Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Syndicate ZMagazine Issue 158
| ROVAC ZMAGAZINE |
| Issue #158 |
| May 23, 1989 |
|Copyright 1989, RII|
Entering our 4th year of service to the
Atari 8-bit Community!
|This week in ZMagazine|
A Few Minutes with Randy Mooney
Frank Walters
Terminal Emulators for the 8-bit
Robert Anisko
WAACE-Current Notes Contest
Analog July 1989 Contents
Clayton Walnum
Turbo-816 Version 1.1M Orders
Z*NET Newswire 8-bit Version
Harold Brewer
|A FEW MINUTES WITH RANDY MOONEY|
|by Frank Walters|
T.A.C.O. BELL BBS
...did'ja ever notice those bulletin
boards that go wee-wah...wee-wah...
wee-wah...when you connect? That
really annoys me. I wish all modems
went weeeeeh like mine. Half the time
they don't even connect anyway.
...did'ja ever notice those bulletin
boards that don't do anything when you
connect? They make you hit RETURN a
bunch of times before anything happens.
That's a pain in the neck. Nobody
answers a telephone that way, they
always say 'Hello?' or something like
that. Why don't all bulletin boards
say something like 'Hello' when they
connect, and not make you hit a bunch
of keys before they say anything? It
doesn't seem polite to me. I don't
like to call them back, I'd rather call
a friendlier place, one that answers
the phone and says something.
...speaking of answer, did'ja ever see
those bulletin boards that just send
out a bunch of garbage like a foreign
language and make you hit RETURN
before you can understand? We're in
America and I think bulletin boards
should speak English and not some
foreign language. I think it's just
sloppy programmers who can't figure out
what language the caller is going to
use. The modem uses the right
language, why not ask the modem
instead of the caller?
...ya know what really bothers me?
Did'ja ever see those messages that
you try to read and at the end of the
message there are about 33 carriage
returns and the whole thing scrolls
off the screen before you can read it?
I think there ought to be some kind
of law or something that everybody who
writes messages would have to read
their own message and if they don't
understand it then they would have to
delete it.
...did'ja ever see those silly
twirling cursors on some bulletin
boards? Did'ja ever capture for a
long time and see how much extra
garbage goes into the buffer just from
those silly cursors? Even worse,
did'ja ever try printing them?
Twirling cursors really bug me. There
oughta be some kind of law that only
allowed twirling cursors with the
expressed permission of the caller.
...did'ja ever notice those cutesy
menus that give you no idea what
anything is? I mean, why can't all
bulletin boards use 'G' for Goodbye?
I've seen Off, Quit, Land, Terminate,
and even Bye. Why does every sysop
complain about dropped carrier and
then make it so hard to log off?
There ought to be a law that certain
commands are sacred and can't be
touched: Download, Upload, Time,
Messages and Goodbye! Even those
Ataris use Yell instead of Chat.
...did'ja ever notice those people who
write long messages that are continued
on the next message? Did'ja ever
notice after reading all those words
that you have no idea what they were
talking about? I never read any
messages that are continued anymore.
People who write those messages don't
have anything important to say, they
just like to see their words on the
screen or maybe just like the typing
practice.
...did'ja ever download a big long
file from a long-distance board and
the file didn't run? I like to have
my friends call the long-distance
board and download the long files and
then give them to me only if they
work. I wish I had more friends. I
wish I could be allowed to erase those
bad files from the sysop's disk so
other people wouldn't have the same
problem.
...doesn't it bother you that some
bulletin boards change the filenames
so you don't recognize the download
list and you download all the same
files as last week but with different
names? Maybe the sysop does that
'cause nobody uploads and it makes
everybody think he has a lot of
different files. I always wondered
about that. Maybe somebody uploads
them that way so the sysop will think
he is getting something new and lets
the caller have 'blackbeard privileges'
or something.
...'handles' are a pain in the neck.
I never could think of a good handle
and am embarrassed whenever I log-on a
new bulletin board and the last
question is 'What is your REAL NAME?'.
I never know what to say because I
already used my real name. Should I
make up a real name different from the
one I used at the beginning? One
board I logged on asked for my real
name first. I thought that would be
easy so when it asked for my 'Handle'
I just answered: NONE. I left 2
messages from NONE and it kept asking
'NONE, what is your command?' Then
when I logged off, it said 'Thank you
for calling NONE'. I felt really
foolish. I don't like bulletin boards
that make me feel foolish. I usually
don't call back. I never could leave
E-mail on those boards because I never
could figure out who to send the mail
to.
...did'ja ever notice the sysops who
complain the most about callers
disconnecting are the ones who have
boards that disconnect from you for no
reason? Really! Is it polite to tell
me after I fill out a long
questionaire that I have 9 minutes
remaining and then while I am trying
to find out where everything is
located, I see a message that says
'Time expired, disconnecting...' and
it hangs up? Then the next time I
call back I have a nasty note from the
sysop that says I let my time run out.
That really bugs me. I didn't set the
time limit, he did. I didn't
disconnect, his board did. Why is he
so mad at me?
...I could probably run a bulletin
board better than most of these sysops
and maybe I will some day. It's
probably pretty easy. All I need is a
BBS program and a couple of extra disk
drives, make up my own rules and post
messages around that I am open for
business. What's so hard about that?
Some of these guys think they are some
kind of a god or something.
That's all the time I have for now. I
wish I had more time, you never seem
to have enough time for all you want
to...
|TERMINAL EMULATORS FOR THE 8-BIT|
|by Robert Anisko - MVACE|
In the world of telecommunications, one
of the most helpful and sought-after
properties of a modem program is
terminal emulation. On the standard
computer bulletin board, this is not a
great priority. Generally speaking,
most BBSes are designed in ASCII, which
every system can view. A few have
special graphics types, such as ATASCII
for the Atari 8-bit, or ANSI for the
IBM-types. But in general most any
computer can call a BBS without any
problems.
But you say you want to call up your
school mainframe or office system
which is not set up in plain ol' ASCII?
When you tried calling, you were
barraged by an array of meaningless
screen garbage? What that garbage is,
most often, are special control codes
sent by the host computer (the one you
hooked into) to what it believes are
terminals. Terminals are not
technically computers--they are an
interface connected to a computer,
where the video screen often can be
-programmed- for certain functions,
such as cursor control or inverse
video, by means of control codes. Yep,
those creatures that turned your screen
into the city dump.
Is there anything you can do? (Hmmm...
I wonder what he's gonna answer). The
answer of course is yes. There are
programs out called Terminal Emulators
which essentially will accept the
control codes received, and make the
appropriate action. In the land of
Atari 8-bits, I have found only two
major emulation types--VT52 and VT100
(I exclude ASCII and ATASCII as
generally any 8-bit program can access
those). I will elaborate on this soon.
In searching for emulation, I have run
across five modem programs that feature
some sort of terminal emulation. I
have found some to be adequate, and
some not. The programs I have tested
are: CHAMELEON, AMODEM 7.52, OMNICOM,
VT10-squared, and KERMIT-65.
CHAMELEON is a program that was written
by John Palevich around 1984, and is
sold through ANTIC publishing. This
program has some nice features, such as
the ability to view 40, 80, or 132
column screens. The only problem in
that is that they are the
-pan-and-scan- screens--that is, 40
columns are shown at any one time. To
view the others, you must press START
or SHIFT-START. While this allows for
you to see screens that the 8-bit can't
show at one time (the 132-width), it is
somewhat uncomfortable, having to
scroll back and forth to read things.
And when your racing at 2400 baud, this
is almost impossible. I would recommend
this to people who perhaps have a
vision difficulty, as all the screens
are in large 40-column characters.
CHAMELEON does feature the largest
array of emulations--Glass TTY, IBM
3031, ADM-3A, and VT52 (so you
stretched the truth before, huh?), but
as all the screens are pan-and-scan,
and since VT52 is the only major type
in the list, I would skip this program.
The next program featuring emulation is
AMODEM 7.52 by Trent Dudley, (c)1986.
This is a public-domain program in that
it can be shared, but not altered
without permission. It supports a
limited set of VT52 functions, but is
constant at 40-columns. This may not
be bad for BBSes, but when using a
mainframe it can really create
-interesting- things on your screen.
As a BBS program, I think it is
excellent, but in the world of
emulation, is isn't quite up to par.
The third program I tested was
VT10-squared v0.7 by Dave Bailey and
Alex Stevens. This is a VT100 emulator
with a limited series of functions. It
is one of the earlier emulators out,
and does do an adequate job. The
screen is true 80-columns (3-pixel
wide characters), and supports cursor
controlling (which is vital for
programs like the VI editor on UNIX
systems). The only drawbacks are that
you are limited in the menu to 300 or
1200 baud, and can't change that
without reloading (at least that's
what I've found). But it has two
built-in keyboard configurations--DEC
and PROFS, and thus is easy to control.
The DEC setting is perfect for VI, so
if anyone uses a UNIX system, I would
look into this program.
The next step up is OMNICOM by David
Young (CDY Consulting), which was
released in 1987. It, like that last
program, has a true 80-column screen.
It supports both VT100 and ATASCII,
making this a good choice for BBSes as
well as mainframes. And since it also
supports Xmodem and Kermit protocols,
it seems designed for those who call
both BBSes and mainframes a lot
(college students like me?). OMNICOM
does more emulation than VT10-squared,
including inverse-video and many
graphics characters. Thus I can use
programs that implement these features
and see what is actually supposed to
happen. There are certain graphics
types it cannot emulate, namely
double-sized characters, but I have yet
to see any other that does (short of an
actual VT100 terminal). I would highly
recommend this program, in addition to
the next program tested.
KERMIT-65 v3.3 is the newest terminal
emulator for the 8-bit. Written by
John Dunning, it features VT52 and
VT100 emulation, in both 40 and
80-column screens (with two flavors of
80-column: pan-and-scan or -true-).
Thus the user has a choice in what he
wants to see. The 80-column
pan-and-scan, though, is automatic, and
can drive you crazy as the screen is
thrown back and forth like a tennis
ball. If you need 80-columns, but with
large letters, go with CHAMELEON. But
if you want -true- emulation, this is
the program for you. It supports as
much emulation as OMNICOM, but has a
better set of emulated characters, and
is more flexible in the emulation
world. As Kermit is the only file
transfer protocol supported, you may
wish to use another program for BBSes,
but for mainframes and places where
good emulation is a must, KERMIT-65
can't be beat.
Any guess how this review was written?
Right, I'm using KERMIT-65 with my
school's VAX editor to write the
review, and VT10-squared to edit it
(since I am most used to the keyboard
configuration of VT10-squared).
Various notes...
When using programs with the -true-
80-columns, a large black and white TV
or monitor is recommended. You can use
a color TV, but you'll be squinting. I
am unsure how these programs are
affected by the XEP80, since I don't
have one.
The versions reviewed were: CHAMELEON,
AMODEM 7.52, OMNICOM (dated 8/15/87),
VT10-squared 0.7, and KERMIT-65 v3.3.
The equipment used in testing was:
800XL, SpartaDOS 3.2, Sparta-X,
DOS 2.5, Supra 2400 modem
(Hayes-compatible), SX212 modem (SIO
port), and the XM301.
The files were tested on various BBSes,
a VAX computer, and a UNIX system.
All files, with the exception of
VT10-squared, can be easily configured
from 300-9600 baud.
All worked with the Hayes-compatible
and the SX212, as well as all the
DOSes.
I had varying results with the XM301.
CHAMELEON worked, as well as AMODEM.
OMNICOM has a special version for the
XM301. VT10-squared worked when
appended with the THANDLER from AMODEM.
I was unable to get KERMIT-65 running
under the XM301.
These results were done, as mentioned,
on a 800XL. Thus the XL/XE series
should have no difficulties. The files
should also run under Atari 800s
properly.
Final remarks...
If I have left any programs out that
should be noted, or if you wish to
leave any comments about this review,
leave E-mail on either the ACE Info.
BBS (FoRem-net Node 410), or Blackbird
BBS (FoRem Node 281).
|WAACE-CURRENT NOTES CONTEST|
Reprinted from ST-ZMagazine #21
|The Best of Atari Desktop Publishing|
| WAACE - Current Notes DTP Contest |
All Atari computer users are hereby
invited to submit entries to a Desktop
Publishing contest sponsored by
Washington Area Atari Computer
Enthusiasts and Current Notes Magazine.
Entries must be submitted before the
8th of September 1989. Judging and
awarding of prizes will take place at
the WAACE AtariFest on 7-8 October.
The contest is intended to showcase the
kinds of business and personal
communications that are possible with 8
and 16 bit Atari computers. Personal
and Commercial categories in both 8 and
16 bit divisions give everyone a chance
to win.
The prizes will consist of valuable
gift certificates for software and
hardware as donated by AtariFest
supporters.
Copies of the contest rules are
available from Current Notes Magazine
at:
122 N. Johnson Rd, Sterling, VA, 22170,
from your local Current Notes retail
sales agent, or by downloading file
DTPCONTS.ARC from the ST Roundtable on
GENie.
CONTEST RULES
The contest rules listed below provide
the restrictions and other guidelines
governing the WAACE - Current Notes DTP
contest:
1 Eligibility - developers of DTP
products or their employees are not
eligible.
2 Categories - Submitted works will
be judged in one of the following four
categories: 1) 8-bit Personal,
2) 8-bit Commercial,
3) 16-bit Personal, and
4) 16-bit Commercial.
Entries in the personal category will
have been prepared for the use of the
submitter and his/her family.
Works will be deemed commercial if they
are intended for wider audiences
including, but not limited to,
educational and social organizations,
business clients, or the general
public. The judges may elect not to
award prizes in categories for which
there are fewer than 4 entries.
3 Originality - All work must be the
original work of the submitter.
Submitter must certify that none of the
subject matter or graphic images are
substantially derived from copyrighted
works.
4 Ownership - All submitted material
becomes the property of WAACE and
Current Notes, Inc. to use as they see
fit. Material rejected as being
unsuitable will be returned only if the
submitter provides return envelopes and
postage.
5 Limitation as to number - No more
than two entries will be accepted from
any one household in any one division.
6 Use of Atari Hardware and Software
- All work must use Atari computers.
Hardware from other manufacturers may
be used as peripherals. Hardware or
software that has not been available at
retail to the public prior to 1 July
1989 may not be used.
7 Submissions - All entries must be
submitted as hardcopy accompanied by a
floppy disk containing all components
needed to produce the document. Floppy
disks must be readable by standard
Atari disk drives. Each submission is
limited to 1 disk. Hardcopy output may
not amount to more than the equivalent
of 5 8 1/2 by 11 pages. The submission
disk must also contain a text file
providing complete instructions for
generating the final output. Products
(hardware and software) used to create
all graphics and text components of the
work must be specified.
Submissions must be accomanied by a
letter giving the submitter's name,
address, home telephone number and the
title of the submission. Submission of
an entry constitutes affirmation that
the submitter has read and agrees to
comply with the contest rules. The
organizers are not obliged to provide
opportunity for submitters to remedy
defects in their submissions.
All submissions are at the submitter's
own risk. The organizers will not
assume any responsibility for wear and
tear that submitted material is
subjected to. Submissions shall be
sent to:
Current Notes Magazine
Attn: DTP Contest
122 N. Johnson Rd
Sterling, VA 22170.
8 Deadline - all entries must be in
the hands of the organizers by
September 8, 1989.
9 Taste - The judges reserve the
right to reject work that is offensive
or otherwise unsuitable for public
display at a family event.
10 Award Criteria - The awards will
be made on the basis of the
effectiveness of submissions in
conveying information. Visual impact
and related factors such as style,
arrangement, typography, and text
content will be considered. The judges
may elect not to award prizes if none
of the entries in a category is deemed
to be prize-worthy.
ENTRY BLANK
1989 WAACE - Current Notes DTP Contest
Complete a separate blank for each
submission
Submitter's Name_______________________
(please print)
Address: Apt _______________
Street:________________________________
City __________________________________
State ____ ZIP ________
Home Phone Number: ___ - ___ - ____
Title of Submission:
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
[ ] 8 Bit [ ] 16 bit
[ ] Personal [ ] Commercial
I hereby certify that I have read the
contest rules and that my entry
complies with them in all respects. I
certify that this submission is my own
original work and that none of the
material is substantially derived from
any copyrighted work.
_________________________ Date _______
Signed
Send this form together with your disks
and hardcopy output to:
Current Notes
122 N. Johnson Rd
Sterling, VA 22170
before 8 September 1989.
|ANALOG JULY 1989 TABLE OF CONTENTS|
|by Clayton Walnum|
Features
--------
Disk Master
...........Barry Kolbe & Bryan Schappel
For those of you who want the power to
directly access and manipulate your
disk's data, we present this
commercial-quality disk editor.
Character Set Display Utility
.........................Dave Arlington
This unique program will let you view
up to six different font files all at
the same time. A great way to find out
just what all those fonts you've
accumulated really are.
AUTORUN.SYS Secrets in BASIC
...........................David Schoch
A few months ago we published an
assembly language AUTORUN.SYS maker.
Now here's a version for all you BASIC
programmers.
Chaos
......................Alfredo L. Acosta
They say that the universe tends toward
chaos. But does it really? Could
there, perhaps, be some order in all
that disorder?
DEGAS View
..................Matthew J.W. Ratcliff
ST pictures on your 8-bit computer?
You bet!
Mazerunner
.............................Matt Fruin
An interesting twist to the arcade maze
game genre. 100% machine language.
Reviews
-------
Crystal Castles (Atari Corp.)
..................Matthew J.W. Ratcliff
Into the Eagle's Nest
..................Matthew J.W. Ratcliff
Columns
-------
Boot Camp
.............................Tom Hudson
ST Notes
............................Frank Cohen
The End User
.....................Arthur Leyenberger
Departments
-----------
Editorial
.............................Lee Pappas
Reader Comment
8-bit News
M/L Editor
.........................Clayton Walnum
BASIC Editor II
.........................Clayton Walnum
Disk Contents
|TURBO-816 VERSION 1.1M ORDER FORM|
There are a limited number of Version
1.1 Turbo-816 Systems Available for the
reduced price of $110+$4 (S&H) within
the US and Canada. COD fees are
additional. 1200XL Version available
(2-28pin PROMS) for $5.00 additional,
all prices are in US dollars.
The only difference between the Version
1.1 boards and the Version 1.2 boards
is the size of the latter is about
10-15% smaller. They are functionally
the same. Both include Version 1.00M
of the Turbo-OS.
The Version 1.2 Boards will be
available in late-June, early July, at
the full $120 plus P&H.
Included in the kit is:
Turbo-816 Adapter Board
6- Ribbon CPU Cable
Installation/User Guide
Turbo-OS Prom 1.00M
The initial units will be best used by
people with experience programming in
assembly language. While there are
various degrees of speed improvements
with the Turbo-816 installed, the main
application for the unit is the
increased power that the 16-bit
processor affords. So if you primarily
play games on your computer, the
upgrade is not for you at this
time...
//////////////////////////////////////
Order Form for Version 1.1 and 1.2
Turbo-816 Kits:
Your Name _____________________________
Address _______________________________
City ________________ State/Prov ______
Zip ___________ Country ____
Target Computer (XL/XE) _______________
Amount of RAM _____________
Soldering Experience ( ) None ( ) Some
( ) Much ( ) Pro
Programming Languages: ( ) None
( ) BASIC
( ) MAC/65
( ) C
( ) Action
Programming Proficiency: ( ) None
( ) Learning
( ) Good
( ) Expert
Installing it yourself (Y/N) ______
Closest Atari Vendor ____________
Disk Drives Used: _____________________
_____________________
Other Equipment: ______________________
______________________
If Version 1.1 Sold Out, place
backorder for Version 1.2 (Y/N) _______
Backorders will be cancelled after 60
days, and checks returned, if for any
reason merchandise cannot be shipped in
that time (if B/O ok)
Payment Method: ( ) COD
( ) Personal Check
( ) MO / Cashiers Check
* Personal Checks Require time to clear
before merchandise is shipped
Please indicate where you have seen
info on the Turbo-816 Adapter
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
//////////////////////////////////////
Send this form with payment (if
required) to:
DataQue Software
Post Office Box 134
Ontario, OH 44862
//////////////////////////////////////
|Z*NET NEWSWIRE 8-BIT EDITION|
|by Harold Brewer|
In order to reprint the following
two message from the GEnie Atari
8-bit Bulletin Board I must
include this statement:
Copyright 1989 Atari Corporation,
GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables.
See signup information in this
magazine. May be reprinted only
with this notice and signup
information included.
To sign up for GEnie service, call
(with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon
connection type HHH (RETURN after
that). Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type XJM11877,GEnie and hit
RETURN. The system will prompt
you for your information.
==> From Alan Reeve at Reeve Software
comes this message dated
19 May, 1989:
-Attention All:
-Reeve Software has finally completed,
and is about to commence shipment of
Diamond Write, as well as our first
newsletter! Diamond Write is our
full-featured word processor that adds
capabilities such as an 80-column
display and the ability to use
different fonts and mix and match
different styles of text in your
document. We hope to begin shipping
our end user orders at the beginning of
next week, and to start shipping out
dealer orders at the end of the week.
-With Diamond Write, I believe we have
finally completed the package that
8-bit owners have been longing for for
the past year...a top quality Graphical
OS, a Paint Program, and a Word
Processor. We now will be working on
an improved set of Programming
Instructions, adding the Diamond
environment to News Station, and
Diamond Publish. Those of you who have
returned your warranty cards will be
receiving our first newsletter shortly.
-Thanks for your support,
A. Reeve-
==> Dated 17 May, 1989, comes this
response to a ZMagazine query from
a P. Sungenis (PAB):
-In your last ZMAG (5/9, #156 I
believe), you asked people for some
response to Atari developers about the
8-bit world, be it dead or alive.
Here's my two cents, and you can quote
me verbatim.
-The 8-bit market has a huge user base,
and a lot of dedicated users. We had a
lot of defections at first to the
16-bit models, but now the 8-bit market
is smaller and much more dedicated.
They want new things and new software
for their machines--the machines they
are DEDICATED to!
-If the developers cut off their
support, the 8-bit crowd will continue
on their own and will keep developing.
People like Bob Puff and the other
-share-ware- authors out there will
continue and the machines will thrive.
Back-yard hardware projects will spring
up. The machine won't die. Look at
the TI99. There are STILL dedicated
users and new software/hardware from
those users even though support ended
in 1983!
-If you cut off the 8-bit development,
we won't all go over to the STs. We'll
stay where we are and be no worse for
the wear. All you'll lose is money we
WOULD HAVE spent!
-Thank you, time to get off my
soapbox.-
From the National ZMagazine
Headquarters BBS (Centurion) comes
this news:
Base nameGeneral
Message #193
Sent toANTIC READERS 05/20/89
Posted byBILL H.
SubjectNew Antic
_______________________________________
Well I see the saga of -what-the-heck-
are-these-magazines-gonna-do-next-
continued when I got to my mailbox.
Antic is gonna start being a with-disk
version only and they are -generously-
gonna let us subscribers in on the deal
right away with the next issue, unless
we take the time to send a card back in
time. *PLOP!* into the mailbox for me.
Anybody else have a negative vote for
this stuff? I cannot say there has
been a heck of a lot useful lately
(especially in this issue) and would
feel really bad to see my subscription
cut in half just to get some great disk
of stuff to use the Egyptian calendar
or something. Oh yeah--if subscribers
wanna get the disk version, their time
left on their subscription is cut in
half. I think that not forgetting to
send in the enclosed card is important
as a vote if subscribers out there
don't like the format change rammed
down their throat. If I wanted to get
the disk version, I would have ordered
it.
| Rovac Industries, Incorporated |
| P.O. Box 74, Middlesex, NJ 08846 |
| (201) 968-8148 |
|Copyright 1989 All Rights Reserved|
CompuServe: 71777,2140
GEnie: ZMAGAZINE
Source: BDG793
ZMagazine Headquarters BBSes:
Centurion BBS--(314)621-5046
(618)451-0165
Chaos BBS--(517)371-1106
Shadow Haven--(916)962-2566
Stairway to Heaven--(216)784-0574
The Pub--(716)826-5733
