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Syndicate ZMagazine Issue 063
_____________________________________
ZMAGAZINE Atari News and Reviews
ISSUE #63 July 24, 1987
_____________________________________
Publisher/Editor: Ron Kovacs
Assistant Publishers: Ken Kirchner
Susan Perry
Columnist: Leo Newman
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG INDEX 63
_____________________________________
<*> Publishers Page
<*> Zmag User Group of July
<*> PD Software Review
<*> Copyright Violation--A Reply
<*> Zmag ST Software Review
<*> The WIZARD of OASIS
<*> Zmag Rumors
_____________________________________
Xx PUBLISHERS PAGE
..Zmag Announcement..
_____________________________________
Welcome to another edition of Zmag.
CompuServe readers were out of luck
last week with Issue #62. Due to
a copyright notice in the Atari News
column, CompuServe could not allow
us to post it. We even asked Mr.
Niel Harris for the official response
about the matter, and we were told
that we could not upload the text
to CompuServe because the article
stated for use by GEnie members, etc.
In the future, I will try to get the
information from other sources if
possible to avoid this problem.
Since ISSUE #50, we have been
encountering many problems. From the
ST-Transformer articles, to the
GEnie Services sign-on information,
on to the Analog Copyright notice,
and now another with Atari's copy-
right on their news.
We are obviously getting on the
nerves of some of our readers!! We
will continue to bring what we can
without causing trouble. Although
I thought we were following the
rules fairly well to date.
A few new features will be appearing
here in the weeks ahead.
<*> A weekly Editorial about Atari,
User Groups, Magazines, BBS Systems,
and whatever else I can sink my
teeth in.
<*> An OASIS BBS Support Column.
<*> Hard Disk Users Group Column.
<*> Calamity Jane's Column, (This
will most likely have an official
title at a later date).
<*> Zmag Systems Review.. A look at
the systems carrying Zmag each week.
<*> Editorial Reply for our readers.
along with a few more still being
discussed.
This leads us to ISSUE #59 and the
copyright violation. Leo Newman,
(HELP BBS and OASIS BBS Support)
sent in an article in response to
the information I published last
week on the violation. His article
will detail some of the problems
myself and BBS sysops encounter when
receiving information for
consideration.
Stay tuned to ZMag for more details.
_____________________________________
Xx Zmag User Group Of the Month JULY
.....Ol' Hackers User Group.....
_____________________________________
1 *The Ol' Hackers BBS 300/1200 Baud
Express BBS 516-884-4140
2 *CLEARING HOUSE 300/1200 Baud
Express BBS 516-483-7845
3 *WISE BYTE 300/1200 Baud
Express BBS 516-349-7835
4 *GRAVEYARD 300/1200 Baud
Express BBS 516-783-7034
5 *BANDITS HIDEOUT 300/1200/2400 Baud
Express BBS 516-643-4963
6 *MISTER MESSAGE 300/1200 Baud
Express BBS 516-454-7698
7 WET N' WILD 300/1200/2400 Baud
Southn/AMIS 516-421-4161
8 S.OF THE BORDER 300/1200/2400 Baud
Southn/AMIS 516-421-5489
9 *NASSAU COUNTY BBS 300/1200 Baud
Express BBS 516-565-3932
10*Traffic BBS 300/1200 Baud
Express BBS 516-737-6179
11*ASGARD BBS 300/1200 Baud
PKAMIS 516-422-5363
_____________________________________
Xx PD SOFTWARE REVIEW
_____________________________________
Daisy Dot
Near Letter Quality Emulation for
Star and Epson Printers
By Warren Lieuallen
(Reprinted from Fuji Facts)
I have had my Star SG-10 for nearly
two years now, and am still very
happy with it. It is a full-featured
dot matrix printer, and performs
every task I have requested of it. It
even has a good quality near letter
quality (NLQ) mode. Unfortunately,
the NLQ character set is, in my
opinion, -funny looking-. I've always
wished there was something I could do
about it. Well, now there is.
Available from CompuServe and GEnie,
Daisy Dot is a program written by Roy
Goldman of Denver. Daisy Dot is
written in compiled Turbo BASIC (also
available in the ACEC Disk Library),
which means that it will only work on
the XL and XE models. It currently
supports the Star Micronics and Epson
printers. Most -Epson-compatible-
printers will probably work as well.
Daisy Dot allows you to print any
ASCII/ATASCII file, using the
traditional -double pass- NLQ
printing approach. This means that
the printer will print a line of
characters, then advance the paper a
very small amount (1/144th of an
inch), and print the line again,
filling any gaps in the printed
characters. The approach Daisy Dot
takes differs however, in that the
NLQ character set is not the one
originally supplied with your
printer, but one of your own
choosing!
This program includes both the main
file printing program, as well as a
font editor, for creating your own
custom character sets. Printing a
file is very straightforward. The
program prompts you for the font you
would like to use (Daisy Dot is
supplied with five different fonts.
You can add on as many as you'd
like.), and then the file you'd like
to print. You are then asked what
density you would like to print (four
are supported), which will control
not only the resolution, but also the
number of possible columns on the
page. Finally, you must decide how
much space to leave between
characters. Daisy Dot fonts are
proportionally spaced (an -m- is much
wider than an -i-), and can have from
0 to 20 columns of space between
them. Following any necessary disk
swapping, printing then proceeds.
The file that you are going to print
must be properly formatted, however.
A standard file saved with a word
processor will not work. Instead,
after saving the file, you must also
-print- it to disk (thereby creating
an ATASCII file with no printer
control codes). Both PaperClip and
AtariWriter Plus have this feature
(the original AtariWriter does not,
but this can be corrected with the
ATWFMT program from the ACEC Disk
Library). It is this -printed- text
file that Daisy Dot will actually
print.
The font editor that is supplied is
similar to many of the other Atari
character set editors, in that by
using the joystick, you draw each
character on a grid on the screen.
This editor is somewhat limited: you
cannot see the character set on the
screen, and many of the more
sophisticated commands for moving
columns and rows are missing.
Nonetheless, it is quite adequate,
especially considering that very few
people will actually be creating a
new character set. More likely, this
editor will be used to slightly
modify certain characters that you
happen to think you can make better.
As an enhancement to the editor, an
Atari character set conversion
program is also available. Many of
you are familiar with the custom
character sets available for the
Atari (the common, nine sector .FNT
files). These files may now be
converted into NLQ Daisy Dot fonts.
Once this is done, they usually
require some editing, as Daisy Dot is
capable of better resolution than the
9x9 Atari character matrix.
A separate version of the program is
available for the Star SG-10, to
compensate for the non-standard line
spacing on this printer. The methods
used to compensate for this
difference are invisible to the user,
and you can select to cancel them if
you wish.
Thorough documentation is included
with the programs, even though it
really isn't needed. Both the
printing and font editor programs are
menu-driven, and are as easy to use
as The Print Shop. These programs
were very well thought-out and
designed, and Mr. Goldman is to be
congratulated.
In short, if you have a Star or Epson
printer, you should have Daisy Dot.
This elegant and powerful program
expands the capabilities of your
printer, and will allow you to easily
produce very good quality output.
_____________________________________
Xx NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT VIOLATION
....Reply to Clay Walnum....
_____________________________________
By: Leo Newman
Copyrighted Text
In reference to the recent copyright
violation I would like to apologize
to both ZMAG and Analog Magazine. It
was never my intention to have a text
file posted on my BBS that infringed
on anyone's copyright. Since I run a
purely Public Domain BBS much to the
dismay of pirates in my area I have
always supported all copyrights on my
BBS and will continue to do so in the
future.
I would like to point out to Mr.
Walnum that myself like most SysOps
have various text files uploaded to
our boards as well as numerous
programs. I have always in the past
checked all software thoroughly to
see if it is copyrighted software of
a commercial type, if this is the
case I never post the program on my
board and will never as long as it is
possible for me to determine if it is
pirated software. As for text files
that brings up another point however.
Seldom does anyone who has captured
or typed in text articles ever
include any type of copyright notice.
Since I have no way of knowing which
articles are copyrighted it is highly
possible to inadvertently post a text
file which is copyrighted.
Of course even at this fact it is
still not my intention to post any
copyrighted text file which will
infringe on copyrights. I have
always been a big supporter of Analog
magazine because of it's policy of
releasing the programs to the Public
in the month that the magazine was
printed for. I have even gone to the
extreme of writing articles which
have been published in newsletters,
W*ACE of Wichita, Ks and ACE of
Eugene, Or just to mention two. These
articles dealt with supporting Analog
magazine and criticizing ANTIC
magazine because of it's software
copyright policy.
While I do feel that Mr. Walnum does
have a right to protect his
copyrighted text, I feel that Analog
magazine and Mr. Walnum could have
handled the situation better. In
doing so they would not have
embarrassed publicly the Editors of
ZMAG, specially since the article in
question was not posted intentionally
to infringe on their copyright. I
doubt you will find very many sysops
who have enough time or a large
enough library of magazine to
validate each and every article which
is uploaded to them for copyright
infringement. I would think that
should this happen again, and I am
sure that it will, I would think that
Mr. Walnum and Analog should simply
advise ZMAG of infringement if it did
infringe on their text. And that they
should contact the BBS in question
which in this case was mine, and tell
them that the text file was a
copyrighted file.
If I had known the file was a text
file from the magazine itself I would
not have posted it on my board,
simple as that. I have in the past
always tried to make sure I did not
post ANTIC programs on my board
because of their copyright policy.
Now I am in the process of removing
all Analog software from my board. I
will no longer post their programs or
promote their magazine on my system.
This is not done in retaliation to
the above problem, but more so to
protect myself from any future change
of heart by Analog in regards to
their software.
I am a software producer myself, as
many of you may know, the Oasis BBS
System. I would like to point out to
Mr. Walnum that this software product
even though currently one of the most
popular BBS programs for the 8-bit
Atari, has not been reviewed in his
magazine nor in Antic. I am not now
nor will I ever be an advertiser in
either magazine, mainly because
unlike my competition I do not charge
$40 or $70 for the software, only
$15.00 which I am sure Mr. Walnum
would realize could not support the
advertising cost of his magazine.
Even though, I will not advertise
because of cost, I feel that Analog
and ANTIC both owe me the courtesy of
reviewing the software in their
magazines. Something that ZMAG has
done on 2 different occasions. As
well as reviews in numerous user
group newsletters.
Mr. Walnum again, my apologizes for
any problem that it may have caused
for that article being posted on my
BBS, the HELP BBS in Wichita, Ks.
(316)-683-7514. I can only say I
will attempt to be more selective in
the text files which I post on my
board.
Leo Newman
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG ST SOFTWARE REVIEW
...PM Utility from ToolBox...
_____________________________________
PM Utility
Toolbox Software
234 Bristol
San Antonio, TX 78214
Have you ever needed a cute piece of
clip art for your artwork or paper?
Maybe you have a need for customizing
your PrintMaster(C) picture library?
Perhaps you're tired of searching
through all of your picture libraries
for that 'just right' Christmas
picture you were sure you had. Or
maybe you've had it with all those
unwanted pictures cluttering up your
library?
PM Utility is a handy utility for
anyone who owns PrintMaster(C) or any
program that makes use of Degas(C)
compatible picture files. With PM
Utility you can transfer picture
libraries to Degas(C) picture format
as well as modify individual pictures
or entire picture libraries.
On a library scale you can:
Sort
This sorts the contents of a
library in ALPHA order.
Transfer
Move pictures from one library
to another.
Clip Art
Transfer a library (or selected
pics) to a DEGAS(C) compatible
picture file.
Simple
scaling of size is supported.
Print Out
Print a hardcopy of your library
to almost any Dot Matrix
printer. Each picture IS titled
as well as the listing.
On an individual picture basis you
can:
Copy
Append a copy of a selected
picture to the end of the
current library.
Rename
Renames a picture.
Delete
Deletes selected pictures.
View
See the selected pictures.
Graphic Ops
Alter the picture the
following ways:
Inverse
Reverses the image.
(Black to White).
Flip
Makes a picture a
mirror image of
itself.
(Left faced pictures
become right faced)
Rotate
Rotates image in 90
degree increments.
NOTE:
THAT SOME OF THE IMAGE IS LOST
BECAUSE THE PICTURES ARE WIDER THAN
THEY ARE HIGH.
PMU (PM Utility) is fully GEM based
and works in either monochrome or
medium resolution. 512K ram and TOS
in ROM is required.
All of the functions are logically
implemented and make use of the GEM
interface. One of the features I like
is the heavy use of safeguards to
protect the picture libraries.
Another handy feature is the checking
of free disk space BEFORE an
operation. This helps to ensure that
saving your work is possible. While
it is not fool-proof, it is a handy
feature.
Toolbox Software is apparently a
Home-grown type software package. The
author, Marcos Zorola, sells the
software by mail. For $13 its a
bargain. A demo of this program can
be found on the Download section of
GEnie's Atari ST sig.
_____________________________________
Xx THE Wizard of OASIS
_____________________________________
The Wizard of Oasis!
--------------------
Trying to think of a title for a
column in ZMAG is quite difficult.
You don't want to sound like a
genius, but you also want to try to
get the intent of the column over.
Also contributing to the title for
this new weekly column for ZMAG is
the fact that I live in Kansas, the
Land of Oz, thus the name the Wizard
of Oasis.
Let me take just a second to let you
know who you are reading. My name is
Leo Newman, and I am one of 3 people
who are responsible for bringing you
the Oasis BBS System. We are not a
big time software house turning out
several products, we have
concentrated our effort into one
single product and by doing so we
hope we can provide user support not
previously seen.
The editor of ZMAG called my board
and asked that I do a weekly column
for ZMAG, to answer questions you may
have about the software. I don't
want this column to get into a
technical forem, but it's main
purpose is to answer your questions
about the software. I will also try
to supply some additional input each
week for SysOps who are running the
software, information that is not
documented.
If you have any questions about
whether the Oasis BBS System would be
compatible with your hardware you can
either call the HELP BBS at
(316)-683-7514, 300/1200/2400 baud,
24 hour and leave them in a message
to the SysOp or write to me at the
following address.
Leo Newman
3900 N Woodlawn #17 Chisholm
Wichita, Ks 67220
Your questions will be answered in
this column on ZMAG! This will give
me the opportunity to reply to those
who have or will write asking
specific questions about their
hardware or system. Because of the
low cost of the Oasis as previously
stated in another article in ZMAG I
can not afford to reply to each
person on an individual basis, the
software is on $15.00 and that
doesn't give much room for added
expenses.
While I have your limited attention,
let me make one statement right now.
I am continually asked one question,
-will a non HC Avatex modem work with
Oasis?- have to give you my
standard answer, -yes Oasis will work
with the Avatex 1200 modem, however I
am going to supply you with a DOC
file explaining a modification that
should be done to the Avatex 1200
modem.- I usually try to continue
and explain that I have in the past
contacted E+E about the Avatex 1200
modem. Their response is always the
same, -the Avatex 1200 was designed
as an industrial terminal modem, it
was not designed to be a HOST modem
for running a bulletin board.- What
this simply means to you is that you
are using a modem that was not
intended to run a BBS, thus they have
left features out of the modem which
are necessary and sometimes critical.
The Oasis will work with it, as well
as any BBS program, and that is not
going to be perfect.
Do yourself a favor! You can buy a
SmarTEAM 1200 for about $135.00 to
$150.00 or you can buy an Avatex 1200
HC for around $125.00. These modems
are truely Hayes compatibles and will
give you years of service. Sell the
Avatex 1200 or use it as a terminal
modem for which it was designed.
Another commonly asked question is
will it work with the MIO or P:R
Connection. Yes it will work with
both interfaces, I will also tell you
that since the P:R Connection is not
100% 850 compatible you will have to
use the PRC.SYS file supplied on the
disk that came with your P:R in your
batch file when you boot your system.
The MIO will give you no problems at
all with the BBS even though ICD
states that certain modems will NOT
work with the MIO, so check with ICD
to see if your modem is compatible
with an MIO.
Until next week
Leo Newman
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG BBS Update
_____________________________________
The ZMagazine Information Network has
just switched to OASIS BBS System.
All users who have been calling with
your Express passwords, will have to
relog on for new access.
I will validate you asap after you
call. If I am around, I will get
you validated online.
Past issues of Zmag will become
available during the next few weeks.
Z.I.N.
300/1200 24 Hours
(201) 968-8148
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG Rumors
_____________________________________
CARINA 2 is currently being worked on
for release near the end of this
year. You can see the demo on the
ZMAG BBS. You need 2 files:
CARINA2.TXT and VIEWCAR.BAS. Check
it for a tour of what has been
completed so far.
BBS EXPRESS ST should be shipping
next week. Look for more details as
they become available.
1030 EXPRESS Version 3 has been on
CompuServe for the last 3 weeks. It
is not available on BBS systems yet,
because it is still in testing. If
you are interested in assisting Keith
out, download the file from DL 2 on
CompuServe.
ST-TRANSFORMER should be in an
upcoming issue of ANALOG. As stated
here a few weeks ago, ANALOG has
agreed to publish something!!
COPYRIGHTED News releases?? Well,
as stated with ISSUE 62, the
copyright notice disallows us to
upload the issue to CompuServe?? I
didnt know NEWS was copyrighted??
HARD DISK USERS group should be
online in August!! Look for more
info here!!
_____________________________________
Xx What happened to ZMAG?
_____________________________________
It has been a very HECTIC week here
in ZMAG HEADQUARTERS. My wife is
pregnant with baby #2, New BBS
software arrived and is in place,
this issue is late, and my modem got
cooked during a thunderstorm Friday
evening. Things could be worse!!
Since we are very behind at this,
time, the BBS will be in a state of
array for a few days. Please be
patient while I try to bring order
to the system.
We will be continuing to upgrade the
issues with original writing, news,
and reviews. The WIZARD will return
next week, ST-REPORT #4 will be
released on schedule, and we will
have a NEW User Group of the Month
for August.
Starting in August, we will start
re-publishing all the systems who
carry ZMAG weekly. So, If you are
carrying ZMAG, Please let us know!
I will call each system, capture a
few things and write about you. I
will also publish all your
information in our end of year
systems issue.
Thanks for reading and supporting
Zmag.
_____________________________________
ZMAGAZINE ISSUE #63 July 24, 1987
Publisher: Ron Kovacs
Please contribute your articles!!
_____________________________________
