Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Syndicate ZMagazine Issue 124
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
Syndicate ZMagazine Issue #124 September 21, 1988
| HOT Atari News and Reviews |
-----------------| American Publishing Enterprises, Inc |----------------
-----------------| Post Office Box 74 |----------------
-----------------| Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0074 |----------------
PUBLISHER GENERAL MANAGER ZMag EDITOR ASSISTANT EDITOR
Ron Kovacs R. F. Mariano John Deegan Carlos Hernandez
=========================================================================
Available on: * CompuServe * GEnie * Delphi * The Source * F-Net *
=========================================================================
Copyright (c) 1988 APEInc, SPC -- All Rights Reserved --
ZMAG NORTH
The Launch Pad BBS
(201) 343-1426
H143-201
ZMAG MIDWEST
Stairway To Heaven
(216) 784-0574
H002-216
ZMAG SOUTH
Bounty Atari ST BBS
(904) 786-4176
H014-904
ZMAG WEST
Shadow Haven Information Service
(916) 962-2566
H009-916
*-[CONTENTS]-*
*=* Publishers Desk by Ron Kovacs
*=* ZMAG Weekly News Roundup
*=* New Book on Computer Viruses
*=* Line Noise Revisited Ctsy CIS Atari
*=* Circuit Maker Review
*=* SAM TRAMIEL in Conference
*=* 8 Bit Owners Update
=========================================================================
PUBLISHER'S DESK
by Ron Kovacs
Originally planned for preview in this space was an article written by the
Editors of Michigan Atari Magazine. I have cancelled this segment while I
research and produce our official position on the matter. Stay tuned to
these pages in the next few weeks for an indepth look at MAM.
Starting October 2, 1988, ZMAGAZINE will release issues on Sunday
evenings. We will also debut a new section devoted to User Group Updates
and news. Stay tuned for more details on this next week.
SCHEDULED RELEASES FOR OCTOBER
Issue #125 October 2, 1988
Issue #126 October 9, 1988
Issue #127 October 16, 1988
Issue #128 October 23, 1988
Issue #129 October 30, 1988
Due for release in October....Update of the official ZMAG/ST-REPORT BBS
listing. If your BBS has not appeared, or you think you might be missing,
Please send a post card with your BBS information and a phone number so we
can contact you and give you your official ZMAG Registration number. The
ZMAG 1988 Reader Survey is near completion. I need your address to send
you the survey!! Please send that post card off today!! The survey is
presently 8 pages long.
Enjoy your vacation John Deegan!
***************************************
ZMAG NEWS ROUND-UP 9/14-9/21
Compiled by the Staff of ZMagazine
***************************************
(Comments detailed in the following article are NOT those of ZMagazine or
it's editors. Readers opposed to any comments here are welcome to submit
a reply by 9-30-88. Any opposing commentary on this article will NOT be
accepted for publication.)
PRESS RELEASE 9/15/88
In an article called Atari News and Comment in the September Michigan Atari
Magazine (MAM), editor Bill Rayl again blasted a non-participating local
Michigan Atari users group for policies not in tune to MAM's liking.
MAGIC, the eastern Michigan Atari users group who has stead fastly refused
advances to join the MAM consortium, was sharply condemned for charging
-50 cents to $1 admission- to attend a special meeting hosting Atari execs.
-I was strongly misquoted by Mr. Rayl,- says Sourcerer's Apprentice Editor
Mike Lechkun. -I went out of my way to call Bill Rayl long distance to
share and report this bit of local Atari news. I was shocked to see it
turned into a negative slam against us (MAGIC).-
-I told his wife (and MAM co-editor) Pattie that MAGIC was asking for a
donation to help defray costs of starting up another Atari fest effort [as
well as to pay for the increase in space needed for the meeting]. It
seems to me,- commented Mike, -that MAM is allowed to rake in money for
it's own ventures, but others trying to serve the Atari community are, in
their words, 'tasteless'.-
Mike concluded that he'd -be more than happy to make a donation in the
Rayls' name if they couldn't cough up a couple of bucks!- It was MAM,
over a year ago, who slammed then-non-participating club MACE when they
proposed charging non-members to attend the monthly meetings. MACE was
(and is) losing money rapidly by providing services to non-members who
were sponging off the group. Because of the article, MACE was embarrassed
into changing their newly adopted policy.
The members of MAGIC have always felt that a user group's newsletter helps
to define and add personality and individuality to the club. The
newsletter is the club's identity to the outside world. It is a shame
that MAM feels that their viewpoint is the only valid one in Michigan, and
that any other club's views are -considered extremely bad taste.-
Quote from MAM, 9/88
Atari News and Comment
-In a move that can only be considered extremely bad taste, MAGIC is
planning to charge 50 cents or $1 admission to attend this meeting [with
Atari's execs]! The meeting takes place on their normally scheduled
meeting night, and MAGIC's meetings are generally open to all. But, in
this case, MAGIC proposes to charge admission from the very people they
are going to need assistance from if another show will occur. MAGIC can't
pull off an AtariFest on their own, but if any other clubs want to get
involved at this first meeting, they'll have to pay to do so? Hopefully,
MAGIC will change the tune before October...-
ATARI KILLS DETROIT VISIT
ATARI CORP.'s proposed visit to Detroit user group MAGIC has been
cancelled. Sam Tramiel said that such a visit would -excite group
members-, but with no product to deliver and because we are right before
Comdex, there's really nothing that could be said. ATARI has promised
full support for a Detroit AtariFest, which the MAGIC group is still
considering. Sig Hartmann commented that the November Comdex show would
be -an opener to a revitalized U.S. market presence-, and indicated a
proposed resurgance after the first of the year. But as to not discourage
those who would attend a large scale meeting from afar, Atari will not
make a local apperance until the show.
** NEWS BULLETIN **
Attention all persons that have a program being called -Master Cruncher-
or any alterations of that. It seems that a group of pirates have edited
out the Copyright notice and have claimed the program as there own. This
Utility is not Public Domain nor a Pirate utility, it is a Commercial
program that was going to be sold in The Federal Republic of Germany.
There were plans to market it in the USA, but due to the massive spreading
of the utility, there is no hope of making any kind of profit nor will
there be any other such utilities produced due to these problems, it is
not cost effective to try and track down who did this terrible thing, so
you can just thank who ever the persons involed for screwing up the future
of such useful utilities you might have had. Please notify all sysops or
board operators that this file should be deleted from file sections and
not posted again.
I was really surprised to hear that it was posted on 2 major commercial
networks, I would have thought they would have questioned this utility
because of no documentation or origin of source. I would have thought the
sysops would be a little more responsible to there amiga comunity and
check things that are questionable out first.
A final note, the version that seems to have made it's way all over the
United States is still a beta version and has a Serious! bug in it, I do
not accept any responsiblity for any damage caused by the faulty program.
-it is not my fault everyone pirated it- I strongly suggest you uncrunch
everything crunched with it or things might begin to happen you wish
didn't. You have been warned of the problem. Please spread this file as
fast as my program was spread to warn people against the possible
destruction of all there data.
Bit Soft Programing (BSP)
Hans Mayor
Post Fach 1123
8623 Staffelstein
West Germany
NEW BOOK ON COMPUTER VIRUSES
Compute!'s COMPUTER VIRUSES
Author: Ralph Roberts
Price: $14.95
ISBN: 0-87455-178-1
On Sale: November, 1988
Publisher: Compute! Books, a Capital Cities/ABC Company
Why are the big computer companies keeping quiet about the problem of
computer viruses?
Over one percent, or about a quarter of a million IBM PC's and
compatibles are already infected,'' says Larry DiMartin, president of
Computer Integrity Corporation, the makers of the commercial viral
protection program, Vaccinate.
Finally there's a book that shows why software and hardware manufacturers
--in some cases selfishly and intentionally--have their heads in the sand.
Finally there's a book that helps you protect your system from computer
viruses. A book that answers the questions the industry has been ducking.
Like a biological virus, a computer virus can replicate itself and be
spread (through the use of Trojan horse'' programs) from system to
system. Trade a floppy disk with a friend and you may unwittingly be
destroying all the data in your system, whether it's a single person
computer or a large, networked system of 20,000 terminals. It's not even
enough to have good backup--a timed release virus can also be in the
backup disks or tape, destroying data time after frustrating time.
The destructive rampages of these small hidden programs from sick minds
are not limited to high risk'' users who download indiscriminately from
pirate'' electronic bulletin boards. AP and UPI reports in recent months
have reported that such major institutions as NASA, Lehigh University,
Miami (Ohio) University, ARCO Oil, Hebrew University in Israel, and others
have had computer virus attacks.
Whether you are a single computer owner or a manager of a large area
network, Compute!'s COMPUTER VIRUSES offers relief from the fear and the
very real danger of a viral infection in your system.
Topics Covered:
* How your system can become infected (risky practices and how to practice
safe computing,'' and minimize exposure.
* The history of viruses, including some infamous infections such as the
Brain'' virus, the Sunnyvale Slug,'' the Scores,'' and the
Macintosh Peace'' virus.
* How viruses work and what they can do to your system.
* The kind of programs that can hide viruses.
* How to detect a virus or viruses in your system and erase them.
* Protection from virus infection.
* Reviews and tips on viral protection systems, both commercial and
public domain.
* Sections with specific protection information for IBM and compatibles,
Macintosh, Apple, Amiga, Atari, and other systems.
Contents:
Your Computer May Be Sick!
History and Famous Viruses
How Viruses Work
Practicing Safe Computing
How The Experts Deal With Viruses
Corporate Initiatives for Data Security
(by Pamela Kane, President of Panda Systems)
The Case of the Gerbil'' Virus
(by Raymond M. Glath, President of RG Software Systems)
IBM and Compatibles
Macintosh
Apple
Amiga
Atari
The Only Good Virus is a Dead Virus.
For Additional Information:
Ralph Edwards
P.O. Box 8549
Asheville, NC 28814
(704) 254-3972
LINE NOISE REVISITED
Ctsy CompuServe Atari SIG
#: 47388 S2/CompuServe & BBSs 27-Dec-86 22:10:29
Sb: #Interlink
Fm: Jeff Rigby/Intersect Sof 74615,323
To: Dave Groves 76703,4223
I have never had the pleasure of taking apart a Courier 2400 but most
modems use the same input transformer ( FCC Regulations ).
Below is a schematic drawing of the Input transformer circuit:
----) || (------
Input from ( || ) output to
phone line ) || ( modem
----( || )-----
||
|| (------> 600 ohm Inpedance matching
|| ) < resistor
|| (------>
Transformer
You change the 600 ohm ( blue black brown ) resistor, to a lower value by
tacking a resistor in parallel. Try values from 1000 ohms to 600 minimum.
This is a quick and dirty method, it works by making the transformer less
efficient and therby reducing the sensitivity of the circuit. The resistor
is there to cause the input transformer to match the phone line (600 ohms)
impedance. When you have an impedance match you have maximum transfer of
energy. Choose the highest value resistor that gives the fewest errors.
Jeff Rigby c/o SOTA Computers
3949 Sawyer Rd.
Sarasota, Fl. 33583
813-922-6244
****************** UPDATE *********************
17-Sep-88 09:21:43
Sb: #110696-2400 baud problem
Fm: INTERSECT Software 76004,1577
To: SYSOP*Dave Groves 76703,4223
The resister will reduce the sensitivity of the modem to incoming noise. If
the problem is only periodic and does not get worse after warmup then this is
the method to use. If it does get noisy after warmup then open the modem and
look for an 8 pin chip with X2444 on it. It's an XR chip that sometimes causes
the line noise problem at 2400 baud.
Since 2400 baud does push the Florida phone lines to the limit, neither method
may work for you.
CIRCUIT MAKER by Bill Pike (PAC)
My field of endeavour, that which I do when not using a computer, involves
a lot of logic circuit design. Well anyhow I was going thru the local
software store and happened to see a program on the shelf that immediately
caught my eye. The name of the program is CircuitMaker and it was written
by Ozzie Boeshans. The cost is $69.95, why not make it a even $70?. The
program is published by ILLIAD Software.
For those who havn't used this type of program in the past, this includes
until now me, this is the cats meow. No more breadboarding of circuits.
No more burning out chips. No more tangles of wire, piles of parts, and
general mess laying all over the place. Also, for those who are married,
no spouse telling you to clean up your mess.
Version 1.2 of the program allows you to design various logic circuits on
screen and TEST AND DEBUG THE CIRCUITS ON SCREEN. The program then will
print the circuit on your Epson compatible printer. You can also go back
to the last saved version of the circuit if you have made a mistake. The
next version, 2.0, is said to allow you to specify and make a library of
your own favorite IC's. Didn't I say that the program comes with 1 library
of various logic gates and IC's? Well if I didn't, it does.
Here is what is in the library: All of the various types of gates
including, a inverter, 2-4 input AND & NAND, 2 input ORs, 2 input NORs,
and 2 input exclusive ORs, LED's, seven segment displays including the BCD
to 7-Segment decoder, switches, two types of quad latches, 7474, 74138,
74151, 74168, 74169, 74109, and 74194 IC's.
There is a snap-to-grid feature so everything looks neat. The various
logic devices can be rotated in 90 degree increments, you can label either
vertically or horizontally. When you are wiring the circuit the curser is
accompanied, once you move out of the device area, by a set of full screen
cross-hairs that show you where the wire will end up both vertically and
horizontally if you extend it the full screen. This allows you to be much
neater in the layout of wiring. There is also a dot placed where wires
join so that you are sure of the connection. You can also move devices
around or delete them if you decide that the location is bad. You are
working in a window of the design, the window is approximately 15% of the
working area. You can wire outside of the screen area.
I find that you should make a printout of just the device placement so you
are able to easily find the devices not on screen when you start to wire.
A zoom command would have been nice.
There are programmable pulse generators for signal inputs, each generator
is independently programmable as to waveform and start time as well as
well as when it starts. The speed is variable in common. There is a four
input oscilloscope that can be used to check any four points in the
circuit simultaneously.. You are able to either use a continous run or
set for 5 or 10 cycles. The various wires show you the logic level on
that wire by either being solid black (logic 1), dark dotted (logic 0),
or light dotted (not active) as the test is running. If you are using a
color monitor the colors of the lines change to indicate the same
conditions. You are able to move around the screen during the run so you
can see the functioning of the entire circuit.
There is a tutorial on fundamental logic circuit design included in the
small 50+ page manual. The tutorial doesn't go into much depth and those
who are unfamiliar with logic design should pick up a book on the subject
as well as a TTL Device handbook so you can figure out just what the
various chips are and what they require to work. The program doesn't go
into microprocessor logic and if it did it should/would probably cost about
10 times as much, if not more.
This program is designed for the average designer and builder not for
someone who does this for a living, he/she would probably have the $700 to
$7000 version of this type of program and a main frame to run it on. This
is a MUST HAVE program for anyone who designs logic circuits including
those in college level logic design courses. It is also a must have for
anyone who just does logic design at home for their computer interfaces or
anything else, this is most logical (sorry about that it slipped out). So
dig into your pocket and BUY THIS ONE.
*********** SAM TRAMIEL IN CONFERENCE ***********
The Atari Forums on CompuServe will be sponsoring a world-wide electronic
teleconference with Sam Tramiel, President and Chief Operating Officer of
Atari Corporation, on Monday, September 26 at 9:00 PM EDT. Your
participation in this conference is welcomed and encouraged!
The Sam Tramiel Conference is going to be held in CompuServe's Electronic
Convention Center(tm). The Electronic Convention Center(tm) was designed
specifically for special conferences of this nature and can have as many
as 300 people participating simultaniously without causing the slightest
speed decrease. In addition, the Electronic Convention Center(tm) offers
the capability of holding a more structured conference, making it possible
for you to ask your questions and be answered by Mr. Tramiel without any
interruptions. Top performance is absolutely guaranteed! Lastly, the
Electronic Convention Center(tm) offers additional conveniences (discussed
later in this text) that will make your participation in this conference
amazingly easy. If you've participated in other national conferences of
this type before and have been underwhelmed at the way it was conducted
and the performance of the service during 'heavy' usage, this conference
is your opportunity to experience the communication power of a professional
-quality global information network.
ACCESSING THE CONVENTION CENTER
As mentioned above, the Sam Tramiel conference will be held in CompuServe's
Electronic Convention Center(tm) -- NOT the conference area of the Atari
16-Bit Forum. To access the Convention Center, type GO CONVENTION at any
CompuServe command prompt.
When you type GO CONVENTION, CompuServe will display the following menu:
Electronic Convention Center(tm)
INFORMATION/RESERVATIONS
1 Instructions
2 List Conferences/Make Reservations
3 Review/Cancel Reservations
4 Conference Etiquette
Enter choice !
Choice 1 allows you to view the complete instruction guide for using the
Convention Center. Choice 2 and Choice 3 allow you to list upcoming
special conferences and any advance -reservations- (NOT NECESSARY FOR THIS
CONFERENCE!) you might have made. Lastly, choice 4 provides some
information on the etiquette followed by participants in an electronic
conference.
On Monday, September 26, at 8:30 PM EDT (a half hour before the Sam Tramiel
conference is scheduled to begin), the Convention Center menu will appear
as shown above with the addition of menu choice 5 which will allow you to
enter the Sam Tramiel conference. An example of how the Convention Center
menu will appear from 8:30 through the end of the conference on September
26 appears below:
Electronic Convention Center(tm)
INFORMATION/RESERVATIONS
1 Instructions
2 List Conferences/Make Reservations
3 Review/Cancel Reservations
4 Conference Etiquette
JOIN CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
5 Atari Sam Tramiel Conference
Enter choice !
All you will need to do is select choice 5 in order to join the conference.
Once you select choice 5, CompuServe will prompt you to enter your name:
What is your name? John Doe
Enter your name and press a <CR> as shown in the above example.
If you enter the conference area before 9:00 PM EDT, you can chat briefly
with other early arrivers until the moderated conference begins.
ASKING A QUESTION
Once the moderated conference begins, only the moderator and guest speaker
will be allowed to openly communicate at all times. Other participants
must signal that they would like to ask a question or make a comment by
using the /QUESTION (or /QUE) command. Once you issue the /QUE command,
CompuServe will add your name (in order) to the queue. When it is your
turn to speak, CompuServe will beep your terminal and display a message
explaining that it is your turn and you may now ask your question. If you
attempt to openly communicate before it is your turn to speak, the
Convention Center will send you a reminder that in order to ask a question
or make a comment, you must enter the /QUE command and wait for your turn.
If you issue the /QUE command and change your mind about asking a
question, you can enter the /UNQUE command to remove your place from the
queue.
USING THE BUFFER
The Electronic Conference Center(tm) makes it possible for you to compose
or upload your question or statement into a buffer area, followed by giving
you the option of editing the text using standard CompuServe EDIT commands
(explained in detail in EDIT.TXT, available in LIBRARY 1 of the Atari 16-
Bit Forum). Then, you can send your pre-composed buffer when it is your
turn to speak in the conference. Here are the commands you will need to
know in order to use the buffer feature of the Convention Center:
/BUFFER EDIT - Brings you into -edit- mode where you can
compose, ASCII-upload, or edit your text.
/BUFFER SEND - Send buffer to all participants.
OTHER COMMANDS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
The following list of commands are available to you in the Convention
Center:
/BUFFER EDIT Edit text buffer
/BUFFER SEND Send text buffer
/BULLETIN Display short bulletin
/COMMANDS Show list of commands
/DAY Show date and time
/DISPLAY Change message display
/ECHO Show input as it is typed
/EXIT Exit the conference
/NOECHO Do not show input
/HELP Command help text
/NAME Change your name
/NOSEND Refuse private -send- messages
/OFF Log-off
/SEND Send a private message
/STATUS User/guest count
/WHO Show last speaker
/USERS List users
/LOOK Question status (how many people are in the queue)
/QUESTION Question request
/UNQUEUE Cancel a question
If you have any questions, please feel free to post a message to the
Sysops of the Atari Forums. Otherwise, hope you found this introduction
file useful and we're looking forward to seeing you at the big conference!
8 BIT OWNERS UPDATE
There have been many mentions in the almost decade since the original
Atari 400/800 Personal Computers hit the dealers shelves about there
being a future upgrade to meet the user's needs, and new and more
challenging applications. Finally that upgrade is available....... The
Turbo-816 by DataQue, for the Atari 400/800/XL/XE.
DataQue Software is pleased to announce a powerful new upgrade which was
co-designed by Ron Shue, and Chuck Steinman. This upgrade will be
available in two forms. There will be a replacement CPU board for the
original 400/800 Computer system, and a plug in module for the XL/XE
series. In either case, there usually is no need for any modifications
to the existing hardware. The only exception to this is with XL/XE systems
which have their CPU soldered in place, which will require the removal of
the existing CPU, and the addition of a standard 40 pin I.C. socket is
suggested. Also included is the Turbo-OS, by DataQue for use with the
Turbo-816 CPU boards.
The Turbo-816 will not only increase the potential speed of the computer,
but also break the 64k memory barrier of the existing systems. Not with
the awkward paged memory, but with a fully linear decoded address space of
up to 16 megabytes. Benchmarks have put the Turbo-816 into a performance
range ABOVE many of the 'other- PCs/!! Special memory boards will be
available to take advantage of the new extended addressing range. These
will be mounted internal to the computer cabinet, and in most cases
require no hardware modifications.
And here is the amazing feature..... While adding all this power and all
this expanded addressing, the Turbo-816 for the Atari 8-bit computer
systems will maintain compatibility with most currently available
commercial and user written software. Using the Turbo-816 even those
older programs will enjoy a speed increase!
The Turbo-OS is a replacement operating system for use with the Turbo-816
which will release the 16-bit processor to its full power. Increased
speed will be the most obvious change, but hidden in its code, will be an
advanced new floating point library that will speed even the original Atari
BASIC to new levels of performance. Again, on most systems it will be
just a matter of replacing the existing ROM(s) with the Turbo-OS.
The future holds many more products for the Turbo-816 systems including:
1) a real-time multi-tasking operating system kernal
2) a new assembler-editor-debugger package which supports the new assembly
level instructions and addressing modes
3) a new BASIC which will speed past the fastest of the current BASICs for
the 8-bit machines
4) a new K&R compatible C development package
5) a new Turbo-GOS operating system (graphical based)
6) a developers development kit for new applications
The NEW Atari Turbo-816 should be available by November of 1988 For more
information contact your local Atari Dealer or, write:
DataQue Software
Dept. T-816
P.O. Box 134
Ontario, OH 44862
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
ZMagazine Issue #124 September 21, 1988 (c)1988 APEInc, SPC, Kovacs
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
