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Syndicate ZMagazine Issue 061
_____________________________________
ZMAGAZINE Atari News and Information
_____________________________________
Issue #61 July 10, 1987
_____________________________________
Zmagazine is a weekly publication
containing news and information about
Atari computers. We also highlight
news about other computers which we
feel is of interest to our readers.
Information contained in this text
is copyright by the authors.
Zmag is a free publication, no fees,
no advertising dollars are accepted,
and any information reproduced from
this publication, unless otherwise
noted, can be duplicated as long as
the following appears at the top of
each article. Reprinted from Zmag.
and include the issue number.
All issues are available on your
local BBS system. If your favorite
BBS doesn't carry Zmag, Leave the
SysOp a note or call either of the
following systems for more
information:
ZMAGAZINE INFORMATION NETWORK
300/1200 Baud (201) 968-8148
THE GATEWAY ST BBS
300/1200 Baud (609) 931-3014
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG INDEX 61
_____________________________________
<*> ZMAG User Group of the Month
...Ol' Hackers User Group...
<*> ZMAG Newswire
...Broderbund...
...House Passes Bill...
<*> ZMAG Hardware Review
...The Spider (tm)...
<*> Turbo Basic Compiler Dox
<*> ST Magazine Information
_____________________________________
Xx Zmag User Group Of the Month JULY
.....Ol' Hackers User Group.....
_____________________________________
A -BIT- OF HACKER HISTORY
By Alex Pignato
It started innocently enough. I read
a message on a B.B.S. from another
-poor soul- (Kevin Blaes) who was
pleading for help so that he could
upload and download with his 835
Atari modem. It had taken me six
months to get a program to do this
with my 1030 Atari modem, so I felt I
understood his frustration. I told
him to send me a disk with programs
on it and I sent back the program he
wanted and other public domain
programs. The exchange of disks
between us continued at a rapid pace,
each of us trying to outdo the other.
Somewhere within the next 1-1/2 years
I kept addressing Kevin as -The Young
Hacker,- and signed notes as -The Old
Hacker.- He responded in kind. We
also spoke on the phone frequently
and in short order a friendship
evolved.
During this time, I was conversing
with Jerry Ginsberg, an acquaintance,
and found that he had an Atari, too;
but no one in his family was using
it. I told him about this -game-
machine's ability to do countless
other things. He got hooked, too,
almost as deeply as me. His wife and
children got into it to the point
where they actually had to set up a
schedule!
When the Long Island Coliseum had a
Computer Electronics Show, Kevin
suggested we meet there in person. I
brought Jerry with me and the three
of us spent a great afternoon at the
show. When we saw all that there was
to see, we decided to have a chat
over a cup of coffee. An hour later,
finding it very hard to break up,
Jerry suggested that we all meet
again at his home in a couple of
weeks.
When we next met, we each brought
Atari friends; and, suddenly, there
were about eight men in our group. It
was suggested that we start a user's
group and so -THE OL' HACKERS ATARI
USERS GROUP- was born in December,
1985. I was voted in as president,
Kevin as vice president and Jerry was
made corresponding secretary. When
Jerry's house got too small, we moved
over to Tom Carroll's house and took
over his top floor. Tom, who is self-
employed in the electronic recording
field, has a studio with at least
three Atari 800's (all modified), an
I.B.M., and I don't know how many
VCR's. We met once a month on a
Saturday afternoon from 12 to 5 p.m.
and had a ball at our informal
meetings exchanging knowledge and
data.
When the group again got too large,
we looked for new quarters; and,
thanks to Jerry, we got permission to
use our present meeting rooms at the
Plainview Public Library at 999 Old
Country Road, Plainview, New York.
Interestingly enough, up until
recently, the library was run on
Atari 800's, so our group was made
very welcome by the library.
Our aims are similar to other Atari
users groups. We exchange knowledge
and information with each other and
with about thirty other users clubs
throughout the U.S.A., Canada and
Europe. We have a few members who
have technical knowledge and who are
constantly looking for making
modifications to the hardware. We
also have members who are
professional programmers for various
banks as well as many amateur
programmers. The members are all
adults and are a cross-section of the
community; there are blue and white
color workers as well as many
professionals. The club brings
together people from all walks of
life in a common interest and the
results are very warm friendships and
the growing enjoyment of our
computers.
The nicest comment we hear is that
the members can't wait for the next
meeting. And when we're at the
meeting, we don't like to leave the
library even after the meeting's end
at 5 p.m.
Meetings generally start at 12 noon
and the first hour is spent in
socializing and setting up the
equipment (which many members
contribute for the day). After we
have an hour's business meeting, we
break for coffee and cake and have a
raffle contest. Then we break up into
smaller groups for demo's and classes
until 5 p.m. or until we are thrown
out of the library!
The club owns its own B.B.S. called
-THE OL' HACKERS- (what else?) which
runs off an Atari 130 XE, a 10 meg.
hard drive, MIO, and we are using the
Express B.B.S. program by Keith
Ledbetter. It runs 24 hours per day,
seven days a week through the
courtesy of Sysop Kevin Blaes (our
hard-working V.P.) and is quartered
in his Lindenhurst home. We also have
a network of about nine other
B.B.S.'s run by our members.
Of course, we also have the -OL'
HACKERS NEWSLETTER- which comes out
monthly and is exchanged with almost
thirty other users groups around the
world. Yearly dues are $25, or $2 per
month if you join after January.
There are many members who work very
hard for the Club whose names I have
not mentioned for fear that this
report would become six pages long!
But, we know who they are and we are
very grateful to them. We are proud
of our Club and what we have
accomplished in a relatively short
span of time. We are also proud to be
picked as the -Zmagazine User Group
of The Month. We also would like to
thank Zmagazine for allowing The Ol'
Hackers BBS, to become an official
ZMagazine carrier.
Listed below are those BBS's that are
members of The Ol' Hackers BBS
NETWORK
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 ZMAG NEWSWIRE
_____________________________________
BRODERBUND UNVEILS DATA MANAGER
Broderbund Software Inc. has
introduced a RAM-resident data
manager for the IBM PC and compatible
computers.
The program, called MemoryMate,
allows users to write, save and
retrieve notes, addresses and lists
without paying attention to filing
systems. While the information is
being saved, MemoryMate indexes every
word, phrase and number. When its
time for the data to be retrieved,
instead of entering a filename, the
user simply types any word or
combination of words contained in the
data.
MemoryMate, which is available
immediately, costs $69.95. However, a
trial version is also available from
Broderbund for $5.95. If after using
the trial version the buyer wishes to
upgrade to the full-featured version,
the company will rebate the price of
the demo disk.
For more information on the trial
version, contact:
Broderbund Software-Direct
P.O. Box 12947
San Rafael, Calif. 94913-2947.
ANOTHER COMPUTER DISTRIBUTOR ENTERS
BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS
In the Minneapolis area, a third
personal computer retailer has filed
for Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy
Act. It is Top Tech, a two-year-old
business made up of six stores that
had been franchisees of a Denver
-based business called Team Central.
Top Tech President David Naas told
The Associated Press he expects to
continue operating pending a court
review of the bankruptcy petition and
preparation of a plan to satisfy
creditors.
He added that a number of factors led
to the bankruptcy, including -a
downturn in the consumer electronics
business, a slackening of demand.-
The wire service notes that also in
the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Schaak
Electronics, once the region's
largest consumer electronics
retailer, went bankrupt in 1985 and
was liquidated amid problems in its
personal computer business and
allegations of management
malfeasance.
Meanwhile, as reported here earlier,
Computer Depot is being liquidated
after what the wire service terms -a
several-year growth spurt that was
wiped out by excessive inventories
and curtailed demand.-
_____________________________________
Xx HOUSE BILL PASSES
_____________________________________
House Passes Bill To Take Security
Control From NSA Online information
providers are delighted that the
House of Representatives has passed a
bill that puts control of government
computer security in civilian rather
than military hands.
-There's also a provision at the end
of the bill which makes clear that
nothing in the statute provides the
government with any authority to
monitor or restrict private sector
unclassified information,- said Ken
Allen, senior vice president of
government relations at the
Information Industry Association in
Washington.
HR 145, the Computer Security Act of
1987, passed the house by unanimous
voice vote on June 22. Later that
week, the Senate was ushering its
version of the bill, sponsored by
Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont,
through committees on the way to the
vote.
-We've made great strides,- Allen
said, -Last year the bill died in the
House.-
Under the bill, the civilian National
Bureau of Standards would develop
standards to assure security and
privacy of sensitive data, and would
require mandatory training for all
persons managing or using federal
computer systems containing sensitive
data.
The legislation was proposed in part
to head off Department of Defense
suggestions that the National
Security Agency be put in charge of
all of the security of sensitive data
in federal computers. The National
Security Agency will not be in charge
of security under the legislation,
but will consult with the National
Bureau Of Standards in an advisory
capacity.
A Presidential directive enacted in
1985 had led to visits last fall by
the FBI, CIA and NSA to some of the
on-line database providers. Those
visits in part led to the removal of
some sensitive but unclassified
on-line data from one service.
-We hope this legislation will stop
the visits, but if the NSA asserts
their other statutes out there, they
may resurface,- Allen said. -We
haven't heard of any visits since
this whole thing went public.-
BRODERBUND SETTLES SUIT
Broderbund Software and Pixellite
Software recently announced an out-
of-court settlement on their
copyright suit against Kyocera
Unison.
Under the terms of the settlement,
Kyocera Unison of Berkley California,
will pay an undisclosed sum to
Broderbund of San Rafael California,
and Pixellite, also of Berkley, and
has permanently agreed to remove its
Printmaster graphics program from the
market. In return, Broderbund and
Pixellite have agreed to drop pending
claims against Kyocera Unison.
In October 1986 a federal district
judge in San Francisco ruled that the
-look and feel- of Printmaster's user
interface violated the software
copyright on Broderbund and
Pixellite's Print Shop program, a
decision that has been relied upon in
other software copyright cases.
In December, the court ordered
Kyocera Unison to stop selling
Printmaster. Since then, the company
has released Printmaster Plus, a
version of the program that both
sides agree has been significantly
altered to avoid infringing
Broderbund and Pixellite's copyright.
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG HARDWARE REVIEW
.... The Spider (tm)....
_____________________________________
General description:
The Spider (tm) is the name of a
series of intelligent serial
interfaces. These devices contain
four or eight RS232 compatible serial
ports, 8K, 64K or 256K of memory, and
their own processor and operating
system, programmable from a computer
attached to one of the ports.
Uses for the Spider range from
operating a multiline BBS from one
serial port of a computer to sharing
printers and other serial devices
among several computers. Simple
networking schemes between computers
can also be set up using a Spider.
Basically, the Spider is a device
based on a 65C02 and has four or
eight RS232 ports under direct
control of that processor. The
controlling computer connects to port
0 and other devices are connected to
the remaining ports. A program
running in the controlling computer
can control the activity among all
ports by command. A program running
in the Spider, uploaded to it by
command from the controlling
computer, can also control the
activity among the ports. Various
combinations where some of the
programming is done on the
controlling computer and some is
uploaded to run on the Spider is also
possible.
Programming the Spider:
Since the Spider does have its own
processor (the 65C02) and memory (8K,
64K, 256K or 1 meg) it was programmed
to allow software to be added to it
by uploading from the controlling
computer. This software is sent to
areas of memory determined by the
uploading command and may be in the
form of additional commands or as
stand-alone programs.
The Spider is a computer, with the
CPU, RAM, ROM and I/O ports. A memory
map and instructions for programming
are available. Some instruction,
adequate for most general
applications, is included in the user
manual supplied with the Spider. For
more specific applications and for
programmers intending to create
packages to market, there is also a
developer's kit available, which
contains much more detailed
information about how to program the
Spider.
Currently, all programming intended
for upload to the Spider must be
written in 65C02 machine language.
However, there are a few people
working on various interpreters for
the Spider. When these interpreters
are complete it will be possible to
upload the interpreter to the Spider,
then program the Spider directly
using a terminal emulator on the
controlling computer system. The
finished program can then be sent
back to the controlling computer so
that it can be stored on disk.
Position the Spider uploading
commands into the proper places in
the program and the file on the
controlling computer's disk becomes
an application that can be simply
sent to the Spider directly by a user
from any computer used as the
controlling computer system.
How to order a Spider:
The Spider (tm) may be ordered
directly from Nite Lite Systems.
Only prepaid orders are being
accepted for this device. Send a
check or money order for the exact
amount of the configuration you
request, including the 5% Mass. sales
tax if you are ordering from a
Massachusetts address, plus $5.00 for
shipping and handling to:
Nite Lite Systems
P.O. Box R
Billerica, MA 01821
Different versions of the Spider will
become available over the next few
months. Currently, the four-port
Spider and the developer's kit (a
four-port Spider and developer's
documentation, plus access to more
help on-line) are available. Allow
2-4 weeks for delivery. Pricing for
these units are as follows:
4-port Spider $209.95
Developer's kit $314.95
Any questions concerning this product
can be directed to the SysOp either
in any message base on this BBS or in
a logoff comment. If you wish to be
contacted by telephone, leave your
name and telephone number in a logoff
comment along with other information
required to return your call. If you
want your name added to our mailing
list, leave a logoff comment
requesting that and include your name
and address with zip code.
Dealer and distributor inquiries are
invited.
_____________________________________
Xx TURBO BASIC COMPILER DOCUMENTATION
_____________________________________
The Turbo Basic Compiler can be used
to compile programs in both Turbo
Basic and regular Atari Basic. Doing
so will yield a sometimes startling
(and sometimes not so startling)
increase in speed. Like Turbo Basic
itself, the compiler (and compiled
programs) can only be run on an
XL/XE. Also like TB, it is NOT
compatible with Spartados.
REQUIRED!
You need 2 files to use the compiler.
Both are in the Utilities section of
CompuServes' Atari8 SIG or on your
local BBS system.
COMPIL.OBJ is the actual compiler
(and a BIG thanks to Warren Lieuallen
for the translation job!!!)
RNTIME.OBJ is the companion 'runtime'
package.
COMPILING PROGRAMS
Load COMPIL.OBJ from the DOS menu,
with an <L> binary load command. On
the first screen, type the number of
the drive containing your target
program. (I usually have that on D8
for speed.) You'll then see a
directory of the files on that disk.
Use your cursor keys to highlight the
'target' file, then hit RETURN.
As the compilation proceeds, you'll
see the line numbers at the top of
the screen. If no errors occur (see
below), the program will then ask you
for a filename for the new compiled
program. An extender of .CTB (for
Compiled Turbo Basic) is mandatory
(see AUTORUN.CTB, below), as is a
SAVE to D1:. Put the disk that'll
hold your program in D1, type the
name, then Hit RETURN. That's all
there is to it!
COMPILE ERRORS
Like most Atari compilers, this one
can be fussy. It will NOT compile an
END statement (odd, huh?) Use STOP
instead. It will also balk at
compiling a FOR that has more than
one NEXT attached, like so:
10 FOR X=1 TO 12:GET #1,BYTE
20 IF BYTE<32 THEN NEXT X
30 ? CHR$(BYTE)
40 NEXT X
If you get an error message, you'll
need to go back to your original
Basic program and try to fix the
offending code. In the above example,
you would change line 20 to:
20 IF BYTE<32 THEN 40
RUNNING PROGRAMS
Your new .CTB program is <NOT> true
machine language; it's 'pseudo code'.
THAT means you must have a 'runtime'
program to handle the final
translation. This is RNTIME.OBJ.
Compiled programs won't run without
it. You can use it in either of 2
ways.
FROM DOS: Use the <L> command to
LOAD RNTIME.OBJ
FROM DISK: Copy RNTIME.OBJ to a disk
containing DOS files and rename it
AUTORUN.SYS, which allows it to boot
automatically.
AUTORUN.CTB
RNTIME has an 'autorun' feature. When
it runs, it will look for
'AUTORUN.CTB' on D1. If found, this
file will automatically load and run.
If NOT found, an error message will
be displayed (FEHLER 9), along with a
short menu. [Dos Run <again> Load].
At this prompt, press L, then type in
the name of your compiled program.
So, to construct a complete 'boot'
disk, you should have on the same
disk:
Dos files (DOS.SYS, DUP.SYS)
AUTORUN.SYS (RNTIME.OBJ)
AUTORUN.CTB (compiled program)
Hint: here's the TB '1 liner' that I
use (compiled) as AUTORUN.CTB on my
'compiled programs' disk.
10 CLS:DIR -D1:*.CTB-:STOP
>>don lebow 70717,720
_____________________________________
Xx ST MAGAZINE DETAILS
_____________________________________
The FaSTer Disk Magazine
What is the FaSTer Disk Magazine?
It's a new concept in magazine
publishing for the Atari ST that we
have developed over the last year and
half and that has resulted in
considerable enthusiasm among our
subscribers and readers.
The first thing people noticed when
they first purchased their ST
computers was the lack of a
convenient programming language which
would allow program listings and
examples to be exchanged easily via
the printed pages of a regular
magazine. The solution we came up
with was to create a -virtual-
magazine which would contain all the
enjoyment of the articles, reviews,
illustrations, tutorials, with ready
to run programs and source listings.
We also elected to maintain full
compatibility with all the existing
Atari ST configurations, to include
as much information within the
limited space available on a single
disk and for a more than reasonable
price. (We have even tested our disks
on a pre-release version of the
BLITTER chip and it ran beautifully!)
It wasn't easy, and we have
encountered obstacles along the way
since this endeavour is more akin to
producing a commercial program every
second month than to producing a
magazine. We have also polished the
interface so much that other Atari
magazines have begun seeing us as
somewhat of a threat to them since
they usually also produce a disk
version, but it never has the high
quality GEM interface we supply for
the same retail price. We do not
-sell- you any advertising in the
cost of the disk, so you get more
-real- information for your money.
Our reviews are no-nonsense and
unbiased, our tutorials are
authoritative, our programs are of a
high quality, our interface is the
cleanest and the easiest to use in
town, and we include contributions
from all over the world in every
issue.
How to reach us!!
For any information, subscriptions to
the magazine, inquiries or
submissions, our mailing address is:
FaSTer Disk Magazine
P.O. Box 474
Boucherville, Quebec Canada
J4B 6Y2
BBS: Line 1 --> (514)-489-0680
(9600 baud)
Line 2 --> (514)-489-3489
(2400 baud)
Line 3 --> (514)-489-3490
(2400 baud) (coming soon)
This article will be published in
full in the July 18th edition of
the ST-Report.
_____________________________________
Xx Zmag Update
_____________________________________
Zmag can now be found on the MACH BBS
in Maine.
Number is: (207) 784-0631
More details next week.
_____________________________________
Zmag Issue #61 July 10, 1987
Publisher/Editor : Ron Kovacs
Assistant Publishers: Ken Kirchner
Susan Perry
_____________________________________
(c)1987 Ron Kovacs
