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Syndicate ZMagazine Issue 195
==(((((((((( == Z*MAG/A\ZINE ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE
=========(( === June 11, 1991
=======(( ===== Issue #195
=====(( ======= ----------------------------------
==(((((((((( == Copyright (c)1991, Rovac Ind Inc..
Publisher/Editor : Ron Kovacs
Assistant Editor : Stan Lowell
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CompuServe: 75300,1642 GEnie: Z-NET
Z*NET BBS: (908) 968-8148 BLANK PAGE BBS: (908) 805-3967
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
***** NEW CIS PPN NUMBER LISTED ABOVE *****
Xx Z*NET NEWSWIRE
=================
ATARI SELLS MANUFACTURING PLANT - Atari has announced that it has signed
a contract for the sale of its property in Taiwan. The facility will be
sold for $60 million, and closing is scheduled for later this month.
The sale is contingent upon certain conditions of closing being met.
Atari noted that assembly operations have been relocated in a move to
increase efficiency and reduce costs.
COMMODORE - issued a number of announcements last week at CES concerning
new technology, distribution, applications and compatibility for the
CDTV Interactive Multimedia player. CDXL will increase the capability
of the CDTV player by bringing enhanced motion video with no hardware
upgrade required. CDTV-PIP is essentially a 1/3-screen window, which
allows NTSC video to be displayed simultaneously with a running CDTV
application. CDTV-PIP is incorporated into a specially designed plug-in
video card that replaces the current video card yet requires no software
upgrade. Commodore announced that CDTV is planned to be compatible with
Kodak's new Photo CD system. Photo CDs, planned for June 1992 can store
up to 100 35mm photographic images on writable CD-ROM discs.
Commodore introduced two new packages this week for its Amiga 500 line.
The new packages are designed to complement the successful Amiga 500
Bonus package that is currently offered by Amiga retailers. The new
Discovery Pack is an entry-level package, ideal for parents who want a
computer that their children can use for both education and
entertainment. The package features four titles, including KindWords,
Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?, Ports of Call, Deluxe Paint II.
The Discovery Pack also includes a TV adapter, which enables the use of
a television as a monitor. The suggested retail price is $599.
NEW APPLE SOFTWARE - MacX 1.1.7 is the latest version of Apple's X
Window System display server for the Macintosh operating system. It
provides X Window System access and functionality for customers using
Apple Macintosh computers in multivendor environments. MacX 1.1.7
provides support for System 7, Apple's latest version of the Macintosh
operating system and will be available August 1991. MacX 1.1.7 is $295.
Upgrades are available for current MacX 1.0 and 1.1 customers for $95.
NINTENDO UPDATE - Philips has announced that it has granted Nintendo a
license to develop and market video games on Compact Disc format for
play on Nintendo's new Super Famicom and Super Nintendo Entertainment
System 16-bit home video game hardware systems. The new Compact Disc
video games, according to Nintendo, will be played on a low cost CD ROM
-XA Compact Disc player. Consumers will be able to attach these CD ROM
-XA players to their Super Famicom and Super NES hardware units.
HP REDUCES PRICES - Hewlett-Packard has reduced the list prices on its
HP Vectra personal computers by up to 10 percent and on its mass-storage
products by up to 33 percent. HP also has reduced the list price of the
HP ScanJet Plus scanner from $1,595 to $995. Numerous other HP product
prices have been reduced and more information in available by calling HP
at 408-720-3824.
NEW DRIVES FOR NOTEBOOK COMPUTERS - Mitsubishi announced the
availability of a new floppy drive designed specifically for -notebook-
computers. The MF355E is a 3.5-inch 2 megabyte unformatted, magnetic
floppy drive that is less than 15 millimeters in height. The unit
weighs less than half a pound and offers a variety of connector types
including a 26-line, 26-line FFC, and 34-line pinhead connector. All
connectors include the signal interface and power interface in one connector.
Xx ATARIUSER 8-BIT ATARI COLUMN
===============================
by Chuck Steinman
Reprinted from the June 1991 AtariUser Magazine by permission. No
further reprinting of this article is permitted except by permission of
Quill Publishing, 818-332-0372. Subscription and distribution
information for AtariUser is available at 800-333-3567.
8-Bit Alert: An aquisition agreement between Michael St. Pierre (of
Micro Solutions) and Chuck Steinman (of DataQue) has been made which
will allow DataQue to continue production of the TransKey adapter for
the Atari Classic computers. This device will allow you to use a
standard IBM type keyboard on your favorite machine. DataQue will
support anyone who purchased their TransKey from Micro Solutions.
Contact DataQue, P.O. Box 134, Ontario, OH 44862, USA.
8-Bit Alert: GEnie telecommunications service has decided to eliminate
their Atari 8-bit section in their bi-monthly 'LiveWire' publication.
At first GEnie claimed not be able to find anyone willing to write the
short section, while now they say -There just is not enough room because
we have additional new advertisers, and we do not want to increase the
page count.- Anyone who feels that the Atari Classic computers deserve
coverage should contact FEEDBACK on GEnie.
THE 8-BIT STATE - DIAMOND: A New Look for your Classic Atari
Diamond Graphical Operating System (GOS) from ReeveSoft offers an ST/GEM
like operating system for the Atari 8-bit series of computers. You can
use an ST mouse, joystick, touch tablet, track-ball or your keyboard as
a pointing device. Although available for over two years, Diamond has
been recently reworked to add new features and increase performance. If
you've been considering updating your older version or jumping into a
graphical environment for the first time, Diamond 3.0 is worth looking at.
A -stacking- cartridge, Diamond will work alone or with other carts.
Why would you want a GOS on your classic Atari? Common claims for
adding a GOS to a system are 'because the ST has one', or 'it's the wave
of the future'. I feel that those are pretty poor reasons to buy
something. If a GOS serves some useful purpose, that's a good reason to
consider adding it.
If you don't like working from a command line interface (SpartaDOS or
OSS DOS) or DOS menu (AtariDOS or work-alike), then Diamond may be the
picture to save you typing those thousand words. Most of the DOS (Disk
Operating System) functions are available directly from the desktop,
with little or no typing required. You can also view and print text
files, or launch (execute) programs by selecting a file with your
pointing device.
There are also options on XL/XE machines to exit Diamond to another
cartridge or to internal BASIC.
While Diamond will work with floppy disk based systems, its real power
is the ease of use it adds to systems with hard drives. Moving from one
directory to another is very simple, using only the pointing device.
Functions like copying or deleting files are just as simple, although
being so simple makes it so easy, the proverbial two year old can simply
make a mess in no time.
One of the major new features of Diamond 3.0 the file selector, now
incorporated into the cartridge. With this improvement, new
applications (programs) will not have to provide their own selector. It
frees up valuable memory and provides a consistent interface for
programs which use the selector.
Another nice addition to Diamond is that the type of DOS being used is
automatically detected, saving the user from having to enter that
information. The desktop colors and pointing device are also user
selected and saved in a configuration file. This small file is loaded
from disk when Diamond is started up.
For drawing pictures, ReeveSoft offers Diamond Paint. With Paint, you
can load and save in many different picture formats including, clip-art,
Micro Illustrator, and straight binary. All of the normal drawing
utilities are provided, including cut and paste.
Diamond Write is a word processor which offers a single user selectable
font at a time, but multiple styles of that font possible. A variety of
fonts are supplied, including an 80 column emulation font. Other
features are user programmable margins and justification.
Diamond News Station ($29.95) will allow you to turn out professional
looking small newsletters and documents with pictures, multiple-sized
text in various fonts, and clip art. Pages are broken into eight
plates, and you can edit one plate at a time in a -WYSIWYG- (What You
See Is What You Get) fashion.
ReeveSoft offers the $29.95 Diamond Develop package for those with a
desire to program applications with all those windows popping and dialog
boxes growing. Diamond Develop assumes you know assembly language, and
have the MAC/65 assembler (available from ICD, Inc). ReeveSoft offers to
refund the cost of Develop to programmers who write a 'significant'
application for Diamond.
There are a few rough spots in the Diamond desktop system. First, you
must avoid using sub-directory names which have extensions. Second, if
you want to exit Diamond back to the resident DOS, it isn't simple--and
it should be. If there are functions your DOS supports which are not
supported directly by Diamond, the only option provided is to exit
Diamond. Third, the new file selector seems to be reluctant to keep
filenames and directories inside the selector box with SpartaDOS. At
times the SpartaDOS timestamp spills outside the file area of the
selector box, overwriting other information on the screen.
Finally, the Diamond utilities (Write, Draw) and News Station, suffer
from little quirks here and there. While they don't prevent the use of
the programs, they do impair the ease of use that a graphical user
interface should provide. The Diamond GOS itself does seem to be very
stable, and Reevesoft seems committed to continued support.
The full Diamond package currently runs $79.95 and includes the
cartridge plus the Write and Paint applications. Upgrading from an
earlier version of the Diamond GOS cartridge is $30. Diamond systems
are by ReeveSoft, 29W150 Old Farm Lane, Warrenville, IL 60555, (708)
393-2317.
MAC/65 and SpartaDOS are from ICD Inc., 1220 Rock Street, Rockford, IL
61101-1437, (815) 968-2228.
- Chuck Steinman
BIO: When not writing for AtariUser magazine, Chuck Steinman can usually
be found out perusing telecommunication services such as GEnie, Delphi,
and Compuserve. An avid supporter of the Atari Classic Cause, Chuck is
known for several Public Domain, Shareware, and commercial products sold
under the DataQue name. Of several dozen of the 8-bit systems, the only
models not in his vast collection are the 65XE and XEGS. (Anyone have
either of those to sell cheap?)
Xx RUMBLES..RAMBLES...RUMORS
============================
by Stan Lowell
What, Why, Where
----------------
Question: -Where is ZMAG, where have you been, what are you doing, plus
a few other unprintable things...-
Answer: I got out of 'Sync' with ZMag when everybody took their
vacations. All -heck- broke loose nearly everyplace. I hope to get
back in the swing of things and just be 'late' with these articles
(instead of gone). My thanks to those of you who missed me and
expressed concern. My apologies to those who have been lamenting and
languishing, I'll try and do better.
STart/Antic
-----------
As most are aware, Start has ceased publication. Will it surface again
with another publisher/name/format? We are all waiting to find out.
Will it contain any 8-bit info? We can hope for the best, but probably
not too likely. Where can we get information? ZMagazine, your LOCAL
user group, your local BBSs, AtariUser magazine, user group publications
like PSAN, Current Notes, AIM, etc., and just about any BBS that offers
a Networked Atari(8-bit?) message base.
If you call a BBS with a networked message base, be active. Leave a
message answering a question, or asking one. Leave a message thanking
the SysOp(s) for having the base availiable for you. If you don't use
it, you may lose it! If all you do is download files, the SysOp may
wonder why he is putting out the effort and expense to support us!
SysOps NEED an -Attaboy- every now and then! At this point in time, we
would be in deep sneakers without them!
More on Inter-BBS Networking
----------------------------
After further checking into the Inter-BBS Networking, Bob Puff and Craig
Carter have come up with a universal format for it. After hearing many
good things about Craig and his programming prowess, I spoke with him.
Craig was very helpful and informative. He expects to have -something-
out around -the end of summer.- Craig recently released his Pro SysOp's
Toolkit to the Public Domain. From what I have heard from Pro SysOps,
it is VERY handy!
More Dealers
------------
Software Infinity
642 East Waring Avenue
State College, PA 16801
Write for their free catalog. In addition to lots of PD and shareware
stuff, they now carry NEW, COMMERCIAL releases from a company called
KE-SOFT which is from Germany. Prices are very reasonable...about $10-
$15 for the commercial stuff, $4 for PD and shareware theme disks.
------------------------------
Try Rising Star 1-800-252-2787 for ST and 8-Bit support and A little
company called Data Cent, P.O.Box 24004, Huber Heights, Ohio 45424-
0004 for 8-bit service and software support..
-------------------------------
IB Computers
9244 S.W. Beaverton-Hillsdale HWY.
Beaverton, OR 97005
503-297-8425
They have brand new atari stock 800xl power supply of all types and all
other stuff. They stock tons and tons of ST type of computer hard/software.
Write to em and they'll send you their list. Some prices I feel are
a bit high but the going cost of this Atari computer seems to have
overall risen!!
Rumors
------
The Chicago Atari Show will have a *room* dedicated to the 8-bits?
New things are in the works for the -old- Supra interface now owned and
sold by K-Products.
Not a rumor, but fact: K-Products has purchased -Hardback.- Bob Klass
plans some 'changes' to it, and a price reduction from $39.95 to $20.00!
Anyone purchasing it NOW will get the updated version when released.
BBS Express! Pro Multiline
--------------------------
BBS Express! Pro Multiline is out! It is alive and well and running on
several 8-bit boards. Also availiable are the batch upload mods for use
with -Pro.- I tested the Y-modem batch a while back using my laptop and
Procomm+ and it worked flawlessly. Bob Klass is doing a fine job of
supporting -Pro!-
For you BBS Express! Pro SysOps(or wanna bes) out there, here is an
order form:
K-Products Order Form
Mail Order To: K-Products
P.O. Box 22122 A.M.F.
Salt Lake City, Ut. 84120
_____ BBS Express! Professional . . . . . . . . . . . $39.95
_____ BBS Express! Professional Multiline. . . . . . $89.00
_____ BBS Express! Professional Multiline & Hardware $235.00
_____ BBS PRO ExpressNET! Networking Disk . . . . . . $10.00
( includes network modules and printed doc's )
_____ Hardback & Restore Hard Drive Utility . . . . . $20.00
_____ Bank_Mio.CMD & MioCfg.Cmd . . . . . . . . . . . $15.00
(Special offer to PRO Sysops - normally $20.00)
_____ Batch Upload Protocals with new core. . . . . . $20.00
_____ Disk Updates with documentation. . . . . . . . $20.00
(for Sysops who did not pay Keith's Fee)
_____ Transfer of ownership from one owner to
another.................................... $ 5.00
Add Shipping/Handling $ 4.00
Total ________
Rush My Order To:
Name: ______________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________
City: _______________________ State: _______ Zip: ________
Node number if applicable:_________
Say, Whatever Happened to...
----------------------------
One of the things that Craig Carter told me, was that Bill Wilkinson was
still around to answer questions about 8-bits. For a long time Bill's
article was the ONLY reason to buy Compute! magazine! He knew lots of
stuff about the Atari 8-bits. It was *ALWAYS* a pleasure to read his
column (he even mentioned the -NCT Turbo 810- once)!
Humor...
--------
The following message is from my BBS. I thought it was funny, so
thought that I would share it. (If you just got in after spending a few
hours behind the wheel of your Edsel, this might not set too well!)
8-)
Msg# : 4346 - Msgs 8-Bit - Net
Sent : 06/09/91 at 12:19 AM
To : BRYAN EDEWAARD
From : DAVE A!
Subj : Top 10 Reasons for 8-Bit
Ref# : 4324
Rep# : 4388 4392
(WARNING: Seriously humor impaired should immediately go to the next
message!)
Straight from the home office in Sunnyvale, CA. Late Night with Dave A!
presents the Top 10 reasons you should still own an Atari 8-bit computer:
10) Gives Coleco Adam owners someone to share misery with.
9) Using it on Friday nights keeps you from watching Full House.
8) Time has never been better to make a killing in the 8-bit Atari
magazine market.
7) Commodore 64 is too lightweight to make really good door-stop.
6) Just t'aint fittin' to buy one of those gosh-darned new-fangled ST
contraptions.
5) Don't have to worry about blowing Christmas Club money on software
for yourself.
4) Nintendo is really last gasp Communist effort at world domination.
3) Ashamed kids actually look better with bags on their heads.
2) Can explain Star Wars defense system to Dan Quayle using Missle
Command game.
And the number one reason to still own an Atari 8-bit!!!!!!:
1) Looks great on your desk next to the Beta VCR and 8-track tape player!
(Just a joke, Ok folks???)
Dave A!
Ya gotta keep smiling!
Until next time! If you would like to submit a review, article, or a
rebuttal (ANYTHING is welcomed!), feel free to upload to myself or Z-NET
Online BBS. I can be reached on my BBS (908-805-3967), GEnie(S.LOWELL),
and on Z*Net Online BBS(908-968-8148).
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL USERS GROUP!
SUPPORT ShareWare Authors and others who write for the Atari 8-bit!
Support THOSE who support YOU!
Xx ICD 8-BIT BLOW-OUT SALE
==========================
Yes, it's true. The time has finally arrived for ICD to clear out the
800/XL/XE 8-Bit line of products, dust off the shelves and make room for
more inventory. Our basic reason for this sale is that we can no longer
show any profit margins for these products, nor produce any large
quantities to keep in stock, but we can and will continue to support the
end-users.
Because of Atari's decision to drop the XL/XE line, followed immediately
by the decline and fall of 8-Bit support throughout the national dealer
community, ICD must close out our complete stock of 8-Bit products,
including both the OSS, Inc., and ICD, Inc. lines. However, we will
continue to provide quality technical support during the warranty period
of these close-out products.
As heartbreaking as this news may be to you and us, the truth is that it
had to happen sooner or later. To be honest, it was later. We at ICD,
long supporters of the 8-Bit Atari community, have held out for as long
as we possibly could manage. There is, however, one bright note in this
sale. It is YOU, the end-user, who benefits from the Super ICD Blowout
Clearance Sale!
Our entire stock of 8-Bit items, including spare manuals, parts, pieces,
and assorted used equipment, must go now! For information on purchasing
parts and assorted components to these products, call ICD voice at (815)
968-2228.
Everything from our door-opening US Doublers and SpartaDOS, the complete
line of OSS programming languages (including Personal Pascal for the
Atari ST, the only ICD ST product included in his sale), all the way up
the line to our Multi I/O (MIO) interfaces and the all-new SpartaDOS X
cartridge.
We are determined to see that you have the products that you need to
survive, so rather than drop the line completely and toss all of our
hard work into a dusty corner, we also intend to sell the rights to
these products! Once the rights have been sold, the new owner(s) can
continue to manufacture all these superior products just for you. If
you are interested in the rights to these items, please call ICD voice
to discuss terms.
Have you been looking high and low for your ICD product manual? Is your
copy bent, folded, stapled, mutilated, torn up and dog-eared? For that
matter, did your dog eat it? Have you taken so many notes in it that
you can't read the original text? It doesn't matter! Whatever reason
you have for wanting a new manual, now is the time to get your new copy.
We have a few spares, and they are now on sale!
Never underestimate the power of your Atari 8-Bit computer system,
regardless of which one you own. These systems have been well
developed, and frankly, are the most researched and documented home
computer systems available. There has never been a more widespread
appreciation for these computers. They were the -Cutting Edge- in their
time, and still are for the new computer user. These systems are
excellent starter systems, perfect for the children of the die-hard club.
Unfortunately for all of us, those in Atari Corp that make the decisions
sometimes do so in haste. This, then, directly affects dedicated 8-Bit
users, and we come full circle to where we are today...suffering
withdrawal symptoms.
Suffer no more! ICD is offering you one final chance to own those
products that you have been saving your hard-earned pennies for, for so
long. There are litterally thousands of folks out there that have
learned to use these systems, and are willing to assist you in every
effort to learn and understand them, not counting ICD. This is your
last chance to buy them from ICD! Once our stock is depleted, your
chance is gone.
Almost all of these products are now on sale at over 50% off! Get them
while they are available. This sale will end sooner than you think
since products will now be in demand at these prices. Don't wait!
You've been warned!
You can order these items on the ICD Support BBS (815-968-2229), where
the sale prices are ALREADY on-line! Please don't ask if you can get
any better prices. You can't...anywhere! The prices listed are already
over 50% off!
How To Place Your ICD Sale Order
--------------------------------
Mail Orders: To order by mail (Pre-Pay), and pay no shipping charges,
simply complete the order form below, and mail it with your enclosed
payment to:
ICD, Incorporated
ATTN: 8-Bit Sale
1220 Rock Street
Rockford, Il. 61101.
BBS Orders: Ordering On The BBS is as simple as calling the ICD BBS at
815-968-2229 and placing the orders while on-line (Option-$ from the
main menu), 24 hours a day. You can use VISA, MasterCard or COD payment
methods on the BBS as well as phone orders.
FREE SHIPPING WITH PRE-PAID MAIL AND BBS CREDIT CARD ORDERS!
Phone Orders: Phone orders are welcome Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to
5 p.m. CST by calling 815-968-2228. All COD phone orders will include
a nominal shipping and handling charge.
Payment: Please include full payment with all mail orders. Illinois
residents add 6.25% sales tax. If ordering COD, you must call for a
quote on shipping costs. No personal checks will be accepted on COD
orders (cash or money orders only). Refused orders will be subject to
a $15.00 service charge.
Shipping: Orders are shipped UPS whenever available. For prompt
delivery, please be sure to give us your complete street address (no
P.O. Box numbers are allowed by UPS). Additional shipping charges are
required outside the continental U.S.A. Please call ICD for further
shipping instructions.
Product Name / Description - Price
-------------------------------------
Action! Language Manual - 6.95
Action! Programming Language - 39.95
Action! RunTime Manual - 5.95
Action! RunTime Package - 14.95
Action! Tool Kit - 14.95
Action! Toolkit Manual - 5.95
BASIC XE Language Manual - 6.95
BASIC XE Programming Language- 39.95
BASIC XL Language Manual - 6.95
BASIC XL Programming Language- 29.95
BASIC XL Tool Kit - 14.95
BASIC XL Toolkit Manual - 5.95
Flashback! (Backup Utility) - 14.95
FlashBack! Utility Manual - 5.95
MAC/65 Cartridge Manual - 6.95
MAC/65 Programming Language - 39.95
MAC/65 Tool Kit - 14.95
MAC/65 Toolkit Manual - 5.95
Modem Cable (PRC or MIO) - 6.95
Multi I/O (1 Meg Version) (*)- CALL
Multi I/O (256 K Version) (*)- CALL
Multi I/O Manual - 7.95
Multi I/O to 130XE Adapter - 12.95
P: R: Connection - 44.95
P:R: Connection Manual - 5.95
Personal Pascal (Atari ST) - 44.95
Personal Pascal Manual - 9.95
Printer Cable (PRC or MIO) - 6.95
Printer Connection Manual - 5.95
R-Time 8 Cartridge Manual - 5.95
R-Time 8 Clock Cartridge - 34.95
Rambo XL 256K Manual - 5.95
Rambo XL 256K Upgrade - 19.95
Rambo XL RAM Chips (Set of 8)- 32.00
SpartaDOS Construction Set - 19.95
SpartaDOS CS Manual - 6.95
SpartaDOS Tool Kit - 19.95
SpartaDOS Tool Kit Manual - 5.95
SpartaDOS X Cartridge - 39.95
SpartaDOS X Manual - 5.95
US Doubler 1-4 Chip Set - 19.95
US Doubler Manual - 5.95
US Doubler W/SpartaDOS CS - 34.95
(*) Call for availability
Order Form For 8-Bit Sale Only
------------------------------
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- Name: _______________________________________ Date: _____/_____/_____
- Address: ____________________________________________________________
- City: ____________________ State: ____ Country: ________ Zip: _______
- Work Phone: (____) _____-________ Home Phone: (____) _____-________
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
--Quantity- Name / Product Description - Price Each - Total
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- Il Residents Add 6.25% Tax - -
- _____ Master Card (Min $40) -------------
- Sub-Total- -
- _____ Visa (Minimum $40.00) -------------
- $5.00 COD- -
- Credit Card Number _______________________________ -------------
- S & H- -
- Bank Name On Card _______________________________ -------------
- TOTAL- -
- Expiration Date: ____/____ Bank Number ______ ------------
-
- _________ Personal Check _________ Money Order _________ COD
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Xx ATARI 8-BIT UPDATE
=====================
New and useful Information
by Eugene R. Case
(C)1991 ERC Products. ERC Products are in the Public Domain, and This
text may be re-printed, as long as this (C) Notice, and all text are not
altered, or edited, and Full Credit is given the Author.
So as of last writing, you all hopefully took heart, and wrote all those
companies I gave the addresses for.
On that note, CSS' Ron (don't know his last name) has sold the rights to
CSS to none other than Bob Puff, yep, the writer of the BobTerm, and
Super ARC/UnARC, Disk Communicator, and maker of the Black Box. Ron is
moving to the west, as his wife is an RN, and is being transferred to
the west, and his daughter (2) will need that attention that only a
parent can. I feel CSS is in good hands, and Bob will enhance it even
more. The CSS name will probably be changed, and all of those who know
and love CSS will obviously Panic. Don't worry, Bob will come through.
It will help all of those who want that help, and give those information
that was either, unavailable, or just not within your reach. As far as
NEW software is concerned, there is a BBS in Texas, Called -The
Excalibur BBS- in San Antonio, and there's a user there that posted a
reply to someones message, about a shop there that still sells several
titles for the XL/XE, and still has some in stock. The Repair Shop BBS,
home of the New (C) holder for Express Pro!, and the old Supra Hard
Drive Interface, now the KPI Hard Drive Interface, for the XL/XE, (XE
with the PBI Adaptor from ICD), Networks with that particular BBS in
Texas. I asked that person what the address is, and I am still waiting
on the Net for the Reply. That is soon to come.
I personally have recently acquired several Atari games that were either
not actually released, or just saw the first dawn of the Retailers
Shelf, and then was never to be seen again. First is Moon Patrol, that
Arcade Game that was a Favorite of mine, and I'm sure others too. The
Graphics are Excellent for an 8-Bit thought Dead, and the Game is of
great importance to those who are new to the Atari world, or even an Old
Hand at the Atari. If the writer of the program had a little more
ingenuity, the 3-D effect would be phenominal. It's not too prevalent,
but if you look hard, you can grasp the effect well enough to actually
see the 3-D.
The next game is James Bond. This little game is ok for what it is, and
could have been a great one, if the Atari world was still happening when
this was written. You are JB in a boat, and venture through 4 different
Movies. These are interesting to say the least, and entertaining too.
Another is Drop Zone. Not too easy a Shoot'em up type game. Though
this one has several things you must do to complete a section/zone, it
still has a great appeal to be played. The graphics are Arcade style,
and it can be played, as other games can, by two players.
So you say these are just USELESS Games? Well, as do some others, this
doesn't mean that the Atari 800XL/130XE is just a GAME MACHINE. If
you've been reading up on Atari, they have put a package together, that
includes the 520STfm, a Color Monitor, and several -GAMES- and some
Utilities, and are calling it the -Super ST Game Machine- Blowout. This
was in the Computer Shopper last year, and since that time, it has come
about.
As I look back and see the NEWS items that were printed up in various
Atari Support Magazines, it makes me wonder just how far Atari has taken
the 8-Bit, and why the Atari we all know, and some love, has taken a
BACK SEAT to all the other manufacturers. I was discussing this point
with a Club Secretary/News Letter Editor, Harvey Cannon, and he said
-Sam Tramiel, had Signed and agreement with Commodore, to not make, or
continue making, the Atari 800XL/130XE Computer in the US.- This made
no sense to me. That would give Commodore the MARKET so to speak, for
the 8-Bit line. This is part of the reason Atari has discontinued the
support and software, for the XL/XE. Another thing he told me, -The
USER is what made the computer happen, not the software companies.-
Well this is also true. I have several newletters I wrote for an Atari
Club I was in, in California, and I was Blasting alot of the 8-Bit users
there, because I saw no USER Support for the Atari. If those USERs that
-Pirated- software, had taken the time to Write New Software, instead of
-Cracking- someone elses, the Atari Community would have flourished, and
abounded with software.
If there are any of you left out there, please take the time to -Create-
new material, not -Hack- at an old piece and then -Distribute- it for
Money, or just because, send it to a BBS for that critical upload count
that you so desperately want. That is actual -Piracy-, and against the
law.
As for new, and useful software, well this is being written on an Atari
800XL with the Rambo XL (C) ICD installed, and a Beta Test version of
TextPro, TextPro 4.55XE. It has several of the abilities that prior
versions have, and more.
Since I am on this subject, well I had sent a Message to Ronnie Riche,
on the Support BBS, The Multi Bug BBS in Louisiana, asking him to
incorporate a way to determine the actual -RAM- size of your computer.
Say you have the Rambo XL, it had that extra boost to 512K, and your
Text file is oh...60K or so. Wouldn't you want your Editor to handle
that without that ,C command at the end of the Load D:FILENAME.EXT,C?
15K is small, and the original TextPro had a full 20K Editor. It should
have gotten Bigger, not smaller. Just think, you could read an entire
copy of -Z*MAG/A\ZINE-, and not continue to load it everytime you came
to the end of the first portion of the text. Another feature that would
be a help to all of the people that use a Word Processor everyday, is a
Spell Checker. Something like Fleet Systems II had. This would help, I
think, several people who are -BAD SPELLERS- to get it right. Also the
Fleet Systems II for the Commodore had a Theausaurus, and that utility
for TextPro 5.0 would be a great enhancement for those who know they
want to specify in an out of way manner, a specific statement.
Well, all of those who are BBS Users, the SysOp of the Southern Nevada
Atari Computer Club, SNACC, runs the SNACC BBS, and is a programmer at
that. He wrote a little program for the Express Pro! BBS, and what it
does is tell you when you log on, there are NEW FILES in SIG # and such,
and asks you if you want to Jump to the Sigs. This is a great
enhancement to his BBS, and the program is Share Ware, and to get a demo
version, call GEnie, or The SNACC BBS to see what this is. 702-438-2208
at 3/12/2400 24Hrs. I would reccomend ATASCII for all. ST users, well
VT52 is your option. This file pointer, is not only in my opinion, a
help, but the Next best thing to actually having the BBS just Jump you
right to the File Sigs, and Automatically DL the New Files for you, but
that would take all the fun out of BBSing.
Well that's about all for this time, so if you, or someone you know, is
interested in a Computer, make sure of two things.
1: Am I going to PLAY GAMES on it ALL the time?
2: If I am using this for Desktop Publishing, what should I use, and how
much MEMORY do I need?
In answer to 1. If I plan on playing games all of the time, I don't
need a COMPUTER, but a Game Machine. Lynx, Gameboy, NES, Neo-Geo, or
several other Atari products, the 7800, 2600, or 5200 Game Machines.
Even the original Pac-Man Home game, a friend of mine has one, and it's
a Classic to say the least.
In answer to 2. Since all computers have the ability to do word
processing, graphic processing, typesetting, and general page layout,
the choice is yours. Memory for the Atari is no longer a LIMITing
factor. Last time I told you about RAM Upgrades. Ease of use, and
availabilty of Software will determine the Hard Core Desk Topper, and
those who have some inkling of it, well choose a small system first,
then you can either, upgrade the system, or get a completely new system.
Well all you Atarians keep it cool, and tell a friend you can do all
these, and more with an Atari Computer System, be it 800XL/130XE, or
even the ST. These are great systems, and have many years of useability
over most others. Remember, this is an Atari 8-Bit Program that the
text you are reading was created on.
TextPro is (C)1986/1991 Ronnie Riche
RamboXL is (C)1986 ICD. Inc.
Atari, 800XL, 130XE, ST are (C) Trademarks of Atari Inc.
(Comment: As I recall. Commodore dropped _ALL_ support to the 64
*before* Atari announced they would cease marketing the Atari 8-bit,
but would continue to do repairs, etc. - Stan)
(The mail order address for the Repair BBS follows below - Stan)
K-Products
P.O. Box 22122 A.M.F.
Salt Lake City, Ut. 84120
Xx WAACE ATARIFEST '91 UPDATE
=============================
This posting is an attempt to answer some questions that have been posed
in recent weeks. Hardcopy vendor packets will be sent out around the
15th of June.
The Fest is scheduled for 12 and 13 October '91. The show hours are
from 10 to 5 both days. We also expect to sponsor some special events
on Friday evening.
The show will feature a full round of seminars and demonstrations.
There will also be a swap meet. There will be a cocktail party and a
banquet on Saturday evening.
The Fest will be held at the Sheraton Reston Hotel in Reston, VA, which
is within 20 minutes of downtown Washington, DC and within 5 minutes of
Dulles International Airport.
This is the same location we used last year. For those who did not make
the '90 event let us simply say that this is a pleasant, spacious
conference facility located in a parklike suburban setting with plenty
of free parking.
Hotel rates are $59 per night for single or double occupancy, $66 for
triple and quad. These rates are valid from October 10th through the
13th. Virginia hotel tax (4.5%) must be added to the above prices. In
order to obtain these rates you must mention WAACE AtariFest '91 when
making your reservations.
The admission price has not been determined yet except to say that show
visitors who are guests of the hotel will receive a free ticket for each
night that they book (limited to two tickets per room per day).
Registered show workers will also receive free two-day passes.
Members of non-WAACE Atari User groups may register as show workers and
receive a free two-day pass. Please contact the WAACE representitives
below for details on registering as show workers.
The basic rate for a single booth will be $500. There is a 30% discount
for vendors who reserve their booth space before 31 July (by including a
50% deposit with their reservation).
The booth payment is for a single 8 x 8 ft booth. Pipe and drape
decoration, electrical outlets, tables, and chairs are provided. Prices
for multiple booths are as follows: 2 - $850, 3 - $1100, 4 - $1350.
A one half page ad in the WAACE Atarifest '91 Program is included in the
single booth price. Vendors may upgrade the half page ad to a full page
for $75. Standard full page ads may be purchased for $125.
Note: Small vendors that wish to pool their resources and share a booth
space may do so, but must elect a single point of contact with WAACE for
vendor business transactions.
In addition to participating as a vendor at the AtariFest, WAACE
provides additional areas for Atari developers and User Groups to
participate:
Seminars : One hour long presentations of topics of interest to the
Atari community. Interested seminar presentors should contact the
General Chairman below to reserve a seminar slot. Please indicate the
topic of discussion as well as a preferred time slot.
Demo Rooms: On going demonstrations of special interest topics (i.e.
MIDI, DTP, Games, MAC & IBM Emulation, Productivity, Swap Room). Any
Atari User Group or individuals interested in helping out in a demo room
should also contact the General Chariman.
Demo rooms also feature periodic demonstrations by Atari Developers of
the latest hardware and software.
Fest Program: Features articles written by many popular magazine authors
in the Atari community. Interested authors should include a brief
summary of their article to the General Chariman.
For additional Information please contact either of the following:
General Chairman Vendor Coordinator
Charles S. Smeton John D. Barnes
P.O. Box 0122 7710 Chatham Rd
Columbia, MD 21045-0122 Chevy Chase, MD 20815
GEMail: C.S.SMETON GEMail: J.D.Barnes
CIS: 73047,2565 DELPHI: JDBARNES
FNET: Charles Smeton, Node 500 Internet: <a href="mailto:JOHNBARNES@ENH.NIST.GOV?subject=Re:%20Z*Magazine:%2011-Jun-91%20#195">JOHNBARNES@ENH.NIST.GOV</a>
Booths Ad Pages Standard Price Discount Price **
------------------------------------------------------------
0 1/2 $75 $53
1 1/2 $500 $350
2 1/2 $850 $595
3 1/2 $1100 $770
4 1/2 $1350 $945
0 1 $125 $88
1 1 $575 $403
2 1 $925 $648
3 1 $1175 $823
4 1 $1425 $998
** To qualify for the discount price a 50% downpayment must be received
with the reservation by July 31, 1991.
Payment may be in the form of check or money order for all payments made
by September 12, 1991. Payment after this date must be in the form of
money order, travelers check or cash (sorry, no exceptions).
Xx THE PROGRAMMER'S WORKSHOP
============================
by Dave Arlington, JACG
It's true folks. Programmer have become sexy. Sure there used to be a
day when programmers were viewed as faceless entities huddled in a
basement over an Atari computer. Nowadays though, are there any active
8-bit users who are not familiar with names such as Roy Goldman (Daisy
Dot), Ron Riche (TextPro), Bob Puff (BobTerm), and our guest for the May
meeting, Kris Holtegaard. I think this sudden surge in popularity for
programmers has to do with the fact that these fine folks are viewed
(and rightly so) as the last remaining lifeline for the 8-bit line of
computers.
But hey, why let them have all the fun? This column is the start of a
series aimed at imtermediate level programming types (or those who want
to become so) to teach all those neat tricks that all the pros know how
to do. Originally, I had done a tutorial for Action!, and while it was
well recieved outside our group, there didn't seem to be enough people
interested in Action! in the JACG to attempt to start it up again.
So, this time around, this column will attempt to cover ALL the major
ATARI languages I can think of. For me, this means BASIC, Action!,
PASCAL, C, LOGO, and even some Assembly Language. (Sorry to all you
diehard PILOT programmers out there!) For example, this column has
demos in four different languages. Also, I will try not to
'chapter'-ize this series like the Action! tutorial. That way, if you
miss an issue of the newsletter or come in late, you won't be totally
lost. Each entry will be more of a stand-alone module.
So, before we start, let's cover a few ground rules. First, you should
get a minimum set of necessary tools. The things you should have in
your possesion by next month (and should be part of any serious
programmer's toolbox) is the following:
A calculator that has hexadecimal numbers. They are pretty cheap these
days and as you'll find out why next month, very, very handy to have.
I'll explain more next month, but try to get your hands on one.
A few good Atari reference books. The more, the better and the ones Tom
Graf suggests above are an excellent start. At a very minimum, get a
good memory map book like Mapping The Atari.
And of course, _your_ favorite language. One word of caution. I am
reluctantly including BASIC so as to reach the widest audience, but I do
have my standards! For that reason, I will be using Turbo BASIC, the
public domain BASIC from Germany that is easily available from our club
library. You can try following along with Atari BASIC, but I can
guarantee you'll have a very hard time converting from the things we can
do in Turbo BASIC to Atari BASIC. So please, if you don't already have
a copy, get a copy of Turbo BASIC from the club. You'll end up thanking
me! (Oh, and if you're using something like BASIC XL or BASIC XE, you
should be all right with those for the things we'll do.)
The other languages I'll be using for this column are Action!,
Lightspeed C for the C programs, Kyan PASCAL for the PASCAL programs,
Atari LOGO for the LOGO programs, and MAC/65 for the Assembly Language
listings. I know the public domain ACE C is an OK substitute for
LightSpeed C, and you can probably get by with the Atari Assembler/
Editor cart instead of MAC/65. There is a public domain PASCAL, Draper
PASCAL, but as I've never seen it, I can't vouch for how compatible it
is with Kyan PASCAL. (This, of course, does not mean you have to worry
about any more than one language, YOUR favorite. Just look for those
listings and ignore all the other languages unless you want to learn
something about how those languages work.
As far as the level of expertise I expect you to have to make good use
of this column, it goes like this: Action! programmers should have read
the first five parts of my previous tutorials and feel comfortable with
that stuff. BASIC programmers should know how to do IF-THENs, FOR-NEXT
loops, GOTOs, and GOSUBs. C and PASCAL folks should know the similar
things (and also WHILEs and REPEAT-UNTILs), but I understand that some
of you are not that familiar with these languages and I hope you'll be
able to learn something about them by comparing them to the one(s) you
know. I'm mostly presenting LOGO for instructional purposes and to
prove it is a very useful language, so if any LOGO programmers really
exist out there, please let me know!
So, you have a month to pick up a calculator, a reference book, and a
copy of Turbo BASIC if you need one. And I'll see you next month!
What's that? Did I mention demo programs above? Oh yeah, sorry, there
is one thing I want to talk about before I wrap up; something that is
left over from the Action! tutorials.
I got some nice comments from across the country on the Action!
tutorials, but a couple of knowledgeable Atari users told me I had made
a mistake in one of the parts where I was comparing Action! to C. I had
mentioned that Action! was not a recursive language like C or PASCAL and
a couple readers pointed out to me that this was not true, that Action!
could indeed handle recursion. Well, they seemed to know their stuff,
so I gave it another look.
The conclusion? I guess it depends how you define recursion. If you
define recursion simply as a language having the capability of calling a
procedure, function, or subroutine from within the procedure or function
itself, then yes, I guess Action! is recursive. However, I think you
have to have a little stricter definition of recursion than that. Using
the definition above, ALL Atari languages that I know of are recursive
and the term really doesn't mean anything any more. So, I claim that
Action! is NOT recursive for reasons I'll show in a couple of paragraphs
from now.
First though, I need to have a little discussion of global and local
variables; what that means, what they are, and how they are used. Let's
say you start a programming club and one day you read a great book on
Atari computers, De Re Atari. You think this book is so good, you think
everyone in the club should use this book. Now, if there is only one
copy of this book for the entire club, then whatever one person does to
the book affects everyone in the club. If Joe K. writes in the margins,
and Sam C. cuts out some pages, and Dave N. spills coffee all over it,
everyone in the club has to live with those written on, coffee stained,
cut out pages.
This is the concept of global variables. These are the only kind of
variables that BASIC has. For instance, if you declare a variable BOOK
in your BASIC program, then if it gets changed somewhere in the program,
regardless of which subroutine or part of the main program it gets
changed in, it takes effect in the whole program. There is only one
copy of the BOOK varaible existing in the program at any time.
Now let's go back to our programming club analogy and say that instead
of having one book for the entire club, everybody in the club gets their
own copy of De Re Atari. Now it doesn't matter if Joe K. writes in the
margins of his book, and Sam C. cuts out pages of his book, none of that
affects _YOUR_ copy of De Re Atari. You still have all the pages in
your copy with no writing on them.
This is the concept of local variables. BASIC doesn't have them, but
Action!, C, PASCAL, and LOGO all have them. You can pass variables to a
procedure or function and have the procedures or functions use their own
private copies of the variable you passed, just like each club member
had their own private copy of De Re Atari. Look at the first demo
program below:
EXAMPLE 1
PROC Test2(BYTE num)
num==+5
PrintBE(num)
RETURN
PROC Test1(BYTE num)
num==+5
PrintBE(num)
Test2(num)
PrintBE(num)
RETURN
PROC main()
BYTE num
num=5
PrintBE(num)
Test1(num)
PrintBE(num)
RETURN
OK, here's the blow by blow. In the main program, the variable num us
declared and given the value of 5 which we print. We then call the
Test1 procedure which gets its own local copy of num which it adds 5 to
to get 10, which we print. Then it calls the Test2 procedure which gets
its own local copy of num and also adds 5 to it to get 15 which we print
again and the RETURN. Now we're back in the Test1 procedure, but
remember, it's copy of num like Test2's is local and not affected by
what happens in the Test2 procedure. So when we print it out again in
Test1 after Test2 ends, it still has the value of 10. And likewise,
when Test1 ends and we get back to the main program, the main program's
copy of num is unaffected by what happened in the two Test procedures
and still has the value of 5 as you'll see if you compile the program
and run it.
Now let's combine what we just learned about global and local variables
with recursion (procedures of functions calling themselves). The
following 4 programs all look alike and are supposed to do the same
thing. Basically, they take a number and count up to it. For instance,
if you do COUNTDOWN 5 in LOGO, you will see the numbers 1 through 5
printed on the screen in order. Now, I did say they're supposed to all
do the same thing. One does not. First, the examples:
EXAMPLE 2 - LOGO
TO COUNTUP :NUM
IF :NUM > 1 [COUNTUP :NUM - 1]
PRINT :NUM
END
EXAMPLE 3 - PASCAL
PROGRAM Demo(Input,Output);
PROCEDURE Countup(num:Integer);
BEGIN
IF num > 1 THEN Countup(num - 1);
Writeln(num);
END;
BEGIN
Countup(3)
END.
EXAMPLE 4 - C
countup(num)
int num;
$(
if(num > 1)
countup(num - 1);
printf(-%d\n-,num);
$)
main()
$(
countup(3);
$)
EXAMPLE 5 - Action!
PROC countup(BYTE num)
IF num > 1 THEN
countup(num - 1)
FI
PrintBE(num)
RETURN
main()
countup(3)
RETURN
Now, you can probably guess by now, it is the Action! version that does
not work like it should. Why not? Well, first, how does the program
work? Like our other example, when the program first starts countup is
called with a value of 3, and it keeps a local copy of that variable
handy. It checks and sees that num is greater than one, so it calls
the countdown procedure from within itself with the value of num - 1
(or 2). countup(2) calls yet another countup procedure (since 2 is
still greater than one). So, by now, we have three versions of the same
function running at the same time and they all havee their own local
copies of the num variable. countup(1) finally is not greater than 1,
so it prints 1 and then ends. Back to countup(2) which prints the value
of its local num variable which is still 2 and it ends. And so on.
Well, the key as to why this works OK in C, PASCAL, and LOGO but not in
Action! has to do with how these languages handle local variables. In
C, PASCAL, and LOGO, when a new procedure is called while another is
still running, the value of local variables are stored temporarily in a
special place in memory called the stack (which we'll discuss in detail
in a later column). Then when they are needed again, they are pulled
out of memory with their original values intact. So, in these
languages, if three versions of countup are running all at the same
time, their local variables all have three different places in memory
where they are stored where they won't affect each other.
Action!, however, doesn't play by these rules. When you compile any
procedure, in this case countup, it only sets aside ONE place in
memory for each of its local variables. So, no matter when or where you
call the countup procedure, the local variable always get stored in the
same place. Action! doesn't take recursion into account in this scheme.
For instance, in the example program, when your call countup(2) from
countup(3), the 2 gets stored in the same place where the 3 used to be!
Likewise, countup(1) overwrites the 2 with a 1. So when countup(1) ends
and we go back to countup(2), it looks in the local variable storage
place and sees a 1! So instead of counting up to 3 like the other three
versions, Action! just prints three 1s.
So that's why I claim Action! is not a recursive language. You can't
have your cake and eat it too. If you have a language that wants to
have local variables AND recursion, that recursion isn't any good if
it doesn't keep the values of local variables intact after it is done.
Note that BASIC doesn't get involved in this discussion since it does
not have local variables at all.
Now, to get you in the spirit of this column, here's a challenge for
next month. Write a COUNTUP PROCedure in either TURBO BASIC or Action!
that simulates local variables. You'll need a place in memory to store
your local variables and some sort of pointer to know which local
variable you want to access when. HINT: Page 6 (locations 1536 and on)
is a good place for BASIC to use. In Action!, I'd think about an array
to hold them.
Answers to the challenge will appear next month along with the
friendliest guide to (please don't run away until you've read it!)
hexadecimal numbers you'll ever see. And I promise to someday talk
about just where Action! does store those local variables and how you
can use it to your advantage. 'Til next month!
Xx Z*MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
======================
Reprinted from Issue #5, June 1986
LEDBETTER RELEASES MPP EXPRESS
MPP users now can get Express!! Keith Ledbetter released three versions
of Express, the terminal program. GO ATARI8 on CompuServe to get these
new versions.
ATARI PLANNING SUMMER PRODUCTS - June 5, 1986
Atari Corp. is holding some product announcements from the CES and
scheduling them for later in the summer. Compatible with the ST product
line, the new products will include a 3.5 floppy with 10MB storage
capacity, a super-hi-res graphics board with 1,000 line resolution and a
new sound chip. Other new products are memory and multitasking upgrades
as well as a new expansion box for holding the multiple upgrades.
ATARI'S 32-BIT MICRO COMING SOON - June 6, 1986
Atari has a 32-bit computer in development. The company recently signed
a Unix licensing agreement with AT&T and Atari chairman Jack Tramiel has
indicated that the new machine will run under Unix. When the new
computer is introduced, current ST owners will be offered an option to
upgrade their machines to use the Unix operating system. No release
date was specified for the new computer.
ATARI TO QUIT TAIWAN PLANT - June 6, 1986
Jack Tramiel is planning to shut down Atari's production line in Taiwan.
In remarks posted on a bulletin board service after he met with Atari
owners in Massachusetts, the Atari chairman said that under the right
conditions computers could be constructed in the US with the same cost
efficiency as in Taiwan. Tramiel set no deadline for the manufacturing
changeover but he did indicate the move was not in the immediate future.
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Z*MAGAZINE Atari 8-Bit Online Magazine is a bi-weekly magazine covering
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