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The WeST of Scotland Issue 08
WEST OF SCOTLAND ATARI USER GROUP
(Affiliated to The Association of Atari User groups)
Issue number EIGHT(AGM), AuguST 1996
IN THIS MONTHS ISSUE
NEWS
ST FORMAT CLOSES
As predicted last month it has now been confirmed that the current
issue of ST Format (#86) will be the last. Although it was nothing
like the magazine it was a few years ago it is still sad to see the
last Atari newstand magazine fold. Circulation was believed to have
been around 8,000 at its death.
A New ATARI Magazine
However all is not lost. Do you remember a letter
in the last Newsletter from Mike Kerslake ? Well now read the official
press release in this issue. THERE IS GOING TO BE A NEW QUALITY ATARI
MAGAZINE FROM SEPTEMBER called ATARI COMPUTING.
As those of you who were at the last meeting know I am taking advance
orders and money for issue #1 on behalf of members. If you want a
copy, then send me 3 (or 5 with optional cover disk) for issue #1,
and I'll post it out to you with the October Newsletter. The magazine
will be launched at the Atari 96 shows in September, and I'll bring
members copies back from Birmingham/London with me. This will save the
new magazine postage costs. It is starting on a very tight budget and
every little helps.
You can also expect to see a fair bit of input to the ATARI COMPUTING
from our members.
ATARI 96 Shows.
I'm sorry to say that the idea of running a mini-bus down to the 2
Atari Shows would appear to be a non starter. We had hoped to get the
bus for free through my employers recreation association, but they
insisted that 75% of those on board had to be employees for insurance
reasons. We could not meet these criteria.
Several members are going to one or both shows under their own steam
though. There is going to be an official UK Association of Atari User
Groups stand at each show at which we will be strongly represented
alomg with other User Groups. There will be shareware software
demonstrations and a "virtual" web system running. If you're there
make sure you come and say hello.
Other Atari User groups
A short introduction to the well established Atari Wrinklies Club, for
the more mature members among us.
ED's JUKEBOX
Makes a very welcome return this month.
The Perfect TOS Set-up ?
(Part 2)
The second part of Paul Walsh's hardware series.
New ATARI products
News of some interesting new product lines for the Atari.
Competition
Fancy winning a couple of copies of the Canadian magazine "Current
Notes". read this to find out how to get hold of them.
If The Beatles were programmers
A bit of fun. With thanks to the
unknown author.
Financial report
Sandy's financial report for the AGM showing the income and
expenditure we have incurred since February.
AGENDA
The full agenda for the WSAUG 1996 AGM is included. If you are not
going to be able to make the AGM then please post your votes or any
proposals you have to me at :
WSAUG/STAG
c/o Goold
RoisBheinn, Overton Crescent
Johnstone, PA5 8JB
to arrive by Monday 2 September
1996
To date there have been no objections to the STAG proposals so I have
gone ahead with announcing it in the relevant places. Our new STAG WWW
pages are now on line.
And finally
This is the last issue of The WSAUG newsletter in it's current format.
As of next month you'll be getting the new STAG newsletter. I would
like to personally thank everyone who has made The WeST of Scotland
Atari User Group the success it has become. I am confident that we
will be able to build on our success with STAG and enhance the
reputation we now have throughout the UK and worldwide Atari
community.
ATARI COMPUTING
Press release (11th August 1996)
Mike Kerslake, a magazine publisher with over fifteen years experience
has signed up Frank Charlton, ex features editor for ST Format and Joe
Connor, ex Reader Disk/Public Arena editor for Atari World as joint
editors for a NEW printed Atari magazine called Atari Computing.
The launch issue of Atari Computing will feature sixty A4 pages
crammed with quality editorial. We're delighted to welcome
contributions from respected and well known journalists including
Graeme Rutt, Jon Ellis, Denesh Bhabuta and Kev Beardsworth.
We're delighted to announce we've signed a deal with the two leading
disk based magazines, AtariPhile and Maggie to publish regular
sections within the magazine. If you've never seen a disk magazine
before we think you'll be amazed to find out what you've been missing!
The launch issue will be on sale at the forthcoming Atari shows so why
not attend and meet us? The shows will be held on Saturday September
28th in Birmingham and Sunday September 29th in London, for more
details about the shows contact: Goodman International, Telephone: +44
(0)1782 335650.
Issue one preview
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue one is still in the planning stage but here's just some of the
articles we're working on:
* News and gossip put together by Graeme Rutt and Frank Charlton
including details about the Atari Computing website.
* Software reviews including HD-Driver by Jon Ellis, Deadlands by
Nial Grimes.
* PD/Shareware reviews of Start Me Up!, CoMa, 7up, and INcontrol by
Joe Connor, Denesh Bhabuta and Carl Lofgren.
* Review of MagiC 4 by Kev Beardsworth and preview of MagiC v5 by Thomas Binder.
* Music and MIDI primer by Ed McGlone.
* RSC file editing introduction by Mark Baines.
* Introduction to Comms by Harry Sideras and Internet feature by Frank Charlton.
* User group reports co-ordinated by Al Goold including feature on Spanish Atarians by Andrew Harvey
* Atari Jaguar coverage
* Guest pages for AtariPhile, Maggie and Calamus User
* Q&A and letters pages
Remember this list is provisional, some articles may not appear and
others may take their place!
Background
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Following the closure of Atari World earlier this year it has just
been announced ST Format, the final UK newstand publication, has also
closed. It's the end of an era in the UK which for the first time
since 1987 has no Atari newstand presence.
The men in grey suits are telling us to move onto other platforms but
hang on a minute, let's take stock of the situation...
- Atari machines can be purchased and repaired on a shoestring
- Atari machines can produce superb printed output
- Atari machines can surf the Internet and run BBSs
- Atari machines can form the nucleus of a digital music studio
- New software of better quality than ever before is still being released!
That doesn't sound like a dead platform! The Atari platform has been
emulated by just about every other platform, we're owners of cult
machines! Have you ever noticed ex-Atarians animatedly talking about
the 'Good old days' it's a feel good factor missing from all the
current machines.
We don't need a new platform but we do need information and a printed
magazine is undoubtedly the best way to ensure we see in the new
millenium!
Apart from a darn good read the other thing most of us like is some
new software to play with. The Reader Disk concept offers all readers
the chance to get their hands on the hottest new software around along
with exclusive versions not available anywhere else. We intend to
offer one Reader Disk to accompany each issue, buy it or not, the
choice is yours!
What we need, now more than ever before, is your support. It's going
to be tough to keep going so we're initially planning bi-monthly
releases -but this could change, it's really up to you! Instead of
wishing us luck post a cheque to reserve your copy today !
Ordering
As we're sure you'll appreciate launching a new magazine is a risky
business requiring pinpoint budget management. Our print run will be
conservative and we don't expect to have a stock of back issues.
We're not a newstand publication so don't bother looking in the shops.
The Atari platform needs this magazine and we need your subscription
so do yourself and us a favour, take out a subscription or order an
evaluation copy today!
>>> Fast feedback request -->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
If you're on-line we'd like to hear from you right now! We're keen to
get an idea of demand for the mag. To reserve copies send an empty
email with the title line: KEEP and if you'd like two copies simply
add the number afterwards: KEEP 2 etc, thanks for taking part!
Email: atari_w_admin@cix.compulink.co.uk
Subscriptions
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many of you (and most of us) lost money following the Atari World
debacle and we're determined not to make the same mistake. Atari
Computing subscriptions are refundable at any time. Cancel your
subscription in writing and we'll return any outstanding credit to
you, minus a deduction to cover our costs. If you order an evaluation
copy we won't cash your payment until we've printed the magazine,
simple eh?
United Kingdom
--------------
Send cheque/PO made payable to the 'Atari Computing Group' to:
Mike Kerslake, 42 Larch Hill, Handsworth, Sheffield, S9 4AJ
Telephone/Fax: +44 (0)114 2618940 - 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday
Email: mkerslake@cix.compulink.co.uk
Initially we're offering a single evaluation copy or three issue
subscriptions at the following rates inclusive of post and packing:
************ All prices in UK Sterling where = British Pounds *********
Evaluation Copy UK Europe USA/Canada Other
Magazine only 3.00 3.50 4.00 5.00
With Reader Disk 5.00 5.50 6.00 7.00
Subscription UK Europe USA/Canada Other
Magazine only 9.00 11.50 12.00 13.00
With Reader Disk 15.00 17.50 18.00 19.00
If you want to order a magazine and none of the above rates apply to
you, just email us and we will give you a price.
We aim to make Atari Computing available directly from authorised User
groups and other outlets around the world. Wherever possible please
use your local distributor:
Advertisers
-------------------------------------------------------------------
We have a limited number of pages set aside each issue. These are
realistically priced to attract everyone in the Atari marketplace. To
discuss your requirements please contact Mike Kerslake at the address
above.
Submissions
--------------------------------------------------------------------
We're always on the lookout for talented new contributors so if you've
got an idea for an article please do get in touch.
Who are we?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Atari Computing is financed by the Atari Computing Group, based on
CIX, and dedicated to supporting the Atari platform. Membership of the
group is by invitation only. We're looking forward to Issue 1 as much
as you are !
Regards
The Atari Computing Group (A|C|G)
News from Other Atari User groups
Atari Wrinklies Club
I started the Club some 3 years ago, having reached the stage where I
had done all I could with my Atari as a novice and had started to get
that feeling of isolation that we all feel at some stage. Initially
the club was for the more mature members of the Atari community and
most of were retired, or near retirement. Now, however, we have
members of all ages and anyone is welcome to join.
The Club is now up and running quite well, and having just retired I
am able to spend a lot more time with it to make any improvements that
I can think of, or are suggested by the members.
I publish a Club Diskzene once a quarter and a Newsletter as and when
possible, depending on 'copy'. The Club membership list is published
in this Diskzene, with such details of the members particular
interests, thereby allowing members to contact each other. This is
working very well,as I know that practically all the members are in
contact with each other, swapping ideas, programs, hints and tips, or
generally just having a chat.
For those members who are 'on-line' we have our own conference on CIX,
but don't let this put you off if you are not on-line yet as we do not
neglect those members who have not yet ventured into the world of
Comms.
We started off with 50 members but as is usual we had a few drop out,
but the membership is now on the increase once again.
There are no subscriptions as such, however I do ask each new member
to send me two books (10s) of second class stamps, these help me with
the running of the Club.
If you decide to join us would you please supply the following
information for inclusion in the members list.
Full name - Age - Telephone Number
Present Equipment Set-up
Interests (Computing and other) Email address (if
applicable)
On receipt of the above I will send you a copy of our latest Diskzene.
I hope that you will decide to join our happy throng.
James B. Hornby (Jimbo)
60 Crumpsall Street,
Abbey Wood,London.
SE2 OLR
Email: jhornby@cix.compulink.co.uk
Tel/Fax: 0181 311 2397
ED's JUKEBOX
I thought I would look at the music computer scene in general and how
the ST range still fits in.
Back in the 80's, it seemed that there were only two choices for the
aspiring computer based musician - ST or Mackintosh. In America, the
price differentials worked in favour of the Mac and that machine
became the standard but here in Europe, things went rather
differently. The distributors for Apple priced the Mac as a top end
business machine, thus pricing it out of the reach of most hobbyist
users (and we must include musicians within this group). So the ST was
adopted as the standard music computer over here and ruled the roost
for five or six years.
However, due to the ongoing development of the PC and Mac platforms
and the lack of any meaningful development to the ST, sales of Atari
machines dropped gradually off and commercial software development for
the Atari platform declined accordingly. The once exclusively Atari
music packages like Cubase and Notator, started to appear first for
Mackintosh (which after all shared the same basic processor line with
the ST) and then, as Microsoft Windows came of age, on the PC. The
final major upgrades to the ST's main music packages have been with us
for at least 2 years now and there will be no new ST versions. So, it
looks like the time has come to finally abandon ship, right?
Well, that depends, really. If we look at the midi capabilities of say
Cubase on PC, Mac and ST, we find that the PC and Mac versions do not
offer the expected vast increase in functionality. What they do offer
is a new and luxurious look to the programs, using the power of
seperate graphics cards to the full. Now all this is very tempting and
many have fallen under the spell of colour coded song parts shown over
textured backgrounds but what does this do for the music? Well, the
simple answer is not a lot and a scour through the pages of many
recent editions of the music technology magazine, Sound on Sound,
would seem to confirm this.
Many of the professional musicians, songwriters and producers who are
deemed to warrant a feature within their hallowed pages, are still
using an Atari ST as the mainstay of their midi studios. The reasons
quoted are many but the most popular ones are; It's tried and tested
It's very reliable I don't have time to learn all about some new
platform Better the devil you know It still does everything I want it
to do.
So, it would seem that even although the new sales are all going to PC
or Mac (well you can't easily buy a new Atari anyway), the value of
the ST as a working tool remains undiminished and will probably
continue so for a good few years yet.
And it gets even better. The price of the ST has fallen to such a
level that it is now perfectly viable to buy a second machine purely
as a backup in case something goes wrong with the main one. Also ST's
can perform heavy duty music tasks with only 4 meg ram that PC's or
Mac's with 24 meg find a struggle. And none of those machines has midi
as an integrated part of the architecture yet. So, is the ST still the
king of the midi castle? Well, in terms of usefulness, nothing much
has changed and it certainly is still making a lot of hit records.
Here are just three recently quoted as still using Atari's for their
music.
Steve Hillier - Dubstar - recent hit singles and album
Peter Cunnagh - D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better
Andy McLusky - OMD
I'm thinking about a basic midi music tutorial series for the next few
Jukeboxes - if you think this is either a good or bad idea, let me
know.
Ed McGlone
ed@mistered.demon.co.uk
The Perfect TOS Set-up ? (Part 2)
Now that we have our display sorted out it is time to consider how we
store our data.
Almost every TOS-based computer system has at least one floppy disk
drive. Depending on the model of Atari/Clone that you have you will
usually have a 720K or 1.44M floppy disk drive built-in. Older ST's
came with external drives only.
As far as I am aware the following floppy drives can be connected to a
TOS system:
360KB / Single Sided Floppy
720KB / Double Sided Floppy
1.44MB / High Density Floppy
2.88MB / Extended Density Floppy
360KB floppy drives are now more or less obsolete. Very little (if
any) software is distributed on 360KB floppy and if you own a single
sided drive then I strongly recommend adding a higher capacity drive
to your system.
720KB drives are more or less the standard among ST machines - I'd
recommend this as the minimum standard for any system and if you use
you machine for mainly gaming this will no doubt suffice.
1.44MB drives are the standard issue in Falcons and most MSTEs and
TTs. The greater storage capacity is particularly useful when you
need to store large graphics or DTP files. Games on 1.44 disks also
mean less disk swapping so there are some advantages to this for
gamers too though I don't know of any ST/E games that are available on
1.44..
If you are lucky enough to own one of the TT clones that are available
then you may already have a 2.88 MB drive. As far as I know there is
no software distributed on 2.88 but there are programs which support
2.88MB drives for formatting, with low price hard drive speed,
removable media available now I would consider anything greater than
1.44MB to be unnecessary.
Putting drive capacity aside for now, the next question is how many do
you need/want.
Most of us have one built-in floppy and this is often enough. If you
have no immediate plans to get a hard drive then you may find a second
floppy drive useful. Many day to tasks become more bearable when you
don't have to swap disks such as file/disk copying. Using serious
programs you can have the main disk in drive A: and your data disk in
drive B:. Many games come on more than one disk and many of these
will recognise and use a second floppy drive again saving on disk
swaps. Since most games are not hard drive installable this could
well be the best option for hardened gamers.
If you want to add a floppy drive to your system there are several
options. If you own an STF/FM/E or MEGA ST you can connect a 720K
internal drive with no problems and an external 720K as long as it has
the appropriate connector for Atari's. If you have a MEGA STE/TT or
Falcon then a 1.44MB drive can be connected internally and if your
machine has an external drive connector then you could add one
externally if you wish although a hard drive is more likely if you
have one of these machines. To connect a 1.44MB floppy to an STF/M/E
you need a slight internal modification and an extra connection added
at the back but once these are in place it is possible to have up to
two 1.44MB floppy drives.
Next time I'll get on to the subject of hard disk drives.
Paul Walsh
New ATARI products
WaveMaster
Do you use Cubase Audio for direct-to-disk recording on your Falcon?
It's a pretty powerful package, right? But it's missing something
intrinsic - a sample editor that goes right down to sample accuracy.
That's why System Solutions have brought you WaveMaster. If you've
ever wanted a truly professional sample editing package for your
Falcon then WaveMaster is for you. A superb GEM program, with an
intuitive, yet powerful interface. It offers a range of features just
not found in the majority of sampling packages including
direct-to-disk sampling and editing, fade in/out, volume adjust,
normalise, cut/paste, reverse, etc. It handles the following sample
formats: AIF, wav, avr.
WaveMaster runs as a standalone program or as a desktop accessory - as
the latter it will happily co-exist with Cubase Audio (or
AudioTracker), being available *at the same time* with no need to
continuously quit-and-run to swap between the two.
WaveMaster is available now from System Solutions for 129, inc. VAT.
Give them a bell on 0181 693 3355.
Digital Patch Bay
Another startling device from System Solutions, by way of SoundPool.
The Digital Patch Bay has 4 digital inputs and 2 outputs. Any input
can be patched to any output giving the digital musician/sound
engineer the ability to connect all his digital equipment together
quickly and easily. Also included is a send-and-return facility,
enabling, for example, sample rate converters to be patched into the
system.
The device comes as a 1U high 19" rack-mount, with front-mounted LEDs
to show which ports are currently being used. Installing is as simple
as plugging in the appropriate leads. The Digital Patch Bay costs 295
inc. VAT and is available now - give System Solutions a call on 0181
693 3355.
PhotoLine
A new "killer application" for the Atari, from System Solutions.
PhotoLine is a new high-end image editor which offers the most
powerful functions ever seen on the Atari. The program is
feature-packed, not only with a wide range of bit-map tools but also
with all the standard vector tools you'll ever need.
Despite all the power PhotoLine is easy to use thanks to the use of a
totally amodal, modern GEM interface. The GEM coding also allows
PhotoLine to work on any Atari computer, using any graphics set-up.
Indeed, as is usual on professional image editors, it is possible to
work on and save a 24-bit picture in any other mode, including
monochrome. Using NVDI 3 (or greater) it is also possible to use
vector font technology to add text to the image.
One of the sheer delights of this product is the attention to detail
of all the drawing functions. Paint brushes can be designed, *all*
functions have an intensity setting, all relevant functions enable you
to work on single (or multiple) RGB (or CMYK) planes of the image,
colours can be picked up and dragged from one colour box to another,
etc. Bit-map functions include paint-brush, clone, finger, erase,
stamp, fill, gradient, etc. whereas the vector tools include all the
standards like straight-line, Bezier curves, move to front/back, etc.
Naturally there are powerful cut/paste/copy tools which can work on
the image or on the mask. Selecting areas is performed with the
rectangular, circle or lasso tool (or adopted from a mask, using the
magic-wand tool - see below). It is even possible to add or subtract
to/from selections - this is *real* power at work!
The mask itself is also catered for by the magic-wand tool, a powerful
beast on it's own - a description of which could fill up a paragraph
or two alone here! Suffice to say that it is totally configurable,
including the tolerance and feathering. Again you can easily add or
subtract to/from current mask selections - which can also be saved to
disk and loaded in a later session.
You can work on as many images at the same time as memory allows,
uniquely (we think) on the Atari you can drag-and-drop selections -
even irregular selections - from one image to another. Pictures may be
treated as RGB, CMYK, greyscale, monochrome or vector. Loading formats
are too numerous to mention (but include all the standards, inc.
PhotoCD Pro), you can save to TIFF, JPEG, IMG, CVG and GEM formats.
There are filters, special tools, rotation, scale, distortion, picture
projection in 3D space. It can print or plot to NVDI/GDOS
printer/plotter drivers and it can use GDPS drivers to scan images
directly into the program. This is one product full of so many
features that it's impossible to even scratch the surface in this
article.
PhotoLine comes on 3 double-sided floppy disks, which include one disk
for ST computers, one for TT's (inc. all with a minimum of 68030 CPU
and FPU chips) and one containing a range of utility files. It
includes a ring-bound 50 page manual. The program is available now
from System Solutions for 169 inc. VAT - call them on 0181 693 3355.
Atari CD Master - Infopedia 2.0
For a long time the CD-ROM market has been very strong on the Atari.
It's easy to connect the drives thanks to SCSI support, the standard
driver ExtenDOS Pro is very powerful and people have bought CD-ROM
drives in their droves. This has led to a lot of Atari specific
CD-ROMs being made, containing shareware and public domain software,
files, demos and much else besides. However, there has always been a
problem with multimedia CDs - those which require a special program to
access the information. Inevitably these CD-ROMs are written with
either the IBM PC or Apple Mac in mind. They just won't work on Atari
computers - until now!
System Solutions have teamed up with Homa Systems House in Canada to
bring out Atari drivers for a range of multimedia titles. The flagship
in their range is the driver disk for the Infopedia 2.0 CD-ROM. This
stunning CD was released in December 1995 and has been rated by many
PC magazines as the best multi-media encyclopaedia available! It
includes the complete 29 volume Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopaedia,
with almost 27000 entries and 8000 photos and sound clips. In addition
it includes the Hammond's World Atlas and the 1995 World Almanac and
Book of Facts.
The software driver for the Atari gives you access to all of these
information resources, enables you to view the photographs (even on
monochrome screens) and hear the sound clips (on STe's or better).
Everything is wrapped up in a modern GEM interface (with a 3D look on
systems with 16 colours or more) which works flawlessly on any Atari
computer and under multi-tasking operating systems.
You have access to every Encyclopaedia entry almost instantaneously
(it's faster than the PC version!), hypertext linking of articles and
powerful search features including 'narrow down' (just type the first
few letters of an entry and it'll pop-up). Photos and sound clips are
linked to the correct entries, which in turn are linked to over 10,000
timelines. All-in-all the Infopedia 2.0, along with the CD Master is
by far and away the best educational and research tool available to
Atari owners ever. It may even be the reason that makes you decide to
buy a CD-ROM Drive!
The entire package, Atari CD Master and the Infopedia 2.0 costs a very
reasonable 49.95 inc. VAT. Also, get in touch with System Solutions
about special bundle deals on CD-ROM drives, including their amazing
cartridge port CD-ROM connector! The number, as ever, is 0181 693
3355.
System Solutions Atari Mouse
Strangely enough for a graphically driven computer the Atari currently
has a problem with the mouse. Those that are available tend to be a
bit dodgy - they leap across the screen when you don't want them to
and refuse to budge when you do. Over the last few months System
Solutions have become increasingly unhappy with the situation.
So, not one to shirk taking the bull by the horns - or the mouse by
the tail - they decided to do something about it. As no-one was making
mice to their specifications, they took their specs. and had a company
make some mice for them. The System Solutions Atari Mouse is now with
us. A totally standard mouse, it feels light and responsive to the
touch and enables precise, fluid control of the mouse pointer on the
screen. It offers a resolution of 280 DPI, a mouse lead of 1.5m and is
badged with the System Solutions logo. The price is 14.95 inc. VAT
and it's available right now.
Graeme Rutt - System Solutions Customer Support
ssolutions@cix.compulink.co.uk
http://www.ssolutions.com
Design a cover Competition
Howard Carson, the publisher of the Canadian Atari magazine "CURRENT
NOTES" has kindly donated 2 issues as a prize. If there are sufficient
entries, I also have "Civilization", the best game ever on the ST to
give away as a prize, thanks to Bob Paton.
All you have to do is design a front cover of the new STAG newsletter.
Or at least come up with a suitable mono GEM Image graphic for it. I
already have some ideas of what I want on the front, but I'd like some
input from the members. You don't have to do the whole thing, but give
me an idea of the layout you'd like. I'll be using Papyrus and
Truetype and Speedo fonts for the final design.
Let me know if you'd like to see the editorial, and/or contents on the
front cover.
Answers on a disk or by e`mail to me.
Closing date is 15th September (`ish)
If The Beatles were programmers
"SingalongAtari"
1) Eleanor Rigby
Eleanor Rigby
Sits at the keyboard
And waits for a line on the screen, Lives in a dream
Waits for a signal
Finding some code
That will make the machine do some more.
What is it for?
All the lonely users, where do they all come from?
All the lonely users, why does it take so long?
Guru MacKenzie
Typing the lines of a program that no one will run;
Isn't it fun?
Look at him working,
Munching some chips as he waits for the code to
compile; It takes a while...
All the lonely users, where do they all come from?
All the lonely users, why does it take so long?
Eleanor Rigby
Crashes the system and loses 6 hours of work; Feels
like a jerk.
Guru MacKenzie
Wiping the crumbs off the keys as he types in the
code;
Nothing will load.
All the lonely users, where do they all come from?
All the lonely users, why does it take so long?
2) Write in C
When I find my code in tons of
trouble,
Friends and colleagues come to me,
Speaking words of wisdom:
"Write in C."
As the deadline fast approaches,
And bugs are all that I can see,
Somewhere, someone whispers:
"Write in C."
Write in C, Write in C,
Write in C, oh, Write in C.
LOGO's dead and buried,
Write in C.
I used to write a lot of FORTRAN,
For science it worked flawlessly.
Try using it for graphics!
Write in C.
If you've just spent nearly 30 hours,
Debugging some assembly,
Soon you will be glad to
Write in C.
Write in C, Write in C,
Write in C, yeah, Write in C.
BASIC's not the answer.
Write in C.
Write in C, Write in C
Write in C, oh, Write in C.
Pascal won't quite cut it.
Write in C.
3) Something
Something in the way it fails,
Defies the algorithm's logic!
Something in the way it coredumps...
I don't want to leave it now
I'll fix this problem somehow
Somewhere in the memory I know,
A pointer's got to be corrupted.
Stepping in the debugger will show me...
I don't want to leave it now
I'm too close to leave it now
You're asking me can this code go?
I don't know, I don't know...
What sequence causes it to blow?
I don't know, I don't know...
Something in the initializing code?
And all I have to do is think of it!
Something in the listing will show me...
I don't want to leave it now
I'll fix this tonight I vow!
TRANSPORT
The Committee have recently received several queries from group
members who would like to come to Howwood for meetings, but are unsure
as to the availability of Public Transport to get them home at the end
of the night.
Would any member coming from or through Glasgow who is prepared to
pick up or drop off any fellow member in the City centre give their
name to any committee member, and we'll try to get you matched up.
We will try to ensure that nobody gets marooned in the depths of the
countryside.
SOFTWARE PIRACY
The WeST of Scotland Atari User Group does not condone software piracy
and will not allow the group meetings be used to copy commercial
software.
1996 MEETINGS
All meetings will take place within the upstairs lounge of The Railway
Inn, Main Street, Howwood. The doors will be open from 7pm . The
formal opening of each meeting will take place at 7:30pm. The proposed
dates for the meetings to be held in 1996 are as follows.
All dates are provisional at the moment and will depend on both the
response to the groups as a whole, and the suitability of the Railway
Inn.
3 SEPTEMBER - AGM
1 OCTOBER
29 OCTOBER
26 NOVEMBER
24 DECEMBER -NO MEETING
CREDITS
This Newsletter was prepared using Papyrus Gold with N.V.D.I.4 and
printed at 300 dpi on a Hewlett Packard Deskjet 500C. Thereafter
photocopied by the Erskine Hospital Printing Department (Tel No. 0141
812 1100)
Editor: Al Goold
20 August 1996
(½ WSAUG, 1996)
AGENDA
The following is the agenda for the Annual General meeting. Late
additions to the agenda will be accepted from members, and an addendum
will be produced for the AGM itself if required. I feel that it is
important that if you have any views on the future of the Group that
you let them be known.
1 Sederunt
2 Welcome by Chairman
3 Financial Report
4 Resignation of WSAUG Steering Committee
5 Resolutions
5.1 Formation of STAG
It is proposed that Scotland's TOS Atari Group
be inaugurated as of 3 September 1996 and that
the constitution attached hereto be adopted.
5.2 Election of STAG Committee
It is proposed that a committee be elected as
per the constitution The following are the
nominees as of 20th August 1996. All fully
paid up members are entitled to a vote. Postal
votes, or proxies will be accepted.
5.2.1 Office - Chairman (casting vote only)
Nominee - Alasdair Goold
Proposer - Sandy Thomson
Seconder - Andy Wilson
5.2.2 Office - Secretary
Nominee - Sandy Thomson
Proposer - Andy Wilson
Seconder - Alasdair Goold
5.2.3 Office - Treasurer
Nominee - Andy Wilson
Proposer - Sandy Thomson
Seconder - Alasdair Goold
5.2.4 Office - Webmaster
Nominee - Bob Paton
Proposer - Sandy Thomson
Seconder - Alasdair Goold
5.2.5 Office - PD/Sales & wants
Nominee - Fraser Blacklaws
Proposer - Alasdair Goold
Seconder - Sandy Thomson
5.2.6 Office - Junior member representative
Nominee - Paul Leonard
Proposer - Alasdair Goold
Seconder - Sandy Thomson
5.2.7 Office - STAG (WeST)
Nominee - Ken Johnstone
Proposer - Sandy Thomson
Seconder - Andy Wilson
5.2.8 Office - STAG (EaST)
Nominee - Domhnall Dods
Proposer - Alasdair Goold
Seconder - Sandy Thomson
5.2.9 Office - STAG (Central)
Nominee - Paul Walsh
Proposer - Sandy Thomson
Seconder - Andy Wilson
5.2.10 Office - Newsletter Editor
Nominee - Alasdair Goold
Proposer - Sandy Thomson
Seconder - Andy Wilson
5.3 It is proposed that using ST-Guide STAG compiles an
encrypted listing of our membership, for distribution
within the membership to allow better communication
between members.
5.4 It is proposed that the subscription level for STAG for
1996/97 be as follows.
Adult/Family membership 14
Junior membership 7
(an optional cover disk, 6 per year is
available for an additional 4 per year per
member, adult or junior).
5.5 It is proposed that the following persons be
adopted as honorary members of STAG and
shall pay no subscription.
i) Harry Sideras, for his activities and
support with The UK Association of Atari
User Groups,
ii) Colin Fisher-McCallum, 42BBS, for his
support of WSAUG, STAG and user groups
in general via his bulletin board.
5.6 Election of 2 non-committee "checkers" of
Group accounts
6 Any other business
7 Closure of meeting
IMPORTANT MESSAGE
For the AGM it is requested that members DO
NOT bring any computers with them. We will
have a Falcon set up with the same virtual
WWW site that will be on display at the
September shows, for after the AGM. On this
occasion though, the main order of business
has to be the AGM rather than using the
machines. It'll all be back to normal come
October though.*OB*)
Scotland's TOS/Atari Group (STAG)
CONSTITUTION
1. The name of the Group shall be "Scotland's
TOS/Atari Group (STAG)".
2. Objects: The objects of the Group shall be i) to provide
support for, and to foster communication between, Atari
Computer owners throughout Scotland and elsewhere,
ii) to provide timely information about Atari news, products,
vendors, and service,
iii) to find isolated Atari computer owners and encourage them
to join the group,
iv) to publish a centrally produced and funded newsletter with
an optional cover disk for an additional cost, with a single
subscription for all members,
v) to provide a central resource for information and advice,
the newsletter and other services for participating groups.
vi) and to do any other things incidental thereto.
3. Membership: Membership of the Group shall be available to any
individual interested in the objects detailed, with the
restriction that Committee shall have power to limit or refuse
membership according to circumstances. On the recommendation
of Committee, Honorary or Life Membership may be conferred on
any individual who has rendered exceptional service to the
Group: such recommendation shall be submitted to and voted
upon at the Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting.
Honorary and Life Members shall have the same status as paid
Members, except that Honorary Members shall not have any
voting rights within the Group.
4. Subscription: The amount of the standard Annual Subscription
shall be determined at the Annual General Meeting. On the
recommendation of Committee, various non-standard Membership
Categories may be created, and the corresponding Subscription
Rates determined, subject to approval at the Annual General
Meeting.
The Group's Financial Year shall commence on 1st April each
year, and subscriptions become due and payable at the first
Group meeting after the 1st September following the Annual
General Meeting. Any Member whose Annual Subscription has not
been paid by the 30th November of that same year shall be
dealt with by the Committee at their discretion.
5. Management: The business of the Group shall be conducted by a
Committee elected at the Annual General Meeting consisting of
the Chairman, Secretary, Newsletter Editor, PD/Sales and wants
representative, Junior Representative, Web-master, and
representatives from STAG West, STAG East, STAG Central, and
STAG Northern.
It would be possible for one person to hold 2 posts on the
committee, but that person would only have one vote. Any posts
not filled at the Annual General Meeting could be filled by a
committee vote at a later stage should it become necessary.
Any other posts that were deemed appropriate could also be
established later.
The Officers and other elected Members shall retire annually
and shall be eligible for re-election. The Chairman of the
Group shall be the chairman of the Committee and, in his
absence, the Secretary whom failing, the meeting shall elect
its own chairman at meetings of the Committee. 3 shall
form a quorum and each member shall have one vote.
6. Casting Vote: At any properly constituted Meeting of the
Group or its Committee, in the event of the voting on any
resolution being equal, the Chairman shall have the option to
exercise a second and casting vote.
7. Annual General Meeting: The Annual General Meeting shall be
held in September of each year. At this Meeting, a report of
proceedings prepared by the Secretary and others together with
a Financial Statement by the Treasurer up to 31st March
previous, shall be submitted. A quorum shall consist of 20% of
Members with voting rights. Postal votes will be allowed.
8. Special General Meeting: A Special General Meeting of the
Group may be convened at any time by the Committee. A Special
General Meeting must also be called by the Secretary within
four weeks of receiving a requisition signed by five Members
of the Group with voting rights and stating the special
business to be considered. Members shall be notified at least
seven days in advance of the date, time, and place of the
Special General Meeting and the business to be considered
thereat. A quorum shall consist of 20% of Members with voting
rights.
9. Accounts and Audits: The Financial transactions of the Group
shall be recorded by the Treasurer. At least one
Bank/Building Group Account shall be opened in the name of the
Group and operated upon by any two (one of whom shall normally
be the Treasurer) of a number of designated Committee
Officials or Members as approved by Committee. Subject to
Committee approval, and subject to the above method of
operation, the Treasurer may select the banking arrangements
he/she deems most appropriate to the Group's interests. The
Treasurer shall be entitled to utilise any additional Banking
Services (including Electronic Banking) which are or may
become available. An Annual Account shall be made up as soon
as possible after the end of the Financial Year and such
Account shall be checked by two Members of the Group not being
Members of Committee. The checkers shall be elected at the
Annual General Meeting, with Committee having the power to
appoint a substitute should a vacancy subsequently arise.
10. Powers of Committee: The Committee shall have powers (a) to
arrange the entire proceedings of the activities of the Group
(b) to carry out the general management of the Group (c) to
fill casual vacancies in their number by electing members of
the Group, either office bearers or ordinary members, to fill
such vacancies, but any person so elected shall retire at the
end of the year current (d) to suspend any member whose
conduct is considered detrimental to the best interests of the
Group provided always that two-thirds of those present at the
meetings of the Committee called for the purpose of
considering such matter shall vote in favour of such
suspension (e) to form sub-committees with such powers as they
shall think fit (f) to appoint such officials as they consider
necessary for carrying out the activities of the Group (g) to
draw up such rules for the conduct of the affairs of the Group
as they deem necessary provided such rules are not
inconsistent with the Constitution.
11. Alterations to the Constitution: The Constitution shall be
altered only by resolution duly passed at the Annual, or a
Special, General Meeting of the Group. Notice of the proposed
alteration must be submitted, in writing, to the Secretary, at
least twenty-eight days prior to the Annual or Special General
Meeting. The Secretary shall submit it, in the form of a
resolution, to the Committee, at the earliest opportunity.
Written notice of the proposed alteration shall be be given to
all voting Members at least seven days prior to the Annual
General Meeting or Special General Meeting, at which the said
resolution shall be voted upon.
