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Syndicate ZMagazine Issue 041
-----------------------------------
Zmagazine March 2, 1987
Issue 41
-----------------------------------
Zmag Staff:
Publisher/Editor in Chief:Ron Kovacs
Editor/Coordinator:Alan Kloza
-----------------------------------
ZMAG USER GROUP (BBS) OF THE MONTH
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF OZ BBS
PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII
(808) 423-2754
____________________________________
This Week in Zmag......
<*> PUBLISHER'S DESK
<*> USER GROUP OF THE MONTH
HAWAII'S OZ BBS
<*> USER GROUP UPDATES--
<*> GAMES COMPUTERS PLAY
CLOSES ITS DOORS
<*> 8-BIT EMULATOR FOR THE ST
NEARS COMPLETION--BUT ATARI
SEEKING TO BLOCK RELEASE
<*> HARD DISK USER'S GROUP
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
<*> MAGIC SAC--THE ST MAC-CLONE
ALL IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE?
All this and more in this weeks
edition of Zmagazine.....
____________________________________
Xx ZMAG PUBLISHER'S NOTE
..Sharing the Wealth of Information.
____________________________________
During the last 10 months, I have
been contacted by many different
types of User Groups, including
Atari, Commodore, IBM, Kaypro, and
Tandy. All have asked for permission
to reprint articles from here.
I want to stress that we want you
to use the information here in your
newsletters!!! There are a few
groups using our material on a
monthly basis.
Before a few personal crises hit
here recently, I was writing a
monthly -best of ZMAG- column for
JACG. If anyone is interested in
using the articles which we use at
JACG, please let me know and I will
make them available on my BBS.
I get 2-3 messages a week asking
permission for usage of our
material. Let this article be the
permission to reprint.
All we ask is that you show Zmag
as your source, and include the
issue number or date.
The second point I want to address
is Newsletter Exchange. I am
currently discussing a few
matters with Lennart Olsson from
Sorman Information in Sweden. They
have a few Atari User groups who
would like to exchange information
with United States User Groups.
The hope is that we can organize
things a bit so that communications
between the two areas will be
easier and more enjoyable. I will
keep everyone informed on our
progress.
If you can supply us with a copy
of your newsletter or give us
information on subscribing, we will
annouce your newsletter here with
membership and contact info.
We would then like to pass on your
subscription info to Sweden.
I can be reached via E-Mail on
CompuServe at 71777,2140 or at the
Syndicate Zmag BBS (201) 968-8148.
Thanks for supporting Zmag!
Ron Kovacs
Publisher
Editor in Chief
___________________________________
ZMAG USER GROUP OF THE MONTH
....Wonderful World of Oz..........
___________________________________
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF OZ BBS
ZMAG BBS REVIEW OF THE MONTH
By Daniel Osborne, SysOz (System
Operator)
The Wonderful World of Oz BBS --
(808) 423-2754
Pearl Harbor, HI
Located on the island of Oahu in
Hawaii, the Wonderful World of Oz BBS
was the first BBS Express board to
go up in the Hawaiian Islands. We've
been online since April 18, 1986.
Starting off as quite a small
system, it has now grown from a
130 XE, two drives and 300 baud,
to 2.2 megs online and over 300
users from the local community and
the mainland.
The board was originally intended
to serve the local Atari community
by providing a source of information,
files and and a wide variety of
topics and opinions concerning the
Atari computer. To date the board
has successfully accomplished this
task to the utmost.
Because of distance and the lack of
communication to the mainland
(stateside), the board has developed
a reputation as an Atari -focal
point,- informing the local
community about recent Atari news,
information and programs that
otherwise would not be available
anywhere in Hawaii.
In the -Libraries- section of the
board you can find most anything--
from Atari-New Products and Reviews,
ICD Product Information, Atari
Stock Market Quotes, Technical
Upgrades and Modifications, Rumors
and News, Fun Reading, ATASCII
Cartoons, ZMagazine and much much
more!
The system is made up of an 800XL
with 256K ICD Rambo upgrade, ICD 1
Meg MIO (Multi I/O), Astra 2001 with
two double density drives, Astra
1620 with two double density drives,
Atari 1050 with ICD US Doublers 5-8,
Atari 1025 printer, ICD R-Time cart,
Avatex 1200 baud modem, SpartaDos 3.2
and is currently running Keith
Ledbetter's BBS Express 850 Bulletin
Board Program.
There are nine active message
bases ranging from General Messages,
Upload and Download Information,
User Group Information, Wizard's
Only, a Fantasy message base,
Adventure Q's and A's, Programmers
Help, Request Line, Sports message
base and a list of Other BBS's a
mile long ranging from Alaska to
Wyoming. There is also an online
role playing adventure game called
-Spellbind,- which can be played by
anyone. Users submit their moves
via E-Mail and the competition is
stiff!
Available to Atari ST users: the
board currently cannot handle ST
files. A 20 megabyte hard drive is
in the works, and should be able to
handle both Atari 8-bit and ST files
by early June of 1987 (crossing my
fingers!).
Although there are three other
Atari 8-bit BBS's in Hawaii and two
ST BBS's, the Wonderful World of Oz
BBS is the most active and hardest
to logon. Callers logging on range
from 50 to 60 each day. Please do
not be discouraged if you can't
logon immediatley, keep trying.
Long distance callers from the
mainland are always welcome!
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG USER GROUP UPDATE
....Newsletters and Information
_____________________________________
We are exchanging newsletters with a
few user groups and would like to
be receiving yours too! Let us know
how to get it and we will make the
necessary arrangements.
If you're interested in getting
involved in a user's group and live
in one of the locations below, don't
hesitate to contact them.
Zmag will continue to publish and
advertise viable Atari User's
Groups. So if you send us the
information, we'll continue to
supply these updates as a public
service to the Atari community.
MICHIGAN
--------
(Lansing Area, Flint Area, Jackson,
Saginaw,Bay City, Midland, Battle
Creek Area, Ann Arbor Area,
Kalamazoo Area)
MICHIGAN ATARI MAGAZINE
This publication is the official
newsletter of several independent
groups of Atari-8Bit and 16Bit
users.
Subscription is included with
membership in any of the
participating clubs or directly
from the Magazine for $12.00 per
year to addresses in the United
States.
For more information contact:
C.H.A.O.S.
MICHIGAN ATARI MAGAZINE
PO BOX 16132
LANSING, MI 48901
_____________________________________
NEW JERSEY
(Central Area)
Jersey Atari Computer Group
Newsletter is included in
membership. $20.00 per year. And
$30.00 for addresses out of the
United States.
For more information:
Thomas Pazel, Membership Chairman
JACG
70 Mitchell Road. TD-7
Hackettstown, NJ 07840
___________________________________
Xx ZMAG ATARI NEWSWIRE
...GCP Closes Gates To Future...
___________________________________
By Steve Godun
Games Computers Play Inc., an
online telecommunications service
offered exclusively to Atari
computer owners, has closed its
gates effective February 28, 1987.
The service, stationed in York,
PA, offered high-resolution online
graphics (and later, a text-only
service) to any Atari 8-bit or ST
owner. GCP closed due to -heavy
financial difficulties and contract
disagreements-. Accessed through
Tymnet, a time-sharing service, GCP
was the cheapest service to sub-
scribe to. The Source, Delphi, and
even CompuServe couldn't match
GCP's subscription and online
rates. However, it is rumored that
by keeping the prices low in hopes
of attracting new subscribers, GCP
could not afford to pay Tymnet and
therefore lost its contract.
GCP's closing was announced in a
GCP bulletin on February 21, 1987.
Current subscribers scrambled to
use up their online time before
GCP's demise. After closing, any
subscriber who has an active
account with GCP will have his/her
money returned. Anyone who sent in
money to subscribe to GCP will
immediately have his/her money
returned.
The GCP sysops were not available
for comment.
___________________________________
Xx ZMAG ST NEWSWIRE
....8-Bit Emulator For ST's.......
___________________________________
Supplied by the CHAOS BBS-
Reprinted From MICHIGAN ATARI
MAGAZINE by permission.
An -800- emulator for the ST is a
reality! I have seen it and talked
to the author. DAREK MIHOCKA, of
the LONDON, ONTARIO area, has
written and distributed several
levels of beta test versions on
BBS's. He originally planned to
make a emulator for just about all
the 6502 machines, but has since
broken the emulations into separate
versions for the APPLE ][, the
ATARI, and soon the COMMODORE 64.
(YIKE!).
The version I saw ran no graphics and
did not support DOS functions. But
in a telephone interview on February
22, Darek, a 20 year old college
student at Waterloo University
outside Toronto, told me that he has
now developed the emulation to
produce all graphics modes, DOS
support, and even DISPLAY LISTS!
Still to be developed are PLAYER
MISSLE GRAPHICS and SOUND.
Additionally, there seems to be a
string-handling bug in the ATARI
8-bit BASIC emulation but Darek
expects to have that corrected
shortly. Ultimately he plans to have
the emulation good enough to run
commercial heavy-graphics software.
At this point, the emulation runs
about 1/4 the speed of -normal- 8-bit
execution as the emulation is an
interpreter. Plans for commercial
distribution (and in fact ANY
distribution) are now sketchy,
because of... guess who?
ATARI CORP. ... who WON'T allow the
emulator to be distributed. The
problem is that Darek's program uses
the ATARI (copyrighted) operating
system and ATARI BASIC. ATARI says
this is PIRACY and has threatened
suit if the emulator gets out. Real
user-friendly, this company!
Mihocka is trying to get around this
objection by devising a program that
will extract the required data out of
the user's own 8-bit ATARI machine,
port it to the ST, and integrate it
into his emulator... but even this
may not be satisfactory to ATARI.
-They tell me that it will encourage
piracy...- says Mihocka, who
contacted ATARI about his work when
XANTH (a Seattle area software
company-- remember BOINK?) expressed
commercial interest in the 8-bit
emulator.
All is not lost, perhaps. Mihocka is
re-writing many routines into 68000
machine code (as he had to do for
printer support, as the ST does not
have the 8-bit type daisy-chain
cable). If he is able to replace
enough routines, the speed of the
emulation will dramatically increase,
and the need for the ATARI ROM will
decrease. Then, BIG JACK won't be
able to say much about the emulator.
We thought this was unfortunate (and
even ATARI seemed to agree).
Remember when APPLE was
uncooperative about ROMS for the
MAGIC-SAC MACINTOSH emulator?
Now the shoe is on ATARI's own other
foot and they are being just as
difficult. Lets hope this one can be
resolved above-board. Write to Jack
Tramiel and tell him what you think
of his company's opposition to the
development of what many of us have
been waiting for--a way to avoid
losing all our hard-earned software
when we buy the ATARI ST.
Supplied by the CHAOS BBS
(517) 371-1106
_____________________________________
ZMAG RANDOM NOTES
....Wanted: Hard Disk Users.........
_____________________________________
A new group has been formed for
the Atari 8 bit/16 bit hard disk
owner. The H.D.U.G. (Hard Disk
User Group).
This group is just starting and
is accepting membership which
includes:a quarterly newsletter and
special access on the Network:
Atari BBS.
Here's how to join!!
Send $18.00 yearly membership dues.
to:
Network: HDUG
Post Office Box 196
Rantoul, Illinois 61866-0196
or call:
Network: Atari HD Express!
(217) 892-8889
Or leave me a message on CompuServe
PPN# 71777,2140.
I will update everyone and also
hope to provide some information
from the group in the weeks ahead.
R. Kovacs
____________________________________
Xx ZMAG PANORAMA--REVIEWS
...Magic Sac For The ST.............
____________________________________
THE MUCH BALLYHOOED MACINTOSH
EMULATOR FOR THE ATARI ST
Bob Kelly
I intend to start off the New Year by
discussing Data Pacific's MacIntosh
Cartridge (Magic Sac). It is NOT my
intention to provide a detailed
technical review of the product but
to provide insights on -true-
hardware set-up cost, evaluate
whether the Magic Sac can be
considered a full Mac clone, supply a
list of software considered
essential, and to provide other
recommendations/hints so others may
avoid my learning curve frustrations.
COST OF SYSTEM SET-UP
The Mac cartridge (hereafter called
the Magic Sac) fits into the
cartridge slot of the ST. The
discounted price for the Magic Sac I
is about $90 while the Magic Sac Plus
runs about $120, the difference being
inclusion of a clock module on the
Plus. In addition to the cost of the
cartridge, two Apple Mac ROMs must be
purchased and inserted into the
cartridge. The cheapest price I have
seen for the two ROMs is $30 from B &
C Computers in Santa Clara,
California. (More often than not the
ROMs are advertised at $50 per pair.)
In addition to the DIRECT cost of the
Magic/Mac cartridge, the INDIRECT
cost associated with modifying your
ST's hardware configuration must be
considered.
First, for best viewing, a monochrome
monitor is required (remember, the
Mac has no color). Data Pacific,
using clever programming techniques,
now allows a color monitor to be used
(beta test version on Magic Sac boot
disk 3.5). However, the picture
quality, in diplomatic terms, is very
unpleasant for those of us with
normal eyesight.
Next, your Atari ST should be
equipped with 1 megabyte of RAM for
best operation. If you have standard
TOS in ROM on a 520ST (512K), the
largest Mac emulation possible is
256K. This memory size restricts the
flow of operations by causing more
disk swapping and some unexplained
happenings (e.g. system crashes). In
addition, the COLOR MONITOR ONLY
OPERATES with a 1 MG machine at
present.
If you do not want to do a
considerable amount of disk swapping,
it is best to have a two drive
system. A one drive system promotes
tennis elbow, similar to CP/M 2.2
operations.
Since I own a 1040ST with two drives,
I did NOT have to purchase indirect
items other than a monochrome monitor
($125). The total hardware cost of
my set-up was approximately $250
($125+$90+$30+shipping).
A FULL MACINTOSH CLONE?
What did I get for this $250? First
and foremost, I learned how a
MacIntosh operates. I would buy the
Magic Sac again for this alone.
However, for those who have a Mac at
work, the Magic Sac is NOT NOW a
useable clone. It is a system best
suited to users who can be classified
as quasi-hackers or those who want to
learn in depth about the Mac. On
what do I base this opinion? The
Magic Sac:
- Does not support the Epson/Star
Micronics/Panasonic array of dot
matrix printers (this deficiency
is a result of Apple's corporate
policy, but it is now a technical
problem for the Magic Sac).
Almost everything in Mac public
domain looks for the Apple
Imagewriter. Data Pacific (DP)
plans to have an Epson driver in
version 4.0. When will 4.0 be
available - my guess, March,
1987.
- ASCII files can be printed with
the aid of some Mac public domain
printer programs - more on this
later. Let me hasten to add,
very few files found on Mac BBSs
are in ASCII format - MacWrite
4.5 files in binary form are the
rule..
- Does not support MacWrite 4.5.
It will work with MacWrite 2.2
which saves files in ASCII form.
Data Pacific is working on this
shortcoming and intends for the
Magic Sac to be compatible with
MacWrite 4.5.
- Does not run copy-protected
software. As such, Microsoft
Word, Pagemaker, Excel, and Jazz
cannot be run. If you don't know
why these programs have been
essential to the success of the
Mac - stop reading here. Data
Pacific plans to produce a drive
capable of running copy-protected
programs which may be available
in the May/June period.
- Does not support sound. In my
opinion, this is not a major
liability for the foreseeable
future.
SOFTWARE TO GET YOU STARTED
Without doubt this area was and
remains the cause of more headaches
than any other. A substantial amount
of the problems were the result of
having to use Magic boot disks 3.0 or
2.0. Thankfully that is over!
With the introduction of version 3.5
of the Magic boot disk, several of
the more persistent problems have
been solved - such as frequent
-crashes- when changing programs and
bugs in the way Switcher runs. Also,
Notepad no longer sends the system
into orbit.
Most importantly, version 3.5 permits
MacIntosh desk accessories to be
installed and removed (unlike Atari,
it is not as simple as changing the
file extender to .ACC).
Operating with anything less than
version 3.5 is just plain stupid.
For those who still have versions 2.0
or 3.0, you can download 3.5 from
CompuServe. Proceed to the Atari
Developers Forum (type: -Go
ATARIDEV-). It is an ARC file and
39K in length - remember the Magic
Sac boot disk is a normal Atari
formatted disk.
Along with 3.5, you should have the
following public domain/shareware
disks:
A. Finder: ver., 4.1 (system disk)
B. Font/DA Mover: ver., 3.2 (changes
fonts and desk accessories)
C. Freeterm: ver., 1.8
(telecommunications)
D. Packit III: ver., 1.2
(compresses/decompresses files)
E. Ink: ver., 2.0 (prints ASCII
files)
F. Chooser: ver., 2.0 (selects print
driver)
G. MacWrite: ver., 2.2 (Commercial
Word Proc.)
The Finder disk is the start-up or
boot disk for the Mac system. On the
disk is a system folder containing
system files and Finder 4.1. Finder
performs such tasks as designating
which disk is in control, provides
the entrance and exit to programs
(i.e., finding files), and performs
general housekeeping and control
procedures (copying files).
Font/DA Mover 3.2 permits the
installation/removal of both
different fonts and desk accessories.
Font/DA Mover version 3.2 is far and
away the best version with the Magic
Sac. Earlier versions 2.5 and 3.0A.1
do install and remove desk
accessories but at a much slower
rate. Further, versions 2.5 and
3.0A.1 do not work when installing
fonts. (Remember, Font/DA Mover
works only with Magic boot disk 3.5
or better).
Freeterm 1.8 is more than adequate
for most telecommunication needs.
Packit III is desirable since some of
the programs on the Mac BBSs are
compressed. Packit III will
decompress these files.
Now comes the question of printing.
Again, Magic boot disk 4.0 is soon to
be released and designed to solve
many of these print driver problems.
If you want to print out a document
now, some precise procedures have to
be followed. First, click on
PARALLEL PORT when booting. Next,
for binary files compatible with
MacWrite 2,2, select and load the
document you want into MacWrite and
save it as an ASCII file (use: Save
as ..... text only). Quit MacWrite
and boot up Ink. Pull down the
printer menu and click on Printer
Port and Okidata 92 (other printers
can be configured - read help files).
Next, go to File Menu and click on
Print Selected Files, now:
- Click on OK box (don't enter
anything)
- Click on File to Print
- Click on Select
- Click on Done
New box appears asking if you are
-Ready to start printing- -Click on
OK.
Your file should now be printed.
Another alternative print method
requires a commercial program called
Epstart ($50 retail). This program
supplies several different Epson
printer drivers which are placed in
the system folder. With the aid of a
public domain desk accessory called
-Chooser or Choose Printer-, the
Epson driver is installed as the
default driver. Repeated attempts
have failed to get it to work.
Again, it appears not to be solely a
fault of the Magic Sac system. A
local Apple dealer has stated that it
works so infrequently with the Apple
MacIntosh they no longer carry the
product.
RECOMMENDATIONS/OPERATIONAL HINTS
When using the Magic Sac, I suggest:
1. Never use the Motivator (RAMDISK)
unless you have become thoroughly
familiar with its operation.
Simply put, it keeps dumping the
same contents of RAM to
subsequent disks. Suppose you
decide to eject the initial disk
and the need arises to eject the
second disk, it will write back
the contents of the first disk
when ejecting so ..... 'bye-'bye
second disk.
2. Now that you will never use
Motivator, do not write-protect
the disks by closing the notch on
the disks. By physically
write-protecting, the Magic Sac
automatically locks all programs.
They cannot be unlocked without
stopping work, ejecting the disk
and opening the write-protect
tab.
3. Rumor has it that the old
ProWriter is identical to the
ImageWriter I. Thus, according
to hearsay, the printer driver
problem would go away if you own
one.
Given the positive response to user
input to-date and timely product
updates, the Magic Sac will probably
approach full clone status by summer.
Transporting work between home and
office should then be a reality. It
is not too early to start learning.
In that vein, the best book I have
used regarding Mac
operations/software is -The Macintosh
Advisor- by Harriman and Calica
(Hayden Co., 1986).
I would like to express my
appreciation to Mr. Jeff Greenblatt
for his expertise. All the public
domain/shareware that he and I
gathered for this article has been
given to the Current Notes Mac
library.
----------------------------------
Zmagazine #41 March 2, 1987
Please Contribute!!!
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