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GEnieLamp Atari ST Vol. 4 Issue 72
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~ WELCOME TO GEnieLamp ST! ~
""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ Improving Your Computing Potential in DEALER VIEWPOINT ~
~ TONS of New Files in THE ONLINE LIBRARY ~
~ How Does That Work? Find Out in TECHNOLOGY UPDATE~
~ The Stock Market is LOOKING UP in COMPUTERS & INVESTING~
~ HUMOR ONLINE Looks at My Summer Vacation ~
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GEnieLamp Atari ST ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.4, Issue 72
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Editor.................................................John Gniewkowski
Publisher.................................................John Peters
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~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp [PR] ~ GEnieLamp Windows ~ GEnieLamp IBM
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~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~ GEnieLamp TX2 ~
~ GEnieLamp A2 ~ LiveWire (ASCII) ~ GEnieLamp MacPRO ~
~ Config.sys ~ Solid Windows ~ A2-Central ~
~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~
GE Mail: GENIELAMP Internet: genielamp@genie.geis.com FTP: sosi.com
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>>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE ATARI ST ROUNDTABLE? <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ September 1994 ~
FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY]
Notes From The Editor. Is That A Letter For Me?
DEALER VIEWPOINT ........ [DLR] REFLECTIONS ............. [REF]
Trade-ups. Internet Book Review.
THE ONLINE LIBRARY ...... [LIB] TECHNOLOGY UPDATE ........[TEC]
[*] Files, Files, Files! The CD ROM.
PD_QUICKVIEW ............ [PDQ] MEL'S MANOR ............. [MEL]
Frantik. [*]Fast Path.
PD_QWICKPICK ............ [PDP] SEARCH_ME ............... [FUN]
Path List. Online Puzzle Fun!
COMPUTERS AND INVESTING . [CAI] CYBERSPACE .............. [CYB]
[*]Looking Up? Multimedia Presentations.
COMPUTERS IN SCHOOL ..... [EDU] HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM]
An Editorial. My Summer Vacation.
LOG OFF ................. [LOG]
GEnieLamp Information.
[IDX]"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
READING GEnieLamp GEnieLamp has incorporated a unique indexing
""""""""""""""""" system to help make reading the magazine easier.
To utilize this system, load GEnieLamp into any ASCII word processor
or text editor. In the index you will find the following example:
HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM]
[*]GEnie Fun & Games.
To read this article, set your find or search command to [HUM]. If
you want to scan all of the articles, search for [EOA]. [EOF] will take
you to the last page, whereas [IDX] will bring you back to the index.
MESSAGE INFO To make it easy for you to respond to messages re-printed
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need immediately following the message. For example:
(SMITH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M475)
_____________| _____|__ _|___ |____ |_____________
|Name of senderCategory TOPic Msg.# Page number|
In this example, to respond to Smith's message, log on to page
475 enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1.
A message number that is enclosed by brackets indicates that this
message is a "target" message and is referring to a "chain" of two
or more messages that are following the same topic. Example: Msg:{123}
TX2 FORMAT What are you missing when reading the ASCII version of
"""""""""" GEnie Lamp? EXCITEMENT! Whenever you see a [*] in the
index or in the article header, that indicates that the article contains
TX2 graphics and/or pictures. To see the graphics, you will need the
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LMP_340.LZH GEnie Lamp in TX2 format.
MINI_TX2.LZH Mini-version of TX2 Viewer (File #20441).
ABOUT GEnie GEnie's monthly fee is $8.95 for which gives you up to four
""""""""""" hours of non-prime time access to most GEnie services, such
as software downloads, bulletin boards, GE Mail, an Internet gateway,
multi-player games and chat lines, are allowed without charge. GEnie's
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customer service line (voice) at 1-800-638-9636.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
[EOA]
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
FROM MY DESKTOP /
/////////////////////////////////
Notes From My Desktop
"""""""""""""""""""""
Ah, I think we've almost made it through the summer months! Soon the
nights will become cooler, the leaves will begin to turn gold and our
thoughts will turn to preparing for the holidays--and to more time for
our indoor hobby--computing!
I think you'll find this issue packed with interesting reading about
Atari news and reviews and information concerning general computing.
Please don't let some of the references to things IBM' distract you from
the information contained in the articles. They are all very good!
Until next month!
John Gniewkowski
Editor, GEnieLamp ST
[EOA]
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
/////////////////////////////////
Is That Letter For Me?
""""""""""""""""""""""
By John E. Gniewkowski
[GENIELAMP.ST]
o ATARI BB HOT SPOTS
o ATARI ODDS & ENDS
o HOT TOPICS
o WHAT'S NEW
o THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
o JAGUAR TALK
o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT
>>> ATARI BB HOT SPOTS <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
[*]CAT 1, TOP 22, MSG{1} ..... Atari changes, DOS changes, everything!
[*]CAT2, TOP 31, MSG{1} ...... Cheeta/Kobold - Playing with Fire?
[*]CAT32, TOP11, MSG{76} ..... CodeHeads Out of Business?
[*]CAT18, TOP5, MSG{36} ...... Medusa 040 Licensing Debate.
[*]CAT17, TOP4, MSG{11} ...... NeoDesk 4 Reviews!
[*]CAT18, TOP7, MSG{45} ...... Great Piracy Discussion!
>>> ATARI POT-POURRI <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ This And That, ATARI! ~
What SIMMs to Use? Can anyone tell me what SIMM modules are useable
"""""""""""""""""" in a 520 STe to upgrade it to 2.5 or 4 meg?
Can I use the 1x9x9 SIMMS used in most IBM PC compatibles and will the
STe ignore the parity bit?
Will the STe accept the 1x9 3 chip SIMMS?
What are the number of pins for the SIMM modules?
It seems like It was okay to use them (9 chip type) but I want to be sure
before spending the money.
(C.CARTER23, CAT4, TOP4, MSG:189/M475)
>>>>> Yes, you can use 1x9 SIMMS that are used on the IBM. The STE will
""""" ignore the rest. I am not sure about 1x3 SIMMS as I have never
tried them.
The 1x8 SIMMS are usually cheaper.
(R.WATSON15, CAT4, TOP4, MSG:190/M475)
>>>>> 1x8 or 9 3 chip SIMMs work. Mixing speeds works ok as well. No
""""" need to go to fast SIMM either as 100ns is fine [cheaper too ;^)]
30 pin or 32 pin work fine.
(J.DINGA, CAT4, TOP4, MSG:191/M475)
InkJet Papers Explained! A mordant is a chemical fixative used to treat
"""""""""""""""""""""""" a paper or fabric so that the pigment is
absorbed & locked in place more quickly. The purpose is to keep the
ink/die/paint from travelling along the fibers and producing a smeary
looking image. The special InkJet papers are either mordanted or coated
for the same effect.
The black inks currently in the market are formulated to work best on
more ordinary papers, like 20%-25% cotton stationaries or bonds. The
viscosity of the ink has been "tuned" to limit its spread and give a
clean image on these papers. The industry found it necessary to do this
because any company of any size has letterhead printed on just this sort
of paper.
Color printing is a more specialized field. It is seldom done on
letterhead or stationary. Instead, it is almost always done on a blank
sheet, so specialized papers, treated with mordants or coatings to
enhance the brightness of the colors, come very much into play.
(J.BATTEY1, CAT4, TOP5, MSG:136/M475)
>>>>> Just a quick note on papers for the Bubble Jets. As I've
""""" mentioned many a time before, if you can find Legacy Pen Plotter,
Product Number 01-075, you will be using by far and away the best paper
ever developed for the Bubble Jet. Problem is, it wasn't developed _for_
the BJ's, but for small pen plotters. I think it may have been
discontinued, so, any supply found should be used with care, and only for
final masters heading for photocopier or other duplication.
Pen Plotter is coated and allows essentially ZERO bleed. It thus requires
as much as a minute of drying time (usually less), but the quality out of
a DTP program like PageStream easily matches any 300 dpi laser,
especially in text printing. Speedo GDOS is also fantastic on it.
I have developed a kind of a "swatch sampler" that pits the Bubble Jet
versus DeskJet versus LaserJet 4 over several paper types (all notated).
All printing done with fresh, never re-inked cartridges and never
recharged toner cartridges. To receive it (relatively) FREE, send an
unused stamp, or a self addressed, stamped envelope (SASE), if you
prefer, to:
RBA Production - Sampler Offer 6278 North Federal Highway, Suite 406 Ft.
Lauderdale, FL 33308
(R.BROWN30, CAT4, TOP5, MSG:139/M475)
Sneaky Devils Little did they suspect... When CMP Publications came to
""""""""""""" us to create a PC notebook presentation (actually to be
shown on a large screen projector), they insisted on one thing in
particular... that when the header slides in on every slide, the sound of
a floppy disk inserted into a drive can be heard. Little do they suspect
that the audio clip is in actuality the sound of a disk being inserted
into a 520ST, recorded on a Falcon.
Somehow, here being a company resonsible for a half dozen or so PC and
Mac publications... Well I can't help but get a kick out of this.
(B.KOLINS1, CAT30, TOP5, MSG:130/M475)
How to Print to a Network I will be going off to college soon, and I
""""""""""""""""""""""""" have been told that there will be networked
laser printers available. Is it possible to print Atari Works files on
these printers? (is there a conversion program to convert AW files to
something that can be printed from and IBM or Mac?)
(BALKCOM, CAT14, TOP20, MSG:145/M475)
>>>>> If you install GEM-Spool, the premiere print spooler for the
""""" Atari line, you can tell GEM-Spool to create a disk-spool file
and hold it for later printing. That file can then be output to the
printer from any PC, Atari, Amiga or Unix box.
(A.FASOLDT, CAT14, TOP20, MSG:146/M475)
<<<<< Thanks for the info! How exactly does this work, though? Are
""""" disk- spool files computer-independent (what will I need to have
on the other computer to output this file?) I have one more question. I
have been considering purchasing a BJ-200e printer. Is this compatible
with Atari Works and is a driver provided? Will I need Outburst to get
reasonable printing speed? Can I print files from the desktop with this
printer? (alright, more than one question, but they were all related,
sort of!) Thanks again for your quick response.
(BALKCOM, CAT14, TOP20, MSG:147/M475)
>>>>> You don't want to know much, do ya! :-)
"""""
When you print to disk, you are creating a formatted file that contains
all the printer instructions within the file. All that is needed later is
to "copy" that file to the printer, an easy thing in DOS and in TOS. (DOS
and TOS treat printers as devices, so you just copy to one device like
you'd copy to another.) If you drag the printer-formatted file to the
printer icon, or use a shell and type "copy myfile.prn >lpt1" or somesuch
(shells vary in command structure), you get the same results as you would
have if you had printed directly from the application.
Atari Works, per se, does not have printer drivers. Because it is a GDOS
application, Works prints through GDOS. So if there is a GDOS printer
driver for the BJ200e, you can use it with any GDOS app. I don't know
about the 200e, being a DeskJet user, but others will surely know.
If you have the proper printer driver in the GDOS assign.sys (the
explanation of which falls past the scope here), all you do to print from
the desktop is to drag a file to the printer. That's how I do quick and
dirty printing. (No, not very dirty; the DeskJet does a nice job.) I
print from STeno and STalker the same way. One of the reasons I like NVDI
so much is that it *is* a full GDOS, and so yoy get amazing screen
speedups and all the advantages of GDOS, in one swell foop, as they say.
(OK, they did't say it, but I did...)
Outburst may help speed up printing to the BJ; others will know for sure.
(A.FASOLDT, CAT14, TOP20, MSG:148/M475)
A Short History Lesson Al has no doubt answered your chicken 'n egg
"""""""""""""""""""""" question but I have to throw in my 2 cents
worth.
My first computer was a Sperry-Rand Univac at the Fort Bliss, Texas Air
Defense Center. This beast was old even then, ran on punched paper cards
and the programing was done by pulling big frames of wiring out of the
computer and switching the way the wires plugged in, kind of like a
telephone switch board. As I remember it we had 4 different colors of
wire and umptydum rows of sockets to plug them into. Each hunk of
computer controlled a different tiny function.
The programming was accomplished mainly by re-routing this wiring. It
was, in essence, a softwire program running on a hardwired base.
Many many things could go wrong with this monster machine but the one
that most often gave us problems was "bugs". That's right, Texas
cockroaches. Many a joke concerned their ability to outlive us after a
nuclear strike.
Any way, in my mind the Hardware absolutly came before the software, it
was quite a jump to leaving the machine alone and changing just the
input, the whole concept of machine language was quite a leap forward.
Sorry about the topic drift, but that was quite a flash from the past.
It has been decades since I even remembered those days.
(R.NELSON48, CAT4, TOP19, MSG:106/M475)
Speedo 5.0 Quirks I tried a few more tests today while running Speedo
""""""""""""""""" 5.0. These were prompted by problems using the
[Alternate]-Copy metafile copy routine in AtariWorks. The obvious
solution is to create the GEM's in MyDraw or Kandinsky using the desired
Speedo font then import it into AW. The results were disappointing - a
simple 3 word, 3 line headline using Dutch 801 Bold at 24 points in both
MyDraw and Kandinsky imported into AW at the default point size as set in
AW's Preference dialog. Attempts to change point size by opening the font
selector, selecting Dutch 801 Bold and 24 points had no effect. Both the
Typeface and point size of a GEM graphic with Speedo fonts under 4.1
could be changed.
I checked MyDraw's file in Kandinsky - it loaded but the kerning data
between letters had been lost. They were all run together. Kandinksy's
file would not load into MyDraw. Not even a bounding box.
As a further test I opened an AtariWorks document and did a metafile copy
of a text block. I then opened SCRAP.GEM from the clipboard in MyDraw and
got absolutely nothing but an empty bounding box. The same SCRAP.GEM did
display in Kandinsky but now the letters were overlapping.
I then rebooted with Speedo 4.1 and tried importing the GEM's from
MyDraw, Kandinsky and the Clipboard into AW. They all loaded but with
complete loss of font information - it looked like system font. Loading
MyDraw's GEM back into MyDraw revealed that the typeface data was not
present although the point size was. Kandinsky, oddly enough, seemed to
accept it's file without any fuss. I then saved the files under Speedo
4.1 and booted again with Speedo 5.0.
The MyDraw GEM file loaded into AW with font and point size intact. The
metafile from the clipboard loaded in Dutch 801 at 12 points (my default
point size) even though it contained 18 and 24 point text also. The
Kandinsky GEM loaded with all three lines overwriting one another.
An earlier post here suggested that loading Speedo 5 prior to Warp9 would
cure the text highlighting problem. I tried this and found it to work
sometimes but not always. It worked fine on the first document I opened
but after quitting AW then restarting it I found the highlighting problem
had returned. Turning Warp9's screen acceleration off returned things to
normal.
I would appreciate if someone else who has both Speedo versions would
also try some cross-program checks. I don't believe that the problems
described above are peculiar to my system. I do believe that it shows
some traits of Speedo 5 that need looking into. My overall impression of
Speedo 5 at this point is that the benefits of having TrueType and PS
Type 1 fonts is outweighed by the problems I am having with GEM files.
Or am I the only one who does such strange, abusive things?
At any rate, for me, - it's back to 4.1 as the Speedo of preference until
version 5.xx can give me the same kind of stability.
(M.HEBERT1, CAT14, TOP35, MSG:113/M475)
>>> HOT TOPICS <<<
""""""""""""""""""
~ Too Hot To Handle, Almost ~
What's With CodeHead? Tomas's description of our current state is
""""""""""""""""""""" correct, although his terminology may have been a
bit misleading. As he mentioned, there are no longer any "office hours"
or anyone answerers of phones. We'll still attempt to provide support in
whatever manner possible, though.
It was with a heavy heart that we had to cut Tomas's hours to two days a
week (in late May). As this resulted in a serious cut in pay, he was
forced to find another job. I'm happy that he was able to do so without
a long period of unemployment.
The absence of anyone in the office has not affected sales, since there
have been none to speak of anyway. When there are no new computer
customers, there's no reason for anyone to buy any existing software.
The existing Atari users already own what they need and it doesn't make
good business sense for us to develop any new software for the small core
of users that are left.
Sorry about the topic drift. This discussion really belongs in the
CodeHead area, although I've been avoiding it because of the emotions
that it may release.
(J.EIDSVOOG1, CAT30, TOP18, MSG:8/M475)
Windows-Schmindows I think a lot of the derogatory statements about
"""""""""""""""""" Windows are made by folx following the party line,
who have never actually used Windows. It IS big. It IS rather slow to
load. However, it is extremely versatile. While it does not do some
things the way we are used to them being done, and it requires two steps
to do some things we are used to doing in one step, it does it. Part of
the problem, I believe, is that it IS so versatile, it takes longer to
learn how to use it, and some folx are too impatient to spend the time
learning.
(B.STOREY, CAT1, TOP2, MSG:43/M475)
>>>>> I think a lot of the derogatory statements about Windows are made
""""" by folks whose place of business or other compultion requires
they use Windows. They have to use Windows every day. They know what a good
interface looks like because they are used to Atari Computers and the
inhancements made by various products like GENEVA and NeoDesk. Windows is not
easy to learn; and once you learn something the rules change. For example
WordPerfect for Windows version 5.1 vs. version 6.0 is a huge learning curve.
Or, try to run applications with sound with with your sound driver .... some
work some don't. The psuedo standards are a joke. Most configurable systems
arn't, most upgradable systems can't be, most 'state-of-the-art' technology
isn't. The Windows platform is confusing even to the computer salesmen. I
was recently in MICRON Computers showroom; the salesman didn't really know if
the 4MEG SIMMS I had would be able to be put in the SIMM slots in his machine.
So, not only is the software confusing the hardware is as well. The Windows
supports usually have put a great deal of effort and time to learn and
re-learn the stuff and they don't want all that time to be totally wasted on a
different computer (that might even be easier to use).
"Quick HIDE.... here comes the topic police!"
(EXPLORER.4, CAT1, TOP2, MSG:44/M475)
Orphans, Us? People who complain about the Atari-world being software-
"""""""""""" orphaned, should try buying something for the non-Windows
DOS world. We have a two year old 386SX-25 at our church, run with MS- DOS
5.1 (I think), and yesterday I went into a rather large software house in
Vancouver asking for a fax program for my MS-DOS machine. "Sorry, unless
you have Windows, we can't help you. Besides, we don't stock any
non-Windows software anymore."
Two years old, and functionally orphaned. A 386SX-25. I can still buy
good software for my old 8 MHz ST, which I bought in 1986. The good
stuff all will run on my Falcon030. Which environment, then, is
suffering..... just a thought.
(S.LYSTER, CAT1, TOP22, MSG:/M475)
TOS License Just to be clear... Medusa has not secured a License for
""""""""""" TOS at this time. We have sent them a License Agreement a
few months ago in response to their request, and they told us about a
week ago that they were sending the agreement back, but we haven't seen
it yet. As far as we're concerned, they should not be shipping systems
at this time and we will of course have to take legal action against them
or their involved distributors should we find out that they are
infringing on any of our copyrights.
(B.REHBOCK, CAT18, TOP5, MSG:12/M475)
>>>>> Atari sue over Medusa having TOS in it! Why?? Atari isn't doing
""""" anything with their computers. They have abandon them! They are
not supporting them with software... AW isn't being fixed or upgraded, no
TOS 5, no Multi-TOS upgrades in the wind.
And now you want to punish someone for doing something positive for the
TOS/Atari computer user! IT FIGURES!!
If you followed the traffic in the Lexicore forum you would find that
Medusa is going to have Mag'X and NVDI for it's operating system. That's
the best thing I have heard in a long time. It means a company that will
listen to its customers... detached keyboard, expandable motherboard,
video cards, real power supply, etc. and an operating system that is
supported and will be upgraded.
Send in the clones... Falcon clones!
I don't see why you want to keep TOS a secret? It is not making you any
money keeping it wrapped up where nobody can use it. I guess you feel
like you have something up on everybody else if you have it and nobody
else does.
If I were you I would team up with old GEMulator-what's-his-name and put
TOS 2.06 or > out on floppy disk, bundle it with his GEMulator software
interpretor and sell it for $50.00. This way some people on the other
side of the computing spectrum could see what the TT/Falcon are about.
Worried about someone pirateing TOS... hell it would be the best thing
that ever happen!
Atari would finally get some advertizing and the poor developers would
have somebody to sell software to.
(BBRADLEY, CAT18, TOP5, MSG:19/M475)
>>>>> I really don't want to get into this, but there are some facts
""""" that should be understood. You don't have to believe me, of
course, and I'm not going to go into details (nor will I respond to any
defense you post, if you choose to do so, which, with all due respect,
would be quite irresponsible given your lack of familiarity with the
issues involved). But I am intimately aware of the details of TOS
licensing and the Medusa situation, so I'll put this on the table for the
benefit of those who might actually want a T40.
>to the best of our knowledge, there has been no Medusa shipped to the
>U.S. that has an unlicensed TOS in it. (There is no law against them
>shipping a system into the US without a TOS and the local distributor
>buying a _legal_ set and putting it into the machine.)
What do you mean by "our"? Lexicor (oops, I mean, 'the local
distributor') has been saying for months that they've been selling
machines. That may have been a lie, but we did see messages from
somebody saying he personally had bought and was using a Medusa T40. Now,
Medusa won't do anything without TOS chips, and it will NOT use any version
of existing TOS - it must be modified for the 040, among other things. It
may be true that Medusa (the company) intends to put MagiC (or whatever
it's called these days) in ROM, but that hasn't yet happened.
>according to the U.S. distributor, the Medusa can run under other
>operating systems (if I understood him correctly)
That doesn't matter; any existing OS must be modified for the T40, and so
far they've been using (patched) TOS. Ask the guy who bought one.
>and Medusa Systemes Switzerland has permission from MB Electronics to
>use TOS 3.06 in their system (supposedly MBE has some licensed rights
>to TOS 3.06 in Europe). So it is entirely possible all systems being
>shipped to Europe have a legal version of TOS 3.06 in them.
MB cannot legally provide Medusa with TOS. Sorry, I can't go into more
detail. Perhaps someone at Atari can - why don't you call them and ask?
After all, TOS is their product. (Have you talked to them?)
>According to the local distributor, Medusa Systemes says they have
>signed the licensing agreement sent to them by Atari and returned it.
>So it might be a case of the licensing agreement being in the mail,
>but Atari not receiving it yet (thus Bill Rehbock not knowing about
>it).
A contract isn't valid until all parties have signed it; you must know
that. And it's common knowledge in Europe that T40s have been shipping
for months. Just how long do you think it would take for delivery of the
'signed agreement' to reach Sunnyvale, assuming it was okay for one party
to sign it and start using it? (which it isn't). Don't you wonder, if
Atari hasn't gotten the licensing agreement back, how did Medusa get the
TOS code to patch? They wouldn't hack compiled code, would they?
(COMPO, CAT18, TOP5, MSG:38/M475)
FDT - Finally Dead There was a note this week on one of the AtariNET
"""""""""""""""""" echoes, a note from Atari United! which apparently
owns the rights to FreeZeDried Terminal - that it has been abandoned.
Officially.
They say that they had contracted with Aaron Hopkins to put out the
version which you mention, but that he has "gone on to other things". I
cannot remember the name of the fellow who posted the announcement -
but
it sounded like FZDT was kaput.
Can anyone confirm this?
(S.LYSTER, CAT8, TOP6, MSG:69/M475)
Ah, The Woes of Online Communications Oh jeez, here we go...
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> >> ...there is a problem highlighting text in Atari Works when you
> >> have Warp 9 installed. This is not a SpeedoGDOS problem and
> >> there's nothing we can do about it.
My statement is based on the facts available to me. Nothing we did to
SpeedoGDOS changed its compatibility with Warp 9; the problems that
exist were there with SpeedoGDOS 4.2. My understanding is that you made
changes to Warp 9 to make it compatible with SpeedoGDOS 4.1 - all subsequent
versions of SpeedoGDOS have had problems with Warp 9. I suspect that this is
partially due to Atari's cleaning up SpeedoGDOS for version 4.2, which no
longer used line-A and other not-so-legal/clean code (a good thing, I
think, since it improved system compatibility). It appears to me that Warp 9
is compatible with SpeedoGDOS 4.1, specifically.
> Since you're blaming the problem on Warp 9 (that is what you're
> doing, right?)
No, I'm not. I was hoping to discuss this with you, and left a message on
Codehead's answering machine explaining the problem (it wasn't returned).
Aside from finding and fixing the current problems, I'd like to have
SpeedoGDOS 5 support Warp 9 the way it currently supports NVDI.
Wouldn't that be nice? Why don't you give me a call - I'm on 415-355-0862,
and lately I've been around most all of the day and night, so you can call
anytime.
About placing blame, please believe me that that wasn't my intention. A
question was asked and I wanted those affected to understand the
situation. I should have qualified my statement, to the extent that it is
based on what I know at this time.
>Since you personally had nothing to do with programming SpeedoGDOS
>5, how can you state this with such assurance?
Your statement about my involvement is simply incorrect. As for my
assurance, I'm not so assured when it comes to answering questions about
other folks' software - but you either weren't around, or willing, to
respond. Don't take it negatively, let's just get going on working it
out.
>Second, since Warp 9 does work with the last Atari-released version
>of SpeedoGDOS (the one that ships with AtariWorks), how can you be
>so sure that the incompatibility is Warp 9's fault?
Again, the latest Atari-released version of SpeedoGDOS was 4.2, and that
was the release where SpeedoGDOS/Warp 9 problems showed up. I'm not sure
that the incompatibility is Warp 9's fault, but it appears that Warp 9 is
compatible with SpeedoGDOS 4.1, specifically.
>Since we were never contacted by anyone at Compo during the
>development of SpeedoGDOS 5, I have to ask -- was your product ever
>tested with Warp 9? (I'm sure you're aware that there are
>thousands of Warp 9 owners in the US.)
Again, you were contacted.
SpeedoGDOS 5 was tested with Warp 9, and we found they worked together
just as SpeedoGDOS 4.2 and Warp 9 did. Generally, they work well
together, but it's sometimes a little glitchly. It apparently depends on
the programs used.
>If SpeedoGDOS 5 was never tested with Warp 9, I don't think you
>have the right to blame Warp 9 for the incompatibility -- unless
>you believe Compo's programmers are infallible.
Again, SpeedoGDOS 5 was tested with Warp 9.
I don't have the right to blame Warp 9 for the incompatibility, that
wasn't my intention. Just my understanding of the situation what with no
communication from your end.
And I don't believe our programmers are infallible - don't be ridiculous.
However, I don't think the code developed by our programmers is part of
the equation - it's between Atari's programmers and you, since the
problems that exist showed up before we even saw the code. But we're
willing to fix it, if we can.
>If SpeedoGDOS 5 was tested with Warp 9, and you knew of an
>incompatibility, why would you release a product that you knew
>would cause problems (right out of the box) for many of your US
>customers -- without even making an effort to resolve it first?
Again, I did make an effort to resolve it first. No word from Codehead.
What are we supposed to do, rewrite the program with work arounds for
compatibility with a program whose developers apparently aren't
interested in further development? If you aren't interested in developing
Warp 9 further (or working together to at least identify the source of
the problem), I have no realistic option but to recommend to our
customers that they pick up a new screen accelerator. If you are
interested in nailing this down - and I sincerely hope you are - please
contact me.
> Just curious.
I hope you're more than curious - I hope for the sake of SpeedoGDOS/Warp
9 users that you're willing to identify and solve the problem. We are;
you have my promise.
PS - Rather than waiting to hear from you, I'll try again to contact you.
For the benefit of all of the SpeedoGDOS users, I'll post an update here
when progress has been made.
(COMPO, CAT14, TOP35, MSG:71/M475)
>>>>> >> Oh jeez, here we go...
"""""
My sentiments exactly, Robert.
John informed me that you did leave a message on our answering
machine, a little over a week ago. Unless I'm mistaken, you had released
SpeedoGDOS 5 already when this message was left, so my statement stands - -
you did _not_ contact us at any time during development of the program,
before releasing it.
As for the last released version of SpeedoGDOS -- Atari is still
shipping version 4.1 with AtariWorks. Atari has never released version
4.2 themselves - - which is wise, in my opinion, because version 4.2
causes more problems than it solves. (And not just with Warp 9, either.)
On the subject of placing blame, you said:
>> This is not a SpeedoGDOS problem and there's nothing we can do
>> about it.
And now you claim that this statement doesn't place any blame. Give me
a break. While it's kind of amusing to see you trying to backpedal now,
I think the intent of your statement is perfectly clear to everyone.
>> >> Since you personally had nothing to do with programming
>> >> SpeedoGDOS 5, how can you state this with such assurance?
>>
>> Your statement about my involvement is simply incorrect.
Interesting. So you're saying that you _were_ involved with the
programming of SpeedoGDOS 5, then? Mind if I ask when you took up
programming? Which parts of SpeedoGDOS 5 did you write?
>> It appears to me that Warp 9 is compatible with SpeedoGDOS 4.1,
>> specifically.
Does this assumption spring from your newfound programming knowledge?
Well, you're wrong. The latest version of Warp 9 was not made compatible
specifically with SpeedoGDOS 4.1; it was made compatible with all existing
versions of SpeedoGDOS at the time it was released, using techniques that
were not specific to any one version or versions.
>> I suspect that this is partially due to Atari's cleaning up
>> SpeedoGDOS for version 4.2, which no longer used line-A and other
>> not-so-legal/clean code (a good thing, I think, since it improved
>> system compatibility).
The Line A issue pops up again, I see. Well, let's just say that we
disagree vehemently with your assessment of Line A as "not-so-legal."
Years ago, Atari documented their Line A interface and even encouraged
programmers to use it. Saying now, long after the fact, that the use of
Line A is somehow illegal is simply wrong. And developers who've taken
this statement to mean that they can flaunt and ignore the Line A
documentation have been responsible for more incompatible programs than
at any time in the history of Atari computers. Atari's "cleaning up" of
SpeedoGDOS 4.2 is more accurately described as "screwing up."
This situation is made even more ridiculous by the fact that Line A
_is_ still supported in the Falcon ROMs, in all Falcon resolutions.
Atari's ostensible reason for telling developers to avoid Line A was
because it might not be supported in "future computers" -- is anyone out
there still holding their breath waiting for a new TOS-based Atari
computer? It's pretty clear that the Falcon is the last of the line.
We are very interested in compatibility with other products; we always
have been. We've gone out of our way and jumped through hoops on many
occasions to ensure compatibility. The reason why you didn't hear back
immediately about your phone call is that I have been out of town quite a
bit in the past couple of months. I'm still not finished with the Al
Jarreau tour, but when time permits I will be investigating this problem
(in spite of your typically insulting public comments), if you'll be kind
enough to send us a copy of your product.
(CODEHEAD, CAT14, TOP35, MSG:72/M475)
>>>>> A little hot here, guys.
"""""
Charles, I could hardly respect you and your programming talents more,
but your tone is not what I'd call civil when you get riled up. Cool down
a little, please.
(A.FASOLDT, CAT14, TOP35, MSG:75/M475)
<<<<< Sorry, but I don't think it's "civil" to offhandedly blame a
""""" CodeHead product for an incompatibility before anyone knows what
the cause is, either. (And this isn't the first time with Robert.)
There are many ways to handle software conflicts, but I don't consider a
public statement like "it's the other guy's fault and we can't do
anything to fix it" to be one of them.
(CODEHEAD, CAT14, TOP35, MSG:76/M475)
Piracy Update Daniel, protection is a fine idea but frankly doesn't pan
""""""""""""" out. I recall when Dorothy released her report on Piracy
in the Atari world that the thing that shocked me most was the piracy of
Calamus. (It gets Nathan's stomach going when we talk about this so I'll
keep it brief.) It was not the fact that someone cracked the dongle
protection for the program that shocked me; it's a premier product and a
cheapskate pirate would obviously be motivated to make that effort. What
shocked me was that someone had sat down and typed the ENTIRE manual
into an ASCII file! Not SCANned it, TYPED it out. How many pages is that
manual? How many weeks of work would it take you to type it out? It's an
enormous effort.
For the same effort that person could have written their own DTP program, if
they had a brain. If they were competent to the task. If they were good for
anything at all. But they're not competent, and they don't have a brain and
they're not good for anything but sucking the lifeblood out of their
betters. They're simply leeches, and I have no problem treating them as
such.
(ARCHIVIST, CAT18, TOP7, MSG:/M475)
Dis-satisified Customer I have ordered (starting around March or April)
""""""""""""""""""""""" and reordered Papyrus directly from HiSoft,
with their full understanding that I was going to review same for
GEnie Lamp ST.
Even after receiving a phone call from HiSoft (after several months) to
reconfirm my order (they had "lost" my fax in the shuffle), they said
they were just now shipping Papyrus, and that they would send my copy
immediately.
So, I reconfirmed via fax, told them of my GEnie Lamp deadlines, and,
with full payment, including whatever Fed Ex wanted for post-haste
shipping, I remain without said program after more than two weeks after
they said they could ship.
HiSoft seems to be a company that is anywhere but on the ball. The apathy
with which they have handled my order is rather astonishing.
Perhaps they have nixed my order in deference to their local importer,
despite the fact they might possibly benefit from a review in the Lamp -
which at this point is tainted. Service wise, HiSoft needs a few lessons
from Compo... which still tops the heap of Atari word processors with
service, support, and That's Write on the WP scene. Papyrus, after all,
is sight unseen. I plan to give them a call in the wee hours of Monday
morning (our time, not theirs) to find out what their deal happens to be.
(R.BROWN30, CAT13, TOP8, MSG:3/M475)
>>>>> Pop over to the Org Research Topic 21, they are imoprting it.
"""""
With Speedo 5 it looks to be very sweet.
You must check out the almost instant Table creation function! No more
wasted time manually creating a menu in Pgs.
I really think it will be worth the wait!
Bman
P.s. I believe they have 600 dpi drivers for the HP 4M ;')
(B.AEIN, CAT13, TOP8, MSG:5/M475)
>>>>> I saw a note in one of the other Topics that it has a problem
""""" with Speedo 5.
(J.BATTEY1, CAT13, TOP8, MSG:6/M475)
>>> WHAT'S NEW <<<
""""""""""""""""""
~ New and Improved ~
Overlay Presentation Software I have just read in a magazine about the
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Overlay presentation software. Very
little is actually said so I doubt it is even released yet. Basically
the article hints at the following.
OVERSCAN's laters product; Overlay
A video titler in essence but much more! "As a presentation tool for
information systems, Overlay is verypowerful. The Hypermenu modulecan
interact with the user by defining areas of the screen for clicking on. A
click then moves on to another scene, or can start an external program
like an address database. Overlay really is a full multimedia presentaion
tool"
It goes on to say that Overlay is not Falcon specific.
"Due to it's modular construction, it can be run on any Atari computer
from a 520ST upwards and supports all video modes from the three
standard ST resolutions through to Falcon true color and graphics cards.
I find this very interesting and might be what I have been wishing for!
Is anyone going to be bringing this to North America?
(J.BRENNER1, CAT7, TOP28, MSG:2/M475)
>>>>> First, COMPO Software distributes Overscan products exclusively
""""" in the US.
Secondly, Overlay is very ambitious; it did start as a video titler, then
grew... and grew...
Third, it isn't released yet, but we're hoping (and expecting) a release
before the end of the year. The main portion of the software is done,
but many modules are being added. Shouldn't be long...
(COMPO, CAT7, TOP28, MSG:3/M475)
New Game Design Engine Next generation of games designed by Dave
"""""""""""""""""""""" Munsie. I have been writing a more powerful
game design engine for use on the Atari platforms for quite some time
now. This new engine allows the use oof multi channel sound effects,
color effects, DMA sound, overall a MUCH improved game enviroment. The
first game using this new engine will be released shortly. Early beta-
testing comments regard this game as very action packed and
professionally designed. Since I am still coding with the million or so
ST users in mind, most of my games using this new engine will work on
the older systems as well. They might not run as fast, but at least they
will run. I am also using techniques to allow twice as many colors on
screen.
Future games will feature a more colorful playing field. Falcon users can
expect a few games that will run ONLY on their machines. I don't want to say
to much now, but trust me, dozens of sprites running at 60 frames per
second, plus multi channel sound effects and DSP mods running at the same
time, WILL provide a sastifactory gaming experience. :)
I've got a bunch of things planned for 1994-95. It should be a BLAST!!!
(D.MUNSIE, CAT9, TOP8, MSG:2/M475)
SpeedoGDOS 5 update Well, we'll start shipping SpeedoGDOS 5 on Monday.
""""""""""""""""""" I thought you all might be interested in some new
things in SpeedoGDOS 5 ...
1. A minimum of font header info is always cached to disk, resulting in
speed increases up to 200% in program loading, font loading, and font
scaling. This cache is automatically maintained by SpeedoGDOS 5.
2. SpeedoGDOS 5 supports both pair kerning and track kerning. Pair
kerning data for Type 1 fonts can be converted from ASCII (in an AFM
file) to an internal binary format, and cached to disk, greatly
accelerating Type 1 loading and scaling.
3. New 100% assembly language graphics routines (for things like beziers)
deliver a tremendous improvement in graphics handling - loading and
displaying metafiles is around 500-600% faster. Scrolling through an
Atari Works document with lots of text and graphics is up to 700% faster.
4. SpeedoGDOS 5 will detect - and use - NVDI, passing some graphics
routines to NVDI. Using SpeedoGDOS 5 and NVDI together results in a very
fast system, faster and more capable than one or the other alone.
5. Multiple font paths!
6. New user-controlled switches in the EXTEND.SYS for enabling
speed/quality optimization, auto-initialization (rather than waiting for
vst_loadfonts from an app), memory usage, and error output, and others.
7. Character mapping - Type 1 fonts use standard PostScript mapping
rather than the Atari Character Set mapping. This means you can use true
quotation marks, en- and em- dashes and spaces, and other cool characters
previously unaccessible. For compatibility reasons, Speedo and TrueType
fonts are mapped to the Atari Character Set. We will make available a map
file so you can map Speedo and TrueType characters like Type 1 fonts, and
use the extended characters. (A utility to make your own character maps
is in the works).
8. The new manual for SpeedoGDOS 5 is twice as long as the old
SpeedoGDOS manual, with chapters on cache management, EXTEND.SYS and
ASSIGN.SYS management.
Thanks to everyone who preordered SpeedoGDOS 5. We appreciate your
patience, and hope you like SpeedoGDOS 5.
(COMPO, CAT14, TOP35, MSG:174/M475)
New Thingy-That-Gives-You-Other-Words Want to announce the availability
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" of the WinterTree Thesaurus. We
are completing documentation and packaging now. Will debut the product at
the Connecticut AtariFest later this month. Can be ordered directly from A&D
Software, Retail $34.95. Call 800-800-2563 and we will gladly take your
order.
(ST-INFORMER, CAT13, TOP17, MSG:30/M475)
FastMenu TraceTech is getting close to release of FastMenu, which does
"""""""" the sort of thing you were asking about. Under Geneva, it
allows you to set up a menu which you can pop up any time and launch
programs from, with commandlines, chaining & all. And with any version
of TOS it lets you pop up the program's menus anywhere on the screen
(with or without Geneva). Release date hasn't been set yet, but I
thought folks might like to know it's on the way, in the next couple
months. (G.FUHRMAN, CAT17, TOP19, MSG:160/M475)
Art For Kids Art For Kids is available through all Atari dealers at
"""""""""""" long last.
Philip, Art For Kids does save in IFF format. Imagecopy will do a nice
job with printing color IFF files. Gem View can also view and convert
these files to other formats.
It is the first application for kids that makes use of the extended
hardware capabilities of the STe, TT, and Falcon. On the TT and Falcon it
runs in 640 by 480 16 color mode and uses DMA sound on all three
machines. (GREG, CAT29, TOP3, MSG:29/M475)
New ImageCopy In case anyone is interested, I just tried a demo version
""""""""""""" of Imagecopy 3 with the Nova video card and it works just
fine. Both the screen print and grahics display now work with the Nova
card. (B.BEAUCHEA, CAT32, TOP36, MSG:99/M475)
Sound Lab 2 Sound Lab 1.11 fixed the .WAV file export problem; I've
""""""""""" used it in my PC work to edit .WAV files for PC programs.
Sound Lab 2 will use a "pure" GEM interface. That way it will integrate
better in a multitasking environment. You'll get multiple samples in
multiple windows, and a lot more goodies. Incidentally, the Windoze
version and the Atari version will look pretty similar (and it's the
Windoze stuff that's more bent to resemble Atari stuff ;-).
(DMJ, CAT2, TOP6, MSG:131/M475)
New File Selector Tool Well folks, the Fast Path 1.0 demo (file #33571)
"""""""""""""""""""""" and ASCII press release (file #33570) have been
released in the file library.
If you use the file selector, you need this tool.
GUI interface, gives you 34 user-defineable preset paths to choose
from, remembers the last 4 paths you've used, select/add/edit/copy/move/delete
paths, select a path to use with the mouse or keyboard, hotkeys for the
various buttons, 38 user-defineable extenders to choose from of which one can
be passed along to the file selector with your path to narrow one's field of
view, bring FP up when you need it or have it automatically pop up before the
file selector, works great with replacement file selectors and gives a much
needed boost to the system file selector, can call up Maxifile III if it's
resident for file viewing/maintenance, works in resolutions from 640x200 and
up, uses as little as 22k of ram, has online help and can save your
configuration to disk. Even shows how many times FP and the file selector has
been called since you've booted.
No file selector I've ever seen has had enough preset paths. With FP
that's a thing of the past. I just configured it for the path hotkeys I
was already used to and added many more. It sure is nice to be able to
instantly jump to so many different spots on one's hard disk. And the
ability to remember the last 4 paths you used covers most of those seldom
used paths. With multitasking coming of age, I now have more free ram
since I chucked my replacement file selector and just use Geneva's built-
in one. If I need to do any file maintenance/viewing, I can call up
Maxifile III from within FP. A lean and mean system. Neat!
(M.MOTOGAWA, CAT2, TOP12, MSG:32/M475)
FRANTICK - A blast-em-up for Atari computers! First off, I would like
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" to thank the many Atari
users who have voiced their opinion about our new game, FRANTICK! While
90% of the comments are great, it's that 10 percent of you that I'm
confused about.
Q) What's this? Only 1 life per game??
A) Yes, in preview mode only though. Play the EASY setting, you'll be
able to blast through about 20 levels in no time!! That should give
you a good idea about the game.
Q) Do I have to download another HUGE file when I register?
A) Nope....everything is in the archive you downloaded!! We will send
you a KEY that turns your copy into the registered version.
Q) It takes for ever to cycle through the title screens in order to be
able to play another game! What gives?
A) You can press FIRE at any of the title screen sections, high score,
title screen, info screen, etc. You do not have to wait until it says
PRESS FIRE TO START!! (But you may have to press the button twice..)
Q) It takes for EVER to load from floppy and disk access is lloonngg!!
A) Very true, I could of made the game for 2 meg users and up, but I
wanted the 1 megabyte floppy users to have access to the game also.
The game SERIOUSLY needs a hard drive!!! You can turn the GAME OVER
sequence and the samples OFF from the OPTIONS menu. This will help
some.
Q) The MUNSIE logo is nice, but do we have to see it everytime we play?
A) I had to put something there while de-compressing data!!!
Q) What's this talk about codes and easter eggs?
A) There are SEVERAL joystick codes that registered users may be able
to locate from the title screen. Start moving that joystick around.
There are codes for unlimited lives, unlimited bombs, start from
level 99!! etc,etc...plus there is even a VERY TINY bonus game inside
FRANTICK somewhere!!! And you don't have to be a registered user to
find it!!
Again, thank you for those who have emailed me comments. It's funny,
those that like this game LOVE IT!! Those that don't like it, well...
Thanks for the comments everyone!! Keep em coming!!!
Munsie Entertainment Software
5601 Ammons
Haltom City, TX 76117
(817) 485-9293
ps Try to see FRANTICK on a Falcon on a 60hz screen with the DMA sound
file active. Then get back to me.....
pss Did anyone guess by now that FRANTICK can load custom audio
tracks? How about playing FRANTICK while METALLICA jams in the
background!? It's coming......FRANTRAK.DAT (II) !!!
psss Users who have registered..(already!!) THANK YOU very much. You're
helping me make the decision to continue programming on the Atari
computers!!
(D.MUNSIE, CAT9, TOP8, MSG:10/M475)
New Photo Show The new version of Photo Show Pro in development will
"""""""""""""" support ST/STe/TT030/Falcon030 computers with a single
program. It will support a wide range of output resolutions, most in
color or grey modes:
ST Low (320x200, 16 colors)*
ST High (640x400, monochrome)
TT Low (320x480, 256 colors)
TT Medium (640x480, 16 colors)
TT High (1280x960, monochrome)
...and for Falcon modes, on an SC1224 or TV:
320x200, 256 colors or true color*
384x240, 256 colors or true color (overscanned)*
640x400, 256 colors or true color*
768x480, 256 colors or true color (overscanned)*
On a Falcon with a VGA monitor:
320x240, 256 colors or true color
640x480, 256 colors
320x480, true color
Any modes marked by an asterisk (*) can be recorded directly to video.
Monochrome modes obviously can't do color, and true color modes don't do
greyscale (use a 256-color mode for that, it looks better).
All output modes can be aspect-ratio corrected for TVs. This is also
useful for VGA monitors that won't adjust too well and always give a tall
image.
ScreenBlaster can, of course, be used for display purposes, but you won't
be able to record directly to tape with it.
I can honestly say that 768x480 true color mode looks *very* nice on the
Falcon! The grey modes also look crisp, even in ST Low resolution. Oh,
and you get full effects in all display modes, too.
(DMJ, CAT30, TOP9, MSG:120/M475)
GEnie Navigator Program Based on the amount of discussion here
""""""""""""""""""""""" regarding front-ends for GEnie, I've decided
to upload the latest version of Oracle that I've had kicking around here
for a while.
Oracle is a front-end for GEnie. It is also a BackTALK script, so
STalker is required to use it.
Oracle has the following features:
- Downloads files automatically at a specified time
- Gets email and BB messages automatically at a specified time
- Sends email and BB message replies automatically at a specified time
- Works in the background, so that you can continue using your ST
- Has a built-in message viewer for email, BB messages and ASCII text
- Uses STeno to compose replies to email and BB messages
- Gets the list of new files in a RoundTable library
- Works with any RoundTable here on GEnie
Oracle v.1.42 has just been uploaded to the ST library, file #33626.
Please check it out!
(P.LEFEBVRE, CAT1, TOP16, MSG:180/M475)
>>> THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ Rumors, Maybes and Mayhem ~
LDW Power to Return! I read in the September issue of ST Review that a
"""""""""""""""""""" new version of LDW power is expected by the end of
this month. Can this be confirmed by anyone in the know?
(S.AGARWAL, CAT6, TOP2, MSG:116/M475)
>>>>> COMPO has developed (and will publish) this new version of LDW
""""" Power. It won't be released this month, though - it'll be autumn.
Details will be posted when we approach release date.
(COMPO, CAT6, TOP2, MSG:119/M475)
>>>>> Here's more kudos for Compo and the LDW update! Regarding Excel
""""" compatibility, I would say "good idea" but don't miss the boat.
Excel (which I confess to having the latest version on a PowerBook) has
grown far beyond the needs of spreadsheets to the point of being utterly
ridiculous. The ONLY things in Excel that a new LDW could use would be
the things that make for the widest impact in the REAL world:
1. Decent, in-depth and simple charting, emphasizing print quality.
Speedo 5.0 support goes a long way in the quality department.
2. Graphical support, i.e. the ability to add lines to various parts
of cells (all around, top, bottom, left, right) that would provide
(as Excel) the important ability to (instantly) create nice looking
forms for business purposes (invoices, for example). Variable
THICKNESS of these lines would be a godsend. More than this, simple
graphic tools to add boxes, fills, lines to a page would be very
nice.
3. Proper on-screen page break displays for right side and page-end.
Print either pages across then down, or down, then across. Also
ability to cheat margins on a per page basis would be terrific.
4. Formatting sophistication: multiple fonts per spreadsheet in
multiple sizes (a la DTP); center across multiple columns;
variable row height (automatic or manual leading); toolbars
for point and click selection of various formatting options;
automatic wrapping within a cell (expanding cell height as needed).
5. MULTIPLE LAYERS, as in functional 3-D, with ability to print, at
the appropriate time, a page from a different layer in the
proper sequence, numbering wise.
That's all for now... but what I'm getting at is that LDW needn't try to
be the pal of the theoretical geneticist, which Excel does. Excel, in
losing it's way, has become cumbersome, and often, annoying to use. Most
need only the tiniest fraction of its now obtuse power.
I think it's also important to perhaps add to, but NOT take away from the
various logical operators. @IF commands must be able to return text
strings, for example, just like the current LDW. Mutliple nesting must
also remain unaffected!!!
'nuff said for now.
(R.BROWN30, CAT6, TOP2, MSG:158/M475)
No New PageStream, Though... No, Speedo GDOS 5 support would just make
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" writing a new PageStream harder. We
already have our own font engines that we wrote. They work fine. That's
the type of program code that wouldn't need much change if the program
was ported. To dump these and support some other font engine system
would be lots of work.
>Is there anyone over there building a clone Amiga yet?
Building an Amiga clone would be much more difficult than building an
Atari ST clone. Commodore did license the OS ROMs to another company
which now sells upgrades to existing Amiga owners, an Amiga computer is
a lot more than off the shelf parts and OS ROMs. It has several custom chips
would be illegal to duplicate. The work it would take to reverse engineer
these and not infringe on copyrights would probably not be worth it in today's
market.
Sorry, we have no new news on a future Atari version. We hope to have
that figured out in about a month.
(SL-DEV, CAT5, TOP6, MSG:118/M475)
>>>>> I will be looking forward to your decision on Atari PageStream,
""""" especially if it is positive.
I think there is some real life coming to the Atari Platform (I hate to
say Atari Platform when Atari is not the company that is supporting it).
With several companies looking at producing Atari clones the horizon
looks fairly bright. It will be nice to finally see remote keyboards,
modular construction, and a company that will support their hardware,
something we have all been screaming for.
Some software companies like COMPO have become more agressive in the US
software market by bringing and or upgrading in powerfull European packages
is a positive note.
There is a hole left in the video market by the absence of the Amiga (yes
I know that there are machines still out there now but time will take its
toll down the line). Specialized hardware and software for this market
could seriously expand the Falcon and its clones into a large niche
market... home video. In my conversation with one MAC salesman he stated
that this is a market that Apple would really like to grab right now.
The next year will shake this market out... strike while the iron is hot!
The only thing that could impact this comeback negatively is Atari
themselves. If they continue to be to restrictive with their TOS
licensing (unreasonable demands) no one will play with them. They should
take a lesson from MicoSoft
and sell or license TOS like any other
software package... like MicroSoft does with DOS. But then MicroSoft is
successful and Atrai has to work hard at failing. It would be my dream
if someone could write a "white room" TOS and leave Atari completely out
of the loop.
Sorry got carried away. I'll take the rest of this to another topic.
(BBRADLEY, CAT5, TOP6, MSG:120/M475)
Atari Clones >several companies looking at producing Atari clones.....
""""""""""""
Really??!! This is the first I've heard of that. It was my understanding
that Atari was holding fast to their protection of TOS in all its forms.
I'd love to see it happen, but past experience leads me to believe that
if there's a way for Atari to screw it up, they'll work overtime to do
so. (ALGORHYTHM, CAT5, TOP6, MSG:122/M475)
>>>>> Ok... let me define several... 1 in one, 2 is a couple and 3 is
""""" several.
The Medusa is out there right now. Looks like they are skirting TOS and
using Magic for the OS. Good news leave Atari out of the circle!
CLAB is supposed to be working in conjuction with Atari to produce a TOS
audio work station... good luck working with Atari CLAB... they (Atari)
kill the messenger you know!
And Wiztronics has talked about Atari clones based on either the Power PC
or a modular design where you can pick the power you want... 68030...
68040... 68060!!! From the drift I catch they (Wiz) don't know which way
they will go precisely yet. Depends on sales of their 68040 for the
Falcon and how restrictive Atari is on TOS.
Whew... see three of 'em... that's several.
(BBRADLEY, CAT5, TOP6, MSG:123/M475)
>>> JAGUAR TALK <<<
"""""""""""""""""""
~ Atari Video Game News ~
New Jaguar Games Wanted! Okay, here's what we're planning for the
"""""""""""""""""""""""" forseeable future: Downhill (a polygonal
downhill skiing game with speed runs, moguls and slaloms, plus some
wild ride unmarked trails and maybe even a James-Bond style run with
those annoying gun-toting guys in black chasing you), Warriors (the best
men-at-arms of Europe compete for an item of immense power), a port of
Isle of the Dead (you're planewrecked on an island full of hungry zombies
- 1st person adventure in the spirit of 50's B movies!), and a port of
Tunnel Rat (when the Viet Cong fight from underground, someone's gotta go
after them). The first two should be out by Christmas and the others in 1st
quarter '95. After that, we've got at least three BIG games that'll take
awhile to crank out.
All of you who've written to get on the mailing list, we're starting to
compile everything and hopefully soon we'll be sending something out. It
may only say: "Testing, 1,2,3." :) Thanks for the interest!
So, any responses on that strategy game? I'm afraid I can't go into much
detail until we've signed a contract with the inventors, but it is a lot
of fun in the "board" version (there is no board, really), and it's got a
cool cyberpunk sorta mystique. If there's interest, we might push back
one of our ports and try for a 1stQ release.
(MOONSON, CAT26, TOP27, MSG:21/M475)
Bad News... MicroProse has announced that GUNSHIP 2000 for the Jaguar
""""""""""" is on indefinte hold.
(R.GRIDLEY, CAT26, TOP3, MSG:68/M475)
>>>>> Yeah, I heard that Microprose UK put all their Jaguar projects
""""" (GUNSHIP 2000 and something called TINHEAD) on hold. I haven't
been able to find out if that was a decision by the 'new' management
(since Microprose merged with Spectrum Holobyte) to cut costs or if it's
purely just because of lack of faith in the Jaguar.
(STEVE-J, CAT26, TOP3, MSG:69/M475)
Virtual Reality Helmet Sighted A friend of mine recieved a
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Hamacher/Schlemmer (sp?) catalog in the
mail on Tuesday that has a Virtual Reality headset for the Atari Jaguar
in it. The ad does not name any games that it works with, however. He
says the picture shows it to be quite small & light weight.
(J.BATTEY1, CAT26,TOP3, MSG:130/M475)
Here's an interesting story... A friend of mine was told by a local
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" video-game store that they expected
Brutal Sports Football this past Friday. So he was in the store Friday
when the UPS man arrived, and guess what... no BSF. The owner said he
didn't understand why they didn't get it, and called his distributor.
According to him, BSF for the Jag has been "recalled" due to a bug they
just caught. No new date was given.
Take that for what it's worth, but I do know that this particular store
and owner are pretty well respected, and my friend did overhear his side
of the phone conversation.
(D.VANTREASE, CAT26, TOP3, MSG:76/M475)
BSF Bugs? If you _must_ keep talking about "bugs" in BSF, then I will
""""""""" just assure you that there was no 'bug' in the code causing a
recall! I know this for a fact, having discussed it with seceral
developers who are in contact with Telegames. The 'recall' was a
miscommunication that someone (dealer?) has chosen to make something
'bad' out of.
It was nothing wrong with the program.
(D.ENGEL, CAT26, TOP3, MSG:84/M475)
Those Pesky Intro Screens I dont know if anyone else has noticed this
""""""""""""""""""""""""" but in wolf 3d you can cut through the atari
intro section as well as the id section by just pressing the fire button.
I didnt notice this on any of my other games and thought the jag was
loading and setting up the game during that time.
(J.ZENTZ1, CAT26, TOP21, MSG:36/M475)
>>>>> Well in Tempest you can skip through the ATARI intro as soon as
""""" the letters start to fall... same with Cybermorph and Raiden.
And you can skip the GAMES intro in those above games with the exception
of RAIDEN... Plug in your old ones and give it a try... :)
(A.NUSS1, CAT26, TOP21, MSG:37/M475)
>>>>> Raiden is the only one that forces you to watch an intro as far
""""" as I have tested them.
(ICDINC, CAT26, TOP21, MSG:38/M475)
Dates from Atari Here, direct from Atari, are expected AVAILABILITY
"""""""""""""""" dates for some upcoming Jaguar titles. These are the
dates that Atari expects to have the titles IN STORES.
First, Atari Corp. titles:
Alien vs Predator Early October
Checkered Flag Early October
Club Drive Early October
Doom Late October
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story Late October
Kasumi Ninja Late October
Space War Late October
Zool 2 Late October
Battlemorph (CD) November
Battlezone November
Bubsy November
Iron Soldier November
Blue Lightning (CD) December
Demolition Man (CD) December
Highlander (CD) December
Tiny Toon Adventures December
Now, third party titles:
Syndicate Early November
Theme Park Early November
Cannon Fadder Mid November
Flashback Mid November
Rayman Mid November
Soccer Kid Mid November
Double Dragon V Late November
Troy Aikman NFL Football Late November
Ultimate Brain Games Late November
Ultra Vortex Late November
Air Cars December
Disclaimer: Any typos are a result of improper OCR digestion and my own
inherent lack of spelling ability.
(AEO.MAG, CAT26, TOP2, MSG:69/M475)
>>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ Listen Up! ~
Category 14, Topic 24
Message 78 Thu Aug 18, 1994
BOB-BRODIE at 23:11 EDT
Hi Dave,
I share your feelings. I hate to see this platform in the state that
it's in, too. But I also understand the business case for the Jaguar
given the cash situation, and the continuing shrinking margins in the PC
industry.
You don't work for the Tramiels for as long as I did without building
good relationships with them. I consider them to be friends, and if they
ever need me for anything, or to do anything, I'll be there. They were
very good to me during my tenure there. Like I said in my final RTC, I
lived the dream of all Atarians; I had a chance to go inside and try to
make a difference, share my input with management at the highest level,
see the plans (considered, shelved, and brought to life) and get PAID for
enjoying my hobby! Anyway you slice it, that's a really wonderful
opportunity.
I truly wish them well, and try to remember that these things are
cyclical. When Jack bought Atari, he ditched all of the video games in a
hurry. Actually GAVE AWAY some of the rights. (He learned from that,
and doesn't do that anymore. :) ) He got rid of the games to
concentrate on computers. Now he's back on the game side of things...
and everything that has been said about the likelihood of another
successful Atari Computer in the future (swamp land offers, etc.) was
said about any video game system that Atari might develop in the future.
And the Jaguar is a really good system, proving all the naysayers wrong
again. There very well may come a day when they will begin to emphasize
their computers again.
Jack has already talked about the possibility of a Jaguar based
computer.
best regards,
Bob Brodie
------------
[*][*][*]
While on GEnie, do you spend most of your time downloading files?
If so, you may be missing out some excellent information in the Bulletin
Board area. The messages listed above only scratch the surface of
what's available and waiting for you in the bulletin board area.
If you are serious about your Atari, the GEnieLamp staff strongly
urge you to give the bulletin board area a try. There are literally
thousands of messages posted from people like you from all over the
world.
[EOA]
[DLR]//////////////////////////////
DEALER VIEWPOINT /
/////////////////////////////////
Trade-ups, Hard Drives & Help
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Sheldon Winick
[S.WINICK]
With summer vacations over and the kids are back in school once
again, everyone seems to be settling back into their normal patterns
of regular daily life, and beginning to think about the upcoming Fall
and Holiday seasons.
Stores are already clearing out their summer merchandise and
beginning to stock the new Fall lines. In the high tech computer
marketplace, like everywhere else, companies are already gearing up
their holiday '94 sales campaigns for their existing and new products
that will be rolling out to the marketplace during the last quarter of
the year. Although there is plenty of Atari computer hardware readily
available, Atari will apparantly be concentrating their marketing
efforts strictly on their new Jaguar multimedia entertainment system
this year. They have already announced a host of new games and
peripherals for the Jaguar that have been promised to be available in
time for the holiday shopping season.
While the Jaguar is garnering virtually all of Atari's attention,
there are still plenty of exciting things happening on the computer
level as well. New software applications continue to appear,
especially for the Falcon, that can stir lots of excitement. Several
companies are maintaining an active presence right here on GEnie and
providing their customers with excellent online support as well as
keeping everyone appraised of new developments and, in many cases,
reduced pricing on their older products.
Developers who managed to attend the various summer Atari shows
around the country offered personalized demonstrations and support to
Atarians who were able to attend. They also offered showgoers special
values on their products. And of course, the excitement of attending
an Atari show and getting to meet and socialize with so many of the
folks we've come to know as friends through GEnie and within our
close-knit Atari community is well worth the price of admission.
Hardware-wise, I continue to find it amazing how many Atarians are
still around using their original ST machine that was purchased 6 or 7
years ago. Those old 520 and 1040ST systems have definitely stood the
test of time and aged very well; there aren't many computers around
from other manufacturers that are as old that are evenly remotely
viable today.
For those of you who may be among this group of old-line Atarians,
now may be a good time to take a closer look at some of Atari's newer
equipment and consider upgrading to something a little more powerful.
The advantage of being a couple of generations behind the current
technology, of course, is that you also have the ability to upgrade to
a newer Atari system that has previously been used. There are
excellent values around, both direct from authorized dealers and from
end users directly, on most everything Atari. While you can probably
expect to pay a little more for used equipment from an authorized
dealer, you will have the benefit of knowing the machine you're
purchasing has been thoroughly serviced and refirbished as necessary,
and will come with at least some sort of store guarantee.
If you're considering something new with Atari's full new-system
warranty, you'll be able to choose from a full line of equipment, as
Atari has recently been shipping everything from the STacy laptop
right up through the TT030. While authorized Atari dealers may be few
and far between, even if you're not fortunate to have a local dealer,
there are several excellent ones right here on GEnie who will be glad
to give you personalized service and support both in the public
roundtables as well as in private GEnieMail.
There are also excellent Atari bargains for GEnie shoppers and
browsers inCategory 27 in the Atari Roundtable, and in the Atari
Library as well. With the current plentiful supply of merchandise at
exceptional prices, you might also want to consider doing some holiday
shopping a little early and putting gifts away in order to take
advantage of the situation. Nicest thing about online shopping is you
never have to even leave the house -- no traffic jambs or crowds to
have to deal with!
Another popular upgrade that many Atarians are taking advantage
of is adding, or increasing the size of, hard drive storage. Hard
drive prices in the past few years have plummeted, with capacities and
speed increasing as prices have steadily dropped. Adding a hard drive
to any Atari system is a relatively simple procedure. One thing to
keep in mind though, is that any machine running a TOS version earlier
than TOS 1.04 (Rainbow TOS) has a 16mb hard drive partition size
limitation. The original TOS 1.0 also has extremely slow drive
accesses, so if you'll be adding a hard drive to one of those original
ST's, it might be a good idea to have the ROMs upgraded at the same
time.
Atari's newer machines, the Falcon030 and TT030, are ready to
accept virtually any external SCSI of Fast SCSI-2 external hard drive.
You'll need a standard SCSI cable to connect it to the TT030, and a
SCSI-2 cable to connect it to a Falcon030. To connect the drive to an
earlier Atari system, you will need a host adapter and DMA cable
combination, such as the ICD Link-2 system. For those earlier
systems, you will also have to make certain that the hard drive
mechanism has the option of disabling parity, or it will not work. If
you order a system from a dealer, make certain he knows which system
you will be using it with so he can set the drive up properly for you.
It would also be a good idea to have the dealer totally configure the
drive, including setting all the jumpers properly, formatting,
partitioning and loading all necessary accessories. That way, the
drive will be ready to autoboot and work properly as soon as you plug
it in.
The MegaSTe and TT030 systems, which both share the same case
design, are also ready to accept an internal hard drive (the MegaSTe
will need an internal host adapter along with the drive mechanism).
Most standard 3.5" half-height or 1" high SCSI or SCSI-2 drive
mechanisms will work (remember the drive must be parity disabled for
the MegaSTe). Of course, you know I'm going to give you my typical
word of caution: If you don't know how to properly handle sensitive
electronic components, leave the installation to professionals;
sensitive IC's are extremely easy to damage if not properly handled.
At the very least, you must wear an ESD grounding wrist strap. If you
wish to assemble your own hard drive system and don't have an ESD
strap, order one from the dealer you order your hard drive components
from.
The Falcon030's internal hard drive is a little different since
it is a 2.5" IDE hard drive. You will need a Falcon hard drive
mounting kit as well if your Falcon doesn't already have a hard drive
installed. One word of caution here: the original hard drive
utilities that Atari packed with early Falcons had a major bug that
allowed partition directories to be overwritten if the previous
partition filled up, so if you're formatting an internal hard drive on
the Falcon, make certain you use the latest version of Atari's hard
drive utilities (HDX 5.03C & AHDI 6.05C) which is available for
downloading in the Atari Library here on GEnie. Another word of
caution: this latest version will NOT work with the MegaSTe and
certain drive combinations, so drop back to HDX version 5 or earlier
with the MegaSTe. Of course, if you let your dealer set up the drive
for you, you won't have to worry about any of these problems.
If you've decided to go with an external hard drive enclosure, you
will have a host of styles to choose from. The smallest case style,
such as our own Mini/StudioFile, is designed to accept a single 3.5"
half-height SCSI drive or Syquest mechanism. These mini-cases are
extremely small and compact, and easy to transport between computer
systems if desired, while they contain everything within the case
itself (hard drive, power supply, cooling fan, power switch, power and
activity lights and SCSI select switch). There are also compact SCSI
cases designed to accept 2 or more mechanisms, which is nice if you're
considering adding another drive, tape drive or CD-ROM in the future.
Going up from there, size-wise, is the old fashioned shoebox case,
which by today's standards can appear bulky and somewhat clumsy
looking. The old under-monitor case is also much larger than actually
needed just to house what will be inside, but it may save on desk
space since it can sit right under your monitor.
If you're connecting an external hard drive to your computer's DMA
port with ICD's Link-2, you will need to use ICD's software to set up
your hard drive. The first thing you'll notice about ICD's excellent
software is that it contains a huge assortment of files and options.
To the hard drive novice, the sheer number of options offered can be
somewhat scary, but ICD's owner's manual is excellent, as is their
support right here on GEnie. If you get confused, just ask them of
someone more knowledgeable here on GEnie for help.
Speaking of help, that's one area that really shines in our small
Atari community. There is never any shortage of fellow Atarians ready
and willing to assist another Atari owner who may have a problem or
question. I don't think you'll find a more helpful group of dedicated
end users anywhere. And best of all, you're never more than a modem
call away, no matter where you live.
Happy (Atari) Computing.
Sheldon Winick (GEnie Address: S.WINICK)
Computer STudio (Asheville, NC)
[*][*][*]
Sheldon owns and operates Computer STudio, a full-service Atari
dealership in Asheville, North Carolina. Sheldon is also a
registered architect, and has operated his own architectural
office since 1971 (he is currently licensed in Florida, Tennessee,
North Carolina, and Colorado, as well as holding a National
NCARB certificate). His architectural practice has been using
Atari computers exclusively since 1988, when his last Xerox
computer system was retired. His current architectural drawings
are, of course, prepared on his Atari TT030-based CADD systems,
using DynaCADD software.
[EOA]
[REF]//////////////////////////////
REFLECTIONS /
/////////////////////////////////
Book Review
"""""""""""
By Phil Shapiro
[P.SHAPIRO1]
Doing Business on the Internet: How the Electronic Highway is
Transforming American Companies
by Mary J. Cronin
Publisher: Van Nostrand Reinhold
115 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10003
308 pages, softcover.
Publication date: 1994
ISBN: 0-442-01770-7
Price: $29.95
Walk into any bookstore and you're bound to find a shelf with at least a
dozen books covering the subject of business management and efficiency.
Nearby you'll find a shelf overflowing with new books about the
Internet.
Until now these two shelves of books had little in common. "Doing
Business on the Internet" is the first book to link these two related
topics.
The author of the book, Mary J. Cronin, works as the university librarian
at Boston College, and teaches information management at Boston College
School of Management. She brings to the subject the well-informed mind
of a librarian, tempered with the pragmatism of someone closely familiar
with real-world business practices.
The result is a book that is highly readable, yet meticulously referenced
and footnoted. "Doing Business on the Internet" is must reading for
information managers in companies large and small. The book also has an
audience with persons who have a general interest in the socio-dynamics
of online communications.
The Nature and Scope of the Book Doing Business on the Internet was
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" written to persuade as well as
describe. The heart of this tome is a series of case studies describing
how companies are using the Internet. To assemble these case studies,
Cronin visited and communicated with information managers known for
evangelizing the benefits of Internet connection within their companies.
She then conducted follow-up interviews via electronic mail. The results
of her investigations are assembled together with an aim to persuade as
well as describe.
To persuade what? To persuade businesspersons that a whole slew of
unforeseeable benefits can arise by connecting their employees to the
Internet.
The central thesis of this book is aptly illustrated in the section where
Cronin explains how IBM was at first reluctant to offer Internet access
to its employees. You would think that a behemoth computer company
would be the first to comprehend the benefits of Internet access. Not
so. Until a few years ago the prevailing attitude at IBM was that
everything that IBM employees needed to know could be found on IBM's
internal company networks.
These days IBM managers have arrived at the more enlightened point of
view that there may be times where valuable information and ideas could
possibly exists outside IBM's internal company networks. In those rare
instances, it could be useful for IBM employees to conduct searches on
the Internet.
Information as the Fundamental
Building Block of Business Cronin starts with the basic principle
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" that, "information is the fundamental
building block of any type of product or service." She then goes on to
discuss how information can provide a crucial competitive advantage:
"Executives have long recognized the importance of information for
competitive advantage... In order to make better decisions, chief
executives and top level managers require fresh information about trends
in the economy and the marketplace, about the activities of competitors,
new developments in technology, and new product opportunities."
In the information age, to be informed is to be armed with knowledge.
And a primary way of becoming informed these days - - - is to be
connected to the Internet.
Improved Communications with Customers The Internet offers more than
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" information and ideas, though.
The net can help forge new ties between customers and companies. Since
the cost of sending electronic mail is far less expensive than the cost
of a phone call or letter, companies can use e-mail to communicate
regularly with prospective customers as well as with established
customers. Indeed, companies can set themselves apart from their
competitors by making it a practice to respond promptly and thoughtfully
to "external e-mail." In Cronin's words: "If a company decides to
distinguish itself through the quality of its customer service
organization, the network can be a decisive asset in achieving this
goal."
Of course, communicating with customers is a two way street. Customers
benefit by getting answers to their questions. But companies also benefit
by getting speedy feedback about their products or services. The
Internet provides a new type of "intimacy" between company and consumer. In
a very real sense, the Internet can help establish bonds of cross-loyalty of a
whole new order. While some companies may cringe at the invariable "closeness
of contact" that results, Cronin astutely observes: "Getting closer to the
customer is probably one of the most important benefits of using the network."
Computer-Assisted Journalism Manufacturing sector companies are not the
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" only ones to benefit from closer customer
contact. News providers are also reaching out for closer contact with
customers. Cronin tells how The Boston Globe newspaper has started a
regular column on electronic communications, and regularly includes
the newspapers' Internet address to solicit reader feedback. Journalists
can then get direct and immediate feedback to their stories. And the
journalists themselves can use such feedback to become better informed
about happenings in their local community.
Along similar lines, the Washington Post newspaper has initiated a
regular column covering oddities on the Internet. This same newspaper has
taken to including the Internet address of reporters at the end of
articles. USA Today currently accepts letters to the editor via Internet
electronic mail. (Internet address: usatoday@clark.net)
Cronin goes on to tell about a radio station in San Francisco, KKSF, that
has set up a gopher on the Internet. Listeners of this station can access
a playlist of songs on the gopher. Should these listeners get the urge to
purchase any of the music being played, they can quickly and easily
obtain information about the location of record stores that carry KKSF
music.
Using the Internet to Promote Science and Research In a chapter titled
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "Transforming
Research and Development," Cronin explains the immense benefits offered
by the Internert to scientists and researchers: "For the millions
of researchers connected to the Internet, the communication power of the
network has transformed the nature of their work." Naturally, the
benefits that accrue to researchers often yield ancillary commercial
benefits as well.
Two specific types of scientific collaboration on the Internet are
examined in this chapter: improving medical diagnosis through computer
imaging, and using the power of supercomputers to help locate untapped
oil reserves.
Cronin relates how the net helps doctors and researchers perform medical
imaging from the data output of MR (magnetic resonance) and CT (computer
tomography) scanners. Medical researchers can make use of remote
supercomputer data crunching resources, saving the researchers the burden of
having to purchase a dedicated supercomputer for their own use.
In a similar type of computer application, geologists and oceanographers
are using the power of supercomputers on the Internet to help them locate
possible undersea petroleum reserves. Gathering data about the possible
location of such reserves is the easy part. Analyzing the data using
computer models is the processor-intensive part.
Overseas Uses of the Internet Few people realize the true international
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" scope of the Internet. While it's true
that the Internet had its origins here in the United States, today the
net has extended its tentacles to just about every continent.
To help readers gain an appreciation of how the Internet is being used
overseas, Cronin relates anecdotes of how businesses in Singapore are
using the net:
"Singapore provides an interesting example of competing
through connectivity - - - and the dynamic relationship
between policy, commerce, and technology in the global
village. Singapore promotes itself as the 'Intelligent
Island,' and its National Computer Board has adopted a plan
called IT2000 to transform Singapore into the information
technology capital of Asia. Government agencies make every
effort to smooth the way of multinational corporations
wishing to use Singapore as a communication hub for the
twenty-first century."
Empowering Individuals Within Companies Connecting to the Internet can
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" empower companies as a whole,
as well as empowering individuals within companies. Cronin cites the
example of Apple Computer's Steve Cisler, whose informative postings pop
up regularly on many Internet discussion lists: "Steve Cisler, another
active Internet participant, shares information on the Internet through
detailed meeting reports and informative postings to discussion lists."
Cisler, a senior scientist at the Apple Library, Apple's corporate
library, regularly summarizes meetings and happenings in the
technology/information science field. He also makes it a practice to help
disseminate information on the growing freenet movement taking place
around the world.
For Cisler, his computer's keyboard serves as his printing press. The
Internet serves as an accessible and cost-free tool for disseminating his
writings instantly around the world.
Interestingly enough, Cisler's Internet postings are often imbued with a
public spirit. Apple Computer may pay his paycheck, but his public
spirited postings could easily give someone the impression that he is
working for the public at large.
Well-Documented Thoughts Each of the book's nine chapters has about
"""""""""""""""""""""""" fifteen to twenty citations to further
readings on related topics. Most references are to books and periodicals
from 1991, 1992, and 1993. The quantity and quality of research that was
done in assembling "Doing Business on the Internet" is indeed
impressive. Citations are given to periodicals as diverse as the Internet
Business Journal, Scientific American, Forbes, and Sloan Management
Review - - - to name a few. Book citations range from better known books
on telecommunications (i.e. Krol's "Whole Internet Guide &
Catalog," and the like), to lesser known books on modern business
practices. Along with all the standard and predictable references,
Cronin includes references to annual reports from Motorola and Intel,
information sources often overlooked by others.
Minor Quibbles and Nit-Picking "Doing Business on the Internet"
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" succeeds in many respects, but the book
does gloss over a few topics that beg for greater coverage. For
instance, what effect will the snowballing freenet movement have on
company/customer relations? And if online communications with customers
yields substantial benefits to companies, what actions are these companies
taking to help train the general population in basic telecommunications
skills?
To be sure, freenets are mentioned in passing once or twice in the book.
But the subject could well merit an entire chapter in future editions of
the book.
Another minor quibble with this book is that it leaves the reader wishing
for more. The content is indeed gripping and well-presented - - - but you
can't help but wish for just a few more anecdotes, a few more case
studies.
Conclusion Cronin's book is as much about people as it is about
"""""""""" technology. One of the recurring themes of the book is the
slowness with which people come to understand the usefulness of new
tools
and technologies. Those who do comprehend the power of these tools have
a one-up on their business competitors: "Companies already linked to the
Internet receive the advantages of high-speed telecommunications and
continuously evolving technology while learning invaluable lessons about
the management of networked organizations.... We are just beginning to
understand the impact of networked communications on our daily lives and
way of doing business."
"Doing Business on the Internet" brings you the voices of many people who
have evangelized the benefits of Internet connection within their
companies. The book succeeds in the way that it lets you draw your own
conclusions from these first hand sources.
It's an irony of modern life that it sometimes takes superhuman efforts
to convince businesses to act in their own best interest. When it comes
to convincing business managers about the benefits of connecting their
employees to the Internet, this book is just the ticket.
Phil Shapiro
[*][*][*]
The author works as a freelance writer and software developer. He
can be reached on GEnie at P.SHAPIRO1; on Internet at:
p.shapiro@aol.com
[EOA]
[LIB]//////////////////////////////
ONLINE LIBRARY /
/////////////////////////////////
[*]Files, Files & More Files!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Mel Motogawa
[M.MOTOGAWA]
The Online Library
by Mel Motogawa
The long awaited Neodesk 4 desktop replacement from Gribnif Software
has been released and the file library is bristling with items
related to Neodesk 4. Background pics, screenshots, the demo and a
press release. Another new program just being released is Fast Path
from Trace Technologies, an invaluable utility when you're using the
file selector. The Movies At Night screensaver module/creator is
superb if you have a color monitor. Turn those color animations of
yours into screensavers. The Image Lab image processor, the Kandinsky
1.73 vector graphics program, Speed of Light 3.5 and a nice PC format
DL animation player rounds out a strong graphics month. Enjoy!
Any comments of my own are shown within double asterisks "**...**"
after the file description, in the ASCII GEnie Lamp version, and also
in italics in the TX2 version. (If you haven't experienced reading the
Lamp in TX2 format, why not download the TX2 file viewer (file #20441)
by David Holmes? You may be surprised at the versatility and power of
this program, above and beyond viewing TX2 Lamp issues.)
#33619 NEO4BMP2.LZH 195584 NeoDesk 4-compatible bitmaps that work
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" well as desktop backgrounds. Please use the
latest version of Quester's LZH to extract (LH5 archive).
#33618 NEO4BMP1.LZH 39808 NeoDesk 4-compatible bitmaps that work
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" well as desktop backgrounds. Please use the
latest version of Quester's LZH to extract (LH5 archive).
#33617 MAGGIE13.LZH 497280 Issue 13 of Maggie, an Atari disk
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" magazine from England, dated January 1994.
Runs in ST Medium res only, but will work on a Falcon (as well as an ST
or TT) running in that resolution. Text files can be read at other
resolutions, of course. Place the files on a blank 720K floppy and run
the program from there. Please use the latest version of Quester's LZH to
extract (LH5 archive). SYSOP'S NOTE: Viewer program does not work on
MSTE
#33616 AV_NEWS.TXT 1664 CodeHead announces the availability and
""""""""""""""""""""""""" special price for Avant Vector 2.0 - the Font
Version. Read all about it in this short text file. This text file can
be (D)ownloaded or (L)isted on-line.
#33611 CAL_MED1.TOS 235264 PART 1 of the MEDIUM RESOLUTION version
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" of the CALLIGRAPHER + GOLD manual. Step by
step through most operations, numerous tutorials, lots of 'bugs' listed and
better organized than the original. This self-extracting file must print in
Medium Res. You also need to download the CAL_MED2.TOS file. See HI RES
version if you prefer it. Download the CAL_INST.TOS file first. Read it
and then decide if you want to download both manuals. It will save you
endless frustrations. SYSOP'S NOTE: Unable to verify operation of this
file. This file self- extracts to a size of 1.6 meg. Contents in
Calligrapher format. ** CAL_MED2.TOS is file #33610. CAL_HI1.TOS and
CAL_HI2.TOS are files #33612 and #33613. **
#33608 CAL_INST.TOS 23808 These self-extracting instructions are for
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" both medium & high resolution versions of the
Calligrapher + gold manual by Don K. Clark. Download this file first and
thoroughly read it in calligrapher before downloading the other main files
listed below. IF YOU DECIDE TO GET MY MANUAL, YOU WILL THEN NEED TO
DOWNLOAD: CAL_MED1.TOS & CAL_MED2.TOS if you want the Medium Resolution
version. -OR-
CAL_HI1.TOS & CAL_HI2.TOS if you want the High resolution version.
#33598 EDOS_121.LZH 80896 This patch archive upgrades all previous
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" versions of ExtenDOS to version 1.21. This
is a mandatory patch for owners of version 1.20; it fixes a number of
problems introduced in version 1.20, including problems with photoCD
support on the Falcon030. It is a recommended patch for owners of earlier
versions of ExtenDOS. See the READ.ME file for further information.
ExtenDOS is a commercial product from Anodyne Software that provides
CD- ROM support for all Atari systems. Sysop Note: Unable to verify
operation.
#33595 NEO4DEM2.LZH 277248 NeoDesk 4 is finally here! This is the
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" disabled demo version of the newest
release of the original desktop replacement for Atari computers. NeoDesk
4 includes a completely redesigned "look and feel", with 3D windows, and
enhanced dialogs in windows. With it you can have multicolored icons,
file and disk operations in the background, online help, powerful
filtering, and far too much more to list here. Use latest version of
QUESTER's LZH program to extract *** A screenshot appears in the
color/mono TX2 versions of the GEnielamp. ***
#33593 AUSGABE2.TXT 1536 Information on the new Shareware and Public
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" Domain - Volume 2 from CD-Service of Germany
along with ordering information. ST Format liked this on BETTER than GEMini!
#33590 ST_AVR2.ZIP 542080 MORE GREAT STAR TREK STUFF FOR SAM ON
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" FALCON (.AVR FORMAT) (2 OF 2)
#33589 ST_AVR1.ZIP 244096 GREAT .AVR SOUNDS FROM STAR TREK THE NEXT
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" GENERATION FOR SAM (.AVR FORMAT) GREAT TO
ASSIGN TO SYSTEM EVENTS! (1 OF 2)
#33582 NEOMENC.LZH 78848 NeoDesk 4's main drop-down menus can be
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" seen in these separate 256-color IMG
graphics of each of the menus. Use GEM-View or 1stView (or any other
application that can display color IMG files) to view. Note: NeoDesk is
the properlty of Gribnif Software. These screen shots are provided solely
for the personal information of Atari users.
#33581 NEOMENUB.LZH 24320 Monochrome IMG shots of NeoDesk 4's
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" drop-down menus. Use GEM-View, 1stView or
any application that displays IMG files to view these pictures. Note:
NeoDesk is the properlty of Gribnif Software. These screen shots are
provided solely for the personal information of Atari users.
#33580 NEO4DTOP.LZH 193152 This is an IMG picture file of a NeoDesk
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 4 desktop used by one of the Gribnif beta
testers. The resolution is 992 X 732, 256 colors. If you can run your
Atari in 1024 X 768 X 256, you'll be able to view this IMG easily. Others
will have to scroll it to view it all. Use GEM-View or 1stView (or any
other application that can display color IMG files) to view. Use any
current LZH extractor to decompress the archive. Note: NeoDesk is the
properlty of Gribnif Software. This screen shot is provided solely for
the personal information of Atari users.
#33579 NEO4PRES.TXT 2944 At long last, it's here! NeoDesk 4 is
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" shipping! NeoDesk 4 includes a completely
redesigned look and feel with windowed dialogs, multicolored icons, the
ability to copy, format, and delete in the background, file groups,
powerful filtering functions, and far too much more to list here. This
is a press release describing NeoDesk 4. It can be downloaded, or
(L)isted online.
#33571 FP_DEMO.LZH 28288 FastPath, a demoware program by Keith
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" Gerdes and Trace Technologies, works in
conjunction with your system/alternative file selector, giving you
unparalleled power and flexibility when it comes to quickly getting to
the directory you need. When you need to get somewhere fast, you need the
speed of FastPath. Provides 34 user-definable paths, plus remembers the
last 4 paths used, for instant recall. And provides 38 user-definable
extenders. Runs in all resolutions 640x200 and bigger. Compatible with
alternate file selectors, including Geneva's. This archive contains a
usable demo for evaluation purposes Please use the latest version of
Quester's LZH to extract. *** A screenshot appears in the color/mono
TX2 versions of the GEnielamp. ***
#33570 FASTPATH.PR 5632 FastPath, a demoware program by Keith Gerdes
""""""""""""""""""""""""" and Trace Technologies, works in conjunction
with your system/alternative file selector, giving you unparalleled power
and flexibility when it comes to quickly getting to the directory you need.
When you need to get somewhere fast, you need the speed of FastPath. Look
for a demo archive in the DEMO library #10. This press release includes full
director order details. Reprints are encouraged. NOTE: Can be listed
online. This file can be (L)isted online or (D)ownloaded for reading
offline.
#33563 DMJFNTS2.ZIP 28160 dmj originals--Smooth and Sharp fonts.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Versions for Warp 9 and NVDI are included.
Smooth fonts (Warp 9 versions only) were available before in
DMJFONTS.ZIP; this file contains a medium-res version, NVDI versions of
Smooth, and the new Sharp font. These fonts are designed to be _readable_
and are suitable for everyday use. Heck, I use 'em... dmj Please use
the latest version of ST Zip to extract.
#33561 MC_TALK4.LZH 6528 This is a first attempt at an English
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" translation of the documentation for the
MCTalk ACC of MidiCom. Extract with latest version of LHARC Contains
regular ASCII text
#33560 IMAGELAB.ZIP 286080 Imagelab, the SUPERB photo processing
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" package from Germany, with English
language Menus and Resource files. Excellent control of grayscales and
user definable filters. Runs in ST-Hi res on all Atari. SEBRA the
monochrome emulator included for med res users. Imagelab is a copyright
FREEWARE program with power that puts many high$ commercial packages to
shame! Extract with latest version of STZip *** A screenshot appears in the
color/mono TX2 versions of the GEnielamp. ***
#33551 DLVIEWER.ZIP 95360 This program lets you view DL animations
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" on your ST/TT/Falcon. DL animations are
similar to GL animations and are popular on the IBM PC. This program runs
in just about any resolution, but of course it looks best in a TT/Falcon
256 color mode. It will view grey scale in ST low as well. Please use
file 32853 to extract (Zip Archive).
#33550 SPOFLT35.ZIP 274432 This is version 3.5 of the awesome
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" program Speed Of Light. This is a
SHAREWARE version with only a few features disabled. It is compatible
with ST/STE/MEGA/TT/Falcon computers in all resolutions.This program
is the fastest gif viewer and can manipulate pictures in many ways!
Unzip with the latest version of ST ZIP
#33548 CHECKBAL.ZIP 45440 Check Balance is a short utility that
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" makes it easy to balance your checkbook
each month. It does not make you duplicate your check ledger. It is a
computerized balance sheet that reduces an irksome chore to a few fun
minutes. It contains an error tracking function for nitpickers who have
to know where they made their mistakes. It is a user-friendly gem
program and can save and load balance sheets. Written in GFA Basic 3.0 by
Terry Kelly. It runs in high or medium resolution. Tested on a Falcon
and MegaSte. Donationware. Please use file 32853 to extract (Zip
Archive). *** A screenshot appears in the color/mono TX2 versions of the
GEnielamp. ***
#33531 BATFAXVE.LZH 5632 BATFAXVE.ACC version 2 now prints fax files
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" to a FX-80 mode printer. Display full page
faxes on STe/TT series computers using the scrolling hardware found on
STe/TT systems. Just move the mouse to move the fax image immediately.
Print the fax to a FX-80 mode printer in original fax resolution. An STe/TT
system is not required for printing - any old ST will do. Read README.1ST
for instructions. Read README.2ND to learn about BATFAX - a new CLASS 2 fax
send/receive program. BATFAXVE is another fine program from ... BATSoftware!
Use latest version of QUESTER's LZH program to extract
#33527 ELFBACK.TOS 45312 Version 2.2, formats HD floppies, faster 3
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" Compression options, GEM interface Self
Extracting Archive file. You should move this file to a folder before
running it to keep all of the files together
#33517 MB45ABIN.LZH 190080 MasterBrowse 4.5A - A GEM-Based text
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" viewer with many nice features.
MasterBrowse is a product of Electric Storm Software. Extract with
latest version of LHARC
#33504 BATY9QSF.ZIP 12288 14 original(?) Warp9 Fills from my
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" monochrome monitor. One of them is
actually useful! The others just have wierd names. John L. Dal.I-Dotter
Please use file 32853 to extract (Zip Archive).
#33501 CALSSLFX.ZIP 5632 If you use Calamus S or SL under MultiTos,
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" Geneva, or MagiC, you can use this small
fix to make Clamus more multi-Tasking compatible. Release 1 03.03.94
/ Von Harald Siegmund../ Bankverbindung (-:. Sparda Bank Mainz. BLZ 55090 /
500. Kontonummer: 300405 Please use file 32853 to extract (Zip Archive).
#33500 M_READ21.LZH 92672 Mountain Reader II is the FIRST offline
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" message reader to support both QWK and
BLUEWAVE message formats on the ATARI ST computers! MR2 features a '3D'
interface, hypertext help system, bookmarks, internal editor with clipboard
support, E-mail address book, tagline manager with "stealing", offline
conference configuration, user lockouts, file requests, user definable
search system, and much more. This DEMO version is fully operational but
will not save your configurations. Version 2.1 fixes several minor bugs that
caused the program to crash.
#33493 MAGAZINE.ZIP 5376 [Hello Devoted Atari Users] Well, the
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" summer is a normal slow time for computer
users, so what better way to find out what is coming for your computer
then the European Magazines... Subscribe and Save Shipping, We have
added the 'PC' European Magazines as well for those of you have have both
Atari and PC Compatible Computers... Your Proud 'Authorized-Full
Service' Atari Dealer STeve's Atari SALES!
#33482 MAZECMBT.ZIP 60032 Maze Combat version 1.095, the first game
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" release from TWS! Don't let the "first" fool
you, though, this game is feature and graphics packed. With another computer
with a modem using Maze Combat, you can battle it out in a randomly
generated maze with missiles, mines, and various other weapons. Chatting
windows are provided as well. ST, STe, Falcon, and TT compatible in ST Low.
Shareware from Two Worlds Software, in its *sixth* year! (One player option
is available) Use latest version of ST ZIP program to extract *** A
screenshot appears in the color TX2 version of the GEnielamp. ***
#33478 CONVERT.ASC 3328 Easily convert those old TrackerST files to
""""""""""""""""""""""""" AtariWorks Written by Steve Meineke -
S.Meineke It worked for me!
#33476 HSMODA04.LZH 85632 Allows faster transfer with high speed
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" modems. Configurable with Setter.ttp
program. Works with all ST's. Use latest version of QUESTER's LZH
program to extract SysOp Note: Unable to verify operation of this file
#33475 DBSMSALE.ZIP 4608 This ZIP contains 2 versions of
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" DataBasement's August Catalog. A PageStream
(2.2b) version and an ASCII version. Download for a great deal on
quality ShareWare! Use latest version of ST ZIP program to extract
#33466 STARHINT.ZIP 4480 Hints to help you score BIG while playing
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" the Starball pinball game. Extract with
latest version of STZip
#33463 STKEEP.ZIP 422016 ST-Keep BBS supports 32000 users, 32000
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" rooms/file areas (sigs), 32000 messages per
room, 255 floors, 255 doors, 15 groups, and more! X/Y/Zmodem batch file
transfers, hold files & messages for later download/saving, FidoNet
compatible with BinkleyTerm & FIDOdoor. Shareware with no functions
disabled.
#33448 SYSINFO2.ZIP 56960 It's here! The latest version of the Toad
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Computers modem and system tester! This has
a new & improved user interface that allows you to select specific test
sections to run, for improved compatibility! Also works with EVEN MORE
modems! Also detects the Atari Clipboard, Mag!x, and does other exciting
things! For those of you who are not familiar with previous versions,
this program tests your modem to tell you about its capabilities (FAX
class, baud rates, caller ID, Silent Answer, etc) and also will test your
whole system to tell you about GDOS, TSR's, CPX's, Accessories & your
Auto folder. Very helpful when you are trying to get tech support from us
or any other mindreader! ;) From your friends @ Toad!
#33443 KANDY173.LZH 435840 Archive contains the *ENGLISH* version of
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Ulrich Rossgoderer's powerful GEM based
Vector Drawing Program KandinskY, Release 1.73. This is a quality SHAREWARE
program. Now with POSTRSCRIPT support and improved user interface.
Comprehensive and superb english manual available for registered users.
Represented by Cybercube. All details inside. Please use the latest version of
Quester's LZH to extract (LH5 archive). *** A screenshot appears in the
color/mono TX2 versions of the GEnielamp. ***
#33441 DB312PAT.LZH 152064 This file will patch any version of
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Diamond Back 3 to Version 3.12 the
differences from 3.11 are restricted to Tape Driver modifications and
only Tape drive users need to apply this patch. Best regards, Oregon
research Please use the latest version of Quester's LZH to extract (LH5
archive).
#33440 PSCORE11.ZIP 174848 Proscore 1.1 is a full featured music
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" notation program for the ST line of
computers. Features include scores up to 18 parts; auto repetition of
clefs, key signatures and score designs; transposition; part extraction;
complex beaming; block functions; excellent printed output; easy entry of
score markings; and more. Proscore has features only available in
programs costing hundreds of dollars. ST, TT, Falcon compatible.
Gdos/SpeedoGdos, monochrome, 1 meg required. Shareware by Dr. Terry
Kelly. Please use file 32853 to extract (Zip Archive).
#33428 MRCEL234.ZIP 123648 This is Marcel Software's latest release
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" of its latest word processor--Version 2.3!
Marcel WP v2.3 has even more convenient paragraph formatting, more
keyboard equivalents of menu items, drag-and-drop filename passing, links to
Notes window, saved bookmarks, and a self-erasing banner screen--and many
more enhancements! (And, of course, bug fixes.) This is update level
v2.3.4, including Epson enhancements. Marcel WP v2.3 is shareware. When you
register, you get free documentation, a function-key guide, a handsome
certificate, and $5 worth of SuzyBee catalog coupons. The READ.ME file has
more information.
#33427 MARPATCH.ZIP 96384 This is a patch to Marcel v2.3.3. It
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" fixes symbol-set bugs in the Epson printer
driver and makes it compatible with Canon Bubble Jets. This patch is
only useful if you already have v2.3.3. The patch will raise your Marcel
software level to v2.3.4. If you don't already have v2.3.3, then we
invite you to download the full Marcel Word Processor shareware release
(which has been updated to v2.3.4). To load the patch, just unzip the
file in your Marcel v2.3.3 software directory--the patch will NOT
overwrite any user-defined files.
#33415 MIDICOM.LZH 135296 MIDICOM.LZH contains a network enabler,
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Midi_Com, and a suite of network services,
MC-Talk, permitting the networking of up to seven Atari computers, from
the earliest ST to the Falcon. Use Midi_Com by itself if you aren't
interested in the e-mail and messaging functions (and the other network
services). Both run as desk accessories, and work flawlessly with BGM
partitions (large hard drives). This software is copyrighted freeware
from Germany. Docs are in German, but the operation is largely plug-and-
play. Extract with latest version of LHARC
#33406 SPEEDOM2.ZIP 8192 Speed-o-meter visually reports your
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" system's speed performance as a percentage
of it's calculated optimal speed. Improvements: Speed-o-meter now uses
the XBRA protocol & can unhook safely. (Includes multiple copies of
itself!) Window title now displays speed as decimal percentage. Tweaked
code and made a few additional changes. .DOC file expanded- gives tips
for improving multitasking speed. ShareWare- please see .DOC file for
details. Enjoy! Erin @DataBasement Software. Please use file 32853 to
extract (Zip Archive).
#33402 MOVIES12.LZH 88064 Movies at Night is an animated screensaver
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" that will work as a standalone screensaver,
or as a Warp 9 Extendosave module. A construction set is included for
converting animations to Movies at Night screensaver movies. The screensaver
runs in ST Low or ST Medium, the construction set runs in ST Medium only.
Please use the latest version of Quester's LZH to extract (LH5 archive).
*** This is a terrific screensaver if you have a color system. A screenshot
appears in the color TX2 version of the GEnielamp. ***
[*][*][*]
Sometimes files are removed from the library after we publish this
magazine. In many cases, the removed file has been replaced with an
updated version of that file. If you can't find one of the files listed
here, there is a way to check for a newer version. Do a keyword search
on the library using a word that describes the file you are looking for.
Chances are, you will find a newer version of that file, or another file
that meets your expectations.
[EOA]
[TEC]//////////////////////////////
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE /
/////////////////////////////////
The CD ROM
""""""""""
by John Osarczuk
[J.OSARCZUK]
After drooling over a friend's CD-ROM system, I finally managed to
get one for myself. I've had my CD-ROM for a few months now and it still
amazes me! I guess having been around PCs for a while, anything other
than a DOS screen is still Hi-tech to me. I'll be the first to admit
that I haven't used it for anything productive yet, but hey, I have the
power! Mostly, I play with the dinosaur program I got for my daughter
and watch her play the Just Grandma and Me storybook, from Living Books,
over and over.
I'll also have to admit the I'm not real confortable with the
technology yet. I've heard horror stories about installing CD-ROM
systems from many people and from others who have played around with
their setups. Consequently, I haven't touched my Config.sys or
Autoexec.bat since I've gotten my new machine with the CD-ROM. I used to
be a die-hard optimizer; willing to try any new combination of commands
just to squeek a few more bytes of memory or speed out of the machine.
But now, I'm a little worried. I can't even figure out why my CD-ROM
came with a volume knob that doesn't seem to adjust the volume? I like
to think of myself as an average user so if I'm a little confused maybe
there are others in the same situation. Let's dig out the ol' reference
books and figure out just what a CD-ROM is and how it work?
It was in the early '80's that the audio CD was first introduced.
The popular success of this technology has paved the way for today's
computer CD-ROMs (compact disk read-only memory). Many other
specifications using this type of technology have also appeared. There
is CD-I (compact disk interactive), DVI (digital video interactive) and
WORM (write once read many). The relative advantages and disadvantages
of each is beyond the scope of this article but it is important to note
that the verdict is still out on which form of CD-ROM technology will win
out over the others.
In general, CDs start with a disk formed of a polycarbonate resin
that is coated with a highly reflective finish. Usually, this finish is
made of aluminum. Information, whether it is digitally recorded music or
computer data, is then imprinted on the disk using an intense laser.
The laser actually carves microscopic pits into the aluminum and this is
preserved with a coat of clear lacquer. A low-powered laser in the CD-
ROM player is then used to retrieve the information. The laser shines on
the CD as a motor spins the disk under the laser. When the beam strikes
one of the pits, a photocell detects the change in light intensity and
records this as part of the information.
CD-ROM disks suffer the same problem as magnetic disks in that the
inside tracks of the disk spin at a slower rate than the outside. In
most magnetic disks this is compensated by increasing the space between
information on the outer tracks. Since this approach wastes space, CD-
ROMs use the Constant Linear Velocity approach. The information is
placed evenly along all the segments of the disk and the velocity of the
drive is varied to allow the laser head to read the information at the
same rate. This technique allows the storeage capabilities of the CD-ROM
to be maximized but it adds complexity to the task of finding the proper
information. The information is addressed serially and the head must
first find out where it is then make adjustments to find the proper
information. This adds a lot of time to the access abilities of the CD-
ROM drive.
There is no doubt that the CD-ROM has hit the PC market hard. I'm
one of it's main fans but the technology still appears to be in it's
relative infancy. The medium has a large storeage capability, around 500
Mbytes, but it's slow to retrieve and fairly expensive to produce. As
with other technology, this cost is dropping proportionally to its
popularity. I expect my double-speed CD-ROM to be quickly outclassed by
the new Triple-speed and Quad-speed systems just now being seen on the
market. That's good because my double-speed still seems a bit jerky in
parts. Still, CD-ROM makes the whole world of Multi-Media possible.
Once you've seen some of the encyclopaedias out there and seen the lunar
landing while searching for information on space, the ol' silent screen
just doesn't cut it anymore.
If you haven't invested in a CD-ROM, I highly recommend it. Like I
said, it's productivity value for the individual PC user is still slim
but this will improve as the systems become faster and cheaper. The real
reason to get one is that it allows you to become part of the new world
of Multi-Media and some of the amazing things it can do.
[EOA]
[PDQ]//////////////////////////////
PD_QUICKVIEW
/
/////////////////////////////////
Yours For The Asking
""""""""""""""""""""
By Fred H. Koch
[F.KOCH]
Program Name : FRANTICK
Filename : FRANT_ST.ZIP
Library Area : 1
Program Number : 33544
File Size : 463872
Program Type : Arcade Game
Author : Dave Munsie
Version Reviewed: Not Stated
File Type : Preview Ware ($10.00)
Note: To play the DMA backgound music on STe computers you must also
download file FRANTRAK.ZIP, file number 33545, file size 525056.
[*] [*] [*]
Note: Although not identified in the on-line description this game is a
demo only! The following text is included in the documentation
included with the program. This program is being released as preview
ware. Which means you can freely try this program without spending any
of your hard earned cash. If this thing draws you in, we ask that you
send in a small payment in order to get a KEY which unlocks the full
potential of this program. When the program is in PREVIEW mode you will
only get 1 life per game. And in easy mode you will only be able to play
the first 20 levels. Plus you can't place your initials into the high
score table if you get a decent score.
Program run on a 1040 STe with color monitor and hard drive. Author
states the program is better suited for TT/Falcon use.
WHAT IT IS Frantick is an arcade style game which involves moving your
"""""""""" shooter back and forth across the playing field and shooting
the advancing forces. Collect bonus objects as they float past for added
capability.
FROM THE AUTHOR Welcome brave warrior to the kinetic combat simulator
""""""""""""""" Frantick. Here is where loyal soldiers sharpen their
skills at operating the empire's secret weapon. To facilitate training
and boost morale, bombs and increased blaster power are available to the
quick. Ample bonuses are supplied for those with a taste of higher
gratification.
This scenario may seem all too surreal for some of you, so tighten up and
fly straight. Soon enough you will have to face the real thing and just
one impulsive mistake will cost a lot more than a high score. Remember,
it's your duty to terminate the other forces that rebel against the
empire.
Make it past the savage mutates, defeat the shrill assaults of deadly
raptors, out last the intense salvos of the blazer fighters, and you
might become a hero. Don't celebrate too soon rookie, for the head
hunters, hardheads, sidewinders, sparkers, swarmers, and xasers will
light up your life if you let your guard down. Don't ease up either, or
you may just end up one with the universe.
Defeat all 100 waves of the combat simulator to meet thy maker!!
To start playing a game of Frantick simply press start (FIRE BUTTON)
from the title screen. Next you will be taken to the SELECT GAME area.
Here you can scroll up or down to select the game type.
EASY - Play this first!! You can clear waves effortlessly!!
DROID - After EASY try this for a while until you get the hang of it.
ARCADE - This is where the fun starts. The standard FRANTICK game mode.
TEAM - Two players can play as a team!! Yah!! Kick it....
FRENZY - For TT and Falcon users only. A hyper speed game play mode!!
The object of Frantick is to test your reflexes and dexterity by shooting
just about anything that comes at you on the screen. There are 100 waves
to Frantick. Only after clearing all 100 waves can you truly become one
with thy maker. You'll need to study the habits of the Frantick armada
closely in order to anticipate their every move or attack wave. Once in
a while there will be a bonus wave. As a general rule, don't get too
close to anything!! At certain intervals power ups, bomb icons, 1ups and
other goodies will float down the screen. Run into these with your main
shooter in order to collect their bonus points or weapon powerups. You
may not want to run into everything though!! Act quick, there is no time
to sit back and enjoy the scenery. Every few waves you'll get a quick
breather while the combat simulator prepares the next few waves, when
you hear the computer voice <GET READY!> you'll know it's time to exhale.
Requirements:
1 megabyte of memory
Color monitor
Hard drive SERIOUSLY recommended for faster data access
On STe,TT,Falcon machines 2 megabytes is required to access the DMA
AUDIO file for Frantick.
[*] [*] [*]
. __
(^) <^> /~ ~\
\-=======_/"\_======-/ \)
PD_Q RATING "\. THREE LAMPS ./"
""""""""""" "\._ _ _./"
(_____) (1-5)
DOCUMENTATION GOOD
"""""""""""""
PD_Q COMMENTS Frantick is a typical arcade game with good graphics and
""""""""""""" good sound. The play is smooth and what you would expect
from a good arcade game. The shooter moves across the middle of the
screen with advancing forces coming from top and bottom. This forces a
change of the shooting direction which adds difficulty and requires
additional planning.
Overall this is a good arcade shootem-up. The demo version reviewed was
somewhat frustrating since the single life is expended quickly and you
must progress through all opening screens each time to replay. You can
get a feel of how the game plays though.
Although this method of distribution allows trying before you buy, which
I agree with. Not stating up front in the file description this is a
demo is a little deceiving, especially considering it will require over
an hour for most users to download the basic file and sound data. I
think all demos should be clearly marked as such.
[EOA]
[MEL]//////////////////////////////
MEL'S MANOR /
/////////////////////////////////
[*]Fast Path 1.0
"""""""""""""""""
By Mel Motogawa
[M.MOTOGAWA]
File selectors. They're much better than dealing with commandlines and
trying to remember how you named that file from last year. But the
system file selector has always lagged behind the power and speed
offered by replacement selectors coded by third-party enthusiasts. One
of the speed tricks offered by any decent file selector are preset
paths. Just press a key and you're instantly looking at your download
folder, word processing docs or games path. However some people don't
like the complexity of replacement selectors, while others may not have
the ram to spare. Are you pleased with the system file selector, but
wish it had just a little more oomph?
Well, Keith Gerdes from Trace Technologies has produced a program that
does just that with more than a little oomph. Fast Path is an auto
folder TSR program that coexists nicely with the system file selector
or replacements, enhancing them in ways you've really missed, while
taking up a minuscule amount of ram.
Path Power Fast Path gives you the ability to have 34 pre-defined paths
"""""""""" at your disposal, in a nice graphical user interface. You
can select it when needed by holding down the Shift key, while selecting
Cancel in the file selector or before the file selector is called, or
configure it to automatically appear before the file selector. It works
great in conjunction with your replacement file selector and turbo
charges the system selector, since it doesn't offer preset paths.
Fast Path can also remember the last 4 paths you used, which is very
useful for those seldom used paths that you need to recall. Defining a
path is a simple procedure and they can be edited, copied, moved or
deleted with ease. Using a path is as easy as clicking on it with the
mouse pointer or using the predefined hotkeys taken from the function
keys and numeric keys beneath them. This path will be passed to the
file selector automatically.
Extending Yourself You can also define 38 extenders, one of which can
"""""""""""""""""" also be passed to the file selector along with your
path. So, for example, you could pass a "prg" extender and only files
with that extender would show up in the selector. I find this extremely
useful when using the Search function of Geneva's built-in file selector.
Once in the Search mode, you start typing the characters of the file you
want and Geneva finds and highlights the first file which matches the
characters you've typed. The only problem lies when you have several
files with the same first 8 characters and only a different extender. By
limiting the range of the files displayed, via an extender, you can
quickly find the right one.
The Rest Of The Story Your configuration of paths and extenders can be
""""""""""""""""""""" saved to disk for later use and if you ever get
lost there's online Help available. Running Fast Path shouldn't be a
problem since it works in any resolution over 640x200 and on all TOS
models. And if the current application is sending a path, file selector
title or filename to the file selector, Fast Path will thoughtfully
display this information.
A powerful feature of Fast Path is its ability to call up Maxifile 3 if
it's resident as a desk accessory. A simple keypress from Fast Path's
main screen and you have this powerful file maintenance tool at your
disposal. Thus, it is now possible to get along quite well with just
the system file selector. Fast Path gives you paths galore and if you
have Maxifile 3 you have all the file maintenance power you need. You
save ram by not using a replacement selector and Fast Path uses a
minimum of only 22k of ram. I don't know about you, but the niceties
of multitasking have made me very ram miserly.
One nice touch is a small display in Fast Path that shows you how many
times you've used it and the file selector. You might be surprised at
how often the file selector is used in a session.
A demo version (file #33571) and press release (file #33570) for Fast
Path are in the file library with support being handled in the Trace
Technologies topic inCategory 2, Topic 12. Fast Path has changed my
computing for the better and I'm glad that developers are still
supporting the ST in these lean times. If you want unparalleled path
power, you need Fast Path!
Fast Path 1.0
$10 + shipping/handling
Trace Technologies
PO Box 711403
Houston, TX 77271-1403
Phone: (713)771-8332 [weekdays 1PM-5PM Central Time]
GEnie:Category 2, Topic 12 or K.GERDES
Internet: k.gerdes@genie.geis.com
[EOA]
[PDP]//////////////////////////////
PD_QUICKPICK /
/////////////////////////////////
A Recommended Program
"""""""""""""""""""""
By Fred H. Koch
[F.KOCH]
Program Name : PATHLIST
Filename : PATHLIST.ZIP
Library Area : 2
Program Number : 32989
File Size : 7040
Program Type : Utility
Author : B.AEIN
Version : 1.0
File Type : FreeWare
[*] [*] [*]
WHAT IT IS This little utility builds a file list with paths and writes
"""""""""" it to the specified text file.
WHAT IT DOES This is a very simple utility program that will allow the
"""""""""""" user to use the file selector to select a path and
filename, and then have that path saved to a text file.
The Left mouse button will call the file selector so that a path or
filename can be added to the list.
The Right mouse button will call the file selector so that the user
can name the file that the list is saved to.
Great for those programs which will accept a text file list for files to
act upon like uploading via a script or archiving files.
[EOA]
[FUN]//////////////////////////////
SEARCH_ME /
/////////////////////////////////
Online Puzzle Fun
"""""""""""""""""
By Scott R. Garrigus
[S.GARRIGUS]
>>> SEARCH_ME! <<<
""""""""""""""""""
BEING A MEMBER OF GENIE is like being a part of a community. People
""""""""""""""""""""""" talk to one another and make new friends. They
have get-togethers and play games. Some even go as far as getting
married!
We have a great group of people here on GEnie and even though everyone
doesn't know each other, personally I have yet to find someone who
wouldn't offer me help if I needed it.
In order to let us all get to know one another better, GEnie has provided
a little known area called GEnie User Profiles. Located on page 203, the
GEnie User Profiles section is a place where you can let everyone on
GEnie know a little bit about yourself.
You of course supply your name and email address but in addition to this
you can provide what city, state, and country your located in. You can
also tell a little bit about yourself and your interests. Then if
someone would like to get to know you a little better (before actually
sending you some email :-) they can look you up.
It's a very fun and easy thing to do and it's another great way to
participate in the GEnie community. By the way, here's my profile at the
moment (though I may edit a few things, who knows... I've been known to
change from time to time... but only for the better ;-):
== Personal Profile ==
Name: Scott R. Garrigus
GE Mail: S.GARRIGUS
Company Name: SRG Music & Software
Address: DERRY, NH, USA
Interest List:
/ Music / Computers / Writing / Reading / Martial Arts (Kung Fu /
/ Tai Chi) /
Text entry:
Male, Single, 26, I like to learn and help others with my knowledge. I'm
a musician, writer and a teacher. The meaning of life can be found in
helping and loving others. At least that's my philosophy. <smile>
== End of Profile ==
So let your GEnie neighbors know who you are and enter your profile with
GEnie... but of course, before you go... (do I even have to say it
anymore? :-) Until next time, have fun and make it a point to meet
someone new this month!
>>> GENIE USER PROFILES <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ Keyword: PROFILE, Page 203 ~
F R O K E B E L Z I Z K U Q Z P H L U R C Y
M W P S V T B I T P C R I Q L O S G F H Q J
N L L X E J Y V R K M G S Q R O T C L S Z P
P G E G V I Y S T S E R E T N I A O N X Q T
B R H S B T B N N S T E N D A M T U N B H S
I N M Q I G J B Q C D C F Y T W E N C A Z V
G M X C D Z U S O A L N R Q I R C T T E V X
M Y C R E F L W C H P A E T E E M R A A X P
Y N D O R M A Z R Q H R K I D F Z Y L L A N
U F F P M S I S T E R S O O R V R G K R Y L
F W G L J M W Q P F N Y A F W F M X T P A U
I P M X W Y U G S X P R L Q I G I I R Q T H
C D P U S E R N W R E W T I H L C E E U W H
A I R A W A X M I L E Q G Y M I E P I H C J
Z Y S E M A G S X T I H O A P A O S J N K V
G V K M Y Q V Y N F Y A T A P V F E H G E Z
G L G N E I G H B O R S T O Y E N M T D K G
C W E N P P C P H M R E Q M R E U A L A E L
N E I G H B O R H O O D N U C B O N U U P T
BROTHERS CITY COMMUNITY
COUNTRY FAMILY FRIENDS
GAMES GENIE HELP
HOBBIES INTERESTS MEET
NAME NEIGHBORHOOD NEIGHBORS
PARTICIPATE PROFILES SISTERS
STATE TALK USER
[*][*][*]
GIVE UP? You will find the answers in the LOG OFF column at the end of
"""""""" the magazine.
This puzzle was created with a freeware program called
SEARCH-ME 2, an Atari ST program by David Becker.
[EOA]
[CAI]//////////////////////////////
COMPUTERS AND INVESTING /
/////////////////////////////////
[*]Looking Up
"""""""""""""
By Sanford E. Wolf
[S.WOLF4]
~ Copyright (C) 1994 by Sanford E. Wolf ~
PROLOGUE Well, what have we here? As a headline in the NY Times put
"""""""" it, "Just When No One Was Looking, a Stock Rally." While I
don't agree that "no one" was looking -- I was, and I was selling into it
-- another week like August 22-26, and records will be set.
So many stocks have put on exciting upside displays, that it's just
imperative to devote this month's column to looking at some of them. You
will find charts of Intel, Motorola, Dell Computer, and, but of course,
3DO -- all four displayed in one picture. All of these have been in the
headlines recently. There are dozens of others which could have been
chosen, but GEnieLamp has many other demands on its space.
Also on display are our usual pair, IBM and Atari, in all their
recent glory.
Two interesting questions are in the queue waiting for the "Question
and Answer" feature, however, I will postpone their discussion in
deference to using the space for the extra charts. The two questions
are: what is meant by "overbought" and "oversold", and how does one
select appropriate time spans for moving averages? A preliminary
response was given to the first question in the Investors RT, page 290,
cat 2/topic 15, but I promised a more substantial discussion in a future
CAI column where graphics can be used to bring out and demonstrate the
meaning more fully. It will be done.
For today, we'll admire what the stocks are doing. They may not be
on this kick very long, although some mighty money managers have jumped
from the bear's back to the bull's.
This was written on the basis of how the stocks closed on Tuesday,
August 30. Normally, GEnieLamp likes to receive articles by the 25th of
each month, but the editors, appreciating the unusual situation effecting
this particular column, agreed to this "last minute" submission.
4-in-1 Motorola and Intel have quite similar charts in many respects.
"""""" Both seem to have just broken out of multi-month horizontal
consolidation channels. Intel has to go up about another 7 points to
reach 74, which I believe is its all time high price, last reached in
1993 and tested earlier this year. Motorola's breakout above 55 takes
it into new high ground. But watch the volume for both.
Dell Computer appears to have solved its problems. After hitting
a high of 50 early in 1993, it sank rapidly to 15 last summer. For
the past year, it has been rising slowly in a well defined narrowing
channel -- some might call it an upward slanting wedge -- from which
it recently broke out, at 32, with a modest increase in volume. It
seems to be consolidating just above 32, usually a favorable sign.
Interestingly, a major Wall Street analyst lowered his rating for Dell
on the same day, Friday, August 26, that Dell announced record sales
and a surprising earnings turnaround. Attempts by reporters to reach
him for clarification were unsuccessful as of August 27.
Incidentally, a rising wedge is often a bearish omen; the reason I
prefer not to identify it as such in this case is that it has existed
for much longer then such wedges normally do. However . . .
Aaahh, 3DO. This was one of Wall Street's darlings when it was an
IPO early last year, at $15 I believe. On the basis, I suppose, of
very good salesmanship by its founder, Trip Hawkins, its price shot up
like a rocket to a high just short of 50 later in the year. After
some sense of reality set in, the stock fell below 10 this past May,
from where it has been trying to rise once again. During the week
August 22-26, a series of highly optimistic press releases by the
company resulted in very favorable media coverage, and the price shot
up on high volume, breaking through it's high of June, 17_1/2, and
rising to over 22. It fell back under 18 this morning and rose back
to 20 in the afternoon. Two other recent items may provide some
balance: 1) 3DO was listed among the NASDAQ stocks with the highest
"short ratio" (30 days), and 2) it was also listed among the 50
"lowest rated" stocks in a survey of Wall Street analysts.
Nevertheless, it is interesting to follow once again. The associated
controversy is fun to watch. This controversy, and much more, takes
place in cat 14/topic 38 in the Investors RT.
IBM The IBM chart again occupies full screen in order to view features
""" spread over 2 years. I have drawn in a channel which seems to be
relevant to the rise from last year's bottom. Within this channel,
you can see the 5 month long delay in breaking through 60, which we
previously related to the large, high volume, gap from December, 1992.
The price advance then encountered some resistance at 65 which was
strong enough to knock prices back to 55. However, the rising line of
support, which defines the lower boundary of the channel, was able to
halt the fall and initiate the unbroken rise which has taken IBM above
70. It is now approaching the upper boundary of the channel, as I
have drawn it, and it will be interesting to see what effect, if any,
this has.
It should be noted that the upper boundary line of the channel
must be labelled "tentative" at this point. That is because it was
constructed to parallel the bottom line, but has only one price point
defining its placement. This is a common practice when trying to
demonstrate some structure in the chart, but should be kept in mind
until the upper line is tested at least once again by rising prices.
The other major feature in the chart is the relationship of the
price/volume behavior of 2 years ago, when the price was dropping
rapidly, to what is happening today. Another major gap, in the
vicinity of 75, opened up with fairly high volume in mid October,
1992. This has the potential of causing another period of resistance
to the present advance, and I have drawn a horizontal line to project
where this resistance might be expected to appear. Ever since the
price got through 60, I have been projecting an intermediate target
of 80, with some resistance showing up just under 75. Now you can see
some of the considerations which entered into that projection. (The
IBM stock topic can be found in the Investors RT, m290;1, cat 14/topic
41.)
Atari Last, but decidedly NOT least, we come to Atari. Take a look at
""""" that chart. Beautiful! On Friday, August 26, the price surged
back up to 5_1/2 and closed at 5_1/4 for the day. It seems to be
consolidating just under 5_1/2, preparing for, many of us hope, a
"violent" breakthrough of that barrier.
There is so much to say about this, that I'm afraid to get carried
away. I'll be as brief as I can here, with a suggestion that those
interested can follow the daily progress of ATC -- with lots of
commentary by knowlegable (?) Atarians -- on page 475;1, cat 14/topic
44. In addition, the ST edition of GEnieLamp publishes a mid-month
Special Report with an update of the ATC chart; this can be found in
library 35 on page 475. PC users might have difficulty in viewing the
ST format picture, so I will explore the possibility of having the
picture posted also in .GIF or .PCX format for the mid-month updates.
I have drawn 3 pairs of lines on the chart. One pair defines the
channel within which ATC has been declining since January. A second
pair defines a narrower channel which is presently guiding a new
uptrend. The horizontal pair of lines shows the prices 4 and 5_1/2,
which I identified last year as being important price levels for ATC.
You can see how they remain important even now.
Let me point out just a few of the interesting things that can be
seen in the chart. Some have also been discussed in topic 44.
1) The "crash" at the end of June, which followed immediately upon
the trashing which Dan Dorfman gave Atari and the Jaguar in his CNBC
program, was successfully turned back at the bottom of the downtrend
channel. This indicated that the rapid drop did not portend a
complete breakdown, "bankruptcy" in Dorfman's words. Some short
sellers undoubtedly made a killing, but that was the extent of it.
The rise back to 5_1/2, above the price at the time of Dorfman's job,
has erased any lasting effect. In fact, such a "wash out" is
frequently a necessary antecedent to a lasting upturn.
2) As the price rose from the bottom, a line of daily lows was
established -- an uptrend! The validity of that interpretation
awaited a testing which took place during early August as prices rose
back to the upper boundary of the long established downtrend. As the
two trendlines converged at 4, prices were squeezed between them, and
the question became which trend would win out? I must say that,
although hoping for a "thrust" up to 5_1/2, I gave slightly better
odds to the downtrend. Day by day, prices clung tightly to the
uptrend line, finally broke the downtrend (for the first time in 7
months on a closing basis), slowly pulled away, and "exploded" up to
5_1/2. I was wrong, and I celebrated!
3) The new uptrend was finally established. The next thing to do, to
give some guidance to interpretation of future moves, was to establish
a "channel". A line was drawn through the local high of July 13 and
parallel to the uptrend line. This produced a tentative channel,
subject to revision, which remains in effect as I write this. The
price penetrated the upper boundary as it rose to 5_1/2, but dropped
back to close precisely on the line at 5_1/4. If prices _close_ above
that line, then a "redrawing" will be seriously considered. I suspect
this will happen, as it is common for the new channel to be
approximately as wide as the former after a crossing. Notice also
that the angle of uptrend is about the same as the angle of downtrend.
This, too, is seen quite often.
4) Finally, I'll call attention once again to 5_1/2, which more and
more looks like the surface of a sea. It divides "Atari space" into
two parts, below 5_1/2 and above. It was not a random accident that
the latest upsurge was turned back at 5_1/2. If and when prices
manage to rise above 5_1/2, the future will take on a much more rosy
hue. It is even possible that the still remaining, but very large,
short interest will be triggered into a buying panic.
Epilogue How lasting the current stock rally will be is still open to
"""""""" question. What we are experiencing these days might be the
start of a new major uptrend, as some well known gurus are saying, or it
may be the "blowoff" which ends a long bull market, as other gurus
preach. The charts shown here give every indication of at least some
further upward movement, and will be interesting to watch. The computer
gives us a powerful aid for making our own judgements. ** As usual, I
must disclaim any professional expertise. Nothing herein should be
construed as advice on what a reader should do with his/her money. That
is your decision only. **
[EOA]
[CYB]//////////////////////////////
CYBERSPACE /
/////////////////////////////////
Learning Fun with Multimedia
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Tika Carr
[DELTA.T]
It's hard to believe summer went by so fast! With the approach of fall, I
always anticipate the pungent smell of apples and cinnamon, and the
thrill of watching leaves turn beautiful shades of rust, orange and
yellow. I also picture school buses picking up backpack-laden kids in
pursuit of learning.
I think it's great that schools are learning the value of using computers
as part of the curriculum. Studies have shown that multimedia
presentations enhance the learning process since most people learn more
quickly and retain information better when material is presented in an
exciting way. A child is more apt to remember what a cartoon was about,
than what she read in five pages of text. Due to the fact that multimedia
is a combination of pictures, sound, information, and sometimes
interactivity, it is an excellent way to present an assignment. Teachers
and students alike can use multimedia presentations to enhance their
projects. Teachers can create interactive lessons, and some multimedia
authoring programs will automatically keep track of students' test
scores. And students can take advantage of multimedia techniques (thereby
earning praise for superior technological abilities) to fashion term papers
and just about anything they'd normally do on paper. Don't forget that
multimedia also motivates creativity.
Hands-On All you need are a computer and a couple of programs to make
"""""""" your own multimedia presentations, and there's a great
selection of authoring programs and commercial demonstrations in the
Multimedia/Cyberspace RoundTable Library from which you can choose. Do be sure
that the computer you build your presentation on and the one that will show it
have matching graphics and sound capabilities. And don't get uptight about
money: prices for multimedia peripherals have been falling like autumn leaves,
so even the most price-conscious computer owner can find affordable
components. An excellent shopping resource is Cyberspace Report Weekly, a
text-based report published each week on Menu Option 7, GEnie Page 2000.
CyPort features late-breaking stories about new multimedia hardware and
software for IBM-compatibles, Macintosh and Amiga, along with requirements and
prices. Monthly compilations of CyPort are available in the Cyberspace
Library, and you won't see some of the information published June and July
CyPorts in computer magazines for months!
Anyway, the procedure for creating a multimedia presentation is really
quite simple, and can be applied to all computing platforms.
The first thing you'll want to do is come up with a basic outline of your
presentation. A good question to start with is, "What is the lesson (or
project) about?" This will be your theme. A multimedia presentation is
basically made up of several screens (or pictures) overlaid with
information (presented using nice, big fonts), enhanced with voice-over
narration and perhaps music. Decide how many screens you want to use what each
one of them will accomplish, and write your script accordingly. Keep in mind
too, how long you want the presentation to last, breaking that down to the
amount of time to display each screen. It's a good idea to write these factors
down on paper for reference as you work.
Let's suppose we are doing a presentation about butterflies. You will
want a title screen, which will be the first thing displayed. Since there
are three stages to a butterfly's development, you'll want three more
screens, plus a concluding screen at the end of the presentation where
give your name and other information the teacher (or student) will need.
That makes a total of five screens. You'll want to allow time to narrate
each screen and tell about the stages of development, so leave enough
delay time -- say one minute per screen. That means your presentation
will take only five minutes or so to view.
Butterflies
Screen 1: Title & Music - show one minute
Screen 2: Caterpillar & Narration - show one minute
Screen 3: Cocoon & Narration - show one minute
Screen 4: Butterfly & Narration - show one minute
Screen 5: Name, Information & Music - show one minute
Total time: Five minutes
Next, construct the pictures you will put in your project. There are a
number of good paint programs for a variety of computers in the
Multimedia/Cyberspace RoundTable Software Library. My favorite is
NeoSoft's NeoPaint, found in file NEOPNT.ZIP (number 943). NeoPaint
offers many great features including graphics modes from EGA to 24-bit
and SVGA, palette changing, and a variety of drawing tools and effects
like gradients and blends. You can also scale images to any size.
Pull-down menus and tool bars make this program very easy to use.
[Editor's Note: There are many fine ST programs you use to create
graphics similar to the IBM NeoPaint...]
When you create your pictures, think about the type of computer the
presentation will be shown on. What graphics mode is the computer
capable of using and how many colors? Stick with the mode and number
of colors that will work on that system. Then find pictures that you
would like to use, or draw them yourself. For our example, you'll need
a picture of a caterpillar, a cocoon and a butterfly, as well as your
title and credit screens. Maybe for a title screen, you'd have a
butterfly on a field of flowers, and in nice big letters: Butterflies.
Use your imagination and look through the Library for background art
you can start with!
Authoring and Slide Slows Programs Once you've made and saved your
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" pictures, it's time to digitize your
voice-over narration. Most sound cards come with software that lets you
record voice and music you can use with your presentation. After you have
these component parts fashioned (pictures and sound) you're ready to put
it all together. With multimedia becoming more and more popular, it is
easy to find presentation programs. In the Multimedia Roundtable Software
Library, there are several programs for IBM-compatible computers. You may
also need software to convert pictures into the file format required by the
authoring program, and there are plenty of those as well. To find a program
to convert graphics, just do a Library search for GIF, IMAGE, GRAPHICS or
CONVERT.
I would recommend using a slide show program to present this project.
However, any multimedia authoring program would do. If you use Windows,
take a look at Super Show & Tell in File 1115 SST-LITE.ZIP. This program
will let you add Video For Windows animation, as well as .FLI and .FLC
animations, along with MIDI music and .WAV files. Another good slide show
program is NeoShow Pro (File 942 NEOSHWPR.ZIP), an MS-DOS program that's very
easy to use. With it, you can add pictures and sound, and then compile it all
into a stand-alone file to run on another computer, without the need for
NeoShow Pro on the presentation computer.
Teachers may want to opt for a full multimedia authoring program
instead of a simple slide show, to provide a way for students to
interact with the presentation. I have found NeoBook Pro (File 1066
NEOBKP20.ZIP) to be the easiest to use, and it even includes a
run-time compiler. If you are reading the multimedia version of
GEnieLamp, then you are viewing a compiled project done with NeoBook
Pro. Another good candidate is Super Show 4 (File 949 SSHOW4.ZIP)
which is, incidentally, the very program that GEnie's Multimedia
LiveWire Magazine for DOS and Windows is created with. Both of these
programs allow you to incorporate animation, sound, and interactivity.
Multimedia Maker by Dareware (File 964 MMM21.ZIP) will let you create
impressive presentations and slide shows as well, offering 256-color
VGA graphics, sound, and an easy-to-use editor. There's even a
multimedia tutorial with it, and -- for teachers -- a way to create
quizzes and automatically track scores. All of the files mentioned
here can be found in the Multimedia, Desktop Video and Virtual Reality
RoundTable Software Library. To get there simply type M2000 or
CYBERSPACE from any GEnie prompt.
Doing It Assembly of your presentation is usually as easy as typing
"""""""" into the authoring program (or clicking on the filename) the
names the pictures and sound files you want to use, and specifying how
long to show each picture. Once you've worked with multimedia, you'll
more than likely agree that it is the best thing for an educational
setting. People will remember what you have presented once you capture
their interest with sound and pictures.
New programs, sound clips and pictures are released all the time, all
over GEnie. Cyberspace Report Weekly also covers new things you can
add to multimedia presentations, and the Multimedia/Cyerspace Software
Library has new files every week -- already there is a nice collection
of background art you can be use in presentations.
If you need help or have questions about multimedia, drop by the
Mutlimedia/Cyberspace Bulletin Board (Option 1 at the Main Menu).
Category 11, which deals with Presentation Power, is where you can
find information and get help on putting together your multimedia
project. Educators and teachers will findCategory 16, Multimedia
Education, to include useful topics and information. You'll find a
knowledgeable and experienced staff in the RoundTable who are glad to
help.
Going back to school doesn't have to mean the start of boring
homework, pages of text to read and lots of reports to write out.
Multimedia is a refreshing way to learn -- and present -- new
material, and students today have everything to look forward to as the
school year progresses. Use your imagination, and you can actually
enjoy the learning experience!
[EOA]
[EDU]///////////////////////////////
COMPUTERS IN SCHOOL /
//////////////////////////////////
A Computer's Place in Education
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By William Duncanson
One of the biggest places that computers can make a difference is in the
area of education. While typical schools use traditional methods of
teaching, they are falling rapidly behind the pace of technology as more
and more American children get access to high technology learning tools
such as online references and databases. Computers are currently in 1/3
of American's homes according to the July 1994 issue of Windows Magazine.
Children are learning to use these tools at home and are bored with the
tools (books, pen and paper) they use at school. This is an exponentially
increasing phenomonon, as prices of computers have plummeted to where a 486
DX is rapidly becoming entry level at prices around $1200.
The Pace of Technology One of the wonders of technology is that it
"""""""""""""""""""""" moves foreward at an ever increasing rate.
Despite all this, most Intel x86 designs are backwards compatible all the
way to the 8088/8086 processors, while increases in speed and power make way
for the new applications that come out everyday. Computers capable of
multimedia presentations are commonplace these days, and not very expensive.
MPC-1 class machines can be had for under a thousand dollars, while MPC-2
machines are not far behind in price. More and more new computers are coming
from the factories with doublespeed CD-ROM drives and 16-bit sound cards
standard. All of this is making these wonderful educational tools more and
more accessable for all people.
Speaking of wonderful educational tools, software is a very important
part of this trend. CD-ROMs are becoming increasingly popular as the
medium for educational software due to the large amount of storage they
provide for such space-hungry features like full motion video, animation,
sound, and still pictures. Encyclopedias that once took up eight to ten
feet of wall space are now availible with these enhancements, such as
full motion video and sound clips, on a single five inch CD-ROM. Some
products like Microsoft Bookshelf go even farther than that, providing a
virtual library of information, with an almanac, encyclopedia, book of
quotations, atlas, thesaurus, and timeline all on one disc. Word
processors are going up in power and coming down in price, allowing
people with a desktop PC and a good midrange word processor produce near
professional looking reports, complete with illustrations. Spreadsheets
make creating charts and graphs a snap. So, what does all this have to
do with education?
Education in a typical American school usually does not take advantage of
all this availible technology. Most schools, if they have computers at
all, have a very limited amount and selection to choose from. They are
still using Apple IIs and old Macintoshes, which do not have the
computing power or accessability that students are growing used to at
home. Even what schools are teaching about computers is usually
hopelessly out of date. For example, in most schools, a typing class is
a prerequisite for computer classes. In these computer classes, students
are taught to type, even though an increasing porportion already knows
hoe. They are taught to put a space after a comma, and two spaces after
periods, which in this day of kearned fonts is not only unnecessary but
in some cases counterproductive. Once they do get to computer classes,
they are taught to use applications that are years behind industry
standards. In this day and age of Windows, OS/2, and System 7, these
programs are hopelessly out of date and handicapped. Industry standards
such as Word 6.0, WordPerfect 6.0, Excel, Access and Paradox are not
even touched upon and will probably not come into the mainstream of
education for years. Most schools that have computers have security that
is a joke. This encourages cheating among students with or without the
other student's permission. For example, the computers in my local
community collage are supposedly protected from tampering by unauthorized
users. I sat down one day at my computer and had broken the security in
as little as a minute. I even left a little note for the person who had
designed the system on the root drive, which was supposedly inaccessable
to students. I wonder if anyone has found it yet. Oh, and yes, I did make
sure that it couldn't be traceable to me.
There are several ways in which this trend of technology outpacing the
education system can be reversed. One of the biggest and best moves that
Apple Computer Corp. made in the 1980's was to donate Apple IIs to school
systems. Unfortunately, many of these Apple IIs are still in use today.
And it's going to cost a lot of money to upgrade. Well, that's fine.
And here's where I'm going to make a lot of people mad, especially
parents with grand hopes and aspirations for their children, be they
football buffs or what have you. Do school districts really need full
sized stadiums for football games, when a big grassy field with bleachers
would do? The school districts could postpone or scrap plans to make
this move, or, if they've already installed one, sell it, and instead
spend the money on education, which is a school's primary function in the
first place. These districts spend millions of dollars in constructing
these things, and tens of thousands of dollers every year in
maintainance. Money that could be better spent on keeping abreast of new
technology. I'm not necessarily talking top of the line, here, in fact,
such a thing would be virtually impossible for any business short of at
least Fortune 1000 status. I'm talking about making sure that at least
half of the computer resources availible to the students are at least
entry level every year, with a 2 year rotation. And let's talk about the
availibility of these resources. For students who do not have a computer
at home, if they are asked for a typed paper, they are usually out of
luck, because very few schools have computer labs availible to all
students. Usually, they are required either to be enrolled in a class,
or the English teacher has to take the class in as a whole. This does
not allow people who have problems thinking of a subject or slow typists
enough time to write their papers.
People need to realize that this is rapidly becoming an information
society. Unfortunately, the reality is that students are not being
prepared to enter this society. This training needs to start early,
while childern are young and willing to learn. Young children are
usually ready to learn, where as older children are often bored with the
whole idea. The increased use of computers might reverse this latter
trend, and the first.
[EOA]
[HUM]//////////////////////////////
HUMOR ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
by Darrel Raines
[D.RAINES]
>>> GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Last month I took one of the longest vacations that I have taken
since graduating from college. My family and I traveled from the teeming
metropolis of Houston, Texas, to the cool, mountain streams of southern
Colorado. We spent a little over two weeks (including travel time)
camping, hiking, horseback riding and otherwise enjoying ourselves. We
are talking about real camping here: Tents, camp stoves, sleeping bags,
eating outdoors with the mosquitoes, etc. We had a great time!
What has my camping trip to do with computers? About a year ago, I
purchased a portable sub-notebook computer for those occasions when I
travel. I had been feeling out of sorts when I went on a business or
personal trip and did not have a handy word processor and spreadsheet. I
have really enjoyed my "travel" computer; it does a good job of what I
want it to do. I have not taken a single trip without my digital
umbilical cord since the day that I purchased it. That is, until my
latest camping trip.
I thought seriously about taking the sub-notebook along for the
ride. However, the dirt and extreme weather conditions that I would
encounter made me decide against taking the computer with me. This
proved to be a drastic decision. I was not aware of how dependent I had
become on my readily available computer. I went through some extreme
withdrawal. The headaches and minor shakes were the most noticeable
symptoms. However, my wife also claims that I was edgy and somewhat
distant for the first few days of abstinence. I was even known to snap
at the children. This lasted for the duration of the trip.
After my harrowing experience, I have decided to chronicle the
events of my vacation as a warning to other computer junkies. You may
have a similar situation come up and be faced with the following
decision: take your computer, or your clothing. After this article, I
am sure that you will decide that you would rather shop for a new
wardrobe on your trip. As a public service, this month's column will
examine the various facets of camping without a computer.
DAY 1 I knew I was in trouble the very first day on the road. We have
""""" made a good day of travel toward the northwest edge of Texas.
However, I am force to purchase gasoline without the benefit of my
computer's powerful calculator functions. There is just no way to
determine what my mileage was and how far I could expect to travel
before having to fill up again.
Another problem is the kids' questions. Our children are constantly
asking about this subject or that. I am in desperate need of my handy
CD-ROM encyclopedia. How am I supposed to know how much cotton there is
in a bale? Of course I don't know the population of Littlefield, Texas.
The mayor of Littlefield probably doesn't know the population of his town.
As we check into a motel for the night, the real gravity of the
situation starts to sink in. I won't be able to play a game on my
computer for another week and a half! At this point, only a threat of
divorce from my wife keeps me from turning back to Houston and my 8-
megabyte mistress. I sleep fitfully during the night.
DAY 2 I wake up slowly. I feel a strange sense of loss, but cannot
""""" remember what is wrong. And then suddenly it all comes back to
me in a rush. On the road with no computer. Aargh!
We continue our travel into New Mexico. The excitement of being
away from Houston and the anticipation of the mountains starts to raise
my spirits. However, a major calamity hits just as we head into southern
Colorado. I forgot to put the road maps into our pickup. I manage to
make a wrong turn in Chama and end up on the wrong side of the San Juan
National Forest. My wife is not happy. "But dear, if I had my computer
along with us we could have verified the correct road using my travel
atlas." My wife is not talking to me.
Despite my navigation talents, we arrive in our designated camping
area in time to set up the tent before dark. As soon as dusk starts to
settle in we know we are in trouble.
"Darrel, can our three-year-old fly?"
"Not to my knowledge, dear."
"In that case, the mosquitoes are carrying off our youngest child."
We rescued our son and took a bath in mosquito repellent.
DAY 3 This will be our first full day of camping. The fresh air and
""""" sound of the mountain stream awakens me. I am the first camper
to arise. I sit in my lawn chair and read a book until the rest of the
crew is up. We decide that pancakes would taste good. I tell my family
that I had a great recipe in the computer cookbook back in Houston. My
oldest daughter groans and hands me a box of pancake mix. The
instructions on the side say to just add water.
We decide to go hiking later in the day. The trail head is up high
in the mountains. The tall pine trees and colorful wildflowers make for
a gorgeous walk. The children discover a series of cracks, or fissures,
in the ground where the earth has opened up to swallow the unwary. At
the end of our hike, I realize that I did not even think about my
computer for the past two and a half hours.
DAY 4 Horseback riding is the activity of the day. We see a young stag
""""" deer along the way. He is evidently used to seeing humans
looking uncomfortable atop a horse. The deer doesn't bolt until we are
within 20 feet of the tasty grass that he is eating. After we get back
from the ride, I hobble over to tell my wife that I need to start a
journal of our activities.
"This stuff will make a great article! I wish that I had my
computer and word processor with me."
"Here is a pencil and paper. Have fun."
"I haven't used this stuff in years. There isn't even a pencil
sharpener out here. What happens when the lead gets dull?"
"Use your pocket knife."
I whine; I whimper; I end up with the pencil broken over my head.
DAY 5 Another hike is planned for this day. I have trouble figuring
""""" out how far we hike in the three-hour trip. I discover that I
cannot do multiplication any more.
We are thrown out of a restaurant because I fondle the keyboard of
the cash register. My two daughters are embarrassed beyond belief.
DAY 6 Laundry day. We spend the entire day in town buying souvenirs.
""""" I finish off the first book that I brought on the trip. I seem
to have lots of time to read.
DAY 7 Today is July 4. We go to a beautiful fireworks demonstration.
""""" Our daughter tells my wife, "These are just like the fireworks
that daddy has on his computer." I hear a heavy sigh in the dark.
DAY 8 We hike along the Continental Divide. There are a few patches of
""""" snow still clinging to the shade of the pines at this high
elevation. The kids have a snowball fight. Our son, a life-long Houston
resident, has never seen snow before. He wants to make Frosty the
Snowman.
In July!
DAY 9 A burst of deep sobbing wakes my wife up in the middle of the
""""" night. "What are you crying about?" she asks.
"I miss my computer... ouch! Don't DO that! I'll be quiet."
We go hiking one last time. I start my third book. I love to sit
and read by the mountain stream that runs behind our tent. A tall pine
offers shade and a good back rest. The view is lovely and the melted
snow makes a constant murmur as it falls over the rocks. The watery
drone reminds me of something from home. Oh yes, now I have it. The
computer fan in my study serves as a similar source of white noise.
My family claims that they will through me in the river if I
complain one more time about not having a handy computing device.
DAY 10 Today we bid the forest goodbye. The morning is spent in
"""""" breaking camp and erasing all traces of our having been there.
This is no small task since there were 5 children and 4 adults in our
group. "I wish that I had my computer so I could take a quick look at
our bank account information."
Splash.
DAY 11 It will not be long now. My fingers start to itch just at the
"""""" thought of touching the keyboard. We eat green chiles in New
Mexico. Why can't we get good chiles in Houston? When will satellite
modem links be available throughout the country? I spend the day
contemplating the mysteries of life.
DAY 12 We arrive back in Houston. Sweet rapture! I play a game,
"""""" balance my checkbook, and catch up on BBS news one right after
the other. My wife finds me asleep at my computer keyboard the next
morning. She claims that I was tapping my heels together and murmuring,
"There's no place like home. There's no place like home."
[*][*][*]
Darrel Raines is a computer user and avid camper. He works on
the space station program in Houston. He didn't really miss
his computer as much as he said he did. Really. Honest.
[EOA]
[LOG]//////////////////////////////
LOG OFF /
/////////////////////////////////
GEnieLamp Information
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edit all letters and copy. Please include the following at the end or
the beginning of all reprints:
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(c) Copyright 1994 T/TalkNET Online Publishing and GEnie. To join
GEnie, set your modem to 2400 baud (or less) and half duplex (local
echo). Have the modem dial 1-800-638-8369. When you get a CONNECT
message, type HHH. At the U#= prompt, type: JOINGENIE and hit the
[return] key. When you get the prompt asking for the signup code, type
DSD524 and hit RETURN. The system will then prompt you for your
sign-up information. Call (voice) 1-800-638-9636 for more information.
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