe (GO GAMEAPUB)
America Online (KEYWORD: ORIGIN)
GEnie (Scorpia's Roundtable)
Patches may also be downloaded from ORIGIN's BBS at (512)331-4446.
Customers without modems or access to online services may receive patch
disks free of charge by calling ORIGIN Customer Service at (512) 335-0440.
Sometimes, even the best of intentions can backfire. Such was the case
with the Japanese plane you can fly in the game. That was added just
before the game released; that's why it's never mentioned on the box back,
in the advertising or even in the documentation. The development team
thought it would be a bonus; however, there was not enough disk space
left for the accompanying artwork, so an American wing appears when you
pan your view outside the cockpit. Nice idea, but not the kind of
compromise players have come to expect from ORIGIN.
We would like to offer our apologies to all of you who are disappointed
with Pacific Strike. ORIGIN was built on the loyalty and satisfaction of
its customers and we intend to keep it that way. Your patience and
understanding is all we ask.
Thanks,
Eric Hyman Producer, Pacific Strike
**********************************************************************
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within the continental United States during home time or via direct dial
around the clock. Home Time is from 6pm to 6am weekdays. Access during
business time carries a surcharge of $9 per hour. These rates apply for
most services, but note that there are some surcharged areas on DELPHI
which are clearly marked with a "$" sign.
Who is eligible to take advantage of the plan? Any DELPHI member in
good standing. Applications are reviewed and subject to approval by
Delphi Internet Services Corporation.
It's easy to join. If you meet the eligibility requirements, you can
apply online -- at any time -- for membership in the DELPHI 20/20
Advantage Plan. Your membership becomes active at 4 a.m. Eastern Time on
the first billing day of the following month.
The $20 charge will be billed to you at the beginning of the month to
which it applies. Any portion of the 20 hours not used in any month does
not carry forward into the next month.
Advantage rates may be changed with 30 days notice given online.
TRY DELPHI FOR $1 AN HOUR!
For a limited time, you can become a trial member of DELPHI, and
receive 5 hours of evening and weekend access during this month for only
$5. If you're not satisfied, simply cancel your account before the end of
the calendar month with no further obligation. If you keep your account
active, you will automatically be enrolled in DELPHI's 10/4 Basic Plan,
where you can use up to 4 weekend and evening hours a month for a minimum
$10 monthly charge, with additional hours available at $3.96. 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!
DELPHI-It's the BEST Value and getting BETTER all the time!
************************************************************
ATARI/JAG SECTION (III)
=======================
Dana Jacobson, Editor
> From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
As mentioned in last week's issue, an end of an era at Atari
occurred when Bob Brodie completed his last official day at Sunnyvale.
Bob conducted his last formal "Dateline: Atari" conference, as well.
Before some of you sit up in your chair, thinking here it comes, a
final bashing from STReport - relax.
I read the transcript of that conference knowing ahead of time
what it would contain. Naturally, the final conference would be used
to convey final tributes and well wishes, to the users and to Bob.
There was also the last valiant efforts to get some new information
about new Jaguar titles, and also any hints about Atari computers for
the future. There was even the final "best and worst" moments in Bob's
career with Atari. Bob was true to form, even to the last.
Please don't take this as my parting shot; that's not my
intention, in all seriousness. Of course, STReport and Bob Brodie had
differences. Ralph and Bob had differences. Bob and I had some
differences over the years. I'm sure that there were others. The
point is, it's in the past now. Ralph has "moved" on to a new
platform, as has Bob, so to speak. It's an end of an era, and the
start of another. I've talked with a number of our staffers since
Bob's notice; and it came up in the conversation. Bottom line is we
wish Bob the best of luck in his new position.
The summer CES is rapidly approaching, with a few weeks to go.
Atari is gearing up for a terrific showing. Many of us would wish that
Atari was planning to show the latest in computer hardware, but alas,
that may be a thing of the past. It'll be strictly a Jaguar (and
possibly the Lynx) show, this year. That's not a bad thing, unless
games aren't part of your activities. Let's hope that Atari attracts a
lot of attention!
Speaking of CES time, one of our Jaguar-edition writers has
offered to do a professional-quality video of the CES. Make sure that
you check out the "ad" for it in the Jaguar section of this issue.
Craig Harris has some great ideas for the video, so if you're
interested in seeing the "best of the sights" at the show, you'll want
to have this video!!
I have a few "nibbles" on our search for a new online PD software
"fisherman." If you're interested in writing mini-reviews of public
domain/shareware programs, a few at a time, drop me a line. I hope to
have an alternative column up and running within the next few weeks.
This is a great way for you to help share your thoughts about what's
available to the Atari public in the form of public domain software.
As this is our "double issue" this week, let's get to the meat of
the issue!
Until next time...
______________________________________________
Delphi's Atari Advantage!!
TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (6/8/94)
(1) ST-ZIP 2.6 (6) OCR V1.25
(2) AEO JAGUAR EDITION #2 (7) TETRIS/BITRIS/COLUMNS
(3) WINX 2.3G (8) DARKLORD SCREEN SAVER SYSTEM
(4) BERZERK *(9) ASCGIF-ASCII GIF VIEWER
(5) NEOCOM - TERMINAL PROGRAM *(10) GEMRAM V.1.6
* = New on list
HONORARY TOP 10
The following on-line magazines are always top downloads, frequently
out-performing every other file in the databases.
STREPORT (Current issue: STREPORT #10.23)
ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE (Current issue: AEO - VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9)
Look for the above files in the RECENT ARRIVALS database.
____________________________________________
> Current Notes Update! STR InfoFile!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Current Notes Announces New Schedule and Pricing
================================================
Sterling, VA, 1 June 1994 -- Below is a reprint of my "editorial"
from the June/July issue of Current Notes, currently at the printer. It
outlines several changes I have implemented for Current Notes, effective 1
June 1994. It also indicates many of the factors that have influenced my
decisions. Current Notes is in its 14th year. I, personally, have been
publishing this magazine for over 10 years now. We have witnessed, and
chronicled, the ups and downs of the Atari market as well as the
excitement and enthusiasm (and trials and tribulations) of Atari computer
owners. With the changes I am launching, I trust we shall be able to
continue helping Atari users for quite some time. Following the
"editorial" is a listing of the contents of our current June/July issue.
- Joe Waters, Publisher, CN.
* * * * * *
FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESK
=========================
by Joe Waters
It should be no surprise to anyone that the Atari market is
shrinking. That decline is clearly evident in the circulation figures of
Current Notes. From May of 1990 to May of 1992, we lost 10% of our
subscription base. In the last two years, however, we have lost an
additional 1/3 of our subscribers, a trend that shows no signs of abating.
With a shrinking market size, and fewer "new" Atari owners, sales of
Atari-related products have suffered. This trend has impacted all vendors
supporting Atari, and many companies have folded. This, too,
unfortunately, affects CN, since now there are fewer companies to
advertise and fewer Atari stores in which to sell CN.
While circulation has been declining, neither the cover price, nor
the subscription rate has changed since they were set back in 1990. Even
the cost of public domain disks has remained unchanged.
I can not, of course, say the same thing for the costs of operation.
Our costs for printing, postage, shipping, telephone, etc., have all
increased. Any clerical support we used to have, is now gone. Indeed,
the return on both investment and labor in this "family" business has been
zero for quite some time. So, what do we do?
I have given this question a good deal of thought. I don't think
there is any help available from outside. Stores continue to disappear.
Of the 140 Atari vendors that were mentioned in CN last year, fully 2/3
never placed even a single advertisement with us. Atari Corp, of course,
has never advertised in CN, nor have they, with very minor exceptions,
ever supported us. Atari has never sent us a Falcon nor, to date, have we
seen the Jaguar.
It has also become more difficult to produce CN. There is a slower
pace in the Waters' household. It's not so much that things are less
busy; no indeed, things are as busy as ever. But, while there are more
things to do, there are fewer of us to do them. In addition, I, at least,
(I'd better not speak for Joyce) have grown older and a bit more tired.
The energy needed to work an 80-hour week is just not as bountiful as it
used to be. My normal job is keeping me busier than ever and Joyce, back
teaching as a Chemistry Professor and District Chairman for the Boy
Scouts, has very few hours left for CN. This may help explain why your
call is often met with an answering machine, or why the disks you ordered
don't seem to arrive as fast as they used to.
A very real option considered was to just close up shop. Another
option was to not do anything; just wait for another month or two and see
how things develop. I have rejected both options. If we must make a
change, we might as well make that change now. But, we have to ease up on
the production schedule, retard the slippage in circulation, and increase
our revenue.
My solution is to move Current Notes to a bi-monthly format.
Starting with this "June/July" issue, CN will be produced every two
months, for a total of six issues a year. Effective June 1, the cost of a
subscription will be $24 per year; a disk subscription will be $48. The
cover price will be increased to $4.95. Current subscribers will receive
the number of issues (and disks) they originally contracted for. If you
have six issues left in your current subscription, you will receive six of
the new "double-month" issues. Columnists will now have more time to
complete their columns. Advertisers will have more time to get their ads
in. Two month's of new subscribers can help offset the loss of one
month's current subscribers. And, finally, it won't be quite so hectic in
the Waters' household; there may now be time to cut the grass, wash the
car, clean up my office, maybe even take a weekend off once in a while.
If you'd like to help, you might encourage your Atari colleagues to
sign up for a year of CN. If every reader found one additional
subscriber, our circulation would double and be higher than ever. On the
other hand, even with all these changes, if the number of renewals and new
subscribers continue to slip behind the number of people moving on to
other platforms and letting their subscription lapse, Current Notes, like
so many other Atari-related products, will just quietly slip away and
become a memory of days gone by.
============================================
Current Notes
Table of Contents
Vol. 14, No. 5: June/July 1994
============================================
REGULAR FEATURES:
8-Bit Tidbits, Rick Reaser................... 42
Atari in the STicks, Henry van Eyken......... 22
"Tiptoe, Through the Tulips"
Atari Myths & Mysteries, David Troy.......... 12
"Requiem for a Faith"
AtariWorks, Michael Hebert................... 16
"The Finishing Touches"
Big City Byte, by Howard Carson.............. 19
Running Out of Ram, David Barkin............. 28
"What's New in User/Developer Ethics"
Woods Music, Gary Woods...................... 44
"Fostex RD-8 Digital Multitrack Recorder"
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Diamond Icon Basics, by Kevin Packard........ 40
Prism Studio, Review by C. Steinman.......... 42
DataDiet V2, Review by Andreas Barbiero...... 48
Data Rescue, Review by John Godbey........... 50
Pure Pascal, Review by Rick Schokman......... 52
Reach for the Skies, Review by R. Raymond.... 55
Towers, Review by Sam Van Wyck & Dan Brown... 56
DEPARTMENTS
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS....................... 4
New Products and Product Upgrades:
MARS 8
Musicom 2 and Digital Box
The Ultimate Fractals CD
Qwikforms CD
Studio Convert
ICD Link 2
Digital Storefront
MultiSync Gizmo
Rainbow 1.0
ACPC Atari Classic Programs
Atari Classic PD Software
PPP for XL/XE
Marcel V2.3
Audio CD Master 3.0
Mastering AtariWorks
Atari Industry News:
Atari Announces 1st Quarter Results
Warner Increases Share in Atari to 27%
Atari Licenses Jaguar Technology
Commodore Calls It Quits
Sales/Price Reductions
DGS Summer Special
RUN-PC Atari Catalog
MultiWriter Price Reduction
Supra Modem Update Offer
Atari Shows
Mid Indiana ST Atarifest VI
Connecticut Atarifest '94
* * * * * *
Current Notes is published bi-monthly by Current Notes Inc., 122 N.
Johnson Rd., Sterling, VA 20164. Subscriptions are $24/year. A disk
subscription is available for $48/year. Foreign subscription cost
is $30/year (disk subscription $57/year). For quickest delivery,
call (703) 450-4761 and reserve your copy now!
__________________________________________
> comp.sys.atari.announce Update! STR InfoFile!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Please read this information on comp.sys.atari.announce
1. What is comp.sys.atari.announce about?
(includes Charter and Justification as well as moderator)
CHARTER (Yat Siu)
The proposed group will provide a forum for the announcement and release
of new Atari related products:
* Atari computer hardware and software * commercial as well as shareware
or related * announcement from individual authors, companies or
distributors * press releases
Yat Siu (ysiu@lexicor.com) is the moderator, Annius Groenink is the
co-moderator (Annius.Groenink@cwi.nl) If you wish to email to the
moderators then you can email atari-moderator@lexicor.com
Justification:
There are currently comp.sys.atari.st, comp.sys.atari.st.tech,
comp.sys.atari.8bit and comp.sys.atari.advocacy, the first three groups
are discussion forums for their (specific) related hard and software.
Product announcements in these discussion forums of new releases by
either commercial, shareware groups can often be considered a service
but not encouraged. The Atari computer market is not very widely
distributed and it is getting increasingly harder to know more about
new products.
To begin with, a product announcement group would encourage the people
to announce their new products for the benefit of all Atari computer
users. It will also allow the reader to focus for a new newsgroup only
for product announcements or press releases and will also make the reader
more aware of his/her options.
Discussion will then follow-up to comp.sys.atari.st
2. Posting an article to comp.sys.atari.announce (details)
If you post an article to comp.sys.atari.announce it will me mailed to
comp-sys-atari-announce@uunet.net, this is completely normal as it will
be sent to the moderator this group, who will make the final post in
comp.sys.atari.announce, this will not happen immediately and therefore
it could take some time before you see you post on comp.sys.atari.announce
(24 hour time frame)
3. I would like to make use of this new newsgroup however I am one of:
a) my site doesn't yet honor comp.sys.atari.announce
b) I have an account at Compuserve or Genie and cannot read Usenet
Then, you can email to atari-announce@lexicor.com via the Internet, on
Compuserve this would be INTERNET:atari-announce@lexicor.com on Genie
this would be atari-announce@lexicor.com@inet#
4. Regarding returned articles and moderator work
If the article is not relevant to comp.sys.atari.announce it will be
returned and not posted, if it contains any rude or abusive language
aimed at someone or some group it will not be posted, general etiquette
applies. Generally the moderator for comp.sys.atari.announce will post
the article as-is. It is the job of the moderator to possibly clean up
the article and/or also check for spelling or grammar errors. The
moderator will try his best to perform this task, however no guarantees
can be made on the quality of the post. If you take care in creating your
announcement it will be easier for the moderator.
If the announce article is not readable, damaged (missing files),
incomplete or incoherent it will be returned to the original poster for
re-submission.
5. RESULTS for Comp.sys.atari.announce
moderated group comp.sys.atari.announce passes 266:33
There were 266 YES votes and 33 NO votes, for a total of 299 valid votes.
There was 1 abstain.
For group passage, YES votes must be at least 2/3 of all valid (YES and
NO) votes. There also must be at least 100 more YES votes than NO votes.
There is a five day discussion period after these results are posted.
If no serious allegations of voting irregularities are raised, the
moderator of news.announce.newgroups will create the group shortly
thereafter.
Newsgroups line: comp.sys.atari.announce Atari related hard/software
announcements. (Moderated)
This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party. For voting
questions only contact rdippold@qualcomm.com. For questions about the
proposed group contact Yat Siu <ysiu@lexicor.com>
Disclaimer:
The moderators or sponsors can take no responsibility on the content of
the original post, comp.sys.atari.announce is a free service for the
Atari community.
Sponsor: Lexicor Software Corporation
> Speed Of Light Viewer! STR NewsFile! - Speed Of Light viewer upgraded
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
From the newly formed Internet Newsgroup, comp.sys.atari.announce,
comes this announcement of an upgrade for a terrific picture viewer:
Speed Of Light!
Speed of Light version 3.1 Image Processor/View has been uploaded to the
following ftp sites: (file name spoflt31.zip)
atari.archive.umich.edu ftp.funet.fi ftp.uni-kl.de ftp.tu-clausthal.de
ftp.std.com
It should be appearing on Delphi, Compuserve and Genie soon too.
Thisis the first shareware release of Speed of Light since version 2.6,
and it is TOTALLY new! It works on all Atari computers and also works
under MultiTOS and Geneva. Loaded with features, the major ones include:
Loads many image formats, including GIF, >>JPEG<<, GEM XImage, Prism
Paint, and others.
Save in GIF, GEM XImage, PNT, and others.
Multiple images in memory with separate display parameters for each.
Histogram editor for complex colormap manipulation and transformations.
Load and save histograms. Automatically create gamma-correction
histograms or linear transformations. If you don't like the complex
histogram stuff, just switch back to simple RGB slider bars.
Dithering with many patterns, loads in .DIT (from GEMview) dither
files as well for ordered dithering.
Filtered Image Rescaling - Allows you to scale images and apply
filtering to smooth is out (similar to averaging on version 2.6, but
works for enlarging as well). This is kind of hard to explain, so
read the manual and look at the sample images included.
Manipulation tools like FLIP, ROTATE, and instant SCALING to any pixel
size!
The most complete color editor available on Atari Computers. Tools
include Copy, Swap, Shift, Gradient, Color Sorting, etc.
Speed, speed, speed....fastest JPEG uncompressing without a DSP!
Access accessories or other programs (in MTOS).
Tested with the Nova graphics board
Tons of other stuff!
Anyway, this has been a long time coming, so I'd like to thank those of
you who registered for version 2.6...here it is...finally! I hope it
was worth the wait.
Complete documentation is also included in the ZIP file as well as sample
images, dither and histogram files, and desktop icons. Please upload this
program everywhere and spread it around!
As always, comments and non-flames can be sent to:
sdenman@cs.washington.edu
Have fun with this one...
Stuart Denman
__________________________________________________
Jaguar Section
==============
> From the Editor's Controller - Playing It Like It is!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It's only a couple of more weeks until the Summer CES in Chicago!!
Jaguar enthusiasts, and holdouts, are eagerly waiting to see what Atari
pulls out of the magic bag of tricks. Word has it that Atari is going
all out for this show, with 35 displays and whatever you can imagine.
The CES has all the earmarks for a major success for Atari. Make sure
that you stay tuned to your favorite online service or BBS for special
show bulletins and then a full report (or more!) in a subsequent issue
of STReport. We have two reporters going to the show and both are
anxious to provide you with full coverage. In fact, for those who are
"wish I could be there" types, one reporter, Craig Harris, will be
taping a lot of the show and producing a video which you can purchase
and get a first-person feel to the CES!! Look for the ad for this
video later on in this section!
So, what's coming out soon for the Jaguar? Things have been slow
on the new games level, but that should change shortly after CES.
Telegames' "Brutal Sports Football" will be the first 3rd-party game
release, and it's in production NOW! From Atari, look for
"Wolfenstein3D" to be the next game out. It'll be a race to see what
comes after that, but "Checkered Flag II", "Doom", "Alien vs Predator",
and "Kasumi Warrior" are some of the titles that are expected. It
sounds like it's going to be a hectic summer for Jaguar owners, getting
a wide selection of games for those rainy vacation days! Heck, you're
probably going to spend more time in front of the TV set than soaking
up the sun!
For something out of the ordinary, we're brainstorming here at
STReport's Jaguar "headquarters" to come with some interesting ideas to
get you, the readers, a little involved and have some fun at the same
time. With the help of Atari's Don Thomas, we want to come up with an
idea or two for some type of contest. Naturally, we'll be offering you
incentives to take part, with some prizes of sorts! So, keep tuned so
you won't miss out on the fun.
Since I brought up Don's name above, I did want to take a moment
to publicly thank Don for all of his support over the past few months.
Don has bent over backwards to do whatever he can, within reason of
course, to provide us with information, loaner carts of Atari's Jaguar
releases, ideas, feedback, and whatever else possible. Don will even
call me to see how things are going and to see if there's something he
can do for us that perhaps we haven't considered. In fact, I just got
off the phone with him while writing this piece! It's a good feeling
to have this working relationship, for both sides. And, it's not only
STReport and our readers who are benefitting from Don's presence. He's
online at CIS daily, and also on Prodigy. He's also started his own
BBS to also provide a medium for users to have access to Jaguar
information. He's really been busy doing whatever he c
an to be visible
online and answer questions and provide everybody with whatever
information he can. For us at STReport, it means a great deal and we
all appreciate the effort and support that Don has provided us and our
readers. Thanks Don!!
Let's get to the rest of the good stuff!! It's a shorter than
usual installment this week, due to the temporary slowdown of new
games. But, don't worry, future issues are guaranteed to be full of
new and exciting things for the Jaguar!
Until next time...
_______________________________________
> Jaguar Catalog STR InfoFile - What's currently available, what's
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" coming out.
Current Available Titles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER
J9000 Cybermorph $59.99 Atari Corp.
J9006 Evolution:Dino Dudes $49.99 Atari Corp.
J9005 Raiden $49.99 FABTEK, Inc/Atari Corp.
J9001 Trevor McFur/
Crescent Galaxy $49.99 Atari Corp.
J9010 Tempest 2000 $59.95 Llamasoft/Atari Corp.
Available Soon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER
CatBox TBA ICD
Hardware and Peripherals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAT # TITLE MSRP MANUFACTURER
J8001 Jaguar (complete) $249.99 Atari Corp.
J8904 Composite Cable $19.95
J8901 Controller/Joypad $24.95 Atari Corp.
J8905 S-Video Cable $19.95
_________________________________________
> Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Nintendo Loses Court Fight
==========================
A jury has ruled Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s home video game system infringed
upon Alpex Computer Corp.'s 1977 patent for a general purpose personal
computer that could play video games.
Reporting from New York, the Reuter News Service quotes Nintendo as
saying this is only the first of several phases of the trial.
"Nintendo said it would ask Judge Kimba Wood to enter judgment for
Nintendo before any other phases of the trial," Reuters added.
Reports from Reuter News Service are a regular feature of
CompuServe's Executive News Service (GO ENS).
Nintendo Jury to Return in July
===============================
A New York federal jury will return next month to determine the
amount of damages Nintendo Co. Ltd. must pay the estate of bankrupted
Alpex Computer Corp. for allegedly infringing 1977 Alpex video game
technology patents.
After a three-week trial, the jury late last week found against
Nintendo and in favor of Alpex, which after the bankruptcy filing is
being administered by a trustee.
Patrick McCarten of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, the Cleveland, Ohio,
law firm representing the Alpex estate, told the Reuter News Service the
jury will reconvene on July 18 to determine damages.
McCarten said the jury will decide reasonable royalties to be paid
the Alpex estate based on the $3.5 billion sales generated by the games
that used the patents over the last 17 years, adding the estate will be
seeking about 10 percent to 12 percent of those sales as royalties.
As reported earlier (GO OLT-260), Nintendo says this is only the
first of several phases of the trial and that the company will ask Judge
Kimba Wood to enter a judgment for Nintendo before any other phases.
Reports from Reuter News Service are a regular feature of
CompuServe's Executive News Service (GO ENS).
Firm Promises Online Video Games
================================
A new Cupertino, California, company called Catapult Entertainment --
backed by Blockbuster Entertainment Corp. and Hollywood financiers Marvin
and John Davis -- is planning to enable video-game players to compete via
modem.
Reporting from Los Angeles, United Press International says the firm
plans to sell the service later this year for a $5 to $10 monthly fee.
"Catapult's service would offer customers a chance to put a game in
their Sega or Nintendo game machine, dial into a central data system
and be matched with other customers who own the same game," says UPI.
The system "will allow video game enthusiasts to compete from different
locations and is designed to work with most games without modification."
"People have been talking about the potential which could result
from the marriage of Hollywood and Silicon Valley," Marvin Davis,
one-time owner of 20th Century Fox, told the wire service. "Catapult's
new products, we believe, demonstrate both the feasibility and the
promise of this combination."
UPI says Catapult's modem will be sold to video stores and other
outlets this fall for $40 to $60. Meanwhile, Blockbuster video rental
outlets will sell and rent the modem as a way of encouraging traffic
in its selection of electronic game cartridges.
Catapult President Adam Grosser said the modem and service are
expected to be ready for sale in mid-November, adding the firm estimates
average consumers will pay between 20 and 30 cents per connection to
the network, not counting any long distance telephone tolls.
Reports from United Press International are accessible in CompuServe
NewsGrid database (GO NEWSGRID) and through the Executive News Service
(GO ENS).
Sega, Blockbuster, IBM Team Up
==============================
Testing electronic delivery of video-game software for retail sale
is the point of a new cooperative venture by game publisher Sega of
America, video rental giant Blockbuster Video and IBM.
Look for the companies to launch the market test in 10 to 15
Blockbuster stores in one or two markets in August and run the test for
two to four months. After the tests, they will decide whether to offer
the system for sale to all retailers. Blockbuster has more than 3,000
stores nationwide.
Reporting from Deerfield Beach, Florida, United Press International
says the pilot project calls for some Blockbuster stores to offer
customers Sega video games on blank, reusable cartridges using IBM
technology.
"The companies noted that since the blank cartridges will be rented
and returned to the stores, they can then be reprogrammed an unlimited
number of times," UPI observed.
David Lundeen, president of Blockbuster and IBM's joint NewLeaf
Entertainment, told the wire service, "We believe the system offers
retailers and game publishers the ultimate in just-in-time inventory.
With the ability to program game cartridges at retail locations, retailers
and game publishers can maximize their opportunity to put products into
customers' hands and increase overall transactions."
Sega President/CEO Tom Kalinske added the project is designed to
make certain that game rental customers can obtain the nearly 1,000
Genesis and Game Gear software titles available.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Blockbuster agreed last year to
form the NewLeaf venture with IBM to use digital technology to give
stores access to vast libraries of records and movies through a central
computer system.
"While the move has positioned Blockbuster to take advantage of the
technologies that eventually will make its stores obsolete," UPI comments,
"analysts are unsure whether record companies and film studios will be
willing to work out the licensing agreements for the new system."
Reports from United Press International are accessible in CompuServe
NewsGrid database (GO NEWSGRID) and through the Executive News Service
(GO ENS).
__________________________________________
> Jaguar Online STR InfoFile - Online Users Growl & Purr!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Jaguar Bumper Stickers Still Available!!
========================================
CatNIPS ..... (Jaguar tidbits from Don Thomas)
Atari has had some real CooL bumper stickers made up. They are black and
feature the yellow Jaguar eyes as well as the blood-red Jaguar logo. I
understand these are being shipped to the upcoming C.E.S. show, but I
have managed to, well let's say, "put some aside for my friends" <g>.
So here's another freebie for everyone... (YEA!)
Send me a self-addressed and pre-stamped envelope and I'll put one of
these "hot-off-the-press" three-color eye-poppers in it right back to you.
The dimensions are 3"x12" so keep that in mind. If you really do not want
a gentle fold in it, send an envelope at least 12 inches long and make
sure there's cardboard in it. If you are not sure how long 12 inches is,
try a ruler.
Send to: Don's Really Hot Jaguar Bumper Sticker Freebie
Atari Corporation
P.O. Box 61657
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657
The bumper stickers are FREE as long as you promise that you'll proudly
display it where all your friends will see it. I recommend getting Mom and
Dad's permission before slapping it on their furniture, appliances or
automobiles. Maybe they'll let you tape it in the back window of the car
(tape it so the logo faces out please).
I hope everyone likes these. Consider it a "THANKS" for your patience as
we work our "bumpers" off getting some more software into your hot hands
as fast as we can!
--Don Thomas
Atari Corporation
__________________________________________________
> ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
=====================
On CompuServe
-------------
compiled by
Joe Mirando
Hidi ho again friends and neighbors. I hope you don't mind, but I'm
going to turn a bit philosophical for a moment. You see, today is my
birthday and I always like to look back on the past year and take stock of
what has and what hasn't happened.
So, at the ripe old age of 34, I find that I'm doing pretty well!
I've just gotten married, I'm healthy, happy, and, most importantly, among
friends.
I know that this sounds like a lot of hype, but I really do feel that
a lot of the people that I've met here on CompuServe are my friends. Ron
Luks, Bob Retelle, Brian Gockley, BJ Gleason, Myles Cohen, and of course
Dana and Ralph here at STReport are all people that I've met online and
now consider friends. All of the people that I've mentioned routinely go
out of their way to help others online. That, in my opinion anyway, is a
friend.
Well, I think I'll end my monologue here and get on with the purpose
of this column... all the great news, hints, and tips available here every
week right here on CompuServe. So let's take a peek!
From the Atari Productivity Forum
=================================
Rob Rasmussen asks a few questions about his Falcon030:
"1. Apparently I didn't get S.A.M with my Falcon. Also no D2D demo. Are
they no longer available, or am I missing something obvious?
2. I haven't hooked the Falcon to my stereo yet. Is there a way to
adjust the volume of the internal speaker(s) and keep it that way? The
Sound CPX has volume controls which seemed to work for this, although
it may be for the sound going to a stereo. When I set it to a lower
volume and saved it, next time I booted up it was loud again -
keyclicks, chimes, demo music, etc.
3. Many times when I hit the key combination for a warm or cold boot,
the key click goes crazy with repeating, as if I were holding down a
key. It won't stop til I hit another key. Occasionally this happens on
my ST but not this bad. What causes this?
4. What is different in a Newdesk.INF from a Desktop.INF? I viewed the
Newdesk.INF and saw several file extensions listed - PRG, TOS, GTP,
etc. Is this for Install Application?
5. Pressing Control-C,D,E, etc, opens directory windows for those
drives. Is there a way to edit this? I saw no mention of it. Also in
Desktop Configuration, I can't get function keys to launch programs.
Nothing I click on has any effect. Anybody know the secret? (yes I am
reading the manual!)"
Mike Mortilla tells Rob:
"After changing the volume, I suspect you'll have to save the desktop
to preserve settings. Again, I don't have a Falcon, so if you want to
send me yours, I can try this out for you...<grin>."
Kevin from PG Music tells Rob:
"You have to save the volume settings from XCONTROL to save the
settings. NOTE: The volume won't be lower on a reboot until
XCONTROL.ACC gets loaded and sets up everything.
You'll probably want SPEAKOFF2.PRG in your AUTO folder to shut off the
blasted internal speaker early in the bootup process."
Let's join a conversation in progress. Brian Gockley of ST Informer
tells John McCarthy:
"Geneva is a much more compatible multitasker than MutiTOS, faster and
better documented!"
John asks Brian:
"I would like to get something that works. When you say compatible, are
you refering to existing software for the ST for example? I ask this
because I would guess that most new software developers would tend to
make their new products compatible with Multitos(Atari) rather than
help a competitor out?"
Brian replies:
"On the contrary, I think that most developers are delighted to see
the new opportunities and flexibility that Geneva offers, as well as
being aware that the end users are _buying_ it in droves!"
Paul Gutterman posts:
" My father-in-law has been using an Atari computer for several years
(no hard drive, though). I have a Macintosh IIsi (system 7). He and
I would like to exchange some files. Is there a relatively easy (and
hopefully cheap) way to make Atari files readable on a Mac, and
visa-versa?"
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Paul:
"To expand a little on the situation...
The Atari computers use the same floppy disk format as the IBM PC
does. That means both systems can read the same disks, and files can be
transferred back and forth between the two quite easily.
Some Macs have floppy disk drives which can read IBM floppy disks,
thus they can also read disks which have Atari files on them.
There are some restrictions on compatibility, although I don't
remember the exact details... in general the best compatibility is
obtained when the disks are formatted on an IBM system originally, then
the files can be written to them on the Atari with assurance that they
can be read anywhere.
I think I recall that disks formatted by the Mac using the Apple File
Exchange program will work too...
Note that while the disks can be read, *programs* for the various
types of computers won't run on the other systems. Only text and data
files are really useful..."
John McCarthy asks a question about upgrading his Falcon:
"In shopping for RAM upgrade kits for my 4meg Falcon, I've been told
that one kit requires the removal of the Falcon's speaker, and another
kit causes some kind of protrusion arount the keyboard area. Does
anyone know of a kit that does not suffer from these ridiculous side
effects?"
Brian Kolins tells John:
"The upgrade from Wizztronics uses a single SIMM. Can't imagine it
takes up that much room."
Mike Myers tells us:
"I'm working with GIF Files, and I find the word "dither" used a lot in
the dialog boxes.What does it mean? Also, is there a library file of a
glossary of such words?"
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Mike:
"Dither" is a term for the technique where the color of two adjacent
pixels is chosen so that when viewed on the screen it gives the visual
impression of a third color...
It's also used to give the impression of a higher resolution than the
display is normally capable of showing.
If the program you're using has the option of turning dithering on and
off, try experimenting by viewing the same picture both ways and see if
you can see the difference.. (it may be more pronounced on some
pictures than on others).
Dithering can be used on black and white displays (or on a black and
white printer) to give the visual impression of grey-scale shading, when
in fact there are only the two colors available."
Yat Siu of Lexicor Software posts:
"I am happy that Compuserve is so succesful, I also heard that their
European nodes are becoming much more active than they used i.e. rather
than use Radio Austria in VIenna they have their own number in several
cities now in Europe (and around the globe).
This would make Compuserve the single largest commercial online server
in the U.S.A. would it not? (not counting anything on the internet
naturally)."
Sysop Jim Ness tells Yat:
"CompuServe is claiming to be the largest online service in the USA,
yes.
At one time Prodigy also claimed 2 million members, but they did it by
multiplying their number of accounts by 1.4, because they felt that
1.4 members of each family used the account. Other online services
only count their number of paying accounts.
More recently, industry sources say Prodigy's membership has fallen
somewhat, and they no longer claim 2 million.
My understanding is that the order of size is now: CompuServe,
Prodigy, America Online, GEnie, Delphi, BIX, all in the USA. The
membership drop after Prodigy is pretty large, then AOL and GEnie are
close together, and Delphi and BIX are close together.
In general, the entire industry is growing very rapidly, as the quote
from Cheryl Currid indicated. The falling costs of computers and
modems, the increasingly competitive costs of the online services, and
the publicity surrounding the "data highway" are all contributing to
the growth."
The big Kahuna himself, Chief Sysop Ron Luks, tells Yat:
"Not counting the Internet, CompuServe is the worlds largest commercial
information service.
(This doesnt count the government sponsored service in France, of
course)."
From the Atari Vendors Forum
============================
Thomas Heard asks about "what's hot" in the Atari world:
"I run a data transfer business using Atari hardware and custom
software I've written ... I need to know the fastest new Atari ST
compatible computer available. Would it be the TT030 or perhaps the
Jaguar? Someone please educate me and get me in touch with a good
dealer ... right now I run on a Mega ST2 with an external array of SCSI
drivers using ICD controllers."
Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine tells Thomas:
"The TT030 is currently the fastest Atari computer. You can try Toad
Computers which is based in Maryland. Don't have the phone number on
me. I'm sure someone else will be able to rattle off the number for
you."
Sysop Ron Luks adds:
"As others have already replied, the TT030 is the "fastest" atari
branded computer at 32 Mhz. The newer FALCON model runs at the slower
16Mhz speed (both are 68030-based units) but may be more compatible
with your existing software.
In any case, its only fair to let you know that although both are
still sold by Atari Corp, Atari is essentially focusing ALL its
activities on the video game marketplace with no new computer
development or significant support for computers going on at this time.
One possible alternative is the new Atari-clones coming out of Europe.
There's a 68030 based "Medusa" computer which is reported to be very,
very fast. Lexicor, a US company based in California has reported
delivering their first units to pre-orders and they contemplate more
coming in soon. They put together a special package for this Medusa
system that they call the PANDORA.
Also, as others have mentioned you can investigate accellerator boards
for your Mega ST2.
If you want to contact Lexicor, they are active online here (they have
their own support section in this forum). they'll be happy to provide
details about the Medusa/Pandora clones."
Yat Siu from Lexicor tells Ron:
"Thanks, a small correction though is that it is a 68040 BASED computer
and I have also posted NBM Benchmarks over at ataripro, the Medusa
averages 4-6 times faster than a Stock TT'030."
Sysop Bob Retelle adds to the info:
"The Jaguar is a dedicated games system, not a computer... it appears
that Atari is devoting all its resources to supporting it at this
time."
Tom Harker, the boss at ICD (Incredibly Cool Devices), posts:
"For the Atari computers our main products are:
The Link 2
ICD SCSI Pro Utilities
AdSpeed ST
AdSpeed STE
AdSCSI ST Plus
AdSCSI ST
AdSCSI Micro ST
Cleanup ST
Tape Software
(In order of popularity)
We will be dropping most products in favor of The Link 2 and the SCSI
Pro Utilities as our stocks run out unless a large order comes in. (We
did make more AdSpeed STEs.)
The Link 2 is now our main SCSI host adapter for all Atari DMA port
computers.
The ICD SCSI Pro Utilities is our main software product for all Atari
16 or 32 bit computers.
The Link 2 retails at $119.95.
ICD SCSI Pro Utilities retails at $49.95. Our Falcon support is
unsurpassed. We support 2GB partitions on the Falcon and CuBase Audio
Falcon."
From the Video Game Publishers Forum
====================================
Andrew Salmon asks:
"Has anyone got any ideas when the next version of Doom (which I
believe is v1.4) is coming out. As I understand it, this will fully
support four player mode over a network.
Appreciate any news/rumours."
Sysop Ron Luks tells Andrew:
"I dont know about the PC version, but there is one video game company
(whose name I cannot mention at this time) who has liscensed DOOM for
their video game unit, and they are looking into multi-unit and over a
network support."
Bill Goldman asks:
"I heard that Spectrum HoloByte suspended their production of STTNG for
3DO - is this true? If so it's a shame, it's possible that Star Trek
could be THE hit that 3DO needs to jumpstart its sales."
Sysop Mike Schoenbach posts this:
"SPECTRUM HOLOBYTE ISSUES CLARIFICATION
ALAMEDA, Calif., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Spectrum HoloByte (Nasdaq:
SBYT) today issued a clarification in response to the June 13, 1994
issue of Newsweek article entitled "Lost in Cyberspace," by Nancy Hass.
Gilman Louie, chairman and chief technical officer of Spectrum HoloByte
said, "Our company is committed to developing products for 'Star Trek:
The Next Generation(R),' under its license from Paramount Pictures.
We've just launched a Super Nintendo product and expect to launch a
CD-ROM product prior to the end of the fiscal year."
He continued, "Part of Spectrum HoloByte's product strategy with
respect to its 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' license is to develop
and introduce additional Star Trek products on other platforms. We
currently intend to continue allocating resources toward developing
'Star Trek: The Generation "A World for All Seasons"' for use on the
3DO Interactive Multiplayer System(R). When this product is completed
to our satisfaction, the company would introduce it for use on the 3DO
Interactive Multiplayer System or any other viable platform."
Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. is a developer and publisher of interactive
entertainment software for use on CD-ROM and floppy-based personal
computers. The company also develops and publishes software for
cartridge-based video game machines manufactured by Nintendo(R) and
Sega(TM). The products are available nationally and internationally
through major distributors, retailers and mass merchants. -0- 6/9/94
/CONTACT: Holly Hartz of Spectrum HoloByte, 510-522-3584; or Jenny
Roelle or Dean Bender of Bender, Goldman & Helper, 310-473-4147, for
Spectrum HoloByte/ (SBYT) CO: Spectrum HoloByte Inc. ST: California
IN: CPR SU:"
Sysop Jen Kuiper asks:
"... do people really think that Atari's headstart on the Jaguar can
keep them in the game once Sega and Nintendo's machines are released...
or will it eventually die a slow death?"
Sysop Ron Luks replies with...
"My opinion:
Yes-- Atari can make it in this business, even if going head-to-head
with Sega or Nintendo. They do have the resources to do this, even if
they didnt have the resources to win in the computer wars.
Atari's weakness was that they couldnt get up to speed as fast as Sega
or Nintendo, but they will have had over a year to work out the bugs at
their end (like the manufacturing problems they recently cured). If
they had started at the same time as Sega, I would have voted
otherwise, but the 1 year+ headstart was very significant.
There will inevitably be comparisons between Ataris performance in the
video game business and their performance in the computer business. I
dont think the comparisons are valid. They really are two very
different marketplaces in my opinion.
Realistically (and this ought to get some people pretty upset), the
investment in a video game unit (not the games themselves, just the
unit) is significantly less than computers. People will frequently put
$3000-$6000 into their computer systems and they are therefore very
dependent on the long range viability of the underlying company. they
cant afford to spend this kind of cash and risk the company faltering
in 3 years.
However, a video game unit is a couple hundred bucks. In the case of
the Jaguar-- $250 at retail price. Lets look at the very worst case
scenerio (which I dont believe will happen, but lets play devil's
advocate for a moment). What if Atari comes out with 50 good games and
the company loses direction and founders. Does the unit itself need
ongoing support? No. It will function as well 5 years from now as it
does today. Even if it doesnt, what is your loss for the unit itself?
$250, which isnt going to break anybody's finances permanently. The
risk in this business for the customer is significantly less than for
the com puter system buyer.
Now, I'm going to go put on my flak jacket and start ducking the flame
balls which will surely be sent in my direction. [g]"
Well folks, that's about it for this week. Tune in again next time for
more of the kind of information that can help you to work and play
smarter with your computer. All you need is a comfortable chair, a
little bit of time, and a good ear to listen to what they are saying
when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
______________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"
"""""""""""""""""""""
- Chicago, IL NEW "LIFE" for CALAMUS SL??
-----------
According to our sources in the European marketplace... Calamus SL,
long recognized as a premier DTP package in Europe, is to be supported by
a new company, Adequate Systems, having been formed by a splinter group
composed of the original programmers responsible for the Atari modules and
code. The group broke away from DMC GMBH recently after the announcement
made at this year's CeBIT that DMC GMBH would no longer support Calamus SL
for the Atari marketplace. It was further reported that DMC GMBH has put
all their efforts in the making of the Windows NT version. At CeBIT of
1994 the following happened. DMC GmBH has told their Atari customers,
because of the market situation and Atari, we recommend that you buy a
system capable of using Windows NT.
This upset many Calamus customers both present and future. Concerned
customers switched to the Mac, which was fast becoming less expensive due
to repetitive discounting by Apple. Since NT had, so far, proved very
disappointing to DMC Germany's expectations, especially after Microsoft
announced that it will NOT market the product on a wide scale. NT was NOT
the OS to replace windows for your everyday PC and PC Clone.
It was further reported that Adequate Systems, unfortunately, does
not hold any of the copyrights to Calamus or SL or any portions of the
code contained therein. At this point DMC GMBH is not willing to
relinquish any (c) holdings. However it is rumored that Dr. Reidhl, newly
appointed to the board of Directors of DMC GMBH and marketing manager,
formally of Atari GMBH, is attempting to reach an amicable agreement with
the newly formed Atari SL programming group's company Adequate Systems.
Hopefully, another Chagall-like episode is not in the wings.
- Baltimore, MD NEW GEM GROUP DRAWS UNWARRANTED HEAT!
-------------
Recently a new international support group for GEM was organized.
Its reception was very positive and widespread. One of its sponsors is
Lexicor Software. Lexicor, in attempting to offer first class support to
the waning Atari Computer marketplace took the initiative to help with
this new group and to initiate the opening of a Newsgroup for Atari in
UseNet. In comes the grinch. According to our sources, a number of IAAD
members had a desire to be part of this new GEM Group. As such, they
suggested the IAAD join. The outcome; a letter (unsigned) was sent to a
volunteer spokesman for the group which was less than gracious in its
content in refusing participation with the new group on behalf of the
IAAD. As if that wasn't enough, a follow-up effort to discredit and
otherwise disgrace Lexicor Software, a co-sponsor and volunteer
participant, came in the form of a rather unusual intercontinental
telephone call. A call where the caller, alleged to be a past officer of
the IAAD, seemingly did everything possible to cause harm to Lexicor.
Reportedly, this party blamed Lexicor for almost every worldwide calamity
for the last ten years. The caller literally begged that they remove
Lexicor as a sponsor and replace Lexicor with a representative from the
IAAD. The final outcome was reportedly a terse thank you and a dead line.
Initiated at the European end.
- New York City, NY MEDUSA ONLY BEING SOLD BY LEXICOR IN N.A.
-----------------
According to a recent communique, the Medusa, a higher powered TT030
style clone that offers more speed and versatility, is only being sold by
Lexicor on this side of the Atlantic. Reportedly, Compo USA has replied
to inquiries of their status with the Medusa and vindicated Lexicor with
the following:
"I regret to inform you that we will not be distributing or
otherwise supporting Medusa.
Best regards,
Robert Engberson
COMPO Software Corp."
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> A "Quotable Quote" "Will the Politicians ever WAKE UP?"
"""""""""""""""""
One day this week....
A customer was looking over some products in a variety store. As he was
doing so, he sadly noticed most _everything_ was imported.
As a result he asked the clerk ...a bright looking young man, if anything
was made in the USA any longer?
The young clerk looked up, pondered the question for a moment or two, and
then exclaimed...
Yessir, there is.... UNEMPLOYMENT!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> DEALER CLASSIFIED LIST STR InfoFile * Dealer Listings *
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ---------------
ABCO Incorporated
=================
P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155
Est. 1985
1-904-783-3319
1994 SPRING SPECIALS NOW IN EFFECT!
------------------------
ABCO manufactures custom storage devices!
INTEL 32 BIT 486/66, VLB w/Math CoProcessor
4MB ram upgradable to 32MB 1MB SVGA VESA VIDEO CARD
Sound Blaster Compatible Stereo Sound Card
DOS 6.2 - Windows for Workgroups 3.11 Included
128K CACHE - 1.44/1.2 FLOPPY Drives, Mouse & 101 deluxe Keyboard
250MB IDE hd - 2 SERIAL, 1 PARALLEL, 1 GAME PORTS
250W POWER SUPPLY TOWER SYSTEM
14" Non-Interlaced SVGA 1024x768, 28dpi Monitor
66Mhz, S&H Incl 1695.00
695.00 with order, balance COD
other higher powered packages available
or, design your own! Call for value added pricing!
Call: 904-783-3319 Anytime, Voice Mail
=====******=====
Syquest Removable 44-105-270mb SCSI Drives
All Size Platters Available
Diamond Speed Star 24x SVGA/VGA Video Card w/1mbVRAM
Diamond Stealth & Viper 1mb & 2mb - Call for prices
Enhances Windows SPEED and EFFICIENCY
Diamond High Performance Sound Cards Available
Soundblaster Cards and compatibles 8 & 16 bit
Creative Technologies' Sound Blaster AWE 32 SUPER Sound Card
Pro Audio Spectrum STUDIO 16 - 16bit - Midi - Audio Recognition
Top of the Media Vision PAS Line - True Multi-Media
IDE Super IO cards & 16550 UART 2 & 4 Port Cards
Call: 904-783-3319 Anytime, Voice Mail
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
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 FREE of Charge, please drop us a line.)
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport International Online Magazine
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AVAILABLE ON OVER 20,001 PRIVATE BBS SYSTEMS
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STR Online! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" June 10, 1994
Since 1987 copyright (c) 1987-94 All Rights Reserved No.1024
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
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, CPU, STReport and/or portions therein
may not be edited, used, duplicated or transmitted in any way without
prior written permission. STR, CPU, STReport, at the time of publication,
is believed reasonably accurate. STR, CPU, STReport, are trademarks of
STReport and STR Publishing Inc. STR, CPU, 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.
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