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| ROVAC ZMAGAZINE |
| Issue #166 |
| July 18, 1989 |
|Copyright 1989, RII|
|This week in ZMagazine|
Editor's Monitor
Harold Brewer
Matrix Magazine
Eric Glover
ZMagazine Index for Jan-June 1989
Curses--Foiled Again!
Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition
Harold Brewer
|EDITOR'S MONITOR|
|by Harold Brewer|
As folks who frequent the CompuServe
8-bit download libraries can attest,
ZMagazine issue #164 cannot be found
there.
This is due to a CompuServe employee's
(Ron Luks) point of view that:
-(the) issue doesn't meet our
editorial standards for acceptance- and
-I considered the comments about Mark's
'grammatical skills' to be
'unnecessary, unproductive, and
unprofessional'-. (These quotes were
given to ZMagazine by Mr. Luks.)
Apparently, the 8-bit SysOps of GEnie,
the publisher of ZMagazine, and myself
differ in our opinions as to what is
acceptable for access on-line.
I am sorry if anyone has taken personal
insult concerning the contents of
ZMag #164, but nothing of the sort was
ever intended. Indeed, the best
possible presentation of material for
publishing in ZMagazine is at the
forefront of my mind. When this is
not possible through some constraint,
I believe something should be said
to prevent its reoccurrance.
|MATRIX MAGAZINE|
|by Eric Glover|
I would like to ask your group to join
the EgasaTechnologies/Matrix Magazine
Network (Egsanet). Matrix Magazine is
the world's first completely diskette
magazine devoted only to the 8-bit
Atari computer system. We feature
articles in an easy-to-read journal
format combined with ready-to-run,
pre-typed games and utilities over
double-sided, double density diskettes.
A demo edition was released in
March/April 1989. I would like your
user group to become part of our team.
The idea is to have several sections in
the magazine to user groups across the
nation and overseas. These sections
would include reviews, rumors, product
release information, opinions,
tutorials, and workshop sections. This
alliance of user groups would be
called, -The Network-, however, each
group would retain it's singular
identity and would NOT be responsible
to any other member of -The Network-.
Also, ALL credit for any printed
article would go to the user group and
the author of the article. -The
Network- would be just the name of this
alliance of user groups and not a
collective of these groups that would
take away respective identities.
Instead, ALL respective indentities of
each group would remain intact.
I need your group's help to set up this
alliance. Here is how the system would
work:
NETWORK OVERVIEW
1. A materials exchange will be
set-up.
2. Should an article in your group's
newsletter be of interest to the
Atari community, we would publish
it in the Matrix Magazine and give
the user group and the author
credit. Matrix Magazine would be
allowed no more than 2 stories or
articles from any single issue of
your newsletter.
3. Your user group would be allowed
to reprint up to 2 articles from
any issue of Matrix Magazine in
any of your news publications as
long as the author and Matrix
Magazine are credited.
4. Your group and it's members would
receive a discount on the normal
subscription price:.
Type Normal Price Your Price
4 Issues $15.95 $13.95
8 Issues 25.95 22.95
12 Issues 35.95 30.95
5. As a final bonus, Network user
groups are allowed discount
advertising space.
Type Normal Price Your Price
Half page $25.00 $10.00
Half page
w/animation 35.00 15.00
Full page 40.00 20.00
Full page
w/animation 60.00 27.50
2 page 80.00 45.00
2 page with
animation 120.00 75.00
Full section
w/animation
(10 pages) 450.00 250.00
NETWORK REPLY FORM
-------------(Cut here)---------------
Please complete this form and return
to the address listed below.
____ No, we do not wish to participate
in the Network.
____ Maybe, please send us an ARCed
copy of the Demo Matrix Issue for
distribution to our members and
we'll respond at a later date.
____ Yes, We would like to be a part
of the Matrix Magazine Team.
REGISTRATION
Group Name:___________________________
___________________________
President:____________________________
Group Address:________________________
City/State:___________________________
Zip Code:__________
BBS Phone Number:_____________________
Meeting Dates:________________________
Number of Members:_____________
(Please include a copy of your
publication.)
Send to:
Matrix Magazine (Ctsy ZMagazine)
Attn: Eric R. Glover
Executive Editor
Post Office Box 49212
Chicago, Illinois 60649
-------------(Cut here)---------------
|ZMAGAZINE INDEX|
January thru June 1989
Issues #138 thru #163
___________________________________
Issue #138 January 3, 1989
<*> Editors Desk
<*> MYDOS Update Released
<*> Diamond Review
<*> ZNET Newswire
<*> PR:C Modification
<*> DATAQUE Update
<*> ANTIC Software on CIS
<*> XF551 Modification
Issue #139 January 10, 1989
<*> Editors Desk
<*> Diamond Update
<*> Software Bill of Rights
<*> Your 8 Bit Comes Alive
<*> Innovative Concepts Sale
<*> December Files on GEnie
<*> US Robotics Offer
<*> Transformer Update
<*> Happy Conference Highlites
Issue #140 January 16, 1989
<*> Editors Desk
<*> East Coast MIDI Directory
<*> PC Pursuit Update
<*> Diamond Conference Transcript
<*> Atari Distributors World Wide
<*> CIS Offer
Issue #141 January 23, 1988
<*> Editors Desk.........Ron Kovacs
<*> GOE/TCS Update.....David Sullivan
<*> CodeBuster Help....Ctsy SIG*Atari
<*> 800 Owners Column...H. Siebenrock
<*> Analog March Contents
<*> ARC Speed Test IBM vs 130XE
<*> IBM Monitor with XEP...B. Woolley
<*> GEnie ATARI8 RT Top 100 Downloads
Issue #142 January 30, 1989
<1> Z*Net Newswire
News updates including Xanth,
Diamond and more...
<2> 800XL Ram Upgrade....Russ Babylon
Modification article. Reprinted by
request.
<3> AtariWriter+ and SpartaDos
...Glenn Smith
How to use A+ and a Ramdisk
<4> 800 Owners Column....H. Siebenrock
Cold System Reset
<5> Oasis BBS System........Ron Kovacs
New release from Z INNOVATORS
Issue #143 February 7, 1989
<*> Editors Desk...........Ron Kovacs
<*> Nintendo Sues Atari Games
<*> Dataque Conference.......Ctsy CIS
<*> Atari Magazines..........L. Estep
<*> MicroMiser
<*> Call Blocking............J. Cross
<*> Online Services <CIS>
<*> Jan Uploads <GEnie>
Issue #144 February 14, 1989
<*> Editors Desk...........Ron Kovacs
<*> ZMag F Rating...........John Nagy
Text file rating system
<*> Dataque Update.....Chuck Stienman
Details on the Turbo816 Project
<*> Express The Cartridge.......Orion
New Product announcement
<*> Express Cart Order Form.....Orion
<*> Diamond Cartridge........Ken Leap
A Review
<*> Practical Solutions....WK Whitton
Valuable offer for STer's
<*> ST Transformer Cable...........IC
<*> Z*Break................Ron Kovacs
Special request from Sig Hartmann
Issue #145 February 21, 1989
<*> EDITORS DESK...........Ron Kovacs
Commentary and update
<*> ANALOG COMPUTING EDITORIAL.
...Clayton Walnum
February Edition Reprint
<*> Z*NET NEWSWIRE
8 Bit Developers Kit, Auto Show
dates, IC Sale and more
<*> KEYS TO YOUR ATARI...Mike Lechkun
Reprint from MAGIC
<*> SURVEY RESPONSE........Ron Kovacs
Part 1 of a series from the ZMag
Survey
<*> ATARI SHOW
ST World presents -World Of Atari-
Issue #146 February 28, 1989
<*> EDITORS DESK..........Ron Kovacs
<*> ANALOG APRIL CONTENTS.....Analog
<*> OVERSEAS VISIT.........Ron Kovacs
<*> GALAXY STARLINK........WK Whitton
<*> ANTIC MAY CONTENTS..........Antic
<*> MICROMISER UPDATE
<*> WORLD OF ATARI SHOWS
<*> ZNET NEWSWIRE
Issue #147 March 7, 1989
==> Publisher's Desk
Ron Kovacs
==> Editor's Monitor
Harold Brewer
==> Commodore 1350 Controller
Jay Pierstorff
==> New Games for the 8-bit
Matt Ratcliff
==> GEnie's February 8-bit Uploads
Courtesy of GEnie/Atari 8-bit RT
==> Micromiser: Part 3
Kenneth Gilbert
==> Z Innovators Oasis BBS Policy
Courtesy of Bungalow BBS
==> Z*NET Newswire
Harold Brewer
Issue #148 March 14, 1989
==> Editor's Monitor
Harold Brewer
==> Z*Net Press Release
Syndicate Publishing Company
==> Turbo BASIC Command List
Dave and Laura Yearke
==> Indus GT Modification
Rich Mier
==> Bill Williams' Necromancer
Richard Brudzynski
==> Oasis 4.3 Update News
Glenda Stocks
==> Z*Net Newswire
Harold Brewer
Issue #149 March 21, 1989
==> 512K 800XL Upgrade
Dan Schmidt
==> Hard-To-Find Support Updated
==> Super Archiver
Paul Gittins
==> Crazy-Eights
Robert Buman
==> AtariTech BBS XL Power Supply
The Traveler
==> Z*Net Newswire
Harold Brewer
Issue #150 March 28, 1989
==> Editor's Monitor
Harold Brewer
==> XE Console Key Fix
The Traveler
==> Thunder Fox and Tower Toppler
Matthew Ratcliff
==> -WHATIS- File Identifier
Bill Aycock
==> Analog Computing May Contents
Clayton Walnum
==> F.A.C.E.
Eric Lambeth
==> Z*Net Newswire
Harold Brewer
Issue #151 April 4, 1989
==> PC Pursuit Update
==> Turbo 8-16 News
==> 1st Stop Computer Systems, LTD
Bruce Hansford
==> April Fool's Treat #1
==> April Fool's Treat #2
==> Crazy Eights #3
Robert Buman
==> GEnie's March 8-bit Uploads
Issue #152 April 11, 1989
==> Editor's Monitor
Harold Brewer
==> World of Atari Update
==> Diamond OS Super Cartridge
Joe Lovett
==> Computer Software Services
Bob Puff
==> Machine Language Strings
Dennis Pitman
==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition
Harold Brewer
Issue #153 March 18, 1989
==> Editor's Monitor
Harold Brewer
==> TextPro 2.5r/3.2r
Bill Hall
==> Introducing MAX Systems
Marty Albert
==> Atari Users Association
Robert J. Guadagno
Issue #154 March 25, 1989
==> Editor's Monitor
Harold Brewer
==> Atari in Panama
Carlos Hassan
==> Rommel, Battles for Tobruk
Howard Bandow
==> ICD's Current Software Versions
==> SuperDOS v5.0
Tom Curtner
==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition
Harold Brewer
Issue #155 May 2, 1989
==> World of Atari Report
John Nagy
==> CompuServe 8-bit Uploads
==> DeTerm v1.59
Robert Anisko
==> April 8-bit Uploads from GEnie
==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition
Harold Brewer
Issue #156 May 9, 1989
==> Publisher's Desk
Ron Kovacs
==> Ratty's Rap
Matthew Ratcliff
==> CompuServe New 8-bit Files
==> The -Freedom Stick-
Tom Guelker
==> Microcheck 130XE 1988
Eric -Gus- Augustus
==> Z*NET Newswire 8-bit Edition
Harold Brewer
Issue #157 May 16, 1989
==> The 512K Atari 800XL/1200XL 1.1
Dan Schmidt
==> Comprehensive MACE Show Report
John Nagy
==> CompuServe New 8-bit Files
==> DataQue Software's Turbo-816
==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition
Harold Brewer
Issue #158 May 23, 1989
==> 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
Issue #159 May 30, 1989
==> Editor's Monitor
Harold Brewer
==> Hard Disk Hints
W.K. Whitton
==> Crazy-Eights #5
Robert Buman
==> Interlude 1
==> Kennedy Approach
Dennis Pitman
==> Guest Commentary
Leo Sell
==> Interlude 2
==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition
Harold Brewer
Issue #160 June 6, 1989
==> Atari Announces New Products
ZBreak #5
==> Summer CES Chicago June 3, 1989
<<<< Kirk >>>>
==> Hard Disk Hints (Part 2)
W. K. Whitton
==> The Master Memory Map
Jerry Cross
==> Electronic Mailbox At Home
Bob Fasoldt
Issue #161 June 13, 1989
==> Quick DIR
Mat*Rat
==> CompuServe New 8-bit Uploads
==> Innovative Concepts Release
==> GEnie New 8-bit Uploads
==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition
Harold Brewer
Issue #162 June 20, 1989
==> Interview with Chris Roberts
Bob Brodie and John Nagy
==> Line Noise
==> GEnie New 8-bit Uploads
==> Autoduel
Dennis Pitman
==> CompuServe New 8-bit Uploads
==> SuperDOS Right Margin
Frank Walters
==> Tech Tips
W.K. Whitton
==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition
Harold Brewer
Issue #163 June 27, 1989
==> Daisy-Dot III Font Preview
Roy Goldman
==> CompuServe New 8-bit Uploads
==> Day One--World of Atari Dearborn
John Nagy
==> GEnie New 8-bit Uploads
==> Atari Booth
Malcom Cleveland
==> The Public Domain Desk
Lawrence R. Estep
==> Analog Computing Table of Contents
==> Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition
Harold Brewer
|CURSES--FOILED AGAIN!|
|Anonymous by request|
Back in late March of this year, a hoax
was perpetrated in the form of a -press
release- regarding the activities of
Atari Corp. The document was widely
distributed on various
telecommunications networks and
contained some extravagent plans for
product releases and marketing by Atari
Corp. Also included was th -news- that
the 8-bit computer line had been sold
to Coleco (of Cabbage Patch Dolls and
the Adam Computer fame). I was
becoming an increasingly serious user
of my Atari 8-bit at the time (and
still am) and before my modem had had a
chance to cool off after reading the
text of the hoax, I dashed off the
following letter. Luckily, I did not
have a chance to mail off the letter
before the hoax had been debunked.
However, I submit the (slightly edited)
text of this letter (anonymously and a
little red-faced) to my fellow
8-bitters for their consideration.
March 30, 1989
Dear Coleco;
Congratulations on your recent purchase
of the 6502 computer line from Atari
Corporation. It might be a surprise
that you are already receiving mail
about this product, but word travels
fast amongst computer users.
By way of introduction, I am a
dedicated Atari -8-bitter-. I own a
130XE, three disk drives (two 1050s and
an XF551), a 1027 printer and an SX212
modem. I also have the use of a good
deal of additional Atari 8-bit hardware
as I am the SysOp of an Electronic
Bulletin Board set up for the benefit
of professionals in the southeastern
corner of (State). I am using my own
equipment to write my doctoral
dissertation, produce a newsletter for
the BBS described above and write
articles for the local Atari users
group. I also do a good deal of
telecommunication with services such as
GEnie, CompuServe and Knowledge Index
as well as local BBSes. And yes, I
also sometimes play a game or two on
the computer. This letter has been
written on my Atari 8-bit and printed
up on my Panasonic 1091i printer. I
used Public Domain software including
the TextPro word-processor version 3.2
by Collins and Richie, and a program
called Daisy-Dot II written by Roy
Goldman in order to achieve the special
type font. This letter was written and
produced in less than an hour. As you
can see, this computer CAN play with
the big boys.
Although I have the opportunity to use
Apple and IBM computers in my
professional work as a school
psychologist, I most enjoy using my
Atari 8-bit computer system and I hope
to be able to continue to use this fine
system for a number of years and to
eventually introduce it to my children
as their first computer. As a
potential future customer and supporter
of Coleco, now that you have the rights
to these former Atari products, I would
like to offer my advice on what I think
Coleco should do with this excellent
computer line:
1) If it is both technically and
legally possible, produce an APPLE
EMULATION PACKAGE. The reason I feel
that this would be worthwhile is that
thousands, probably millions, of kids
are exposed to Apple Computers in the
schools. Parents might very well
consider the purchase of an inexpensive
alternative if the children could bring
home their textfile or program disks of
work done in school.
2) Produce and/or port some new games
that REALLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SOUND
AND GRAPHICS CAPABILITY OF THE 8-BIT
ATARI. Talk with Xanth Park, who has
produced some of the most stunning
visual displays ever seen on any 8-bit
machine for the Atari 8-bit.
3) Don't continue with Atari's giant
step backward of releasing the memory
limited 64K XE Game System. I think
that any new machines released should
have as much if not more memory than
the 130XE (128K). Such extra memory is
very handy and makes many programs much
more useful and efficient to run.
4) Do not forget the fact that you have
a huge, already-installed user-base.
BUT, please take note of the following
facts about this ready-made market:
A: There has been virtually no
advertising directed at this market in
years. They have also seen the outlets
from which they formerly obtained
products and support disappear. Many
towns and even cities of even moderate
size have NO stores which stock or
display Atari 8-bit products. Many of
these potential customers have probably
given up even bothering to look for
software and other products. Many of
these users may be unaware that they
have computers/game machines which will
be compatible with any new software or
hardware that Coleco may produce.
These are owners of the Atari 400, 800,
1200XL, 600XL, 800XL, 65XE and 130XE
computers. YOU WOULD PROBABLY DO WELL
TO EXPLODE A REAL ADVERTISING -BOMB- IN
ORDER TO AROUSE THESE CUSTOMERS. A
period of intensive prime-time
television advertising that calls the
attention of these owners to Coleco's
support for them will probably have
them flocking in droves to any store
that they are told sells new software
for their machines: they have simply
been STARVED for it for the last 4 to 5
years.
B: There is a small but very active
and loyal market of -serious- users of
the Atari 8-bit computer line which
will welcome the release of
improved/updated computer-related (as
opposed to mere game-related) products.
For example, we are in great need of a
well-written, flexible, efficient and
easy to learn Database program (ie.
SynFile+, which is currently owned by
Broderbund, LOOKS great, but is simply
too inefficient in many respects.)
5) Be aware and take advantage of the
fact that some excellent products for
the Atari 8-bit line have been produced
and released in the recent past by
third-party developers such as ICD
(SpartaDOS X, P:R: Connection).
Exciting new developments such as the
new Turbo-816 operating system by
DataQue should be explored and
integrated into your plans if they
appear to be worthwhile. Also, be
aware that there already exist many
excellent Public Domain programs (both
games and applications) which deserve
the status and distribution of the
commercial market or require little
more than refinements and subtle
improvements by professional
programmers in order to make them so.
6) Be aware and take advantage of the
fact that this computer is CAPABLE OF
VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE BASIC FUNCTIONS OF
ANY PERSONAL COMPUTER. Yes, of course
it can play games, but it also makes an
excellent word-processor, and even
simple desktop publishing can be
accomplished with it. It is a joy, not
only to engage in telecommunications
with this computer, but also to utilize
it as a -Host- computer for electronic
Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes).
7) CONCENTRATE ON SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT!
This is potentially the area in which
you can make tremendous profit at
relatively little expense for a number
of reasons. There are probably
thousands of 8-bit programmers out
there who, if given the chance, and
adequate support, could produce
excellent software. This computer
already has an excellent base of
hardware support (try to keep up the
quality in this area: dealers to whom
I have spoken actually PREFERRED
handling Atari 8-bits over Commodore
products because of the quality and
reliability of the hardware). Also,
with a good interface such as the 850
or the P:R: Connection, your new
customers will be able to utilize
virtually any printer or modem on the
market.
8) THE ATARI 8-BIT ALSO ALREADY HAS A
NATIONWIDE EXPERIENCED/INSTALLED
SUPPORT BASE in the form of 8-bit
special interst groups (or -SIGs-) of
Atari Users groups. Please attempt to
solicit input and feedback from such
groups, they may be a great help in
helping to launch your new venture.
You now have, as you once attempted to
produce with the ADAM, an extremely
easy to use, inexpensive and flexible
computer line which has the additional
advantage of already having a wealth of
knowledge and support to back it up.
This computer could easily be the
-VOLKSCOMPUTER- of the near future.
Although not as complicated as some of
the 16-bit computers which are now
commonplace in the so-called -serious-
computer Market, this computer can
easily do virtually anything that most
-ordinary- people could ask of a
personal computer. If you are truly
committed to this product and back it
up with adequate support, it can only
be a huge commercial success for you.
Sincerely,
(Anonymous)
|Z*NET NEWSWIRE 8-BIT EDITION|
|by Harold Brewer|
Frank Walters, SysOp of T.A.C.O.
Bell BBS, sent two nice ATASCII
ZMagazine logos. How do you
like them?
Atari News
andInfo
Graphics By SCARAMANGA
(c)'87
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One of ZMag's sister publications
(ST-ZMagazine) reported on the
following in its -ZNET NEWSWIRE-
from ST-ZMagazine #29:
-ST-LOG will now be the place
where Analog readers go to for
8-bit news in the fall. Due to
insufficient advertising which has
not covered the costs of
publication, Analog will be
included within ST-LOG just as
ST-LOG appeared in Analog before
its debut as a separate
publication. The circulation of
Analog has been good, but plagued
with less ads.-
Orion Microsystems has been
shipping Express! cartridges and
Keith Ledbetter made the following
statement Monday in GEnie's 8-bit
Bulletin Board:
-We forgot to include a cover
letter with the Express! Carts
that we have shipped out so far,
so I'm going to post it here. If
you could, I'd appreciate it if
you'd pass this information on to
any users on your BBSes (you can
just capture this message if you'd
like).
-The only cartridges that we have
shipped so far have been
pre-orders--we are going to use
the people who pre-ordered the
cartridge as extended BETA
testers. We are not shipping any
more cartridges until the
pre-order users have used the cart
for at least 3 weeks. We will
then make any bug fixes that have
been found, and upgrade those
pre-order people to version 1.1 of
the cartridge.
-So, it is VERY important that you
call Chris at our voice number if
you think you have found a bug--if
you don't call, we won't know
about it! So far, the only
problems have been found in the
80-column screen handler. Version
1.1 will greatly clean up the
80-column display.
Take care,
Keith
I've been having tremendous luck
creating and cleaning up menu
screens both for personal and
BBS use. Most of this luck can
be attributed to the book
called:
Handbook of Screen Format Design
by Wilbert O. Galitz
Published by QED Information
Sciences, Inc., this manual
brings science and artistry
together to relieve much of the
burden from the eager menu
maker. Mr. Galitz tells us
exactly why some menus are
appealing and workable, while
with simple changes, these same
examples become horrendous and
difficult.
For anyone who takes pride in
their computer's visual
presentation, Handbook of Screen
Format Design is there to
assist.
| Rovac Industries, Incorporated |
| P.O. Box 74, Middlesex, NJ 08846 |
| (201) 968-8148 |
|Copyright 1989 All Rights Reserved|
Reprint permission is granted
providing ZMagazine and the original
author is credited.
CompuServe: 71777,2140
GEnie: ZMAGAZINE
Source: BDG793
ZMagazine Headquarters BBSes:
Centurion BBS--(314)621-5046
(618)451-0165
Chaos BBS--(517)371-1106
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The Pub--(716)826-5733
