Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Syndicate ZMagazine Issue 050
_____________________________________
ZMAGAZINE MAY
HOT ATARI NEWS AND REVIEWS ISSUE 50
_____________________________________
May 4, 1987
_____________________________________
Zmag Staff:
Publisher/Editor in Chief: Ron Kovacs
Managing Editor: Alan Kloza
Special Correspondent: Steve Godun
Columnist: Eric Plent
Publisher: Syndicate Services
Asst Publisher: Ken Kirchner
_____________________________________
This week in Zmagazine New Jersey
<*> JACG--Jersey Atari Computer Group
User Group of the Month
<*> ST Newswire---Poorman's 1040 ST-
Appears in Canada
<*> Modifying BBS Express--
Easier 850 Logons
<*> What Sort of Man Reads
PC Clone Magazine?
<*> Big Shake-Ups at Commodore--
Rattigan Gets the Axe
<*> Wanted: Editors and Writers
For: Compute Magazine
<*> Zmag Editorial--
-Where's the Beef?-
------------------------------------
Xx ZMAG USER GROUP OF THE MONTH
....Jersey Atari Computer Group.....
------------------------------------
The Jersey Atari Computer Group (JACG) was founded in 1981. The
original meetings were informal one-on-one discussions and as interest
grew, the discussions led to regularly scheduled meetings in one of
the six member's homes.
From those humble beginnings, JACG has evolved into one of the
nation's premier Atari user groups with several hundred members and an
award-winning Atari newsletter.
As more and more people took an interest in the fledgling Atari user
group, meetings moved from the homes to a Bell Labs conference room
(since many of the original members were employees of Bell Labs).
Through the efforts of this group, JACG was able to obtain the use of
the Bell Lab's auditorium in April 1982, where meetings are still held
today. The auditorium can easily seat 400 people, contains a
projection TV and has a tremendous sound and lighting system. We
could hardly ask for a better facility.
The JACG newsletter was first published in December 1981 and through
the hard work of it's editor (and 1st JACG Prez), Dick Kushner, it
also took off. In the summer of 1982, Art Leyenberger took on the
responsibility of newsletter editor. Art was able to expand and
refine the newsletter into one of the best. Each issue was usually 24
to 32 pages long and had a press run of hundreds of copies per month
(Art is currently an editor on the staff of Analog magazine).
Membership really started to soar and by the summer of 1983, stood at
about 300. In November of that year, Frank Pazel took over the task
as newsletter editor. By then, it was running about 800 copies per
month. The current membership is close to 500 with the newsletter
running over 600 per month.
Dick Kushner, one of the founding members, retired as president in
November 1984 and Art Leyenberger took over the job. The current
president is Tom Pazel.
The current group of executive officers include Tom Shoosmith, the
16-bit Vice President and Doug Van Hook, 8-bit Vice President. These
guys are responsible for putting together the monthly meetings. Tom
also helps with the BBS (as a sysop) and Doug is involved in helping
out with the disk library. The treasurer, Shree Vandenberg, handles
the financial bookkeeping and Dave Noyes, the newsletter editor,
manages to organize and put together a great newsletter every month.
Bob Mulhearn is the secretary and membership chairman.
Sam Cory, chief disk librarian, along with Dave Green, Doug Van Hook
and Charlie Miller, perform the task of reviewing, organizing,
documenting and distributing the bountiful disk library to the
membership. Gary Gorski, Tom Shoosmith and Mark Knutsen oversee the
smooth execution of the JACG BBS.
Meetings are held on the second Saturday of each month in the Bell
Labs auditorium in Murray Hill, NJ. A typical meeting consists of a
flea market, where members can swap and sell hardware, software,
books, magazines, etc.; a question and answer period, where members
can get answers to the questions they have; several demonstrations of
hardware/software products as well as the feature software of the
month.
The JACG is proud of what it has accomplished over the past 6 years
and invites you to share the wealth and become a member. Dues are
$25/year.
If you're interested in joining JACG or receiving their newsletter contact:
Jersey Atari Computer Group
Thomas Pazel, Membership Chairman
70 Mitchell Rd.
Hackettstown, NJ 07840
-------------------------------------
Xx ZMAG TECH TIPS
..Modifying BBS Express (850)........
-------------------------------------
From: The Ol' Hackers BBS
(516)-884-4140
If you have an AVATEX 1200 or the AVATEX 1200hc this modification may
help your log-ons.
I made these mods because I didn't like the fact that the users had to
hit Control-M or S to log-on the 850 version of BBS EXPRESS, so I
modified a few bytes to allow the users to log-on by just hitting the
Return.
The mods are split-up into to Two Parts, Part(A) is for the non-HC
version of the AVATEX, and Part(B) is the change for the AVATEX
1200HC.
The two area's which you are going to change affect the baud step
rates and the defaults of the the EXPRESS BBS program for your modem
to pick the phone by starting the baud rate at 300 baud.
When BBS EXPRESS 850 hangs up the modem, it initializes the modem to
default configurations, and sets the port and modem back to 300 baud.
We are going to modify part of the code in EXPRESS BBS. So don't use
your original disk, and get your favorite disk sector scanner. I
suggest that you use DISKWIZ II, if you have it.
First format a disk in ATARI DOS 2.0 S/D and don't write any DOS files
to the disk. Now copy BBS.COM to your formatted disk.
------------------
PART -A-
AVATEX 1200 Non HC
------------------
Starting at sector 68;
With byte $38 $00 $0A $0C-- change this to $0A $00 $0A.
$00=300 Baud
$0A=1200 Baud
$0C=2400 Baud
Since you have the AVATEX 1200, byte # $32 should be changed to $0A
for 1200. Now write sector 68 back to the disk.
Starting at sector 271
With byte $39
Your changing the text, which tells the printer log and the user at
what Baud rate he or she logged on with. $33 $30 $30 $04 $31 $32 $30
$30 $04 $32 $34 $30 $30
$33 $30 $30=text 300 $31 $32 $30 $30=text 1200 $32 $34 $30 $30=text 2400
I made the following changes; $33 $30 $30 to $48 $2F $53=H/S for 1200
Baud. $31 $32 $30 $30 to $53 $6C $6F $77= Slow for 300 users.(hint to
get them to change over to 1200. $32 $34 $30 $30 to $20 $48 $2F $53=
Blank Space then H/S, 1200 again.
Now write that sector back to your disk. That's it for the non-HC
AVATEX 1200.
----------------------
PART -B-
AVATEX 1200 HC Mods
----------------------
Use the changes in -Part A- with the following additional change.
Starting at sector # 274
At byte $58 $A0 $00 $8C $7B $30 Change the $00 at byte $59 to $01
$00=300 Baud $01=1200 Baud $02=2400 Baud
Now write this sector back to your disk and BOOT up.
Things that will change with your log-ons.
1) Non HC AVATEX: after the first line of garbage the 1200 user only
hits the Return key once and he gets the HIT RETURN prompt. No more
hitting the Control-M or S keys or having the user log-on first in
ASCII then changing over to ATASCII.
2) The AVATEX HC, will at the connect automatically prompt the 1200
users to HIT RETURN without any key strikes at all.
Note: I'm sure that the -HC- changes will work with any modem
that is a Hayes compat or the the real Hayes 1200. Also PARTS -A and
B- will work with both versions of the AVATEX, however, the non HC
version will show the user the ATA command then prompt them to HIT
RETURN.
Special thanks to Keith Ledbetter for writing the NEVER crashing BBS
EXPRESS and to Chris King for the Hard Drive back-up program
(HARDBACK). Both authors are with ORION Micro Systems.
-------------------------------------
Xx ZMAG ST NEWSWIRE
....The Diskmate Grapevine...........
-------------------------------------
Reprinted from:
ST X-PRESS Diskmate News File
Volume 1, Number 5 May 1987
Rumor has it that their is a special connector being made to allow the
ST's to be hooked up to a multi-synch monitor. This means that we may
soon have the capablility of running low, medium, and high res from
ONE monitor.
In Canada, Atari was showing 520 ST's with built in power cords and
single sided disk drives (a poorman's 1040 ST). There were also 520's
with a meg of ram; supposedly it is very hard to find a -regular- ST
in Canada anymore; all of them are upgraded.
Firebird has released their next game, GOLDEN PATH. It looks very
promising with nice graphics, sound, and animation. The game itself
offers a very unique playing aspect.
Atari has set some new dates for their new hardware. The laser
printers are supposedly being finished up and will be ready -by the
end of May-. The Mega ST's won't be available until the end of June.
And the Atari PC's also won't be available until either June or July.
For everybody who is looking for the blitter chip in the next few
weeks, don't count on it. Atari will most likely not be releasing the
blitter until after the Mega ST's are released. The Mega's will
contain the blitters, maybe Atari is hoping that people will get fed
up waiting for the blitter and breakdown and buy the Mega ST's
instead.
The NEWSROOM, from the publishers of PRINTMASTER and PRINTMASTER PLUS
--Unison World, is expected to be released shortly. It is another
desktop publishing system, from the various photos that we have seen
it doesn't look bad.
THE TRANSLATOR was a project that would allow users to run Atari 8 bit
software. As you may have read in last months' Zmag, Atari has told
the author not to distribute the program. His latest version looks
very promising with graphics, sound, etc.. If you disagree with Atari
Corp.'s position on the 8-bit emulator, write them a letter protesting
their stand on it.
Rich Decowski
Editor--ST X-PRESS
If you're interested in subscribing to ST X-PRESS, write or call:
ST X-PRESS
P.O. Box 2383
La Habra, CA 90632
(213) 691-8000 for more information
--------------------------------------
Xx ZMAG COMPUTER NEWSWIRE
...News In Computing..................
--------------------------------------
Online Today
PRODUCTION COMPANY DISPUTES ROLE IN
PLAYBOY-PC CLONE MIXUP
(April 23)
The head of the Pewaukee, Wis.,
company that put together the new PC
Clone magazine is angry over the
computer publication's assertion that a
foulup by his company was responsible
for nude pictures ending up among the
pages.
As reported yesterday in Online Today
(G OLT-835), PC Clone, published by
Patch Communications of Titusville,
Fla., announced that due apparently to a
binder's error, an undetermined number
of the more than 100,000 copies of the
magazine's debut issue also included
five pages showing Playboy magazine's
Miss May.
Now the binder, President Harry V.
Quadracci of Quad-Graphics, has told
United Press International, -We have yet
to see one copy of the Patch publication
which was circulated with pages
allegedly switched.
-If you were launching a periodical
and wished to maximize newsstand
distribution, what better promotion is
there than to publicize that a
centerfold was included in a computer
magazine?- he commented to the wire
service.
Quadracci said his firm investigated
the allegations and determined
production of the magazine was correct,
though he acknowledged that perhaps a
dozen issues mistakenly inserted with
Playboy material could have been mailed.
-We are having difficulty pinpointing
this because Patch Communications has
refused all of our telephone calls,- he
said, adding his attorneys will demand a
retraction from the Florida publisher.
In a statement, Quad-Graphics said it
-prints billions of pages in more than
80 million magazines each month (and)
exercises the strongest possible
controls to avoid any problem for its
customers.-
Quadracci said he had no knowledge of
the Patch Communication's comment until
contacted by the news media yesterday.
Meanwhile, Patch president Michael
Billings told the wire service, -We're
not blaming anybody but we're assuming,
if anything, it was a screw-up in the
bindering process.-
Billings also acknowledged he did not
contact the printer or the binder when
the problem was discovered.
-We are pursuing the matter through an
attorney, who has been in contact with
them,- Billings said. -It's too early
for us to assess any damages, but there
is some downside liability.-
--Charles Bowen
-------------------------------------
COMMODORE CEO THOMAS A. RATTIGAN
RESIGNS, SUES FOR CONTRACT BREACH
(April 23)
-------------------------------------
Thomas A. Rattigan has resigned as the
chief executive officer of Commodore
International Ltd. and has filed suit
accusing the computer maker of breach of
contract.
As part of a management shakeup that
may reach beyond Rattigan, Commodore's
chairman and biggest shareholder, Irving
Gould, has stepped in as chief executive
officer.
Filed in New York, the federal suit
says the 49-year-old Rattigan was
suspended last week, months after being
given a five-year contract. Reportedly,
Rattigan now seeks $9 million in
damages.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal
reports that when Rattigan went to the
company's headquarters in West Chester,
Pa., on Monday, he was escorted from his
office by security personnel and was
told to leave the grounds. Rattigan
resigned yesterday in a move that he
said was not voluntary.
Attached to Rattigan's suit was a
letter from Commodore secretary Joseph
C. Benedetti that said Rattigan was
suspended pending a board meeting to
consider firing him -for cause.-
In addition, the legal action says
that other senior Commodore executives
also have been dismissed. Nigel
Shepherd, the company's general manager
for North America, told the Journal he
had been fired along with the treasurer,
controller and computer services
director of Commodore's US sales
company. Shepherd said personality
conflicts were behind the firings.
Commodore was not discussing the
situation today, but Gould, who owns
19.5 percent of the company's common
stock, said in a prepared statement, -I
look forward to ensuring strong
leadership at all significant levels of
management, particularly to strengthen
the sales function and establish
expanded distribution in the US.-
Also today, The Associated Press
reports Commodore announced the
appointment of a new general manager of
US operations and a new general sales
manager for US operations, but made no
mention of the firing of their
predecessors.
Rattigan came aboard at Commodore two
years ago, was made president in
November 1985 and chief executive
officer last April. His contract with
Commodore was to expire July 1, 1991.
Notes AP, -Under Rattigan, Commodore
snapped a streak of five quarters in the
red in which the company's losses
totaled $274 million. Commodore has
since had three quarters of improving
profits, earning $22 million in the
quarter ended in December.-
At mid-day today Commodore's stock was
down $1.50 a share to $10.37 1/2. It
fell 50 cents a share yesterday.
--Charles Bowen
-------------------------------------
COMMODORE LAYS OFF 50 STAFFERS AS
MANAGEMENT TURMOIL CONTINUES
(April 25)
-------------------------------------
The shakeup at Commodore International
Ldt. continues as the new CEO, Irving
Gould, has announced layoffs of some 50
administrative employees at the
computer-maker's West Chester, Pa.,
headquarters in what's described as a
cost-cutting move.
Gould, the 67-year-old Canadian who
earlier this week moved into the
driver's seat after the allegedly forced
resignation of CEO Thomas A. Rattigan,
said the staff cuts were -consistent
with our objectives of reducing
administrative overhead and
strengthening the sales and distribution
functions.-
His statement added, -The
administrative staff reductions were
made to significantly improve operating
efficiency in order to bring US
performance in line with our
well-managed and highly profitable
European operations.-
The announcement comes at the end of a
week of turmoil at the company that saw
dismissals of six top executives,
including Rattigan and North American
general manager Nigel Shepherd.
United Press International said that
Rattigan reportedly attended a special
board meeting April 15 to object to the
reduction of his duties, but the board
took no action. -Two days later,- the
wire service says, -the board suspended
Rattigan pending a meeting to consider
firing him for cause, according to
papers filed in federal court- in New
York.
Gould, who holds 19.5 percent of
Commodore's stock, recruited Rattigan
two years ago from PepsiCo Inc. The new
management then led the company to break
a streak of five losing quarters
amounting to some $274 million.
The company since has had three
quarters of improving profits, earning
$22 million in the final quarter of
1986, its biggest profit in two years.
--Charles Bowen
--------------------------------------
COMMODORE REPORTS SLIM PROFITS
(April 29)
--------------------------------------
Commodore International today
announced a slim $1 million quarterly
profit and completion of its
arrangements for a new line of credit
with its major lending banks.
The announcements come a week after
Thomas Rattigan, president, credited by
some analysts with bringing the West
Chester, Pa., computer maker back into
the black, resigned and filed a $9
million breach-of-contract suit against
Commodore, saying he was forced out.
According to The Associated Press
today, Commodore's profit in the third
quarter ending March 31 was $1 million,
or 3 cents a share, compared with a loss
of $36.7 million last year. During the
same period, revenue fell 7 percent to
$169.5 million from $182.3 million.
The wire service adds, -For the
nine-month period, Commodore's profit
totaled $26.5 million, or 83 cents a
share, compared with a loss of $129.1
million a year earlier. Revenue slipped
9.5 percent to $616.3 million from
$680.7 million.-
Without mentioning last week's
management shakeup, Irving Gould,
Commodore's chairman, who took over as
chief executive with Rattigan's
departure, said in a statement that the
company has taken actions to bring its
US performance in line with its overseas
results.
Gould also said the third quarter's
results reflect a slowdown from a strong
December quarter, when profit totaled
$21.8 million. Seventy percent of the
company's revenue came from overseas
sales, Gould said.
--------------------------------------
Xx ZMAG WANT ADS
....Help Wanted!......................
--------------------------------------
COMPUTE! Publications, Inc., a leading publisher of magazines and
books on personal computing, is seeking applicants for several
full-time positions. We have openings for a Features Editor, Assistant
Book Editor, Assistant Editor/Magazines, Assistant Technical Editor,
Editorial Programmer, Copy Editor, and others. Salaries commensurate
with experience. Send resume in complete confidence to:
Kathleen Martinek, Managing Editor
COMPUTE! Publications, Inc.
P.O. Box 5406
Greensboro, NC 27403
-------------------------------------
Xx ZMAG EDITOR NOTES
....Where's The Beef?!!!...........
-------------------------------------
At the end of every issue of Zmag, we end the publication with the
2-word request: -Please Contribute!- Let me take this opportunity to
explain what we mean by contributions.
A contribution to us is a well-written story concerning a topic of
interest to the Atari computer community that we can publish in a
future issue of our magazine. That simple! If you have a review, a
news item, or even an attributal rumor, why not upload it and we'll
pass it along via the nationwide Zmag network.
Since Zmag is written, edited and published by a staff that works for
no monetary reward, we cannot compensate the authors who submit
articles for Zmag publication. Likewise, we do not have the time nor
resources to assign stories or send writers to Consumer Electronic's
Shows or Atari press conferences. Instead, we depend on the dedicated
Atarian to supply us with the information you read here every week.
Lately, it seems, the contributions have gone from a trickle to a
drip. In this week's edition, for example, there is nary a mention of
the Atari 8-bit or an 8-bit product review. We're not intentionally
bypassing the 8-bit material--it's just that nothing was submitted.
Given the fact that most Zmag readers are Atari 8-bit users and that
support for the system is still there (both by Atari and third party
developers), we wonder where all the 8-bit news and reviews are.
So if you have something you'd like to share with the Atari community
at-large, and you have a flair for writing, put your thoughts to
-paper- and pass the article along to us via the Syndicate Zmag BBS
(201-968-8148). Chances are that you'll see your name in print on
these pages as will thousands of other Zmag readers throughout the
nationwide network.
So come on now. Please contribute!!!
--------------------------------------
Zmagazine #50 May 4, 1987
Please Contribute!
--------------------------------------
